Desi spin
The Smithsonian celebrates Indian immigrants’ contribution to American culture with a permanent exhibit.
The Smithsonian Institution is rediscovering India’s vast contributions to civilisational achievement. In January it announced a grand celebration of Mughal art. More recently, it has tapped into the rich tapestry of the contributions of Indian migrants to America. The exhibition, titled “Homespun,” is “a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s message to Indians to spin their own cloth and wear clothes made in India, instead of using textiles from Britain,” according to Smithsonian officials.
Few other immigrant communities in the U.S. have played such a vital role in fostering that civilisational link between the original motherland and their adopted homeland as the nearly three million Indian-Americans living in the U.S. today, and “HomeSpun is the Smithsonian’s opportunity to convey their history, contributions, challenges, and signal their place within the nation.” The curator of this first-of-its-kind display is Pawan Dhingra, who was earlier an Associate Professor of Sociology and Comparative American Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Featuring a vast range of exhibits, public programmes and a cutting-edge website “It will establish a permanent presence within the Smithsonian complex,” those behind the exhibit said.
NARAYAN LAKSHMAN
Invisible diaspora
The economic downturn in the UK hits illegal Indian immigrants hard.
When the times were good, they easily melted into Britain’s booming economy as cheap labour, willing to do things the natives wouldn’t — and for a fraction of the normal wage. But with the British economy in deep recession and the job market frozen, hundreds of illegal Indian immigrants find themselves stranded, many penniless, living rough and feeding off charities, temples and gurudwaras.
Some feel too ashamed to return home; and many of those who want to, have no legal travel documents, having been illegally smuggled into the country in the first place. With few places to hide, they have become an easy target for authorities looking for illegal migrants.
The UK Border Agency, the body that enforces immigration controls, is having a field day deporting illegal Indians back home. The number of those deported has gone up considerably in the wake of the economic crisis. There has also been an increase in the number of “illegals” applying to the Indian High Commission for travel documents that would allow them to return home.
Figures for 2009-2011 show a year-on-year increase both in the number of Indians deported by UKBA and voluntary repatriation. Last year, the UKBA reported 1378 cases as against 1006 in 2009 and 1191 in 2010. These don’t reveal the full scale of the illegal Indian “diaspora” as many more remain in the shadows — invisible, living by their wits and hoping, against hope, that something may finally turn up.
HASAN SUROOR
Rites of renewal
Across Iran and Central Asia, the ancient festival of Nowruz resounds with hope.
Forgetting for the moment the miseries caused by soaring food prices and unemployment, nearly 300 million people in Iran and its neighbouring countries are celebrating Nowruz. The 3,000-year-old festival, observed on March 21marking the beginning of the New Year, is a homage to the spirit of renewal, rebirth and hope.
Though it began as a Zoroastrian festival, it is celebrated with equal fervour among Parsis, Muslims, Kashmiri Pundits and many more. This ancient festival strikes a deep emotional chord in many countries, and the intensity of the celebrations is also reflective of the relevance of Nowruz in reinforcing a distinct sense of identity among its observers; an identity that is rooted in antiquity, predating the era of medieval empires and modern nation states.
Typically, the celebrations begin with the thorough cleaning of the house, painting it afresh, and decorating it with festive fervour. Family members assemble around a table laden with the Haft Seen or seven items, all with high symbolic value. A goldfish in a glass bowl is also part of the New Year spread; an act which resonates with the ancient Persian tradition that recognises fish as sacred — the symbol of Nahid, the Persian deity of water. Gathered around the table, the family members await the exact moment of transition into the New Year, the trigger for joyful celebrations.
The United Nations General Assembly has recognised March 21 as the International Day of Nowruz. UNESCO has also penciled Nowruz in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity besides hosting the first International Nowruz Festival this year.
ATUL ANEJA
