African Clusters in India (South Asia in Context)

Description

African Clusters in India examines the discrimination and stereotypes faced by African migrants in India. It outlines the narratives of the migrants and demonstrates how their ‘African identity’ gets associated with drugs, prostitution, and cannibalism. The book brings to the fore how African migrants experience racial profiling based on a conflated African identity and how this identity gets generalized irrespective of the different nationalities and leads to social exclusion. This monograph argues that the antagonistic urban environment gives rise to the formation of a pan-African identity as a response to cultural biases and stereotypes. Thus, it explores the role of language, culture, and politics of representation to show the process of ‘othering’ and exclusion in India. Drawing on lived experiences of the migrants, the volume engages with the larger discourse of globalization, liberalization, and migration within the global south. It will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of critical race theory, ethnography, urban sociology, African studies, and South Asian studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments List of Acronyms Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: ‘African Clusters,’ Spatial Exclusion, and ‘African’ Identity in India Introduction African Migrants and the African Cluster in Khirki Extension: An Introduction Intercultural Interaction and Adaptation Intercultural Conflict The African Cluster as Social-Spatial Exclusion: A Conceptualization African Migrants and Spatial Segregation Spatial Segregation as Social Exclusion Overview of the Book Note Bibliography Part II: The Emergence of African Clusters in India Chapter 2: India-Africa Relations: Delineating Post-colonial and Neoliberal Ties in Global South Introduction Africa-India and Its Post-colonial Ties India-Africa Ties in the Era of Liberalization: Emergence of Global South Partnerships The Economics of India-Africa Forum Summits Trading in Agriculture Trading in Pharmaceuticals Cooperation in Science and Technology Infrastructure Development Indian Ocean and Shipping The Political Dimensions of India-Africa Forum Summits The Indian Diaspora in Africa Africa as a Strategic Partner for India: An Argument Conclusion Note Bibliography Chapter 3: Historical and Contemporary Patterns of Migration from Africa to India Introduction Early Century Migration from Africa Religion and Migration Collective Memory and Social Construction of Migration Pattern The Contemporary Patterns of Migration: Bilateral Ties and Its Impacts Business/Employment Education Health and Medical Reasons Marriage Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: The Forced Migration of Somali Refugees: Mapping the Impacts of Civil War and Internal Political Crisis Introduction Somali Refugees in India: The Civil War as the Push Factor for Migration Factors Determining Choice of Country: Migration from Somalia Somali Refugees and the UNHCR Somali Refugees and the Indian Government Transnational Migration Networks: The Role of Religion Transnational Migration Networks: The Role of Family and the Community Somali Refugees in India: Lived Experiences of Discrimination and Exclusion Advocating for Refugee Policy in India with Reference to Somali Refugees Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 5: Re-reading ‘African’ Clusters: Locating Housing Segregation, Gated Communities, and Discriminatory Practices Introduction African Migrants and the Gated Societies: Locating Exclusionary Practice of Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) The African Migrants and Their Choices in Housing: The Rationale for Spatial Concentration Chicago School and the Study on Race: Locating Race and Re-reading Housing Segregation Othering, Spatial Segregation, and Spatial Concentration of the African Migrants Conflation of the African Identity, Racial Discrimination, and Housing The Politics and Economics in Exclusionary Practices: Why the Migrants Found Housing in These Irregular and Unauthorized Localities? Conclusion Note Bibliography Part III: Race, Representation, and Othering: Lived Experiences from the African Cluster Chapter 6: African Migrants and Discrimination: Locating the Intersectionality of Race, Class, Gender, and Religion Introduction Intersectionality as an Approach Intersectionality of Race and Class: Mapping the Hostile Treatments towards African Migrants The Intersectionality between Race, Class, and Gender: Locating the ‘Intra-categorical Complexity’ in Reference to African Women Intersectionality of Race, Class, Gender, and Religion: Mapping the Hostile Treatments towards the Somali Refugee Women in India Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 7: African Migrants, the State, and Contesting Narratives on Racial Discrimination: Locating Critical Race Theory Introduction The Midnight Raid on the African Cluster: Community Conflicts and the State The ‘March of Justice’: Emergence of Resistance and Solidarity among the African Migrants The Death of Olivier: The Turning Point When Unreported Racial Attacks Resurfaced The Call for Protest: Mapping the Negotiations between MEA, Embassy, and Association of African Students in India Cancellation of the ‘March for Justice’ African Migrants and Their Narratives on Discrimination and Hostility State and Its Position over the Hostility on African Migrants: Mapping the Contesting Narratives How Bilateral Ties and Economic Policy Sidelines Racial Discrimination? An Enquiry into CRT in India CRT vs. the Liberal Law in India Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 8: Discursive Representation and Othering of the African Identity: Race as a Signifier Introduction Language Its Representation and Constructions: Race as a Signifier The Discursive Discourse on the African Identity: Locating Power, Hierarchy and Discrimination Reiterating Stereotypes and Conflation of Identity: The ‘Othering’ of the African Identity in the Indian Media Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 9: The Pan-African Identity in India: The Emergence of Collective Identity through Solidarity Networks and African Kitchens Introduction African Kitchens and the Emergence of the Collective Identity Pan-African Identity: The Formation of the Political Identity at the Diasporic Level Local Hostility and the Emergence of Pan-African Identity The Functionality of the Pan-African Identity: Solidarity and Informal Networks Clusters as Sites of Informal Networks Negotiating Discrimination and Othering Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part IV: The Way Forward Chapter 10: De-colonizing Colour Consciousness: Theorzing Race and Racism in India Introduction African Migrants and Their Adaptation to Their Host Culture: Mapping Cultural Assimilation and Multiculturalism Colonialism and the Social Construction of the Binary of Primitive vs. the Civilized: Locating Racism Colonialism and Racism Scientific Racism: An Introduction Colonization of Africa and Its Representation: Locating the Sociocultural Perspective on Race Colonialism and Internalization of Inferiority-Superiority: Locating Universalism Colonialism and Consciousness of the ‘Black Self’: Tracing Mental Inferiority Race as a Signifier: Mapping the after Effects of Colonization De-colonizing Colour Consciousness for Multiculturalism: An Argument Conclusion Bibliography Index