Contemporary Issues in the Indian Diaspora of South Africa

The present volume deals with issues that the Indian diaspora in South Africa faces today. After more than 150 years,the South African Indian community is resilient and strongly entrenched in its Indian roots. Today the Indian community in South Africa consists not only of those who arrived in the colonial period, but also those who arrived during the last two decades looking for career opportunities. Although some of them came from Pakistan and Bangladesh, they generally are treated as part of the Indian community from an outsider perspective. The present volume offers an historical perspective on the indenture servitude tracing it to its original roots in the European indenture to North America. It offers insights into the personal odyssey of the off-springs of the indentured workers, inter-ethnic tensions and xenophobia, Indian education system during the apartheid era, Islamic feminism, welfare of destitute Indian children, drugs and crime, legacy of Gandhi, the leaders of the Arya Samaj and the Hindu Maha Sabha. The book offers a perspective that is lacking in the present research on Indian diaspora by focusing on the South African Indian community. Readers will find the book not only enlightening but also fascinating with new information on the Indian diaspora.