The “New” Indian Diaspora in Romania. Home and Belonging
The “New” Indian Diaspora in Romania. Home and Belonging

Summary/Abstract: This research questions the definition of “home” and “belonging” for the members of the “new” Indian diaspora in Romania, based on a qualitative research study. The issues of “home” and “country” are central in the diaspora research, being connected to the feeling of ‘inclusion’ or ‘exclusion’ (Cohen, 1997). As Arjun Appadurai argues, the “delocalization” and multiplication of spaces where the individual places himself / herself is a feature of modernity (1994), transnational communities existing simultaneously in two cultural spaces (Portes, 1996: 74-76). Given that individuals are creating interpersonal relationships inside their social networks, in connection to their activities (see Marinescu, V. 2009), the research focused on questioning what are the professional, social and personal trajectories of Indians living in Romania? What are their strategies of inclusion, inside and outside the Indian community? The “communication” dimension is included in this research as well, considering that the relation between communication, localisation and identity is at the intersection of “imagined communities” (Anderson, 1983) and “imagined worlds” through the ethnoscapes (Appadurai, 1996). What are the communication and meeting spaces, from cricket clubs, restaurants, family bonding, to celebration of different religious festivals (like Ganesh Chaturti on Herăstrău Lake in Bucharest) to online groups dedicated to the Indian diaspora in Romania?

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