Are people of Indian origin (PIO) "Indian"? A case study of South Africa

A necessary condition for a migration to be considered as a "diaspora" is the upholding of contacts in the land of origin in various forms, real or imaginary, material or cultural. This paper examines whether this is so in the case of Indian South Africans, most of whose ancestors came to the country as indentured labourers between 1860 and 1911. A key contention was that there could be some cultural and emotional factors partly explaining the economic relations and the geography of flows between the South Africans of Indian origin and India. However, this eventually proved to be wrong. This is all the more paradoxical since the "Indian" identity is still very alive in Durban. However, it is highly fragmented, according to the generations, the religions and the socio-economic classes. India is still a key referent, but "transcendentally": either as a country which has only an abstract existence, which is spoken of, even dreamt of, without ever being visited; or it is visited but considered only as a whole, since the region of one's ancestors is almost never at the forefront. Furthermore, the vulnerable situation of "Indians" within South African society does not encourage stronger relationships with India. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.