ESSAY A
resting place for the imagination?
Although people of Indian origin have been present
in South Africa since 1860, they are still objects
of suspicion in the ‘new’ South Africa.
In many quarters they are accused of exploiting
Africans and having collaborated with apartheid.
In a climate of increasing hostility, some Indians
are asserting their links to India and claiming
membership of an Indian diasporic community. The
legitimacy of this ‘disaporic identity’
has been questioned by scholars since they do
not conform to any authentic criteria of diaspora.
Against this, it could be argued that searching
for diasporic authenticity in narratives of the
past is a red herring that blinds us to the politics
of the present.
by Parvati Raman
REPORT The
judge, the prosecutor and Best Bakery The verdict
is out and it inspires no confidence, either in
the
police or in the judiciary.
by Biraj Swain
and Somnath
Vatsa
An
answer to the enmity-mongers Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream
MV Ramana and C Rammanohar Reddy (eds)
502 pp. Rs 575
New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2003.
reviewed by SP Udayakumar
•
Bridging
the gap in Himalayan waters Himalayan Waters: Promise and Potential.
Problems and Politics by Bhim
Subba,
Panos South Asia, 2001
reviewed by BG Vergheese
