Gendered Perspectives in Indian Diasporic Literature: Unearthing Feminist Narratives of Identity and Belonging

Abstract

This research focuses on analysing the gendered experiences of the Indian diaspora as portrayed in literature. It aims to demonstrate how gender, as one of the multilayered components of identity such as race, class, or religion, influences the individual and collective experiences of diaspora, particularly through the lens of literature depicting the lives of Indian diasporic subjects. The guiding research question is: how do literary texts represent the Indian diasporic experience through the lens of gender, and what do these portrayals reveal about the processes of identifying, cultural negotiation, and social adaptation? It is critical to address this issue because research tends to focus on gender and diaspora separately without examining the interplay and impact of gender on the diasporic experience. Viljoen (2020) (Leslie, D) has noted the relevance of relational theory in data governance, which can also be used to analyse the gender relations within diaspora. Also, Walker (2009) (Leslie, D) pointed out the necessity of contextualization from the perspective of global social policy which, in this case, accentuates the need to analyse the contexts within which gendered experiences of diaspora operate.

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