Flora, religion, cure and identity: Indian plants in indentured diaspora countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay examines the presence of Indian plants in the indentured diaspora countries that were brought to meet religious and medical needs and hence played seminal role in the formation of Indian identity. Indian floras and their connection to Indian culture and medical practices is one of the gaps in the historiography of the Indian indentured diaspora. Scholarly works on indenture primarily concentrate on the social, economic, political, and religious aspects of the Indian labour diaspora in the host countries. However, there is a dearth of attention paid to the significance of Indian flora in the development of identity in terms of religious and cultural practices, traditions, and medical needs. By investigating the Indian flora among the indentured Indians, this research aims to fill this gap and provides a floral-medico viewpoint in the formation of Indian diaspora and its identity.