Simulating South Asia: literature, culture and belonging in Ireland

Abstract

The South Asian diasporas living in Ireland are a growing and vibrant community. Historical and cultural connections, particularly between Ireland and India, are central in the burgeoning relationship between the two regions. Cultural exchange is also a flourishing trend, as are associations in science, technology and education. In Ireland, South Asia is increasingly represented by the diasporic population in the literature, film and other arts, but despite the variety and wealth of South Asian diasporic cultures, it is often consigned to the superficial, even the hyper-real, eliding social realism. Furthermore, the role played by both state policy and the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger is important in the related discussion of the frequently stigmatized, differential space of the ‘non-Irish national’ and the discrimination experienced by non-national and diasporic cultures.