The construction of transnational spaces by Indian migrants in Australia

Abstract

Drawing on the growing body of literature on migrant transnationalism, the transnational spaces of three groups of migrants in Australia, all of which fall under the wider umbrella of the Indian diaspora, are compared. Due to the historical depth and current diversity of Indian migration to Australia, it is possible to analyse continuities and discontinuities in transnational processes with past experiences and to compare different communities of Indian origin today. Here, a comparison is made between Punjabis (the oldest Indian migrant group in Australia), Kannadigas (mostly IT professionals from Bangalore), and Indo-Fijians (‘twice migrants’ who have fled political discrimination in Fiji). Under similar conditions in Australia and with access to modern means of transport and communications, some migrant households are better placed to make use of opportunities arising from transnationally organising their lives than others. The transnational spaces of the three Indian communities differ in important ways from those communities that have been most widely studied under the transnational paradigm, namely Latin American and Caribbean migrants in the United States. Among the differences that are explored are the role of kinship in the operation of the networks and the nature of economic links to migrants’ regions of origin. In the case of Indians, the most meaningful transnational networks are constructed along kinship lines. Transnational kinship networks are continuously extended through offshore marriage arrangements and chain migration processes.