Global Nepalis: Religion, Culture, and Community in a New and Old Diaspora

Migration has always been a feature of Nepali society. Waves of Khas, Brahmans, and associated service castes were already moving south and east through the Himalayan foothills a millennium ago. As the population expanded, Nepalis from all backgrounds have continually moved onwards in search of new farmland and new opportunities, often encouraged to do so by local communities, local headmen, and the state. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that process continued eastwards from present-day Nepal into the north-east of India and beyond. Over the last thirty years international labour migration, as well as migration consequent on tertiary education, has radically changed the patterns of settlement of Nepalis outside their homeland. The present volume covers the many different contexts-from the USA to the Gulf, from India to Burma and Singapore-where large numbers of Nepalis are settled or working long-term. Taken together, and organized by region of settlement, the contributions in this book provide a comprehensive overview of Nepali diaspora populations around the world in their contemporary contexts. The common theme binding this volume is the exploration of the process of 'ethnogenesis' or the emergence of strong ethnic identities in which the contributors analyse how such identities strengthen more easily in the diaspora with a large population, than in the homeland.

Table of Contents:
Preface List of Tables and Figures List of Plates 1. Introduction: The Nepali/Gorkhali Diaspora since the Nineteenth Century David N. Gellner THE OLD DIASPORA: SOUTH ASIA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, AND BEYOND 2. Marginal Migrants? Migrant Associations and the Lived Experience of Nepali Migrant Workers in India Jeevan R. Sharma 3. Identifications, State Categorizations, and Religious Changes among Sikkimese Gurungs Mélanie Vandenhelsken 4. The Religious Life of the Gorkhalis of Myanmar Sushma Joshi 5. Creating Nepali Ethnoscapes in Thailand Anil Sakya 6. Fiji Nepalis: Reviving Connections Lost for Over a Century Krishna P. Adhikari and Bhimsen Sapkota THE NEW DIASPORA 1: TRANSNATIONAL URBAN MIGRANTS IN SINGAPORE, THE GULF, AND THE USA 7. Belonging and Not-Belonging: Experiences of Nepali Gurkha Families on Returning from Singapore Kelvin E.Y. Low 8. Popular Music among Nepalis in Bahrain: Nightclubs, Media, Performance, and Publics Anna Stirr 9. 'No One Wants to go Abroad; It's all about Obligation': What Migration Means to Nepali Migrant Workers in Qatar Tristan Bruslé 10. Transnational Politics in Nepali Organizations in New York Susan Hangen 11. Imagined Secularisms: Perspectives from the Nepali Diaspora Bandita Sijapati 12. The Khora of Migration: Everyday Practices of (Well) Being and Belonging between Mustang, Nepal, and New York City Sienna R. Craig and Ngawang Tsering Gurung THE NEW DIASPORA 2: ETHNICITY, CASTE, AND RELIGION IN THE UK 13. Counting Ourselves: CNSUK's 2008 Survey of Nepalis in the UK Krishna P. Adhikari and Chandra Laksamba 14. Invention and Tradition: Limbu Adaptations of Religion in the Diaspora Bal Gopal Shrestha and David N. Gellner 15. Death and Society: The Performance of Gurung Death Rites in the UK Florence Gurung 16. The Migration of Nepali Nurses to the UK: Transnational Family Ties, Social Ritual, and the Role of Internet Technology Radha Adhikari 17. Caste Discrimination Overseas: Nepali Dalits in England Mitra Pariyar UNITING THE DIASPORA AND HAVING AN IMPACT IN THE HOMELAND 18. The NRN (Non-Resident Nepali) Movement Krishna P. Adhikari and David N. Gellner 19. Tamang Gendered Subjectivities in a Migrating World Kathryn March 20. Afterword: Rethinking Diaspora Consciousness Sondra L. Hausner Index About the Editors and Contributors

About the Author :
David N. Gellner is Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford and Sondra L. Hausner is University Lecturer in the Study of Religion, University of Oxford, UK.