Labels and Locations

Some happy occasions, like the 1995 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book to Bangladeshi-Australian author Adib Khan, the 2008 Man Booker Prize to Indian born Australian writer Arvinda Adiga, and the 2013 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction to Sri Lankan-Australian author Michele de Krester, have boosted the self-confidence of South Asian-Australian writers in Australia. South Asian diasporic communities have also been the focus for relatively small, but constantly growing, studies by anthropologists and sociologists on the interrelation of gender, race, ethnicity and migration in Australia. The terms Labels and Locations capture numerous aspects that contribute in the making of a diasporic consciousness. This book critically examines the issues of identity, gender, family, class and caste, expressed in the short narratives of South Asian diaspora writers based in Australia. Taking an interdisciplinary approach – from literary, cultural, historical, anthropological, and sociological studies – this book engages chiefly with the oeuvre of postcolonial writers and academics, namely: Mena Abdullah, Adib Khan, Yasmine Gooneratne, Michelle De Kretser, Chandani Lokugé, Chitra Fernando, Satendra Nandan, Suneeta Peres da Costa, Hanifa Deen, Christopher Cyrill, Suvendrini Perera, Sunil Govinnage, Brij V. Lal, Sunil Badami, Glenn D’Cruz, Chris Raja, Manik Datar, David De Vos, Rashmere Bhatti, Kirpal Singh Chauli, Sujhatha Fernandes, Neelam Maharaj, Sushie Narayan, Madu Pasipanodya, Shrishti Sharma, Beryl T. Mitchell, and Sunitha. This book will, by calling upon the works of this much-neglected South Asian diaspora group, fill a lacuna in the broader critical rubric of diaspora studies.