Landscape and the Bengali diaspora: skilled Prabasi Bengali migration within and beyond India

Cover -- Endorsement Page -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1 Key Concepts -- 1.1.1 On Landscape -- 1.1.2 Perception, Imagination and Landscape -- 1.1.3 On Migration -- 1.1.4 On Diaspora -- 1.1.5 Space and Place -- 1.1.5.1 Space -- 1.1.5.2 Place -- 1.1.6 Ethnicity -- 1.1.7 Race -- 1.1.8 Caste and Class in India: Stratification and Segregation -- 1.1.9 Globalisation, Migration, Transnationalism and Diaspora -- 1.1.10 Identity -- Chapter 2: Landscape and Diaspora -- 2.1 Urban Landscape and the Bengali Diaspora -- 2.2 The Evolution and Development of the Bengali Diaspora -- 2.3 Overview of Literature -- 2.4 The Hypothesis -- 2.5 The Research Universe -- 2.6 Data Collection and Sources of Research -- 2.7 Data Processing -- 2.8 Time Period -- 2.9 Overview: Research Methodology -- 2.10 The Significance of Fieldwork and Travel -- 2.11 Recent Census of India Findings Regarding Migration from West Bengal -- Chapter 3: The Evolution of the Bengali Diaspora -- 3.1 The Natural Environment of Bengal -- 3.2 Ethnicity and the Bengali Identity -- 3.3 Looking Back at the Past -- 3.3.1 Historical Perspectives -- 3.3.2 Perceptions of Bengalis in the Colonial/Imperial Vision -- 3.3.3 Perceptions of the West through Bengali Vision -- 3.4 The Bengali Diaspora -- 3.4.1 The Postcolonial Period -- 3.4.2 Bengalis on the Move -- 3.5 The Situation in the UK and USA: Immigration Norms and Policies -- 3.6 Conclusions -- Chapter 4: Landscape and the Bengali Built Environment: The Physical Landscape -- 4.1 Population and Urbanisation -- 4.2 Selected Case Studies -- 4.2.1 Case Studies within India -- 4.2.2 Case Studies within the UK and USA -- 4.3 The Built Environment of Bengali Respondents in the Selected Cities.

Bengalis have been great travellers for centuries and are famous for recreating their way of life wherever they go. This book critically analyses skilled Bengali migration within and beyond India and looks at landscapes created by the Bengali diaspora beyond the terrain of their homeland, ranging from those of nostalgia and imagination (Durga Puja/Saraswati Puja) to those of subjugation and loss of identity.This book demonstrates the relationship between landscape and diaspora in terms of perception, imagination, space and place, ethnicity, race, caste, and class. With case studies from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dehra Dun, Oxford, Aberdeen, New York, and the Bay Area (USA), it brings together themes like evolution of the Bengali diaspora, transnationalism and identity, stratification and segregation, urban social space, adaptation and assimilation, and questions of discrimination from other communities.Drawing on ethnographic accounts of over 300 skilled Bengalis, the book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of diaspora studies, urban studies, ethnic studies, migration studies, geography, sociology, history, and political studies