This talk analyzes images of Indian migrants in Vietnam, suggesting political associations of recent concepts of diasporic populations in diaspora studies. Specifically, this talk compares Vietnamese presentations of the Indians who migrated to Vietnam before and after the time of the Reform (1986) in reference to recent developments of Indian diaspora studies.
The complexity of the images of the Indians in different migrating waves in Vietnam makes it not always relevant to recent perceptions of the Indian diasporic population. Such irrelevance suggests nationalist ideologies that are involved in constructing public perceptions of “diasporic population,” particularly “Indian diaspora.” This talk relies on a multidisciplinary reading of Vietnamese sources, which include literary, administrative, journalistic, and orally transmitted accounts.