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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Tamil diaspora'
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Kumar, Priya. "Diaspora 2.0 : mapping Sikh, Tamil and Palestinian online identity politics." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2016. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23813/.
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Hornabrook, Jasmine. "'Becoming one again' : music and transnationalism in London's Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora." Thesis, Goldsmiths College (University of London), 2016. http://research.gold.ac.uk/18533/.
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The Carnatic and Tamil music scene in London is the result of the migration and diasporic formation of a displaced Sri Lankan Tamil demographic. From the 'scattering' of displaced people and culture to various localities around the world, diasporic 'regatherings' – understood as 'becoming one again' - are facilitated by musical learning, performance and transnational interactions. Through the process of 'becoming one again' and the on-going connections between South Asia and the diaspora, a musical scene has emerged, which relies on various transnational networks and constructions of collective identity. The thesis examines the transnational networks and identities in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, focusing on musicians, music students and audiences based in London, and their connections with South Asia and other parts of the world. Drawing on detailed ethnographic research in the UK, South India and Sri Lanka, it considers how music enables deep connections to be formed within a diasporic group, both in terms of physical networks and within the imaginations of musicians. The relevance of the terms 'diaspora' and 'transnationalism' are examined in relation to the musical networks and processes in the Carnatic music scene in chapter one, before considering the historical trajectory of cultural identity, migration and the emergence of the music scene in London in chapter two. Chapter three identifies the scope of transnational networks at three different levels – the macro-level transnational networks, mid-level local manifestations of these networks and finally the micro-level interactions between individuals and within a performance. These levels ground broader globalising processes in localised ethnography. Across the multiple levels explored in the third chapter it is clear that the connections with Chennai in South India create a cultural centre and alternative homeland for displaced Sri Lankan Tamil musicians. Chapter four positions Chennai as the centre of this musical network from where aesthetics are negotiated and projected outwards into diasporic localities. Chapter five considers the London locality and the performance contexts, conventions and audiences within the city. In London, there are two clear spheres of local engagement – the diasporic and multicultural mainstream, contrasting in contexts, publics and functions. Chapters six and seven reflect on connectivity through historically situated narratives and transnational synchrony. These issues are ethnographically explored through the arangetram music graduation ceremony and through embodied experiences of transnational musical learning and performance. It is argued that transnational connectivity - with the cultural centre, other diasporic sites and the transnational carnatic music world - is maintained through ritualised practices of musical learning and performance. The thesis highlights the ways in which connectivity is maintained through the construction of an essentialised, yet empowered, transnational cultural identity in which South Indian classical music is a key component. It aims to contribute to the study of diasporas and musical transnationalism through shifting the focus from the 'homeland' to other cultural centres, and by emphasising the importance of ritualised musical practice in attaining diasporic connectivity.
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Radtke, Katrin. "Mobilisierung der Diaspora : die moralische Ökonomie der Bürgerkriege in Sri Lanka und Eritrea /." Frankfurt am Main : Campus Verlag GmbH, 2009. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=3228916&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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Lai, JinXing. "The Hindu Fire Walking Festival in Singapore: Ritual and Music of the Tamil Diaspora." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1397250646.
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Spencer, Patricia Annamaria. "Malaya's Indian Tamil Labor Diaspora: Colonial Subversion of Their Quest for Agency and Modernity." DigitalCommons@USU, 2013. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1463.
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The Indian labor diaspora that settled in Malaya, now known as Malaysia, was a diaspora that was used to further colonial ambitions. Large scale agricultural projects required a workforce that Malaya did not have. South Indian peasants from the untouchable Madrasi caste were taken to Malaya, initially, as indentured servants. When indenture was abolished, they were engaged as contract workers. Inferiority and backwardness were common colonial perceptions that were held against them. These laborers were exploited by the British as they had no bargaining power or the ability to demand more than a meager wage.
World War II redefined the way these laborers started to view the British. Having suffered defeat in the hands of the Japanese, the colonial power retreated meekly. This was a significant development as it removed the veil of British dominance in the eyes of a formerly docile people. When the British returned to Malaya after the war, it was a more defiant Indian labor community who greeted them. These wanted more concessions. They wanted citizenship, better wages and living conditions. They wanted a future that did not retain them on the rubber estates but one where they could finally shed their subaltern roots and achieve upward mobility.
This new defiance was met with antagonism by the colonial power whose main concern was to get the lucrative but stalled rubber industry up and running again. The destitution and impoverishment suffered by the Indians during the war was ignored as they were rounded up like cattle to be put to work again on the estates.
When their demands were not met, Indian laborers joined forces with the heavily Communist influenced Chinese migrant community to go on strikes, the strongest weapon they had at their disposal. The creation of the All Malayan Rubber Workers' Council, a predominantly Indian trade union, is essential in showing how Indian labor became a threat to the British that they eventually had to retaliate with draconian military suppression through the imposition of the Emergency in 1948.
Archival material from the Malaysian National Archives, The National Archives of the United Kingdom, the Labor History and Archive Study Center at the People's History Museum in the United Kingdom, and the Hull History Center in the United Kingdom, were analyzed to present an alternate narrative as opposed to the colonial narrative, in recognizing and attributing a modern spirit and agency amongst this formerly docile labor diaspora. This work presents the events of 1945-1948 as a time when Indians rejected the colonial perception of them as an inferior people, and challenged the colonial power. However, their efforts were subverted by the British and by doing so, the British ensured the maintenance of a labor diaspora that would continue to be exploited by those who ruled over them.
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Zunzer, Wolfram. "Diaspora Communities and Civil Conflict Transformation." Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4186.
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YesThis working paper deals with the nexus of diaspora communities living in European host countries, specifically in Germany, and the transformation of protracted violent conflicts in a number of home countries, including Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Somalia and Afghanistan. Firstly, the political and social role and importance of diaspora communities vis-à-vis their home and host countries is discussed, given the fact that the majority of immigrants to Germany, as well as to many other European countries, over the last ten years have come from countries with protracted civil wars and have thus had to apply for refugee or asylum status. One guiding question, then, is to what extent these groups can contribute politically and economically to supporting conflict transformation in their countries of origin. Secondly, the role and potentials of diaspora communities originating from countries with protracted violent conflicts for fostering conflict transformation activities are outlined. Thirdly, the current conflict situation in Sri Lanka is analyzed and a detailed overview of the structures and key organizations of the Tamil and Sinhalese diaspora worldwide is given. The structural potentials and levels for constructive intervention for working on conflict in Sri Lanka through the diasporas are then described. Fourthly, the socio-political roles of diaspora communities originating from Cyprus, Palestine, Somalia and Afghanistan for peacebuilding and rehabilitation in their home countries are discussed. The article finishes by drawing two conclusions. Firstly, it recommends the further development of domestic migration policies in Europe in light of current global challenges. Secondly, it points out that changes in foreign and development policies are crucial to make better use of the immense potential of diaspora communities for conflict transformation initiatives and development activities in their home countries. How this can best be achieved in practice should be clarified further through intensified action research and the launch of more pilot projects.
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Pragasam, Nirad. "Tigers on the mind : an interrogation of conflict diasporas and long distance nationalism : a study of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in London." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/460/.
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In contrast to orthodox presentations of 'long distance nationalism' as an abstract politics without accountability or responsibility by theorists like Benedict Anderson, I argue that it is essential in the case of conflict diasporas to conceptualize the nature of diaspora support for homeland insurgencies as a contingent product of lived experience, perception, culture and history. Based on qualitative, ethnographic fieldwork, including an analysis of in-depth personal narratives from within the London Tamil diaspora, I attempt to describe the (trans) formative effects of violence, loss and displacement. I contend that the resulting viewpoints and aspirations carry the imprint of the de-territorialised ‘imagining’ of relationships, belonging and moral community which define the content of long distance nationalism. Using inter-disciplinary ideas from a range of theorists including Arjun Appadurai, I focus on a ‘process of becoming’ by which a specific transnational consciousness is engendered. The idea that conflict diaspora identity is defined by a complex interplay between a contextual and subjective understanding of political discourse; as well as the intellectual, moral, psychological and existential experience of being in diaspora is developed and held up against the current literature. Rather than seeing such displaced communities through the prism of a society in conflict in a distant homeland, I argue that we should consider how conflict has produced a particular epistemology of diasporic space and identity. I conclude by arguing that diaspora identity has its roots not only in a distant homeland but also in the hearts, minds and imagination of diaspora Tamils, where the complex obligations of being human in a time of conflict, override that of being a citizen, physically emplaced within a particular territory. I contend that such a perspective is both essential and yet often overlooked when seeking to interrogate the content of long distance nationalism in the dominant literature.
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Radtke, Katrin. "Mobilisierung der Diaspora die moralische Ökonomie der Bürgerkriege in Sri Lanka und Eritrea." Frankfurt, M. New York, NY Campus-Verl, 2007. http://d-nb.info/992153611/04.
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Dequirez, Gaëlle. "Nationalisme à longue distance et mobilisations politiques en diaspora : le mouvement séparatiste tamoul sri lankais en France (1980-2009)." Thesis, Lille 2, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011LIL20009.
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Cette thèse porte sur le mouvement séparatiste tamoul sri lankais en France, depuis son émergence au début des années 1980 jusqu'à 2009. L'enjeu est de comprendre les ressorts du nationalisme à distance tel qu'il est diffusé par les associations tamoules de la région parisienne qui ont soutenu les Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Il est aussi dequestionner le concept de nationalisme à longue distance. A partir d'une enquête reposant principalement sur des entretiens et de l'observation directe, ce travail propose notamment une analyse du fonctionnement interne du mouvement et de ses relations externes. C'est d'abord le projet identitaire et politique du nationalisme eelamiste qui est défini, ainsi que la façon dont les leaders pro LTTE ont diffusé cette idéologie nationaliste dans l'ensemble de la diaspora tamoule. Le succès des discours séparatistes ne peut cependant se comprendre sans une analyse des dispositifs qui permettent en France d'ancrer la nation tamoule dans la vie quotidienne des migrants. Cette thèse montre ainsi que le mouvement nationaliste tamoul fonctionne comme une institution dans laquelle les comportements de dévouement sont valorisés, mais aussi dans laquelle la possibilité d'investissements différenciés est aménagée. Enfin, cette étude montre comment le mouvement eelamiste en France a été amené à se reconfigurer sous l'effet des relations externes établies à différentes échelles d'actionThis dissertation deals with the Sri Lankan Tamil separatist movement in France, from its beginning in the 1980's to 2009. The aim is to understand the way Tamil associations in the Paris region have supported the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and have spread the Tamil long-distance nationalism. Based mainly on interviews and direct observation, this studyoffers an interactionnist analysis of the internal functioning of the movement and of its external relations. First the identity and political project of Eelam nationalism is exposed, as well as the way it has expanded in the Tamil diaspora. Nevertheless the succes of nationalist discourses cannot be understood without examining the system that anchors the Tamil nation in the migrants' daily lives. This dissertation shows that the Tamil nationalist movement works like an institution. Devotion behaviours are encouraged but differentiated engagements are also made possible. Finally this work shows how the Eelam movement in France has evolved according to the effects of external relations at multiple locations
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Vidanage, Harinda Ranura. "Exploring the impact of online politics on political agents and political strategies in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/5949.
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The thesis explores the role and impact of the internet on Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora political activism, focusing on both the experiences of political activists and on an analysis of web content related to diaspora activism. The central argument of the thesis is based around the relationship between political agents and cyberspace. The thesis argues that the political strategies and tactics adopted in the Tamil diasporan political sphere have changed with an increased dependence on the internet changing with it the politics and lives of individual activists. Cyberspace is presented as a site of power struggle with power as both an objective and source in micro-political struggles. The thesis also highlights the double sense of space attributed to cyberspace, both as a space facilitating political activism and as a qualitatively new space for politics. It traces the manifestation of violence in cyberspace based on its extensive reach and the collateral damage it can cause in political conflicts. Also the thesis argues that these intense web engagements for domination and resistance within the diaspora communities cause the emergence of new political priorities in Tamil diaspora politics. These do not parallel political developments in the conflict back in Sri Lanka. The thesis is based on research conducted from 2005 to 2008 during heightened rivalries between supporters of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and dissident Tamil diaspora political activists which involved the extensive use of cyberspace for political purposes. The empirical research consisted of an integrated framework of online and offline research. The offline research was based on eight months of fieldwork in London including interviews with Tamil diaspora political activists across the spectrum from pro-LTTE to anti-LTTE dissidents. The online research was based on the technique of Web Sphere Analysis, which enables a framing of web content into a coherent unit of analysis.
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Govender, Shanali Candice. "On the fringes of a diaspora : an appraisal of the literature on language diaspora and globalization in relation to a family of Tamil-speaking, Sri Lankan migrants to South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3609.
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While the language attitudes and reported behaviours of migrants have long been of interest to linguists, educationalists and sociologists, increased levels of global mobility and technological activity are changing the nature of migration. This mini-thesis considers competing paradigms of mobility including diaspora, transnationalism and super-diversity and emerges at the recognition that the shape of migration has changed considerably over the last 20 years, especially in the South African context. This new migration, characterised in this paper as a shift from diaspora to transnationalism, might have significant consequences for the way migrants conceptualise host countries and countries of origin. This study sought to investigate the language attitudes and behaviours of a family of recent Sri Lankan migrants to South Africa. The aim of the study was to describe their attitudes and reported language behaviours, and having done so, to consider whether, in theory, any of these language attitudes or behaviours might be related to longer-term language attitudes and behaviours such shift, maintenance or loss.
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Goreau-Ponceaud, Anthony. "La diaspora tamoule : trajectoires spatio-temporelles et inscriptions territoriales en Île-de-France." Phd thesis, Université Michel de Montaigne - Bordeaux III, 2008. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00365365.
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La question de la diaspora tamoule est intimement liée à celle de l'existence d'une communauté à l'étranger prise en étau par une double ambivalence : entre ancrage et mobilité et entre ouverture et fermeture. La recherche se propose d'aborder cette question en revenant sur les conditions d'émergence d'une identité diasporique qui fait fi des clivages de toute sorte. Sur la base d'une série d'entretiens et de questionnaires prenant corps dans une ethnologie multisite, il s'agit plus largement de comprendre ce que signifie être tamoul en France et comment se structure cette expérience. La présentation des différentes trajectoires spatio-temporelles, d'une part, permet de révéler l'hétérogénéité de la catégorie diaspora tamoule, composée de trois segments dont les conditions d'émergence sont liées à des cadres migratoires divergents, d'autre part met en évidence l'émergence de Paris et plus généralement de l'Île-de-France comme pôle important de son fonctionnement.
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Menon, Vidyakartik Vijayadas. "Reasons Why Dravidian Boys in Australia Do or Do Not Choose to Learn Bharatanatyam." Thesis, Griffith University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367366.
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This thesis explores the attitudes of Dravidian boys in Australia towards learning and performing bharatanatyam—a classical dance form that traces its origins to Tamil Nadu in South India. The study argues that at present, research into immigrant South Asian men’s attitudes towards performing identity through classical art forms such as bharatanatyam is highly disjointed and underdeveloped. This thesis identifies significant gaps in existing research, including the role of performing arts education in the negotiation of cultural and gender identity among immigrant men; the experiences of the South Asian diaspora in Australia; and in particular, younger members of the community; and the perceived contribution of classical bharatanatyam in the cultural preservation of diasporic South Asians. This study, therefore, investigates how attitudes towards gender and culture have shaped the way in which boys from immigrant Dravidian backgrounds have negotiated and renegotiated their gender and cultural identities in bharatanatyam spaces in Australia, and in turn, the influence this has had on the choices Dravidian boys make to engage with the art form. The investigation is centred on the following two questions: How do attitudes towards gender influence the decisions of Australian-Dravidian boys to learn or not to learn bharatanatyam? and How do attitudes towards culture influence the decisions of Australian-Dravidian boys to learn or not to learn bharatanatyam?Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Doctor of Education (EdD)
School of Education and Professional Studies
Arts, Education and Law
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Madavan, Delon. "Les minorités tamoules à Colombo, Kuala Lumpur et Singapour : minorités, intégrations socio-spatiales et transnationalités." Thesis, Paris 4, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013PA040072.
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L’étude des Tamouls à Colombo, Kuala Lumpur et Singapour montre l’intérêt d’adopter une perspective comparative et multiscalaire pour saisir dans toute leur complexité les différents facteurs agissant sur l’identification et l’intégration socio-spatiale d’un groupe minoritaire transnational. Ces Tamouls évoluent dans des contextes politiques nationaux très différents. À Sri Lanka, ils se retrouvent au cœur d’un conflit intercommunautaire. À Singapour, ils sont reconnus officiellement comme l’une des composantes de la société multiculturelle alors qu’en Malaise, l’État privilégie les Malais. L’analyse des politiques menées par la puissance coloniale, puis par les trois États indépendants à l’égard des minorités, permet de mieux comprendre leurs impacts sur le sentiment d’identification et d’intégration des Tamouls à la Nation, ainsi que sur leur répartition dans ces villes. À l’échelle locale, l’inscription spatiale de leur identité et les pratiques citadines des Tamouls favorisent une appropriation de leur environnement urbain. Toutefois, cette dernière n’est pas immuable. Les politiques urbaines développées par les États, qui selon les cas préservent ou détruisent les ethnoterritoires, ont des conséquences sur l’empreinte urbaine tamoule et leur pratique de la ville. Cette réalité n’est pas sans conséquences sur la façon dont les Tamouls perçoivent leur appartenance à la Nation. Enfin, les liens transnationaux (culturels, politiques, économiques) entre Tamouls et les dynamiques migratoires internationales contemporaines des Tamouls dans ces trois pays ont également des conséquences sur l’identification et l’intégration de ceux de Colombo, Kuala Lumpur et SingapourThe study of Tamils in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore shows the importance of adopting a multi-scale and comparative perspective in order to fully grasp an understanding of the complexity of the various factors affecting the identification and socio-spatial integration of a transnational minority group. These Tamils evolve in very different national political contexts. In Sri Lanka, they are at the heart of inter-communal conflicts. In Singapore, they are officially recognized as a component of a multicultural society, whilst in Malaysia the government officially favors Malays. The analysis of the policies enforced by the colonial power, followed by the three independent states toward minorities provides a better understanding of their impacts on the sense of identity and integration of Tamils in the Nation, as well as their geographical distribution in these cities. At the local level, the spatial inscription of tamil identity and their urban practices favor an appropriation of their urban environment. However, it is not immutable. Urban policies developed by states, which according to the cases preserve or destroy ethnoterritories, have an impact on the Tamil urban footprint and their practical of the city. This reality is not without consequence on how Tamils perceive their attachement to the nation. Finally, transnational ties (cultural, political, economical) between Tamils and contemporary dynamics of international migration of Tamils in these three countries also have consequences on the identification and integration of those from Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore
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Trouillet, Pierre-Yves. "Une géographie sociale et culturelle de l'hindouisme tamoul - Le culte de Murugan en Inde du Sud et dans la diaspora." Phd thesis, Université Michel de Montaigne - Bordeaux III, 2010. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00564937.
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Murugan est un dieu du panthéon hindou dont la figure religieuse est présente dans le sud de l'Inde depuis plus de deux millénaires. Son culte est associé aux montagnes et à l'identité culturelle du Tamil Nadu (le " pays tamoul "), un État fédéré de l'Union indienne dont les orients sont balisés par les six grands centres de pèlerinage dédiés à cette divinité. Ce type d'interaction symbolique et géographique entre les temples de Murugan, le territoire et les circulations religieuses date au moins de l'époque médiévale, et se retrouve aussi désormais tant à l'échelle de la localité qu'à celle de la diaspora. L'étude montre plus largement que le culte de Murugan suscite des actions humaines imprimées dans l'espace géographique - telles que l'édification d'un temple, un pèlerinage, ou l'instrumentalisation politique d'un lieu saint - et qu'il est donc doté d'une véritable spatialité. L'expression de cette spatialité dépend de la position de Murugan dans le panthéon et de ce qu'il représente pour la société tamoule. Ainsi, la présence d'un temple de Murugan sur la colline du village de Mailam (au Tamil Nadu) repose autant sur l'association du dieu avec les sommets, que sur la géographie socio-religieuse locale, où les dieux, les castes et leurs espaces sont à la fois classés et classants. À l'échelon du pays tamoul, le Mouvement Dravidien a mobilisé le culte de Murugan pour alimenter son idéologie régionaliste au XXe siècle, au nom de la territorialisation historique du culte dans cette région. À l'Ile Maurice, la popularité des processions pour Murugan et la surreprésentation de ses temples font écho à l'affirmation identitaire des Tamouls face à la majorité hindoue originaire du nord de l'Inde. Elles illustrent encore combien les lieux et les circulations liés à ce culte sont signifiants au point de produire des actes territoriaux. La thèse démontre au final l'intérêt des méthodes de la géographie sociale et culturelle pour l'étude géographique du fait religieux.
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Frantzen, Silje. "Strîdharma i en norsk kontekst : en studie av Sri Lanka-tamilske hindukvinners religionsutøvelse i norsk diaspora /." Oslo : Institutt for orientalske språk og kulturstudier, Universitetet i Oslo, 2007. http://www.duo.uio.no/publ/IKOS/2007/65909/masteroppgave.pdf.
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Ananda, Kitana Siv. "Politics After a Ceasefire: Suffering, Protest, and Belonging in Sri Lanka's Tamil Diaspora." Thesis, 2016. https://doi.org/10.7916/D89886ZN.
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This dissertation is a multi-sited ethnographic study of the cultural formations of moral and political community among Tamils displaced and dispersed by three decades of war and political violence in Sri Lanka. Drawing on twenty months of field research among Tamils living in Toronto, Canada and Tamil Nadu, India, I inquire into the histories, discourses, and practices of diasporic activism at the end of war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Tamils abroad were mobilized to protest the war, culminating in months of spectacular mass demonstrations in metropolitan cities around the world. Participant-observation among activists and their families in diaspora neighborhoods and refugee camps, and their public events and actions, as well as semi-structured interviews, media analysis and archival work, reveal how “diaspora” has become a capacious site of political becoming for the identification and mobilization of Tamils within, across, and beyond-nation states and their borders.
Part One of this study considers how migration and militancy have historically transformed Tamil society, giving rise to a diasporic politics with competing ethical obligations for Tamils living outside Sri Lanka. Chapters One and Two describe and analyze how distinct trajectories of migration and settlement led to diverse forms of social and political action among diaspora Tamils during Sri Lanka’s 2002 ceasefire and peace process. Chapter Three turns to the history and historiography of Sri Lanka to contrast narratives about the emergence of Tamil politics, nationalism and militancy with diaspora narratives developed through life history interviews with activists. Taken together, these chapters provide a layered social and historical context for the ethnography of Tamil diaspora life and activism.
Part Two of the dissertation ethnographically explores how and why Tamils in Canada and India protested the recent war, soliciting their states, national and transnational publics, and each other to “take immediate action” on behalf of suffering civilians. Chapter Four examines diaspora community formation and activism in Toronto, a city with the largest population of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Asia, in the wake of Canada’s ban on the LTTE. Chapter Five turns to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India, to discuss how camp life shaped refugee politics and activism, while Chapter Six follows the narratives of two migrants waiting and preparing to migrate from India to the West. Chapter Seven examines how Tamil activists in Toronto and Tamil Nadu publicly invoked, represented, and performed suffering to mobilize action against the war. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the modes of Tamil migration, asylum-seeking, and diaspora activism that emerged in response to the war’s end and its aftermaths.
In their actions of protest and dissent, I argue that Tamils from Sri Lanka create new modes of belonging and citizenship out of transnational lives forged from wartime migration and resettlement in multicultural and pluralist states. A political subject of “Tamil diaspora” has thus emerged, and continues to shape Sri Lanka’s post-war futures. This ethnography contributes to scholarly debates on violence, subjectivity and agency; the nation-state and citizenship; and the politics of human rights and humanitarianism at the intersections of diaspora, refugee and South Asian studies.
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George, Miriam. "Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora: Contextualizing Pre-migration and Post- migration Traumatic Events and Psychological Distress." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19270.
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The objective of this study was to generate a deeper understanding of the influence of pre- and post-migration traumatic experiences on refugees’ psychological distress, including historical, political and social factors. This dissertation used a multi-method design to examine the impact of trauma on the psychological well-being of refugees. Further, the design included a qualitative component to provide a contextual framework for understanding refugee psychological distress that is not limited to an analysis of a disease model alone but by also making connections to important historical, social and political events. Post-Colonial, Refugee, Trauma and Feminist theories are used as analytic lenses to explain the social structures and events contributing to refugees’ pre- and post-migration traumatic events, and psychological distress. This was an international study that spanned two continents. Sampling included 50 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee participants who lived in Chennai, India and 50 Sri Lankan refugees in Toronto, Canada. Inclusion criteria included a residency period of the last 12 months in either of the sampling sites, and participants 18 years of age or older. Participants from Toronto were recruited through social service agencies and associations, and participants from Chennai were recruited from refugee camps, and the Organization for Elam Refugee Rehabilitation. Tamil versions of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Post-Migration Living Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Symptoms Check List – 90R were utilized to measure participants’ pre- and post-migration traumatic events and psychological distress. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire contained qualitative open-ended questions to triangulate the quantitative data in identifying and exploring the impact of contextual influences. Results showed that post-migration traumatic event scores positively predicted psychological distress, and refugee claimants living in Canada had the highest scores on pre-migration and post-migration scores. The qualitative analysis revealed themes related to civil war and resettlement as significant issues. Implications of these findings support the development of a multi-level approach within social work practice which emphasizes contextual issues, focuses on individuals, and promotes social advocacy. Recommendations for future research point to conducting longitudinal studies to assess the cumulative effects of historical, social and political factors on refugees and identify resiliencies that mobilize their capacity to survive.
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Philipupillai, Gillian Geetha. "The Marking of Tamil Youth as Terrorists and the Making of Canada as a White Settler Society." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42640.
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This thesis examines the production of Tamil youth in the state of Canada as threats, extremists, radicals, terrorists, and as subjects to be engaged in de-politicized humanitarian discourses of reconciliation and peace. By drawing attention to the exclusion of Tamils from rights in legal proceedings, the positioning of youth protesters as harbingers of a multicultural 'crisis,' and the role of education in securing Canada's response to the MV Sun Sea as a 'humanitarian' project, I argue that the targeting Tamils is not only integral to Sri Lanka's ongoing genocide, but is also crucial to the Canadian state's project of white settler colonialism. In examining the law, media and education as sites of racial management in the 'War on Terror' and its globalized counter-terrorism regime I identify the targeting of Tamil diaspora youth as a necessary racial logic for the legitimacy of the Canadian state in an era of official multiculturalism.
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Hoskins, Chad. "Transnational political activity and host state policy : Canada’s Sikh and Tamil diasporas." Thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/16279.
Full textAbstract:
This study examines the political activity of two prominent diaspora groups in
Canada - the Sikhs and the Tamils. The principal research questions that are explored
are: a) why do some diaspora groups engage in sustained and prolonged political
endeavors to influence homeland politics, and b) why has diasporic political activity so
often emerged from Canada? Situated against diaspora formations based exclusively on
religious, economic, or ideological goals, this study finds that "stateless" diasporas are
more likely to become involved in protracted political struggles to shape homeland
events. These findings result from an interconnected set of factors that influence core
identity constructions in diaspora populations. Identity is linked closely with homeland
territory and with homeland conditions, particularly conflict. Identity is also impacted by
conditions in the host country, especially with regard to asylum/immigration policy,
official multiculturalism, intelligence, and the ability to impact host country politics.
This study concludes that identity (re)construction in the diaspora is based on a
combination of primordial (territory, race, language, religion), instrumental (position in
host country, diaspora elite interests), and socially constructed (homeland myths) factors.
The type of political activity that emerges from diaspora populations with a base in
Canada can best be explained by the Transnational Advocacy Network (TAN) model.
Despite some essential differences between ethno-national diaspora networks and
advocacy groups, the model helps to predict when political diasporas will engage in
direct confrontational political action with homeland authorities and when they may turn
to national governments, international agencies, and NGOs. A comparison of Sikh and
Tamil groups helps elicit some of the major variables that dictate certain forms of
transnational political behaviour. Some of these include funding opportunities, military
capacity, position in the host society, and the relative strength of the homeland
government. The conclusion reflects on the relevance of this study and provides a look
forward to some of the important policy implications.Arts, Faculty of
Political Science, Department of
Graduate
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Labelle, Alexie. "De l'indépendance à la reconnaissance du génocide : le (re)cadrage des actions collectives de la diaspora tamoule depuis 2009." Thèse, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/13488.
Full textAbstract:
Alors que la mobilisation de la diaspora tamoule pendant la guerre civile sri lankaise (1983-2009) a été amplement discutée et analysée, peu de chercheurs se sont penchés sur la mobilisation de la diaspora tamoule après 2009. Pourtant, cette mobilisation d’après-guerre présente une rupture importante avec le discours d’indépendance du Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) prédominant pendant la guerre civile sri lankaise, rupture qui s’illustre, entre autres, par l’émergence d’un discours de reconnaissance du génocide. Comment expliquer ce changement de discours?
L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’exposer le recadrage des actions collectives de la diaspora tamoule depuis 2009, pour ensuite expliquer comment et pourquoi nous l’observons. Pour ce faire, nous retraçons le discours de cinq acteurs collectifs en matière d’indépendance et de génocide, tel que rapporté par le site web diasporique, Tamilnet.com. Les acteurs collectifs à l’étude sont les suivants : le Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), le Global Tamil Forum (GTF), le Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) et le National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT).
Notre démarche, qui consiste en une analyse de cadrage, à la fois quantitative et qualitative, nous amène à remettre en question la relation causale entre la fenêtre d’opportunité et le recadrage. En revanche, nous démontrons que le recadrage des actions collectives de la diaspora tamoule depuis 2009 s’explique par l’émergence de nouveaux acteurs collectifs, eux-mêmes porteurs d’un nouveau discours. L’apparition de ces nouveaux acteurs collectifs médiate ainsi la relation entre la fenêtre d’opportunité et le recadrage.While previous studies have focused on Tamil diaspora mobilization during Sri Lanka’s civil war (1983-2009), post-war Tamil mobilization within the diaspora remains largely understudied. However, this post-war mobilization is characterized by the emergence of a new discourse on the recognition of the Tamil genocide and represents a major break with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)’s discourse on Tamil Eelam independence. How can we explain this shift in discourse? This research outlines the reframing of collective actions organized within the Tamil diaspora since 2009 and provides an explanation as to why such reframing is taking place. We focus on five collective actors, namely the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), the Transnational Governement of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) and the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT). We deconstruct their discourse pertaining to Tamil independence and Tamil genocide using Tamilnet.com, an online news portal. Using a quantitative and qualitative frame analysis approach, we challenge the causal relationship between opportunity window and reframing. Conversely, our results show that the reframing of Tamil collective actions in the diaspora since 2009 is due to the emergence of new collective actors, bearers of a new discourse on the recognition of genocide. We then suggest that the emergence of new collective actors mediates the relationship between opportunity window and reframing.