Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in South Asia

This book addresses the concept of migration with the aim of building theory as well as drawing from existing theories to understand South Asian realities. It highlights the less-explored cultural dimensions of migration – music, literature, cinema and art – thereby extending migration research beyond the realms of security discourse, both military and non-military. The author explores how ideas migrate along with people, and the extent to which the process of transformation and adaptation of these ideas is necessitated by social interactions in the adopted society. Since South Asia is culturally diverse, most migrants need to adapt themselves to unfamiliar social milieus, and this juxtaposition finds expression in rich and diverse cultural forms.

Revised and updated, this second edition includes a new chapter that explores three contemporary developments: the controversy over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, in India; the unending ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur; and the recent controversy over the continued presence of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The book will be indispensable to researchers and scholars of migration studies, South Asia studies, social anthropology and international relations.