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Abstract: International travel and migration are a global development since the 1970s. That was the period when Indian writing in English began to emerge as a literary category. Though the term 'Indian writing in English' denotes mainly the use of English language as the medium of expression, in most of these works what was experienced was an interaction of the central characters between two socio-cultural environments, at times resulting in disillusionment in both 'here' and 'abroad'. Since the 1990s, most writings in English were centred on the Indian diaspora spread across the globe, preferably in the United States and the United Kingdom. The 70s was the time when Canadian Literature also witnessed the emergence of a body of texts written by 'immigrant' writers that is writers originating from the South Asian countries. This article would concentrate on the English writings of the Indian diaspora in Canada and try to locate their body of works - that is to say whether diasporic literature is a part of Indian Literature or whether they are considered to be a part of Canadian Literature and as a result whether the category and the boundaries of Indian writing in English have been re-defined by the Indian diaspora.
Keywords: Diaspora, Indo-Canadian Literature, SACLIT, community, ethnicity.
Introduction
"So what is it like to be a woman, a South Asian, and a feminist in North America? What is it like to be a Canadian writer who was born and educated in India?" (Parameswaran 351)
This question was once raised by Dr. Uma Parameswaran, one of the pioneer writers of Indian origin in Canada. Most writers hailing originally from India and settled in some First World country choose English as their medium of expression. Are diasporic writings considered to be a part of 'Indian Writing in English'? Indian diaspora will quite naturally opt to write in the English language, but do their works fall under the category of 'Indian' literature? The question is not easy to answer. Even if the Indian diaspora ceases to be a part of India socially or politically, emotionally it often remains attached to the original homeland. Another question that arises is that, if the works of the Indian diaspora are not part of Indian literature, under which category...