Comments on: Q&A with Minal Hajratwala, author of “Leaving India”

By: Mohan

Mohan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:54:25 +0000

I came across Q&A with Minal after reading/reviewing the book. Thanks for insightful Q&A.

By: Minal Hajratwala

Minal Hajratwala — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:44:03 +0000

Thanks everyone and thanks so much, Sandhya, for the thoughtful interview!

Ennikai: 1) See footnote #4 in the table: “Emigration within South Asia is not included in these figures. Re-migration and other issues make it difficult to estimate true numbers for these countries. Indian emigrants to Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the Andaman Islands were therefore excluded from the table and totals above.” I suppose it is rather arbitrary to list Singapore and not Malaysia, but the figures for Malaysia from the various sources over time were, as I recall, wildly inconsistent; so, that’s why the estimates of the size of the diaspora have to really be taken as estimates, give or take a couple million these days, I suppose. 2) The 2001 numbers come from a Government of India report, and that figure is most likely taken directly from the UAE’s official numbers. My research didn’t lead me to UAE, but perhaps there is underreporting for some reason. In the endnotes of the book itself you’ll find more detailed explanations of the statistics, sources, etc.

best, Minal http://www.minalhajratwala.com

By: Ennikkai

Ennikkai — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:23:14 +0000

Scanning through her statistics on diaspora Indians, I noticed that she does not list Malaysia with it’s approximately 2 million Indians. Also the numbers for UAE for 2001 show it to be 95,000, which looks like a gross underestimate. Any explanations?

By: V.V. Ganeshananthan

V.V. Ganeshananthan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:44:43 +0000

The book and Minal are both great. Minal is also a terrific reader–if you have the chance to hear her read or talk about the book live, GO! She has a fantastic voice.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:34:51 +0000

Wow, I cannot imagine being on a writing project for SEVEN YEARS. But then again one of my supervisors has been writing his book for THIRTY YEARS. And as a current researcher myself, I’m so happy she’s willing to freely offer the numerical data she must have collected and through sweat, blood, and tears on her Web site.

By: Nilanjana

Nilanjana — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:57:50 +0000

Sandhya, I love this line:

I donâ€™t think there is one word for what we are becoming.

I also find the organization of the book into the three sections interesting-- interesting enough to make me order the book tonight! (Thanks!)

By: Annie Paul

Annie Paul — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:38:32 +0000

i’m going to get this book, sounds fascinating. a very valuable contribution, thanks. i’ve been living in the Caribbean for 21 yrs tho’ born and brought up in India…i particularly appreciate the list of books you read while writing to help you in the process of producing your book.

By: sandhya

sandhya — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:29:57 +0000

Thanks for the heads up, Neale! The interview is not available online but this video is.

By: Neale

Neale — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:35:49 +0000

…on a related topic. Jhumpa Lahiri has a riveting interview of Mavis Gallant (Canadian who fled to Paris)in a very recent issue of Granta. Even as an interviewer, its the best understanding of JL’s feelings on migration amd fitting in.