Main aspects of Hindi immigrant literature

Abstract

The genre of immigrant literature or diasporic literature came into spotlight as a subtheme of post-colonial literature. It is generally considered as the literature of immigrants. Indian immigrant literature is notable in universal immigrant literature. Indian immigrant literature written in Hindi has become significant in addressing the majority of Indians, intranationally and inter-nationally as well. The purpose of this study is to identify the main aspects of immigrant literature written in Hindi, as an emerging genre of literature in this globalized world and then to understand the life of Indian diaspora. Information was collected through secondary sources from internet. Hindi immigrant literature comes in many forms like poems, prose and fiction; prose and fiction have become the most suitable forms in detailed depiction of immigrant experience and diaspora. Being the genre of expressing mentalities of people living abroad, away from their homelands, immigrant literature is enriched with their experiences and struggles. Orientalism, cultural shock and reverse cultural shock, their economic, social and cultural struggles, discrimination, loss of identity, loneliness and depression, conflicts of Indianness and westernized aspects, generational gap of first and second generation immigrants are some major themes found in Hindi immigrant literature. Hybridity is another distinct aspect of this genre. When compared with male writers, female writers are more famous in Hindi immigrant literature, generally with a sense of feminist perspective about immigrant experience. This fact can be justified given that they are the mostly affected group of victims of uprooting and adjusting to new environments. In conclusion, Hindi immigrant literature shares many common aspects with universal immigrant/ migrant/ diasporic literature, addressing the Hindi speaking natives and Indian diaspora. Additionally, studying about emerging trends of Hindi literature is beneficial for contemporary Hindi studies.