Nearly one million people of Indian origin now live in Australia, but the connections between the two landmasses go back far beyond the last century and a half of migration. Shashi Holla traces the full arc: from the geological kinship of Gondwanaland, through ancient maritime and cultural links, into the colonial period when Indians arrived in Australia as labourers in the sugar trade, and forward into the present-day diaspora whose scale and influence are reshaping both countries' self-understanding.
The book's range is its most distinctive quality. Holla moves between archaeology, trade history, colonial records, and contemporary politics, connecting threads that are usually kept in separate disciplinary compartments. He examines what the Indian presence in Australia has meant for both nations — economically, culturally, and diplomatically — and surfaces historical episodes and figures that have received little attention in either country's mainstream account of itself.
For members of the Indian diaspora in Australia, for students and historians of migration, and for anyone interested in the deep bilateral relationship between Bharat and Australia, this serves as a handbook with enough unexplored territory to generate years of further research.
In the grand tapestry of human history, few movements have been as impactful as the Indian diaspora spreading across the globe over the last 150 years. Today, with over thirty million individuals of Indian origin residing beyond their ancestral land, the phenomenon presents a fascinating study of cultural and historical interweaving, particularly highlighted by the nearly one million diaspora members in Australia. This book offers a panoramic yet nuanced view of the India-Australia dynamics, traversing a wide spectrum of periods and themes-from ancient bonds and historical ties to colonial encounters and contemporary affairs-making this an indispensable handbook for the Indian diaspora in Australia, students, historians and all others interested, and opens up a zillion topics for research. From the geological connections dating back to the Gondwanaland era to the modern-day symbolisms of the Swastika, the narrative weaves together a rich and complex history of diaspora movements, sugar trade, and beyond.The historical depth of the Indian diaspora in Australia, rooted as deeply as the inception of Australia itself in the late 18th century, is brought to the fore with meticulous scholarship. The author, leveraging his extensive experience and scholarly acumen, stitches together disparate fragments of information into a coherent and captivating narrative, underpinned by reliable sources.
