Divine Development: Transnational Indian Religious Organizations in the United States and India

Abstract

This article examines how Indian Americans’ religious organizations send not only financial remittances to India, but also social remittances that shape development ideologies. Comparing Indian‐American Hindu and Muslim organizations, I find both groups draw from their socioeconomic experiences in India and use their position as elite immigrants in the United States to identify and empower their respective religious constituencies in India and overturn different social relations (not just religious practices). Hindu Americans draw from their majority status in India to overturn India's lower position in the world system and support poverty alleviation efforts within a neoliberal development framework. Indian‐American Muslims draw from their poor status in India to overturn economic inequities within India by shifting India's development rhetoric from identity to class. Collective religious identities (expressed through organizations) not only affect the intensity of immigrants’ development efforts, but also their content and ideology. These findings urge us to fold transnational religious organizations into contemporary discussions on migration and development.

Autonomous care? Muslim transnational giving networks and perceptions of welfare responsibilities in India

“…On the one hand, scholars emphasize the dramatic changes that these new transnational linkages bring in ways of conceiving development, social assistance responsibilities and modes of governance within given nation-states (Agarwala, 2016; cf. Upadhya and Rutten, 2012).…”

“…Some studies suggest that we may even have entered a period of global philanthropic protectionism, characterized by the fact that some nation-states such as India have started restricting the ability of civil society associations to access transnational philanthropy in order to preserve a certain level of control over NGO activities (Breen, 2010; Breen et al, 2016; Rutzen, 2015). Others show, conversely, that some states maintain their control over welfare provision by actively partnering with nonstate actors, facilitating diaspora philanthropy and making this an integral part of their social service provision strategies (Agarwala, 2016; Grewal, 2017; Naujoks, 2013; Roohi, 2018). Thus, these studies, as this article, all highlight how states still remain important actors in welfare governance and provision.…”

“…While there is considerable literature on the ways in which transnational religious networks influence Muslims' religious identity formation and relation to the nation-state in South Asia (Gilmartin and Lawrence, 2000;Jaffrelot and Louër, 2017;Metcalf, 2014;Mayaram, 2004), few examine these dynamics through the lens of giving and social service provision (Agarwala, 2016;Osella and Osella, 2009). In what follows, I examine these dynamics by focusing on three local Sunni organizations based in Lucknow who all rely on local and transnational funds to help people in need in their surroundings.…”

Local migrant organizations in the periphery: providing healthcare in India

“…Often inspired or motivated by the spirit of 'paying back' the motherland, Indian migrants across their countries of settlement have come together under different social, cultural, regional and professional organizations, and built up sustained ties and enduring practical projects with communities in India (for a review, see Agarwala, 2016;Levitt & Rajaram, 2013). This organized way of engaging in the origin country has brought about remarkable changes in different sectors of the economy, including IT, education, healthcare, international relations, tourism, trade, and more (for a review, see Oda, Tsujita, & IrudayaRajan, 2018).…”

“…The Indian migrant population is thus forming multiple patterns of engagement with India, pursuing activities at both the individual and the collective level (for a review, see Irudaya, 2016). On the individual level, they send remittances to their relatives; on the collective level, migrant activities include forming various types of organizations; supporting social, economic, and political integration in the host societies; arranging funding for various purposes; and raising and implementing development projects in India (for a review, see Agarwala, 2016). Much has been written about the individual level of engagement, that is to say, migrant remittances and its implications for development (Hegde & Sahoo, 2017;Irudaya, 2013;Oda, 2004).…”