The protean forms of Yankee Hindutva

Does Taglit-Birthright Israel Foster Long-Distance Nationalism?

“…16 Anderson's long-distance nationalism hypothesis has been widely employed to explain diaspora attitudes and political activity. Case studies have examined the roles of diaspora Croatians and Serbs in the independence movements that precipitated the breakup of Yugoslavia, 17 of diaspora Indians in the funding of Hindu nationalist organizations, 18 and of diaspora Tamils in the financing of the Tamil Tiger insurgency. 19 However, in recent years, the long distance nationalism thesis has been challenged by scholars who find that the engagement of diasporas with their homelands can develop along diverse political pathways.…”

Creating and inhabiting virtual places: Indian immigrants in cyberspace

“…Yet in the end, the Indo-American bridgespace is appropriated in such a way that it facilitates cultural preservation while in other instances permitting a strategic blending of change and persistence. For those Indian respondents who are seeking out what Mathew and Prashad (2000) call 'packaged information on South Asia' and 'primed paragraphs on ''Eternal Hindu values'' ', the appropriation of technology for ethnic preservation purposes is manifestly evident. For other respondents, more ambivalently positioned, the Internet becomes a portal of access to both Indian content and other (American or global) content, and therefore supports hybridised identities.…”

Working for India or against Islam? Islamophobia in Indian American Lobbies

“…The generation gap, aggravated by the fact that only 22.7% of Indian Americans were born in the U.S., all in the younger age group of course, provides a potent explanation about the pervading defiance against Islam encountered in USINPAC and other leading organizations. This observation suggests that the former generation of Indian American activists is more prone to long-distance nationalism, and generally to what has been termed 'Yankee hindtuva' than the younger lobbyists (Mathew & Prashad 2000). But it can be argued that the American political system provided a safe haven for this long-distance religious nationalism…”