Indian Diaspora and Museums: Selective Assimilation, Sub-ethnic Identities and Indian-American Youths in the USA.

This paper intends to address two interrelated yet complex issues. The first is regarding inter-generational variations in the formation of ethnic identities within the diaspora, and the second is about show-casing diaspora in the confines of a museum. The review of relevant literature reveals that bulk of the existing research on diasporic communities revolves round the first generation immigrants, and more so among the Indian diaspora in the USA. Studies on second and subsequent generations are relatively less due to the commonly perceived notion of 'structural assimilation' of their members with the host community. Further, most of the research on Indian diaspora in the USA is restricted to the Indian communities living in the metropolis or large urban conglomerations. Therefore, there are subtle gaps in diasporic research with regard to inter-generational as well as spatial variations, which this study intends to fill in. This study, therefore, attempts a comparison between ethnic identities of the first and second generations of Indian diaspora in the USA with an added emphasis on the second-generation young men and women of Indian origin in small towns and cities. Further, it suggests some measures to show-case diaspora in the museums, which have been historically playing the role of the preservers of cultural heritage for the posterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]