World Fest - Roots Rediscovered: Stories from India's Diaspora

Grad Student Rajashik Tarfder's worldview was shaped by his Bengali grandmother's stories – of colonial displacement, partition sorrow, and of Indians scattered across the globe. Further exploration led him to discover "slavery of a different name" – over a million peasants shipped around the world as indentured laborers replacing the African slaves who had been emancipated. Today, over a million South Africans come from Indian ancestry, their tragedy compounded by feelings of alienation from the modern Indian population while they are, at the same time, seen as aliens in these countries. Join us to hear stories from Rajashik's journey to South Africa with the Caltech Y - Hastrup Award - where he listened to the stories of the Indian diaspora and their complex ties to their ancestral and adopted homelands.

Lunch Provided | RSVP Requested