Across Time and Borders: Historical, Contemporary, and Emerging Dimensions of the Indian Diaspora

Globalization has significantly transformed migration patterns, cultural identities, and social relationships across the world. The Indian diaspora, shaped by transnational movement and global economic forces, reflects the complex effects of globalization on identity and belonging. This paper examines the impact of globalization on the Indian diaspora through a critical reading of Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Jasmine. The novel portrays migration as a transformative process that leads to identity reconstruction, cultural hybridity, and psychological displacement. By analyzing themes such as migration, identity reinvention, and gendered experience, this paper argues that globalization simultaneously enables mobility and creates identity instability within the Indian diasporic experience.