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loud and clear.
I had to ask Raina, the back-
grounders or that crucial ‘why’ he de-
cided to go ahead and show us this real-
ity. Its best to quote Raina on the very
making of this film — “Taking off from
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s spec-
tacular address to Indian — American
community at Madison Square Garden
in 2014, ‘DiasPura’, is an observational
study of the subculture of a wide cross
section of the Indian — immigrant
community in the USA. It explores the
process of identity formation of Indian
settlers in America while focusing on
the critical relationship of their politics
to the reality of regressive, majoritar-
ian and identity based politics of Hindu
Rightist movement back home. This
politics manifests in the form of the de-
sire of many Indian-American commu-
nities to build fortresses of ‘little Indias’
in many parts of USA, where they can
express their relationship with Mother
country through reimagining of a
pristine Hindu cultural heritage and an
in 1913 at California was in response the very essence in that uncomplicated
In the recent years to the British colonialism of India, in sensitive way. None of the aggressive-
ness, yet the relays are all out there for
the present times, the political focus
there have been more of some of the expatriate Indians us to grasp.
In fact, even before I viewed Raina’s
has shifted from ‘Pan Indian-ism’ to
than indications that more regional, parochial and divisive film, I had been reading his long and
a large number of interests in their native lands. This is short essays on another very vital
seen as support for separatist move-
subject — the Kashmir situation. I could
Indians settled out ments of Khalistan among some Sikhs connect to him because his views vis-
there, are turning or for an exclusive Hindu majoritarian a-vis the Kashmir crisis came across as
India among many Hindus. As we see in not just absolutely realistic but honest
Right-Wing. Too these ‘Little India’s’, the overseas Sikhs, and forthright …An alumnus of FTII,
blatant about their and Hindus in American diaspora seem Pune, Raina had earlier won the Golden
Conch award at Mumbai International
to be supporting their own religious,
biases and approach political organisations perhaps more Film Festival (2002) for his film — Tell
vigorously than the respective citizens Them, The Tree They Had Planted Has
in the ‘motherland’. How has this phe- Now Grown.
intense involvement, even interference nomenon come about? This ‘diasporic Touching and emotional, this film
in its political life.” subculture’ of India’s expatriates and is based on his own journey back to
In fact, Raina also details the signifi- the nature of their political involve- the Kashmir Valley after several long
cant backgrounders — “Though there is ment with India may be a consequence years. And though he does not reside
nothing surprising about the inter- of the racial discrimination they suffer in the Kashmir Valley but keeps that
est that South Asian Americans have in USA or from a need to project Indian connect — after all, he is the founder of
always shown in politics back home, soft power to garner more respectabil- www.kashmiroralhistory.org archive
at the same time it raises many issues ity in USA?” and co-curator and organizer of the
and questions about the nature and ♦ ♦ ♦ touring film festival — Kashmir Before
quality of their engagement with the It’s a significant film in the politically Our Eyes.
mother country. If at first, the found- turbulent dark times we happen to be
ing of GHADAR Revolutionary Party living in. And Ajay Raina has captured letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 30 april 2019 61 www.Tehelka.com