ChangingEnglish Vol.15, No. 4,December 2008, 457–466 Straddling the Cultural Divide: Second-Generation South Asian Identity and The Namesake Farha Shariff* University of Alberta, Canada Canada is in the process of another major shift to its ever-changing multicultural image. According to the 2006 Statistics Canada census data, one-in-five people in Canada is foreign-born, an increase of 13.9% between 2001 and 2006 (Statistics Canada2007).Suchanimmigrationsurgeisunprecedentedinaquarterofacentury. This increase is four times higher than that of the Canadian-born population. This surgealsocomesatatimewhenthecountrygrappleswithactsofovertracismthatfly in the face of Canada’s reputation for tolerance (Grant 2007).1 This shift is likely to haveprofoundconsequencesforCanada’seducational,culturalandeconomicfuture. Forthefirsttime,theproportionoftheforeign-bornpopulationborninAsiaandthe MiddleEastsurpassestheproportionborninEurope.Asoflastyear,morethanhalf of immigrants continued to come from Asia and the Middle East, but a growing number also came from the Americas and Africa. If the trends continue, by 2030 Canada’spopulationgrowthwillstemsolelyfromimmigration(Grant2007). BecauseoftherecentinfluxofimmigrationinCanada,itiscrucialthateducators pay closer attention to questions of cultural identity among second-generation Canadianstudents.2Especiallywithinthisever-changingdemographicofCanadian culture, South Asians have become a visible and integral part of Canada.3 I use the term ‘South Asian’ realising that its construction as an identity, rather than geographicaldescription,isinmanywaysrelevantonlytotheCanadiancontext.For example, in Canada one would call someone from India, a South Asian, but in Britain that person would be called Black or Asian, in Trinidad, Indian, and in the United States, Asian. The process of migration has important implications for a redefinition of what it means to be Canadian as well as South Asian. The changing racial and ethnic composition within Canada’s borders has led to much angst and controversy over the definition of ‘Canadian’. In a discussion of Canadian and South Asian discourses of cultural protectionism, Amita Handa (2003, 5) suggests, Second-generation youth in Canada are particularly troubling to these discourses becausetheirpresencepointstotherupturesandcontradictionsbetween‘modern’and ‘traditional’. Young South Asians struggle to fashion an identity that speaks to their experienceofbeingSouthAsianinCanada.Indoingso,theyoftenunsettleandresist certain mainstream definitions ofboth SouthAsianandCanadian. The children of the post-1965 wave of immigrants are less visible in the media, and in academic literature. Although this group of second-generation Canadians have moved into adulthood and created their own social, personal, professional and familial spaces, their ethnic and national identity development has not been adequatelyresearched.Explorationofsecond-generationCanadianidentityistimely *Email: [email protected] ISSN1358-684Xprint/ISSN1469-3585online #2008TheeditorsofChangingEnglish DOI:10.1080/13586840802493100 http://www.informaworld.com 458 F. Shariff and significant in light of new research that questions the efficacy of official multiculturalism for the children of visible minority Canadians who exhibit ‘a more profoundsenseofexclusionthantheirparents’(Jimenez2007).Canadacontinuesto support high immigration levels, and Toronto may be one of the world’s first really ‘plural’ cities, in that nearly half of the residents were born somewhere else, and no one ethnic group dominates. Canadian official multiculturalism developed through the 1970s and 1980s, and bythe1990shad become amajor part ofCanadianpolitical discourseand electoral organisation(Bannerji2000).Canadiansalsocontinuetosupport‘multiculturalism’, whichPierre Trudeauintroduced in1971asaway toencouragenewcomerstokeep theircultureswhileadaptingtothecountry’snorms.Nowinthenewmillennium,we see another major shift in the multicultural paradigm of Canada. Will Canada be a trulypluralistcountry?Ifthepopulationofimmigrantscontinuestosoar–anditis estimated that most of the population growth in Canada over the next decade will stem solely from immigration – then the second-generation offspring of these immigrants will also continue to climb and populate Canadian classrooms. Indeed, fromaneducationalstandpoint,itisimportanttoquestionhowtheculturalidentity experiences of second-generation South Asian Canadians affect current classroom and institutional approaches to literacy. This essay explores how contemporary postcolonial texts can influence and redefine how we understand and teach literacies.4 It also asks how postcolonial texts, in print and other media, might help second-generation South Asian Canadian secondary students interrogate notions of cultural identity. Toaddressthesequestions,Idiscusstheterm‘second-generationSouthAsian’as it pertains to a Canadian context. This article draws on interview data of a pilot study I conducted with four second-generation South Asian Canadians as they discussed South Asian cultural identity issues in reference to Mira Nair’s film of JhumpaLahiri’snovelTheNamesake(Nair2007).UsingaLacaniananalysisofthe identitystrugglesasfacedbytheprotagonisttohighlightthoseofsecond-generation SouthAsianCanadians,IalsodrawonSlavojZˇizˇek’s‘application’ofLacan’sideas topopularculture. Thepaperconcludes withanexamination ofhowcontemporary postcolonialtextssuchasTheNamesakecanbeusedasspacestohighlightthelived experiences of second-generation South Asian students in secondary English curriculum. Although the participants in this study are now adults, this discussion contributes to ongoing debates about the continued dependence on the literary canon in contemporary secondary classrooms (Johnston 2003) and questions whether the use of canonical texts further complicates what it means to grow up ‘Canadian’ in a ‘multicultural’ society. It is important to consider the differences between first- and second-generation struggles to understand postmodern identity as fluid and indeterminate. Unlike thosewhocometotheWestasyoungadults,second-generationSouthAsians‘come of age’ in the Western country and thus experience the rites of passage of the Western secondary schools. The term ‘second generation’ shifts away from the defining criterion of nativity and allows the immigrant generation to be considered first generation rather than erasing their history from the trajectory of the group in thenewcountry.Theterm‘secondgeneration’alsodifferentiatesbetweenthevisible and growing population of more recent South Asian descendants who do not have the same migration history as pre-1965 South Asian descendants, a group made up Changing English 459 ofhighlyeducated,skilledprofessionalswhoacquiredmiddle-toupper-middle-class status in a relatively short time. OfteninitiallyunawareoftheharshcontrastsbetweenEasternandWesternculture, first-generation immigrants discover in the midst of raising their children that they sendconflictingmessagestotheirchildren,hopingtheywillfitintothenewenvironment yetremaintruetoEasternculturalideals.SalmanAkhtar(1995,1051)notes, Immigrationfromonecountrytoanotherisacomplexpsychosocialprocesswithlasting effects on an individual’s identity. The dynamic shifts, resulting from an admixture of ‘cultureshock’andmourningoverthelossesinherentinmigration,graduallygiveway toa psychostructural change andthe emergence of a hybrididentity. While it is important to represent an integrated view of how immigrants come to make a life in a chosen country, a focus on the second generation is crucial to understanding how South Asians and other new immigrant communities will be inserted into the economic and social fabric of a Canadian national identity. The paths followed by second generation individuals on the threshold of adulthood – involving occupational and career decisions, the creation a family unit or independent household and political and civic participation – will clearly have an impact on the future of the larger ethnic community (Maira 2002). As Alejandro Portes (1997, 814) observes, The case for second-generation as a ‘strategic site’ is based on two features. First, the long-term effects of immigration for the host society depend less on the fate of first generation immigrants than on their descendants. Patterns of adaptation of the first generationsetthestageforwhatistocome,butissuessuchasthecontinuingdominance of English, the growth of a welfare dependent population, the resilience of culturally distinct enclaves, and the decline or growth of ethnic intermarriages will be decided amongitschildren orgrandchildren. This issue is crucial at a time where Canada’s dependence on foreign labour is becoming more and more prevalent and attracting many new immigrants. The children of these new immigrants will lead to an even larger group of second- generation Canadians who will also have to negotiate critical issues pertaining to race, culture, school and identity. A poststructural view of identity points to the role of subjective experience as being influentialon how we come to knowthings about theworld.Britzman (1998) notesconcernswithhowsubjectivitiesbecomeconfiguredasaneffectofhistoryand how they are then produced at the intersection of meaning with experience. For instance,Iamfullyawarethatmygender,culture,ethnicityandsocialclassoperate asalensthroughwhichIseetheworld.Iamalsoawareofhowothersmayperceive my research interests; therefore my subjectivity can give meaning to the objective nature of my research. Situational and interactionist perspectives on ethnic identity also suggest that the respondents will present ethnic identifications partially in response to the context, the questions and their relationship to the interviewer and thewaythequestionsareformulated.Duringthedataanalysisinthisproject,Iwas aware that the responses may have been influenced by my gender, ethnicity and by own history as a second-generation South Asian Canadian, which makes me an insider to second-generation South Asian Canadian experiences. Indian director Mira Nair (2007) has adapted Jhumpa Lahiri’s bestselling novel The Namesake (2003) for a film of the same title. The Namesake is a story deeply attuned to feelings of shame, ethnic identity and intergenerational/cultural 460 F. Shariff differences between South Asian immigrant parents from West Bengal and their American-born children.The film chroniclesthe struggles between generations with extraordinary visual and cultural detail. Nair outlines the cultural realities of the second generation while trying to embrace Indian parental values, thus allowing the viewer a first hand glimpse into the complexities of cultural assimilation. The Namesake (2007) frequently floats between New York City and Calcutta, two ostensibly different, yet inherently similar cities and worlds. The film also explores theimportanceofnamesandnamingpractices.ThetitlereflectsthestrugglesGogol Ganguligoesthrough toidentifywithhisunusual name. Fromthe beginningofthe film, the issue of names and the link to identity is apparent to the viewer. The film chronicles the cross-cultural experiences of Gogol, the protagonist, through the rejection and the subsequent exploration of his Indian culture. The disavowal of Gogol’s own name is used as an extended metaphor throughout the film to explore largerissuesofintegration,assimilationandculturalidentity.Thename‘Gogol’only fills the young American with dissonance and shame which infiltrate his entire life, soon to be riddled with one identity crisis after the next. The interview data presented in this article describes the experiences of second- generationSouthAsianCanadiansthataresignificantinformingtheirbeliefsabout what it means to grow up Canadian. How do South Asian Canadian young adults perceive their national identity, ethnicity and citizenship? How do they move throughinstitutionsofhighereducationandintotheworkforce?Thefindingsofthis pilot project were drawn from a questionnaire with four second-generation South Asian Canadians, two males and two females, between the ages of 25 and 35 years. Both males and one female participant came from small, middle- to upper-class suburbsofalargercityincentralAlberta,withadominantlywhitepopulation.The other female was born in Arusha, Tanzania and had immigrated to Canada by the ageoffive.Allfourparticipantswerewell-educated(students,postgraduatestudents andyoungprofessionals),whomIcontactedthroughprofessionalorganisationsand acquaintances.Myrespondentscamefromfamiliesthatrepresentedearlierwavesof post-1965 Pakistani and Ugandan immigrants who are also well-educated, upper- middle-class professionals. Like the character Gogol, the participants of this pilot study also discussed the complexities of having an ‘ethnic’ name. One male participant said, Officially,Ihave5names.IfyouweretoaskmewhyIhavesomanynames,whyIhave twolastnames,orwhichnamesareonmybirthcertificate,Iwouldbehardpressedto answer honestly. My first name has been the most awkward for me. The name ____ is not the easiest word for English-speaking Canadians to pronounce phonetically and causes me to becomesomewhatanxiouswhenintroducingmyselftonewfriendsorcolleagues.Itcan get somewhat irritating spelling yourname outeverytimeyou meet someone new. Throughout his life, this participant struggled with the ‘uniqueness’ of his name. However, in South Asian culture, names are of great importance, something to be proud of; ‘individual names are sacred, inviolable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared’ (Lahiri 2003, 28); they are something special. However, like Gogol, the participant said that much of his adolescence was spent being embarrassed by his name and his culture, and he tried his best to reject all things ‘Indian’. Growing up in Western society where children are often ashamed of their differences,thisparticipantwantedjusttoblendinandliveunnoticed.Thisstruggle Changing English 461 also led to more difficulties into adulthood. When discussing how he felt about his name while going through the interview process for medical school, this participant expressedanxietyaboutbeingintroducedbyothersorintroducinghimselftoothers: Peoplewouldsometimesnotmakeanefforttolearnmyname;itbecomesabarrierand makesitsomewhatdifficulttoevaluatemeoutofahundredotherswhentheycan’tput aname to theface. Theothermaleparticipantreflectedsimilarfrustrationswithhowotherstreated his name: Growingupitwasbothersometoapoint,butafterawhile,Inevercared,becauseno matterhowoftenIwouldcorrectpeople,theystillwouldscrewupathree-lettername. Indeed, both male participants struggled to varying degrees with how their names were received by their dominant white peer groups and social groups: IbelieveIwasnamedaftermypaternalgrandmother’sbrother;howeverthehistorical significanceofmynameliesintheQur’anasoneofProphetMuhammad’smosttrusted companions, whowasalso a prophet. Mynamewasgiventomebymygrandfather.Tomethatisspecial,thatmygrandfather wishedanameuponmeanditwasfulfilled.Mynamealsoholdsareligiousmeaningtome. The female participants also alluded to difficulties with names growing up in Canada: Often,weareprejudgedbyournames.Inpart,ournamesdefineustotheworldandin turnwemayormaynotidentify withourname. Not onlyarefirst introductions asource ofanxiety,butasbothfemalerespondents indicate,nameshaveanintimateconnectionwithidentityinrelationtotheWestern/ Canadian gaze. Both males pointed out, however, that their names had special significance and thus an impact on how they saw themselves in relation to their cultural and religious identity. When the cultural, social and public practices of the dominant culture intersect with South Asian culture and specifically with the significance or the rejection of a name, a cultural conflict emerges between how second-generation South Asian Canadians perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others. In an effort to find a more congruous blend with the dominant society, second- generationSouthAsiansmustdealwiththemispronunciationoftheirnamesaswell ashavingtheirnamesanglicised.Theparticipantsdiscussedtheimpactofnameson theirculturalandCanadianidentityatlength.SlavojZˇizˇek(1992) offersusauseful way to understand the difference between how we see ourselves and the point from which we are being observed as the difference between the Imaginary and the Symbolic. In Imaginary identification, we imitate the Other at the level of resemblance, therefore identifying ourselves with the image of the Other. This is preciselywhy SouthAsians identify more withananglicised nickname.InSymbolic identification,weidentifyourselveswiththeOtheratpreciselythepointatwhichhe is inimitable, the point which eludes resemblance (1992, 109). A decision to change our name, in effect, isour effortto resemble our I(O) or ego–ideal: s/he who speaks without an accent, who does not smell Indian, who does not act Indian, ultimately rejectingthesymbolicorderofourSouthAsianculture.Theparticipantspointedto thecopingpracticesthattheyhadtouseashavinginfluentialconsequencesontheir cultural identity: 462 F. Shariff Having an uncommon name in society, we often find ourselves changing the true pronunciation, modifying the name thereby changing its meaning and ultimately changing how we define ourselves to society. I believe this is where we run the risk of disconnectingwithourtrueidentityandbeingcomfortablewithwhoweareandwhere we comefrom. It’soften ignorance thatforces usto doso. It is useful to draw upon Zˇizˇek to understand the distinction between i(o), the ideal ego, and I(O), the ego–ideal, as they present in this particular discussion. A nickname stands to replace the good name or the legal first name. According to Zˇizˇek (1992), in Lacan’s theory of forename and family name, the first name designates the ideal ego or the point of imaginary identification. The family name comesfromthefather–itdesignatesthename-of-the-fatherorthepointofsymbolic identification;theagencythroughwhichweobserveandjudgeourselves.According toZˇizˇek(1992)thefacetthatshouldnotbeoverlookedinthisdistinctionisthat‘i(o) is always already subordinated to I(O); it is that which dominates and determines the image, the imaginary form in which we appear to ourselves likeable’ (108). On the level of formal functioning this subordination is attested by the fact that the nickname which marks i(o) also functions as a rigid designator, not as simple description, thus demonstrating that names can hold great emotional and psychic significanceforanindividual. Wemaycome toidentifywithanameearly on inlife andthuswemaypreferthisdaaknaamornicknametoourpropernameifitismore convenient to the persona that fits best with a particular situation. Conversely, it may have negative effects on how we see ourselves: Iwentthroughaperiodofsevenyears(teensthroughtoearlyadulthood)whereIuseda differentnameintheworkplace,initiallygiventomebyaco-workerwhojustcouldnot pronounce my name. I adopted this nickname in and I believe it affected how I saw myself, how others saw me and how I interacted with people around me. I finally decidedattheageof22togobacktousingmyrealgivennameandasaresultbeganto feel like Iwas once againmytrue self… Adolescence iscommonlyknownasa timeof peeridentification. Situationaland cognitivefactorsduringadolescencecreateadisconnectandshiftintheidentification withanethnicname.InthefilmofTheNamesake,Gogolgoestogreatlengthstobegin the process of dismembering his name from his identity. He changes his name from ‘Gogol’ to his good name ‘Nikhil’, which later becomes anglicised to ‘Nick’. Many SouthAsiansexperiencesimilardissonantandconflictingfeelingsassociatedwiththeir nicknames and the accompanying new identity that comes with trying to negotiate multiple identities that are highly dependent on situational factors. The ensuing struggles to define themselves in the contexts of family and two diverse cultures throughoutearlyadolescenceandwellintoadulthoodareevidentinthenarrativesof theparticipants.Inresponsetothequestion‘HowdoesGogol’sshiftingsenseofself, familyandrelationshipsmirroryourownexperiences?’onemaleparticipantexplained hisabilitytoblendintovarioussituations: Like Gogol, I believe that part of my ability to make friends in high school and universitywasmyabilitytoproperlyassimilateinmanywaystoCanadianculture;with dress, sports, music and relationships, I was able to somehow create a Canadian personality in Indian skin. While I know that this was merely a product of my surroundings,Icouldseethosewhodidnotassimilateaswellgetshunnedandactively teasedby ourpeersfor theiraccent, dress,etc. Thisrespondentrelatedstronglytotheshiftingidentitiesof‘Nick’and‘Gogol’.Like the protagonist, this participant’s identities were conflicting, self-hating and Changing English 463 indicativeofthevariousschemashehadnegotiatebetween.Inthefilm,thevieweris a firsthand spectator into the conflicts between South Asian culture and American culture as it is lived out for second-generation youth and the continual tensions between the traditional and modern, culture of origin and assimilation. The viewer sees the split between who Gogol thinks he wants to be and who he is struggling to become. According to Lacan, what sustains our fantasy and what accounts for our investment in it, is the enjoyment we take in it (Taubman 2007). Adopting different strategies of fitting in can be seen as jouissance, or the kernel of enjoyment that visibleminoritiesgetfrombeingacceptedinwhitesocietyassomeoneotherthanthe ‘outsider’. Persisting in what may be perceived as self-defeating and self-destructive behaviours(suchastherejectionofculturalmarkerssuchasdress,food,customsor even cultural value systems) and by breaking cultural norms, second-generation South Asians may conversely find pleasure in this pursuit. Jouissance then becomes helpfulintryingtounderstandwhythesecopingstrategieswouldthenbeconsidered logical and rational reasons to shed attitudes that would otherwise be considered contra-intuitive to healthy identity development. The interviewees were also asked to discuss what details made the characters in the film realistic and what details reminded them of their own story growing up betweencultures.Theyexpressedangerandfrustrationtowardshavingtorejecttheir SouthAsiancultureinorderto‘fitin’.Here,theycommentonhowthefilmrelated to their own experiences of growing up as a second-generation South Asian: I felt guilty for not embracing my culture more and angry at Canadian culture and school system for the pressures it puton meas a childto repress any sort of cultureI had.Myparentsdidnotencourageustolearntheirmothertongueoutoffearwewould develop accents and be teased at school or have lesser opportunities at success in the workplace. I knew that my cultural heritage was important, but I wanted to embrace being a Canadianmore, therefore thinking sometraditionswere stupidorold. Reflective of the different struggles of growing up between cultures, the participantresponsesarehelpfulwhenconsideringhowidentityactsasakeysitefor narrative construction and reconstruction. A contemporary postcolonial film like The Namesake can highlight the various ways that film and other media are particularly productive of public narratives of individual or collective identities. Theoretically, there is a homology in the conceptualisations of memory, identity and media experiences. According to Brigitte Hipfl (1995) all three of these conceptualisations are defined by provisional and continuous processes; they are negotiatedandmodifiedinthelightofexperiencesofthepresent.Atthesametime, these three concepts supplement each other because of the different aspects being elaborated. In the case of the participants’ engagement with the film, their experiences deepen our understanding of the complex and contradictory ways in which media are of relevance for our constructions of second-generation South Asian identity. Reader response theorists Wolfgang Iser (1974) and Louise Rosenblatt (1995) suggestthatreadersplayacentralroleintheformofengagementwithinthereading process.Inanexplorationofthesocialnormsandchallengestothesenormsoffered by a work of fiction, readers are offered the opportunity to live vicariously through the text (and by extension we could include other media, such as film). Readers 464 F. Shariff encountertheirownrealityandliveoutexperiences beyondtheirframeofreference asofferedbythetext.Similarly,UmbertoEco(1979)describesthe‘twoway’process of reading whereby the reader, bringing his or her own experience to the text, not only receives a meaning, but also becomes an active contributor to that meaning. A text such as The Namesake – whether the novel or the film – reflects the concepts of reader response theory, which posits that we continually construct representations or interpretations of what we read and view. At each reading or viewing moment we generate expectations about what might happen ahead in the text; we anticipate and modify our interpretations of what we have read or seen in light of what we are reading or viewing now. The reader or viewer’s activity is not independentofeithertextualorculturalconstraintsbutratherguidedbythetextand influencedbypersonalexperience,culturalhistory,hisorherpresentrepresentation andthereadingconventionssheorhehasinternalised(Rosenblatt1995).Iser(1974) arguesthatliterarymeaningisnotahiddenobjectorsubstancethatcanbeextracted from a text; rather it is the text that activates the reader/viewer to produce meaning so that literature is an event, something that happens as we read. Intheeducationalcontext,postcolonialtextscreatethespaceinwhichareader/ viewer can explore the meanings of his or her cultural nuanced understandings and experiencesalongsidecurricularexpectations.Inadditiontoreaderresponsetheory, pertinent literature on postcolonial literary theory and critical multiculturalism revealsthattheconnectionbetweenliteratureandthestudents’culturalworldneeds to be further explored (Bhabha 1994; Giroux, 1992; Dimitriadis and McCarthy 2001). The Namesake is a text that can help educators to enable students to discuss their own experiences of assimilation. Encouraging students to make links between theworldofthetextandtheirexperiencesoutsidethetexthaspowerfulpotentialfor helping students to negotiate their cultural identity formation through the complex bicultural experience. Literature has become one of the most important ways in whichcolonialismhasinfluencedtheperceptualframeworksofcontemporarypeople living in the world today. Postcolonial texts question the essentialising project of English literature study by addressingongoing issues pertainingto continued use of the Western literary canon, helping to negotiate the worlds of establishment aesthetics and popular and vernacular culture. The very existence of postcolonial literatures questions the essentialising project of English literature study, which is currently based on a single culture under the guise of the originating centre. ThefindingsofthispilotstudysuggestthatSouthAsianidentityisanissuewith which many second-generation youth struggle. A more critical understanding of a hybrid notion ofidentityasnegotiatedby second-generationSouthAsiansfostersa better understanding of their identity struggles and the implications of these strugglesforliteracyactivitiesandtextselectioninEnglishlanguageartsclassrooms. Participant responses to the identityand assimilation conflicts of second-generation South Asians in The Namesake (2007) highlight the difficulties that second- generation South Asian Canadians have in straddling the cultural and racial divide between white and non-white categories. These very conscious and reflective participantresponsespointtotheexistenceofarecreationandarenewalofcultural traditions in second-generation Canadian culture. The notions of cultural authenticity in relation to hierarchies of race, class, gender and national identity that mark this generation as ‘Canadian’ are important to consider. Many second- generationyouthexploretheirethnicidentitiesasyoungadultsoncetheyareslightly Changing English 465 detached from family culture, in many cases due to a Eurocentric schooleducation. Many of these youth are not able to take cultural assumptions for granted and therefore find it difficult to ‘blend’ into the dominant society. By focusing only on the ‘hybridisation’ of Western with Eastern cultural elements, such as music, film or text, the term ‘hybrid’ fails to capture fully the complexities of racial ideology and class expectations that South Asian youth negotiateintheirdailylives.Asindicatedintheparticipantinterviews,manysecond- generationCanadiansareself-consciousaboutthehybridnatureoftheirexperiences aschildrenofimmigrants;withthiscomesthereflexivityinherentintheparticipation in anything related to their culture that is outside the home environment. Contemporary postcolonial texts have the potential for creating a space to begin thecomplicatedconversationsaroundwhatitmeanstobelongtoanationalidentity, a conversation that is yet to be adequately researched. Notes 1. I am referring to some recent incidents in Canada reported in The Globe and Mail of Toronto. For example, on Martin Luther King Day, January, 2008, racist graffiti was scrawledonthedooroftheBlackStudentAllianceatYorkUniversity,Toronto,Canada. Thegraffitiread‘niggersgobacktoAfrica’andonthewashroomdoor,itread‘allniggers mustdie’.Thisincitedenoughfearandangerinstudentstosparkavolatilerallylaterthat week. In another instance, in Scarborough, a Toronto suburb where 54% of the 600,000 peopleareforeign-born,thereisviolencebetweenandwithinethnicgroups.Ofthe52gun deathsinTorontoin2005,morethanhalfinvolvedfirst-orsecond-generationJamaican- Canadians,mostlyintheirteensortwenties.InanotherScarboroughaltercationthatlasted for six hours in the summer of 2006, a group of teenagers beat, stripped and stabbed to deatha17-year-old,thesonofJamaicanimmigrants–allinbroaddaylight.Nobodycalled the police. In January, 2007, vandals damaged a Muslim school in Montreal, Quebec, shatteringwindowsandbreakingdoors.AjudoassociationinManitoba,Canadabanneda little girlfrom wearing herhijabin November,2007. 2. IrefertothosewhomigratedtoCanada(ortotheUSAandBritain)asfirstgenerationand their offspringas second. 3. IamdefiningSouthAsianinthediasporicsense.Itthereforereferstopeoplewhohavea historical and cultural connection to the South Asian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Republic of Myanmar [formerly Burma], Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) and those who migrated from the South Asian subcontinent to East Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, the Caribbeanand Fiji. 4. In postcolonial literatures, I am including those from countries in Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Caribbean countries, India, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Pacific Island countries and Sri Lanka. 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