Taking a break in the scenic Shimla, my thoughts were anything but scholastic, however, this idyllic inactive state of mind did not continue for long once the above-mentioned book arrived for review. Coincidentally, some years ago, I had written an article for Diaspora Studies on Indians in Australia and New Zealand. Even a cursory glance showed that the book was no holiday read and was a scholarly work. Once, I started reading it, I found myself totally captivated by the insights of the varied narratives and trajectories on Indian migration to the antipodes. A good number of scholarly works by Indians on old or new Indian diaspora are mostly confined to Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, South Africa or Fiji. Immigration of Indians to the antipodes in the nineteenth century and even earlier largely has remained an area of darkness for many of us. The raison d’être may be that the migration to the antipodes was much smaller in number when compared to those who migrated either as indentured labourers or of their own free will to other countries. Today, a large number of Indian diaspora lives in the antipodes plus a large number of Indians from Fiji too migrated in the aftermath of 1987 and 2000 coups. What is different about this book? The central theme of the book is best explained in the words of the editors Shekhar Bandyopadhya and Jane Buckingham in the introduction;

中文翻译：

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印第安人和对立面：网络、边界和流通

在风景秀丽的西姆拉小憩，我的思绪完全不是学术性的，然而，一旦上述书被送来接受审查，这种田园诗般的闲散心态并没有持续多久。巧合的是，几年前，我为《侨民研究》撰写了一篇关于澳大利亚和新西兰印第安人的文章。即使是粗略的一瞥也表明这本书不是假期阅读的，而是一本学术著作。有一次，我开始阅读它，我发现自己完全被关于印度移民到对立面的各种叙述和轨迹的洞察力所吸引。印度人关于新老印度侨民的大量学术著作大多局限于东南亚、加勒比地区、南非或斐济。在 19 世纪甚至更早的时候，印第安人移民到对映体对我们许多人来说仍然是一个黑暗的领域。存在的理由可能是，与作为契约劳工或自愿迁移到其他国家的人相比，迁移到对映体的人数要少得多。今天，大量印度侨民生活在对岸，此外还有大量来自斐济的印度人也在 1987 年和 2000 年政变后迁徙。这本书有什么不同？本书的中心主题最好用编辑 Shekhar Bandyopadhya 和 Jane Buckingham 在引言中的话来解释；大量印度侨民生活在对岸，此外还有大量来自斐济的印度人也在 1987 年和 2000 年政变后迁徙。这本书有什么不同？本书的中心主题最好用编辑 Shekhar Bandyopadhya 和 Jane Buckingham 在引言中的话来解释；大量印度侨民生活在对岸，此外还有大量来自斐济的印度人也在 1987 年和 2000 年政变后迁徙。这本书有什么不同？本书的中心主题最好用编辑 Shekhar Bandyopadhya 和 Jane Buckingham 在引言中的话来解释；