‘Maru Dharmaj’: Gujarati Patidar diaspora and transnational engagement

ABSTRACT

This article examines the transnational engagement of the Gujarati Patidar diaspora with its village of origin—Dharmaj, India—through return visits. ‘Dharmaj Day’ is a homecoming event that demonstrates how return visits shape and are shaped by migrant subjectivity concerning the Patidar diaspora. It analyzes the emergence of Dharmaj Day, the experiences of the Gujarati Patidar diaspora regarding this day, and Dharmaj Day as a transnational field based on a phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews with transmigrants and Dharmaj residents revealed that Dharmaj Day originated from the return visits of the transmigrants, strengthening transnational networks established between the two groups to share difficulties faced abroad and to reminisce about the home or the ‘gam’ (village). Simultaneously, Dharmaj day highlights the status of the Gujarati Patidar diaspora in transnational networks and strengthens their hold over Dharmaj, thereby deepening social divisions. Concurrently, it also makes the village and residents ‘transnational’.

KEYWORDS:

• Gujarati diaspora
• transnational social field
• transnationalism
• Dharmaj Day
• Patidars

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the research participants of this study for their support and cooperation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ratna Bharati Bhamidipati

Ratna Bharati Bhamidipati recently submitted her PhD Thesis in the Sociology Programme at the School of Liberal Studies, Dr B R Ambedkar University, New Delhi. Her doctoral research project is based on the formation of migrant subjectivities among the Gujarati Patidar diaspora from Dharmaj, Gujarat. It also explores the dynamics of transnational interaction among the migrants and locals of Dharmaj. She holds an M. Phil degree in Indian Diaspora from the University of Hyderabad, and a master’s degree in Society and Culture from IIT, Gandhinagar.