Discovering the Indian Diaspora in France and Beyond

The focus of this dissertation is to examine the Indian diaspora in mainland France and in Mauritius through a close reading of a corpus of literary works in French by the Indian-born French author Shumona Sinha (b. 1973) and the Mauritian writer of Indian descent, Nathacha Appanah (b. 1973). I trace the various patterns of Indian migration to France and Mauritius that have subsequently led to the formation of the Indian diaspora in these regions. I first and foremost examine ways in which the Indian presence in France acquires a creolized identity through its meshing with other immigrant populations as it also manages to retain a strong set of cultural and traditional values informed by their roots. I then segue into the literary works of Sinha and Appanah to show how both authors distance themselves from glorified notions of migration and the homeland to depict the difficulties that accompany both home and diasporic living. Ultimately, I analyze where Indian writing in French might be placed with respect to the long ongoing francophonie-littérature-monde debate