Seite 140 [140]
MÁRIA PALLA
Asians, that is, “linkages between people, places and institutions crossing
nation-state borders and spanning the world,”® which is Steven Vertovec’s
introductory definition of transnationalism.
As Anita Rau Badami’s novel proves, large-scale events such as the partition
of the subcontinent transnationally affect people’s lives for generations. This
is most obvious in the case of Nimmo and Bibi-ji, who are torn apart as a
consequence, or of Jasbeer, who drifts between homes and struggles with
his divided loyalties. Transnationalism has its dangers, which means that its
ethical implications must always be taken into account. Pa-ji also emphasizes
the ethical responsibility of members of the diaspora for their influence in
the homeland. However, the narrator’s critical comments on Leela’s death in
the terrorist explosion underscore the obligations of governments too. Since
the effects of cross-border relationships can be felt in multiple locations, in
quite unexpected ways sometimes, as it has been demonstrated by Badami’s
novel, they need to be treated with great responsibility by each individual,
community, and political organization involved and should be the focus of
further academic research as well.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
---, A Timeline of South Asian Canadian History, South Asian Generation
Next, www.sagennext.com/2013/06/27/a-timeline-of-south-asian-canadian¬
history (accessed 2 November 2017).
---, Census Profile, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada, www12.statcan.gc.ca/
census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geol=PR
&Codel=01&Geo2=&Code2=&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&Search
Type=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1 (accessed 5 August 2018).
---, Continuous Journey Regulation, 1908, Canadian Museum of Immigration at
Pier 21, https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/continuous-journey¬
regulation-1908 (accessed 2 November 2018).
BADAMI, Anita Rau, 2006, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?, Toronto,
Vintage Canada, 2007.
BUCHIGNANI, Norman, Sikhism in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopaedia
(2008, 2014), www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/Sikhism (accessed
30 October 2018).
BUCHIGNANI, Norman, South Asian Canadians, The Canadian Encyclopaedia
(2010, 2015), www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/south-asians
(accessed 15 November 2016).
60 Steven Vertovec, Transnationalism, London, Routledge, 2009, 1.
* 138 ¢