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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-canadianhistory (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-journeyregulation-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 ¢
