Introduction

In the academic debate on the Indian diaspora there is often an underlying assumption of a unified character of the diaspora in terms of religion, culture and imagined homeland. Nevertheless, religion, culture, and the imagined homeland have different local meanings for migrants with different migration patterns. In the Netherlands, direct migrants from India do not freely interact with Surinamese Hindus – the descendants of Indian indentured labourers. The supposedly shared Indian background does not unify the migrants, on the contrary, it seems to separate them.

This article attempts to explain why relations between Indian and Surinamese Hindus in the Netherlands are characterised by negative images, prejudices, and little interaction. Some reasons have to do with different migration histories, different educational levels, class and caste differences. This raises questions related to the construction of identity on the local level and the diaspora concept as a theoretical tool. The broad questions that will be explored are as follows: First, how do Indian and Surinamese Hindus view each other with reference to a shared Indian background? Second, how does the religious identity of being a Hindu impact on the contact between Indian and Surinamese Hindus?

A situational perspective on identity is taken as a starting point. It is assumed that all individuals have multiple identities including, for instance, cultural, religious, gender, class and regional identities, which become relevant in different contexts. To an outsider, Indian and Surinamese Hindus seem to share some cultural and religious features. The article will discuss whether the minority context with reference to cultural and religious identities leads to unification. This will be explored by looking at common stereotypes each has of the other and asking whether they interact or not. This is followed by a discussion of the centrality of other identities and how these interact with religious and cultural identities.