Book Review: How exclusion kept Kiwi-Indians invisible in Aotearoa
One book every Kiwi-Indian – in fact, every Kiwi – ought to look forward to this year is well-known academic and scholar of all things Kiwi-Indian, Jacqueline Leckie’s forthcoming book titled “Invisible: New Zealand’s history of excluding Kiwi-Indians.”
In the book, Dunedin-based Dr Leckie, uncovers a story of exclusion that has rendered Kiwi-Indians invisible in the historical narratives of the nation. Invisible shares stories of resilience while also revealing the real impact that racism has on the lives of Indian New Zealanders.
She details a history of inequality and hurtful discourse against Kiwi-Indians almost over the time that people of Indian origin have been living in Aotearoa. Invisible undoubtedly makes an important contribution to the conversation on racism and diversity in New Zealand.
Speaking to The Indian Weekender earlier this week, Dr Leckie said, “I really hope the book provokes both Kiwi-Indians and non-Indians to think about the struggles Indian people have faced in Aotearoa at all different levels and in a myriad of ways.
“The book also shows how racism and discrimination is still very evident in our country today. There is still much work to be done to address discrimination against Indians here but also it may be timely to consider prejudice within Indian communities too – that is not for me to address though. I have been focused on white racism and white privilege, including that of silencing Indian pasts in Aotearoa.”
Through selected documents, newspapers articles and photos dating back to the early nineteenth century, Invisible shares the experiences of Indian migrants and their descendants, opening the eyes of the reader to the complicated racist past that so many Indian people have had to endure and few of us fully acknowledge.
Many of us Kiwi-Indians might have felt an undercurrent of discrimination in our day-to-day lives and through anecdotes and experiences narrated to us by our peers and elders, but this would be the first time that this has been put together systematically with academic rigour.
The book is published by the Massey University Press and will be released to the public in August this year. A media release from the publisher says, “Over the course of the twentieth century, discrimination against Indians in Aotearoa New Zealand slowly changed at the legislative level, but this did not mean an end to racism, which persists in many guises.
“Casual racism has been one of the most painful challenges to Kiwi-Indians, and one of the most difficult to erase; stereotyping and everyday hostility has impeded many from settling and making a livelihood here.”
The New Zealand Indian Central Association had an important role to play in initiating the idea of this book. In its foreword, NZICA President Paul Patel says that the book was instigated by the presentation of a Grievance Report by Naginbhai G. Patel of Wellington in 2005. “It is from the revelations presented in that report that Invisible has been developed and published.”
Speaking to The Indian Weekender, Manisha Morar, NZICA Secretary said, “We met with Dr Leckie in 2018, with the idea of expanding that report into a full-fledged book given her background and knowledge of the subject. We were delighted when she agreed to write it.”
Dr Leckie has the perfect credentials to tell our own story to us Kiwi-Indians in our adopted country. She has dedicated her lifetime to studying the history of Indians in New Zealand. Her doctoral thesis was on the Gujarati community in New Zealand. She has visited India numerous times and has published widely on different aspects of the Kiwi-Indian story.
Among her books are Indian Settlers: The Story of a New Zealand South Asian Community (2007), To Labour with the State (1997), Colonizing Madness: Asylum and Community in Fiji (2020), and A University for the Pacific: 50 Years of USP (2018).
She is an adjunct research fellow with the Stout Centre for New Zealand Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, and conjoint associate professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle in Australia. She is a fellow of the New Zealand India Research Institute, and an affiliated researcher with the Centre for Global Migrations at the University of Otago.
In his foreword to the book, New Zealand race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon writes, “It’s really important to publish Invisible at a time when Aotearoa is grappling with its history. Our schools have been mandated to teach the spectrum of New Zealand history from 2020, and the publication of this book will add to a rich tapestry, filling the gap in our collective knowledge of the experiences of Indian people in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
One book every Kiwi-Indian – in fact, every Kiwi – ought to look forward to this year is well-known academic and scholar of all things Kiwi-Indian, Jacqueline Leckie’s forthcoming book titled “Invisible: New Zealand’s history of excluding Kiwi-Indians.”
In the book, Dunedin-based Dr Leckie,...
One book every Kiwi-Indian – in fact, every Kiwi – ought to look forward to this year is well-known academic and scholar of all things Kiwi-Indian, Jacqueline Leckie’s forthcoming book titled “Invisible: New Zealand’s history of excluding Kiwi-Indians.”
In the book, Dunedin-based Dr Leckie, uncovers a story of exclusion that has rendered Kiwi-Indians invisible in the historical narratives of the nation. Invisible shares stories of resilience while also revealing the real impact that racism has on the lives of Indian New Zealanders.
She details a history of inequality and hurtful discourse against Kiwi-Indians almost over the time that people of Indian origin have been living in Aotearoa. Invisible undoubtedly makes an important contribution to the conversation on racism and diversity in New Zealand.
Speaking to The Indian Weekender earlier this week, Dr Leckie said, “I really hope the book provokes both Kiwi-Indians and non-Indians to think about the struggles Indian people have faced in Aotearoa at all different levels and in a myriad of ways.
“The book also shows how racism and discrimination is still very evident in our country today. There is still much work to be done to address discrimination against Indians here but also it may be timely to consider prejudice within Indian communities too – that is not for me to address though. I have been focused on white racism and white privilege, including that of silencing Indian pasts in Aotearoa.”
Through selected documents, newspapers articles and photos dating back to the early nineteenth century, Invisible shares the experiences of Indian migrants and their descendants, opening the eyes of the reader to the complicated racist past that so many Indian people have had to endure and few of us fully acknowledge.
Many of us Kiwi-Indians might have felt an undercurrent of discrimination in our day-to-day lives and through anecdotes and experiences narrated to us by our peers and elders, but this would be the first time that this has been put together systematically with academic rigour.
The book is published by the Massey University Press and will be released to the public in August this year. A media release from the publisher says, “Over the course of the twentieth century, discrimination against Indians in Aotearoa New Zealand slowly changed at the legislative level, but this did not mean an end to racism, which persists in many guises.
“Casual racism has been one of the most painful challenges to Kiwi-Indians, and one of the most difficult to erase; stereotyping and everyday hostility has impeded many from settling and making a livelihood here.”
The New Zealand Indian Central Association had an important role to play in initiating the idea of this book. In its foreword, NZICA President Paul Patel says that the book was instigated by the presentation of a Grievance Report by Naginbhai G. Patel of Wellington in 2005. “It is from the revelations presented in that report that Invisible has been developed and published.”
Speaking to The Indian Weekender, Manisha Morar, NZICA Secretary said, “We met with Dr Leckie in 2018, with the idea of expanding that report into a full-fledged book given her background and knowledge of the subject. We were delighted when she agreed to write it.”
Dr Leckie has the perfect credentials to tell our own story to us Kiwi-Indians in our adopted country. She has dedicated her lifetime to studying the history of Indians in New Zealand. Her doctoral thesis was on the Gujarati community in New Zealand. She has visited India numerous times and has published widely on different aspects of the Kiwi-Indian story.
Among her books are Indian Settlers: The Story of a New Zealand South Asian Community (2007), To Labour with the State (1997), Colonizing Madness: Asylum and Community in Fiji (2020), and A University for the Pacific: 50 Years of USP (2018).
She is an adjunct research fellow with the Stout Centre for New Zealand Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, and conjoint associate professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle in Australia. She is a fellow of the New Zealand India Research Institute, and an affiliated researcher with the Centre for Global Migrations at the University of Otago.
In his foreword to the book, New Zealand race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon writes, “It’s really important to publish Invisible at a time when Aotearoa is grappling with its history. Our schools have been mandated to teach the spectrum of New Zealand history from 2020, and the publication of this book will add to a rich tapestry, filling the gap in our collective knowledge of the experiences of Indian people in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
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