Short Abstract
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"Studying India" generally recalls the idea of analyzing and understanding the sub- continent in the dynamics that characterize it by conducting research in or about India. Over the years, in a world strongly interconnected and crossed by migratory flows, the widespread presence of the Indian diaspora in England, the United States, Australia and Mauritius have emerged in a rewarding way. Italy had 5,144,440 migrants residing in Italy in 2019, meaning that 8.5% of its total population includes migrants.
The top three migrant communities in Italy are Romanians (1,190,091), Albanians (440,465), and Moroccans (416,531), followed by Chinese, Ukrainians, Filipinos, and Indians (ISTAT 2019).
Most migrants concentrate in the northwest (e.g., Lombardy) and northeast (e.g., Veneto), as these two geographic areas are considered the most productive, thus matching migrants' expectations of employment opportunities. First, an in-depth analysis of the historical context of the Indian migration to Italy is essential to understand this flow better.
The analysis of Indian migration to Italy currently remains limited to individuals with low or medium levels of specialization, as, for example, Sikh Indians employed in agriculture. However, in a moment of apparent global immobility forced by the Covid_19 pandemic, I observed how the mobility of some migrant flows has quietly continued, particularly in the Northeast, where some Indian communities generally settle/ dwell.
Studying India in Italy becomes an opportunity to deepen the analysis and knowledge of the academic world about a community mostly unknown in its daily social and spatial practices in Italy. Therefore, the research proposal aims at approaching the variegated mosaic of the current Indian migration in Italy, starting from Veneto with area-based fieldwork research on the city of Padova with its 800 years University. The research will focus on the political dynamics that determine the choice of destination -i.e. the place of arrival- of Indian migrants in Italy, focusing the analysis on the migration of highly skilled and educated workers. In light of the stereotyping and instrumentalization of the migration theme in Italy, framing research in this manner seems necessary to open a new perspective on the topic.
Interaction and participation in small groups will lead me to trace and collect migration stories and trajectories in our Northeastern Veneto cities, thus completing the panorama of the migratory flows in Italy. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the topic with an interdisciplinary approach that includes a broad knowledge of migration dynamics in Italy and a capacity for spatial/territorial analysis of daily life practices. In the meantime, it requires experience in Indian studies and community studies in urban settings. Methodologically speaking, the aim is to collect the life stories of Indian communities settled in Padua, as well as local policies that give voice to foreign communities with a comparative approach, able to highlight the relevance of policy dynamics at the urban level and thus to observe the inclusion and social interaction between different populations.
