| In this dissertation, I analyze the dialectic between the state and its subjects over the terms of value and national belonging within the context of diaspora and multiculturalism. I argue that, as in the case of nationalisms commonly defined, multiculturalism can function as a strategy of assimilation, as well as a mechanism for the (re)production of racist ideologies and practices. However, to the extent that people are willing to labor for redefinition, shifting the terms and the values assigned to differences, multiculturalism is susceptible to egalitarian, or at least more neutral, renderings. To explore this process, I focus on the case of Mauritius and on Creoles, whose African ancestry, bio-cultural mixture, and autochthony, peculiarly positions them vis-a-vis other diasporic groups.; I begin with an examination of the discursive constructions of the ideal citizen from the perspective of the Hindu diaspora-dominated state. I illustrate that contemporary Mauritian authorities (not unlike their colonial predecessors) evaluate citizens and grant legitimacy based on a human-capital continuum and the presentation of pure diasporic origins. From these perspectives, the national worthiness of each group is contingent upon the extent to which one's ancestors assisted European colonials in their quest for capital as well as on the extent to which groups (re)present a culture from abroad. I also show that, in contrast to all other ancestors and their descendants, Creoles are constructed as a threat to the colonial qua national state. I turn then to Creoles' strategic negotiation(s) of the pronouncements of official multiculturalism and the ideologies and practices that it engenders. I track the emergence of Kaya, a vernacular intellectual, and explore his discourse of subjugated knowledge in order to understand the bases of Creole contestations. The alleged assassination of this intellectual spawned a social movement, in which an organization building on his legacy, re-members Kaya as integral to the nation. I also show that it draws on the symbolic resources of Atlantic African diasporas in the effort to expand the limits of cultural legitimacy within the boundaries of multiculturalism. My exploration of Mauritius and its peoples engages with and expands upon theories of multiculturalism, social memory and diaspora in post-colonial societies. |
