Towards a global city of joy: Diasporic transnational practices and peri-urban transformations in contemporary Kolkata

In recent years the long-established practice of diasporic communities participating in efforts to re-imagine and reshape their former or putative homelands has come under increasing scrutiny from scholars, national governments, and social movements alike. For some this involvement represents a challenge to social cohesion in the diasporic group's new host country; for others, the willingness of diasporas to remain connected to old homes is an untapped opportunity---a potent new source of development financing. Yet how substantial is diasporic involvement in global development processes? And what are the possible consequences---both positive and negative---of such participation?; This dissertation examines such questions through a series of theoretical discussions of the concepts of diaspora, development, and displacement, and with particular emphasis on an illustrative case study: luxury condominium developments on the fringes of the Indian metropolis of Kolkata. These new housing projects are built and marketed with a self-consciously global aesthetic in mind and are actively promoted towards both overseas Indian communities and local elites as spaces in which one can embody a transnational, cosmopolitan, modern, and quintessentially urban lifestyle. They are also part of a broader urban and cultural project intended to help Kolkata regain its past glory as a 'world city.'; Drawing on an array of archival sources, cultural texts, and fieldwork in Kolkata as well as in Canada, this dissertation examines the evidence, the impact, and the potential of such diaspora-influenced housing development projects. The central argument of the dissertation is that the actual participation of diasporas in a range of development practices---from sending remittances to making investments to purchasing property---is secondary to their symbolic importance. It is the idea of the diaspora---and a monolithic conceptualization at that---which is crucial for mobilizing key actors and constituting material transformations in the post-colonial city.