About South and Southeast Asian LiteratureSubject The collection comprises literature written originally in English by writers who either were born in or identify themselves culturally with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Fiji. Because the South and Southeast Asian Diasporas are so widely cast, the collection also includes the work of writers living or working in Africa, the United Kingdom, North America, and the Caribbean. Much writing deals with the British empire and its legacy, struggles for independence, the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan and the unprecedented violence accompanying the migration of Hindus and Muslims across the new borders, the Bangladeshi war for independence from Pakistan, the continuing conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil minority, racism and the caste system, ongoing communal violence, the experience of plantation laborers, and life as immigrants in new countries. Sources Coverage Provider Help Access Created: 1/8/2008. |