though it is heartening to know that the Goa University is going to have a chair on Indian diaspora studies, there is a Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora at University of Hyderabad. I met the centre's director, Prof. Bhat, at the GOPIO conference in New York many years ago. He read a paper on Indian diaspora and, if I remember, there was some paras on Goans. In 2005 the centre held a conference on Indian diaspora in Hyderabad. An Encyclopedia of Indians Overseas (based at the National University of Singapore) was in the works. In whast way the Goa University would further the research on the Indian diaspora is yet to be seen. Many universities around the world have centres for diaspora studies. The University of Toronto has one. Lot of material has been published on the Indian diaspora in Canada. Many books on the Indian diaspora have been written and, if I remember, two issues of journals on Indian diaspora have been published. GOPIO has also published a book on dispora Indians. Maybe this chair on Indian diaspora is going to be the "gift" of Eduardo Faleiro. Shocks me why the Human Resources Ministry at the Union level agreed when Hyderabad already has one. Not sure if the Hyderabad centre is still functioning..
Eugene Correia
