CHENNAI: The partnership agenda governing the ties between India and the United Kingdom is growing in strength, right across the board, Chris Gibson, Director (South India), British Council, said on Tuesday.

During 2005-2006, Indian investments in the U.K. rose by 110 per cent. India had now become the second biggest investor, displacing Japan. "Today, the amount of money invested in the U.K. by Indian companies overtook the amount invested in India by British companies. And, we are seeing this momentum in almost every sphere of contemporary significance, whether in education, science and technology, the arts and governance and in people-to-people contact," Mr Gibson said, inaugurating a two-day seminar on issues of identity and culture in recent Asian diasporic fiction.

One in 50 persons in the U.K. was of Indian origin, constituting one million, and Indians were one of the "most successful" communities. This small group produced between four per cent and five per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. This reflected the entrepreneurial abilities of the group and the enabling environment of the U.K., he said.

As for the diasporic fiction, Mr. Gibson said Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" ushered in a new trend in writing. There had been others who had explored issues involving immigration and identity with a particular focus on the United States and Canada.

Syed Mujeebudin, professor of English, University of Hyderabad, said the West Asian diasporic writing, which had been emerging forcefully, had not received much attention in the critical world. The function was presided by H.M. Shamsudeen, secretary and correspondent of the New College, of which Postgraduate and Research Department of English is organising the seminar.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail