Cosmopolitan Connections : The Sindhi Diaspora, 1860-2000/Mark-Anthony Falzon. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2005, xi, 302 p., photographs, maps, figs., ISBN 0-19-567607-6.

    Contents: Glossary. Introduction. 1. The challenge of translocal ethnography. 2. Locating Hindu Sindhis: roots and routes of diaspora. 3. Sindi cosmopolitans. 4. Sindwork, ca 1860 to the present. 5. Localities and histories. 6. The meaning of corporacy. 7. Cosmopolitans in business. 8. Towards an integrative model of commerce and diaspora. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.

    "This volume looks at Hindu Sindhis--a diasporic group of Indian traders. The province of Sind is in present-day Pakistan, and Hindu Sindhis who have migrated are renowned around the world and especially in India for their business acumen.

    Exploring the relation between mobility and commerce, the volume fundamentally enhances our knowledge and understanding of this highly entrepreneurial group. It argues that the defining characteristics of Sindhis are their ability to adapt to a variety of contexts and cultures, as also a constant cultivation among themselves of contacts, knowledge and relationships.

    The volume draws on anthropological field research as well as archival sources in Mumbai, London and Malta to portray a cosmopolitan group united by ties of kinship and community. These ties have their counterpart in the economic sphere which is characterized by sets of translocal trading linkages, credit relations, and a heightened knowledge of markets and the readiness to explore them.

    Written in a jargon-free style and geared towards a broad audience, the volume will be of special interest to sociologists and social anthropologists, historians, scholars and researchers in business studies, migration studies, and demographic movement." (jacket)

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