Retreat Of The Diaspora

Abstract

This book is intended to preserve and communicate family history which I have collected since 1900's.The Retreat of the Diaspora revolves around the journeys of two sides of my family - The "Mehtas" to Africa and the "Patels" to Burma and their eventual return back. It portrays how the families got adversely affected by changing global social & political conditions.The paternal side (the Mehtas) has a connection with East Africa. My great-grandfather travelled to the island of Zanzibar along with his father in 1907, to establish successful trades and businesses over there. The maternal side (the Patels) had a connection with Burma nowknown as Myanmar. My maternal grandfather went to Burma in 1947 with his uncle, to help him around with his pre-established business inLoilem, Burma.The book is divided into three parts to best convey the parallels histories of different parts of the world. The events described from the recorded history are selectively used to describe the changing environment and the effects they had on the lives of the people. The book looks into the Political, Economic, Social and Cultural aspects ofboth the places the families migrated to and is shaped by studying the history of Zanzibar and the history of Burma and how it individually conditioned the life of the family and their livelihood.

Both Zanzibar and Burma have been British colonies in the past and both were subsequently nationalised. This affected the migrated population. The book researches on the various events that occurred in the history of both the places and the way it conditioned the lives of my family and the other communities present.