FRONTIERS OF HISTORY

The Roma Exodus and Reconnection with a Forgotten Diaspora

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Punita G. Singh, acoustician, musicologist, linguist, editor and educator based in Delhi. She has taught at Washington University in the US, McGill University, Canada and is currently, Visiting Faculty at Ashoka University, Sonipat

India is regarded as the original homeland of the Roma, yet most history books in schools omit mention of a Roma exodus and research and scholarship on the subject has been sparse. If the emigration of Roma out of India dates back to a millennium or earlier as posited by some scholars, the parallel influx of traders, invaders and colonizers over the intervening period seems to have overwritten their story. This presentation reviews the story of the Roma and their connection, disconnection and reconnection with India.