From Fiction to Facts: Rohinton Mistry

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From Fiction to Facts Rohinton Mistrys Lend me
your Light as a literary reflection on emigration
from India to Canada
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Structure

• Fiction short story by Rohinton Mistry
• Facts General information about emigration from
  India to Canada
• Comparison fiction and facts

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Lend me your Light

• Written by Rohinton Mistry
• Indian Kersi emigrates from India to Canada
• Problems to adapt to the new culture
• Feeling of guilt
• Visits Bombay ? disappointed
• Not able to overcome his problems

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• Message of the story?
• Shows how difficult living in a diaspora
  situation can be
• Story is part of the book Tales from Firozha
  Baag

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• Rohinton Mistry
• Emigrated from Bombay to Toronto
• won several prices and two of his novels were
  even shortlisted for the Booker Price

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Immigration regulations

• 1960s harsh immigration regulations were
  abolished
• new immigration system, based on division of
  immigrants into 3 categories
• The Independent and Economic class
• Family class
• Refugee class

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Indians living in Canada

• Canadas population? 30 million
• About 5 Million foreign born
• 5.7 Indian
• 713.000 people of Indian-origin
• 10 of Torontos population is Indian

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Integration

• Indian culture is present in Canada
• Indians suffer from many problems? homesickness,
  stress, have to cope with discrimination
• Problems to enter labor market? no Canadian work
  experience, degrees aren't accepted
• Jobs dont fit to their level of education

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• But majority economically successful
• High level of integration? policy of
  multiculturalism
• 1960s discussion started
• 1988 policy of multiculturalism part of
  constitution
• Cultural mosaic- unique parts fitting together
  into a unified whole
• Measures? dual citizenship, support of cultural
  works of different ethnic groups, education in
  language and democratic rights

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Comparison fiction and facts

• Story reveals problems of emigration
• There are many problem, but there are success
  stories either
• Influence of Mistry's personal emigration
  experience
• ? just one example, emigration is an individual
  experience

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