Five Stories from the Indian Diaspora

Khalil Rahman Ali

In Pursuit of Betterment, is a unique collection of five historical fiction stories of families from India, Guyana and the Caribbean, Mauritius, East Africa, and South Africa. The five families share a compelling desire and drive to achieve betterment through education, hard work, and business, against the backdrop of the histories of the countries they originate from, leave, and, those they reside in. Each story should resonate with readers of the Indian Diaspora and others, who have had to leave their homelands to explore better life chances in other countries.

The first story, The Billionaires, is set in India and London as the Shivwani family grows from humble beginnings, to international business success. Could they keep the family together despite such wealth?

Little Guyana is the story of Inshan Khan who was sent to London to study Law. His extended family also had to leave Guyana due to a decline in the local economy, and became part of the emergence of “Little Guyana” in New York. Where does the future lay for the Khans?

Murali Dharam of the beautiful island of Mauritius, known as “Chota Bharat” or Little India, also arrived in London to study Psychiatric Nursing. His romantic liaisons created family tensions both in Mauritius and England. How will these be resolved?

Manubhai Patel and his family were forcibly expelled from Uganda in 1972, and were faced with new challenges in Leicester, England, including racial harassment. Their Ugandan Asian community responded with sheer grit and determination to succeed. How will they fare?

The fifth story is set in Durban, South Africa where the largest population of Indians have settled outside India. Professor Yusuf mentors two young PhD students seeking answers about their country’s emergence from apartheid, to the pursuit of racial healing and harmony. How does this play out in the new “Rainbow” nation?

• 216 x 138 mm

• 392 pages

• Paperback

Khalil Rahman Ali is from Guyana, and a descendant of Indentured Indian labourers who migrated to work on the sugar plantations in the nineteenth century. His experiences through meeting and befriending other such descendants from the Caribbean, Mauritius, South Africa, East Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Canada, inspired him to complete In Pursuit of Betterment, the third of his historical fiction trilogy on the Indian Diaspora.

His novels offer glimpses into the lives and aspirations of people of the Diaspora who continue to strive hard for betterment. Khalil loves travelling and speaking about his writing, and has visited, and participated in conferences in India, New York, South Africa, and the UK.

He is a keen Indian singer and musician, and a follower of Cricket, Football, and other sports. Khalil hopes that his work will continue to help people in their pursuit of betterment.