Diaspora and Indian Knowledge Systems in Germany: Global Transmission, Adaptation, and Negotiated Challenges

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_30How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Indian Knowledge Systems; Diaspora; Cultural practices in Germany

Abstract

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) emerge from lived experience, everyday practices, and shared community traditions. When this knowledge forms travels with people across borders, it does not remain unchanged; instead, it is reshaped through new encounters and contexts. This paper reflects on how IKS is experienced, practised, and adapted among Indian diaspora communities in Germany, drawing on observations and interactions across different regions of the country. In Germany, IKS remains present in both formal and informal spaces, such as temples, gurudwaras, yoga centres, and Indian grocery stores. These spaces function not only as cultural hubs but also as sites where knowledge is actively lived and transmitted. Practices such as rituals, storytelling, collective recitation, seva, music, and food habits play an important role in carrying cultural memory and values forward across generations. In a secular, highly structured environment like Germany, many aspects of IKS are reinterpreted to make them more accessible and acceptable—for instance, through the language of wellness, therapy, or cultural activity. While this helps increase visibility, it also leads to certain elements being simplified or detached from their deeper philosophical context. The paper also pays attention to second-generation members of the diaspora, for whom engagement with IKS is not automatic but involves choice, negotiation, and reinterpretation. These knowledge systems become part of an ongoing process of identity formation rather than something simply inherited. Overall, the paper argues that diasporic spaces in Germany should be understood as dynamic environments where IKS systems are continuously adapted and lived in new ways.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - K. Nalini
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/15
TI  - Diaspora and Indian Knowledge Systems in Germany: Global Transmission, Adaptation, and Negotiated Challenges
BT  - Proceedings of the Anubhuti 4.0: Discourses in Indian Knowledge Systems – Pathways of Culture, Inclusion, and Sustainability (ICIKS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 426
EP  - 430
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_30
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_30
ID  - Nalini2026
ER  -