. Indian Diaspora Diaspora refers to the movement of the population from its original homeland meaning a country’s native people move out to some other homeland or country. A group of people with the same culture or belonging to the same country might vacate their original homeland and relocate in some other country or homeland due to several reasons such as economy, livelihood, political situations and other social conditions. Sometimes people are even chosen to leave their homelands and settle elsewhere.
Such movement or relocation of the population can be either voluntary or forced due to traumatic events, wars, colonialization, slavery or from natural disasters. Feeling of persecution, loss and yearning to go back home is common amongst the people of the forced diaspora. Voluntary diaspora consists of a community of people who have left their homelands in order to search for better economic opportunities, for example, the gigantic emigration of people from depressed regions of Europe to the United States during the late 1800s. Unlike the forced diaspora, people from voluntary diaspora take immense pride in their shared experience and are convinced of the strength in numbers both socially and politically.
Diasporas play a major role in the economic development of their homeland. They also act as senders of remittances, they promote trade and FDI, create and nurture entrepreneurship and help in exchange of new knowledge and skills. The Indian diaspora is a common term used to represent the people who have migrated from territories and states that come under the jurisdiction of the Republic of India. This diaspora is presently estimated to be over million, encompassing NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin) spread all over the world.
Over Thirty-one million people of Indian birth or descent are part of the Indian diaspora spread around the world. Of them . . million, or per cent, are Indian- Americans living in the US.
The Indian- American diaspora has proven to be a vital resource contributing to the economic, political and social development of India. The Indian Diaspora is categorised as: NRI – Indian citizens living