It took me a few decades to realize I had problems. Sure, I look Indian. But I speak English with an American accent. My next best language is Spanish, and I’m more comfortable with French than Hindi. Not to mention that I sure as hell ain’t vegetarian. One word comes to mind: freak. Thankfully, someone else came up with another word: diaspora. In this case, that’s the Indian diaspora. Let’s have a look.
A Quick Explanation
Overseas Indian is an umbrella term that includes a variety of people, including Indian citizens who don’t live in India, those of Indian birth who have established citizenship elsewhere, and those who look Indian but eat chicken wings and watch the NFL. Obviously, from a governmental standpoint, there are strictly defined categories that translate into tax obligations, visa eligibility, and so on. Remember—this is a general knowledge website that prides itself on not providing practical information that you can actually apply to your life.
How did all these Indians end up all over the place? Well, traders and merchants have moved around forever, explaining the flow of humans in general. But in the case of Indians, the Brits accelerated the process. The master colonizers shipped Indians off to a variety of locations to provide labor for the British Empire. And by the time the parasites finally departed India, they left it eviscerated, meaning that for many years, those seeking economic opportunity had to look elsewhere.
Some Numbers
The Ministry of External Affairs of India keeps tabs on the number of overseas Indians. The most recent data available places that number at somewhere around 32 million, spread over 207 countries and territories.
Here’s a link to their PDF. And here’s a link to a Wikipedia page that looks at the same figures from several different angles. As is often the case, the numbers don’t exactly line up, but you’ll get the general idea.
Tables
These abbreviated and sortable tables—which use the information above—will give you a sense of where to go if you want to hang out with (or avoid) the Indian diaspora. It must be mentioned that some stats are suspect, making the absence of Nigeria from the first table and the presence of Pakistan on the second table worthy of raising some eyebrows (or in my case, a unibrow).
Countries With the Most Overseas Indians (200,000 or Greater)
| Country | Number of Overseas Indians |
|---|---|
| Australia | 496,000 |
| Bahrain | 326,658 |
| Canada | 1,689,055 |
| Fiji | 315,198 |
| France (mostly overseas territories) | 473,520 |
| Guyana | 299,382 |
| Italy | 203,052 |
| Kuwait | 1,029,861 |
| Malaysia | 2,987,950 |
| Mauritius | 894,500 |
| Myanmar | 2,009,207 |
| Nepal | 600,000 |
| Netherlands (mostly in Europe) | 246,281 |
| New Zealand | 240,000 |
| Oman | 781,141 |
| Qatar | 746,550 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2,594,947 |
| Singapore | 650,000 |
| South Africa | 1,560,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,614,000 |
| Suriname | 237,205 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 556,800 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3,425,144 |
| United Kingdom | 1,764,000 |
| United States | 4,460,000 |
Countries With the Least Overseas Indians (20 or Less)
No judgement here. It’s just that with the exception of Pakistan, the chicken curry probably sucks.
| Country | Number of Overseas Indians |
|---|---|
| El Salvador | 17 |
| Holy See (Vatican City) | 0 |
| Honduras | 17 |
| Liechtenstein | 10 |
| Macedonia | 10 |
| Marshall Islands | 15 |
| Nauru | 20 |
| Niue | 9 |
| North Korea | 16 |
| Pakistan | 0 |
| Palestine | 20 |
| San Marino | 0 |
Random Thoughts
Initially, some members of the Indian diaspora were seen as traitors, ditching their country in a time of great need. Over time, the same people have come to be seen as assets, boosting India’s global reputation and contributing generous sums of money to the economy via remittances.
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Because those in the diaspora speak all sorts of languages and adhere to all sorts of religions, they may have more in common with non-diaspora members than with each other.
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In keeping with the above, emigration does not increase brain size, and ethnic conflict between diaspora members has been reported in places like Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
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As the Indian diaspora continues to grow, Indian culture has gained mainstream status. That achievement is a source of joy to some and discomfort to others.
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Among those in the diaspora, the success of other diaspora members can be met with great pride or complete indifference.
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As India’s economy—measured by nominal GDP—is now the fifth largest in the world (and predicted to be number three by 2050), the economic forces that have contributed to diaspora growth could lose strength.
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Back in the day, there used to be the Indian diaspora nod.
Indian #1: Quick silent nod, meaning You Indian?
Indian #2: Quick silent nod, meaning Heck yeah I’m Indian.
Obviously, there was no guarantee that either nodding party was actually Indian (versus some other form of South Asian). Regardless, as the diaspora has expanded, the novelty of seeing another diaspora member has faded, and the nod seems to have fallen out of favor.
Please feel free to add any random thoughts in the comments below.
Sincerely,
The Freak
6 Responses
nicely, cleverly done, avoiding bag of worms..
o.k now. When does HISTORY begin. 1947? Middle ages? B.C?
How many generations it takes to be taken out of Indian diaspora definition?
please do not answer.
Thank you. Great questions! (I’m glad I don’t have to answer!)
Traveling the world has become fun because one can find an Indian restaurant in several countries! As they say you can take a person out of India but not India out of the person especially the curries!!
Very true—there are some great Indian restaurants all over the planet! I recently went to one in Galway, Ireland.
Excellent article regarding people of Indian origin living in various countries, of the world. What is nice to note that the people of Indian origin are contributing members of the countries they are now part of.
Thank you. And yes, by and large, people of Indian origin have been important contributors to the economies of their adopted homes.