Indian diaspora
Also called: Overseas Indians · Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Indian diaspora means all people of Indian roots who live outside India. It has two parts. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are Indian citizens living abroad. Persons of Indian origin (PIOs) are people whose families came from India but who are now citizens of other countries. The diaspora numbers about 35 million, the largest in the world (verify current). It grew in waves: colonial indentured labour (1834-1917), Gulf migration after the 1970s oil boom, and skilled migration later on. It matters because it sends home the world's largest flow of remittances (money migrants send to their families) and it builds India's ties with other countries.
Example
The six Gulf Cooperation Council states host about 9 million Indians (verify current), mostly workers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, UP and Bihar. In Mauritius and Fiji, by contrast, most of the diaspora are PIOs whose families arrived as plantation workers.
Don't confuse with
- NRI vs PIO: an NRI is still an Indian citizen. A PIO is a citizen of another country who has Indian roots. Both count as part of the diaspora.
Related concepts
- Census 2011 migration data
- Seasonal migration
- Reverse migration of 2020
- Indentured labour migration
- Gulf migration
- Remittances