Diaspora: Southasia abroad – web-exclusive package

The euphoric response of non-resident Indians (NRIs) to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New York City's Madison Square Garden in September 2014 has drawn considerable attention to the Indian diaspora in the US. With its size, financial muscle and growing political clout, this category certainly dominates discussion on the broader Southasian diaspora, being viewed largely as an 'immigrant success story'.

In this web-exclusive package complementing our upcoming print quarterly Diaspora: Southasia abroad, we go beyond the common perceptions of Southasians abroad to look at other equally compelling themes. Numbering an estimated 40 million, the Southasian diaspora reflects complex histories of labour mobility, colonial intervention and decolonisation, and social and economic dislocations. We examine the vast changes in the lives of people in diaspora communities as well as the shifting perceptions of them in their countries of origin.