Neighbours abroad

When large-scale migration from the Subcontinent began during the second half of the 19th century, Southasians were pioneers in the early stages of the formation of our global village. Many worked as indentured labourers, picking sugarcane in the Caribbean and tapping rubber trees in Southeast Asia after Britain abolished slavery in its colonies in 1834. Others migrated for economic opportunity as railroad workers and shopkeepers in East and South Africa. Some served the British cause in two world wars, and were able to settle in Britain. Dictator Idi Amin's expulsion of Uganda's Southasian communities in 1972 sent large numbers to Britain, Canada and the United States. During the 1970s, changes to immigration laws allowed Indians and others from the region to pursue professional degrees in US universities, and the demand for highly skilled technicians and engineers from India fuelled the 'dotcom' economic boom of the 1990s. These are some of the historical forces that have shaped the diaspora as we know it today.

But migration from the Subcontinent is not frozen in time. Political and economic forces have carried people from this region all over the world, but so have personal and familial decisions. Kids grow up, get married and move away. They pursue education and business opportunities in distant lands and, increasingly, back in Southasia. Families that left generations ago are now thoroughly globalised, with relatives on different continents – talking to each other through video software on their laptops, e-mailing wedding photographs and sharing family news. Communications technologies, satellite television and a stronger world economy have enabled formerly isolated communities not only to re-establish connections with those in the Subcontinent but also to build relationships with each other.