History of Indian Diaspora

Diasporas -- transnational communities created by emigration, very often forced emigration -- have a long history on Tripartite Alliance Earth as on the other worlds of the ITA. Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Africans, Chinese, Lebanese, Romani -- all of these communities, and more besides, constitute transnational communities in their own rights. The largest diaspora, though, counting more than 20 million members worldwide, is the Indian diaspora.

In the study of Indian Diaspora, it is customary to distinguish between two main phases of emigration: "Overseas emigration in the nineteenth century" and "Twentieth century migration to industrially developed countries" (see Jain 1993: Contents). For analytical convenience, these could be termed the colonial and the post-colonial phases of Indian diaspora. It is, no doubt, possible to identify overlaps between these two phases: The emigration of Indians that began in the second quarter of the nineteenth century continued into the early decades of the twentieth century. The trickle of emigration of Indians to the "industrially developed countries," which assumed phenomenal proportions in the post-colonial phase, could be noticed in the nineteenth century itself. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize the distinctive nature of these two phases of migration, for their causes, courses and consequences. Studies on Indian diaspora have largely focused on one of the aforementioned phases. This is easy to understand considering the magnitude of the populations involved, and the variegated nature of their economic status and political predicament in different diasporic situations. Furthermore, some of these diasporic communities have been topical or their members themselves have begun manifesting an acute sense of "community self-awareness." Not less important, in many of these cases, archival records and other secondary data can be found with greater ease, and the conventional techniques of historical, anthropological and sociological research can be easily adopted.

Indian Diaspora in Ancient Times

It should be emphasized, however, that the emigration of Indians has a much longer history than what the reference point of colonialism seems to suggest. In the history of ancient India, we come across accounts of the Buddhist bhikkus who travelled into remote corners of Cental and Eastern Asia. Maritime history of pre-colonial India records evidence of continuous contact between the kingdoms of the Coromandel coast and the islands of South-East Asia. The contact of the Palas of Bengal with the Sailendra kings of Indonesia and the expeditions of the South Indian Cholas which vanquished the great Indonesia empire of Sri Vijaya are repeatedly referred to by scholars (see Tinker 1977:1). Several elements of Hindu and Buddhist religion, mythology and culture have survived in South-East Asia, and most notably in Thailand and Bali (see Vincent Smith 1958). "Yet none of these contacts led to a distinctive Indian population overseas" (Tinker 1977:1). The trade with East Africa, however, lead to a permanent Indian settlement there. In a footnote, McNeill (1963:210) observes that "there is some reason to think that a colony of Indian merchants lived permanently in Memphis, Egypt from about 500 BC" (see also Sastri 1959). In the nineteenth century, when "European explorers like Burton first ventured into the interior [in Africa] they were guided on their way by Indian merchants" (Tinker 1977:2-3). These early migrants to East Africa belonged mainly to small trading communities like the Ismailis, Bhoras and Banyas of the Gujarat region. Their counterparts covering Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, Thailand, and Indonesia were mainly Nattukkottai Chettyars of Chettinad in the Tamil region of South India. Research on the pre-colonial Indian diaspora is scant and sketchy. Even the available data are scattered in historical works. Documenting the sources of such data is necessary. With the help of historians compiling the basic research material on the subject may even be possible.

Indian Diaspora during European Colonialism

In terms of the magnitude of emigration and its spread, the European colonization, marked by the penetration of mercantile capitalism in Asia, was the most crucial phase in Indian diaspora. Large scale emigration of Indians into far off lands was facilitated by the integration of peripheral economies into the emerging world capitalist system, the onset of a revolution in transportation and communication, and the opening of the Suez Canal. The phenomenal trade surpluses earned by the European mercantile class in the wake of geographical discoveries were invested in mines and plantations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. This created an enormous demand for a cheap and regulated labour force. By the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the demand for labour was accentuated by the ever expanding colonial economy, the growing opposition to slavery and its eventual abolition (by England in 1833, by France in 1848 and by Holland in 1863), and the inability of the European countries to meet the shortfall in labour by deploying their own labour force. A combination of factors made India (and China) an extant reservoir of cheap, docile, and dependable labour, especially to work on the plantations. Tinker (1993) provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of the emigration of Indian labour overseas during the colonial era. Broadly three distinct patterns of Indian emigration are identifiable in this period: (1) "indentured" labour emigration, (2) kangani and maistry labour emigration, and (3) "passage" or "free" emigration. The indentured labour emigration, so called after the contract3 signed by the individual labourer to work on plantations, was officially sponsored by the colonial government. It began in 1834 and ended in 1920. The overwhelming majority of the labour emigrants under this system were recruited from North India. These labour emigrants were taken to the British colonies of British Guiana, Fiji, Trinidad and Jamaica; the French colonies of Guadalupe and Martinique; and the Dutch colony of Surinam. The kangani (derived from Tamil kankani, meaning foreman or overseer) system prevailed in the recruitment of labour for emigration to Ceylon and Malaya (see Jayaraman 1975:6). A variant of this system, called the maistry (derived from Tamil maistry, meaning supervisor) system was practised in the recruitment of labour for emigration to Burma. Under these systems the kangani or maistry (himself an Indian immigrant) recruited families of Tamil labourers from villages in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Under these systems the labourers were legally free, as they were not bound by any contract or fixed period of service. These systems, which began in the first and third quarter of the nineteenth century, were abolished in 1938. Emigration from India did not cease after the abolition of indenture and other systems of organized export of labour. There was a steady trickle of emigration of members of trading communities from Gujarat and Punjab to South Africa and East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), and those from South India to South East Asia. Most labourers emigrated to East Africa to work on the railroad construction. These emigrants were not officially sponsored: they themselves paid their "passage" and they were "free" in the sense that they were not bound by any contract.

Indian Diaspora in the Post-Colonial Period

A new and significant phase of emigration began after India became independent in 1947. Broadly, three patterns of emigration can be identified in the post-independence emigration: (1) The emigration of Anglo-Indians to Australia and England, (2) The emigration of professionals to the industrially advanced countries like the United States of America, England and Canada, and (3) The emigration of skilled and unskilled labourers to West Asia. The emigration of the Anglo-Indians is one of the least studied facets of Indian diaspora. Feeling marginalized in the aftermath of India's independence, many of these descendants of intermarriage between Indians and the English left India for England in the first instance. Finding that they were not racially and ethnically acceptable to the English, several of them emigrated to Australia, which has become a second "homeland" to a significant section of the Anglo-Indians. The large-scale and steady emigration of doctors, engineers, scientists and teachers to the industrially advanced countries of the West is essentially a post-independence phenomenon, and particularly so of the late 1960s and the 1970s. It somewhat declined with the adoption of stringent immigration regulation by the recipient countries. This pattern of emigration, often described as "brain drain," is essentially voluntary and mostly individual in nature. With the second and subsequent generations having emerged, and the emigrant population enjoying economic prosperity and socio-cultural rights, this stream of emigration has resulted in vibrant Indian communities abroad. To be contrasted with the above is the emigration of skilled and unskilled labourers to West Asia in the wake of the "oil boom" there (see Nair 1991 and 1994). This emigration is voluntary in nature, but its trends and conditions are determined by labour market vagaries. It is a predominantly male migration, characterized by uninterrupted ties with the families and communities back in India. This cannot be otherwise as in most of the West Asian countries the immigrant labourers cannot settle down, and have neither property rights nor the freedom to practice their own religion (other than Islam).

Major Indian Populations Outside Indian Community (1985-2000)

Country	Total Indian population in 2000	Percentage of total national population in 2000
Arabia	1,400,000	61
East African Community	380 000	1
England	2 850 000	7
Fiji	470 000	63
Kwazulu	850 000	19
Mauritius	700 000	52
Reunion	240 000	47
Surinam	950 000	58
Trinidad	270 000	43
Rest of European Confederation	3 450 000	0.5