Murugan Temple in Sydney, Australia

The Diaspora is diverse. "Not an undifferentiated mass," clarifies Singhvi. A major part of the high level committee report on the diaspora is devoted to the country profiles where PIOs and non-resident Indians (NRIs) reside in large numbers. Noting that the diaspora is different from country to country, the report collected a country-wise data of the people, their professions and their cultural heritage. The result is an astounding database.

AUSTRALIA
DOWN UNDER

The first Indian migrants arrived in Australia with camels in the 1860s to lay the railway lines. A major train route is named after them as the Ghan Express-ghan as in Afghan. In the 1930s, a large number of farmers from Punjab also made their way to Australia to work in sugar cane plantations. As the white Australia policy came to an end, the Indian population rose. Many who migrated to Australia were those who made an exodus from Fiji following political uncertainty and coups in '87 and 2000.

The NRI population in Australia comprises mainly professionals and the 10,000 strong student community. Now there are 160,000 persons of Indian origin in the country and about 30,000 NRIs.

In New Zealand, the first arrival came in the 1850s from Goa to work in gold mines. It was not till the late 1950s, however, that New Zealand loosened its immigration rules, attracting qualified immigrants. The later groups of Indians who arrived were those who fled Fiji following the political coups and social unrest in the island nation.

Now, the profile of Indians living in New Zealand includes those in domestic retail as well as professionals. PIOs here number 50,000 and NRIs just about 5000.

CANADA
URBAN LEGEND

Dosanjh

The Indian community in Canada constitutes 2.8 per cent of the population. It is highly urbanised with 90 per cent of the community living in metropolitan areas, especially Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Most of the community is from Punjab. The average annual income of immigrants from India is nearly 20 per cent higher than the national average. Indians in Canada won the right to vote there at about the same time that India gained independence. Now Indians are to be seen in every sphere of life, from manufacturing to professionals to politics. In fact Ujjal Singh Dosanjh was the first premier of a Canadian province, reaching a pinnacle of sorts in politics.

The first Indians came to Canada in the early 20th century mainly to work in timber yards. They stayed out the tremendous hardship and discrimination of the early years to establish themselves. Now, gurdwaras and temples dot the Canadian landscape.

FIJI
RACE ROW

In the 1860s, indentured Indian labour arrived in Fiji to work on cotton cultivation. Not mixing by nature but successful economically, the Indian population was viewed with suspicion by the native Fijian. It was no surprise then that two times governments led by elected Indians were ousted in coups. The result was that a large number of Fiji Indians emigrated to Australia and New Zealand.

EUROPE
GREEN FIELDS

A gurdwara in Baghdad, Iran

Indian immigration to western Europe is mainly a phenomenon of the 20th century. Beginning from labour and some professionals in the 1940s, the immigrant profile changed to it workers and white collar jobs in the 1960s and 1970s. The emergence of aggressive nationalistic regimes in several countries of Africa where Indians were settled, led to their exodus through the 1960s and 1970s to western Europe. So Surinamese Indians settled in the Netherlands, those from Madagascar, Mauritius and Indo-China went to France; from Mozambique and Angola they went to Portugal and from Uganda and Kenya, they resettled in the UK. Today the Indian immigrant is upwardly mobile and there is an inflow of highly qualified professionals.

THE GULF
LABOUR WOES

First generation immigrants in Trinidad

The Indian diaspora in the oil rich Gulf countries consists entirely of non-resident Indians, numbering about 3 million. Whereas blue-collar workers, many of them from the southern state of Kerala, account for 70 per cent of the Indian immigrants, since the late 1980s there has been an increase in the number of professionals (about 20 per cent) and white collar workers (10 per cent). While the latter two categories lead well-heeled lives with their families in tow and visiting their home country often, the living and working condition of unskilled and semi-skilled workers who often go on dubious work contracts leaves much to be desired.

WINDIES
CARNIVAL

The San Francisco Gadar Party office

Persons of Indian origin in these islands are known as East Indians. They form 40 to 50 per cent of the population of these countries and control the economies. Here the Indian population has progressed and excelled, rising to be presidents and prime ministers of their countries.

Chutney music arose from a mix of Indian music with the native calypso music. Similarly, the cuisine has evolved into fusion cuisine with distinct Indian characteristics. The HLC report says Indo-Caribbeans deserve notice for their three "Cs"-Cricket, calypso and carnival. The community does not, however, integrate with the local inhabitants.

SOUTHEAST ASIA
RISING HIGH

Indian labour laid the Kenya railways

Much of the Indian population that migrated to Southeast Asia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were those who emigrated as traders, clerks, bureaucrats and professionals-not as indentured labour. It is significant that part of the struggle against British rule happened in these lands. In fact, Subhas Chandra Bose set up base here and the Indian National Army was formed in Malaysia in pre-independence times.

The Southeast Asian countries boast a number of beautiful Hindu temples as well as Sikh gurdwaras. Today, the Indians living in this region are traders, businessmen and it professionals.

AFRICA
OUT BACK

Gurdwara in Vancouver, 1930

A large number of Indians arrived as indentured labour in these countries. While, Indians fled from some African countries due to the rise of oppressive regimes there, or because they were chased out as happened in Uganda, other stayed on to fight perceived wrongs. Such Indians played a significant role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. In fact, it was in this country that Mahatma Gandhi first raised his voice against injustice and discrimination, before he joined the Independence struggle in India.

The languages spoken by Indians in African countries include French, Afrikaans, creole and/or English. Islands off the coast of Africa, such as Mauritius, have a high population of PIOs. It has had several prime ministers of Indian origin. Mauritian Indians send their children to India for education, or seek medical treatment there. Many Indian companies have set up off-shore facilities in Mauritius.

UK
MIXED CULTURE

Tarsem Singh, first Sikh in House of Lords

Due to the long British rule in India, a number of Indians left Indian shores to study in Britain in the late 19th century and through the 20th century. Many stayed on and settled there forming a talented group of professionals and business persons. They and the second and third generations in Britain have integrated with society which is truly multicultural. In fact, so popular has Indian cuisine become in the UK that chicken tikka masala is considered to be a national dish. And a mix of Indian music with Afro-Caribbean beats gave rise to the Bhangra rap.

The Indian community now numbers about 1 million in the UK. The new generation of Indians in the UK are making their own mark. Indians have found representation in the various walks of life in Britain, including seats in Parliament and berths in the House of Lords. So powerful are they that there is now an important Indian lobby in the UK.

A significant part of the Indian community comprises general practitioners who function as part of the government run National Health Scheme. The Indian community with a per capita income of £15,860 is among the highest earning groups in the UK. The PIOs continue to dominate cash and carry stores. And great prestige is still attached in India to those who go to study in Britain.

THE USA
UP & AWAY

The 1.7 million Indian American population is a high profile, high-earning set, whose average household income is far above that of the national average. While the trickle of Indians into America happened from the early 20th century, the first big wave of qualified professionals came in the 1960s when the US liberalised some of its immigration laws. The result was what has been viewed by disapproving Indians as "the brain drain" of the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the information technology expertise catapulted the Indians to the forefront of the it boom.

Indians began to make a home in the Silicon Valley making big business for America and a big name for the Indians. Others, such as business and finance professionals too edged the Indian name and fame further. The penchant for fame spread further to the fields of art and entertainment. Now the Indian American enjoys a privileged reputation in the USA, and he is well poised to bring social development; knowledge skills and funds back home.