♤ In terms of number they constitute 40 percent of the populations in Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, Reunion and Suriname, and 70 percent of Mauritius – all Old Diaspora countries.
♤ In Gulf they are more than 50 percent of all the immigrant workers.
The New Indian Diaspora, especially in the United States, is highly organized with many regional and pan-Indian cultural, professional, religious, and charity organizations. In recent years, Indians have demonstrated their increasing political influence examples being- Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, South Carolina Governor and US representative to the United States Nikki Haley, NY Attorney General Preet Bharara, California Senator Kamla Harris and the formation of the India Caucus in both the Congress and the Senate.
In Canada, 19 Indian-origin MPs were elected to the Canadian parliament in 2015 and four were appointed in the cabinet of PM Justin Trudeau. In the UK, a record number of 12 Indian
Mps, were elected to the British Parliament in 2017, and eight members of the House of Lords are People of Indian Origin. With the Appointment of Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes in January 2018 the UK has three Indian-origin Ministers in the government.
If Indians appear to have done well for themselves within the economic domain of these Old Diaspora countries, their affluence in new Diaspora countries like the United States is even more pronounced, as is our presence within top professions. Though our share of the population in the US is less than 1%, Indians account for well over 5% of the scientists, engineers, and software specialists, and almost 10% of all the doctors. No group, not whites, not the Chinese, nor the Jewish people, has a higher median household income than Indians, which is almost double that of the overall average of the United States.
Diaspora has contributed to India’s ascendency in the world. In all of the countries to which Indians have migrated, Indians have achieved in the fields of entrepreneurship, business, academia, science, arts, and culture.
The success of Indian entrepreneurs, CEOs, scientists, academics, media personalities, filmmakers and IT professionals in the US has created trust in India’s intellectual abilities abroad. This success has been a major factor in branding India as a source of well-educated and hard-working professionals. This new “Brand India” explains the increased interest in recruiting Indian graduates and professionals in several countries.It also contributes to the willingness of US and other companies to collaborate with, and outsource to, Indian companies. Ethnic Indians, particularly in New Diaspora countries, have become known for their economic, professional, academic, scientific, and artistic successes, as well as for their generally peaceful integration.
In the Old Diaspora, Indians have become integral part of their countries. In countries such as Mauritius names such as Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Anerood Jugnauth, Navin Chandra Ramgoolam and Pravind Jugnauth are prominent in politics serving as the heads of state and governement. Similalry, Trinidad and Tobago has seen two Indian origin prime ministers- Basdeo Panday and Kamala Persad Bissessar. Another Indo-Trinidadian VS Naipaul is much celebrated author and Nobel Laureate.
In Malay Peninsula the Indian Community played a key part in the decolonization process and Malaysian Indian Congress had been a key part of the ruling alliance coalition of the Alliance Party (BN- Barisan Nasional). In Singapore Tamil is an official language along with English, Mandarin and Malay. Indians have served as two out of eight Presidents of Singapore, most recently Mr. S.R. Nathan (1999-2011).
The Gulf Diaspora has increased to more than 8 million. It’s is source of more than 50 percent of remittances received by India. In the economy of countries like the UAE, Indians have achieved a notable presence as entrepreneurs and managers. The Indian community in gulf is more than fifty percent of the total immigrant workers in the Gulf countries and this number has doubled since 2000.