The Indian diaspora is one of the fastest-growing in the world. In researching and writing Leaving India over the course of seven years, I came across numerous resources that may be of use to other scholars, researchers, and journalists interested in the Indian/South Asian diaspora.
Quick Facts
- 2,843,391 people of Indian origin living in the United States, according to 2010 Census
- 26 million people of Indian origin living abroad today, according to Indian government estimate as of 2011 … (11.5 million people of Indian origin living outside of India, according to most recent formal survey by the government of India in 2001)
- 6 countries outside South Asia with more than 10,000 people of Indian origin as of 1900
- 47 countries outside South Asia with more than 10,000 people of Indian origin as of 2001
- Sept. 9, 1834: Beginning of Indian indenture and the modern Indian diaspora
- 1917: U.S. Congress bars all South Asian immigrants
- 1923: U.S. Supreme Court rules that South Asians, although “Caucasian,” are not “white” and are therefore ineligible for naturalization as U.S. citizens
- 1965: U.S. begins to allow significant immigration of Asians, including South Asians, with scientific qualifications
- 1968: United Nations passes resolution expressing “grave concern” about brain drain of skilled Third World professionals to First World nations
- 2009: President Obama’s administration appoints record numbers of South Asians to executive branch positions
Detailed Historical Data and Statistics
Even for a data geek like me, wrangling the statistics on India’s diaspora into a usable form was a challenge. Various methods have been used over time to calculate the size of the diaspora, and the data sets are of course flawed: censuses were irregular, each country and survey used a different methodology, the names of countries and territories changed over time, etc. Still, it was necessary to compile these statistics in order to form a picture, however approximate, of the impressive growth of the Indian diaspora over time.
Please note there are two tabs:
• rankings of countries with Indian populations greater than 10,000, and
• all countries reported.
Useful links and bibliographies and information on South Asian diaspora
World
- 2001 census of Indians living overseas, compiled by the government of India
- British Library India Office records
- South Asia Diaspora Bibliographic Guides, University of California–Berkeley
- The Digital South Asia Library, hosted at the University of Chicago
- South Asia Resource Access on the Internet, hosted at Columbia University
- Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi searchable database
- South African History Online
United States
- South Asian Forum annotated bibliography of articles on South Asian collective action in the United States, dating back to 1980
- United States official population statistics from the Census Bureau annual updates
- South Asian people and topics in the news from the South Asian Journalists Association
- South Asian diaspora literature bibliographies from DesiLit