South Asian Diaspora

Summary

South Asians are so widely scattered around the world today that it is popularly claimed that the sun never sets on the South Asian diaspora – echoing what was said of the British Empire in the past. According to the United Nations’ International Migration Report 2015, South Asia accounted for more than 32 million emigrants worldwide. India had the highest annual emigration in the world (16 million), and other major South Asian emigrating countries are Bangladesh (7 million) and Pakistan (6 million). The same year, the World Bank reported that India continues to be the highest remittance recipient country in the world, receiving US$62.7 billion, with the top five sources of remittance being the United Arab Emirates, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

It must be noted that these figures do not include what is called the Old Diaspora – the dispersion of South Asians prior to their nationhood, when millions were taken to work in colonial establishments around the world as indentured labourers and who lost all links to their ancestral homelands. Though most have amalgamated with native populations in their adopted countries, many still consider themselves as part of the South Asian diaspora, even if their ancestry is remotely traced to such places as Sind or Ceylon. Furthermore, these figures are annual migrant flows and do not include the cumulative ethnic population or children born to the immigrants in foreign countries.

In the last five decades or so, South Asian Christians have migrated globally in record numbers to every corner of the planet, and many from other faith backgrounds have embraced the Christian faith in diasporic locations. On account of their colonial connections, proficiency in the English language, technological prowess, professional skills, a strong work ethic, business savviness, community orientation, resilience and other distinctive traits, South Asians have successfully transplanted themselves to different parts of the world. South Asian Christians are more likely to go abroad than people of other faiths and constitute a larger share of the diaspora in many countries. Every week, all over the globe, South Asians congregate for worship and sermons are preached with inimitable regional flavour, along with singing of devotional songs and chanting of liturgies in diverse South Asian languages.