{"id":52255,"date":"2025-08-26T21:16:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T15:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=52255"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:08:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:38:47","slug":"india-internal-diasporas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-08-2025\/india-internal-diasporas","title":{"rendered":"Understanding India\u2019s Internal Diasporas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Population<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The concept of being a <strong>\u2018foreigner or videshi\u2019<\/strong> typically reserved for international migrants, is <strong>increasingly used by internal migrants in India<\/strong> to describe their experience of <strong>cultural displacement.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Defining Diaspora<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The term <strong>\u2018diaspora\u2019 <\/strong>has become <strong>central in policy and academic discussions<\/strong> after the <strong>High-Level Committee<\/strong> on the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-01-2023\/indian-diaspora\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-01-2023\/indian-diaspora\">Indian Diaspora<\/a><\/strong> published its report in <strong>2001\u201302.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has been <strong>defined through national borders<\/strong>, and evokes images of <strong>overseas communities <\/strong>\u2014 Punjabis in Canada, Tamils in Malaysia, Gujaratis in East Africa etc.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was then estimated at over 20 million and is <strong>now pegged at over 30 million.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In India, words like <strong>pravasi and videshi<\/strong> apply not only to international migrants but <strong>also to those moving across states. <\/strong>For example:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Migrants from Odisha working in Surat<\/strong> often refer to their workplace as videsh, because they\u2019ve crossed into a vastly different cultural zone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In Madurai, Tamil Nadu,<\/strong> over 60,000 people speak Gujarati, despite the Census recording virtually no Gujarati migrants, suggesting long-standing settlement and cultural retention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Scale of Internal Diasporas<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to a recent study, the number of Indians living in culturally distinct zones within India <strong>exceeds 100 million <\/strong>\u2014 more than triple the size of India\u2019s international diaspora (based on language Census data, excluding border districts).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key Findings:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Most Dispersed Groups:<\/strong> Punjabi, Malayalam, and Tamil speakers (over 10% dispersed), followed by Telugu and Gujarati.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Largest Group:<\/strong> Hindi speakers (including Bhojpuri and Marwari) dominate numerically but are less dispersed relative to size.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Least Dispersed:<\/strong> Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali speakers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Urban Spread:<\/strong> A third of the internal diaspora resides in India\u2019s ten largest cities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Aspect<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Internal Diaspora<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Internal Migration<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Nature<\/strong><\/td><td>Long-term settlement in distinct cultural zones<\/td><td>Temporary or cyclical movement<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Identity<\/strong><\/td><td>Maintains distinct language, customs, associations<\/td><td>May assimilate or remain transient<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Policy status<\/strong><\/td><td>Largely overlooked, not formally recognised<\/td><td>Addressed in labor laws, welfare schemes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Perception<\/strong><\/td><td>Often feel like videshi in own country<\/td><td>Seen as peripheral\/seasonal migrants<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Recognise Internal Diasporas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cultural Preservation and Identity:<\/strong> Internal diasporas maintain distinct languages, customs, and festivals even after generations of settlement in new regions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community Building and Social Capital:<\/strong> Diasporic groups often form associations (e.g., Bengali Associations, Marathi Mandals, Gujarati Samaj) that foster solidarity, mutual aid, and cultural continuity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These networks can support education, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Policy Relevance:<\/strong> Recognizing internal diasporas helps tailor welfare schemes, urban planning, and language education policies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Contributions:<\/strong> Many internal diasporas are rooted in trade and business migration, contributing to regional economies (e.g., Odia workers in Surat\u2019s textile industry).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Integration with Diversity:<\/strong> Diasporas enrich host regions with culinary, artistic, and linguistic diversity, fostering multicultural urban spaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges of Internal Diasporas<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cultural Alienation: <\/strong>Migrants often feel excluded due to linguistic and cultural barriers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Discrimination &amp; Stereotypes:<\/strong> Host communities may marginalise diasporic groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Ambiguity: <\/strong>Unlike international diaspora, internal diasporas lack formal recognition in policy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data Gaps:<\/strong> Census\/PLFS capture recent migration but miss long-settled diasporic communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Identity Struggles:<\/strong> Younger generations face assimilation pressures and risk losing linguistic\/cultural roots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Urban Strain: <\/strong>Large diasporic clusters in cities may add to housing, infrastructure, and service pressures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion &amp; Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s diasporic reality is not confined to 30 million abroad, but extends to 100+ million within its borders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limiting diaspora to national boundaries overlooks the cultural and economic role of internal diasporas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They shape India\u2019s food, language, art, and commerce, enriching both host communities and national identity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Policy must embrace a borderless understanding of diaspora, recognising that being videshi can mean crossing state boundaries as much as international ones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/videshi-in-ones-own-country-understanding-indias-internal-diasporas-10210210\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The concept of being a \u2018foreigner or videshi\u2019 typically reserved for international migrants, is increasingly used by internal migrants in India to describe their experience of cultural displacement.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Defining Diaspora<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The term \u2018diaspora\u2019 has become central in policy and academic discussions after the High-Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora published its report in 2001\u201302.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It has been defined through national borders, and evokes images of overseas communities \u2014 Punjabis in Canada, Tamils in Malaysia, Gujaratis in East Africa etc.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It was then estimated at over 20 million and is now pegged at over 30 million.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-08-2025\/india-internal-diasporas\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":52267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/india-internal-diasporas.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52340,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52255\/revisions\/52340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}