South Asian diaspora

South Asians in the diaspora are often referred to as Desis, a term embraced by many South Asians, though controversial to some.{{cite book |last1=Khanduri |first1=Ritu Gairola |title=Caricaturing Culture in India: Cartoons and History in the Modern World |date=2 October 2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-04332-9 |page=202 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-10-06 |title=What term best describes those from the Indian subcontinent? It depends on who you ask |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/brown-desi-south-asian-diaspora-reflects-terms-represent-erase-rcna1886 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sircar |first=Anisha |date=2020-12-08 |title=Is the term 'Desi' offensive? Some South Asian Americans think so |url=https://scroll.in/global/975071/is-the-term-desi-offensive-some-south-asian-americans-think-so |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}

{{See also|History of emigration from India}}

{{See also|Kala pani (taboo)|Maritime Silk Road}}

Some South Asians lived in other parts of the world for trade purposes. During the Roman Empire, a few South Asians came to Europe.{{Cite journal |last=Kaur |first=Raminder |date=2011 |title='Ancient cosmopolitanism' and the South Asian diaspora |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19438192.2011.579458 |journal=South Asian Diaspora |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=197–213 |doi=10.1080/19438192.2011.579458 |issn=1943-8192}}

{{See also|Bukhara slave trade}}{{Empty section|date=December 2024}}

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{{See also|Commonwealth diaspora#Colonial era}}File:Statue Janey Tetary 2.jpg

During the colonial era, over 1 million South Asians were taken to other parts of the world as indentured servants.{{Cite book |last=Bose |first=Neilesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1AEEAAAQBAJ |title=South Asian Migrations in Global History: Labor, Law, and Wayward Lives |date=2020-12-10 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-12468-4 |language=en}} South Asians also were brought to parts of Southeast Asia as part of the British Empire.{{Cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jet6JOYjZ4wC&pg=PR39 |title=South Asians Overseas: Migration and Ethnicity |last2=Peach |first2=Ceri |last3=Vertovec |first3=Steven |date=1990-10-26 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-37543-6 |language=en}}

Diaspora members played a significant role in opposing the British Raj as part of the Ghadar Movement.

Some South Asians, mainly from Punjab, migrated to the West Coast in the United States, and mixed with the local Mexican community.{{Cite book |last1=Seller |first1=Maxine S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egNQdMcI7GoC&pg=PA165 |title=Beyond Black and White: New Faces and Voices in U.S. Schools |last2=Weis |first2=Lois |date=1997-03-13 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-1942-8 |language=en}}

South Asians have emigrated in record numbers since the end of the colonial era in the middle of the 20th century. Many South Asians migrated to the United Kingdom and participated in its post-war economic recovery.{{Citation |last=Ballard |first=Roger |title=The South Asian presence in Britain and its transnational connections |date=2003 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203398296-15/south-asian-presence-britain-transnational-connections-roger-ballard |work=Culture and Economy in the Indian Diaspora |pages=209–234 |access-date=2023-11-03 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203398296-15 |isbn=978-0-203-39829-6}}{{Cite news |title=India's diaspora is bigger and more influential than any in history |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2023/06/12/indias-diaspora-is-bigger-and-more-influential-than-any-in-history |access-date=2023-11-08 |issn=0013-0613}} Some South Asians went to the Middle East for labour opportunities, though some were mistreated in a racist manner and exploited.{{Cite book |last=Rana |first=Junaid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfFGJmCU5I4C&pg=PP100 |title=Terrifying Muslims: Race and Labor in the South Asian Diaspora |date=2011 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4911-2 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-03-04 |title=A Tale of Two Nomads: Racism and Migrant Labor in the Middle East |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/a-tale-of-two-nomads/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}} After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that allowed nonwhite immigration was passed, Indian-Americans became the richest ethnic group in the United States, and comprise over 10% of the labour force in computing-related fields.{{Cite book |last=Gabbay |first=Liat Klain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqf8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |title=Indigenous, Aboriginal, Fugitive and Ethnic Groups Around the Globe |date=2019-09-11 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-1-78985-431-2 |language=en}}

Because South Asians had already dispersed across the world during the colonial era, a noted aspect of the diaspora is that it has produced several secondary diasporas - some of its members' families transited through several countries over generations to reach a final destination (e.g. a person's ancestors may have come from India to Africa, and then a few generations later from Africa to New Zealand).{{Cite book |last=Barkan |first=Elliott Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuLEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA482 |title=A Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America's Multicultural Heritage |date=1999-05-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-06497-5 |language=en}}

{{See also|Desi#Culture}}

Some people in the diaspora watch South Asian cinema (mainly Bollywood), and some South Asian films feature diaspora characters. The Hindi-language Bollywood industry has played a significant role in uniting the diaspora around Hindi as a common language for exploring its South Asian heritage.{{Cite book |last1=Chatterji |first1=Joya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xCUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA412 |title=Routledge Handbook of the South Asian Diaspora |last2=Washbrook |first2=David |date=2014-01-03 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-01824-4 |language=en}} The diaspora's proficiency in English has also led to South Asian media catering to them using Hinglish, a hybrid of Hindi and English.{{Cite book |last1=Kothari |first1=Rita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4tmwFFhoAEC&pg=PA106 |title=Chutnefying English: The Phenomenon of Hinglish |last2=Snell |first2=Rupert |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341639-5 |language=en}}

File:BoyBattingInCricket2013.jpg, America.]]

South Asians introduced some of their traditional games, such as kabaddi and kho-kho, into countries like South Africa and Malaysia during the colonial era.{{Cite journal |last=Mahabir |first=Dr Kumar |title=Disappearing Ancient Games In The Caribbean |url=https://www.academia.edu/20217968 |journal=Academia}}[https://www.kzndsr.gov.za/images/documents/strategic-documents/Annual_Report_2007-2008_10.pdf Department of Sport and Recreation - Annual Report 2007-2008] https://www.kzndsr.gov.za/{{Cite web |date=2023-10-04 |title=Asian Games: Indian connect in Malaysia's men's kabaddi team |url=https://www.newsonradar.com/41717/asian-games-indian-connect-in-malaysias-mens-kabaddi-team/ |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=News On Radar |language=en-US}} In post-colonial times, kabaddi and kho-kho have been brought by the diaspora to some of the Western countries,{{Cite web |title=Take my breath away — A kabaddi story |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/take-my-breath-away-a-kabaddi-story/cid/1703274 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=DHNS |title=Kabaddi is now cool sport, thanks to Bollywood, corporates |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/kabaddi-now-cool-sport-thanks-2202558 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2017-01-30 |title=British Indians fall in love with 'Kho Kho', reconnect with roots |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/british-indians-fall-in-love-with-kho-reconnect-with-roots-4498120/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} with kabaddi used in some contexts to show masculinity in hostile environments.{{Cite journal |last=Kukreja |first=Reena |date=2023-03-16 |title=Using indigenous sport as resistance against migrant exclusion: Kabaddi and South Asian male migrants in Greece |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2036954 |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |language=en |volume=49 |issue=5 |pages=1173–1190 |doi=10.1080/1369183X.2022.2036954 |issn=1369-183X}}

Cricket, a popular sport in South Asia, has been patronised by the diaspora in North America and the Middle East,{{Cite journal |last=KANCHANA |first=RADHIKA |date=2020-06-29 |title=Cricket, an oddity in the Arab-Gulf lands or a mirror of an enduring South Asian diaspora? |journal=Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos |issue=28 |pages=121–135 |doi=10.15366/reim2020.28.007 |issn=1887-4460|doi-access=free }} with the American Major League Cricket mainly targeting the diaspora audience.{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Yusuf |title=Major League Cricket Is Here—in a Minor-League Baseball Stadium |url=https://www.wsj.com/sports/major-league-cricket-texas-7478fdd |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kasi |first=Brashna |date=2023-08-01 |title=MLC: Cricket breaks new ground as America's South Asian diaspora gets a taste of T20 extravaganza |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1767669 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Media Companies Eye Cricket-Loving Diaspora in the U.S. |work=The New York Times |date=24 October 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/business/cricket-media-streaming.html |last1=Nerkar |first1=Santul }} The sport has grown in Europe since the 2015 refugee crisis.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-15 |title=A sticky wicket: How cricket is making inroads in Europe |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/cricket-europe-netherlands-germany-norway/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}

In general, South Asians have a complicated relationship to sport, as it can allow for cultural continuity but can also be used to disrupt negative social and physical perceptions of the diaspora.{{Cite book |last=Thangaraj |first=Stanley |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zKbbCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=info:ejp4rliEhC0J:scholar.google.com/&ots=FD3MKQMDfK |title=Sport and South Asian Diasporas: Playing through Time and Space |last2=Burdsey |first2=Daniel |last3=Dudrah |first3=Rajinder |date=2015-10-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-68429-9 |language=en}}

{{See also|Asian Underground|Chutney parang|Desi hip hop}}

{{Excerpt|Desi pub}}

File:Deepavali, Little India, Singapore, Oct 06.JPG (Diwali) celebrated in Little India, Singapore.]]

South Asian diasporas represent a wide variety of linguistic, cultural, ethnic, and religious groups from across the subcontinent.{{Cite book |last1=Jacobsen |first1=Knut A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DsyiDwAAQBAJ |title=South Asians in the Diaspora: Histories and Religious Traditions |last2=Kumar |first2=Pratap |date=2018-08-14 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-0140-7 |language=en}} There are sometimes tensions between these different groups within the diaspora. For example, the Hindu-Muslim tensions created by the 1947 Partition of India sometimes manifest themselves in divisions among Hindus and Muslims in the diaspora, particularly between those of Indian descent and those of Pakistani or Bangladeshi descent.{{Cite journal |last1=Mohammad-Arif |first1=Aminah |last2=Moliner |first2=Christine |date=2007-10-16 |title=Introduction. Migration and Constructions of the Other: Inter-Communal Relationships amongst South Asian Diasporas |url=https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/136 |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |language=en |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/samaj.136 |issn=1960-6060|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Mohammad-Arif |first=Aminah |date=2007-10-16 |title=The Paradox of Religion: The (re)Construction of Hindu and Muslim Identities amongst South Asian Diasporas in the United States |url=https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/55 |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |language=en |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/samaj.55 |issn=1960-6060|doi-access=free }} These tensions have been noted more frequently among the diaspora in the United Kingdom since incidents such as the Babri Masjid demolition and the 2014 election of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India.{{Cite journal |last1=Burlet |first1=Stacey |last2=Reid |first2=Helen |date=1995 |title=Cooperation and conflict: The South Asian diaspora after Ayodhya |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183X.1995.9976514 |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |language=en |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=587–597 |doi=10.1080/1369183X.1995.9976514 |issn=1369-183X}}{{Cite news |date=2022-09-24 |title=Leicester: Why the violent unrest was surprising to many |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63009571 |access-date=2023-11-03}}{{Cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Jessica |last2=Khan |first2=Aina J. |last3=Syal |first3=Rajeev |date=2022-09-23 |title='It feels like people want to fight': how communal unrest flared in Leicester |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/23/how-communal-unrest-flared-leicester-muslim-hindu-tensions |access-date=2023-11-03 |issn=0261-3077}}

Discrimination based on the caste system occurs to some extent primarily within the Indian diaspora; in America, a non-scientific survey showed 67% of lower-caste Dalits had experienced caste discrimination in the workplace,{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-09-04 |title=Even in the US, South Asians say caste has proved hard to escape |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/us/caste-discrimination-us-trnd/index.html |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=CNN |language=en}} and in California, there was heated debate within the diaspora as to whether to pass legislation explicitly banning caste discrimination.{{Cite news |last=Clayton |first=Abené |date=2023-10-08 |title=Ban on caste discrimination deemed 'unnecessary' by California governor |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/07/california-caste-discrimination-ban-vetoed-gavin-newsom |access-date=2023-11-08 |issn=0261-3077}}

Diaspora communities have been noted for providing crucial economic support and remittances to countries within South Asia.{{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNg_CwAAQBAJ |title=A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas |date=2016-01-01 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-19694-8 |language=en}} India has issued diaspora bonds in certain crisis situations, such as the 1991 Indian economic crisis,{{Cite web |title=Finance and Development |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2009/06/ketkar.htm |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=Finance and Development {{!}} F&D |language=en-US}} and has given increasing priority to involving its diaspora.{{Cite journal |last=Kahali |first=Aloke |date=2017-11-05 |title=Diaspora engagement: need for paradigm shift – Indian perspective |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bdia/10/1/article-p1_1.xml |journal=Diaspora Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1080/09739572.2016.1239432 |issn=0973-9572}} Diaspora graduates from MIT played a significant role in establishing the Indian Institutes of Technology.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-18 |title=Uncovering the rich connections between South Asia and MIT |url=https://news.mit.edu/2022/south-asia-exhibit-mit-1118 |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}}

Tensions have occurred between South Asian countries and their diasporas over support for separatist movements, as in the case of India and its Punjabi diaspora over the Khalistan movement. These tensions have sometimes boiled over to harming relations between South Asian countries and the host countries of the diaspora, as with the 2023 Canada-India diplomatic row.{{Cite web |last=Sen |first=Somdeep |title=India wants to take on Trudeau. It's taking down its own diaspora |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/9/27/india-wants-to-take-on-trudeau-its-taking-down-its-own-diaspora |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

{{See also|Stereotypes of South Asians}}The Hindu diaspora has come under some scrutiny in its host countries for playing an increasingly significant role in promoting Hindu nationalism, with some diaspora members disapproving of the scrutiny and opposing Hindu nationalism.{{Cite web |title=Hindu nationalist surge in India creating fissures in diaspora |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/19/religious-polarisation-in-india-seeping-into-us-diaspora |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=India must stop spreading Hindu nationalism to its global diaspora |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/India-must-stop-spreading-Hindu-nationalism-to-its-global-diaspora |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB}}{{Citation |chapter=20. The Diaspora and Hindu Nationalism |date=2009-01-10 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400828036.361/html?lang=en |pages=361–369 |access-date=2023-11-07 |publisher=Princeton University Press |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781400828036.361 |isbn=978-1-4008-2803-6 |title=Hindu Nationalism }}{{Cite web |last=Deuskar |first=Nachiket |date=2023-05-16 |title=Hindutva is increasingly influencing the Hindu diaspora – and extending Indian politics overseas |url=https://scroll.in/article/1048844/hindutva-is-increasingly-influencing-the-hindu-diaspora-and-extending-indian-politics-overseas |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}

Some Punjabis have joined gangs in recent decades in Canada.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-26 |title=After Moosewala's murder, spotlight back on (Punjabi) gangs of Canada |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/after-moosewalas-murder-spotlight-back-on-punjabi-gangs-of-canada-7991686/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}

File:Russel Peters at a CFC event In LA 2012 33 (6962380041) (cropped).jpg, a famous Indo-Canadian comedian.]]In the United States, representation of the South Asian diaspora has steadily increased; in previous decades, Apu of The Simpsons had been the most prominent South Asian representation, but now there is significantly more varied representation, with comedians like Hasan Minhaj achieving success.{{Cite news |last=Mahdawi |first=Arwa |date=2017-05-09 |title=From Apu to Master of None: how US pop culture tuned into the south Asian experience |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/09/from-apu-to-master-of-none-how-us-pop-culture-tuned-into-the-south-asian-experience |access-date=2023-11-08 |issn=0261-3077}}

Venba is a video game that depicts themes of Tamil-Canadian immigration by exploring Tamil cuisine.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-04 |title=Venba: A video game about a South Indian immigrant's story one recipe at a time |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/venba-south-india-cooking-game-interview-nintendo-switch-8304899/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}

Thirsty Suitors explores romantic relationships involving a South Asian-American protagonist.{{Cite web |title=Video Games Are Lagging Behind In South Asian Representation |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/video-games-are-lagging-behind-in-south-asian-representation/1100-6503195/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}

{{See also|Ethnic groups in South Asia#Diaspora}}

• British South Asians
• Dutch South Asians
• Irish South Asians
• South Asian Americans
• South Asian Canadians
• South Asians Canadians in Vancouver
• South Asian Canadians in British Columbia
• South Asian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area
• South Asians in Hong Kong

• Indo-Caribbean diaspora
• Indo-Fijian diaspora

• Afghan diaspora (sometimes considered a Central Asian diaspora)
• Bangladeshi diaspora
• Indian diaspora
• Maldivian diaspora
• Nepalese diaspora
• Pakistani diaspora
• Sri Lankan diaspora

• Indian Arrival Day, commemorating the arrival of indentured labourers
• Commonwealth diaspora, including other groups of former British subjects
• Deportation of Indian nationals under Donald Trump

{{Reflist}}{{South Asian diaspora}}{{South Asian topics}}{{Overseas Asians}}

Category:South Asian diaspora