Perspectives on the Indian Diaspora

Understanding the complexity of international migration has always been a challenge for scholars and those interested in the issue. Earliest attempts at explaining the most basic question of motivation to migrate involved scholars identifying push and pull factors such as lack of economic opportunities, religious or political persecution, occurrence of natural calamities, family reunification, better living and working conditions, and so on. Such a collection of the push–pull factors, however, is inadequate to provide a comprehensive theory of migration that is helpful in explaining its various forms at different times (Portes 1978).

Alternative explanations have involved looking for structural factors, but were found inadequate on the same account. The premise of the present book under review is that a comprehensive understanding of the process of migration requires an understanding of the political context in which it takes place. Countries have used migration and continue to do so, as a policy instrument to achieve certain social, cultural, economic, and/or political objectives. The ability to migrate, the direction of migration, as well as the impact on the countries of origin and destination are guided by policy objectives. Politics of Migration explores different dimensions of international migration—motivation, formation of an Indian diaspora, India’s policy towards its diaspora, its integration into the countries of destination, and the diaspora’s engagement with India and different states of origin, from a political perspective. In this sense, the authors claim that the book is the first of its kind.