(Re)invention of Diasporic Tradition and the Foreign Policy Making in the Nation State: The Indian Experience

Indians abroad, the largest and most heterogeneous among the global communities, have become central to debates on identity, migration and transnationalism. Globalisation has reinforced ties with the homeland while embedding these communities in host societies, thus producing dual identities that challenge conventional notions of nationhood. Further complicating the analytical precision of “diaspora”, the Indian case exemplifies the plurality of society and the heterogeneity of migration causes and phases. This exemplification makes it difficult to subsume the contexts of diaspora under a single paradigm. Despite various divergences, a shared sense of Indianness persists across the communities abroad, sustained through cultural memory, identity and origin. This enduring collective consciousness makes the strategic significance of the Indian diaspora in shaping global discourses on belonging and transnational identity.