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Political integration refers to the insertion of individuals and households into a host society. This book argues that in societies containing Indian diaspora communities, political integration occurs as a group rather than as individuals. This groupism enables them to maintain linkages with India while rooting in the host societies. The groupist integration assumes two forms: one in societies where the Indian group is a small minority, as in most Western societies, and one where the Indian group is a large minority and represented by an ethnic political party. The book argues that the dual and groupist integration of Indian communities represent a vexing political issue since prevailing integration notions are governed by old conceptions of the nation-state.

This chapter focuses on the differences in the ethnicity of Indo-Caribbean groups and the impact on their political integration. The chapter aims to comparatively demonstrate that Indo-Caribbean ethnicity is dissimilar in terms of ethnic loyalties, creole nationalism, voting behaviour and participation in government coalitions. It argues that the debate about Indo-Caribbean citizenship and national identity has been limited since it has excessively focused on ‘national integration by means of Creolisation’ while ignoring the impact of the Indian diaspora, the agency of the substantial segments of the Indo-Caribbean communities and the participation in government coalitions. Moreover, differences in environmental conditions, colonial background and political history across the three societies have also contributed to differences in Indo-ethnicity. These differences across the region most likely had a varying impact on the political integration of the communities. The arguments contradict the assumption that Indian ethnicity is the same everywhere, especially when communities seem to be closely related geographically and historically.

This introduction sketches the major forces that have determined the shifts and given rise to new perspectives on the Indian diaspora. Shifts and perspectives are intertwined and have affected the old diaspora. The forces and perspectives have changed the way we look at the diaspora that is this topic of the book. The book is therefore divided into three parts: new perspectives on the history of the diaspora, newly emerging perspectives, and global forces. This introduction then briefly outlines the features of the old diaspora and highlights the most conspicuous new forces that typify the new Indian diaspora today.

This chapter departs from the observation that the transfer of resources by diaspora communities is driven by cultural forces, underscoring that culture and economics are highly entangled. A major implication of this observation is that competition is constrained, thus ruling out that behaviour is (entirely) market-driven. Returns on investments (and remittances) are anticipated but not always in monetary terms as rates of investments. Rather than focussing on the developmental effects of the resource transfer or its policy relevance, the chapter will probe the mechanism of cultural bonding that enables transfers. That is to say, the chapter is first and foremost conceptual. Furthermore, the chapter argues that the transferred resources enhance the bonding effects as they include social and cultural returns that are contained in the specific nature of diaspora markets, the forms of capital, ethnic businesses, tourism, ethnic services such as religion and medicine, and Bollywood.

This introduction outlines the heterogeneous nature of the Indian diaspora and the various types of bonding that can be identified. For a long time, bonding between the homeland and overseas communities was considered a matter of nostalgia that would fade away after the first generation. However, this perspective has become obsolete. Later generations of Indians abroad remain in contact with India, while being integrated into their newly adopted homelands. Local and global forces interact and affect the bonding between India and overseas Indian communities. These Indian communities incorporate Indian culture – be it food, music, religion, language, festivals, dress, and entertainment such as Bollywood – into their lived culture and thus connect the community with India. Such shifts highlight that the old Indian diaspora, conceived as a passive ensemble of a homeland and overseas communities, is being replaced by a new transnational ordering of Indian communities that are actively involved in the transnational world.

This book critically examines new perspectives on the transformations in the Indian diaspora. It studies the changing perspectives on the historical background of the diaspora and analyses fresh and emerging views in response to new configurations in diaspora relations. The volume highlights the transformation of the old Indian diaspora into a new ensemble in which economic, ideological and cultural forces predominate and interact closely. It looks at various themes including Indian indentured emigration to sugar colonies, comparisons between labour migration from India and China, the Girmitiya diaspora, the Indian diaspora in Africa and the rise of racial nationalism, India's soft power in the Gulf region, and the repurposing of the 'Hindutva' idea of India for Western societies as undertaken by diaspora communities. Lucid and topical, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of diaspora studies, migration studies, political studies, international relations, globalisation, political sociology, sociology and South Asia studies.

This chapter departs from the observation that the transfer of resources by diaspora communities is driven by cultural forces, underscoring that culture and economics are highly entangled. A major implication of this observation is that competition is constrained, thus ruling out that behaviour is (entirely) market-driven. Returns on investments (and remittances) are anticipated but not always in monetary terms as rates of investments. Rather than focussing on the developmental effects of the resource transfer or its policy relevance, the chapter will probe the mechanism of cultural bonding that enables transfers. That is to say, the chapter is first and foremost conceptual. Furthermore, the chapter argues that the transferred resources enhance the bonding effects as they include social and cultural returns that are contained in the specific nature of diaspora markets, the forms of capital, ethnic businesses, tourism, ethnic services such as religion and medicine, and Bollywood.