Indian diaspora in the twenty-first century: population and regional distribution

The article critically examines the two population estimates (i.e. 2000 and 2018) of overseas Indians/Indian diaspora. Both estimates were released by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and appear to be definitive documents on the subject. It also presents the global/regional distribution of the contemporary Indian diaspora apart from a brief account of the historiography of the population estimates of overseas Indians/Indian diaspora since India’s independence. Finally, a critique is also made of the latest diaspora population estimates and a new diaspora category of students suggested in the 15th Report of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs on ‘Welfare of Indian Diaspora: Policies/Schemes’ pertaining to the Ministry of External Affairs.