Videshi in one’s own country: India’s internal diasporas 

Why in the News?

• The concept of diaspora is usually studied in an international context (Indians abroad).
• However, India also has vast internal diasporas formed due to large-scale inter-state migration.
• Recent research (published in Sociological Bulletin, Aug 2025) highlights how India’s internal diasporas are larger than international ones and deserve attention.
  

Background

• The Indian diaspora abroad: estimated at 30+ million today (20 million in 2001).
• Traditionally, words like pravasi and videshi referred only to overseas migrants.
• But inter-state migration (Odias in Surat, Gujaratis in Madurai, Bengalis in Maharashtra, etc.) creates similar cultural and linguistic displacement.
• Internal diaspora is significant but less studied compared to the international diaspora.

Feature

• Linguistic Diasporas (2010 data):
  • Hindi diaspora: 39.9 million (largest in India).
  • Telugu (7.9m), Tamil (7.4m), Malayalam (4.6m), Punjabi (4.3m), Gujarati (7.1m), Bengali (3.6m).
  • Internal diasporas are bigger than international ones for most languages.
  • A third of the internal diaspora is concentrated in India’s 10 largest cities.
• Diasporic Identities & Associations:
  • Bengali associations hosting Durga Puja, Marathi Mandals, Gujarati Samaj bodies, etc.
  • Help preserve culture and language.
• Types of Diasporas:
  • Old migration diasporas: e.g., Gujarati traders in Tamil Nadu.
  • New migration diasporas: e.g., IT professionals, industrial labour.
• Cultural Exchange:
  • The Gujarati diaspora in Kerala enabled labour linkages.
  • The Telugu diaspora is prominent in the US, but also large internally.
  • Festivals and food habits spread widely through internal diasporas.

Challenges

• Understudied: Internal diasporas receive less academic/policy focus compared to the international diaspora.
• Cultural tensions: Language and identity issues sometimes cause friction (e.g., anti-Hindi protests, migrant-local worker clashes).
• Preservation vs Assimilation: Internal migrants must balance preserving their culture while integrating into new regions.
• Policy gaps: Limited institutional frameworks to support internal migrants’ welfare (housing, labour rights, language barriers).

Way Forward

• Research & Policy Recognition: Treat internal diasporas as a crucial part of India’s diversity and migration history.
• Linguistic Harmony: Promote multilingualism and mutual respect across states to reduce tensions.
• Support Systems: Strengthen migrant welfare measures (labour laws, housing policies, social integration schemes).
• National Identity with Diversity: Encourages seeing migrants not as “videshi” but as contributors to a cosmopolitan Indian identity.
• Interlink Studies: Study internal and international diasporas together, since both shape India’s socio-economic fabric.

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