Your Excellencies
Associate Professor Tan Tai Yong
Chair of the Editorial Management Board of the Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora and Dean of the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Distinguished guests and friends,
1 Thank you for inviting me to speak at the auspicious occasion of the official presentation of the Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora.
The Indian Diaspora
2 Estimated at over 25 million and spread across no less than 110 countries, the Indian Diaspora is a phenomenon of global significance. Overseas Indians have left indelible marks and made lasting contributions not just in the countries they reside in but also internationally, by virtue of their enterprise, dedication and perseverance.
3 Regardless of the colour of their passports, the religions they profess and the mother tongues they speak; be they Indian Muslims in Hong Kong, Gujarati East Africans now settled in America or third generation Tamils in Singapore, most - if not all - of these persons of Indian descent still maintain links of varying degrees with India. This is an asset both to India as well as to the countries where the Diaspora live.
4 Many members of the Diaspora have made it to the highest echelons in virtually every field and have contributed to the development of the countries they settled in. Among the best known names include billionaire industrialist Lakshmi Mittal, acclaimed movie director Manoj Night Shyamalan, professional golfer Vijay Singh and Singapore's very own President S R Nathan. The list goes on. The achievements of these persons of Indian origin in their respective spheres have been nothing short of remarkable.
5 Earlier this year in January, I had the honour of attending the 4th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event held in Hyderabad. Pravasi is an annual global forum organised by the Indian government that networks the Diaspora. One interesting fact about the Pravasi event is that it is scheduled to coincide with a special day - January 9th, the day that Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps India's most famous NRI (or Non-Resident Indian) - returned to India from South Africa in 1915. Just as the Mahatma changed the course of India's history after his return, a new generation of Diaspora Indians are reshaping India's future.
6 The hosting of these annual Pravasi events, together with the creation in May 2004 of a new Indian ministry exclusively aimed at managing issues related to NRIs, underline the importance that India attaches to nurturing a close relationship with its Diaspora.
7 The Diaspora is a formidable economic force. Indian high-tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley in the US have created companies that provide employment to many Americans and have achieved stunning breakthroughs in computer technology. Some took the skills honed in California back to India and created Indian versions of Silicon Valley in cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.
8 I just returned from a two-week trip to India. India is on the move with a GDP growing at more than 8.5%. Many Diaspora Indians are returning to create new businesses in India while at the same time, many Indian companies and Indian entrepreneurs are venturing abroad across the globe. The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora could not have come at a better time.
The Ancient Diaspora
9 The phenomenon of the Indian Diaspora is not new. It has ancient roots. In the 1st century A.D., Dharmaraksa and Matanga went to China on a white horse at the invitation of the Han emperor Mingdi. The White Horse Monastery, or "Bai-Ma-Si", was built for the two monks and they settled in China. From then on, there was a steady stream of Indians who travelled out of India. Some like Gautama Siddharta achieved a high position as the head of the Chinese Astronomy Board in the 8th Century. Throughout South East Asia, thousand-year-old temples and stupas bear testimony to the ancient Indian influence spread by Indian travellers and traders. The Angkor Wat, the Borobodor and the Prambanan temples reflect this cultural influence.
10 The ancient Indian Diaspora in turn stimulated the interest of non-Indians in India. Two weeks ago, I visited the ruins of the great Nalanda University in the state of Bihar. This was the world's first International University and thousands of students lived and learned at the University. The famous Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang taught at the University in the 7th Century before returning home. Bronze plates with inscriptions recording the donations of Sumatran kings to the University have been found at Nalanda.
11 The publication of the encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora will kindle further interest in research on the origins of the Diaspora and the ancient ties that linked India to the rest of Asia. These are ties well worth researching, re-discovering and re-establishing.
The Encyclopedia
12 The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora is a landmark publication that vividly captures the rich and colourful history as well as the contemporary realities of Indian communities living overseas, in both narrative and pictorial form. Two years in the making, this publication comes at a time when the Indian Diaspora is increasingly perceived as an intrinsic part of the bigger story of humanity's drift toward globalization, transnational economic and cultural flows, and hybrid forms of socio-cultural identity.
13 An impressive 60 authors and experts from over 15 countries have contributed to this scholarly effort. The book sheds light on the worldwide spread of Indian communities and their adaptability and resilience in diverse host societies. It also explores how members of these communities set out to maintain their 'Indian-ness' in a range of ways, through music, language, religion and dress.
14 A first of its kind, the Encyclopedia will serve as an authoritative guide for people interested in finding out more about the movement of Indians across the globe, and the impact and contributions they have made in their host nations and around the world.
15 I extend my heartiest congratulations to the South Asian Studies Programme of the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and to the publisher, Editions Didier Millet, for the production of this excellent volume.
16 Thank you.
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