FOREWORD

The story of the Indian Diaspora is fascinating. Actually, it is cinematic in its scope. In this story, you can find tumultuous heart-break and unbridled joy. There is breathtaking romance. Men and women of the Indian Diaspora have led nations, and continue to do so, powerfully. Some have also toppled from the slippery slopes of power. Frontiers of science, technology and learning have been repeatedly pushed and challenged. The charts of economic stardom have been busted with elan. The bars of tolerance have been raised, and often enough. The menace of apartheid has been fought, sometimes from inside prison. Inspiring freedom movements have been scripted. The fruits of success have been savoured. The meeting of great minds has taken place at different corners of the planet. And so much more.

All at once, it is a story of the jalebi shop owner in South Hall, the tailoring store entrepreneur in Hong Kong, the automobile engineer in Detroit, the scientist at NASA, the President in Mauritius and the Prime Minister in Trinidad and Tobago. And 28 million such stories. It is also a fascinating connect between all of them through their Indian identity and a need somewhere to strike a bond with their ancestral land.