In Australia, Indians found work as shepherds and helpers at sheep farms during the period of 1840 and 1850. They ran camel trains for the transportation of wool from one part of the country to the other. They also worked as farm laborers, small-time traders and hawkers. In New Zealand, they operated as peddlers, flax workers, drain diggers, brick makers and on road building projects. In urban areas, some worked as bottle collectors and hawkers of fruit and vegetables. After World War I, scrub cutting became their primary form of employment. In the US and Canada, they found work in lumber mills, rail-road construction and as farm workers.

Inder Singh regularly writes and speaks on the Global Indian Diaspora. He is Chairman of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He was president of GOPIO from 2004-2009, president of National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) from 1988-92 and chairman from 1992-96. He was founding president of Federation of Indian Associations in Southern California. He can be reached at indersingh-usa@hotmail.com