The first Asian elected in 1956 as U.S Congressman was Dalip Singh Saund from India. There are several people of Indian origin who hold elected positions in the legislative bodies of their countries and some have occupied or are holding ministerial or other high ranking positions. People of Indian origin living in various parts of the world, are generally well educated and most of them hold professional positions or are engaged in their businesses. Some of the professionals and academics have earned coveted recognitions. Four of them, Har Gobind Khorana, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, V. S. Naipaul, and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, have been conferred the Noble Prize. Several others have earned name, fame and fortune in their professions and businesses.

In the United States, some Indian Americans currently hold positions as CEOs of large multinational corporations such as Adobe Systems, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Master Card, and others to mention a few. Lakshmi Mittal and Hinduja brothers adorn the list of richest men in the United Kingdom. In the Middle East, most of the Indian immigrants are semi-skilled workers, but about a dozen Indians are found in the list of billionaires.

The Indian diaspora abroad has a history going back to hundreds of years. They went overseas as traders, plantation workers, laborers, students and professionals. Those who went as indentured workers or laborers went through very hard times but those who migrated as skilled, educated and professional workers, mostly settled with better opportunities and became part of the mainstream.