A tale of India, diaspora and development

ABSTRACT In this article, I consider how the Indian state approaches the relationship between India’s development and the Indian diaspora by analysing the discourse that emerges from a key Indian government report. I argue that the Indian state uses the idea of development to support the way it governs Indians abroad. At the same time, the Indian state uses its relationship with Indians abroad to support particular policies being pursued in the name of India’s development. These policies require economic “liberalization”, including by freeing up the movement of capital and reducing rates of corporate taxation. While invoking Indians abroad to shape the governance of Indians inside of India appears counterintuitive, I argue that it reflects the way that particular notions of “overseas Indians” and “development” are being simultaneously shaped by the Indian state, and the way that the authority of the Indian state to pursue particular “development policies” is being grounded.