Diaspora, brain circulation and Indian development: Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

It is increasingly claimed that knowledge is the most important commodity affecting the development of nations in a globalising world. This chapter considers the role of brain circulation of international students, professionals and other skilled workers, and migrants returning to their country of origin, for either a short term or permanently. For any particular country each of these types of diasporic mobility has the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge exchange and development. The chapter will focus on the two migrant settlement countries of Australia and New Zealand and their Indian migrant populations. For both countries, the Indian population is diverse in terms of language, religion and region of origin in India, and the linkages between these countries of settlement and the Indian homeland are also diverse. This chapter draws together a variety of data to illustrate these linkages and suggests potential outcomes for development in India. Sources of information include census data, immigration data, studies of Indian migrant populations in both Australia and New Zealand and media accounts. These will be analysed in the context of theoretical perspectives such as diaspora, brain circulation and knowledge exchange, as well as in the context of the evolving immigration policies of Australia and New Zealand.