Punjabi Diaspora Leads India's Linguistic Dispersion Across the Globe

According to a study conducted by IIM Ahmedabad professor Chinmay Tumbe, the Punjabi diaspora accounts for 12.4% of the total Punjabi speakers in Punjab, the highest among India's linguistic diasporas. This is followed by the Malayali diaspora at 12.2% and the Tamil diaspora at 11.5%. The study, published in the Sage journal 'Sociological Bulletin,' also found that India's internal diaspora is roughly three times larger than its international diaspora.

The findings highlight the importance of understanding both internal and international migration patterns in India. Professor Tumbe's earlier work, the India Migration Bibliography, covers over 1,000 studies on internal migration and 1,500 studies on international migration. He emphasizes the concept of 'Videsh' (abroad) for workers, which applies not only to those from Uttar Pradesh going to the West Indies but also to Odia workers making Surat their temporary home.

The study also provides insights into the global distribution of India's linguistic diasporas. The Hindi/Bhojpuri diaspora is the largest at 6.4 million, followed by Tamil at 4.5 million, Malayalam at 3 million, Punjabi at 1.9 million, and Gujarati at 1.3 million. The study underscores the intimate interlinkages between internal and international migration, with the former often serving as a trigger for the latter.