ABSTRACT
In 2005, the government of India introduced the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme. Through the Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin, and OCI schemes, the Indian government progressively expanded the idea of belonging beyond the territorial borders of India by binding it more tightly with blood relations. They simultaneously effected a reconfiguration of the relationship among the members of diasporas and between them and their homelands to include the many Indian diasporas into a unified ‘Indian diaspora’. This chapter explores the Overseas Citizen of India scheme to understand the mechanics of these diaspora initiatives as tools for nation-building. It argues that by presenting the OCI scheme as a gift, the government of India set in motion both modern and premodern logics of reciprocity which can not only be recurrently translated into remittances, philanthropy, investment, and soft power but also used for political integration and policing the borders of belonging.
