ABSTRACT
Within the context of transnationalism and globalization, diasporas have been conceptualized as deterritorialized nations, unbounded from the nation-state. Postcolonial diasporas located in the economic North, for example, often act as transnational agents integral to globalization processes in the economic South. Transnational communities play significant roles in influencing and supporting the political economy of the homeland nation-state through strategies such as remittance, investment, and lobbying.1 In the case of India, billions of dollars have been invested by NRIs (nonresident Indians). South Asian diasporic communities located in the West or economic North, including the Brown Atlantic and Australia, have had such a strong impact on South Asian nation-states that India, for example, has increasingly sought to develop state apparatus dedicated to its relationship with its diaspora.
