Each major historic event in India left a number of Indians displaced and lost to History. The first waves of such lost children of India begins in the tenth century with the beginning of Muslims raids into India under Mohammad Ghori and Ghazni and only continue under British rule until the 20^th century. A thousand years of displacements and disenfranchisement left millions of Indians across the globe. It is time for India to recognize and grant its lost children some type of overseas citizenship.

Caribbean and African Diaspora Hindus of the 19^th and 20^th Centuries

British colonial government permitted numerous colonial enterprises to use exploitative recruitment tactics to lure young men and women seeking work. They transported them long distances across the oceans. Such workers were called indentured laborers and were only provided minimal facilities. Wherever it is possible the British companies or landlords posted the newly arrived indentured laborers at barracks only then evacuated by the slaves on numerous plantations across the world from Eastern African countries and South Africa to the West Indies. The story is not much different from Fiji to Guyana. It is the same exploitation. The indentured have no way of connecting with their families back in India, nor did they have facilities to practice their religion or culture. Most of them lost touch with their families and the place of their origin. They did not even know that India achieved independence or that they had any opportunity to return to India. They are the lost children of British colonial India. Colonial governments forgot about them, while India had no accounts of their situation and issues.

Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh

People were not given an opportunity to choose where they may live. The British colonial regime divided the country without conducting a ground survey. India was divided into two countries by drawing a line on the map, without conducting ground survey, which divided the country arbitrarily overnight. In Some places the border went through houses, and sometimes through land belonging to a farmer, putting half of his land on one side and the other half of his land on another side. In a complete disregard for the lives of the common people British regime did not provide security forces on the borders leading to chaos and murder spree, which was equal to perpetrating genocide on the part of Britain. Numerous people found themselves stranded in the country they did not seek to live. Whatever Pakistan might say it is the responsibility of India to provide an opportunity for its Hindus to return to their homeland. Pakistan was created for Muslims to give a separate nation for Muslims. If Indian Muslims desire to go to Pakistan they must be free to do so also.  Pakistan must accept Indian Muslims freely.

Bangladesh (East Pakistan) is another case. Bangladesh is ethnically uniform even though it is a Muslim majority country. Bangladeshi Muslims also spoke Bengali (although they call it Bangla), practiced syncretic style of Islam and had nothing in common with West Pakistan. However, that does not mean that Hindus are treated any better in Bangladesh than Pakistan. Hindu population is mistreated and declined gradually since 1950 (28%), currently at about 8% according to the 2011 census. Being ethnically and linguistically homogeneous has not prevented ethnic cleansing and mass killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.

It is heartening to note that India is considering steps to allow relocation the mistreated minority groups from Pakistan and Bangladesh to resettle in India. Similar facilities must be extended to Hindu diaspora across the world.

Hindus in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian Countries

Hindus entered and flourished in Southeast Asia since 3^rd century C.E. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines derive their early empirical foundations from India and its early Hindu and Buddhist groups arrived from India. More Hindus brought since the 16th century by successive states of India join these ancient Hindus. British colonial regime brought more Hindus to work in plantations across Southeast Asia. However, the current status of Hindus in these countries is precarious. Although native to Indonesia, indigenous Hinduism is not allowed to be practiced in Indonesia, while Malaysia treats Hindus as unwanted citizens. India should recognize the diaspora and grant overseas citizenship to all the Hindus of Southeast Asia.

Roma across European and Eurasian countries

Another forgotten long lost diaspora of India is the Roma living across Europe and Eurasia. Roma were forcefully removed and taken away from Indian regions conquered by the Muslim raids from 10^th century onwards for fear of rebellions in their conquered territories. Roma are the first diaspora of India. Hence, India should embrace this group of people immediately. Roma across Europe and Eurasia suffered discrimination lasting over a thousand years. The recent removal and resettlement of Roma in Ukraine (An event similar to the Babyn Yar Tragedy of WWII) drew criticism from Israel and the Holocaust Museum of USA (http://www.jta.org/2016/08/31/news-opinion/world/u-s-holocaust-museum-condemns-attack-on-ukrainian-roma), but no statement from India, which shows the missing place of Roma from the national conscious of India.

Being treated as refugees in lands where they settled for close to a thousand years haunts the Roma across Europe and the Eurasian region. Roma are largely missing from public debates on human rights violations. Numerous Roma across Europe were discriminated and killed during the Second World War alongside Jews, but Roma massacres did not draw any attention from international community. Initiatives to create and bring awareness to Roma issues in Europe are helping raise awareness in the recent years (http://www.errc.org/about-us-overview).

India could be forgiven for its lack of empathy towards its diaspora in the past since it was also under colonial rule lasting for a thousand years until 1947. However, as India enters a new phase of development and place of strategic importance in the international sphere, attention should be paid to its lost children. India must support and embrace its lost children from across the globe.

Image Credits: By Edinburgh Geographical Institute; J. G. Bartholomew and Sons. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons