Defining diasporas

Regarding the Indian diaspora (“Making it as migrants”, June 17th), it is useful to make distinctions about the world’s scattered communities. The classical diasporas, such as Armenian, Greek and Jewish, tend to have multi-generational distinct identities and loose networks of transnational ties among themselves. More recent émigré communities tend to be economic migrants. Colonisers and their descendants, or the enslaved and their descendants, may or may not characterise themselves as diasporas. Is Joe Biden part of the Irish diaspora? Is Barack Obama a member of the African diaspora? “Irish” and “African” can have a variety of meanings in marking identity.

So it is with Indian and Chinese communities around the world. Many are recent economic migrants. Within both, there are various subnational, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic and other distinctions. To speak of a single Indian diaspora or Chinese diaspora, and to consider their relationships with the governments in Delhi or Beijing in monolithic terms, would be wrong.

Complicated relationships with homeland governments result in a more nuanced discourse. The waves of people who have left Russia since the spring of 2022 may be referred to by others as migrants, émigrés, or a diaspora. But many use a different term to describe themselves, relokanty. They have not necessarily dispersed or emigrated, but have relocated. For now. Nareg Seferian

Fairfax, Virginia

A true test of Narendra Modi’s political skills (Banyan, June 17th) would be a successful campaign to address malnutrition in India. Government surveys show that over a third of Indian children are not reaching their full growth potential, physically and mentally. The stunting rate (low height for age) for children under 5 years old was 38.4% in 2015-16 and 35.5% in 2019-21. At this slow rate of improvement India would take 40 years to catch up to China.

Dealing with malnutrition is tailor-made for a politician with Mr Modi’s gifts. It requires a focus on delivery, an ability to campaign relentlessly and the skill to create a new narrative. The impact of the Make in India campaign would be much stronger if accompanied by another national push: Grown in India. Dr Lawrence Haddad Executive director Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

Brighton