UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF THE DIASPORIC NETWORK, REMITTANCE AND PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTION IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF GANDHINAGAR AND KACHCHH DISTRICTS OF GUJARAT

The Indian diaspora is one of the largest and prolific communities in the world and the Gujarati diaspora is one of the oldest and the largest Indian diaspora community. The study of Guajarati migration and its diaspora is extremely important to understand the developmental process of Gujarat. Gujarat, lauded as one of the most developed states in India has not reached the position without support from its diaspora, the state has harnessed the help of its Diaspora community abroad. Over the centuries of migration and trade that the Gujarati communities were a part of and after decades of migration to countries like U.S.A, U.K, Canada, Australia, Middle- Eastern and African countries etc., the Gujarati Diaspora community has established itself as a strong force in various social, economic and political spheres. The Gujarati diaspora has strong cultural ties to their homeland and as a result of it, they have a long tradition of philanthropy and aiding in the development of their home and community. The Gujarati diaspora feels a strong sense of duty towards their home and community, and they contribute in various ways in improving and developing their homeland and community. They do so across various spheres like education, healthcare, helping the elderly and many more through the remittances and philanthropy. This flow of remittances to their home villages and towns help in their development. The government of Gujarat also has recognized their contributions and made schemes that involve the Gujarati Diaspora in the development of the state. It is important to study the complex relationship between the diaspora and the homeland to understand development, philanthropy, the diasporic network and also the future of diaspora engagement. Thus, the paper has analysed the history and patterns of Gujarati migration and the contribution of Gujarati Diaspora to the development of the selected districts for study, namely- Kachchh and Gandhinagar. The paper along with the present positives has also explored the future of the Gujarati Diaspora’s contribution in the development of Gujarat and its engagement with its homeland. The paper has attempted to emphasize the need for further governmental policies and intervention in engaging the Gujarati diaspora. To do so, the research paper uses qualitative methods like literary analysis to study the history and pattern of migration, case studies and interviews from the selected districts of Kachchh and Gandhinagar. Some of the villages like Madhapar, Sukhpar and others from Kachchh and Nardipur, Dhamasana and others from Gandhinagar were the selected villages to study the contribution of the Gujarati Diaspora in the development process of Gujarat.