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The global South Asian diaspora is over 50 million strong. Many of its members maintain strong social, economic and cultural connections to their countries of origin. They also engage in various causes and institutions that directly benefit their countries and people in South Asia. A global cast of contributors aim to document the various forms of diaspora engagement between global South Asian diasporas and their origin countries, deepening understanding of the opportunity that these diaspora communities are hoarding for development, and providing insight on how to tap the development potential of diaspora engagement for countries in South Asia.Table of contentIntroduction: Diaspora Engagement and Development in South Asia; Tan Tai Yong and Md Mizanur Rahman1. From Germany to India: The Role of NRI and PIO in Economic and Social Development Assistance; Pierre Gottschlich2. Influencing from Afar: Role of Pakistani Diaspora in Public Policy and Development in Pakistan; S Akbar Zaidi3. Afghan Diapsoras in Britain and Germany: Dynamics, Engagements and Agency; Carolin Fischer4. The Global Circulation of Skill and Capital – Pathways of return migration of Indian Entrepreneurs from the United States to India; Manashi Ray5. Bangladeshi Diaspora: Cultural Practices and Development Linkages; A K M Ahsan Ullah6. From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Leveraging the Academic Diaspora for Development in Bangladesh; Taiabur Rahman7. Diaspora Engagement in Education in Kerala, India; Antony Palackal8. Diaspora Volunteering and Development in Nepal; Prakash khanal9. Diasporic Shrines: Transnational Networks linking South Asia through Pilgrimage and Welfare Development; Virinder S. Kalra, Umber Ibad and Navtej K Purewal10. Intersecting Diasporas: Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples in Malaysia and Development Across the Indian Ocean; Jeffrey Samuels11. Diaspora Engagement Policy in South Asia; Smita Tiwari12. Pockets of the West: The Engagement of the Virtual Diaspora in India; Kiran MirchandaniAbout the authorsTan Tai Yong is a Professor and Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, Singapore. He has written extensively on South Asian history as well as on Southeast Asia and Singapore. His recent books include Singapore – A 700 Year History, Partition and Post-Colonial South Asia: A Reader (co-edited), The Garrison State, The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia (co-authored).Md Mizanur Rahman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, Singapore. His recent co-edited books include Asian Migration Policy: South, East and Southeast Asia. His research articles have appeared in journals such as International Migration, Population, Space and Place, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Asia and Pacific Migration Journal, Asian Population Studies, and Asian Ethnicity.