Referred to as «Indian Diaspora», an estimated 20-25 million stock of Indian migrants is recorded world-wide. This is a function of flows of unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers from India over last two centuries. Beginning in 1950s, and picking up as «brain drain» in 1960s, skilled migration to developed countries of the North became more prominent with the recent 21st-century exodus of the IT workers. Beginning with the oil-boom of the 1970s, large numbers of unskilled and semi-skilled Indian labour have migrated to Gulf countries in west Asia. A paradigm shift about skilled migrants leaving India took place in phases - from the «brain drain» of 1960s - 1970s to «brain bank» of 1980s - 1990s, and subsequently to «brain gain» in the 21st century. Similarly, the labour migrants to the Gulf have been viewed as the main source of remittances, swelling India's foreign exchange reserves. Both these perceptions need moderation. Section 2 presents a general contextual background of India. Sections 3 and 4 highlight India's transnational connectivity through skilled migrants in the developed countries, in particular the US. Section 5 is on labour migration to the Gulf. Section 6 is on the socio-economic impacts of Gulf migration on Kerala, an important Indian state of origin. Section 7 is on the evolution and change in the perception of migration in India. Section 8 analyses measures initiated by the Government of India recently. The concluding section is a commentary on whether and how migration could change society in India and the rest of the South.