It was decided to make a start with Latin America. This was to honour the "Farther the Better" spirit of early migrants and accordingly Argentina was the first country to be visited.

Introduction:

One cannot do better than quote from the High-Level Committee Report of December 2001 set up by the Government of India which when referring to Latin America and nearby island countries says: "We have added brief sketches here about many of the countries of Central and South (or Latin) America, where there is even a small Indian presence. In doing so, our purpose has been to pay our tribute to the relentless spirit of the 'Overseas Indian' who has ventured forth to remote corners of the world in search of adventure or profit, whatever the impediments or challenges he or she has had to encounter. There are relatively few PIOs and NRIs in most of these countries. But their achievements in what may sometimes have been hostile or unwelcome milieu must command our respect and admiration."

The study is the author's personal tribute to a forgotten Diaspora.

Objective:

It was felt necessary to complete the Sikh migration map. Out of the three broad geographical areas mentioned earlier where limited knowledge of Sikh Diaspora exists, the author decided to focus on Latin America. Latin America can be defined in several ways, but the author has confined himself to mainland South and Central American countries which are Spanish or Portuguese speaking. The Caribbean and other Islands which are sometimes included under Latin America have not been considered except for Cuba. This is a vast geographical area to cover. The choice was to focus on one or two countries or to extend the study to a number of countries even though it meant merely scratching the surface.

Since no existing study was available, the latter option was felt more appropriate so as to create an interest amongst scholars for encouraging in-depth studies country-wise or for detailed examination of a specific topic or specialization across countries and for Punjabis to get a feel of the geographical extent of their Diaspora. If this paper can whet the appetite for further study or create public curiosity at large, the author would feel that the effort has been worthwhile. On the latter, the author has been receiving several responses to his website especially from the younger generation who want to pursue such a study.