It may not yet be common knowledge that the Indian diaspora has achieved dominance in Belgium's diamond industry.
The Indian diamond community in Antwerp, Belgium has gained control over the trade's main governing body, the Diamond High Council.
Diamond traders from India won five out of the six seats on the board of the Hoge Raa Voor Diamant (HRD), the group that regulates and represents the diamond sector in the rough diamond capital of Antwerp...
Today, Indians control 60 percent of Antwerp's rough and polished diamonds, worth an estimated $36 billion in 2006.
Occasionally, there's a reminder of India's probably link with conflict diamonds.
The murder of an Indian diamond trader in Angola last week and the disappearance of the US$1 million worth of diamonds in his possession has rekindled a three-year-old debate on India's probable link with conflict, or "blood", diamonds.
... Sources say that it would be naive to rule out a possible Indian link to conflict diamonds, since the country is the largest importer of the gemstone, as well as a dominant force in the cutting and polishing of rough diamonds.
Why does this matter? Human suffering aside, a piece from 2003 linked conflict diamonds with terrorist fundraising.
"Diamonds are an extremely highly concentrated form of wealth and they retain their value," said Alex Yearsley from the campaign group Global Witness...
Facing financial difficulties in 1993 following the establishment of operations in Sudan, [al-Qaeda] is said to have bought and sold gems to raise funds.
"Hezbollah (a Shiite Muslim organisation linked to Lebanese activists) fundraised through diamonds. They used the Lebanese diaspora in Western and Central Africa. Israel tried to shut down networks in Sierra Leone," said Mr Yearsley.
Unfortunately, states with porous borders such as Angola are difficult to effectively monitor.
