2021 Census: India and Nepal are now top countries of birth for people in Dubbo

Latest Census data showed figures for the two counties had almost doubled since 2016. India-born people now make up 1.7 per cent of the 2830 postcode population, and Nepal-born people make up 1.6 per cent.

Also in 2016, those born in England made up the highest group of overseas-born people, now they are the third-highest (1 per cent), according to the 2021 Census.

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Councillor Shibli Chowdhury said this was a great outcome for any regional town. He said big city dwellers were "hesitant' to move regional because of a lack of community, but these figures would reassure them.

"One thing I always believe is when someone comes from overseas, or big cities, to a regional town, they always try to find a connection with the local community," Cr Chowdhury said.

"So it helps them and gives them confidence because there are other people [from similar backgrounds] already living there, and that they're not too far from their family."

He said that Dubbo was very welcoming, with a "fantastic" community to be a part of.

Chairperson of the Orana Residents of Indian Sub-Continental Heritage (ORISCON), Gargi Ganguly, welcomed the news of a growing South Asian population.

Members of this group are of Indian, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Bhutanese, Sri Lankan, and Maldivian heritage. Diasporic South Asians from countries like Fiji are also part of ORISCON which caters to the whole Central Western region.

Ms Ganguly believed migrants had "confined" themselves to the seaboard and major cities because of higher chances of employment and other opportunities.

"It's very exciting because this has not been the go-to place for migrants for along time," she said.

Ms Ganguly came from another regional town to Dubbo in 1999 and has lived in here ever since. She hoped that new migrants weren't coming to Dubbo only for visa purposes; as there were visa points for being based in regional Australia.

"I'm hoping... the long term goal is to settle and to make Dubbo their home, like it has been for me," she said.

"That they will embrace the cultures here, the diversity here, and also be part of this diversity."

Census data also showed that top four languages spoken in Dubbo, other than English, were also from the Indian subcontinent. They were namely Nepali (1.7 per cent), Punjabi (0.8 per cent), Malayalam (0.5 per cent), and Urdu (0.4 per cent), with Mandarin (0.4 per cent) as the fifth most spoken language.

There are more than 25 official languages spoken in Indian subcontinent with more than 100 dialects, and Census data only reflected a fraction of these. According to Ms Ganguly, it could be a case of the younger generation losing their mother tongues.

"In ORISCON, we [try] a lot to hold language classes so that the younger generation are familiarised with their mother tongue, but the whole process of migration is a challenge in itself," she said.

"They're trying to adjust to a new language, because although many come from places where English was spoken, the accent [and] intonation is different. There's a lot of things going on, particularly for the younger generation."

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