This article investigates why Diasporas are often considered threatening to state security, especially during periods of national or international uncertainty. The central argument is that this perception can best be understood if they are seen as inhabiting a transnational locality, a space that encapsulates both their indigenization and transnationality. In other words, it is limiting to view Diasporas in terms of a home–host trope; this relies on a stateto-state structural analysis that elides the complex identities associated with Diasporas and the abiding perception that they are a threat. What is distinctive about Diasporas is that they are indigenized over time (Creolized, hybridized), but they retain a transnational identity that is associated with a perceived homeland (real or imagined). While they are insiders in the nation-state, they are also outsiders in all states – they reside in a transnational locality that is rooted, but also removed. The article relies on empirical evidence from the Indian indentured diaspora in Fiji and South Africa. It is proposed that the transnationality intrinsic to their diaspora identities not only marks them “Indian”, but also alienates them from other national ethnic groups and from India.