Modi's domestic postures and also foreign policies have been framed by sustained engagements with the Indian diaspora, both non-resident Indians as well as Indians who have acquired citizenship of another country, also referred to as Persons of Indian Origin
After a successful courtship with the Indian diaspora in New York City’s Madison Square to Sydney’s Olympic Park, where thousands of people roared to hear the Prime Minister speak, Narendra Modi has done it again — this time in his homeland. The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held in Karnataka early this week, was an event high on jamboree — about 350 artistes presented various art forms, including folk dance and music. But besides that, it brought more than 5,000 delegates and about 1,800 offshore Indians from over 100 countries together. The Prime Minister sought to use the event as an opportunity to highlight the contributions of the Indian diaspora towards its country and also to mitigate “brain drain” and make it “brain gain”.
Significantly, Modi’s domestic postures and also foreign policies have been framed by sustained engagements with the Indian diaspora — both non-resident Indians (NRIs) as well as those Indians who have acquired citizenship of another country, also referred to as Persons of Indian origin (PIOs). The Prime Minister’s approach to the brain drain has been very down-to-earth. Instead of creating hurdles for them, Modi has constantly highlighted the contributions of the Indian diaspora, which was a long-forgotten wealth of this country. The Prime Minister wooed these people of Indian-origin to grab opportunities from abroad, in contributions to various Government programmes like Skill India, Digital India, Make in India. The Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana is one important programme of this Government.
And why not. The oversees community had until now remained an untapped force whose contributions to its own country had been almost negligent, though not by choice. It’s not that these people were unwilling to contribute. The status and treatment received by the pravasis in the colonial era are in stark contrast to the way they are today.
The Nehruvian mode of engagement with oversees Indians was dual. Indians, especially those whose acquired citizenship of other country, were looked upon with disdain, as outcasts who deserted their own country — some even their families — to settle abroad in lieu of better opportunities over there. They were looked upon as a distant entity who were in no way related to Indian interests. Those were the days when people would be starry-eyed about going abroad or settling there, leaving India behind.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Government’s approach to the diaspora community was a low-key affair. It was such that the NRIs received shame for having abandoned their motherland. Those were also the days when, just after independence, India was thriving to establish good connections internationally. India’s foreign policy was, thus, structured according to the model of non-intervention of the NRIs, so much that they could not even reach out to the Government in times of crisis or emergency. The interface was limited, legally and on humanitarian aspects.
However, post-1990s, the Rajiv Gandhi Government changed the diaspora policy by inviting offshore Indians to participate in nation-building activities. A major break came by way of efforts on the part of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, which put the engagement between the country and the diaspora on a sound footing by introducing the PIO card scheme. The UPA Government went ahead to form a separate Ministry — the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs — for oversees Indians. This NDA Government went ahead to merge it with the Ministry of External Affairs and also withdrew the PIO card scheme, amalgamating it with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme. Successive Governments have tried to woo the diaspora by giving concessions as an acknowledgement to their contributions by way of intellectual abilities, remittances and investments.
However, none has been able to do what Prime Minister Modi has done — he went oversees to strike an emotional chord with the labourers, the middle class and the elite in the same way as they would have received in their own country. He held them as the flag-bearers of Indian culture, values and traditions.
Of all, the contribution of the External Affairs Ministry, headed by Sushma Swaraj, cannot be downplayed. The security and safety of the diaspora has been a top priority for this Ministry. In fact, one of the striking features of the Ministry, which has been pro-actively using the social media, especially Twitter, is addressing people’s concerns. Be it the crises in Ukraine, Yemen or Syria, the External Affairs Ministry has made its presence felt by rescuing Indians and bringing them home.
Noteworthy among Swaraj’s efforts is the humanitarian approach during the Saudi crisis, where over 10,000 Indian labourers were rendered jobless, with no food, due to falling oil prices. The Ministry’s management of this event can be best described as being handled with utmost care and compassion. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh travelled to Saudi Arabia to have talks with the Government over there; thereafter a few Indians returned home while others who wanted to stay back, were allotted different jobs.
From a meagre 12,000 in 1960, the number of Indian immigrants, according to the United Nations International Migration Report, has gone up to nearly 16 million people by 2015 — a majority of them have their presence in the Gulf, the US and the UK.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which is celebrated on January 9 every year, is indeed a day of great importance. It has its roots in the arrival of India’s greatest pravasi, Mahatma Gandhi, who, on this day in 1915, returned home along with his supporters from Africa, after fighting for the rights of Indians through his peaceful satyagraha movement against the racist regime over there. The first convention was held in 2003, and January 9 was thereafter adopted as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The Indian diaspora is truly India’s valued assets — many of the members are leading companies and helm public organisations in various sectors. Some have become ambassadors, others have headed Governments, many have become an important part of the political systems abroad. The pravasi day is important in the sense that it is a platform to strike personal contacts with thepravasis and infuse trust in them.
The diaspora community’s members have been loyal to their country despite having been ignored for decades, and have genuinely contributed by way of vital assistance to India’s foreign exchange reserves. The challenge before the Modi Government now is to harness upon this intellectual and economical capital by encouraging thepravasi community members to contribute more for their country, as they will always belong here.
(The writer is Assistant Editor, The Pioneer)