The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Yet another edition of the Pravashi Bharatiya Divas is being held at Bhubaneswar. The flagship event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra D Modi on January 9 and the valedictory ceremony will be addressed by President Draupadi Murmu on January 10.
Prime Minister Modi has been taking a lot of interest to engage the Diaspora ever since he came to power in 2014.
The 'Howdy Modi' mega event in Houston in September 2019 during his visit to the USA was an instance of power projection by the Indian-American Diaspora.
Reaching out to the Diaspora and engaging with them is now an integral aspect of his itinerary abroad.
In an effort to engage the Diaspora in the aspirational Viksit Bharat scheme, the theme of the event is the Diaspora's contribution.
The efforts of the government to engage the Diaspora can be attributed to a number of factors, the most important being the irreversible process of globalisation that has broken the physical and emotional barriers of nation States.
The trend of globalisation has, however, suffered a setback in the recent past on account of the protectionist policy followed by some countries, including Donald j Trump who espoused 'America first'.
Notwithstanding this pushback, the world is witnessing not only the free movement of goods and services, but also that of peoples and ideas.
The outbreak and spread of COVID 19, and its repercussions on geopolitics has also impacted migration. Migration is not an entirely new phenomenon.
The integration of the world economy and information technology breakthroughs have brought to the fore social, economic and political issues with a bearing on migration and reverse migration.
It is important, therefore, to harness the prowess and potential of the expatriate population as a strategic asset in the economic, social and educational development of the home country.
Diasporas are generally viewed as minorities in their host countries. But they are important entities vis-a-vis the countries of their adoption.
A telling illustration of this is the impact and influence of the Indian community in the United States in facilitating the passage of the India-US nuclear deal.
It was Mahatma Gandhi who first espoused the cause of the Indian Diaspora in an organised manner.
Gandhi started his experiment of satyagraha in South Africa to highlight the injustice and unfair treatment meted out to immigrant Indians. He fought for their rights, dignity and self-esteem.
Gandhi was concerned not only with the problems of South African Indians, but with the lot of Indians all over world.
Gandhi's persistent campaign sensitised colonial authorities in India and the United Kingdom to the travails of the Indian community.
To commemorate Gandhi's return to India from South Africa, the government decided to observe January 9 as the Pravasi Divas.
Then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a major initiative to address issues pertaining to the Diaspora by constituting a high-level committee on the Indian Diaspora in August 2000, under the chairmanship of L M Singhvi, a member of the Rajya Sabha and a former Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom.
The creation of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) in May 2004 was an assertion that the welfare of Overseas Indians needed mainstream attention.
Eventually, in January 2015, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was merged with the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Singhvi Committee inter-alia recommended that dual citizenship be permitted within the ambit of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
It was in this context that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, in December 2003.
Subsequently, in 2004, by an amendment to the Citizenship Act, the facility of Overseas Citizenship of India was made available to Persons of Indian Origin in 16 specified countries.
An OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) is not entitled to own agricultural land or plantations. Nevertheless, it grants a life-long citizenship status and is a kind of psychological incentive for people to relate themselves with India.
The issue of granting voting rights to NRIs, particularly from the Gulf region, had long engaged the attention of Parliament, the media and judiciary.
The government was of the view that conferring such rights would enable NRIs to participate in the democratic process of elections and would also boost their involvement in nation building.
After considering all aspects of their demand, the government proposed to make provision through legislation to enable those Indian citizens, absent from their residences in India on account of employment, education, or otherwise outside India, to get their names registered in the electoral rolls of the concerned constituency of their place of residence in India.
This has enable them to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha and to the state legislature in case they were present in their constituency at the time of the polls.
The Bill sought to amend Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament, and assented to by the President.
Today, NRIs have started voting in elections in India. There is, however, a demand for postal voting, a privilege enjoyed by defence personnel and diplomats.
Over the last few years, India has been taking a number of initiatives to attract Indian research scientists studying abroad to premier scientific and technological institutions.
A flagship scheme in this regard is the Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship offered by the Department of Biotechnology, under the aegis of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
The scheme aims to attract highly skilled researchers (Indian nationals) working overseas to various cutting-edge disciplines of biotechnology such as agriculture, health sciences, bioengineering, energy, environment, bioinformatics and other related areas.
This is a senior fellowship programme, and awardees are entitled to take up teaching and research assignments, and to supervise doctoral and MSc students.
A large number of such scientists are eventually absorbed by the institutes in which they conduct their research.
The Indian Diaspora is ubiquitous, having spread the world over. Better education and English language skills have given the Indian Diaspora an edge, particularly in the English-speaking world.
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature.
Indians, have mainstreamed themselves in the political and electoral processes of many countries, which is evident from their representation in the legislatures of the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada in particular.
Several members of the Indian Diaspora, besides being elected to the parliaments in those countries, have also been occupying responsible positions in governmental structures, corporate houses, academics, and research and media houses.
Crossover writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and Kiran Desai, and directors and producers of cross over films like Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair, have also facilitated a closer social interface for a better understanding of societal nuances.
Rup Narayan Das is a former senior fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and at the Indian Council of Social Science Research. The views expressed are personal.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
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