OVERSEAS INDIANS
Citizenship andOther Rights
A
The PBD is in its fourth year now, but still remains an annual three-day jamboree. The L M Singhvi report (2000), commissioned by the previous NDA government, had sought to
Economic and Political Weekly January 21, 2006
“recommend a broad but flexible policy framework and country specific plans for a mutually beneficial relationship with …PIOs and NRIs, and for facilitating …their participation in India’s economic development.” Overseas Indians number over 20 million and, in 2005, non-resident Indian remittances to India were estimated at $ 21.7 billion, more than what China ($ 21.3 billion) and Mexico (nearly $ 18 billion) received. More than half such remittances were by west Asia-based Indians, with Kerala being the single largest beneficiary. It was only recently though that the government announced a few welcome measures to reach out to this large category of low-level, semiskilled or skilled labour in west Asia. These include an easing of remittance facilities, the assurance of extending legal help to distressed workers and women as well as the promise of granting voting rights, as overseas workers in most countries in the region are not accorded naturalised citizenship rights.
These measures while belated are welcome, though more needs to be done. Even as the fourth convention honoured the achievements of a token few, there were reports of Indian workers being duped by recruiting agencies or denied their legitimate rights in the countries of south-east Asia and west Asia. For over a month, nearly a 1,000 Asian migrant workers in the construction industry, including a large number of Indians, have been on strike in the United Arab Emirates, protesting against poor working conditions and non-payment of wages. Setting up a gender cell was one of the highlights in the recent convention, but the concerns of women, whether as exploited workers or victims of domestic abuse, need institutionalised mechanisms of redress. The UPA government also has a specifically designated ministry to address issues related to overseas Indians and NRIs. Most measures, however, have been aimed more at the stereotypical successful overseas Indian, one based in the developed world, whether it is with regard to offering dual citizenship, easing investment opportunities or even commemorating their achievements.
The wooing of overseas Indians appears to be largely steered by political and economic motives. Indians in the US, for instance, who are always marked out for special attention make up a powerful lobby, and most state efforts have focused on wooing Indians abroad for investment. At the Hyderabad convention, 12 chief ministers vied with each other to present an “investor friendly” image. The attempt to cultivate “influential” sections of the Indian diaspora has also reflected the sharp political divides within the country. The “ambassador-at-large” was a political appointment on the part of the erstwhile NDA government ostensibly to cultivate close ties with NRIs and overseas Indians in the US.
World over, the attempt by most governments to reach out to their diaspora has been a relatively recent phenomenon. In the late 1990s, global competition touched new heights, with countries of south-east Asia, China, Brazil and even India making the transition towards becoming “fast-developing” economies. It was around this juncture that efforts were made by various governments to woo their respective diaspora. The Philippines granted voting rights to overseas Filipinos; overseas Chinese had their first convention in Singapore in 2001, and Vietnamese long based outside their country made welcome investments in their country. At the same time, successive governments in India have done little in recognition of the historic ties the diaspora retains to its land of origin; ties that have been long written about and explored by writers and social scientists.
With time, the convention that still remains an annual gala event should ideally form a global forum actively working with the diaspora. However, promises such as setting up a Pravasi Kendra remain unimplemented; other promised measures need to be efficaciously implemented without being discriminatory. In the long run, what could constitute a welcome move is government efforts to cut down bureaucratic delays and red tape, a reform overseas Indians have long bargained for, which will benefit the ordinary citizen too.
EPWEconomic and Political Weekly January 21, 2006
