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Round The World
New Delhi, 10 January 2025
The Indian Diaspora
ROLE IN FOREIGN POLICY
By Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Giri
(Secy Gen, Assn for Democratic Socialism)
Over 3000 delegates from 70 countries arrived in Odisha for the
celebration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD). This is the 18th
edition of PBD taking place on 8th & 9th January in
the temple city of Bhubaneshwar, with the theme ‘Diaspora’s Contribution to a
Viksit Bharat’.
The President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Christine Carla
Kangaloo was the Chief Guest of the event. Dr. Dev Pragad, the CEO and
Co-Founder of the NewsWeek was the guest of honour at the youth PBD.
Also, there were ministerial delegations from Mauritius, Malaysia, South
Africa, and big delegations from countries like Oman, Qatar, UAE, UK and USA.
The Prime Minister flagged off the inaugural run of a special tourist
train called Pravasi Bharatiya Express, meant for the Diaspora. It would depart
from Delhi, covering multiple tourist spots in three weeks. President Draupadi
Murmu addressed the Valedictory Session of the conference offering awards to 27
members of the Diaspora who have made significant contribution to the
development of their host countries as well as to India.
Since 2014, New Delhi has been investing in the Diaspora to promote
India’s national interest. The Diaspora has been one of the key drivers of
India’s foreign policy mainly in the following aspects. In cultural diplomacy,
Bodhi dharma says, “If you cut the roots of a tree, it dies”. Uprooting a tree
from its habitat is the sure way to destroy it. Comparing it to a human being,
the cultural roots of persons anchor their lives, influencing their thinking
and behavior. That is how a Diaspora connects emotionally
with the communities and countries of their origin.
Diaspora understands the cultures of their host countries as well as of
the countries of their origin and therefore becomes a bridge to the cultural
divide. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called Indian Diaspora the
ambassadors of Indian values, spirit and culture. He urges the Diaspora to be a
solid bridge between their countries of origin and the countries of their
domicile.
Second, Diaspora helps with lobbying and advocacy for India’s interest
in their host countries and elsewhere. Diaspora has emerged as an important
agency recognized as a ‘soft power’ in the field of foreign policy strategy. It
acts as a catalyst for development of their countries of origin. For instance,
in economic sphere, the Chinese Diaspora has been viewed by analysts as a
propelling force in its emergence as an economic power. In the political
sphere, the Jewish Diaspora has had a strong grip over the US and the European
Union in shaping strategic relations with Israel.
Back home, the US-Indian community’s remarkable lobbying in cracking the
Indo-US Nuclear Cooperation Agreement stands out as Diaspora contribution. On
various occasions, Indian caucus on Capitol Hill and various other lobbying and
advocacy groups have been instrumental in pushing India’s national and security
interests. Diaspora helps building global networks by leveraging their
transnational connections. They have played a key role in shaping public
opinion and influencing policy decisions on their countries of residence.
On the negative side, the Diaspora has also been linked to security
concerns in India. A few groups have been providing financial and material
support to separatist movements in India. The Khalistani Sikhs in Canada is the
prime example of such fissiparous elements in the Diaspora. The Kanishka
Airline crash was the mastermind of the Canadian Sikh Diaspora. Likewise, the
separatist movements in Kashmir and LTTE have received massive support from
large sections of Diaspora. Diaspora funds radical civil society groups and
militant organisations as a part of their support for sub-nationalism or other
so-called grievances. Some Indian migrants to Gulf countries are indoctrinated
and transformed to sleeper cells. They carry out and fund terrorist acts in
India. SIMI and Indian Mujahidin are examples. The diverse Indian Diaspora
becomes easy target for agencies like ISI, who uses them to destabilise peace
and security in India. Headley and Tahavur Rana are well-known cases.
A peep into the history of Diaspora and India’s foreign policy reveals
that, during pre-Independence period, plight of Indians abroad was a major
issue for the Independence movement. After 1947, there was a paradigm shift in
Diaspora policy owing to the strategies of anti-imperialism, non-alignment, and
economic self-reliance etc. Notably, Pt Nehru categorically announced that the ethnic
Indians who chose to remain abroad would consider themselves as citizens of
their host countries and should integrate themselves with the culture of their
residences and fight for their liberation etc.
There was hardly any change under Shastri or Indira Gandhi. In fact, the
latter became quite unpopular for her indifference to East-African Indian crisis
in 1968-72. Later, under oil shocks and BOP crisis, there was a push for
remittance-centric approach, especially for Gulf Indians. Rajiv Gandhi partly
recognised the importance of Diaspora and offered his support in handling the
Fiji Indian crisis in 1986. He engaged a technocrat like Sam Pitroda in
realizing his vision of 21st century. He also set up the Department
of Indian Overseas Affairs.
The Sun shone brighter for the Diaspora under the NDA government led by
BJP. The engagement of Diaspora had rapidly increased under Narasimha Rao’s
economic restructuring in the wake of foreign reserve crisis in 1990s. The
crisis was largely resolved due to substantial investment and remittances of
the Indian Diaspora. However, it is the NDA government that made a huge shift
in favour of the Diaspora to leverage them for promoting economic growth and
fostering cultural nationalism.
The Chennai Declaration of BJP in 1999 demonstrates its position on
Diaspora, “We believe that the vast community of NRIs and PIOs constitute a
part of the Great Indian Family. We should endeavor to strengthen their social,
cultural, economic and emotional ties with their mother country. They are a
rich reservoir of the intellectual, managerial and entrepreneurial resources.
The government should devise innovative schemes to facilitate the investment of
such resources for India’s all-round development”.
Government of India under Narendra Modi has begun a good many
Diaspora-centred initiatives. They include the appointment of a High-Level
Committee on Indian Diaspora, launching the PIO card scheme, organising PBDs,
giving away PBD Samman Awards, offering dual citizenship (OCI) and so on.
Indian Diaspora is by far the biggest in the world consisting of 25
million covering about 142 countries. It plays an important role in the global
business and diplomacy and contributes to the growth and development of both
their host and home countries. In fact, in terms of remittances, the biggest
value associated with Diaspora, Overseas Indians have overtaken their Chinese
counterparts. Indian Diaspora thus has been considered recently as a strategic
asset. They are a microcosm of India. They have contributed in technology, philanthropy,
set up cultural and educational institutions. They believe in giving it back to
their home country. Indian Diaspora is treated across the world as a ‘model
minority’ for their reliability, industriousness and loyalty.
One could argue that Diaspora policy and foreign policy go together. New
Delhi, however, needs to do more to harness the full potential of the Diaspora.
It can encourage the migration of semi-skilled and skilled Indians including in
software industry to restructure Indian demography. A large number of Indians
can be relocated in other countries which seek relevant human resources for the
maintenance of their economies. Some additional thought for the good work on
Diaspora. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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