Recently held two-day long event of the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in New Delhi can be said to be characterized by many momentous developments having long-term benefits for India as well as the Indians living abroad. Highlight of this event was the inauguration by Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and concluding address by the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil along with speeches by various Union Ministers and Chief Ministers — Bhupinder Singh Hooda of Haryana, Narendra Modi of Gujarat, V.S. Achuthanandan of Kerala and Madhu Koda of Jharkhand.
Over 1,500 members of the Indian Diaspora from different countries had converged on to New Delhi to participate in the BPD. This sixth edition of the BPD had five plenary and a similar number of working sessions. Most of the participants termed the event as a wonderful opportunity to invest in India. The Indian government was, however, eager to please the Diaspora and promised to roll out several schemes for them. The government also took into consideration several considerations made at the various plenary sessions and promised to implement each of them.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated on 9 January every year since 2003. It is an occasion that marks the celebration of the global Indian who, by the dint of his hard work and intelligence, has made his mark all across the globe. This day is aimed at uniting the expertise and knowledge of the overseas community and utilizing it for the development of India. It is an occasion to acknowledge those, who have made India proud on the international arena and also to look forward to how the progress of the Indian nationals abroad can be integrated with that of India.
The day of 9 January, designated as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, has a historical significance because it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi left the shores of South Africa but not before teaching passive resistance and non-cooperation to the South Africans, a few of the weapons he possessed which he would go on to deploy in an unprecedented battle against the mighty British Empire. Gandhi is hailed as India’s best ever Pravasi who returned home to India. He described his stay in South Africa as ‘The best part of his Life’.
While waging war against racial discrimination in South Africa, Gandhi started the Phoenix farm, where people of all ethnicities and races could come together and stay in peace. His stay in South Africa was certainly the most formative period of his career. Without the challenges and the opportunities that his South African experience brought him, it is unlikely that his personality and politics could have been cast in a unique mould, which made him one of the most unconventional yet most charismatic leaders of the century.
The inaugural edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held at New Delhi from 9 – 11 January, 2003. This event marked the inception of a lifelong bond, which was to be formed between the Indian government and the members of the overseas Indian community. The venue of the celebrations moved from the capital to Mumbai to Hyderabad, and is back to the capital where the 6th edition of this event (7-9 January, 2008) concluded today. The history of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas clearly shows that the main objectives of the events have been to promote understanding and relation between the overseas community and India.
The Indian Diaspora, which is estimated to be 25 million strong spread over about 125 countries, includes first to the fifth generation Indians who have emigrated from India. The Diaspora can be categorized as people of Indian origin (PIO) and non-resident Indians (NRIs). PIOs have adopted the citizenship of another country, while NRIs still carry an Indian passport. This 22 million strong force accounts for an economic output of about $400 billion (Almost Rs 20,00,000 crore) all over the world. This figure amounts to a staggering four-fifth of India’s economy.
While inaugurating the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched an Overseas Workers’ Resource Centre, a helpline for potential migrant workers and a grievance redressal-cum-intervention mechanism for overseas workers in distress. Over five million Indian workers live abroad and the government expects two million more to join them during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). Prior to that the Government of India had already announced the establishment of PM’s Global Advisory Council of People of Indian Origin, a high-level platform that would draw from the knowledge and experience of the best Indian minds abroad.
A Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra with modern facilities for NRIs and PIOs will also come up at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, by 2010. While allaying fears of overseas Indians and urging them to develop good relations with the country’s missions abroad, the PM said: “Your security and welfare is our priority. I urge community leaders to develop better liaison and coordination with our missions to better serve our non-resident communities. It is through such engagement that embassies will become more responsive to needs of overseas Indians.”
Stating that India was ready to achieve and sustain a 9-10% growth rate during the 11th Plan that would transform the economy into a major powerhouse on the global scene, the PM added that the emphasis was to see India emerging as a leading knowledge-based economy and a major education hub. In a clear indication of the government’s stand on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the PM also conveyed special gratitude to the Indian community in the US for mobilizing support in favour of the agreement.
Addressing a session on the social sector later, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the government was restructuring its role in health and education and these two core areas needed to be focussed upon for putting India firmly on the global map. He said: “A lot more money, 2% of the GDP, would be put into the health sector over the next five years. The outlay in education has substantially gone up from 7.8% in 10th Plan to 19.4% in 11th Plan.”
Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said India had achieved free flow of trade and services and was in the process of achieving free flow of capital. He further added: “Next stage is free flow of human resources and this is bound to happen. Declining population is creating a human resource vacuum in the West and the Diaspora is favourably poised to fill this gap. The Diaspora has achieved both the tasks – of feeding the fire and igniting the flame – globally and a great opportunity awaits the Indian and global community.”
While addressing the PBD plenary session on ‘Developmental Challenges of the States: Partnership Opportunities’, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government was treading cautiously on the issue of Special Economic Zones so that the legitimate rights and demands of people were not neglected as India tried to build on its industrial and manufacturing strengths. He espoused the cause of building Indian society on sustainable economic growth. Stating that the challenge was to balance the rights and needs of the populace with the growing demands of industrialization, Mr. Mukherjee conceded that SEZs had become a sensitive issue. However, he was confident that the States would work out their own policies towards relief and rehabilitation and offer suitable compensation to the people the SEZs impacted on.
Referring to the spiralling oil prices, he said the India-U.S. civil nuclear energy cooperation was aimed at addressing energy security. He assured that the government was making “all possible efforts to build our energy stocks explore alternative avenues of energy, research and produce renewable sources of energy and leverage multilateral and bilateral frameworks to secure energy supplies over the long term.”
In the first interface between overseas Indians and State governments at this PBD, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit sought suggestions for saving the Yamuna. She promoted the capital as the centre of the biggest economic hub of the country along with Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida. Describing Gujarat as India’s growth engine, Chief Minister Narendra Modi offered his State as a venue for the proposed PIO (persons of Indian origin) University. Three other Chief Ministers — Bhupinder Singh Hooda of Haryana, V.S. Achuthanandan of Kerala and Madhu Koda of Jharkhand — also dwelt on the investment potential in their States.
Addressing the valedictory of the two-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) meeting, President of India Pratibha Patil urged the overseas Indian community to join the country in its effort to keep its ‘tryst with destiny.’ Making out a case for the Diaspora to engage proactively in contributing to national growth, she said the 25-million-strong community spread across 130 countries was a “significant economic, social and cultural force” in the world. The President called upon the overseas Indians to make use of the Overseas Citizenship of India scheme which provided them a lifetime free visa to India and allowed them to live and work in the country at will.
Referring to the proposed India Development Foundation, she said it would provide the Diaspora a credible window to contribute to social development causes, including empowerment of women and rural development. Dwelling on the challenges facing the country as it sought to ensure inclusive growth, the President said overseas Indians should engage themselves in the national endeavour to provide health and education to all while investing in infrastructure projects.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas also marks the occasion for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to honour exceptional and meritorious contribution by the NRI’s/ PIO’s in their chosen field / profession. These awards are given by the President of India and are given in fields like media, business, public affairs, community affairs etc.Keeping in consonance with the tradition, President of India Pratibha Patil gave away the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards at the concluding ceremony of the sixth BPD to 15 overseas Indians for their outstanding service to the community and for enhancing the nation’s image abroad.
Among the recipients were Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, a person of Indian origin who was the chief guest at this year’s edition of PBD’ Bahrain-based Indian business tycoon Dr Ravi Pillai, Indian School chairman P V Radhakrishna Pillai and Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam president G K Nair, Neville Joseph Roach (Australia), A P S Mani (Japan), Judge Ajit Swarn Singh (New Zealand), Dr Rafiudin Fazulbhoy (Saudi Arabia), Bicky Chakraborty (Sweden), Krishnamurthy Kumar (Dubai), Lord Karan Bilimoria (UK), Dr Thomas Abraham and Joy Cherian (both US) and the National Council of Indian Culture at Trinidad and Tobago.
The sixth BPD meet saw the announcement of a host of new initiatives in other areas: a PIO university, a Council for Overseas Employment Opportunities, and an Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC). Significantly, the meet focused on two aspects that have not received adequate attention from the Government of India: the rising number of cases of exploitation of Indian brides who marry NRIs and overseas Indian workers, especially in the Gulf.
The Government of India also utilized the occasion to announce specific initiatives to tackle these issues. The scheme for the welfare of women will offer financial assistance for legal and counselling services to women deserted by their overseas Indian spouses. The initiative to link the rural Indian woman with the NRIs was taken following a suggestion at one of the sessions. The Indian government will now set up a non-profitable foundation, which will act as an entry for funds by the NRIs. Vayalar Ravi, minister for overseas Indian affairs, said this was the most ambitious programmes of his ministry. Once the foundation is instituted, the funds will roll in and will be utilized for the betterment of the rural Indian woman.
The Diaspora also suggested to the Indian government to ensure that there is gender equality in the country. The NRIs felt that there was a need for more legal protection for women in the country and India should sign the Hague convention. Vayalar Ravi said that talks were being held and there is a need to amend the law to increase protection for women in India.
As for the other focus area, almost a million Indians go overseas each year to work in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since many end up in the informal sector which affords almost no labour protection, exploitation and poor living conditions make their lives miserable. Given this background, the announcement, by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, of a helpline for such workers is welcome.
Regarding business and trade, the suggestion was to open more doors to invest in India. Several members felt that India was a land of opportunity in terms of investment and the government should give them more opportunities in the future. The NRIs, who are ready to invest, said more infrastructure ought to be provided in the country. Top on the priority was better roads across the country. The Union government has assured of better infrastructure and also added that several 6 lane expressways across the country are in the pipeline.
Overall for the Indian government it was a satisfactory session, Vayalar Ravi said. This PBD has seen more people from across the seas when compared to the five events in the past. So excited was the minister that he wished to hold mini-PBDs in different countries in the future.
The question as to whether the concept of a Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was heading anywhere has foxed many. A not so encouraging picture is reflected from the available statistics: The number of delegates at the PBDs has shown a declining trend, while investments from overseas Indians are dwindling. The combined wealth of 25 million overseas Indians has been roughly estimated at a whopping one trillion USD. But not even a small portion of this amount has been invested in India.
The figure of investments from overseas Indians in 2007 is estimated at USD 50 billion where more than half the amount (USD 26 billion) was from the five million-strong overseas Indian workers working in the Gulf.
However, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi asserted that PBD’s are not about NRI investments and said that there is a need to expand upon the concept by going beyond “the narrow confines of inward investment and business” – which has been attempted on this occasion.
The clout of the government has actually been put behind the efforts to engage the Diaspora. The country’s top leadership including the President, Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers, besides Chief Ministers of states, has attended each of the six PBDs. Grand concepts have been floated at all such conclaves but how much of it has translated into programs is what the pundits wonder. Listening to the assurances and pronouncements has often seemed like having pressed the rewind button.
The regionalization of the Pravasi concept has taken shape over the last few years -states like Gujarat, Kerala and Bihar have started organizing their own version of PBDs. A caste system also appears to have evolved among two categories of overseas Indians: The NRIs and the Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs).
This is high time for the government to streamline its policies and priorities concerning Indian Diaspora and to see that majority of promises made at the sixth BPD event are fulfilled before the commencement of the seventh event and internal situation remains stable and violence free so that the members of the Diaspora feel proud of their motherland. Besides, a nodal monitoring agency should be established at New Delhi with overseas branches to oversee the implementation of various schemes chalked out by the Union Government as well as state governments.
by Dr. Arvind Kumar
