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Expatriates urged to organise themselves

Aziz Haniffa and Tanmaya Kumar Nanda
India Abroad Correspondents in Washington and New York

L M Singhvi, chairman of the high-level committee on the Indian Diaspora set up at the behest of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has called on Indian expatriates to organize themselves and voice their needs more strongly.

The five-member committee, led by Singhvi, was set up to look into ways the Indian diaspora across the world could contribute to the country and vice-versa.

The team arrived in the US on Sunday after logging thousands of frequent flier miles travelling to East Africa, the Gulf, Mauritius, Reunion Island and countries in the Caribbean.

Over 100 Indian Americans representing nearly 35 Indian organizations in the Washington metropolitan area and the eastern seaboard were present at the reception hosted by Ambassador Lalit Mansingh in Washington.

Among the more imaginative ideas proposed at the meeting was one to create an Indian Diaspora Peace Corps modelled after the US Peace Corps, to assist in India's developmental needs.

At a luncheon briefing with the press, Singhvi said that especially with regard to alleviating the level of education in India, there has been a suggestion for "an Indian diaspora peace corps, as somebody put it very beautifully. It was such an imaginative idea."

However, he acknowledged that the most specific concern expressed by the community in the US was over dual nationality. While contending that it was not a "dead issue," he added, "The committee is not in a position to make any promises, except that we are deliberating on every issue as carefully and humanely possible."

Other issues and concerns raised during their meetings in the US included everything from how the diaspora can contribute more effectively to charitable and philanthropic sectors to "how can we create conditions that the youth of this country -- second, third, fourth generations living in this country -- can relate to India and can develop a stronger sense of belonging," he said.

J C Sharma, additional secretary in the external affairs ministry, who is a member secretary of the panel, added that the committee's endeavor was to establish a comprehensive, detailed and elaborate data bank of the Indian diaspora, estimated at about 20 million by Singhvi.

But Sharma acknowledged that this would be a herculean and perhaps a quixotic task because the "definitions themselves are so many that I am not very sure that we will really statistically arrive at something which will be absolutely conclusive of difference gray areas which always remain."

He cited Myanmar, formerly Burma, "where we have several categories of people of Indian origin -- stateless, Indian citizens, Myanmar citizens and those about whom there is now doubt whether their allegiance is to Bangladesh or to India."

Other members of the diaspora committee are R L Bhatia, former minister of state for external affairs, Baleshwar Agarwal, head of the International Cooperation Association, J R Hiremath, former diplomat and head of the Africa Fund.

According to Singhvi, the setting up of the committee "is the most momentous and pioneering initiative" taken by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "It's a unique enterprise which is happening for the first time,"he noted. The composition "is such that the hope is that it will command a cross-party support and will help to contribute to the national consensus on issues relating to the Indian diaspora."

Earlier, at a press conference at the Indian consulate in New York, Singhvi stressed the need for non-resident Indians to be more organized and focused in their identity. "We are not organized enough; there is a lack of solidarity in organizations," he pointed out.

"We have travelled to a number of countries which have an Indian diaspora, and we have noticed that Indians living abroad have been somewhat remiss," he said. "They have been less than articulate in speaking out."

One the dual citizenship issue, he said: "The Indian diaspora definitely wants to have dual citizenship, more for emotional reasons," However, "The issue of dual nationality is rather irrelevant," since the People of Indian Origin card served the purpose just as well. "Perhaps it is because most people do not know much about the PIO card scheme," he said.

The Indian government was also studying ways to lower investment barriers for NRIs. "In many sectors, it has already been lifted completely, with 100 per cent equity being allowed, but the committee will also consider other areas."

He also said that there was no plan yet to set up a separate ministry for NRIs, saying the committee was not yet sure how its final report, to be submitted by October this year, would shape up.

Earlier, India's Consul General in New York, Shashi Tripathi, introduced members of the committee. Representing the community at the interactive session were Sonia Malkani of NetIP, Jagat Motwani of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin and Pradeep Vachani, chairman of the New York chapter of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE).

"You can take us out of India, but you cannot take India out of us," Vachani told the committee, Tripathi later informed journalists.

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