August 26, 2016: Indians living abroad have been often looked at with an eye of suspicion whenever they criticised policies, its judicial system or even its paani-puri.
Who is he to analyse? What right does he have to talk about the Indian economy or Indians? Is he not the one who ran away from this very system to tend to opportunities abroad? – Many of us have thrown these questions at NRIs.
Nonetheless, it's high time the 'he betrayed his motherland' attitude is dropped because the Indian diaspora is more booming than ever and their involvement in the countries development has been more evident in the recent years.
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The Modi – ripple effect
Visa on arrival, 24*7 Helpline for NRI's and Nuclear deals, he's either done or tried them all. PM Modi's increasing support for the Indian's abroad is encouraging them to contribute in terms of technical expertise or monetarily. Modi first started with a flashy speech in New York's Madison Square Garden then moved on to delivering a remarkable speech at the British Parliament in the UK, before we knew it he was swinging it at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. It's these efforts that showed its colours in the form of contribution to tourism or labour. In 2003, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Overseas Indian Day) in Gujarat, 9,000 Indian's from all around the world came in to show their support. His signature campaigns such as the National Mission for Clean Ganga has seen involvement by many American-Indian's on social media and in the form of Investment.
PM Modi addressing the nation on Independence Day, Wikimedia Commons
Today, the Indian diaspora abroad has pitched in a lot not only due to the Modi's charisma or his attempts to keep foreign policy as the centerpiece of all discussions but also due to emotional vulnerability of the 'apna desh' feeling, a harmless way of pressing the restart button to reconnect with what felt lost.
Fears and concerns
Nobody claimed, that shifting the focus from the 'American dream' back to India will be easy. For starters, India does not have a comprehensive and precise data about the number of Indians that reside in different parts of the world. Hence, future plans for their welfare are blocked right at the very beginning. The government needs to be prepared to make jobs in the market, offering the same kind of roles and benefits in case of implementing plans for rehabilitation or for curbing the number of Indians going abroad.
Secondly, not all Indian's are Modi supporters and there are times where he is greeted with protestors instead of selfie craving fans. This aversion to the ruling government can be detrimental to the foreign policies that were laid down.
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A man that leaves his land for better opportunities is always filled with this urge to give back all that he took. Currently, India is rediscovering these Indians abroad with a feeling of munificence.
– by Karishma Vanjani of NewsGram. Twitter: @BladesnBoots
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