 Hello everyone, welcome to another capsule of International Relations for the Shankar IAS Academy. Today we will discuss the recent meeting of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which was held in Indore recently, 8th to 10th January. Why I am discussing is because diaspora matters are part of the syllabus for civil service examination. It occupies an important part of the International Relations section of the journal paper. We need to know the current situation in the Indian diaspora. We should know the relationship between the government and these various agencies and organizations. And the nature of the diaspora itself, why it is so diverse, it is all over the world. Different sections of the diaspora have different demands for the Indian government. And there are several complex issues relating to India's relationship with Indian diaspora. But the important thing is that ever since Mr. Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, he has been treating the welfare of the diaspora as one of the key aspects of his foreign policy, apart from the neighborhood, powerful nations and others. He has included economy, defense, security, neighborhood and then the diaspora. He has been including this as a major aspect of India's foreign policy. And wherever he goes, he has been meeting them and also promoting active involvement of the diaspora in India's economic development. Therefore, it is important for you to recall some of the aspects of the relationship between India and the diaspora and how it is growing. And how the diaspora itself is growing and has given great importance in international affairs. So the practice of holding Pravasi Bharati Adivas, not just one day but two or three days. I started in 2003 following a report of a high-level group of the Ministry of External Affairs. We studied all the aspects of the overseas Indians and submitted a report to Prime Minister Vajday. And one of the recommendations was that to have an annual conference of representatives of the diaspora in Delhi in order to bring them closer to the government. Of course, Indians do come and go but there was no real interaction at the government level and this was introduced at that time. And ever since, many conferences have been held. This is of course the 17th main Pravasi Bharati Adivas celebrations. It was held in Delhi initially several years and then it started moving around to other cities. And this year it was held in Indore, as you know. There have also been regional conferences of the Pravasi Divas in other parts of the world. Several of them are held in the US, in Canada and Singapore. So this has become an established institution where the Government of India tries to understand the problems of the Indians overseas Indians. There was a Ministry of Overseas Indians for some time but now it has been merged with the Ministry of External Affairs. And the activities relating to the Indian diaspora have increased over the years. And the importance that we attach to them and they attach to India has also increased in recent years. So the purpose of the Pravasi Bharati Adivas every year in January is to bring the Pravasis or the overseas Indians close to India and provide them opportunities to interact, invest and visit India and to take care of their concerns. These were never taken seriously in the past. In fact, when India became independent Prime Minister Naru's view was that the Indians who migrate to other countries, particularly if they become citizens of those countries, their allegiance should be to the countries of their adoption, first allegiance. So he did not really expect the Indian communities abroad to be of particular assistance to India. So he said that you should owe your allegiance to country of your adoption. And India of course will continue to remain aware and conscious of your welfare and interests. So that was the formula he gave to the parliament, how we should develop our relations with the diaspora. It is unlike the Chinese who treated their diaspora abroad as citizens of their own country and they demanded much from the diaspora in the initial stages. It was Mr. Rajiv Gandhi who started the idea of using talented Indians abroad to come to India and help India in its development. Sampit Rodha is a well-known case where he gave up his very prosperous work in the United States, came to India and changed the face of Indian telecommunication system. There have been others and he was generally expecting Indians abroad to come to India and provide technology, give assistance to the government and even invest in India. So this priority changed the situation and all embassies were asked to take special interest in the communities in those countries. Some countries are very significant like in the United States, in the UK, in South Africa, many other countries and some of course smaller but equally influential. So Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi decided that we will go to the rescue of Indians if Indians are in trouble. And Indians have been in trouble on many occasions when military coups and other disturbances take place. Indian community has suffered because the largest was in Burma where 1 million Indians were thrown out with just the clothes they were wearing without anything to look after themselves and then government of India merely accommodated them in some rehabilitation project. We did not take up this matter with the government of Burma or do any protest about the kind of treatment meted out to the Indian community. That's the old story that was 1962. But the most obvious intervention by India in the matters relating to Indian diaspora was at the time of the Fiji military coup where I happened to be the Indian High Commissioner and I had the direct knowledge of the development of Indian policy towards Fiji. Because generally we would have simply given visa to any Fiji Indian to come back to India and settle here and nothing more. But Mr. Rajiv Gandhi took a very proactive position. He did not recognize the military regime in Fiji even though I continued as ambassador. He imposed great sanctions against Fiji. He raised the issue of human rights in the United Nations politically as well as on the human rights situation. And he even persuaded the Commonwealth to expel Fiji from the Commonwealth on the ground that they were practicing apartheid against the Indians. So this was a dramatic change in our situation. And now the policy is that India will stand by Indians anywhere in the world and try to resolve their issues and not just hands off kind of approach. Mercifully not many other issues have come up since then. But the cooperation between Indian diaspora and the government of India has been strengthened and generally Indians are happy that many of their problems are being solved. And in return they are using their clout in different parts of the world in order to influence decision making. And this was particularly significant in the United States when there were serious problems between India and the United States in 1998 when we experimented. We exploded five bombs and declared ourselves a nuclear weapon state. Months together there was no communication with the United States. They were very angry. President Clinton wanted to come down like a ton of bricks on the government of India. All this happened. It was after two years of negotiations and discussions etc. We have resolved that problem and India and the United States came to an understanding. But that was a very difficult period when we needed the support of the very influential Indian community in the United States. And I was there at that time and we were very much engaged in converting and telling our Indians to work hard in order to make our issues understood in the American public. Because earlier like the time of emergency etc. It was the Indian community which opposed the government of India more than the others. And because they felt that India was abandoning democracy etc. So after those days were over when India tested the nuclear weapons the wind started blowing differently. The Indians felt proud of India's achievements and they felt that the United States was being unduly critical of India. And therefore they started their lobbying work for India in a very extensive manner. Because by the time we had set up an Indian lobby within the US Congress and the Senate what is called the India caucus. And there are a number of senators and congressmen who were automatically support the Indian position in the American legislature. That was a very strong point for us. And finally the understanding between the United States on this issue came up became evident. Two years after when we signed the nuclear deal and during that period also the Indians in the United States played a deep role. And similarly in other places not to that extent UK also and many other countries where Indians are in sizable numbers. The opinion became very important and Prime Minister Modi's visits he gave prime importance to Indians. People of Indian origin regardless of their citizenship today as part of India. So this development took place really after the Pravasi Divas was started. And the date of the Pravasi Divas was decided on the basis of the day Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa. That was the 9th of January. On the 9th of January he returned to India and of course let the freedom movement as we all know. So that was the situation and so 9th, 10th and 11th these were the three days which were set apart for the Pravasi Divas. And large numbers of Indians started coming at their own expense to participate in the but the local hospitality was provided by us. All the provisions were made for them to meet the Chief Ministers went to these sessions. Mr. Modi himself because his first appearance as Chief Minister of Gujarat on the international scene was when he came to these Pravasi Divas. And exorbitant Indians are brought to come and invest in Gujarat because he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time. He also developed a good relationship with those who came to these conferences. So over the years these have become an important event in the calendars of both the government of India and the Indian diaspora. And a lot has been achieved many of the consular problems and other problems that the Indians had were sorted out. As I said these are problems were very different. There are very many rich Indians who really do not need any help from us. There are very many poor Indians, little Indian nationals in the Gulf etc. Who demand attention from us and who need support from us in dealing with those governments. So it's a diverse, some kind of communities are not bothered about Indians. Other communities are dependent on India and their status is different. Some of them are citizens of those countries. Some are still Indian nationals. The question of voting takes place. The question of their properties in India being protected. All these were met to a certain extent. I'm not saying that all problems were resolved. But every time we have these meetings, we tackle these. Experts are invited. The concerned officials are given and then some support, legal support to these people and such. So it has completely transformed India's relations with diaspora. Not just a group of Indians we have sympathy for or love for. But as actual partners in very many things. And India has gained very much in terms of technology, in terms of money. And in terms of the willingness of many of those Indians to return to India. At least for short periods of time to participate in the development. So this year's meeting was a continuation. Of course last time it was because of the pandemic. It was held online. But this time in those which is a very important city came to life as it were. And all these people came there. A lot of Indians also participated. And generally it was a great success. The purpose is to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community. And reconnect with their roots. Whether it is cultural programs, whether it is discussion on meetings. Investment people, bankers, everybody that is around. Whenever there is a Pravasi Bharati Vasis celebrated. And our ministers, prime minister goes there, foreign minister goes there. President herself was there to give what are called the Pravasi Samman. Pravasi awards for distinguished Indians abroad. That's also become a major symbol. Of the recognition that government of India offers to our people abroad. Whether they are Indian nationalists or not. They are treated as Indians. And also simultaneously as you all know. The Indians have also become important in international politics. Like the recent appointment of your election of the prime minister of UK. For the first time a brown politician. Who is characterized as a worshipper of the cow. Has become the prime minister of UK. And next door in Ireland also. There is a prime minister of Indian origin. And someone was saying that the big issues relating to Brexit. Which has to be handled between UK and Ireland. It is two Indians who are going to do the negotiations. Of course not to speak of the vice president in the United States. And very many others. Large number. In the United States they were already at the head of many corporate bodies. You know all the names. Of Indians who went from here after having been educated in India. Some of them from IITs. But some of them from ordinary schools in India. Who went to the United States and made big name. And as many as something like 46 big corporations. Like Pepsi Cola. So many others. Not to speak of the. Of the new media. The social media. It's all dominated by Indian. Technicians and bureaucrats and thinkers. And that is now gradually spreading on to the government. So it's not only in the technology. But as level of prime ministers. Foreign ministers. Various other positions. And so. So on the one hand there is a growth of Indian diaspora getting closer and closer to the government of India. And at the same time Indians are doing well. The kind of confidence that they have got that they are the support of India. They are doing more and more. And the Indian qualities like respect to the elders. Respect for the hierarchy. These are things which do not exist in many other countries. And these youngsters. Even after they reached the United States and maintained some of these qualities. And that probably contributed to their growth. In the corporate world. And now from there to. The political fields also. Now in the United States there are several congressmen. Elected congressmen. And the number is growing. And even though Indians are only one percent of the population. They are a decisive factor in political matters and people cultivate the Indians. And Prime Minister Modi as well as President Trump. Made use of this presence of these people. That's why we had. You know. Big gatherings in the US and India. Which. Strengthens this. This. So looking at the. There was itself. The. The first meeting was. Conducted by the foreign minister. It was. Dedicated to the young people. The young. People in the diaspora. Who is getting more and more concerned and engaged. With the country's concern and with India. So Mr. Jai Shankar made the point that. It is. Important that the youngsters young Indians must get more and more. Involved. And connect with India. And the inaugural session was handled by him. Emphasizing the fact that the young Indians must get more involved. Involved. And the theme of the. Of the. As it was. Was itself diaspora. Labels partner for progress. In the Amrit call. As you know this period is referred to by our. Amrit call. Leading to the. To the. Growth of. Indian Indian development. Economic development. So at the moment there are about 36 million people of Indian origin. In the world that is the. Calculations not be a. Exact figure. Because many of them. With the Indians abroad are not even registered with us and it's very difficult to get. Exact accounts but. It's believed that it's about 36 million which is a. It's a large large number. So. Mr. Vajpayee said in 2017 that. This is a relationship. Of blood not passports. Coon he said not passports. This relationship. It's goes beyond what the color of their passports. But what matters is the culture that they carry. So they could be in any country. All any passports but. Is here exposure to Indian culture. And that is something which. We have a Congress so more and more young Indians are coming to India. If not for anything else to. Raise their roots. And even the centers of faith. Wherever you go whichever country you go you'll find. Hindu temples and other. SIG Guru Dwaras etc. So even the faith is. Is growing. And India has the largest diaspora in the world. And also. The most talented diaspora. Not only rich but also. Cultured. So. We believe that. The Indian diaspora is the only empire. On which the sun never sets. The British used to say that the British Empire sun never sets. But if you look at the world. Altogether you will find that when it is dark in one part of the world. It is light on the other. On both sides Indians are working. You know when in Fiji when the. Farmers go to. To work. In the morning they are the earliest. And therefore Indians will be sleeping. And they come back from work you will see. That in California Indians are driving towards their work. So. The community as a whole never sleeps. They're always working. For themselves and also for the country. And a lot of issues were dealt with. And. In Indore. And. Of course there are several issues yet to be resolved for which. Governments the government has been working with them. And there is increasing confidence. In the solutions. But I would not say everything is resolved. The difficulties about. Investments in India. People who come to the. DVD. And complain about the amounts of money they lost. In one part of the state or the other. The humiliation that face at the. Customs and the airport. And people not recognizing the overseas Indian. Certification that we give. To prove their. They still want. Because there is a PIO card. That's a person of Indian origin card. Which was given. To identify them as Indians. And then it was strengthened to make it overseas. Indian citizens of it. Citizens of India. Another higher level. But still people are not satisfied because. They want dual nationality. So dual nationality. Exists only in some countries of the world. Like United States or UK or Israel. Not all developing countries. Hardly in. The world. Because of our own history and our own. System because if you talk about. Indian origin people. You know Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. All these get get mixed up. And so giving. Dual citizenship. Is not only against the constitutional requirement of India. Because we believe that the loyalty. Of Indians should not be divided. You can't have two passports. Passports are more than. Near. Symbols. You can divide it. And also the practical problems. Who is Indian. Who can be given the passport. So that's it. So this is not been resolved. But the source is Indian. Passport that. They are holding together with their. Foreign passports. Has helped in many ways. And difficulties. So on the one hand. You have the. Indians themselves growing in stature. All around the world. On the other hand. India becoming more solicitous towards the Indians. And giving them benefits. Of various kinds. And every time we hold a privacy bar. Like this happened this time. There is greater understanding. There is greater involvement of the politics. Politicians of India. In the affairs of this. And so they feel. Photo opportunity. People get pictures with the prime minister. And the president. And these awards are very highly valued by this. Indians abroad. Not only for their work abroad. But also for India. And people who do humanitarian work. People do. Work with the less privileged communities. Or someone who was. Engaged in burying Indian dead bodies. By himself. Doing that kind of work was. Recognized. Others are also recognized in this whole process. So it's a very healthy growth. Of Indian diaspora. That has benefited them because they have more. Possibilities of representing their case to come to India. And they expect them to be problems to the result. And on the other hand. India has this resource of people. Abroad. Particularly in democracies. Where they are able to influence decision making. As I mentioned the caucus. India caucus in. In the Congress and the Senate. Senate it was actually headed by. Hillary Clinton at one time. And they are automatically friends of India. And they operate and we the embassy operates. Through their friends. They're Indian friends. To the congressmen and senators. And when an Indian friend tells. Indian doctor for example. Tells his client who is a congressman. To join the Indian caucus. They do so. And then we educate them. In India and the United States. And often. They support India rather than the United States. On issues like human rights. I mean. I wouldn't say that this solved all the problems. Even now. Many Indians abroad feel that we are not. Doing enough for them. And they are not satisfied with the progress that India is making. And so this is very. Very very calm. So. I would conclude by saying that this. Mutual understanding. Of their influence in India and their influence abroad. For the sake of India. And the massive receptions that our prime minister gets wherever he goes. All these show it's. Complete transformation. In the relationship between India and the. Indian diaspora. And I'm sure it must have been strengthened by the various documents. Issued approved decisions taken. Interactions etc. All these must have. Had another. Impact. And. Some states are also started. This. Kerala for example has a. Kerala Sabha. Many people have been designated. As Indian. Not necessarily Indian citizens. Who say Indians who. Automatically support Kerala. The investment etc. And they all come. And they try to be. So this is a success story. India's. Relationship diaspora. I started by. Several governments and now these days. All parties are unanimous on one thing. That we must take care of the welfare of. diaspora. Whatever change in government may take place. This will remain constant. As we have seen. At the time of Rajiv Gandhi. And we've seen it at the time. We are watched by. Even more. Under Mr Modi. So it is something which. We can cherish and I'm sure. People who attended the. Indoor conference. Start return. Satisfaction that. This. Is mutually. Beneficial to both the government of India. And the. Well the experience is the opposite. All these countries respect. The way in which. India is supporting their countries. Is not in conflict with their countries itself. President Biden recently talked about. The great revolution that Indian. Community has brought about how it is. He said from day to day. U.S. progress. Is being supported by the Indians. He mentioned specific names. Maybe some criticism may be there. Why are you intervening into internal affairs of other countries. That occurs will always be there. But as long as you exercise judgment. And intervene only when the situation demands it. There will be no. Lowering of our prestige. And this is not we are not the only ones who do it. The Chinese do it in a big way. And there are others who use their. Nationals for this. And so it is not pressurizing as such. Maybe influencing. Maybe cultivating the local communities. Like President Prime Minister Modi said that every. Again. Must bring at least five known Indians to India on a. As tourists. You should persuade them. Pick your five friends. Five known Indian friends. And send them to India. On a tour. It's very easy to do. People want to travel. So you just have to give them the information. Persuade them to come to India. I don't know the figures but. Made this exhortation to Indians. So there is really no conflict there. There may be an occasional. Tiff like when we. Wanted to raise money in the United States. Soon after the nuclear experiments. And Indians were willing to. Invest. And we are giving them a very high interest. Eighteen percent. And then there was a problem. As people started asking why only some people are allowed to contribute. Only Indian origin is only allowed. Why not the others. And the kind of discriminatory charges have come. But these are all been dealt with. So I'm concerned about that. Well there's nothing to compare between. The Manikoba Islands and. Foreign countries. And Manikoba is certainly part of India. And whatever development we do is our own business. Our own concern. In fact at one time. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. Planned to develop. And Manikoba Islands in a very big way. Foreign investment. That program I think is still there. So what we do for. Manikoba Islands. Need not be confused with what we do for our Indians. These are two different matters. They are our own citizens. Like our citizens in. In the Gulf etc. We take even a more active interest. But those who have become other citizens of other countries. We don't. But certainly parts of India lack of development is not to be. Confused with. We are reading something which appears. In my. Wikipedia entry which I did not write. It talks about first class and third class. And all that is already wrong. I had told them to correct it. But they are not being able to correct it. Because I cannot correct it myself. Somebody else has to correct it. Maybe you're referring to that. I don't know. But otherwise there is no such thing as. First class secretary and third class secretary. There are said. First secretaries and third secretaries and so on. And you go up the ladder. But somebody made a mistake and entered it as. Different classes. So it has to be corrected. But I'm still trying to correct it. Yeah. It is difficult because they are in another country. Different laws. Different regulations. So it has to be gradual persuasion. Of these countries to understand the problems of Indians. And try to resolve them. Because they often see this as a contract. You know. You have paid for what you are doing. And all other. You know expressions etc. Are all restricted. And therefore Indians have been very responsible. They don't try to play. Fill with Indian politics. But they never try to interfere in the politics of those countries. They have been very good about that. And that is what we encourage. That they are there for a specific job to it. But something which is relating to their own livelihood and lives. And living conditions etc. Our embassies take a great interest. In fact our embassies in the Gulf. Do more welfare work. Our economic work and political work is also increased in the Gulf. But most of these missions originally started as welfare offices. It continues to do that. Hundreds of people go to the embassy every day with various problems. And all those problems cannot be solved by the embassies. They have to go each time to the foreign office and try to figure out what's happening. But everybody agrees that including the governments of these countries believe that the India's intervention in these cases have been very helpful. Because they'll be looking for an Indian and where he is. They don't know what part of India. All those problems have been resolved because Indian embassies completely in touch with these authorities. So there are some laws that are rigid in some of these countries. And sometimes people are punished and it cannot be helped because the law will take its own course. But wherever there are possibilities of explaining their case and trying to get their release etc. We have been trying and we have been succeeding also. So it's a big story. We can't say everything is successful. But it is legitimate activity and it is recognized as such and it's welcome to help that way. Because after all everybody's interest is to see that those workers or others have a good life and nobody wants them to suffer. So it is in that process that both the countries are helping out each other. One thing that has become very clear after the pandemic is that the work from home idea is gaining ground because people are finding it very advantages in many ways. It reduces travel. It reduces expenditure. It reduces broken homes. All this has shown that there have been. But at the same time many people like to travel rather than stay at home. Because why do people go abroad? Not simply to earn money but also to have the cultural experience of those countries on the one hand and on the other get their benefits. You become permanent residents or you become citizens and so on. So that will also reduce. I think visas from developed countries will reduce because they will say there is no need for you to come to the United States. You can work from home and that's not entirely satisfactory from our point of view. So the migration will probably reduce as a result of the work from home and online education. Like for example, if you want to study we will give you the material in India. So this may strengthen. As of now it has not reduced even after the pandemic it has only increased the presence of India abroad. Of course all of them came away worried about what might happen to them or their families. But most of them are returned. So this will continue. It will be a kind of dual arrangement and hybrid as we call it. And also people go to the offices and get the benefit of both. Thank you.