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The 3-day FICCI +
External Affairs Ministry extravaganza for the rich Indians settled abroad (or
foreign Indians), the Pravasi Bharati Divas, was in fact, not a
government, but a Sangh Parivar affair. It was a gathering also of
imperialist/colonial stooges whose prime motive was money-making. The fig-leaf
of ‘national interest’ was used to cover up the vulgarity of this neo-colonial
gathering.
V.S. Naipaul, the
rabid Muslim-baiter and Hindutva rabble rouser (also last year’s Nobel Laureate
in literature), set the tune, saying "we always blame the British for India’s
ills, but…..". Upholding the pro-British RSS tradition, this phrase was
again repeated by Advani, during his speech on the second day. And to further
prove their pro-imperialist credentials the finance minister, Jaswant Singh,
took the occasion of announcing a major liberalisation of the financial system,
by allowing the free transfer of upto $1 million (Rs.5 crores) abroad by any
individual in India. Such a major decision (together with other interlinked
decisions), which takes the rupee a long way towards capital account
convertibility, was presented as a sop to the ‘foreign Indians’, and
imperialists hovering in the background. Appropriately the day chosen for this
event, Jan 9, was the day when M.K.Gandhi — the man who betrayed the freedom
movement and was responsible for sending Bhagat Singh to the gallows — first
landed in India after spending two decades in South Africa. And, not
surprisingly, of the 10 Pravasi Bharati Sammans awarded, some went to the
worst imperialist tools, like Rajat Gupta (the Managing Director of the US firm
McKinsey) and Sir Shirdath Ramphal (General Secretary of the British
Commonwealth).
The combination of
Hindutva and lackeyism, was coupled with unbelievable pomp, which would make the
maharajas of yore look mundane. The hosts spent a total of Rs.11 crores in the
3-days, of which the government of India themselves paid a massive Rs 5 crores.
With this 5 crores the government could have fed 1 lakh desperately starving
drought striken people for six months. Worst still, Rs.2 crore of this was spent
in mere entertainment, a large part of which went in paying the fabulous fees of
the top film stars. Of course, this huge expenditure did not include the travel
and stay of the 2,000 foreign delegates, who came at their own expense.
But ofcourse, all had
money on their mind. The Sangh Parivar had in mind the huge donations it
receives from this crowd abroad. The GOI had in mind the potential $ investments
of the NRI (Non-Resident Indian) community. {The business media was full of the
Chinese example where foreign-based Chinese are said to have invested a gigantic
$300 billion into China} And the ‘foreign Indians’ had the intention of seeking
further concessions from the GOI for greater returns on investments in India.
So-called patriotism and other such things spouted by the Indian leaders, was
the last thing on the minds of all.
But, though it was
supposed to be a government affair, in cooperation with the FICCI (one of the
three major business associations in India), it was in fact a total Sangh
Parivar affair. The jamboree was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Vajpayee.
Besides Advani and Jaswant Singh, also presenting their discourses were Yeshwant
Sinha, Murali Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Shatrugan Sinha and a host of other
such. The criminal and mass murderer, Narendra Modi, was a star attraction among
a large section of the ‘foreign Indians’, with them pouring over each other to
shake hands with him and posing for photos. The BJP youth wing, the Bharatiya
Janata Yuva Morcha, was conspicuously present all over, distributing invitations
and raising funds for an anti-terrorist conference to be held in February. The
VHP too was prominent, distributing pamphlets and copies of the Gita.
Yet, all was not
smooth for the Sangh Parivar. Besides their anti-minorities bias, their
discriminatory and castisist approach came under fire. People were openly heard
saying that the GOI and Sangh Parivar is only interested in the rich NRIs from
the US, UK, etc. Their elitist approach was to be seen throughout the event.
In the very opening
session, the doors were immediately shut after Vajpayee entered the hall,
keeping a number of the delegates out. While they were being refused entry, one
high-flying delegate from the US, with a pass, was allowed in. This further
infuriated the crowd who called on them to gatecrash and smash the barricade.
One shouted, "all these politicians want is our dollars". As it was
leading to ugly scenes, an official turned up and let them in.
Next, with much
fanfare Vajpayee announced the granting of PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) status
for these ‘foreign Indians’. Though a PIO card had already been granted a few
years back, which merely allowed holders to freely travel to India without the
need of taking a Visa each time; the new status granted its holder a passport
(valid only for India) and allowed them to freely live, work and buy property in
India. But, soon after the applause died down, murmurings of ‘Dollar
Apartheid’ could be heard. For, the PIO was applicable only for the
developed countries and not the backward countries. It applied only to the US,
UK, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and the EU countries. And even from these
countries, to keep out the poor who had migrated decades back, there was a
clause against granting PIO status to 5th generation people settled abroad.
Delegates from
Mauritius, Surinam, Trinidad, etc. openly complained of discrimination. Most
PIOs from these countries were descendents of indentured labourers, from the
lower castes, taken to work on plantations. Large emigration to Mauritius,
Jamaica, Trinidad, Reunion Islands, St. Lucia, etc took place around the 1840s
and 1850s; those to Surinam and Fiji took place in the 1870s. It was only in
1917 that the British scrapped the indentured labour system. Dharmaraj
Shrimissier of Surinam commented "my caste left me in my adopted country, but
does not seem to leave me when I come to India — even when I have done well for
myself". Incidentally, it was noticed that the VHP, distributing their
wares, did not bother about people from these countries!!! The new PIO status
also ignores the people in the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar, most of whom are
poor.
It also ignores the 5
million labourers in the Middle East and elsewhere, who, in fact, account for
the major inflow of dollars into the country — much more so than the rich NRIs,
who are more interested in extracting money from India. Each year about $10 to
$12 billion enter the country as savings from these workers, which is the major
means for turning India’s trade deficit (of foreign exchange) into a surplus.
But they too were ignored. On the contrary, Advani explained that some countries
were not considered for security reasons.
In addition, inspite
of the big RSS presence amongst the NRIs, the anti-minority approach of the BJP
did not go unchallenged. Delegates were surprised to see none other than Nadira,
Naipaul’s wife, asking Advani, during his speech, whether Muslims, Christians
and other minorities in India were as Indian as Hindu PIOs and NRIs. Even Modi,
during his speech, was asked by a number of delegates about the Gujarat carnage
— but ofcourse these were shouted down by the rich Gujarati (and other) NRIs
from the US/UK.
The event ended with
the third day being devoted to the glittering entertainment programme of film
stars. Considering that the returns from the distribution of films is now larger
from its network abroad, this too amounted to a sales promotion programme for
enhancing the exports of India’s entertainment business. Besides, the government
thought nothing on spending Rs.2 crores for the mere one day’s entertainment of
2,000 people (or Rs.20,000 per head). Such a vulgar display of wealth, in a
country where crores are starving, and the government keeps complaining of the
lack of funds, is nothing less than criminal.
And as we go to the
press reports are coming in of an increasing flight of educated Indians abroad,
due to lack of opportunities in the country resulting in a massive brain drain,
amounting to $2 billion over and above what left the country earlier. If India
is to utilize its huge intellectual talent, and not lose the cream to the
imperialists, genuine utilization of their talent must take priority over red-tapism,
favouritism (bhai-bhatijawad), and a culture of serving the country and not the
money-bags must be instilled in the people. For this the examples must be set
from the top — by the politicians etc. But such a possibility is unthinkable in
the present system; particularly in the globalised economy, where money is the
only symbol of respectability, no matter how it is extracted.
To utilize India’s intellectual
talent to the full it first and foremost requires a self-sufficient economy by
kicking the imperialists and its money-bags, culture and their agents out. A
step in that direction could have been for the masses to have demonstrated
outside this Pravasi Bharati Divas event and prevented it from taking
place, demanding that the Rs.5 crores be utilised fruitfully for the poor.
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