NRIs demand more political say

NEW DELHI: Investments from NRIs and their economic success stories have been the buzzwords at the annual global Indian party—the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas—almost every year.

This year, however, for the first time there seems to be some introspection among the Indian diaspora as well as in Indian government circles about the need for greater political engagement in the countries where a large number of ethnic Indians have lived for many years. Also, the need is felt for more support from the Indian government for ethnic Indians who face persecution in geographies such as Kenya and Malaysia.

In fact, awareness and understanding about issues of concern, social, cultural, educational, economic and political - for NRI/PIO communities around the world, seems to be one of the reasons behind Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement about setting up the Global Advisory Council of People of Indian Origin.

Endorsing the need for people of Indian origin around the world to be better networked, chairman of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, International, USA Dr Thomas Abraham said, “We have always made efforts to mobilise the community and facilitate networking to help those members of the community who were facing political crises or human rights violations. Some instances are Fiji, Guyana, Tobago & Trinidad. Currently, the crises in Malaysia and Kenya are cause of great concern for us. Indians are very successful in business around the world, but often they have not participated in political processes and institutions and for that they sometimes face isolation.”

GOPIO was, in fact, the first organisation to pass a resolution decrying the human rights abuses against ethnic Indians in Malaysia recently.

“For the second, third and fourth generation of Indians in geographies such as the Caribbean, it is very important to get well integrated into the political life and processes of their home country. People who have an Indian ancestry often find their Indianness helping them to get better integrated into their political environment,” feels Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo, a member of parliament and former minister from Guyana.

Likewise, Lord Diljit Rana, a member of UK’s house of Lords from Northern Ireland, too, feels that there is a growing need for Indians, who have had big successes in business globally, to now try and get more integrated into political institutions wherever they are located.

“It is very important for people of Indian origin who have chosen to make other countries their homes to become part of the political institutions of those countries and not just remain satisfied with economic success. In UK now, second and third generation Indians are increasingly realising the need to get involved in political positions at various levels including local councils. In fact, success in business should go hand in hand with success in politics,” says Lord Rana who is a very successful property developer and hotelier himself.