There was a time in our country when people from all over the world used to come here. Hiuen Tsang came to India from China in the seventh century, Alberuni in the 11th century or Ibn Battuta in the 14th century. The heritage of our country has been such that people from all over the world used to come here. But the wheel of time turns and then it turns in such a way that things turn completely upside down. The same is being seen at present, when lakhs of Indians are leaving the country and moving to foreign countries.
In the year 2022, 3,73,434 Indians were issued immigration clearance under the Immigration Act, 1983, out of which 10,654 were from Punjab, said a document tabled in the Lok Sabha on March 14.
Indians are going to these 18 countries
The Immigration Act, 1983, provides opportunities for employment abroad to the citizens of India. Under this law, immigration clearance is issued to Indians for employment in 18 countries. These countries are United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Indonesia Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon and Thailand.
< p style ="text-align: justify;"> On the other hand, in response to a question by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said, "The decadal growth rate of population in the state of Punjab during 2001-2011 is 13.9. On the other hand, according to the data available on the e-Migrate portal, in the year 2022, a total of 3,73,434 immigration clearances were issued at all India level, in which 10,654 clearances have been issued only from Punjab.
1.8 crore Indians were living abroad by 2020
The United Nations report throws light on this exodus in a very good way. According to the report, by the year 2020, 1.8 crore Indians were living abroad. The thing to note here is that there are 3.2 crore people in the world who are related to India. Out of this, 1.8 crore are directly citizens of India. The surprising thing is that the population of Indians is in foreign countries. Even the population of many countries is not that much.
According to the ‘International Migration 2020 Highlights’ by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Arab Emirates (UAE), America and Saudi Arabia are the three countries where Indians have migrated the most. Apart from this, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand are also some of the countries where Indians are settled. The main reason for most of these people to leave the country has been employment, better life and money.
People are also giving up Indian citizenship
- According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, in the year 2021, 163,370 Indians left the citizenship of the country. It was told in Parliament that such a decision was taken by these people. "personal reasons" taken because of.
- Compared to other countries, the maximum number of people i.e. 78,284 left Indian citizenship for American citizenship. In the same year, 23,533 people started their new life in Australia and 21,597 people took Canadian citizenship.
Indians are also settling in China and Pakistan
- According to the same report, in the year 2021, 300 people took citizenship of China, they were already living in China while another 41 people got citizenship of Pakistan.
- Apart from this, in the year 2020, the number of people who renounced the citizenship of India was 85,256 and in the year 2019, 144,017 people renounced their citizenship and settled abroad.
8 lakh people took foreign citizenship in 5 years
According to statistics, between 2015 and 2020 i.e. between 5 years, more than eight lakh people gave up the citizenship of India. Although there was a decrease in this figure in the year 2020, but the reason is believed to be the corona epidemic.
Why Indians are settling abroad
What do people living abroad say
Looking for better facilities, new opportunities and a better future: Priya (name changed) living in Canada says, I am working in a company here for the last 5 years and want to become a citizen in future. I want to become a citizen of this place. He said that he sees better facilities, new opportunities and a better future here than in India.
He said that compared to India, life here is not only better but also easier. Standard of living is good in Canada. If they get married and have children in future, then their studies will be good, studies are done well. They will also get better opportunities than India."
Money according to the hard work: Ankit living in New York also believes something similar. Ankit Srivastava has been living here since 2003. He said that I had come here to study but I have been working for the last few years. Ankit is currently using Indian passport only but he will soon apply for citizenship here. He believes that the working environment in New York is better than in India and the amount of work you get according to the money is also good, so he does not want to go back to India.
Missing my country but lack of employment: Rahul Yadav, who works in a firm in Saudi Arabia, said, ‘Most people in India want to work abroad, in this matter There is no doubt that the work culture here is better than India. But after coming abroad in search of a better life, we settle here but always remember our country.
He said that due to emotional attachment, I have not given up the citizenship of India till now. But his wife is also from this country and so are the children. He said that if India also allowed dual citizenship like some countries, there would have been a reduction in those giving up Indian citizenship.
He said that it would not be wrong to say that the people of India are moving towards big countries. Better facilities and better life are attracting them. But there is such a shortage of employment in India that lakhs of people go to small countries also. There are also many small countries which provide better facilities for business. Many people’s families are also settled in such countries, so they go to work there with them."
Over 32 million overseas Indians in over 100 countries
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, more than 3.2 crore Indians live in more than 100 countries of the world. At the same time, there has been an increase of 346 percent in the number of Indians living abroad within the last 28 years. The number of Indians living abroad was 90 lakhs in the year 1990.
Who are called overseas Indians, divided into how many categories? p>
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, those people of India who went to other countries for better life, education or for any reason are called Pravasi Bharatiya. These migrants have been divided into three categories.
1. NRI : NRI (Non Resident Indian) means such Indian citizens who have gone to another country temporarily i.e. for 6 months for better employment and education. Some of these Indian citizens are also such who settle abroad and acquire citizenship there.
2. PIO : PIO (Person of Indian Origin), in this category come those people who are Indian by birth or descent, but they no longer live in India. To understand in simple language, if a person’s father settles abroad and that person is born in that country, then that person will be said to be of Indian origin. But they will not have Indian citizenship.
There are many countries in the world where you can take dual citizenship. But there is no such law in India. According to Indian citizenship law, when a person acquires citizenship of another country, he has to give up his Indian citizenship.
There are millions of people all over the world who have settled in countries like America, Britain or Canada in search of a better life, but they have a connection with India. Such people had to take a visa to come to India, only for those people in the year 2003, the Government of India had made a provision of PIO card.
3. OCI: According to the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, OCI card holders have all the rights like Indian citizens. However, they do not have 4 rights.
1. He cannot contest elections.
2. He cannot vote.
3. He cannot hold a government job or a constitutional post
4. He cannot buy agricultural land.
The number of inter-state migration also jumps
The number of people migrating from one state to another in search of employment increases every year within India, according to an IndiaSpend report. is happening. Women living in the village are migrating more. According to the report of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, most of the people who migrate are settling in urban areas. According to the report of the year 2020-21, there has been 26.5% migration in rural areas and 34.9% in urban areas of India in a year.
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