NRP indulgence in
Punjab:
A long way to go
Jagmohan Singh
For an ever increasing number of youth in Punjab, North America or
Europe is like a fortress, with a pot of gold lying inside ready to
be grabbed. In a globalized world, the Fortress must stop being
deaf. It must accept that people are dying on its shores daily
trying to beat harsh immigration laws, coming as human cargo in the
hulls of ships, wading through the mined beaches, hiding in woods
and daring to mingle. All, to become an NRP!
 Every
year it is time for some expatriates to go and visit their homeland.
They prefer to go in winter when the climate is easier on their
westernized skin. It is a good feeling for many of them to touch
base in Des Punjab. This year was made more memorable for them with
the government of the day playing host in its entire resplendency.
This year, the
Non-Resident Punjabi meet was different. Everything was big. Five
Star venues, maximum guests, politicians and bureaucrats rolling the
red carpet, the song and dance – mehman-nawazi in pure Punjabi
style. The political leadership was more tech-savvy and seemed
oriented towards futuristic growth.
Prospective
Chief Minister and working president of the Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh
Badal making a power point presentation on ‘Punjab Vision’ sent the
right signals, but if not matched by a massive change in
bureaucratic behaviour and a sea-change in the thinking of the
political leadership, such sammelans reap nothing at the end of the
day.
Emphasizing the
need to have regular interaction with NRIs, Badal said that NRI
Sammelan should be held twice a year once in India and other
abroad. For this purpose four segments with NRIs’ consultation have
been identified viz. America-Canada, Europe Australia and Gulf with
an aim at taking the government to their doorsteps.
Badal called
upon the NRPs to come forward and play a pro-active role to bridge
the communication gap between the state government and the Punjabis
settled across the globe. "Such conferences are ideal forums to
achieve this end and that's why we are making it an annual feature,
said Badal. He reiterated that our government was committed for
maintaining law and order and communal harmony to enable our people
in general and Punjabi NRIs in particular who had made immense
contribution for the overall development of the state.”
 Without
referring to the private-public experiment already underway to
involve business houses into education, Parkash Singh Badal invited
NRPs to jointly set up NRPs schools initially upto 10+2 level in the
state with the participation of Punjab government on the basis of
50:50 sharing basis. Instead of seeking help to put the primary
education of the state on rail, the new schools, he said were meant
to “apprise the progeny of NRPs especially of second and third
generation with the culture of Punjab who had been completely
detached from the rich cultural heritage of their motherland.”
With more than 1300
of our overseas Punjabis declared as proclaimed offenders for
economic and political reasons, it is not smooth sailing for all and
sundry. The book “Overview of legal issues” for NRPs released on
the occasion may provide material to ensure that more don’t fall in
that category. It was interesting to note that the setting up of
email accounts of the police was touted as a step towards
simplification of procedures! Who will read the emails? Who will
respond to them? –well that is another story.
Eminent, NRPs
including Ms.Neena Gill, Member of European Parliament from
Brussels, Ujjal Dosangh former Premier of British Columbia, Canada,
Ruby Dhalla, M.P from Canada, Gurbax Singh Malhi, M.P., Lord Diljit
Rana from London, Baroness Usha Prashar from UK, Sant Singh Chhatwal
from New York, USA, Minister Harinder Takhar from Canada, Mr.Pajit
Walia from New York of Royal Bank of Canada, Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal, M.P.
from Canada and Raj Loomha from London attended the Sammelan.
Investment is a key area of concern for the cash-starved and
subsidy-rich government of
Punjab. During
the course of the Sammelan, ministers were seen swinging between
what the Punjab Government can do for NRPs and what NRPs can do for
Punjab. A large cross-section has talked at each other through the
media and no project has been announced. Every announcement was a
proposal from both sides.
Sant Singh
Chatwal of the Bombay Restaurant fame expressed his desire to
convert the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort in
Amritsar into a
Heritage hotel. Lovers of legacy and heritage are likely to be up
in arms against such a proposal, but on the other side of the coin
is the lurking fear that left to the present government and the SGPC,
the whole fort and its surroundings will be usurped by the land
mafia and petty encroachers. As a hotel it will still be out of
bounds for the man on the street, as most forts are already in the
keep of the police, the judiciary and the bureaucracy. At least, it
will stay. But then we need to think through the many implications
that the move will entail.
 While the
Sammelan was methodically divided into various sessions to lend
focus to various areas, the thrust seemed to hover only around
investment. Money was the key issue. Like all investors, the
Non-resident Punjabis too want a sizeable chunk of the cake and seem
unwilling to be part of the difficult processes that one has to
undergo while setting shop anywhere in
India.
Like in other
parts of the country, the sons of soil who have made it big overseas
want to have the best of both the worlds. It is not always possible
to do so. You cannot eat the cake and have it too. Ours is a
developing economy and the paradigm here is not an easy one. The
state of
Punjab needs not only the money but also the expertise to enable it
to wriggle out of the mess in many sectors, particularly the key
areas of health, education and civil aviation. Non-resident
Punjabis must come on a long sabbatical to Punjab and then force
change in the systems here. Asking the problem makers to solve them
is begging the question.
Is money
everything is a sentiment echoed by many a Punjabi who have been
left out of such conclaves. While the Diaspora members from the US,
Canada and UK hog the numbers, those from distant Kenya and nearby
Afghanistan are conveniently forgotten, only because they will bring
a tale of woes but may not have any money or technology to offer.
Likewise why is
it that such conferences hover around technology and industry alone?
There is ample scope to seek expertise in areas of environment,
traffic control, media and empirical research. Somebody should
certainly ask as to why be there no participation of the
vice-chancellors of the universities in the state?
An 11 member
advisory committee and six police stations to exclusively deal with
NRI cases have been proposed. Will the police stations be manned by
such personnel who brutally beat up a 5 year old child ‘caught’
stealing the purse of an associate of Canadian MP Ms. Ruby Dhalla,
with the entire entourage witnessing the thrashing remains to be
seen.
The Chief
Minister of the State, Parkash Singh Badal and the non-resident
Punjabis would do well to study a 100 page book, entitled,
Parkinson’s law by Cyril Northcote Parkisnson. To wit, his
philosophy is simple, “work expands so as to fill the time available
for its completion.” Dwelling on his experience in the British
Civil Service, Parkinson articulated the manner in which bureaucracy
functions. For those from the West, here is an adaption,
"The
demand upon a resource always expands to match the supply of the
resource."
 Every aspect of
the meet was an extension of the Indian shinning campaign. Instead
of lending credibility to the seriousness of the need for
agenda-based interaction, it was felt necessary to hold such meets
twice a year in India and once abroad too. Whether Punjab will
benefit or not, we do not know, but it will certainly provide
legislators and bureaucrats another opportunity to visit countries
all over the globe.
How does the common
man view such meets? I asked Manmohan Singh, an industrialist in
Ludhiana, who frequently travels to the US. He said, “It is nothing
but a tamasha.” Activists working for social, religious and human
rights issues in India as well as in the US and Canada say that such
meets should also be utilized to focus on substantive issues other
than monetary investment. The greed of the non-resident Punjabi
exemplified in the rise of matrimonial cases and the increasing
trend of foeticide amongst them are areas which require a quiet NRI
meet and not a loud Sammelan, said Gurleen Kaur who desires to go
abroad but is fearful of cheating by NRI husbands.
They came. They
saw. But they did not conquer. They must, because our aim is not to
criticize but to see them winning over, being won over. In such a
mutual victory lies a win for
Punjab, for
Punjabis, and for the non-resident Punjabis.
9 January 2008
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