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Sajjan Pardesi Aaye Ghar Apne
WSN Bureau
NRPs were meeting in a land where thousands
are ready to travel in the hulls of ships, wade through mined
beaches, trudge through eastern Europe's snows or drown in Ionian
sea to become NRPs
 CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR:
The problem with a lot of good intentions thrown into a venture is
that they only serve to pave a path we all know to where. The
much-hyped Punjabi NRI Sammelan convened by the Punjab Government
generated a lot of goodwill, triggered many a hope, and weaved many
a dream, but as for the substantial outcome, the saner advice will
be to wait and watch.
But it sure did
launch Sukhbir Singh Badal as the man to watch out for. Right from
the Power Point presentation to the way the Sammelan was conducted,
the organizers had ensured that Sukhbir remains and is seen at the
centre of it all. Of the many ways the politicians think of in which
to launch their progeny with the added booster that parentage can
supply, this surely was innovative.
Talk of million
dollar investments virtually drowned out all debate about grassroot
level cooperation at the Sammelan though many visiting Non-Resident
Punjabis (NRPs), a term most preferred to NRIs, made their efforts
on the sidelines to visit their villages, see the crumbling
infrastructure and lack of development with their own eyes and come
up with solutions with an approach that was roughly equivalent to
want micro-banking has done to poverty alleviation in some parts of
the world.
As for the
official Power Point presentation, the Sammelan head ruling Akali
Dal acting president promising to set up "townships matching the
standards of Singapore and expressways of international class within
four years". "Think big and achieve big" he said was his mantra.
Only, in vast swathes of Punjab's rural areas, healthcare thinking
means asking for medicines, thinking big is translated as asking for
a doctor.
 Divided into two
days and two different kinds of jamborees, the first day of the NRP
conclave at Chandigarh spent considerable time talking about efforts
to change the "face of some cities", notably Mohali and Amritsar,
with the help of Singapore-based Jurong company.
International
flights from Mohali, expansion of Amritsar airport, civil terminals
at the IAF stations in Bathinda and Adampur, express highways
linking Mohali with Phagwara, Ludhiana with Amritsar, AC buses and
radio cabs in major towns. The government rolled out its plans and
then wrapped up with a flourish: "You have done much for the
motherland… now it is our turn to do something for you."
That the NRP
sons of the homeland were looking for ways in which to reach out and
help change the way their village school or dispensary looked was
lost in the din, but determined souls were planning to reach out in
alternative ways.
"The Punjab
government is at your disposal," Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal
told cheering NRPs at the five star Taj hotel in Chandigarh.
At a Five Star, it is easy to be deluged. It is only in a back of
the beyond village of Rai Sikhs in Ferozepur that the government
seems like a rumour and the idea of a school with two teachers could
possibly mean Amreeka.
Badal said this
is a "result-oriented" event, but the most substantial was the gift
of six NRI-Special Police thanas. Other than that, there was a
promise to set up an NRI Council by selecting 11 people from
different countries. The mode of selection, the headquarter of the
council, how will the members from different countries meet, were
all details left for later.
 There was some
hope of a serious debate when Punjab Cooperation Minister Capt
Kanwaljit Singh did some plain speaking, saying Punjab
was in a "serious economic and agricultural crisis". Finance
Minister Manpreet Singh Badal was soon saying "we need your help.
The state is in a crisis. The idea behind this Sammelan is to bridge
the gap between you and Punjab
and make all of you partners in the development of the state." S.S.
Dhindsa, a member of Parliament, asked NRPs to "come, invest here
and make
Punjab powerful".
The session on
Opportunities for Punjabi Diaspora in the Development of Punjab
lasted an hour, while 'Punjab Vision' took even lesser time.
Thankfully, there was at least one sentence inviting philanthropists
among NRPs to adopt Primary Health Centres, Subsidiary Health
Centres and Community Health Centres.
The Badal
Government of course said something candid too when it underlined
'Real Estate' as the priority sector for NRI investments. "Punjab
is the best market for real estate in India as people
have the habit of spending and belief in quality of life comparable
to international standards due to the larger NRI population. Its
claim that the state had "most equitable income distribution" would
remain debatable.
Another
substantial announcement was about setting up of an 11 member
Advisory Committee on NRIs to aid and advise the state government on
the matters and issues relating to the welfare of the NRIs. Of the
11, 7-8 members would be from among the committee amongst the
eminent NRIs from different countries having fairly large population
of Punjabi diaspora and the remaining members would be from the
government of Punjab
in consultation with the NRIs. The basic objective of this
committee would give suggestions and recommendations to the state
government to evolve a mechanism for the quick disposal of pending
complaints relating to property, matrimonial and other disputes.
The six NRI
Police Stations will be in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala,
Nawashahar, Moga and Ludhiana for the quick disposal of cases
involving NRPs. An NRI Information cum facilitation center is also
to be set up at International Airport Amritar and an office of NRIs
affairs is to be opened at Jalandhar. Best idea by Punjab Government
standards: An exclusively NRI Sangat Darshan by Badal. Hail the new
thought!
Another one?
Here it is, and will take care of your tourism plans also for the
next couple of years – Punjab Government wants such NRI Sammelans at
least twice a year, once in India, and the other abroad.
 The glitter was
in abundance. Dr. (Ms) Ruby Dhalla, M.P from Canada, must have been
amused to find that even her red dress made it to the news,
something even Gene Wilder would not have thought of when he
directed The Woman In Red. But then glitterati was represented also
by Ms.Neena Gill, Member of EV Parliament from Brussels, Ujjal
Dosanj, former Premier of British Columbia Canada, Gurbax Singh
Malhi, M.P. from Canada, Minister Harinder Singh Takhar from Canada
and Varinder Sharma, former Mayor of London and Member Parliament
UK.
The NRI Sabha,
the only elected body of the NRPs seemed entirely incidental to the
whole affair though Surjit Singh Rakhra was present throughout.
9 January 2008
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