| They came, they saw and they went. Not very happy. On January 9, as the curtains fell on the fifth edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)-a three-day jamboree for the Indian diaspora-the absence of bigwigs both from India and abroad came as a dampener for the grand event tipped to be a platform for networking and showcasing the new India. The chill of that Sunday morning on January 7 seemed to have percolated to the event when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lit the lamp together with the chief guest, Deputy Premier of Singapore S. Jayakumar, in Delhi's Vigyan Bhavan, calling upon the diaspora to strengthen its links with India. "I would like you to reach out and invest in a new India. Invest not just financially, but intellectually, socially, culturally and, above all, emotionally... come engage with India," he said. With the Indo-US nuclear deal cleared by Washington, Manmohan acknowledged the contribution of the Indian-Americans in lobbying with the Congress to ensure the passage of the Bill. The prime minister made no big ticket announcements but he rolled out a proposal to establish an Indian Overseas Facilitation Centre as a source of investment advisory service. Addressing the gathering of about a thousand-odd PIOs, Manmohan observed that every Indian living and working in India should aspire for the recognition accorded to compatriots like music maestro Zubin Mehta, NRI industrialist Lakshmi Mittal, PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen across the world. Ironically, none of the celebrated Indians, not even the ones named by the prime minister, were in attendance. The event culminated with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting the Pravasi Samman to 15 distinguished PIOs for furthering India's image abroad. Despite the upbeat mood, participants were disappointed that the event had failed to attract significant personalities from the political and corporate world. Conspicuous by their absence were political heavyweights, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and senior leaders of the BJP like former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had initiated the event in 2003. Also not seen at the event were the bigwigs of India Inc-the Ambanis, the Tatas and the Hindujas. Present in most of the sessions were ministers from Manmohan's Cabinet along with some chief ministers. However, what was unmistakable was a clear lack of coordination between the two big ministries-the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) and the Ministry of External Affairs which controls the Indian missions abroad. Differences between rival business chambers also spilled over, affecting the turnout. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) pipped its arch rival, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), to co-host the event this time around. The FICCI, co-host for the previous four PBDs, strategically fixed the dates of its annual general meeting in tandem with the event, thereby wooing away several big names from India Inc. "This should have been a bipartisan event but we could see the difference. Most of the big politicians and industrialists were not there. Where are the Ambanis, the Tatas and the other big names of the Indian industry?" asked Dr Vinod Shah, secretary of the influential American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.  | | PRAVASI PREROGATIVE | | Overseas Indian doctors will be allowed to practise in India. Overseas Indian card holders can go for inter-country adoption. They will also be allowed to avail domestic airfare instead of the foreign exchange fare normally offered to foreign nationals. | | Ill-concealed, the disenchantment flared up at some sessions. For instance, at a discussion on Gulf countries, PIOs had heated arguments with the ministers about the apathy of Indians in that region. At another session many of them voiced concerns about terrorism and the security situation. Home Minister Shivraj Patil assured them that India was a safe investment destination. For the Bollywood-struck diaspora, even the cultural programmes didn't quite match up to expectations. "It is a good forum to network. But I was disappointed by the cultural programmes which were completely lacklustre," said S. Nankoo, a PIO from Mauritius. But officials in the MOIA insist that the Government is paying attention to the diaspora. According to Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, the Overseas Citizen of India scheme has evoked good response and 90,000 such cards have been issued so far. India perhaps needs to emulate China and Israel which have systematically cultivated their respective diaspora to reap strategic benefits. In contrast, Delhi is yet to create a database of PIOs and set up a centre for them in the capital. But first, it is vital to present events like PBD as bipartisan, with organs of the Government and trade chambers coming under one banner to truly showcase the Indian diaspora. Otherwise, it may end up becoming just another exercise in oneupmanship. Index |
