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Journalism of Courage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 18th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas on Thursday (January 9) in Bhubaneswar, with his speech focusing on the theme of ‘Diaspora’s Contribution to a Viksit Bharat’. He also noted the date’s significance, saying, “It was on this day in 1915 when Mahatma Gandhi came back to India after a long time abroad.”
The event is held once every two years to “honour the contributions of the Indian diaspora to their homeland”. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, more than 3.5 crore Overseas Indians (that is, Non-Resident Indians or NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin or PIOs) are based abroad.
Why is Pravasi Bharatiya Day celebrated and how has the Indian government viewed the diaspora in recent years? We explain.
Overseas Indians are classified into three categories: Non-Resident Indians, Overseas Citizens of India and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). NRIs are Indians who are residents of foreign countries.
A person of Indian origin who is a foreign national and gets registered as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 is an OCI. The person must be eligible to be a citizen of India on January 26, 1950, or was a citizen of India on or at any time after January 26, 1950, or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947. Minor children of such individuals, except those who were citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh, were also eligible for OCI cards.
The PIO category was abolished in 2015 and merged with the OCI category.
A High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, headed by jurist and Parliamentarian LM Singhvi, recommended in January 2002 that the government must renew and strengthen linkages of overseas Indians to their place of origin, and with each other.
The committee recommended that a Pravasi Bharatiya Bhavan should be set up to emerge as the focal point for networking between India and its overseas Indian community; and as a suitable place to commemorate the stories of the Indian Diaspora. It was later setup in New Delhi.
The idea of a day dedicated to recognising overseas Indians thus emerged and was first held in 2003. January 9 was selected as it was the date when Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. Over the years, he has often been described as the first non-resident Indian of the most famous NRI by various politicians, including PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Since 2015, the centenary year of Gandhi’s return, the format was revised for the meeting to be held once every two years.
An award called The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is given out as part of the programme. According to the official website, “It is the highest honour conferred on a Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin; or an organisation or institution established and run by them.”
The award is to commemorate the contribution of the Indian diaspora to create a better understanding of India abroad, support India’s causes and work for the welfare of the local Indian community.
“A jury-cum-awards committee, with (the) Vice President as the chairman and External Affairs Minister as the vice-chair and other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations… and unanimously selected the awardees,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a release.
This year, President Droupadi Murmu will present the awards to 27 people on January 10.
Focus on Indian diaspora
According to data from the MEA from late 2024, the United States of America has 54 lakh Overseas Indians, the number for the United Arab Emirates stands at 35 lakh, Canada at 28 lakh and Saudi Arabia at 24 lakh. This population sends a large sum of money back home. In 2023, it amounted to around $125 billion.
But beyond these numbers too, the diaspora serves as an important link in the ties between countries. In countries such as the US and Canada, members of the Indian diaspora are increasingly visible in politics. Political parties in India, from the Communist Party of India to the ruling BJP, have over the years attempted to broaden their outreach to the diaspora.
The “Howdy Modi” event, for instance, was held in Texas in September 2019 in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election. It was one of the largest diaspora gatherings, where PM Modi interacted with the audience with then US President Donald Trump by his side.
