It’s time parties brought tangible policy outcomes beyond flashy diaspora meet-ups and empty promises in manifestos

With two phases of the 18th Lok Sabha polls concluded, the nation’s political pulse is inevitably raised as speculations about the upcoming five phases abound. While India’s democratic fate depends on who wins this election, the competing parties nationwide are leaving no stone unturned to secure victory margins. In the multi-party setup in India, releasing an election manifesto in a time-bound manner is considered one of the major poll-related activities to influence people’s voting behaviour. This political tradition has been followed since the first general election of independent India in 1951 and holds a significant place in our electoral landscape.

Despite the fact that the majority of voters may not read the manifestos, the political row over its contents and the media attention often results in exposing the effectiveness, or the lack thereof, of party lines and policy agendas of contending political factions in addressing and mitigating the key issues facing the country. After all, a manifesto is an official roadmap document that provides critical clues regarding the attitude and responsiveness of the parties towards various sections of the population, including the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs).

Overseas Indians in Manifestos

While the first general election provided voting rights to partition refugees on their declaration of intent to reside permanently in India, the Nehruvian approach of “expatriate Indians who abandoned the county did not need the support of India” resonated in the electoral discourse until the third general election. It was the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (now Bharatiya Janata Party), which in its election manifesto of 1962, urged for safeguarding the interests of overseas Indians in matters concerning dual citizenship, right to vote and their experiences of discrimination in foreign lands.

Yet developmental and welfare agendas, such as poverty alleviation, economic modernisation and industrialisation, dominated the electoral debates in the initial decades of independence. This was followed by the reservation question and Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi-motivated communal politics echoing the entire late twentieth century. That said, the 1999 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) manifesto promised schemes to simplify tax and investment procedures for overseas Indians.

More than 22,000 NRIs landed in Kerala by chartering ‘vote flights’ from the Gulf countries to exercise their political franchise on April 26

Expanding on the previous point, the 2004 NDA manifesto pledged to strengthen the multidimensional linkages with the global Indian diaspora, granting them dual citizenship, and favoured their investments, especially in the healthcare sector. However, the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won the 2004 general election and established a Ministry of Non-Resident Indians’ Affairs, later renamed the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA).

Marking a significant shift in our diaspora policies, the MOIA introduced the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) scheme in August 2005 to develop networks and partnerships with overseas Indians. This landmark policy reimagined India as a de-territorialised cultural polity with NRIs and PIOs as active stakeholders in the country’s international standing, economic growth and human development.

Acknowledging “the vital role remittances play in bolstering the country’s finances,” the 2009 Congress manifesto asserted that if elected to power, the party would continue to take measures to “intensify the involvement of overseas Indians in development” by creating opportunities for starting business ventures in India. Other promises were to introduce 50% seat reservation for PIO/NRI students in selected universities and protect the interests of Indian workers in the Gulf.

Getting Side-lined

The subsequent general elections witnessed the matters of national security, economic growth, employment, anti-corruption and foreign policy gaining greater traction in the campaigns with NRI issues finding their way to manifestos in a relatively diminutive manner. The ruling Congress’ 2014 manifesto had only a passive reference that it will take measures to “protect overseas Indians from exploitation or threats”, while the BJP’s manifesto had a two-line note on the soft power potentiality of overseas Indians in strengthening ‘Brand India’ and promoting its national interests globally. Shortly after winning office, the BJP government merged the MOIA with the Ministry of External Affairs, thus virtually downgrading overseas Indian affairs into a mere segment of India’s foreign policy.

The 2019 BJP manifesto committed to “creating an institutional mechanism to regularly engage and deepen the cultural relationship with Indians living abroad.” The proposal to strengthen the MADAD (‘MEA’ in Aid of Diaspora in Distress) portal services was reassuring, but the promise to launch a ‘Bharat Gaurav’ campaign to enhance Indian missions’ engagement with overseas Indians was rather rhetorical.

On the other hand, the Congress criticised the MOIA merger for its disruptive impact in ensuring the social welfare and safety of overseas Indians. In its manifesto, the Congress promised to re-establish the MOIA and also set up a Committee of OCIs to oversee and evaluate the work of Indian missions regarding NRIs, ensuring their concerns are addressed and their interests protected.

It also promised affordable education for NRIs’ children, an NRI Invest Scheme, and financial and logistical services for their safe return to India.

Non-committal in 2024

There is no mention of overseas Indians in the current election manifesto of the Congress. It is a disappointing omission from a national party when its candidates seek to reach out to the NRI vote bank in several States. At the same time, the BJP’s manifesto has a brief section titled ‘Vishwa Bandhu Bharat’, maintaining its position to strengthen cultural and economic ties with the diaspora and involve them in the country’s growth and development while offering support in times of need.

The BJP manifesto claims that Indians living abroad “feel empowered and connected”, in contrast to the reality that NRI voters are left without a voice, practically disenfranchised and disconnected due to the absence of remote voting provisions. Besides, an outdated 40-year-old Emigration Act of 1983 governs the overseas migration of Indians and their welfare and protection while migrating and returning.

Despite the grave indifference of ruling and opposition parties from time to time, these critical overseas populations, who are spirited Indians to the core, maintain firm sociopolitical affiliations, fund campaigns and mobilise votes for their favoured parties via online platforms. This we have seen time and again in the second phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election held on April 26, when more than 22,000 NRIs landed in Kerala by chartering ‘vote flights’ from the Gulf countries to exercise their political franchise.

A similar trend is expected in the upcoming phases as well, including in Telangana, which has a large NRI population well known for influencing the previous victories of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the BJP candidates in North Telangana districts of Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad in the 2019 general elections.

The scorching summer heat might be a concern for all political camps as it has dimmed the spirit of the campaign and affected voter turnout in the first two phases. However, nothing could stop enthusiastic NRI electors from flying down to their constituencies to cast votes. That being the case, it is high time political parties addressed the NRI issues with resoluteness and brought tangible policy outcomes beyond flashy diaspora meet-ups and empty promises in the manifestos.

Author: Prof. Divya Balan, Faculty of International Studies, FLAME University.