Fleeing Indians

According to the data presented in the Rajya Sabha by the government of India’s ministry of external affairs, more than 200,000 Indians are giving up their citizenship every year. The number is increasing rapidly year after year even when the prime minister keeps telling us that we are going to be a $5-trillion economy. Well, Indians have stopped taking their prime minister seriously, it seems.

When we realise that Indians are choosing to be Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalis, and Burmese, we may think the news is fake. But the information is given by our own government and it is true. Too many Indians are leaving India.

“For rich Indians, home is no longer where the heart is,” writes Prabhu Chawla in the Sunday Standard, pointing out that 4300 millionaires including stars like Virat Kohli and family have abandoned India in 2024. Last year, the figure of such millionaires was 5100. In other words, it is not only the ambitious middle class that chooses to quit India.

They are not just leaving the country; they are renouncing their citizenship too. “It means they have chosen to disconnect from their roots and opt for an entirely new social and cultural ecosystem,” Chawla goes on. Chawla was a longtime Modi supporter who used to defend the BJP government on every occasion and ruthlessly assail Modi’s critics. That was long ago, of course. He is a disillusioned man now, like too many others.

He identifies the pathetic civic infrastructure as the primary reason for so many Indians leaving the country. Then there is the breakdown of law and order all over the country, suffocating pollution, and a complex tax structure. India may be flourishing in statistics, but actual life for Indians – irrespective of their economic class – is tough in many ways.

Maybe, as the year is ending, as we are all gearing to usher in a new year, the prime minister can do some self-assessment. What should he do to merit the third term that people have given him? I know what he should do. But who am I to tell him that when he knows a lot, lot more than I do?

Wish you all a Happy New Year. I’m going to be here in India since I really don’t have an option. So, I hope it will be a better year that’s coming soon, too soon.