DUBAI, 19 September 2004 — Jagdish Tytler, minister of state for overseas Indian affairs, yesterday pledged to take measures to check the exploitation of Indians seeking work abroad.
Tytler, who was addressing the Indian Businessmen and Professionals Council, also promised to introduce a single-window facility to handle non-resident Indians’ complaints and to speed up documentation work they require. He ended a two-day visit to Dubai yesterday.
He explained the status of the newly constituted Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs which he heads. He rejected suggestions that the ministry’s mandate was unclear in view of the “domination” of the Ministry of External Affairs and said that the new ministry was asserting itself in its roles and responsibilities.
Earlier, addressing a press conference organized by the Indian Media Forum, an umbrella group for Indian journalists in the UAE, Tytler said he was disturbed by the mounting cases of girls from Kerala lured to the UAE on promises of jobs but forced into prostitution. He said he would seek, through the Protectorate of Emigrants, to ensure that people leaving India are not being lured out for exploitation by verifying the authenticity of their employment contracts. Similarly, regulations will be strictly enforced while clearing Indians leaving on visits visas, he said.
The Protectorate of Emigrants has always been blamed for inept handling of emigration procedures and corruption, resulting in job-seekers from India being cheated by unscrupulous agents and girls recruited for jobs ending up in prostitution rackets in some Gulf states.
“Currently the Protector of Emigrants come under the union labor ministry,” said Tytler. “As the ministry in charge of overseas Indians, we can transform the protectorate into a real watchdog and verify the genuineness of sponsors and the job offered before allowing Indians to leave the country on employment visas,” Tytler said.
He said the issue of overseas Indians marrying girls in India and absconding was also of great concern.
“There are at least 10,000 such girls in (the Indian state of) Punjab alone. There should be some system in which we can make some preliminary inquiry and at least make sure that the overseas Indian who seeks a bride in India at least has legal status, a job and house abroad,” he added.
Tytler said the recent change in his ministry’s name from “Ministry for Non-Resident Indians” to “Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs” meant that all Indians, even second or third generations of Indians who migrated abroad, have an authentic point of contact in India.
“Non-resident Indians only comprise holders of Indian passports living or working abroad. Over the recent years India has moved to recognize Indians who have permanently settled abroad as well as their descendants. Since 2003 an expatriate Indian day (Pravasi Bhartahiya Divas) is being observed and an Indian Diaspora meet is being held to mark the day. Next year the diaspora would be held on Jan.7, 8 and 9 in Bombay.
