NEW DELHI, 8 January 2005 — All Indians who migrated after Jan. 26, 1950, would be eligible for dual citizenship, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced yesterday. This would, however, depend on the laws of their home countries, Manmohan added in his inaugural speech at the third Bharatiya Pravasi Divas in Bombay.
The idea for a diaspora day was first suggested by a committee set up in 2001 by former Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee to help the government formulate policy for Indians living abroad. The day also marks the return to India of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi from South Africa in 1914 to start the country’s struggle for independence from British rule.
Through diaspora day, the government wanted to give people of Indian origin a greater sense of involvement with their country. More than 2,000 delegates from across the world attended the meeting in Bombay. The chief guest was Surinam’s Vice President Jules Rattankoemar Ajodhia.
“We speak different languages, we practice different religions, our cuisine is varied and so is our costume. We are over a billion Indians and over 25 million overseas Indians, living in 110 different countries. Yet, there is a unifying idea that binds us all together, which is the idea of “Indian-ness”.
He said the country owed a lot to Indians in the Gulf “whose regular financial remittances home have played an important role in building our foreign exchange reserves that now amount to over $130 billion”.
“India needs your investment,” he told the gathering, adding that his government was committed to making India an attractive destination for investment, particularly in infrastructure, to step up the rate of economic growth to 7-8 percent per year.
“I believe the economy must absorb up to $150 billion of investment in infrastructure over the next decade for us to be able to increase our growth rate. Much of this must come in as foreign direct investment, and in substantial part, from overseas Indians.” Manmohan encouraged the gathering to contribute to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to help victims of the Dec. 26 killer tsunami rebuild their lives.
