Monday, January 15, 2007: The Non-Returning Indian was the butt of many a joke in one of Bollywood’s major hits two years ago. And we RIs (resident Indians) picture each one of those 25 million living abroad with India links to be rolling in greenbacks, and bubbling with emotion for their homeland. Do all NRIs/ Indians Overseas miss India? Are they proud of their country?

The recently concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas attended by the 1200 odd delegates would have us believe that the overseas Indian bonds emotionally with his country even after years of separation, and has a burning desire to be a crucial part of India’s progress. True for some percentage of Indians settled abroad, but for the others?

Indians who have settled overseas are those who found employment opportunities and a better lifestyle outside their country. Conditions back home were not attractive enough for them to return, and a slow distancing has crept into the average NRI. In contrast to the ethnic Chinese who fled the Mao regime but whose loyalty and pride in his motherland still remains intact, the NRI pales into the distance. A Filipino too carries her nationality on her sleeve, and never severs her links with her country whose foreign remittances form the backbone of the economy.

When an Indian requires only 183 days living out of the country to be called an NRI, and avail the privileges offered by the Government, the smart (unscrupulous) Indian goes any length to grab those benefits. No wonder then, that pejorative coinages for NRIs are doing the rounds and personal gain is all the NRI is perceived to be after.

On the other hand, how well has the government ever taken up for overseas Indians in trouble? Military regimes in Burma and East Africa have come down heavily on Indians abroad, but the community has not found support back home. Likewise, the government chooses to look the other way when innocent Indians working in the Gulf are handed severe punishments for petty crimes. Curiously, the India link gets well researched by the local media when Sunita Williams takes to space, and Vijay Singh shines on the Fiji golf course.

Time to redefine the NRI?