The Punjab government has inserted in all major newspapers of the country nearly three-quarter page advertisement announcing meetings of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with representatives of the Punjabi Diaspora (Parvasi).
It is pertinent to mention that some years ago, the Union Ministry of External Affairs introduced the concept of holding every January a conclave of eminent overseas Indians and named it Parvasi Bharat Divas (PBD).
It was organized with great gusto where various issues concerning overseas Indians, their success stories, their issues and problems and their connectivity with their motherland were discussed. Besides the main function and the national session, special sessions were organized by different State Government to invite Overseas Indians to visit their parent States and invest there.
The PBD concept continued for several years. Each year some eminent members of Indian Diaspora were felicitated. The Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) used to play a key role in holding of this massive show of Indian Overseas community. I had the privilege of attending some of the PBDs at various places, including New Delhi, Jaipur, Cochin and other places. For many years, GOPIO was headed by a Punjabi, Mr Inder Singh. Even today GOPIO has units in various countries, including Europe, North America, and Australia.
GOPIO has also announced its next session in the United States.
The PBD used to be the second day of the three- day affair and the choice fell on January 9 as it was on this day that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.
This year a few States, including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, organized the State level PBD but no national level PBD has been organized.
Interestingly, Punjab and Punjabis participation used to be limited in PBD as not many eminent members of the Punjabi Diaspora used to be invoted for the annual conclave.
Now the Punjab Government which was credited for introducing the concept of inviting and involving overseas Indians in Vision of Punjab series before the turn of the century.
The new AAP government has been talking about “Parvasi” but it too could not hold the annual PBD for last two years. Now the CM has announced meetings with “Parvasi” at various district headquarters.
Interestingly, punjab has the highest ratio of overseas Indians to its total population. Almost every third of fourth household in the State has someone abroad.
And then Punjab also has one if the highest population of Parvasi from other parts of the country settled in the State. After Punjab, it is Chandigarh that has a huge chunk of migrant population. That may be one reason that number of Punjabi speaking people in Punjab and Chandigarh has been falling sharply.
The number of Punjabis with OCIs is among the highest in the country.
“Time is not far off when Punjabis will become Parvasis in their own State,”remarked a senior journalist while referring to official advertisements in about Parvasi Milnis today. In fact, many of them are already “Parvasis” as they have lost their roots.
An eminent NRI quipped: Inititially, India had a visiting Prime Minister? Now the country has a visiting Foreign Minister. Since he is travelling all the time, where is the need to hold the PBD now.
(Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience of 14 years with Reuters News and 30 years with The Tribune Group, covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows.)
