THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 17 March 2020 (The ambit and the limits of ‘diaspora diplomacy’(The Hindu))

The ambit and the limits of ‘diaspora diplomacy’(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations
Prelims level:Transferability of Votes
Mains level:Indian diaspora and its role in world politics

Context:

Joint rallies by U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad last month and at Houston last September were unique for their concept and for their crowd sizes.
IT was also for the promise they held out to the leaders themselves: of audiences that would blend support for Mr. Trump with that for Mr. Modi politically.

Way beyond the bilateral relations:

As a result, speaking beyond bilateral relations, both leaders paid tribute to the three million people of Indian origin who are American citizens, who will vote in elections this year.
In Ahmedabad, Mr. Trump referred to Indian Americans as “truly spectacular people”.
In Houston, Mr. Modi said the 2016 ......................................

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Pitching to both audiences:

Mr. Modi has also brought this dual effect into play in several diaspora rallies worldwide.
At each of them, he has spoken of initiatives taken by his government for Indians, and also those for the diaspora, pitching to both audiences at one time.
In Israel, for example, Mr. Modi spent much of his speech on talking about his agricultural programmes, which was meant for domestic audiences watching his speech on television.
And then announced the start of a direct Air India flight to Tel Aviv, to big cheers from his live audience.
The government has also frequently blurred the line between Indian expatriates and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) in describing India’s strength abroad. In March 2017, the Ministry of External Affairs raised the issue of attacks on Indians strongly with the U.S. government, after three incidents of suspected hate crimes.
Only one of the three was an Indian citizen, the rest were Americans of Indian extraction. This is an important distinction from the past.

Transferability of Votes:

India has the world’s largest diaspora, about 17.5 million and receives the highest remittance of $78.6 billion from Indians living abroad (Global Migration Report 2020).
Members of the diaspora, often seen as more “successful” and therefore more influential, can have a big impact on their relatives back home, and this makes for a potent combination for any politician.
Mr. Modi’s joint rallies with former ..................................................

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US election:

In the upcoming U.S. election, it remains to be seen whether the Trump outreaches at Houston and Ahmedabad bring in a haul of new Indian-American voters, but the statistics are daunting.
In the 2016 election, 77% of Indian Americans voted for Hillary Clinton while just 16% voted for Mr. Trump.
The second issue is that politically active members of the Indian diaspora don’t necessarily support the Indian government’s actions.
And often, because they are of Indian origin, hold the government in New Delhi to higher standards than they do others.
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson for Asia, Ami Bera, voiced his concerns quite plainly about Kashmir and the CAA during a visit to India last month, for example, saying that the India that he “loved” was “democratic and secular”.
The sponsor of the U.S. House resolution on Kashmir (HR745) Pramila Jayapal; co-chair of U.S. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’s campaign Ro Khanna; and former presidential contender Kamala Harris, have all been openly critical of the government’s actions.
The conclusion for the government is that it cannot own only that part of the diaspora that supports its decisions, and must celebrate the fact that members of the Indian diaspora, from both sides of the political divide, are successful and influential.

Interest and Interference:

The government must ensure that its focus on the diaspora doesn’t become a factor in its bilateral relations.
While it is perfectly legitimate and laudable to ensure the safety and well-being of Indian citizens in different parts of the world, as the Modi government has done, it must tread more lightly on issues that concern foreign citizens of Indian origin.
Addressing the Lok Sabha .............................................

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Way forward:

Finally, the government must consider the impact that policies conflating the PIOs with Indian citizens could have on the diaspora itself.
Most immigrant Indian communities have been marked by their ability to assimilate into the countries they now live in.
It is necessary for New Delhi to look at the political choices of Indian migrants abroad through a more realistic lens.
Much of that comes from a desire to be treated as equal citizens, not as immigrants. A few also have bad memories of anti-immigrant sentiments in the 1960s and 1970s in Europe and the U.S., when they were targeted and accused of “divided loyalties”.
Laying claim to their kinship and culture and taking pride in their success is one thing.
It would be a mistake to lay claim to their politics.
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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, consider the following statements:
1. Under this the States can ensure sale of both the items at MRP.
2. Under the Essential Commodities Act, powers of the Central Government have already been delegated to the States by way of orders during 1972 to 1978.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2