Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI—More than six lakh Indians have taken foreign citizenship in the last five years. The Ministry of External Affairs provided this figure during the current session of Parliament. Though the ministry did not give the reason for such a large population giving up Indian citizenship, it is a matter of serious concern.
Many people, including former union minister and BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy, have also raised questions. But, according to data available with the external affairs ministry, this is the highest ever number of people having given up their Indian citizenship and settled abroad though India has been very peaceful.
It is difficult to say if this has something to do with the change in domestic policies and curb on democratic freedom, including curb on human rights, in the country under the new political dispensation in the last seven years.
Many people feel that India is on the path to autocracy in which constitutional laws don’t matter. What matters is the whims and fancies of the ruler. This feeling gained ground when the existing dispensation took several unpopular decisions like framing agricultural laws, citizenship (amendment) act (CAA), arresting prominent human rights activists under draconian laws, tightening the noose around non-governmental organizations by starving them of funds by amending FCRA, apart from restricting the activities of opposition political parties by using central agencies like CBI, ED, and Income Tax department against them. According to those working with agencies engaged in consultation for migrations, quality of life and availability of social security in overseas countries is the primary motivating factor for Indians, which is not available in their home country despite a high rate of taxes.
Minister of State for External Affairs Nityanand Rai told Lok Sabha on December 3 that 1,33,049 Indians gave up Indian citizenship in 2017, 1,34,561 in 2018, 1,44,017 in 2019, 85,248 in 2020 and 1,11,287 till September 30, 2021.
This indicates that the most significant number of people gave up their Indian citizenship in 2019. The figure was the lowest in 2020, perhaps due to Covid-19. However, the figures went up again in 2021.
According to the figures provided by the ministry, about 40 percent of requests for renunciation of Indian citizenship came from the US, and another 30 percent of Indians settled in Australia and Canada. The rest of the requests came from other countries.
According to a Global Wealth Migration Review survey conducted by Mauritius-headquartered AfrAsia Bank, 7,000 high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) or millionaires gave up Indian citizenship and settled overseas in 2020. According to the AfrAsia Bank, this accounts for 2 percent of the total millionaires in India. According to AfrAsia Bank, India is only second to China, from where 16,000 HNWIs took foreign citizenship in 2020. Russia was the third, with 5,500 HNWIs leaving their country and settling overseas.
According to Henley and Partners, the number of Indians making inquiries for ‘residence-by-investment’ or ‘citizenship-by-investment’ increased by 63 percent in 2020, compared to 2019. According to H&P, over 1500 HNWIs had inquired in 2019, and the figure was more than this in 2020.
If H&P is to be believed, the top destinations for investment-linked residence for India are Canada, Austria, and Portugal, while the preferred goal for investment-linked citizenship for India is Turkey and Malta.
According to media reports, NRIs in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore look for citizenship in European countries if they don’t get citizenship in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. However, they do not want to return and invest in India.
According to H&P, 30 countries in the world offer citizenship or residence by investment, and Indians are reported to be exploring all available opportunities.
Why should wealthy Indians leave their country? But this is happening despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi motivating Indians to develop self-pride. While this can be considered logical for people searching for a job taking up overseas citizenship, there does not seem plausible reason for people to leave their own country when they have wealth and can enjoy all the facilities in their native place. The flight of wealth to foreign countries is highly harmful to the country’s future. It is indeed a matter of research for social scientists.
