Context:
• India’s efforts to engage its global diaspora are encountering new challenges as Western countries heighten scrutiny of immigrant communities, nationalism grows, and concerns rise over foreign interference in domestic politics.
Key Highlights:
- Recent Incidents Involving Indian Diaspora
- Controversial public displays of faith and culture by diaspora groups in Canada, Australia, and the U.S. have sparked concerns.
- A Deepavali celebration in Edmonton, Canada caused a house fire, leading to arson charges.
- Anti-immigrant protests in Australia have increasingly targeted Indian-origin residents.
- Rise of Transnational Cultural Nationalism
- Growth of Hindutva-linked networks has expanded since the 1990s and gained further momentum after 2014 due to rising emigration and online community-building.
- Heightened Western Scrutiny
- The U.S., Canada, and Australia are tightening oversight of foreign communities due to fears of political interference, affecting Indian diaspora activism and cultural expressions.
Significance
- Historically, India adopted a cautious approach toward diaspora involvement. Jawaharlal Nehru explicitly discouraged engagement with PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) politics, insisting that the diaspora remain loyal to their adopted countries to avoid accusations of Indian interference.
• This approach shifted with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, which introduced Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) — granting PIOs lifetime visa-free entry and rights comparable to NRIs in economic, educational, and financial domains.
• While diaspora participation was once considered a benign extension of soft power, state-backed diaspora activism now runs into conflict with Western anxieties around espionage, political funding, and influence operations.
• Diaspora advocacy for Indian interests must therefore navigate:
- Rising nationalist politics in host countries
- Stricter legal and regulatory frameworks on foreign lobbying
- Limitations of multi-alignment diplomacy in polarized political environments
• In the U.S., although dual citizenship is permitted, some lawmakers are pushing for tighter oversight of foreign-origin groups—reflecting a broader trend across Western democracies.