Why Are Young Indians Running from India?
A U S military transport plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived at Amritsar airport after a 40-hour flight from Texas on Wednesday 5 February, 2025. The migrants were in handcuffs and shackles and this was the first time they had been sent back on a military aircraft. President Trump was sending a clear message to India and other countries unable to control own citizens from crossing national borders illegally. In reaction, we saw Indian parliamentarians protesting loudly.
In 2022, the Washington-based Pew Research Center, estimated that nearly 725,000 unauthorized immigrants from India reside in the US. They are the third-largest group after Mexico and El Salvador. More recently, illegal immigrants have been sent back to their countries from UK in a similar way. In defence, UK Home Office ministers said that the decision to publish images of arrests and deportations, is compassionate. The publicity sends a clear message to people who may have been sold lies about what will await them in the UK if they get themselves smuggled in. These are the people who live in squalid conditions, being exploited by vicious gangs. Ministers believe that it is important that the public and the governments concerned understand these ground realities. Laws of the land and rules must be followed.
Moving from one part of the world to another is as old as human history. The urge to explore was always there in human nature. Human progress has depended on that spirit of exploration and discovery. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was an outstanding example of a teaching traveller, a gatherer and distributer of knowledge through discourses while He preached Oneness of all creation and the Creator Being.
However, in those days there were no national boundaries nor laws restricting free movement of people. Today, the national boundaries and laws have to be respected by people and countries. Creating conditions in countries which force people to flee to other countries without proper documentation, brings shame on the governments of the countries concerned. Economic compulsions too force people to cross borders and the distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrations can become blurred.
It takes a careful analysis of the root causes to find solutions to illegal migrations. For example, why are young men and women from even middle class families running from Panjab and India. What are they escaping from? Who encourages them to leave the country without proper documents. Who benefits from this illegal trade in human beings? The solution lies in the answers to such questions. The administrations of Panjab and India carry the ultimate responsibility for creating conditions which compel young men and women of working age to run from own homes and country. The Indian state and central governments are in the dock and not the foreign governments.
Also, I find it sadly amusing when Indian politicians expect legally and successfully settled and well-integrated next generations Indian communities living abroad to use their influence and help in such matters. It is never clear what sort of help is expected in addition to what Indian missions should be providing. In any case, knowingly helping illegal migrants is unlawful.
One view is that, except for indiscriminate Langar and charity sewa, this is not an area for diaspora Sikh political activism. For too long, Panjab and Indian authorities have turned a blind eye to the illegal activities of travel agents.
Genuine skills-based legal means to work abroad should be facilitated.
Gurmukh Singh OBE
Principal Civil Servant retd (UK)
E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk
Sikh ideology articles: https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/