Bhartiya diaspora is amongst the largest in the world. It is estimated that approximately 18 million Bhartiyas were living outside their homeland in 2020. Bhartiya diaspora is majorly distributed across countries like the UAE and the US. Other countries hosting a large number of Bhartiya migrants include the UK, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Oman, etc.
With such a sizeable diaspora, it’s natural that the upcoming elections in Bharat are significant not only for Bhartiya citizens but also for Bhartiyas living abroad. We live in a hugely interconnected world where internal issues impacting the country’s citizens often seep across the borders and become geopolitically crucial. Take the issue of caste for instance. Caste remains an inevitable component of people’s voting patterns and preferences. Even as people in Bharat are gradually getting out of caste-based voting patterns political parties still consider caste equations while fielding candidates. They just can’t risk throwing caste out of the window altogether. There is not just caste-based vote bank politics in Bharat, but there is a whole activism ecosystem centered around caste with the active participation of myriad anti-Bharat stakeholders.
With Bharat’s increasing global clout, this caste-based politics has also spread to western countries like the US, UK, Canada, etc. Hindus in the west are being increasingly targeted in the name of caste and being accused of practicing caste-based discrimination in these countries. Seattle became the first city in the US to pass a law exclusively banning caste discrimination. Such a law was passed in the state of California as well but was eventually vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on the grounds that ample legal provision banning all sorts of discrimination including caste discrimination already existed in the US, thus, creating a law exclusively banning caste discrimination was akin to singling out a community.
Hinduphobia is rampant in many western countries. Hindus are routinely maligned and labeled casteists in the name of conducting caste sensitization workshops. Caste has become an important topic of research in the social sciences; from school textbooks to university curricula in western countries, a lot of Hinduphobic material gets disseminated in the name of caste sensitization.
All this is connected to Bhartiya politics; the Bhartiya diaspora in the west raising Hindu issues routinely gets accused of being the spokesperson of Bharat’s “Hindu majoritarian Modi government”. Thus, targeting the Bhartiya diaspora in the west, specifically the Hindu diaspora, has become a part of the larger project of targeting the BJP government of Bharat.
That’s partly because the Modi government, since coming to power in 2014, has connected with the diaspora in ways previous governments never did. Before 2014, Bhartiyas living abroad were mostly discussed under the theory of “Brain-drain”, if at all. The perception of NRIs was rather negative; they were considered outcast Bhartiyas at best who flew the country in search of better pastures. It was a rather simplistic assessment of the whole thing and there was considerable lack of positive engagement with the Bhartiya diaspora.
The Modi government transformed the equation. Whenever PM Modi traveled abroad, he made it a point to keep at least one interaction with the Bhartiya diaspora of the country he traveled to. From the historic Howdy Modi rally in Texas to PM Modi’s Australia visit in May 2023 and his interaction with the country’s Bhartiya diaspora in Sydney, PM Modi has made interactions with the diaspora a regular feature.
Bhartiya diaspora in countries like the US, UK, Australia, Canada, UAE, etc. is still relatively well known. But PM Modi literally made Bhartiya diaspora across the world rally on common issues. His numerous interactions with diaspora from lesser-known countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere have also been widely televised. For example, in May 2023, he interacted with the Bhartiya diaspora of Papua New Guinea, thus drawing the world’s attention to the small but significant population of Bhartiya origin in this tiny island nation.
Prime Minister Modi in his signature style – full of warmth, exuberance, and personal connection, has engaged the Bhartiya diaspora at an emotional level, welcoming them into the fold of Bhartiya culture and civilization, making them acutely aware of their Bhartiya roots, as it were. This is no mean feat.
That is also perhaps why the Hindu diaspora the world over has become more vocal about Hindu issues since the Modi government came to power. The BJP government at the centre has boldly addressed Hindu issues in Bharat undoing many historical wrongs and paving the way for cultural and civilizational rebranding of Bharat, in the light of its ancient civilizational ethos. From the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya to the enactment of CAA, Hindus in Bharat feel their issues are finally getting a legitimate hearing. This feeling extends to Hindus abroad who feel that the BJP government in Bharat is well equipped to address issues impacting them as well. Thus, Bharat is expected to react and take it up diplomatically when temple attacks and anti-Hindu hate crimes witness a rise in western countries.
The Modi government has also played a role in addressing these issues, issuing statements, and urging governments of countries like the US and Canada to take concrete steps to check the rising spate of temple attacks and anti-Hindu hate crimes on their land. However, there is a limit to what the Bhartiya government can officially do to protect the interests of Bhartiya diaspora in the west. When it comes to the targeting of Hindus in the US and Canada in the name of caste, the government intervening formally would be akin to interfering in the internal affairs of another country. Thus, the Hindu organizations of the west have forged a common front to forge a global consensus on these issues. Since the Modi government is vocal on Hindu issues, it helps the cause of the diaspora.
In his recent interview with Newsweek, PM Modi gave interesting insights into his connection with the Bhartiya diaspora, even before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. “My association with our diaspora goes a long way back, even before I came into politics. I have been involved with our diaspora since the time I was doing social work. In those days, I traveled extensively across the US. I would have traveled to around 29 states even before I became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
There used to be a scheme from Delta Airlines which offered unlimited discounted travel for a month. However, there would be no luggage allowed and no reservation of seats. I planned my travels meticulously, often using a map. I would take red-eye flights to ensure seat availability and opt for longer flights to avoid the need for hotel stays. In the morning, someone from the diaspora would pick me up, and I would spend the whole day with the community. This way, I observed them closely and got to know them well over time. I understood their potential, strengths, and desires, but they lacked support and guidance”, he said.
The woke media, in its criticism of Bharat often constructs a simplistic narrative of Bhartiya diaspora abroad supporting Bharat’s Hindu majoritarian government. Thus, Hindu organizations in the west raising Hindu issues are seen as “agents of Modi”. Ironically enough, though, most such organizations adopt an officially neutral stance vis-à-vis Bharat’s upcoming elections. Far from being the “agents of Modi”, they don’t seem quite comfortable even voicing their opinion on the Bhartiya elections.
This is telling of the vulnerable positioning of the Bhartiya diaspora. They need the support of the BJP government for voicing Hindu issues impacting their lives. But within their own countries, they are subject to such intense scrutiny and vigilance that they must be seen as neutral, lest they be accused of trying to influence Bhartiya elections from abroad.
The global media routinely levels such allegations against the Bhartiya diaspora, without any proof whatsoever. An article published by DW a few days back talks about the BJP on the lookout for NRI support during elections. “India elections: Why is Modi’s BJP vying for NRI support?”, reads the headline.
The article gives examples of members of the Bhartiya diaspora campaigning for the BJP from abroad. It further suggests that nationalists in the west have gained influence under the Modi government and have the power to influence Bhartiya elections. “During election season, the Indian diaspora carries more than just a symbolic value, according to Sanjay Ruparelia, a professor at the University of Toronto. ‘Citizens of India who live in the diaspora can be a source of funding for parties’, he says. The political analyst admits that the diaspora’s influence had been marginal throughout most of India’s modern history. But this has changed since Modi took power in 2014, with the BJP and the ‘Sangh Parivar’ – a network of nationalist Hindu organizations rallying ‘political and financial backing from select diaspora factions’”, says the article.
What this article says pretty much sums up the unsubstantiated woke thesis on the supposed suspect connections between the Modi government and Bhartiya diaspora in the west, their intent being the culmination of a secret, Hindu nationalist project. Never mind that it sounds more like a conspiracy theory than the thesis! But western media bases a lot of its opinion and analysis on this conspiracy theory to suggest that the Hindu nationalists abroad supporting Modi are indeed dangerous because Modi is dangerous, and nationalism is dangerous.
These intimidation tactics, however, do not lessen the importance of Bharat’s elections for the country’s diaspora. Diaspora has mattered to leaders across the political spectrum. With the Modi government’s spotlight on Bhartiyas living abroad, NRIs have gained a lot of prominence since 2014. However, leaders of other political parties too have been making outreach to the Bhartiya diaspora.
The Congress party too has its own set of followers amongst the Bhartiya diaspora. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has made numerous visits abroad over the past couple of years, with most of these visits organized through the efforts of his supporters from within the diaspora. During these visits to countries like the US and the UK, he has also
Interacted widely with the NRIs. But the western media has never seemed concerned about Rahul Gandhi forging ties with the Bhartiya diaspora and influencing elections. Why are they only concerned about the Modi government’s supposed connection with the diaspora?
The reality is that the woke lobby is intimidated by the coming together of Bhartiya diaspora on numerous issues. With a strong government at the helm, Bharat is becoming more vocal on global platforms and its geopolitical clout has increased manifold. Thus, an intimidated west seeks to shrink Bharat’s influence by peddling the conspiracy theory of the Bhartiya diaspora being an agent of PM Modi.
This tells volumes of the significance of the upcoming elections for the Bhartiya diaspora. Bharat’s increasingly powerful position globally demands that the new government at the center be strong, and unapologetic in voicing all major issues impacting Bharat and Bhartiyas including Hindu issues.
