To,
Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara
Reddy
Beloved & Honourable
Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh,
Hyderabad.
Respected Chief Minister Garu,
Indeed, it is gratifying to know that the 4th Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas, the conclave of Non-Resident Indians for business and
cultural exchange will be held in our historical city of Hyderabad, from 7th
to 9th January 2006. This a matter of great pride & honour for the Hyderabadis
and the credit goes to your goodself.
I am equally happy that my efforts along with that of
several of my compatriots have borne fruit with the Central and State
Governments which have recognized the marvellous role of the Indian Diaspora
and their contributions to the country and actively looking into their
problems by forming a "separate ministry".
It will not be out of place to mention here that I had
taken up with our then beloved Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee
sometime in June 1999 the problems faced by the overseas Indian, who promptly
acted by appointing a high-level committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. M.L.
Singhvi.
Consequent upon the report of Dr. Singhvi, a separate
Ministry for Overseas Indians Affair was formed at the Centre and in Andhra
Pradesh, apart from the one existing in Kerala State, which is in the
forefront in looking after the welfare of Non-Resident Keralites.
Well, much sops and benefits have been passed on to the
Non-Resident/Overseas Indians of the West, over looking the genuine
difficulties still encountered by the Gulf "Non-Residents" nay Contract
Workers. Obviously, the Western lobby hijacked the issue and succeeded in
extracting maximum facilities from the Government through the conventions.
As you are kindly aware there are over three (3) million
Indians working in the GCC States, out of which half of them work in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are a regular source of invaluable foreign
exchange which goes a long way in providing respectable "reserves". The
present reserves stand at over US$ 145 billion. It is a fact that 90% of total
foreign direct investment comes from over 20 million NRIs, whose economic
production equals to that of one billion Indians.
Inspite of the significant contributions and sacrifices,
the NRIs especially from the Gulf face many hurdles and discrimination whilst
admitting their children in India in Medical and other Professional courses.
They are meted out step-motherly treatment and exploited at various fronts.
The Indians working in the Gulf are just like the
"Contract Workers/Employees" and have to return home on termination or
completion of their contract. They do not have the special privileges and
immigration status as enjoyed by their compatriots in the West,who can be in
real terms called the NRIs. With the completion of major infrastructure
projects and the strong move to replace the expatriate work force with the
nationals, job opportunities are getting saturated, coupled with considerable
drop in salaries and perks. Off-late, there is consensus among the Gulf States
to limit the employment/stay period of the expatriates to six (6) years.
Decision on this has been temporarily postponed but likely to be implemented
in the very near future. Obviously, there has been and will be an exodus of
Indian Contract Workers/Employees from the Gulf in the coming years, for which
everyone has to be ready and contingency plans prepared.
It is suggested that for rehabilitation
of the returnees there should be "single window" system in every state capital
from where large number of Indians origin, to assist them in setting-up
industrial units/business or any other vocation.
There is a "cheating galore" and the
innocent NRIs are taken for a ride in every walk of life, back at home.
Therefore, they should be provided with "free legal assistance", preferably
their issues handled by separate & fast track court.
In this respect, it is heartening to find that the State
Government of Kerala is very active in extending several facilities and
looking after the interest of NRIs and their families hailing from that State.
The Central Government should intervene and make other States to introduce
& implement these laudable schemes.
There is none to take-up effectively their cause either
in the State Legislature or in the Parliament with exception of a Minister in
the Andhra Pradesh/Kerala Government and the new Congress led Government at
the Centre and nomination of lone NRI to the Rajya Sabha recently. This has
been done after years of lobbying and lots of hue & cry. Considering the large
number with vast & diversified experience gained by the NRIs, it is
befitting they should be nominated to the State Assemblies & Parliament to
focus & solve the ever growing problems confronted by their tribe. This
will definitely help in attracting more investments and the much needed
foreign exchange to under take massive development projects in irrigation,
water, power infrastructure, etc.
The NRIs should
be allowed to exercise their constitutional right of franchise, by introducing
the "postal ballot system", which is prevalent in many countries.
In view of huge number of work-force,there are equally
large number of Labour & Death related problems. The Labour Section of the
Embassy/Consulate should be strengthened by having a full time Legal Advisor
(preferably a National or an Arab) to deal with the Ministries concerned
effectively. The
Embassy/Consulate should extend both administrative and financial
assistance,wherever required, for the repatriation of dead body/bodies and
subsequent settlement of claim, as early as possible. It is
believed that in Saudi Arabia alone about two (2) persons die every day.
Since there are a good number of "women workers", who too
face several job related problems, there should be a
"Lady Welfare Officer" to look after
their interest/welfare.
Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is the heart of the
Saudi Economy. Therefore, a permanent Consulate should be opened in the
Eastern Province to cater to the needs of the large Indian community and the
potential Saudi business-men. Similarly, our Central Government should take-up
with the Gulf Governments to open their Consulates in Hyderabad,
Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai/Bangalore and other prominent Indian cities, which
will go a long way in promoting two-ways business/tourism and cultural ties.
The Commercial Section of our Embassy/Consulate should
also be strengthened both in terms of qualified man-power and information
technology to reap the benefits of India's best & close relationship with the
host country. It would be appropriate to post "professionals" as "Business
Consultants" equipped with all the modern marketing tools.
The large number of Indian Diaspora, especially from the
Gulf has high hopes on your dynamism and the Congress-led Government under the
able leadership of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh and their talented
team to mitigate their woes.
Let the forthcoming NRI
Convention bring cheers to this deserving lot, which has been by and
large neglected!
Wishing the Convention a very grand success!
Yours very truly,
MOHAMMED ABDUL JABBAR
Secretary General,
FORUM OF FRIENDS,
SAUDI ARABIA.
Jan' 2006
