Recently, the Indian immigrants who are British citizens or Permanent Residents in the United Kingdom have been declined a dual citizenship by the Indian government. This has led to an outrage by all the Indians in the United Kingdom which could possibly lead to a protest.
A request was sent to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh by the Highly Skilled Migrants Permit Forum and the Association of Immigrants. The letter urged the Prime Minister to permit actions that would initiate the process for dual citizenship. This would allow Indians living overseas the security and benefits of an Indian citizenship.
According to the NRIs, most of the democratic nations in the world offer dual citizenship which makes it easy for them to return to their native country in the future. This is especially fueled by the fact that Indians believe in the joint family system which involves the extended family members. So, the say of the entire family matters when it comes to decisions such as those of immigration.
With a dual citizenship for Indians, it can be considered as an opportunity to develop India with the experience and expertise gained by the Indians living in the UK and other developed countries of the world. In addition, it is not only an individual from a family who goes abroad and settles down. Instead, his entire family migrates which includes his spouse and children. This makes the requirement even more since the family would want to come back at some point of time.
Over the years, a fact which has been considered more of brain drain could now be looked upon as something which can bring about a change. This is especially true for those Indians returning back. These Indians would obviously contribute to the Indian economy in a much better way and probably create more jobs and so on.
Also, when these NRIs return to India, they could easily avoid the hassles of becoming an Indian citizen all over again. They voting rights would be intact and all that would be required is for them to simply shift.
Thus, a second thought on the issue by the Indian government would not harm anyone!
