India And Immigration
Yes, we become stronger when men and women, young and old, gay and straight, native-born and immigrant fight together to create the kind of country we all know we can become.
~Bernie Sanders (2016)
With diversity comes a difference in wants and desires. Being a multicultural society, India is a hub for new markets. A culturally diverse country like India has markets that are flooded with a variety of wants and needs. Upwards of 10 million foreign tourists visited India (as of 2017). Indians do not speak about immigration as an issue openly. A drop in immigration is seen from 2010 to 2015.
I believe that a country should be open to welcoming immigrants, especially those who would contribute to their economy and development. Nevertheless, it is the citizen’s needs that come first. Countries like Turkey and Greece go by this in not being able to allow immigrants. While Turkey cannot welcome immigrants because of the number of refugees it already has, and Greece cannot do the same because it’s economy is collapsing. Besides this, India has her hands full with North Eastern refugees, internal armed terrorism, and an economy on the gradual decline. Unemployment is one of India’s major concerns which is why an increase in immigration is not a solution to India’s problems. Similar to the USA, Indians prefer their jobs going to another citizen versus to an immigrant. This is also because a government’s first priority should be to provide for it’s people. Laws make it extensively difficult for one to obtain an Indian citizenship even 14 years after living in the country (a necessity to even apply for a citizenship, here). However, visiting the country as a tourist is relatively easier which is why we see tremendous amounts of illegal immigrants.
India and Pakistan have had tension since before Independence in 1947. The Outcome of this Decision Making Process was an Indian ban on Pakistani actors in its film industry a couple of years ago. Fawad Khan, a famed Pakistani actor left for his homeland after threats from a political party in India called the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). This throws light on how the decision-making process has led to hard power being used by political parties to deport immigrants who are not contributing to it’s economy.
The Indian Government does not openly address the issue of immigration - consider this act as the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is the fact that the Indians do not welcome immigrants - especially Pakistani immigrants due to age-old rivalry. When they do, there is always going to be a sense of exclusivity.
Post attacts like 9/11 and the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Indians are conditioned to look at the situation from a religious point of view rather than the fact that an immigrant is taking their job. The people - who were conditioned to look at Pakistani immigrants as terrorists - were the reason the crux of the issue was not addressed. This was because the conditioned stimulus over time trained them to react in a certain way. While the immediate response of the majority created uproar, it wasn’t because a Pakistani actor was sent back for political reasons. It was more about the people were who upset that they could not see a versatile actor on their favorite daily soap anymore. The issue of immigration remains unresolved in the Indian economy with many productive immigrants losing their working rights and being deported.
