NRI as the non-returning Indian: What gets lost in the US visa debate

Why in the News

The US Vice President has called Indian H-1B visa holders (skilled foreigners on temporary US work visas) “foreign indentured servants”. The Union Commerce and Industry Minister has said curbs on these visas would help India retain talent. Both leave out that Indian governments, like British India before them, have long promoted labour export, even as skilled emigrants increasingly stay away.

What was indentured labour, and how does today’s emigration compare?

1. What it is: Indentured labour was the colonial system that shipped hundreds of thousands of Indians abroad, each bound by contract to one employer for a fixed term, like a bond. On Indian Ocean islands they were called girmitiyas.
2. State policy then: It was British India’s official policy, part of two centuries of organised labour export, with legal cover from the state.
3. State policy now: Free India has also encouraged emigration to countries short of workers, or whose own workers will not do the job. In both eras, greedy businesspersons cheated desperate migrants.
4. Same push, different conditions: Nineteenth century labourers were as desperate for a better life as today’s middle classes. Plantations were harsh, as are labour camps across the Arab world.
5. The takeaway: The Indian state has sponsored labour export in both eras, so the “indentured” jibe points at a practice India itself promotes.

How has India promoted the export of labour?

1. Mode 4: India has sought a multilateral framework for “Mode 4” of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the World Trade Organization’s services rulebook. Mode 4 covers people crossing borders to work.
2. Theoretical case: Economists argue that labour should move across borders as freely as capital.
3. Practical case: Emigrants send dollar remittances home, which build India’s foreign exchange reserves.
4. Bilateral deals: The government has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with countries from Israel to Taiwan to export Indian labour, through public-private partnerships seeking “global access to talented Indians”.
5. Exporter of talent: Unable to ensure jobs at home, India has become an exporter of talent to earn foreign exchange.

What does the visa debate leave out?

1. US interests: US corporations backing the Republican Party have long gained from lower-cost Indian talent.
2. India’s shift: The Minister’s welcome of visa curbs departs from official policy, which has consistently sought more overseas work for Indians.
3. Brain drain: The Minister revived the unfashionable term “brain drain”, the loss of skilled people abroad. His government has celebrated overseas Indians’ success.
4. Government rebuff: The condescending remark forced a normally cautious government to rebuff the US.

Is exporting human capital a necessity or a virtue?

1. Demographic fit: Ageing developed economies face a demographic deficit, so countries with a large, young, unemployed population seek jobs abroad. Exporting human capital is thus a necessity, not a virtue.
2. Host country view: Labour importers treat migration as an “avoidable necessity”: immigrant talent is celebrated in good times and made an electoral issue in bad times.
3. Never-returning Indians: With non-resident Indians (NRIs) becoming “never-returning Indians” and elite families emigrating, India needs a plan to retain and attract talent.
4. Barriers to return: Persistent bureaucratism (red tape) and what critics call authoritarian and majoritarian instincts in government deter return. Global talent seeks opportunity and freedom.

Challenges

1. Policy contradiction: India seeks more work visas abroad and speaks of retaining talent at home, with no plan linking the two.
2. Rising curbs: Anti-immigrant sentiment is growing worldwide, so migration routes can close quickly.
3. Weak worker protection: Low-skilled emigrants face exploitative recruiters and host labour laws. Eg. The kafala sponsorship system in West Asia.
4. Closed research system: Highly bureaucratised universities and research bodies do not welcome free-minded returnees.

Way Forward

1. Jobs at home: Expand domestic employment so emigration becomes a choice, not a necessity.
2. Research autonomy: Free universities and laboratories to hire and fund diaspora researchers.
3. Protected mobility pacts: Negotiate migration agreements carrying social security and wage protection for Indian workers.

Conclusion

India promotes emigration as an export and mourns it as a loss, with no policy that reconciles the two. Without better jobs and freer institutions at home, visa curbs abroad will not bring talent back.

Government Initiatives for the Indian Diaspora

1. VAIBHAV Fellowship: Brings diaspora scientists to Indian laboratories for collaborative research.
2. e-Migrate: A digital system protecting low-skilled emigrants from fraudulent recruiters.
3. Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY): Skill certification for workers seeking overseas jobs.
4. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card: Gives persons of Indian origin a lifelong visa to live and work in India.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2018, GS1, 15 marks] Why indentured labour was taken by the British from India to other colonies? Have they been able to preserve their cultural identity over there?”