April 28, 2009

Election fever is fast catching up in India and the entire country is in a buoyant mood in the last few weeks.  This upbeat mood will continue to remain so till election results are out on May 16, 2009. 

Yes, once the results are out and new government is formed at the centre life will be back to normalcy once again (unless the coalition drama is going to cause havoc and plunge the country in further mess making way for another elections). 

The mood among a sizeable Non Resident Indians (NRIs) spread all over the globe is no different from the one experienced by those within the country. Thanks to the communication revolution, NRIs are now able to keep abreast of the timely political developments in the country. Political awareness among NRIs now is more as compared to earlier due to the bombardment of information from all quarters and from all over the globe.  

However, there is a tinge of hidden sadness among NRIs whenever they visit their homeland during holidays as they feel they are considered as second class citizens in their own country. There is a reason for their grouse as these NRIs feel they are neither here nor there, mainly because most of them have no voting rights in the land of their stay or in some countries they do not hold elections. Being Indian citizens NRIs cannot exercise their franchise as there is no provision for postal ballot or other forms of voting for NRIs.  

Many NRIs say that though they are away from their motherland physically their heart always beats for India and their motherland. They say they try to keep their heart in India through various channels of communications, thus feeling they too belong to this vast canvass of electioneering. 

Electronic revolution has certainly helped NRIs to keep a close tab on the happenings and political developments throughout the length and breadth of the country. For the same reason they feel they too are part of the forthcoming electoral battle in India. This is evident from the fact that there has been a massive increase in the response from readers to elected related articles.     
 
One look at a popular website like daijiworld.com shows the changing trend of reader’s tastes.  It shows that the response to political related news and articles has increased considerably from the last elections. Political Editor of daijiworld.com says “during the 2004 elections, though there was enough response to election news it was not overwhelming. But now the scenario has changed drastically as there is a great demand for such articles. The response from people is tremendous which reflects their political awareness”. 

NRIs not only follow these election updates but also want to be a part and parcel of the electoral process by exercising their franchise, which they feel is their right! But alas! They cannot do this as of now.    

"My name is still there in voter list. Last time when I went to India I registered my name. I might go to Mangalore, just for the purpose of casting my vote. Nonetheless I would have been happy if NRIs were given opportunity to caste their vote in the embassy or consulates of their dwelling countries. Other countries make arrangements for voting in their respective embassies.  Why can’t India too make such an arrangement?’ asks a 35-year-old House wife from Dubai, who completed her degree in political science way back in 1992 and keenly follows political developments in the country. Of course not everyone can afford to travel to and fro just to cast their votes. 
 

However, Farook Abdullah, 48-year-old Civil Engineer from Kuwait has a different view. "Unlike other countries which arrange voting in embassy or consulate offices, India being a vast country and the fact there is no country where there are no Indians, makes it an expensive proposition”, he says in a lighter vein.  Farook certainly has a point for the simple reason that arranging voting rights for NRIs in the respective countries of their domicile involves humungous cost on the Indian government.  

Fathima Sheikha, a resident from Adyar, now a house wife in Dammam has different view. She opines "We know we cannot exercise our votes in the elections being away from the country. But we are very much Indians and we can create lot of awareness in educating our people back home. For example, in our home we have 7 votes and they hardly know the candidates. They are not aware who has done what for the community or the constituency. But I educate them, since I read and keep a watch on their performance which makes it easy for me to educate and guide my folks back home with regard to whom to vote. 

It is evident from the views of a cross section of NRIs that they play a pivotal role to play in the general elections of the country in whatever way they can.  

As Sujay Mogaveera, a resident of Doha admits “talking about the recent developments in Karnataka on one side there is the incident of communal unrest and on the other there is the issue of development.  Though we are away from the place, going through the different media, from local to international, we are able to understand the reality there. We have more  than half a million Kannadigas here and we must discuss and share information about candidates and parties in the media so that it is beneficial for our people back home in deciding them to cast their votes for the right party or right candidate.  

The much looked forward to Lok Sabha 2009 election is going to create lot of awareness among the NRIs spread across the world. In Gulf countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait there are thousands of NRIs who watch the political developments of their state by using information available on electronic and print media. Based on this information they are surely going to influence their kith and kin back home as to whom to vote. 

Though NRIs don’t have the power of franchise, they have emerged as a strong vote-impact-power house, thus having a role to play in the political fortunes of the country. By doing this they feel they can influence the elections and be a part of the electoral process of the largest democracy in the world, though indirectly.