A few decades ago, soon after joining service, my husband and I were invited for dinner by one of our seniors. Amongst the people invited were our hosts’ bosses. We didn’t have a car and walked to dinner. My abiding memory of that evening is my husband’s coaching, as he told me to stay quiet and not talk too much in front of our seniors. Other times in my career, when I went on an assignment, he would remind me to observe the situation before speaking or taking action.
I realised my luck in having received this advice as we watched recent developments in the UK. Decisive and precipitate action must follow analysis and study, if the inevitable pitfalls are to be avoided.As for speaking too soon, every diplomat knows that one better have all the facts and think through the implications, before making pronouncements. A recent statement on the number of Indians overstaying their visas seems to have been made without much thought of its implications.
It seemed strange for a member of the UK cabinet to thoughtlessly and publicly speak of what constitutes the worst irritant in India-UK relations, at a time when the negotiations of the India-UK trade deal are at an extremely delicate stage. Post-Brexit UK needs the trade deal with India to help compensate for the markets it lost in Europe. A market of close to 1.4 billion people in India would seem to be an attractive proposition, even against that of the European Union (constituting less than 500 million). But it appears that some members of the government overlooked that every negotiation comprises “give and take”, not just “take and take”!While talking of the Indians being “the largest group of people that overstay” their visas, the honourable member of the UK cabinet did not give any figures. Expressing his surprise at the statement, Lord Karan Bilimoria recalled that relations had been so damaged the last time such remarks were made that efforts were on to recover from that damage. He added that Indians overstaying their visas are a “very tiny proportion [compared to] the people who overstay from other countries” (his interview to The Economic Times).
At one stage during my stay in the UK, we worked with an NGO involved in looking after the homeless. There was a small proportion of visaless people of Indian origin, but the bulk were non-Indians. I never really came across destitute Indians who had overstayed their visas. People were generally looked after by the Gurudwaras, temples and the community. Many of the so-called overstaying Indians are nationals of other countries. Authorities in the UK can not expect India to take ‘returnees’ unless and until their Indian origins are verified.
The role of the Indian origin doctors, numbering 60,000 in the NHS alone (BAPIO’s figures), when combined with those in the nursing and other medical technicians, together with those involved in medical research, comprise a staggering figure. No numbers are available for this service that people of Indian origin render to the British economy, nor has any calculation ever been made of the enormous cost to India of brain drain to the UK. In India we look at the strength of our diaspora as a “living bridge” connecting our two nations.
As for the economic cost that the UK might have to incur on any overstaying Indians, it would be wise to recall the contribution made by Indian companies and companies owned by people of Indian origin to the UK’s economy. As studies by Grant Thornton UK have shown, diaspora-owned companies alone created over 174,000 jobs and paid £1 billion in corporate taxes alone. The recently released UK’s ‘rich-list’ included a number of Indians in the top ten, with several more who were part of the list. All of them are contributing to the economic strength of the UK. Indian origin professors, politicians, social workers, artists and people in the services sector, add dynamism and bring enterprise to the UK. Indian tourists and students also contribute to the UK’s economy.
In contrast to the offending statement from the UK, one saw the video posted by the recently arrived High Commissioner of India to the UK, Vikram Doraiswamy. Accepting that visa services of the Indian High Commission had become a challenge for Indian visa seekers, he highlighted the steps that the High Commission was taking to ameliorate the situation. Apart from ensuring that visa appointments released online are not misused, he promised enhancement of capacity in partnership with the visa service provider through different measures, including opening of new visa application centres in Glasgow and central London and capacity increase at existing visa centres by receiving and handling applications on saturdays and in the afternoons on weekdays. Through these measures, HCI would double the capacity to 40,000 applications a month from the current level of 20,000 a month. He also assured that ease of application would also be improved so that people can travel easily to India.
India-UK relations are mutually beneficial. Unless powers in the UK appreciate that, statements such as the one cited above will continue to cause havoc. The result would be what one newspaper headline said: “India-UK trade deal on ‘verge of collapse’ over visa comments”!
