Xanno Moidecar xanno_moidecar at yahoo.co.uk Sat Dec 5 01:23:50 PST 2009 I confess to a bias here. I am of Goemcar, Indian heritage, currently swearing allegiance to the Queen of Great Britain. Well, the United Kingdom.
I am still very interested in Goem and have a great affection for the land of my forefathers. This naturally puts my loyalty in question. If the UK went to war with India and I had to take up arms what would I do? Does not bear thinking. However, the world has moved far since the days that jingoistic nationalism put people in such stark situations. I am not saying that in the modern milieu such exigencies cannot arise. They would be far less likely. Mario observes: This is a very interesting practical dilemma faced by all emigrants. How much of a dilemma depends on the sentimental baggage each chooses to carry. You have sworn allegiance to the Queen, but are not sure you would "take up arms" for her as you so quaintly put it, against the land of your ancestors. Luckily, chances are this is a decision you are unlikely to face, unlike those Japanese and German and Italian Americans in WW-II, who voluntarily made the choice to fight for the Allies and against their ethnic countrymen and did so as valiantly as every other American soldier. Of course, they had the unspeakable tyranny of their country of origin as a motivating factor, which would be missing in your case. In this day and age, you can conceivably avoid even the theoretical dilemma by becoming an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), in addition to your British citizenship, and enjoy the best of both worlds. I believe Venantius is an Indian citizen and American resident, which is a privilege that the US allows the law abiding to continue indefinitely. In my case my primary Indian citizenship ended years ago. My choice as an American citizen was to join my descendants and to honor my sworn pledge of allegiance to the flag. I see no conflict between this and my interest in and affection for the land of my ancestors, where my interests are more than simply academic or sentimental. However, I have absolutely no doubt which country I would "take up arms" for given the opportunity. Fortunately, Americans of Indian heritage and the leadership in India have arranged for the two countries to be bonded even more tightly today than ever before, making it a win-win situation for everyone. XM wrote: Bearing in mind the economic and social benefits that Indians in Diaspora can bring it would be wasteful at the very least to spurn them. Having said that I think these ‘foreign’ citizens of India should not have all the entitlements that citizenship automatically brings. The right to vote in elections needs to be curbed. This is of course debatable, but is a point worth considering. The right to property too is another issue. I feel the advantages of letting non resident Indians own property and start business ventures far outweigh the cons. This topic definitely needs airing. This would be as good an occasion as any. Mario responds: Maybe I'm missing something. The topic has not only been aired, but settled. India has already acknowledged the social and economic benefits of the diaspora, which is why they came up with the special OCI category of dual Indian citizenship. OCIs cannot vote in India, and cannot own farmland. OCIs have all the other rights of any other Indian to invest in India, own property and start businesses, even repatriate all their profits if they choose.
