EMIGRATION ACT – NEED FOR DIRE CHANGE

THE PROBLEM IN SUMMARY

        WTO Study says that India is seventh largest country in the world with a population of over1.1 billion people which accounts for 16.7% of the world population.

        About 30 million persons of Indian origin live in 130 countries abroad. 400,000 Indians immigrate every yea to foreign destinations.

        Interpol study “Marco Polo” reports that India is one of the countries accounting for the largest number of illegal immigrants coming to Western Europe and UNODC has commissioned a special study on this issue.

        The UNODC report on “Smuggling of migrants from India to Europe and in particular to UK: A study on Punjab and Haryana[ 2009]” released in Chandigarh on 11 March, 2010, quotes that over one lakh illegal immigrants from India are behind bars in foreign jurisdictions and over 20,000 youths from Punjab alone attempt irregular immigration every year. 

      A multi-million dollar illegal immigration racket where 20,000 to 30,000 USD is charged by unscrupulous agents to send gullible Indians abroad flourishes in India, unabated and unchecked. Three examples are cited:

•   In 1996, 289 South Asians including 170 Indians from Punjab found a   watery grave in the Ionian Sea in their voyage of illegal immigration to Europe.

•   UNODC quoted Indian- American Centre for Political Awareness in U.S.A. informs that 73 men from Punjab duped by employment agents in Punjab landed in Tehran after a 1500 mile journey on foot. They were frost-bitten and their toes had to be amputated.

•   On June 24, 2007, Indian Police apprehended an agent with 300 fake travel documents including 25 forged passports, 114 fake visas of Schengen countries and duplicate passports with fake identities.

  
  

        UNODC committed to combating global human trafficking estimates that about 2 million migrants cross international borders without authorization every year. The reasons for this in India are high population growth, increasing unemployment rate, quest for a better economic life and for improvement in status besides seeking professional growth in life.

        U.K. Visas in India deals with over 500,000 applications every year and over 300,000 visas are issued every year. 80% illegal immigration from India takes place from Punjab. Over 500,000 illegal immigrants from India live in U.K. alone & thousands from Punjab attempt to sneak into U.K. every year.

        The problem is not in Punjab alone. About 400,000 illegal workers from Andhra Pradesh without passports, travel documents or visas live in labor camps in UAE desperate to be jailed to enable their official return to India.

SOLUTION PROPOSED

The urge for illegal migration cannot be curbed. The need for managed migration needs to be channelized and the necessity for sustainable solutions requires to be explored. Legalized, managed, integrated and organized migration must be opted for. The only way of migration by legal means must be publicized.

SUGGESTIONS:

The suggested solutions possible are:

• a comprehensive approach on migration setting out legal migration opportunities on selective and managed migration

• migration profiling

• regularization of over stay (and not amnesty) besides short  term visas

• comprehensive policy determination by categorization of classes of visas

• A two – fold approach can be seen in the Indian context in the perspective of India where managed migration is currently in experimental stages. Two set of ideologies can be drawn:

• Practicing promotion  of managed migration

• Regulation of illegal migration.

• Both follow an educative thought oriented process.

• An active Government participation is a must for effective resolution of managed/illegal migration at operational levels in both these schools of thought.