GRFDT

Home-connect: Comparing Armenian and Indian diaspora engagement policies

Dr. Ani Yeremyan has a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University (School of International Studies) and is a member of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), New Delhi. 

A comparison between the Armenian and the Indian diasporic communities (which at first glance seems impossible considering the size of the countries, the population and, the economy) and their diaspora engagement policies are aimed to be of theoretical significance.

On the one hand, the paper will deal with a diaspora community having the largest overseas community. On the other hand, one of the classic diaspora formations will be taken into consideration. The comparison is relevant as both diasporas had a few waves of migration with heterogenous and complex diasporic communities worldwide that tend to always maintain home-connect in various ways.

As far as the category of ‘diaspora’ is concerned, the more flexible notion will be taken into consideration in the paper. 

Complicating the idea of home coming and belonging

Based on the information provided on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs of India[1], there are 32 million NRIs and People of Indian-Origin (PIOs) residing in 209 countries/territories. If the origins of the Indian diaspora may be traced back to the migrations of indentured labourers during the colonial period, then the victim Armenian diaspora could be traced back to the genocide in the early 20^th century.

The fact that nowadays these two diaspora communities are of hybrid nature with different experiences and multiple new trends of migration considering the new dynamics of push and pull factors (movement of skilled labour to the developed Western countries) in the post-Covid era also within the new emerging global order has to be noted. Nonetheless, these diasporas developed certain patterns of cultural/social attachment with their homeland. This happened through various diaspora organisations that helped to link their respective homelands with their host lands as well.

Generally, the process of diasporization entails constant construction of diasporic identity in relation to the nation and their belonging. In fact, different dimensions of belonging shape a more complex diaspora. In this respect, the role of the home country comes to the fore as a focal return point (whether imaginary or real) for diverse diasporic communities.

Interestingly, the modern mass media and the Internet often enable reconnecting with respective homelands. In scholarly literature, this reconnection is also referred to as “romantic rendezvous with the historical past and their original roots” (Oonk 2007: 9). Moreover, due to the process of digital or online re-rooting, the categories of ‘diaspora’, ‘home’, ‘nation’ may also be re-imagined and re-localized within the virtual space reconstructing heterogeneous diaspora communities into a homogenous entity (Yeremyan 2020: 10).  On the other hand, in order to efficiently direct the efforts of various diaspora communities towards their homeland, state-led home-connect through various government policies also get significance. Particularly, within the current global/regional challenges certain diaspora communities gain more importance as a potential “strategic partner” to their homeland (Yeremyan 2023) in coping up with foreign policy and domestic issues of the homeland.

In case of the Armenian diaspora that largely indicates trauma and exile, the need to preserve the national identity within the host society and to make home away from home has been essential. Despite the fact that many of the Armenian diasporic communities do not identify themselves with the current nation-state boundaries of the Republic of Armenia (as their ancestral homeland was in the Ottoman Empire), Armenia is still a symbolic geographic location for the de-territorialised diaspora ‘being’ to feel connected to. In this respect, there is a breach between their longing and belonging, which is not the same in the case of India. Although we may distinguish between old and new Indian diasporas, wherein one was a forced emigration and the other was due to “brain drain”, we may still reflect on what Vijay Mishra (2005) considers, particularly, on the “diasporic imaginary” that connects heterogenous ones, twice, thrice migrants with their ancestral homeland. In this case, multiple narratives and patterns of belonging are presumed.

Considering the new digital era wherein belonging to the same nation happens within the digital space also (Yeremyan 2020) “homing desire” (Brah 1996: 5) is not necessarily related to the desire of “homeland” as a geographic location but as an emotional longing to belong and be part of their worldwide community. In this connection, state-late policies towards their diasporas play a substantial role in filling the gap of homogeneous diasporic identity.

Here, it is worth mentioning the categories of non-resident Indian (NRI) and the Overseas Indian Citizen (OCI) implemented by the Indian government. Both make up the Indian diaspora. If NRIs are Indian passport holders residing outside India, OCI card holders are people of Indian origin holding foreign passports. OCI card holders are entitled to a lifelong visa to India. NRIs are also entitled to invest in India, thus having certain financial and economic rights. The investment policy by the Indian government ensures that NRIs can buy or sell shares of an Indian company with their NRI accounts.

At present, the growing Indian diaspora and its “wealth hubs” have positive implications for the home country, thus making India the top remittance receiving country (The Economic Times, India). On the one hand, this indicates their sense of belonging towards their home country, on the other hand, their economic wealth/capital helps them to occupy significant roles in their host societies also. This also indicates that different realms and patterns of belonging to the homeland and the host land are equally important for diaspora communities.

Socio-economic diaspora organisations in the host land tend to reconstruct the identities of diaspora members to integrate them with the bigger diaspora community. Certain government policies of the homeland realise the diaspora engagement in a more institutionalised way. In this respect, the State delivers policies on diaspora-home connect, which ensures the continuity of their diasporic identity in relation to ‘home’. It is not surprising that meeting with their respective diasporas becomes part of every overseas visit. These meetings stress the importance of diaspora’s role in not only the development of the home country, but they also bear a message that each diaspora community is a bridge between the homeland and the host land.

Comparing diaspora engagement policies

Armenian and Indian states consider the economic and political potential of their diasporas seriously. We may say that the policies focused on home connect are to strengthen diaspora engagement. Furthermore, the dynamics of the de-territorialised diaspora identities are also (re)built from the territorialised centre through certain policies. They are meant to minimise the heterogeneity of the communities. Therefore, the positive meaning (viewing diasporas not as victims but as an actor) of diaspora is prioritised not the traumatised or the colonised one. In this respect, as Dufoix (2018) notes, from the mid-1960s onwards, it became more popular in some social circles to identify themselves with the boundaries of a nation and be united by a common heritage, ancestry, civilisation, language, ethnicity, and race. This facilitates in contributing to homeland not only the economically, but politically as well.  

The patterns of connection with the ancestral homeland and the home state may vary, but the policies adopted by respective countries are not very different. It is observed that both Armenia and India work on involving various diasporic communities in the development of their home countries. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and Global Armenian Summit are perhaps the best examples of asserting the significant role of the diaspora in their respective countries. In this respect some authors note that the event signals the recognition that India needs to be more proactive to leverage the diaspora (Kapur 2003: 445). In this context, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (held every two years) is meant to strengthen the engagement with the overseas Indian communities and to reconnect them with their roots.

The Global Armenian Summit[2] “serves as a dynamic forum for representatives of the diaspora, together with their local counterparts, to discuss the most pressing challenges and strategic questions of pan-Armenian significance.” iGorts, another initiative by the Government of Armenia is also worth noting. This programme invites professionals from the Armenian diaspora to serve in the public sector of the Government of Armenia for one year. Since 2020, every year 50 diaspora Armenians are selected to work in Armenia by contributing to the development of programmes and policies within the government institutions in Armenia.

India, however, does not include the right to work. Some scholars note that it should be included not only in the private sector but in the public sector also. They add that there should be no illusion among the Indian public that PIOs (Kapur 2003) will take all the jobs. In the Armenian case, we may agree that this policy is being implemented effectively, as some of the diaspora professionals decide to stay back in Armenia after their tenure is over. They get integrated into Armenian society. In other words, the agency of diaspora is applied in the home country by bringing a new way of thinking and approach from outside.

Diaspora Youth Ambassador, initiated in 2021, is aimed to connect young members of the diaspora with their home country. Since then, around 50 young diasporans have visited Armenia, and gotten acquainted with the culture, history, and lifestyle. After which they were assigned in their respective host countries to implement cultural programmes (and not only) for the youth in the diaspora. A similar programme, named Know India Programme (KIP)[3], by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, may be observed for the Indian Diaspora youth between the age group of 21-35 years. The primary objective of the KIP is to foster a closer connection between Indian diaspora youth and their ancestral homeland by augmenting their understanding of India. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) also plays a significant role in promoting the Indian culture among various Indian diasporic communities.

By saying this, it has to be noted that the Indian Constitution does not provide the right to dual citizenship. In comparison, the Constitution of Armenia does entitle diaspora Armenians to hold dual citizenship. Dual citizenship allows them to buy land and property within the territory of Armenia. This will impact whether the diaspora members that come to work in India stay back or not post their tenure in the country.

In the current digital era, both countries rely on online and digital tools also. Digital tools help to promote their culture among various diaspora communities, which partially contributes to “digital” home coming and for emotionally connecting various diasporas with their home countries. Indian movies, particularly Bollywood plays a big role among the members of Indian diaspora. In its turn, Armenia initiates online portals for learning the Armenian language, and to be culturally connected with the homeland.

It is remarkable that due to certain government policies attitude of each global diaspora is also reconstructed towards their respective home lands giving a way to a diaspora diplomacy as a tool for coping up with various foreign policy issues faced by their respective home lands. These policies eventually cut the differences among various diaspora communities by enabling the narrative of common belonging.

Moreover, these policies are another tool that aim at maintaining sustainable relationship between Armenia and various Armenian diaspora communities. It is assumed that it may also ensure participation of diaspora in the affairs of their home country enabling them to be policy-makers also for their home country.

In addition, it is noteworthy that based on their common interests and the historical-cultural links, Armenian and Indian diasporas communities started cooperating for the recognition of their political-social issues. Despite the challenges faced by globalisation and the intense “brain drain” caused by the latter, there is a potential to collaborate for joint scientific innovations benefiting their homelands in various sections (professional, scientific, economic) of both Armenian and Indian diasporas. Moreover, apart from facilitating home-connect and belonging through and within the digital space, the latter may also open up new avenues for digital collaborations as an inter-diaspora scientific network benefitting not only their respective home countries but also the humanity at large. 

Concluding Remarks

Despite the fact that the size of both the Armenian and the Indian diaspora communities is not the same, the nature of both diasporas is comparable in regard with their origin, the heterogeneity of their ‘diasporic being’ in relation to their home country and the host country. Besides, the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural environment where these diaspora communities are often settled and the emerging new world order as well serves respective governments in establishing certain policies towards effective diaspora engagement. I find that effective diaspora engagement policies established by respective governments are meant to have effective engagement with respective host countries too. Hence, these policies are not only comparable but they happen to be similar too in order to aid the development in the home lands and towards host lands. On the other hand, considering the current digital reality, home-connect and cultural (in some cases even political) belonging to the home land happens within and through digital spaces as well.

Moreover, considering the fact that both diaspora communities have huge capacity in scientific innovation and research, new avenues of cooperation between various diaspora communities may additionally benefit not only their home lands but the global humanity at large. This may practically become the first instance of inter-diaspora cooperation. In this case also as many fields of science are practised digitally, the scientific cooperation also may be carried out within digital space.

References

Brah, A (1996), Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities, Routledge.

Dufoix, S. (2018), “Diaspora before it became a Concept”, in Robin Cohen and Fischer, C. (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Diaspora Studies: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Easley, M. (18 March, 2021), “Armenian diaspora looks to team up with Indian-Americans against Pakistan”, Foreign Lobby Report, URL: https://www.foreignlobby.com/2021/03/18/armenian-diaspora-looks-to-team-up-with-indian-americans-against-pakistan/

Kapur, D. (February 2003), “Indian Diaspora as a Strategic Asset”, Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 38, Number 5 (accessed 20 July 2024).

Mishra, V. (1996), “The diasporic imaginary: Theorizing the Indian diaspora”, lecture given at Victoria University.   

Oonk, G. (2007), Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory: Amsterdam University Press.

“Population of Overseas Indians”, MEA, https://www.mea.gov.in/images/attach/NRIs-and-PIOs_1.pdf.

The Economic Times (18 December, 2023), “India tops Global Remittance Charts at  $125 billion in 2023”: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/invest/india-tops-global-remittance-charts-at-125-billion-in-2023/articleshow/106087493.cms?from=mdr.

Times of India.com (17 October, 2023), “How Indians Setting up Base in Critical Wealth Hubs abroad can help India- from Remittances to Increased Investments”: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/104501728.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppsthttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/how-indians-setting-up-base-in-critical-wealth-hubs-abroad-can-help-india-from-remittances-to-increased investments/articleshow/104501728.cms.

The Economic Times (14 February 2024), PM Modi greets members of Indian Diaspora gathered at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7n_xZjNl0w.

Yeremyan, A. (December 2020), “Challenges and Opportunities for Digital Diasporas during Covid-19: the Armenian Case”, Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism, Vol. 6, Number 12.

Yeremyan A. (March 2023), “War in Armenia: The role of the Armenian diaspora”, https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/war-in-armenia.