Why NRI Punjabis are renouncing citizenship, selling off their properties

Why NRI Punjabis are renouncing citizenship, selling off their properties

Punjab, which has a long-standing history of immigration, is experiencing a mixed trend of reverse migration and immigration. While many rich Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Punjabis investing in Punjab hint at the beginning of reverse migration, the new generation of Punjabis moving abroad for greener pastures and studies is taking their parents with them.

According to official data, thousands of Punjabis have renounced their Indian citizenship between 2014 and 2022.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated in Rajya Sabha that, over 28,117 Punjab residents renounced their Indian citizenship between 2014 and 2022. Delhi topped the list with 60,414 passports surrendered during this period. 7,426 Haryana and 1,904 Chandigarh residents also renounced their citizenship. According to the MEA, citizenship was renounced for personal reasons.

A reality check done by IndiaTodayTV revealed that, though not on a mass scale, many senior citizens in various parts of the state were selling their properties to settle abroad, as their children were reluctant to come back after getting the citizenship of a foreign country.

WHY PUNJAB WITNESSING A NEW IMMIGRATION TREND

Despite the claims by politicians of transforming Punjab into Ontario, London, or California where most Punjabis live, the ground reality seems entirely different.

Punjab is one of the most highly indebted economies among the Indian states. The state has a per capita debt of one lakh rupees. In some financial parameters, the state is similar to Sri Lanka. The state’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now the highest in the country at 53.3 percent, in contrast to the ceiling of 20 percent as agreed by the Centre and states of India.

The primary reason why senior Punjabis are moving abroad and have been compelled to sell their properties is growing unemployment in the state, which stands at 8.6 percent. Parents have been disposing of their properties to send their children abroad for studies and jobs. As this generation of Punjabis is reluctant to come back, they are compelled to move abroad by selling the remaining part of the properties, including houses and land.

A 65-year-old, Kulwant Singh, hailing from Pathankot and a US citizen, told India Today that when the students get permanent residency (PR), they also take their parents abroad.

“They don’t want to come back. The parents also dispose of their properties to reunite with their children,” says Kulwant Singh.

A Dubai resident, Joginder Singh Salaria, says the students who move abroad and start working in a respective country are stressed due to heavy borrowings by parents as well as work pressure. Besides the studies, they have to work longer shifts to make enough money.

“They are compelled to do part-time jobs to repay the loans. They are overburdened and are also dying by suicide. The government should make concerted efforts to stop the brain drain; otherwise, educational institutions back home will not get students as Punjab students are moving abroad,” says Joginder Singh Salaria.

The compulsion to reunite with the children is not the only reason why Punjabis are selling their properties. NRIs also cite the rising drug problem and crime rate as their primary concern. Though the state government claims a drop in the crime rate, the public does not subscribe to the claims.

“The crime is rising. Brutal attacks are commonplace, and incidents of looting and snatching are also being heard every day. Petrol pumps are being looted, shops are burgled… Where is the law and order? It is nowhere,” says US-based NRI Kulwant Singh.

Rupnagar-based senior citizen Sukhwinder Singh, a retired civil engineer, and his retired School Principal wife are also planning to move abroad as two of their sons are now Canadian and New Zealand citizens.

“My sons have permanently settled abroad. They don’t want to come back. There is no security; pollution and crime are rising. Nobody is secure here. You can be attacked by the bullet anytime or can be robbed of the valuables. I have already sold my land, and we both spend six months abroad,” says Sukhwinder Singh.

Security of the property has also been a major concern. Property disputes, land grabs, or the fraudulent sale of NRI properties were the primary concerns shown by the NRIs during the NRI meets held in various districts in Punjab.

A Canada-based NRI recently accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke of illegally occupying her house in the Heera Bagh area in Jagraon. The ownership of the house was later restored to the owner after the issue was highlighted in the media.

“There was a time when the Punjabi diaspora was asking their family members in Punjab to keep an eye on the property. Now the Punjabi diaspora is asking their family members to find buyers for their property at throw-away prices. The law and order situation are very bad in Punjab. There is no guarantee for one’s life in Punjab. There is a complete jungle raj. People are encroaching upon NRI’s Property. No one is secure in the state. Everybody is planning to leave the state,” Satnam Singh Chahal, Executive Director, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) told India Today.

REAL ESTATE BUSINESS CONTINUES TO ATTRACT NRI INVESTMENT

The Real estate industry, despite people selling their lands to settle abroad, witnesses investments from various countries.

“We are also witnessing a trend. The rural landowners are liquidating their properties to settle abroad. The trend pertains to some people who were settled abroad for the past two decades. The next generation will grow the country concerned. They are comfortable there, but this is not going to impact the real estate industry. Many NRIs have invested in our projects,” says Sundra, a Mohali-based builder.

Himanshu Gupta, who earlier lived in Dubai and is doing a real estate business, says NRIs are concerned about their safety and are moving to urban areas where gated housing societies are coming up in large numbers.

Another developer, Arnav Sundra, said tier-II cities continue to be the first choice as far as investments in the real estate sector by the NRI Punjabis are concerned.

“This is also because home loans abroad are costlier than in India. Many of my friends and relatives raised loans at three percent and now it has increased up to eight or nine percent. This has given a lot of push to invest in India,” says Arnav Sundra.

Commenting on the trend, chief spokesperson of AAP, Malwinder Singh Kang said that the NRIs were subject to exploitation, and politicians in connivance with corrupt revenue officials were grabbing their properties in the past. He, however, said the Bhagwant Mann government is committed to promoting reverse migration and stopping the brain drain.

“The NRI were losing faith as the previous governments did not pay attention to their grievances. We held district-wise NRI meets for the redressal of the problems being faced by NRIs,” says Malwinder Singh Kang.

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