The government still appears keen on implementing the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring countries. The ruling BJP party has always correlated patriotism with nationality. However, the number of Indians opting for other countries’ citizenship is on the rise.
Their decision must have come from a place where their ambitions will not be fulfilled in this country. A specific group exists in the society, which look down on them as traitors and Goa is no exception to that. This particular group must understand the reasons behind why some citizens take such a crucial step. The statistics regarding the same were presented on the assembly chamber’s board and according to that, on an average 1.5 lakh Indian citizens renounce their citizenship every year.
The data also revealed that their first preference is to attain American citizenship. In Goa, some opt for Portuguese passport to gain access to the whole of Europe in search of better employment opportunities. The serpentine queue of applicants in front of the Consulate General of Portugal’s office at Altinho speaks volumes. 1,63,370 Indians in 2021 renounced their Indian citizenship and settled abroad. The same number in 2020 was 85, 256 while in 2019 it stood at 1,44,017.
The number in 2021 doubled compared to its previous year. Despite the government’s hypernationalist approach, these numbers prove how many people from the country can really see through it practically.
The decision to renounce citizenship must not have been taken in a rush. The lucrative opportunities that entice Indians lie somewhere other than in India and that should be the centre of conversation instead of focusing extensively on religious conversions and such.
At one point the government created an illusion where it seemed the authority was working towards bringing Indians spread across the globe together. Some even predicted the possibility of dual-citizenship to be approved by the government. None of the arguments and counter- statements have been convincing enough to reduce the number of Indians abandoning their nationality.
Interestingly, the data also proves that people lean more towards the American dream than Portugal as opposed to the popular narrative. In 2019 61,683 Indians opted for American citizenship. The number was 30,828 in 2020 and reached its peak last year with a staggering 78,284 Indian citizens choosing the USA as their permanent home.
The ambitious citizens are running out of patience to wait for improvement of the situation in India. India does not allow dual-citizenship. Indian citizenship is cancelled by default once a person accepts the nationality of another country. Australia (23, 533), Canada (21, 597), and Italy (5986) are the most preferred countries followed by America. Britain (4637), New Zealand (2643), Singapore (2516), Germany (2381), Netherlands (2187), Sweden (1841) and Spain (1595) round up for the remaining top ten preferred countries.
According to the Global Wealth Migration Review 2020, the rich persons worldwide decide to renounce citizenship attained during birth due to reasons such as increasing crime rate and lack of business opportunities in their countries.
The report also maintains that factors such as safety of women and children, pollution, climate change, various taxes, financial instability, health system, education and tyrannical government constitute to the decision regarding citizenship. These statistics are valid enough to analyse why citizens choose to leave the country.
