Very rarely do we know the names of our ancestors beyond those of the great-grandparents. The chances of tryst with the ancestors prior to our grandparents/ great-grandparents are still remote. Five generations of same lineage hardly exist together at a single point of time. Shouldn’t the lineage consisting of four to five generations be the standard depth of our roots to determine our origin? The definition of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) obliquely buttresses the hypothesis.
“Person of Indian Origin” (PIO) are those non-resident individuals who themselves, or their parents, or their grandparents were born in India or were citizens of India at any time.
Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States of America (USA), is a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) as her mother was a citizen of India by birth before migrating to the US. Even her children will be deemed as PIOs, but not her grandchildren. Likewise, Rishi Sunak, the ex-PM of United Kingdom (U.K.) is a PIO as his grandparents – first in lineage to immigrate – were born in Punjab, India.
The children and grandchildren, who become by birth the citizens of the foreign country their parents/ grandparents migrated to, are considered PIOs and are entitled to certain benefits. Generations beyond that are not entitled to the PIO tag. It is presumed that the fourth generation onwards the assimilation in the adopted country is complete and all roots and bonds with India are gradually diluted.
Fourth generation becomes so assimilated that they are no longer referred to as persons of Indian origin. This rationale should be applied conversely to people resident in India. The depth of Indianness should not be measured beyond ancestry of four or five generations having their roots in India. We should not trace the origin of vintage ancestors of our compatriots to some foreign land.
Canada is one western country which has been very liberal in granting Permanent Residentship (PR) Visas to Indians. Indians in general and Punjabis in particular have moved to Canada in considerable numbers. I have seen kids of many of my colleagues, friends, relatives moving to Canada on PR visa. In my locality, we often hear someone or the other from the neighbourhood visiting Canada to meet and to spend time with their kids. The USA, UK, Australia, and Canada are the favourite countries for Indians to migrate to. All these countries are English-speaking and liberal in their ethos.
What we can conclude is that the roots of an Indian resident should be traced maximum upto great-grandparents. If the great-grandparent, grandparent, and parent of a resident Indian have all been Indians by birth, then their deeper origin should not be questioned. The Indian lineage of four generations or five generations is enough to firmly settle the question of Indianness.
An Indian who migrates to acquire citizenship of another country is called a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and is entitled to Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card. Children and grandchildren born in the adopted country of that Indian are also conferred the status of PIOs.
Great grandchildren are accorded PIO status only till they are minors. If the fourth-generation, non-resident is no longer considered person of Indian origin officially, then conversely the roots of present-day Indian citizens should not be traced more than fourth generation backwards.
