The out-migration from Nepal to the foreign lands is on peak. More than 1700 youths fly to Gulf destinations and Malaysia in a day. Their contribution to Nepali economy is around 25 per cent of GDP; and the great deal to discuss is 'these figures are ever increasing!' But while we keep chitchatting on foreign labour migration, Nepali nationals those working, living and in some cases, even domiciling in India have slowly been forgotten over years. Forgotten by almost every one; the State, activists, media, researchers, and academia and by the rest. Their recognition has found a refuge in the names - "Kanchas", "Bahadurs", "Gorkhas" and "Lahures".
India is the default destination for Nepalis to work and for a range of other activities. In the lee of Peace and Friendship Treaty between Nepal and India (1950), Nepali nationals travelling to India for work (or for any reason) don't need to have a passport (Art. 6 and 7) and this 'privilege' has a counter-attack for our Kanchas. Provided the situation of traveling with 'laid back' preparations, without any international identity like passport, many of Nepalis don't carry any forms of their legal identity papers. Those carrying Nepali citizenship certificates find it of no use in India – the details of the bearer appear in Nepali and the date of birth appears in Bikram Sambat making the document almost useless for Nepalis toiling in India.
The issue of identity does not just end here. This has also provided spaces for inconsistent data and misleading figures. While it comes to knowing the number of Nepali nationals working or living or domiciled in India, only estimations come to the play. Of many reasons, the cultural, religious and linguistic affinity, the long shared open border and the 'special privilege' provided by the 1950 treaty to the nationals of either country (see. Art 7) work mainly for data limited in estimations. But, most importantly, the scant attention to the issue received from both governments play a vital role – even a single step to record Nepali nationals or identify them in Indian soil hasn't yet been conducted officially. So, talking over estimations, the number of Nepali nationals range from some 800,000 to as high as 4 million. If the highest figure is to be analyzed than it is vividly clear that more than 13 per cent of Nepalese are in living as immigrants in India – it overrides the numbers the number of those leaving to 'third countries' which is only around 2.4 million. Furthermore,according to a study, around 800,000 Nepalis cross Indo-Nepal border every year as seasonal migrants.
One of the biggest perils Nepali seasonal migrant workers face due to lack of identity is remitting their money home. Many Nepali migrant workers carry money to home or send via their friends. According to a study by Nepal Rastra Bank (Central Bank of Nepal), 76 percent of Nepali migrant workers in India either carry money back home or send through their friends. The same study reveals that only 3 per cent of the migrant workers use the formal channel as such 59 per cent of them don't even know about banking channels of remitting money to home. On top of that, India has compulsory provision of requiring remitter to show their identification card or ration card or permanent account number or proof of residences of particular area. The Nepali Embassy in India is only the option for validation of Nepalese identification; sadly there are only two offices of Nepali Diplomatic Mission in entire India – in Delhi (Embassy) and Kolkata (Consulate Office). So, the migrant worker is left with no other option except to carry money back home or use other informal alternatives. Among all these, the irony is Nepali nationals working in India contribute to 19 per cent of total remittances coming to Nepal (the World Bank, 2012).
The situation of Nepalese migrant workers in India was made worse in 2007 when the Government of Nepal officially discriminated them. The group which was long overlooked from the migration governance framework officially got their deprivation stamped, perhaps forever. The year Nepal Government came with a new Foreign Employment Act (FEA) in which it defined migrant workers as, "those going abroad beyond India", which officially made Nepali migrants to India as left-overs.
Nepal, and even India, can no longer afford to neglect the Nepalese working in India in the regard that the Nepali out-migration to India has more than any one of political, economic, social, cultural, religious or any other effects. As Government of Nepal is working to revise the FEA, it is essential and important to include Nepali nationals working in India as "Migrants". It has to start regularizing the migration in more of the benefiting ways – ending the woes and harnessing advantage at the same time maintaining the 'sacred' and old friendship history between two nations and transforming the 'Forgotten Nationals' to 'Fortunate Nationals'.
[Photo credit: wagle.com.np]
[Photo credit: wagle.com.np]
