This is not the first time a politician from India is addressing you. This is definitely not going to be the last as well. Over the years, politicians from India have come, made speeches- which you have been gracious enough to listen- and gone, taking caches of dollars that you people have generously contributed.
So why should you pay heed to me? After all, you don’t need one more politician to tell you that your motherland needs your assistance. You are patriotic and sensitive enough to realize it yourself.
I talk to you, because I do not think that you are different from 1.2 billion people who live within the ‘geographical limits’ of India. To be honest, I have a problem with this distasteful abbreviation called NRI. Why such categorization? For me, you are as much Indian as I am. Your children are as Indian as my children are. The fact, that you are here today, listening to me, or reading this, tells me that you are interested in knowing what is happening back home. In a global world, geographical associations are becoming flimsier by the day, but the emotional connect remains solid. And I know that your emotional connect with India is as strong as that of any patriotic Indian.
So, I am here, not to exhort you to take care of your motherland. No one needs to remind you of such considerations. I am here to seek your advice. I am here to seek your opinion on how do we improve the quality of life of our brothers and sisters back in India.
Yes, India has done remarkably well in the last two decades. The economic growth and rising prosperity have made us an international power to reckon with. The Indian Diaspora in the United States has played a pivotal part in India’s onward march- be it in facilitating the success of India’s own silicon valley prototypes or ensuring the success of Indo-US nuclear deal.
But as much as the success of Indian nation makes my heart swell with pride, the downward slide of Punjab- the great land where I come from and the great land where many of you come from- puts me in despair. Punjab, which at one time was talisman of Indian growth today, has been left behind in India’s onward march. Everyone is keen to come to India- international investors are making a beeline to invest in our country. The whole world is coming to India, but no one wants to come to Punjab.
Worst, even the sons and daughters of Punjab who left their land in search of better opportunities are unable to come back to their land. Not because you do not want to. I know that your attempts are scuttled by a vile administration. Your visits are marred by deliberate legal wrangles. Your ancestral lands are usurped by trespassers in collusion with local police and you are often given a bad name for no fault of yours. The charities you give are siphoned off. The social initiatives you start are sabotaged.
I know that all this and worse happens. This is why Punjab is scraping at the bottom of social and economic indicators. The situation has arisen because of a leadership crisis that Punjab is facing. Oliver Cromwell was no role model or example, but I borrow his words, because they convey the deplorable state of politics in Punjab today. Addressing the parliament in 1653, he said, “ Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the country? Is there a single virtue remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not posses? Which of you have not bartered your conscience for bribes?… You were deputed here by the people to get grievance redressed and you yourselves become the greatest grievance.”
Ladies and Gentleman, here in the United States, you have seen an exceptional man taking over the Presidency, on the promise of change. Punjab too is desperately in need of change. I realized it and People’s Party of Punjab offers that alternative. Since last November, I have travelled every single day, across the length and breadth of the state, and people told me that they want to see change. I have listened to them, interacted with them and dutifully taken their suggestions. This is the same reason I come here. For me this trip is an extension of my Jago Punjab Yatra because as I earlier said that you people are as much a part of Punjab as 2.5 crore people back home. I travel from east coast to west coast, from New York to Seattle, from California to Vancouver to I seek your feedback and more importantly your active involvement in saving Punjab from the distress it finds itself in.
Some of you are upset about the shabby treatment that you have received at home. Some of you came here, because your own motherland was unable to offer you the right opportunities. But let us not forget, that that is our home. If the house is dirty, no neighbor will come and clean it up. It is our duty to set it right. And if ever, Punjab needs to be put out of disorder, it is now. Let us do it together. Let us ensure that no one ever says again that people of Punjab excel everywhere in the world but in Punjab.
Thank You.