INDIA - MIGRATION IN 1998

Indians figured in the largest human smuggling case uncovered recently in the U.S. Some 12,000 Indians had been smuggled into the U.S. (to work for Indian Americans) through a circuitous route that took months to complete. Charging their clients US$20,000-28,000 per head, the ring is believed to have amassed some US$200 million from its operations.

There are more than a million refugees in India, among them are 1,000,000 Tibetans, some 94,000 Sri Lankan Tamils, 50,000 Bangladeshi Chakmas, 17,000 Afghans and nearly a thousand others. There are moves to deport the 50,000 Buddhist Chakmas from Bangladesh in Arunachal Pradesh (they fled to India 30 years ago because of persecution by Muslim settlers in the Chittagong Tracts), but India’s Supreme Court directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the Chakma refugees. As of February, some 32,173 have been repatriated to their homeland since the current phase of repatriation that began in 1997. The unresolved conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has led to refugee movements each time fighting erupts between the two. In August, renewed heavy firing between Indian and Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir triggered the outflow of some 30,000 people.

Overseas Indians, estimated at 15 million, may soon enjoy dual-nationality status. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpahee announced in November that a dual-nationality policy will be implemented within three months.