LEADER ARTICLE
Multi-Nation Theory: Loyalty as Defunct Currency

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has ended amid much flag-waving and tender paeans sung in praise of Bharat Mata. Dissidents struck discordant notes as dissidents always do. But these were easily ignored, given the presence of the likes of Lord Navneet Dholakia, who declared that India was etched in the NRI heart just as Sita and Ram were in the heart of Hanuman. No wonder, Narendra Modi was moved to thus address his diasporic brethren: "I''m sure when you sleep in the night and when you wake up in the morning, the image of Maa Bharati must be coming before your eyes..."
Much of the official speechifying was in the same tear-jerker mode: An emotional appeal to the Pravasi Bharatiya''s lingering patriotism. Atal Behari Vajpayee recalled the Pravasi brotherhood''s rock-like support through India''s many crises and their many interventions on behalf of their motherland''s security and territorial integrity: "When you are united as Indians, your voice carries greater weight..." Atalji also urged the pravasis to combine their loyalty to the host countries with a pledge to "preserve and cherish" their own "civilisational heritage."
Once a Bharatiya, always a Bharatiya? Why not? Except consider this slightly different scenario. At a grand gathering of Italian pravasis in Roma, the chief guest of honour is... yes, of course, Sonia Gandhi. India''s first bahu is felicitated in her mother-land for coming within a whisker of the Indian PMO. Soniaji, in turn, tells her audience that for all that she is an Indian neta, it is Rome and the Vatican that will always be etched in her heart; that she will ever remain a custodian of Italy''s territorial integrity.
We don''t even need to imagine the consequences of this. Praveen Togadia would fill newspaper pages with the choicest quotes on "Italy ki k....a" Narendra Modi would follow suit on "Italy ki beti." Writers of letters would address anguished prose to edit page editors. Why, J Jayalalithaa would be unstoppable on the topic of Antonia Maino.
All right, all right! I know all the arguments. First, one Sonia Gandhi cannot be compared to the teeming multitude of pravasi bharatiyas. Second, Sonia Gandhi aspires to the highest political office in her adopted land, the equivalent of which would be unthinkable in the US.
Would we accept Sonia''s split loyalties if there was a sizable Italian presence in India? No way. If anything, the NR-Italian community would be seen as conspiring in favour of Sonia, a sort of Italian takeover of India. As it is, that is the suspicion about citizen Sonia. As for the US blocking its presidency to foreign-born citizens, there are many other countries that don''t, and Indians have happily benefited from this. Ask Indian-born Ujjal Dosanjh who became premier of a province in Canada. When a Dosanjh makes it to a high political office abroad, he does so to resounding applause in India. When he gets nostalgic about his motherland, the applause gets louder.
In truth, we demand utmost loyalty from all: Indians in India, Indians who are naturalised citizens, and Indians who have taken overseas citizenship. In the case of an Indian minority, this loyalty must be proved every day, every hour, lest they be equated with a country across the western border. Will we grant dual citizenship to Sonia? No. Because, while abroad, it is ''one nation, many peoples, many cultures'' for us. While here, it is ''one nation, one people, one culture.''
Maybe we need more closely to look at what is happening in the rest of the world. Today, there are two simultaneous immigration trends. Around the globe, citizenship is becoming a matter of convenience rather than a profession of patriotism. Forget dual citizenship, the hottest future status symbol is multiple citizenship. Multiple citizenship as an index of your business worth. You could be French, Italian and American at the same time, with no doubts raised — about your intentions or your loyalties. Far from it, political scientists studying immigration talk of a time soon when passports would be as easy to hold as credit cards.
Writing in Los Angeles Times, Mark Fritz describes the case of Jesus R Galvis, who having got elected to a city council in the US ran for the senate in Colombia: "Here was a public servant from an American city campaigning for a post in a foreign government."
The world over as many as 93 countries recognise dual citizenship. And 40 million Americans alone — about one in seven — are believed to be dual citizens. In other words, the same America that places curbs on its presidency is also liberal enough to let its naturalised citizens contest elections in their home countries. If America were to emulate the Indian fear of Sonia, what would happen to that country? What would happen to our own pravasis if the US began to feel threatened by their split loyalties?
The danger is, this might already be happening. This is the second trend. In post-9/11 America, the notions that are gaining ground are, ''one identity'', ''one culture'' and ''one America''. In his study, Dual Citizenship and American National Identity, Stanley Renshon portrays dual citizenship as a threat to the US civic life, and says: "September 11 highlights the need for a unified national identity."
The BJP should think this over. The more it appeals to the loyalties of the pravasis, the more likely they will be treated with suspicion in their adopted countries. Issues of diaspora and citizenship must be de-emotionalised and delinked from loyalty. As much to help the pravasis as to help all those within India required to take perio-dic loyalty tests — whether Sonia Gandhi or the minorities.