Diljit Singh Dosanjh is also among those who have given prestige to Punjabi music at the international level. Apart from singing, he has also left his mark in acting. He has been openly expressing his views on many socio-political issues. In 2020, he supported the farmers’ movement against the three agricultural laws. Recently, in one of his programs in Canada, he had reprimanded those waving the Khalistani flag and asked them to leave the auditorium. He also received threats regarding this. Perhaps because of this fame and concern, an organization named ‘Jago Punjab’ appealed to him to enter politics and contest elections. Dosanjh denied this and said that his job is just to entertain. By the way, could Diljit Dosanjh have contested the elections even if he wanted? It is being told that he has taken American citizenship in 2022 and now he is traveling anywhere as an American citizen. That means they are no longer Indian citizens and cannot contest elections. But has Diljit Singh Dosanjh become less Indian because of renouncing his Indian citizenship? He is still Indian in his identity – perhaps more so than many Indians. This case of Dosanjh is reminiscent of Akshay Kumar, who was a Canadian citizen for years. In a general election, when TV channels raised the question as to why they did not vote, it became clear that they cannot vote in India. He later acquired Indian citizenship again. There will be more such examples. From this, the question arises that like many countries of the world, should dual citizenship not be considered in India? That is, there should not be a legal provision in which an Indian can remain a citizen of India despite being a citizen of Canada or America? Currently, more than 3.5 crore Indian people are settled in different countries in the world. Every year about 25 lakh people are leaving the country. These are those people who are going abroad for education, employment or availability of opportunities. Many of these people love India and keep a close eye on the happenings here. The enthusiasm that non-resident Indians gather during the foreign tours of Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi shows that India still resides within them. Those people who wear the tricolor on their cheeks, wave the tricolor in their hands and shout ‘India-India’ during cricket matches in England or Sharjah or Australia, are actually the same Indians who have left from here, but have also taken an India with them. If there is a system of dual citizenship in India, many people would want to preserve their Indianness and their citizenship. Anyway, in the globalization with which the world is changing these days, it is not right to shrink our borders and limit our identity to our geography. Just as Trump has devalued American democracy and hurt the inclusiveness of the American nation with political phrases like ‘America First’ or MAGA, some extra zealots are doing the same in India. It would be good if India expands its citizenship beyond its geography and gives an opportunity to those Indians who are being deprived of their Indian identity due to taking citizenship of other countries, to remain Indians. Do not knowingly or unknowingly make any effort to shrink the citizenship of India. This will only make the country stronger, not weaker. It would be good if India expands its citizenship beyond its geography and gives an opportunity to those Indians who are deprived of Indian identity due to taking citizenship of other countries, to remain Indians. (These are the author’s own views)
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Priyadarshan’s column: It is not right to limit your identity to geography
