Sinha for closer ties with diaspora
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 9
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha today called for establishing a strong and close relationship between India and the diaspora even as he underlined the need for ensuring that vested groups or individuals did not derail the process.

“The days of war are over. The collective good of the silent majority should be always kept in mind. Pursuit of vested interests by individuals or groups should not lead to the safety and vital economic interests of entire communities being jeopardised”, Mr Sinha said. Speaking at a plenary session at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Mr Sinha said: “It needs to be kept in mind that often quite diplomacy, backdoor intervention and collective efforts on the part of a group of countries bring better results than sledge-hammer approach”.

The External Affairs Minister said the diversity of India had prevented the establishment of a pan-Indian identity abroad.

Mr Sinha said there was great commonality between the aims and aspirations of India and the diaspora and observed that it was important that both sides showed collective will for the benefit of both. The earlier inhibition towards the diaspora had been completely shed by India and the overseas Indian had achieved great heights in the realm of politics, entrepreneurship and academics.

Even though racism posed problems, at the same time, there was also a strong support base for ethnic diversity.