CHANDIGARH: The illegal immigration technique named ‘Dunki’ which people adopt to seek greener pastures in the US or Europe, has turned out to be a major election issue in Haryana where the legislative Assembly will go to poll on October 5.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, has been bringing up the ‘Dunki’ issue in poll meetings and claiming that alleged unemployment in the state is the reason behind youth undertaking the illegal journey to foreign countries.
Experts blame the agrarian crisis for unemployment in the state even as farmlands become increasingly small as families expand and skyrocketing farm inputs make it impossible to earn a decent living.
Hence, despite disturbing stories around the ‘Dunki’ route, the prospect of a better life in the western world continues to be an overwhelming lure for the youth, particularly from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.
Travel and immigration agents are constantly adapting newer ways to sneak young aspirants into the US and European nations through other countries by crossing rivers and jungles.
Reports say immigrants travel over 1, 500 miles through Mexico under a blazing sun to seek US asylum.
By the end of 2023, the number of migrants crossing into the US reached a record high.
So LoP Rahul Gandhi is building up momentum to seek votes for his Congress party by narrating a “real story” about the plight of immigrants who have adopted the ‘Dunki route’.
Gandhi has been accusing the ruling BJP of committing “grave injustice” to the youth through its alleged inability to provide jobs.
Missing no opportunity to explain to the electorate in every election rally why the youth of Haryana turn to ‘Dunki’, Rahul Gandhi is professing that “lakhs of families are paying the price of the disease of unemployment in Haryana.”
“During my visit to America, I met those youngsters from Haryana who are struggling in a foreign country, away from their families, ” the LoP explains to crowds.
Well ahead of throwing his hat into the poll arena, Rahul Gandhi landed in Ghogripur village in Karnal district and visited the family of a US-based man he met in America recently.
During the meeting, the Congress MP promised Amit Kumar, that he would go to his house and meet his family.
Later, Kumar’s mother Birmati told the media, “Rahul Gandhi said that he met Amit in the US and promised that he would meet his family members in India. He listened to the entire story (about his illegal immigration) and said he would provide some help. He said Amit's condition was not good as he met with an accident there.”
Critics say Gandhi’s “political script” is based on the Hindi film ‘Dunki’, Rajkumar Hirani’s first collaboration with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, that talks about illegal immigrants from Punjab who make dangerous journeys in a desperate search for greener pastures.
“I went to Texas a few days ago. I met the youth of Haryana there. You must watch the video. There are 15, 000 to 20, 000 people from Haryana in America. Then I met some people there. I asked them how they reached America and I came to know about the 'Donkey Route'”, he said at an election meeting in Asandh in Karnal recently.
Countering LoP Gandhi, the BJP wrote on X on Tuesday, “At a recent public rally in Haryana, Rahul Gandhi mentioned that during his visit to the US, he saw 15-20 youth from Haryana living in a small room.
“These unverified claims attract unnecessary attention and could potentially lead to unwarranted actions, such as detentions. Such remarks are intended to cause harm to the people of Haryana.”
Immigration consultants based in Chandigarh told IANS the legal route to reach the US, Canada and other western countries is a study permit that eventually starts their professional lives.
Most international students are eligible to work there, especially in Canada and Britain, while studying, they said.
“There are different requirements for working on campus and off-campus. Normally, international students can work off-campus up to 20 hours per week in Canada. A majority of Indian students work in food services, retail, and hospitality, ” they said.
According to the Canadian government, foreign students contribute more than $15.3 billion annually to the economy. There are no restrictions on the type of employment during the study or work permit.
Also, each year thousands of graduates from India opt for Canadian residency -- a route for an educated, young workforce to live and work there, despite diplomatic relations between India and Canada having affected visa processing.
Seeing the craze in Punjab, hundreds of immigration and admission consultancy firms have opened their offices across Punjab and Haryana and its capital city Chandigarh.
Though these firms are regulated by the government, still unscrupulous and fly-by-night operators are also there.
Also there is the mushrooming of English language coaching institutes even in villages that prepare students for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
After completing Grade 12, students are preparing themselves in coaching institutes to score a band higher than six in a language ability test for admission to undergraduate courses abroad.
Why is the trend for settling abroad catching up fast?
Every house in a village or a city of Punjab and Haryana has at least one relative or a family member who has immigrated to Europe or a Western country. This inspires the younger generation to earn in dollars or pounds.
So one's journey to migrate abroad starts when he or she is still in school. The migration to foreign countries has become a status symbol in many villages.