External affairs minister Salman Khurshid’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia has brought home the fact that India can do little to avert the implementation of the Nitaqat, the naturalisation law, by the Saudi authorities. All that it can do is to facilitate the smooth return of nearly 75,000 Indians, mostly from Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, before the deadline ends on July 3. The Saudi rulers used the opportunity to remove the misgivings of India that the new law would adversely affect Indians. As they clarified, the law would hit only those who stay in the kingdom without any valid passports and visa. All others have nothing to fear as the Nitaqat is aimed at ensuring jobs for the locals.
The new law had been in the making for a long time and the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia, as also the Indians there, were aware of the goings-on. Yet, the central and state governments responded as if the Nitaqat was not meant to be implemented like many of the laws in India. When the law finally began to be implemented, the governments in India behaved as if they had been taken aback by the decision. It is a measure of the Saudi authorities’ reasonableness that they agreed to extend the date of implementation to July 3. It gives a window of opportunity to the central and state governments to square up to the challenge the new law poses.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries where “exit” stamp on the visa is a must to leave the country. Many of the 75,000 Indians who are stranded there do not have the necessary papers to get the exit stamp. First and foremost, they need help to complete the paperwork, which is possible only if the state governments and the Indian mission there work in tandem. Also, some of them may not have the financial wherewithal to return on their own. Equally important is to find ways to rehabilitate them once they reach India. A comprehensive package to take care of these requirements is the need of the hour.
