• Prabhjot Singh

BHUBANESWAR (TIP)- Punjab’s claim as one of major contributors to Indian Diaspora notwithstanding, its near total absence at the Pravasi Bharati Divas 2025 is intriguing.

Except for a small stall by Punjab Tourism at the venue, delegates attending the bi-annual convention rue the absence of senior officials, including Minister for NRIs, at the biannual event.

“Punjab should have been at the forefront. Even after 18 editions, the State has yet to host a single edition of the PBD. It has been holding meets with NRIs but never done it at the national level. Over the years, its participation, too, has been on the down slide,” says New York-based journalist Prof Indrajit Saluja. Though the State government has released full page advertisements in major newspapers and other media channels, it should have sent teams of its senior officials to interact with delegates to woo them to invest in the State, he added.

Canberra (Australia)-based Ravinder Sahni says that Punjabis are a global community. “I am pleasantly surprised not to find many Punjabi delegates here. May be the State Government has other ways and means to reach out the global Punjabi Diaspora.

“There is also an urgent need to engage younger generation in the PBD events that serve as a great platform not only for the community leaders to sit together and carry the country’s image forward.

“I am into politics and represent Labour party down under,” says Ravinder Sahni while praising arrangements made by the Odisha government for its maiden show.

Manjuri, an IT expert, travelled all the way from Dallas in the US, for her second successive PBD.

“I attended the last edition at Indore also and feel that it is a great opportunity to interact with the elite of the overseas Indian community,” she adds while revealing her association with a spiritual group that has its headquarters in Odisha.

Khusbhu Merchant and Shobit Prakash travelled all the way from Rajasthan, where they are associated with a rural-based university, RNB.

“We are here to explore possibilities of how we can take Indian education in general and rural education to a new and higher level with the support of Indian Diaspora. India has the talent, and we must provide the platforms for our rural youth to be at par with their counterparts in urban areas and overseas,” they said.

Kanwerdeep Singh from Anandpur Sahib has been deputed by Punjab Tourism Corporation to manage a stall to woo delegates to visit Punjab, both for its religious and heritage sites besides exploring possibilities for investments in Punjab.