More Indians ‘seeking to migrate to Canada’

chandigarh — While the Indian government is seeking to project the country as a rising economic and political power, a report by a Canadian government agency has painted a dim picture of India and said that various socio-economic and even environmental factors are pushing more and more of its citizens to opt for immigration and seek refugee status in Canada.

The Refugee Claims Analysis Report (RCAR), recently compiled by the Intelligence and Analysis Section of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is in possession of IANS, has listed the “push factors” that are encouraging a multi-fold increase in immigration and refugee claimants from India into Canada.

The mid-year report of the RCAR stated that 310,796 visas were issued to Indian nationals. It pointed out that in the first six months of 2018 (January to June), the number

of refugee claims (asylum seeking applications) shot to 1,805, surpassing the total figure of 1,487 claims made in the entire 2017.

The refugee claims made by Indians in the first six months of 2018 were over 310 per cent of the total claims made in 2016, which

stood at 582. “Organised human smuggling: India is a known source, destination and transit country for human trafficking; insurgency; overpopulation; environmental degradation (i.e. dangerous levels of air pollution); extensive poverty; discrimination; widespread corruption; poor infrastructure; drought; increasing religious tensions (i.e. attacks on religious minorities); violence against women and girls (i.e. sexual assault); honour killings; lack of access to sanitation facilities; lack of access to health care; discrimination against the LGBTQ2 community,” have been listed as the “push factors” for the sharp increase in immigration and asylum seekers from India.

“The strong and active Indian diaspora community in Canada, favourable socio-economic opportunities, family reunification, freedom for LGBTQ2 individuals and strong respect for women’s rights” are listed as “pull factors” in the report for people to opt for Canada.

The number of asylum seekers from India, a majority of them Sikhs, has seen a major spurt — by over 300 per cent in the past two years alone — in Canada. —