Studying the migration

Good, bad, sign of hope or hopelessness — making generalisations about the large-scale exodus of Punjabi youths abroad, particularly to Canada, serves little purpose because first, it can’t be controlled and second, no one actually wants to. The demand is at an all-time high, and those with an entrepreneurial spirit are employing all means to cater to it. Since the study visa ensures the easiest way through the immigration counter, the business opportunity it provides is exponential. Packed English-learning centres, foreign university seminars, institutions with dubious credentials, and the reality that escapes no one: students desperate for admission, but with little intention of studying.

Research by Punjabi University scholars on the socio-economic profile of those seeking study visa gives new insight. Around 70 per cent of aspirants in the Malwa region, it claims, are from the farming community. That too from the marginal category, a fallout of a sustained agrarian crisis and poor quality of job prospects. So, if moving out of agriculture is what will sustain the family in the long run, why not move out of the country? Family resources may be limited, but if migration for education is the answer, why question the odds? Female students outnumber males in IELTS centres, a sign of new-found confidence and a generation tired of waiting for things to happen. Another key finding is the almost negligible study visa presence of those from the SC community, attributed to the lack of funds, not dreams.

The popular cultural narrative of the risk worth taking for a life worth living is suitably fuelled by movies and songs. That Punjab’s young want out is undisputed. That the state takes pride in the flight abroad goes without saying. So, what next? Does Punjab have a plan after this plan of letting an army of the young and restless go and countries letting everyone in runs out? Is any thought being given to the long-term socio-economic effects of an entire generation moving out? It does deserve serious study

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