Stateless in 1997

China favours Chinese-speakers, India does not allow dual nationality, and Britain would rather they stayed away. Ethnic Indians of Hong Kong are beginning to feel like castaways.

There are about 20,000 ethnic Indians living in Hong Kong, and many of them continue to hang in limbo as the handover of the British Colony of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in June 1997 draws nearer.

Many of these Indians descended from those that came to Hong Kong as traders, police officers and civil servants more than a generation ago when India was still a British colony. They hold Hong Kong British passports and could become virtually stateless after the handover because these passports do not grant them the right to live in Britain. China seems set to allow only ethnic Chinese the right of permanent residence in Hong Kong after 1997. And, many of Hong Kong´s ethnic Indians do not fulfil the residency requirements for Indian nationality.

"Most of us were born and raised in Hong Kong and don´t have an Indian passport," says Mohan Chugani, a garment trader and member of the Indian Resources Group (IRG)—a lobby group of influential Indians trying to press Britain for British passports. "We have been told by the authorities that granting British passports is not an administrative decision. It has to go through (the British) Parliament and that will not be easy."

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The granting of passports to non-whites is an emotionally charged issue in Britain. In 1991, with some difficulty, the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had managed to push through a package to grant 50,000 British passports to Hong Kong people in order to shore up confidence in the wake of the June 1989 Tiananmen killings in Beijing.

While some Indians acquired full British passports under that scheme, no special lobby exists for those who might become stateless in June next year. Instead, they must fulfil the requirements on education, qualifications and links to Britain that other Hong Kong people too must show to obtain passports.

The IRG´s Ashok Sakhrani, a lawyer, says Britain has a moral duty to provide for their future. "But we believe the British and Hong Kong governments are attempting to wash their hands of responsibility for these British subjects." Despite the obvious hurdles, the IRG seems determined not to give up its lobbying effort. Last month, a petition was presented to Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten, and there were plans to go higher up with another one.

There is one small ray of hope. The IRG says it has the sympathy of Britain´s opposition Labour Party leaders. With a British general election due before mid-1997 that is widely expected to return a Labour government, there may be some way to get those passports. However, the group´s members admit that passports for ethnic Indians in Hong Kong are unlikely to top a new Labour government´s parliamentary agenda.

Dual Nationality

And even swift action may come too late. "People here cannot wait till 1997, they need to arrange their future now. Most have already done so," says Mr Chugani. Many have already joined the hordes of Hong Kong Chinese seeking passports overseas through emigration, mainly to Canada, the US and Australia. Some 62,000 Hong Kong people are leaving each year with overseas passports.

"Most others, particularly the business community will look elsewhere in Asia, such as the Philippines and Singapore," says Mr Chugani. "If you invest a lot of money in these countries they will grant residence."

Others are hedging their bets by illegally taking out two passports, one Hong Kong and the other Indian. They may need their Hong Kong passports to continue living and working in Hong Kong after the handover, but if things go awry after 1997, they can fall back on their Indian nationality. "1 know there are a couple of hundred people in Hong Kong who are trying to hold both documents illegally," says an IRG member, who cautioned that those who are trying to have it both ways may be weakening their case for claiming British passports. "In the unlikely event that Britain is persuaded to take positive action, these people will be excluded from the benefits," he says.

Meanwhile, it would not take long for the Indian authorities to weed out the double nationals, and South Block apparently frowns at this development. "Dual nationality is against the Indian Constitution," says an Indian consular officer in Hong Kong, adding that those who are found out would be asked "to make up their mind and surrender one of the passports." He adds, "We have no problem with anyone preferring to hold Chinese, British or American passports rather than Indian. Just as long as they do not violate the Constitution."

Notice Is Served

The IRG is also seeking minimal assurances from the Chinese government before the transfer of sovereignty so that the ethnic minorities can continue to invest, and conduct their businesses with the same rights and privileges as non-Chinese nationals. Amidst all this lobbying, the resignation last January from the government of Haider Barma, Hong Kong´s transport secretary and the colony´s highest-ranking ethnic Indian, sent jitters through the Indian community.

Mr Barma, 51 who was born and raised in Hong Kong and speaks Chinese, admitted his decision to step down was related to uncertainty over non-Chinese Hong Kong nationals after 1997. "One has got to be pragmatic," he says. "I am not Chinese, and one has to accept the reality of historical developments."

China has served notice that non-Chinese cannot serve at the higher levels of the civil service after 1997, but local Indians read more into Mr Barma´s resignation. "Clearly, the Chinese have not been forthcoming with any assurance for the Indian community," says one.

Hong Kong NRI

Some accuse the Indian government of inaction, and for not raising the matter with the British. However, Indian diplomats say, a little defensively, that the matter of ethnic Indians of Hong Kong is firmly in the British court. Says one diplomat, "We would help them if they ask us, but many of them do not want to settle in India. It is a very complex issue. We have to see first to what extent Bntain will help these people, to what extent China will help them, as well as to what extent India can help them. Some may not even bother asking us for passports."

In India, the idea of granting dual nationality and special residency rights for non-resident Indians (NRI) has been mooted particularly for those who invest in India Such measures might have helped the Hon| Kong Indians out of their dilemma, but no decision is expected soon.

According to a Hong Kong-based diplomat, South Block had warned Whitehall several years ago that if the question of Hong Kong British passport holders was not resolved before the handover, there would be a crisis of statelessness. "We are not in a position to say whether Britain would act on that representation," he says. "No one cat really  know  what  will  happen until June 1997."