The great demographic heist: Illegal migration is rewriting India's future
India has the world's largest diaspora: over 35 million people. Each year, around 2.5 million Indians left the country in search of better air, better jobs, and better governance. Over 3,98,000 received official emigration clearances in 2023. Add students, startup founders, and HNW individuals relocating to Dubai condos and Canadian townhomes, and you begin to grasp the scale of the churn. Nearly 2,26,000 Indians renounced citizenship in 2022. This may seem small compared to India's 146.39 crore population, but their contribution to the economy is way disproportionate: a PRICE study says by 2030-31, the middle class and high-income segments would contribute nearly $2.7 trillion to incremental consumption. Imagine the loss from each citizen leaving town. What's causing this haemorrhage? Bad roads and worse governance. Draconian tax regimes. Courts that take decades to deliver verdicts. Public hospitals that function like holding pens. Police stations that intimidate the complainant. These emigrants aren't unpatriotic. They're just done waiting. Meanwhile illegal migration floods the informal labour market, driving down wages and increasing competition for welfare. Try questioning it, and you'll be branded as heartless, fascist, or worse.
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Time of India
4 minutes ago
- Time of India
Who are Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, Freedom Convoy organizers, facing 7 and 8-year sentences for the 2022 Ottawa protest?
The Freedom Convoy organizers, Chris Barber and Tamara Lich, faced sentencing. Prosecutors wanted eight years for Barber and seven for Lich. They were convicted of mischief for the Ottawa protest. The defense argued the sentences were excessive. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the Crown. The hearings continue with a ruling expected this summer. Lich thanked Poilievre for his support. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Defence Pushes Back: 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment' Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Mitigating Factors Acknowledged Who Are Tamara Lich and Chris Barber? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What Was the Freedom Convoy Protest? Political Reaction: Poilievre Slams Crown's Request Sentencing hearings began Wednesday, July 23 for Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich , as the Crown called for unusually stiff penalties, eight years in prison for Barber and seven for Lich, following their April convictions for mischief. Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher told Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey that the proposed sentences reflect the 'extraordinary harm' caused by the 2022 trucker protest, which paralyzed downtown Ottawa for more than three argued that Lich and Barber played 'pivotal leadership roles' in orchestrating the occupation and encouraging participants to remain in place despite court injunctions and mounting disruptions to residents and businesses.'It's not a sentence that is being sought lightly,' said Wetscher, 'but one the Crown believes is proportional to the damage caused.'Barber's lawyer, Diane Magas, pushed back forcefully against the Crown's recommendations, calling them 'excessive, abusive, and unconstitutional.' She urged the court to consider an absolute discharge, which would spare Barber both jail time and a criminal minimum, she said, he should serve a conditional sentence in the cited several precedents, including the 2010 G20 summit protesters, who caused extensive property damage but received less than two years in jail. Pat King, another convoy figure, received a three-month conditional sentence plus time served.'There are clearly more severe cases of mischief in Canadian legal history,' she said. 'The fear and intimidation in those incidents was far greater than in this case.'Magas pointed out Barber's cooperation with police during the protest, including efforts to relocate trucks away from residential streets. Justice Perkins-McVey acknowledged the action as a mitigating factor, though she noted that Barber's cooperation helped manage the disruption, but didn't end also read aloud character references that portrayed Barber as a 'pillar of the Swift Current community' and emphasized the impact a criminal record would have on his trucking business, particularly his ability to cross the US Lich and Chris Barber were two of the most visible organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, a protest movement that began in late January 2022 in response to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border Lich was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and has worked primarily in logistics within the energy sector, including as a base administrator at STEP Energy Services. She has also been a fitness instructor and performs as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Alberta-based band Blind gained attention as an organizer of the far-right Yellow Vest protests in Medicine Hat during 2018–2019, distancing the group from violent rhetoric after threats against Prime Minister Justin later became a leader of the Maverick Party, promoting Western Canadian interests and constitutional reform, with secession as a secondary goal. Lich stepped down from the party's board in early resides in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She is married to Dwayne Lich and is both a mother and a grandmother. One of her daughters was born prematurely, while another daughter works as a nurse. Lich has also claimed Métis John Barber (born 1975) is a truck driver and owner of C.B. Trucking Limited in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. He co-led the 2022 Canadian convoy protest and was arrested on February 17, 2022, then released on bail the following case against Tamara Lich and Chris Barber stems from their roles as key organizers of the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest that occupied downtown Ottawa for over three charged with multiple offences, including mischief, obstruction, and intimidation, the charges were later narrowed, and in April 2025, both were found guilty of mischief, while Barber was also convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order. They were acquitted of more serious charges like intimidation and obstructing and Barber were arrested on February 17, 2022, shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act , a first in Canadian history, to dismantle the protest. A federal court later deemed that move the pair faced several charges, including counselling mischief, obstructing police, and intimidation. However, after Ottawa police filed a relaid information sheet, the most serious charges were narrowed April 2025, both were convicted of mischief, with the court finding that they encouraged demonstrators to stay despite knowing the disruption they were causing. Barber was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order, after he told followers to ignore a judge's ruling banning horn honking. They were acquitted on other charges, including intimidation and obstructing Party leader Pierre Poilievre has criticized the Crown's proposed sentences as disproportionate and politically motivated.'Let's get this straight,' he posted on X, 'while rampant violent offenders are released hours after their charges... the Crown wants 7 years prison time for the charge of mischief for Lich and Barber. How is this justice?'His remarks drew support from Barber and Lich. In a statement, Lich thanked Poilievre and wrote: 'The double standard and vindictive nature from the prosecution office has become too obvious to ignore.'The sentencing hearings are scheduled to continue Thursday, July 24, with more arguments from the defence and a final ruling from Justice Perkins-McVey expected later this summer.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
PM Modi arrives in London, historic India-UK trade deal on agenda; Says 'focus will be on job creation, growth and...'
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Many migrants leave Gurgaon amid police drive to identify 'illegals'
GURGAON: Making a living washing cars in the city for the last six years, Karimul Islam was among several Palra residents packing their bags and leaving on Wednesday. A backpack slung over his shoulder and a one-way flight ticket in hand - paid for by his worried family back in West Bengal - 24-year-old Karimul boarded an auto, saying this was perhaps the last time he would see Gurgaon. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In this slum settlement, and in several such colonies in the city, hundreds of migrant families have either left or are preparing to leave, afraid of "being targeted" in the ongoing drive to identify Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living illegally in the Millennium City. "I have documents like Aadhaar, voter ID, but they're not listening to anyone. They are rounding up people randomly and detaining them. I had to ask my family for money to buy a flight ticket because trains are not available at such a short notice," said Karimul. Over the last six days, around 400 people have been rounded up in the city, according to sources, for verification of documents. 'Afraid as we don't know what's next' Around 250 are still inside the four community centres in Sector 10A, Badshapur, Sector 40 and Manesar that are doubling as detention centres. What is driving these fears, according to migrant workers living in these colonies, is the perception that any Bengali-speaking person could be targeted in the verification drive. Locals said around 200 migrants at Baliawas in Sector 58 had left for Assam in batches. Others accused police of assaulting their family members and picking them up randomly, saying they were "shattered to be treated like criminals". Saminul Islam from Assam said he has been living in Baliawas for the last 15 years and calls Gurgaon home. His wife and two children are here too. "Suddenly, we are being labelled as illegal Bangladeshis. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Several of our relatives have been detained in community centres even though they possess identity proofs of their citizenship. We are Indians, not criminals," he said. "There's fear because we don't know what's going to happen next," said Panahrul Islam, who is among Palra residents to have stayed back. "Every night, we fear someone will come knocking on doors, asking for papers. But even after people show documents, they are taken away. Some have been taken away while returning from work," added Panahrul, who cleans building glass facades. For 29-year-old Sukhi Bibi, who works as a domestic helper in housing societies in sectors 69 and 70, Friday night was a nightmare. "They took away five people from our house. If my husband had been home, he would have been taken too," she said. "They are targeting the men first. My husband and children are leaving the city. I haven't gone to work because of constant fear," she said. Sukhi Bibi added, "Agar hum Bengal se hain, aur Bengali bolte hain, to kya hum Bangladeshi ho gaye? West Bengal is desh ka hissa hai (If we are from Bengal and speak Bengali, does that make us Bangladeshi? West Bengal is part of this country." Asiman Bibi (20) said her husband was taken six days ago and the family has not been allowed to meet him since. "We don't know where he is. He used to clean cars. We have all his documents, but they are not even telling us which centre he's in," she said. Shabnam Bibi, who claimed that her husband was picked up despite having valid identity documents, sat outside her locked room in Sector 58 holding her two children. "We have lived here for 12 years, worked hard, paid school fees. Now we are suddenly criminals? My husband was rounded up and I don't know where to go now," she said. With no communication from the authorities, legal aid or clarification on the verification process, there is a vacuum in which all kinds of rumours, like talk of mass detentions and deportations, have begun to swirl, amplifying the sense of panic. "We have been working in Gurgaon for the last six years but there is no one to stand with us now. So people are just leaving with just a bag, even without tickets," said Asadul Sayeed, a scrap dealer in Palra. Taramiya said he was among those who were rounded up in Baliawas and taken to a police station for verification four days ago. "They wrote our names in the register. When we were being taken to the police station, the cops claimed that we would be released after verification. I was released but some others detained," said the labour contractor, who is from Assam. He alleged 11 people picked up from Sector 103 were assaulted by cops and only released when they paid Rs 1.2 lakh. "I am also being forced to leave Gurgaon with my daughters who study in class 2 and 3 at govt school in Behrampur," Taramiya added. Salilur Rehman (44) of Assam, another labour contractor, also alleged people he knew had been assaulted. Police refuted allegations of assault and bribery and said cops were working according to protocols. "There are CCTV cameras at police stations where they were taken for verification as well as at the community centres. No such incident of assault or bribery has taken place. We are following the legal process and have already identified eight Bangladeshis who were residing here illegally. Legal proceedings have started to deport them," Gurgaon police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said. A detainee at Sector 10A community centre, meanwhile, said people in their settlement had decided to meet the police with their papers, rather than live in fear. "After learning about the verification drive, 16 of us went for verification voluntarily. Despite having documents, we were sent to the detention centre last Saturday. We work as contractual sanitation workers with the corporation," he said.
