 "People offer toy aeroplanes at the Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurudwara wishing for visas to work abroad | Photo: Sarthak Choudhury")
Nestled on the outskirts of Jalandhar, lies Talhan, a village that mirrors the quintessential poll-season landscape of Punjab. Amid the vast expanses of corn and wheat fields, the vibrant hues of brick-and-mortar houses, and the towering hoardings of election candidates, this village harbours a unique distinction.
As one ventures deeper into Talhan, the road leading to one of its four gurudwaras transforms from asphalt and concrete to a tilled path. This change, the villagers explain, is a tribute to the special status of the gurudwara, one of the country’s most revered.
The Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurudwara, located in Doaba, a region known for its high youth emigration rates, presents a sight that diverges from the usual religious offerings. Instead of flowers and incense sticks, vendors along the route sell miniature aeroplanes, priced between Rs 100 and Rs 500. These tiny aircraft models are offerings from those seeking visas to work abroad or those who have already secured them.
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“The government hasn’t provided enough opportunities to us. Even the road leading up to the gurudwara was built by them (visitors). We come here with the prayer that we manage to go abroad. I have come here with an offering regarding the same as I am preparing for my IELTS,” says Heavandeep Singh, a 22-year-old from Moga.
The gurudwara authorities report that thousands visit daily, many bearing these aeroplane offerings. While they don’t actively promote this practice, they don’t discourage it either. There is a thriving industry of IELTS coaching centres and migration & visa consultation services in the region, evident in the banners and hoardings for these at shops outside the gurudwara and the sheer volume of model aircraft offerings.
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The hoardings outside the gurudwara are strokes compared to the actual painting in Jalandhar. Rama Mandi, a locality in Jalandhar, serves as a hub for these coaching institutes and consultancies. Every weekend, thousands of students flock here for day-long classes, paying an average of Rs 5,000 a month. An employee of a visa consulting firm explains that many of these students come from land-owning families and large farmers, who have been embroiled in farmer protests for the past four years. “Looking at the constant tussle, either these farmers or their children have decided that they no longer want the younger generation to take up farming. Those who don’t earn much or are medium farmers, they resort to selling their land or other means to ensure a better future for their children abroad.”
A study by the Punjab Agricultural University earlier this year reveals that between 1990 and September 2022, villagers in the state borrowed Rs 14,342 crore and disposed of assets worth Rs 5,639 crore to migrate abroad. Of this, 74 per cent occurred in the last six years. “The situation is dire here. The Aam Aadmi Party government came to power two years ago and promised 30,000 jobs. We don’t know what happened to that promise. Meanwhile, the Centre has its own schemes that barely work. I applied for the Agniveer scheme but it didn’t work out” asks Pertpal, a student preparing for IELTS.
For many, migration is more aspirational than a means to an end. A second-year student at one of the training institutes in Rama Mandi, who recently changed his nickname to Briton, says: “I have been watching my cousin’s reels from the UK and now, I even want to go there. I don’t have a subject in mind but as of now, my goal is to go there.”
This sentiment resonates with many young people in Talhan village. Most of them, having not studied beyond Class XII, aspire to emulate those who went abroad. They are willing to resort to any means possible, including the risky kabootarbaazi (donkey) route. They are aware that the work they’ll get in these countries might not be the best, but they are willing to do it because they know that nobody would be there to see them doing these jobs. “A taxi driver might make Rs 10,000 here. He may make Rs 20,000 in Delhi. But in the UK or Canada, he can make Rs 100,000.Will they come here to a gurudwara and offer planes if they want a life here? This money can be sent back home and make their families’ lives better” said an elderly woman in the village.
