Exodus from Punjab is reaching new levels mainly because of the IELTS. Last year about 700,000 students took the test. The year before the number was about 400,000.  There was a 66% increase in the number of people applying for Visa in Punjab last year. Canada is the number one destination for these people. It is obvious that the IELTS is the major factor for this phenomenon.

By Dr. Sawraj Singh

These days Punjab is afflicted with a new kind of epidemic called IELTS. IELTS means International English Language Testing System. This test is your ticket for migrating to the western capitalist countries. There seems to be emerging a consensus in Punjab that there is no future for the young people here therefore, the only option they have is to migrate to the western capitalist countries. There is a massive flight of the young people from Punjab. There were many Migrants who were of the rural background and were less educated people. However, now children of educated urban middle class are joining the flight from Punjab in ever growing numbers.                                                                                                                          

 

 

Exodus from Punjab is reaching new levels mainly because of the IELTS. Last year about 700,000 students took the test. The year before the number was about 400,000.  There was a 66% increase in the number of people applying for Visa in Punjab last year. Canada is the number one destination for these people. It is obvious that the IELTS is the major factor for this phenomenon. Punjab’s psyche now revolves around the IELTS. You can go to even remote villages and you will be amazed that how much even the totally illiterate elderly women know about the test. They are very familiar with how many bands are considered a good score. The IELTS has become a major factor in matrimonial considerations. Many people are advertising in the newspapers that they are only looking for a girl who has passed the tests and they are not seeking any dowry. Moreover, they will pay all the expanses for the girl as far as migration is concerned.     

 
 

 

There are more than 12000 IELTS coaching centers in Punjab. I think that there are more IELTS coaching centers in Punjab than rest of India combined. Punjab has about 2% of India’s population. We recently visited Jaipur and Patna. Both are much larger than any city in Punjab. However, we did not see even a single IELTS coaching center advertised there. I frequently visit Delhi which has about half the population of Punjab. It seems that Delhi has less IELTS coaching centers advertised than even a very small city in Punjab. Many universities and colleges are starting the IELTS courses.                                                                                                  

Except for the businesses associated with the IELTS and the travel agents, the IELTS is proving to be a lose-lose situation for Punjab. Families have to spend money for preparing their children for the test, for migration and many have to pay tuition fees. After completing their education none of these students intend to come back to Punjab. They want their parents to wrap up everything in Punjab and join them in Canada. Many times these people sell their land, houses or even cars at throw away prices. I have seen cases in Zeerak pur and Mohali (Chandigarh area) where the family was asking only 25 lakhs for a flat which normally sells for around 65 lakhs.  A car dealer told me that a family was only asking 5 lakhs for a Honda car for which they had paid close to 20 lakhs a little while ago.                                         

Many well informed people have told me that 90% or more of the young people going for higher studies in Canada end up doing jobs which do not require their education. Moreover, some of them are recruited by the organized crime or become members of gangs. I have also come to know from some people that many Punjabis already settled in Canada do not want to have anything to do with the new arrivals and some even dislike them for having very different thinking and values than they have. The net result is that the Punjabi population in Canada is now less concerned about Punjab than before. We can see a big change in the recent Parliament elections. Punjabis in Canada showed much less interest in these elections compared to the last elections.                                                                                                                          

The IELTS is proving as harmful to Punjab as was the so called Green Revolution. However, as was the case with the Green Revolution, many pseudo intellectuals, including many pseudo Marxists, have come forward in the defense of the massive migration from Punjab. Lack of any effective intellectual leadership seems to be the biggest tragedy of Punjab.

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at sawrajsingh@hotmail.com.