By Kul Bhushan

"My life as an NRI has changed a lot since 9/11," remarked Abdul Ali who lives in the US. His friend, Joginder or 'Joe' Singh couldn't agree more. All NRIs took a big hit with 9/11 five years ago when the terrorists struck New York and Washington.

First of all, many scores of NRIs lost their lives in these bombings. These lives can never be replaced for their loved ones as this event has inflicted a deep wound to them and indeed, hundreds of others who have died in similar attacks in the ensuing five years.

In their daily lives, NRIs have suffered personal attacks due to their colour, appearance and dress. Young Indians are usually checked 'randomly' in security checks at foreign airports before boarding a plane and on arriving. After 7/7 and the British alerts in August, these checks have taken a sinister turn when every facial expression or language they spoken is reason enough for questioning.

After the terror attacks, these five years have brought all NRIs - and indeed everyone else - closer to their families. The bonding is stronger at family gatherings and festivals that mean much more. There is greater inter-action, more communication and emotional bonding. NRIs have also come closer to their 'roots' in India be it family, friends or their places of origin.

Many NRIs are tracing the history of their ancestors in India before they migrated abroad. They make more trips to India as shown by the increase in international arrivals. Terror attacks in India withstanding, tourist arrivals in India have increased from 2.3 million in 2001 to 3.9 million last year. More trips mean more contacts with their Indian relatives and friends.

This in turn, has resulted in more NRI remittances to India. NRI remittances reached a new record of $32.3 billion last year from $23 billion in 2001. A large part of this figure has gone to their bank accounts and family members. India continues to be the largest recipient of remittances for five years. When transfers outside the banking channels, such as money transfer companies, exchange houses and 'havala' or unofficial transfers - are added, the total figure could be much higher.

Buying their own 'nest' or 'dream home' in India has become normal for many NRIs in the aftermath of 9/11. In addition to India's booming economy, this spurt has sent property prices rocketing. Indian real estate agents have begun to aggressively market their new projects in the Middle East and the West by exhibiting at the top property fairs like Dubai, Excel in London and in the US.

NRIs have not failed to notice an average of seven per cent economic growth of India in the last five years. This means that Indian stocks have outperformed the wildest dreams of its investors as the Sensex zoomed up from 3,150 points in September 2001 to around 11, 900 today - a jaw dropping jump of 3.7 times. Along with Foreign Institutional Investors, NRIs have invested heavily in Indian stocks and more recently, in mutual funds and reaped hefty returns.

NRIs have also had better treatment from the Indian government in these last five years starting with the functioning of a full- fledged ministry of overseas Indian affairs that organises an annual NRI convention in January and honours outstanding NRIs from all over the globe with government awards. The visa system has been streamlined with the Person of Indian Origin or PIO Card coming down significantly and the introduction of dual citizenship for NRIs.

NRIs are on a clear 'return rush' to India in the last five years. They are taking big hits - as much as a quarter - in their pay packets to work and live in India. Indian media has reported that an estimated 30,000 families have moved back to India following the outsourcing wave that has hit the West.

Typically, these NRIs left India in the last decade and now find that life could be better in India than abroad as they want to add India's growth story to their CVs, according some head hunters. Most intriguing is the case of some US-born Indians who have moved to Mumbai to start a web-based business.

Information technology and a booming economy are also major factors with terrorism in these changes in NRI lifestyles. But 9/11 always hurts as terrorism has no religion and no borders. Catholics, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims...at some time or the other, all have been terrorists.

So anyone can be a terrorist and can be targeted as a terrorist. Terror attacks have not stopped since 9/11 as the list is long and bloody. So when Abdul Ali is thoroughly searched at an airport or Joe Singh is attacked in the street mistaking him for an Arab, the harrowing event that sears the memory is 9/11.

(A media consultant to a UN Agency, Kul Bhushan previously worked abroad as a newspaper editor and has travelled to over 55 countries. He lives in New Delhi and can be contacted at: kulbhushan2038@gmail.com)