When an American military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar, Punjab, it marked one of the most disgraceful moments in post-Independence India. The sight was both humiliating and heart-wrenching: deportees chained and handcuffed like convicts, with only one toilet on board for over a hundred people. Many remained starving for up to 40 hours because their handcuffs were not removed even for meals.

Most of these unfortunate individuals were Gujaratis and Punjabis, duped by agents into seeking their American El Dorado through illegal means. Their crime? A desperate dream to better their lives in a foreign land. The same desire that forced the Europeans to move to the New World in the 16th century onwards.

This grossly........

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