After two back-to-back action-oriented blockbusters, Pathaan (January 2023) and Jawan (September 2023), Shah Rukh Khan is all set to end the year with a perfect Christmas gift for his fans! Dunki, a comedy-drama film based on the illegal immigration of people from Punjab into the USA or the UK, is slated to release on 21st December 2023, in cinemas worldwide.
Dunki is special because it marks the first collaboration of Shah Rukh Khan and renowned filmmaker and director, Rajkumar Hirani, who is known for his award-winning films like 3 Idiots, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., and Sanju, to name a few. Presented by Jio Studios, Red Chillies Entertainment and Rajkumar Hirani Films, Dunki also stars Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Vicky Kaushal, Vikram Kochhar, Anil Grover, and others.
What is the film ‘Dunki’ about?
Dunki is a heartwarming tale of a bunch of people (including a woman) from a village in Punjab who share a common dream of migrating to London, possibly to seek better employment opportunities. Their problem is that they do not have the necessary legal documents for moving into London. Thus, they must resort to illegal means.
The teaser and the trailer of Dunki reveal that four friends from a village in Punjab (played by Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover) want to migrate to England. However, they are unable to do so due to lack of visas and other necessary legal documents. Then steps in a soldier (played by Shah Rukh Khan) who promises to take them to their dreamland. This is how the saga unfolds.
The film is a madcap ride of friendship and love, of the comedy and the tragedy that life offers, and of a feeling of nostalgia for home and family. Watch the film in cinemas on 21st December to find out more about what it deals with!
One poster of Dunki shows a billboard which says “Bull’s Eye Coaching Centre for Railway, IELTS, Banking, Police, PSB”. (PSB stands for Punjab and Sind Bank.) Another billboard says “Guarantee Visa Certified Immigration Service Providers – Student Visa, Business Visa, Spouse Visa”, and so on. Another billboard says things like “ESS Global”, “Find A New Life”, and “Settle in the UK”. All these billboards are clearly indicative of how common it is for people in Punjab to migrate to the West for education or employment.
What does the term “dunki” mean?
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), the word “dunki” comes from a Punjabi idiom which literally means to “hop from one place to another”. The word is an Indianised version of the term “donkey route” which describes the routes which are taken by immigrants to illegally cross international borders and enter into countries such as the USA, Canada, or the UK, with the intention of permanently settling there. The routes are called “donkey routes” to describe the long walks that the immigrants must take to reach their destination, similar to donkeys that travel long distances on foot. This justifies the title of the movie.
What is international immigration?
Migration is a demographic process of moving from one geographical or administrative unit to another by crossing predefined administrative boundaries, involving a permanent change of residence from the place of origin to the place of destination. It is a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility.
International migration involves crossing international boundaries with the intention of permanently settling abroad. It is a form of geographical movement across countries. Immigration is the process of moving into a particular geographical territory, whereas emigration is the process of moving out of a territory. These terms are only used in connection with international migration.
With reference to international migration, the number of migrants can be tracked from various sources such as visa information, immigration clearance, emigration clearance, work permit, residence permit, and border control.
Why do Indians migrate to the West?
The reasons for migration are plenty. In India, dreaming of a life full of wealth and luxury in the USA or the UK is not an alien concept. Many Indians have the “big fat American dream” of migrating to the USA or to London in search of better employment opportunities or educational facilities. After the partition of India, many families migrated to Western countries and settled there permanently. People who settle down and work in the West often tend to earn much more than those who stay behind and work in India. Thus, the concept of migrating to the West has almost emerged as a trend among the Indian youth.
Poverty, landlessness, unemployment or underemployment, and lack of education are a few reasons why Indians migrate. Aspiring for better jobs, higher wages, better education or better amenities and infrastructure largely encourage migration. Besides these, social or political factors too might compel people to migrate internationally. Migration has several social, cultural, economic, technological and demographic implications, both on the place of origin and on the place of destination.
What is the “donkey flight” method?
Immigrants use a backdoor route to enter a foreign country by stopping in multiple countries before reaching their place of destination. For instance, if an Indian wishes to enter the UK, they can acquire a tourist visa for any country in the Schengen-zone such as France or Germany or Belgium. If an Indian wishes to migrate to the USA, they can do so by flying to South American countries first, and stopping there to acquire fake documents, and then migrating to their target destination in North America.
If an Indian wishes to enter Europe, they can travel to Serbia without a visa and stay there for about a month and catch hold of ‘agents’ who would then prepare a route for them to first enter Italy from Serbia. The route is generally a sea route. It then becomes easier for the Indian immigrants to enter Western Europe or countries in the Schengen belt.
These ‘agents’ who assist immigrants in crossing international borders illegally are often human traffickers or frauds. They exploit and loot the immigrants, and charge exorbitant sums of money. The immigrants often have to survive without food and water for days. They have to walk mile after mile to reach their destination. Sleep too becomes a myth for them as they have to cross dense jungles and hike across mountains on foot, and have no place to live in or sleep in. They have to protect themselves from venomous snakes and wild animals and harmful diseases that could threaten their lives.
Who uses the “donkey flight” method?
Illegal immigration via donkey flight is the most rampant in the state of Punjab, in India. Why Punjab? Because the people in Punjab dream of a better life in the West when they are unable to secure jobs of their choice in their place of residence, and when their crops in the farmlands too fail them.
Many Punjabis apply for seeking refuge in American asylums for fear of political persecution in their own country. Punjab has high income inequalities. The people are unable to secure desirable jobs that match their social status. Agriculture is still a primary occupation in Punjab. Crop failures are massive every year. Most of the poor farmers cannot even afford to migrate illegally, though they wish to work in kiwi farms in the Western nations rather than in farmlands in their home country.
People from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat have also been using the donkey routes to flee to Western nations. India ranks fifth among nations that send illegal immigrants to the USA. The other four countries are Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
How is the process of “donkey flight” initiated and executed?
The people who wish to migrate to the UK or the USA or Canada or Australia first apply for visas. The travel agencies guarantee them visas at lower rates. However, most of them are illegitimate and therefore, fail to provide visas. After paying huge chunks of money, the people are told that their visa applications have been rejected. When the visa route fails, they try the student visa route. That too, usually fails. When that fails too, they fall back on illegal routes or donkey routes, often turning ‘agents’ themselves. The immigrants are compelled to pay through their noses as the payments often range from 20 to 40 lakh rupees per immigrant.
It takes months for the people to reach their destination. They have to go hungry for days. They go thirsty, they go sleepless, they have to risk their lives, they may have to fight wild animals or life-threatening diseases while they are traveling. For instance, crossing the Darien Gap that takes one to Panama is a journey full of peril and danger. The immigrants have to travel on foot for unending days, without food, without water, without sleep, and with fear of danger.
Trekking through dense forests without water or sleep, hiking across mountains, walking through stretches of desert in hot and humid weather, crossing water bodies on foot or in small risky boats, travelling on foot in rain or in freezing temperatures – these immigrants have to go through them all.
A popular case in 2022 gained widespread attention which reported that a family of four, including two children, froze to death about 10 metres from the American border. Curse their luck! Not all who embark on this journey are even able to make it to their destination. After selling off their precious assets and often their ancestral wealth to fund their journey, and after extensively travelling through several countries under the shadow of peril and fear of danger and even death, many of them are unable to realise their dream of finally reaching the UK or the USA.
The film Dunki deals with migrants who want to move to London (or England). To move to London, the ideal donkey route is first escaping to a country such as France or Germany or Belgium or Austria without visas, and then acquiring fake documents such as residence permits there, and then entering into the UK with lesser hassle. These fake documents such as the residence permits or the driving licences reduce the hassle and the trouble that the immigrants have to face when they are trying to enter the UK illegally.
It is to be noted that Indians do require a Schengen visa in order to enter any of the 27 member nations of the Schengen-zone, but once they have entered the belt, they can seamlessly travel between one country and another within the belt without any internal border controls.
Why are so many Indians denied access to visas to travel to the USA or to Canada?
There has been a sharp rise in the number of refusals of visa permits by the Canadian Government and the American Government over the past few years. This has shattered the dreams of lakhs of students as well as other youngsters from Punjab and Haryana who want to migrate.
Most people have to apply for student visa permits to migrate to the West. However, rejection of student visa permits has risen to as much as 60% after the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have to learn English, must have a sound academic record, and must have a stable financial background. They have to sit through the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) exams and score well.
Despite sufficiently good scores, many of the student visa permits are rejected by the Canadian Government. This could be attributed to large numbers of pending visa applications, cases of fraud documentations, licensing issues in colleges, or even the growing Punjabi population in Canada.
Earlier, youngsters from Punjab would migrate to Australia. Nowadays, most of them migrate to the USA or to Canada. The Canadian authorities face challenges owing to the large numbers of pending visa applications as well as the fresh applications that keep pouring in. Several villages in Punjab are flooded with billboards that urge them to study in Canada, and the result is clearly visible. Many of the villages in Punjab and Haryana do not have any youngsters left in their population.
Why do people use these “donkey routes” in spite of such grave danger?
For minting more money. For securing better jobs. Money is enough to lure and trap an individual. Punjab and other states in North India lack adequate jobs for the people. The people believe that once they get through the danger of the donkey routes, they shall earn money and lead better lives abroad. These long-term thoughts are enough to motivate them to embark on such a perilous and risky journey. Since so many of the visa applications stand rejected by the foreign authorities, the would-be migrants are compelled to resort to illegal means to enter foreign countries.
The number of Indians illegally immigrating into the USA has been at an all-time high. 42,000 Indian immigrants illegally crossed the American border and entered the USA in 2022.
The number is historically high even in the UK. India ranks second among nations that send migrants to the UK illegally. These migrants often cross the English Channel on small risky boats and enter into the UK.
What happens to those who get caught mid-flight?
Firstly, many immigrants die on the way. And their bodies have to be discarded then and there in fear of the others who might get caught. Often, the migrants have to lie still amidst the grass to escape from getting caught, almost like camouflaging themselves.
If a person gets caught during the illegal flight, they may be imprisoned or deported. After paying lakhs of rupees to the middlemen, often 50 to 60 lakh rupees, some get caught, some are put behind bars, most are deported. Fate mistreats many of them.
Between February 2019 and March 2023, nearly 1.90 lakh Indians were detained for attempting to enter the USA illegally. Risk of capture, imprisonment, or deportation always prevails. The ‘agents’ may also withhold fake documents and not divulge donkey routes in order to extort more money from the immigrants.
Winding up
In 2015, Punjabi became the third-largest spoken language in the Parliament of Canada. Many significant questions hence arise. Are states like Punjab and Haryana really this unfavourable for youngsters to live in? Are jobs really all that scarce? Are living conditions really that poor? Are income inequalities really that bothersome in Punjab? Is India really this backward, and is the West really this attractive?
We honestly know very little about what the immigrants have to face while crossing borders, and what really compels them to take up such dangerous journeys, even in the face of death. Only reading up extensive case studies or interacting with people who have actually embarked on such an exodus can give us a rough idea of the same. Most of us probably cannot even imagine what they have to go through, let alone actually going through them.
Dunki is one of the first films in mainstream Hindi cinema and in popular media that will depict the concept of illegal immigration through donkey routes. The concept is fresh and interesting for us all. Bollywood has not really dealt with such a concept before! From a brilliant filmmaker like Rajkumar Hirani, we can only expect a masterpiece that promises to touch our hearts. The film will deal with this delicate topic with humour, for sure. You shall cry, and you shall laugh! The movie looks like a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Watch Dunki on 21st December at a cinema near you to find out more about “donkey routes” and “donkey flights” and what the people who embark on such journeys experience! This tale, based on real life of course, could be mine or yours!