86 Indians attacked or murdered in various countries in 2023: Centre

Eighty-six Indian nationals were attacked or murdered in various countries in 2023, the government informed the Parliament on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in a written response to a query.

In his response, he shared country-wise data for the the last three years.

The figures were -- 29 in 2021, 57 in 2022 and 86 in 2023.

In 2023, out of the 86 Indian nationals who were attacked or murdered, the figures for the US stood at 12, while it was 10 each for Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia, as per the data shared.

"The safety and security of Indians abroad is one of the foremost priorities for the government of India. Our Missions and Posts remain vigilant and closely monitor any untoward incident. Such incidents are immediately taken up with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure that the cases are properly investigated and the perpetrators are punished," he said.

These issues are also raised during meetings with the government officials of the countries concerned, "including at the highest levels as appropriate", the minister said.

In a separate query, he was asked about the number of Indian citizens who voluntarily surrendered their Indian citizenships during last five years, state-wise and year-wise, the reasons thereof.

"As per the information available with the Ministry, the number of Indians who gave up their Indian citizenship was 1,44,017 (in 2019); 85,256 (in 2020); 1,63,370 (in 2021); 2,25,620 (in 2022); and 2,16,219 (in 2023). For reference purpose, data was 1,22,819 (in 2011); 1,20,923 (in 2012); 1,31,405 (in 2013); 1,29,328 (in 2014); 1,31,489 (in 2015); 1,41,603 (in 2016); 1,33,049 (in 2017); 1,34,561 (in 2018)," he said in his response.

State-wise distribution of people who renounced Indian citizenship for foreign citizenships is not available, he added.

In his response, he also shared names of several countries whose citizenship was acquired by the Indians.

These are 135 countries, including Algeria, Australia, Austria, Greece, Iran, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, the US, the UK and Ukraine, as per the list of countries shared in his response.

In response to a separate query, he shared the number of Indian fishermen arrested and seizure of assets by both Pakistan and Sri Lankan authorities in the last five years.

In 2023, the number of Indian fishermen detained by Sri Lankan authorities stood at 240, while the figure for 2024 was 535.

In 2023, the number of Indian fishing boats detained by Sri Lankan authorities stood at 35, while the figure for 2024 was 71, as per the data shared.

Last year, the number of Indian fishermen detained by Pakistan authorities stood at nine, while the figures this year was 19 (till July 1, 2024), as per the data.