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Quiz question: What one sight is common to all major tourist spots in Italy?

Answer: The sight of Bengalis and Punjabis selling souvenirs.
Want a T-shirt with an image of Michelangelo's David? A friendly Bengali or Punjabi will sell it to you near the Uffizi in Florence or the Colosseum in Rome, for a lot less than the museum shop.

Looking for roses in Venice? A Bengali man will wander up to you at almost any cafe or restaurant near the town centre to sell you some. In all probability, it will be a man from Bangladesh.

It is possible to get by in Rome, Florence or Venice if one speaks both Bangla and Hindi. There's always someone around who speaks one of these languages. If you´re lost in Venice, which is the common plight of every visitor, just follow the signs to the Rialto Bridge and then try asking your way in Bangla. I tried it, and it worked.

The Bangladeshis appear to outnumber the Indians by quite a bit. Proper estimates of the populations of these communities would be very hard to come by, since many of them are there illegally, but the internet throws up figures between 200,000 and 600,000 for Bangladeshis in Italy. For Indians the number is around 150,000.

Most of them are from Punjab, followed by Kerala. A significant number of Punjabis are farm labourers, and are therefore less immediately visible. There is also a population of Punjabis from Pakistan, said to number around 50,000.

I found myself in conversation with several of the Bangladeshis in different cities in Italy. Most of them said they were from Dhaka.

They were all educated to various levels. None of them seemed very happy to be there. One said he had paid money to get there and needed to stay to recover it. They generally asked me if I intended to return to my country, and were silent when I said yes, as if unsure of what to make of this. "Don't you want to go back?" I would ask in return. "Everyone likes to be home," one replied.

The issue of immigration has been hotting up in Europe for a long time now. The Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi has been especially hard on the Romanians, but the South Asians have got away so far. That is because the Romanians were associated with crime, whereas in Europe, the Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis are peaceful communities of hard working people (otherwise by now the Italian mafia would perhaps have a Daddu, not a Godfather). The Italians use the cheap labour, and hence don't complain.

It is like that here in India as well. In many places, the issue of Bangladeshi immigration is a political one. It has been for years. Politicians in Northeast India once built entire careers out of scaremongering about Bangladeshis.

However, no one, in Europe or India, has been able to stop the flow. No one can stop people from searching for a better life.

If the poor peasant from Punjab believes he can make a better life for himself as a dairy hand in Italy, he will find a way to get there. If the poor, educated Bangladeshi believes he will be better off as a waiter in Rome rather than as a clerk in Bangladesh, he will go there.

If the poor Bangladeshi peasant believes he can make a better living in India, he will come here. Those who fear immigration should realise there is only one way to stop it. The people who migrate will stop leaving home when things get better for them there.

If a Thackeray wants to stop immigration into Mumbai, or a KRV into Bangalore, they should join hands and work sincerely for the development of the place from where the migration is originating.