Photo Pew Research Center

 

Indians Settled in USA Will Not Come back to India

By Justice Markandey Katju
Former Judge
Supreme Court of India
Delhi, India

I saw a post on the portal  indicanews.com  by prominent entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu asking Indians settled in America to come back to India.

https://indicanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Zohos-Sridhar-Vembu.jpg

In my opinion hardly any such Indian will come back. Let me explain.

Vembu's first reasoning is that there is hostile feeling against Indians in America, as many Americans believe that Indians take away their jobs, and their success is unfairly earned. So he thinks that Indians do not get respect in America, and should therefore return home.

I have been to America many times, and have met many white Americans, but no one ever mentioned this to me, or even indirectly hinted or suggested this to me. So it is likely it is only a fringe group. But even if there are many, the hostility is only in their minds, and does not translate into action (except on some rare occasions).

Most such Indians settled in America are highly qualified employees (though there are some entrepreneurs too), and they were hired by US companies because they were highly valued due to their technical expertise, which contributes to the companies' profits. Silicon Valley in California is full of such Indians. US companies hire employees who will do their work best, and do not care for the colour of the skin of such employees.

Vembu's second argument is that respect and prosperity of a country comes from technological prowess. India has sufficient brain power, but it exports much of it, particularly to America, and that is why it remains largely poor and backward. So if the Indians settled in America come back to India, the country will progress rapidly, and thus acquire prosperity and respect in the world community.

Now Indians settled in America usually have high salaries, often much higher than average Americans, and enjoy a high standard of living, and naturally do not want to forego the same. 

https://indiatribune.com/public/indian-americans-rank-as-top-earners-in-us-among-major-ethnic-groups-report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ix0VeCXfMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxNjzywvduc

However, some of them may be willing to forego these out of a spirit of idealism and patriotism for their mother country, provided they are given respect by the Indian authorities, and can really contribute to India's progress, but the question is whether they are given such respect, and can make such a contribution?

I have spoken to some such Indians who came back from America after spending many years there on good jobs. They came here full of idealism and patriotism that with their technical knowledge and expertise they could contribute to India's progress, but after some time here most of them felt totally frustrated, and went back to America. They were prepared to work in India at a fraction of the salaries they were getting in America, provided they were given respect and proper facilities for their work, and made to feel they were contributing to India's progress. But this rarely happened, as I have explained in detail in the article below:

  https://indicanews.com/why-many-nris-would-rather-stay-abroad-than-come-back-to-india/

So despite Vembu's call I regret to say it is just wishful thinking divorced from realities.

(Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India who served as chairman of the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014.)