NRIs, don't come home

By M H Ahssan

A recent Silicon Valley gathering of Indians organised by an Indian thinktank revealed a distinct 'homeward bound' mood among those who had "gone West" in search of fame and fortune. Asked how many among the audience planned to return to India, as many as 75% raised their hands, recalls Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-academic Vivek Wadhwa.

"Large numbers of the Valley's top young guns (and some older bulls as well) are seeing opportunities in other countries and are returning home," notes Wadhwa. "And a return ticket home also puts their career on steroids." Quality-of-life considerations in their home country also weighed to a considerable extent in the "return of the native".

To that extent, prime minister Manmohan Singh's invitation today to all Indian-Americans and non-resident Indians to "return home" only reflects an underlying reality that's already playing out. The US 'green card' was once the ultimate lifetime achievement trophy for the middle-class Indian professional as he headed West; today, with the American Dream wracked by self-doubt induced by an economy in deep trouble, the one thing that's greener than a green card is the grass back home in India.

An Indian economy on a high-growth path and the promise of more, the exciting new career and entrepreneurial opportunities it opens up, and the comforting familiarity of all things Indian are evidently incentives that induce many NRIs to be drawn back home by the invisible umbilical cord that always bound them to Mother India.

There is, of course, much to commend about this "brain gain" -- this return home of the millions of immensely talented 'global Indians' who pitted themselves against the best and the brightest in the world, fared well, and kept the Indian tricolour fluttering in faraway lands. In the nation-building endeavour that's still far from complete, they constitute a significant human capital with a wealth of global exposure, and have much to contribute by way of ideas and innovation.

But there are equally compelling reasons why they shouldn't all come back 'home'. For one, as India gradually grows as an economic power and enhances its profile on the world stage, it needs a critical mass of brand ambassadors who can project an image of a polished, confident and global India. It needs 'spokespersons' who can influence local communities and domestic politics wherever they are, and who can shape foreign governments' responses with their masterly power of persuasion. It needs 'thought guerrillas' who can infiltrate foreign minds across all sections of society and embed positive images of a resourceful and multiply talented India.

As was revealed at the White House banquet in honour of Manmohan Singh, there is a critical mass of Indian-Americans who are doing their bit to burnish the image of Brand India. In virtually every area of human endeavour -- from politics to literature to business and much else -- Indians and Indian-Americans have acquitted themselves creditably and enhanced India's profile in the US. In particular, their visibility in the arts and mass media space -- think of Fareed Zakaria, Manoj Night Shyamalan, Sanjay Gupta, among others -- influences for the better the way India is perceived, particularly among the thought leadership. This is so even if they are all US citizens and therefore not always batting for India.

At a recent event at Duke University, Wadhwa recalled that when he went to public school in New York City in the late 1960s, he was "ashamed to be an Indian..." But a generation later, he noted, "my children feel proud to be an Indian. When Americans look at Indians, they think they are smart, high-tech CEOs, doctors or IT workers."

Much of that radical change in mindsets in the US came about because of the 'insurrection' of skilled Indian professionals -- like Wadhwa himself -- in the American landscape. That enterprise needs to be advanced even deeper into US civil society -- and the same 'revolution' needs to be exported to other parts of the world, including continental Europe, East Asia and Australia.

An inverse of what happens to India's image abroad when a popular (and positive) insurgency of that sort doesn't happen is manifest in Australia, where young Indians have been subjected in recent months to street violence. The critical mass of visible Indians in Australia are vocational-stream 'students' from small-town India who are exploiting a window of immigration opportunity there. The perception of Indians as visa-violating 7-11 store clerks is imprinted in Aussie minds. That image would be forever altered if we had a few Indian-origin stand-up comedians performing in smoky Sydney bars or doing piece-to-camera segments on ABC television.

Manmohan Singh is a man of wisdom, and during his recent US tour, projected an image of a thoughtful, articulate leader who can speak with equal felicity about Af-Pak affairs and the dollar's status as a reserve currency. But his 'invitation' to NRIs to return home is best ignored. As India steps out onto the world stage, it needs Brand Ambassadors to implant themselves around the world. This is precisely the wrong time for them to pack their bags and head home.