There is a
village called Jatinga in the state of Assam in North Eastern India nestled
among beautiful hills. On ordinary days, Jatinga is like any other Indian hilly
village characterized by lush green vales, fertile fields, placid lakes and
rich flora and fauna. But come September, this village bears witness to a
unique and bizarre phenomenon. At night, many species of birds get attracted to
the lights lit by villagers on the ground and mysteriously sway away from their
flight path. So intense is their attraction, that they
forget all sense of direction and blindly make their way towards the light
source, colliding with walls and poles in the process. Many birds are killed or
critically injured on impact and are trapped by waiting villagers who later cook
and eat them with great relish. Scientists from all across the world have made
numerous attempts to fathom the mystery behind this strange avian hara-kiri,
but no plausible theory has been formulated yet. Each year, this mystery
continues unabated.
In very
much a similar manner, a large number of Indian students and working
professionals get attracted towards the ‘bright lights’ and ‘green pastures’ of
foreign shores. Every year, a huge number of people are found waiting in line outside
embassies of foreign nations for long hours all waiting to get the prized visa
stamp on their passport, akin to devotees waiting in queue in temples for a darshan
of the lord.
This trend
of migration known as the ‘brain-drain’ started way back in the sixties, when
‘developed’ countries such as the US and other nations liberalized their
immigration policies and opened their doors for skilled technicians, medical
personnel, scientists, engineers etc. to people from all across the world. Many
Indian citizens, taking advantage of the leniency made their way and have
settled abroad ever since, with most of them prospering and making a good name
for themselves. The number of skilled personnel making a beehive for foreign
countries has only increased over the decades, especially in the late nineties and
the early years of the new millennium with the IT industry boom. One
occasionally hears of Indian born people making the news abroad for stupendous
achievements like the late Kalpana Chawla and more recently Satya Nadella. But
again this makes me think, what were to happen if these people never left
Indian shores and had decided to stay in India? Would they have made a
difference to our country in the present day? Would they have been as
successful in India as they became abroad? Why do so many qualified people in
our country look overseas for career advancement? What is it about settling
abroad that attracts so many professionals to risk huge amounts of their
savings and leave home?
There is no
simple answer to the question above. There are many reasons which people cite
for taking the plunge (or more appropriately ‘leap’) to go overseas. Students
blame lack of suitable employment opportunities and working professionals cite
poor pay-scales, dirty politics, nepotism and low scope for career advancement
as their reason to fly. In the short term, some people might say this would
help in bringing down the number of job aspirants in an already saturated Job
market. But in the long run, our country would definitely end up the loser. For
each talented and skilled person who leaves our shores there is a void created
in that particular skill which becomes difficult to replace (as most of the
professionals with a similar level of skill and experience are also probably flying
abroad). Companies and institutions have to spend huge amounts to bring new
trainees to the same caliber only to watch them fly away sooner or later. Foreign
companies and institutions are the ones to prosper from the multitude of talent.
Is it not a great injustice to our country to see our professionals apply their
skill and knowledge for the betterment and advancement of other countries
rather than our own?
And why
this Kolaveri-di towards our nation, fellow countrymen? Who is to blame
for this continuing trend of foreign migrations? Is it the Government which
cannot provide suitable infrastructure and enough job opportunities for people?
Or is it the attitude of the people themselves who find foreign shores more
appealing? Let’s analyze all the reasons for this current trend one by one.
Our education system is like a factory assembly line which
produces a huge number of graduates from various streams every year. Like
tributaries, they flow into the wide river of job aspirants which only gets larger
over time. But the demand far outstrips supply and this leads to widespread
unemployment and frustration among'st today’s youth. Tired of knocking the doors
of various organizations and waiting in endless lines of walk-in interviews,
many pack their bags and leave for brighter prospects overseas. Surely our
government should stem the flow by creating more job prospects and bolstering
the economy, encouraging youth to stay back rather than leave. Our education
system is also very linear. Engineering, Medicine, Commerce and Arts are the
only mainstream options available for students to pursue a career. These
professions are thoroughly saturated and there is very little scope for career
advancement in other fields. Only very recently have other streams like Hotel
management, Catering, Fashion Design, Photography, Multimedia, Animations and
3D graphics started picking up. But the situation more or less stays the same.
People who desire to make a career in the streams mentioned earlier have very
few local / national options and have to
move abroad to make a career.
Money, is the second reason for migration. While our
national economy has picked up in recent times and professionals are now paid
more than they were previously, there is still a huge disparity in pay scales
between domestic and international workers of the same caliber. Work-Politics
and Nepotism also play a huge hand in dissatisfaction among working
professionals. Our work culture is mostly autocratic with the person on top
holding the reins of power. Only those who fall into his/her good books are the
ones who rise up. Talent, dedication and hard-work take a back seat. Of course,
these factors do exist in all companies: domestic or foreign, but the system
abroad is such that due recognition is given to a persons’ talent, hard work
and dedication irrespective of his/her nationality, caste, creed and religious
affiliation.
Money is
what causes the third reason known as the ‘domino’ effect. A person goes abroad
and starts earning. He/she then tells his/her friends back home that they are
wasting their talent and hard-work slogging in out in India when they can
easily earn four to five times the amount abroad. He/she sends pictures of
himself / herself having a grand time in various locations which we mostly get
to see on TV and movies only, buys a new car etc. etc. (you get the picture).
Slowly, restlessness and a sense of dissatisfaction creeps up among people here.
Parents and spouses too play an important part in this effect when they start
comparing us to others who are seemingly doing better than we are at the
moment. “Look at him. It’s hardly been three years since he has settled abroad
and already his parents have brought a new house and car thanks to the money he’s
sent them. Why don’t you do something similar?” are just some of the few dialogues
we have to face at home. Sooner or later, we end up taking the plunge.
But things
are not as hunky-dory abroad as they seem. There is intense competition, much
more cut throat as compared to home because we now have competition from
various aspirants from other developing countries such as China, Pakistan,
Egypt, Brazil etc. who all vie for the same post. Foreign economies frequently
face downsides and there are regular job cuts undertaken by various firms. In such
a situation, finding a job becomes even more difficult. Even if one does manage
to find a job, the struggle simply does not end there. We have to now work our
a**es off to impress our bosses and cement our place in the team. This often
makes us work late nights and our health and personal life take a beating. Pay
scales for new Joinees are lesser than that compared to local workers (which is
why we got that job in the first place). The locals look upon us with contempt as
job-snatchers and we end up being targets of racist fury. Yet we stick around
and weather all the insults hurled upon us knowing that all the money we have
risked will come to nought if we leave everything and go back home. So we stay
and endure. And all for what: just to earn a few friggin’ thousand dollars
more, buy that super SUV of your dreams, buy a huge condo or build a huge
bungalow back in India, things which are never going to stay with you
permanently.
The fourth
and possibly the biggest factor contributing to the brain drain is the attitude
of the Indian people themselves. Our people tend to mostly look at the negative
factors at home rather than concentrate on the positives. Sadly, this attitude
has passed on from generation to generation with the result that most of the
young people nowadays tend to look overseas for brighter prospects rather than
stay back home. People do not realize that there are tremendous business opportunities at home waiting to be exploited. I was recently reading a book by Rashmi Bansal called “Take
me Home”. This book is a collection of twenty beautiful stories of
Indians who decided to take the road less traveled. They rebelled against
conservative thought and decided to set up their businesses in India rather
than pursue menial jobs. The stories cover people from different backgrounds,
ranging from people with degrees from world class institutions to people who
could not afford even a formal school education; people who left
lucrative careers abroad to people who had never left Indian shores. But they
all had a goal, a purpose and a vision and the strength and determination to
carry out their plans. Their success only shows that we are hindered by our attitude
alone. Consider a moment to think: If all the successful business magnates of
America and other nations had adopted a similar negative attitude, most of the
huge International Mega-corporations we see today would never have
existed. These people, instead of migrating to other countries with greener
pastures decided to stay put and make things work at home. Most of them did not have the
means or riches to start off successfully, but what they had was loads of
determination and the desire to succeed despite all odds. Slowly and steadily they persevered and overcame all obstacles and challenges which came their way. The results are there for all to see.There is a saying
which goes, “Make a better mousetrap than one that exists already, then no matter where you live: the world
will beat a path towards your door.” And that is what they have done exactly.
But all is
not lost for us. With the advent of globalization and the technical revolution,
things are steadily improving in India. Migrating abroad is mostly losing its sheen
and many youngsters are now willing to stay back home rather than fly. In fact, many people are returning from abroad to pursue new avenues. Progressive thinking backed by sound economic policies have encouraged many
people of think beyond their comfort zone and a new generation of businessmen
and entrepreneurs have been born. People are now exploring other career options
and are wandering off the beaten path. The change has just begun and it might
be a long way before we reach critical mass, but at least it’s a step in the
right direction. Lets not lose our direction and end up like the birds in Jatinga. Instead of migrating to other nations, let’s increase our
self-respect in our own eyes and that of other nations by making our country a model
destination to which other people aspire to migrate to. There are numerous pitfalls and obstacles on the way, but with positive thinking, determination and courage, we will surely reach our goal. As the
legendary Steve Jobs said, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” But I would add one
more line “Stay at home.” (meaning stay in your own country).
