Dashing Deshis And Phobia Of Foreigners

President Biden’s nomination of Ajay Banga to head The World Bank has once again stirred a media frenzy in India. All possible details about him and his family are being sought and aired, while competing lists of “Indians” in prominent positions abroad are going viral through forwards. His appointment to the exalted position is just a formality, given the precedent and understanding that the post will always be filled by a US nominee. It is, indeed, a proud moment for India and Indians, as we collectively – and so, as a country – bask in the reflected glory of Mr Banga’s well-deserved recognition.

Our pride in the ancestry of some of those who scale great heights is not necessarily shared by all of them; we, of course, claim even second-generation immigrants as Indians. Thus, when Rishi Sunak became the Prime Minister of UK, it was a “takeover” (some, in true corporate style, labelled it an acquisition) by India: “the Empire strikes back”, screamed always-excited TV anchors.

Kamala Harris, Vice President of the yet-most-powerful nation and its first-ever woman VP, featured all over the media when first appointed. Though born in the US, of mixed Indian-Jamaican parentage, and educated there, we claimed her as one of our own. When she referred to her aunt as chithi, not just Tamilians, but all Indians were overjoyed and took it as her strong India-connect. As a footnote, one needs to add that her appointment became a disappointment to many in India (and probably in the US). She is no longer considered a likely President-in-waiting, barring unfortunate circumstances. Now, Indian eyes are on Nikki Haley, a possible US Presidential candidate. Born in the US, but of Indian parentage, her progress in the Presidential race will be closely followed in India. Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died in an unfortunate accident, was more “Indian”, having been born and studied (up to her engineering degree) in India.

Academia too boasts of many foreign-based Indians who have reached the highest echelons, including Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Abhijit Banerjee, the better-known amongst the few more recent India-born winners. C.K. Prahalad (sadly, no more now) and Raghuram Rajan too have won wide recognition. Salman Rushdie is well-known globally, for reasons beyond his exceptional literary achievements. All of them have done much of their academic work (including higher education) abroad.

Mr Banga, one must note, is more home-grown in terms of education, having earned an MBA from India’s top business school, IIM Ahmedabad, following an engineering degree from IIT Delhi. Corporate icons Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google/Alphabet)  and Shantanu Narayan (Adobe) got their first degree (in engineering) from India. Indra Nooyi (ex-Pepsi) too went through much of her education in India. All these “deshis” demonstrated dash, dynamism and drive, leading to success.

As the country takes vicarious parental pride in the prowess of its diaspora, are there lessons to learn?  Many have tried to analyse what has differentiated these global leaders from their batchmates in India. Some attribute it to their advanced education in the US, a more professional work environment, meritocracy with performance-based rewards, or the positive ambience. Some attribute it to the far greater opportunities, especially in a large and dynamic economy like the US. Others think it is because of laws that facilitate a hire-and-fire approach, requiring employees to be on their toes. Most of these basically relate to the context: the working culture and environment.

Any or all may be correct; yet, there is also a broader lesson – the role and contribution of immigrants to these countries. Notable in this are the US, UK, and Israel. UK initially opened its doors to low-skill Indians and Afro-Americans, using them for menial jobs not taken up by Britishers. Later, it saw a fair flood of East Europeans, again mainly at the bottom-of-pyramid level. However, it also attracted many university students and doctors. It is said that the UK NHS runs mainly on the strength of Indian doctors!

Israel is substantially a country of immigrants, which has pulled itself up by the bootstraps with dedicated hard work, innovation and technology. The US too is a country of immigrants (like Israel, it too marginalised – sometimes decimated – the indigenous population). Over the last half century or more, while semi-skilled labour migrated there (many illegally), it also opened its doors to a growing number of international students and well-qualified people. Work visas (including the well-known H-1B) were issued in large numbers, with over 100,000 in many years. Student scholarships, especially for post-graduate levels in science and technology, made it possible for middle-class students to flock to the US and study at top universities. Many H-1B visa holders and students became permanent residents, with “green cards”, and ultimately became citizens. This conscious strategy has enabled the US to accumulate a huge reservoir of top talent and helped it to practically dominate the whole spectrum of hi-tech research and industry. Also, in both the US and UK, many acclaimed achievers are children of immigrants, including those from humble backgrounds.

The lessons for India are clear: (i) in a competitive world, we need to pro-actively attract the best talent from around the globe; (ii) providing attractive scholarships to foreign students and facilitating their stay in India after studies is vital; (iii) immigrant-children, possibly because they have had to live through tough times, are potentially a great source of talent, irrespective of the education level of their parents; (iv) facilitating work-permits and their later transition to permanent residency or citizenship is a necessary way of retaining talent.

For unfortunate reasons, our immediate neighbourhood presents a great opportunity from this point of view. In a positive and facilitative climate, we can get floods of students from all the South Asian countries, as also from Iran, Middle-East and Africa. India’s stability and success, and perceived achievements of its education system, will serve as a magnet. Lower costs and a more compatible culture are additional pluses. We can also attract the best professional talent, who will find excitement in the challenges and opportunities of India. However, this will require giving up the foreigner-phobia that sometimes overcomes us. Referring to citizens of a friendly neighbour as “termites” hardly helps, nor do reports of communal biases, leave alone lynchings. We can be the global hub of not just talent, but of technology and research. Can we imbibe the lessons from the success of our diaspora and move ahead quickly?

*The author loves to think in tongue-in-cheek ways, with no maliciousness or offence intended. At other times, he is a public policy analyst and author. His latest book is Decisive Decade: India 2030 Gazelle or Hippo (Rupa, 2021).