Page 12 - Seniors Today October 2020

Special Feature
NRIs:
Happy in their
New Home
Non-Resident Indians have accepted
the country they immigrated to as
their home and are comfortable
visiting India occasionally, writes
Minoo Shah
Why do Indians who left India not wish to
return, is a complex question with no easy
answers.
Let’s parse the Indians who left decades ago
to the lands of milk and honey. In the span of
the latter half of the twentieth century, most
of them went for higher education, and better
job opportunities until the advent of the
twenty-first century when it was the ‘come
hither’ call of the Silicon Valley. The timeline
is important because even though they
faced discrimination early on, the laws went
through necessary changes to help eradicate
racism and make it punishable by law.
The migrants who are now in their 60s
and 70s succeeded in spite of it and found a
common ground to co-exist with the locals.
They got involved in politics, community
service and learned to give back in cash
and kind. The acceptance of the Indian
diaspora increased for all the above reasons.
Additionally, they had now borne a second
generation who spoke the right English and
soon collectively, they all became a part of the
melting pot. This second generation has come
of age and have become the 20 per cent of the
minority mass that hold high-level positions
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conjures thousands of memories of bygone
in various professional spheres. They identify
themselves as North Americans or English,
as it is the only home they know.
Come the twenty-first century and the
augmentation of an immigrant generation
of techies that arrived from an India which
was fast earning global recognition. The
world’s eyes were on the young India that
Thomas Friedman described in his book ‘The
World is Flat’. Here we were now with two
age groups of immigrants and one common
lure. What was the lure? The buying power
of the European pound, the Canadian and
the US dollar. To the first set of immigrants
more so than the second, this helped fulfil
dreams of a better life and luxuries that
would have been unattainable had they not
ventured forth. Most chose to make their
stay permanent and opted for a citizenship
to their host country thus earning the title
‘Non-Resident Indian (NRI)’. They put their
roots down, raised families and helped their
parents and siblings migrate. The roaring
question then is: why, having fulfilled their
dreams, did they not wish to return to
India?Have you ever had that empty feeling,
a sense of being lost,heaving a sigh that
enterprising spirits and, yes, even a tale of
days? Well, that is the poignant state of an the prodigal son that returned. They have
NRI visiting his motherland. Thefriends all achieved milestones for themselves and
and extended families left behind years ago raised a generation that are the flag-bearers
have moved on, India has changed and the of fulfilled dreams. Their comfort zone now is
their adopted country and even though their
westernisation it has adopted has obliterated
the ideology of “atithi bhava devo bhava”. loyalties are to the hand that feeds them, each
Again, this is a generalisation and mostly and every one of them left a part of their heart
behind and remember their motherland with
applies to metropolitan masses. Some of the
homesick ones that did return to settle back an aching heart.
encountered disappointments because of
bureaucracy and somewho weretargets of a Anshuman Desai – The Prodigal Son
con wereforced to move back with no hopes of
finding remuneration.
Statistically, five percent of those that did
return have managed to find a niche inspite of
the odds. So, then let’s discuss the exodus of
this second wave of migrants lovingly called
techies, millennials or Genzers!They have
multiple options and if ever there was a time
to use the phrase –having the world at one’s Anshuman Desai
feet – they do. They are young, smart, techno
savvy and the most coveted of any migrant
race. They are part of the Space Age and it’s
not so much that they do not wish to return
to India. Their lifestyles are accustomed to a
shrunken world where communication and
travel bring possibilitiesof having the best
of both worlds. Will they return? Possibly.
Will they want to return? Depends on the Saral Vikas
government policies. Should they return? A
million-dollar question!
While we debate this conundrum, it is best
to understand that the Non-Resident Indians
have accepted the country they immigrated
to as their home and are comfortable
visiting India occasionally. Those that have
returned for altruistic reasons and because
of the Indian government’s offer of a dual
citizenship (Overseas Citizen of India)
feel privileged and don’t see any reason to
choose permanence in India. The following
unique stories of NRIs talk to the grit, valour, Women Empowerment
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #16 | OCTOBER 2020 13