Indian Child Is The Father of American Man

     My Facebook timeline these days is currently full of these things:

1. Hilarious animal videos/memes of fake Godmen getting ripped apart

2. People my age getting engaged/married

3. ___ *aeroplane emoticon* is travelling to ____, United States from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Terminal T2 - Mumbai. - feeling excited *happy face emoticon*

    The third type of posts is usually accompanied by pictures of their family and friends coming to see them off, as they go off across the oceans, to live the American Dream. But 4-5 months later these very people land up on my timeline frolicking at a local pub in Khar or Andheri. 4-5 months away from home? It does not seem too different from when I was studying engineering in Pune. 

     I'm not going to argue how bright Indian minds should stay in the country and utilise the opportunities here, or how the very 'dream countries' they are dying to go to will soon start vomiting them all out due to an overburden on them. Much has been talked about it earlier, yet every year we see a surge in the number of Indian graduates going abroad for higher studies to absolutely any university or course they get. Why the compromise? Why not live in your motherland, flourish here, help the economy here grow and make it a dream nation for people other than terrorists?

     I've probably drawn a lot of flak for this comment, from both - Indians studying abroad, and terrorists, and probably even more for using the two in the same sentence, but that is how it is. Globalization has hit us with its positive effects and negative effects alike. Positively, the job opportunities we have in India today are hardly any different from the ones abroad. Indian companies and the MNCs operating in India are focusing on going global, and it is almost like working abroad, while still being in India. Why work the same amount, for the same job profile in a different country? For a higher pay, you might argue. But isn't the cost of living abroad higher too? Plus, God knows how long the danger of you being deported or losing your Visa status looms over your head, which is already burdened with work pressure. Like it or not, India is the only country which will never ask you, "How long do you intend to live in this country?"

     I certainly do not seek to bring the Indians settled abroad back to India, nor do I mean to discourage those preparing for their GREs, GMATs, TOEFLs, IELTSs and what not from studying. Living in India may not present itself as a very rosy picture, and that is where the negative effects of globalization begin to show in our younger generation.

     What this generation wants is to be well fed and cared for until the end of their days, but they also want the freedom that their American counterparts enjoy. Seldom do they notice that this perceived freedom is because most American children move out of their house at an age no later than 18 years. Whether it is to become a scientist or a punk rockstar, their 'freedom' is actually their 'independence'. To enjoy the free will that they do, our children should be prepared to bid adieu to the care and safety net that awaits them at home after they get back from their parties.

     I am not saying our whole generation is corrupted with this bug, but it forms a major chunk of the high potential, well educated population that can make or break the country's future. One of the nation's most beloved Presidents, or the most beloved I daresay - Dr APJ Abdul Kalam always maintained that he was very happy that he completed his entire course of education in India. Imagine, the very nation you are so keen to leave, made the legend whose birthday - May 26, is celebrated as National Science Day in Switzerland.

     No leader, no matter how dynamic and strong he is, can lead a country to progress if its very population doesn't want to progress. If half of our population is decadent and the other half is waiting to cross that yellow line at emigration, we might as well start calling ourselves the Red Indians, after all, all roads seem to be leading us to the same fate.