(TWO ROOTS, AND LITTLE ELSE - 3) IT is the same with academics. A PIO who did post-doctoral research in the United States of America and returned to live with her family in India, had a harrowing time trying to get permission from the Central government to teach or do research work — you must be an Indian citizen to get jobs in government colleges, universities, and institutes. She lost out to candidates backed by political parties. The UK and US have no such hang-ups — professors like Amartya Sen and Sugata Bose of Harvard University; Shyam Sunder of Yale, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak of Columbia, Mukul Majumdar and Tapan Mitra of Cornell, and many other renowned scholars have retained their Indian citizenships. They pay a price for this —they have to get visas when attending international conferences because many countries exempt US citizens but require visas from Indian nationals. And as Indian citizens, it is unclear whether they are eligible for social security payments although the US government routinely deducts money from their paycheck while they work in that country. It is for them especially that India should start granting dual citizenship, along with full voting rights — does it make sense for people to forgo other citizenships and sacrifice self-interest? Emotions aside, what are the real pluses and minuses? As one retired bureaucrat, himself a PhD from an Ivy League university asked, why should we treat one million people specially when there are one billion to be taken care of? Of course, NRIs and PIOs are no kings. And when reaching out, one has to keep two issues in mind. The first, concerns the emotional appeal to bring back all the sons of India, stoking a desire akin to what the Jews feel for returning to the Promised Land. The second issue is practical. Obviously, India should first reach out to those who are likely to be most useful and then work down the priority list. India desperately needs to build top-notch hospitals for the sick, excellent businesses to find employment for people and world class universities to educate the youth. BUT who among the PIOs and NRIs would be interested in India? There are many successful middle-aged Indians settled abroad, who have built a nest egg, educated the kids and now yearn to do something for the motherland. There are many second generation Indians interested in teaching or researching at an Indian university or serving in a hospital, who would like to spend a year in India with the spouse, discovering the ancestral land and exploring roots. Many Jewish academics make such trips to Israel, which further strengthens the outstanding Israeli universities. There are many fresh graduates who would like to stay with their parents and work in India, without sacrificing too much of the economic rewards such a life would bring. So why is India still reluctant?
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 18:23:15 +0000
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