Comments on: Thoughts on India’s ‘culture of migration’

By: Thoughts on India’s middle class « An academic view of India

Thoughts on India’s middle class « An academic view of India — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:21:37 +0000

[...] But, the middle class has to realize one thing, that migration is an okay goal for an individual3, but not for an entire society. Until this fundamental realization occurs and middle India learns that it has a huge stake in the [...]

By: Rolling

Rolling — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:42:18 +0000

Vikram, its useful if one can read ur resp, its easier to ’see’ when it isnt italicised, as when u append it below a commentator’s comment. It was better here, when u used a separate ‘box’. Thx.

By: Vikram

Vikram — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:01:30 +0000

MmeetsK, India suffers from more severe brain drain today than at anytime in its history. This year all records were broken for Indian grad students coming to the US, and a graduate degree in the US is mostly a way to come into and stay here.

This kind of brain drain doesnt really matter (might even be good) if the students were all Master’s students, just looking to get a better job and a better life here. But the real blow comes due to the migration of PhD students, potential scholars and researchers. If you notice the papers I review here on my blog, you will see that most of the authors are based in American schools. Their scholarship is of little use unless communicated to India, and that is extremely difficult if you are a US based professor.

NRIs are still the preferred partners, make no mistake, I havent seen any evidence otherwise.

I dont think the emigration of Master’s students will slow down any time soon, maybe the number of incoming PhD students will decrease.

By: Minnesotameetskarnataka

Minnesotameetskarnataka — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:25:09 +0000

I had read somewhere that the trend is beginning to reverse because India is beginning to be able to offer its high powered graduates high powered jobs. Here is a link to that blog post http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/iim-graduates-are-preferring-to-stay-back-in-india/ from “A Wide Angle View of India”.

Also, I read somewhere that NRIs are no longer the preferred partners.

Do you see any evidence of this beginning to change or do you think that the emigration will only increase?

By: Why are the Indian middle classes so enamoured of America ? « An academic view of India

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:00:37 +0000

[...] of us … “, quoting from Syed Ali’s paper on the culture of migration in Hyderabad that I discussed, At times, their (young, educated Hyderabadis) knowledge of daily life in places such as Houston or [...]

By: Sandeep R

Sandeep R — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:20:00 +0000

Nicely compiled article.
It’s startling “Not migrating, or rather not wanting to migrate, is perceived as ‘deviant’ behaviour. Those who choose not to go must defend the decision, rationalising their abnormal stance”.
i totally agree to this point, i’ve seen this happen.. even to me!

By: Vinod Sharma

Vinod Sharma — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:53:15 +0000

The whole ‘New West’, is built on migrants. Indians have been very, very slow to take off the block in any significant numbers. In fact, till early 20th century, those going abroad were looked down upon and even faced social boycott!

We have always been an inward looking country. Material gains have never been the driving force for most; detachment and the search within rather than without has been our forte as well as our weakness.

Things are beginning to change; in fact have alredy changed considerably. Odzer has perfectly compared the contrast between his village and Chandigarh to that between the city and the West. As long as that exists, people will continue to migrate, just like the Biharis, for example, are from the interior of Bihar to other parts of India.

The numbers are going to increase in the coming years

By: odzer

odzer — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:17:47 +0000

When I was young I lived for around a decade in a small town in Punjab, then we moved to Chandigarh for a while and then shifted back to live in a small village for 3 years before shifting again back to Chandigarh. The transition from the city to the village was the hardest in terms of quality of life. Now a days whenever I return home from abroad it takes me a while to adjust to India and make the same transition, its just like coming to stay in that village. The quality of life in the terms of infrastructure, choices etc are quite poor in India. Its the small things that one misses but one of the biggest things that I miss about being abroad is just the sheer amount of people in India. I guess given a choice most people would want to leave and they can hardly be blamed for it. Although there are some very good reasons for living in India as well, I am just lazy and that works quite well here.

I agree completely. I just think that kids should be given a bit of leeway when it comes to choosing their futures. Trust me, a lifetime spent away from home churning out computer code can in no way be satisfying if your true passion is studying wildlife or climate change in India. Yes, your weekdays might not be spent stuck in a traffic jam but they will also not be spent doing something that you feel is worthwhile. Your weekends might be spent cruising around a well tended country in expressways but they will not be spent working with an NGO, cheering the Punjab Kings or the Indian team or celebrating a festival. The choice is quite hard. But then again, sometimes ppl just have to leave, either because their ambitions require it or because they may not feel safe in India.

By: Nanopolitan

Nanopolitan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:34:38 +0000

Syed Ali has put the academic imprint on something that’s experienced by so many people — particularly the middle class folks.

Thanks for sharing his insights through this summary.

Thank you. Your comments are welcome.