The past week saw the world wake up to the news that the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey will be stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by Parag Agrawal at the top. For most of the world it was just some other news of just some other tech-giant announcing just some other person as CEO. But closer to home, in India, it hit home.
Indians were absolutely elated with the news that a boy born in Ajmer, Rajasthan; who studied in IIT Bombay (and was a classmate of Shreya Ghoshal), would be leading the world’s most famous microblogging site, Twitter. In him Indians felt a sense of affinity and relatability and connect. As Indian Parents found a new person to compare their children with, social media, news channels and conversations throughout India had just one common theme, “Indians are shining bright globally.”
Although the news that a Person of Indian Origin heading a global firm is neither new nor rare anymore for us as Indians. Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Alphabet/ Google), Arvind Krishna (IBM), Shantanu Narayen (Adobe Inc), Ajaypal Singh Banga (Mastercard) and we could go on and on and on. (on and on duck). Well Indians are actually shining bright, but not on Indian soil.
Or simply put, Parag Agrawal, Sundar Pichai et al. are classic examples of Brain Drain, people who grew up and studied in India and now offer their services, knowledge and talent in some other country. Particularly for India, Brain Drain has long been a bleeding wound that we haven’t been able to heal.
People often move out of India in the hope of finding working opportunities that will pay them better. Statistics confirm this belief.
Students decide to pursue graduation and post-graduation degrees from countries like USA, UK, Canada, Australia because of the feeling of inefficiency and inadequacy of the Indian Education System. Eventually these students end up settling out of India.
For a lot of Indians, settling in a foreign country is an achievement and for the relatives is a certificate that they show to other people, “See, my nephew from the mother side stays in America.” The nephew could also be working in a not-so-rewarding job, but still, hey he’s in America. The modern mindset where a lot of people want to break free from the social structure in search for personal freedom pushes a lot of Indians away from India. Availing better quality of life and liberty is also a major cause of Brain Drain.
Plugging this drain has been a very important issue for the Government and the people alike. With initiatives like Skill India and StartUp India, the Government of India wants Indians to grow in and with India. A lot of Indians are also starting the feel the same way, as emigration rates decrease. To sum it all up, surely we could love another Parag Agrawal or Sundar Pichai or Satya Nadella but we would love it even more if that Parag Agrawal, Sundar Pichai or Satya Nadella creates, works and does wonders, IN INDIA.
Moving on from Sharma Ji ka beta to Agrawal Ji ka beta. 😜
Congratulations Parag Agrawal for becoming the new favorite of Indian Parents and also Twitter CEO 😅
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