Frustations on living in India

[FT]

HP,



Agree with you and rest my case. My fervored response was as I perceived very polarized opinions at this forum.



Obviously that is not the case.



There are many such fanatics on both sides - the 'India bashers' and the 'India basher bashers'.



But there are also an equal amount of rational mindset. Personally, I find that a comfortable enough scenario to function in.



Thanks, FT

[RK]

whatever gave you the idea that people here are calling NRIs as non-patriots ...

Johnny,

that link above was just to imply that since some folks live outside the country, their sense of duty towards the country is not necessarily a matter of doubt.

so you are sending dollars(or whatever) to your parents/relatives back in India to increase the foreign currency reserves of the country

[FT]

whatever gave you the idea that people here are calling NRIs as non-patriots ...

RK, think that is sorted out, if you read HP's post followed by mine.

so you are sending dollars(or whatever) to your parents/relatives back in India to increase the foreign currency reserves of the country

What's your point here? Or what are you you trying to contribute the intellectual capacity of this discussion?

[RK]

whatever gave you the idea that people here are calling NRIs as non-patriots ...

RK, think that is sorted out, if you read HP's post followed by mine.

Read your post only after posting mine.

so you are sending dollars(or whatever) to your parents/relatives back in India to increase the foreign currency reserves of the country

What's your point here? Or what are you you trying to contribute the intellectual capacity of this discussion?

My point here is, dont give us the idea that NRIs are sending money to India because they want to increase the foreign reserves of the country.



And let me make myself clear, I'm not asking anyone to contribute to ones country of origin

[FT]

so you are sending dollars(or whatever) to your parents/relatives back in India to increase the foreign currency reserves of the country

What's your point here? Or what are you you trying to contribute the intellectual capacity of this discussion?

My point here is, dont give us the idea that NRIs are sending money to India because they want to increase the foreign reserves of the country.

And let me make myself clear, I'm not asking anyone to contribute to ones country of origin

RK, Altruistic intentions don't really matter here. I am not an economist, and wish there was a qualified economist who could respond to this. But I am sure even if not put through an economist's process, the concept will be pretty clear.



But look at this way. You send 1000 dollars to India to your parents or whoever.



Those 1000 dollars are converted to rupee and given to the recepient. The dollars are added to the reserves of the country.



The rupees themselves add extra wealth into the society, as private capital for investment, construction, or consumption. Or disbursed through banks, if saved, to others needing the capital.



A rupee spent is a rupee worth more of economic activity in the country.



So, in the case of remittences, altruistic intentions don't really make any difference to the larger welfare of the country.

[Johnny]

Johnny,

that link above was just to imply that since some folks live outside the country, their sense of duty towards the country is not necessarily a matter of doubt.

This was in specific response to implications through use of RK Narayan's article that Indians living abroad are better off if they return back home.

There might be value addition through the money that these NRIs are sending back to the country. But it doesnt mean what RK Narayan said is wrong. For me personally a person without intentions of paying back is worthless no matter how much he pays back unknowingly.

I never said that all NRIs are non-patriots. All I said was that the Indian Bashing is not welcome. Where you live is your personal choice, but let it not make you forget your roots.

"No matter how high you reach, never forget your roots" is all what I want to say.

Johnny, in one of the other threads I seem to recall you mentioning that you are still in college (IIT?). So to what extent have you contributed in value to India or your society. What choices will you make a few years hence when you get to those cross roads? Will you head west, because you will like to add as much value as you could to your self before you begin to give back? Well the choices you will make then will be determined by circumstances at that point.

FT, I was in college till last year. I graduated, and was at the crossroads, and I made a choice not to blindly follow the rats in the rat race. Now I am happy and content back with my people in Hyderabad. I dont say that this was the right choice, but I would definetely say it was the choice that gave me a sense of well-being. I might head west too in future, and I might even settle there, but I would never dream of bad mouthing my country. This is the minimum I can do. This the minimum all must do.

[DQ]

Good one, thats the Minimum you can do, and the maximum you can do is speak out against the ills that are prevalent.



If speaking out against the ills prevalent is considered Bad Mouthing then ah umm donno. It should not be considered that way.



But yes speaking against ills just to belittle the nation and people should be a strict NO NO. AKA the "Kutte" in Mangal Panday, don't become a Kutta. Just because you have managed to see a different side of the story dont go gung ho about India.

[HH]

Where Big Can Be Bothersome

For all its size, India cannot achieve its larger objectives without eliciting willing cooperation from smaller neighbours... A `big brother' approach is entirely misplaced ...

...

Anti-India sentiment in Nepal is partly driven by history. The root of the problem lies in the settlement of Indians in the Terai region of Nepal - the agriculturally productive flatlands which border Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.``Indigenous'' Nepalese residing mostly in the hill areas have resented their presence. They feel the Terai population exercises a disproportionate influence over Nepali politics and economy.

According to one estimate, around four million Indians have shifted to Nepal in the last 35 to 40 years. While Hindus are the majority, the Muslim population in the Terai is not negligible either. Nearly 97 per cent of Nepal's seven lakh Muslims reside in the Terai. While a majority of the muslims work on the farms, they also form a sizeable chunk of traders in Nepalgunj on the India-Nepal border. The Indian origin population continues to enjoy extensive links with people, some of them with questionable backgrounds, on the Indian mainland.

Migration of skilled or semi-skilled Indians or those establishing small and medium sized businesses have been treated with suspicion in Nepal in the past. In fact, concerned by the flow of Indians into Nepal, the Government in Kathmandu had set up a task force in the early 1980s to look into the ``problem''. The recommendations of this task force were, however, never implemented.

The presence of smugglers in large numbers in Nepal has imparted a new edge to the anti-India feelings. Kathmandu watchers point out that smuggling and prostitution have been the biggest revenue earning pursuits in Nepal over the years. In fact, there have been reports that large numbers of Nepali politicians and bureaucrats have been directly or indirectly linked to the gold smuggling syndicates operating in the country. ...

# India has also become useful for focalising economic frustration, especially among the Nepali youth. Not surprisingly, the students belonging to leftist organisation who took to the streets targeted commercial establishments owned by Indians. These included enterprises and cinema halls, some of which were owned by the Indian origin Marwari community. In other words, there now exists in Nepal a powerful infrastructure which can exploit the existing negativism against India. ...

# While the sheer facts of geography, economics and population will make India a dominant player in the equation with the neighbours, it cannot achieve its larger strategic objectives without willing cooperation from its smaller neighbours. A clinical appreciation of the ground situation will lead to the conclusion that in promoting India's larger strategic interests, forging equations of inter-dependence with its smaller neighbours will be the key.

Practitioners of Indian foreign policy often forget that neighbouring countries though smaller in size do have a restricted but effective counter-leverage over New Delhi. As witnessed by India for over a decade, neighbouring countries can become bases for waging a punishing low intensity terrorist war. An attitudinal fixation of treating neighbours as inferiors, symptomised in a ``big brother'' approach is therefore entirely misplaced.

... in the long run, a fresh approach***** based on mutual respect and anchored in existing realities will have to be forged with neighbours.

Visit:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001 ... 071343.htm

***** Sans FRUSTRATION Within As Well Without The Country!