NRI - Never Resting Indians

Are you an NRI? Well, if you are one, the attention and expectations are just too hard to miss.The picture that comes to any local resident when asked about an NRI, is a picture where aman/woman, goes to work at state-of-the-art offices in cars they show in MTV’s ‘Pimp MyRide’, lives in a condo, eats exotic cuisines and in short, a life of limitless luxury. Well, if you too think the same, well let me tell you that IT AIN’T WHAT YOU THINK! In my ten years in Abu Dhabi, the true tormenting conditions that one has to face there as an Indian were an eye-opener. The monotony is something like this – work, eat, and sleep. Discrimination in terms of salaries and posting at work places and the so called “Localization” (where you’re fired and local citizen takes up your job) are wide spread – no questions entertained. Several developed nations such as the Gulf countries – United Arab Emirates, SaudiArabia, Qatar, etc. owe us a lot as it was we who helped them to attain their status today. Promised with great, multi-figured salaries, our people are pushed to leave Indian soil by talented conmen and travel agents, who charge a large sum for the visas and passports. And in the end,most of the clients end up as cleaners, porters, construction workers, white-collar engineers etc.With inadequate pay, heavy work load and costly accommodation facilities, the Indians face what I can say as literally hell-on-earth. Some may disagree with me asking, “How about the people who have good jobs and greatlives?” Yes, I do agree that many find themselves in the better half of the balance, but next time you meet someone like that, ask them if they really are enjoying or cherishing their seemingly “happy lives”.It has been in our blood for centuries to pursue our ambitions and achieve them no matter what. As Julius Caesar said, “Ambition should be made of sterner stuff”. The sterner stuff I’m referring to is not just money and glory. It’s the very purpose of one’s life - to pursue happiness. But happiness is nowadays measured in currency units. This as a result, has encouraged us to travel abroad and help prove and improve the well acclaimed and often mentioned topic in X grade economics – “Brain Drain” (where a nation’s technical and scientific minds go to other countries in search better offers to suit their qualifications). So I ask you all, Why not stay in India? Why not work here? Why not pay taxes to build your nation rather than to strife and shed your sweat and blood for the sake of a nation whose gratitude is as tiny as a grain of sand? As educated youth, we spring up with reasons peppered with words like corruption of Governments, cheating by politicians and so on. But how much longer can this ‘blame-game’continue? It’s in our hands to shape our nation and if anything needs to be done, it has to be done now. Let us think of this fact and hopefully, one day, arrive at a decision to uphold that old commercial saying – Be Indian, Buy Indian and also Build Indian and stop being the foot-stool for a foreigner.

by Ramesh Rajesh on Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 10:56