Chalo America, or anywhere else...
By Nonika Singh

BACK from a month-long holiday in New Zealand, a young Punjabi couple’s collective refrain was- "One is forever encompassed with misery, suffering, and sorrow in India. But out there, we didn’t even encounter a single unhappy face."

Three months later they immigrated to join the cheerful, prosperous inhabitants of the "land of long white cloud."

Immigration is not a new phenomenon. Since early times, groups of people migrated to find better sources of food, better climate, or to avoid repression. The Normans, who conquered England in 1066, were originally Vikings fromScandinavia who settled in northern France. Bantu tribes inAfrica moved from Lake Victoria westward into the Congo during medieval times. The USA, which received its first batch of immigrants in 1700, is sometimes called a nation of immigrants.

As a rule, citizens of countries beset with illiteracy, overpopulation, unemployment migrate. Generally the under privileged sections of society move. Today, however, a large number of Indians in secure jobs are being swept off by the "immigration wave".

So Gursharan Singh chucked a cushy job in a multinational to chart a fresh course in New Zealand. Randeep Gill on the threshold of a quantum leap forward — a promotion — exchanged it for a tenuous new beginning in Australia. Navdeep Sandhu not only turned his back on a promising career but also on a family inheritance running into crores of rupees. All this for a two-year non-immigrant H1 visa. And he is not alone. IT professionals are the highest tax-payers in the USA, and an average Indian there earns more than on average American. So,the number of Indian professionals going West continues to swell.

Is it brain drain? Lt. Col. B.S. Sandhu doesn’t concur and says, "In a Third World country like India where one vacancy invites one thousand applications, I don’t quite see the process as outflow.It is rather inflow. These professionals are serving their homeland better by ploughing back dollars earned abroad". Amit Bakshi, who runs a software training institute, adds, "With the opening up of new engineering colleges (Punjab itself has 13), technical manpower has increased manifold which is not matched by availability of jobs".

Imagine the dismay of Hardaljit Singh, a computer engineer from Fatehgarh Sahib Engineering College who was nursing grandiose ambitions of making it big in the dynamic IT world,when he had to remain content with a teaching job at a computer institute. Today, anxiously waiting for his visa formalities to be over, he pooh paahs claims of growth of computer industry in India. Any way, as compared to the $ 150 billion US computer industry employing more than 2 million people, Indian computer industry is still in its nascent stage.

Besides, the raising of the USA immigration quota from 65,000 to 115,000 has come as the proverbial manna for the Indians. Though the increase is not targeted at Indians alone, about 65 per cent of the quota is taken by Indians. The local urban Yuppys’ fascination for Queen’s English, which translates into better communication skills, is also paying rich dividends.Says Amitabh Nagpal, a computer professional, "A decade ago, fresh engineering and management graduates after clearing their Toffels and GREs drifted away. Today, professionals with five to seven years of functional experience are taking the plunge". So a good many Indian professionals in the age group of 30-35 are enrolling for software courses. ERPF, SAP & ORACALE are the new degrees of this millennium and software the lingo of the ‘literate’. Undeniably, the highly specialised computer training doesn’t come cheap but compared to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow it is indeed a trifling. The average starting salary for software professionals in the USA is $ 50000 per annum. It could double itself in six months. However, this isn’t the mad rush of 1850 when gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria which attracted large-scale migrations from around the world. It isn’t also a search for the elusive EI Dorado which is tearing them away from their own flesh and blood.

Brijesh Nayyar, an engineer who felt envious of his peers abroad, remarks, "In India, you are judged by the number of years of experience affixed to your resume. No one ever gives you a chance to prove your mettle". Agrees Navdeep,"Here career growth prospects are minimal and subject to variants beyond your control. The only way to go up is either by riding piggy back on your relative’s success or through underhand tactics". Egged on by a fierce desire to work for world’s top companies, youngsters also harbour ambitions to set up their own companies. Here they are inspired by the success stories of Sabeer Bhatia, ECO, Hot Mail, who admitted in an interview, "I don’t think I would have achieved all this in India for who would have invested in a company which had no revenue plans until two years after its start-up."

The quest for professional excellence however is not the only key. Fed up with Indian way of life — all pervasive corruption, ever-failing infrastructure, limited exposure to technology — they reason, ‘money can’t buy you environment’. The glossy lifestyle of the land of opportunities too beckons.Admits Harpreet Soni, who is also flying away, "Where in India can you partake in activities like bungee jumping, skiing, para gliding et al?" Of course, none of them are on a ‘hate India’ trip. Unlike typical India-bashers they don’t exactly spew venom against their own nation. But with globalisation of values, the transition is not very painful. Inderjeet Singh, another IT professional, claims, "It’s even easier than moving from Chandigarh to Bombay". So cultural shock, alienation, emotional vacuum are words that belong to the past. About the much-hyped Indian emotional support system, Soni argues, "Sure if fall sick my relatives would visit me and offer verbal sympathy but will they pay the bills? But out there the government takes care of you if you fall on bad times".

Interestingly, the attitude of parents, who earlier fought their progeny’s decision to immigrant tooth and nail, has changed. More than supportive, they are even willing to meet the expenses incurred for the smooth departure of their children. Wing Cmdr D.P.S. Bajwa (retd), whose son to went away, quips "If I had my way, I too would board the first flight out of India". Running an organisation which sieves out career options for students desirous of studying abroad, Bajwa does admit that many are simply stung by the phirang bee. Punjabis any way are struck by wanderlust. However, statistics, show that compared to south and western India, the number of Punjabis leaving their homelands would be a mere trickle.

Interestingly, though Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with their limited population and open immigration policies, offer better avenues, America is seen to be the place to be in. Says Col. Sandhu, "For many immigrants Canada is merely a stopover before moving to America. "

A booming currency, a resurgent economy, the much-touted American lifestyle, the relatively lower cost of living as compared to European nations adds to the magnetic pull. Any reference to racism, discrimination or the existence of the glass ceiling is brushed aside. The unanimous opinion is that India prepares you for all kinds of onslaughts. In their partially focussed vision, stories like the one carried by a leading magazine about the difficulties faced by hordes of professionals in Canada are overlooked.Col. Sandhu defends, "Perhaps the dreams of some Indians have come to a nought but that is because they never sought professional advice or service.Indian degrees are not at par with those acquired from foreign universities and to bridge the gap one needs to do certain additional courses. Indians, however, are unaware of this fact".

They also remain oblivious to the flip (often ugly) side of the reality in alien nations. Emigration to assimilation is not an overnight wonder but a long and arduous trek. As Bakshi puts it, "I fail to see why professionals with excellent prospects in India feel the urge to emigrate where they have to wash their own clothes and do their own dishes".

Nagpal reflects, "The supply has already started outstripping the demand and head hunters have become finicky and choosy. Many Indians are finding themselves in an unenviable position.Though I expect the boom to last a few years, the bubble of optimism might go bust any time". Those riding the crest of this wave couldn’t care less dittoing John Irving’s sentiment — "If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it."