“Think of the starving children in India before you waste the food on
your plate,†my friends’ mothers would say to them. This was in the 1960s in New York City, where I
lived as a child. It was really hurtful and made me feel inferior. So were the
taunts by the bullies about my being a “Hindoo†and “cow worshiper.†The only
people who were treated worse than brown-skinned people were the
African-Americans who were called “Negros.â€
America
has changed a lot over the decades. And as I got older I outgrew this
inferiority complex. But I had to work harder than others and think smarter. I
had to focus on my strengths and advantages — which included the depth of my
culture, strong family values, and understanding of the world. I knew I would
not get the same opportunities as my friends did, so I had to be better.
The taunts and negative attitudes made me stronger. They
helped me develop a deeper sense of identity with India, the place of my birth. They
brought me closer to my heritage and caused me to take pride in my roots. Most
Indians who live abroad are also proud of their heritage; like me, they listen
to Indian music, watch Bollywood films, savor Indian food, and maintain strong
connections with family and friends back home.
That’s why I was surprised to learn that Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had said in Shanghai
and Seoul that Indian expatriates were ashamed
to have been born in India.
This doesn’t reflect the reality.
Modi is usually much more thoughtful and balanced and I am
sure that he knows better. Indeed, many of us of Indian origin see a lot of hope
with him as prime minister of India.
After decades of incompetent government, endemic corruption, and being held
back by the shackles of socialism and communism, India finally has a chance to
reinvent itself. The hope is that he will lead this transformation — without
dividing India
further along ethnic and religious lines.
What Indians — everywhere — have been ashamed of is India’s inept
government. Its leaders have focused on enriching themselves at the cost of
bettering the country. They ruled in the same way as the British did: by
dividing and conquering based on region and religion.
I know there are people who will disagree with me. Some
Indian-Americans go to extremes to disassociate themselves from their heritage
just as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal does. Others still feel a sense of
inferiority and focus on the negatives. So I don’t speak for everyone.
I do know that the groups of Indians that I socialize with
and meet during my travels generally share my perspectives. They are usually
loyal to the country to which they migrated but maintain their cultural
identity. They benefit even in their adopted homes from the depth of Indian
culture. They teach their heritage and values to their children.
In many ways, it is the second-generation of Indian-Americans
who have the best of both worlds. In America, we see them flourishing in
almost every field — from the executive ranks of leading companies to the
pinnacles of academia. You will find Indians in investment banks; at the helm of
one in six Silicon Valley start-ups; in top
positions in journalism; and in the most senior posts at the White House.
We see young Indian-American faces everywhere and they too carry with
them the cultural values from India
which they have assimilated and imbibed. You will often find them going back to
India
for vacation or to volunteer in an effort to connect with their roots.
An example is my son Tarun Wadhwa, an entrepreneur working
in the area of clean water technology. As a second-generation immigrant, he
connects deeply with his Indian roots. Despite having achieved success as
a writer and researcher and founding a cybersecurity technology
company in Silicon Valley, he gave all of these up to work towards bringing a
plasma-based water sanitization technology that was developed in Chile to India. He believed he could better
the lives of hundreds of millions people by providing them with inexpensive
clean water. Growing up, he saw the toll that drinking contaminated water takes
on the poor in India.
He worked hard to convince industrialists such as India’s
Ratan Tata, America’s
Richard Merkin, and Mexico’s
Ricardo Salinas to believe in his vision and to invest in the Chilean
company, AIC, so that it could get its technology into
production.
As parents, my wife and I are glad that our children are
giving back to India
and taking our ties forward. But what we are most grateful for is that America allows
immigrants like us to be loyal Americans — yet take great pride in
who we are.
(Washington
Post)
