Dr. Thomas Abraham: His beliefs, visions-2

Though he has been living in the US for the last four decades, Dr Thomas Abraham is still keeping his Indian citizenship, a very rare thing among the expatriates. He is eligible to hold any office in India. If an opportunity comes to take up one, will he accept it?

He has no doubt about his eligibility as one who worked for India and Indians for long. “When Ronald Reagan became president in 1980, the Indian American community reached out to his administration with the first White House briefing and closer relation with his office that opportunities had been created for a few appointments by the administration. Dr Joy Cherian was the first appointee to a sub-cabinet level position. There could have been other appointments in the administration. Since I was not a US citizen, naturally I could not be considered for it. I have no regrets about the lost opportunities,” he said.

As for going to India, he is not sure if he fits there as the intense politicking and maneuvering which he is not familiar with. Even Shashi Tharoor could not withstand the onslaught of political storms, which is the standard in public life in India.

When people like him left India in the 60s and 70s it was called brain drain. “But there were fewer opportunities for engineers in India, while the US welcomed them. It was as simple as to go to the US consulate to get a visa if you were an engineer. It was one of the best decisions I made in life to come to the US.”

If he remained in India, he thinks, he would have settled somewhere in the North and taken up a job in the public or private sector. He is not sure if he would have jumped into public life, as he was not very active in public activities as a student.

Once in America, a spirit of public service got into the heart and he thought it a calling to work for India and the Indians here. There were the examples of selfless people like members of the Gaddar party who worked for India’s independence. Their conviction to India’s cause was a motivating factor.

The NRIs then had to play many roles. They had to educate the mainstream Americans that India is not a country of snake charmers and poor people. At the same time they asked for reforms in India like liberalization of economy. It took years to materialize, yet a major movement for it came from the people outside, he points out.

Though he was instrumental in establishing many of the broad based secular umbrella organizations, what they achieved over the years was due to the work of a large number of volunteers as a team, he says. It was not the work of an individual only. “Many of the team members that joined together in the 70s are still active. These works are purely voluntary. One has to put his/her time and money. Yet we all felt it as our duty.”

He feels he might be the only Indian who knows the first name of several Indian origin people in any city in any part of the world. “Wherever I go, there are people whom I know well. This relation was created over the years. I traveled worldwide to set up GOPIO in late 1980s. Communication was not easy at that time. It was almost like traveling though the US to organize the FIA in the 70s,” he remembers.

He is aware that the community is currently fragmented on religious, linguistic and regional level. “But when an issue of importance arise, we come together. At the same time, the second generation is moving away from these divisions and they only look at the Indian identity. The divisions may be a phenomenon among the first generation.”

“When Telugu or Bengali or Gujarati community organize a convention thousands will come together. Same is the case with religious organizations. But a convention of NFIA or GOPIO may attract only a few hundred people. It is sad.”

But the secular organizations are working for the common good and the original goals still motivate people, he says.

In the long years he felt upset only at two occasions. One was during the Ayodhya movement, when some people were collecting money for the bricks to build the temple. When a meeting took place in New York, he was not invited and suddenly he felt he was an outsider. On another occasion a fringe group was taking issue with Christian community in India and attempted to make it a major issue. He was not invited to that campaign also.

The fundamentalist movements in India virtually fizzled out over the years, he thinks. Indians are a broadminded secular people, though they are very religious. In the 80s extreme Sikh movements were strong, but that too vanished over the years. Even after the Babri Masjid destruction and other communal riots, India remains a secular nation. And with new communication technologies and social media, Dr. Abraham feels that India will never go in the communal and extremist path. There are enough checks and balances within the Indian society.

If the FIA and NFIA were founded to create a platform for Indians in the US, GOPIO was an effort to bring the Indians worldwide together. It was found that Indians in many countries faced problems. The best example was Fiji, where an elected government led by Indians was ousted by the army. The support for the Indians there from US had some positive effect. The government of India too came forward to support the idea of GOPIO and its work.

He also feels happy about his work as the co-chair of the campaign to establish the India chair at Columbia. “After two decades of establishing it, I see a dozen India chairs in other universities, which is very heartening.”

The National Indian American Association for Senior Citizens was formed as the first generation was getting older and facing old age issues.  

“I never regretted coming to the US. I never regret the work I did over the years. It was a duty and calling,” he said.

As a material engineer, he knew about nanotechnology long ago. But people were not sure of the use of it.

Nanotechnology is changing the world now, he notes. A large percentage of computer chips are nano-enabled chips going as low as 22 nm and these are used in all applications from cell phones, tablets, iPad, PCs and other applications. A whole lot of things in the world including medicine, energy generation and storage and convergence technologies will be nano-enabled technologies.

He feels unhappy that India has not produced any notable inventions even though it is spending a sizeable amount for R &D. Many a times, Indian scientists attempt to copy western inventions. When there was an announcement of cold fusion in the US, some scientists in India claimed that they achieved the same. When high temperature superconductivity was announced, someone in India claimed to have achieved room temperature superconductivity. The claims in the US and India were found baseless.

Indian scientists and technologists should work toward building further on the scientific achievements of the developed countries and conduct applied research to develop devices for commercialization. There are opportunities in nanotechnology where Indian American scientists and entrepreneurs can collaborate with their counterparts to make India leapfrog in new technologies. The Indus Nanotechnology Association (TINA) formed with this target.

“By pooling resources of the Indian Diaspora, India can achieve wonders” says Dr. Abraham. Many a times, the programs initiative from the governments have not been effective and remain in the books.

He is also very critical of the directions of Indian top science and engineering schools such as the IITs, MINTs and Indian Institute of Science. Although they produce highly competent and smart graduates, the institutions itself have not brought any new technologies and gadgets for the global consumption. IITs are not even among the top 500 universities as per the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

He says if India is serious about membership in UN Security Council, the diaspora in many countries can start a movement for it on the lines of the US-India nuclear deal.

Another suggestion is that the government should create a mechanism so that successful technologists and professionals contribute to the growth of India.

Dr Nitya Elizabeth Abraham, daughter

I admire the loyalty my father has for India, which has led him to maintain his Indian citizenship despite living in the US for more than forty years.

I appreciate that my dad always has such high expectations for my brother and I.

My dad is a great cook and has brought me home-made food during some of my most difficult days in medical school and residency.

Dad has consistently been involved in my education, career, and personal life. In spite of his significant commitment to community work, he has always made time for me. If anything, his community involvement has broadened my mind to the needs of the larger Indian community and the importance of considering issues beyond my nuclear family. My scope of involvement with the Indian community will not be as wide as my father's. But I realize that many professionals leave India in search of better opportunities for themselves and their family. I hope to serve the community in India by going back to share the medical skills and knowledge I have gained in the US.

I admire his passion for serving the Indian community. His interest has not waned after all these years!

Jay Abraham, son of Dr Thomas Abraham

His community work has helped unite Indians outside of India to better themselves, their local community as well as their home country. Even though he has spent a significant amount of time doing community work he always found time to spend with family. I recall many hours he spent helping me with homework while in school. 

When the time does allow, I meet with high school students in inner city school of Hartford, Connecticut who are interested in engineering occupations. Along with other co-workers from my company (Pratt & Whitney) we provide guidance and share our experiences to further help students with interests in the field of engineering.

What I admire in him most is his caring nature and passion for helping those in need.

Memorable incidents included camping together in below freezing temperatures while on father-son Boy Scouts trips and white water rafting and mountain biking together in Colorado.

Brij M Moudgil, director, Particle Engineering Research Center, Gainesville, Florida

At Columbia University, more than thirty years ago, we were enrolled in the doctoral program in the same department, working for different professors.

From the start, I noticed Thomas’ sincerity, dedication and selflessness. He was hard working and ever ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. Most notably, he had a passion for connecting with anyone of Indian origin and organizing the Indian community.

He was apolitical and served as an Indian students liaison with the local representatives of the Indian Consulate. He took the initiative to organize meetings of the community with the visiting Indian dignitaries.

Personally, he encouraged me to get involved in the India Club of Columbia University and was a valuable advisor and confidante while I served as president of the organization. There was no chore which he was not enthused to undertake, and he encouraged and invited others to help celebrate and spread awareness about Indian culture.

He has devoted unparalleled efforts to organizing the Indian community not only across the United States but around the globe, often at personal expense and time. I cannot think of anyone else who has had the vision, dedication, and perseverance of Thomas Abrahamin getting the Indian community organized and involved with mainstream Indian-American policies. He has been equally successful in helping Indian communities in other countries to organize and interact with local officials and communities. He is a pioneer in forging relationships among various global Indian organizations and eliciting their active engagement with policy makers.

We are all proud to have him as our friend and colleague. He has tirelessly promoted the recognition and welfare of others ahead of his own interests.

I would be remiss if I did not  recognize the sacrifice his wife Suzy and his children have made so that Thomas could serve the Indian community; Suzy and the children’s commitment have made Thomas’s dedication possible, and above all, fruitful.  He deserves our community’s highest recognition and awards, and many more.

Dr P Somasundaran, La von Duddleson Krumb Professor at Columbia

When I reviewed his application to Columbia, I could see that he would be a productive member of our profession. I am glad that we saw his scholarship lest the pedigree become a barrier and he turned out to be a top drawer material scientist as good or better than most IITians. He blossomed in to a remarkable scholar in the area of material science.

Even as a graduate student he was active through Columbia Club in nourishing the cultural activities. If he takes up a job, he will organize it better than any one else. He was a great support for me as a sterling activity chair of a triennial international conference for some 1400 scientists and their guests a few years ago.

He has a unique ability to serve the society and simultaneously conduct distinguished scholarly work.

Life for the Columbia students too have improved over the years. It is much better in terms of social and financial resources. Nowadays they almost always go to India every year. I did not even think of going till I graduated. They get to talk to their folks every day, unthinkable then.

He is a person dedicated to the welfare of the Indians abroad who faced all kinds of problems. He tirelessly spends his time and energy for the society. It is well known that he constantly galvanizes community to act to ameliorate many problems faced by Indian Americans with regard to PIO or OC cards, visa and passport.