Excerpt of the lecture that Sanjay is planning to give in Columbus School district to help High Schoolers understand a bit about Indian politics & India in general.
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I grew up in Western India in a city called “Baroda”. This place holds historic importance since it was a province of a great Maratha King. The population of my place is about 1.5 million & we boast of one of the finest universities of the state. I did my entire schooling in English & got my BE from the same city. I was also actively involved in sports throughout my school life. If not an engineer, I would have become a soccer player!
I migrated to the US in 2001 as a 22 year old youth who had the urge to explore the world, its opportunities & vastness. I wanted to experience the deeper meanings of life by traveling beyond the horizons where my forefathers had never been before, wanted to carve a life for myself; where nobody knew me, wanted to have an identity without any parental influence. Being a science graduate, US was the land of perfect opportunities for me. After completing my masters here, I started working as a Metallurgical Engineer.
India is a country with diverse cultures, however at the same time the government is elected in a democratic fashion. According to its constitution, India is a "sovereign social secular democratic republic;" the largest state with a democratically-elected government. Today, India is the only democratic country of the world having 80% Hindu population represented by a sikh Prime Minister, Muslim President & President of the congress is an Italian Christian. I am proud of the fact that inspite of all the issues like poverty, illiteracy, corruption, we have till this date been the most secular country in the world. Like the United States, India has a federal form of government, however, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system. Every state has a chief minister who has authority vested in his individual state. In my opinion, the Government works, considering the fact that the running Government is elected through democratic elections. India boasts of some of the most accredited educational institutions like the IIM’s for business & IIT’s & NIT’s for engineering. Post independence; after 1947, India has made commendable contributions in the field of nuclear technology & aerospace. Infact Indian President is a former nuclear scientist & Prime Minister is an Oxford graduate in Economics having given India the best economic reforms till date.
When our current Prime Minister was a Finance Minister back in 1992, he designed some economic policies really ahead of its times in terms of opening the economy & investing in telecommunications. The advent of the digital age, and the large number of young and educated population fluent in English, is gradually transforming India as an important 'back office' destination for global companies for the outsourcing of their customer services and technical support. India is a major exporter of highly-skilled workers in software and financial services, and software engineering. As a result IT is a major contributor of Indian economics today. All the financial magazines list India as the country where the most amount of remittances are made from US. Owing to the fluency in English & technological expertise which is available in abundance in form of the educated masses, Indian economy has grow manifold times within the last 10 years from IT outsourcing. Other economic contributors include agriculture, manufacturing, textile, tourism etc. Don’t we all buy clothes “Made in India” from the GAP around the corner in the local Mall?
Every country has its share of social & economic problems & India is no exception. India faces a burgeoning population and the challenge of reducing economic and social inequality. Poverty remains a serious problem, although it has declined significantly since independence, mainly due to the green revolution and economic reforms. Today, India is the fourth largest economy of the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), only behind USA, China & Japan. Economy is expected to boom in the coming years & it should bring around social changes as well.
I have been in the states for last 6 years now, & today I think its home for me. I have made some really nice friends here & have had memorable experiences. I owe a lot to India & so do I to US. Today I think globally, like there are no geographic borders physically but only in our minds & any place is just a flight’s distance away. I have started believing in the concept of having two homes. No matter where I go; Canada, Detroit, Atlanta, when I take exit 68 on I-65 south, I know I am home!
