Why build other nations' futures when India needs its brightest minds now?
In recent weeks, more than 1,000 international students in the United States—half of them Indian—have had their visas abruptly revoked or their legal status terminated. Many of these cases stem from minor administrative issues, yet the impact has been devastating—young lives and dreams left suspended, futures thrown into doubt.According to reports, the state department revoked international student visas over alleged campus activism, but universities report the cancellation extends far beyond these cases, with many students facing deportation.advertisementThis is not just a bureaucratic mishap, but a signal. The global landscape, once seen as welcoming and full of opportunity, is shifting. For Indian students and professionals abroad, the message is increasingly clear: the systems they once trusted are no longer guaranteed to support them.
Mohit Kamboj Bhartiya, Philanthropist, Political Visionary, and Social Advocate, shares a powerful message: why build other nations' futures when India needs you now. As global landscapes shift, it's time for Indian youth to invest in their dreams back home.TIME TO RETHINK
For decades, India's brightest minds have sought success beyond its borders, contributing to innovation, technology, and economic growth in distant lands. While international exposure has undeniable benefits, the time has come to ask a fundamental question: Why keep building someone else's future, when India needs you more than ever?LAND OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIESadvertisementToday, India stands at the threshold of a new era. With a stable political environment, significant investments in infrastructure, and a rapidly maturing digital ecosystem, the country is primed for a surge in innovation-led growth. From fintech to agritech, renewable energy to artificial intelligence, the possibilities are vast—and they're here.Union Minister Piyush Goyal recently spoke at the Startup Mahakumbh, urging young Indians to embrace a new mindset. His message was clear: India needs innovators. He called for an end to the habit of replicating foreign business models and instead challenged the youth to create transformative solutions tailored to India's unique challenges.BUILD STRENGTH FROM WITHIN
We need to draw lessons from China—not politically, but strategically. China didn't rise to economic prominence by exporting its best talent, but built its strength by investing in domestic capabilities, fostering institutions, and creating value from within. India, with its vast pool of talent, entrepreneurial energy, and growing policy support, is equally capable of charting that path.To India's young dreamers: your ambitions don't require a foreign address to flourish. What they need is belief, action, and a renewed commitment to build where your roots are. Instead of exporting our brightest minds, it's time to invest them here—into startups, scientific research, social ventures, and sustainable growth.advertisementIndia has all the ingredients to lead the next wave of global innovation. But that future can only become reality if its most promising minds choose to stay, build, and lead from within.The moment to act is now. Let's stop making other nations stronger with our ideas. Let's start making India unstoppable.
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Also Read: Manu Joseph: Just how 'innocent' are civilians during times of war? Yet, it makes sense. That is the nature of love, at least in most people. Like loveable people, a nation need not be filled with excellent qualities. A nation is not just pretty rivers and extraordinary bridges and skyscrapers and clean lanes. In fact, people struggle to define what a nation is—what unites all people. A nation is primarily a habit. A habit shared by diverse people. Nothing else binds a nation apart from this, and a love for this habit. So it is reasonable for a nation to expect its people to have that love as a fundamental attribute that cannot be questioned—and prudent for those who don't feel it to keep mum. Also, not loving a nation makes you a cultural orphan. There was a time, not long ago, when a few Indians—disenchanted with India or unable to respect it—assumed they were 'global people,' by which they almost never meant they belonged in Somalia, but that they belonged in the West. Also Read: Manu Joseph: We had more shame in the 1980s: Recall Bofors? But a lesson that this generation of India's upper class has learnt is that you primarily belong to your own people, because no one else cares enough. You need a home because everyone else has one. Without patriotism, a person is in the limbo of cultural orphanhood. Most people are patriots—including the new upper-middle-class and affluent Indians—because they do not belong outside India. Many are uncomfortable outside India. Everything about places outside India tends to make them suffer, probably after an initial one week of excitement. Even the chaos of India comforts them more than the tranquillity of a rich-world town. Even so, there are many people who value their emotions so much that they don't give them away easily. Or they value the words that come out of their mouth—the meaning of those words. People who want to attach a certain substance to what they say. And they are unable to say that they love India—partly because they are unable to say this aloud anymore. The author is a journalist, novelist, and the creator of the Netflix series, 'Decoupled'.
