Almost all of the over 1,500 non-resident Indians and people of Indian origin gathered in New Delhi for the 2nd Pravasi Bharatiya Divas fete are convinced that India is shining bright on the global horizon, but they say there are pitfalls that must be avoided.
In fact, almost every statement an NRI or a PIO made about India's great potential or its bright future was punctuated with a 'but', make it 'BUT'.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: The Full Coverage
This BUT, which essentially is an expression of doubt in India's ability to achieve what it has set out to - the status of a developed country by 2020 -- encompassed questions on integrity, attitude, commitment, ability and even the knowledge of what needs to be done to get there.
Ranjit S Sondhi, a manufacturer of construction chemicals in Cleveland in the US is very proud of the progress India has made. He left India in 1968 to study in the US and set up his business in 1973.
Sondhi was enjoying the music and food at the lunch hosted by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha on the first day of the PBD fete when rediff.com caught up with him.
"My main concern with India is the integrity of its people. Simple things like not keeping promises. Not keeping appointments. This can be very damaging in business," Sondhi said.
Attitudinal change is a must, Sondhi said, if India wants to join the big league. "Indians are very intelligent. They are being recognised the world over for their intellect. I would say there is an opportunity..." he said.
Sajal Sahay and his cousin were in India because they "love this country dearly". Sahay is with Philips Oral Healthcare Group Inc in the US. Born in Hyderabad and brought up in Mumbai, his heroes are Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy Lal Kishenchand Advani.
"India is shining no doubt, but let's not lose focus. Let's move from emotionalism to action. If I have equally good opportunities in India and China, I will opt for India. But if what China is offering me is even slightly better, I will go there," Sahay said.
And how does one make this switch from emotions to action? "Accountability. Let's decide the road we are going to take [to make India a developed country] and then set up gates where we take stock of what has been achieved," he said.
Rondeep Walis, US, looked a little lost in the din of drums. Dreamy eyed, he ambled around. He did not look like somebody who would count the business cards collected through the day in his hotel room before going to sleep.
"Oh! India is booming no doubt. You hear people talking about India all the time. But I personally believe there is too much focus on economy and business. India needs to focus its policies and resources on the poor," he said.
Walis, a 30-plus Internet programmer and activist, was born and brought up in the US, but has kept in touch with his roots.
Asked if he believed India would be a superpower some day, Walis smiled and said: "I don't think that is a just aim to have."
Rabinder N Malik worked at the United Nations for 42 years and settled in Japan after his retirement. He is interested in giving something back to India and that is why he registered as a delegate for the PBD.
After a plenary on education on Sunday, Malik told rediff.com: "True that India has foreign exchange reserves of $100 billion and doing very well. But at the same time while we want to be a developed country, we must not forget that nearly one third of our people are poor. Let's not talk about developing and developed, but I would rather say think more about alleviating the poverty.
"Let's say from Japan the image of India... high-tech, IT. But once they [the Japanese] come here they go to, say, some slum... they go back completely disappointed.
"As far as I am concerned, I have come here to understand India... I have been away too long. Indeed India has a good potential, India has always had a good potential, but when are we going to make it a reality."
What is exactly the problem -- corruption, politics...?
"Corruption is one thing. From my perspective it [the problem] is our integrity, our character, our sense of responsibility, to be responsible for myself and my surroundings. I would like an Indian to be clean... Japanese are the cleanest people and cleanliness, our Gandhiji said, is next to only godliness... we say it, but we don't do it," said Malik.
"And please don't wait for the government do something. Governments are there, they are necessary. But it's up to ourselves, only when we change will the things change," he added.
Pravin Thakur, a fourth generation South African of Indian origin, sells insurance products. He believes India has the potential to be a global player, but does not like the word superpower. "India should be a global leader and a motivator of human possibilities, an inspiration to human endeavour and achievement... superpower has a negative connotation."
Do events like this Pravasi Bharatiya Divas help?
"Being a first-time visitor to India, I must say I was very, very impressed with the way this conference was organised. It was a very dazzling experience. However, once the dazzle is gone, one starts seeing things in clearer perspective and a different sort of understanding and just might want to know so what is the value and the benefit of the entire experience of gathering the diaspora together. One then wants to question and interrogate the India shining experience. And I want to know why, after all these years, India is welcoming back its pravasis.
"But I don't think there is need for any scepticism or cynicism in the process. We need to take it at its face value and look upon ourselves as... that we are the children of India and we have a responsibility to our motherland," Thakur said.
Janice Aliar, 24, is a student of International Law and Criminology at Free University, Amsterdam. A native of Bihar, Janice was one of the 20 interns at the PBD.
"I think it [India becoming a developed country 2020] is possible. In the last couple of years India already has changed a lot. I think if we work hard, we can do it," she said.
At the PBD, Advani coined a new slogan for India -- 'If it feels like heaven, it must India 2003' -- inspired self-admittedly by an advertisement for Raymonds suit lengths.
From what the NRI/PIO are saying it does not ring true, but it sure is close.
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