December 24, 2008
Ashok
India
expat, India, relocate, reverse brain drain, united states
Read an interesting article about expat Indians returning to India from United States – and then realize that India now is not the same as the India they left years ago. It’s interesting how people deal with that difference between expectations and reality. One thing that really stood out for me in that article is the following quote from one of the expats who has gone “home”:
In America, you can be comfortably unhappy. In India, you can be uncomfortably happy!
How true! That pretty much sums up my experience of living in these two countries!
December 12, 2008
Ashok
Online Rants
bay area, layoffs
The traffic on San Francisco bay area roads seems to have gone down quite a bit these days, especially in the last 3,4 weeks. I first thought it might be the Thanksgiving holidays, but there is probably more to it – the job layoffs! We seem to be bleeding hundreds of jobs everyday here.
I think this one is going to be lot more brutal compared to the tech bust in 2001/2002. Having gone through the pain ourselves back then, I can very well relate to the anxiety and uncertainty of those affected by these layoffs. It’s no fun.
Anyway, those people lucky enough to hold on to their dear jobs through these tough days will at least have less chaotic commute I guess!
December 5, 2008
Ashok
India
India, mumbai, pakistan, terrorism, united states
Yet another terrorist attack in India, killing close to 180 people including Americans, Britons, and Israelis. My heart-felt condolences go out to the families of those killed or injured, and I hope passage of time will bring some comfort to them.
Lot of Indians are obviously upset with Pakistan, for what they think is the direct support provided by certain sections of their military and spy agency (ISI). But as of now, there doesn’t seem to be any direct role played by their civilian government in these attacks.
Going to war would be disastrous for both countries. India is in the middle of a great economic growth phase now and Pakistan on the brink of bankruptcy. The last thing both countries need is another war. I am fairly certain that most people in both countries would rather prefer peace.
For decades, the biggest problem for Pakistan has been the lack of a credible civilian government and democratic institutions like judiciary. Their military and ISI have exploited that situation, often using India as an excuse. Going to war now will only provide yet another opportunity for them to undercut the current civilian government in Pakistan.
Instead of starting a new war, I hope the Indian government uses diplomatic and economic pressure on Pakistan to get something good out of this attack. United States has a much bigger role to play this time (and a lot more to lose) in case of war between the two rivals. Pakistan will almost certainly move its forces from Afghanistan border if a war breaks out with India, and that will only give breathing room to Taliban there. US would definitely want to avoid that. So I hope India would use that leverage to put pressure on Pakistan to deal with the terrorist organizations on their soil.
As for the masses back home in India, it’s easy to vent out on Pakistan, but what about the Indian government that utterly failed in preventing such attacks? Every time there is a terrorist attack in India, all hell breaks loose for a few days, and then everyone goes back to their lives – until the next attack strikes. We, as a collective nation, do not make sure the government does enough to prevent future attacks. Some say that daily life is such a struggle for most people in India that they don’t really care after a few days and just move on with their lives. I agree with that point, but when are we going to see an end to these terrorist attacks until we make sure we hold our own government responsible for earlier failures?
Recent Comments