CHENNAI: Urging a strategic reversal of India’s long-standing talent outflow, Sridhar Vembu, founder and chief scientist of Zoho Corporation, on Monday appealed to Indians in the United States to consider returning home, linking India’s global standing directly to its technological strength.
In an open letter addressed to “brothers and sisters from Bharat”, Vembu recalled his own journey to the US nearly four decades ago and acknowledged the opportunities it offered to Indian professionals. “America was good to us. For that we must remain grateful, gratitude is our Bharatiya way,” he wrote.
At the same time, he pointed to what he described as a perceptible shift in attitudes within sections of American society. “A significant number of Americans… believe that Indians ‘take away’ American jobs and our success… was unfairly earned,” he said, cautioning that such views could shape the environment in the years ahead.
Vembu argued that electoral changes alone would not alter this trajectory, describing the political landscape as a contest between the hard right and the woke left, in which Indians remain mere bystanders.
He placed the debate within a broader national context, asserting that the respect Indians command globally is tied to India’s economic and technological progress. “If India remains poor, we will receive lectures… with pity or with scorn. We must not confuse either with respect,” he said.
Emphasising that prosperity and security flow from technological capability, he noted that India continues to produce significant talent but has exported much of it over the years. Calling for a return of this talent pool, he said, “Bharat Mata needs your talent… our youthful population needs the technology leadership you gained. Let’s do it with a missionary zeal,” he added.