It would seem to be an anomaly, even a blasphemy, but the best way Indians can serve India is by migrating abroad. ‘Protestant work ethic’ may have become a turn of phrase to signify hard, conscientious work in general, secular terms, but it still points to the work ethic from northern and northwestern Europe and the US under the Protestant, especially Calvinist, faith – a ‘civilisational’ virtue. The Indian migran, now more than ever, punches above the ‘India’ weight. Not just in the tech towns of the US but across the world, where ‘being Indian’ has spawned its own ‘Protestant work ethic’. By making one’s mark elsewhere, Indians can amplify their ‘Indianness‘ not just in their new homelands but also to those of us ‘back in India’ who can emulate their qualities.
Spreading a ‘national’ characteristic has been historically the stuff of empires. Showcasing capabilities in far-flung ‘colonies‘, a small island nation set up its reputation as a people of industrialists, entrepreneurs and explorers. To hijack an imperialist’s words, by showcasing capabilities abroad, never will so much be owed by so many to so few – ‘so many’ being resident Indians, so few being their NRI emissaries.
