International Indian

Internationally, Indians are considered to be hardworking disciplined and goal
oriented. Their commitment to work and their out of the box Indian way of thinking
makes them coveted professionals. An info-sec consultant in Jeddah asserts Indians
are perceived as reliable honest and trustworthy. Indians preferred over others
because Indians are not only well qualified but are also willing to learn new things
and work hard to get to the top. Owing to conservative upbringing where (in India)
respect towards elders is ingrained in Indians since childhood they are viewed as
polite and patient. Indians are able to work well even with limited resources, and
this is definitely a plus point Indians’ intelligence coupled with their tolerance
and simplicity is valued world over. One Indian scientist who did scientific
research in Canada for four years opines, being an Indian is a definite asset, for
one, language is not a barrier. Under the same conditions abroad Indians find their
Chinese colleagues struggling to understand scientific literature and write science
in good English. Although it is the ideas that matter, they think Indians have an
edge over Chinese in communicating ideas effectively.
On the other hand, being an Indian abroad comes with its own set of obstacles.
Racism, however discreet, is definitely prevalent. There are many misconceptions
regarding Indians, who are thought to be unhygienic possibly due to the notion that
India was poor and disease struck. A lot of people abroad are unaware that English
is the official medium of instruction in the majority of Indian city schools. When
an Indian taught undergraduates in Canada, the students were surprised with their
teacher’s fluency in English and ability to communicate ideas effectively in
English.
Only people who are ignorant about Indians fail to see how intelligent articulate,
worldly wise, enterprising hardworking and open Indians are. Being an Indian is not
at all a drawback in any way and Indians command a lot of respect Worldwide.
So, for a modern and educated Indian (or any person of any other nationality), it is
natural to be an international citizen. Indian or any person of any other
nationality needs to blend into the world socially and culturally albeit
economically.
People of all nationalities do want to maintain their roots since it is their
ancestry, but at the same time they have to blend in if they want to immerse in the
global world.
Today, Indians are respected as professionals and academics in a big way. India is
known to be a major competitor in the field of IT. Many Indians living in India and
abroad have received high honors from foreign governments and international
institutions in diverse fields. Author Kiran Desai won the Man Booker Prize last
year, the second Indian to do so. This year Rajendra Pachauri shared the Nobel Prize
for Peace with Al Gore. Innumerable Indians have lived and worked abroad for long
periods and blended with society there, but still they continue to make their
country proud by retaining their Indian identity.
There is no doubt that India is an emerging super power. Foreign investors think the
opportunities presented in South Asia’s biggest economy are unlimited. A case in
point, of the $150 billion foreign companies invested in developing economies last
year; one-fifth was invested in India, the hottest of the hot markets today. Given
that the rest of the world has this much faith in us, it is time we realized that
being Indian at this crucial time in world history can only be an advantage,. Being
an Indian is nothing to be ashamed of; in fact it is definitely something to be
proud of. —