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The Immigration subject has never been more vocally talked about, since witnessing a mass exodus of Indians walking out of their country and moving over to English-speaking nations, especially the United States of America, which today harbors more Indians than ever before, alongside the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Today, India and Indians are mentioned and talked about almost anywhere, making the headlines even if it amounts to only a small contribution to a large undertaking, just because the person or the entity in question is an Indian.
While the exodus to exotic nations continues, India has seen a drastic increase in its living conditions, economic standards, and heavy-duty artillery use in creating modern infrastructures, without emulating the West in the process, creating a standalone identity for itself. Since the dawn of Independence back in 1947, India has only progressed towards amping up the country's long-lost economic value, and today it stands as one of the many powerhouse economies, the world has ever known.
As per reports, most small businesses find enormous success as a result of business-friendly policies, which has made India today the world's most entrepreneur-friendly nation. We see on and off, celebrities and influencers singing Indian praise anywhere they go, and for anything they do, yet they along with any aspiring Indians have built their base outside the country, covering themselves with the shed of Western comfort. If India is deemed a progressive nation, with record-breaking achievements in the recent decade, why has there been a concerning number of migration records?
When viewing the glories from a distance, it's easy to lose yourself in the glitz of gold hanging on, and the slick newspaper headlines mentioning these feats, but even today if the value of the rupee is matched against the Euro, or GBP, or even the dollar, the former falls way out of the league, as the reality of being far away from the top standard dream hits like a chord on the back.
The political system in the West, even though consisting of enormous loopholes, is considered more sophisticated and civil, in comparison to the Indian political system, where things take a violent turn just by sounding the wrong way. The way of life, in general, is said to be more liberating in the streets, rather than just in the books, as the latter is the case in India, where the acceptable methods stay glued to the pages, but are not implemented on the streets.
Everything above is not the sound of music glorifying the West, as the latter is trenched with issues, Indians could never imagine seeing the sight of, but when we start comparing the migration rates, alongside the developments seen in India, the basic question of holistic developments strikes a light in our hearts and the realization hits when we see the middle class, and the underdeveloped places staying and resembling the beaten down colonial Indian.
When India is celebrating the historic submission organized for world leaders to gather and interact on issues, or a significant achievement in the space program (which is significant, and thunderous), the base or the grand old way of life is put to the corner.
People living below the poverty line, do not just face issues with food, but also the treatment of cruelty they endure via the local administration, which for the most part only acts upon the orders of the seniors, even if that requires putting on a good display of behavior towards these vulnerable groups, yet we do not see any policy hardening this.
Local residents, mostly middle class, live amidst a politically driven group, who are in control of the area, have the local cops under their payroll, and plant fear amongst the locals, yet nothing stringent is seen being done by the center to curb the influence of local affluents having their way with the authorities.
Most importantly, people, especially women are still subjected to medieval practices in villages and underdeveloped areas of the country where it gets difficult to fit in with modernity. Women are unable to get through the basic practices, let alone live up to their aspirations, as we are constantly hit with news about a particular group facing hardships, which doesn't look like something we should be hearing in 2024.
All of the above has made a clear distinction about what the status of India is, and how the country in terms of mindset, stands divided when we see one part of the nation with extensive economic and social developments taking place, whereas oppression and non-neutrality being rampant on the other side, with no clear developments. This doesn’t help the country sync up and kills the dream of seeing the country symmetrical from both sides.
Migrants, especially today, have gravely cited few of these reasons for their actions, although many other issues take hold in their decision-making.
Seeing the rapid progression of India in many fields contends the fact that becoming the world leader in the coming decades is not a distant dream, however, clearing the issues sitting at the heart of the nation stands crucial, as that is where changes take place and helps create a positive mindset.
Making tremendous changes in underdeveloped areas would help harbor confidence and trust amongst young individuals, who can think of contributing more towards the country's economy, rather than assist an already money-pooled empire in the west. Creating changes and policies on issues for which India is known outside, will only take the country one step forward to an optimistic modern future while retaining its traditions, culture, and talent.