A Passage from India

I found this article of interest, an essay on one man's journey to America and his thoughts on outsourcing, the American educational system, and life as an immigrant (from India to the US and, perhaps for his children in the future, from the US back to India). Selected quotations:

"When I moved to Queens, in New York City, at the age of 14, I found myself, for the first time in my life, considered good at math. In Bombay, math was my worst subject, and I regularly found my place near the bottom of the class rankings in that rigorous subject. But in my American school, so low were their standards that I was - to my parents' disbelief - near the top of the class. It was the same in English and, unexpectedly, in American history, for my school in Bombay included a detailed study of the American Revolution. My American school curriculum had, of course, almost nothing on the subcontinent's freedom struggle. I was mercilessly bullied during the 1979-80 hostage crisis, because my classmates couldn't tell the difference between Iran and India.[*] If I were now to move with my family to India, my children - who go to one of the best private schools in New York - would have to take remedial math and science courses to get into a good school in Bombay."

...

"There is a perverse hypocrisy about the whole jobs debate, especially in Europe. The colonial powers invaded countries like India and China, pillaged them of their treasures and commodities and made sure their industries weren't allowed to develop, so they would stay impoverished and unable to compete.[**] Then the imperialists complained when the destitute people of the former colonies came to their shores to clean their toilets and dig their sewers; they complained when later generations came to earn high wages as doctors and engineers; and now they're complaining when their jobs are being lost to children of the empire who are working harder than they are. My grandfather was once confronted by an elderly Englishman in a London park who asked, 'Why are you here?' My grandfather responded, 'We are the creditors.' We are here because you were there.

"The rich countries can't have it both ways. They can't provide huge subsidies for their agricultural conglomerates and complain when Indians who can't make a living on their farms then go to the cities and study computers and take away their jobs. Why are Indians willing to write code for a tenth of what Americans make for the same work? It's not by choice; it's because they're still struggling to stand on their feet after 200 years of colonial rule."

...

"And just in case, I'm making sure my children learn Hindi."


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Personal Comments:

* And they still can't tell the difference...between Hindus and Muslims, Sihks and Muslims, etc.

** This sentence reminded me of a facile argument I used to see on the Beliefnet Islam Debate boards. "We Christians of the West, we're so great; the greatness of the American/European economy proves how wonderful Christianity is..." ad nauseum. But this guy shows that he understands the historical roots to how Western economies got to the point where they are today and why economies in former colonial lands (Muslim, Hindu, African, etc.) still struggle today.