The nation’s masses are being called upon by public speakers of all hues to be united and patriotic for ensuring solidarity as well as sovereignty of the country in a steadily deteriorating scenario of unrest all over the land. The only perceptible response to the clarion call for contributing to the overall progress of the nation, particularly during the speeches by the law-makers in different elected bodies in the range of Gram Panchayats to the country’s Parliament seems to be the road shows and oath-taking as well as high decibel sloganeering on many occasions such as Independence Day, Republic Day, birth-day remembrance of the land’s saints, statesmen and various legends of the past such as Chennamma of Kittur, Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Rayanna of Sangolli and Veer Savarkar, the latest to be bestowed that honour being Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India, credited with the monumental achievement of sending 500-plus rulers of different regions of the land packing, including the King of the erstwhile Princely State of Mysore. After high hopes of the country’s people marching on a path of revival and progress, they seem to have drifted from the resolve, slipping backwards.

A report by the Asian Development Bank published recently and quoted by a widely circulated daily, has brought out that 17 million Indians had left the country in 2017, making India the nation with the highest number of emigrants in the world. While their leaving the country in pursuit of greener pastures abroad has its fair side, the causes of the phenomenon need to be studied through the prism of reality.

In an article published recently in the British daily broadsheet, The Telegraph (founded in 1855), India’s case of movement of emigrants has been discussed, pointing out that the more likely cause for Indians leaving the country is distress— economic and social— and discrimination. The United Arab Emirates and The United States of America, nations with better employment opportunities, appear to be the preferred destinations for Indians. The particular matter of educated youth, marked for their academic merit, moving out with no intention of returning to their home country reminds one of the Biblical narrative about the prodigal son, who first deserts his father with a share of the family estate as he sets out but returns after squandering the wealth only be welcomed with love and glee. But, the case of parents whose educated children have gone away continues to be different, creating the prestigious class of NRIs (non-returning Indians).

While the country’s successive governments are obliged to adhere to the principle of social and economic inclusiveness of all sections of the population, the intent being noble, some sections have faced discrimination in the process of implementing measures in compliance of the principle. More need not be said on the disenchantment caused to the land’s educated youth.