Punjab’s new chief minister, Aam Aadmi Party’sBhagwant Mann, recently expressed deep concern over brain drain from the state. Similar concerns were raised at a pan-India level in December 2021 when the Narendra Modi government tabled a report before Parliament stating that over eight lakh Indians had given up their passportssince 2015.The tabling of this report coupled with ParagAgrawal’s appointment as Twitter’s CEOlast yearhas triggered a debate on the infamous Indian brain drain.
“Brain drain” is acolloquial term used to describelarge-scale migration of skilled human capital that causes a country to lose its innovative capabilities and limits its economic growth. This phenomenon assumes particular relevance inthecase of developing countriesbecausethey are ofteninshort supply of skilledpeople.
Why is this brain drain happening?
When thispatternwas first witnessed in the 1960s, multiple pull factors such as better opportunities in terms of education, employment, standard of living, were attributedtothe loss of intellectual capital from India. However, the Indian situation has changed drastically since the economic reforms of the 1990s. A corollary of these reforms wasthecreation of better employment opportunities and higher standards of living. Thus, it would be premature to disregard this movement as a search for greener economic pastures only.
The rationale for thecurrentoutflow lies in the composition of the exodus,which primarily consists of millennials, who, unlike their predecessors, are far more attracted to the social liberation offered by the host countries, which predominantly areWestern liberal societies. The millennial generation, troubled by the rigid social structures of their home country, are forced to find refuge in Western societies, which provide them with much-needed social freedom coupled with better financial opportunities.
According toGlobal Wealth Migration Reviewnearly 5,000 Indian millionaires, i.e., 2 per cent of India’s high net worth individuals, have moved abroad in 2020.
Also read: Learning by rote, studying for marks results in non-ambitious workforce, brain drain
How Indian social structures contribute to brain drain
India’ssocial structure is impaired by the importance it ascribes to one’ssocial class, caste and kinship. Our society places social cohesion above individual freedom and, as a result, is reluctant to embrace change. A classic exampleofthis is Indian corporations.Theyare predominantly family owned businesses, where key positions are assigned as per kinship rather than merit. As a result,talented individuals are often precluded from reaching higher echelons within such organisations.
Ayoung personwould find iteasierto achieve a higher position in companies like MicrosoftandTwitter than in companies like Reliance or Aditya Birla Group. In light of the same, Indian millennials have started looking towards the West, where owing to its liberal spirit,there isgreater possibility to acquireaposition of value.
Gender inequalityis another unexplored aspect of our social structurethatis contributing tothebrain drain. The gender disparities that exist in education, labour force participation, and income levels in India have acted as push factors for skilled female migrants. India’s female labour force participationis as low as22.8per cent –a manifestation of a rigid division of labourthatdisproportionately places the responsibility of household and care activities on women.The structural oppression that women have to face in Indian social setups has led to a skewed sex ratio in labour force participation and has exacerbated the gender wage gap. It is owing to these disparities that women are deciding to leave India withnointention to return.
Also read: You know who’s really going local? Not RWA uncles, but Indian millennials
‘Gay brain drain’
Furthermore,Indian societyis highly discriminatory when it comes totheLGBTQIA+ community and this has virtually contributed to a new variant of brain drain famously described as the‘gay brain drain’. People from gender and sexual minorities are on the move towards societies where they are promised due rights and dignity.
Members of this community, owing to the hom*ophobic treatmentthatis meted out to them, are often forced to choose a career path that would take them out of the country.
It is high time that we address the underlying problems of our social structure that have become a major roadblock in the development ofthemillennial generation and are pushing them out of the country. Creation of a liberal and tolerant society where a person’s caste, class and gender would not preclude them from realising their potential would certainly go a long way towards addressing these problems.
The author is a student at Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and a fellow at students for liberty fellowship for freedom. Views are personal.
