Every time an Indian becomes a CEO of an American company, the news divides people into three groups . Those who rejoice that someone with a remote Indian connection is doing well. Those who point out that it is pointless to rejoice, since the very reason these people became CEOs is because they managed to escape the Indian crab mentality. The third group laments brain drain.
While external brain drain - migration of Indian talent to the US and other places is well known and well documented, I think we don‘t realize the problem with ‘internal’ brain drain. The loss of some of the brightest minds to medicine. Now don’t get me wrong - I am not saying you don’t need to be smart to become a doctor. However, beyond a point, raw grey cells and laser sharp IQ won’t take you far in medicine. Especially in India where the cultural expectation is to join some clinical branch.
Part of the reason for medicine craze is the craving for a decent income, without undue risk of failure. One may not strike gold in medicine, but at least doctors don’t usually end up dirt poor. There’s the added glamour of “doing good” - though I am not sure how many of those guys who say, “I am going to become a cardiologist and give free treatment to the world” really mean it. May be they think it’s the “official” line. May be they have romantic view of working in some remote village. May be it has something to do with emotions and prestige, although the latter is evaporating fast.
Both medicine and engineering offer the potential of class mobility , but only in medicine can one consolidate that gains over two generations or more by “buying’ seats for children and making it a family business. A less common exit route is politics - where the skill set and/or profession may give doctors an edge over others, although this edge is likely small.
The practical reasons eventually result in “internal” brain drain towards medicine. I don’t know if it will change, but as India becomes economically stronger, it’s bound to.
We have more than 100 unicorns in India, but no Google or Apple. Not even Byte Dance. One way to change that is to stop putting medicine on a pedestal and start aspiring to be creators, CEOs and global business leaders. Each time a person of Indian origin reaches great heights, it sparks a small hope that some day we shall not just run a company built by others, but build something from scratch. Some day the world will think of quality products and businesses , not just brown skinned dorks when they hear the word “Made in India”. That would be our tryst with destiny.
