I see the emotions here. I have been living in the east coast of the US since 1995. I do like to be called an Indian. But truth is, NRI's are not Indians. They are, well, legal or illegal aliens in the countries in which they currently live. Some are citizens in this "foreign" land - and now they are Americans or British or Japanese or anything else - but Indians.
People who left India are not Indians anymore. Why? Because, most of us do not like India. Plain and simple. Once we move out, we think of India as an underdeveloped country, overally populated and poor. We go back there once in a year, or two - sometimes. But we vacation there. We attend marriages, we drink coffee at Barista, the only water that suits us is Bisleri or Aquafina, and the only way we travel is either when there's a driver, or a pilot. We suddenly become susceptible to dust and smoke, and cannot think of spending a few hours in Summer without A/C. Yes, we may be Indians by birth. We may be Indians by traditions and culture. And we may be trying our best to make our surroundings more "Indianized". But, we are not Indians. Hate to say this, but we left India with a choice, and we won't go back there even if there's a chance. Let's not call ourselves Indians. When we say "NRI", the emphasis is more on the "N" and the "R", and much less - almost non-existant - on "I".
RE:NRI are not Indians
by RaNjiTh on Aug 08, 2008 07:25 AM Permalink
However, This is true for indians who leave india to come to Japan, US or Australia etc. But i have seen that NRI's in the MiddleEast do have a sense of coming back to india , as they have all left India in the first place to earn the high amount of foreign money and live the Upper Middle class life..Thats all. Thats' what they all just want, And after their service of time is over, they would get back to india, settle there, But sure, They never contributed their worth to india, But they atleast make a few families live a decent life back in india , reducing the burden of poverty , poorness and sadishness which prevails with a lot of ppl who live in india, work in india.
