Young NRIs in awe of Incredible India

BENGALURU: “I came to India with no expectations. But, I am going back amazed how technologically advanced India is,“ said Prashant Swamy , 23, a law student from Fiji.

Swamy is part of the 160-strong delegation of young Indians who live and have grown up overseas.They are visiting the country under the Ministry of External Affairs' Know India Programme. The three-week orientation programme for diaspora youth aims to connect them with different facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in various fields.

Swamy , whose roots are in Tamil Nadu, was surprised how his perceptions of the country were broken down on his maiden visit. “I am definitely coming back soon. The next time around, I will try to meet students from different universities in the country to get a perspective of what it means to live here,“ he said.


Many like Swamy have not had the chance to visit India during their growing up years as immigrant parents chased their dreams in foreign lands.

Amit Patel, 23, a finance student from South Africa shares how before signing up for the programme, many from the Indian community there wrote India down. “They lowered the bar for me. But when I came here, I fell in love with everything,“ he said.

The friendly people who took time out to explain directions, coexistence of different religions, and India's capacity to balance religion with modernity , will be his takeaways from the visit, said Patel. “If I get an opportunity , I would love to come and study or work here,“ he added.

Architecture student Sona Amir Sardari Goudarzi, from Iran, who has been visiting India along with her mother whose roots are in Punjab said that being a part of the programme gave her an entirely different perspective on India. “I've always come here for family functions which circled around Delhi. But under the programme, we visited Kerala, Agra, Bengaluru and I saw how vast India is culturally,“ she said.

Besides that, interacting with young Indians from other countries has also added immensely to her experiences, she said.She wants to come back and explore Kerala and learn how to dance. Her takeaway from the visit has been India's rapid change in the last decade and the freedom that its citizens enjoy. “This is a real democracy,“ she said, adding that she would love to come and live in Bengaluru because of its pleasant climate and cleanliness.

For young Indians like her, the Prime Minister's emphasis on Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) in his address at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bengaluru, comes as a great initiative.

“It should be easy for NRIs like me to come and work or study here. Most of us have to pay huge fees as NRIs. Having OCI status and facilitating ease of coming to India will be a great boost,“ she said.