Is it integrity?

Hi friends, the word integrity has got many definitions and all of them are holistic in one way or the other. Whenever I use the word integrity either in my conversation or in my articles, I take its meaning or definition as “having sense of honesty and truthfulness in action”. Many times I tried to give a broader meaning to the word integrity but failed miserably. I love the world integrity and want to be honest in all my actions either personal or professional. As a result of stiff competition in all walks of our life where only the fittest will be survived we see a drop in morality. Now, people don’t bother about right or wrong and want to reach their goal by any means. I want to recall an old incident which happened in the year 1976 when I was studying in SJVP College, Harihar town which is situated in Karnataka State (southern part of India). Much water has flown down the River Tungabhadra which is the main source of water supply and power generation in Harihar and in this region of India but I still remember that gathering in our college hall in which a doctor was invited to address us. The doctor was son of a well-known local business man who was born, brought up in Harihar. After completing his Bachelors degree in medicine in a near by medical college he has flown to USA for higher studies in medicine. He became a proud holder of green card of USA. He became part and parcel of US society and used to visit India on a visitors visa very rarely. In one of those rare visits he was invited to our college where he was a student once upon a time. We were curious and enthusiastic to see and hear an America settled Indian but the sad part was he could not address us either in our local language Kannada which was also his mother tongue or in Hindi which is our National language. First he addressed the gathering of both students as well as teachers and he was very proud to talk about America and its culture. After his speech there was a question and answer session in which we were permitted to ask questions about USA and associated things. But before taking any questions he told the gathering in clear terms: “Since I am a citizen of America, I request all of you not to ask me any such question which may not be in the interest my country America. I don’t want to discuss negative aspects of my country and hope you will not cross boundary and embarrass me. It is my duty to uphold the image of my country where ever I go.”

I was totally confused after hearing his statement which was also a warning signal for naughty students who were eager to ask some specific questions about US culture. At the end of the gathering, the US doctor was a relieved person as no body embarrassed him with such questions and at that moment he might be thinking that he has upheld the dignity and image of USA in front of Indians. I thought, as a citizen of US he was always on his toes to protect its interest but whether he was showing same eagerness to protect India’s interest as long as he was its citizen. Before taking up the citizenship of America (for fulfilling his ambitions) whether he has forgotten the naked truth that thousands of rupees were spent on him by Government of India to make him a medical professional. In those years when he was studying medicine, India was counted in poor countries list as 80% of its population was not fortunate enough to have 2 times food and shelter. In spite of its poor financial condition, India never compromised on allocation of grants for professional education. This doctor in question never thought of his moral responsibility towards India and poor fellow countrymen while switching his citizenship but always tried to safeguard his adopted country. I am happy that he has shown his integrity towards USA but I always wonder why he has not shown his integrity while changing his loyalty.

According to data available, 12% of American scientists are of Indian origin, 38 percent of doctors in America are Indians, 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians, 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians. I think, integrity shown by our countrymen towards USA after embracing its citizenship has made this possible but at what cost? Can India afford this brain drain?