Some Indians Find It Tough to Go Home Again

In the New York Times story, “Some Indians Find It Tough to Go Home Again,” the multilayered complexity of globalization and the emerging workforce challenge simplistic notions of diversity and inclusion.

About 100,000 “returnees” will move from the United States to India in the next five years, estimates Vivek Wadhwa, a research associate at MTI who has studied the topic. These “repats,” as they are known, are drawn by India’s booming economic growth, the chance to wrestle with complex problems and the opportunity to learn more about their heritage. They are joining multinational companies, starting new businesses and even becoming part of India’s sleepy government bureaucracy.

But a study by Mr. Wadhwa and other academics found that 34 percent of repats found it difficult to return to India — compared to just 13 percent of Indian immigrants who found it difficult to settle in the United States. The repats complained about traffic, lack of infrastructure, bureaucracy and pollution. For many returnees the cultural ties and chance to do good that drew them back are overshadowed by workplace cultures that feel unexpectedly foreign, and can be frustrating. Sometimes returnees discover that they share more in their attitudes and perspectives with other Americans or with the British than with other Indians. Some stay just a few months, some return to the West after a few years.

Returnees run into trouble when they “look Indian but think American,” said Anjali Bansal, managing partner in India for Spencer Stuart, the global executive search firm. People expect them to know the country because of how they look, but they may not be familiar with the way things run, she said. Similarly, when things don’t operate the way they do in the United States or Britain, the repats sometimes complain.

The contours of the article take readers to unexpected places. Here we have Indians who grew up in the US, or who came to the US for their professional formation, facing challenges of exclusion as they go back to Mother India. But the exclusion on the part of those who never left toward these “repats” is only part of the story. The repats themselves may be carrying unexplored ethnocentrism on their part as they re-encounter Indian culture. What interculturalist Dr. Milton Bennett’s model of intercultural sensitivity refers to as “reversal,” the tendency to see one’s own culture as inferior to others – a common phenomenon for many who leave home countries, have a positive experience in a host country, and then go back home.

The telling of this story itself reveals one additional layer – that of the non-Indian American view of the dynamic. In this case we have NYT reporter Heather Timmons herself becoming part of the story as she writes about Mr. Brachmachari who had taken exception to the point of view of one of the reporter’s sources, Mr Ayyadurai:

“To prove his point, Mr. Brahmachari who was two hours late for an interview scheduled by his office, read from a government guide about decision-making in the organization. Mr. Ayyadurai didn’t follow protocol, he said. “As long as your language is positive for the organization I have no problem,” he added. As the interview was closing, Mr. Brahmachari questioned why anyone would be interested in the situation, and then said he would complain to a reporter’s bosses in New York if she continued to pursue the story.

Can you spot Ms. Timmons’ potential ethnocentricism? In the meantime the layers continue to be added. In The Inclusion Paradox I write about the multinational Indian consultancy that in the US is having trouble attracting and retaining the “locals” (aka the Americans) who are not feeling like their Indian bosses are being sensitive to American cultural preferences. The world is indeed upside down and the need for crosscultural competence for all players is greater than ever.

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