Ignatius Chithelen

Passage from India to America Ignatius Chithelen

Indian engineers and other professionals annually contribute several hundred billion dollars to the American economy. They have founded thousands of mostly technology companies, comprise over 25% of the engineers powering the global growth of Microsoft, Google, Oracle and other major computer and web-based companies and are chief executives of Microsoft, Google and over 20 other major companies. In turn, most Indians have achieved financial success, including four engineers on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.

But opportunities are shrinking due to President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Indians also face rising racism in America. Will India's top engineers and doctors migrate to Canada, or work for Chinese companies?

Meanwhile in India, thousands of information technology employees are losing their jobs due to the impact of new technologies and Trump's policies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to expand the Indian economy and create 100 million jobs require over $500 billion in foreign capital. But western investors are holding back, awaiting higher profit guarantees. They are also nervous that the rise in lynching of Muslims, since Modi came to power in 2014, may radicalize them. There are 180 million Muslims in India.

As he analyzes these issues, Ignatius Chithelen offers insights into how India's education system generates world class engineers, the economic constraints limiting the rise of entrepreneurship in India - part of the reason why Indian professionals seek to migrate to America - and the risks of Hindu extremist politics followed by Prime Minister Modi's party. Ignatius studied politics and economics and worked as journalist in India, before moving to America.