Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Foolish “Brain Drain” Bogey for Medical Students going to US
There was a time in India when many were concerned about “Brain Drain” – i.e.; students leaving India and staying in the US to contribute to that economy. Lot of thoughts were thrown around to restrict that, but none was workable.
And thank God, they weren’t!
For, these very professionals and entrepreneurs from the US came back with knowledge, finances and skills to set up shop back in India when the economy was liberalized. The result has been a tremendous amount of fresh enterprises and amazing work being done at many levels.
If the Indian professionals had not worked in the US – alongside the best in the world – and competed successfully, they wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to come and contribute successfully to the Indian economy.
So, basically, the concept of “Brain Drain” is a rather archaic and useless contruct. It doesn’t look factor in the intelligence of the people involved and their ability to contribute to the country of their origin, if they are allowed to.
But today’s Government in India can be as foolish as it gets. So, the Indian Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad has come up with a rather retrograde idea – that is sure to harm the future of Health in India.
“From this year onwards, any student going for further medical education to the US will have to give us a bond that he will come back after finishing the studies. In the last three years, 3000 doctors went abroad for studies and did not return. Now if a student does not come back from the US, he won’t be allowed to practice there,” Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, reports Economic Times.
People will find a way to get around this sooner or later. Worse, it can very negatively impact the Medical education within the country itself. For, many students – with desire to go abroad – will go around the Indian Medical education completely!
The successful doctors from abroad are and will continue to, in future, contribute positively in the many social causes and projects that go on. And these include the health projects. Do we want to take that away from the country?