Evaporation Drops the Temperature I agree with Jay and Statesman in a lot of ways. NRIs can bring a lot to the table. They are fiercly nostalgic, romanticizing their experiences in their country. They`d be cursing the place all the time if they were living in it, but from outside, they generally do something for the country. In my place of work, I`ve seen a lot of Indians working for ASHA and other social organizations, the recent NRI participation in the Kargil events is another indicator of the way NRIs can be used.

Think about it..would you like another unemployed engineer in your country when you can have a guy who:

1) Will generally contribute something (even a small amount) to some causes in the country.

2) If influential, will try to influence policy makers in the U.S with regard to their country.

3) If an industrialist, open a factory or business in the country. The sikhs have really done a lot in this aspect. Punjab has really grown thanks in part to the efforts of NRI punjabis (Hindus and Sikhs) in investing back home.

Personally speaking, if I were to remain abroad, I would do 1) and 2) with a substantial amount of my monthly salary and feel pretty good about it. Everybody wins in this setup. Of course, the challenge lies in getting more people involved in these events instead of worrying only about their next car.

Brain Drain is not that big an issue in India any more since there are enough people remaining to replace those who leave. There are more than 100,000 engineers coming out of Indian schools every year, most of them in software. If all them remained here, there wouldn`t be enough jobs to go around. Those that can leave, leave and I haven`t heard any local software company complaining that it didn`t have enough people yet, despite the current boom. The major area where the drain hurts is in heavy industrial sectors, and that cannot be fixed until the salaries go up substantially.

On a side note- isn`t the author the Pakistani COAS`s son?

Falsehoods Galore Ms. Khan,

`` Why does India not take any legal action againstt the likes of Bal Thakray who continue to spit venom against the minorities (read Muslims)?``

As others have said earlier, in India people have freedom (a bit too much) to shout their mouth off. This idiocy is not limited to Hindus alone. The happy imam of Delhi, Imam Bukhari had gone to Srinagar in 1988 and given a speech that would have him tried for sedition in any other country. Some maulana in U.P recently said that Muslims might face a conflict of interests in Kashmir since they are bound to assist a jehad. They should have locked him up too. And of course our commie pets always screech from behind the bars of their ideological cages whenever they can - since it`s the only thing left for them to do. I`d deal with them ASAP. But what to do? we are like this only..

Falsehoods Galore Studebaker:

Iconoclast has the right idea. I`m an upper caste from the Deccan. I grew up in a system with 70% reservation. My generation (and every generation) had to slog it`s butt off to get into college and be someone. This holds for anyone, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Parsi. Seats to colleges are dependent on marks, not on religion. So stop cribbing that Muslims alone are somehow magically excluded from the system. Apparently none of the other Indian Muslims on this forum have suffered from the same affliction as you claim all Muslims do..Life in India is hard, buddy, for everyone..deal with it.

I`ve seen all kinds of statements from Lashkar and Harkat about how they want to liberate Kashmir, starting with Kargil. The problem is that the Balti Shias in Kargil have no desire to be ``liberated`` by these Pakhtun fundamentalists. There has been no insurgency worth the name in Kargil, people have no cribs with the GOI, and they are all very p * * * *ed with Pakistan right now for shelling them. I can refer articles if anyone wants. Makes the ``Mujaheds`` claim of ``liberating`` Kargil seem a bit hollow, dosen`t it?

I`ve also seen statements from Gen. Aslam Beg, I think, to the effect that Ladakh should be taken by Pakistan because the people are not Hindus!. Get a grip, people..I`m sure the Ladakh scouts will welcome you in. The Mujahedin and their backers seem to have mastered the art of making wild statements by the day.

Regarding the Kashmir problem.. the Kashmiris have a problem with being insular. This is a common charecterestic of most valley people in a lot of places, and the Kashmiris are no exception. Even Kashmiri Pundits have often been accused of being very insular even when they migrate elsewhere in India.

This insularity has contributed to the Kashmir problem immensely. Leaders like Sheikh Abdullah and Farooq who regarded the valley as their Jagir have not exactly enabled the integration of the valley with the rest of India. How does this matter? The oft repeated Kashmiri claim that they have been ill-treated by the Union because:

1) Indira annuled the elections of 1983

2) Appointed her own govt.

3) Farooq and Rajiv came together and rigged 1987

and that`s they took to arms is a illogical explanation. Similiar dirty politics have been played in every state in the union. In AP Rama Rao`s govt. was dismissed by Indira with no cause. The people did not slip over to Sri Lanka, load up with Aks and come back to kill (and there are a lot of Muslims in AP too. I didn`t seem them yelling ``Azadi`` and burning houses). They took part in the next election, trounced Indira and brought Rama Rao back. This is the way the system works, people. The problem is when certain people think they deserve extra special treatment (kind of like you, Studebaker) and don`t get it, they run around doing themselves and everyone else a lot of damage. So, Kashmir is not all about a religious problem, despite what people might think.