Sundar Pichai, Indra Nooyi, Satya Nadella – just a few of the heads of hallowed brand names that dominate the headlines of corporate America. They are all Indians, yes. But what many SG:Indians don’t know is that two of the three – Sundar and Indra – in fact hail from Tamil Nadu – Sundar was born in Chennai while Indra was born in Madurai. Satya Nadella was born in Hyderabad.
These are just a few of the luminaries produced by India and cultivated by an American educational system, who rose through the corporate ranks to lead the likes of Google, Pepsico and Microsoft (Sundar Pichai, Indra Nooyi and Satya Nadella respectively).
The time-honoured proverbs and sayings of our culture emphasize the importance of education. India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to United States and China. India has over 1000 universities, with a strong emphasis on science and technology. Some of the foremost Indian technological institutions, like the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research are globally acclaimed.
The point in all of this is this: India has no shortage of talent. Insofar as producing capable talent, or in lighting a flame to venture out and find greatness, our culture has produced trailblazers. However, for every one Sundar, Indra or Satya, there are many thousands out there, who, if given the right opportunities and if the system allowed enough of them to make their impact, can move a nation to rediscover its once greatness.
Sadly, though, it is not the technocrats that aspire for politics in India. It is no secret that Indian politics has been dominated by unscrupulous politicians that have contributed to the kakistocracies found across the subcontinent – from the smallest municipalities to state and ministerial levels.
But that’s really a topic for another time or even another ‘people’ with a stake in it.
For us Singapore Indians, the pertinent questions to ask are:
- Can the next Sundar, Indra or Satya be an Singapore Indian?
- Can we see more talented, successful Singapore Indians helm our own homegrown brand names and steer them to global recognition?
- And can enough of them make their way to the political sphere, to contribute to the well-being of all SG:Indians and all Singaporeans?
Inviting people from these successful people to share their formulas through video call or voice call or written text. Make it happen SG:Indian. Send unsolicited letters to them and invite them to share share
The focus today and everyday should be one that entails sharing of information of the process involved that makes success in their lives. There are certain routine that they follow and this should be shared. Many do not know about these processes. For example, look at property, many still live in HDB because they do not converse about it. More interested in Tik Tok watching entertainment.
The local Indians here should try working or educating abroad. Westerners are more open to ideas and Indians will strive there rather than just stuck here in a job. Entrepreneurship more rife there. Take a flight and stay for a couple of weeks after Covid -19. Use the time now to Strategise and plan. Indians strive elsewhere than in Asian countries.
Well, Tharman Shanmugaratnam was short-listed for the post of International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2019 and he did not get the job because traditionally the job has gone to a European. We have the potential to reach the status of Sundar, Indra, or Satya if we aspire to reach such heights and we are given the right exposure. For that, we need to venture out of Singapore and individuals need to manage multi-billion corporations.
Totally agree!
Indian politics requires a different kind of skillset and mentality – the entire system needs to change. What is happening wrt Covid today – the mismanagement of the pandemic – is the result of the wrong set of people in charge.