A large number of Indians have a made a mark in foreign countries, have proved highly successful in their fields of specializations as well as in business enterprises. The question is: can their success be called an Indian success? It could be the success of Indians but it cannot be called an Indian success. It is here, in India the country of one’s birth and upbringing, that we expect authentic Indian contribution to come in a unique way. But it is often said that for doing science, for instance, in India conditions are not very favourable. But then what about those Indians who are favourably placed in the western milieu? They have made a mark in the American society, but then can their success be called Indian success? The frank and plain answer is: in the least; at the best debatable, perhaps. We do not see distinctive Indian-ness in their approach. The faculty of rational mind and its application in solving professional problems has to be developed no doubt, but there has to be also an intuitive perception which brings understanding and knowledge of another kind that cannot be provided by reason alone. If the individuality of an individual lies in the uniqueness of the sense of his perception, the same applies to the nation having its own national soul and national character, national swabhāva. If there is the German-ness of a German, English-ness of an Englishman, Japanese-ness of a Japanese, Russian-ness of a Russian, American-ness of an American, there has to be Indian-ness of an Indian whether he is in India or elsewhere. In the absence of this ‘-ness’ we can only say that there no awakening of the individual’s soul has taken place. It would only indicate one is abroad to make one’s living and not to live in the sense of life’s nation-born character.

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