Ex-Google engineer's question for NRIs praising India: ‘Answer why they're not living there'

Debarghya (Deedy) Das, an Indian-origin tech influencer on X (formerly Twitter) and a former Google engineer, said that NRIs who praise India should feel "obligated" to answer why they are not living in their home country. The viral post sparked a discussion, with perspectives from both Indians living abroad and those residing in India.

"When Indians living abroad talk about how bustling the scene is India, they should feel obligated to answer why they are not living there," Das, better known as Deedy on X, wrote on Thursday.

In two more posts, he clarified that it is okay for NRIs to think that India is not a place where they would want to live because of various reasons even though they believe in the country's growth story.

Take a look at Deedy Das's post:

"It’s disingenuous to try to act like it’s the best place in the world to be if you’re not in it," he said, adding that Indians abroad should clarify why they are residing in a foreign country.

"And this isn't about not feeling proud and cheering on your own country. You should do that. Do that. But be honest about why you’re not there."

Das's first post received strong engagement, with over 2.3 million views and over 9,333 'likes'. The post also got over 500 comments.

Among those who weighed in on the subject was Venkatesh Elayavalli, an Indian-origin engineer based in Austin, Texas. He moved back to the US in 2022 after spending several years in Bengaluru because his children joined colleges in the US. He listed pros and cons of living in India in a long note.

“There are plenty of valid legit reasons why you cant be living back home but still find it exciting meanwhile there's also no reason you can't be enthusiastic about its growth while already being in a place that is giving you more,” an X user, whose handle is named shrihacker, said.

Debarghya Das, who is based in Palo Alto in California, works at Menlo Ventures. He worked at Google for three years, between 2016 and 2019.