Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has written an open letter to Indians living in America, urging them to consider returning to India and using their experience to help build the country’s technological strength.
Addressing Indians in America as “brothers and sisters from Bharat,” Vembu reflected on his own journey of arriving in the United States 37 years ago with little money, but with education and cultural grounding from India. He acknowledged that America had been good to many Indians and said gratitude remains a deeply Bharatiya value.
At the same time, he warned that a growing section of Americans now believes Indians “take away” American jobs and that their success was not fairly earned. Vembu argued that Indians in America should not assume that political change in the next election will solve this tension.
In his view, Indian Americans are caught between two hostile forces: what he described as the “hard right” and the “woke left.” He said one side attacks Bharatiya civilisation, while the other rejects civilisation itself, leaving Indians as bystanders in a conflict that is not truly theirs.
The central message of the letter is clear: the global respect Indians receive will depend heavily on India’s own rise. Vembu wrote that if India remains poor, Indians abroad will continue to face moral lectures, either with pity or with scorn, but not genuine respect.
He argued that modern respect, prosperity and security come from technological strength. India, he said, has the brain power required to achieve that strength, but much of its talent has historically moved abroad, especially to America.
Vembu appealed to Indian professionals overseas to return home and help guide India’s young population toward prosperity. He framed the task not just as an economic opportunity, but as a national mission.
“As difficult as it is for many of you to contemplate this, please come back home,” he wrote. “Bharat Mata needs your talent.”
The letter stands out because it is not merely a comment on immigration or politics. It is a call for reverse migration, rooted in the belief that India’s future power will be built through technology, talent and civilisational confidence.
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