Roving Periscope: ‘You can’t be a CEO in the US if you aren’t an Indian!’

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: More than 20 experts of Indian origin, who studied in the US, are now heading billion-dollar corporations in America, some of them leading the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Starbucks.

The nearly 4-million-strong Indian-American community is among the most influential ones in America and both the principal political parties—the Democrats, and the Republicans—eagerly seek its support.

What a turnaround in a decade or so!

“The old joke was you could not become a CEO in the US if you are Indian. Now the joke is you cannot become a CEO in America if you are not Indian. Whether it is Google, Microsoft, or Starbucks, people have come and made a big difference…” US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said on Friday.

Applauding the success of Indian immigrants who went to study in the US, he told a news outlet that “successes have happened, and now more than 1 in 10 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are Indian immigrants who studied in the US.”

Amid the ongoing pro-Palestine protests rocking US universities—in which an Indian student has been reported arrested—Garcetti emphasized that the opinions should be expressed in a ‘peaceful’ manner, underlining that ‘nobody should feel threatened.’

“That’s unacceptable, and there will be consequences…At the same time, people do have the right to express their opinions, and their differences in a peaceful manner, in a way where we can agree to disagree, agree, or we can respect each other’s different opinions. And that’s, I think, the goal for all of us.”

Colleges across the United States are grappling with escalating unrest as pro-Palestinian protests sweep through their campuses, prompting administrators to implement unprecedented measures to address the intensifying situation, the media reported.

Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University, where demonstrations ignited last week, are demanding the severance of ties with Israeli academic institutions and divestment from entities linked to the Jewish state amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Addressing concerns regarding the safety of Indian students studying in the US amid the recent incidents of the tragic death of many under various circumstances, Garcetti underlined that the US takes care of the well-being of every student coming to it.

“With over 240,000 students, of course, there’s always going to be tragic incidents but we want to try to get that number as close to zero as we can,” he added.

Highlighting that the Indian students enrich the US culture, the envoy expressed his love and warmth towards the Indian students.

“We love Indian students in America. They improve our campuses, enrich our culture, and we want them to have the very best experience that they can have something that enriches their lives and changes how their dreams can come true in their own lives,” he said.

On April 25, the Ministry of External Affairs reacted to the ongoing protests and said there should be a right balance between freedom of expression and a sense of responsibility, adding that the democratic country is judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad.