Industrialist Harsh Goenka’s not-so-common take on Indians living abroad has set social media on fire, as to whether life abroad is really worth it or not. In a post on social media platform X, Goenka goes on to share his thoughts on basically ‘what’s the point of living abroad’ when the majority of these Non Resident Indians (NRIs) end up spending and missing their homeland a lot.
In his post, he mocked, “Indians move abroad to… Eat overpriced butter chicken from a Punjabi with a fake Italian accent. Buy haldi and hing that costs more than a bottle of wine.”
Goenka then goes on further elaborating on this thought, “Miss golgappas while chewing on sad quinoa. Celebrate Diwali like it’s the Met Gala—minus celebs, plus aunties in Swarovski sarees.”
Touching upon the issue of missing their homeland abroad, he wrote about how these NRIS make only Indian friends and discuss how “things are better back home.”
“Form a WhatsApp group called Desi Squad. And then save up in dollars… just to fly back and tell their parents how amazing life is over there,” he concluded.
Reacting to the post, even though several users agreed, many disagreed, stating several factors like quality of life, opportunities abroad.
Reflecting on this, one user wrote, “They just want some basic facilities, sir. Clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, public parks to walk in without dodging garbage, accessible healthcare without bribery, and the dignity of decent pay with a worklife balance. They’re not abandoning their Indianness; they’re just seeking a better quality of life. Provide those things here, and trust me, no one’s lining up at VFS for a visa.”
“What about good hair quality and some actual life ? Once u move abroad u understand how most of us are just clocking hours back home , with hardly any life on weekends . Sad reality but moving abroad gives indians the freedom they always wanted at home,” wrote another user.
Taking a sharp jibe on the double standards point by Goenka, a third user pointed, “That is a surprisingly shallow take sir… They also get access to Fresher air, Bribe-free law enforcement, Civic sense, Meritocracy, No reservation, Less exploitation. Yes, they do give up on certain things… But imagine somone willingly give up their first class citizen status and their home. That’s not foolishness. That’s desperation. Maybe our law focusing more on comedians and less on actual law and order has something to do with it.”
