IITs are Building USA, and not India: A Stark Reality

*By Dr Devan

IITs are burning midnight oil, day and night,

But not for India.

With our tax money,

They're building the American empire.

Before 1947, we served the East India Company.

Now, we bow to the West Coast Company.

Let me tell you what no one said.

The Government spends over ₹10–15 lakh per student during a 4-year IIT BTech prog.

Total IIT budget for FY 2024–25?

₹9,660 crore.

Students pay just a fraction.

Many pay nothing thanks to scholarships.

Who pays the rest?

You do.

Now comes the betrayal.

Over 30–36% of IIT graduates migrate abroad.

62% of top 100 JEE rankers settle in

the US or Europe.

70% of those who stay work for foreign MNCs:

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, McKinsey etc.

And,

Less than 2–3% join DRDO, ISRO, or BARC.

Nation-building?

Who cares.

The IIT dream is now a pipeline for global labor export.

And yet... every Republic Day,

We chest-thump about IITs like they're India's crown jewel.

No one asks:

Is this what Kalam, Bhabha, and Vikram Sarabhai envisioned?

These institutions weren’t built for applause.

They were built for atomic research.

For rural electrification.

For defending India’s sovereignty.

Now they defend shareholder profits in California.

You want a number?

A software engineer in the US earns ₹1.5 crore/year.

A Entry level scientist in ISRO earns ₹12 lakh/year.

This isn’t brain drain.

This is state-sponsored cognitive asset laundering.

We pay for the training.

The West buys the mind.

And what do we get in return?

A selfie with Sundar Pichai.

A LinkedIn post celebrating another Indian CEO of an American firm.

What if this brilliant minds

had led HAL, BHEL, Bharat Electronics?

We don’t ask these questions.

Because deep down...

We’re still colonized.

Just better paid.

Before 1947, we exported cotton and diamonds.

Now, we export intelligence.

And we celebrate it.

Why?

Because we mistake personal success for national pride.

Where is the policy?

Why is there no 5-year national service bond for publicly funded graduates?

Why are foreign MNCs allowed to recruit from national institutes without investing in India's core sectors?

Why does no one say: Enough.

Create a National Brain Retention Plan.

Make it an honor, not a punishment, to serve India post-IIT.

This is not Viksit Bharat.

This is Outsourced Bharat.

You pay your taxes.

You build their dreams.

They build another country.

And the country that birthed them?

Stands clapping.

*Dr Devan is a Mangaluru-based ENT specialist and author.

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