Underlining the need for a reverse brain drain, a leading south Indian film-star-turned- politician has appealed to the Indian American community to return to their motherland and start working there.
"The country needs all of you. The reverse brain drain has to be there. And people who have gone outside the country looking for opportunities should come back to the country and start working there," Tamil star Sarath Kumar said at an event over the weekend.
"The system can be changed by people getting motivated towards politics. The youth of the country, the intelligent people of the country getting motivated towards politics would change a lot of things," he said, addressing the gathering.
Both Kumar and his wife Radhika, an eminent television star in Tamil Nadu, were felicitated at the event and received citations from the Maryland Governor which were presented to them by the Maryland Deputy Secretary of State Rajan Natarajan.
"We can change our system. Let's not point our figure back home and say that our country is corrupt. Let's not do that anymore. I do not want anybody say our country is corrupt. You would be painting a very wrong picture of our country. I believe our country is non-corrupt and we should make it non-corrupt. I have always said do not wash dirty linens in public. We should rectify the mistakes within us," Sarath Kumar said.
Addressing the gathering, Natarajan said that Sarath Kumar is a legendary leader not only in film industry but also in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu and called Radhika an "uncrowned queen of south Indian television".
The citation recognised the achievements of the eminent couple from Tamil Nadu, and that they are providing as a role model and inspiration for thousands of people in the country.
