'I had a PhD, wanted to teach at IIMs - but was told...': Indian-American author responds to Vembu
Author Arnab Ray said he had explored returning to India to teach but encountered resistance from academic institutions, including the IIMs
- Apr 27, 2026,
- Updated Apr 27, 2026 10:34 PM IST
Indian-American author Arnab Ray has questioned India's institutional openness to returning professionals after Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu urged Indians abroad to come back and contribute to the country's development.
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Responding to Vembu's 'Open letter to Indians in America', Ray said he had explored returning to India to teach but encountered resistance from academic institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).
"Dear Mr. Vembu, I am welcome?" he wrote, before detailing his experience with academic hiring processes. Ray said he had attempted to return to India to teach cybersecurity as part of risk management for future managers. "IIM professors told me otherwise when I tried to apply to come back to teach future managers cybersecurity as a risk management discipline," he wrote on X.
He said he was advised to obtain another degree despite already holding a doctorate in Computer Science. "I was told to get another PhD in MIS to be worthy of teaching (I had a PhD in Computer Science from Stonybrook one of the top places in my field)," he said.
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Ray, the author of 'Sultan of Delhi', added that the experience reflected deeper structural issues in academic hiring. "Basically, they wanted to hire their own students (a practice frowned on internationally) and actively were condescending or passively dismissive to anyone who was not," he wrote.
He said he had a privileged position as his father had been a professor at the same institution. "I now do the same for one of the world's biggest medtech companies, wrote a book in the medical device space on this risk management concept extensively used in many other large medtech companies."
Ray is the author of six books, including the horror classic, The Mine. Two of his books have been made into web series on OTT platforms: Sultan of Delhi in Hindi on JioHotstar and Mahabharata Murders in Bengali on Hoichoi.
He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ray also described experiences with private institutions. He said he applied to private management institutes. "One of them sent me an email a year later after I had applied, asking me to appear for an interview in two days, promising to pay me second-class train fare from where I was, which I presume would be difficult from Chicago (that’s where I was then)," he wrote.
The author said India's institutions would need structural reform before large-scale returns of global talent could happen. "So all this sounds great on X, but unless institutions change in India, away from old babu culture, people who want to come back on their own… will find themselves blocked and demotivated," he said.
Ray said he already had his green card, so he wasn't trying to come because of visa issues, "but from a genuine desire to leave a legacy."
Vembu had earlier urged Indians in the US to consider returning, arguing that India's global standing would depend on its technological progress. "As difficult as it is for many of you to contemplate this, please come back home. Bharat Mata needs your talent," he urged.
Indian-American author Arnab Ray has questioned India's institutional openness to returning professionals after Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu urged Indians abroad to come back and contribute to the country's development.
Don't Miss: 'I came back - and I regret it': Tamil actor reacts after Sridhar Vembu urges Indians abroad to return
Responding to Vembu's 'Open letter to Indians in America', Ray said he had explored returning to India to teach but encountered resistance from academic institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).
"Dear Mr. Vembu, I am welcome?" he wrote, before detailing his experience with academic hiring processes. Ray said he had attempted to return to India to teach cybersecurity as part of risk management for future managers. "IIM professors told me otherwise when I tried to apply to come back to teach future managers cybersecurity as a risk management discipline," he wrote on X.
He said he was advised to obtain another degree despite already holding a doctorate in Computer Science. "I was told to get another PhD in MIS to be worthy of teaching (I had a PhD in Computer Science from Stonybrook one of the top places in my field)," he said.
Don't Miss: 'I came back from US and it has...': Founder reacts to Sridhar Vembu's appeal
Ray, the author of 'Sultan of Delhi', added that the experience reflected deeper structural issues in academic hiring. "Basically, they wanted to hire their own students (a practice frowned on internationally) and actively were condescending or passively dismissive to anyone who was not," he wrote.
He said he had a privileged position as his father had been a professor at the same institution. "I now do the same for one of the world's biggest medtech companies, wrote a book in the medical device space on this risk management concept extensively used in many other large medtech companies."
Ray is the author of six books, including the horror classic, The Mine. Two of his books have been made into web series on OTT platforms: Sultan of Delhi in Hindi on JioHotstar and Mahabharata Murders in Bengali on Hoichoi.
He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ray also described experiences with private institutions. He said he applied to private management institutes. "One of them sent me an email a year later after I had applied, asking me to appear for an interview in two days, promising to pay me second-class train fare from where I was, which I presume would be difficult from Chicago (that’s where I was then)," he wrote.
The author said India's institutions would need structural reform before large-scale returns of global talent could happen. "So all this sounds great on X, but unless institutions change in India, away from old babu culture, people who want to come back on their own… will find themselves blocked and demotivated," he said.
Ray said he already had his green card, so he wasn't trying to come because of visa issues, "but from a genuine desire to leave a legacy."
Vembu had earlier urged Indians in the US to consider returning, arguing that India's global standing would depend on its technological progress. "As difficult as it is for many of you to contemplate this, please come back home. Bharat Mata needs your talent," he urged.