'I came back - and I regret it': Tamil actor reacts after Sridhar Vembu urges Indians abroad to return

Kasturi Shankar, an actor and activist, has criticised calls for Indians abroad to return home, saying she came back to India with hopes of contributing but found the country difficult for honest professionals and entrepreneurs.

Earlier today, Zoho's Sridhar Vembu published an "Open letter to Indians in America", urging skilled Indians overseas to return and help build India's technological future.

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Responding to that appeal, Kasturi wrote: "I came back. Many of my classmates did too. Each of us had a dream to give back to our motherland."

She added that those hopes faded quickly. "All of them regretted it. Most of us left decades ago because Tamil Nadu did not want us, value us, miss us. When we came back, we still were unwelcome."

'India is terrible to do business in'

Kasturi said many who returned later left again, while others stayed despite growing frustration. "Many of them went back. A few refuse to admit failure, we fight on...clinging to the blind hope that somehow we can be architects of change... but every day we fail a little more."

She described India as hostile to ethical enterprise, writing: "India is terrible to do business in. It is impossible to stay honest and feel proud about it. Here, integrity is considered a liability!"

She also criticised what she described as misuse of state benefits, corruption, and social dishonesty. "My stomach turns every time I see a millionaire gloats his way to govt freebies...because he is rich enough to game the system," she wrote. "My heart bleeds every time I see government officials steal, embezzle, exploit, and extort... from rich and poor alike."

Criticism of justice and social systems

Kasturi said merit suffered because of political incentives and slow institutions. "India is a cesspool of Social Injustice- where merit is shoved out by vote politics," she said, adding that "justice in India is lost in the corridors of our judiciary." 

She also referred to her own legal troubles, saying: "After I was hit with fake criminal cases and put in jail - 'to teach me a lesson'- I had no choice but to send away my kids.... yet I hold on, stay on, but at what cost? How much longer?"

Sridhar Vembu's appeal

Vembu had urged Indians in the US to consider returning, writing: "Please come back home. Bharat Mata needs your talent. Our vast youthful population needs the technology leadership you gained over the years to guide them towards prosperity."

Kasturi ended by challenging what she called overly optimistic views of India's current realities. "Please remove your rose colored glasses and come up with a realistic solution. I will be the first to sign up."