Most IITians went abroad: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu's 80s brain drain post hits a nerve

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s deeply personal X post has reopened one of India’s most emotional public debates - why do so many of the country’s brightest students leave?

In a viral reflection on his IIT Madras graduation year, Vembu wrote, “In the 1980s, most IITians would go abroad.” That single line has struck a nerve across social media, where discussions about IIT graduates moving to the US and other countries often trigger strong reactions.

Today, many Indians ask whether publicly funded elite institutions should produce talent that helps build India first.

Vembu’s post is a reminder that back in the 1980s, the answer was not so simple.

WHY IITIANS LEFT INDIA THEN

Vembu said when he graduated in 1989, he felt “extremely dejected” about India.

Vembu recalled that Punjab, Kashmir and Assam were “burning” at the time. Political unrest, economic stagnation and uncertainty had created a bleak atmosphere for young graduates.

He said his heart was not in engineering then. Instead, he spent time reading economics and philosophy in the IIT library, obsessed with one question: “Why are we so poor?”

That line has resonated strongly online because it captures the mood of an entire generation that saw talent but few opportunities.

India before the 1991 reforms was a very different place. Imports were restricted, entrepreneurship was difficult, and high-end technology jobs were close to non-existent.

For many IIT graduates of that era, going abroad was not seen as abandoning India. It was often seen as escaping a system with too few opportunities, weak research funding, limited private sector growth and low salaries.

THE BRAIN DRAIN THAT BECAME A NATIONAL TALKING POINT

For decades, “brain drain” was shorthand for India losing its best minds to richer nations. IIT alumni became the most visible symbol of that trend.

Stories of toppers heading to Silicon Valley, Wall Street or US universities became common. Critics said India paid to educate talent that then powered foreign economies. Supporters argued migrants sent remittances, built global networks and later helped India through investment, hiring and knowledge transfer.

Even now, social media repeatedly revisits the issue whenever IIT admission results, visa news or startup funding stories trend.

Sridhar Vembu’s post adds missing context: many who left did not leave because they lacked patriotism. They left because they lacked pathways.

A YOUNG IITIAN WHO QUESTIONED THE SYSTEM

Vembu also revealed that he and some classmates had openly questioned both IIT and India’s direction while they were still students. He wrote that they published an article in an IIT campus newspaper around 1988-89.

“In my vague recollection, the thrust of the article was that the IIT system was failing to serve the needs of the country and the country itself was facing a profound stagnation,” he wrote.

That detail feels remarkable today. Even students inside one of India’s most elite institutions were not simply celebrating personal success. They were asking whether excellence at the top meant anything if the wider country remained stuck.

FROM HOPELESSNESS TO REBUILDING

Vembu said he left India in 1989 feeling miserable to go, but hopeless to stay. During his PhD years, he studied countries like Singapore and Japan to understand development and growth.

By 1994, he chose the private sector and joined Qualcomm in an R&D role. Years later, he would co-found Zoho, one of India’s most respected software companies.

That journey makes the post even more powerful. A man who once despaired about India later helped build jobs, technology and confidence from within it.

WHAT CHANGED IN INDIA AFTER 1991

Just two years later, India faced a balance of payments crisis and launched economic reforms under then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. The economy gradually opened up, private enterprise gained space, and new industries began to grow.

Over time, the India that once pushed talent out slowly started creating reasons to stay. IT services expanded. Engineering jobs rose. Startups emerged. Venture capital entered the market. Global firms began hiring in India at scale.

Cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Gurgaon became career magnets for ambitious graduates who might once have seen foreign relocation as the only path.

Vembu himself became part of that transformation. After working abroad, he went on to build Zoho into a globally respected software company with deep roots in India, proving world-class businesses could be built from here too.

WHY THIS POST RESONATES NOW

Today’s debate is no longer only “Why did IITians leave?” It is also “Why are many now returning, investing, mentoring or building from India?”

Younger Indians know a different country today. Startup hubs, digital payments, global tech talent and rising confidence have replaced much of the hopelessness Vembu described.

It reminds readers that judging earlier generations by today’s opportunities can be misleading. Many who left in the 1980s did so when India looked economically closed, professionally limited and politically uncertain. In the 2020s, staying can look bold, smart and globally competitive.

India is no longer seen only as a place to leave. It is now a place to build.

Sridhar Vembu’s post is a reminder of how far India has come, and how quickly history can be forgotten.