BANGALORE: In the heat of the outsourcing brouhaha and opposition against H1-B/L1 visa holders in the US, a techie of Indian origin, Sivakumar N from Bridgewater New Jersey decided to fight this in his own way, by writing a book. The book called "Debugging Indian Computer Programmers: Dude, Did I steal your job?" seeks to be a firm and balanced answer to opponents of outsourcing. In an e-mail interview with Priya Sreenivas of Cyber Media News, he shared his views on the issue.

What spurred you to write this book?
Well, a lot of things. First it was newsgroups. I'm an active member of many tech newsgroups and I gradually noticed the focus of most of them diverted to H1-B visas/outsourcing and then finally to hating Indians and India. I was shocked to read the amount of hatred that many American programmers had towards Indians. It didn't take me long to realize that message boards are the billboards of modern America. I became alert and started to gather facts.
Once, I read a web blog of a famous author of Java books. She claimed that immigrants are "screwing" Americans. It ticked me off. She even forgot or didn't know that an immigrant invented Java. (James Gosling is of Canadian descent). If a person of her caliber thinks that way, then what about the average Americans who watch only Fox news?
Then, there was Lou Dobbs of CNN. I appreciate his stand to voice concern for the American middle class. You can't ship all the jobs overseas, overnight -- although there is a definite advantage of globalization. But what bothered me was the one-sided stand that he took to humiliate the immigrant (especially Indian) workforce that worked hard to make America prosper. He claims that folks on H1B don't pay any taxes, which is absolute baloney. All these agonies combined, became a book.

What is the book about and what kind of audience are you trying to address?
My book is about Indian programmers living in the US. Their life, achievements, and their terrifying fight against the sudden backlash due to the ripple effects of outsourcing/H-1B backlash. The primary audience is the seven million American/Indian programmers living in the US.

How have readers responded to your views?
It was on Amazon.com bestseller list on four different occasions. So far, I've got very good response from Indian IT folks. Majority of American programmers love my tone. But then of course, there are people who disagree with my views. Some of them were quick enough to send me a 'Go back to India' mail even before reading my book. I get at least 10 similar mails a day.

What do you make of the outsourcing backlash in the US? Do you think it is an issue that will stay after the US elections?
Yes, it will stay even after the election. Now, both presidential candidates have almost endorsed outsourcing as beneficial. They both know that it cannot be stopped. But the human side to the issue can't be neglected.
The whole issue of outsourcing should be streamlined. The gold rush phenomenon would hurt the American middle class. So until it becomes streamlined, the backlash will continue and will gradually die down when people start to see the benefits.

What are your views on the reverse brain drain or "brain gain" that's currently happening with NRIs coming back to work in India? Do you feel that the focal point of technology could slowly shift from the US to India in a few years?
It's a very important point. The reverse brain drain will encourage more start-ups in India, which will hugely benefit Indian economy in the future. There are millions of young talented Indians who are denied the opportunities to work for exciting companies. Going to US was the only choice in the past. With 'reverse brain- drainers' starting companies, this will change in the future. On the other hand, although US would lose some highly trained people, it will pave way for an exciting new economy of 1.3 billion consumer base, which the whole world will look upon to grasp, including the USA.

CyberMedia News