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As we move from America’s 250th-year celebrations to India’s 80th Independence Day, we are seeing massive social churn in both countries. This might be the time to reflect on some of the historic strengths of the American model, specially from an outside lens. 

Soon after our return to Mumbai post a trip to the United States in 2018, I was stopped short by a casual remark from my then 5-year-old son. “Mom,” asked my son, “Why are there no poor people in America and how are their libraries so large?” Easy to dismiss - coming as it did from a starry-eyed kid who visited Times Square, Disneyland, and the prime avenues of Washington DC, as part of his vacation itinerary.

But it still struck me deep. In my view, these two points summed up the total of our aspirations for our own country. Summed up the gap from where we were to where we wanted to be. High-quality and well-maintained civic infrastructure, accessible to everyone. Prosperity for all and scarcity for none. Needless to say, my son’s view was naive and partially informed. But if any one nation can indeed offer such a blueprint, however romanticized, others can surely consider the takeaways.

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The USA has traditionally attracted more global immigrants than any other country. Its Constitution enshrined birthright citizenship in 1868, which was recently upheld by their Supreme Court. This allowed America to become, not just a magnet for human talent, but also an anchor for human hope. There are many studies that have highlighted this as the fundamental differentiator that enabled the United States to attain its dominant position.

Salman Rushdie has somewhat wryly alluded to this phenomenon in his novel ‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’: "In the American consulate building anywhere in the world, there are always two things: a line of people trying to get into America, and a feeling of America's vast, indifferent power."

Remarkably, this is a time when we in India are going back two generations to ascertain the antecedents of individuals and whether they rightly qualify for Indian citizenship. At this juncture, it might be good to examine the advantages of being an assimilator of people from all corners, rather than driving an exclusionist agenda. 

The impact that the USA has enabled its adopted population to make is gargantuan. According to a June 2026 report by the National Foundation for American Policy, immigrants have founded or cofounded 59% of America’s privately held billion-dollar startups.

Closer home, almost 80% of the ‘GDP’ of my extended family is generated in America. Recently, the daughter of a South Asian colleague graduated Phi Beta Kappa from an Ivy League University and has received full scholarship to pursue her research. Even back here, we live and feel the promise and potential of America.

The flame of the American Dream continues to act like a torchlight. It is emblematic of the principle that where you come from does not matter – what counts is what you bring to the table. Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, who “came to the country with nothing”, reaffirmed in her July 2026 conversation at the Hoover Institution that hers is a journey that could happen “only in America." Why a former Indian was compelled to say this, is something to reckon with. 

Especially in the current backdrop, when the Gen Z across India is questioning the fairness and quality of the education system. A public good which is meant to open the doors of opportunity. It seems like poetic timing that an Indian who just completed his Master’s from Boston University (Abhijeet Dipke), captured this sentiment, and ignited the recent student protests in India. 

A movement which has rocked a supposedly invincible Modi Government over the last few days. Collegegoers in the US have often kept their elected lawmakers in the dock - from the days of the Vietnam war to the Gaza conflict. It is the appropriate stage, perhaps, for us to re-invoke the famed hallmarks of the world’s oldest democracy: accountable governance and irreverence for titular positions.

Moving to economic dynamism, America was the country that codified the ownership of ideas as the route to wealth creation. It built the framework for financial sponsorship of innovation. Silicon Valley was born in the USA. Countries everywhere are still trying to recreate that template.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), established more than two centuries ago, has registered inventions from the electric bulb to the riveted blue jeans. Working in symphony, the country’s capital market ecosystem powered them to scale. Can we borrow more effectively from some of these tenets, to actualize the vast possibilities for our own people? Can we go beyond arbitrage, assembly and aggregation? Can we become the hot-spot for era-defining breakthroughs, in the next leg of our journey? 

It is well known that enterprises birthed in the crucible of American industry pervade our world. Digital platforms owned by American corporates command more than 60% of the global active social media user base.

The reason you are bound to find the familiar McDonald’s sign everywhere from Stockholm to Bangkok is not accidental. It is not a coincidence that in birthday parties of 10-year-olds from Mumbai to Dhaka, the popular themes are American icons: Barbie, Mickey Mouse or Superman. All this may seem like global monoculturalism or hegemony to some. But it can signal the power to influence global imagination and shape global preferences to others. Which could be a much bigger gamechanger than mere military might. 

The intent of this piece is not to debate what America actually is or has become. The society is on the cusp of challenges unseen in a semiquincentennial. But the Idea of America still blazes on. Regime-specific fluctuations may not impact the trajectory of this country, because the foundations that launched it gave it far too great a propulsive force.

If there are certain structural concepts here that drove years of dream-fulfilment and advancement, we can look to adapt them for our own context. No better time than America @250 and India@80.

 

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad.)

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