It's time to lure tempest-tossed talent back home

As Trump-rattled scientists and researchers in the US review their career options, we should act swiftly to attract them to India. Tamil Nadu has a plan that could well be improved upon

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What is common to Albert Einstein, James Franck, Erwin Schrödinger, Hans Bethe, Felix Bloch and Max Born, apart from the fact that they were all Nobel awardees in physics? They all fled Nazi Germany for refuge in other countries, notably the US. America, Western Europe and the Soviet Union vied to attract intellectuals falling prey to Hitler's anti-Semitism. These scientists went on to contribute immensely to their new host nations and their R&D efforts—including America's Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb before Germany. This bit of history is validation enough for the Tamil Nadu government's "Tamil Talents Plan," which primarily seeks to attract scientists whose research work has been (or risks being) left in the lurch by US policies under President Donald Trump, whether it is the sudden squeeze of government funds for studies at universities and state-run labs or withdrawal of a welcome long extended to foreign-born talent. Under Trump, a country whose Statue of Liberty bears a plaque asking for the world's "tempest-tost" has s