Srinagar, Aug. 31 -- The first two factors were closely linked: the 'globalized' Western university system actively opened its doors to international students and capital. Once an international student graduated from, say, an Australian university, pathways to permanent residency and citizenship often became available, a development that also had significant implications for the labor market.

People, consequently, crisscrossed the western world. Mobility and the 'skill premium' became the new mantras and buzzwords. People who 'settled' in the western world returned home only as visitors, to see family. Some waxed nostalgic about 'roots' only to return to their western habitats and so on.

This was a very liberal world which paid homage t...