[chime]

I agree with you that this article makes too many sweeping generalizations but nevertheless it struck a chord with me. I am a Gujarati programmer and have never fit in with any of my family or community members in the realm of career or goals. I have no problems with nurturing personal relationships with other Gujaratis but I just can't connect with them on any STEM topics (except medicine). I closely know probably 100+ Gujaratis but I can't think of even one person with whom I can discuss non-arithmetic math or non-business-related software. On the other hand, I can easily think of a dozen who would love to discuss derivatives (stock market not calculus), marginal utility, or EHR/EMRs.

Growing up in India, I was told that owning your business was the only path to success. In 1990, my dad borrowed a ZX Spectrum from a friend so I could play video games and he was genuinely confused when he found out that I spent all day typing (I was learning BASIC) instead of beating his hi-score in Jetpac. Thankfully, as I learned programming, I got a tremendous amount of support from his Gujarati friends, all of whom wanted me to write DBase III+ / FoxPro software for their businesses. But whenever I came up with non-business ideas, my people just didn't get it. I don't think anyone outright discouraged me when I wanted to write software for fun but they just didn't understand why I would write freeware when I could easily sell it. Half of my years between 15-20 were spent being lectured by successful businessmen on why/how I should market my music player or transliteration software.

This article resonated with me because I finally get just how ingrained business is to my culture. I always knew I was the odd one out and came to terms with that a decade ago but now I realize how others in my community must think of me. Time and again I have chosen to not make money even after I made a finished product. For me, once the product is built, I completely lose interest and want to make something else. For them, I already did the hard part of making the product and am bailing out at the fun part of making money from it.

To any Gujaratis reading this who love hacking for the sake of hacking, I'd say there are dozens of us! Let's keep talking business with family and friends of family during the day and quietly watch Numberphile after everyone is asleep.

[rgovind]

Thats a great writeup. I have a followup question. It seems like Gujaratis are looking at everything from business perspective rather than "problem solving" perspective like in SV. Is this true?

[chime]

If you define the problem as a lack of business or financial success, then looking at everything from business perspective is just problem solving.

I honestly cannot speak for any Gujarati in SV or even tech, but in my experience, I don't think that Gujaratis are significantly different in terms of skills, morality, or values than any other Indian or non-Indian group of people. It is very easy to say Gujaratis are shrewd or follow the old-boys-club tactics but those are just typical human traits passed on culturally and sociologically instead of genetically. The basic Gujarati values mirror the basic Indian values (be peaceful, love everyone, respect elders, help the poor, be studious, work hard) but some are emphasized a lot more than others.

For every commenter in here saying Gujarat is a backwards place, I personally know a Gujarati who has donated large amount of money to non-religious public service projects. My uncle sponsors the education of 10 kids in our village in India and feeds 100+ people on the death anniversary of my grandfather. I am not saying he is a saint, I am saying he is just one data point among the tens of thousands of successful Gujaratis. It's not fair to measure charity, benevolence, and kindness because one's native place is not Singapore or Zurich just yet.

In the past few decades, our village has progressed significantly, with wealthier Gujaratis awarding scholarships to kids in need ( http://www.balasinorcollege.com/found_trust.html ). Is that enough to wipe out poverty from Gujarat or India? Absolutely not. Gujaratis are NOT any different from other people. Few great, most decent, and a handful of bad apples (e.g. Harshad Mehta). I don't think the article was trying to highlight Gujaratis are some uber-exceptional race. It was just highlighting how ingrained business acumen is in the Gujarati ethos.