GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
August 2006
NOTE: GOPIO News is a monthly newsletter of GOPIO
International, based in the
CONTENTS
GAINING OVERESEAS INDIAN
CITIZENSHIP TO BE MADE EASIER
US-INDIA
NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION BILL PASSED BY THE
GOPIO
DEPLORES T&T GOVERNMENT ACTION AGAINST CHIEF JUSTICE
GUYANA SEEKS DIASPORA RESOURCES
GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER
NEWS
GOPIO HOLDS PROTEST
RALLY AT THE UN TO PROTEST VIOLATION OF RULE OF LAW IN
NED
LAMONT CHATS WITH MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF GOPIO-CT
GOPIO-CT TO PRESENT
SCHOLARSHIPS TO ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS ON AUGUST 11
GOPIO
CONDEMNS MUMBAI TRAIN BLASTS
NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE
BENITA SINGH IS
RECIPIENT OF NEWS WEEK MAGAZINE AWARD
TWO INDO-CANADIANS
NAMED TO THE ORDER OF
NEWS OF
INTEREST TO NRIs AND PIOs AROUND THE WORLD
MAHATMA GANDHI
MEMORIALS TO BE BUILT IN
AMITABH BACHCHAN
HONORED IN
MADHYA
PRADESH ORGANIZES NRI MEET
GULF NRIs FACE HIKE IN AIRFARE
NRI CELL IN ANDHRA
PRADESH
GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER
FORMATION
EDITORIAL BOARD
GAINING OVERSEAS INDIAN CITIZENSHIP TO BE MADE EASIER
The Minister had a lively interaction with over 200
nonresident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIO) gathered over a luncheon
organized by the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and
hosted by GOPIO-
The interactive session was moderated by GOPIO Chairman Dr.
Thomas Abraham. Lal Motwani, president of the GOPIO-
Before Minister Ravi spoke, GOPIOs National Coordinator for
The minister also tackled a sensitive issue raised by the
PIOs, especially those hailing from the Carribbeans, that nonresident Indians
don't treat them as one of their own. "They are our brother and sisters. I
appeal every nonresident Indians that they should not forget the sacrifices made
by the people of Indian origin in order to maintain their Indian identity," the
minister said amid a rousing applauds.
GOPIO Chairman Abraham further clarified that GOPIO coined
the word People of Indian Origin or PIOs for Indians living outside
GOPIO had arranged several such interactive sessions with
Some of the organizations who cosponsored the event were:
GOPIO-Connecticut, National Federation of Indian American Associations,
Federation of Kerala Association of North America, American Indian Association
of North America, World Gujarati Conference 2006, Indian American Kerala
Cultural and Civic Center, Indian Business Association of NJ, Association of
Indians in the Construction Industry, Indian Association of Long Island and
Indo-American Business Association of NY.
Sanatan Dharma Maha
Sabha of West Indies, Guyana East
Indian Civic Association, Indo-Caribbean Council, World Business Forum Inc,
Asian American Coalition USA Inc, Sikh Organization of New York, Non-Resident
Indian for Secular and Harmonious India and Indian Muslim Council-USA were also
the cosponsors.
Ravi assured the PIO community full cooperation of the
government of
GOPIO International recognized GOPIO-
GOPIO Hosts Meeting in
Earlier on June 29th, GOPIO in association with many local community
organizations including NFIA, FIAs, IONC hosted reception for Minister Ravi Vayalar at the Bombay Club restaurant
in the Loss Angeles area.
The reception and gala dinner was attended by over 250 people from the
Indian community.
On behalf of GOPIO
International, President Inder Singh presented GOPIO life membership certificate
to the minister in the presence of life members Dr. Arjun Daluvoy, Dr. Pammi Bevli, Babu Patel, Chandu Patel and Santosh Verma.
Many local Indian community
leaders attended the reception. Also, two Indian American elected officials
Harry Sidhu, councilman for
In answering questions from the
audience, Ravi said that there is large number of applicants for dual
citizenship from all over the world, mainly from the
GOPIO Hosts Meeting in
During his three-week-long whirlwind trip to the United
States, Ravi addressed several functions and participated in interactions with
India community in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington DC,
New York, New Jersey and Chicago.
US-INDIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION BILL PASSED BY THE
By
an overwhelming majority of 359 in support of, while 68 against, the House of
Representatives passed the bill titled '
The margin was overwhelming. GOPIO along with several other Indian community groups has been
actively engaged in educating the public officials about the importance US-India
cooperation in nuclear energy and other areas. GOPIO plans to continue it
campaign till the bill passes through the Senate and finally through the House
and Senate Conference Committee. GOPIO thanks all its chapters and other Indian
American organizations, which have been actively campaigning for the passage of
this bill in the US Congress.
GOPIO DEPLORES T&T GOVERNMENT ACTION AGAINST CHIEF
JUSTICE
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO
International) deplores and condemns the recent and continuing actions by the
Government of Trinidad and Tobago to impede the independent functioning of the
judiciary and the process of constitutional law in
The constitution of
We view with grave concern the arbitrary and deliberate
decision by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to deny due legal process as
flagrant violation of individual rights as well as the rights of all citizens of
The threat by the Prime Minister a few weeks ago that the
Chief Justice must resign or otherwise he would be charged by the Police on the
accusation of attempting to pervert the course of justice, raises the question
of the Prime Minister controlling the judicial process. This smacks of
dictatorial tendency and tentamounts to naked attack on the independence of
all Judges of the Supreme Court and on the human and fundamental rights of all
individuals in
The actions of the government of
While every country should maintain and enforce its laws,
we expect that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago must also take all
appropriate measures to abide by the rule of law and provide the guaranteed
means for due process and protection of fundamental individual rights as
stipulated in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights, said GOPIO Internationals Secretary General Ashook
Ramsaran. Irrespective of the nature or outcome of the accusations, denial of
fairness and equitable treatment of its citizens according to rule of law are a
breach of trust and must be remedied, continued Ramsaran.
GOPIO International firmly supports the concept that no one
should be above the law, and recognizes that fair and just application of
the rule of law is the cornerstone of a progressive society. We expect that the
Government of Trinidad and Tobago would take all necessary precautions to ensure
that no unfavorable impressions or undue actions would raise the level of racial
tensions in a society that is known for its fairly high level of peaceful
co-existence among the different ethnic groups, stated GOPIOs
GOPIO International encourages and fully supports all
efforts for the fair and equal treatment of all citizens of any country,
especially one with a significant population of people of Indian origin. GOPIO
International urges the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to promptly revert to
the rule of law and due process so that this present critical situation can be
remedied without prolonged and adverse effects to the good citizens of
Trinidad and Tobago, a former British colony, is an
independent island nation located just off the northern coast of South America,
with a population of slightly over 1,300,000 of which 45% are people of Indian
origin whose ancestors were brought there as indentured sugar plantation
laborers during the nineteenth century.
GUYANA SEEKS DIASPORA RESOURCES
The Government of Guyana in collaboration with the private
sector recently launched the Presidential Summit on Private Sector
Development. The
On May 8, 2006, more than 300 public and private sector
leaders came together at the Presidential Summit on Private Sector Development
to support this ongoing process to create a more prosperous
Several initial action areas were identified. These were Cricket World
Cup 2007, Call Centres and
Contract Manufacturing, Aquaculture, Non-traditional Agricultural Products,
Financing, Creating Brain Gain, Opportunities from the CSME, a Five Year Tourism
Development Plan and Tapping Diaspora Resources.
Dr. Prem Misir, Pro-Chancellor of the
The action team is interested in enlisting your support for
GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS
GOPIO HOLDS PROTEST RALLY AT THE UN TO PROTEST VIOLATION OF
RULE OF LAW IN
A large sized, tumultuous and vocal crowd gathered on July
31, 2006 in front of the United Nations in
The purpose was to condemn the undemocratic actions of the
Government of Trinidad and
It was an exhilarating crowd of protesters in front of a
large banner captioned PROTEST AGAINST VIOLATION OF RULE OF LAW IN
TRINIDAD, and they were very vocal with their demands for "JUSTICE", "RULE OF
LAW", "DEMOCRACY", "JUDICIAL PROCESS", "HUMAN RIGHTS". The crowd demanded prompt
actions to correct the present threats to stability in
The demonstration started with welcome by GOPIO-New York
President Lal Motwani, who urged everyone to stand together in pursuit of
justice. GOPIO Secretary General and the protest rally initiator and organizer
Ashook Ramsaran stated in his opening statement that the rule of law is
the cornerstone to any democracy and a progressive society. The United Nation
Charter on Human Rights guarantees due process and the UN must
bring pressure to bear on the government to respect the
rule of law and the constitution".
An array of notable speakers included GOPIO Chairman
Dr Thomas Abraham who reminded the crowd that GOPIO has been on the
forefront in speaking out against violations of human rights against people of
Indian origin (PIOs). Dr. Abraham
referred to the historic 2000 Zurich GOPIO resolution which states, When any person of Indian origin is abused, attacked or
discriminated against in any part of the world because of his or her ethnicity,
all persons of Indian origin around the world will deem such an act or action
directed against all of them and will stand together in the pursuit of
justice. Dr. Abraham continued that we at GOPIO are vigilant on
behalf of all Indians in the Diaspora and we take up the issue when their
interests are at stake.
A very dynamic and compelling speech was delivered by
Ramesh L. Maharaj, Chairman of the Trinidad
& Tobago Civil Rights Association (TTCRA). The former Attorney
General of Trinidad
& Tobago told the audience the crowd that his mission in
accepting an invitation to attend the rally as President of the Trinidad and
Tobago Civil Rights Association was to make the international community more
aware of the serious breaches of the rule of law in T&T especially as it
relates to the violation of the constitution in removing the CJ from office.
Maharaj charged that the
government violated High Court and Privy Council orders on the Chief Justice
issue. He said whenever "a government disobeys orders of the High Court
and interferes with the independence of the justice system, the government is no longer a democratic
government. Dictatorship and tyranny then become the order of the day".
Maharaj said he regards "T&T as a dictatorship and a police
state under the guise of constitutionalism". He continued, "the government's handling of the Chief Justice issue
has fully established the dictatorship of the government because the government
has openly decided not to follow the constitution of the country and to openly
defy the orders of the Supreme Court". Maharaj stated that when law ends tyranny begins and
"that is the position of T&T which makes the enjoyment of individual rights
and freedoms not guaranteed". He said "the treatment of the CJ gives the
perception that an individual cannot get independent justice from the
courts. The judges have been terrorized by the government's action in the
Chief Justice issue. It sends a signal to them that the government can use
the coercive powers of the state to effectively remove them from office without
the government following the procedures established by the constitution for
their removal". Maharaj called
upon the Caribbean people to wake up and stand up for democracy in T&T.
Maharaj said "this rally is the
first of a series of international exposure which will be repeated in
Attorney-at-Law Kawal Totaram, Chairman of the Queens
Caribbean Bar Association (QCBA), gave
his full
support to this rally to bring about the rule of law in
Dr. Ashford Maharaj
insisted on the respect for and observance of the judicial process that must be
maintained for TnT. He informed the crowd to sign the
petition to be sent the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Amb. Luis Alfonso de Alba, President of the UN Human
Rights Council. Guyanese East Indian Civic Association director Prakash Singh
reminded the crowd of their obligations to be supportive of efforts such as this
protest rally that defend your rights.
Linda Guillebeaux
of FREE MUMIA COALATION was very emphatic in her appeal for rule of law,
democracy, human rights and respect for the judiciary. We are all in this
struggle together and we give strength for this common cause. ICC Secretary
Roop
Narayan Prasad
expressed his appreciation for GOPIO's efforts to bring this issue to the forefront
and to bring more awareness for the world to know Other speakers included
Rev. Seopaul
Singh and
Pt. Upadhaya.
Ramesh Kalicharran
of ICC and a founding GOPIO life member, reminded everyone of the worthy cause
we are defending here today as the struggle continues for rule of law and
democracy in
In closing, GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran repeated the unprecedented actions by the
Government to thwart the judicial process and the need to continue to raise our
voices in protest. Ramsaran expressed thanks for all the sponsors, supporters
and all those who worked so hard and so diligently to make this event a
success.
The rally planners further say that a formal report on the
abuse of law in
NED LAMONT CHATS WITH MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF GOPIO-CT
Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO International started the evening with
observing a moment of silence to pay respect for the lives lost in terrorist
attacks in Mumbai, India train bomb blasts. In his introductory remarks Dr.
Abraham said that the Indian American community in
Sangeeta Ahuja president of GOPIO-CT welcomed the attendees and said that
the Connecticut Chapter was launched in March of this year and it is a
non-partisan, secular organization that is engaged in promoting the wellbeing of
people of Indian origin. She also mentioned that CT chapter is committed to get
the youth involved in community activities. One of their goals is to interact
with community leaders in order to build and strengthen relationships and
promote better mutual understanding.
Pravin Banker a member of the Host Committee introduced Mr. Ned
Lamont as a man who has the courage to challenge a well established member of
the Senate.
Ned Lamont said that I am running for US Senate because we deserve a
senator who will stand up for
He discussed issues about
The evening was enjoyed by over fifty people. Venkat Sharma, Vice President
GOPIO-CT in his closing remarks urged friends of GOPIO-CT to show their support
by becoming members and getting involved in the Community.
GOPIO-CT TO PRESENT SCHOLARSHIPS TO ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS
ON AUGUST 11
GOPIO-CT has scheduled a celebration for the 59th anniversary Indias Independence with dinner,
awards presentation and a speaker on Friday, August 11 at the Meera Restaurant
in Stamford, CT. Earlier, GOPIO had invited high school and college students to
participate in an essay contest titled How Does Democracy Arise, Survive and
Thrive. Two winners in each category will receive scholarship worth $1,000 and
$500 respectively.
The chief guest for the evening is Diane Farrell,
democratic congressional candidate for the US House of Representatives from the
4th District in CT.
Contact: GOPIO-CT President Sangeeta Ahuja at 203-329-9744,
E-mail: sangeetaahuja@aol.com GOPIO-CT Secretary Bhaskar Majee at 203-853-2303, E-mail: bmajee@gmail.com
GOPIO CONDEMNS MUMBAI TRAIN BLASTS
GOPIO expresses strong and unequivocal condemnation of the
seven train blasts in first class compartments of suburban trains killing over
150 innocent people and injuring over 500 others on July 11, 2006. GOPIO
considers Mumbai explosions targeting the commuters during the peak hours around
6:00PM as unjustified and unforgivable criminal action directed to create fear
among the Indian people and commuters in particular.
GOPIO also condemns grenade attacks in
We strongly and categorically condemn these most
reprehensible acts of crime against innocent people. We share the pain and
anguish of our brethren and sisters in
NRIs/PIOs ARCHIEVE
INDIAN AMERICAN BENITA SINGH IS RECIPIENT OF NEWS WEEK MAGAZINE AWARD
Indian-American Benita Singh, a Yale university student, is
among 15
Benita and her
partner Ruth DeGolia have been
chosen for their work among women, especially widows, in
After two years in refugee camps
in
The selection was made by the
Belgian Foreign Ministry and the
Some 300 Indian families mainly
hailing from the state of Gujarat live in the port city of
Mehta joined his family business
in Mumbai in 1970 and came to the port city in 1973 to establish Rosy Blue NV,
the first overseas office of B Arunkumar (now Rosy Blue India). Mehta took Belgian
nationality in 2001. Over the last 35 years Rosy Blue has grown into the leading
global diamond company with an annual turnover of $1.7 billion in 2005. Rosy
Blue is located in 15 countries and employs over 10,000 employees.
Mehta said, "
"I am extremely proud to have
received this award and would like in particular to thank both the Belgian Royal
family and government for honoring me in this way."
Mehta sits on various world diamond industry boards
including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). He is also an Honorary
Member and supporter of Special Olympics Belgium.
Mehta is also Life member of GOPIO since January 2004.
Dr. Prem Misir, Pro-Chancellor of the
An Indian student was on Wednesday honored with the first
prize in a prestigious international space science competition for his project
on industrial extraction of oxygen from the lunar soil to commercialize space
travel.
Kamal Tripuraneni's project 'A Greater Viability of Space Travel by the Lunar
Generation of Oxygen via the FFC-Cambridge Process' has been adjudged as the best by an international jury of
experts and awarded first prize of 'Robert A Heinlein Flight into the Future
Contest,' a spokesman for the US-based trust that conducts it said after
presentation of awards here.
"The project of Indian student Kamal Tripuraneni, currently studying in
Along with USD 3,500 cash prize and diploma, Tripuraneni would also benefit from the
international recognition of his work.
The contest is conducted by the US Heinlein Prize Trust and
assisted by the Russian Aviation and Space Scientific Innovation Educational
Complex (RASSIEC).
The competition aims at encouraging young international
students and researchers in the field of space exploration.
Created to honor the memory of renowned American author
Robert A Heinlein, the contest, originally for citizens from European, African,
and West Asian nations, also allows students under 30 regardless of nationality,
attending any European, African, or Middle Eastern institution.
Contest entries should include scientific, technical and
business plan of the proposed project.
Two more projects prepared by Indian students Rohan Sahani, V Anbarasan and R Ravivarman, studying in Europe, were
among the 20 entries which reached the final of the contest along with the works
of their fellows from
TWO INDO-CANADIANS NAMED TO THE ORDER OF
Two
Indo-Canadians - a political economist and a healthcare worker - have been named
to the Order of
Malhotra and Rajan may not be household names, but have
worked tirelessly to make
Rajan, who divides his time between
They
are among the 77 Canadians named to the order by Governor-General Michaelle Jean. Established in 1967,
the Order of Canada recognizes "a lifetime of outstanding achievement,
dedication to the community and service to the nation" in a range of fields.
It
is presented at three levels: member, officer and companion. There are only 165
living companions at any given time. Rajan and Malhotra will be invited to
accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.
NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD
MAHATMA GANDHI MEMORIALS TO BE BUILT IN
Historically important places in
the life of Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in
Secretary of Sabarmati Ashram of Ahmedabad Amrut Modi said all the three places, where Mahatma Gandhi
had lived an important part of his life, will be revived with the help of local
residents of that country and governments. Efforts would also be made to include
these three places as heritage sites in those countries, he added.
"At present, these places are in
ruins. After Gandhiji left
"It was in
AMITABH BACHCHAN HONORED IN
Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan received a honorary doctorate from the
After receiving the honorary doctorate, Bachchan went across to the nearby famous Walkers
Stadium - home of the Leicester City Football Club. Here, he responded to
questions from 10 of his fans who had been selected through a contest by
Leicester Mercury, a local daily, and Sabras Radio, a leading station devoted to Asian
music.
Accompanied by Leicester East MP Keith Vaz and Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, Bachchan told the gathering at the
stadium: "I am totally humbled by this and accepted the honour with a great amount of humility. I feel this
is recognition of the Indian film industry as well and so accepted it on its
behalf."
Bachchan was presented a Leicester City Football Club's blue shirt
with his name and number 9 printed on the back. The event was compered by Nina Wadia, noted British Asian actress best known for
her roles in the comedy Goodness Gracious Me.
In the House of Commons, Vaz and 38 other MPs moved an early day motion,
which said: "That this House congratulates Amitabh Bachchan on being awarded an honorary degree from De
Montfort University, Leicester;
notes his towering contribution to Indian cinema having received 10 Filmfare awards and being named BBC
Star of the Millennium; recognises his work as a goodwill ambassador for
UNICEF and as former member of the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Indian Parliament; and
hopes that the award will continue to strengthen ties between the UK and
India".
A school in
MADHYA PRADESH ORGANIZES NRI MEET
Madhya Pradesh government has been wooing the NRI investors
in the last five years. MP government has been active participant in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2003. A two-day NRI Meet was
organized in
GULF NRIs
FACE HIKE IM AIRFARE
For the last many
years, the low and middle
Overseas Indians
Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi has
been reported pleading with his colleague Praful Patel, the Civil Aviation Minister for
exemption from the hike in airfares for the Gulf NRI passengers. But the issue still
stands unresolved.
There are about
five million NRIs living in the
Gulf countries, majority of whom hail from Kerala. Most of them work on low
paid jobs and support their families in
NRI CELL IN ANDHRA PRADESH
According to a recent IANS report, the Andhra Pradesh
cabinet decided on July 27 to set up a cell to address issues and concerns of
NRIs working in the Gulf
countries. There are as many as one million people from Andhra Pradesh working
in the Gulf religion. The employment agents and employers have continued to
exploit the workers. Some even have been forced to commit suicide. The cell
which will be headed by a high ranking official, will have four members and will take
necessary steps to protect jobseekers from the exploitation and also help the
workers in distress.
GOPIO, LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
GOPIO is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global organization
with chapters in several countries, actively promoting the interests of people
of Indian origin worldwide by monitoring and addressing current critical issues
of concern, and by enhancing cooperation and communication between groups of
Indians living in various countries.
GOPIO Individual Life membership is open to all who believe
in the mission of GOPIO. The one- time fee is $5,000 for Platinum Life
Membership, $2,500 for Gold Life Membership and $1,500 Silver Life Membership
and half the amount for each category for those from developing countries and
GOPIO is looking forward to opening chapters in all major
cities of the world so as to network people of Indian origin all over the world.
If you do not have chapter in your city, please visit GOPIO website (www.gopio.net) and get details of
chapter initiation (visit http://www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm).
Process involves sending a letter of intent to start a chapter by a committee of
five people or more.
For more information, contact:
GOPIO President Inder Singh,
GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows,
To
become a Life member of GOPIO, visit http://www.gopio.net/membership_form.htm, print and
fill up the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO,
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chief Editor: Dr.
Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO (
Webmaster:
Prashant Gupta (
Contributors of this issue: Inder Singh (USA), Sunil Prasad (
GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO related stories from all over
the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or reporter. Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham,
Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net
Visit GOPIOs Official site at www.gopio.net or
www.gopio.com