November/December 2002 News Bulletin

www.gopio.net

CONTENTS

 

v     NFIA Convention – A Great Success

 

v     Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

 

v     GOPIO Convention in New Delhi, Janaury 8th, 2003

 

v     GOPIO Belgium Launched in Brussels

 

v     GOPIO New York – Environmentalist Dr. Ashok Khosla Hosted in New York

 

v     GOPIO Chicagolands Expands



NFIA BIENNIAL CONVENTION – A GREAT SUCCESS

 

NFIA UNIFIES THE INDO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

 

The 12th biennial convention of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), held in Detroit, October 11-13 was a remarkable display of a unified community destined to reach new heights in United Stated. Present were all the past presidents except one, who pledged to work together to strengthen NFIA and to help enhance the quality of life for all Indo-Americans. Nearly 200 delegates and guests coming from all over the United States and many more people from the surrounding areas were treated to four stimulating seminars and two evenings of superb entertainment program.

 

The highlight of the event was the gala banquet held in a beautifully decorated hall and attended by a capacity crowd of over 600 people. Indian Ambassador at-large Bhishma Agnihotri, Member of Maharashtra Assembly and its Chief Whip Raj Purohit, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey), Congressman Joseph Knollenberg (R-Michigan), and David Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Community addressed the convention in various sessions.  In addition, there were many academicians from U.S. Universities and community leaders also participated in the deliberation of the contemporary issues at the gathering. Virtually every delegate said at the conclusion of the event that it was well planned, well organized and superbly conducted NFIA convention.

 

The delegates and guests were given a grand reception in the evening at the poolside of the posh Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn, MI. At the dinner later that evening, nearly 300 guests were present.

 

INAUGURAL DINNER

 

Congressman Knollenberg, a 5-term member of the US House of Representatives was the chief guest at the Friday dinner. He paid a glowing tribute to the Indian American community and said that the community was the most civic-minded group of people he has come in contact with. “India is the biggest Democracy in the world and is a model for other nations for its democratic institutions,” observed Knollenberg. He said India has demonstrated how to conduct an orderly transfer of power through democratic means. He reminded his audience that the relation between India and the United States have never been better and cited many examples of unprecedented military, diplomatic and economic cooperation between the two countries. Talking about the September 11 event in the Unite States and December 13 attack on Indian Parliament, Knollenberg insisted that the goal of the terrorists to destroy the democratic values of both the United States and India.

 

DAVID HARRIS ON INDIA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

 

David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Community traced the history of US-India and India-Israel relations. In the beginning, he said, the relations were cool and chilly. The United States paid little attention to India. There was a 22 years gap between the visit by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and President Bill Clinton in 2000, during which little attention was paid to India. The warming of relations between India and Israel took even longer. They are now catching up for the lost time. “Both countries have sought to compensate for the past neglect and indifference, and have established cooperation in a host of political, economic, cultural, and defense projects,” emphasized Harris. “Having moved away from erstwhile blinders and rhetoric, India has been adopting a more assertive posture toward Israel.” Harris praised India for housing and nurturing the Jewish communities for centuries, and for absence of any anti-Semitism in that country. Today India stands tall for Democracy, for Democratic nations solve their differences at the peace table and not in the war fields. Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab nations with no democratic system, said Harris. They do not have fair and free elections to elect their leaders. “You create Democracy in those nations, and the Middle East conflict will be solved in a day,” insisted Harris. 

 

Raj Purohit, the chief Whip of the Maharashtra Assembly said he was very impressed with the work of NFIA and wanted to see its expanded role in India. “Let me help you to make political leaders in India aware of NFIA,” promised Purohit. “Unless people in India know about the work of NFIA, you cannot expect much cooperation from them,” he argued. He suggested holding an NFIA conference in New Delhi.

 

A colorful live extravaganza entertainment program featuring dances to the folk, classical and popular movie songs representing different part of India followed the dinner on Friday evening. The program was a combination of professional artists performing classical dances and local children as young as 4 years old dancing beautifully on the stage.

 

STIMULATING SEMINARS

 

Although the program of NFIA conventions are often dominated by providing delegates fun, food and fellowship, the 2002 convention also had some of the best intellectually stimulating discussions and debates on contemporary issues. The seminars on Strengthening US-India Friendship and Fighting Global Terrorism were lively and generated a lot of discussion by the audience. Raju Thomas, the Allis Chalmers Distinguished Professor of International Affairs from Marquette University argued that India should return to Jawahar Lal Nehru’s Non-Alignment movement and values of Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Violent Resistance in the conduct of its foreign and domestic policies. “Recall that Nehru’s nonalignment policy called for judging international issues on (their) merits while taking into account India’s national interests,” reminded Thomas. “Non-alignment did not mean neutrality,” he added. He went on to say that Gandhi preached non-violent solutions for India’s acute domestic crises. Gandhi believed, emphasized Thomas, that moral power could overcome military might. Backs then these views were considered naïve and utopian, but they are more relevant today in a world without countervailing power.

 

Speaking on the US-India friendship, Prof. Surjit Mansingh of New Delhi and currently in Washington, DC, urged the Indo-American community to remove not only the misperceptions about India in the United States, but also create a good image of the United States in India. “It is evident that the role of Asian Indians of America is most vital in knitting together the bonds of kinship, secular and democratic values, and liberal, peaceful goals that draw our two countries together,” said Mansingh. She told the audience, “strong human relationship can last only on the basis of mutual knowledge, understanding, and care. So too with nations.”  “And who is better qualified than we are to make such a lasting contribution to strengthening US-India relations,” she asked.

 

Congressman Frank Pallone, the founder of India caucus in the House of Representatives, praised India for its three attributes: greatest democracy, rule of law and secularism. He said Americans are still naïve about India. “It is your job to ‘sell’ India in the United States,” he insisted. Pallone reviewed the progress of US-India relations and much progress had been made in diplomatic, defense and economic sector.  The popular Congressman in the Indian Community was at the convention all day Saturday and addressed the attendees at three different occasions. He was the keynote speaker at the gala banquet.

 

Dr. ThomasAbraham, Priseident of GOPIO made a presentation on “Indo-US Relations – A community Perspective.” Projecting the US Census of  2000 to 2002, Dr. Abraham said that the population of Asian Indians and Indian Americans in the U.S. is estimated to be over 2 million. Adding another 250,000 people of people of Indian origin (mostly Indo-Caribbeans), the number of PIOs in the US will swell to 2.25 million. Dr. Abraham furthers gave a historical perspectives of the Indian community’s involvement to improve US-Indian relations and concluded that Indian Americans are precious elements of US-India relations.

 

India’s Ambassador-at-large NRIs and PIOs addressed the banquetand traced the history of India-US cooperation in various fields. He praised the Indo-American community for their role in strengthening the Indo-US friendship. He announced that he was planning to sponsor a number of workshops on public and media relations for the community, in order for the Indo-Americans to enhance their efforts in promoting stronger ties between India and the United States.

 

Ved Nanda, Vice Provost, University of Denver, Colorado, made several observations on US-India relations. He said India’s role in the future of the world is not limited to its geopolitical relations with Pakistan and it should play an expanded role as a leader among nations. He emphasized that the relations of India with other countries should be independent of its conflict with Pakistan.

 

There was a spirited discussion at the Women’s issue seminar on a number of their concern. Their major complaint was lack of recognition of women’s talent by the male leaders of the community. The seminar on youths brought out a similar theme: lack of youth participation in community organizations and lack of encouragement by elders. David Dhillon, the former mayor of El Centro, Nisha Gambhir and Sujay Jaswa spoke at the youth seminar and made suggestions how to involve the next generation in community organizations.

 

GALA BANQUET

 

The highlight of the convention was the gala banquet, Saturday evening. The banquet hall was beautifully decorated with colorful banners. The hall was packed to capacity. Rarely has one seen such a sophisticated and attentive audience at any Indian gathering, as it was observed at the banquet. After people patiently listened to speeches, they were enthralled by Indian movie songs and music played by eight highly talented artists of the Sursangam band headed by Narendra Sheth. The organizers had to extend the time of adjournment when people wanted to continue listening the melodious songs. “I came from all the way from California to attend this convention,” a delegate observed. “After listening to this most enjoyable music, I feel that it was worth coming to this convention.” 

 

Parthasarthy Pillai, the president of NFIA listed many accomplishment of the organization over the past two years and problems it had with the ‘imposter’ NFIA that is illegally using NFIA name. “Last two years were the years of triumph and despair,” he said. “It was year of triumph, for despite many difficulties, NFIA for the first time, went ahead to organize a successful trade and Technology conference in Washington, DC that focused on business opportunities and helped sustain the cordial US-India relations.”  Niraj Baxi, the incoming president, presented the future agenda for NFIA.

 

Commenting on the convention, Thomas Abraham, the NFIA founder, said, “the team spirit was quite obvious throughout the convention, the large attendance at the banquet was impressive, and the speakers were very eloquent.” Subash Razdan, another past president of NFIA commented,  “there were no glitches and grand finale of the night of musical medley was enjoyable, relaxing and fun. We all would have continued, in fact, wanted to stay up all night to enjoy such superb singers and the band, had time permitted.”  The delegates joined in dancing to the music until the wee hours of the night. Chairman of the NFIA board of trustees Haresh Panchal said he was elated to see the solidarity of all past presidents at this convention. Inder Singh, another past president, who chaired the awards committee, said he was pleased by the continuing tradition of NFIA in recognizing people for their distinguished accomplishments.

 

The general body meeting was held on Sunday morning, at which time, amendments to the bylaws were discussed, and resolutions supporting a greater role of women in community organization and applauding the efforts of the convention organizing team were approved. Elections of the new officers (see separate story) were conducted. Transfer of leadership was smoothly carried out.

 

“Although we had very little time and limited budget to put together this convention, I am delighted that with the help of the local leaders every went so well,” said an elated convener of the convention, Radha Krishnan.

 

“Our gratitude goes to Convener Radha Krishnan, and Co-convener Ramesh N. Patel and their team for putting together this superb convention,” concluded Baxi the incoming president of NFIA.  

 

NFIA RECOGNIZES FIVE AT AWARDS BANQUET 2002

 

The National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) has been recognizing outstanding and meritorious accomplishments by individuals of Indian origin since its inception in 1980. The 12 Biennial Convention held recently in Detroit recognized five Indian Americans at the Awards banquet for their outstanding contributions in their chosen field or activity as follows

Manjit S. Bains, M.D. – Medicine and Medical Research

Dr. Manjit Singh Bains, a graduate All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, has been on the staff of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center since completing his fellowship in 1972. He is an Attending Surgeon in the Thoracic Service, Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College. He has developed several techniques in operative treatment of cancer involving esophagus, chest wall, mediastinal tumors and major vessels.  He is considered a doctor’s doctor and has very often been called during intraoperative disasters, caused by others. He has been involved in the treatment of numerous VIPs from India, and around the world

Prof. Brij M. Moudgil – Engineering and Technology

Dr. Brij M. Moudgil is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Director of the Engineering Research Center for Particle Science and Technology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.  Dr. Moudgil also serves as the Director of the UF Mineral Resources Research Center.  He received his M.S. and Eng.Sc.D. degrees in Mineral Engineering - Particulate Processing from Columbia University, New York.vHe has published over 180 technical papers and has presented more than 360 papers at scientific meetings and seminars, both in the U.S. and abroad, including 100 invited/plenary talks.  He has been awarded 14 patents, and has edited 9 books. He has organized and chaired 9 major international conferences/workshops, and served (or currently serving) as a member of the editorial board of the following international journals: Colloids & Surfaces (1994-99); Minerals and Metallurgical Processing Journal (1986-98), and KONA (1996-Present). His research and professional leadership accomplishments are recognized by several major awards including his election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the highest honor accorded to an Engineer in the USA.

Indra Shah – Community Service

Indra shah was a partner in the Law firm of Weltman, Weinberg & Reiss and President of its title agency, Attorneys Title. Indra was the secretary of NFIA and a drafter of its first constitution. Indra was a past president of FICA, Cleveland, Ohio and the editor of its newsletter, The Lotus. Significant Awards and Achievements include: Trustee, Cleveland Bar Association and Cuyahoga Bar Association; Secretary, Real estate section, Ohio State Bar Association; Recipient of Freedom Award presented by Sen. Voinivich on behalf of American Nationalities Movement; Asian Leadership Award given by Ohio Civil Rights Commission; Elected to the Central & Executive committee of the Lake County Republican party; Chairman, Outreach Committee, Lake County Republication Party; Appointed by the Chief Justice of Ohio Supreme Court as a member of  the board of Bar examiners; Chairman, Community Relations Board, City of Eastlake, Ohio.

Raj and Padma Vattikutti - Entrepreneurship

Raj Vattikutti founded Complete Business Solution Inc, (CBSI) in 1985 and brought the company public in 1997. He served as President and CEO during this period and through mid-2000 when he became the C-Chairman. The firm began with 20 employees and the headcount exceeded 5000 worldwide by the end of 2000. CBSI became Covansys in 2001. Vattikutti has always had a strong commitment to the community and in particular to education in the IT industry. He partnered with Focus HOPE to develop an IT training curriculum for Detroit area students.

Padma Vattikutti - Philanthropy

As one of the most inspiring philanthropist in Michigan, the Vattikutti foundation headed by Raj and Padma Vattikutti, set precedence in the medical industry with a commitment of $40 million towards cancer research. Two of Michigan’s leading organizations, Beaumont Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital, were designated as the recipients of this generous donation. Beaumont Hospital and Henry ford Hospital are utilizing these gifts to work in their breast cancer projects and urological research, respectively.

 

THE FINALE MEETING ELECTS NEW OFFICERS

 

The finale General Body meeting, a representative group of the various Indian associations spread around the country elected Prof. Rajen Anand unanimously as its President-elect. Niraj Baxi who was elected in the 2000 elections held in Dallas TX now assumes the presidency of NFIA. Parthasarthy Pillai who headed this organization for the past two years now will be the chairman of the NFIA Foundation. The NFIA holds biennial elections for the position of president-elect who after two years acts as the president.


Anand, a political activist, has been associated with many community organizations, including NFIA for over two decades. He has served as secretary and executive vice president of NFIA in the past. He was the 2nd president of the local Federation of Indo-American Associations (FIA) of Southern California and was a member of the California Democratic Party executive board for 4 years. He was an elected delegate to the National Democratic Conventions in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. Anand was the founding chair of the Indo-American Political Association, which was established in California in1986. Currently he serves as Professor of Physiology at the California State University, Long Beach, where he also chaired two academic departments. Anand was appointed by President Clinton to one of the highest-level positions and he served as head of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion in Washington DC, 1995-2001.


Umbrella Organization


The NFIA is the oldest umbrella organization comprised of a large number of Indo-American Associations in the country. It was founded by Dr. Thomas Abraham in 1980 to unify the diverse groups and to provide them a platform to discuss contemporary issues facing the community. NFIA is perhaps the only national organization that accepts membership from all groups of Indo-Americans irrespective of their ethnic, religious, regional, professional or political affiliation. Each of the member organization is
represented by its delegates who vote to elect NFIA officers. The officers elected biennially are the president-elect, executive vice president, 3 vice presidents, secretary, joint-secretary, and treasurer. The president and these officers comprise the executive committee. The election of additional members of the board is also held at the same biennial convention.



The 2002 NFIA elections were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. Seldom has one seen such a smooth transfer of power in any Indian organization as it was visible at this NFIA event. Vimu Rajdev, Sudha Acharya, and Paramjit Singh acted as election commissioners. After they announced the results of the elections, the winners rejoiced their victory, but the losers accepted their defeat in a graceful manner, strongly pledging
their cooperation to the newly elected board. Unlike the previous elections in 1998, when the people who lost elections walked out of the hall, every defeated candidate pledged his/her continuing support to the organization. All candidates later joined for lunch and the meeting of the newly elected board.


In addition to Anand as president-elect, Radha Krishnan (Michigan) who was the convener and chairman of the successful convention was elected executive Vice President, Mahendra Shah (Maryland) as vice president for fundraising, Rajendra Jain (New Orleans) as vice president for public relations, Pramod Kamdar (California) as vice president for membership, Manmadan Nair (Texas) as secretary, Rateebhai Patel (Virginia) as Joint secretary and Gope Gidwani (Massachusetts) as tresurer. Those who were successful in the elections for directors-at-large included Ashok Madan, Archana Patel, Dhirendra Shah, M. Anirudhan, O.C. Koshy, Varghese Palamalayil, and Yogendra Gupta. Twelve Regional Vice Presidents elected from various regions and the head of local and national umbrella organizations constitute the Board of Directors. People elected to the board come from different States of the United States and represent a diverse group of people.


Following the election, Niraj Baxi, the president of NFIA observed " we have elected an excellent group of people who are strongly committed to community service, who are team players and are capable of working cooperatively with each other. Together we will take the Indian community to new heights of liberty and justice and help enhance the quality of all Indo-Americans."


NFIA has had 6 past presidents: Thomas Abraham (1980-1988), Inder Singh (1988-1992), Ramesh Patel (1992-1996), Subash Razdan (1996-1998), Haresh Panchal (1998-2000), Parthasarthy Pillai (2000-2002). Niraj Baxi (2002-2004) is the 7th president and Rajen Anand (2004-2006) will be the 8th president. Except for Patel, all of these were present at the convention. One has never seen such a smooth transfer of power, as is the case in NFIA.

 

Contact: Tel/Fax: (301) 963-1367/ (301) 935-2627, info@nationalfederation.org

 

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIWAS

 

'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: India's interface with its diaspora

 

Representatives of an estimated 22 million Indians abroad spread over 110 countries will meet in New Delhi on January nine to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' which would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpyaee.

 

January nine has been chosen for the occasion as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi had returned to India from South Africa to lead the country's freedom struggle.


Representatives of NRIs and PIOs from 40 countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE and Uganda have already registered for the conference.

Contact: FICCI, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi; Tel: (91) 11 - 3738760, E-mail: indiaday@indiaday.org

 

GOPIO CONFERENCE IN NEW DELHI, January 8th, 2003

 

In conjunction with Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, the Global Organization of people of Indian Origin is organizing a day-long conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, January 8th, 2003. The conference will have presentations on the perspectives and issues of each PIO populated country.

 

The conference will be held at the FICCI auditorium , Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi. Fro more information and participation, please contact. GOPIO President Dr. Thomas Abraham at 203-329-8010 (E-mail: gopio@optonline.net) or GOPIO Secretary General Mr. Ashoook Ramsaran at 718-353-1900 (e-mail: ramsaran@aol.com).

 

 

 

 

GOPIO Chapter News

 

Report of the Founding Congress of GOPIO Belgium held on 2nd. October 2002 in Brussels

 

 

The founding Congress of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Belgium was held in Brussels (Belgium) on the 2nd. October 2002, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Over 100 persons representing various cross section of the Indian Diaspora (Non-resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin) attended the Congress. Representatives of cultural and social organizations in Belgium also participated. 

 

The Congress opened with a welcome Spiritual Sanskrit Sloka of communal harmony and wellbeing of everyone by Uma Hardikar. 

 

In his opening address the GOPIO Belgium Convener Sunil Prasad said that the 2nd October has a special significance in India’s modern history and what else could have been a better day to launch the GOPIO Belgium Chapter than on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He welcomed the representatives of the South African Embassy, the Mauritius Embassy and several representatives of the Indian Embassy for their attendance.

 

The Convener spoke about the background of the proposed establishment of GOPIO Belgium and why there was a need to form the GOPIO Belgium Chapter. The Convener said that the journey from its initiation in June 2002 to October 2, 2002 was not a  victory of any individual but this was a collective celebration of collective efforts and a long-standing need for having this Organization in Belgium. He said that GOPIO would be a non-partisan, secular global organization engaged in promoting the well being of non-resident Indians and the People of Indian Origin.

 

He said that the Indian Diaspora today constituted an important, and a unique in the world’s political and culture sphere. It was estimated that the Indian Diaspora numbered about 22 million across 110 countries. He said that since the birth of GOPIO International in 1989, the organization has achieved many successes and is being widely viewed as the most powerful and representative organization of the Indian Diaspora. It was GOPIO which campaigned for better appreciation and reorganization of NRIs and PIOs.

 

Shashank Sapre, one of the Pro-tem Committee Members read the Brief Report of the Pro-Tem Committee which was the basis of the foundation of GOPIO Belgium. Sapre described genesis of the GOPIO establishment and various factors that led to the decision of the pro-tem members to form the GOPIO Belgium. He said that in between June and August after the visit of GOPIO President-Elect Inder Singh, the issue of setting up of GOPIO Belgium was discussed in private and after several interactions a Pro-tem Committee was set up which finally met on the 31st August 2002. 

 

In the Pro-tem meeting the draft Constitution of the proposed GOPIO Belgium was discussed and several suggestions were made. Accordingly, the pro-tem Committee representing various cross sections of NRIs and PIOs with Sunil Prasad as Convener was formalised.

 

Sapre said that the meeting unanimously agreed that a GOPIO Belgium Chapter be set up and requested the Convener to take all steps required to lead the legal set up of the Chapter. Sapre further said that the Committee asked the Convener to send a Letter of Intent to the GOPIO International, which has been done.

 

The Report of the Pro-tem Committee was unanimously accepted by the delegates with the decision that the Pro-tem Committee members will serve as  the Members of the First Executive Committee.

 

The Convener then introduced the Draft Constitution and asked for the views. At the outset, one member moved that that in between the Bi-annual Convention there should be an Annual General Meeting in order to provide a forum at least once a year to GOPIO members, Belgium being a small country.  This was supported by many. This change was approved unanimously.

 

Another issue that came up for discussion was the discrimination with respect to payment of entrée fees by foreigners for visiting Art Galleries, Museum, Monuments and other things of historical importance. It was pointed out that Foreigners are asked to pay higher entree fees compared to Indians which is discriminatory in nature. It was further pointed out that the Government of India should evolve its tourism policy which should attract visitors and not discriminate them. One participant said that although it was easy for a  European to pay these fees, yet this amounts to discrimination and GOPIO should take up this matter with the Government to remove this discrimination.   

 

The meeting further adopted the Draft Constitution for GOPIO Belgium with a few amendment(s).

 

The Dy. Chief of Indian Mission Mr. R. P. Agrawal in his fraternal greetings thanked the organizers for launching this organization and hoped that GOPIO will live to its promises and dreams and fulfil its aims and objectives. He further reminded the audience of the importance of 2nd. October and hoped that GOPIO and its members will follow the principles of harmony and brotherhood in achieving their objectives. He assured all help from the Indian Embassy. He said that he has every hope that GOPIO will embark upon a wide range of activities and will truly represent the interest of NRIs and PIOs and fight for their rights. 

 

The First Secretary of the South African Embassy Ms. Suhayfa Zia also delivered fraternal greetings. She mentioned the importance of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and said that organization of this nature of Indian Diaspora can play an important role in bridging the cultural and social gap between Indians and PIOs in Belgium and also between India and other countries. She said that the Ambassador of South Africa was earlier her country’s High Commissioner to India and South Africa has special interest in the Indian Diaspora; the country being the home of several millions PIOs.

 

The Mauritius Embassy was also represented by Mr. Bhagun, its First Secretary. 

 

GOPIO Belgium president Prasad further said that there are several issues that needed to be taken up by the GOPIO and one such issue was taxation policy of the Belgian Government. He said that when a person from India come here to work even if he has worked for two years and left the job his social security fund is not returned to him/her. And according to the Belgian law he/she would be eligible to get this money only when he/she attains the age of 65. Due to this process millions of Euros are left without being returned to the person. The president said that the Indian Government does not have a reciprocal arrangement with the Belgian Government which would have been helpful to the persons who worked here. Mr. Prasad said that GOPIO would take up this matter with the authorities and would work towards a solution.  At this stage Mr. Sapre said that he has collected some interesting documents and he would be willing to work on this issue. 

 

Contact: Sunil Prasad, Economist, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Bld. Du Roi Albert II, No. 5, Bte 1 1210 Bruxelles; Te: 32 (0) 2 224 0327, 2 224 0211, Fax: 32 (0)2 201 5815; E-mail:  sunil.prasad@coditel.net

 

 

GOPIO New York – Environmentalist Dr. Ashok Khosla Hosted in New York


 GOPIO New York and the Indian Consulate are jointly organized a reception/dinner and a talk by Dr. Ashok Khosla, the winner of this year's prestigious Sasakawa Environment Prize of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Friday, November 22 att eh Indian Consulate in New York. Khosla’s prize, worth 200,000 US dollars and considered one of the most prestigious environmental awards in the world, was presented at the American Folk Art Museum in New York on November 19th. 2002.

 

Dr. Khosla has been the President of Development Alternatives, an NGO working in the field of Appropriate Technology, environmental management, policy advocacy etc. since 1983. Currently, he is the President of Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), New Delhi; President of People First, New Delhi; and Secretary General of People's Commission on Environment and Development, New Delhi.


At the GOPIO/Indian Consulate program, Dr. Khosla spoke on the topic "Effective Strategies for National Development." GOPIO President Dr. Thomas Abraham chaired the meeting while Indian Consul General Pramathesh Rath welcomed and complimented Dr. Khosla for implementing sustainable developments in different parts of India.

 

 

GOPIO-CHICAGOLAND EXPANDS   

In a meeting held on November 9, 2002, GOPIO-Chicagoland expanded its Executive Committee membership to include additional talented professionals. Continuing from the theme of earlier meetings, GOPIO-Chicagoland president Samir Shah said that the chapter will concentrate efforts in the local area and provide a forum for discussion and exchange of views to better serve economic, social and humanitarian needs of the current and future generation of PIO and NRI communities.  GOPIO aims to fill a void that exists in the above sectors. These endeavors will lead to increased cohesion of the scattered PIO and NRI communities.

GOPIO Chicagoland will strive to reach out to the community in the Chicago metropolitan area including Northwestern Indiana and Southeastern Wisconsin. Through business networking it intends to assist the community and the society at large in discovering new investment opportunities. Efforts will be made to create programs for youth who have lost contact with their Indian origins and seniors who feel distanced and isolated from their homeland. Such programs will be carried out in cooperation with like-minded organizations in the area.

On international issues GOPIO-Chicagoland will support policies and programs of GOPIO International, a United Nations recognized Non Governmental Organization (NGO). Among the many accomplishments of GOPIO are the successful campaigns for the PIO card, galvanizing public opinion against the PIO rights violations in Fiji, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Caribbeans.

GOPIO-Chicagoland will be a platform for all first generation Indians as well as those of Indian origins from other countries who have made Chicagoland their home. For inquiries regarding membership and upcoming events, please contact Samir Shah at 847-508-7426 and Prashant Gupta at 847-571-0703. E-mail address: gopio_chicago@yahoo.com

 

 

GOPIO Chapter Initiation

 

One can initiate a chapter and become part of this global network of people of Indian origin by visiting GOPIO’s Chapter Initiative website www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm to get a copy of the guidelines governing GOPIO chapters. Alternately, call GOPIO’s International coordinator Dr. Jagat Motwani at 631-421-4688 in USA.

 

Business and Professional Services Bulletin Board

 

PIOs are encouraged to publicize businesses and services though GOPIO Business Council Bulletin Board free of charge. Please visit www.gopio.net/wboard/bulletin.htm

 

Visit GOPIO’s Official site at www.gopio.net