GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN

March, 2004

CONTENTS

· St. Johns University and GOPIO Schedule PIO Human Rights Conference

· NRIs and PIOs Urge Govt. of India to Amend Adoption laws

· GOPIO Belgium to Develop Strategic Partnership Between Indian Community and the European Union

· Indian American Scientist Achieves Fusion in a Jar

· GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS

- GOPIO-Suriname to Organize Diaspora Conference

- GOPIO Norway Chapter Initiated

· Indian Kids Excel in British Exams

· GOPIO CHAPTER FORMATION

· EDITORIAL BOARD

ST. JOHNS UNIVERSITY AND GOPIO SCHEDULE PIO HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE, SATURDAY, MARCH 20

Human Rights Experiences: People of Indian Origin in the Caribbean, Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe is the theme of an all-day conference to be held at St Johns University, in Queens, New York on Saturday, March 20, 2004.

Organized into four sessions, the conference will discuss the human rights experiences of people of Indian origin (PIO) living in different countries outside of India with significant PIO population. These countries include Fiji, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Surname, and the Caribbean region.

According to Ashook Ramsaran, GOPIO Secretary General and conference co-organizer, the conference will focus on the nature, causes and elements of human rights abuses as they affect Indians living outside of India. It will also examine those regions where Indian immigrants assimilation has been harmonious and those regions where it has not been harmonious, Ramsaran said. This is a crucial issue of critical importance to all of us in the Indian diaspora and it must addressed in order for any significant and meaningful solution to this problem, according to Ramsaran.

The conference organizers will bring scholars, rights advocates, PIO political leaders, and policy makers the world over to examine the causal nature, extent and consequences of such abuses and to address some of the underlying issues therein. The lessons so learned, Prakash Singh, GEICAs director and conference co-organizer, can be a yardstick for other groups in tackling this ubiquitous problem now simmering in many regions of the world.

GOPIO has been involved in the human rights issues of PIOs since its inception in 1989 at the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin. Actually, the primary motivation for the first convention was the dismissal of the duly elected Indian dominated government in Fiji. GOIO had filed with the United Nations cases of human rights violations of PIOs in Fiji and Sri Lanka in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Although we have seen some improvements in the PIO human rights issues in the later part of 1990s, rights violations of people of Indian origin continue to be a major issue, said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO.  

In May 2000, when the democratically elected government in Fiji, headed by Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry, along with his cabinet colleagues, were taken hostage by an extreme political group, GOPIO launched a campaign for his release and the restoration of democracy in Fiji. GOPIO met with the UN Human Rights Commission and campaigned at the Commonwealth Ministers Meeting to restore Fijian democracy. At the GOPIO convention in Zurich in June 2000, immediately following the Fiji crisis, GOPIO passed the famous Zurich declaration, which says 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 said, the Fiji government is still not following the constitution and we also see increasing rights violations of PIOs in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. GOPIOs newly elected president Mr. Inder Singh has said, Our PIO and NRI (non-resident Indian) communities must help our less unfortunate brothers and sisters if their rights are violated. Singh added that GOPIO will continue its commitment to help our communities around the world.

DETAILED PROGRAM

HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERINCE PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERIENCE: People of Indian Origin in the Caribbean, Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe

Sponsored  By
St. Johns Universitys
Center on Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS)

on Saturday, March 20, 2004 @ 9:00am at
St. Johns University
Marillac Terrace

8000 Utopia Parkway

Jamaica, New York 11439, USA

Co-Sponsored By
Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Inc. and

GOPIO NEW YORK
Supported By  
The Guyanese East Indian Civic Association (GEICA)
And Several Other Institutions & Organizations

Contact:

GOPIO - Ashook Ramsaran, Tel: 718-969-8206, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com

GOPIO - Prof. Surendra Kaushik, Tel: 914-762-6168, E-mail: skaushik@pace.edu

GOPIO New York Lal Motwani, Tel: 718-470-1026, E-mail: lmotwani@nyc.rr.com
GEICA - Prakash Singh, Tel: 718-939-8194, E-mail: geica@aol.com

St. Johns. Univ. Dr. Camacho-Gingerich, Tel: 718-990-1932, E-mail: clacs@sju.edu

SATURDAY, MARCH 20TH

9:00am CONFERENCE OPENING SESSION

Opening Remarks

St Johns University Dr Alina Camacho Gingerich

GOPIO Mr Ashook Ramsaran (Secretary General)

GEICA Mr Prakash Singh

GOPIO Dr Thomas Abraham (Chairman)

Mr. Inder Singh (President)

9:45am General Remarks

Former Fiji PM Mahendra Chaudhry

Former Trinidad PM Basdeo Panday

10:45am Break & Refreshments

10:45am Keynote Address

Dr Vinay Lal UCLA California

Dr Ralph Premdas UWI Trinidad

12:00pm LUNCH

1:00pm Session I Country Reports -- Region I
South Africa, Kenya, Fiji, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Other Africa, Mauritius, Middle East

Hon Mahendra Chaudhry Fiji

Dr Ganesh Chand Fiji

Dr Jitendra Roy HBCU, New York

Dr Dwijndra Battacharya HRCB, New York

Dr Balgopal Pallassana University of Illinois

2:00pm Session II Country Reports -- Region II
Australia, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, United States, Other Americas

Dr Jagat Motwani GOPIO, New York

Dr Surendra Kaushik Pace University

Dr Dolly Hassan Attorney, Lecturer

Dr Edon Warslie Attorney, Legal Consultant

Dr Tarachand Singh Community Advocate

Mr Inder Singh President, GOPIO International

Mr Bal Naipaul York University, Canada

Dr Leonard Baynes St Johns University

Dr Mohan Gautam Leiden University, Netherlands

3:45pm Break & Refreshments

4:00pm Session III Country Reports -- Region III
The Caribbean, Guyana, Malaysia, Trinidad, Suriname

Hon Ravi Dev Guyana

Ms Rhyaan Shah Guyana

Dr Mahin Gosine USA/Trinidad

Dr Rishie Thakur University of Guyana

Dr. Parsram Thakur University of Guyana

Dr Prem Misir University of Guyana

Hon Basdeo Panda Trinidad

Dr Kumar Mahabir Trinidad

Dr Baytoram Ramharack New York University

5:45pm Concluding Remarks

Sun, March 21, 2004 Plenary Session Crowne Plaza Hotel, La Guardia Airport, New York

9:30am Introductory Remarks

9:45am Plenary Session

12:00pm Resolutions

12:15pm Closing Remarks

1:00pm Lunch

Conference Admission is Complimentary. Attendance Confirmation Requested

The conference will be preceded with a WELCOME DINNER/RECEPTION and CONFERENCE INAUGURATION on Friday, March 19^th at 7:00pm at the Worlds Fair Marina, Flushing, New York

GUESTS OF HONOR:

• Hon. Mahendra Chaudhry, Former Prime Minister and Leader of the Fiji Labor Party.
• Hon. Basdeo Panday, Former Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, Trinidad and Tobago
• Hon. Gregory Meeks, U.S. House of Representatives

Contribution $30. per person. RSVP required. Call GOPIO New York president Lal Motwani at 718-470-1026 or E-mail at lmotwani@nyc.rr.com

NRIs and PIOs URGE GOVT. OF INDIA TO AMEND THE ADOPTION LAWS

A group of NRIs and PIOs have started a campaign against Govt. of Indias new rule governing adoption of children. According to some NRIs who are wanting to adopt children from India, the Government of India has passed a new rule which is absolutely draconian: they are now making it VERY difficult for Indians living outside India to adopt children. This means that families will have to wait longer to get children, but the saddest thing is that the children will spend years longer in orphanages. No one really wins by this new rule---potential parents are here longing for children---and the children are deprived of a loving family environment.

A petition to lobby the Indian government has been initiated. The more signatures---the better! One could support this petition by signing it online as soon as you can and PLEASE pass it along to your friends and family and ask for their support.

Here is the link to view and sign the petitionhttp://www.PetitionOnline.com/NRIAdopt/petition.html

GOPIO BELGIUM TO DEVELOP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN INDIAN COMMUNITY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

In order to draw the attention of the key European Institutions to the economic importance of the NRI/PIO community in the European Union member states and to demonstrate the role the Community can play in strengthening and expanding European Union-India relations within the framework of EU Economic and Social policy, the GOPIO Belgium plans to organize a one day Seminar in September/October in Brussels (Belgium). The theme of the day long conference is NRI/PIO Business Networking for Trade and Investment, and Contribution of Indian Diaspora in Building Europe.

GOPIO Belgium being in the heart of Europe is uniquely placed to raise the profile of the PIO/NRI community in the EU. However, NRI/PIO community in the EU is largely unrecognized by the EU authorities; and yet a good deal of EU legislation directly affects them. In the minds of EU decision shapers and makers, the Indian community in Europe is largely associated with restaurant owners, night shops and perhaps even illegal immigrants. The above seminar will afford the GOPIO to institutionalize a channel of communication between the NRI/PIO community and the EU Institutions in order to influence the EU decisions making process.

GOPIO has developed contact and effective working relationship with key people in the European institutions (Parliament, Commission, Council) and Brussels based missions of some PIO countries). Some EU officials of Indian origin are already members of GOPIO-Belgium; others are being formally invited to join.

The proposed event is inspired by the outcome of the successful GOPIO Seminar India: Opportunities Unlimited on 4^th. December 2003 which had called upon the Indian Community in Europe to join together to seek better recognition which they deserved by their sheer hard work and business acumen.

The Indian Diaspora can become a major catalyst in enhancing and strengthening the EU-India relations and change the mind-set. Strengthening of the EU-India relations will help trade net-works, effectively and strategically link the Diaspora globally. Broadly, the conference would also aim to raise European consciousness about the potential of the Indian economy and to forge strategic partnerships between India and the Indian Diaspora in Europe through interaction among leading business leaders, the representatives of different Missions and leaders of multi-national corporations interested in tapping India's economic potential.

GOPIO Belgium expects an impressive participation from the PIO/NRI community living in the Europe, GOPIO International and other GOPIO Chapters, EU institutions and Multinational corporations. GOPIO Belgium has requested the GOPIO International to extend invitation to important NRI/PIO business leaders to participate and explain the reasons of their success in the economic and political life. Participation of interested business bodies and Chambers of Commerce in EU countries in which India has interest, will also be invited.

GOPIO Belgium would welcome co-sponsorship for the event scheduled for September/October 2004.

Contact: GOPIO Belgium President Sunil Prasad, E-mail: sunil.prasad@coditel.net Tel: 0032-2-469 2677 (private), 224 0203 (off) or 224 0211

INDIAN AMERICAN SCIENTIST ACHIEVES FUSION IN A JAR

Researchers are reporting new evidence supporting their earlier discovery of an inexpensive tabletop" device that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion reactions. The researchers believe the new evidence shows that "sonofusion" generates nuclear reactions by creating tiny bubbles that implode with tremendous force. Nuclear fusion reactors have historically required large, multibillion-dollar machines, but sonofusion devices might be built for a fraction of that cost.

"What we are doing, in effect, is producing nuclear emissions in a simple desktop apparatus," said Dr. Rusi Taleyarkhan, an Indian American who is the principal investigator and a professor of nuclear engineer at Purdue University. "That really is the magnitude of the discovery - the ability to use simple mechanical force for the first time in history to initiate conditions comparable to the interior of stars.

What Dr. Taleyarkhan has essentially done is to slam together hydrogen atoms so fast and so forcefully that it produces temperatures of millions of degrees, and emits a flash of light and energy, in the same way as it happens with the sun and stars.

The process is known as nuclear fusion, and because it uses readily available elements like hydrogen as opposed to nuclear fission which uses rare, complex, expensive, and dangerous matter such as uranium and plutonium scientists have looked at it as a holy grail for cheap, limitless energy.

The technology might one day result in a new class of low-cost, compact detectors for security applications that use neutrons to probe the contents of suitcases; devices for research that use neutrons to analyze the molecular structures of materials; machines that cheaply manufacture new synthetic materials and efficiently produce tritium, which is used for numerous applications ranging from medical imaging to watch dials; and a new technique to study various phenomena in cosmology, including the workings of neutron stars and black holes. The new findings are being reported in a paper appearing in the journal Physical Review E, published by the American Physical Society. The paper was written by Dr. Taleyarkhan and his colleagues at Oak Ridge Lab and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The discovery was first reported in March 2002 in the journal Science. Since then the researchers have acquired additional funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, purchased more precise instruments and equipment to collect more accurate data, and successfully reproduced and improved upon the original experiment.

GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS

GOPIO NORWAY CHAPTER INITIATED

Norway is the latest country which has a GOPIO Chapter. Mr. Mohan Singh Varma is the President of the GOPIO Norway Chapter. Mohan Bhai, as he is affectionately called in Norway, has been active in Norway politics for last three decades having migrated to Norway 34 years ago. Varma has also twice served as Councilor in Oslo Metropolitan Council.

The process of forming the Norway Chapter started in December last year when GOPIO International invited Mohan Bhai to participate in the GOPIO Conference in New Delhi, 7-8 January 2004. On 31^st January, the Indian Community in Norway finally formed this Chapter and elected Mr. Varma as its President. With the formation of a GOPIO Chapter in Norway, the NRI/PIO Indian community in Norway now have an international organization to represent them and serve their interest. The Indian population in Norway is about 7,000. The Norway Chapter President Varma can be contacted on: mohansinghvarma@hotmail.com

INDIAN KIDS EXCEL IN BRITISH EXAMS

The online news portal, Rediff repoRts that Indian children are top of the South Asian league when it comes to the UK's GCSE secondary school examinations, according to Department of Education statistics. Some 65.2 per cent of the Indian kids pass five exams at grades A to C, surpassing the 51.3 per cent rate of their White counterparts. More Indian children get better grades than their Bangladeshi  (45.5 per cent) and Pakistani (41.5 per cent) counterparts.

But the Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Whites are way behind the Chinese, who have 74.8 per cent winning top grades in the annual exams. Black pupils from the Caribbean and Africa are significant under performers with only 36.3 per cent achieving five good GCSE passes.

Education experts believe traditional family values and hard work are they key factors in the success of all Asian children. Although they are often behind their White classmates at the ages of seven, 11 and 14, they usually manage to overtake them by 16. Within the South Asian community Bangladeshi and Pakistani children often have greater problems because their families tend to have less money and are less fluent in English. More Indian children come from middle class backgrounds, where parents stress the importance of a good education.

GOPIO CHAPTER FORMATION

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, Tarzana, California, USA, Tel: 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows, New York city, Tel: 718-353-1900, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com

Editorial Board

v Dr. Thomas Abraham (Stamford, CT, USA)

v Prashant Gupta (Chicago, IL, USA)

v Sunil Prasad (Brussles, Belgium)

GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO related stories from all over the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or reporter. Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham at gopio@optonline.net

Visit GOPIOs Official site at www.gopio.net