GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
April, 2004
CONTENTS
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GOPIO
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MAHENDRA CHAUDHRY MEETS LOS ANGELES INDIAN COMMUNITY
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CRY (Child Relief And You) -
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HHI (Health & Happiness Inc.)
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Indian-born Woman first Asian-American to Head Distinguished US Group
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Indian Children Outshine others in
- Four Indian Americans to be Honored with Ellis Island Medal of Honor
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Varsity Honor for
Indo-Trinidadian Cricketer
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Indian-American receives top
GOPIO ASKS
Human Rights Experiences: People of Indian Origin in the Caribbean, Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe was the theme of an all-day conference held at St Johns University, in Queens, New York on Saturday, March 20, 2004.
Sponsored by the
The day-long conference on Saturday was organized into four
sessions. The conference discussed the human rights experiences of people of
Indian origin (PIO) living in different countries outside of
According to Ashook Ramsaran, GOPIO Secretary General and conference
co-organizer, the conference focused on the nature, causes and elements of
human rights abuses as they affect Indians living outside of
Chaired by Dr. Alina Camacho-Gingerich, Director of St. Johns University Center on Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS), the conference brought 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".
At the GOPIO convention in Zurich in June 2000, immediately following the Fiji crisis where PM Chaudhry was taken hostage, GOPIO passed the famous Zurich declaration, "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." This declaration was re-iterated by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham at the conference inauguration.
GOPIO president Inder Singh said that GOPIO would continue its commitment to help our communities around the world. "GOPIOs Human Rights Commission is being constituted to include representation from all regions of the world," said Singh.
The conference commenced with opening remarks by St. Johns
Vice Provost Dr. Brian Nedwek, conference Chairperson
Dr Alina Camacho-Gingerich
of
In his keynote address, Mahendra Chaudhry said that racism is not less than terrorism and in
this day in age, people often fail to recognize that racism is a form of
terrorism. "People usually associate racism with just one race feeling
superior than the another, and forget to think that it is a form of
terrorism," said Chaudhry. "The extreme
elements are responsible in promoting paramount of one race over the
other," Chaudhry added. He has also said that
there is suffering in silence and that these experiences should be known. Chaudhry, who made a special trip to the conference, has
been fighting violation of political rights of Indo-Fijians in
Basdeo Panday, former PM and leader of the United National Congress in Trinidad and Tobago, in his keynote address at the conference said that the Indian Diaspora would not be able to help the Indians living in Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana and other countries because the Diaspora is not well organized yet although some initial progress has been done by GOPIO. "The Indian Diaspora indeed is certainly big and it is very difficult to organize and make it work together because of the size," Panday Said. Panday complimented GOPIO for bringing the consciousness of the Indian government about the powerful Indian Diaspora.
In his keynote address, Prof. Vinai Lal of UCLA said that Indian Diaspora is making a great impact in transnational economic and cultural exchange. However, Lal said that Indians can be oppressed without much happening to the oppressors. "Indian govt. is not capable of providing help at times of crisis except toothless response," said Lal. According to Lal, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas organized by Govt. of India is a deceptive exercise.
Prof. Parasram Thakur, Vice Provost of University of Bernice, Guyana,
spoke on the subject, "Negotiating My Rights Rights
to Negotiate." Prof. Thakur highlighted the
problem of negotiating with the larger community. Dr. Dwijendra
Battacharya and Dr. Jitendra
Roy spoke on the atrocities against Hindus, Christians and Buddhists in
Attorney and rights activist and Dr. Dolly Hassan spoke about the problems and rights violations of PIOs after 9/11 terrorist acts. Bal Naipaul
of
Dr. Prem Misir,
Pro-Chancelor of University of Guyana said the
current Guyana Govt. under Bharrat Jagdeo has made many constitutional amendments, constituted
many commissions to protect the rights of children, women and indigenous people
and that there is a constructive dialogue between communities now in Guyana.
However,
Anthropologist Dr. Kumar Mahabir
of
Indo-Trinidadian Dr. Christendat Mahadeo from
The conference concluded with a plenary session on Sunday, March 21st, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel where the delegates passed the following resolutions:
I. Resolution on
WHEREAS all citizens of
AND WHEREAS the constitution of
AND WHEREAS the Supreme Court of Fiji has
determined that the constitution of
AND WHEREAS persons of Indian origin in
WE call on the Government of Fiji to fully
implement the decision of its Supreme Court and restore all rights and
privileges to persons of Indian origin in
II. Resolution on Trinidad & Tobago
WHEREAS all citizens of
AND WHEREAS there exists in
AND WHEREAS there is deep concern that the
Government of Trinidad and Tobago is not effectively dealing with this crisis
which continues to terrorize persons of Indian origin in
WE call on the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago take immediate actions to bring an end to the abuse of human rights
against persons of Indian origin in
AND FURTHER, we call on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to immediately file a report with the United Nations International Human Rights Commission detailing what direct actions the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has taken to bring a cessation of the abduction and kidnapping perpetuated against of persons of Indian origin in Trinidad and Tobago.
IIIa. Resolution on
WHEREAS all citizens of
AND WHEREAS we are fully cognizant of the
many atrocities being committed against the minority citizens of
WE call on the Government of Bangladesh to
take immediate actions to put an end to this abuse of human rights being
perpetuated against minority groups in
IIIb. Resolution on
WHEREAS all citizens of
AND WHEREAS we are fully cognizant of the
many atrocities being committed against the minority citizens of
WE call on the Government of India to take
immediate steps with the Government of Bangladesh to put an end to this abuse
of human rights being perpetuated against minority groups in
IV. Resolution on
WHEREAS all citizens of
WE condemn the on-going human rights
abuses perpetrated against persons of Indian origin in
AND we call on the Government of Guyana to
take all additional and necessary measures to remedy the abuses forthwith. AND
WE further condemn any and all groups that perpetuate such violence against
persons of Indian origin in
V. Resolution to Government of
WHEREAS all citizens are duly entitled to equal justice and freedom as provided under United Nations charters,
AND WHEREAS persons of Indian origin
living in various countries outside of
WE call on the Government of India to
closely and actively monitor the human rights abuses perpetuated against
persons of Indian origin living in various countries outside of
MORE HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIANS IN
Racially or religiously
motivated crimes against Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus in
INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY CELEBRATIONS IN
To commemorate Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad, the Mahatma
Institute for Cultural Cooperation (MRICC) , the National Council of Indian
Culture and the University of West Indies have joined together to organize a
seminar on May 21st and 22nd at the university of West
Indies. For more info, contact MGICC Director P.C. Bharadwaj
at
The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council has planned to bring out issue of Indian Arrival Day magazine. Articles are invited on protests and other forms of resistance during Indentureship. This years magazine seeks to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1884 Hosay massacre. Writers who wish to express their views on cultural topics, socio-political issues, current events, or any other subject relevant to the historical theme of this magazine are asked to submit their material in the form of articles, reviews, short stories and poems. Contact: Dr. Kumar Mahabir, Editor, Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road, San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, Tel: 868/675-7707, 868/756-4961 9cell), E-mail: mahab@tstt.net.tt
To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the first
landing of Indian indentured workers in
At the launch, Dr., Biman Prasad,
Associate Professor and head of the Economics Department at the
GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
GOPIO
The GOPIO Norway
which was initiated in February has elected a set of office bearers. Mr. Mohan Singh
Varma, President of the Norway Chapter has informed
the GOPIO International of the election of the following executives.
President - Mohan
Singh Varma, First Vice President - Balwinder Singh Jossan, Second
Vice President - Ms. Twinkle Dawes, Secretary - Mr. Kailash
Rai, treasurer - Ravi Saigal, Executive Committee Members - Asadullah
Syed, Mistri Hasmukh, Vijay Sharma, Duttaroy Asim, Edward Dawes and Chander
Mohan Sharma.
The Norway Chapter
is the latest addition in the GOPIO Internationals efforts to have chapters in
all countries. Mohan Singh Varma together with GOPIO
Belgium President Sunil Prasad have established contacts to form Chapters in
all the Scandinavian countries.
The Norway Chapter President Varma
can be contacted at mohansinghvarma@hotmail.com
MAHENDRA CHAUDHRY MEETS LOS ANGELES INDIAN
COMMUNITY
Former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry of
The community meeting was organized by GOPIO President Inder Singh. India Association of San Fernando Valley under
the leadership of Mr. Surjit Bassi,
co-sponsored the dinner meeting. Some prominent members of the Fijian community
in
GOPIO.CONNECT: TWO NGOs WORKING AS
In this months section, the focus of GOPIO.Connect is to look at NGO conduits driving India Development & Assistance Activities. Here, we feature two NGOs one headquartered in India and the other in USA, that are bringing effective action in India through their Financial & Partnering Activities all across the NRI community.
CRY (Child Relief And You) -
CRY acts as a link between two groups - development
organizations and individuals working at grassroots level with underprivileged
children and communities, and people like you who wish to help but don't know
how. CRY harnesses the money, time and skills of thousands of individuals and
organizations to partner 169 child development initiatives across
HHI (Health & Happiness Inc.)
HHI provides services, including charity selection,
donations transfer & monitoring, to all donors, absolutely FREE without any
requirement or condition, and guaranty that 100% of donations will go for the
services to the needy and the donor decides the place, purpose and the
organization and get a tax benefit. Since 1995, HHI has provided services to
more than 10,000 needy individuals & 2000 permanently handicapped ones in
India through 60 charitable organizations to communities throughout India such
as Art of Living Foundation, Ramakrishna Mission, Mother Teresa Mission, Child
Relief And You (CRY), Dalai Lama Foundation. www.gopio.net/india_development/HHI.pdf
For more information on GOPIO.connect, please visit: www.gopio.net/india_development
PIOs ACHIEVE
Indian-born Woman first Asian-American to Head Distinguished
US Group
Dr. Vishakha Desai, a PIO originally from Ahmedabad, is the Asian American and also the first woman to head
the nearly 50-year old educational non-profit institution Asia Society, whose
primary objective is to foster understanding of Asia and communication between
Americans and the peoples of
The society first began as
an elite club of senior American diplomats. Prior to the appointment, Desai was
the society's senior vice-president and curator of Indian, Southeast Asian and
Islamic art at the Boston-based
Recipient of numerous grants
and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National
Endowment for the Arts, the Indo-U.S. Sub-commission on Education and Culture,
and the American Institute of Indian Studies, Dr Desai has published
extensively on traditional Indian and contemporary Asian art. She is married to
Robert B Oxnam, a China Scholar,
who was president of the Asia Society from 1981 to 1992.
Indian Children Outshine Others in
Indian
children outperformed all other pupils in last year's examinations in
The breakdown of Scottish Qualification Authority data on Standard Grade and new National Qualifications also revealed that pupils in rural schools outstripped their counterparts in Scottish towns and cities.
Four Indian
Americans to be Honored with Ellis Island Medal of Honor
For the first time, four Indian
Americans have been selected by the National Ethnic coalition of Organizations
(NECO) to receive the
Varsity Honor for
Indo-Trinidadian Cricketer
During the hey days of his cricket career, between 1950s
and 60s, Ramadhin played in 43 Tests, 18 of which
were against England, 11 against Australia, six each against New Zealand and
India and two against Pakistan. He took 158 wickets at an average of 28.98. His
best bowling spell was seven for 49 against
Indian-American Receives Top US Award
Indian American and
former Peace Corps' Chief Information Officer Gopal Khanna has been acknowledged as one of the Federal 100 - a
recognition of the top executives from government, industry and academia who
had the greatest impact on the
RECORD 2003 REMITTANCE OF $18 BILLION BY INDIAN DIASPORA
According to the balance of payments figures
released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), workers' remittances to
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,
GOPIO
Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran,
Fresh Meadows,
Or write to
GOPIO,
EDITORIAL BOARD
v
Dr. Thomas Abraham (
v
Prashant Gupta (
v
Sunil Prasad (
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
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