GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN

DECEMBER 2004

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CONTENTS

  • GOPIO FINALIZES CONFERENCE-2005, JANUARY 5-6, MUMBAI
  • THIRD PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS, JANUARY 7-9. MUMBAI
  • PROCESS OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP BEGINS
  • DIWALI AND EID CELEBRATED BY THE US AND CANADA
  • WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES DIWALI AND EID
  • CANDIAN PM LIGHTS DIWALI LAMP IN PARLIAMENT
  • NRIs/PIOs ACHIVE

o       LORD DHOLAKIA TO BE DEPUTY LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORDS IN UK

o       INDIAN AMERICAN CANDIDATES WIN ELECTIONS

o       INDIAN NAMED OUTSTNADING YOUNG PERSON

  • GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
    • GOPIO FRANCE PRESIDENT REPRESENTS FRENCH INDIANS DIASPORA AT THE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY
    • GOPIO BAHRAIN CHAPTER INITIATED
    • GOPIO NEW YORK SCHEDULES DINNER/TALK INDIA UNTOUCHED
    • GOPIO-BELGIUM RE-ELECTS SUNIL PRASAD AS PRESIDENT
  • IRRESPONSIBLE STATEMENT BY FORMER DICTATOR RABUKA OF FIJI
  • GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
  • EDITORIAL BOARD

 

GOPIO FINALIZES CONFERENCE-2005 JANUARY 5-6, MUMBAI

 

GOPIO CONFERENCE - 2005

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2005

 

THEME

INDIA AND NRIs/PIOs ROLE, RELATIONSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY

 

Place: Taj Mahal Hotel and Taj President Hotel, Mumbai

Date and Time: Wednesday, January 5th and Thursday, January 6th, 2005.

 

Program

 

Wednesday, January 5th, 2005

Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai

 

10.00 to 12.00 a.m. GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to general public)

 

12.00 noon to 1.00 p.m. Lunch

 

1.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. PIO/NRI COMMUNITIES AREA REPORTS (Open to Everyone)

N orth America Radha Krishnan, President-Elect, The national Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) and President of GOPIO Detroit, USA

South America and Caribbean Harold Ramdhani, Secretary General, GOPIO Suriname

Europe Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO Belgium

Midd le East Sunny Kulathakal (Bahrain), GOPIO Intl. VP for Middle East

Far East and South East Asia To be decided (TBD)

Pacific TBD

Africa - TBD

 

3.30 p.m. 4.00 p.m. Coffee Break

 

4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. INDIA-NRI/PIO MEDIA CONCLAVE

Speakers to be announced soon.

Chair: K.N. Gupta, President of GOPIO-New Delhi, India

 

6.30 p.m. to 7.30 F orma l Inauguration of GOPIO Conference 2005

Dignitaries to be announced soon

 

7.30 p.m. to 8.3 0 p.m. Reception

 

Thursday, January 6th, 2005

Taj President Hotel, Mumbai

 

9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. Registration/Coffee/Tea

 

10.00 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. Inauguration of GOPIO Academic Council

Chair: Dr. Jagat Motwani (New York, USA), Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council

Keynote Address: Honorable Basdoe Panday, MP, Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and currently Leader of the Opposition

 

11.00 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. Session on Indian Diaspora Social, Political and Economic Issues

Chair: Dr. Jagat Motwani (New York, USA), Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council

Co-Chair: Dr. Arun Vakil, Chairman Program Committee, Indo-American Society, Mumbai, India

Speakers:

Prof. Anand Mulloo, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Mauritius

Dilip Mehta, CEO, Rosy Blue, Antwerp, Belgium

Dr. Chandrsekhar Bhat, Director, Center for Diasporic Studies, University of Hyderabad, India

Dr. Mohan Gautam, Social Scientist, University of Leiden, the Netherlands

Prof. Adesh Pal, Center for Indian Diaspora and Cultural Studies, Hemachandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan, Gujarat, India

 

12.30 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. Lunch

(Sponsored by Chander Khurana, President of ACS Telcom, New York)

 

2.00 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. Session on GOPIO Connect Helping in Developmental, Philanthropic and Educational Activities

Chair: Prabodh Gupta (New Delhi), Chairman, GOPIO Philanthropic Council

Co-Chair: Satish Sahney, CEO, Nehru Center, Mumbai

Coordinator: Prashant Gupta (Chicago, USA), Chairman, GOPIO.Connect

Speakers:

Prof. Manubhai Shah, Chairman Emeritus, Consumer Education and Research Center, Ahmedabad, India

Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director-General, The Energy and Resources Institute (New Delhi)

Dr. Awtar Singh, Philanthropist and CEO of Lockwood-Singh Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Presentation on GOPIO.Connect Prashant Gupta

 

3.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. Tea Break

 

4.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Session on Business, Technology and Investments

Chair: Dwarkesh Shah (Stuttgart, Germany), Chairman, GOPIO Business Council

Co-Chair: K.S.Neela Kandan, Convener, Management Development Forum of Indo-American Society, Mumbai

Speakers:

Technology Amitav Mallik, Former Director, Defense Research & Development Organization and member of National Security Advisory Board, New Delhi

Technology Transfer Dr. Muhammed Majeed, Chairman, Sami Labs, New Jersey (USA) and Bangalore, India

Investments - Lalita Gupte, Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank, Mumbai

Trading Mr. Bharat G. Shah, Member of the Board of Indo-Belge Diamantaires Association

Entertainment Industry Vijay Lazarus, President, Indian Music Industry

 

5.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. Adoption of Resolutions

 

7.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Reception and Grand Awards Banquet with the Presentation of PRAVASI BHARATIYA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

 

Honored Guests:

Honorable Jagdish Tytler, Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs

Honorable Mahendra Chaudhry, Former Prime Minister of Fiji

Honorable Basdeo Panday, Former Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago

 

GOPIO is seeking suggestions for speakers at the NRI/PIO Media Conclave. Please contact GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham in USA at 203-329-8010 (E-mail: gopio@optonline.net), or send E-mail to GOPIO President Inder Singh E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or K.N. Gupta, President of GOPIO-New Delhi at (11) 51642066, E-mail: msinh@del2.vsnl.net.in

 

Conference Registration

Convention Registration Fee: $25 or equivalent foreign currencies or Rs. 1,000. Total registration will be limited to 200 delegates. So contact early to avoid disappointment.

Those from outside India, please contact GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in the US at 718-353-1900 E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com. The convention in Mumbai will be coordinated by GOPIO-Mumbai Coordinator Mr. V. Balachandran, Tel: (91) 22-24964827, E-mail: smisan@vsnl.net. Sponsor opportunities are available for Indian businesses interested to reach out PIOs/NRIs. Limited number of Tabletop Booths will also be available at the venue on January 6th. Contact Mr. Balachandran.

PRAVASI BHARATIYA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS GOPIO is seeking nominations from the Indians communities from all over the world to honor those who stand up in providing services to the NRI/PIO community. Send the nominations with background information by December 6th to GOPIO Inc. P.O. Box 1413, Stamford, CT 06904, USA, or E-mail to ramsaran@aol.com The awardees will be honored on January 6th evening at the Awards Banquet at Taj President.

Process for Hotel Bookings at the Taj Mahal and Taj President Hotels

Send E-mail to Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai, Attn. Soheb Desai tmhgroupresv.bom@tajhotels.com or Taj President Mumbai, Attn. Peter D'Souza president.mumbai@tajhotels.com or a fax on 022 56650365 details: Name, Company details, Tel no/ fax no/ e-mail, Check-in date and Check-out date, Arrival details, Credit card details. Please indicate GOPIO conference to avail of the special rate, i.e. $100 for single/double plus tax.

 

COPORATE SPONSORS OF THE CONFERENCE

 

Dilip Mehta, Rosy Blue, Antwerp, Belgium

ICICI Bank  Mumbai

Taj Group of Hotels, Mumbai

 

GRAND PATRONS

 

Dr. Awtar Singh, Lockwood-Singh, inc., Los Angeles, USA

Chander Khurana, ACS Telcom, New York, USA

GOPIO New York

 

PATRONS

 

Dr. Awtar Singh, Lockwood-Singh, inc., Los Angeles, USA

Haresh Panchal, San Jose, California, USA

Dr. M.C. Gupta, Los Angeles, California, USA

 

 

THIRD PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2005

 

Jan 7-9, 2005 in Mumbai

 

Please join the largest reunion of the global Indian family at the Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, to be held from January 7-9, 2005 in Mumbai.

 

The Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be inaugurated by His Excellency Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India and will have similar high-level participation from the Central and state governments, and Indian political and business leaders.

 

Eminent professionals, scientists, innovators from the Indian Diaspora across the world will also attend the conference. Apart from providing a unique networking opportunity, the Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas would strengthen India's engagement with its Diaspora through focused activities across sectors.

 

Highlights of The Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2005 include:

A three-day conference consisting of (a) Plenary sessions with senior cabinet ministers of India (b) Special interactive sessions with select Diaspora leaders (c) Parallel sessions on Knowledge- based industry, Healthcare, Education, Finance, Entertainment, Voluntary Sector, Media, Tourism, NRIs in Gulf, Science and Technology etc. (d) Special programs for the younger generation of the Diaspora (e) Opportunity for delegates to form their own groups and sessions. There will also be business opportunities and networking across sectors; Interactive sessions with State Governments of India; Two Entertainment evenings including Bollywood night; A multi-product Exhibition showcasing India's capabilities; and the Food festival - delectable dishes and cuisines from various parts of India

 

His Excellency Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, President of India shall confer the Bharatiya Samman Awards on January 9,2005.

 

For more information and on-line registration, visit www.indiaday.org.

Or E-Mail to indiaday@indiaday.org or indiandiaspora@ficci.com.

 

PROCESS OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP BEGINS

The Indian embassies have started the process of granting dual citizenship to PIOs in the 16 selected countries. Once a person receives certificate of dual citizenship, he will no longer need a visa to travel to India. His/her children will be eligible for admission to educational institutions in India, including medical colleges, engineering colleges, institute of technology, etc, contact the nearest Indian Consulate or Embassy/High commission for details.

 

DIWALI AND EID CELEBRATED BY US AND CANADA

 

WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES DIWALI AND EID

 

Indian American community leaders and Republican Party activists were invited to the White House celebration of Diwali on November 10th. Briefing on Indo-US Relations was provided by former envoy to India Ambassador Blackwell. In the evening, President Bush hosted a dinner to the American Muslim community and diplomats to celebrate Eid.

 

CANDIAN PM LIGHTS DIWALI LAMP IN PARLIAMENT

 

Diwali marked yet another milestone for Indians when the Prime Minister joined the celebrations for the first time in Parliament ON November 12th. This year, Diwali was a full-fledged celebration in Parliament. A sort of mini-mela. Prime Minister Paul Martin walked in to join his ministerial colleagues, Opposition leader Stephen Harper, and MPs in wishing the Indo-Canadians a happy Diwali.

The celebrations began with Martin and Harper lighting the lamps with candle amid applause. People watched the ceremony on TV across the country. In his brief speech, the Prime Minister paid tributes to the burgeoning Indian community for their contribution to the multicultural mosaic of Canada. It says a lot about today's Canada that twenty years ago, we would not have been celebrating Diwali on Parliament Hill (building), Martin said.

Conservative Party MP Deepak Obhrai, who is the brain behind the Diwali celebrations in Parliament, dwelt on the importance of the festival and thanked the distinguished gathering.

 

NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE

LORD DHOLAKIA TO BE DEPUTY LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORDS IN UK

Lord Navnit Dholakia is the first PIO to become deputy leader of the House of Lords. He is the first Asian to be the president of Liberal democrat Party and again the first Asian to be the Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

INDIAN AMERICAN CANDIDATES WIN ELECTIONS

·        Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana), U.S. House of Representatives, Louisiana 1st Congressional District, WON with 78.3% (217,719) of the vote

·        Swati Dandekar (D-Iowa), Iowa House of Representatives, District 36, WON with 54.4% (9,772) of the vote

·        Nikki Randhawa-Haley (R-South Carolina), South Carolina House of Representatives, District 87, WON with 98.9% (14,420) of the vote

·        Shinku Sharma (Calif.), Board Member, Saratoga Union School District (Santa Clara County), WON with 25.5% (1,895) of the vote

·        Jagrup Sidhu (Calif.), Council Member, Kerman City Council (Fresno County), WON with 41.4% (937) of the vote

·        Harry Sidhu (Calif.), Council Member, Anaheim City Council (Orange County), WON with 18.3% (17,846) of the vote

·        Mital Gandhi (DC), Advisory Neighborhood Commission of Northwest Washington, WON with 59.3% (303) of the vote

·        Rajendra Ratnesar (Calif.), Member, Board of Directors, Eden Township Health Care District (Alameda County), WON with 35.8% (35,794) of the vote

 

INDIAN NAMED OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERSON OF THE WORLD


A London based Indian physician at the University College here has been named the World's Outstanding Young Person for 2004 by US-based NGO Junior Chamber International for his "exemplary service" to medical care and education. Dr Koshy Eapen, 29, received a cash prize of USD 10,000 as well as a golden medallion and a plaque at an International Award Ceremony at Fukuoka, Japan on November 24.


Eapen was chosen from 246 nominations from 107 countries for his "exemplary service to medical care and education," Fernando Sanchez-Arias, President of the 59th World Congress of the NGO, said in an official communication last night. "Koshy has been chosen for his meritorious service for the elderly in India. With his many qualifications, commitment to social needs, generosity, zeal, determination, multiple scholarships and awards, excellent academic credentials and leadership skills, he is certainly the model for young people anywhere," Sanchez-Arias said.


Previous winners included former US President J F Kennedy, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, rock star Elvis Persley, software expert Linius Torvalds, management guru Anthony Robbinsactor, Hollywood action star Jackie Chan and Sri Lankan cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga.


This year Queen Rania Al Abdullah II of Jordan has been chosen for humanitarian leadership along with Eapen.


Commenting on the award, Eapen said, "I am certainly thrilled to win such a prestigious award. I have committed this prize money to the Educational Trust I founded in India to offer further full scholarships for Indian students."

 

GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS

 

GOPIO FRANCE PRESIDENT REPRESENTS FRENCH INDIANS DIASPORA AT THE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY

 

The Indian soldiers who lost their lives in France in the First World War were remembered during the Commemoration Ceremony on 10th. November in France. The venue was Neuve-Chapelle, a small town 250 KM from Paris. The location was the impressive memorial specially built to honor the Indian soldiers who laid their lives in France.

 

The Indian Ambassador His Excellency Dilip Lahiri led the Indian delegation. Lieutenant General M G Girish flew specially from India. Air Commodore S Varthaman, VM, VSM the Air Attach in the Indian Embassy, Paris looked after the arrangements on Indian side. Others present at the function were: The "Sous Prefet" representing the French Government Mayors of Bethune, Neuve-Chapelle and Richbourg Mr. Tim Reeves, Director of Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

GOPIO-France President Mr. Vimal Khosla was invited to represent the Expatriate Indians in France. Mrs. Veena Khosla, Founding Member and past President of Indian Women's Friendship Association (IWFA) was also invited.

 

After the ceremony, a one hour concert was presented at Saint Vaast Church in Bethune. This was followed by a reception given by the Mayor at the Community hall of Bethune. The French media as well as the NEW DELHI TELEVISION LIMITED covered the event.

 

GOPIO BAHRAIN CHAPTER INITIATED

 

Bahrain has become the first country in the Middle East to set up a chapter of GOPIO. Leading Indian businessmen and professionals attended the meeting at the Bahrain Conference Centre, Crowne Plaza. A seven member committee, headed by GOPIO Vice President, (Middle East) Sunny Kulathakal, will draw up future plans for the chapter, which will include holding the organizations global conference in Bahrain in January 2006. The meeting was attended by several community activists including P.J. James, Dr.V.K. Raina, Vinay Diwan, Nevin Meghchiani, A.N. Nikla, George Thomas, Prakash Devji, Jose Pudukkadan, M.K. Antony, Ashish Bhugra, Sunil George, Madhavan Kallath, George Mathew, and Sanjay Kopalkar.

 

GOPIO International invites interested community activists to open GOPIO chapters in the various countries of the Middle East. Contact Sunny Kulathakal at kulathakal@yahoo.com

 

GOPIO-NEW YORK SCHEDULES DINNER/TALK INDIA UNTOUCHED

 

GOPIO-New York in cooperation with NetIP-New York has scheduled a reception, dinner and talk by Dr. Abraham George, Chairman of The George Foundation based in Bangalore, India and Boonton Township, New Jersey, USA. Dr. George will speak on India Untouched. The program is scheduled for December 10th in New York City. It is also combined as a Holiday party. For information and registration, contact GOPIO-New York President Lal Motwani, Tel; 718-470-1026 or E-mail: lmotwani@nyc.rr.com

 

GOPIO-BELGIUM RE-ELECTS SUNIL PRASAD AS PRESIDENT

 

A General Body meeting of the GOPIO-Belgium was held on Saturday, the 20th. November 2004. This was the First General Body Meeting of the organization having been established on the 2nd. October 2002. The General Body re-elected Sunil Prasad as the President of the organization for another two year term (2004-2006). The General Body also elected a set of Office bearers. The meeting discussed the activities and achievement of GOPIO Belgium and also discussed the future direction of GOPIO including addressing local issues and developing more co-ordination with the local Indian-Belgium community as its priorities. The following Office bearers were elected: Vice Presidents: Ms. Kamalam, Rakesh Kapila, M. S. Chandramouli; Secretary: Shashank Sapre; Assistant Secretary(s): Kumar Sriramsamy, Ms. Shruti Ahuja-Cogny; Treasurer: Sumit Chatterjee; Assistant Treasurer: Nawab Khan. In addition the above, Vasdev Hassamal, Malcolm Subhan, Mahendra Kothari, Rahul Zaveri, Dr. Vijay S. Pandey, Vijay Goel and M. Ramachandran were elected to the Committee as Members.

 

The Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission R. P. Agrawal addressed the General Body and congratulated the members of the GOPIO for becoming the most vibrant and active chapter of GOPIO International. He said that during its two years of existence, the Chapter organized two important events of global importance and suggested that GOPIO should consider organizing a Brain Storming Round Table on "Role of Indian Diaspora in Strengthening the Strategic Partnership between European Union and India". The General Body meeting was combined with a Diwali/Eid dinner. Contact Sunil Prasad of GOPIO-Belgium chapter at sunil.prasad@coditel.net

 

IRRESPONSIBLE STATEMENT BY FORMER DICTATOR RABUKA OF FIJI

 

Former military strongman and aspiring statesman Sitiveni Rabuka has done his country a disservice with his recent comments implying indigenous Fijians would not accept the results of the next election if it went against them.

Thats the view of the London based Movement for Democracy in Fiji (MDF) reacting to Rabuka claiming that there would be another coup in Fiji if the Labor Party won the next election due next year.

"Rabuka should be doing all he can to convince people that democracy is the best way forward," the MDF said.

"He should not be preparing and encouraging traitors to subvert the rule of law if the political party they support does not win."

"Coups dont happen because one race or the other is divided," an MDF spokesman said. "They happen because politicians cannot accept the verdict of the people after they ask them for a verdict."

"Its time politicians in Fiji acted like grown-ups. Otherwise we can go back to the days when the rule of the club was supreme."

"Traitors have done enough damage to our country. Rabuka should choose whose side he wants to be on on the side of the law-breakers or on the side of the people and the law and constitution they have accepted," MDF added.

 

GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION

 

GOPIO Individual Life membership is open to all who believe in the mission of GOPIO. The one time fee is $1,000 for those from developed countries and $500 for those from developing countries.

 

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: 718/939-8194, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com

 

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, P.O. Box 1413, Stamford, CT 06904, USA.

 

EDITORIAL BOARD

 

  • Dr. Thomas Abraham (Stamford, CT, USA)
  • Prashant Gupta (Chicago, IL, USA)
  • Sunil Prasad (Brussels, Belgium)
  • Sunny Kulathackal (Bahrain)

 

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