GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
June
2005
NOTE: This is a monthly newsletter of
GOPIO International, based in the
CONTENTS
Ø
GOPIO
PROTESTS UNDIGNIFIED ARREST OF FORMER
o TWO INDIAN AMERICANS GET FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS
o TWO NRIs TO BE BILLIONAIRES
IN
o TWO INDIAN AMERICANS BAG MICROSOFT AWARDS
o
INDIAN
AMERICAN KIDS BAG SPELLING BEE CONTEST
o FOURTEEN INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS BAG AWARDS
o BRITISH INDUSTRIALIST BECOMES MBE
o INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT WINS SIEMENS AWARD
o INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT IS RUNNER-UP IN GEOGRAPHY BEE
o TWELVE INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS WIN GOLDWATER
SCHOLARSHIPS
o GOPIO INTERNATIONAL MAKES APPOINTMENTS
o
GOPIO-LA & NFIA HOST RECEPTION FOR
LOK SABHA SPEAKER
o GOPIO
o NINE INDIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT
o
CEDAR HILL
CELEBRATES INDIAN ARRIVAL IN T&T
o
NRIs CAN TAKE OUT SHARE OF
FAMILY PROPERTY
o
NRI TAXATION RULES CONFIRMED
o
INDIA-CANADA FLIGHTS TO INCREASE
o FAST-
o SMART CARD FOR NRI OVERSEAS JOB SEAKERS
GOPIO PROTESTS
UNDIGNIFIED ARREST OF FORMER
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin
(GOPIO) International issued a letter of protest to Prime Minister Patrick
Manning of
GOPIOs protest states that, irrespective of the nature or
outcome of the charges against Mr. Panday, his arrest
was ill-timed on the day after the historic celebration of the 160th
Anniversary of the Arrival of Indians to
While every country should maintain and
enforce its laws, it should also take all appropriate measures to prevent
public humiliation and unnecessary harassment as guaranteed by Article 5
of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, said GOPIO Internationals
chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham. GOPIO reiterated its position that Panday could have been accorded a more dignified process at
more appropriate time. GOPIO International insists that the government
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
Panday was in jail for a few days, since he opted not to
take the bail. However, after a meeting and urging from a delegation of
religious leaders and later his party officials, Panday
decided to take the bail. Panday addressed a large
gathering of his supporter on Friday, June 10th evening.
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.
RECONCILIATION
AND UNITY BILL IN
The Fiji Government is
planning to introduce a highly controversial bill titled, Reconciliation and
Unity Bill in its parliament which would provide a legitimate means by
which a pardon/amnesty can be granted to any person implicated in the violent
and unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected government. The bill
intends to redefine acts of terrorism as breaches of human rights and as such
legitimate, rather than as crimes against the State. If enacted into law, it
would enable the perpetrators of the coup 2000 to seek amnesty and general
pardon.
The proposed bill, contrary
to its name, is seen as a major source of disunity and has already generated
lot of controversy. The Fiji Labor Party and other Opposition parties consider
it as a contemptuous challenge to the judicial system. The Fiji Law Society,
the Fiji Human Rights Commission, the Citizens Constitutional Forum as well as
religious and church organizations have condemned the bill.
The Bill is also being
opposed by the Fiji Military Forces which has made it public that it will do
everything in its power to prevent the passage of the Bill through parliament.
The proposed Bill is
considered to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Fiji Constitution in
several respects; some clauses of the Bill are repugnant to the sense of
justice of the ordinary people of
We at GOPIO strongly urge the Government of Fiji to drop the Bill as its
passage can have far-reaching consequences on national stability and multi-racial
harmony in Fiji., Said GOPIO
President Inder Singh. Alternately, we urge the Fiji Government to
appropriately modify the Bill in consultation with the Opposition parties,
Singh added.
GOPIO can be contacted at gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or by telephone (818) 708-3885
or (203) 329-8010.
MEMORABLE NFIA
25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN
With a spectacular 180 degree view of the city, the
16th floor restaurant, Terrace on the Park in Queens in New
York, was the unique venue for a Gala banquet held on Saturday May 29, in
connection with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the National
Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), an umbrella organization of
various organizations of people who trace their roots to India. Over 300
delegates and guests, coming from all parts of the
Twenty-five years ago, on the Memorial Day weekend,
the NFIA was founded in
Lal Motwani who was, as the chair of the 25th
anniversary celebrations, the main force behind this function and the editor of
a 4-color souvenir released at the event said, I could not have done this
function without the financial support and dedicated service of my organizing
committee. I am particularly indebted to my Co-chairs, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Dr. Arvind Shah and Sunjay Naik and to my many financial supporters, especially Dr. Navin Mehta, P.K. Gupta of Air India, H.R. Shah of TV Asia,
Sunil Hali of
Virtually all past presidents were on hand to join in
the celebrations. Dr.
Twenty five years of existence of an organization is
not in itself a significant event. What is most important of NFIA is the
loyalty and commitment of the people involved in the group, observed Anand.
Indian Americans have changed, their needs have changed, and their demands for
service have changed. NFIA has also to change if it, as it claims, wants to
serve the community. It has to change its focus from the
In eloquent remarks, Ambassador Sen
pleaded with the people to become good citizens of their adopted country, but
not to forget their roots. Be proud of your origin, insisted Sen. He said that
the economic prosperity of the Indian Americans has helped a great deal to
change the image of
All the past presidents, Dr. Thomas Abraham
(1980-1988), Inder Singh (1988-1992), Ramesh Patel (1992-1996), Subash Razdan (1996-1998), Haresh Panchal (1998-2000), Dr. Parthasarthy Pillai (2000-2002)
and Niraj Baxi (2002-2004) were honored by the NFIA at the occasion. Each one
of them was given a beautiful glass plaque acknowledging his service. The past
presidents were subjected to a very humorous Roast on Friday evening.
A special award was presented to Joy Cherian, the former Commissioner of EEOC, and the speaker
at a seminar earlier on Saturday. A seven year old girl, performing a solo
dance, stole the show and won a loud applause during the brief entertainment
program organized by Dharmatma Saran and Kalpana Patel. A large colorful cake with the logos of the
NFIA was cut to signify the birthday of the organization.
Pramod Kamdar, the executive vice president, NFIA
summed up the sentiments of all delegates attending this event when he said,
the great success of this event has made NFIA alive and vibrant organization
again.
A colorful souvenir released at the event traced the
pictorial history of NFIA. It is the best souvenir, I have ever seen being
released by an Indian organization, commented Niraj Baxi, the chair of the NFIA
Foundation.
SEMINARS ON SATURDAY Dr. Abraham, the founder of the organization, organized
seven seminars all day Saturday on different topics. The first seminar was on
the Community Leadership: Experiences and Expectations, at which Dr. Joy Cherian, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Dr. Piyush Agrawal,
Niraj Baxi and Nilesh Mehta traced the history of
Indian organizations in this country and talked about how the community was
mobilized for specific actions. Prof. Parmatama Saran
moderated the seminar. Dr. Cherian gave a warning to
all associations that unless they change their focus to mainstream issues and
involve the younger generation, they will all perish. This was followed by a
seminar on US-India Relations: Progress made and challenges Ahead. Those, who
spoke on this tropic, were Dr. Dennis Kux. Senior
Policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center as keynote speaker,
Inder Singh, Subash Razdan
and Radha Krishnan as panelist. Prof. Maya Chadda moderated the discussion. Kux
and Razdan painted an optimistic picture of the state
of relations between
INAUGURATION ON FRIDAY The
delegates and guests gathered at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel on Friday, May 27th evening. After the American and Indian anthems,
Ambassador Ronen Sen
inaugurated the program by the lightening of the traditional lamp. Congressman
Gary Meek of
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF NFIA All
President Dr.
President-Elect Radha
Krishnan Tel: 248-682-2106, E-mail: rk4155@aol.com;
Executive VP Pramod Kamdar Tel: 858-538-0666, E-mail:
pkamdar@san.rr.net or
Secretary Satish Parikh Tel:
440-572-3194, E-mail: satish.parikh@wgint.com
EUROPE
The Europe India Chamber of
Commerce (EICC) has sent a letter to the President of the European Commission,
Jos Manuel Barroso and to European Union foreign
policy chief, Javier Solana, complaining of serious difficulties faced by
Indian businessmen and tourists in obtaining a visa for the EU. In spite
of the best efforts from all sides to increase IndoEuropean trade relations, we
notice how difficult it is to get a Schengen Visa
even for a bonafide Indian corporate executive, said
In a separate letter to the
Prime Minister of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt, GOPIO Belgium Chapter President called on Belgian authorities to facilitate visas for Indian
businessmen. The letter stressed that Belgium is India's second largest trade partner in
the European Union, with trade turnover estimated to be around 3.1 billion euro
($4 billion) in 2004. There are lots of potentials for increasing cooperation
between the two countries and removing restrictions on visa and work permits
for professionals and businessman moving from India to Europe will facilitate
greater bilateral engagement, said the letter.
The Secretary General of
the EICC Sunil Prasad can be contacted on Tel. & fax: 0032 2 469 2677 GSM:
0472-207 338, E-mail: sunil.prasad@coditel.net
NETHERLAND PIOs/NRIs APPEAL INDIAN PM ON SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
Several NRIs/PIOS have
appealed to the Government of India to urgently intervene in the new Dutch
legislation, which will deprive NRIs/PIOs and Dutch
nationals with an Indian spouse, the social security benefits if they return to
Wahid Saleh, a distinguished PIO and GOPIO activist,
on behalf of several NRIs/PIOs living in The
Netherlands, has sent an appeal to this effect to the Indian Prime Minister
pointing out the problems that this legislation will have to the NRI/PIO
community in
This matter has been under discussions between the affected NRIs
and the Indian embassy in
As this issue is pending for such a long time without receiving any update
or information or any step by the government of
GOPIO JOINS
INDIAN AMERICAN GROUPS FOR
GOPIO is extending a
cordial invitation for a Congressional Reception and Dinner to be held on
Wednesday June 29, 2005, in
The members and delegates
from these well established national organizations will travel from all over
the
Plans are taking shape for
a White House briefing on the same afternoon. A morning reception at the Indian
embassy is also being explored.
The seating is very limited
at this historic event. Pre-reservation is needed. Contribution is $100 per
person.
GOPIO members and
supporters from
NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE
TWO INDIAN AMERICANS GET
FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS
Two Indian-American
academicians -
Thomas is professor of political science and Allis-Chalmers distinguished professor of international affairs while Omar is assistant professor of theology at Marquette University in Wisconsin, US. As part of the scholarship, Thomas, a Ph.D. in political science from the