Indian Consulate General , Sydney

by

Interactions with Australia’s High Commissioner to India

Sydney/11 October, 2017


Australian High Commissioner to India (New Delhi), Ms Harinder Sidhu, is in Australia presently.  She is here for the mid term consultations with the Government and various stakeholders. As part of these consultations, she met a select group of Indian Australian community representatives  These reps included people from various segments and faiths. 

An hour-long session in the DIBP offices in Parramatta gave an opportunity for all of us to understand and raise relevant issues. 

From Federation of Indian Associations of NSW (FIAN), Abhijeet Martand and I participated. Mr SK Verma participated  on behalf of the Consulate General of India in Sydney. 

We emphasized the role of Indian Australian community as the bridge between India and Australia and their usefulness in enhancing the relations between Australia and India. I pointed out how we (community) took up the matters during students’ troubles in 2009-10 and helped counter “Australia is racist” campaign by Indian media.  I reiterated that then Australian Government did not utilize the community meaningfully in countering the campaign by Indian media. 

Some wanted to be listed with the Govt agencies for people to contact them when needing help, but we expressed our strong view that no such listing etc should be done without involvement of, and vetting by, the Government agencies because some “leaders” are known to exploit our own people. 

The issue involving the visa for priests was raised. It was mentioned that the standard of English requirement is onerous and excessive.  I pointed out that the matter was also raised in the Q & A session with DIBP Assistant Minister, Alex Hawke, in a recent meeting organized by FIAN, and that it will be better if we work together and raise the matter with the Minister directory. The High Commissioner agreed that the matter is in the policy domain and will better be dealt with the Government. We have a plan to organize a meeting involving key stakeholders and then meet the DIBP Assistant Minister. 

Dr Yadu Singh 

http://www.facebook.com/DoctorYaduSingh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh 

by

Evil eyes on Kashmir will fail miserably

Sydney, 21 September, 2017

I received a text message about this event today.  http://www.sadaewatansydney.com/kashmirph.htm

Those who create, encourage and fund violence and terrorism in “Heaven of Earth”, Kashmir, are at it again. The whole world knows where the Jihadists come from, and where they receive their training from. Those who champion their so-called concerns for Kashmiris, they should not forget supporting the struggling and forcibly suppressed people of Baluchistan.

No prize for guessing that this so-called Kashmir Council of Australia is populated and owned by those who have close connection with Pakistan and its agencies.

No wonder that it’s upcoming function in NSW Parliament on 29 September 2017 is addressed by High Commissioner of Pakistan in Australia.  http://www.sadaewatansydney.com/kashmirph.htm


Here is the background why Jammu & Kashmir (J &K) is an inalienable and integral part of India, and it will always remain so.

Let me remind those who do not know the relevant history. J&K became an inalienable part of India on 25th October, 1947 when ruler of J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the “Instrument of accession” with India. This Instrument was executed between India’s then Governor-General, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and Maharaja Hari Singh on 25th October, 1947. At the time of Independence in 2947, rulers of Princely States and Kingdoms in India were entitled to choose one of the three options- join India, join Pakistan or remain independent. J&K joined India.

Here is the Link for more details.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir

American Professor Christine Fair’s exposure of the anti-India propaganda on this matter is worth watching.
Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_aoYNQrOOu0

Maharaja Hari Singh’s Kingdom of Jammu & Kashmir obviously and legally joined India. The Maharaja made the correct choice. He was a smart King. J&K is part of the progressive, prosperous, secular, multicultural and democratic India.

India and Indians will never allow anyone to undo what was done by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947. Terrorism and unrest supported from across the border will never succeed.
In my view, and in the views of Indian Australians, there is no need or justification for any elected Australian representatives i.e. Ministets, MPs, MLCs and Councilors to participate in such a unproductive and objectionable activity.
And one more thing.

It’s not South East Asia. It’s called South Asia. Get your geography right, guys!

There will be peace in Kashmir and the region if/ when terrorists groups, based in Pakistan, stop receiving support, training, funding and patronage of the State and non-State agencies of Pakistan. The concerns in this regard have come not only from the USA and the UNO, but also the BRICS.

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.facebook.com/DoctorYaduSingh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

by

Indian Independence Day celebration at Consulate General of India in Sydney

Sydney, 15th August, 2017


Consulate General of India in Sydney hosted the Indian Independence Day today,

Indian Flag was hoisted and the speech of the President of India was read. A few patriotic songs were sung and Consul General of India, Mr B. Vanlalvawna, gave a sweet and patriotic speech. Some of the people there were dressed in the colours of the Indian Flag. 

The patriotism and pride to belong to Indian heritage were two most important emotions there. 

This was followed by refreshments and social interactions among people who attended the ceremony.

Jai Hind! 

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.Facebook.com/DoctorYaduSingh

by

Paying tribute to martyrs of Uri terrorist attack

Sydney, 20 September, 2016

We are organising an event to pay tribute to martyrs of Uri (Jammu & Kashmir) terrorist attack at 5.30am on 18 September, 2016.

Shradhanjali (Tribute) for Martyrs of Uri terror attack

Venue and Time:

Venue: The Dezire Function Centre

            1/107-109 Main Street Blacktown. NSW 2148

            (Plenty of Parking at the back of the Function Centre)

Date: Sunday, 25 September, 1100am-1300pm

Tribute for Uri Martyrs FINAL.jpg

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Uri_attack has the details of this terrorist attack, killing 17 soldiers. One of the injured soldiers succumbed to his injuries in the army hospital on 19 September.

——————————–

Here is the full list of jawans who died in the Uri terror attack (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/uri-terror-attack-army-martyrs-families-3040153/)

(1) Subedar Karnail Singh, r/o Vill Shibu Chak, Teh- Bishnah, Dist Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
(2) Havildar Ravi Paul, r/o Samba, Dist Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
(3) Sepoy Rakesh Singh, r/o Vill Baddja, Dist Kaimur, Bihar.
(4) Sepoy Javra Munda, r/o Vill Meral, Dist Khuti, Jharkhand.
(5) Sepoy Naiman Kujur, r/o Vill Gumla, Chainpur, Jharkhand.
(6) Sepoy Uike Janrao, r/o Vill Nandgaon (Kh), Dist Amravati, Maharashtra.
(7) Havildar NS Rawat, r/o Vill Rajawa, Dist Rajasmand, Rajasthan.
(8) Sepoy Ganesh Shankar, r/o Vill Ghoorapalli, Dist Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
(9) Naik SK Vidarthi, r/o Vill Boknari, Dist Gaya, Bihar.
(10) Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai, r/o Vill Ganga Sagar, Dist South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.
(11) Lance Naik G Shankar, r/o Vill Jashi, Dist Satara, Maharashtra.
(12) Sep G Dalai, r/o Vill Jamuna Balia, Dist Howarah, West Bengal.
(13) Lance Naik RK Yadav, r/o Vill Balia, Uttar Pradesh.
(14) Sepoy Harinder Yadav, r/o Vill Ghazipur, Dist Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.
(15) Sepoy TS Somnath, r/o Vill Khadangali, Dist Nashik, Maharashtra.
(16) Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh, r/o Vill Raktu Tola, Dist Bhojpur, Bihar.
(17) Sepoy Rajesh kr Singh, r/o Vill Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.

(18) Sepoy K Vikas Janardhan, Purad village, Yavatmal district, Maharashtra

——————————-

By: Express News Service

Updated: September 20, 2016 11:31 am

In homes across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, families mourn sons lost to terror in Uri. They express their grief and anger. They also seek retaliatory action from the government.

Sepoy Javra Munda, 35

Merla village, Khunti (Jharkhand)

For three generations, Merla village in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, 40 km from Ranchi, has seen a number of its residents joining the Army as young men, with the oldest having gone on to retire. On Monday, Merla awaited the arrival of its first martyr.

Sepoy Javra Munda, 35, was one of the 18 killed in the Uri attack. He had been posted in Kashmir for three years and been expecting a transfer. (Click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Rakesh Singh, 28

Badhdha village, Kaimur (Bihar)

While on vacation in May, Rakesh Singh, 28, had taken his wife Kiran Kushwaha and their son Harshit, which means happy, to Assam and posed with them outside Kamakhya temple. Showing their photograph to visitors at their half-constructed, brick-and-asbestos home, Rakesh’s Harihar Singh, 68, tried his best to conceal his emotions. Not his wife Rajkawal Devi, who wailed unceasingly for the youngest of her four sons, the only one with a job.

Harihar was upset a chowkidar broke the news to them. “The district administration should have has the basic courtesy to send a senior official to share our sense of grief and pride,” Harihar said. (Click here to read more)

The Martyrs

martyrs759

martyrs-2-759

 

********

Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh, 44

Bhojpur, Bihar

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Jagnarain Singh (right), father of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh. (Exptess Photo: Prashant Ravi)Jagnarain Singh, 78, has been blind for the last 20 years. But now more than ever, he wishes he could see again. “I still have some strength left in me to fight Pakistan alongside the Indian Army to avenge my son’s death. The way terrorists slayed our soldiers, we should do the same,” said Jagnarain, father of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh (44), who died in Sunday’s attack.

This is not the first such tragedy to hit the Singh family — in 1986, Jagnarain’s eldest son, Kamta Singh, a 23-year-old sepoy in the Indian Army, had died in a bomb blast in Bikaner. (click here to read more)

********

Naik Sunil Kumar Vidarthi, 40
Boknari, Gaya, Bihar

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Vidyarthi’s wife Kiran grieves in Gaya Monday. (Express photo by Manish Bhandari)MATHURA YADAV, 68, is distraught yet proud. “My son is the only person in the family who became a soldier. He always spoke of the value of education and wanted his daughters to do well in studies,” he said.

His son, Naik Kumar Vidarthi, 40, killed in Uri, leaves behind three daughters and a son, who live with their mother Kiran in Gaya town, some 25 km from their father’s home in Boknari. Vidyarthi last visited the village two-and-a-half months ago. He had told his father that he would come home this Dussehra and help him renovate the ancestral home. (Click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Rajesh Kumar Singh, 33

Bhakur Village, Jaunpur (UP)

Sepoy Rajesh Kumar Singh’s brother, Umendra, had been awaiting his call from his new posting in Kashmir. Instead, what reached him was the news of Rajesh’s death. “He had gone about 20 days ago. We were not able to talk to him ever since then. And after all this wait, we got this news that he had been killed,” said Umendra, Rajesh’s brother. “I had spoken to him about one-and-a-half months ago and he asked about my family.”

Rajesh joined the Army about 12 years ago. Hailing from Jaunpur’s Bhakura village, he was the youngest of three brothers. (Click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Harinder Yadav, 26

Gaeen Deupur , Ghazipur (UP)

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army

At 26, Sepoy Harinder Yadav supported a family that included his wife, two sons, parents, four elder and a younger brothers and their families. He was the only one with a government job.

“Our four elder brothers work as labourers in Rajasthan and other places,” said Nagendra, the youngest brother. “I stay at home. Harinder’s wife and children also live in the village. Though our family is large, he always tried to keep us together. He had given me his ATM card a few years ago.” The family owns six bighas agricultural land. (Click here to read more)

********

Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav, 35

Dubardha Village, Ballia (UP)

The last ones in Ballia’s Dubardha village to get to know about Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav’s death in the Uri terror attack were his wife Parvati Devi, who is eight months pregnant, and his ailing mother Simariya Devi, who is a heart patient.

The villagers, along with other family of Rajesh, pulled out all stops to avoid breaking the news to the two women.

“We erected barricades on the road leading to our house to ensure that no mediaperson or any relative could reach our house and talk about Rajesh’s death to my mother and his wife. We stopped everyone from visiting our house. But, some journalists managed to reach our home from the other side of the road and told about the death to Rajesh’s wife, Parvati, late in the afternoon,” said Rajesh’s youngest brother, Vikesh Yadav, who is a farmer. (Click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Naiman Kujur, 30

Chainpur, Gumla district, Jharkhand

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Kujur’s wife Beena in Ranchi. (Source: PTI photo)On Saturday, Sepoy Naiman Kujur, 30, had told wife Beena Tigga over phone that she should take care of their child and not worry about him. A day later, he was killed in the terror attack at Uri.

“Nobody should find oneself in the situation I am in. I feel the government should take strong action against terrorists, Pakistan, whoever is responsible,” Beena said. She added she was ready to become a soldier herself. “If they (terrorists) come before me, I will kill them,” she said. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Ganesh Shankar, 34

Ghoorapalli Village, Sant Kabir Nagar (UP)

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Tribute to Ganesh Shankar and others from UP and Bihar in Varanasi. (Source: Express photo by Anand Singh)When the news of sepoy Ganesh Shankar’s death reached them Monday morning, the family was busy making plans for the wedding of his younger sister, Indrawati, 20.

“Indrawati’s wedding was fixed in Gorakhpur a few days ago. On Monday morning, we were talking about preparations needed for marriage functions when locals informed about Ganesh Shankar’s death. It got confirmed when mediapersons reached our place,” said Ganesh’s elder brother, Suresh Chandra Yadav, a farmer. Ganesh, 34, is survived by his wife Gudia Yadav and children Amrita, 9, Ankit, 7, and Khushi, 4. (click here to read more)

********

Subedar Karnail Singh, 46

Shibu Chak, Jammu (J&K)

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Karnail Singh’s son Anmol. (Source: Express photo by Arun Sharma)A DAY after he lost his father Subedar Karnail Singh in the Uri terror attack, Anmol Saini (19) too wants to be a soldier and serve the nation.

“I am proud of my father because he sacrificed his life for the nation. After completing my studies, I too will join the Army to fulfil my father’s dream,’’ he said. The BA first-year student spoke to his father over phone for the last time three days ago. “He told me to work hard so that I can score good marks in the exams,’’ he said.

Singh’s mortal remains reached Shibu Chak village Monday afternoon. Surrounded by villagers and amid slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, he was cremated with military honours. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Gangadhar Dalui, 23

Jamuna Balai, Howrah (Bengal)

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Sikha Dalui, mother of Gangadhar Dalui, with relatives and neighbours at Jamuna Balai village, Howrah. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)The path leading to the two-room Dalui hut was muddy and a neighbour was shovelling dry sand on it while another villager was fixing tubelights on the trees. Jamuna Balai village of Howrah was preparing for the arrival of its martyr, Sepoy Gangadhar Dalui.

“They struggled so much to bring him up well,’’said a neighbour. Dulai had joined the Army two years ago, still in the first year of college. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai, 22

Gangasagar, South 24 Parganas (Bengal)

“I will never let any member from my family join the Army again. No money can compensate this loss. Can money bring my brother back?” wails 20-year-old Bulti Ghorai, sister of Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai.

She is seated in their mudhouse in a remote part of Gangasagar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. The road to the house has no lights.

Father Rabindranath Gorai says proudly, “Martyrs never die. I have lost my son. I don’t know how we will live, but I must say that I am proud. I know he died for the nation.” (click here to read more)

********

Havildar Nimb Singh Rawat, 48

Rajawa, Rajsamand (Rajasthan)

The last time Havildar Nimb Singh Rawat spoke to his family members was eight days ago. “He had spoken to his wife briefly. The mobile network here doesn’t allow for longer conversations,” says Laxman Singh, his younger brother.

The village, located about 15 km off the NH 8, is at the far end of a network of country roads, crisscrossing the undulating, rocky landscape dominated by the Aravallis. (click here to read more)

********

Lance Naik Chandrakant Galande, 27

Jashi village, Satara

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Lance Naik Chandrakant Galande’s wife and relatives. (Source: Express photo by Sandeep Daundkar)“When I heard of young Armymen dying in terror attacks, I often felt I should ask my three sons to come back. But then, I won’t be able to tell people that I belong to this land. Am I wrong in saying that I want my two other sons to be safe? Will the government ensure that our sons are not killed like this?” says Shankar Galande, father of Lance Naik Chandrakant Galande (27), tears in his eyes. His two other sons and Chandrakant’s elder brothers, Keshav and Manjabapu, are posted in the northern sector.

Shankar is seated at their home in Galande Vasti hamlet near Jashi village, 70 km from Satara town. Not far from the house, his son’s last rites will be performed with full military honours on Tuesday. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy T S Somnath, 25

Khadangali village, Nashik (Maharashtra)

uri, uri attack, uri martyrs, uri army martyrs, martyrs in uri, jawans in uri, army jawans killed in uri, uri terror attack, pakistan, pakistani terrorism, indian army Somnath’s father outside their home in Nashik district. (Source: Express photo by Mayur Bargaje)The past few days have been tough on Somnath Thok, an onion farmer. The crash in onion prices after a bumper crop in Maharashtra caused severe heartache to small farmers like Thok, who grows the crop on a three-acre patch of land in Khadangali, in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

The blow from the market, however, was nothing compared to the shock he got on Sunday, when he was informed about the death of his son Sandip, 25. Sitting among relatives, Thok kept largely silent.

“Sandip’s memory will remain like a millstone around our necks,” said Dhyaneshwar Chavanke, Sandip’s brother-in-law. Sandip was the youngest of four siblings, including two married sisters. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy Vikas Janrao Uike, 26

Nandgaon (Khandeshwar) town, Amravati (Maharashtra)

“HE was the old man of the family,” said Babytai Uike (50) as she described her 26-year-old son, Sepoy Vikas Janrao Uike, who was killed in the Uri terror attack. Inconsolable, the mother recounted how Vikas would deposit Rs 10,000 every month without fail to help out the family.

“He helped from his earnings to marry his sister, Priti. Recently, his younger brother was engaged. Vikas, who visited us just a month back, had promised that he and his brother would get married in the same pandal and that he would select a bride for himself soon. But that is not going to happen now,” said Babytai. (click here to read more)

********

Sepoy K Vikas Janardhan

Purad Nehad, Yavatmal (Maharashtra)

Purad Nerad in Wani tehsil of Yavatmal district is mourning the death of Vikas Janardhan Kulmethe,who died in hospital Monday of injuries sustained in Sunday’s terror attack in Uri. Vikas, who joined the Army in 2008 and was transferred to the camp at Uri six months ago. He had got married two years ago. (click here to read more)

Setup Timeout Error: Setup took longer than 30 seconds to complete.

(Reporting by Santosh Singh, Prashant Pandey, Arun Sharma, Ramendra Singh, Manish Sahu, Esha Roy, Sweety Kumari, Mahim Pratap Singh, Sushant Kulkarni, Zeeshan Shaikh and Vivek Deshpande)

Sepoy HN Bala Diag and L/NK Ram Krishna remained critically injured

——————————–

We are also discussing about the possibility of a fund-raiser for the families of these army men with India loving friends in Australia.

We are together in the hour of grief for India and its bravehearts’ families. The martyrs were in Uri to defend India and Indians. We salute these bravehearts. Our hearts go out to their families.

Dr Yadu Singh

fianinc1@gmail.com

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

by

invitation for Gandhi Jayanti Celebration at UNSW on Sunday, October 02, 2016, 10.00-10.45am

Gandhi Jayanti 2016.png

Gandhi Jayanti at UNSW Australia

Mr B. Vanlalvawna, Consul-General of India in Sydney and Mr Neville Roach AO, Patron of the Australia India Institute at UNSW Australia, take great pleasure in inviting you to the Annual Gandhi Memorial to be held on campus on Sunday 2nd of October 2016.

The memorial celebrates the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and is an opportunity to reflect on his life, his values and their meaning for all of us today.

The memorial will be held on the UNSW library lawn, in front of the bust of Gandhi that has been gifted to the university by the Government of India in recognition of its work to advance Australia-India relations and provide a welcoming environment for Indian students.

Event Details

Date: Sunday 2nd October 2016
> Time: 10:00am – 10:45am
> Venue: UNSW Library Lawn
> Dress code: Casual/ Business
> RSVP: Friday 23rd September 2016  to indianc@indianconsulatesydney.org

I encourage you to join me in celebrating the birthday of the great soul, who is popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Do let me know if you need any help. Let us attend it in big numbers.

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

by

Incredible India Outdoor Branding Launched in Sydney.

 

Sydney, 18 September, 2016

Indian Culture and Tourism Minister, The Hon Dr Mahesh Sharma, launched the “Outdoor branding Campaign” in at Luna Park, Sydney on Sunday, 18 September, 2016.

Mr B. Vanlalvawna, Indian media in Sydney, a select members of Indian Australian community, Ms Kanchan Kukreja, Incharge of India Tourism Office in Sydney and members of Indian Tourism office were present.

After cutting the ribbon, the Minister and people present boarded the Sydney Bus, which had Incredible India art work on the side, for a short ride.

Minister gave a brief speech and took a few questions.

Incredible India artwork will be seen on buses and Trains throughout major cities of Australia.

I raised the issue of difficulties which NRIs/OCIs/PIOS encounter while making a reservation in Indian Rails. Minister promised to work with Indian Rail minister and get a satisfactory outcome.

Dr Sharma, a prominent member of medical profession in India, and a key minister, is an affable person with down to earth nature. Everyone present there was very impressed with his nature and work ethics.

 

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

 

by

You can learn HINDI in Sydney

Sydney, NSW

25 November, 2016

 

I am pleased to inform everyone that Consulate General of India, Sydney has agreed to our request to start Hindi teaching classes during weekends. Our campaigning has succeeded.

Hindi learning can be useful not only for kids of Indian Australian background but also for people of general Australian community. It is a fun language, besides being the language of a big proportion of Indians.

Details:

  • Saturdays

  • 2.30-4.30 PM

  • Students will pay only $5/hour ($40 for 10 lessons of one hour duration)
  • Teachers will be paid a reasonable hourly rate which will be commensurate  with their experience and training
  • Address: Indian Cultural Centre, Level 1, 265 Castlereagh St, Sydney NSW 2000 http://cgisydney.org/

Please contact icc-moumita@indianconsulatesydney.org

or

hindi@indianconsulatesydney.org for enrolment, and also, if interested to teach Hindi.

Potential teachers should send their CV to the emails above.

Gratitude and sincere thanks to Consul General, The Hon B. Vanlalvawna for his help, support and assistance.

Consulate is willing and able to do its job, for which they deserve thank you. These classes can start within weeks once they have at least 10 students. They already have 4 students. It is our and your job to make this facility known to interested people.

Let us disseminate this information to all and sundry.

Happy to help, if needed. Don’t hesitate to contact and network.

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

fianinc1@gmail.com

 

by

FIAN organised a rousing welcome reception for new Consul General of India in Sydney and visiting ministerial delegation from India

More

Press release: Sydney, 4/4/16

Federation of Indian Associations of NSW (FIAN) hosts a rousing welcome reception for new Consul General of India and visiting ministerial delegation from Uttar Pradesh.

GOI authorities requested us to organize the welcome event for the visiting delegation and provided required assistance and resources.

Madison Function Centre in Dural, NSW was immersed in serious political colours with the presence of visiting ministerial delegation from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and new Consul General of India, Mr B. Vanlalvawna and his wife, Dr Rosy Vanlalvawna on Friday, 1st April, 2016. Delegation from UP included senior ministers, Mr Azam Khan, Mr Raghuraj Pratap Singh (Raja Bhaiya), Mr Om Prakash Singh, Prof Abhishek Mishra, Mrs Arun Kumari and 10 members of UP Parliament.

Dr Yadu Singh, President of Federation of Indian Associations of NSW, conducted the proceedings in his trade mark flair, spontaneity and endearing style, enlivening the audience.  After welcoming the dignitaries, he described the love which Indian community has for India. He described how India is deep inside our hearts. He outlined the fact that Uttar Pradesh is the heart of India, besides being the most populous state, sending 80 MPs to Indian Parliament.  UP Chief Minister, Mr Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to Banda city for the inauguration of a Medical College there in March 2015, for which Dr Singh accompanied the Chief Minister, and CM’s studies in Sydney University in late 1990s were mentioned to bring a context for Uttar Pradesh and Australia connections. There was ample praise for Australia too, and its successful multiculturalism, as well as unshakable love and loyalty of the community for Australia.

Consul General of India and his wife were welcomed formally and assured of full support from the community in whatever way it is necessary.  Mr B.Vanlalvawna assumed charge as Consul General of India in Sydney on 19 February 2016. He was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1998 and served in Indian Missions/Post in Tokyo, Shanghai, Brussels and Cairo. His wife, Dr Rosy Vanlalvawna is a medical doctor and a writer.  She is a graduate from Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. More details here. http://tinyurl.com/zx9rmb6

Head of the delegation, Mr Azam Khan, thanked the community for their love for India. He praised India for its democracy and egalitarian ethos, where even a common man can be a minister, chief minister or Prime Minister. He hoped that overseas Indians will remain connected with India and will continue to serve the country of their current residence as well as the country of their birth, not only now, but also in the future. During his speech, he used “Shayari” generously, enthralling people in the audience and making many as his fans.

David Clarke, Parliamentary Secretary to NSW Government outlined his praise for India and the commonalities between India and Australia, which extends not only to Cricket, but also to the fields of trade, security, transparency, rule of law, multiculturalism and democracy.

Cultural programme, conducted by noted poetess Rekha Rajvansi, comprised of performances from top artists from the community and included Jyoti Dixit, Khurana sisters (Cheryl and Michelle), Murali Venkatraman and Arun Nanda.
Visiting delegation praised and enjoyed sumptuous and delicious dinner, catered by popular and multiple award winning, Maya Da Dhaba, which is owned by Ajay Raj.

Capacity crowd of 200+, which included who is who of Sydney, key community representatives and Indian media, stayed right up to the end of the event, enjoying every minute of the evening, and called it one of the best events from the community. Ministers and MLAs too, as well as Consul General, mingled with people, enjoying the occasion and creating a lasting and positive impression on people with their simplicity and easy going nature.

Further contact:
Dr Yadu Singh
President, Federation of Indian Associations of NSW
Fianinc1@gmail.com

http://www.Facebook.com/FianInc

http://www.Twitter.com/FianInc

by

Indian e-tourist Visa now for 150 countries

Sydney, NSW/5th April, 2016

With extension of e-Tourist Visa scheme to 37 more countries from 26th February 2016, e-Tourist Visa facility is now available to citizens of  150 countries.
————————————————————————
——————————————————————–
Information in this Blog post is from
————————————————————
Countries covered:

Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Island, Chile, China, China- SAR Hongkong, China- SAR Macau, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d’lvoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Island, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Vatican City-Holy See, Venezuela, Vietnam., Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Eligibility

  • International Travellers whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation , sight seeing , casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit.
  • Passport should have at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India. The passport should have at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer.
  • International Travellers should have return ticket or onward journey ticket,with sufficient money to spend during his/her stay in India.
  • International Travellers having Pakistani Passport or Pakistani origin may please apply for regular Visa at Indian Mission.
  • Not available to Diplomatic/Official Passport Holders.
  • Not available to individuals endorsed on Parent’s/Spouse’s Passport i.e. each individual should have a separate passport.
  • Not available to International Travel Document Holders.
——————————————————————-
More information
Visit the link for more information: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html
+91-11-24300666
indiatvoa@gov.in
e-TV Blog
—————————————————————-
Dr Yadu Singh
by

Remembrance vigil for Prabha Arun Kumar, Parramatta Park, 7th March, 2016

Sydney, 7th March, 2016

People assembled at Prabha’s Walk (Lane Way in Parramatta Park connecting Amos Street and Pitt Street) at 7 PM on 7th March, 2016.

I conducted the proceedings, as the co-ordinator of the Vigil.

The remembrance Vigil was to remember and reflect on the brutal murder of Ms Prabha Arun Kumar at 9.30 PM on Saturday, 7th March, 2015, while she was walking from Parramatta Station to her home in Amos Street, Westmead, after finishing the double shift of work that day. Murderer (s) have not been caught yet.

I spoke about the summary of the developments so far since 7th March, 2015. I outlined that from media reports and from Police comments, we know that the motives of Prabha’s brutal murder were not robbery and sexual assault. It was a well-planned and pre-meditated murder. I also said that we are not concerned about who they are, where they live and what their motives were. We just want them to be found, arrested and brought to justice.

About 50 people were present.

Parramatta MP, Mr Geoff Lee, Parramatta Police LAC Commander, Mr Wayne Cox, newly-arrived Consul General of India, H.E. Mr B. Vanlalvuwna and Mr Rajeev Kumar, Vice Consul, Consulate General of India were present.

People walked down in a silent procession from Amos Street side of Laneway (now called Prabha’s Walk) and assembled at the site of the Plaque with the name of Ms Prabha Arun Kumar, which was installed last year.

After welcoming the people, I asked Geoff Lee MP, Commander Wayne Cox and Consul General H.E. Mr B. Vanlalvuwna to say a few words.

Mr Lee talked about the lighting and CCTV installation in the Lane Way after Prabha’s death. He wished that culprits are caught soon.

Mr Cox said that Police are working very hard to crack this heinous crime. There is a specific Unit which is working tirelessly to catch the culprits.

Mr Vanlanvuwna said that he has joined the Consulate only 2 weeks ago, but the file of Prabha’s brutal slaying was the first one he went through to apprise himself of the matter.

A few other members from the community expressed their feelings and sadness. They included Rekha Rajvansi and Sashi Lal. Arti Banga of http://www.DesiAustralia.com and Indira Devi of Blacktown Voice provided commendable support.

Mr Pravin Gupta read out his emotional poem dedicated to Prabha and her daughter, Meghna.

Ms Jaala Edmunds, a woman who lives in the area, laid flowers on the park bench dedicated in Prabha’s memory. She said “I was touched when this happened and very shocked her last moments were spent here. I never met her but I always think about her.”

This was followed by a minute’s silence to reflect on what happened to Prabha and grief of Prabha’s family, especially her daughter, Meghna.

Flowers and Candles were placed at the bench, which has the Plaque on the name of Prabha.

National Media, local media and a few from Indian ethnic media were present.

———————————————————————–

I have received this message from Prabha’s brother, Dr Shanker Shetty.

“Hello Dr Singh. I am touched by the effort taken by you and the your team in organising the vigil. I watched the video online and was moved by the no of people  who remembered Prabha even a year after she left Parramatta. 

The tributes online and in the newspapers are reflective of the  way the community has been affected by the incident and the  way they  have responded to this tragic incident.

I do not have the individual contact details of all who are involved /attended this event. On behalf of Prabha’s family, could you please convey our heartfelt thanks to one and all.
I reserve the final word of gratitude to you, You have dedicated your valuable time to some one who you have not met or known. Thank you.”

—————————————————————-

http://www.parramattasun.com.au/story/3775192/prabha-remembered-at-community-vigil/

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/parramatta/vigil-to-mark-one-year-anniversary-of-indian-woman-prabha-arun-kumars-murder-in-parramatta-park/news-story/9bf03d3b2e78c830a54304601356ba4b

——————————————————————-

Dr Yadu Singh/Co-ordinator, Prabha’s Remembrance Vigil, held on 7th March, 2016

dryadusingh@gmail.com

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

 

 

 

 

 

by

Welcome, Mr. B. Vanlalvawna, new Consul General of India, Sydney

Sydney, NSW

23rd Feb, 2016

Mr. B. Vanlalvawna, IFS has joined as the new Consul General of India in Sydney.

Shri B.Vanlalvawna was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1998, has learnt Japanese and served in Indian Missions/Post in Tokyo, Shanghai and Brussels. His last foreign assignment was as Deputy Chief of Mission in Cairo

In New Delhi, he served as Head of Office in the office of Minister for the Development of North East Region and Panchayati Raj (Local Government), Government of India from 2007 to 2009 and as Director looking after Administration and Human Resource related issues in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2014 to 2016

He assumed charge as Consul General of India in Sydney on 19 February 2016. Shri Vanlalvawna is married to Dr. Rosy L Khuma, a medical doctor and a writer. They have three children.

Just out of interest for us, medicos, there are two medical doctors in the Consulate, the other being none else but Deputy Consul General, Dr Vinod Bahade.

We will know a bit more about our new CG in due course.

From all the info I have from people/sources in New Delhi, he is a thorough gentleman and helpful officer.

A warm welcome and best wishes to Mr. B. Vanlalvawna and his family in Sydney, the best and the most beautiful city in Australia!

——————————————————————-

Info from Consulate General of India website

——————————————————————–

Dr Yadu Singh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

by

Sad, unfortunate and possibly avoidable death of a young family man in Sydney!

Doctor-4
I received an email from my friend, Sreenadh Brahmapuram, on 8th May, 2014. This email was addressed to Indian Consulate, with request for some help, and included a few from the community. I am not sure about their response.

After contacting Sreenadh, I visited Westmead Hospital. I met JK’s wife, LK, their 2 years old son and their close friends. Sreenadh and I were at JK’s bedside in the ICU for some considerable time and spoke with his doctors. Sreenadh and I have been in contact ever since. We were also working on getting emergency visa for JK’s sister.

JK’s wife is a student in Sydney. They belong to Punjab province of India. They both were working in part time jobs, and staying in Harris Park.

JK, a 27 years old young man, suffered from Bronchial Asthma, which he was self-treating with puffers. His Asthma kept getting worse, before he decided to go to the Emergency dept of Westmead hospital, at the suggestion of a neighbour, who is a nurse. His Asthma was really bad. On the way, he had further worsening and had a cardio-pulmonary arrest. CPR was initially performed by the neighbour who was accompanying him. Ambulance officers arrived soon after and took over the resuscitation. He was transported to Westmead hospital, where again he had a cardio-pulmonary arrest. He was intubated, ventilated and taken to ICU, but unfortunately, he sustained significant brain injury due to poor oxygen in his body prior to reaching the hospital. This led to brain-swelling, which finally turned out to be fatal.

His body has now been transported to India last Saturday, 17th May, with the cost of such transportation taken care by Indian Consulate.

Sreenadh has provided all possible assistance to the family. He deserves kudos and heart-felt gratitude. What a gem of a person he is!

After this sad and unfortunate news became public, many people offered help. Parklea Gurdwara offered financial assistance of $2100.00 and many others too provided assistance in whatever way they could.

This young man is the only son of his parents, with one married and one unmarried sister. His son is only 2 years old and is oblivious to the tragedy. His widow will have to fetch for herself and look after the kid by herself. It is pretty daunting.

Being a medico myself, I just think that this sad, unfortunate and devastating outcome could have been avoided if JK had sought medical assistance just a bit earlier. Bronchial Asthma can be fatal if acute attack is not treated promptly.

I know that everything looks better in hindsight, but it is worth keeping in mind.

When experiencing any medical problem, it is better and helpful to seek prompt assistance from those who are qualified to offer such assistance. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment can end up in avoidable adverse outcome including fatality.

It is not worth it to delay seeking medical assistance promptly.

People who are on student visa or on visitor visa in Australia are required to have valid health Insurance, which covers approx. 85% of the medical bills from doctors and hospitals. I might add that Health Insurance was not the relevant factor for JK as he carried this cover.

Finally, we, as the community, should do what we can do to assist this family, when LK and their son return to Sydney.

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/21st May, 2014

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

*Names of JK and LK not disclosed.

 

 

 

Multiculturalism is in our Heart & Soul: INDAUS Inc celebrates Australia Day & Indian Republic Day with class & style!
by

Multiculturalism is in our Heart & Soul: INDAUS Inc celebrates Australia Day & Indian Republic Day with class & style!

ADIRD-23-CGADIRD24-CRCADIRD21-YSADIRD22-David-ClarkeADIRD11-Islanders-groupADIRD6-FlamencoADIRD19-Geoff-LeeADIRD12-SinhasADIRD13-ReddysADIRD14-CRCADIRD15-Michelle-ByrneADIRD16-FergusonADIRD16-Zangari-Grove-DattaADIRD17-Philip-RuddockADIRD18-John-Alexander<img src="https://yadusingh.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/adird7-cg2.jpg?w=300" alt="ADIRD7-CG" width="300" height="198" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3119" /Aus-IND-Flag>Sydney, 27th Jan, 2013

The Indian Australian Association of NSW Inc. [INDAUS Inc.] celebrated Australia Day and Indian Republic Day on Sunday 27 January 2013 with a style and a class of its own. A large gathering of 400+ people filled the Ryde Civic Hall to capacity.

Political and government dignitaries included federal parliament members Hon. Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa) representing the Federal Government, Hon. John Alexander (Bennelong) representing the Hon. Tony Abbott, the leader of the Federal Opposition and Hon. Philip Ruddock (Berowra).

Geoff Lee, Member for Parramatta, represented Premier of NSW, Hon Barry O’Farrell. Hon. Greg Smith, Attorney General & Minister for Justice and Hon. David Clarke, Parliamentary Secretary were present there too. The Minister for Communities and Citizenship, Hon. Victor Dominello, was represented by Matt Kean, Member for Hornsby and Guy Zangari, Member for Fairfield, represented Leader of NSW Opposition, Hon John Robertson. Other MPs and dignitaries included Kevin Conolly, Member for Riverstone, Dominic Perrottet, Member for Baulkham Hills, CRC Chair and CEO, Hon Stephan Kerkyasharian, Indian Consul General, Arun Kumar Goel, Mayor John Chedid from Parramatta, Mayor Ivan Petch from Ryde, Mayor Ross Grover from Holroyd, Mayor Michelle Byrne from Baulkham Hills, Councilor Karlo Siljeg, representing Blacktown Mayor and Councilor Raj Datta from Strathfield Council.

Guests were entertained to a welcoming Shennai instrumental music, which was played during the arrival of the guests.

Pics are here: http://www.desi.com.au/Australia_and_Indian_Republic_Day_Celebrations_by_INDAUS_Inc.html

The proceedings started with a short introduction by the event coordinator Mr. Abhilash Narendran in which he highlighted the importance of the Australia Day and the Indian Republic Day. He then introduced the president of the Indian Australian Association of NSW, Dr Yadu Singh, who also played the role of the MC. He officially welcomed all the attendees. He said it was indeed gratifying to see a large cross section of the Indian and Australian community attend this event.

The national anthems of Australia and India were presented followed by common Australia folklore Waltzing Matilda by Legendary Slim Dusty that was well received by the audience.

Several dignitaries delivered a series of brief official speeches. The list included Hon. Greg Smith, Hon. Laurie Ferguson, John Alexander, Geoff Lee, Matt Kean, Guy Zangari, Stephan Kerkyasharian and Arun Kumar Goel. Almost all the speakers dwelt on the similarities of Australia and India in multiple ways. They all wished for the improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries and wished India in its march towards progressive development in society, culture and industry. They all praised the good work the team led by Dr Yadu Singh have been doing with and before INDAUS formation.

In his brief address, INDAUS Inc. President, Dr. Yadu Singh informed that the Indian community in Australia is of a significant size, constituting 2% of Australian population, and is keen to play its role. A brief mention was made about what INDAUS team has been doing. He outlined that INDAUS Inc. is going to stay out of the annoying race to “give awards”, which is so prevalent with every other association in the community. He outlined the resolve of INDAUS Inc. to bring “India House” project to fruition, while working with all groups, associations and community in a smarter and efficient way.

A multicultural mix of entertainment was the highlight of the event. At the commencement, Ruchi Sanghi’s Group performed Kathak dances, followed by The Flamenco dancers providing a gutsy and excellent show in which a team of two women and one man entertained the gathering with a series of Flamenco dances. The main highlight of the evening was of course the Islanders’ dances. A group of five drummers and eight dancers from the Cook Islands mesmerized the audience by a series of superbly crafted intensive dances. They were so good that attendees could not refuse the request to participate in some of these cultural dances to the audience’s delight.

This event was supported by several media and business groups. Cricket NSW donated NSW Blues Team cricket bat, which was auctioned. Business groups donated several raffle prizes for the occasion. Details will be posted in INDAUS Inc. website soon.

A souvenir was released to commemorate this event. Generous support in the shape of sponsorships by many business organizations was acknowledged.

Mr. Anil Sharma, INDAUS Inc. Treasurer, proposed a vote of thanks in which he thanked and appreciated all those involved in making this celebration possible in a short time frame.

Renowned and popular caterer, Ajay Raj from Maya da Dhaba, as usual, dished out a superb Indian meal with excellent entrée dishes.

Overall the Australia Day & Indian Republic Day celebrations organized by the Indian Australian Association of NSW Inc. were splendidly successful and rewarding for the organizers and the audience. We received several excellent comments from the attendees for a well-organized great Indian community function.

The special points, separating INDAUS Inc. from others and proving again that it is an association with difference, included their Multicultural entertainment, large numbers comprising predominantly of younger people [>75%], huge political presence and staying away from “Giving award” phenomenon which is so prevalent among other associations.

The executive committee of INDAUS Inc. is very grateful to the Indian community, businesses, media and others at large for their strong support and commitment to the organization. They will like members of the community to join them to help deliver projects for the community.

Press Release issued by Stanley D’Cruz, Vice President, Indian Australian Association of NSW Inc

—————————————————————————————————————————–
Dr Yadu Singh/3rd Feb, 2013
http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh
http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh
http://www.indaus.org.au
http://www.facebook.com/indaus.nsw

by

Community politics by Indian diplomats not acceptable!

I have been of double mind about writing this post for a while. I have raised this issue in Canberra on 17th Dec, 2011 when I participated in the meeting of Indian community leaders, organised by High Commission of India. High Commissioner of India in Canberra, Consul Generals of India in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth along with many other diplomatic staff and about 200 community leaders/media people were present in this meeting.  I expressed my strong objections against politics by one Indian diplomat.

So, what is it that I am concerned about?

Guess no more. This is about community politics from one Indian Diplomat in regards to Uranium decision by ALP on 4th Dec, 2012 when ALP National Conference passed a motion to support sale of Uranium to India.

Many from Indian Australian community  had raised the Uranium issue with political leaders. It includes various community groups including ourselves and many individuals. Uranium has been in the minds of Indian Australians. We all worked to get ALP reverse its policy to ban Uranium trade with India.

I wrote about it in the Blog posts http://tinyurl.com/7bytnbo, http://tinyurl.com/2eumejb, and http://tinyurl.com/8yawduc since 2009, unlike others who appeared in the scene only recently.

Despite all this, I believe Indian Australian community had only a minor role, if any, in this decision.

Few individuals, however, with the active support of a Member of Parliament from Western Sydney had tried to claim credit for this decision.  This Western Sydney MP has many Indian Australian voters in the constituency and will need support from them in the election in 2013. This MP has been actively working on the plan to “promote” one of these two and a few more from the MP’s political party to  be recognised as Indian community leaders for obvious reasons. I am neither against this MP nor such people generally but I have issues with “manufactured” or “parachuted” leadership of anyone by anyone.

Unfortunately, a senior Indian diplomat got involved in this politics too.  I will explain it a bit later. A Link  http://tinyurl.com/848v5b7 from an unknown Indian newspaper was sent to every one by an individual as a certificate of his claim that “he delivered Uranium to India”.

They were even credited to shape the foreign policy of Australia!

Even “Gandhi” connection was evoked indirectly, ignoring the fact that these gentlemen are just pushing the barrows for their political party!

This is of course totally ludicrous and laughable.

Talking about grandstanding, you can’t get a better example!

This claim is incorrect too. This question was directly asked from Prime Minister by a journalist from Indian Down Under newspaper recently. She did not confirm it at all. Please visit The Indian Down Under newspaper  [www.indiadownunder.com.au ], edited by Nina Badhwar here http://tinyurl.com/7pa5rp7 page 9.

Australia decided to sell Uranium to India because of;

1. its national interest as it was not a smart policy to deny Uranium to India but sell it to China, thus damaging Australia-India relations when India has so much strategic importance in Asia Pacific region

2. active encouragement by USA-very important factor [confirmed by many MPs]

3. pressure and support from Australian Think Tanks and Press-Lowy Institute and The Australian newspaper

4. India’s impeccable nonproliferation records

5. Coalition parties [Liberal and National Parties] supporting such trade since 2007

It definitely was not due to a few individuals who are claiming to have “delivered Uranium to India”, just like Mahatma Gandhi delivered freedom to India!

Any such claim actually lowers the office of Prime Minister and must never be repeated or permitted.

I do not believe Indian community in Australia had a major role in it. This was the opinion of the top Indian diplomat in Canberra too. We all made noises at every available forum but still, it was not instrumental in this decision. I asked a few MPs and even Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson about it. They too were broadly in agreement with the points I had listed earlier. They laughed when I told them about the claims for credit by a few individuals from Indian community. They denied it was the case.

Indeed, we all did what we believed was our duty towards India, Australia and India-Australia relations. Taking Olympic motto, we all participated in it. We should be proud of that too. It would of course be wrong, inappropriate and unwarranted for anyone  from our community to claim a sole or exclusive credit for it.

Out of sudden, all Indian ethnic newspapers in Sydney and others were sent a link http://tinyurl.com/848v5b7 from an unknown Indian newspaper “Express Buzz”, which is not linked at all with or a part of reputed Indian national newspaper, Indian Express. “Express Buzz” article quotes an anonymous senior Indian Diplomat in Australia, attributing credits to two Indians for Uranium decision. Ms Devirupa Mitra, who is of Bengali background, of Express Buzz online newspaper gave a clear indication of this diplomat being male, thus ruling out High commissioner, Mrs Sujatha Singh. I had a discussion with High Commissioner about it and know for sure that it was not her who was quoted in this article. I contacted Ms Devirupa Mitra in India and asked about the veracity of the claims and the identity of the diplomat but she declined to reveal the source. I sensed her feeling of being “used” in the politics. She encouraged me to write to her when I asked her to retract the article. I did not write to her but will be sending this post to her.

I have no doubt that this Indian diplomat “arranged” with Ms Devirupa Mitra for this story to be published in this paper. No other newspaper in India has published this type of story. This was an attempt to “manufacture” and “promote” leadership of “some” people in our community.

Some here in Sydney have mistaken “Express Buzz” for “Indian Express” newspaper, which of course is untrue. “Express Buzz” has no link with “Indian Express” newspaper. I hope, Indian newspapers in Sydney can check facts before printing factually incorrect stories, sent to them by interested people.

This senior Indian diplomat was so blind in his politicking that he ignored the work by anybody else. We have been raising Uranium matter for the last 4 years. I raised it in our Australia Day and Indian Republic Day function in 2010 where heaps of ALP and Liberal pollies were present.  Senior Coalition leader, Joe Hockey, shadow treasurer declared the policy of Coalition to sell Uranium to India, putting ALP leaders on the spot light. This was the first such public announcement in our community functions. I urged ALP leaders to do the same as Coalition has done.We raised it in every function we organised and we raised it with every politician we met. I wrote Blog posts on it [see my Blog for details] and wrote an opinion piece http://tinyurl.com/6s7d7dx  on pages 40-41 in Mining and Investment Australia Journal which is a reputed journal. I wrote two opinion pieces in FPRC Journal [Foreign Policy Research Centre, New Delhi, India], highlighting Uranium issue http://tinyurl.com/7dec8mu .

Many others have done their bits all over Australia. This was all ignored by this diplomat in his blind desire to promote and glorify his friends. There are many theories and possibilities about the reasons for this promotion.

Both the individuals, who this diplomat gave credits to, are members of Unions and are from ALP. I must clarify here that there is nothing wrong in being a member of any Union or ALP. That is not my concern as to which party they belong to, but I have serious issues when diplomats try to glorify them without any basis or truth, ignoring equal or superior claims for such accolade or credit for others. This is indeed wrong, unethical and dishonest.

Both these individuals are close to one Indian diplomat for various reasons.

Both these individuals are from Sydney.

So, my questions are;

1. Who is this senior Indian Diplomat?

2.Why is he playing this game?

3. Is it not political interference in our community?

4. Is he not playing politics in our community by “promoting”, glorifying and “propping” up two community members who are very close to him?

5. Is it not unwarranted, objectionable and offensive for a diplomat to play this type of politics?

6. What benefits he is getting? What is in it for him?

No Indian Diplomat is owning up these false claims, when challenged. And challenged they were quite forcefully, both privately and publicly!

So typical for Diplomats!

A little more info before you made your own mind as to who this senior Indian diplomat is. There are 4 senior Indian diplomats in Australia.

1. High Commissioner in Canberra, Mrs Sujatha Singh-Served for 4 years and had just left for the posting in Germany. She is not this “senior diplomat” quoted in the paper.

2. Consul General in Sydney, Mr Amit Dasgupta-here since 2009.

3. Consul General in Melbourne, Dr S K Behera-relatively new arrival in Australia.

4. Consul Gneral in Perth, Mr M. Subbarayudu-very new arrival in Australia.

I have spoken with many people from our community and they all have expressed their disgust with politics played by one of the senior Indian diplomats. This is not within the definition of the core jobs of Indian diplomats. They are to stay away from community politics. They should not promote or prop up any community member [s]. Just in case you are wondering, I must clarify that it is not an one off activity.

Indian diplomats must stay away from community politics, avoid playing favouritism game and conduct themselves in an impartial manner. If they are not careful, they risk harming the prestige of the position they occupy in Australia.

If not heeded, this might well lead to complaints to the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, Ministers in India and MPs in Indian Parliament.

After all, Indian diplomats are not the only who can do politics. We too know how to do politics!

Indian diplomats are here to represent Govt of India and help Indian Australians, when needed, but definitely not to do politics in our community!

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/16th March, 2012

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

by

NRIs get the voting rights in India.

 

There is a good news for Non-Resident Indians [NRIs]. Prime Minister, Hon Mr Man Mohan Singh and Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr Vayalar Ravi, have announced on 24th Nov, 2010 that NRIs will  get the voting rights in India. It does not matter how long they have been away from India. They are now able to have their names in the voter list. The only catch is that they will have to be in India on the day of voting. Election Commission of India has been asked to make necessary changes in its rules and regulations.

I think it is a right step. There are more than 11 Million NRIs all over the world. Not all will be interested to be in India to enjoy their voting rights but it will certainly help those who want to do that. Previously, NRIs must have lived in India for al least 6 months before their names could go in the voter lists. No such need any more.

I think the Indian Gov should have gone a bit further here. They should have made provisions for NRIs to be able to vote irrespective of whether they were in India or not on the day of voting. They could have gone to the nearby Indian consulates/Embassies/High Commissions to vote or even better, they could have sent  postal votes.

While this is all good, India needs to move forward a lot more in regards to dual citizenship. Several western countries have already done this. Australia, NZ, UK and USA already have it. To say that it has security implications for India is not a valid argument. There are lot more enemies of India inside India. One example is “that” IAS officer who was selling secrets while working in the Ministry of Home affairs. Another example was “that” officer in RAW who was doing anti-India activities and later fled to USA when he was about  to be arrested. Yet another example is that wretched woman in Indian High Commission in Islamabad who was working for Pakistan.

I believe, just like the vast majority of People of Indian Origin [PIOs] all over the world, that India should allow dual citizenship. People will need to quit their non-Indian citizenships before taking up any constitutional position in India. This is the way Australia manages this issue.

A smart and progressive thinking is required from the Indian Government. India should strengthen the emotional and political linkage with PIOs who are a great asset for their motherland. This, it can do, by granting dual citizenships as long as security and character issues have been cleared for such PIOs.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_the_PIO_and_NRI
http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/oci-chart.pdf

Yadu Singh/Sydney/25th Nov, 2010

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

Related Articles
by

About Delhi CommonWealth Games [CWG] 2010.

Obviously, there is a lot of media coverage in Australia about Delhi Commonwealth Games [Delhi CWG] which will start on 3rd October, 2010.  Both, Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph have coverage on this today.   ABC also had coverage on this yesterday. 

Dani Samuels [Discus champion] has decided to withdraw from the Games but I was very pleased and indeed, encouraged to read that our swimmers and divers [Alex Croak, Matthew Mitcham and Geoff Huegill] have declared their intention to go to the Games. They made this very clear via a Blog [  http://tinyurl.com/273cb7k ].  I also know that the Sports Minister, Senator Mark Arbib will also be going to Delhi.  I say “good on you” to participate in the Games in Delhi. 

I know that some sports authorities from certain countries including New Zealand have made a lot of alarmist comments about the Delhi CWG which seems to be creating panic and hysteria against the Delhi Games.   A firing at a tourist bus near a mosque a couple of days ago has of course fuelled  concerns about the security around the Games. A few building work problems, which have been characterised as minor by Indian officials, have received prominent reporting in the media.

Having come from New Delhi myself where I lived for several years, I do believe that some of the comments in the media are actually very unhelpful because they are creating hysteria against the Delhi CWG.    Something similar was floating around in the media about Athens Olympic Games only a couple of years ago.  Despite that, Athens Games were greatly successful. Similar concerns were raised in the media against South African soccer world cup but they were all proven to be incorrect.

My belief is that India would be able to deliver a successful Delhi CWG.  My belief is based on following: 

 The firing on the tourist bus a couple of days ago happened in the old part of Delhi which is grossly congested and has narrow lanes.  That part is not particularly safe even in the best of times.  I do not think we would have the same situation in the Games arena or the places where sports people will be staying. Games are not happening in Old Delhi. Of course, it is important for all people including sports people to be mindful of the security environment before they venture out to areas which are generally a “no go” area in any city anywhere in the world.  I myself would not go to Old Delhi unless it is extremely necessary.  

 The Games facilities will be ready by the time the games start on 3rd October 2010.  They still have 10 days before the commencement of games. Only minor work, mostly cleaning, is yet to be done. The athletes village will be up and running with all the facilities by the time the games start.  The organisers and workers are working round the clock to get things done within days.  It is of course disappointing,  and to some extent embarrassing for us as Indian Australians to see the delay in getting the facilities ready.  Unfortunately, Delhi had 60-70% more monsoon rains this year which of course has added to problems but all stadia are already ready.  I have seen the photographs and comments of this fact. 

 India has had terrorist attacks and they have mostly originated and been masterminded from across the border.  Just like London, Bali, New York or Madrid, New Delhi will not be immune to a terrorist attack.  Having said that, I do not believe there is a very high chance (contrary to the claims in various media outlets) of a terrorist attack during the Games. I argue that the chance of a terrorist attack is minimal.  The reason for this is the fact that India has conducted IPL games without any untoward  incident for a couple of years.    In IPL games, there were many non-Indian players.  The Indian security apparatus including Indian army will provide a fool proof security for the venues and places where the games will be conducted.  People should not forget that India holds two big national events every year, namely the grand parade on the Independence Day (15th August) and Republic Day (26th January) when the whole political leadership including Prime Minister is present in the Parade venue, without any incident.  India can provide guaranteed security for a demarcated place or places but like any country in the world, it can never guarantee every place from terrorism. Sports arenas and athletes village will be demarcated places and Indian security apparatus is fully capable to do its job to protect them.

There have been concerns raised about Dengue fever in Delhi.  These concerns have created an unnecessary alarm.  Delhi is not the only city in the world which has Dengue fever.  Dengue fever is a problem in congested places such as slums or shanty towns but I do not believe sports people will be visiting or staying in those places.  The athletes village will, I believe, not have the situation where sports people will be  impacted by Dengue fever. Of course, they have to follow the advice about avoiding mosquito bite which will be given to them  by their own medical advisors as a matter of course. I and my family visit Delhi every year and have never suffered from Dengue fever. Preventive measures, of course, are crucial for every visitor.

There is a tendency in the international media to hype up and often exaggerate the issues in India which tends to create an unnecessary alarm among those who are going there.   The issues are there but they are not insurmountable. India will prove the alarm creators wrong and will hold a successful CWG.

Undoubtedly, India should have been ready with the construction and building works at least three months before, but this did not happen, leading to  much embarrassment for everyone including India as a nation and Indians all over the world.  There is a culture in India which we often call “Chalta Hai” which basically means that everything will be alright even when it does not appear to be the case. Before the D day comes, we create unnecessary chaos but  however still deliver the outcome.  This culture needs to change with some significant speed. We need to start following targets in a timely fashion. We need to start delivering outcomes in a planned and timely manner. 

There is no doubt that the credibility of India and Indian Government is on the line but having known India so well and having spoken with high ranking officials from the Government, I believe that India will deliver a very successful CWG. 

Jai Ho to Delhi  CWG 2010 and Jai Ho to all the participants in these Games!

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/22nd Sept, 2010

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

singhyadu@gmail.com

by

Mahatma Gandhi in University of NSW [UNSW], Sydney:a proud moment for India and Indian Australians.

 

I was a witness to a great and proud moment which happened in University of New South Wales [UNSW], Sydney today. NSW Minister, The Hon Eric Roozendaal MLC, UNSW VC, Professor Frederick G Hilmer AO, and Indian Consul General, Mr Amit Dasgupta inaugurated a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. It is situated in the grounds in front of the UNSW library. Speeches were made on the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings. He was described as a man of peace, non-violence and wisdom. Two quotes which I liked most go like “An eye for an eye will render the world blind” and “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

In a grand yet simple ceremony, three students from Indian community were also awarded for their achievements in UNSW.

I remember vividly that Mr Gambhir Watts of Bhavan Australia has been working on a project to get Gandhi Ji’s statue in Sydney for a while  but this project achieved a significant momentum after our energetic and “can do” Consul General, Mr Dasgupta joined the Indian Consulate in march last year. Thanks and gratitude is owed to both these gentlemen. Mr Dasgupta has indeed made us proud.

CG spoke about his visit to UNSW last year when Indian students’ issues were at its peak. He had a very productive discussion with UNSW. It was then that a decision was made to install The Gandhi bust in UNSW. CG had also donated hundreds of books on Mahatma Gandhi and India to UNSW library as gifts from India and people of India. CG, Mr Dasgupta was praised for his work in this regards.

Apart from the Minister, CG and UNSW VC, this ceremony was also attended by other UNSW  officials,  Gambhir Watts, AIBC chairman [Mr Dipen Rughani], Harry Walia, Abbas Alvi, Nihal Agar, Rohitas Batta, Aruna Chandrala, Raj Datta, Neville Roach, Mrs Roach, Mala Mehta, N Saha, myself and many others.

Media was represented by Pawan Luthra [Indian Link], Aparna Vats [Voice of India] and Harmohan Walia [Hindi Gaurav].

It was a very pleasant atmosphere with beautiful music, drinks and finger food which were served after the inauguration.

This venue should become an important place for occasions like Gandhi Jayanti [Birth day celebration] on 2nd October. Inauguration of Gandhi Ji’s Bust should remind people about the principles and achievements of this great soul. It should also remind people that results can be achieved without violence, a message the whole world needs to listen more often today than any other time.

I can’t describe how proud I was today.

Jai Ho!

Yadu Singh/Sydney/1st Sept, 2010

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

by

Australian Uranium to India:Why Australia should sell it to India?

Last year, the then PM, Kevin Rudd and several ministers including the then Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard visited India. India is an important country for Australia on multiple counts. It is a rising global power which is also an important trading partner of Australia. Indian students’ issues aside, both countries enjoy friendly relations with one another. 

We, Indian Australians, have a keen interest in seeing good relations between these two countries.

Both countries must consider the interests of one another while doing business with one another. There are too many things which bind us together. These are our democracies, rule of law, multi-cultural societies, love of Cricket and memberships of the Commonwealth to name a few.

Previous Australian Gov led by PM John Howard did many things to move Australia and India closer. He declared that he would sell Uranium to India as India had impeccable records of nuclear non-proliferation. Other important step in this direction was a decision to initiate a quadrilateral strategic dialogue involving USA, Australia, India and Japan. Yet another was the naval exercises called Malabar exercises involving  Navies from India, USA, Australia, Japan and Singapore. After winning the Gov in 2007, Kevin Rudd led ALP Gov reversed the decision to sell Uranium to India and other steps too became non-operative from one or the other reason. Unhappy with Australia’s policies, India did not participate in Kakadu Naval exercises where even Pakistani Navy showed up.  Basically, Australia-India relations have moved backward since 2007. They moved back a few degrees more after the students’ issues last year. A serious work is required to rectify this situation.

Indian economy is growing and will keep growing for years to come. GFC [Global Financial Crisis] did not affect India as much as it did others. India is on a roll. The only thing which holds India down is the fact that it has a problem in regards to its energy supply. It needs more and more energy for its growth. It  needs as much energy as it can get its hands on. Indian economy’s growth is essential not only for India but it is also essential for the health of the world economy.

India has been exploring all sources of energy supply as its local supply is far shorter than what it needs. India has to import petroleum from the Arab countries and is debating about the gas supply from Iran. Iranian Gas is however problematic as it has to transit via Pakistani territory which is a problem in itself. Pakistani Govt authorities will never be able to guarantee a secure transit due to its weakness and the presence of the “non-state actors” there who are anti-India. In addition, India cannot rule out a war between India and Pakistan which will create problems in the transit of the gas.

India is therefore forced to explore the option of atomic energy. It has no choice. Thanks to the leadership of The Prime Minister, Mr ManMohan Singh and the then US President, Mr George Bush, India has an India-specific NSG [Nuclear Suppliers’ Group] exemption in 2009 which enabled it  to have bilateral nuclear energy deals with USA, Russia, France, Canada and some more countries. India needs a similar deal with Australia which will allow the Uranium sale to India. Australia has about 40% of world Uranium and sells it to China. NPT should not be an obstacle for Australia to sell Uranium to India after the NSG’s India specific exemption and with India’s impeccable record in nuclear non-proliferation. NSG exemption was a testimony to the fact that India has been a responsible country and has never been involved in nuclear proliferation, unlike others in our neighbourhood. Australia supported this exemption. NSG exemption permits nuclear trade by India without signing NPT.

We should remind ourselves about what the former Australian PM, Mr John Howard had said about such sale. He said that it would not be fair to sell Uranium to China and deny that to India. PM Howard was dead right.

When Kevin Rudd’s ALP Gov reversed Mr Howard’s decision, India was upset and disappointed. Indian Australians were upset too. People felt that it was an unfair decision. India had a difficulty to understand the logic behind this decision once India was given NSG exemption with an active support from Australia.  NPT issue is not relevant at all in regards to India as India has impeccable records in these matters. ALP’s policy, insisting on NPT signature by India, is wrong and ill-considered. Australian Foreign Minister Mr Stephen Smith’s press conference in New Delhi is worth going through. It is available through DFAT website. India has never been involved in nuclear proliferation unlike Pakistan and China. China is a NPT signatory but its record in these matters is not that great. Everybody knows the nexus between China and Pakistan. We should not forget how North Korea got its atomic bombs. Pakistan would not have supplied anything to North Korea without the consent of China. Manuals in Chinese language were found even in Lybia which tried to buy things from disgraced proliferators like AQ Khan of Pakistan.

Simply put, it makes no sense for Australian Uranium going to China but not to India. In fact, there is more justification for Uranium sale to India. It will be pragmatic and a smart move if ALP drops its objection to selling Uranium to a non-NPT signatory country like India because India has fault-free records in proliferation matters and this fact has been recognised by the world with the India specific NSG waiver.  ALP decision to not sell Uranium to India has been considered unfriendly by many quarters in India and Indian Australian community. It is a big stumbling block in good Australia-India relations.

I have urged the Australian PM and ALP to give India a “fair go” through emails and my Blog. I argued that it was what was expected from a friendly country. It is not fair to bind Australia with the NPT dogma and not see the whole issue in a realistic way. A friend has to see the problems of  his/her friends properly. Australia is a friend of India. It showed it by supporting the NSG exemption for India in Vienna last year. It shows it by supporting a permanent position for India in UNSC. It is about time that we see it once again by seeing Uranium trade between Australia and India. As we understand, it [ALP] would not have any political fallout from its decision to sell Uranium to India because the Coalition is already in favour of doing so. It should not be a problem to amend Atomic energy Act either, giving an India-specific exemption for Australian Uranium sale to India. I remain doubtful though whether ALP and specifically ALP Left will change its objection in this regard.

I urge my Australian Indian friends to lobby with their local MPs on this matter. We need to pool our energies in persuading the Australian Gov to sell Uranium to India.

Like Lowy Institute’s Rory Medcalf [Ex Australian High Commissioner to New delhi], I and thousands of my friends in Australia do believe strongly that Australia should sell Uranium to India. We find this refusal to sell Uranium to India  unfair and illogical. India needs new and cleaner sources of energy  and nuclear energy is at the top of its list. Nuclear energy will not only help India but it will help the whole world as it will reduce pollution and carbon emission.

A time has come when Australia sees the issues properly and does the right thing. That right thing is to sell Uranium to India.

PM Julia Gillard, if elected on 21st Aug, will get an opportunity to change this illogical policy and sell Uranium to India but will she do it is yet to be seen.

Tony Abbott, if he gets the mandate on 21st Aug, and his team including Julie Bishop, Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb have already reconfirmed their resolve to sell Uranium to India.

We want some significant movement for more meaningful and better Australia- India relations.

The question in our minds is whether ALP will do the right thing or whether it would be the coalition which will do it!

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/09-11-09 

singhyadu@gmail.com

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

by

Australia-India relations and the issues of Indian students:IBN Live documentary [Hindi]

http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/35809/2

Smita Sharma, a senior journalist from IBN Live channel was in Australia recently. She has made this comprehensive documentary. She did a good job and covered the issues of Indian students in Australia and sought the comments of Indian Australians who have been here for a long period. Ravi Bhatia of AIBC, Vasan Srinivasan of FIAV, Anupam Sharma and myself were interviewed for this documentary. She managed to speak with some actors from a Bollywood movie  on this topic [a Mahesh Bhatt movie which was being shot in Australia at that time] too with the help from Anupam Sharma.

It is in HINDI. It is in multiple segments.

It is a very balanced documentary. It is definitely worth a watch.

Yadu Singh/Sydney/13rd July, 2009

by

Australia’s new Skilled Occupations list [SOL] for immigration:Changes which were overdue!

Senator Chris Evans, Minister of Immigration of Australia has announced the new Skilled Occupations list [SOL] today.

It has excluded cookery, hair-dressing, community welfare and other low value trades/skills from this list but it does have doctors, Engineers, nurses, teachers, construction workers, IT professionals and accountants among others. I liked this list and support it fully. I spoke on this matter today and here are the links.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s2901431.htm

http://player.sbs.com.au/naca/#/naca/wna/Latest/playlist/Skilled-migrant-list-to-shrink/

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/new-list-of-occupations.pdf

As we all know, Australia’s international education is [or at least, it has been until recently] a significant source of income ie about $15 Billion/year and has been quoted to be the third biggest source of the economy. It has grown dramatically over the last few years. Chinese and Indian students were the backbone of this growth. This growth was more true for the private vocational sector as compared to the University/TAFE sector. It was estimated that about 80-85% of Indian students came to Australia to study in the private sector, most commonly in cookery related courses, hairdressing and community welfare. To cater to the increasing demands, a lot of private schools were opened by entrepreneurs, many of them did not provide proper and good quality of education. Exploitation of students was rampant and unfortunately, the quality control mechanisms were not as active as they should have been. When the problems in this sector were brought out in the open by Indian and Australian media and quality issues were taken up with seriousness by Australian agencies as a result, many of these private schools started to close down, leading to more difficulties to the students.

With the assaults on Indian students and hysterical and often exaggerated reporting by Indian media which damaged Australia’s reputation, Australian agencies finally decided to take the remedial actions to clean this sector. Multiple task forces were set-up and serious reviews were done. It became quite clear that Australia’s international education system has been rorted by many students, some migration agents and some education agents. Some students came to Australia with no interests to study. Even human smuggling has been mentioned as a way to send some so-called students to Australia. Some of these students had poor English, educational and financial backgrounds. False certificates of all sorts and even contract marriages were employed to bring the so-called spouses in many cases.

Many of these students were applying for the PR visa even though they did not have the requisite qualifications to be able to find the employment. They were able to get the PR only because their trades of cookery and hair-dressing were in the preferred list for immigration.There was a serious question of the suitability of these people to become immigrants of this country.

Finally, something has to be done and new skills list is the outcome.

Skills Australia-an independent body has helped bring this list out. This list will be updated annually.

Senator Evans has outlined that Australia’s immigration programme will be demand-driven, not supply-driven. He said that Australia needs teachers, doctors, nurses and IT professionals, not cooks and hair-dressers. He also said that Australia’s immigration programme can not be controlled or driven by international education only. Senator Evans is spot on here.

These changes were overdue but as people say, it is still better late than never.

Australia should attract and encourage the right type of immigrants with qualifications which we need.

International education and PR should not be linked. It was never linked in a legal sense but an expectation of this “link” was created by the marketing agents. It was known to every one including Australian agencies that PR lure was responsible for the spectacular growth of students numbers from India and China. Having said that, these students came to Australia because Australia allowed them.

While I support this new skills list whole-heartedly, I am concerned about the plight of those students who are already here. They and their parents have invested a lot of money-often mortgaged their homes and farms to send them to Australia. They came here with the expectation of PR and this was not totally their mistake. They came here under previous rules and had valid reasons to hold an expectation for PR Visa after completing the diploma.

The current and changed situation has shattered their hopes. This is akin to a humanitarian tragedy for them and their families. It is going to have a very serious ramification for some of them.

I do believe that some significantly fair transitional steps should be taken to consider their situation, provided they meet the English, training and work experience standards. I am generally against retrospective rules and their case is a classical example where it should not be implemented retrospectively.

Is there a case for a fairer transitional steps/strategies in these matters?

While I congratulate Senator Evans for this new Skills list, my view is also in favour of fairer transitional steps in this matter and I believe that there is a very strong case for this approach!

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/17th May, 2010

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

by

Community work:what I have done so far.

Updated on 11th April, 2011.

Information

Here is my account about what I have done so far and what I am doing right now.

1. Community work in General:

1.1. Leadership roles in Indian community Medical Associations, Continuing Medical education and Health education of general community.

1.2. Helping poor people from our community ie visitors, overseas patients and Indian students when they are in need of health care in Australia without sufficient financial resources.

1.3. Helping poor students in my district with  scholarships etc.

2. My work as the co-ordinator of the Indian Consul General’s committee on students’ issues:
Indian Consul General’s Community Committee on Students’ Issues, Sydney, NSW was formed at the Indian Consulate on 6th April 2009. It did intensive work and completed its task in a very efficient manner. After accomplishing its mandated task, it dissolved itself at the end of June 2009 and communicated this to the Indian Consulate on 1/7/09.

The committee had Harmohan Walia,Vish Viswanathan, Shubha Kumar, Stanley D’Cruz and Dr Yadu Singh as its members. I was its co-ordinator.

This committee had done following activities;

#met students numerous times.

#organised a students’ forum on 16th May at Strathfield.

#co-organised a students’ forum with UIA in Strathfield on 6th June.

#arranged help to a woman student who was a victim of domestic violence.

#arranged help to 2 women students who were stalked by another Indian co-worker.

#arranged meetings with minister of education, NSW and her senior advisers and students from an aviation school-Work in progress.

#arranged a meeting with the president, NSW upper House [Mr Peter Primrose] and Ms Helen Westwood MLA and students.

#arranged meeting of an aviation school student with consul General [this student gave him his papers].

#arranged a meeting with a community minded lawyer and aviation school students.

#met the mother of a student of an aviation school. This lady’s husband had died only 4 weeks ago due to the serious stress involved in losing the money with the school in Sydney without the required outcome.

#arranged and participated in TV coverage of students’ issues on Channel 7, 9, 10, SBS TV, ABC TV, and Bloomberg.

#participated in the coverage on ABC radio, SBS radio, SBS Hindi radio, 2UE, JJJ, Indian Link radio, Radio UMANG, 2GB radio and SBS Kannada Radio.

#arranged talk-backs on these issues on SBS radio and Radio UMANG [98.5MHZ, Fridays,8-9 PM]-now stopped.

#participated in coverage on SMH, The Australian, Daily Telegraph, other newspapers and AAP.

#participated in the coverage on Indian newspapers in Australia [The Indian, Indian Link, Indus Age, The Indian Sub Continent Times, Indian Down Under].

#participated in TimesNow, NDTV, CNN/IBN, Headlines Today, AajTak and other Indian TV Channels.

#participated in the coverage on main Indian newspapers and PTI.

#involved with some top-grade Australian media programmes with wide audience in getting students’ issues covered.

#arranged funds for the accommodation for the relatives Mr Rajesh Kumar [the petrol bomb victim from Harris Park] within 24 hours.

#met commander Robert Redfern , Parramatta Local area Command of NSW Police several times.

#did what we could do to persuade/help the students when they were on the Harris Park streets for 3 nights.

#participated in the community leaders’ meeting with chairman, Community Relations Commission [CRC] at CRC HQ

#participated in a CRC organised meeting with Indian students at Parramatta RSL.

#participated in the community leaders’ meeting with the Premier, Mr Nathan Rees

#Met Indian Consul General and Consul several times

#helped a prominent Indian TV channel with a documentary on true situation in Australia. One of us [Yadu Singh] was the citizen Journalist.

#discussed and formulated the strategy to solve the problems of our students.

#submitted our strategy to the NSW task force and other relevant authorities.

#provided leadership in the matters relating to Indian students.

#gave our after hours and week-ends for students’ work and provided pastoral care to the needy students.

#provided/facilitated medical help to the needy students/their family members.

#met the visiting Indian journalists at the Consulate.
The committee members were all hard-working people with top-grade integrity. They did not have any conflict of interest in the matters relating to Indian students. None of them were involved in the students’ placement in a school [after taking a commission], running of any such school or running of any business which could have a potential conflict of interest in any manner.

All members worked with full dedication, cohesion and team feeling without any undermining of one another. This itself is a rare thing for an Indian group. We are proud of our work and ourselves.

We appealed to every person from Indian background to stay away from any leadership role if they were involved in any activity which did/could create a conflict of interest in these matters but we did not succeed in this matter.

We raised our voice forcefully against the exploitation of Indian students by some Indian employers.

We also appealed to the Indian newspapers and Radio programmes to ask questions from every leader [on students’ issues] about their involvement in any activity which  created a conflict of interest in those matters. We suggested that the  media should start with the questions on conflict of interests when interviewing those leaders.

3.My work beyond/outside the Consul General’s committee on students:

a. helped the refund of >$12000 to a student of a Flying school.

b. arranged legal assistance to the students from this Flying school from a solicitor in Sydney and Canberra.

c.1. facilitated a good outcome between parties involving VETAB, Flying school and students.

c.2. held several meetings involving VETAB high authorities, the Flying school and students in VETAB and my offices.

d. organised further refunds/savings [including waiving of about $50000f the legal fees in regards to a legal proceedings in the Supreme Court where students had lost their case and costs was awarded against them]] for a Flying school students from ESOS scheme with the help of VETAB, DEEWR and federal education dept which is worth >$250000 . I was the key and the only Indian person in this work for these students. I did this as I felt it was my duty to help students from my community who were feeling powerless in Australian system.

e. held meetings involving a Flying school people, VETAB and students.

f. helped payment of >$2400 to a student which was originally denied by his employer.

g. arranged funding of about $1000 to the family members of the “Petrol bomb” victim.

h. donated $500 to a students association.

i. arranged sponsorship for foods, meeting hall and public liability insurance for a students’ association [worth >$1000].

j. mentoring students for their careers and future in OZ.

k.1. donated $500 to AHIA’s seniors.

k.2. donated $500 to Fiji floods relief fund via International congress of Fiji Indians and organized $2000 donations from other doctors

k.3. donated $500 to Sanatan Arya Pratinidhi Samaj, Sydney.

l. donated a good amount [>$2000] for needy/deserving causes involving victims of earthquakes, accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses.

m.1. helping several students including assault victims for their work comp, treatment and issues involving their parents.

m.2. Liaised with NSW Police high ups in regards to the assaults of 2 Indians in Sydney.

m.3. Advised/mentored several others in regards to the steps they needed to take when they were assaulted.

n. established a benevolent fund for the community with further activities in the process.

o. participated as an active member of the working party with CRC on students including inputs for Z card.

p.1. took leadership role via the media including Indian and Australia media [Chanel 9, SBS, NDTV, Indian ethnic newspapers].

p.2. helped Radio National in making a documentary on students [see details in this BLOG elsewhere].

q. raised the issue of OZ Uranium sale to India during the Australia India Day celebration on 24th Jan, 2010 where several ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLC, and media people were present.

r. helped community members’ relatives/parents including FIJI Indians’ when they needed medical help.

s. helped students with their medical treatment of all types when they needed such help. This included getting a student admitted for the urgent treatment of his Kidney stone trouble which was threatening his Kidney.

t. helping the community members from India and South Asia with a concessional fees structure because they are part of my community [a service worth more than $50000/year].

u. met NSW Premier, VETAB authorities and NSW Education authorities on students’ issues

v. did all this work without any personal benefits or COMMISSIONs unlike some of our “leaders”. SEE my BLOG for more details.

w.1. trying to clean the community leadership and making them accountable.

w.2. Exposed commission taking by some leaders of an Indian community association in Sydney.

x. taking a leadership role against unfair portrayal of Australia as a Racist society by Indian media.

y. mentored medical doctors from India in regards to their training and registration issues including achieving a successful outcome for a house surgeon who was facing exclusion from the medical work due to her unfair treatment in a Sydney hospital. I worked very actively with this young doctor and her supervisors including Hospital administrators to get her into the internship at a different hospital. She passed her assessment and is now working in Sydney.

z.1. many other charity work in India including scholarships for poor students in India.

z.2. running a weekly Radio UMANG [Health radio] programme.

z.3. worked as a catalyst in resolving the issues between Indian consul General, Sydney and some businessmen with a successful outcome.

z.4. took an active and a leading  role in resolving the issues between Indus Age [after a controversial ad] and the community, and achieved a successful outcome [with an apology and a promise to not publish such ads again].

z.5. Formed a community committee [total 10 people in it] against Visa Capping Bill in May 2010 and lobbied with the Gov ministers and Media against this Bill which was very harmful to the students. Worked actively for this committee, visiting community gatherings, temples and Gurdwaras to collect signatures against this Bill. We also met the Immigration minister, Mr Chris Evans, asking him to not proceed with this Bill. See www.fairgo4internationalstudents.org.

z.6. Formed a national organisation called National Council of Indian Australians [NCIA, www.ncia.org.au] with participation from all over Australia [all states and territories representatives].

z.7. Spoke as a lead doctor in the Health Summit, organised by GOPIO, Sydney, educating/informing people on Health matters on 4th Dec, 2010.

z.8. Helped a family locate their son [International student] http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/a-dumped-bike-a-glimpse-on-sydney-stations-cctv-what-happened-to-indian-student-abhijeet-20101006-166rs.html

z.9. Raised $7100 as a team for Qld Flood relief on 28th Jan, 2011.

z.10. Took up the issue of attack on  Sri Mandir temple, Auburn and brought it to the national media.

z.11. Took up the matter involving HINDI in the Australian national draft curriculum-Languages and wrote to ACARA. 

z.12. Campaigned for removal of an incorrect map of India in DIAC website and succeeded.

I have not listed every thing I have done or am doing. Much more is being done presently.

I had to write this down because some of my detractors were making comments like “what has he done for the community”.

Just to let you know that it gives me a sense of satisfaction to do some community work beyond my medical work. 


Yadu Singh/Sydney/22nd November, 2010

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

by

Australia India Day [celebrating Australia Day and Indian Republic Day] function:Report

Report

Australia India Day Function

[Celebrating Australia Day and Indian Republic Day]

Held on the 24th Jan, 2010 [6-11PM]

Venue – Ryde Civic Centre, Ryde NSW 2112

 

Australia India Day Function Council celebrated its first Australia / India Republic Day at the Ryde Civic Centre, Ryde on the 24th January 2012.  The program was an astounding success with more than 500 prominent Indians, representatives from over 20 Indian Associations, and star-studded politicians from both the Labor and Liberal parties from State and Federal level attending this event. 

The celebration started with the singing of Indian and Australian anthems, followed by entre which was followed by the first part of the entertainment programme. The guests were welcomed by Harish Velji and the MC was Dr Yadu Singh. Vote of thanks was given by Ms Shubha Kumar.  

At no time in the past 20 years, any function organized by any Indian Association/s had such massive response for such events.  The only limiting factor in getting more numbers to attend the event has been the capacity of the Ryde Civic Centre function hall. 

One of the major aspects contributing to the success of this program was the enormous representation from both the Labor and Liberal parties. ALP took 2 tables and Liberals took 1 table in our function. More than 40 political leaders and party workers from both sides attended the event.  Prominent people from the political leadership included: 

Hon Ms Maxine Mckew [Parliamentary secretary, Fed Gov & representing Prime Minister of Australia], Hon Mr Joe Hockey [Shadow Treasurer, Fed Parliament & representing Hon Tony Abbott, Leader of Opposition in Fed Parliament],Hon Mr David Borger [NSW Minister], Hon Mr Peter Primrose [NSW minister], Hon Ms Barbara Perry [NSW minister & representing NSW Premier], Ms Angela D’amore [Parliamentary secretary, NSW], Hon Mr Laurie Ferguson [Parliamentary secretary, Fed Gov], Mr David Clarke MLC [Shadow Parliamentary secretary & representing Mr Barry O’Farrell, Leader of Opposition, NSW], Mr Phillip Ruddock [Shadow Cabinet secretary, Fed Parliament], Mr Greg Smith [Shadow Attorney General, NSW], Hon Ms Amanda Fazio [President, Upper House of NSW], Hon Ms Tanya Gadiel [Deputy speaker of NSW parliament], Mr Chris Hayes MP, Mr Michael Richardson MP and Mr Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.

Clr Mark Adler – Canterbury Council, Clr Tony Hay – Hills Shire, Clr Barbara Burton – Hills Shire, Clr Vaseekaran Rajdurai – Holroyd Council, Clr Bill Whelan, Hawkesbury Council, and Crl Trent Zimmerman, North Sydney Council also attended this function.

Hon Mr Amit Dasgupta, Consul General of India, Sydney and Mr Gautam Roy, Consul from the Indian Consulate, Sydney also graced this function with their presence.

In a highly emotional and charged up speech, Mr David Clarke [representing Mr Barry O’Farrell] from the Australian Liberal Party, said that if his child goes to India he is sure the parents in India would treat him as their son and look after him.  On a similar manner, he urged that the Australian Moms and Dads to treat the Indian students as their own sons and look after them.  He went on and paid tributes to India and its traditions by saying that ‘India practices what it preaches. 

Ms Barbara Perry [representing the Premier of NSW] spoke eloquently about the contribution of Indian Australians and declared that violence against Indian/international students will not be tolerated. She said that students are very welcome in NSW. She was dressed in Indian attire which people appreciated with enthusiastic applause. She spoke about the interest of NSW premier and Gov in working actively with the Indian Australians.

Hon Joe Hockey, speaking at the function, said the Liberal party is fully committed to its policy of supplying Uranium to India.  Dr Yadu Singh, while responding to Hon Joe Hockey’s speech encouraged the Labor party to consider similar policy and implement it as early as possible. He explained that the issue of NPT is not relevant in case of India after India has been given an India-specific exemption from NPT by the NSG [Nuclear Suppliers’ Group] in Vienna last year.

Ms Maxine Mckew also spoke very highly of India, Indian Australians and multi-culturalism in Australia. She also explained that India and Australia have a great relations and it will get even better despite some hiccups. She was very impressed with the enthusiastic participation of women Indian Australians in this function. Her speech generated a thunderous applause from the audience. 

All the speakers from both the major parties spoke highly of India, Indian traditions, Indian sports – in particular Cricket, and the Indian political landscape, which stood the test of times for more than 62 years since securing independence from the British rule in 1947. All speakers were enthusiastically applauded by the audience.  

The event was also graced by Mr Amit Dasgupta, the Consul General of India.  Speaking on the occasion the Consul General touched on two fundamental issues.  On the issues related to the Indian students the Consul General paid glowing tributes to the NSW Police force and the political landscape of NSW for containing the student issues in NSW.  As a clear indication to vindicate this matter the Consul General said that out of the 1340 attacks on Indian students in 2009, only 13 such attacks occurred in the state of NSW and South Australia – the States which fall under the jurisdiction of Mr Amit Dasgupta.  He further stated that these statistics do not however condone the vast majority of attacks on Indian students that occurred and still occurring in other States.  He urged that the law enforcement agencies and the political parties should work closely in this direction and ensure safety of the Indian overseas students 

On a second major issue, the Consul General spoke about exploitation of the Indian students by Indian business – in particular the food/restaurant industry whereby the restaurant owners pay less than the wages stipulated under the labor law.  He insisted that all business owners must do ethical business.  He further went on to say that ‘I will not attend any function where he is not assured of suppliers to that function follow ethical standards in conducting their businesses’.  The entire hall including all the politicians from both major parties echoed with a big applause. 

The overwhelming response to this event is an indication of the ‘changing times’ and ‘changing outlook’  to the leadership and responsiveness to the current issues and challenges being faced by various sections of the Indian migrant and student community living in the State of New South Wales.  

Surely the representation of more than 40 students from the International Student community is an indication that they want to hear from the leadership and also from the large number of politicians on their views and actions proposed to be taken to address their issues. The Chief of VETAB [Ms Margaret Willis] and her assistant, Mr Shona Tannock and Mr Robert Redfern, Commander, Parramatta Police command [representing NSW Police Commissioner] were present as our guests. Ms Willis’ and Mr Redfern’s presence was meant to send out the message that quality of training and safety of students are 2 key issues in relations with Indian students.

It is noteworthy that students had paid at a very subsidized rate and all others including the organizers, except a very small numbers of VIP guests, had bought the tickets for their participation in the function.

The representation from more than 20 Indian Associations is a clear indication which shows they are bewildered with the current policies and practices, and financial management of our current top associations and leaders. The one fundamental reason for this large support stems from the fact that they found a new leadership in the AIDFC which can respond to the current issues and make representations at both Australian and Indian Government levels with a solid and united voice.   Some of the major Indian organizations who supported the event included the India Club, The Sydney Sangat, Australian Punjabi Business Association, Australian Indian Business Congress, Punjab For Ever, The Australian Tamil Association Inc (ATA), Hindi Samaj and the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association (AMU) in addition to others.  

ACR International Tours and Travels added spice to the event by offering one return air ticket through Singapore Airlines for auction.  The auction added nice A$1,000 to the much badly needed money for the ‘benevolent fund project’. Mr Navneet Chaugar was the winner of this ticket. For the raffle draw which helped us collect about $750, the Good Guys offered a Plasma 26 inch TV which was won by Councilor Bill Whelan of the Hawkesbury City Council.  Congratulations to the winners! 

Media-both Indian and Australian, were represented with Indian Link, The Indian, Punjab Times, Hamare Rang [Pakistani] and most importantly, Channel 9 team present in the function. This was the very first time that Channel 9 crew was present in an Indian function.

Many other ethnic community leaders also graced the occasion with their presence.

The Future – the AIDFC Benevolent Fund

AIDFC has made a number of public announcements at the function to the community as a part of its commitment for the future.  Prominent among them is the creation and implementation of the AIDFC’s Benevolent Fund.  We are committed to get this fund going and make a significant contribution to the well being the Indian migrant and student community, our fellow Australian community and finally to our mother country – India.   

Finally we promise you that we will provide you a solid leadership and will representation at various levels.  We will have clean governance in all matters of the AIDFC management – in particular finance management. We will adopt an ‘open book’ approach in all these areas.  Consideration will be given to broaden the current AIDFC to include more Associations, individual members and businesses.  The community will be getting more frequent updates in the coming weeks and months! 

Ghungurus Group of Shalini Patel was the provider of the entertainment programme which was of 50 minutes duration and had the mix of Bhangra and Bollywood songs/dances. Every one enjoyed it tremendously.

Catering was done by Billu Group with great food, dessert and wines.

This function was so well attended and so well done that it has become a matter for the discussion among Indian Australians and the political eaders in NSW and Canberra.

This function has now become the talk of the town.
 
 JAI HO! 

Dr Yadu Singh

President

Australia India Day Function Council (AIDFC)

www.Twitter.com/dryadusingh

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

www.yadusingh.wordpress.com

Email: singhyadu@gmail.com

31st Jan, 2010

by

Looking for the real leaders from Indian Australian community:where are they hiding?

Dear Indian Australians in Sydney

With the exposure of rorts/scams through the Australian media recently, a significant damage has happened to the image of our community. We can not be happy about it as it is about us. A beginning has to be made to mend/repair the harm to the image and standing of our community.

Recently, a fellow from our community committed suicide in Harris Park, NSW. There were some issues in regards to arranging transportation of the body to India.

Also, recently, a young man died unexpectedly in Sydney. I understand that it was due to a heart illness. The person in question was a heavy drinker and smoker. He was the only son of his parents.

Mental health and cardio-vascular health issues are significant problems in our community.

“Racism” is a much used term which gets used, rightly or wrongly, as an explanation for all sorts of problems. I know one who tried to employ this word when caught travelling on the city rail without a valid ticket!

Basically, we have issues involving health, settlement and leadership in our community which are very relevant for the new arrivals.

For obvious reasons, we will have to do something about these issues. We have to think about the best mechanism/tools to address these issues. We have to help our community where our help is needed. Our community leaders have a special responsibility in this regard.

I do not claim to be “Mr know it all” but I do not mind in speaking my mind. I recognise that others would have good ideas too.

I propose that;

1. we do not encourage the participation of those members of our community who are known to be involved in the exploitation of students or are parts of the scams/rorts, in the social functions/gatherings.

2. we do not support the business owners who fall under the category 1.

3. we have a meeting of community minded people and those who have impeccable integrity with good reputation soon. I propose the United Indian Associations [UIA] president to preside this meeting.  

4. we identify those people quickly who are operating as the leaders but have a clear conflict of interest in those matters and ask them to take a back seat.

5. we help set up the system which is there to help our students and Indian Australians when they are in desperate needs for the help. This should include the establishment of a Benevolent Fund.

6. we support UIA to grow and become an effective organisation by discussing, debating, reforming by bringing out the required changes. UIA Constitutional review is long overdue.

7. we urge UIA to become a more open and inclusive organisation by co-opting well-meaning and capable people from outside UIA in its committees.

8. we think about forming a new organisation with the required goals if UIA leaders are not able/wiling to reform UIA to make it a relevant and an effective body.

9. we take a stand against the rorts/scams and ask Australian Gov authorities to stamp out these activities quickly.

10. we start identifying people with leadership qualities and help them reach the places of influences including political offices ie MLAs/MLCs/MPs.

11. we re-energize the leadership by taking a back seat voluntarily if we have been leaders for a long period and have not been contributing meaningfully and encourage others with abilities to take the leadership roles in our associations.

12. we work actively to promote the pan-Indian identity of Indians and discourage the regional identities in Australia.

13. we do everything to promote a better understanding/integration among Indian Australians with themselves and with Australian community in general. The distrust has to go.

14. we work effectively and collaboratively to encourage SBS TV to have the programmes on India/Indian people, based on our numbers, as is the case with other communities.

15. we and Indian Govt Missions work collaboratively to have a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a prominent place in Sydney and Melbourne.

16. we network, interact, co-ordinate and execute the health education programmes which are relevant to our communities.

Until recently, our Indian Australian community has had a great reputation. We want this reputation restored to our community.

We must promote only those who have a genuine ability to lead, understand the needs of our community and also understand the meaning of “conflict of interest”.

Let the seniors guide us in our goals! Let us learn from their experience and wisdom!

The community has to grow and we have to grow with it!

Let the debate begin!

Kind regards

Dr Yadu Singh

Sydney/03-10-09

by

Students’ Issues:from here to where? [AISA FUNCTION]

AISA is holding a function “Students’ issues:from here to where?”

On Sunday, 11th Oct 2009,

At Granville Town Hall, Granville, NSW [300 mtrs from Granville station]

Between 6-9 PM.

All students are invited.

Please RSVP to aisa.sydney@gmail.com

Visit: www.aisa.asn.au  for info.

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/03-10-09

by

“OCI card holders should not need a Visa for India”:Says Dr Sujit Pandit and I agree.

Prof Sujit Pandit has sent me an email, suggesting that Indians living overseas should demand a rule change in India. This is about the OCI cards. An OCI card holder should not need to have a separate Visa for India.

Here is his email. The word USA should be substituted with Australia, NZ, UK or relevant countries.

Let us send this demand to our High Commissions, Consulates, Minister Mr SM Krishna [MEA], Minister Mr Shashi Tharoor [MEA] and Minister Mr Vayalar Ravi [NRI affairs].

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/21st Sept 2009

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Dr Pandit’s email……

Sujit Pandit to me 

Our goal is to make travel to India less stressful and a matter of joy. The current OCI (Overseas Citizen of India)/PIO (Person of Indian Origin)  rules are irrational and confusing that often cause hardship to the travelers.

The bureaucrats and politicians do not like to change any rules unless there is overwhelming pressure from the public.  So, if you would like to change the ambiguous OCI/PIO rules please write to the Indian ambassador to the USA, the Consular General of India, the Prime Minister of India, the Minister of External affairs, The Home Minister and other civil servants and politicians in India.   You may also write to the various Indian media and the Indian action, social and political groups.  Please ask your friends to do the same.
If you want to write only a short paragraph then write the following or something like this:

‘When an individual has a US Passport and an OCI card, production of a Visa should not be insisted upon, because the evidence of a valid visa is implicit in the OCI card, which may be deemed to be a certification higher than the Visa itself.’
If you want to send a more elaborate explanation then send them my story:
 From:
Sujit Pandit M.D.
2680 Lowell Road
Ann Arbor MI 48103

by

OCI Card: Professor Sujit K Pandit has some suggestions……..

I wrote to Prof Pandit today and he emailed the following matter.

His email goes like……..
“Thank you for doing a useful service to the community.

I would like you to read my update too:

Updated Sept 17, 2009

OCI RULES CAN BE CHANGED

Following my e-mail message (a copy is attached below) about my aggravation at the Kolkata airport over the OCI card, I have received about 300 responses. I am absolutely overwhelmed and thankful to all those who have written.  I had no idea how deeply the Indians all over the world feel about this issue.  Most people were thankful to me for sharing my story so they can learn from my bad experience.  The majority, about 90% of the responders was outraged at the lack of common sense and common courtesy of the immigration officials at the Kolkata airport. More than a dozen people have narrated their own horror stories, very similar and even worse than mine at airports in India when they arrived with an OCI card only, these are really heart wrenching stories involving small children and the whole family members undergoing incredible hardships.  Others were alerted at the last moment by the airlines officials at the departing airport in the USA about the need to carry the visa sticker that may be in their old passport.  Some were surprised that I had the problem because they have gone to India with just the OCI card and they were allowed to enter India without having to show their visa.  Some assumed that the problem may be at the Kolkata airport and probably the corruption is rampant there. They suggested that the officers there might be looking for a bribe. Many were still confused about the rules of the OCI and have asked me for advice.  Many others narrated the appalling treatment they have received at the various Indian consular offices.

About 10% of the responders said I got what I deserved at the Kolkata airport for not reading rules of the OCI card and for not following the rules strictly.  They thought the officers were just doing their duties.

Some especially from England and Canada told me that they have PIO (Person of Indian Origin) cards and had never had to show their visa at the Indian airports.  And the OCI is supposed to be the upgraded version of the PIO card.  Go figure. 

One person has written that for a family of five (three children) under the current OCI rules he has to carry fifteen travel documents when going to India (five old passports,  five current passports and five OCI cards)

I am thankful to all who have taken the time to write to me. 

I know it was my mistake for not taking my old passport with the visa sticker with me and I will never make the same mistake again; the main purpose of my mail was to warn my friends not to make the same mistake that I made. 

But, then my friend Dr. Dinesh Patel from Boston pointed out to me that the rules CAN be changed and the bad/confusing rules SHOULD be changed. I think that is a great point.  Rather than just accepting and following the bad rules and thus perpetuating them, we should try to change the bad rules. In addition because of the confusing name of the OCI and the false buzz about the “Dual Citizenship” many people make the same mistake as I did. When so many people make the same mistake in spite of the rules, then may be the system needs to be fixed.  Confusing rules of OCI needs to be changed. The bad rules can only be changed if there is enough pressure from the public to the politicians and the civil servants. .

I believe, just like the persons holding a PIO card the OCI card holders should also be allowed to enter India without having to bring the old visa sticker every time.  The fact is, whenever any one is granted his/her OCI card, he/she is thoroughly vetted and only then the OCI card is issued along with a life long visa sticker.  Both go hand in hand.  You cannot get an OCI card without a life long visa.  I know that in spite of the puzzling name (Overseas CITIZEN of India) the OCI card is not a passport, right now we can not have both American (or Canadian or UK) passports as well an Indian passport But, the OCI card can be and should be the visa substitute. As far as the entry requirement to India the OCI card could act like the US Green card.  Once you have it there will be no need to carry a separate visa ever.

When an individual has a US Passport and an OCI card, production of a visa should not be insisted upon, because, the  evidence of a valid visa is implicit in the OCI card, which may be deemed to be a certification higher than the visa itself.

The other problem is the utter lack of common courtesy and competence at the various Indian Consular Offices. I have received more than 15 mails that detail their dreadful experiences at various Indian Consular Offices.  These Consular offices are amateurish and incompetent.  I myself had a horrible time trying to get my OCI card in Chicago.  When I complained, there was no response. I can not even think about going back there to get my visa sticker transferred from my old passport to my new one, and what about when I get yet another new passport?  This is a disgrace that the officials at the Consular offices are not trained to be courteous to their customers like real professionals.

We need to bring pressure on the politicians and civil servants to simplify the procedure and let the OCI card be the visa substitute. Please send this mail to others once again and may be some one knows an important person who will understand the problem and solve it. That will make travel to India a joy and not stressful. We also need to make the Indian Consular offices more “Professional”. 

 
I am attaching a copy of my original e-mail:
MY DUAL CITIZENSHIP WOES: MY RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT AT THE KOLKATA AIRPORT AND THE LESSONS I LEARNT

My advice to all my friends who hold an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) Card and those who aspire to get one.

I am an American citizen.  I also carry an OCI card (Overseas Citizen of India) since 2007. 

On Saturday, June 20, 2009, I arrived at the Kolkata Netaji Subhas Airport from Detroit via Singapore, by Singapore Airlines (SQ 516) at 10:30 P.M.

I presented myself to an Immigration Officer  (Mr. Biswas) for immigration clearance.  I gave him my American passport and my OCI card.  He demanded to see my visa from the Indian consular office.  Unfortunately, that visa was attached to my old passport and I did not bring it with me.

I explained to him that I am sorry I forgot to bring my old passport but since I do possess a valid OCI Card that would automatically mean that I do also possess a permanent (life long) visa for India and there are proofs that I have traveled multiple times to India after I had received my OCI card. 

 Mr. Biswas detained me for two hours inside the airport   and then he told me that he is going to allow me to stay in India for 72 hours and asked me to report to the Foreign Relations Regional Officer (FRRO) in the city within 72 hours.  He kept my passport.  During all that time I had no opportunity either to approach his OC (Officer in Charge) although I asked for it, or to contact my relatives who came to the airport to receive me and were waiting outside and had no idea why I was being held back or if I have even arrived.

Forgetting to bring my old passport was my own fault but I ‘forgot’ to bring it partly because I knew I have my OCI Card with me and I thought, that means something, I really believed that I am a citizen of India too.  Why would a citizen also need a visa to enter his own country?   I thought I have a dual citizenship for both the USA and India. Other wise, what is the difference between an ordinary foreigner and the OCI Card holder?

Next day was a Sunday, I called a friend in Ann Arbor who went into my house, got my old passport and sent me the scanned copy of my old passport and a copy of my permanent visa by e-mail. 

So, on Monday I went to see Mr. Bibhas Talukdar, the FRRO.  He hardly looked at the documents (the scanned visa) that I had with me he simply asked me to get my old passport by courier mail within another seven days.  He appeared gleeful telling me that it is only out of  “pity” that he is allowing me to stay in India for seven more days.  He was totally unimpressed by either my status as a Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan or my age (70+)

I called my friend in Ann Arbor again who then sent my old passport by FedEx.  Three days later the passport arrived.  Since I had to leave Kolkata for prescheduled visit to Bangalore, my niece took it to Mr. Talukdar. But due to lack of communication between the FRRO office and the airport immigration department my passport had not arrived at the city office even after 9 days.  My niece had to go to the FRRO’s office three times once waiting until 6 P.M. still they did not have my passport.  They only promised: “it will come soon”.  At last, 12 days after my arrival, my niece got my passport.
From this painful and anxiety provoking experience I have learned a few valuable lessons:

1.    The loud talk about “Dual Citizenship” for Indian Americans is just a political hoax.

2.    The OCI card just does not have any value.  It is just a piece of expensive junk. You still need a visa every time you travel to India whether or not you possess an OCI card.  Only difference is that for the high price of getting an OCI card you will get a “life long ” visa.  A 10-year visa is much cheaper.
 
3.    When coming to India always consider yourself a foreigner and bring your visa with you, there will be no exceptions. Your OCI card is not a visa substitute.

4.     In fact, you will probably be treated worse than an ordinary foreigner arriving without a valid visa.  Because a foreigner especially a white Caucasian will at least be treated with courtesy and probably offered a temporary visa if there is no reason to deny it, but not you.

5.    Since the word “CITIZEN” in the OCI card is the root cause of confusion, the name should be changed.

 

Please feel free to forward this mail to any of your friends who may benefit from my experience.  Especially feel free to forward this to any influential politician or civil servant in India that you may know.

Sujit K. Pandit M.D.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
48109, USA”

by

OCI Card: A story of an Emeritus Professor of Medicine from USA!

 This email was sent to me by Rajesh Pandey who is a great guy from our community. He is based in Sydney. The behaviour of the Indian officials with this Professor from USA made me sad. It also raised concerns/questions about OCI cards. I hope we can hear from the Indian Consulate, Sydney about the OCI card and its usefulness.

I reproduce the content of the email.

This email reads as……..
“Indian Immigration!
 
Horror Of Dual Citizenship With India
 
   
 
MY DUAL CITIZENSHIP WOES:
MY RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT
AT THE KOLKATA AIRPORT AND THE LESSONS I LEARNT
 

My advice to all my friends who hold an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) Card and those who aspire to get one.
 
I am an American citizen.  I also carry an OCI card (Overseas Citizen of India) since 2007. 
On Saturday, June 20, 2009 , I arrived at the Kolkata Netaji Subhas Airport from Detroit via Singapore , by Singapore Airlines (SQ 516) at 10:30 P.M.
 
I presented myself to an Immigration Officer  ( Mr. Biswas ) for immigration clearance.  I gave him my American passport and my OCI card.  He demanded to see my visa from the Indian consular office.  Unfortunately, that visa was attached to my old passport and I did not bring it with me.
I explained to him that I am sorry I forgot to bring my old passport but since I do possess a valid OCI Card that would automatically mean that I do also possess a permanent (life long) visa for India and there are proofs that I have traveled multiple times to India after I had received my OCI card. 
 
Mr. Biswas detained me for two hours inside the airport   and then he told me that he is going to allow me to stay in India for 72 hours and asked me to report to the Foreign Relations Regional Officer (FRRO) in the city within 72 hours.  He kept my passport.  During all that time I had no opportunity either to approach his OC (Officer in Charge) although I asked for it, or to contact my relatives who came to the airport to receive me and were waiting outside and had no idea why I was being held back or if I have even arrived.
 
Forgetting to bring my old passport was my own fault but I ‘forgot’ to bring it partly because I knew I have my OCI Card with me and I thought, that means something, I really believed that I am a citizen of India too.  Why would a citizen also need a visa to enter his own country?   I thought I have a dual citizenship for both the USA and India . Other wise, what is the difference between an ordinary foreigner and the OCI Card holder?
Next day was a Sunday, I called a friend in Ann Arbor who went into my house, got my old passport and sent me the scanned copy of my old passport and a copy of my permanent visa by e-mail. 
 
So, on Monday I went to see Mr. Bibhas Talukdar , the FRRO.  He hardly looked at the documents (the scanned visa) that I had with me he simply asked me to get my old passport by courier mail within another seven days.  He appeared gleeful telling me that it is only out of  “pity” that he is allowing me to stay in India for seven more days.  He was totally unimpressed by either my status as a Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan or my age (70+)
 
I called my friend in Ann Arbor again who then sent my old passport by FedEx.  Three days later the passport arrived.  Since I had to leave Kolkata for prescheduled visit to Bangalore , my niece took it to Mr. Talukdar . But due to lack of communication between the FRRO office and the airport immigration department my passport had not arrived at the city office even after 9 days.  My niece had to go to the FRRO’s office three times once waiting until 6 P.M. still they did not have my passport.  They only promised: “it will come soon”. At last,  12 days after my arrival, my niece got my passport.
 
From this painful and anxiety provoking experience I have learned a few valuable lessons:
 
1.    The loud talk about “Dual Citizenship” for Indian Americans is just a political hoax.
 
2.    The OCI card just does not have any value.  It is just a piece of expensive junk. You still need a visa every time you travel to India whether or not you possess an OCI card.  Only difference is that for the high price of getting an OCI card you will get a “life long ” visa.  A 10-year visa is much cheaper.
 
3.    When coming to India always consider yourself a foreigner and bring your visa with you, there will be no exceptions. Your OCI card is not a visa substitute.
 
4.     In fact, you will probably be treated worse than an ordinary foreigner arriving without a valid visa.  Because a foreigner especially a white Caucasian will at least be treated with courtesy and probably offered a temporary visa if there is no reason to deny it, but not you.
 
Please feel free to forward this mail to any of your friends who may befit from my experience.  Especially feel free to forward this to any influential politician or civil servant in India that you may know.
 
Sujit K. Pandit M.D.,Professor Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan“

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

I have sent a copy of this email to Indian Consulate, Sydney. They may consider about enlightening Indian Australians re the value of the OCI cards. There are OCI card holders in Australia and they would be interested in this matter.

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/11th Sept, 2009

by

Flying School Students:DEEWR must act soon!

The stories of the Flying school are known to all. These were covered in SMH, The Australian and ABC [Four Corners] recently.

I met a couple of them today, Sunday, in my office.

We all need to know that they came to Australia to train as pilots and return to India. They were not interested in the “PR” here. They had a vision about their career but it did not go according to their plans.

We all know that Vocational Education, Training Accreditation Board [VETAB] has done an enquiry and taken some action. Dept of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] has created some confusion by circulating a document about this school. I was sent this document by the Indian Consulate, Sydney recently. I already had this document as it was sent by a student a few days ago, telling something contradictory.

It is not our concern whether this school is registered or de-registered. VETAB and DEEWR can sort this out themselves.

VETAB has its role only up to the registration or lack of registration based on the training standards or lack of it. That is what VETAB is saying. They say that further actions have to be taken by other agencies. These are Fair trading Dept, DEEWR/ESOS and Australian courts.

I think it is not a correct view.

VETAB and DEEWR, both, have a duty of care and have a moral/legal responsibility to to help students in getting a fair treatment because,

1. students came to Australia, knowing that these agencies would look after the quality issues and standards,

2. students had an expectation of fair dealing from these agencies when they complained,

3. students had complained to VETAB/DEEWR well before they either left the school or forced out of the school.

Students complained to these agencies in 2008 but not much was done except passing the buck between these agencies. VETAB became serious only after we and students met Hon Mr Peter Primrose, Hon Ms Helen Westwood, Hon Ms Verity Firth, Minister of Education’s senior advisers and others in April/May 2009.

We ask;

1.  that VETAB/DEEWR get involved actively in the matters of these students and put sufficient pressure on this school to resolve the matter quickly.

2.  that VETAB/DEEWR encourage the school to use the services of a suitably trained mediator/conciliator to help resolve the problems.

These students are going through a very difficult time in Australia. Some of them have left Australia and others are still here.

We want the VETAB/DEEWR to know that we are willing to be the bridge between the school and the students. We deal with them regularly and know how difficult it is for them. We do however admire them for their resolve to fight against the injustice.

Injustice, they have suffered undoubtedly. We will fight along side them, no doubt because it is the right thing to do. 

They deserve a “Fair GO” from VETAB/DEEWR/ESOS/Australian media.

VETAB/DEEWR/ESOS, Please act fast!

Would the ministers in charge of these bodies [Hon Ms Verity Firth and Hon Ms Julia Gillard] please look into the plight of these students?

Dr Yadu Singh/06-09-09

by

Media Grandstanding would not help Indian students in Australia:comments on FISA’s 10 point charter.

MEDIA grandstanding must stop: FISA is making impractical and irrelevant demands.

We are concerned about impractical and irrelevant demands which FISA seems to be making. We have seen their 10 point charter and considered it carefully. We see some serious problems in their thought-process and offer following response point by point;

1)  Free two weeks board to welcome Indian students:
If Melbourne’s 100,000-strong Indian community gave each student 2 week’s free boarding it would help them find their feet in a new country. (Note: the City of Darwin has launched borders without borders program with the general Australian community along these lines. Sure the Indian community can help with free accommodation). Together we can help students settle easily as many professional Indians have large homes with empty rooms.

 

OUR RESPONSE:  It is not practical and realistic to expect established Indian Australians to provide boarding for any number of weeks to Indian students. How can one provide such boarding when they do not even know them? There is no justification for such a ridiculous suggestion.   FISA’s suggestion is nothing but media grand standing. This type of suggestion is not going to solve the accommodation issues which students face in Australia.  It is our belief that education providers who make money from these students must arrange accommodation for the initial 3-6 months at a market cost. This would allow these students to get used to the system here and give them sufficient confidence to be able to find the appropriate rental accommodation.

2)     Donate to the FISA victims of crime fund
Indian migrants are one of the richest migrant groups in Australia. Indian businesses and professionals can afford to donate generously to the FISA victims of crime fund so that victims like Sravan Kumar who was savagely attacked in his home in Glenroy are looked after properly.

 

OUR RESPONSE: FISA is not able to think beyond media grand standing. Any Victim of crime fund will never have sufficient money to cover the medical expense of the nature which Sravan Kumar needs. The ICU fees for one day could be something like $5000 and it could go for more than $100000 for one victim. No community can and will be able to arrange funds of this nature. Making such suggestions is completely unrealistic. Expenses on the treatment for a Victim of crime must be covered by the Gov/Medicare which is the case with the Victim of petrol bomb attack in Sydney. We believe that every student must maintain valid, appropriate and current medical cover insurance for a situation when they need treatment due to injuries or illnesses. This is not the case with many students presently. Ongoing and current medical cover insurance must be a condition for the continuation of the VISA.

 

 

 

3)    Free medical checkup from Indian doctors
The local Indian community has thousands of medical doctors and medical specialists. By offering free medical checkups to students we can ensure they are looked after health wise while they are here. This will also ensure a point of contact that is badly needed.

 

OUR RESPONSE: Medical doctors will/do provide free medical check-ups in some situations but this is not going to be the solution which FISA seems to be suggesting. Medical doctors cannot provide free treatment in case of admissions in ICU etc and cannot provide free medicines. As before, FISA’s suggestion is completely unrealistic and is indicative of media grand standing.  Again, we believe that every student must hold a valid, current and appropriate medical cover insurance while in Australia and this must be a condition for their VISA. If they have this cover, they do not need to depend on the charity from anyone.

4)    Free legal advice from Indian lawyers
the local Indian community has thousands of lawyers. By offering free legal service the established Indian community can help students on critical issues. Indian lawyers could also join together to lodge human rights cases against Victorian and Australian governments, education institutions and immigrations agents who are ripping off many students with false claims and promises. Lawyers could also help lodge disputes for unfair treatment and discrimination at work.

 

OUR RESPONSE: Free legal assistance from Indian Australian Lawyers and free service from every Indian Australian for our students would be great but is not going to happen. This suggestion is completely impractical and unrealistic. Our students are getting ripped off by so many and they include agents in India, some education providers  and some immigration agents but we cannot see that our lawyers or other professionals would provide free services at all times. We believe that Federal Gov must establish an Ombudsman immediately to deal with these issues. Decisions from the Ombudsman cannot be challenged in a court. FISA must stop media grand standing. 

5)    More student Hotlines in all Indian languages
we need all community groups to chip in and establish hotlines in all Indian languages. These need to be staffed with qualified counselors. Most students look to the Indian association that speaks their language. Few have heard of FIAV or other umbrella groups.

 

OUR RESPONSE: Helpline should be in English language and not in Indian languages. All students are able to speak and understand English which is a condition of their VISA. Our students need to integrate. Nobody is going to start help lines in all Indian languages. It would be impossible to arrange funding for such ridiculous ideas.  We leave FISA and FIAV to sort out their turf war in Melbourne. What is the stand of FISA in Sydney where they are part of an umbrella group but not chairing the students’ committee of that umbrella group? They were nowhere to be seen when our committee and that umbrella group held a combined meeting recently. Despite FISA and that Umbrella group’s public stand against the Rally in Sydney, they did not follow their words.

6)    Safety watch committees 
Local established Indian groups could adopt a station to provide community or neighborhood watch committees. If middle class and educated people are at stations at night then the risk of attacks will be reduced. Police are more likely to listen to wealthy professional Indians than students. In addition these safety watch committees can report back to Police and work to reduce poor lighting and other hazards at stations in the poorer suburbs.

 

OUR RESPONSE: Safety watch by established Indian Australians is not the solution. This suggestion is ridiculous. FISA seems to come out with immature, impractical and inappropriate suggestions. We do not need a parallel security apparatus for Indians in Australia. We are part of the same Australian community and our problems will need to be solved within the holistic approach to safety/security issues. We do need to put sufficient pressure on the Governments/Police to intensify the patrolling, under-cover policing and adopt proactive measures to stop the crimes against our students.

 

7)    Political power – the great Indian vote boycott
Established Indians have huge political power given that they live in large numbers in marginal seats in the Melbourne’s more affluent east. By refusing to vote for the major Liberal and Labor parties until action is taken to ensure students safety they can send a powerful message to state and federal government. Established Indians should boycott voting for major parties until students’ demands are met and their security assured. Politicians are power hungry and will meet our demands if they know established Indians are boycotting their parties. By boycotting both parties, we will also stop the state and federal opposition’s ‘political play acting’ and get them to vote for real changes in parliament for Indian students.

OUR RESPONSE: The suggestion of boycotting the main political parties is a crazy idea. We, in fact, need to join them and participate in the political process in Australia. We will be more effective if we join them. FISA guys, please get real. Indians in Australia do not subscribe to a victim mentality and we do not want any of us to adopt a victim’s mentality. We need to analyze, debate and formulate a proper strategy to stop the crime against our students. We must accept that some crimes will continue to happen as they happen against non-Indians.

8)    Public shaming of community rip off merchants
in many cases landlords, bosses, immigration agents and education institutions are ripping off our Indian students. Indian community groups need to name and shame these people who are bringing the reputation of Indians in to disrepute and exploiting Indian students. Each community groups could publish the name of ‘rip off merchants’ on their websites so that students know exactly who they should avoid.

 

OUR RESPONSE: Public naming and shaming of the “rip off merchants” from our or other communities is again an impractical suggestion. It would lead to legal cases and unnecessary legal fees and damages. No individual or association with sane mind will do the public naming or shaming. FISA guys, please get real. Yesterday, the committee of education ministers and federal education minister has announced a helpline which students can call if they have a complaint and they can do so anonymously. They will also be doing a rapid and effective audit of the “Fly by night” schools which have mushroomed in every suburb in Australian cities. These schools need to be audited effectively if Australia wants to continue growing the $16 billion education industry.

 

9) Free food kitchens across Melbourne to help students survive
many students are now unemployed or working for as little as one quarter of the legal minimum wage. (Note: The Sikh Temple in Blackburn in Melbourne’s east currently feeds thousands of students seven days a week and is happy to extend this to other suburbs. But we need more Australian Indians to help in southern, northern and western suburbs.

 

OUR RESPONSE: FISA should remember that they are students and not refugees. Temples should not be converted to Vincent de Paul societies. While community members are able to help on a case to case basis for any genuine or temporary situations, long term free feeding of students would result in too much burden on the local Indian community and might lead into negative effects.  Students are expected to have adequate financial capabilities for their stay in Australia according to student Visa conditions. It is not a bright idea to expect the Indian community and temples to provide free food seven days a week for the rapidly growing student population. In addition who is going to fund this type of “free kitchens for students?” and for how long?

 

 

10) Local Indians to support FISA demands
Established Indians can call their local MPs and lobby them to support FISA 10 point plan for better student safety.
Many Australian MPs are not scared of students because they do not vote and will not take FISA’s demands seriously. These MPs are more likely to address FISA’s student demands if the local voting Indian’s call, email and write to politicians demanding action on student safety. If Premier John Brumby receives 100,000 letters and Kevin Rudd receives 200,000 letters from local voting Indians then they will both act swiftly on Indian student safety.

 

OUR RESPONSE: This is nothing but a cheap publicity stunt and a copy cat of typical Indian politics carried out in Australia in the name of student issues. Both Australian Government and the Indian Government have agreed at the Prime Minister level to take immediate measures addressing student concerns including safety related issues. FISA seems to have run out of ideas in getting the local support for their “10 point” demands and it is a joke to think that Kevin Rudd will act only after receiving 200,000 letters. The Indian community will be a laughing stock even if a few members support this funny idea of sending mass mail.

 We urge FISA guys to think through anything before jumping with suggestions which are laughable and unrealistic. FISA guys need to discuss with others before going on media grand standing with half-cooked and ridiculous ideas.

 

Indian Consul General’s Community Committee on Indian Students’ Issues

Sydney, NSW

PS:[1] This was the response we gave to Indian Link newspaper which asked the committee to provide its response/views in regards to the FISA’s 10 points charter.

[2]Please note that the above-mentioned committee had completed its job and provided its reports/recommendations to the relevant authorities. It had then dissolved itself at the end of June 2009. The committee had communicated its decision to the Consul General on 1/7/09.