The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin will celebrate its Convention 2009 in Chennai, India, January 6 and 7 at the Trident Hotel, just before the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009 event.
The awardees are Rajen Ramnath of the Netherlands, Datuk Vinod Sekhar of Malaysia, Lachmandas Pagarani from Dubai, , Prabhakar (now living in Kerala), Ramesh Gupta from the US, and special awards to Dr Jagat Motwani of the USA and Issac John from Dubai.
While Mayor Dannel Malloy will receive the Friend of GOPIO honor, Dr Natarajan, associate professor in the Department of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University, will be honored with the Indian-American Achiever Award, and Dr Kapur, director of music technology at California Institute of the Arts and professor of sonic arts at the New Zealand School of Music, will be presented the Young Person of the Year Award.
In the 'official citation' dated April 29, the Connecticut general assembly congratulated the pro-Khalistan organisation World Sikh Parliament 'in recognition of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of Sikh independence.'
Nayan Chanda of Yale University was chosen for his contribution to arts, Prasad Srinivasan for community service, and Sameer Ahuja was chosen as the 'Young Professional of the Year'
An international convention of people of Indian-origin in the US has demanded voting rights for Indian citizens living outside India and Rajya Sabha seats for Non-Resident Indians.
"This is something to be proud of," said Raj Panjabi, who is currently serving as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefence on the White House National Security Council.
"Moreover, PBD has a lot to do with government and each government takes advantage of it and utilises it for its vested interest."
The Department of Treasury has finally responded to a letter by a coalition of Indian-American organisations, led by the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), but reiterated the Internal Revenue Service warning that there will be no extension of the August 31, 2011, deadline for the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative.
Kerala will have to wait. The next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in Chandigarh," and not in Thiruvananthapuram, said Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi.
'Non Resident Indians know that India's problems are the combination of many factors over the centuries, including foreign rule, lack of resources and the ever-growing population, among other things. Yet, India has achieved many things and even looks at Mars as a neighbour.'
All we want from the government is to give us visa and they can't even deliver that, says Inder Singh, chairman of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin International
'This arrest was totally unnecessary and disproportionate to the gravity of charges. What was truly required was a more measured and calculated approach, keeping in mind the strain such an action could cause to the growing bilateral relationship between these two great nations.' Indian-American organisations condemn Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's arrest.
India needs to come up with new ideas to make the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas more appealing to overseas Indians. The Diasporas talents should be used for the country's development, says Thomas Abraham, founder of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin