annual report1-final.qxd - Overseas Indian

Panel Discussions
Government in making laws. She pointed out that
the established stereotype of Indians as manual
workers had been replaced with the arrival of professionals
in software etc. She, however, felt the
need to fight the prevailing Hindu India stereotype
and the importance of showcasing the diversity.
At this point, Chidanand Rajghatta intervened,
suggesting that this stereotype was now changing.
He referred to the religions of people who were
holding important positions like A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, Manmohan Singh, and Sonia Gandhi. The
Chairman suggested that television would be used
more effectively to reach out to the diaspora.
Another panelist, Srinath Srinivasan, referred to
the nature of media in the earlier days and the
growth of media in the recent decades. The present
day generation wanted to know more of what was
happening. He also talked about the need for
resources for covering the overseas Indian community
in the U.S. through a TV channel.
Ramesh Japra, a publisher, agreed on the need
for a TV channel for networking with the Indian
diaspora. He stressed on the need to pool resources
for producing quality programmes.
Raju Narisetti called for the creation of a database
on ethnic media. He mentioned the role being
played by SAJA (South Asian Journalists
Association) in encouraging Asian journalists.
Narisetti said that the Indian media in different
States catered locally and added that a global effort
was not a viable proposition. This was because of the
diversity in the diaspora. Though Indian heritage
was a binding point, it was difficult to bridge the gap.
Rajghatta mentioned instances where achievements
of Indians abroad (like Yella Pragada Subba Rao, who
discovered tetracycline) were not reported in the
media. He talked about different streams of diaspora in
terms of indentured labour, the Gulf diaspora of the
Seventies, and the professional diaspora of the recent
decades. He felt that there was scope for networking
and the PIOs were rediscovering India these days. He
visualised a future, where the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
could be held in cyber space and not in any location.
Paras Ramoutar recalled those days in Trinidad
where there was limited coverage of the diaspora in
the media. The situation has changed now with explosion
of channels. He pointed to the negative projection
of Indians in the Western media. While highlighting
the new generation and new trends, he stressed on the
need to project success stories to unite the diaspora.
Several participants expressed their views on the possibility
of starting a TV network and global newspaper
for the diaspora, having both global and region-specific
coverage. The potential of the media as a political and
economic tool was highlighted. The example mentioned
was the coverage of the previous Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas on BBC. Others mentioned the positive
role played by India Abroad magazine. The members
pointed out that India should not think of the diaspora
as one block, whereas for the diaspora, India was one.
There was a broad consensus among participants on
the need for networking, to create a global federation
of Indian journalists, to dispel the negative stereotype
and to project positive aspects and success stories.
Panel Discussion III: Communal Harmony
and Secularism
Chair:
Oscar Fernandes,
MOS (IC)
Speakers:
Abdul Raouf Bundhun,
Vice-President,
Mauritius
Justice A.M. Ebrahim,
Zimbabwe
Shrikumar Poddar,
U.S.
George Abraham,
Founder, National
Coordinator of
NRIs for Secular
and Harmonious
India, U.S.
Nirmala Deshpande,
Member, Rajya Sabha
The session was chaired by Oscar Fernandes,
Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs. In his
welcome address, he stressed on the significance of
communal harmony in a multi-linguistic and
multi-religious nation like India.
The first speaker, Abdul Raouf Bundhun, Vice-
President of Mauritius, stressed on the need to unify
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