 |
 |
AUGUST GATHERING: Over 300 people attended the banquet, majority of whom were ones that had scripted inspiring success stories of their own outside India
|
VITAL ROLE: Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi has played a vital role in connecting the diaspora to India
|
| |
|
 |
 |
MUD TO MANSION: GOPIO recognized the efforts of Mani Bhaumik who started out in a mud hut and is today a celebrity (see awards)
|
SAYING IT WITH FLOWERS: Trinidad and Tobago’s former Prime Minister and present Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Pandey is felicitated
|
| |
|
 |
 |
QUALITY ATTENDANCE: Apart from top NRIs, the banquet was attended by luminaries like Surinamese Ambassador Krishnadett Baijnath (nearest to camera)
|
Guyana’s MAN OF SUBSTANCE: Guyanese leader Moses Nagamaatoo (second from left) with GOPIO brass Singh, Ramsaran and INDIA EMPIRE's Chakravarty
|
| |
|
 |
 |
MINISTER AND A BARONESS: Minister Vayalar Ravi exchanging pleasantries with Baroness Usha Prashar of Runnymede
|
QUICK WORD: That is exactly what Chairman Thomas Abraham is having with Minister Ravi
|
|
|
| ONES WHO WERE RECOGNIZED |
The GOPIO recognized eminent community leaders from across the world for the difference they have made in their countries. In the words of GOPIO Chairman Thomas Abraham, “By honouring those who have worked selflessly for Indian Diaspora causes and India, we are providing exposure of such role models to the next generation.”
|
|
|
 |
 |
The Rt Hon. Baroness Usha Prashar of Runnymede, CBE
Baroness Prashar has made an outstanding contribution in public policy and public administration, particularly in the fields of social justice, human rights, criminal justice, education, equality of opportunity and race relations. Her career includes being the Director of the Runnymede Trust. In 1994 she was awarded the title of CBE.
|
Ram Lakhina, The Netherlands
Ram Lakhina was one of the founders of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He is the founder and Executive President of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT) from 2002 to date. He was the President of the Indo Dutch Chamber of Commerce between 1979 to 2001.
|
|
|
 |
 |
P. N. C. Menon, Oman, The Middle East
P.N.C. Menon had to drop out of Kerala Varma College in Thrissur to earn a living for the family. In 1976, he reached Muscat with Rs 50 in his pocket and partnered Brigadier Suleiman in an interior decoration business. He later expanded his business to U.A.E, Bahrain and Qatar. In 1997, the Oman Government granted Menon a citizenship of the Sultanate.
|
Moses V. Nagamootoo, Guyana
Born 60 years ago in a fishing village in Guyana, South America, Moses V. Nagamootoo, joined the struggle for independence of the then British Guiana at the age of 14. He has served as an educationist, journalist, attorney-at-law, Parliamentarian, and minister of Government.
|
|
|
 |
 |
Dr. Mani Bhaumik, USA
Dr. Mani Bhaumik spent his early childhood living in a mud hut and slept on rags. He achieved international recognition as a co-inventor of the laser technology. He has provided full financial support to over one hundred brilliant but underprivileged students for pursuing university education in science, engineering and medicine.
|
J.C. Sharma, New Delhi
While a secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs and a member secretary with the High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, Sharma made significant contributions to the formulation of India’s policy towards its Diaspora. He was the organizer of the first and second Pravasi Bhartiya Divas events.
|
|
|
 |
|
Lord Bhikhu Parekh, UK
Educated at the Universities of Bombay and London, Lord Bhikhu Parekh is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Academy of the Learned Societies for Social Sciences and a Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Westminster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
