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Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC) turns Sixty |
Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC), the largest Indian-based political party in Malaysia, has turned 60. MIC, touted to be one of the oldest political parties in Malaysia, was formed on August 2, 1946 in a bid to end the British colonial rule and the need for Indian representation in the government during the post-war era. The current president is S Samy Vellu, who is also the Work Minister. Samy Vellu said the MIC's prime objective was to protect and preserve Indians' interests and well-being.
Indians, mainly from Tamil Nadu, were brought to Malaysia by the British to work in rubber plantations, build roads and the railways. Though several returned to India, thousands stayed back and today ethnic Indians comprise seven per cent of the population.
MIC's founder, John A Thivy, became the first president at a time when the party was committed to fighting for independence and democracy, Malasian national news agency Bernama reported. The baton of leadership was later passed on to Budh Singh who helmed the party from 1947 to 1950.
After realizing the futility of non-cooperation with the government the MIC in 1954, under the tenure of fourth president KL Devaser, became the third partner of the ruling alliance comprising the Malay Umno and Malaysian Chinese Association. |
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Indian American scientist receives highest fuel cell honour |
Fuel cell pioneer Subhash Singhal, a Battelle Fellow and Director, Fuel Cells at the Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) received the Christian Friedrich Schoenbein Gold Medal for his outstanding contributions to solid oxide fuel cell technology. The biennial award is the highest honor presented by the European Fuel Cell Forum.
The medal is named for the Swiss scientist who is credited with identifying the fundamental chemistry of fuel cells and, together with Sir William Robert Grove, for the creation of the fuel cell in 1839.
Singhal joined PNNL in April 2000 after nearly 30 years at Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation, where he led development of solid oxide fuel cell technology from a laboratory curiosity to fully integrated 200 kW power generation systems. At PNNL, Singhal provides senior technical, managerial and commercialization leadership to the laboratorys fuel cell program.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Singhal is a Fellow of four professional societiesAmerican Ceramic Society, Electrochemical Society, ASM International, and American Association for the Advancement of Scienceand a senior member of TMS, the Mineral, Metals & Materials Society. He also has served on numerous national and international advisory panels.
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Four NRI students are 'Davidson Fellows
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Four Indian-American teenagers have been named this year's Fellows of nonprofit organisation Davidson Institute for Talent Development, an honour for “prodigiously gifted” students under the age of 18 years.
The “Davidson Fellows”—Shivani Sud, Sheela Krishnan, Varun Kumar and Anarghya Vardhana—have also won scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 for their projects in the fields of science, medicine and mathematics.
“The Davidson fellows are success stories because they've nurtured their genius by seeking out mentors, relying on strong family support and working diligently to achieve their goals,” said Bob Davidson, the co-founder of the Reno-based institute, which was established in 1999 to support profoundly gifted students.
Shivani, 16, of Durham, has won $50,000 scholarship for her project in science. She developed a technology to deliver chemotherapeutic molecules to cancerous cells with increased efficiency.
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Indian becomes president of American Accounting Association |
Shyam Sunder, the James L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the Yale School of Management, has begun his term as the 2006-2007 president of the American Accounting Association (AAA). The American Accounting Association is the premier forum for scholarly interchange in accounting. With 8,000 members throughout the world, it promotes worldwide excellence in accounting education, research, and practice.
Sunder is a native of Dankaur, UP, and has retained his Indian citizenship while residing in the United States for the last 35 years. He is only the third foreign-born professor to be elected to this office.
In his presidential address, delivered at the AAA 2006 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, Sunder spoke about the “Imagined Worlds of Accounting.” He said, “Accounting scholarship examines the way things were and are, and how they might be. The theme of the 2007 AAA meeting will be to celebrate and explore the power of accounting in both these domains.” In addition to his teaching and research at Yale, Sunder served as director of the Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance during its first year of start-up activity in 2005.
Sunder attended IIT Kharagpur and graduated at the top of his class from the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur. Before joining Yale in 1999, he taught at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Chicago |
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Karan Bilimoria, Kamlesh Patel for House of Lords |
British Indian entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria and Kamlesh Patel, an academic and government advisor with expertise in mental health, drugs and ethnicity, have been recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission to be made peers. The seven-member list will go to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will pass them on to the head of state.
Bilimoria who is the son of an Indian army general came to Britain for higher education at age 19. Dissatisfaction with the “gassy and heavy” British beer that “just did not go well with Indian food”, led in 1990 to his starting the lighter Cobra super premium beer — “the British beer of Indian origin”. Cobra, which was initially brewed in Bangalore and shipped to Britain, is today one of the fastest-growing beer brands in Britain. |
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SWITZERLAND AND INDIA
NRIs in Switzerland upset over new law |
India is
explo ring ways to resolve an issue arising from a new Swiss law that insists on non-resident Indians (NRIs) presenting their original birth and marriage certificates issued in India to register the birth of their children born in this country.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi assured Indian community representatives of Switzerland that the government would consult state chief ministers to find a solution to the matter.
“I have to discuss with the Prime Minister and other ministries concerned to find a solution to the problem. I will also consult state chief ministers to see how we can solve this issue,” Ravi told them.
“The Supreme Court of India has issued an order to make birth registrations compulsory. But presenting past documents would be almost impossible,” he said replying to concerns of the diaspora.
The NRIs said the new Swiss law insists on the original marriage and birth certificates of Indian parents being shown to record their child's birth here and in applying for Swiss nationality. “The birth certificate issued on the basis of passport details by the Indian embassy is not accepted. Presenting original certificates will be difficult,” said an Indian official.
Embassy officials said for Indians presenting original marriage certificates would be a problem as India did not have a “proper system of issuing marriage certificates”. |
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