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The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International, GOPIO-New York chapter and over a dozen Indian groups joined together to felicitate Dr Shashi Tharoor, the former Under Secretary General at the United Nations. Dr Tharoor was honored and inducted as a Lifetime Honorary Member of GOPIO International. Attended by nearly 150 members and supporters of GOPIO, the event held on Saturday, April 7 at the Five Star Banquet & Restaurant, located at Long Island City, Queens, was the first community programme for Dr Tharoor after leaving his position as Under Secretary General at the UN. Lal Motwani, president of GOPIO Connecticut, in his welcome address stated that GOPIO-New York had organized four major such programs in the last one year providing community interactive programs with ministers from India and Congressmen from the New York area. GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran gave the vote of thanks.
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KEEN CONSTITUENCY:
The audience at the GOPIO organized luncheon keenly listening to Dr Shashi Tharoor |
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GOPIO Chairman Dr Thomas Abraham, introduced Dr. Tharoor as a “great son of India ,” and joined Motwani, Ramsaran, and GOPIO Academic Council Chairman Dr Jagat Motwani in presenting a plaque of appreciation for his “great contributions and achievements”. Dr Abraham said, Dr Tharoor was being felicitated for his service to the UN and India in the last three decades.
Dr Abraham said Dr. Tharoor was India’s official candidate as successor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2006, and came a close second out of seven contenders. He has served as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Dr Tharoor is also the award-winning author of nine books, as well as hundreds of articles, op-eds and book reviews. “I am honored to be a member of GOPIO with its 35,000 members around the world, representing the nearly 25 million Indian diaspora spread across the globe.” GOPIO as it stands for, must represent all social, political, religious and economic groups, he added. In his keynote address, Dr. Tharoor, stressed on the “pluralism and diversity of India, which make India unique.” Dr Tharoor, enumerated his vision for the role that NRIs could play in uniting India and Indians around the world. “We are diverse and divided into several groups. However, the reality of being 'Indian” transcends all these factors that divide us. We are people of different identities, and yet, united as being part of India.” Dr Tharoor went on to add. “Pluralism is the cornerstone of India.” Linking his own experiences with that of the Non Resident Indians around the globe, Dr. Tharoor said, “We are an heir to the Great Pan Indian civilization.” The event was put together by Lal Motwani, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Ramesh Goel, Ramesh Kalicharan, Nilesh Kadakia, Dr. Jagat Motwani , Bansi Shah, Deo Gosine, Charan Singh Prempura, Dr. Parveen Chopra, Ashook Ramsaran, Leela Maret, Kiran Hari, Dr. Binod Varma, Dharmatma Saran, Anand Ahuja, Darshan Singh Bagga, Dr. Sushila Gidwani-Buschi, Sudha Acharya, Mohinder Singh Taneja, Indu Jaiswal, Dr. Surendra Kaushik, Jaswant Mody, Sangeeta Ahuja, Chengad Sridhar, Dr. Radha Giridharan, Ravi Adhikari, and Prakash Singh.
And the event was cosponsored by National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), Association of Indians in Construction Industry, Society of Indian American Engineers and Architects, Indo Caribbean Council, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha of West Indies, Inc. (Shiva Mandir), Indian Overseas Congress Haryana Wing, Federation of Kerala Associations of North America (FOKANA) , Asian American Coalition USA, Inc., Heart and Hand for the Handicapped (HHH), Indian American Kerala Cultural and civic Center, India Association of Long Island, Sindhi Circle, Brain Link, and GOPIO-Connecticut.
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