Celebrating two National Days in one Australia India Day Function

It looked set to be the mother of all celebrations with over four hundred attendees and a wall-to-wall appearance of Australia politicians keen to show their support for the Indian community in Australia.

Cultural performances were meant to ensure that there was a feast for the eyes, while a feast of the edible variety seemed sure to satisfy the palates of the attendees.

The Australia India Day Function Council led by Sydneysider Yadu Singh delivered on all of the above. It however, failed to deliver on issues of manners, proper protocol and attention to detail which had a few guests wincing in embarrassment on more than one occasion.

Yet to the 400 plus Indian Australians gathered it was an evening to enjoy and celebrate the national days of the two nations they hold dear to their heart, and whose relationship has experienced trying times in recent months.

Yadu Singh has been a passionate supporter of Indian students in the past year since he was appointed to the now-defunct Indian student committee established by Consul General Amit Dasgupta. Over the year in which student issues have hit headlines, his comments and blogs have been well noted by the media. A long term ambition by him has been to establish a benevolent fund for the Indian community and the function celebrating the two national days was an opportunity to start this ambition plan. Speaking to Indian Link, Singh confirmed that the evening raised between $3,000 and $4,000 for the benevolent fund.

“Exact figures will be available as we audit the function receipts in due course,” Singh said.

With ACR Travel offering a free return ticket to India for auction during the evening and Billu’s Catering made available at extremely subsidised pricing, savings from the gate money was a start in the right direction.

“However, we still have to finalise the finer details on how this benevolent fund will work,” Singh admitted.

The politicians spoke with fervour on this special occasion. David Clarke from NSW Liberals got a rousing applause for his belief in all things Indian. Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey (representing Opposition Leader Tony Abbot) reiterated his party’s commitment to selling uranium to India. From NSW Labor, Barbara Perry represented the NSW Premier - she reconfirmed her party’s commitment to the local Indian community with the recently funded and concluded AR Rahman concert and the Parramasala program later this year. The chief guest of the day Maxine

McKew, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure representing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, also spoke about her regard for the Indian community.

Consul General Amit Dasgupta took the opportunity again to voice his commitment to ensuring correct work conditions for Indian students in Australia. While the speakers of the evening clearly were appreciated by the attendees, the entertainment of traditional and modern dances was also enjoyed by many. They highlighted the fun element of Indian culture to emerge.

What however, was very noticeable, was a clear lack of etiquette on the part of some of the attendees, as well as the lack of protocol shown by the organisers. It was disappointing to note the loud talking at the rear of the hall while the main guests were addressing the gathering. At times, it resembled a noisy market with little respect shown for the speakers.

Normal protocol has the chief guest as the first speaker of the evening, followed by others in receding hierarchy. However, at this event (not including the Consul General) this happened in reverse order. The look of surprise on the face of Maxine McKew, was clearly visible as an Opposition member from NSW Parliament, rather than her own self representing the Prime Minister, was called upon first to address the gathering.

Federal Liberal member from North Sydney, Joe Hockey could not contain his own surprise as he was introduced as ‘the future Prime Minister of Australia’ while he was there representing his Parliamentary Leader Tony Abbot.

It was also disappointing to note Singh’s pointing out to NSW Minister Barbara Perry that she was wearing an Indian dress, and then urging all politicians to do the same for next

UIA celebration

The mood was light, high-profile and perhaps a tiny bit cramped. But that is not a bad thing given the sold out nature of the evening for the United Indian Associations’ Australia Day - Indian Republic Day celebrations.

Guests ranged from the Leader of the Opposition NSW Barry O’ Farrell, Stepan Kerkyasharian (Chair of the Community Relations Commission), Paul Garrard (Lord Mayor of Parramatta), MP David Borger (representing the Premier of NSW), Phillip Ruddick (representing Federal Leader of Opposition), Laurie Ferguson (representing the Prime Minister), Neville Roach AO (Chairman Emeritus Australia India Business Council), Consul General Amit Dasgupta, various other members of Parliament both State and Federal, and leading members of the community.

The fact that Australia and India share a common day provided a positive buzz to the evening.

There were a fair few speeches, all recounting the strong bilateral ties between India and Australia and the contribution of Indian migrants to Australia. However, perhaps the strongest message for the night came from Amit Dasgupta. The Consul General spoke about providing ideas to the Australian government for helping international students. He also spoke passionately about the importance of treating our own with respect - especially in cases of students where some of them are exploited with low pay and long hours.

Dilip Chopra, acting President of UIA announced the setting up of the Indian Benevolent Fund with seed money of $5000/- and appealed to the community to year, while failing to point out that most Indian Australians had themselves turned up in western suits, not traditional Indian attire.

The formal part of the evening over, the guests were left to fend for themselves. As the long lines were formed for the buffet dinner, there were no special arrangements for the guests. A number of them decided to leave rather than being left to stand with a plate in their hand in a long queue for their dinner. Even as they were leaving, there was not a single host to see them off and thank them for their time. A function which had such robust support from the community and well wishers ended in a disappointing manner for most of the special guests.

What occurs at these functions reflects on the community as a whole and surely more thought needs to go into the actual execution of the evening.

As one attendee observed, “The heart of the organisers was in the right place, yet the actions in carrying out the event left a lot to be desired”.

Pawan Luthra

services to the community’s senior citizens.

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