Jahanpana, we will miss you!

BY DArshAk mEhTA

The Indian High Commissioner Smt Sujatha Singh is about to pull up stumps in Australia and head to the land of Franz Beckenbauer (Germany). I don’t think her knowledge of soccer rivals her understanding of cricket but if I was a betting man, I would not put it past her to have frank and informed discussions (“babu” speak for arguments) with “Der Kaiser” himself, by the end of her term there.

When Ms. Singh came to Australia in August 2007, her knowledge of cricket was superficial. Tolerating and amusing her cricket mad spouse, Sanjay – currently, her boss. Yes, one of India’s power couples in the diplomatic service – both from the Indian Foreign Service. Now, at the end of her term (which is imminent), she is confident enough to discuss the nuances of cricket with the likes of the legendary Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh.

This embodies Sujatha Singh superbly. A shy, calm and smart woman who applies herself, and by sheer dint of application is always on top of her brief.

Ms. Singh has understood Australia better than a lot of her predecessors. She has travelled far and wide, met people in lofty places and many others at ground level. She has a common touch. She can be a tough cookie and she can be a softie.

But, she has been a wonderful ambassador of Mother India.

I reckon (and Steve Waugh agrees!) that she probably has been paid a royalty by Aamir Khan – so many copies of his Lagaan has she distributed to the high and mighty in this land.

Ad nauseam, Ms. Singh has spoken about the three “C”s that once linked India and Australia: Cricket, Curry and the Commonwealth, but she has extolled the need to go beyond these and engage across the board in all areas.

She has also been a good firefighter when the reprehensible student attacks were raging. She met everyone concerned, invested a lot of time in understanding and analysing the issue, listened to students and visited students who had been attacked. She urged the Governments concerned to concentrate on ensuring they did not continue and to apprehend and prosecute the culprits. Her point to the Premiers and the Prime Minister seemed simple: how does it matter to the student who was targeted, whether he was injured as a victim of crime or a victim of racism? Please make it stop and make it go away – full stop. Their safety was paramount.

The message got through, eventually.

Ms. Singh has had success with the intractable uranium supply issue - after 4 years of dogged, daunting behindthe-scenes work. In the end, it may well have been the Yanks who influenced the Australian Government more than she did, but, by Jove, she did her damnedest in the face of heavy odds.

The bilateral relationship between Australia and India has really taken off. If the numerous ministerial visits on both sides are a yard-stick, we are on the cusp of deepening and meaningful engagement for which Ms. Singh deserves credit.

One of her failures has been also due to the same virtue which has resulted in her success in other issues - her sense of inclusion. She has tolerated the myriad of Indian associations and listened to them. As most readers would know a lot of these associations have more “leaders” than followers and almost none of them are capable of conducting a fair-dinkum election under the supervision of the Australian Electoral Commission.

Why she continued to give them credibility, attend their functions or took any notice of them beats me?

On a personal note, I confess that as far as she is concerned, I am not the most objective person going around. My wife and I count her as a friend and therefore the adage “there are none so blind as those that will not see” applies richly to us.

She has been absolutely rock-like in support of the educational charity, The LBW Trust, which this writer chairs.

Of course, there are a couple of things that jar – are you perfect? For one, it can be her ability to resort to “babu” lingo or bureaucratese. I try and take the Mickey, when she is doing so - without realising that she is!

Another is her sheer faith in one of the world’s more erratic and indifferent performers – the Indian cricket team.

But, to me, Ms. Singh’s greatest and most galling failure is that despite her assurances (at the start of her term), we are no closer to eating the delectable Alphonso mangoes of India, here in Australia. Of course, she deflects the blame on others, but I think it is simply unpardonable!

(Warning: The author considers himself a fawning friend of the High Commissioner and therefore exceedingly ill-suited to being objective!) mentoring and guiding the younger generation, some of whom may not be from well off backgrounds. Many of them are also, or if they are not, should be active in helping people in distress - senior citizens, victims of domestic violence, students.

No matter how many organisations there are, what is important is that they all come together and speak with one voice on issues of importance, or on days that all Indians celebrate, such as Independence or Republic Day.

Our overseas Indian communities in countries all over the world, are sources of great strength. It is with great pride that GOI celebrates their successes and achievements. They are defined by an ethos of hard work, strong family values and an innate ability to integrate well into any country that they chose to make home, and contribute to its social and economic fabric.

Many of them retain strong links with India and are instrumental in bringing new ideas, investments and technologies back home. All of us who come from India or have a link, through our parents or through our forefathers, regardless of when they migrated, have a bond with the mother country, and with a civilisation that is one of the richest and most diverse in the world. We need to build on this common heritage and be as inclusive as we can in doing so.

It is also important that any organisation, regardless of who runs it, is transparent and open in all its dealings. In a day and age when Freedom of Information and the Right to Information are playing such a large role in our lives, I think the time has come for the all relevant details to be on the web, and for there to be a regular and orderly change of leadership so as to infuse fresh blood and vitality and bring in the younger generation, as well as newer migrants. Also, that organisations do not fight with each other or individuals polarise and divide the community for reasons of ego or personal gain. A community, by definition, consists of numerous individuals, all with points of view. One needs to respect this and be civilised in our dealings with one another.

Hopefully, coming years will see the community being increasingly represented at the political level and in Parliament. Coming from the largest democracy in the world, I think this is only a matter of time.

DM: Will India ever win a Test series in Australia, in your lifetime?

SS: Australia is a formidable force at home but I have great faith in our team and our ability in this great game. I have no doubt that we will learn the right lessons.

DM: What is your one lasting memory from this tenure?

SS: I have many good memories, but if I had to choose one, it would be the warmth and the friendship that I have received from the people of this beautiful country.

BY gReg chApell mbe

My wife Judy and I first met the High Commissioner of India in Australia at the home of our good friend Darshak Mehta in Mosman in 2008, not long after we had returned from India. We both found her a very warm, engaging and interesting person.

Subsequently I met her many times at social functions and a number of times at the Sydney Test match where she began to learn understand and enjoy the game of cricket. I found her questions on the nuances of the game quite insightful.

Late last year I launched my autobiography entitled Fierce Focus which covered all aspects of my cricket life including the three amazing years that Judy and I spent living in India while I worked, first with the Indian team and then with the Rajasthan Cricket Association.

Out of courtesy and friendship I invited Sujatha to the launch of my book. Perhaps cheekily I asked if she would say a few words at the launch. I was honoured that she agreed to attend and flattered that she agreed to say a few words as the representative of the Indian people in Australia.

Sujatha was most generous in her words of support and I was touched that she spoke so warmly about the effort that Judy and I made to make a difference in our time in India. It meant a lot to us both and only served to reinforce the many happy memories we have of our time in India.

We both congratulate her and wish her well in her new posting and look forward to the day when our paths cross again.

BY JohN fAUlkNeR

I appreciate this opportunity to place on record my personal thanks and appreciation for the work of HE Sujatha Singh, who will soon be leaving Australia after four and a half years of distinguished service as India’s High Commissioner.

Simply put, Sujatha has been an extraordinarily effective advocate for India. Her accomplishments include the Strategic Partnership agreed by Prime Ministers in 2009, the 2009 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, the defence policy talks in 2010 and 2011, the commencement of FTA negotiations in 2011 and bringing Australia and India together to reinvigorate the Indian Ocean

Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.

Sujatha has also worked tirelessly for the Indian community - for example, by ensuring the safety of Indian students and visitors to Australia, and by encouraging SBS to add Hindi News to its daily diet of foreign news programs.

I personally appreciate Sujatha’s support for a wide range of charity events – including our fundraising efforts for Oxfam, where Sujatha has been a consistently generous supporter.

Just a couple of weeks ago Sujatha and I watched a session of the Second Test - Australia vs India - in the M.A. Noble Stand at the SCG. Of course, the views I expressed to Sujatha about cricket remain strictly confidential and highly classified!

I sincerely wish Sujatha well on her next posting to Berlin, and I thank her for her important and lasting contribution as High Commissioner here in Australia, and for her friendship.

steve AUgh Ao

Her Excellency Mrs Sujatha Singh has had a good innings as India’s High Commissioner to Australia. She has travelled extensively in her 4 year plus term, and, I venture to guess, knows Australia better than most diplomats. I know that she has consulted extensively with the Indian community which holds her in high regard and she has been a wonderful advocate for India in her stint, here.

I have had the pleasure of meeting her and getting to know her and it has not merely been in a cricket environment. In her own quiet and charming way, she has strongly represented and advanced India’s interests, my Indian friends tell me. She has handled various crises in her term extremely adeptly.

Soft power has been one of her themes. India after all has a rich culture and cuisine and she has ensured that virtually every Australian who asked (and some even who did not!) got a copy of Aamir Khan’s Lagaan

Of course, I have seen her a bit at the cricket as well - where she is known to be highly emotional, like most Indians, I know!

It is the role of a Diplomat to be a roving Ambassador and I guess it is an indicator of how highly she is thought of by her bosses back home that she has been posted next to Germany – one of India’s strongest trade partners.

I know that all of us who got to know her will miss her and I wish her all the best.

I am sure that one day, in the near future, she can be an excellent Foreign Secretary of India!