8

the Indian politicians to clean up their act. Prime J\,linister Manmoha.n Singb feamred on the cover of the influential Time magazine as a leader without a \Tisio n. \Vbile tbe Indian media reacted i n its predictab le way by featuring US P resident Ba.rack Obama on its cover as a u seless lead er, the point stiJJ is that India with all its promises has consistently failed to reach the heights which it has d1e potential for With GDP growth declining, and in fl ation h igh, the onl y money being made is b y the politicians In spice of top rating television shows o n social issues by well- respected film maker Aamir Khan, it seems that there i s no desire by the powers- that-be co create any effective change Ir is ove r two years since the sagas of Commonwealth Games corruption scandals surfaced; tl1ere is still co be any punishment meted om to the guilty parties who brou ght so much s ham e on the nation

In Australia, the strength of the Ind ian community is being noted and politicians are falling over each other to be present at Tndia-cencric functions. From tl1e Federal side, both Prime Minister Gillard a nd Opposition leader Abbott are playi ng tag with each other. As soon as one confirms their attendance for a function, the other also finds time to be availab le for the function. Stace Premiers in the two big states of Victoria and ew South \l(laJes also attend community functions regul arly, and trade missions to India a.re tbe flavour of tl1e year as tl, ey work hard to draw out Indian investment to their state The Indian community, while enjoying the p hotograph ic opportunities w ith tl1e leaders, has not been ab le to gee access to their wailers to obtain fund ing for projects which can help tl1e local community. Perhaps with d1e el ections due in 2013 , tl1e Indian local leaders can lay tl1e r ight groundwork w ith the political leaders to make gra nd announcements at their functions. For tl1e Australian Indian community, 2012 was a year in which we continued our growd1 as a community. While numbers of students were down and businesses catering co them s u ffered, d1ere was an influx of professionals on 457 v isas as the governmen t worked hard to fiJJ in the skills gaps. We continued with our massiYe Holi and D iwali celebrations; overseas singer s and stars came to entertai n us; talk fests wid1 visiting inceUecmals took place; local music and dance performances k ept the e n tertainment levels high Community groups mutated and new associations were formed, presidents and leaders in some changed, in others they clung to d1eir positions co continue with their claim to fame. rqo1ct' 1n 11.1pp1nes~ f. 111d1Jrge 111 celt·1>ra11on.

Yes, the more things change , the more d1ey remain the same.

Salultng the ones who made 11 po5s1ble

Who made lnd,a stand high & mighty.

Let's make them our ,nsp,rat,on