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Dr Gurdip Aurora of the Australia India Society of Victoria (AISV) receives honour from the President of India

BY "II__,_ . PREETI JABBAL

This New Year's Day, while people were still recovering from parties and making resol utions for betterment, an uae.xpected phone caJJ spurred a Aurry o f activi ty for Melbourne's Dr. Gurdip Aurora, President of the Australia India Society of V ic toria. He was informed that th e AISV had been n omi nated fo r the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award fo r community service.

The award is the highest honom conferred on overseas Indians as part of the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) co nvention sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas lndi an Affairs of t he Governme n t of India.

The pho ne call was to invi te Dr. Aurora ro Kochi in Kerala, where the I I th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention was to be held between 7 -9 January, 2013.

According to t he citation , ' The Australia India Society of Victoria was recognL~ed for its role in protecting the rights of Indian migrants and establishing a network of welfare activities'

"1t was a great h o nour ro receive the award, on behalf of AISV, from the President of lndia," Dr. Gurd.ip i\urora said as he shared his PBD e.xperience with foditm Link u pon his rerum.

"I did not have a lot o f prior kn Q\vledge of this event and I certainly did not expect it to be as big as it turned om ro be. I was overw helmed by the hospitali ty and im pressed by the way everything was arranged for me including travel, accomm odation, meals, transport and use o f a chauffeur driven vehicle in India," claimed Dr Aurora.

All the awardees were booked into Hotel Le l'vferidien in Koch.i a nd the host spared no ex pense in making sure that their stay was comfortab le, according co Dr. Aurora.

The event

The Pravas.i Bha.ratiya Divas is celebrated every ye ar since the year 2003 on January 9. The day commemorates the arrival of Maham1a Gandhi in India from South Africa The ludo -Canada Ch amber o f Commerce (fCCC) was th e organising partner of t he summit this year The Gover tunent of Kerala was the State partner of chis evem and t he enchanting city of Koch.i with its natural beauty of backwate rs and m o n um e n t~ of gods offered a warm welcome to the hundreds of delegates, media and dignitaries from various parts of the world.

Prime Minister Manmoh.an Singh formally inaugurated the three -day event o n January 8 and released a scamp commemorating the Gaclar Movement. In his address to the audience the Prime l\{in.ister said t hat safety and seclU'i ty of overseas Indian communities was uppermost in mind in the backdrop of turbulence in many parts of the world Though die primary resp o nsibili ty of safery and security of overseas Indian communities rests with the host nations, "\vhen needed, as was the case las e year in Libya, our government will provide pro mpt a nd n ecessary assist'ln ce", the Prime Minister sa id.

President Pranah Mukh erjee said India sees i ts vast diaspora as a valuab le contributor to its growth and is keen to e.xpand the bonds further in building an in cl usive and knowledge society. He sa id last year's record remi ttance o f $67 billio n from overseas I ndian s was a testim ony to both the emotional attachment and the fulfilmen t in .i nvesting in Lidia's s trong eco no m y.

"I also wish co see the Indian diaspora as a stronger partner, not only in fndia's econ omic growth, buc also in building lnclia's knowledge society, while continuing co engage culturally and emotionally, and serving as the effective ambass ado r s d1at they have been for this cow1try," the president said.

The Indian diaspora makes up over 20 million people. There are at least five heads of state o r governm enr, and over 70 senior political leaders such as depu ty beads of state, speakers, ministers in various countries, who can trace d1eir roots co India.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awa rds President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Pravasi Bharati ya S:unman awa rds at the valedi c to ry session o n January 9. Mauritius

President Ra jkeswur Purryag, whose ancestors belonged to the Indian vil!Jige of Waj idpur in Bihar's Patna di stric t, was the chief guest. He also received die Pravasi Bharatiya D ivas Samman Award for pub lic services.

The award was also given co: Prof G urusharan Si ngh Chacwal, Germany (Science); Dr. Sacen dra K. Singh, New Zealand (Conum1n.ity service); Ismail E Ebrahim, South Africa (Business); T.S. R avindra Menon , Malaysia (Co m muniLy service); Dr. R asik V.Josbi, Mexico (Literature); G ilbert. C. Moutien, R eunion l sl:u1d (Business); Mohamm ed R. Karuvan thod.i, Saudi Arab ia (Business); Bava Pandalingal, UAE (Co mmunity service); Dr. N.R.Kmnar, US (Health care); Subhash R azdan, US, (Public service) and Asho k S. Vaswan.i, Guinea (community service).

The AISV from Vi ctoria and the lnd.ian D octors Forum from Kuwait were the o nly two organisations to win d1e PBD S community service award chis year. Since .i ts inception in 2003 only two A u st:rali :u1s have been conferred with thi s award: well known JCT industry lead er Neville Roach AO and scientist Veena Sahajwalla (o f UNS\Xl) who also appeared o n the TV show The lnventon Dr. Aurora felt delighted chat AISV were to join chi s elite club.

7-9 January, 2013, Kochi, erala [

"I do n ot know who nominated i\ISV for ch.is award ; however given the organisation's longstanding history of service to the community, it was befitting to receive this honour soo n after our 50th anniversary" said Dr. Aurora as he proudly displayed the gold medal and certificate to fodian Link in hi s Scoresby clinic recently

The Australia India Society of Victoria

AISV

P rof. Alexander Boyce Gibso n, d1e h ead of the Department of Indian Studies at the University of Melbourne, established the Australia India Society of V ic toria in 1963. AISV was initially created with an objective co create interest in Indian hi stor y, arts :u1d culture. All the past Presidents, and the present comrninee led bf Dr. Gurdip Aur ora, have helped in shaping the o rganisation over die years by p laying an active role in issues affecting the Indian community. According to Dr. Aurora AISV has sought co improve and strengthen the quali ty of relations between A u stralia and India through their in teractions with t he Government, the m edia an d d1e peop le w ho are directly a ffected by tl1ese i ssues The majo r achievements o f J\ISV, as li sted in d1e ir 50 years' w ww.indianlink.com.au

Dr Gurdip Aurora with the Pravasi Bharatiya medal celebration souvenir, include:

• Establishment of the Victorian lndian Community Charitab le Trust (VICC1) in 1986 for the provis ion of permanent housing and financial assistance for disadvantaged persons.

• Successfully lobbying the Victorian State Government in 1990 co exempt Sikhs from legislation introduced in Parliament to ban the carrying of knives. This legislation affected baptized Sikhs and p revented them from carrying a ki,pcm Legislation stating compulsory wearing of helmets while riding a push bike was also adopted to accommodate turbaned Sikhs

• Successfully lobbying the Indian Government in 1991 (for three years) to e stablish consular services for Indians in Melbomne.

• Introducing in 1992 'Mehfil' nights to showcase emerging and established artists in the field of music and arts. These continue to this day and provide the Indian community an opportunity co celebrate their culture and people

• Applying pressure to bmh sides of Government over a three-year period for the introduction of a two- year waiting period for Spouse Visas in 1995. This resulted in a fairer Visa Process for overseas spouses from all countries and d1e AISV helped in establishing a fair immigration policy.

• Helping establish in 1999, in partnership with Australian Unity, a Travel InsLtraoce fLmd for overseas vis itors to enable them co gain access to hospitals and medical care. This served to take the burden off the State Govermnent and in some cases the children of elderly parents who were

Psychiatrist

Dr Manju/a O'Connor, Vice - President AISV supporting d1eir parent's travel to Australia.

• Conducting a rwo-year research project in 2009 on the issue of me international srudents and putting fo r th 45 recommendations to the Federal and State Governments. Ms Priya Saratchandrau wrote the Paper and the recommendations were accepted and changes made to the status of international students accordingly.

• Creating a taskforce in 201 l against domestic violence in fodian and edmic commLmities co help the victims of such violence with the help of Dr. Manjula O'Connor. This was in response co d1e increasing instances of domestic violence within me community and me need co offer cultural specific assistance

Dr Aurora at PBD 2013

The theme of the 2013 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was: Engaging Diaspora: The Ttidia11 Growth Sto,y. :Many seminars, workshops and events linked to the rneme were held including an exclusive session d1at gave a platform to people from Kerala in the Gulf to air theu: grievances. In his inaugmal address, Union Minister for

IOverseas Indian .Affairs Vayalar

Ravi mged the delegates to air their issues openly at these sessions and exchange v iews and perspeccives.

Dr. Aurora who voluntarily attended t hese sessions said, "It was appalling to bear the stories of discrimination, lack of human rights and explo itation of people especially the plight of several illiterate 111.igrancs who ended up in prison due to an error in d1e paperwork filled in by their agents."

He continued, "During my stay I brief! y met Salman Klrn.rs llid, Cabinet wlinister of the Ministry of External Affairs; columnist and author Shashi Tharoor; Deputy Chief Mi11ister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, and had a meeting with Parneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs from Patiala. T also took the opportllnity to rem.ind the Prime Minister that his visit to Australia was long overdue" said Dr. Aurora.

Conventions like these provide a platform to d1e overseas Indian community to engage with t he government for mutllall y beneficial activ ities. They are also useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enab le d1em to share th eir experiences in various fields The PBD's main objective is co strengtl1en the diaspora's engagement with India "In th.at sense the PBD met its objective," remarked Dr Aurora. "However l wish the general public had more access to the Prime iVfinister and President. They were both kept away from me publi c under very tight security and I couldn't help comparing d1is with Australia and the fact that we have relatively easier access to people in power here".

Future directions for AISV

Psychiatrist Dr Manjula O ' Connor, Vice Presiden t of AISV; and Chair of d1e Taskforce Against Domestic V iolence in Indian and Ethnic Communities, commented on the future direction of AISV

''ln 2010-20 l2 we worked on domescic violence with women of the Indian community Tllis year we plan to work wid1 Ind ian men. This is a p revention strategy.

''The Australia India Society of Victoria was recognised for its role in protecting the rights of Indian migrants and establishing a network of welfare activities

''Prevention of domestic violence is considered now as a more useful and fruitful area co target. The Taskforce will recruit men from d1e general Indian con111rn11iry. The project is an action researcl1 project, and will be conducted in partnership bet\veen AISV, the J\,felbourne University and the Australasian Centre for Hwnan Rights and Health (ACHRH) ," she said "\V/e have been fortunate in forming partnerships with a taxi company (who recruit young Indian men) and d1e Sikh Women's Network from Western Victoria in this project. T llis project witb Indian men wiJJ consis t of using community-based interaccive d1eatre to explore lnclian men's concept of DV; simultaneously raising awareness on the issue including legal and criminal implications W'e have secured partial fimcling for this project from d1e V ictoria Multicu.lmral Commi ssion and partly from ACHRH"

\\'.:'hen asked if achieving mis award would make any difference to how AISV wiJJ conduct itself in fmme, Dr. Gurdip .Aurora said, "\'(/e have worked bard for the last 50 years and we will continue to do so in futllre. T here will be no change to our normal routine and we will keep working wid1 d1e same dedication and keep contributing sigllificantly to d1e community," he said in conclusion.