Indian American Center for Political Awareness Home Page : Delhi Diary : 15 of diaspora are honored with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2005

M. Arunachalam, Businessman

As chairman of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and president of the Asia Pacific Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he has made significant efforts to promote trade and investment between Hong Kong and India, as also between China and India. In that context, he has led several delegations of Indian and Chinese businessmen to India. A member of the Trade and Industry Advisory Board, Hong Kong, he has been promoting Indian culture in Hong Kong by organizing performances by artists from India. He has been liberally contributing to various organizations in India.

Jagdish Bhagwati, Economist

Jagdish Bhagwati, Economist

An economist of international renown, he has published over 300 articles and 50 volumes. He is counted amongst the most creative international trade theorists of his generation. His most recent book, ‘In Defense of Globalization’ has attracted worldwide acclaim. Currently university professor at Columbia University and senior fellow in international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, Bhagwati has served as special advisor to the U.N. on Globalization and external advisor to the World Trade Organization. He is recognized for his immense contribution to economic thought and for enhancing the understanding of India.

Amina Cachalia, Political Activist

Amina Cachalia, S. African leader

Born in South Africa, she was anchored in political activism dating back to her father’s close association with Mahatma Gandhi and the first passive resistance campaign of 1907. Her championing of political causes and women’s rights evolved with a sense of familial preordination. She founded the Women’s Progressive Union to foster training, development skills and financial independence of women. She is recognized for her contributions toward enhancing the image and understanding of India through her sustained activities in the political field and for her lifelong dedication to emancipation of women and the disadvantaged.

J.K. Chande, Tanzanian Leader

J.K. Chande, Tanzanian leader

He has held innumerable high positions in Tanzania and received several awards. He was elected to the Court of Honorary Members of International Management Centers, Buckingham and nominated International Man of the Year 1998/99 by the International Biographical Center, Britain. Chande received the ‘Service above Self’ Award of Rotary International in 1998. He is presently chancellor of International Medical and Technological University in Dar-es-Salaam. Chande is recognized for his contribution in fostering better understanding of India and for promoting India’s interests in East Africa.

Alokeranjan Dasgupta, Litterateur

Alokeranjan Dasgupta, Litterateur

He has been actively engaged in translating Bengali poetry to the German language and vice-versa. He has been closely associated with the Deutsche Indische Gessellschaft (DIG), which is a premier institution for promoting close links between India and Germany. He had taught at the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, where he continues as visiting professor. He is the recipient of a number of Indian and German awards and is respected in academic circles in Germany and India. Dasgupta is recognized for his contribution to strengthening Indo-German relations, particularly in the field of culture, through literature.

Ahmed Kathrada, Activist

Ahmed Kathrada, S. African leader

Contemporary and comrade in-arms of the legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela, he has been a veteran leader in South Africa’s struggle for freedom and against apartheid. He has enjoyed close links with the Indian political leadership. He was actively involved with Mandela in the defiance campaign against racial laws and along with Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. Kathrada is recognized for his outstanding contribution in enhancing the image of India through his incessant support of the freedom struggle and campaign against apartheid in South Africa enshrining Gandhian values of peace and non-violence.

Sunil Khilnani, Political Scientist

Sunil Khilnani, Political scientist

Currently serving as professor of politics and director, South Asia studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., he has been a fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge and visiting professor at Seikei University, Tokyo. He held the Leverhume Fellowship ) and was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He has a number of publications to his credit, the most recent being ‘Idea of India,’ where he has argued in favor of unity in diversity for India. Khilnani is recognized for his contribution to political thought and for fostering the understanding of India through his scholarship.

Yousaf Ali M.A., Businessman

Yousaf Ali M.A, Businessman

Yousaf Ali M.A. is a renowned entrepreneur, his business extending across several countries of the Persian Gulf and Asia. His is involved in hypermarkets, food processing, IT education and training. Yousaf Ali is a founding member of the Indian Business and Professional Group and trustee of various educational and training establishments in India as well as in the Gulf region. He has received several awards including the APEDA Award for best processed food exporter (1998 and 2001). He is recognized for his valuable services to the diaspora and for creating awareness and understanding of India thorough his multifarious activities.

Basdeo Panday, Political Leader

Basdeo Panday, Politician

One of the most charismatic and respected leaders from the Indian community in the Caribbean, Panday is the only person of Indian origin to have ever served as the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. As prime minister from 1995 to 2001, he contributed substantially to socio-economic development of the nation and to strengthening friendship and cooperation with India. Currently the leader of the opposition, he is recognized for his immense services to the diaspora for creating better understanding of India through his lifelong public service and for contributing to the growth of relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago.

Lord Bhiku Parekh, Political Thinker

Bhiku Parekh, Political thinker

He is a Labour Member of the House of Lords and has made enormous contribution to political studies in Britain and India. He is an activist serving on several commissions and trusts, bringing his understanding and ideas to bear on a range of issues in promoting a more liberal and tolerant society. He has served as trustee of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Anne Frank Trust and the Gandhi Foundation. He chaired the Commission on the Future of Multi-ethnic Britain. He is recognized for social activism, his role in increasing the understanding of India and for his salutary services to the diaspora.

Sam Pitroda, Telecom Czar

Sam Pitroda, Telecom czar

He ushered the telecom revolution in India. His vision and technology helped connect India and provide telephone access to a billion people. In 1987, he became the chief technology advisor to the Indian prime minister and was given the responsibility of spearheading several technology missions to enhance the quality of life, basic amenities and connectivity in the rural sector. Pitroda is recognized for his sterling contributions to addressing India’s causes and concerns and his dedicated and inspirational services to the diaspora through his manifold activities, particularly in the field of telecom and entrepreneurship.

Vikram Seth, Author

Vikram Seth, Author

A toast of the literati, he has enjoyed phenomenal adulation among readers and critics alike for his substantial body of literary works. His magnum opus, ‘A Suitable Boy,’ won the W.H. Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. ‘The Humble Administrator’s Garden,’ a poetic work, won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia). Seth has authored several novels, collections of poems, short stories and travelogues that have been acclaimed worldwide. He is recognized for his immense literary talent and prodigious output which have enhanced the understanding of India worldwide.

Manoj Night Shyamalan, Filmmaker

Manoj Shyamalan, Filmmaker

An internationally acclaimed film director, he displayed passion for filmmaking at a very young age. At the age of 10, inspired primarily by Steven Spielberg’s films, he began making films with his father’s 8mm camera and by the age of 16 had made over 45 short films. His third directorial effort, ‘The Sixth Sense,’ released in 1999, was one of the Hollywood’s biggest box office hits ever, fetching six Academy Awards nominations. His recent film, ‘The Village,’ has also been a runaway hit. Shyamalan is recognized for enhancing the image and understanding of India at such a young age through his widely acclaimed films.

Vijay Singh, Golfer

Vijay Singh, Golfer

He was born in Fiji and learned the game of golf from his father, an airplane technician. He began playing professional golf in 1982 and won several international victories. In 1993, he won his first PGA tour event and has not looked back. In 2004, he had a career best of nine victories, 18 top-10s and a record $10.9 million in earnings. He was named the PGA Tour’s and PGA of America’s player of the year. In September 2004, he overtook Tiger Woods as the number one golfer in the world, ending Tiger’s unbeaten run of 264 weeks. Singh is recognized for his stellar achievements in the highly competitive field of international sports and for having made India and its diaspora, to which he belongs, proud.

Sant Singh Virmani, Scientist

Sant S. Virmani, Scientist

An internationally renowned rice scientist, he has been working with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) earlier in Nigeria and currently in the Philippines, and has conducted pioneering research work on hybrid rice for tropical countries. He has been closely associated with the hybrid rice research and development program in India since 1981 and has provided several consultancy services for the development of such technology in India. His research has had significant impact on global food security, environment protection, rural employment opportunities and poverty alleviation. Virmani is recognized for his efforts to assuage India’s concerns, food security and related issues.