Three Indian Americans are among those selected to receive the Ellis Medal of Honor awarded by The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO). The ceremony will be held on Ellis Island, the historical transit point for early immigrants to this country.

An umbrella organization of ethnic and heritage groups, NECO has selected Subhash Razdan, Rajesh K. Soin, and Nirmal Sinha and 135 others belonging to different ethnic groups, to receive the medal which honors exceptional leadership, lifelong humanitarian services and outstanding contributions in the field of ethnic and heritage recognition in the U.S..

Previous awardees include such great notables as President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Frank Sinatra and a host of many distinguished citizens of the United States of America.

Indians who have received the award in the past include economist Jagdish Bhagwati, IT expert Rajendra Vattikuti, McKenzie & Co. head Rajat Gupta, as well as scientist Dr. Hargobind Khorana.

Ellis Medal of Honor, established in 1986 by NECO, is named after the Ellis Island, New York, to pay homage to the ancestral groups that passed through the Island’s gates prior to their admission as immigrants in the United States.

The Ahmedabad-born Subhash Razdan, who is of Kashmiri origin, is currently a Civil-Environmental Principal Engineer for the City of Atlanta, Georgia. He is credited with co-founding the Gandhi Foundation of USA and lead the successful effort to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the National Historic Site in Atlanta, the memorial to civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King. A graduate of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi with an MBA from Georgia State University where he also teaches, Razdan has presided over several Indian American organizations such as the India American Cultural Association of Atlanta (1987), Vice President of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (1992).

In 1990, he served as the chairperson of Economic and Employment Commission of the Cobb County Community Relations Council in Georgia. In 1996, Razdan was appointed an Attache for the Government of India for the Olympics held in Atlanta that year. He also served as the acting Chef de Mission for Indian contingent of 100 athletes and officials.

In 2000, Razdan was appointed by the Governor, Roy Barnes of Georgia as a member of the Census 2000 Count Committee. He accompanied President Bill Clinton on the March 19-25, 2000 trip to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Ellis Medal honors exceptional leadership, lifelong humanitarian services and outstanding contributions in the field of ethnic and heritage recognition in the United States of America.

Razdan owns Asia Pacific Broadcasting Network (APBN) and produces the weekly television show, ‘Namaste Bombay.’

New Delhi-born Rajesh K. Soin, 57, of Soin International, a multinational holding company, and President and CEO of Modern Technologies Corporation International of Dayton, Ohio, the flagship parent company for a number of high-tech and manufacturing businesses, has the unusual distinction of having a college named after him.

In 2000, Wright State University (WSU), Dayton, Ohio State announced that it was renaming its College of Business and Administration to Raj Soin College of Business and Administration, the first time that a college in the United States was named after an Indian.

Soin founded MTC in 1984. Starting with 2 people, Raj and wife Indu, and $1,700, the company and its affiliates now employ more than 1,000 people in worldwide operations spanning the U.S., India, Japan, Australia and Europe.

MTC has been hailed as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. by Inc. magazine for four consecutive years. MTC (India) is the offshore software development center of MTC International. Soin is considered a driving force behind the development of Dayton region’s business economy, functioning on his philosophy that ‘the best investment is in good people.’

Alongside his business career, Soin has been a philanthropist giving to the Ohio-India Project, Gandhi House for women in need, and the Annual Day of Caring. He donated 180 acres of prime property at Beavercreek to build a public golf course in Ohio, donated to the Sukh Dev Raj Soin Hospital in India. He is on the board of trustees and member of several organizations.

Bengal-born Nirmal Sinha, 64, has been Commissioner of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, initiating pro-active programs outreaching to ethnic and minority communities.

After 9/11, he worked extensively with the Asian Indian community in Ohio to raise funds for vicitims and joined with Arab, Sikh, and Muslim groups to alleviate fears of a backlash.

He works with the Office of Multicultural and International Programs of the Governor of Ohio, as well as with the Ohio Bicentennial Commission to celebrate 200 years of statehood in 2003. He accompanied Gov. Voinovich on President Bill Clinton’s 2000 visit to India.

He is the former Director of March of Dimes, Central Ohio Chapter (1989-93), as well as member of several boards in the State.

A former President and Trustee of the Federation of Indian Associations of Central Ohio, Sinha has encouraged Indian Americans to engage in more volunteer work.

And as President of the Asian Indian American Business Group since 1998, he has helped networking within the business community.

In 2001, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission gave Sinha the Asian Heritage Award, and in 1997 he received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award from the State. He has received several other rewards for leadership and community service.