Date and Time

Feb 13, 2010

10 am – 1 pm

 Venue

Parramatta Town Hall

182, Church Street Mall,

Parramatta, NSW

 You are unhappy because of double unhappiness

Sirshree

 Why is man unhappy?   The answer could be that man is unhappy because of double unhappiness. Because of his habit of double unhappiness. Suppose you are troubled by something… supposing your body is under pain – then this is the first unhappiness.

 But on that unhappiness the mind becomes unhappy, “Why this pain? Why me? When would this pain go away?” Then the unhappiness of the body increases many times over. 

The body is in pain. The body is curing it too. Nature has its own way of healing. But the mind made it “my pain”, “my unhappiness”. 

Instead of working on curing yourself of unhappiness, work on curing yourself of double unhappiness. Children get angry. But you also see them playing peacefully the very next moment. 

Now compare that to an instance where you have gotten angry. You got angry. It does not trouble you as such. The episode is over. But you are thinking, about it. 

Even after the incident has passed, what you think gives you trouble. This means you get angry over anger and this troubles the mind. 

As your understanding increases, you get rid of this double unhappiness. Unhappiness alone cannot trouble you. Unhappiness in and of itself does not possess the capacity to trouble you. 

Non- acceptance of unhappiness is the point where double unhappiness begins. That is where there is unhappiness over unhappiness as to why you are unhappy. 

When there is acceptance of this unhappiness, then unhappiness over that unhappiness doesn’t happen. Depression doesn’t occur. 

The understanding will arise that it is only non-acceptance that is unhappiness and that it is only acceptance that is happiness. 

Accept moments of unhappiness and let it go. How do you let them go? You let unhappiness go without resisting it by asking a simple question, “Can i accept this?” 

This question propels the release of unhappiness. In most cases, the answer you shall receive within is that you can accept this. 

You immediately release your unhappiness and change your focus. What if you cannot accept your unhappiness? What if the answer to the question, “Can i accept this?” is a ‘no’? 

Then, ask yourself a second question, “Can i accept that i cannot accept this unhappiness?” Be alright with your non-acceptance. Do not become unhappy over not being able to accept. 

Then you are not accepting non- acceptance. Accept the non-acceptance and you shall be able to release your level of happiness instantly. What is true at one level is true at all levels. 

As in small, so in big. As in the microcosm, so in the macrocosm. When you answer “Yes” to the “Can i accept this?” question, then you have let go of negative feelings associated with it. 

You may think that this is just a small step. But when you do so, it causes a giant shift in your consciousness. At that very moment, a lot of other unrelated things open up for you and you begin to attract more positive things. 

The smallest letting-go action helps us in every facet of our life. Not only do you become mentally free, but it affects you at the physical, emotional, social and financial levels, setting off a chain reaction that reverberates through your entire being and leaves you in quite a different place than you were before. 

 For more information about Tej Gyan Foundation, please visit www.tejgyan.org or email us on asiapac@tejgyan.com

Boria Majumdar 

He is the man of the season. While some say he has redefined the art of batsmanship, others have gone a step further in asserting that there are now two coaching manuals in cricket, the first is the conventional, known to us all, MCC manual and the second is what has been decreed the Virender Sehwag manual of batting. While this might be taking things a bit too far, there is little doubt that 2009 was Virender Sehwag’s year. Here’s Sehwag in a freewheeling conversation with Boria Majumdar about his resolutions for 2010, his batting and his predictions for team India.

 Boria- Viru, 2009 is the best year you have had in your career isn’t it? Fantastic series in New Zealand to start with, a 293 in the last Test of the year followed by a 146 in the one dayer at Rajkot, you are being credited with redefining the art of batsmanship?

Sehwag- I am batting really well. I have always played well in Test cricket except when I had a lean patch in 2007. But yes, this year has been special. I am looking to dominate, playing my shots and getting the big scores. I have always said to Gautam that getting a 100 is not enough. Get double or even triple hundreds. That’s how you can create fear in the minds of the opposition bowlers. Unless they are in awe, they will not show you the respect you deserve.

Now that you are getting these big scores with regularity people have started expecting miracles from you. Are you feeling any extra pressure?

Sehwag- No. I try and negotiate pressure in my own way. Of course there’s pressure but you have to come to terms with it and carry on. For example when I scored 293, I was continuously singing bhajans out there in the middle. New songs, old songs, everything. Whatever I listened to in our dressing room I was humming out in the middle. You can ask Tendulkar, he will tell you that I always do this—sing bhajans while batting. That way I can continue doing what is expected of me.

Boria- Amazing! So are you in that zone where your confidence is sky high?

Sehwag- I don’t want to sound pompous. But l can surely tell you that once I get to 60 or 70 there’s no bowler in the world who can get Virender Sehwag out. Only Virender Sehwag can get Sehwag out at moments when I am batting the way I am currently. My philosophy has always been to make the most of the situation when you are in form. So when I go out there, I identify a bowler and get after him. If he is the best bowler in the opposition, your job becomes much easier.

Boria- But scoring 280 not out in Test match cricket is phenomenal—is it a plan or did it just happen?

Sehwag- Look there are no conscious plans like this in place. I have made it very simple for myself. There are 90 overs to be played in a day. If I am able to hit a boundary in 80 of these I can get to a triple hundred by the end of the days play and set a match up for my team. Gavaskar and Srikkanth have told me that I should just hold off for the first 15 minutes or the first four of five overs. Once the initial 15 minutes are over, I can get to many more hundreds. That’s exactly what I am doing.

Boria- That was my next question. Have you changed your approach to batting a bit? It was evident to us in Mumbai that you were consciously playing out the first few overs?

Sehwag- Yes I have. I was going for shots a bit too early I think. Once the first 15 minutes are over I am in complete control of the innings and can start to play shots at will. This approach, I am confident, will get me many more hundreds in 2010.

Boria- Big year coming up for Indian cricket, marquee series against South Africa and then the T-20 world cup. Your thoughts?

Sehwag- It will be a great series against South Africa. They are a very good side but with the kind of form we are in we can beat them. At home we should look to dominate against all opposition. I am looking forward to playing against them. Coming to the T-20 world cup, we have a very good side. I was out injured in the last edition in England and am looking forward to contributing to the team’s cause in the West Indies. I firmly believe that if we can play to potential we can win back the cup we won in 2007. With the kind of talent we have in our team, there’s no doubt that we have a good chance. It is important to have our full team for the tournament though.

Boria- Any special resolution for 2010?

Sehwag- Keep scoring heavily. We aren’t playing too many Tests but in the limited number of tests we are playing I want to get a 1000 runs. My ambition is to get 1500 or even 2000 runs in a year in Test matches. I am physically okay, can bat long, bowl long and want to make the most of this phase.

Boria With the 2011 world cup coming up, we need you to be in proper physical shape.

Sehwag- The 2011 world cup is a huge tournament for us. I want to win the tournament for Tendulkar. All of us are determined to do our best for him. He has served Indian cricket for long and this is his only unfulfilled wish. We will do our best to win the 2011 world cup for him.

Boria- You have opened with both Tendulkar and Gambhir for a while. While the former is the best the world has seen, the other is currently the best in the ICC rankings. Talk about batting with both of them.

Sehwag- They are different players. When I am batting with Tendulkar I am under no pressure because everyone is focussed on him. When I am batting with Gautam we take a lot more risks. You will see us run a lot more singles. We have been playing for years and have a great understanding and we take a lot of risky singles when batting together. When batting with Tendulkar he doesn’t run risky singles. He always tells me it is not worth risking your wicket for a single. Both are great for Indian cricket and it has been fantastic to be able to bat with both of them for a period of time.

Boria- Final question-what is the reaction in the dressing room like when you are batting the way you are now?

Sehwag- Each of my teammates keep urging me to keep going. They know that if i can bat through a day the team will get a score of 400 plus and that way our bowlers will have maximum time to bowl the opposition out. Accordingly, they always encourage me to keep going and bat for the maximum number of overs.

I write this not in a state of anger but in a state of disbelief. Much is being written about what will happen to the fate of Ferozshah Kotla as an international venue, whether or not Delhi will lose its rights to host World Cup 2011 and whether Delhi Daredevils will use the Kotla as their home base come March 2010 when IPL returns home.

 Not once is it being said that these pitches are a regular reality in our domestic fixtures. Sri Lanka being a heavyweight international side had the guts to protest and walk out of the game. It was fantastic to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni agreeing with Kumar Sangakkara and going ahead with the abandonment of the fixture. However, had it been a domestic game, it can easily be conjectured what would have happened. Play would have gone on unabated, no one would have been pulled up and the players, or more importantly Indian cricket, would have lost out. Even if players suffered injuries, thanks to the pitch, not one of us would have known because the cricket fraternity hardly cares about what’s happening to our domestic game.

  An unworthy bowler, thanks to a fantastic performance on a track like this, would have forced himself into national reckoning and a quality batsman would have lost out due to a poor score on an unplayable wicket. By not looking into the root of the problem, the BCCI, and in this case the DDCA, is only contributing to the weakening of the edifice of the game in India.

 It started at Indore on 25 December 1997. It continued at Kanpur against South Africa in April last year with the match getting over in 3 days. And it continues to torment us at the end of 2009 at Delhi.. In the last 12 years India has progressed to becoming the financial powerhouse of the world game, we have now wrested the mantle of the world’s number 1 Test side from Australia and South Africa and we are perilously close to becoming the world’s number 1 team in the one-day fifty over format as well. Yet, we can’t get our basics right at our national capital and continue to portray ourselves as inept, inefficient, power hungry men unable to assume responsibility of being the world’s premier cricket nation.

It may well be that the ICC refuses to ban DDCA.. India’s financial clout can surely do the trick yet again and impose serious constraints on the ICC. But the truth is our own game will continue to suffer and real talent will be lost in the process.

The abandonment of the Delhi fixture isn’t a shame for the DDCA alone. Rather, it draws attention to something much more significant—it draws attention, finally, to the rotten underbelly of Indian cricket, where ineptitude can still pass thanks to our growing financial clout.

It was impressive to see the BCCI assume immediate responsibility and disband the pitches and grounds committee. Just days earlier had the BCCI doubled the salaries of the committee members. That these men are accountable was perhaps the only silver lining in what has been a dark episode in the history of Indian cricket. While the BCCI deserves praise for being proactive, it was shocking to see the DDCA pass the buck. Just days earlier Chetan Chauhan was on television suggesting that the pitch will play true and had been rolled for 10 days with a 1 ton roller. He was confident it was an excellent cricket wicket.. The same Chauhan, someone I have much respect for, looked extremely nervous at the post abandonment press conference where he tried to pass the buck upon the BCCI’s pitch committee. Frankly speaking, passing the buck won’t work on this occasion. Had this happened at Lords, Mick Hunt would surely have resigned. At Kolkata, Probir Mukherjee would have been in the line of fire. In Chauhan’s case, Daljit Singh and co can’t act as shields.  And only if they pay for their inefficiency will justice be done.

We, the ordinary cricket fan, have been wronged. It is our game and we need to set things right.

This is not an usual column. Rather, it is a statement that should have been made months earlier by anyone interested in Indian sport. Just days earlier a report shocked the sports fraternity of the country by announcing to us all that our hockey players are on strike. They hadn’t received salaries for a while and hence had refused to train at the national camp in Pune with less than a month and a half to go for the world cup in Delhi. As our media made common cause with our players, a section of the press and some experts suggested a strange comparison. It was widely reported that while our cricketers are millionaires, our hockey players are forced to beg for pennies from the establishment. A well known former player even defended this dismal state of affairs suggesting our performance in hockey has been downhill and hence the players have no right to ask for monies when training for the world cup.

First things first- the BCCI is an autonomous body and isn’t dependant on the government or the sports ministry for support. It has gone out and corporatized the game, sought out sponsors, created stars out of the performers, injected value into the game and has converted Indian cricket into a multi-million dollar industry. It is solely to the BCCI’s credit in being able to do so over the last decade and a half. For the record, the Board’s balance sheet at the end of the fiscal year in 1992 showed a deficit of 62 lakh rupees. The opulence we now know and take for granted is a product of the last 17 years.

To blame cricket for the sad plight of hockey is to miss the woods for the trees. Such a comparison is a non starter and by doing so we are actually trivializing the issue and compromising our players even more. If the Kotla fiasco was a national shame, the hockey revolt, which has now been doused by Hockey India officials, is an even greater shame. For our national sport to reach such a nadir is a condition that the entire country should be ashamed of, especially when it comes at a time when we are bracing ourselves to host the Commonwealth Games and the hockey world cup.

The solution is simple. Keep cricket out of the equation for cricket or the cricket administrators have no role to play in this. Rather, do what Pankaj Advani has suggested, follow the cricket model in trying to corporatize your own sport and make money for the protagonists. Hockey India will do well to resuscitate the PHL, which did much for the players for 2 years before it was forced to shut down for want of funds. They will do well to sort out the imbroglio over Hockey Punjab, which clearly smells of politics at a time when the team led by Rajpal Singh is preparing for the world cup.

In fact, it is time for Hockey India to go a step further. Perhaps introduce graded payments like there is in cricket or announce cash incentives that will inspire the players to go that extra yard. Or more interestingly, try and take the radical step and privatise the sport of hockey. There are many entrepreneurs waiting to pick up the baton and run with it—it is time we use their services. Indian hockey deserves much better than what it is getting at the moment.

May be its time for the BCCI to act as well. If it can pay the AIFF 25 crores in trying to give the sport a fillip, it is time to do so for hockey, more because we still nurture a realistic chance of making the podium in hockey, a chance non-existent in football.

 Rees was a proactive do-gooder for the Indian community, echo Indian leaders in unison.

 The abrupt conclusion of former Premier Hon. Nathan Rees’ term of office has likewise saddened community leaders and disquieted student representatives.

 Raj Natarajan, Immediate Past President of United Indian Association (UIA) said, “ It is indeed unfortunate to see Mr. Rees go because, the Indian community in the last 14 months had developed a special working relationship with him.” Mr. Natarajan says the then Premier monitored the setting up of a special task force that would aid the prevention of malicious attacks and maiming of Indian students.

 Apart from the task force, Rees also enabled the establishment of various state government committees, community relations group as a means to stabilize and better the volatile situation. He was also working closely with the Indian Consulate, federal government and local community leaders to assure complete support of his administration in the peace making process.

 Stanley D’Cruz, President of Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney (MCAS) said, “The Premier would himself chair some of these committees on a regular basis and therefore, took personal interest in solving the issue.”

 Nathan Rees gained popularity of late for spearheading initiatives to tackle issues bearing on Indian students.

 Navjot Singh, President of All International Students Association (AISA) said “Mr. Rees has efficiently done much to ensure safety for international students particularly during the war-like situation in Harris Park.”

 Rees’ proactive endeavors and his spontaneous interest to efficiently resolve student issues became evident following the series of the racially motivated attacks on international students particularly Indians earlier this year.

 “If law and order was restored in Harris Park at the time, it was certainly due to his (Rees) timely action and intervention,” said Vish Viswanathan, President of Federation of Australian Indians (FAIA).

 Despite, the constant and broad media coverage surrounding the exploitation and uncouth offensive on Indian students, many from within the Indian community believe Rees’ administration and his competence to deal with the state of affairs was commendable and undisputed.

 “Apart from law & order, Mr. Rees also fully understood that there was a need for his government to address equally other serious issues like quality of training, travel concessions and accommodation,” said Mr.Viswanathan.

 The past Premier Rees, who is considered to be quite popular among his Australian peers is also, highly regarded by his Indian counterparts for endorsing and accepting Indian culture as a significant part of Australian society.

 “Mr. Rees was responsible for including the A.R.Rahman show as part of the Sydney Festival 2010 and for bringing Indian flavor into the fest for the very first time,” said Mr.Natarajan.

 Mr. D’Cruz said, “His (Rees) departure should not have profound effect as he has firmly established all the mechanisms to deal with this issue.”

 “As a community member, I sincerely hope that the NSW Government will continue to demonstrate leadership not only in addressing the student issues but also equally other relevant ongoing issues and needs of the Indian Seniors,” said Mr. Viswanathan.

Mr. Natarajan said though there are great expectations from the new and Australia’s first female Premier Kristina Keneally, it will be unfair to judge her with the same yardstick. Instead, one must strive to build new cordial and social relations with the current administration he said.

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi

Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Iravati Harshe, Vinay Pathak, Dalip Tahil, Navneet

Nishan

Director: Saurabh Shukla

 Rating: 2/5

The New Year has opened with two relatively small budget films, one being Saurabh

Shukla’s Raat Gayi Baat Gayi. Raat Gayi is the so-called ‘middle cinema’ with almost

the entire assembly of ‘non-mainstream’ actors. The film is as the title suggests-

to let bygones be bygones, and get on with life- but it lacks that spark which could

have made it appealing to a niche audience, which in the past has appreciated films

in this particular genre. Coming from Saurabh Shukla, with his astute sense of

comedy, this one was a bit of a disappointment.

 Rajat Kapoor and Iravati Harshe play a married couple, Rahul and Mitali who attend a

party given by their friends. At the party Rahul spots a gorgeous woman Sophia (Neha

Dhupia) and starts pursuing her. He has had a drink too many, and the last that he

remembers is him and her alone in a room, and he refilling her empty glass from his

own. The next day Rahul wakes up with a huge hangover and finds his wife behaving

oddly. He’s not sure what happened the night before, and is petrified that she may

have gotten to know. He confides in friends Amit (Vinay Pathak) and Saxena (Dalip

Tahil) and tries to retrace the night to check if he really went all the way. In the

end there is a twist in the tail, and the night before turns out to be not such a

bad thing after all.

 The film is built on an interesting idea, but as it evolves it becomes rather

overstretched and tends to drag in parts. Some of the dialogue is not as funny as

intended, often situations do not evoke the laughter that they might have, and

overall the comedy becomes a little too watery.

 Performances too are not exceptional in any sense, sadly because here we have a remarkably good line-up of actors. Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Dalip Tahil are all competent, but we don’t really see the best of them here. Rajat Kapoor looks a tad jaded. Vinay Pathak’s comedy falls flat in parts, particularly in those bits when

he’s having a tiff with his wife or making up with her. By contrast, Neha Dhupia,

the bikini girl of yesteryears is strikingly confident. She’s carries herself with

poise, and lends complete credibility to her character of the woman with whom one

might have a one night fling. Iravati Harshe looks older than her character might

have been, but delivers the goods. The unexpected surprise was Navneet Nishan in her

role of the garrulous Mrs. Saxena, who however turns out to be more knowing than

anyone suspects. Ranbir Shorey makes a cameo appearance as the Australian desi at

one of the party sequence, but isn’t exactly amusing.

 Makrand Deshpande is sadder still.

 This is a film that might have been inherently more intelligent and more enjoyable.

Where it falls back is the screenplay which allows for several lags, which dilute

the comedy. The film’s first half tries to build up to a climax- i.e. to discover

what happened that night- but then there is no climax at all. The ending has no

punch (if anything, the director should have closed with Rahul and his wife walking

into the sunset) and sadly for director Saurabh Shukla, this film looks to be one

that will come and go somewhat unnoticed.

Indian population in Australia is growing rapidly. In 2008, there were about 77,000 Indians among Australian Residents in NSW according to Australian Bureau of Statistics. The figures did not include Indians that were present in NSW on student visa, long term business visas and other modes. Given the likely immigration numbers they constitute another 50,000 to 70,000 Indian settlers in NSW. Thus it is likely that at present about 150,000 plus Indians are resident in NSW. They almost constitute about 1% of the total Australian population.

Such a sizable chunk of Indian population needs an effective leadership to represent them at the State and National Level in Australia. The leaders of Indian community also need to:

• Facilitate development of friendly relations between India and Australia by identifying areas of cooperation and collaboration between them. 
•  Enable non-Indian origin Australians to understand and appreciate the culture, history and traditions of India. 
• Facilitate creation of harmonious relationship between Indian ethnic community and other ethnicities in Australia. 
• Ensure Indians do not get divided among state / language / caste / classes lines in Australia and instead remain a cohesive and collective unit fostering and aiding each others growth. 

 The demographics of the Indian community in Australia have been changing over time. The first Indians to come to Australia engaged in running camel trains in the pre road and train network era. The next wave was the sikh farmers who came and settled in and around Wolgoolga and engaged in Banana plantations. There were then the Britishers born in India as well as Anglo Indians (born of British and Indian mixed parentage) that settled in Australia post India’s declaration of Independence in 1947. When Australia abandoned its all white migration policy in mid-1970’s the next wave of settlers from India that came to Australia were highly skilled professionals like doctors, engineers, and teachers. In the mid-2000 the largest waves of migration are occurring. These migrants include skilled trade workers like carpenters, plumbers, hairdressers, besides other skilled professionals like IT professionals, doctors, accountants, teachers, nurses, etc. 

 The Australia government has also tapped into students’ immigration to earn export revenue, provide much needed labor backbone to support business growth and enhance Australian cultural diversity. Students also provided additional consumer spending power to bolster the economy. Students coming to Australia from India presently have different goals and aspirations than those that were coming earlier. Earlier the student immigration numbers were low and the students who came to Australia entered into prestigious colleges and universities to enhance their knowledge and employability by post graduate and doctoral trainings. Still a number number of such students come to Australia but the largest chunk constitutes of students training in vocational skills. Students enrolling into vocations training colleges prefer to work long hours to to maximize their earnings. They are oriented towards earning money getting a permanent residency.

 Austalian governments policy to allow a transition to permanent residency to students from vocational training colleges has spurred wide spread migration from India for enrollment into vocational training courses. Immigration is even happening from remote villages and poor families. A large number of students who are coming in are ill-equipped with English communication skills and find the going tough for them. They are also unable to appreciate and adjust to cultural differences between India and Australia quickly enough and sometime act in manners inappropriate for Australia. These students need mentoring and coaching to quickly adjust to Australian culture and expectations to ensure that they do not tarnish India and its inhabitant’s image amongst Australian Society.  

 With such diversity among the Indian community in Australia and changes to it over time it is necessary that a visionary mass leader for Indian’s come to the fore. The leader needs to be visionary to ensure that he / she has the vision for the needs of the community and its contributions to Australian life and India over time. He / She needs to guide the community and its behavior within Australia. He / She also needs to have a grasp of the consequences of the action of the Government policy on the community. As an example, the Indian community should have guessed in advance the changes in its demographics that would ensue due to the recent immigration policy of the Australian Government to student immigration. If this would have been seen in advance than the leaders could have gone ahead and advised the government of its impact to Australia and also prepared the community to help and prepare these students.  However, when student start agitations against so called racial attacks we saw only knee jerk reactions from the leaders. Many were unable to even come forward. Even among those who came forward very few could guide the students properly. 

 The leader also needs to be a mass leader to ensure that he/she can connect to the constituents of the Indian community. He/ She should be equally accessible to intellectual elites as to hard working tradesman. He / she should understand the aspirations of the rich as well as poor among the community. He / she should be able to connect to the large student population and work to address their issues. In fact the leaders should have the compassion of heart to devise programs for the betterment and uplift of the deviant in community. 

 The Indian Leadership in NSW is currently tagged along to associations and societies. A variety of such associations are in existence in NSW. Most are designed along region / language / religious practices. They lack cohesiveness and cater only to niche community. A few organizations have tried to bunch together and form an apex organization that purportedly represents Indian’s in Australia. However seeing the mission statement of the comprising organizations and their constituents it is hard to imagine that the apex organization is in fact capable of representing Indian’s in Australia. One such organization in existence is the United India Association (UIA). 

 UIA is constituted from organizations representing Punjabi, Tamil, Kannad, Telugu, Malayalee, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali communities. It also has organizations like India Sports Club Inc (a for profit organization) whose website does not even describe who are its founders and current position holders, Hornsby Senior Citizens Association (which by definition only looks after senior citizens in Hornsby irrespective of the fact that they are Indian’s or not), Federation of Indian Student Associations (FISA). FISA is an associate member and they do not have voting rights or membership to the Governing council of UIA. Another two members of UIA are Technocrats Association of Australia Inc (again a for-profit organization) and Australian Indian Medical Graduates Association Inc (AIMGA). Technocrats are supposedly led by Dr Rohitas Batta whose business interests are in students’ immigration to Australia as Director (Australia) of IAAC. 

 In 2009 UIA major contributions have been organizing an India Australia Friendship Fair and discussion forum on students’ issue. The author was part of the discussion forum and found the gathering to be quite small for a topic of such importance. The students gathered at the event were not confident about UIA and felt that it needs to do more to earn their faith. They also felt that some constituents of UIA had conflict of interest with them and they will not be able to represent them properly.  UIA has also tried to alter the media perception in India to the fact that the attacks on Indian students were not racist in nature.

 Last year infighting among the UIA members was covered in detail by the media and some of it is available on the website of Mr Rohit Revo, Editor of the “The Indian”. There were also reports of how cross-membership across associations is leading to branch stacking and double voting power. Infighting also seems to be common within UIA. The infighting may stem from the fact that the organization is a patch of disparate organizations trying to show a pan-Indian cohesiveness while their membership base may not be aligned to it.  

 Actively raising a challenge to UIA recently has been Dr Yadu Singh, a leading medical professional in NSW. Dr Yadu Singh claims to have given right but unpleasent advice to student during their agitation. He also claims to have high degree of integrity and interests of Indian Community in mind. He is currently Secretary of AIMA. In the past Yadu Singh has had a fair degree of media coverage in TV channels, Sydney Morning Herald and Indian Community Newspapers. He is currently in the process to organize a joint Australia India Day celebration on 24 January 2010. According to Yadu Singh it would be a game changer event and would see participation from lot of Senior Australian leaders and Indian Consulate. 

 There are other organizations also who can lay claim to represent the Indian community. GOPIO is slowly gathering membership base and has provided good leadership to Indians in USA. GOPIO is also organizer of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas world wide. GOPIO however needs to do a lot more in NSW to claim to lead the Indian community. Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan caters to pan-Indian community but it is not politically oriented. Federation of Australian Indian Associations (FAIA) is another organization which has been focused on holding melas and fares to showcase Indian culture. It pays some attention to student issues and immigration issues. Its vision “Actions aiming for benefits to community” is very generic. Large base of its founding organizations are Dance and Theatre performance groups. 

 So it is now for the readers to decide whether they agree with the views presented in this article and who merits leading the Indian community in Australia. Do these leaders have the vision and touch to lead all of us Indians here? We look forward to your responses.

 Ms Keneally said the new facility will be a fitting legacy for Professor Chris O’Brien, a renowned head and neck surgeon and integrated cancer treatment advocate.

 “Professor O’Brien was a truly great Australian and a wonderful advocate for sufferers of this terrible disease,” Ms Keneally said.

 “He was committed to ensuring that the very highest quality care and treatments were available to everyone in the community. He never gave up on his pursuit of an integrated cancer research and treatment model and I am pleased the NSW Government has been able to support the Lifehouse project”, added Ms Keneally.

  “This world-class facility is vital to strengthening cancer research and care in NSW and demonstrates the NSW Government’s continued commitment to improving survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer,” Ms Keneally said.

 Work will begin on the $180 million first stage of the Lifehouse project in January 2010 with the facility expected to be completed by late 2012.