'Promise Of India'- A New Beginning
By Raju Rajagopal And Aruna Srinivasan
Times Of India
20 November, 2003Recently, some 80 NRI organisations came together to form an umbrella
body called 'Promise of India' (POI), with a view to voicing their
collective concerns on communal harmony and development issues. Raju
Rajagopal , an erstwhile San Francisco Bay Area business
entrepreneur, chairs the steering committee of POI and devotes all
his time on voluntary initiatives. In the past, he has worked
extensively in Gujarat, both after the earthquake and the communal
carnage. He spoke to Aruna Srinivasan about the need to consolidate
the various NRI voluntary efforts working for the welfare of India:The role of NRIs has increasingly come under a shadow in India,
thanks to the involvement of many of them in overt political causes.
Where do you place your initiative?I don't want to give our initiative any political name. POI does not
take any political positions nor has it any political leanings. Our
prime concern is to uphold the true Indian spirit. We are only
concerned about reiterating India's true potential and ethos, and
emphasise its harmony in plurality. We have great faith in the
Constitution, which was designed to protect every citizen's rights.
We want to capture the spi-rit of that positive India. We want to
make a concerted effort to prevent any further bloodshed in the name
of religion or caste and support development issues.Why the name, 'Promise of India'?
It was a group decision by the steering committee of 12 members. The
word 'promise' has two meanings. One, the promise made to every
citizen of India in our Constitution by our founding fathers. We want
to reaffirm the nation's faith in the Constitution and the rule of
law. And, second, the promise that the nation holds. We feel that
India has begun to discover its true potential in recent years. But
in terms of economic and social development, there is much work
ahead. We believe that India can set a good example in tackling
poverty. We are making great strides in bringing rural areas and
marginalised communities into the mainstream. More significantly, we
can demonstrate to the world that multiple faiths can co-exist amidst
diverse cultures and ethnicities.What explains the appeal of rightwing nationalism for a lot of NRIs?
I really don't know. But I guess, since many NRIs are politically
active in the US, they perhaps think that they have to take a
political position and support a political ideology in India. And
with increasing terrorism around the world, including 9/11, and its
alleged association with Islam, many perhaps feel that a right wing
party may be able to tackle terrorism better. Whatever the reasons,
their political leanings are not necessarily based on religious
ideology.How do you plan to achieve your goals?
Since we may not be very familiar with lot of things happening in
India, we try to collaborate with the NGOs already working here. We
identify areas where we can provide resources or expertise. Also,
given the current environment, we can be more proactive in insisting
that NGOs sensitise their own staff as well as their target community
to the issue of communal harmony. As Persons of Indian Origin (PIO),
we want to express our concerns and contribute our resources not only
in business but also in social causes. We want to bring back peace
and social harmony.There are so many NRI groups working for one cause or another. How
different will POI be?Many NRI organisations are already working in the field. But they
remain confined in their own little areas. We wanted to bring them
together in one umbrella body for a more consolidated effort.
Individually, each organisation will continue to do its own work. The
POI coalition will give expression to our collective beliefs. Right
now our focus is on mobilising support. We already have the support
of 43 prominent members like M S Swaminathan, N Ram, Shabana Azmi and
Desh Deshpande. When we have the support of major religious leaders
from various faiths, we would consider that a major achievement. That
will be a great moral support to our secular initiatives. What
distur-bed me during the Gujarat violence was that many prominent
spiritual leaders remained silent. And so did many other Indians who
believe in peace. We want this silent majority to speak out. When
there is violence, we are told to be silent, because speaking about
violence may make matters worse. When there is relative peace, we are
told that speaking up for harmony could spark violence. Those who
support POI believe that silence is not an option anymore.What explains the cultural conservatism of NRIs? Is it a kind of insecurity?
No, I don't think so. It is a natural phenomenon associated with an
immigrant community. I have heard people explain this as insecurity.
But, compared to some of the earlier immigrant communities which
arrived in the US, and were anxious to blend quickly into the
American 'melting pot', the Indian diaspora is one community that has
never faced any identity crisis or insecurity in the US. However,
when the second generation of Indian immigrants sees other immigrants
having their own cultural groups in the universities, they also want
a sense of belonging. They are eager to trace their roots and know
more about their culture. But some vested interest groups take
advantage of this and try to enrol them into their ideologies.