New Delhi. A meeting took place at the TV Asia studios in Edison, New Jersey (USA), to discuss Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming monumental first visit to the United States this September. Instead of being an objective event aimed at bringing together community leaders to discuss how to make the event a success, one man hijacked the stage. Bharat Barai, the prominence-seeking self-appointed chair of the meeting, was met with strong opposition from many of the attendees, mainly Ankur Vaidya, President of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) and Ramesh Patel, Chairman of FIA.
FIA is one of the largest umbrella organizations in the Indian-American community, representing various issues affecting the growing community, and is responsible for the world’s largest annual India Day Parade in New York.
It is said in a press release, “Vaidya and Patel rightfully questioned Barai’s power of authority. Indeed, he had no authority to outline proposed strategies for the celebration of Modi’s visit- proposed strategies which had been previously decided by a small number of Gujrati’s, looking to claim the event as their own. FIA leaders did not want to have anything to do with a tiny group of Gujratis, just from New Jersey and one from Chicago claiming to be the spokespersons for the diverse diaspora of Indian Americans in the U.S.”
According to release, “Order was somewhat restored, when Mr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Consul General of India, New York, took to the stage. Mr. Mulay reminded the powerful group of Indian-American influencers that Modi’s message to his government and the people of India is that there should be no prominence seeking amongst leaders and community. Mr. Mulay stated this event should be conducted with the same principle, and if the community isn’t able to come together in an organic manner, he will be forced to put together an event committee himself. He also reminded the invited attendees, that the celebrations should involve all races and religions of Indian people, from all different home states in India living in all states of the United States.”
Saturday’s fiasco of a meeting comes on the heels of a successful meeting on Friday between Mr. Shalabh Kumar, Mr. Anil Monga and Mr. Mulay, at the Indian Consulate in New York, during which Mr. Kumar offered to contribute one million USD anonymously, should the aforementioned term of no prominence and diversity be met. Mr. Kumar suggested in order to keep the peace and ensure fairness to all during the Prime Minister’s visit, there should be no speeches, no seating at the dias, no names to be published, no handshakes and no photographs at his public welcome ceremony other than Shri. Modi’s, and that this should be an event that lets mainstream America know that something big has gone on in India with the election of Narendra Modi as PM of India. This should be a memorable event, a proud event for India and Indian Americans.
According to release, “Mr. Kumar also informed Mr. Mulay that he could make this happen with his extensive network of senior Congressmen on the Capitol Hill. He is also the Official Chairman of Indian American Advisory Council to House Republican Conference charged to advise U.S. Congress on legislation important to Indian Americans and India.”
Mr. Shalabh Kumar, an inventor and the Chairman and CEO of AVG group of companies, has been an avid supporter of Modi. He is known for the invention of McDonald’s French Fry Computer and the invention of PLS technology used as an integral part of the electronic brains of robots employed all over the world for automated manufacturing. He is also well known all over the world for having the wedding of his son Vikram Aditya Kumar to Miss India 2007 in New Zealand described as the “most lavish” wedding in the history of the country.
Through his National Indian American Public Policy Institute (NIAPPI), and the newly formed NIAPPI Business Council consisting of the who’s who of Indian American business leaders, Kumar hopes to assist in the efforts to increase trade between India and the U.S., and help organize the Indian-American community in order to become more community-spirited instead of the egotistical self-appointed ‘leadership’ as was displayed during yesterday’s debacle. Mr. Kumar has been written up by the Hindustan Times as the “Punjabi Tycoon, the biggest supporter of Modi in US”. Kumar, who served on President Reagan’s Business Advisory Council in the early eighties, has been instrumental in U.S. Congress cutting off foreign aid to Pakistan, and campaigning for Modi’s U.S. visa, arranging a very high level U.S. delegation to Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in March 2013, resulting in members of Congress inviting Modi to the United States.

Hastakshep