Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) convention in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi on January 21, 2019.
Addressing the NRI delegates from about 85 countries, PM Modi said, "I consider NRIs India's brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities. People of Indian origin are in leadership roles in countries such as Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland."
Modi also took a dig at Congress for allegedly not taking actions to eradicate corruption. "Our government is moving towards ensuring that the aid given by government is directly transferred to beneficiary accounts through direct benefit schemes," he added.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, who is the chief guest for the three-day event, hailed PM Modi for India's transformation through initiatives such as the Skill India and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao schemes.
The State government made special arrangements to ensure the event is successful. NRI delegates were given warm welcome upon their arrival at Varanasi airport. They were stunned to witness special Ganga aarti, which was organised for them. The decorated Ghats of Ganga welcomed the guests with their divine attraction.
Themed “Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India”, this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conclave is being held from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.
PBD is usually celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community in the development of India. The date was chosen as on this day in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and led India’s freedom struggle that changed the lives of Indians forever.
As the theme suggests, several world leaders of Indian origin have been invited to share their insights into the role of the Indian diaspora for a New India.
Over the three days, Varanasi is slated to witness various sessions, seminars by experts and luminaries and cultural programmes. NRIs will also visit the renowned historic places of Kashi, Sarnath and Ganga Ghats.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Youth PBD event which marked the beginning of this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The Youth PBD event focused on the next generation especially from Uttar Pradesh where the young diaspora with its counterparts will engage back home in India.
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore along with the MP from New Zealand Kanwal Jeet Singh Bakshi and MP from Norway Himanshu Gulati were present at the event.
Scores of sessions have been scheduled on issues like sustainable development, artificial intelligence and cyber capacity at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Trade Facilitation Centre-TFC, the main venue of PBD at Bada Lalpur of Varanasi.
Along with this, PM Modi will also host a lunch for the Heads of states and over fifty selected Pravasi Bhartiya delegates and leaders.
Exhibitions including a digital exhibition will be put up on the theme ‘Ek Bharat Swacch Bharat: Sardar Patel and Gandhi ke Sapno ka Bharat’ at TFC Bada Lalpur, BHU and the Tent City.
On the closing day President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the highest honour on overseas India, the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award (PSBA), It will be given to the selected NRIs, PIOs, organisation or institution established and run by the NRIs who have significantly contributed to various fields both in India and abroad.
On 24 January, participants would arrive in Prayagraj to visit the Ardh Kumbh Mela and take a holy bath at Sangam.
After Ardh Kumbh Mela, participants would travel from Prayagraj to Delhi to witness the 70th Republic Day.
Special passes for foreign delegates of PBD 2019 have been arranged for the Republic Day Parade.
PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003 providing a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities.

By Paras Ramoutar – Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

The world needs a paradigm shift towards universal peace.
The collapse of our civilisation demonstrates that we have lost the "reverence for life" and values. Ethical, moral and spiritual values have been replaced with violence, militarism, greed, anger, hate, terrorism and psychological and emotional warfare.
There is a need for a new philosophy based on committed social action and a mass spiritual transformation accompanied by an intellectual process of a paradigm shift.
We have to return to our moorings.
We have heard of economic, social and cultural paradigms. But not a paradigm of peace. This is the way humanity has to traverse if we want to save mankind from further annihilation and warfare.
One such human being whose work and philosophy and who remains one of the most dominant historical figures in the 21st century is Mahatma Gandhi.
Thursday January 30th marks the 71st death anniversary and the world should stand still in a moment of silence and reverence to his posture as an "apostle of peace".
Gandhi's name would linger in the minds of humanity for several more centuries because of his deep commitment and firm conviction towards peaceful co-existence, law, order, human happiness and stability and a world free of nuclear warfare.
This would be so unless we are graced with another incarnation of a Christ, Buddha or Krishna.
We can steer away from our civilizational crisis. We have to do that right away.
The world needs peace more than ever now. Look around in the Middle East, the United States, Asia, Europe, India, Pakistan and our own Trinidad and Tobago, where murders and kidnappings are the order of the day.
Our escape route is to follow the Gandhian approach as it has the capacity of integrating the organisational and ethical aspects of our social system.
Trinidad and Tobago's first prime minister, the late Eric Williams, in a speech marking Gandhi's 90th birth anniversary on October 2,1959, noted that "it will take many years before the world gets a truly adequate and comprehensive conception of the stature as a human being as Mahatma Gandhi...understanding the range and scope of one of the most gifted human beings who has ever lived".
Gandhi was a master of spiritual techniques. He developed political and social theories during his 21 years of active political and social activities in South Africa. This practice and experience placed him in good stead for his 34-year struggle against the British for India's Independence.
He called this experiment "Satyagraha" which he defined as TRUTH FORCE and LOVE FORCE. "The soul of the Satyagraha strategy was active resistance – resistance which found an outlet, not in violence, but in the Active Force of Love, Faith and Sacrifice," he wrote.
Arising out of his South African and later his Indian experiences, he postulated several specific moral and ethical pillars for human survival in a divided world. He defined them as: the equality of man, the dignity of the human person, the transcendental nature of the soul of man, the supremacy of the spiritual over the material, the ultimate victory of truth over falsehood, the ultimate defeat of brute force by the all-pervading strength of the inner moral force of man.
India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote: "Mahatma Gandhi showed us that the human spirit is more powerful than the mightiest of armaments. He applied moral values to political action and pointed out that ends and means could never be separated, for the means ultimately governs the end. If the means are evil, then the end itself becomes distorted and at last partially evil."
Great leaders of men fall into two categories.
Firstly, they belong to those who affect the life and thought of their contemporaries in varying degrees, but whose influence steadily fades away after their death.
Secondly, those men are a few who continue to influence humanity through their life and message long after death. The latter phenomenon bespeaks a type of greatness capable of defying time itself which dissolves everything else in its relentless flow.
Such greatness discloses something permanent and abiding in the midst of much that is temporary and fleeting, in the ideas and values radiated by the leader by his life and message. We must remember that today is observed as International Day of Peace by the United Nations.
Gandhi belongs to the second category.

(Paras Ramoutar is an international journalist based in Port-of-Spain. He can be contacted at paras_ramoutar@yahoo.com)

Jim Karygiannis, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 22, Scarborough-Agincourt, has expressed grave concern about the proposal to close the Obstetrics and Inpatient Pediatrics care offered at the Scarborough Hospital – Grace Division (Birchmount Campus) at a Press Conference lasy Friday in front of the Hospital. Mr. Karygiannis was joined by concerned doctors and staff members.
“During the recent municipal election, I promised the people of Scarborough-Agincourt, that I would fight to keep our hospital as a full-service general hospital.” said Mr. Karygiannis. “The “Scarborough-Grace” has served our community for 34 years. It is the place where many of our children were born and it is the place we take our loved ones when they need medical attention.”
The proposal to remove Obstetrics and Inpatient Pediatrics care from the Scarborough Hospital – Grace Division (Birchmount Campus) will be presented to the Board of Directors of the Scarborough Health Network in the near future. Doctors at the hospital have sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief of Staff and administration of The Scarborough Health Network and are going on record to express their concerns about the proposed closures.
“I have worked here for over 30 years and I don't want to see more hallway medicine for Scarborough residents. I am very concerned about the loss of core services at the Birchmount hospital serving Agincourt and North Scarborough,” said Dr. Timothy Devlin, Internist and Gastroenterologist. “This is a smaller, but geographically important, Hospital that should remain as a general hospital for this community for the foreseeable future.
“We are extremely concerned and troubled about the proposals to permanently rip out the Obstetrics and Pediatrics services from the hospital in the heart of North Scarborough/Agincourt,” stated Doctor Raymond Chan, Cardiologist. “We believe that the 176,000 citizens of Scarborough North also deserve to have a hospital in their own neighborhood that has a full service emergency room, one that can provide vital and life saving health care services to pregnant women, babies and young children, much like South Scarborough does."

“130 front line physicians from the Birchmount hospital community signed a petition opposing the closure of Women and Children’s health programs.” said Dr. Lisa Salamon, Emergency Medicine. “We are concerned that the vulnerable population, served by the Birchmount, who already faces barriers in accessing quality care, would face further barriers due to this proposal.”
Ward 22, Scarborough-Agincourt, is one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Canada. It is a vibrant and growing community with approximately 18,000 new residential units scheduled to be built in the next few years.
“New residential units means more people will be living in Scarborough-Agincourt. These new residents will need access to a vibrant hospital.” stated Mr. Karygiannis. “It is imperative that our hospital remain a full-service general hospital – able to care for everyone who seeks medical attention.”
Karygiannis is circulating a petition to let the Premier of Ontario; the Minister of Health; MPP Aris Babikian; and, the administration of The Scarborough Health Network know your thoughts and/or concerns on this important issue facing the community. To sign the petition go to: http://karygiannis.net/wp/closing-of-emergency-department-scarborough-hospital-birchmount-campus-birchmount-grace-obstetrics-and-inpatient-pediatrics/

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