NFIA CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY IN NEW YORK
(June 27, 2005). By Venkatasrinivas Polavarapu (Gani Pola)

New York, NY: Terrace on the Park in Queens, New York, was the venue for a banquet held on Saturday May 29, 2005 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), an umbrella organization of various organizations of people, who trace their roots to India. The organizers wanted to memorialize that moment and celebrate its 25 years of service to the Indian American community.

Rajen Anand, the president of the NFIA praised all past presidents for vision to start and sustain this umbrella organization. "Twenty five years of existence of an organization is not in itself a significant event. What is most important of NFIA is the loyalty and commitment of the people involved in the group," observed Anand.

"Indian Americans have changed, their needs have changed, and their demands for service have changed. NFIA has also to change if it, as it claims, wants to serve the community. It has to change its focus from the ‘India based’ issues to mainstream concerns. We have similar needs as any other American." emphasized Anand.

Ambassador Ronen Sen pleaded with the people to become good citizens of their adopted country, but not to forget their roots. "Be proud of your origin," insisted Sen. He said that the economic prosperity of the Indian Americans has helped a great deal to change the image of India. Today, India needs your experience, she does not need your money, said Sen. We, in India, have plenty of money. He explained how Indian Americans are able to make huge profits by investing money in India.

All the past presidents, Thomas Abraham (1980-1988), Inder Singh (1988-1992), Ramesh Patel (1992-1996), Subash Razdan (1996-1998), Haresh Panchal (1998-2000), Parthasarthy Pillai (2000-2002) and Niraj Baxi (2002-2004) were honored by the NFIA. A special award was presented to Joy Cherian, the former Commissioner of EEOC, and the speaker at a seminar earlier on Saturday. NFIA also paid a moving tribute to Lal Motwani, the chair of the 25th anniversary celebrations.

Release Source: www.c2b2bnews.com

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