headline tamil actress Indian Consul General in New York Prabhu Dayal barely visible behind Mayor Bloomberg and FIA President. Dayal and Ambassador Hardeep Puri did not come to review stand and walked out of the parade half way through. TheSouthAsianTimes August 29-September 4, 2009 Grow up FIA, for India’s sake By Prakaash M. Swami Consulting Editor, The South Asian Times Though it is said that Indians move as villagers, it looks as if the US-based Indians move along with their fraternal associations originating in India. We have Tamil Sangams, Gujarati Samajs, Kannada Kootas and Mahrashtra Mandals that help them connect with their roots and provide the much-needed cultural connection. Such associations offer invaluable support in retaining heritage and culture besides providing a forum for their (Indian-Americans’) children to art forms like Bharatanatyam and vocal music. Though the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the Association of American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) are the two largest bodies of their kind, they are more of professional organizations catering to people who follow a particular trade or practice. But the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), which comprises all cultural and linguistic associations, is truly a grass-roots organization. Though Indian associations grouped, regrouped, get split and re-formed like the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), Association of Indians in America (AIA) -- FIA itself has split into several groups in the East and West Coast, yet it continues to be the premier body. The annual FIA parade that rolls down the streets of Manhattan to commemorate India’s Independence Day was something every Indian in the Tristate area looked forward to attend. Did I say was? Such celebrities as Amitabh Bachchan, Raj Kapoor, A R Rahman, Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar have walked along with governors, mayors, Indian ambassadors and US lawmakers, greeting the crowds waving the Tricolor proudly. Not even the Dotbusters issue that rocked the Tristate area in late 1980s or terrorist attacks of 9/11 could dampen this spirit. So, what went wrong? The spirit of service among FIA officeholders is slowly giving way to publicity craze. Gone are the days when FIA leaders and officeholders worked tirelessly to push the umbrella body to greater heights without craving the media attention. Seeking publicity is no sin and in fact it acts as a morale-booster. But it seems that the FIA has decimated India Day parade as a mere photo-op at the expense of sponsors who still believe in keeping India’s flag flying high in a foreign land. Pushing and jostling to be next to the grand marshal goes on unabashedly in front of thousands of those who wait for hours to get a glimpse of their favorite star pass by. Depending on his or her popularity graph, the star takes home $30,000 to $60,000 to attend the parade and the following day’s banquet. Plus he or she is given 5-6 first class airline tickets (usually by the grand sponsor Air India) to bring along parents, pets, nannies, and friends. To chronicle the antics of these visiting stars and how FIA officials bend over backwards to accommodate them calls for a separate book. There have been only a few celebrities who never made a fuss and simply accepted to be grand marshals. Among them was Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, who charged the organizers not even a penny. So, do we really need the high-maintenance stars? Things have come to such a sorry pass that spots to be next to the star are now being “auctioned†and the highest bidder in the FIA gets to walk in tandem with the celebrity waving out to the waiting crowds and pose for photographs. Like in the past years, the front line at the start of the parade formed with Consul General, New York, who represents the Government of India, the Indian ambassador to the UN, heads of Air India and the State Bank of India (SBI) -- the last two pick up hefty sponsorship amounts -- and other prominent non-film invitees from India were quickly relegated to the third or fourth row with the arrival of the grand marshal and mayor. No wonder, despite repeated pleas by FIA top echelons, governors, mayors, Indian envoys, US lawmakers declined to attend the parade. Once bitten, twice shy? The FIA president, serving a one year term, always tries to do the balancing actâ€"to be good to the grand sponsors who open their checkbooks to be in the front row and VIPs like the consul general and UN envoy whose support he needs to get sponsorships from Air India, SBI and India Inc. But what happened this year was unprecedented even by FIA standards. It seems as if the entire FIA leadership â€" past and present -- wanted to be seen next to Bollywood diva Shilpa Shetty, causing unexplainable embarrassment to other guests. What a shame? Each of these so-called community leaders had their own embedded shutterbugs with fake press badges to click non-stop as soon as their “clients†came close to the star. Unable to tolerate the humiliation, Consul General Prabhu Dayal and Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri â€"their first Independence Day in New York - did not come to the review stand and walked out of the parade half way through. Their predecessors had done the same in the past. It was their first experience with FIA. Top FIA leaders had to troop down to the consulate later to ask for forgiveness from the consul general for their shameful act of pushing consul general to the back rows. The consulate places the historic ballroom at the disposal of the FIA each year to announce and kick off the parade. Last year, the then consul general Neelam Deo was insulted when the FIA leaders lit the inaugural lamp without waiting for her to come to the podium as chief guest. She walked out of the ballroom in sheer disgust. Worse, the organizers disrespected the national anthem of both the US and India by abruptly stopping and re-playing alternately thrice, something that made major headlines in India. New York Governor George Pataki who came to the parade several years ago realized his misjudgment and stayed away the following years. Ditto with present Governor David Paterson who came as a Lt. Governor but was not respected. Another Governor, Mario Cuomo, said in a radio program that the India Day parade was the worst he ever attended in his lifetime. Mayor Mike Bloomberg who did not attend except a few times during his eight years in office, showed up because this is the election year. Accredited journalists and photographers of the local Indian media, assigned to cover the parade, were prevented from going near the star to take photos and got pushed around by security personnel while several American photographers shot the star and the mayor to their hearts’ content. All pleas by Indian media fell on deaf ears of FIA leaders. Discrimination of Indians by Indians? Sad but true. FIA needs publicity but not the Indian media. The press release issued by the FIA had 12 photos, of which eight were that of only the two FIA leaders with Shilpa Shetty. Unabashed misuse of power! FIA also committed a grave blunder by taking sides in the political system by openly canvassing for Mayor Bloomberg at the parade in the full glare of his opponent New York City Comptroller William Thompson. FIA leaders freely distributed “Indians for Mike Bloomberg†placards and told people to wave out when Bloomberg passed by to please him and may be as a return favor for showing up at the parade. “These leaders have no idea of the potential damage their actions could cause to FIA. The federation could lose its non-profit status for taking such active part in local politics,†lamented a former FIA president. The news media were not treated fairly even at the press conference with Shilpa Shetty at the Radisson Hotel in Manhattan. The hall was filled with digital camera-toting children and women all from FIA folks’ families. Media persons waiting in the front row for better view for over an hour were asked to go to the back rows to accommodate the family of FIA president, past presidents and other officeholders. “Is this a news conference or a family conference in disguise,†asked a reporter who was shouted down. Finally the press conference began but with a very unusual “appeal†by the media coordinator â€" no personal question, no film question, no embarrassing question and if possible no question at all. After some “soft†questions, one reporter asked Shetty for her reaction to the “detention†of Shah Rukh Khan and she was getting ready to answer - a kind of sound bite for the half a dozen TV channels eager to develop the King Khan story that created a wave of protests in India. Just then, the media coordinator rushed in to announce that Shetty would not answer such questions much to the embarrassment of the actress herself. What a travesty in the country that had adopted First Amendment in the Constitution? At the Royal Albert’s Palace reception in New Jersey on August 17 too the media were treated as if they had come there merely to eat and drink. “We do not need you,†screamed an FIA official with the hapless president not knowing where to hide. This when journalists were invited to the reception repeatedly during the press conference and the kickoff party at the consulate. Several FIA past presidents and stalwarts decided to return home fed up with the total mess created at the registration desk and being made to wait for hours for banquet tickets. Senior journalists including this writer who has been covering the parade and reception for over a decade, decided to walk out rather than take the heap of insults. Last year, guests had to go hungry as there was not enough food for everyone though the FIA had pocketed $50,000 for the reception as donation from Dr. Vijay Mallya who was the chief guest along with grand marshal Deepika Padukone. We journalists certainly have nothing against the FIA and want it to grow into a professional organization and learn a lesson or two from the organizers of the Colombia Day parade, the Puerto Rico Day parade or even the Pakistan Day parade that is growing into a big attraction. The FIA is after all a public charitable organization (a 501 © 3 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code) whose income and expenses are open to public scrutiny. It’s advisable for those at the helm of affairs not to lose the non-profit status by their reckless acts and tarnish the image of India in the US.
