Dear Colleague: Greetings from a bitterly cold New York where the temperature is about 20 degrees! I have read with interest Mr Parsuram Maharaj's e-mail concerning the second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (BPD) to be held in New Delhi, India from January 9, 2004. However, I take a different perspective of the BPD events. I am not too clear if Mr Maharai is writing on his own, or on behalf of the Trinidad's Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. I want to take this opportunity though to commend the Maha Sabha for the wonderful work it has been doing for our brothers and sisters in T&T, and beyond. I recall that in 1983-4, the Maha Sabha of Trinidad donated funds to the Guyana Pandits' Council to conduct a study into "Alcoholism and Suicide in Guyana." I was given the task to direct that project, which was bale to bring together, for the very first time in Guyana, all the major religious organizations. That was indeed, a significant outcome. Not to mention about the darker side of our Indian population: the widespread prevalence of alcoholism and suicides. Alcoholism and suicides are huge challenges for our people. Rarely, do politicians speak on the social ills of society. (This is the subject of debate for another occasion). 1. It's true that India, especially under the Congress Party rule, had abandoned "People of Indian Origin" (PIO) for decades. It had no enlightened foreign policy towards those countries that have significant amounts of Indians, who are descendants of Indian immigrants. Guyanese historian, Dr Basdeo Mangru, described such a dereliction of duty as "benevolent neutrality." But the picture is not as bad as it seems. 2. Under the leadership of the BJP and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's Prime Minister, India has begun to correct the grave historical error of neglect. The PBD is one step in this direction. The increase in aid to countries of the Diaspora is another. Vishnu Bisram mentioned about the high per-capita aid to Guyana. I was informed that the Indian government has increased, by over 30%, the number of scholarships awarded to Guyanese. I also learnt that the Indian government has donated about $14 (T&T) million for the construction of a Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Center in Trinidad. Another break-through in Indo-Diaspora relations happened when Mr Vajpayee visited New York in 2003. There, he also met with a group of Indo-Caribbean leaders and promised to make available to the New York Indo-Caribbean community a number of scholarships in the arts, religion, and medicine. The ICC (NY) is working out the terms and conditions of these scholarships for submission to the Indian government via the Indian Ambassador-At-Large, Mr Agnihotri. 3. The PBD sets in motion other areas of cooperation/assistance with the Indian diaspora. The possibility of expanding trade and technical assistance is enormous. We know that India is a power house in software development technology (Bangalore), medical sciences (the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is regarded as one of the leading Medical centers of the world), and human resource development (although China has a higher growth rate than India, China is only producing about 30,000 computer programmers/engineers a year while India is producing over 300,000). When I visited Jamaica in early 2003, I was surprised to learn how many Indian computer specialists were recruited by the Jamaican government to work in Jamaica. 4. It seems that, for many people, the value of establishing formal links with India is not momentous. I recall that a few years ago, I wrote the President of Guyana, Mr Jagdeo, asking him to consider the restoration of diplomatic and trade relations with India. I even suggested that in order to cut costs, Guyana and T&T could probably share the same building. Jagdeo said that he referred the matter to his Foreign Affairs Minister. That was the end of it. I subsequently met a senior Guyana government minister in New York and he informed me that Jagdeo was not too keen on India. Whether he (Jagdeo) was inhibited by the prospects of developing similar ties with Africa is not too clear. But every idea has its time. When Jagdeo met Mr Vajpayee in New York, and the latter invited him (Jagdeo) on an official visit to India, Jagdeo accepted that invitation, much to my astonishment. On that visit to India, I learnt that Jagdeo was also able to trace his ancestry. Panday was able to achieve a similar feat much earlier. Now that Jagdeo has returned to India as the chief guest of PBD, I hope that Guyana relations with India, including the establishment of a consulate, will develop rapidly.            5. Mr Maharaj is worried about the undue influence, including financial advantage, that would presumably accrue to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). If FICCI hatched the idea of PBD, that's not an unusual thing. I repeat a question that my priest often pose to his congregation: "who among us is freed from greed and jealousy?" How many altruistic acts do we commit per day? I make it abundantly clear that I do not hold the brief for anyone, including FICCI. But history has shown that  the ruling ideas in every stage of historical development have always come from the middle class (represented by businesses, the professions, and intellectuals). Had it not been for the critical role of the middle class in the revival of Indian culture in Guyana, T&T, Suriname, Jamaica, and elsewhere, our story would have been different. Other organizations than FICCI had decades to conceive such an idea, but failed. As Vishnu pointed out, the PBD program is professionally put together and covers a wide variety of subjects. It attracts a number of distinguished personalties such as Nobel Laureates VS Naipaul and Professor Bhagwati, as well as, Business Gurus, Mukesh Ambani and Lord LN Mittal. However, if it could be shown that the agenda for the non-economic subjects in particular, is manipulated by FICCI, then one's reservations may be justified. And in that case, the Indian government can be asked to investigate the matter. It seems that we have to work with the organizers of PBD to make it more broad-based and inclusionery, if this is currently lacking. We must not allow the "perfect" to become the enemy of the "good." 6. The date of PBD coincides with Mahatma Gandhi's return to India. That's a fitting tribute to the "personality of 20th century." If one proposes an alternative date, say, November 2, 1835, and provides the requisite significance, then why not proceed the next step by requesting the PBD to consider this as a viable date to hold a future PBD? At least, they will know how you and others feel on this matter. 7. The same situation holds true for the venue. If FICCI was instrumental in arranging the first PBD, then it's only logical that it will seek a convenient and easily accessible venue where they could create a credible  infrastructure for hosting the event. Having it in Delhi, the seat of the Indian government, can also be considered a strategic move. As to rotation of the PBD site in future years, there is no reason why this event cannot be held in other cities of the diaspora. If a particular diasporan city can provide the infrastructure, including the financial and other resources, as well as, security, then the organizers should be asked to consider such a request.           8. Finally, I ask a somewhat crude question: "How would you rate Africa's relations with its African diaspora, compared with India's relations with its Indian diaspora?" Best wishes to PBD participants. Tara S.