Venu Menon
Wellington, March 9,2024
Members of the Kiwi Indian community gathered at the Indian High Commission premises in Wellington on Friday, March 8 to mark Chalo India, a Government of India initiative that enlists the diaspora worldwide to help boost visitor numbers to India.
The event coincided with the celebration of Mahashivratri and International Women’s Day.
Chalo India is a “clarion call to every Indian diaspora member, each year, to encourage 5 non-Indian friends to visit India.”
The Chalo India initiative, launched by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, aims to galvanise Indian diaspora members as ambassadors of Incredible India, the promotional slogan that targets international tourism.
As per the Ministry of Tourism website, “there is no upper limit on the number of foreign friends a diaspora member must encourage, although it is recommended to encourage at least 5 friends based on the clarion call of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.”
Incentives are on offer: “For every foreign friend that travels to India because of you, rewards await you.”
Diaspora members are advised to register on the Chalo India website and follow the five easy steps for enrolment.
Addressing the gathering, High Commissioner of India to New Zealand Neeta Bhushan said the Chalo India scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Jammu and Kashmir on March 7, relied on the “outreach provided by the diaspora” to draw visitors to India.
She urged the Kiwi Indian community to be catalysts for tourism to India.
Allied to the Chalo India scheme was Wed India. High Commissioner Bhushan remarked on the penchant for diaspora members to conduct weddings in exotic foreign locations. She urged them to consider India as a wedding venue instead.
She said the celebrity weddings currently in vogue served as an advertisement for ethnic apparel and jewellery, as well as handicraft. India also presented a cost-effective destination for accessing products ranging from fabric to ayurvedic remedies.
High Commissioner Bhushan closed by reminding the audience: “Consider yourselves as ambassadors and high commissioners. You can do more than we can. You have to be our voice, and support us in these initiatives.”
Prof Kirpal Singh, who rose to speak from the audience, dubbed India’s more than 11,000 universities as “monuments worth visiting.” He said India’s intellectual capital was valued by the West. Prof Singh drew attention to India’s flourishing publishing industry, which he described as “so big, and so cheap” compared to the rest of the world, and mentioned his past initiatives in introducing his academic peers from the West to publishing opportunities in India.
Second Secretary (Press, Info and Culture), speaking on the empowerment of women, said the concept and practice were embedded in India’s heritage and culture. It was manifest in the contemporary era with women playing key roles in politics and education. He hailed High Commissioner Bhushan as the first woman to head the Indian mission in New Zealand, and raised it as an example of female empowerment.
Pushpa Wood, academic and multi-faith advocate, gave a stirring speech that denounced the deification of women. Instead, she called for equality, and the right to be recognised on the basis of her merit while “standing shoulder-to-shoulder with everybody else.”
Wellington Indian Association (WIA) President Manisha Morar spoke of “taking 20 Indian females to Parliament” on International Women’s Day. It was a gesture to advocate for ethnic women in a forum where the voices of Pakeha and Maori women were heard louder.
She hailed New Zealand as the first country in the world to allow women to vote.
Morar urged women to “keep trying, keep being inspired by your dreams.” And she urged men to “keep supporting the women because they are the backbone and fabric of society.”
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
