Indian Newslink has drawn those changing hues brilliantly.
My first read of Indian Newslink was a joy. Fresh from India, where I had immersed myself in the society for 10 years, the New Zealand Herald seemed quite irrelevant and remote to me.
I can even remember where I picked up a copy on Mangere Road.
I chatted with the owner of the fast food place and was educated on how the community was taking shape.
In my childhood, if you walked up to an Indian and asked, “Are you from Nausari?” you would be invariably right on the money.
Now if you accosted an unsuspecting Indian minding his own business, you are greeted with a puzzled glare.
New Zealand is now home to Tamilians, Andhrites, Keralites, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Punjabis and many other ethnic groups.
Not every Indian now blindly supports the Congress.
When I was a lad, we saw a huge influx of refugees from Fiji, following the military coup.
The courteous Editor would have cringed at the punch-ups that broke out at religious events between Fiji Indian pundits and Fifth generation New Zealand Pundits. These vigorous flare-ups were over protocol disagreements with the strongly traditional Fijian pundits.
This illustrates the acute differences within the community.
Indian Newslink treads sometimes the dangerous path between the myriad of Indian organisations, skillfully navigating around and between well meaning community leaders, who represent factions that on most days of the week do not want to have anything to do with one another.
Indians have a deep-rooted relationship with democracy. The media, including this newspaper, play a major role in defining and protecting that relationship.
To establish a quality newspaper as the Indian Newslink is not easy. In fact, it is a labour of love.
For Editor Venkat Raman to persist with relentless energy to present to New Zealand the incoherent into a respectable community face is a feat that does us proud.
For Indians in New Zealand to keep in touch with their culture through this newspaper is an honourable service and a joy for those that appreciate the newspaper’s flare at celebrating that great nation’s unity in diversity.
Roy Lange is a New Zealander, living and working in Melbourne, Australia. He is one of our most important contributors.
