iant-golden jubilee celebrations2012

9

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Life is a journey. The path we take, what we look back

on, and what we look forward to, is up to us. We determine

our destination. It has indeed been a long and enriching

journey of 50 years. We are gathered here today to

celebrate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indian

Association of North Texas (IANT). Your presence is a

source of inspiration and encouragement for us and I

extend a hearty welcome to you all. On this momentous

occasion, as I take you down memory lane, I am reminded

of what Winston Churchill once said. I quote “You know

you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so

far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of

the climb”. I begin this glorious journey with a historical

perspective.

In 1962, exactly 50 years ago a few like-minded people

of Indian origin realized the need for an organization

that would strive for the needs, their welfare and a binding

of both culture and social ties. This very thought brought

us to where we are today. The IANT has grown through

the time in the DFW area with the growing needs of the

Indians and in accordance to its vision, IANT has proven

to be a binding force of a nation that delivers multi-faceted

people.

Friends. What would IANT be without your support! Today,

it gives me immense pleasure to say that IANT has its

own building in the heart of the metroplex – Richardson!

Our board actively supports and organizes social issues

like environment, relief and cultural programs like Anand

Bazaar, and India Nite. IANT has produced some of the

finest leaders’ right from the inception of the organization

and I stand tall, beaming with pride to own the dias to

express these views with each of you. I would be failing in

my duty if I do not express my gratitude to all those who

have helped in making this organization a cherished and

vibrant one. As many of them continue to support and

inspire us we will ever remember them with love and

gratitude. Friends, let me take a moment here and extend

my gratefulness to few organizations without which IANT

wouldn’t have come this far.

National Federation of Indian-American Associations

(NFIA) which is an umbrella organization to many Indian

associations here in America. Asian American Hotel

Owners Association (AAHOA) a vivacious Indian business

community, Global Organization of People of Indian

Origin (GOPIO) again a global umbrella organization

of Indian associations. American Association of Physicians

of Indian origin (AAPI) a forum that facilitates patient care

and research.

I would like to make a special mention about the

nationwide Centennial Celebrations of Gadar movement

that are being undertaken by the National Coordination

Council, an informal bonding of the four largest Indian

American Associations: NFIA, GOPIO, AAPI and AAHOA

and IANT is proud to launch these celebrations today

with AAPI’s Texas chapter TIPS.

My choicest words of acknowledgment go to Ms.

Shabnam Modgil Chair of Board of Trustees and her team,

Mr. Jack Godwani immediate past president, Mr. Loknath

Patro president-elect, other office bearers and directors

of IANT, the corporate advisory board that oversees the

strategic planning.

I am sure you will extend your wholehearted support and

co-operation to IANT in the years to come as we march

ahead into a new dawn with renewed vigor and hope. I

would like to conclude with these lines.

“It’s in our hands, we cannot know what will occur.

Just make our journey worth the taking and pray

we’re wiser than we were, in the beginning now we

begin.”

God Bless us all! Jai Hind!!!

Dr. Sridhar R KorsapatiPresident - IANT

9

11

Dear Friends,

“Rivers know this; there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

We sometimes call 50 years 5 decades, but half a century sounds better.

Half way to a hundred, and even though a lot of us today will not be present to see that milestone, we

resolve to celebrate this one in a big way, for it is never to return.

There are 3 things we cannot recover in life!

The WORD after it is said.

The MOMENT after it is missed.

And the TIME after it is gone.

On this golden occasion, all of us here in the North Texas region, felicitate and bring cheer.

We thank you for celebrating this wonderful achievement with us, and we are very proud of the grace and

dignity with which we have reached here, carrying out our duties, each one representing the whole

Association.

We have reached our goals by looking forward, pulling together, uniting our strength as a community, in

the name of India, our motherland, and the USA, our home now.

The commemoration of 50 years of the India Association of North Texas is also an opportunity to officially

and personally thank those that have made this possible with their loyalty and hard work.

Vince Lombardi said, “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination

that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

You all are winners. But winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing. You don’t win once in a

while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.

So let’s continue that habit....for we still have far to go, and we will only be able to do this all together

When we flatter each other, we may not believe one another with our whole heart. When someone

criticizes you, you may not like that person too much. If one ignores you, you may be bothered by it. But

when someone encourages you, you will never forget that person.

So let us each try to be an encouragement to the one next to you, and in that way we will keep that chain

going....

Happy Golden Jubilee!!!!

God Bless America,

and Jai Hind!!!Shabnam ModgilChair - Board of Trustees

India Association of North Texas

11

Message from theChair of the Board of Trustees

13

I strongly believe in "service to mankind is service to god". We as physicians can fulfill our noble intentions

through patient care. I am proud to be associated with "Texas IndoAmerican Physician Society", as our

organization provides free care to patients who cannot afford to pay for their health care through our

charity clinic. I would like to thank Dr. Kamna Kapil, Dr. Raj Kakarla, Dr. Maryada Reddy, Dr. Anup Shetty,

Dr. Prasanna Kumar and all the other physicians and volunteers for their hard work and dedication in

running the charity clinic.

I was anxious about my ability to carry forward this great organization's goals, but the task was easy with

the help of the team of office bearers and the exucutive committee . I would like to thank the president

elect Dr. Srini Potluri and his team in making the CME program a grand success with more than 100

attendees this year. I would also like to thank Dr. Anup Shetty and his team for organizing the annual

health fair at the Hindu temple and Gurudwara. My special thanks to Drs. Ashwini Agarwal and Nabeel

Syed for their time and effort in assisting me with various activities of TIPS.

I take great pride in raising funds for our national organization AAPI through the Shreya Ghoshal concert.

I would like to thank Dr. Narendra Kumar the president of AAPI for giving me the opportunity to be part of

his efforts to make AAPI a more vibrant and progressive organization. Special thanks to IANT president

Dr. Sridhar Korsapati, Shabnam Modgil and the board of IANT for the collaborative effort in raising funds

for AAPI, TIPS and IANT. It was a wonderful experience working with the Shreya Ghoshal concert steering

committee and I sincerely appreciate all the dedication and hard work of the members. My heart swells

with pride to see all organizations and communities coming together for a noble cause.

In this world of interdependence, in order for our chapters to survive, we need the members to step up and

volunteer. I urge all our members to actively participate and set an example for the younger physicians to

join our proud and vibrant organization. My dream for TIPS is to become self sufficient, procure its own

office and clinic in the near future.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my wife Sunita and my kids, Shreya and Rahul for their support,

without which I could not have spent countless hours in planning and executing the TIPS events over the

last year

Truly

Srinivas R Gunukula MD. FACC.

Dr. Srinivas R Gunukula

President'sMessage

13

25

2012 marks the fiftieth year of the founding of the

India Association of North Texas, more popularly

known as IANT. As the organization celebrates its

Golden Jubilee, we reflect upon the past decades of

its existence and the challenges it has overcome to

emerge as one of the most vibrant Indian communities

in the United States of America. Throughout the years

stalwarts emerged to give leadership and cohesiveness

at every point in the course of time. I share some of

my thoughts of the heroes of our organization in

recognition of their sterling contributions to maintain

and sustain our Indian heritage in our new adopted

homeland, the united States of America.

After almost a decade of gestation, at first a modest

community of immigrants of Indian origin felt the

growing need to organize itself due to the substantial

increase in their numbers. In 1962, The India

Association of North Texas was born to give voice and

substance to an increasingly professional viable

segment of the national society, in the region of North

Texas.

It all began when a hand full of nostalgic professional

Indians in a new economic and social

environmentfound themselves in a bonding community

to be remindful of their common heritage and

traditions.

List of persons in order in which they came to Dallas

area. to the best of my knowledge.

Late Iqebal Singh, 1955-56,

Late MeghbaranNaraine,(1957)

Late Nagi Rao 1960-61

( I never saw him in IANT Meetings)

Prof C.H. Kapadia SMU in 1962

EARLY HISTORY OFINDIA ASSOCIATION OF NORTH TEXAS

AMAL MUKHERJEE, PRESIDENT, IANT, 1979

Mrs. Olivia White (1963-64)

Mr. Kumar Pallana and Ranjana Pallana of

Yoga Center in 1963-64

Late Mr. Vasudeorao 1964-65

Dr. MohendirBawa (A Scientist at TI- never attended

IANT) A retiree living in Plano area.

Mr. SudeshArora (Engineer in Petrolium Industry)

A retiree lives in Plano Trustee in DFWHTS.

Mr. Ashok Khilanani An Engineer in TI -1965

Mr. SabuShaikh, Hamid Khan, Jagadish Prabhakar

in Late 1965 and early 1966.

Mr. KishinSurtani June 1966

Dr. P.B. Ghate , sept 1966.

Prof. Soma Gupta Joined SMU injune 1967

Prof M.D. Srinath joined SMU in Sept 1967

Mr. Gandhi Desai, Mr. ManojPatel 1966 onwards,

Prof. Narayan Bhat Joined SMU in 1969

Dr. K.S. Rajagopalan arrived in Dallas in 1969

I am sure I have missed some others.

It is with great reverence that we honor the contributions

and memories of the late Dr. Nagi Rao andVasadeva

Rao whose imprints in the 1950’s are still felt. It was

the era of the movie famous Kumar Pallana. At that

juncture in time, 1957, MeghbaranNaraine, my late

father- in- law of then British Guyana, South America,

a descendant of Indian immigrants found permanence

in Dallas, Texas.With the help and corporation of civic

like-minded individuals of the caliber of Dr.C.H.

Kapadia of the Department of Statistics of the Southern

Methodist University, Dallas, Professor Raj of the

Biology Department of the same University,indomitable

Iqbal (Ike) Singh Sekhon , SabuShaikh, KishanSurtani,

25

27

Ashok Khilnani, JagdishPrabhakar, Hamid Khanand

Ghates from fromDallasandIshwarBhately, Bhushan

Bajaj, and Dr.Mahendru from Fort Worth harnessed

the individual energies striving for Indian community

recognition and identity into an organized body. The

aforementioned individuals must be credited as

founders of what is today the vibrant and nationally

recognized India Association of North Texas.

The year was 1962 and the emergent growing

community of people of Indian origin sought out the

leadership of Ike Sekhon. With the overwhelming

support of his Indian Diaspora residents in North Texas,

“Ike” as IqbalSekhon was popularly referred to,

became the de facto leader and was officially elected

as the first President in 1962 of the then nascent body.

The India Association of North Texas today has

blossomed into the encompassing umbrella of over

fifty affiliated organizations representing diverse

groups of people of Indian origin. It maintains its

original objectives of a non-profit organization serving

the multiple professional, socio economic and cultural

interests in the North Texas region of the State of Texas.

As we celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of IANT’s

existence, we ponder on the common bond that holds

members to their Motherland, India. This common

bond that brought the founders together fifty years

ago holds strong while in no way compromise their

members’ patriotism to their adopted new homeland,

India’s sister democracy, The United States of America.

The incentive for the formalization of an organized

forum to bring the Indian Diaspora in the North Texas

region were the visits of Indian dignitaries who would

visit the DallasMertoplex. Most notable of these of

whom the Diaspora had the privilege to honor was

the first President of India, and world renowned scholar

and philosopher, His Excellency Dr. S. Radhakrisnan

who visited in the formative years of the sixties. Their

Excellencies, India’s Ambassadors to the United States,

B.K.Nehru and M.C.Chagala also gave credence to

the need for an a statutory body representing the

common interests of Indian immigrants resident in the

North Texas region. His Excellency Ambassador

T.N.Kaul visited in the 1972- 1973 presidency of Mr.

NalinSoni. He met with Dr. P.B.Ghate, Ike

Sekhon,SabuShaikh and Nanak Karachiwala over

dinner.In 1979, His Excellency, Ambassador Dr.

NaniPalkiwala visited Dallas and spoke at the

University of Texas at Richardson.

In the formative years of the nineteen sixties the

environment of the Southern Methodist University

provided the incubative pad for the activities of IANT.

It was the encouragement and active support of the

likes of Dr. Mandyam D. Srinath, Professor of Electrical

EngineeringDr. Som Gupta, Dr. NarayanBhat,

ArunGholkar, Chandu Palanikar and then students

under the auspices of the Indian Students

AssociationHarshad Parikh, ShashiSanzagiri,

Jayakumar, Mohan Rao, Yogi Pandya, Rajashekharan,

VinodShukla andV.I.Bhaskar, nephew of the current

Minister of External Affairs in the Government of India,

the Honorable S.M.Krishna that sustained abiding

interest in the fledgling organization. Incidentally, the

Honorable S.M. Krishna studied law at Southern

Methodist University, Dallas.

In 1965 Ashok Khilnani was elected to lead the

Association, and the following year SabuShaikh took

over the reins at a meeting in the Community Hall of

Garland, a suburb of Dallas. In 1968, Dr. Chander

Kumar, a scientist at the then Texas Instrument was

elected president and the executive committee included

S.Joshi, H.S.Patel and Dr. M.D.Srinath. It was during

their tenure that the first India Night was organized

with a dinner and cultural program on the occasion

of Diwali. During IANT PresidentDr. Olivia White of

the University of North Texas in January, 1969with the

able support of PrabakhakarB.Ghate, then a Scientist

of Texas Instrument and his wife Asha, Dr. Dasarahty,

Vasudeo Rao, Terry White, Jayakumar, Vinod Shukla

and Dr. Frederic Streng of the SMU, IANT

commemorated the centenary Birth Anniversary of the

27

29

Mahatma, M.K Gandhi. Mr. Eric Johnson,Mayor of

Dallas (Founder of Texas Instruments)proclaimed the

week of January 19 - 25, 1969 as Gandhi week. Dr.

Raja Rao, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas

at Austin, was the Key Note Speaker.

For the first time in 1971,in the history of IANT, IANT

with the help of Indian Students Association of SMU

raised funds to help the refugees from Bangladesh to

India. A check for $1109.09 was sent to the Prime

Minister’s Relief Fund.

Dr. P.B. Ghate led the Association into the decade of

the seventies. It was during his tenure as IANT’s

President and with the help of Dr. Rajagopalan, Dr.

Anant Jain, Dr. M.D. Srinath, Dr. Kapadia, Yogi Pandya,

Yogi Patel, DipakSarkar, Jyoti Bhatia and a few others

that the initial draft of IANT constitution was ratified

by the membership in 1971. Later ,In the year 1976,

with an updated IANT Constitution was registered with

the State of Texas as a non-profit organization, (501)

(c)(3).

This decade was noted for its annual India Night,

cultural programs and the Birth of the now famous

Anand Bazaar which today attracts tens of thousands

to program. The Anand bazaar, with the help of Dilip

Shah, Yogi Patel, Sham Gupta, DipakSarkar, Shyamal

Mukherjee and a few others, was first held in 1978 at

the Flagpole Hill, White Rock Lake, Dallas with a

modest crowd of 250 in attendance.

To provide cultural emersion and cohesion, picnics

were regularly organized in the seventies. The first

picnic was in 1973. The initiative was provided by the

SMU Indian Association. It was just before this period

in time when the viewing of Indian movies in SMU

and at Richland College became a regular feature of

the Indian community collective activities. Apart from

their initial association with academics and technology

in the North Texas Region, businesses sprang up to

satisfy the growing culinary and other household needs

of the Indian community. In 1973, Mr. MadanGoyel

opened the doors of the first Indian Restaurant, Piya’s

India House, in the Dallas Metroplex.

One recall with fond memories of the fledgling start

up businesses in the North Texas Region to satisfy some

of the growing needs of the growing Indian community.

Mr. Kumar Pallanaand Mrs. RanjanaPallana catered

for Yoga practice on top floor of their small grocery

store. Sharma International store wasopened in 1974

by Mr. Raj Sharma and his wife.

To sustain interest and to inform the growing

memberships, BHARATI, the official media voice of

the India Association ofNorth Texas was first published

in June of 1982. The president of IANT at the time of

BHARATI’s first publication was Mr. Sham Gupta and

the printing was done in the printing shop of the late

Mr. Francis.

This is a brief history of early years of IANT. Since then

IANT have grownsignificantly and is considered as one

of the leading Indian organizations in the United States

of America.Now a community of over 60,000

households with a head count of almost two hundred

thousand strong, is an approved Federation of Indian

Association (FIA) umbrella organization in North Texas

area by the National Federation of Indian Associations,

registered as India Association of North Texas. The

association provides a common secular and cultural

base for identity in the American salad bowl of national

and cultural mix.

I am indebted to Dr. P.B. Ghate and Mrs. AshaGhate,

Dr. M.D.Srinath, Mr. Sham Gupta, Mr. Nanak

Karachiwala for their invaluable assistance in providing

the information used in this condensed historical

highlights of early years of The India Association of

North Texas.

If I have inadvertently omitted any information I

sincerely apologize, and I take full responsibility for

the above article.

* * * * *

29

31

Texas Indo American Physician's Society (TIPS) is a

medical society consisting of doctors of Indian origin

from all over Texas. North East Chapter of the TIPS is

headquartered in Dallas Fortworth and our membership

includes over 500 doctors in the D/FW area, extending

as far west as Abilene, TX and east to East Texas, north

to Paris/Bonham, TX and south to the Temple, TX area.

The membership spans the entire spectrum to include

all specialties and sub-specialties of the practice of

medicine.

Central to TIPS-NE Chapter’s mission is to remain

steadfast in our resolve to unite all doctors and their

families for mutual and collective growth continue to

perform above standards of excellence in our

professional careers, enhance the organization by our

contributions with ideas and vision; and provide a forum

to pursue their aspirations as valuable members of

society.

Our vision is to bring greater value to its members,

participate in collaborative community outreach in a

truly altruistic sense, expand the activities of the TIPS

Charitable Foundation, continue to provide an excellent

forum for intellectual exchange through the CME

initiatives, community education on promoting health

of the South East Asian community, to stay abreast with

changing legislation and how it is likely to affect our

practices in medicine.

TIPS charitable foundation runs the free clinic near DFW

Hindu Temple and treats about 120-160 patients per

month from various ethnic and religious backgrounds.

This is a clinic run by volunteer physicians and well

wishers. We have doctors from different specialties

serving the community in this clinic.

TIPS NE chapter has been conducting health screening

and awareness fair every year for the last 18 yrs. We

conduct one health fair at the DFW Hindu Temple and

one at the Gurudwara in Garland.

TIPS offers CME activities to the physicians to share the

latest medical advances with the local phycisians. It

also conducts several educational seminars to increase

awareness in general health and wellbeing for our

community.

Some of the other activities that we have done in the

last few years are, providing physician volunteers for

the Hispanic Fair at Market Place, Community medical

education and Vaccination drives.

TIPS has paved the way for others in leadership. Dr

Jayesh Shah from San Antonio is the Incoming President

of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin

(AAPI), our national body and Drs Venkata Ram and

Dr Sharad Lakhanpal from DFW area have been the

presidents of AAPI in the past. In addition Dr Sumit

Kumar was the President of the state level TIPS 2 years

ago, Dr Tara Reddy was the Regional Representative

for AAPI last year, Dr Srinivas Gunukula, the current

President of TIPS NE chapter is the Local Representative

for training the doctors coming from India. Dr Arti

Gupta, our immediate past president is the Foreign

Medical Graduate Representative for Texas Medical

Association. The board members of TIPS NE chapter

are in Leadership positions in the various hospitals in

DFW area and at University of Texas Southwestern

Medical School, showing their excellence in leadership,

medical care, teaching and Medical research.

Texas Indo-American Physicians Society(TIPS) History

31

33

1 1962 The year was 1962 and the growing community of Indian origin sought out the leadership of “Ike”, as Mr.Iqbal Singh Sekhon was popularly referred to, and he was officially elected the First President of theIANT.

2 1969 In 1969, IANT President, Dr. Olivia White, of the University of North Texas, comemmorated the centenarybirth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi where Mr. Eric Johnson, Mayor of Dallas and Founder of TexasInstruments proclaimed the week of January 19 - 25,1969 as Gandhi Week in Dallas.

3 1970 Natya Samrat Gopi Krishan of “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje” gave Dallas an Indian Classical Danceperformance at the Archer Auditorium, SMU with the joint sponsorship of the IANT and the SMU StudentsAssociation.

4 1971 Funds were collected jointly by the IANT and the SMU Students Association for the Indian Prime Minister’sRelief Fund to be sent to India to help the refugees from Bangladesh.

5 1976 In the year 1976, IANT was registered with the State of Texas as a non-profit organization, (501) (c)(3)and continues to enjoy that status till today.

6 1977 First Diwali celebration was called INDIA NIGHT with dance performances, music and singing at SMU’sMcFarlin Auditorium.

7 1978 For the first time in the North Texas area, India’s Independence Day was celebrated at the Flag PoleHill, near White Rock Lake in Dallas.

8 1981 Visiting all the way from India, 2 concerts were held for the Indian community-Jagjit Singh and ChitraSingh and M.S. Subbalaxmi, and both were enjoyed by the community which did not witness manysuch concerts then.

9 1982 The Bharati Magazine was started as a publication of the IANT to keep the Indian community informed,and the magazine still continues to be enjoyed by all.

10 1983 The Republic Day celebrations of the IANT continued to grow and blossom under the name of India Niteevery January and encouraged increasing participation from all ages to showcase their talent.

11 1986 The IANT hosted a business delegation from India, called “Indo-American Chamber of Commerce” andthe IANT was made an honorary life member of the Bombay-based Chamber.

12 1987 Leading film actress and noted Bharat Natyam dancer Hema Malani and her group performed “Ramayana”which generated funds to take the IANT to another level.

13 1988 The IANT played a key role in “Expedition India” during J. C. Penny’s corporate move from New York toDallas, showcasing the Indian culture for several weekends in all stores.

14 1988 The first IANT office was rented in the City of Farmers Branch, and the Consular Services wereinaugurated here as a beneficial service to the Indian community of North Texas.

15 1990 The first Anand Bazaar in celebration of India’s Independence Day was officially started by the IANT inFort Wort with a huge participation by the Indian community of Fort Worth.

16 1991 Radio Bharati was born on KNON 89.3 as a voice of the IANT and brought to the Indian communitynews and information along with plenty of music.

17 1993 The Social Services Forum was formed to deal with the social issues of the growing Indian communityin the North Texas area under the guidance of Dr. Bhanu Ivatury.

33

35

18 1993 IANT raised funds for the 7.4 magnitude1993 Latur earthquake that killed close to 20,000 people anddemolished 52 villages in Maharashtra.

19 1994 The Senior Citizens Forum was established to focus on the needs and interests of the aging generationof Indians in the North Texas area.

20 1995 Nav Yug – Nav Youth, the Youth Forum of the Indian community was started with support by TexasInstruments and still enjoys sports and camps for the pleasure of our young generation.

21 1996 The IANT hosted a business delegation lead by Mr. Jamshed Godrej, with participation from severalbusiness entities of India, that was attended by the Mayor of the City of Dallas and other distinguishedguests.

22 1997 The IANT celebrated “Freedom 50” - Golden Anniversary of India’s independence, and collected 50thousand food cans for the Dallas Food Bank to commemorate the occasion.

23 1998 The Community Outreach Forum was established to reach out to mainstream America, and the MedicalCamp was also started at the IANT office, for those in the community in need of medical attention.

24 1998 The Anand Bazaar was moved to the huge Lone Star Park in the City of Grand Prairie and the first everfireworks display, sponsored by New York Life, brought a touch of American freedom celebrations toDesi Azaadi.

25 1999 The Women’s Forum Inauguration - with Ms. Shabnam Modgil as Chairperson, and the kickoff wasdone at the Realtors Hall in the City of Plano, as the women of the community continue attending eventsregularly.

26 1999 The NFIA granted the IANT the status of “Umbrella Organization” of the North Texas region, the bylawswere updated accordingly and many organzations were added as members under this status.

27 1999 The Jai Jawan Fund for the soldiers families in India was initiated and the IANT offered its sympathyand condolences to the families of the brave soldiers who lost their lives guarding our motherland.

28 1999 The Orissa Cyclone Fund once again gave the IANT a reason to rise to the occasion to help its motherland,and it’s success was marked by very generous contributions and participation by the community ofNorth Texas.

29 2000 The IANT very sucessfully hosted the National NFIA Convention at the Sheraton Park Central in Dallasand this national event was attended by delegates from all over the country and brought the IANT intothe limelight.

30 2001 Money was collected by the IANT towards the relief efforts for the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurredon the 52nd Republic Day of India in the Kutch district of Gujarat, helping rebuild a village of 252families and 3 schools.

31 2001 Various communities got together with the IANT and donated generously towards NY/DC Relief Fundas part of the 9/11 calamity.

32 2002 The IANT helped start Hindi Classes at SMU and the University still continues offering them to studentsfrom all over.

33 2002 A community banquet was hosted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of IANT and was attended byseveral Mayors and Congress members, and the NAMASTE hand book was launched on this occasion.

35

37

34 2002 The IANT and it’s volunteers secured the freedom of 52 Indian workers who were held in captivity at theJohn Pickle Co. in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

35 2003 The project of Habitat for Humanity was undertaken by the IANT in which Board members and volunteerspainted homes of local low-income families in the Dallas area.

36 2003 The IANT website was created to keep in touch with the growing community, and in keeping up with theadvancement of technology the accounts of India Nite and Anand Bazaar were all computerized.

37 2003 The IANT started celebrating Mahtama Gandhi Peace Day with walks and other peace projects incollaboration with mainstream organizations, and continues this annual event every October.

38 2003 In Arlington IANT participated in paying homage to Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla fromUT, Arlington, who was one of the seven that perished in the Texas sky in the Space Shuttle ColumbiaDisaster.

39 2004 The IANT introduced annual Sponorship Packages for the larger corporations and the major sponsorsright now include Pepsico / Fun Asia / NY Life, and many others.

40 2004 The Tsunami Relief Fund was channelled through CARE International – IANT collected funds to helpthe millions who were affected by the terrible natural disaster in Indonesia.

41 2006 The Speakers’ Forum was started as another arm of the IANT to provide all community members withan opportunity to listen to distinguished speakers from all walks of life.

42 2006 The IANT restructured it’s byelaws for checks and balances within the Board, and in this process theAdvisory Board was changed to a “Board of Trustees” that remains very active in the operations of theAssociation.

43 2006 The weekly Radio Bharati program that is broadcast every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon was moved tothe airwaves of FunAsiA Radio in 2006, and continues to have a large listenership and popularity in thecommunity.

44 2007 Educational testing center for ICFAI for Indian students was established and students from all over theUSA and Canada came to the IANT office and attended their tests for graduate studies, while theproceeds of this program were given back 100% to the needy and orphaned children’s institute in India.

45 2008 A multi-faith candlelight vigil and memorial service was held for the victims of the terrorist attacks inMumbai.

46 2008 HEB (Hurst-Euless-Bedford) School District recognized Hindi as a second language and students in theDistrict now had a choice of learning Hindi as a part of their curriculum.

47 2010 The Mahatma Gandhi Statue Project was started to initiate the efforts for the installation of a statue ofthe Father of the Nation in the North Texas area, and the work continues diligently.

48 2010 The Corporate Advisory Board was formed by the IANT with members representing the various companiesthat are supporting the activities of the Association.

49 2011 The “India Association Center” - a “home” for the IANT was purchased in the City of Richardson.

50 2012 THE IANT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE ....….GOLDEN JUBILEE!!!!

37

43

The Gadar1 Movement was the saga of remarkable courage,

valor and determination of overseas Indians to free India from

the shackles of British slavery. Indians had come to Canada

and the United States either for higher education or for

economic opportunities. Instead, they imbibed the fire and

zeal of revolutionaries and became the trail blazers of

freedom struggle for their motherland, India. They may have

lived ordinary lives but they left an extra-ordinary legacy.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, both India and Canada

were British dominions. As such, Indians had easier access

to emigrate to Canada. The new immigrants were hard

working and accepted lower wages. Some Canadian

companies wanted more cheap labor from India and thus

publicized the economic and job opportunities available in

Canada. During the first few years, about 2000 immigrants,

mostly Punjabi farmers and laborers, were permitted to come

every year. As the number of immigrants increased, the locals

felt threatened by labor competition from the hardy and

adventurous Punjabis. Fear of labor competition led to racial

antagonism and demands for exclusionary laws from cheap

foreign “Asian workers”. The local press carried many scare

stories against the “Hindu Invasion.” In 1908, under pressure

from labor unions, the Canadian government required Indian

immigrants to have $200 in their possession upon landing.

Also, the Indian immigrants were denied entry if they had

not come by “continuous journey” from India. Since there

was no direct shipping between Indian and the Canadian

ports, legal immigration of Indians to Canada virtually ended.

The restrictive legislation led to growing discontent and anti-

colonial sentiments within the Indian community.

When Indian immigrants saw the doors closing on them in

Canada, they started coming to the United States which

needed more people to do hard labor work to build new

communities. Indians came as sojourners and without

spouses, were paid low wages and could afford to live only

in the poor squalid part of the town or in shanty structures.

They lived frugally, subsisted on low income that was

prohibitive for whites to survive on. The Indian workers

maintained low standard of living and many shared crowded

lodging to save money to pay off their debt or meet family

obligations back in India. They were willing to do any kind of

manual job. Within a span of few years, the number of

immigrant workers had grown, so they also started facing

widespread hostility. The pent-up frustrations of the white

workers manifested in violence against Hindu workers,

vandalism of Hindu belongings and hatred of their religion,

lifestyle and living.Like Canada, the United States, which had

initially welcomed the Indian workers, enacted Asian

exclusionary laws to bar Asians emigrating to the United

States.

The Japanese and Chinese governments sympathized with

their overseas nationals for discriminatory treatment and

damages in race riots and negotiated with the American

government for compensation for life and property losses.

But the British Indian Government would not make any

representation to the U.S. Government for similar

compensation for Indian nationals. Indians soon realized the

difference between the citizens of a “slave” country and those

governed by their own people. Higher education in American

universities was a powerful magnet for young people even

during the beginning of the twentieth century. America

provided them opportunity to “earn and learn” and so Indian

students were attracted to seek admission in the US

universities. However, several students upon graduation were

not able to get jobs commensurate with their qualifications.

The unfair and discriminatory hiring practices were against

the very ideals of liberty and freedom they had experienced

in their university environment. The Indian students

attributed the racial prejudice anddiscrimination to their

being nationals of a subjugated country and were motivated

to get rid of the foreign rule in India. They were determined

to fight for freedom for their motherland and started

fostering feelings of patriotism and nationalism among their

fellow Indian immigrants.

Gadar- Overseas Indians Attempt to Free India from British Slavery

By Inder Singh

43

44

Many Indians in the USA, as also in Canada, England, Germany

and France, articulated nationalist feelings and started

advocating freedom for India, their motherland, from the

British serfdom. They formed organizations to collectively

assert their birthright to independence for India and explored

ways and means to attain self-rule. RamnathPuri who came

to California at the end of 1906 and worked as interpreter to

the Sikhs arriving in California, started a paper in Urdu

Circular-i-Azadi in 1907 with declared objective of political

education of the Indians. Taraknath Das, a student, started

publishing a magazine Free Hindustan in 1908 in Seattle,

advocating armed rebellion against the British rule as a means

for achieving independence. He also established the East

India Association in 1911. P.S. Khankhoje of Maharashtra

came to USA in 1907, wanted to get military training and

procure weapons for fight against the British rule in India.

He established “Indian Independence League.” In New York,

a Maratha Christian Samuel Lucas Joshi (S.L. Joshi) and Maulvi

Mohammad Berkatullah of Bhopal formed “Society for the

Advancement of India’ in 1907. In Vancouver, Canada, G. D.

Kumar started a Punjabi paper SwadeshSewak.2

In 1905 in London, Shymji Krishna Varma founded Indian

Home Rule Society and India House, ostensibly a residence

for Indian students but used for revolutionary activities. He

also published Indian Sociologist. BhikhaijiRustomCama

(born in Bombay into a Parsi Patel family) was involved with

Krishna Varma’s Indian Home Rule Society in London. She

moved to Paris where she formed Paris Indian Society and

started publishing BandeMatarammagazine. She unfurled

the “Flag of Indian Independence” at the International

Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany on 22 August

1907. HarDyal renounced his scholarship and studies at

Oxford University and joined the freedom movement. In

Paris, HarDyal edited BandeMataram in 1909.

HarDyal who had come from England, had been a faculty

member at Stanford University for some time. He was

identified with nationalist activities in the United States. He

inspired many students studying at the University of

California at Berkeley and channelized the pro-Indian, anti-

British sentiment of the students for independence of India.

Two of his many student followers, Katar Singh Sarabha and

Vishnu Ganesh Pingle later on played very prominent roles

in the Gadar movement. Dyal’s fervor for India’s freedom

spread beyond the university campuses to Punjabi farmers

and laborers who had already been victim of racial attacks,

discrimination and repression from the host community.

On April 23, 1913, some patriotic and enlightened Indians

held a meeting in Astoria, Oregon, where HarDyal,

BhaiParmanand and others passionately spoke for throwing

the British out of India and securing liberation by all means

at their disposal. It was at this meeting that Hindustan

Association of the Pacific Coast was formed with a major

objective to liberate India from British colonialism with the

force of arms, just as Americans had done more than a

century ago, and help establish a free and independent India

with equal rights for all. Sohan Singh Bhakna, a lumber mill

worker in Oregon, was elected President the association,

HarDayal, as General Secretary and Kanshi Ram as treasurer.

HarDayal provided leadership for the newly formed

association and was the central figure and the force behind

the new organization.

Punjabis had come to the United States with the highest of

expectations but they were disillusioned when they faced

hostility, humiliation and racial prejudice from the American

people. When the Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast

was formed, they whole-heartedly supported its objectives

of ridding India of the colonial rule, enthusiastically became

its members and willingly and liberally helped financially.

The headquarters of Hindustan Association of the Pacific

Coast was established in San Francisco, which served as a

base for coordination of all the activities of the association.

Later, a building was purchased with funds raised from the

community, primarily Punjabi farmers and farm and lumber

mill workers and it was named Yugantar Ashram. The same

building is now known as Gadar Memorial Hall. The

association launched a magazine appropriately titled

Gadarfor free distributionto promote the aims, objectives

and activities of the organization.

The editorial in the first issue of the Gadar paper declared:

“Today there begins in foreign lands, but in our owncountry’s language, a war against the British Raj.

44

45

What is our name? Gadar.What is our work? Gadar.Where will Gadar break out? In India.The time will soon come when the rifles and blood willtake the place of pen and ink.”

Gadar literally means revolt or mutiny and was published in

Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, among other languages. It carried

articles on the conditions of the people of India under British

rule and also on problems of racial prejudice and

discrimination against Indians in the United States. The

magazine contents expressed community’s pent-up anger and

suppressed feelings and exhorted like-minded people to join

the association. Through the magazine, the Indian people

were called upon to unite and rise up against the British rule

and throw them out of India. The activities of the association

were intense and incessant. The Gadar magazine became very

popular among Indians and over a period of time, the

Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast itself became

known as the Gadar Party.

“The first issue of the journal Gadar was in Urdu and was

published on November 1, 1913. An edition of the journal

was brought out next month in Gurmukhi and in May 1914 a

Gujrati edition of the journal was also published.”3 Within a

short period of time, the magazine became sought-after

periodical for revolutionary and patriotic ideas. Besides

Gadar, the group brought out various publications to raise

the consciousness of the Indian people for revolt against the

British.

Gadarliterature was sent to Indian revolutionaries in India,

Europe, Canada, The Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Malysia,

Singapore, Burma, Egypt, Turkey, and Afghanistan. In a short

period of time, publications from the YugantarAsram became

very popular. The British government got alarmed and used

every means to stop the circulation of Gadar and other such

publications, particularly in India. The magazine, being the

principal patriotic literature, reached many people; even if

one copy reached India or to a fellow revolutionary

elsewhere, multiple copies were made for circulation.

The visible effects of the Gadar publications started to

manifest in India and abroad.Many committed volunteers

opened branches of the Gadar party in other countries and

worked tirelessly to promote the objectives of the party. They

had imbibed the fire and zeal of revolutionaries and were

motivated to fight for freedom for their motherland. The

movement became the symbol of political consciousness of

the overseas Indians. The influence of the Gadarmovement

was so powerful that when called upon, many overseas

Indians returned to India to fight for India’s freedom.

The British government became alarmed at the popularity

of the Gadar movement and free accessibility and availability

of the ‘seditious’ literature. They used every means to stop

its circulation, particularly in India. They also tried to suppress

the Gadar movement and had hired agents to penetrate the

Gadar party and watch their activities. The British were

convinced that removal of HarDyal would bring an end to

the revolutionary movement. Under pressure from the British

Indian Government, HarDyal was arrested by the U.S.

Government, but later released on bail on March 24, 1914.

HarDyal jumped the bail and left for Switzerland and from

there, he went to Germany.

The sudden departure of HarDyal did create some vacuum

in the organizational structure of the association but it did

not cause the demise of the organization. The seed of revolt

that HarDyalsowed, had developed into a formidable

organization. Many committed and dynamic volunteers

continued to work tirelessly and pursued the planned

activities of the association. Ram Chandra Bharadwaj became

president of the Gadar party and also the editor of the Gadar

magazine.

Indians in Canada were very unhappy with the new laws

which effectively prevented Indian immigration from India.

An enterprising and resourceful Indian in Singapore, Gurdit

Singh, chartered a Japanese vessel KomagataMaru to comply

with the Canadian exclusion laws and brought 376 passengers

in May 1914. The Canadian government refused

disembarking of the ship at Vancouver. The Indian community

in Canada was outraged, rallied in support of the passengers

and sought legal recourse. After a two-month legal wrangling,

only 24 passengers were allowed to immigrate and the ship

was forced to return to India on July 7. The action of the

Canadian government created bitterness, frustration and

45

46

vengefulness not only among the passengers but also among

the Indian people in Canada and the US. On reaching Calcutta

on September 29, 1914, the British Indian government

wanted to transport the incoming passengers to Punjab while

most of the passengers wanted to stay and find employment

there. When the arriving passengers refused to board the

special train for Punjab, the police opened fire on them

resulting in several fatalities. The police also arrested over

two hundred passengers and put them in Jail. The brutal

treatment of the returning passengers generated a wave of

resentment against the British government and encouraged

more Indians in North America to join the Gadar party.

The Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast was still new

when in August, 1914, World War I broke out, in which

Germany fought against England. The Germans offered the

Indian Nationalists (Gadarites) financial aid to buy arms and

ammunitions to expel the British from India while the British

Indian troops would be busy fighting war at the front. The

Gadarites started an energetic campaign to mobilize the

overseas Indians in Singapore, Burma, Egypt, Turkey and

Afghanistan and particularly Punjabis in Canada and the

United States. They drew plans to infiltrate the Indian army

and excite the soldiers to fight – not for the British but against

the British Empire – and free India from the shackles of British

imperialism. The Gadaritesinspiredthousands of Indians to

go to India to launch a revolution.

The German government had great sympathy with the Gadar

movement because the German government and the

Gadarites had the British as their common enemy. In

September 1914, Indians formed Berlin Indian Committee

(also known as the Indian Revolutionary Society) members

of which were HarDyal, Virendra NathChattopadhyay

(younger brother of politician-poetess Sarojani Naidu),

MaulviBarkatullah (after his death, he was buried near

Sacramento), BhupendraNathDatta (brother of Swami

Vivekananda), Champak Raman Pillai (a young Tamilian)

andTarakNath Das (a foundation is named after him in

Columbia University, New York). The objectives of the society

were to arrange financial assistance from German

government for revolutionary activities and propaganda work

in different countries of the world, training of volunteer force

of Indian fighters and transportation of arms and

ammunitions to reach the Gadarites for a revolt against the

British Government in India.

The Indian Revolutionary Society in Berlin successfully

arranged substantial financial aid for the Gadarites from

Germany. The German Embassy in the United States engaged

a German national to liaison with the Gadar leadership in

San Francisco. Several ships were commissioned or chartered

to carry arms and ammunitions and batches of Indian

revolutionaries to India.

The Gadarites also sought help from anti-British governments

in other countries. In December 1915, they established a Free

Hindustan government-in-exile in Kabul, Afghanistan, with

Raja MohinderPratap as President, MaulaviBarkatullah as

Prime Minister and ChampakaranPillai as Foreign Minister.

The government-in-exile tried to establish diplomatic

relationships with countries, such as Turkey, Germany, Japan,

and others, opposed to the British in World War l. The

Gadarites established contact with the Indian troops at Hong

Kong, Singapore, and in some other countries and hoped for

their participation in the uprising against the British.

The British Government tried to suppress the Gadar

Movement and had hired agents to penetrate the Gadar party

almost from the beginning. HarDyal used the columns of

Gadar to caution his compatriots against British spies. The

traitors of the Gadar movement leaked out the secret plans

to British spies who diverted ships carrying arms and

ammunitions to elsewhere. Germany was originally planning

to send more ships carrying arms and ammunition to India,

but lost interest in the venture after seeing the fate of the

original vessels.

Before leaving for India, the Gadarites had hoped that the

embers of freedom had caught fire in India too and Indians

were ready for a revolution. So when the World War l

provided a golden opportunity for them to attain their goal,

they hurried homeward for rebellion and overthrow of the

British Government. The irony of that valiant effort was that

while the Gadarites had gone to India to fight readily for the

freedom of their motherland, the Indian political leadership

openly and willingly co-operated with the British, thereby

46

47

prolonging India’s serfdom. While the overseas Indians

prayed in Gurudwaras and temples for the success of the

Gadarites’ mission, the people in India flocked to Gurudwaras

and temples to pray for the victory of the British!

Many Gadarites who reached India before the end of 1914,

found no arms to start rebellion. A number of Gadarites

including Sohan Singh Bhakna, president, and Kesar Singh

and Jawala Singh, vice presidents were taken captives on

reaching India while Kartar Singh Sarabha, V.G. Pingle and

several others were able to evade arrest. An estimated 8000

Overseas Indians left for India from 1914-18, about 3000 were

intercepted; more than 300 were put in jails while many

more were restricted to their villages.4

Kartar Singh Sarabha and other Gadarite leaders had come

to India to overthrow the British rule and wanted to unite

and work with all those forces that were working to liberate

India. They made alliance with well-known revolutionaries

in India such as RasBehari Bose. They organized meetings to

plan for the revolution, procure arms and arrange funds to

carry out propaganda and other activities for the achievement

of their goal. Since many Gadarites were retired military

soldiers, they planned to infiltrate into various units of the

armed forces, established contacts with their colleagues still

working in the armed forces and incited them to revolt and

become part of the rebellious force to liberate India. The

Gadarites’ plan included recruiting new people to join them,

looting military arsenals, makingbombs and robbing

government treasuries. Most of the plans of the Gadarites

either failed or were foiled by the British agents and by the

end of February 1915, most of the Gadar activists were taken

captives.

The Gadarites were prosecuted in batches by the Special

Tribunal in what are known as Lahore conspiracy trials. As

many as 46 including Kartar Singh Sarabha and Vishnu Ganesh

Pingle were given death sentences, 69 were imprisoned for

life and 125 were given varying terms of imprisonment5. In

the United States too, several Gadarites and their German

supporters, were prosecuted in the San Francisco Hindu

German Conspiracy Trial (1917-18). Twenty-nine “Hindus”

and Germans were convicted for varying terms of

imprisonment for violating the American Neutrality Laws6.

The Gadarites had a flame of liberty lit in their hearts, and

did not hesitate to make any sacrifice for the cause of

freedom, dignity and prosperity of their motherland. They

fought valiantly for their cause. Although the movement did

not achieve its stated objective, but it had awakened the

sleeping India and left a major impact on India’s struggle for

freedom. The heroism, courage and sacrifices of the Gadarites

inspired many freedom fighters to continue their mission.

A prominent Indian writer, Khushwant Singh, wrote in

Illustrated Weekly, on February 26, 1961, “In the early months

of World war I, an ambitious attempt to free their country

was made by Indians living overseas, particularly in the United

States and Canada. Although the overwhelming majority of

the Gadrites were Sikhs and the centers of revolutionary

activity were the Sikh temples in Canada, the United States,

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, many of the leaders

were of other parties and from different parts of India,

Hardyal, RasBihari Bose, Barkutullah, Seth Husain Rahim,

TarakNath Das and Vishnu Ganesh Pingley. …… The Gadar

was the first organized violent bid for freedom after the

uprising of 1857. Many hundreds paid the ultimate price with

their lives.”

Inder Singh is Chairman of GOPIO, Global Organization of

People of Indian Origin. He was GOPIO President from 2004-

09. He is chairman of Indian American Heritage Foundation.

He was NFIA president from 1988-92 and chairman from

1992-96. He was founding president of FIA, Southern

California. Inder Singh can be contacted by telephone at 818-

708-3885 or by email at [email protected].

i Gadar spelled same way as in Gadar Syndrome by Mark

Juergensmeye, Indian Immigrants in USA by P Vatma

ii Ghadar Movement, Harish K Puri, ch 4

iii Ghadar Revolution in America, Anil Ganguly

iv The Role of the Ghadar Party in the National Movement by

G.S. Deol, pp 106-107

v Ghadar Movement, Harish K Puri, pp 131

vi www.sikhpioneers.org

47

68

The itihaas of Bharati magazine is similar

to and is as relevant and as evolutionary

as birth of a child. In the growing years of

India Association of North Texas

(IANT)…… in the days of no written mass

communication with members or radio,

there was an absence of a tool to inform

and tie the community together. This is

when, in 1982, under the leadership of

Mr. Sham Gupta, IANT, came up with an

idea for a small magazine and this baby

was born. With inputs from the members

for its name, it was appropriately titled

Bharati. The first quarterly issue was

published in June 1982. Like a baby, it

was small. A mere 7”X8.5” in size that

spanned over 16 pages. Surprisingly, its

contents in the very first issue were similar

to what we see and read today. There was

a president’s message, an article on

immigration, community news, association

events, health tips etc. etc. All this sprinkled

with many advertisements. Full grown

today’s Bharati is colorful, vivid and

vibrant. Its glossy cover page bursting with

colors is a standout. The cover of Diwali

issue quickly injects the holiday spirit of joy,

Rang de Holi issue colors you all over while

the independence day issue creates the

fervor of patriotism and aazadi in you. A

scene from a Rajasthan village on the cover

brings you the vatan ki mitti and reminds

us of our roots. And yes, it has grown and

is big in size. Full 8.5”X11.0” with over 76

pages. For our sponsors and advertisers,

it is a great means to reach their targeted

68

69

audience while second generation learns about India’s history, festivals, culture, food and couture. At the

end, you exit laughing. We wish to thank all India based organizations in Metropolis and our sponsors and

advertisers for their years of unconditional support. We are grateful to all contributors. To our readers of

Bharati magazine, thanks for keeping it going.

Jai Hind

69

71

As the architect of India’s non violent march to freedom

MAHATMA GANDHI is revered as the Father of the

Nation. He has made a major impact on the world scene

inspiring a number of other world leaders to follow this

non violent path to freedom. Apart from his political

attributes he has many spiritual and social attributes,

which many of our readers will agree is impossible to

condense in these columns. The world has largely

recognized him as one of the greatest souls of recent

times, worthy of the title “MAHATMA”.

“GANDHI PEACE WALK” to commemorate the life and

teachings of this great soul,was first initiated as a symbolic

walk along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd with a group from

The City of Dallas by Niranjan Patel and

SuryThiagarajanin 2002. This was followed up with a

service project cleaning up trash and needle infested

parks in South Dallas and along Trinity River with the

help of University students and volunteers. This initial

effort has taken root and is being continuedevery year

since then with anorganized event during the weekend

close to Gandhiji’s Birthday on October 2nd.

The event was scaled up in 2004 as a joint program

organized by one of our community organizations

‘Vibha’. Participation by a number of children from area

spiritual education groups followed by repair and

rehabilitation of homes which were out of compliance

with city codes thru the ‘People helping People’ program

was a highlight of this event. With initiatives from Akram

Syed and support of sponsors Pepsico, PAN, Aegis, Crow

Collection of Asian Art and World Affairs Councilin

addition to our regular sponsors,the event wasfurther

scaled up in 2009. FUN ASIA has been providing live

broadcast of the event helping us to reach a larger

audience.RaghoChamkura, a Senior at Coppell High

School designed the logo being used till date. We also

collected canned food and cash donations for the North

Texas Food bank and they were very grateful for our

efforts. Canned Food is being collected during the events

every year since then and this is helping the Food Bank

immensely during these years of tough economic times.

We were very fortunate that Gandhiji’s Grand Daughter,

SmtUshaGokani could participate in our event in 2011

and this was a God sent opportunity to hear a first hand

account of the various facets of his life. Thanks to the

selfless service year after year of numerous dedicated

volunteers, this event has now been recognized as one

of the major events of IANT. We are glad that this year,

it coincides with our Golden Jubilee Celebrations. Some

of you had an opportunity to participate in the event at

this location this morning

With Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue soon to be installed, we

do expect more enthusiastic response, not only from the

Indian diaspora but mainstream Americans as well, to

spread hisuniversal and timeless message of Peace, Love

and Non Violence. With support from the community at

large, we sincerely hope this will continue to grow as a

major IANT event in the future years. It would be worth

all the efforts if it helps us all to reflect on his life and

teachingsand it inspires at least a few good individuals

to follow his simple yet powerful call to action “YOU

MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE

WORLD”.

JAI HIND

MAHATMA GANDHIPEACE WALK

71

73

Our own India Association of North Texas (IANT) is now fifty

years old and we are going to celebrate this major milestone

"Golden Jubilee" of IANT on October 6, 2012 in Dallas.Let

me make a humble effort to capture everything Indian in Dallas

with IANT as hub with its sphere of influence in the Indian

diaspora activities sinceits founding.

IANT took its humble birth in 1962 and quoting from Amal

Mukherjee (President, 1979) "…the India Association of North

Texas was born to give voice and substance to an increasingly

professional viable segment of the national society, in the

region of North Texas. It all began when a hand full of nostalgic

professional Indians in a new economic and social

environment found themselves in a bonding community to be

remindful of their common heritage and traditions."

Today, IANT is a vibrant social & cultural organization catering

to various needs of the Indian community here in Dallas/Fort

Worth Metroplex area. It is the epicenter of anything Indian,

let it be conducting the annual Anand Bazar or helping victims

of natural disasters in India or elsewhere, or donating blood

for the needy, providing educational supplies for the under

privileged or providing excellent encouragement to Indian

dance & art forms through annual India Day celebrations to

providing much needed senior citizen, healthcare and visa

services to the community at large. These are just a few things

and the list goes on.

Texas has the fourth largest concentration of Americans of

Indian-origin (245,981 out of 2,843,391) as per US Census

of 2010 (4th largest after California, New York and New

Jersey). Among all detailed Asian groups, the Asian Indian

population was the largest in 23 states, of which 13 were in

the South, six in the Midwest and four in the Northeast. Asian

American Indians constitute over 29% of Asian-American

population in DFW Metroplex. (100,386 out of 341,503).

DFW Metroplex holds the 4th position after New York, Los

Angeles, and Chicago as the home for largest concentration

of Asian Indians.

Over the last 50 years, the community in Dallas has grown

from a humble handful to today's nearly 107,000. Census

numbers show that from 2000 to 2010, the population more

than doubled, going from 49,181 to 106,964 for Collin,

Dallas, Denton, Rockwall and Tarrant counties. Asian Indian

business leaders say the rapid growth is a result of several

factors: the draw of high-tech and medical jobs, the economic

relief brought by a lower cost of living, the chance to send

children to strong schools - and just good word-of-mouth.

Fifty Years ofIndia Association of North Texas (IANT)

- The HUB of Everything Indian in Dallas, Texas

Friends and family already living in North Texas have

persuaded others to move to the area, many say.

Indian community has over 20 regional/linguistic associations

in DFW Metroplex notable among them are the Telugu

Association of North Texas (TANTEX), Metroplex Tamil Sangam,

Kerala Association of Dallas, DFW Gujarati Samaj, Antorik

Bengali Association of Greater DFW, Bengali Association of

Greater DFW, Brahmin Association of North Texas, Jain Society

of North Texas, DFW Maharashtra Mandal, Mallige Kannada

Association of North Texas, DFW Oriya Society, Punjabi Cultural

Association of North Texas, Sindhi Association of DFW,

Zoroastrian Association of North Texas, etc. All these

associations work closely with IANT and participate in several

joint events when possible.

Indian Americans have achieved a high level of distinction in

the areas of academics, medical & allied health care services,

business ownership, technical and management fields besides

accounting, financial services, retail, manufacturing,

distribution, Information Technology and related services, etc.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Organization

(AAPI) boasts of over 65,000 physicians and 25,000 Residents

of Indian Origin. Its associate the Texas Indo-American

Physicians Society NE Chapter (TIPS) based in Dallas has over

400 Physicians as its members. They have been providing

yeoman services regularly through health camps for health

screening and testing services to the Indian community for

many years. Several notable physicians from TIPS have

become Presidents and other office bearers of AAPI.

DFW is home to several major academic institutions/universities

such as University of Texas, Arlington (UTA), University of Texas

at Dallas (UTD), University of North Texas (UNT), Southern

Methodist University (SMU) where IANT's initial student

population and events were held, Texas Women's University

(TWU), University of Dallas, UT Southwestern Medical College,

Baylor College of Dentistry, Parker College of Chiropractic,

Texas Christian University. Over 17,000 Indian students are

currently enrolled in these academic institutions and have

nearly 300 faculty members working in those universities at

various levels. Every university has a vibrant India Student

Association and IANT encourages them all to be part of IANT

activities.

Coming to Religion, DFW has a very high religious diversity

and is home to over 20 Hindu temples, 7+ Sikh Gurudwaras,

10+ Muslim mosques, 10+ Indian Christian churches, 10+

Buddhist temples, and a Jain temple. Notable among these

are D/FW Hindu Temple Society at Irving, Sri Karya Siddhi

MVL PrasadMember, Golden Jubilee Steering Committee; Chairman, Corporate Communications Sub-committee

73

75

Hanuman Temple at Frisco, Sri Ganesha Temple at Plano, Sri

Ram Mandir at Plano, Hindu Temple of Greater Fort-Worth,

BAPS - Swaminarayan Temple, Gurudwara Sikh Sangat at

Euless, Dallas Central Mosque of Islamic Association of North

Dallas, Islamic Association of North Texas, CSI Church of

Dallas, Syro-Malabar Churches, Mar Thoma Churches,

Jacobite Orthodox Churches, Chinmaya Mission of DFW, Jain

Temple of Dallas. All these places of worship are bustling

with people on most weekends and celebrate respective holy

days with a good amount of religious devotion and provide

free food (Maha prasad). They all have qualified priests/

preachers and religious authorities to conduct appropriate

ceremonies on daily basis.

Indian Community of Dallas has phenomenal talent pool of

artists, musicians, dancers and all these art forms are nurtured

with over 75+ dance academies, 40+ music schools, 10+

art schools and many more. Several dance forms such as

Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Folk, Fusion,

Garba, Bollywood are most popular with students. Classical

music from Karnatic to Hindustani is being taught in both vocal

and several instrument forms. Large Ras-Garba events take

place at major temples during Navrathri time and everybody

joins them without any regional basis. Most of our kids enjoy

the Bollywood/Fusion dances and have performed very well

at most of the major events conducted by IANT.

Business is one of dominant professions for many an Indian

in Dallas. Right from retail stores through owning largest

number of franchise stores speaks volumes about the Asian

Indian's business acumen. Asian American Hotel Owners

Association (AAHOA) has a good presence in Dallas in the

hospitality industry. Several major technology based

companies like Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin, AT&T have

a high percentage of Indian engineers, technologists, software

professionals and management experts working for them.

Dallas has become a major hub for IT and ITeS services with

over 100 companies, small and big, providing training, staffing

and software services. They promote and safeguard the

interests of IT Consulting and product development

organizations through a professional organization IT Serve

Alliance.

To support and promote all this highly charged business activity

there are major associations and organizations such as Greater

Dallas Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GDIACC),

Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce

(GDAAC), socio-business clubs such as Lions, Rotary

International, Kiwanis, Junior Chamber with a predominant

Indian memberships. IANT supports and promotes several of

these activities. Professional organizations like Malayalee

Engineers Association, Indian American Nurses Association

help promote profession and also lobby for any issues that

will enhance the value proposition.

Media has also played a major role in the rapid growth of

Asian Indians to excel in DFW Metroplex. There are over 10

magazines published in print, several more in digital media,

over 10 theaters and three Radio stations (FunAsia Radio

104.9FM, FunAsia Radio 1100AM, Radio Bharati 1100AM).

Several linguistic groups such as Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi,

Malayalam, Gujarati and Bengali have taken time slots with

above Radio stations and provide 24/7 music, talk and other

entertainment programs for the community at large. Several

movies are simultaneously released in India and USA much to

the delight of movie-goers.

IANT has been at the forefront of utilizing the power of media

to sustain the interest and inform the Indian public with

happenings in the community. They have been successfully

running "Bharati" magazine since 1982 and"Radio Bharati

1110AM" for several years with a large audience.

Food & Beverage industry has a good concentration of Indian

ownership. There are over 25 top class Indian restaurants

diligently serving the community with fine Indian cuisines with

another 25+ restaurants meeting the hungry demands with

delectable foods from India. Several of these restaurants

provide extensive catering services for private parties and also

have large banquet halls.

Indian population is growing with a significant amount of social

and economic impact on the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

IANT has dedicated itself to serve this group of individuals

through its various activities. IANT is continually involved in

helping improve the quality of life of people who are of Indian

origin. IANT also works towards bringing together all North

Texans regardless of their national origin, color, creed, race

or religion.

Let's all join in wishing the IANT a very happy 50th Anniversary

and may it be blessed with many more such anniversaries!

Note:

While acknowledging the fact that there are many such

areas where Asian Indians of Dallas and Associations have

excelled to be listed here, I humbly submit that the time

and brevity pose severe constraints for this article at this

point.Every effort is made to ensure the veracity of the

numbers from reputed sources with crosschecks from other

secondary sources. I apologize for any inadvertent errors

in presenting the facts and figures.

MVL Prasad

(Prasad is a member of IANT Golden Jubilee Steering

Committee and Chairman of the Corporate Communications

Sub-committee. He is a technology entrepreneur with three

successfulSilicon Valley Telecom startup companies to his credit

and currently performing multiple social & philanthropic

services to the Indian community at large. He is an active

member of several Indian associations such as IANT, TANTEX,

Board Member & former Secretary of GDIACC, Executive

Committee Member of D/FW Hindu Temple. He is an honorary

advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh for Technology &

Communications and mentor for several startup companies

in technology & management. He lives in Dallas area with

his wife and two children).

75

797979

100100

101101

102102

103103

104104

105105

106106

107107

108108

109109

110110

111111

112112

113113

114114

115115

116116

117117

118118

119119

120120

121121

122122

123123

124124

125125

126126

127127

128128

129129

130130

131131

132132

iant-golden jubilee celebrations2012

Documents

directorsof iant

aahoaand iant

north texas iant

national federation

global organization

american associationsnfia

glorious journey

corporate advisory board