2014 for Indians in Australia

Indian Festival Celebrations for Indian Diaspora

Indians Celebrated Holi, Navratri, Deepavali, Vishu, Onam, Vaisakhi, Chithirai and Ugadi all around Australia. In most cases these festival celebrations received Government Funding.

Deepavali celebrated in all Major Australian Cities

Australia Celebrated Deepavali with music , dance and cuisine all around Australia. In Melbourne large scale celebrations in Federation Square and Sandown Racecourse attracted hundreds of jubilant revelers. Melbourne Tullamarine Airport was brightened with festive décor.

ShriSwaminarayanMandir, Melbourne jointly hosted Inaugural Diwali and Annakut celebration at Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne on 16th October 2014 in the presence of over 110 guests.

Sydney Opera House lights up for Deepavali

In 2014 for the first time Sydney Opera House was lighted up in acknowledgment of Diwali.

The list of Artists Performed in Australia

Pankaj Udhas JASHN live in Concert in October 2014 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane

K.J.Yesudas Concert in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in August 2014

Queen of Dandiya Falguni Pathak mesmerised the audience for Navratri Celebrations. Anchal Mehta, Hemant Chauhan and Atul Purohit were the other notable celebrities performed in Australia during this time.

Dharmendra was in Sydney on August 2014.

Bollywood actor Govinda performed in Melbourne and Sydney in May 2014

Gurdas Mann performed in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in September 2014

Amitabh Bachan visited Melbourne in Connection with the Indian Film Festival on May 2014.

Adnan Sami performed in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in June 2014.

S.P.Balasubrahmaniam and Chitra performed in Sydney and Adelaide on May 2014

Indiandiaspora News for 2014

Bengali Association of NSW Celebrates 40 years

The Bengali Association of New South Wales (BANSW) celebrated 40 years of its existence as an association that came into being with the first wave of Bengali Indian migrants in the mid-1970s, who arrived here to work as civil and mechanical engineers. Established in 1974 with only twelve member families, its founding members convened a meeting which was held at the now defunct India Tea Centre premises in the city.

Indian Regional Language Malayalam was included in the Victorian School of Languages

For the first time Malayalam was included in the Victorian School of Languages Syllabus. Now face to face learning centres for Malayalam are available in Victoria. With this inclusion students can study Malayalam and earn merit points for the VCE. For the Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil are the other Indian languages.

Indian Community farewells Arun Goel

Sydney’s Indian community gave a touching farewell to Indian Consul General in Sydney, Arun Goel and his wife Alka Goel, on Friday, 28th March, 2014. Approx 150 people attended the event, held at the newly opened event Centre, The Grand Marion, Harris Park, NSW. The gathering included Hon David Clarke MLC (Parliamentary Secretary, NSW Gov), Geoff Lee (State MP for Parramatta), Hon John Robertson (State Opposition Leader) and Lord Mayor Clr John Chedid (Mayor of Parramatta).

Indian Diaspora – Achievements

Tragic News for Indian Community

December 2014 – The body of a Punjabi youngster, named Pradip Kumar from Saila Kalan, was found floating in the Yarra River in Melbourne.
December 2014 – The Indian man believed to have committed suicide by swerving his car into the path of a truck at 4am on Hopkins Rd, Truganina, near Caroline Springs. on 14th December 2014 is identified as Sunil Beniwal. Three hours later police found his estranged wife Shikha Godara Beniwal dead in a house in Corey Close, Deer Park, north of Melbourne
December 2014 – 21 year old Rehmat Sandhu died after falling from the glass balcony of 20th floor of the City Road tower just before 4am on Saturday morning 6th of December 2014.
November 2014 – Melbourne resident Satheesh Nair dies at Frazer Beach, Frazer Park, south of Newcastle on Saturday. On 8 November around 2.50 pm, 44-year-old Satheesh Nair, a Melbourne-based IT entrepreneur, was found face-down in water after entering the surf.
September 2014- Aneri Patel, 16, from Kogarah High School died after a 4WD crashed into the O’Reilly & Daly Chemist at Kogarah, demolishing half the shop, about 11.30am on 15th September 2014.
July 2014 – Mr S.M.Paramanathan, a well-known Tamil community leader in Queensland, died in a fire accident 11 July 2014 evening in Middle Park. He was 73. Many acknowledge Paramanathans tireless services to the community. He is a brother-in-law of well-known Sydney academic, writer and broadcaster, Prof. A.S. Kandarajah.
April 2014 – Four year old Malayali Boy Odrig Thomas died after run over by a car in Sydney’s West. The four year old was crossing Hawkesbury Road Rd at the corner of Mowle St, with his mother and brother at about 4.30pm.in Westmead on Tuesday afternoon. The boy sustained serious head injuries. Paramedics tried to revive the child at the scene before taking him to Westmead Hospital, where he later died..
March 2014 -31 year old Indian Engineer Senthil Kumar Arumugam has been charged with the murder of Singapore student, Meena Narayanan. The family of Brisbane masters student Meena Narayanan are distraught after the 27-year-old was stabbed to death in an Upper Mount Gravatt hotel on 25th March 2014 at Brisbane time 12:30 AM.
March 2014 – Aussie Unity Real Estate real estate agent, Vissa Esan, 48, died at Westmead Hospital after allegedly being stabbed in the chest outside the back of his Pendle Hill business around 7:30PM on 12th March 2014.
February 2014 – Dalvir Singh, 27, died at the Maribyrnong Immigration detention centre on February 13th allegedly by hanging himself.
February 2014 Fiji Indian Monika Chetty, 39, was found in bushland at West Hoxton with horrific burns to 80 per cent of her face and body. She later died from the complication arising from the injury.

Attack against Indians in Australia

April 2014 – A 24 year old Indian man, Mehtab Singh was attacked at Burden Park, Corner of Heatherton Rd and Springvale Rd in Springvale South on 26th April 2014. The alleged attack took place at around 3:30 PM. Mehtab Singh is in Melbourne for the last 6 years.

Indian Boat Puts Abbott in Trouble

June 2014 – People smugglers have gone one step ahead of Abbotts turn the boat policy. This time people smugglers made it a success to reach near Christmas Island with a vessel carrying 153 Tamil refugees. The boat allegedly left India from Puducherry in the south of India. But the boat people were sent back to Sri Lanka by the Government.

Biometric data collection for all types of Indian Visa

The Government of India has rolled out Biometric Data Collection for Indian Visa globally and has already implemented this in several countries. This is part of the larger IVFRT (Indian Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking) Programme. With effect from 1stOctober, 2014, submission of all applications including Visa, Passport, OCI and Miscellaneous Consular services will require an appointment to be made online atwww.vfsglobal.com/region/Australia along with the online application process. Applications will no longer be accepted from walk-in applicants from 1st October 2014 and all applicants will need to have an appointment made prior to submission. With effect from 15th October 2014. Biometric Data collection, including fingerprint data and facial imagery, will be a mandatory requirement for all visa applicants.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visits Australia

November 2014 – A crowd of 16000 adoring fans cheered Narendra Modi at the All Phones Arena, Sydney. Indians from Sydney and Melbourne gathered to see the Indian Prime Minister visiting the Australian shores after a long gap of 28 years. Modi dedicated the welcome to the people of home country.,

“ This love, this welcome , this respect I give to the children of Mother India”. He said.

With all free tickets to the event snapped up, hundreds more people watched the proceedings on a huge outdoor screen.

Prime Minister Modi pointed out that although it takes just one day to come to Australia, it had taken a Prime Minister of India 28 long years to arrive, and promised that it would never happen again.

“Leave at night and you’ll reach Australia in the morning. But it took 28 years for the PM of India to come here. My friends in Australia, I assure you…you won’t have to wait for 28 more years for such a visit to take place,” he pointed out.

In Melbourne, Narendra Modi attended a state sponsored banquette with 500 hand-picked guests which included Indians.

Politics

Liberal Party Dis endorses Nitin Gursahani

November 2014 – The Liberal party has dis-endorsed Nitin Gursahani, candidate representing the Thomastown seat in the state elections to the Victorian Parliament. But Mr Gursahani’s name will remain on the ballot paper as nominations for the poll have closed. Gursahani through his family company Kiren Australia, has planned to bring Bollywood porn star Sunny Leon to Melbourne. This has prompted the Party to take the hasty decision, when the state elections are only a week away. Sunny Leone is a pornographic actor who was named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2003. She has featured in films such as Alabama Jones and the Busty Crusade, Shut Up and F*** me, and Busty Cops 1 and 2.

Victorian Elections – The same old Story

November 2014 – Both the major parties and the Greens endorsed Indian Candidates for unwinnable seats in the Victorian State Election in 2014. The Sri Lankan Born Jude Perera was the only winner from Indian Subcontinent.

Movies

Hindi Movie Humshakals turned out to be the worst flop to hit Australia this year. Sharukh Khan’s Happy New Year and Amir Khan’s PK made comparatively good collection. Regional language Movie Drishyam of Mohan Lal was another popular movie to hit the screens in Australia. Rajani Kanth’s Lingaa and Kochadiyaan flopped in Australia.

Indians in responsible positions

Vasan Srinivasan Appointed as one of the members of Australian Multicultural Affair

Vasan Srinivasan, director of Shimak Davar International and Chair of the Confederation of Australian Indian Association Inc., was appointed as one of the members of the Australian Multicultural Council. The Council advises the Government on multicultural affairs.

Vasan a well-known member of the Indian community and he has been involved in projects on mental health and other multicultural projects throughout Victoria. He was recently awarded the Meritorious Service Award for Excellence in multicultural affairs by the Victorian Government in 2013. Vasan served as president of the Federation of Indian Association of Victoria and was a founding member of the Federation of Indian Multifaith Organizations Victoria Inc.

Hari Harinath named chair of CRC Advisory Board

Former Chairman of Cricket NSW, Dr Hari Harinath OAM, has been named the new Chair of the Community Relations Commission’s (CRC) Advisory Board

Former Chairman of Cricket NSW, Dr Hari Harinath OAM, has been named the new Chair of the Community Relations Commission’s (CRC) Advisory Board. Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello announced Dr Harinath’s appointment with seven part-time Advisory Board Members.

“The make-up of the new Advisory Board truly reflects the changing face of multicultural NSW.

Piyush Gupta Appointed as non-executive director of NAB

An Indian born Piyush Tupta was appointed non-executive director of National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the largest financial institutions in Australia. Peeyush Gupta, who replaced Geoff Tomlinson. Peeyush has extensive experience in the wealth management sector. He was one of the founders of IPAC Securities that was later acquired by AXA, another financial adviser company, for $205 million in 2002.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Promises heaps to Indian Community in Victoria

Victorian Government to fund Holi Celebrations

Victorian Labor Government promises to fund holi celebrations. Daniel Andrews announced the Labor government led by him will provide $30,000 each year during its first term towards the iconic annual Holi festival celebrations over four years.

Daniel Andrews to Fund Indian Cultural Precinct in Victoria

Daniel Andrews, Leader of the Victorian Labor made a historic announcement at Federation Square to create an Indian Cultural Precinct to recognise and consecrate the contribution that the communities of the subcontinent make to Melbourne.

PM Abbott returns Nataraja

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott handed over two antique statues of Hindu deities which were allegedly stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu before being bought by art galleries in Australia The returned the idols, one of which is a Nataraja — the dancing Shiva — which belonged to the Chola dynasty of 11th-12th century. The other sculpture is of Ardhanariswara, which represents Shiva in half-female form, and dates back to 10th century.

Thank you Mr. Tony Abbott for your kind gesture.

NB. If we have missed out any significant event happened in 2014, please use the comments column to notify us

2014 for Indians in Australia added by admin on December 29, 2014
View all posts by admin →