Category Diaspora

Ashoka Pillar now stands tall in Australia

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 21.11.2008 (IANS): It has been hailed as historic. A five-metre-high Ashoka Pillar now stands at a monastery located midway between Sydney and Canberra, in a celebration of the spread of Buddhism from India to Australia.

Believed to be the first in Australia, the Ashoka Pillar has been installed at the Sunnataram Forest Monastery in the verdant surroundings of Southern Highlands.

“This is a truly historic event. The Ashoka Pillar, whose Lion Capitol is the national emblem of India, symbolises the global relevance of the principles of truth, non-violence, tolerance and compassion,” Sujan R. Chinoy, consul general of India in Sydney, told IANS.

“Emperor Ashoka fostered democratic rule and it is a privilege to dedicate the Ashoka Pillar at a Buddhist monastery in a fellow democracy such as Australia.”

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Indians celebrate Kali Puja in Sydney – for causes in India

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 28.10.2008 (IANS): Kali Puja in Sydney has attained a deeper meaning for a group of young professional migrants, mainly Bengali, who have been celebrating the festival with much fanfare to raise funds for charitable projects in India.

“We have all shared a dream of helping the less privileged sections of society in and around Kolkata. We feel, in our own small way, we can make a difference. This year we have been able to raise A$ 4,000 (Rs.123,925), which will go towards funding higher education for disadvantaged students and a mental asylum in Kolkata”, says Aditi Coomar, a town planner who migrated here with her husband, Indranil, five years ago.

“Growing up in India, I could appreciate the difficulties people faced to survive; so when I migrated to Australia, I was determined to help the community back home. Instead of donating to an organisation, I wanted to get directly involved and Kali puja was a good platform to get as many people as possible involved in a good cause,” Coomar told IANS.

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India-born doctor’s teenage attackers charged in Australia

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 25.10.2008 (IANS): Three teenagers have been charged with the savage bashing of India-born doctor and former head of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Mukesh Haikerwal and a spate of attacks on four other people in Melbourne’s Williamstown suburb last month.

The much respected doctor was said to have been attacked by a gang of people aged between 17 and 21, of medium-build and Caucasian-looking, who went on an one-hour rampage, attacking four other people in a five-km radius on the night of Sep 27.

The 47-year-old doctor was hit on the head with a baseball bat and then repeatedly kicked as he lay on the ground near his home at the Dennis Reserve. Continue reading →