Journalists from various cities of Madhya Pradesh, India, warmly welcomed CB Patel, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar at a seminar organised by State Press Club, Madhya Pradesh, to speakon the topic - ‘India's changing image abroad’.
He was felicitated with the most prestigious ‘Devi AhilyaAlankaran’ award by the State Press Club. Senior journalists from Mandsaur, viz. Ishwar Ramchandani, Priyanka Ramchandani and Manish Maru presented CB with the silver murti of Bhagavan Pashupatinath.
Speaking at the seminar CB said, “Indians have achieved a unique place in the world through their hard work, intelligence, and devotion to eternal values. The respect and influence of the Indian community have increased over the years but looking at the way the Indian community is progressing, I can confidently say that the best is yet to come.”
CB elaborated on how a few decades ago, other countries perceived India as a poor and weak nation. But with passage of time, India has earned its respect by transforming its image into a progressive one, not only by increasing food production but also byintroducing principles such as Yoga and Ahimsa (non-violence).
Therefore today, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can have the courage to criticise Russia’s powerful leader, Vladimir Putin about his mistakes. This self-esteem and courage are the result of the efforts of Indians living across the world, trying to make their motherland proud. Indians have an innateconcept of“shame,” or a reluctance to commit a bad deed or crime, and this has been extremely beneficial to the country’s changing image.
He added, Pakistan was liberated at the same time as India, but its international image now makes it a target of sympathy.
Kuldip Singh Shekhawat, Chairman & MD of MATV media group, London, UK said, “India’s image abroad has improved significantly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. India has now become a country to which other countries pay close attention.”
Mahesh Liloriya, Group Editor, ABPL Group UK said, “Today’s Indians abroad are leading the way in many fields, and it’s natural to be proud of their accomplishments. The energy and generosity derived from their eternal values are the reason behind the Indian success story. Today, India is regarded as one of the most powerful countries. Indians are also ahead in the fields of charity and service as well as politics and culture, in the United Kingdom.”
Mr Liloriya also proposed that the State Press Club Madhya Pradesh and Abhinav Kala Samaj should organise a one-of-a-kind event in London celebrating Malwa’s culture and cuisine.
Kumar Rakesh, Editorial Chairman of Global Governance News group and Samagra Bharat Media Group, stated that he has travelled to over 70 countries in the past and believes that because of Karmayogi Indians, India’s image in the world has changed and respect has increased manifold. Prior to 2014, Indian embassies had to work hard to get minor news published in foreign newspapers; but today, many leading newspapers queue up for an interview with Modiji. The image of India has changed in an unprecedented way.
Praveen Kumar Khariwal, President, State Press Club, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, stated that it was a matter of pride that a media personality was among those being honoured by the Prime Minister and President of India, and the club was able to honour him too.
The guests began the event by lighting a lamp and garlanding the picture of Maa Saraswati. Senior journalists Sanjeev Acharya, Manohar Limbodia, Lalit Upamanyu, Navneet Shukla, Deepak Budana, Akash Choukse, Rachna Johri, Meena Rana Shah, Sonali Yadav, Preeti Bhardwaj, and others welcomed the guests.
Alok Bajpai, a multifaceted cultural worker, coordinated the event, and the vote of thanks was by Praveen Khariwal, President of the Madhya Pradesh State Press Club.
Unprecedented enthusiasm was seen in the media fraternity to welcome CB. Ashish Patni, Ashish Jha from Raipur, Jitendra Jakhetia, Satyakam Shastri, Dr. Kamal Hetawal, Gaurav Chaturvedi, Ganesh S. Chaudhary from Bhopal, Gagan Chaturvedi, Chandrashekhar Sharma, Ashok Raghuvanshi, Praveen Dhanotia, Tahir Kamal Siddiqui, etc. including many other journalists and culture lovers joined CB to felicitate him.
