The second edition of Pravasi Gujarati Parva, co-hosted by the Association of Indian Americans of North America (AIANA) was organized in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The two-day event saw participation of more than 200 persons of eminence with Gujarati descent from across the globe. The event was inaugurated by CM Bhupendra Patel in presence of Biman Prasad, deputy PM of Fiji and others.
Sunil Nayak, president of AIANA, said that the event is a platform to take ‘Gujaratism’ to the world with about 55,00,000 persons of Gujarati origin living in other parts of the world. “Over the years, we have been called everything from American Born Confused Desi (ABCD) or coconuts who are brown from outside and white from inside, but we have made our mark in our chosen fields wherever we have made our homes,” he said.
While Biman Prasad’s wife traces her roots to Surat, another guest Vivek Malek, the treasurer of state, Missouri in the US, was brought up in Ahmedabad as his father worked with Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Julia Finn, MP from Australia, and Michael Wood, former minister of New Zealand, were also among participants who lauded the Gujaratis in their respective countries for economic and cultural contribution. The participants included mayors from the UK, diplomats from African nations, CEOs and businessmen from the US, the UK, Kenya and Japan, and artists from Germany and the UK – all tracing their roots to parts of Gujarat. Several were ‘twice immigrants’ who went to the US and the UK from East Africa.