Sunday, December 18, 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Summit paves way for productive partnerships
12 December 2005
India looking forward to comprehensive engagement with participants in new grouping
By N. Parthasarathi Indian ambassador to Korea
The inaugural East Asia Summit being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 14, is in more ways than one a historic event.
The East Asia Summit brings together countries with increasing inter-linkages and growing interdependence in a region that has emerged, and is likely to remain an increasingly important area of growth and influence globally.
The summit would be an occasion for the leaders of participating countries to articulate a strategic and responsible vision for the future of the region in the world.
India has been invited to the First East Asia Summit. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be participating in the summit. The idea of an East Asian Summit is in consonance with India's own long term perspective of development of the Asian region. The Prime Minister has already proposed in the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane that the coming together of the East Asian countries would be an anchor of stability and prosperity for the region and beyond. It would constitute an arc of advantage across which there would be large scale movement of people, capital, ideas and creativity.
India's foreign policy aims at a comprehensive, productive, meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship with all countries in the world. In particular, in the past decade, India has been rapidly developing multifaceted relations and cooperation with ASEAN as well as with Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, in what is now being termed as India's 'extended neighborhood.'
There is tremendous scope for this engagement to deepen and strengthen existing areas of cooperation and explore new vistas.
India's growing role in political and economic spheres in the region and the world is gaining increasing recognition. The participation of India in the East Asia Summit is an indication of this growing role of India.
India is now actively engaged in the world economy and is playing a very proactive role in the World Trade Organization. We have concluded free trade agreements in SAARC, with Singapore and Thailand. There is optimism that in the next few years, we would see considerable increase in economic cooperation in Asia covering all major Asian economies and extending to Australia and New Zealand.
India's "Look East Policy" is now over a decade old. The fact that successive governments in India continued with these policies shows the extent of consensus there is within India of the validity and importance of this policy. India has been participating at summit level with ASEAN countries since 2002. The partnership will help in exploiting the synergies and complementarities between India and ASEAN.
India is a microcosm of the globe because of its sub-continental size and the population accounting for nearly one sixth of humanity. India has shown to the world that it is conscious of its responsibilities and there is greater understanding of India's security and strategic interests. India is the world's largest democracy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Areas of strength in our economy are not confined to IT and biotechnology. India has entered into its second phase of liberalization, a phase of consolidation backed by strong domestic consensus. India believes that it is well placed to both contribute to globalization as well as reap its benefits. India's constructive contribution to the globalization process is well recognized.
By participating in the First East Asia Summit, India looks forward to comprehensive engagement with member countries. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had the foresight to prophesize, the 'emergence of Asia in world affairs will be a powerful influence for world peace.' The East Asia Summit is a major step forward in realizing this prophecy.
We are optimistic and confident the First East Asia Summit will pave the way for productive and constructive long-term partnerships in the region.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Philosopher envoy working hard for closer ties
December 5th 2005
India's current ambassador has only been in the job for just 2-1/2 months, but he's been extra busy showing visiting delegations around and meeting local companies and government officials so he can push relations to an even higher level.
"Korea is very important in the region and getting more important, and so is India. What is fantastic in our relations is the way they are growing. It is like being in the right place at the right time," N. Parthasarathi said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
Exuding excitement and energy, the 51 year-old envoy openly discussed how he changed careers, his philosophy about Indian society and religion, and his plans and hopes on bringing together two opposite sides of Asia.
Looking to improve relations between India and South Korea, Parthasarathi is looking into every angle.
"We just had a cultural dance performance. Our president will be coming in the next few months... ministers are coming. We are going to develop tourism. We are increasing the capacity to issue more visas. Right now we issue 50,000 visas to Koreans every year," he said.
Both countries share good political relations. In terms of commerce, there are huge investments underway, such as a 12.4 trillion won mining and production plant in the northeastern state of Orissa which will output an estimated 12 million tons of steel annually.
"It's a mind boggling amount. It's an old state with an old steel mill. It's an area with lots of iron and nearby there's a port," he said.
He meets regularly with so many industry leaders and chambers of commerce and others dealing with economy and trade that he's fast becoming an expert in Korean commerce and the political system.
On the cultural side, Parthasarathi is arranging a Buddhist exhibition with special artifacts from India. "We also want to host an India week with lots of events," he said.
"There is one guy who is interested in doing something to improve relations" is the message he repeats over and over, saying he feels the key to promoting relations is by creating friendships among both peoples.
Married for 26 years with two daughters, Parthasarathi started off as an engineer 30 years ago before being advised by friends to join the Foreign Service.
"In engineering the field is narrow but the Foreign Service gives you a broad canvas. It also gives you the freedom to identify the areas which are in your country's interest so you can do a lot. For example, we deal with small projects to a giant steel mill; it's (POSCO deal) a massive project. I'm trying to facilitate that. So it gives a fantastic opportunity to do a lot and I've never regretted it (switching careers)."
So, is it all work and no play? Not by a long shot - Parthasarathi enjoys golf, playing bridge and writing novels.
He wrote a thriller, in the style of Sydney Sheldon and Dan Brown, which is available at www.amazon.com.
"It's a real thriller. I mixed everything in it," he said. "It's set in India and Pakistan. It's a fast-reading book. When reading it, you get to learn as well as read a good story."
Titled "The Reluctant Assassin," it is a story about a boy from a simple background born in India whose mother lives in India while his father is in Pakistan. The boy grows up in India and flees to neighboring Pakistan to avoid the police. Once there he is trained as a terrorist and eventually gets into politics.
"It's got everything, assassinations, terrorism plots, religions, feudalism," Parthasarathi said.
But today's India is anything but fictional. That country is exploding in its development of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and knowledge-based technologies.
"The requirement for such professionals will mean a shortage in the coming years, even in India," he said. "Not only because people are leaving, it's because the growth is progressing so fast that we are not able to meet the requirements."
Parthasarathi explained that India is showing fantastic growth, moving along swiftly from a developing country toward an industrialized country with a momentum that will make it one of the world's leading economies within the next 15 years.
"The only problem we are facing is that our population is large. We have more than a billion people," he said.
He said India was virtually a continent, with every state different in terms of culture, language and script. He noted there are 16 officially recognized languages in India and every religion is present within its borders.
"Yet it's not a melting pot. It's not like a soup where all the ingredients have merged to form one identity. It's like a salad bowl which is also a beautiful dish but each ingredient usually maintains its own characteristic. Put them together and they work together and that is India," he said.
A Hindi by birth, Parthasarathi explained that in India there are thousands of gods and more being created all the time. For example a few years ago there was no deity named Santoshi Ma but someone made a film and said this is a goddess and now there are millions of followers.
"We try to understand our surroundings and adapt ourselves and gather material wealth and try to do everything but the question is how much time have we spent to understand ourselves.
"If we don't understand what is the point of making so much money, where does it take us. We used to be comfortable in the suburb areas then moved to the cities to work for five days just to run away to our weekend home. But the funny thing is that you had it already!" he said jokingly.
(yoav@heraldm.com)
By Yoav Cerralbono 2005.12.05
India's current ambassador has only been in the job for just 2-1/2 months, but he's been extra busy showing visiting delegations around and meeting local companies and government officials so he can push relations to an even higher level.
"Korea is very important in the region and getting more important, and so is India. What is fantastic in our relations is the way they are growing. It is like being in the right place at the right time," N. Parthasarathi said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
Exuding excitement and energy, the 51 year-old envoy openly discussed how he changed careers, his philosophy about Indian society and religion, and his plans and hopes on bringing together two opposite sides of Asia.
Looking to improve relations between India and South Korea, Parthasarathi is looking into every angle.
"We just had a cultural dance performance. Our president will be coming in the next few months... ministers are coming. We are going to develop tourism. We are increasing the capacity to issue more visas. Right now we issue 50,000 visas to Koreans every year," he said.
Both countries share good political relations. In terms of commerce, there are huge investments underway, such as a 12.4 trillion won mining and production plant in the northeastern state of Orissa which will output an estimated 12 million tons of steel annually.
"It's a mind boggling amount. It's an old state with an old steel mill. It's an area with lots of iron and nearby there's a port," he said.
He meets regularly with so many industry leaders and chambers of commerce and others dealing with economy and trade that he's fast becoming an expert in Korean commerce and the political system.
On the cultural side, Parthasarathi is arranging a Buddhist exhibition with special artifacts from India. "We also want to host an India week with lots of events," he said.
"There is one guy who is interested in doing something to improve relations" is the message he repeats over and over, saying he feels the key to promoting relations is by creating friendships among both peoples.
Married for 26 years with two daughters, Parthasarathi started off as an engineer 30 years ago before being advised by friends to join the Foreign Service.
"In engineering the field is narrow but the Foreign Service gives you a broad canvas. It also gives you the freedom to identify the areas which are in your country's interest so you can do a lot. For example, we deal with small projects to a giant steel mill; it's (POSCO deal) a massive project. I'm trying to facilitate that. So it gives a fantastic opportunity to do a lot and I've never regretted it (switching careers)."
So, is it all work and no play? Not by a long shot - Parthasarathi enjoys golf, playing bridge and writing novels.
He wrote a thriller, in the style of Sydney Sheldon and Dan Brown, which is available at www.amazon.com.
"It's a real thriller. I mixed everything in it," he said. "It's set in India and Pakistan. It's a fast-reading book. When reading it, you get to learn as well as read a good story."
Titled "The Reluctant Assassin," it is a story about a boy from a simple background born in India whose mother lives in India while his father is in Pakistan. The boy grows up in India and flees to neighboring Pakistan to avoid the police. Once there he is trained as a terrorist and eventually gets into politics.
"It's got everything, assassinations, terrorism plots, religions, feudalism," Parthasarathi said.
But today's India is anything but fictional. That country is exploding in its development of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and knowledge-based technologies.
"The requirement for such professionals will mean a shortage in the coming years, even in India," he said. "Not only because people are leaving, it's because the growth is progressing so fast that we are not able to meet the requirements."
Parthasarathi explained that India is showing fantastic growth, moving along swiftly from a developing country toward an industrialized country with a momentum that will make it one of the world's leading economies within the next 15 years.
"The only problem we are facing is that our population is large. We have more than a billion people," he said.
He said India was virtually a continent, with every state different in terms of culture, language and script. He noted there are 16 officially recognized languages in India and every religion is present within its borders.
"Yet it's not a melting pot. It's not like a soup where all the ingredients have merged to form one identity. It's like a salad bowl which is also a beautiful dish but each ingredient usually maintains its own characteristic. Put them together and they work together and that is India," he said.
A Hindi by birth, Parthasarathi explained that in India there are thousands of gods and more being created all the time. For example a few years ago there was no deity named Santoshi Ma but someone made a film and said this is a goddess and now there are millions of followers.
"We try to understand our surroundings and adapt ourselves and gather material wealth and try to do everything but the question is how much time have we spent to understand ourselves.
"If we don't understand what is the point of making so much money, where does it take us. We used to be comfortable in the suburb areas then moved to the cities to work for five days just to run away to our weekend home. But the funny thing is that you had it already!" he said jokingly.
(yoav@heraldm.com)
By Yoav Cerralbono 2005.12.05
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Seoul Robot School
A school dedicated entirely to the study and building of robots.
Mrs. Parthasarathi talks to students about India as part of the Cross Culture Program(UNESCO).
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Navratri in Seoul
By Cho Jae-eun/Kim Kyoung-mo Contributing Writers
Compared to most expatriate gatherings, this one was rather small: about 80 people at a minimally decorated hotel ballroom. Other expat parties, however, don't involve a ceremonial. battle between a goddess and a demon king.
Don't worry if you missed the Dandiya party, held at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel in central Seoul last weekend. The event is an annual tradition for Indians around the world, who gather at parties from Oct. 1 to 9 to hold a Navrati Festival, celebrate the indian goddess Durga, and perform the Dandiya dance. This stick dance, said to be ''as old as Lord Krishna," is from the Gujarat region of India and involves the dancers, both men and women of all ages, using sticks to depict the battle between Durga and Mahishasura, king of demons.
The Dandiya party, one of the most
prominent Indian gatherings in Korea, is organized by the Indian Merchant Association, which is now in its 20th year. The association comprises 50 representatives of Indian companies in Korea; most of the firms specialize in textiles or general trade. Besides for the Dandiya, the group also holds events for other Indian celebrations, such as Diwali (the Festival of Lights) and Holi (the spring festival), as well as charity events.
"The association is still in the process of expansion," said Syed Agha, the president of the India Merchant Association. "[It] starting out from 20 companies that joined to over 50 companies at present. It has spread its influence as a gathering of community people [Indians in Korea]."
Mr. Agha is the director for Grand Prism Ltd., a trading fIrm that exports textiles, garments, electronics and hotel supplies. He has been coordinating the events throughout his three
years as president.
The event at the Hilton hotel consisted of many things Indian - including starting on "Indian Time," as it was jovially dubbed. Although the setting of the ballroom was ready for the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start, the members and their families turned up about an hour later.
Past 8:30, women and children arrive dressed in colorful saris, from the voluminous authentic type featuring intricate beadings and miles of drop-dyed chiffon to the more casual sari tops in trendy colors -turquoise and magenta -paired with jeans.
The men's outfits, on the other hand, was more diverse, with outfits from plaid shirts and khakis to an earthy-colored traditional garb: a long tunic, called kurta, worn with chodidar (pants) and duptta (men's scarves) that match the overall costume.
The latest entry to Korea's Indian community was the new ambassador
of India to Korea, N. Parthasarathi and his wife. The couple arrived last week from India.
Currently there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Indians living in Korea, according to Mr. Agha, but the number has been growing, with a noticeable number flying here to work in Korea's powerful IT industry.
Most Indians speak Hindi and English, but many are fluent in Korean as well. Among them is R.K.Bhesaniya, a trader of textiles who recently acquired Korean citizenship. (He wouldn't be the first to do so: according to legend, King Suro of the lst century Korean kingdom of Gaya married an Indian princess, who would have been the first Indian to
, become a Korean "citizen.")
" Although our home towns are scattered all over India, [Indians in Korea] never had any trouble getting along. We were always like family,"
said Mr. Bhesaniya, who speaks flluent Korean and has been here for 11 years.
After a buffet dinner featuring assorted curry dishes, smatiria and Indian desserts such as sago (coconut juice and tapioca), came the highlight of the festival: the Dandiyo dance competition. !
At the small DJ box stood J Bhagutandani, the volunteer for this event, who mixed a variety of Dandiya songs with contemporary pop and techno. When "Pardes " by the popular singer Kumar Kishore came on, dancers on the floor lip- synched all together. By midnight they had a winner: The grand prize, a one-night stay at the Hilton, went to Pankaj Agarwal and his wife Pooja. Mr. Agarwal, a native of Kishang, is enrolled in electronic engineering department of Seoul National University's master's program.
estyle@joongang.co.kr
Compared to most expatriate gatherings, this one was rather small: about 80 people at a minimally decorated hotel ballroom. Other expat parties, however, don't involve a ceremonial. battle between a goddess and a demon king.
Don't worry if you missed the Dandiya party, held at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel in central Seoul last weekend. The event is an annual tradition for Indians around the world, who gather at parties from Oct. 1 to 9 to hold a Navrati Festival, celebrate the indian goddess Durga, and perform the Dandiya dance. This stick dance, said to be ''as old as Lord Krishna," is from the Gujarat region of India and involves the dancers, both men and women of all ages, using sticks to depict the battle between Durga and Mahishasura, king of demons.
The Dandiya party, one of the most
prominent Indian gatherings in Korea, is organized by the Indian Merchant Association, which is now in its 20th year. The association comprises 50 representatives of Indian companies in Korea; most of the firms specialize in textiles or general trade. Besides for the Dandiya, the group also holds events for other Indian celebrations, such as Diwali (the Festival of Lights) and Holi (the spring festival), as well as charity events.
"The association is still in the process of expansion," said Syed Agha, the president of the India Merchant Association. "[It] starting out from 20 companies that joined to over 50 companies at present. It has spread its influence as a gathering of community people [Indians in Korea]."
Mr. Agha is the director for Grand Prism Ltd., a trading fIrm that exports textiles, garments, electronics and hotel supplies. He has been coordinating the events throughout his three
years as president.
The event at the Hilton hotel consisted of many things Indian - including starting on "Indian Time," as it was jovially dubbed. Although the setting of the ballroom was ready for the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start, the members and their families turned up about an hour later.
Past 8:30, women and children arrive dressed in colorful saris, from the voluminous authentic type featuring intricate beadings and miles of drop-dyed chiffon to the more casual sari tops in trendy colors -turquoise and magenta -paired with jeans.
The men's outfits, on the other hand, was more diverse, with outfits from plaid shirts and khakis to an earthy-colored traditional garb: a long tunic, called kurta, worn with chodidar (pants) and duptta (men's scarves) that match the overall costume.
The latest entry to Korea's Indian community was the new ambassador
of India to Korea, N. Parthasarathi and his wife. The couple arrived last week from India.
Currently there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Indians living in Korea, according to Mr. Agha, but the number has been growing, with a noticeable number flying here to work in Korea's powerful IT industry.
Most Indians speak Hindi and English, but many are fluent in Korean as well. Among them is R.K.Bhesaniya, a trader of textiles who recently acquired Korean citizenship. (He wouldn't be the first to do so: according to legend, King Suro of the lst century Korean kingdom of Gaya married an Indian princess, who would have been the first Indian to
, become a Korean "citizen.")
" Although our home towns are scattered all over India, [Indians in Korea] never had any trouble getting along. We were always like family,"
said Mr. Bhesaniya, who speaks flluent Korean and has been here for 11 years.
After a buffet dinner featuring assorted curry dishes, smatiria and Indian desserts such as sago (coconut juice and tapioca), came the highlight of the festival: the Dandiyo dance competition. !
At the small DJ box stood J Bhagutandani, the volunteer for this event, who mixed a variety of Dandiya songs with contemporary pop and techno. When "Pardes " by the popular singer Kumar Kishore came on, dancers on the floor lip- synched all together. By midnight they had a winner: The grand prize, a one-night stay at the Hilton, went to Pankaj Agarwal and his wife Pooja. Mr. Agarwal, a native of Kishang, is enrolled in electronic engineering department of Seoul National University's master's program.
estyle@joongang.co.kr
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Novel in News
January 13, 2005
Tailing the assassin
Ready to look at the other side of the mirror...
N. Parthasarathi in New Delhi. Photo: Anu Pushkarna.
HE SLICES out a while from his busy South Block assignment to talk about his maiden book "The Reluctant Assassin" just out in the market. Having leafed through this Star Public publication, you pick on your queries for him. But before you realise, he throws his questions at you.
"Have you read the book?" "What do you think of it?" "Give me an honest appraisal"... .
Well, being an Indian Foreign Service official, having spent a good amount of time practicing diplomacy in many countries, including Pakistan, he knows where to effect the break. "I think I should leave it you. Please ask me anything about the book."
HE SLICES out a while from his busy South Block assignment to talk about his maiden book "The Reluctant Assassin" just out in the market. Having leafed through this Star Public publication, you pick on your queries for him. But before you realise, he throws his questions at you.
"Have you read the book?" "What do you think of it?" "Give me an honest appraisal"... .
Well, being an Indian Foreign Service official, having spent a good amount of time practicing diplomacy in many countries, including Pakistan, he knows where to effect the break. "I think I should leave it you. Please ask me anything about the book."
And N. Parthasarathi, Joint Secretary (Administration) at the Ministry of External Affairs, begins to unwind. "I wrote this book when I was in Damascus before joining this assignment here. Being a diplomat, one is always busy. But at times, if you miss one or two parties, you surely can take out time. In my case, I had to write as the story in my mind was ripe enough," says this soft-spoken Bangalorean, oft closing his words with a smile. Being a civil servant, writing non-fiction is an issue you'd better not fiddle with. And so, fiction is what one is left with. Having been in the know of terror that is so real and raw, be it in India or Pakistan, drowning most times the human side of life, and circumstances playing an evil game at a random pace, Parthasarathi had the canvas complete. It is the tale of a young Muslim boy from Bangalore, Imran Khan, touching the sleepless city of Mumbai one sunny day for a job interview. Falling victim to situations, he gets rimmed by events that have their roots in a few terrorist attacks in the city. One thing leads to another and he bundles up his innocence for a maiden visit to his father in Karachi. But he has many things going wrong for him - his religion and his timing to see his father in Pakistan.
"Having seen the two sides of the coin, I realised that we have to do something to wipe out the distrust for each other in the two countries. The only weapon to do it is through love and empathy," Parthasathi gives a thoughtful raison d'être. And arguably so, he crafts his characters with abundant love. "I have used simple words for everyone to understand the story. All through, I have restrained myself from being judgemental," he states. "It is a humane story and needs to be humanely told," he stresses. Though the Mumbai attacks in the book have a strong semblance to the 1992 Mumbai riots, Parthasarathi prefers to generalise it: "It could have been the Sikh riots in Delhi." What he wants to show here is a man falling deep in man-made problems, which are bigger here, considering the presence of mindless terrorism in his novel. Innocent beings becoming victims of situations.
"Also, I wanted to show very strongly that if you do any wrong, the wrong gets you finally. That is why, Imran had to lose his beloved sister," he avers. Being the maiden effort, the book has quite a few touching moments. But what is attractive, both at the start and at the end, is the narrative technique applied. In the Author's Note on Page 1, he gives a signed account of how he happened to meet Imran in Udaipur, commanding at once your attention and interest. As if it is a tale plucked out of real life. At the end, the epilogue talks of his auto-parts store in Udaipur again, the place he met Imran. Rounding off the canvas in a full circle.
But alas, we too know the line between fiction and reality is not so thin.
But alas, we too know the line between fiction and reality is not so thin.
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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