Community Reception in Honour of Congresswoman Grace Meng

(From Left to Right - Congresswoman Grace Meng with Consul General Amb. Dnyaneshwar M Mulay)

Consulate General of India, New York hosted a community reception in honour of Congresswoman Grace Meng on September 3, 2014 at the consulate’s ballroom. Representative Meng is the first Asian-American from New York to serve in Congress and the first female Member too. Representative Meng is a rising star in the Democratic Party who has already proven her effectiveness in fighting for progressive values.

(Consul General Amb. Dnyaneshwar M Mulay speaking on the occasion)

Consul General, Amb. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay welcomed and introduced the significance of the event to all the guests.  After warm greetings and welcoming the guests Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay during his opening remarks highlighted need for more interaction between Indian diaspora and political leaders for the strengths of bilateral relations between India and USA. He underlined various achievements of various Indian-American in numerous fields in the United States and highlighted the contributions by them in different walks of life and he appealed to the Indian American community to work whole heartedly for the cause of building India, and India-US relationship. He also appreciated the contribution of the Indian American community towards India’s social and economic development.

(Congresswoman Grace Meng being honoured by Consul General Amb. Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, To the right is Mr Ashook Ramasaran)

Mr. Ashook Ramsaran, President of GOPIO International also spoke on the occassion. He introduced the life and work of Congresswoman as Mr. Ramsaran is closely associated with her work. Consul General Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay along with Mr. Ashook Ramsaran handed over the plaque to the Congresswoman Grace Meng behalf of Indian community for the services rendered by her.

(Congresswomen Meng speaking after being honoured)

Congresswoman Meng, in her speech said "Building bridges is important for combating hatred and bigotry". She also discussed various issues she was working on to assist Indian community. She discussed how Asian-American communities should come and work together to build a strong relationship between India and USA.

(Indian Dance by Surati Performing Arts)

The reception was spiced by a cultural event, an Indian Dance by Surati Performing Arts. It was followed by vote of thanks from Mr. Nissin B Reuben. Large number of the members of Indian community from New York and the tri-state area attended the reception which included Ms. Harriet Schleifer, Member of the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee (AJC); Mr. Nissim B. Reuben, Assistant Director, AJS’s Asia-Pacific Institute; Ms Nisha Agarwal, New York City Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs; Lt Col. Ravi Chaudhury, the Air Force District of Washington Executive Officer,; and US Army Major Kamal Kalsi.

Event ended with a formal dinner.

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