Tuesday, July 04, 2006
ANA Convention Photos 1
Press Release: ANTA New York City
July 2
On July 1, 2006 on the sidelines of the ANA (Association of Nepalis in America) Convention being held in Newark, New Jersey, the ANTA (Association of Nepali Teraian in America) New York City chapter organized a dinner ceremony to honor three Nepali entrepreneurial legends, Upendra Mahato and Jeeba Lamichhane from the former Soviet bloc, and Aditya Jha from Toronto, Canada.
A chic downtown Newark location was chosen for the evening occasion that was a short drive from the convention site at the Sheraton near the Newark International Airport.
All the central leaders of ANTA were in attendance, namely Ratan Jha, Jay Mandal, Lalit Jha, Pramod Kantha, and Mukesh Singh. A lot of local ANTA luminaries were also in attendance, namely Binay Shah, Ritesh Chaudhary, Satya Narayan Yadav, Biplav Yadav, Binod Shah, and Satyendra Shah, among others.
Upendra Mahato emphasized there were three pillars to success, hard work and honesty you have to have and there is no excuse for not having, and luck you create. If you have these three, strucutural prejudices fall by the way side.
Aditya Jha said the gathering was an emotionally intense experience for him.
One of the speakers at the dinner took offense that Upendra Mahato was not recognized at the ANA inauguration ceremony. He said the Nepalis in America are arrogrant like the American government is arrogant. The relatively lukewarm response in America to the NRN (Non Resident Nepali) movement being spearheaded by Upendra Mahato since 2003 he ascribed at least partly to Mahato being a Madhesi.
The three were made honorary members.
A string of ANTA members spoke. Some emphasized issues in personal responsibility, others emphasized Madhesi pride, and still others felt the need to be aggressive about Madhesi empowerment.
All three took questions from the floor towards the end. Many were to do with curiosities about their mind boggling business successes.
After the formal ceremony was over and the guests left for their hotels, ANTA had its grandest meeting ever when all the structural issues were settled, and a strong internal unity was cemented. A grand decision was taken to go on a massive membership drive under the leadership of Dr. Binod Shah. It was decided to hold ANTA's first ever elections in September.
This was described the largest gathering of Madhesis in American history. It was noted that the ANTA NYC chapter was already its biggest, and it doubled in size by the end of this event.
US-based NRNS discuss their role in empowering Nepal
Non-residents Nepalis (NRNs) have discussed the possibilities of contribution in the Nepal’s development at a session on the role of the NRN-North American Coordination Committee (NRN-NACC) in Empowering Nepal during the Convention of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas in Newark, NJ (USA) on July 1.
Addressing the session, president of NRN-International Coordinating Council (NRN-ICC) Dr. Upendra Mahato appealed to the North American diaspora to participate in the NRN Movement more vigorously, a statement issued by NAN-A said. He said time has come for the North American Nepali community to assist in empowering Nepal through participation in various projects initiated by the NRN-A.
“NRN-A, an organization committed to the vision of making Nepal a peaceful and prosperous nation, is an organization of every Nepali who is out of Nepal for over 182 days and therefore it is our collective responsibility to make NRN movement more sustainable and stronger,” Mahato, who has stake in various joint-venture projects in Nepal, said.
He spoke on the concept of nation building in terms of knowledge, technology and development and the role of overseas Nepali communities.
Suman R Timsina, the Vice President of NACC, spoke on the structure of the NRN-North American Coordination Committee and some of the important undertakings by the North American diaspora such as the public library in Kathmandu, the NRN Skill Directory as ‘NRN Knowledge Bank’, old age home in Devghat. He also challenged North American diaspora to join the movement wholeheartedly while Nepal needs help from everyone. The NRN-ICC member from Russia Jiba Lamichane spoke on current trend of remittance to Nepal and its contribution in Nepal’s economy. He further informed that NRN is working with FNCCI to open vocational training centers in each of the 14 zones, which will have a direct impact on skill enhancement and remittance.
Dibya Hada, an NRN from USA, spoke on the history of the North American Nepali diaspora and thanked the leaders of current NRN movement for taking it globally and transforming the diaspora as a collective force.
Mukesh Singh, the NRN-ICC member from USA, spoke on the declaration of the Second Global NRN Conference held in Kathmandu in October 2005 and provided an overview on the 100-million USD Nepal Investment Fund and the programs in 75 districts.
Other participants suggested that it was a right time for Nepal to demonstrate generosity by granting dual citizenship to attract more NRNs to make substantive contribution to Nepal’s overall development.
Speaking on the occasion, Aditya Jha, an entrepreneur from Canada, proposed to build at least one internet café in each of the 75 districts of Nepal and make the project sustainable with an initial investment of US $ 300,000. He pledged for $100,000 and asked others to match the contribution to make the project a success.
NRN North America Coordinating Committee also received pledge for initiating projects in coordination with local communities in Morang, Dhangadi and Myagdi districts as a part of implementing programs under the Kathmandu Declaration, according the statement.
The session was attended by over 75 NRN representatives. nepalnews.com mk July 04 06
ANTA felicitates three people
Association of Nepali Teraian in America (ANTA), New York Chapter felicitated Dr Upendra Mahato and Jeeba Lamichhane from the former Soviet bloc, and Aditya Jha from Toronto, Canada on the sidelines of the Association of Nepalis in America (ANA) Convention held in Newark, New Jersey.
A press statement issued by the ANTA said all the central leaders of ANTA were present in the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahato emphasized that ANTA must work for the fellow teraians in Nepal and in USA.
"Madhesis and pahadis should not fight with each other, they must work together for prosperous Nepal," he added.
Aditya Jha said the gathering was an emotionally intense experience for him.
Responding to a question by one of the participants, all the three distinguished guests said the contribution of women is paramount in their success.
Aditya Jha and Dr Upendra Mahato were made honorary members of ANTA. nepalnews.com pb July 03 06
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, July 3 - The Democratic Madhesi Alliance staged a sit-in at the main gate of Singhadurbar at 4 p.m. Sunday as a part of their six-day protest against exclusion, a statement issued by the alliance said.
The alliance announced protests beginning Sunday against the exclusion of Madhesis from talks team, ceasefire code of conduct monitoring committee, peace talks observers' team, and interim constitution drafting committee.
The alliance has put forward five demands including distribution of citizenship certificates to all deprived of it, prior to constituent assembly elections.
They also demand clear outline of Federal Democratic Republic in the interim constitution, census before constituent assembly elections and division of election constituencies on proportional basis and guarantee of proportionate participation of Mashesis in all structures of state.
The protest to follow in the next five days include sit-ins in front of CPN-UML office in Balkhu, Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar, Nepali Congress central party office in Sanepa, Nepali Congress (Democratic) office in Maharajgunj and CPN (Maoist) talks team's secretariat in Old Baneswore respectively.
Issuing a separate statement Sunday, Nepal Terai Engineers' Society has expressed serious concern over the exclusion of Madhesi Engineers in the nominations at Nepal Engineers' Council.
The society has said that the absence of even a single Madhesi Engineer among the nine nominees is serious.
In The News
Maoists not to operate "people's courts" in urban centers, asked to raise donations only "voluntarily" Prachanda has said he has directed his party's district units not to operate "people's courts" in the capital and urban centers for the time being and raise donations on "voluntary" basis only. .... Addressing the House of Representatives on Sunday, Home Minister Krishna Sitaula had alleged that the rebels were continuing extortion and abduction of civilians in clear violation of the code of conduct signed by the government and the rebels last month. .... the Maoist chairman accused that US ambassador to Nepal, James F. Moriarty, and pro-palace elements were exaggerating the "compulsion" of his party to raise donations "voluntarily' in order to support the Maoist army and conduct day to day activities until an interim constitution and interim government was formed.
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