Dinner with the Wellington Indian Association

Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni

Greetings: Your Excellency, KP Ernest, High Commissioner for India to New Zealand; President of Wellington Indian Association Javerbhai Naran; Ratilal Champaneri, Vice President of New Zealand Indian Central Association, distinguished guests otherwise, ladies and gentlemen.  Namaste, Namashkaar, Sat sri akal, Salaam walaikum, Kam cho.

It is a great pleasure for my wife Susan and I to be here this evening.  There are many familiar faces here and I have of course been here at Bharat Bhavan on many occasions but of course not as Governor-General.

I want to thank you for your wonderful welcome, for the wonderful garlands, thank you Ramilaben and Pravinaben, and also for the very enjoyable dance, thank you Bharat Natyam Swagat.

There have been quite a number of festive events that I have had the honour to attend in my 67 days as Governor-General but being of Indian heritage there is  a special affinity with the particular style of festivity which we are enjoying tonight.

The organisers of this splendid event have asked me to speak briefly about some of the things I spoke about when I addressed the New Zealand Indian Central Association a few weeks back up in Auckland and it is a pleasure for me to do so. 

In my speech to the Central Association, I spoke of the historial evolution of the presence of Indian communities in New Zealand.  While a lot of the facts will be known by many of you, it remains interesting to recount how, back in the 1800s, Indian men began migrating to New Zealand to work often in menial occupations. 

I would like to quote from a text which is on the website of the NZICA and the Auckland and Wellington Indian Associations which is so eloquent that any attempt to express these sentiments better must be doomed.  The text reads as follows:

"The early years were never easy, the winters were unbearable, everyone experienced the financial hardships, and the discrimination against Indians was evident. Having little or no financial saving on arriving, even accommodation was not assured, some of our ancestors slept under the open skies, whilst they travelled on horse, tram and bicycles to various towns in search of employment. Even work was not easy to obtain, as knowledge of the English language was limited, at best a labouring job was all that could be expected. Despite all these difficulties, life went on and these men tried as best they could to assimilate amidst the people of New Zealand.

As the understanding of Western culture became apparent, these men ventured into business on their own, with fruit barrows and eventually their own retail stores. They worked extremely hard, with a days work lasting, anything from twelve to eighteen hours a day. All this, would earn between one to two pounds a week".

How far away from those times our present generation seems to be.  Of course, people of Indian origin still work extremely hard, and quite a number of them carry on to work in those trading professions which their forebears chose.  But today, the well over 62,000 New Zealand Indians, drawn not only from India but from Fiji, Malaysia, South Africa and elsewhere, are well established in New Zealand society and respected members of it. 

The length and breadth of the country, New Zealand Indians make valued contributions to the future of this country in a variety of occupations and pursuits both urban and rural both professional and commercial.  It is fine to think that your presence- our presence - is celebrated as an integral part of New Zealand's nationhood.

As many of know it has not always been so easy for Indians who chose New Zealand as their new home.  But the Wellington Indian Association has done much to dispel discriminatory attitudes towards Indian communities and, together with the national umbrella organisation, to positively influence Government immigration and social policies.

Today, people of Indian origin are involved in many aspects of New Zealand life, registering an influence on a range of economic and social settings.

So, while the history of Indian communities in New Zealand certainly has had its darker moments, I consider that the future is undoubtedly bright.  There is, for example, the increasing popularity of New Zealand as an education destination for Indian students - last year more than 3,000 Indian students gained approved applications for student visas and permits in New Zealand.  Many of these students will stay on and make an ongoing contribution to New Zealand.

And, thanks to organisations such as the Wellington Indian Association and the many wonderful individuals who help to bring the many and varied communities in New Zealand together, we all enjoy cross-cultural relationships that keep going from strength to strength. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it is always hard to follow several other speakers, especially ones of the caliber of the High Commissioner and Mr Naran, and so I am keeping my comments this evening brief. 

It is a great honour to be amongst such distinguished company and I just wish to thank you all for giving us the opportunity to be here this evening.

Thank you again for your invitation to Susan and I tonight. I look forward to working with you all in the years of my term.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora koutou katoa