LAKSHMI IYER
India Post News Service
FREMONT, California: The community bid a fond farewell to Deputy Consul General Rohit Rathish of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco August 7 at a dinner hosted by India Post publisher and Festival of Globe (FOG) Founder and Convener, Dr. Romesh Japra at his home, Japra Vineyards. Local dignitaries such as California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra and Fremont city Councilmembers Yang Shao, Vinnie Bacon and Jenny Kassan were present on the occasion along with many members of Federation of Indo-Americans *FIA) of Northern California, the parent organization of FOG.
Rohit Rathish has been of tremendous help to the Indian community, Ash Kalra said while stating that while Assembly members and other prominent dignitaries and politicians get all the credit or attention, it is the people behind them who do most of the work. He said that he and his staff were saddened by Rathish’s departure.
“And that says a lot about the Deputy Consul General. But the staff members know of the work because, trust me, we get a lot of people we work with, they are not always easy to work with, they don’t always come through. But Deputy Consul General Rohit has always come through for us. He has always been there for us.”
Kalra then went on to relate the instance of him leading a delegation to India, comprising several of his colleagues. After the trip was planned, the Consul General changed (the current Consul General in San Francisco Sanjay Panda succeeded Venkatesan Ashok). “Our previous Consul General in office offered support, our new Consul General offered support, but the reality was that having Rohit there was really the continuity, and to keep that work going so that the trip was extremely successful. Everything we needed and accomplished we did because of the support we received from our Consul General’s office. I give great credit to our Deputy Consul Rohit Rathish.”
Councilmember Vinnie Bacon spoke about his technology career and the India-US partnership. Councilmember Jenny Kassan said, “As probably many of you know, we support the festival (Festival of India) as much as we can. It is such an important part of our community and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the city (of Fremont) does support the festival.”
Rajesh Verma, president of the FIA, presented the Deputy Consul with an award of excellence. It read:
“For all the work you did as the Deputy Consul General to develop the relations with the large Indian-American community of Northern California, developing and maintaining relations between us, helping the Indian community, sometimes in difficult situations with their travel to India needs, for always helping to make our festivals, Parade and other events a great success. During your time in San Francisco, you gave a strong presence here with such remarkable events of substance and exposure in the FIA/FOG organization where your persistence and personal vision were clearly felt.”
Referring to the recently concluded Wellness Post Conclave and Expo, the Deputy Consul remarked, “On a personal note, you initiated Ayurveda. It is close to me. I am also from Kerala. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with you on these interests.” He further said that the Consulate had a great relationship with Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office. “As more and more of the Indian-American community’s voice gets heard within the US in the political realm, I think people like Assemblymember Ash Kalra will rise to prominence even more.”
On the critical role of the Indian diaspora in international relations, Rathish said, “We always look for ways in which we can leverage our diaspora to advance our relationships with countries.” He added that in the case of countries like the US, with which India already has a very broad-based strategic partnership, the Indian diaspora played an important role in taking the relationship forward.
“I am sure all of you are aware of it, even more in the future, this aspect of our country’s diaspora being present on the West Coast, on the East Coast, Texas and other parts… will play a larger role in India-US relationship.” He concluded his speech with references to India’s potential rise to the third-largest economy of the world and the immense responsibility that being a world power brings. Dr Japra also made special mention of Tathish’s, Divya, who is a scientist – an oceanographer by training – for her support to her husband’s work.
The evening concluded with a networking dinner.
