The 2022 edition of the Indian Weekender Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame was the biggest and brightest in the nine years since the awards began. The event was made all the more special by the presence of India’s globally acclaimed Minister of External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Far beyond the shores of New Zealand, the event received wide coverage across the Indian subcontinent and the Indian diasporic media around the world. Pictures and footage of the minister’s attendance at the Hall of Fame event was widely shared across the world, giving the event international billing for the first time.
On weeklong visit to NZ and Australia, it was wonderful that the minister took time out to be present throughout the glittering evening, breaking bread with NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, newly-appointed High Commissioner of India in New Zealand Neeta Bhushan and Honorary Consul of India Bhav Dhillon. Ardern and Jaishankar also met briefly before the event.
The event was also special in that two special books were launched: Modi@20, an anthology of impressions about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Indian writers, all leading lights in their own fields. The anthology marks a total of 20 years with Modi at the helm of democratic governments (the State of Gujarat as Chief Minister and the Republic of India as the Prime Minister).
The other, ‘Heartfelt: The Legacy of Faith’ is a large-format boldly illustrated hardbound tome celebrating Modi’s special relationship with the Sikh community throughout his long career of public service. The publisher of the book, Satnam Singh Sandhu and Himani Sood of the NID Foundation travelled all the way from India to be here at the launch.
In his speech, Jaishankar paraphrased many of the contributors’ views on Prime Minister Modi and the many facets of his personality, character, work ethic and vision for India and said he was very pleased to be at the function amidst so many people of Indian origin. At another official engagement earlier in the day, the minister told Indian Weekender that he was “Keenly looking forward to attending the Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame this evening.”
Noted social worker and community broadcaster Roopa Suchdev was conferred with this year’s Kiwi-Indian Community Worker of the Year award while the 102-year-old Auckland Indian Association, the country’s oldest Indian organisation in existence since 1920, was awarded Community Organisation of the Year. This year’s inductee into the coveted Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame was Priyanca Radhakrishnan, the first ever person of Indian origin to be a Minister of the Crown in NZ.
Billed as the most awaited non-festival event in the Kiwi-Indian calendar, the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame honours individuals and organisations of the Kiwi-Indian diaspora for personal achievement as well as for making a significant contribution to society. Every year, the who’s who of the Kiwi-Indian diaspora rubs shoulders with several Ministers of the Crown, members of the NZ Parliament, the Mayor of Tamaki Makaurau, dignitaries like the former Governor General, and dozens of VIPs as well as the best of the best among the Indian diaspora at the event.