BJP TODAY

June 1--15, 2003 - Vol. 12, No. 11

OFBJP (USA) holds annual national executive meeting

Overseas Friends of BJP (USA) held its annual National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on April 19 and 20, 2003 in Chicago, IL. The meeting was attended by delegates from various chapters from all over USA along with senior leaders of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Friends of India Society International (FISI), Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) and Hindu Student Council (HSC). The meeting started with a rendition of Vande Mataram by Ms. Vranda Pandav.

OFBJP president Subramanyam Vemuri, welcomed the members of the NEC and Chicago Host committee. He reminded the NEC about the objectives and the raison d'etre of OFBJP: to promote the philosophy of 'Integral Humanism', to foster a cordial relationship between Asian Indian and North American people, to create a think tank to generate new ideas which could be beneficial for the Asian Indian community in North America and the people of India, to work towards strengthening social bonds among Asian Indians, irrespective of region, religion, race, creed and color, and help to generate a feeling of oneness and brotherhood and to work towards projecting a positive and correct image of India and BJP in the U.S. and foreign media, and correct any distortions in the media's reporting of current events taking place in India.

The immediate past President, Dr. Dinesh Agrawal, traced the historical background of OFBJP from its inception till date. He described the reason for the formation of OFBJP, its humble start and its expansion and growth in the last decade. He informed that today OFBJP has 15 chapters and has pending requests for opening new chapters in various parts of the USA, as well as in other countries, besides having units in UK and Canada. The onward march of OFBJP is in progress.

Subramanyam Vemuri expressed satisfaction at the current state of OFBJP and expressed confidence that in the coming months the organization will emerge stronger. He, however, urged all the members to work hard and dedicate themselves selflessly to achieve the goals of OFBJP. He asked all present to work on expanding the NEC and local chapters by incorporating new and ideologically committed workers. He urged all the chapter representatives to fortify the OFBJP by recruiting new members and organizing regular meetings on various issues pertaining to India and BJP. It was recognized that personal contact is the key for strengthening and for the growth of the organization.

Various subjects related to the organization, its activities, the Constitution and media interaction were discussed over two days. Each one of the chapter representative presented a report on the activities in his or her zone and the planned future activities. In summary, the chapters had numerous successful public meetings for promoting the OFBJP goals and objectives, for providing a platform for BJP ministers and leaders for interacting with the Indian-American community, and educating the public on various issues. OFBJP also worked very closely with other Indian-American community organizations in areas where the goals and objectives coincided. Many meetings with the American media were arranged to bring the factual information to their attention and to correct the distortion and disinformation in their respective publications about India and BJP.

A lively and frank discussion was undertaken on the various clauses of the OFBJP Constitution, especially the ones which could not be enforced due to certain practical reasons. A Constitutional Revision Committee has been appointed which will prepare a report to make appropriate amendments to the Constitution.

Senior office bearers of HSS, HSC, FISI and VHPA gave their valuable input to the deliberations and guidance for strengthening of the organization. They offered their full support for the OFBJP activities. Mr. Rakspal Sood (senior member of HSS's advisory council) spoke on the ethics of a social worker and reminded all present that BJP in India was founded on the basis of Deen Dayal Upadhya's Integral Humanism philosophy, which was the soul of Hindutva. Mr. Jitendra Kumar, a senior Sangh Privar leader and International General Secretary of FISI also gave his valuable guidance and suggestions on various issues ranging from Indo-US relations and international terrorism to interaction with BJP leadership and organizational matters.