India Post News Service

CHICAGO: "You make us look tall and you make us feel tall," said Ashok Kumar Attri, the newly appointed Indian Consul General in Chicago in a talk to India Post referring to a large number of Indian Americans who have excelled in all walks of life in their adopted country.

He said that the perception of India in the mind of Americans - a land of Maharajas, mystics and roaming cows- has now changed and in no small measure this has been brought about by the Indian American professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen, academicians, and not the least, students. Indians are atop in fields of medicine, information technology, research, hospitality industry and small-medium size business, he said.Not only that, the Indian Americans have begun playing a more positive role in mainstream politics and this has helped not only cementing Indo- US relationship in political arena but also in economic-investment and social spheres too.

The nuke deal, he said, has been made possible by active lobbying from Indian Americans. The Indian voice is better heard in the political corridors of the US administration- at the federal and local levels- thanks to Indian Americans. "They are now truly the real Ambassadors or CG s. We are all proud of their achievements and their support. I for one would continue to seek their help in projecting our views before the right people," he said.Attri said that Indo-US relations have never been so good as they are now, especially after President Bush's visit to India and signing of the Nuke deal.

"We are now seeking to take it to a greater height in coming years, and we look forward to you Indian Americans for your support in achieving this," he said. The improved political relations, he observed, should lead to a much better economic relationship and this would further stimulate the Indian economic growth.He pointed out in this regard that India achieved a double digit growth rate despite a relative small inflow of foreign investible funds. "Had it been a larger inflow of overseas investment, we could have notched a still higher rate. Better Indo-US relations will spur a much bigger investment from corporate America and this should accelerate or help us sustain our double digit growth rate," he said. Surging middle class was also a factor inducing larger foreign investment, including that from America.

CG also favored greater bilateral exchange of ideas and information between lead trade bodies in the two countries. For one, he would encourage holding seminars, trade shows and exhibitions by Indian companies in Midwest region of US.All the time there is comparison between India and China and the Consul General said that India had opted for democratic set up and could legitimately boast of a strong independent judiciary. Besides, English was well understood across the country.

The government has been carefully planning globalization and privatization of the economy. These factors ought to work in favor of India in the long run, he felt.In the global sphere, China has been edging out many of its competitors on price consideration. It is a moot point if the consumers in the global market would all the time be influenced by the price or they would also weigh quality factor while making purchases. Indian goods or Indian workmanship for the global market are not shoddy, he said. Attri also laid emphasis on a greater interaction between India and US in the academic field. "On my part," he said, "I would encourage a greater exchange of faculties and students between Indian and American universities and educational institutions."

The Consul General was also not oblivious to forging closer links in the cultural field and was open to suggestions for bringing two countries closer in this area too.Attri was born in Shimla and had his graduation with honors in English Literature. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in July 1975 and has served in Indian missions in Kenya, Zambia, Canada, Vietnam, Switzerland, Nepal and Oman.

He was in the Ministry of External Affairs from July 1988 to August 1991, as Deputy Chief of West Asia and North Africa Division, looking after bilateral relations of India with Arab countries of this region. In Nepal, he served on secondment from 1994 to 1998 in the Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).He fondly recalled his working as Indian High Commissioner to Zambia from 1998 to 2002 and Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman before coming to Chicago. In a short period of three months, he has endeared himself among Indians and Americans here.