Daily Fix
A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted:
India's Pravasi Racket
T. SHER SINGH
If you know Australian singer Dya Singh at all, you know that he is not one who can be fooled … or suffers fools gladly.
He wrote to an outfit in India that calls itself the "International Congress of NRIs" last week and summarily declined their offer to award him the “Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman.”
* * * * *
NRI?
It’s an acronym for “Not Really Indians”!
That is, those who once lived in India but fled the country the first opportunity they got. But now, having failed to do well in their new homelands, or clawing for more baubles, are willing to throw around a few dollars in order to buy some lame title in India, as long as they are willing to be insulted by being labeled ‘Indian’ again.
This applies to children and other descendants of former Indians as well, as long as they meet the criteria: failures who are willing to be further downgraded, insulted and demeaned.
* * * * *
The clue that got Dya Singh scratching his head over this latest scam from India was a letter he received from a “Prakash Kumar” on Tuesday, January 15, 2013. Here are some key extracts from it:
“We are happy to note that your name has been approved for the 32nd International Congress of NRIs for receiving the prestigious ‘Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman -2013’ on 24th January 2013 ...
“We the event manager, M/s. Hospitality International Inc. will be charging US $4100 for the following services from you for … [accommodation, airport transfer, transportation, lunches, dinners, cocktails, cultural programs, watching of Republic Day parade, sight-seeing, etc.] …
“Kindly send us the draft of US $ 2000 immediately to enable us to register you as a delegate in favour of “New Hospitality International Inc.” to, The Convenor NRI WELFARE SOCIETY OF INDIA (REGD.) …
“The remaining amount of US $2100 can be remitted to us at the time of Registration …
“The airfare will be borne by you …”
* * * * *
It takes a total of about two minutes to figure out that, a) this is a typical Indian scam; b) that the perpetrators are not very bright; and c) they think their victims are even less bright.
Sadly, all three points are true.
The 32nd International Congress?
That means the first one was held in 1981, if not earlier.
Strange, but the term ‘NRI’ hadn’t even been coined then! And wouldn’t be for several more years.
Where are the records of the first ten Congresses, for example? And the next ten? And the ten after that? When and where was the 31st Congress held? Not a clue on Google, the fount of all knowledge.
And, a Congress? Here’s the full, unedited agenda for the “conference” the organizers claim they are holding over the course of FIVE days (Jan 24-28, 2013). I reproduce it here without any changes whatsoever -- the innovations of the use of the English language are entirely theirs!
NRI WELFARE SOCIETY OF INDIA (Regd.)
32nd INTERNATIONAL congress of NRIs
24-28 January, 2013 (Delhi-Jaipur)
Programme
24th January, ThursDAY, Hotel the ASHOK, CHANAKYA PURI, new delhi
12.00 Noon Check in at Hotel
5.30 p.m. Registration
7.30 p.m. Dinner.
25th January friday,
10.00 a.m. Inauguration
11.00 a.m. Open House Session (One to one interaction)
1.30 p.m. Lunch Break
3.00 p.m. Valedictory Session, and Award Presentation
5.30 p.m. Tea
7.30 p.m. Departure for Cultural Programme, Cocktail and Dinner
26th January saturday
7.30 a.m. Watching of Republic Day Parade at Raj path
1.30 p.m. Departure for Jaipur.
8.00 p.m. Reaching Hotel Carlson Country Suites and Inns, Jaipur
9.00 p.m. Dinner at the Hotel.
27th January, sunday
10.00 a.m. Sight Seeing at Jaipur.
1.30 p.m. Lunch at City Palace, Jaipur.
2.30 p.m. Shopping
7.30 p.m. Investiture Ceremony
9.00 p.m. Cocktail & Dinner at Amber Vilas Resort, Jaipur.
28th January, monday
10.30 a.m. Sight Seeing.
1.00 p.m. Lunch
2.30 p.m. Departure for Delhi
Reaching Hotel Ashok, Delhi at 8.30 p.m. and Disperse.
Now, you will note that this 5-day conference of the Congress hasn’t allotted a single minute to … well, conferencing.
So, pardon me if I sound rude or overly nosey, but when will the Congress meet, and when will the conferencing take place, pray?
Then, I turn to the sponsoring organization.
NRI WELFARE SOCIETY OF INDIA?
Welfare Society?
Like, say, the “Destitute Widows Welfare Society of Hardwar”? Or the “Orphan Welfare Society of Varanasi”?
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Please don’t get me wrong. This is NOT a piddly affair.
Think of the hundreds of gulls who will pay $4100 each to come to this grand event. That is, almost Rs. 200,000 -- “Two Lakhs”, as the desis would call it!
Now, despite the dozens of billionaires who plague India today, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Remember, approx 700 million Indians do their daily ablutions in the open fields every morning and evening, because they don’t have toilets or running water. (No wonder the whole country refers to the practice as "answering the call of nature".)
Or, to put it in simple terms, for the aam aadmi -- the common man -- in India, one rupee still has the same purchase power as one dollar does here in the West. Not in the upscale, rape-infested capital, New Delhi, but in the villages and towns and cities where a billion Indians still wallow in squalor.
So, the organizers of this event -- honourable men, all of them, I'm sure, but if you check out the “About Us” page, I bet you’ve never heard of a single one of them, ever! -- will be raking in Rs 200,000 from each fool - I‘m sorry, I meant “Delegate“! Hundreds of them.
Thousands, you say?
You mean we have so many losers here in the West amongst us?
Are you surprised then that senior cabinet ministers from the government, both federal and state, turn up for these events? The President of India loves to attend too.
After all, there’s so much money to go around that …
And if it warms the cockles of your heart, mass-murderer Narendra Modi too supports this illustrious Congress and its "spirit of INDIANISM". His endorsement is displayed loud and clear on the site, even though it is dated 4 years ago.
* * * * *
The award which these good people of Inja were trying to sell to Sardar Dya Singh is called the “Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman”.
Appropriately!
It was Sarojini Naidu, a writer, who had chided Mohandas Gandhi once: "You don't know, do you, how much it costs us to keep you in poverty?"
* * * * *
Let me leave you with a final gem.
There are MANY such “Pravasi” congresses in India, each a scam and a money-maker. It is a cottage industry. It is a growth industry.
You have more money than brains and need a a two-bit title that you can impress your relatives with in your village in Jhumri Tallayiyya or Marwar Mundwa?
Good. You too can get a “Pravasi" Award for a mere $4100.
And an air ticket.
Just one thing … buy it ‘one way‘. It’s cheaper.
January 21, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: H. Kaur (Canada), January 21, 2013, 6:58 AM.
India doesn't allow dual citizenship. In that case, if one is not an Indian national, one can't be an NRI. Good for S. Dya Singh ji for turning these cheats down. I mean, one really does have to be dumb to pay for a reward in the name of a pervert who had the most bizarre ideas about women's rights. Come on, one really has to be dumb to accept such stuff... worse, to pay for it!
2: Baljit Singh (New York, USA), January 21, 2013, 7:08 AM.
I've received a few honours in my lifetime, but never had to pay my own airfare or for the accommodation or for the meals or for the sight-seeing or for watching a parade! I did have to pay for the conferences I signed up for, but even for those in the expensive West, never had to pay so-o much! Here's a rule I follow vis-a-vis India: If it's India and involves money, it's a scam! There are NO exceptions.
3: Shushil Jankidas (Jaipur, Rajasthan, India), January 21, 2013, 7:47 AM.
I think the word 'parvasi' / 'pravasi' actually means "sucker" in Hindi.
4: Manjit Kaur (Frederick, Maryland, USA), January 21, 2013, 10:50 AM.
This one is a no brainer: it's a scam. These kinds of scams have been popular in Nigeria and Indians cannot be left far behind by any means. The typos are not errors on their agenda, these typos are intentionally used to by-pass the filters on popular search engines for scammers to get to their victims. They don't expect to make $4100 but only $2000 that you deposit into their accounts. I liked what the commentator on #3 said re "suckers".
5: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), January 21, 2013, 6:52 PM.
This is an old trade. There is also an enduring fascination with superstitions around an ever impending apocalypse, and therefore a scam industry around it. Only recently our world was to end but was saved because of the prepaid prayers ... the calamity has now been averted to another date. There are some doctors too in this category of scam artists. One pronounced to his patient that the would die in a month unless he underwent an expensive operation. "But I cannot raise that much money for the operation in a month," said the patient. "All right, I will give you an extension of another month; you have two months to live!" said the doctor. In Guru Granth Sahib there is Kabir's shabad: "karvat bhalaa na karvat tayree" [GGS:484.7] - "I would rather be cut apart by a saw than have you turn Your back on me!" In the time of Kabir, the pundits had a saw in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Benares (now Varanasi) to dole out instant salvation, provided you divested all your material wealth and agreed to have your head cut off by this saw. There was also a case where this frustrated, jilted young man was preparing to commit suicide by jumping off a high rise building. Lo and behold, there was a fellow standing down below, selling tickets for a ringside view of the suicide! Dya ji, good for you to opt out of this scam. You remain famous, regardless. Daal-roti and a hug is awaiting your arrival in Kuala Lumpur for a celebration.
6: Mrs Jagjeet Singh (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), January 22, 2013, 9:00 AM.
An interesting read - one worth highlighting because such scams are going to be on the rise as a handful become victims for acting too blindly and without giving much thought to it. Well, if this type of scam won't work, they will think of another and as long as humans exist and have greed to make a fast buck or gain more power and so-called fame by amassing awards and titles, scams will take a toll on a few at least. So, it is better to be contented with what we have, than feel sorry for what has been promised via a scam!
7: Sarjit Kaur (Bethel Park, PA, USA), January 22, 2013, 2:12 PM.
Another good laugh. Thanks, T Sher Singh ji. When I received my first email scam about having won an international lottery in the UK, I almost fell for it, and parted with the limited savings I had, but Waheguru prompted me to google it. I discovered that there are loads of them on the web, along with alerts from those who fell for them. Dya Singh being a famed kirtani, obviously would be a good catch for such scammers, had he fallen for it :) Also, I believe Waheguru is testing his haumai level, because gurbani kirtan credits should connect him to Akal Purakh, along with blessed vocal cords.
8: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), January 24, 2013, 9:02 AM.
I wouldn't even bother to read beyond "Mahatma Gandhi" and the invitation would find itself in the trash (no - not my recycling bin). Even if they were to pay a million dollars, no quom-loving Sikh would ever want to be "dis-honored" by such an 'award'.
9: Datuk Balwant Singh Kler (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia), February 16, 2013, 4:50 AM.
I received such an invitation a few years ago and I asked a friend in New Delhi to check it out and when he did, he found out it was a big fraud. The Indian Government should stop them as they always claim to have the endorsement and involvement of the President, Prime Minister and other dignitaries. Beware ...
10: G S Bedi (Johor Bahru, Malaysia), February 16, 2013, 9:31 AM.
Clever man. Why does India need NRIs? They have left the country! And why do Indians have a fetish for going to USA, UK, etc? Luckily we do not have this need or weakness in this country (Malaysia) amongst our NRMs.
11: A.K. Resh (Melbourne, Australia), July 20, 2014, 2:54 AM.
Thanks for your article. I received an invitation to send them my "biodata" in the mail and didn't know what to make of it. The letter is now in the bin. Thanks again.