Kashmir will become a developed state, a global state. It will become the pride of India: Ambassador Chakravorty

Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty speaking with The Indian Panorama editor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja at the Indian Consulate on August 7, 2019

The Indian Panorama team of chief editor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja and assistant editor Bidisha Roy interviewed Consul General of India Sandeep Chakravorty on August 7, 2019 to  elicit his views on certain recent developments in India and to address some issues related to the Indian American community here.

Ambassador Chakravorty, as ever, candidly answered all our questions. We bring to readers of The Indian Panorama excerpts from the interview.

We have decreased the turnaround time of our consular services. For instance, you apply for passport through CKGS today. It comes to us this evening. Tomorrow we do it and day after tomorrow you get it. So our turnaround time is just a day. Which means if somebody is in an emergency, we can give him the passport across the counter.

TIP: We are here with you when India has lost one of her best human beings and an accomplished politician who, until a few months ago,  was India’s external affairs Minister, and your boss. I will like to begin with your memories of Sushma Swaraj Ji, and, of course, your condolences .

Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty with Late Smt. Sushma Swaraj

CG :  We know politicians, we know leaders, ministers but Sushmaji was very special in the sense that she led our ministry (External Affairs) for five long years and she really had a very intimate relationship with all officer and staff. I think she changed our ministry. She changed the way our consulates work. She made us responsive to the community. On many issues, she played very very important role in keeping our embassy in forefront of diplomacy. She used the power of Twitter to help people. It is unparallel in the diplomatic history. No leader, no foreign minister used social media so effectively. There is an outpouring of grief. In New York she used to come every year for the General Assembly and we got the chance to meet her. I remember she would call me personally and ask me to help people in stress and trouble including patients in hospitals here in the United States. She connected beautifully to everybody. Everybody is missing her. We are poorer by her absence. She was a tall leader. We don’t have many women at the forefront of politics. She was the youngest minister at the central government. She has been in politics for 40 years. She was the face of Indian diplomacy. I think we will all miss her. My condolences to her family.

TIP: Modi government has taken some decisions on the State of Jammu &  Kashmir which have divested the State of certain privileges and taken away some special rights of the people of J &K. Obviously, the decisions have altered the character of relationship between the State of J& K and the Center. How will you explain the action which you have called in your note circulated to media, including the NY Times, as “administrative action”? How does abrogation of Article 370 help people of J&K?

CG – Before I get into answering it,  I would like to recall the last tweet of Sushmaji which she made just an hour before her cardiac arrest. She thanked Prime Minister Modi and said I could never imagine that I will see this day I was waiting for. I think it’s a very telling comment, poignant tweet. I’ve seen the tweet a number of times and I think it was a historic day. I would like to highlight two points. One is that – I believe that Article 370 was a temporary provision in our constitution, and it was made to protect the people of Kashmir to work for its development and protect their culture and uniqueness of Kashmir. Unfortunately,  because of several developments, it went to the contrary. It has not developed Kashmir. There is no institution, no hospital, no university, no medical college, no engineering college, no industry, no business.

What will happen in next few years that Kashmir will become a developed state, a global state. It will become the pride of India. I got a comment from one company – they said, we’ll work with India to bring Kashmir to the forefront of technological change in the world. The people of Kashmir are as Indian as anybody else. Why they have been deprived for so many years of these benefits of development? No law of India was applicable to Kashmir including reservations for the backward classes. There was rampant corruption. Even the prevention of corruption act was not applicable. It was a jarring point in our political structure which has been corrected and I am so happy that our government has the courage to do so. The culture of Kashmir will be demolished – that’s not true. India is based on linguistic states and India celebrates its culture and diversity. More and more Kashmiri culture will come to the forefront. There have been forces who tried to kill the culture of Kashmir. This action will protect the culture of Kashmir. I am very very positive that this is a landmark decision and it will be a game changer. It will solve the problems that we have faced in the past. It will bring out the people of Kashmir to a high level of economic development.

TIP: There are fears that when you open up the forbidden area to people to buy land, the land mafia will dispossess  the local people who are known to be poor. And that will drive them to greater poverty. What do you think?

CG- I don’t think that is a correct description of the fact. It is a very hypothetical situation. It has not happened elsewhere. Nobody will force you to sell your land. Things will not happen overnight. If somebody has land and wants to build a hotel, why he should be denied? The land of Kashmir should have similar valuation like in Mumbai or Delhi. Tourism will prosper and protection will be given like in other parts of India. The beginning has to be made.

TIP: Let me take you to your August 2017 interview with The Indian Panorama. You had said : There are three relationships here – India-US relationship, Indian community-US relationship, and Indian community-India relationship. All are very important, and we need to focus on all three. How do you assess yourself today with regard to your work in strengthening these relationships?

Thank you for reminding me. It was a very useful framework to analyze our work. The India-US relationship has progressed enormously in  the last two years. The best indicator is the trade which has crossed 142 billion. It was less than 20 billion 20 years back. What is very interesting is trade deficit has been reducing. US export to India is growing. We believe in comparative advantages.  We are buying thing from US which we have never done before such as oil and gas. We are also increasing our defense purchases from the US. US is the biggest supplier of aircraft to India. On economic relations, the investment relationship is very strong. Indian companies are investing here. Strong presence of them in our jurisdiction. The US-India relationship has done well. It is prospering. Our Prime Minister and US leaders have said that this is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. It is the relationship of the future. There is great deal of understanding about the role of India. As the relationship advances it creates opportunities for us.

As far as the Indian community-US relationship is concerned, that is also very significant. More and more Indians are participating in the political process. Indian origin men and women are participating in the local level across the US as assemblyman, councilman or judges or senators. That awareness is growing and people are talking about it. There is appreciation of role of Indian community in the US administration. Our community is the most educated and prosperous community and they are playing huge role in the development of United States. Today US is the technological powerhouse because of the contribution of people of Indian origin.

Thirdly, the connection with India is growing. The concern which I have is whether the second or third generation is connected or not. As India is becoming economic powerhouse, the interest in India should be natural. The second or third generation should not connect to India because their parents belong to India. They should connect because they feel to do so just like other Americans do. That is happening. I find lot of people who deal with India, are investing in India. Our job is to facilitate that. I see my role as a bee, a pollinator – pollinating the flower. In diplomacy we don’t do business. Our role is to facilitate business. Here at the consulate, so many subsidiary relationships are blooming. I believe in supporting these contacts and relationships.

TIP: Between 2017 and 2019, you have accomplished a lot. Also, you may probably have a feeling that much more could have been done. Do you have any flop side?

CG- I think after two years, I am focusing on involving more and more mainstream Americans in the activities of the consulate. I have done, but I have to do more. My emphasis now will be trying to do more of that. I am trying to do things that will last. I am sitting on the success and hard work done by my predecessors.  We also increased our outreach. The feedback is very positive. We fail in many occasions but it’s not because of lack of effort. We failed because everything is not in our control. When we get feedback, we respond. We try to correct problems of people. We respond on google, Facebook, twitter, Instagram. We have developed our web Application – Pramit. It is an in- house development. It has ensured 100% response to any applicant who has any issue with the consulate. it is widely used. In the last 7 months about 10,000 people used it. We have redone our website in June 2018, we had 1.3 million hits since then. For a consulate, it’s very very satisfying.

I believe that India’s time is now. India is on the way to becoming five trillion dollar economy and that cannot happen without greater India-US cooperation and involvement of Indian American community.”

TIP: You inherited one particular initiative from Mr Mulay – Consulate at your doorstep – what have you done to promote that?

CG- We have decreased the turnaround time of our consular services. For instance, you apply for passport through CKGS today. It comes to us this evening. Tomorrow we do it and day after tomorrow you get it. So our turnaround time is just a day. Which means if somebody is in an emergency, we can give him the passport across the counter. This has not happened before. Our turnaround time for visas is also one day. I am proud to say that we are one of the very few consulates globally who open on weekends to give emergency services. For transfer of mortal remains, we are open on Saturday and Sunday. I think hardly anybody does that. We give emergency visas and passport if anybody is critically ill. A proper procedure is established. The consulate is for the people. If we are not able to satisfy and help them, there is no point. Consulate at your doorstep is happening but because we have brought down the processing time, the demand has decreased. But still we are doing it in places like Boston and Philadelphia. Our jurisdiction is very compact.

TIP: It is about Open House and redressal of grievances. Do you maintain a record of complaints received?

CG – We do. We are very sensitive regarding this. If an appreciation makes my day, a complaint ruins my week. That is the importance we give to complaints. We respond to each and every complaint. Some of the complaints come because of our limitations when we say ‘No.’ We can’t say yes in every circumstance.  When we say ‘No’ people respond in a negative way. We understand their difficulties and we try to be as humane as possible. Most of the complaints are because of lack of response. Because of Pramit, the complaints have also drastically reduced. It’s a mixed bag and I take both in my stride. Our phone calls are now on recorder. We receive 120 to 130 calls a day and every call is recorded. I make sure by the end of the day we respond. We call and leave a message and I guarantee you that we’ll get back within 24 hours.

TIP: What have been the most recurrent complaints and grievances?

CG – Mainly two. One is for passport of people who are not documented here and asylum seekers who have not got US travel document. Sometimes they need to travel to India. There is a very flexible rule and we are compassionate. But sometimes people take benefit of the rule and then don’t travel to India. They say, somebody is unwell. So we give them the passport and then they don’t go. But that number is not large. One thing to notice that passport is not an identity document but a travel document. Some undocumented people who demand the passport they do not travel. They want identity. When we ask what the purpose is, they are unable to explain. We don’t want to jeopardize the US immigration system.

Passport and Visa Consul Mr. Murugesan explains to The Indian Panorama assistant editor Bidisha Roy the new digital system of registration on arrival

TIP:Congratulations for providing certain new facilities to visitors to the Consulate to transact business. We visited the office in the basement area and found the place much more welcoming than before. The comfortable new chairs and the ambience of the place are surely welcome. Bidisha who spoke with the Consul Passport and Visa Mr. Murugesan was told about the entire operation-how a visitor has to register on arrival and  then wait in the queue. The new digital queue monitoring and display makes things much easier for visitors. Bidisha also noted that the Consulate has provided free copying and computer services to fill in the forms. Mr. Murugesan also informed about the plans  to have a children’s section. Surely, there are enough indications of improvement.

CG: We constantly review the services.

 TIP: What are your plans regarding the celebration of 550 years of Guru Nanak Devji and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi?

CG – In last several months we have arranged many events on 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji. We have had many outstanding events at the consulate.  The latest one was at the Gurudwara at Hicksville. We are planning few more events. We have proposals from other Gurudwaras in our jurisdiction. We are planning with Mayor’s office in Norwalk, Connecticut where there is a sizable Sikh community to host an event in November on of Guru Nanak Devji’s birthday. We are planning to host it at mayor’s office with participation of mainstream people.

In connection with the year long commemorative celebration of 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, we have partnered with  the State University of New York, Old Westbury (SUNY-OW),  and Shanti Fund to plant 150 trees in the Old Westbury Campus. We are requesting individuals to adopt trees. The Gandhi Peace Garden will be inaugurated in September during the visit of Prime Minister who will do it. On October 1 we are doing ‘Homage to Mahatma’ music concert by Sitarist Subhendu Rao and his wife at the consulate.

TIP: We are a week away from celebrating India’s 73rd Independence Day. Your message , please.

CG – On the occasion of our 73 rd Independence Day, I greet the readers of Indian Panorama and the larger  Indian American Community and the friends of India. I believe that India’s time is now. India is on the way to becoming five trillion dollar economy and that cannot happen without greater India-US cooperation and involvement of Indian American community. I felicitate you on this very very happy occasion. We should project what is good in India. I want to take this opportunity to invite you to participate at the grand celebration of August 15. Please join us and come in large numbers.

TIP: Thank you, Ambassador Chakravorty for your time. Happy Independence Day1

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