scandal at University of Illinois
scandal at University of Illinois
Date: Friday, July 24, 2009 5:47 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 2041 -- 7/24/2009 >>>>>
It's never a bad idea to marry into the right family -- take Maarten de Jeu,
for an example. He is a Dutch citizen that is lucky enough to be Niranjan
Shah's son-in-law. If you haven't heard of Niranjan Shah then keep reading!
De Jeu came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa, and he immediately got a very cushy
job at the University of Illinois -- a place where coincidentally Niranjan
Shah is a trustee. There are more "coincidences" however!
The university paid $1,820 so that de Jeu's H-1B visa could be expedited.
It's a program called "premium processing" that puts the visa on a fast track
to approval. In UofI's petition for de Jeu's H-1B temporary work visa the
university wrote that de Jeu would, "deliver customized training and
consulting services." The visa processing time was reduced from several months
to several weeks.
You can get to know the father-in-law at the university website. They even
have a picture of him.
http://www.uillinois.edu/trustees/meet.cfm
University of Illinois Board of Trustees
A university spokeswoman said that the job that de Jeu was given was never
offered to the American public because, "it would be difficult to find someone
with that kind of talent." She was very sure that Americans just couldn't be
found for this job even though the university never tried. Of course none of
that matters now because it has become very obvious to everyone that the job
was created for de Jeu.
Niranjan Shah got appointed to the U of I Board by disgraced former Governor
Rod Blagojevich. Perhaps another coincidence, but Shah contributed $50,000 to
the Blagojevich campaign for governor. The coincidences just keep coming!
Niranjan Shah's daughter is Smita Shah. Like her daddy, she is heavily
involved in politics. Look at this picture of Smita and Hillary Clinton.
Speaking of Hillary, didn't she just come back from a trip to India?
http://alum.mit.edu/news/AlumniProfiles/images/Shah_Smita_233x170.jpg
Save that picture because it might not be on the web for very long.
Daddy and daughter are heavily involved in the Democratic party. Here is just
one more sordid example:
That the Indian American delegates put up a visible presence at
the Democratic National Convention was evident from the key
roles some of them were given to play during the convention,
including being invited to be seated on the podium during the
various sessions. Maryland House delegate Kumar Barve and Smita
Shah (daughter of Niranjan Shah), as Vice Chairman and member
respectively of the DNC Rules Committee, probably played the
most important roles among the Indian American representatives
at the convention.
Smita Shah didn't really need daddy's help to find a job for hubby de Jeu.
That's because she is the president of a Chicago-based company that employs
41 people called SPAAN Technology, Inc. SPAAN is considered "minority owned",
and even better for them it is "minority FEMALE owned", which means it gets
first dibs at city, state, and federal contracts. To be blunt about the
situation -- if you are a white male business owner you will be lucky to get
thrown a bone after minority female owned businesses pig out at the trough.
You probably won't fare very well even if you are a black or Hispanic male
business owner. Nowadays female minority business owners rule the world -- at
least that part of the world that mandates "equal opportunity".
Find out more about Smita's company here:
http://www.spaantech.com/
Ooops!
The website has a message that says it's "under construction". That's an odd
"coincidence" considering that SPAAN is in the construction business.
Could it be that their Indian IT workers aren't very good at building web
pages?
Unfortunately like a lot of information on Smita Shah, it's disappearing from
the web. Everything about her February 2008 wedding to Maarten de Jeu is
disappearing from the web even though it was a big event. This is still in the
Google cache on the SPANN homepage but don't count on it staying for long.
SPAAN Tech, established in 1998, is one of the foremost Minority
Female owned firms in Chicago whose sole owner has been
recognized repeatedly for her business acumen and community
involvement. SPAAN Tech has business lines in design engineering,
construction management, facilities management, program
management, IT services and construction. SPAAN Tech is a
certified MBE/WBE/DBE firm with the City of Chicago, States of
Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Florida. SPAAN Tech s
staff includes professional engineers, architects, accountants,
lawyers and real estate brokers, with professional designations
such as LEED AP and Certified Property Managers.
The Niranjan Shah scandal is getting uglier. Recently he threw his secretary
under the bus by blaming most of the bad publicity on her, who supposedly
didn't word some emails properly. The problem with Niranjan's scapegoating
excuse is that many of the emails weren't written by him or the secretary.
Take this one by de Jeu thanking the university for his new found fortune at
having a good job and marrying the right woman:
"You very kindly positioned it as an opportunity that would allow
me to make the transition and I sincerely appreciate your offer
and assistance. I also wanted to make sure that you are aware that
my interest goes beyond 'just securing my transition to the US.' "
Could any other city besides Chicago be more appropriate for a scandal that
some are calling Cloutgate? Mark my words, it's only be a matter of time
before the Obama's are connected to the Shah's. Do the names Aneesh Chopra and
Vivek Kundra ring a bell?
REFERENCES:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-i-clout-shah-21-jul21,0,3356291.story
Trustee requested job help at U. of I.
http://davidormsby.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/u-of-i-board-chair-niranjan-shah-throws-secretary-under-the-bus-pat-quinn-should-fire-shah-now/
U of I Board Chair Niranjan Shah Throws Secretary Under the Bus -- Pat Quinn
Should Fire Shah
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Cloutgates-Family-Plan.html
UofI Cloutgate's Family PlanU of I created job for trustee chair son-in-law
http://alum.mit.edu/news/AlumniProfiles/Archive/Smita_N._Shah_SM_-2796.jsp
Smita N. Shah SM '96, Earning the Confidence to Build Bridges Professionally
and Personally
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=77c4f65e4efc368d92bf6bcadd0cc295
ndian Americans Form Historic Group in Democratic Party
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/45172/National/1/20/1
BCCI office bearers attend wedding of Shah's daughter
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-i-clout-shah-21-jul21,0,3356291.story
TRIBUNE WATCHDOG CLOUT GOES TO COLLEGE
Trustee requested job help at U. of I.
University gave future son-in-law tailor-made, $115,000-a-year position
By Jodi S. Cohen
Tribune reporter
July 21, 2009
University of Illinois board chair Niranjan Shah used his connection with the
chancellor in 2007 to get a high-paying university job for his future son-in-
law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States.
Campus officials went to great lengths to comply with his request, creating a
position for Maarten de Jeu without conducting the usual search, securing a
visa so he could work in the country and paying him a salary of $115,000 a
year -- more than most other employees with the same title.
The chancellor also dipped into campus reserves to pay his salary because the
position wasn't otherwise funded in the department that hired him.
"Trustee Shah urged us to explore a job for Mr. de Jeu. Accordingly I made
efforts to see if there was an appropriate position within the university
community for which he was well-suited," Chancellor Richard Herman wrote to
the Tribune.
Shah and Herman did not agree to interviews for this story, but provided
written responses to questions.
Shah said he "encouraged" the university to hire de Jeu, now 34, who graduated
first in his class from the executive MBA program at Oxford University. "I
thought he would be an excellent hire for U. of I. as it expanded its
international research and consulting programs," Shah wrote.
"I believed he was exceptionally well-qualified."
The Chicago Tribune has requested all communications including e-mail
exchanges related to the hiring, but as of late Monday the university had not
provided them. Campus officials had provided some documentation, including de
Jeu's salary and forms related to his visa application and job search waiver.
This latest revelation comes as university trustees are under fire for their
involvement in admissions decisions. Shah is expected to testify Tuesday
before the state's Admissions Review Commission, impaneled by Gov.
Pat Quinn in response to an ongoing investigation by the Chicago Tribune into
admissions abuses.
Shah was appointed to the university board in 2003 by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and
named chairman earlier this year. He is the chief executive of one of the
state's most successful engineering firms and a prolific political donor who
hosted a fundraiser for Blagojevich in his Oak Brook home.
Commissioners on Tuesday are likely to ask Shah how two of his family members
got admitted to the university's College of Law.
The first relative was admitted in 2004. Said Shah on Monday: "I had no role
in that and wasn't even aware that he had applied."
Indeed, records seem to indicate that Shah didn't directly pressure campus
officials, but that they were aware that the applicant was Shah's relative.
Herman made sure the relative had a spot in the class even though a staffer
wrote in a memo that the relative's academic record made him "the lowest
ranking individual in the 2004 class."
A second relative was admitted in 2006, the Tribune previously reported. "I
didn't know until she signed up and somebody else mentioned to me that she was
at the law school," Shah said. "I never requested special treatment for
anybody."
Shah said he did not think de Jeu was given special treatment either.
De Jeu moved to Illinois from London in fall 2007 to work in the university's
division of Business and Industry Services, a Naperville-based unit that
provides consulting and training services to businesses. BIS, a self-
sustaining department funded by grants and client fees, falls under the
University of Illinois Extension program.
Herman agreed to pay de Jeu's salary from a discretionary fund accessible to
the chancellor and provost, even though salaries for all other BIS employees
are funded from its own budget, the program's director said.
"Given that BIS did not have adequate resources but considered him a well-
suited and meritorious candidate, I chose to use reserves to pay his salary
for one year," Herman wrote.
Herman said he expected de Jeu to generate enough business to cover his salary
in subsequent years, but acknowledged Monday he did not know whether de Jeu
accomplished that.
The university also paid $7,458 to cover expenses related to de Jeu's move
from London to Chicago, including two plane tickets, moving expenses,
temporary housing and furniture rental. University policy allows for $7,500 in
moving expenses for faculty, administrators and professional staff.
Herman said he did not feel pressure to hire de Jeu, but felt "an obligation
to explore avenues to ascertain whether an appropriate position within the
university community could be found."
De Jeu married Shah's daughter in February 2008 and left the university job in
August 2008, after about 10 months, for a position at a newly opened Chicago
office of an international insurance firm.
De Jeu said in a statement to the Tribune that the new job was better both
economically and from a lifestyle perspective, as he was able to reduce his
commuting time from a two-hour drive to a short walk.
He said that he was not engaged to Shah's daughter when he interviewed for the
university job.
"I went through an interview process that was similar to other interviews that
I experienced in the past and I am not aware of any involvement by any other
people in the decision to hire me," he wrote. He said he is a legal U.S.
resident.
Shah said he met de Jeu in 2006, and recommended him for employment at the
university in 2007. He said he was not involved in obtaining de Jeu's visa and
said he could have received a work visa through another company that had
offered him a job. De Jeu also said he had other job offers that would have
provided a similar salary, benefits and a work visa.
In U. of I.'s petition for de Jeu's H-1B temporary work visa, granted to
foreign workers with special skills, the university wrote that de Jeu would
"deliver customized training and consulting services." The university paid
$1,820 for the visa, including premium processing to hasten the review from
several months to several weeks.
As part of the visa application, Dennis Campion, associate dean of the
university's extension program, wrote about de Jeu's expertise in product
evaluation and international business. "The opportunity to hire him is not
something BIS or the University of Illinois Extension wants to miss," he
wrote.
Internal university memorandums requesting a higher salary and search waiver
also tout his specialization in international business.
Mary Rose Hennessy, executive director of BIS, said de Jeu did market research
to help clients develop their sales strategy for European markets.
She said she received "no pressure whatsoever" to hire him and was unaware of
de Jeu's relationship to Shah when he got the job.
Hennessy said there was no need to post the job because "it would be difficult
to find someone with that kind of talent." De Jeu, according to his risumi,
speaks four languages and has broad international experience in business
development and strategy.
Hennessy said de Jeu "didn't get a chance to do a lot of billing" of clients
for his consulting work because he was in training for the first four months
and spent the bulk of his time doing research. But she said he left the
university with a "substantive work product."
"This was clearly an opportunity that would have helped our companies a lot
had he stayed," she said.
jscohen@tribune.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://davidormsby.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/u-of-i-board-chair-niranjan-shah-throws-secretary-under-the-bus-pat-quinn-should-fire-shah-now/
U of I Board Chair Niranjan Shah Throws Secretary Under the Bus -- Pat Quinn
Should Fire Shah
(Chicago, IL) University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chairman Niranjan
Shah threw his secretary under the bus today in the university s unfolding and
unending admissions scandal, Stacy St. Clair reports in today s Chicago
Tribune online.
Shah blamed his secretary for his e-mails in which he sought to grease the
application gears for multiple student applicants.
"She put the words together and I didn t check," he said.
Whatta a gutless wonder.
"She remembers writing these," he said. "I m embarrassed."
And Shah is an embarrassment to the University of Illinois.
Governor Pat Quinn should fire Shah. Period. Now.
Shah is disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich s appointment to the U of I
Board. He s also a $50,000 contributor to Blagojevich. The disgrace just
trickles down. The pay-to-play mentality is alive and well with Shah and
throws people under the bus ` la Blagojevich.
Quinn has pledged to fumigate Illinois government. Shah should be on top of
any fumigation list.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Cloutgates-Family-Plan.html
UofI Cloutgate's Family PlanU of I created job for trustee chair son-in-law
By STEVE RHODES
Updated 8:31 AM CDT, Tue, Jul 21, 2009
For some, Illinois spells c-l-o-u-t.
If it hasn't been clear enough up to now, the latest revelation arising out of
the University of Illinois admissions scandal seals the deal on the
proposition that the board of trustees at the school considered their berth
there a playpen of clout.
And it wasn't just using their position to push politically connected but
underqualifed students into their institution: it was about personal gain.
And once gain, chancellor Richard Herman was right in the middle of the
action.
"University of Illinois board chair Niranjan Shah used his connection with the
chancellor in 2007 to get a high-paying university job for his future son-in-
law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States," the Tribunereports.
"Campus officials went to great lengths to comply with his request, creating a
position for Maarten de Jeu without conducting the usual search, securing a
visa so he could work in the country and paying him a salary of $115,000 a
year - more than most other employees with the same title."
Nice deal if you can get it. Which you can, if you know the right people.
Like chancellor Richard Herman.
Herman "dipped into campus reserves to pay his salary because the position
wasn't otherwise funded in the department that hired him," the Tribune
reports.
In an act of courage that shows Herman and Shah have nothing to hide and
nothing to fear from reporters' questions, both of them refused interviews and
agreed only to respond to the newspaper in writing.
"Trustee Shah urged us to explore a job for Mr. de Jeu," Herman wrote to the
paper. "Accordingly I made efforts to see if there was an appropriate position
within the university community for which he was well-suited."
And when he found none, he created one.
"I thought he would be an excellent hire for U. of I. as it expanded its
international research and consulting programs," Shah wrote.
So they did. Just for his future son-in-law; not other applicants accepted.
Shah is expected to appear today before the state commission examining the
admissions scandal. He came to his position through an appointment by former
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, for whom he had been a major fundraiser.
Shah "lobbied for nine applicants in the last three years. In a January
2006 e-mail to Chancellor Richard Herman, he inquired about 'the son of a key
employee of mine'," notes the Journal-Courier of downstate Jacksonville. "'I
wonder if you might be able to see if anything can be done here.' In a 2007 e-
mail, he asked Herman to 'take a second look' at two applicants who had been
denied admission."
Trustee David Dorris is also scheduled to appear today, as is the chairman of
the state House Higher Education Committee, Mike Boland (D-Moline), who was
among the first to call on the board of trustees to resign en masse, a call
that is now sure to grow louder.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor ofThe Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric
news and culture review.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-clout-shah-hiring-22jul22,0,406122.story
University of Illinois e-mails show how clout got a job Board chairman's
future son-in-law landed $115,000-a-year position
By Jodi S. Cohen
Tribune reporter
July 22, 2009
When University of Illinois board Chairman Niranjan Shah asked for help in
getting his future son-in-law a job in 2007, Chancellor Richard Herman and
other top campus officials responded by essentially creating a personal job-
placement service, new records show.
The Tribune reported Tuesday that in response to Shah's involvement,
university officials found Maarten de Jeu a job. The new e-mails, released
after the original story, reveal the extent of their efforts.
Led by Herman, officials shopped him around the university and in the private
sector. They created a position without conducting the usual search, secured a
work visa for the Dutch citizen and paid him $115,000 -- more than most
employees with the same title.
When it appeared they might have trouble getting de Jeu a visa, Herman
suggested admitting him to a PhD program in business, to which he hadn't even
applied. The chancellor dipped into campus reserves to pay his salary because
the position wasn't funded in the department that hired him.
"I would like to thank you for your help with Marteen (sic)," Shah wrote to
Herman, the Urbana-Champaign campus' top official, on May 23, 2007. "We need
to make this happen."
Herman replied: "I am happy to help."
The documents sometimes seem at odds with previous statements provided to the
Tribune by Shah and de Jeu about the circumstances surrounding the hire.
Shah had said he "encouraged" the university to hire de Jeu, now 34, an
"exceptionally well-qualified" applicant who graduated first in his class from
the executive MBA program at Oxford University.
De Jeu had said that nobody was involved in his hiring and that the interview
process was similar to others he has had.
But e-mails show that de Jeu had direct contact with the chancellor, the
business school dean and other senior administrators in the process of
securing the job. Herman even offered de Jeu his cell phone number.
De Jeu thanked Herman in a June 24, 2007, e-mail:
"You very kindly positioned it as an opportunity that would allow me to make
the transition and I sincerely appreciate your offer and assistance. I also
wanted to make sure that you are aware that my interest goes beyond 'just
securing my transition to the US.' "
De Jeu told The Tribune he had other job offers that would have provided a
similar salary, benefits and a work visa.
E-mails show one senior administrator said he urged colleagues to "move with
great haste," including paying an additional $1,000 for expedited visa
processing. De Jeu was offered a job in September 2007 in the university's
Division of Business and Industry Services, a Naperville-based unit that
provides consulting and training services to businesses.
De Jeu married Shah's daughter in February 2008 and left the university job
that August, after about 10 months on the job.
jscohen@tribune.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://alum.mit.edu/news/AlumniProfiles/Archive/Smita_N._Shah_SM_-2796.jsp
Smita N. Shah SM '96
Earning the Confidence to Build Bridges Professionally and Personally
Smita Shah SM '96 with Senator Hillary Clinton Smita Shah SM '96, a Clinton
White House staffer, with Senator Hillary Clinton.
Smita Shah SM '96 came to MIT looking for something. "I'd worked at the
Clinton White House in the Chief of Staff's Office," she recalls. "I met
people who handed incredible challenges. I wanted that kind of confidence."
So in fall 1994, Shah began her master's in civil and environmental
engineering. "Earning that demanding MIT credential really helped me a lot,"
she says. When her first job began to hamper her growth, she asked herself
what should she do? A confident answer came back: "Start my own company."
Today, Smita Shah is the president of SPAAN Technology, Inc. Founded in 1998,
this Chicago-based firm now employs 41 professionals providing construction
management, engineering, and facility/technology services.
Clients include a wide range of public and private organizations including the
State of Illinois, Exelon (Commonwealth Edison), the City of Chicago, U.S.
Department of Energy, and Illinois Toll Highway Authority. Last summer,
Senator Barbara Boxer presented Smita Shah with the 2004 Women Making History
Award honoring her success as an entrepreneur.
"We took on an odd array of jobs at first, but it kept us going and growing,"
Shah notes. "Suddenly one day, you have a solid reputation and you get to
build things." For example, SPAAN has entered a joint venture to build the
first runway in O'Hare Airport's $6 billion expansion.
An Illinois Arts Council board member since she was 25, Shah is secretary of
the famed Steppenwolf Theater. "Working with artists is fascinating, great
fun, and a real balance in my life," Shah observes.
Shah was a delegate at the 1996 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions and
was on the DNC's Rules Committee in 2000 and 2004. "I'm a big believer in
having a voice at the table. Indian-Americans' political coming of age is
exciting, we are such a young community."
"Last year, the Chicago Sun Times ran a series last year honoring 100
outstanding women in various fields," Shah recalls. "Not one woman engineer or
applied scientist made the list. What's the message to little girls who love
math and science, like I did? Where's the encouragement? An engineer is who I
am, and I love what I do."
(First published in Technology Review, August 2005)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=77c4f65e4efc368d92bf6bcadd0cc295
ndian Americans Form Historic Group in Democratic Party
India Post, News Report, N.C. Srirekha, Posted: Aug 13, 2004 Review it on
NewsTrust
NEW YORK-- In a historic first, the Democratic National Council (DNC) has
created an Indo American Leadership Council (IALC), giving the Indian American
community a voice at the head table of political activism.
The IALC was formed during the Democratic National Convention in Boston where
Senator John F. Kerry was officially nominated as the party s candidate for
President in the forthcoming elections. The nascent organization s first
challenge to establish its credentials is to raise a sum of $2.5 million
before the elections.
"This is some of the biggest news for the Indo American community this
election cycle," Rohit Ro Khanna, Executive Director of the IALC told India
Post. Khanna, a prominent Democratic Party campaigner, had lost his bid for
the Congress in the primaries. "It s a pretty big deal for the community that
we have a presence in the Democratic National Council (DNC), and with the
involvement of some very prominent community leaders, we have a unified voice
now."
"It s a step in the right direction," said Niranjan Shah, a major Democratic
contributor. "It s not a solution in itself, but at least it s a beginning.
Elections are just three months away and the time is very short (for the
Council) to show dramatic results. It is a slow process, like planting a
seed."
According to Khanna, getting an institutional presence was a great step
forward for the community -- one that will get stronger and more powerful with
each election cycle.
Unlike the Indian American Republican Council (IARC) formed last year by
Republican sympathizers in the community, the IALC is not an independent body,
but a wing of the DNC working within the party structure.
Besides the IALC, there are five other DNC leadership Councils: the Women s
Leadership Council, the Hispanic American Leadership Council, the Asian
Pacific Leadership Council, the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council and the
African American Leadership Council. The goal of each Council is to raise $2.5
million until November 2, 2004.
Regular weekly meetings with key DNC leaders are being held and strategies are
discussed to reach the goal. The key leaders who are attending or will be
attending on behalf of the Council are Vin Gupta, Ramesh Kapur, Niranjan Shah,
Mahinder Tak, and Deven Verma. The executive director of the Indo American
Leadership Council is Rohit "Ro" Khanna who is at the DNC full time until the
general election.
The Trustees who are committed to raising $250,000 include: Dilip Barot,
Sabeer Bhatia, Swadesh Chatterjee, Samir Desai, Vin Gupta, Talat Hasan, Ramesh
Kapur, Sunil Paul, Pat Sarma, Niranjan Shah, and Deven Verma.
Any individual who contributes $25,000 will automatically become an official
member of the Indo-American Leadership Council. In addition to the above-
mentioned individuals, prominent Council members include: Anil Bhandari, Anil
Deshpande, Vin Dham, Prabhu Goel, Anil Godhwani, Rajat Gupta, Sridar Iyengar,
Krishan Joshi, Vinod Khosla, Kumar Mallavali, Suhas Patil, Sunil Puri, Raj
Rajadhyaksha, Rao Ramineni, Kanwal Rekhi, and Ranvir Trehan.
Hoping that the Council would become a permanent feature within the DNC,
Khanna said its formation is consistent with what he firmly believes -- a
presence for the Indian American community at the higher levels of mainstream
national politics.
Fundraising is going to be a critical part of this organization, the success
of which will establish the community s readiness to be involved in national
politics, Khanna said. The Council has already raised half a million dollars
of its targeted $2.5 million. "If we meet this target, the DNC will make the
IALC a permanent feature of the Party," Khanna said.
"The biggest thing is working together, where many of the community leaders
were working in an ad hoc manner in their individual capacity," Khanna added.
"As a minority community, we need to show our ideas to make our presence felt,
and as the Council establishes itself, we will do it. It will help Indian
Americans with the visibility in the party they need to make a difference in
mainstream politics."
The basic premise of IALC s formation was to increase the visibility of the
community, Khanna explained. "Once the community becomes visible,
representation follows," he said. "Already members of our community are
working furiously at all political levels." The other idea behind the IALC is
to project a unified front for the community. Making a generic observation on
the nature of Indians, Shah said, "We as a community are very lukewarm when it
comes to group effort. Indian community lacks unity.
We tend to not to trust each other as historically there is a sense of
insecurity." It is in this light, he says, the IALC assumes significance as an
effort to bring together the various groups and individuals who are all doing
good work in their own right.
In the last five years, since the Al Gore campaign in the last Presidential
elections, the Indian American community has pumped in huge sums of money,
Shah said. "Our people are doing well and pumping in money because they want
to be part of the mainstream, but are not pulling it together. The Council
will be one vehicle to pool all the money together," he said.
Typically, Shah explained, even though the Indian American representation at
any given fundraiser is a mere one or two percent, their contributions often
amount to more than 10 percent of the money raised. "Now that s significant,
but what do we get in return?" he asks raising rhetoric. "The problem is
different groups are working in different directions and there is no
collective credit coming to the community."
"The positive thing (about the community) is there are a lot of wealthy
people, intellectuals, and by nature, willing to write checks to be part of
the mainstream. That, in itself, is a big deal," Shah adds.
The setting up of the IALC is a great move forward for the community, Shah
said, adding that it would be a slow process before one sees more concrete
results. "In two or three years, maybe by the next Presidential elections,
things will be a lot different," he promised.
However, the unique aspect of the IALC is every individual gets credit for any
individual effort or money raised. "At the end of the day, the funds are
routed through the Council, which will be aggregating them," explains Khanna.
And that, Khanna feels, will be the biggest sustainability factor for this
organization. "The failure of most umbrella organizations is because one
individual tries to take all the credit. Here, we hope to build an institution
that is not affiliated to any one individual," he adds.
"Very few people realize how significant the formation of the IALC is,"
said Talat Hasan, a Bay Area-based entrepreneur. "Some of those involved have
worked very hard to achieve this."
Hasan, who has been a contributor to the Democratic Party for many years,
became actively involved in fundraising activities over the past one year.
"After 27 years of working in the corporate world, I am now working in the
non-profit world," said Hasan, who has over the years successfully sold off
her two companies dealing in semi-conductors.
In the longer term, if the IALC becomes an ongoing thing, the people who will
lead it will help put the infrastructure in place and facilitate the working
structure. "But right now the biggest challenge is to raise funds.
It s a significant target to achieve so all we are doing is to get on the
phone and bang on doors!" she said, "Time is so short, we are tapping mostly
high-end individuals. There is not enough time for grass root outreach."
The response to IALC has been very enthusiastic from whoever has been
approached for funds, Hasan said. "In fact, we have had a couple of Republican
sympathizers also generously donating to our funds," she said proudly.
Another one of IALC s main goals is to field and support Indian American
candidates, Hasan said. "The time has come to field our own candidates, but
for that we first need to have clout in the party and we can get clout only by
raising money."
That the Indian American delegates put up a visible presence at the Democratic
National Convention was evident from the key roles some of them were given to
play during the convention, including being invited to be seated on the podium
during the various sessions. Maryland House delegate Kumar Barve and Smita
Shah (daughter of Niranjan Shah), as Vice Chairman and member respectively of
the DNC Rules Committee, probably played the most important roles among the
Indian American representatives at the convention.
Being seen at the convention in itself is not a big deal, Hasan will have you
believe. "It just adds another dimension to your political visibility.
The real work happens outside of the convention."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/45172/National/1/20/1
BCCI office bearers attend wedding of Shah's daughter
Rajkot, Nov 21 (PTI) Top BCCI office bearers including Board President Sharad
Pawar and Vice President Lalit Modi today attended the wedding of BCCI
Secretary Niranjan Shah's daughter.
BCCI's next presidential candidate Shashank Manohar, Srinivas, Rantnakar
Shetty and other dignitaries were also present at the function held at
Imperial Palace hotel this morning, sources from Saurashtra Cricket
Association said.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel also dropped in to bless the newly
married couple, they added.
Pawar and Patel later left for Mumbai, sources said.
The wedding ceremony was a close family function and none of the cricket
players of Indian team were invited, sources said.
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