|
After the enthusiastic
response to the first list of NRI newsmakers for 2007, here
is the updated version before 2008 ends.
The selection is based on news value
and the degree of interest and concern to
NRIs.
1. Lord Swaraj Paul: A consistent
NRI newsmaker for over three decades, he
just made history by being installed Deputy
Speaker in the House of Lords. He is
the first Indian to sit on the woolsack,
the traditional seat. He has extensive
investments in India for his multi-billion
pound company Caparo Group.
Conferred the Peerage in 1996 and honoured
with the Padma Bhushan by India
in 1983, 77-year-old Lord Paul is one of
the most famous Indian origin
entrepreneurs in Britain.
2. Sonal Shah: Appointed to the Transition
Team of US president-elect Barrack
Obama, she is a member of a three-person
team to coordinate technology,
innovation and government reform during
the transition. She earlier headed the
philanthropic department of Internet giant
Google; and was vice president at
Goldman, Sachs and Co and developed and
implemented the firm's
environmental strategy. Shah, who raised
funds for victims of the 2001
earthquake in Gujarat through the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad-America, has denied
any links to this organisation.
3. Vikram Pandit: The Citibank CEO
shocked everyone with his sudden
appointment to the world's biggest banking
company. After a year, he is right in
the eye of the global financial tsunami
to save his bank and spearhead its
recovery. He makes news with the US government's
multi-billion dollar recovery
package for his bank, job losses, restructuring
and reviving an icon of the
American financial sector. Facing a difficult
recovery, Pandit faces one of the
toughest challenges ever seen in the banking
industry.
4. Karpal Singh: A Malaysian-Indian
veteran lawyer and human rights activist, he
fought the general election as an opposition
candidate for equal treatment of all
Malays for government contracts, employment
and appointments. He has
highlighted the woes of all underprivileged
for 30 years and has been compared
to Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
5. Sir Salman Rushdie: His long-time
bestseller 'Midnight's Children' was,
following a public vote, declared the Best
of the Booker in the award's 40-year
history.
6. Navanethan Pillay: A South African
Indian judge, he was appointed for four
years as the UN Human Rights Commissioner
- a significant achievement for
NRIs. Her grand-parents migrated from Tamil
Nadu to South Africa as
sugarcane indentured labourers in the late
1800s, and she became the first
woman to start law practice in South Africa's
Natal Province in 1968. Pillay
efended several anti-apartheid activists
and successfully fought for the right of
political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.
7. Lakshmi Mittal made some news
for the wrong reasons this year. The world's
largest steel maker after he took over Arcelor,
Mittal has had to take tough
decisions on staff sackings, respond to
environmental concerns and acquisitions
and mergers. On the positive side, he was
honoured with Padma Vibhushan by
India and the third Forbes Lifetime Achievement
Award for heroes of
entrepreneurial capitalism and free enterprise.
8. The Great Khali, Dilip Singh Rana:
One of the largest athletes in the World
Wrestling Entertainment and World Heavyweight
Champion, Khali calls himself
after the Hindu Goddess Kali. This towering
giant at seven feet three inches
enjoyed a hero's welcome during his visit
to India this year. He also landed up
film contracts.
9. Anand Jon: He was convicted of
rape after a glamorous career as the fashion
designer to Hollywood stars. From Beverley
Hills to prison wards, he made
headlines with court proceedings when he
was accused of luring young women
and girls, as young as 14, to an apartment
where he acted out sadistic fantasies.
The powerful, strident campaign for his
innocence mounted by his sister Sanjana
laims that he was framed.
10. Dev Patel... Dev who? Well, he
is an 18-year actor in the new Hollywood hit
'Slumdog Millionaire'. Based on a novel
'Q&A' by Indian diplomat Vikas
Swarup and crafted into a film by the acclaimed
director Danny Boyle with music
by A.R. Rehman, this film is ready to grab
some awards at the next Oscars. Patel
plays Jamal, a slum child who becomes a
national hero after he reaches the final
question on India's TV show 'Who Wants to
be a Millionaire?' Watch him! He
could win the best supporting actor award.
Source: IANS
|