Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
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Harish Velji Pride of Australian Sub Continent Community
By Mukesh Maru (Sydney)
The Labor Party has announced its most prestigious McKell Award. This award is the highest honor the Labor Party can bestow on its member, Harish Velji, a person of the Sub Continent heritage is one of them. This choice of the awardee underlines the Labor Party’s recognition of the dedication and leadership of Harish Velji, who has tirelessly worked to build bridges between the Labor Party and the Sub Continent community thereby winning over the confidence of this important community.
The Sub Continent Community in Sydney received the news of the award with tremendous pride. Harish has proved to be the only leader who is capable of uniting different sub continent communities. He carries no baggage of mistrust and is not a divisive figure. His positive politics of inclusive style of adding people to the group and encouraging leadership within the community has proved the biggest source of his success!
Harish had been helping the Labor Party prior to 1996. However the loss of the Keating Government inspired him to finally join the Labor Party. After joining the Party he has held various positions including Secretary of the Kariong Branch of the Labor Party for 13 years and now President of the branch.
He is the founder of the Sub Continent Friends of Labor. He had visualised the concept as early as in the 1990s. However it was the present New South Wales Labor Secretary Sam Dastyari who saw potential of this group’s community service and pushed for its formation. Thus with the help of number of other people, the Sub Continent Friends of Labor was born with Harish as its chairperson.
About two years back, a group of people including myself asked Harish for a meeting and requested him for active participation in the community activities as our community required an honest and dedicated leader. This was necessitated as many of our current 'community leaders' were found to be only self serving and the community needed a new direction. Since then, Harish has provided this new direction for many of the community organisations.
We had known of
his background of tremendous work in the Central Coast for the local community.
He had been actively fighting for footpaths, bus shelters, upgrade of roads and
for a construction of a new high school in his local area. In one of the
campaigns, the Gosford City Council admitted that one of the roads Harish had
been campaigning for total resurfacing was in fact the worst road in the Central
Coast! This campaign was in his capacity as the President of the Kariong
Residence Action Group.
Harish also served as the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Central Coast
Convoy for the Kids that raised over $4million for the local children related
community needs.
He also championed the cause of mentally ill. Harish campaigned against his own
New South Wales Labor Government in an effort to change the Mental Health Act.
The change was to give greater role for the families of mentally ill for the
management of this illness.
In 1982 Harish was asked to help in Fiji to act as a campaign manager in one of
the most marginal seats. One of the most disturbing elements of a political
campaign was that the government of the day had a Carroll Report that enlisted
strategies to exploit Indian versus Fijian sentiments. The report also told of
how to exploit the various Indian linguistic groups such as Gujarati, South
Indians, and North Indians etc. As if this was not enough, the Report threw
another hand grenade by encouraging religious rivalries - Hindu versus Muslim.
"Having seen some of my Sikh friends being beaten up during the Pauline Hanson
era and later John Howard not only adopting her policies but going further, is
blight to our history!" said Harish Velji.
"When the United India Association, during India Australia Day Fair in 2007 gave
a heroes welcome to the principle participants in Dr Haneef Affair, it made for
a sad moment for the Indian community in Australia."
"Recent state elections have seen the worst of sub continent elections
strategies being transplanted and implemented by our opponents. This was in
terms of making house visit and phoning and threatening a group of people to
change their political allegiance as Labor was not expected to win is a new low
for our community."
Harish said that working with our community has been greatly satisfying but it
nevertheless takes a toll on your health because of the oily and spicy food we
eat and it usually is served very late.
Harish modestly attributes his success to the group and the community "This
award is recognition for my colleagues in the Sub Continent Friends of Labor and
the community as a whole.” says he.
One of the senior leaders of a major community group wrote to him stating “But
one thing is sure, and I am telling this to everyone in …(name of the
organisation has been deleted) that the way you have been working with us -
sincerely, honestly and with great dedication- is beyond our imagination and
expectation. You are a true social worker, a true friend and a true comrade;
that is one reason I have joined ALP, though 30+ yrs late; but better late than
never"
Former Member
of the Parliament Marie Andrews once described Harish as one of the effective
branch secretaries she had seen in last 40 years of her membership in the Labor
Party. Whilst another former senator and the Member of the Parliament regarded
Harish as the best media monitor in Australia!
Harish has never shied away from the criticising the Labor Government when he
has seen the need to do so. Recently he criticised the Federal Government’s
decisions - of not selling uranium to India, for having a narrow opposition
towards Fiji and for not initiating a international inquiry of the war crimes
committed in Sri Lanka.
Hon John Robertson reacting to Harish Velji receiving the Mckell award said "You
are truly deserving of this award. You put so much in to our great party; few
would be more deserving than you.”
