Festival of inclusion turns exclusive
In the midst of numerous speeches boasting of Auckland being a multicultural city and the Auckland Diwali being the epitome of inclusiveness, what stood out like a sore thumb was the absence of the NZ First, Indian MP Mahesh Bindra.
He is one of the newest inductees to the Parliament and represents the strong Indian community. There are only three Indian Members of Parliament and while the other two MPs, Kawaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Parmjit Parmar, were invited to the opening, Bindra was not.
ATEED had invited an impressive line-up of politicians to the opening ceremony including the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Auckland. The other MPs included Andrew Little, David Cunliffe, Phil Goff, David Shearer, Jacinta Ardern and Jenny Salesa from Labour. From National, there were Kawaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Parmar seated in the VIP gallery amongst other important dignitaries from the Indian and the Kiwi communities. While there were a considerable number of empty seats in the gallery, it was difficult to fathom the political move behind not inviting Mahesh Bindra and how much difference the inclusion of just one other person would have made. It would be fair to say that a cultural celebration of this magnitude should not be allowed to be influenced by anything petty.
This is not the first time this has happened. Last year too only two out of the three Indian MPs had been invited to the opening. Last year, however, this had been treated lightly by everyone including Bindra himself who thought “these things happen”. However when things like these happen twice in a row, in spite of being pointed out, one cannot help but question them. Although Bindra in his large heartedness still maintains “who they invite is completely their prerogative”, to overlook one of three Indian MPs at the biggest celebration of the Indian culture cannot go unnoticed.
When Indian Weekender asked Mr David Rutland, Auckland Diwali Festival Event Design & Development Manager about this, he stated that they can “only accommodate limited numbers of guests at these events” and, therefore, had not been able to invite him.
While Indian Weekender strongly supports Auckland Diwali and has been a proud sponsor of the event since 2012, however, it is important that issues such as these be brought up.
As mentioned in a previous article as well, it is important that the consultation process for the event be streamlined and adhered to, given the exponential growth and popularity of the event with each passing year, so that embarrassments such as these can be avoided.
In the midst of numerous speeches boasting of Auckland being a multicultural city and the Auckland Diwali being the epitome of inclusiveness, what stood out like a sore thumb was the absence of the NZ First, Indian MP Mahesh Bindra.
He is one of the newest inductees to the Parliament and...
In the midst of numerous speeches boasting of Auckland being a multicultural city and the Auckland Diwali being the epitome of inclusiveness, what stood out like a sore thumb was the absence of the NZ First, Indian MP Mahesh Bindra.
He is one of the newest inductees to the Parliament and represents the strong Indian community. There are only three Indian Members of Parliament and while the other two MPs, Kawaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Parmjit Parmar, were invited to the opening, Bindra was not.
ATEED had invited an impressive line-up of politicians to the opening ceremony including the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Auckland. The other MPs included Andrew Little, David Cunliffe, Phil Goff, David Shearer, Jacinta Ardern and Jenny Salesa from Labour. From National, there were Kawaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Parmar seated in the VIP gallery amongst other important dignitaries from the Indian and the Kiwi communities. While there were a considerable number of empty seats in the gallery, it was difficult to fathom the political move behind not inviting Mahesh Bindra and how much difference the inclusion of just one other person would have made. It would be fair to say that a cultural celebration of this magnitude should not be allowed to be influenced by anything petty.
This is not the first time this has happened. Last year too only two out of the three Indian MPs had been invited to the opening. Last year, however, this had been treated lightly by everyone including Bindra himself who thought “these things happen”. However when things like these happen twice in a row, in spite of being pointed out, one cannot help but question them. Although Bindra in his large heartedness still maintains “who they invite is completely their prerogative”, to overlook one of three Indian MPs at the biggest celebration of the Indian culture cannot go unnoticed.
When Indian Weekender asked Mr David Rutland, Auckland Diwali Festival Event Design & Development Manager about this, he stated that they can “only accommodate limited numbers of guests at these events” and, therefore, had not been able to invite him.
While Indian Weekender strongly supports Auckland Diwali and has been a proud sponsor of the event since 2012, however, it is important that issues such as these be brought up.
As mentioned in a previous article as well, it is important that the consultation process for the event be streamlined and adhered to, given the exponential growth and popularity of the event with each passing year, so that embarrassments such as these can be avoided.
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