03-10-2013 International women’s day

Chicago IL: World Federation of Tamil Youth (WFTY) conferred the Selvi J. Jayalalithaa Award of Excellence 2013 on TV Asia Midwest Bureau chief Vandna Jhingan, while well-known vocalist Padma Mehta, introduced as “the nightingale of Chicagoland,” received the “International Woman of the Year 2013 Award.” Jhingan was recognized for her selfless devotion to community service and Mehta for her dedicated promotion of Indian music and heritage in the United States. Congressman Danny Davis presented the awards on Sunday, March 10, 2013, at the Holiday Inn, Rolling Meadows. The ceremony marked the 65th birthday celebrations of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after whom the Jayalalithaa Award is named. WFTY President Vijay Prabhakar recounted the history of this Jayalalithaa Award. This is the 20th consecutive year that WFTY has been honoring outstanding individuals. Previous awardees were Raja Krishnamoorthi (2012), Congressman Danny Davis (2011), Mother Teresa (1996), Illinois state senator Howard Carroll (1998), Wisconsin state senator Rodney C Moen (1999), and in 2004 US Congressman Ray LaHood, who is now U.S. Transportation Secretary. This time around, the celebration was timed to coincide with International Women’sDay.

Jhingan, who was being recognized for her community services over the last 15 years, described her work with TV Asia. She was praised for her “courage and determination against all odds” and for “telling our stories to the world.” She was joined on stage by her husband Kumar Tadi. “A North Indian girl getting such an award from this Southern State is what integration is all about,” said Jhingan adding that “today is Shivratri and this is Lord Shiva’s blessing.”
Danny Davis’s Multi Ethnic Advisory Task Force (MEATF) presented the “International Woman of the Year 2013 Award” to Padma Mehta, for promoting Indian arts, culture, and music in USA for the past 35 years. She has performed in support of several charities: Apna Ghar, a local shelter for abused women; victims of the

Gujarat earthquake and of the tsunami which hit Tamil Nadu, to name but a few. Mehta in her acceptance speech quoted the US President Obama’s tweet that “empowering women is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.” Citations, golden shawls, and floral bouquets were presented to both the women awardees.

MEATF went on to present the “Community Leadership Award” to Satheesan Nair, General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), “Youth Leadership Award” to Tanya Prabhakar at John Marshall Law School, and “ International Youth Leadership Award” to Mylvaganan Logith, Environmental Consultant, Chennai (India).

Jyoti Gokhale introduced Padma Mehta. Clarence Beal, President of Jordan Dreams, introduced Tanya Prabhakar. Krishna Subramanian, Neuroscience Research Scholar, University of Pittsburg, and MEATF Vice- Chair Kishor Mehta introduced Satheesan Nair. Delivering the presidential address, NFIA President Sohan Joshi said that he wanted to steal Amma Jayalalithaa from Tamil Nadu and wanted Jayalalithaa to be the Amma (“mother”) for the whole of India. Joshi hoped that Jayalalithaa will lead a federal coalition government in 2014 from New Delhi, under the United Democratic
Alliance (UDA) banner. He commended Jayalalithaa’s stand to hold Sri Lanka accountable for the genocide of Tamils in 2009 and appealed to the Government of India to support the U.S. backed resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Joshi recalled Danny Davis’s visit to Sri Lanka to meet Tamil leaders in the mid-2000’s and so as to try and resolve the conflict. He noted Davis was the only US Congressman to visit Sri Lanka during the conflict.

Davis commented on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s innovative and creative welfare programs in Tamil Nadu as worthy of emulation. He praised the dynamic leadership of this pragmatic leader of the masses. Referring to International Women’s Day and the Women’s History Month, he recalled how “it began with my mother, the impact she had on my thinking, development, and life; it carries over to my wife. The influence she has on an ongoing basis, by demonstrating leadership and fostering. There has been a tremendous amount of progress towards our treatment of woman both nationally and internationally. We have honored this afternoon the very best in our community and may the fruits of your labor multiply. From watching the events this afternoon, we may see a young woman president in this country.”

Dr. Tapas Dasgupta, Chairman of the Birthday Celebrations and Chairman of MEATF for 2013 welcomed the gathering. WFTY President Vijay Prabhakar listed the achievements of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, including the pioneering distribution of free laptop computers to students, women’s empowerment, gazette notification of Cauvery Rights, and Vision 2023. Jayalalithaa Birthday Celebrations in Chicago this year included interfaith prayers on February 24, gift packages to 65 needy persons, free health care checkup for senior citizens, and health screenings for the mentally challenged.

MEATF Executive Director Lowry S Taylor was Master of Ceremonies. By way of invocation, Archbishop Dr. J. Jacob Agepog, Moderator of the international communion of holy Christian Churches, USA, blessed the assembly with a prayer, Padma Mehta sang a Hindu hymn, and Kasturi Dasgupta performed a youthful dance. Mohan Srinivas Kesavalu, a 10th grade student gave the vote of thanks. Rajendran, popularly known as the SP Balasubramanian of Chicagoland, enthralled the audience with both Tamil and Hindi songs. Congressman Davis along with Moon Khan, candidate for village President of Lombard and Raja Krishnamoorthi took part the 65th Birthday cake for Jayalalithaa. In a symbolic gesture, Davis fed the first portions to the two 2013 Jayalalithaa awardees. Several other dignitaries, such as Air India Midwest Area
Manager Rishikant Singh, also graced the event.