Sivakumar Nadesan awarded 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for upliftment of Indian-origin Tamils in Lanka

"If you hear the word Ceylon (Sri Lankan) tea, you must see the picture of the tea plucker (lady), that plucker is of Indian origin...Yet, this woman is not recognised at all.. She is the one who plucks the tea leaf that the Queen or King of England drinks! Yet, she does not know that.. We have been striving hard to give them better living conditions", says Sivakumar Nadesan, President of the Global Organisation of the People of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. Nadesan is a recipient of the 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), the highest honour conferred by the Indian Government on the country's diaspora.

The award that has been announced by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is a recognition of Nadesan's efforts towards the welfare of the Indian Tamil community, an economically disadvantaged and neglected minority community in the island nation of Sri Lanka. He actively promotes business and cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka and has been instrumental in inviting many Indian artists to perform in Sri Lanka.

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"We have been looking at the issue of Indian origin Tamils (IOTs), who came here 200 years ago and worked on the tea plantations, railways, roads.They (IOTs) were brought here by the British and they developed Sri Lanka to the extent that the country was known. Our first roads and railways were laid by the IOTs. There were coffee plantations originally and then it got wiped out owing to a disease affecting the plant. Then the tea plantation workers began planting tea bushes", Nadesan highlights the contributions of the community that he and his organization have been striving for.

Providing better living conditions, education, housing, healthcare, and nutrition and creating awareness about the same among the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka, are his key focus areas. He also looks forward to working with the Indian Government to provide housing for the Indian Tamil population in the island nation. He also hopes to negotiate with the Indian Government to set up classrooms, science labs, a nursing school and a university, in addition to the hospital that India has already provided. Among his projects is also to createof a museum to chronicle the history of the Indian Tamil community and their culture and traditions.

Nadesan is the second Sri Lankan national to be conferred the PBSA and he has been selected for his work in the realm of 'Community Welfare'. The PBSA jury is chaired by Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr SJaishankar. The 17thedition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Day) Convention is to be held between 8-10thJanuary at Indore, Madhya Pradesh and the awards will be conferred by the Indian president. A total of 27 awardees from across categories will be receiving the awards, as per the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

Sivakumar Nadesan has been serving as the Managing Director of Express Newspapers Ceylon Limited and as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka.

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