On Sunday 1st November Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Queensland Inc, held a Havan Yajna Satsang in honour of Umesh Chandra OAM, it was organised to celebrate Umesh Chandra’ s recognition as on of the 2020 OAM (Order of Australia Medal).
Umesh Chandra is another Indian-origin recipient of OAM, who has been recognised for his significant contribution to the multicultural community of Queensland.
He moved to Australia in 1987. Later, he was appointed the liaison officer by the state government to protect the interests of Indian students when they were facing a spate of violent attacks in the country in 2008-09.
He was named the Citizen of the Year along with his wife, Usha Chandra, last year said the honour would inspire him to work more for the community.
“These awards give us encouragement to do more. There is so much more that we need to do for our community. We have so many aged people, there are women who need upliftment and care and of course also the students.
Vedic bhajans by Vijay Kumar followed the Havan ceremony. President Dr. Sukhvir Singh President of APSQ welcomed everyone to the function. Congratulatory speeches were delivered by Councillor Angela Owen, Ms. Janeth Deen OAM, Vice president of Queensland Multicultural Council, Ms Saswati Basu Chatterjee – Bengali community – actress and Actress.
Secretary of APSQ, Mr Hari Chand introduced Umesh Chandra OAM and highlighted some of his achievements, he said that there was just far too many to list, he said they were very proud of his achievements and all that Umesh Chandra had for the Queensland Multicultural Council. Alice Fernandes read a special message from Umesh Chandra OAM’s very close friend Dharmendra Chandra, Dharmendra has known Umesh Chandra since childhood they were in the same high school and were together in Chandigarh.
APSQ patron retired judge, Dr Devendra Pathik thanked Umesh Chandra OAM and sentenced him for lifelong community service, Umesh Chandra accepted and said, “guilty as pronounced”. Umesh Chandra Thanked APSQ for their kind gesture and said that they were the only community organisation to hold such a function in his honour.
Following the speeches Bhai Vijay Kumar sang a special song for Umesh Chandra OAM, the song was requested by Usha Chandra. Following the official program and shanti path, everyone moved out to the dining area for refreshments.
