ICCC@40
From Left to Right (Standing): Sanjay Makkar, Naval Bajaj, Satish Thakkar, Arun Srivastava, Ajit Khanna, Ravi Seethapathy, Rakesh Goenka, Ajit Someshwar From Left to Right (Sitting): DP Jan, Kris Krishnan, Asha Luthra, Ramesh Chotai, Sat P Chopra, Pradeep Sood, Raj Kothari
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is an organization that has come to symbolize the aspirations of the Indo-Canadians and has been a witness to history to the rise of the community in the Canadian mainstream, helping it to contribute to the fabric of the Canadian society by creating avenues and opportunities. The organization’s character has changed gradually, transforming from a community platform which brought together and bonded Indo-Canadians from different regions of India, speaking different languages, to one that boosted the entrepreneurial proclivities amongst the community, nudging, urging the community to look for independent avenues to utilize their talent, acumen, and qualifications. A group of individuals met in early 1977 to discuss the launch of an organization that would represent the Indo-Canadians. On March 12, 1977, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce was formed, with Kishore Doshi becoming the first President. A small step for the Indo-Canadian community had been taken. It would prove – over the years – to be a giant leap. The initial years were fraught with problems that seem almost insurmountable, and there were talks of winding down the organization, but the persistence and the dogged determination of the business and professional community ensured that the organization not only survived, it began to grow and flourish. And lo and behold, in March 2017, it celebrated its fortieth anniversary, and last week on April 19, the organisation celebrated that milestone with a heartwarming and emotional get together that witnessed an unprecedented participation of 14 past Presidents, the incumbent President, several former members of the Advisory board, board of directors, sponsors and stakeholders. The program was unprecedented because never before in the Chamber’s history had so many Presidents come together and shared their experiences of leading the organization to its glory. Fittingly, the program was held at the ICCC still new office in Toronto.
The first decade
He got RBC Royal Bank as the Chamber’s first corporate sponsor for $5,000. The RBC Royal Bank remained a sponsor for over the next two decades, leaving the Chamber for a brief hiatus and returning recently. During the entire period, Imtiaz Seyid, a member of the Chamber since 1993, has been active with the Chamber’s membership portfolio and now is the head of its audit committee. Someshwar also started the annual awards and gala night by honouring Indo-Canadians in different domains for their contributions to the Canadian society. He constituted an Advisory board for this purpose to ensure that the selection of the award winners would be objective. This year the Chamber will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Annual Awards and Gala Night, and during this period the ICCC awards have become a symbol of recognition for the Indo-Canadian community. The third decade
Kothari emphasized that his background in finance helped ensure that the organizational finances were streamlined. Kothari’s Presidential tenure coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Indian independence in 1997. Under his stewardship, the Chamber, for the first time, got recognition by the Indian government, when it was asked to organize a program for Inder Kumar Gujral, the Prime Minister of India. Kothari also accompanied the then Governor General of Canada to a trip to India and Pakistan.
PBD India
The fourth decade
Dawn of new era Arun Srivastava (2016 – ) Arun has continued to build upon the austerity drive of the Chamber and also planned to organise a path breaking Canada-India Business Symposium in June to coincide with the Annual Awards and Gala night.
All the Presidents – they had the cake and ate it, too |