Team Blitz India
The Consul General of India in New York , Binay Srikant, inaugurated the Thomas Abraham Library at Convention Center on April 7. The library is named after Dr Thomas Abraham, the founder president of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), currently serving as chairman, GOPIO International. It recognises him for his services to the Indian diaspora community over the past five decades.
The event was attended by Kevin Thomas, New York State Senator, Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Mayor’s Office, and prominent community leaders, who spoke about Dr. Abraham’s service and about commitment towards the community.
In a post on X, the Consulate wrote, “Consul General @binaysrikant76 inaugurated Dr Thomas Abraham Library at the Kerala Center in New York; CG, Senator @KevinThomasNY , NY Dy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan @dilipnewyork & many distinguished community leaders spoke about tireless work by Dr Abraham has for over 50 years uniting Indian American community besides working in areas like education, culture and promotion of Brand India in the US.
Abraham is credited for coining the word PIO (people of Indian origin) in 1989, when he established the First Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York. He has been instrumental in building several NRI/PIO Indian community institutions including the Federation of Indian Association (FIA) of New York (1977); National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA) (1980); Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center (1993); among others.
For his service towards the diaspora community he was presented with Bharatvanshi Gaurav (Person of Indian Origin Pride) Award by former Vice President of India Bhairon Singh Sekhawat in 2008 and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honor) Award by President of India in 2008.
