The Indian ambassador to the United States spoke at a sit-down conversational event hosted by congressional Representative Jim Costa in Fresno City College’s Old Administration Building on Thursday.
Ambassador Nirupama Rao discussed the shared interests of the United States and India along with historical similarities and future goals, while also making time to answer audience questions after her speech.
In attendance were Deborah Blue, chancellor of the State Center Community College District, Tony Cantu, president of FCC and Eric Payne and Dorothy “Dottie” Smith, members of the SCCCD Board of Trustees, a small audience of faculty, staff and students, and a handful of guests from the community.
A key point of the conversation between Costa and Ambassador Rao was the democratic parallels between two seemingly disparate nations. The “world’s oldest democracy,” according to Rep. Costa, is found in the United States, and the world’s most populous is found in India, which merges a population of more than 1.2 billion people into one large and diverse country.
“India is not just a nation-state; it is a civilization-state,” Ambassador Rao stated about the cultural and ethnic diversity found in the Southeast Asian nation.
Other similarities, according to Rep. Costa, include a burgeoning technology and import trade industry and mutual desires for peace.
“We share the desire to have a peaceful land,” Costa said, underscoring the growth of this interest directly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the continuing threats of violence from terrorist organizations.
Ambassador Rao began her work in international diplomacy in 1973 when she joined the Indian Foreign Service.
She has also served as ambassador to China, Peru, Sri Lanka and Bolivia. Rao also served as Foreign Secretary, the highest office in the Indian Foreign Service, until her end of term in 2011.
Political science professor Dr. Sarbjit Johal who attended the event said that such FCC events are important for students to attend.
“Students can see important people and hear perspectives from other countries,” he said.
Cris Monahan-Bremer, director of marketing and social relations director facilitated the arrangements for the event.
She said that she had received the request to hold the event in the OAB from Rep. Costa’s office.
“We were very happy to do that,” Monahan-Bremer said. “Jim Costa has been a real friend to this college.”
Harpreet Kooner, an engineer for Fresno County shared concerns about the “brain drain” that plagues India. Kooner said she was excited to be part of the audience and the conversation.
“It was very positive, I liked it, and we need to have more events like this,” she said. Kooner suggested more publicity to alert the community about these events.
“I know a lot of my friends would be interested in coming if we had known about it a little bit more in advance,” Kooner said. “This was great.”
