CHICAGO – At his recent ‘Sab Changa Si’ press conference India’s Chicago Consul General Mr. Sudhakar Dalela narrated the consular duties’ bill of fare he performed so-far. He was speaking to the pressmen at his office during “info-sharing.” However, CAA and other such raucous issues, that have engulfed his Consulate, did not figure in his montage.

Consul General informed that, he has “pushed the envelope of our [India] engagement” with 8 of the 9 states under his jurisdiction, sans Dakota. “I have met their Governors and other political leaders including Business Leaders. …the focus is to strengthen partnership between India and the US,” Mr Dalela explained. He stated that he has also addressed both the Houses of the Illinois State Assembly.

On the academia front, Consul General stated that he made it a point to visit Universities to meet the Faculty there; and meet the students as well. “In 8 months’ time [period], I have visited 12 to 13 Universities,” Mr. Sudhakar Dalela said. He cited the universities at St. Louis, West Lafayette, and Urbana as an example.

With no tangibles, Mr. Dalela said, “It’s difficult to quantify [the outcome]. ...Our duty is to reach to them. …Out of 10, even if we achieve 1 or 2 things we [feel we have] achieved.” The Consul General further added: “We are also learning. We do not have info about every state.” It be mentioned that a total of nine Midwestern states fall under the wings of the Consulate General of India at Chicago. These include: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

“I have also reached out to business houses explaining them what India has to offer to Midwest, and vice versa,” Consul General said. “We [India] have made things simpler for the ease of business,” he added. He made a special mention of Missouri State’s program titled “Missouri Partnership” through which Missouri attracts the foreign investments. This program is headed by an NRI Mr. Subash Alias as its chief executive. Missouri has deep trade ties with India. It exported $130 million worth of goods to India as per year 2018 figures. “When we make the outreach, the important [aspect] is to update them on Indo-US relations, and what we expect from them,” Mr. Dalela added.

With no tangibles, Mr. Dalela said, “It’s difficult to quantify [the outcome]. ...Our duty is to reach to them. …Out of 10, even if we achieve 1 or 2 things we [feel we have] achieved.” The Consul General further added: “We are also learning. We do not have info about every state.”

The meet mandated to talk of “recent developments in India, and the India-U.S. Partnership.” The Consul General gave a 60 minutes long detailed narrative of the good things around the subject. The demi-official “interactive session,” though informal, read, as if, straight from the LBSNAA text-book. Mr. Dalela listed out five “Pillars of Engagement” to “represent India in a better way.” The list comprised: 1) Political Outreach, 2) Community Outreach, 3) Media, 4) Knowledge Partnership, and, 5) Business Investment.

Paddling through his report-card, Consul General Mr. Sudhakar Dalela gave himself a Thumbs-up grading. He stated that he is “fairly satisfied” with what he has achieved.

He also dwelt at length upon the community engagement. Consul General stated that community organizations in the United States are very well organized. He has tried to connect to as many as organizations as possible. He cited Guru Nanak Dev Ji 550th Anniversary Celebrations, and the Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary Celebrations as main events of the year 2019. “We have firm action plan for community Consular Camps [during 2020] that look into people’s consular issues and guide them,” he said.

Indian Consulate is in process of chalking out its Year 2020 program-line. Mr. Dalela stated that he uses the community interactions to understand as to how to “expand Consular activities in during the year 2020.” He cited his interactions during ‘Parvasi Bhartiya Divas 2020’ as an instance. He intends to have a larger outreach for the Yoga Day 2020, much realizing the lowly output his last-one delivered.

Consul General informed that within the Consulate premises, he has designated a community corner where the happenings in the Indian community can be displayed.

When asked about the future press conference, he said: मिलेंगे, मिलेंगे!