Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday called upon the Indian diaspora to effectively counter false propaganda and negative narrative about India, particularly in the wake of scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and its reorganisation.
"Overseas Indians must create awareness in the countries of their stay that the dilution of Article 370 was purely an internal administrative measure and aimed at accelerating the development of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh," he said.
The Vice President was speaking after releasing a coffee table book titled 'Glorious Diaspora- Pride of India' containing brief profiles of the recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards from 2003 to 2019.
Naidu asserted that measures taken by the government in J-K have nothing to do with religion and any such false propaganda should be rebutted strongly.
Cautioning that some vested interests at times spread a lot of disinformation about India in the western media by portraying a negative image, Naidu said, "A few isolated incidents are used to spin fictitious narratives that intolerance, religious and social disharmony is on the rise in India."
He underlined, "The Pravasi Bharatiyas must effectively counter such falsehoods and project the correct image of India, especially on the harmonious co-existence of the people belonging to all religions and various social groups."
Describing the Indian diaspora as ambassadors of India's great culture, heritage and its intrinsic values of humanism, the Vice President lauded their contributions for the welfare of the nation through their philanthropic and charitable work.
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Observing that giving back to the society was a key element of Indian philosophy, Naidu asked the diaspora to contribute towards India's growth story through greater participation in the areas of education, health, and agriculture.
He urged them to become partners in programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Clean Ganga, Make in India, Digital India, and Skill India and strengthen them.
He said that since the launch of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) in 2003, many deserving people of Indian origin from around the world have been honoured. They include politicians, business leaders, scientists, economists and people from other fields.