“If you hear the word Ceylon (Sri Lankan) tea, you must see the picture of the tea plucker (lady), that plucker is of Indian origin…Yet, this woman is not recognised at all.. She is the one who plucks the tea leaf that the Queen or King of England drinks! Yet, she does not know that.. We have been striving hard to give them better living conditions”, says Sivakumar Nadesan, President of the Global Organisation of the People of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. Nadesan is a recipient of the 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), the best honour conferred by the Indian Government on the nation’s diaspora. 

The award that has been introduced by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is a recognition of Nadesan’s efforts in the direction of the welfare of the Indian Tamil group, an economically deprived and uncared for minority group within the island nation of Sri Lanka. He actively promotes enterprise and cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka and has been instrumental in inviting many Indian artists to carry out in Sri Lanka. 

“We have been looking at the issue of Indian origin Tamils (IOTs), who came here 200 years ago and worked on the tea plantations, railways, roads.They (IOTs) were brought here by the British and they developed Sri Lanka to the extent that the country was known. Our first roads and railways were laid by the IOTs. There were coffee plantations originally and then it got wiped out owing to a disease affecting the plant. Then the tea plantation workers began planting tea bushes”, Nadesan highlights the contributions of the group that he and his group have been striving for.

Providing higher dwelling circumstances, training, housing, healthcare, and vitamin and creating consciousness about the identical among the many Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka, are his key focus areas. He additionally appears ahead to working with the Indian Government to offer housing for the Indian Tamil inhabitants within the island nation. He additionally hopes to barter with the Indian Government to arrange lecture rooms, science labs, a nursing college and a college, along with the hospital that India has already supplied. Among his tasks can be to create of a museum to chronicle the historical past of the Indian Tamil group and their tradition and traditions. 

Nadesan is the second Sri Lankan nationwide to be conferred the PBSA and he has been chosen for his work within the realm of ‘Community Welfare’. The PBSA jury is chaired by Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. The 17th version of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Day) Convention is to be held between 8-10th January at Indore, Madhya Pradesh and the awards shall be conferred by the Indian president. A complete of 27 awardees from throughout classes shall be receiving the awards, as per the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. 

Sivakumar Nadesan has been serving because the Managing Director of Express Newspapers Ceylon Limited and because the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka.