Former Consul general in Australia breaks 24 years silence through his memoirs

Chennai:

The silence of 24 long years as honorary consul general in Australia was broken by surgeon turned consul general of Australia as he penned his memoirs ‘A surgeon and Consul General – A Migrant Experience’.

The memoirs, which was launched by former Central Bureau of Investigation director D R Karthikeyan, highlights how Dr Jana Rao began his journey with just $4.50 and rose to become the honorary consular general and the role he played in strengthening India-Australia ties.

“I was told to keep my eyes and ears open and mouth shut when I took up the role of consul general of India in Australia,” said Rao, who played a key role in strengthening India-Australia ties.

But Rao is bitter that after 24 years of honorary service to the Indian government, there has been no acknowledgement from the Indian government. “There was only a press statement from the high commissioner to the Indian media in Melbourne about the establishment of a full time career consul to the office and thanking me for my service to the Government of India,” he said.

“The Indian bureaucracy is totally insensitive and they do not know what courtesy means. They could not send a personal letter to thank me for my 24 years of dedicated voluntary service. On the contrary there were letters from the Prime Minister of Australia, the Premier of Victoria and several ministers who thanked me personally for promoting Australia-India relationship,” said the surgeon, who retired on 2006.

Interestingly, Rao also highlights about corrupt leaders, who demand a share in clearing the deals. “They want the percentage to be paid in their Swiss accounts. The Australian companies were against these sort of things and I advised them against it,” said Rao. Interestingly, the former diplomat did not name any of the politicians. 

Australian Consulate General for south India David Holly highlighted the strong India- Australia ties and said that Hinduism is now the fastest growing religion in Australia. However, the consul general also said that no Indian prime minister has visited Australia after Rajiv Gandhi since the last 26 years.

A speech of Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who was unable to attend the event, was read by director of Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce C Sarat Chandran.