Author: OFBJP NETHERLANDS

OFBJP​ Management team is pleased to announce that Stichting Laxmi which is based in Barendrecht, The Netherlands, a leading Hindustani- Indian Diaspora Organisations is our Consortium Partner & Advisor. Every Indian takes pride in the fact that India is one of the very few countries where highest offices of President and Prime Minister are occupied by Women. In addition India is one of the rare countries where Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses. Goddesses in Hinduism are the representation of Shakti, the feminine source of power in the universe. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to empower women. Stichting Laxmi was established in The Netherlands in 2016 under the leadership of all women team Millie Mahesh, Ranu Ram Soedjas and Vijanti Kanhai. The current management team comprises of hard working, friendly and enterprising women Monica Ramadhin, Sarita Poeran, Ranu Ramsoedjas, Millie Mahesh and Vijanty Kanhai. Stichting Laxmi is proud of Indian origin, Hindu roots, Hindu culture and Hindu tradition. They have been actively promoting Hindu culture, art and language by organizing workshops for food, music, dance, art, painting and Ayurveda in the municipality of Barendrecht and surrounding cities. It is OFBJP ambition to unite all Indo-Dutch Diaspora Organisation. Stichting Laxmi has been doing this actively by promoting cooperation between the Hindu target group with other communities in the municipality of Barendrecht in such a way that the integration and participation of all involved groups are promoted, while maintaining its own culture and identity through cooperation on coexistence and equivalence with deep respect for each other. In addition, Stitching Laxmi is contributing immensely towards sport among citizens in Barendrecht and surrounding cities to improve health in general and in particular to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. 
OFBJP will continue to put efforts to bring like minded spiritual, cultural, commercial organisations together to strengthen Indo- Dutch Friendship. 

OFBJP family salutes his Excellency J.S. Mukul, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who has been a part of Indian Foreign Service and a specialist in International Relations. His diplomatic career bought several accomplishments, involving both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy covering political/disarmament and economic-commercial work. His tenure as Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague has been extremely valuable for which we thank him from the bottom of our heart. We are grateful to him for playing a vital role in Uniting PIO, OCI, and NRI community living in The Netherlands.

1. Ambassador Mukul Ji ensured that every Indian Passenger was safe after the Brussels Terrorist Attack. He was in action at 3:00AM in the morning at Schiphol Airport with Head of counselor desk Shri Sanjeev Singh Ji.
2. Ambassador Mukul Ji worked with late Smt. Sushma Swaraj Ji for getting OCI cards for 6th generation Hindustani Suriname friends.
3. Ambassador Mukul Ji played an instrumental role with Ministry of External Affairs to launch finding the roots program for our Hindustani Suriname friends here in The Netherlands.
4. Ambassador Mukul Ji helped OFBJP Netherlands to launch the first Chai pe Charcha in 2016 in Sheraton and launched the book The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy during first P Europe conference of OFBJP. He and his team contributed immensely to the first report released by OFBJP.
5. First Joint Report with Indian Embassy: https://www.nicct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2-Year-Completion-Report-Prime-Minister-Narendra-Modi-Government.pdf

It is Ambassadors like him who listened to the pain of the people and tried to bring reforms and changes which will live across multiple generations. We salute him for his hard work.

At the end of a tough year, this is not the Christmas we hoped for. We’ve all had to adjust our plans. Much that we have been looking forward to cannot happen and that is a disappointment. In living rooms all over the Netherlands, chairs remain empty, while we would have been more than happy to bring in extra chairs. My heart goes out to all those people whose lives have been turned upside down. People with a dream that has broken down. Entrepreneurs who see their healthy business capsize. People who feel lonely and don’t know where to turn. Bottomless is the grief of everyone who has lost a loved one – through COVID or whatever cause – and feels that they were not able to say goodbye properly. We humans cannot live without a loving look or an embrace. Forced distance is against our human nature. I would like to thank everyone who has spent the last few months trying to comply with the measures through trial and error. And everyone who is committed in any way to help us through this crisis or cooperate in making vaccines safely available. The corona pandemic awakened the very best in us.

1. Sense of responsibility. Compassion. Camaraderie. Helpfulness. Solidarity. 
2. It also confronted us with the sharp and uncomfortable sides of ourselves and society.
3. Moments of impatience and anxiety. Everyone will recognize it. They are understandable feelings.
4. You finally want your trusted life back. And then there is the uncertainty. We can’t handle that very well. Sometimes it feels like uncertainty is worse than a gloomy perspective. We almost automatically assume that everything in life can be controlled. But this? This is beyond our grasp. Those who are uncertain can look to firm ideas, images and standpoints. After all, by choosing a firm position, you make the world clear again.
5. We live in a time when you seem to be expected to take a stand. Pro or con. Friend or enemy. We or them. But what if you just don’t know? If you doubt? Or sometimes change your mind? Perhaps you do not feel at home with firm positions at all. You may find it annoying to have to take sides all the time, and you may be busy with very different things in your heart than the issues that are so fiercely debated every day. You my be tired of excitement, suspicion, and fanaticism. Tired of the manic mind machine. You may be quietly craving a little mutual understanding. Relaxation. ordinary kindness. And you think: I am apparently an outsider. Let me reassure you: you are not. You are indispensable. The soft voices also deserve to be heard.
6. Sharp debates about outspoken views or radical ideas are part a free society. They are necessary and take us further. Those who seek guidance in those views or ideas should not be excluded. But the hallmark of a free society is precisely that there is room for nuance. For reason and gentleness. For curiosity and research. For irony and self-perspective – always the best medicine for a pent-up mood. And for forgiveness. An almost old-fashioned concept that plays a major role in the bible. And that can be beneficial in this day and age.
7. We humans were not created to hate each other. A country where people approach each other with a little love is a country where people can feel at home, even in times of great uncertainty. The apostle Paul put it very nicely: ‘Love is patient and kind. It knows no envy, no conceit, no complacency. It is neither rude nor selfish, it is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.’ 
8. Christmas is traditionally the festival of the returning light after the darkest period of the year. We can rely on that in all uncertainty. Have patience. The sun will return. The light will return. ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ will be played again. We will be able to gather and hug each other again. I wish you all – wherever you are and whatever your personal circumstances – a blessed Christmas

OFBJP participated to share their vision to promote Natural Remedies in Netherlands. OFBJP recommends India-Netherlands collaboration in Healthcare including Ayurveda.This information could be useful to other countries. This was a 3 day seminar held in Leiden from September 1-3, 2018