Fresh faces as ISC elects its new governing body

Abu Dhabi - There were new positions created for candidates from India's northern, eastern and western regions at the largely Malayali-dominated organisation

It's a complete reshuffle with all-new faces in the managing committee of the oldest Indian community organisation in Capital.
In its golden jubilee year, according to the newly elected president Joy Thomas John, the Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC) Abu Dhabi will see a wave of changes.
There were new positions created for candidates from northern, eastern and western regions at the largely Malayali-dominated Indian organisation. These positions were created through a recent constitutional amendment. However, none filed nominations for the western region position.
"The position remains vacant. We are trying our best to be all inclusive. We don't believe in discrimination. Everybody is Indian first," John said.
Tarun Kumar Mohnot as the northern region secretary, Deepak Kumar Dash as the eastern region secretary were elected unopposed. Others who were elected unopposed were Brijesh Thomas (assistant general secretary) , Freddi Joseph Fernandes (sports secretary) and VG Shaji (auditor).
However, two positions saw closest of fights. T. Abdul Wahab sneaked in as the southern region secretary by a single vote. And Rafeek P. Kayanayil got elected as treasurer by a margin of just six votes. John, the new president, got elected by a majority of over 100 votes from more than 600 votes.
Jayachandran Nair K breezed to vice-president post. MA Salam (general secretary), Rajeevan Maroli (literary secretary) and Rajesh S. Nair (entertainment secretary) all enjoyed a good majority.
On the days ahead, John said: "This will be a different year. We have a different outlook. The UAE-India ties have reached new heights. Our centre too must act accordingly to bolster the relationship."
The ISC, John said, will host each event with the local population in mind. "We want to bring everyone here with us. Our committee will sit in few days and chart our action plan. We also have to change the perception about this facility being only for south Indians. All Indians must make contributions to take this centre to the next level," John added.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com