Guyanese born Ashook Ramsaran is to be honored by the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) for his services to GOPIO. The event will be held at the Indian Consulate in New York on Saturday, October 27, 2018 and to be attended by GOPIO officials and Amb Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of Indian in New York.

Ramsaran served as GOPIO International’s Secretary General and Executive Vice-Present before his election to 2 successive terms as President of GOPIO International beginning in 2011. He is a paid life member of GOPIO International.

Ramsaran is currently President of Indian Diaspora Council International; Chair of New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital Community Advisory Council; Vice President of Queens Civic Congress; Board Member of St. John’s University Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies; and Board Member of Fresh Meadows Civic Association.

Born in Corentyne, Guyana, Ramsaran is third generation of Indian immigrant ancestors who came to Guyana as indentured laborers. His great grandfather Pooriya arrived in Guyana in 1853 and his great grandmother Radhah arrived in 1860. Ramsaran immigrated in 1968 to the USA where he earned graduate engineering degrees in electrical engineering at Polytechnic University in New York. In 1988 he established Ramex, his family owned electronics manufacturing enterprise in New York. Ashook is married to Camille (formerly Camille Parvati Ramgadoo of Guyana) and they are parents of Arnold Mahendra and Gerald Rajendra, both married and residing in USA; grandparents of Jaden Ashook, 13; Gavin Lakshman, 11.

Working with various regional and international organizations spanning many years, Ramsaran actively engages several series of regional and global initiatives to “engage, embrace and enhance” the global Indian Diaspora on the basis of shared history and heritage, common interests, inter-ethnic relations, education and benefits of collaboration, economic engagement and issues of concern; to link diverse communities of Indian Diaspora, strengthen the bonds and explore the benefits of collaboration.

Ramsaran serves annually as “Principal for the Day” in the New York Public School system beginning in 2000 and is the recipient of many honors, citations, awards, commendations and recognition nationally and internationally. He is prominently featured in the Global Indian 2011 publication of “Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America” and several local, national, regional and international publications.

For his many notable contributions, commitment and exemplary service to the global Indian diaspora, Ramsaran was accorded the Uttar Pradesh Ratna award (2016) in Agra, India and the prestigious Government of India’s Pravasi Samman Award by the President of India (2011) in New Delhi, India.