Here
Comes The Red Carpet Hillary’s trip
NRI Sant Singh Chatwal. facilitate Hillary’s
trip to New Delhi
New Delhi, February 23, 2005
Delhi News Line
Express India
We know he’s close to the Clintons. He’d
have us know that it is he who is facilitating Hillary’s
trip to the city this week. We even know he raised
funds for John Kerry in the last US Presidential election.
But among the many political connections that US-based
millionaire NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal can boast
of, here’s one he does not advertise ...
Back in the 1960s, as a schoolgirl in Kanpur, Chatwal’s
wife Daman remembers joining in an election campaign
when Union Minister Meira Kumar’s father, the
late Union Minister and Deputy PM Jagjivan Ram, visited
the city. ‘‘I even met him. As a child I
was fascinated by all the direct door-to-door interaction
in Indian politics,’’ says Mrs Chatwal who
joined the fray because ‘‘a family friend’’
was involved. She has since post-graduated to wining
and dining American Presidents and Senators, but we
have her word for it that if hubby ever stands for
elections in the US, she would enjoy sweating it out
again.
Mr Chatwal says that time will never come. As the
owner of a $750 million hotel and restaurant empire,
his has been a well-documented—sometimes controversial—journey
from Rawalpindi to New York. He recently announced
plans to open a boutique hotel in Mumbai and is eyeing
another project close to Jaipur. Right now though,
he tells us, he’s here to pave the way for the
arrival of the former US First Lady in the city later
this week. Hillary’s schedule will include a
speech at the India Today Conclave, meetings with
the PM, Sonia Gandhi and a senior Opposition leader,
and a dinner hosted by Sharad Pawar.
‘‘I have no personal political ambitions,’’
says 60-year-old Chatwal, ‘‘my only aim
is to ensure that whoever is in power in the US gets
closer to India.’’ So will he never stand
for elections? ‘‘I will never stand for
elections, but if Vikram wants to he can.’’
Vikram, of course, is his flamboyant 32-year-old
son with the playboy reputation and movie-star ambitions
who has garnered reams of newsprint in recent months
over his unabashedly publicised romance and engagement
to Delhi-based model Priya Sachdev. If Chatwal senior
revels in being known as a friend to the American
high and mighty, he surprises you with a certain guilelessness
when he says: ‘‘Of course my connections
will help Vikram if he joins politics. When people
already know you, it opens doors.’’
But his concerns extend beyond the hospitality industry
and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. The Sikh
identity within the American nation, for instance,
has long been an area of concern. ‘‘In the
1970s, people called us Khomeinis,’’ he
says. ‘‘Post-9/11 they confused us with
Osama Bin Laden because of our turbans. We took out
full page ads in newspapers in the US to educate people
about Sikhs, but what really made a difference was
Manmohan Singh becoming prime minister. Seeing him,
a turbanned Sikh, standing next to President Bush,
helped the American people understand that there’s
a difference between Sikhs and Bin Laden.’’
As for those who didn’t get the message ... they’ll
be hearing from a certain Mr Chatwal.
