BENGALURU:Providing national leadership to the Anglo-Indian community and uplifting them are among the priorities of Richard Hay, who took oath as an Anglo-Indian MP recently. Hay hails from Thalassery in Kerala’s Kannur district.
Hay, a retired professor who describes his nomination as an opportunity to serve at the “temple of democracy,” says the Anglo-Indian community is scattered across the country but has no cohesive leadership. “They have some leaders at the regional level, but they need to be brought under an umbrella at the national-level,” Hay said.
Listing out his plans, Hay said, “I will first need to meet people of the community since I have been nominated to represent them in the Parliament.”
Hay acknowledged that it will take time to interact with his community spread across the country, including Bengaluru, which has a sizeable Anglo-Indian population.
He said the community’s contribution to the country has been significant and members of the community have excelled in many fields, especially education, which is close to his heart. Having served served in the Department of Collegiate Education in Kerala, Hay was principal of four government colleges and a few private colleges in India and the UAE.
Hay also has other plans for the community at his home town.
“I plan to set up an Anglo-Indian heritage centre in Thalassery. Not many people, even in Thalassery know the town’s history and importance. I also have plans for a museum in the town to showcase Thalassery’s history, its colonial past and the importance it enjoyed during the British rule,” says Hay, who lives with his wife Shakila.
The academician today is in the thick of Delhi’s political life. “India is a world class democracy and it is an honour to be part of it,” said Hay who expressed his gratitude to the Narendra Modi government for giving him this opportunity.
“Since I have been nominated from Kerala, I need to draw up plans for the state too, within the policies of the Union government,” Hay said.
Plans to Promote Spices
Hay called for the promotion of Kerala’s spices. “We have 52 different spices and we need to popularise them across the world. In the Parliament, I suggested branding and GI tags Kerala’s famous spices, in line with the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ theme,” Hay added. Pepper in North America is still known as Tellicherry Pepper and cinnamon as Tellicherry Bark, he said.