Aus-some twosome

Pawan and Rajni Luthra

Much before the Internet age took off, around the time when Hotmail had not commercially launched, a small black and white tabloid-size newspaper was born. Titled Indian Link, the monthly publication was circulated through Sydney, by Pawan Luthra and wife Rajni. Pawan, who hails from Delhi and worked as a television presenter with Doordarshan between 1979 and 1985, moved to Australia for "a new adventure". In 1989, Rajni joined him. His passion for communication and his love for the country found the perfect marriage in this monthly paper.

As Indian Link celebrated its 25th anniversary in October 2019, it was an occasion significant for the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to write to the Luthras. "I extend my warmest congratulations to the staff and readers of Indian Link as you celebrate your 25th anniversary year. The Australia-India partnership is strengthened by the many contributions of Australians of Indian descent who, over the years, and through successive waves of immigration, have worked hard, brought new ideas, and helped shape our identity and prosperity."

While it is estimated that in the next 11 years, the Indian community in Australia will become the largest migrant group in the region, overtaking even the Chinese, things were different back in the '90s. Rajni, who was pursuing a PhD in psychology from Sydney University, remembers, "The community was small, and scattered, but Indians were thrilled that a newspaper that spoke to them and about them had launched." Pawan adds, "There was no platform until then to connect the 80,000-odd Indians living in Australia, with each other or with India. While they'd organise weekly get-togethers, the only way they could stay connected was by picking up the old-fashioned telephone and calling."

He calls Indian Link the print version of Facebook. It was through this that the Indian diaspora read reviews about a programme or book or learnt of a new recipe. "They now had access to the Independence Day function at the Indian Consulate in Australia, among other things. In a way, it became a mouthpiece for the Indian community," he says.

The first copy of Indian Link was printed in October 1994

Over the years, the community grew and so did the newspaper. In 1998, when India conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear test, the Indian government drew flak from the Australian media. This was when the Luthras stepped in. "The Australian media was quite angry and asked India how it could consider the use of nuclear weapons. The Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, needed a forum to speak on the issue. We sat down with him and did an article on why it was important for India to have done the test. This was later picked up by the Australian media, and for the first time, the Indian government had found a forum to put its views forward in the region," Pawan adds.

The couple launched the Melbourne edition in 1998, and then in 2002, started the Indian Link Radio to keep the community engaged in real time. Rajni quit her job at Sydney University and decided to work full-time for Indian Link. "It was a turning point in terms of the company's growth. We often published stories about the achievements of Indians who had recently moved. These became an inspiration for others," she says.

The Luthras now print a fortnightly in Sydney, and a monthly in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, 50 pages in full colour. "We have an active website, a Facebook page to allow easy interaction, and of course, a Twitter account. A weekly e-newsletter goes out to 48,000 subscribers. Though the numbers in absolute terms may be small, Indian Link is connecting every two in three Indians living in Australia," says Pawan, explaining that they have helped make it easier for Indians to transition. "We are the first contact point when anything to do with India or the Indian community needs to be reported by the Australian media, whether it's on PM Modi's victory or the Diwali celebrations here. There is never a dull moment."

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