'It was true,' Ravi, who turned 70 recently, said while referring to his marriage to Mercy Ravi, who till recently was a member of the state Assembly.
The two met when he was a student leader and she was a student at a women's college. Antonty and Chandy were students in the college, and officials of the Kerala Students Union, at the time. Ravi was the senior leader, and the others helped him get the girl he was in love with, in the face of parental objection.
Ravi recalled the incident while inaugurating the India Press Club of North America, an organization of Malayalee journalists in the US, at the Fokana convention held in Orlando, FL during the July 4th weekend.
Ravi said he was fitted to inaugurate a press club, since he had been a journalist before becoming a Member of Parliament. He started his media career with the Malayalam newspaper Deenabandhu, since defunct, under the editorship of celebrated writer CJ Thomas. Later, he began freelancing for the Deccan Herald; at the time of his marriage with Mercy, he said, his fortune consisted of the Rs 350 he got for stringing for that paper.
'Government or political parties cannot go forward ignoring the media,' he said. 'The media can make a person big or small. But it has no power to control the political process. The best example is the publicity the BJP got for the India shining campaign yet, they were defeated in the election.'
Ravi pointed out that the media has tremendous power to create a negative impression about a person but, conversely, it is not as easy to create a positive image.
Noting that there are more TV channels in India than in the US he lamented that most channels air programs that show little editing or introspection. The print media, he said, is more careful, and hence has earned greater trust.
Taking a dig at the culture of 'scoops', Ravi pointed out that 'If there is no news, they will add a few words like, 'mysterious, unexplained' etc to give the impression of some problem.
In an interview to India Abroad, he said that he cleaned up the protectorate of emigrants, which provides clearance to unskilled and undereducated people going to foreign countries.
"Several officers were suspended," he said. "The Protector of Emigrants, who was a police officer from the Orissa cadre, was sent back to his state. It is my duty to see that Indians are not exploited, or end up working as bonded labor in foreign lands.
"Currently, the system is to mark in the passport that 'emigration clearance not required' (ECNR) for travel
The minister said he is aware of the problem of misuse of certain Indian laws, particularly pertaining to dowry, by some unscrupulous women to harass their husbands and family members. "Some people came to me and gave me a memorandum about it," he said. "But the problem is much more than that. Usually the women suffer more. NRIs will come and marry women from states like Punjab, and return after a few weeks, vanishing without a trace. Estimates indicate that there 30,000 women in Punjab alone waiting for their husbands."
He said his ministry had taken steps to improve the life of Indian workers in the Gulf, who he said face problems of exploitation. He had met the concerned minister of the UAE, and secured an agreement that employees would be given smart cards. Thus, even if an employer took away the passport and other records, the employee could use his smart card to seek help.
He also announced the setting up of an NRI center in Washington DC, under the purview of the Indian ambassador, to support Indians in distress and facilitate investment in the home country.
On another front, the minister said a bill to extend voting rights to NRIs is now under consideration in Parliament. The bill, he said, seeks to amend Section 20 of the People's Representation Act of 1950, which stipulates that a voter should be a resident in the constituency for at least six months. When this becomes law, he said, NRIs could not only vote, but even contest elections; details of implementation are being worked out, he added.
As for investors, the government will give them a five-year tax holiday, single window clearances and other facilities.
Referring to controversies over the winners of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards given out during the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations, Ravi said next year's awardees would be decided by a committee headed by the Vice President of India.
Ravi, who visited many cities during his trip to the US starting June 27, said he believes the community is doing very well in all fields and further, that the Indo-American nuclear cooperation deal has brought about a sense of accomplishment.
He listed dual citizenship, investment in India, Air India flights to certain locations etc among the issues of concern to the community. 'There are no serious issues, honestly,' said Ravi, who was on his maiden visit to the United States after becoming minister.
With inputs from Monika Joshi in New York
