Ram Lakhina

Ram Labhaya Lakhina (born 1 February 1939, Lahore, British India) is an Indian entrepreneur and community leader based in Oegstgeest, Netherlands. He was the first Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He is the Founder, former Chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT), serves as a Chairman of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation, and is one of the founders of The World Forum for Ethics and Business. In January 2009 he became the recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award conferred on him by the President of India, Her Excellency Pratibha Patil, in acknowledgement of his exceptional and meritorious contribution in the field of community service. In September 2009 he was bestowed upon the Royal honorary title Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, for his special merits to society in the field of cultural and economic relations between India and the Netherlands.

Ram Lakhina, is an admirable personality who has achieved several firsts in his career in diverse fields of activity with his unending quest for scaling the heights of success, be it in academic pursuits, business endeavours, community work or social responsibilities.

The lifetime philosophy which has shaped Ram Lakhina's lifestyle is his belief that the happiest people do not necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes their way.

Ram Lakhina was born in Lahore, British-India, on 1 February 1939. After the partition of India, he went to Delhi. He completed his school and college education in Delhi with distinction, graduating with B.A. (Hons) from Delhi University, in 1959. Ram received a merit scholarship from Delhi School of Economics and did his M.A. first year at this prestigious Institute of higher learning. He then went on a scholarship program to the US for higher studies and graduated with a degree in M.A. Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1963.

While attending Delhi University, Ram was elected Chairman of his College Union. He was also elected President of Delhi University Students Union and Secretary General of the National Council of University Students of India.

He was also the Editor of the University Mirror, Delhi University from 1958–59. He co-edited a publication called Fifty Years of Indo-Dutch Cooperation in 1999.

A widely travelled person, Ram has visited 73 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceana. During these visits, he interacted with twelve Heads of States or Governments.

As managing director of Lakhina Enterprises B.V. (Ltd.), Ram is presently engaged in international trading, particularly imports from India. He specialises in knitted garments. At one stage, along with his wife, he set up a chain of nine gift stores in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands catering to the tourist trade. Ram is also active in wealth management and in the real estate business in India.

Ram Lakhina's knowledge of economics, awareness of global issues and trends and commitment to Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs), has brought him many laurels, postings and appointments for the benefit of the community.

Indo-Dutch Chamber of Commerce

Ram Lakhina founded the Indo-Dutch Chamber of Commerce to promote business relations between India and the Netherlands. He was President of the Chamber from 1979 to 2003.

Foundation for Critical Choices for India (FCCI)

In 1980, Ram Lakhina co-founded the Foundation for Critical Choices for India (FCCI). He was the President of the Foundation from 1983 to 1991 and then again from 1994 to 2003. He is the President Emeritus of the Foundation at present. The Foundation is the only think tank of its kind devoted to identifying critical issues and problems facing India; and mobilising intellectual, moral and material resources of the non-resident Indians for the solution of these problems. The Foundation promotes its ideas by interacting with the policy makers and opinion leaders in India. Over the years it has placed several issues on India's national agenda, suggested policy options and succeeded in getting many of its policy suggestions accepted by the Indian Government.

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)

Ram was also the first Chairman of the Global Organization for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) from 1994 to 2002. GOPIO is a non-partisan, secular global organisation engaged in promoting the well being of People of Indian Origin (PIO's), enhancing co-operation and communication between Indians living in different countries. As a representative of about 25 million overseas Indians, Ram Lakhina did exceedingly well to project their viewpoints, aspirations and problems at every level. He drafted the constitution of GOPIO and steered its adoption by the world body.

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation

Ram is the Chairman of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation (Stichting Standbeeld Mahatma Gandhi), Amsterdam since 1999. This Foundation has established the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the centre of Amsterdam and is involved in promotion of Gandhian ideas and values in the Netherlands.

Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade

Another organisation, with which Ram has been closely associated for a long period, is the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT) which came into being as a result of the merger between the India Trade Council and the Indo Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Trade. The objective of this organisation is to promote economic and trade relations between India and the Netherlands. It is a focal point for contacts and information concerning business and economic relations between India and the Netherlands. Ram is the Founder and has been the Executive President since its establishment in 2003 up to April 2010. He then served as the Chairman until 2015. He is now the Chairman Emeritus of the NICCT.

The World Forum for Ethics and Business

A recent organisation Ram co-founded is The World Forum for Ethics and Business, a Belgium-based foundation which mandate includes all manners of pursuing and establishing the indispensable ethical foundations of business in a globalised world. The Forum has grown out of the International Business & Leadership Symposium on Ethics in Business convened annually by the International Association for Human Values. Its objectives are to provide a platform for the promotion and defence of ethical approaches to business enterprise and corporate governance; facilitate global dialogue and foster co-operation among the private sector, the academic world, government agencies, international organisations, the media, spiritual as well as secular communities and all other stakeholders with the end in view of fostering decency, maximising human values and building wider public trust in business; recruit the broadest possible support for trends, initiatives and projects that would encourage or enhance ethical and/or spiritual motivations, practices, norms and goals in the business world; and assume responsibility for continuing the International Leadership Symposium on Ethics in Business.

Other

He has also served as a member on the high level committee of Non-Resident Indians appointed by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India to promote India's foreign trade from 1988 to 1991.

Ram was closely associated with the International Student Conference (ISC) – an international organisation of national university student unions from 66 countries – from 1963–68. As its Secretary General during 1966–68, Ram was the executive head of a major international organisation with substantial budget and was responsible for implementing the decisions of the International Student Conference. His duties included co-ordination and supervision of the work of Associate Secretaries for Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America; co-ordination and supervision of the work of the heads of specialised agencies of the Conference such as International University Exchange Fund and Research & Information Commission; presentation and articulation of the views of the organisation personally and through the press, radio and television; and interaction with policy makers and opinion leaders in various countries at high levels including heads of states and governments.

In his capacity as Associate Secretary of ISC for Asia from 1964–66, Ram was responsible for development of programmes and promotion of policies of ISC in Asia. He was also the Director of the Seminar on Democracy in Asia held in Manila in 1966 which was attended by representatives from many countries in Asia.

Ram was appointed as Secretary for Research and Information Commission (RIC) of the ISC from 1963–64 which was responsible for studying cases of political, social and economic oppression in the world and producing objective reports. During his tenure in office, Ram coordinated and administrated research studies and edited 18 reports concerning many cases of oppression including Apartheid in South Africa; Colonialism in Angola and Dictatorship in Paraguay, Portugal and Spain.

As a member of ISC, International University Delegation to Africa in 1961, he visited 22 countries in Africa to interact with university students and teachers, policy makers, opinion leaders and political leaders in those countries and explained to them the work of the ISC. During those visits he personally interviewed President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, President Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, later President of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, later Prime Minister of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta and the Prime Minister of Nigeria Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Ram married Sanyukta in 1966, who is also the President of the Indian Ladies Club in the Netherlands. They have two children – daughter Kavita (1972), who works in the family business; and son Lavesh (1975), who manages his own company and is the Founder and Executive President of the Indian Expat Society.

The Knight's Cross with swords of the Order of Orange-Nassau

• 2009: Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau (24 September 2009)
• 2009: Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (9 January 2009)
• 2008: Pravasi Bharatiya Community Service Award
• The publishers of "The Indian" based in Hong Kong have named Ram Lakhina as one of the "100 Global Indians- luminaries, achievers and entrepreneurs".

Ram Lakhina firmly believes that "the people of Indian origin living outside India are a great asset for India. They have played and they can play further a very important role in accelerating India's growth. Individually they are very competent people and are capable of reaching great heights in all fields of human endeavour. However, they do need to improve their group dynamics and overcome barricades of separatedness. United, they can do wonders for themselves and for their country of origin".