Emerging Indian Associations in Kuwait; Concern for Sponsors

IIK

Monday, October 17, 2011

If you start counting the various associations and the programs conducted by them in a year, you will be really astonished. There are thousands and thousands of programs taking place in a year under various registered or non registered Indian Associations. The number is increasing day by day thanks to the split up in such associations and formation of new ones! The pace of growth in the number of Indian associations in Kuwait is turning out to be a concern for the major business establishments. These business firms are the real victims for the increasing number of associations. With an intention to support the charity activities, these firms profusely accepts the request for sponsorship from these associations.

Major business firms used to give sponsorship for most of the big and small groups formed here. "If we continue to be generous enough to sponsor the events, soon we won’t be having any justification to the real owner of the firm" said senior official of one of the leading business establishment to IndiansinKuwait.com. "There are many genuine associations who are actively involving in Community issues. They are helping lot of our people in distress, but rest of them are not doing much for the community", he added. The business community have already started sharing their feelings on this matter. The office bearers of the associations are well aware of those firms who are open handed and those who don’t even face them. This makes the situation worse for those firms who generally don’t refuse the request.

The season of festivity kicks off with Onam celebrations, which is one of the famous festival in Kerala, and it lasts till Christmas. Some try to bring forth the Eid and Gandhi Jayanthi celebrations while some others come up with their annual day. In last two months, a major firm in Kuwait received about 70 applications for sponsorship. Interesting part is that in some cases those came together for a single group will appear the next time separately for their two split up parts. Desperate with the increasing number of applications for sponsorship, it so happen that, the chief of a firm recently made an open request for the union of those associations who are in the similar track.

Though the so called sponsors are expressing their alarming situation, the associations are having a tendency to split as they grow, especially the district based associations. There are about 150 associations registered with the Indian Embassy, Kuwait and most of them are Kerala associations. The number of non-registered associations is equally high. Most of the political as well as religious groups in Kerala have their supporting units here. The list of associations starts from district level to the panchayath and local committees along with even sports clubs.


Observation proves that only Kerala associations are so desperate in getting hold of sponsorship for their events. The ample extent of backing for these Kerala based associations put the commercial firms into a situation where they have to purposefully give sponsorship for association events based on other parts of India to avoid a negative propaganda among their customers from these states. Amidst these prevailing situations in the field of sponsorship, the fact remains, yet more events and celebrations are awaiting behind the curtain.

s