Chandrasegaran, speaker of the Karnataka assembly Jagdish Shetter, joint secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) D.N. Srivastava, GOPIO executive vice-president and member of Briain's House of Lords Diljit Rana, deputy speaker of the New Jersey state assembly Upendra Chivukula and other Indian American political leaders.

Former US ambassador to India Frank Wisner will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Deputy consul general of India in New York Ajay Gondane will also be a speaker.

The three-day celebrations will start with a reception Aug 20 at the World Fair Marina venue followed by an interactive session with some of the diaspora community's political leaders.

Apart from the convention, GOPIO is also organising a pre-convention conference Aug 21 titled - India and the Indian Diaspora in the Context of Global Economic Challenges and Development.

Another full-day diaspora conference will be held Aug 22 on the theme The Indian Diaspora: Challenges and Opportunities in the New Millennium.

There will also be a session on The Living Pioneers - Global Perspective of Indian Elders Aug 22 morning. A networking session titled The Next Generation will also be held the same day in the afternoon.