Gurdaspur-born Robert Nahar is member of Spain’s Senate

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29

Having made their successful forays into legislatures of Canada, the US and the UK, Indians are now entering politics in continental Europe as well.

Gurdaspur-born Robert Masih Nahar (43) has become the first Asian to be elected to the Upper House of Spain to represent Barcelona province in the Spanish Senate.

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Earlier this year, Nahar replaced Santiago Vidal, a former judge, as a Senator representing Esquerra Republicana De Catalunya (ERC) -- a Catalan left-wing party which has been seeking independence for Catalonia from Spain.

Situated in the northern part of Spain, Catalonia has called for a referendum on October 1 to decide its political future. Nahar said, “Almost 80 per cent of Catalans are willing to celebrate the referendum to decide in favour of a better future for them.”

Trained as an event manager, Nahar speaks six languages — Catalan, English, Spanish, Hindi, Italian and Punjabi. A businessman and a cricket enthusiast, he is promoting cricket in Europe and has founded the Catalan cricket federation. He has also launched Indian Culture Centre in Barcelona to promote cultural exchange between India and Spain, particularly Catalonia.

“I am trying to promote cricket and cultural exchange with India in Catlan Society,” Nahar – who is in India on a personal visit to meet his relatives -- told The Tribune.

Settled in Barcelona since 2005, Nahar sees cricket as a sport which can bring India and Catalonia closer. He founded the Catalan Union of Clubs in 2010 which went on to become the official cricket federation of Catalonia in 2013 with 56 clubs affiliated to it.

“We inaugurated Catalonia’s first official cricket ground in 2015 in presence of the ICC president Zaheer Abbas,” he said.

Describing India as the largest democracy and the fastest growing economy, Nahar said besides culture and sports there were many areas in trade and business in which India and Spain could work together. Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Spain as “very important”, he said it will give fillip to India-Spain relations.

Asked about Indian immigrants in Spain, he said, “Unlike the UK, the US or Canada where second and third generations of Indian immigrants are leading a very successful life, in Spain we are the first generation of immigrants and the life is not that easy for us.”

Asked as to how he landed up in Spain, Nahar said he left India for Mexico in 2002 and worked there as an English teacher. But it was during his visit to Italy to meet his parents in 2005 that he decided to go to Barcelona and could not leave that place.

Nahar, who is a member of the International Cooperation and Development Commission, said he would work for the Catalan society on international forums and would try become the voice of over 1.5 lakh south Asians in Catalonia.

On his political journey in Spain, he said, “I was always active in sports and the cultural field. I joined ERC in 2012 because of its left-leaning ideology that was against corruption and favoured equal rights to all citizens irrespective of colour of skin or religion.”