Dr Gaurav Sharma- a man of conviction

The young man who created history by taking oath in Sanskrit in the New Zealand Parliament, as being the first Indian origin MP to win an electorate seat in New Zealand from Labour Party, is a man of strong conviction and believes in following his conscience however hard the decisions may be. That’s right, that’s Dr Gaurav Sharma for you, a doctor by profession who also holds a master’s degree in business management (MBA) from The George Washington University in Washington DC where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

As a General Practitioner, Dr Gaurav Sharma has an extensive experience of working with the communities very closely where he used to in work in Nawton area of Hamilton. Dr Gaurav has been previously involved in public health, policy and consulting in New Zealand, Spain, USA, Nepal, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Mongolia. As a local doctor, he would get to hear concerns of people from his area, first-hand. That’s how his connect with the people grew and spread, over the years. As a first homeowner and a former small business owner he can relate to the challenges that lie ahead in the post pandemic scenario. Before being picked up by Labour Party as its MP candidate, it was his popularity and the reach within the local community that drew Party’s attention. His victory margin of over 7,000 votes clearly indicates his magic amongst the locals, that too as a fist time MP.

In an exclusive interview with The Indian News, Dr Gaurav Sharma said that he agrees that his government may not exactly be doing everything right, but his government has tried to take the best suitable decisions under the circumstances. On being asked about why his government has been so slow in taking decisions Dr Gaurav defended his government saying that governments can’t take decisions in a rush. He said we must wait and must keep a close watch on what’s going around in the world and sometimes even learn from other countries experiences. On being asked about New Zealand Immigration’s stubbornness on not allowing migrant families to reunite. Dr Gaurav Sharma defended it, saying in the unprecedented pandemic scenario, this possibly is the only option left with the government to keep its people safe. On being asked about the relevance of MIQ in the present scenario when the world’s other countries have opened borders and lifted all restrictions, Dr Gaurav said the same approach of wait and watch applies here also. New Zealand should follow the suit when the time is right.

Dr Gaurav Sharma sympathised with people, who are separated from their families in overseas and can’t reunite due to the circumstances created post Covid and hoped the situation changes soon for them. On being asked if he still gets to face any racial discrimination or indifferent behaviour despite of being an MP, Dr Gaurav was not shy of speaking the truth. He said that this is the harsh reality of our lives, and it does not change even if you occupy some high office in public life. Two years ago, on being nominated as Labour candidate from Hamilton west, he was called a ‘curry candidate’ by some hardcore supremacists. He said despite of so many ethnicities of the world living in New Zealand, this unfortunate situation exists very much in this country, and it needs to be acknowledged and addressed sooner than later. Dr Gaurav Sharma was appreciative of the efforts done by The Indian News about spreading the Covid awareness messages in the Indian community through its various platforms. (For the full conversation of Dr. Gaurav Sharma with The Indian News, please see below)