About the author: Wahid Saleh
Wahid Saleh is a social entrepreneur and community leader based in the Netherlands, and the founder of Indiawijzer. Born in 1941 in Jorhat, Assam, he came to Europe in 1963 and has lived in the Netherlands since 1968. After 38 years in information technology he retired early and devoted himself to bringing India and the Netherlands closer together. That work has earned him both a Dutch royal honour and the highest award India gives to its overseas citizens.
Sources: Assam Times, IndiaNet
From Jorhat to the Netherlands
Wahid Saleh grew up in Jorhat, in Rajabari. His father’s postings took the family to Kohima, where he finished school. He returned to Jorhat for his first degree at J.B. College and then trained in aircraft maintenance engineering in Kerala. Before leaving India he worked briefly as a trainee with Kalinga Airlines and as a teacher in Kohima.
In November 1963 he sailed from Bombay to Italy and travelled on to Munich to train on jet engines with BMW. A Kolkata newspaper reported him as the first Assamese sent abroad for jet engine training. He then worked for Lufthansa in Hamburg, taking evening classes in programming and IT management.
Germany would not give him a residence permit for IT work, so he found an IT job in the Netherlands through a headhunter and moved there in 1968. His heart played a part too: he had been writing for some time to Hannie, who became his wife. The couple have lived in Berkel en Rodenrijs since 1973.
Sources: Assam Times, Assam mailing list, De Heraut
A career in information technology
Wahid Saleh spent 38 years in IT and worked his way through almost every role the field had. He was a computer operator, programmer, systems analyst, system designer, data communication manager, computer centre manager and IT manager. He marked 25 years of service with the same company.
His last position was head of the Quality and Research department at a major Dutch company. There he designed, procured and implemented a data communication network for more than 5,000 online users. He then took early retirement to focus on social and cultural work.
Sources: Assam mailing list, Assam Times
Indiawijzer: from book to website
Indiawijzer began with questions. Staff at the Indian Embassy and the Indian Tourist Office in the Netherlands regularly sent members of the Dutch public to Wahid Saleh with their queries about India. He began writing down the questions and his answers, and these notes became the basis of a book.
| Edition | Year | Size | Proceeds went to |
|---|---|---|---|
| First edition | 1992 | 142 pages | Netherlands-India Association |
| Second edition | 1999 | 412 pages | An educational foundation in Assam |
The second edition appeared under the title Indiawijzer: India in Nederland: een overzicht van organisaties en instellingen in Nederland betrokken bij India. It was published in The Hague by Communicatiebureau Sampreshan (ISBN 9789080509214).
Demand from the Indian community and the Dutch public led him to put the book’s contents online at indiawijzer.nl. He had no background in web design. Over about three years he learned HTML under Deepraj Das, a young IT specialist from Tezpur, investing more than 10,000 hours. The site grew to more than 3,000 pages of India-related information, including a chapter on Northeast India and Assam.
By 2006 the site covered adoption from India, Ayurveda, cultural organisations, Dutch NGOs active in India, Indian food, music and dance, the Indian diaspora, libraries, translators, university education and yoga. It also offered statistics on India, useful information and a “Vision for India” section. Its best-known feature was an agenda of Indian cultural events across the Netherlands, updated almost daily. The Asian Studies WWW Monitor rated the site as very useful for scholars.
Wahid Saleh described Indiawijzer as a full overview of the Dutch organisations, institutions and individuals involved with India in one way or another. It came to be accepted as the main source of India-related information in the Netherlands.
The current Indiawijzer site is created and maintained by Qauthar Saleh using Claude Code.
Sources: Assam Times, Biblio, Asian Studies WWW Monitor, IndiaNet, Assam Times comment
Community work in the Netherlands
Soon after arriving, Wahid Saleh joined the Netherlands-India Association, one of the oldest cultural associations in the country, founded in April 1954. He served on its board for 19 years, 15 of them as secretary. He organised art exhibitions and cultural programmes. He also led fundraising and relief campaigns, including for floods in Assam and Bihar and for the Gujarat earthquake.
His other community work includes:
- Helping to found the Dutch Indian Youth Association
- Introducing Sattriya, the classical dance of Assam, to the Netherlands
- Serving as secretary of the Federation of International Friendship and Cultural Organisations in the Netherlands
- Acting since 2001 as a cultural coordinator of the Milan Festival in The Hague, described as the largest open-air festival of Asians on the European mainland
Sources: Assam Times, Assam mailing list
Advocacy for the Indian community
Wahid Saleh’s best-known campaign was a seven-year effort to keep Dutch state pensions (AOW) payable in India. In 2001 India was left off the list of countries where AOW could be paid in full. Indians, and Dutch nationals, who retired to India therefore lost part of their pension. He called this unjust and pressed both governments through letters, emails, a petition and meetings until a treaty was signed.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 22 Oct 2009 | Treaty signed in New Delhi, ending the campaign |
| 19 Sep 2009 | Ministers Donner and Ravi announce a signing for October |
| 23 May 2008 | Saleh hears at a government event that the agreement is almost final |
| Early 2006 | He sends the embassy figures on AOW recipients in India |
| 30 May 2005 | Petition to India’s prime minister, signed by more than 100 Indians in the Netherlands |
| 14 Apr 2003 | Indian ambassador confirms in writing that India will act |
| 2002 | He asks the Indian embassy in The Hague to open negotiations |
| 21 Sep 2001 | India left off the list of countries where AOW can be paid |
Under the treaty, people who retire to the other country keep their AOW. Indian knowledge workers posted to the Netherlands are also exempt from Dutch social premiums for up to 60 months.
He has raised other issues affecting Indians in the Netherlands as well. These include PIO card fees in the eurozone, recognition of the OCI card, dual nationality and double taxation of inheritances. He also proposed a “Friends of India” group.
Sources: IndiaNet, Assam Times
Work for Assam
Wahid Saleh has stayed closely involved with Assam throughout his life abroad. He and his wife set up a charitable trust, named after his parents, that supports students in need. The couple also support Parijat Academy and Prajnalaya, and his wife supports the Matoekoe education centre in Suriname.
His other work for Assam includes:
- Introducing an Assamese optical character recognition (OCR) tool, so that old Assamese books could be scanned and put online
- Helping nominate people from Assam who went on to win international awards for grassroots innovation and for women’s creativity in rural life
- Supporting the 2011 nomination of Dr. Pradip Sarmah, founder of Guwahati’s Rickshaw Bank, for the Tech Awards in Silicon Valley
- Writing a “Vision 20-20” document on Assam
- Campaigning for many years for Assamese to be added to Google Translate, an effort a Dutch local paper reported as rewarded after fifteen years
Younger members of the Assamese diaspora describe him as a mentor and a “living encyclopedia” of the Assamese community in Europe.
Sources: Assam Times, Ankur Bora / Assam Tribune, De Heraut
Honours and recognition
Wahid Saleh has been honoured by both the Netherlands and India. He was the first person from Northeast India to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India’s highest award for overseas Indians.
| Year | Honour | Awarded by |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2011 | Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, for his contribution to diaspora-related issues | President of India, Pratibha Patil |
| Not stated | Pravasi Community Service Award, presented in New Delhi | GOPIO (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin) |
| Apr 2002 | Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, for promoting multicultural activities and understanding between India and the Netherlands | Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands |
| 1998 | Golden Jubilee Community Service Award | The Indian community in the Netherlands, presented by the Mayor of Zoetermeer and the Indian Ambassador |
The royal honour is normally given to Dutch nationals, and he is believed to be the first Indian national to receive it. He was also one of the invited speakers at the first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi, alongside Amartya Sen, Lord Meghnad Desai, Salman Rushdie, L.N. Mittal, the Hinduja family and Lord Swraj Paul. The Embassy of India in The Hague names him as one of three prominent persons of Indian origin in the Netherlands to have received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.
Sources: Embassy of India, The Hague, Ankur Bora / Assam Tribune, De Heraut, Assam Times, Assam mailing list
Values and advice
Wahid Saleh is known for his work ethic, integrity and honesty. In a 2016 piece in the Assam Tribune, and in earlier interviews, he summed up his advice to young people in five principles:
- Be true to yourself. Stand by your convictions rather than living up to what society expects.
- Start small. Do one thing at a time and build confidence through small achievements.
- Take no shortcuts. Work hard without expecting rewards; success has to be earned.
- Keep learning. Keep improving to stay relevant.
- Keep your word. A damaged reputation is hard to repair.
Sources: Ankur Bora / Assam Tribune, Assam Times
Sources
- Arindam Garg, “Wahid Saleh from Netherlands with love”, Assam Times, 15 January 2009
- Rini Kakati, “Wahid Saleh: a true social worker, from Rajabari to Netherlands”, Assam mailing list, 1 November 2004
- Ankur Bora, “The 5th commandment”, A path to oneness, 5 April 2016 (also published in the Assam Tribune, 1 April 2016)
- Embassy of India, The Hague, “Indian community in Netherlands”
- IndiaNet, “AOW-behoud in India: Verdrag tussen Nederland en India na 7 jaar strijd”
- De Heraut, “Initiatief Wahid Saleh na vijftien jaar beloond”
- De Heraut, “Internationale onderscheiding voor Wahid Saleh”
- Asian Studies WWW Monitor, “Indiawijzer - India in Nederland”, 13 March 2006
- Biblio, Indiawijzer: India in Nederland (1999)
- Wahid Saleh, comment on “Zero tracks back to Assam”, Assam Times