An extra pair for

Westminster Abbey, said: “It is an extraordinary honour to be asked to attend the Coronation service on behalf of the NHS For so many health service staff to be invited to be part of this historic occasion shows the huge amount of respect and admiration the Royal Family has for the NHS and the work our dedicated staff do

“As we start a new chapter for the country with the coronation of His Majesty King Charles, we are also looking to the future of the health service and the opportunities ahead of us, while reflecting on the incredible history and achievements of our organisation – and our staff and volunteers – over the past 75 years

“From Britain’s first heart transplant in 1958, pioneering new treatments such as bionic eyes and, in more recent times, the world’s first rapid whole genome sequencing service for seriously ill babies and children, and rolling out the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in NHS history during the Covid pandemic, the health service has always adapted to meet the changing needs of the country, and will continue to do so to ensure local care is fit for the future ”

More than 20,000 NHS workers entered the ballot for places at the procession and concert this weekend, with entries numbered and chosen at random tion of interfaith dialogue and action in modern Britain, with Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist places of worship, as well as many people of other faiths and no faith It’s important we build understanding and knowledge of one another – it’s what lets us work together and celebrate each other’s festivals and religious occasions ”

“I’ve seen how Hounslow Friends of Faith brings our communities together in dialogue and action that wouldn’t happen otherwise Every year they organise an Interfaith Walk, so members of the public can visit different places of worship and experience some of the richness and variety of local faith communities ”

“In a time when it’s more vital than ever before to increase connection and understanding between our diverse communities, it’s concerning that the Government has made this funding cut without planning for the continued need to promote interfaith dialogue and action ”

Online Scroungers

Retired people like us have plenty of free time I utilize my time watching TV programmes like news, sports, occasional movies and specially programs that we can learn from One such programme is online Scroungers that target elderly, lonely, sick and such venerable people who are easy preys, especially if they do not have children to look after them

These scams are perpetrated from Overseas Call Centres Once they were mostly based in Nigeria but now Indian cities like Jaipur, Delhi and Agra are the prime locations One reason is that it is much cheaper and there are plenty of well educated, smart girls readily available to employ, as the pay is well above going rate with bonuses to those who are most successful at conning people

Main victims are those who apply for loans to banks, building societies and money lenders They employ young, smart IT experts who could hack into most computers and steal the date-base to con these people

One may get an unexpected telephone call, telling the person that his loan is approved and money will be deposited in his bank account But after he pays one-off arrangement fee of £50 to £100, depending on the loan amount applied for

Poignantly not only he loses his money but more importantly the scammer has now his financial details, including his bank account His details are then sold to other crooks, end-up in identity theft Most of us are not equipped to deal with such problems and may ruin one ’ s health as well

Prevention is better than cure, so beware, do not give out any personal information and put down the phone if it is from an unknown person I always ask; is this unsolicited call? If so I put down the receiver and keep my line busy for a short time

We have few people here in London who has direct line of communication with Indian PM Narendra Modi and his deputy Amit Shah, urging them to close down such rogue Overseas Call Centres that gives India an unenviable reputation!

Bhup endra M Gand hi

Coronation of King Charles III

I write to you having watched parts of the Coronation of King Charles III at the weekend

From an Indian origin person with over 5 decades in the UK, and with great pride of my origins; I would like to note a few things from what I saw

In Westminster Abbey, I noticed a man who looked of South Asian origin had his hands in his trouser pockets, all the time, even when The King walked past himtwice How rude!

The Prime Minister's wife, of Indian origin and citizenship, I felt should have worn a dress which represented the part of the world of her heritage; as many dignitaries do My wife and I were deeply disappointed at this

When the ceremony had finished and the King was leaving The Abbey, he met leaders of other faiths A Buddhist monk, a Sikh priest represented by Lord Singh in his Lordship robes, a Jewish Rabbi, a Muslim Imam and another person All these people were in their traditional robes except the man who I assume was a Hindu (Santana Dharma) priest If this is the case, why was he in a suit and not a 'jabha & dhoti'? How disappointing!

In this world where we are having to reassert our identity in a daily grind, again and again, these soft power messages were missed opportunities?

The small people of this nation would have liked a visual helping hand from those in high positions who are representing us

At the Coronation Concert, there were some Indian ladies in a group leading the large entourage of singers were wearing Saris How wonderful

Yogi Pandya

The forgotten freedom fighter

During the celebration of 75 years of our Independence on August 15, 2022, our media had mentioned the names of most of the great men and women who struggled hard and sacrificed their lives for the freedom of our country But however, perhaps inadvertently, one important name had been forgotten, that of the great barrister, Kaka Joseph Baptista

It was Kaka Joseph Baptista who pleaded the cause of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and secured his release, when he would almost certainly have been arrested by the then British Government It was also Kaka Joseph Baptista who coined the slogan, "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it," which is being incorrectly attributed by everyone to the same Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Moreover, Kaka Joseph Baptista, as the President of the Oxford Students' Union, spoke very strongly in favour of Independence for India in England It is necessary that our people recognise and appreciate the significant contribution of Kaka Joseph Baptista to our Independence Jubel D'C ruz

Plight of Gurkhas

I am a former Gurkha and a first Gulf war veteran

UK government have still not stopped the illegal mining of the martial race from the foot hills of Nepal

The Gurkhas are used as a diplomacy currency in the international markets and collected as a huge revenue from the respected, Malaysian, Singapore, Hong Kong and now from the oil rich state of Brunei

And when the war ends, dumped or sent back empty handed back to Nepal

The Gurkhas are still struggling to find the "status", dignity they deserve and are still barred from the basic voting rights and against human rights abuses

UK government been providing all the facilities to the terrorists/bombers, thugs and others But been penny pinching on the plight of the Gurkhas issues

War is a business to sell a web of lies, create instability and refugee crisis for the west, especially the US and it's cronies

Because US never fought a major war on their own soil But have always created chaos and toxic environment in Japan, Hiroshima, Vietnam, Afghanistan,Iraq, Syria, now in Ukraine

Nepal is also a sovereign country like Ukraine

And still we have not learned the lessons?

We do not want our only beautiful "Sovereign Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal" to be turned into another battleground for the vested interest of the American and it's greatest poodle UK and others

American hegemony and foreign policy is failing and the media and politicians are divided and creating a very unhealthy and toxic environment in home and across the globe

Yam Gurung (rtd )

Innovative Water Metro of Kerala

“Innovative Water Metro of Kerala” (Asian Voice – 6-12 May 2023) shows that as a country we have innovative ways to think and find our own solutions based on the local circumstances

This will not only reduce congestion on the roads but also will provide more employment opportunities to the local population This project will be a combination of technology and the dedication of the project management team to provide the best to the people

Many foreigners go to Kerala to enjoy its natural beauty and to get more ideas about ancient as well as traditional medicinal therapies Water metro can become an additional attraction for them Since Kerala has a good Englishspeaking population, it is a golden opportunity to make this a tourist destination as well

There are many other parts of the country where inland water resources can be harnessed for transportation/tourism If we keep the party and regional politics away when it comes to major projects like this, the chances of success automatically multiply

Hitesh Hingu

Kapil

D

udakia Is Gareth Lying?

T his is th e question th at everyo ne is asking I have h ad so many disc ussions with members o f o ur community wh o a re al l as ki ng, ‘ Is G areth Ly ing?’ Last week K ap il’ s K hich adi broke the news wh at T ru ptiben had said that in h er chat with Gareth ( regarding the AP PG Gu jarati ), th at th ere i ndeed wa s a wi tness p res ent who h eard th e co nversation However, on 29th April Gareth said on twitter, ‘T he comments attri bu ted to me i n th is letter (the letter T ru ptiben had written to him) are simply not true’

You might think the matter was now in dispute However, that’s not true because Truptiben is adamant that what she has stated is the truth and has a witness who can confirm it On 8th May Truptiben tweeted, ‘I want to make it clear, @GarethThomasMP is misrepresenting the conversation I had with him He did say, ‘I am unfortunate enough to represent a significant section of the Gujarati community in my constituency' I stand by what I have stated and can also prove it'

She is calling out Gareth So, I say to Gareth, are you lying? Are you lying about the contents of that discussion with Truptiben? Are you lying about the consultation you carried out for the APPG Gujarati? Are you lying about the level of support the APPG has got (after all, the vast majority of organisations have rejected it)? Is lying your modus operandi?

Let me remind readers, I have asked Gareth to provide a full list of every organisation that he consulted, and the criteria for selecting them And to provide a full list of all individuals that they consulted and why? And to also provide copies of all letters of support they have received So far, and after more than 6 weeks, I am still waiting So, I say to Gareth, what are you afraid of? The truth?

Anti-Hindu hatred is now on the rise The Labour Party seems to give refuge to those who thrive in attacking the Hindu community We saw this when Islamists attacked us at the High Commission in London, and we saw members of the Labour Party were also in the crowd The silence of Labour MPs was deafening

We witnessed a similar pattern when Islamists attacked Hindus and our Mandirs in Leicester The few Labour Hindu councillors who did call it out – soon found to their cost that the Labour Party was going to exact revenge on them The compromised Labour Mayor of Leicester had to give up his ill-conceived inquiry into the Islamist attacks because many people felt he was already biased in favour of these extremists

If this madness by Labour was not enough, they then stopped most of the Hindu councillors from standing up at the recent Council elections Instead, they put up their own faithful candidates The locals felt this was open racism, and in full knowledge of their leader Keir Starmer Not one word from Keir, his silence is even more deafening

Fortunately, the people of Leicester gave their verdict on 5th May Labour that hitherto controlled 53 of the 54 seats, lost 22 Yes, that’s right, the unthinkable happened After decades of total control, they found their prejudice was now being rejected by the voters The Tories went from 1 seat, to 17 overnight I suspect if some of the independent candidates had not stood, then there was every possibility that Labour would have lost even more seats to the Tories

That was not the only devastating result for Labour In Slough where they controlled 36 of the 42 seats, they lost 18 in one night The Tories went from 5 seats to 21, a gain of 16 seats

Mann Ki Baat

Mann Ki Baat showed India to Indians! A radio revolution for which ideas and opinions poured in from common man Apart from giving birth to an idea, executing it till finality, overcoming practical problems is a herculean task, which requires 3Ds dedication, determination and discipline The programme brought to light many hidden talents and recognised the contributions of common man

The message to Keir, and to Gareth, and to the antiIndia and anti-Hindu MPs is clear, enough is enough The Indian and Hindu community are finally waking up and smelling the coffee The fact that someone like Keir and Gareth can treat our community with such contempt is distasteful The Jewish community taught Labour a lesson more than a decade ago, maybe General Election 2024 might be the year when our community shows its displeasure to those who practice prejudice, and to those who wish to divide us

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always

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