AV 18th April 2015

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe q\Z`U `]IX^\ FRJ ^`S KNJLK Pragnesh Modhwadia - Managing Partner

mJN LQ\^X`UXLK LQ\^X`UXLK `N\`La `N\`La mJN ! x`TXUF q`H ! lNRQ\NKF q`H ! x`TXUF q`H ! lNRQ\NKF q`H ! zXLQJK\L ! tTTXZN`KXRS ! zXLQJK\L ! tTTXZN`KXRS

020 020 8951 8951 6989 6989 info@axiomstone.co.uk

www.axiomstone.co.uk info@axiomstone.co.uk

Modi, Merkel vow to push Labour launches economic ties to new level BAME manifesto QS Axiom Stone and Quality Solicitors Axiom Stone are the trading names of Axiom Stone London Limited. Company Registration No. 6546205. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

VOL 43. ISSUE 48

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to make a push for greater and aggressive economic cooperation between the two countries. "I will depart from Germany with a belief that both countries will work together," Modi said. "I believe both India and Germany should be permanent members in the UNSC and the world will gain a lot by this," the India Prime Minister added.

"There is a lot we can learn from Germany. It is known for skill development,which is a priority area for us." "The enthusiasm of Chancellor Merkel and German industry is very encouraging. Will establish mechanism for German companies to facilitate their investment and business in India," he said.

"I believe terrorism is a big danger for humanity; humanitarian forces need to unite against this menace," Modi said.

Addressing the media jointly with Merkel after their talks, Modi said, "We had widespread discus-

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

80p

18th April to 24th 2015

The Labour party has become the first party to launch a separate manifesto for the Black Asian Minority Ethnic communities (BAME), prior to the upcoming elections on 7 May. They have promised to set out a better plan to break down the barriers that people from BAME backgrounds still faces, including long-term youth unemployment.

The party launched a BAME manifesto this week that starts from the basis that Britain only succeeds when all

Narendra Modi being welcomed by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin

sions about Indo-German relations. We will be successful in bringing IndoGerman strategic partnership to a new level." Modi thanked Germany for choosing India as the partner country in the world's biggest trade fare in Hannover.

Modi woos German investors, promises stable environment Promising a stable

business environment, Modi wooed German investors saying opportunities in India are “seamless” and huge for a vibrant economic partnership. Inaugurating the Hannover Messe, a business fair, with Merkel, Modi said India was working on a “predictable and transparent” environment to open up investments.

“We are creating an

environment that is stable, where rules will not be changed frequently and there will be no surprise elements,” he said.

Strongly pitching for his ‘Make in India’ campaign, he said it was not a “slogan or a brand, but a new national movement.”

Describing Germany as a “valuable partner”, Modi Continued on page 26

working people succeed, which is often not the case, especially for our BAME communities in Britain.

The manifesto states: l Long-term unemployment for young people from an ethnic minority has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last five years. l If you’re under 25 and black you’re twice as likely to be out of work. l BAME communities are still over-represented in minimum wage jobs,

Continued on page 13

London's Vaisakhi festival finds a new home

Full story on page 14

UK

This election is about you

2

By Lord Dolar Popat

Let me start by stating the obvious: I know most people don’t follow politics every day. For most, the comings and goings of Westminster and the repeated statements of Labour, the Conservatives and Lib Dems are enough for most people to change the channel.

It is hard to think of a time when politicians have been less popular. I hear people say all the time that ‘politicians are all the same’ and ‘there’s no point voting’. There is, sadly, a prevailing view in the British Indian community that voting and elections are something that should be left to others.

This is absolutely one hundred percent wrong.

Voting is a right that has taken centuries to acquire.

It is an honour that people have campaigned and died to acquire over generations. The power to elect your Member of Parliament is one of society’s great civic responsibilities; your way of deciding the future of our great nation.

If there is one commu-

Lord Dolar Popat

nity who should know the value of voting, it’s those of us who were forced from East Africa in the 1970s. There was no vote in Uganda when the Asians were expelled; Idi Amin’s racist policies were not based in democracy, but were instead rooted in prejudice and ignorant of the rule of law.

My father never had the right to vote when he lived in India and Uganda.

Like me, he voted for the first time in Britain at the 1974 election. Imagine living for fifty years and never having the right to say who you believe should be in Government.

Prior to then he never had a say on Government pri-

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

education, entrepreneurship, faith, family and respect for the law. Yet we’ve also maintained our long-standing political ambivalence; this has to

end.

There are too many important issues at stake for our community to stand on the side-lines.

The economy, Immigration, the NHS, tax rates, welfare reform, education; all of them vital to our lives. We can’t let others decide who should be in charge.

Last year when India went to the polls, Narendra Modi brought people out to vote in record numbers. Many people will be voting on who they want to see as their Prime Minister, Ed Miliband or David Cameron. Others will decide which candidate is best to serve their local constituency.

However you decide to do it, I urge all British Indians to get involved in this election. Not only are you deciding who will be Prime Minister and who will form the Government, you are also deciding which path our country should follow. At a time of great global uncertainty in the Middle East, Nigeria and Ukraine- it is a responsibility we should all cherish.

these subjects will not be available for A level qualifications. On the other hand, Gujarati has been axed from both GCSEs and A levels.

Many politicians have been vocal about their dismay on the government's decision of removing these languages from GCSE and A Level qualifications.

MP Pat McFadden expressed, “I believe the Government’s plans to axe these qualifications are a huge mistake. Many of my constituents speak Punjabi and Gujarati and these languages are important to parts of the community. Furthermore, as Britain’s population becomes more diverse it is economically important to make the most of our global links. Axing language qualifications is short sighted for a major trading economy like ours. I believe it is vital to keep open the option to take these qualifications right up to A level standard.”

Shadow Education Secretary, Tristram Hunt believes this decision is a step backwards. “They are important qualifications, both for speakers in the community but also for

the outward-looking trade in the multicultural country that Britain needs to be in the 21stcentury...

This is enormously detrimental to the strong economic, cultural and social ties between Britain and India. Having strong proficiencies in these languages is about building the new relationship between India and Britain, and that is built on linguistic ties as well as cultural, social and historical ones.”

In 2014, 625 students sat a GCSE Gujarati exam, while only 19 achieved an A level qualification in Gujarati.

Furthermore, 167 students took an exam in A level Punjabi while 42 students gained an A level qualification in Bengali.

A spokesperson from OCR examination board states that, “OCR has offered Gujarati for a number of years, but low and declining demand in comparison to many of our other qualificationsplus a shortage of experienced examiners - means regrettably that we will not be developing qualifications in Gujarati for teaching in 2017.”

orities like tax rates and health spending; he was a second-class citizen.

British Indians are amongst the most successful immigrant communities anywhere in the world. From education league tables through to the Board Rooms in our leading FTSE 100 companies, the British Indian contribution to Britain is disproportionately high compared to our numbers.

Our community has successfully integrated into British society without losing its long-held values; the importance of

ONE TO ONE Keith Vaz MP with

Rt Hon Keith Vaz has witheld his regular column as per the convention.

He will be back soon after the general elections are over.

Public Does Not Want Camilla to be Queen

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Queen Elizabeth II

Asian languages at risk in schools

The decision to get rid of languages, such as Gujarati, Punjabi and Bengali from the GCSE and A level syllabus by 2017 has been deplored by many politicians and teachers.

They have warned that this decision could be nocuous to the economic links between

India and other countries.

The AQA and OCR examination boards have declared that they will also be abrogating language qualifications in Turkish, Persian, modern Hebrew, Polish, Dutch and Portuguese.

GCSE Bengali and Punjabi will still be available, however,

The DrIvIng Force To your DIvorce!

• DK MKH NFFd DFlp witD diGKILF KI sFpaIatiKN? • Is MKHI paItNFI IFfHsiNE tK lFt MKH sFF MKHI LDildIFN? • Is tDFIF GiKlFNLF iN tDF DKmF? Whatever your problem, our family solicitors have the answers you need.

• Divorce • Separation • Financial Settlement

• Pre-nuptial Agreements • Children Issues • Domestic Violence

Option to pay the legal fees at the end of the case* *Terms and conditions apply

502-504 Honeypot Lane Stanmore Middlesex HA7 1JR

020 8951 6959 • iNfK@piNdKIialaw.LKm

www.piNdKIialaw.LKm

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

Prince Harry

A recent poll suggests that a majority of the public does not want Camilla to become queen if Prince Charles succeeds to the throne.

43% believe Prince Charles should ascend to throne compared with an almost identical figure saying he should stand aside in favour of his elder son, Prince William.

The poll reveals that Prince William and Prince Harry are the most popular members of the Royal Family.

They are closely followed by the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Prince Andrew and Edward made it to the bottom of this list and according to the poll, Camilla and Andrew are the only two royals who are more disliked than liked.

Many people have great affection for Lady Diana, who died in a terrible car crash in Paris, 18 years ago. A substantial majority believe that Diana would have been a better queen than Camilla.

Compellingly, the younger generation seem to be more attached to Diana, even though many were not old enough to remember her when she was still alive.

Among 18-24 year olds, two out of three would have preferred to have Diana as their queen, while only 3% supported Camilla.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

COMMENT

Modi visit to France brings dividends

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high profile visit to France and his extensive talks with Francois Hollande appear, at first sight, to have broken the logjam on two critical issues. A government to government deal on India’s purchase of 126 fourth generation Rafale warplanes, which had stalled, had put in jeopardy the Indian Air Force plans for speeding up the availability of 44 squadrons, from the 34 now in operation, to meet its needs for a possible two-front war with Pakistan and China.

Under the new arrangement two squadrons of36 Rafales are to be supplied by its manufacturer, Dassault, to India in “flyaway” condition with no “made in India” or technology transfer involved.

Fresh negotiations on the price will follow, but India will make a down payment of $ 4 billion. An Indian source said: “France has agreed to fasttrack the deliveries and give us better terms for the outright purchase and longer maintenance support for the 36 jets. Finding money for this deal should not be a problem since it will have to be paid in instalments linked to deliveries.” This ‘politicostrategic’ decision taken by the Indian Prime Minister on the eve of his departure for Paris, will lead to a modification of the original asking price of $$12 billion – hiked later to $20 billion – demanded by Dassault. The defence procurement procedure put in place by the two governments permits such acquisitions on a single vendor basis for ‘strategic considerations,’ which include the inclusion of political and economic goals. An example of such an arrangement is the one currently in operation between India and the United States under which the Indian Air Force acquired 12C-130J Super Hercules and 10C-17Globemaster III heavy lift transport aircraft on a direct government-to-government basis without any open tender or competition.

Apropos of the French proposal to construct a nuclear power plant at Jaitapur, the French firm Areva and India’s NPCIL signed the first concrete steps towards fulfilling the deal. The Indian and French partners have signed up to an early works agreement, the first formal pact between the parties, enabling Areva to move ahead on the project.

India’s liability has been circumvented with the same insurance safeguards reached between India and the United States. Negotiations had stalled on the pricing of the power from the Jaitapur plant.

The two sides got round the hurdle by agreeing to the supply of many components required by the plant to be made in India by the Mumbai-based engineering firm, Larsen & Tubro, through a separate contract between the companies, thus reducing the overall price of the power and opening the door to further cooperation. Overall, 17 agreements, including cooperation in space, were signed after the Modi-Hollande summit. How what works out remains to be seen. There is a measure of justifiable scepticism about the Rafale deal, seeing that no country save France and Egypt have bought them. Rakesh Sood, a former Indian ambassador to France, waxed eloquent on the country being the first to de-hyphenate India and its refusal to apply the US-designed sanctions against India after the the Pokhran II nuclear tests in May 1998. True enough, but the Jacques Chirac, a robust Gaullist, was then French President. His country’s national interest transcended any obedience to American diktat, for which he reviled by the Bush administration. President Hollande, in contrast, has been a fervent camp follower of the United States. Two faltering cheers for Prime Minister Modi’s diplomatic exercises in France.

The third cheer will have to be withheld until their results become clear.

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s recent four-day visit to Tokyo for talks with his Japanese counterpart General Nakatani and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was climaxed by a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his country’s strongest and most eloquent advocate of an expanded Indo-Japanese security relationship.

Japan’s security architecture has two principal hubs: the United States, with whom Japan has a binding security treaty signed in 1951,and Australia, another close US ally. An essential component to a rounded structure would be a firmed up partnership between India and Japan in the Asia Pacific region. India’s strong commitment to the modernization of Vietnam’s forces [see Media Watch page 12] is now an established policy, while Japan’s decision to supply Vietnam with patrol vessels for the defence of its coast is a clear statement of intent. China has made known its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, even as its military infrastructure in Tibet grows apace for force projection. On India North West, China is Pakistan’s “all weather” friend and ally, the relationship based on shared enmity of India. China is

developing a silk route across Pakistan to the Persian Gulf with a port at Gwador on the Baluchistan coast abutting the Persian Gulf..

Worse, Beijing has supplied Pakistan with nuclear weapon and missile technologies, including a fully tested nuclear bomb. You can bet that Islamabad’s support for Pakistani jihadi terror assaults on India – witness the release from detention of Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the November 26/2008 attack on Mumbai] are set to continue.

Those desirous of knowing more on the subject and US culpability in this skullduggery would do well to read a meticulously researched book, “The China-Pakistan Axis,” by Andrew Small, a reputable American investigative reporter.

Keeping that in mind the depth and malevolence of the China’s challenge, regional powers such as India, Japan and Vietnam et al must look to robust diplomacy and dissuasive military deterrence as options to maintain regional peace and stability. China is clearly a giant, but one with feet of clay. Its grasp of grand strategy is deeply flawed, as has been pointed out by the American scholar and historian, Edward Luttwak.

1. History has its mysterious ways of correcting the injustices done to eminent figures during their turbulent lifetimes. The late P.V. Narasimha Rao is no exception to the rule. The present writer often recalls his appearance on a Channel 4 breakfast show with former British foreign secretary, David Owen, in the wake of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the swelling jihadi insurgency in Kashmir and the wider canvas of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

The New York Times South Asia Correspondent, Barbara Crossette, quoting a senior American diplomat in Islamabad, predicted a seminal shift in the Subcontinent’s power equation. TheTV anchor hinted at the possibility of an Indian apocalypse in the question pose to me about India’s seemingly unpromising future. Against the political logic doing the rounds in most Western capitals, I hazarded the opinion that Narasimha Rao (a name known only to a few abroad), the newly appointed prime minister of India, who was preparing to retire from public life, would answer his nation’s call in a manner that could surprise his compatriots and the world. A man who spoke a dozen languages, including Sanskrit, his native Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Spanish wasn’t exactly a dud. He had the intellect of the legendary Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and a polit-

ical subtlety all his own. He exemplified the best South Indian’s penchant for restraint in speech and gesture, without lacking resolve and a remarkable strategic vision. Narasimha Rao’s first and most critical appointment was Manmohan Singh as finance minister, with the order to chart an exit out of the derided Hindu rate of economic growth and put on it to a sustained cycle of inclusive development. He assured Dr Singh of his unflinching support as he went about his task. The instituted economic reforms created a platform from which India achieved its second lift-off off after Independence. Kashmir was deftly handled, the Khalistan insurgency in Punjab firmly put down.

Narasimha Rao was the true architect of India’s “Look East” policy, he improved relations with the United States established diplomatic ties with Israel prepared quietly to make a nuclear weapon state, endinding decades of Chinese and Pakistani nuclear blackmail in which the United States, to its discredit, played a key role. Narasimha Rao was treated shamefully by the Congress party to which he had rendered yeoman service over a lifetime. It is right and proper and much to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s credit that a memorial, the Ekta Sthal, is to be installed to honour this great son of India.

Parrikar visit to Tokyo enhances India-Japan ties

Remembering Narasimha Rao

3

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.

- Ernest Hemingway

“Our London” Navin Shah

GLA Member for Brent and Harrow

Flying the Flag - Shri Narendra Modi PM Narendrabhai has hit the ground running in flying the flag for India since taking the Prime Ministerial office. Whilst he’s taking every opportunity to make a case for India at International stage he’s maintained his amazing appeal and closeness to the large and diverse community in India and equally with the NRI’s. His ‘appeal’ comes from his vision and honest expression of where he stands and how he feels. His comment in Paris touched my heart and soul when addressing the NRI’s he commented “You left India years ago. The colour of your passport has changed but the colour of your and my blood hasn’t changed”.

This truly sums up how Indian’s like you and I feel about India and that is why we defend, argue and sometimes even clash on Indian issues. But this is all due to our love for mother India and our desire for fairness and justice.

I have fond memories of spending nearly a year commuting to Paris when I was practicing Architecture. During and as a result of those travels I realised how rich French architectural heritage was and how good the French are in ‘marrying’ the old historic heritage with stunning contemporary architecture. One of my favourite contemporary piece of architecture is the extension / expansion of Louvre Museum where the famous American architect I M Pei has added a glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Museum.

Narendrabhai’s address to the Indian Diaspora was in the vicinity of this vey museum.

This was a threenation tour by the Prime Minister covering G7 countries France,

Germany and Canada for bilateral talks.

The planned agenda in the main for the visit was infrastructure and defence technology. And also, in my view most important purpose of the visit, making a stance for a permanent seat for India in the UN Security Council. This he did firmly when he spoke to the NRIs in France.

Bearing in mind India’s global role, Modiji reminded the world that "Those days are gone when India had to beg. Now we want our right. No other country has such moral authority." He reminded everyone of India’s record that it has never been an aggressor against any country. In fact India has always played its part towards world peace & security with the maximum presence in UN peacekeeping forces. The balance of power globally has shifted eastwards and as Narendrabhai said "This is an opportunity to recognise a peace-loving nation like India."

Finally, the PM’s visit to Neuve –Chapelle Memorial in Lille was a very significant aspect of the visit. Paying tribute to the thousands of Indian Soldiers in World War 1, he reminded us of the major role played by the martyrs. Writing in the visitor’s book he noted how Indian soldiers had won the admiration of the world for their dedication, courage and sacrifice. For this he saluted them.

Light heartedly Narendrabhai commented that he’d come to take tourists to India! We know he’s going to take a lot more from this tri-nation tour. We also know that he’d take even more, and give us a lot, when he visits the UK. It’s high time the visit takes place.

ASIAN VOICE is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications www.abplgroup.com AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

4

MIDLANDS VOICE

Severed pigs heads found at Solihull community centre

Four severed pigs heads have been dumped on the doorstep of a new community centre which protesters claim is being used as an unauthorised mosque.

Only 24 hours before the hate crime, windows were smashed at Solihull Community Hub, West Midlands Police have revealed.

Officers were called to the former ambulance station, on Hermitage Road, Solihull, at 9.30pm on Sunday by a trustee who discovered the heads.

The force has revealed CCTV cameras caught the culprit in the act. He is seen leaving the animals’ heads on the doorstep before driving off in a light-coloured saloon.

A carrier bag, believed to have been used in the crime, has been seized and is currently being examined by forensic experts, along with other evidence taken from the scene.

A number of witnesses have also spoken to local officers.

Last week, the Birmingham Mail revealed 1,000 people signed an on-

line petition calling for The Hub to be closed following allegations it is being used, without permission, as a mosque.

Solihull Council confirmed it is investigating whether the terms of the planning consent had been broken.

The details emerged as the EDL revealed it was planning a demonstration in Solihull town centre on April 18 over proposals for a Muslim cemetery at nearby Catherine-deBarnes.

Proposals for the scheme were submitted to Solihull Council last month after the scheme was turned down twice last year.

Chief Superintendent Alex Murray, from

Solihull police station, has called on those behind Sunday’s crime to come forward.

“We’ve secured good quality CCTV of the culprits and my detectives are making good progress with the investigation.

The forensic evidence we have is also very strong and we expect a result from that in the coming days. With this in mind, I would urge those responsible to come forward and put their side of the story to us before we come and knock on their door.”

Anyone with information should call officers on 101. Details can also be passed anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

First Sikh to be named High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire is installed

The first Sikh to take on the role of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire has been installed in a ceremony at a temple in Basford.

Dr Jaswant Bilkhu officially took over the post for the next year at the event on Saturday. He takes over from outgoing High Sheriff Graham Cartledge.

Dr Bilkhu, who worked as a GP in Radcliffe-on-Trent for 27 years, moved to England from Punjab in 1960, several years after his father had moved to Nottingham to work as a bricklayer.

He said: "I accepted this role first and foremost for my mother and father.

They dedicated their life to their family and their community. When they came

Tax fraudster known as 'The General' to repay £2.2 million - or serve time A jailed Birmingham tax fraudster who hid his wealth in the UK while building a palace in Pakistan has been ordered to pay back £2.2 million within six months – or face a further ten years in prison.

Mohammed Suleman Khan, 43, was sentenced to four years last April after defrauding the taxman of £450,000.

The nine-year scam was exposed after police raided his Moseley home and discovered plans for his own ‘Buckingham Palace’ in Pakistan, complete with library, cinema and servant quarters.

Serving inmate Khan faced a proceeds of crime hearing at Liverpool Crown Court last week and was ordered to pay £2,209,090 within six months. If he fails to hand over the cash he faces a further ten years in prison.

The tax fraudster had contested the order, brought by West Midlands Police and prosecuted at court by Andrew Smith, QC. Judge Andrew Menary QC presided over the week-long case, which heard details of Khan’s complicated financial affairs.

The original tax fraud court case heard he had

Mohammed Suleman Khan's nine-year scam was exposed after police raided his Moseley home and discovered plans for his own ‘Buckingham Palace’ in Pakistan

lived in a gated £500,000 house in Moseley and drove a BMW, but had no obvious job. His family home belonged to relatives and only small amounts of money went through his bank accounts. Yet while he was careful to avoid showing trappings of wealth in the UK, detectives from West Midlands Police’s Force CID discovered he had secretly paid for the £2.3 million mansion to be built in Pakistan. In court, his defence portrayed him as a legitimate businessman who had earned around £400,000 over the nineyear period from debt collecting and other business interests in the UK and abroad.

But police found no evidence of a legitimate debt collecting company

and their investigation proved he had netted over £1 million during that period, without paying the required tax and National Insurance.

A search of Khan’s Birmingham home after his arrest uncovered plans for the ‘palace’ in the Attock region of Pakistan. The outer shell and roof of the building had been completed by Khan at a cost of £893,000. Once finished, the property would have been valued at £2.3 million.

Khan did not utter a word during his police interview or court appearances, aside from ‘guilty’ when he admitted cheating the public revenue during an appearance at Birmingham Crown Court in November 2013.

Police confirm body found in river is that of missing Baljeev Johal Dr Jaswant Bilkhu with his family after the ceremony

here there weren't many Indian people, and certainly not many Sikhs.

"I think the community is very proud to now see one of their own being installed as High Sheriff.

My wish is to try and bridge the gap with the Sikh community."

Dr Bilkhu, 68, of Radcliffe-on-Trent, has taught at the University of

Nottingham and took on the role of Postgraduate Medical Dean for the East Midlands, which involved overseeing the postgraduate training of doctors.

Outgoing Sheriff Graham Cartledge said: "I think he is an excellent choice and I look forward to seeing the work he does over the coming year."

Man arrested at Birmingham Airport on suspicion of terrorism offences

tried to enter Syria.

Greater Manchester Police said they are working to ensure the safe return of the rest of the group. Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed said he thought his son had been in Birmingham on a work placement when he discovered that he had been detained in Turkey.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested at Birmingham Airport on suspicion of terrorism offences, police said.

Waheed Ahmed, pictured, the son of a Labour councillor in Rochdale, was first detained in Turkey earlier this month along with eight other people as they allegedly

Aspley law student cleared of sex assaults

A law student was cleared unanimously of twice sexually assaulting a woman in her bed.

Muhammad Shaikh left Nottingham Crown Court with his previous good character in tact.

The 27-year-old, of

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Aspley Park Drive, looked relieved as Recorder Timothy Spencer QC told him he was free to go on Friday, April 10.

Shaikh always maintained he did not sexually assault the woman and pleaded not guilty to both

allegations.

He said in his defence statement that he had been left asleep downstairs, then got into the woman's bed due to his fear of her cats, and they kissed and touched consensually.

A body recovered from a river in Warwickshire has been identified as that of a missing Leicester University graduate.

Police confirmed the body recovered from the River Leam in Marton, near Rugby on Monday was that of 24-year-old Baljeev Johal, pictured.

Baljeev, who completed a business studies degree at Leicester, was

reported missing six months ago after attending a family wedding in Warwickshire in October last year. His family made a fresh appeal for help finding him to mark the six month anniversary of his disappearance last weekend. His body was found a day later.

Leicester’s Sikh community aims to collect food for charity for Vaisakhi

Sikh Alliance, said: "In having a food drive?"

Leicester's Sikh communihard times religious comThe Sikh Alliance has ty aims to collect 10 munities need to be even teamed up with Leicester tonnes of food for charity more relevant to the harsh Charity Link, Trussells as part of a drive to mark a realities of the cities they Trust, Midlands Langar religious occasion. operate in. In this spirit, Seva Society (MLSS) and Ahead of the occasion, the Sikh commuthe Sikh community of Leicester nity came togethwill be celebrating er to hold an the holiest day in event, at which its calendar by food was donated making it relevant at the Guru Tegh to all Leicester's B a h a d u r communities.

Gurdwara, in East “The food Park Road. drive is a humble Jagjit Singh, attempt to provide chair of the relief to the severe Leicestershire difficulties that Sikh Alliance, many from all said: "This really backgrounds are is a fantastic way of celebrating Left to right: Helper Sangara Singh, Surinderpal enduring." At the Vaisakhi.

The Singh Rai from the GTB Guddwara Committee, and end of the day the helpers Harjit Singh and Arron Singh food was taken fundamental tenaway by the charities to be Kirpa Foodbank to proants of the Sikh faith are distributed at a later date. vide support and donaserving others, and treatThis year's Vaisakhi tions to vulnerable people. ing everybody equally- and parade in Leicester takes Amandeep Rai, vice what better way to put place on Sunday, April 26. chair of the Leicestershire this into practice than by

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Call Bipin on 020

8220 6792 / 020 8220 9596 (9am to 5pm Mon to Fri)

5

6

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Kapil’s From New Labour to New Conservatives?

The polls are very close, maybe people are simply confused. Maybe that is because the Conservative Party is not the party of your parents. Look again, closely. It may well be undergoing the shift that Labour went through that kept Labour in power for 13 years.

So how is it different? How are they different to Labour?

New Conservatives, like old Conservatives fundamentally want a smaller role for the State. They remain in favour of trusting individuals with personal choices, and more people aspiring to create jobs and wealth, so there is less reliance on the State. It is unfair for Conservatives that those who work and pay tax should have it taken from them by the State.

Labour believes more in reliance on the State. It may be couched in the language of fairness too; for them it is unfair those who can work and pay tax do not for those who need it, and it is the role of the State to be the conduit.

New GCSE reference tests 'could be compulsory' New National Reference Tests to help set GCSE grade boundaries could be made compulsory for thousands of pupils in England.

The exams regulator Ofqual previously suggested the tests would be voluntary. But the Times Educational Supplement says hun-

dreds of schools could be forced to enter a sample of their year 11 students.

And Ofqual has confirmed to the BBC it has "discussed" making them compulsory with government officials.

Head teachers fear the tests would have to be mandatory in order to provide a nationally representative sample of pupils. An Ofqual spokeswoman confirmed it had raised the possibility with the Department for Education but no formal request had yet been made.

KHICHADI

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com

I’ll Be Voting Conservative

It’s time to come off the fence and nail one’s colours to the mast.

Readers will know that over the past 5 years I have scrutinised all political parties, their leaders and their policies. Now with fewer than 20 days to the election it is time that people like me who wish to say so much, also have the strength of our convictions to come forward and tell everyone where we stand. So today let me make it clear – in GE2015 I will be voting for the Conservative Party. And my reasons are as follows.

I am a British Hindu of Indian origin. I came to the UK in 1968 when I was barely 9 years old. As I was growing up all I saw were the masses of Indians all voting for the Labour Party. When I got the vote even I followed the set process and voted for the Labour Party. And dare I say this pattern has continued election after election, generation after generation, with very little inward or outward inquiry. I however began to question everything during the Blair years and whilst he did some good, I was not sure about his motivation. With Brown and Miliband taking over Labour leadership it brought a number of issues into even sharper focus.

I witnessed a Labour government introduce a Machiavellian diplomatic ban on Shri Narendra Modi in 2002.

Brown and Miliband did nothing about this diplomatic ban since they were part of the whole fiasco. The ban was not justified under any international law, it seemed Labour wanted to help their Congress friends in India.

When Ed Miliband took over having stabbed his brother in back, something told me that one should be careful in placing any trust in this new leader of the labour Party.

My hesitation came true since it was the Labour Party that supported and orchestrated the ‘caste’ legislation treachery. They stabbed the Hindu (Dharmic) community in the back and went against the wishes of all our organisations.

In early 2014 we witnessed Labour MPs working in tandem with some extremist organisations to hold Anti-Modi events at the House of Commons. These events also came across as Anti-Hindu.

Readers will remember I wrote an open letter to Ed Miliband to come clean and tell us exactly where he stood. He has had several years to denounce these Labour rogues but we find he has run away from my questions.

Readers will also be aware that Anish Kapoor came on BBC Newsnight and called Shri Narendra Modi a mass murderer.

He did so just before the Indian elections, the implication being very clear for all to see. Ed Miliband, as far as I know, has not denounced this preposterous allegation made by one of Labour’s top donors. Yes that’s right, Anish Kapoor happens to be a high profile donor to the Labour Party.

We have seen atrocities being committed by men of Pakistani heritage in towns and cities controlled

by Labour politicians. Is that all a coincidence? Or have they been negligent in their duty of care by protecting their vote bank? No matter what, but thousands of young girls were abused systematically, and I fear we have not heard the last of this story.

When it comes to Kashmir the Tory policy is clear, it’s a matter for India and the British government will not get involved. However with Labour they give you a different story depending on who you talk to. Shadow Minister Shabana Mahmood on 23/11/2014 said, “We will jointly struggle for giving Kashmiris a chance to exercise their internationally recognized right of self-determination with the party”, adding, “We hope in upcoming general election there would be a good number of Friends of Kashmir Parliamentarians in British Parliament who can effectively support Kashmir cause”. So it seems the Labour Policy on Kashmir is for self-determination, pro-Pakistan and in interfering in the internal business of a sovereign nation.

If partition was not enough, they now want to break India up further it seems.

There is a lot more that I can go through, however based on the above it became very clear; the Labour Party of the 21st Century does not speak for us Indians and Hindus. How on earth can a political party ever look after my interest when they bow to the Pakistani Kashmiri vote bank? How on earth can Labour ever protect my interest when their MPs attack PM Modiji and therefore undermine India?

I was a card carrying member of the Labour Party. Yes you read that correctly. However, I am no longer!

The Labour Party has gone too far to the left and it seems they’ll do anything. It’s all about seats and vote bank politics in which ethics comes a poor second.

The Conservatives have listened, they have changed, and they have supported us on the caste issue, on Kashmir, on PM Modiji, on faith schools and on a host of other issues. Don’t be too surprised to find that after the next election we have more Hindus and more Gujarati MPs in the Conservative Party than any other Party. That is what I call a wholesale transformation. What has Labour to show after five decades of getting our votes? For example, even in areas with very high concentrations of Gujarati’s, they have not managed to put forward a single Gujarati to be their MP. Is that by chance? Or is it by design? It really is time to wake up and understand that politics in the 21st Century is different, and we must change with it.

I have picked my side. I will vote for the Tories. A vote that I hope will protect the generations to come from our community. What will you do on 7th May?

Lib Dem “Feminist” Caught at a Strip Club

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Self-proclaimed Feminist, MP Maajid Nawaz has been filmed trying to repeatedly touch a naked lap dancer.

Nawaz refers to himself as an advocate of women's rights. However, the footage shows Nawaz attempting to touch the dancer's arms and thighs, which is against the policy of the club.

The staff at the venue revealed that Nawaz had been bothering the dancer all night, and lamented his actions as egregious.

The manager of the club, Jay Shah, witnessed Maajid Nawaz's behaviour. Shah reveals that Nawaz was “very drunk” and bouncers had threatened to through him out many times during the night. Shah added, “He was asking her to touch him and he was touching her. In general he was quite persistent with her, asking to take her out and for her number.”

On Newsnight in 2013, Nawaz affirmed that, “I consider myself a feminist.” He once tweeted that “You don't need to be a woman to stand up for women's rights.”

The club's owner, Abdul Malik wants the video to be made public and seen by all because he believes people ought to see the real face of Nawaz.

“He's always talking about

MP Maajid Nawaz

Up Close: MP Maajid Nawaz with a lap dancer

religion on TV and I thought, what a hypocrite.”

Abdul Malik claims that Nawaz visited the club during the holy month of Ramadan.

Nawaz and two friends paid a £10 entry fee to enter this small club in Whitechapel. They were seen drinking heavily.

Nawaz received two fiveminute lap dances an hour apart.

During the first session, in which the dancer removes her clothes- she had to repeatedly remove his hands off her body and eventually pushes him away at one point.

During the second lap dance with the same woman, Nawaz spent time talking to her, whispering into her ears and trying to

touch her hair. The dancer informed her manager, who told security to “keep an eye on her.”

Conservative MP, Nadine Dorries calls for Nawaz to quit his candidacy. “In politics, you can't advocate one cause or manner of behaviour then act differently in your personal life.”

Labour MP, Khalid Mahmood said, “The message this sends to women is not one of respect.”

A spokesman for Nawaz stated that he denied touching the dancer erroneously. He also added that Nawaz's stature for encouraging women's rights was “in context of Islamic extremism.”

Furthermore, the spokesman also adds that

Newlywed: Nawaz's second wife, Rachel Maggart

Nawaz was not warned for his behaviour, nor did he breach the rules and neither was he uncontrollable due to the influence of alcohol.

The spokesman also mentioned that Nawaz was at the club for his stag-do. “The evening you refer to was our clients stag night before his marriage. His best man took him to the gentleman's club with the full knowledge of our client's then future wife [his current wife].”

The Royals at the Gurkha 200 Pageant

The Queen, Prince Philips and Prince Charles will be attending the Gurkha 200 Pageant in London, being held on 9th June 2015. This is one of the series of events which will pay tribute to Gurkhas who fought alongside the British troops since 1815.

Prince Harry had served with the Gurkhas in Afghanistan. He will be reunited with the Gurkhas as he will be attending a parade in London to commemorate the 200th anniversary since the Nepalese soldiers have been fighting for Britain.

Gurkha soldiers are known for their bravery. There currently are under 3,000 Gurkha soldiers and they make up to 3% of the British Army.

The Gurkhas have fought loyally with the British Army on many occasions. In 1967, there was an uprise of “Yemen Emergency” in Aden, where an anti-colonial rebellion was backed by Arab power. There were

HRH Prince Charles meeting some of the Gurkhas servicemen

attacks by gunmen which led to the 22 British servicemen to

lose their lives in a single day. It was then when the Gurkhas were

Prince Harry pictured with Gurkhas in Afghanistan

deployed to fight in Aden, to control the situation.

Aden seems like an unspoken land in today's day and age. There was a time when racial unity coexisted in complete harmony in Aden.

Churches and mosques were built next to each other, without any conflicts or worries.

There was a significant number of Indians who lived in Aden. Many were brought in as slaves or workers during the British Empire. A majority of the Indian community were Gujaratis who were based in Aden, prior to their emigration to the UK, India or elsewhere.

In the recent days, the Indian Air Force and other Air Forces evacuated over 4,000 Indians and nearly 1,000 people of other nationalities from the volatile situation in Aden.

UK

7

Conservatives Cut Inheritance Tax on Homes David Cameron has announced that parents will be able to pass on a family home, with value of up to £1 million to their children, without having to pay inheritance tax. It is said that this decision is a move calculated to expedite the Conservatives election campaign.

The Prime Minister has also revealed that the Conservative manifesto will expand the threshold to seven figures from April 2017.

Furthermore, Cameron also stated that the £1 billion annual cost of the plan would be paid for by reducing the tax relief on pension contributions for people earning more than £150,000.

Additionally, the

individual tax-free allowed will increase from £325,000 to £500,000 when a property is involved. It will give the couple a shared £1 million tax-free fund.

David Cameron stated, “What this effectively does is take the family home out of inheritance tax. That is the right thing to do.”

Media Sales Representative

We are looking for a highly motivated Media Sales Representative with or without previous experience for selling space in the most popular and largest selling Asian publications - Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

Other than the Newsweeklies we also publish various theme based magazines covering key topics such as Health, Property, Finance-Banking-Insurance, Diwali, which gives us the leading edge within the UK’s ethnic press.

Responsibilities • Research and gain prospective clients • Maintain positive relationships with clients • Meet with prospective clients • Conduct follow-up meetings with clients • Coordinate Artwork delivery and proofs • Communicate with team on progress and ad sales LOCATION:

Central London

START DATE:

Immediate

JOB TYPE:

Permanent

Selected candidates will receive a competitive salary and commissions.

Send your CV with a covering letter to: L George Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House 12 Hoxton Market (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW or email: george@abplgroup.com

8

UK

Election campaign and Hustings As I See It

More Asian involvement welcomed

Dadabhoi Navaroji

Perhaps for the first time ever, and just in the nick of time, the British Political parties have realised the value of the Asian vote on 7th May 2015.

Traditionally Conservative Labour, and Liberal Democrats recognised incremental benefits over the elections of the presence of black and brown faces amongst the voters. This time even UKIP – believe it or not – the party which was accused of being anti-ethnic has started playing balls with us. Why not? That is democracy and democracy is the only way of governance (if not the best but in that case there is no better alternative) which can make a fair and just society inclusive to the length and breadth of the country.

'The Hastings in the City' event that took place on the evening of 9th April (see page 16 for full report) was an historic, unique and outstanding event for several reasons.

British Hindus and British Sikhs come from the same genes. They are separate but completely inseparable. The event was very well organised, the ambience of the Insurance Hall was impressive and the presence of some 300-400 young and well educated and successful Asians both men and women was very pleasing. Equally Sajid Javed and Sadiq Khan, representatives of the two main political parties are both children of Pakistani immigrants and they have reached a very senior position within their parties.

What a wonderful thing to see. Here are Sikhs and Hindus interacting with British politicians and the main two stars are of Pakistani Muslim background. I am sure this is going to lead to the lessening of concerns and apprehensions within the community.

Four weeks before the General Election a good beginning has occurred. Two Labour Party stalwarts, Keith Vaz and Chukha Umana also are a great credit to the British way of life. A few weeks ago the British Gujaratis organ-

Babasaheb Ambedkar

Sadiq Khan

Keith Vaz

ised a political conference of their own under the banner of NCGO and Asian Voice was once again very closely involved with Rt Hon Eric Pickles, Lord Feltham, Keith Vaz and Hon Mary in attendance (see report …)

In 1895 the first ever Indian Member of the House of Commons opened the innings.

Some 30 years later, the first three Indian MPs – Dadabhoi Navaroji, Mancherji Bhavnagi and Shapoorji Shaklatwala all from a Parsi background represented the main political parties of that period.

Today, the Labour Party has taken another bold initiative on Tuesday 14th April when they courageously launched a separate manifesto for Britain's ethnic minority. We do not demand any special privilege but we need avenues to vent our concerns and grievances. By more involvement both parties will gain beyond ones imagination. The British society, by and large, have shown exemplary warmth and welcome to migrants over the centuries. the Huguenots, Jews, Hungarians, Blacks and browns have indeed reciprocated with their blood and sweat for the progress of themselves and their new home.

14th April is also the birthday of Babasaheb

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Cosmic War Epic Reborn

Anahita Hoose

Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, by Carole Satyamurti (Norton, 2015; £25).

Chuka Umunna

Sajid Javed

Narendra Modi

Ambedkar, a Dalit from an extremely poor and underprivileged background was educated in Britain and on his return to India suffered severe indignities before eventually being considered to be one of the main architects of the Indian Constitution. The problems of the Dalits are not yet completely solved but the enormous contribution of Babsaheb's helped Mahatma Gandhi to create the climate of tolerance and equal opportunities without discrimination.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Canada on Tuesday 14th April.

Amongst all the Western nations, Canada proportionately has one of the oldest Indian settlements in large numbers. The Punjabis, especially the Sikhs, made a beeline to the west coast of USA and Canada almost exactly 100 years ago.

Today both in the central and provisional governments of Canada the indians especially Punjabis are playing very prominent roles and that is good democracy.

I am glad I am British and that I live in London.

Just to remind you again please tell everyone you know that they must ensure that they exercise their franchise on 7th may. It is our sacred duty to.

- CB

In this remarkable book, the British poet Carole Satyamurti has adapted the classical Sanskrit epic as an English poem in blank verse. While it inevitably represents a great condensation of the original (which is about twelve times as long), the result is still a work of impressive length (842 pages); as Vinay Dharwadker comments in the afterword, it 'emerges modestly as the longest successful experiment in narrative poetry in modern times'. It is in fact as narrative that the work is most engaging. In contrast to traditional prose translations, Satyamurti's verse succeeds in infusing this great story with urgency and occasionally bruising emotional intensity. The reader becomes involved in the inexorable development of the conflict between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and invested in the fates of many of the enormous cast, and the ethical complexities of their stories.

For example, Karna, ally of the Kauravas, refuses to ally himself with his

brothers the Pandavas in a scene of gripping drama: 'I have no illusions. But my honour / is more precious to me than life itself. / I know the dreadful bloodbath that is coming / has been caused by me and my associates / encouraging

the folly of Duryodhana. / But it is too late. I will not betray / those I love, or the Kaurava for whom / I have pledged to die, if die I must.'

The appearance in the subtitle of the word 'modern', with reference to a work that obviously represents a sincere attempt to capture the spirit of a poem that may have attained its current form 1600 years ago, is arresting. Satyamurti sees contemporary references in a story that explores the

issues surrounding a war in which many of the participants have the power to use weapons of literally mass destruction, but the supposed modernity of the work lies mostly in the use of language that, while dignified, steers clear of archaism and, impressively, minimises gender bias without clumsiness. It is only fitting for a twenty-first century incarnation of the Mahabharata, which occupies such a central place in the spiritual lives of present-day Hindus, to appear as a work of continuing relevance.

As the subtitle asserts, the poem is a new work, a retelling, rather than a translation; Satyamurti cannot read Sanskrit. It has no pretensions to being a scholarly edition. In order to guide the general reader through the forest of names and allusions, a glossary and detailed table of contents are provided, but the lack of an index is regrettable.

Readers without a background knowledge of Indian mythology are certain to be confused, but it is to be hoped that they will be sucked in anyway and that the poem will lead to increased knowledge of and interest in the original masterpiece.

Keith Vaz Supports Uma Kumaran's Campaign

Rt Hon Keith Vaz and Uma Kumaran visited shopkeepers and local businesses in Harrow East

On 13th April 2015, Rt Hon Keith Vaz visited Uma Kumaran in Harrow East. Together, they met shopkeepers and owners of local businesses in the area.

Keith Vaz is the UK’s longest serving Asian MP and attended with members of the BAME Labour Bus, which campaigns for greater political representation for black, Asian, and ethnic minorities.

Vaz has joined Uma Kumaran's ongoing campaign to encourage Harrow residents to reg-

ister to vote and ensure they are being represented.

Local shopkeepers pledged their support to Kumaran's campaign and many placed signs up in their shop window.

Uma Kumaran stated, “Keith Vaz has been an outstanding representative of Asian and ethnic minorities, who are so often not equally represented in Westminster.”

She concluded, “I’m proud to live in such a multiethnic community, but the parliament we have doesn’t reflect our

diversity. That’s why residents need to ensure they’re registered to vote to make our parliament look more like the Britain we live in.”

Keith Vaz mentioned, “I’m supporting Uma [Kumaran] because I’m a great fan. I believe she represents a new generation of Labour politicians who embody a fresh approach to connecting with Britain. Uma’s not here to represent just one part of the community, she’ll represent them all and work day and night for these people.”

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Favourite Presenter-Writer Chosen to Head up One World Media Shyama Perera was parachuted in as Director of One World Media, an internationally respected broadcasting standards charity, in March 2015. A journalist who appears in print, on radio, and on TV, she started her career on the news staff of The Daily Star and then The Guardian before launching Eastern Eye on Channel 4. She went on to co-present the Six O’Clock Show, Network East, Behind the Headlines and other shows. On radio she has presented numerous series and the breakfast show on LBC. The author of three novels and a history of contraception, Shyama runs two arts blogs, the first on theatre monkeymatterstheatre.com and the second, literary criticism: tricyclereaders.com.

She is Chair of SADAA, the South Asian Diaspora

Shyama Perera

Arts Archive, and a trustee of the Youth United Foundation.

Shyama has taken on pioneering work for most of her career. Heading One World Media, highly regarded in the developing world as well as in the UK

where it is headquartered, she is overseeing an organisation that runs a prestigious annual journalism awards event attracting international entries and supported by all leading media networks.

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

A Year With the National Hindu Students' Forum (UK)

The NHSF (UK) have been involved in many activities and the past year has been a remarkable one for them. They have had a record membership of 4,083. They have welcomed the 50th chapter to their family and their recently launched website has had over 100,000 views.

In the past year, the NHSF have had over 170 sewa (service) activities during Sewa Week, with 85% of all chapters participating. Additionally, they also had 90% of members participating in Sewa Week. There were over 35 food collections and 200 Antony Nolan registrations. There were 623 Aartis, 409 learning work-

shops, 184 debates, 52 speaker visits and 542 Hanuman Chalisas nationally (76% of all chapters doing regular learning).

Furthermore, there were 5 students engaged with gathering for the General Elections through the NHFS political campaigns initiative. The NHSF also had 900 participants at their National Sports Competition, with 118 teams competing across five sports.

The NHSF have further made some important achievements and new initiatives. These include the launch of the Hindu Awareness Week; the revamp of the National Blood Donation Day, to become the National

Asian Charity Clarity

Top 10 Charities Submitting Accounts Late.

These are the Top 10 Charities Submitting Accounts Late to the Charity Commission, given by average number of days late in the last five years (where available). This is taken at a specific point in the time (the information is correct in most cases as of end-2014.).

Therefore, if the accounts were still pending on the date we obtained the data, then we are underestimating the figures for that charity.

Ravidassia Community Centre: 330 days late on average every year over the last five years.

Patanjali Yog Peeth (UK) Trust: 291.2 days.

Donation Day where the NHSF work with bone marrow, blood and organ donation organisations for greater donor registration.

The NHSF also launched their new brand and website, their App and their NatCom Development programme.

The NHSF have had a successful year with recruitment and they aim to continue to strive towards their vision, ensuring to create a home away from home for all Hindu students while also nurturing eternal Hindu principles. They will develop future leaders and role models to ensure that there is Hindu representation in all spheres of society.

London Sri Murugan Temple: 261 days.

Human Welfare International Charitable Trust: 227 days.

Panchamukhee: 176.5 days.

Samakti Mission UK (Satkarma Parivar): 153.4 days.

Shri Kanagathurkkai Amman (Hindu) Temple Trust: 124 days.

National Council Of Hindu Temples UK: 113.8 days.

India Association: 111.6 days.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK: 111 days. If you want to find out more about how we calculate this, please visit the website at www.asiancharityclarity.org.uk or email us at contact@asiancharityclarity.org.uk.

Sitting with the patio door open at a big table in the kitchen of her London home, Shyama explained what One World Media does.

“One World Media celebrates good media practise about, in, and from the global South.

By media we mean film, print, or online content made anywhere in the world, covering stories in the developing world. The test is whether it’s ethical. By that, we mean: accurate, inclusive, evidenced, independent, and accountable.

We also provide bursaries for students making stories in developing countries. Our partners include BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Sky News, ITN News, Channel 4 News and Google. The agenda is Fair Filming and fair journalism.”

Asked for an example of ethics, Perera says: “Take Sherpa Tenzing and Edmund Hillary. Tenzing was on home ground. He understood the terrain, the people, the language, the customs, the pitfalls, and he negotiated them to make it work for Hillary.

Journalists are sent to alien landscapes at a moment’s notice. There, we rely on ‘fixers’ to broker our stories and make them happen, but fixers are never given opportunities to develop their skills and become the suppliers

of frontline content. OWM is currently working on a scheme to bring the best fixers working for the UK arms of western media networks onto a training scheme that would equip them to report directly for those organisations.

That’s ethical practice at its best.”

She continues: “One of my jobs in my year at OWM, is to highlight the importance of Fair Filming. It’s not just looking after those who work for you, but those you portray, and this applies

“It’s not just looking after those who work for you, but those you portray” equally to the huge media networks in the developing world as to those in the west. Is permission sought before you film people; are they being safeguarded; are both sides of the story being given; have you left their environment as you found it? What about access?

When footage will still be available on a server somewhere in twenty years time, people must know how they have been portrayed, because it can come back to bite you.

We can sum it up using

9

Eastern principles: always treat others as you would have them treat you.”

For Shyama, the most uplifting prize at the annual awards evening is for media from an emerging country. Recent winners include a TV station in Azerbaijan, a radio station in Lagos. There are prizes too for best international reporting, documentary, student short films, published print, and online journalism. New media networks like Vice and Monocle actively compete against the old guard.

“We have put markers down that apply across the world, developing or developed. We also have a new focus at a time when anyone can record and film on an iPhone, creating content and posting on Twitter, Buzzfeed and Reddit in seconds. Citizen journalists are starting to move into the front line and we’re looking at ways of demonstrating good practice to them, so they too can work and compete professionally. OWM asks everyone: “have you thought about how you are doing it, whether you’re being fair, and how that content will affect others?”

It looks as though Shyama is the person who will be making sure media organisations address and answer that question.

10

UK

Yoga

The article "Yoga not religious" says US court AV 11/4/15 had me bemused as the English do not know their own history.

While Hindus created science, language and math for 5000 years the English language with roots in Samskritum is 400 years old. Its spelling changes every 100 years.

The US on independence created its own spelling which is odd to somebody who knows Samskritum. The US school removed the term "namaste" during its yoga classes to make it non religious.

They should remove the term "name" as well since it is from namaste. Name has two parts NA meaning NOT and ME meaning ME so the Sanskritum term means NOT ME but only God. "Aste" means thee so it means I respect "not me" but you.

In the same light English words such as MAN MIND ME have the same root from the Hindu God of Mankind MANU. Jayesh A Patel Wimbledon

BJP conquers Bharat

BJP has officially become largest political party in the world, overtaking Communist Party of China, with membership of 8:8 corers. It will soon reach 10 corer (100 million) marks after odyssey journey, the target set by its visionary President Amit Shah, master statistician who along with Modi is determined to make India, open, vibrant and classless democracy in line with Gandhiji’s Ram-Rajya!

BJP’s pre-eminence in last May’s election, winning overall majority and Modi’s popularity is taking BJP to new height.

Modi’s ambition is to make BJP truly multi-faith organization with Muslims, Christians and Sikh membership in line with their population, with BJP branch in every village.

While membership drive is great success in North, Central and Western States, West Bengal and South India presents real challenge where regional parties and personalities like Jayalalitha dominate national politics.

Membership drive should be accompanied by education, awareness, knowledge, patriotism and involvement at grass-root level to cement pertinacious membership, avoiding insidious, gravytrain members seeking insatiable freeride.

BJP’s one glaring unpardonable failure is lack of media ownership, not having its’ own national newspaper and TV channel that could counter propaganda

by Western controlled media that constantly undermines BJP with false, ridiculous and twisted news items with the belief that if enough mud is thrown, some will stick!

Perceived, imaginary persecution of Indian Christians while ignoring irradiation of non-Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh is the prime example. Forthcoming Assembly elections in Bihar will be the real test.

Operation RAHAT: Mission accomplished Yemen evacution ends with 5600 people successfully from Yemen including 960 foreign national from over 41 countries.

This is heroic victory for India. The world applauds India after this sucessful rescue mission. It may be mentioned here that AIR INDIA along with Indian Navy played a key role in evacuting Indian and foreign nationals safely from war hit Yemen and India has won many friends.

Foreign office minister V K Singh has done perfect and precise job and on his return to Delhi was given a heros' welcome.

It may be mentioned again that the pilots of both Air India and Indian Air Force did an excellent job inspite of heavy storm during landing at the airports in Yemen. We salute heroes of Indian Air Force.

Indian govt under the leadership of Mr Modi and well planned evacution by Sushma Swaraj has made us proud Indian.

Lastly the timely telephone call between PM Modi and Saudi Arabia king played a very positive role. Once again we salute ALL connected to this successful evacution.

Bhupendra Dattani Watford

General election

Lord Dolar Popat (Asian Voice 21st March 2015) makes an interesting case for ending General Election segregation based on religious lines. In response to a ‘Hindu manifesto’, Dolar Popat argues that our choice of voting for candidates should be based on the economy, the NHS, education and leadership (of what?). I think everybody would agree with the first three. But at the same time, we also need to look at how we are enabled to help ourselves to improve our quality of life and that of our children within our cultural beliefs and practices.

As the old saying goes ‘Man cannot live by bread alone’.

We all accept that we are living in a Christian country but only in name. In practice, the people in the fastest growing group in this country are those who do not profess any religion. At this rate it may not be long before Christianity becomes a minority faith. There are numerous examples of Anglican and Catholic schools with a majority of children coming from non-Christian backgrounds.

In that kind of a scenario we need to be able to give our future generations the strength and the conviction of our own faith, culture and values to enable them to lead worthy lives. And in order to achieve that, we have got to ensure that our children can see their own faith and way of life with pride, confidence and self-assurance. But we can only do so much within our own families and communities. We need the support and backing of the political rulers to give us a health service, an education service and a political and social climate where our faith, culture and way of life are promoted, respected and protected.

Subscribe Today Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Asian Voice in UK for only £28.50 for one year

ASIAN VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Phoney promises on NHS

NHS has become political football with major parties promising gold plated service impossible to deliver without fundamental changes, telling voters the truth that there is no such thing as free lunch.

But no politician has honesty or courage to tell us truth that could be political suicide, as voters are brainwashed in believing that NHS is eternal God send gift.

PM’s promise to spend £8 billion more annually by 2020 and same day GP appointment for over 75s may sound great but most GPs, under new system give appointment to everyone within 2448 hours.

One is obliged to ring before 10am, giving broad outline of the problem. GP rings back within hour. Consultation may last five minutes, as GP studies patient’s file before ringing.

On most part it works well but patient’s right to consult GP in person is compromised, as GP will make that decision which may be detrimental to patient, especially elderly who may need assurance, understanding, sympathy as much as medicine which cannot be delivered by phone.

With population density in cities increasing by leaps and bounds due to reckless development, GPs are obliged to register more patients than they could cope, thus making such short cuts necessary to meet increase demand, pressure that reduces quality of consultation.

Unless we study French, German NHS, best in the world and follow suit, we will always be poor cousins, receiving penultimate service. Surely we deserve better.

Kumudini Valambia By email And so to end, I agree with Dolar Popat that we do not need a national holiday for Diwali. But we do need to ensure that those of us who wish to take Diwali day off as a religious festival are enabled to do so. We do not need the state to build our temples but it does need to provide us land to build our temples. So although we do not need a separatist manifesto, we certainly need an inclusive one.

Just because we practise our own faith and culture does not mean we do not celebrate others’ cultures. We do. In fact we are helping to provide a rich diversity of cultures that makes Britain the envy of the world. As Mahatma Gandhi said and I paraphrase here ‘Keep the doors of your faith shut so that you are secure and confident in your own faith, not swept off your feet by storms of others; but keep the windows of your faith open to let the breeze of other faiths and cultures to enrich your life!’

Jayantilal Tanna By email

Islamic terrorism

At present there are many Islamic terrorist groups operating in the world. The main causes are hatred between Shia and Sunni Muslims, interference of the US and West on the pretext of democracy, Sharia Law, etc.

1. Islamic State: Sunny started this in

Please detach the form and send it with your payment or credit card instructions to address below

Tel: 020 7749 4080

Karma Yoga House Fax: 020 7749 4081 E-mail: support@abplgroup.com 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street)

London N1 6HW

UK EUROPE WORLD 1 Year £28.50 £75 £85 2 Years £51.50 £140 £160 Subscriptions are non-refundable after 30 days

The glory that was Amaravati

It was most pleasing for a historian like me to read in your issue of 4th April that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh is to be Amaravati. It will be a fitting tribute to the glory of the Satavahanas, under whom the old town of Amaravati prospered.

I hope that in the new capital a great museum will be built, which will house all the treasures of Andhra history. A priceless collection of 133 pieces of Amaravati sculptures have been exhibited at the British Museum since 1880.

When a world class museum is built in the new capital of Amaravati, it will be time for the Indian government to politely request the British Museum to return the pieces to India. Just as the Greeks have found, the British Museum will most probably reject the Indian request.

In that case, the Indian government and all the rich Indians who are always celebrated in your paper should get together and make a reasonable offer to the British Museum to buy back the Amaravati pieces. A confident India can then tell the world that she truly cares for her art works that were once looted from her.

Burjor Avari Honorary Research Fellow Department of History Manchester Metropolitan University Iraq against the ruling Shia, took over Northwest there, converting, killing, raping the Yazidi and others, Destroying and selling Iraq's Antiquities. Also taking over a part of Syria and the Palestinian Yarmouk camp and creating havoc as well as carrying out ruthless beheadings.

2. Boko Haram: this Islamic Group operates in Nigeria, Niger area, kidnapping hundreds of young girls, marrying, raping, enslaving and forcing them to cook and clean for them.

3. Al Shabab: Operates in Kenya and Somalia States, recently killing indiscriminately 148 innocent students of Uni. Garissa college. Last year they killed many people and caused massive Destruction in a shopping Mall!

4. Al Qaeda: This Islamic group is against the US and West, operates in Pakistan but it's Network comprises many countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, etc. It was the Catalyst of 9/11 Attack on New York Trade Centre Twin Towers!

5. Taliban: They believe in Sharia Law against Women's Freedom emphasizing Women should Not study but only Procreate, Cook, Clean for men!

There are some other terrorist groups like Lashkare-Tai-Ba in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Upendra Kapadia By email Continued on page 11

Have something to say about the stories featured in Asian Voice?

Letters are welcome at: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Word limit: 200 words.

Visit our website: www.abplgroup.com

NAME

ADDRESS POST CODE Email:

TEL:

I'd like to be kept up to date by email with offers and news from ABPL

Please charge my VISA / ACCESS / MASTERCARD for £

Card No:

Signature

Card Expiry date

Date

EDUCATION/COUNCIL VOICE

11

20,000 children may lose out on their choice of primary school

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Thousands of children may not get their choice of primary school due to a shortage of space.

Councils are struggling to cater for rising pupil numbers, due to a baby boom and high immigration.

Consequently, more than 20,000 children may be denied a place at all of their chosen schools listed on their applications this year. This also means that a high number of students will be forced to travel long distances to schools in other areas.

It is said that many local authorities have had to create classrooms in disused buildings, or build extensions to Continued from page

schools to cope with the extra demand.

The Senior partner at c o n s u l t a n t s Schoolappeals.com, Matt Richards states that he has already received many calls from concerned parents.

“It's highly likely there will be a significant number of parents that won't have a place in any school this year, let alone a preferred school. They will be told to travel very large distances- two or more miles- to areas where there is less demand. In a city like London, this could take over an hour and a half.”

In 2014, approximately 77,000 children were unsuccessful in

YOUR VOICE

securing a place at their first choice primary school.

More than 22,400 missed out on all the primary schools they had applied for and were allocated an alternative on offers day, while 3,700 children initially failed to get a state school place at all. Many children still waited last summer while councils tried to find extra places.

Local Government Association (LGA) projections propose that the pressure will increase this year, adding that for the first time, one in five council areas in England will have more children ready to start school than available places.

Rescuing Indians from Middle East

Recently the Indian Government has laid a number of flights to rescue Indians stranded in Yemen. This was televised by the BBC because one of its journalists who felt being unsafe there was given the opportunity to leave Yemen along with the Indian nationals. Normally the BBC does not make any publicity of this kind; however, it is somewhat different this time because its journalist was rescued by Mr Modi’s government.

Almost all the Indians rescued are Muslims. Mr Modi’s government had previously rescued its Muslim citizens from Iraq. Now it has done the same from war in Yemen. When it comes to voting or any other situation the Muslims consider Mr Modi as an anti-Muslim person.

There are thousands of American

Muslims stranded in Yemen. They are craving to be rescued but Obama Government has told them to fend for themselves. This is the difference between Modi’s nationalism and others.

The Indian Muslims went to the Middle East with the view that they were going to the area of milk and honey but it has turned out to be a living nightmare.

Even they had to pay huge ransom, their life saving, to their Muslim brothers so that they can escape. The concept of UMMA has vanished overnight. Let us hope Indian Muslims have learnt their lessons and abandon sectarian thinking.

Jatindra Saha By email

Smart Phones, Whatsapp & Other Apps

I don't want to start the article by stating the countless benefits of having a smart phone or two that has numerous Apps to do various stuff starting from texting/chatting to navigating from a to b. I would here rather like to mention about one of the side effects of it.

You get used to it so much that all you need is your smart phone throughout the day & one can't even keep it away for few mins that one has to keep checking the screen for latest updates/messages etc. I commute to and from the Victoria Stn daily where I have noticed a number of staff(not 1 or 2) using their smart phones during work while either at the gates or inside the ticket office. The other day I popped into this Nandos where the employee started using his smart phone after greeting me. Fair enough...he didn't have any more customers to greet at the time but that didn't give him entitlement to Whatsapp his friends did it! On the other side, as customers, I am sure we do use our smart phones while ordering

food or checking-out at supermarkets.

You may not want to be rude to the assistant serving you but I am afraid it does turn out to be!

Recently I have read few cases where staff have lost their jobs due to them using their smart phones during work.

An NHS paediatric was sacked as she took selfies with her dieing patients and posted them on social networking sites!

A couple of fire fighters had been suspended as they took selfies with a house fire where few people had lost their lives in the blaze! I am sure there are many more such cases of this nature these days.

The classic one is this...where you have gone out for a family meal and most of the family members(especially the young ones) spend most of their time with their smart phones rather than talking with one another and enjoying the food!

Weak rape laws in India

The existing rape laws in India are weak.

This is why we have not been able to lower the number of cases of sexual assault on women. The investigation procedure is also such that victims are deterred from registering the cases.

Perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the investigation is the identification parade. The survivor often finds it difficult to identify the accused after the horrible experiences she had undergone. The law should be such that it upholds the dignity of women while giving rapists the maximum punishment.

At the same time, all of us, not just women, should be extra careful while

Devang Bhatt, Goodmayes, London.

travelling in auto rickshaws or taxis, especially if we are alone. We must be alert to danger. If the driver suddenly stops his vehicle in a deserted stretch, we should get out immediately and stand somewhere where we are visible to the passers-by. Also, we must have an emergency contact number saved in our phones in such a way that we can dial it fast. Women and young girls are advised to let their families know if they are travelling in a lonely area. They should pass on the vehicle's number to them.

Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India

Councils are struggling to cater for rising pupil numbers, due to a baby boom and high immigration.

COUNCIL NEWS

Tower Hamlets council faces fresh action to tackle 'cronyism' Tower Hamlets council faces fresh action to tackle “cronyism” after ministers accused it of failing to hire a new officer to oversee staff wages.

Cabinet minister Eric Pickles has written to the borough saying he intends to force its hand after hearing how it was “stalling” over hiring the person, who would scrutinise new appointments.

The troubled council led by controversial mayor Lutfur Rahman, pictured, has until the end of today to respond, when Mr Pickles will decide whether to issue directions compelling them to recruit. The Communities Secretary has already sent

in commissioners to ensure the council is properly run after a bombshell report last year revealed it flouted spending rules.

He told the Standard Monday: “I have sent commissioners into Tower Hamlets due to the mismanagement of public money and a culture of obfuscation, denial, secrecy and cronyism. There is a long way to go, and it’s clear that independent senior officers are needed to ensure probity and good administration.

“Given the commissioners have warned that the mayoral administration is stalling, I am minded to take further steps to ensure the council has

proper leadership by public servants, so we can turn round this regime.”

In a letter to the council one of Mr Pickles’ Whitehall lieutenants informed it that the minister believes it is “failing to comply with its best value duty...and is considering exercising further his powers...by issuing further directions.”

12

MEDIA WATCH

Long years ago members of Kashmir’s Pandit community were driven from their ancestral homeland by jihadi terror groups bent on converting the Valley into an Islamist theocracy integrated with Pakistan as part of a single, sovereign entity. Pandit families who fled the orchestrated campaign of arson and murder and sought refuge as internally displaced persons in other parts of India, after decades in limbo, would now be rehabilitated in separate composite townships by the new People’s Democratic Front (PDF) Jammu and Kashmir government, according to an has announcement by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayyed.

Mufti Mohammed Sayyed has assured the people of the State that the projected townships would be composite, would be open to all communities wishing to settle there. The pie-in-the sky project was cast overboard in the face of virulent jihadi and separatist agitation, with Yasin Malik leading the charge. He and his separatist colleagues

expertise on the handling of the latest fuels and the needs of the newer types of reactors. The Tummalapalle uranium mines in Andhra Pradesh have huge reserves, with monthly production to begin shortly, he said (Business Line April 9)

Pakistan thanked

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Secretary Jaishankar Subramanyam have thanked their Pakistani counterparts for rescue by a Pakistani naval ship of 11 Indian nationals in the waters around Yemen as they attempted to flee the fighting in the war torn country between the Shia Huthi rebels and forces loyal to the depose Sunni president, backed by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners (Hindu April 8)

Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayyed

accused the authorities of attempting to repeat the Israeli settlement venture on Palestinian territory. A similar voice in the State Assembly suggested that the Pandits were better off where they were and had no need to return to their former homesteads. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayyed , faced with this Islamist blizzard, beat a hasty retreat. Normal life had returned (Business Line April 8,9,10,11,12 Indian TV networks)

Israeli expertise for Indian tea industry

Indian rescue mission praised

Some 5000 men, women and children escaped Yemen’s ordeal of fire, thanks to Indian Airline flights from Sana to nearby Djibuti, with 700 other nationals from 20 countries , whose governments had appealed to the Indian authorities for assistance, joining them to escape the inferno. Supplementing the air services, the Indian Navy frigate INS Tarkash took board 460 distraught passengers of whom only 50 were Indian, from the hell that is Sana. (Hindu, Times of India, Telegraph April 11,12,13, BBC and Indian Tevision networks)

India-Vietnam forge closer defence ties

Indian tea industry captains have appealed for Israeli expertise in water management to counter periods of rain shortfalls, said the Tea Association Secretary General M. Dasgupta.

Netafim, an Israeli firm, has been invited to make a presentation on a comprehensive plan of water management through micro-drip irrigation to rain water harvesting. Erratic rainfall in the Assam Valley, in particular, has given rise to increasing concern (Business Line April 9

India and Vietnam have been engaging in closer defence and economic ties in response to China’s rise and Beijing’s mus-

India’s Nuclear Fuel Complex, the country’s sole supplier of uranium for its nuclear energy programme, achieved the record production of 1,252.3 tonnes of fuel bundles during 2014-15, said N.Saibaba, Chief Executive of the Hyderabad-headquartered unit under the Department of Atomic Energy. He said the NFC had established technical

Ajit Doval

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

On message In his talks with the senior Vietnamese leadership, Doval reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment of India’s financial and technical support for the modernization of Vietnam’s armed forces, including the upgrades of its Kilo class Soviet and Russian-built submarines, of which India has a significant numbers, pilot training for Vietnamese Air Force personnel, as well as training Vietnam’s intelligence services, helping their interoperability through computerization and much else, including oil operations in the South China Sea. (Economic Times April 6).

Five SIMI jihadis shot dead

Five operatives of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were shot dead by a police escort as they made an attempt to grab the weapons of their captors in a van taking them to court for trial. The incident took place on the WarangalNalgonda border of Andhra Pradesh, where the van had left the local jail for its two hour drive to the court in Hyderabad.

Among the dead SIMI men was Vigaruddin Ahmed, well known SIMI figure who had killed three policemen in an earlier encounter. The four associates died with him. (Times of India April 8)

Case to answer

The shooting dead of 20 sandalwood smugglers involved in the illegal cutting down of valued red sanders by the Andhra police on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border has sparked a fierce agitation in Tamil Nadu, whose government has charged the Andhra Pradesh police of the willful violation of the victims’ human rights. A Times of India editorial (April 8) accepted “There is no doubt that smuggling of red sanders valued for its rich red colour is rampant in at least six Andhra Pradesh districts. Those shot dead may well have been engaged in this nefarious activity.” However, the editorial argues, the force used was disproportionate, particularly as the dead men carried only sickles and axes, as even the police admitted.

Raju’s fall from grace

Record nuclear fuel production

cle-flexing policies in the South China Sea and its continuing claims to India’s north-east state vo9f Arunachal Pradesh. The latest evidence of this robust partnership was the recent visit to Hanoi pf India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval.

For the former Satyam Computer Chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, it was the end of the road. Once a high flier in India’s software industry, he was arrested for fraud a few years ago, his company was taken over

by Tech Mahindra, and he and his brother B. Rama Raju were sentence to 7 years imprisonment and fined Rs5.5 crore for their role in India’s biggest cooperate fraud by the court of the Central Bureau of Investigation on April 9.

months Raju had spent in detention, he will serve 4 years of his sentence. but those acquainted with the details of the fraud said the sentence fitted the crime.

Defrauded shareholders believed the sentence should have been more severe. Also sentence to 7year prison terms, but with reduced fines, were associates Suryanarayan Raju, Srinivas,Vadlamani and Subramani Gopalakrishnan (Mint, Hindu, Business Line, Times of India, Telegraph April 10)

Bibek Debroy in landmark report

Economist Bibek Debroy chaired an enquiry on ways and means to improve the vast Indian railway network and facilitate its emergence as a modernized 21st century product at the heart of the Indian economy. The recommendations of his committee has proposed that the railways be broken up into component companies with specified responsibilities Key to its future was the profitably of freight. A decentralized organization would be leaner and more efficient and attract the desired private investment from domestic and foreign sources.

Moody’s elevates India’s rating

International ratings agency M oody’s has elevated its ranking for India to ‘positive’ from the previous ‘stable’. The announcement comes as a significant boost for the Narendra Modi government as it moves to introduce a raft of economic reforms to achieve sustained growth.

“Moody’s believes that recent measures to address inflation, keep external balances in check, simplify the regulatory regime for investors , increase

foreign direct investment and facilitate infrastructure development will reduce some of India’s sovereign credit constraints, said Moody’s Investor Services.(Times of India, Hindu, business Line, Mint April 10)

India lauded

India received UNESCO’s plaudits for its performance in getting the largest number of children into schools of any developing country in the last decade and a half. In 2000 19 million kids of school going age had no schooling; this year the number has dropped to 1 million. True, the education offered was not always of the desired quality, but a significant progress in educational standards with proper monitoring in place should follow (Hindu April 10)

IIT pioneers ‘Green Revolution’

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has pioneered new methods of agriculture based on food and biotechnology and industrial engineering to a barren patch of land that now grows paddy, soya bean, ground nuts, sweet corn and sesame in a West Bengal village called Kanthia, which could in time bring a ‘Green Revolution’ across the State. Farmers are optimistic about the potential in the project. “I have cultivated land for more than 50 years, but have never seen such a healthy crop in my life,” said 62 yearold Badal Das “We neither knew the right ratio of of fertilizers for the soil nor the advance planting techniques,” said another famer, Bimal Bhuniyia. Kharagpur is the only IIT to have an agricultural department with food technology schools.

(Times of India April 10.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. See commnet page 3

Confession sentences

Raju had confessed to his felony but pleaded for a shorter sentence on account of time already spent in jail, Taking the 31

Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar meeting Foreign Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. See commnet page 3

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

13

Labour launches BAME manifesto Ed Miliband's visit to Gurdwara sparks controversy Continued from page 1

The Labour party leader's visit to a well known Gurdwara in West Midlands during his campaign trail has sparked controversies, including 'racism' allegations against him.

Prime Ministerial candidate Ed Miliband stopped over at the Leamington and Warwick Gurdwara on 8th April, where he was accused of banning journalists from entering the Gurdwara, against the open-door policy of Sikh places of worship.

Davinder Singh, a spokesperson for the Sikh Federation UK, complained, "They said there will be no cameras and were telling people not to even use their phones to take any pictures inside?

That is unheard of inside a gurdwara However, the Labour Party has strenuously denied claims of a camera blockout as the visit was later telecast on the mainstream ITV news bulletin.

Those present at the event also pointed out that

and are more likely to earn less than the living wage, with half of the Bangladeshi community earning below the living wage.

The solutions it offers: l

lots of people took pictures as well as selfies with Miliband, sporting a red headscarf - in line with the Labour party's symbol - to observe the tradition of head-covering while in a gurdwara.

A party spokesperson said, "It is ridiculous and untrue to say that Ed Miliband did not want to be pictured at the Gurdwara.

"The visit to Leamington Gurdwara was widely covered by the national and Sikh press and many worshippers took pictures inside with Ed Miliband.

"In order to respect worshippers inside the

prayer hall, Ed Miliband gave press interviews, including an interview with the Sikh Federation, outside the temple.

Shalbinder Singh Malle, secretary of the Leamington and Warwick Gurdwara, also reportedly dismissed any controversy and said that worshippers were not offended in any way.

During the 45-minute visit, Miliband listened to Sikh hymns and served langar to members of the congregation and the temple's committee. He was also given a Robe of Honour known as Siropa by the Head Granthi, for his leadership skills.

Sibling duo create UK’s first bespoke vaping bar

Two sisters have switched from law to retail to launch the UK’s first bespoke vaping bar.

Sadia Tanvir-Navaab and Almas Tanvir-Khan, the former immigration lawyers, have opened Avant Garde Bespoke Vaping bar in the heart of London’s West End, creating a glamorous venue where both men and women can enjoy one of the UK’s fastest growing pastimes – vaping (using electronic cigarettes).

Their vaping bar is the first in the country to feature mixologists who allow customers to choose the exact combination of flavours for their vaping device.

The sisters hope to encourage more women to try vaping as an alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes.

The idea for their

change of career came after Sadia’s husband Yousuf began to experiment with mixing his own e-liquid blends to try out on friends and family.

Avant Garde’s delectable blends have also caught the eye of those with a sweet tooth as a method of weight loss.

Another goal for Sadia and Almas is to achieve gender balance in the vaping industry.

“As vaping is a relatively new socialising

activity, we don’t want it to be labelled as men-only early on. Hopefully more female-friendly vaping bars will start appearing in the UK but we wanted to make a start on engaging the female community...

“We are also introducing a Ladies Night in March in which we will invite women to come along to female-led workshops as well as competitions and demonstrations of all the latest hardware...”

Labour has a better plan to extend opportunity and tackle the discrimination that holds people back. l Labour's Compulsory Jobs Guarantee will offer a paid starter job to every young person who’s been claiming Jobseekers Allowance for over a year, work they’d have to take or risk losing benefits.

Labour's plan will give more than 3,200 young black and minority ethnic people who have been abandoned by David

Cameron the chance to earn, learn and fulfil their potential. l They plan to raise the National Minimum Wage to more than £8 an hour

by October 2019 and ban exploitative zero hours contracts will help close the BAME pay gap l They will introduce a cross-government race equality strategy to drive progress across every area of government.

Launching the BAME manifesto, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, said: “The Tories are failing working people. Long-term youth unemployment among BAME young people has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last five years. And if you’re under 25 and black, you’re twice

as likely to be out of work than the national average.

The Tories are failing to tackle this acute problem and showing complacency towards Britain’s ethnic minority communities.

“We simply cannot afford another five years of wasted talent under the Tories. It is a huge waste of the next generation’s skills, potential and talent and it comes at a huge cost to young black and minority ethnic people, their families, taxpayers and the economy.

“Britain only succeeds when all working people succeed. That’s why Labour has a plan to build an economy that works for ethnic minority families and to tackle race inequality.”

Commonwealth casualties commemorated at their graves in India for the first time As a part of the centenary celebrations of the First World War, casualties are being commemorated at their graves in India for the first time since 1947, the culmination of a ten-year project spearheaded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

The first of 100 CWGC headstones going into the ground this month at Meerut Cantonment Cemetery in northern India was installed last week.

Until now, the fallen have been commemorated remotely on collective memorials at Delhi War Cemetery, Kirkee War Cemetery and Madras War Cemetery.

By the end of 2015, 2,486 First World War graves currently with broken or missing headstones will receive CWGC headstones. CWGC headstones are widely recognised for representing among the most poignant and fitting tributes to the sacrifices made by Commonwealth servicemen; they are uniform, with no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed.

In 2005 the CWGC established that improvements to road infrastructure made it possible to reach previously out-ofrange sites, often over-

grown cemeteries in cut-off locations.

The CWGC will ensure the graves are maintained and looked after in perpetuity, along with those of the other 1.7million Commonwealth servicemen and women in its care.

Keneilhouzo Sekhose, CWGC Sector Manager, India said: “Meerut Cantonment Cemetery was chosen as the first Indian site to receive replacement

headstones as it contains the most world war burials.”

“This cemetery, along with the other cantonment burial grounds in India, is not owned by the CWGC. However, we will work with our partners in India to ensure the headstones are preserved to the same standard as the other CWGC graves and memorials we look after in over 150 countries.”

FREEHOLD - FOR SALE Mid Glamorgan - Wales

CONVENIENCE STORE & POST OFFICE with 5 bedroom accommodation Price £380,000

A strong growing business opportunity consisting of a modern and well equipped Convenience store.

Weekly takings £13,500.00 Post office bonus (income) £17,000.00 per year

Scop to increase sales by installing 24 hour ATM machine and National Lottery (soon available) Spacious 5 bed owners accommodation over 3 levels, (formerly two terraced properties now opened up into one), very well equipped and nicely presented and having the added bonus of a superb rear decked garden/terrace with lovely hillside views.

For more information please contact N Williamson

Tel 07827 922 667

UK

London's Vaisakhi festival finds a new home

14

Hundreds of visitors gathered at an iconic riverside building by the Tower Bridge, as London's Vaisakhi Festival adopted a new look and moved from Trafalgar square, for the first time.

Following consultation with the Sikh community, the popular free event took place on Saturday 11 April 2015, at the City Hall from 125pm.

Vaisakhi is the most important day in the Sikh calendar, commemorating the beginning of Sikhism as a collective faith. London's celebrations are an opportunity for people from all communities, faiths and backgrounds to experience a festival that is celebrated by over 126,000 Sikhs who live in the capital and 20 million people across the world.

The City Hall, which is the home to Greater London Authority in London, worked with representatives from the Sikh community, including Singh Sabha London East

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Gurdwara, EY Sikh Network and other groups, to create a culturally rich, enjoyable day that represents Sikh identity and culture.

The new venue added a wider array of cultural activities including a colourful outdoor pro-

gramme of live music and performance, food and children's activities, film screenings, cultural talks, poetry readings and an exhibition are taking place. Visitors enjoyed traditional dance, turban tying and Sikh spiritual music (Shabad Kirtan).

Food (langar) was offered by volunteers from the

Sikh community.

Mankamal Singh, Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East, said that the Gurdwaras were excited to be involved in this year’s Vaisakhi celebrations at City Hall, as the Sikh community are an integral part of the London landscape, whilst maintaining a very visible and distinctive identity.

“This year’s event gave London the opportunity to share British Sikh talent as well as offering great activities that all Londoners can get involved in,” added Singh.

Manraj Singh Othi, Co-founder EY Sikh Network, before the event was held said 'We are pleased to be part of the organisation of this Vaisakhi celebration.

“As both Londoners and Sikhs, we feel the grassroots approach to the programme that has been created in collaboration with City Hall will produce a day that is

PM sends across his warm festive wishes for the British Asians

Prime Minister David Cameron has sent his festive greetings to Britain's Sikh, Tamil and Sinhalese communities, celebrating Vaisakhi or their respective New Years on 14th April.

The Prime Minister who is well known to have hosted a Vaisakhi celebration at his residence in 10 Downing Street for the last 4 years, had the who's who of the country's Sikh community attending.

Praising the Sikhs on this Vaisakhi and wishing them, Mr Cameron said, “I send my best wishes to everyone in India, Britain and around the world celebrating Vaisakhi.

“I know this is an incredibly important time for the Sikh community as families and friends come together to commemorate the birth of the Khalsa and give thanks.

From Southall to Sunderland, from Ottawa to Amritsar Sikhs around the world will be marking Vaisakhi with vibrant parades and celebrations with homes, Gurdwaras and entire neighbourhoods bursting into life with decorations and colour.

“Vaisakhi also gives us a chance to celebrate the immense contribution of British Sikhs, who have enriched our country for over 160 years.

Whether it is in the fields of enterprise or business education, public service or civil society Britain's Sikhs are a success story and model community.

“And I see this contri-

bution every day, all around. Like at the magnificent Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick, where I saw for myself the values of Sikhism - of compassion, peace and equality - in practice. And across the country I see how Sikh and Asian businessmen and women are boosting the economy by creating jobs and opportunities.

But this contribution is not just a recent thing it goes back many, many years and was never more starkly demonstrated than 100 years ago during the First World War. “Just last month we commemorated the Indian soldiers many of whom were Sikh who fought bravely alongside the Allies in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in Northern France. I pay tribute to those men who travelled far from home and who fought and died with their comrades in the fight for freedom. We will never let their sacrifice be forgotten.

“So at this important time, let us commemorate the birth of a great religion let us give thanks for everything the Sikh community does for

Britain and let us celebrate the successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy country that we are...

Sending his warm wishes to Britain's Tamil and Sri Lankan community, he said,“I would like to send my best wishes to everyone in Britain, Sri Lanka and around the world celebrating Aluth Avurudda and to all Tamil communities celebrating Puthandu today.

It’s a time when millions of people will be coming together with families, friends and neighbours to celebrate their New Year.

“But it is also a time to remember the fantastic contribution Tamil and Sinhalese communities make to Britain. We see it around us, every single day – in our schools and our hospitals, in the arts and businesses – you play an incredibly important and positive role.

“I’m sure many people celebrating today will be thinking of loved ones overseas, especially in Sri Lanka. When I met with President Sirisena in Downing Street last month I offered my support for the steps his government has begun to take to address the issues of the past. But I was also clear that the Government must go further and that they must continue to offer full support to the ongoing UN investigation.

“I hope that this New Year will bring communities closer together in helping to heal the wounds of the past..."

inclusive for both Sikhs and non-Sikhs, and be an opportunity to learn and celebrate together through a diverse range of displays and activities.”

On the day several tweets and retweets mentioned about this popular

event, as the visitors queued up inside and outside of the building.

One of the most popular tweets was that of Jasvir Singh, from the City Sikhs Network, who while posting a photo collage of the arrangements

and celebrations, set the mood for a happy get together.

He tweeted, “Vaisakhi celebrations at @CityHallScoop today.

Queue going around the block. Hope everyone gets in soon.”

AROUND 1,000 Sikhs took to the streets in a traditional procession through the city in celebration of Vaisakhi.

The Leeds event was organised by the Chapeltown Gurdwara and included Sikh martial arts displays and hymn

singing.

People from all backgrounds were invited to take part in the procession on Saturday, April 11.

The Sikhs of Southall joined hundreds of thousands of Sikhs across the country by taking to the streets to celebrate Vaisakhi.

Participants included all kinds of people including children from the Khalsa Primary school On Sunday (April 12) thousands of Sikhs held a religious procession from Havelock Road Gurdwara at 11am, through the streets of the surrounding

area, to finish at Park Avenue Gurdwara at 4pm.

They gave away free food to all and singing hymns, with displays of martialarts also part of the celebrations.

This is an annual event that has been held by Sikhs all over the world for more than 300 years and, in Britain, for over 40 years. A similar celebration took place in Hounslow last month.

Thousands of Sikhs in Leeds hit the streets for Vaisakhi

Sikhs gather for Nagar Kirtan across Southall streets

Picture courtesy: Jasvir Singh, CSN

15

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Sunetra Senior

Singapora (birth name Menon) is an impassioned women’s rights fighter, spreading the message through the daring dance form of burlesque. She has used the freeing flow of her body to jump-start the wider political movement: “it’s about taking control of your sexuality and femininity for no one else but yourself” she stated, “and that is an extremely empowering feeling.” We unraveled the feminist core of her profession, and the particular curves that have made her emotional and cultural journey. Today, not only has she affected professional changes in her birthplace of Singapore – founding The Singapore Burlesque Society which supports others who want the same career - but has garnered international praise for her role in the British arts world as a whole, invited to have tea at Buckingham Palace and appearing in Esquire magazine's ‘Women we Love.’: What got you started in Burlesque, and how did the interest grow?

My affinity for dance started at the age of 7; as a child I trained in Classical Ballet, and used to love performing. But it wasn’t until I reached my teens that I discovered what burlesque was. Being mixed race, I never felt like I entirely “fit in” fully to either Asian or “Western” cultural norms, which led me to discover vintage fashion – it was a fashion community which had its own cultural identity irrespective of race, and through that I heard about the vintage performance style, Burlesque. I was completely enthralled! I was like – where has this been my whole life!?

What do your shows usually entail?

My shows bring together American vintage glamour and my Singaporean heritage.

They fuse elaborate routines with Asian stylings, creating a twist on the typical routines you tend to see from the old American burlesque stars. In many of my acts this involves an element of playful striptease, however never any nudity!

age you are (and there’s still legends of burlesque that perform well into their seventies!). Unlike many other Art forms, rather than objectify the performer, or serve any type of male-placating agenda, it’s an extremely female-dominated scene, with a goal to boost self-esteem and embrace our sensuality. It’s a “feel good” Art in which women call the shots when it comes to their own bodies and how they choose to portray them.

What are your favourite aspects of this dance form?

Wow, well for me I think the main one has to be the exhilarating feeling I get when I’m on stage. That’s what it’s all about really – getting up there and feeling on top of the world and completely free. Of course, there are plenty of other perks too! I can’t deny that having a full time job which involves wearing incredibly gorgeous dresses and lingerie isn’t a lot of fun!

What resistance have you faced as an Asian woman pursuing a profession that is so – and very commendably- out of the box?

It’s been an extremely emotional journey Could you tell us a bit about your fighting to legitimise my Art. I think Asian/Indian cultural background; although burlesque is often misunderstood how has it shaped who you are? in our Asian community as an overtly-sexuWell, I was brought up in a very traditional al activity (which it is not), there’s no getAsian household. My father is Indian ting away from the fact that yes, it is sensuSingaporean, and my mother white British al. However, not only does burlesque proalthough that didn’t really affect the “Asian mote a woman’s right to take control of values” of my upbringing. There was her sensuality and her body, but it also always an expectation for us to work hard does so in an extremely feminist way – and study, and I think that’s partly responagain by women for women. It’s an sible for why I’ve got as far as I have in extreme form of female empowsuch a short amount of time as a erment that as Asian women Burlesque Artist. Of course, we often don’t have the using those values to pursue 'our luxury of expressing. That a career in the Arts, never can not only be uncommind a career in Burlesque, community can fortable in our communiwasn’t quite what they ty, but I think it can also intended! It’s because of be very quick to be quite threatening to that I now always strive to “taboo” things a patriarchal society. be the best role model I can as a professional they don’t underBurlesque Artist – I think stand.' sometimes it’s easy as Asian parents to say becoming a doctor or a lawyer is more stable, but that’s because there aren’t enough strong role models within the Arts, especially not women. It’s made me even more determined to push myself to show that, yes, you can be an Asian Artist and still have a “stable” and respected career. Because unfortunately, we are still somewhat dictated by stereotypes when it comes to what are considered “real jobs” in our culture.

Singapore is no different to the Brit Asian community in that respect.

How does Burlesque help to empower women?

I think what most people don’t realise is that burlesque is by women for women. Up to 80% of my audiences are female! It’s an Art which celebrates the female form, and encourages women to unleash their body confidence. No matter what shape, size or

Much of my criticism has been from men in our community knee-jerk reacting

'It’s an Art which celebrates the female form, and encourages women to unleash their body confidence.'

to an activity which, in their minds, they have no control over.

Added to that, our community is very quick to “taboo” things they don’t understand, and so when burlesque was essentially banned in Singapore, that was an extremely difficult time. It sometimes feels like you’re going against the grain fighting quite a hopeless battle, but when I hear back from young Asian women I’ve inspired to follow their dreams despite adversity, it makes it all worthwhile.

You say you draw from many eras in your performances, do you have a favourite?

At the moment I’m a tiny bit obsessed with 90s Bollywood!

I think one of the best things about burlesque is its ability not to take itself too seriously , and for me that kind of glamour in excess that some of the 90s bollywood stars wore, like Rekha, gets a lot of bad press, but I love it! I like to mix that with the New Orleans gutsy styles from the 1950s.

Burlesque is a sexy yet imaginative dance form?

Please elaborate on this marriage of ideas.

Burlesque is sexy in that it celebrates female sensuality; it’s about feeling good and exuding body confidence. It does it through a fantastically creative medium of dance with beautiful choreographed routines that reflect the personality of the performer. Because it’s so open to interpretation, the room for creativity is vast.

So, you’ve enjoyed a cuppa with the royals and received an ‘Asian Women of Achievement Award’. Could you share your most cherished career highlight?

It’s crazy to think that already there’s been so much but I think the greatest highlight so far has been winning a 4 year campaign to legalise burlesque in Singapore this year.

Performing the first ever legalised show on 31st January was quite possibly one of the greatest and most emotional moments of my life, not just my profession! It’s something I’ll never forget.

10. Finally, do you have a personal motto?

Don't ever let anyone tell you that something can't be done. Never give up, and never let anyone hold you down! www.SukkiSingapora.com ttwitter.com/SukkiSingapora

16

UK

Reshma Trilochun On 9th April 2015, the City Hindu Network (CHN) and the City Sikh Network (CSN) decided to come together to Host 'Hustings in the City', an event to bring political engagement directly to its people in London. Asian Voice was the media partner.

With voter apathy being common among the younger generation, CHN and CSN decided the event would be a good initiative to give an insight to the guests about the upcoming elections, while they can also have their queries answered by the panelists.

Param Singh, the Corporate Relations Director of City Sikhs Network, who organised the hustings stated, “It has been a great honour to help put together the largest Asian hustings event in the UK. I was delighted to see so many young Asian professionals taking time out of their busy schedules to listen to politicians and be part of the event. The Asian community is an integral and established part of Britain and it is time for Britain and the political parties to understand and acknowledge the importance of the Asian and ethnic vote.”

City Hindu Network is a not for profit organisation, created to promote networking, fast development, charity and community engagement. City Sikh Network is an organisation run by Sikh professionals to create positive change with this society to help create a more connected world.

The National President of the National Hindu Students Forum (UK), Yajur Shah said, "The "Hustings in the City" event as well as the increased activity in recent months demonstrates that Hindus and Sikhs are taking an interest in politics and want their voice to be heardwe have certainly seen this at NHSF (UK). We will be turning out in higher numbers than ever

Hustings in the City

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

before to vote during these elections and it is now up to politicians to ensure that our voice is heard. Congratulations once again to CHN and CSN for organising such a fantastic event."

Representing the Conservatives was Rt Hon Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; from Labour, Rt Hon Sadiq Khan, Justice Secretary and Shadow Minister for London; Rt Hon Tom Brake from the Liberal Democrats, Parliamentary Secretary and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons; Equality Spokesperson, Benali Hamdache from the Green Party and the Culture Spokesperson, Peter Whittle, representing the UKIP party.

Each representative was given a slotted timeframe to give an introduction and elaborate on why people ought to vote for their respective parties.

Sajid Javid stated, “What I want to see in our country is to secure a better future for everyone and that, of course, includes British Asians which are a hugely important part of the history of our country and have made a significant contribution to our country for decades. The way I think the Conservatives can deliver that is essentially stick to the longterm economic plan that has been delivering for our country now for five years, ever since the government changed in 2010”.

On comparing the Conservatives with the Labour Party, Javid remarked, “It is compe-

tence vs chaos”.

Sadiq Khan humorously quipped how the event title 'Hustings in the City' reminded him of “Sex in the City”. On a serious note, he added, “In my opinion, the general election on May 7th is a choice. There is one school of thought which says it's as good as it gets; and there's one school of thought, which I subscribe to is that Britain deserves better than this... It's a straight choice. It's either as good as it gets [Conservatives], or Britain deserves better [Labour]”.

Tom Brake said, “The backdrop to everything that has happened in coalition is that in 2010, the situation we inherited was desperate from an economic point of view...

We [Liberal Democrats] want a fair economy. That means an economy in which everyone has opportunity. That means investing in things like free school meals. That means investing in things like the pupil premium to make sure that the young people who are at risk of falling behind get the help that they need, so that they can succeed. We also want an economy in which everyone has a decent wage and that is why I am very keen to press the idea of a living wage.”

Brake concluded, “What you can get from the Liberal Democrats is a party which is committed to tackling our problems, with doing it in a way that doesn't cut 50 billion in the way that the Conservatives would like, or spend an extra 70 bil-

lion, in the way Labour would like”.

Benali Hamdache stated, “Politics has really changed. Compared to the situation in 2010, we're dealing with one of the most volatile actions we've ever looked forward to... The best thing to be doing is vote for what you believe in... When you look at the polls, fewer people are looking to vote for the main three parties; more and more people are looking to vote for alternatives because they are sick and tired of politics as usual. And I certainly think that the Greens offer that fresh alternative”.

Peter Whittle stated his disapproval of Britain being in the EU. “I want Britain to make all of its own laws. I don't want laws to come from Brussels. I want us to be a proud sovereign country and I want us also to go out into the world, into this global economy to trade for ourselves, make our own trade arrangements and not be spied for by regulations which comes from EU... Also, we [UKIP] want a controlled immigration policy... This is a huge concern to everybody in the country, from all different ethnicities... at the moment, we can't have a fair and ethical system whilst we are in the EU. It is actually quite a discriminatory system... There are one set of laws and set of rules for people outside the EU, but an automatic right for anybody inside the EU... We must have a controlled and fair system.”

There were many questions that were steered towards the dignitary panelists; questions in regards to the rise in property prices, as well as questions about their opinions on the government removing languages such as, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali and Urdu from GCSE and A Level syllabuses.

Sajid Javid replied in regards to the removal of

these languages from the syllabus. “One of the most important things is to have as much choice as we can in our state school system... To be honest, I'm not aware that those GCSEs have been withdrawn, and that's apparently because no one has raised this with me as a Member of Parliament.

One of the best ways to, frankly, get these issues raised and try to get it addressed is the more people raised them with a Member of Parliament across parties, the more seriously it will be taken.”

Tom Brakes mentioned, “I studied from the age of 8 to 18 at an international school in Paris, where each major nationality that was represented at the school had

more cooperative approach to our education system and really look at the impact of what the introduction of academies and free schools has done.

Peter Whittle disagreed and said, “I think academies and free schools have increased choice, without question.

I think that is a great thing. In fact, in terms of languages, we are really contracting I think badly, generally. That's possibly because we are getting lazier and lazier as well...

I would certainly think it is a very good thing. I didn't know particularly about this case... but the fact is the more languages you learn at school, the better; particularly, with the global economy.”

its own foreign section... so I really value languages. I think the UK is beginning to fall behind, in this respect. Our willingness to demonstrate a lack of an ability to speak foreign languages is quite breathtaking, and does us no favours, in terms of business.”

Banali Hamdache stated “The issue is the fragmentation of our education system. More and more academies, more and more free schools mean that independent schools are offering certain services, rather than collaboratively, schools working across cities, across boroughs to offer services together. If we have a more cooperative system, we could ensure that three students in that school on this side of the borough and five students on the other can collaboratively get together and learn certain subjects. I think we need to make a

Sajid Khan gave a speech in Urdu, addressing the issue, stating how he would converse with his clients in Urdu when he was a lawyer and he explains voting issues to Urdu speaking people, who are not well versed in English. He explains the pros of knowing these languages. He also spoke about the benefits of knowing these languages if you are to do business with South Asian countries. He then quipped about which country speaks Latin in today's day and age, in regards to learning languages, such as Latin.

“Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu, many many more countries speak these languages than Latin.”

The event gave plenty of insight to apathy voters to take interest and make a distinguished and important voting decision on 7th May.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Conservative party fielding highest number of BAME PPCs

David Cameron in November 2014 had publicly declared that he would wish to see a British-Indian Prime Minister in his lifetime. Possibly taking a hint from him, the Conservative party is now reportedly fielding the highest number of Parliamentary candidates (PPCs) of Black and minority ethnic (BAME) origin, including Indians.

The recent British Future Survey said Cameron's party now has as many non-white candidates as Labour - and is on course to overtake Labour on number of non-white MPs if they win outright majority. The list includes nearly 12 new candidates of Indian origin. Some of the new candidates are: Natasha Asghar from

Newport East, Kishan Devani from Leicester East, Samir Jassal from East Ham and Bob Dhillon from Washington and Sunderland West.

The party's current four top leaders in Parliament are of Indian origin viz.

Alok Sharma who is MP from Reading West, Shailesh Vara who is MP from North West Cambridgeshire, Paul Uppal MP from Wolverhampton South West and Priti Patel who is a cabinet Minister and also the elected member from Witham. With just 25 days to go for the general election, the electoral database says Indians make up the largest BAME group in 175 constituencies in England and Wales. The Indian-

born population is now the largest foreign-born group in the country and is expected to play kingmaker. Chairman of the Conservative Party Grant Shapps reportedly said, "I'm delighted that we've got record numbers of BAME candidates standing for election in May. This has been achieved by encouraging the best people - regardless of background - to come forward and represent the Conservative Party. It's important to have politicians who reflect the diversity of the UK as a whole.

However, while I welcome the progress we've made, there's still more to do to ensure that talented aspiring politicians from all communities get involved".

Tory party warns of “deposit first, appeal later� policy The Conservative party manifesto for the 7 May general election, released by David Cameron on Tuesday, warned of a "deport first, appeal later" policy on illegal immigrants. A significant number of Indians are suspected of falling into this category. The document expanded:"We will now remove even more illegal immigrants by extending this rule to all immigration appeals and judicial reviews, including so-called right to family life is

involved, apart from asylum claims. We will also implement a new removals strategy to take away opportunities for spurious legal challenge and opportunities to abscond."

A future Conservative government will adopt "satellite tracking for every foreign national offender".

It will also require all landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants.

Regarding student visas, the manifesto stated: "We will reform the student visa sys-

tem with new measures to tackle abuse and reduce the numbers of students overstaying once their visas expire." The measures will include "reviewing the highly trusted sponsor system for student visas".

Last week the Conservative government of Cameron rolled out exit checks to try and discourage people from overstaying in the UK. The party will now put the onus on those sponsoring visas to guarantee compliance.

UK

Northern Ireland get its first ever Sikh PPC This General Election, the Northern Ireland (NI) has got its first ever Sikh prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC).

Amandeep Singh Bhogal at Upper Bann is the only man of Indian origin fighting this election in Northern Ireland.

Conservative party candidate, Bhogal has been a major campaigner for UK to move out of the European Union and get closer to India.

Speaking about his prospects in the election, Bhogal told the Times of India that he wants to end sectarian politics in NI with the slogan 'job counts not head counts'.

31 years old Bhogal was adopted only nine days ago as a Conservative Party candidate. He reportedly said "I have a very interesting Irish Link. I was born in Jalandhar in 1984. It was in the cantonment in Jalandhar that the Irish Connaught Regimen was posted. They set up the first free Irish

17

rather than the EU".

This is the first time Bhogal is standing for the general election. He has earlier stood for three elections two local and one for the position of the L o n d o n Assembly MLA. Bhogal knows that the fight will be tough this Amandeep Singh Bhogal election but is confident that his government in exile in party has a long term Jalandhar". electoral plan for NI "I have long advoand wants to build cated that UK needs to base for the 2020 elecget closer to India as tion. Businessman and we have more in comformer diplomat mon to the Indian Amandeep Singh Union than the Bhogal had previously European Union. Our put himself forward as shared English lanthe Conservative Party guage, the 1.8 million candidate for a successtrong British Indian sor to Laura Sandys in diaspora living in UK Thanet South, who and the fact that both will step down in this India and UK are the election. The father-ofworld's largest and oldtwo has also been est democracies chairman of the Bexley respectively are the C o n s e r v a t i v e three main reasons Association and forwhy UK must focus merly campaigned more on building closacross Kent in various er ties with India and elections. the Commonwealth

18

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Has the FTSE 100 exhausted its upwards momentum or is there more to come?

As I said on my BBC newspaper review, The FTSE 100 has impressed market participants these past couple of weeks after having run a rally of more than 300 points. At the beginning of the month the FTSE was trading near the 6,750 points’ support floor but the move that followed was nothing less than impressive and today the index has broken above its recent highs and is trading at 7,050+ points.

As usually in these cases, the question that comes in mind is whether the FTSE can sustain its gains and build on them to go even higher or whether a reversal is what to expect. I am torn at this point and making a call is not that simple this time. The reason for that is that I see both an opportunity for the London index to go even further but a risk as well that could weigh down on its outlook.

On the upside, with the Inflation report expected this week I believe that there’s an interesting opportunity for the FTSE to go against market’s expectations and continue higher. This might sound as contradictive but I always believe that when the market thinks that there’s no room for more upside it’s exactly that time that money markets overshoot expectations and continue rallying.

On the other hand though we must not disregard the risk posed on the UK stock market from the upcoming elections. As we move closer to them I think that investors will try to protect themselves from any surprises while the race remains tight since markets don’t like uncertainty. So you see there’s no clear answer for me and at times like that I think having a scenario for each case is the best approach.

So if the FTSE builds a steady foothold above the 7,000 points area then my target to the upside lies in the 7,200 points level. To the downside, a clear retreat below the 7,000 points’ pivot could lead the FTSE back down to the 6,900 points’ area of support. As the trigger for either scenarios I regard the Inflation report and the Retail Sales figures from the US during the same day.

Car sales in India up after 2 years of decline

After two successive years of decline, car sales in India registered a 5% growth in the last financial year (2014-15). But the revival may not be sustained in the current financial year due to an adverse impact on the rural economy after unseasonal rains. Car sales fell 5% in 2013-14 and 8% in 2012-13 as high interest rates and growing fuel prices had dampened buyer sentiment.

The car industry has started showing some positive traction after entry of the Narendra Modi government in May last year.

Modi's entry, which revived hopes of an economic turnaround, also coincided with a cut in fuel prices and a marginal reduction in interest rates.

These positive factors, coupled with a low base year, led to a growth in sales numbers. But a weak rural economy may play spoilsport. The difficult journey of the rural economy started last year with a deficient monsoon. This

year also, unseasonal rains have damaged rabi crops.

The impact of an affected rural economy is already visible on the sales of motorcycles, which grew only 2.5% in 2014 15, lagging a 25% growth witnessed by scooters.

Sales of bikes fell 6% during the last quarter of 2014-15. Analysts said with rural economy playing an increasingly bigger role in the sales of small cars and motorcycles, an adverse demand impact here could hit the overall sales momentum.

“We are already feeling the pressure of a slowdown in the rural economy,” Vishnu Mathur, DG of industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), said. “Sales in the rural regions are critical for growth in some of the important categories, especially motorcycles.”

According to some estimates, rural economy accounts for around 30% to total sales of car makers like Maruti and Hyundai.

Moody's upgrades India rating outlook to positive

Moody's ratings revised India's sovereign rating outlook to "positive" from "stable" as it expects the actions by policy makers will enhance the country's economic strength in the medium term. Moody's also said that it expected structural advantages, supported by relatively benign commodity prices and liquidity conditions globally, will keep India's growth above its peers over the rating horizon.

Analysts said they expected bank stocks to rise and the rupee to strengthen on the upgrade. The investorfriendly Narendra Modi government, which came to power last May promising faster growth, more jobs and quick clearances, has taken measures to fast-track clearances for investment projects, boost infrastructure

investment and remove policy uncertainty in mining and coal sectors.

The government has also relaxed foreign investments in sectors such as defence, insurance, e-commerce, railways and eased steps to allow businesses to acquire land and set up factories.

"India's policy makers are establishing a framework that will likely allow India's growth to continue to outperform that of its peers over medium term and improve India's macro-economic, infrastructure and institution-

al profile," Moody's said in its statement.

H o w e v e r , Moody's stopped short of raising the sovereign credit rating due to relative weakness in fiscal, inflation, infrastructure and poor asset quality among Indian banks.

Constrained credit profile "Recurrent inflationary pressures, occasional balance of payments pressures, and an uncertain regulatory environment have contributed to periods of volatility in growth, and have exposed India to external and financial shocks, constraining its credit profile," Moody's said.

After a recent revision in the methodology of measuring gross domestic product, which raised a

lot of scepticism from policy makers, including government and central bank officials, India registered growth of 7.5 per cent in the December quarter, higher than China's.

Under this new method, the Reserve Bank of India expects India to growth at 7.8 per cent for 2015/16, lower than the government's estimate of 8-8.5 per cent.

The government has been pitching to rating agencies to improve India's credit rating, citing reforms, and officials were to quick to welcome Moody's improved outlook.

"Upgrade of outlook proves government is moving in the right direction ... it validates India's commitment on fiscal discipline," India's chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian said.

ernment if they make a clear case for recapitalisation. The government has changed the criteria for infusion of capital in the public sector banks which says banks fitting the `Return on Asset and Return on Equity' parameter would be eligible for recapitalisation.

“Capital, this is something that government has focused on which is that can we send a message that we will recapitalise good banks. Now, that does not mean the banks that are in distress will not get capital but they will have to justify in a clearer way what they are going to use that capital for,” he said.

the quarterly results announcement.

Peter Bendor Samuel, CEO of US-based research advisory Everest Group, believes the Indian firms have the potential to capture significant revenue from Apple across areas and that the business could grow into hundreds of millions of dollars. Pareekh Jain, research director in USbased HfS Research, said that since 2013, Apple has had dedicated IT outsourcing vendor managers based out of Bengaluru.“They act as a bridge between Apple's IT managers and India-based IT service providers,” he said.

Indian banking sector to change in two years: Rajan

The Indian banking sector is all set to see a sea change in next two years with several new institutions and existing government banks undergoing a great change, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said.

"In next two years the banking sector will see a number of changes. We will have new institutions like payment banks, small finance banks and a postal bank possibly," said Rajan at the 11th convocation of the National Institute of Bank Management in Pune.

He also said the government-owned banks would also undergo a great change. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has

announced the list of applicants for small finance banks and payment banks.

The central bank has received applications for setting up small finance bank and for payment

banks.

Rajan said the derivatives market will become vibrant and several new opportunities would arise.

According to Arvind Subramaniam, chief economic advisor, Indian economic growth is higher than that of China.

Subramaniam said availability of skilled manpower is difficult in India but the country is trying to grow despite this deficiency. He said India is one of the few growing economies having a democratic governance.

Banks in distress will get capital Rajan said that banks in distress would get capital support from the gov-

Apple is secretive about almost everything it does.

And among its best kept secrets is the work it does with Indian IT vendors.

The vendors themselves are sworn to secrecy through stringent non-disclosure agreements. And since Apple is invariably among their most valued clients, they don't disclose a word about their relationship with the Cupertino-based iPhone and iPad maker. But some of the secrets are spilling out. Some research firms and industry sources put together details of which vendor does what for the $200 billion US consumer electronics brand.

Four large Indian IT

companies - TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra - and a relatively small vendor Exilant are the primary vendors. The five together provide a host of services to Apple.

Infosys is focused on customer care and supply chain. It works on SAP modules in material management, warehouse management. It is also involved in application development and maintenance of customer care applications, including Apple Certified Server Engineer (ACSE), an industry certification to provide server-based solutions and troubleshoot issues related to server installations.

India's largest IT services player TCS is focused on customer relationship management. It also ports Apple's web applications into iOScompatible mobile apps. Wipro does the master data management for its supply chain.

It also provides advanced analytics for database marketing, retail marketing and web-based marketing.

Tech Mahindra does work related to finance and product lifecycle management. Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra did not respond to mails enquiring PITCHING IN about the work they do for Apple. TCS said it was in its silent period prior to

Raghuram Rajan

Indian IT doing key services to Apple

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

19

Addiction To Credit

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Yesterday we finally exchanged on a property in Bryanston Square, W1, this took a lot longer than expected to occur. The property is a beautiful property, and makes sense from many viewpoints. The service charge is low at £1,500, it is a share of freehold, and it overlooks and has access to one of the few squares in London. The price is at £1,540 per sq. ft. whilst the going rate is £2,200 per sq. ft. The blockage is how much money the deal will soak up.

This is due to the rental figure being so low in comparison to the purchase price. The rent on this property as is will be in the region of £600pw, giving a yield of 2.4% p.a. This used to be an acceptable yield in places like Mayfair and Knightsbridge and purchasers never really minded as they were generally cash rich and aiming for capital growth. Given the recent spike in property prices the rental levels just haven’t managed to keep pace with the increase in prices.

A B T L m o r t g a g e w o r k s n o t f r o m t h e i n v e s t o r ’ s i n c o m e b u t t h e a m o u n t o f re n t a l t h e p r o p e r t y a t t r a c t s . Ty p i c a l l y l e n d e r s re q u i r e t h e re n t a l t o b e 2 5 % h i g h e r t h a n t h e m o r t g a g e i n t e re s t p a y m e n t s . S o i f y o u r m o r t g a g e p a y m e n t i s £ 1 0 0 p w y o u r re n t a l m u s t b e £ 1 2 5 p w. Wo r k i n g b a c k w a r d s f ro m o u r re n t a l o f £ 6 0 0 p w m eans the mortgage paym ent sh oul d b e no more th an £4 80pw thi s equates to a m o r t g a g e o f o n l y £ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 w o r k i n g o n a 5 % i n t e re s t r a t e . T h i s w o u l d m e a n you need to i nject £8 00,000 plus costs into thi s deal, nearly £950,000 after a llowi ng for cos ts and refur bi sh ments.

The mortgage level is only around 40% LTV! This turns on the head the normal LTV of 75%. Given the injection required this didn’t really make any sense from a cash return point of view.

This is the reason why this property took so long to get to an exchange, the backdrop of the looming election did not help. The mortgage situation was the blockage, not the property. If buying in cash was the norm this property would have gone a long time ago. Purchasing with credit has now become the norm, given our addiction to debt. This property would suit someone who has a high income, of say £250,000 per annum. This could then be purchased as a residential property based on the income of the purchaser rather than based on the rental income. This would reduce the deposit required from around 60% to 15%, a reduction of £600,000.

Another property which we exchanged upon but haven’t yet completed on is facing a similar challenge, here the property is priced at £2.85m, it’s a freehold house and is being purchased as a BTL investment. Here there are two problems, one is the purchaser and the other is the rental. The purchaser’s home is worth £600k and there are no BTL properties in the background. The lender cannot comprehend how someone has just got out of bed and decided to buy a BTL property and then gone for one which is about 5 times the price of his own home! Which in all fairness is a strange picture.

There were of course the standard questions around money laundering and source of the deposit. A good excuse for the state and the authorities to peer into the privacy and business of individuals.

Howev er thi s property i s ver y v er y a ttra cti ve and a rare fi nd, even giv en the m o r t g a g e b l o c k a g e w e s t i l l d e c i d e d t o g o f o r i t . T h e p ro p e r t y w i l l b e p u rc h a s e d m o st l y i n c as h i f no t t o t al ly and ke pt as a l ong t e rm h o ld wi th t he vi e w o f co nv e r t i n g i t i n t o a t w o b e d ro o m f l a t a n d re f i n a n c i n g a t a l a t e r d a t e h o p i n g a t t h i s p o i n t t o s c r a p e s o m e o f t h e u p l i f t o u t o f t h e p ro p e r t y.

At this time the nervousness caused by the election would have subsided and the dust settled, whichever way the wind ends up blowing; giving a more supportive backdrop for the property valuation.

H o w e v e r t h e b a c k g ro u n d o f t h e c l i e n t s h a d n ’ t b e e n t h a t col d, in 2013 th ey h ad i nvested in a deal w ith us whi ch has almos t doubled in va lue in a couple of years. Th i s ga ve th em t h e t as te and co nf idenc e int o inves ti ng furth er a nd taki ng a bi gger j ump to th is prop e r t y. T h i s h o w e v e r c o u l d n o t b e s e e n o n t h e c re d i t re p o r t s t h e l e n d e r s u s e , a s t h e i n v e s t m e n t w a s d o n e a s p a r t o f a s y n d i c a t e a n d t h e re w e re n o p e r s o n a l g u a r a n t e e s g i v e n f o r t h e p ro p e r t y.

The Real Deal

Fulham, London, SW6

Once this hoop had been jumped through then there was of course the relatively poor rental figure which comes to between £1,400 - £1,600pw, this equates to a yield of 2.6%. Added to this situation the property has an additional kitchen downstairs, this seems to cause a problem for lenders as it means there could be two tenants occupying the property, meaning a more problematic property to be vacated and repossessed. I actually don’t quite understand why this would cause such an issue, but the point is it does.

Given all the above finding a lender was no easy task, we have literally had to persuade one lender who originally refused the case to go ahead and do the deal, the valuation is due to happen any time soon. This may even add another problem to the mix!

Given the above it is prudent to have a backup plan, the obvious choice being bridging, it is no surprise the bridging market is increasing massively year on year. This has been attracting new entrants to the market, which means there has been more competition in the market leading to keener pricing and more innovative products.

Purchase Price: £620k l A bright and spacious three bedroom flat l Long lease

l Potential to add an additional room to the property

l Close to the bars, shops and restaurants of New Kings Road

l Properties in this location are being sold for around £1,050 to £1,150 per sq. ft. while this is coming in at around £764 per sq. ft.

l We expect the end value to be around £800k

l Very good long term buy and hold opportunity Call us now to reserve!

0207 993 0103

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in

Central London Property Sourcing

info@sowandreap.co.uk

www.sowandreap.co.uk

55 Bryanston Street, Marble Arch Tower, London, W1H 7AA

Follow us online:

Sowandreapuk

SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week l Central London property prices are higher than the rest of the country, however they’re always in high demand and price drops are a rare occurrence. This means you can exit quickly. l Many clients start off in the property game by using the equity in their property.

20

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Current highest earning global Indian sportspersons

Reshma Trilochun

Cricket and Bollywood films are considered as religion by many South Asians. This week, we present to you the current highest earning sportsmen in India. There's no prize for guessing which sport they belong to.

2. SACHIN TENDULKAR $9.6 million

1. MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI - $22.8 million

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 7th July, 1981 in Ranchi, India. Dhoni was keenly interested in badminton and football.

He went on to play football at district and state level. However, after the insistence of his football coach, Dhoni took up cricket. He performed wicket keeping exceptionally well and went on to play for a local cricket club from 1995-1998.

In 1997/1998, he played for the Under-16 Championship and this is where he came under the selector's eye. He was consequently chosen to play for Bihar U-19 squad.

In 2004, Mahendra Singh Dhoni debuted in One Day International

matches (ODI) against Bangladesh, but was out for a duck. However, a year after his debut ODI match, he scored 183 off 145 balls, taking India to victory. He also won the 'Man of the Series' award

for top scoring in the tournament with 346 runs.

Dhoni is also the captain of the Indian cricket team.

However, in December 2014, he astounded many by announcing his retirement from test cricket to concentrate on the shorter forms of the game.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also the captain of the IPL team, Chennai Super Kings and has also won the IPL twice, in 2010 and 2011.

Dhoni has won several awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2007, the Padma Shri in 2009 and ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009.

on 5th November 1988, in Delhi. In his initial years when he led India's U-19 team to the World Cup triumph, Virat Kohli was known to be an extreme brat. He was brash,

volatile and extremely talented.

Kohli has played for some major cricket teams, such as for India, Delhi, India red, India Under-19s and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Some of Kohli's achievements are the Arjuna Award for Cricket in 2013, People's Choice Awards India for Favourite Sports Person in 2012 and ODI Player of the Year in 2012.

3. VIRAT KOHLI - $9.4 million

Virat Kohli is much more than Anushka Sharma's boyfriend. In recent time, his relationship with the Bollywood starlet has come under the scrutiny of many, especially the media. Many have even gone a step ahead and blamed his girlfriend for his bad performances, forgetting his hard-hitting and exceptional performances during other matches.

Virat Kohli was born

4. Shikhar Dhawan - $3.33 million

World Cup where he was the leading run scorer. His total of 505 runs from seven innings is a record for a single U-19 World Cup. Some of Shikhar Dhawan's achievements include winning the ICC Under-19 World Cup (2003/4) and the ICC Champions Trophy (2013).

This top-order batsman was born on 5th December 1985, in Delhi.

The major teams Dhawan has played for are India, Deccan Chargers, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Under16s, India A, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Dhawan played in the 2004 Under-19 Cricket

5. Rohit Sharma - $3.15 million

Rohit Sharma (Rohit Gurunath Sharma) was born on 30th April 1987, in Nagpur.

This right-hand batsman is known for his talented batting style.

However, the early six years of his international career, Sharma had faced plenty of failures.

In 2013, things started to shape up for Rohit Sharma. Sharma was promoted to open the innings in One Day International matches. This turned out to be a triumphant choice as Sharma found form in the Champions Trophy. He then went on to play charismatically in the ODI series against Australia, scoring two centuries,

including 209, only the third double in ODI cricket. In 2014, Rohit Sharma became the first batsman to hit two ODI doublehundreds in an innings.

He broke the record for the highest score with 264 off 173 against Sri Lanka.

The major teams Sharma has played for are Mumbai U-19s, India U-

19s, India, Deccan Chargers, India A, India Green, Mumbai, Mumbai Cricket Association President's XI and Mumbai Indians.

Sharma has had many achievements, including the BCCI awards in 201214 for slamming a world record 264 in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.

6. Suresh Raina - $2.82 million

Suresh Raina: the attacking left-hander batsman was born on 27th November 1986, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Raina made his Test debut in the Sri Lanka as a replacement for an injured teammate, Yuvraj Singh, who, similar to Raina, was a left-hander and India's most athletic fielder in the early 2000s.

Raina is an asset to the IPL and he is a player every franchise wants on their side. He also had an outstanding 2014 Champions League T20, where he scored a scintillating hundred in the final to help Chennai Super Kings win the title for the second time.

The major teams Suresh Raina has played for are India, Chennai

Super Kings, India Blue, India Under-19s, Indian Board President's XI, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Under-16s.

Some of his awards include the Bradman Twenty20 Cup (2005/06), NKP Salve Challenger Trophy (2007/08) and the Champions League (2014/15).

Yuvraj Singh was born on 12th December 1981. He is the son of the former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star, Yograj Singh.

Yuvraj Singh is known for his powerful batting and his slow left arm orthodox bowling. One of the most memorable and remarkable matches associated with Yuvraj Singh is the T20 match against England in 2007. He made 6 sixes in 6 balls, astounding everyone, especially the English opponents.

India ultimately won the 2007 T20 world cup against Pakistan.

Yuvraj Singh was more into roller skating as a child, but he was made to divert his attention to cricket by his father.

After an astounding victory in the 2011 world cup, Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer.

There was a cancerous tumour in his left lung. He was treated and underwent chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston, USA. After a third and final cycle of

chemotherapy, he was free of cancer and returned home in April 2012.

He released a book based on his battle with cancer in 2013, called The Test of My Life.

Yuvraj Singh makes most of his earnings through the Indian Premier League (IPL). He previously played for Kings XI Punjab (a team co-owned by the Bollywood actress, Preity Zinta), Pune Warriors India and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

For the 2015 IPL, Yuvraj Singh has been signed by the Delhi Daredevils.

Some of Yuvraj Singh's achievements include the Arjuna Award in 2012, the Padma Shri in 2014 and the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Special Achievement Award in 2011.

This left-handed batsman and right-arm leg break bowler was born in 14th October 1981, in Delhi.

G a u t a m Gambhir came into the spotlight after his consecutive double hundreds in 2002, before making his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2003.

He made his Test debut in 2004 against Australia.

However he was unable to match his domestic success in the international arena.

2008 was probably Gautam Gabhir's remarkable year. He went on scoring and affirming his posi-

tion in Test m a t c h e s .

However, he was involved in a controversy when he elbowed Shane Watson while taking a run.

Gambhir pleaded guilty in the hearing and was banned for one Test match. He returned to score assembling 1134 runs from just 8 tests in 2008. The major teams Gambhir has played for are India, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, Essex, India Red, Indian Board President's XI, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI. Continued on page 31

7. Yuvraj Singh - $2.81 million

Sachin Tendulkar (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) is probably one of the most celebrated cricketers of all times.

He was born on 24th April 1974. He joined the Indian team at the age of 16, becoming India's youngest Test cricketer.

Tendulkar has achieved many milestones in his cricketing career. He has set trends and broken records in cricket. At 23, Tendulkar was named the captain of the Indian team for the 1996 world cup tournament. He resigned in 1997 and became the captain again in 1999.

He later resigned in 1999 as well, as he was unsuccessful as a captain. Sachin Tendulkar holds the world record for scoring highest number of runs and centuries in both the Test Cricket and the One Day Internationals. He has scored 15921 runs and 51 centuries in Test Cricket. While in ODIs, he has scored 18,426 runs and 49 centuries.

Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013. His last match was his 200th Test match against West Indies in Mumbai.

Tendulkar was emotional and gave a heartfelt speech, thanking everyone who supported him during his 24 years of cricket career. After his retirement, he released his autobiography in 2014 named, Playing it My Way. Some of Tendulkar's achievements include the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1997, the Padma Shri in 1999, the Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and the Bharat Ratna in 2013.

8. Gautam Gambhir - $2.5 million

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

21

Foreign Exchange

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX,

Interest rate record low since March 2009 Currency Specialists.

The U.K.'s benchmark interest rate stayed at the record low of 0.5 percent, where it has stayed since March 2009. The central bank also held the size of its bond purchases under the quantitative easing program at £375 billion ($554 billion). This month's decision came ahead of a general election in May that is expected to be the closestfought in a generation.

Forecasts suggest the Conservatives will emerge as the party with the largest number of seats after the election, but without an overall majority.

This would potentially result in another coalition government, like the current ConservativeLiberal Democrat one.

The bank is seen holding rates until inflation starts to recover, led by wage growth.

The country is still in the grip of deflation (falling inflation), with the consumer price index coming in unchanged in the year to February 2015, down from 0.3 percent in January and well below the central bank's target of 2 percent.

The Pound had a mixed day on Friday after data showed UK industrial production barely

rose in February as an increase in manufacturing output was offset by a drop in oil and gas.

Total production gained 0.1 percent as energy output declined 3.8 percent. An increase of 0.3 percent had been forecast by economists. Manufacturing rose 0.4 percent amid higher car output. The figures suggest the industrial sector faltered in the first quarter, with output in the three months through February rising just 0.2 percent. An increase of 0.4 percent will be needed in March to keep production at the level seen in the fourth quarter. Seven of 13 manufacturing sectors posted gains in February, with transport equipment, machinery and metals increasing the most. Recent economic surveys have been mixed. While analysts suggest growth may have accelerated to 0.7 percent from 0.6 percent, British Chambers of Commerce said Thursday the U.K. lost momentum across all sectors of the economy.

The Dollar gained across the board last week, this was compounded on Friday after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker reiterat-

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 15th April 2015 @ 3pm

GBP - INR = 92.00

USD - INR = 62.27 EUR - INR = 66.44 GBP - USD = 1.48 GBP - EUR = 1.38

EUR - USD = 1.07 GBP - AED = 5.43

GBP - CAD = 1.84 ed that he sees a strong case for the Fed to begin raising shortterm interest rates this summer.

“I expect that, unless incoming economic reports diverge substantially from projections, the case for raising rates will remain strong at the June meeting,” Mr. Lacker said.

The Fed has held its benchmark federal funds rate near zero since December 2008 to stimulate spending and the broader economy. Most officials at the central bank expect to begin raising rates sometime this year, though the precise timing of the first rate increases remains uncertain.

Mr. Lacker, who is a voting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, has been a long time sceptic of the Fed’s easymoney policies. He has repeatedly signalled that he favors raising rates at the June 16-17 policy meeting. He said Friday that he is “confident” sluggish U.S. inflation will pick up toward the Fed’s 2% annual target over time and said the jobs market now is “well within the confidence bands of any reasonable estimate of ‘maximum employment’,” which is one of the Fed’s mandated goals, along with stable prices.

GBP - NZD = 1.96

GBP - AUD = 1.94

GBP - ZAR = 17.71

GBP - HUF = 410.21

www.rationalfx.com

Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

12th April 2015

Don’t have Safe as houses nightmares.

We offer a range of risk management services that aim to ensure that your business is getting the best possible deal on your foreign currency exchange transfers.

With RationalFX you get: ȏ 0% commission & no hidden costs

ȏ Stop/limit orders & forward trades

ȏ Fixed exchange rates for up to 2 years

ȏ Online payments platform available 24/7

ȏ Low wire transfer fees

ȏ Personalised service

Sign up for a free account today: www.rationalfx.com/business or call our dealing desk: 020 7220 8181

22

LEGAL VOICE

Modi launches Mudra bank for small firms

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week launched a bank with a corpus of Rs 200 billion to extend credit of up to Rs 1000,000 to small businesses and regulate microfinance institutions, to promote their growth, add to the country's output and create jobs.

The move is aimed at benefiting some 58 million small businesses in the country, who account for a mere four per cent of institutional funding, despite employing over 120 million people, many from unprivileged strata of society, the officials said.

"After 'banking the unbanked' with the Jan Dhan Yojana, it's time to 'fund the unfunded'," the Prime Minister said at an event to launch what is called Micro Units Development and

India's forex reserves increase by $1.62 bn

India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.62 billion to $343 billion for the week ended April 3, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

According to analysts, the Indian reserves got a boost during the week under review from an exponential rise in the foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves. The foreign currency assets, expressed in US dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the pound sterling, euro and yen held in reserve. The Indian reserves hold nearly 20-25 per cent of the non-dollar currencies. The reserves are also being build up by the RBI to absorb any future global financial shock like the one witnessed in June 2013. "The reserves are being build-up to counter any future financial shocks like the one which was witnessed at the time the tapering announcements were made. Apart from that, the reserves will also act as a support to the Indian rupee," Anindya Banerjee, Kotak Securities senior manager, currency derivatives, said. "The Indian rupee is very stable currently and the reserves will make sure that it will remain so. A healthy reserves will make sure that any other external shocks are taken care of," Banerjee added. The RBI is cautious about the US Fed's stand that the rate hike might take place in the later part of the year.

With higher interest rates in the US, the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are expected to be led away from the emerging markets such as India.

Refinance Agency - Mudra.

"Mudra is our innovation of funding the unfunded," Modi said. "Millions of common men and women in this country, who run small businesses, have almost remained outside the net of formal institutional finance, in spite of their large contributions to the economy," he said at the event.

"Providing access to institutional finance to

such micro and small business units and enterprises will not only help in improving the quality of life of these entrepreneurs, but also turn them into strong instruments of growth and employment generation," the finance ministry said.

The initiative will also lay down the norms for responsible financing practices for micro-finance institutions so that the

small businesses do not face hardship over indebtedness, while getting a fair environment for repayment.

In his budget speech delivered on February 28, the finance minister had said that while there were 57.7 million small businesses in India, mostly individual proprietorships, these bottom-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurs found it difficult, if not impossible, to access formal systems of credit.

"I, therefore, propose to create a Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (Mudra) Bank, with a corpus of Rs 200 billion and a credit guarantee corpus of Rs 30 billion.

Mudra Bank will refinance micro-finance institutions through a Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana," he added.

Satyam founder Raju, 9 others jailed for 7 years

B Ramalinga Raju has been sentenced to seven years in jail in the multimillion Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SCSL) accounting fraud case, by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Hyderabad. The court of judge BVLN Chakravarthi also slapped a fine of Rs 50 million on Raju.

Raju who was earlier pronounced guilty by the court had requested the judge for lighter punishment due to his health issues. He has already spent 32 months in jail.

The court had pronounced all the 10 people guilty in one of the biggest corporate scandals involving an Indian company.

Besides Ramalinga Raju, who was the founderchairman of the company, the other accused are, his brother and Satyam's former Managing Director B Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas, former PwC auditors S u b r a m a n i Gopalakrishnan and T Srinivas, Raju's another brother B Suryanarayana Raju, former employees G Ramakrishna, D Venkatpathi Raju and Ch

B Ramalinga Raju

Srisailam and Satyam's former internal chief auditor VS Prabhakar Gupta.

The case had rocked India Inc and led to a massive upheaval in the software and Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES) industry in the country and was investigated by the CBI. Raju, one of the pioneers in the industry and Satyam's founder and then chairman, had confessed to manipulating his company's account books and inflating profits over many years to the tune of millions of rupees. The confession sent shockwaves across the industry.

He was arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police's Crime Investigation Department along with his brother Rama Raju and others on January 11.

All the 10 accused in the case are currently out on bail. Around 3,000 docu-

ments were marked and 226 witnesses examined during the trial that began nearly six years ago.

Raju and others were charged with offences like cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery and breach of trust under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for inflating invoices and incomes, account falsification, faking fixed deposits, besides allegedly falsifying returns through violation of various Income Tax laws. In February 2009, the CBI took over the investigation and filed three charge sheets which were later clubbed into one.

The first two charge sheets dealt with the account fudging by Raju with the assistance of nine others, while the third charge sheet relates to "violation" of various Income Tax rules.

While the CBI accused Raju and the others of cheating, breach of trust by way of inflating invoices and incomes in the first and third charge sheets, the second one dealt with the accused allegedly falsifying returns through violation of various IT laws.

US regulator upgrades India's aviation safety rating

US authorities have upgraded India's aviation safety rating, in a boost for Indian airlines which can now increase the number of flights they operate to the United States. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that India had taken corrective action to address the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) concerns, after the regulator downgraded India's

rating to category 2 from category 1 in January last year, citing a lack of safety oversight.

The decision, which takes the rating back to category 1, was expected as Indian aviation authorities had said they were working hard to win back the higher rating. Foxx did not specify the action India had taken but a person with knowledge of the decision said authorities

had recruited more flight operations inspectors and streamlined certain procedures to improve safety.

The upgraded rating is expected to help Jet Airways and state-owned Air India, the two Indian airlines which currently fly to the United States. The downgrade had meant both carriers could not increase flights to the country and faced extra checks for existing ones.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Maria Fernandes

In country Administrative Review

The new Administrative review regime which until now applied mainly to entry clearance applications on Points based applications is now applicable to in country applications as well. It is important to recognise that it replaces the appeal system.

It is vitally important to remember that once an application is refused, the reconsideration can only be done through this formalised Administrative procedure. There is no other form of reconsideration.

So what does it involve?

The first point to note is that it only applies to “eligible decisions” which are: • in country Tier 4 applications made by either a main applicant or their dependant(s) on or after 20 October 2014 • in country Tiers 1, 2 or 5 applications made by either a main applicant or their dependant(s) on or after 2 March 2015, including indefinite leave to remain applications under those routes • in country applications where the decision was made on or after 6 April 2015 except for a protection (asylum) or human rights claim If there is a right of appeal, this must be exercised and an Administrative review cannot be used.

Not surprisingly, there is a fee of £80 payable and completion of a form. The only consideration of the Administrative review is to consider “casework errors”. The list as provided by the UKVI identifies casework errors as follows: (a) Where the original decision maker’s decision to refuse an application on the basis of paragraph 320(7A), 320(7B) or

322(1A) of these Rules, or cancel leave to enter or remain which is in force under 321A(2) of these Rules, was incorrect; (b) Where the original decision maker’s decision to refuse an application on the basis that the date of application was beyond any time limit in these Rules was incorrect; (c) Where the original decision maker otherwise applied the Immigration Rules incorrectly (d) Where the original decision maker failed to apply the Secretary of State’s relevant published policy and guidance in relation to the application.

Additionally, where the eligible decision is one specified in paragraph AR3.2, a case working error is also where there has been an error in calculating the correct period or conditions of immigration leave either held or to be granted As will be apparent from the list, it covers all the areas that the Tribunals and experienced judges have grappled with over the years.

The careful development of the law is dealt a big blow. This responsibility will now be given to junior caseworkers to interpret as they wish. Bearing in mind the fact that the statistics indicated that 40% of appeals were successful, the concern is that this is a whitewash and a backward step for law.

It is unlikely that errors of law will be corrected and this leaves a worrying precedent for the law in immigration.

The only remedy will be judicial review which does not consider merits of a case as part of its jurisdiction. A very sad time for law, justice and fairness.

To contact Maria Fernandes, please email at: info@fernandesvaz.com

India's industry output grows 5% in February

India's industrial output grew 5% in February, the fastest pace of expansion in three months on the back of an improving manufacturing sector and robust growth in electricity and capital goods sector. The data should bring cheer to policy makers, who are battling to revive growth in the industrial sector and help overall growth in the months ahead. Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed the

growth in February is higher than the upwardly revised 2.8% growth in January. Industrial production fell 2% in February last year. The manufacturing sector, which accounts for nearly 80% of the index of industrial production, rose 5.2% in February compared to a decline of 3.9% in the year earlier period.

The mining sector grew 2.5% in February compared to 2.3% in February 2014.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

In Brief

Probe into ‘anti-UK’ schools set up by Islamists

London: Officials in UK are investigating unregulated schools set up by Islamists, including several established by a former teacher at the centre of the so-called Trojan Horse scandal. The schools, some of which allegedly “subvert British values”, are based around the country. Many of their pupils, including some from Somali, Bengali and Pakistani families, have been taken out of mainstream schools to be taught at home. Their education is supplemented in unregulated schools, where much of the teaching is around the Islamic faith. Officials fear children may be at risk of being radicalised in such tutorial centres. A Whitehall official said the DfE had launched a series of investigations into the growing number of unregulated schools amid concern about the numbers of children travelling to Syria to join jihadists. The official said some of the unregulated schools are run by people who are opposed to “democracy, equality, and tolerance” because they are seen to conflict with their religious beliefs.

Radical Islamist group fosters links with al-Qaeda in Syria

London: A radical Islamist group with big support base in Britain has fostered links with an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, a report said. Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) is launching attacks on civil activists in the northern city of Aleppo, aided by fighters from the Nusra Front, alQaeda’s franchise in Syria. About 100 HT members attacked secular activists during an anti-regime demonstration in Bustan al-Qasr, an oppositioncontrolled neighbourhood in the east of the city. A well-known anti-regime activist was arrested and severely beaten by the group the day after the demonstration. A photograph taken during the protest shows HT members confronting activists, while fighters from the Nusra Front stand guard.

Blair planning to create cadre of former leaders

WORLD

Lakhvi's release challenged in Pak SC Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab government on Tuesday challenged the Lahore high court's decision to suspend the detention of LeT operations commander and 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the Supreme Court, saying his release has created problems for it.

The Punjab government in its petition pleaded the apex court that the LHC had suspended the detention of Mumbai attack case accused Lakhvi under Maintenance of Public Ordinance despite seeing "sensitive documents" against him.

The government said the release of 55-year-old Lakhvi had created problems for it. "Besides, there are chances that the investigation into Mumbai attack case may also be affected because of the release of Lakhvi," the government argued in the petition.

It requested the apex

Vandals deface Bapu's statue in SA

London: Former British prime minister Tony Blair is planning to create a “cadre” of former leaders, as he revealed plans to remain in public life for the next three decades. Blair said it was odd that accomplished statesmen were expected to retire and play golf. He joked that he would “take to drink” if he was forced to give up the many high profile roles he holds.

3 PIOs in the list of biggest givers of 2015

Washington: Three Indian-Americans are among 50 biggest philanthropists of 2015, that includes top business honchos like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The list compiled by American lifestyle “Town and Country Magazine” figures New York-based Adarsh Alphons, Reshma Saujani and Shaila Ittycheria, all under 40 years of age. “These are the men and women whose serious dollars, bold ideas, and oldfashioned hard work have made them the year's most noteworthy and inspiring givers,” the magazine wrote in its “T&C 50: The Biggest Philanthropists of 2015” list. It also includes Mark Zuckerberg's wife Priscilla Chan.

Asteroid named after Malala

Islamabad: The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai now has an asteroid named after her, media reported. Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, named Asteroid 316201 after Malala, Dawn online said. He said, “It is a great honour to be able to name an asteroid after Malala.

My postdoctoral fellow Dr Carrie Nugent brought to my attention the fact that although many asteroids have been named, very few have been named to honour the contributions of women (and particularly women of color).” Mainzer discovered the asteroid in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter which gives her the right to name it. It orbits the Sun every 5.5 years

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

court to suspend the order of the LHC and restore the detention of Lakhvi under the security act. The SC office will fix the date of hearing. Lahore high court Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq on April 9 had suspended Lakhvi's detention as the government failed to present "sensitive documents" against him in the court.

The government's counsel presented "sensitive reports" prepared by the intelligence agencies about the activities of

Lakhvi but the judge expressed dissatisfaction over it observing "the reasons cited by the government for the petitioner's detention were not enough". On April 10, Lakhvi was released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after about six years of his arrest in the Mumbai attack case. The government managed to keep him behind the bars under the security act for nearly four months since the trial court granted him bail on December 14, 2014.

Pakistan faced strong criticism from India over the release of Lakhvi.

Earlier, Lakhvi's counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi argued that after the LHC's earlier direction he had filed a representation before the Punjab home secretary against his "illegal" detention but the home secretary dismissed it and upheld the 30-day detention order issued by District Coordination

Officer, Okara.

Reacting to the court verdict on Lakhvi, India said this "eroded" the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to it by Pakistan on cross-border terrorism.

India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said "our concerns on this issue have been made known to the Government of Pakistan in the past. These shall be reiterated.”

Lakhvi and six others Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad hight court on Monday set a two-month deadline for the trial court to decide the Lakhvi case, otherwise it would accede to Pakistan government's plea to cancel Lakhvi's bail.

Presents

6th & 7th June 2015 Harrow Leisure Centre

Chinese hackers snooping on India

Singapore: A suspected Chinese government sponsored group is understood to have snooped on inaccessible government computer networks in India for over a decade, a cyber security group claimed. The Singapore-based `APT30', touted to be the longestrunning advanced threat group, possibly tapped classified government networks and others inaccessible from a standard connection, cyber security provider FireEye has claimed. Indian researchers also discovered APT30 suspicious activity at Indian organizations besides FireEye identifying alerts from APT30 malware at the computer network of its Indian customers, which include an Indian aerospace and defence company and an Indian telecommunications firm, it claimed.

23

Johannesburg: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Johannesburg was defaced by a group of people who threw buckets of white paint on it amid racist taunts.

The incident occurred on Sunday when the group came in a car and threw buckets of white paint on the statue and surrounding plaques detailing Gandhi's history in South Africa, security guard Ntandzo Khwepe said.

They were bearing placards reading “Racist Gandhi must fall“. The statue in the centre of the city is believed to be the only one in the world showing Gandhi as a young lawyer in his court robes. It is on a public transport hub square which was renamed Gandhi Square because the office where he practised law during his stay in the city is on the periphery of the square. “They said we should not stop them because Gandhi was a racist man,“ Khwepe said, adding that the group was wearing African National Congress regalia. Khwepe said one man was nabbed, but he remained nonchalant about it, claiming that his political bosses would soon get him free. Police spokesman Kay Makhubela said he would be charged with malicious damage to property.

Christchurch Avenue, Harrow HA3 5BD

10am to 7pm

Come & Enjoy!

A Fun-Filled, Family Weekend

with Delicious Food, Countless Shopping Stalls and Dazzling Entertainment!

All proceeds from ticket sales go to St Luke’s Hospice, the chosen charity for Anand Mela

For Sponsorship Stall booking & Tickets

£2.50

TICKETS n per day per perso go Under 12

FREE

Please call

020 7749 4085

24

INDIA

Heavy rains kill 11 in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Hyderabad: Eleven people were killed as heavy rains triggered by cyclonic conditions wreaked havoc in several parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Most deaths were caused by lightning and electrocution, officials said. While three people died in wall collapse, a farmer, who lost his crop in heavy rains in Adilabad district, committed suicide by drinking pesticide.

A couple was electrocuted after an overhead electric wire fell on their house in Warangal city. Two people died in wall collapse in Anantapur, while a woman succumbed after the roof of her house in Nizamabad caved in. A B-tech student

was electrocuted in Kadapa, while another man was electrocuted in Karimnagar. Two others died in Kurnool as lightning struck them.

Overall, six people died in Telangana, while five deaths were reported from Andhra Pradesh, authorities

said. Power supply was affected in many places in both states as heavy gales uprooted electric poles and snapped overhead power supply lines. Many places in Telangana recorded seven cm rainfall.

The three-day spell of

rains threw normal life out of gear in Hyderabad and caused extensive damage to some roads. Many low-lying areas were inundated and stagnant rain water choked drains and disrupted traffic in the city. Heavy rains also destroyed large swathes of maize, mango, paddy and cotton crops and fruit orchards across Telangana.

Crop damage reports poured in from Adilabad, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam districts in Telangana, and Kurnool and Anantapur districts in AP. The quantum of loss is yet to be assessed. However, unofficial estimates put them at Rs 10 billion in both states.

Hyderabad: Faced with questions over the encounter killing of five suspected terror operatives, including the n o t o r i o u s Viqaruddin Ahmed, the Telangana government ordered probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the circumstances that led to the incident.

“Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao decided to order a full inquiry on the recent encounter near Aleru, Nalgonda district, by a Special Investigation Team (SIT),’’ an official release said, adding the decision was taken in view of doubts expressed by certain organisations and some individuals on the incident.

Civil rights organisations, Viqaruddin’s family members and the MIM have raised questions over the manner in which Viqaruddin Ahmed and his

associates were gunned down by the police while bringing them from the Warangal central prison for a court hearing in Hyderabad on April 4.

MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi had alleged that the ‘encounter’ was in retaliation to the killing of four police personnel by SIMI activists in Suryapet and Janakipuram.

The MIM chief had also led a delegation of Muslim religious leaders to the Chief Minister and expressed concerns over the genuineness of the encounter. KCR had sought three days to look into the matter. KCR instructed Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma to issue orders appointing the Special Investigating Team.

It is, however, not yet decided who will head the SIT and whether it will be given any timeframe to submit its report.

Bengaluru: Manjunath, a convict serving life term for murder in Bengaluru jail hoodwinked the jail guards and just walked out through the front door. According to prison authorities, round 5 pm when all the prisoners were let out their barracks to courtyard, Manjunath walked up to the administrative block of the jail. He told the guard there, he wanted to apply for parole.

Manjunath went into the administrative block and came out after a while. But instead of going back to the prison, he went to second gate of the jail, his first step to freedom. During this time inside the administrative block, he had managed go get a stamp on his hand, which is used by the Bengaluru central jail authorities to identify visitors from prisoners and change his clothes.

At the second gate, when the guard stopped him he simply showed the stamp and moved ahead. With sec-

ond gate crossed, he only had the main gate between him and his freedom. At the second gate, however, the guard pulled up after recognizing him to be a prisoner.

This time Manjunath told the guard that he was already on the parole and had come to the jail to get an extension of his parole. He even shared "joy" of getting his parole with guard, before he was let out of the front gate. Kamal Pant, additional director general of police (prisons), confirmed the incident and said that inquiry has been ordered into how the lifer managed to get a seal on his hand, which was meant exclusively for visitors. "Also we have filed a case with a local police station," he said.

Manjunath is serving life term on murder charges and has already completed 6 years of his term. "He is from Chitradurga district and we have already formed a special team to track him," he said.

Yoga guru Ramdev Presiding over a meeting on International Yoga Day celebrations in Chandigarh, Khattar said discussions would be held with Ramdev for making Yoga Day successful. The government will celebrate the occasion in a big way in Karnal on June 21, with 21,000 youngsters expected to participate. Haryana sports minister Anil Vij said programmes would be held in all district headquarters.

Yoga is going to be a compulsory subject in Haryana's schools and `yogshalas' will come up in all the towns and 6,500 villages of the state.

Phagwara: SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar has said that he would oppose at every level the appointment of a non-baptised Sikh as chief of the management board of Takht Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra. If needed, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, he said.

Makkar termed the recent appointment of BJP MLA Tara Singh by Maharashtra government as board’s chief a “blatant violation of established Sikh tenets, the highly venerated Sikh norms and ‘maryada’ and direct interference in the religious affairs of Sikhs.” He alleged that a non-baptised Sikh was appointed by Maharashtra government to the key post despite opposition from all concerned quarters, including Sikh ‘sangat’. “If required, I will lead a dele-

gation to PM Modi for seeking his intervention in this connection,” he said, adding, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had written to Modi in this connection.

Earlier, addressing 12th annual religious function at Bhai Kannhaiya Kendra here, Makkar pleaded with all, especially Sant Samaj and Sikh Sangat, to make concerted endeavours for preserving Sikh ethos, 'Sikhi swaroop’ (form) and the high values of Sikh Gurus and martyrs.

He expressed serious concern at growing trend of apostasy in the community.

Claiming the SGPC was doing everything for preserving ‘Sikhi’, Makkar said that 15,000 youths with ‘dastars’ (turbans) will take out a march on June 19 marking the 350th anniversary of Anandpur Sahib foundation.

Telangana govt orders probe into encounter killings

Ramdev gets cabinet rank in Haryana govt

Chandigarh: At a time when the Haryana government is making an all out effort to make yoga part of the school curriculum, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday announced cabinet-rank status for yoga guru Ramdev, who is the state's brand ambassador.

Khattar said Ramdev, who is authorized to promote yoga and ayurveda in the state, would be given the status of cabinet minister, and a function would be held at Panchkula on April 21 to honour him.

Asked whether Ramdev, who had in January this year declined the Padma Bhushan, would accept the cabinet status, the yoga guru's spokesman SK Tijarawala said, “Swamiji is away in Australia and can't be reached at the moment.

He will give his reaction after two days.“

Convict hoodwinks guards, walks out of jail

SGPC opposes appointment non-baptised Sikh

South Brief

TN govt demands probe into AP encounter killings

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, in a letter to his counter part in Andhra Pradesh, said he was distressed to learn that many of the persons who were shot dead by the police in Andhra Pradesh were reportedly from Tamil Nadu. The letter said the occurrence of such high casualties in the operation by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Force raises concerns whether the task force personnel had acted with adequate restraint. Panneerselvam requested his Andhra Pradesh counterpart to order a credible and speedy inquiry into the matter so that the facts are established and responsibility fixed for possible human rights violations. "In case of any human rights violations, it is essential that action is taken against those who caused the deaths and appropriate compensation is paid to the families of the victims,” Panneerselvam demanded.

3 killed as ambulance bursts into flames in Tamil Nadu

Erode (Tamil Nadu): Three persons, including two women, were charred to death after the ambulance van in which they were travelling hit a roadside tree and burst into flames near Erode, police said. The van was transporting 61-year-old Kandasamy, who complained of chest pain, to the government hospital in Erode. His wife, son and daughter-in-law had accompanied him, they said. Police said the driver lost control of the van and it rammed a roadside tree. The fuel tank got damaged and the vehicle caught fire. Hearing the noise, locals rushed to the spot and managed to pull out Kandasamy and his son. But the driver and the two women were charred to death, police said.

North Brief

HC judge saves girl from drowning

Chandigarh: A high court judge here dived into the local Sukhna lake to save a teenage girl from drowning after she allegedly attempted suicide, police said. The incident took place on March 30 when Justice M Jeyapaul (60) of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dived into the lake to save the 15-year-old girl after he noticed her drowning while he was on his routine morning walk, Sukhna Lake police incharge Mini Bhardwaj said. Jeyapaul's security officer, Yashpal also jumped into the lake and the duo managed to save the girl, police added.

BJP leader arrested for assaulting cop

Phagwara: A local BJP leader was arrested on charges of assaulting and injuring a police constable inside a police station, police said.

Gurdeep Deepa was arrested on the basis of a complaint by constable Pardip Kumar who alleged that he was assaulted and his uniform was torn by the BJP leader inside Satnampura police station. A case was registered against Deepa. However, Deepa denied the allegations, saying he was being framed in the case.

Railway station renamed after Bhagat Singh

Chandigarh: The Punjab government has notified the renaming of Nawanshahr railway station as Shaheed Bhagat Singh railway station in a befitting tribute to great martyr of India’s freedom struggle Bhagat Singh, an official spokesperson said. Shaheed Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom struggle who was hanged by the then British government at Lahore jail in 1931. On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel. In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment to fellow political prisoners by jail authorities. On October 7, 1930 Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Raj Guru were awarded death sentence by a special tribunal. Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had specially come to Punjab and visited Hussainiwala to pay tributes to these great sons of nation.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Modi unveils Gandhi statue in Hannover

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the city hall of Hannover, saying it was a moment of pride not only for the residents of the city but also for every individual who has faith in humanity.

Describing the Mahatma as a "yug purush (a great man)", Modi said he belonged to the whole world.

Noting the world was facing challenges of terrorism and global warming, he contended that Mahatma Gandhi's life provided answers to these issues. As PM Modi reached City Hall after his meeting with chief executives of German companies at the Maritim Grand Hotel, Steven Schostok, the mayor of Hannover, came out of City Hall to greet the prime minister.

In a brief ceremony inside, Schostok welcomed the Indian Prime Minister to Hannover and thanked him for making India the partner country in this year's Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair.

Speaking in German,

Narendra Modi unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi, at Culemannstrasse, in Hannover, Germany.

The Mayor of Hannover Stefan Schostok is also seen

the mayor expressed the hope that India and Germany can work together for the mutual benefit of each other. On his part, Modi thanked Schostok for the warm welcome he was accorded and said that he was thankful that the mayor "honoured me in a building which is over 102 years old". He also signed the Golden Book of the City Hall of Hannover.

Speaking after unveiling the bust, Modi said, “If we look at Mahatma

Gandhi we can find solutions in his philosophy. He always spoke of the environment, and protecting the environment, and through his life he would give the message. And today, when the world is getting bloodied with terrorism to finish humanity, the message of non-violence and vasudhaiva kutumbakam is a valid message for all. Mahatma Gandhi is an inspiration for the whole world.” he said.

France extends post study work to foreign students

After France’s Minister of Higher Education Geneviève Fioraso declared France’s position as a study destination as “fragile” last year, the government has started 2014 with pledges to make good on efforts to boost inbound student numbers.

President François Hollande has recently said he plans to introduce new measures to make the country more attractive to foreign students including extending post-study work rights and simplifying administration around visa processing.

Last year the country attracted more than 280,000 international students, accounting for 12.3% of total enrolments.

Under the government’s new push to recruit internationally, Fioraso has said she would like to see foreign enrolments climb to 15% by 2020 and 20% by 2025.

Last month, Hollande said he plans to introduce a “talent visa” giving four year residency to between

5,000 to 10,000 graduates, researchers and highly skilled workers. The criteria to qualify for the talent visa have not yet been agreed upon, however, it is clear the government is taking strides to leave behind the unpopular “Circulaire du Mai 31” that was overturned last year by minister of the interior Manuel Valls.

The policy attempted to limit immigration by curbing post-study work rights and imposed restrictions on companies looking to higher international students.

The U-turn last year also facilitated visa processing for Masters and PhD students, a framework that has now been extended to undergraduates. Students will no longer have to renew their visas annually but will be issued permits lasting the length of their course.

The latest figures from Campus France show that visas issuance were up 8% for 2013 and universities account for 78% of foreign

enrolments.

Because of historical and lingual ties, African countries make up the main source of foreign students in France with 43% of international enrolments coming from the continent.

Morocco, Algeria and Nigeria provide the highest numbers of students. In her campaign to attract more students, Fioraso said that the government would be targeting Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, India and the USA in order to broaden the recruitment base but stressed it would not be the detriment of African students.

In further efforts to expand internationalisation on French campuses, in January Fioraso committed €8 million in funding to develop MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that will go toward the development of online vocational training, and video equipment for campuses as part of the ‘CréaMOOC’ project.

SPECIAL

25

India orders 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had ordered 36 "ready-to-fly" French-made Rafale fighter jets to modernise his country's ageing warplane fleet as neighbouring states upgraded their military hardware.

Indian military officials have warned that their air force risks a major capability gap opening up with China and Pakistan without new western warplanes or if local defence contractors cannot produce what the military needs in a timely manner.

"I have asked President (Francois Hollande) to supply 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets to India," Modi said at a news conference on the first day of a state visit to France.

"Our civil servants will discuss (terms and conditions) in more detail and continue the negotiations," he s a i d , speaking in Hindi through an interpreter. The deal, another boost for French manufacturer Dassault Aviation after it sealed its long-awaited first export deal to Egypt in February, could be worth about 4 billion euros.

P r e s i d e n t Hollande said Defence Minister JeanYves Le Drian would travel to India soon to finalise the deal.

India and France have already been in exclusive negotiations for three years. The value of a larger 126-plane deal being negotiated is estimated to have grown to about $20 billion from an initial $12 billion, primarily because of an Indian requirement that 108 of the jets be built in the country.

A French defence ministry source said the deal announced on Friday was separate from the original negotiations and came about after new Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar indicated the country's urgent requirements. "We informed them we were ready to respond to their operational needs separate from the tender under discussion for three years," the source said.

India's military has said it needs to start replacing its ageing jet fleet from 2017. "There was a real operational need because India needs combat jets because a certain number of countries have been equipping themselves, so there was a desire to speed up the process," Dassault Chief Executive Eric Trappier told Europe 1 radio.

The country already has previous ties with Dassault, having bought Mirage 2000 fighter jets. In March, Dassault delivered

Narendra Modi with the President of France, Francois Hollande, in Paris

two modernised Mirage jets to India. Analysts say Dassault's deal with Egypt may have helped break the logjam in negotiations with other customers, since they are now on notice that if they want to have Rafales they may have to wait for them. Since the Egypt deal, Dassault is in the "final stage" of negotiations to sell up to 36 Rafale warplanes to Qatar. It is also in talks aimed at supplying 16

of the multi-role combat jets to Malaysia and has resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source said.

Tensions in the Middle East, instability in eastern Europe and concerns in parts of Asia about regional border threats and the rise of China have further fuelled the arms race, but shifts and sudden reversals in the various industry talks are common.

Subramanian Swamy threatens to move court against deal

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has threatened to go to court against the deal if the government does not heed to his warning. Terming the deal “corrupt”, Swamy said it would bring bad name to the party. The senior BJP leader said no one in the world is buying the Rafale planes and in the past countries which signed an MoU to procure the aircraft have scrapped the deal.

“No one is buying the planes in the country.

Dassault (the company which manufactures the fighter jets) says if India does not buy these planes then they will wind up. Many counties like Switzerland signed an MoU, but later cancelled it,” Swamy said.

The senior BJP leader

Subramanian Swamy

added that if the government wanted to please France, then it should have bought the company, which is anyway running into losses. “If the government does not agree to this, then I have to go to the court. It is a corrupt deal and can spoil the name of the party.

These babus (bureaucrats) are giving wrong advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The defence ministry’s opinion is also not this (to buy the planes).

26

INDIA

Modi govt's rehabilitation plan gives hope to Kashmiri Pandits

Amidst protests in Jammu and Kashmir over settlement of Kashmiri Pandits, the Modi government said it was committed to the "dignified and secured" return of the displaced community to their place of origin and that the issue should not be politicised.

"In principle, our government and my organisation (BJP) are committed to dignified and secured return of Kashmiri Pandits to their place of origin. The issue should be looked into on humanitarian ground.

No one should do politics over it," Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh said.

Singh, who hails from the state, was replying to a question on protests in Kashmir Valley against the proposed move to construct composite townships for Kashmiri Pandits.

"So far, the government's action is on right direction.

The Home Minister has already said that whatever decision has been taken, it has been taken in good faith," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function. The Minister said it was not fair to say that Kashmiri Pandits do not want to go back to the Valley.

"They would go back if there is dignity and security in their return. Any person living outside his or her homeland would not feel comfortable," he said.

Singh said return and rehabilitation of Pandits was a very sensitive issue and should be handled with care. "We have to move as per the wishes of Kashmiri Pandits. They have the right to return to their place of origin. The community had to leave in a very unfortunate circumstances," he said.

At a meeting in New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to provide land in the state for composite townships for Kashmiri Pandits.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister assured the Home Minister that the state would acquire and provide land at the earliest for composite townships in the Valley, according to a Home Ministry statement issued after their interaction.

However, Sayeed told the state Assembly that there were no plans for a

separate cluster for the Pandits.

The Chief Minister also said his government was committed to bring the displaced community back but ruled out setting up "Israeli-type" separate clusters for them.

There were protests in Srinagar against the plans for a separate township for Kashmiri Pandits. The separatists' call for a shutdown in Kashmir against the proposal. Meanwhile, various organisations representing people of Kashmiri Pandit community held protests in Jammu against the separatists and political parties opposed to the idea of creation of a "composite township" in Kashmir Valley for the displaced people.

Pandits say hurt by 'politics' over their return It was 26 years ago when Kashmiri Pandit lawyer Tika Lal Taploo and more than 700 members of the community were killed by militants in the Valley leading to a mass exodus, but their kin say the

wounds are bleeding again due to "politics" over the issue of their return and rehabilitation.

"I was 20 years old when militants of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) killed my father in broad daylight...

The memories of the incident and the sight of the bullet- ridden body of my father still sends chills down my spine," Ashutosh Taploo, son of Tika Lal, who was the first person from the community to have been killed by militants, said.

Tika Lal, who was also a national executive member of the BJP, was gunned down by militants on September 14, 1989 when he was on his way to his office in a Srinagar court.

Alliance partners PDPBJP recently spoke in different voices on composite townships for settlement of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley with state Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed saying no separate clusters will be built for the displaced community while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made it clear that there was no change in Centre's view on it. Ashutosh expressed strong resentment over the "undue politics" being played over the rehabilitation issue and said that the situation was not conducive for their return to the native places.

Continued from page 1 said the two countries share a close and warm relationship that has grown in depth and diversity. “India is open and ready to embrace the whole world,� he said while noting that there was a new level of interest among countries for partnership with India for enhancing trade, investment and in a host of other areas.

Welcoming Modi, Merkel said Germany was ready to give a new dimension to partnership with India. Noting that cooperative federalism existed in Germany like in India, she said sincere efforts will be made to bolster trade on all fronts. In Hannover, the Indian Prime Minister unveiled the statue of Mahatma Gandhi along with the mayor of

Hannover. Later Modi left for Canada on the third leg of his visit.

India's secularism is strong, it will not shake Addressing the Indian community in Berlin, Modi said India's secularism is strong and it would not shake. Addressing a community reception hosted by the Indian ambassador, the Indian prime minister said: "India's secularism is not so weak that it will crumble. Our secularism is strong, and it will not shake; our self confidence should also not shake," he said.

He also said that India would set the agenda for the climate change summit in Paris this year. Modi said that Indians have always traditionally followed the principle of reuse and recycle, and never believed in wasting

nature's resources. India worships mother nature, he said.

"Reuse and recycle - we have been doing for years, but the world is using it now. But we never highlighted this aspect of ours, of reuse and recycle. Now the world is telling us to reuse and recycle. Those who damage the environment are today asking us to pay. They are asking us to reduce carbon emissions."

"We are those who pay respect to environment, we call rivers mother, worhship trees, and nature, it is part of our culture, and we should go the world with this," Modi said.

"We should stand with confidence, that we can show the world the way.

We will set its agenda, I want to assure you. India will set the agenda for the climate change summit, and on the basis of our values; we are not those to take from world, but give," he said to loud applause.

He also assured the diaspora that the country will always be there for them and maintain its ties with the diaspora.

No country should provide shelter to terrorists During his visit to France, Modi and French

President Francois Hollande discussed the issue of terrorism in the context of recent attack in Paris and release of 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and decided to intensify cooperation against the menace.

"The world is facing many challenges. There is an upheaval in the world and all are affected...Terror is spreading in new forms in various countries," Modi said.

France suffered when terrorists struck in Paris in January and understands India's "pain" over terrorism, he said.

"They agreed that India and France must intensify their cooperation within the framework of JWG on Counter-Terrorism, including on information and intelligence sharing on terror networks and work together to share experiences on dealing with the growing phenomenon of radicalisation," a joint statement said after Modi and Hollande held wideranging talks. During his visit Modi said on Friday he had ordered 36 "readyto-fly" French-made Rafale fighter jets to modernise India's ageing war plane fleet as neighbouring states upgraded their military hardware.

Modi, Merkel vow to push economic ties to new level

Change of Name

I, Mr. Lachhman Singh, son of Mr. Amarjit Singh whose permanent address in India is Fatehpur, Post Kot Badal Khan, Dist. Jalandhar, Punjab presently residing at 80, Glenister Park Road, Streatham Vale, London SW16 5DU hereby give notice of my intention to change my name to Mr. Lachman Singh.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

In Brief

Bangladesh hangs top Jamaat leader

Dhaka: Top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Quamaruzzaman was hanged last week for committing war crimes and mass killing during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war against Pakistan, days after he lost his final bid to overturn his death sentence. He was hanged, jail officials were quoted by local media reports as saying.

Quamaruzzaman, 63, is the second Jamaat leader after Quader Mollah to be executed for 1971 war crimes. He had decided not to seek presidential clemency after the review of his conviction was rejected on April 6 by a four-member supreme court bench headed by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.

Gunmen kill 20 sleeping labourers in Pakistan

Quetta (Pakistan): Gunmen in Pakistan killed 20 labourers while they were sleeping, a government official said, in what appeared to be the latest violence by separatist rebels battling for control of resources rich Baluchistan province. Rebels have been fighting a low-intensity insurgency in the province for decades, demanding an end to what they see as the exploitation of their resources by people from other parts of Pakistan. The workers killed at a construction site were mostly from outside Baluchistan which suggested the Baluch rebels were responsible, said provincial interior minister Akbar Hussain Durrani.

Indian restaurant in Doha offers free meal to poor

Doha: An Indian restaurant in Doha has been offering free meal to the migrant labourers. "If you are hungry and have no money, eat for free,� says a board outside the restaurant. About three weeks ago the Indian brothers who own Zaiqa restaurant decided to put up a small makeshift sign offering free food to customers who cannot afford to pay. "When I saw the board I had tears in my eyes," said one of the owners, Shadab Khan, 47, originally from New Delhi, who has lived in Qatar for 13 years. "Even now when I talk about it, I get a lump in my throat." He said the idea came from his younger brother, Nishab.

Indian-origin author in SA admitted to mental hospital

Johannesberg: An Indian-origin author in South Africa, who was brutally assaulted after she allegedly praised controversial writer Salman Rushdie and was subjected to harassment, has been admitted to a mental hospital in Johannesburg. Zainub Priya Dala was hit in the face with a brick and a knife put to her throat last month after she praised Rushdie's writing at a literary event in a school in Durban. Initially, Dala told media she was recovering at home from the incident, but now PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel, who was visiting South Africa and had contact with Dala, has claimed that the continued harassment has led to the writer being admitted to a mental institution. "Regrettably, some members of the local Muslim community in Durban have ostracised Dala, putting her under extreme pressure to renounce her statement about Rushdie's work, to repent for her "sins," and to make a public vow of religious loyalty to Islam," Nossel said.

PIO teen cracks all 8 Ivy League schools, plus 6

Washington: Pooja Chandrashekhar, the daughter of Indian parents, has gained admission in 8 Ivy League schools, in addition to six other elite universities, for a unique 1414 record. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania are the eight Ivy Leagues that will be happy to accept the Virginia-born 17-year old, the only daughter of two engineers who emigrated from Bangalore. Also in the running for her are Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford, Duke, Georgia Tech, the University of Virginia, and the University of Michigan.

UNSC slaps sanctions on Pak Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah

United Nations: The UN Security Council has slapped sanctions on Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, mastermind of the Peshawar school massacre, for perpetrating and financing terror acts.

Fazlullah, 40, was added to the UN Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions list and will now be subject to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan commander, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah", was seriously injured in air strikes in Pakistan's restive Khyber tribal area late last month.

There were unconfirmed reports of his death in the air strike. The US had in January designated Fazlullah as a global terrorist and had slapped sanctions against him.

27

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

How to avoid Vitamin D deficiency Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia and arthritis, as well as childhood illnesses. So is sunshine and oily fish enough – or should you take supplements?

Vitamin D, the socalled sunshine vitamin, is rarely out of the news.

Take the past fortnight: a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology found that people with low levels of vitamin D died or relapsed earlier from a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The University of Florida showed that taking vitamin D supplements reduces pain and improves function in obese people with osteoarthritis. Conversely, Finnish scientists established that exercise reduces injury from falls in septuagenarian women significantly more than vitamin D supplements do.

Vitamin D deficiency has been inconclusively linked to numerous conditions, including breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis.

In fact, research on the topic was recently described by a Harvard medical professor as “the wild, wild west”. Amid the

fog of conflicting studies, the big news story that doctors in the UK were expecting last month has been postponed until after the election. The government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) was due to release its first report on vitamin D since 2007. The consensus is that the volume and ever-changing nature of the research to be waded through has rendered their job almost impossible, although some believe that this most recent delay (not the first) is political – perhaps an expensive mass supplementation programme is on the cards.

Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption, and some people in the northern hemisphere aren’t getting enough sun exposure to produce what they need, or aren’t supplementing levels sufficiently through diet (oily fish is one of the best sources). But we still don’t know the true scale of the

problem. Meanwhile, the affluent worried well are already merrily popping vitamin D capsules as a lifestyle choice. Even if you’re not deficient, the standard daily supplement dose (400iu for children, 1,000iu for adults) is unlikely to do you any harm – although it can be toxic in vast amounts.

Whether or not you’re wasting time and money is harder to tell.

One academic expert in this area, who prefers not to be named, says he chose not to supplement his children because he prefers to focus on a healthy diet and lifestyle.

He likens the rise in vitamin D supplementation to the recently debunked “magic supplement” status of antioxidants.

Government advice is that pregnant and breastfeeding women, the over65s and children from six months to five years old should take vitamin D supplements. However, although prescriptions are free for these groups, vitamins often aren’t included because they’re not classed as a drug. Dr Benjamin Jacobs, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal National orthopaedic hospital in London, warns that supplements and information are failing to reach those with the greatest need.

Vitamin E deficiency can damage brain An antioxidant and an important member of the vitamin community, Vitamin E is essential for the proper functioning of a number of processes in our body. Following a diet rich in Vitamin E can help you stay sharp but its deficiency may cause damage to brain cells says researchers.

Vitamin E deficiency may interrupt the supply of specific nutrients and rob the brain of the "building blocks" it needs to maintain neuronal health, the findings showed.

Maret Traber, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Lipid Research and professor at Oregon State University in the US said, "This research showed that vitamin E is needed to prevent a dramatic loss of a critically important molecule in the brain, and helps explain why vitamin E is needed for brain health."

Vitamin E in human diets is most often provided by dietary oils, such as olive oil. But many of the highest levels are in foods not rou-

tinely considered dietary staples – almonds, sunflower seeds or avocados.

The research showed that zebrafish fed with a diet deficient in vitamin E throughout their life had about 30 per cent lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid-containing phosphatidylcholines (DHA-PC), which is a part of the cellular membrane in every brain cell or neuron.

Other recent studies have concluded that lower level of DHA-PC in the blood plasma of humans is a biomarker

than can predict a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease.

"You cannot build a house without the necessary materials," said Traber. "In the sense, if vitamin E is inadequate, we are cutting by more than half the amount of materials with which we can build and maintain the brain.” The year-old zebrafish used in this study, and the deficient levels of vitamin E they were given, are equivalent to humans eating a low vitamin E diet for a lifetime.

Some sources of Vitamin E include spinach, tofu, nuts, sunflower seeds, avocado, fish, plant oils, broccoli, squash and pumpkin.

Shorter people more likely to get coronary heart disease, say University of Leicester scientists Shorter people are more likely to develop coronary heart disease, according to scientists at the University of Leicester.

Academics have completed a study that found every 2.5 inches difference in height affects people's likeliness of getting the condition.

The researchers say, for example, a 5ft-tall person has on average a 32 per cent higher risk of getting coronary heart disease than someone who stands at 5ft 6in.

Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of premature death worldwide and is caused by the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle becoming narrowed by built-up. It can lead to heart attacks.

Professor Sir Nilesh

Samani, the British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology, led the research. He said it had been evident there was an inverse relationship between height and risk of coronary heart disease for more than 60 years but said it was previously unclear if that was due to "confounding factors".

These factors might include poor socio-economic environment or nutrition during childhood that determine achieved height.

He said: "Now, using a genetic approach, researchers have shown that the association between shorter height and higher risk of coronary heart disease is a primary relationship and is not due to confounding factors."

Professor Samani, pictured, a consultant cardiologist at Leicester's Hospitals, admitted the findings did not have any immediate clinical implications that may open up future ways of treating and preventing heart disease.

The researcher had the genetic data of 200,000 people with or without coronary heart disease and looked at whether 180 genetic variants that affect height were also associated with coronary heart disease.

Caesarean sections should only be carried out when medically necessary, according to the World Health Organisation, which says the surgical procedure can put the health of women and their babies at risk.

The WHO reiterates the view of its health experts, who have said since 1985 that the “ideal rate” for caesarean sections is between 10% and 15% of births. Caesareans save lives for example when women are in obstructed labour or their babies are in distress.

But two new studies show that in countries where they account for more than 10% of births, “there is no evidence that mortality rates improve”, the WHO said.

About 25% of UK births are through caesarean section, up from 12% in 1990.

The rise is worldwide and thought to be a combination of doctors believing surgery is safer in potentially difficult births

and women choosing not to undergo labour. More than half of women giving birth have caesarean sections in Brazil and the figure rises to over 80% in private hospitals.

There are risks in any surgical procedure.

According to the National Institute of Healthcare and Clinical Excellence (Nice), a caesarean increases the risk that a baby will end up in intensive care and that women will stay longer in hospital, have a hysterectomy or a cardiac arrest. Its 2011 guidelines, however, state

that women who want a caesarean should get one, even if it is not for medical reasons.

The WHO says the full effects of a caesarean on mother and child are not yet clear. “Across a population, the effects of caesarean section rates on maternal and newborn outcomes such as stillbirths or morbidities like birth asphyxia are still unknown.

More research on the impact of caesarean sections on women’s psychological and social wellbeing is still needed,” it said.

Caesarean Sections should only be done out of medical necessity: WHO

Doctors call for Prostate Scan A study suggests that MRI scans to test for prostate cancer will improve treatment and spare many men from having needless surgery.

The British researchers found that by combining MRI with ultrasound, it significantly improved the diagnosis of tumours and aided doctors to determine the most aggressive cancers.

Doctors hope that this

method could permit men with less threatening can-

cers to avoid gruelling surgery or radiotherapy.

28

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

A

Simran is back with a bang

fter a gap, Simran is back to storm Kollywood in multiple avatars. As actress, she will be seen in a trilingual titled 'Karaioram' and G V Prakash Kumarstarrer 'Trisha Illana Nayanthara'. As producer, the top yesteryear heroine has lined up a couple of projects on behalf of her banner Simran & Sons.

And one among them will be directed by none other than Simran herself. "Simran has decided to keep herself busy in cinema, especially Kollywood.

She and her husband Deepak Bagga will take care of Simran & Sons. In both 'Karaioram' and 'TIN', she has bagged interesting roles," sources said.

F

Keerthi on cloud 9

irst, who is this Keerthi?

The bubbly girl is the daughter of yesteryear actress Menaka, who acted in various Tamil films in the 80s. Keerthi is now paired up with Vikram Prabhu for the flick “Idhu Enna Mayam.” That’s not the last straw, the actress is also paired up with rising star Siva Karthikeyan for Rajini Murugan and with Bobby Simha for Pambu Sattai directed by Adam who happened to be director Shankar’s assistant. Cinema was an integral part of her childhood with both her parents from the film field; it was natural that she hogged the limelight

Anjali in Karthik Subbaraj's 'Iraivi'

soon. In “Idhu Enna Mayam” she plays Maya, a sweet and a charming Chennaite.

She further explains that her parents were right behind her when she choose acting to be her career, and gave away valuable snippets to obtain perfection.

T

hough the names of the male leads (Vijay Sethupathi, S J Suryah and Bobby Simha) were revealed long back, the name of the heroine of Karthik Subbaraj's “Iraivi” was kept under wraps so far. The latest is we learn is that the film will have more than one female lead and one among them will be Anjali, who is all set for a strong comeback in Kollywood. Anjali is currently in Singapore for a Telugu film and she is likely to start shooting for “Iraivai” by the last week of the month. Also, talks are said to be on with two more actresses.

Dhanush's childhood captured on film

T

he National Award winning “Kaaka Muttai” directed by Manikandan is making huge strides after receiving appreciation from international audiences while participating in the festival circuits around the globe. Co-producer, director Vetriamaran in an interview explained how “Kaaka Muttai” came into being.

Vetrimaran impressed after watching a short film by Manikandan asked him if he had a feature film script and immediately liked the idea of “Kaaka Muttai” and then he sent the script to Dhanush who was shooting for “Ranjhanaa” in Delhi who got super excited after reading and said that the story exactly matched his own childhood and immediately jumped on board as co-producer and was instrumental in pushing for the film to gain recognition. The National Award winning child stars Ramesh and Vignesh were picked while Manikandan was scouting for locations and Vetrimaran added that the director has rendered the picture with subtleties that were universal and hence no wonder that at the Toronto International Film festival ‘Kaaka Muttai’ received standing ovation. Vetrimaran, Dhanush and Fox Star Studios are confident that ‘Kaaka Muttai’ will reach mainstream audiences breaking the jinx that art films carry.

'Bangistan'

“Bangistan” is an u p c o m i n g Bollywood comedy film starring Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat. The film has been directed by Karan Anshuman. Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar will produce it. The film follows the lives of two blundering terrorists on a mission to change the world.

Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat play the young guns with lofty ideologies but ordinary talent who keep pace with a series of serendipitous high-energy, fast-paced, and exceptionally entertaining events that has a huge impact on world peace.

'Mr. X'

“Mr. X” is an upcoming Indian 3D sci-fi thriller directed Vikram Bhatt, written by Shagufta Rafique, and produced by Mukesh Bhatt. The film stars Emraan Hashmi

and Amyra Dastur. The film revolves around a man who gains the power of invisibility, and becomes a vigilante to take revenge on those who have wronged him. The trailer was released on 5 March 2015. A young couple who are government officers dedicated to their jobs and the nation. They are impassioned about their work and each other. All that changes in an instant in the face of a shocking betrayal which turns the tables on both of them. A potent solution to all of these crimes is discovered by the young man, in the form of invisibility, a condition that befalls the hero. The power of invisibility can be used to great good or can be corrupted to great evil; which does he choose? Especially when confronted with the one obstacle between achieving his goal and becoming all live without his love.

Salman Khan gets Daisy Shah role in 'Hate Story 3'

A

fter Zarine Khan, it's Salman Khan's “Jai Ho” discovery Daisy Shah who has landed a role in the erotic thriller “Hate Story 3,” thanks to his recommendation.

Daisy, who debuted opposite the actor in Sohail Khan's directorial “Jai Ho,” has been cast as one of the leading ladies of “Hate Story 3,” which also features Karan Singh Grover and Sharman Joshi. Said a source close to the development, "Daisy's career didn't really hit the big league post “Jai Ho.” She was waiting for the right projects to come by but was offered only small roles, nothing that would dramatically enhance her career." All it took Sallu was a couple of calls to sort out Daisy's quandary.

29

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

A

Amitabh, Deepika and Irrfan come together in 'Piku' mitabh Bachchan, D e e p i k a Padukone and Irrfan Khan have come together for Shoojit Sircar’s family comedy drama “Piku,” that hits theatres on 8th May. Produced by MSM Motion Pictures, Rising Sun Films and S a r a s w a t i Entertainment, “Piku” is being distributed by Yash Raj Films.

A fresh and ingenious comedy-drama that trails an extraordinary yet very quirky father-daughter relationship, “Piku” will charm cinemagoers of all ages. One of India’s most versatile directors, Shoojit Sircar, leads cross-generational audiences on a cinematic journey that represents original, Indian cinema at its most accomplished.

Beautifully conveyed onscreen and balancing emotion with breezy humour, “Piku” is a must-watch movie.

Among the industry’s most

celebrated artists, Amitabh, Deepika and Irrfan lead the filmatic road trip in loveable lead roles, supported by Moushumi Chatterjee, Jishu Sengupta and Raghuveer Yadav.

Perfectly harmonising the feel-

good atmosphere of the film is an infectiously catchy soundtrack, courtesy of c o m p o s e r Anupam Roy. Synopsis: Piku (Deepika Padukone) is a Delhi-based architect who manages her small business, runs her home and takes care of her 70-year-old father, Bhashkor B a n e r j i ( A m i t a b h Bachchan), who spends most of his time obsessing about age related issues.

Piku’s Baba must ensure that he has her attention 24/7, leaving her with little time to do anything else.

Romance and getting a life of her own just don’t seem possible! While both are deeply attached to one another, they are equally strong headed,

‘Jai Ho’- film on Rahman all set for global viewing

Charusmita

I

t was minus 20 degrees temperature in New York and there was a long queue outside The Museum of Moving Image, New York, on 25th of February to watch their admired composer on-screen. “Jai Ho,” the 85 minute film traces milestones in personal and professional life of A.R. Rahman. Time magazine has placed him in its list of World's Most Influential People; the recording and mixing studio attached to the backyard of his house is one of the most advanced studios in the world; his prolific body of work, over 120 film scores worldwide at last count in a career that spans two decades, makes him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.

The film is not a biography of Rahman. The film follows his ‘style’, a fusion of eastern sensi-

bilities and western technology.

The connoisseurs of music, who extol Rahman as India’s contribution to the global music scene, are looking forward to catch rare glimpses of his life coupled with revealing interviews with his collaborators. “Jai Ho” is the first ever definitive documentary film on the living legend Rahman. The film is produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust (psbt.org), External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, government of India.

Fakhri lashes out at media

N

stubborn and just won’t let go when dealing with each other’s idiosyncrasies and quirks!

When Bhashkor emotionally blackmails Piku to take a road trip from Delhi to Kolkata, the owner of the local cab service, Rana (Irrfan Khan), has no choice but to drive them personally since none of his drivers are willing to endure Piku or her eccentric father. During this undesired road trip they learn to deal with each other’s moods and idiosyncrasies and it reveals more than Bhashkor’s bathroom habits.

What follows is a heady mix of motion, emotion and commotion, which culminates as Piku and Bhaskhor return to their roots in Kolkata, giving us an insight into the father-daughter relationship where Bhaskor’s irritating yet endearing demeanour and Piku’s equally headstrong nature may always be at loggerheads but this seemingly dysfunctional relationship is bonded by an understated and an unconditional love that leaves you wanting more.

argis Fakhri is angry over the "false stories" in the media that she has declined a film with actor Bobby Deol citing date issues. Fakhri lashed out at the media for such false reports and cleared that she was not offered any such film.

"Unverified info seems 2b the media norm.

How can i decline work that I've never been offered?!

A#MadeUpShit #GetYoFactsRight," the actress tweeted.

Rumours are abuzz that Fakhri was offered a film being made under Bobby Deol's home production. However, she reportedly turned it down due to date issues. Meanwhile, as of now, the “Main Tera Hero” actress has no film in her kitty.

Director of the film is Umesh Aggarwal who has won many awards for his films, including National Film Award. Last year he won the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in Journalism. The Indian premiere of the film was held at the Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 7th of April and was received with a standing ovation. “Jai Ho” is selected for the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles popularly known as IFFLA. The film is shot in Los

Angeles, London, Chennai and Mumbai. Besides his family and friends the film features Rahman’s multifarious collaborators– Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Danny Boyle, Shekhar Kapur, Mani Ratnam, Ram Gopal Varma, Subhash Ghai, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Alka Yagnik, Hari Haran and Bharat Bala. It’s not a biography and is titled famously after the soundtrack that won him the first ever Music Oscar for India.

From jamming in a super group with Mick Jagger; belting out dreams for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway drama; performing with Michael Jackson and Friends; composing for Vanessa May’s album; rummaging through the vast archives of Chinese and Japanese Classical music to compose for a mandarin language film, Rahman has catapulted Indian film Music to the world stage –single handedly.

Shahid colours his hair blue for 'Udta Punjab'

S

hahid Kapoor has been making waves in the industry for his cool pony tail that he is sporting for “Udta Punjab.”

The actor has now added a dash of blue to his hairdo.

His pony tail for A b h i s h e k Chaubey’s “Udta Punjab” unfortunately got sidelined ever since the news broke that Shahid is about to get married to Delhi based undergrad Mira Rajput.

While the marriage news of Shahid has been hogging the limelight, the actor has been busy posting some pictures of him in his new hairdo.

He surprised everyone when he posted a Instagram picture of his hair with a streak of blue in it. The

actor captioned the picture, “Adding some colour to the dark and edgy #udtapunjab.

Can’t wait to start this one.” Not long ago, Shah Rukh Khan has sported a blonde streak of hair for Farah Khan’s “Happy New Year.” But by colouring his hair blue, Shahid has set the B-town buzzing as people are expecting yet another intense stellar performance from him just like “Haider.”

Just couple of days back, Shahid was spotted flaunting in his pony tail, goofing around in the bike during IPL opening ceremony rehearsals.

So when will see Shahid showing off his blue streak hair out in the open?

Freida says pole dancing is Kissing has lost its shock Lisa Ray back in action all about 'butt strength' with 'Ishq Forever' value: Emraan Hashmi

F

reida Pinto, who recently showed her pole dancing skills in Bruno Mars' 'Gorilla' music video, revealed that pole dancing is all about butt strength. The 'Desert Dancer' actress, who played a role of stripper in Mar's latest music video, said that one needs to have a whole lot of backside muscle to master pole dancing as its actually difficult and requires proper technique, People Magazine reported. The 30year-old actress also confessed that she didn't show off her assets in nude scenes from her 2011 film, 'Immortals'.

B

ollywood actor Emraan Hashmi feels that kissing has lost its shock value. A report quoted the actor as saying that a few years ago, the film industry and the audience were against kissing scenes but now they have almost accepted it. The actor further stated that though all his films had strong storytelling and characters, the kissing scenes were highlighted the most, and he found that unfair. He also mentioned in the report that he is happy, now that other actors are also doing the same kind of scenes.

M

odel-turned-actress Lisa Ray will be seen next in a romantic film titled “Ishq Forever” that has been produced by Ajay Shah, Harry Gandhi and Shabbir Boxwala. The 43-year-old diva, presently in Hong Kong, flew to Mumbai to get started on this upcoming project. It’s said that Lisa is playing the role of a secret agent in this romantic musical that will be directed by Sanjay Dayma.

30

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Events celebrate the life of Indian freedom fighter The life of an Indian freedom fighter is to be celebrated with a week of events in Wolverhampton.

Members of the Dr Ambedkar Memorial Committee are staging a range of activities, including an exhibition, film show and musical celebration, in honour of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

Dr Ambedkar (1891 to 1956) was a jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Modern Buddhist Movement.

He campaigned against social discrimination of Dalits, women and labour and was Independent India's first law minister and the principal architect of the Constitution of India. In 1956 he embraced Buddhism, and millions of Dalits followed him to do the same. He was posthu-

mously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

To raise awareness of, and celebrate, his achievements, the Wolverhampton based Dr Ambedkar Memorial Committee have organised a series of events next week. They included an exhibition of his life at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from Saturday (11 April) to Saturday 18 April, 2015, which wasofficially unveiled by Jitendra Kumar Sharma from the Consul General of India, while a film about his life and mission will be shown at Light House Media Centre on Friday 17 April, 2015, from 7pm.

Copies of The Life and Mission of Dr Ambedkar

by Dhananjay Keer will be presented to each library in Wolverhampton by

New GCSE reference tests 'could be compulsory'

New National Reference Tests to help set GCSE grade boundaries could be made compulsory for thousands of pupils in England.

The exams regulator Ofqual previously suggested the tests would be voluntary. But the Times Educational Supplement says hundreds of schools could be forced to enter a sample of their year 11 students.

And Ofqual has con-

firmed to the BBC it has "discussed" making them compulsory with government officials.

Head teachers fear the tests would have to be mandatory in order to provide a nationally representative sample of pupils. An Ofqual spokeswoman confirmed it had raised the possibility with the Department for Education but no formal request had yet been made.

Coming Events

Pandit Satish Vyas – Rare Santoor Concert at The Bhavan, 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE on Sunday 19th April 2015, 6pm The Bhavan, London’s leading centre of Indian art and culture presents a rarely seen concert by renowned Santoor Maestro, Pandit Satish Vyas direct from Mumbai. Blessed with a formidable musical background and training, by his celebrated father, the late Padma Bhushan Pandit C. R. Vyas and the legendary Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Satish has graced stages across the globe for the last 25 years, helping spread the haunting sounds of the Santoor. The Santoor is an instrument of 100 strings known as ‘Shatatantri Vaadya’ in the Sanskrit language and has an ethereal effect on the listener.

Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Sales Executive: Daxa Gami - Email: daxa.gami@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4089 - Mobile: 07875 229 111 Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad.

Tel. +91 79 2646 5960 Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (M) +91 94266 36912 Email: nilesh.parmar@abplgroup.com

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Pankaj Sharma from the General Council of India during a ceremony at Central Library on Saturday 18 April, and the week of events concludes with a celebration at the Wulfrun Hall on Sunday 19 April, featuring singers and speakers.

Dr Ambedkar Memorial Committee President Dev Lal Suman said: "This is a great opportunity for us to tell people about the work Dr Ambedkar did for humani-

ty, human rights, social justice, equality and liberty, and to inspire today's generation.

"He faced harsh social, religious and economic difficulties as a result of the practices of the caste system, but managed to elevate himself to become one of the most educated personalities of his time.

"He distinguished himself in many fields of public life and today he is remembered as a father of the Indian Constitution and Great Revivalist of Buddhism in modern India.

"His memory is cherished by millions of people around the world and has been a source of inspiration to the nation in its march towards the goal of social equality."

He has also been honoured with a 'Google Doodle'.

Body found in search for missing Slough man Rajan Gill A BODY has been recovered from the Jubilee River in connection with the disappearance of Slough man Rajan Gill.

Rajan, 20, went missing from his home address in Staunton Road, Manor Park, at around 4pm on Monday, March 16.

At 4.42pm last Saturday, Thames Valley Police received a call from a member of the public who thought they had seen a body in the Jubilee River. Firefighters were also called to the scene in The Myrke, between Slough and Datchet.

Police officers and fire-

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Your thinking is inspired, so listen to your thoughts. This may be a time of expansion and improved opportunity and it would be unwise to let yourself become complacent. A good time for restructuring and rethinking your aims and interests. Affairs of the heart are likely to flourish.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Extra energy and drive will

serve you well in getting things accomplished. There appears to be a more successful trend coming into effect. Amorous affairs continue to be highlighted - whether or not this leads to a lasting relationship depends much on your own personal maturity and circumstances.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 The outlook remains opti-

mistic as developments bring you a sense of real achievement. Relationships look great as Venus and Mars help to enhance your personal magnetism and put you in a gregarious mood.

Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on love and creativity, make the most of this phase.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

Don't be afraid to act forcefully if your instinct tells you it's time for change. This week the focus is your house of family and home. Besides spending more time tending to domestic affairs, the focus can be on cultivating and nourishing your inner foundations, so to speak.

There is a definite expansive trend where money is concerned, so do not be surprised if this turns out be a time of fortunate opportunities and lucky breaks. Keep your assertive inclination under control as conflict and disagreement could be sparked off by your short-sightedness. Think carefully about the implications of your actions.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

fighters recovered the body and although no formal identification has yet taken place, the body is believed to be that of Rajan. His next of kin have been informed of the discovery.

The death is being treated by police as unexplained but not suspicious.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 This is a good time to get away from usual routines and seek a retreat for a few days. All the better if you are interested in such things as meditation, yoga and therapies that help you to get in closer touch with your inner self. This will have a beneficial effect on your physical and psychological well-being.

Co-operative ventures are likely to generate financial success. So, if hoping to drum up support or backing, it would certainly do no harm to adopt a more pushy and outgoing approach to life. Social life will draw you into a wider circle and chances of meeting someone attractive are increased.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The fiery planet Mars is the moving force in regard to amorous experience, giving more than just a hint that links between lovers will be rather intense and passionate. Legal or official matters are likely to occupy your time. Venus, the planet of love and money has moved into your solar 8th house.

Consulting Editor: Bhupatbhai Parekh, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Tel: +91 79 2630 4142 Urvashi Jagadeesan (India) Mumbai: Kanti Bhatt, Hemraj Shah (Jumbo Advertiser) Horizon Advertising & Marketing: 2012, Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad. Tel +91 79 2646 5960 Email: horizon.marketing@abplgroup.com Business Manager: Hardik Shah (M) +91 99250 42936 Email: hardik.shah@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Neeta Patel (Vadodara) M: +91 98255 11702 Email: neeta_abplgroup@yahoo.co.in Business Co-ordinator: Shrijit Rajan M: +91 98798 82312 Email: shrijit.rajan@abplgroup.com International Advertisement Representative: Jain Group (South India) Tel: +91 44 42041122/3/4 Fax: +91 44 25362973 Mumbai: +91 022 2471 4122 Email: jain@jaingroup.net Delhi Office: Tel: +91 9311581597

Asian Voice Head Office

Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080, Fax: 020 7749 4081 www.abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

Asian Voice switchboard: 020 7749 4000 Gujarat Samachar switchboard: 020 7749 4080 Advertising Sales: 020 7749 4085 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly

asianVoiceNews

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Regardless of the limits, you have the capacity to turn the course of your life in a more fulfilling direction. Saturn in your sign of freedom, and a disdain for routine will help you organize your priorities and systematically put them into practice. People entering your life now will encourage you to move beyond your established boundaries of safety.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You will be pleased to see that your social life livens up during this week. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. If you are involved in a fairly competitive field of activity, you will come out on top.

You have everything to gain by following creative inclinations. If you have new ideas, now is the time to put them into practice. Whatever your present interests you are likely to find that new doors open and the way ahead offers increased scope for expressing your real self. A great time to meet and interact with people.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Much enthusiasm goes into professional ambitions right now, but you need to be your own boss in many ways. You will be determined to place your lifestyle on a foundation of greater security. Taking a broad perspective on the prevailing cosmic pattern, far-reaching change begins to gather momentum.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Sania Mirza is world No 1 in doubles

Sania Mirza made history in the American harbour city of Charleston late on Sunday, becoming the first Indian woman to claim the world No 1 position in the individual doubles ranking. The big-hitting 28year-old, who altered her schedule to chase the topspot in the WTA rankings, was all smiles following the emotional triumph.

Sania, achieved the feat playing alongside her Swiss partner Martina Hingis, the duo combining to win the title in the Family Circle Club, a WTA Premier event played on green clay. They beat Aussie Casey Dellacqua and Croatia's Darja Jurak 6-0, 6-4 in 58 minutes in the title round.

Earlier in the week, the champions climbed to the no1 position as a team, making it a grand double for the outfit that is unbeaten since they came together three weeks ago, winning titles in Indian

Sania Wells and Miami on hard courts, before emerging victorious on clay this week.

While Sania displaced the joint-No 1s Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci to claim sole ownership of the top spot of the individual rankings, the Indo-Swiss combine moved from No 3 at the start of the week, to No 1 after their quarter final win on Friday, replacing Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena

Mirza Vesnina on the Road to Singapore Doubles leader board.

The champion combine, who won all their previous rounds in Charleston in the specialtie-break, took home $39,000 and 470 points.

Hingis and Sania are now 14-0 together, 5-0 to win Indian Wells, 5-0 to win Miami and 4-0 in their latest run.

They were 200 in sets after their first two tournaments, but took their time

adjusting to the surface in Charleston, where they were tested. "One of our best qualities as a pair is that no matter how we're playing, we keep fighting," Sania said. "We've had matches where we haven't played our best, and we still come out winning, and that really helps. We keep trying and we keep believing in our abilities."

Sania and the 34-yearold Hingis were off the blocks quickly in the final, charging to a 5-0 lead in 18 minutes, then wrapping up the first set in 23 minutes.

Broken in the opening game of the second set, the top-seeds pulled right back winning the next four games. They took a 5-2 lead before the AussieCroat duo won the next two games, breaking the fancied pair when they served for the match in the ninth game. They then closed on their second match-point of the game in just under an hour.

on Saturday.

India scored both their goals through field strikes from last match's hat-trick man Nikkin Thimmaiah (10th) and Satbir Singh (22nd), while Korea scored from penalty corners converted by You

Hyosik (20th) and Nam Hyunwoo (29th).

India's vice-captain P R Sreejesh had a fantastic day under the bar as he not only made numerous saves in the entire 60 minutes, but also turned out to be India's hero in the shoot-out, denying two Korean efforts to help his side register the muchneeded victory.

The only blemish for India was penalty corners.

The Sardar Singh-led side failed to secure a single set piece but their backline as usual crumbled under pressure and gave away seven short corners.

India beat Korea, finish 3rd in hockey

India produced a spirited performance to beat Korea 4-1 in the penalty shootout after both the teams were locked at 2-2 at regulation time, to finish a creditable third in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, at Ipoh in Malaysia on Sunday.

The win is sure to act as a morale booster for the Indian team, which is witnessing a transition phase after new chief coach Paul van Ass took over from Terry Walsh barely a month ago. The third place finish also marks a relatively good beginning for

Rio Olympics ticket for shooter Apurvi

Apurvi Chandela Commonwealth Games gold medal winning Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela qualified for next year's Olympic Games after notching up the 10m air rifle bronze in the ongoing ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Changwon, Korea.

Apurvi shot a total of 185.6 in the finals, to finish behind Pejcic Snjezana of Croatia, who won gold, and Ivana Maksimovic of Serbia, who clinched the silver medal. Pejcic eventually finished with a score of 209.1 to Ivana's 207.7 at the end of the gold medal match up. There were three Olympic quota places to be bagged in the event.

Van Ass, who was in his maiden assignment with the Indian team. For India, who had earlier drawn 1-1 with Korea in the league stages, the win came on the back of a stunning 4-2 win over world champions and title holders Australia

Current highest earning global Indian sportspersons 9. Ravindra Jadeja - $2 million

Continued from page 20 Born on 6th December 1988, in Saurashtra, Ravindra Jadeja ( R a v i n d r a s i n h Anirudhsinh Jadeja) is a left-hand batsman.

Jadeja made his mark in India's 2006 and 2008 Under-19 World Cups. He was included in the senior side in 2009 due to his remarkable performances in his previous domestic season, with over 700 runs and 42 wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja became a regular in India's

limited overs side with accurate bowling and fielding. In 2012, Jadeja

achieved a record of being the eighth batsmen to score three triple tons.

The major teams Jadeja has played for are India, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

In 2013, Ravindra Jadeja was awarded with the Golden Ball. He was declared the man of the match of the ICC Champions Trophy final against England. He also picked the most number of wickets (12) in the tournament.

10. Ajinkya Rahane - $1.52 million

Ajinkya Rahane (Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane) was born on 6th June 1988, in Maharashtra. He is a right-hand batsman and a right-arm medium bowler.

Rahane is one of the only 11 players to have scored more than 1000 runs in a single Ranji trophy season.

Rahane made his T20 debut in 2011 against England. He made 61 runs

on his debut. In the very next match, he debuted in ODI, again against England. The major teams Ajinkya Rahane has played for are India, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

Ajinkya Rahane has won Player of the Match Awards for ODI in 2011 against England and 2014 against Bangladesh, England and Sri Lanka.

SPORT WORLD

Saina Nehwal drops to World No. 2

31

After reaching a career-high of World No. 1 in women's singles, Saina Nehwal dropped to No. 2 in the revised Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings as reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui re-took the top spot.

The Hyderabadi had become the first Indian woman to reach No. 1 recently after finishing runner-up to reigning World Champion Carolina Marin at All England and winning the India Open in March. She skipped the ongoing Singapore Open to give herself a break. Meanwhile, PV Sindhu, who is out with an injury for some time, is still ranked No. 9. In men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth is still at No. 4 followed by compatriot HS Prannoy at No. 14. Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap rose two places to No. 15. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also rose a place to be ranked No. 18 in women's doubles. There are no Indians in the top-25 of men's and mixed doubles rankings.

Indian-origin Bhullar makes NBA history

Gursimran 'Sim' Bhullar has become the first player of Indian descent to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after making his debut for Sacramento Kings. The 22-year-old came on with 16 seconds remaining in the Kings' 116-111 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 7ft 5 inch Canada-born centre said he hoped he could help popularise the game in India after joining the Kings'. "It was a great feeling and I'm happy to be kind of an ambassador," he was quoted as saying. Bhullar added: "Hopefully, more kids growing up will see there's a player of Indian descent on the court and we can get a couple more Indian NBA players." The NBA is the men's professional basketball league in America.

IPL Results from April 8 to 13

Match 01.

Date

8 April

Teams

02.

9 April

03.

10 April

CSK v/s DD at Chennai CSK won by 1 run Brief Scores: CSK 150/7(20) DD 149/9(20)

04.

11 April

05.

11 April

06.

12 April

07.

12 April

08.

13 April

MI v/s KKR at Kolkata KKR won by 7 wickets Brief Scores: MI 168/3(20) KKR 170/3(18.3)

RR v/s KXIP at Pune RR won by 26 runs Brief Scores: RR 162/7(20) KXIP 136/8(20)

CSK v/s SRH at Chennai CSK won by 45 runs Brief Scores: CSK 209/4(20) SRH 164/6(20)

KKR v/s RCB at Kolkata RCB won by 3 wickets Brief Scores: KKR 177/6(20) RCB 179/7(19) DD v/s RR at Delhi RR won by 3 wickets Brief Scores: DD 184/3(20) RR 186/7(20)

KXIP v/s MI at Mumbai KXIP won by 18 runs Brief Scores: KXIP 177/5(20) MI 159/7(20)

RCB v/s SRH at Bangalore SRH won by 8 wickets Brief Scores: RCB 166/10(19.5) SRH 172/2(17.2)

32

SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 18th April 2015

Warner, bowlers seal easy win for Sunrisers

After captain David Warner smashed a 27-ball 57 in an opening stand of 82 in 7.5 overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad only needed to play sensibly to chase down Royal Challengers Bangalore's 166 in IPL 2015. And they did just that on their way to an eight-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday night.

However, Warner wasn't the only one to have influenced the win. The SRH bowlers, led by Trent Boult, came back strongly in the second half of the first innings and took five wickets in the last two overs to keep RCB quite a few runs short. Buoyed by his bowlers' late comeback, Warner provided his team with a blistering start and the RCB bowlers no answers to his assault that included three fours and a six in the second over bowled by Harshal Patel.

The foundations of a successful chase were laid.

Legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal removed Warner and Kane Williamson, pro-

moted to No.3, in quick succession but that was as good as it got for SRH. Shikhar Dhawan (50*) and Lokesh Rahul (44*) forged a 78-run alliance to take their team to their first win this season with 16 balls to spare.

Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar might have damaged RCB's hopes of a good total in the last few overs but it was Ravi Bopara at the heart of SRH's revival.

Bopara, the bowler is not someone who you would put your money on in a crucial situation. However, his dibbly-dobblies were responsible in reining in RCB from a solid position.

At 93 for 2 and with Virat Kohli and de Villiers at the crease in the 12th over, RCB were looking good for a big total when Bopara bowled back-to-back wicket-taking deliveries.

De Villiers had already hit the England allrounder

for fours off the first two balls of the over and not giving another was what must have preoccupied him. Once de Villiers was off strike off the fourth ball, Bopara accounted for Kohli and Mandeep Singh to bring SRH in the ascendancy for the first time in the match.

Kohli made 41 off 37 balls but wasn't at his best and got out just when he had started playing his strokes. Boult must have felt robbed when the umpire denied him what looked like a straight lbw against Kohli, who was on 5, in the third over of the match.

Boult's first spell of three overs wasn't what one would expect from a bowler who was the jointhighest wicket-taker at the World Cup. He erred in length several times and once even fell down in his follow-through. Boult's ineffectual spell meant Chris Gayle and Kohli raced away to 43 in 5.2 overs and it needed former India bowler Praveen Kumar, playing his first

game, to remove Gayle for 21. Karn Sharma accounted for Dinesh Karthik for 9 not long after that, and then Bopara bowled that double-wicket over to buoy SRH's spirits.

De Villiers scored a 28ball 46 to keep RCB's quest of a good total alive before things fell apart in the last two overs. Boult made up for his poor first spell with the wickets of de Villiers, Sean Abbott and Harshal in the penultimate over and played a big role in RCB being at least 15 runs short.

Bhuvneshwar too shone in the last over and picked up two wickets to end RCB's innings in 19.5 overs.

Those two overs went a long way towards securing SRH an easy win.

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 166 all out in 19.5 overs (De Villiers 46; Kohli 41, Gayle 21; Boult 3/36, Bhuvneshwar 2/30) lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad 172/2 in 17.2 overs (Warner 57, Dhawan 50*, Rahul 44*; Chahal 2/28) by eight wickets.

'Voice of cricket' Richie Benaud dies aged 84

Richie Benaud

Former Australian captain Richie Benaud, known as the "voice of cricket" to fans around the world, has died aged 84. Benaud, one of Australia's most influential cricketers, had been fighting skin cancer and died in a Sydney hospice.

He was the first player to score 2,000 Test runs and take 200 Test wickets.

Australia never lost a series under the leg-spinning all-rounder's captaincy. A veteran on 63 Tests, Benaud anchored Channel Nine's cricket coverage for decades and played a pivotal role in the formation of World Series Cricket in the 1970s. He became one of the world cricket's most recognized and admired commentators.