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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 41. ISSUE 49

80p

20th April to 26th April 2013

Death of Gujarati mum and 2 daughters shock the community London Marathon to go ahead as planned

Heena Solanki with daughters Prisha & Jasmine

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London Marathon will go ahead as planned on Sunday despite the horrific scenes at Boston Marathon, where explosions near the finish line killed at least three people and wounded more than 100, Britain’s sports minister Hugh Roberston said. Security is

being tightened for the London event, which will attract 36,000 runners.

The Boston blasts, which left many people gravely injured, detonated close to spectators standing behind roadside barriers. It was the worst bombing on US soil since security was

tightened after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and President Barack Obama promised to hunt down whoever was responsible for the attack on a day when tens of thousands of spectators packed the streets to watch the famous race.

Continued on page 26

British Indians especially the Gujarati community is shocked and shaken to learn about the sudden and unexpected death of a the young mother Heena Solanki (34) and her two children Prisha (4) and Jasmine (9) at their semidetached Ruislip family home in North West London, which she shared with her husband Kalpesh and parents in law Chaganlalbhai (71) and Kalavatiben Solanki (61).

It is believed that Heena, who was a Chemical lab technician may have killed her children using a poisonous gas before taking her own

life. Detectives suspect that Heena may have used her chemistry knowledge to do so. Though the real reason for the death is unknown, as Asian Voice went to print, The Daily Telegraph reportedly said that Heena may have been suffering from depression, it has been claimed.

Officers from Scotland Yard’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command are not seeking anyone else in connection with the three deaths so far.

Residents from the neighbourhood paid tribute to the mother and her “beautiful” and “friendly” Continued on page 8

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Keith Vazwith MP

Keith Vaz MP 5. What is the best thing about your current role?

The best thing about my current role is that I am my own boss!! And I can go forward to fulfill my dreams.

Victor M. Albuquerque Victor Albuquerque is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Alcon Victor Group based in Panaji, Goa. The group has a number of hotels in both North and South Goa specialising in charter tourism, including the Resort Dona Sylvia and the Radisson Blu Resort at Cavelossim Beach and the Victor Exotica Beach Resort at Candolim. The group has recently diversified its portfolio to include medical care and has pioneered the first Super Speciality Hospital in Goa, the Apollo Victor Hospital in collaboration with the well known Apollo Group of Hospitals. With the setting up of the hospital, the group has created the first ever College of Nursing in Goa. 1. Please tell us about your current position?

As Chairman and Managing Director of Alcon Victor Group we own and manage two 5 star Resorts in south Goa and one 3 star hotel in Candolim, North Goa. We also own and operate an Ayurveda and Naturopathy Centre with 60 cottages on a beautiful island in Divar which is very popular not only in India but also with the Europeans who come for treatment at the Centre.

The Apollo Victor Hospital which is the franchisee of the well known hospital group is

fully managed by us and since it became operational a decade ago, very few Goans need to visit other states for health problems. We are now in the process of constructing a Cancer Hospital in Panaji which we hope will go a long way in the detection & treatment of cancer.

2. What are your proudest achievements?

I have always been a dreamer and enjoy being a pioneer in various activities such as starting the first “Rent Back” scheme in 1985 where various

6. And the worst?

My age!! I am 71 years old; I feel that age is against me.

However I hope my sons will take forward my dreams.

7. What are your long term goals?

My long term goals would be to achieve excellence in whatever I do keeping in mind integrity, honesty & hard work as my goals without which nothing can be achieved.

owners leased their premises to us for renting them to charter tourists. This was at a time when there were hardly any hotels in North Goa. Although I am not a doctor I ventured to set up the first super speciality hospital in Goa. 3. What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

Frankly, I did not have any major obstacles in my career, except in 1986 when we had a major setback in the Gulf

Thatcher was “First British Asian Prme Minister” says Alok Sharma, MP Alok Sharma, the Member of Parliament for Reading West paid tribute to Margaret Thatcher by describing her as the ‘first British Asian Prime Minister’.

Sharma made the reference during a special Parliamentary session in tribute of Baroness Thatcher, after the Speaker granted permission for Parliament to be recalled from the Easter recess.

Speaking in Parliament, Alok Sharma said: “My father often remarked that Margaret Thatcher was not just the first British female Prime Minister, but the first British Asian Prime Minister. He was not jok-

.

ing - he does do jokes, but never about Baroness Thatcher. He always said that she might not look like us, but she absolutely thought like us. What he meant was that she shared and empathised with our values, experiences and ethos. She

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4. Who has been your biggest influence on your career to date ?

My mother has been the biggest influence in my career. She was very enterprising; however my father was the opposite – a simple Government servant. It is her backing in the earlier stages that made me venture in to the business realm.

9. If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa because they had a vision for a better world and they proved it with their lives.

Terrorists plotted to attack Territorial Army base using toy car bomb

Alok Sharma, MP

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where we had setup a joint venture and had a business loss which taught us to move cautiously then onwards.

8. If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change?

To see a better India where opportunities are equally available to everyone irrespective of caste, creed, religion, etc. to see India free of corruption and nepotism.

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faced prejudice not because of her race but because of her gender. As the Prime Minister said earlier, in his moving tribute, she understood what it took to break through the glass ceiling.

For immigrant families such as mine, she was aspiration personified.”

Parents inflicting emotional cruelty to be treated as 'criminals' Parents who inflict extreme emotional cruelty on their children through neglect must be prosecuted in the criminal courts, a senior former judge reportedly said.

Baroness Butler-Sloss said that cases such as last year’s Edlington torture case exposed the need for a new law that would make parents criminally responsible for child cruelty.

“The present law dates from 1933 and is not fit for purpose,” she said. “It only covers physical neg-

Zahid Iqbal, Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, Syed Farhan Hussain and Umar Arshad

Four men had plotted a terror attack on a Territorial Army base using a remote-controlled toy car packed with explosives, a court heard on Monday.

They allegedly intended to direct the car through a gap under the gate and set it off beneath a vehicle.

One of the gang members made a reconnaissance trip to the TA base in Luton to identi-

fy the loopholes in the current security.

Mohammed Ahmed was secretly taped as he told a fellow terrorist: “At the bottom of the gate, there’s quite a big gap. If you have a little toy car, it drives underneath one of their vehicles or something.”

The jihadists were also taped discussing trips to Pakistan for terror training and bomb making. Other

possible targets included MI5 HQ, a Luton shopping centre and the English Defence League.

Ringleader Ahmed, 25, Zahid Iqbal, 31, Umar Arshad, 24, and Syed Hussain, 22, all of Luton, admitted planning acts of terrorism last month.

The sentencing hearing at London’s Woolwich Crown Court was adjourned.

lect and not emotional or psychological harm.

“But child neglect — inaction rather than action — is a very serious part of the abuse of children and it is under-appreciated; it is neglected.”

The Children And Young Persons Act 1933, which is 80 years old,

makes if difficult for the police and prosecutors to take action against neglectful parents, she added.

In 2012, two brothers from Edlington, Yorkshire, who beat and tortured another pair of boys, were sentenced to indefinite detention.

They had grown up with a violent,

chaotic life, described by one barrister as “toxic”.

Lady Butler-Sloss is spearheading a campaign to change the law, with an amendment to the Children and Families Bill now going through Parliament. The Children and Families Bill comes before the Lords in June.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Comment

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013): Britain’s woman of destiny Margaret Thatcher, who died last week was a remarkable politician and woman. She was her country’s first female prime minister and the biggest figure in 10 Downing Street since Winston Churchill. But Churchill in his final years was never the dominating figure he was during the Second World War, which truly was his finest hour.

Margaret Thatcher earned her spurs as education minister in the Heath government. She proved her mettle by defeating him in the election for the Conservative Party leadership. She knew her mind and was firmly resolved to break the Labour aristocracy in the British trade unions. Bit between her formidable teeth, she took and defeated both the militant coal miners led by Arthur Scargill at home, and the Argentine military dictator Galtieri abroad, after his forces had occupied the Falkland Islands way out in the southern Atlantic. This was to be her finest hour, in the aftermath of which she won the second of her three election victories – her eleven-year tenure, the longest of any British prime minister in the 20th century. It came to a tearful end in 1990, when mounting public anger over her controversial poll tax broke the Thatcher spell and ended her political career.

The consensual politics of the post-war decades was jaded when Margaret Thatcher assumed office in 1979. A political shake down was the need of the hour and she was best equipped to administer it and take Britain forward. In hindsight, she threw out the baby with the bathwater by undermining welfare state and its industrial underpinnings, believing mistakenly that as a free market buccaneer she transform Britain into a land of milk and honey. The greatest British achievements built over a century was pulled down with cavalier disregard for the consequences. The sunlit uplands turned out to be a mirage. The City of London became the hub of the nation’s economy. Industry and engineering declined and its once busy heartland is today a wasteland of unemployment and deepening social divisions. The inner city riots in Liverpool and London were signs of things to come. The Thatcher remedies debilitated the patient reduced it to lasting economic enfeeble-

ment.

Thatcher admirers claim fulsomely that she had made Britain great again, but Britain’s prolonged recession contradicts this overblown assessment.

British politics may have moved to the right in the Thatcher slipstream, but the current has cast the country’s politics adrift of common sense and moderation in things that truly matter.

Margaret Thatcher was a sturdy cold warrior.

Power politics rather than moral values were the driving force behind the East-West struggle of which he became a pivot. “The Iron lady”, as she liked see herself, was indulgent towards dictatorships they were pro-West. She was resolute in her support of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, bestowed an honorary knighthood on the Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceaucescu simply because he was seen to be anti-Soviet and would be a useful diplomatic tool. She fawned on Saudi Arabia and the reactionary Gulf Sheikhdoms, not to speak of General Zia’s Pakistan and its military-jihadi complex. The infamous Pol Pot was aided and abetted in the monster’s jungle hideout by British, American and Chinese arms and training kept him going as an anti-Vietnam spoke after Khmer Rouge forces had driven him out of Cambodia and the killing fields destroyed by General Giap’s legions The end of the cold war and the demolition of the Berlin wall was the handiwork of Mikhail Gorbachev, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed publicly at a celebration of the event, and not Margaret Thatcher. She was ever fearful of the consequences of German reunification and Germany’ re- emergence as a great European power, fears first voiced by her alter ego Nicholas Ridley. Her brain storming session with Britain’s foremost German specialists on the eve of this historic development betrayed her inner demons and fears for the future.

The Thatcher legacy remains problematic.

Margaret Thatcher was a bold and resolute leader.

Her wit, on occasion, was memorable. Questioned why god was always referred to as he, she replied, “I shall ask her.” What a lady.

Good sense on immigration prevails UK immigration laws have made a strategic accommodation for skilled foreign workers and “exceptionally bright” students to enter and work in the country.MBA graduates from British universities and other institutions of higher learning will be permitted to stay for up to a year after taking their degrees as part of an expanded entrepreneurial scheme. Up to 1,000 of this category can stay and develop their own business idea or work in a startup after which they can apply for residence in the UK. The new rules will allow greater flexibility for successful PhD students to stay on for up to a year and work. There will be no limit to the number who can obtain a Tier II visa to stay on and work, without having to switch courses, provided they can get a graduate level job with a annual salary of 20,300 pounds sterling or more. The number of Indian stu-

dents at British universities fell by 23.5 per cent in 2012, including a decline of 28 per cent at the postgraduate level. The new dispensation should also benefit Indian business persons entering the UK. Intra-company transferees will no longer need to take an English test if they wish to extend their stay in the country. Also, the required documentation for this will be reduced if such employees have worked for a company for more than a year.

Pressure from British businesses and universities to relax stringent visa requirements have paid off, as these were putting their respective interests to unnecessary risk.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said the changes were designed to attract the “best and the brightest global talent” to Britain. David Cameron’s words in India, promising change, have been fulfilled.

Pakistan: America’s opiate The Obama’s administration’s decision to increase its aid package to Pakistan to a massive $1.4 billion and continue with subsidized military sales to Islamabad should come as no surprise.

Pakistan has long been Uncle Sam’s opiate.

Washington hallucinates on what it can get out of this tortured relationship, while its jihadi client craftily calculates how much more it can squeeze from the deep pockets of its infidel patron.

The Pakistan military-intelligent-terrorist complex by its own standards is not doing too badly. With China at its side as an “all weather friend”, Pakistan’s future as jihadi incubator and exporter seems assured. Bruce Riedel, a veteran US national security expert adviser on South Asia and the Middle East to four US administrations until his retirement to the bowers of academe, explained recently on television just how capacious Pakistan was (and is) as a safe haven for jihadi terrorists, and how this had been factored into country’s’s statecraft, especially its policy towards India.

William Milam, a former US ambassador to Pakistan wailed about its “precipitous decline” as a functioning entity in the New York Times.

However, neither Mr Riedel nor Mr Millam dwelt

on the vexed question of how and why Pakistan had become so indispensible to the fortunes of the United States; about why successive US administrations, beginning with the sainted Ronald Reagan, had silently connived at Pakistan’s covert acquisition of nuclear weapon technology, and also acquiesced to the Chinesesponsored web involving Pakistan and North Korea for the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies. Containing India is certainly a primary Chinese goal, and it was America’s, too, until President George W. Bush changed gears on India. President Obama’s policy on PakistanAfghanistan and his indulgence toward Islamabad’s strategic ambitions in Kabul resonate Churchill on Russia in October 1939: that it is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan envoy to the US, projected the unthinkable in the prestigious Foreign Affairs journal. As the US-Pakistan relationship had become burdensome, he advocated an early release from its coils for both sides.

For Pakistan, it would be a vital first step to understanding the limits of its power. Such counsel, however wise, is unlikely to be heeded, the opiate simply being too strong.

3

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their colour - Maya Angelou

“Our London” Navin Shah

GLA Member for Brent and Harrow

CASTE DISCRIMINATION

How big an issue in Britain?

I’m baffled that suddenly caste discrimination has been flagged up by the Lords as an issue in Britain. Surely the members of Lords and the House of Commons have more significant issues to tackle like the rise in poverty, economic stagnation and the impact of the so-called welfare reforms than what is in comparison a non-issue in our very diverse community of Britain.

To achieve equality one cannot deny that it is vital that we eradicate all forms of discrimination and prejudices by all means available to us including the necessary legal framework. In principle therefore there is a justifiable case for eradicating the evils like caste discrimination. We are being told that if this issue is passed into a law it would give legal protection to nearly a million Hindus in Britain.

However, I am surprised and shocked to hear that Crossbencher Lord Harries (former bishop of Oxford), tabled an amendment to the Enterprise and Regulation Bill to outlaw discrimination against people on the basis of their caste. The amendment was passed by 225 votes to 153 votes. The reason for my bewilderment is - do the Hindus, which include Jains and Sikhs, practice or suffer from caste discrimination. The very premise, from my knowledge and experience, in the British context is wrong.

As a Jain and someone who’s fought for equality and opposed all forms of prejudices no matter whether it involves Hindu or any other religion in this country I have not come

across in my political and community engagement spanning well over three decades communities engaging in caste discrimination. I have had a wide ranging and very significant level of casework on discrimination as a Councillor for twenty years and Assembly member for Brent and Harrow for the last five years. All this time I have not had a single individual or family complaining about prejudices based on caste. And we are talking about the constituency of Brent and Harrow with the largest concentration of Hindus! I don’t know where the reported 850,000 cases of caste discrimination come from and which community or religion is the main culprit? It would be good to know from the agencies who deal with the caste issues how and where this occurs and which religious groups are the perpetrators?

It is my strong view that the amendment is perhaps well meaning but misguided and unnecessary. One admits that we are far from a genuinely equal society but I am convinced that Britain is an absolute model of a country and community of all religions and origins living together in peace and harmony. That being the case how relevant caste discrimination is in this country? Is it such a huge and burning issue that we must comply with the United Nations request for a legislation (amounting to an obligation under international law)?

Continued on page 6

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 www: abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

Midlands Voice

4

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 20th April 2013

Bobby Dhanjal Foundation for Children- helping Leicestershire youth Asian businesses have always invested equally in philanthropy, as they know the future generation needs a lot of encouragement, support and opportunities.

Ian Griffin from Leicester Mercury has written a wonderful piece on Bobby Dhanjal Foundation for Children, which helps disadvantaged children in the area.

The Bobby Dhanjal Foundation was set up with just ÂŁ2,000, but with match and subsequent additions from staff fund-raisers it is already at ÂŁ11,000, the report suggested.

The company selects different children’s groups to help each year, with 2013 support going to Goldhill Adventure Playground, which offers safe, supervised

Bobby Dhanjal

outdoor play for city children, including those with special needs. Mablethorpe Leicester Children’s Holiday Centre, will also benefit.

Leicester is known for being a young city, with the most recent Census finding

the city has the largest proportion of 0 to 19 year olds in the East Midlands – 27 per cent of its population.

In 2012, Bobby Dhanjal Wealth Management director and founder Bobby Dhanjal started up the Bobby Dhanjal

Foundation for Children, under the Community Foundation umbrella. His company started four years ago, and it has ÂŁ250 million under management, 20 advisers, 10 support staff and two office bases.

Bobby told the local paper, “I grew up in Leicester, I went to state schools in Leicester and I run my business in Leicester.� “I’m proud of the city and it makes sense to us to invest in its future. “The Community Foundation model suits us – we want to give something back, but as a fast growing company we haven’t got a lot of time. The Community Foundation does the legwork.

The fact they can match donations works for us, too.�

Did cheating husband frame his wife?

A former probation worker allegedly beat his wife up and then got his “mistress� to claim that he has been attacked, a local paper has reported.

Muhammed Khalil, from Hall Green, apparently convinced Anarkali Habib – who his wife told the court was his lover – to make a false witness statement. But a jury at Birmingham Crown Court convicted Khalil of causing actual bodily harm to his estranged wife, Bilkis Parveen.

The 38-year-old former probation service worker and Habib had previously admitted one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice with their web of lies.

Habib, 34, from Huntingdon Road, York, had been handed a threemonth prison sentence, suspended for 12 months in December 2012.

The court heard that Khalil, who has been warned he faces jail, allegedly concocted the story to cover up the

attack on his wife, who was left with a serious head injury requiring treatment from paramedics, reported the Birmingham Mail.

Graeme Simpson, prosecuting, told the court Khalil allegedly swore at Miss Parveen before repeatedly slapping her and then violently ramming her head into a cabinet in the hallway.

Four months before Khalil had walked out on his wife and two children, aged four and two.

Mr Simpson said that out of the blue Khalil turned up again, and initially his wife had agreed to take him back.

However soon afterwards he left, before returning to demand he be allowed to take the children with him, which led to the argument.

Miss Parveen told the court she had found out her husband had been seeing another woman, whose number she found in his mobile telephone.

Miss Parveen was

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questioned later that same day – but police said her husband was now claiming she had attacked him, and had even provided an independent witness.

Officers said the witness had been driving past the scene, seen Miss Parveen attacking him in the street and had handed her phone number to Mr Khalil.

But the mobile number provided to police turned out to be the same number as the one taken from Khalil’s phone some months earlier by his wife – of the woman with whom she suspected he was having an affair.

Mr Khalil, pictured, who took to the witness stand, denied that he had been having a relationship with Anarkali Habib and denied attacking his wife throughout the two-day trial.

When questioned about the

relationship by Mr Simpson he told the court she was a close friend.

Judge Simon Drew QC said: “All sentencing options are open to me and custody is extremely likely."

Judge Drew ordered pre-sentence report and bailed Khalil until May 14 for sentencing.

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In Brief Benefit cheat claims ÂŁ26,000 posing us four different people A benefit cheat posed as four different people to sign on at four Birmingham job centres and pocketed around ÂŁ26,000.

Joynal Uddin, 36, managed to trick staff at one of the unemployment offices for two years by using his real name and a false one.

And when police raided his home they discovered a ‘to do’ list he had compiled to allow him to keep up with the audacious scam.

Uddin, pictured, of Charles Road, Small Heath, could now face jail after previously admitting 10 charges of dishonestly making false representations.

Birmingham Crown Court heard a surveillance operation caught the defendant visiting the same job centre both as himself and by posing as a bogus claimant.

He was also seen visiting three other unemployment offices in the city during his fraud spree, which took place between 2010 and May 2012.

Ben Close, prosecuting, said Uddin had claimed Jobseekers and Employment Support Allowance at his local Washwood Heath job centre in his own identity since 2008.

But he was claiming the same benefits from the same centre using a different name.

He was arrested when he attended a job centre while acting as an interpreter for his wife - who was also making a bogus claim.

She received a caution for that offence.

Judge Roderick Henderson adjourned sentencing until April 23 for more evidence about his wife’s condition.

'Cowboy' immigration adviser jailed for 4 months A 'cowboy' immigration adviser who conned two asylum seekers out of ÂŁ1,000 has been jailed after being caught working illegally three times after his license to immigration advice was stripped off.

Muhammed Shakoori, 62, was offering immigration advice despite losing his licence to do so in 2009.

The businessman, from Manchester, was running his business last year even though he had twice been reprimanded by the authorities.

He was warned he would be jailed if he was caught operating illegally again when he appeared in court in June last year.

But Shakoori ignored the courts and charged the asylum seekers ÂŁ1,000 for his advice.

He was caught when one of the victims, from Algeria, searched for his

name on the internet and read about his previous convictions, Manchester Magistrates Court heard.

Brothers Mokhtar and Aissa Menassel, paid Shakoori nearly ÂŁ1,000 in fees before becoming suspicious of his credentials when their immigration claims failed.

They then reported him to the Immigration Services Commissioner.

Under the law, immigration advisers must have a licence to prove they are up to the job.

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Shakoori, pictured, had been stripped of his in 2009 but was caught offering immigration advice without a licence in 2010 and then again twice last year.

The judge found him guilty of six charges - two of providing independent immigration advice while not qualified and four of falsely advertising his business, APNA LLP, online, in a magazine and on signs outside his office in Longsight, Manchester.

On the day he was jailed, the signs were still outside his office, reported the daily mail.

Both brothers had earlier given evidence to the court - saying Shakoori's actions had 'messed us up'.

A frail Shakoori, representing himself, said he had only given secretarial 'support' to the men and hadn't offered advice.

He had also argued

that his daughter had been in charge of the company despite the fact she has a pharmacy degree.

But Judge Jonathan Taaffe rejected those claims ans said the use of the word 'support' was a 'cynical' attempt to flout the regulations.

Jailing Shakoori for four months, he said: 'Immediate custody is necessary as a deterrent both to yourself and other cowboy operators who seek to avoid the regulations and prey upon vulnerable individuals.'

In his own mitigation, Shakoori had told the court he had diabetes and heart problems.

He was already serving a suspended sixmonth sentence because of his previous convictions - and must wait to find out if a hearing at Manchester Crown Court decides adds to his jail term.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

5

Thousands of people join Vaisakhi Nagar Kirten procession in Southall The annual Vaisaikhi Nagar Kirten, the largest religious procession in Northern Europe was organised by the managing trustees of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha on Sunday, 7 April.

This was organised to celebrate the unique transformation of the Sikh community on the first lunar day of the month of Vaisaikh in 1699 by the Guru Nanak 10th (Gobind Rai) , who gave the visual form of the quality of all human beings by the Amrit (literally translated highest spiritual form) ceremony and brought about the family of the Khalsa (the appeal ones); the first five (who

Virendra Sharma MP with other members of the community

had volunteered their lives for the 10th master) known as the five beloved ones (Panj piyaraie).

requested them to bestow the same blessing to him (the master becomes disciple!) and was henceforth known as the Guru Gobind ‘Singh’. On that day literally thousands of men and women under took the same blessing.

This occasion is celebrated in Southall; to share the message of love and unity for the whole community and this is displayed by the voluntary

service of the stallholders who cook from the early hours to feed all the community who come to celebrate and learn about this unique occasion; so that we may never forget that the whole human race is one; and as the Sikh community prays every day in the invocational prayer (Ardas) for Sarbat dha Bhalla (humbly seeking the blessing of the Almighty for the whole of humanity).

The event this year was organised by dedicated volunteers managed under the executive com-

Historically this event witnessed the 10th guru bow in front of the five beloved ones and humbly

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mittee headed by Mr Himmat Singh Sohi. As usual, many dignitaries came and paid their respects to the community on route to the other Gurdwaras and Mandirs and finall join in the procession as a mark of unity of the whole Southall community. The police, St John ambulance, Ealing Council and the fire service all come together and collaborate voluntarily together in making the Nagar Kirten the most unique of community celebrations in the wider community.

6

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Baroness Thatcher was and will forever remain an inspirational and pioneering leader The funeral of Baroness Thatcher on Wednesday brought to an end one of the most compelling and important chapters in British politics. She was a politician unlike any other; she won so many battles and received loyalty and friendship from so many; yet there were many who didn’t agree with her views. I was moved by the number of attendees in St Paul’s Cathedral along with the thousands who lined the route, paying tribute to one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers.

In her own words Baroness Thatcher was not a consensus politician but a conviction politician. She believed in the importance of individuals and families; she wanted to spread the benefits and advantages that had for many years been the privilege of the elite, and ensure as many people as possible received those benefits. Her desire was to tackle institutions and elites that were withholding power from people; she was, in many ways, an anti-establishment Prime Minister.

I first experienced Baroness – then Mrs – Thatcher over thirty years ago. In the late 1970s I was a resident of Harrow and the owner of a small business. Living up to the great stereotype, I owned a corner shop that functioned as the foundation of our family life. Lady Thatcher’s constituency of Finchley and my home in Harrow were – and remain – home to many British Indians. I was encouraged by the late Jay Gohel – who was, at Margaret Thatcher’s request, to become Sir Jay Gohel in 1989 – and Shantoo Ruparell to support the then Finchley MP and Conservative Party Leader – and helped to build a branch of the A n g l o - A s i a n Conservative Forum.

I was very privileged to help run this organisation in support of such an impressive and formidable lady. I saw first-hand how she cared very deeply about her constituents in Finchley and was a great friend of the British Indian community. She understood and admired the values of the first and second generation British Indian community; so often based around family businesses that were usually small retail outlets.

She was always very kind, took the time to meet people and had a great

Lord Dolar Popat

personality.

The British Indian community has evolved considerably in the past thirty years, in large part due to the opportunities afforded to us by the Thatcher Governments.

As a small business owner at the time, her premiership helped to reshape the British economy and give so many entrepreneurs a chance to grow their firms and help the economy. Her lasting legacy for millions and many British Indians across Britain will be home-ownership; a chance to become a property owner and invest in their family’s future. We owe our first female Prime Minister so much for helping to build a country that gave people opportunities and challenged the decline we had faced in the late 1970s.

By tackling the excessive powers of the trade unions – which had caused so much damage to previous Governments - Baroness Thatcher helped to create an environment in which businesses could flourish. But it also meant that the public no longer had to face the terrible circumstances we faced in the late 1970s, with rubbish pilling up in the streets and bodies remaining unburied. I would never argue that defeating the unions was without significant negative impacts on many people, but it did help to restore order and democratic accountability to this great country.

Internationally she helped to give freedom to millions of people in Eastern Europe by playing a major role in the breakup of the Soviet Empire; perhaps the most brutal regime humanity has ever known. She reclaimed the Falkland Islands after the Argentinean military dictatorship had tried to seize sovereign British land, and she helped to establish the single-market in Europe; which remains today the biggest source of trade in Britain.

Baroness Thatcher did all this whilst being a loving wife and mother and a tremendous constituency MP. She wasn’t perfect; and as the diverse reactions to her death last week show she remains a figure who divides. But she was a necessary Prime Minister; inspired by her faith and background to spread wealth, opportunity and power.

She tackled head-on the problems that Britain faced, and she served the country that she loved so well.

It was always a slightly surreal experience for me to see Lady Thatcher in the House of Lords; she and Sir Jay Gohel – who she affectionately referred to as ‘My Sir Jay Gohel’ - were the people who inspired me to take an interest and get involved in politics. I could never have imagined I would be a member of the same House as her, and I must confess I never felt worthy of such an honour.

Last week in the House I sat and listened to some incredible tales of Baroness Thatcher, made by many of her friends and opponents who knew her so well from her time in Government. I was deeply moved by the recollections of people like Lords Tebbit and Forsyth, and it was testament to the occasion that both Prime Minister David Cameron and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband both came to listen to the proceedings in the House of Lords.

Her generation of politicians are still working hard for Britain, well passed the usual retirement age they continue to scrutinise legislation and offer insights underpinned by decades of public service.

Baroness Thatcher was and will forever remain an inspirational and pioneering leader who helped to save this great country. Her amazing accomplishments in Government – both domestically and on the international stage – have been well discussed but should never be forgotten. She built so many of the elements that make modern Britain so great; yet we must never forget how she remained a committed and conscientious MP to her constituents.

She was a force of nature; unrivalled and unlike any we have known before, and probably will ever know again.

3 typical mistakes small business owners make about their brand

Mo Luthra Branding Consultant www.moluthra.com Having worked with a variety of businesses over the last decade, there is a certain theme that has emerged which results in business owners not maximising their profits.

Below is my list of the top three most common mistakes: 1. They fail to differentiate Swap the fascia board, or the website name with the competitor and you won’t see any difference. When your business sells exactly the same things as your competition does, uses similar images, and communicates to your market in a ‘normal’ way, then there is no real difference. A customer will generally choose your company or

CASTE DISCRIMINATI ON How big an issue in Britain?

Continued from page 3 I’d need a lot of evidence and convincing before I accept the legitimacy of moving forward in the way the Lords amendment is seeking to do.

The government has indicated opposition to the change to the 2010 Equalities Act. Various Hindu community groups too are strongly opposed and until there is adequate examination of ‘known but hidden problem’ of caste discrimination, neither it is fair nor just to rush through legislation which would stigmatise and insult Hindu community which is inclusive and open to reforms. I am opposed to the very notion that our society (Hindus and other religions alike) are riddled with caste prejudice. All political parties need to appreciate sensitivities behind this issue and not accuse the British Hindus of discriminatory practices when they actually don’t exist. I’m playing my part by talking to Labour colleagues and trust that other mainstream party activists would do the same with their party hierarchy.

your competitor’s based on who is cheaper or who is closer.

If however, you add personality into your business. The reason a consumer chooses your brand is because they like you and want you. It’s not based on what you sell but how you make them feel, therefore, it is not centred on price. A good example of this is the difference between a supermarket own brand orange juice and something like Tropicana. The product is very similar, but how one is packaged and communicated creates attraction.

2. They don’t segment the market Many small businesses will treat all customers the same. They communicate to them in the same way and offer the same product or service to them all. They don’t know how to split their customers into segment groups and thereby match the needs of each segment more closely.

An industry that really innovated segmentation was the airline industry. They realised that while still offering the same service e.g. flying London to New York, a certain customer base

would be willing to pay substantially more for a ticket, if you offered them bigger seats, hot meals etc... Hence first class was born.

Small business owners need to see how they can segment their users and generate more profits.

3. They try to appeal to the mass A lot of small businesses are scared to alienate potential customers.

So they play it safe. They appeal to the mass market. The trouble is often time they don’t have the marketing budgets to attract the mass. Think most of the companies that have mass market appeal are actually not small companies but huge ones.

Small businesses are very good at matching individual needs to products and services.

Furthermore, they can be famous in a niche quite easily and have the budget to reach and communicate effectively within that niche. Small businesses need to have the confidence to say ‘these are my potential customers and these guys are not.’ It is better to be something to someone than nothing to no one.

Hotel porter jailed for 10 years A hotel porter who raped a celebrity guest after letting himself into her bedroom as she slept was jailed for 10 years.

Soby John, 25, (pictured) helped the drunk woman (who cannot be named for legal reasons) back to her room when she returned to her four star hotel in west London after a night out.

After the victim's friend had departed, the Indian man used his keycard to break into her room and force himself upon her.

He then took 'intimate' photos of the celebrity, aged in her early 20s, on his mobile phone, Southwark Crown Court heard.

John, an agency worker, used a blue latex glove as a 'crude' makeshift condom. Afterwards he left his contact details on the victim's phone to make it look like they had swapped numbers. The court heard John's student visa had expired and he would be deported after serving his sentence. John, from Wembley, north west London, admitted one charge of rape.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

7

8

‘memento modi’

With the modern means of electronic communications, the news is “without borders”. Some of the readers may be aware of what has been the main topic for English language publications (Dailies and other magazines) as well as TV news and talk shows in India, up until the Tuesday when the Boston marathon massacre was widely reported.

Narendra Modi has been the main recipient of the column centimetres as well as hours, rather he has been the target of continuous focus. Over the weekend the Janata Dal (United) during its national conference in New Delhi, deliberated on the NDA candidate as the future prime minister for the general election which will be held in the second half of 2014.

NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is the only comparable national political organisation to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) led by the Congress Party. UPA has been in power at Centre since 2004. With innumerable corruption scandals, the Congress and UPA are facing voter's wrath in the elections.

BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party), JDU and some other regional political outfits are members of the NDA which governed India between 1998 and 2004. NDA appears to be potentially a winning combination due to various omissions and commissions of the UPA government at the Centre as well as some state governments ruled by the Congress Party (in several states in partnership with the regional parties).

Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat has more or less received support from the BJP stalwarts. He's known as a visionary regional leader with an untarnished image from any corruption scandal. He has been the chief minister of Gujarat since 2001 and won the consecutive third election of the state assembly in December 2012.

The Economist had a major feature on Narendra Modi, 'Steamroller' and an editorial on him “Memento Modi” in its 13th April 2013 edition. Gujarat has perhaps become the leading state

As it is

in India with continuous economic development (both in industry and agriculture) over the last eleven years. The per capita income has doubled during Mr Modi's reign and communal peace has prevailed in Gujarat except the riots of March 2002.

On the 27th Feb 2002 a railway train compartment was attacked at Godhra Station from the outside and fifty-two Hindu pilgrims (Kar Sevaks returning from Ayodhya) were burnt to death. The majority of them were women and children. All attackers arrested, prosecuted and found guilty were Muslims.

Communal riots erupted from 2nd March 2012 and nearly 800 innocent lives were lost due to the frenzy.

According to the subsequent statement made to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament ) by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, two-thirds of the victims were Muslims killed by Hindus and one third were Hindu rioters, mainly shot dead by the security forces.

The communal violence raged for three to five days before the situation was brought under complete control.

Such riots erupting out of a shocking development (as it happened four years ago in the UK) cannot be brought under control over night- it is sad but unfortunately true.

A large number of Hindu attackers have faced the courts and some have been sentenced to death and sentenced to life imprisonment. In India the judiciary is slow, albeit is active and the Supreme Court keeps a vigilant eye over proceedings in the State's High Courts.

Any injury to an innocent person let alone a death whether the victim is Hindu, Muslim or of any other faith is not acceptable and is unpardonable.

Rightly or wrongly Narendra Modi has been accused of “neglect” during those dreadful days in Gujarat. It is true that Narendra Modi has faced serious interrogation from the courts and faced the proceedings of the horrendous allegations.

Equally, as The Economist acknowledged, he has not been found guilty at all.

The main concern of The Economist is “if Narendra Modi wants to lead India he needs to show contrition for the slaughter of the Muslims.” As far as I know Narendra Modi has expressed his deep sadness for what happened at Godhra station and the subsequent riots.

In the aftermath of the tragic events of Feb and March 2002, Gujarat was much maligned both in India and abroad.

Gujaratis are settled in large numbers in several countries. Professions, businesses and commerce are their pre-dominant activities. The propaganda and the disinformation of the tragedy of 2002 raised questions about the investment potential of Gujarat and more importantly and incorrectly caused enormous embarrassment or “brought shame” to several Gujaratis both in India and abroad.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has taken a resolute approach for the devel-

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

opment of Gujarat and in-spite of harsh criticisms he persevered in making Gujarat the recipient of several international and national business houses making a B-line towards Gujarat.

At some stage due to the false propaganda and political pressures, the British as well as the EU governments shunned Narendra Modi and attempted to marginalise Gujarat. Not only did they fail in that effort but because of the steady growth of Gujarat in a peaceful environment, the UK and EU have reversed their negative stance towards Narendra Modi and according to The Economist's comment (13th April) “America is pondering whether to issue him a visa”.

Yes, Narendra Modi Can be Challenged Narendra Modi is a politician , a successful one so far, but he has not claimed to be a saint, let alone Mahatma Gandhi. I happen to know him fairly well for over twenty years. He is a very astute politician and bubbling with ideals and enthusiasm for the rapid development of India and Gujarat under the free market environment . He has been successful for setting the stage in Gujarat and more and more people in other parts of India are attracted to him because of his focus on development and untarnished image when corruption is so rampant in both the Centre and several states of India.

All the detractors of Narendra Modi focus a lot on those horrendous days of March 2002. Despite of such continuous sniping Mr Modi is becoming more and more popular (he is the most popular politician in India and certainly much more popular than Rahul Gandhi- the cion of the Nehru Gandhi dynasty who is being groomed as potential prime minister (India Today Survey).

In “Your Voice” page 10 a letter has been published from Mr Vijandra Patel.

Any reader is entitled to his views and we publish even the harsher criticisms as we are committed to free-speech, but I would like to elaborate a bit more on what I wrote in Gujarat Samachar in my column “Jivant Panth- a living path” last week. I wholeheartedly accept the growth of Gujarat as well as the communal harmony in the state. Like The Economist I also accept that electricity, road transportation and many other amenities as well as industrial and agricultural sectors have recorded phenomenal growth in Gujarat especially over the last ten years.

The areas where I'm very concerned can be briefly listed as follows: 1. Swine Flu epidemic is the worst in Gujarat compared to other states in India. Over 300 people have lost their lives and hundreds are suffering from the epidemic. Recently the Gujarat High Court took a note of this situation and demanded prompt and effective steps from the government of Gujarat.

2. The further height of the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river has been delayed by the Central government.

This is true and this is unfair but at the same time the construction of the canals and the distribution of water is not up to the mark according to reliable studies.

This is the responsibility of the government of Gujarat. In several parts of Gujarat especially Saurashtra region there is a serious scarcity of water. I demanded prompt action to alleviate the hardships as well as ensuring that adequate steps are taken for the water demand in the future.

There are thousands of check dams and other facilities constructed over the last ten years and yet they remain dry. The situation is dire and needs prompt action from the administration.

3. CM Narendra Modi does not indulge in corruption which is praise worthy. At the same time some senior ministers together with government officials are allegedly actively involved in corrupt practices. I raise the serious question of why an honest and efficient Chief Minister cannot do more in this matter? A common man has to bribe even the minions for the smallest matters like a simple birth or death certificate or police reference.

Similarly in Gujarat, prohibition is on the statute books, but one can buy alcohol from the bootleggers. Is the prohibition providing a license to print money for the corrupt police officers and politicians?

4. Education is very important in getting out of the vicious circle of social and economic deprivation. Several thousands of teachers' aids have been appointedbut as far as I know, they are paid peanuts and their jobs are on “temporary terms”. This is not helping to raise the education standards to the required levels!

5. Vibrant Gujarat gatherings are a unique achievement of CM Narendra Modi. It has raised MOUs of huge investments. The critics of Narendra Modi should focus on such claims of the Gujarat government and come out with serious studies on several such issues. This is more likely to affect the popularity of Narendra Modi than harking on the tragedies of March 2002 6. Another important subject I mentioned is about the direct flight between Ahmedabad and London Heathrow Airports. Several thousands have signed a petition for a direct flight, especially to eliminate the hardships of the elderly, pregnant mothers, mothers with young children , businessmen and holidaymakers. I also conceded that Narendra Modi's intervention helped us to start the direct flight in 2002/03 but the UPA government suddenly stopped it. This was also done in spite of an announcement from the civil aviation minister in India to re-start the flight. We expect CM Modi to take this up with the Central government at the earliest moment possible.

We do not support or denounce Narendra Modi as a person, and it is our responsibility to give him credit where it is due (and there are many other areas where he has been effective) and raise the issues where matters can be improved and injustices removed. We will do our most to honour that responsibility.

Death of Gujarati mum and 2 daughters shock the community Continued from page 1 daughters. Mrs Solanki is believed to be originally from Bodlai near Valsad (Gujarat), and studied in South Gujarat University until 2002. Her father who is retired now, worked in Atul near Vapi (neighbouring Valsad) and currently lives near Abrama, our sources said. Married for 12 years, Heena had 6 other sisters, one lived in Birmingham, who passed away a few years back in cancer.

Sources told Asian Voice that she made sure to clean the house absolutely immaculately before she killed herself.

Neighbours said that despite of the claims, she did not show any signs that she

was experiencing difficulties.

A local said, “There are rumours on the street that she may have been suffering depression.”

“People may pass judgment but if that is why they died,

and why she took her own life, then that is so incredibly sad and tragic.”

Mrs Solkani’s parents-inlaw are thought to have acted as carers for the children while their parents worked. On

The house where Heena and her two children died

- CB

Sunday officers interviewed neighbours and stood guard outside the home as locals left floral tributes. The Rev Nigel Cowgill, a local vicar, also said a prayer for the “close-knit” family at his weekly Sunday service.

The couple’s youngest daughter attended the nursery located behind the church and their elder daughter was a popular student at the local primary school.

The Rev said, “They were well known in the area and clearly for the community it is devastating,” he said. “The church will be there to support the community when the need arises and that is what I told my congregation.”

Continued on page 30

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Runi Khan is a British Bangladesh, born in Kolkata. She came to London for her education in 1958 and returned to the then East Pakistan in 1964 after her studies.

She returned to London in 1971 with her three children for safety, during the Bangladesh Liberation war after being told that she was on the Pakistani army’s list of wanted persons due to her then clandestine activities. She has lived in London since.

Runi worked for 18 years in the financial sector in the City of London, and thereafter in International Marketing and Trade. She then chose to move to the Arts sector, which she found more challenging and meaningful.

“One of the great pleasures of living in London' says Runi “ is that it has allowed me to experience the best of world cultures and nurture my passion for music, art , theatre, film and so much more !”

So Runi decided to develop and promote the cul-

Photo credit Simone Sultana

Runi Khan - Creating great work with a Bangladeshi flavour!

Runi Khan

tural heritage of Bangladesh full time.

Through Culturepot Global, she brings together emerging and established artists, allowing collaboration within and across art-forms. The driving team consists of Bangladeshi Londoners who all have a track record in the arts.

Culturepot events, while

artistic, also raise awareness of social and political issues.

Runi was made South African Honorary Consul in Dhaka in 1995.

As a student, she was active in anti- aparthied protests in front of South Africa House. She felt the possibility of change in South Africa. Her daughter's 1993 marriage to a

South African who was later elected an ANC MP in Mandela’s Government brought her closer to South Africa. So she helped open some trading doors through her network of strategic connections in India and Bangladesh. Her appointment was rubber stamped

by President Mandela in 1996. She held the position until 2008.

She says that her cultural productions while aiming at creating a global platform for younger talents has also have been a learning process for her, and lists some of them below.

Oitij-jo, a three day festival in February 2013 at the Southbank was organised in collaboration with others. Runi and her Culturepot team added a world class cultural profile to the festival. ' Oitijjo' means heritage.

The Dhaka World Music Festival in 2011 -, this ground breaking two day festival experienced by 12000 people and was a milestone in the history of contemporary music in Bangladesh.

'From Bangla beat to Afro Beat' - A first ever concert of its kind at the Queen Elizabeth Hall , Southbank Centre, in collaboration with Asia House in 2006.

'A Golden Age' – a stage adaptation of Tahmima Anam's novel based on a family story against the

backdrop of the Bangladesh 1971 liberation war. Showcased at the Alchemy Festival and London Literature Festival, Southbank Centre in 2009.

Bonbibi – to draw awareness to climate change,

Through Culturepot Global, she brings together emerging and established artists, allowing collaboration within and across art-forms this was a dramatised retelling of a legendary folktale of the Sundarbans in Bengal - the largest mangrove forest in the world which now faces grave ecological danger.

The Last Thakur; an Artificial Eye and Channel 4 production directed by a British Bangladeshi. The film previewed at BAFTA and had its first screening at the London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square. The music score, also by a British Bangladeshi won the Best Music Award at the New York South Asian International Film Festival.

Runi’s productions have been supported by corporate sponsorship from Bangladesh.

Smaller London productions have been sponsored by Corporate Institutions

9

here. “It takes anywhere from 6 to 15 months from the time a project is conceptualized, proposal submitted and approved to execution.” She said.

Opening up two- way cultural dialogues through collaboration, workshops and addressing ways which gives our world class grass root talents a global stage has generated a positive response.

We are not interested in putting on shows using sponsorship funds for an evening’s entertainment for the elite but are looking at a positive branding of Bangladesh through culture. We give an innovative edge to all Culturepot productions to secure a sustainable place for Bangladeshi Cultural Heritage. We draw on the diversity of the city we live in to make that difference. “ Runi, as the title of her company suggests, stirs up cultural recipes, using world flavours in a culturepot for presentation on stage with artistic excellence. When I asked Runi how she hopes to achieve change, she said; 'I believe that there are no doors in an open space.

Any barriers we create are made by ourselves. We have to reach out and not be locked in an environment we are comfortable in. Technology makes a lot possible and “where there is a will there is a way!”

Cook mouth-watering desi khana for the family with Patak’s Masala Pastes Patak’s believe passionately that flavours should never be compromised during cooking, whether preparing a quick family meal or a feast for an ‘Indian style’ get together!

The range of masala pastes not only enhance flavours to create flavoursome desi dishes but also let people experiment with flavours they have always wanted to try.

“Our masala pastes have been expertly crafted with the finest spices and

ingredients and we are extremely proud of them.

The 3-2-1 Desi Cooking videos on YouTube allow us to share just some ways people can create variety of mouth-watering dishes using one jar of Patak’s masala paste, said Sneha Beriwal, Patak’s Brand Manager. “We will help you enhance the desi flavours in one easy step. So you have more time to enjoy delicious khana with your family and friends!”

Patak’s 3-2-1 Desi

Maunika Gowardhan, Mallika Basu, Anjula Devi

Cooking videos feature three popular UK based desi foodies, each cooking with their favourite masala paste to create three different dishes: l Maunika Gowardhan,

UK-based food writerhttp://www.youtube.com/u ser/pataks321desicooking (Uses Patak's Mild Curry Paste to make: Bhindi Do Pyaza, Gujarati Dal, Spicy Roast Potatoes)

l Mallika Basu, UK-based food bloggerhttp://www.youtube.com/u ser/pataks321desicooking (Uses Patak’s Balti Curry Paste to make: Balti Crab Cakes, Palak Paneer and Karwari Jhing) l Anjula Devi, UK-based desi food guruhttp://www.youtube.com/u ser/pataks321desicooking (Uses Patak’s Tikka Masala Paste to make: Chicken Mirch Masala, Egg Curry and Onion Pakora)

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Patak’s has unveiled a campaign to encourage everyone to unleash their inner ‘Desi Cook’. The 3-2-1 Desi Cooking videos on YouTube demonstrate how to create 3 dishes with 2 spoons from 1 jar of Patak’s masala pastes. The videos, presented by UK based desi foodies, show how to cook a variety of mouth-watering desi khanas - the kind that takes a person back to their roots and brings families together.

Your Voice

10

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

End of an Era

Surviving on £53 per week

Margaret Thatcher is no more. I have worked in her Department when she was the Secretary of State for Education and Science during 1970-74 before she went on to become Prime Minister. In those days, since I was only a small cog in a big wheel, I cannot say what impact she made on the education system of the country. I was however,directly or indirectly involved in the revolutionary legacy which she left to the universities. Her first major step to galvanise the universities was to introduce fees for international students. Before, international students were educated for free. When the fees were introduced, the powers to be predicted that not many students from abroad, including India and East Africa, would apply to British universities.

However, after a temporary reduction in numbers, they have soared ever since, to provide much needed funding for British universities and for the economy in general.

I remember with gratitude that when Princess Margaret visited our offices, Mrs Thatcher chose me as one of the few to be introduced to her. Those were the days when I had newly arrived in the country and was trying to find my way and when discrimination, be it overt or covert, was rife in the country, and yet she selected me from other senior officers to be introduced to the Royalty. It was a small gesture on her part but it made a lasting impression on my mind. I was therefore saddened to see the celebrations which took place in some parts of the country when the news of her death was announced.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Minister is right to state that one can survive on £53 a week per person if one is on dole. If according to Mr Dinesh Sheth this is possible in third world countries where welfare/dole does not exist, then why it is not possible in UK ?

Britain has survived post WW2 dire straits to create welfare system. Why does Mr Sheth thinks negative, discounting the possibility of positive measures, if Coalition or any party wants to return?

I know many families who not only survive but save from £53 a week per person. They prioritise normal expenses like food, petrol, utility bills, Council Tax. They judiciously avoid expenses like expensive hotel dinners, cigarettes, alcohol, meat, bingo, films, expensive gifts, luxury holidays, dance, dating, drugs, etc.

They easily meet expenses for comfortable life.

Unfortunately, welfare has created a silver spoon attitude where responsibility has shifted from person to state; from essentials for comfortable survival to hedonism. Persons carelessly spend on intangibles and non-return spending rather than essentials.

Newspapers are full of tips about prioritising expenses, focusing on judicious shopping for food, saving on domestic utilities, saving petrol, cooking, diet planning etc. These measures are easy and relieve stress of cash crisis, but are possible if one sheds attitude that state must pay for unplanned extravagance which is considered essential to build ones image among friends.

The key mantra to stretch cash available Sis austerity, which has become an untouchable practice among dole-pampered population.

Life and death questions

Make organ donation compulsory

The Indian controversial justice system

When it comes to taking tough, uncompromising decisions, it is Scottish and Welsh assemblies that take the lead.

Our parliament always fudges issues, as was the case for minimum alcohol pricing.

There has never been greater demand for organs than it is today. There are three thousand people on waiting list. Three patients needlessly die every day. For every organ donated, one hundred go to waste due to religious, cultural or personal sensitivity, ignorance.

Wales has taken first step in making organ availability easier. Consent will be taken for granted unless one has opted out. This may sound good in principal but may be fraught with danger, as relatives may object and the authority may have to relent especially when religious sensitivity is paramount. This may set president to the detriment of others.

Better way forward is to make every one sign consent form when registering with GP with opt-in, opt-out option. Any one opting out should automatically barred from receiving organ. This would be more effective morally, culturally and legally binding if implemented impartially. It seems religious sensitivity does not affect our judgement when we are recipients, in dire need to get better, to save our lives! This is human nature, greed and selfishness bordering insanity!

It is in our hands to make organ availability plentiful, but as usual England is at the bottom of the league when it comes to taking bold, sensitive decisions, instead relying on the generosity and understanding of the people.

Recently a Kashmiri named Habibullah was arrested at Indian border with Nepal and Delhi police brought him to Delhi on charges of terrorism,which the J&K police refutes. The J&K police says he was a terrorist and now he has refute it and he was returning to the valley under the amnesty plan. Now this has created some hot debate and to my mind some controversy.

J&K govt. has a scheme since 2010 to allow Kashmiri youths who have gone to other side of the border and who renounces the violence are allowed to come back and they will face no criminal charges and also they will receive some monetary benefits.

Now question arrises when the actor Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to 5years imprisonment for keeping arms then why is Kasmiri militants who received the same arms training in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and also might have committed crimes of murder and injuries to Indians are pardoned?

This is a gross injustice to Sanjay Dutt and thousands of others in jails for similar offences. Government of India should review the laws and the justice system and make sure everybody gets equal sentence for equal crimes.

In fact the Govt. should also have amnesty policy and forgiveness those thousands of prisoners who are languishing in the jail for petty crimes on say 15th August and 26th January. This will relieve the pressure from the Jails, the justice system and finances.

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

I am grateful to two of your readers for enlightening me on the true meaning and significance of karma. Both responses to my query were useful and interesting.

“Tomorrow can be improved by good actions today,” says Ramesh Jhalla.

“Karma,” says Kiran Parmar, “is the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that govern all life.”

Christianity has an identical belief: “As you sow, so shall you reap.”

Regarding reincarnation, why do we have to go through so many incarnations to achieve perfection? And then what happens? What is the point of it all?

It is surprising to note negative approach to his career & achievement. I have been reading your papers for more than 8 years & have always found that you praise & project him as hero.

I had my own reservation about your projection and praise. I know one day truth will come as a surprise.

Did you not found any negative information in last 10 years? Is it genius journalism?

I expect reliable & true news from Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice.

Rudy Otter Via Email

Vijendra Patel Via Email

Getting a Visa – India & China

Two side of the coin

Dear Letter Writers Thank you for your letters to our ‘your voice’ section. As you may recall a few years back we made it mandatory that your ‘letters to the editor’ must not be more than 200 words. Despite that we have allowed people to write upto 250-300 words and have edited them as and when required.

However some letter writers continue to send letters worth 400-450 words. Our Editorial team has been editing them every week. However the team and the Editors have decided that from now on, if any letter is more than 250 words, we would unfortunately not be able to accommodate in the paper.

Please note: Letters must be written within 250 words. And can be sent via email to aveditorial@abplgroup.com by Monday 5pm or by fax to 020 7749 4080 or by post.

- AV

The following is a true story on the experiences of 2 family members in their applications for Visa with the Chinese Embassy and the Indian embassy China – Makes an online Visa appointment for 9.30am, by 9.35am all done, Visa issued!

India – Application for OCI – Stood in the queue for 2 consecutive days , in freezing cold, for several hours, only to be told that the quota for the day has been exceeded, so they are not taking anymore and been told to go away and come back again! Complete joke!

This sort of attitude by the Indian embassy worldwide is causing tremendous amount of stress and tension to the NRI’s, who despite this continue to support India in every way. Today India is boasting of super growth, but it must be remembered that this success story would not have been possible without the remittances from NRI’s.

Remittances from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the current fiscal are likely to exceed $75 billion in year 2013/14. We NRI’s continue to help India grow. Please Please we are not asking for any special treatment, all we are asking is for some efficiency in process of applications.

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He highlights Gujarat’s special investment regions as areas where Chinese companies could invest. He called on China to invest in infrastructure and power projects in the state, wooing potential investors with a sales pitch that showcased Gujarat as a state with levels of “governance, transparency and stability” that they could not find elsewhere in India. He declared that “the two great countries will make Asia the centrestage of the global economy.” )(.#(/

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There was chaos at several airports after passengers complained that they were not intimated about the Kingfisher cancellations. )(.#(/ )( * !

UK EUROPE WORLD £25 £55 £70 £45 £100 £125

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In a rare gesture, China’s top leadership hosted his delegation at Great Hall of People and had a free and frank discussion and exchange of ideas on a range of subjects including trade, industry, socioeconomic development, investment, and prevailing global economic scenario. Modi emphasized about the shared heritage of India and China, and common vision for improved quality of lives of their people.

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A new theory says that any physical activity for 15 minutes every day is a good insurance against a plethora of health problems, be it related to the heart, the brain or even cancer.

A study published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, said that just a quarter-hour of physical exertion a day could reduce a person's risk of death by 14% and increase life expectancy by three years compared to inactive people.

Incidentally, another theory published in a different British journal said daily TV-viewing for six hours could take

away five years from your life.

Adding and subtracting years from your life has never before been quantified in such medical terms, say doctors.

The 15-minute short-cut to good health, in fact, changes the most fundamental rule that was approved by the World Health Organizationthat 150 minutes of activity a week is needed to stay healthy. )(.#(/

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E-mail: support@abplgroup.com

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Devendra Sachania Via Email

Bangladesh Troubles The kind of videos & news I come across these days, with regards to the violence going on in Bangladesh, is stressfully upsetting. Also because of increased awareness of the social media, every now and then we come across few video clips of the current violence.

I have been taken aback by the cold response from the rest of the world towards it. Surprisingly enough, the response, I get from few of my Bangladeshi friends and colleagues, seems to support the current troubles. As if they somewhat agree to what’s going on and they want to see a change in the Govt due to that! I thought the vast Bangladeshi community, that lives in the UK, would oppose these atrocity by demonstrations and protests in order to pressurise the UK Govt and the UN to step in strongly in Bangladesh.

Let’s hope the troubles in Bangladesh end ASAP. Devang Bhatt, Ilford If you are not careful, then the younger generations may no longer want to go to India!

Jayendra Lakhani

By Email

EducAtion/council Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Indian student develops Emergency Alarm System for the elderly Harsha Prabhala, a student of Kingston University, has developed an Emergency Alarm System application for the elderly and other patient groups in the UK that require care.

This system is cost-efficient app as compared to the existing expensive systems in the UK. While most of these cannot detect emergencies automatically and the user has to activate them manually, this emergency alarm system detects situations automatically.

It consists of an Android application, a web application and a web service. The Android application installed on the smart phone can measure the acceleration exerted on all its axes using the accelerometer.

The location of the smart phone can also be tracked through the GPS functionality. The data is sent to the web service using HTTP requests and is stored in the database.

Both the patients and their carers can use the web application. The

dynamic graph on the application shows the live changes in the accelerations exerted on the smart phone of the user. From these changes, the carers will know whether everything is alright with the users. When the smart phone falls down or remains inactive for a relatively long period of time, it will be identified as emergency. An emergency confirmation screen is then shown for certain time before initiating the notifications to the carers. If the user does not respond before the time elapses, an SMS message is sent to all the carers and a call is placed to the telephone number of the primary carer.

The major benefit of this system is that the carer can access the movement of the user from any place using the web application which is compatible across all the major browsers. The data can also be used by doctors to provide relevant medication to the users in case of emergencies.

Harsha Prabhala

Company director fined over dangerous toys A toy importer who supplied retailers in Enfield and Brent with dangerous toys has been fined after a case at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday 8 April 2013.

The director of Star One International Limited, Mr Guldip Singh Dang, pleaded guilty to six offences relating to the supply of toys that failed to meet the essential requirements of The Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995, and one offence of supplying a toy that contained a banned substance, contrary to The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008.

Mr Dang, of Grange Farm Close, Harrow, was fined a total of £1,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

The court heard how a joint investigation between Enfield and Brent and Harrow Trading Standards arose from a project that targeted toy importers that supplied independent retailers in both boroughs.

Test purchases of various types of toys were made by trading standards officers from retailers in Edmonton and Wembley, and following testing by independent toy safety experts, a number were found to be unsafe. Further seizures of toys, and statements from retailers indicated that the toys were imported into the UK and supplied to them

by Star One International Limited.

The safety failures of the toys included: • Scooters with sharp edges, points, and entrapment/crushing hazards • Toy buggies that collapsed and whose packaging presented a hazard • Toy planes with no importer details applied for traceability • Dolls with sharp points and small parts that were a choking hazard • Rattles that were poorly constructed and could pose a choking hazard • Dolls with ten times the permitted level of a harmful chemical.

The court heard that the company director was interviewed and explained that the goods were imported from China; however it was clear that the company had not carried out any independent testing of the products that they had imported. Further, when questioned, the defendant showed very little understanding of the toy safety requirements and labelling provisions of the relevant regulations despite the fact that he had been trading since 2009. As a result, legal proceedings were instituted by Enfield Trading Standards for offences committed in both boroughs.

Cllr Chris Bond, Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment said: "I am delighted to learn that Enfield Council's

Trading Standards Team have been responsible in helping bring to justice an individual who was responsible for bringing dangerous toys to the country.

"Parents who buy toys must be confident that they are safe and manufactured to the highest standards. Dangerous substandard toys like this must be stopped and those who make them prosecuted."

Reduction in the number of Indian students in English Universities worries MP New figures obtained by Gareth Thomas MP reveal that there has been an almost 30% reduction in the number of postgraduate students from India studying in English universities.

In 2010/11, 24,000 Indian students were studying for postgraduate qualifications in English universities, in 2011/12 this had dropped to just over 17,000. The number of Indian undergraduates studying in England has also dropped.

The Labour party has been clear that there needs to be a mature recognition that there are different kinds of immigration – immigration that works and immigration that doesn’t both for the immigrant and the country.

The party is of the opinion that ministers should be working with universities and local councils to make sure we can sustain more high skilled graduate students from fast growing economies like India – bringing in the international investment that supports jobs and subsidises British students, and bringing the internaa-

Gareth Thomas MP

tional cultural and trading contacts that will serve us well for the long term.

Gareth Thomas MP, who obtained the figures, told Asian Voice, “With some of the best universities in the world, Britain has a long and proud history of being the destination of choice for many Indian students. That is why these figures are so worrying; if we are to get our economy growing again, higher education has a significant role to play. Instead of targeting those who contribute to the UK’s seventh largest export industry - genuine students and universities – David Cameron should be cracking down on illegal immigration.”

Benefit cuts come into force in four boroughs From 15 April 2013 a cap is introduced on the total amount of benefit that working-age claimants can receive. Households on outof-work benefits will no longer receive more in benefits than the average weekly wage, after Tax and National Insurance. The cap limits will be set at £500 a week for couples, with or without children, and lone parent households and at £350 a week for households of a single adult with no children.

It has started in four London boroughs – as the move to set a clear limit on benefits takes effect.

Claimants in Haringey, Enfield, Croydon and Bromley will see their bene-

fit claims limited to £500 a week – or £26,000 a year – for couples and those with children and at £350 a week for single people. The benefit cap will be implemented nationally from 15 July with all appropriate households capped by the end of September.

One-off benefits, for example Social Fund Loans and non-cash benefits such as Free School Meals will not be included in the assessment of benefit income.

In recognition of their additional needs, all households which include somebody who is receiving the following benefits will be exempt from the cap:

• Disability Living Allowance • Personal Independence Payment • Industrial Injuries Benefit • those receiving War Disablement Pension and the equivalent payments • from the Armed Forces Compensation Payments Scheme • Attendance Allowance • the support component of Employment Support Allowance.

People who receive a War Widow’s or Widower's Pension will be exempt, as a part of the Government’s commitment to those serving or who have served in the Armed Forces and to their dependents.

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12

Media Watch

Communist (CPM) thugs attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Amit Mitra in Delhi, at the entrance to the Planning Commission in Delhi, led to Trinamool Congress retaliation on Communist party offices in different parts of Kolkata. Worse was to come: thugs with Trinamool banners entered the hallowed precincts of Presidency University (formerly Presidency College) and vandalized the fabled Baker Laboratory, where icons J.C. Bose, Satyen Bose and Megnad Saha had once worked and secured modern India’s place in world science

Teachers, students attacked The goons attacked professors and students, threatening publicly to rape female members of the Physics faculty. Renowned astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury, who heads the Physics department said ruefully: “I never thought I would see

Public outrage A mass demonstration of academics, writers and cultural activists reportedly sent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee into fury with party functionaries responsible for the public relations calamity. She had invested political capital and funds into the restoration of this institution after decades of decay under the Communist-led Left Front regime. A chastened Education Minister, Bratya Basu, scurried to Vice Chancellor Malabika Sarkar and promised to defray the cost of the damage. The damage to the Trinamool image may be beyond repair (Times of India, Hindu, Telegraph 11,12)

Economic growth SFI activist holding the kurta (shirt) of West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission announce that the central government would increase its financial grant to West Bengal by a substantial Rs 17,000 crore, while also acknowledging that the State’s agricultural output had registered 7.6 per cent growth, which is well above the Indian average. Tax colSecurity women protect West Bengal Chief lection had shown subMinister Mamata Banerjee during a protest stantial improvement.

by SBI activists Rural enterprise is often anything like this.”He is wiser autonomous from government now, having caught his first activity, for which economic libglimpse of hell. eralization is largely responsible.

Ms Banerjee and her cohorts That said, the Trinamool have made it a habit to respond deserves some credit as well. to party violence with cavalier Industrialization in West Bengal indifference, alleging that these has made little tangible progress were media inventions. There and big ticket inward investment was to be no denial now. At least remains abysmally low. The not from her. However, the latest State continues to be a business cycle of public disorder was inirisk for companies. tiated by the Communist Party Speaking in Kolkata, LSE of India (Marxist). West Bengal economist Megnad Desai said Governor M.K.Narayanan was he was optimistic about India’s quick to point this out and was growth prospects but pessimistic right to do so. Just as he was in about Bengal, where political condemning the Trinamool parties, Communist and non assault on an august 195 yearCommunist alike, were hostile old institution, long associated to capitalist industrialization, with India’s reawakening. Mr both joined at the hip Narayanan, who is also Chancellor of Presidency Residential site Collapse University, issued a robust statement.

“Those who entered The illegal, unsupervised conPresidency University yesterday structions are India’s urban were all outsiders. They should blight. Collapsed multi-storied be treated as criminals.” So also tenements are almost a daily should the police picket and its occurrence, yet such events are officer who stood mutely by at now treated as routine. The the gate, not lifting a finger to most recent tragedy took place stop the barbarians despite franin Thane suburb of Mumbai tic calls for help from the univerwhen the ironically-named sity authorities.

Lucky Compound crashed to the Mr Narayan, taking responground killing 74 occupants and sibility as Governor and friends who happened to be visUniversity Chancellor, apoloiting and injuring hundreds, gized to staff and students for many seriously. Two of the the lack of security on the cambuilders, Jamil Querishi and pus.

Salim Sheikh have been arrest-

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 20th april 2013

These would take time to eradicate in the general scheme of things, but he affirmed that democracy and an open society were the best safeguards against all human rights abuses in India.

Chancellor Merkel made e m o l l i e n t Jamil Querishi and Salim Sheikh acknowledgeed, and Deputy Commissioner ment of the Indian government’s of the Thane Municipal efforts to rectify the situation.

Corporation, Dipak Chavan, dismissed by the was Maharashtra Chief Minister India-EU FTA in sight Prithviraj Chavan.

Thane Municipal The India-European Union (EU) Commissioner R.A.Rajeev Free Trade Agreement (FTA), in explained: “Illegal buildings which Germany has been a pivhave been coming up in the city otal facilitator, is in sight, for many years and 90 per cent according to Indian media of the buildings in Mumbra (the reports. Which doesn’t mean a area in question) are illegal. As deal is done and dusted and the number of people increases, merely awaits the final procedurthey put another floor on the al formalities to pass into law. existing one. This has become Parliament in Delhi will subject difficult to stop.” Difficult, it the draft document to close critmay be, but stop it must. It’s ical scrutiny before this can hapmurder most foul and the those pen. responsible directly or by associTrouble could be brewing. ation must be brought to trial The Chairman of Parliament’s and given exemplary sentences if Standing Committee, Murli found guilty as charged (Hindu Manohar Joshi, a senior BJP figApril 7). ure, has pulled the alarm chain, Another pressing danger are claiming that EU goods and inadequate fire precautions in services would swamp India, buildings, whether they be hosputting even the small railway pitals, office blocks, warehouses vendor out of business. His and residential sites, as repeated party colleagues issued similar blazes in Kolkata have demondire warnings prior to India’s strated. Poor administration, membership of the World Trade including an uncaring bureauOrganization (WTO) and of the cracy, and a deplorable lack of entry of US fast food chains seeking entry into the Indian market.

They have entered, and no Indian consumer or producer is any the worse for their presence. Is it the BJP’s desire that Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and the India disenGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel gage with civic sense have been (and conthe outside world? One recalls tinue to be) the prime factors Mr Joshi’s efforts as minister in behind the carnage. the Vajpayee administration to introduce astrology in university science curricula and the uproar PM in Germany that ensued before the absurdity was withdrawn.

Prime Minister Manmohan A member of India’s ruling Singh’s visit to Germany Passed coalition told a reporter that, off well. Hardly surprising since while the resolution on parliaIndo-German ties are among the mentary scrutiny of the FTA most stable and friendly among draft transcended party lines, “ major international relationthat does not mean we oppose ships. There were a number of the deal.” Good sense, surely sharp questions, at the press (Mint, Times of India, Hindu conference held by Chancellor April 12).

Angela Merkel and Dr Singh, posed to the Indian Prime Minister on human rights, parIndia’s growth potential ticularly those pertaining to gender issues in his country. He Raghuram Rajan, Principal responded by admitting to the Adviser to India’s Finance shame of the Nirbhaya gang rape Ministry, told a conference in in Delhi and referred to the Singapore that the Indian econremedial government measures omy had the potential to grow at for the protection of women and 11-12 per cent annually if the women’s empowerment. necessary building blocks were Dr Singh spoke of inherent in place and conditions were tradition, poverty and social disright globally. Hope springs eteradvantage as the seedbed of a nal. He hoped the Cabinet patriarchic culture that had Committee on investments given rise to such atrocities. would hasten approvals to get

things moving in the right direction. He said the government was looking at ways to speed up power projects, ensure coal supply to power plants and fix teething problems on regulation (Mint April 8).

Finance Minister P.Chidambaram assured reporters that government was pressing ahead with reforms, and that the Cabinet Committee would be clearing projects to get the wheels of the economy moving (Hindu April 11).

Agni II test-fired The Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command successfully test-fired the 2,000 kilometre intermediate-range Agni-II ballistic missile from a mobile launcher off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. The nuclear capable missile hit its target

Agni II

within a few metres before splashing into the sea.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Agni-1, Agni-II and Agni-III are already in service (Hindu April 8).

FGFA passes major test India and Russia have crossed the first milestone towards the development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). “The preliminary design contract for the RussianIndian fifth generation aircraft has been executed,” said Russia’s Sukhoi company.

Under the contract, signed in October 2010, Sukhoi has also trained Indian engineers and provided the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with the data and software to create a single working environment. The Russian T 50 prototype of the aircraft have performed more than 200 test flights since January 2010. There will be a few differences in the customized Indian version to meet the specific requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

A team of HAL engineers and Indian Air Force personnel has been working in Moscow, while Russian engineers have been assigned to HAL. This unique warplane will give the IAF an unmatched force projection capability. (Hindu April 11).

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

13

The newly introduced Housing Benefit ‘Bedroom Tax’ explained and why legal advice may be needed

Caste – Not In My Name There should be a thousand Hindu organisations – all fighting constantly with each other. Yes they will lack one all powerful voice – but they will realise that is their very unique strength. Hinduism has a million views. And no one represents it. No one. Indeed, no one even represents more than a handful of Hindus ever.

Build as many super-Hindu organisations as you want, the ‘Global Federation of all Federated Hindu Organisations Worldwide’ if you want. It will soon start in-fighting and with all its members.

That’s good. That’s right. You do not understand Hinduism if you think it is about one view.

Hinduism survives because it lives in a billion household voices. Not in one Pope or King or Emperor who could be executed, defeated, converted. We are an independent minded people. There is nothing more democratic – power resides at the bottom of the pyramid.

So why do you want more and more organisation wanting to represent us when that is self-evidently impossible.

Represent justice and truth instead. That too is being Hindu. Represent that not in a Hindu organisation, but in all bodies of all Faiths, of no Faiths. Then you will by definition protect Hindus. Otherwise you will spend all your energies fighting Hindus on the definition of being a Hindu.

Use the same energy to fight injustice wherever you find it in all non-Hindu organisations. After all one Hindu voice among 100 is far more impactful and powerful than one extra Hindu voice among 100 Hindu voices.

And worst still, do not ever ever claim to be a Hindu and say you represent Hindus. It is by definition impossible. It is not the truth. We Hindus are independent minded, because my Mandir is in my home – not in Rome, not in Mecca. I take my directions from no one. No one. No Swami, no Guru. If you do, good for you.

But you do not represent more than a

handful of Hindus at best – and certainly never thousands. And over my dead body do you speak for me as a Hindu. I, like other Hindus, speak for myself, think for myself.

The power of Hinduism is not its numbers or its Dr. B. R. Ambedkar concentration of power from unified structure or unanimity of thought – stop aping other Faiths.

Yours is the first of all Faiths. You may kill us in your crusades, massacre us is in your invasions, convert us in your droves, yet we continue to live in every home, every village, and take our orders from our conscience and our own understanding of Dharma. Until the last one of us is killed or converted Hinduism lives…and even beyond that…because truth exists outside of those who hold it to be true.

So when you want to lobby Parliament on whether caste legislation is needed – be mindful not to come across in opposing such legislation as a protector of privilege, of entitlement. Say, that our Faith, ancient though it may be, needs continuous education beyond the sledgehammer of legislation to get its own house in order – but that is for us Hindus to do – not for the House of Commons. Concede caste discrimination is vile, rather than concealing its existence.

And for Krishna’s sake, do not deny the evidence before you of a weeping man on TV when he talks about his experiences as the sufferer of caste prejudice, and then say you represent Hindus. Not in my name. ‘I would rather Hinduism die, than caste discrimination remain’ said Mahatma Gandhi. The greatest Hindus fought for truth and justice and that’s what made them Hindus.

Asian businesses get listed in 'Profit Track 100'

There has been much publicity recently surrounding the Housing Benefit “Bedroom Tax” which was recently introduced. From 6 April 2013 the amount of Housing Benefit a social

By Arvin Narendra rented tenant (i.e. those in Local Authority or Housing Association properties) of working age can receive will be reduced in cases of deemed under-occupancy. In effect, a social rented tenant will have his/her Housing Benefit reduced by 14% per cent if it is deemed that he/she is underoccupying their home by one bedroom; and 25% it if is deemed that he/she is under-occupying their home by 2 or more bedrooms. The criteria used to calculate the number of rooms that a social rented tenant requires for determining if there is ‘under occupancy’ is that there must be one bedroom for: (i) Every adult couple; (ii) A single person aged 16 or over; (iii) Any 2 children of the same sex under the age of 16; (iv) Any 2 children regardless of sex under the age of 10; and any remaining child.

However, following recent pressure and the highlighting of potentially unfair results materialising from the above criteria, the Government has now also deemed that an extra bedroom will be needed for: (i) a disabled child who cannot share a bedroom (note: this does not apply for couples who cannot share a bedroom because of a disability – although this may be later challenged under Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights as discriminating against adults with disabilities); (ii) a foster carer; and (iii) a young person who is currently serving in the Armed Forces and intends to return to the property; and a non-resident carer who provides overnight care.

A social rented tenant has two options if they may be subject to a reduction in their housing benefit.

Firstly, the social rented tenant can try and have it deemed that they need an

extra bedroom – for example, by proving that they have a disabled child who cannot share a bedroom (such as obtaining Disability Living Allowance for the disabled child) or that they need a non-resident overnight carer (such as obtaining a higher award rate of Disability Living Allowance for themselves).

Further, the social rented tenant can apply for discretionary housing payments to help make up any financial shortfall which is caused by the reduction to the housing benefit as a result of the ‘Bedroom Tax’. The Government has recently stated that it has made an additional £30million pounds available to Local Authorities to assist those who will be affected by these reductions.

Further, in the event of the death of a family member of the social rented tenant, the reduction to the Housing Benefit that would normally then apply because of the under-occupancy will not apply for the first 52 weeks after the death. Pensioners are exempt from the “Bedroom Tax”. Only those of working age will face a reduction to their housing benefit if it is deemed that they are under-occupying their property.

Legal 500 and Chambers UK Law Firm Duncan Lewis has a number of legal teams available to advise and assist those that may be adversely affected by this new bedroom tax. The Welfare Benefits Department at Duncan Lewis is available to advise on discretionary housing payments, assist with applications for Disability Living Allowance (soon to be Personal Independence Payments) for adults and children and appeals against the Housing Benefit Bedroom Tax reduction decision to the Valuation Tribunal.

Duncan Lewis’ Housing Department specialises in representing individuals in Possession Proceedings regarding rent arrears and its dedicated Community Care Department advises on property care assessments to establish if a property and family circumstances requires additional spare bedrooms.

Author is Arvin Narendra, Solicitor at Duncan Lewis and Joint Head of the Welfare Benefits Department.

Offices across London l City of London l Hackney l Lewisham l Southall

l Harrow l Islington l Shepherd’s Bush l Tooting

With over 400 Staff to Assist Tel: 020 7923 4020 - www.duncanlewis.com

Rami Ranger

Hussein Lalani

According to The Sunday Times' “Profit Track 100” - an annual issue that records the fastest growing profits of private companies over a three year period in England, and lists the top one hundredAsian businesses are generally doing quite well in 2013.

breakfast service for airline staff at Heathrow, Surinder Arora started this hotel operating company in 1999. Now,aged 54, he owns six hotels around Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports. By hosting corporate events and selling online his firm has grown to £14.6 m. He plans to expand in the hospitality sector by developing more hotels near sporting venues such as the Oval cricket ground in London and hopes to complete the

Arora Holdings: Hotel Operator ST Ranking: 22 Growth: 84.29% After running a bed-and-

Surinder Arora

project by 2016.

99p Stores: Discount Retailer ST Ranking: 33 Growth: 71.51% This retailer was established by chief executive Nadir Lalani in 2001 and has tripled in size between 2008 and 2012.

'99p Stores' has grown to having over 200 shops in Britain and is looking to expand too. Currently it is bidding to take over what used to be the former

HMV business. The business is trading in Ireland too under the name 'Euro 50 Stores. Profits reached £8m in 2012 and Barclays Ventures has held a company stake after investing £4m in 2004 and 2006.

ST Special Mention: Rami Ranger of Sun Mark Sun Mark: Consumer Products Wholesaler ST Ranking: 75 Growth: 51.11% Aged 64, Rami Ranger received a special mention for a particularly inspiring story and wise entrepreneurial approach in the

recent economic climate.

He started out collecting goods for customers, packing and taking them himself to Heathrow Airport and worked fifteen hour days, seven days a week in a two-man operation with his wife.

His wholesale business was then founded in 1995, distributing food and other products to supermarket chains in the emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa.

Together with its own extensive range of food and drink, Sun Mark also distributes on behalf of multinational corporations such as Heinz, and dispenses well known

brands owned by clients such as Unilever and Kraft all over the world.

He is now planning a well-deserved retirement with his spouse stating “We have worked hard and we want to enjoy the years we have left. A business without a succession plan is like a multi-storey building without a fire escape. It's paramount for the security of family and employees”. The Times rightly remarks that such planning is “solid, sensible and forward thinking.

It is vital to protect the assets that entrepreneurs and their families have spent so much time amassing”.

14

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Mother Nature wows thousands in London show Rudy & Marlene Otter Asians played a prominent role in the annual Natural & Organic Products Europe's 2-day exhibition at London's Olympia. They were among more than 600 exhibitors from the UK and abroad who displayed an abundance of foods, drinks, health and skin products and a lot more at a show which attracted nearly 9,000 industry professionals from companies like Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, Superdrug and Asda, all eager to promote a growing interest in natural and organic products spanning health care, food and beauty. Exhibitors included Eat Water of northwest London which man-

ufactures "zero-calorie" Slim Pasta, Noodles and Rice for weight-conscious people.

Set up last October, the family-run firm is headed by Ashwin Sojitra and their products are available all over the UK as well as Holland, UAE, Lebanon and shortly South Africa too. "Our products," said Ashwin "are totally suitable for diabetics and those with digestive problems. " His grandfather, Manji Shivji, president of Willesden temple, is an "avid reader of Gujarat Samachar" - Asian Voice's sister paper - Ashwin commented.

CBL Natural Foods of Sri Lanka were promoting their coconut-based products including dehydrated fruits. Gift Wellness of

Derby, headed by Zareen Ahmed and helped by husband Ash, were highlighting their natural sanitary pads and pantyliners, designed by Zareen after two years' research.

Formed in June last year, Gift Wellness has been selling to 60 UK independent health stores and pharmacies, and also to Europe, USA, Middle East, India and Pakistan.

Cofresh of Leicester, set up 40 years ago with 10 products, now boasts 450, said its national account manager Martin Goode. Dr Deepa Apte of the Healthy Living Centre of north London, gave a talk on the Ayurvedic way to keep young and fit, and s of Sutra Kitchens, Soho, demonstrated vegetarian cooking.

Leading Bollywood and Brit stars to attend charity fundraiser for Pratham UK India’s leading fashion designer Payal Jain will be making her UK collection debut at an exclusive Fundraiser hosted by Friends of Pratham in aid of Pratham, India’s largest education NGO working to improve learning levels amongst underprivileged children, at the Le Meredian on Wednesday 24th April 2013.

The star-studded afternoon will be hosted by TV presenter Tasmin Lucia Khan. Bollywood celebrity Poonam Dhillon will be joining other A-list names including British comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar pledging their support at the event. Bollywood beauty Jacqueline Fernandez will help raise funds through an exclusive money-can’tbuy auction alongside entertainment by TV Stars ‘The Pulse Collective’ from Sky 1’s ‘Got To Dance.

Guests will also get a chance to take dip into Indian heritage by exploring timeless masterpieces by bespoke jewellery designer Neety Singh and a select art exhibition by S.A fine arts.

Payal will be showcasing her SS 13’ ‘Butterflies In My Heart’ collection

which takes you through an endless journey filled with beauty, love and light. It is inspired by pristine angels, delicate butterflies, lush flowerbeds, iridescent dragonflies, wings of freedom and limitless horizons. This is an attempt to translate this magnificent journey into the land of butterflies in color, form, texture and dimension.

She has an envious client list that includes the Who’s Who of the Indian glitterati like Priyanka Chopra, Deepti Naval, Saina Nehwal, Lakshmi Menon, Sunanda Thuroor, Monikangana Dutta and Esha Gupta. Her reputation extends beyond the subcontinent, with her contemporary opulent creations having been seen on some of the most famous Hollywood trendsetters like Victoria Beckam.

Payal thoroughly believes in giving back to the community that has supported her thus far.

Consciously and ethically, she also contributes to the weaver and artisan communities in remote parts of the country that have helped enrich her creations.

She said of her support for Pratham: “Pratham does some outstanding work with children across the world what better cause can bring smiles to some many innocent and beautiful faces. I am very proud to be associated with Pratham and hope to remain connected with the smiles. “ Pratham has reached almost 500,000 children in 43 cities and 33 million children in 305,000 villages through our wide range of programmes and teaching children to read from nursery schools through primary and secondary education to vocational skilling.

Shalija Sharma, chair of Friends of Pratham said: “Pratham events have come to be firmly established as highlights of the Asian social calendar in London. We are delighted to host an afternoon to recognise and honour the work Pratham is doing in India. We have been patrons of the charity for a very long time and relentlessly continue to support fund-raising initiatives in order to enable Pratham’s outstanding work to continue.”

For more stories visit www.scribbledesk.com

Short Story by Neha Garg

I Want the Moon Princess Madeleine scowled.

‘Uh oh,’ said Queen Gertrude, the queen of FaerieRealm, who knew that scowl very well.

And sure enough …

‘I want the moon! I want the mooooon! I WANT THE MOON!’ princess DJ burst out, stamping her feet. ’Now Madeleine dear,’ said the Queen, soothingly. ‘You know the moon will be back tomorrow.’

‘I want it RIGHT NOW,’ screamed the princess. ‘And don’t call me Madeleine. I’m Maddy.’

‘Please be reasonable, dear. You know the moon vanishes for one night each month but it always comes back the next day,’ pleaded the Queen.

Maddy shook her head. ‘I want the moon,’ she repeated.

The Queen stood up from her throne and started pacing.

‘Okay, I shall see what I can do.

Now go play in your room. I’ll send for you in an hour.’

‘But, mother …’ began Maddy.

‘No buts,’ said the Queen, giving Maddy a stern look. ‘Out. Now.’ Maddy hung her head and slowly headed out of the throne room. She dragged her feet as much as she could because she wanted to see what the Queen would do to bring the Moon back.

‘Send for the Great Wizard,’ she commanded one of her guards.

Maddy smiled to herself.

The guard bowed low and disappeared. A few minutes later, the Great Wizard came sweeping into the room, looking majestic in his purple robe and pointed hat.

‘Great Wizard, thank heavens you are here. I have a problem with Princess Madeleine,’ said the Queen.

‘What does she want this time, my Queen?’ said the Great Wizard, bowing

to the Queen and taking a seat by her side.

‘The Moon.’

‘The Moon?’ said the Wizard, astonished. ‘But it’s the night of the New Moon. Didn’t you tell her that the moon will be back tomorrow?’

‘Of course I did,’ said the Queen, waving a hand. ‘But she wants to see the moon tonight. Can you magic it to come back tonight instead of tomorrow?’

‘I am afraid not,’ said the Wizard, deep in thought. ‘Even though I can make people grow 3 ears instead of two and create a house out of thin air, I cannot change the way the moon and the sun work. But, I do have an idea.’

He bent closer to the Queen and whispered something in her ear. She smiled.

‘Guard! Get me some cashews,’ she ordered.

That night, the Queen and the Great Wizard strode into Maddy’s room.

‘Take a look outside your window, dear,’ the Queen said with a smile.

Maddy ran to the window and threw the curtains apart. Outside, she could see the crescent shape of the moon.

‘The Moon! The Moon! The Moon is back. Thank you mother. Thank you.’ she cried.

The Great Wizard winked at the Queen who smiled back.

BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham held their annual 10K challenge on Sunday 14 April and raised funds for BAPS Charities, KIDS and Action for Children.

University raises alarm over segregation at student event A report in a daily newspaper has said that the Leicester University voiced concern after photographs emerged showing hand-written signs directing male and female students to sit in separate sections at a public talk on the existence of God organised by the University’s Islamic Society.

The meeting was addressed by Hamza Tzortzis, an Islamic speaker who tours university campuses, who was also at the centre of controversy over segregation at University College London (UCL) last month.

UCL announced that it was ban-

ning his organisation, the Islamic Education & Research Academy (IERA), from its campus after a debate he was addressing descended into farce over the issue of segregation.

The latest row erupted after photographs were published on the internet showing sheets of A4 paper attached to a door reading “brothers” and “sisters” with arrows pointing in opposite directions at the entrance to the event in Leicester.

A separate notice on the website of the University of Leicester Islamic Society (ULISoc) reportedly suggests

that while its meetings are open to the public it has a policy of “segregated seating for brothers and sisters at all co-attended events”.

The University said that it would investigate the signs shown in the photographs, which are said to have been taken by a student, but added that it was not aware of anyone being “forced” to sit separately.

A spokesman for Leicester University said: “The university will investigate whether entrances to the hall for this event were segregated by the Society and will ensure there is no recurrence of this.”

Hama Tzortzis

UK

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Youngsters appreciated and honoured for their contribution to Indian culture A special programme was held on Saturday 13 April 2013 at Shakti Hall in the Karma Yoga House of ABPL to recognise and honour the youngsters who participated and performed at the Be Dharmic event on Saturday 9th and 10th March at the Sattavis Patidar Centre, to pay tribute to our Indian roots and culture. A certificate of appreciation was given to all the participants/performers for their contribution in keeping their Indian culture alive.

Despite of the incessant rain and a grey afternoon, around 60 participants from Yogi Divine Society, Kuntal Dance Academy, Mahavir F o u n d a t i o n , Swaminarayan Temple and Honey's Dance Academy came with their 'guru' or parents, to receive their certificate of honour from the organisers. The event was compered by Kokilaben Patel, Managing Editor, Gujarat

Samachar.

CB Patel, Publisher/ Editor of Asian Voice and Guajarat Samachar gave an excellent speech motivating and inspiring the children and cracked jokes which made it an interactive session in a relaxed atmosphere. He also spoke to the parents and asked what initiated their interest to teach their children Indian form of arts.

Children were encouraged to recite Hindu prayers whilst few sang and danced to show their talents. A few people were also welcomed to come forward and share why they chose to commit themselves into such extra curricular activities.

Parents were delighted that their efforts in making their children aware of their own culture has paid off. finally Youngsters were also very happy to be encouraged and appreciated for their devotion and talent.

CB Interacting with the participants and their parents

Rajkumar Shah, Aishwarya Rajkumar Shah and Princess Rajkumar Shah along with CB Patel

Participants of Be Dharmic event along with CB Patel and Ajay Randerwala of Go Dharmic

Kokilaben Patel compering the event

Karina Patel receiving her Certificate of Participation from Mrs Kokilaben Patel

Participants from Yogi Divine Society along with their parents

Participants of Kuntal Academy along with their parents.

Participants from Yogi Divine Society with their parents

Guests at the event

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Big B, Naseeruddin and Vidya in Sujoy’s next film

It is learnt that “Kahaani” director Sujoy Ghosh's next film titled “Badla,” is a revenge saga with three of Indian cinema's finest talents Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah and Vidya Balan. The film is slated to go on floor by the end of this year. Amitabh and Vidya stole hearts with their sensitive portrayal as mother and son in R Balki's “Paa.” And, Vidya and Naseer made a combustible couple in Abhishek Chaubey's “Ishqiya” and in Milan Luthria's “The Dirty Picture.”

Rani to play bold role in ‘Mardaani’

Rani Mukherji will play a cop in “Mardaani,” Yash Raj Films' boldest movie ever. The movie will be directed by Pradeep Sarkar. Several actresses have played a cop in the past and Rani Mukerji will be the latest name to join the bandwagon. "Rani has played versatile roles, but she will be seen in an allnew bold role in the forthcoming movie. She was picked up for the role as the script required a strong heroine.

First day shoot makes Tusshar Kapoor nervous Tusshar Kapoor was born with a silver spoon, but had his own share of struggle to make a name in Bollywood. The actor claims that even after spending years in B'town, first day of shoot for any movie makes him nervous. While talking about his movies, Tusshar said, "I get nervous about every film. Every time when it's the first day of my shoot, I feel like school. I think whether the teacher will be nice, the students will be nice. It's a fever which I get."

I am not in race to become No 1: Soha Ali Khan

Soha Ali Khan, who has made a mark for herself in off-beat cinema claims that there is a thin line between off-beat and commercial cinemas now. On being asked about her career, Soha said, "I enjoy doing any kind of work. Now, there is a thin line between off-beat and commercial cinemas. I am very happy and I don't like competition and race. I am an artist and want to do act. I want to enjoy work and enjoy my life," concluded t h e actress.

South actress Taapsee hereafter will have no problem going under the deep sea, whenever she feels like. The gutsy lady has got herself a license to be a scuba diver. The actress happily announced, “Yayyyyyyy I’m a licensed scuba diver! Part of another world now!”

Meanwhile Taapsee’s Bollywood project “ C h a s h m e Baddoor,” in which she stars opposite Siddharth has hit the screens and is doing wonders at the box-office. She also has in her hand the AjithVishnuvardhan project and R a g h a v a Lawrence’s “Muni 3” in Tamil.

Anushka Sharma buys her dream home

Anushka Sharma has bought her dream house in Mumbai since she wanted her parents to live with her. The actor is currently shooting for Rajkumar Hirani’s “Peekay” and commercials for the brands she endorses, but she has been taking time out to give suggestions to the interior designer. “Even when she is not in the city, she regularly keeps in touch with the designer who briefs her about everything that’s happening in the house. She is completely involved with the decor,” says the source, adding, “She also keeps a keen watch over the architecture when she visits a new city or country, and has bought a lot of arte facts from different places. She is looking forward to shifting into the new house at the earliest.”

When Abhishek tied the knot again!

The crowds that gathered to watch designer Ritu Beri’s fashion show for kids had an ‘aww’ moment thanks to the chief guest, actor Abhishek Bachchan. When three-year-old Sunehra walked the ramp, she noticed her shoe-laces had come undone and burst into tears. Abhishek, father of a 16-month-old himself, couldn’t resist jumping on to the ramp and tied the laces of her left shoe. The child, unaware of the attention she was getting from the Bollywood star, then pointed towards her other shoe, and amid much applause, the actor dutifully obliged. He was later seen cheering the little ‘models’ loudly and even danced with them onstage.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Nandi Awards: Nayanthara is best actress

The Nandi awards function was held in Hyderabad recently. The main attraction of the evening was the presence of Bollywood biggie Amitabh Bachchan.

Actor Nagarjuna was seen with Amala, at the event, which was the centre of attraction for the film fraternity. The gorgeous actress Nayanthara was clad in a sea blue saree, to receive the award for the Best Actress for 'Sri Ramarajyam'. Actress Lakshmi Manchu was awarded the Best Villain (Female), and she was spotted chatting with others from the industry. Among others, actor Mahesh Babu was an attraction in the event.

Bollywood is not my priority: Siddharth Southern star Siddharth, who made a promising debut in Bollywood with Aamir Khan starrer "Rang De Basanti" in 2006, has no qualms of being seen less in Hindi film industry because he feels he hardly gets good lead roles. The 33-year-old actor-producer said he always maintained a distance from Bollywood because he never considered it as his priority. "Bollywood is not my priority. My job is in down south.

I am a lead actor. In terms of lead actor opportunities, I don't really get good ones here. But I don't rule out being part of the Hindi Film industry," Siddharth said.

Sunny Leone defeats Priyanka It’s the first time that Priyanka Chopra has done a full fledged item song, but it seems the viewers have taken a better liking to Sunny Leone's item song.

The two songs that we are talking about are 'Laila' and 'Babli Badmaash'. Both are from the same movie, “Shootout at Wadala.”

Priyanka has danced on the tunes on 'Babli Badmaash' whereas Sunny Leone is seen getting groovy to 'Laila'. On YouTube, Sunny's song has surpassed Priyanka Chopra's song.

However Sunny Leone's song came in trouble with the censor board. The source adds, “The Censor Board felt that it had to be changed to make it more appropriate for the TV audience. The makers had to re-dub the line and the new version will now be shown on television.”

P

arineeti Chopra, two films old in the industry, wants to adopt children at some point in her life. And not just one or two, but she may even beat Angelina Jolie - who has adopted three children. “Oh yes, I hope I can financially and emotionally support as many children as possible,” Parineeti says.

Parineeti reveals that her real inspirations are her parents who support more than 50 children. “Why do I need to look elsewhere? For me they have been my inspiration all through my growing years,” she quips. She reveals that her parents support these children, and some of them are married now. “I have grown up seeing my parents taking care of all these children. And I want to be able to do that someday. Personally, take care of children and to provide care and education to as many as I can.”

So, a single mother? “No, I definitely want a man in my life, and have kids of my own too,” she smiles, before adding, “But I need to be more financially secure to be able to support the children.”

ayan helps ranbir overcome his fears H

ere's how Ayan Mukerji helped Ranbir Kapoor overcome his phobias for a set of stunts in “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.” Ranbir apparently has morbid fear of heights and water. However, that couldn't keep him from performing some quirky stunts in his upcoming film. And interestingly, his friend and director Ayan gave him moral support by performing them beforehand! While shooting for the film, Ranbir and Deepika Padukone were supposed to enact a series of rather scary scenes. To make things worse, the young actor even had misgivings about his act and was nervous. “When we were shooting at a fort in Rajasthan, Ranbir and Deepika were made to sit at the edge with a drop of 250 feet below. Since Ranbir is acrophobic, it induced vertigo in him. However, Ayan encouraged him by sitting on the edge first and showing him how simple it was,”` says a source.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Pran Y

esteryear Bollywood actor Pran, 93, will be honoured with this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

The award, which consists of the Swara Kamal medal, a shawl and a cash prize, honours a prominent film personality every year.

Pran appeared in blockbuster movies like “Zanjeer” and “Don.” He played both villainous as well as supporting characters. He co-starred with Bollywood's biggest names, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. He was instrumental in the rise of Amitabh Bachchan who he recommended for “Zanjeer” to director Prakash Mehra.

Pran retired in the '90s, appearing just two films – “Mrityudaata” and “Tere Mere Sapne.” He received the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and has won four Filmfare Awards. He has been in and out of hospital over the last few months. He last made a rare public appearance at friend and colleague Amitabh Bachchan's 70th birthday party in October, 2012.

Previous Dadasaheb Phalke awardees include Satyajit Ray, Dev Anand and Yash Chopra. Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee was last year's awardee.

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Financial Voice Dear Financial Voice Reader,

I have to talk about Gold. The week the BBC paraded (and laughed at) an Indian man in a gold shirt.

Gold, sadly for him, means he’s lost his shirt – as the price of the metal is at a two year low. So I am asked – should be buy?

Let’s not forget exactly how high it still is. That’s one reason not to. Also that other products are meant to be more attractive for the returns such as stocks.

Another reason is Soros has been selling.

So what are we left with as reasons to buy. Many, but not enough in the short-term. Yes war, inflation, a falling US dollar, credit risk, global growth, Indian wealth (men buying Gold shirts should surely push up demand), Shaadi.com booming?

The economist Keynes once said, the problem with experts is they are not willing to say they ‘don’t know’ when they don’t know. With Gold, I don’t know. It’s the truth. If I had to put my money on it, I’d say sell it for now. Why? Well I follow trends in trading. Other’s try to outsmart the market and do the contrary thing. I don’t. So on my basis you would sell.

Buffett says all the Gold that is above the ground can fit into a 20m cube. That then is about 171,000 tonnes. It’s about 10m high and covers Wimbledon Centre court on that basis according to the BBC. So what do you do now? Sell, while you can, or buy on the dip? It’s impossible to say, but the smart money seems to be to sell. We’ve had a ride up because of unusual circumstances and this may be the end.

But bewarned – there will be one more last jump for the met probably. What strikes me is that the falls has been sharp and that suggests something more serious in the price than a temporary fall.

Of course if you believe in end of the world and North Korea nuking us all and inflation being rampant, then by year end expect a new high for gold. I don’t see it likely to happen.

The problem with forecasting is when there are so many different things which could all equally happen and that is why anyone tells you they know with Gold what will happen is lying. The best thing is probably not to panic. If you have more than you need, sell some. If you need to buy some in the near future, now at least is better than anytime in the past two years. So as with all trading, congratulate yourself that it could have been worse, not that it could have been better.

As in trading, so in life, that is the secret to happiness and success. alpesh.patel@tradermind.com

Yamaha to drive India-made low cost two-wheelers in China Yamaha is set to drive made-in-India low-cost motorcycles and scooters to China. The Japanese two-wheeler major is planning to make India a hub for development as well as manufacture of low cost products and plans to launch a sub- $500 (under Rs 27,000) scooter and motorcycle, which would be its cheapest two-wheeler globally and sold across volume-laden markets such as China, Africa and Latin America.

"We are in the process of developing low-cost products from India and these would be sold across major markets, including China," Yuh Motoyama, Yamaha's senior GM, said. Motoyama said the products were currently under development and the Indian R&D was playing the lead role in this, with assistance from headquarter Japan.

"The idea is to develop a low-cost scooter and motorcycle, and these would be the lowest-priced globally in the Yamaha stable," Motoyama said.

Currently, the company sells its lowest-priced twowheeler in China which is priced at $700 (Rs 38,200).

The company announced the establishment of a new motorcycle R&D set-up at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and this is Yamaha's fifth overseas research centre on the lines of similar ones in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand.

Asked why the company had chosen India for developing the low-cost models, Motoyama said the products would have a big potential in this market. "India is very, very important for Yamaha and is a growing market - one of the biggest in the world.

The reason for developing the products here was to be near the market to catch customer response better and also to respond faster."

He said apart from international markets, the new low-priced products would be sold across India that would help Yamaha grab a bigger share of the market.

chandise exports, are also hurting growth, it stated.

"Clearly, economic recovery remains fragile in 2 0 1 3 - 1 4 .

Economic recovery beyond 201314 depends on revival of private corporate investment," Crisil Ratings said.

India pitch for ratings upgrade with Fitch: Armed with the budget proposals to bring down the fiscal deficit, finance ministry will pitch for a ratings upgrade at series of meetings with the global agencies over the next few weeks beginning with Fitch.

"The Fitch team will come soon. Representatives from Standard & Poor's and Moody's are scheduled to visit on April 25 and May 5 (respectively)," a senior

finance ministry official said.

The officials, sources said, would impress upon rating agencies the resolve of the government to follow the path of financial prudence and bring down the fiscal deficit to 3 per cent by 2016-17.

Finance minister P Chidambaram in 2013-14 budget has proposed to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent from 5.2 per cent in 2012-13. In order to promote growth and investment, the government has announced various measures like allowing FDI in multibrand retail and raising foreign investment caps in various other sectors.

The government also implemented partial decontrol of diesel and capped subsidised LPG cylinders, in a bid to check the rising subsidy bill.

India’s law ministry rejects Vodafone’s reconciliation proposal

Jaguar Land Rover global sales up 16%

Ratings agency Crisil has cut India’s growth forecast for 2013-14 to 6% from the 6.4% projected earlier.

The weaker-than-anticipated pick-up in household consumption demand, which will act as a drag on manufacturing sector recovery and the downward rigidity in lending rates with the passthrough of any repo rate cuts expected to begin only in the second quarter of 2013-14 are the main reasons for the lowering of growth projections.

"We maintain our agriculture GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast of 3.5%, but expect industry and services to grow at a lower rate of 4.4% and 7.3% respectively," Crisil Ratings said.

"Although we continue to believe that GDP growth in 2013-14 will be greater

India’s law ministry rejects Vodafone's proposal to reconcile tax dispute on the ground that it is impermissible under the existing Income Tax Act, 1961.

This has put the government in a peculiar situation where it is left with no option but to approach Cabinet for deciding on the Vodafone’s demand for reconciliation. Earlier, in January, the finance ministry had sent a reminder notice to the telecom giant for payment of tax following which Vodafone sent a letter to the ministry proposing conciliation.

The ministry had then sought attorney general’s view on the matter.

According to the AG’s view, the government will have to first amend the I-T act, providing for such rec-

than last year's 5%, the recovery is fragile and hinges critically on a normal monsoon," it said.

"If the monsoons were to fail this year, resulting in no growth in agriculture, then GDP may grow by only around 5.1%," Crisil Ratings said. Issues related to mining and lack of speedy project clearances, which continue to affect manufacturing, infrastructure and investment activity and the worsening situation in the Euro Zone area, which accounts for 15% of the country's mer-

onciliation, only after which will it be able to go for such an exercise.

However, given the fact that the finance ministry is already working on a new direct tax code, it will be a tough call for the department on whether to bring in substantial amendments in the existing act or wait for the new code to get implemented.

“After the law ministry’s rejection, only

Cabinet can decide on the matter,” an official said.

Vodafone India non-executive chairman Analjit Singh met finance minister P Chidambaram and exuded confidence that a solution would be found to the tax dispute.

Vodafone is facing a tax liability of Rs 112 billion for purchase of Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in its Indian telecom business in 2007.

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported 16 per cent increase in global sales at 53,772 units in March from the same month last year. "Jaguar Land Rover is seeing continued year on year growth following the introduction of new models, engines and drive- trains with the Jaguar XF Sport brake, new Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque amongst our top selling models," JLR Group Sales Operations Director Phil Popham said in a statement.

Jaguar posted sales of 9,856 in March, up 28 per cent, while Land Rover reported 14 per cent increase in sales at 43,916 units. In the UK, Jaguar Land Rover sales were up 14 per cent at 17,784 units in March, while China delivered its best-ever month retailing 8,487 units collectively, a growth of 22 per cent.

India to allow import of 250,000 EU cars at 10% duty India is all set to allow import of at least 250,000 cars from the European Union at a concessional tariff of 10% - a move that will come as a major relief to European auto majors who have to currently pay 100% customs duty on vehicles that cost over $40,000.

The tariff rate quota which means allowing a specified number of a product at lower duty - can be used over a five-year period, starting 2017 under the proposed IndiaEU Bilateral Trade & Investment Agreement. In case of breach of the quota, European car makers will have to pay a concessional duty of 30%, which is almost half the current

notified rate. The tariff rate quota will apply to large as well as small cars.

While the EU is demanding that the quota be increased to 300,000, the government has so far held its ground although there are indications that there may be some tradeoff so that India can gain in other sectors. Although there is no annual cap which industry body Siam said is more than 20,00022,000 completely-built units imported from Europe.

Sources argued that the concessions from India would also "open up" the EU market for made-inIndia cars as the trading bloc had agreed to phase out import duty from the

current level of 6.5%.

Siam, the Indian lobby group, however, said the move was meaningless as car exports to Europe had come to a halt after the subsidy given to small cars.

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma was engaged in intense negotiations with his EU counterpart Karel de Goucht in what appeared to be the final leg of ministerial-level talks for the agreement that has been under negotiation for six years now.

For India, a key concern is to get EU to drop the safeguard clause on services sector that will kick in when 20% of EU's committed number of pro-

fessionals enter member states' territories. In addition, India wants a clause which allows movement of spouses and dependents along with professionals who get temporary entry into a EU member state.

Further, there is a strong pitch on declaring Indian companies "data secure", which will help outsourcing work to Indian IT companies, especially the SMEs. EU law mandates that European countries undertaking outsourcing business with countries that are not certified data secure have to follow stringent contractual obligations which increases operating costs and affects competitiveness.

finAnciAl Voice

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Once you've got a taste of it, it's hard to go back!

Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

This week in succession I had two investors come to see me, who had scattered investments all around the UK, from Wales to Essex. They had bought properties which had been recommend by either agents or sourcing companies; the properties had been bought haphazardly, driven primarily by the discount offered off the market price.

The other enticement with these areas is you can purchase properties very cheaply, this means every time you have a small amount saved up you're able to purchase something, and you feel like you're progressing and building a portfolio. Sometimes the purchase doesn't even require savings, as you can borrow the deposit and get a mortgage for the rest. A nice feeling to have no doubt, the pension pot is building up and it will even cover your children’s university education….in time. Or so you hope.

The re ason wh y bo th of these in dividuals came to se e me aft er having invested in propert ies all arou nd the UK isn’t a ne w one, I have see n it many times.

The profile of the properties are that they have been bought for 25% to 40% off 'market price'; sometimes with no money or very little money down and the rent is higher than the mortgage payments which means you get a positive cash flow.

Sounds very good…….on the surface.

The under current is what you have to watch out for, not the outside packaging. In certain locations these properties are fuelled by only one type of tenant, that’s for whom the government pays for, so your rental stream is totally dependent on this segment. If the government changes the policy or reduces the rent the market for your property drops, perhaps to zero; or the tenant doesn't pass the rent on as they need the money for drinks so you're stuck.

The other point is many earn money but the type and quality of the tenant is reflected in the amount of money they pay, might sound elitist but it tends to be true.

This leads to problems in managing the properties and the tenants understanding the contracts.

The properties tend to be sourced by agents who advertised far and wide to capture anyone who is having issues selling their property, asking these people to contact them in exchange for a quick deal. This makes the spread of these properties very sporadic which make them difficult to manage.

The void periods cannot be filled very quickly as the number of tenants are often from one or two sectors; and after all this trouble your properties do not rise in value or tend to rise very little.

There is a reason why you get properties this cheap, in these locations, it's because no one else is purchasing them. There is no certainty the property will not decrease from the price you have paid for it the following year.

It's very rare if not impossible to get a property discount to the tune of 25% in Central London. The reason being the demand is very high and buyers are flush with funds, in fact funds are chasing property in prime locations.

There are many companies which serve to entice low and middle wage earners on to expensive property courses which give them the promise of making money through investing in property.

These courses claim you can purchase property for free through a few different tools; one being lease options. What this means is you agree to pay a person's mortgage for them with the option of purchasing the property at a later stage; this is an option so you do not have to

exercise this, in the interim you make money on the rentals. The theory is sound, and it can work in principle. However there are some issues, for example: what if the management is more hassle than the rental income is worth?

As these properties are of small value, the rentals income is small too. If for example the boiler is stolen, which can happen in certain locations, you will have lost your income for the year.

The other point to note is in property the bulk of your money is made from capital growth. Assuming you exercise your option, the property may not rise in the future and the yield you will be getting is small in comparison. So if you're focusing on the yield you're missing the real growth potential of property.

Even if you have no money trapped in the deal you could end up losing if the property goes down in value.

Given t he abo ve it is no wo nder why t hese clien ts, despite th eir portfolios and breadt h of e xperie nce in the propert y mark et, still came back to the basics o f propert y investmen t, which is location, l ocat ion.. . an d you g uessed it. .. lo catio n!

It is location which ensures you have a diverse range of demand from many differing sectors. This is why when the bank bonuses dried up the property prices in Central London carried on rising; when the government announced a cut in housing benefits in Westminster the property prices and rents remained largely unaffected; and the demand comes not only from the UK but internationally and from diverse sectors within the London market from students to those looking for alternatives to hotels in the short let market.

CBRE describes the London property market as the gold standard in property: 'London is a property market unlike any other in the world.

Nowhere else offers such a diverse range of properties, challenges, opportunities or dynamic activity.'

The recent financial turbulence has been a doubled edged sword, its impact on the Central London investment market has been markedly positive, as London continued to capture overseas capital flows due to its safe haven status. This was reflected by a 67% market share for overseas investors, helping drive investment volumes throughout the year.

Clearly these investors are dissatisfied with the level of returns and shape of the returns they are getting from their current investments choices.

When investors come to us, the first deal is obviously a tester. They both want to test us, and the London market. Not just in purchasing, but in purchasing and selling; so that they can realise a profit. The proof of the pudding after all is in the taste.

We are not the only ones confident in the Central London market, the most prominent commentators on the market are saying the same.

Once investors have tasted the Central London property market it is very difficult to go back outside again; you become hooked on this drug, and you will not be able to get this dosage in any other market.

The Real Deal Property in Belsize Park Purchase Price: £905,000 l A superb and large two bedroom lateral raised ground floor apartment l Share of freehold l Residents Parking l Priced at £809 per sq ft l Recent properties sold in this location were in the range of £1000-£1050 per sq ft Call us now to reserve!!

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

0207 993 0103 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 The idea of investing in property is good, but always remember the mantra of property investment - Location, Location, Location! l Most expenses, such as repairs, agency fees, etc., can be off-set against tax therefore reducing your liability. The HMRC website has a good amount of helpful information.

20

UK

Maria Fernandes

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

maria@abplgroup.com

The Epitaph of Margaret Thatcher on immigration?

n the last few days Bob Carr, the Australian IForeign Minister, has told

the BBC of his shock by “unabashed racist comments” by Mrs Thatcher on Asian immigration. He reports that she said "if we allowed too much of it we'd see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants."

When Margaret Thatcher came into power in 1979, the country was gripped by high unemployment, and the famous “winter of discontent” epitomised by strikes, a 3 day week, mass picketing and visions of garbage piled high on streets, sick people turned away from hospital and the dead not buried. There was also a significant rise in racism and the rise of the National Front and numerous clashes with them.

Those of us who had newly arrived in the UK will remember the no go areas that existed in pubs and clubs and will have personally experienced taunts, racist insults and in some cases violence.

Mrs Thatcher, a rising star, but still not high in opinion polls, made the now famous World in Action Interview in 1978 in which she expressed concern that immigration was excessively high and that there were concerns by the British people that this country might be swamped by people from the new Commonwealth countries who had a different culture. She wanted an end to immigration.

These right wing views increased her popularity.

Files released to the National Archives under the 30 year rule show that she privately complained that too many Asians were being allowed into Britain.

When her Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, Willie Whitelaw and Lord Carrington, recommended that the UK take in around 10,000 Vietnamese “boat people” fleeing persecution from the communist regime in Vietnam she ini-

tially refused to do so and when pressed told those who insisted that Britain had an obligation to do so to house them in their own homes. During the same period she was much more amenable to allowing the entry of white Rhodesians and also Poles and Hungarians who she felt they could be more easily assimilated into British society.

The policies introduced during her time in office included the infamous Primary Purpose Rule which required foreign nationals married to British citizens to prove that the primary purpose of their marriage was not to obtain British residency – designed to exclude Asians. It involved proving a negative and resulted in scandalous incidents such as virginity tests being carried out at airports. This insidious rule remained in place until its abolition when Labour came into power. The other plank was the British Nationality Act 1981 which effectively created classes of citizenship and Asians became second and third class citizens overnight. First class citizenship was however maintained for the white nationals abroad.

Some would argue that Thatcher was simply doing what the electorate wanted. Others would argue that she wanted to dismantle the National Front by her own right wing policies. Still others would state that she held personal views which she exercised in her policies.

Whatever the reason, and it may be a combination of all three, it separated families and created an underclass of citizenship which still exists to today.

Maria Fernandes has been in practice exclusively in immigration for the past 25 years. Fernandes Vaz is based at 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley in Wembley and can be contacted by telephone on 02087330123, by email on info@fernandesvaz.com

India's wholesale price based inflation fell below six per cent for the first time in more than three years as prices of manufactured and primary articles eased, government data showed on Monday.

Inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell to 5.96 per cent in March, the lowest level since November 2009. The headline inflation was recorded at 6.84 per cent in the previous month and 7.69 per cent during the corresponding month of last year, according to data released by the ministry of

commerce and industry.

Manufactured products inflation that has 64.97 weight in the WPI index eased to 4.07 per cent in the last month of fiscal 2012-13 as compared to 5.16 per cent recorded during the corresponding month of previ-

ous year.

Primary articles based inflation eased to 7.6 per cent in March 2013 as compared to 10.41 per cent in the corresponding month of last year.

"The softening of headline WPI inflation to a three-year low can mainly be attributed to cooling down of primary articles (particularly food) inflation," said Bhupali Gursale, an economist at Angel Broking.

Food inflation fell to 8.73 per cent during the month under review as compared to 10.11 per

cent in the corresponding month of last year. Core inflation has also inched lower to 3.4 per cent in March reflecting the decline in commodity prices on a year-on-year basis as well as weak pricing power.

"Owing to the positive trend in inflation, we believe there is scope for a 25 basis points rate cut in the RBI's annual policy on May 3. But we maintain some caution in reading this data due to the upward revisions in the provisional numbers," Gursale said.

India Inc calls for lower Indian carriers planning to reduce soaps for passengers interest rates to boost industry Travellers are waiting for really low fares from AirAsia India, Indian carriers are waiting for it to begin operations so that they can increase their ancillary revenue by charging more for things like check-in baggage.

Indian carriers have been planning to reduce the current domestic free check-in baggage allowance of 20 kg to 15 kg. But the only reason they have not done this so far is the fear of being asked to reverse the move by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The aviation regulator had asked airlines to stop charging extra for preselection of seats last year.

"AirAsia does not offer any free check-in luggage and passengers have the option of booking the same at the time of buying

tickets. They are likely to get the same policy in India, enabling us to at least lower the current free check in weight from 20 kg to at least 15 kg," said an airline official.

The official of another airline said, "Once big names like Tata Sons and AirAsia have a JV airline flying here, the mandarins of aviation ministry and the offices they control will not be able to interfere too much. Airlines will hopefully be able to get some more operational freedom."

For instance, airlines point out, charging for preselection of seats is a common global practice but that is not allowed in India. "Today, even the full-service Air India is contemplating charging for meals while giving only snacks and peanuts free.

Industry bodies in India called for rate cuts by the RBI to revive economic growth.

"It is important that the Government focuses on bringing down the interest rates to stimulate investment and consumer demand and also ensure speedy approvals for large projects under the Cabinet Committee on Investments" said Didar Singh, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Industrial output rose at a meagre 0.6 per cent in February against an expansion of 4.3 per cent in the corresponding month of 2011-12, government data showed.

The slump was mainly on account of contraction in power generation and

mining, and poor performance of the manufacturing sector.

"The RBI would now hopefully reduce repo (rate) and CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) by 50 basis points, each, on May 3 (when the central bank is due to announce the annual monetary policy)" Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement.

CRR denotes the amount of money banks are required to keep with the RBI. "While a slowdown in manufacturing sector continues to be an area of concern, what is extremely worrisome is the sharp fall in mining and electricity production which have gone into negative territory," Banerjee said.

AAI rules out giving permission to Kingfisher to fly again The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has categorically ruled out giving permission to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) to fly again till it clears dues of Rs 3 billion. KFA CEO Sanjay Aggarwal had told Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Arun Mishra that the airline had requested AAI to allow it to fly on cash-and-carry.

“No one from KFA has got in touch with us. All we used to get till some months back were promises of payment, which were never kept. KFA has to clear dues first and then be

on cash-and-carry,” said a senior AAI official. AAI chairman V P Agrawal confirmed this stand of the authority.

In fact, AAI is consulting its legal department on how to fast track the bounced cheque cases filed against the grounded airline.

“Some cheques given by KFA bounced. We have filed cases against the airline as giving a cheque that can’t be cashed due to lack of funds is a criminal offence,” V P Agrawal said.

Meanwhile, lessors of

aircraft to KFA have finally started repossessing their aircraft that had been impounded by various agencies with massive dues to the airline like banks, tax agencies and airports. Two aircraft flew out of India last week when the airline management was seeking nod to

restart operations from DGCA. AAI got some money as Mishra had ruled that lessors will have to pay parking charges from the day the aircraft are de-registered from KFA’s name to the date they are flown out.

Banks, mostly public sector ones, are struggling to recover their loans of over Rs 75 billion to the airline. KFA’s loan-dues-losses combine figure is over Rs 160 billion. The airline has not operated a single flight since October 1, 2012, and its flying licence lapsed on December 31, 2012.

the future and feels that the growth will continue for foreseeable future due to its brands gaining market

recognition over time. He further said that the new site is needed to provide much needed space to accommodate future growth and expansion.

Sun Mark Ltd. exports fast moving consumer goods to 110 countries with staggering results. It is the only company in Britain to have won the

Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade for four consecutive years and in the process made history. It is also listed in the Sunday Time's Profit 100 at No. 25, the company’s second entry in consecutive years and up from last year’s position at 33, being one of most profitable companies in Britain.

Sun Mark acquires site for new distribution centre As part of the company’s expansion plans, Sun Mark plans to construct a 100,000 sq ft distribution centre with underground parking, all weather covered vehicle bays, automated picking facilities and additional office space. The new centre will require further investment of £5 million and it is esti-

mated will reduce loading times by 30% and unloading times by 50% and make the operation considerably more efficient. It should be operational by 2015. This will create many more jobs for the local economy.

The company’s sales are growing at over 30% per annum in spite of the glob-

al recession and have done so for over 10 years. The Chairman, Dr Rami Ranger MBE, is optimistic about

finAnciAl voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

21

Foreign Exchange Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

Where next for the Sterling

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 16th April 2013 @ 3.15pm GBP - INR = 82.66

News last weekend that the Bank of Japan will be accommodative in increasing monetary stimulus over the next 2 years to stave off deflation seemed to entice appetite for risk with higher yielding currencies making gains across the board. The increased risk appetite was the theme of the week with investors seemingly ignoring fundamental data and driving currencies such as the Australian dollar, euro and New Zealand dollar higher against the pound. In fact we saw the New Zealand dollar reach an all time high against the pound on Thursday 11th April.

However by Friday we did see profit taking place and investors changing the stance to be risk-averse following news that Cyprus and some other countries may require more bailout funds. Data from the US also disappointed as retail sales and consumer sentiment figures fell below expectations causing the US dollar to strengthen intraday.

So where next for the U.K. and the sterling? With a busy economic calendar for the UK this week, fundamental data

looks set to be a driver of markets this week. On Tuesday 16th April we have the rate of inflation and producer price index figures confirmed for March. On Wednesday 17th April we have the unemployment rate confirmed and all eyes will be on the Bank of England when the minutes will be released – will we see in increase in the vote for additional monetary stimulus?

Thursday 18th April’s main talking point for the United

Kingdom will be the release of the retail sales figures for March – a good figure here should alleviate concerns of a triple dip recession for the UK. According to the Ernst & Young Item Club, the United Kingdom faces slow economic growth on weak European demand. U.K.’s economy will grow less than previously forecast this year and further bond purchases by the Bank of England may do little to stimulate the recovery. Gross domes-

0 8 0 8

$ 0 4 5

tic product will rise 0.6%, compared with a January forecast of 0.9%. Growth will accelerate to 1.9% next year and 2.5% in 2015, in line with previous estimates.

U.K.’s construction output showed a tentative recovery but will need to record stellar growth in April to avoid registering a further contraction.

Despite accounting for less than 7% of Britain's economy, weak construction output was the main drag on growth during the first half of last year 2012, helping to push the country back into recession. It remains touch and go whether United Kingdom’s economy as a whole will record any growth.

Data from China on Monday 15th April showed that growth unexpectedly slowed in the first quarter of 2013 from 7.9% to 7.7%. The news has soured demand for higher yielding assets as well as commodities, weakening the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and New Zealand dollar. As Gold and Silver prices are also suffering heavy falls; demand for the US dollar seems to be on top of everyone’s list.

USD - INR = 54.05 EUR - INR = 70.89 GBP - USD = 1.53 GBP - EUR = 1.17 EUR - USD = 1.31 GBP - AED = 5.62 GBP - CAD = 1.56 GBP - NZD = 1.80 GBP - AUD = 1.48 GBP - ZAR = 14.00 GBP - HUF = 345.53

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.

PX XJ S F U S B OT G FS

G FFT

B OE OP IJ EEFO D PT U T

22

world

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

In Focus Pakistan election candidate shot dead

Karachi: A Pakistani grocer standing in historic polls next month was shot dead in a drive-by killing in the southern city of Hyderabad. Fakhrul Islam, 46, a candidate for the secular Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a coalition partner in the outgoing government, was killed by gunmen on two motorcycles when he left the shop he owned with his father. He sustained four bullets in his head and abdomen and died on the spot.

Editor held in Bangladesh for sedition

Kolkata: The Bangladesh government sent a strong message to the opposition for its provocative religious campaign by arresting Mahmudur Rahman, executive editor of pro-BNP newspaper 'Dainik Amar Desh', and slapping charges of sedition against him. Rahman, who was picked up from his office in Dhaka, was remanded in police custody for 13 days by a local court.

Pakistani teacher gang-raped

Islamabad: A 26-year-old school teacher was kidnapped and gang raped while on her way to work in Pakistan's central Punjab province. Police registered a case against three suspects named by the woman's family. Police officials said the teacher was kidnapped on her way to school on April 8.

She was tortured and gang raped before being left in the field near her home.

Key Taliban commander killed

Kabul: A key Taliban commander, identified as Safiullah alias Shafiq, has been killed in Afghanistan's Wardak province.

Afghan security forces backed by NATO-led troops targeted and killed Safiullah in Wardak, 35 km west of Kabul. Acting on an intelligence report, troops raided a house in Masoomkhil village of Nurkh district and killed the Taliban commander, a official said. There were no casualties among civilians or security forces.

Indian envoy's car comes under attack in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Unidentified miscreants hurled three crude bombs apparently targeting a parked car being used by Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh during a visit to southwestern Khulna district, injuring three people including his driver. "The High Commissioner (Pankaj Saran) is completely unhurt and there is nothing to be worried about," a source said.

I am not joining PML-N: cricketer Shahid Afridi

Islamabad: Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi reportedly met chief of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif on Sunday to condole the death of his brother, but denied reports of him planning to join the opposition party. The Express Tribune quoted the cricketer, as saying it is not necessary to be a politician to ensure the public's welfare. According to the report, Sharif had kept in touch with Afridi during his father's illness. Afridi also expressed his interest in building a school and hospital in his village, the report added.

20 hurt in clashes during Bangladesh strike

Dhaka: At least 20 people have been injured in clashes between police and activists near Bangladesh's capital on national strike called by opposition parties. Witnesses say about a dozen homemade bombs also have exploded. An alliance of 18 parties has enforced a 36-hour strike demanding release of more than 160 opposition politicians arrested in the last two weeks.

8,000 Lankans took refuge in Australia after war

Chennai: At least 8,000 Sri Lankan nationals, including refugees from camps in India, reached Australia since May 2009, when the bloody civil war in the island nation came to an end. A total of 8,170 Lankans arrived in Australia between May 2009 and April 10, 2013.

Islamabad: Quashing his political ambitions, a Pakistani election tribunal on Tuesday barred former military dictator Pervez Musharraf from running for parliament in the only constituency where his nomination papers for the May 11 general elections had been accepted.

Musharraf's bid to enter parliament ended almost a month before the general election when an election tribunal rejected his candidature for a parliamentary seat in Chitral the only constituency where his nomination papers had been accepted.

Musharraf, 69, had plans to contest polls in four parliamentary seats in Chitral, Karachi, Kasur and Islamabad.

Earlier in the day, two other election tribunals barred Musharraf from contesting polls from constituencies in Islamabad and Kasur in Punjab province.

The tribunals comprising

Pervez Musharraf

high court judges upheld decisions by Returning Officers to reject Musharraf's nomination papers for the National Assembly constituencies.

The new developments came a day after another election tribunal dismissed Musharraf's appeal against the rejection of his nomination papers for a parliamentary constituency in the southern port city of Karachi.

The tribunal, comprising of judges of the Peshawar High Court, accepted appeals from five of Musharraf's rivals

against the acceptance of his nominations by the Returning Officer in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The rivals had contended that Musharraf cannot contest the elections as he had violated the Constitution by imposing emergency rule in 2007.

Musharraf had filed appeals in the tribunals against the Returning Officers' decisions but these were rejected.

The Returning Officers had rejected Musharraf's nomination papers after receiving objections to his candidature on the ground that he had violated the Constitution.

Though his papers were accepted in Chitral, his rivals filed objections against his candidature.

The former dictator has been facing numerous political and legal challenges since he returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years in self-exile.

During an interaction with the media at his farmhouse in

Islamabad, Musharraf had said he was ready to go to jail if the courts ordered it.

Former Pak PM Ashraf declared ineligible: Meanwhile, another election tribunal declared former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf ineligible for contesting the upcoming general election.

The tribunal comprising judges of the Lahore High Court upheld a returning officer's decision to reject nomination papers filed by Ashraf to contest polls from a parliamentary constituency in his hometown of Gujjar Khan.

The tribunal rejected an appeal filed by Ashraf against the returning officer's decision to reject his nomination papers because of his alleged involvement in corruption in clearing power projects and development schemes in Gujjar Khan.

The development is a setback for the Pakistan People's Party, which led the outgoing government.

Pakistan tests nuclear- Plea in Pakistan to prove capable Hatf-IV missile Bhagat Singh’s innocence

Islamabad: Pakistan last week successfully test-fired nuclear-capable Hatf-IV ballistic missile with a range of 900 km that can hit targets in India. Officials said the launch of the Hatf-IV, also known as the Shaheen-1, would strengthen the country's deterrence capabilities "manifold."

The launch of was described by the military as successful. "The missile incorporates a series of improvements in range and technical parameters of the existing missile," the military said. The Hatf-IV is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a

range of 900 km. The "impact point" of the launch was at sea, the statement said.

The launch was witnessed

by Strategic Plans Division chief Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, who said the improved version of the HatfIV "has consolidated and strengthened Pakistan's deterrence abilities manifold".

Senior military officers, scientists and engineers were also present at the launch.

Since last year, Pakistan has tested a wide array of missiles, from the Hatf-IX tactical missile with a range of 60 km to the Hatf-V ballistic missile with a reach of 1,300 km.

Lahore: Eight decades after Bhagat Singh's execution by the British, a petition has been filed in a Pakistani court seeking the reopening of the freedom fighter's case so that he can be declared innocent. Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi of the Save The Judiciary Committee filed the petition in the Lahore high court.

He said Bhagat Singh, who was sentenced to death by the British government and hanged in Lahore in March 1931, was a freedom

fighter of the subcontinent.

"Singh was first given life imprisonment but later awarded death sentence. He was convicted in a fake case," Qureshi said in his petition.

Singh was respected by Sikhs and Muslims alike and Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah too had paid tribute to the freedom fighter in the erstwhile Central Legislative Assembly, Qureshi said. "I therefore request the court to reopen the case and declare him innocent," he said.

that we had difficult time in programming a lot of our money in Sri Lanka. We tried to do a lot in the North to help the IDPs and get back to their normal life and support reconstruction efforts there.

But in several cases we had programmes that we were trying to support, to which

the government - the military got quite involved in them and so we were not able to pursue those programs," a senior state department official said.

"So we made a decision that Sri Lanka as a middle income country, and in a country where we are having difficulty in programming, that is a place where we should probably cut that have a lot of own resources," the official said.

While the actual US development assistance to Sri

Lanka in 2012 was $ 8 million, Kerry has proposed about $ 6 million for 2014.

Kerry has proposed similar amount of development assistance to Bangladesh from $ 81.6 million in 2012 to $ 80.9 million in 2014.

US hikes Pakistan aid by 40%: Meanwhile, President Barack Obama proposed a 40% increase in American aid to Pakistan, amounting to $1.4 billion, as part of his $3.77 trillion budget that focusses on job creation and economic growth. Obama among other things proposed to increase the US aid to Pakistan under overseas contingency operations to $1.4 billion for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2013, an increase of 40 percentage.

US proposes 20% cut in aid to Sri Lanka

Washington: US secretary of state John Kerry has proposed a 20 per cent cut in the American aid to Colombo, a move reflecting the unease in their ties over issues related to human rights, reconstruction and political integration in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war.

It is believed to be the highest drop for any South Asian country in Kerry's budgetary proposals which was sent to the Congress last week for its approval.

In actual term, Kerry has proposed a $ 11 million in aid to Sri Lanka, which, according to a senior state department official, is a "drop of 20 per cent" from the actual spending in the 2012 fiscal.

"This reflects both the fact

IndIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

23

In Focus Srinivasan clears Senate hurdle

Washington: IndianAmerican legal luminary Sri Srinivasan s a i l e d through a S e n a t e confirmation hearing that saw bipartisan support for President Barack Obama’s nomination of him as a federal judge but otherwise demonstrated divisive Washington politics.

In fact, there was startling across-the-board support for Srinivasan, 46, who if confirmed, will become the first IndianAmerican to make the federal court grade, with the possibility of an elevation to the supreme court nomination before the end of Obama’s term.

Kuwaiti politician jailed for insulting emir

Kuwait: A prominent Kuwaiti opposition politician was sentenced to five years in jail for insulting the country's ruler. The court found Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, guilty of insulting Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah in a speech in October last year in which he appealed to the emir to avoid "autocratic rule."

Tremors rock large parts of North India; 34 die in Pakistan

Dubai: A major earthquake struck Iran near the border with Pakistan on Tuesday and an Iranian official said at least 40 people were feared to have been killed.

Tremors from the 7.8 magnitude quake were also felt in India and Gulf states. "It was the biggest earthquake in Iran in 40 years and we are expecting hundreds of dead," said an official, who did not want to be identified.

People in the city of Zahedan poured into the streets when the quake struck, Iran's Fars news agency reported. All communications in the area

have been cut, the Iranian Red Crescent's Mahmoud Mozaffar told state television. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the affected area, he said.

Strong tremors also rocked large parts of north

India, including the national capital and its adjoining areas. There were no immediate reports of casualties in India. The strong tremors lasted several seconds, leading to panic in many places.

India, Germany sign six new pacts

Berlin: India and Germany last week inked six key MoUs, including that for putting together € 7 million for next four years towards joint research in the field of higher education and a pact for a soft loan of € 1 billion for strengthening the green energy corridor.

A pact to promote German as a foreign language was also signed by the two sides following the 2nd round of inter-governmental Consultations in Berlin.

Under pacts signed, both Germany and India have committed to € 3.5 million each towards work-

ing on joint research and innovation programmes.

According to officials, under the strengthening of German language collaboration, currently 30,000 children in Kendriya Vidyalaya are learning German and under the pact they will try to increase the capacity.

A pact regarding the establishment of green energy corridor was also signed besides one in agriculture and establishment of a working group in infrastructure, cooperation in standardisation, conformity assessment and product safety.

Under the pact for the green energy corridor, the grid system in several states will be used to transmit energy produced by renewable and nonconventional means.

Another pact for IndoGerman civil security research was also signed.

Minister for Human Resources Development Pallam Raju, who accompanied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on three-day bilateral visit, said the two countries knew each other’s strengths and have identified some areas for the joint research.

People rushed out of their offices and homes in Delhi.

Similar reports came in from Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and the Kashmir Valley. From Dubai to Hyderabad, the tremors were felt across countries. In eastern India, tremors were felt in the morning itself. In Odisha, a low intensity earthquake occurred at 8.36 am and was felt for a few seconds in Astaranga area of Puri district.

Two moderate quakes had hit the northeast earlier in the morning. The first tremor was felt at 6.53 am in Assam, Meghalaya,

Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

The second mild earthquake occurred around 2.04 pm in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in Assam and some areas in Arunachal Pradesh. ensity of the first quake was 4.6 on the Richter Scale. The second quake measured 5.0," officials said.

34 die in Pakistan: Thirty four people were killed in Balochistan of Pakistan while at least 1,000 homes have been destroyed, reported Geo TV. An earlier report said that five people, including two children, were killed.

Chavez's ally Maduro wins in Venezuela, opposition protests

Caracas: Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver who became late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's protege, narrowly won Venezuela's presidential election on Sunday but his rival refused to accept the result and demanded a recount.

The controversy raised fears of political unrest in Venezuela, an OPEC nation of 29 million people with the world's biggest oil reserves, although there was no immediate trouble.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles said he did not recognize official results giving Maduro 50.7

per cent support versus 49.1 per cent for him, a difference of just 235,000 ballots.

"Mr Maduro, if you were illegitimate before, now you are even more loaded with illegitimacy," Capriles said, alleging more than 3,000 "incidents" during the vote from gunshots to the reopening of polling centers after their official closure.

"I didn't fight against a candidate today, but against the whole abuse of power." Though opposition supporters chanted "fraud" Capriles did not call them onto the streets.

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IndIa

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 20th April 2013

South Five Lankan Tamil refugees arrested Five Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were arrested while awaiting a ferry reportedly for illegally travelling to the neighbouring country.

A Lankan Tamil refugee lodged at the Mandapam camp near here had assured the other four refugees from Bhavanisagar camp near Coimbatore that they would be sent to Sri Lanka. All of them were arrested by a police patrol team which questioned them while they were waiting under the Pamban bridge late last night for a ferry.

Jilted lover hacks woman to death

In a shocking incident, a 23-year-old man hacked a woman to death when she refused to marry him, at a bus-stand. The two had an affair while studying at college but the woman's parents had objected to the relationship and asked her to stop seeing the accused.

The man, who had left for Coimbatore in search of a job some months ago, returned to Mallapuram village after hearing that the woman's parents were planning to marry her.

He followed the family when they were purchasing the marriage items and confronted her at the bus-stand, demanding that she accept his proposal. When she refused, he attacked her with a sickle.

PJ Kurien elected chairman of Asian forum of parliamentarians

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien was unanimously elected the Chairman of the prestigious Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in Bangkok. A statement released in Delhi said that during the 73rd Executive Committee Meeting of AFPPD in Bangkok, Mr Kurien was elected as the Chairman of AFPPD taking over from Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan.

Punjab Punjab govt deputes 6 IAS officers

The Punjab Government has deputed six IAS officers for the smooth procurement of wheat in the state. As per orders S.R. Ladhar, IAS has been allotted Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdsapur and Pathankot districts, Ajit Singh Pannu IAS has been allotted Patiala, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana districts, Anurag Verma IAS has been allotted Mohali, Rupnagar, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur districts, Saravjit Singh IAS has been allotted Bathinda, Mansa and Barnala districts. A Venu Prasad IAS hass been allotted Moga, Faridkot, Kapurthala and Jalandhar and Vikas Partap Singh IAS has been allotted Ferozepur, Fazilka and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts.

Punjab lawmaker sets eyes on Casino industry

Punjab may well become the third state to throw open its doors to casinos. In Goa to attend a strategy meet, leaders of the ShiromaniAkaliDal-BJP combine went about scouting for details about casino. There were 107 delegates who visited the casino floor in batches to understand the business.

Casino pride's group director Shrinivas Nayak said Goa's 20-year-old casino industry has been successful in terms of tourism promotion and employment generation besides augmenting the state's revenue. "As such other states want to follow the Goa model and Punjab is seriously studying the subject," he said.

4 get life term for student's murder

Related to three-year-old case of group clash, during when a 21-year-old hotel management student was killed, a local court awarded life imprisonment to the four accused. The incident dates back to June 18, 2009, when Tajinder Mattu, a resident of Nawanshahr, Punjab and a student of the city-based government hotel management institute, his cousin Salim and friend Ajit were attacked by a group of miscreants outside a liquor vend in Sector 24. The two groups had clashed at a park in Sector 41 on June 17.

The mortal remains of veteran playback singer PB Srinivas was consigned to flames, as hundreds of his fans bade him a tearful farewell in Chennai.

The celebrated multi-lingual singer's eldest son lit the funeral pyre amid chanting of mantras during the last rites performed as per Hindu rituals at the Kannamapettai burial ground. Those among who paind tributes were State Minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji and Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy.

PB Srinivas

Several playback singers

from southern tinsel world, including Vani Jayaram, P Suseela and S Janaki, took part in the funeral of 82-yearold Srinivas, who died after a brief illness at his CIT Nagar residence.

The family members chose to conduct the funeral using firewood and did not opt for the electric furnace, sources close to the family said.

Popularly known as PBS, the veteran singer lent his voice in all four South Indian languages besides Hindi.

He was a native of Andhra Pradesh, and his last song was in Tamil film 'Ayirathil Oruvan' in 2010.

Called a voice of Kannada film icon Rajkumar and Tamil veteran Gemini Ganesan.

Srinivas' famous numbers 'Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham' and 'Mayakkama Thayakkama', among many others, are still hummed and remain in his fans' hearts.

A native of Andhra Pradesh, his last song was in Tamil film 'Ayirathil Oruvan' in 2010.

Karnataka polls: BJP still Ten MPs to be honoured struggles to announce entire list for performance Ten members of Lok Sabha, four of them women, have been named to be honoured with Sansad Ratna awards for their performance in parliament by Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah. However, only six of them would attend the ceremony, it was announced. "For the past three years we have been recognising top performers in the Lok Sabha based on the number of questions, participation in debates and the number of private member's bills introduced," K. Srinivasan, founder of an NGO, Prime Point Foundation. "This year we have added two more categories, top performing women MPs (member of parliament) and young MP below 35 years of age," Srinivasan said. The NGO in the past gave Sansad Ratna only in one, overall category.

The five winners of Sansad Ratna in overall cateory this year are: Anandrao Adsul of the Shiv Sena from Maharashtra (score 1,091); S.S. Ramasubbu of the Congress from Tamil Nadu (score 1,038); Arjun Ram Meghwal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Rajasthan (1,002); Gajanan Dharmashi Babar of the Shiv Sena from Maharashtra

K. Rosaiah

(997); and Hansraj Gangaram Ahir (996), of the BJP from Maharashtra, Srinivasan said.

Srinivasan said Ahir and Meghwal have together introduced 51 private member's bills, of the 372 private members bills (14 percent) introduced in the current Lok Sabha.

Interestingly Adsul, Ramasubbu and Ahir are receiving the top performer awards for fourth time in a row, he added.

The 4 women members of parliament (MP) of the 55 in the Lok Sabha who have qualified for the 'Sansad Mahila Ratna' award are Rama Devi of the BJP from Bihar (score 579), Jhansi Botcha Lakshmi of the Congress from Andhra Pradesh (478), Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party from Maharashtra (714), and Ratna Singh of the Congress from Uttar Pradesh (601).

A lone woman, a MP and a BBMP corporator figures in the second list announced, MP from Bangalore Central PC Mohan has been given ticket from Gandhinagar and Sharavathi V Rao will contest from Sagar in Shimoga district. Corporator H Ravindra has been nominated from Govindrajnagar assembly segment.

Former minister V Somanna also finds place from Vijayanagar in the list of 35 people announced.

The BJP has again left out tained - Katta Subramanya Naidu, Y Sampangi and Es En Krissnaiah Setty, who were imprisoned for various charges.

Before taking the list to New Delhi, it was cleared by BJP troubleshooter Arun Jaitley, who is camping in Bangalore strategizing for polls. Last week when the first list was announced, it had 140 names.

Mohan will be contesting against three-time MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao. Mohan was also two time MLA from Chikpet, but lost to Rao in 2008 by a narrow margin. In Sagar, the party has left out sitting MLA Belur Gopalkrishna and preferred Sharavathi, a fresh face.

Not machines, good humans basic need of society This days, much emphasis is being given to management courses in various disciplines, President Pranab Mukherjee has appealed that universities offer course in life management. Making the appeal on the land of Mahabharata and Gita, the President said we are focusing on the management of very minute things and have no idea of management of life.

"We do not need machines. A good human being is the first and basic need of the society.

Otherwise, there will be destruction in the society and all other developments will have no meaning," the President said in his inaugural address at a seminar, Challenges of Modern World: Solution through Indology, at Kurukshetra University.

K. Rosaiah

On the occasion, the President received copies of composition of extensive research on Mahabharta that was compiled after a research of decades (from 1986 to 2012).

Nine volumes have been published by the department of Sanskrit and Indological Studies, Kurukshetra University, in which scholars

has compiled the science technology and economics in Mahabharta era.

Scholars from various parts of the country had assembled at the university to discuss solutions to the problems of the modern world through ancient knowledge of India. Problems of nonviolence, cut throat competition and disintegration of values are a threat to humanity and can be dealt with only through ancient knowledge, they said.

President said that in todays time material wellbeing has virtually set every man against another in a battle of 'survivial of the fittest'.’ Haryana governor Jagannath Pahadia and chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also addressed the seminar.

Mallika Prasad has been shown the door from and Sanjeeva Matandor, follower of former CM DV Sadananada Gowda has been given a ticket. Dattatreya Patil Revoor, son of JD(S) MLA Aruna Patil who joined BJP on Tuesday, has been fielded from Gulbarga South.

Fresh face SH Manjunath will be taking on former CM BS Yeddyurappa from Shikaripur.

Somanna stayed back in the BJP after he clinched the deal that he should be given ticket from Vijayanagar to take his bete noire M Krishnappa contesting from Congress.

Elected from Congress, Somanna resigned his assembly membership and joined BJP. He lost to Priya Krishna, son of Krishnappa, from Govindrajnagar in a byelection.

Barring three assembly segments Chikpet, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Yashwanthpur - the party has announced candidates to all other segments in Bangalore.

Haryana to get Rs 3.69 billion for drinking water

The 13th Finance Commission has approved a sum of Rs. 3.69 billion to Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department for the drinking water supply in five districts such as Mewat, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Jhajjar and Hisar.

Haryana Public Health Engineering Minister, Kiran Choudhry said on Friday that out of total, a sum of Rs. 1.83 billion had been approved for Jhajjar town and adjoining 17 villages, Rs 1.12 bn for district Hisar, Rs. 6.02 crore for Morni area in district Panchkula, Rs.37 crore for district Bhiwani and Rs.30.76 crore for distrit Mewat. Choudhry also added that National River Conservation Directorate has also approved two projects costing Rs.129.51 crore and Rs.88.36 crore for augmentation of sewerage system including Sewerage Treatment Plant in Panipat and Sonipat

IndIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

SC gives Madhya Pradesh a share of Asiatic lions

Gujarat will lose its status as the world's only home for wild Asiatic lions.

Supreme Court on Monday ordered that some of the lions should be moved to Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, brushing aside Narendra Modi government's passionate resistance to the move.

The court asked the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to take urgent steps for reintroduction of a small number of lions to Kuno from Gir on the ground that the highly-endangered species needed to be dispersed to eliminate the risk of extinction in case of an epidemic outbreak.

The court said the relocation exercise should be undertaken under the watch of a multi-member expert body and should be completed in six months.

Responding to Gujarat government's argument that lions should not be moved out of Gujarat, a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and C K Prasad said: "No state,

organization or person can claim ownership or possession over wild animals in the forest. Animals in the wild are properties of the nation for which no state can claim ownership and the state's duty is to protect wildlife and conserve it..."

Agreeing with senior advocate Raj Panjwani, counsel for the petitioner, NGO Centre for Environment Law, the bench said, "The cardinal issue is not whether the Asiatic lion is a 'family member' or is part of 'Indian culture and civilization', or is 'the pride of a state'." The main issue was to see what was in the best interest of the endangered species, it added.

If Justices Radhakrishnan and C K Prasad hurt the Narendra Modi government's pride by ordering a second home for Asiatic lions, it also dealt a death blow to the ambitious yet ill thought out project of MoEF to import the African cheetah from Namibia and relocate it in Kuno along with lions to create something similar to the vast grasslands of Africa where both carnivores share the same hunting arena teeming with a diverse prey base.

BJP won’t dump Modi for Nitish, NDA headed for split

NDA on Sunday looked set to split in a few months after BJP virtually rejected Nitish Kumar's demand to rule out Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate by the year-end and ignored the Bihar CM's warning that he would walk out of the opposition grouping if his wishes were not complied with.

Kumar's warning came in a hard-hitting speech aimed at Modi where he, without taking names,

By Savita Sharma

The introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which came into force on the 1st April 2013 means the end of Legal Aid for many, if not all family cases. In particular, those relating to Residence of Children (or “custody”), contact arrangements, Prohibited Steps Orders (to protect a child being removed from the care and control of their primary carer or out of the jurisdiction) and to deal with other specific issues which may arise in respect of children.

Legal Aid also ceases for cases relating to family finances which inevitably need to be resolved when parties separate. These cases are those relating to the former matrimonial home, other assets within the marriage including Pensions and maintenance.

Also, properties/assets

rejected the BJP leader's candidature for the powerful political office on the ground of lack of "secular" credentials and for pursuing a growth model which was exclusive and not humane.

"We have worked well under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and our coalition has run smoothly in Bihar, but we cannot compromise with our fundamental principles like secularism," Kumar said in his much-awaited

Narendra Modi

address to the JD(U) national council.

He said Vajpayee deserved to be the PM

Supreme Court rejects Khalistan terrorist Bhullar's mercy plea

The Supreme Court rejected Khalistan terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar's mercy plea to commute death sentence to life term.

The apex court upheld his death sentence for plotting terror attacks on Punjab SSP Sumedh Singh Saini and the then Youth Congress President M.S. Bitta in 1993, leading to several deaths in New Delhi.

Bhullar had earlier sought commutation of his death penalty to life sentence on the ground that he underwent great agony for 11 years awaiting the President's decision on his mercy plea.

The apex court, however, stated that delay in judg-

Legal Aid Cuts for Divorce; Cohabitees & Children Matters are Just around the Corner owned between cohabiting partners.

Legal Aid will continue on these types of cases if the person is a victim of “domestic abuse”.

However, falling within the Government’s definition of this will not be easy.

Justice is not only for the rich but for all of us in society and it is essential that the public are able to avail themselves of legal services if the need arises in family and children cases.

So what is “domestic abuse” and how do you prove it?

After much lobbying, on the 18th September 2012, the government widened the definition of "domestic abuse". From just physical abuse, the definition includes emotional abuse, financial abuse, coercion or control and the isolation of a victim from family and friends. Therefore, acts such as preventing partners from leaving the house or access to a phone or psychological cruelty are now included.

It has been well documented that victims of domestic violence often do not come forward to prosecute their perpetrators for a number of reasons.

As such, obtaining evidence of Convictions or Injunctions may be diffi-

25

cult. Just because you do not have this does not mean the domestic abuse did not happen.

For victims to fall within the exemption of the domestic violence, they will have to show a conviction or a caution against the perpetrator. Also a fact finding in a civil matter will suffice. If that is not available, they will have to show evidence from a doctor or a medical report confirming that a doctor has examined the victim in the last 24 months and is satisfied that the victim has had injuries or a condition consistent “with those of a victim of domestic violence”. Letters from health professionals involved with the victim or from domestic violence support organisations may also be relied upon.

Unfortunately there will be a real issue for those people who do not fall within this exemption but also have limited financial resources to pay for legal advice. There will simply be no Legal Aid available to deal with applications in respect of children and financial applications after April 2013.

Savita Sharma is a Family Director/Solicitor at Legal 500 Law Firm, Duncan Lewis.

Devinderpal Singh Bhullar

ment cannot be a ground for converting death sentence to life sentence.

A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya had earlier heard elaborate arguments on three petitions - one by Bhullar, second by his wife Navneet Kaur and third by NGO 'Justice on Trial Trust'.

The bench had reserved its verdict on April 19 last year.Bhullar was sentenced to death in 2001 for plotting terror attacks on Punjab SSP

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Sumedh Singh Saini and the then Youth Congress President M.S. Bitta in 1993, leading to several deaths in New Delhi.

The apex court had on 26 March, 2002, dismissed Bhullar's appeal against the death sentence awarded by trial court and endorsed by the Delhi High Court.

He had filed a review petition, which was also dismissed on 17 December, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition, which too had been rejected, by the apex court on March 12, 2003.

Bhullar had filed a mercy petition before the President on 14 January, 2003. The President, however, rejected his mercy petition on May 25 last year, clearing the decks for his execution.

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because he believed in Raj Dharma or fair play: an allusion to the former prime minister's advice to Modi when he faced criticism of being biased in the handling of post-Godhra riots.

Kumar had said that the two parties which together won 32 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar could sweep the state again if the BJP signed off on his "no-to-Modi" stand and kept "outside forces" — a reference to Modi — at bay.

SC adjourns hearing on Sanjay Dutt's plea The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's plea seeking more time to surrender to undergo remaining jail term for illegal possession of weapons in a case linked to the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts The apex court will hear Dutt's plea on Wednesday, Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail in connection with the case, on Monday moved apex court seeking more time to surrender.

Dutt has to surrender on or before April 18. Dutt last month said he will surrender before the authorities as per the Supreme Court"s direction, and added that he would not be seeking a pardon. " I will surrender within the timeframe set by the Supreme Court," he said.

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26

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 20th April 2013 In loving Memory of

Late Gunvantbhai Lallubhai Desai Continued from page 1 Britain's double Olympic champion Mo Farah is set to compete in the 26-mile (41.84 km) London race, which starts at Greenwich Park and winds through some of the city's iconic landmarks before finishing at the Mall. Robertson said he was confident of security arrangements for the London event and encouraged people to attend as a show of solidarity with Boston.

"We have enormous experience of doing this, and we have some of the very best professionals anywhere in the world, if not the best professionals in (London's) Metropolitan Police, our

security services and our armed forces to do this.

"The best way of dealing with this is to get out on the streets, to show solidarity with the people in Boston, to celebrate a fantastic marathon and send out a very clear message to those responsible that we won't be cowed by this kind of behaviour."

Meanwhile, on one has been arrested in connection with the Boston incident, the investigators found five additional, undetonated explosive devices around the Boston area. The blasts a few seconds apart knocked some runners off their feet and shattered what had been a resplendent spring day with the state of

Massachusetts celebrating Patriots' Day. Many runners were heading for the finish when a fireball and smoke rose from behind cheering spectators. The cheers turned to screams and panic. "I saw people who looked like they had their legs blown off. There was a lot of blood over their legs. Then people were being pushed in wheelchairs," said Joe Anderson, 33, a fisherman from Pembroke, Massachusetts, who had just run the race holding a large US flag.

Many of the victims were gravely injured, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said.

Some suffered shrapnel wounds and amputa-

tions and will require repeat operations in the coming days, said Peter Fagenholtz, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ambulances, fire trucks and dozens of police vehicles converged at the scene, and spectators could be seen crying and consoling each other.

The dead included an 8-year-old boy, the Boston Globe reported, citing two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. "It sounded like a sonic boom. I haven't stopped shaking yet," said Melissa Stanley, who watched her daughter cross the finish line four minutes before the explosions.

Petition in support of Direct Flight between UK and Gujarat, organised by AV, GS and NCGO (UK) If you want a direct flight from London to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad; if you have a desire to get a permanent, easy connection with people of Gujarat, do sign and get others to sign this petition and send it to “Asian Voice” or “Gujarat Samachar” office by post or fax it to our office (Fax no: 020 7749 4081), at the earliest.

THE CAMPAIGN to facilitate direct flights between London Heathrow and Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport Ahmedabad, Gujarat has generated much interest amongst Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar readers and the entire community.

All those wishing to add their names to the list of petitioners, which includes several prominent politicians, business people and community members are requested to complete the tear-off the form and send it to the offices of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar,

12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW. We will forward all petitions to the Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi. Who is renowned to be in the forefront of serving Gujarati people.

Please note: If you wish to register more than 10 names on your petition, then simply photocopy the tearoff form and add the extra names. All petitions must clearly state your full names, postal address and must be signed and dated.

REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT WE THE undersigned hereby support the direct Air India flights between London and Ahmedabad for the following reasons : l There are more Gujaratis living and travelling abroad than any other Indian community, and this figure is increasing. l About 40% of Air India passenger to the UK are Gujarati. Indeed on some flights, close to 80% to 90% are Gujarati. l India is the 2nd largest investor into United Kingdom, according to British Government figures. Many of these Indian companies are either owned, controlled, or significantly staffed by Gujaratis. l The UK is the Second Largest investor in India, and the largest cumulative investor in Gujarat. l Nearly 50% of all visas issued by British High

NAME 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Commission in India are to Gujaratis. l Currently, air passengers travelling between the UK and Gujarat are required to change planes either at Mumbai or Delhi. This inevitably leads to considerable inconvenience, delay and expense – particularly for families with young children, pregnent women, the elderly, and the increasing number of business travellers. l We believe that the introduction of direct flights will not only be of benefit to the Gujarati diaspora, but also prove commercially successfully for Air India.

Form also available online at www.abplgroup.com to download and Fax on 020 7749 4081 Email: support@abplgroup.com

ADDRESS

SIGNATURE

DATE

Date of Birth: 18th April, 1935 (Valsad, India) Demise: 11th April, 2013 (London, UK) It is with great regret that we announce the demise of late Gunvantbhai Desai.

He will be dearly missed by family and friends. He was a kind and caring husband and father.

He has left us with many happy memories will always remain in our hearts. May his soul rest in peace.

We wish to express our sincerest heartfelt thanks to all family, friends and well wishers for the tremendous support they have given to the family.

Jashu Desai (Wife) Naynesh Desai (Son) Kamal Desai (Son) Bharat Desai Asha Desai The blasts put police on alert in major cities across the United States, including in Washington, D.C. and New York City, sites of the September 11 attacks. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis

called them "powerful devices." The annual Boston Marathon, held since 1897, attracts an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants every year.

Gold hits 15-month low at `25, 270 per 10 gms Continued from page 1 Worries over Chinese growth and a possible selloff by struggling Cyprus's central bank also pushed down the precious metal's prices in the futures trade, analysts added.

Globally, gold plunged 9.35% to $1,360.60 an ounce, the lowest level since March 8 in New York. Prices have dropped 14% in the previous two days.

The gold prices have now officially entered the bear market with more than 20 per cent decline since its record highs above $1,900 in 2011 end.

Indian gold prices have declined less as the fall is cushioned by weakness in the Indian rupee. But here too, the prices have come off the record highs of nearly `33,000 in 2011 to `25,270 per 10 gms on Tuesday. Gold prices in India hit a 19-month low while silver was at 26month low and trading below `44,000 per kg.

The decline in gold led to Indian jewellery and bullion traders lowering shutters due to sharp decline in prices as they incur losses on holding stocks. The sellers are awaiting stability in prices before they quote prices.

In India, wedding season and Akshay Tritiya on May 13 are major buying events, which are expected to lend support to falling prices. Gold prices have seen some rebound from Boston bombings and war rhetoric from North Korea.

The forecast for gold is a difficult one to make right now. Most market analysts and participants

feel that 2013 now will go down as a corrective year for precious metals and consolidate for a couple of years with modest gains.

The safe haven buying into the metal has been weak on inflation concerns and hopes of pick-up of growth in the US. While the economic growth data has not been consistent, but it has been getting better, leading to money flowing in equities. Another factor that led to onslaught on commodities was the lower than expected China growth data.

There are reports that Cyprus may be selling 12.5 tonnes of gold. Though the quantity is less than a weekly consumption in India, there is a fear that other EU countries with higher gold reserves could come into the market for sales.

There are also reports of Merril Lynch selling 4 million ounces on Comex which collectively led to decline in prices. To add to it, there has been a bearish gold report from Goldman Sachs that pushed buyers on sidelines. An opportunity selling that turned into panic selling and is now termed as Flash Crash.

The trading margins have increased across at Comex, Shanghai and Indian MCX as well and trading volumes have hit record highs on India's MCX and COMEX in US. It augurs well with the Indian government which has been trying to discourage gold buying due to its impact on the current account deficit. India, China and much of Asia continue to be big buyers of gold.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

27

Leicester and its sister city in India – Rajkot have many similarities. One of most famous food brands in Britain, ‘Walkers’ originated from Leicester. The same way ‘Balaji’ brand emerged from Rajkot. Just like Walkers, ‘Brand Balaji’ was created from a micro enterprise.

By Nayan Dave

T

he story of United Kingdom’s famous food brand ‘Walkers’ began way back in 1880 with Henry Walker’s decision to relocate from Mansfield to Leicester.

Walker, an entrepreneur started food products with making meat pies evolved with frying potato crisps.

After almost nine decades, another ambitious entrepreneur Chandubhai Virani took the decision to relocate to Rajkot from a little village Dham in Jamnagar district and scripted almost similar success story!!

Interestingly, both the cities are under twin city agreement and working hand-in-hand in many civic issues.

If Walkers brand is market leader in UK, Balaji Wafers, maker of Indian snack foods is also market leader in Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya

Pradesh.

Leicester’s Walker brand was giving tough competition to world renowned companies. Eventually in 1989, multinational giant PepsiCo had taken over the UK brand. Already, Virani’s ‘Balaji Brand’ is getting enticing offers from MNCs. However, Virani is not interested to sell the business he developed with lots of hard work and passion.

It started in 1972, when Popatbhai Virani, a farmer who sold ancestral agriculture land and gave Rs. 20,000 to his sons Chandubhai, Bhikhubhai, Kalubhai and Meghjibhai to venture into business.

The brothers came to Rajkot and started farm equipment business. But it proved to be failure and they lost all their money.

“We were left with nothing,” said Chandubhai Virani, adding, “As destiny wanted us to do something else, we got a job in a canteen at the newly-inaugu-

Chandubhai Virani

rated Astron cinema”.

With a monthly salary of Rs 90, Virani brothers learnt first lesions of food products business.

However, their desperation to survive was so high that they remained aloof when there was a dispute between management and employees’ union. It paid them off as Viranis won the confidence of cinema owners and rewarded with canteen contract on revenue sharing model.

Virani brothers started

selling potato wafers from the canteen counter. Their wives used to prepare wafers at their home. As people liked the taste of the wafers, they started supplying wafers to local shops. During that period, somebody suggested them to create brand for their wafers. Viranis decided to give the name ‘Balaji’ after an idol of lord Hanuman placed in the cinema house.

The effort of creating brand paid off as if lord

himself gave the blessings.

The business grew bigger.

As money started flowing in, Virani purchased a house in Rajkot, where wafer and other food products were produced, mostly manually and transported to different locations of the city.

“We progressed rapidly and started our first manufacturing plant on a 1,000sq-mt area at Aji-GIDC industrial estate in 1990.

Since then the company has been registering phenomenal success in the food processing business,” recalls Virani. Eventually, the company procured semi-automatic chips making machine with a capacity to process 200 kg of finished wafers per hour. As the business flourished in entire

Gujarat, they installed a fully automatic plant with a capacity of 500 kg wafers per day and adopted international standard packaging system.

With the increased capacity, Balaji started exploring markets outside Gujarat. Instantly the product became popular in the adjoining states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. In order to cater to Maharashtra and Goa market, Balaji started another plant at Valsad in South Gujarat. Currently, the company enjoys premium position with respect to manufacturing capacities. Balaji’s Valsad unit, which has a wafer manufacturing facility of 2,200 kg per hour, is one of the largest potato wafer-making units in Asia. The company also sourced new plant from China.

In Focus German Bakery blast: Main accused found guilty by Pune court

Three years after the German bakery bomb blast that led to the death of 17 people and injury to 64 others, the court pronounced the lone conspirator Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig guilty of the terror act with the help of one of the main accused Yasin Bhatkal. The judge further said that the punishment prescribed under the various laws invited punishment up to death and life sentence with fine.

36 Mumbai cops suspended

The Mumbai Police suspended 36 policemen for allegedly taking bribes to allow illegal constructions in Mumbai's Kurla area.

The suspension comes days after the collapse of an illegal building in Thane. A total of 74 people had died in the crash, making it the worst-ever building collapse in Maharashtra in a decade.

India, Canada ink pact for nuclear commerce

India and Canada vaulted the final hurdle in dismantling sanctions imposed after the Pokhran I test by signing an Appropriate Arrangement Agreement (AAA) that will allow Canada to ship uranium to India. Agreement was signed between the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and India’s Department of Atomic Energy.

13TH ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS NOMINATION FORM The prestigious Asian Achievers Awards is hosted every year by UK’s leading news weeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to honour British Asians par excellence. If there is someone you know who has broken boundaries and deserves recognition for their unique contribution to the community and the nation then please nominate them for one of the awards listed below.

Make sure that you fill in this application form and send it on or before 12th July, 2013 by post, fax or email to Mr. L George, Tel: 020 7749 4013, Fax 020 7749 4081, Email: aaa@abplgroup.com. If you are sending it by post the address is Mr. L George, ABPL Group, Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW.

Please tick the appropriate category Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture ................................

Someone who has made a mark in media including print and broadcast media; cinema, art and culture.

Business Person of the Year ..........................................................

Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense of the word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for social issues.

Achievement in Community Service............................................

Woman of the Year ............................................................................

Sports Personality of the Year ......................................................

The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made a significant mark in any chosen field.

Uniformed and Civil Services ........................................................

International Personality of the Year ........................................

In recognition for an individuals service to community.

Awarded for excellence in sports.

For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services or contribution to the community through any of the above services.

Professional of the Year ..................................................................

Professionals in the field of medicine, law, education, banking, finance and others, who have scaled the heights of their chosen profession.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year ..................................................

Awarded to an young entrepreneur (less than 35 years) with a proven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Awarded to those who have acclaimed popularity internationally for his/her contribution in any particular sector and is recognised for their timeless philanthropic activities.

Lifetime Achievement Award ........................................................

To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have made immense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

Name of the Person you are Nominating: __________________________________________________________________________ Contact Details of the Nominee (Tel & email):_______________________________________________________________________ Present Occupation of the Nominee:_______________________________________________________________________________ Please attach the Nominees's CV which includes the following information (Please do not exceed a limit of 1000 words)

(1) Personal background (2) Most important career achievements till date.

(3) Nominee's contribution to the community and nation.

(4) Future Plans, ambitions and visions.

(5) Any notable obstacles in the Nominee's career that has helped him/her to reach where they are today.

Summary- (Please include a summary in not more than 150 words why the nominee is worthy of winning the particular award in a separate sheet) Nominators name and contact details: ____________________________________________________________________________ Nominators current Occupation/Company: _________________________________________________________________________ Tel/Mobile: _________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Official TV Partner NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS: This is a unique event where readers nominate and an independent panel of judges comprising of eminent personalities selects the winner. Judges’ decision is final.

ABPL Group will not entertain any dialogue with members of the public regarding the judging process.

In order to ensure a high degree of transparency and fairness, the management and members of the staff of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will play no role in the nomination or judging process. You may use an additional sheet if the space provided is insufficient. The winners will be announced at the AAA Awards ceremony on 6th September, 2013. Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar will publish the names of the short listed candidates and winners after the event. The winners names will also appear in our e-edition www.abplgroup.com You can nominate yourself if you wish to. Nominations and entries must follow the prescribed format. All nomination forms must reach our offices on or before 12th July, 2013

28

travel

www.abplgroup.com - asian voice 20th April 2013

Purvi Apurva Shah

A

Place of Dalai Lama

pretty imposing and cool tourist destination, Mcleodganj is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It has an average elevation of 2,082 metres and is the renowned seat of the holy leader Dalai Lama. The city was named after David McLeod, the former Governor of Punjab under British rule. This is the administrative headquarters of the Tibetan Government in exile. Mcleodganj is also the learning centre of Tibetan culture and Buddhist dharmas and rituals. It has been nick named as the little Lhasa, reverberating with the Buddhist influence on the land.

The area is enriched with many ancient temples, monasteries and structures. Tsuglagkhang is the main temple enshrining Sakyamuni Buddha, Avalokitesvara and Padmasambhava.

The ambience of the area is resonated by

Buddhist religious practices and lifestyles. This is a bastion of the natural beauty as the Mother Nature has blessed this area with all its magnanimities.

TIPA, Tibetan Institute of Performing Art is an attraction for all art loving tourists. The ten day festival of theatres, music and dance held annually during the month of May is vibrant and enticing.

Mcleodganj thrives on Tourism Industry: It is known for Buddhist handicrafts, garments and thangkas. Namgyal Monastery is one of the great attractions here. The architectural marvel of St. John in the Wilderness, an Anglican church constructed in the neo-gothic style, attracts all tourists reaching the Mcleodganj. It is basically a very small town and the entire town can be easily covered on foot.

However, people who need alternate means of transportation can opt for buses and auto rickshaws that are available in Mcleodganj. You can find dozens of budget hotels, trekking companies, net cafes and traveller restaurants here.

Mcleodganj was established in the mid-1850s as a British garrison and it briefly served as an administration centre for the colonial government until the devastating earthquake of 1905. In 1960, the Dalai Lama and his entourage claimed asylum here following the Chinese invasion of Tibet.

Since then, Mcleodganj has become a major centre for the study of Buddhism and Tibetan culture. Lots of travellers come here to volunteer on community projects that focus on the refugee community.

Walking tours: Interesting short walks around Mcleodganj include the

2km stroll to Bhagsu and the 3km walk northeast to Dharamkot, for uplifting views south over the valley and north towards the Dhauladhar Ridge.

A popular longer walk is the two-day return trip through boulder fields and rhododendron forests to Triund (2,900 m), a 9 km walk past Dharamkot. Triund has a simple rest house and you can stop overnight and stroll up to the glacier at Laka Got (3,350 m) before turning back to Mcleodganj.

Dominican Monastery of Daman AV Correspondent here are numerous tourist attractions in T Daman. However, what

Tushita Meditation Centre: Near Dharamkot, Tushita offers eight-day nonresidential courses and 10-day residential retreats in Buddhist philosophy, plus courses for advanced students.

Meditation: Mcleodganj has dozens of practitioners of holistic and alternative therapies, some legitimate and some fake. Adverts for courses and sessions are posted on notice boards all over Mcleodganj and in Contact magazine, but talking to other travellers is a better way to find the good practitioners.

Tibetan Children’s Village: About 4 km northwest of Mcleodganj on Mall Road is Dal Lake, home to the Tibetan children’s village, which provides free education to some 2,000 refugee children. Visitors are welcome and there may be opportunities for volunteers.

Hiking: It's possible to trek from Mcleodganj to the Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti Valleys, and there are several agencies in town that can make the necessary arrangements. Probably the most popular route crosses the 4,300 m Indrahar Pass over the Dhaula Dhar to Bharmour.

Volunteer Tibet: VolunteerTibet is a community organisation that arranges placements in areas of need – teaching, computer training, and social services.

Regional Mountaineering Centre: The Regional Mountaineering Centre, Dharamkot, can arrange treks and adventure activities and offers courses and expeditions on set dates. It can also provide a list of registered guides and porters.

Tibetan Universal Massage: The Tibetan Universal Massage offers training in traditional Tibetan massage.

Courses run for five afternoons on set dates and cost Rs 1,500.

Vipassana Meditation Centre: Located in Dharamkot, this centre runs strict 10-day retreats on vipassana.

Buddhist Philosophy Courses: There are Buddhist Philosophy Courses at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives in the Gangchen Kyishong complex.

matters most is not their number but the diverse and distinct characteristics that they feature. The tourist spots in Daman are the ideal break from the monotony of similar type of sites and images. Varying in nature, the places of tourist interest in Daman always keep the interest level of the tourists very high as they eagerly wait what lies next for them.

The inviting ambience, their exclusivity and some way or the other their closeness to nature create an indelible impression on the minds of the travelers.

On tour to Daman you will also be enchanted seeing the variety in tourist spots. You can begin your sightseeing trip in Daman with gardens, monuments, beaches and many others.

However, best start would be the one propelled by visit to the holy places in Daman. You must first visit the very famous Dominican Monastery in Daman. The Monastery was a seminary of great honor and reputation. How this magnificent religious school saw a masBaingan raita is very instant and innovative dish, that can be served with chappatti, naan, romaali roti, pulav, or vegetable biriyani.

Ingredients: Tender brinjal - about 1 lb (indian brinjal or chinese ones or the american eggplant.)

Curd - 1.5 cup (or as needed) Turmeric powder – ½ tsp Pepper powder – ½ tsp Roasted cumin powder – ½ tsp, salt, cilantro Sugar – 1/4 tsp, Oil - 2 tsp.

For seasoning:Mustard – ½ tsp Dry Red chillies – 1 or 2 Curry leaves – few Oil – 2 tsp Method: Use good quality brinjal, wash it and cut it into thin round, semi circle or oval shaped pieces. Soak it in water for about 5 minutes to remove the brinjal bitterness.

Add salt and turmeric powder and coat all the brinjal slices nicely, mari-

sive downfall is still a mystery. But its imposing structure fairly carries a testimony to its past glory. The must-see object of interest of this monastery is the elaborately and intricately carved out floral stone placed at the abode of the main altar.

nation and strong interpretation. Today this bundle of remains bears a testimony to its own glorious past. On arriving at this site, you will completely be mesmerized by the sight of the beautifully engraved floral stone that dots the abode of the main altar.

Dominican Monastery has previously served as the headquarters of theological studies. It was a world renowned seminary for the hieratic novitiates.

Many Catholic scholars from far and wide places were attracted to it. Its downfall and decline however remains a mystery that seems to be unsolvable.

Daman Dominican Monastery is a representation of historic ruins. This monastery saw a massive downfall which till date escapes any logical expla-

You will also come across the landside gate of the Fort with Our Lady of Purification set at the top where she is revered by every passer by. On 2nd February when Catholics assemble before the gate to sing a litany, the beauty of the entire scene of the region goes beyond all definitions and descriptions.

You must visit the Monastery during the 3rd Sunday of December.

During this time a public mass is held in the honor of St. Dominic.

Baingan Raita

nate for about 10 minutes.

Heat a pan. Drizzle some oil and shallow fry the brinjal pieces.. Fry the brinjal till it is roasted on all sides. . In the meantime, whisk the curd with required salt, cumin powder, pepper powder and a pinch of sugar.. Add the roasted brinjal pieces to the beaten curd. . Heat oil in a small pan and do the seasoning with mustard seeds, dry red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this to the curd. This step is optional but it adds a nice flavour

to the dish.. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro.

Health Benefits: Brinjal is high in water content and potassium. It is supposed to possess many medicinal properties and is used as a remedy for cancer, hypertension and diabetes.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 20th april 2013

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Belly fat genes are different from those in his or her thigh fat, a finding that could shift the way we approach unwanted belly fat - from banishing it to relocating it.

Why are women and men shaped differently?

The research led by Steven Smith, director of the Florida Hospital Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, found that the genes operating in a person's thigh fat are hugely different from those in his or her belly fat.

Smith and colleagues first took fat samples from men and women. Then they compared the genes most active in belly fat to those most active in thigh fat, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reports.

For men, 125 genes are expressed differently in the belly than in the thighs. For women, it's 218 genes (most unique to women, but 59 genes are the same as those that varied in male fat).

That's because belly fat is tied to higher risks of heart disease and diabetes. On the other hand, hip and thigh fat don't seem to play a special role in these conditions, according to a Florida Hospital statement.

Smith and colleagues help explain this discrepancy by determining how belly and thigh fat differ genetically. This research might shift common thinking about fat - rather than focusing on how to banish belly fat, perhaps we need to tip the balance in favour of heart-friendly fat in the lower body.

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sion. Try choosing foods rich in these nutrients to eat away the blues.

Head out for a workout For an instant happiness boost when you’re feeling blue, try hitting the gym or heading out for a brisk walk or run. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain such as endorphins and anandamide which can boost your mood and leave you feeling great. Not only that, exercise is also good for boosting confidence levels and increasing self-esteem.

Try massage with magic oils While many of us think of massage as an aid to relaxation, there are also many oils you can use to boost your happiness and help alleviate depression.

Good aromatherapy oils to leave you uplifted include bergamot, geranium, neroli and jasmine. To lift your mood, try adding a few drops of these oils to water and burning on an oil burner, or create or purchase a room spray containing these essential oils.

Take a risk To get the endorphins going and give your confidence a boost, try challenging yourself on a regular basis. While we don’t advise you to put yourself in any danger, if there is something you have been putting off for a while out of fear, now is the time to bite the bullet and see it through. Whatever your

named docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is found in fish oil and breast milk. In animal studies, the UC Davis scientists found that EDP inhibits angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels in the body.

Tumors grow and spread by hijacking the normal biological process of angiogenesis, which plays a role in wound repair as well in growth and development.

EDP works by a differ-

ent mechanism than many current anti-cancer drugs that block angiogenesis.

The researchers said that future studies hopefully will determine that stabilized EDP can be safely and effectively combined with other current anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of cancer.

The EDPs are broken down in the body by the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). In previous research, Hammock`s lab showed that inhibitors of the sEHI enzyme (sEHIs) help to normalize physiological activity. In the current study, UC Davis researchers determined that the addition of sEHI stabilized EDP in circulating blood thereby producing EDPs` antitumor effects. The FDAapproved anti-cancer drugs sorafenib and regorafenib are also potent sEHIs.

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Watch a comedy movie Laughter is the best medicine, and if you’re feeling down then this is definitely true. Laughter can not only release pent-up emotions, but it also produces endorphins to boost your mood. To get your happiness levels up and boost your wellbeing too, pop in a comedy DVD next time you’re feeling down.

Be outdoor Research has shown that low levels of vitamin D can contribute to mood disorders and depression.

While vitamin D can be found in some foods or taken as supplement, one of the best sources of the mood-boosting vitamin is sunshine, which helps the body to create vitamin D. To boost your supplies of vitamin D, try to spend 10 to 15 minutes outdoors two to three times a week during the summer months.

Try food While our outlook often changes based on external factors, if your mood is often low it may be that you are suffering from a nutrient deficiency.

Research has found that having low levels of omega-3 fatty acids (which are essential for good brain health) increases risk of depression and negativity, while research by Kuopio University in Finland found that taking B vitamin supplements could help treat depres-

drugs by combining them with a diet high

cancer, anti-metastatic effects.

"Our investigation opens up a new understanding of the pathways by which omega-3 fatty acids exert their biologic effects," said Guodong Zhang, the lead author of the article and a postdoctoral researcher.

The metabolite is epoxy docosapentaenoic acid (EDP), an endogenous compound produced by the human body from the omega-3 fatty acid

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t may be possible to improve the efficacy of Ithese anti-cancer

i n omega-3 and low in omega-6 fatty acids. A team of UC Davis scientists has found that a product resulting from a metabolized omega-3 fatty acid helps combat cancer by cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients that fuel tumor growth and spread of the disease. The groundbreaking study was a collaboration among multiple UC Davis laboratories and Harvard University. The UC Davis researchers determined that by inhibiting angiogenesis, EDP reduces the growth and spread (metastasis) of tumors in mice.

The research provides the first scientific evidence about EDP`s potent anti-

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fear – be it asking out that special someone, joining a gym or applying for a job abroad – conquering your fears will leave you feeling great as well as helping you achieve your dreams.

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problems.. No matter how bad you feel it is important to remember that you are not alone and there is no shame in seeking help. As they say, a problem shared is a problem halved, and even talking through your issues can help them seem less overwhelming.

Now in order to lower blood pressure, consume egg white protein If you like egg white, now you have more reason to gobble them. Because egg white protein can lower your blood pressure as effectively as medication.

New study shows that substance in egg white - it's a peptide, one of the building blocks of proteins - reduces blood pressure about as much as a low dose of Captopril, a highblood-pressure drug," said study leader Zhipeng Yu, of Jilin University.

It has a powerful ability to inhibit or block the action of ACE, a substance produced in the body that raises blood pressure.They set out to further document RVPSL's effects, using laboratory rats that develop high blood pres-

sure and are stand-ins for humans in such early research on hypertension.The results of feeding the substance were positive, showing that RVPSL did not have apparent toxic effects and lowered blood pressure by amounts comparable to low doses of Captopril.

However, that egg whites may retain their beneficial effects on blood pressure after cooking.Yu believes that egg white peptides, either in eggs or as a supplement, could become useful as an adjunct to high-blood-pressure medication. For now, he said people with high blood pressure should consult their health care provider before making any changes.

30

UK Coming Events

l The leading tour operator HARI AUM HOLIDAY has started Premier H Club to give more benefit to its members. First gathering of the Premier H Clubto be held on 19th April to celebrate Ram Navmi at Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley HA9 7EX. Free lunch will be provided to all the attendee. All are welcome. For more information contact 020 8452 0350 l Shri Swaminarayan Jayanti and Shri Rama Navami celebrations Saturday 20 April, BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, London NW10 8LD. Contact: 020 8965 2651 l 2nd Edition of The Prideview Cricketers’ Cup will be held once again at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood Middx on Sunday 14th July 2013.

Everything earned via team entry fees, corporate sponsorship and the raffle will again be donated to The Big Hug Foundation. The team entry fee will be a minimum of £350 (including food and drinks for your players / supporters) and we will have 8 teams like last year. Contact : Nilesh Raj Patel t: 0208 863 8680 (ext. 36) or email: nilesh@pridemanagement.co.uk l Kali presents My Daughter's Trial. 8-25April, 7:30pm, Brown's Courtroom, Soho Theatrebox WC2N4AG 02074780100 l Friday 19 April 2013, 6:30pm. Music Panorama by Urmi Chakraborty. Nehru Centre. South Audley Street l Gujarat Hindu Society presents, Sunday 21 April 2013, 9:30am onwards. Sponsor: Chandrakantbhai Limbachia and family. Preston.

Contact: 01772827403 l Hanuman Jayanti 25 April 2013, 108 Hanuman Chalisa, 11am-5:30pm. Shree Jalaram Mandir, Greenford l Tackling mental health stigma in the South Asian Community (Thurs 25 April, 6.30-8:30pm): CHN in conjunction with the City of London Police, will explore the 'shame and secrecy’ surrounding mental health illness in the South Asian community; and how the community can tackle the associated stigma. Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London, will be presenting alongside various other speakers. Thursday 25 April, 6.30pm - 8.30pm. City of London Police, Wood Street Police Station, London, EC2P 2NQ (nearest tube station: St Pauls). l Chaitra Navratri, 11 April-20 April, Thursday 18 April, Sanatan Hindu Mandir, Wembley HA0 4TA l London CGMI presents Speed dating 2013, Sunday 21 April 2pm-5pm. RAW Spice. The Cinnamon Suite.

West Hendon Bromley. NW9 7BP. Contact: Sheetal 07775978469 l Shree Swaminarayan Temple – Dharma Bhakti Manor & Relate London North West presents “Relationships and Well-being”.

An experienced Relate counsellor will be available to answer questions about Relate support services.

Saturday 27th April 2013 At: 6.30pm, Shree

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

Death of Gujarati mum and 2 daughters shock the community Continued from page 8 One elderly neighbour who did not want to be named, told the Mail, 'Last night the police were knocking on doors telling everyone to get inside and close their windows because there had been a chemical incident.

'There were fire engines and ambulances as well as police.

'They were here until the early hours,' he said.

'They were a lovely family. The kids used to run around and play outside, always very happy.

'My wife is very upset.

It's heartbreaking. They were lovely children. The mother worked in a laboratory.'

A woman living nearby, who also asked not to be named, said: 'They were a lovely family and the children were brought up very well. They always made an effort to greet you. It's all very sad.'

The girls’ father, Kalpesh, 42, believed to work for a global IT company, is understood to be away frequently with his

job and often worked long hours. He was not home when the alarm was raised at 6.40pm on Friday evening. Sources revealed that Chaganlalbhai, Kaplesh's elderly father, who is retired now, formerly worked in the automobile department of Police. It is also understood Heena's parents in law were on holiday at a “Greek” location last week and are thought to have immediately returned to Britain to comfort their son.

Moments after paramedics and police arrived at the house, they ordered neighbours to close all their doors and windows amid fears of a “chemical incident”.

Masked police in protective suits were seen removing evidence marked "caution health hazard".

A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to comment on the mother’s “psychiatric history”. A post-mortem examination is due be conducted this week.

The Sun highlights your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. If travelling make sure you keep your documents safe as there is a possibility of misplacing them. Some of you might change your travel itinerary.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

The Sun transits your first house and this affects your personal identity, appearance, outward behaviour, and self-expression. This marks the peak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the position to make an impression on others, and to assert your personal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage of your charisma to achieve your goals.

The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

The Sun illuminates your sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities. You will be in constant demand and will be in a position to network with new-found friends who will promote your cause.

Personal relationships are also to the fore and some of you might even find true love. This is a time to follow your dreams and ideals.

More than any other time of the year, your focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society. This is the time when you are more interested in, and focused on, accomplishing something important.

Contact with authority figures is more likely during this period. Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it or not, and the responsibility that goes with it.

You are feeling most VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 adventurous and willing to achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth.

This is a good time to broaden your horizons through travel and higher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pursuit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourself from the mundane grind of life and take on something which is more meaningful for your inner growth.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

The Sun energizes your sector of change, transformation and regeneration. On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Swaminarayan Temple, Stanmore Harrow HA7 4LF. Contact: events@swaminarayansatsang.com l AMC presents The Bergersen Quartet Recital, 19 April 2013 l Friday 19th April/7pm, East Meets West in New Music

by Composer Ash Madni Museum of Asian Music, 1 Bradford Road, London W3 7SP For further information please contact 0208 742 9911 or email matthew@amc.org.uk

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SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 As the Sun transits your seventh house, you have a greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The emphasis is on "us" rather than "me". Social interactions of a personal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extremely busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in your dealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over confident and egotistical.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 The Sun transits your solar sixth house and highlights your health and also makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, you should enhance your skills, get organized and take up a health regime for your well being. This transit highlights the need for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 After a period of relative inactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to perform and to express yourself creatively.

This is a very progressive period of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. You take more pride in your your love affairs, your children, and your hobbies and are generally very sociable and make friends easily.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 With the Sun transiting your solar fourth house of family and home, these areas are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of property or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind as you will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It is also a time when family life will be charged with emotions so be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, close relatives and friends may play an important role in your life during this period.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Sport World

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

31

India to play 3 Tests, 7 ODIs and 2 T20s against South Africa

Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott says Virender Sehwag is unlikely to play for India again and the opener will "sadly fade away" after playing a bit of Indian Premier League.

Sehwag was dropped for the last two Tests against Australia in the recent series and was also excluded from the list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy. "I don't think he'll play again. I think it's because India have gone the right way. It took a little while to come around to it. They've given youth a chance," Boycott told a cricket website.

In eight Test matches since April 2012, he has managed to score just 408 runs at an average of 31.38, with highest being 117. In the six ODIs, in the same period, he scored 183 runs at an average of 30.5 and was dropped for the ODI series against England.

His last ODI century was the double hundred against the West Indies in December 2011.

Boycott said India have done the right thing by blooding youngsters in the national side.

"After they lost to England, I kept

saying you have to give these young batsmen a chance. You have to get them in and you have to build again for the World Cup. I've never changed my

view on that. You are world champions in ODIs, you have to move on, and it doesn't matter who you are, I always say, age is not the barrier, it's about performance," he said.

Boycott said Sehwag was one of the best batsmen of the last 20 years and lack of a defensive technique was his

only shortcoming. "He played it his way and his way, at times, on certain pitches, was highly successful. But when it comes to the ball moving around and it was a bit more bouncy, his defensive technique was exposed. But trying to tell him and make him play differently, how do you do that? Sehwag has got all his runs playing his way," Boycott said He also stressed that it was difficult for a player like Sehwag to change the way he played the game. "His nature, his personality, is a more happy-golucky, generous, easy-natured, friendly, affable sort of personality that fits in with the way he batted," Boycott said.

"He used to bat freely, with lots of strokes. It's not in his nature to play carefully, steadily. I'm sure people have tried to say, 'Can you play a little more carefully? You are older now, you maybe don't pick the ball up quite as well or quickly, or you've still got lots of talent and use your experience.' You tell everybody all these things but it's very difficult to change people from what they are. And, it's too late now. I think he's just going to play a bit of IPL and then, sadly, fade away," he said.

India eves whitewash Bangladesh India to host this year's 3-0 to clinch ODI series Champions League T20

Indian women cricketers swept the three-match oneday international series against Bangladesh 3-0 beating them by 58 runs in the final match at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. The series win underpins Indian eves’ dominance over their Asian neighbours. Besides the 3-0 ODI series romp, India also whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the three-match T20 series as well. All the three T20 matches were played in Vadodara, while all the three ODI matches were played in Ahmedabad.

Making first use of the wicket, Indian openers Poonam Raut and 16-yearold Smriti Mandhawa gave their side a pretty decent start raising 37 in the first eight overs before

Bangladesh made deep inroads into their batting line-up.

Medium-pacer Panna Ghosh effected the first breakthrough as Mandhawa fell for 23 which came off 30 balls, containing four hits to the fence.

Panna struck again when she got rid of Sneha Deepthi for 4. The Indian innings lost its way when Raut perished to Lata Mondal for 13 with her side wobbling at 49 for 3. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur held the innings together for a while, scoring a steady 29 but the innings got a jolt when she was prized out by Rumana Ahmed, who was settling down into a nice rhythm.

Bangladesh were all out for 96 in 41.1 over, handing the hosts a well deserved win.

The Champions League Twenty20 tournament, which was played in South Africa last year, will return to India this season, the tournament's governing council said in a release.

"The Champions League Twenty20 will return to India for the third time in five years in 2013 after the dates and format for this year's tournament were confirmed by the CLT20 Governing Council," the BCCI said in a statement.

"The world's premier domestic T20 competition will be played from 17 September to 6 October. The tournament will follow a similar format to the two previous editions with a Group Stage preceded by a Qualifier.

"A total of 29 matches will be played in the tournament by the best domestic T20 teams from around the world," it added. The CLT20 governing council also confirmed that the teams will compete for a total prize money of USD 6 million.

Trinidad and Tobago,

who were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2009, have earned direct entry into the Group Stage this year after playing in the Qualifier in 2011 and 2012.

"With some of the world's best T20 players, they are a deserving entrant in the main draw after winning the Caribbean T20 championship for a third straight time earlier this year," the BCCI said.

But England teams will not participate in this year's tournament. "The competition, which will again feature leading cricketers from across the world and some of the established legends of world cricket, will be watched and followed by equally passionate fans," said CLT20 Governing Council Chairman N Srinivasan.

The Indian cricket team will play three Tests, seven one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches during their tour of South Africa, slated to start at the end of this year. Cricket South Africa and the Indian Cricket Board were contemplating accommodating one more Test but things could not materialise as both boards decided to stick to ICC's Futures Tour Programme (FTP). The Indian team will be short on Test cricket when they take on the world number one side, playing the first longer-version game since the 4-0 whitewash of the Australians at home in March. South Africa last played the format in February and will only meet Pakistan for two matches in the UAE before hosting India.

Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg or Centurion could be the three possible venues for the Test series. There is a possibility of the Boxing Day Test returning to Durban after it was cancelled previous season because CSA opted to play three festive T20s instead. India drew their last Test series in South Africa 1-1 in 2010-11.

Sachin not playing up to his standards: Steve Waugh

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh on Sunday said that it was for Sachin Tendulkar himself to decide whether it was time for him to retire from international cricket but his personal opinion was that the Indian master is not playing up to his previous standards. "What is your opinion," Waugh, who was in Kollam, Kerala, to attend a private function, shot back, when reporters sought to know from him how he rated Tendulkar's current performance. "He is playing better... but he is not playing up to his standards.

He himself has to decide (whether it is time to retire or not)," Waugh said.

Waugh said he believed that Test matches are important to maintain quality and standard of cricket though limited over events like IPL are medium for the young players to prove their talent. "Tests are important to maintain both quality and talent. That cannot be replaced by limited over matches," he said. Waugh said he did not subscribe to the view that coach was responsible for the recent defeat of Australia by India.

"It is only temporary. Australia will rebound.

Coach cannot be blamed for the setback," he said. Waugh, 47, led Australia in 15 of their world-record 16 consecutive Test wins and to the 1999 World Cup title, playing 168 Tests and collecting 10,927 runs. He has also scored over 7500 runs in 325 One-day Internationals.

Harbhajan Singh a backstabber: Sreesanth ive years after the infamous 'slapgate', one of the protagonists of the drama, S F Sreesanth, made an explosive claim, saying

that the entire incident was planned and that his former India teammate Harbhajan Singh was a "backstabbing person."

The temperamental Sreesanth made a series of revelations on the 2008 incident on his twitter page on Friday, creating a fresh controversy in the IPL, a day after Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were involved in an ugly on-field spat.

"To be whr Iam ..I ve no complaints..but now I want u All to know the truth. He (Bhajji)never Slapped me.the video will show u all..wt he did," Sreesanth wrote in a series of expletivesladen tweets. "All blamed me for getting emotional ..??c mon who doesn't get emotional whn u know the person who u wor-

ship is a backstabbing person Nd ..," he tweeted. "Disgusting ..that's all I can say..u should get hold of the video..them u all will know te truth..wht he did is completely out of control," he said.

Sreesanth, who is currently playing for Rajasthan Royals, demanded that the

videotape of the incident be made public.

"I don't want Bhajji to feel bad now..I need to tell the truth to the world..wht happend was bad..it's not my fault at all..and all media ???

The pacer also claimed that Harbhajan did not slap him but elbowed him. "I want the world to c it..Whn I went to shake hands afte the match..he had lost it..he had already planned to hit me(elbow me)all his anger" he said.

"It's not my fault at all ..Nd I keep getting compared to all this bull s##*..whn ever anything bad happens in ipl or cricket match..crazy "Nd whn u start to c the big change in person who u trust so much..the World comes down ..that's wht happ..;He Never slapped me," Sreesanth added.

"Every one blaming me Nd always

writing and talking about slap gate??it really s**#s.the truth is in the video ..which is with ipl.."

Interestingly, Harbhajan and Sreesanth are due to square off on April 17 in Jaipur, when Rajasthan Royals play Mumbai Indians.

BCCI warns Sreesanth: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday warned Sreesanth for raking up the 2008 'Slapgate' issue through the social networking website Twitter. The BCCI informed him that he would be issued a show cause notice if he repeated the activity. The BCCI also warned Delhi cricketers Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir over their angry outburst at each other during an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore last week.

32

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th April 2013

IPL Results of 11 to 21 matches played till Tuesday, 16th April Match Date 11 10 April

12

11 April

13

11 April

14

12 April

15

13 April

16

13 April

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14 April

18

14 April

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15 April

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16 April

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16 April

Teams KXIP v/s CSK at Mohali CSK won by 10 wickets Brief scores: KXIP 138 (19.5 overs); CSK 139 (17.2 overs) RCB v/s KKR at Bangalore RCB won by 8 wickets Brief scores: KKR 154/8 (20 overs); MI 158/2 (17.3 overs) PW v/s RR at Pune PW won by 7 wickets Brief scores: RR 145/5 (20 overs); PW 148/3 (18.4 overs) DD v/s SH at Delhi SH won by 3 wickets Brief scores: DD 114/8 (20 overs); SH 115/7 (20 overs) MI v/s PW at Mumbai MI won by 41 runs Brief scores: MI 183/3 (20 overs); PW 142/8 (20 overs) CSK v/s RCB at Chennai CSK won by 4 wickets Brief scores: RCB 165/6 (20 overs); SCK 166/6 (19.5 overs) KKR v/s SH at Kolkata KKR won by 48 runs Brief scores: KKR 180/4 (20 overs); SH 132/7 (20 overs) RR v/s KXIP at Jaipur RR won by 6 wickets Brief scores: KXIP 124 (18.5 overs); RR 126/4 (19.2 overs) CSK v/s PW at Chennai PW won by 24 runs Brief scores: PW 159/5 (20 overs); CSK 135/8 (20 overs) KXIP v/s KKR at Mohali KXIP won by 4 runs Brief scores: KXIP 157/9 (20 overs); KKR 153/9 (20 overs) RCB v/s DD at Bangalore RCB won by the one-over eliminator Brief scores: DD 152/5 (20 overs); RCB 152/7 (20 overs)

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Virat Kohli raises his bat after scoring a half-century

substantial partnership, the highest being the opening stand of 43 off 34 balls between Virender Sehwag (25 off 23 balls with four boundaries) and David Warner (15 off 13 4x3).

Kedar Jadhav topscored with a 16-ball unbeaten 29 which he made with the help of two fours and a six while Sehwag, captain Mahela Jayawardene and Irfan Pathan were the other notable contributors.

Bangalore bowlers put up a disciplined effort to deny the visiting side easy runs.

Pacer Jaydev Unadkat

was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for 24 runs. Two other bowlers, Vinay Kumar and Andrew McDonald, took a wicket each.

Delhi were to blame themselves as most of them were out to loose shots as they lost four wickets for 91 in 14.1 overs. Losing wickets at regular interval pegged Bangalore back.

Openers Sehwag and Warner put on 43 runs for the first wicket before falling in quick succession, leaving Manpreet Juneja and Jayawardane in the

middle to bring the innings on to the track.

Sehwag hit the kind of rhythm he is known for in fourth over of the match dispatching Unadkat for three boundaries in a row.

Kings XI Punjab stun KKR by 4 runs In the first match Gautam Gambhir stupendous batting and Sunil Narine's splendid hat-trick went in-vain as Kings XI Punjab made a miraculous comeback to stun defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by four runs at Mohali.

Chasing a decent target of 158, KKR managed 153 for nine in the end despite a 105-run second wicket partnership between Gambhir (60) and Eoin Morgan (47). This is Kings XI's second win from four matches while KKR's woeful away record continued as they have now lost their third game on the road.

From a comfortable 106 for two in 13 overs, KKR batsmen required only 52 off 42 balls but once the two set batsmen were out in quick succession, things changed rapidly.

Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan wasted 14 deliveries in between them. Needing 11 runs off the final over, Adam Gilchrist saved what would have been 5 wides of the first delivery from Praveen Kumar. Praveen (2/26) kept his cool as he first removed Yusuf out of the equation and gave away only six runs to bring cheer for the home team.

Ugly altercation between Kohli and Gambhir during match

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Despite a great fight back by bowlers that forced the match into Super Over, Delhi Daredevils failed to secure their maiden win as RCB clinch thriller at MA Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

Despite getting hit for a six on the first delivery of the final over, Irfan Pathan bowled intelligently and didn't allow RCB to cross DD total of 152, forcing a Super Over finish.

After a solid 103-run stand for the third wicket that rescued Bangalore from poor start, the hosts lost quick wickets of AB de Villiers and Andrew McDonald that brought Delhi back in the game.

While de Villiers got run out, Donald was caught and bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem.

Both dismissal came after Virat Kohli reached his fifty in 32 balls to take Bangalore close to the victory target of 153, set by Delhi Daredevils in the IPL clash on Tuesday.

Kohli along with AB de Villiers steadied Bangalore after losing openers early to guide the side past-100 in 12 overs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore lost Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul, after some big hits, in quick succession after Delhi posted 152/5.

While Ashish Nehra gave Delhi first breakthrough by ending Rahul's (12) challenge, Morne Morkel got rid of danger man Gayle (13).

Delhi failed to build any

773=

Five years ago, the first edition of India’s high profile T20 tournament saw Harbhajan Singh slap Sreesanth after Mumbai Indians were beaten by Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. The incident cost Harbhajan, who incidentally was the MI skipper, his entire fee and also saw him banned from the tournament.

Last week, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir and RCB skipper Virat Kohli’s ugly altercation brought back memories of Slapgate.

Kohli and Gambhir may be India and Delhi teammates, but there was no love lost between them after Gambhir gave Kohli an aggressive send off following his dismissal. The RCB skipper looked charged during their chase of 155 and along with Chris Gayle for company, seemed to be taking the

hosts home, but a slower one from L Balaji caused Kohli to slice a catch to deep cover where Eoin Morgan took the catch.

KKR skipper Gambhir’s celebrations though provoked Kohli,

who was walking back to the pavilion, to stop and charge at his opposite number. But before the incident turned ugly, KKR all-rounder Rajat Bhatia, who also plays for Delhi in domestic cricket, and the

field umpires, had to intervene to separate the two.

At the post match press conference, Gambhir got a touch defensive when asked about the spat. “Ask Kohli when he comes to the press conference,” he said. When quizzed more, Gambhir, who was booed by the crowd during the presentation, termed it as rush of blood. “Cricket is a man’s game and not played by boys. It’s played hard and played with a hard ball. These things happen in the heat of the moment.

You don’t need to carry it outside,” he said.

Indian Premier League 2013 Points Table (16 / 04 / 2013) Teams Match Won Lost Tied Royal Challengers Bangalore 6 4 2 0 Mumbai Indians 4 3 1 0 Rajasthan Royals 4 3 1 0 Sunrisers Hyderabad 5 3 2 0 Kings XI Punjab 4 2 2 0 Kolkata Knight Riders 5 2 3 0 Chennai Super Kings 4 2 2 0 Pune Warriors 5 2 3 0 Delhi Daredevils 5 0 5 0

N/R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Points 8 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 0

Net RR +0.362 +1.150 +0.230 -0.380 +0.432 +0.136 -0.122 -0.854 -0.667