AV 21st june 2014

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VOL 43. ISSUE 07

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Queen's Birthday Honours: Small increase in number of Asians granted titles

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As the Sunni Islamists fighters from Al Qaedainfluenced Islamic state in Iraq, Syria and the Levant (ISIL) strengthen grip on northern Iraq since last week, concern over safety of foreign citizens, including British and Indians have been raised. According to official sources, the 44 Indian nurses hailing from Kerala are in Tikrit town, which has been seized by the militants. “The International Red Crescent Society volunteers visited the Indian nurses that were stranded in a hospital. Till now, they are completely safe,� said India's Ambassador to Iraq A Ajay Kumar. The Indian govern-

Indians in Iraq safe as jihadists take firm grip

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Modi magic charms Bhutan Two day visit of Indian premier Narendra Modi to Bhutan strategically turned out to be a grand success. Prime Minister Modi during his first foreign trip after assuming office not only assured the neighbouring country that Indo-Bhutan ties to remain the same and vowed to further deepen the relationship. Declaring India's commitment to good neighbourly relations Modi sent out a clear message that a “strong and prosperous� India can help smaller countries in the region including Bhutan. He said that all the commitments made by earlier governments would be implemented by the new NDA government. Indicating strengthening relations with Bhutan he made propos-

ment has asked the nurses to indicate in writing whether they want government assistance in returning home. Most of them reportedly say they

would prefer to stay on, said an official in the Ministry for External Affairs. However, the Kerala government Continued on page 26

als like organising joint sports events between Bhutan and India's north-eastern states and setting up a Himalaya University for joint research. Addressing a joint session of Bhutan's Parliament, Modi emphasised that the ties between the two countries were historic and the doors to their “hearts� were open to each other. “Strong Bhutan will benefit India like a strong and prosperous Continued on page 26

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UK Keith Vaz MP with Shyama Perera was the youngest ever reporter on The Guardian staff. She is Chair of the South Asian Diaspora Arts Archive (SADAA), an Ambassador for the knowledge-networking club, Editorial Intelligence, and a trustee of the Youth United Foundation (YUF). 1) What is your current position? I'm a communications consultant to a number of organisations including the International Women's Forum UK, which has CEO level membership across 25 countries. I've consolidated the brand internally, building on its collegiate culture, and produce and publish a fortnightly newsletter for members. It is done externally through social media and below-the-line PR. Writing-wise, my three novels have just been digitised by Hodder & Stoughton. I'm a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund (RLF), about to start a weekly Reading Round at the Tricycle Theatre. I still appear in print and on TV or radio as a social commentator, most recently on BBC News 24, The Today Programme, and BBC London. 2) What are your proudest achievements? Being the youngest reporter ever employed by The Guardian (a crown soon stolen by Andrew Rawnsley) and, later, the publication of my first novel, Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet. Personally, it's raising two brilliant and beautiful daughters single-handedly since they were 3 and 6 (they are now almost 20 and 23!). 3) What inspires you? Problems! I think I'm the only person on Linked In who describes their job as 'Problem Solver'! I like challenges to do with managing people and projects. I have friends whose careers have been a single upwards trajectory. Mine has been a series of undulations. I'm excited and inspired by change. I went from newspapers to TV, then radio. I wrote novels, then a play. I have taught. I now specialise in publishing and PR. Along the way, I've learned about business and branding. Problems excite me, and I'm good at solving them. 3) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career? Taking on too much extra-curricular work! I was a theatre judge for five years and now run the Monkey Matters Theatre website. As Chair of SADAA, I'm spending a lot of time on a bid to restore Ram

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Keith Vaz MP young staff and were generous in pushing and promoting them, ensuring they had the support and guidance to be successful at what they did. That type of boss is rare. I learned a lot. 5) What is the best aspect about your current role? Freedom of movement! My Twitter handle is @portfoliowoman. That says it all. A love of communicating underpins everything I do from newsletters and PR to fiction and teaching, to writing and reporting. And performing! I've very much enjoyed doing stand-up as part of the Immigrant Diaries team of performers. 7) And the worst? The worst is that life is often feast or famine - I'm either so snowed under I can barely take breath, or twiddling my thumbs because I have no new projects. Continuity would be good! 8) What are your long term goals? My girls are at university and suddenly I'm free - it's a fantastic feeling and the world really is my oyster. I'd love to have a job managing a global project, or taking on an Ambassadorial role that is both visionary and practical. I'm good at creating and delivering the big picture. Taking on the world - that's the goal! 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? YUF, of which I'm a trustee, will have created 10,000 new places in uniformed youth groups by September 2014. We were given the Libor money in the budget to pursue a youth citizenship agenda. We provide disadvantaged inner-city children with a recognised gateway to adult success. As PM I would embed membership of uniformed organisations into the curriculum so every child had at least two hours a week of organised activity and opportunities to camp and campaign, to share, to sing, to run, to learn! 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why? Judging by the quotes, Einstein was warm and funny as well as being a genius. I love his explanation of relativity: when you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red hot cinder, a second feels like an hour. I also think he was rather cute in middleage. If it's all right, can I have Einstein?

Shyama Perera

Gopal's original Garuda costume through a project that will hopefully involve the V&A, perhaps Akram Khan, and definitely schools, community centres, libraries and other arts organisations. 4) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? Two fantastic bosses, Peter Cole (now Emeritus Professor of media) who was my News Editor at The Guardian, and Samir Shah (ex LWT and BBC, owner of Juniper TV, Deputy Chair V&A) who was the Producer of Eastern Eye, which I co-presented for two years on Channel Four. Both pursued and taught excellence to their

Forcing someone to marry against their will has declared as a criminal offence in Britain. New legislation introduced by the government is designed to help people in England and Wales. It will also apply to UK nationals overseas who are at risk of becoming the victim of a forced marriage. Forced marriage can involve physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted and raped. In 2013, the government’s Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage to more than 1300 people. The maximum penalty for the new offence of forced marriage is seven years imprisonment. The new legislation also makes forcing a UK

Forced marriage criminalised in Britain national into marriage outside the UK an offence under domestic law for the first time. The offence is triable in courts in England and Wales. The new criminal offences will work alongside existing civil legisla-

tion (Forced Marriage Protection Orders FMPOs) allowing victims to pursue a civil or criminal option. The UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Asian Voice, “Forced marriage is a dreadful form of abuse that will not be tolerated in

our country or our communities. I am proud that Britain has been at the forefront of an international effort to stamp out forced marriage. The government has worked closely with charities and community groups to reach this major milestone, and later this year I will be holding an international summit to see how we can all work even closer together with our partners overseas to further protect women and girls from abuse, including forced marriage and female genital mutilation. “Marriage is a wonderful expression of love, freedom and choice, and everyone should have the freedom – now backed by the law - to choose who they marry and when.” Aneeta Prem, founder of Freedom charity, which

The government has ‘named and shamed’ a list of 25 employers who have failed to pay their staff minimum wages in the biggest crackdown. It includes names of Asian hotelier, Satwinder Singh Khatter and Tejinder Singh Khatter of the Bath Hotel, Reading who neglected to pay £1,237.79 to two workers. Between these 25 employers, they owe workers more than £43,000 in arrears, and face fines totalling over £21,000. It is the biggest number of employers publicly named since a new regime was announced last year. The Government also plans to increase fines, so that an employer underexists to educate young people about forced marriage, said: “I am delighted that the government has taken action to criminalise forced marriage. In the

Employers named and shamed over minimum wage paying 10 workers could face penalties of up to £200,000. The 25 employers on the list include: Christine Cadden and Nicola Banks of Renaissance, Wirral, Alan King and John King of Arthur Simpson & Co, Bradford, Central Heating Services Ltd, Hampshire, Cargilfield School Ltd, Edinburgh, A2ZEE Construction Ltd, Cramlington, Mr and Mrs Balasco of Eugenio, Bristol, Mr and Mrs Hampton of The Wheatsheaf Inn, Steven Stainton of Steven Stainton Joinery, Cumbria, Runbaro Ltd, Swindon, Satwinder Singh Khatter and Tejinder Singh Khatter of The Bath Hotel,

Reading, Richard Last of Classic Carpentry, Godalming, We are Mop! Ltd, London, Mrs Sue English of Legends Hairdressers, Colchester, Saftdwin Ltd, Hampshire, Master Distribution Ltd, Essex., Perth Hotels Ltd, Perth., Bryants Nurseries Ltd, Hertfordshire, Dove Mill Retail Outlet Ltd, Bolton, Luigi’s Little Italy Ltd, Yorkshire, CPS SW Ltd, Exmouth, Mr Gary Calder, Mr Richard Calder and Mr Neil Calder of Avenue Agricultural, Northamptonshire, Dakal Ltd, Northampton, Zoom Ltd, Havant, HSS Hire Service Group Ltd, Manchester, and Sun Shack Ltd, Hamilton. sends out a powerful message that this indefensible abuse of human rights will be not be tolerated. “Everyone should have the freedom to choose.”

most tragic cases, people forced into marriage become domestic slaves by day and sexual slaves by night. “This announcement

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Modi moves to the centre

COMMENT

3

Democratic politics is about the centre, pronounced the distinguished Tory statesman R.A.Butler many moons ago. Narendra Modi has started to move in that direction. He told Parliament that it was Team India that was best equipped to tackle and resolve the country’s myriad problems. And when he spoke of Team India, he said he included the Opposition in this challenging enterprise. Unlike Napoleon’s 100 days, following his return from Elba to Paris, which ended in his defeat at Waterloo, Mr Modi’s first 100 days in office promises to be a period of seed-time and remedy, of hope over cynicism, of faith that things that had gone wrong in the country would now be put right with vision and a firm hand on the tiller. The slowing economy is showing signs of real revival, and with a modicum of luck, a consistently improving growth rate, sooner rather than later, may be put India back on track. The Modi government’s early call on a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) system to replace myriad interState systems that have long been a hindrance to the smooth and profitable conduct of commerce will heretofore be a subject for consultation between the government in Delhi and those of the States. GST legislation will have no losers and winners, per se; there will only be winners for the commonwealth. The forthcoming consultations are a real symbol of intent and they bodes well for the future. That said, optimism about the future should be tempered with caution, for the social and economic challenges that face the government and the country as a whole are daunting. The shocking deaths of two teenage girls found hanging from tree

Lessons for India from China

after being gang raped in an Uttar Pradesh hamlet and a hanging of a girl in another village in the State are reminders of the breakdown of law and order in the area. The earlier communal violence in the Muzaffarabad district has left deep wounds, with the healing process a distant dream by all accounts. The recent discovery of a cache of arms by the police point to the simmering hatreds below the surface and the real possibility of further and more damaging inter-community explosions. Further afield, in the western city of Pune, a young Muslim professional, Mohsin Shaikh, was done to death by assailants belonging to a local Hindu extremist organization, sending shivers of apprehension throughout the city’s Muslim community. These shaming events are symptoms of a disorder that needs to be addressed with speed and the utmost firmness. Uttar Pradesh has long been India’s principal badland. Its ruling Samajwadi Dal administration, headed by the distasteful father-and-son duo of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav has long been a dark parody, hence the concept of good governance in these parts can be classed with the Unicorn as a figment of the popular imagination. The Union Government must take a hand. Lawlessness cannot be justified by specious arguments about federalism and States’ rights. The rule of law is, after all, the guarantor of the civil liberties of all Indian citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, social group, religious affiliation, gender and political belief. It must prevail. India’s Constitution requires no less.

All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action

- Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Seema Malhotra MP

“Skills, scale, speed” were what India could best learn from China’s manufacturing sector and its development model, said Narendra Modi. Having made several visits to the country as Gujarat Chief Minister, the Indian Prime Minister hoped India would benefit from his learning experience. The context of Mr Modi’s statement was as important as his words. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India and his wide-ranging talks with the Indian leadership were intended to be curtain-raiser to President Xi Jingping visit to India sometime later this year. Mr Wang had been entrusted by his President with the task of taking the Sino-Indian relationship to a new level of mutual understanding and trust. His extensive conversations with India’s new Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, went off very well by all accounts. Territorial issues, high on the agenda, were discussed fully and frankly, but of greater immediacy were the economic ties between the two countries, China being India’s foremost trading partner, and the best yet to come. Beyond these areas lay the mutual concerns arising from an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape. India and China will not be tied down by a zero sum game. Beijing has had a longstanding relationship with Pakistan, just as Delhi has its own special relationships with Vietnam and Japan. But these need not be obstacles to Sino-Indian concord. Mutual recognition of these factors clears the deck for an appreciation of their concerns elsewhere, in the arc of crisis or anarchy for example, that looms menacingly over the wider Middle East and threat-

The calamity of American and Western policies in Iraq and Syria and Libya are coming home to roost. The hubris that informed their cynical interventions in these fragile countries under the bogus pretext of promoting human rights and democracy are being cruelly exposed. Jihadis are extending their reach across Iraq, with a deepening sectarian Sunni-Shia conflict threatening to tear the entire region apart. Ill-conceived US and Western interventions are coming home to roost, hubris surely to be followed by nemesis. In India’s immediate environs the Pakistan Taliban is setting their country ablaze. The attack on the Karachi airport was brazen and pitiless. The complication in Pakistan is that several of its terror groups are aided and abetted by the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies in what amounts to an undeclared war directed at India. The Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) leads this jihad. Its leader Hafiz Saeed, one of the masterminds of the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, preaches jihad against India at vast public meetings, and does so with impunity because of the protection he and his organization enjoys from the powers that be. It is

Jihadi menace looms ever larger

ens to expand to the borders of India and China. The possible impact of these encroaching developments on internal peace and stability is something that draws India and China into diplomacy of common purpose. The forces of militant Islam are abroad and measures on how best to contain their depredations are certain to result in close consultations, going forward, between Indian and Chinese leaders. No man or nation is an island, more so in a globalized world. The perils of isolation are selfevident, equally so are the advantages of engagement among the responsible powers. New vistas of Sino-Indian cooperation should not preclude the build-up of Indian military strength, as productive diplomacy rests on effective deterrence. Apropos of India and China, diplomatic revolutions are usually seeded when threat perceptions of the concerned parties can no longer exist in continual states of denial. What India and Chinsa see around them is disturbing. The American historian Dr Paul Craig Roberts puts it robustly: “Notice how narrowly Washington defines ‘the world community’…..The world community consists of six white countries….the US, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan…..The other 190 countries are not part of Washington’s ‘world community’….The ‘world community’ doesn’t have China or India” on its books. The BRICS summit in Brazil, in July, is where the dialogue between India, Russia and China, must take on a special meaning. At stake is their existential security in face of the maelstrom ignited by American and Western folly.

now known that prior to the assault on the Indian consulate in the western Afghan city of Heart by LeT operatives from Pakistan, US intelligence agencies had forewarned their Indian counterparts in Delhi of its possibility. Security was accordingly strengthened around the Consulate and the predicted assault was repelled by Indian guards, with an Afghan military unit nearby annihilating the bulk of the gang. Hafiz Saeed and his colleagues have accused India of fomenting Pakistan’s Baluchi insurgency; they have called for a Pakistani riposte against what they described as “Hindu banias, Brahmins” and their like. Indian airports were on red alert after the Taliban assault in Karachi. The threat to launch terror attacks across India, with the aid of Indian Mujahedeen, have to be taken very seriously. India has been a soft state for far too long. It has never been able to relate its military strength to effective strategic nouse, which is the essence of statecraft. The tedious clichés and shibboleths of a high-profile, morally bankrupt chattering class has turned rancid from overuse. A new narrative of resolve on national security is overdue.

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Last week the Advisory Board for a project I am undertaking on Women and Entrepreneurship with the Social Market Foundation met to discuss initial research findings and the next phase of work. The project is engaging with women entrepreneurs, academics and current and former politicians to identify ideas for what a new generation support infrastructure should look like to support women wanting to set up their own businesses. Women-led SMEs add £70bn to the economy but the contribution to our GDP could be much greater. Policy history in the UK shows a step change in focus on women and business following the appointment of a Minister for Women in 1997, and the emphasis on women particularly taken forward under Patricia Hewitt at the then DTI. The legacy networks and initiatives of that period still live on, but are beginning to fade as funding and support is withdrawn, and strategy is increasingly dispersed rather than integrated. The Women’s Business Council (WBC) set up in 2012 has the remit to advise Government on how women’s contribution to growth can be maximised. The WBC produced a report exactly a year ago, but the Government’s response has been slow, and the strategy for supporting grassroots women’s enterprise is arguably not sufficient. This year the Business Secretary appointed Lorely Burt to a new role aimed at promoting women’s entrepreneurs, though her role is mainly focussed on raising awareness rather than producing policy recommendations. Women often set up businesses for different rea-

Do women mean Business?

For Feltham and Heston

sons to men, and face different issues at the start up and growth phases of their business. Understanding these issues and the required policy response are the key questions that our project, reporting this summer, is seeking to address. The report will then inform pre-manifesto debates in the autumn. Many of the issues women face are the same across different communities, but anecdotal evidence suggests that support networks, motivations and needs can be different for communities of different backgrounds. In discussion groups with women entrepreneurs this week, an important message emerged about the role of family and context in supporting entrepreneurs. Many have some experience of someone else in the family starting a business, and also of someone supporting and believing in them. For many women of Asian backgrounds, it was interestingly husbands and fathers who are playing a vital role in giving women the encouragement and backing to achieve their goals. I am keen to hear from any women who want to be involved with the project, or who might have something to contribute about what needs to change to address barriers women face either in terms of experience or attitudes of others. Only by working together will we get the strategy we need to propel Britain forward to become a leader in achieving the success that women and our economy deserve. To contact Seema Malhotra MP, please email seema.malhotra.mp@pa rliament.uk or Twitter @SeemaMalhotra1

4

Arsonists destroy rich teen’s £500,000 luxury car fleet nally set up Platinum Executive Travel, which offers RollsRoyce, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley models for hire, in Birmingham. The teenager also helps runs the business. He has more than 160,000 followers on the photoapp sharing Instagram, where he boasts his lifestyle with pictures of his latest cars, and proclaims that he is ‘not your average 19-year-old lad’. West Midlands police said an investigation was under way following the incident, which took place near to the site of the car hire showroom in Yardley. They are asking for information on 101, or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

MIDLANDS VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Birmingham: The envy of his class or his 1000+ Instagram followers, millionaire 19-year-old Aleem Iqbal, who refers to himself as ‘Lord Aleem’, has had four of his super cars worth more than £500,000 set alight in two separate arson attacks. Mr Iqbal, from Solihull, West Midlands, had his flash Lamborghini set alight on Friday 13 June - just five days before three more of his super cars were destroyed by arsonists. The teenager, whose runs a luxury car hire business in Yardley with his father, reportedly said the culprits would be going down ‘for a long time’ - and he would ‘sit back and enjoy the show’ once they did. But the wealthy car enthusiast - who has a number plate on one of his cars reading 1 ORD for ‘Lord’ - admitted the loss was not of a scale that he would ‘lose any sleep over it’. He reportedly said: ‘I run a successful business and these people are just trying to ruin that. I have not

Young entrepreneur Shahbaz to pitch idea in Dragon’s Den for chance to win £5k prize said: “I’ve learned so much through the course. It’s very practical and from the beginning you work on your own business ideas. I’ve been supported extremely well by my tutors and my confidence has soared. I now know how important it is to network and I’ve learned about economies of scale.” He has been developing his idea for a mobile cocktail bar since September and said it is about finding a niche in the market. He said: “I don’t drink and I found that when I went to certain events I was stuck with really boring drinks. There are so many people out there who, for religious, medical, or other reasons, don’t drink, so the idea for some exciting non alcoholic cocktails came to me.” Shahbaz will be pitching his idea to Peter Jones on Tuesday in London, along with the five other finalists. The winner will receive national recognition for their hard work and will be given the unique opportunity to represent the academy as an ambassador for the coming year. They will also receive £5,000 to invest in their business. The overall winner will be announced at the graduation ceremony for all Peter Jones Academy learners at Freemasons’ Hall, London, on July 17.

done anything to deserve this. I work hard and I give back to the community. People say I show off but I don’t. If I wanted to show off, I could say ‘I am the ones with all the car, who are you, you peasants’, but I don’t say that. It is not a loss on a scale where I am losing my sleep over it. But it’s just cowardly and I hope these people are found.’ Mr Iqbal’s father Saleem origi-

Talented student Shahbaz Bhim, pictured, will be pitching his business plan to Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones next week in the hope of winning £5,000. Shahbaz, 23, from Evington, has been shortlisted out of hundreds of other students in similar fields across the UK for the National Entrepreneur of the Year award. He is among only six to make the final after entering his idea for a mobile non alcoholic cocktail bar to cater for weddings and parties. He is enrolled on the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy course at Leicester College, studying BTEC Level 3 Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. Shahbaz reportedly

Dhiren Katwa

Praise for Gujarati Pioneer Birmingham, last Saturday (June 14). Mr Parmar, originally from Mombasa, East Africa, has devoted his life to teaching and over decades has inspired, motivated and

A veteran headteacher from Birmingham has been praised for his exemplary contribution in furthering Gujarati, the Indian language,

and teachings of Hinduism. Septuagenarian Ramanbhai Narottam Parmar was given a standing ovation at an annual children’s cultural programme. The 4pm to 6pm free event was held at at Shri Krishna Temple,

encouraged many, particularly youth, into learning their mother-tongue and their way of life. Mr Parmar continues to be supported by his wife Nirmalaben, and deputy Sumanbhai Mianger, who were also present at last

Saturday’s event. The programme, organised by Balvihar Gujarati School and Sparkhill Gujarati School, featured a series of short performances, pictured, by pupils. Among the most popular was a dance by a duo to Mara Bhola Dil No, the evergreen song by famous singer Mukesh. Other items included songs, prayers, plays and more. Credit must be given to the teachers, paid and voluntary, who have been doing a remarkable job in ensuring that the future British Hindu workforce recognise, appreciate and value their rich cultural heritage and are as well versed in Gujarati as can be.

Keith Vaz MP urges Parliament to recognise Leicester champions

Rupinder Drew, business enterprise manager for Leicester College Peter Jones Academy said: “We’re delighted Shahbaz has been shortlisted for this award – he’s a very worthy finalist. From day one, he has wanted to be recognised as an entrepreneur and now he can’t quite believe he will be pitching to Peter Jones himself. We wish him the best of luck.”

A landlord, from Highfields, has been ordered to pay almost £35,000 in fines after he admitted to not obtaining a licence for shared houses he rented out. Harishbhai Rambhai Patel was prosecuted by Leicester City Council for not getting the authority’s permission to run three houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs). Patel, 56, of Southernhay Road, Stoneygate, Leicester, pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the Housing Act 2004 relating to the three unlicensed houses in Highfields – two in Evington Street and one in Gopsall Street. At the hearing, Leicester magistrates fined Patel £10,000 for each of the three houses. He was also fined £500 for failing to produce the relevent documents and a further £4,000 for eight breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. Magistrates further ordered Patel to pay £4,124.15 in legal costs, along with a £120 victim surcharge. In total, he will have to pay £38,744.15. The law states that landlords must apply for a licence for any property

Landlord fined almost £35,000 for breaches of multiple occupation law

Rock band Kasabian lead singer’s clothes to be sold at Oxfam

with three storeys or more and occupied by five or more people forming at least two households. The regulations are in place to ensure shared accommodation is safe to live in. Environmental health officers from the council visited the properties following a fire at 11 Evington Street in May last year. They stated that neither property met the fire safety standards needed. Officers visited the property in Gopsall Street in September following a complaint. They found it had a faulty fire detection system, damaged fire doors, torn carpets, cracked plaster and broken windows. Ten people were living there at the time. Leicester assistant mayor for neighbourhood services Councillor Sarah Russell reportedly said: “Proper licensing for HMOs is there to ensure the safety of residents and landlords who fail to do so are putting tenants at risk. As this case shows, landlords face prosecution and heavy fines if they fail to comply with the laws – laws which have been put in place for good reason, to ensure that multipleoccupancy homes are in a fit state.”

Leicester East MP Keith Vaz has called for Parliament to recognise the recent achievements of Leicester’s finest achievers. He has proposed that Parliament congratulates the “national and international champions of Leicester” by submitting an early day motion calling for recent achievements in the city to be celebrated. He noted Leicester City’s Championship triumph, Sam Bailey’s X Factor win and Hollyoaks actor Charlie Clapham’s Soap Awards nomination, Lucy Kay reaching the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Frances Quinn for winning the Great British Bake Off, film editor Joseph Fallon for winning a top Hollywood film trailer award, Heather Jacks for winning the Great British Sewing Bee among the city’s successes. He reportedly said: “I am very proud of the exceptional display of talent from the people of Leicester. This year has been unlike any other, with people from Leicester showcasing a wide range of talents to win a greater number of competitions than ever before. We should all celebrate the magnificent achievements of these truly inspirational people.”

Clothes worn by lead singer of rock band Kasabian, Tom Meighan, will go on sale at Oxfam in Leicester city centre. The singer – whose style has seen him model for Umbro, Gio Gio and Deadly Sins – has donated some of his clothes to Oxfam. Outfits worn by the Leicester rock star will be available to buy from the Oxfam charity shop, in Market Street, from Monday 16 June. Tom Meighan is a strong supporter of Oxfam, having previously donated clothes for a “silent auction” last year, which raised £3,000 for its work. The Oxfam shop will be open for two weeks, to coincide with

Kasabian’s highly anticipated homecoming concert in Victoria Park on Saturday 21 June. In a statement, Tom reportedly said: “Some of the clothes I’ve donated have been worn on stage, so you’re getting a piece of my life, I suppose.” Ahsan Sheik, manager of the Market Street store, is encouraging anyone interested to pop in as close to Monday as possible to avoid disappointment as the number of items is limited. He reportedly said: “We are very grateful to Tom for his generous donation. The money raised from it will go a long way to help reduce poverty and suffering.”

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A Sikh man has been jailed for ten years for inflicting horrific injuries on his daughter-in-law, because he thought she was having an affair with a Muslim man. Jageer Mirgind was left blind and scarred for life after 51-year-old Manjit Mirgind cut her wrists and stabbed her in the eyes, whilst reportedly screaming ‘I am going to kill you’. Mrs Mirgind’s children, who are three and six years old, witnessed the horrific attack at their mother’s home in Kensington Gardens, Ilford, East London, shouting for their grandfather to stop. After punching her in the face he

Jail for 10 years for father-in-law who attacked daughter-in-law dragged her into the kitchen where he savagely kicked her before grabbing a knife. He eventually left and went home as his wife called an ambulance for Mrs Mirgind. He later turned himself in at the police station and told them exactly what had happened. Since the attack, Mrs Mirgind has been left partially-sighted in both eyes while the children can no longer sleep alone and have recurring nightmares. Her father-in-law wrongly believed Mrs Mirgind was ‘sleeping with a Paki’ and that she had ‘ruined his family’, when in fact she was the victim of a series of

Rupanjana Dutta

First mangoes, next Paan? cuts and injuries etc. Further, the essential oil contained in the leaves possesses anti protozoan, antibacterial and anti fungal properties. So, this oil kills or inhibits growth of dreadful bacteria causing typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis etc. Chewing of betel leaves produce a sense of well-being, increased alertness, sweating, salivation, hot sensation and energetic feeling with exhilaration. It also

UK

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Victim: Manjit Mirgind

Two businessmen guilty of match fixing trial

prank calls, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. Mirgind, who is a father of four, was jailed for ten years and eight months at Snaresbrook Crown Court. Mrs Mirgind has since moved to Nottingham with her two children.

Two businessmen, from Singapore, have been found guilty of planning to fix English football matches, following an investigation by the Telegraph. Singaporean businessmen Chann Sankaran, 33, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, 43, have been convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery following a trial at Crown Birmingham Court. Former Whitehawk FC footballer Hakeem Adelakun was also cleared of the same charge. He reportedly said he knew nothing about any plot to fix matches. Investigations still

Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, left, and Chann Sankaran

continue in relation to two other footballers, Michael Boateng, 22, and Moses Swaibu, 23, also former Whitehawk players. Sankaran and Ganeshan’s scam focused

on plans to fix matches in the lower leagues. The revelation surfaced after an investigation by the Telegraph, which found match fixers from Asia were targeting games across Britain.

The Asians in Britain are angered over the proposed EU ban on Indian paan. After the recent ban on Indian mangoes, that has affected the local businesses here, this proposal has led them to believe that a certain trend of antagonism is developing against Indian food items across Europe. Jon Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, has expressed concern over this proposal. He was also contacted by local businesses by worried businesses. The Hindustan Times reported that the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) annual report warned of consistent cases of salmonella contamination of paan from the country. Paan or betel leaf that is eaten largely by Indian, especially Gujarati and Bengali communities, are also used during Hindu religious ceremonies and for religious displays. It is traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases as herbal medicines, such as bad breath, boils and abscesses, conjuncconstipation, tivitis, headache, hysteria, itches, mastitis, mastoiditis, leucorrhoea, otorrhoea, ringworm, swelling of gum, rheumatism, abrasion,

Jon Ashworth

increases the capacity of exercise physically, where as mental functions works more efficiently for a longer duration, at the same time it may produce a kind of psychoactive effect causing a condition of mild addiction leading to habituation and withdrawal symptoms. Further, the leaves are very nutritive and contain substantial amount of vitamins and minerals. On Sunday 15 June the MP visited local businesses in Leicester to ask for owners’ views on the

proposed ban and taste paan for himself. Speaking to Asian Voice, he said: “There are a number of businesses across Leicester that sell paan such as Nazir in Evington, They rely on the import of the leaves, which I tried for myself when I visited on Sunday. This ban could have a huge effect on businesses and residents in Leicester, especially in the wake of the recent mango ban. “I understand that contamination is a serious issue and needs to be addressed. But I would urge the Government to clarify its position urgently, and work closely with British businesses and regulators to ensure that the final solution is workable. I have today contacted the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to seek clarification of the present situation.”

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Goans celebrate World Goa Day in London hankering for more Goan Food” says Cyrus Todiwala, proprietor of Assado restaurant “and I am pleased to be one of the few establishments in London to offer authentic Goan cuisine” Rene Barreto agrees that promoting Goan Cuisine is the best way to sell the Cllr Rabi Martin, CB Patel, Cyrus Todiwala and other guests delights of Goa to for initiating World Goa and Portuguese culinary the world that is why Rene Day, it has been actively delights. and his wife Maria joined promoted globally since The first World Goa forces with Odette and Joe 2000 by Rene Barreto a Day was held on 20 Mascarenhas to establish retired banker who resides August 2000 in Goa Today the web based Goan in the UK. It is believed WGD is celebrated by over Culinary Club –the most that Britain has around 40 organisations, across comprehensive source of 8000 Goans live in the globe including information on Goan food Swindon. Canada (Toronto, Speaking after the Rene says “The objecVancouver, Quebec, event Simon Hughes said tive of the World Goa Day Montreal, Calgary), “Goa is spoken of in glowis specifically for Goans to Australia (Melbourne, ing terms where-ever I go reflect on and celebrate in Brisbane, New South Many Goans that I meet, solidarity with Goans Wales), New Zealand, like Rabi Martins who I across the world Goa’s United States (New York, have known for years and language, food, music, culLA, New Jersey, Houston, many others like Rene tural heritage and tradiCalifornia), Kenya, Barreto, Betty Pires and tions. Goans are primarily Mombasa, Tanzania, Gregg Carvalho who I defined by their language Mozambique, Dar es have met for the first time (Konkani) and Cuisine.” Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga, today, contribute a great “Goa continues to be a the Middle East, Portugal, deal to the UK. You are destination of choice for Spain, Pakistan and right to say you have a lot western holiday makers Germany. to be proud of and right to who often return to their Whilst it may not be celebrate it through World home countries with a clear who is responsible Goa Day.”

UK

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Goans from the UK, India, Portugal and Canada came together last Friday at Assado Restaurant in South London to celebrate World Goa Day. Amongst the many guests were Ricky Desouza (Titos Goa),UK Justice Minister Simon Hughes MP, CB Patel of Asian Voice and former president of the Goan Association UK Councillor Rabi Martins “We Goans are sometimes a little too modest and a little too backward in coming forward to showcase our achievements World Goa Day is an opportunity to overcome this shyness and share all that is best about Goa and Goans with our fellow Goans as well as the wider community.” World Goa Day was introduced to commemorate the anniversary of the inclusion of Konkani in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution by the Indian Parliament on the 20th of August 1992, when Konkani was recognised as one of the official languages of India. WGD is intended as a day for Goans worldwide to focus on and take pride in their identity, culture, language, traditions, music and of course Goan Cuisine, which is a fusion of Indian

The majority of people in Britain believe immigrants should speak English and have their access to benefits restricted, a survey has found. The annual British social attitudes poll revealed that 95 per cent of the population think the English language is a crucial part of being British. Furthermore, the survey found that three out of four said a person has to be born in Britain or have lived here for most of their life to be classified as British, and six out of ten think EU migrants should wait three years before claiming benefits. The poll was carried out by the state-funded NatCen group last year and asked 3,000 people. It also found that politicians contributed to anti-immigrant sentiment because of a ‘growing disconnect’ between the ‘Liberal political class’ and mainstream public opinion on the issue. The study states: ‘There is a clear and intense demand for action on the issue from one section of the electorate, a demand that politicians ignore at their peril. Yet responding to the concerns of the vot-

95% Britons say immigrants must speak English

Moor Park Lions 2014 Summer Gala Ball in aid of LEPRA

The 13th Moor Park Lions Club’s annual Gala Ball was held at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London on Saturday, 14 June. This glamorous black tie event was attended by some 300 guests comprising some of the wealthiest Asians including the likes of GP Hinduja, Vijay Patel, Surinder Arora and Dr Rami Ranger. The Gala Ball which is the Club’s major fund raising event was in aid of Lepra, a 90 year old UK registered charity whose Patron is The Queen. The highlight of the evening was the live auction, brought to life by the engaging and humorous style of DJ Nihal, a multi award winning radio presenter at the BBC Asian Network and the special guest of the night.

Parents are under increasing pressure to help pay off their children’s student loans as lenders enforce tighter tests on mortgage affordability. The stringent rules on mortgages, which came into effect in April, with the addition of increasing house prices and soaring student debt, mean that first-time buyers may be stuck when applying for home loans. David Hollingworth of the broker London & Country Mortgages (L&C) reportedly said: “Applicants do not always remember to take student

Pressure for parents to help children pay off student loans loans into account when applying for loans as the money just comes straight out of their salaries, and they forget that it can be a sizeable debt. Some buyers may find they can borrow less than expected.” Summer 2015 will be when the first graduates who paid the maximum £9,000 tuition fees will finish their courses, which means a debt of at least £27,000 for those unable to pay upfront. Whether or not it makes sense to pay off this debt quickly, perhaps with help from parents, depends on a number of factors, including when the loan started — which determines the interest rate payable — and how much the graduate expects to earn once they are in paid employment. It may make more sense for parents to put the money towards a larger deposit on a home to help their child achieve a cheaper mortgage rate, or to invest the money instead. A graduate must start to repay the loan once their salary tops £21,000, with 9% of income going towards the debt. If, however, they are unlikely ever to earn more than the threshold at which repayments start, it is not worth paying off the loan. This is because, after 30 years, the debt will be written off. Maya Schulz, who works for a research design agency, supported her son Amir through university but will leave him to repay his debt when he starts earning. After receiving advice from Chase de Vere, she has decided it is better to invest than to help Amir financially. Her son still feels fortunate, though. Amir, 21, reportedly said, “I was in

S h i r i s h Amin the Club’s President had the following to say about the evening: “The Moor Park Lions is committed to building a better future for those in need within our community and all over the world. I am pleased that the event was a resounding success, thoroughly entertaining for Shirish Amin, Nina Amin, Rami Ranger, Vijay Patel, Gopi Hinduja and our guests and above all raised a other guests tremendous the night were sourced for The evening was a amount for the worthy the event by Bipin Desai. huge success with the Club cause. I would like to They were contemporary raising some £150,000 thank all members of the paintings by Sacha Jafri, a through raffle, auction and Club and our guests for renowned Asian artist, donations. their support on the which raised £71,000. The biggest two lots of night.”

Britain and China have finally ended a three-year diplomatic freeze caused by arguments over human rights and Tibet, marking this with the visit of Prime Minister Li Keqiang to the UK this week. The Chinese PM and PM David Cameron planned to discuss the 30-year-old Chinese ban on British beef and lamb exports as well as relaxing visa restrictions for China. It was announced on Sunday, that Britain would be making it easier for Chinese visitors to apply for visas. Home Secretary Theresa May announced easier forms for visa applicants from China and an agreement to allow travellers from China or India to come to the U.K. on an Irish visa. The ambassador

UK to relax visa restrictions for China to attract business and students

ers worried about immigration today risks alienating the rising sections of the electorate whose political voice will become steadily louder in elections to come.’ The survey, which started in 1983, found there has been a strengthening of negative attitudes to immigration in the last decade – the numbers of participants who believe that people must speak English to be British has gone up from 86 per cent to 95 per cent. NatCen’s chief executive Penny Young said: ‘In an increasingly diverse, multi-cultural country, we might expect people to be more relaxed about what it means to be British, yet the trend is going in the opposite direction. It is now harder to be considered British than in the past and one message comes through loud and clear, if you want to be British, you must speak English.”

requested improving the visa system as a priority. While Chinese travellers can visit most European Union countries on a single visa, they need a separate one to enter the U.K. Li, who arrived in London on Monday evening, met Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Tuesday before traveling to London to meet Cameron at his Downing Street residence for a lunch attended by senior UK ministers and business leaders from both countries. Li will be joined by more than 200 Chinese business leaders, including the chairmen of most of the country’s biggest banks. Cameron visited China for the first time in December 2013 after three years.

Maya Shulz with son Amir

the last year of students who were able to avoid the £9,000-a-year tuition fees.” He also benefits from a lower interest

charge on his loans. He has returned home to Weybridge, Surrey, after studying at Sheffield Hallam University.

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Welcome wind of change all know have made it their mantra to increase their circulation or popularity by focussing on the base attitude of certain section of the population- which is neither necessary or desirable. But who will bell the cat?

UK

As I See It

British media (particularly print) is world renowned for its professionalism and especially respect for values at least in the quality sector. Of all the worldwide national dailies and special publications available online, I am reliably informed, the British titles have the largest number of hits. Why? The respectable British media are willing to publish corrections and regrets. For some of them an ‘apology’ perhaps is too much to travel. But by and large they respect the views of the readers not only for their self interest but for the sake of fairness and justice. So it should be. “Narendra Modi is both pro business and a staunch nationalist. How will he deal with China?”- this was the banner headline of a very thought provoking piece in Banyan section of the Economist issue, 14 June. Well done. Bravo. Economist has progressed from a very small circulation to a very large one in 3 decades. Let me borrow a marketing jingle from the Brook Street Bureau; “it got big by bothering”. When we had justifiable reasons to challenge and criticise The Economist for harking on inappropriate terminologies like ‘Hindu nationalist’ ‘genocide’ ‘mass murderer’ etc, for Narendra Modi, some readers cautioned me, borrowing an old Gujarati proverb, “Don’t quarrel with the big crocodile, if you want to live in the same pond.” (It’s a loose translation. I must admit my limited proficiency in English). On the contrary at least 4 times I received verbal or written communications from The Economist – from their offices in India and main head office in London. Not once was there any threat or ultimatum. Rather my readers must have noticed the sea change in their attitude towards Narendra Modi, BJP and India in general. This makes me proud of being British. In 1961 one Mr Davies in the British Council Offices in Dar es salam, Tanzania inspired me to opt for British citizenship. He spoke about “the self corrective mechanism- a British characteristic”. I must say I have experienced it several times over the last 53 years. Unfortunately there are some other English media including the BBC who do not have the conscience or guts to admit their fault when they are wrong. As far as I know Priti Patel, MP, PM’s Indian Diaspora Champion has not yet received a detailed response from the BBC Director General, Lord Tony Hall (AV page 8, May 31). Indo-British relationship have so many facets and the world’s largest democracy and the oldest have so much complementary skills and capabilities. Objective reporting will avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. British media should beware.

Who cares for children’s education?

Surprise, surprise. This front page banner headline is from the Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 17 June 2014. Migrants do feel increasing hostility in some areas of this great country, though not as much as some claim. Who is at fault? Only politicians? Which one? Perhaps someone will do a proper research and we have to wait for that in the prevailing circumstances. It was very welcoming that the Daily Telegraph proclaimed as per the headline about politicians. But what about some print media? Some as we

“Politicians blamed for hostility to migrants”

I feel very fortunate that I don’t live in Birmingham and I don’t have school going children attending those schools mentioned in several reports about ‘Islamist Extremism in Education’. It is difficult for an average child, whatever religion, or colour when the school they attend is involved in a huge controversy on some fundamental issues. We all know about what the Secretary of State for Education, Home Secretary and Chief Inspector for Ofsted and other academicians have said in the aftermath of that so called ‘hoax’ letter. It is very difficult to know what the truth is. But equally religious bigotry and hatred of the followers of other faith, especially poured in the minds of young children either way is very dangerous and destructive. I have spoken to several Muslim friends and I must admit as a Hindu I may not have the same sensitivity as some who are staunch Islamists. Whatever is right or wrong about these 5 odd schools, the Muslim community in general and the leaders in particular have a major responsibility to seek the truth and guide their community on a certain minimum expectations of behaviour, not just because we live in Britain. Ultimately there should be a primary responsibility to cater correctly for the education of that child. It is all very easy to say, but difficult to see it through in practice. In today’s world, however wonderful it is, it remains really competitive. Education, skilled development and civic sense are of crucial importance for any individual or the community. It really pains me to see academic performances of some certain communities, continuously failing (see chart below). My old friend Dr Qadir Baksh, MBE, PhD has written ‘Interfaith dialogue: An I s l a m i c Perspective’ w i t h Masqood Ahmed OBE, MA. I know Qadirbhai over 30 years. We have w o r k e d together and campaigned together. I received the book on M o n d a y morning and it was launched on Tuesday at the House of Lords, courtesy of Rt Hon Lord Navnit Dholakia, PC OBE DL. I have glanced through the book. There are some important statistics and narrations. Such publications are very important- especially now. I wish the authors good luck.

To celebrate the centenary of Noor Inayat Khan (1914-44) on 16th June, the Chair and Trustees of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust organised a reception at the Royal Overseas League near Greenpark, including the veteran author Frederick Forsythe as the Chief Guest. Noor Inayat Khan was born on New Year’s Day 1914 in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother. She was a direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century Muslim ruler of Mysore. Khan’s father was a musician and Sufi teacher. He moved his family first to London and then to Paris, where Khan was educated and later worked writing childrens’ stories. Khan escaped to England after the fall of France and in November 1940 she joined the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force). In late 1942, she was

Reception held to celebrate the centenary of Noor Inayat Khan

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Asian Peers debate on different facets of the Queen’s speech

recruited to join SOE as a radio operator. Although some of those who trained her were unsure about her suitability, in June 1943 she was flown to France to become the radio operator for the ‘Prosper’ resistance network in Paris, with the codename ‘Madeleine’. Many members of the network were arrested shortly afterwards but she chose to remain in France and spent the summer moving from place to place, trying to send messages back to London while avoiding capture. In October, Khan was betrayed by a

Frenchwoman and arrested by the Gestapo. She had unwisely kept copies of all her secret signals and the Germans were able to use her radio to trick London into sending new agents - straight into the hands of the waiting Gestapo. Khan escaped from prison but was recaptured a few hours later. In November 1943, she was sent to Pforzheim prison in Germany where she was kept in chains and in solitary confinement. Despite repeated torture, she refused to reveal any information. In September 1944, Khan and three other female SOE agents were transferred to Dachau concentration camp where on 13 September they were shot. For her courage, Noor Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1949. A detailed story of the reception will be published in the forthcoming issues of Asian Voice.

Several Peers took part in a debate in the House of Lords to discuss different facets of the Queen’s speech, especially foreign relations and legislative measures announced in the criminal justice system. Lord Bhikhu Parekh Lord Bhikhu Parekh Lord Gulam Noon Lord Navnit Dholakia gave a very insightful the improvements made by Indian administrative system. speech on Indo-British the Coalition government Lord Gulam Noon in a relations, highlighting the to the criminal justice sysdifferent instance spoke current changes in Indian tem. A detailed story will about the Slavery Bill and politics, talking about the be published in the fortha serious crimes bill while changes Mr Narendra coming issues of Asian Lord Dholakia reminded Modi has brought into the Voice. the House of Lords about

Affordable Indian Property Show Harrow 2014 Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd along with Asset India and Gujarat Samachar Anand Mela organized the Affordable Indian Property Show Harrow 2014 on 7th & 8th June 2014 at the Harrow Leisure Centre. This was the first of its kind Property Show Lord and Lady Loomba, Cllr Jagdish Sharma, Cllr Sachin Gupta, Gareth Thomas MP and others organized in Harrow to meet the demands of the Team Indiabulls and like Raheja Universal, local Indian Diaspora Asset India carried out an Indiabulls Real Estate, residing in North London. extensive advertising proAnsal Housing, Wave, The location was chosen gramme which included Wadhwa Group, Hathee keeping in mind the large media advertising (Print, along with other leading and widely spread Indian TV and Internet). Indian Developers showcommunity in Harrow and Advertising at Tube easy access to the venue Underground stations, from all localities in Posters , Leaflet / Flyer London. distribution at Indian The exhibition showareas, Press ads were cased several properties undertaken to ensure high from 15 leading level of awareness about Developers covering cities the event amongst our tarlike Mumbai, Delhi NCR, geted NRI audience. Pune, Chennai, Regular updates about the Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, show as well as Individual Vadodara, Hyderabad and Invites were sent to relePunjab. vant NRI database. cased their Projects at the Customers could The response to the event. choose from a wide range show was extremely Indiabulls Property of properties starting with encouraging with footfalls Show was inaugurated by INR 15 Lakhs to premium of approx 1500 potential Lord Loomba along with properties with sizes rangcustomers over 2 days and Mr. C.B. Patel (Publisher ing between 400 sq. ft. to Developers were able to & Editor of Asian 6,000 sq. ft. Developers close the deals. Business Publication).

- CB

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Dipu Moni; Still Working on her Country’s Foreign Relations Bangladesh’s Former Foreign Minister, the talented Dr Dipu Moni, was in London recently and as I have interviewed her a few times, most recently on film at the President’s Office in Dhaka, I decided this time round that she deserved to be a Leading Light. Dr. Dipu Moni, MBBS (DMC), LLB (NU), LLM (London) MPH (Johns Hopkins) is the first woman to have become Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. Dr Moni is Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the of Foreign Ministry Affairs. Before her induction to the cabinet, Dr. Dipu Moni was Secretary for Women’s Affairs and a Member of the SubCommittee on Foreign Affairs of the Bangladesh Awami League. She is a qualified physician and draws on advanced qualifications in Public Health and Law. She is an Advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. Dr. Dipu Moni represents Chandpur-3 as a Member of the Bangladesh Parliament.

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Leading Lights

UK protagonist of representative politics and women’s participation in the political decision-making process. She is one of the two Master Trainers for Women political Activists of the Party and has trained women political activists under a programme of her party that she helped design and implement in a close relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of the United States. First off, she defended the fact the fact that the principal opposition party in parliament is not the biggest of the government’s opposition parties, the BNP, since it did not participate in the recent January general election. Instead, it is the Jatyo party which also holds a few cabinet posts. Dr Moni said, “Jatyo Party has not wasted a chance to criticise the government. They said that ‘We will criticise whenever we feel it is right to criticise, but we are also going to endorse and praise the government when they deserve it.’ That’s the qualitative change that we have in this parliament and I think it’s a good thing. BNP is a very big party but it was their decision o stay out of the election... If we had BNP with us in elections also, then that would have been better. All I can say is they were badly advised.” Some western commentators have questioned the legitimate position of a government that won an election which the principal opposition boycotted. Dipu Moni replied;

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“The bilateral co-operation is there irrespective of who comes to office. Given the history of the past I don’t apprehend any big change.”

“Every single thing was done according to the Constitution. Some party decided to opt out. But the process fulfils the process of the Constitution so how can you say it’s not legitimate? There is no question about the legitimacy of the government and the elections. Many governments have congratulated us.” She also spoke about between relations Bangladesh and India with a new government. “The bilateral co-operation is there irrespective of who comes to office. Given the history of the past I don’t apprehend any big change. A friendship, an environment has been created by PM Sheikh Hasina. This environment of friendship in the neigh-

Dr. Dipu Moni

PM David Cameron has ordered that every pupil be taught about the “British values” enshrined in the famous Magna Carta document, signed 800 years ago. The prime minister said children from all backgrounds should be taught about the document credited with establishing the rule of law and paving the way for parliamentary democracy. This is the first acknowledgement by the Prime Minister of how the government intends to make schools promote British values in the wake of the Trojan Horse scan-

PM emphasises British Values on 800th anniversary of Magna Carta dal, in which some schools in Birmingham were subject to an alleged Islamist takeover. Cameron revealed that he will use events over the next year to mark the 800th anniversary of King John’s signing of Magna Carta as the centrepiece of a fightback against extremism. The PM reportedly said, “I want to use this anniversary as an opportunity for every child to learn about the Magna Carta.” Cameron was set to host a reception in Downing Street to kick off a year of events to com-

Dr Moni’s principal focus has always been women’s rights and entitlements, health legislation, health policy and management, health financing, strategic planning, social development programmes and foreign policy issues of the region and beyond. Dr. Dipu Moni represented her leader and party’s position to Cabinet Ministers and public representatives of Asia, Europe and the USA, Ambassadors and Senior Representatives of International Institutions. She writes, teaches, con-

sults, researches, conducts programmes, advocacy organizes and leads free health service clinics with a pool of qualified physicians, and promotes legislation on key issues. Educated at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Dhaka Medical Collegethe country’s premier Medical School, and at the University of London, Dipu Moni undertook specialized courses at Johns Hopkins and a course at Harvard on Negotiations and Conflict Resolution. Dipu Moni is an avid

bourhood.” Dr Moni commented that power sharing can be a way forward. “We are doing trilateral things with BangladeshNepal-India; BangladeshBhutan-India to harness the tremendous potential. Nepal and Bhutan have the resources [for hydro electric power] and India and Bangladesh; we have this huge need.” Finally, she approached the thorny issue of radical Islamisation, saying that it is being addressed. “Being in government we are trying to do our best. It’s a multi-pronged approach. One is tackling the law and order situation. The other is countering terrorism. At the same time we are pursuing our deradicalisation efforts with madrassas and other institutions. Specially children who are in the institutions. So we are doing it and in that process religious leaders are playing a very big role. All the imams are also involved. They preach during their Friday sermons. They talk about these problems. They address these issues. Other Islamic leaders who do not preach terrorism or extremism are also participating in this process. We have done quite a lot but we have to do a lot more. The Government is doing its best.”

A tycoon, nicknamed 'King Con' who boasted he was friends with the wealthy Hinduja brothers, conned investors out of £12m by courting them with Champagne parties and trips on private jets. Ketan Somaia, from Bayswater in London, could face years behind bars after he wooed his victims with luxury trips on private jets, Champagne parties, extravagant dinners and expenses paid trips to Dubai, Kenya

Tycoon who conned investors out of £12m faces years behind bars and South Africa. The 52-year-old owned an office in the wealthy Mayfair area and a large residence in the exclusive north London suburb of Hadley Wood - favoured by Arsenal and Spurs footballers - and reportedly insisted on serving his guests only cases of vintage Dom Perignon. However, behind the scenes, he was exploiting his unaware victims to get his hands on their millions.

memorate the charter’s signing on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede. The commemorations mirror those marking the centenary of the First World War, with school lessons, television programmes and public events combining to raise awareness. The document was made to limit King John’s powers after a baronial revolt. It stated the principles that no man is above the law and everyone has the right to trial by a jury of their peers, as well as protecting private property and limiting taxes.

Ketan Somaia

Somaia was convicted of nine counts of obtaining money by deception totalling nearly £11.7million after a trial at the Old Bailey.

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Money out of misery

YOUR VOICE

Honours for the privileged

Way forward for Mr Modi

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

School Education

It has been reported that as a result of falling wholesale prices, energy companies are expected to increase their annual average profit per home on a dual fuel tariff from £44 last year, to £96. Since December 2013, wholesale gas prices (which make up half of a typical energy bill) have dropped by about a third and are at their lowest since 2010. These figures are in stark contrast with the energy price rises implemented by each of the big six last winter. With wholesale costs at their lowest since 2010, the pressure on energy suppliers to drop their prices accordingly is likely to mount. Now that they are expected to make so much profit, would the suppliers return some of our money back? We need to have power, we need to use gas to stay warm in winter and cannot revert to using cow dung or wood for cooking and heating. People who suffer most from the indiscriminate high prices are are retired senior citizens who have nowhere to go during the day, and to avoid heating bills, they stay in cold and damp houses and suffer from depression and other illnesses and be a burden on the health service. The solution is to nationalise the companies providing the indispensable utilities like gas, electricity and water and or subsidise the cost of these utilities. Instead of giving aid to foreign countries which in fact carry a chip on their shoulders against us, let the charity begin at home!

The honour system, first introduced during the heydays of the Raj epitomizing unselfish service by British citizens on battlefield, in colonies and entrepreneurs on home in every profession, has been hijacked by politicians of all persuasions to reward their friends, political disciples and influential people. The starstruck fiduciary Foreign Secretary William Hague who was hugging the limelight in the entourage of Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie bestowed the honour, albeit an honorary one she being American citizen has surprised everyone. Although super-rich Ms Jolie is indeed a goodwill ambassador sacrificing her time and lending her support to a good cause, as rape is widely used as weapon of war on innocent women, but she hardly needs such accolade that may be distraction rather than a reward. No wonder some of our own leading community members have declined such Honours in the past. In theory, such Honours are decided by an independent egalitarian committee but in reality equivocate politicians have huge influence that is detrimental to the Honour system, thus devaluing it for the genuinely deserving recipients. This is fiddle-faddle relics of colonial era that needs drastic invigoration, reorganization if not outright demise.

British way of life

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Ramadan and diabetes

Kumudini Valambia By email

During the election campaign Narendra Modi faced opposition not only from within India but also from outside. Political opposition with different views and ideals is very important in a democratic system. But the opposition Modi faced did not have anything to do with political philosophy, new ideas or innovative vision for the country. It was a vitriolic campaign of personal insults and condemnable lies, all designed to make sure he cannot be at the helm of Indian national affairs. But the people of India have given their verdict of what they thought about such a campaign against him. Modi is a very practical man. The campaign strategy he had followed proves what he is capable of. There are two distinct points he needs to reflect on. First, the opposition he faced would not lie down. They will raise their ugly head as soon as there is an opportunity. Second, the people of India have voted him with an overwhelming majority. They have formed a certain expectation of the ideas and policies he had propagated and especially of his leadership. It will not be an easy task to satisfy such a huge expectation. Thankfully he has made a very good start with ten point programme and insisting on every minister to produce an innovative plan for his/her department within the next hundred days. It is obvious he means business.

I was little puzzled and disappointed in reading Mr Javid’s views (Immigrant must respect the British ‘Way Of Life’ Says Sajid Javid). I have been here in this country for over 40 years, and have noticed that most immigrants normally speak enough English to get by, and most respect the law, and get on with their lives. Yes there are a few old people who due to life styles and culture values and age may not speak fluently. How has this anything to do with respect British way of life. I find that since we have joined EU we have more issues with communications as majority of Europeans do not speak or understand proper English. Mr Javid should be aware of cultural variations and lifestyles. I have no racial views either way, but am proud of the Asian population who are at forefront of business’s and social improvements through Britain. I would certainly like more clarification on his comment “I know people myself I have met people who have been in Britain for over 50 years and they still can’t speak English”. He goes on to say its perfectly reasonable for British people to say look if you are going to settle in Britain and make it your home you should learn the language of the county and respect its laws and its culture.” I find this remark very narrow minded for a Culture Minister to make is disappointing. Naresh Govindia By email

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As Ramadan approaches, your Muslims readers who have diabetes may be thinking about whether or not they should fast. This year, fasting periods could last more than 17 hours, which can be dangerous or cause health problems for people with diabetes, particularly if they manage their condition with insulin or certain medicine as they may be at increased risk of dehydration and extreme high and low blood glucose levels. We want to spread the message that if people with diabetes do decide to fast during this period – and they don’t have to – then they should eat food that is absorbed relatively slowly, such as basmati rice, pitta bread chapattis and dhal, before they begin the fast. These types of foods and fruits and vegetables can help keep blood glucose levels more even during the fast. It’s important to check blood glucose levels more frequently than usual so that people can, if necessary, break the fast if their blood glucose level drops too low. Many Muslims think that testing blood is considered breaking the fast, but this is not the case. It’s also a good idea to break the fast with a handful of dates and a glass of milk or water and to choose healthier options such as vegetables and fruit. People should also try to eat these kinds of foods again towards the end of the feasting period, just before sunrise, and they should drink plenty of sugar free fluids to avoid dehydration. Muslims with diabetes who are decid-

Father’s day

Dr. Jatindra Saha By email

We have celebrated Father’s Day. Ironically it fell on “Sunday”. Today fathers’ unsung and thankless efforts are brought out in public domain, with retrospection and ado of celebration. Father is described as a tree which serves a shadow, bouncy adventureland, whipping board, resource for shelter/furniture, fruits etc. Yet for wrong doing by kids, father gets the blame. The generation gap widens as children grow older, at one point they do realise the protective influence of father who carried them in troubled times. Father may point at two sets of footprints-his and child’s. When asked about one set of footprints, father mentions that he carried the kid when it got tired. Live correctly as father, and have faith in children. They will imitate and grow up right. But keep in mind that there are genetic factors that influence their behaviour variations. Enjoy all the felicitations. Remember that a father is as old as his children make him feel. Ramesh Jhalla By email ing whether to fast during Ramadan should speak to their Imam and healthcare professional or call the Diabetes UK Careline on 0345 123 2399. They can also download information on fasting safely throughout Ramadan at www.diabetes.org.uk/ramadan Roz Rosenblatz Diabetes UK Regional Manager

In the 1960s and 1970s, most grammar schools and secondary schools were replaced by comprehensive schools. In total there are 20,000 schools. The concept of “academies” was introduced very recently. In 2010 there were only 200 academies. By March 2012 the number rose to 1,635 academies. Another concept is “free schools”. These were introduced as an extension of the Academies Programme and are still funded by the government but not controlled by the local authority and may be set up by parents, teachers, charities and businesses. A series of reports by the schools inspectorate into 21 Birmingham schools found an atmosphere of intimidation, a narrow faith based ideology, manipulation of staff appointments and inappropriate use of school funds. Academies elsewhere also had problems. Aldhelm’s Academy was conned out of more than £1million in a simple email fraud. E-ACT runs 31 state-funded freeschools and academies around England that have opted out of local authority control. The Education Funding Agency report highlighted a culture of “extravagant” expenses, “prestige” venues and first class travel at the E-ACT group. The OECD report on school performance league tables among 65 most advanced countries found that UK had fallen from 4th to 14th in Science, 7th to 17th in Literacy and 8th to 24th in Mathematics between 2000 and 2006. By 2010, it had fallen further in Maths to 26th and in Literacy to 25th. Academies and free schools concept is flawed and not an answer to incompetence in teaching and learning methodologies.

Modi’s magic touch

Nagindas Khajuria By email

Gujaratis should not be disappointed about any anti-Modi sentiments expressed in certain sections of the media. Narendra Modi did a brilliant job as chief minister of Gujarat and he is poised to do an even better job as India’s prime minister. I predict that very soon the whole of India will punch the air and break into a Bhangra dance to celebrate Modi’s magic touch, enhancing everyone’s lives with his “economic revival” mission and also making a massive impact on the world stage. We look forward to editor CB Patel’s analysis in his excellent “As I See It” column in Asian Voice on Modi’s first 100 days as prime minister. Rudy Otter By email

Karma Yoga House substantial reduction in 12 Hoxton Market (Off Coronet Street)

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

11 EDUCATION/COUNCIL VOICE workers rally to Government should pay back £55 Domestic oppose modern day fast-track fees for passport, says May slavery in Britain situation and that people were being held ransom by a crisis engulfing the Home Office. The Home Secretary has yet to offer an apology to get a grip on this crisis and is still offering nothing to comalready paid to have their passport application upgraded. Furthermore, though Theresa May has said she “understood the anxiety” of people waiting for passports, and promised the Government would do “everything it can while maintaining the security of the passport to make sure people get their passports in time”, it has emerged that the Government is planning on pulling frontline border staff from their usual roles for up to six weeks in order to deal with the paperwork backlog. A leaked internal email seen by a national Daily shows a request signed by Philip Astle, the Border Force’s director of national operations, for staff to volunteer to transfer across to HMPO. The comes only days after ministers blocked a proposed relaxation of checks on overseas applicants for British passports in order to help tackle the backlog. Migrant domestic workers gathered at Old Palace Yard, Westminster on Sunday, 15 June to demonstrate against the government’s changes to the domestic workers visa. They also handed a petition to Downing Street on Monday 16th June, which has been signed by thousands, calling for the reinstatement of the Overseas Domestic Worker visa. Despite strong opposition from many individuals, organisations, charities and unions, the government, in April 2012, abolished the rights of domestic workers to change employer once they are in the UK. the Tied Under Domestic Worker visa, implemented by this government, domestic workers entering the UK have become modern slaves. They are ‘tied’ to the one employer (who brings them here) making them much more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse and preventing enforcement of the employment rights they are supposed to be entitled to. Thousands of migrant domestic workers have found themselves in this situation of being ‘tied’ to their employer, with no redress if they are abused and exploited and living with the added fear of deportation if they speak out. These workers, some of the most vulnerable workers in our society, are enraged that after decades of campaigning to get the same rights and privileges we all enjoy, this government demolished their achievement by replacing Overseas Domestic Worker visa with the Tied Domestic Worker visa. Diana Holland, Unite assistant general secretary, said: “It had taken many years of campaigning to get some of the most vulnerable workers in our society the same rights and privileges that everyone should be able to count on, but this government has demolished these vital achievements. “Justice for migrant domestic workers cannot be swept under the carpet by this government. They have reintroduced modern day slavery and Unite and others are absolutely committed to ending it and reinstating the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa.” Kate Roberts, Kalayaan community advocate, said: “Given this government’s stated commitment to combating slavery in the UK we are dismayed at its rejection of the important recommenof the Joint dations Committee for the draft Modern Slavery Bill to reinstate the original visa and corresponding rights.”

In what has been a complete mess for the Home Office, many are still awaiting passports, which have backlogged to around 30,000 passports, despite some paying the extra £55.50 to upgrade the service. Even though Home Secretary Theresa May has announced measures to help clear the 30,000 passport backlog this week, including waiving the fast-track fee, a number of people have already paid the extra money to upgrade. Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called on the Government to repay the £55.50 fast-track fee many people have paid for their passports. She said that the proposed refunds could come from Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s (HMPO) £73 million surplus from last year. She reportedly said: “It is unacceptable that the Passport Office should make money out of their own incompetence in handling this

Ethnic minorities encouraged to become their own boss black or black British, and over 1,200 by people who are Asian or Asian British. Businesses led by people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds include motivational seminars, a pastry shop and a counselling service. Former Gulf War veteran Nasir Unia set up Major Motivator, a team of serving and former military personnel who use their unique experiences to deliver motivational seminars and success coaching sessions. Interest in his company has been so great that Nasir works in schools and colleges across the UK inspiring young minds to overcome their challenges and live up to their full potential. Natasha Simpson was signing on at Forest Hill Jobcentre Plus when her adviser told her about the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). She had wanted to set up a counselling business for some time and used the expertise of her mentor to live her aspiration and is now a successful counsellor, working in Forest Hill, Beckenham and Westminster. People on the scheme get expert help and advice from a business mentor who will help them to develop their business idea and write a business plan. If the business plan is approved, they are eligible for financial support payable through a weekly allowance over 26 weeks up to a total of £1,274. Participants can also access a loan through the BIS start-up loan scheme. Minister for Employment Esther McVey said: “As the economy continues to grow this new generation of entrepreneurs may well go on to create the jobs of tomorrow, and I would call on even more people from diverse backgrounds

pensate those people who have paid out for the chaos within her department. She should remedy this immediately and pay back the fees to all those who have to pay for an upgrade through no fault of their own.” The Home Office said that the temporary changes and refunds do not include people who had

Budding entrepreneurs from all ethnic backgrounds are being encouraged to take advantage of a scheme to help them to become their own boss, as new figures show that so far it has helped to set up around 5,600 businesses led by people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. In Britain there are an estimated 300,000 ethnic minority-led small and medium sized enterprises contributing an estimated £30 billion to the national economy. Across the country, 46,000 businesses have been set up through the New Enterprise Allowance, which offers expert mentoring and financial support to people over 18 on Jobseeker’s Allowance, lone parents and people on sickness benefits who want to start up their own business. Over 3,000 businesses have been set up by people describing themselves as

to take advantage of an expert mentor to get their business ideas off the ground. My message is don’t miss out on your chance to turn be in control of your own business and secure your future.”

Tower Hamlets: fake voters, now fake councillors?

Tower Hamlets Council has come under fire after police were called to investigate a list of ‘bogus’ candidates in the Tower Hamlets by-election. The investigation has been widened to include fake candidates, after at least two fielded by the borough’s extremistlinked mayor, Lutfur Rahman, pictured, in last month’s elections appear to have given false addresses. One of the candidates is standing again in a council by-election next month using a different name from the one he gave only three weeks ago – and a second, apparently false,

address. Writing any sort of false statement on a nomination paper is a criminal offence and is punishable with up to six months’ imprisonment. It seems to have been done to conceal the fact that Mr Rahman’s candidates

do not live or work in the borough, as electoral rules require. The candidate who has used two different names appears to live on the South Coast, more than 60 miles from Tower Hamlets. This comes in the wake of the controversial East London council, headed by British-Bangladeshi mayor Lutfur Rahman, being accused of blocking efforts to be more transparent after a journalist was thrown out of a public meeting. Political blogger Ted Jeory was removed from a meeting at the council after he complained of inadequate seats for the press.

12

MEDIA WATCH month to see if the return to the trend is sustained, and there is, in fact, a revival of global said Commerce demand,” Secretary Rajeev Kher. (Hindu, Times of India, Mint June 12). Latest figures reveal increased industrial output and declining inflation, encouraging signs of economic recovery (Business Line, Hindu June 13)

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Speaking at the launch of a book – “Getting India Back on Track” – by Bibek Debroy and Ashley Tellis, published by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spelt out his vision for an economically regenerated India fulfilling the potential of its demographic dividend, with the teaching profession, educated in India and abroad, empowering the country’s new generation with the learning skills to take India forward. He spoke of a new Green Revolution in agriculture focused on protein-rich pulses, of the furtherance of the milk-yielding white revolution through improved cattle breeding and healthier livestock. He dwelt also on the benefits of solar energy, clean water, the welfare of fisher folk and lightening the dead weight of bureaucratic sloth and inefficiency (Hindu June 9)

BrahMos missile

Mumbai’s new Metro

Mumbai’s spanking new Metro rail service opened with a bang. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, befitting the

President outlines Government agenda

Addressing a joint session of Parliament on the Government’s agenda for the revival of the Indian economy, President Pranab Mukherjee laid out a series of comprehensive reforms to curb inflation, ignite the

Sanand in Ahmedabad district for the establishment of industrial parks, including a China town with housing complexes for the visiting staff. The Chinese consortium is expected to invest an initial $200 million, according to Jagat Shah, Interim Secretary-General, China-India Trade and Investment Centre. A delegation of 15 Chinese compa-

is already in service on the Russian-built Rajput-class destroyers and Talwar-class frigates, this was the first occasion for the weapon to be put through its paces from a locallybuilt warship. Constructed at the Mazgaon Dock, the 7.000tonne Kolkata is the lead vessel of three being built under the Indian Navy’s Project 15-A. INS Kolkata and its peers will each be fitted with 16 BrahMos missiles (Hindu June 10)

tant to India and it has its highly qualified staff…..India can reprocess its spent fuel or even store it," said A n z h e l i k a Khaperskaya, Chief Manager of Russian state company Rosatom (Mint June 10)

Mars Mission on correct course

Kundakulam nuclear unit hits full power

Mumbai Metro

President Pranab Mukherjee addressing Parliament

investment cycle, the rationalization of the tax regime to restore domestic and international confidence in India’s growth prospects. The promise of reforms in the coal sector and the urgent need to swell the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through liberalized rules in the defence sector, including production of weapons systems spread cheer in the market raising the Sensex to a record high. Most mutual funds were in the black after eight years. There would also be greater attention to agriculture including facilitation of transport from fields to market and the introduction of preventive measures against hoarding and other forms of malpractice. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who sees the States as drivers of development, has drawn them into a discussion on the introduction of a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) to replace the plethora of local taxes now in existence. The GST would lead a seminal expansion of business across the country. It was a measure the previous Congress-led government attempted to introduce without success through a then fractious parliament. Its BJP-led successor, with an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, is more like to get the legislation through (Business Line June 10, 11)

nies, accompanying Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made an exploratory trip to Ahmedabad with these projects in sight.

occasion, took the first 11.4kilometre ride from Versova, Andheri, Ghatkopar corridor. This should make a major difference to commuters making their long accustomed journey on overcrowded journeys from the suburbs into the heart of the teeming metropolis. Because of Mumbai’s elongated shape, its transport problems have been especially challenging, but India’s engineering skills have partially alleviated the hazards of urban travel. The Metro’s first pains of labour have pitted the State government against private developer Reliance Infrastructure’s fare structure. The Bombay High Court is to adjudicate.

The first unit of the Russianbuilt nuclear power plant at Kundakulam in Tamil Nadu achieved its maximum 1000MW power. This was later brought down to 900MW by the Atomic Energy Authority. The power is going to the southern grid which links the States of Tamil Nadu,

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) received a boost when the Mars Orbiter Mission ground controllers successfully corrected the spacecraft’s trajectory. This complex manoeuvre put the spacecraft on the right path to Mars, with descent, as per schedule, on 24 September. ISRO Chairman K.Radhakrishnan said the manoeuvre was “precisely done.” M. Annadurai, the Programme Director, endorsed the claim: “Everything went perfectly well. We are happy because this is in a way a simulation” for the landing on the Red Planet. Project Director S. Arunam elaborated: “ Its payloads have been operated and checked. All the systems and sub-systems are doing well.” (Hindu June 12)

BJP’s loose cannon

Two-way relationship

Murals

Sun Jian Qhiang, Managing Director of JBON Control Industry, said: “My brakes manufacturing factory in China has been exporting to India for the last five years. After visiting the automotive cluster site in Sanand, I have decided to invest in Gujarat.” Said his colleague Teng Min Liang, Managing Director, Zhejiang TIN Electric: “I met several interesting companies in Gujarat for joint ventures in voltage stabilizers and I will proceed with one at the Chinese industrial park in the Ahmedabad district soon.” Jiquan Chen, Managing Director, Yalong Scientific Company said, “I am interested in representing a Gujarat company in China to promote educational equipment and software in a two-way relationship.”

Exports surge

However, the inauguration was celebrated with considerable gusto with Reliance Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina in the lead. The spectacular murals in the stations were the work of students of art and architecture, a reminder of the depth of talent available locally and throughout country. Most of the chosen students would go to their assigned ‘studio’ after college hours. For many, the Metro station became their second home. “We know the station like the back our hands. We became friends with the staff and workers,” said one student. Mumbai is the fourth Indian city with a Metro after Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore. Next in line, after Mumbai, will come Chennai and Kochi metros, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively, where work is in progress.

India’s former Army chief V.K.Singh is proving to be a loose cannon for his embarrassed political masters, whom he joined a few months before the general election. Singh’s Kundakulam nuclear reactor long discredited vendetta against the Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, with Army Chief-designate General Tamil Nadu, the most industrialDalbir Singh Suhag was revived ized of the three, talking most of through his twitter feed in lanthe electricity generated. The guage unbecoming of a minister. Kundakulam project involving This provoked Arun Jaitley, the the most advanced nuclear techtemporary Defence Minister, to nology is currently India’s issue a statement in Parliament largest. The second unit is due that Dalbir Singh Suhag is to be for completion next March, and India’s next Chief of the Army there will be two more units to Staff. Period (Hindu, Times of follow making the entire project India June 12) of 4 units generating a total of 4,000 MW of power. (Hindu Drowning tragedy June 8)

Reprocessing fuel

Russia has said India has full liberty to reprocess the spent fuel from the Kundakulam nuclear power plant, as it has its own facility with highly qualified staff to do so. “Spent fuel is impor-

Twenty- four engineering students from Hyderabad, on holiday in mountainous Uttarkhand, were washed away when water from a damn was released, allegedly without adequate warning. Young people cut off before their prime, is surely the most poignant of tragedies.

Chinese investments in Gujarat

A group of Chinese companies has shortlisted three sites near

Led by a leap in exports of engineering goods, petroleum products and readymade garments, India’s overall export performance has recorded double digit 12.4 per cent growth, its best figures in seven months. The trade deficit has narrowed by 42.01 per cent to $11.23. “The return to double-digit growth after several months is encouraging news, but we will watch the the export performance in the next

BrahMos test-fired from destroyer

BrahMos, the India-Russia supersonic cruise missile, was test-fired for the first time from an India-built destroyer, INS Kolkata, which is yet to be commissioned. The test was carried out at Karwar, off the Karnataka coast, on the Arabian Sea. While the 290 kilometre-range missile, which travels to its target at three times the speed of sound,

Narendra Modi on board aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, with caption, Report next week

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

When Barak Obama made his inaugural speech upon election he specifically mentioned Hindus. The Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, not in this speech but a previous one, upon the election of the coalition Government specifically mentioned India. It must be nice to be wanted. ‘Britons have made a national sport out of saying the country is going to the dogs since they handed India back in 1947,’ wrote a journalist for the National Post during the British General Election campaign. Now the PM has said Britons need to be less humble. They do, they need to let India know what the Chinese PM sees in Britain and why the Chinese are ‘all over Britain’. David Cameron vowed to build a "new special relationship" with India, believing the country can become a major political and trade partner. And there is much reason to believe this is more than rhetoric. Firstly, he has stated this as Prime Minister. Second, back in 2006 his first trip abroad as the then new leader of the Conservative Party was to India. Answering on his blog (political blogs are far more revealing than political speeches – as many unguarded politicians have discovered to their cost) why he is visiting India he wrote, ‘Our relationship with India goes deep. But I think it can and should go deeper. Our special relationship with America is well known. But as the world’s centre of gravity moves from

Show India What China Sees in Britain

The Russian wealthy are being squeezed out of London’s most luxurious areas by super-rich investors from India. Russians have long ranked first among foreign buyers in terms of their spending power. Settling only for superluxe homes in the swankiest districts of the capital, the oligarchs have, if not invaded, then certainly made an impact — the city has even been branded Londongrad. Yet this is all set to change, with the ‘new kids on the block’. Extremely high-net-worth Indian buyers, investors and developers have bought more than £1bn worth of property in Mayfair over the past 18 months, according to Wetherell estate agency. They also accounted for more than one in four purchases in London W1 during the same period. That is second only to Britons, with Russians and Middle Eastern buyers together adding up to 13%. “We still have Russian money coming in, but it’s a lot more low-profile,” says Peter Wetherell, the agency’s managing director. “Mayfair is now the number-one area for Indians.” Other areas under the eyes of wealthy Indians are St John’s Wood and Belgravia.

Indian Investors outbid Russians in London’s wealthiest areas Indian buyers have always been attracted to the Capital, most significantly during the Edwardian period, when His Royal Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad moved between his properties in Mayfair, Belgravia and the luxurious Hyderabad House, at No 6 Palace Green, in the heart of Kensington. Businessmen and their families are now setting up their home in the same areas, prepared to spend upwards of £50m, if not

Europe and the Atlantic to the south and the east, I think it's time for Britain and India to forge a new special relationship for the twenty-first century. For too long, politics in this country has been obsessed with Europe and America. Of course these relationships are, and will continue to be, vital. But serious and responsible leadership today means engaging with much more energy in the parts of the world where our strategic interests will increasingly lie.’ We need to show more Indian investors what Tata has seen in Britain. What the Chinese who are desperate to invest in Britain see; the infrastructure, the market size, the ease of doing business. India needs to see the new close ties between China and UK as a signal the Indian PM should be coming to the UK – pronto. When one considers India neighbours the nuclear armed on-off democracy of Pakistan, and a nuclear definitely nondemocratic China, and add temperamental Russia to the north, then again the maths is simple: Britain is of vital strategic importance to India’s national security interests. The problem is not that these issues are unknown, but a willingness and ability to act on them. Only in 2006 did the RAF and IAF hold their first ever joint exercise. It remains to be seen though whether anyone in the new government has grasped the opportunities out there for a brave, externally focused India.

Fears of Islamists infiltrating classrooms were intensified last week when Ofsted placed 5 Birmingham schools into special measures. Now, there are further fears that the Islamic school extremism has spread to another British city, after Ofsted inspectors moved into a school in Bradford. A team from the education watchdog visited Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College last week and are expected to visit a second school, Carlton Bolling College, in the next few weeks. Both schools have links to a governor believed to be behind the takeover of schools in Birmingham, where Ofsted found evidence that a strict Islamic ideology had been imposed. The extent to which hardline Muslims influenced schools in Birmingham was exposed in a report by Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s chief inspector, published last week, which described a “culture of fear” among some head teachers. It emerged yesterday that Tahir Alam, pictured, who was accused of being the “ringleader” of the Birmingham plot, made repeated trips to Bradford to address a Muslim education forum. One of the schools in Bradford also has links with Park View Academy,

Trojan Horse plot thickens

UK

13

which has had its funding cut after Ofsted inspectors reported that teachers were discouraging girls from speaking to boys and governors were “meddling in the day-to-day running of the school”. The trust which runs Park View rejected Ofsted’s findings, saying that the report had been politically motivated. Other claims have been made that several head teachers at Carlton Bolling and Laisterdyke have been placed under persistent pressure to promote Islam, abolish Christian assemblies and restrict the teaching of dance and music, according to staff and officials. Staff members and non-Muslim governors have also raised concerns about female pupils not being given equal access to school trips and alleged that efforts were made to remove Christianity from the curriculum.

Meanwhile, Police, government and city officials in Birmingham have drawn up plans to deal with any protests over the so-called Trojan Horse scandal. They have reportedly formed a “cell” of police officers to monitor social media for signs of protest by those angered at the decision to place five schools in Birmingham in special

Fears of Trojan Horse backlash

measures or by right-wing groups seeking to exploit tensions. A Whitehall source said: “It’s fair to say there is concern about community cohesion ... that’s not to say people are going to start rioting tomorrow, but it’s a balancing act. We want to make sure that right-wing groups aren’t going to exploit the situation in places like Bradford and Birmingham.” There has been similar anger in Bradford, Luton and Tower Hamlets in east London where a further five schools are being investigated. In response to the revelations, PM David Cameron called for “more muscular” a defence of British values in schools on Sunday. Whilst ex-PM Tony Blair also spoke out against the alleged plot by hardline Muslims to take over schools in Birmingham, referring to it as being the same “warped” Islamist extremism practised by the Nigerian terror network Boko Haram. Speaking on Monday, Mr Blair reportedly said that UK schools had been caught up in an arc of radicalism stretching from Britain to Africa and Asia.

£100m, for a beautiful showpiece home that can be passed down the generations. They are also looking for big investments. Indian developers based in Britain or overseas have residential projects worth £500m scheduled in Mayfair alone over the next five years. The Lodha Group, India’s largest residential developer, recently bought the Canadian High Commission on Grosvenor Square for £306m, beating Russian buyers to it.

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Thursday June 5th saw the latest event held by Women Empowered. The theme for the night was on how one could harness the power of the internet and social media and posed the question that in a world on 7 billion people can one person really have their voice heard? Newly appointed Councillor, Reena Ranger welcomed the guests and explained the rationale of the evening’s event by saying “When we first pictured this event it was through the somewhat naive and narrow lens of how social media has transformed people’s ability to start ventures from home or anywhere and how it can be used to differentiate and market those ventures to a wider audience at a relatively low cost and with relative ease. “Enterprises can now tap into markets and geographical locations they may have never heard of and reach more people than they could ever have imagined all with the touch of a button. But recent events in India, Pakistan, Syria and Sudan have really shown us what people power and social media can do. “It can bring worldwide attention to causes and events that have been taking place for decades but just have been unspoken and or unseen by the world because there was no way to get the message out to so many, so quickly. But social media has now changed that – our eyes and ears can now be opened in realtime” The speakers for the evening included Rupa Ganatra, co-founder of Men’s e-commerce site YesSir.com and brandussocial.com, which organises Social Media and Digital

How To Have Your Voice Heard

UK

Lord Loomba calls on DFID to work closely with UN women to include the plight of widows Lord Loomba spoke in a debate on International Development, which was included in Her Majesty’s gracious speech on the opening of the session at the Westminster Palace. He praised the Department for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development (DFID) for giving aid to India and many other developing countries to promote gender, equality and empower women. However, he informed the noble Lords that one group of women in particular widows, who face economic and other challenges in their lives, is ignored. He added that there are 245 million widows and 500 million children around the world, who are discriminated against. Many of them suffer physical, physiological and sexual abuse. He stressed that Department for International Development should try to end these practices. Lord Loomba closed his speech by asking the Department for

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Photo courtesy: Sriram Sivasankaran

conferences for the fashion and beauty industry, Farzana Baduel, founder and managing director, Curzon PR, a Londonbased strategic public relations and digital communications agency and Sunny Hundal, author, journalist, blogger and academic. He is best known as the former editor for the UK’s most popular centre-left blog ‘Liberal Conspiracy’. Rupa Ganatra talked about the use of social media in the recent electoral campaign of Narendra Modi in India and how he was engaging and having a conversation with millions of people every day through its use. She emphasised how one must engage with their clients and customers. Farzana Baduel provided a full and insightful talk into social media and the benefits to the business. She said that often for certain businesses social media may not generate leads or revenue, but it is a medium for communication with your clients. Sunny Hundal talked about social media and his journey. He told the audience how he started as a blogger after feeing constrained by mainstream media. He shared tips on blogging learnt from his own experiences and men-

tioned that blogs should be short and interesting. He also spoke about ensuring content on social media should be applicable and relevant and went on to advise on what should be avoided when posting on sites. Special mention were made of Sriram Sivasankaran for the pictures taken at the event and stall holders Raishma Islam of Raishma Ready to Wear, Preema Verma of Reesa Rocks, Parita of Uniflora and Sukhi Bhogal a Wellness Nikken Consultant. Mona Remtulla, cofounder of Women Empowered, closed the evening proceedings by adding, “We hope that today will inspire you to harness your own inner media centre and through the journeys, advice and wisdom of Rupa, Farzana and Sunny, navigate your own way through the world wide web to make your own mark and have a voice that can be heard whether it is for a cause or your business.” She went on to say that Women Empowered has seen the power of social media in highlighting causes and how one person really can have a voice that can be heard.

Shefali Saxena

The Indian General Elections and After

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development to work closely with UN Women to include the plight of widows in the post Millennium Development Goals framework. Correction In the 12th June issue of Asian Voice coverage "Asian Community kickstarts summer with fantastic Anand Mela” Indiabulls and Miss Manasi Nayyar was misspelt. We apologies for the inconvenience caused. ments that lose elections.” During the debate, panellists also critiqued, how ‘development’ as a term was ambiguously used in Modi’s speeches, Subir Sinha from SOAS said, “He puts the model as if it’s his initiative and win.” Sharing his views about Modi’s foreign policy, Rahul Roy Chaudhury from IISS appreciated the fact that Narendra Modi has led the SAARC initiative in his swearing ceremony. He believed that Modi’s priority is to have a stable neighbourhood and domesticize the economy. The round table discussion imperatively highlighted that there was a need to recognise Modi as the Prime Minister, and not as the former Chief Minister of Gujarat. While on one hand he was rigorously compared to Nehru and Indira Gandhi due to the centralisation of power, on the other hand, the panellists agreed that there is a dire need to have efficacy in the management of the country. sage and facilitates our personal needs. To search painstakingly for someone native becomes impractical and unsociable and subverts its very essence. Luckily Subhash does practise open-mindedness, and equanimity prevails over the malaise of ethnic exclusivity. Must-Read 2014 And so, providing a contemporary reflection on global politics, ‘The Lowland’ is riveting journalism that will compel young adults and older readers alike. Rather than blaming any individual state all are encouraged to foster a benign sense of community that stretches across nations: “I’ve never understood the category of immigrant literature,” Lahiri concluded at the lecture, “we are all immigrants in some way.”

Sunetra Senior

Lahiri: Joining Generations ‘The Lowland’ then agressive nationalisms are what drive family tensions. The crux of the story lies with first brother Udayan becoming a violent Naxalite; this devastates Subhash and all their loved ones for years to come. This is not a chastisement of patriotism but rather the extremist means through which it tends to be realised. In killing a civil servant Udayan undermines any noble intention and becomes as underhanded as the state. There is great pathos when he is tracked down by the police, illegally marched behind his home and shot in the back: “that was the impetus for the novel,” Lahiri told us. “Hearing about an anonymous brother who was executed at Tollygunge.” Accomplishing nothing politically, Udayan only intensifies the pain of an already tumultuous homeland for those closest to him. Fearful before, his parents become empty vessels. Brother Subhash

Few writers can simply communicate the profound. American-Bengali writer Jhumpa Lahiri is one such person. Her fiction grapples with the nebulous topic of post-colonialism to produce an honest account of the immigrant experience. Making the Man Booker shortlist for 2013 ‘The Lowland’ is her latest feat. In the book, two brothers Udayan and Subhash, are forever impacted by the Naxalbari movement that shook West Bengal in the seventies. As disillusioned students they are caught up in the insurgent activity exploding across their prestigious Presidency campus in Kolkata. Those at the college were rebelling against social inequality and what they perceived to be a perpetuated imperial hierarchy even after British rule. In

The newly appointed central government has not even completed a month, yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains a pivotal point of global debate. SOAS, University of London, held a roundtable discussion on ‘The Indian General Elections and After’ at Russell Square last week. Organised by Prof. Gurharpal Singh and Heewon Kim, the debate revolved around the 16th Lok Sabha elections which were held against the backdrop of major political and economic challenges being faced by Indian democracy. This workshop brought together some of the leading political scientists and commentators working on India like Prof. James Manor, ICS, Prof. Sandeep Shastri, National Coordinator of Lokniti Network, Jain University Bangalore, Subir Sinha from SOAS, Prof. Christopher Jaffrelot, CNRS and King’s College, Rahul Roy Chaudhary, ISS, Uday Mehta, CUNY, New York and other research scientists from SOAS. They reviewed the key issues that dominated the campaign, and examined in detail the electoral performance of the nationit is crooked capitalism or fevered communism, militant ideology strains the family unit as a microcosm of the nation and disturbs the very people it claims to protect. Lahiri’s position as a mother reflects on the development of this concept. Subhash taking responsibility for his abandoned niece represents an end to imperialism for future generations. Pursuing a deeper personal interest in Natural Science, he distances himself from the senseless power-politics in India and helps Bela to release her full potential. Joining a commune she is a trailblazer like her birthfather Udayan but channels that virtue in a way that is wholesome; preserving the environment. As long as it is about values that enrich our lives

al and regional parties in shaping the 16th Lok Sabha. The dramatic transformation in the behaviour of the voters especially after AAP’s success in Delhi state elections and Nitish Kumar’s power in Bihar was a much contested argument. Explaining the cause of this unprecedented change in the mandate, Prof. Shastri highlighted and said, “Voters in India are making a clear distinction between state and national level vote.” Prof. James Manor discussed how the collective negative rating of Trinamool, AIDMK and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was lesser than the negative rating of Congress according to the Lokniti polling. But he also mentioned that the UPA had achieved inclusive growth and it reached the poorest in the country. “This government did it,” he said. While some speakers critiqued the BJP’s expenditure during the elections which is believed to be around 1 Billion USD, they couldn’t deny that the engagement of Congress in systematic selfharm proved to be a catalyst for BJP’s victory. Analysing the 2014 elections state wise, Prof. Gurharpal Singh said, “It’s not the parties that win elections. It’s the govern-

goes from feeling cowardly to being racked by guilt and Udayan’s widow Gauri, a pawn in his brutal plot while pregnant with their daughter Bela, turns from tentative to cold. Thus the government is given a face through a civilian and its tyranny is depicted a contagious mental epidemic. Whether

and not the dogmatism that keeps us separated Lahiri is supportive of cultural identity. A cosmopolitan feeling underscores the final step in the family’s emotional liberation. In discovering her biological paternity Bela realises how much her adoptive father has done. Consequently the intimacy issue left from Gauri as an absent mother figure is completely expunged and Bela can finally feel close to her American partner Drew. Because Gauri’s aloofness stems from the trauma of Udayan, it is really his jingoism and the social homogeny it could have bred that is exorcised here. In the modern-increasingly nomadic- world it is reasonable that Bela should bond with internationals. Culture exists to equip us emotionally e.g morals, rites of pas-

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Rupanjana Dutta

Small increase in number of Asians granted titles es to Tax Policy Work l Mrs Nosheena Mobarik, OBE - Chair, CBI Scotland, for services to Business and public service in Scotland OBE Talvinder Singh l Matharoo - Tabla player, Producer and Composer for service to Music l Ms Sharmila Nebhrajani Chief Executive Association of Medical research charities to service to medical research l Mrs Kavita Oberoi Founder and managing director, Oberoi Consulting service to Entrepreneurship and Start Up Business l Anupam Ojha Director National Space Academy, for service to Science and Education l Belinda Parmar - CEO Lady Geek for service to Women in technology l Faisel Rahman – Founder and Managing director fair Finance for service to Commercial Finance l Mrs Trishna Devi Pall Singh - Director, Sikh Sanjog, for service to the Community in Edinburgh, particularly to the Sikh community l Shahien Taj MBE Executive Director Henna Foundation, for service to victims of honour-based violence and forced marriages l Mrs Nisha Tandon Chief Executive, ArtsEkta, for service to minority, ethnic communities in Northern Ireland MBE l Dr Jayshree Bagaria Health Advisory Department for the International development of humanitarian services in South Sudan l Anjan Kumar Banerjee Deputy Managing Director, Pope Woodhead Associates and Hon Consultant Surgeon, Bedford Hospital, NHS Trust for service to patient safety l Mrs Sarah Khan Bashir - for service to the community in Bradford, West Yorshire l Amrik Singh Bhabra Chief Executive ADECS and President, Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce for service to business and the community l Kumarendra Das Associate Specialist in Trauma and Orthopaedics Friarage Hospital, North Yorshire, for service to trauma and Orthopaedic surgery l Dr Nirmal Chandra Dhar - for service to Community cohesion in the West of Scotland l Mrs Jaya Chakrabarti Gallemore - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nameless, for service to the creative and digital Industry and to the community in Bristol l Majid Hussain Executive Director Accrol Papers, for service to Business and the community in the North West of England l Mr Jitendra Chottabhai Patel - services to healthcare l Aisha Rashida Rehman - operational Team Leader National Security Unit, Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, Home Office, for service to Public protection l Hajeet Seeboruth Fingerprint services manager Met Police Service, for services to finger print examination l Milan Shah - Director, Varani Food Products and Chair, Board of Governors, University of Northampton, for service to business and the community in the East Midlands l Dilawar Singh - for voluntary services to ethnic minorities sports and the community in Glasgow l Dr Mohammed Jiva General practitioner Rochdale, for services to general practice l Amrit Paul Kaushal Vice President Association of Indian Organisations for services to community cohesion in the West of Scotland l Rajen Odedra - Prison officer HM Prison Belmarsh for services to H M Prison service and the community in Essex l Javid Ibrahim Isap Assistant Officer Benefits and Credits, Security and Information Management team, Preston, H M Revenue and Customs for

Queen’s birthday honours

UK

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The Queen’s Honours List made public on June 13th, announced Angelina Jolie as the first Dame from the world of Hollywood. It also included a Knights Bachelor for Professor Tejinder Virdee, a famous experimental physicist, who helped originating and overseeing the construction of Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), experiment at CERN’ Large Hadron Collider, with four other colleagues and has been referred to as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the project. The list has another 45 people of Asian origin, a small rise in the total number since the New Year’s List in 2014 (35) or the birthday list of 2013 (38). But the number still continues to disappoint the Asian community, given their overall contributions in the British society. The honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life and committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. Civilian gallantry awards recognise bravery by people who have attempted to or saved the life of a British citizen who isn’ a family member or close friend. Whether someone gets an honour - and the honour they get - is decided by an honours committee. The committee’ decisions go to the Prime Minister and then to the Queen, who awards the honour. l Richard Rustom Kharsedji Sorabji, CBE, Hon Fellow, Wolfson College Oxford and Professor Emeritus, King’s College London - services to Philosophical Scholarship

Belinda Parmar

Tejinder Singh Virdee

Dr Mohammed Jiva

Anupam Ojha

Talvinder Singh Matharoo

Kavita Oberoi

public and voluntary services l Muhammad Ayyub - for service to the Asian Music in UK

Knights Bachelor

CBE l Mrs Sunita Dinesh Mason - for services to Public Protection l Ammar Yusuf Mirza for services to Business and the community in the North East l Salim Mitha - for servic-

Civil List Order of the British Empire

BEM l Gurcharan Singh Chatwal - for services to the community in the London borough of Hounslow l Anwar Khattak founder Birmingham Youth Sport Academy. For voluntary service to Community Sport l Dharam Bir Lall - services to the community and Business in Essex and in the London borough of Newham l Yasvender Singh Rehill - Police Contable West Yorshire Police, services to Policing and Community Engagement in Bradford l Hari Dutt Seth - services to the Indian community through the Indian Senior Citizens’ centre, Manchester l Abu Zafar - Founder and owner Orient Press, services to Business and to the Asian community in Bradford l Habiban Nisa Zaman services to women in

British Empire Medal

Sharmila Nabhrajani

Milan Shah

Projects task Force, FCO, services to new and innovative ways of working and diversity in the Foreign Commonwealth Office West

North Kirklees, Yorkshire

Knights Bachelor Overseas l Tejinder Singh Virdee Professor of Physics Imperial College, London, services to science

Diplomatic service and overseas

British government rejects Diwali and Eid holiday kept away from this debate. An online petition calling for a day off for these festivals celebrated by Britain's Hindu and Muslim communities attracted 121,843 signatures and was passed on to the House of Commons

OBE l Nikesh Ashvinkumar Mehta Counsellor Foreign Policy and Security, British High Commission, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, services to British foreign policy, British interests in Malaysia and to promoting diversity l Wasim Mir - Head

Order of the British Empire

OBE l Athithan Chelvanathan - service to healthcare Aerospace Medicine and Air Niugini l Dr Amyna Sultan - for service to medicine and healthcare and eye to surgery

Papua New Guinea Order of the British Empire

OBE l Ronald Eshwardeen Ramjattan - for service to business MBE l Bishnunarine Tulsie for public services (This is not an exhaustive list)

Saint Lucia Order of the British Empire

Leicestershire’s Holly Desai was crowned runner-up in the Miss England final. The 22-year-old trainee accountant, from Swannington, placed second out of 60 finalists from across the country in last night’s final in Torquay. Holly said: “Obviously I would have liked to have won but I’m really proud I came second. It’s a great achievement,” The top spot was taken by Miss Cambridgeshire, Carina Tyrell.

British Gujarati crowned runner-up in Miss England final

Holly Desai (right) with Carina

The UK government has rejected the idea of declaring Diwali and Eid as a public holiday or bank holiday as they are known in Britain, suggesting that it would affect the country's economy. An e-petition titled 'Make Eid & Diwali Public Holidays' on the UK government website sparked widespread debate across online chat forums, especially those aimed at British Muslims and Hindus. In contrast, a counter-petition titled 'Do Not Make Eid and Diwali Public Holidays' received just 35 signatures. In fact many religious and community leaders had also

This week paid subscribers of Asian Voice will receive a copy of the 14th Finance, Banking and Insurance magazine with their paper

Backbench Business Committee responsible for scheduling debates on e-petitions that crossed 1,00,000. The Department for BIS has now provided its decision, ruling out any further national holidays.

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The 14th Finance, Banking and Insurance magazine was launched in the Members Dining Room of the House of Commons on Thursday 12 June, amidst an intimate audience of MPs, Chief Guests and talented businessmen and women. The event, hosted by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, was sponsored by Bank of Baroda and the designated charity was Silver Star. n its 14th year, the FBI has become one of the only recognised financial publications that is tailored to both the Asian Business community and also to our local environment. The FBI issue covers a wide range of financial topics and subjects. Addressing the audience, host Keith Vaz MP said, “It is a huge pleasure to be able to host this very important FBI event and I know from looking at this guest list that all of you have a particular interest in Finance and Banking. And I want to pay tribute to the legendary CB Patel for the work that he has done for

Tanveer Mann

Successful Launch of 14th Finance, B FINANCE, BANKING & INSURANCE (FBI) www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

I

ployment is going down and prosperity is going up. For some of you who have struggled over the last few years, therefore I think this is very welcome. FBI is extremely important.” CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat

L to R - CB Patel - Publisher/Editor ABPL, Rajneesh Sharma - Deputy Chief Executive Bank of Baroda, Kris Hopkins MP Minister of Housing, Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Sailesh Vara MP releasing the 14th Finance, Banking & Insurance Magazine

Sponsored by

Samachar said, “The most inspiring observations and feelings about the 14th

ferent from other high street banks, he said, “our exposure in UK is extremely significant. We have ten branches in UK and our basic intention is to provide best customer service to all our Indian colleagues.” Manoj Ladwa, Founder and Chief Executive at MLS Chase, Founder of India Inc

said, is an opportune time to be launching this publication, opportune because the Chancellor is giving his Mansion House speech but also because there has been an immense change in the country that many of us share our ancestry with, India.” “From a developing nation to a developed nation, you have access to money and access to knowhow in India and I ask you all to consider India as a

allowing you to invest more into your profits and your business.” “Thanks to your efforts the economy has grown. We have a strategy that benefits business now so tonight, let's celebrate the great success of the business Asian community out there and tomorrow let's go back to work building the financial security this country needs.” An award was also given out at the launch for

Commons, was present to share her thoughts on the magazine. She explained, “This new magazine celebrates the contribution that Asian Business makes to the UK economy and also obviously the potential of that contribution to improve our balance of payments and trading with areas of the world that are developing and growing. In my previous jobs in the Treasury and Home office where we dealt with visas, I

Kris Hopkins MP

Rajneesh Sharma

CB Patel

Manoj Ladwa

Angela Eagle

Keith Vaz MP

the Asian community over the years. Because if it wasn't for CB Patel and his remarkable newspaper and his great team led by George, we would not be able to chronicle the incredible rise of Britain's

Rakesh Shah compering at the event

Asian communities from where it was 30 to 40 years ago to where it is today. “All of us welcome the fact that we are seeing a change in the economic fortunes for this country with some key indicators indicating that we are doing better, that unem-

FBI are firstly, the expanding horizon of the Asian participations into the wealth creating sectors of Finance, Banking and Insurance and secondly, every year, so many new guests attend, illustrating that our traditional traits have been permeating so profoundly in our next generation. I really feel humble that in the last 14 years, probably 3000, if not more, budding entrepreneurs and professionals have thought it fit and proper to attend the fabulous celebrations as well as visit the maker of the Parliament – perhaps for the first time.” The Sponsor Rajneesh Sharma, Deputy Chief Executive of Bank of Baroda spoke about the legacy of the bank. He joined Bank of Baroda in 1982 and has worked in various departments at various capacities. He is known as a credit specialist and is presently in UK operations as deputy Chief Executive. Speaking about the history of the bank and how they are dif-

and Communications Director for the hugely successful Narendra Modi for PM Candidate said, “It is an absolute honour and pleasure to be here at the 14th FBI launch and I congratulate both CB, George and

destination to look and invest. I don't think we can be agnostic about India. I believe that the Empire will strike back.” Chief Guest Mr Kris Hopkins, MP, Minister for Housing said, “I am absolutely delighted to be here. We're here today with some of Britain's finest Asian businesses building something with sheer hard work. Those values are shared by everybody in the room today, no doubt you all Rupanjana Dutta - Associate Editor of ABPL faced obstacles garlanding the Chief Guest Kris Hopkins that you had to overcome. You know the scale of British Rupanjana and the entire businesses faced four years Gujarat Samachar/Asian ago. A nation saddled with Voice team for not only prodebt and an economy strugducing a such a fantastic gling to grow. When the publication but being so coalition came to power, we consistent over the years knew that British could not and I would particularly like be successful, unless we to thank Keith Vaz for the support private sector. Now tremendous support you we are cutting red tape, we give to the community week are cutting corporation tax, in week out. This, as Keith

'Businesswoman of the Year', the winner of which was Susan Whelan. Having been appointed as Leicester City’s Chief Executive Officer in July 2011, Susan assumes executive responsibility for all aspects of the Club’s day-to-day management. She was initially appointed to the Leicester City Board as the owner’s representative when King Power completed its takeover in 2010. She is a Board Director of King Power International Group where her responsibilities include the commercial strategy for the groups duty free and airline businesses and named the Businesswoman of the Year in 2012 by one of Ireland’s leading publications for women. She said, “I am very humbled and honoured to be here this evening, particularly in this historic location. I really want to say thank you so much to all of you who voted for this award. It really is a great honour.” Angela Eagle, Labour MP for Wallasey & Shadow Leader of the House of

know the importance of getting that right so you can go and do your business but I also would like to take the opportunity of joining in the celebrations for the contribution that the black and ethnic minority communities in this country actually make. Thank you for the contribution that you make. We are all interested in ensuring we support you and your endeavours.” A raffle also took place, with exclusive prizes including a bottle of House of Commons whiskey and a two-day trip to Brussels for two. The winners of the raffle, announced at the end of the evening, were Deepa Sugathan from Silk Route Legal, who won the bottle of Whiskey and the Brussels trip was given to Mr. M. Popat. Keith Vaz also gifted two guests a copy of his own book about his 25 years of parliamentary service. The evening closed with networking, drinks and canapes.

Photo courtesy: Raj D Bakrania, Prmediapix

Banking and Insurance Magazine (FBI) www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

FINANCE, BANKING & INSURANCE (FBI)

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Jack Shah & Jesal Afifi-Sabet of Namaste Travel along with Ms Bhavini Kalaria of The London Law Practice

Vivekanand Jaganathan of Silk Route Legal, Bhupinder Singh - Bank of Baroda Southall Branch, Ashok Bhatt - Bank of Baroda - Algate Branch

Bhavesh Bhudia of KDMD, Satish Patel & Kam Padhra of Infinity Property Solutions, Dipesh Hirani of VMS, Vijay Chandras of Mark and Co Solicitor, Ramesh Hirani of Express Payroll

Suresh Vagjiani of Sow and Reap, Meraj Alam of Haathee Group, Darshana Ubl of Entrevo

Mr Paresh Patel of Westlakes Stationers, Mr Kiran D Patel of MGR Weston Kay LLP, Ms Shalini Bhargava of Aschfords Law, Mr Mukesh Mamtora of Forum Insurance Ltd, Mr Bhavesh Kapadia of Kapman Accountants

Hargovind Mistry and Ramesh Mistry of Hari Aum Holidays

Ravi Pattani, Anand Pattani of Sovereign Safe Deposit

Ramnik Hindocha and Pradeep Narayanan of Sam Travel

Paresh Patel of Westlakes, C B Patel of Asian Voice, Dinesh Khetani of ABK Interiors, K K Patel of KBMD

Jalal Kajani (Seraphine Hotels), Ashok Bhatt (Bank of Baroda) Mansoor Popat (Eden Plaza), Akbar Bata

Pratibha Dewan and Paresh Raja of Market Financial Solutions

Vikram Patel, Nick Wedgbury, Arpita Srivastava and Rasik Kotecha of Secure safe ltd

Gurpal Gill, Director, Miravue Skin Clinic, Kishore Parmar, Kishore Gohel and Kamlesh Patel, Director, B A Finance

Louis-rhys Harvey (Advance Wealth), Kris Hopkins MP, Chris Clarke (Advance Wealth)

Susan Whelan presenting the winner of the charity raffle draw winner Deepa Sugathan of Silk Route Legal

Susan Whelan Leicester City’s Club Chief Executive Officer receiving Bsuinesswoman of the award from Kris Hopkins MP

CB Patel presenting the charity raffle draw winner Ketan Patel of Sow and Reap with a Meerkat

Rt Hon Vaz MP along with charity raffle prize sponsor of two tickets to Brussels Hermenegildo Vaz of Travelpack & Harshad Kothari collecting the tickets on behalf of the winner Mansoor Popat.

L. George COO ABPL presenting the winner of raffle draw winner Chris Clarke with a Coffee table book on Rt Hon Vaz MP in the parliament.

Zaheed and Zahra NIzar from Landlet Hotel group

Mohsin Jamil CEO of Tradenext with his team

Mr Jas Kondola of Barclay Bank, Mr Darshan Roy of Zoom Finance Ltd, Mr Harsh Ondhia of Lall Ondhia Ltd

Guests at the FBI event

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

I write to you from Singapore. Singapore a financial centre made famous by the trader Nick Leeson. I’ve just given a speech to a room full of entrepreneurs and was struck by how many are women entreprenuers. Far more than I would have found in the UK. A room with about a thousand entrepreneurs and about forty percent were women. So what about in trading – how come women do not rule the world? After all, they make great traders – the research proves it. There can be little doubt about male dominance when only one out of a hundred of the UK’s largest companies are headed by a woman. Even in the US, it’s a similar proportion of women who head Fortune 500 companies. How ironic. Research shows 46 per cent of all US businesses are owned by women, and employment at women-owned businesses is growing at 18 per cent, compared with 8 per cent for all companies, according to business magazine Forbes. Actually, US women have an average net worth of £1.96 billion compared with the men, at £1.45 billion. And when it comes to investment, research also shows women make better investors than men. Luckily for men, there is much they can learn from women. What is it women do in stock picking, research, trading, that produces better results and how can men use the web to close the gender gap? Women’s portfolio’s earned 1.4% annually more than men’s did in a study of over 35,000 investors by the University of California at Davis. Indeed single women earned 2.3% annually more than single men. Poor male performance is due to over-trading according to the study. Men trade their accounts 45% more often than women. And single men shuffle their holdings 67% more than single women. Perhaps the adage about men’s fear of commitment is true after all. A National Association of Investors Corporation tenyear study found all-female investment clubs outpaced all-male investment clubs by producing 23.8% average compounded lifetime annual returns compared to 19.2% for male clubs. So what lessons are there for men? After all, as a sex, we men are always ready and willing to learn from women, aren’t we? Do not male drivers at the first opportunity admit they are lost and ask passers-by for help? First, save transaction costs by not churning your portfolio. Second, men should spend more time researching before investing. Fear of making a mistake was 50% to 60% higher among women than among males according to the US National Center for Women & Retirement Research. Consequently, women spend 40% more time than men researching and are also less likely to trade on a ‘hot tip’. Third men need to reign in their overconfidence. 52% of men express confidence in their ability to invest wisely, compared to just 38% of women according to the American Savings Economic Council. Men are overconfident in their abilities to pick market beating stocks. This in turn often makes women better traders – more risk averse, awaiting clearer market signals for good trading opportunities and more diversified. So what do women need? A little more confidence to start investing, but not so much as to make them bad investors, appears to be the difficult resolution.

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

Emerging markets hold key to high return When it comes to looking at investment opportunities in the next 2 to 3 years, it is very important to understand where we stand in the global investment cycle. Emerging Markets are now back in the limelight after a stellar performance of the European and North American Equity Markets. After the dot com crash in 2000 to 2003, UK, USA and European markets rallied to reach all-time highs in 2007. Emerging markets followed a similar cycle. The crash and recession sparked by the US housing and debt crisis that began in 2007 with markets reaching new lows are finally regarded as over and are in well entrenched in a recovery phase as witnessed by alltime highs in many major market indices such as the Dow in the USA and the Sensex in India. The UK and USA equity markets are beginning to look fully valued by many fund managers and institutional investors. So they are beginning to look outside of this box for investment opportunities. Why should this matter for Emerging Markets (EM)? Although many Rakesh Shah emerging markets have had very strong returns on equities in the last 5 years, they are still seen as strong growth economies with GDP growth of high single digits or more than double the growth when compared to European nations and the USA where GDP growth will be in the low single digits. This in theory should result in outperformance in the stock markets of these countries. A major factor in the realisation of superior returns will be the continued ‘return of confidence’ to EM markets. 1. With political turmoil from Ankara to Kiev, the threat of the Chinese housing bubble bursting and many concerns in the Chinese shadow banking system, investment has slowed in certain EM markets. With lower valuations, they are looking relatively attractive. 2. Currency valuations for the Indian Rupee look to enter a period of stability, with the election of Narendra Modi. The confidence vote has already been expressed with a move sharply higher in equity markets post-election results. The net effect may be a rise in the value of the Indian Rupee in the medium term, assuming the positive effects of policy change. 3. In increasing number of well managed companies to invest in, where both growth in domestic and foreign markets will lead to a rise in demand. 4. The herd mentality. With huge number of investment institutions under-represented in the emerging markets sector in global equity market indices, we will see continued buying from pension funds and investment organisations wishing to diversify and deploy cash into investments. 5. The phenomenon continues where EMs are increasing in the percentage of market share of the global economy and this trend is set to continue. China will overtake the USA as the world’s biggest economy and the only dispute is when this will officially happen. 6. For pensions and longer term investments, ultra long term trends matter and investment into this sector is invaluable, especially in India which will soon have the biggest working population in the world with a very low average age. The top 4 performing equity markets in Q1, 2014 were (i) Indonesia (ii) India

India's exports rose over 12% to $28 billion in May, the fastest pace of growth in seven months, on the back of improving demand in the developed markets and partly due to depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. The recent run of good numbers -from exports to core sector and auto sales - have also raised expectations of a better positive industrial growth. Factory output has been falling for two straight months and is putting pressure on the overall growth rate.

India’s exports grow by 12 pc in May

Data released by the commerce department showed that during May, most of the large export sectors such as engineering goods (22% rise to $6.1 billion), petroleum products (near 29% increase to $5.9 billion), readymade garments (25% to $1.5 billion) and pharmaceuticals (10% to $1.4 billion) put up a healthy performance. Gems and jewellery appeared to be the sole laggard among the major product categories, rising 1.4% to $3.4 billion.

Arundhati Bhattacharya is the first woman to head India’s biggest bank, State Bank of India. In her eight months as head of India’s largest bank, she has increased income from fees and extended the product range for the British market to include children’s savings accounts. The latest annual profits were up 37% year-on-year. She aims to open tax-free Isas and savings-related mortgages in UK. The bank has 10 UK branches in places such as Manchester, Leicester and Southall, west London. It has 170m customers in India. Bhattacharya, 58, grew up in the steel city of Bhilai, where her father was an engineer. When he retired without a pension, the family struggled and she worked at the local school to makes ends meet. She joined SBI as a probationer in 1977 after university. Last month she was listed 36th in Forbes’s top 100 most powerful women in the world. Bhattacharya lives in Mumbai and is married to Pritimoy, a retired computer science professor. They have an 18-year-old daugh-

Banking is easier than teaching kids: Arundhati Bhattacharya

(iii) South Africa and (iv) Brazil, with Indonesia up over 20% and India much further behind at 8%. 7. The general economic picture of developed economies with regards to interest rates is that they will remain low for some years to come. With low yields over here, money will chase higher yield opportunities over the next 5 years. It is getting harder to find high growth opportunities locally and more managers are looking overseas. With these opportunities, the FX risk must be taking into account also and the outperformance in these markets may be hampered by currency fluctuations. Keep an eye out for currencies that strengthen very quickly, as crashes can happen as we saw with the Brazilian Real during 2008 where it lost 35% of its value in just a few months. Be prepared and keep a stop loss in place when you see this happening. The writer is an Advisory Fund Manager at Kingly Capital Ltd, based at Sun Global Investments, 106 New Bond St. London. W1S 1DN. 020 7290 6930 and can be contacted on rakesh@kinglycapital.com

ter, Sukrita. When asked her about her earnings last year, she said it was about $40,000 (£24,0009). The earnings is over and above perks such as a car, a house and unlimited medical benefits. She lives in the bankowned house in Mumbai. She and her husband own three apartments, a twobed room apartment in Calcutta, a three-bed room house in Mumbai and a tiny one-bedroom one in Bangalore. She began her career as an assistant teacher. She says that teaching children is more difficult than managing the bank. She says SBI’s commitment to Britain is quite deep. “We came here in 1921 as the Imperial Bank of India long before Indian inde-

Arundhati Bhattacharya

pendence in 1947. We have a very large Indian diaspora that is comfortable banking with us. We started retail operations in 2011 alongside our wholesale banking. We are also looking at upgrading our technology, bringing in tax-free Isas and savings-related mortgage products.” On being the first woman to lead India’s largest bank, she said it was very challenging and also very satisfying. “I think it’s a symbol of change and the path India is taking towards empowerment of women in general.” One India’s tax system, she says that at present it mainly revolves around the salary earners, but it has to change in order to get more people in the tax net.

Former SAP AG top executive and Va d o d a r a educated Vishal Sikka has been named as the the Chief Executive Officer of Infosys. It is for the first time the company has chosen an outsider for the role of CEO. India's secondlargest IT services exporter said Executive Chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy would step down, nearly a year after he was brought in from retirement to help the company better compete with rivals including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. Sikka's biggest challenge as Infosys CEO will be to fill the leadership vacuum created by the exodus of senior executives, many of whom were responsible for key business sectors and winning clients, analysts said. Sikka will take over on August 1 from current CEO S.D. Shibulal, who along with Murthy, Executive Vice Chairman S. Gopalakrishnan and four others founded Infosys in 1981 by pooling together $250.

Vishal Sikka is new Infosys chief

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

The Property Pyramid

REAL ESTATE VOICE

19

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Suresh Vagjiani

In the current economic and political climate investors from many parts of the world are looking to the central London property market not just as a safe haven. Purchasing in London is often considered a means of keeping wealth safe in an asset which is tangible in a city in which investors can have faith in a robust legal system and relative political stability. For this and various other reasons London has more than once ranked top of the urban centres considered to be the most important by High Net Worth individuals. The last Olympics served to highlight London's attractiveness on the world arena. London also boasts some of the world's best universities and some foreign High Net Worth Individuals are purchasing properties in London for children who are coming to study (presumably hoping to save on paying rent and make an investment at the same time). London is no longer seen as just a place to keep wealth safe in times of uncertainty. Its appeal is widening beyond its safe haven status. Even whilst global threats such as the euro zone and sovereign debt crisis recede, and the US begins tapering its stimulus programme, transaction numbers have increased. There has been a surge of 37% in transactions since last year in prime central London. However currently there does seem to be a mood of ‘let’s wait to see what happens’; the market seems to be slowing down, the average number of applicants registering with agents has decreased. And stock levels are increasing. The average viewings have increased by 70% before making an offer, from the same time last year. New mortgage approvals have also decreased for the last few months according to the British Banking Association. The above is more applicable to properties priced at over £2m, this effect is yet to trickle down to lower levels, as prices are still currently rising in this segment. There are clear signs that buyers are becoming more sensitive to higher priced properties in London. The general election in 2015 brings with it uncertainty, this serves to create uncertainty in the London property market.

F r o m a p e r s o n a l pe rs p e c t i v e t h i n g s d o s e e m t o b e c o o l i n g d o w n , t h e re ar e m o re g o o d d e al s l a n d i n g o n m y t a b l e t h a n t h e r e w e r e sa y s i x m o n t h s ag o . T h e s e t e n d t o b e h i g h e r v a l u e d e a l s . S m al l e r st o c k i s s t i l l s e l l i n g f o r h i g h e r m o n e y t h a n i t sho ul d. A recent example was Lot 13 which sold in the Savills auction on Monday morning. The property was a one bedroom, 10th floor ex council property in a tower block in Maida Vale, requiring modernisation with a long lease. Similar properties are on the market from £450k. We were prepared to bid up to £370k on this property as a long term hold. The price through fierce bidding went way over the guide price of £290k, it went at £436k. This little litmus test shows the market for smaller value properties is still strong and selling for silly money. Perhaps there is some reason as to why the market is behaving this way. The traders and heavy long term property veterans don’t tend to focus on the small BTL segment of the market. These are more for the ‘want to be’ landlords and novice investors, those who get inspired by the daily dosage of auction programmes. The more sophisticated investors who have weathered through

previous downturns are more able to detect and are more sensitive to signs of downturns in the property market. These are likely to have accumulated more wealth and therefore the sign of cooling will be seen higher up the property pyramid; and not in the lower ranks where most of the buyers reside. Here there exists a herd mentality where prices are driven often simply by the fact that other people are buying therefore I must also be buying. It is prudent perhaps to pay attention to what is occurring in the higher echelons of the property market rather than how the common man is behaving. With elections looming next year this could be the start of a dampening of prices. H o w e v e r o n e m u s t g e t t h i n g s i n t o pe r sp e c t i v e ; t h i s i s pr o p e rt y. A c r as h i n t h e p ro p e r t y m a r k e t , i s n o t a c t u a l l y a c r as h . I t ’ s o f t e n a t e m po r ar y s o f t e n i n g o f pr i c e s . W h a t u s i n g w o r d s l i k e t h i s d o e s i s s e rv e t o k e e p m o s t b u ye rs an d i n v e s t o rs a t b ay a t a t i m e wh e n t h e y sh o u l d b e a c t u al l y g o i n g i n t o t h e m ar k e t an d n o t si t t i n g o n t h e s i d e lines. Our strategy in the property market has been more of a hit and run type, where we are typically exposed to the market for twothree months maximum, often selling on prior to completing the deal; this allows us to ‘ride’ the market. In a rising market this is obviously a good thing because the prices have been increasing almost by the minute, so even if you negotiate a long completion this could be enough for you to have an increase in price by the time you complete. The game is now changing, and this is perhaps not the best strategy any longer. In the lower rungs this may still be going on especially at the £1m and below level, but for how long is the question. Perhaps at this level the market will carry on rising after all the demand is not dependent on only one source, there is enough going on around the world for the London property market to still act as a magnet for inflow of funds. Certainly when purchasing at higher levels, a greater sense of discernment is required - which is no bad thing. T h i s i s a c t u a l l y t h e i d e al b a c k d r o p f o r p i c k i n g u p s e r i o u s d e a l s wh i c h a r e b e l o w m ar k e t v al u e . I t i s we l l kno wn by be hav io ural p sych o lo gist s t h at inve st ors we i g h t h e e q u i v a l e n t d o w n s i d e r i s k a l o t m o re h e av i l y than th e pote nt ial upside risk. When there is a sentiment of pausing for breath in the market, this is when the deal flow increases and the takers become limited. The investors who made serious money in property are those who purchased in 2009 when most of the market was sitting on the fence. They have benefitted from the natural uplift in the market till now.

The Real Deal

South Hampstead, London, NW6 Purchase Price: £2.5m A spacious beautiful property in an excellent location Very high ceilings Communal gardens Close to the leisure facilities of Finchley Road and Swiss Cottage l Planning permission in place to convert it into two flats l Expected resell value after conversion will be around £3.6m Call us now to secure this deal! l l l l

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

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Specialists in

info@sowandreap.co.uk Follow us online:

0207 993 0103 Sowandreapuk

Tips of the Week l If you find a really good investment property don't rule out the opportunity to buy it before the auction. Many sellers will be happy to do a deal.

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

www.sowandreap.co.uk

SowandReapProperties

l As with any business venture it is always wise to have multiple exit strategies; property has this naturally, instead of reselling you can refinance and rent.

20

'A New Dawn for India' brings hopes to UK's business community

BUSINESS

While protests by cabbies against the launch of the app Uber sparked chaos and traffic jams bringing central London to a halt, India Inc. brought together crème de la crème of Indian and British business and political spectrum in a City seminar called 'A New Dawn for India: What does it mean for UK-India business?’ at Ashurst's London offices near Liverpool Street. The overwhelming sentiment was one of hope and confidence, along with a hint of caution over uncontrollable expectations.

Anuj Chande, Partner at Grant Thornton, opened the ‘What Can UK Business Expect from the New Government?’ session on a tempered note: “I am cautiously optimistic having been through the ups and downs of India. But I think this is the first time that I am very optimistic about the future of India and a dawn of a new era.” Priti Patel MP, David Cameron’s Indian Diaspora Champion, sent out a clear message for Modi: “We are all about holding out a hand of friendship and move shoulder to shoulder with India.”

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

L-R: Gopika Pant, Priti Patel MP, Anuj Chande, HE Ranjan Mathai L-R: Richard Heald, Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, Andy Marino, Manoj Ladwa

Anjalika Bardalai, senior analyst at Eurasia Group, struck a note of caution over the fiscal tight-rope ahead. She said: “Higher GDP growth would not only arithmetically improve the key sovereign credit metrics, it would also go some way to achieving a material reduction in the budget deficit by boosting tax revenue.”

Manoj Ladwa, Chief Executive of India Inc, kicked off the proceedings with his welcome message: “May 16, 2014 is a watershed in the history of modern India. It signifies a change in direction and a change for a better future. Narendra Modi, the new PM of India, said during the election campaign that he felt the last 10 years were a lost decade for India. “All of us in this room who are friends of India, work with India and have been thinking about working and doing business in India will agree that at least the last three or four years were disappointing. The vote in India is a vote for business; for getting India back on track and back to business. This is the most optimistic time but with it comes a sense of anxiety… the whole world is waiting and watching and wanting to be part of that journey where India moves from a developing nation rapidly towards fulfilling its potential as a developed nation.”

The flotation of the B&M discount merchandise chain has brought a windfall of £228 million in cash to Robin Arora, the 29year-old younger brother of the entrepreneurs Simon and Bobby Arora, as he sold almost all his 9.4 per cent holding in the company. He is likely to make another £9 million if he sells a few remaining shares in future. The £2.7 billion initial public offering got off to a good start when the shares were marked 16p above the

Arora brothers make windfall in flotation of B&M issue price of 270p, which itself was set in the upper middle part of the original 230p-290p range. Nine retailers have joined the public markets this year, including Poundland, the discount store, AO World, the online home appliances specialist, McColl’s, the newsagent, and Card Factory, the greetings card chain. Of all the new issues, B&M is the most valuable, delivering an enormous payday for the Arora family, who took control of it a decade ago and began modelling the business on a US company, Dollar General. Although Robin Arora bailed out almost completely in the B&M flotation, Simon and Bobby sold down their stakes from 19.1 per cent to 14 per cent each, amassing £126 million each. In 2012, the Arora brothers sold 60 per cent of the business to Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the US private equity group, for £1 billion. CDR sold £690 million of stock, leaving it with a 31.4 per

Ranjan Mathai, The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, set the tone for the seminar with a message of renewed vigour and vitality in the India-UK relationship. He said: “Prime Minister David Cameron’s visits to India threw up a lot of ideas and expectations. In 2010, he set the target of doubling trade by 2015. Are we there yet? No. We would need to reach by the end of next year around $24 billion two-way trade and we are at around $15 billion. So we have some distance to go. But in terms of investment, the last few years have seen very substantial growth. The UK is the third-largest investor in India and Indians are now the fifth-largest investor in the UK. There is a new mantra being developed on India’s soft power and that is talent, tourism, trade and technology. So you can build on that to see what you can expect from the new government.”

Richard Gubbins, partner and head of India Business Group at the international law firm Ashurst, said: “As someone who has been involved with India for 18 years, I believe the next 10 years will be phenomenal for the country. A few words of advice, which any lawyer should be giving, would be that you have to embrace the country, you have to fall in love with the people and the diversity of their culture. “You should also have the three Ps – patience, perseverance and persistence. And, probably most important of all, you have to establish a trusted relationship with your stakeholders and partners on the ground. “We can put that same trust in Narendra Modi, who has sent a very clear message to the West that India is open for business. Over the next few months and years, we will see Modi introducing transparency and accountability.”

Patricia Hewitt, chair of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), pointed out: “The disappointments of the last five years have reinforced negative perceptions about India. Narendra Modi's election – and the better business environment that will undoubtedly follow – means that now is the time for British business to seize the India opportunity with both hands.” The afternoon concluded with an interview of Andy Marino, the author of the best selling political biography of Narendra Modi, by Seema Malhotra MP. It was followed by a champagne reception and release of the Special Issue of India Investment Journal. Other afternoon speakers included George Buckley, Chief Economist, Deutsche bank, Shaurya Doval, Co-Founder, Zeus Caps, HE Nimisha Madhwani, Ugandan Ambassador to France. Guests also included dignitaries like Lord and Lady Noon, along with others.

Several sovereign wealth funds (SWF) and overseas pension funds are rushing to invest in India, driven by hopes of economic recovery under a new stable government. At least three sovereign funds from West Asia have invested over $5 billion in the past eight months and one global pension fund has committed to invest $450 million. Two other funds are scouting for investments in India's real estate and infrastructure developers. "Risk of returns are out of the way and these funds can invest capital for longer tenure," said the head of a realty fund, which has received investments from two SWFs in West Asia. "They have lesser redemption pressure unlike private equity funds, which have to give returns to their investors in few years." Private equity (PE) experts say a trend is visible of both SWF and pension funds investing heavily in the past six months. They say they expect to see more such investments this year. "SWF and pension funds will be the largest investors in the next one year, while the fund of funds and PE funds will stay away after being caught in the two cycles of economic slowdown," said a senior PE fund manager, whose fund runs a distressed asset fund jointly with an American bulge bracket fund. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which had invested roughly $500 million in the past decade, has also upped the ante. Abu Dhabi power company Taqa, owned by ADIA, purchased a 51% stake in Jaypee Group's thermal power projects for $1.5 billion jointly with a Canadian pension fund and local PE IDFC Alternatives Fund. Last year, ADIA also appointed Suresh Sadasivan as head of its internal equities department for Asia excluding Japan, responsible for developing strategy, managing risk and overseeing management of portfolios. Oman's State General

Overseas funds make a beeline to invest in India

Reserve Fund, Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) and Temasek committed $200 million investment in a real estate fund run by India's biggest mortgage lender, Housing Development Finance Corporation. In May last year, Qatar paid $1.26 billion for a 5% stake in India's largest mobile telephony by customers Bharti Airtel. Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages $218.1 billion of assets, formed two joint ventures in November last year. It formed a joint venture with real estate developer Shapoorji Pallonji Group to invest in commercial real estate in India, and formed an equal real estate finance company with billionaire Ajay Piramal group's Piramal Enterprises, which will specialise in debt and structured finance. The fund committed $200 million in the first and $250 million in the second venture. "We will be deploying more and more capital to India and are constantly moving our capital, so it can't be seen as what happens to one dollar invested in one project," Mark Wiseman, president and CEO at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said after announcing its real estate venture. The fund opened its second office in India outside Canada after Hong Kong. Consultants say the fund flow to India will rise as Japan allowed its $1.26 trillion pension fund to invest in alternate assets overseas. "More PE funds will tap the Japanese market, which are negligible now," said manger of an Indian fund that runs a distressed fund with an American bulge bracket fund. "These funds, which were investors in Indian PE funds, are now seeking to invest directly in assets with a longer tenure," said Sanjeev Krishnan, executive director, PwC, who authored his firm's private equity report released on June 10. "For longer tenure of investments, India is a better bet."

Simon Arora

cent stake. Simon and Bobby Arora worked in the business since 2005, while Robin is believed to have joined in 2008. They have built B&M, previously B&M Bargains, from a 20store loss-making business into a chain of 300 shops and employing more than 17,000 people. They sell cut-price toys, homewares, electrical goods and nonperishable food on a lowcost model with large areas of stores dedicated to seasonal products.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Foreign Exchange Weekly Currencies

CURRENCY VOICE

21

Interest rate could increase by January Last week we saw GBP gain strength on the back of the BOE suggesting interest rates could increase as early as January 2015. BOE Deputy Governor said an interest increase “will be a symbolic step, because it will be an indication that we are on the road back to normality, I would welcome us getting on to the path of normalization, as a demonstration that the economy is healing,”. Average U.K. house prices rose 3.9%in May to a six-year high of 184,464 pounds. Despite this, there are still divisions across the country, and government data that show annual price growth in London was 17 % in March compared with 8 % for the whole country. Britain's credit rating has been restored to AAA: Stable by Standard & Poor's tonight; meaning the UK once again holds a top-notch credit rating with one of the Big Three rating agencies. S&P, which unlike Fitch and Moody's did not downgrade the UK during the crisis, removed the negative rating. S&P also predicted that the UK would expand by nearly 3% this year, and another 2.5% in 2015. UK's unemployment rate which fell to 6.6% in the three months to April down from 6.8%. It was a bigger fall than expected and the lowest since 2009. Full time jobs moved up 263,000 while an extra 81,000 people found part time work. The number of long term unemployed fell sharply, with the number of people out of work for over 12 months fell 37,000 to 791,000. With this being said weekly earnings rose by just 0.7% in the three months to April, which is substantially below inflation, which hit 1.8% in April. It’s partly due to the impact of the abolition of the UK 50% tax rate with many bigearners deferred their bonuses until April 2013, to benefit from the lower tax rate. New data from Eurostat on Friday showed that the number of employed people increased by 0.1% in the euro area in January-March, compared to October-December, and by 0.2% in the wider European Union. The Eurozone’s trade balance declined in April as imports fell 0.5% month-onmonth and exports dropped 0.2%. However, the somewhat larger decline in imports relative to exports was enough to send the trade surplus higher to EUR 15.8 billion in April from an upwardly revised 15.4bn in March. There was some slightly more encouraging data from Europe suggesting factories in France and Italy bounced back in April. French industrial production rose by 0.3% monthon-month in April, and March's reading has been revised up to 0.4% from -0.7% initially. And Italian industrial output jumped by 0.7% in April, more than reversing the 0.4% decline in the previous month. This was driven by demand for consumer goods and energy. Greece has slid deeper into deflation, the Greek consumer prices index shrank by 2.1% on an annual basis in May, with prices falling by 0.6% compared with April. Prices of clothing and footwear have shrunk by 10.7% in the last year in Greece. Greece's long recession, record unemployment and austerity programme have all contributed to falling prices Experts have warned that growing geopolitical risk in Iraq and the Ukraine could send oil and gas prices up sharply, that could lead to a correction in the equity markets and a move away from riskier assets. If tensions escalate further we could see flight to the safe havens of the US dollar and the Japanese Yen. The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for growth in the United States this year after harsh winter weather hit the world’s largest economy in the early months of 2014.The downgrade comes in the IMF's latest update on the US economy, which also highlights stubbornly high poverty rates, high long-term unemployment and stagnant wage growth The IMF now believes GDP in the US will grow just 2% this year, only a fraction faster than 1.9% growth in 2013. It had previously forecast growth of 2.8% for this year back in April US retail sales rose by just 0.3% in May, just half as much as expected. But April's initial reading of 0.1% has been revised up to a healthier-looking 0.5%. Also the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefit rose a little last week, to 317,000 from 313,000 the previous week.

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

GBP - INR = 102.22 USD - INR = 6.27 EUR - INR = 81.62 GBP - USD = 1.70 GBP - EUR = 1.25

As of Tuesday 17th June 2014 @ 6pm

EUR - USD = 1.35 GBP - AED = 6.23 GBP - CAD = 1.84

GBP - NZD = 1.96

GBP - AUD = 1.82

GBP - ZAR = 18.35

GBP - HUF = 385.32

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.

www.rationalfx.com

22

Karachi: A court in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi ordered the government to lift a travel ban on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 15 days' time, his lawyer said. "The court has allowed our appeal and ordered to strike down Musharraf's name from the Exit Control List. The order will be executed after 15 days," said Farogh Naseem. Musharraf, 70, flew to Karachi in April to undergo medical tests. He has said he wants the travel ban lifted so he can visit his sick mother in Dubai, but many in Pakistan see it as a ruse to flee the country and avoid the litany of criminal cases against him dating back to his 1999-2008. Meanwhile, Pakistan government filed an appeal with the country's Supreme Court seeking to overturn the ruling which allows Musharraf to leave the country.

Pakistan court allows Musharraf to leave country

PAKISTAN - LONDON Kabul: Despite the killings of 50 people and cutting off of fingers of 11 people as a punishment, the brave Afghan voters come out in large numbers and voted in presidential election. Officials believe seven million out of 12 million eligible electors voted. The barbaric attacks were in the western Herat province after Saturday’s vote, according to police. Another 50 people died in a series of rocket barrages and scattered attacks. Interior minister Mohammad Umar Daudzai said the victims included 20 civilians and an election worker. He added that more than 70 militants were killed. The Taliban warned people in Afghanistan to boycott the country's presidential election or face punishment. The Taliban had ordered voters not to participate in the contest between former ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

Taliban kill 50 Afghan voters, cut off fingers of 11

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Rioting feared in Britain’s jails

London: The ministry of justice which was accused of closing many jails in an attempt to save money is now trying to recruit more prison officers following fears of disturbances across jails in Britain this summer. Former staff who took voluntary retirement will be asked to return to work as part of emergency measures to tackle an overcrowding crisis.

In Brief

Drugs worth £5 million found woven into carpets

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Both plan to improve ties with the West and keep nearly 10,000 US troops in the country for two more years. The UN described the mutilations as "abhorrent". The White House praised voters' courage and called the elections "a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path", after the turnout topped 50 per cent. The US, along with the UN, urged the two candidates not to make

unproven fraud allegations, but both Abdullah and Ghani raised the issue immediately after polls closed. The preliminary result is due on July 2, before the complaints period begins, and the final result is scheduled for July 22. "We have urged the candidates to act as statesmen, future presidents, rather than people simply in a competition with each other," said Nicholas Haysom, the deputy chief of the UN mission.

Criminal gangs control part of Britain, says May

London: Sniffer dogs have detected drugs worth £5 million which were hidden inside thread-like sheathes that look like carpet yarn to the naked eye. The seizure was made at Manchester Airport when Border Force officers became suspicious of a 46-piece consignment of hand-made rugs that had arrived from Peshawar in Pakistan via Abu Dhabi in the Middle East. A sniffer dog alerted its handler to one of the carpets and further examination revealed a highly sophisticated concealment where the drug was woven into the fabric of the carpet.

London: Home secretary Teresa May said that criminal gangs control parts of Britain and run their own security and justice systems. It is said that the gang structure takes the place of the family in inner-city areas where there are a lot of absent fathers. It offers income, discipline, and a sense of belonging. A Home Office spokesman said it could not identify specific areas where the problem was most acute. However, the home secretary is believed to be referring to parts of inner cities in which drugs gangs run protection rackets around pubs and clubs.

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 14th July, 2014 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 Entrepreneur of the Year ....................................................

Awarded to an entrepreneur with a proven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Uniformed and Civil Services ............................................

For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services or contribution to the community through any of the above services.

London: The airlines have reduced the fare for Friday, 13th June, to entice the superstitious Britons to fly on that day. Britons are keen to avoid flying on that day, which they traditionally consider as a day of accidents and mishaps. The non-superstitious travellers could save up to £50 by flying on that day. Domestic UK return flights in June have an average price of £233, but on Friday 13th a lack of demand has slashed the average price down to £181, making it the cheapest day to travel in the entire month.

The cheapest day for flights

Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture ....................

Someone who has made a mark in media including print and broadcast media; cinema, art and culture.

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.

Achievement in Community Service ................................

In recognition for an individuals service to community.

International Personality of the Year ............................

Awarded to those who have acclaimed popularity internationally for his/her contribution in any particular sector and is recognised for their timeless philanthropic activities.

Sports Personality of the Year............................................

Awarded for excellence in sports.

Woman of the Year ................................................................

The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made a significant mark in any chosen field.

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.

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.

I I I I

Application Form Name of the Person you are Nominating: __________________________________________________________________________ Contact Details of the Nominee (Tel & email):_______________________________________________________________________ Present Occupation of the Nominee:_______________________________________________________________________________

London: Three former interpreters employed by the British armed forces in Afghanistan have won permission to bring a highcourt challenge against the government over the assistance they have been offered. A judge has ruled that they had been "unlawfully treated differently" from Iraqi interpreters who also needed assistance through benefits and resettlement packages when their lives became endangered through assisting the British in the Iraq war.

Afghan interpreters to challenge UK over benefits

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.

I I I I

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) Nominator’s name and contact details: ____________________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s current Occupation/Company: _________________________________________________________________________ Tel/Mobile: _________________________________ I Email: __________________________________________________________

NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS G This is a unique event where readers nominate and an independent panel of judges comprising of eminent personalities selects the winner. G Judges’ decision is final. ABPL Group will not entertain any dialogue with members of the public regarding the judging process. G 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. G You may use an additional sheet if the space provided is insufficient. G The winners will be announced at the AAA Awards ceremony on 19th September, 2014. G 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 G You can nominate yourself if you wish to. G Nominations and entries must follow the prescribed format. G All nomination forms must reach our offices on or before 14th July, 2014

London: Norman Lamb, the care minister, urged people to reach out to lonely pensioners to keep them company. He said that volunteering to have a cup of tea with a lonely pensioner could be more helpful than a visit from a professional care worker.

Minister’s advice to keep pensioners happy

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Passengers can sue airlines for flight delays London: Now passengers can sue the airlines for flight delays and seek compensation following a landmark ruling in favour of a passenger who was left waiting for 27 hours following a lengthy battle for compensation. The High Court decision opens the floodgates for families whose holidays were ruined by lengthy delays, as they are now able to retrospectively claim from a pot which could be worth up to £4 billion, lawyers said.

In Brief

4 Asians make it to Times Top 25 Female Techpreneurs List The term “Techpreneur” has become a catchy new term to describe the growing number of entrepreneurs in the technology field. Increasingly, more women are breaking the glass ceiling and getting involved in this sector. The Times Top 25 Female Techpreneurs features four talented Asian women, who deserve to be recognised for their outstanding achievements.

LONDON - SRI LANKA

London: Richard Lobel, the founder of coin dealer Coincraft, said that buying World Cup commemorative coins released by Brazil’s central bank was not a sound investment. If you buy modern coins, 99 times out of hundred you are going to lose money. It is a nice souvenir but not an investment, he added. He said commemorative coins rarely increase in value, highlighting the Royal Mint commemorative coins produced for the 2012 Olympic Games and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, both of which are worth far less than they cost. Olympic gold proof (extra high quality) £5 coins cost £2,880 from the Royal Mint but the resale price is nearer £1,400. London: A rising number of fat pets are getting diabetes now. To treat the problem a diabetes clinic clinic has been opened. Stijn Niessen, who runs the Feline Diabetic Remission Clinic, says more than 50% of cats kept indoors are dangerously overweight, compared with 25% of those who go outdoors. He says cats have the same problems that are driving the enormous increase in human diabetes - their lifestyles are no longer compatible with their genes. He said that they get tasty, rich foods from us which thousands of years ago were not available. But genetically cats are much the same as they were when they hunted and intermittently consumed prey.

Buying world cup coins may not be good investment

Overfed felines getting diabetes

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, 61, Chairwoman and Managing Director, Biocon In 1978, aged 25, Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon, a biotechnology company. Today, she is India's richest selfmade woman, worth $655 million. The Bangalore-based group creates a range of pharmaceuticals using state-of-the-art technology. Her plan is to create drugs that are affordable for the entire world, not just the rich West.

London: Hong Kong’s billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI) Holdings is eyeing to buy Porterbrook, the company that owns a third of Britain’s trains. CKI will be pitted against pension funds, sovereign wealth investors and other infrastructure specialists in a fiercely contested auction that is expected to value the company at about £2.5bn. The rolling stock companies have earned hefty returns for their owners since the break-up of British Rail two decades ago.

Asian tycoon eyeing to buy UK train making firm

Are you looking for a more rewarding career?

Padmasree Warrior, 53, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Cisco Systems Born in Vijayawada in southern India, Warrior made her name working at Motorola. She is now seen as the likeliest successor to take the top job at Cisco Systems, the networking equipment maker. Her current boss, John Chambers, has endorsed that view, calling her “among the sharpest technology persons in the world.”

Ruchi Sanghvi, 32, Vice President of Operations, Dropbox In 2005, Sanghvi, who was running away from a job at a Wall Street bank, arrived outside a Chinese restaurant in California. She found a menu card that read: “Looking for engineers.” Over the restaurant was one of Facebook's earliest offices, and she became the first female computer engineer at the social network giant. She has since started her own business, Cove, and is now a senior executive at cloud-storage company Dropbox, thought to be worth billions. Leila Janah, 31, Founder and Chief Executive, Samasource As a child, Leila Janah was told by her father how lucky she was to be enjoying a middle-class upbringing in America rather than a slum in his native India. Aa a result, she created Samasource, a not-for-profit business that aims to create digital jobs for impoverished people around the world.

Colombo: More deadly violence flared in a Sri Lankan coastal resort where Buddhist hardliners set shops and homes alight for a second night running in defiance of a curfew, police and residents said. Amid mounting international concern over the unrest, residents of a town which has borne the brunt said a security guard was killed in an attack outside a Muslim-owned farm, raising the overall toll to four. "More than a dozen houses and shops have been burnt overnight," a police source said from the mainly Muslim town of Alutgama after another night of mob violence by followers of the extremist Buddhist Force. Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help police put a lid on the violence. Although the unrest on Monday was not as widespread as the previous night, it came despite the announcement of an indefinite curfew. Residents said that several vehicles had also been set alight in Alutgama although there were no reports of fresh violence in the neighbouring town of Beruwala where property was also set on fire on Sunday. The authorities say nearly 80 people have so far been seriously injured in clashes.

Deadly riots flare in Sri Lanka resort

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Media Advertising Sales Representative Media Advertising Sales Representative positions are available with Asian Business Publications Ltd publishers of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, the leaders in ethnic media.

Lamu (Kenya): AlShabaab, Somalia's alQaeda affiliate, has asked tourists to stay away from the country or face consequences as the country was a war zone. It was the Islamists' strongest threat yet to foreigners in Kenya, and came on Monday as they claimed responsibility for the deadliest terror strike on its neighbour's soil since the Westgate Shopping Centre attack last September. At least 49 people died when vanloads of masked gunmen chanting "Allahu akbar" swept through a busy town close to Lamu island in an hour-long rampage on Sunday night.

Al-Shabaab asks tourists to say away from Kenya

We are seeking confident assertive, energetic, and goal-oriented individual with or without previous experience in sales. Position is responsible for building effective consultative business conversations with decision makers and win business. Selected candidates will receive a competitive salary and commissions. For consideration please email resume with references. LOCATION: JOB TYPE: START DATE: Central London Permanent Immediate

Using a mixture of face to face, telephone and electronic contact, the position will entail selling advertising space for both Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, theme based specials, sponsorships for various events we conduct through out the year.

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar are the largest selling Asian news weeklies, now in their 42nd year with paid subscription of almost 25,000 and additional 5000 copies sold through retail outlets. Check us online www.abplgroup.com

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

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Chennai: Buoyed by success of ‘Amma Drinking Water’ and ‘Amma Unavagams,’ the state government has come out with ‘Amma Salt,’ an affordably priced quality common salt made by the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation (TNSC) for the benefit of the weaker sections. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has launched the scheme last week. Sources in the TNSC said that three varieties are up for open market sale under the ‘Amma Salt brand – Double Fortified Salt, Refined Free Flow Iodised Salt and Low Sodium Salt. While the double fortified variety is priced at Rs 14 a kg, against the

Now comes ‘Amma Salt’ open market in the South. While this salt helps those with anaemic and goitre disorders, the refined free flow salt helps those with hypothyroidism and the low sodium salt is a boon for those enduring blood pressure variations and cardiac conditions. All varieties would be marketed in powdered form in attractive packs under the aegis of the TNSC, which is, for the first time, vending through the open market. Already it is canalising salt

INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

MNCs to set Hyderabad: Chief shop there. minister N Hordes of IT proChandrababu fessionals from Naidu wants to across the counr e p l i c a t e try then moved Hyderabad's hi-tec to Hyderabad to city in Andhra work. Over the Pradesh's Krishna Chandrababu Naidu years, it emerged district. Following as the new city of Naidu's instructions, offiHyderabad with many shopcials have identified nearly ping malls, multiplexes, 2,000 acres of government restaurants and hotels. land in Bapulapadu, about 5 It is this IT hub model km away from the that Naidu wants to recreate Gannavaram airport that in Andhra Pradesh. provides connectivity to Bapulapadu's biggest Vijayawada and the region. advantage is its proximity to "Apart from this, land is the Gannavaram airport. being identified in Nuzvid," "The air connectivity factor an official associated with will attract all the IT majors the developments said. "The and other MNCs once we grand plan is to have a acquire the land and devel10,000 acre IT cluster which op it. We'll soon publicise will be close to the new capthe IT hub and hope to get ital that will come up many firms to set up shop between Vijayawada and there," said the official. Guntur." The development plan Naidu is credited with for the IT cluster includes having developed the origilaying broad roads and flynal hi -tec city in overs, and putting in place Hyderabad, an information infrastructure such as technology (IT) cluster that underground power lines attracted the biggest names and sewerage systems. in the field and several other

Naidu to recreate hi-tec city in Andhra

open market price of Rs 21, the refined free flow variety costs Rs 10, against the market price of Rs 14 to Rs 20. The Low Sodium Salt costs Rs 21, against the private players’ price of Rs 25. The sources claim that the double fortified variety is not freely available in the

Chandigarh: A delegation from United Kingdom held discussions with the Haryana government for cooperation in various fields like education, health and waste management. The delegation led by British Deputy High Commissioner (Northwest India) David Lelliott called on Haryana Chief Secretary S C Chaudhary and held a detailed discussion on diverse issues for mutual cooperation, stated an official release. Lelliott said they had fruitful discussions on diverse issues related to education and skill development, health, waste management and were keen to take forward these initiatives, it said. According to the release, Corporate Director of Development (Nottingham City Council) David Bishop said Nottingham has an efficient and widespread transport system and state-ofthe-art infrastructure facili-

UK delegation holds talks with Haryana govt

Hyderabad: The new state of Telangana needs a lot of money for going the welfare way which chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised during the election campaign. In order to generate funds, the CM asked state departments and do away with all unnecessary schemes and expenditures. The new CM appears to have even issued a directive to this effect to his finance department. "Experience shows that every year, many departments furnish estimates in a routine manner without examining the need for continuation of the scheme per se and justification for the provisions claimed," principal secretary (finance), V Nagi Reddy, stated in a GO which was issued to all departments. Thus, the finance department, in view of the reorganisation of the state, has now decided to thoroughly review budget proposals furnished by all departments. The instruc-

Tighten purse strings, Telangana CM tells officials

sale through the Public Distribution System outlets. The corporation would ship ‘Amma Salt’ from its manufacturing base at Valinokkam pans in Ramanathapuram district in the initial stage and later venture into large scale manufacturing based on the future demand. In a radical idea tailored to meet the market demand for fair price salt, the corporation plans to appoint wholesale dealers in all districts. Official sources expressed the hope that the product would be a hit on the lines of the ‘Amma Drinking Water’ and Amma canteens.

Chennai: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked DMK chief M Karunanidhi for wishing him a "satisfying" tenure. A day after Modi was elected as BJP parliamentary leader and was invited by President Pranab Mukherjee to take oath as PM, Karunanidhi had written a letter to him congratulating him and wishing him a "satisfying prime ministerial tenure." In his letter to Karunanaidhi, Modi said, "I thank you for your letter of felicitations. I am humbled by the faith reposed in us by the people. I am sure that we will rise up to the high expectations of the people". New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa seeking a stay on trial in disproportionate assets case till a Bangalore court decides the ownership of the immovable assets alleged to be hers. “We find no merit, and the petition is dismissed," said the apex court bench of Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, dealing a blow to the chief minister.

Modi thanks Karunanidhi for his congratulatory letter

South Brief

SC refuses to stay Jaya’s trial in disproportionate assets case

Man arrested for raping daughter

ties. There was tremendous scope for co-operation and partnership with Haryana, he said. The delegation extended invitation for a visit by the state delegation to the UK, especially Nottingham region, for a detailed information and insight about various projects and infrastructure facilities there. Haryana Chief Secretary briefed the delegation about the demographic and geographic features of the region, saying the state has a developed economy with growing services and industrial sectors. "A lot of emphasis has been laid by the state government on healthcare, education and skill development, affordable low-cost housing, renewable energy, water and waste management and agriculture sector," he said. Chaudhary said the state would welcome initiatives from the UK which would benefit it in these and other sectors.

Chandigarh: There's an uprising among grassroot leaders of Punjab BJP against their ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Nearly 30 out of 32 Punjab BJP district chiefs, in an explosive meeting, urged state party chief Kamal Sharma to ask their ministers to quit the Akali Dal-led government after the recent "disgraceful remarks" by SAD ministers. They instead said the party should now offer outside support to the Akali Dal. The BJP leaders allege that their ministers were not invited in key cabinet decisions on domestic electricity prices, excise and taxation policy, rising sand and mining rates and property tax. The leaders took strong objection to a recent meeting headed by Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Badal on June 9 on reforms in street lighting and sewerage initiated in the local bodies department, to which the Akalis did not

BJP leaders want its ministers to quit Akali govt

tions issued have been clear with regard to the non-plan expenditure, which mainly deals with administration, salaries, subsidies, pensions in various departments. The government has asked every department to provide information about the objectives of the scheme or work of the department, relevance of the programme in the present context and consequences of its non-funding. Heads of departments have been pointedly directed to "very critically review those schemes that do not serve any tangible purpose substantially are dropped or phased out or reduced."

K Chandrasekhar Rao

Bangalore: A man was arrested for allegedly raping his 18-year-old daughter repeatedly over the past three months. The survivor works at a private garment factory in the city, while her 44-year-old father is a housekeeping worker at a factory in Electronics City. The family is from Holenarasipur, Hassan district. The girl lodged a police complaint after the man, in an inebriated state, allegedly tried to force himself on her in the presence of other family members.

Dal Khalsa reminds Badal of his forgotten promises

North Brief

Jalandhar: Sikh organisations have accused Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal of the promises which he had failed to fulfil. They said that Badal had backtracked from implementing his poll promise of setting up a commission of inquiry to look into the cases of human rights violations and extra-judicial killings in Punjab during the decade of turmoil. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said that Badal should explain to the people as to why he has run away from his poll promise. The radical organization also claimed that nothing short of self-determination would heal the blistering and simmering wounds of the Sikhs.

bother to invite BJP minister Anil Joshi, who holds the local bodies portfolio. BJP state president Kamal Sharma confirmed the "outpouring by several leaders", but hesitated in sharing what was said in the meeting. "It was a closed-door meeting. District heads and party members shared their anger and ideas. These suggestions are being passed on to in charge of party affairs," said Kamal Sharma. In the same meeting, the leaders also said that the party should fight the 2017 assembly polls from all 117 constituencies. This is against the old arrangement of 23 seats that BJP has been contesting in the assembly polls. "There is a growing dissatisfaction with SAD. We have only voiced our concerns after being meted out humiliation by their ministers and leaders," Barnala district president Gurmeet Singh said.

Ludhiana lad selected for Commonwealth games

Ludhiana: Arpinder Singh, a 22-year-old Ludhiana tripple jumper, ranked first in Asia and sixth in the world, has been selected for the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Scotland from July 23 to August 3. Arpinder also made the cut for the Asian Games, to be held in September at South Korea, on the basis of his performance in Lucknow meet where he recorded 17.17m jump. According to Athletics Federation of India, Arpinder become Commonwealth and Asian leader for the season by overtaking England's Phillips Idowu (16.99m) and China's Cao Shuo (16.88), respectively. Chandigarh: Almost 67 years after India’s Independence, Rahimpur Kheri - a nondescriptive hamlet located on the bank of Yamuna River in Panipat district of Haryana, would feel the power of electricity. The village that also shares its boundaries with the Uttra Pradesh's newly-carved district Shamli was in the dark since Independence. The villagers used to light their houses with lanterns or earthen pots and any celebration in the village means watching Bollywood flicks on television, hired from city, with the help of charged batteries. Villagers used to pump water to irrigate their crops with the help of diesel engine.

Powerless Haryana village to see light finally

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Moravian-Silesian Region Steps Up With ‘Unusual Experiences’ Project

Regionální Rozvoj, a. s. (‘ARR’)), a joint-stock company, has stepped up a gear and embarked on a three-month advertising and marketing campaign from this June designed to entice visitors from the UK to the Moravian-Silesian region in the northeast of the Czech Republic. Londoners are within a few short hours of going from rush hour to hush hour. So, what are you waiting for? Speaking at the Czech Embassy this May, Jiří Vzientek, co-ordinator of the Regional Development Agency (Ostrava), said: “Our primary focus will be on the UK market followed by France and our neighbours [countries] in Germany, Poland, Slovakia and thereafter further to the east - Russia and the Ukraine.” Typically tourists to the region, which consists of six areas including Ostrava, Tesin Silesia, Beskydy Mountains, PoodriMoravian Kravare, Jesenik Mountains, and Opavian Silesia - make stays for 2-3 days. “We want to expand the duration of stays to 4-5 days. And, with direct Ryanair flights three times a week from London Stansted to Ostrava taking just under two hours we believe this is possible,” added Mr Vzientek. Additionally direct flights have started from Paris and there is even talk of a new service from Germany. Whilst Ostrava itself has historically been known for much heavy industry (e.g. the steel works at Lower Vitkovice that have been fashioned into a multi-functional arts and music facility hosting the annual ‘Colours of Ostrava’ festival), the region as a whole has more green spaces than anywhere else in the Czech

he Regional Development Agency T of Ostrava (Argentura Pro

Republic. ARR’s current campaign hopes to direct potential visitors through a new website ( www.unusual-experiences.cz). There are five products or offerings specifically targeting groups from the young to the old. They include the Beskydy Mountains with its stunning scenery; History of Silesia and spiritual wealth of Moravian brothers; Clean air and mineral water spas touting the famous Karlova Studánka spa village in the Bruntál district at which Václav Havel, the first President of the Czech Republic, took treatments and where you could potentially look “five years younger in seven days” according to The

Times; A beer power in the heart of Europe; and, Beskydy through eyes of the Czech composer Leoš Janáček. This region is certainly varied. In addition to spa treatments, excellent food and drink, one can pay a visit to the house in Příbor where Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was born. Don’t forget the Tatra Technical Museum (www.tatramuseum.cz ) in the town of Kopřivnice where classic cars are displayed. One silver convertible, the T600, was gifted to Joseph Stalin as a 70th birthday present. Hitler was so impressed with Tatra cars he banned production in 1938. If one takes a chair lift up to Pustevny (www.pustevny.cz) to 1,018m above sea level traditional folk-style buildings from 1898 can be admired like Maměnka designed by Slovak

Roger travelled to Ostrava in the Czech Republic with Ryanair this May through Czech Tourism (www.czechtourism.com). Return air tickets cost from £40.

designer Dušan Jurkovič. For beer lovers there is plenty of choice as regards classic draught lager from the bigger breweries (e.g. Radegast, Ostravar) to special micro-brewery beers - all at around the symbolic price of £1 (c.CZkr30) a pint. If one fancies a beer or wine spa this can be accommodated in Ostrava city at the delightful Zámek Zábřeh hotel ( w w w . z a m e k zabreh.cz/en/), a renovated chateau that dates back around 400 years and incorporates a brewery. Stramberk (www.stramberk.cz), nicknamed Moravia’s Bethlehem with its crooked streets and Wallachian log cabins, also offers beer spas at around £30 per session. Dotted around are some fabulous golf courses including Prosper Golf Resort Čeladná besides the funky art and design Miura H o t e l (www.miura.cz) with the Beskydy mountains as your backdrop. Designer of the course was Spanish golf legend Miguel Angel Jimenez. A recent ‘Tourism in the Czech-Polish Borderland’ report that includes the MoravianSilesian region initiated by tourism cluster KLACR o.s., noted the region has to find “a better balance” between domestic and foreign tourists. “New and major product innovation including eventual investment in infrastructure” were required and it stated that it was “impossible to keep relying on the assumption that someone will arrive”. ARR’s latest campaign shows that affirmative action is being taken. by Roger Aitken

The Gujarat government has got the final clearance from Narmada Control Authority (NCA) to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar dam on Narmada river. The decision to raise the dam’s height from 121.92 meters to 138.68 meters came after eight long years. Co-incidentally, NCA granted permission to raise the height of Narmada Dam, considered as ‘Lifeline’ of Gujarat, by 17 meters on Narendra Modi’s 17th day as the Prime Minister of India. Just three days back, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel had urged Modi to intervene in the matter for speedy clearance during her visit to Delhi. “The people of Gujarat and the state leadership like to thank PM Modi, for taking expeditious action,” said Anandiben Patel, who rushed to the dam site at Kevadia Colony and offered Puja to commence the construction work. Confirming the development, JN Singh, managing director of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) said that the State government got formal clearance to raise the d a m ’ s

AV Correspondent

Modi effect, Gujarat gets clearance to raise Narmada dam’s height

TRAVEL - INDIA

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Asian Voice readers must have noticed that a whole page was dedicated to the campaign that Conservative MP Priti Patel has started to seek justice and redress from what appears to be blatant anti-modi bashing by the BBC. Events came to a head when on the BBC flagship programme, ‘Newsnight’; a very slanted narrative was underpinned with an interview from Anish Kapoor. It is now time that a full investigation took place dating back to 2002 to see how news and information related to Shri Narendrabhai Modi has been reported on the BBC. The BBC has rightly earned a reputation of providing factual news to the world. However it seems over the past decade there have been some changes to the editorial line, especially when it relates to India and Shri Narendrabhai Modi. It is therefore important that as a nation we ensure that this public service paid from licence fee payers is

We are with you Priti Patel MP

height and install the gates. “The actual construction work at the dam site will be started immediately after monsoon in September. Preparatory work and other planning has already been initiated to complete the work as early as possible,” said Singh. Though many NGOs including Medha Patkar headed Narmada Bachao Andolan are against the project and criticized the decision of NCA, the Ahmedabad based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) whole heartedly backed the project. “We fought against anti-project elements for almost 12 years. We welcome the decision. PM Modi delivered what he promised,” said VK Saxena of NCCL. NCA was setup in December 1980 under the orders and decision of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) as a

machinery for implementation of its directions and decision. NCA was formed with representatives of the four States – Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and is headed by Secretary, Government of India (GOI), who is the exofficio Chairman of the authority. It was in 2006, NCA had allowed the dam height to be raised up to 121.92 meters. The full reservoir level is 138.68 meters and Gujarat government was constantly following up with the Union government since last eight years for the permission to raise dam’s height by another 17 meters. “With its full height, there would be assured water for irrigation to an additional area of 6.8 lakh hectares and additional 40 per cent power generation. Raising of Narmada dam height will take another three years,” said a senior official.

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

NAME

ADDRESS

When you write please indicate that you have read the letter of complaint from Priti Patel MP (see page 8, AV, 31 May) and that you are supporting her in getting a full investigation to ascertain if there is such bias against the Prime Minister of India – Shri Narendrabhai Modi.

not abused by individuals or groups who might be linked to extremist organisations. It is equally important that we as a community register our protest. Many national, regional and local organisations have already done this. Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice are opening the opportunity for each of you to register your protest by signing our petition. You can also write to Lord Tony Hall the Director General of the BBC at: BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA. Email: tony.hall@bbc.co.uk

SIGNATURE DATE

&

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Continued from page 1 claimed that it received an SOS call from a group of nurses after which Chief Minister Oomen Chandy called Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Chandy's government said that the nurses who phoned for help want to return to Kerala but are worried about how they will be escorted safely from hospitals to airports. Their employers have allegedly said the nurses are free to head home, but they won't be responsible for their safety once the nurses leave hospital premises. The government estimates that 200 Indians, many of them construction workers, are currently based in Iraq, where the Iraqi government is struggling to stave off an onslaught by Sunni militants of the ISIS, which seize the northern cities of Mosul and Tikrit last week and now threatens Baghdad. The Indian government had issued an advisory asking Indians to “consider leaving the country by commercial means if it is safe to do so.” It also asked

Indians in Iraq safe as jihadists take firm grip Indians living in violenceaffected areas in Iraq to remain indoors and remain in contact with Indian Embassy in Baghdad. The Indian Embassy in Baghdad has set up a 24hour helpline which can be accessed for information or assistance. According to the Indian Embassy in Iraq, the nurses and Indian students could be evacuated only when the road from their hospital and hostels to the nearest airport became risk-free as heavy bombing was going on in the area. Meanwhile, up to 400 British citizens are fighting in Syria and some are fighting with ISIS in Iraq, said the foreign secretary William Haque. It prompted the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, to say that the presence of UK citizens fighting in Syria represents the number of security threat to the UK. The UK government confirmed that it was open to Britain to withdraw leave to remain from the fighters, cancel passports or arrest any UK jihadists fighting in Syria or for ISIS in Iraq. Hague also said that UK Special Forces are providing counter-terrorism expertise in Iraq, but there is no prospect of a UK military operation in the country, saying the US has the assets and the capabilities in the region. Meanwhile, the US has deployed extra troops to protect its embassy in Baghdad and mulling air strikes against militants who have seized key cities, amid warnings that Iraq has polarized irrevocably. US President Barack Obama announced that about 275 military personnel were being deployed to Iraq to help protect the embassy in Baghdad and assist US nationals there. Militants who seized Mosul - a city of two million people - and then a vast swathe of territory north of Baghdad in a lightning offensive launched eight days ago were making further advances. Militants boasted on Twitter that they had executed 1,700 Iraqi government soldiers, posting gruesome photos to support their claim. If the claim is true, it would be the worst mass atrocity in either Syria or Iraq in

INDIA - LONDON

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014 Dahiben Bachu Lalji Parmar from Upton Park, London has died. She was 85. Mrs Parmar came to England from Mbale, Uganda in 1972. She leaves behind three sons, three daughters and 14 grandchildren.

Sad loss

Continued from page 1 India will be beneficial for the countries of the region, especially the SAARC members. India's prosperity is important as then it can help small countries

Modi magic charms Bhutan and perform its duty of a good neighbour. But if India is weak and struggling with its own problems, then how can it help others,” he asserted. On Indo-Bhutan ties, Modi said, “Governments have changed but that has not affected the closelyknit ties,” and quoted former Bhutan King to say that India and Bhutan were like “milk and

recent years, surpassing even the chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian suburbs of Damascus last year, which killed 1,400 people and were attributed to the Syrian government. The insurgents had seized most the Shiite majority town of Tal Afar, in Nineveh province, in fighting that left dozens dead. Provincial council Chief Nureddin Qabalan said militants controlled most of Tal Afar and the surrounding area, but said there were pockets of resistance, and that soldiers, policemen and residents held on to parts of the airport. He said 50 civilians were killed in the course of the violence, along with dozens of militants and members of the security forces. Iran has built close political and economic ties with post-war Iraq, and many influential Iraqi Shias have lived for stretches of time in the Islamic Republic. Iran earlier this week halted flights to Baghdad because of security concerns and said it was intensifying security measures along its borders. water”. The Indian PM electronically laid the foundation stone for 600 MW Kholongchu Hydro-electric project, a joint venture between India and Bhutan. He also lauded Bhutan for the smooth transition from monarchy to democracy in a span of seven years which showed maturity in governance in that country. Modi’s visit to Bhutan assumes significance since China has lately intensified efforts to woo it and establish full- fledged diplomatic ties with Thimphu. In a joint statement, the two sides expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between them in the matter of mutual security. They agreed to continue with their close coordination and cooperation with each other on issues relating to their national interests, and not allow each other's territory to be used for interests inimical to the other. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who accompanied Modi, said that the Indian side was “extremely satisfied” with the visit. Noting that Modi believes in speedy implementation of works, she said the projects that have been pending for some time will be executed on fast-track basis by the NDA government. Noting that terrorism divides and tourism unites, Modi told Bhutan's Parliament that the Himalayan nation has immense potential in the tourism sector. Modi said development of tourism does not require large investment but can yield substantial profit and even the poor can benefit from it.

Ofsted head to introduce tough approach in schools

In Brief

London: Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, is introducing tough approach across schools in Britain. Since taking over as chief inspector in 2012, he has scrapped the “satisfactory” measure and insisted that all schools must be “good”, with those that do not improve fast enough placed in special measures. He supports the creation of free schools, but says they are not, so far, out-performing comprehensives. He said that the authorities should talk about what works in schools, rather than the structures.

Schools told to provide milk to all pupils London: As part of a crackdown on unhealthy eating habits, the government asked schools to offer milk to all pupils. The Department for Education said new standards, introduced to reduce the amount fatty and sugary food being sold in canteens and vending machines, would also see strict curbs placed on the sale of fruit juice while all children would be encouraged to drink more water. London: A surrogate mother who claimed she miscarried Osama bin Laden's grandchild has been jailed for a fake pregnancies scam and took £15,000 from desperate couples. Louise Pollard, 28, agreed to carry babies for two couples and pretended to inseminate herself before telling them she was pregnant on three occasions. But Pollard then began asking the couples for thousands of pounds, claiming she needed money after suffering a car crash. Within days of the couples demanding proof that Pollard was pregnant, the mother-of-two pretended she had suffered a miscarriage, leaving them "heartbroken".

Surrogate mother jailed for duping couples

Are you looking for a better career??? Here is an ideal opportunity

10-year-old Indian origin boy gets high school diploma

The British economy is on the upturn and there is so much business and commercial activism. According to well researched studies, more and more money is spent on advertising. Print media has also its own unique strengths - Visual presence, easy to refer, long lasting impact. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar and other publication of ABPL are the most favoured for Asian Businesses as well as the Corporate world to sell and promote their goods and services. A glance at the publications would give you a feel about various advertisers who use the publications to reach across to this Vibrant community. The reasons are the largest paid circulation, our ethics of rejecting astrology or harmful and misleading adverts like black magic and fake healings besides comprehensive range of contents and continuous community connectivity .On one hand ABPL is loosing £1000 per week, yet we do believe, that is a small price to pay for the welfare of the communities.

Los Angeles: A 10-year-old home-schooled California boy with presidential ambitions, who at age 4 became one of the youngest Americans admitted to the high-IQ society Mensa, has received his high school diploma, his mother said. Tanishq Abraham got his diploma in a ceremony at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, his mother, Taji Abraham, a trained veterinarian, said. The Sacramento boy, who left his local public school when he was 7-year-old, actually completed his California early exit high school exam in March, but was too busy taking courses at a local community college to have the ceremony earlier, his mother said.

Judge calls for giving contraception to problem families

If you are thinking about opting for a challenging and rewarding career in space selling then there is no better alternate than joining as Business Development Executive with ABPL.

Killer levels of sugar in most fizzy drinks

London: A senior judge, Sir James Munby, the president of the family division of the High Court, said that courts should consider approving contraception for problem parents who have had up to 15 children taken into care. The judge said it was a "distressingly regular occurrence" for judges to deal with mothers who have a dozen or more children taken away by social services. London: A study by anti-sugar campaigners revealed that many types of ginger beer and elderflower drinks contain more sugar than Coca-Cola. Several brands of cloudy lemonade, including Sainsbury’s Waitrose and Fentimans, were also found to have more than ten teaspoons of sugar in each 330ml serving. The worst offender of 232 fizzy drinks analysed by Action on Sugar was Old Jamaica “extra fiery” ginger beer, with 52g, or 13 teaspoons, of sugar in every 330 ml - more than twice the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum daily intake of sugar and four teaspoons more than a can of Coke. Club Orange, a carbonated drink produced by Britvic, was found to contain 47g of sugar per 330ml, while Sainsbury’s cloudy lemonade was said to have 45g, just under 12 teaspoons and just over 11 respectively. In all, four out of five sweetened drinks had more sugar per can than the WHO’s daily limit of six teaspoons. The research follows after a law passed in California forces some drinks manufacturers to put health warnings on their products. There have been calls for similar measures to be introduced in the UK.

Experience itself is not necessary but a deep desire for success, pleasant personality, willing to work hard and approach prospective clients , commitment to provide reliable after sales service and self confidence are necessary traits in this vocation. Don’t hesitate to send your resume / CV to L. George with your contact details to Email: george@abplgroup.com or write to Asian Voice/ Gujarat Samachar Asian Business Publication Ltd 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW

Selected candidates will be called for an interview. Closing date for applying: 11th July, 2014.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Health & Wellness

My hair is missing in Kenya parts of Kenya and areas where water is sourced from mountains could be mineral rich. Water in Leicester and most parts of Britain is not as mineral rich. Try increasing your intake of minerals from eating more fruits and vegetables or by taking a supplement rich in minerals, vitamins, protein (after all hair is 97% protein). When on holiday people are more relaxed and it is possible that on returning to the UK resulted in increased stress. Make sure you reduce stress by meditation or yoga.

HEALTH STOP

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Some foods that will give you healthy skin The foods you consume every day play a significant role in the health of your skin as well as your overall health. Nowadays it’s hard to choose foods that are tasty and healthy at the same time. Here are a list of foods to eat to have a gorgeous skin. seeds make a perfect, portable snack to eat on the go. You can also use these wonderful seeds in your oatmeal, salads, cereal, or trail mix. Just make sure you don’t add too much salt to your salads, salt isn’t good for your skin. Chocolate: Chocolate is good for your skin, despite all the myths that it causes acne. You can eat it daily (but in moderation) without any fear of infecting acne. Chocolate actually increases flavonol intake that translates to gorgeous skin. Since chocolate has some calories, make sure you eat it in moderation. Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are really good for skin. They are high in vitamins A and C, which are both essential for glowing and healthy skin. The thing is, vitamin C increases collagen production that keeps your skin supple and smooth, and vitamin A is a potent antioxidant that fights free radical damage and prevents skin cancer. Tomatoes: Many people say that eating tomatoes can cause acne. But tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, namely lycopene, which helps improve skin health as well as protects pigmentation. Add tomatoes to your salads or put some on a sandwich. When you cook tomatoes, you increase their lycopene content, so feel free to eat pizza sauce and marinara too. Yogurt: Yogurt contains protein that keeps your skin firm and that helps fight the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Stay away from fruity versions since they are packed with sugar. Opt instead for plain yogurt and add some fresh fruits to it to make it more delicious. Red bell peppers: Whether cooked or raw, red bell peppers can also give you great skin. One red bell pepper has over 100% of your everyday vitamin C needs. It’s high in vitamin B6, dietary fiber and carotenoids that help fight wrinkles and increase blood flow to your skin, helping you look more youthful. Eating red bell peppers can also help combat acne. It’s an easy and delicious snack that has only 30 calories. A bell

JP MRPharmS Dip(Nutr) Dip(Hom) Dip(Ayurv) Dip(Stress Manag) Dip (Massage) Pharmacist, Ayurvedic, Complementary Health and Nutrition Consultant, Lecturer, Researcher and Author. He is a celebrity columnist for many magazines and is Director of The Ayurveda Institute of Europe and Coolherbals Ltd.

Ravi Bhanot

controlling the appearance of age spots and fine lines. A study shows that consuming flax seeds every day helps relieve skin redness and irritation and helps make skin look fresh and soft. Add some flax seeds to your oatmeal, smoothies or your favourite recipe Purple and blue fruits: Purple and blue fruits are among the best foods to eat for a great skin. Blueberries, blackberries and plums are all rich in antioxidants, which combat free radical damage. If you don’t know, free radicals come from a poor diet or chemicals in the environment. Purple and blue fruits can also help keep your skin looking younger longer. Sunflower seeds: Sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E, an important nutrient that helps protect your skin from the daily sun damage. Sunflower rapes are rich sources of vitamins G A, C, B6 and folate and

lax seeds: Flax seeds are rich in omega-3s F that play a critical role in

Grapes are good for health are a powerhouse of flavonoids and antioxidants, which help in reducing the damage caused by free radicals and slow down the process of ageing. It can be consumed in many ways - like grape juice, in wines etc. Here are a few health benefits. It is the best home remedy to treat migraine pains. Research suggests that grape seed can be combined with chemotherapy to improve treatment for bowel cancer. Adding grapes to your diet can help you lessen that excruciating knee pain. Studies suggest that eating grapes helps lower blood pressure and improve heart function. Grapes help in aiding digestion process thereby preventing dyspepsia.

pepper contains fiber that helps you to feel full longer so if you are on a diet and you want to have a perfect skin, add red bell peppers to your everyday diet. Salmon: Salmon is packed with vitamin D that is responsible for keeping your brain, heart, bones and colon healthy. It helps reduce anxiety, depression, and prevent colon cancer, bone disease and heart disease. Salmon contains omega-3 fatty acids that help hydrate your skin from the inside out as well as help fight inflammation, acne and wrinkles. Plus, consuming salmon regularly keeps your scalp hydrated and promotes healthy, strong hair. Spinach: Spinach is a nutrient-rich food you should definitely include into your eating plan. It’s an excellent source of Vitamin E, iron, chlorophyll, folate, magnesium, fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and plant protein, which are all great for your skin. Spinach is also packed with antioxidants that help prevent different types of skin problems. You can use spinach in your green smoothies or add it to your salads. Eating spinach regularly will help clean your skin from the inside out.

Water in Leicester and most parts of Britain is not mineral rich

I was not losing hair in Kenya but I have been since returning to the UK? I am 60 years old and the problem is getting worse every month. What can I do? Su, Leicester It is not unusual for women to start losing hair or having thinning hair during or after menopause. This is because the Oestrogen levels in the body decrease and this results in hair thinning. It is estimated that we lose 100 hairs daily, on average in any case. If it is due to menopause onset or post menopause increase eating oestrogen rich foods such as soya and tofu or take a food supplement with soya. Pitta energy, the heat energy in the body, increases in menopause causing the body to be warmed up resulting in hair loss or hair thinning. Eat ‘cooling’ foods such as salads and yogurt. For a full list of Pitta calming foods contact us. It is not clear whether you have changed your shampoo and conditioner either. Either way use a non - SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) shampoo which has yeast and fungi clearing ingredients such as tea tree oil and lavender and volumizing ingredients to make the hair look healthier and fuller.

It is possible that the problem here is a mineral imbalance. Water in some

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement it. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

To Our Readers

Follow the Nutrigro Hair Plan Coolherbals Ltd. 386 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG3 9JU

HAIR LOSS or HAIR THINNING?

I am 35 years old male and have got a receding hair line and a bald patch has started growing. My dad says he did too at 35 and he was bald at 45. Is there any chance for me to keep my hair? Tony, Harrow Research shows it is the mother’s father rather than your own father that determines your hereditary trait on hair loss. I am assuming your diet, stress levels and nutrition have not altered. If they, have contact us for more details including a list of foods to focus on. As the bald patch has only just started it may be that you still have the follicle or hair bud under the scalp. Use a 3mm Scalp Roller to roll over the scalp where you have the patch or thinning hair. This will help trigger hair growth from the follicle. The needles in the roller will form temporary holes in the scalp allowing hair products such as Nutrigro Serum to get into the scalp to strengthen the hold of the hair to the follicle further and to stimulate and nourish the follicle. The names given are pseudo names of people who have written in. Please email your questions to Ravi Bhanot ravi@coolherbals.com or phone 020 85979039/ write to 386 Green Lane, Ilford IG3 9JU.

Tel: 020 8597 9039 Email: ravi@coolherbals.com

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Surya walks out of Naynathara shooting for Gautham Menon film two films simultaneously ollywood actress Nayanthara has been shuttling between the sets of Pandiraj film and 'Nanbenda' directed by newcomer Jagadish which has Udhayanidhi Stalin in the lead role. Pandiraj is shooting a song in Kumbakonam temple and Jagadish is shooting the major portions of his film in Kumbakonam. Sources reveal that Nayanthara has been taking part in the shoot of both the film in the past few days. She will shoot for 'Nanbenda' in the morning and then she will move to the Pandiraj film. Jagadish will can the scenes with other actors until his lead heroine promptly reports on the sets. What has wondered many is how the 'Arrambam' actress manages to change her looks for both the films with in little time gap she gets.

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jith, Vijay and Karthik are acting together in a film. Wait...we are talking about child actors Vijay, Ajith and Karthik who are acting in the film titled 'Kandupidi Kandupidi'. The film has four lead characters that include another child actor Palani. The film is being directed by Ramasubbaraman. The debutante director says, "Wedding takes place in climax in most of the films. My film will be entirely revolving around wedding atmosphere. The first half of the film will focus on arrangements for a wedding. Rituals, feast and other related events of wedding in detail. The entire first half will be filled with lighter moments. An unexpected incident takes place and it changes the situation upside down. What happens next forms the rest". Kalki Yuva who has produced the film under Movie Bajar banner has also scored the music. Sukumar has handled the camera. 'Kandupudi Kandupudi' will be released in July.

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Ajith, Vijay and Karthik act together

fter “Neethane En Pon Vasantham” director Gautham Menon was supposed to work in a film with his his good friend actor Suriya. When film buffs were eagerly awaiting an official announcement about the project, Suriya gave a shocker by announcing that he is backing out of Gautham's project. The director allegedly kept him waiting without completing the script on the right time. Gautham started to work in a film with Silambarasan and Pallavi Subhash in lead roles and then the long pending offer to call shots for Ajith knocked his doors. While the shoot of Ajith-Gautham flick is going on at a brisk pace, film buffs are eager to know whether there are any personal differences between Suriya and Gautham that may hamper their working together in future. Gautham cleared this doubt in a recent interview that he will certainly work with Suriya in future if he gets the right script at the right time. The director admits that he was not aware of the focus and pattern of Suriya as an actor and that's why his proposed film with the actor did not pan out.

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‘Humshakals’

Amrita Rao plans to write on fashion tips

Humshakals is an upcoming Bollywood comedy film which means look alikes. The film is directed by Sajid Khan, produced by Vashu Bhagnani and filmed in several exotic locations. Saif Ali Khan, Ram Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh will be seen in a triple role mimicking the biggest names in Bollywood - Big B, Shatrughan Sinha and others. Saif Ali Khan will be imitating none other than his own father-in-law aka Randhir Kapoor! Female actresses Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Tamannaah Bhatia also join the cast in what promises to be a rib –tickling comedy!

ollywood actress Amrita Rao now plans to shift her focus to fashion. The actress will soon start writing a fashion blog through which she will give some fashion tips and suggestions to her fans about how to be presentable. The actress was toying with the idea since the time she received many fan mails. However, she decided to go ahead with it after one of her friend suggested it. Talking about the blog, Amrita says “From past few years I have received several mails from my fans who wanted some tips from me regarding fashion. I was considering to write it from a long time but recently in an event one of my friend suggested it that I should start writing and give tips regarding fashion through my blogs, so yes I will soon start writing a fashion blog.”

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ollywood a c t r e s s Bipasha Basu’s film “Alone” (tentative title), is being produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak and Pradeep Aggarwal, and directed by Bhushan Patel. According to reports, Bipasha will now be seen playing the role of twins who are conjoined at birth. The film is about how one (of the twins) becomes an evil spirit, while the other one is sweet and protective of the other. Bipasha says that “Alone” is a very challenging film, because it’s an emotional journey wherein the characters are layered and complex. She added that she is also studying on the subject and watching documentaries on conjoined twins. Popular TV actor Karan Singh Grover, who makes his Bollywood debut with this film, will be seen playing Bipasha’s love interest in this film.

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Bipasha to play conjoined twins in ‘Alone’

t was an event that Kollywood would remember for a long time. Director A L Vijay and actress Amala Paul tied the knot in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Chennai. The wedding was a star-studded affair with some of the biggies in the industries showering their blessings on the newly-weds. Amala was glowing in her bridal attire and was seen enjoying every bit of the big day in her life. The family of both the bride and groom was present. The guests included Crazy Mohan, GV Prakash and Saindhavi, Mani Ratnam, Bala, Vikram, Arya, Abbas and Jagapathi Babu. The couple had exchanged rings in Christian style just a few days back.

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Vijay and Amala Paul tie the knot

idya Balan is not frowning and fuming at pregnancy rumours anymore. Instead, she’s only enjoying them as she takes a break: “But actresses have a shorter shelf-life anyway, so how can you take a break?” When asked about new rumours - you were pregnant, your marriage was in trouble, you were walking out of films – she said, “I’ve been having some niggling health issues which needed attention. I needed to take time off and just get it sorted, once and for all, because there’s always another film or a film release, and you keep pushing these things. I opted out of Sujoy Ghosh’s film which was a very difficult decision for me, considering we had done ‘Kahaani’ together. The next thing I know is that they said I was pregnant and I said, Okay, for the tenth time in 10 months, (laughs) this is faster than Gandhari. I don’t know at what rate she produced but I definitely beat her at it and it doesn’t even show!”

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Vidya Balan enjoying pregnancy rumours

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

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SRK voted most admired dad in India ollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has emerged as the most admired dad in India. Matrimony website Shaadi.com conducted the online survey with over 5,500 respondents to find out who the most popular father is. When Indian women were asked about the country’s most popular father, SRK, who has three children, got the lion’s share of votes, while US President Barack Obama topped the charts among famous fathers of other nationalities. Shah Rukh Khan got 42.5 per cent votes, followed by Sachin Tendulkar (36.9 per cent) and Amitabh Bachchan (20.6 per cent). Among most admired dads of other nationalities, 40.3 per cent chose Obama, followed by musician Will Smith (31.4 per

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cent), former football ace David Beckham (15.2 per cent) and tennis champion Roger Federer (13.1 per cent). The respondents were also asked to choose India’s most admired father-daughter relationship. As many as 43.2 per cent voted for the camaraderie that Shah Rukh shares with his daughter Suhana. The duo was closely followed by Mahesh Bhatt and Alia Bhatt (27.3 per cent), Prakash Padukone and Deepika Padukone (17.2 per cent) and Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor (12.3 per cent).

Sunny Leone turns royal for next film F

Vidya turns super sleuth in ‘Bobby Jasoos’

ollywood actress Vidya Balan will turn super sleuth in her forthcoming film “Bobby B Jasoos” which will be released on 4th July. The film celebrates the aspiration of ‘Bobby’ (Vidya Balan), who wants to become the number one detective in the old city area of Hyderabad. What ensues is a classic thriller caper that serves up a tantalising mix of twists and turns, as the vivacious and engaging ‘Bobby’ solves a series of mind-boggling crime cases. Vidya Balan once again shines in the title role of this quirky and edgy thriller. Famed for playing strong female protagonists and for breaking the stereotype of a Hindi film heroine, Vidya portrays the lady detective ‘Bobby’ with dedication and suitable aplomb. Vidya has wowed audiences since her big screen debut in the 2003 and has gone on to win an impressive 12 awards for her stellar roles. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, five Filmfare awards and five Screen awards, as well as being awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. In 2013 Vidya was one of the official ambassadors for the Indian film industry at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is directed by Samar Shaikh. The film is co-produced by Bollywood actress Dia Mirza and Sahil Sangha under their production banner Born Free Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment.

o r m e r adult-film star-turned Bollywood actress Sunny Leone has come a long way in her small stint in the tinsel town. After being accepted with an open heart in Bollywood – Sunny Leone has been lucky to be working in a variety of projects. First she made her Big Bollywood debut with “Jism 2” where she actually showed off her “jism” and later did a few hit item songs – ‘Laila’, ‘Baby Doll’ , then a successful horror movie ‘ ‘Ragini MMS 2” and now she is set to make her TV debut as a host with “Splitsvilla 7.” And now reports are that Sunny Leone will apparently take up a royal role, that of a Princess in a film tentatively titled, “Leela.” The first look of the film is out which reveals an enticing looking Sunny Leone seated on a throne in all her royal finery and jewels. Written-directed by Bobby Khan, “Leela” will be produced by Bhushan Kumar and Ahmed along with Shaira Khan.

ollywood actress Priyanka Chopra’s upcoming film “Mary Kom’s” release has been postponed to buy time to give the film the global appeal of “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.” The release has been postponed to avoid a clash with Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif’s ‘Bang Bang’ and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean adaptation ‘Haider’ starring Shahid Kapoor. According to a source, the project is now being formatted into two different versions, one for the Indian and the other for the international market with the Indian version being longer.

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Release of ‘Mary Kom’ postponed

f reports are to be believed, former lovers S h a h i d Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra will be cast together in a movie. A report says that Abhishek Chaubey wants to cast Shahid and Priyanka in his next film titled 'Udta Punjab'. The report adds that Abhishek, who recently had a fallout with his mentor Vishal Bharadwaj, has already signed Shahid Kapoor for his next project. If things go his way, then he will also sign Priyanka for the same. The movie will be based in Punjab and will be produced by Phantom Films. Shahid and Priyanka have worked in “Kaminey” and “Teri Meri Kahaani” together.

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Shahid & Priyanka to pair up again?

ftab Shivdasini, who was last seen in the hit film “Grand Masti,” has reportedly tied the knot with girlfriend Nin Dusanj. According to reports, the couple who met through common friends a while back had been dating ever since, and finally got hitched at a private ceremony attended by both their families. Nin Dusanj, a British-Indian girl, was working in Hong Kong for six years as a consultant in the luxury brand industry before relocating to India in 2012. While the couple is already married now, they plan to have an elaborate celebration at the end of the year.

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Shivdasani ties the knot with fiancee Nin Dusanj

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Judge praises brave shopkeeper after shotgun scene

UK

A brave shopkeeper has been praised by a judge, for her efforts in fighting off a teenager armed with a sawnoff shotgun. Mrs Ranvir Bassi refused to hand over money when she was faced with a gun pointing at her. Instead, she pushed the gun away and chased the masked gunman to the door of her shop in Stafford. Recorder Mr Michael Elsom said at Stafford Crown Court: "Mrs Bassi displayed quite extraordinary bravery in taking hold of the weapon." Mrs Bassi was shutting the shop 10 minutes early to visit her son Gurdip, aged eight, who is in hospital suffering from severe eczema, when the attacker stormed in. Mr Beardwell said the defendant had been in to the shop to buy some

Ethnic children perform better than White British children The head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, is known for his 'tough love' strategy. As chief inspector of schools, he is now introducing his strict approach all over the UK. The no-nonsense attitude can be seen as a response to the alleged extremism in Birmingham — where five schools were put into special measures last week. He reportedly said, “Schools are often the only places where children can learn about other faiths, other cultures and other styles of living. All... must promote the values of wider British society.” Since taking over as chief inspector in 2012, he has scrapped the “satisfactory” measure and insisted that all schools must be “good”, with those that do not improve fast enough placed in special measures. According to a table released by Ofsted showing where British children stand in comparison to the rest of the world, only 28% White British Boys and 37% White British girls get five A* - C grades whilst 57% Indian boys, 67% Indian girls, 56% Bangladeshi boys, 63% Bangladeshi girls, 43% Pakistani boys and 51% Pakistani girls achieve 5 A* - C grades.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Mercury is retrograde in your solar third house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to composing letters, emails, making phone calls, and with communications in general. Issues with siblings or neighbours - these should be resolved amicably. Relationships are also sensitive, try to resolve issues amicably.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

Ranvir Bassi

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sweets about 6.30pm on November 4 last year. He returned two hours later, masked and carrying the shotgun in a yellow carrier bag. The video showed him entering the store, pointing the gun at Mrs Bassi, who reacted quickly and within moments was chasing the gunman out and locking the door. The teenager, who was 17 at the time and cannot be named, will be sentenced at a later date.

Spiritual healer appears in court A "spiritual healer" has appeared in court charged for allegedly blackmailing and defrauding a woman out of £50,000 through a healing and astrology service. Mohammed Ashrafi (49) faces one count of blackmail, and one charge of fraud by misrepresentation in relation to facilitating a £60 million Euro lottery win. The charges relate to a "healing and astronomy" service which was advertised in Leicester. Ashrafi, an Indian national in the UK on a six-month working visa, appeared at Leicester Crown Court via a live video link from Leicester Prison, where he is being held since his recent arrest. A Hindi interpreter translated the proceedings to him over the live link, during a 10 minute hearing. No pleas were entered in relation to the offences allegedly committed between February 1 and 28 this year. Judge Nicholas Dean QC adjourned the case for a plea and directions hearing on August 29. Ashrafi, of Pannier Place, Milton Keynes, was told he will stay on remand in custody.

Mercury your ruling planet is retrograde in your solar first house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to your body language. Others may misinterpret whatever you say and you should be aware that you can give off mixed signals. Good time to review the manner in which you come across to others.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Retrograde Mercury transit occurs in your solar second house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to new financial initiatives. There may be the need to resolve old, nagging issues regarding personal finances. Take this time to re-budget and re-think how you want to spend your cash during this period. GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 Retrograde transit of Mercury occurs in your solar twelfth house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to private and personal matters. Be as non-judgemental as you can, but do keep an eye out for deceptiveness and falseness in others. Good time for yoga and meditation.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 It's a good time for getting on with your work colleagues, as Venus embraces your 10th house. Bear in mind that Mercury turns retrograde in your eleventh house of friends and associates as well. The next few weeks would serve you well if you spend more time listening than speaking.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 Mercury, your ruling planet turns retrograde in your tenth house of career and status, slowing down your progress at work. It is important for you to be steadfast and focused as misunderstandings and confusion reign. Stay as organized as possible while Mercury, the planet of communications does its best to trip you up.

Mercury turns retrograde in your ninth house of travel and adventure, slowing down your pace for the next two weeks. Your mental focus could be anywhere other than your normal routine find a way to break up the monotony. Don't be afraid to take on extra responsibilities as it could lead to better prospects.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

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SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The planet Mercury turns retrograde in your eighth house of joint resources, taxes, wills, legacies and alimony, creating confusion and complications for you during the next two weeks. Mars, your ruling planet is also in your solar 12th house, so make sure you have plenty of focus when making decisions. SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

Your closest relationships come under scrutiny as Mercury, the planet of communications goes retrograde in your seventh house of marriage and partnerships. There can be a lot of misunderstandings and confused signals. You'll need to listen carefully to what your partner is saying. Try to resolve issues diplomatically, instead of being rash.

The next two weeks may bring confusion and misunderstandings at work and troubles with your health as Mercury turns retrograde in your sixth house. You'll need to pay more attention to detail and double check everything before finalising important matters. Health problems should also be taken seriously.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

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Mercury retrograde occurs in your solar fourth house. Extra care should be exercised when it comes to family relations, real estate matters, and domestic issues. Be as diplomatic as you can with family members. Try to put off major decision-making with regards to home improvement, moving, and family matters for the time being.

Mercury retrograde Occurs in your solar fifth house. Extra care should be exercised when it comes to matters surrounding romance, children, and creativity. Be as non-judgemental as possible and you should avoid jumping to any premature decisions. This is a period of review and rest. Speculation and gambling are not advised right now.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Germany marked their 100th World Cup game in style on Monday by thumping shambolic Portugal 4-0 in the midday sun to confirm their billing as title contenders while the United States snatched a win over Ghana. The tournament continued to live up to its reputation as one of the best in recent years and in a hugely enjoyable, fastpaced game the US grabbed a late goal for a surprise 2-1 victory over their deflated opponents. Earlier, African champions Nigeria could only stumble to a dire goalless draw with Iran in the first really poor game spectators have seen in Brazil. Germany became the first team to notch up a century of World Cup games and Thomas Mueller's hattrick - the first of the tournament - easily saw off of Portugal in a 4-0 win in their Group G opener in Salvador. The occasion had been billed as clash between two European heavyweights but was effectively over in the opening 45 minutes when the Germans scored three times and combative Portuguese centre back

Germany mark World Cup century in style, US upset Ghana

SPORT WORLD Country GP W D Group A Brazil 1 1 0 Mexico 1 1 0 Cameroon 1 0 0 Croatia 1 0 0 Group B Netherlands 1 1 0 Chile 1 1 0 Australia 1 0 0 Spain 1 0 0 Group C Colombia 1 1 0 Côte d'Ivoire 1 1 0 Japan 1 0 0 Greece 1 0 0 Group D Costa Rica 1 1 0 Italy 1 1 0 England 1 0 0 Uruguay 1 0 0 Group E France 1 1 0 Switzerland 1 1 0 Ecuador 1 0 0 Honduras 1 0 0 Group F Argentina 1 1 0 Iran 1 0 1 Nigeria 1 0 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 0 0 Group G Germany 1 1 0 United States 1 1 0 Ghana 1 0 0 Portugal 1 0 0 L 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 GF 3 1 0 1 5 3 1 1 3 2 1 0 3 2 1 1 3 2 1 0 2 0 0

31 PTS 3 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 1 1

World cup football 2014 point table GA GD 1 0 1 3 1 1 3 5 0 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 1 0 0 2 1 -1 -2 4 2 -2 -4 3 1 -1 -3 2 1 -1 -2 3 1 -1 -3 1 0 0

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders to watch the world cup football final, scheduled a couple of days before a summit meeting of "Brics", a grouping comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is not known yet whether Modi, who ended a two-day visit to Bhutan on Tuesday, will fly to Brazil early to watch the final in Rio. Reports suggest that some other leaders have confirmed their presence in what is arguably the biggest sporting event of the year featuring 32 nations. The Brics summit at Fortaleza will be Modi's first multilateral visit since he took over as prime minister last month. Last week, the Prime Minister had tweeted that the FIFA World Cup would become a bridge to connect nations of the world. "Football has emerged as a very popular sport among the youth & am sure youngsters will be following the World Cup with great enthusiasm," he tweeted before releasing a commemorative postage stamp on the event.

Modi invited to watch World Cup final in Brazil

Pepe was sent off. In the second half, Germany played at a much slower pace as the stupefying heat took its toll but still scored a fourth goal through Mueller. Messi scores and lifts Argentina 2-1 over Bosnia It took Lionel Messi just over an hour in Argentina's World Cup opener against BosniaHerzegovina to show why so many fans consider him the best in the world. After a frustrating first half, the Argentina captain scored in trademark style in the 65th minute on Sunday night, completing a quick 1-2 connection with Gonzalo Higuain and running through defenders before striking a brilliant left-footed shot off

Thomas Mueller

The 1st Test between England and Sri Lanka came to a dramatic end as the visitors clinched a draw with just one wicket remaining. England very nearly tasted victory when needing just one wicket to win, but the Lankans got the decision in their favour on the penultimate delivery. No. 11 Nuwan Pradeep was struck in front of the wicket by Stuart Broad, but DRS saved Sri Lanka as a review revealed an inside edge. Alastair Cook, the England captain later admitted that he heard the nick when his fellow England players appealed for a leg-before decision in the final over at Lord’s. "I didn't really move too far from my bar stool at first slip. I did think he nicked it but everyone started saying it was two pads, so I kind of got excited. But it was a big noise," said Cook. Cook and England have always supported the use of technology and the left-hander revealed that it was good to get the right decision despite his team being denied a closely contested Test match. The Sri Lankan No. 11 survived crucial five deliveries on the final over of the Test match, helping the islanders to a thrilling draw.

Lanka clinch a draw against England in 1st test

the post. The goal - only the second for Messi on football's biggest stage - set off wild celebrations among the throngs of Argentine fans that had turned the famed Maracana stadium into a sea of blue and white. It also energized an unimpressive Argentina team that was ahead at that point only because of an early own goal by Bosnia. Vedad Ibisevic scored a close-in goal in the 85th, but Argentina held on to win 2-1 in the Group F match. "It's the first game, I was anxious, nervous," Messi said. "It was important to start with a win. We've got to improve certain things, but it was important to start with the

three points." Dutch rip shellshocked Spain to shreds A rampant Netherlands team inflicted a heaviest World Cup defeat on holders Spain in over 60 years with a dazzling 5-1 demolition on Friday that sent shockwaves through the tournament. The Dutch were nothing but brutal in a tetchy 1-0 final defeat by the Spaniards four years ago, but they set out to disrupt the champions' possession game and blew them away with two goals each from Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben. Only once before had Spain conceded five times in a World Cup game, in a 6-1 loss to hosts Brazil in 1950. The mauling was also the worst ever start for defending world champions. "Spain were always going to come at us and we catch them on the counter. My players did it perfectly. It's far better than we ever expected," Dutch coach Louis van Gaal told reporters. Dutch revenge looked unlikely when Spain, also 2008 and 2012 European champions, went ahead in the Group B clash with a 27th- minute Xabi Alonso penalty after Diego Costa was brought down.

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MCC vs Rest of the World to dazzle Britons

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Tough journey for Moeen Ali Earlier, Moeen Ali made a perfect test debut. After 14 balls, Moeen had raced to 18. He flicked a couple of fours to leg, and edged a couple more to third man. It would have been tempting for Moeen to continue in this lighthearted, even flowery vein, but he did not. He buckled down. He may be a wristy left-hander more inclined to play square than straight, but there is steel. He put his head down alongside Joe Root and began to tough it out, trying to turn the game around from 120 for four. What distinguishes 26year-old Moeen was that he was trying to become the first batsman from a British state school to establish himself in the England Test side since Paul Collingwood.

In their formative years Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance and Joe Root topped up their cricket education by scoring a century on the beautiful sward of their private schools against MCC or Free Foresters. Ten or 12 years ago Moeen and his mates had to go down to the park for a game – a park in Sparkhill in south Birmingham which had no cricket pitch, let alone a ground, but that was not going to stop them. Indeed, Moeen and his mates were all the offspring of two brothers who emigrated from Kashmir, settled in Sparkhill and played in the Birmingham Parks League. Moeen stood out about the age of 12 when he had a net session against Kabir, his cousin, six years older. “Moeen handled him really well and kept pulling him over midwicket. He was so aggressive the coach was telling him to calm down.” So it was no surprise that Moeen dug in at the turning point on day one, and batted for 84 balls to score his 30 remaining runs, before his inexperience let him drive at one of Herath’s drifters that landed in a footmark.

The details of the teams are as follows: MCC Name Country Sachin Tendulkar (Captain) India Saeed Ajmal Pakistan Shivnarine Chanderpaul West Indies Rahul Dravid India Aaron Finch Australia Umar Gul Pakistan Brian Lara West Indies Brett Lee Australia Chris Read England Shaun Tait Australia Daniel Vettori New Zealand Rest of the World Name Country Shane Warne (Captain) Australia Shahid Afridi Pakistan Tino Best West Indies Paul Collingwood England Adam Gilchrist Australia Tamim Iqbal Bangladesh Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka Kevin Pietersen England Virander Sehwag India Peter Siddle Australia Yuvraj Singh India

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will lead international, star-studded MCC and Rest of the World line-ups for the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's on

Saturday, 5th July. Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist, Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara and Brett Lee are among the names who'll play at the Home of Cricket in the 50-over match.

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India win 1st ODI against Bangladesh India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first ODI at Mirpur on Sunday. Chasing a revised target of 150 in 26 overs, India rode on halfcenturies from openers Ajinkya Rahane (64) and Robin Uthappa (50) to reach home with seven balls to spare. India now have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. India were 100 for 1 in 16.4 overs, chasing Bangladesh's 272/9, when heavy rains disrupted play for almost two and a half hours at the Shere-eBangla National stadium. When play resumed, India needed 50 more off 56 balls but soon found themselves in a spot of bother as Shakib Al Hasan trapped Cheteshwar Pujara lbw for a duck. The moisture underneath the covered pitch helped the ball grip the surface, thereby helping the spinners. Ambati Rayudu came in to bat at number four and helped Rahane ease the tension by not taking any

SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st June 2014

Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Uthappa shine with half centuries couple of overs, the duo slowly started to open their shoulders. On a low and slow wicket, the batsmen had to make their own pace and that they did by charging down the track to the Bangladesh medium pacers. Rahane danced down the track on a few occasions to make the length conducive to his style of play and find the gaps. Uthappa was also not shy of taking the aerial route now and then and completed his fifty in 44 balls, thanks to three fours and three sixes. Uthappa's knock was finally ended when he was adjudged lbw off Shakib when the score was 99 in the 17th over. Earlier, skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib scored half centuries as Bangladesh scored 272 for nine.

chances against the spinners. Rahane, on the other hand, reached his sixth ODI half-century but fell to a spectacular catch by Ziaur Rehman at shortthird man off Mashrafe Mortaza. But by that time, the damage had been done and it was only a matter of time before skipper Suresh Raina and Rayudu secured the win in the 25th over. Before the rain break, highest run-getter in the 2014 Indian Premier

League, Uthappa continued his brilliant run with the bat and celebrated his return to the ODI side after a gap of nearly six years - with a sixth ODI half-century. As the regular batsmen are rested for this series, Team India fielded a new opening combination of Uthappa and Rahane. The duo looked at ease against a Bangladesh attack that lacked penetration. After safely playing out the first

Electing to bat after winning the toss in the hot and humid conditions, Bangladesh were off to a shaky start as they lost opener Tamim Iqbal for zero in the fourth over as Umesh Yadav got the lefthander caught behind by Wriddhiman Saha. New man Mominul Haque (six off 17) looked uncomfortable at the crease and he went after a wide one from Yadav, only to edge and give Saha his second catch of the day. At the other end, right-handed opener Anamul Haque batted more aggressively and hit seven fours in his 44. He shared a 52-run stand with Rahim before failing to clear deep midwicket and giving debutant Parvez Rasool his maiden ODI wicket. Rahim looked in brilliant touch and together with Shakib, milked the Indian bowlers. Rahim was particularly ferocious, especially on the spinners, using his slog sweep to good effect. Rahim hit

three fours and three sixes in his 63-ball 59 before a sudden rush of blood saw him throw his wicket away as he was caught by Rasool off his own bowling. Shakib then took centrestage and started resurrecting the innings with a 65-run stand with Mahmudullah. Just when he was threatening to take the game away from India, Shakib fell to his counterpart Raina when he tried to play one against the spin and ended up spooning a return catch. Mahmudullah scored 41 from 44 balls and Nasir Hossain hit 22 off 20 to give the impetus to the Bangladesh innings in the death overs. However, India's lead spinner in the series Amit Mishra removed both the batsmen in successive balls. Tailenders Mortaza (18 off 10) and Abdur Razzak (16* off 12) hammered some lusty blows in the end to take Bangladesh's total not just past 250 but end at a challenging 272.