AV 25th November 2017

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First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

Vol 46 | Issue 29

COMMUNITY UPROARS #FREEJAGGINOW TM

25th November to 1st December 2017

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Rupanjana Dutta

More than 400 Scottish Sikhs travelled in coaches all the way from Scotland to London in efforts to join upto thousand Sikhs protesting outside the Foreign Commonwealth Office in Whitehall on Thursday, against the arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal by Punjab Police for his alleged role in targeted killings in the state.

He is accused of funding the purchase of weapons connected to the targeted killings of high-profile Hindus, and of “influencing the youth” by publishing material related to the deaths of thousands of Sikhs in pogroms in 1984.

Johal, more popularly known as Jaggi, was in India for his wedding since end of October. The 30year-old Dumbarton man was with his new wife and his cousin when he was arrested on the street on November 4. The Punjab government has claimed that Jaggi is among a group of four suspects arrested on allegations of fanning communal disturbance in the state.

The shocked and concerned community in the UK have urged the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to intervene and have his rights as a British citizen protected. His brother Gurpreet Singh, 32, who travelled to London from Scotland, told protesters

Indian medical student Chhillar crowned Miss World

See Page - 26

Huge victory for India as Justice Bhandari re-elected to ICJ

See Page -26

As I See It Gujarat Elections: Cong and Rahul put foot in mouth

See Page -8

outside FCO told the government has failed to act on the case and accused it of stripping Sikhs of their rights.

He said: "They have got a duty to a British citizen.

He's British by birth, he's not British by acquired nationality."

Using a megaphone to address the crowd, he added: "He has lived 30 years of his life in this country, if this is happening to him what rights do we have as British citizens?"

Supporter Shinda Singh, 64, travelled with more than 70 others from Birmingham to demand action from the Foreign Office.

Continued on page 16

Modi remains very popular: Pew Research

Three years into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fiveyear tenure, the leader finds his relation with the people just as vibrant as it was when he took

office. Main findings of a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center conducted among 2,464 respondents in India, reveal that nearly nine in Continued on page 26

Mallya's extradition hearing to start on Dec 4

Indian businessman Vijay Mallya insists all allegations of money laundering against him are “baseless and fabricated”.

Addressing the media after leaving a London

courthouse, the ex-chairman of United Spirits said, “Come to court Continued on page 26 More reports on page 18

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

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with

Keith Vaz, MP

Jim Painter Jim Painter earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and is currently an Adjunct Professor at University of Texas, School of Public Health. His current areas of research include reducing risk of heart disease through phyto-nutrient and dietary intervention, mindless eating and stealthy calorie intake to control calorie intake. Jim has been a Registered Dietitian since 1980 and has served as the Director of Nutrition research for the California Raisin Marketing Board, nutrition adviser for SunMaid Raisin Growers of California and Paramount Farms Wonderful Pistachios. He consults for the Davison’s Safest Choice and the National Dairy Council. He currently serves on the American Heart Association’s Products and Services Eat Well Task Force and is a member of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.

He worked for Marriott Corporation in the 1980s, taught nutrition at the University of Illinois during the 1990s and Chaired the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University until 2013.

Jim has more than 100 peer reviewed publications and presentations to his credit and has authored the text book, Nutrition You Can Use and his latest book Let’s Eat Mindfully!

He and his wife Rosemary live in the United States and have two sons, two daughter-in-law’s and four grandchildren.

1) Which place or city or country do you most feel at home in?

I have travelled many places around the world and feel at home in most of them.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

That I have had the opportunity to influence people globally on nutrition, though I don’t consider it my achievement, rather, my good fortune.

3) What inspires you?

I am inspired when I see my influence paying off in an Aha! moment from an audience member, whether it be an idea on how to lose weight, reduce sugar but not flavour, or how to live healthier.

4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

The biggest obstacle might be in sorting fact

from supposition even in nutritional data, and then changing minds that don’t want to look afresh at the data.

5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

Fred Kummerow - I admire his research and conclusions. He has singlehandedly pressed the US government to remove transfats from the diet.

6) What is the best aspect about your current role?

My ability to network with and affect the health of people worldwide.

7) And the worst? ...when technology doesn’t work well.

8) What are your long term goals?

Continue to be a change agent for good health and

also take time to relax, be fit and be prayerful.

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

Not sure, but I would focus on nutritional improvements in the health care system

paradigm.

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

I would want to meet Jesus and hear his teachings in person, especially regarding forgiveness.

UK’s National Indian Students and Alumni Union announces partnership with National Union of Students The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU), the UK’s apex national organisation representing students, alumni and young professionals of Indian origin hosted “Ideas for India” a unique event on Tuesday 14 November celebrating the UK-India educational and youth partnership. The event was held in association with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Mayor of London’s official agency, London and Partners.

A 13-member delegation of young Indian politicians, holding influential positions in the student wings of India’s major political parties, is in the UK as guests of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The purpose of the visit is in a bid to support India’s reform and growth priorities. To build awareness of parliamentary and good governance, deepen political links and open up opportunities to build cross-cutting networks and future collaborations between our two great nations. This opportunity will enable the delegation to learn from UK’s political and parliamentary systems, governance and regulatory systems and higher education sector.

The NISAU, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary, provided the visiting cross-party Indian student politicians with an opportunity to present their ideas and vision for India’s growth and reforms, focusing on what they think are the most crucial issues needing attention and focus, in the form of a succinct, short pitch. The pitches were

followed by a passionate discussion with an intellectually driven audience, consisting of academics, students, young professionals and senior stakeholders in the UK-India relationship.

During the event, the NISAU announced the appointment of its newest Patron and the launch of its ‘Friends of NISAU’ initiative, to mark the start of the celebrations of its fifth anniversary.

NISAU’s newest Patron is the renowned businessman in the hospitality sector, Mr Ramesh Arora, Managing Director of The Montcalm Luxury Hotels, who was appointed as Patron of the NISAU in recognition of his guidance and support to the young Indian community in the UK, and his passion of promoting India as a leading global tourist destination. Under Mr Arora’s guidance, the NISAU hopes to effectively equip the Indian student community, i.e. the young brand ambassadors of brand India, with the knowledge to promote India as the leading global tourism destination, and thus contribute towards India’s socio-economic

NISAU and NUS Partnership

development.

Announcing the Friends of NISAU initiative, Miss Sanam Arora, founder and chairperson of the organisation commented “It is absolutely incredible to have come such a long way in just 5 years. I started the NISAU during my time at the LSE, in 2012, because there was no organisation that united the very dynamic Indian student community on a national basis, and there was so much we could do, only if we collaborated together! It was at this time that all the immigration changes were also coming into play, leading to thousands of Indian students getting negatively impacted. Yet, there was no representation for them. That’s how the

NISAU was born – to become that thread that joins all the beads together and fights for justice for these young, faultless students! And today that is precisely what we have – our members and followers can be found at almost all UK universities, we have our affiliate student societies at more than 30 universities and have complete coverage of all four countries of the UK, and a team in India. We collaborate today with all government and non-government stakeholders, and it is testimony to our exceptional work that we have been invited by the Indian Government to represent the Indian student community at its Pravasi Bharatiya Divas forums, every year since 2014, as

well as many other prestigious forums, including We s t m i n s t e r Po l i c y m a k i n g forums, the University of Oxford, and even an event by the Australian International Students Body.

So, we have come a long way in five years. To celebrate this special moment and to help us grow further, we have today launched a very special initiative, Friends of NISAU. This is a network of people who can help us grow and deliver on our ultimate vision of positively contributing to our great nations. I am absolutely delighted that some very special people such as the Rt. Hon Preet Gill, Member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston; the Dame Asha Khemka, Principal of West Nottinghamshire College, Mr Anand Kumar, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Union Bank of India, Lord Meghnad Desai, Mrs Tara Naidu, Manager for UK and Europe, Air India and Mrs Mira Mishra Kaushik, the Director of Akademi, have come forth as friends of the Indian student and alumni community in Britain.”

Commenting on the event, Mr Mohanish Borana, President of NISAU, said “Our platform, Perspective, aims to promote dynamic and unbiased discussions on issues facing contemporary India as well as the opportunities that India presents.

Through today’s unique initiative we have indulged in dialogue with future policy-makers of India and presented the opportunity for the #livingbridge, the young Indian diaspora, to have an open intellectual discourse with those that are likely to lead Indian politics and governments in the years to come. The idea here is to not discuss the problem alone but to develop a solution-seeking attitude in the concerned stakeholders, and that is precisely what we achieved today. When we launched Perspective, we brought to the UK, Mr Utsav Bains, the 30-year-old lawyer who represented the plaintiffs in the case against the self-styled godman Ram Rahim, and in doing so, brought about what is perhaps one of the biggest judicial wins in India’s history. Today through Perspective we brought India’s future political leaders to the UK. There is a lot more to come.”

The NISAU also announced the formal launch of its working partnership with the UK’s National Union of Students (NUS).

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COMMENTS

India’s South East in Asian footprint Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the ASEAN Summit in Manila and his engagement with local leaders, China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang and US President Donald Trump (the last two meetings on the sidelines of the Summit) were evidence of India’s lengthening footprint in the region. The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs announced on the social media that the ‘two neighbours (India and China engaged) in deep conversation.’

However, the consultations between the quadrilateral powers, India, the United States, Japan and Australia were a signal of intent to balance China’s heft in the region in the region - an assurance to the nations of South East Asia that their anxieties on security had been noted in the light of Chinese assertiveness in the South Ch ina Sea. ASEAN nations have noted the way India handled the Doklam standoff with China and have been heartened by the spectacle; they are keener for greater Indian involvement in their region. Luo Zhiaohu China’s Ambassador to India, writing in The Tribune, referred to futility of trying to ‘contain China.’ No one in the region would be foolish enough to do so, what they seek is ruled-based Chinese policy in the South China Sea rather than the cavalier disregard of the interests of smaller littoral states.

The Indian spokesman explained: ‘Prime Minister Modi’ shared concerns of DPRK’s (North Korea) pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons and called complete verification and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. He also said that North Korea’s proliferation links must be investigated and the parties who have supported these unlawful programmes must be made accountable.’

There is a clear subtext to this statement. It was China that set up the web with Pakistan as the hub.

Pakistan trafficked its nuclear weapon technology – much ot purloined in Holland by the rogue scientist A.Q. Khan – and significant transfers of the selfsame technology to Islamabad by Beijing. The Carter, Reagan and senior Bush administration were privy to this clandestine network but chose to look the other way. Richard Barlow, the CIA’s desk officer for

Pakistan kept badgering his superiors on the dangerous ground realities but his warnings were ignored. Barlow’s persistence eventually earned him dismissal on grounds of mental instability[Refer Adrian Levy & Catherine Scott-Clark, DECEPTION: Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapon Conspiracy; also, Andrew Small, The ChinaPakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics] These issues must be squarely faced. Others, too, require close critical scrutiny. The Korean War (1950-53) ended in an armistice along the 38th dividing North from South Korea. Why was there no peace treaty in these intervening 67 years? The answer is simple: the United States preferred to maintain the status quo for geopolitical reasons.

Similar why has there been no peace treaty between Russia and Japan since the formal conclusion of the Second World in September 1945? The United States willed it so for the self-same geopolitics.

President Trump’s Korean diplomacy has so alarmed legislators back home, that some have tabled a resolution depriving him of final authority to press the nuclear button. Incendiary language of Presidential threats, complemented by military drills and armadas of aircraft carriers, warships and submarines have failed to bring the North Korean leadership to heel. The South Korean leadership, alive to the devastation that awaited the peninsula in the eventuality of another Korean war, advocated inter-Korean talks, but this earned them a stinging Trump rebuke. Bl owing hot and cold bring contradictory signals and the North Koreans are proving stubbornly recalcitrant.

North Korea, no pushover banana republic, is calling America’s bluff, much to China’s alarm.

President Xi Jinping’s special envoy to Pyongyang will no doubt explain the nuances of Chinese policy towards the United States. North Korea for urgent talks, as Beijing’s economic sanctions against its erstwh ile ally don’t seem to be working either. The chickens are coming home to roost for Washington.

The Obstinate North Koreans appear to be calling the shots. The best laid plans of mice often go awry.

Robert Mugabe was in the forefront of Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence from white colonial rule. Joshua Nkomo, almost forgotten today, also contributed to that cause but was sidelined by the eventual victor, Mugabe, who was sworn into power way back in 1980. His first decade as President was one of hope for the future for a multiracial society in a country long regarded as the bread basket of Africa. With a sound platform of thriving agriculture there were justifiable expectations of an industrial takeoff somewhere along the line. President Mugabe was a man in hurry, as were the bulk of his land-hungry African supporters. Practical means harnessed visionary ends could have brought about the desired goal.

corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So it was with the aging Robert Mugabe. His first wife died after a long illness. He married a typist in his secretariat called Grace. Almost forty years his junior and vastly ambitious, she thirsted for supreme power and grew more capricious in her methods to achieve her goal. Her husband, with his strength declining by the day, appointed Grace as his successor. It was the last straw for a hitherto loyal army, which took over the reins and put the Mugabe family under house arrest.

It needed a lot of adroit maneuvering to ease him out of office. A letter from Mr Mugabe said the decision was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power. The surprise announcement halted an impeachment hearing that had begun against him and sparked wild celebrations on the nation's streets. The ruling Zanu-PF party says former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa will succeed Mr Mugabe, in power since 1980. Mr Mnangagwa's sacking earlier this month triggered a political crisis.

After the resignation announcement, lawmakers roared in jubilation.

The current state of Zimbabwe and its long suffering people deserved better than casuistries to keep a discredited dictator in office on account of his whim. The African Union needs to always exert its authority with courage, resolution and understanding in the larger interests of the continent.

Curtains for Mugabe

However, the proverbial patience of politics was jettisoned for a quick fix. It turned out to be a disaster.

Land grabs gave rise to dispossessed skilled white farming communities. Their successors were largely unskilled in modern farming methods and management best practice. Zimbabwe’s agriculture declined rapidly: accustomed food grain surpluses gave way to searing shortages. There was mounting hunger, scarce employment, galloping inflation and a collapsed currency. The flight of capital from the country was matched by the flight of labour southward to South Africa, where the economy was far from strong and unemployment was unacceptably high. The struggle for scarce jobs pit black South Africans against their erstwhile block comrades from Zimbabwe.

All the while tragedy followed tragedy: power

Sweet words butter no parsnips Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a Press Day declaration on the role of a free media as the ‘cornerstone of a vibrant democracy,’ and the government’s commitment to uphold media freedom and ‘freedom of expression in all its forms.’ That was good to hear and there is no reason to question his sincerity That said, there is increasing public disquiet at the rising tempo of intolerance across certain areas of the land. A number of notable figures have been assassinated for their agnostic views on religion, a well known columnist was murdered by assailants for her political irreverence. A film actress has received life threatening messages on her film. The signs are from

encouraging.

The Supreme Court of India has spoken of the need to safeguard our freedom to question and explore concepts and subjects without let or hindrance, because freedom of thought and expression is the spur to artistic and intellectual creativity.

Superpatriots are a breed for whom dissent in any form is tantamount to high treason. There are too many such voices. Mr Modi, reveals an opinion poll, is the most popular politician by far in India, with an approval rating 95 per cent in the South and 88 per cent nationally. But 53 per cent of those questioned wanted militarily rule – surely a cause for concern.

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

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Success is getting what you want.

Happiness is wanting what you get -Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

CRIMINALISING MARITAL RAPE – WILL IT STOP CHILD MARRIAGES? I wholeheartedly welcome the recent Supreme Court of India’s ruling that sex with a minor wife will be considered an act of rape. This new law strengthens the Child Marriage Prohibition and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Acts, and include rape under wedlock under the child protection laws as minors do not have the right to consent. I am really pleased to know that India has already benefitted from this law and the first case of a victim of child marriage has registered charges against her spouse.

According to the new law, the groom will be committing rape if he engages in sexual intercourse with his wife who is aged between 15 and 18. “Sexual intercourse by a married man with their minor wife below 18 years is rape,” the court had said in its judgment.

The legal age of consent in India, like many other countries of the world, is 18 years, and while many perceive this as a problem confined to developing countries owing to widespread poverty, illiteracy, social backwardness; child marriage is a complex issue and cuts across regions, religions and cultures. It’s a global problem that finds its roots deeply embedded in the United Kingdom and the United States, too.

The UK Home Office estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 people in the UK are at risk of being forced into marriage every year because although the official legal age for marriage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 18, children can marry from 16 with parental consent. In some communities across the UK, this can result in forced child marriage whereby parents can

Lord Raj Loomba

consent on behalf of their children. In Scotland, the legal age for marriage is 16.

A Bill to rectify this had passed through the House of Lords in 2016. However, it couldn’t proceed to the House of Commons as there was no more room for Private Members Bills.

Baroness Jenny Tonge, former Liberal Democrat MP, is supporting this process.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) in the UK Private Member’s Bill proposes that the parental consent clause be removed from the law so that 18 is the only legal age for marriage and civil partnership.

In the United States, 25 states do not have an absolute minimum age set by statute and this age varies between 13 and 17.

Individuals aged 18 have a right to marriage, with two States being exceptions – Nebraska, where the age is 19 and Mississippi, where its 21, all the states allow minors to marry in certain circumstances such as parental and judicial consent, pregnancy, or a combination of these situations.

Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court ruling in India is a true milestone judgement, and I look forward to child brides in India benefiting from it, with the tougher laws eventually putting a stop to child marriages.

www.theloombafoundation.org The Loomba Foundation Loomba House 622 Western Avenue London W3 0TF 020 8102 0351

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Hijab: to wear or not to wear?

Why Muslim women choose to wear or remove their headscarves Many British Muslim women wear the hijab or headscarf. The hijab is regarded with utmost respect and pride in the Muslim community.

Traditionally, the hijab is worn by a Muslim girl as a sign of modesty once she reaches puberty. However, there has been a rise in girls as young as five wearing a headscarf. Ofsted inspectors are to question primary school Muslim girls to find out why they wear the hijab.

Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted suggests, “While respecting parents' choice to bring up their children according to their cultural norms, creating an environment where primary school children are expected to wear the hijab could be interpreted as sexualisation of young girls. In seeking to address these concerns, and in line with our current practice in terms of assessing whether the school promotes equality for their children, inspectors will talk to girls who wear such garments to ascertain why they do so in the school."

The Muslim Council of Britain secretary general, Harun Khan, feels that British Muslim women are being treated like “second-class citizens”. He states, “It is deeply worrying that Ofsted has announced it will be specifically target-

ing and quizzing young Muslim girls who choose to wear the headscarf. It sends a clear message to all British women who adopt this that they are second-class citizens, that while they are free to wear the headscarf, the establishment would prefer that they do not."

Many British Muslim women have been wearing the hijab from a very early age and are unable to identify themselves without it. It has become a part of their identity and deciding not to wear the hijab is not as easy as deciding to take off your hat.

Although many Muslim women have a sense of pride when they wear their hijab, why do some opt to take their headscarves off? The author of Headscarves and Hymens, Mona Eltahawy expressed, “I wore a headscarf for nine years. It took me eight years to take it off.”

Another Muslim woman, Woodland stated, “The ritual of wearing it almost every day for 13 years was a daily affirmation that I existed in relation to men.

I had less freedom because they had more power. I had more responsibility because they had less self-control.”

The founder of a group called Faith to Faithless, Aliyah Saleem was mostly contacted on social media about taking

off the hijab. She therefore produced a how-to video and realised that many women still wear the headscarf even after losing their faith. Woman may fear that they will be accused of trying to come across as more attractive. Saleem shares, “Shame is huge. Some women can be stuck for years, paralysed. They want to take it off, but can't.”

Many women may fear being “slut-shamed” or be called by derogative terms because of their choice of taking off their headscarf.

Saleem recounts a story of when she was an 11-year-old girl attending her British Islamic school wearing a headscarf. Although the school was an all-girl school, the CCTV was viewed by men, therefore, she was obliged to wear the headscarf. Whilst playing in the playground, her headscarf had slipped and her teaching came screaming, “You're such a shameless girl, why are you not covering yourself.” Saleem adds, “It was horrible for me. I couldn't understand why everyone cared so much about my hair. I was this scrawny tomboy who had no desire to look pret-

ty. I just wanted to play.”

In the United Kingdom, one is free to dress as they like, practice their religion freely and live a lifestyle of their choice; yet why do some women not feel safe taking off their hijab? Why are they being judged? Women have the right to live the way they want to and make their own choices. What they decide to wear is their prerogative and they do not owe anyone an explanation. Whether they wear a headscarf or choose to take it off; women, regardless of their attire, should be respected and not made to feel guilty for the way they wish to lead their lives.

Family businesses are the bedrock of our economy Mo Bro's flourishing grooming brand

Dhiren Katwa OrderWise, the Lincolnshire-based business management software company has been crowned Midlands Family Business of the Year 2017.

Founded in 1991 by MD David Hallam, OrderWise is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading suppliers of dedicated stock management software for business.

The company was announced winner at a glittering black-tie ceremony at The Velodrome, Derby Arena on Thursday a fortnight ago attended by 300 guests including all this year’s finalists across the Awards’ ten categories, their sponsors, supporters, and independent judges.

Sanj Kumar of NK Motors Derby won Highly Commended in the Director of the Year category. All forty-three finalists were automatically entered in to the People’s Choice Award sponsored

Kunal and Savan Dattani

by Streets Chartered Accountants – which saw them face the public vote.

The overall winner was River Canal Rescue.

The Awards, now in their eighth year, are the only independent not-forprofit Awards for family businesses in the Midlands, and raise funds for charities supporting families and young people.

The Awards are run by third generation family business The Wilson Organisation. Its MD Charlotte Perkins, said: “As the region’s only independent initiative to recognise and showcase the work and achievements of family businesses, yet again all the winners and finalists prove the vitality of the Midlands’ family business

sector and its significant contribution to the region’s economy.”

Do you own or run a family business and happen to be from a Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, or BAME, background? Then consider entering for the next round. It’s free to enter. For the full list of winners, pictured, visit: w w w. f a m i l y b u s i n e s sawards.co.uk

Retail assistant spent £200k on fancy cars & holidays When was the last time anyone was able to go on exuberant holidays and buy fancy cars in cash in this expensive era?

Allegedly, a shopping assistant from Manchester who worked part time in Matalan spent a humongous £200,000 on numerous of luxurious holidays with her husband who is a self-proclaimed personal trainer. A court heard that she was able to fund these

Colleen Campbell and Thomas Campbell

holidays from a family-run cocaine trafficking racket.

Colleen Campbell, 33, allegedly relied on tax credits while working part time in retail and yet managed to fund several holidays with her husband, Thomas Campbell, 33, travelling to exotic destinations such as Mexico, Egypt, Gran Canaria, plus many more places.

It has been revealed that the couple went on a 10-day family holiday to Cancun in 2013 and

allegedly paid the cost, £10,000 in cash, and also chartered a motorboat.

The court was also informed that from 2012 to 2016, Colleen Campbell had also allegedly paid cash deposits for Mercedes, Audi and BMW vehicles.

Thomas and Colleen Campbell deny one charge of converting criminal property. The hearing continues.

Sometimes, disasters can help you in achieving greater things in life. In 2014, three brothers' disastrous attempt of growing facial hair led them to co-found Mo Bro's, which creates accessories and products for styling, maintaining and grooming facial hair.

Movember is when men grow their beards and moustaches in November to raise awareness of testicular and prostate cancer, as well as other issues.

While some men grow their moustache and beard to fit in and follow the trend, in actuality, Movember is to show solidarity to these causes.

Keval, Kunal and Savan Dattani spent £250 to buy tins, ingredients for their products and a wax melting machine. They sold their first batch of moustache grooming product on eBay as an initial test, but they woke up to a great surprise in the morning to see that all 30 tins had been sold. Dattani states, “We ploughed every single penny that we made back into the operation, paying

ourselves the bare minimum that we could to afford things such as transport. That really helped us to survive those six months.”

As the business grew, they started to manufacture balms, oils and shampoos whilst aiming to keep the cost of their products low. Having started off humbly, the Leicester-based company, Mo Bro's registered turnover of £1.3 million for 2016-17.

Talking about working with his brothers, Dattani reveals, “It's fun. I genuinely love working with them. Running a business is most difficult when there's no trust – but as brothers, we trust each other... When one of us is having a down day, the other two are pulling the business forward – it's also great to have three opinions over two, which prevents deadlocks.”

The Dattani brothers now aim to have 1 million global customers by 2020 by making their presence felt in India, Germany and Dubai.

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Asian Voice |

25th November 2017

Sending money to loved ones is now even easier at Tesco.

Transfer direct to a bank account and every time you make a transfer you’ll be entered into a prize draw.

Visit tesco.com/storelocator to find your nearest store.

£500 Tesco Gift Card to be won

Be in with a chance of winning 1 of 5 Tesco Gift Cards worth £500, every time you make a transfer to mobile or bank account before 22 November 2017. (Automatic entry into prize draw, excluding transactions made in Northern Ireland.)

The prize draw is open to individuals aged 18 or over who make a MoneyGram cash to bank account and/or mobile wallet transaction in England, Scotland, and Wales. Excludes Tesco Bank and MoneyGram employees, their immediate family members, or any anyone directly connected with the planning or administration of the prize draw. For full terms and conditions visit tesco.com/international-money-transfer.

Tesco Bank is a trading name of Tesco Personal Finance plc. Tesco Personal Finance plc is an agent of MoneyGram International Limited in the provision of money transfer services.

MoneyGram International Limited is an authorised payment institution regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. MoneyGram and the Globe are marks of MoneyGram. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. © 2017 MoneyGram. The promoter of this advert is Tesco Personal Finance Plc. Registered Office: 2 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9FQ.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

CIIr Ketan Sheth

Brent Council’s Chair of Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and a Parliamentary Ambassador for Diabetes (APPG for Diabetes)

Women and Diabetes Diabetes is the fastest growing health crises of our time, affecting more people than the top four cancers combined.

Every year, November 14 is observed as World Diabetes Day, spreading awareness about a condition which affects 415 million people globally.

This year North West London marked the day at a packed event at the Brent Civic Centre, Wembley, with a keynote speech from Keith Vaz MP, the Chair of APPG for Diabetes, who has Type 2 diabetes and has changed his lifestyle to better manage his condition.

Diabetes is a condition where a person’s blood sugar (glucose) becomes too high. If not managed well, both Type 1 which is less common (10% of the diabetes population) and Type 2 diabetes (90%) lead to serious complications.

Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where the pancreas stops producing the hormone insulin. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in the blood.

Type 2 diabetes is where the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin or the body's cells don't react to insulin.

Family health history, lifestyle and genetics play a strong role in developing Type 2 diabetes. 60% of the Type 2 diabetes population in the world is Asian. If you are Asian, even if you have a normal weight, but an “apple-shaped body” (with excess fat around the waist) your Type 2 diabetes risk is higher. Waist circumference should be less than or equal to 90 cm (35.5 in) for men and 80 cm (31.5 in) for women.

The theme for WDD 2017 was “Women and Diabetes”.

Pregnant woman can get gestational diabetes (high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth.) If they don’t change their lifestyle they have a strong risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. To prevent this, the event encouraged better control of diabetes before a woman gets pregnant and Brent Diabetes Consultant, Dr Daniel Darko, described the excellent pregnancy results locally. He works with the 62 GP practices supporting 26,000 people living with diabetes. Brent diabetes services are delivered by diabetes specialist nurses, doctors, psychologists, podiatrists and dieticians in hospital, community, GP practices and people’s homes, in one joined up service.

Brent is performing much better than the neighbouring areas in encouraging people with diabetes to attend courses to self-manage their diabetes, including courses for young people living with diabetes. It is also focusing on the three national treatment targets of blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure as well some excellent work in diabetes services for children.

In 2018, Brent will implement the National Diabetes Prevention programme, which will identify those at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and by encouraging positive diet and lifestyle changes to prevent it.

Additionally, they are monitoring Vitamin D levels, particularly in vegetarians and those from Asian communities. Therefore, investing in diabetes care will reduce the diabetes complications (heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness and amputations) bringing health and economic benefits for the whole society.

61% Muslim wives fail to legalise marriage According to a survey, about 6 out of 10 Muslim women who have had a nikkah marriage (traditional Islamic wedding) in the UK are not legally married.

The family courts have recognised that around 61% do not have a separate civil ceremony. It becomes difficult for the woman if the marriage breaks down as they will have to fight through civil courts in order to get a share of the assets.

Rukhsana Noor told The Sunday Times about her marriage in 2004. She tried to persuade her husband to have a civil ceremony as well but he refused. After their split, things became quite difficult for her. She says, “My husband refused to pay

maintenance and I couldn't get the house we'd bought, although the majority of the money used to pay for it – 80% was mine. I couldn't claim more than 50% because we were viewed as cohabitees. I had to move in with my parents and I've spent £100,000 on legal costs. The government needs to change the law so that everybody who has a religious ceremony must also have a civil ceremony.”

Making civil ceremony compulsory in the UK will certainly ensure that both parties are equally and legally abided to one another. And if they do decide to part ways, then the separation and the divisions of assets can be done in an equal manner.

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Royal recognition for Watford woman with cancer app Dhiren Katwa Young entrepreneur Bhavagaya Bhakshi has received the WISE Tech Engineering in Health Award for her app to detect early signs of cancer at a special awards ceremony in London last Friday. Dr Bhakshi, 30, has developed a special app and website – C the Signs – using artificial intelligence (AI) to help doctors spot the early warning signs of 200 types of cancer at the press of a button.

Discussing the reasons behind the new tool, Bhavagaya, a doctor from Watford, said, “Diagnosing cancer is challenging – there is no single identifiable symptom and with over 200 different types, early warning signs can often be vague or confusing which means diagnosis can often come later. “Late diagnosis costs lives and is more expensive to treat so we’ve developed C the Signs app and website to help GPs. Our AI system can help speed up the process of spotting cancer, the tool is currently being used in the NHS in three health authorities with the plan to disseminate it widely.”

WISE Technology & Engineering in Health Award is sponsored by Dame Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer at NHS England, to encourage more women to go into healthcare science and start businesses – research shows fewer than five per cent of new businesses in the UK are

Also honoured on the night was Bath-based chemist Asel Sartbaeva who received the WISE World Award for her pioneering technology allowing vaccines to be stored and transported without refrigeration – saving lives in parts of the world without electricity. Dr Sartbaeva was originally from Kyrgystan where she was the only woman studying chemistry at university. She is now a Royal Society Research Fellow and Lecturer in the department of chemistry at the University of Bath. She said: “I’m using my skills Princess Anne with Bhavagaya Bhakshi as a scientist to try and started by women. help save lives.”

The annual WISE Awards, now in One in five children around the their 17th year, are part of a national world do not receive vaccines and campaign backed by business and seven million people worldwide die royalty to recognise inspiring organfrom vaccine-preventable diseases isations and individuals promoting every year. WISE believes schools science, technology, engineering and and employers can do more to mathematics (STEM) to girls and encourage girls with the help of role women.WISE Chief Executive Helen models like Asel. More women are Wollaston described Bhavagaya “an working in STEM than ever before – inspiring woman integrating her the number has grown by 230,000 in passion for tech with her profession, the last five yearsand women now forging her own path as a clinical make up 23% of the core STEM workentrepreneur. She shows that sciforce. To see photos from the night ence and technology can help solve and for more information visit our biggest health challenges in sociwww.wisecampaign.org.uk ety.”

Cheers to 70 Years!

Platinum Anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip In today's day and age of 'Wham Bam thank you ma'am', getting married and staying married past the 7-year itch may seem like a big achievement. But our Royal Highness, HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have proved that eternal love and a blissful married life does in fact exist.

The royal couple have been happily married for 70 years now, having spent their life together with love and laughter, which has ultimately made them the longest-lasting marriage in the British royal history.

Alongside their long marital achievement, reports also suggest that the British monarchy is now worth over £60 billion. Reports have also suggested that the British monarchy aided the UK economy by £1.7 billion in 2016 through tourism, the media and other industries.

The royal couple on their wedding day in 1947

long-run, not only takes a toll on their family life, but also poses a great risk to their children's mental wellbeing. Almost 11,000 families were analysed and the results showed that the divorce of parents was the strongest cause for girls' mental health and emotional problems, whereas for boys it showed strong links to behavioural problems.

The turbulent marriage of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana lasted 15 years and its outcome is still known to one and all. Their parents' divorce took a big toll on Prince William and Prince Harry. Prince Harry also revealed much later as an adult about the experience and how it affected his mental health.

Has it become extremely difficult to handle love and family life with your profession? Has the change in lifestyle and the introduction of technological HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip advancement in our current generon their 70th anniversary ation made it difficult for people to strive towards a long-lasting marThe Queen and the Duke of riage? Probably, current marriages Edinburgh's love story is indeed like lack the friendship and understandno other. On 20th November 1947, ing that the royal couple have.

21-year-old Princess Elizabeth tied South Asians are known for their the knot with 26-year-old naval offistrong bond and family ties and this cer, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten is something we ought to be proud of Greece and Denmark. of. To be able to handle obstacles, In this current era of Tinder and and yet succeed in nurturing their multiple dating sites, how likely is a marital life and raising children is modern marriage to last in this genundoubtedly a great accomplisheration? There are couples who ment. With compassion, love and unfortunately choose to terminate friendship, without a doubt, relationtheir marriage for reasons best ships can last as longs as our royal known to them; however, this decicouple's marriage. sion, although may be good in the

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Kishan Devani awarded with Freedom of the City of London honour Kishan Devani FRSA was earlier this week awarded the Freedom of the City of London at the London Guildhall. Making him one of the youngest British Asians in the world to be conferred such a huge honour. The Freedom of the City of

Nitin Gadkari attends IJA event

Nitin Gadkari

The Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) are hosting dinner on 27th November where they will revive the presentation of the annual IJA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Having graciously accepted this invitation, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of road transport, highways, shipping, water resources and river development in the Indian Government, will be attending as a guest of honour and speaker.

Born in Nagpur, India, Gadkari has previously served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and is also known for the works during his term as Public Works Department Minister.

Amir Khan's snake fail

This picture of Amir Khan with a snake has become viral on social media

British-Asian boxer, Amir Khan has been receiving a lot of criticism for his failed task on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

The boxer gave up on his task, claiming to be scared of snakes. However, a photograph of himself with a snake have been making the rounds of social media sites, making him a troll-sensation.

This year's show has an interesting line up, including singer Vanessa White, Youtuber Jack Maynard, and Boris Johnson's father, Stanley.

London is the heighest honour the City of London can bestow upon anyone, Kishan expressed his delight in receiving the Freedom. He conveyed his deep sense of gratitude to all his friends & family for their ongoing support and inspira-

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tion. One of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today is the granting of the Freedom of the City of London. It is believed that the first Freedom was presented in 1237. The medieval term 'freeman' meant someone who was

not the property of a feudal lord, but enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land. Town dwellers who were protected by the charter of their town or city were often free hence the term 'freedom of the City'.

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As I See It

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Gujarat Elections: Congress and Rahul Gandhi put foot in mouth

Election for 182 members of the Gujarat State Assembly is gaining importance as if it is a frontline for not only the future of Indian democracy, but also of the Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi, and especially Rahul Gandhi who is likely to be 'coronated' as president of the 132 year old political party. Gujarat is comparatively a small state in India with 6 per cent of land area and 5 per cent of the population leading in terms of economy, industry, exports, entrepreneurship and investments. It is the largest diamond-polishing centre in the world, with 90 per cent of gems from across the seas polished in Surat. It accounts for almost 40 per cent production of mineral oil of the country. Gujarat has 40 per cent of India's pharma industry, 34 per cent of investments in stocks and shares in India are from the state of Gujarat. Nearly 16 per cent of the country's exports originate from Gujarat.

Historically, Gujarat has played a leading role for many centuries. The old ports of Khambhat (Cambay), Bharuch (Broach), and Surat, were at one stage, the leading harbours in the entire world. In the independence movement, especially after the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa, on January 9, 1915, Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad became the nerve centre of the peaceful and non-violent movement, which surprisingly to some was able to hit the final nail in the coffin of British Imperialism. The political battle-line in Gujarat is between the Congress and the BJP. Historically, no third party has succeeded to win in Gujarat to acquire power. Since 1995, a long period of 22 years, Gujarat has been ruled continuously by the BJP and Narendra Modi, former chief minister was in power from 2001 till he became Prime Minister in 2014.

In the present State Assembly, BJP has 115 seats and Congress has a meagre 60. In 2002, 2007, and 2012 elections, BJP had up to 132 seats. Congress has a very small presence in the Assembly.

The voting will take place on December 9,1 4, and results will be out on 18. In the last few months, an energised Rahul Gandhi has been leading a do or die election campaign in Gujarat and the party has put all resources at his disposal to defeat the BJP which is led by Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani. Prime Minister Modi finds himself as Gandhi's target on regular occasions. The Congress alleges that there is no development in Gujarat whatsoever. A new slogan has been coined by them- Vikas Gaando Thayo Che. As much as they want to beam with pride over what they feel is a clever use of word, the truth remains that it is all humbug and makes no sense.

What they intend to convey is that promises the BJP and Narendra Modi gave to Gujarat,

CB Patel

have not been materialised, and are nothing but false.

Unsurprisingly the Congress party has only learned to do what it knows best, point fingers at the BJP. It has drastically failed to give any other alternative agenda for the development of the state. To make matters worse, their main strategy is to form alliances with three young people; Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani, representing various castes; Patel, OBC, and SC/ST. Congress along with Rahul Gandhi believe that the people of Gujarat may have forgotten what happened in 1984. When the Congress, led by then chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki formed an openly casteist organisation within the party, called KHAMKshatriya, Harijan, Adivasis, and Muslims. It went on to win the largest number of seats ever- 149.

Expectedly, severe riots broke out in the state in the following few months and Solanki was eventually dispatched into retirement on a priority basis. Whatever the caste, when the Congress party promotes casteist groups that are demanding larger and larger shares of the so called reservation policy, they seem to forget, that the origin of the reservation in education and jobs was at one point of history opposed even by none other than Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The well known, brilliant lawyer and economist who hailed from Dalit community.

It was other congress leaders who prevailed on Ambedkar to provide reservation for 10 years to members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Dalits and Adivasis) to alleviate the damage and injury of the centuries old Untouchability. India has moved farther ahead in 70 years however politicians have no sense of shame or compunction and always try to save themselves in rough seas on the false planks of caste and reservation. In India, thankfully, the bad old days of untouchability are by and large gone. People not only work together, they live together and even marry together. Caste and its system has rapidly begun to lose its importance.

Congress and Rahul Gandhi have also been vocal about Narendra Modi's demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax policies. Yes, one has to admit that the two measures were certainly bold and imaginative even by international experts. Extreme changes were made especially in the context of Indian polity and society. In the previous 70 odd years, no central government (mainly Congress led) or state government were able to muster up imagination and courage to embark on such game-changing reforms. People who live in Britain for the last 50-odd years remember when in the 70s the decimal currency or VAT were introduced in the UK. Manifold concerns, resistance, and protests were raised. Human beings always get scared of change especially the kind with a magnitude of GST

or demonetisation. Such changes, as intense and magnanimous as they get, are necessary if India wants to become a one economy nation. The country needs such painful transformation.

Despite all the reservations one has about Narendra Modi, he has proved himself in the last 3 and half years that he is fuelled by vision, courage, conviction and hard work, and is prepared to do the most herculean of efforts to change the framework of the Indian administration and the society well within the compass of democracy and secularism. India is not China where state can willy nilly do whatever it wants to do and planning laws and other restrictions have no effect whatsoever.

Another one of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress' favourite topics is communal harmony. The present campaign of Rahul Gandhi is focused on the caste groups of the above mentioned three young men and especially of the areas where tribals and Muslims are settled. Naturally, crowd would come to listen to Rahul Gandhi, especially when he and other Congress leaders verbally attack Modi- rightly or wrongly. But young Mr Gandhi forgets every time, that the people remember the difference a change in government brought. They know that since 2002, Gujarat has remained, for the first time since independence, without communal disharmony, riots, or imposition of the Indian Penal Code 144, that prohibits assembly of more than four people in an area.

There are other charges on the BJP and Narendra Modi by the Congress, of course. In elections, everything is fair, but how far it will stick is a different question.

Rahul Gandhi has attacked Modi on his international tours and alliances with several governments and organisations. In the modern world, strategic alliances are part of life. India has two enemies on its east and west and it was facing challenges on its own in the past. One can say with confidence that now, India, America, Japan, and Australia with Vietnam and other countries have created a framework on standing together and defending each other's interests against any aggressive attacks from China.

Defense is ultimately most important. It is the duty of the State to safeguard the sanctity of the borders and safety and security of citizens. Without any hesitations Narendra Modi has been giving a strong leadership to India as he has given to the state of Gujarat for almost 12 years.

What began as the first and the pivotal political party in India, the Congress party now suffers from two very grave diseases; policy paralysis and rampant corruption. Meanwhile, one can say without any hesitation that in 3 and half years, in a long time of history, not one scandal has come out involving Narendra Modi or members of his Cabinet or any state where BJP is ruling.

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Food For Life Vrindavan UK Appreciation Event

FFLV UK team (L to R): Chandrakant Kara, Kaushi Silva, Kaushik Desai, Usha Ganatra, Rupa Ragunath Das (Founder), Minaxi Pattni, Ashish B Parmar and Ravin J Ganatra

On 17th November 2017, over two hundred guests gathered at Venue 5 in Ruislip to be Appreciated, Thanked and Entertained for all their hard work and support to their favourite Charity, Food For Life Vrindavan (FFLV). The charity, which is operating in Vrindavan, India, educates and empowers girls and their families from the poorest communities.

As the delicious vegetarian starters were being served, the function was kicked off by UK actor and serving Trustee Ravin J Ganatra who welcomed the guests. Ravin explained the essence of this well-run charity, which is to support and empower young girls, giving them hope in life with the provision of education, food, clothing and medical care. The charity has been instrumental in effecting a change to the status quo and challenging cultural norms of the girl child being seen as a liability rather than an asset.

The chairman of FFLV UK, Mr Ashish B Parmar explained how in local villages of Vrindavan some residents live in abject poverty.

Through the involvement of FFLV, the communities are realising the importance of education and the empower-

raised from one of their events earlier this year.

The evening continued by acknowledging the dozens of individuals and organisations including Asian Voice who have assisted FFLV Projects over the past 25 years – Highlighted also was the efforts of a group of individuals who have participated on some dangerous yet fulfilling expeditions in recent years to Mount Kilimanjaro, Stock Kangri in Ladakh (Himalayas) and the more recent the threewheeled Tuk Challenge in India. These Committed groups through their participation in these adventures have raised in excess £170,000 for the charity!

Then following on from the mouth-watering main course the audience listened attentively to the Charity’s Founder Rupa Ragunath Das who gave an inspirational presentation explaining the progress of the charity over the past 25 years and the need now to fill the schools with girls and the sponsorship programme which supports them.

Former Schools inspector and newly appointed trustee Kaushi Silva then launched The FFLV Ambassador concept, which is looking to do just that by encouraging supporters of FFLV to introduce

ment that it brings to their daughters and are now accepting their right to education including to university, rather than forcing an early child marriage, which was the norm but is illegal and detrimental to the affected girls.

Praful Patni of The Lions club of Finchley who were in attendance then presented a cheque for £4000 which was

new donors to child sponsorship.

The evening's entertainment was provided by The Voice 2015 Semi Finalist Vikesh Champaneri as well as dances by Epikadance troupe and music by DJ Kash.

To find out more about FFLV, please visit www.uk.fflv.org.

Help change a life by sponsoring a poor girl in Vrindavan, India.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Amit Chaudhuri; The Prize Writer Who is Always Experimenting standing literature over the past 20 years so it is a privilege to write about him today.

About the Genesis of Amit Chaudhuri's Current Work as a Visual Artist About the recent launch of one of his avatars at Asia House, Amit told us, “I have long been interested - more than ‘interested’, intellectually and artistically formed, maybe - by the visual arts and cinema. There was a time, when I was in my early to mid-twenties, when I seriously considered becoming a filmmaker. However, I doubt if I have any talent at all in painting; nor do I have any hubris about my skills as a p h o t o g r a p h e r .

Nevertheless, I have had ideas for art projects for years, ideas I have treated with diffidence because of photo credit: Geoff Pugh

Amit Chaudhuri is perhaps the best contemporary example of a multigifted artist excelling in different fields. Novelist, essayist and musician, Amit the visual artist is being exhibited for the first time and recently showcased at Asia House.

Amit Chaudhuri was born in Calcutta in 1962 and grew up in Bombay. He has written seven novels, the latest of which is called Friend of My Youth.

The work, like so many of his creations, has received much critical acclaim.

Amit has won several awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, the Government of India’s Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Infosys Prize for outstanding contribution in the Humanities in Literary Studies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia.

We have observed Amit Chaudhuri's remarkably consistent output of out-

at some point how extraordinary the pictures of the founders, some of them from the nineteenth century - that hung on the walls of the shops - how striking they were, as striking as the portraits of the great Bengali men of letters and scientists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who were the contemporaries of these owners. They embody a new age, sweet shop owner and great novelist alike. I wanted others to confront these portraits their demeanour and their pictorial tones and historical moment, the way they continue to look upon us.

I took the photos on two Amit Chaudhuri days in April on my iPhone.” my lack of talent - and, as Amit Chaudhuri has importantly, of having any several streams to his public definition as an artistic work. Watching artist - but which still him at his musical perfordon’t go away. I’m led to mances, it is hard to art because I’m a bricoleur believe that he is as gifted - a person who likes recona writer as he is a musifiguring inconsequential cian. We can think of no things - and a loiterer. The other artist to compare project that premiered him to in this respect. briefly at Asia House, How does he nurture London, is called The his twin talents of music Sweet Shop Owners of and writing while mainCalcutta. I began to notice

taining a stable home life?

He says; “It is exhausting physically as much as mentally. I owe much to my wife. I also owe a lot

There was a time when I seriously considered becoming a filmmaker. my late parents, and to a small circle of friends. My day is divided between music practice, which I have to keep up with as a sportsman has to keep with their sport, and different kinds of writing.

The evening is reserved for TV.” About the Clever Bengali Image- Fact or Myth?

It seems that many Bengalis are prodigiously clever and that a disproportionate amount achieve highly. They may be writers or from other disciplines. Amit Chaudhuri considers this idea.

“Are they really clever?

I know they used to be, and that they still do well at exams. The traditional explanation for this, among Bengalis, was that they ate large quantities of fish. I think their creativity had to do with the fact that they are a relatively new race, the Bengalis. They had to make their own history.”

Success comes from consistency, and Amit Chaudhuri continues his disciplined schedule; writing whenever (he observes wryly) he's “not practising music or watching TV”.

This, it appears, is one of the keys to the high standard of his creative output.

Long Pedigree Looking back on his writings from, say, 15 years ago, how does he feel about them?

“15 years ago? That time flies. The 25th anniversary edition of my first novel came out last year with a new preface by Colm Toibin. I’m surprised I’m still around. It’s not my writing from 15 years ago that surprises me as much as the world of publishing and writing and reading today.”

Sending your money at the Post Office is now quicker and easier.

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READERS’ VOICE

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Health and Lifestyle Topics

I am a keen and regular reader of your esteemed weekly newspaper Asian Voice for the last 25 years.

Besides the current world news, articles, comments on current world topics, sports and Bollywood news etc your paper religiously covers health and lifestyle topics on various subjects e.g. Benefits of lemon or everyday items that can hurt your health etc.etc.

I have found this coverage like a star item and every week look forward eagerly to receiving your papers Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

I would like to congratulate you on your efforts in collecting these topics for the benefit of your readers at large.

Pushpaben Chandulal Rughani By email

Deepening Indo-French ties

Following success of “Indo Pacific” naval cooperation involving India, USA, Japan and Australia, revival of the quadrilated alliance to counter growing Chinese influence, now France is eager to enhance cooperation with India, especially in the “Indian Ocean Region” (IOR) France’s political influence and bilateral trade already exceed that of Britain, who under PM May has not maintained close ties between our two nations that existed under friendly and enlightened premiership of David Cameron.

The refusal of British courts to extradite known criminals wanted in India under the pretext of Indian jails being too primitive would not go down well in India, as British courts have no hesitation to extradite our own citizens to USA, so often for alleged crimes committed in this country rather than in America.

American prisons are one of the toughest, most brutal in the world. French envoy, laying ground for the forthcoming visit of French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, hinted about close cooperation with India, in the changing political, economic and military situation in South Pacific and Indian Ocean region.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s planned visit to India in early 2018 will now have increased significance, as France could play leading role, along with America, in India’s drive to become a major hub for defence industry, manufacturing high calibre of weapons that include fighter planes, tanks and armoured vehicles, not only for Indian armed forces but also for export to friendly countries like Vietnam who is faithful ally to India and victim of Chinese aggressive policy in South China Sea, an intricate problem for the fickle West who has allowed China to colonize these waters without a murmur, especially fiduciary EU, in particular frenzy Britain who is foolishly preoccupied with Russia.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Ground breaking changes in the Saudi Kingdom

Recently Saudi Kingdom has ushered in changes which will not only alter the image of the Kingdom but also have positive effect in the world.

In August Saudi Arabia announced plans to create a tourism hotspot aptly named “The Red Sea” at the unspoilt Red Sea coastline with 50 islands. It is anticipated that by 2030 there will be as many tourists visiting the country as number of pilgrims. The Red Sea will be governed by a special regulatory frame work which will allow consumption of alcohol, etc.

In September they announced that Saudi women will be allowed to drive vehicles from June 2018. This will make half of the working age population to move freely for employment or otherwise with a tremendous economic and social benefits to the country. It will also nurture gender equality.

In October, creation of a “King Salman Complex” was disclosed. This body (Complex) will be based in Madinah and overseen by a Council of Senior Scholars. It is reported that one of the duty of this body is to vet and verify the authenticity of Hadiths to eliminate fake and extreme texts. This move if done properly will help reduce terrorism.

On Tuesday (14th November) Saudi Ministry decided to approve teaching of Yoga and listed it as a sport. Nouf Marwaai, Saudi business woman and Yogacharinie is credited for the move.

Narsibhai Patel New Malden

What do you think?

We want to know your views on this subject Write to: Asian Voice, 12 Hoxton Market London N1 6HW or e-mail: aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Meditation

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Revival of Rama Rajya

Letter by Jubel D’Cruz (Asian Voice of 18-11-2017), skims subject of meditation very clearly. Meditation is psychosomatic discipline recommended by ancient Hindu sages. Ayurveda had not yet reached to all. Very few peoples were aware of pro health personnel and practitioners. Also they were engrossed in daily affairs to seek advice or treatment. Thus local preachers advocated the only resource, mind, which was readily available. The harmony of mind and body appeared as normal health. Sages preached such health as connected to creator, the God. The whole process was named as Yuj, or yoga.

In modern language therefore, meditation, involving mind and body must begin with control of both. Physical body must have absolute cleanliness.

Body also must be in stress free posture. Mind controls breathing and vice versa. Therefore one must be aware of breathing and try to regiment it in a steady rhythm. Diet is important too. Mind cannot be pacified into meditation mode if body is fed with stimulants depressants and violent, salacious porn ideas.

Once physical factors are controlled, mental regimentation occurs automatically. For laymen, physical discipline of mind body is desirable. Practice at mental levels reveals effects that may be harmful to uninitiated practitioner. To counter these unfamiliar effects, one needs a guru.

Therefore modern faiths ban such higher practices for lay parishioners, or confine only to highly disciplined and ordained personnel in strict monastic isolation. Such persons avoid all sorts of overstimulating foods, drinks, drugs unless prescribed by doctor, and avoid physical indulgences beyond social norms. Meditation centers have mushroomed all over the world, showing the way to conquer minds of peoples rather than threats with nukes force.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

Numerous countries like Britain, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran run their affairs under the basic fundamentals of their respective religions together with more modern principles.

Pakistan, a Muslim state, was formed by Muslims on fundamentally staunch Islam religion having roots in Middle East, parting away from former India, against the will of Mahatma Gandhi, leaving the rest of the modern India for the people belonging to the rest of the religions-indigenous Hindu majority Sanatan, Baudh, Jain, Sikh, Christian etc.

And yet, inspite of Hindu people in majority, Hindu Rastra-Hindu state was not declared;but on the contrary,many Muslims were allowed to stay permanently in the country to form Rama Rajya on the model of the Lord Rama's life, expecting Indian Muslims to remain true to the nation,and to co-operate into the affairs of the generous Sanatan people.

All people in India,having faith in Mahatma Gandhi and Saradar Patel, felt the true Rama Rajya which lasted for 30 years upto 1976 when pseudo-secularism was introduced illegally along with reservations for some undeserved classes, which brought Rawan Rajya-Demon state until Mr Modi came into power in 2014 for economic growth and to revive Rama Rajya for all.

It is said that the Rama temple at the birth place of the Lord Rama was knocked down during Mugal empire, and Babari Masjid was built ,and so,it is expected now that all Indian Muslims ,who are allowed to live in India,agree to rebuilding of the temple as an epitome of Rama Rajya,by Hindu people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's wish for Rama Rajaya.

R.N.Patel By email

Parents live forever

In the four schools I attended several decades ago in Maharashtra where I was born and brought up, I had earned a reputation as a brilliant speller. However, in one essay I tripped up, although in my youthful arrogance I insisted to the teacher that I had spelt the disputed word correctly. My humiliation at being proved wrong will be revealed in a later edition of Asian Voice!

Meanwhile, without consulting a dictionary, see if you can spot many or any misspelt words in this tricky list I have compiled: Embarrass, harass, caress, duress, commitment, committed, accede, access, accumulate, accidentally, publicly, proceed, supersede, concede, practising, minimum, suppress, sumptuous, gullible, pronounce, pronunciation, demeanour, diarrhoea.

Best of luck!

Rudy Otter By email

I would like to share a beautiful message I received from my uncle Mr. Harish Bhatt which showcases the importance of loving your siblings and family values.

People say that when parents die, the world comes to an end; house looks empty. But I feel that parents live forever and they stay with us. It's us who forget them.

The matter of the fact is that a brother has eyes of his beloved father, a sister has the pretty face like the compassionate mother, a sibling smiles like dad or a sister cooks like mom.

Parents don't die. They never leave us. They live among us. They live in us.

We are the reflections of our parents. Despite their physical absence, they continue to live in us.

When you want to remember parents, when you want to see them, when you want to be with them, simply gather your siblings around you. You will find the mesmerizing smile of mother in one sibling, the soothing voice of father in another. You will feel the parents very close to you. All around you. Deep inside you.

The garden of love that parents cultivate and grow with love, from the time that you are born, with the hard work of their tears and blood; it will continue to bloom, unaffected by the cycles of tough weathers of life. They shelter us in tough times. But there are times, when we forget all their hard work and destroy their paradise that they built, with our selfishness, hatred, and opportunistic attitudes. Parents don't die.

We put them to death.

Love your parents. Love your siblings. Continue to feed the garden that parents cultivated with love and compassion so that it never stops to bloom and blossom. You will make your world a living paradise on earth. A heaven that only knows love, compassion, care, respect and it has you with your loved ones around you.

Devang Bhatt, London

MAKE YOURSELF HEARD

Write to our ‘Readers’ Voice’ section about what you think regarding the various ongoing issues all around the world. Please send your letters to rupanjana@abplgroup.com. Make sure they are NOT more than 350 words. Any letter longer than the limit may not be published. Do not send letters for ‘your voice’ section via post or fax.

Note that all your letters are subject to being edited by our team for valid reasons.

- Asian Voice

How well can you spell?

Victorian illnesses reappearing in London

Once we used to say with pride and confidence that London is one of the safest and healthiest cities in the world to live and prosper. How this faith, assumption, illusion has been shattered in recent years.

According to recent survey, Victorian diseases, illnesses, such as scurvy, TB, whooping cough, rickets and malnutrition due to food poverty, have once again reappeared in London and that also in one of the richest Kensington and Chelsea borough in London, (LBKC) putting it at par with such poor and deprived areas of London, like Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney.

The gap between insatiable rich and lamentable poor is at its widest in LBKC, home to some of the richest and most affluent people who enjoy twenty years longer life-span than the poorest who live side by side. This disparity also reflects in earnings, education, child poverty and inevitably lifestyle, highlighted by London’s Profile work.

Just under 7400 people were admitted to NHS hospitals for malnutrition during last three years, more than doubled during last five years, shame on our politicians who boast that Britain is one of the five richest nations in the world, false propaganda for gullible, down-trodden public which would not stand up to scrutiny. Our living standard and infrastructure may not feature even in world’s top twenty nations.

As per UN report, malnutrition costs the world some £1 trillion annually, as the gulf between the rich and poor is juggernauting at alarming rate, both at personal level with billionaire galore and between the West, the industrial heartland and developing world.

Kumudini Valambia By email

UK

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Cable appoints Adviser on Race Equality and Community Engagement

East Ham State School tops league

Headteacher Neena Lall, with students from St Stephen's Primary School, East Ham

A state school in one of the less affluential regions in England, where most students have English as their second language has achieved outstanding results by coming top in the Sunday Times leagues table. This is the first time that a state primary school has achieved this position.

St Stephen's Primary School in East Ham, where most 11-year-old students are from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds, has beaten every private school in the leagues

table, doing the best in spelling, reading, as well as doing their sums.

Headteacher Neena Lall stated, “Our mantra is: every child can. If they can't, why can't they?

There are no excuses and every day counts.”

Lall goes on to explain, “Everything we do here comes from our vision that every St Stephen's child blossoms into a confident, respectful, modern British citizen prepared to be an aspirational contributor in the global community.”

The Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable has appointed a personal adviser to assist him in reaching out to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, and in developing policies to reduce race inequalities in the United Kingdom.

Issan Ghazni MBE will be working closely with Vince Cable to advise on how the Party can better engage with and make itself relevant to BAME communities in the UK. Issan was the Party’s first National Diversity Adviser from 2007 to 2010 and has a wealth of experience in race and equalities policy development and training. Issan worked within HQ and across the regions to establish early infrastructure, training and priorities for tackling inequality and lack of participation by under-represented groups.

During this period, Issan conducted a review into the state of diversity within the party, set up the Diversity Engagement Group, and supported a number of cross party diversity initiatives including the implementation of Equality Impact

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Vince Cable

Assessments and established regional diversity champions and regional training programmes. He has been asked to spearhead the delivery of the Leader’s Task Force to identify impact of and attitudes of BAME communities towards Brexit.

Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said: “Issan worked with me as the Party’s first National Diversity Adviser, and subsequently when I chaired the Lib Dems’ Diversity Engagement Group.

“I’m delighted he is offering his advice to me, as we help the Liberal Democrats fill the enormous space in the centre of British politics. Key to

this ambition is to do better among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, and Issan I know will help the party to do so.

“I raised a multi-ethnic family in the United Kingdom, so I know the subtle – and sometimes, not so subtle – barriers which exist. We must tear them down.

“I want to get out all round the country, addressing groups from every faith and ethnic background, to ensure the Lib Dem message of hope for the United Kingdom, with an exit from Brexit and a strong economy, is heard.”

Issan Ghazni said, “Vince Cable’s leadership offers a huge opportunity to the Liberal Democrats to highlight the continuing race inequalities which exist in the United Kingdom and to offer solutions. It is important for the leadership to get the strong Lib Dem message of equality, fairness and

social justice out to BAME communities at a time when inequalities and racism are still rife in our society.

“Having previously worked closely with Vince Cable, I am fully aware of his strong personal conviction towards eliminating discrimination and inequality and appreciate his genuine commitment to promoting race equality and community engagement.

“I will be working first on the dangers of Brexit for BAME communities, as only the Lib Dems offer an exit from Brexit. Labour have abandoned their post as the hope of a progressive alternative in this country, starting the rot with Blairism, through the war in Iraq and now with Corbyn’s pro-Brexit stance.

“I look forward to working with Vince to improve the Lib Dems’ electoral standing in ethnic minority communities.”

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MEDIA WATCH

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in fine fettle at the ASEAN Summit in Manila. His meeting with US President Donald Trump went off well. Highlighting India’s role in the Asia Pacific region, the Premier, addressed the Indian diaspora, referred to Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, saying India was committed to peace in word and deed.

‘History does not show a single incident in which India has done bad things to anyone.

During World War I and World War II, we did have any territorial ambition, yet more than 1,5 lakh [150,000] soldiers of my country sacrificed their lives in the quest for peace.

Because of this sacrifice, any Indian can say with pride that we contributed to world peace…I have come to a nation [the Philippines] and a region that is very important to us,’ PM Modi shaking hands with Vietnamese PM he told the cheering Nguyen Xuan Phucat at the ASEAN Summit in Manila crowd.

Quadrilateral dialogue India, the US, Japan and Australia held a security dialogue on the sidelines of the summit, which is of strategic significance.

China reacted with a statement that it hoped this would not PM Modi shaking hands with Philippines target any third President Rodrigo Duerte at the ASEAN country. ‘The relevant Summit in Manila countries should be at the head of a business open and inclusive and should be delegation in search Indian conducive to a win-win cooperation and was warmly cooperation and avoid welcomed. An honorary Latvian politicizing or excluding some consul has been appointed, and relevant parties,’ said China’s the International North South Foreign Ministry spokesperson Transport Corridor is fit for Geng Shuang. purpose (Business Line Indian position November 14).

India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar issued the following statement: ‘We do many meetings with many groupings. This is part of the diplomacy that countries do.

Chinese also do a quadrilateral with the US. China does a trilateral with Japan and Korea. Diplomacy has a lot of space in between and it is not just for multilateral and bilateral meetings.’ (Hindu, Business Line November 14).

Latvia gateway to European market Latvia, a small Baltic state sandwiched between Lithuania and Estonia, is advantageously placed with its port Riga, which its government is hard-selling to exporters as an ice free port gateway to the north European market.

This will provide an inviting opportunity for Indian exporters to take their goods – mainly pharmaceuticals and car parts - to Bandar Abbas in Iran by sea, from there by rail and road to Riga, cutting the present ocean journey by 40 per cent and carriage costs by 30 per cent.

Amazon doubles India investment Amazon India has almost doubled the authorized capital to $$4.74 billion. Not only does this improve the prospect of further investment but it signals the company’s all-out drive to stave off the challenge from its local competitor Flipkart. ‘As India’s largest and fastest growing e-commerce player and with a long-term commitment to make e-commerce a habit for Indian customers we continue to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire eco-system.and humbled by the from our customers in over four years of business…’

Mint, Times of IKndia November 15).

Godrej surge

Latvian PM in Mumbai Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinkis was recently in Mumbai

Adi Godrej

Godrej Industries reported a 53 per cent surge in its second quarter net profit to Rs 95 crore on the back of a robust performance from consumer products, properties and share of profits in associate firms. The company stated that it expected its profits in the coming quarters to rise further because of the reduction in GST rates. Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Industries, said:: ‘Overall, the [Indian] economy is going good.

We are seeing the revival in rural ares. (Hindu November 15).

Tejas morale booster India’s own Tejas warplane, designed and manufactured at home, received a welcome boost when the Southern Command’s Air Marshal R.K.S.Bhanduria flew the aircraft solo for 30 minutes in Bangalore. Having flown 100 sorties on it as an experimental test pilot with the National Flight Test Centre, his latest solo comes at a time when the plane is subjected to a blizzard of critical comments in sections of the media and reportedly from top IAF officers as well, who favour the induction of US-made aircraft.

Bribes This is not new.

Western companies are known to make generous handouts to media bootlickers and others down the line. The Tejas is currently undergoing final sets of trials, with weapons devices that add to its attack capability.

Following these trials, the Tejas will apply for Full Operational Clearance (FOC).

(Hindu November 15).

Feathered friends in Lake Chilka

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civilized urban life (Mint, Hindu, Business Line November 16).

Electric vehicles on board Nothing so concentrates the mind than a life threatening crisis.

Something big was required to catch the public imagination. The drive to move from Lake Chilka in Odisha petrol driven vehicles to electric driven substitutes was just the With the approach of winter right ticket. This doesn’t merely migratory birds have started address an Indian concer but flocking to Odisa’s famed Lake the global one of climate change.

Chilka, the largest brackish With Swedish manufacturer water lagoon in India. According Volvo’s announcement that it to forest officials, at least would phase out the internal 100,000 avian guests have combustion engine for electric arrived at the lake so far, and or hybrid vehicles by 2019, the more are expected with the fall critical moment for others to in atmospheric temperature. The take the cue has surely arrived. larger species are yet to arrive.

The later arrivals are also the last Indian game plan to depart. The birds come from afar: Siberia, China, Mongolia, State-run firm Energy the Himalayan belt and the Efficiency Services Ltd, which Middle East. The spectacle is a led the way by reducing LED delight for ornithologists and home lights by 86 per cent amateur bird watchers who also floated a tender for 10,000 flock to Lake Chilka for the electric cars, the largest such season Hindu ovember 15). order in the world. Tata M otors won the contract, with New York Times scorned Mahindra & Mahindra winning a subsidiary order. The vehicles The toxic New York Times has will be priced at Rs 100,120, liked the sari to ‘Hindu with aim of creating a platform nationalism’. A long-time Indiafor a broader switch over by baiting rag, this squalid report 2030 (Mint November 16). has provoked a swarm of protest from Indians of all political BrahMos set for persuasions. Hopefully, we may Sukhoi-30MKI test be spared its odious curt-price

India, Russia deal on track India and Russia are in the final stages of sealing their deal for purchase of Russian Kamov226T helicopters for the Indian Air Force. ‘A Russian team is in India for technical discussions on joint venture that will manufacture the helicopter with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). India and Russia have concluded the InterGovernmental Agreement for 200 helicopters at an estimated $1 billion or more. The two partners plan to export these machines to third countries (Hindu November 15).

Award for Super-30 founder President Ram Nath Kovind awarded this year’s ‘Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award’ to Super-30 founder Anand Kumar for his contributions to teaching and education for youth from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Kumar’s Super-30 tutorial institute has provided free coaching to students to crack the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance examinations. He said the ‘smiles’ he sees on the faces of successful students have been an inspiration to him in his work (Hindu Nove,ber 15).

BrahMos missile

syndicated columns in the Indian print media (Times of India November 15).

Steps to counter Delhi smog It takes time for Indian politicians and bureaucrats to respond to any crisis, especially those that are environmental.

The notorious Delhi smog has plagued the city for years before the city fathers were bestirred to act. The most recent one was so bad, so clearly a health hazard the schools were closed for almost a week. At long last the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Haryana Chief Minister Khattar met for talks and agreed on measures to counter the threat. Then the authorities decided to bring forward the introduction of BSVI fuel for automobiles – one of the world’s cleanest – from 2022 to next April (2018) to meet the meet the current challenge to

India is all set to upgrade its supersonic BrahMos cruise missile into a deep surgical weapon through its integration into the IAF’s most lethal aircraft, the Sukhoi-30MKI with its cruising range of 3,200 km.

This air to ground missile can be used for strikes against terror cams in hostile territory, also underground bunkers, command centres and other high value assets. The 290-kmrange BrahMos, produced jointly by India and Russia, has been inducted into the Army and Navy. India’s armed forces.

Work in progress is extending its range 450 km from the present 290 km.

Supersonic to hypersonic India and Russia are also working on an hypersonic BrahMos with Mach 5, or over, speed (five times that of sound) (Times of India November 14).

UK

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Brexit & Global Dealmaking I write to you having returned from Singapore and Hong Kong, where in my role as UK Government Dealmaker responsible for Asia, I look to do the deals to bring the best entrepreneurs and technologies to HQ in the UK. This fits well with my business of running an asset management company because I have hands on experience of investments, dealmaking (we have a private equity fund) and being a fintech entrepreneur (my own investment software sold in over a dozen countries from the UK) as well as a barrister.

Anyway, enough of why I am equipped. Given the Chancellor’s budget one important aspect is to understand what kinds of investments Britain is looking for into the UK. Speaking for my activities, I am seeking companies that meet these: One of the Co-Founders/ entrepreneurs will be based in the UK fulltime – who, please name and their current role 2. Indicate a strong willingness to relocate HQ to the UK – what plans, research has been done to date?

3. Clear plan for building the company in the UK – preferably a business plan, P&L, cashflow, balance sheet 4. Potential for high growth – evidence from peer reviews etc 5. Creating highly skilled jobs in the UK aligned with DIT high value criteria – how many people do you think you will employ year 1, 2, 3 at what salaries and job titles.

Pretty tough criteria? Yes, but there’s more: 6. Innovative or disruptive technology with large addressable market – with clear evidence of the same, eg patents, endorsements 7. Aligned to UK strengths in research and/or business sectors 8. Has a strategic/business plan that details plans for international growth – please provide.

9. Generating revenues and has UK clients/customers – please provide in confidence who these are and existing turnover (not projected).

Why so tough? It should be self-evident – we have an open door policy in the UK the best and brightest. So whilst my parents could not get in on these criteria today, their son could. In other words it’s a targeting of a global resource suited to the needs of the country at this time.

People saying, regarding Indian for instance in the media that the UK wants ‘their money, not their people’ may have found a snappy soundbite, but not much by way of truth. Great for grabbing headlines, but nothing else.

The truth is the UK wants to make deals, not just with the EU, but with individual outstanding entrepreneurs and companies. It’s not easy. Dealmaking means both sides getting something. The UK is putting on the table access to networks, R&D, capital, infrastructure, market. They are not putting on the table money for nothing – just as in Brexit.

Taxi driver convicted for raping teenage girl 40-year-old taxi driver, Katar Shahin, has been convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl. The taxi driver had offered to drop the teenage girl home for free as she had no money, but instead, he took her to McDonald's and then to his home in Swansea, where he sexually abused her. Shahin had denied raping the victim

and claimed she was a prostitute and that he had given her the sum of £20 for sex. However, he was put on trial and convicted at Swansea Crown Court. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, and will be on the sex offenders register for life. Judge Geraint

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Walters told the accused in court, “It seems to me you probably picked-up this girl because you observed she appeared to be heavily under the influence of alcohol- to an extent she was targeted. By the time you drove to McDonald's that night you had decided to see if you could have sex with her. By the time you raped her, you knew she was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Has recent publicity raised concerns in this area?

The court of public opinion is now in session.

The law differentiates between harassment at work and harassment in public.

At work, harassment is conduct – including that of a Rubin Italia sexual nature – from another that makes you feel your dignity has been violated or intimidated, creating a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Recently, a number of people have made allegations against film producer, Harvey Weinstein. Other public figures have had allegations made against them, including Kevin Spacey, who allegedly sexually assaulted actor Anthony Rapp when he was 14.

Mr Spacey posted a statement on Twitter: "I honestly do not remember the encounter... but if I did behave then as he describes I owe him the sincerest apology."

As every good lawyer knows, the best way to test evidence is by cross examination. As of yet, no evidence has been tested, but the chances of anyone in Weinstein’s position receiving an unbiased trial following media scrutiny would be slim. I am not making judgement on the validity of the allegations, but I am concerned that we are heading towards a modern public medieval flogging, when we as a society are supposed to have evolved. That said, the issues raised are extremely personal to those who have made allegations.

Some have described this outpouring of allegations as a watershed moment, where society as a whole agrees that certain treatments are unacceptable. Some suggest that these

allegations have helped people come forward with their own claims. It has raised the issue of sexual harassment within all workplaces. Since the Weinstein allegations there have been others, from a variety of sectors, including those in government and the media.

Concerns over allegations being widely reported before any formal are serious. Both the victims and the perpetrators are better served by a robust, transparent investigation coupled with a similar court process. This way, true allegations are processed and the perpetrators are prosecuted accordingly.

If you, or anyone you know requires confidential legal advice on this topic, contact Rubin Italia at rubini@duncanlewis.com or on 020 31143 1129.

Author Rubin Italia is a Director of Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ Crime department, based in Harrow. Rubin is ranked in the Chambers and Partners 2017/18 guide and listed as a Recommended Lawyer in the Legal 500 2017 Edition.

His extensive criminal defence experience makes him a key contact for many criminal matters from counter-terrorism, to the London Riots, to serious drug offences.

Duncan Lewis Crime Solicitors Duncan Lewis has a significant practice defending clients in serious and complex criminal cases. We deal with criminal offences from police station representation to crown court trials, appeals and judicial review.

Duncan Lewis' Crime Department is recognised as a Top Tier recommended criminal defence practice by Chambers UK 2018 and the Legal 500 2017 Edition.

Contact Duncan Lewis Crime department on 020 7923 4020 for expert legal advice. For our 24 hour service call Duncan Lewis’ emergency assistance on 033 3772 0607.

Brexit 'divorce bill' could cost £40 billion Ever since the EU and Brexit referendum took place in June 2016, there has been a sense of anxiety whether the outcome will be fruitful. With the deadline penned as March 2019 for the official Brexit to happen, the future of trade relationship with the EU, and the status of European citizens living in the UK, as well as British citizens in the EU have still not been given any light.

What is now being suggested is that the government have apparently agreed to pay more to the European Union, an amount estimated to be up to £40 billion, which is twice the amount previously offered. The United Kingdom and the European Union are yet to decide on a “divorce bill'.

The EU states that the UK has made financial commitments which needs to be settled prior to their exit from the European Union as part of an overall withdrawal agreement.

However, some Conservative MPs are angered at the prospect of the UK paying more to the European Union. On the other hand, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are in support of Theresa May paying a “much larger sum”, provided that the EU agrees to commence trade talks with the UK, which it yet hasn't agreed to do thus far. A source from Theresa May's office said, “It remains our position that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed

in negotiations with the EU. As the Prime Minister

said... the UK and the EU should step forward together.”

At a summit on 14th and 15th December, EU leaders are expected to decide whether they will allow talks on a future trade relationship to start.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

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Pratik Dattani

Good governance is not just about rules, or ticking boxes. It is about attitudes and culture, and whether a charity puts its values into practice. More than that, it is about minimising bad practice, about realising an organisation’s potential and helping it reach that in a sustainable manner. This article helps you understand how charities can improve their effectiveness and the role of a trustee in doing so.

Trustees hold responsibility and power for the strategic vision and management of charities. It is a position with legal responsibilities. A trustee must ensure they are committed to the charity’s cause, recognise that meeting a charity’s stated public benefit is an ongoing requirement, and are committed to good governance. They should read the Charity Commission’s The Essential Trustee document and well understand their charity’s governing document.

Trustees may be wellmeaning, but may lack sufficient knowledge about their responsibilities. Often, they may not have read these documents or, if they have been trustees for a long time, ensured they refresh their memories on a regular basis.

One of the biggest responsibilities of a trustee is the legal responsibility for the charity’s management and administration.

Trustees are expected to identify and assess risks, determine funding and resource requirements, and fundraise legally and responsibly.

Trustees should ensure the charity has clearly articulated Investment and Reserves

policies. A charity cannot take undue risk with funds, but equally, if they have substantial Unrestricted Funds, should avoid holding them just as Cash At Bank (which yields a poor return at the bank).

If they deal with cash on a regular basis (such as template donations) good governance dictates having a robust process in place to handle such funds.

A good charity anticipates and resolves potential disputes before they happen. The Charity Governance Code specifically says a board’s culture, behaviours and processes must help it to be effective. This includes accepting and resolving challenges or different views. There must be a culture where different views can be shared and disputes can be resolved.

One trustee must not be able to unilaterally take decisions without consulting others.

The Code says that small charities should have a good mix in its trustee appointments – in other words, people of different backgrounds, but also ages. It says that a Board of five to 12 trustees is considered good practice; but more could be too big. New appointments should be made on merit, and with a formal, rigorous procedure. Many Hindu charities fail in this regard – trustees tend to be family members or friends, and often of an older age group. By contrast, South Asian arts charity Akademi has ten trustees from across a range of backgrounds, and a defined process for identifying and onboarding additions.

The public’s trust that a charity is delivering public benefit is fundamental to its reputation and success, and by extension, the success of the wider sector.

Therefore, a charity must be clear and coherent in giving out information to other stakeholders.

Trustees must ensure the charity collaborates with stakeholders to promote ethical conduct. The board should make sure it speaks to stakeholders about significant changes to the charity’s services or policies.

Financial scandals related to mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by charities can shake public confidence in charities. Any breach of financial reporting obligations can compel the Charity Commission to take drastic steps. The Tamil charity Sivayogam was ordered by the Charity Commission to suspend its founder-trustee for not being able to account for the proper use of all grants and donations, and for other regulatory issues. Kid’s Company was closed last year due to mismanagement of funds.

All trustees collectively need to decide, plan and review how the charity will carry out its activities and keep themselves updated about the legal and regulatory requirements that need to be followed. For a membership organisation, if there are insufficient members attending the AGM, nonmembers should not be provided voting rights by default.

Every trustee should be clear about the charity’s aims and ensure these are being delivered effectively and sustainably. It is necessary that a trustee devotes enough time and energy to prepare and participate actively in all the trustee meetings. For example, a leading Hindu community charity has over £2m as their fund balances, but provide only unaudited accounts, and two of their three trustees rarely come to the UK, making best practice governance a challenge.

Many of the tips in this article should how good governance could be done. It may differ for larger and smaller charities. But the overall principles should be universal. If you want to find out more, or want to be a part of our upcoming charity trustee training sessions, then email us at contact@charityclarity.org.uk.

2:1 graduate sues Oxford University for £1 million 39-year-old Oxford University graduate, Faiz Siddiqui, who acquired a 2:1 in June 2000, is suing the university, allegedly claiming his degree cost him a prosperous legal career.

Siddiqui, who studied at Brasenose College is suing

the university for £1 million, alleging that the “inadequate” teaching on his modern history course resulted in him getting an upper second class degree.

It is said that he has criticised the teaching on the Indian special subject that

was part of his course.

He also goes on to allege that his tutor had failed to submit medical information about him.

However, Oxford University denies the allegation and says the case is “massively” outside the legal time limit.

To celebrate 70 momentous years of India’s Independence, the foremost Indian violinist/composer L. Subramaniam and the multi-platinum iconic singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam along with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices conducted by Maestro Josep Vicent will premiere the Bharat Symphony and Fantasy on Vedic Chants (violin concerto) in UK at the Barbican Concert Hall on the 28th of November.

Bharat Symphony was commissioned by The City of Chicago to celebrate the 70th year of India’s Independence, and was premiered at the Chicago World Music Festival on 9th of September 2017 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion with Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam as the soloist. The piece is an elegant tapestry of Indian culture in four movements, symbolizing the four major periods of Indian heritage: the prehistoric Vedic period; the Mughal period; the British period and finally, the post-Independence modern period.

The first movement incorporates melodic chants from Rigveda, a sacred text in the Sanskrit language, believed to be 5,000 years old. In the second movement, the Islamic and Mughal influences which were prevalent after the 11th century are interwoven into the structure of the composition, by introducing Hindustani instruments like tabla. The third movement focuses on the interplay of various modes of orchestral music, with an emphasis on the violin which was reintroduced

photo courtesy: Jatin Kampani

Good governance in Hindu Bharat Symphony to mark charities: A trustee’s guide UK India Year of Culture

Dr. L. Subramaniam and Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam

during the British Raj period. The fourth movement symbolises the post Indian Independence period, and traces its global influence over the last seventy years.

Fantasy on Vedic Chants was written at the request of Maestro Zubin Mehta for the India Festival and was premiered on September 12 1985 performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta at the Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Centre. Selected works by Dr. L. Subramaniam including Fantasy on Vedic Chants are available through Schott Publishing.

In the first part of the concert Dr. L. Subramaniam, together with the Indian musicians Dhulipala Srirama Murthy (mridangam) and Tanmoy Bose (tabla) perform an Indian classical music set.

The second part of the concert sees the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra and the London Voices conducted by Maestro Josep Vicent join Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam for the UK premieres of Bharat Symphony and the violin concerto Fantasy on Vedic Chants with Dr. L. Subramaniam as the

soloist.

The late world celebrated violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin said, “I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam.

Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment.”

Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, said, “The London Symphony Orchestra is delighted to bring to a close this wonderful year of cultural exchange and celebration marking 70 years since India's independence. The Orchestra first visited India in 1964 and returned in 2010 & 2014, and looks forward to returning in future years. It is hugely exciting to work again with Dr. L. Subramaniam, and so many leading Indian musicians working together with musicians from different cultures enriches all of our musicmaking enormously.”

This concert is the final event in the UK-India Year of Culture (India@UK2017), a bilateral initiative to mark the deep cultural ties between India and the UK and the 70th anniversary of India’s Independence.

ing talents of thousands of children through creative writing workshops and the annual competition.

Forty-five young writers whose poetry, short stories and articles were the standout entries this year have now been shortlisted. Their submissions have been assessed by an internationally renowned panel of judges including awardwinning children’s author of Orangeboy, Patrice Lawrence, Director of The Royal Society of Literature, Tim Robertson and awardwinning author and comic writer G Willow Wilson.

Chairman of Muslim Hands, Syed Lakhte Hassanain, comments: “This year’s entries are once again remarkable! Young people of all ages from dif-

ferent corners of the country have taken part in the competition. The pieces written for the competition have been truly inspiring. It is amazing to see young people write so skillfully and with such creativity. As the work of young people continuously improves in its quality, it becomes more challenging for our judges to select the best pieces of work. Young people and children are incredibly talented individuals and we must support them in their development of learning, as it will help them achieve more and also thrive.

At Muslim Hands, this is what we are motivated by – in both our international development work and in our UK community projects.”

Winners to be announced at 7th annual ‘Young Muslim Writers Awards’ ceremony After receiving hundreds of entries, winners of the Young Muslim Writers Awards 2017, a Muslim Hands project presented in association with the Yusuf Islam Foundation, will be announced on the 9th December at Muslim Hands’ annual ceremony celebrating young literary talent.

Award-winning author Patrice Lawrence will be amongst those presenting trophies to the winners alongside an exciting lineup of performers.

The Young Muslim Writers Awards, initially set up as a standalone competition for 5 – 16 year olds in 2010, following its success as part of Muslim Hands’ Muslim Writers Awards.

Since then, it has encouraged and nurtured the writ-

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UK

British-Asian beauty queens bring home titles It looks like a favourable year for Indian women in beauty pageants.

Manushi Chhillar has brought home the Miss World crown to India, 17 years after Priyanka Chopra won the title.

Another two shining examples are of Nilanjana Sinha and Anisha Safaya, both winning impressive beauty pageants.

Nilanjana, a resident of London who's originally from India has been crowned as Mrs India International Anisha Safaya being crowned Mrs India Universe 2017 2017, having previously won the Mrs India Earth ily, Anisha Safaya has title in October. She says recently been crowned as participating in pageant has Mrs India Universe 2017.

She has also won important sub-titles in the world of beauty pageants, such as Mrs Catwalk, Mrs India Universe 2017 and second runner up Mrs India UK. Anisha has always attributed credits of her success to people around her, as she believes that whatever she is today is an amalgamation of qualities and best wishes of people. She says, “Having Nilanjana Sinha an objective look back at the canvas of my life and as I helped her to groom in a reflect on my life so far, I holistic approach and has see mixture of colours; reenergised herself and all dark, bright and pastels; her family and friends to be colours of precious experimore positive about themences, endless smiles and selves. She is actively puralso some difficult memosuing a journey to be better ries – all of which forms than herself from her yeswho I am today, a lady with terday. grace, resilience, diligence, Nilanjana always wantdignity and optimism”. ed to do something differAnisha is a passionate ent for the society. She dancer and loves adventure always liked doing social sports. Sky diving, ocean work and always wanted to walker and scuba diving are give back to society. amongst her favourites. As Nilanjana has raised a total well as getting involved in of $4174 in a span of less sports, she enjoys making than a month, having 90 idols of deities at home. She supporters for her cause to shared, "I love Lord Ganesha help underprivileged chiland make eco-friendly dren in India.

Ganpati idols from clay Born to a Kashmiri famevery year at home".

Robbers batter and loot £30k gold jewellery from 60-year-old man A 60-year-old market trader was held captive by robbers who looted his home for £30,000 gold jewellery.

At 9:30pm on 12th November, a week before the festival of light Diwali, father-of-three Harminder Dhillon from Ilford was beaten by four masked men who broke into his home from the backdoor.

He recounts, “I tried to fight them but there were too many of them. If it was two burglars I think I could've beaten them but they just kept hitting me.

They said they would stab me if I didn't tell them where the jewellery was.

But I didn't know – even my wife keeps it hidden from me. I shouted at the, 'If you can find it just take it'. They left one guy with a hammer to watch over me

Harminder Dhillon

as they ransacked upstairs.”

Amongst many valuables that were stolen, Dhillon's wedding ring was stolen from him as well.

He expressed, “My wedding has gone and a lot of family heirlooms. I've worked hard all my life and these scumbags have just taken everything. We know they will try to sell it quick... I still think about it [the attack] when I'm home alone. It's terrifying.”

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

EFI HUB, AND ETHICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP Sunetra Senior

SP

15

TLIGHT

ANU SHAH

CEO Anu’s brilliant cosmopolitan business, EFi Hub, aims to mentor, guide and create financial opportunities for start-ups in the developing and emerging markets – effectively in Asia and Africa.

The sharp businesswoman explained she wants to: “replicate the interactive buzz of Silicon Valley” for the other, often forgotten, side of the globe.

“A significant USP is that EFi Hub financially independent and not only brings together a global autonomous. As a woman it was network of entrepreneurs, top proexpected of me to be self-effacing fessionals and potential investors to and submissive, and I had to work help small businesses develop in hard to fight that stereotype and their nascent business environprove I could be financially indepenments, but speaks to government dent against all the odds. I actually intermediaries such as respective lived in a Chawl, a working-class governments to influence investresidence, at the time next to taxi ment policies and infrastructure,” drivers and maids. As you know the Anu elaborated. “Essentially, we class divide in India is immense, and help grow businesses by not only this made me very self-conscious, connecting them with world-class especially when I was being watched expertise, but closing the gaps in by the beady eyes of these seedy the investment policy infrastructure men who would pass through. But of a country, which allows foreign being self-sustaining was important investors to enter more easily.” to me, and I was driven. I learnt fast Here, Anu gave the example of her and soon rose to the position of work in Rwanda, one of the many product manager. From there, I’ve countries where she has worked had the pleasure of working across 4 across her vast and varied business continents and 7 countries in M&A, career, to explain that in order to Strategy consulting and Private grow one of her current projects, a Equity, all of which were highly payment transfer company called male dominated professions. I was Mergims – a now widely used online the only female amongst all investplatform, expanding to all East ment professionals in the PE fund African countries by mid-2018 – the that I was working in. I will always CEO Louis Antonie had to first get be a strong advocate of gender the state to acknowledge the conequality and gender pay parity – a cept of a Fin-Tech company to begin subject close to me. The biggest with. Mergims is then a bona fide obstacle in the business world has disruptor; not only digitally driving also been being a subject of gender monetary exchange but forging the bias and prejudice. I’ve had promofield to which it belongs.” This tions snatched away from me is apt from a British perbecause my boss has said: spective with a report ‘you’re just going to get As a that was published by woman it was married and become a EY in 2016 confirming expected of me mother…’ Indeed, explicthat the UK came first itly righting an uneven to be selfin government policy gender playing field, a effacing and when it came to accomthird significant SME nursubmissive modating FinTech hubs. tured by Anu in Africa is “We also support an the popular Women’s online learning, educative Bakery. “The business involves tool in Kenya called DigiSkool” Anu women from the rural parts of proudly added. “90% of capital is Africa, including teaching those who that which flows through the US, are illiterate. I am also working with Japan and China, and these people a non-profit organisation called are your potential investors. It is Inkomoko to establish a mentorship important to have a system that and training program for women in incorporates enterprises from all the refugee camps of Rwanda." sectors. Small businesses are the Thus, Anu powerfully shows us how backbone of national economy: if long-term vision and step-by-step the latter is healthy so too will be goals can combine to provide a solid the social impact. This eventually formula for growth. “I remember reforms the community and creates when I first thought of EFi Hub,” the a better quality of life.” tech crusader aptly added. “It was at Harvard when I realized how privi*** leged I was and how far I’d come - to Anu’s desire to technologically have been blessed with these brilcollapse the distance between the liant opportunities of learning from traditionally consumerist and profew of the world’s best faculties and duction spheres of the world comes extremely enterprising students. from a very poignant place of having That instilled the urge to give back had to reconcile two unequal parts to society.”One of Anu’s first finanof her early self; her initial level of cial backers – and classmate from confidence and incredible vision and Harvard University - includes ambition. “I actually started off African politician Lavan Gopaul. working in a call centre, going door Tell us a bit more about how to door to sell products in India,” you help individual SMEs she shared. “It was an action I had thrive? to take to prove that I could be

From my experience as a Private Equity professional, I have seen that it is relatively easy for A-list entrepreneurs (typically starting from IIT, IIM or Harvard) to leverage the alumni connections and build a network of mentors, investors and industry professionals. The same incentive is not applicable to the entrepreneurs who are not from Ivy League schools. But these entrepreneurs may still have a great business or product idea that can drive the social innovation and change on a large scale in the society. Through EFI Hub I want to empower and ensure that such businesses can be sustained.

Your name is very digital; do you only want to support online businesses?

Though we are largely sector agnostic, we have realized that highest action in Asia and Africa is in tech space, with huge traction in other sectors such as clean energy, education, health care and tourism, especially in Africa.

Was it difficult bringing eminent Harvard, Oxbridge and established members of society into the fold?

Though we grew organically, in some ways it was easier to build a network of Harvard Alumni and existing students while I was at the school. That original list of the board of advisors eventually attracted a bigger pool of people.

At the end of the day it’s also about the strength of the idea. If you have a good investment or business opportunity, people want to listen.

Is it good to take risks?

I have always made very obscure and bold choices. The higher the risk, the higher the reward is my motto.

Finally, what are the key elements of creating a strong SME? A solid business idea which is localised and customised to the market. Also, due diligence in your research and paying careful attention to the business detail, market landscape, competition environment and lastly numbers. What is most important is that one needs to think globally but act locally. An entrepreneur has to be extremely realistic and thorough with the sales figures in their niche area.

Most importantly, follow your intuition. https://en-gb.facebook.com/engageforimpact/

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UK

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

EXCLUSIVE

Leicester's Belgrave area residents urge for fair hearing against new planning permission Rupanjana Dutta The Hindus in Leicester are protesting against a criticism about turning a simple local planning permission objection to a communal agenda. Belper Street in Leicester is a busy street, surrounded by many commercial properties, post office, school and community centres. A new request has been made for converting a warehouse at 86 Belper Street into a new nursery, prayer facility and education centre for Muslims.

The local residents had a public meeting on Friday evening, that was attended by Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Cllr John Thomas, Cllr Manjula Sood and around 350 local residents of many faiths and communities. The topic of discussion was congestion in the area, and objection to have this new addition to this narrow street.

The Belper Street is right in the heart of the Belgrave area, that are home to important places in Leicester. Once upon a time 'the address' for Asians who arrived after Idi Amin's expulsion from East Africa in 1970s, now it is a residence of many faiths, communities and cultures- an example of real integration in Leicester.

Running parallel to Belper Street are three main streets: Weymouth, Surrey and Melrose Street, all join or cut through Catherine Street, which is a really busy street and one of the biggest in the Belgrave area, with infant and junior schools, army reserve centres, lounges etc on two sides. There is a Hindu temple in Weymouth Street, a church, two factories and a taxi company. It runs parallel to Surrey Street, that is a home to an elderly Asian centre, Sapphire Hall, two pubs and two nurseries with around 45 vacancies.

Belper Street is a short and busy residential street running parallel and adjoined to Surrey Street at one end, has a massive school and a corner shop. Parallel to this is Melrose

Street, which has a post office, garages, a beauty salon and hair dresser.

The application for the Muslim nursery is for 12 children, a prayer hall and education centre for 15-20 people, keeping it small and for local residents only. But it is apparent with no mosques nearby, it will be an attraction for Muslims living around and close-by that will increase traffic and parking issues in the area, a local resident told Asian Voice. There are a total of around 20 mosques and education centre near Leicester General hospital, which is around 3 miles from Belper Street.

The local residents have been campaigning to increase housing in Belper Street, opposing anything that may increase commercial traffic in the area.

Bharti Acharya, an interpretor at the public meeting that was attended by 350 people in the Peepul centre at Orchardson Road on Friday, told the newspaper, “It is not a Hindu or Muslim concern here. Residents are worried about their health and safety, congestion, welfare of children and the elderly. It's a very Victorian part of the city with a very narrow street. We need more housing here, not another nursery or education centre. Also how can you stop people coming from far? How do you define

who is local? The proposition of checking postcode against interest is absurd. Not everyone will come by foot, then where do we have parking for so many people? Even the next streets are full and they can't afford more inflow of traffic or parking. However, if the Council can sort this out, we residents have no issues. At the moment, Belper Street cannot afford this.”

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP and Cllr John Thomas have shown concerns, while the discussion and petitions against the new planning permission continue. Fayaz Suleman who represented the new centre's planning group, emphasised this is only meant for local residents, coming by foot and will not add extra traffic. They will be turned away if they are from a different postcode.

But another local resident who was also present at the Saturday meeting said, “I know it's a freedom of choice for people where they want to send their children to, but why do you need a separate nursery for Muslims, when we have two nurseries down the road, with 45 vacancies and seven education centres?

Even if this was a temple or a church asking for the same, we would have asked the same questions. People who are claiming this to be a faith clash, have blinkers on. This is one of the most vibrant areas in Belgrave. I would urge Asian Voice to highlight our actual concerns and help us resolve it soon.”

Cllr Thomas John said, "My objection to this planning permission is entirely based on congestion and traffic. There is no racial element to it."

Vaz and Suleman were unavailable for any comment.

The enigmatic sari: Unattached from religion Sari is one of the most beautiful, elegant and graceful attires that a woman can wear. It is considered as a traditional garment worn in the South Asian diaspora, as well by those who are of South Asian descents; i.e. many women from Mauritius or the West Indies. In a country like India, where there is an amalgamation of religions, cultures and rituals, is it fair to associate this ethnic wear to Hindu nationalism? An article in The New York Times has linked the sari to Hindu nationalism which has enraged and bemused many.

Walking on the streets of London, be it Green Street, Upton Park in East

London, or in Wembley, you will see several women draped in this elegant attire. Seeing a woman dressed in a sari is no alien sight in the UK, especially in the multi-cultural city of London, as well as Leicester and Birmingham. To say that this attire is strictly associated to one religion is futile. The sari is as popular in Bangladesh as it is in India. You will get to see many Bangladeshi Muslim women choosing a sari as their daily wear in the UK. A British Bangladeshi woman, Sameera Begum shared her views. She said, “I was born and raised in the UK. I have always seen my mum in a sari and can't imagine her in anything

COMMUNITY UPROARS #FREEJAGGINOW

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else. I myself wear a sari on several special occasions, including Eid. We are Muslim women who wear saris, and there are plenty like us in the world.”

India is multi-faceted and full of diverse people and ethnicity. The report in The New York Times shows ignorance towards the sari, Indian people, Indian culture, and India as a whole. India, similar to the UK, is a nation where people of all creed and background come together to celebrate each other's festivals and live in unity. In the UK, women, and men alike, dress in what is considered as “western attire” regardless of their colour or religion and are not questioned. Then how is it fair to even consider an “INDIAN” national wear to be segregated and associated to one particular religion? With all its achievements and attributes, probably India and South Asia is still an enigma to that side of the western world.

Continued from page 1

Baljit Singh, who travelled to protest with a coach of supporters from Southall, west London, said he met Jagtar through activism within the Sikh community.

Another demonstrator, 37year-old Ravinder Singh, of Bow, east London told the Daily Mail he did not know the family but wanted to support their efforts to have Mr Singh freed.

In the Foreign Office questions in the Commons on Tuesday, a Foreign Office minister has suggested that extreme action will be taken if allegations that a Scot arrested in India has been tortured by police are true.

A group of British MPs, led by the UK's first female Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill has written to Foreign Commonwealth Office calling for an urgent investigation into the arrest. It has been countersigned by British Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Dhesi and other MPs from the cross-party All Party Parliamentary Group , including Lucy Allan, Alison Thewliss and Pat McFadden.

Gill in the letter said, "Given that the United Kingdom Government prides itself on its commitment to openness and transparency, we find it deeply concerning that the Indian Government have detained Jagtar in this manner...I and my colleagues urge you to investigate this matter with the utmost urgency and ensure that Jagtar's rights as a British citizen are preserved.”

The letter has also been shared with the High Commission of India in London, claims a "catalogue of failures" by the local authorities in Punjab since Johal's arrest and the failure of British consular services in the state to make contact with him.

It adds, "India is the largest democracy in the world and is rightly often touted as an example to others. As such, it is completely unacceptable that neither Jagtar's lawyer or a representative of the British High Commission were permitted to attend court proceedings on Friday 10 November”.

The APPG also called on the Indian government to share any information on Johal's connection to terrorist or criminal activity, as claimed by the local police, with its UK counterparts because both countries share a "deep and important intelligence partnership".

Rory Stewart, Minister of State at the Department for International Development told MPs in Commons on Tuesday that the Government was working closely to investigate the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

During Foreign Office questions in the Commons, SNP's Martin Docherty-

Hughes, MP for West Dunbartonshire, raised his constituent's case, and asked Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson what discussions he had with the Indian government about their human rights record in Punjab.

"Critically in relation to my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal who has been in custody since November 4 without charge and now with the possibility or the accusation of torture, the Prime Minister yesterday on BBC radio indicated their personal interest.

"Can the Secretary of State advise me and the House how he's working with the office of the Prime Minister to assist my constituent and his family in Dumbarton?"

Stewart said the case was being taken very seriously.

He told MPs: "The Deputy High Commission managed to gain access – we have now had a meeting with the constituent.

"We take any allegation of torture very seriously, as indeed would the Indian government. It is completely unconstitutional – it is offensive to the British government – and we will work very closely to investigate and of course will take extreme action if a British citizen is being tortured."

The Sikh Federation UK, which is running a #freejagginow campaign, says no official charges have been brought against Jagtar, but local media reported that his arrest was linked to the killing of Hindu leaders in Punjab. The group has been lobbying for action from the British government to secure the release of a "law-abiding British citizen".

While the 10 Downing Streets has not issued an official statement, Prime Minister Theresa May told the BBC Asian Network, “I am aware of the concerns being expressed about Jagtar Singh Johal. Representatives from Foreign Office have met Johal and pursuing the case and watching what is happening with concern and will take actions necessary.”

According to a report by the PTI Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, said that those arrested were using encrypted mobile software and apps for communication with handlers based in Pakistan and had been trained abroad.

"Breakthrough in targeted killings with arrest of 4, conspiracy was hatched by #ISI on foreign soil to spread communal disturbances," he said in a recent tweet.

The "targeted killings" refer to the deaths of Shiv Sena's Amit Arora; RSS leaders Durgadas Gupta, Jagdish Gagneja and Ravinder Gosain; Sri Hindu Takht official Amit Sharma; Dera Sacha Sauda followers Satpal and Ramesh Kumar and Pastor Sultan Masih.

UK AsianVoiceNews

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Asian House & Home Property Investors Meet

SPIRITUALITY

By Roma Loomba

Panelist, Sponsors and Organisers of Asian House and Home Property Investors Meet

Charusmita On the evening of 16th November, Harrow College saw a full house when Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar organised the Property Investors Meet, sponsored by Metro Bank and Galliard Homes, a British residential property developer, in collaboration with Sow & Reap, a specialist property investment company.

The evening started with an introduction to the central theme, “Tax: a perfect storm or a navigable headwind?”, by Suresh Vagjiani, Founder of property specialists Sow & Reap, and the moderator for the evening. This was followed by a Panel Discussion with five experts from the field, and then a Q&A with the audience.

As Suresh Vagjiani explained the theme, in the current property environment there is a situation where stamp duty has become onerous and costly, and property incomes are facing attacks. This has been massive knock-on effects and is changing the landscape drastically as the property industry has been hit with radical, negative tax changes and reforms in the last few years. A call for greater transparency is on the rise. Richard Margrave,

local director (Harrow branch, Metro Bank) gave his opening remarks on the event on behalf of Metro Bank.

This was followed by a statement from David Galman, Sales Director, Galliard Homes. Galman presented an overview of property investment and why it is still a solid, long-term investment. He spoke about the available opportunities in the current time of

Accountants, in his remarks, advised the attendees on property tax planning. He is also a specialist in advising on the government approved Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

Roshan Patel, Local Director at Metro Bank (Slough Branch) and Ali Pirbhai, Regional Commercial Banking Director, Metro Bank, spoke

Guests asking questions to the Panelists

unfavourable property environment.

Simon Farrell QC, Three Raymond Buildings, and Ellis Sareen, Barrister, Foundry Chambers, spoke about the legal aspects of new property schemes on offer by UK banks. They discussed tax strategies to legally minimise leakage, and ways to avoid attractive but risky tax planning schemes.

Jay Sanghrajka, Partner at Price Bailey Chartered

17

about the various ways in which Metro Bank is customer-centric when it comes to property buying.

The audience Q&A were advised on their queries regarding buying studenthousing properties and property laws on inheritance, among others.

Attended by investors, bankers, property lawyers, among others, this event was a prequel to the Asian House and Home magazine, due to come out in December.

Spiritual Growth and Development have long been associated with increasing our awareness and expanding our Consciousness. Our Subconscious Mind is the doorway to our Superconscious Mind, which is directly linked to our Divine Mind and taps into the Universal Cosmic Mind. The importance of impressing the Mind with positive thoughts is well known. We are constantly told to "Ask for what you do want, without any reference to what you do not want." In Prayer and in the use of Affirmations positive words are required in order to impress the Subconscious Mind with positivity and with the power of positive thoughts; thereby helping us to wipe out fear, doubt, anxiety and negativity from our Conscious mind and our Subconscious Mind.

In the media in the last few years, there have been several sources which encourage us with the concept of impressing the subconscious mind with positive thought. One such source which has been hugely popular is the book called "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. In this book the Importance of carefully choosing positive words in Prayer and Affirmations, in order to create positive thoughts is constantly referred to.

Ultimately the goal is to create "positive thoughts" within ourselves which are sent out into the universe and subsequently "Boomerang back to us" with positive results, as opposed to the opposite!

In all Faiths, whether it be, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, we can perceive ourselves to be Spiritual Beings, living in a universe comprised of energy made up of thought forms and corresponding vibrations. This concept has been examined by scientists to whom it is inherent to understand equations through the microscopic lens of atoms and protons and neutrons. One such scientist has thankfully endeavoured to bring the scientific approach into the "Realm of the Spiritual and the Magical". He is Doctor Deepak Chopra and in his latest teachings, he carefully breaks down the science and rationale of the Cosmos and explains to us its "Spiritual Science". The complex scientific knowledge that he has from his Medical background as a Doctor is merged with his Spiritual knowledge into a mystical synergy about the Divine Universal Cosmos we live in.

The above mentioned book "The Secret" was first published in 2005 soon after we entered the New Millennium.

However, the ideas, concepts and teach-

ings in "The Secret" have been recognised and taught, for many years over the centuries. One such Teacher was called Florence Scovel Shinn and she wrote her first book in 1925 called "The Game of Life and How to play it". She became well known as a "Truth Teacher" for she illustrated to her students the truth of the Universal Energies and how we can all harness this "Great Energy" for ourselves in order to bring about and manifest in our lives the most simple of wishes we may have for we are all a "Child of God" and each deserve to have our hopes, dreams and wishes fulfilled. In her book, she encourages us to listen to Music which has Healing and Therapeutic qualities and is subliminally fourth dimensional. She suggests repeating affirmations to the motion of music which can be uplifting.

Florence Scovel Shinn taught that in order to impress the subconscious mind with good positive thoughts, active faith is always essential. In her book “The Game of Life and How to Play it” she writes that “Faith without works is dead, ..... in fact, active faith is the bridge over which a person passes to their Promised Land”. Earlier I mentioned the importance of wiping out thoughts of fear, doubt, anxiety and any negativity from our subconscious and conscious mind.

Florence Scovel Shinn helps us to understand this concept by writing the following : “There is no peace or happiness for a person until he or she has erased all fear from the subconscious. FEAR IS MISDIRECTED ENERGY AND MUST BE RE-DIRECTED OR TRANSMUTED INTO FAITH” Needless to say, we all have fear embedded in our subconscious mind.

Different fears for different reasons. We may not even be consciously aware of what fear we are holding onto in our subconscious mind. The following paragraph is quoted verbatim from her book in order to illustrate with insight how fear holds us back: “I am asked so often by my students, “how can I get rid of fear ?”

“I reply, “by walking up to the thing you are afraid of”.

“The Lion takes its fierceness from your fear”.

“Walk up to the Lion, and he will disappear, run away and he runs after you”.

For example, she goes on to explain how the Lion of Lack, disappeared when the individual spent money fearlessly, showing active faith that God was her supply and therefore, Unfailing. She concludes with a helpful Affirmation by writing: “Many of my students have come out of the bondage of poverty and are now bountifully supplied through losing all fear of letting money go out.

The subconscious mind is impressed with the truth that God is the Giver and Gift; therefore since one is one with the Giver, we are one with the Gift. A splendid affirmation is: “I now thank God the Giver for God the Gift” Florence Scovel Shinn believes that we can be freed from the Law of Karma by asking for forgiveness for our mistakes and, in so doing, we are placed directly under Grace and Benevolence. www.RomaLoomba.com

ACF welcomes levy on plastic packaging

Guests listening to the Panelists expert advise on property tax related matters

Chancellor Phillip Hammond's proposal to introduce a levy on single use plastic packaging has been welcomed by the Chairman of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), Yawar Khan. The ACF represents the interests of 35,000 takeaways and restaurants in the UK. Yawar Khan stated, “We need to reduce the problem caused by plastics,

which are polluting the oceans and poisoning marine wildlife. The 5p tax on plastic carrier bags has been sufficient to cut their usage by 85% – so a new surcharge will not need to be excessive to bring about a change in customer behaviour. Restaurants need to pass the cost on to customers, like shops and stop absorbing it.”

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UK

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

EXCLUSIVE

Leicester's Belgrave area residents urge for fair hearing against new planning permission Rupanjana Dutta The Hindus in Leicester are protesting against a criticism about turning a simple local planning permission objection to a communal agenda. Belper Street in Leicester is a busy street, surrounded by many commercial properties, post office, school and community centres. A new request has been made for converting a warehouse at 86 Belper Street into a new nursery, prayer facility and education centre for Muslims.

The local residents had a public meeting on Friday evening, that was attended by Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Cllr John Thomas, Cllr Manjula Sood and around 350 local residents of many faiths and communities. The topic of discussion was congestion in the area, and objection to have this new addition to this narrow street.

The Belper Street is right in the heart of the Belgrave area, that are home to important places in Leicester. Once upon a time 'the address' for Asians who arrived after Idi Amin's expulsion from East Africa in 1970s, now it is a residence of many faiths, communities and cultures- an example of real integration in Leicester.

Running parallel to Belper Street are three main streets: Weymouth, Surrey and Melrose Street, all join or cut through Catherine Street, which is a really busy street and one of the biggest in the Belgrave area, with infant and junior schools, army reserve centres, lounges etc on two sides. There is a Hindu temple in Weymouth Street, a church, two factories and a taxi company. It runs parallel to Surrey Street, that is a home to an elderly Asian centre, Sapphire Hall, two pubs and two nurseries with around 45 vacancies.

Belper Street is a short and busy residential street running parallel and adjoined to Surrey Street at one end, has a massive school and a corner shop. Parallel to this is Melrose

Street, which has a post office, garages, a beauty salon and hair dresser.

The application for the Muslim nursery is for 12 children, a prayer hall and education centre for 15-20 people, keeping it small and for local residents only. But it is apparent with no mosques nearby, it will be an attraction for Muslims living around and close-by that will increase traffic and parking issues in the area, a local resident told Asian Voice. There are a total of around 20 mosques and education centre near Leicester General hospital, which is around 3 miles from Belper Street.

The local residents have been campaigning to increase housing in Belper Street, opposing anything that may increase commercial traffic in the area.

Bharti Acharya, an interpretor at the public meeting that was attended by 350 people in the Peepul centre at Orchardson Road on Friday, told the newspaper, “It is not a Hindu or Muslim concern here. Residents are worried about their health and safety, congestion, welfare of children and the elderly. It's a very Victorian part of the city with a very narrow street. We need more housing here, not another nursery or education centre. Also how can you stop people coming from far? How do you define

who is local? The proposition of checking postcode against interest is absurd. Not everyone will come by foot, then where do we have parking for so many people? Even the next streets are full and they can't afford more inflow of traffic or parking. However, if the Council can sort this out, we residents have no issues. At the moment, Belper Street cannot afford this.”

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP and Cllr John Thomas have shown concerns, while the discussion and petitions against the new planning permission continue. Fayaz Suleman who represented the new centre's planning group, emphasised this is only meant for local residents, coming by foot and will not add extra traffic. They will be turned away if they are from a different postcode.

But another local resident who was also present at the Saturday meeting said, “I know it's a freedom of choice for people where they want to send their children to, but why do you need a separate nursery for Muslims, when we have two nurseries down the road, with 45 vacancies and seven education centres?

Even if this was a temple or a church asking for the same, we would have asked the same questions. People who are claiming this to be a faith clash, have blinkers on. This is one of the most vibrant areas in Belgrave. I would urge Asian Voice to highlight our actual concerns and help us resolve it soon.”

Cllr Thomas John said, "My objection to this planning permission is entirely based on congestion and traffic. There is no racial element to it."

Vaz and Suleman were unavailable for any comment.

The enigmatic sari: Unattached from religion Sari is one of the most beautiful, elegant and graceful attires that a woman can wear. It is considered as a traditional garment worn in the South Asian diaspora, as well by those who are of South Asian descents; i.e. many women from Mauritius or the West Indies. In a country like India, where there is an amalgamation of religions, cultures and rituals, is it fair to associate this ethnic wear to Hindu nationalism? An article in The New York Times has linked the sari to Hindu nationalism which has enraged and bemused many.

Walking on the streets of London, be it Green Street, Upton Park in East

London, or in Wembley, you will see several women draped in this elegant attire. Seeing a woman dressed in a sari is no alien sight in the UK, especially in the multi-cultural city of London, as well as Leicester and Birmingham. To say that this attire is strictly associated to one religion is futile. The sari is as popular in Bangladesh as it is in India. You will get to see many Bangladeshi Muslim women choosing a sari as their daily wear in the UK. A British Bangladeshi woman, Sameera Begum shared her views. She said, “I was born and raised in the UK. I have always seen my mum in a sari and can't imagine her in anything

COMMUNITY UPROARS #FREEJAGGINOW

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else. I myself wear a sari on several special occasions, including Eid. We are Muslim women who wear saris, and there are plenty like us in the world.”

India is multi-faceted and full of diverse people and ethnicity. The report in The New York Times shows ignorance towards the sari, Indian people, Indian culture, and India as a whole. India, similar to the UK, is a nation where people of all creed and background come together to celebrate each other's festivals and live in unity. In the UK, women, and men alike, dress in what is considered as “western attire” regardless of their colour or religion and are not questioned. Then how is it fair to even consider an “INDIAN” national wear to be segregated and associated to one particular religion? With all its achievements and attributes, probably India and South Asia is still an enigma to that side of the western world.

Continued from page 1

Baljit Singh, who travelled to protest with a coach of supporters from Southall, west London, said he met Jagtar through activism within the Sikh community.

Another demonstrator, 37year-old Ravinder Singh, of Bow, east London told the Daily Mail he did not know the family but wanted to support their efforts to have Mr Singh freed.

In the Foreign Office questions in the Commons on Tuesday, a Foreign Office minister has suggested that extreme action will be taken if allegations that a Scot arrested in India has been tortured by police are true.

A group of British MPs, led by the UK's first female Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill has written to Foreign Commonwealth Office calling for an urgent investigation into the arrest. It has been countersigned by British Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Dhesi and other MPs from the cross-party All Party Parliamentary Group , including Lucy Allan, Alison Thewliss and Pat McFadden.

Gill in the letter said, "Given that the United Kingdom Government prides itself on its commitment to openness and transparency, we find it deeply concerning that the Indian Government have detained Jagtar in this manner...I and my colleagues urge you to investigate this matter with the utmost urgency and ensure that Jagtar's rights as a British citizen are preserved.”

The letter has also been shared with the High Commission of India in London, claims a "catalogue of failures" by the local authorities in Punjab since Johal's arrest and the failure of British consular services in the state to make contact with him.

It adds, "India is the largest democracy in the world and is rightly often touted as an example to others. As such, it is completely unacceptable that neither Jagtar's lawyer or a representative of the British High Commission were permitted to attend court proceedings on Friday 10 November”.

The APPG also called on the Indian government to share any information on Johal's connection to terrorist or criminal activity, as claimed by the local police, with its UK counterparts because both countries share a "deep and important intelligence partnership".

Rory Stewart, Minister of State at the Department for International Development told MPs in Commons on Tuesday that the Government was working closely to investigate the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

During Foreign Office questions in the Commons, SNP's Martin Docherty-

Hughes, MP for West Dunbartonshire, raised his constituent's case, and asked Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson what discussions he had with the Indian government about their human rights record in Punjab.

"Critically in relation to my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal who has been in custody since November 4 without charge and now with the possibility or the accusation of torture, the Prime Minister yesterday on BBC radio indicated their personal interest.

"Can the Secretary of State advise me and the House how he's working with the office of the Prime Minister to assist my constituent and his family in Dumbarton?"

Stewart said the case was being taken very seriously.

He told MPs: "The Deputy High Commission managed to gain access – we have now had a meeting with the constituent.

"We take any allegation of torture very seriously, as indeed would the Indian government. It is completely unconstitutional – it is offensive to the British government – and we will work very closely to investigate and of course will take extreme action if a British citizen is being tortured."

The Sikh Federation UK, which is running a #freejagginow campaign, says no official charges have been brought against Jagtar, but local media reported that his arrest was linked to the killing of Hindu leaders in Punjab. The group has been lobbying for action from the British government to secure the release of a "law-abiding British citizen".

While the 10 Downing Streets has not issued an official statement, Prime Minister Theresa May told the BBC Asian Network, “I am aware of the concerns being expressed about Jagtar Singh Johal. Representatives from Foreign Office have met Johal and pursuing the case and watching what is happening with concern and will take actions necessary.”

According to a report by the PTI Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, said that those arrested were using encrypted mobile software and apps for communication with handlers based in Pakistan and had been trained abroad.

"Breakthrough in targeted killings with arrest of 4, conspiracy was hatched by #ISI on foreign soil to spread communal disturbances," he said in a recent tweet.

The "targeted killings" refer to the deaths of Shiv Sena's Amit Arora; RSS leaders Durgadas Gupta, Jagdish Gagneja and Ravinder Gosain; Sri Hindu Takht official Amit Sharma; Dera Sacha Sauda followers Satpal and Ramesh Kumar and Pastor Sultan Masih.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Asian House & Home Property Investors Meet

SPIRITUALITY

By Roma Loomba

Panelist, Sponsors and Organisers of Asian House and Home Property Investors Meet

Charusmita On the evening of 16th November, Harrow College saw a full house when Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar organised the Property Investors Meet, sponsored by Metro Bank and Galliard Homes, a British residential property developer, in collaboration with Sow & Reap, a specialist property investment company.

The evening started with an introduction to the central theme, “Tax: a perfect storm or a navigable headwind?”, by Suresh Vagjiani, Founder of property specialists Sow & Reap, and the moderator for the evening. This was followed by a Panel Discussion with five experts from the field, and then a Q&A with the audience.

As Suresh Vagjiani explained the theme, in the current property environment there is a situation where stamp duty has become onerous and costly, and property incomes are facing attacks. This has been massive knock-on effects and is changing the landscape drastically as the property industry has been hit with radical, negative tax changes and reforms in the last few years. A call for greater transparency is on the rise. Richard Margrave,

local director (Harrow branch, Metro Bank) gave his opening remarks on the event on behalf of Metro Bank.

This was followed by a statement from David Galman, Sales Director, Galliard Homes. Galman presented an overview of property investment and why it is still a solid, long-term investment. He spoke about the available opportunities in the current time of

Accountants, in his remarks, advised the attendees on property tax planning. He is also a specialist in advising on the government approved Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

Roshan Patel, Local Director at Metro Bank (Slough Branch) and Ali Pirbhai, Regional Commercial Banking Director, Metro Bank, spoke

Guests asking questions to the Panelists

unfavourable property environment.

Simon Farrell QC, Three Raymond Buildings, and Ellis Sareen, Barrister, Foundry Chambers, spoke about the legal aspects of new property schemes on offer by UK banks. They discussed tax strategies to legally minimise leakage, and ways to avoid attractive but risky tax planning schemes.

Jay Sanghrajka, Partner at Price Bailey Chartered

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about the various ways in which Metro Bank is customer-centric when it comes to property buying.

The audience Q&A were advised on their queries regarding buying studenthousing properties and property laws on inheritance, among others.

Attended by investors, bankers, property lawyers, among others, this event was a prequel to the Asian House and Home magazine, due to come out in December.

Spiritual Growth and Development have long been associated with increasing our awareness and expanding our Consciousness. Our Subconscious Mind is the doorway to our Superconscious Mind, which is directly linked to our Divine Mind and taps into the Universal Cosmic Mind. The importance of impressing the Mind with positive thoughts is well known. We are constantly told to "Ask for what you do want, without any reference to what you do not want." In Prayer and in the use of Affirmations positive words are required in order to impress the Subconscious Mind with positivity and with the power of positive thoughts; thereby helping us to wipe out fear, doubt, anxiety and negativity from our Conscious mind and our Subconscious Mind.

In the media in the last few years, there have been several sources which encourage us with the concept of impressing the subconscious mind with positive thought. One such source which has been hugely popular is the book called "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. In this book the Importance of carefully choosing positive words in Prayer and Affirmations, in order to create positive thoughts is constantly referred to.

Ultimately the goal is to create "positive thoughts" within ourselves which are sent out into the universe and subsequently "Boomerang back to us" with positive results, as opposed to the opposite!

In all Faiths, whether it be, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, we can perceive ourselves to be Spiritual Beings, living in a universe comprised of energy made up of thought forms and corresponding vibrations. This concept has been examined by scientists to whom it is inherent to understand equations through the microscopic lens of atoms and protons and neutrons. One such scientist has thankfully endeavoured to bring the scientific approach into the "Realm of the Spiritual and the Magical". He is Doctor Deepak Chopra and in his latest teachings, he carefully breaks down the science and rationale of the Cosmos and explains to us its "Spiritual Science". The complex scientific knowledge that he has from his Medical background as a Doctor is merged with his Spiritual knowledge into a mystical synergy about the Divine Universal Cosmos we live in.

The above mentioned book "The Secret" was first published in 2005 soon after we entered the New Millennium.

However, the ideas, concepts and teach-

ings in "The Secret" have been recognised and taught, for many years over the centuries. One such Teacher was called Florence Scovel Shinn and she wrote her first book in 1925 called "The Game of Life and How to play it". She became well known as a "Truth Teacher" for she illustrated to her students the truth of the Universal Energies and how we can all harness this "Great Energy" for ourselves in order to bring about and manifest in our lives the most simple of wishes we may have for we are all a "Child of God" and each deserve to have our hopes, dreams and wishes fulfilled. In her book, she encourages us to listen to Music which has Healing and Therapeutic qualities and is subliminally fourth dimensional. She suggests repeating affirmations to the motion of music which can be uplifting.

Florence Scovel Shinn taught that in order to impress the subconscious mind with good positive thoughts, active faith is always essential. In her book “The Game of Life and How to Play it” she writes that “Faith without works is dead, ..... in fact, active faith is the bridge over which a person passes to their Promised Land”. Earlier I mentioned the importance of wiping out thoughts of fear, doubt, anxiety and any negativity from our subconscious and conscious mind.

Florence Scovel Shinn helps us to understand this concept by writing the following : “There is no peace or happiness for a person until he or she has erased all fear from the subconscious. FEAR IS MISDIRECTED ENERGY AND MUST BE RE-DIRECTED OR TRANSMUTED INTO FAITH” Needless to say, we all have fear embedded in our subconscious mind.

Different fears for different reasons. We may not even be consciously aware of what fear we are holding onto in our subconscious mind. The following paragraph is quoted verbatim from her book in order to illustrate with insight how fear holds us back: “I am asked so often by my students, “how can I get rid of fear ?”

“I reply, “by walking up to the thing you are afraid of”.

“The Lion takes its fierceness from your fear”.

“Walk up to the Lion, and he will disappear, run away and he runs after you”.

For example, she goes on to explain how the Lion of Lack, disappeared when the individual spent money fearlessly, showing active faith that God was her supply and therefore, Unfailing. She concludes with a helpful Affirmation by writing: “Many of my students have come out of the bondage of poverty and are now bountifully supplied through losing all fear of letting money go out.

The subconscious mind is impressed with the truth that God is the Giver and Gift; therefore since one is one with the Giver, we are one with the Gift. A splendid affirmation is: “I now thank God the Giver for God the Gift” Florence Scovel Shinn believes that we can be freed from the Law of Karma by asking for forgiveness for our mistakes and, in so doing, we are placed directly under Grace and Benevolence. www.RomaLoomba.com

ACF welcomes levy on plastic packaging

Guests listening to the Panelists expert advise on property tax related matters

Chancellor Phillip Hammond's proposal to introduce a levy on single use plastic packaging has been welcomed by the Chairman of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), Yawar Khan. The ACF represents the interests of 35,000 takeaways and restaurants in the UK. Yawar Khan stated, “We need to reduce the problem caused by plastics,

which are polluting the oceans and poisoning marine wildlife. The 5p tax on plastic carrier bags has been sufficient to cut their usage by 85% – so a new surcharge will not need to be excessive to bring about a change in customer behaviour. Restaurants need to pass the cost on to customers, like shops and stop absorbing it.”

18

FINANCIAL VOICE

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Moody's upgrades India's ratings International rating agency Moody's has upgraded the India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings from Baa3 to Baa2, also changing the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. The agency has claimed the Modi government's implementation of several reform programmes to be the cause. The upgrade came after a gap of 13 years, with the last upgrade ironically also coming under the NDAregime led by Atal Behari Vajpayee.

In a statement, the agency said, “Moody's believes that those (reforms) implemented to date will advance the government's objective of

improving the business climate, enhancing productivity, stimulating foreign and domestic investment, and ultimately fostering strong and sustainable growth.

The reform program will thus complement the existing shock-absorbance capacity provided by India's strong growth potential and improving global competitiveness.” The upgrade will affect the cost of international borrowing which will become cheaper for the

Indian government and Indian corporates whose ratings are constrained by the sovereign rating. With Narendra Modi and his administration constantly under fire for GST and demonetisation, this news came as a welcome break.

Moody's said, “The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody's expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will, over time, enhance India's high growth potential and its large and stable financing base for government debt, and will likely contribute to

a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term. In the meantime, while India's high debt burden remains a constraint on the country's credit profile, Moody's believes that the reforms put in place have reduced the risk of a sharp increase in debt, even in potential downside scenarios.”

“Government efforts to reduce corruption, formalise economic activity and improve tax collection and administration, including through demonetisation and GST, both illustrate and should contribute to the further strengthening of India's institutions,” the agency said.

Diageo sues Mallya over $40m payout Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya faces a second legal battle after Diageo sued him to recover a $40 million payment made when he was ousted from United Spirits last year. The suit came a couple of weeks before his London extradition hearing. The drinks giant claims that Mallya breached a $75 million agreement, of which it has already paid $40 million, made when he stepped down as chairman in February 2016. Diageo also seeks $141 million over questionable payments made by companies affili-

Indian economy to grow at 6.2% in 2017-18, predicts NCAER The National Council of Applied Economic Research had predicted a 6.2 per cent growth rate of the Indian economy in 2017-18. It has predicted that growth in agriculture, gross value added (GVA), will be 3 per cent, industry GVA at 4.5 per cent, and services GVA at 7.6 per cent in 2017-18. The Wholesale Price Index inflation is projected at 6.7 per cent and growth rates in export and imports, in dollar terms, are estimated at 10.7 per cent and 24.4 per cent, respectively.

The review suggests that recovery of the Indian industrial sector is shaky due to the implementation challenges faced by the Goods and Services Tax, and uneven demand.

“With greater emphasis on improving ease of doing business, attracting foreign inflows, recapitalising public sector banks and efforts to achieve continuous improvements on the GST front, the Indian industrial sector hopes to overcome its transition blue in 2018-19,” the review said.

Vijay Mallya

ated with the businessman.

The British multina-

tional owns 55 per cent stake in United Spirits since it first purchased a share of the Indian whiskey producer in 2013.

Last year, it agreed to pay $75 million to Mallya over five years, to leave the company and not compete or interfere with it for five years. Diageo said as part of the arrangement, it would release Mallya from liabilities flagged in the internal report. “Diageo is pursuing substantial repayment and compensation from Mallya and certain of his affiliate companies. Also named in the

suit is Mallya's son Sidhartha.

The former Kingfisher owner was arrested in London on April, on a warrant issued by Indian authorities. He is accused of wilfully defaulting on more than $1.4 billion in debt accumulated by Kingfisher Airlines, by a consortium of 17 banks.

Mallya has said that the Diageo suit was being reviewed by his lawyers and he would defend any action against him. He has also denied the allegations related to the Indian fraud charges.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

All is well at Infosys, says Narayana Murthy

Narayana Murthy

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy said all is well in the company, adding that Chairman Nandan Nilekani has the skills of simplifying “lots” of complexities in the software major. Speaking to the media after the distribution of Infosys Prize for 2017-18, he said, “Absolutely, all is well.

Remember, in my speech with the investors, I said now that we have Nandan as the chairman, we can all sleep well.”

“He (Nilekani) is a very organised person. His strength is simplification of complex ideas. There were lots of complexities and therefore he has his hands full. Let's leave it to him and let's all keep quiet, so that he can do his job well,” he said. The statements came a few days after he expressed

disappointment over the company giving a clean chit to its $200 million acquisition of Israeli technology firm Panaya. About searching for a new CEO, Murthy said there was no need to give advice to Nilekani as he had been a good CEO himself.

CEO Vishal Sikka quit his job following a turmoil in the company which was a result of a battle between the Board and the company founders leading in the return of the current CEO. Some names, including former Infosys executive Ashok Vemuri's had cropped up in the media but he has reportedly expressed his unwillingness to accept the job. Vemuri had quit Infosys in 2014 after Vishal Sikka was brought in as the company's CEO and managing director.

ArcelorMittal, Tatas vying to acquire Essar & Bhushan Steel

Govt asks airlines to perform first before seeking more routes

A senior government official has said that performance of airlines and progress in starting flights on the routes won in the first round of bidding under the regional connectivity scheme will now be taken into consideration before awarding them more routes. Second round of bidding under the scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) is under progress and has received as many as 141 initial proposals from 17 players.

Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey said performance of airlines that have won routes in the first round would be taken into account while deciding on award of routes in the second round. “If we find that their (airlines) progress is not up to the mark, then we will not rush into awarding any route in the second round of bidding if they have won. We would like to link their performance and progress in the first bidding round to any route that they may have won in the second round of bidding,” he said.

Choubey also stressed that performance of such airlines would be monitored.

Five airlines, including SpiceJet won bids to operate on 128 routes connecting 70 airports in the first round of RCS bidding. Air Odisha Aviation got maximum routes- 50, followed by Air Deccan, 34, and Turbo Megha Airways, 18. The Air India subsidiary Airline Allied Services bagged 15 routes, while SpiceJet won bids for 11 routes.

Air Deccan and Air Odisha are, however, yet to start operations on account of different factors. Choubey said they are expected to com-

mence significant part of their operations by December 15. Regarding collection of RCS levy, he said the paper work related to Goods and Services Tax is under progress.

“Since the GST has come, there are some exemptions we have to seek. The paper work has already started. We are working on a certain manner of ensuring that there is no reduction in availability of funds (for RCS) on account of GST. The exact process is being discussed with the Department of Revenue,” he said. Levy collections are parked in a trust set up under the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Lakshmi Mittal

N Chandrasekaran

Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal and Tata Steel have increased efforts to place takeover bids for Essar and Bhushan Steel. The former is working with Goldman Sachs to prepare bids for both the assets. A team reportedly visited the sites in recent days as part of the due diligence process. Tata, meanwhile, visited Bhushan Steel and followed it up with Essar. It will stay focused on chasing the two biggest steel assets referred to the National Company Law Tribunal as part of the bankruptcy resolution process.

The Tatas are being considered as a strong contender for Electrosteel.

Tata chairman N Chandrasekaran and group CFO Saurabh Agrawal have taken keen interest and are assessing a renewed domestic buildout for Tata Steel as the sector shows signs of a

cyclical recovery. A final decision on the bidding is yet to be taken. Even though eight suitors have submitted expression of interest and collected preliminary information from Essar Steel, the race is essentially between ArcelorMittal, the Tatas, and the Ruia family which is partnering Russian bank VTB to retain an asset with 10-million-tonne capacity and £4.20 billion debt.

Others interested are Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, distressed asset buyers SSG Capital and AION, Steel Authority of India and Japan's Nippon Steel.

Promoter Singals are likely to make efforts to keep the integrated steel-maker with 5.6 mt capacity and £4.50 billion debt. Intense lobbying in the recent weeks have been conducted to disallow defaulting promoters from reacquiring assets.

REAL ESTATE VOICE

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WHAT A RELIEF! AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Last week we had an event in Harrow, in regards to the new tax scheme which is currently being phased in. The event was popular and fully booked. I even had calls from a few people who were hoping to use me to gain entry from the back door to the event.

Not surprising, given it was about what everyone is concerned about, which is tax.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

Everyone is seeking a way to minimise taxation to save money. The conclusion of the evening was, in a nut shell, there is nowhere to hide. The terrain has changed and who knows, could get worse in time. It’s not as though the funding gap will close anytime soon.

Barrister’s opinion was, if the schemes you’re being introduced to are too good to be true, they probably are.

Whilst this statement is not absolute for all time and places, it is probably correct in this scenario, given the new landscape we are facing.

The seminar lasted for a good few hours, mostly re-

emphasising the message of operating within the rules.

However, one point which was not focused on was the Entrepreneurs Relief which is available to property traders.

The Entrepreneurs Tax Relief is available on the gains made by selling the shares of a company. The tax payable is only 10% as long as it is qualifying and is extracted as a personal capital gain by selling the shares in the company rather than the asset itself. The company needs to be held for more than 12 months and the investor needs to be a director in the company.

There is also a lifetime limit of £10m. That being the gross amount you are taxed on, not the tax; in other words £10m of gains.

This wraps nicely around land investments.

The value of land increases with a change in its utility. Two pieces of land may look the same, one will have an increased value because you are allowed to build upon it

AGONY AGENT IS HERE TO HELP! Q: My tenant’s six month tenancy ends in two weeks, and they owe me six weeks’ rent. They have also damaged the property. I want them to be evicted as soon as possible, but how do I get my money back?

A: As there is damage to the property, it makes sense that you claim for possession of the property immediately. But if you want to recover the outstanding debt, then you need to show that you’re acting reasonably and calmly (try not to threaten them). I would recommend speaking to the tenant fully about their circumstances, and trying to help them resolve the situation (e.g. by helping with a benefit claim or repayment plans). Do act swiftly to make sure that your tenant realises that

you’re serious.

Send a formal reminder letter weekly. Send him/her a schedule of the rent arrears, outlining what is due. This will act as good evidence, in case you end up in court.

Afterwards, you can then use the following eviction procedures: 1. Section 8 eviction procedure, which includes a money claim for rent arrears 2. Section 21 standard procedure (where you need to attend court) 3. Section 21 accelerated possession procedure (where you don’t need to attend court, if your paperwork is correct) Using the Section 8 notice

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

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may be the quickest course of action. By serving the Section 8 notice, you're giving the tenant 14 days’ notice, and after this ends, you can apply to the County Court for a possession order, as well as a CCJ (debt judgment).

The downside of using a Section 8 is that unless the arrears are of two months or more, the possession order is granted on the judge’s discretion.

There is also the possibility of a late part-payment, and the tenant can counterclaim for the property’s alleged disrepair.

With the Section 21 notice, you should serve this immediately, so it acts as a safety net in case the tenants don’t leave at the end of the tenancy.

Although it will take longer to obtain the possession order, you’re guar-

and the other one is only for agricultural purposes.

Changing from one to the other requires a great deal of professional expertise, and a deep understanding of how the planning process works.

When you manage to transform the utility of a piece of land, its value jumps massively, and will probably be the largest gain you can make in property investment, within a relatively short time period. The process is almost alchemical.

Ironically, the tax applied here is the least, at only 10% of the gain.

In general, it is far more efficient to make profits in respect to capital gains rather than income, as capital gains is much lower than extracting income as dividends or employment income. 20% is the capital gains tax when selling shares. So, if you hold the land in a company, and sell the company, you are selling shares and thus are taxed at 20% and not 40%, 45% and more with national insurance. This being

anteed to get it if you follow the correct procedure.

With the standard procedure you can also add a money claim, but you may need to wait a month or two longer for a court hearing date than if you used the accelerated possession procedure. This shouldn’t be a problem, as you won’t be able to assess the extent of the money claim until the tenant has left the property.

So, the best course of action (based on the surface information provided here) seems to be as follows: 1. Serve a Section 21 notice immediately, making sure that the service is correct and that you have evidence of serving the notice properly.

2. If the tenant shows no sign of leaving at the end

0207 993 0103

info@sowandreap.co.uk www.sowandreap.co.uk 27 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8HU SowandReapProperties

Sowandreapuk

said, please do consult a tax expert about your particular circumstances.

The point was made at the end of the seminar that the tail should not wag the dog. This means that the least important part of a situation should not have too much influence over the most important part.

In this context the tax saving should not drive the investment. The point being that if you allow the tax end to lead too much, you may end up going into a deal that makes no

money and thus you have no tax to save anyway.

However, in the situation with land deals, the focus is solely on getting the highest gains in the shortest time period.

It just happens, currently, we have a chink of light shining at us though the new wall of tax, which is slowing being built around us.

It’s time to take advantage of this situation, because it’s both lucrative and legal.

of the tenancy, apply to the court for a possession order using the accelerated possession procedure as soon as the notice period finishes.

3. Once the tenant has been evicted, assess the damage caused, and calculate your money claim.

4. Pursue the money claim from (1) any deposit protected in a tenancy deposit scheme; and (2) by using the Small Claims Court (for amounts up to £5,000).

When making a claim using the Small Claims Court, do make sure that you have evidence of the following: 1. Rent schedule 2. Bank statements showing missed payments

3. Inventory showing the extent of the damage, plus quotations and invoices for repairs Please do be aware that each situation is different, and therefore I would need to have all the information to hand, before giving any advice on eviction strategy. If you need more information, please do get in touch.

Richard Bond Lettings Manager Sow & Reap

Turning land into cash Get in touch about our land opportunities

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Asian Voice | 18th November 2017

Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, Which are the year’s winners and losers so far on the Dow, Nasdaq and FTSE? Will they continue, or should we look at the worst?

Well, I like to be informed by my global travels, see things for myself on the ground, talk to people and not just look at data. This year, Hanoi, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Qatar, UAE, New York, San Francisco, Finland, Italy, Greece, Malaysia, have informed my views.

On the Dow the big winner is Boeing – up 70% year to date. The price has been a smooth ride up.

Actually since 2016 – it’s been soaring like one of its jet engines. The upward trend remains intact. My concern is that with so much profit in the bank for many investors, this is one they will take money of the table when it come time to worry about market rises.

My travels tell me on Boeing aircraft and engines that civilian and military matters see this being a no brainer.

Caterpillar – which I have been plugging since my days on Bloomberg TV over 10 years ago is up over 47% this year. Again, I look around Asia on the ground and the level of these machines is impressive.

Of course that is not enough. I need to look at hard data. They keep beating earnings estimates.

Looking at analysts price targets for the company and I see a consistent number saying buy and strong buy, with most recently banks such as UBS upgrading the stock. All of these things give me confidence that the stalling in moves since October will be short lived. My only concern – it’s a bit expensive, so I would prefer holding this for the long haul.

Turning to the UK for a moment, the FTSE 100 best performers are NMC Health, Intertek and Worldpay. Up 76%, 55% and 51% this year. It’s actually Worldpay which caught my attention. My fintech companies use them on payment processing and I have to say, their IT systems and again, on my travels I see their name everywhere. So will their success last? They are expensive when I look at measures such as price earnings ratio. This concerns me. And if there is a global slowdown we will be spending less.

However, I don’t think we have seen the peak yet.

So I am happy to ride this on momentum alone, even if the fundamentals look expensive and suggest caution. Just outside the top 3 performers of the year is Persimmon – one that you will know I picked right after Brexit.

It’s up 51% this year – yes that’s how I like my returns in the 50s! I remain a fan. From what I see the UK government is pushing house building and interest rates are settled now for a while and also the LTV is so harsh, that they can only benefit from any easing by banks on their lending criteria.

To attend my webinars: www.alpeshpatel.com Alpesh.patel@tradermind.com

Indian firms create over 1,00,000 jobs in US, says report Indian companies have created over 113,000 jobs in the US, also investing nearly $18 billion in the country, as per an annual report.

Released by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the report titled 'Indian Roots, American Soil', it gives a state-by-state breakdown of the tangible investments made and jobs created by 100 Indian firms doing business in America and Puerto Rico.

The report said that 100 Indian companies employ 113,423 people across 50 states, the district of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

It added that the total value of tangible investments made by these companies exceeds $17.9 billion. The top five states with maximum employment generated by Indian companies are New Jersey (8,572 jobs), Texas (7,271 jobs), California (6,749 jobs), New York (5,135 jobs) and Georgia (4,554 jobs). The top five states with the highest foreign direct investment are New York ($1.27 billion), New Jersey

($1.56 billion), Massachusetts ($931 million), California ($542 million) and Wyoming ($435 million).

Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna said Indian professionals are making significant contributions to the US economy.

“The presence and reach of Indian companies continue to grow each year as they invest billions of dollars and create jobs across the United States,” he said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen said Indian firms are among the fastest growing

investors in the US, contributing to growth and job creation in the US economy.

Congressman Ami Bera said as the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy, a strong US-India partnership is vital for the 21st century.

Congressman David Brat said, “According to CII's survey, Indian companies in Virginia have invested over $37 million in my state, and I can only hope that they will continue to invest in Virginia and that our engagement with these companies will continue to

The Bank of England’s MPC voted two days after Halloween by seven-two to raise interest rates from 0.25% to 0.50%; for the first time in over a decade to combat Brexit-fueled inflation. Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor,

grow.” Chandrajit Banerjee, CII director general said the story of Indian investment in the US is one that showcases how intertwined the two countries are that contribute to each other's success.

James Shapiro, resident director North America of Tata Sons Ltd., said, “As the largest India-headquartered multinational in North America, the Tata Group has had operations and investments in the US market for many decades.

Earlier this year, we announced plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years, partnering with local colleges and universities to shrink the IT skills gap in the US, and are focused on upskilling and reskilling workers seeking to grow their careers in computer science.” The work of Infosys Foundation USA has benefited over 47,00,000 students, 13,000 teachers and 21,000 schools across all 50 states in America since 2015, he asserted.

RBI gets ready to train its guns on 50 more stressed accounts The Reserve Bank of India may come up with a fresh list of 50 loan accounts that are either under stress or close to being classified as non-performing assets. A finance ministry official said the regulator may set a March 31 deadline for banks to find a resolution on these or commence bank proceedings against the borrowers.

The accounts are in addition to the 41 already identified by the central bank. The new list of accounts came up during discussions on the recapitalisation of state-run banks.

The official said that the

assets identified by the RBI have been accounted for in the £21 billion bank recap plan announced last month, and so will not bloat the capital requirement of lenders beyond what has been estimated. “We are in discussion with the RBI over the modalities of the recapitalisation scheme and this is

also being looked at given that the provisioning requirements of banks may rise in these cases too.” A bank executive said, “The next list will be of those accounts where a majority of the lenders in a consortium have put them under the SMA-2 category.” This classification implies a 60 to 90 day delay in loan repayments.

Lenders have already classified most as bad loans and commenced steps for a time-bound resolution from the 41 accounts identified by the RBI. In May, the bank identified 12 stressed

Halloween rate rise spooks the financial markets...

Abhishek Sachdev

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

has also strongly signalled that at least two more rate rises will occur by 2020, increasing uncertainty for millions of Britons on variable rate mortgages and loans. Just yesterday, Mark Carney warned of a Brexit “shock” to Britain’s financial markets. Mr Carney said the decision to leave the EU has already turned Britain into the “slowest growing economy” in the G7.

Sir Jon Cunliffe (my former boss in fact whilst I was at HM Treasury), the BoE’s Deputy Governor for financial stability and a

member of the MPC, voted against a rate rise, pointing out that wage growth has not picked up since 2011 even though the unemployment rate has almost halved to 4.3%, the lowest since 1975. In fact, real wages have continued to shrink as pay growth excluding bonuses remains at a below-inflation 2.2% level.

Many economists share Cunliffe’s view that interest rates should not have increased earlier this month, especially given the uncertain economic outlook caused by Brexit.

So, what does this mean for borrowers looking to hedge?

As I write, the cost of securing a fixed rate £10m loan over a ten-year period has actually dropped by £19k since the announcement! It is important to remember that swap rates fluctuate continuously and are likely to react to market news before the MPC is able to. It is arguably a sign of the markets concern for the British economy (exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty) that the 10-year swap rate is, in fact, lower

following this interest rate rise.

What does the interest rate hike mean for importers/exporters?

Importers have suffered over the past two weeks; since the announcement, the Pound has fallen against the Euro by 0.80% to 1.1218 and by 0.75% to 1.3204 against the Dollar.

Putting that into context, you would need to spend £142k more to import €10m worth of EU goods today than if you had made the purchase just before the announce-

accounts, each with more than £500 million of outstanding loans. In August, it identified another 29 accounts that banks were asked to resolve by December 13, failing which those would have to be taken for insolvency proceedings.

A second senior bank executive said, “There has been little success on these accounts and now it looks that most of these will go to the National Company Law Tribunal.” He added that most banks were making provisions towards such accounts.

ment.

In the current economic climate, the potential for future rising interest rates could have a significant impact on your business. You can keep track of key market rates by subscribing to our FREE market rate sheet.

Updated daily, this concise summary covers swap rates (i.e. fixed rates for loans), FX rates and more.

Visit our website for more details.

Tel: 020 7183 2277 www.vedantahedging.com

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Prevent and the rising threat of Extreme Far-Right Pinakin Patel, Prevent coordinator, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The latest data showing referrals to the Government’s counter-radicalisation Prevent programme, demonstrates a rising far-right risk that professionals including myself have been aware of for some time. In the year 2015/2016, one quarter of those supported by the Channel programme were as a result of far-right concerns. Indeed, for those of us who have been working side by side with community organisations for several years, this fact will not have come as much of a surprise. They confirm the concerns that members of our longestablishedPrevent Advisory Group (a gathering of leading local community organisations and mosques which advises us on the local delivery of Prevent, Britain’s strategy to safeguard individuals at risk of radicalisation) have raised for some time. While the most significant terror threat we face comes from terrorist recruiters inspired

by Da'esh, an increasing number of cases supported by Prevent’s early intervention scheme, Channel, are linked to the extreme far-right (XFR).

The murder of Jo Cox, the Finsbury

Park attack, the proscription of National Action (and its aliases Scottish Dawn and NS131) and the subsequent string of arrests for suspected membership of this organisation, are all a testament to the very real threat originating from extreme far-right terrorism. For members of our local ethnic minority communities, these concerns are reinforced by experiences of increased hate crime and Islamophobia which have now been evidenced by the latest Home Office figures. Sadly, concerns about retaliatory violence and harassment following each new Da’esh-inspired terrorist atrocity have become well understood. It is well understood that each new attack runs the risk of emboldening the vocal minorities who promote extremism on both the far-right and on behalf of groups like Da’esh. In this context it is hardly surprising, although no less shocking, that we were told that some local Muslim girls were considering removing their headscarves out of fear for their own safety.

The community’s concerns about both Da’esh and the XFR were justified and we are seeing this played out within our increased safeguarding workload.

This year, I will have worked in Prevent for ten years. In that time, the level of Prevent engagement, the intensity of our local delivery, and the number of Prevent safeguarding referrals have multiplied. Referrals relating to the XFR now account for one in four referrals

nationally. Locally, we have addressed concerns regarding individuals who declared their support for the use of violence against Muslims because they consider all Muslims to be terrorists; individuals who were promoting Nazism and Holocaust denial; or individuals producing neo-fascist literature.

Crucially, the social media revolution we have seen these last ten years has led us to a situation where extremist content is far more easily accessible, where children will readily ask a stranger on a forum for guidance rather than a parent, and where untrustworthy websites are increasingly effective at developing misinformation to promote xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred.

Thankfully, these ten years have also been deeply formative and have left us in a better position to address these complex and sensitive concerns. The greater support we receive from organisations (notably from the voluntary sector) and communities has been invaluable. Our close working ties with other local safeguarding teams have also been key to our ability to offer tailored support to vulnerable individuals. Our consistent work with community organisations has ensured that we are best placed to hear of new challenges as they arise and respond to them immediately.

In schools, the support we offer is ever changing in line with emerging risks.

Recently, we have offered lesson plans

and staff training regarding critical thinking, conspiracy theories and online safety.

One of the misconceptions about Prevent is that it somehow targets the Muslim community. In my experience, this could not be further from the truth and a recent experience which I have had embodies this point and the importance of Prevent in the current context.

While delivering a training session to a local charity, we discussed a case study around the XFR. As part of this discussion, a Muslim woman attending the session explained that a few years ago, when she was living outside of London, she had been insulted and harassed by a man because of her faith. She became quite emotional and opened-up to the group about the fear she had felt following this incident and the impact this had on her life. What was particularly clear from her account, was how alone she had felt when faced with concerns relating to the XFR. She ended her story by explaining that she felt safer knowing that there are teams such as ours trying to tackle issues relating to radicalisation, adding that she wished she had known about the work we do a long time ago. Her feedback form simply read: “Thank you for the work you do”.

These figures will help to inform the public that extremism and can take many forms and it’s important that we remain vigilant to the risk of radicalisation whenever and wherever it emerges.

Hindu Swayamsevak Singh Ramayana- truth, love, dharma celebrates Parliament week 2017 showcased by Chinmaya Mission

The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Samiti took a lead in engaging with Parliament Week 2017 ( 13th -19th November).

The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Samiti took a lead in engaging with Parliament Week 2017 (13th -19th November).

Pratap Shakha and Shakti Samiti (Finchley) organised a Parliament Week event on the 17th of November at Bishop Douglass School, Finchley.

MPs Theresa Villiers and Mike Freer attended the hour long event which started with introduction of activities of Sangh and Samiti and also included a demonstration of Surya Namaskar.

Pruthviben Shah spoke on the format of the weekly shakha and leadership skills taught in shakha. The audience were told about the HSS 50th anniversary celebrations and the SEWA projects that Sangh and Samiti prides itself on. Theresa Villiers was impressed with the discipline she witnessed at shakha. She emphasised how important it is to practice our precious democra-

cy positivity, take up local issues and show that you care by taking that first step to doing something about it. She emphasised that there is a strong need for our youngsters to participate in politics, ‘ go and meet your local MP, speak to them about issues that you want something done about’ she said. In introducing Mike Freer Harsha Jani reminded the MP of the 1992 visit to Finchley Pratap shakha utsav by prime minister Margret Thatcher. Mike Freer spoke to the mainly young audience about opportunities in local government, government departments and parliament. Mike Freer emphasised that there are job placement schemes, internships, apprentices, youth parliament and debating opportunities in parliament and government. Mike Freer said ‘ Find out how you can participate, look at the resources on government

web sites and speak to your local MPs. Just make sure you get up and take action’.

On the Caste Consultation Bill, both Theresa Villiers and Mike Freer reassured the audience that they were strongly against this bill as it is totally unnecessary and a waste of parliament time.

Fielding a question from young Swayamsevak Dillon Depala about changing the voting at age to 16, both MPs said that there are crucial issues at election time which people vote on and age 18 is the appropriate age for voting in national election.

Young Swayamsevaks and Sevikas and the guests had opportunity for one to one interaction with both MPs over a plate of Nasto.

The evening ended with nara of ‘ Vishwa Dharma Ki Jai’. Pratap Shakha and Shakti Samiti activities are held every Friday from 7-9pm in Finchley.

This November, Chinmaya Mission UK showcased the Ramayana -Truth, Love, Dharma, a stage production based on Sage Tulsidas's Ramchartimanas.

The team of over 50+ volunteers, ranging from

8 to 80 year olds, brought to life this timeless

Indian epic, in a 3hour performance as a fund raiser for the charity. The three venues in Leicester, London and Harrow were packed as over 1,900+ people across race, nationality and religion thronged to watch the play The story of the Ramayana has caught the imagination and reverence of millions down the centuries. It serves as a guide for people to make the right choices in life based on “dharma” or righteousness. Through the play, eternal values such as; duty, faith, friendship, devotion,

love, courage and more found an expression, the volunteers became one family and had the great opportunity to learn as well as bring this great story to the stage. An inspiring, intense, uplifting experience for both the play team as well as the audience. Music, dances, action and emotions got positive reviews across different venues.

Sanskruti Centre hosts Indradhanush program attendees, says "We thorSanskruti Centre for oughly enjoyed every Cultural Excellence has moment of the prohosted an interesting and gramme. As the name vibrant array of folk and "Indradhanush", the protribal dances of India in gramme had all the association with the colours, and the finale was Nehru Centre and Sur an icing on the cake.

Bharti group.

Performers and Organisers of Indradhanush Wonderful job done by all ‘Indradhanush’ has showartistes and the organisers. Looking forcased a variety of dances from different ward to many more of this kind in near regions of India marking the UK-India future". Silpa Paruchuri of BBC and Sita Year of Culture.

Latha were the masters of the ceremony, Some of the unique and never seen while Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Founder of before dance forms were brought to the Sanskruti Centre rendered the vote of fore such as Pawara dance of thanks.

Maharashtra, Hojagiri dance of Tripura, Sanskruti Centre has been training Gond Ghussati dance of Telangana, and presenting classical and folk dances, Santhali dance of West Bengal, Kummi of and conducting workshops in different Tamil Nadu, Bagurumba of Assam, schools on the importance of dance and Lezhim of Maharashtra and Koya and story-telling in Mythology.

Lambadi dances of Telangana. The event The Centre has the distinction of culminated in a breath-taking amalgahosting the first Environmental Short mation of different languages with a uniFilm Festival in Britain, and also the first fied message of unity titled 'Ekta ki UN World Water Day celebrations and Aawaz'. Audiences were captivated with World Tourism Day celebrations in the the concept and choreography of the preHouses of British Parliament. sentation. Manju Masson, one of the

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Robert Mugabe resigns as president of Zimbabwe

HARARE: Robert Mugabe has resigned as president of Zimbabwe with immediate effect after 37 years in power, the speaker of the country’s parliament has said. The announcement came during a parliamentary hearing to impeach him, following a military takeover last week. A letter submitted to parliament by the 93-year-old said his decision to resign was voluntary on his part.

Wild jubilation broke out among MPs when Jacob Mudenda, the speaker, told the parliament.

Impeachment proceedings against Mugabe began earlier on Tuesday as the ruling party, Zanu-PF, attempted to remove him from office.

Thousands of Zimbabweans had also turned up outside parliament to urge on MPs, chanting, dancing and waving placards in Africa Unity square. Shortly before legislators met, the man expected to succeed him broke more than a week of silence to add his voice to those

calling for the ageing leader to step down. Emmerson

Robert Mugabe

Mnangagwa, until recently Mugabe’s vice-president and right hand man, urged the nonagenarian leader to “accept the will of the people”. Mugabe has been under house arrest and key allies of his wife, Grace, removed from power since the military took charge last week. The ruling Zanu-PF party, which at the weekend voted to make Mnangagwa its leader and demote Mugabe to a rank-and-file member, introduced the

motion to impeach and the opposition seconded it.

Mugabe had refused to resign until the impeachment proceedings were underway.

The case for impeachment against Mugabe, focussed heavily on his age and the machinations of his wife for “usurping constitutional power,” leaving a man who is still respected as a hero of the liberation struggle against colonial rule as much dignity as possible.

Mnangagwa, who is now set to become president, had said in a written statement that he backed impeachment as an “ultimate expression of the will of the people outside an election.”

He had fled into exile earlier this month after being ousted from his position in government and Zanu-PF by a faction allied to Grace Mugabe. His supporters are widely believed to be behind the coup. Zimbabweans were stunned by Mugabe’s defiance during a national address in which the

increasingly isolated president, put under military house arrest last week, had been expected to step down.

The military appeared to favour a voluntary resignation for Mugabe, one of Africa’s last remaining liberation leaders, to maintain a veneer of legality in the political transition and avoid accusations of a coup.

Mugabe, in turn, had been using whatever leverage he has left to try to preserve his legacy or even protect himself and his family from possible prosecution. Amid the political confusion, the government urged Cabinet ministers to pursue business as usual. Opposition activists and the influential liberation war veterans association had announced demonstrations to pressure Mugabe to go.

“Your time is up,” veterans association leader Chris Mutsvangwa had said.

Earlier, Mugabe was stripped of his party leadership by the ruling party’s central committee.

Pakistan rejects China's aid for dam B E I J I N G: Pakistan has turned down China's offer of assistance for the $14-billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam, according to a leading Pakistan daily. Moreover, Islamabad is learnt to have asked China to take the project out of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and allow it to build the dam on its own.

The project is located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is claimed by India.

The Asian Development Bank had earlier refused to finance the project because it was to come up in a disputed territory. Express Tribune cited a top official as saying Pakistan would

prefer to self-finance the project instead of accepting extremely tough conditions set by Chinese companies.

Sources in Pakistan said international lenders were linking serious conditions with the provision of funding, and the project cost had reached $14 billion against the original estimates of $5 billion.

The chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Muzammil Hussain was quoted as saying that Chinese conditions for financing the DiamerBhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests.

Hussain said this while briefing the public accounts

committee (PAC) of parliament, and added that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved a plan to finance the dam from the country's own resources. The report caused huge surprise in Beijing, some of whom were in denial and said Pakistan was unlikely to spring a nasty surprise without first consulting Chinese authorities. A Beijing-based Chinese expert said Pakistan would not risk turning down Beijing's offer because it would impact the CPEC as a whole .

The expert said, "I think Chinese diplomats in Islamabad would have known if Pakistan was unhappy with the financing

and would have alerted Beijing. But this is not the case because Pakistan's planning minister asked for Chinese funds for several dam projects including this one only a few days back."

In his presentation to the parliamentary committee, Hussain said China wanted Pakistan to pledge an existing dam project to obtain funds for the new one, besides pay interests and other charges. Chinese conditions were about taking ownership of the project, operation, and maintenance costs, and security of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam, the paper quoted Hussain as saying.

Smog kills more people than militancy in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Toxic smog covering areas of Pakistan has choked citizens, with Lahore suffering the most.

The level of PM2.5, microscopic particles that enter deep in the lungs, had dropped to 159 last week, from more than 1,000 during the pollution spike, as per citizen-driven monitoring initiative Pakistan AirQuality. The number is, however, still six times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit.

Images and videos shown make the city look like the aftermath of an apocalypse.

Many said they can't see beyond their outstretched arm.

The country is already ranked third in the world, behind China and India for

the number of deaths caused by pollution, with 1,25,000 people killed annually, as per a measure by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Opposition senator Sherry Rehman said, “I don't want to downplay the risk of militant extremism, but we must understand that our citizens are more vulnerable to diseases in the air than to armed terrorists on the ground.” Causes of the pollution are a combination of vehicle and industrial emissions, construction, seasonal dust, and crop burning. Analysts said the causes and consequences of air pollution are never limited to a single nation state.

This is the time for cooperation between India and Pakistan to address the

issue.

Former ambassador and deputy executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Shafqat Kakakhel said, “Both countries are now using wood for fuel and there is also bad quality of fuel in vehicles.

The situation in India is definitely different because industrialisation in Punjab and Haryana in heavier than it is our side. Their emissions come from the use of coal, we use gas, so basically the scale of pollution is much worse there.”

As smog peaked last week, approximately 1,000 new patients were treated each day for respiratory issues in Punjab's nine public hospitals. To make things worse, as under-resourced

medical centres struggle to cope, the country's main issue is lethargy. Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, chief justice of the Lahore High Court said, “It is a matter of emergency but the officials concerned did nothing except taking tea in their offices.”

Provincial officials delayed school start times and shut down some of the worst polluting companies, saying they had also ordered a temporary halt to crop burning.

Shah however, said it wasn't enough. “Why didn't you issue a red alert on smog since you know it's injurious to the health of pregnant women, elderly people and heart patients especially?” he asked.

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Kenya SC confirms Kenyatta's victory N A I RO B I: The Supreme Court of Kenya has upheld the results of a presidential rerun held in October declaring President Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner, paving the way for his swearing-in next week. Six judges determined that Uhuru Kenyatta two petitions against Kenyatta's re-election lacked merit and therefore were dismissed, saying the President was validly elected.

The presidential re-run was held on October 26 under the order of the apex court which nullified the initial August 8 election result over irregularities and illegalities. The ruling enables Kenyatta to be sworn in on November 28 as per the Constitution. Kenyatta won the elections with 7.48 million votes in 266 out of 291 constituencies where the election took place. This represents about 98.27 per cent of valid votes.

Some 7.62 million Kenyans out of 19.61 million Kenyans cast their votes during the re-run, representing 38.82 per cent turnout. The petitioners had argued that the repeat poll was a nullity because Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed to subject candidates to fresh nominations, after the poll was invalidated.

The petitioners, including former assistant minister Harun Mwau and two prominent activists, argued that the re-runs did not meet the threshold set by the Constitution. They asked the Supreme Court judges to annul the election on grounds that nominations were not done prior to the elections. The re-runs were boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga who had also disputed the outcome of the August polls. At least 37 people were killed and hundreds injured in clashes during the August election.

No secret detention centres: Lanka President

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena held discussions with the family members of missing persons at the Presidential Secretariat. In the meeting, he said he has a clear understanding regarding issues faced by each community in this country, and said that the government, including himself, is committed to provide solutions to them in an open and fair manner. Regarding allegations made about some persons being apprehended in detention centres run by the government, he said there is no such secret detention centres for the present government and no one is held in custody.

Sirisena stressed that his aim was to provide swift solutions for the issues faced by family members of the missing persons. The President instructed to submit a new application through District Secretaries to obtain complains of the family members of the missing persons, to collect their appeals as well as to collect their information. He also instructed to issue a circular to all the District Secretaries stipulating to collect that information before December 15.

Pak unveils 1,700-year-old sleeping Buddha HARIPUR: Pakistan has unveiled remains of a 1,700 year old sleeping Buddha image, part of an initiative to encourage tourism and project religious harmony in a region marred by Islamist militancy. In a reflection of the diverse culture of Pakistan, the ancient Buddhist site was first discovered in Bhamala province in 1929. Excavations resumed 88 years later and the 14 metre long Kanjur stone Buddha image was unearthed. Director of Bhamla's archaeology and museums department, Abdul Samad said, “This is from the 3rd century AD, making it the world's oldest sleeping Buddha remains.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

California school board okays Hindus upset as goods being changes sought by Hindu groups sold with Ganesha images CALIFORNIA: The Hindu American Foundation and the Hindu Education Foundation declared victory on November 9 as the California Board of Education upheld several changes to the state’s elementary school textbooks proposed by the organization. The changes were approved in September by the state’s Instructional Quality Commission, which looked at drafts of new elementary school textbooks from several publishers. But an opposing group of Indian Americans – known as the South Asian Histories For All Coalition – stated that the changes upheld by the CBE virtually erased the history of Dalits, Sikhs, and other Indian minorities.

SAHFA noted that several changes recommended in the official guidelines were ignored in the final texts. Most prominently, Dalits – who were described by name in the official guidelines – were not named in the National Geographic World History Ancient Civilizations textbook, which states simply: “At the bottom were slaves, labourers, and artisans. Many centuries later, another group developed that was considered even lower.” The official guidelines also used the word caste, stating, “A person

belonged to a particular… [caste]…primarily by birth.” But the final version of the California Studies Weekly – Social Studies textbook states: “Someone’s position in society was based on his or her nature, or attitude.”

Guru Nanak’s opposition to the caste system and his challenges to Brahmin authoritarianism are also left out of the National Geographic World History Ancient Civilizations textbook, noted SAHFA. And references to the “Indus Valley Civilization” will now be changed to the “Indus Sarasvati civilization.” The textbooks will also state that women in India have historically held the same rights as men.

“California students deserve a balanced and fact-based history, not a partisan history,” stated SAHFA. HAF cheered the CBE’s decision, and thanked California state Assembly man Ash Kalra, the sole Indian American in the California State Legislature, for spearheading the campaign. HAF noted that it had the support of several politicians, including Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who wrote a letter Oct. 31 to State Board of Education president Michael Kirst and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, stating that

current California textbooks contain “gross inaccuracies and stereotypical images, perpetuating biased images about Hinduism and Indian culture.”

The textbooks, noted Gabbard, rely on outdated research.

Furthermore, “the use of stereotypical images that portray India and Hindus as dirty, primitive and ‘spiritually poor’ are nothing short of egregious, said the Congresswoman, noting that this was in violation of the State Education Code, which prohibits local school boards from adopting content which might unfairly portray people based on their religion, national origin, sexuality, or disabilities, among other factors.

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom also wrote to the Instructional Quality Commission asking its members to ensure that Hindus and Indian Americans were accurately depicted in the state’s textbooks. HAF has argued that inaccurate portrayals of Hindus and Indian culture in elementary school books has led to bullying of Indian American students. Several young Indian Americans testified before the IQC in September to state that they had been bullied by their peers.

Myanmar troops gang-raped Rohingya women: UN envoy

DHAKA: Myanmar soldiers "systematically targeted" Rohingya women for gang-rape during violence against the minority Muslim community which triggered an exodus to Bangladesh, an UN special envoy said.

Pramila Patten, a special representative of the UN Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict, made the comments after visiting Bangladesh`s southeastern district of Cox`s Bazar where some 6,10,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in the last 10 weeks.

Many of these atrocities "could be crimes

against humanity," she said. "I heard horrific stories of rape and gang-rape, with many of the women and girls who died as a result of the rape," Patten told reporters. "My observations point to a pattern of widespread atrocities, including sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls who have been systematically targeted on account of their ethnicity and religion."

The sexual violence in Myanmar`s northern state of Rakhine was "commanded, orchestrated and perpetrated by the armed forces of Myanmar", she said. "The forms of sexual

violence we consistently heard about from survivors include gang-rape by multiple soldiers, forced public nudity and humiliation and sexual slavery in military captivity. One survivor described being held in captivity by the Myanmar armed forces for 45 days, during which she was repeatedly raped. Others still bore visible scars, bruises and bite marks attesting to their ordeal," Patten added.

Deadly raids by Rohingya militants on Myanmar police posts on August 25 sparked ferocious reprisals against the community by the military in the mainly Buddhist nation. The special representative said others involved in the sexual violence include Myanmar border police and militias composed of Buddhists and other ethnic groups in Rakhine.

Refugees are still streaming across the border from Rakhine into Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands have settled in squalid camps.

NEVADA: Several upset Hindus are urging the European Commission to convince different headshops to withdraw cannabis paraphernalia with images of Indian deities. In a statement, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said that Lord Ganesha and other Hindu gods depicted were highly revered in Hinduism and not meant to adorn ashtrays, bongs, rolling papers, and other products.

Several headshops in

Germany, Netherlands and Spain, that carry paraphernalia used in the consumption of cannabis/tobacco and related items, have been known to sell products carrying images of the elephant God. ] Description of Ganesha wood chillum with a carved image of the God read; “Enjoy marijuana under the watchful eye of Ganesha”, “Hindu Collection” of rolling papers claims to show “all nine gods/goddess of the Hinduism”. Other photos

include Gods Brahma, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Durga, and Lord Hanuman.

Zed said, “Hinduism was the oldest and the third-largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously.

Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled.” He said such trivialisation of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over.

KAMPALA: A sudden outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus has been declared in eastern Uganda, as confirmed by the Ministry of Health. No licensed treatment has been found for the virus, however, an early treatment of symptoms can improve survival rates in the patients. Five cases were reported in Kween district of Uganda, bordering Kenya. Two of which have been confirmed, one is a probability and there are also two suspected cases.

While Marburg and Ebola are caused by two different viruses, they are

both members of the Filoviridae family and are clinically similar.

Incubation period for Marburg virus is two to 21 days and symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, diarrhoea and vomiting. Haemorrhaging begins between five and seven days after the fever starts. The infection in human comes from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies. It is then transmitted from human to human through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, including exposure

to materials contaminated with infected bodily fluids.

First case of Marburg was reported in Kween in September. The patient was a game hunter and lived near a cave that hosted bats.

The 30 year old was admitted to a health centre with a fever, bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

While he eventually died and was given a traditional burial attended by approximately 200 people, his 50 year old sister who had nursed him, fell ill with similar symptoms of fever, bleeding, vomiting and diarrheoa and died several weeks later.

Outbreak of Ebola like virus in Uganda

24

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Jolt to Sasikala: HC upholds 2-year jail for her husband

CHENNAI: In yet another setback for Sasikala and her family, the Madras High Court upheld the two-year sentence given to her husband M Natarajan, and a relative in 2010 in the Lexus import case. A Lexus car from the UK was imported into the country, by the latter, with forged invoices in 1994. The new find has served as a fresh jolt for Sasikala and does not bode well for her ongoing disproportionate assets case.

Meanwhile, in its search operations in Sasikala's properties, the Income Tax department claimed to have unearthed cash, valu-

ables, and documents related to undisclosed income calculated approximately at £143 million. Premises raided included offices of AIADMK mouthpiece Jaya TV, offices and houses of Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman and his sister, Natarajan's Thanjavur house, and Sengamalathaayar College in Thanjavur, owned by Sasikala's brother Divakaran. Giving details of the search operations, a senior IT officer in Chennai said, “We are still assessing more incriminating documents and their value. They (accused) used shell com-

VK Sasikala

panies to route undisclosed cash, to be invested in real estate businesses later, buying vehicles, etc. We found many shell companies lying idle were suddenly activated after demonetisation (last November).”

The official also said

that huge amounts of money were deposited in accounts of these firms, which were subsequently withdrawn in cash to “officially use them (in) white on the market.” The Income Tax sleuths also raided the premises of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at Poes garden. The operation launched was only confined to Jayalalitha’s aide Poongundran’s room. “We have not searched the entire Poes Garden premises. Our team searched only Poongundran’s room, records room and other room used by Sasikala,” the top Income Tax official said.

TN govt opposes convict Nalini's plea for leave CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has opposed the plea of Nalini in the Madras High Court, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, seeking six months parole.

A counter affidavit filed by the deputy home secretary said she was not eligible for grant of ordinary leave as per the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules 1982 and Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

Nalini, who serves life imprisonment, has moved

Nalini

the court seeking six months of ordinary leave for making arrangements for the wedding of her daughter Harithra, who currently lives in London.

She has remained lodged

in a special prison for women in Vellore for over 26 years since her arrest in connection with the assassination. She moved court saying there was no response to her representation to prison authorities seeking a leave.

Nalini said that she was entitled to be granted ordinary leave for one month once in two years, and had not availed any such relief so far. She was not eligible for grant of ordinary leave, and had not provided any valid

proof like her daughter's visa for the proposed visit to India for the wedding.

The petitioner said that she wants to get ordinary leave under the pretext of making arrangements for the wedding. The Tamil Nadu government informed the court last week that it cannot entertain the plea seeking premature release as a similar matter was pending before the Supreme Court in connection with remission of sentences of all the seven convicts in the case.

Khattar, Kejriwal discuss ISI trying to revive Khalistani elements: Amarinder crop residue burning issue

M L Khattar

NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his Haryana counterpart M L Khattar said they had cordial and fruitful talks on the issue of steps to be taken to reduce crop residue burning and vehicular pollution.

"We recognised our deep and shared concern over the recent episode of heavy smog in our National Capital Region. We agreed upon the need for action on many measures aimed at preventing its re-occurrence in the winter of 2018," said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

Khattar said that while he was concerned about condition of air in all of northern India, Delhi's pollution should be of special concern because it is "after all the national capital. It (Delhi) is the country's capital so we should all make all efforts to remedy the situation," said Khattar in a

Arvind Kejriwal

joint media briefing with Kejriwal after their meeting.

"We had a very positive discussion, we will take all steps possible to tackle the situation," said Kejriwal. He said steps would be taken to decongest traffic and bring down pollution caused by vehicles. "I believe that message should go out that at the top level whatever steps are needed to be taken we are ready to take those steps. This is an indication to governments of both the states that strict steps should be taken to curb pollution," he added.

During the discussions, the two sides agreed that serious health risks to which such episodes of smog expose one and all require concrete and quick action on a number of fronts.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has vouched that efforts are being made to revive Khalistani elements.

The state government claimed major success this month by solving targeted killing cases, including that of RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja. Speaking in an interview, he said, “Definitely, attempts are being made, mostly in foreign soils, to destabilise Punjab and our country.

Indications of this had started emerging a long time ago, with several leads suggesting that radical forces were out to destroy the state's peace and harmony, in nexus with criminal gangs. The recent arrests have more than proved this.”

Singh claimed that operatives of Pakistan's spy agency ISI were working not only from Pakistani soil, but also from other countries, including the UK, Canada, and Italy “to fan communal unrest”. He said, “Efforts are clearly being made to revive Khalistani elements, which also have the backing of the ISI.” The CM said security agencies, including the state intelligence, were working in close coordination with central agencies

Amarinder Singh

to counter such attempts.

“Apart from measures on the ground, a close eye is being kept on the social media to prevent attempts at radicalising the youth.”

He said that several terror modules have been busted since the Congress government had taken over.

Regarding organisations such as the SGPC opposing Punjab Control of Organised Crime Act (PCOCA) to contain such forces claiming it could be misused, Singh said, “PCOCA or some special law on similar lines has become necessary for Punjab in view of the widespread efforts being made by ISI through various radical forces and criminal gangs, to fan communal unrest in the state. But at the same time, we are mindful of the concerns of misuse of such legislation”, he said.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Trinamool leader threatens opposition members KOLKATA: A Trinamool Congress leader from Birbhum district, West Bengal, has threatened to break legs of two opposition leaders if they try to come back to his territory again.

Anubrata Mondal, issued a warning that prompted a rise in political temperatures ahead of next year's panchayat polls. “I don't know who they are, I don't care. If they create trouble we will break their arms and legs,” Mondal said.

Abdul Mannan of the Congress, and Bikash Bhattacharya of the CPM were supposed to meet villagers protesting against a land they had given for an industrial park being used for a housing colony and university called Biswa Bangla. However, the stage built for meeting was found torn down, allegedly by Trinamool supports.

Mannan reportedly got into a tiff with the police for over 90 minutes, later leaving for Kolkata.

It has been said that when the two opposition leaders were approximately 2 km away from the broken stage, they were stopped by police. They were told that they could not go further as their presence may trigger a law and order problem. A scuffle ensued, with the leaders eventually turning back. Soon after, Mondal arrived at the spot and said, “I don't care who they were... Congress or CPM or what... The project here is a great development, many

Anubrata Mondal

people will get jobs and if they create trouble, their arms and legs will be broken. I will not tolerate anyone disturbing the project.”

When told some villagers had beaten up Trinamool supporters, he ordered authorities to arrest them immediately. He added that if action was not taken, he will “set fire to the house of the villagers.”

Responding to the threats, CPM's Bikash Bhattacharya said, “He is a mad person and a goonda combined. His statement is childish but extremely provocative and he should be made to realise what he has said is criminal. And I want to tell him, we will return to Birbhum again and again.” The conflict began when the Left Front government acquired 300 acres at Shibpur Mouza near Shantiniketan to build an industry hub. Later, it said real estate, not industry, would be developed. In 2009, the villagers who had given the land protested, with Trinamool leading the agitation.

Bengal granted GI tag for Rosogolla

KOLKATA: In a bitter fight, West Bengal and Odisha found themselves entangled over claims of the sweet Rosogolla. The case ended with the former winning a geographical indication (GI) for 'Banglar Rasogolla'. Results came after a 26-month battle fight in the intellectual property wing of the ministry of commerce. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted her happiness saying, “Sweet news for us all. We are very happy and proud that Bengal has been granted GI status for Rosogolla.”

Odisha finance minister Shashi Bhushan Behera was, however, not disheartened. He said, “This is not a loss for Odisha as we have not yet filed an application with the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR).

Once we apply, they will look into the matter and Odisha may get a GI tag for its very own Rosogolla.”

While it has long been assumed that the sweet came from West Bengal, the state was in for a surprise when Odisha government, on Ulta Ratha, 2015, claimed the day should be declared as Odisha's

'Rosogolla Day'. As Odisha applied for a GI tag on the delicacy, Bengal Science and Technology department, following pressure from thousands of Rosogolla fans, lodged a counterclaim.

The state prepared a dossier containing all documents, historical texts and analogies, in support of the claim that Rosogolla belonged to Bengal and had been invented in two stages in two completely different historical time zones. It claimed that Naveen Chandra Das had introduced the sweet in the state in 1869. Meanwhile, Odisha government collected documentary evidence that points to the origin of a similar sweet that was even offered at Puri's Jagannath Temple since the 12th century.

HERITAGE HISTORY

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Dr. Hari Desai

Mahatma Gandhi opposed Interfaith Marriages Even after 12 years of friendship Manilal could not marry Fatima The Father of the Nation was opposed to Inter-caste marriages too

Gandhi’s views on population control and sterilization were equally controversial.

He thought sex was required to have children only

various religions. While grooming his own children, he had always taught them of Hindu-Muslim harmony but when it came to marriages, the Mahatma took a different stand which not only shattered his own son, Manilal, but even his grand children could not digest his views. At least two of his grand and great grand children respectively, Manilal Gandhi with wife, Sushila Rajmohan Gandhi (“Mohandas : True Story of son. His dream was shat1926 Manilal, sending a a Man, His People”) and tered. The senior Gandhi message(to his father) Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie( writes: “If you stick to through Ramdas, his broth“Gandhi’s Prisoner? : The Hinduism and Fatima to er, sprang a surprise : he life of Gandhi’s son Islam, it would be like wished, he said, to marry Manilal”), preferred to preputting two swords in one Fatima or Timmie Gool. sent the contradictions in sheath; or you may lose Fatima was a daughter of a Gandhi’s approach of interyour faith. And then what close associate of Gandhi, religious marriages. Even should be your children’s Yosuf Gool from Surat and Nicola Christine Jolly of faith? Whose influence are his Malay wife, Wahieda.

University of Birmingham they to grow under? It is Fatima’s siblings, brother deals with Mahatma not Dharma, but only Dr. A. H. Gool and sisters Gandhi’s Religious adharma, if Fatima agrees Beida and Jane, were also in Pluralism through to conversion just for marInter-Religious rying you. Faith is not a Marriages in her thing like a garment which Ph.D. thesis. can be changed to suit our Uma, a senior facconvenience. For the sake ulty of History at of Dharma a person shall University of the forgo matrimony, forsake Western Cape in his home, why, even lay South Africa, down his life; but for nothdescribes love affair ing may faith be given up. of her grandfather, May not Fatima have meat Manilal, with Fatima at her father’s? If she does Gool. She is daughter not, she has as good as of Sitaben and grandchanged her religion.” daughter of Manilal The Mahatma was worand Sushila. Prof. ried about the HinduUma records: “After a Muslim question in India. number of years of He writes further: “Nor is it friendship( since Kasturba with sons, Harilal ( who in the interests of our soci1914), Manilal was became Abdullah for some time), ety to form this relationconvinced in 1926 that Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas ship. Your marriage will he wanted to marry have a powerful impact on Timmie (Fatima Gool). But the Hindu-Muslim quesclose contact with Gandhi there were several obstation. Inter-communal marfamily in South Africa. cles in his way.” “Manilal riages are no solution to A letter from Mohandas might have expected oppothis problem. You cannot addressed to his son, sition from Kasturba since forget nor will forget that Manilal, was rather a she held orthodox views on you are my son. If you enter bombshell for him when religion and caste…She into this relationship, you the Mahatma wrote to him would not have borne the may not be able to render “as a friend” initiating the idea of a Muslim daughterany service. I fear you may communication calling in –law easily. But Gandhi no more be the right person Manilal’s wish as “what you had taught Manilal that all to run Indian Opinion. It desire is contrary to religions were equal and will be impossible for you, I Dharma”! What he wrote from his childhood he had think, after this to come further was rather more mixed freely with all.” In and settle in India. I cannot shocking for the obedient

A

s such Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of Nation, as he was addressed as by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in his 1944 broadcast from Singapore, was known for his controversial views on marriages but his views on inter-religious marriages were much more controversial. R. K. Prabhu and U. R. Rao record Mahtma’s views in “The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi”, which is considered Bible on the thoughts of Gandhiji: “Marriage is a natural thing in life, and to consider it derogatory in any sense is wholly wrong…Marriage for the satisfaction of sexual appetite is no marriage. It is vyabhichara-concupiscence.” Gandhi’s views on population control and sterilization were equally controversial. He thought sex was required to have children only. Even his close disciples like Sardar Patel and Kishorlal Mashruwala did not approve of his experiments of Brahmacharya and called them Adharmaunrighteousness, leading to stalling the experiments in Ashrama for some time.

In fact Gandhiji was all for teaching the true science of sex and advocated teaching of the science of sex-control to the children like the teaching astronomy.

Like marriage and sexeducation, the Mahatma always stressed on Interfaith harmony. Right from his South Africa days, he hardly made any difference between the followers of

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Hindu-Muslim marriages with others. He rather changed his views when he blessed at least two interfaith marriages. One was Humayun Kabir, a Muslim, marrying a Hindu Bengali girl. Another was the case of B.K. Nehru, Jawahar’s cousin, marrying a Hungarian Jewess, points out Sankar Ghose in “Mahatma Gandhi”. Even Gandhi did not approve of inter-caste marriages, but when it came to the marriage of his son, Devdas, with Laxmi, the daughter of Rajgopalachari, a Tamil Brahmin, the Mahatma never raised objection on inter-caste marriage. In a most surprising revelation one comes across that so far hardly any member from the Mahatma’s family has married a Muslim

Gandhi Pedigree

and a niece of Kishorlal Mashruwala, Gandhi’s Young India and Navjivan colleague. The marriage took place in Akola in March 1927. Sushila’s father was well off, but at Gandhi’s instance, the wedding was kept utterly simple. The Mahatma advised his son to make it clear to Sushila that he had an affair and had forgotten about it!

Surprisingly, the Mahatma never adopted same approach about the

though there may be some marriages with the Christians, Zoroastrian and even one with Dalit. In Sanskrit, there is a verse “परोपदेशे पांडित्यम् सववेषाम् सुकर ु म् नृणाम्” meaning it is always easy to preach others than implementing it for self.

Next Column: The Indian Maharajas in Love Traps (The writer is a Socio-political Historian.

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ask for Ba’s permission. She will not give it. Her life will be embittered forever.”

Gandhi shocks us further when he writes to Manilal: “In proposing this marriage, you have thought only of momentary pleasure. You have not at all considered your ultimate happiness.”

It is interesting to note that the eldest son, Harilal, was to get converted to Islam and adopt the name Abdullah after a decade, in 1936, of the happenings which led Manilal to desist from marrying Fatima!

Gandhi consulted associates like Jamanalal Bajaj and Manilal’s parents settled on a nineteen-year-old Gujarati girl, living in Akola in Maharashtra : Sushila, a Bania like the Gandhis though not a Kathiawari,

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

Huge victory for India as Justice Bhandari re-elected to ICJ In a major diplomatic victory for India, Justice Dalveer Bhandari has been re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after the General Assembly rallied behind him in a show of strength that made Britain bow to the majority and withdraw its candidate Christopher Greenwood.

"I am grateful to all the nations who have supported me," Bhandari said after the election.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj congratulated Bhandari on his reelection." On Bhandari's re-election Sushma Swaraj tweeted: "Vande Mataram - India wins election." She added: "Huge efforts by Team MEA." She specifically complimented India's Permanent Representative in the UN Syed Akbaruddin.

Bhandari will start his term from February 2018.

The withdrawal of its candidate by Britain, which had the backing of its fellow permanent members, was a setback for the Security Council that had been locked in a test of wills with the Assembly. A candidate has to win a majority in both the chambers. Bhandari won majorities in the

Justice Dalveer Bhandari

Assembly in the first 11 rounds of voting over two meetings while the Council blocked his election by giving majorities to Greenwood in the 10 rounds of balloting it held.

"The British ultimately had to bow down to the will of the majority," a diplomat said.

"The Indians stared them down."

The Council's permanent members have traditionally had a judge in the ICJ, assuming it to be a matter of right.

This time the 193member Assembly asserted itself, forcing the Council to back down and put at risk the continuation of the ICJ perk of the permanent members.

In letters written to the Presidents Miroslav Lajcak of the Assembly

and Sebastiano Cardi of the Council, Britain's Permanent Representative Matthew Rycroft said his country was withdrawing Greenwood's candidature keeping "in mind the close relationship that the UK and India always enjoyed and will continue to enjoy".

Bhandari's election was a dramatic face-saving turn of fortunes for India as he lost the Asian seat on the ICJ to Lebanese lawyer-turneddiplomat Nawaf Salam, who had been campaigning for two years and had the backing of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation with 55 UN members.

Bhandari got a second chance only because an unpopular Britain could not get an Assembly

majority for a remaining judgeship requiring a runoff where the two chambers of the UN split in their voting. Bhandari's cause became a rallying point for the nations not a member of the Council, who were chafing under the domination of the unrepresentative Council to make a popular show of force.

India hammered home the representative character of the Assembly compared to the Council and insisted that the UN members follow democratic principles and re-elect Bhandari by accepting the global majority he has received in the Assembly.

In the last round of voting on November 13, Bhandari received 121 votes, just short of a two-thirds majority in the 193-member Assembly, while Greenwood received nine in the Council.

"The precedent is clear," India's Permanent Representative Akbaruddin said at a reception for Bhandari attended by representatives of over 160 countries.

"As is expected in the 21st century, the candidate who enjoys overwhelming support of the General Assembly membership can be the only legitimate candidate to go through."

Mallya's extradition hearing to start on Dec 4 Continued from page1 and you'll hear it all.” Out on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard, earlier this year, Mallya was released by the Westminster Magistrates' Court judge on the same bail conditions and asked to appear in the court on December 4, with his extradition hearing confirmed to start eight days from then.

Headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, his defence team updated Judge Arbuthnot that the defence argument skele-

ton has been submitted last week and now “the ball is in the Indian government's court to present their reply by next week.”

Montgomery also presented the judge with a “running order” of witnesses to be deposed in the case.

She added that Indian authorities are “content with that order”. The judge should be ready to rule on the case by the agreed date, based on the defence timetable.

However, considering the tight timeline for both sides to submit their closing arguments in writing,

she suggested scheduling a half-day hearing in January after the oral closing submissions to conclude the trial in the new year instead.

Montgomery was, however, not in favour of the delay, as it would give the Indian government enough time to present new material to the case, and said the defence was keen to “draw a line under all the material- evidential and non-evidential.”

Judge Arbuthnot agreed saying “things have a habit of popping up”, leaving things open for

the moment. Appearing for UK's Crown Prosecution Service, on behalf of the Indian government, Aaron Watkins said as he was stepping in for CPS barrister Mark Summers, he would have to confirm the exact timeline with him.

The case will open on December 4, with opening arguments and witness statement from aviation expert Dr Humphreys.

Mallya has repeatedly stressed that he has done nothing wrong, and will let the evidence speak in court.

Modi remains very popular: Pew Research Continued from page1 ten Indians hold a favourable opinion of the leader. Overwhelming support for Modi is not restricted to just any one area, spanning across the country. At least nine in ten Indians in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh have a fondness for the PM. More than eight in ten in the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand,

Odisha, and West Bengal, and the northern states of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh vouch for Modi. Modi, undoubtedly remains by far the most popular national figure in Indian politics tested in the survey. His favourable rating is 31 per cent higher than that of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, and 30 points more than that of Rahul Gandhi.

The survey cites more than eight out of ten believe economic conditions of the country are

good, 19 per cent points above since immediately before the 2014 election.

Tweeting the findings, BJP chief Amit Shah said Modi's popularity has risen “unabated” across the country and people's satisfaction with the economy is at an “all time high”. In a series of tweets, Shah said, “The findings of Pew Global Research are very significant.

After Modi Government came to power, people's trust in Government, Democracy and confidence that the nation is in the right direc-

tion has gone up drastically.” Another tweet read, “PM @narendramodi's popularity rises unabated across the length & breadth of the country and across demographic groups. His handling of various issues also receive a thumbs up from people.”

Law Minister Ravi Shankar referred to the survey at a briefing on decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, saying it showed that Modi and his governance has gained popularity in all corners of the country.

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Indian medical student Chhillar crowned Miss World

Putting an end to a long-term drought, an Indian medical student was crowned Miss World 2017, making her country the joint-most successful in pageant history. Manushi Chhillar, 20, is the sixth Indian to win the prestigious competition, after Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai. Her win has brought India in level with Venezuela, both of them holding six victories over the course of the pageant's 67 years. Following the win, she tweeted, “Thank you, everyone, for your constant love, support. This one's for India.”

Her success brought her tone of wishes from all across India, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, of her home state Haryana. Chhillar was

Manushi Chhillar

crowned the winner by last year's champion Stephanie del Valle of Puerto Rico.

Stephanie Hill of England and Andrea Meza of Mexico finished as runners-up. She is trained as an Indian classical dancer, and enjoys painting hopes to open a chain of non-profit hospitals in rural areas.

Mahamahopadhyaya Swami Bhadreshdasji honoured

Mahamahopadhyaya Swami Bhadreshdasji being honoured at M.S. University in Vadodara

Twenty seven universities from across different states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and others, gathered at the CC Mehta Auditorium of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, on November 16 to honour Mahamahopadhyaya Swami Bhadreshdasji for authoring two books. The sadhu and scholar of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha wrote Sanskrit texts titled the 'Swaminarayan Bhashyam' and the 'SwaminarayanSiddhant-Sudha'.

The event was organised by Maharaja Sayajirao University in recognition of Swami Bhadreshdasji's monumental work. It has been almost 150 years since a bhashya on any of the Upanishads, Brahmasutras,

and the Bhagavad Gita has been written. The Swami is now the latest in the lineage of acharyas to author bhasyas in Sanskrit on the prasthantrayi, a complete one at that. The event also marked the first time the MS University hosted vice chancellors of over 20 prestigious universities from Gujarat and different other states.

Swami Bhadreshdasji has also authored a vadgranth titled 'Swaminarayan-SiddhantSudha', establishing Swaminarayan Bhagwan's unique philosophy- Akshar Purushottam Darshana.

The Sanskrit text used the authority of Hindu scriptures to support the philosophical doctrine as found in The Vachanamrut, principal scripture of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.

Vanity Fair to welcome new editor After 25 years as the editor of Vanity Fair owned by Condé Nast, Graydon Carter is succeeded by Radhika Jones, who served as an editorial director of the books department at the New York Times. Radhika Jones, who is due to officially start in December, will be earning around $500,000 per annum, which is significantly less than her predecessor who was paid about $2 million a Radhika Jones to take over as editor of Vanity Fair year.

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health lifestyle

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

27

To Our Readers

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

4 Foods That May Help Control UTI The urinary tract consists of the Kidneys, Bladder, Ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder) and Urethra (that carry urine from the bladder outside).

Infection in any part of the tract is Urinary Tract Infection or UTI however it is a term commonly used for infection in the lower tract i.e. the bladder and urethra. Women are more prone to UTI’s than men.

Some common symptoms of UTI, as stated by the Cleveland Clinic: 1. Pain in the side, abdomen or pelvic area 2. Pressure in the lower pelvis 3. Frequent need to urinate 4. Painful urination 5. Urgent need to urinate 6. Incontinence7. The need to urinate at night 8. Abnormal urine colour 9. Blood in the urine 10. Strong or foulsmelling urine While pain killers and antibiotics are the line of treatment under medical guidance, there is a limit to how many you can consume. There is also the fact that bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and do not respond to the treatment. The journey to prevent and treat UTI’s help and actually make a positive difference to handling this infection, some

of this knowledge is ancient and some recently researched.

Some simple inclusions would be: 1. Drink up! Water is the most important part of your “Diet Therapy” for UTI. More water intake means more urine, which means the bacteria are flushed out helping ease the symptoms and prevent recurrence. Drink up about 1 glass of water every hour, and this is pure water-no additives.

Fluids like alcohol, citrus juices and drinks that have caffeine are reported to irritate the bladder in almost all the scientific studies I looked up. So keep it simple and have plenty of water.

Drinking plenty of water will help cleanse the body

2. Berry berry good: Cochrane Collaboration a

Increasing intake of probiotics such as yoghurts could help control UTI

body of experts who identify and evaluate studies of health care interventions have given Cranberries the thumbs up for UTI. They say that results from a number of studies has pointed to scientific evidence supporting daily consumption of cranberry products to reduce the likelihood of urinary tract infections.

This could be attributed to cranberries containing polyphenol compounds that exert a strong antioxidant effect on the body.

Cranberries have also shown to protect the body by not allowing E.coli, the most common UTI bacteria, to stick to the urinary tract. Unsweetened cranberry juice is good and so are capsules of dried juice that are freely available.

Consult your healthcare provider. There are cer-

tain conditions and medications with which this is not recommended 3. Good bugs, bad bugs and probiotics: Our skin and gut is a treasure trove of good bacteria that acts as a barrier to infections.

There is strong scientific evidence that supports the use of probiotics for preventing UTI. While more conclusive evidence is awaited, using natural sources of probiotics like Yogurt or dahi or over the counter probiotic drinks will not be detrimental to your health. These will also help you overcome the after effects of antibiotic therapy and maintain a healthy digestive system.

4. Bad breath be damned: Garlic is being seen as an effective weapon against drug resistant bacteria. A study

Revealed: A type of vitamin E found in nuts may prevent asthma attacks Analyst: I can give you the numbers, but you can’t go public with it.

Marketing Manager: I’m not going to go public with it. I’ll just present it at a meeting.

Analyst: Who’s going to be at the meeting?

Marketing Manager: It’s a stakeholder meeting. So whoever wants to come. You know, it’s open to the public. ********************************** When the sergeant told our new commander that his driver could not participate in an upcoming field maneuver because she was pregnant, the enraged commander demanded to know just how pregnant she was.

The sergeant’s reply: “Completely, sir.” ********************************** My high school assignment was to ask a veteran about World War II. Since my father had served in the Philippines during the war, I chose him. After a few basic questions, I very gingerly asked, “Did you ever kill anyone?”

Dad got quiet. Then, in a soft voice, he said, “Probably. I was the cook.” ********************************** The steaming jungles of Vietnam were not my husband’s first choice of places to spend his 21st birthday. However, the mood was brightened when he received a birthday cake from his sister. It was carefully encased in a Tupperware container and came with this note: “Dick, when you’re finished, can you mail back my container?”

A type of vitamin E found in nuts may prevent asthma attacks by reducing airway inflammation.

Sufferers of the common breathing condition taking it as part of a US study were also found to have less sticky mucus in their lungs. Experts say the findings raise the possibility of asthma being kept under control by changing diet or taking a supplement.

The form of vitamin E that brought these beneficial effects is gammatocopherol, which is abundant in nuts such as walnuts and pecans and in the legume peanut, as well as seed oils such as corn, soybean and sesame.

This type has drawn

little attention compared with alpha-tocopherol, the form most commonly found in vitamin E supplements.

Researchers started looking into vitamin E because previous studies suggested that people with high amounts of vitamin E in their diet were less prone to asthma and allergic disease. However, they also knew that the alpha isoform seems to be associated with an increased risk for hemorrhagic stroke, they said. So they began looking more closely at gamma tocopherol.

The results were published in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

conducted by the researchers at the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences in India found that “Garlic extract may be an effective weapon against multidrug resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria associated with urinary tract infections (UTI)”. Garlic has been found to be useful for targeting a number of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses according

other sulphur compounds are thought to be the major antimicrobial factors. It can be eaten crushed, added to your food or as tea by steeping crushed cloves in warm water for 5-10 minutes.

UTI is an infection you do not want, if left untreated it can be life threatening. While natural remedies and food therapies will help alleviate your discomfort, and

to modern scientific literature, but we have been using it as a medicinal plant for centuries. Its power is attributed to the presence of Allicin and

may be even reduce the length of the infection, or help avoid relapses, make sure you are not replacing good medical treatment with alternate therapy.

Study shows how mental strain impairs the brain

Chronic stress can cause you to make risky decisions like picking a job with a good salary but strenuous hours, say scientists.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have identified the part of the brain that becomes impaired under stress and leads to poor decision-making.

The study showed that stress leads to a sort of mental confusion between choices that will or won't be rewarding, and can last for months.

According to its authors, the study's findings could lead to exciting prospects for treating anxiety and depression, and reducing the effects of stress to help people avoid bad sometimes lifealtering - decisions.

A lower-paid post with more leisure time appears less appealing when people are under

mental pressure, according to new research.

Experiments on rats and mice found stressed out animals were far more likely to opt for dangerous alternatives, with a bigger reward.

They also identified impairments of a specific brain circuit underlying this abnormal decision making - and restored normal behavior by manipulating it.

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

‘Julie 2’

A simple girl rises to be a star, however, her success is marred with secrets.

Get ready for an Alaipayuthey reunion in Mani Ratnam’s next

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eteran actress Jayasudha is all set to join hands with filmmaker Mani Ratnam, 17 years after they collaborated for 'Alai Payuthey', for a multi-starrer that is currently in the pre-production stage. The yet to be named project will be produced by Mani Ratnam's home banner Madras Talkies. It has already gained a lot of attention from film buffs because of its stellar cast starring Simbu, Arvind Swami, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi, Jyotika, and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead.

Jayasudha, who was last seen in Karthi's 'Thozha/Oopiri', has been signed to play an essential role in the movie. Ratnam is currently finalising other supporting characters before the shooting begins. This film will also mark Malayalam

actor Fahadh Faasil's second straight Tamil project after Sivakarthikeyan's 'Velaikkaran'. Ratnam's long-standing collaborator AR Rahman will compose music for the film.

Ratnam’s last outing, 'Kaatru Veliyidai,' which starred Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead roles, bombed at the boxoffice. Now, he will be looking forward to getting back his mojo with this multi-starrer.

Flying start to Nayanthara's 'Aramm'

N

ayanthara's latest 'Aramm' is off to a brilliant start, garnering positive reviews from critics and fans. Data reveals the film approximately collected over £108,000 in its first three days. The Gopi Nainar - directorial received personal praise from director Vijay. Applauding the film, the 'Devi' director said, “'ARAMM', is one of the finest, meaningful Tamil film in recent times! It hits you hard and provokes your thought! A wonderful social message presented in a main-stream cinema! I was, in fact, praying for the safe-rescue of the child. Such magic in the movie was made possible, thanks to the Technical Crew! Fantastic work by cinematographer OmPrakash and Music director Ghibran!”

He praised Nayan, saying, “Hats off to Ms Nayanthara for accepting and delivering a spec-

tacular performance... The impact of the film would not be possible without her, in all aspects! I would like to thank Rajesh sir for accepting & deciding to produce such a quality film!

Also Ravindran sir or Trident Arts, for distributing & ensuring it reaches the audience far & wide!”

Vijay's former spouse, and popular actress Amala Paul also went gaga over Nayan's acting and the film. “Hence proved, good cinema matters, kudos to #Nayanthara and director #GopiNainar, in an industry which is plagues with masala movies scripted for star heroes, #Aramm has proved the formula to be wrong. Good cinema matters, good story matters, good performances matters!”

Gautham Menon forays into Malayalam

Rajamouli not disappointed at losing out to 'Newton'

Dulquer Salmaan all set to romance Ritu Varma

A

fter his hit onscreen chemistry with Nitya Menen, Malayalee hunk Dulquer Salmaan is all set to romance actress Ritu Varma in his upcoming Tamil Desingh Periyasamy-directorial, 'Kannum Kannum Kollai Adithaal'. Reports suggest shooting of the film is ongoing in Delhi, and Dulquer will join the sets later this month after attending an award ceremony in Doha. Varma, who shot to fame with 'Pello Choopulu', is also part of Gautham Vasudev Menon's upcoming film 'Dhruva

Natchathiram'.

Meanwhile, there are also rumours that the 'Ustad Hotel' actor is signing up for a Malayalam comedy.

Scripted

by Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Bibin George, the script has reportedly received the star's nod. However, director of the film and rest of the team remains to be finalised. Dulquer has a lot on his plate with two Tamil films, and a biopic on Savithri named 'Mahanati' in which he plays Gemini Ganeshan. He is also set for his Bollywood debut in 'Karwaan'.

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D

irector Gautham Menon has made his way into the Malayalam film industry, announcing a cameo in debutant Joshy Thomas' 'Naam'. He has reportedly wrapped up shooting for the film which is based on a true story. Joshy said, “Gautham sir is playing himself in the movie and all of us are thrilled that he came on board for this project.” When asked if the storyline has a filmmaking theme, he said, “No. Gautham sir's character is shown helping a group of friends in Chennai, at a critical juncture in their lives.”

Menon was expected to do a pivotal role in Vineeth Sreenivasan's hit film 'Jacobinte Swargaajyam' last

year. However, he couldn't join the crew in Dubai because of the Chennai floods.

The cast for 'Naam' includes Rahul Madhav, Aditi Ravi, Gayathri Suresh, Renji Panicker, and Tony Luke. On the work front, Gautham Menon's next directorial will be the spy thriller titled 'Dhruva Natchathiram' featuring Vikram in the lead, and Aishwarya Rajesh and Ritu Varma in pivotal roles. Also, reports have emerged of actress Anushka joining a female-centric film directed

by Menon. Sources close to the filmmaker said, “Anushka is acting in Gautham's next, but it is not a women-oriented film but the multi-starrer 'Ondraga'.”

A

mit Masurkar's 'Newton' has been made India's official Oscar entry. Baahubali 2' was in contention with others in the race for the Academy Awards.

SS Rajamouli's magnum opus 'Baahubali 2' was part of a two-film series that broke and created several of its own records.

When asked about his views on the loss, a sporty Rajamouli said, “Not at all disap-

pointed at losing out the race to Oscars this year. When I make a film, I never think about awards. It is not my aim. The goal is first to satisfy myself with the story and then next is to see that it reaches the maximum number of audience and makes money for everyone who has put their life in it.” Even if he isn't taking home the Oscar this year, the maverick filmmaker is surely winning many hearts.

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar make for a promising couple

R

eigning king of nepotism, Karan Johar has officially launched yet another set of Bollywood kids. Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's daughter Janhvi and Shahid Kapoor's half-brother Ishan Khattar will make their debuts with 'Dhadak', an offical remake of 2016 Marathi blockbuster Sairaat. The film was based on the fate of two star-crossed lovers - a poor fisherman's son and the daughter of a rich politician.

First, the makers introduced us to a bunch of first look posters, and now they are teasing us some more with posters of the two. A still of Khattar and Janhvi shows them happily dancing, while others are close up shots. While Ishaan looks surprising with his quirky desi look, it was Janhvi who hit us through, her innocent charms reminding us of her mother. Janhvi's coyness and Ishaan's young charm make for a promising couple. Right from Anil Kapoor to Sri Devi to Varun Dhawan, everyone has wished them luck. Reports suggest the film will go on floors next month in Rajasthan. It is set to release on July 6.

Katrina - Salman's

Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

'absolute favourite' co-star W hen asked who his “ a b s o l u t e favourite” co-star is, Salman Khan was initially coy enough to say no one, only to end up talking about Katrina Kaif for a full two minutes. During an interview with a leading daily, Khan spoke all sorts of wonderful things about his 'Tiger Zinda Hai' co-star.

Calling her “lovely” and “hard working”, he said, “I've had a great time working with Katrina Kaif. She's lovely. She's working so hard in the film that I feel... uff.

She's lika humma. She keeps on working, working, and working. So when you will actually see the action sequences, she has done it like on a different level altogether. She has done most of her stuff by herself and kind of risky stuff as well.”

And once the Kat praises began, there was reportedly no stop for a while. “It was all very tiring because where we shot it was like 50 to 55 degree Celsius. After shooting all day, she would play cricket for an hour and volleyball for an hour. She would do pilates and then workout in the gym. She learned to play tennis too,

Deepika slams ban on Mahira Khan’s film 'Verna'

so an hour-and-ahalf would be spent on tennis.

Five to six hours she would just be at it and we wondered where she'd get that kind of energy from,” he said.

T h e a c t o r ' s fondness for the 'Chikni Chameli' actress is widely known. Both of them have starred in several films together, like 'Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya', 'Partner' and 'Yuvvraaj'. Their pair has long been cherished by fans, thanks to their enviable chemistry. First song of their upcoming 'Tiger Zinda Hai', 'Swag Se Karenge Sabka Swagat' was released last week. The sequence which was shot in the picturesque location of Greece, has already garnered lot of attention with Salman's macho avatar and Katrina's svelte moves.

'Saragarhi' film receives applause in Parliament

“Photograph shows some of the military personnel attending the event in the House of Commons including, Brigadier David Southall (fifth from left), Shailesh Vara MP (sixth from left), Captain Jay Singh-Sohal (seventh from left), Colonel John Kendall (eight from left) and Major Sartaaj Singh Gogna (ninth from left).”

L P

akistani actress Mahira Khan has gained support from Bollywood's leggy lass Deepika Padukone who condemned the ban of overseas film 'Verna'. While her own upcoming film 'Padmavati' remains shrouded in controversy, Dippy addressed Mahira's movie that failed to get a clearance from the Pakistan Censor Board. “Yes, it's sad that a small section of people don't understand the power of cinema and what it can do to the world. It brings people together, it spreads love, it's fascinating what cinema can do and it's sad that a certain group of people choose not to recognise that.”

Pakistan premiere of the film was called off as the film deals with the topic

of rape and plight of women. Sindh Board of Film Censors (SBFC) General Secretary Abdul Razzaq said the film was objectionable on the basis of its subject.

“The topic is rape, and the culprit is the governor’s son. The film doesn’t have to be banned, and can be tweaked and censored a bit to be deemed fit for release,” he said in a report. With ongoing speculation over why the premiere was cancelled, no real reason has come up to light.

Both, Deepika and Mahira have films scheduled to release this winter, and are currently facing mass hatred for no fault of their own. While 'Verna' was scheduled to release on November 17, 'Padmavati' is set to hit screens on December 1.

eading members of the British Indian community, Parliamentarians, and representatives of Her Majesty's Armed Forces came together for a special Parliamentary launch and screening of brand new docu-drama 'Saragarhi: The True Story' on November 14. Made in honour of the Sikha who fought at Saragarhi to mark the battle's 120th anniversary, the movie comes after over seven years of research and production by British Army reservist and filmmaker, Captain J Singh-Sohal.

For the first time on the screen, the story comes to light of 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment of Bengal Infantry who found themselves surrounded by 10,000 enemy tribesmen on September 12 1987, during an uprising on the North West Frontier between colonial India and Afghanistan. The event which saw resounding applause in honour of the soldiers was hosted by former Justice and Work and Pensions Minister Shailesh Vara MP. “This film rightly records the outstanding courage and bravery of Sikh soldiers fighting against the odds and paying the ultimate price. It is right that we remember these brave men in

the Mother of Parliaments, and I congratulate Captain Jay Singh-Sohal for his commitment and dedication over many years in making this remarkable film. The film not only informs the public, but it will also be a valuable resource for historians in the years to come.”

Filmed in India, Pakistan, and the UK, the film gives a unique access to private archives, never-before-seen images, stunning visual graphics and effects teamed together with re-enactment scenes. Captain Singh-Sohal said, “It is a unique and fitting way to honour the memory of the men who fought at Saragarhi by remembering their bravery and valour in the very Parliament of Queen and country they were fighting for.”

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

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Dev Patel

Change your mindset,

to play lead role in 'The Wedding Guest'

Vidya Balan tells reporter M ore often than not, the media tends to over-step the line to make actresses in particular, uncomfortable. In a recent incident for instance, a reporter ask Vidya Balan about her plans of weight loss. The question which was just as unnecessary as prude, saw Vidya give a befitting answer to the journalist who asked her some ignorant questions.

The 38 year old who was promoting her film 'Tumhari Sulu' was entertaining a press conference, when a reporter asked, “Whatever movies we've seen of you so far has been 'women-centric'.

From now on, will we see you in more such films, or have you thought about weight loss?”

The actress who seemed experienced in handling such questions laughed, quite possible at the reporter's lack of manners, and asked, “What's the relationship between 'women-centric' and weight loss?” To which the reporter replied, “No, I mean, glamorous roles.” Vidya laughed again and said, “No, I'm very happy with the kinds of roles I am doing. It would be great if you could change your mindset.” The mere thought of a film with a female protagonist being a “women-centric” film shows the depth of male-dominated stories being the ingrained norm of male-dominated stories.

A

fter a memorable performance in last year's Oscar-nominated 'Lion', Indian-origin lad Dev Patel is all set to play the lead in British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom's in his next.

Produced by Revolution Films, 'The Wedding Guest', details of the plot remain unclear. What is known is that the movie will be predominantly shot in India.

Patel, who rose to fame with

PeeCee, Tovey spotted walking hand in hand

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nternational actress Priyanka Chopra, who is currently in New York, is actively shooting for the third season of popular American TV series 'Quantico'. A new set of her pictures from New York and Italy have been circulated, and some of them featured her walking hand-in-hand with costar Russell Tovey.

Walking on the busy streets of NYC, the two looked happy together, Priyanka with her head against his shoulder and him looking at her.

Okay, yes. We know what this sounds like, but sadly that isn't the case.

Tovey and PeeCee are reportedly just co-stars and nothing more. Our 'desi girl' is very much single and has no intentions to change that status yet.

On a related note, the entire cast and crew of

'Quantico' celebrated the British actor's birthday last week and PeeCee surprised him with a decadent cake. The 35 year old sure stood out with her chic black t-shirt and an eye-catching gold necklace. She paired the top with a pair of charcoal boyfriend cut denims, pointed leather boots, and a beautiful plaid jacket.

At the cake cutting, PeeCee playfully smudged some cake on Tovey's face, after which he posed for photos with his co-star despite being covered in icing.

Other than 'Quantico', the Bollywood babe has already shot for her second Hollywood film, 'Isn't It Romantic' starring Liam Hemsworth and Rebel Wilson. She also has 'A Kid Like Jake' with Jim Parsons, Claire Danes, and Octavia Spencer, in the pipeline.

2009's 'Slumdog Millionaire', has since, appeared in several movies based in India, including 'The Man Who Knew Infinity', 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', and 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. His performance in 'Lion' earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor this year. Principal photography for the upcoming is expected to begin early next year.

AbRam steals limelight at Aaradhya's b'day

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irthday bash of Amitabh Bachchan's grand-daughter Aaradhya saw the industry's finest in attendance.

Besides the birthday girl, there was another guest who stole the limelight. Bachchan shared photos of Shah Rukh Khan's youngest, AbRam showing his excitement watching the making of candy floss. “And as for this little bundle... he wanted the fluffy 'buddhi ka baal' cone.. so we took him to the stall made one for him and the joy of getting it is just priceless.. Abram, jr Shahrukh.. delectable!!” What was more adorable than the young one grinning at the cotton candy, was Shah's reply to Big B's tweet. “Thank u sir. This is a moment he will always cherish. By the way he thinks u r my 'papa' when he sees u on TV.” Aww!!!!

EVENTS

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Asian Voice | 25th November 2017

350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji in Belfast

Deputy High Com of India to UK Dinesh Patnaik

Ugandan Asians reunite after 45 years

From left: Hitesh Jolapara, Parshotam Nakum, Harshad Chavda, Prakash Chavda and Rasik Chavda

On Saturday 11th November, an emotion reunion took place in Seven Kings of Ugandan Asians from Kakira who were exiled from their homes by General Idi Amin 45 years ago. 45 years ago, 600 Ugandan Asians were forced to leave their homes and this event brought many of those from across the world gathering together to reminisce and celebrate life. Parshotam Bhai Nakum, 64, from Gants Hill, who was on the organising committee described the reunion. He said, “It was an emotional feeling I saw people coming in throwing their hands and saying 'wow!' There were people who were meeting for the first time since 1972.” The event was also attended by His Excellency Uganda High Commissioner, Julius Peter Moto; Nimisha ben Madhvani whose family sponsored the event; Shailesh Lakhman Vara MP and Mike Gapes MP. Moto assured the audience, “What happened in 1972 will never happen again!”

Coming Events

l Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies presents Empathy in Hinduism: Ritual, Drama, Aesthetics, on December 1, Friday, 9.00 am to 6.30 pm, Centre for Hindu Studies, 13-15 Magdalen St, Oxford OC1 3AE.

Sneh Joshi

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 You are feeling most adventurous and willing to achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth. This is a good time to broaden your horizons through travel and higher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pursuit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourself from the mundane grind of life and take on something which is more meaningful for your inner growth.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The Sun energizes your sector of change, transformation and regeneration.

On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order along with your investments. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 As the Sun transits your seventh house, you have a greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The emphasis is on "us" rather than "me".

Social interactions of a personal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extremely busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in your dealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over confident and egotistical.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 The Sun is in your 6th house with Mercury, placing emphasizes on your daily work and health routines. Mercury will help you organize and communicate your thoughts clearly at work. You will find it easy to do well at work and rise to great heights. During this transit you will enjoy robust health and find physical activities very enjoyable. Plan your spending and set sensible budgets to reach your financial goals.

On November 18, 2017, Belfast saw what was probably the first ever Indian community event organized by High Commission of India.

The celebration of 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji at Indian Community Centre, Belfast was well attended, with Indian community members converging from all parts of Northern Ireland.

The celebration commenced with Sikh devotional music performed by group ‘KauRas’.

Local children also delivered Gurbaani recitals at the special celebrations that were co-hosted by the Sikh Gurudwaras in Belfast and Londonderry.

A seminar on the life and teachings of the revered Tenth Sikh Guru also took place at which Lord Rana, eminent historian Professor Dr. Tom Fraser, local community leader & surgeon Dr. Panesar, and Chairman,

Indian Community Centre - Dr. Satyavir Singhal poke of the increasing relevance of the Guru's teachings on equality, harmony and freedom from exploitation.

A special exhibition prepared with the support of V&A Museum was launched by the High Commission of India on the special occasion. The photo-exhibition containing some of the very rareworks on the Sikh Gurus and Sikhism, was very well-received by the visitors to the event. (This exhibition will also be displayed at various cities across the UK to mark the special year celebrations on Guru Gobind Singh ji).

Acting High

Commissioner Amb. Dinesh K. Patnaik thanked Indians in Belfast for welcoming the celebrations of 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji in Belfast with such warmth.

He spoke of the year-long celebrations taking place all over the country, with financial assistance of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He also spoke about the Guru's contribution in promoting national unity and equality, and spoke about the Panj Piaras who were chosen from different regions, different castes and different professions. Amb. Patnaik hailed Indians' contributions to Northern Ireland's economy and

social fabric, and their role in building on India's relationship with Northern Ireland.

Earlier in the day, Acting High Commissioner paid obeisance at the Belfast GurudwaraGurudwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and at the Hindu Mandir at Clifton Street.

During his Belfast visit, Amb. Patnaik also met with Mr. Edwin Poots & Mr. Jonathan Buckley of the Democratic Unionist Party. Hon. Consul General of India in Belfast- Lord Diljit Rana also hosted a working lunch of Amb. Patnaik with eminent community members and business leaders of North Ireland.

Indian Gymkhana Centenary Celebrations

Indian Gymkhana Club is holding its Centenary dinner on Saturday 25th November at the Gymkhana Club, Thornbury Avenue, Osterley, TW7 4NQ. It will take place from 7pm till 11pm and will include a champagne reception, live entertainment, dinner and dance.

The gymkhana was first established in 1916 as a cricket club - mainly comprising of princes and maharajahs living in London at that time - and led a nomadic existence in its early years.

IG has been graced by the presence of many prominent sporting personalities from South Asia, including the Maharajah of Visianagram, Vijay Merchant, Nazir Ali, Jahangir Khan and the Nawab of Pataudi.

Rohan Kanhai came to IG when the West Indies toured in 1952, along with Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine.

More recently, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and a young Sachin Tendulkar have played at the club.

Today, IG is the oldest and largest multiracial sports club in the United Kingdom.

IG proudly adheres to the original aims of its founders, which is to promote sport and the positive effect it has on participants of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

They have over 1000 active members, ranging from under 6 to over 60, playing cricket, hockey, football. Many more are regular users of our gymnasium and healthy living classes, our vibrant bar and banqueting hall.

In 20014 they began healthy living classes for the over 50s from the local area with the objective is to provide regular physical activity through structured exercise classes, such as yoga. The section boasts 200 regular participants.

Due its location, grounds and facilities, IG is also widely used for social events with organisations like the Indian High Commission hosting its annual Indian Independence Day Mela, as well as local institutions and charities.

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The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

After a period of relative inactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to perform and to express yourself creatively. This is a very progressive period of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. You take more pride in your your love affairs, your children, and your hobbies and are generally very sociable and make friends easily.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 With the Sun transiting your solar fourth house of family and home, these areas are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of property or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind as you will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It is also a time when family life will be charged with emotions so be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, neighbours, close relatives, friends, and co-workers may play a more important role than usual in your life during this period.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The Sun highlights your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. Your communications are extremely high making it easy to close those lucrative deals. Also, a good time to pursue any romantic liaisons that might present themselves.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 The Sun transits your first house and this affects your personal identity, appearance, outward behaviour, and self-expression. This marks the peak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the position to make an impression on others, and to assert your personal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage of your charisma to achieve your goals.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 The Sun illuminates your sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities. You will be in constant demand and will be in a position to network with new-found friends who will promote your cause. Personal relationships are also to the fore and some of you might even find true love. This is a time to follow your dreams and ideals, and to plant a seed in the form of a wish for the future.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 More than any other time of the year, your focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society. This is the time when you are more interested in, and focused on, accomplishing something important.

Contact with authority figures is more likely during this period. Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it or not, and the responsibility that goes with it.

Sport 32

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DERBYSHIRE CRICKETER SHIV THAKOR FOUND GUILTY OF INDECENT EXPOSURE

Derbyshire cricketer Shiv Thakor, 24, has been found guilty of exposing himself to two women near Mackworth, Derbyshire, on June 12 and 19. He exposed himself to one woman as she bent down to pick paper up from a printer, the court heard. Thakor, of Richardson Way, Derby, was convicted of two sexual exposure charges.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court heard Thakor's actions caused "distress" to the two women.

The cricketer, who had previously played for England at under-19 level, had been jogging around a housing estate before he exposed himself to one of the women, the court heard. The first victim, who labelled him

"Shifty Shiv", claimed Thakor "aroused" himself outside a property before exposing himself through a "gap" in his trousers. The woman said

Pujara third Indian to bat on all five days of a Test

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara on Monday became the third ever Indian batsman to bat on all five days of a test.

Pujara came in to bat after the KL Rahul was dismissed off the first delivery of the match on Day 1 and under testing conditions, with rain and bad light playing spoilsport, top-scored for India with 52 off 117 - a knock stretched across three days.

Then when Shikhar Dhawan departed after a breezy 94 off 116, he walked in to bat late in on Day 4 before returning unbeaten on two.

Then, on Monday morning, he resumed the India innings with Rahul who had also left behind the disappointment of a first-ball duck with a classy 73. Before Pujara, two Indians - ML Jaisimha and current India coach Ravi Shastri - have had the rare distinction to have batted on all five days. While Jaisimha did it against Australia in 1960, scoring 20* and 74, Shastri entered the club in 1984 against England scoring 111 and 7*.

List of batsmen to have batted on all five days ML Jaisimha (India) Geoffrey Boycott (England) Kim Hughes (Australia) Allan Lamb (England) Ravi Shastri (India) Adrian Griffith (West Indies) Andrew Flintoff (England) Cheteshwar Pujara (India)

she believed Thakor was aware he was exposing himself.

Thakor said he has "a tendency" to "rearrange" him-

self. The second woman said Thakor stopped outside the property a week later and exposed himself while she was on the phone. Orla Daly, defending, suggested to both witnesses that they had simply "got it wrong". Giving evidence, Thakor said: "I have got a tendency to rearrange myself both at the front and back during games. "I've never exposed myself, it's not something I would ever do."

Derbyshire County Cricket Club said Thakor will remain suspended while the club reviews the case. District judge Andrew Meachin said: "I am satisfied that you did intentionally expose yourself and I find you guilty of both charges." Thakor will be sentenced on 24 November.

Indian seamers give a scare to Lankans in drawn test The first test between India and Sri Lanka ended in a draw as almost two days of play was washed out due to inclement weather, but not before the Indian bowlers pushed the Lankans on the brink of defeat. Bad light came to the rescue of islanders as Indian seamers had reduced the visitors to 75/7, in chase of 231 for victory.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/8) and Mohammed Shami (2/34) had punched two early holes in Lanka innings when they dismissed their openers in similar fashion, reducing them to 2/2 within four overs. After Virat Kohli's century allowed India to declare on 352/8, it was the perfect start they would have hoped for to enforce a result. Umesh Yadav then brought one in to trap Angelo Mathews lbw after tea but skipper Dinesh Chandimal (20) and Niroshan Dickwella (27) stonewalled the bowlers, adding 47 runs for the fifth wicket.

Things heated up when Dickwella was accused of time wasting with Shami giving him an earful following which umpires had to intervene. And then, he produced a ripper to sneak through the defences of Chandimal and the Eden crowd found its voice again. Then an edge from Dickwella didn't carry to the wicketkeeper as shown by the umpire review concluded.

Bhuvneshwar ended Dickwella's resistance and went through the guards of Dilruwan Perera (0) in

two successive overs. India were pressing hard for an unlikely win. Sri Lanka, at 75/7, hoping to survive.

And they made it through when the umpire Nigel Llong took out the lightmeter one last time and calling it a day.

That the match came so close to a nail-biting end was thanks in part to Kohli's 18th Test century, 50th of his international career. The regular flow of wickets had forced Kohli to accelerate as he began pushing for quick runs and boundaries, reaching 104 off 119 with 12 fours and two sixes. He had switched gears after reaching his maiden 50 at Eden Gardens, which came off 80 deliveries. Kohli's next 50 came in just 39 deliveries as India added 101 runs in 19.4 overs.

With a well-set KL Rahul and India's firstinnings top-scorer Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle, India would have fancied their chances of enforcing a result but Lakmal threw spanner in the works of their plans in a brilliant spell of seam bowling, landing three telling blows. Rahul played a classy knock on Sunday to wrest control of the Test from Sri Lanka. But

Lakmal, who didn't bowl much during Day 4, set up the opener with one that moved away and slipped an in-dipper that went through the gates to crash on the stumps, packing him on 79.

Pujara looked in his elements after grinding it out across the first three days for a memorable 50.

Kohli had to go through a nervy phase with the bowlers hitting the deck hard to generate bounce.

Lakmal stood out with a brilliant exhibition of seam bowling as he got the better of Pujara three times in a row in the 51st over. And then came the knockout punch. Out of nowhere, Lakmal got one to bounce over Pujara's shoulder who was late in responding to the soaring delivery. The ball flew in front of the gully fielder after taking the shoulder of the bat where Perera leapt to complete an excellent catch, ending Pujara's knock on 22.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 294 & 75/7 (Niroshan Dickwella 27; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/8) vs India 172 & 352/8d (Virat Kohli 104*, Shikhar Dhawan 94; Dasun Shanaka 3/76, Suranga Lakmal 3/93)

Sardar dropped from Indian hockey squad Veteran mid-fielder Sardar Singh was dropped from India's 18-member squad for next month's Hockey World League Final, while the fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks for the season-endSardar Singh ing tournament to be held in Bhubaneswar. The biggest omission from the squad was this year's Khel Ratna Award winner Sardar, who was part of the team that won the Asia Cup last month in Dhaka.

In the Asia Cup, Sardar shunned his playmaker role in the midfield for young skipper Manpreet Singh and played as the 'free defender'. But the ouster from the HWL Final might mean that Sardar doesn't quite fit into the scheme of things of new chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, who took the reins of the team before the Asia Cup following Roelant Oltmans's ouster.

Rupinder and Lakra's return will be big boost to the India's fragile backline. Rupinder will return to the team after a five month layoff due to a hamstring injury while Lakra has been in and out of the side after missing the Rio Olympics due to a knee injury.

With PR Sreejesh yet to regain match fitness, the Indian goalpost will be defended by custodians Akash Chikte and Suraj Karkera.

The midfield will see SK Uthappa, Kothajit Singh and Sumit join Manpreet and Chinglensana.

Junior World Cup stars Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar and Dipsan Tirkey, who have had promising outings in Europe and Asia Cup too, find themselves in the squad for the season finale. In one of the best comeback stories of the year, Odisha- lad Amit Rohidas, who had a fantastic outing in 2017 Hockey India League, made his return to the team.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Akash Anil Chikte, Suraj Karkera Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Birendra Lakra Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (Capt), Chinglensana Singh (Vice-Capt), SK Uthappa, Sumit, Kothajit Singh Forwards: SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh.

Pak cricketer Mohammad Hafeez banned again The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Pakistan allr o u n d e r Mohammad Hafeez from bowling his off-spinners in international cricket with immediate effect after an independent assessment found his bowling action illegal. The assessment Mohammad Hafeez revealed that the majority of his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations. Hafeez may be able to bowl in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the PCB," the statement added. This is not the first time the veteran Pakistan allrounder has been banned from bowling in international cricket. Under ICC rules he will be able to return to bowling as soon as he has rectified his action and passed another assessment.