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FATWA ISSUED AGAINST RAHMAN

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Vol 44 | Issue 21

26th September to 2nd October 2015 BUSINESS

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

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UK P16 MP URGES FOR LONDON'S FIRST WWI SIKH MONUMENT

BENGAL LIFTS THE SMOKESCREEN OFF NETAJI MYSTERY UN SEEKS SPECIAL COURT ON LANKA WAR CRIMES

Putting an end to the wait on classified information on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his family, the West Bengal state government has declassified 64 files which lied in possession of the Kolkata and West Bengal police.

Fulfilling a long-withstanding demand of the leader's family and researchers, the original files put on display consist

of 12,744 pages and contain many intriguing facts.

Unveiled at the Calcutta Police Museum, in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, digitised copies of the file were handed over to Netaji's descendants and the media.

Banerjee has remarked that the files contain letters that reveal he was alive after 1945 and that his

The winners of the 15th Asian Achievers Awards announced

Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung (centre), winner of Uniformed and Civil Services category with Chief Guest Rt Hon Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence (left) and Air Marshall Sir Baz North (right)

Full Report on Page 17

family was spied upon by government sources.

“There are certain letters where many have said that Netaji was alive after 1945.

Historians and researchers must study these files minutely. We must know the truth about the great brave son of the soil,” Banerjee said. Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow her and publicise official documents. “The truth should come out. If there is nothing to hide why is the centre not declassifying?” she asked.

Banerjee had announced her decision to make public the files that were maintained by the special branch, on September 11, asserting that she has made sure it won't affect bilateral ties.

She had also stated that law and order problems were unlikely to arise due to declassification and in case they did, she assured the state government would deal with it.

Describing the day as historic, Netaji's family said it will put pressure on the central government which CONTINUED ON P 26

INDIA

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MODI TO TOUR US, IRELAND FROM SEPT 23-29

40 killed as clashes erupt over new Nepal constitution

Ram Baran Yadav More than 40 people were killed as violence broke out following the adoption of the new constitution by the Nepalese parliament. Clashes continue to intensify as huge demonstrations are being held in different parts of the Himalayan country. There are also reports of a bomb blast in Lamki.

Nepal's seventh constitution in 67 years became a topic of concern after President Ram Baran Yadav promulgated it from a rostrum inside the Constituent Assembly in Kathmandu by putting his signature to five copies of the new constitution. “I hereby announce the commencement of the new

constitution,” he addressed the Assembly and the nation.

Although it marks the region as a secular and democratic republic, at least 60 representatives from Madhes-centric parties and indigenous groups, boycotted the event, calling it a “farce” that has denied them their rights.

The Madhesis have been antipathetic to their new constitution.

They have been fighting for equal representation in the country's political structure and the new constitution, which now, they feel has failed to meet with their demands. The constitution promises to identify CONTINUED ON P 26

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ONE ONE with Keith Vaz, MP

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

to

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It's really important to be able to make a difference on a very concrete level for the people you represent.

Chuka Umunna

Chuka Umunna, was born in October 1978, he studied Law at the University of Manchester and the University of Burgundy, followed by Nottingham Law School.

An employment law solicitor by profession, prior to his election Chuka worked at a law firm primarily acting for employees but also employers, having trained at a City law firm.

He is a patron of Latimer Creative Media, a social enterprise which trains young people in digital media and a supporter of Cassandra Learning Centre, a charity raising awareness and working to stop domestic violence.

Chuka was elected as Member of Parliament for Streatham in May 2010, becoming the first MP for the constituency to have grown up in the area. He was elected to represent Streatham having received 20,037 votes, with the number of votes received by Labour rising from 18,950 in the previous general election in 2005. Turnout in Streatham increased by 11.5 percentage points at 62.8% compared with 51.3% in 2005. In June 2010, he was elected by his parliamentary colleagues to serve on the Treasury Select Committee. From 2011 – 2015 Chuka was a member of the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, leading for the Opposition on a wide range of issues including business, enterprise, science and universities. Chuka was re-elected as MP for Streatham in 2015 with 26,474 votes, increasing his majority to 13,934.

1) What is your current position?

MP for Streatham, my consistency which covers Streatham and parts of Brixton, Balham, Clapham and Tulse Hill. It's the

area I grew up in and it's the centre of the universe as far as I'm concerned.

2) What are your proudest

7) And the worst?

Not having nearly enough time and resource to do all the things you want to do for the common good.

achievements?

I'm proudest of the campaigns I've ran to help people locally, like the family of Cherry Groce who needed help to get legal aid at the inquest into her death, and the campaigns I've instigated nationally, like Small Business Saturday, which has helped to encourage people to use and value local businesses.

3) What inspires you?

What inspires me is the belief that one day the children from the poorest parts of my constituents will have the same opportunities and succeed in the same way as those from the richest.

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

The biggest obstacle was proba-

Warwick Business School alumna receives AACSB’s inaugural Influential Leaders Award Fiza Farhan, a Warwick school graduate joins as one of the first 100 AACSB Influential Leaders, who

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success.

Miss Farhan’s work exemplifies the innovative mindset and meaningful contributions to society that Warwick Business School graduates display around the world and every day- whether they operate within large corporations, small businesses, or the nonprofit sector.

Miss Farhan graduated from Warwick Business School and serves as CEO with the Buksh Foundation, a microfinance institution that brings clean energy projects to poor and rural areas

bly when I was young and still at school, and I didn't think politics was necessarily something for people like me. It was going along and getting involved with things when later in my youth that made me realise this was something that I could do - and I think that's really important for young people now.

8) What are your long term goals?

I want to help tackle the big issues that affect my constituency and build a fairer, more equal, freer, more prosperous, democratic and environmentally sustainable world.

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

The biggest influence on me has been my parents – they are a constant inspiration to me.

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

One thing which I've always thought is really important for any prime minister or leader of the opposition is to change the tone of the debate with - like Jeremy Corbyn did in his first Prime Ministers Questions which was different and refreshing.

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

My office and I have been able to help thousands of my constituents with their personal problems with things like housing, benefits and immigration.

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

Martin Luther King – the best orator of all time and a personal hero of mine.

of Pakistan. The foundation's business and clean energy loans have been extended to some 12,000 entrepreneurs.

The Buksh Foundation’s ‘light a million lives’ project, which aims to replace the millions of dangerous polluting kerosene lamps used in rural Pakistan with much safer solar lamps through an ingenious microfinancing scheme, has so far seen 37,000 households gain clean light and 150 villages electrified.

“It is an absolute honour to receive this award not only for myself and my organisations but for Pakistan,” said Miss Farhan. “I would like to deeply thank AACSB for recognising my work and the impact it has created in the lives of the thousands we work with...

“I would also like to thank Warwick Business School for not only nominating me but also for the transformational experience I gained at WBS during my one-year of Masters education there...WBS played a role of immense strength and value in making me the young, passionate leader that I am today.”

Junior doctors potential strike petition gains more than 40,000 supporters

A petition supporting junior doctors who are considering strike action has gained the support of more than 40,000 people. This has been signed by many people, including many junior doctors of Asian origin. The 'British Medical Association, Strike?' petition was set up three days ago to call for support for young medics who are concerned new

Government contracts could affect pay levels and force them to work more unsocial hours.

However, the Department of Health said the proposals offered junior doctors a better deal by "enhancing the quality and quantity of training opportunities for junior doctors" and giving a higher basic rate of pay "with a significant increase in basic salary".

David Prime Minister Cameron is understood to have reportedly told his close friends that claims that he once put his genitals in a dead pig's mouth are 'utter nonsense', the Independent has reported. However, he has publicly refused to 'dignify' the allegations with a response.

The allegations are among a number included in a new biography of the Prime Minister by the former deputy Conservative party chairman Lord Ashcroft and journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who allegedly wrote in 'Call Me Dave' that Cameron was

a member of the exclusive Piers Gaveston Society while studying at Oxford University. The group is believed to have allegedly involved in "bizarre rituals and sexual excess".

Lord Ashcroft and PM Cameron apparently fell out after the Tory leader failed to give the former, a top job he had allegedly promised in 2010. The book also contains allegations that smoked cannabis with university friends who nicknamed themselves the "Flam Club", and allegedly later allowed cocaine at his home in London.

Cameron tells friends dead pig allegations 'utter nonsense'

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Corbyn takes centre-stage nationally A few weeks ago participants on a weekend BBC TV discussion show were smiling condescendingly at the very prospect of outsider Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour Party: 500 to 1 against were the odds as he stormed the citadels of cynicism, complacency, corruption and privilege, winning in the first round with a record 59.5 per cent of the votes cast, sending the country’s discredited corporate media into a tailspin of personal gutter attacks.

The cacophony of falsehoods and misrepresentation had come to nothing. One Labour establishment gargoyle instead of going into hiding pronounced brazenly that those who voted for Mr Corbyn should be ashamed of themselves. Shame is not what the creature and his Blairite cronies would recognise even if it came to them nude. Shame or contrition is not what Mr Blair has ever shown over the rape of Iraq by American and British forces and their hangers-on as they went about murdering, torturing and mutilating millions of innocent Iraqis.

Contrition comes with conscience. The Labour Party under the Blair-Brown axis had lost any semblance of conscience it ever possessed. Apathy and cynicism had crippled British politics; few cared what politicians said or did; packaged news by spin doctors, became the public’s staple diet: the fourth estate was reduced to the fourth-rate estate. The traumatized Conservative leadership maligned Mr Corbyn, and supporters as threats to national security.

“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, ” pronounced Dr Johnson a couple and more centuries ago. It has been the timeless indictment lynch mob politicians and kindred demagogues, of whom America boasts more than its fair share: George W.Bush, Dick Cheyne, Donald Rumsfeld, Barack Obama, Britain’s Tony Blair, Gordon Brown , David Milliband et al have degraded politics at home and abroad. They have much to answer for at the bar of history.

From the depths of despair came Jeremy Corbyn borne aloft by a tidal wave of idealistic youth believing in a future that works. Issues of public concern were brought to the fore: jobs, enforced austerity, health, education and the financial drain of nuclear weaponry, such as the hugely expensive Trident submarine came up for passionate, reasoned debate. The cavalier bombing of hapless societies are being subjected to indecent exposure, the biblical exo-

dus from the Middle and North Africa have left Europe gasping and the world stunned into disbelied. Nato intrusions have left much of the Middle East a howling desolation, even as the iniquitous spectacle described as peace for our time defies rational explanation and comment.

Images on television and the internet and twitter accounts have exposed the barbarous truth that brooks no denial.

Europe is convulsed: rising discontent is amplified by deepening discord. Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, to go no further, are in turbulence.,as are Hungary, Croatia and the neighbourhood. Calls for Catalan secession from Spain are rising by daily decibels. EU managers in Brussels with solemn absurdity carry on regardless. But for how long, is anybody’s guess. The much touted Arab Spring was amasquerade for US regime change. A disillusioned former European Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations was scathingly about Western policies responsible for the present tragedy. You can bet that those guilty of crimes against humanity will never be brought to trial to answer for their terrible deeds.

Returning to Jeremy Corbyn: his opening performance at prime minister’s question time in the Commons was dignified, restrained and wholesomely relevant; there were none of the theatrics to which the public has become accustomed. Serious questions, such as those posed by Mr Corbyn, will require serious answers, with the entire nation looking on. MPs across the House will be stretched, as will the Government and Opposition Front benches to meet the revived expectations of an awakened people.

There will be no easy ride hereafter – which is what good governance is about. Great Britain has the opportunity to become truly great again.

A postscript on the BBC’s coverage of the Corbyn election and the earlier Scottish referendum: both were unashamedly partisan. The Corporation was designed to be a public broadcaster; it is now a state broadcaster. The BBC’s recent diatribes against Russian Television, coupled with those of the Obama Administration are clear signs of panic. RT has frightened the pants off each by its superb alternative that are swelling its audiences worldwide.

Palsied, but arrogant channels in the UK and US know they are in a fight. Healthy competition is the name of the game. Oligopolies should be banished to the closet.

India’s fatwa season never ends Fatwas in India are jokes that are taken seriously. They come and go, absurd, yet menacing. The latest fatwa has been imposed on the iconic musical composer, Chennaibased A.S.Rahman. His sin? The music he composed for an Iranian film entitled, ‘Mohammed: Messenger of God’.

This alleged outrage has earned him a fatwa. A television discussion on a mainstream Indian channel had its intriguing moments. The bearded, shull-capped cleric associated with the ban looked suitably ferocious and unyielding: Mr Rahman had violated God’s law, hence the punishment. But the film was an Iranian production, someone on the panel protested. It wouldn’t have passed the censors in Tehran were there the faintest breath of apostasy. The unmoved cleric was solid as the rock of ages. A more liberal Muslim face preferred to eat his cake and have it: in other words, he saw the point of the fatwa but was offended by its tone. The battle was finally joined by a youthful Muslim, who said he and others of the community of similar inclination in their wholehearted embrace of modernity, were embarrassed by the fatwa and took the media to task for giving time and space to extremist ‘nuts’. Mr Rehman being a national and international star precluded media silence, was the anchor’s response. A robustly honest Shashi Tharoor attacked Indian and State governments for their supine surrenders to fatwa wielders for fear of provoking a riot. He referred, rightly, to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to endorse the fatwa against the Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasreen. The previous Communist-led Left

Front government refused Ms Nasreen permission to enter Kolkata.

Mr Tharoor and the other participants deplored the culture of fatwas now taking hold in India. Its virus had given rise to a rash of copycat bans by others of an illiberal disposition, making a mockery of the Indian Constitution and its guarantee to uphold free speech and freedom of thought, or even the freedom to follow a diet of one’s choice. The Supreme Court of India has upheld the Bombay High Court’s judgment on the Maharashtran government’s ban on meat eating on certain religious festivals in the calendar. The Supreme Court was scathing in its dismissal of any attempt to enforce restrictions down peoples’ throats. The court deplored the spreading cult of bans as an infringement of individual liberty.

One’s mind goes back to England in the late 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. She stood by the author Salman Rushdie who had earned an Iranian fatwa sentencing him to death for the publication of ‘The Satanic Verses,’ considered blasphemous. In a remarkable display of courage and moral integrity, Margaret Thatcher placed the full resources of the British state for the protection of the hounded novelist. She did this despite Mr Rushdie’s unkind words about her, and his deplorable comparison of Britain with apartheid South Africa. It would have been truly satisfying if a voice on the Indian TV panel had pointed to Mrs Thatcher as exemplar for Indian politicians. They would do well to emulate her and add a cubit to their generally lowly stature.

Indian IT genius makes splash Satya Nadella is name to conjure with in the world of Information Technology. He was an unknown beyond the hallowed confines of Microsoft, the company founded

by Bill Gates that grew to be a global software colossus.

Great institutions, like great monuments, begin to decay with time as closed doors and windows keep out the winds of change. Microsoft was no exception to the rule.

Its prime managers were set in their ways in a transformative world, with new rivals to boot. Old habits die hard. Bill Gates recognized the telltale signs: the marketing men had to be pushed aside and a dynamically creative engineer put at the helm to charge of Microsoft’s

renewal. It was an in-house appointment - the Indian American Satya Nadella. It was an inspired choice.

Nadella’s expertise in cloud computing enabled Microsoft to bring Win 10 free to customers; a company fat with age was reinvented as nimble and accessible – a truly remarkable turnaround. America benefits importing the brightest and the best. China is surely an economic giant many times India’s size, yet there are more Indian managers and executives in the United States, most notably in Silicon Valley. It is a reminder of the country’s tryst with the knowledge economy and the strength and depth of the human capital that come with it.

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Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth - Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Make In India As the excitement of PM Modi’s visit piques, consider the meaning of one of his most successful campaigns.

Most people do not understand what ‘Make in India’ really means. Returning from India, I explained to each of my audiences of entrepreneurs in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi it doesn’t just mean manufacture in India. It doesn’t just mean to foreign countries to invest in India and make their products in India.

It is something more profound. Something which the most advanced nations of the world understand well. It means create the intellectual property in India. Make that.

You see if you make pharmaceutical products, or calls, or anything else in India for an overseas company, all you are doing is creating temporary jobs in India.

The wealth of nations is directly related to the innovation and intellectual property it makes, and then rents out that property to others. The owner of capital, intellectual or otherwise, always makes the most money. The person doing the work (the maker or worker) never earns as much.

My message to Indian entrepreneurs was that what Narendra Modi is telling you is make intellectual property in India, for your Indian company. Then yes, take that company global (preferably from the UK) and sell, rent, licence, lend, franchise that intellectual property.

You see if you make pharmaceuticals for an American company, it’s the company which takes its profits abroad. But then the Indian company owns the intellectual property, it takes that global and profits from it from everywhere.

Is this what Narendra Modi meant? Yes, but few realise it. I know he did because when he spoke over a decade ago at the Gujarat Samachar offices, he spoke about intellectual property. Odd you may think for me to remember. Well, I thought it odd a political to make a fiery speech about intellectual property. But he did.

Not many politicians understand economics and wealth creation. Fewer still understand intellectual property. What is clear is Narendra Modi knows how to express an important concept without being bogged down in the technical reasons why.

Now, when you are at Wembley Stadium and meet him, and he invites you to make in India, you will know the deeper more important picture why.

The reason Britain is ideally placed to be a global partner with India is because Britain is very good at helping create intellectual property and then make companies become global players.

I bring many companies from India to the UK, with their intellectual property, so they can go global more easily from here and into Europe. That’s great for the UK, because it creates jobs, and tax-paying companies and great for India because it is Indians who own the intellectual property.

True wealth of nations comes from owning intellectual property – it is that simple.

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Cllr Alex Yip: Unity can help move mountains Dhiren Katwa BIRMINGHAM: Alex Yip, Birmingham’s first and only councillor of Chinese origin, is a rising star in British politics. Articulate, intelligent, smart and ambitious that he is, I caught up with him to find out more.

Cllr Yip represents Sutton New Hall for the Conservatives. Elected in May this year at the age of 32, his aim is to inspire, promote peace and harmony among all, be a bridge between diverse communities, be an effective voice for his constituents and to add even greater value to our nation’s second city.

“In a few short years there will be nothing that will remain of us, except for the legacy of our actions,” he said.

When asked what he hopes to leave behind, “something meaningful and to have made a difference.”

Cllr Yip is also the Birmingham Conservatives’ first ethnic minority councillor. Previously the group had been criticised for being too white and too middle aged to represent Birmingham, the youngest city in Europe with under-25s accounting for nearly 40% of its just over 1 million population.

Born in Solihull, Cllr Yip attended King Edwards Camp Hill then moved on to Leicester University where he studied for a Masters in International Relations before becoming a selfemployed businessman. His parents moved to England from Hong Kong in the early 70s.

A former school governor at Kingsbury School and Sports College, Cllr Yip, who is one of two siblings, is also a magistrate. He is also vicechairman of the British Chinese Project, a

Alex Yip

non partisan group designed to encourage and promote the participation, education, representation and integration of the British Chinese into British politics.

He has also been instrumental in his moral and lingual support, along with other community leaders, to the family of sisters Lily and Shelley, aged 7 and 6, respectively, who were killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident in June this year. The crash left their mum fighting for her life and their brother Edwin, 13, and sister Catherine, 12, injured.

Cllr Yip told me how he is mildly dyslexic, and also how he suffered from depression a few years back.

“While travelling I saw great poverty in Ghana and Zambia and in remote areas of China where the injustice was achingly saddening. But there was also great joy and freedom in their lives, with nothing, and with little hope for the future. I was very hum-

bled by that.”

He explained: “It took the support of generous and compassionate friends to bring me around from the brink, to see that beauty in the world in them and their kindness. There needs to be more support for organisations such as Papyrus in Birmingham to combat the tragic loss of young adults through suicide, which affects far more people than we realise.”

Papyrus, a national charity, exists to give young people hope and to prevent young suicide. Every year over 1,600 young people take their own lives in the UK. An optimist with a natural charm and an excellent communicator, Cllr Yip, who lives in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield, is a gentleman who can really help improve life and the environment. Well, he certainly comes across this way. He told me how he has a strong belief: “that we all have literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something with our lives. If there is something that inspires us that can inspire someone else, and if a few like-minded people can come together for a cause that is greater than us, then mountains can be moved”.

One-third (33%) of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) voters supported the Conservatives in this year’s General Elections.

Based on an estimated 3 million BAME voters who took part in the election, the Conservatives secured one million BAME votes for the first time in the party’s history. The Local Government Association (LGA) were unable to provide latest figures on the total number of councillors of British Chinese origin in England.

Model found dead at home in Oldham OLDHAM: Nadia Menaz, 24, a model and mum of one (a daughter), from Manchester was found hanging at her home in Oldham, five months after taking out a court order to stop her family allegedly forcing her into an arranged marriage, an inquest has heard.

The inquest was told she was already married to Umar Rasool in an Islamic ceremony but the union was not recognised under English law and allegedly her family did not approve of her husband.

It was claimed Mrs Menaz was so troubled by her ‘very strained’ relationship with her parents that she suffered from depres-

In Brief AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

sion and bouts of self harm.

She eventually took out a court order on December 5th to apparently stop her mother Ruksana Kousar (55) and father Sabir

Hussain (60) and three of her seven siblings from allegedly forcing her into another marriage.

At the hearing Mr Hussain and Mrs Kousar reportedly denied attempting to force Mrs Menaz into marriage and allegedly claimed her daughter had been murdered by a ‘third party’.

In the weeks before her death Mrs Menaz underwent psychiatric treatment at Royal Oldham Hospital but was later discharged. On the day of her death on May 1, she allegedly had an argument with Mr Rasool, who then went to see his family and went to their

local mosque.

She apparently sent him a text saying she was going to hang herself and when he returned home at around 6.30pm he allegedly found his wife’s body.

Police investigations have ruled out third party involvement. A postmortem confirmed a cause of death as hanging and also noted 60 wounds to her thigh that appeared to be self-inflicted.

Mr Rasool has denied any involvement in either an altercation or alternatively the act of causing Nadia to be placed in the position he saw her when he returned.

The inquest will be concluded at a later date.

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Popular Leicester music promoter passes away

LEICESTER: The well-known music and concert promoter Tony (Tersame) Singh Pabla, pictured, passed away in Leicester on Friday 11th September 2015.

Son of late Trilochand Singh Pabla and Mrs Gurmaij Kaur Pabla was well known in the Asian music fraternity in the UK and the Midlands. The Pabla family ran the famous Friends Tandoori Restaurant on the Belgrave road, Leicester. Tony operated the electrical and music business adjacent to the restaurant.

“Forty six-year old Tony Pabla” said Uday Dholakia Chairman of LABA “was a pioneer in Brit-Asian entertainment. Apart from supplying and promoting innovative music and concerts, he enabled many British Asian artists to launch their careers. A human catalogue of diverse Indian music. The Pabla family were great supporters of LABA, hosting many events and dinners, including the receptions for the corporate sponsors for Diwali lights and overseas visitors. Tony was always at hand to help with audio visual and PA system for entertainment and speeches. A highly polished professional who had an expert understanding of the music industry. He will be sadly missed by a wide circle of friends, family and associates in the Midlands”.

Paedophile given longer sentence as victims were Asians

LEEDS: A leading judge, Mr Justice Walker, has ruled that the paedophile who abused two Asian girls was rightly given a longer sentence by Judge Cahill QC, than if his victims were white, because Asian sex crime victims suffer more.

Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir, 32, carried out sex attacks on Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir two young girls and was jailed for seven years at Leeds Crown Court in December last year. He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

Judge Sally Cahill QC, specifically said that the fact the victims were Asian had been factored in as an "aggravating feature" when passing sentence.

She stated that the victims and their families had suffered particular "shame" in their communities because of what had happened to them. She added that there were cultural concerns that the girls' future of being considered as good prospects for arranged marriage now damaged.

Lawyers for Ul Nasir, 32, of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, argued at London's Criminal Appeal Court that his sentence had been unfairly inflated.

But their complaints were rejected by Mr Justice Walker, who said: "The victims' fathers were concerned about the future marriage prospects for their daughters.

"Judge Cahill was having particular regard to the harm cause to the victims by this offending. That harm was aggravated by the impact on the victims and their families within this particular community".

The argument that Ul Nasir was given a longer sentence due to his own "ethnic and religious origin" was based on "a misconception", he added. "The judge who tried the case was in the best position to determine the correct sentence."

Mr Justice Walker, sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Mitting, concluded: "There is no basis for saying that Judge Cahill adopted an incorrect starting point.

This application for leave to appeal against sentence must be refused."

Student receives BAFTA scholarship LEICESTER: Shivani Shah, a bartender turned budding digital effects Master student, is among a handful, to be awarded funding as part of the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts Scholarship scheme.

Besides receiving financial support upto £10,000, she will also receive one-to-one mentor-

ing from BAFTA members and award winners in their fields.

She is also one of just three to be awarded the prestigious Prince William Scholarship as part of the scheme.

Shivani, pictured, from Leicester, will now continue her studies on MA Digital Effects at the National Film and Television School (NFTS).

Shivani told the Leicester Mercury: "I'm ecstatic and incredibly honoured to be awarded a Prince William Scholarship. I've received an incredible amount of support from my family and friends to pursue my dream in visual effects, but the dream is more achievable thanks to BAFTA and I'm truly grateful.

"This incredible opportunity will allow me to devote more time to focus on working in the visual effects industry."

Prince William reportedly said: "I'm proud of the opportunities for progression that the scheme offers and would like to congratulate this year's recipients and wish them all the best in their future careers."

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UK's humanitarian response MI5 reveals shocking extent of Islamic radicalism in UK to the crisis in Syria AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Reshma Trilochun

On Thursday 17th September 2015, the Department for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development held a briefing on the UK’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria. The International Development Minister, Desmond Swayne provided an overview of the UK’s £1 billion in aid to the region which includes support for Syrian refugees. The aid includes providing food, water, medical care, relief items and sanitation for people in need within Syria, as well as across the region, places such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

As well as providing the Syrian refugees with access to clean water, healthcare and sanitation, Desmond Swayne mentioned how it was important for the children of refugees to be able to have good access to a school that will provide them with an education.

He said, “The main effort, as I see it, has not been just to provide food, shelter, healthcare counselling, protection particularly for women and vulnerable people; the main effort is in the No Loss Generation

The International Development Minister, Desmond Swayne

Initiative, in getting education for the children of refugees and getting them registered in Jordanian and Lebanese schools.”

There have been many people who have acquired false documents and lied that they were Syrian in order to get help and have access to European countries. There have been a lot of people-trafficking taking place, forcing people to travel through excruciating circumstances which prove detrimental to their health and at times lead to unfortunate deaths. Desmond Swayne feels it is important to tackle people trafficking and mentioned how

the British Government should work with the UNHCR (United Nation High Commission for Refugees) in order to help vulnerable Syrians and bring them over to Europe directly, instead of having them take the negative route and be exploited by people traffickers.

On being questioned whether the Syrian migrants will have a hostile welcome in Britain, similar to what Black and Asian migrants had initially faced, Desmond Swayne disagreed and believed Britain is more than warm towards Syrian migrants.

He said, “I think we’re actually very welcoming.

Certainly if you speak to younger people, they are much more open; they’ve grown up in a multi-ethnic country, they don’t have this sort of view that life was somehow better in the 1950s. I think there won’t be a difficulty integrating people… I think the response from the British people is very good and very welcoming.

The Government has just got to be a little bit more careful about what we could actually manage to handle and organise efficiently and effectively.

Bogus lawyer convicted of providing illegal immigration advice Sandra Amaratunga, of Blawith Road, Harrow, Middlesex, was convicted at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court of providing unregulated immigration advice and services.

On Friday 18 September 2015 she was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

She was also ordered to pay compensation to the victim in the sum of £2,100, prosecution costs of £500, and a victim surcharge of £80.

A three month curfew was also imposed which will be enforced by electronic tag.

Ms Amaratunga purported to be an experienced immigration lawyer when introduced to a client seeking to assist their partner to obtain a work permit visa. In a series of meetings she charged a fee of £2,100

for her advice and services, demanding cash payments.

The victim became suspicious when Ms Amaratunga refused to issue a receipt and failed to respond to her calls. The client made enquiries, discovering the true position that Ms Amaratunga was unqualified to provide immigration advice. A complaint was then lodged with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC).

Sentencing Ms Amaratunga, District Judge Boswell said “You deliberately targeted someone who was vulnerable and you preyed upon that vulnerability. The victim is a single mother who was at a low point in her life emotionally as her partner had been removed

from the UK. In a devious and calculating way over a considerable period of time you were successful in dishonestly taking a significant amount of money from her.”

Speaking about the decision, the Deputy Immigration Services Commissioner, Dr Ian Leigh, said, “We have clear standards outlining what we expect in terms of the fitness and competence of regulated advisers. Ms Amaratunga chose to operate outside the law. I am delighted with the outcome of this case, and I hope this sends a clear message to other people considering providing immigration advice either act within the law or you will find yourself in court.”

Bindesh Savjani joins ICG as global risk officer UK's private equity firm, Intermediate Capital Group has created a new role that oversees risk and compliance in response to regulation and demands from shareholders and investors, hiring previous director of legal and risk at Scottish Widows

Investment Partnership, Bindesh Savjani for the newly established post.

Savjani will take global responsibility for risk, compliance, legal and internal audit across a team of seven people, and will report to chief financial officer Philip Keller. At SWIP which

later became a part of Aberdeen Asset Management, he was responsible for legal, regulatory risk, investment risk, operational risk and governance. He has also worked with Ernst & Young where he was a senior member of the risk consulting practice.

Britain's counter-intelligence and security agency MI5 has issued warning that British men and women, mostly in their teens are being radicalised

by Islamic extremists to the point of violence to be expected within weeks.

They have also seen a distinct overlap between Islamic suspects and those within mental health problems, which makes them easier to groom.

The scale of the domestic threat was revealed after Andrew Parker became the agency's first director-general in its 106-year history to give a live broadcast interview. He said that Intelligence officials had foiled six plots in the last year, appealing to the internet giants to help in the fight. He said, “Most of the people who were born and brought up here, have come through our education system and have nonetheless concluded that the country- their home country and the country of their birth- is their enemy.”

A new analysis suggests that the number of suspects being monitored has risen by more than 50 per cent since 2007. Most of those under suspicion have never been to Syria but have fallen under the influence of the organisation's online propaganda. About 1,000 Britons are thought to have joined jihadist groups in Syria, 300 have returned and 70 have been

Andrew Parker

killed fighting in Syria and Iraq since 2011.

Parker's radio address comes weeks before the government's due to bring a new set of investigatory powers bill before the parliament which outlines how intelligence agencies are allowed to operate and propose a wider and rigorous scrutiny of their work.

The bill will follow a series of reviews and reports in recent months, including the comprehensive paper produced by David Anderson, QC, the reviewer of anti-terrorism laws.

Parker said his agency would welcome the new approach, “It’s important that from time to time legislation is updated so that we’re operating modern, straightforward law that describes transparently and as fully as it can what sort of thing MI5 does these days.” But also noted that the new laws would not be enough to win the battle against an enemy that used “secure apps smartphones in our pock-

Corner shops to charge 5p for plastic bags The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will issue new rules from October 5 which will prompt supermarkets to charge their customers 5p per plastic carrier bag. The government had previously stated that it would be 'costly and unfair' to force the change on small shops with lesser than 250 employees.

However, a survey conducted by the Association of Convenience Stores have found that around 8000 corner shops, newsagents and village stores across England are planning to implement the change.

The bag charge will be executed from October 5, matching Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The money raised will go to charity. The extra cost was introduced in Wales in 2011. Figures from Scotland have proved it to be highly effective as single use carrier bag usage has fallen by more than 80 per cent in the region. All the same, a spokesperson from ACS has expressed displeasure saying, “If the

government was fully committed to reducing carrier bags it would have introduced a universal scheme.

We have lobbied hard on behalf of small retailers that we want to be included. It is frustrating that the government has not listened to us.”

The Department responded by saying, “We want to avoid imposing burdens on startup and growing businesses- but where possible we encourage small businesses to take voluntary action.”

Meanwhile, many speculate whether supermarkets will try to dodge the charge by replacing plastic with paper bags. The official document says paper bags will not carry a charge. It reads, “There is currently no exemption for biodegradability of light weight plastics. We also need to be sure that biodegradable bags could not be identified and separated during the waste management and recycling process.”

Many have also raised questions on the consequences that will fall on their online shop.

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ets” to provoke terrorism.

He also cautioned that there was no guarantee that they could find and stop everything. “It is in nobody’s interests that terrorists should be able to plot and communicate out of the reach of any authorities ... I think there is a real question about whether companies holding information of that sort should ... come forward to the authorities and share and report it.” Anderson had also warned of the the jihadists digital reach based overseas in his annual report on anti-terrorism laws. “UK-based extremists are able to talk directly to [Islamic State] fighters and their wives in web forums and on social media. The key risk is that this propaganda is able to inspire individuals to undertake attacks without ever travelling to Syria or Iraq.” He had also mentioned the restrictions on the freedom of speech to be imposed by the new counter-extremism bill would risk “provoking a backlash in affected communities, hardening perceptions of an illiberal or Islamophobic approach, alienating those whose integration into British society is already fragile and playing into the hands of those who, by peddling a grievance agenda, seek to drive people further towards extremism and terrorism.”

Dalai Lama blesses course in UK His Holiness The Dalai Lama has blesses a new course of evening classes taken across Britain, promising to make participants happier and the world a better place. Designed by the Action for Happiness, the eight week course claims to be scientifically proved to increase life satisfaction, mental wellbeing, compassion and social trust. The classes, called Entitled Exploring What Matters, will be free.

Hundreds of people have already volunteered to host the course across the country.

Launching the course on World Peace Day, the Dalai Lama said he was delighted to see the “work being done to create a happier and more caring society.” He said, “I wholeheartedly support the Exploring What Matters course and hope that many thousands of people will benefit from it and be inspired to take their own action to help create a happier world.”

During the course, groups explore a series of questions including “What really matters in life?”

A Beautiful New Multi-Purpose London Events Venue www.asian-voice.com

Rani Singh

Being asked to review a new London building was something I thought I might be able to do from my home office, since it involved a drive around the North Circular Road. But I was wrong, as photos and a written description do not do justice to the brand new Meridian Grand multipurpose complex situated right by the North Circular Road. The drive round that took 50 minutes from my home opened up a delightful multisensory experience. It showed me how smart technology, thoughtful design and clever architecture can come together to create a very special environment for a very special day or event.

My host was the Meridian Grand Managing Director, Nikkita Mulchandani, daughter of Phatu Mulchandani.

Only 27 years old, she is a Warwick University graduate who worked with her father after taking up in an ad agency after university.

Mr Mulchandani, who runs a Cash and Carry, found that many of his catering customers were telling him that there were no wedding and events venues around North London of a sufficiently high standard to meet the needs of society.

So an idea was born and the family invested a multi-million pound sum into a creating luxurious venue. . Nikkita was put in charge, the place was gutted and a two-year refurbishment took place.

The result is a spectacular structure that is Dr Who-like in its amazing versatility and magical, app-controlled technological ability to transform inside.

The outside of the Meridian Grand is smart and modern, and the circular motif is visible not just outside on a fixed canopy but also inside, a central feature of the grand lobby, and even on the staircase railings.

On the night I visited, a big wedding was in progress so I was able to observe how the venue can be configured for such an occasion.

As Nikkita showed me round, she told me what was different about the Meridian Grand.

“A lot of people ask me what makes Meridian Grand unique; for me, it is the luxuriousness of the venue combined with the versatility of the ballrooms and suites,” she replied without hesitation. “The luxuriousness is born out of the attention to detail – from the stunning marble entrance hall with a four metre long pure Swarovski crystal chandelier hanging down in the centre, to the sumptuous crystal embel-

lished leather panelled cupboards in the Bridal Suites. Our aim was to bring a taste of the West End to North London – with all the 5 star glamour and elegance of the WC1 postcode – combined with the ease of access directly off the North Circular with a large car park for up to 300 cars. The venue is flexible to accommodate varying sizes of party by using the ballrooms individually or combined. There are two main ballrooms, the Grand Ballroom, that can seat up to 650 guests with a dance floor, and the Meridian Ballroom, that can seat up to 350 guests with a dance floor. The two ballrooms are located on the ground floor and are separated by a moveable wall, which, when open, can seat up to 1,200 guests.

There are two further suites, the Infinity and Eternity Suites, which are ideal for intimate Civil Registries or pre-Reception drinks and canapes.”

Nikkita told me that “Space” and “time” are themes she chose that echo throughout the building, inspiring the names of the Infinity & Eternity Suites.

She then explained the many different benefits the venue had to offer.

“There are so many benefits.

My favourite thing about the venue is the high ceilings with the stunning chandeliers. The fact that the Ballrooms and Suites are all pillarless is a massive advantage because it means that there are no ‘bad seats’ – everyone feels included and part of the function.

The venue also benefits from state of the art facilities such as bespoke colour changing mood lights. These are controlled via an iPad app. There is the facility to plug in video cameras to one of several ‘live view’ sockets throughout the venue – enabling guests to watch the event on the HD projection screens. There are integrated flat screen TVs in the entrance area that can be customised with pictures of the bride and groom from their engagement or pre-shoot. Or alternatively, save printing costs by showing the table plan for the event on these TV screens. You can play background music through PA speakers that can save DJ costs.

There are rigging points in the ceiling from which high-end production can be levered off. There are cloakrooms and washrooms that are manned throughout functions; and a stunning powder room for guests within the ladies washrooms – to name but a few features.

The different spaces within the venue means that it lends

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

itself very well to holding any event. For example, for a Gujarati wedding for 600 guests followed by a reception for 400 guests, the couple may choose to have their mandap ceremony in the Grand Ballroom, after which they can serve food separately in the Meridian Ballroom. If guests have come from afar and are not able to leave the venue in between the wedding ceremony and reception, the venue can offer Afternoon Tea in the Eternity Suite. Should the couple wish to have its Civil Registry on the same day in between the Wedding Ceremony and Reception, it could then use the Infinity Suite. For the comfort of the bride and groom, there are two luxurious VIP suites where they can change in between the functions.

ject to the venue’s approval of their chosen caterer.

The venue is conveniently located just off the North Circular road within easy access of East and North West London. There is a large, free of charge car park for up to 300 cars within the grounds of the venue.”

Meridian Grand is a concept

There are even facilities to shower, and people can keep their belongings in a safe. There are tea and coffee making facilities. The venue also benefits from being a five minute walk / two minute drive away from a brand new Premier Inn, making it easy for guests who wish to stay the night.”

One of the remarkable aspects is flexibility, says Nikkita.

“The venue is flexible in allowing a variety of external suppliers.

We also have the experience to help couples plan their special day by recommending suppliers for the evening. Guests are free to either use the venue’s own inhouse catering, where they have the benefit of linen, crockery and cutlery being included within the catering package, and access to a completely separate vegetarian kitchen. Alternatively, for a modest fee, they can hire the kitchen and bring their own caterers sub-

design, and Nikkita created it with her design team as she travelled the world with her family, picking up ideas.

“Our family has been established in the wholesale sector for 27 years. We came up with the idea to open a venue when my father found many of his catering customers were struggling to find a really luxurious and large venue outside central London. There were no luxurious venues that matched the standard of the West End with the convenience of the North London location. Thus we set about creating something modern, luxurious and unique – inspired by our trips to Dubai, Europe and Singapore. We invested over two years and an eight figure sum (in pounds) into the Meridian Grand. We interviewed wedding planners, caterers, hair and makeup artists, and photographers – virtually every-

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one in the industry we could find – and we hired a team of professional consultants including an independent architect and interior design team, structural and mechanical engineers, commercial kitchen consultants and even a landscape architect.

Everything had to be perfect.

All the features of the venue were designed bespoke and to purpose – one example being the ‘Romeo and Juliet Balcony’ where the bride and groom can greet their guests with a regal wave from above the ballroom.

Other bespoke features include the customised emblem featuring the venue’s iconic ‘flowering compass’ in the marble entrance foyer and the bespoke wrought iron balustrading – as well as the beautiful silver, cream and gold bespoke carpet.

As a family, we were passionate about building a venue that would work for other families – a beautiful canvas for couples to paint their dream wedding onto.

It is an incredibly demanding industry to be in –but the rewards when a family comes to you at the end of a night with a smile on its face and a big ‘thank you for making this the best night of my life’ make it worth it more than anything else in the world.”

Walking round, I saw what Nikkita said was true- she changed the room colour to my own favourite one and told me that the venue can cater for any type of event from a wedding, to a conference, fundraiser, fashion show, concert, exhibition, to seasonal parties such as Christmas and Diwali parties…. the possibilities are endless! And as if to prove it all, she also showed me lovely photos of her own recent wedding there- which looked like a Hollywood/Bollywood magical dream come true.

Meridian Grand

Advent Way, London N18 3AF Tel: 020 3700 2727 www.meridiangrand.co.uk instagram: @meridian-grand Facebook: /meridiangrand

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PAAS agitation in Gujarat and Reservation policy: A Perspective As I See It

A thought provoking article or view from a member of the ST, who reached a very high position in banking in India.

It is important that different views need to be expressed to ensure that a more sensible policy is evolved.

In the state of UP, a demand is on the rise to change the bases of reservation policy, from SC, ST and OBC to Economic critera.

Mohan Bhagwat, the supremo of the RSS also has expressed views that are somewhat on the same line. Once again I am delighted that Mr Vasava has put pen on the paper.

Let the debate begin.

- CB The ongoing agitation in Gujarat needs to be looked at in its proper perspective.

At the outset let me begin by saying what has led to this agitation. The Patel and other high castes complain that they do not get jobs in govt and that younger generation do not get admission to educational institutions presumably due to reservation of various categories. Before I deal with reservation policy, let me describe the root causes of unemployment.

There are basically four main reasons why unemployment rate is high among Gujarati youth.

Inability of Gujarati youth to crack competitive exams Lack of proficiency in English Lack of soft skills especially communi cations skills and Lack of mobility There are hardly any coaching classes in Gujarat unlike other states to prepare candidates for competitive exams be it banks, railways or civil service which in fact are largest employers in India. As a result even for group C posts i.e. clerical posts, candidates in these jobs are not selected from Gujarat. I have seen in the last 10-15 years in Gujarat, almost 80% of clerical staff and almost 95 % of officers staff in banks hail from other states .Same is the case with railways workforce in Gujarat. Gujaratis were not very much interested in jobs in the past because mostly they were running small businesses. Now most of the small scale industries are closed due to several factors such as high taxes, high electricity charges and influx of cheap Chinese goods in Indian market, quite apart there is a slump in the diamond business. Even if Patels are accorded OBC status, it is not going to be of much help as there are very few govt jobs in Gujarat.

Reservation policy: What was the rationale for providing reservation for SCs and STs in the first place? As the history states only the Hindu and Sikh religion follow the caste or Varna system.

The man made hierarchical system wherein the Brahmin or priestly caste represent society’s head, the Kshatriya as warrior, the Vaishya’s the traders and landowners and at the lowest were the Sudras caste –the servants of the other three-are the feet. From time immemorial the sudras have been discriminated against, harassed, tortured and subjected to atrocities. The sudras were not allowed to touch the member of upper caste, not allowed to draw the water from the well meant for upper caste and not allowed to study even.

The communities which fall under Sudras now classified as Scheduled Castes under the Constitution of India are still subjected to the similar treatment although may be on a reduced scale but still exists. Go to any rural parts of India and one would will find the

· ·· ·

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

instances of atrocities. Very recently in the state of Uttar Pradesh a Dalit groom was not allowed to ride the horse and wear the headgear for bridegroom. He was made to wear helmet instead. Can you believe this happening in 21 century India? This is not an isolated instance of atrocities on Dalits .Many Dalit staff of govt or bank when posted in rural or semi urban areas are refused accommodation simply because they belong to Dalit community. There are thousands of such instances and I can vouch for this.

Before independence, reservation of some sort existed for oppressed classes and it was only after independence that various Dalit communities were listed in a Constitution Scheduled hence known as scheduled castes.

The case of tribals is different. They are inhabitants of forest and hilly areas who shun the culture alien to them and do not mix with others. Although they are not subjected to untouchability but atrocities continued to be heaped on them.

There are three kinds of reservation viz 1. Reservation in employment 2.

Reservation in educational institutions and 3. Reservation in legislatures.

However I would restrict myself to first two types of reservations. The Article 16 states that no citizen shall be discriminated against on the basis of caste, creed or religion. However under same Article exception has been made under 16(4) that govt will be free to make special provisions for SC and STs. The Article 335 stipulates that claims of backward classes will be taken into account which is consistence with ensuring efficiency of administration. Although the reservation policy as enshrined in constitution is in existence since 1950 it was mainly on paper as there were hardly any SC/ST candidates in govt or bank jobs.

It was only after the 1970s that gradually the intake of SCs/STs started. Till 1970s most of, say 95% of the govt jobs and 99% of higher jobs and elite professions, were occupied by general category candidates and because of these reasons naturally there were no anti-reservation agitations. Once the education among SC/ST spread and filling up of revered category started, around the same time in the early 1980 the anti- reservation agitation started, first against SC/ST reservation and then OBCs making demands. It was during VP Singh’s tenure Mandal commission report was dusted off and the reservation for OBCs implemented.

This means that fruits of reservation had started bearing and one could find SC/ST candidates even in higher positions due to availability of candidates in feeder cadre.

The question is whether the reservation should continue the answer is categorical yes. But in what form and up to what time needs to be debated dispassionately. India is a democracy. The fruits of development have to reach all. And Govt has to ensure social justice for all. It cannot allow few communities to dominate jobs or admission seats and that is where reservation comes into play to provide fair representation to all sections of society. I can give one example of a Gujarat village where from a single community there are 38 police sub inspectors.

Do you think only single village produced meritorious so many police inspectors?

It is here to prevent this sort of anomaly the govt affirmative action comes into play. And that is what the constitution provides for.-to ensure development of everybody irrespective of the caste, creed or religion, of course consistence with the

merit. The competition in India for jobs and admission to educational institutions is so intense that large number of candidates chase those few jobs and admissions seats. The question is how to ensure merit at the same of taking care of reservations.

Let me define merit. For every jobs or admission whether private sector and govt minimum standard is prescribed. For example let us say 50% .This is the standard at which the authority feels that candidate would be able to do the job. But in view of the fact that large of number of candidates chasing few jobs or seats, one has to select naturally the top candidates as per merit but it does not mean that candidates below the cut-off point of general category candidates are not fit to do the jobs.

There used to be time when the gap between general candidates and reserved says candidates used to be large. But not any longer. If the cut off for general category is say 84 % for admission to medicine for SC might be 80%, for OBC it might be 82%. I agree for ST the gap could be little larger but as the educational standards improve this gap would also be narrowing.

Moreover there is so much competition even among SC/ST or OBC that only best among that category are selected. The gap was more about 20 years ago not anymore. Therefore it is a myth general candidates are selected say at 90% and SC/ST at 50%. Let the authorities publish data for the cut off point for each category of reservations whether for jobs or admission and let people judge themselves. There are many meritorious SC/ST candidates doing well in various fields but still they are being looked down. That attitude has to change. Given the opportunity reserved candidates can match the general standard.

What now?

However rising expectations of young generations needs to be taken into account. It is in this background that the reservation policy needs to have a relook. To begin with -to exclude the creamy layer from the benefit of reservation for each category of reservation. Let the children of SC/ST OBC directly recruited IAS,IFS,IPS, IRS, officers as also those holding constitutional positions like high court judges, supreme court judges, political positions like chief ministers, Governors, cabinet ministers at the centre should be excluded. Also those communities who are now adequately represented should also be excluded otherwise only few communities from among the reserved will dominate at the cost other less privileged and that anomaly needs to be removed as it is observed that some communities within the reserved categories dominate at the cost of other lesser privileged communi-

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ties. For example the ‘Meena’ community of Rajasthan who fall under ST category I feel are adequately represented in jobs etc. and therefore it should be excluded from ST list. At the most it can be classified under OBCs. There might be some communities within SC or OBC which may need to be excluded.

Moreover this changes do not require constitutional amendment. This way it can be ensured that reservation benefit reaches to the lowest level and time should come when reservation policy should end.

Whether the representation of reserved category has reached a particular stage should be borne out by the govt data so that the reservation can be done away with. If the SC/ST has been subjected to centuries of discrimination against, let the govt decide end date once and for all say up to 26 Jan 2050 and then reservation for all should end. Thereafter only financial assistance and free lodging/boarding should be given to backward classes to pursue the education.

In the meantime what needs to be done immediately is that reservation for economically backward classes is introduced subject of course within the 50% celling stipulated by the supreme court of India to take care of the poor from the upper caste.

The issue of reservation needs to be debated dispassionately sans politics of vote bank if only to create an egalitarian and just society if India were to become a developed in next couple of decades. It can be ignored only at the cost its peril.

- Hasmukh Vasava Hasmukh Vasava (56) a tribal has worked for eight years both in Gujarat government and a state govt undertaking before moving on to a premier public sector bank where he worked for over 25 years as a senior HR manager at various places within India besides stint in UK. While working at the bank he attended several meetings with parliamentary committees on SCs/STs and National Commission on SC/ST where he helped prepare the response of the bank to the parliamentary committees questionnaires and action taken report.

Mr Vasava is also credited with drafting of a Brochure on reservation for SCs/STs which is a guide book for implementation of reservation policy in public sector financial institutions including RBI. He had conducted several country wide seminars for various institutions to educate senior functionaries on implementation of reservation policy. He is also associated with tribal voluntary associations engaged in upliftment of tribal of Gujarat. Presently he lives with family in London.

Lord Loomba: Role of widows and children in sustainable development In a House of Lords debate regarding the forthcoming summit to adopt the sustainable development goals, Lord Loomba CBE, pictured, said that the UN should include widows and their children in the indicators which follow the adoption of the sustainable development goals.

The debate takes place at the UN General Assembly from 25th September to 27th September, 2015 and have 17 goals with 169 targets covering five areas to act as a springboard from the MDGs. Lord Loomba highlighted that if these goals are to be achieved, the UN must pay attention to a group of

over one billion people comprising of 259 million widows, 584 their children and many more the family depends, who suffer in silence. Widows are invisible, forgotten sufferers in the developing countries.

They are burden on society whereas if they are given education and empowered they will become contributors to their families, communities and nations.

He is pleased that the main purpose of these goals is ‘do not leave anyone behind’. This can only happen if all nations will take responsibility of reducing the gap between poor and rich; gap between rural areas and urban; gap between educated and uneducated; gap between skilled and unskilled; and improve gender inequality and increase women and girls security.

Lord Loomba is delighted that he has been invited to attend a High Level Plenary Session at the United Nations General Assembly, which will be chaired by His Excellency Ban Ki Moon, UN General Secretary.

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Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

The Newsnight Reporter Finding A Fresh Angle Secunder Kermani is a reporter for BBC Newsnight. He previously worked for BBC London TV News, and the Islam Channel amongst others.

He has reported on issues around terrorism, crime and immigration and studied History and Spanish at the University of Manchester.

The Asian Voice caught up with the young reporter just after he got back from a reporting trip to Sweden.

First off, how did he decide to become a journalist?

“I actually decided I wanted to go into journalism pretty late on,” he explained. “I had finished an undergraduate degree in History and Spanish – and realised I had no idea what to do next. I ended up enrolling in a Masters course for TV Journalism at Goldsmiths around a week before it started as it was always something I had a vague interest in –

but even then I wasn’t really sure I wanted to become a reporter until halfway through the course – when I began to more fully appreciate the importance of exploring different perspectives in the media and how I could potentially contribute to that.”

Secunder is fast establishing a name for himself in the elite arena of Newsnight - a programme watched by movers, shak-

ers, and many others. Secunder says it is a great place to be.

“Newsnight is a great place to work – you’re surrounded by so many people with real expertise in their fields, and you have the space and time to try and explore issues in more depth and with nuanced analysis. One of the challenges I always find is thinking how to try and add something fresh and

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015 different to a news story that may have been reported on all day. I have to think what can I tell the audience that they perhaps might not have heard up until now? That’s never easy – but it’s important to always bear in mind.

I’ve only been a fulltime reporter at Newsnight for around six months now, so at the moment I’m just trying to learn more and be the best I can in my current position.

In the future I would like to do more foreign reporting perhaps, but right now I’m just concentrating on making the Secunder most of the Kermani great opportunities I’ve been given.”

So does Secunder’s media ability have any antecedents? As it turns out...

“My father makes documentaries and it sounds cheesy but I’d have to say he’s probably my hero.

You might remember the Channel 4 series “Karachi Kops” in the 90s set in a Pakistani police station – that was one of his programmes and it taught me

er story. In Hamburg staa lot about how to develop tion I met some Swedish narratives, and how just activists who were helping being an observer in refugees get from unusual situations can be Germany to Sweden – really enlightening for they let me follow them viewers. I also saw firston the journey and that hand growing up how became our story.” The much drive and energy he story has just been broadhad to have to get where cast on the BBC News he is now.”

Channel and the Victoria Making film reports Derbyshire Show on BBC for Newsnight must be 2. many journalists’ dream.

Another recent story The films tend to be Secunder did was about a thoughtful and nicely British Christian charity shot. called the “Street Angels” “The last story I did who help drunk tourists was exploring what tradiin the holiday resort of tional Labour voters who Magaluf. “There had been had now decided to vote some reporting on for UKIP thought of how authorities Jeremy Corbyn. It “Right now in Magaluf was one of my were planning editor’s ideas – I’m just on cleaning and together concentrating on up its rather we decided making the most debauched where I image.

I should film – of the great thought and picked opportunities I’ve t h a t Hartlepool. I been given.” through the set up a bit of Secunder Street Angels filming the day we could get before and then Kermani, an insight into just headed up Newsnight whether the place and basically was actually changwalked around the ing – and I was interested town talking to people! in the apparent juxtaposiBefore that I was sent tion between drunken to Hamburg as Denmark revelry and Christian valhad closed the border ues!” with Germany to prevent Look out for refugees coming in.

Secunder’s Newsnight However, when I got films in coming years as there the border had rehe is sure to accumulate opened. Of course I didn’t many more interesting want the trip go to waste stories for his portfolio. and so tried to find anoth-

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

River of Blood

Upendra Kapadia is very ‘naïve’ to criticise Dineshbhai’s article of the 29th August. Those who were in East Africa in 1965 did not know what was happening in Britain concerning mass immigration. Before 1965 there was an open door policy where Commonwealth citizens were allowed to come to Britain. There was no visa system. Thousands of immigrants came from Pakistan, Punjab and Bangladesh and even Africans started coming to Britain. Most of them were unskilled and did not speak English. Majority of them being Muslims they tried to change the corporate culture of the British society.

I came to Britain as a junior research fellow to Leeds University in 1965 and I was shocked to see how they lived in Bradford in run down areas. I never heard of Halal meat in India. Unlike Hindus they formed their own community with mosque, halal meat shops and lived very close to each other and formed their own community.

I would like to know whether Mr. Kapadia has shared a house or flat with Muslims. By attending multicultural meeting and eating somasas you cannot say we know them. I had the opportunity to share university residence with Muslim students and had problems facing me in the common kitchen. They used to take the grill and keep it in their room since they did not want others to use it inorder to prevent contamination with non Halal meat.

How about Muslim countries and they should accommodate them in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and United Arabic League. I would like to ask Mr. Kapadia and his friends whether you are willing to take Syrian Muslims.

There are looking for 6000 families to accommodate them. Hindus and Jains will say we are vegetarians and we will not allow them to cook meat and they may not fit in our society which is true. Charity starts at home.

Arun Vaidyanathan By email

Syrian refugees, two contrasting views

I read with interest Upendra and Ila Kapadia’s contrasting views in last week’s AV. While we agree that Europe should unite in resolving this unparalleled refugee crisis since WW2, emotional scenes, often stage-managed have created so much sympathy without trying to understand hidden agenda, real issues at stake.

While unrest, civil-war in Syria is financed by superrich Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, to replace Shia with Sunni regime, they are unwilling to take single refugee family. Instead they finance them to move to Europe for obvious reasons.

Most refugees seem to be well fed, well dressed and many with iPhone, some even hire taxis to take them to Austrian/German border. Very few fall in real refugee category and according to national papers, only one in five is Syrian, rest are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Bangladesh.

Germany has encouraged this mad rush by announcing that it is ready to take every one who make to Germany, encouraging some arrogant refugees to believe that Germany needs them more than they need Germany!

PM Cameron is absolutely right to demand that Europe should only take refugees direct from Camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, thus vetting them to stop ISIS gaining entry to Europe through back-door, as well as avoiding tragedies at sea. While every Islamic nation maintains their cultural, religious identity, if East European countries would like to maintain theirs, they are branded as monsters, uncivilized, uncaring.

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Renaming Aurangzeb Road

It is fitting tribute to Shri APJ Abdul Kalam who passed away recently; to rename infamous Aurangzeb Road to famous APJ Kalam Road. Kalam was secular, decent and honest to a fault person, true Indian at heart and in action. His name replacing that of brutal draconian fanatic dictator who destroyed good relations between Hindus and Muslims built up by one of his predecessors Emperor Akbar, one of few cultured and benevolent Moghul ruler, as most ruled India with iron feast only possible with the cooperation of fiduciary conniving Rajput kings who hated their own kith and kin like illustrous Maharana Pratap more than brutal impenitent Moghuls.

A l t h o u g h Aurangzeb destroyed many famous Hindu temples, like Kashi Visvanathan and Grand Temple in front of Maharana’s Mansion at Udaipur, he committed worse atrocities against his own family, butchering his elder brother and all male members of his immediate family, imprisoning his cultured, gentle father Shah Jahan who rotted away in Fort Prison until his death.

Some patriotic Sikhs would have liked to rename it “Guru Teg Bahadur Road, (GTBR) fitting tribute to great patriot, as he was beheaded by Aurangzeb after long and torturous impressment for refusing to convert and paid with his life. In India communal politics overrides commonsense. Renaming it GTBR would have played in the hands of mischief making Congress. Popularity of APJ is so enormous that even Congress could not dare to oppose such honour to APJ. Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Global - Menacing Uncertainty

I fully concur with everything said in the page 3 editorial of the 12th Sept. G Bush avenged for his dad, G Bush senior's failure to oust Saddam Husain and Tony Blair to show his boldness by misleading the British Parliament and people about the WMD dossier! Now Blair despite being a Middle East Peace Envoy advised PM Cameron and Obama to bomb Syria to overthrow President Assad under the pretext of democracy because a few hundred thousand Syrians rebels revolted against him.

Britain without colonies now pursues a divide and destroy policy starting with Iraq, Libya, Syria, Egypt etc. In the case of Ukraine UK, EU and USA don't support the rebels for democracy as they are Pro-Russians. In Iraq they support Shia and in Yemen they help Sunni Muslims as Saudi Arabia buys war planes and arsenal worth billions! They created the rise of IS who destroy, kill and rape indiscriminately! Soviet Union came to India’s rescue with destroyers and a nuclear submarine to chase them out of the Bay of Bengal from 18th Dec. to 7th Jan. 1972 and proved to be India's real friends! A friend in need is a friend indeed!

Upendra Kapadia By email

Pulse of the People

It’s almost 15 months since the Narendra Modi led government has taken charge of the country, winning the general elections on the plank of development and its promise to bring in prosperity for the common man. But our Prime Minister has not kept his promise. False promises, weren’t they? During his tenure, several churches across the country have been attacked. A feeling of insecurity has crept into the hearts of minorities, with the Prime Minister’s assurances of action and protection sounding hollow. And oh, where is our dear Prime Minister? Is he in town or is he on some other continent? One is tempted to ask, do we have an NRI Prime Minister visiting his home country once in a while? Foreign policy is important. But should the country be ignored? The Prime Minister needs to be present here in the country to feel the pulse of the people. In the past 15 months, Narendra Modi has visited almost 23 countries. It’s time to take stock of the situation now, Prime Minister. I hope you are reading this.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Mass Muslim migration

The recent wave of migration into Europe is quite unprecedented in human history. The vast majority of migrants are Muslims. It is a Mass Muslim Migration into Europe. Are all of them refugees? The registration record of these people done so far has shown 4 out of every 5 people are economic migrants seeking better life in Europe. Opinion may vary but there are two main causes of this problem: First, the socio-political instability caused in the Middle East by western invasion of Iraq and second Mrs Angela Markel’s declaration of taking 800,000 migrants into Germany. The latter has given rise to incentive and encouragement for migration and people’s smugglers and traffickers making a huge buck in the process. The Muslims’ excuse for migration is to escape from cruelty and torture they would be subjected to if they were in their home countries. But they do not ask why their fellow Muslims brothers are so cruel and brutal and why they are fighting one another causing socio-political instability within their own society? The problem with people being firm believers is rejection of introspection. What could be possible consequences of such a huge migration? Some European political leaders by their generosity are storing problems for their future generations. Muslim psychology is based on the teaching of the Koran and that does not change. Once settled they will demand introduction of Shariah into Europe, for they can only follow Allah’s law, Shariah and nothing else. There are some Europeans who fear of Islamising of Europe.

They are not far from the truth.

Jatindra Saha By email

Dengue fever

During the Dengue epidemic in Delhi I here in pen down my views for the authorities in Delhi to understand and do the needful at the earliest before the virus goes out of control. These days Delhi is engulfed by the Dengue the deadly of the deadliest viruses of the century. Men, women and children are dying of it every day. Most of the hospital beds are full of patients and the owners of the private nursing homes are filling their coffers.

But no one cares to go deep into the cause of the spread of the disease. If the corporation of Delhi looks around the walls of Delhi it will surly find the main cause of the breeding of the deadly Mosquitos which are responsible to spread Dengue virus in and around Delhi. I, while travelling by train from Delhi to Lucknow saw many places where rain water accumulated like a pond to make these as a breeding places for the Mosquitos.

If the authorities do want to control the virus from further spreading they have to clean the ponds at a war footing. If it is not done soon, Delhi may face more deaths in the coming months. I request the authorities to start cleaning the infested areas at the earliest.

Ahsan Ali London Continued on page 11

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Prime Minister announces mandatory Extremism Taskforce in Universities and Colleges For the first time, universities and colleges in the UK will be legally required to put in place specific policies to stop extremists radicalising students on campuses, tackle gender segregation at events and support students at risk of radicalisation, as part of the government’s plans to counter extremism.

The updated Prevent duty guidance, scheduled to come into force at all UK higher and further education institutions by 21 September, requires establishments to ensure they have proper risk assessment processes for speakers and ensure those espousing extremist views do not go unchallenged.

The guidance also sets out that institutions must ensure that they have appropriate IT policies, staff training and student welfare programmes in place to recognise and

respond to the signs of radicalisation. This is all part of the government’s one nation strategy to confront and ultimately defeat the threat of extremism and terrorism, top of the agenda today at the first Extremism Taskforce meeting of this Parliament chaired by the Prime Minister.

Last year at least 70 events featuring hate speakers were held on campuses, according to the government’s new Extremism Analysis Unit, established to support all government departments and the wider public sector to understand extremism so they can deal with extremists appropriately.

The latest police statistics show that young people continue to make up a disproportionately high number of those arrested for terrorist-related offences and of those travelling to

COUNCIL NEWS

Jo Johnson with David Cameron

join terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I said in July that tackling extremism will be the struggle of our generation, one which we will defeat if we work together. All public institutions have a role to play in rooting out and challenging extremism. It is not about oppressing free speech or stifling academic

Reading East MP criticises council over restaurant parking row Reading East MP has gone into battle with the council for a local restaurateur with parking problems.

Rob Wilson has written to Reading Borough Council on behalf of restaurant proprietor Jamshed Miah to ask council to help look for a solution to the parking problems being encountered by Barts Grill & Restaurant. But the council says it has offered to talk to Mr Miah and he has failed to take up the offer.

Under its previous ownership, the East Reading steak-house - at the corner of Wokingham Road and St Bartholomew’s Road – directed its customers to free parking inside Palmer Park. In 2011, Jamshed Miah - who has for 30 years run an award-winning chain of Indian

Reading East MP Rob Wilson with restaurateur Jamshed Miah

restaurants in Reading – bought the restaurant which traded as Colley’s Supper Rooms.

As major refurbishment work was nearing completion, he discovered that RBC had decided to modify the small car park opposite the premises, limiting the spaces to use by blue badge holders only and blocking off the driveway lined by parking spaces leading from the

READERS’VOICE CONTINUED

parking area to the lodge in Palmer Park.

Realising the lack of parking could prove detrimental his business, Mr Miah contacted RBC seeking a solution that would enable the car park alongside the children’s playground in Palmer Park to be re-opened to customers during the evening.

This suggestion was turned down by the council.

Current shortage of GPs

Kumudini Valambia is right about current shortage of GPs. Measures to meet such contingency are urgently needed. In India shortage was met with creation of two and a half years course for laymen to practice as doctors. They were given a degree of Licenciate of College of Physicians and Surgeons-L.C.P.S. They practiced very well in areas of shortage of qualified doctors.

Many compounders practiced as GPs in remote rural areas. This practice may still be prevalent. Many Indians also rely on practitioners of alternative-Ayurvedic- medicine. I have seen some GPs extracting teeth. In absence of fully qualified dentists, technicians prepared full and partial dentures.

Therefore such scheme may be useful for UK, if backed with stringent regulations and with readily available pool of regular GPs and consultants. Paramedics may be allowed in certain areas of shortage or overload of emergency calls only.

Many basic procedures are performed by nurses to reduce load on GPs. eg BP, weight, asking urine/ blood samples, referring to general hospital for urine and blood tests, testing for sugar level in urine, testing for sensation in soles of diabetics, testing patients’ eyesight from reading an optical-chart before seeing eye-specialist.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

freedom, it is about making sure that radical views and ideas are not given the oxygen they need to flourish.

Schools, universities and colleges, more than anywhere else, have a duty to protect impressionable young minds and ensure that our young people are given every opportunity to reach their potential. That is what our one nation government is focused on delivering.”

As part of this work, the Universities Minister Jo Johnson has written to the National Union of Students to remind them of their responsibilities in preventing radicalisation and challenging speakers.

In the letter he says:

“Universities represent an important arena for challenging extremist views. It is important there can be active challenge and debate on issues relating to counter terrorism and provisions for academic freedom are part of the Prevent guidance for universities and colleges. It is my firm view that we all have a role to play in challenging extremist ideologies and protecting students on campus.

Ultimately, the Prevent strategy is about protecting people from radicalisation.

It is therefore disappointing to see overt opposition to the Prevent programme… The legal duty that will be placed on universities and colleges highlights the importance that the government places on this.”

The Business Secretary has also instructed the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), as the lead regulator for higher education in England, to monitor universities’ implementation and compliance with the duty. Continued failure to comply could ultimately result in a court order.

Speaking about the Prime Minister's speech,

Fiyaz Mughal OBE, the Director of Faith Matters stated: "We value the Prime Minister's commitment to tackling extremism. He is passionate about this area and he is truly committed to challenging it in all of its guises, including far right extremism. We believe that many universities are placing tackling extremism in the heart of their working practices, though they also need to be mindful that free speech is not curtailed, including when comments may be challenging. We are not talking about stopping the rights of those individuals to be on campus. Those who actively promote one set of people above others, who believe that the rights of others shouod be curtailed and those who believe that one set of world views must be imposed at the expense of others are the kind of people that universities should not be providing a platform to. These are not challenging views, these are dangerous views that take away the rights of others and it is these people who should not have access to young minds on campus."

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MEDIAWATCH

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Gujarat is the best place to do business with in India: that is the message of the World Bank, its first ever ranking exercise among Indian States. Going down the line, Andhra Pradesh came second, with 70.12 percentage of economic reforms completed, a whisker behind Gujarat’s 71.14. In third, fourth and fifth place were Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh respectively. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which rank first and second as investment destinations, were placed 8th and 12th respectively in the implementation category.” The rankings reflect ease of doing business by the small and medium enterprises,” said the World Bank Country Director Oono Ruhl.

The Bank listed the following items in making its evaluation: allotment of land and obtaining construction permits, complying with environmental procedures, complying with labour regulations, obtaining infrastructurerelated utilities, registering and complying with tax procedures, carrying out inspections and enforcing contracts. A number of States excelled in particular areas. For example, Punjab leads in the speed of setting up business with its online single window clearance system; Karnataka came first in registering and complying with tax procedures, Jharkhand in carrying out inspections. The Modi government’s economic agenda prioritizes progress by the States, which must be in lockstep with Centre to make sustained growth a nationwide experience.

Purpose of report

One of the key purposes of the report is to give investors an overview of the business environment in each State, while also helping States identify areas where they need to improve their performance (Business Line, Mint, Hindu September 15)

Reforms can spur GDP to new high

India’s potential growth could rise to an annual 9 per cent over the next five years if the government were to undertake strong structural reforms, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs.

“In a faster growth scenario, the potential could rise to 9 per cent, driven by productivity, movement in Technology education and ease of doing business, labour reforms and progress in smart cities construction, where momentum is already in evidence. India has added over 50 million internet users in the first six months of 2015. Goldman Sachs sees technology and digitalization as key drivers in India’s future growth (Business Line September 15)

Labour reforms on anvil

Undeterred by trade union opposition, the Modi government is preparing the ground for farreaching labour reforms in an effort to boost manufacturing and, potentially, create millions of jobs in the country. Should these reforms fructify, India will have the world’s largest workforce in the next 15 years. A team of civil servants led by Labour Secretary, Shankar Aggarwal,

made a presentation to the Prime Minister’s Office, following this up with a briefing for top officials at the Niti Ayog, including its Vice Chairman Arvind Panagriya, to chalk out a strategy.

Consolidation of labour laws and the industrial relations code were among the many issues discussed (Mint September 14)

IndiGo posts record profit

India’s largest domestic airline company, IndiGo, has posted record profit for the financial year ending March 31 2015. The Rs1,304 crore figure represents a four-fold growth over the previ-

including a popular eatery in the vicinity. The owner of the warehouse is in hiding. The tragedy highlights a common hazard: municipal rules flouted, the lack of proper inspections of such sites by the authorities are a guarantee for disasters. Much of urban India is blighted by such negligence (Times of India September 13)

Extremist arrested

Several months after the assassination of social activist Govind Pansare, the Special Investigation Team has arrested Samir Vishnu Gaekwad, a cadre of the Sanatan Sanstha, an extremist Hindu group, following close surveillance. Detectives hopes to glean information, if possible, through his interrogation, of the recent murder of Kannada scholar, teacher and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi, whose murder has been strongly condemned by the Shiv Sena, which has also ridiculed the Maharashtra government ban meat sales on days considered holy Jains and Hindus. The Sena is clearly maturing (Hindu September 17)

Reliance bets big on start-ups

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is investing in new start-ups in a big way.

GenNest Innovation Hub is RIL’s start-up accelerator programme in partnership with Microsoft Ventures, and has IndiGo Airline CEO Aditya Ghosh inducted its second batch of start-ups, which includes two Israeli comous financial year, as it benefits panies, with a view to bringing from the highest passenger traffic global exposure to India’s fledg– 33.8 per cent – in the country. ling start-up economic system.

IndiGo has registered a profit These are the first baby steps to a from the first year of its operafuture that could rival the Silicon tions and has never looked back Valley by 2023. (Business Line since – a remarkable achieveSeptember 17) ment in a debt laden industry.

Reasons listed

IndiGo President and CEO Aditya Ghosh said four factors contributed to the company’s current success – increased passenger traffic, its ability to capture a larger share of this market by increasing capacity, higher seat occupancy and lower fuel prices that offset the stronger dollar. IndiGo has 97 aircraft and offers 648 flights daily. Ghosh attributed the company’s success to the fact that it was founded by six airline people, has been , and is, operated by airline people.

They know the industry inside out (Mint September 14)

Jhabua blast kills over 100

A massive explosion at the weekend in Petlawad town in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh resulted in over 100 deaths. Explosives used for nearby mines were stored illegally in a warehouse. The detonation ripped apart a three-storey residential-cum commercial complex

India to buy Russian tanks

India and Russia are in talks for the acquisition of the latest Russian T-90MS battle tanks for the Indian Army, according to a report from the manufacturing company. “Negotiations are under way on the possibility of signing a new contract on with new conditions, to supply India with T-90MS,” said a representative of UVZ. The new tank is an improved version of the T-90S, which are already in service with the Indian Army. (((RIA Novosti September 11)

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and Krishna and turn the Krishna delta plain into rich irrigated farmland was inauguration last week by the Chief Minister. Water from the Godavri is being pumped into the Polavaram Right Main Canal, thence into the Krishna delta, the project expected to be completed by March 2018.

Thousands of villages along the route will get drinking water. In Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioning December, the Ken and INS Vajrakosh at Karwar naval base Betwa rivers in Madhya the second phase of Project Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Seabird, the brainchild of respectively will also be interAdmiral Dawson way back in linked. (Hindu, Times of India 1985.

September 17)

Aircraft carriers, submarines

Vizag-Chennai Corridor

The Indian Navy is to position its two aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, plus over 20 submarines in underground pens, and 47 warships at Karwar. The Naval Station will be home to the P-81 advanced surveillance aircraft. A helicopter base will also be included in the overall setup.

Apart from the Naval Air Station, INS Vajrakosh will be the biggest dump of missiles, ammunition and spares on the Western seaboard. The Karwar naval base was conceived with the goal of moving ships and submarines away from the congested environs of Mumbai (NDTV September 10)

The Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor has received a loan of Rs 5000 crore from the Asian Development Bank. The Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said: “This will become one of the most attractive corridors in the country, backed by two ports near Vizag and several other ports” (Business Line September 17

Exercise with Australia

The first bilateral naval exercise between Indian and Australia is under way in the Bay of Bengal, a landmark in defence cooperation between New Delhi and Canberra. Three Royal Australian ships -.a fleet tanker, Anzac class frigate and Collins class submarine joined the Indian Navy’s stealth frigate INS Shivalik, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay and fleet tanker INS Shakti participated in the weeklong AUSINDEX . In addition, the Australian Air Force P3C surveillance aircraft and Indian Navy’s P81 Maritime Aircraft Patrol are operating out of Chennai (Hindu September 14)

Giant step to water grid

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s visionary project to link the Rivers Godavri

Gujarat attracts Chinese firms

China’s Guandong province has worked out a plan for the participation of its enterprises in Gujarat’s special economic zones and industrial parks, said Governor Zhu Xiadan, who referred to the State as leading

commercial hub and an automobile manufacturing centre (Business Line September 17)

Saudi Arabian diplomat recalled

Saudi Arabia has recalled Majed Hassan Ashoor, a First Sectary at its New Delhi Embassy following charges of rape and torture against two Nepalese maids at his home (Times of India September 17).

INS Vajrakosh commissioned

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned INS Vajrakosh, a naval station near Karwar, Karnataka, last week.

Karwar is now the largest naval base east of Suez. Spread over 1000 acres, the naval base will accommodate the bulk of the Indian Navy’s ships and submarines on the western coast.

The Naval Station Vajrakosh is

Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn with supporters.

See comment page 3

UK

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Saleem Sheikh: Saraswati Sanman (Educational Awards) Representing community success AsianVoiceNews

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Senior Partner of GSC Solicitors

Reshma Trilochun

When one thinks or hears about the arrivals of the ethnic minorities in Britain in the 20th century, hardship, hard work and mostly success come to mind. This is exactly what comes to mind when we speak of Saleem Sheikh, a successful solicitor, specialising in international and offshore tax, arbitration and dispute resolution, who went on to be appointed as the Senior Partner at the firm where he had originally trained.

The firm was originally named Green David Conway & Co. when Saleem joined the practice in 1981, and became a Partner in 1985. After the retirement of one of the firm's founders, the practice became known as Green Sheikh & Co., which subsequently became GSC Solicitors LLP. Saleem was born in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to the UK in 1967, at the age of 8. He describes hating living in London initially and found it hard to adjust with the lifestyle amidst the name calling and blatant racism he had experienced while growing up. He recalls, “Those were the day of Enoch Powell...

There was a significant amount of discrimination.

I remember my father couldn't get what was called a white-collar job.

He could only get blue-collar jobs and he was a senior civil servant in East Africa in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. When we came here, I saw my father being discriminated against. It was the days of skinheads and 'Paki-bashing'. Lots of discrimination at school; I felt it, although I spoke English and I had grown up with Europeans in Africa. Nevertheless, it was a difficult time.”

Adjusting and migrating to another country was difficult for Saleem.

However, his parents were accustomed to this, as they had previously had to leave India for Pakistan during the partition period and then from Pakistan to East Africa.

Saleem graduated from the London School of Economics in 1980, undertook his professional degree from the College of Law, and qualified as a solicitor in 1983.

His first love was to become a pilot. However, due to the bereavement of his uncle, who was a pilot and had died in a plane crash, Saleem's father advised him against choosing this as a profession. He eventually chose his second love, which was law.

Saleem had influences within the family; there were family members who were in the law profession which ultimately drew to him as well. He said, “I had some lawyers in the family; historically, uncles. So, I had seen lawyers in the family. One of my uncles was an eminent businessman who would always say how important it was to have a lawyer as part of your team...”.

He continued, “Second thing is that I liked the concept of a courtroom. I used to watch a programme called, Perry Mason. I was quite good at public speaking, quite argumentative, some of my siblings would say. And I also liked people, I like dealing with people and I thought I was always the sort of guy who would like helping people out and I was reasonably good at it.”

Along with being a people's person, Saleem is fluent in several languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, Kiswahili, Kachhi, Hindi

Saleem Sheikh

and Gujarati. His language skills have helped him immensely in communicating with people from ethnic backgrounds.

A self-professed family man, he loves travelling, exploring art, music and cars, as well as spending time with his family in his spare time, among many things. Saleem's most cherished achievement is his three children, and also considers it to be a great achievement to be someone who is reliable and trusted.

Saleem has also been recognised in the CityWealth Leaders List as being a prominent figure advising on wealth management. He has also been associated with many charities, such as Children in Need and Teenage Cancer Trust. He is also involved in Cancer Research for personal and sentimental reasons; his mother, brother and sister have passed away after battling cancer.

He is also very encouraging to the youth who intend to study law and join the profession in the future. However, he does warn them that they will need to be focussed to achieve great heights. “It's a tough profession, so don't go into it unless you are prepared. So be ready for hard work, otherwise there's a lot of competition and you'll find it hard to succeed.”

Bradford students reach top universities with the help of Social Mobility Foundation Bradford students have secured places at leading universities this autumn after participating in the Social Mobility Foundation’s free of charge programmes. The Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) is a charity which aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for young people from low-income backgrounds.

Current SMF student Mateusz, from Tong High School, starts at the London School of

Economics this autumn.

Reflecting on the benefits of our mentoring support, Mateusz, told Asian Voice: "My mentor has not only been able to guide me through my university application and admissions tests, but has also been very helpful in explaining the realities of my chosen career and steered me in the right direction. The insight and knowledge I have received from him, combined with the support from the SMF, has enable me to secure a place at

one of the best universities in the world.”

Amandeep, from Bradford Academy, starts at the University of Leeds this year. Amandeep took part in SMF’s Linklaters Law Residential Programme and told Asian Voice: "The residential at Linklaters was very rewarding and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It helped me understand the key operations that are important within the law sector, as well as gain valuable skills, which are impor-

A Levels- Best achievers awards

Article 13 of the United Nations' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education.

Education began in prehistory, as adults trained the young in the knowledge and skills deemed necessary in their society It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries.

In the Indian culture Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts, represents the free flow of wisdom and consciousness. Saraswati is the daughter of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. It is believed that goddess Saraswati endows human beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego.

A level Examination results have been declared and almost 400,000 students have received their grades.

Karma Yoga Foundation would like to honour and award a token of appreciation to the best achievers, irrespective of religion, caste or culture to students from the Indian sub-continent (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) settled in the UK.

The following cash awards would be given: £2500.00 to the best achiever (Total £2500.00) £1001.00 each to 3 achievers (Total £3003.00) and £501.00 each to 5 achievers (Total £2505.00) Together with Mr. Kanti Nagda, one of the Trustees of Karma Yoga Foundation, three eminent independent Judges will be appointed and their decision would be final.

You are requested to send in your nominations by 25.09.2015 to:Mr. Kanti Nagda Karma Yoga Foundation 12 Hoxton Market London N1 6HW

THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THIS AWARD

Corbyn labelled "disloyal" for refusing to sing national anthem Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected Labour leader is proving to be truly controversial. At the Battle of Britain anniversary service, Corbyn caused an outrage as he refused to sing the national anthem.

He was accused of being “disloyal”, as well as faced clamour by the Labour Party, with one of his shadow cabinet ministers threatening to leave after just two days.

At the Battle of Britain remembrance ceremony, David attended by Cameron, the Defence Secretary and several military leaders, at St Paul's Cathedral, Corbyn stood silently while everyone sang the national anthem, “God tant to any profession.”

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Executive Member for Education, Skills and Culture, said: "I’d like to congratulate the young people who took part who have worked so hard to get to university. This is a great initiative, where young people, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, have been able to achieve more and gain new skills by being supported and mentored.”

For more information website: www.socialmobility.org.uk

Jeremy Corbyn at the Battle for Britain remembrance ceremony, at St Paul's Cathedral

Save the Queen”. His refusal caused him to receive severe criticism.

The staunch republican has been very vocal in the past regarding his views of having the monarchy abolished. Regarding the criticism of not singing the national anthem, Corbyn

stressed that he “stood in respectful silence”.

Corbyn was also accused of hypocrisy for accepting a place in the Privy Council which will require him to Queen kneel before Elizabeth II and kiss her hand, even though he holds his views on the monarchy.

Hospital denies ice to patients - blames budget cuts It has been alleged that Addenbrooke's Hospital- a struggling hospital, intends to save up to £39,000 a year by stopping patients from having ice in their water jugs. The hospital has blamed budget cuts for this action.

The revelation of cutbacks had emerged when a visitor had requested ice for a woman suffering from

cancer, as the patient found it easier to swallow her medication with cold water. However, the visitor, Michelle Lewis, was left “horrified and gobsmacked” when she was told by two healthcare workers and a member of catering staff that they were unable to provide ice in water jugs “because of the budget cuts”.

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COMMUNITY

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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Charitable trust to raise money in memory Hajj pilgrims urged to be aware of MERS advice of RAF officer killed in Afghanistan A charitable trust that was set up in memory of Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan, pictured, who was killed in a helicopter crash last year, is organising its first event on 26th September to raise money.

29 years old intelligence officer was killed with four military colleagues in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in April, 2014.

Flt Lt Chauhan, known as Rak, was honoured with a posthumous award for bravery in November last year. He received the Editor's Award for Bravery and Patriotism at the prestigious Asian Achievers Awards 2014, which was received by his father Kishor Chauhan. His family were guests of honour at a service at St Paul's Cathedral earlier this year, attended by the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron to mark the end of the 13-year conflict that

claimed 453 British lives.

Flt Lt Chauhan's father and brother will be among 60 people, including former RAF comrades, taking part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge later this week. The 25 miles walk in the Yorkshire is a challenging event. Kishor and brother Kesh hope to raise £10,000 for the trust and will be donating it to East Midlands Air Ambulance Service.

Kishor said: "The trust is now up and running and this will be the first event.

"Organising things like this in his memory keep us going.

"Rak was very passionate about the air ambulance service and the first event will be to raise money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance.

"Rak was an action man who loved the outdoor life which is why we've chosen this event to launch the trust's fund raising.

"I've been preparing by going up and down the hills in Bradgate Park.

Some, like his RAF colleagues will probably do it in five or six hours, others

will take longer, but we're confident of raising £10,000 by doing it.

"It's very much Kesh's idea and we didn't expect such an amazing response.

We're hoping to stage one or two events a year."

Kesh, said: "The Air Ambulance Service is an organisation that was close to his heart and subsequently we support it fully.

"We are hoping to raise as much as possible to donate to the Derbyshire, Rutland and Leicestershire branch of the Air Ambulance Service, which was a cause that was very close to Rakesh."

He added: "The Local Royal Air Forces Association are donating 100 t-shirts to the trust upon which we will be printing the trust logo."

To donate to the event, visit https://www.justgiving.com/Y3PCRakstrust or www.rakstrust.org

Kolkata Festival comes to London Like any other community living outside India, Bengalis too have a rich heritage of art and culture. Every year during Dussehra (or Bijoya Dashami), a true bengali yearns for a cultural extravaganza that sums up the whole year for him.

Keeping this spirit in mind, Radio Bangla Net, the online 24x7 radio station for the NRI Bengalis and India Now Ltd, a frontline event management company from UK have come up with Kolkata Festival 2015 at the Logan Hall on the Sunday, 4th of October.

This year Kolkata Festival brings you Rupankar Bagchi LIVE,

For more information see

the national award winning playback singer, the much acclaimed Paroma Banerjee and the teen

sensation Lagnajita of Bashanta Eshey Gyacchey fame along with Lonodon based singer Sahana

Bajpaie. The festival also showcases ''ChoukaaTh, The Threshold'', a film

by Raja Dasgupta, a short feature – Ryan and I by Sambit Banerjee and a documentary called 'Aam O Amra' by Sulagna Ghosh.

The event also offers great Kolkata cuisines and street food like Biriyani, rolls and jhalmuri. This is a one day event starting at 2pm till 9pm evening.

For more information see www.indianow.co.uk

Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) are urging all Hajj pilgrims to ensure they are aware of the latest advice on the ongoing Middle Respiratory East Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Middle East.

The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), known as the Hajj, is expected to take place from 21 to 26 September 2015, with many pilgrims travelling from the UK. Risk of MERS infection to UK residents travelling to the Middle East is low and the World Health Organization, PHE and NaTHNaC do not currently advise any travel restrictions to KSA in relation to the ongoing outbreak.

However, the KSA Ministry of Health recommends that certain groups postpone the performance of the Hajj and Umrah as a precautionary measure again this year. This recommendation applies to: elderly people, those with chronic diseases (heart disease, kidney disease, respiratory disease, nervous system disorders and diabetes), individuals with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency, pregnant women and children In KSA, cases of MERS-CoV occur

throughout the year, with occasional peaks.

Recently there has been a marked increase in cases reported from KSA, particularly from Riyadh.

Dr Richard Pebody, Head of Respiratory Diseases at PHE said: There is growing evidence of the possible role of camels in transmitting MERS-CoV to humans.

We advise travellers, particularly those with underlying or chronic medical conditions, to avoid contact with camels and camel products in the Middle East and practise good hand and respiratory hygiene to reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses. Pilgrims returning from Hajj and Umrah with flu-like symptoms, including fever and cough, or shortness of breath, within 14 days of returning from the Middle East, should call their GP and inform them of their recent travel.

Dr Dipti Patel, Joint Director of NaTHNaC, said: “Our information sheet for pilgrims includes information on health regulations, vaccine requirements and recommendations, and other general health advice for those planning to travel for the Hajj and Umrah.

“Pilgrims are strongly advised to follow our specific guidance about staying safe and healthy when travelling.”

Dance Umbrella 2015 presents "Out of India: Modern Moves" Reshma Trilochun

Hemabharathy Palani

Artistic Director, Emma Gladstone, presents the Dance Umbrella, an internationally-renowned festival which will be taking dance out of the theatre and into the public arena, as well as performing in London's most prestigious venues, throughout the month of October.

Dance Umbrella will encompass several projects, including Out of India: Modern Moves, created by Deepak Kurki S hi v a sw a my, Hemabharathy Palani

and Surjit Nongmeikapam.

Out of India showcases three of the most interesting contemporary choreographers to have emerged from India's dance scene. A group of young artists will portray a perception on life in modern India, a change of direction from either classical dance or Bollywood.

This magnificent production will be showcased from Wednesday 21st October to Saturday 24th October 2015,

at The Pit, The Barbican. To know more about this musical extravaganza, visit www.danceumbrella.co.uk

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India’s most celebrated designer presents Bridal and Festive collections in the UK

Annie Zaidi:

UK’s leading, Indian high fashion, multi-brand storeAashni + Co, will be hosting India’s most celebrated fashion talent at Designer’s Day with Manish Malhotra, taking place on Friday 25th September, 11am – 6pm at Notting Hill.

Marking an exclusive in the UK, lauded fashion designer and personality Manish Malhotra himself will be introducing his latest Bridal and Festive collections and meeting the public in-store. A favourite with Bollywood’s glitterati, Manish Malhotra will be on hand to provide style council and advise visitors to the store on how to achieve their aspired looks.

Manish Malhotra’s creativity and genius span the broad spheres of Bollywood design, Styling, Diffusion and the Everlasting Bridal and Couture. Manish is a pioneer in the field of fashion in India today and

renowned globally. His diffusion label Manish Malhotra has become a success since its launch in 2004 and has proved once again why he is the country’s favourite when it comes to dressing India’s most beautiful and glamorous. Manish, known for his bridal wear and immaculate colour sense, has designed for some of the most striking personalities in the Indian film industry, high profile politicians, industrialists, top global corporates and affluent families across the globe.

He has also been felicitated by National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi and the Indo American Society for his contribution to fashion designing. He was also presented the Rajiv Gandhi Award by the Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress 2002 for his contribution to fashion in India.

British Indian author shortlisted for Man Booker Prize British Indian author Sunjeev Sahota is among the six final writers shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2015, it has been announced.

Derbyshire-born Sahota in his book 'The Year of the Runaways' writes about 13 young men, living in a house at Sheffield, each from India and in desperate search of a new life.

This is the second year that the prize, has been open to writers of any nationality, writing origi-

nally in English and published in the UK. Previously, the prize was open only to authors from the UK & Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.

The 2015 winner will be announced on October 13.

TLIGHT

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Not Playing People’s Games

Sunetra Senior

Manish Malhotra with Aishwarya Rai

SP

The first ever South-Asian woman to get a level two coaching certificate from the Football Association and now coaching at the Leicester City Football Club’s Centre of Excellence, Annie has come a long way from when “kicking the ball was a form of If you escapism as a child who was suffering take my eczema.” The fact that ball away, Zaidi- and this is a you take my name easily envisaged dream on the back of an England jersey (we’re just away saying) - has booted certain social stereotypes is undeniably a feat, but what is more impressive is her vigour as an individual: “the pitch allows a space free of labels”, she continued, “your abilities are the primary focus. I have experienced a lot of sexism and racism in the industry but that’s just made me more determined.” Finding herself in several intimidating set-ups, such as being the only manager What draws you to Football?

Well, I couldn’t play as much as without a Y chromosome out of I wanted to when I was growing up 400 in a Sunday League team, and that has only increased my drive.

Zaidi knows what she is talking If you take my ball away, you take my about. The Black and Asians dream away. There may have been Islamophobia and discrimination Coaches Association also going on outside the pitch, but I seemed to be in agreehave always felt safe when ment when giving her a I’m on it. I feel my most natural self when I’m Chair in the organiplaying. If I’m not Don’t sation. Honest and out there twice a let other energetic, Annie day, it feels as if something is shows us what people’s wrong. From the freedom is in barriers coaching side of 2015: not being it, I think it’s the become your afraid to move foreducational barriers ward and eleonly ever be yourself.

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ment that’s exciting. I enjoy every part of football, from analysing the match, to planning and delivery.

Were you always interested in the sport?

Growing up with brothers, I was always an active child. I’d be playing football every chance I got. When I was younger, sport was also the best medication for my eczema. It was a release mechanism. It wasn’t about looks and was about just playing the game.

Even three years ago, when football had to be a part time thing because of the difficult economic landscape, I cherished the moments when I could play the games: I came alive. The only thing I was looking forward to were the coaching sessions.

Another thing that helped was the late Bobby Robson’s autobiography: Farewell But Not Goodbye.

Reading it was an inspiration.

There has been the issue of women’s confidence in the news. Do you have a comment on that?

Yes, I would agree with that actually. It is definitely more a gender orientated than based on ethnicity. Something like 95% of the football industry, for example, is run from the top down by men. It’s easy to get overwhelmed but what you’ve got to remember is that, regardless of gender, it’s about whether you can create the same environment. Doing this is what counts. We can show men that women are just as capable. For me personally, failure or intimidation is not an option! I just think about how I can thrive.

On that note, what’s been your most memorable moment?

When I was invited to QPR for the whole day! It’s an elite place and I felt humbled to be there. I was honoured to be in the company of legends such as director Les Ferdinand and manager Chris Ramsey. When I went in there, I thought I was coaching the U15s boys’ team but it turned out I was working with U21s. I was really nervous because when you love doing something so much, you can almost get stage fright, but I got through it and it was one of the best sessions. That’s really my dream: to be able to coach full time in a professional men’s game. Currently I’m undertaking the journey to get my UEFA B license, the equivalent of a part-time MA it seems, so let’s see where that takes me.

Do you like to watch sports on TV? Yes, that’s my downtime! I have Sky Sports just for the football. I’ll watch game after game. I also run the treadmill every single morning.

Name an inspiring role model?

There have been a few: of course Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey at QPR and also Wallace Hermitt. He has been my mentor and my guardian angel.

Finally what’s your advice to other women faring in unconventional, sporty jobs?

Don’t let other people’s barriers become your barriers. People have told me ‘oh, you’re Asian, you’re Muslim- how is it going to work?’ I just said ‘watch me, I’m going to do it.” twitter.com/coachanniez

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UK

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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New Scotland Yard Launches 2015 Diwali on Trafalgar Square On Thursday 17 September, at New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, Metropolitan Police Hindu Association hosted the 2015 launch for Diwali on Trafalgar Square, on behalf of the Diwali in London Committee, to thank the participating and organising partners, especially the Mayor of London.

One month ahead of the main event, on 11 October 2015, representatives of the GLA events team led by Lieren Stubbings, Zee TV, Lebara, and the Diwali in London Committee members from : Akademi, Art of Living, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University UK, Brahmin Society North London, Chinmaya Mission, City Hindu Network, ISKCON, National Hindu Students Forum, Oshwal Association UK, Sai School of Harrow, Telegu Association London and Vishwa Hindu Parishad Ilford, gathered together to announce the forthcoming largest Diwali stage show in Europe.

Guests were welcomed with an offering of special Indian sweets called laddu and pure vegetarian chocolates.

The launch was opened by the lighting of candles led by the

Met's Assistant Commissioner, Martin Hewitt, head of Professionalism, Lieren Stubbings senior events manager from the Mayor of London's Office, RH MP Bob Blackman, Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group for Hindus, Pradeep Prathap, representative of Kerala Tourism and Satya Minhas Deputy Chairperson of

Met. Police Hindu Association and the 2015 Chairperson of Diwali in London Committee.

Mr Hewitt welcomed guests to New Scotland Yard and com-

mented on how beautiful the Peelers Function room looked with the Diwali themed decor.

He stated striving to achieve the victory of good over evil is what over 48,000 people in the Metropolitan Police Service work towards on a day to day basis. He highlighted the need for police officers and staff with language skills including Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali skills as well as cultural awareness to enhance policing capabilities. He closed by requesting guests to engage with the officers attending Diwali in Trafalgar Square and wished everyone a happy Diwali.

Also present were DAC Helen Ball Specialist Operations HQ and Sandra Looby OCU commander for Parliamentary and diplomatic protection.

Divine Bhajans (devotional songs) were sung by 20 year old, Radhika Davda, from East

London, dedicated to Lord Ganesh and Lord Ram, the deity at the centre of the Diwali celebration.

The Peelers function room, at New Scotland Yard, was lit up with colourful divas and intricately carved figures as well as a grand Lord Ganesh murti (statue), who had made the journey from Murugan Temple in East Ham to grace the event. Bright murtis of Lord Ram, Sita Ji, Lakshman Ji and Hanuman Ji, honoured with fresh jasmine garlands were glowing gently in the candle lights.

Breath taking and dramatic

classical dance performances depicting the legacy of Diwali titled Satyameva Jayate (the truth alone triumphs) by the Arunima Kumar Dance company, with participants including Arunima kumar , Archana Patel, Pranjula Singh, Ranjitha

MP urges for London's first WWI Sikh Monument Rupanjana Dutta Tom Brake MP is pressing in Parliament for the erection of London’s first monument to mark the Sikh community’s contribution to World War One. The Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson has tabled an Early Day Motion [EDM] calling for the construction of a monument. The EDM has secured all party support.

Over 130,000 Sikh troops fought in Belgium and France during World War One. More than one quarter of those soldiers died.

Commenting, Tom Brake MP said: “It is vital we recognise the sacrifices and bravery of Sikh soldiers who fought for Britain during the First World War. “A permanent monument in central London is long overdue and would highlight as well as create an important symbol of the sacrifices the Sikh community made in the Great War.” Although Sikhs only made up only two per cent of the population of India, they formed twenty per cent of the Indian Army and saw active service from the Somme to Gallipoli.

This comes in the wake of the annual Sikh moral

leadership and development conference, that will take place between 16 - 18 October 2015 at The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, Amport House, near Andover, Hampshire.

The aim of the conference is to promote and foster spiritual and moral values from a faith perspective and thus contribute to professional and personal development.

The Civilian Chaplains to the Military (CCM) serve the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities in the Armed Forces. Due to the singleton nature of

Tom Brake

their posts coupled with the geographical spread of each group of faith adher-

ents the MOD facilitates gatherings once a year to: allow individuals the opportunity to develop and enhance their moral leadership qualities; to engage with and learn from other members of their faith community and to assist with the development of MOD policy.

Whilst these annual conferences are organised primarily for adherents of each faith, attendance is open across the Armed Forces for any Regular and Reserve personnel that might wish to attend all or part of the conference for professional purposes.

Chowalloor Sravani and Vettukuri were enjoyed by the 120 prominent guests in attendance.

A delicious pure vegetarian feast was enjoyed by all.

The 2015 theme for Diwali in London is 'welcoming the return of Lord Ram to his kingdom of Ayodhya and legacies of valour, unity and sacrifice in pursuit of peace and freedom.

The event concluded by the guests in attendance being invited to offer their Diwali wishes and blessings.

This year’s Diwali on Trafalgar Square event will showcase a children's Diwali parade, participation in traditional garba dancing, a wonderful stage show, the opportunity to wear a sari, a children's Diwali activity marquee, participation in Yoga and Indian dance workshops as well as delectable varieties of authentic Indian vegetarian cuisine and many more Diwali delights.

They thanked Pure Heaven, Sunmark, Rajbhog Catering and Prakash Radhakrishnan photographer for supporting the launch.

They also thanked Zee, Lebara and Kerala Tourism for supporting Diwali on Trafalgar Square.

Photo credit: Prakash Radhakrishnan, Skylift images

ONS report suggests increase in employment level

According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), employment levels have increased by 42,000 in the three months to July, representing an employment rate of 73.5 per cent with 31.09 million people in work.

Year-on-year the number of people in work has increased by 413,000 with 361,000 more working full time and 52,000 more working part time. Average weekly wages have also risen by 2.9 per cent excluding bonuses.

While there is no particular indication of the statistics regarding Asian unemployments, speaking

to Asian Voice, Employment Minister Priti Patel, pictured, said: “As part of our one nation government, we want everyone to succeed and achieve their full potential, and through our reforms we are doing just that.

“Employment rate in the BME community has reached record high to 61.4%. It's more than half a million ethnic minority workers since 2010, and we see a 20% increase. The ethnic community, especially the Indian community- we know their success stories in professional and technical sectors and we are seeing a large in these sectors anyway.”

www.asian-voice.com PRESENTS

ASIAN ACHIEVERS

AWARDS

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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THE WINNERS OF THE 15th ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS ARE… The people’s choice awards

Rupanjana Dutta

The winners of the landmark 15th annual Asian Achievers Awards were announced on September 18th at glittering gala event at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane. Winners include, cricketing icon, Moeen Ali; Secret Sales founders Nish and Sach Kukadia; author Romesh Gunasekera; and Lord Rumi Verjee CBE, who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

One of the notable wins of the night was Military Cross hero Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung, who picked up the Uniformed and Civil Services Award, for his bravery in fighting off two armed Taliban fighters and saving the lives of

Iqbal Ahmed OBE (centre), winner of Business Person of the Year category with Sanjay Bhandari, Partner, EY Assurance Services (left) and Sir Vince Cable, Chair of the Panel of Judges, AAA (right)

year, 70 years from World War 2, we remember the millions of Asians, who fought and flung out fascism in Africa, Malaya, Burma, and Italy...

"Twelve per cent of the British workforce hail from ethnic minorities. Yet they represent only seven per cent of our Armed Forces. We fall well behind the Met police and London Ambulance Service, where the figure is above 11 per cent. We must do better.

"This isn’t just about tokenism or cre-

Romesh Gunasekra (centre), winner of the Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture category with DJ Neev (left) and Tony Lit, Managing Director, Sunrise Radio

his two comrades. The award was made more poignant, as the evening’s theme revolved around the contribution of Asians in Uniformed and Civil Service.

Chief Guest, Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State for Defence gave a

Bindi Karia (centre), winner of the Woman of the Year category with Ashwin Mankad, Axiom Stone Solicitors (left) and DJ, songwriter, record producer and musician Naughty Boy (right)

Satvir Bungar (centre), winner of the Professional of the Year category with Lord Dolar Popat (left) and Dhimant Trivedi, Chief Executive, European Operations, Bank of Baroda (right)

ating a more integrated society. It’s about attracting the brightest and the best from the talent in our midst. We are one nation. And we need one nation Armed Forces that benefits from all the people they protect…

"The RAF, Navy and Army are developing programmes to increase opportunity in the services. We’ve got networks supporting personnel from different faiths.

stirring speech. He said, "I’ve seen statistics showing British Asians contribute 6 per cent of UK GDP, despite making up just four per cent of the population...

“And British Asians have brought that

Nish and Sach Kukadia (centre), winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year category with Suresh Vagjiani, Director, Sow and Reap Ltd (left) and Navin Shah AM (right)

Jasvinder Sanghera (centre), winner of Achievement in Community Service category with Rajesh Aggarwal, Chairman, Rational FX Ltd (left) and Lieutenant General James Bashall CBE (right)

immense will to succeed into our Armed Forces. Last year I honoured their memory by laying a wreath at India Gate. This

“Today I confirm our commitment for at least 10% of our recruits to come from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background by 2020. It’s a vital part of the Prime Minister’s 2020 vision to give all our cherished communities a stake in society..."

The Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) was brilliantly hosted by Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra and BBC journalist Sangita Myska, and was proud to have EY as the headline sponsor. Attendees included, Naughty Boy, Lord Jeffrey Archer, Greg

Sponsor

Dyke, India’s original supermodel Nina Manuel, and dignitaries like Cherie Blair QC, CBE, London Mayor candidate, Sadiq Khan MP and His Excellency Ranjan Mathai, the Indian High Commissioner.

ABPL Group, which organises the Asian Achievers Awards, also introduced the Asian Voice Charity Awards, which is launching in 2016. These awards, powered by Asian Charity Clarity, are about rewarding charities that think big and seek to solve the most pressing social issues of today, both in Britain and around the world.

Compere for the AAA 2015: BBC journalist Sangita Myska and renowned actor Nitin Ganatra

Lord Rumi Verjee CBE (centre), winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award with Coroline Lee, COO, Shanti Hospitality (left) and Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP (right)

ness, our clients and the communities we work in. We also know the value of role models in driving change and inspiring others and that is why we are proud to support the Asian Achievers Awards, celebrating the achievements of such talented individuals.

“When I entered the professional services industry 25 years ago, there were few visible senior Asian role models to guide me. So now, as an Asian Partner at EY, I feel acutely aware of my responsibility to give something back and encourage others.”

Since launching in 2000, the awards itself has helped to raise millions of pounds for various charities, and this year the chosen charity partner is the Loomba Foundation, which works with widows and children. The Media Partners were Sunrise Radio and Colors TV. CB Patel, Founder of the AAA said, "In the last 15 years the Asian community

Tahir Akbar (left) from Beaufort Securities, winner of the Editor’s Award with CB Patel, Founder AAA & Publisher/Editor

Kamran Khan on behalf of Moeen Ali (centre), winner of Sports Personality of the Year Award with Robin Chhabra, Group Director, William Hill (left) and Greg Dyke, Chairman of Football Association

has come a long way. Tonight's awards are the example of the brilliance that our community is capable of. Whether it's entrepreneurial spirit or sporting integrity…community service or leading in business - we are making a mark everywhere.

"The awards began 15 years ago in very modest surroundings, so the grandeur and scale of tonight’s event, celebrating such remarkable individuals, makes me incredibly proud of how far we’ve come, and it would not have been possible without you and your support. We have been fortunate enough to recognise some wonderful people over the years and I am certain that in the years to come we will be celebrating even more outstanding Asian achievements."

Sanjay Bhandari, Partner at EY added: “At EY we know the value of a diverse and inclusive workforce and the difference it can make to our people, our busi-

www.asianachieversawards.com Follow us on: Twitter: @ABPL_GROUP Instagram: AsianAchieversAwards Facebook: Asian Achievers Awards

Photo courtesy: Raj D Bakrania & Team, Prmediapix

ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS 2015 WINNERS LIST

Businessperson of the Year Iqbal Ahmed OBE, Seamark Plc Entrepreneur of the Year Nish & Sach Kukadia – Founders Secret Sales Sports Personality of the Year Moeen Ali – England Cricketer Uniformed and Civil Services Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung - The Royal Gurkha Rifles Lifetime Achievement Award Lord Rumi Verjee CBE Media, Arts and Culture Romesh Gunasekera - Author Woman of the Year Bindi Karia - Technology Startup Expert & Advisor Achievement in Community Service Jasvinder Sanghera CBE - Founder, Karma Nirvana Professional of the Year Satvir Bungar - Director, BDO Editor’s Award: Financial Services Company of the Year Beaufort Securities

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ASIANBUSINESS

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Consultant Editor Financial Voice

Alpesh Patel

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Have you ever wondered how people get rich? It’s a big question, but in a way it is a simple question. All of them have invested (their company, idea, stocks – whatever).

But what is the mental attitude of the rich, compared to everyone else?

There are some very simple insights all hedge fund managers and other professional traders have.

It’s so important, that I had to keep repeating it when I used to write my weekly Financial Times column.

When we were promoting my first hedge fund to investors, a decade ago, it was critical we showed of course our profitability, far more than how often we won on our ideas.

You see it’s easy to increase your winning trades.

And private investors think it’s some genius. The genius is in making profits.

Let me explain. To increase your winning trades there is a trick, which is not a profitable trick, but can appear so, and private investors fool themselves into thinking it.

You just close, or exit, your profitable trades and only count as wins or losses those trades you’ve exited.

Since you never exit losing trades, you only show a very high win rate. Of course professional hedge fund managers cannot do this (or some famous ones who tried, went bust, or to prison, or both).

This strategy simply does not yield profits. What happens is you will have people saying stupid things like ‘no one ever went broker taking profits’ – yes they did if they ignored their bigger losses.

The reason this fake strategy is seductive is that you get to off-balance sheet ignore your losses. You kid yourself losing trades will with time turn around, and some actually will, so you kid yourself even more your strategy works, and at best I’ve seen this strategy deliver 500 consecutive winning (closed, exited trades) BUT the open losing trades still lost you more money than all the profits puts together.

So we really need to think about how to handle losses. And professionals ‘cut their losses’. They do it quick, when they are small. They may re-enter. But professional traders do not care about how often they win. In fact Soros used to lose more trades than he won, because he kept getting out of small losses, and re-entering until the price moved as he thought. So he may have 5 losing trades for every one winning one.

But the winning one made 10 and the losing ones each lost 1.

But there is another logical reason we have to cut those losses short which many people want to deny because it is so painful taking a loss.

All human nature loves such things and it is bad.

It’s the same buzz from putting off a diet and eating a bad meal, or buying something on credit. Sure, sometimes you win, but ultimately, you’re just kidding yourself. Getting rich is doing this simple thing which most people don’t know.

RBI allows 10 financial institutions to set up small banks The Reserve Bank of India has selected 10 financial institutions to set up separate small banks to lend funds to small businesses and farmers struggling to get financial help. Most of them are microfinance companies that already make small loans. The list included private-equity backed Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt Ltd and Janalakshmi Financial Services Pvt Ltd. More than 100 million people in the country work at small businesses but only about 4 per cent of small businesses have access to institutional finance. These small banks

will help micro-finance firms to increase their loan ticket size although they must make sure that half of their loan book constitutes loans of not more than 2.5 million rupees. Existing non-bank finance companies, local area banks and micro-finance institutions were eligible to apply for the permits and 72 submitted applications. Winners will be able to become fully fledged banks in the future, depending on their performance and if they comply with rules for banks, the RBI has said, although the transition will not be automatic.

www.asian-voice.com

Productivity of British workers fall

AsianVoiceNews

The country produced 20 per cent less per hour than other members of the G7 group of advanced economies - the worst result since records began in 1991.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the productivity of British workers have fallen behind their counterparts in France, Germany, the United States and Canada last year. The country produced 20 per cent less per hour than other members of the G7 group of advanced economies - the worst result since records began in 1991.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has described productivity as “the ultimate determinant of people’s incomes and with it the capacity of our economy to support health, wealth and happiness.”

Germany produced 33 per cent more per hour last year, France and the US 32 per cent more, Italy 10 per

cent more and Canada 4 per cent more. Only Japan produced less.

“These figures show UK productivity continues to lag behind other developed economies,” Joe Grice, chief economist at the ONS, said. “Since the economic downturn, productivity growth has slowed in most developed economies, but by more in the UK than the average.”

Britain’s productivity gap, the shortfall against where it would be if precrisis trends had continued, is 18 per cent compared with 7 per cent for the rest of the G7.

Unions have warned that jobs and rising wages would be in danger if the situation did not improve soon. Frances O’Grady,

general secretary of the TUC, said: “Without a steep change in productivity growth, the UK economy will struggle to deliver secure jobs and higher living standards.”

In July, the chancellor announced a “productivity plan”, involving planning reforms, devolution, low taxes and apprenticeships.

Economists pointed out that the flipside of UK’s low productivity had been the strength of jobs. GDP grew at the fastest pace in the G7 last year but surging employment meant that productivity barely improved. Unemployment in Britain is 5.5 per cent, about half the level in France and Italy, although the rate in Germany and the US is lower.

HMRC gives three month deadline to pay taxes 'Pay now, argue later' is HMRC's new mantra as it uses its new powers to demand the tax owed from years ago. Initially directed at wealthy tax dodgers, a £5.5bn tax grab now allows HM Revenue & Customs to demand backdated taxes to be paid in full, within a three month deadline.

After being pushed to pursue its missing millions in expensive court battles, the government approved a legislation in 2014 that has handed it the powers to force wealthy investors accused of using “aggressive tax avoidance” schemes to pay their potential tax liabilities up front. Millionaire businesspeople and Premier League Footballers now face tax

demands of up to £ 10m after spending money into questionable, tax-driven investment schemes. Most of these schemes demanded upon the tax relief available for film project and start-ups. HMRC's director of enforcement, Jennie Granger said, “Tax avoiders are running out of options. People now have to pay upfront and dispute later.”

However, there are proofs that suggest that the HMRC's powers to

demand “accelerated payments” are being used to target more moderately well-off individuals backtaxes from jobs they held years ago. Many freelancers who worked in IT and banking in the late 2000s are now being informed that their tax affairs were classed as “aggressive violence”. They seem to be the focus of HMRC's new power.

Refunds will be later issued if it finds faults in its calculations. Most freelancers are asked to pay money that is equivalent to their annual income, within a 90 day window. It has so far received £ 1bn from taxpayers, although most of it is expected to be refunded.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

London-based businessman to buy Leela hotel in Goa India-born, Londonbased businessman Raj Bagri is buying the Leela hotel in Goa for £72.50 million, marking the biggest single property deal in the Indian hospitality sector. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The hotel was built in 1991 and touches the beach.

This is the latest transaction by Bagri, promoter of the Metdist Group, which owns metal assets in Malaysia and other parts of the world, after the acquisition of denim brand Spykar last year. While the ownership of the 206key hotel is changing hands from the Nairsowned Hotel Leelaventure to Metdist, the former will continue to manage and operate the luxury hotel, which will retain the name The Leela. As per the arrangement, Ceres Hotels, a local unit created by the Metdist Group, will acquire the Leela, Goa, marking the diversified enterprise's foray into hotel ownership in Asia's third-largest economy.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Built in 1991 and touching the beach, The Leela, Goa, property is spread over 50 acres, and is one of the top-performing hotels in the country's iconic party destination. In fiscal 2015, the Goa property contributed £11.9 million (15%) to Hotel Leelaventure's total income of £76.2 million.

Jaitley invites investments in India "India will give better returns than many other countries," finance minister Arun Jaitley said while addressing investors and business leaders in Hong Kong. He said the government was giving special focus on improving the ease of doing business in the country with initiatives like 'Make In India' designed to boost the manufacturing sector that has huge potential.

He said foreign investments could give great additional resources and that the country's infrastructure sector needs huge investments. "Railways, highways and power sectors are among those that

require funds and the success of projects in these areas would largely depend on bankability," Jaitley said.

Jaitley was in Honh Kong for two days seeking to attract foreign investors, including large asset managers, to the Indian markets. "Special focus is being given on improving ease of doing business. Investors have felt in the past that the procedures have been difficult in India," he said.

Digital India and Make in India (initiatives) are designed to give special boost to manufacturing and India has huge potential in these areas, he added.

According to him, some states were not charging adequate tariff for electricity as a result of which the health of power distribution companies was being affected. "These states cannot expect the PSU banks to fund the deficit of discoms," Jaitley stressed.

Jaitley said that a key priority of the government was to strengthen the PSU banks. "Some weaker banks could be merged with stronger banks as just diluting stake would not resolve the problem of NPAs (non performing assets)," he added.

Acknowledging that stalled projects have impacted the balance

sheets of private sector companies, Jaitley said the proposed national investment and infrastructure fund would be a "great enabler" to attract investment as well as help repair the balance sheets of affected firms.

The fund would operate independent of the government just as another investor, he added. Noting that international investors are showing great interest in railways-related areas, Jaitley said the government has kick started many stalled projects in the highways sector. He also said that pension funds can play a major role in the highways space.

REALESTATEVOICE

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Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

19

Taking the Emotion Out of the Deal

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

We are trying to tie up a couple of pieces of land which are around two properties we own. We managed to purchase two sites in quick succession right next to each other. The properties are spirited by a right of way for another development to the rear of our site.

This bit is important to us, as it will allow us to build one unit rather than twin towers. Meaning more units and a more holistic building. Holistic because things will not have to be replicated such as the lift. One lift can service both buildings. The access at the ground level can still be maintained, by building only from the 1st floor upwards. If this is achievable the ground floor, probably commercial units will be high ceilinged and all glass this will allow a good level of light flow though this access point. An important consideration when going for planning.

The developer to the rear of us knows the game on this site probably better than us, they have built several hundred units here already and we have not. There are three options for them, one not to do any deals, the second to sell the land to us outright, and the third to do a joint venture with us. The later option will open up more variables, we will need to see how we can carve the cake between us. It will probably be based on the extra units this space gives us.

It helps allot that they actually know the game and understands that there are risks to doing this development and simply not to focus on how to carve up the rewards. They also know the lungs of property and construction. This means at least when you meet at the table you can talk in the same language and hopefully come to a sensible arrangement which is good for both parties.

The other piece of land is not as essential, it can however be helpful. It is owned by two brothers who have held it for over 30 years. They have been sitting on it and just collecting the rental income. As the area around this site has been developed, they have kept their tenants on 2 month notice period, realising that at some point they will be approached by someone with an offer. And an empty site is worth more than one occupied by long term tenants from a development perspective.

are able to achieve on it.

Either way they were claiming something which was not true, further more they are not property people. They have one chance to cash in on a site, and they do not understand the constraints and limitations involved in developing a site. They think there are none and this is simply an open cheque book to command whatever amount they wish. However there comes a point above which it is not worth paying for this site purely from a commercial point of view. They did not seem to understand this. They simply thought they could get what they want by playing hard ball.

They claimed to have total control of the site when we tracked them down and met them, however the land registry paints a different picture. Someone has registered a unilateral notice which means they have registered their interest in the site.

The brothers claim the other party have no real rights to the property and they are fully in control, and therefore in a position to sell if the number is right. This did not make sense to us, as no one would register their interest in a property if they had no vested interest, especially without any opposition.

What it seems is they had entered into some sort of joint venture with someone who perhaps would upon being granted planning on the site agree to purchase it at a predefined level, or at a level where the price would be based on the number of units they

They are dealing with property people so there is no point playing hardball we understand the game better than them, and we do not need the site, it would merely be helpful. We have a default position already in place, either as one block or as two separate towers.

The Real Deal

If they do not have control of this deal and are giving the illusion of control, it will come out in the open and they will end up with having nothing depending on the JV agreement they have in place.

Out of the two separate parties we are in communication with, the two bothers will be harder to deal with purely because of their sheer ignorance, guided only by their blind greed. They do not understand the time value of coming to a decision and an agreement. If money and time is spent in going down a certain route there comes a point where it is not worth going back to the drawing board and starting from scratch.

Great Portland Street, London, W1 Purchase Price: £710k l A nice two bedroom apartment in a very beautiful location l Long lease l Close to the amenities of Great Portland Street, Regent Street, Oxford Street and Marylebone Road with a range of shops, bars and restaurants l Coming at very good discount at around £1,370 per sq. ft. l Prices in this location are rising heavily and we expect value of this property to be around £1,900 per sq. ft. by the end of next year l Very good buy and hold opportunity Call us now to secure this deal!

They may find themselves with a site which no one wants and development has occurred all around them. Hopefully at some point the penny will drop. In negotiations mostly people’s egos play a larger part than looking at something purely from a commercial perspective. This could even prove to be the sole reason why a deal doesn't happen, even though it is not the best thing for either party. Time will tell how this puzzle will be played out.

Planning for the site has been kept on hold until this ground work has been sorted out. Exploratory works have of course been done. But there is not point working out what to build, unless we know the floor plates we have to play with.

0207 993 0103

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

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SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week

l With Central London properties you are unlikely to go wrong in terms of demand for rentals and resell; apply the same to other parts of the UK and you might not be so lucky. l To determine if anything is a good investment, you should look at the risk versus return factor.

Generally if an investment is high risk it is high return and low risk means low returns. Property is considered low risk, hence the banks will lend you 75%, BUT you can make high returns, if done in the right way.

20

BUSINESS

Asian Voice | 20th September 2015

Government backs business by new Enterprise Bill highly-skilled workforce.

The government on Business Secretary last Thursday has published an Sajid Javid said: “The Enterprise Bill Government is comthat backs busimitted to making ness to drive sure the UK contingrowth, create jobs ues to be the best and ensure ecoplace in Europe to nomic security for do business. all. The Bill promises T h e to tackle the scandal of late payments holding back many small businesses, ensure high q u a l i t y appren ticeships, and Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP make further cuts to Enterprise Bill will help do burdensome red tape for just that with measures to the first time including the cut red tape, protect highactions of regulators. quality apprenticeships The new measures and deal with unfair payannounced include: ment practices hitting • A clamp down on the small firms. late payment of insurance “I firmly believe that to claims to help businesses reap rewards for working recover faster from fires people across the country and floods. we need to get behind our • An update the great British businesses.”

Industrial Development Act to give new powers for The Enterprise Bill will government to fund new also extend the Primary broadband projects across Authority scheme, which the country, for the benefit has already helped over of industry or local commu7,000 businesses comply with local regulations. The nities. government is publishing The Enterprise Bill will proposals to open up the also set up a Small Business scheme to thousands more Commissioner to help small firms and entrepresmall firms handle disputes neurs. They will also make with larger businesses over trusted regulatory advice issues like late payment, from a single local authoriwhich costs small firms ty available to all business£26.8 billion. It also promes across England and ises to allow the governWales, whatever their size. ment’s ambitious £10 billion cutting red tape target This will bring benefits to to be extended to include growth and productivity, the actions of regulators for and businesses are encourthe first time. aged to respond to the proEncouraging businessposals to help shape them. es to invest in the skills of Further measures in the Enterprise Bill will: make their staff is a vital part of regulators report annually the government’s plan to on the impact their actions boost productivity in the have on business, put a stop UK. The Enterprise Bill to taxpayer-funded, six-figincludes a measure to preure pay offs in the public vent people passing off sector, improve the busipoor quality training ness rates appeals system schemes as ‘apprenticeand stop business ratepayships’ and will set targets for the number of appreners from having to share tices taken on by public the same information twice bodies. This will ensure the with local government and public sector leads by the Valuation Office example and invests in a Agency

BT to stop using Indian call centres The BT has hired 1,000 people and pledged to handle 80 per cent of all calls in Britain by the end of next year and eventually stop using Indian centres altogether. According to BT it has brought back more jobs from India where the price of hiring good agents has skyrocketed, reducing the cost benefit of handling the work offshore.

BT moved much of its call centre work to the sub-

continent more than a decade ago, but since then many customers have complained that calls about broadband or billing problems have been dealt with by an operative 7,000 miles away in Bangalore.

The company has argued that its Indian bases mainly dealt with high-level complaints but a statement revealed that half of all customer service calls were still handled in India.

www.asian-voice.com

Half of UK notes 'held overseas or used for black market' AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Around £3 to £5 billion may be “hoarded” in homes “to provide comfort against potential emergencies”, the report said

According to a report issued by the Bank of England, at least half of all UK banknotes in circulation are held overseas or used in the black market. It said evidence suggested that no more than half of the notes in circulation are held for use domestically for legitimate purposes.

These include money in ATMs, consumers' wallets, purses and shop tills, all of which estimate to around a quarter of all cash in circulation.

Around £3 to £5 billion may be “hoarded” in homes “to provide comfort against potential emergencies”, the report said. The remainder is likely to be held overseas or for use in the “shadow economy”. The bank's latest figures suggested that banknotes with a value of £62.6 billion were estimated to be in circulation at the end of July, equal to around £1,000 for every person in the country. It is

also understood that even though the number of cashless payments in the UK via card use and smartphones have overtaken the use of notes and coins, the value of banknotes in circulation has tripled over the last 20 years. Almost 97% of the money belonging to people in the UK is held electronically as deposits, with the remainder held in physical form. The report

said hoarders “may choose to save their money in a safe deposit box, or under the mattress, or even buried in the garden, rather than placing it in a bank account”.

Concluding, the report read, “Over the next few years, consumers will enjoy even greater choice when paying for goods and services and for paying each other. "As a result, cash

consumption as a proportion of overall spending in the domestic economy will continue to decline.

"However, given consumer preferences, recent historical trends, and the absence of significant initiatives on the part of retailers, banks or government to push people away from cash, the absolute amount of cash used for transactions is likely to remain resilient.”

British entrepreneur named as one of the most influential women working in the staffing industry world-wide

Lib Dems promise aspiring Asian entrepreneurs start-up loan allowance

compiled by SIA alongside a host of inspirational

A government scheme which gives thousands of Asian entrepreneur's access to their first loan would be boosted by an allowance fund under plans, the Liberal Democrats announced on Monday.

The scheme was launched by former Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable.

Figures show that a third of all entrepreneurs benefiting from this scheme in the last Parliament were from ethnic minorities. Speaking at the party's Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron stated that the party would enhance the support for new small businesses by providing entrepreneurs with a Start-Up Allowance worth £100 a week over the first six months after they set up their new business.

Anyone starting up a new business with funds from the start-up loans scheme would be eligible to receive the Start-Up Allowance.

Tim Farron MP said: "Those who take the chance to set out on their own and create a business should be celebrated and supported.

"While Labour have said they now want to strip Government support for businesses and the Tories focus on giving tax cuts to giant corporations, we want to focus on entrepreneurs and small business seeking to grow."

An award winning British entrepreneur - Farida Gibbs, CEO and founder of Gibbs S3 - has been recognised with another prestigious accolade after being named as one of the most powerful women working in the staffing industry.

Her leadership skills at Europe’s fastest growing hybrid workforce solutions provider, has led Farida to be named in the inaugural Global Power 100 – Women in Staffing list which has been compiled Farida Gibbs at the 2013 Asian Achievers Awards, winning Woman of the Year category by industry analysts SIA (Staffing Industry Analysts).

The list has been compiled to identify women who are transforming the staffing industry and have taken their operations to a whole a new level.

Gibbs S3 itself has seen extraordinary growth in its 10th year of business, with UK revenue growing 29 per cent to reach £32.24m, and it is on track to hit £46m this year. Global revenue also grew to £180m.

Farida said: “I am honoured to have been named in the Global Power 100 – Women in Staffing list

women. It is a fantastic achievement and reflects the huge momentum the business has gathered and the top-class service and solutions we offer our clients.

“But I see this as an award for a company as a whole. We pride ourselves on being a tight-knit team, who all work together to provide the very best for our clients. Without the team’s incredible work ethic and team spirit, Gibbs S3 would not be the company it is today.

Looking to the future, we want to build on our success and continue to offer world-beating solutions to leading companies across the globe.”

Despite a large proportion of women working in the staffing industry, only a small few make it to the boardroom. On average, women comprise only six per cent of board seats at the 27 public staffing firms in the US, for example.

SIA created the list to celebrate the positive work these inspiring women do in the industry.

In 2013, she won Woman of the Year category at the prestigious Asian Achievers Awards.

CURRENCYVOICE

www.asian-voice.com AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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

Inflation weakens in Europe

The main headline this week was the news that Alexis Tsipras is set to return to power in Greece following another emphatic election victory, securing a new mandate after he yielded to the demands of European leaders for more austerity in the crisis-hit country. The former prime minister’s Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, received 35.5% of the vote. With Syriza set to fall short of a majority in the 300-seat parliament, Tsipras will enter negotiations to build a viable government with the same coalition partner as before.

In other news in Europe Inflation across the Eurozone unexpectedly weakened last month; the figures raised analysts’ expectations that the ECB will expand its quantitative easing policy by the end of the year. The annual rate of inflation fell to 0.1% in August from 0.2% in July. This marks a downward revision to Eurostat’s flash estimate of 0.2% and pushes annual inflation further away from the ECB’s target of just below 2%. Eurozone industrial production beat economists' expectations in July, rising to a five-month high, amid a higher volume of energy, capital and durable consumer goods.

Industrial output rose 0.6% com-

21

Foreign Exchange

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

pared to June, and 1.9% year-onyear. Economists polled by Reuters had been expecting a 0.3% monthly rise. The production of energy increased 3%, as capital goods rose 1.4% and durable consumer goods 1.3%. The figures suggest the European Central Bank's (ECB) unprecedented bond buying programme, pumping €60bn (£46.7bn) into the euro area every month until September 2016, is starting to boost the region's economy.

Retail sales in the U.S. climbed for a second straight month, a sign that consumers may not be too concerned about recent volatility in financial markets, especially in China. The 0.2 percent increase in August followed a 0.7 percent gain in July that was larger than previously reported. Although confidence has taken a hit from stockmarket turmoil and global-growth concerns, the data shows that households are still putting their savings from cheap energy to work.

More jobs and higher pay would go a long way in supporting household spending, which Federal Reserve policy makers are watching as they consider raising interest rates. Despite holding rates steady, the central bank has forecast that a hike is coming before the year is

out, after almost seven years near zero. Since the bank is meeting only twice more this year, this means an increase would come in either October or December.

U.K. inflation returned to zero in August, down from July’s rate of 0.1%.Consumer prices were unchanged compared with a year earlier following a 0.1 percent annual gain in July. The figure was in line with the median forecast of economists. Inflation excluding volatile food and energy costs slowed to 1 percent from 1.2 percent, also as predicted. Cheaper motor fuels, in particular diesel, had the biggest downward effect on inflation with prices falling 3 percent compared with a 1.5 percent decline a year earlier. There was also pressure from clothing and footwear prices, which rose less last month than they did a year earlier. Inflation has held below 2 percent target since the start of 2014, and it’s been close to zero for much of this year. That’s boosting consumer spending power, with data on Wednesday predicted to show underlying wage growth accelerating to 2.9 percent in the three months through July, the fastest in more than six years.

The figures may increase

expectations that the Bank of England is still months away from raising its benchmark rate from 0.5 percent. While a tightening labour market is putting upward pressure on wages, cheaper oil and food are keeping inflation well below the BOE’s 2 percent target.

Governor Mark Carney says the decision on when to end more than six years of record-low borrowing costs will come into sharper focus around the turn of the year. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. unexpectedly raised throughout August and salary growth increased. We saw the claimant count rise by 1,200 last month compared to expectations for a decline of 5,000. Average earnings (including bonuses) rose by 2.9% in the three months to July from a year earlier after a 2.6% increase in the same month. Beating the 2.5% forecast. Average earnings (excluding bonuses) also increased by 2.9%. In Mark Carney’s speech he stated that ‘the timing of a rate rise would be in sharper focus at the turn of the year.’ The outlook for China’s economy has been a recent worry. He said there was “downside risk” but not enough to adjust the Bank’s forecasts at the moment.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 22nd September 2015 @ 5.30pm

GBP - INR = 101.20 USD - INR = 65.89 EUR - INR = 73.35 GBP - USD = 1.54 GBP - EUR = 1.38

EUR - USD = 1.11 GBP - AED = 5.64

GBP - CAD = 2.04

GBP - NZD = 2.44

GBP - AUD = 2.17

GBP - ZAR = 21.03

GBP - HUF = 429.64

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22

WORLD

In Brief

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Teen kills mother after viewing Isis beheading

COPENHAGEN: A Danish mother was stabbed to death by her teenaged daughter and boyfriend after the pair repeatedly watched brutal videos of Islamic State murders. Lisa Borch was 15, when she killed her mother with the help of her 28 year old boyfriend, Mohammed Bakhtiar Abdullah, as she tried to end their relationship.

Videos of ISIS beheading were found to have been watched numerous times on Abdullah's computer, along with internet searches for “what happens after parents died”. Borch, now 16, has been jailed for nine years and Abdullah 13, with an order to be deported to Iraq once the sentence is over. Police had found Ernestine Romer Hollegaard dead from almost 20 stab wounds after receiving a frantic call from the teenager. Forensic analysis also showed that Hollegaard had a high level of sleeping pills in her bloodstream.

Depression drugs linked to violence

OXFORD: A study by scientists from the University of Oxford has found that young people on antidepressants are more likely to commit violent crimes. Among people aged 15 to 24, researchers have found a 43 per cent increase in the risk of crimes such as rape, murder and assault if they took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac. Scientists looked at data on the entire Swedish population over the age of 15 and almost 8 million people were prescribed antidepressants between 2006 to 2009. There have been past research that implied that SSRIs could cause people to be violent, however, this study is believed to be the largest. Seena Fazel from the University said, “One implication of this research is that we need to have more full disclosure of risks.” While she agreed that several questions still remained, she said people should be aware of the apparent link. “If you do feel increased hostility, aggression, irritability or violent thoughts, go back to your GP.”

New species of deadly 'sit-and-wait' snake discovered in Australia

SYDNEY: A new species of deadly snake has been discovered in Australia, the Kimberley death adder, another addition to the nation's world-beating list of venomous snakes. The “sit and wait” predator, an orange-brown snake with diamond shaped scales, remains camouflaged before ambushing passing creatures. A team led by Simon Maddock from London's Natural History Museum and University College, London, examined the snake's genetic and biological characteristics and confirmed it belonged to a distinct species, named acantophis cryptamydros, or the Kimberley death adder. The snake is about 24 inches long. Maddock said, “It's not clear how many Kimberley death adders are there in the wild, but they're probably quite rare.”

`India's Daughter' to be screened in China

BEIJING: Controversial documentary on the 2014 gangrape of 'Nirbhaya' in Delhi, which was banned in India, is set to be screened at the Women's Film Festival in Beijing. This will be the only movie with an Indian theme to be shown along with dozens of other films from Asia, Africa and Europe. It will also be shown in four other Chinese cities; Nanjing, Guangzhou, Xian and Shenzhen.

A discussion on the film and India's decision to ban it is expected to be seen. Made by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, the film has angered the Indian government who claimed that she hadn't taken permission to shoot inside Delhi's Tihar Jail. She is listed as a speaker at the festival and is likely to take up the issue to an audience connected with the film industry across the world besides Chinese.

Indian killed in Yemeni attack on Saudi Arabia

NEW DELHI: An Indian was killed and two others injured in mortar attacks from Yemen near the Samtah General Hospital in Jizan region of Saudi Arabia.

Identified as Farooq, a mechanic from Kerala, the others injured are Mohd Sadiq from Bihar and Sunny Thomas from Kerala. The Indian was among four killed when Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked the Samtah hospital said official sources, adding the injured Indians were not in serious conditions. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted saying, “According to our Consul General in Jeddah, one Indian is reported to have died and two injured in the attack.” According to reports, the attack was part of Yemen's retaliatory measures against Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's unabated military campaign in the impoverished Arab country.

www.asian-voice.com

Russia assures India of support on UNSC permanent seat bid AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

The promise came when the two sides held wide-ranging discussions on the agenda of the 70th anniversary session of the UN General Assembly.

UNITED NATIONS: Days after refusing to contribute to the text for negotiations on reforms which would thwart India's bid for a permanent membership in the UN Security Council, Russia has stepped up and assured its support to the Asian country.

Made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatolov during a meeting with Secretary on the Ministry of External Affairs Sujata Mehta, the promise came when the two sides held wide-ranging discussions on the agenda of the 70th anniversary session of the UN General Assembly. “Special attention was paid to the issue of the United Nations Security Council reform.

The parties exchanged opinions on the main aspects of intergovernmental negotiation process considering the current various options for the increase in the UNSC membership.

The Russian side reaf-

firmed the readiness to support the Indian candidature for the United Nations Security Council permanent membership in case of decision to extend it in both categories - permanent and non-permanent members,” a release from the Russian embassy said.

The meeting comes two days after the UN General Assembly adopted a negotiating text by consensus for the long-pending Security

Council reforms, boosting India's bid for a permanent seat in the revamped world body. However, the US, China and Russia did not contribute to the text, a move which was seen as an attempt to thwart India's bid. Though the US and Russia have been supporting India's bid, China has been against any expansion of the Security Council.

India and Russia also discussed mutual priorities for

the UNGA 70th session and stated proximity of approaches of the two countries on many issues being discussed within the framework of the UN bodies.

Both the sides expressed common view on the significance of implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and formulation of main parameters to hold the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.

42 killed in terror attack on Pak air base PESHAWAR: At least 42 people, including 13 militants were killed, in an attack launched by heavily armed terrorists in military uniforms on a Pakistan Air Force Base and a mosque located inside the premises.

A group of men wearing explosive-laden jackets, armed with grenades, mortars, AK-47 rifles attacked a guard post to make their way into the Badaber air base, 6 km outside Peshawar. Around 16 people offering prayers at the mosque were shot dead.

Army spokesperson Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said the militants

entered the group from two sides later splitting into three groups. “The militants were contained with-

in a close area. Meanwhile, a group of terrorists rushed to a mosque and killed 16 people who were offering

prayers inside,” he said.

Although Bajwa did not specify how many of those killed in the event were military personnel, more than 20 coffins were seen at the army's corps headquarters at Peshawar. A senior military official said that most of those present in the mosque at the time of the attack were employed with the PAF. Claiming responsibility for the attack, the Tehrike-Taliban said in an email sent to journalists that the assault was carried out by its special suicide unit, in response to several military operations against the TTP.

Pak considering US request to join anti-IS coalition ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is considering the US request to join a multi-nation coalition against the ISIS terror group which has now become the biggest threat to peace globally. Sources say that by joining the new coalition, Pakistan will receive funds under the CSF. The United states has requested Pakistan to join the Sahel to South Asia Alliance, and Pakistan is considering the request, Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.

However, both civil and military leadership is in a fix as joining the coalition will provoke domestic backlash. “Joining a new

war will be difficult to sell in the country due to opposition from political and religious groups,” said a security official. But not choosing to be a part of the group may increase isolation of the country which is already neck deep in international criticism for “not doing enough” against the war on terror. Keeping Saudi Arabia's response to

Pakistan's refusal to join a coalition led by Riyadh in Yemen, the region finds itself in quite a fix. “Now joining the new group may further anger Saudis who are already not happy with Pakistan over the issue of Yemen,” the official said.

Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf of Imran Khan and hardline Jamaat-e-Islami party are expected to protest against any move to coalition led by the US. Experts believe that the decision to join anti-IS alliance would need sup-

port of the Parliament where any move to sanction is unlikely to succeed.

However, strategically Pakistan would not gain much by sitting outside as it will deprive itself of any opportunity for joint trainings, meetings or monetary assistance like the Coalition Support Funds (CSF) under which it has received billions of dollars, experts say.

Government sources said that by joining the new coalition, Pakistan can expect that funds under the CSF may continue to flow, which otherwise are expected to be stopped after 2015.

WORLD

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UN seeks special court on Lanka war crimes AsianVoiceNews

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

DiCaprio, Malala to grace Global Citizen Festival

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein

The report found that both, the Lankan army forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had committed several violations during the decades long war in the island nations.

GENEVA: The United Nations, after finding evidence “strongly indicating” that war crimes were committed in Sri Lanka during the end of its civil war, has called for a special “hybrid” international court to investigate people responsible for the atrocities.

Released by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 30th session of the UNHRC, the 220 page report found that both, the Lankan army forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had committed several violations during the decades long war in the island nations. Zeid Ra'ad alHussein said the report wasn't exactly “earth shattering in terms of revelations” but would certainly provide “focus and clarity” and “a good foundation for criminal investigations to proceed”.

He told reporters, “We have not cited names because we were looking at broader patterns of organisation and planning which breach the threshold of... war crimes and crimes against humanity... It was apparent that organisation and planning in the commission of many of these crimes.”

The Sri Lankan government has been pressurising for its own individual probe, resisting foreign scrutiny. The UN's report reads, “ Our investigation has laid bare the horrific level of violations and abus-

UNITED NATIONS: The Global Citizen Festival will see Leonardo DiCaprio, Bono, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai along with Bill and Melinda Gates, on stage in New York city. The event that will unfold on September 26 stars Beyonce, Pearl Jam and Coldplay, highlights the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be present along with several Prime Ministers and CEOs. Previously announced celebrity hosts include Stephen Colbert, Kerry Washington, Salma Hayek Pinault, Olivia Wilde and Hugh Jackman. Ed Sheeran, Common and Indian singer Sunidhi Chauhan will be performing in Central Park for the multi-hour event. The event will mark the launch of an ambitious set of global development goals.

Village where girls turn into boys aged 12

es that occurred in Sri Lanka, including indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence, recruitment of children and other grave crimes.”

Zeid remarked that, “The levels of mistrust in state authorities and institutions by broad segments of Sri Lanka society should not be underestimated.”

One of the most horrifying find of the investigation was the level of sexual violence committed against detainees by the Lankan security forces.

Distressing testimonies from 30 survivors of sexual violence pointed out that the incidents were not isolated acts but part of a deliberate policy designed to inflict torture. It was also found that children were often abducted by the separatists from their homes, schools, temples

and checkpoints and sent to the front lines as soldiers, while a group linked to the government had also recruited children.

Enforced disappearances affected tens of thousands of Sri Lankans for decades, including throughout the 26-year armed conflict with the LTTE, the report said. “There are reasonable grounds to believe that enforced disappearances may have been committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population.”

“In particular, there are reasonable grounds to believe that a large number of individuals who surrendered during the final phase of the war were disappeared, and remain unaccounted for. Many others, including people not directly linked to the conflict, disappeared, typically after abduction in 'white vans',” the report added.

Campaign groups have said the report has “huge significance” and will not only shape Sri Lanka’s future but “could play a major part in defining what is lawful in modern warfare”. “There is now no doubt that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by both sides of Sri Lanka’s civil war, and that many of the tens of thousands of civilians who died in the early months of 2009 were murdered by their own government,” said Fred Carver, campaign director for the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice. “The only way to end this cycle of violence and to build a lasting peace in Sri Lanka is with prosecutions that will break the prevailing culture of impunity. The survivors of Sri Lanka’s civil war have made it clear that these prosecutions must be led by the international community.”

Hindus find Selena’s 'Om' tattoo 'out of line' NEVADA (US): Hindus have found American actor/singer Selena Gomez’s reported “Om” tattoo on her upper left thigh as highly “irreverent and disrespectful.” Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, said that Hindus usually started and ended their prayers with “Om.” Such trivialization of “Om” was upsetting to Hindus and it was highly inappropriate for Selena to place such revered and sacred symbol of Hinduism with high religious significance on her thigh, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said.

In April 2013, Hindus

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described Selena’s debut performance of "Come & Get It” at MTV Awards ceremony in California wearing bindi as “insensitive.”

Rajan Zed suggested that as a renowned performer, Selena should get acquainted with the basics of world religions. Zed said that Hollywood needed to

understand that Hinduism, with about one billion adherents, was oldest and third largest religion of the world with a rich philosophical thought. Its concepts and symbols had well-defined meanings and purposes and these were not created just for Hollywood’s usage to add

dramatic affects as some sanctity and spirituality was attached to these, Zed stated.

Hindus welcomed Hollywood and other celebrities to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and respectfully and not just for showing of Hindu symbols and concepts to advance their selfish agenda. Casual flirting sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols and hurting the devotees, Zed added. He said that if Selena or other entertainers needed any assistance about Hinduism, he or other Hindu scholars would be glad to help.

SALINAS: Guevedoce children of the Dominican Republic literally seem to change their sex once they hit puberty. A condition that affects over 1 per cent of the boys born in the remote village of Salinas, Guevedoces, also called “machihembras” which means “first a woman, then a man”, appear to be completely female at birth and are brought up as girls. Michael Mosley, the man who documented their life, said, “When they’re born, they look like girls with no testes and what appears to be a vagina. It is only when they near puberty that the penis grows and testicles descend.” Not all Guevedoces in the Dominican Republic change their name upon hitting puberty, some grown men in the region have female names throughout their life. The condition is not isolated to just the Dominican Republic, it’s also been observed in Turkey and New Guinea.

Government to oust 'extremist' trustees from charities

LONDON: A leaked draft of the Home Office's new counter-extremism strategy says new legal powers for the Charity Commission to sack “extremist” trustees,will be used with more leniency. The draft states that “once the legislation is enacted, the Charity Commission will take action against all trustees who meet the definition of extremism set out in this document.” The strategy document defines extremism as “the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” The strict approach comes after a number of aid charities have been regularly accused of channelling funds to terror groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and have trustees with links to those organisations.

Court rules to prevent airlines from escaping payouts

LONDON: A landmark court decision to help delayed air passengers from getting their money back has prevented airlines from escaping payouts by blaming delays on “extraordinary circumstances”. The ruling from Europe affects more than 900,000 passengers who have been delayed for three hours or more in the past six years and are entitled to compensation under the EU law. Airlines previously denied compensation claims on the basis of a technical defect being “spontaneous and unpredictable”, an excuse which will not work under any more according to judges at the European Court of Justice.

Vacancy for a Hindu Priest

Applications are invited from qualified Hindu Priests to be part of a dynamic team in a large and famous Hindu Temple in Southall.

Applicants must be able to conduct all religious ceremonies including marriages, births and deaths, in fluent English Hindi and Punjabi and should be able to sing Bhajans and deliver discourse on Hindu scriptures. They should also be able to perform all religious ceremonies.

Send your full CV to the General Secretary, Vishwa Hindu Kendra, 2 Lady Margaret Road Southall UB1 2RA

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INDIA

TN mining baron grilled over human sacrifice

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

MADURAI (TAMIL NADU): Mining baron P R Palanisamy was interrogated for nearly eight hours following allegations of human sacrifice against him by the Madurai police.

A former employee, M Servarkodiyan has claimed that the group targeted mentally challenged people for human sacrifice and that he himself had brought some of the men from Pudukottai district.

A senior officer has said, “We gave him a long questionnaire. His replies were video recorded and transcribed as well. This is just a primary statement.”

The police had exhumed skeletal remains of four

bodies from a graveyard outside the district after Palanisamy's former driver alleged that he had got two men killed as human sacrifice and buried them 16 years ago. However, some locals have come forward to claim the bodies were of their dead relatives. The

UDF govt considers 'Make in Kerala' to attract investors THIRUVANANTHAPUR AM: The Congress led UDF government has said it is considering a “Make in Kerala” programme based on the model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Make in India, to woo more investments in different sectors of the state.

Industries and IT minister P K Kunhalikutty said several areas have been identified for the programme.

“We welcome the Centres' Make in India programme. We are planning several programmes and industrial associations in the state on par with the initiative,” he said. He also reported that FICCI had identified certain areas for the Make in Kerala programme and submitted the

proposal to the government. Stating that the state government would not give 'ease clearance' like other states, he said, “Our growth concept is inclusive and it reaches to large number of people. But, we cannot be like Gujarat or any other big states in terms of easy clearance for industrial projects.

We have to consider several factors and issues before giving clearance to a project proposal.”

“Availability of land is also an issue for a state like Kerala. We cannot give easy clearance to industries like mining,” he said. About the IT sector, he said the administration would have to launch a campaign to promote the IT parks and attract investments.

skeletal remains have been sent to the forensics.

A senior police officer, Vijayendra Bidari told the media, “We would also get DNA tests done so we could establish the identity of these skeletal remains and investigate accordingly if they do not match.”

Investigators are also collecting details of missing persons to check if it corroborates with details the whistle blower has given. A case of unnatural death and destruction of evidence has been filed against four people with the mining major as the prime accused. Palanisamy was arrested in a tax evasion and illegal mining case in 2012, but is out on bail now. The allegations were originally made to senior bureaucrat U Sagayam, who had been appointed by the Madras High Court to probe allegations of tax evasion and illegal granite quarrying worth Rs. 16000 crore.

Four suspected IS supporters detained THIRUVANANTHAPUR AM: The United Arab Emirates has deported four people of Indian origin for suspected links to terrorist organisation Islamic State.

They have now been detained at Kozhikode and

Thiruvananthapuram airports in Kerala by police officials.

“We are verifying the details and questioning them to find out the authenticity of the suspicion. For now they have been detained. Their iden-

tities cannot be revealed for security reasons,” a top official said. The deported four have told interrogators that they were in touch with two men who had joined the terror group out of “curiosity towards ISIS,” as per sources.

The deportation follows the recent Afsha Jabeen alias Nicky Joseph's being sent back from the UAE for being involved in recruiting youth for ISIS. Earlier this month, a youth who was deported by Saudi Arabia was detained at the Kozhikode airport on doubts of being an Islamic State or ISIS sympathiser.

But he was released by the police after they found no evidence to confirm the links.

SC stays Haryana law Live heart travels 32 km in 27 minutes on education criteria GURGAON: In a rare event, a live heart travelled 32 km between two top private hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon in exact 27 minutes and 56 seconds, cruising past the usually choked MG Road and BRT corridor. The organ which was donated by a brain dead patient at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Sector 44, was transplanted on a patient at Fortis Escorts hospital in Okhla.

The feat was only achieved by the remarkable effort and determination shown

by Delhi and Gurgaon traffic cops who joined hands to save a life. This is the second time when police from both the cities have coordinated for a noble cause.

The heart of a young 30 year old was transported between the same hospitals in under 29 minutes in

early January.

The stretch had multiple busy crossings, worse than usual the particular day due to the premier of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's new film, but the green corridor created by the police helped complete the feat.

“A large force is deployed to manage traffic and people coming in from outside the city. However, saving a life is way more important and we have chosen the MG Road to reach Delhi where we expect lesser traffic than NH-8,” said ACP traffic, Hawa Singh.

Dr Atamjot Grewal, FMRI medical director, said, “The heart can remain outside for not more than four hours. As soon as the heart is harvested, surgery begins to keep the recipient’s chest open for the transplant.”

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued a stay on a law in Haryana that sets mandatory educational qualifications for candidates contesting Panchayat election in the state. It has also sought response from the Haryana government based on a petition filed by the All India Democratic Women's Association which said the law violated a candidate's right to contest elections.

As per the law passed by the state assembly on September 7, while general candidates must have passed class 10 examinations, women and Dalit candidates are required to have cleared class 8 to contest the Panchayat polls.

They should also not have a criminal conviction, no pending electricity bills or loan payments and a work-

ing toilet. However, the petition against the law said that it made most of the candidates in the state ineligible and is mostly against the constitution. The law had been passed in the assembly following a similar ordinance issued by the BJP government got a stay ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Panchayat elections in Haryana are scheduled to be held in three phases, on October 4, 11 and 18. Over million voters are eligible to vote in the elections. More than 72,000 posts of panchayat members, panchayat samitis and zila parishads will be up for vote, nominations for which opened on September 15. The State Election Commission has said that it would set up more than 21,000 polling booths for the election.

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A village comes out to save this baby

ERNAKULAM: Certain incidents bring to light the underlying humanity that links humans and animals.

Marking one such event, separated from its family, a six year old baby elephant found itself trapped in a well in Kerala's Ernakulam district recently. Determined locals and forest rangers instantly acting to save the elephant, launched a major operation, making efforts with an earthmover to bring the baby out. Meeting the humans half way, the resilient elephant helped clear the earth in front of the 15 feet deep pit and managed to climb her way out of the pit and go into the jungle amongst cheers of joy among the spectators.

Rare gold coins found in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Telangana state archaeology department has put on display a rich haul of artefacts that showcased 140 gold coins discovered in Khammam district dating back to the Krishnadevaraya period. In the media briefing, the officials said the coins were found by four people in an open field. Their fight for the coins attracted the attention of the police who seized them from the villagers and handed over to archaeologists. Other artefacts included 55 palm leaf manuscripts found by a schoolgirl in Nalgonda district. The manuscripts contain scriptures written in modern Telugu and throw light on 'Bandila Magga Maya Charitra'.

Godavari, Krishna rivers formally linked

VIJAYAWADA: Godavari has formally been connected with the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu performed puja and inaugurated a pylon at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada where Godavari's water was linked to the river. The interlinking will prove helpful to the farmers in the Krishna delta as they have been facing extreme shortage of water ever since Karnataka allegedly raised the height of the Almatti project. Addressing the event, Naidu said the previous NDA government had initiated the scheme to merge the rivers while the UPA government had chosen to “ignore” it. After the formal event, the chief minister switched on the first pump of the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme in West Godavari. The water that came out was diverted to Rayala.

Jaya launches 'Annadhanam' in Tamil Nadu temples

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has launched the extension of the Annadhanam scheme in 206 other temples of the state and distributed worship articles worth £2,44000 to 10,000 shrines. She has also sanctioned the time-pay scale remuneration for 820 personnel working on daily wages and consolidated pay under the scheme in temples. As a token of the launch, she handed over worship articles to five priests and 10,000 tiny shrines in the state, all at a cost of Rs £2,44000. Launched in 2002 in the Sri Kabalishwarar Temple, the Annadhanam Scheme covers over 500 temples, benefiting thousands of devotees every day.

Haryana on high alert against dengue CHANDIGARH: Haryana health minister Anil Vij has put hospitals across the state on high alert and urged them to go for a sanitation campaign to prevent the onset and spread of dengue. “We have put our hospitals on high alert. We have provided equipment to the hospitals wherever there is a shortage. We have told the district officers to take a massive cleanliness drive to run the sanitation campaign,” Vij said. He added, “Till now, 542 confirmed cases have been reported in Haryana and one death.

Initially it was seen in the adjoining state of Delhi and is spreading very fast.” The state government in the capital has started to take precautionary measures and has instructed government and private hospitals to not turn away patients with dengue symptoms.

Fraud charge against Sarabjit's sister

JALANDHAR: Sarabjit Singh's sister who was accused of fraudulently getting a government job for her own daughter which was actually given to Sarabjit's child, has claimed that Swapandeep Kaur was her martyred brother's child and has claimed that she will face any probe to prove it. She said even though the girl's marksheets bear her and her husband Baldev Singh's name, she is indeed Sarabjit Singh's daughter. “When my husband took her (Swapandeep) to school for admission, the school authorities said that the girl will admitted only if her parent were educated. Hence, my husband got our name registered as her parents as Sarbajit was in Pakistan and his wife Sukhpreet was uneducated,” Dalbir said.

INDIA

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Air-India planning direct Ahmedabad London flight Air India is planning to start a direct flight between Ahmedabad and London, an A-I official said. They are also gearing to begin the world's longest non-stop commercial flight – linking India's IT hotspot Bengaluru with San Francisco in US. Once the plan materialises it would be the world's longest nonstop commercial flight since the two cities are almost 14,000 km apart. At present the longest non-stop commercial flight is operated by Australian airliner Qantas between Dallas Fort Worth in the US and Sydney which is a 13,730 km journey.

Next year, UAE's mega carrier Emirates will link

Dubai with Panama City, a distance of 13,760 km.

Avoiding the war zones of Iraq and Syria will lead to diversions that will increase the length of the journey.

“We are planning to have a non-stop from either Delhi or Bengaluru to San Francisco on our Boeing 777-200 long range aircraft.

We are also planning a direct service between Ahmedabad and London,” said an AI official. If it opts for Bengaluru-San Francisco link, the flying time will be almost 17 to 18 hours for the world's longest non-stop commercial. The announcement for the same could be made when PM Modi travels to Silicon Valley later this week.

North India struggles to cope with employment security An Indian job advert for office tea boys and night guards in Uttar Pradesh has attracted over 2.3 million applicants, including highly qualified graduates, pointing out the desperation for job security shown by Indian youths. The overwhelming set of applications is the latest proof of the shrivelling employment prospects in the densely populated states of North India. Sources have said that it would take up to 4 years to hold interviews for the 368 junior posts advertised by the government, even if candidates were processed at 2000 a day.

India struggles to provide employment even for the 12 million school leavers who enter the work force.

Economists point their fingers at the country's restrictive labour laws which do not permit private employees to hire. Also to blame is the reservation system that prefers lower caste Indians.

Fewer than a tenth of India's 500 million workers are employed in the formal sector, and half of those are employed in government or state-owned companies.

Chairman of Oxus Investments, Surjit Bhalla said, “Everything you know is wrong with India is personified in that statistic...

Both our labour laws and the fact that in a government job you do nothing and get paid a nice, healthy, fat wage. You can't be fired.

You're there forever.” Uttar Pradesh government said it wanted peons for the state assembly to be able to ride a bicycle and at least 5 years of education, but among the applications were 255 with doctorates and 25,000 with master's degrees. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said this showed the need to cre-

ate good and productive jobs. “The problem with government jobs is they have a high status in our society. They are also very stable, they provide medical benefits, they provide housing in some cases. So they look very attractive compared to private sector jobs.

And typically at lower levels the government pays much more than the private sector.” He also added, “Business has to have the confidence that the environment will be hospitable to invest and create jobs... I don't think there is a short cut to that, we just have to move forward.”

This is not the first time Indian state employers have been swamped with applications. Last month, the Chhattisgarh state government cancelled an examination for 30 peon posts when it realised ti could not accommodate the 75,000 applicants. Uttar Pradesh officials say they may have to scrap the interview process to save time in selecting the lucky few who will be hired. “The problem is, if we start conducting interviews for all these candidates, it will take us three to four years to complete, even if we have 10 boards conducting those interviews,” said Prabhat Mittal, an administration secretary of the state government.

“We had not anticipated the situation. In 2006, for about 260 jobs we received 100,000 applications. But in nine years the figure has gone up so much. One reason is perhaps the easy access, because the government had distributed 1.5m laptops and people sitting in remote areas can apply at the click of a mouse. In 2006, applications were made offline.”

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Modi to tour US, Ireland from Sept 23-29 Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

The prime minister will host a summit of G-4 leaders in New York, where the main agenda will be the United Nations Security Council reforms. Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are the G4 nations

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and Ireland from September 23 to 29 is being watched closely, not just by the business community but even the average citizen.

They're hoping to see another Madison Squarelike event from Modi, given the hype being created by the prime minister and his supporters.

The tour, which starts on 23 September and ends on 29 September, will cover Ireland and the US. Modi in a few Facebook posts explained what he would do during his tour.

Here's what he will do there: September 23: Modi said he would be going to Ireland on September 23. It is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to that country in almost 60 years.

He will hold talks with Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny.

"We hope to further develop strong people-topeople and economic ties with Ireland in the years to come. In Ireland, I will also interact with the Indian community," he wrote in

Saudi diplomat withdrawn from India Saudi Arabia has withdrawn the diplomat accused of repeatedly raping and torturing two Nepali maids working at his home near New Delhi, ending an awkward diplomatic incident for India.

The case had caught India between Saudi Arabia, one of its largest oil suppliers, and Nepal, a small neighbour where it is battling with China for influence.

India took the unusual step of naming the diplomat Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi embassy, in a statement announcing his departure. The statement said Ashoor was protected under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which grants diplomats immunity from arrest, criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits when they are posted overseas. The incident posed a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is due to make a rare visit to Saudi Arabia later this year. At the same time he has made improving relations with neighbouring Nepal, one of his top foreign policy priorities. The Nepali women were rescued from the diplomat's recently after a tip off from a human trafficking group and the Nepalese embassy.

Narendra Modi the FB post.

September 24: Modi will travel to the US. This is his second visit to the country. The earlier one was a major event. Modi and his supporters are working to ensure this one will get more eyeballs than the previous trip. In New York City, Modi will address the UN Sustainable Development Summit for formal adoption of post2015 new sustainable development agenda.

He will also participate in a summit hosted by US President Barack Obama on peacekeeping.

The prime minister will host a summit of G-4 leaders in New York, where the main agenda will be the United Nations Security

Council reforms.

Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are the G4 nations.

He will be meeting several world leaders and also holding interactions with leading investors and financial sector firms. This will include a working dinner where representatives of major Fortune-500 companies will be present to deliberate on investment opportunities in India, according to a report.

September 26-27: Modi will visit West Coast to participate in several programmes. "It would be after a gap of almost 33 years that an Indian PM would be visiting the west coast - the home of start-ups, innovation and technology," he said.

Modi said he would also be part of a Townhall Q&A at the Facebook HQ along with Mark Zuckerberg, and said it would be an event "you shouldn't miss".

"I have already invited you all to share your questions through Facebook or

the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App.' I will also see some recent technological innovations at the Google (Alphabet) campus and Tesla Motors. I will address a Renewable Energy Roundtable with USDOC and Stanford University," the PM said.

September 27: IT industry body Nasscom, TiE Silicon Valley, and IIM Ahmedabad's CIIE India will host the first India-US Startup Konnect in the Silicon Valley. It aims to showcase the strengths of India's startup ecosystem.

The day-long event will highlight multiple dimensions of Indian innovation capabilities, represented by more than 30 startups across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, energy, financial inclusion, and biotechnology, as well as leading technology business incubators in the country.

The startups will exhibit products, prototypes and achievements to their investors and other potential Valley partners.

Modi will also interact with the Indian community on the day.

INDIA - WORLD

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Gujarati shot dead in Mozambique Within a week of an Ankleshwar native being killed in South Africa, another 55-year-old man from Karjan taluka was shot dead in his house in Mozambique last week.

Hanif Mohammed Banglawala, a native of Valan village in Karjan, was shot at by four people who barged into his house with an intention of robbery.

Hanif was preparing to go to sleep in his room while his wife and daughter were in the kitchen.

The assailants entered the house and snatched two mobile phones and a laptop from Hanif's wife and daughter.

They locked up both women inside the kitchen and came out. Hanif, who heard the commotion, came out from his room and saw the assailants.

Before he could react, they opened fire and shot four bullets at him. One bullet pierced through Hanif's neck and another hit his

waist.

The assailants then fled. Hanif was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died during the treatment.

Sources said that Hanif stayed in the Valan village till he turned 18 and then shifted to Saudi Arabia, where he stayed for 24 years. He came back for a year. About six years ago, he migrated to Mozambique and opened a provision store there. He stayed there with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.

His younger daughter Tabassum and son Rizwan study in Karjan.

This is third incident of attack on Gujaratis in Africa in last one month.

Few days before, Ishrak Chauhan and his brother Imran, who originally hail from Hansot in Bharuch, were attacked by unidentified persons in Peteirsberg city in South Africa. While Ishrak died on the spot, Imran suffered injuries in the attack.

On September 6, 40year-old Biren Patel, a native of Anand, was stabbed by two unidentified assailants with a sharp-edged weapon in South Africa. Patel was attacked when he was closing his provision store in Pretoria when assailants barged in, robbed the provision store and slit Patel's throat.

will meet with Modi in October to discuss the issue. They will also press on the prime minister to approach the Russian and British governments to declassify files on Netaji by their respective spy agencies.

The All India Forward Bloc, founded by Bose, welcomed the decision.

“We hope these papers will throw more light on the plan and procedure of Netaji by utilising the situation of World War II in

favour of liberation of our motherland, India. It will also reveal conspiracy of the then Congress party to keep Netaji away from Independent India,” party general secretary Debabrata Biswas said in a statement.

Meanwhile, NRIs based in Britain have launched a global awareness campaign to collect public opinion favouring the declassification of files as they believe Indians have the right to truth.

The Netaji Subhas Foundation UK will mark August 18 as Declassification Day as a symbolic reference to the day he was believed to have died. Issuing a statement, the foundation said, “The mystery about Netaji's disappearance refuses to die down. A mass awareness campaign is being run in India.

Naturally, we Indians living abroad cannot be left out of this movement.”

Led by Indian-origin parliamentarian Lord Navnit Dholakia, the foundation was set up with a goal to “create awareness amongst NRIs about the declassification movement as well as impress upon the British government that Netaji was a true nationalist.”

Author of India's Biggest Cover Up, Anuj Dhar has dedicated his life to the issue and has been leading a RTI campaign for years. He said, “Seventy years is a long time for someone to disappear. Indians have a right to know the truth. The excuse given by successive governments is that the information contained in the classified files will 'spoil India's relations with foreign countries'.

This movement for transparency is about getting to the bottom of what really happened to Netaji.” Dhar had given the keynote speech in an annual lecture of the Netaji Subhas Foundation in UK in June this year.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has long haunted not only India, but also the world. On August 22, 1945, Tokyo Radio had announced the death of Netaji in an air crash in Formosa on August 18, en route to Japan. The theory has since then been rejected and rubbished by scores of the leader's followers and several historians.

Hanif Mohammed Banglawala

Bengal lifts the smokescreen off Netaji mystery CONTINUED FROM P1

is claimed to possess over 100 such files. “The Centre has no other option but to declassify the files it has,” Netaji's grandnephew and family spokesperson Chandra Kumar Bose said.

“The more important files that can unravel the mystery behind his disappearance are with the central government departments and its time for Modi to act.” A group of family members and researchers

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Patel agitation shows no signs of flaming out Poster boy of the Gujarat Patel reservation agitation, Hardik Patel was once again arrested and detained

by Surat police, along with 35 of his supporters ahead of his 'Ekta Yatra'. The step bore similar and expected consequences as community members led vociferous protests calling for the leader's immediate release.

The arrest was followed by massive protests and violent demonstrations and, mobile internet service ban across the state, much to the agony of the citizens.

Tensions grew in Ahmedabad as areas witnessed protests by Patel women who came out in flocks, clanging utensils against rolling pins. The police booked nearly 1000

women for throwing stones at a OBC-dominated Rabari colony. Inspector Paresh Solanki of Ramol police station said, “We have registered a case of rioting against 4500 unidentified people, including 800 to 1000 women.”

Meanwhile, all prepped to oppose Hardik's rally, OBC community leader Alpesh Thakor of the OBC Ekta Manch had sought permission from the government to take out a 'Pratikar Yatra' in retaliation to Hardik's Ekta Rally, which was denied by Navsari collector Remya Mohan. He announced that, “If they will take out their rally, we will be there in each and every village to stop them.”

CONTINUED FROM P1 seven provinces of the country for administrative purposes. The clashes also causes concerns in India as the Madhes region shares its borders with Bihar, an election- bound Indian state. Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar rushed to Kathmandu to deal with the issue firsthand. In a text titled “Statement on the situation in Nepal,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that it has always supported a “federal, democratic, republican and inclusive constitution.” Crucially, it didn’t say whether, in India’s opinion, Nepal’s new constitution could be defined as that, but it did include a paragraph on its concerns about “the situation in several parts of the country bordering India” where violence has broken out in recent weeks. The statement further said, “We are concerned that the situation in several parts of the country bordering India continues to be violent. Our ambassador in Kathmandu has spoken to the Prime Minister of Nepal in this regard. We urge that issues on which there are differences should be resolved through dialogue in an atmosphere free from violence and intimidation, and institutionalised in a manner that would enable broad-based ownership and acceptance. This would lay the foundation of harmony, progress and development in Nepal.” As violence refused to mellow, India was forced to call Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae back to Delhi for consultations. It also issued its third rather stern statement warning Nepal government to act accordingly and as needed. It read that it “repeatedly cautioned the political leadership of Nepal to take urgent steps to defuse the tension in [the

Terai] region. This, if done in a timely manner, could have avoided these serious developments,” the statement added.

India's reaction has not gone well with the Nepalese government and the protesters, as #BackOffIndia soon began to trend on Twitter and Facebook accusing New Delhi of interfering in the country’s internal matters.

Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay said he was “completely surprised” by the neighbouring country's reaction. “On a day when Nepal was celebrating, India didn’t join in with us, that surprised us. I wish they had taken us into confidence about their reservations earlier,” Upadhyay said, adding that Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar’s mission to Nepal last Friday, just before Sunday’s ceremony “came too late”. “We hope India realises this Constitution is just the beginning, a starting point from which we can move ahead to resolve our differences,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations, acknowledging the adoption of the constitution, has voiced its concern about the drama that unfolds. Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Stephanie Dujarric said, “Noting that the constitution is a living document, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has urged the political leaders to act in the broad national interest with continued flexibility and inclusivity.”

“A peaceful and democratic Nepal is what the people of Nepal seek and deserve,” Dujarric said.

The new Constitution has 37 divisions, 304 articles and seven annexes. The seven provinces will be finalised by a high-level commission within a year.

40 killed as clashes erupt over new Nepal constitution

AsianVoiceNews

HEALTH&WELLNESS

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly| Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Hot water treatment can make Breastfeeding

TOMATOES TASTIER FOOD

group of scientists in the United States has discovered an ingenious and simple way to keep tomatoes fresh and tastier. Dunking ripe tomatoes in hot water for five minutes before they are stored in a cool place for transport to retailers locks in flavour that is otherwise lost, the scientists said.

British tomato farmers argue that the subtropical fruit should never be kept in the fridge but tomatoes from all over Europe are shipped to the UK in refrigerated lorries to delay ripening before they go on sale.

Jinhe Bai, a chemist at the US Department of Agriculture who led the study, found that the chilling process was to blame for tomatoes tasting bland. He placed green Florida-grown tomatoes in water heated to 51.6C for five minutes,

FITNESS

compounds,” Bai said. In the tests the pre-heated tomatoes had more flavour and smelt as if they had just been picked. Bai said: “There’s no negative effect from

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before cooling them to room temperature and then chilling them to the level that is used for shipping.

“Heating and then chilling increases the tomato’s resistance to the internal chilling injury that is causing the loss of the aroma

The health benefits of

COCONUT OIL C oconut oil is highly popular for its unique taste and the multiple health benefits it offers. It helps with weight-loss, boosts immunity, improves digestion and helps treat skin and hair problems.

What makes coconut oil so unique?

1. Coconut oil

consists of saturated fatty acids and most of them are medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), known as the healthy form of saturated fats. These MCT metabolize differently in the body as they rapidly get converted into energy source in the liver and do not deposit as fat in the body.

2. It contains lauric acid

To Our Readers

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

which get converted into monolaurin in the body.

Monolaurin helps in fighting against viruses, fungi and bacteria.

3. Coconut oil consists of a polyunsaturated fatty acid known as linoleic acid which is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid.

Linoleic acid is an important dietary requirement.

4. Coconut oil also has polyphenols which works as an

antioxidant. It also contains Gallic acid which is responsible for the fragrance and the taste of the coconut oil.

5. Coconut oil is rich in Vitamin E, K and minerals such as iron.

The health benefits of coconut oil • It's good for the heart Coconut oil contains 50% lauric acid which helps in maintaining cholesterol levels and normalizes high blood pressure. It does not increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) which is the bad cholesterol and reduces inflammation of arteries.

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LIFESTYLE

the hot water treatment and it will help to kill fungi or bacteria on the fruit that cause post-harvest diseases, and it should be an easy

practice to adopt.”

Chris Joy, the owner of Ringwould Nurseries in Kent, which supplies tomatoes to London markets, said that tomatoes should not be put in the fridge until they were fully ripe.

“Flavour in a tomato comes from the sugar content and to gain the most sugar content it has to ripen naturally. Once it’s really red you can keep it in the fridge for weeks because it is as ripe as it’s going to get and the flavour will already be there,” he said.

British tomatoes from farmers’ markets or small producers are unlikely to have been refrigerated because they will have been picked only a few days before, he said. To replicate Bai’s test the water in which the tomatoes are heated must be about 50C.

• Skin care - It's an excellent moisturizer for all skin type. It delays the onset of wrinkles and sagging of skin. It helps in treating skin problems like psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, etc.

• Hair care - Coconut oil provides all the nutrients required for hair growth. It makes the hair look shiny and acts as an excellent hair conditioner.

• Weight-loss - It increases the body's metabolic rate, is easy to digest and helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and endocrine gland.

• Boosts immunity Lauric acid present in coconut oil gets converted into monolaurin which help fight bacteria and viruses.

• Improves digestion It helps in improving digestion and prevents IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). The saturated fats present in coconut oil have antimicrobial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi and parasites that cause indigestion.

• Healing properties When applied on an infected area, it forms a layer and prevents it from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and viruses. It helps in healing process of damaged tissues.

• Coconut oil improves secretion of insulin, which helps in maintaining blood glucose levels and helps in managing diabetes.

• It helps in treating Pancreatitis.

• Coconut Oil prevents the accumulation of body fat - It can be used for cooking, baking and can be added to different recipes like yogurt, smoothies, soups and hot drinks.

o drink water with meals or not is an issue which is confusing many people.

Sports nutritionist Deepshikha Agarwal says that water during meals may dilute enzymes. "The acids and enzymes that are necessary for digestion get diluted if you are drinking water with your meals, so it is best to avoid drinking water when you are eating.

Have a glass of water halfan-hour before you sit down for your meals." She recommends that ideally there should be a gap of at least 45 minutes to one hour after one finishes their lunch/dinner. She adds, "Avoid water immediately after meals."

No one rule applies to all. Clinical nutritionist Priya Karkera says that there is no one single flat rule that applies to all when it comes to having water with meals. "When treating obesity we recommend that one should have

may reduce the risk of autism in babies

study of nearly hundred infants showed that breastfeeding a baby may reduce its risk of developing autism. Babies who were exclusively breastfed for longer were more likely to prefer looking at happy eyes and less likely to prefer looking at angry eyes.

While autism is hard to diagnose before 24 months, children later diagnosed with the condition have been seen to pay less attention to people's eyes from between two and six months old.

Previous research has found that toddlers, adolescents and adults with autism disorder may have “abnormalities looking to the eyes.” Breastfeeding, which supplies the hormone oxytocin to babies, has been linked to

increased sensitivity to emotions. The findings only applied to babies with a specific variation in the CD3 gene, which is associated with lower levels of oxytocin and increased risk of autism.

The researchers said their findings showed that differences in sensitivity to emotional eyes were linked to both genetic and external factors. Kathleen Krol from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig Germany, led the research which looked at 98 sevenmonth-old babies.

a glass of water before meals because that will make the person feel full and he/she will eat less because the appetite will reduce considerably."

Karkera states that water is essential for our body and it is not harmful if one sips a little water during meals.

Is it okay? Dietitian and nutritionist, Khushboo Sahijwani believes that there is no harm in consuming water during meals if one really feels like. "We keep hearing that drinking water during a meal makes

one feel full too soon and thus affects appetite and if one has it immediately post a meal then it affects digestion. But neither of the two reasons have a scientific backing to it.

Generally, the acidic levels of the stomach are quite high post a meal as the digestive juices are released to begin the digestion process. And there is no such food or even water which if had immediately, that will dilute the stomach acids or affect the process in anyway."

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TO DRINK or NOT TO DRINK water with meals...

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Fatwa issued against Rahman over 'Muhammad' movie AsianVoiceNews

Training programme for Kollywood technicians

Trisha is excited about working with Kamal Haasan

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

K

ollywood will shut down this November for three days, and it is all for a good cause. Around 10,000 technicians are expected to attend a certification programme led by none other than actordirector Kamal Haasan. Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Skill Development Mission that aims to train 400 million by 2022, Kamal said, “The idea is to make our technicians internationally qualified.” He has claimed to have roped in over 35 film unions and convinced the All India Film Employee Confederation to participate in the shutdown. Calling it “one of the first worker-led initiatives,” Kamal said, “Efforts like this will go a long way in getting the movie industry and I will push the industry towards pursuing excellence,” said Haasan who's chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

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ne of the most anticipated releases in the Tamil industry, Rajesh Selva's 'Thoongaavanam' stars Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj and Trisha in the main roles. An ecstatic Trisha expressed her excitement at working with Haasan again.

The actress said, “It’s a dream, come true for me to work with Kamal Haasan not once but twice. My character is very different in this film. Director Rajesh and I worked in Manmadhan Anbu earlier. He’s a friend and I know him well. He’s asked me not to reveal too much about the film!” She has worked with Raj a couple of times in movies where he has played everything, from her father to boyfriend. “I don't think there are any roles left for us to play!”

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

O

scar winning composer A R Rahman has responded to the religious edict, or 'Fatwa', issued against him and Iranian director Majid Majidi. He said he did not intend to offend anyone when he composed the music for an Iranian movie 'Muhammad: The Messenger of God' based on Prophet Muhammad. Rahman said in a message that he decided to compose the music in good faith and had no intention of causing offence. He said the film only intended to “unite humanity, clear misconceptions and spread... the message that life is about kindness.”

The film found itself surrounded with controversy in several Arab countries due to its theme.

Islamic law opposes any depiction of the Prophet, even the ones in favour, for fear of idolatry.

Mumbai-based Raza Academy has urged Muslims not to watch the movie, calling it a “mockery” of the religion. In the fatwa, that was issued last week, the Academy demanded that the Indian government ban the screening of the film, which narrates the story of the Prophet's life from birth to the age of 13. The 48-year-old musician was born a Hindu, but converted to Islam in 1989 and adopted the name Allah Rakha Rahman.

Rajinikanth starts shooting for ‘Kabali’

S

outh superstar Rajinikanth has started shooting for his next 'Kabali'. Produced

by Kalaipuli Thanu and directed by Pa. Ranjith, it is said Rajini has given a 106 day call sheet and will shoot for the film till the end of January. The first leg of shoot will be carried out in Chennai, and the next in Malaysia. The team had released the movie's first look last week where a sleek looking Rajinikanth, who plays a mafia don in the movie is seen sitting on a couch in a suave grey suit. With salt and pepper hair and white beard, the actor sits cross-legged with the Malaysian twin towers in the background. A second poster shows him as local goon Kabaleeshwaran.

'Calendar Girls'

An Indian drama that revolves around 5 girls from different parts of the country, chosen to pose for the country's most prestigious annual calendar. This movie

marks the debut of all the 5 girls in the Hindi film industry. Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, “Calendar Girls” is yet another take on the society.

'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon' Directed by veteran duo Abbas-Mustan, 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon' is a romantic comedy that features stand up star, Kapil Sharma, along with 4 other actresses.

Other members of the cast include Arbaaz Khan, Manjari Phadnis, Amrita Puri, Simran Kaur Mundi, Elli Avram, Sai Lokur, Varun Sharma, Supriya Pathak, Sharat Saxena, Manoj Joshi, Sharad Sankla, and Johnny Lever's daughter Jamie Lever.

'Bhaag Johnny' ' B h a a g Johnny' is a thriller directed by S h y a m Nair and produced b y Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Vikram Bhatt. The film stars K u n a l Khemu, Z o a Morani and marks the debut of actress Mandana Karim.

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SRK beats Saina Nehwal at her own game AsianVoiceNews

B

adshah Shah Rukh Khan has always had his ways with the ladies, making them swoon with his irresistible wit, charms and dimples. He recently met with badminton champion Saina Nehwal in her town Hyderabad, later tweeting late-night photos of the two posing with their racquets.

He also posted the photo on Instagram with caption, “Dhal gaya din (tuk). Ho gayi shaam (tuk)...Jaane doh jaana hai. Who all know this song from Humjoli?? My tuk tuk moment with Saina.” An evidently excited Sania tweeted, “Oh my GOD Shahrukh sir ur such a nice person very happy to meet u. U made my day thank u so much.”

Saina earlier mailed SRK on Twitter asking if she could stop by the sets of Dilwale to meet him. He told he'd call to set up a date, and he kept his word.

On the sets of Dilwale, the 25-year-old shuttle champ had her very own 'DDLJ' moment. She'd already met actress Kajol, SRK's heroine in both movies, a day before.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Ranveer ready to wait a lifetime for Deepika

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A

ctor Ranveer Singh who is known for his quirky personality, was his own self at a promotional event of 'Bajirao Mastani' in Pune when he said he would wait for his rumoured girlfriend Deepika Padukone for a lifetime.

When asked if she would wait for a lifetime for him too, Deepika said, “What? You have to ask him in what context he said that.

Wait at a restaurant... or...”

The 30 year old actor said it was just a joke before adding, “It was one of those random, smart, wisecracks which I cracked by saying 'she is so beautiful that I will wait all my life for her'. You guys waited since morning for us.

So if you ask me I would say she is so gorgeous that I would wait for her all my life.”

To this, Deepika interrupted saying, “I don't understand English at this point.” Deepika said that she has not seen any change in him as a person.

“As a person I think he is the same... same energy and same enthusiasm, same protectiveness and same warmth. As a person he has not changed.” She further said, “As an actor he has grown tremendously after Band Baaja Baarat. Ram Leela was a defining point in his career. He can do a film like Band Baaja Baarat, Lootera, Ram Leela, Dil Dhadakane Do, he plays different kind of characters convincingly on screen.”

Las Vegas honours Anupam Kher

Farming gives pleasure to Nawazuddin

o l l o w i n g Houston, now Las Vegas in the United States has declared September 10 as Anupam Kher Day. The veteran Bollywood actor has also been provided with a Certificate of Excellence by Nevada Senator Ruben Kihuen for his quality work in the film industry. “Thank you for bringing such an extraordinary performance to Las Vegas and various other cities around USA. It has been an honour to meet and watch the cinematic genius live on stage”, said Ruben after the declaration. Kher, who was thrilled to receive the honour said, “It is said that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But this honour by the State of Nevada will not stay only in Vegas but will travel to the world and to my beloved country and prove my philosophy of life mein kuch bhi ho sakta hai.”

ontemporary a c t o r Nawazuddin Siddique, who is known for his roles in 'Gangs of Wasseypur' and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' doesn't holiday like normal stars do. The 'Badlapur' actor recently took some time off work and returned to his village in Uttar Pradesh, where he even did some farming. “Nawazuddin had been working non-stop for a while now and really wanted to get away. He had been talking about going back to his village for some time. His mother and his brothers stay there and he has been wanting to meet them, but he never had the time,” says a source. “Not only has he been taking it easy back home, but he also decided to do some farming,” adds our source.

Nawazuddin quoted, “I have done farming for 20 years of my life. Whenever I get time, I take it up. It’s our ancestral occupation. It gives me a lot of pleasure..”

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Arjun Kapoor endorses the idea of house husband

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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ctor Arjun Kapoor who plays the role of a house husband in his next 'Ki and Ka', opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan has revealed that he completely endorses the idea of a husband supporting his ambitious wife. In an interview, he said, “There is nothing wrong being a house husband and I do believe there is something right about it. When you see the film, you will realise why I feel so.

I think society has to accept the choices younger generation makes. They have their own reasons and understandings.”

The movie, directed by R Balki revolves around the nuances of a relations h i p between a house hus-

Priyanka Chopra has 11 mn followers on Twitter

B

ollywood actors have a knack for social media, raging in the virtual world with glimpses into their personal lives.

'Dostana' actress Priyanka Chopra who joined Twitter in 2009, recently reached the 11 million followers on the micro-blogging website and 3 million followers on Instagram. One of the most popular celebrities online, she shared a video to express her excitement. “Thank u guys for the love!! #3MillionOnInstagram #11millionOnTwitter so Grateful!,” the Mary Kom star tweeted along with the video link. “11 million on twitter, 3 million on Instagram. Thank you so much. I truly feel very very loved... Very excited,” she said in the video. Gearing up for the US premiere of her debut in American television with 'Quantico', Chopra has quite a lot on her plate for now and seems to be juggling between projects.

band and his career oriented wife. “The film is based in Delhi. So, it's an important aspect. It will be unique and quirky in typical Balki-style. It's today's love story. The premise and the philosophy of the film are very relatable. The film is not just about the song, dance and fun,” said the actor, who has shot the film in Hauz Khas, India Gate and Purana Qila.

“Balki sir is a very unique director. He has got unique ideas. He's the perfect director to bring us (Kareena and I) in a relationship-driven film, which allows us an actor to come across as believable on-screen couple. It's not a frivolous masala film. He has written the roles for her and me,” Arjun said.

Rahul Sharma proposed Asin with £600,000 ring

'R

e a d y ' actress Asin is all set to tie the knot with beau Rahul Sharma. She has been dating the Micromax cofounder for the past 4 years. If rumours are to be believed, Rahul proposed the actress with a 20 carat ring worth £600,000. It is said he went down on his knees to propose and gifted her the solitaire which was imported from Belgium. It is also reported that the ring has a monorgram of 'AR' under the diamond, represent the initials of the couple. The band of the ring is made of diamonds with a special message engraved over it. Reports suggest the ring was personally designed

by Rahul through one of their common friends. The preparations for the ceremony will begin soon as they are said to get married by the end of the year.

30

UK

www.asian-voice.com

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

Paid subscribers of Asian Voice will receive a copy of the 2015 Asian Achievers Awards souvenir magazine along with their newspaper this week.

Full report of the gala award ceremony held on 18th September on page 17.

Mathai, Deputy High Commissioner Dr Virander Paul, Minister for Coordination SS Sidhu, Asian Lords and MPs, Mayor of Camden, India League Chairman CB Patel, Indian Journalists' Association President Aditi Khanna and other dignitaries.

Coming Events

l Lohana & All Hindu Gujarati Youth Samelan.

Sunday 4th October, 3:30pm- 9:30pm. Harrow High School & Sport College, London Borough of Harrow, Gayton Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2JG. Contact Jethalal: 07534 026 865. l The Bhagavad Gita: Its Contemporary RelevanceConference. Thursday 24th September- Friday 25th September. The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London W1k 1HF. For free registration, email: deputydirector@nehrucentre.org.uk l Mahatma Gandhi Foundation invites you and your family to celebrate Gandhi Jayanati on 6 October 2015, 6:30pm at Kadva Patidar Centre, HA3 8LU. Contact Nitinbhai Gheewala: 020 8429 1608

Diwali is now three months away. The New Year is knocking at the door waiting to bring in colours and light to our lives with fervour of joy and ever lasting happiness. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar as every year will be publishing the ‘Diwali Special’ Magazine for our fabulous and supportive readers like yourself. This year in the English section, we are doing something special for our young readers.

1. If you are between 5-25 years of age, write an article in English on either of the following topics in no more than 350 words, along with a suitable photo: l how do you celebrate your Diwali every year OR l Your most memorable Diwali with friends and family OR l how do you celebrate Diwali in your school'.

2. If you are 2-25 years of age, you can also draw/paint a picture of what Diwali means to you or your memorable Diwali, with a suitable photo caption, your full name, age; scan and send the picture to the the below address, by the mentioned deadline.

3. If you are within 9-25 years of age, you can also write a short story within 350 words or a poem within 150 words for our Diwali special.

4. If you are a part of an organisation, which has a youth wing or support youth activities, please tell us how your young members or youth wing celebrates Diwali in 300 words with 2 pictures (in no less than 300dpi).

Send your articles/stories/poem with your photo and/or painting/picture to aveditorial@abplgroup.com.

Last date of entry: 18 October 2015.

- Asian Voice

l Kolkata Festival 2015, presented by Radio Bangla Net and India Now Ltd at Logan Hall, Sunday 4 October,2-9pm.

More information www.indianow.co.uk

Leicester Distributors: Shabde Magazine, Shobhan Mehta Mob: 07846480220 (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad.

Tel. +91 79 2646 5960 Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (M) +91 94266 36912 Email: nilesh.parmar@abplgroup.com Consulting Editor: Bhupatbhai Parekh, Ahmedabad,

come under scrutiny as Mercury, the planet of communications goes retrograde in your seventh house of marriage and partnerships. There can be a lot of misunderstandings and confused signals.

You'll need to listen carefully to what your partner is saying. Try to resolve issues diplomatically, instead of being rash.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The next two weeks may

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

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Mercury retrograde Occurs in your solar fifth house. Extra care should be exercised when it comes to matters surrounding romance, children, and creativity. Be as non-judgemental as possible and you should avoid jumping to any premature decisions. This is a period of review and rest. Speculation and gambling are not advised right now.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 Mercury retrograde occurs in your solar fourth house. Extra care should be exercised when it comes to family relations, real estate matters, and domestic issues. Be as diplomatic as you can with family members. Try to put off major decision-making with regards to home improvement, moving, and family matters for the time being.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Mercury is retrograde in your solar third house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to composing letters, emails, making phone calls, and with communications in general. Issues with siblings or neighbours - these should be dealt with diplomatically. Relationships are also sensitive, try to resolve issues amicably.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 Retrograde Mercury transit occurs in your solar second house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to new financial initiatives. There may be the need to resolve old, nagging issues regarding personal finances. Take this time to rebudget and re-think how you want to spend your cash during this period.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 Mercury, the planet of communications is retrograde in your solar first house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to your body language. Others may misinterpret whatever you say and you should be aware that you can give off mixed signals. Good time to review the manner in which you come across to others.

l Charity show in aid of Janki Ashram for Tribal girls, 146th Gandhi Jayant Celebration organised by Bhaarat Welfare Trust, Friday 2 October, 6:30pm till late. Venue: Shree Prajapati Community Centre, Leicester LE4 6BY. Contact: Vasant Bhakti: 07860280655

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Your closest relationships

Dear Readers,

Gandhi Jayanti at Tavistock Square

The Indian High Commission and India League are organising Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October at Tavistock Square, London, from 11am onwards.

The event that is open to all will be graced by the acting Indian High Commissioner HE Ranjan

Welcoming young readers to write in our Diwali issue

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SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Retrograde transit of Mercury occurs in your solar twelfth house this time, extra care should be exercised when it comes to private and personal matters. Be as non-judgemental as you can, but do keep an eye out for deceptiveness and falseness in others. Good time for yoga and meditation

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Mercury turns retrograde in your eleventh house of friends and associates.

Group meetings may be postponed or cancelled, and friends may be uncommunicative or giving off mixed signals. The next few weeks would serve you well if you spend more time listening than speaking.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 Mercury, the planet of communications turns retrograde in your tenth house of career and status, slowing down your progress at work. It is important for you to be steadfast and focused as misunderstandings and confusion reign. Stay as organized as possible while retrograde Mercury, does its best to trip you up.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 Mercury turns retrograde in your ninth house of travel and adventure, slowing down your pace for the next two weeks. Double check your passport and tickets before you embark on any long distance journeys ! Don't be afraid to take on extra responsibilities at work as it could lead to better prospects.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

The planet Mercury turns retrograde in your eighth house of joint resources, taxes, wills, legacies and alimony, creating confusion and complications for you during the next two weeks. Sun, is also in your solar 8th house, so make sure you have plenty of focus when making decisions.

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India pick Gurkeerat for ODIs, Aravind for T20Is

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"Gurkeerat was picked looking at his all-round capabilities," Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said Uncapped Punjab allrounder Gurkeerat Singh has been included in India's ODI squad for the first three matches against South Africa in October, while uncapped Karnataka seamer S Aravind was picked for the T20 internationals.

The players left out from the full-strength ODI squad that had toured Bangladesh were allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. Gurkeerat, who bowls offspin took Jadeja's spot in the squad while legspinner Amit Mishra came in for Kulkarni.

Gurkeerat, 25, had two impressive outings for India A recently. He had taken 2 for 42 and scored an unbeaten 87 in the triseries final victory against Australia A in August, and then he made 65 and took 5 for 29 against a Bangladesh A team comprising several international players in the first oneday game in Bangalore.

"Gurkeerat was picked looking at his all-round capabilities," Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said.

"The demands of the game are such that we need more allrounders."

Gurkeerat Singh Mann and S. Arvind The selectors said they had not contemplated any change in the captaincy, with MS Dhoni returning to lead the ODI and T20I squads after Virat Kohli had captained India to a Test series win in Sri Lanka. Dhoni had retired from Test cricket during the tour of Australia last year.

"We have not discussed anything regarding the ODI captaincy," Patil said.

"We are very happy the way Dhoni has led. We have total backing for Dhoni

during this series."

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not included in either squad because he is still undergoing rehabilitation for the knee injury he suffered during the tour of Australia in 2014-15. Shami last played for India during the 2015 World Cup and been sidelined from all competitive cricket since.

India did not pick any of their fastest bowlers Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron or Ishant Sharma for the T20 internationals,

Monty Panesar the England selectors before the start of the Ashes series.

That proved over-optimistic and Panesar, whose career has encompassed lows off and on the fields, proved unable to convince Essex that he could feature in their own plans for the longer term. He joined the

county after being released by Sussex two years ago. The departure followed his arrest and fine for being drunk and disorderly when he urinated over a bouncer in an incident outside a nightclub in Brighton.

At that time he was divorced from his wife, Gursharan Rattan, after a short marriage. Signs of an early fracture were apparent when he was seen arguing in a pub car park and subsequently arrested on suspicion of common assault, though no action was taken against him.

Panesar made the last of his 50 Test appearances against Australia in

preferring the medium pace offered by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Aravind, and Stuart Binny.

"We have picked this side looking at the wickets," Patil said. "We have not lost faith in our [fast] bowlers. There is still a lot of time to go to World Twenty20. We did discuss Ishant Sharma also. Not like we have earmarked him only for Tests."

South Africa arrive in India in the last week of September and play three T20Is, five ODIs and four Tests during a tour that ends on December 7.

ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra T20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra

Panesar faces uncertain future after Essex release Monty Panesar faces an uncertain future after Essex released him, leaving questions over whether the former England spin bowler will play again at first-class level. His chances looked bleak early in the season when he was given an indefinite break by the club to rediscover his zest for the game and the team.

Hopes were rekindled briefly when he appeared against Surrey at Colchester last month and took five wickets, including the 700th of his career.

Neil Burns, the former county cricketer turned mentor, has been working with the 33-year-old and said in mid-summer that the bowler still harboured hopes of returning in time to make an impression on

Melbourne in 2013 after Graeme Swann announced his sudden retirement. The comeback lasted a single game before England gave a debut in the spin berth to Scott Borthwick, who was not part of the original squad.

In all, Panesar took 167 Test wickets at 34.71, but one of his most memorable achievements came with the bat in 2009 when he helped James Anderson to secure a draw in the first Test against Australia at Cardiff. The tenth-wicket pair survived 69 balls between them against an increasingly frustrated attack.

Panesar will join Saf Imtiaz, Matt Salisbury and Greg Smith in leaving the Chelmsford club at the end of the season.

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Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya passes away

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, hailed as the architect of India's rise as the game's financial superpower, passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday. He was 75. His last rites were performed in Kolkata on Monday afternoon. He was given full state honours at his funeral. The who is who of Indian cricket paid their last respect to the departed leader.

Dalmiya, who had also served as president of the International Cricket Council (1997-2000), was admitted to hospital after suffering a heart attack on Thursday last. A businessman known for his marketing acumen, Dalmiya was a key figure in bringing the 1987 and 1996 cricket World Cups to the sub-continent. He took over as BCCI president for a second time earlier this year, after a gap of nearly a decade, but had not been keeping well for the past few months. A key figure in the BCCI ever since he joined it in 1979, Dalmiya played a major role in helping it to emerge as the wealthiest cricket board in the world. His stint as the first Asian head of the ICC marked a shift in the game's balance of power from the old superpowers, England and Australia, towards Asia, particularly India. It was a controversial tenure, but even his detractors acknowledged that he opened their eyes to the game's revenue-making potential.

BCCI sources said board secretary Anurag Thakur would soon call for a special general body meeting to decide the way forward.

Davis Cup: Indians fail to capitalise on novel plan

Czech Republic took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the Davis cup tie with India to keep their record of qualifying for the World Group every year since 2006.

India, meanwhile, continue to stay in the Asia/Oceania Group I and will feature in the zonal tie next year. With the tie already decided, both teams decided to do away with the second reverse singles involving Somdev Devvarman and Lukas Rosol.

Like the moment when Yuki Bhambri and Jiri Vesely were tied 4-4 in the second set, there were plenty of such occasions over the three days where a point here or there could have tipped the scales in the hosts’ favour. Looking back, break points on 5-5 in the third set for Bhambri against Rosol on Friday and the same score line in first set of the doubles rubber the following day could have changed the course of the tie. But these were just half-a-dozen points in four matches where India were otherwise overpowered by the Czechs. On talent alone, this was a no-match. Czech Republic is the world’s top-ranked team. In the run-up to the tie, India had publicly acknowledged that their only hope of winning the tie was by tiring their opponents out in Delhi’s extreme humidity. It has historically been India’s tactic to choose a venue and conditions which exploit opponents’ weakness. In this case, though, they seem to have ignored the fact that most Indians play in Europe and the US for major part of the year. Bhambri did not look like lasting three sets, let alone five, in both his singles rubbers. The ageing pair of Leander Paes, 42, and Rohan Bopanna, 42, too did not have the legs and will to stretch Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek to five sets in the doubles. Bopanna said the conditions were tough for the Indians as much as they were for the Czechs. “It’s not like we play in these conditions often. All of us play abroad most of the times so it was tough as well to play out there,” Bopanna said. Bhambri evidently struggled in the heat, even though he claimed that he was the fitter among the two players. The local lad wouldn’t stretch to get his racquet on wide serves by Vesely. Nor would he chase the balls that found the tram lines. During changeovers, he would sit in the shade and soak himself in iced towels. Vesely, too, was visibly tired but he was better prepared mentally.

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Raina, Samson sparkle as India ‘A’ win series

Asian Voice | 26th September 2015

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After India ‘A’ had piled up 297 for six, the fast bowling combination of S Arvind and Dhawal Kulkarni struck early to leave Bangladesh ‘A’ reeling at 24 for three India ‘A’ wrapped up the 50-over series 2-1 with a facile 75-run victory over Bangladesh ‘A’ at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Suresh Raina (104) and Sanju Samson (90) starred with the bat, before the visitor’s stuttering chase was called off at the end of the 32nd over due to persistent rain.

After India ‘A’ had piled up 297 for six, the fast bowling combination of S Arvind and Dhawal Kulkarni struck early to leave Bangladesh ‘A’ reeling at 24 for three.

Kulkarni castled opener Soumya Sarkar in the second over of the innings, while the impressive Arvind removed Rony Talukdar and Anamul Haque in quick succession.

Mominul Haque (37) Liton

Das (21) and Nasir Hossain (22) sought to undo the damage, but lost the plot without adding enough substance to the total.

Sabbir Rahman (41 n.o.) held firm, but when play was called off after a third rain interruption, his team was found to be well short.

Earlier, the Bangladesh ‘A’ new ball pair of Shafiul Islam and Al Amin

Hossain extracted appreciable swing from the wicket. Islam accounted for Mayank Agarwal in the third over, which brought Samson to the crease with captain Unmukt Chand.

The duo kept the big shots at bay, and patiently saw out a dangerous phase.

Unmukt (41) scored a bulk of his runs off the square, while the elegant

Samson provided safe company. It was left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny who accounted for Unmukt, playing one cut too many.

In walked Raina, to loud cheers from the large crowd. The southpaw progressed in typically busy fashion, moving around in the crease and nudging the ball around.

Raina, ever alert to the possibility of stealing a quick single or two, harried the Bangladesh fielders. This was best illustrated in the way he reached his fifty.

The 28-year-old pushed the ball to cover and took off, prompting Mominul to fire at the stumps. Raina, on 46, was

never threatened, and watched as the wayward attempt resulted in four overthrows.

Samson, meanwhile, was in his element. The feet moved into position in a jiffy, to pacers and spinners alike. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman seemed set to register a century, before he played the wrong line to an Al Amin Hossain ball. He fell for 90, after a 116-run stand for the third wicket with Raina.

Raina upped the ante after reaching his half-century. He raced along, and moved to 99 with a six to cow-corner off pacer Rubel Hossain. A single off the next ball took him to 100 a timely knock after scores of 16 and 17 in the first two matches. India ‘A’ won by 75 runs, by DuckworthLewis method.

Dhoni, Sehwag star charity match An exciting match was played out recently between the ‘Help for Heroes XI’ and ‘Rest of the World XI’, in the first ever cricket fund raiser for ‘Help for Heroes’, a charity for British soldiers who have been wounded in the line of duty. Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni were star performers for the winning side, the HFH XI. The two teams played some flamboyant cricket in front of 20,000 Oval crowd.

Batting first, ROW XI scored 158/6 in 20 overs.

Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith, Mahela Jayawardene and Brendon McCullum were the main scorers for the team. In reply, HFH XI won the match by 5 wickets and 3 balls to spare.

Virender Sehwag, Andrew Strauss and Dhoni played some excellent cricket.

Dhoni was named Man of the Match for his 38 off 22 balls and his good work behind the stumps. Almost £300,000 were raised in funds during the match.