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VOL 38. ISSUE 42

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Gordon Brown presents Diabetes bus to Big B Outrage over the barbaric killings in India

Prime Minister Gordon Brown hands Amitabh Bachchan a model of the key to the new Mobile Diabetes Unit for Mumbai which the charity Silver Star has named after Big B in London on Monday. The Charity was founded in 2007 by Leicester East MP Keith Vaz when he discovered he had diabetes.

Full story on page 6

Taliban militants killed two Sikh men kidnapped by them last week, as they did not pay the “Jaziya” tax or protection money.

The gruesome murders in the Tirah valley of Khyber agency happened over the last weekend. The government of India and all political parties have condemned the killings and demanded justice from Pakistan.

Sikhs there are desperate to leave Pakistan and go to India, but say they are not getting visas, even as they are living in fear.

Sikh protestors hold placards during a protest near Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday

After huge protests and outrage in India,

Pakistan condemned the killings on Monday.

The government said it would step up security and do whatever it can for the safety of the minority community.

Meanwhile, Sikhs and others have held strong protests at many places in India, denouncing Taliban.

The two men were kidnapped in separate incidents for ransom by gunmen of the Tehrik-eTalibanat and were killed.

Two other Sikhs are still in the custody of the terrorists.

Continued on page 23

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Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Children's surgeon removes toddler's bladder after mistaking it for hernia A children's doctor allegedly cut out 90 per cent of a baby's bladder after she mistook the organ for a hernia during a bungled hospital operation, a medical tribunal heard this week.

Consultant paediatric surgeon Dr Pierina Kapur, 43, happened to have failed to recognise the hernia when she carried out the operation on the seven-week-old baby girl, it was alleged.

Instead she removed almost all of the youngster's bladder by mistake then sewed up the remainder of it not realising what she had done.

The bungle emerged when the baby was taken into surgery with acute kidney failure and other doctors discovered both ureters - ducts by which urine passes from the kidney to the bladder - had been damaged.

The left hernia, protrubing through the muscle wall, was still intact, with the ovary still inside it.

The child, known only as baby A, was unable to pass urine for over 35 hours and will now require a catheter for the rest of her life with continued medical treatment for 'irreparable damage'.

At a medical tribunal

The tribunal heard that the left inguinal hernia operation - in the area around the groin - was considered 'difficult' as a large hernial sac needed to be removed with the baby's left ovary embedded in it.

Following the procedure, and subsequent rectal biopsy, at Pendlebury children's hospital in Manchester, the child was transferred back to the ward.

The panel, sitting in Manchester, heard that the locum consultant surgeon was called to assess the child at 3pm that afternoon with Dr Kapur and a decision was made to insert a Dr Kapur with her solicitor catheter.

Counsel for the in Manchester, Dr Kapur, GMC, Ms Catherine who was employed by the Cundy told the hearing, Central Manchester and 'Miss Kapur appears to Manchester Children's have left the hospital at NHS Trust admitted this point. bungling the operation on 'It is the GMC case October 2 2008, as reportthat despite knowing that ed by Daily Mail. baby's symptoms and how But she denied that difficult surgery had been, she had failed to take adeshe did not take any or any quate steps after the operadequate steps to arrange ation to arrange for an for blood tests or an ultraultrasound and to get sound to be taken.' blood tests to check the By 8.30pm on October baby's kidney function.

2 2008, baby A had not She also denies that passed urine for 35 hours her fitness to practise had and her rash had spread. been 'impaired because of She was re-examined and her misconduct'.

blood tests revealed she had 'dangerously high levels of potassium' in her blood.

An ultrasound could not detect a full bladder and the baby was transferred to paediatric intensive care at midnight.

The panel heard that she was taken into surgery with acute renal failure and exploration of her bladder revealed that 90 per cent of it had been removed, and that both ureters had been damaged.

The left hernia was still intact, with the ovary still inside it...â&#x20AC;?

A national daily reports that Dr Kapur of Greater Manchester has admitted that she had failed to recognise the anatomy on the baby's left side, mistook the bladder for the left inguinal hernial sac, opened the bladder, dissected 90 per cent of it, obstructed the right ureter, failed to identify and operate on the left hernial sac with the left ovary embedded in it, caused damage to both urethers and severed the left ureter from the bladder.

She also admitted that she was aware of baby A's post-operative difficulties and accepted this was inadequate and substandard.

Jealous lover faces life sentence A jealous woman who killed her lover by poisoning his curry is facing a life sentence after being convicted of his murder.

Lakhvir Kaur Singh, 45, was said to have killed Lakhvinder 'Lucky' Cheema, 39, because she could not bear the thought of his marriage to another woman.

He had been due to marry Gurjeet Choongh, 21, on Valentine's Day last year.

But on January 27, they both became violently ill after eating leftover curry which had been in the fridge of their home in Princes Road, Feltham, west London.

Within hours, Mr Cheema was dead and Miss Choongh was fighting for her life after being poisoned with Indian aconite.

Aconite, known as the Queen of Poisons, is one of the most deadly poisons but this was the first case in England since 1882.

Singh, of Southall, west London, was found

one to one Keith Vaz is currently away

Independent investigation into the death of Sushma Kaur The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the actions of the police response to a 999 call reporting concern for the welfare of a woman who later died.

On 23 January 2009, 25-year-old Sushma Kaur was in the bathroom at home on Gordon Street in Ilford when she collapsed. Her 7-year-old son went to a neighbour, who called 999 at approximately 4:45pm.

Officers arrived at the address at about 4:55pm and entered the property, but the door to the bathroom was locked. They called for a unit with specialist equipment to get the door opened.

London Ambulance Service arrived at the address a few minutes later but the specialist equipment was not there yet.

When it did arrive, police officers broke down the door at approximately 5:11pm and went in. They found Ms Kaur, collapsed and not breathing. She was taken to hospital but sadly was pronounced dead at 6:18pm.

An inquest began at Walthamstow Coroner's Court on 11 February 2010. The inquest heard from a Neurologist who stated that, in his opinion, "if police officers had forced the door when they arrived,

Sushma Kaur

placed the lady in a recovery position and provided basic medical care on the balance of probabilities she would still be alive."

The Coroner took the decision to adjourn the inquest and requested that the Metropolitan Police Service refer the case to the IPCC. An assessment has taken place and an independent investigation has now been launched.

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "This must have been a terrible shock for Ms Kaur's family and we have family liaison managers in place to make sure they are kept up to date with the progress of our investigation. We will be looking at the circumstances surrounding the death of Sushma Kaur and investigating why police did not force the door open more quickly."

Learning to give at any age

Victims: Lakhvinder Cheema and Gurjeet Choongh

guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Mr Cheema.

She was also convicting of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Miss Choongh, but cleared of trying to kill her.

The judge gave the jury, which had been considering its verdicts for four days, a majority direction in respect of a fourth charge, that Singh administered poison to Mr Cheema the month before.

After her arrest, Singh, a mother of three, tried to blame her broth-

er-in-law Varinder for the death.

Murderer Lakhvir Kaur Singh

The plastic container containing curry found by police in the fridge at Lakhvinder Cheema's house But a lodger at the house saw her take a container with the curry out of the fridge earlier in the day, the court heard.

Singh and Mr Cheema had been having a secret affair for 16 years but he decided to settle down and have children.

Police later found traces of the poison among herbs in Singh's coat pocket and in her handbag.

Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, said, '...Perhaps jealousy, anger and revenge all playing their part, Lakhvir Singh decided to poison them using an extremely toxic and deadly poison.'

On Sunday 14th February, four 8/9 year old boys braved the cold and walked 5km in Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire to raise money for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

Arjun Patel, Arjav Vora, Nikhil Nima and Viral Thakker (pictured) with their mums walked through wintry and

muddy conditions and raised ÂŁ900 between them for World Vision. The boys were so upset by the TV images showing the devastation wrought by the earthquake; they decided to do something about it!

These boys have shown that in a short space of time how easy it is to raise money for those that need it the most.

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

COMMENT

Afghanistan-Pakistan requires realism When one is hard pressed on the battlefield (or the stock exchange, for that matter) the remotest signal that better news is on the way is treated as manna from heaven. “Taleban 'on the backfoot' after a series of bodyblows” whooped a Times headline on a report compiled by three of its stalwart correspondentseremy Page, Zahid Hussain and Tom Coughlan. However, it doesn't require three brains to calculate that 2+2 = 4, if that indeed is the truth about Afghanistan-Pakistan.

The equation, alas, is far more complex, which is why the West led by the US and UK are no nearer their much trumpeted victory over the al Quad-Taleban coalition today than they were almost a decade ago when the war on terror was declared amid much pomp and circumstance in Washington and London. The rest of the Nato coalition are turning sceptic, as the break up of the Dutch government would appear to suggest.

In war as in cricket renowned for their prowess off the 'back foot' can be formidable opponents.

Think of the legendary Vietnamese who drove out the vaunted US military bag and baggage from their country and dispatched the invading Chinese with less ceremony in February 1979.

Yes, Hakimullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taleban leader, may have been killed in a CIA drone strike, but others will undoubtedly take his place. The battle for Afghan hearts and minds is making little progress judging by the latest US drone attack on suspected Taleban militants which instead innocent Afghan civilians including women and children. Meanwhile, the prized Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, another high profile Taleban figure, has been netted by Pakistani intelligence agents in the port city of Karachi.

But rumours would have us believe that the Pakistanis targeted him because they thought he was in secret talks with the Kabul government of Hamid Karzai. Whether this is true or false

nobody can yet say, but it does point to a conflict that is murky and whose present direction is uncertain.

Vietnam wasn't pacified by the US when Ho Chi Minh died. His successors ensured that the resistance continued until final victory.

Afghanistan is another story in a different place, but aspects of the two narratives surely have something in common.

Returning to Afghanistan, the US and UK strategy in the AfPak region appears to be anchored to their alliance with the military-political nexus in Islamabad. Pakistan is part of the problem – its core, in fact – as such it cannot simultaneously become part of the solution. The country remains a sanctuary for aspiring Islamist terrorists in foreign fields and also for those hardened in terrorist ways closer to home.

Pakistan is seen as a strategic ally the US and UK, who are therefore keen not upset their partner unduly, especially when its terrorism points in a direction where no major western interest is at stake.

For instance, Pakistanstan terror leaAllisllis Kashmri has openly and brazenly announced that British and foreign athletes must “face the consequences” if they visit India for the Commonwealth Games, Indian Premier League cricket tournament or Hockey World Cup. He and other jehadis operate with impunity on Pakistani soil; they plan and execute terrorist attacks across the border in India. Mr Kashmiri's cohorts have just beheaded a number of Sikh male residents in Peshawar for refusing to convert to Islam.

The US and UK, concerned only to protect their client, hear no evil and speak no evil about their Pakistani client. So the AfPak crisis goes on with no settlement in sight. Clamorous pieties rend the air.

www.abplgroup.com

Thought for the Week True fulfilment is, I believe, vicarious.

We get our deepest satisfaction from the fulfilment, growth and happiness of others. It takes time, often a lifetime, to realise this.

- Charles Handy (1999)

Cllr Anjana Patel Portfolio Holder for Schools and Children's Development Harrow Council

Gordon Brown's Death Tax A ￡20,000 death tax is yet another panic-stricken Labour policy which has differential consequences for the groups of people, for example, for many Asian families who have worked hard and saved some money but would not be able to pass it to their children – a long preserved tradi-

assets and means that many families would almost be left with nothing to pass on to their children.

On the other hand, David Cameron wants to help people in old age. Conservatives want to make social care better by helping people stay in their own homes

Islam's modern face There are positive stories from Islamic societies and these need to be told. Consider the case of Bangladeshi Fazle Hasan Abed, British-educated scion of a distinguished family with a tradition of distinguished public service going back to the period of the Raj. He was once an accountant at Shell. He has just received a knighthood from the British Crown – and for good reason.

Mr Abed set up a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called BRAC, which, in the words of The Economist, is by “most measures the largest, fastest growing NGO in the world – and the most businesslike....Its microfinance operation disburses about $1 billion a year. But this is only part of what it does: it is an internet provider; it has a university; its primary schools educate 11 per cent of Bangladeshi children. It runs feed mills, chicken farms, tea plantations and packaging factories...” It all started at Sir

Fazle's Shell office in the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong long years ago.

Bangalore-based Indian IT giant Wipro is owned and nurtured by Azim Premji, a Muslim who happens to be one of the country's most successful and distinguished entrepreneurs.

Wipro is making waves with its central computing “cloud” which has the potential to change the way the outsourcing industry works.

Finally, Hashim Amla, the South African Test cricketer of Indian Gujarati extraction, and a Muslim to boot, whose heroics in the recent series against India won him the Man-of-the Series award. His massive aggregate of 490 runs in two Test matches included three back-to-back centuries. He has been elevated to second spot in the world Test rankings.

These are iconic role models for all humanity, but more particularly for Muslim communities everywhere.

Immigration issue revisited Every general election in Britain casts its shadow over the contentious subject of immigration.There is the usual scaremongering on jobs, housing, health and education. Concerns are expressed – and rightly so, for in a democracy the public voice deserves to be heard with attention and respect – but these need to be addressed with calm rationality.

The latest wave of newcomers are east Europeans, now citizens of the European Union who arrived here in the search for employment opportunities. Their departure was just as sudden, what with the UK employment market looking so bleak in the global economic downturn.

These European immigrants worked, for the most part, as fruit pickers in farms. It entailed a hard slog and few locals were enthusiastic about taking on the demanding exertion when softer options, including unemployment benefit, were available.

It's an old and, by now, a fairly familiar story.

In the first post-war decades people from the Caribbean and the Asian subcontinent arrived in large numbers to run the country's public servic-

es, with so many of the indigenous population perishing in the conflict with Nazi Germany or otherwise disabled. There were the inevitable problems of social integration and it is to the immense credit of the British people that the process was on the whole smooth and peaceful.

The old immigrants grew accustomed to the British way of life, with is cherished freedoms and respect for the rule of law. The values which underwrite and sustain British democracy and its institutions are an enduring legacy which has ennobled us all. We threaten this at our peril.

Peter Taylor's recent three-part, hour-long BBC television documentary on the growth of Jehadi culture among sections of disaffected Muslim youth and measures taken by the authorities to wean impressionable young people away from seductive doctrines of violence was a salutory warning of the challenges which face all communities in an uncertain world. Each of us has a citizen's responsibility to work in harmony for the common good. Britain has done muuch for us, let us in turn do this to secure Britain's future.

Gordon Brown and David Cameron

tion. We must fight against the Labour’s death tax!

Gordon Brown needs to come clean with the public and say which of his proposed three options he is going to use to fund his planned National Care Service.

It is alarming that the Labour Health Secretary, Andy Burnham seems to be for the third option and has therefore indicated favouring a death tax of up to ￡20,000 per head to fund the costs of the care. It is to use this option that the government has been using public money to conduct polling to find out what people think of the proposed ‘death tax’, creating an illusion of being responsive.

The ￡20,000 death tax is in effect a 100 per cent inheritance tax for people with modest

for longer, avoiding the situation where people are left with no choice but to sell their home to pay for social care.

We the Conservatives will offer people the chance, should they want to, to pay a one off fee of ￡ 8,000 to cover the cost of residential care in old age. Unlike Labour’s death tax, this is a voluntary scheme. No one will need to lose their home to pay for the cost of care.

We all know Gordon Brown has a track record of saying ‘no new taxes’ before an election, and then raising them by stealth after it. So the choice at the elections is obvious - a death tax under Labour or to protect your home and be able to exercise the cultural tradition to pass on wealth to your love ones with David Cameron’s Conservatives.

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

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YOUR VOICE

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Beheading of Sikh youths It is outrageous on the part of Taliban’s in Pakistan to kidnap three Sikh youths and behead them. Even though the Sikh youths are Pakistani citizens, it is the duty of the Indian government to make a strong protest against the atrocities committed on Sikh youths to protect Sikh and Hindu communities in Pakistan.

When a Danish cartoonist published some pictures of Prophet Mohamed, the Indian Prime Minster personally made protest to the Danish government to appease Muslim supporters When there is a problem concerning Indian Christians in Orissa, the issue is taken by the Pope and European countries and they demand sending fact finding missions.

When Hindus or Sikhs are treated badly in Islamic countries, Indian government is not interested in taking the issues due to vote bank politics.

It is left to the BJP to make protest against the beheading of Sikhs in Peshawar.

Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email

Tackling Naxalite Violence Your comment article (AV 20 Feb p3) suggests that India is an upworldly mobile society. My own estimate is that the official statistics that describe people living in poverty as 30% is incorrect. The likely figure is around 60%.

That can indeed flare up in guillotine type revolution that took place in France in 1789 after which equality became a very French entrenched belief.

In healthcare, India ranks 171 in the list of 175 countries on public health spending. There are 3.0 beds per 1000 population in urban areas versus 0.2 beds in rural areas, 3.4 doctors versus 0.6 doctors.

The youth is desperate to get out of India and study and settle overseas.

Income and consumption inequalities are increasing. Inequalities in entitlements and opportunities are also increasing.

Corrupt netas, corrupt policemen, tax evasion and black market are all flourishing. Governments, businesses and voluntary sector need to put their act together very fast.

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Disclaimer Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

National Care Service

Open pyre victory

The looming crisis talks on setting up a National Care Service for the elderly cannot come soon enough.

Politicians must put aside their differences to reach a consensus on the issue if they are to tackle the league of workers completely unprepared for old age.

The results of a recent study by poverty charity Elizabeth Finn Care reveal that a shocking 51 per cent of 35-45 year old professionals in the UK will encounter financial problems in old age if they do not receive an inheritance. And while sixty per cent are banking on between 70 and 100 per cent of their parents' estate, only a quarter of parents plan to leave that much.

Such reliance is the result of a generation of rampant consumers, who have ploughed ahead racking up massive debts, while utterly failing to grasp the consequences it will have for their old age.

More than half naively assume all care costs will be covered by the state, unaware that the weekly state pension would not even cover a fifth of the average cost of residential care.

Politicians of all parties must act quickly to ensure people of working age are making adequate provisions for their elderly care costs. These young professionals must stop burying their heads in the sand for if they don’t, they will face a very bleak retirement.

Open pyre cremation victory by Hindus is praiseworthy. Anjana Mehta's (AV page 4, 20th Feb issue) admonition to revisit our texts and make changes is unfair. Would Abraham religions make such changes? While writer is concerned about resources, global warming, and environment, was she concerned when cows were burnt some years ago? If Hindus’ religious ritual leads to malignant results what about religion backed flagrant and malignant actions by other faith?

Yet, cremation is not the only way for liberation of soul.

Ram and Pandavas were not cremated. Special heaven was built for Trishanku. Souls of Rakhsahs killed by legendary heroes were liberated without cremation. Sadhus are buried as they had performed funerary rites earlier.

Parsees leave their dead on a well, to be pecked by scavengers. In Florida, water table being high, bodies are stored in vaults and removed at regular intervals. Research is conducted to super freeze a body till it becomes brittle, pulverise it and store it, to save land. In future, due to shortage of cemeteries, powdered bodies may be shot up in space.

Hindus must change only commensurate to changes by other cultures and faiths.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Claire Rayner London

Should Burkha be banned in Britain?

Cremation of Hindus I am a Hindu from Arya Samaj sect.

But also have faith in Sikhism because my mother believed more in Gurudwaras.

I also have respect for other religions for many of their good things. All these religions were made long time ago and things have changed a lot. If we all learn to help others on the ground of people`s needs than strictly following the religions; I feel we will create a better world to live.

Being Hindu I would congratulate Mr. Davender Ghai to get his will to be fulfilled by this Government.

God has given me the opportunities to see various parts of India, Africa and Europe. If any body from this country has visited Varanasi (Benaras), one of the most religious place for Hindus in India, then they must have seen the horrific seen at Hindu crematorium by the river Ganges. Half burnt bodies, legs, arms or heads floating in the river. If people cannot afford to burn the bodies of their loved ones then what is wrong in burying them 6 or 8 feet deep in the ground?

Mother nature will automatically take care of the bodies.

Hinduism is the most liberal religion.

Let us make it a more understanding religion. Cremation procedures in this country is so impressive and respectful. We should not cause unnecessary problems. I request Mr Davender and his supporters to visit Benaras. I am sure it will change their mind.

Dharam Dev Ilford

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According to Islamic teachings a Muslim woman must adhere to a dress code as to cover her body, except her face and palms and cover hair around the hair line. Therefore wearing full veil (Hijab) is her religious obligation and her divine right.

Similarly one must have noticed a Christian Nun wearing below knee length black veil covering her head and would cover legs with stockings.

A Hindu woman will enter in a temple fully covered with long garments and head properly covered. Perhaps these are either traditions or customs, but for a Muslim woman veil is a religious obligation.

A Muslim veil is called Burkha or Hijab, Nikab, Chaddor etc. One which completely covers body including face with transparent cloth for eyes is called " Nicab". This, isn't something undertaken by majority of Muslim women.

Yes, I agree with Mr. Ramesh Jhalla, (AV6/2/2010), the ban may be justified or Nicab, which has potential of national security risk but definitely not Hijab.

I refer to Arun Vaidyanathan's letter (AV30/1/2010). One must stand his ground and not to change the main topic. A case in point is Burkha, not "minarets or temples and churches not being allowed to be built in Muslim countries." It is insensitive, to put forward irrelevant arguments which have no direct bearing on the subject matter.

A.M.A.Pira Via Email

UK EUROPE WORLD 1 Year £25 £55 £70 2 Years £45 £100 £125 £225 £300 *5 Years £110 £450 £550 *10 Years £200

Tatas, the Taj of Indian industrialists All the victims of the terror strikes on 26th November 2008 are helped with exemplary aid by utmost generosity in the kind hearts of the Tatas unparalleled in the history of corporates of India. Parsee community is truly identified with Indian people like sugar in milk.

9/11 attacks in the US, 7/7 attacks in Britain and other attacks in India had sufficiently alerted the central government of India to take required precautions to alert border and and internal security to avert the destructive situation of 26/11.

It is quite apparent that the terrorists struck the busiest areas of the cosmopolitan city of Mumbai simultaneously and suddenly with prior precise planning and calculated preparation targeting different religious sects. People believe that it is impossible to complete the task without the help of some local people.

Maharashtra has suffered a great deal.

All Indian states need security and help from central government. The magnitude of such incidents call for national and international joint action for the increasing security.

R N Patel Essex

Is PM paying a lip service to elderly?

Quoting PM Brown’s famous words “Caring for the elderly is the hallmark of a civilised society” repeated so often on prime time TV sounds like a broken record and makes me wonder whether PM is taking us, the elderly as senile if not fools.

As widely mentioned in national newspapers, 9 out of 10 saving accounts pay miserly 1% gross interest when the inflation has hit a 2:75% mark, thus shrinking the savings even when the interest is allowed to accumulate.

This is at a time when our pensioners are one of the lowest paid in EU and heavily depend on the income generated by their savings.

If this government is re-elected, it has promised to punish the elderly, especially the disable by scrapping the Disability Attendance and Living Allowance (DAA & DLA) paid to people over the pensionable age but DLA paid to those under retirement age will not be affected. Could this come under age discrimination act?

It is heartening to note that many back-bench Labour MPs are vigorously opposing it, as they opposed the 10p tax abolition.

I would like to urge every reader of this esteem paper to write to his or her MP pointing out to the consequences of such a short sighted policy. There is still time for the government to change its mind, as the consultation is not yet complete, the Green Paper has not yet become a part of the manifesto and do what is right, to stand by the most venerable people in our society.

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

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‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar Boyle says Mumbai dwarfed the statuette

!

(Off Coronet Street)

Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seen so euphoric on Monday morning, as they expected a couple of Oscars. British Indians in the UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township of Mumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almost the entire Bollywood waited in expectation, glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebrations as one by one, their heroes, the actors of the British Indian film and the music maestro, A R Rahman bagged the top awards in the world of entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won the Oscar after having missed it almost five times earlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on a cleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directed

by American director Megan Mylan, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

London N1 6HW

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Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Leicester Voice Former Lord Mayor in organs plea The first Asian woman to be Leicester's Lord Mayor is helping to lead a campaign to increase organ donation in ethnic communities.

Leicester City councillor Manjula Sood is on the register and wants others to sign up.

Latest figures show people from south Asian and black communities living in Britain are three times more likely to need a kidney transplant, but less than 2% are on the organ donor register.

Cllr Sood, chairman of the city's Council of Faiths, said there were no religious barriers to being an organ donor. She said one of her biggest regrets was that she and her husband, Paul, never spoke about organ donation. He was just 52 when he died suddenly, in 1996.

Cllr Sood said: "When Paul died, my children and I were asked about it but there is so much else happening, you can't really think, and we left it. If we had talked about it and I knew it was something he

Manjula Sood

would have wanted, it might have been different.

I have often thought that if we had gone ahead, I could have seen him living through other people.

Faith should not be a barrier."

Cllr Sood has made her wishes known to her children. She said: "If doctors think my organs are suitable, I would like them

donated when I die.''

A Leicester Mercury campaign has seen a record number signing up to save lives. More than 4,000 people joined the register during the initiative.

Richard Power, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Leicester's hospitals, said: "We are hoping to do more work in the ethnic minority communities to keep this campaign in the public eye."

Lalit Chhatrisha, a pharmacist from Evington, is recovering from a transplant after his wife, Anjana, donated a kidney.

He said: "I would have preferred to wait for a donor organ but I was told it could be as long as six years and it would be better to have the operation while I was still fit. I was lucky my wife was willing to donate and that there was a match."

A website www.nhsorgandonation.nhs.uk has been launched to encourage people to come forward. To join the register, call 0300 123 23 23 or text SAVE to 84118.

New Sikh temple visited by 2,000 people Thousands of worshippers gathered at the opening of a new £1m Sikh temple.

The new Shriguru Ravidass Temple, in Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was opened by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Roger Blackmore, yesterday in a special ceremony.

More than 2,000 people from throughout the UK visited the temple throughout the day.

A temple was originally founded on the site in 1992 by members of the Sikh community.

In July 2006, a £1 million project to build a second floor to accom-

modate a new temple was started and the work was completed last month. The first floor will now be a community hall.

Mr Blackmore The new £1 million Sikh temple in said it was a great Harrison Road honour to open Omparkash Mahi said: the temple which is dedi"All the money raised cated to Ravidass, a 15th came from donations and century shoemaker. we are very pleased with He said: "With the new building."

Leicester's association Mohinder Paul Singh, with the shoe industry, a former president of the it's a fitting tribute." temple and founder A golden dome, and member when it opened many of the temple's in 1992, said: "We have ornaments were hand had people coming here made and shipped in from cities all over the from India. country."

Temple president

Residents saved by firefighters after flat fire Firefighters had to break down doors to get to sleeping residents as thick smoke filled flats.

They helped six people out of a building in Highfields, Leicester, after arsonists set fire to a settee in the hallway of the block of flats.

Heat from the flames scorched doors and light fittings and took plaster off the ceiling of a stairwell.

The fire in the flats in Dunlin Road, off Humberstone Road, hap-

pened at about 1.30am Monday.

Kalpesh Vitthal, 25, was asleep when firefighters knocked at his door.

He was not woken by the banging and the crew had to smash in his front door to get to him and his family.

He said: "I was scared.

They said there was a fire and we had to get out."

Paramedics treated two people for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Senior fire officers and police forensics officers

cordoned off the area and carried out a search of the building.

The fire service's sniffer dog Freckles was also used to try and find any accelerants.

Fire investigator Paul Dickens returned later in the day to determine the cause of the blaze. He said: "It doesn't seem like petrol or alcohol were used to start the fire – it was probably ignited using paper."

Police are investigating.

5

Do you have any comments, news or photographs about Leicester? If you do, please send them to Leicester Voice at

leicester@abplgroup.com

Picture clue in hunt for knife-threat muggers Police have released an efit of a man who is suspected of being part of a gang of muggers. The gang of four Asian men struck at 9.15pm on Friday, January 22, threatening their 31-yearold victim with a knife in Wilberforce Road, at the junction of Paton Street, West End, Leicester.

The victim offered a small amount of cash but one of the men said he had a knife and told him to hand over £100. The victim managed to run away after a brief struggle.

The first man is described as 6ft 1in, of slender build, with pronounced cheekbones and a gaunt face with fine black facial hair. He was wearing a black PVC Russian style tanker hat, a black donkey jacket and dark blue jeans.

The second and third men were about 5ft 8in, of average build and were wearing dark coloured clothing.

The fourth man is about 5ft 5in and of stocky build. He was wearing a white sports jacket with a white zip

and light coloured jeans.

Contact police on 0116 222 2222 with any information.

Award hope for conference trio A trio of young campaigners have been nominated for a national award after helping to highlight forced marriages and honourbased violence in the UK. Sheetal Bhanot, 21, Jahniaah Burns, 21, and Ahmed Bhula, 20, from Leicester, have been nominated for the award after holding a conference and creating a DVD covering the issues. The DVD, which was funded and made with the support of the Prince's Trust, is now being used to train police officers and staff across the country, as well as being sent out to local authorities, schools, colleges and social workers.

Sheetal said: "We got involved because we all knew of someone who was affected by this issue.

We are really pleased to have made it to the national final for this award – it is amazing. We worked really hard on the DVD and conference and it is a really good feeling to know that it is being used. It was something that started off very small and it has now gone on to be used across the UK." In Leicestershire alone - where the DVD has been shown to 2,500 police officers and staff to raise their basic awareness - the county force has seen more than 100 additional reports passed on to officers since November 2008.

The majority of reports they received were from people who were worried about the possibility of being forced to marry in the future.

Detective Inspector Pete Williams said: "The impact that these young people have made in the community is amazing and they should be immensely proud of what they have done. The issue of forced marriage and honour-based violence

predominantly affects young people aged between 13 and 30-yearsold, with 16-to-24 yearolds being at particular risk. We decided to work with these young people to create awareness around the issue which would be heard by the community."

The DVD has been distributed to other forces in the region to be used to train more than 10,000 officers. The trio have now been nominated for the Balfour Beatty community impact award at the national Prince's Trust Celebrate Success ceremony in March.

Last November Sheetal, Jahniaah and Ahmed picked up a regional equivalent of the community impact award.

Their work was funded by the Prince's Trust community cash award scheme.

The money was used to organise the conference attended by more that 200 people including Justice Minister Bridget Prentice and former Lord Mayor of Leicester Manjula Sood.

Nationally the Commonwealth and Foreign Office and Home Office-run forced marriage unit gave advice or support to 1,682 people.

Are you the

JOURNALIST we are looking for?

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You will be offered the opportunity to cover a range of interesting topics and events and you will bring all your skills to bear in a professional and friendly environment.

Closing Date: 29th March 2010 Please send a detailed CV by post to: Asian Voice Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London, N1 6HW email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com

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6

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Gordon Brown presents Diabetes Bus to Big B

Kapil’s

KHICHADI

Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented a Mobile Diabetes Unit to Amitabh Bachchan on behalf of Silver Star Charity at a Gala Dinner on Monday 22 February 2010. The bus, to be based in Mumbai, is named ‘Amitabh’ in honour of the Bollywood Star and will bring hope of diabetes diagnosis to thousands of Indians.

The bus, will help screen people in Mumbai for diabetes and has been donated by diabetes prevention charity organisation ‘Silver Star’, founded

by Indian-origin Labour MP, Keith Vaz in 2007.

Applauding the cinematic genius of Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the actor as one of the “greatest talents” of our time.

Brown spoke glowingly of the 67-year-old star as he presented him with the keys.

“It is a pleasure to be here with Amitabh Bachchan. I talked to him just as we arrived. I was saying that I had 4 million viewers in a TV interview.

I asked how many people will watch his next film and he said 500 million people. That shows the greatness of this man,” Brown said.

“Some years ago, we met in India and now here. He is more prosperous now. He is one of the greatest talents of our generation,” the Prime Minister added.

Bachchan was joined

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com Charity Commission Bites Back A reader of AV alerted me to the predicament faced by one of our national umbrella bodies which has had its charity status removed.

This is of course a great cause for concern and in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes I endeavoured to find out what was really going on. Having spoken to the Charity Commission (CC) they informed me that they are now taking a firm stand against charities that do not complete their returns on time.

In this regard it seems the CC has started to remove those charities that have ignored their repeated requests and failed to make their returns. You might be interested to learn that another Hindu organisation in Brent does not seem to have completed their return for almost 4 years!

I was intrigued to find out if this was unique to the Hindu community, or was it a bit more wide spread.

The percentage of charities that have had their registration removed (by faith groups) is: Christian = 26%, Jewish = 31%, Hindu = 17% and Muslim = 13%.

So based on these figures the Hindu community is not the worst offenders by any means. We congratulate the Muslim groups since they have had the least number removed whilst based on this straw poll, the Jewish charities don’t seem to fare too well.

Further research showed up charities with outstanding returns as: Christian = 3.5%, Jewish = 6.5%, Hindu = 5% and Muslim = 12.5%. This suggests that Muslim groups may well find that their registration might also be removed given they have the highest proportion of outstanding annual returns.

Again, the

Hindu community is not the worst offender of these regulations.

Overall it seems that Hindu groups are doing better than most charities, however it does seem to me that making an annual return should in fact be a fairly simple task, and one that should not be overlooked by trustees.

Is Ozzie on the Boozie?

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor made an announcement that will go down in history as probably one of the most blatant of bribes for votes by promising to sell off the £70 billion stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group at rock bottom prices. The question remains, is the British public so stupid that it would fall for this trick? Or could it be the case that they have now become much the wiser and will be able to see through this sham of a policy. I suspect the latter to be true and if so, get ready to see the polls narrow even further between the two parties over the coming weeks.

The last few weeks have not gone well for the Tories who have made errors in the incorrect use of crime statistics, improper use of data related to teenage pregnancies, getting it all wrong on how deep and soon the cuts should be, getting it wrong by having 20 economist supporting them only to find that Labour had 60 supporting their strategy, getting it wrong in not being at the very centre of the elderly care debate – and the list goes on. I sense we will see a serious onslaught by the Tories on Labour over the coming days, and maybe even one or two policy surprises.

Are you Browned off?

Media allegations came through over the weekend that Gordon Brown was the angry man of number 10.

Interestingly I suspect the media and the opposition might have made an error of judgement on this issue.

You may recall the public endeared to John Prescott once he let fly one of his famous left hooks on an egg thrower.

In the same way I would not be surprised if the general public might actually take a more sympathetic view of the prime minister for being serious, demanding and if necessary, not accepting second best from civil servants.

In my view the biggest error must be that of Christine Pratt, the chief executive of the National Bullying Helpline who for some unknown reason rushed to get her 15 seconds of fame by appearing on television. In the wake Prof Cary Cooper one of the trustees resigned given that this was a fundamental breach of confidentiality. On the web site of Mrs Pratt’s charity you find a supporting statement from David Cameron.

There is another statement from Ann Widdecombe who just happens to be one of the patrons of the charity. I must say I cannot see any good coming out of this for Mr Cameron or the Troy Party since as further information begins to leak out, this may well end up being yet another own goal.

!

Dr Sapandeep Sahni committed suicide after failing to become pregnant by IVF. Dr Sapandeep Sahni, 33 (pictured), who had a six-year-old daughter, was found hanged hours after a pregnancy test proved negative.

Her husband Daljeet, 37, who is also a GP, told an inquest that the treatment - which began a year earlier - had been very emotional for his wife, with many 'ups and downs'.

He said that the day before her death on

Last week I put forward in my open letter a challenge to all the main parties to respond to five specific issues. This is their second reminder of the open letter and the fact that I will monitor whatever response they may make over the coming days and weeks.

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second Silver Star Mobile Diabetes Unit in India.

Last year saw International Silver Star patron, Amitabh Bachchan launch the first mobile unit in Goa. So far it has tested 2075 people.

Mr Vaz is Britain’s longest serving MP of Asian origin and represents Leicester East which boasts Britain’s largest South Asian population outside of London.

He said, “I am absolutely delighted that the Prime Minister have presented Mr Bachchan with the second Mobile Diabetes Unit for India, especially because it will be a life saving service for the people of Mumbai.

There Units have already saved lives and raised awareness for what can be a fatal disease.

“The work of Silver Star and other organisations in this field is immeasurable. 7 million people in the UK have diabetes and have not been diagnosed and over 50 million people in India are diabetic.”

Bachchan thanked Brown for lending his support and encouragement to the cause and congratulated Vaz. He said, “Timely detection of this severe ailment can go a long way in its management to the noble cause.”

Noting that Silver Star has plans to launch similar units in Kerala and Delhi, Bachchan said he looked forward to seeing “all of you in India, in the not too distant future.”

Doctor desperate for another child hanged herself after IVF failed

Open Letter

"

by Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty at the charity event.

Brown described Shetty as an “acting phenomenon and a committed humanitarian.”

“Your campaign for AIDS awareness is an inspiration. We all know the stigma attached to HIV and AIDS but no injustice should be allowed to last for ever, you are tackling one of the difficult issues,” he said.

Brown also said that the modern Britain will not be same without its strong bond with India.

“Let us be absolutely clear, modern Britain will not be the same without our strong bond with India and the enormous part played by the AngloIndian community here.

With our strategic partnership with India, we can celebrate in everything we do,” the Prime Minister said.

“There is no doubt India is a modern global success story about which all of us should be proud of,” he added.

Silver Star, founded by Keith Vaz MP in 2007, carries out free diabetes testing and promotes culturally sensitive healthcare, focusing particularly on the high prevalence of diabetes amongst the South Asian community in Britain and Internationally.

Since 2007 Silver Star has tested 4695 people in Britain.

There are already 2 Mobile Units in the UK. ‘Amitabh’ will be the

$%

September 9 last year, she was anxious about taking another pregnancy test after three failures.

The following day, she got up at dawn to see if the treatment had been successful.

When her husband woke at 6am, she had already taken the test and found it negative.

Dr Sahni became increasingly 'upset and emotional' as the day

went on, a Northampton inquest heard.

When her husband returned from a shopping trip at 3pm, he found her body hanging in the bedroom of their £300,000 three-storey town house in the town.

A colleague at the Daventry surgery where Dr Sahni had worked for just a year said the suicide may have been triggered by her devastation at being unable to have a son to satisfy her own or her family's expectations.

A close family friend described Dr Sahni as a 'wonderful mother' but said she should have had counselling during the IVF treatment, which has a failure rate as high as five out of six attempts.

Dr Sahni, a Sikh, met her husband in the Punjab region of India, where she had set up an eye clinic to help people in rural areas. The couple moved to Northampton with their baby daughter in 2005.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

7

Memorial Trust for city banker who jumped to his death A City banker jumped to his death with a glass of champagne in his hand after he was accused of sending a prank email, an inquest has heard last week. His death had shocked the British Indian society in the UK. Anjool Malde, 24, was suspended by bosses at Deutsche Bank two days before he died.

They believed he had left a joke message on a financial website in the name of one of the bank's clients, boasting: 'I'm hot, I'm hot'.

Mr Malde denied being the sender, but it was traced to his work computer.

Two days later, at lunchtime on Sunday, July 5, last year, CCTV cameras filmed him calmly ordering a glass of champagne at the Coq D'Argent restaurant in the City of London, then leaping to his death from its eighth floor roof terrace. He died just two days before his 25th birthday.

Mr Malde, a stateschool pupil who read geography at Oxford, seemingly had everything to live for.

He had enjoyed a glittering career at the bank and was co-founder of Alpha Parties, which arranged social events for young graduates.

Deutsche Bank security chief Daniel Earp said the Google email account which sent the spoof mes-

Anjool Malde

sage also sent emails to the bank client involved, offering to pay £500 to charity to 'make the matter go away' and saying the sender was 'feeling suicidal'.

But Mr Malde denied involvement and insisted: 'I'm not suicidal.'

Mr Malde's friend Irra Khirivskaya, a model, said they had attended a party the night before his death, but he was very withdrawn and they left early.

'She said Mr Malde told her he had faced a disciplinary meeting at work but said 'he didn't much care about being in the bank'.

Miss Khirivskaya told a national daily: 'His actions can't be explained as the actions of the Jools I know. He was someone who temporarily lost his

wits.'

But she said of his death: 'The efficiency of his actions, their style and precision, were all very typical of Anjool.'

City of London coroner Paul Matthews recorded a verdict of suicide.

Following the tragic death of Anjool Malde, friends and family are in the process of forming the Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust, a charitable trust which will support a variety of causes and initiatives representative of those Anjool supported himself.

To date, two initiatives have been selected to benefit from the Memorial Trust and it is anticipated that many more will benefit in the future.

UK Student Personality of the Year, which is being inaugurated at the 2010 Real World Awards, in memory of Anjool. £2,000 prize will be awarded to the student who has made the greatest impact across student media, student societies and student nightlife during their university career.

The judging criteria have been selected in memory of Anjool’s achievements.

Darius Norrell, CEO of Real World said: “We are proud to support this

fantastic award in memory of Anjool. He made the most of his time at university and was a worthy prize winner. We look forward to receiving inspiring entries for this inaugural award.”

Entries are now open and the deadline for entries is 12th April 2010. For more information and to apply, see w w w. r e a l w o r l dawards.com The Anjool Maldé Prize for S t u d e n t Journalism and the Anjool Maldé Prize for Student Journalism at O x f o r d University is also being inaugurated in 2010, in conjunction with The Oxford Student and Cherwell newspapers. A £500 prize fund will be awarded to the top student journalists in the categories of Student Issues and Entertainment Reviews each year.

Entries are now open and the deadline for entries is 6th June 2010.

For more information, please email ravichopra2007@gmail.com.

Anjool’s father, Bharat

Coq D'Argent restaurant in the City of London

Maldé said: “In the short but memorable life Anjool led, he touched and inspired so many lives judging by the hundreds of messages of gratitude we continue to receive.

This Trust and its first initiatives are a fitting embodiment of Anjool’s legacy of outlook, interests and aspirations and

we hope it will help to launch the careers of the bright & talented in new and special ways. We know how proud Anjool would have felt with the efforts of his close friends setting up the Trust and with people who he would wish to help continuing to be supported by this wonderful initiative”.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Gujarati woman named Beauty Journalist of the Year Anjana Gosai, author of The Ultimate Guide to Beauty, has been named Beauty Journalist of the Year at the 6th Annual Johnson & Johnson Beauty Journalism Awards.

Anjana won the prestigious prize - and a second award for Best Freelance Beauty Journalist - for her work in newspapers including the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times and magazines including Elle, Celebs on Sunday, Stylist and Asiana.

Anjana, 32, lives in north London with her husband and their one year-old son says: " These awards are the equivalent of the Oscars to us beauty writers. I’ve been attending the event for the past three years and while I’ve been shortlisted many times, I’ve never won, so I’m over the moon! To be recognised amongst my peers, including beauty editors whose work I have admired for years and to have my work commended by top people in the

Anjana accepting her award from Vince Pender MD of Johnson & Johnson, UK

industry makes me feel very humbled."

Anjana added: "I was also really pleased that

the Freelance Journalist of the Year award was given to me on the strength of my feature on

skin lightening, which I wrote for Asiana. It is a subject I am very passionate about and it was for a magazine I have been writing for, for years."

Anjana's first book, The Ultimate Guide to Beauty was published last year and has sold thousands of copies all over the world. The first ever beauty bible for South Asian women is a one-of-a-kind dressing table guide containing everything a girl needs to look and feel her best.

The Johnson & Johnson Beauty Journalism Awards celebrate the work UK beauty journalists do to educate inform and advise their readers through coherent, well-researched and intelligent articles.

The 6th Annual Johnson & Johnson Beauty Journalism Awards took place at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 27th of January 2010 and were hosted by dermatologist Dr Susan Mayou and Vince Pender MD of Johnson & Johnson UK.

Accountant stabbed to death by jealous boyfriend Camille Mathurasingh was stabbed 20 times in a frenzied attack after her boyfriend saw her with another man on Facebook, the Old Bailey heard last week. She died on the floor of the kitchen Less than a fortnight after seeing two pictures of Camille Mathurasingh with her new love, Paul Bristol boarded a plane from Trinidad to England.

He then went to her home in Bow, East London, and stabbed her 20 times in the kitchen before cutting himself and crashing her car.

Bristol, 25, an IT technician for the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Administration, denies murder but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Miss Mathurasingh had for three years worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Port of Spain, Trinidad, but returned to her family in London two years ago.

She was working for Deloitte in London until two weeks before her death in April.

Simon Denison QC, prosecuting, said Miss Mathurasingh met Bristol in Trinidad during the time she worked there.

Their relationship con-

Camille Mathurasingh

tinued through e-mails and telephone calls after her return.

Mr Denison said: 'In the early part of last year, when Camille was having doubts about their future together, she met a man here and started going out with him.

'It would appear she tried to bring about the end of her relationship with this defendant gently and did not tell him about her new boyfriend.

'He found out when he saw pictures of them together on Facebook.

'He would say he could not accept it was over and he decided to come here to see if he could win her back.'

Miss Mathurasingh did not want him to come over and told her family he was harassing her.

But Bristol had been unable to accept that the relationship was over and arrived here on April 2.

'The following day, he killed her. He did so in a frenzied attack with a knife. He stabbed her about 20 times in the neck, chest, back, hip and leg. She died on the floor of the kitchen,' said Mr Denison.

'He stabbed himself a number of times. He then got into Miss Mathurasingh's car and drove off at speed and dangerously along the Mile End Road.

'After a few minutes, he crashed and the car turned on its side. He climbed out and ran along the road before he was stopped by police.

'He was bleeding heavily from wounds to his face, neck and arms. He immediately told police that he had just tried to kill his girlfriend and had then stabbed himself.'

Miss Mathurasingh's family, including her teacher parents, described her as a 'kind and gentle' person who was sometimes naive.

Early last year, she met Kosovan Besim Haxhia through her sister.

The trial continues.

Hijab shaped arches waste of money?

Plans to build £1.85million ‘hijab’ shaped arches at both ends of London’s Brick Lane have been branded a ‘waste of money’ by angry residents.

‘I am shocked to learn that the scheme is budgeted at £2million and I strongly feel that rubbish collections, vermin control, education and

They form part of a cultural trail proposed by Tower Hamlets Council along the East End road which is famous for its door-to-door curry houses, bars, clubs and art galleries.

However, local residents – including artist Tracey Emin – have labelled the plans culturally insensitive.

They say the design of the stainless steel, illuminate arches is offensive to Muslim women and does not represent the area’s diverse communities.

Daily Mail reports Tracey Emin, who lives just off Brick Lane, wrote a letter to the council, saying: ‘I sincerely object to these proposals… the proposed material has no relevance to the heritage of the area or its future.

‘I understand that the Jewish East End Celebration Society does not approve the concept overall and neither do the Spitalfields Trust nor the Spitalfields Society, as stated in the review of the consultation.

improved policing are more important to resolve.’

However, the council said the scheme would also include a tower and information boards that would highlight the history of the area.

It also said the trail along the street would attract more tourists to the area.

The council extended the deadline for complaints to 22 February.

According to Tower Hamlets, the gates represent the diverse communities in the area who have historically worn headscarves, including some members of the Jewish community and the Huguenots, as well as some Muslim residents.

‘The gates represent lots of different communities and how diverse and special Tower Hamlets is,’ a council spokesman said.

‘The cultural path aims to attract tourists to the area and boost local businesses and the economy.’

Curry crackdown underway in Birmingham following exploding tandoors Health and Safety officers have issued a warning to the curry houses of Birmingham after a spate of injuries caused by exploding tandoori ovens.

A number of restaurant workers have been severely burned because the modern gas tandoors, used to cook chicken tikka and nan bread, were not properly maintained.

Birmingham City Council inspectors also found that at many establishments kitchen staff routinely light the ovens by throwing in burning serviettes, rather than using an ignition system.

One oven owned by Sukdhevs Catering Services Ltd, owner of Chandni Chowks Restaurants and Sweets, in Handsworth, was found to have never been maintained after being installed by a chef, rather than a qualified engineer.

Another oven from a different premises was being maintained, but by an

engineer who was not authorised to work on catering appliances. The inspections also revealed that only a small percentage of ovens had working ignition systems and that employees were routinely using the unsafe practice of lighting ovens with burning serviettes.

Sukdhev’s Catering Services Ltd pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 22nd January 2010 to breaching Regulation 35 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, were fined £3,500 and were ordered to pay costs of £2,500, for failing to maintain their tandoor.

The oven exploded while being lit by an employee, causing him serious burns to his hands, face and

eyes.

The explosion occurred in November 2008 because the tandoori oven had a gas leak on the main supply pipe into the oven.

Councillor Neil Eustace, Chair of the Public Protection Committee, said: "The results of our inspection were shocking, only three of the 27 premises inspected were getting an engineer to examine their ovens, and only two of those engineers were found to be competent to work on catering appliances.

"Only 14 premises were using a safe method for lighting the oven...The potential for injuries is high and that is why we have served a number of enforcement notices”.

Midland Voice Dhiren Katwa is currently away

EDUCATION/COUNCIL

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Future Generations Sai School Harrow

by Pooja Chotai, Age 19

Shivaratri, the eternal festival On the very auspicious day of Maha Shivaratri 2010, Sai students and youths invoked the blessings of Lord Shiva by chanting Vedam prayers in the oldest language – Sanskrit at Watford Town Hall on Friday evening as well as on Saturday morning at Sai School. Listening to Vedic hymns yields spiritual benefits and bestows peace and serenity of mind, not only to those chanting, but also listeners benefit as sacred sound vibrations energise the atmosphere. It was a heavenly experience as I sat on stage chanting Lingastam and Bilva Stotram with the group that has been practising with me, watching everyone perform individual lingam pujas. I am con-

vinced that all the devotees and parents were transcended to Mount Kailas, the abode of Shiva and Parvati when

the Vedic chanting was performed.

The age range of Sai children who recite Vedic chanting is 8yrs and upwards. Sanskrit is the oldest language and a difficult language to master, certainly from pronunciation perspective. Bearing in mind that majority of the children are UK born and fluent in English, in my humble opinion it is

God’s grace showing in abundance that we are enthusiastic chanting Vedams in Sanskrit, the language known as Deva

Bhasha, language of the Gods.

There is a saying that, “A prayer is Gods weakness and Man’s greatest strength.” A prayer emanating from the deepest recesses of the heart can make impossible things possible. Sai School hosts extracurricular classes every Saturday morning after regular classes have finished at 12pm for veda chanting, tabla and Hindi vocal.

This academic year, Sai School has facilitated a new advanced veda class for the youths and ex students who have been with Sai School from many years and now studying Medicine, Pharmacy, Maths and Finance at university.

Their passion for learning the oldest Vedam and prayers is proof that vedic teachings will remain eternal, thanks to our Veda teachers, Haru Aunty, Kundan Aunty and Shivali who prepares the power point presentations so everyone can follow our prayers.

To register your child at Sai School for anyone aged between 5-15years, please log onto www.saischool.com and click on Get in Touch.

Social service scrutiny after mother poisons son Social services came under fire for 'failing' a single mother and her son after she allegedly poisoned him with bleach.

Satpal Mahal-Singh, 44, is said to have killed 12-yearold Ajit by forcing him to drink the liquid after she became unable to cope with him.

Social workers had been discussing taking the boy, who it is claimed was severely autistic, away from her but had not yet done so.

Mrs Majal-Singh was arrested on suspicion of murder on a couple of weeks back after she called the emergency services to her home in Barking, Essex.

She had allegedly given Ajit the bleach before drinking some herself and dialling 999.

The boy's brother, aged 11, was found un-harmed at the property and is being looked after by social services.

The Metropolitan Police child abuse major investigation team is now examining whether the child should have been taken

Ajit Singh, 12

into care sooner.

Social services confirmed that they and other child protection agencies had been involved with the family for several years.

Neighbour Steve Woodhead, 59, told the London Evening Standard: 'Social services have failed that family. How they could leave those kids in her care is completely beyond me. She kept them in the house most of the time.'

Mr Woodhead said he and his wife Pauline, 47, a health care assistant, had told social services and police that they feared for the children.

The Met is examining its handling of the case but sources said that while officers had been called to the house in the past it was more to do with domestic disputes involving the par-

ents than the children.

Mrs Majal-Singh is understood to have moved into the council-owned property around seven years ago.

She separated from her husband two years ago. He is now thought to live in France.

The Met said: 'A post mortem examination gave a preliminary cause of death as ingestion of a caustic liquid. We await the results of further tests.'

Barking and Dagenham Council said: 'This is a tragic incident.

Our thoughts are with the family. A number of agencies have had involvement with them over several years, including the police, the NHS, and other local authorities.

'We are leading a serious case review as required by the Government to look into all details of this tragedy. A police inquiry is also currently under way.'

The case comes a month after Doncaster social services was criticised for not intervening in the family of two brothers who tortured two other young boys in an isolated spot in Edlington.

9

Fury at mum on £100,000 a year benefits Britain’s benefits shambles was exposed last week by the case of a mother-of-six who receives £7,000 a month of taxpayers’ cash to live in a £2million mansion.

Critics hit out at the Government for overseeing a system that entitles jobless Essma Marjan (pictured) to claim almost £100,000 a year in housing benefit and other free handouts.

The money allows her to live in a plush five-bedroom villa in a desirable part of London, close to the home of Sir Paul McCartney.

The 34-year-old single mother says she was forced to move after the birth of her five-month-old son meant her previous home was too small for her growing brood.

Last week, outraged politicians called for an overhaul of the system which allows Miss Marjan to legitimately claim £1,600-a-week in housing benefit, adding up to £84,000 a year. She also receives an estimated £15,000 a year in other payouts, including child benefit. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May said: “We cannot go on with a situation where families on housing benefits live in million-pound mansions.

We plan to review the whole system to make sure it is fair. Families on benefits should not be able to live in houses that people in work and not on benefits can’t afford.”

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This is a huge bill, which is clearly excessive. The current rules put councils in the impossible situation of having to pay for houses chosen by the claimant, even if they cost an absolute fortune.

Of course people shouldn’t be left without a home but there are plenty of better value houses. This is costly for taxpayers and

PHILIP GLASS’s

SATYAGRAHA GANDHI’S SEARCH FOR TRUTH IN A SPECTACULAR STAGING 25 Feb – 26 Mar 9 performances only

ts Ticke ly n o m o fr

£16

‘An astonishingly beautiful work’ The Guardian

A production by IMPROBABLE

ENO LIVE AT THE LONDON COLISEUM www.eno.org 0871 911 0200 Illus tration by S teve Rawlings

other deprives people of much needed assistance.”

Describing her good fortune, Miss Marjan said: “I moved here at the beginning of the month as I’m entitled to a fivebedroom house. I was in a threebedroom council house but I needed a bigger place once my new baby came along. So the council agreed to pay the £1,600 a week to a private landlord as they didn’t have any houses big enough.”

Westminster City Councillor Melvyn Caplan said: “The whole system is entirely wrong and people should not be able to choose where they live and the Government then have to pay that amount.

It is totally unfair. We’ve been calling for some time for the Government to reform this.”

His fellow councillor Phillipa Roe added: “The Government has repeatedly pledged to reform housing benefit but failed to do so. The whole system needs a radical review and ministers should stop dragging their heels and get on and do it.”

10

ART & CULTURE

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Spriha’s

Raga Jyoti presents Divinity Concerts

Corner

By Spriha Srivastava

A lifetime’s experience check up is something It is not always that you that will be very hard to come across youngsters forget. Also, sleeping in who are both intelligent the outdoors with the and dare-devil. Normally sounds of wild animals at the age of thirteen you around you was an excitwould think that the ing experience. To really child is more interested see all I experienced, you in either playing play stahave to watch the show tion series or watching some high school soap opera.

But Kushal Upadhyaya is different.

Even though he would be doing pretty much what the normal teenagers do but one experience has changed him a lot as a human being. He has definitely become much more compasKushal Upadhyaya and Frankie sionate and sensitive (One of the mentor's) to his surroundings. each week!

He was recently chosen What do you think by the BBC to be flown you learnt the most from along with 3 other chilyour days spent in dren from the UK to participate in a program Kruger National Park? filmed in South Africa.

I learnt that it is not

(left to right) Rudi, Frankie, Kushal, Noma, Manya, Ashleigh, Sifiso, Tomas, Caroline and Ella

In the programme Safari just the big animals that 8; which has been on air matter, but it is a whole since Tuesday 19th circle of animals that all January 2010, at 5.15pm depend on each other for on CBBC, Kushal was survival. Every day is an able to learn skills all to adventure in the safari do with conservation, park, from waking up to the problems with the sounds of mischievous monkeys to the poaching and he even got the chance to work with the wild animals for a month.

This 13 part series has been a life changing experience for Kushal.l I got a chance to speak to him and find A Rhino that came across on Safari 8 path out more about his experiences during adrenaline you get from the program. He says it being chased by a rhino was an experience to (which almost hapremember. pened)! I also learnt that Tell us your experithe effect of human ence as being part of the activity is having a disasSafari 8 program? trous effect on the daily My experiences in lives of these innocent the program are so vast animals. it’s hard for me to even What are your views start explaining! But, the on poaching?

Poaching is an fact that I met new peounnecessary form of ple and experienced a murder that should be whole new culture. eliminated from society.

Touching a lion whilst It harms innocent creaperforming a health

tures for their valuable assets. In episode 5, we learnt how to track poachers, and this helped us to understand the effects and regularity of this act. Looking at the pictures of poaching crime scenes made me feel sad and angry. We should respect all world’s creatures, we wouldn’t like it if we were killed for our assets, so who should we kill the animals?!

You got a chance to work with wild animals. Describe it in detail?

Working with wild animals was a once in a life time achievement. I learnt so much about different kinds of animals, ranging from the tiniest insect to the biggest land mammal. I performed health checks on elephants, lions, rhinos and buffalo’s.

Unfortunately we did not get to see the leopard. In the health check, I was required to check the temperature of the animals, measure their height, conduct a blood test and generally check the animal’s wellbeing. I learnt many different things about animals that you could never get from a book!

How has this experience changed you as a person?

I feel that this experience in Kruger National Park has changed me as I have much more compassion for animals and I have more awareness about my carbon footprint and how I can look after animals. Also in the month that I was away I learnt different ways in which I can look after people in life threatening situations. The rangers Rudi and Frankie have helped me to identify weaknesses in myself and how I can socialize with different people. I would like to thank the BBC for giving me this opportunity who made my experience ever so special!

The Elephant that was chasing Safari 8 game truck

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Raga Jyoti – The Indian Classical Music Ensemble is created and artistically directed by Rakesh Joshi of Manchester. Raga Jyoti musicians present an exciting varieties of the Indian classical, contemporary, folk and themed music compositions. The Ensemble was created in the year 2001 with the special musical message of the Light beyond the Millennium. A group thirty talented Indian and Western musicians’ present specially composed music in traditional Indian style.

This year, on 7th Feb at Fairfield Halls,

Croydon and on 14th February at The Lowry, Salford Quays, Rakesh Joshi & team musicians of the Raga Jyoti have performed beautiful concerts at two high profile venues of the UK. Approximately 500 audiences at each venue have attended and enjoyed the concerts.

On Saturday, 27th February; Raga Jyoti musicians will be presenting Divinity concert at one of the finest and new venue of the UK, Curve in Leicester (www.curveonline.co.uk) In the past, Raga Jyoti has performed at Leeds Town Hall, Acton town hall, a special per-

formance for Pandit Ravi Shankar (Great Sitar maestro) at The Bridgwater HallManchester, at Oldham Coliseum - part of the Commonwealth Games in 2002, in Tameside music festival and at The Lowry, Salford Quays (Eternity & Divinity concerts in 2005-2008-2010).

Raga Jyoti musicians aim to present beautiful Indian classical and contemporary music orchestra for the audience in the UK and the world, with special message of peace, divine harmony and friendship for all diverse communities.

Handful of Henna

Characters in the last scene of the play: Aunty Mona, Saheeda, Alya and Nasreen (l-r)

By RUpANjANA DUTTA There have many stories that talk about reconciliation of a mother daughter relation through events of life. It is also not very unusual to see people falling out with one another due to unavoidable circumstances- whether its time or incidents.

Sometimes it is also the nature of a man, small secrets and mysterious attitudes that create a distance between two hearts.

A Handful of Henna is a similar story line with many hidden messages.

For the first time since Saheeda was a girl, she is returning to her family village for a wedding.

She takes along her teenage daughter Nasreen who is intensely annoyed at being away from her friends in England.

Saheeda begins to connect with her past life as she meets her family specially Aunty Mona and childhood friend Alya, and stories of her time as a

girl, both happy and sad are re-enacted.

As mother and daughter begin to share the family history, Saheeda, just like her own mother did to her, rubs henna into Nasreen's hands to ward off evil spirits and nightmares.

As the wedding celebrations commence, a newfound understanding is forged between mother and daughter, and brash Nasreen shows she has sensitivity and compassion.

Based on real stories from Muslim women this is a joyous and moving story about lives lived across two cultures, and one girls journey to understanding her mother.

Skipping back and forth across time four actresses create a bustling, colourful world filled with music, dance and celebration.

It always depends on audience how they perceive of a drama, and what they think of the character and the plot. Though

Handful of Henna is about a mother and her daughter, it appeals to everybody in the crowd.

Shaheeda's happiness to reach her home after many years, contrasted with the feeling of Nasreen who found the ecstasy of older generation absolutely abhorrent. But with time, the discovery of a friend in her mother, the identification of similar womanly joys and the metamorphosis of a child into a woman as she travelled through her mother's story of sudden adulthood and child slavery, made the character of Nasreen very real.

Drama with enormous laughter, enacted with occasional sarcasm, the characters evolve in various layers about a journey of loss and gain, bondage and discovery, ghosts and present-in a not so conventional way.

If I may say, in nutshell, it's indeed a must watch for everyone.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Another community stalwart dies in the hands of teenagers After Sukhwinder Singh, who died in Barking trying to save a woman's purse being stolen, another Sikh gentleman dies in the hands of similar hooligans.

Gurmail Singh, a the shopkeeper bludgeoned to death by a teenage hammer gang for the sake of a few sweets and cigarettes.

It will not be surprising, if these series of attacks could be later linked to racism gripping UK youths, who are inadequately educated and also victims of the recent economic slump.

Gurmail Singh, 63, was found in a pool of blood by customers in his shop. Several tried to trap the raiders inside the corner store moments after the attack, but they escaped following a struggle.

A married father-oftwo and grandfather, Mr Singh took pride in working seven days a week and always providing service with a smile.

Police are investigating possible links with another incident 48 hours earlier when Mr Singh was knocked to the floor, had his turban ripped off as two youths tried to steal from his shop. The pair ran off with cigarettes after pushing their way behind the counter.

This week as police

Cowcliffe Convenience Store in Huddersfield happened at around 8.30pm on Saturday. Police were called after Mr Singh was seen collapsed on the floor and bleeding.

He had apparently been hit over the head with a sledgehammer.

Bottles had also been smashed inside the shop.

The robbers were described as being in their late teens, wearing dark hooded tops and tracksuit bottoms. They also took a small amount of cash.

Gurmail Singh At least two of the launched a hunt for the youths were still inside four suspects, locals paid when the witnesses tried tribute to the community to trap them by holding stalwart. the front door shut.

The robbery at The youths tried to smash their way out before fleeing via a back storeroom.

One of the passers-by tried to rugby tackle one of the raiders and there was a struggle before he got away.

An ambulance was called but Mr Singh died later in hospital. Police said no one else was injured.

He was a popular local figure and neighbours Shop where Gurmail Singh was are still in shock. murdered

11

Leadership …but in whose hands?

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has recently published a major structural change to increase BAME and Women’s representation in public appointments.

A public appointment is an appointment to the board of a public body. In the UK, there are currently 18,500 public appointments to over 1,200 public bodies.

The types of Public Appointments include: Chairs, Board Members or Board Directors, NonExecutive Board Directors, Commissioners and Finance & Audit Committee Directors. The roles can be remunerated or unremunerated.

CEMVO(Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisation) sponsored an event at the Civil Service club on equality in the public sector. The event was oversubscribed and attended by a cross section of professionals, SME owners and young professionals.

Speakers included Baroness Verma , Jane Dudman of The Guardian, Deepti Patel, Giles Naylor of Odgers Berndtson, Sandip Sarda. The event was compered by Uday Bhatt .

The event was supported by Government Equalities Office and Asian Voice which donated two tickets to their

Giles Naylor of Odgers Berndtson, Mr Sandip Sarda, Baroness Verma, Mr Uday Bhatt, Ms Jane Dudman of The Guardian, Ms Deepti Patel, Mr Manish Tewari

Political and Public Awards at the House of Commons on Thursday 25th February, 2010.

Dilip Joshi who was the host and the organiser of the event went on to say '' The BME community has vast talent bank, the challenge for us is to con-

vince the supply chain of senior Politicians, Civil Servants from Cabinet Secretary to the Headhunter Fraternity to welcome us. Too often public appointments are made by people in their own image.Taxation without representation is not a defendable option ''

Mr Dilip Joshi MBE, Baroness Verma along with L George of Asian Voice giving the winner of the raffel draw, Ms Louise An from WE Solution, the tickets to the presitigious Asian Voice Political & Public Life Awards

Two demolition companies fined after man killed by falling steel prop UK Health and Safety Law protects you even if you are not working here legally

Rhaynukaa Soni Outreach Executive

Two demolition companies have today been fined a total of £115,000 after a labourer was killed by a falling steel prop.

Essex based John F Hunt Demolition Ltd and Bayoak Demo Ltd of London both pleaded guilty to Health and Safety breaches concerning the death of 29-year-old Rafał Przestrzelski in 2005.

The Central Criminal Court, (Old Bailey) heard

Mr Przestrzelski, 29, of Wood Green, London N22, was employed as a labourer by demolition sub-contactor Bayoak Demo Ltd. The project was managed by John F Hunt Demolition Ltd, acting as principal contractor.

On 25 July 2005, Rafał Przestrzelski was told to remove a number of steel (Acrow) props supporting a slab of concrete, during the demolition of Telstar House in Paddington, London. Originally there were 13 props, but as each one was removed the load increased on the remainder until the final one was carrying the entire load.

When the props were removed, the concrete slab fell to the ground and an overloaded prop struck Mr Przestrzelski causing fatal internal injuries.

The subsequent joint

Metropolitan Police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found a full structural survey of the section of the building being worked on was not undertaken.

The investigation discovered a section of a partially demolished linkbridge structure collapsed when the props supporting it were removed by Mr Przestrzelski. They found a collapse was inevitable as the structure was not physically tied onto the building as was assumed by the management.

John F Hunt Demolition Ltd of Europa Park, London Road, Grays in Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974, at the Central Criminal Court, (Old Bailey), on 27

2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, on 1 February 2010. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 in costs.

After the sentencing HSE Inspector Giles Meredith said: “This was a lengthy joint investigation between the Metropolitan Police and HSE, Telstar House fatality which found Rafal January 2010. The comPrzestrzelski was the pany was fined £85,000 innocent victim of a basic and ordered to pay error of judgement by oth£25,000 in costs. ers that cost him his life.

Bayoak Demo Ltd, of “There are lessons to Clare Gardens, Barking in be learned both about the London, also pleaded importance of carrying out guilty to breaching Section detailed surveys and also

Helpline: 0207 556 2181 e-mail: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/gujarati

about making sure that the right people are consulted at the right time. The price of making an illinformed decision about the structure was enormous."

Howard Cohen, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "This case clearly demonstrates that there will be consequences for companies if they do not uphold the necessary safety standards. The breaches in this case had the most serious and tragic of outcomes. The CPS takes health and safety offences very seriously and will consider prosecution of any company that fails to protect employees and others with whom they come into contact."

12

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Scrutator’s The following item appeared in the Evening Standard (January 29). Its author, Sebastian Shakespeare, writes: “I have just returned from a two-week holiday traversing Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, in order to secure a tourist visa, I had to give the Indian authorities a solemn undertaking that I wouldn't write about my experiences. So I can't share with you the delights of Tamil Nadu, its fabulous temples, its sensational food or the unfailing courtesy and hospitality of its people.

“What I can reveal is that I've encountered more beggars on the streets of London in the past week than I did in my entire sojourn in Tamil Nadu. India is the future – 25 per cent of people in the world are Indian – and Tamil Nadu is one of its most prosperous states.

“I think I can share with you details of my return flight from Chennai to Heathrow on British Airways without incurring the wrath of Shiva. I haven't flown with BA for 20-odd years and it was an eye-opener. Full marks to BA for punctuality and inflight entertainment.

But the BA cabin steward was unfathomly rude to the mainly Indian passengers and made me squirm with embarrassment.”

Sour taste in the air

per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in the Gujarati city on the country's west coast....It has battled a series of

turned their attention to the country's domestic market and this was now paying off handsomely. Mr Sieff continued his narrative: “For the first time, Indian diamond polishers are hitching their fate to home consumers. The trend is noticeable in Surat, where glitzy stores sell diamond jewellery on bayside avenues.” “ I don't know where we would have been without domestic consumption last year,” said Vasant Shah chairman of India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. Surat's manufacturers also point to the recession as a lesson in the importance of the country's strong domestic market. “ Why bank on foreign consumers, when we have so any people he re hungry to buy,?” says Mahendra Kajiwalia, a local owner of textile mills and retail outlets. The good times are back and the volume of Surat's overall business has reached 80 per cent of the boom years. With the momentum quickening all the time.

“Why did he refuse to help any of us load our hand baggage into the overhead locker? Or even deign to show us where we might find a free locker to stow away our baggage.

When an Indian passenger gently remonstrated with him, the steward replied tartly: 'It's my duty to stay at Naval escorts the back of the plane.'

Was he already on Financial Times strike? OK, we all C o r r e s p o n d ents have our bad days but James Lamont in it left a sour taste in New Delhi and Geoff the air. And what an Dyer in Bejing appalling impression (February 18) told to give a first-time vishow Pallam Raju, itor to England (I was India's minister of sitting next to one).” state for defence had Our scribe then relatoffered China's oil ed his experience at tankers Indian naval the Kensington High escorts as they they Street branch of Lloyds Bank, on the The fabulous Meenakshi Temple in Tamil Nadu moved through the Indian Ocean on first day back in their homeward London: few cashiers at the exceptional natural disasjourney.

“The minister said tills as the queue of custers: an outbreak of pneuNew Delhi “understands tomers lengthened, leading monic plague in 1994 and that China needed to proto bank rage among some. one of the region's worst tect its oil interests.”

Sebastian Shakespeare floods in 2006.....Its most again: “So what do I know recent growth spurt, which of England after my trip to China’s strength started in the mid-1970s, India? That we are a nation put Surat on the map as a of jobworths and British Our two scribes put in their hub of India's manufacturAirways and Lloyds Bank penny's worth by contrasting.... Its slums were razed have a long way to go in ing this emollience with the and rebuilt. Its 24,000 improving customer relasuspicion of Chinese looms operated almost 24 tions. It used to be said that designs in the area allegedhours a day, producing a to be born British was to ly expressed by Indian third of the country's texwin the first prize in the naval officials. It apparently tiles. Diamond polishing lottery of life. In my next never occurred to them that outfits thrived, from Karp's life I would like to be born carrot-and-stick are the towering headquarters to an Indian.” sum of a policy. They dank basements, where less What do they know of sounded the familiar alarm valuable stones were cut.

England who only England about China's attempt to By 2007-08, diamond know? encircle India via Sri Lanka exports had risen to $14 and Pakistan and much else billion, with most operabesides. They ended by Surat back tions carried out in Surat. warning that China's navy The city's synthetic fabric on track was thrice as large as sector grew to be worth India's with five times the $8.7bn, making it the capiThe Financial Times “India personnel. Such scaremontal of India's synthetic tex& Globalsation” supplegering may have an undetiles. Surat was named the ment (January 29) was fined political purpose, but country's fastest growingg given space in the whatever it is our scribes city in 2007, with an annuFebruary 6 issue of this colshould take a second, closal gross domestic product umn, but this wasn't suffier look at the subject. growth rate of 11.5 per cient to do it full justice. We China has the largest cent,” wrote Mr Sieff. return to the supplement by stretch of water on earth, Then came the global taking in its profile of the Pacific Ocean to patrol downturn and the near colSurat, written by Kevin and protect against the lapse of Surat's foreign diaSieff. This bustling port city combined power of the mond trade.

But Surat's in Gujarat vibrates energy.

United States and its ally resourceful business heads It always has. “Almost 80 Japan. Without an aircraft

carrier, Beijing's force projection against India is containable.

India-US air exercise Besides India is far from helpless. Following a joint air exercise in Indian skies between the warplanes of the host country and the United States in November 2005, the Vice Commander of the US Pacific Air Force Lt General Dave Deptula said: “I have never seen a better executed exercise in my 29 years with the USAF.” (Indian Express.

November18. 2005).

A year earlier, (Retd IAF) Air Commodore Jasjit Singh dwelt on the “Cope India” air exercise in February 2004 over India between the IAF and its US counterpart by first quoting the leader of the US F-15C aircraft that engaged Indian squadrons in mock combat.

The US officer in his parting speech said: “I pity the pilot who faces the IAF....anyone underestimating him will not go home.”

The technical details of these encounters were kept secret, but Air Commodore Jasjit Singh referred to America's Aviation Week & Space Technology for available information. For every seven US planes shot down, the Indian side lost three, with India's Russianmade Su 30MKI “shooting down” all four American F15C planes in a single engagement.

Air Commodore Singh noted India's experience with the British Air Force in 1964 following the SionIndian border conflict in October-November 1962.

The Indo-UK exercisee code-named “Exercise Shiksha” was designed to teach (as the code-name suggested) the natives the rudiments of air defence, hence only helicopters and transport aircraft were involved (Indian Express, June 30, 2004).

Agni V missile Reassuring to Indians was Dr V.K.Saraswat's confident projection of the range

and accuracy of India's intercontinentall ballistic missile Agni V. Agni IV was recently tested and is in the process of induction into the Indian Army. It could hit most Chinese cities but its successor - to be tested next year - would bring the entire country within range. The accuracy

eign minister S.M.Krishna, defence minister A.K.Antony, industry minister Anand Sharma, energy minister Murli Deora, topping these off with a meeting with prime minister Manmohan Singh. Leading the defence talks was Alexander Fomin, while his colleague Sergei Kireinko,

Indian foreign minister S.M.Krishna

Russian deputy prime minister Sergei Sobyanin

of India's missiles was superior to China's, claimed the Indian scientist (The Hindu, February 11) which enraged some of China's great and good. who dismissed India's rocket science as primitive and ten years behind that of the Middle Kingdom.

chief of the Russian Atomic Energy discussed setting up new Russian nuclear reactors in India.

Who's afraid of China?

Russia, India With reams of British media print expended so generously on the Sino-Indian relationship, it is curious that ties between India and Russia are seen as something akin to hard porn and thus unworthy of 'free world' attention.

The Hindu newspaper carried a front-page report by K.V. Prasad and Sandeep Dixit (February 18) told of talks in New Delhi between Russian and Indian figures at the highest level, preparatory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to India in mid-March, where he will be signing documents designed to take the Indo-Russian strategic relationship, especially in defence, to the next level (watch this space).

Leading the Russian delegation was deputy prime minister and India pointman Sergei Sobyanin, who called on Indian for-

Gujarat model The Financial Times of late has been dwelling somewhat darkly on Indian agriculture, so let us relieve the encircling gloom. India Today magazine (February 8) produced a short but telling report on the agricultural advances made in Gujarat. Its opening paragraph sets the scene: “On the surface it looks like a paradox. When agricultural production in most other states is plummeting, Gujarat, with large semiarid tracts that were once alien to good crops, offers a turnaround story. Last year, it posted an agricultural growth of 9.6 per cent against a national average of 2.6 per cent..... An agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan puts it, “Gujarat owes this to a scientific and integrated approach to agriculture during Narendra Modi's tenure which is backed by a sharp vision.”

What Gujarat does today, India will surely do tomorrow.

The new Hyderabad International Airport which has been named amongst the world’s top five in the annual Airport Service Quality passenger survey a long with Seoul, Singapour, Hong Kong and Beijing

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

www.abplgroup.com

Alpesh Patel

Air Livery of UK is now an Indian company

Consultant Editor Financial Voice

Karnataka based Air Works Engineering acquires 85% stake

Dear Financial Voice Reader, I write to your from Dubai this time. No, not working on any Hamas assassination attempts. It’s a more interesting place post property-slump, ever since they returned to their trading background as a hub for regional and increasingly global trade. Add to this they neighbour the world’s richest City – Abu Dhabi and you can understand why it’s a more important place than Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, or Spain.

I tend to find those most critical of Dubai are the ones who are not business persons and to the blind all things are dark.

But let’s get back to broader markets. Here’s a poser: what stocks do Soros and Buffet both own?

Shouldn’t be that many, after all they have different investment styles. Soros, who believe in his ‘theory of reflexivity’ that the market often has inbalances and one can profit from those, and Buffett who tends to believe in value investing and that most information is already factored into a stock.

These are some of the stocks both recently owned. Republic Services. A $10billion company in the solid waste sector. They are profitable, showing annual earnings growth. Oh, Bill Gates owns a slice of this company too.

Another one is Becton Dickinson, in the manufacture of medical devices. A $18billion company paying dividends and annual earnings growth too.

The US has raised interest rates. As we are talking about Buffet it’s important to understand what this means – in his own words, ‘Interest rates “act on financial valuations the way gravity acts on matter: The higher the rate, the greater the downward pull.

That's because the rates of return that investors need from any kind of investment are directly tied to the risk-free rate that they can earn from government securities. So if the government rate rises, the prices of all other investments must adjust downward, to a level that brings their expected rates of return into line. Conversely, if government interest rates fall, the move pushes the prices of all other investments upward.”

My concern about rising interest rates in the US is that it leads to a loss of confidence. However the Americans are clearly more concerned about inflationary pressures and appreciate that as corporate earnings have been strong the bigger worry is too much stimulus.

In the UK, the issue is not that we are showing 0.1% growth in the past quarter and so out of recession technically, but more what Obama says, which is that if it feels like a recession then it is a recession.

And although the lower UK Sterling currency against the dollar means our goods and services are cheaper to Americans, helping us to export more, which is much needed and something which will have to be the key focus of exiting the recession.

Indeed whatever business you are in, given the global economy the most important thing to be focussed on is to examine opportunities to export.

Europe is continuing to look a basket case and the Greece problem is just the start, with Portugal and Spain next on the chopping block.

The US jobless figures are starting to improve and it will doubtless be the case the American currency will inevitably have to weaken in the medium term because of the poor state of the economy; poor employment, budget deficit, more imports than exports – the problems are not just out of the credit crunch, but also relate to the fact that for years Americans have simply made things the rest of the world did not want or buy. In other words, they imported more than they exported.

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Air Works Engineering, a Karnataka based aviation engineering company has announced a deal to buy 85% equity stake in a UK company – Air Livery. The deal is believed to be worth £12.871 million.

The UK firm is known for aircraft painting services and facilities. Air Works

This new facility is likely to be operational by the year end. Estimated costs for the painting facility are US$2.5 mn.

This facility would help airlines in South, South-East and West Asia bring down their aircraft maintenance costs by 25%. Technical expertise

of Air Livery will be used for this facility. Currently, airlines have to take their planes to Europe or the USA for painting jobs.

Air Livery would now function as an independent business unit of Air Works, with key management of the company being retained.

Caparo to launch ‘Ayatti’ in India by July U K ’ s C a p a r o group, led

by British Indian businessman L o r d Swaraj Paul is coming Angad Paul with a distinct combination of hospitality unit – Ayatti at Greater Noida near the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Ayatti would be a huge 21 acre facility. A sociocultural centre, Ayatti will be a combination of various elements of the hospitality sector, with a feel of a five star hotel.

The project is shaping up with an investment of Rs. 2 billion. It will be commissioned by July this year, as they target to benefit from the Commonwealth games.

The project was started in 2007. It will have an art gallery, convention centre, bar, restaurants, gym and a 59 room facility.

Caparo Group CEO Angad Paul said if Ayatti is successful, the group would look for setting up more such projects, possibly in partnership with state governments too.

British Indian steel king exploring possibilities to expand operations L N Mittal, the British Indian steel king is exploring opportunities for a Rs.100 billion joint venture with India’s government NMDC for a mining project in Senegal, Africa.

The two would also look at expanding their operations beyond that.

ArcelorMittal has already entered into a pact with Senegal government in 2007 for developing Faleme iron ore mines.

The project did not take off as a result of the eco-

L N Mittal

nomic meltdown. Now, ArcelorMittal and NMDC signed a confidentiality agreement recently. An

official in knowledge of the development has said the two are conducting studies to find out if they can work jointly on the Senegal iron ore project.

The mines have estimated reserves of 750 million tonne of iron ore.

NMDC already has tieups with giants like Rio Tinto and Tata Steel and is further looking up to expand its global presence. A joint venture with ArcelorMittal is a part of this exercise.

Teeside plant of Corus attracts interest from a consortium Mayor Ray Mallon, Steve Gibson to try all possible options to save the plant

A ray of hope still is there for saving the Teeside Cast Products plant, currently owned by Corus of the Indian steel giant Tata Steel. Area Mayor Ray Mallon in a note to the media has confirmed that a consortium has shown interest in rescuing the steel plant. He believes the parties are

credible, though he has not named the consortium.

Mallon has also called upon the Tatas and the government to provide all assistance to the consortium if that would help save the plant. He also added that he doesn’t want to raise false hopes, as even if it is a deal,

there is a long way before it gets through.

He said further that he and Steve Gibson (chairman of Middlesborough Football Club and a local businessman) will continue to do all that they can to save jobs at the plant till they were satisfied that no more can be done.

One more Indian Bank coming to UK Axis Bank to set up a subsidiary UK is the next destination for Axis Bank, one of the major private sector banks of India. Axis Bank has initiated the process of setting up a UK subsidiary. Indian regulator – the Reserve Bank of India has already given a go ahead for the proposal, even the ministry of commerce of India has granted

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Now the company is constructing a hangar with a capacity of painting two large planes at a time.

Senegal mine JV in focus for ArcelorMittal, NMDC

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Apart from the ICICI Bank, government owned Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank also have presence here in the form of subsidiaries.

Bank of India, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank – all government owned banks also have branches in UK.

Bank will be the second private sector Bank from India to have presence in UK, after ICICI Bank.

Axis Bank may go for a strategic alliance with one of the local banks, while it will have primary focus on the British Indians as well as Indian companies doing

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fINaNcIaL voICe

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

One more UK investor sales stake in Vedanta Resources Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust cites ethical policy for the decision Vedanta, the UK based mining firm with operations in India is facing huge opposition over its Orissa mining project. In yet another blow, a UK investor – Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has sold its multi million pound investment in the company, citing serious concerns over Vedanta approach to human rights and the environment. The company’s project is located in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa, which is home

Bahrain Financial Exchange gets an Indian as head An Indian national, Arshad Khan has been appointed as MD and CEO of Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX). Khan was earlier involved with the setting up of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX). BFX is the first Multi-Asset exchange in West Asia and North Africa.

Strategic direction of the business as well as achieving the goal of making BFX a leading multi asset exchange in the region will be responsibilities of Mr. Khan.

An exchange professional, Khan has a career focus on the development of exchanges in the emerging markets. He was the head of communications with the Financial Technologies Group.

to Kondh tribals. The project would spell destruction of the environment and livelihood for the tribals. They have opposed the mining project.

Earlier, Church of England (£2.1 mn) and Norwegian government’s pension fund (US$ 13 mn) also sold their stakes in Vedanta.

All these investors follow ethical policy in their investments. Last year, martin Currie Investment (£2.3 mn) also had sold its stake

in the company.

“Morally indefensible” “We have heard firsthand about Vedanta’s environmental and human rights abuses in Orissa and believe that Vedanta is pushing industrialisation to the detriment of the lives and lands of the local people. This behaviour may be legal, but is morally indefensible,” said Susan Seymour, chair of the investment committee at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

In New Delhi, Kumti Majhi of the Kutia Kondh community welcomed the decision. “I am glad they have listened to our problems. The Church’s representatives came and stayed in our hut and listened to us also…Why doesn’t the government listen,” he asked. “The government people only come and they go around in Vedanta’s helicopter, in Vedanta’s cars, and then they go back and say Vedanta is doing good things.”

Bank closures continue in the USA Four seized last week, 2010 toll is 20 Bad loans continue to dodge banks in USA, as regulators seized four new banks last weekend, taking the total to 20 in this year, as it is just less than 2 months of 2010.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is responsible for safeguarding bank deposits and resolving failed banks predicts that the current year could be worse than 2009 for bank failures.

The four banks seized last week had a total of 16 branches between them.

The deposits of two will be taken over by other banks, while one single branch bank will be taken over.

FDIC’s insurance fund is also in red, but still it is in a position to manage the affairs, as it has its line of credit with Treasury to fall back upon.

The four banks seized are: the George Washington Savings Bank in Illinois (four branches), La Jolla Bank in California (10 branches), La Coste National Bank in Texas and Marco Community Bank of Marco Island, Florida.

La Jolla Bank had about $3.6 billion in assets and $2.8 billion in deposits (deposits being assumed by OneWest Bank, FSB) while George Washington Savings

Bank had approximately $412.8 million in assets and $397.0 million in deposits (deposits being assumed by FirstMerit Bank National Association in Ohio). La Coste National Bank, with approximately $53.9 million in assets and $49.3 million in deposits will reopen as part of Community National Bank in Texas.

Marco Community Bank had about $119.6 million in assets and $117.1 million in total deposits.

Last year, 140 banks failed, compared to 25 in 2008 and only three in 2007.

Rs.8 billion breather for Air India Government rescues with equity infusion, money to come by 31st March The Indian national flag carrier, Air India last week got a breather with the government deciding for an equity infusion of Rs. 8 billion this year. Air India was in a real spot, with equity of just Rs. 1.45 bn.

The central cabinet has also made it clear that further help for Air India will be depending upon the ability of the airline to bring in substantial cost cutting.

Air India had last year submitted a request for funds to the tune of Rs. 200 billion in form of equity as well as soft loan. The airline has already placed orders for purchase of 111 new aircrafts, which would cost Rs. 550 billion.

National Aviation Company of India Limited

(NACIL) is the owner of the company after the two carriers – Air India and Indian Airlines were merged. For NACIL, the biggest challenge is the implementation of the full merger of AI and IA. Rationalisation of the manpower would lead to savings of Rs.1.14 billion when it becomes fully implemented. Fleet rationalisation is another major issue. Bring down the number of planes, phasing out the older ones and related actions will lead to savings of Rs. 9 billion, which is likely to come through by March 2011. With the induction of new aircrafts and reduction, the fleet would come down to 105 from the current strength of 146.

Northgate Capital acquired by Religare Religare Enterprises, Indian financial services company announced on Tuesday that the company had acquired a majority stake in Northgate Capital. This international private equity company has its offices in London and San Francisco.

The cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed by Religare. The two entities have signed a definitive agreement to facilitate Religare acquiring a majority equity inter-

est in Northgate’s management company.

Religare also said Northgate’s management team will remain unchanged. There will be no changes in the investment staff, investment committee and processes or the day to day operations.

The Indian company announced that the board of directors of the company has approved a commitment of US$ 1 billion for global acquisitions.

Punjab National Bank International Ltd (UK) welcomes its new chairman Mr KR Kamath The UK division of Punjab National Bank welcomed its new chairman Mr K R Kamath last week. Mr Kamath took over from Dr. K C Chakrabarty as the chairman for India's second largest public sector bank. The bank boosts a customer base of 39 million in India alone covering a network of 4600 branches.

Having started its operations in the UK in 2006, Punjab National Bank International Ltd (PNBIL) has already opened 4 branches in the UK with a total business to touch around USD 1 billion by March this year.

In an exclusive inter-

view to Asian Voice, Mr Kamath said that “Punjab National Bank is a strong bank with strong fundamentals and strong values.

It is a bank with an Indian Flavour started by Indians and run by Indians”.

Mr Kamath has taken over the reigns riding on a strong banking experience and background. Having started his career with the Corporation bank in 1977, Mr Kamath was promoted to the posts of General Manager and executive director within the bank before joining Bank of India in 2006 and Ahallabad bank in 2008.

Finally taking over as the chairman in October

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2009, Mr Kamath is working towards 'Vision 2013' which is a strategy and growth document envisaged in 2008.

Ambitiously, the banking group wants to increase its customer base to 150 million in 2013 as against 46 million today.

The bank has focussed its attention to rural india now and plans to increase its branch network to 5000 branches and 800 ATM centres.

Mr S R Sharma, the Managing Director of PNBIL (UK) in an exclusive interview to Asian Voice said that “Apart

Mr K R Kamath, Chairman PNB

from the plans in India, Punjab National Bank is also rapidly expanding its presence in the international arena. It already has taken over Everest Bank in Nepal and invested in controlling stakes in local banks in Kazakhstan and Bhutan. With 2 branches in Hong Kong, 1 in Kabul, the bank is upgrading its branches in Shanghai, Oslo, and its Canadian subsidiaries”.

Within the UK, Punjab National Bank feels its offering a sentimental touch to the Asian community with Punjabi community being its main target as quoted by Mr

Kamath. They have also made inroads within the Gujarati Community with its new branch in Leicester in 2009. The bank also has plans to open a branch in Ilford and Wembley with 3 satellites branches in Wolverhampton, Coventry and Slough.

Mr Kamath Further quoted that they took a great risk by focussing on retail banking during the recession times when other banks were leaving.

With the only bank having its internet operations as compared to any other Indian Banks in UK, Punjab National Bank is

adding 1000 customers through its internet facility every month.

Mr Sadanand Nayak, Executive director of PNBIL, told us that the bank has total deposits of 365 million US dollars with a balance sheet size of USD 775 million. He further remarked the success behind surviving the recession is because the bank doesn't have any leverage or exotic products, doesn't believe in products for derivatives and only uses derivatives to hedge its position.

Further adding to the banks plans, Mr S R Sharma said that the bank has no plans to enter the residential mortgage market atleast for the next 3 to 5 years and will focus on improving the banks online products, new features in existing products.

Also he stressed on the point that customer care is the Priority for the bank and will energise itself in todays financial world by providing the best in customer service and addressing all the needs of the customers.

fInAnCIAL voice

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Globe trotters vote Hyderabad airport 5th best in the world

Kingfisher to be a part of ‘oneworld’ alliance

Top 5 honour for the Indian airport in the ACI survey; Delhi at no. 30 Hyderabad has brought honour for India. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has been rated as the 5th best airport globally in the ASQ (Airport Service Quality) survey conducted by the Airports Council International (ACI), an independent body, based on voting by frequent fliers as per their experience about the various facilities at the airports across the world. RGIA has also been ranked first in the 5 to 15 million passenger capacity airports.

Dehli also has a reason to cheer – IGI has taken a huge leap, getting into the top 30 among the 15 – 20 mn passenger category,

while last it was ranked 300 last year.

Incheon – Seoul (South Korea) was ranked first, Changi – Singapore came second, Hong Kong came third while Beijing claimed the fourth spot overall.

Opened to passengers since March 2008, Hyderabad airports handles 6.4 million passengers annually. It is the second

one that is developed on the public-private partnership lines after Cochin in Kerala.

Hyderabad international airport is equipped with one of India’s largest runways at 4260 metres. It is designed to handle 12 mn passengers every year.

With one of India's longest runways (4260 metres), the airport is designed to handle 12 mn

passengers, more than 100,000 metric tonne of cargo and 90,000 ATM (air traffic movements) per annum in the initial phase.

RGIA is also the first airport in Asia and second in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Silver Rating for its eco-friendly design.

The Airports Council International (ACI) is an autonomous and independent body that undertakes the ASQ Survey capturing the passengers' immediate perception of the quality of more than 34 aspects of service that they have experienced at the airport.

London reconsidering closure of India business offices Office of the London Mayor has said the decision to close India business office in Delhi and Mumbai is under reconsideration. The recent decision had been widely criticised by trade and industry leaders.

London Development Authority (LDA) had taken the closure decision as a part of cost cutting measures.

The London mayor's economic development agency has revealed that it is reviewing its presence in India after it emerged that two representatives working in the country had left and have not been replaced.

London Assembly Labour group member and former LDA vice chair, John Biggs, said the Mayor carried out a review last year which suggested keeping a presence in India and so this is disappointing, and looks like a retreat.

"To not have a voice in one of the strongest growing markets and a growing source of potential inward investors is short-sighted, particularly given the importance to London of its international trading position and the importance of being the European destination of choice for Indian firms," Biggs added.

Business leaders warned that closing the offices to save money would send out the wrong signals to potential investors.

Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "It is essential that we maintain offices in Delhi and Mumbai so that we can continue to market London in one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

In a submission to the review, the Chamber stated: "Closing the offices in India and China as part of a cost-cutting exercise would be short-sighted

India shines in top travel show

By Rudy OtteR Thousands of people wanted to know more about India at Destinations, the annual holiday and travel show staged by The Times newspaper in London's Earls Court recently.

Crowds waited patiently at India's Ministry of Tourism stand as London-based Director Jagdish Chander and his colleagues answered questions and handed out brochures spanning the subcontinent's host of attractions ranging from wildlife and rural tourism to beach holidays and houseboats.

Mr Chander told Asian Voice: "The Golden Triangle in the north, taking in Rajasthan and the Taj Mahal, is still one of the most popular destinations but the rest of India is also filling up with tourists. Medical tourism is very popular, offering foreigners first-class operations and treatments at a fraction of what it would cost them back home.

Afterwards, they are welcome to recuperate in India, as part of a holiday."

I also caught up with Mr Vivek Angra, the UK and Ireland's general manager of Travel Corporation (India) Ltd of Old Amersham, Bucks. His firm has 25 offices in India and 11 worldwide, specialising in "integrated tour and travel services" taking care of everything a tourist in India would need. The firm arranges pilgrimage tours, adventure breaks and much more, including trips on The Maharaja, an impressive new luxury train which runs from Mumbai to Delhi on a "memorable 7-day journey" complete with daily stops and coach excursions for local sightseeing on the way.

Mr Subodh Samant is managing director of Indian Bites, a catering firm in Harrow, Middlesex which serves spicy vegetarian fare for parties, wedding banquets and other functions. "Business is doing very well," said Kenya-born Mr Samant, whose parents hailed from Gujarat. "Everybody loves Indian food and I am planning to open a hotel and cash-and-carry business in Switzerland soon."

India enthusiasts Diana Syrett and her husband Trevor run the Kerala Connections travel agency from Kent. Mrs Syrett said business was getting back to normal after the economic downturn.

"Slow start, sprint finish," was how she described the flow of bookings, adding: "Kerala is a lovely, gentle introduction to the rest of India."

Celebrity speakers included award-winning chef Mr Atul Kochhar (correct) of the Benares restaurant in central London, who whetted appetites with his discussions on Indian food.

Laughter Yoga, which originated in Mumbai, was among several stands promoting India.

Julie Whitehead, who calls herself a "happiness coach" told me: "You can laugh even if you are feeling miserable and instantly you'll feel a lot better. This is because the brain can't distinguish between real and fake laughter. What's more, laughter is infectious and everyone around you will start laughing too."

15

and send entirely the wrong signals to potential investors and importers in two of London's most important potential markets".

Graham Capper, of business group London First, added: "If representatives and offices in India are adding value then they should be retained. There's no point saving cash by cutting them if it costs us investment and jobs in London."

One of India’s youngest and luxury airlines, Kingfisher Airlines has announced on Tuesday that it will be joining ‘oneworld’ alliance, a global grouping of leading airlines.

Owned by the country’s liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher said joining the alliance would help passengers from India and other countries have a better choice of routes served by the member airlines. Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay

Mallya and chief executives from oneworld's 11 existing member airlines signed an agreement for taking Kingfisher under the wings.

In the ‘oneworld alliance’, Kingfisher is the first Indian airline.

Members include British Airways, American Airlines and Finnair.

With around 400 daily departures, Kingfisher will bring to oneworld 58 new Indian destinations, enhancing the alliance's portfolio of routes.

Ahmedabad gets Danish Trade Commission office Denmark trade and industry would be looking at opportunities in Gujarat in the coming years. This is the reason Ahmedabad has been chosen as a location for opening a Danish Trade Commission office.

Ole Lonsmann Poulsen, Denmark ambassador to India last week inaugurated the office in Ahmedabad. He said economic relations with India are on the rise. From 60 companies in 2006 to more than 100 currently, Danish companies are doing more business with India.

Poulsen also said Gujarat would be the preferred destination for

Danish investments in the years to come. The strategic location of the state, a huge part – 40% of the DMIC (Delhi – Mumbai Industrial Corridor) being in Gujarat, SEZ infrastructure and the investment friendly policy of the state are the reasons that will attract more Danish business.

Denmark would also showcase the country as an investment destination for Gujarat-based companies, he said. Danish companies engaged in areas of agroprocessing, life sciences, construction and infrastructure as well as textile would be guided to Gujarat for setting up businesses.

Auction

9 March 2010

On Behalf of 13 Individual Freehold Sale and Leaseback Investments including:

Each let to Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd until 2025 with RPI rental increases (subject to two options to renew)

Doncaster

235 Sprotbrough Road, South Yorkshire DN5 8BP Producing £58,900 p.a.x.

Harrogate

67-73 Cold Bath Road, North Yorkshire HG2 0NJ Producing £32,200 p.a.x.

Kingston upon Hull

540-546 Beverley Road HU6 7LG Producing £32,745 p.a.x.

Kingston upon Hull

Grandale, Sutton Park HU7 4BL Producing £44,700 p.a.x.

Kingston upon Hull

42 Hull Road, Anlaby HU10 6UA Producing £51,500 p.a.x.

Kingston upon Hull

118-122 Newland Avenue HU5 3AA Producing £41,300 p.a.x.

London W4

118-120 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick W4 1PU Producing £103,900 p.a.x.

Coventry

Barclays Bank, 513 Fletchamstead Highway (A45), Warwickshire CV4 9EJ

Let to Barclays Bank plc on a new 20 year lease until 2030 (subject to option) Prominent corner location at busy road junction opposite the Coventry Business Park

Producing £42,000 p.a.x.

Darlington

One Stop Unit, 218/220 Yarm Road, County Durham DL1 1XD Let to One Stop Stores Ltd until 2018 Includes a residential unit

Producing £25,750 p.a.x.

London WC1

44 Grays Inn Road, Holborn WC1X 8LR Multi-let retail/residential/office investment Directly opposite Grays Inn Square

Producing £88,299 p.a.x.

Luton

Christchurch House, 40 Upper George Street, Bedfordshire LU1 2RS

Let to two established firms of accountants Approximately 12,277 sq ft with good parking facilities Excellent town centre location

Producing £127,500 p.a.x.

Norwich

Unit 3, The Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, Norfolk BR4 6DJ Let to Lloyds TSB Bank plc Approximately 464.7 sq m (5,001 sq ft) Established business park location

Producing £65,000 p.a.x.

For further details please contact the Auction Team on +44 (0) 20 7399 5600 or uk.auctions@eu.jll.com Catalogue Request Line: +44 (0) 20 7399 5399

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16

fInAnCIAl voice

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Indian workers, India still favourite for UK firms

Recession, visa curbs for employees from non EU countries and unemployment have not deterred UK firms to hire professionals from India and other countries to plug the skill gaps that exist in the country. Another survey has pointed out that for those employers who are still looking at outsourcing jobs; India is the best preferred destination, while Eastern Europe comes second.

A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report has said 19 per cent (One in every five) employers have opted to recruit migrant workers

during last three months.

The quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey, conducted jointly by the institute and KPMG, reveals that more than half (51 per cent) employers plan to relocate UK jobs to India and more than a third (37 per cent) would like to go for Eastern Europe.

About two in five (41 per cent) of the 700 employers surveyed said they still have vacancies that are difficult to fill, largely because of the skills involved in the role.

One in ten private employers are planning to outsource jobs abroad in the coming year. Gerwyn Davies, the report's author

and public policy adviser, CIPD, said: "Despite rising unemployment, employers are still struggling to recruit the people they need and we are turning abroad to plug the gap".

“Employers are looking at getting a right balance between skills for the jobs and cost reductions to meet budget targets.

That can be achieved through a combination of recruiting migrant workers to fill UK vacancies, or outsourcing work to locations abroad.”

Mark Williamson, advisory partner at KPMG, said: "It is critical for both business and Government that the skills gap is addressed.”

EU hopes to sign free trade pact with India this year Sore points of intellectual property rights and child labour may remain, yet European Union is confident that an agreement for free trade with India will be ready to be signed by the end of this year.

EU ambassador to India, Daniele Smadja recently said in Chennai that “Our mandate is to complete the negotiations for the free trade pact soon, even though intellectual property rights and several other regulatory

issues remain to be sorted out by the two sides. We are working at resolving them and the agreement will be ready to be signed by end-2010.”

EU has contributed more than $250,000 over three years for a programme for 25 deprived communities, steered by an Indian non-government organisation, Arunodhaya.

Smadja said the free trade pact would give a major boost to economic

ties between India and EU, as Europe is already its largest trade partner with immense opportunity. Two-way trade tops $75 billion. But India also needs to be pro-active, he said.

Genetically modified food was a major concern in Europe as it has been in India - the latest case point being the moratorium by India's environment ministry on allowing commercial sowing of Bt Brinjal, he added.

At Global Investment Conference, focus is on UK-India ties companies are helping install the New Delhi Metro and British and Indian scientists are jointly researching cures for deadly diseases.

According to Lord Davies of Abersoch, UK Minister for Trade and Investment, civil nuclear cooperation is one part of the picture. Both the countries are discussing cooperation avenues in banking, accountancy, insurance, retail, defence, manufacturing and agricultural processing business and so on.

Alpesh Patel’s Political Sketchbook:

Private Wrongs and Public Rights

It’s been a week of private wrongs and public rights. Not just the public apology from Tiger Woods but also the alleged bullying in private by the Prime Minister, made public by the bullying helpline. I wasn’t sure why Tiger Woods was apologising to me. I wasn’t sure why he was on TV at all.

Some say because he had portrayed himself as a family man and he wasn’t. Well, his punishment is first and foremost from his wife and family. I don’t need his pound of flesh.

In my experience those who want a public apology usually have an ulterior motive; the media just want a story, the public demanding an apology are being selfrighteous. It’s usually those with most to hide who tend to be most selfrighteous. Is it not instructive that Christ said ‘let who is without sin caste the first stone?’

Now there was a man who had a right to be self-righteous; being the son of god and all. But of course, son of god ranks one below tabloid newspaper editor when it comes to self-belief in your proximity to godliness.

Just because something interests the public, does not make it in the public interest.

The PM apparently according to a new book has been mean and horrid to staff. I can’t understand it. It’s not as if he has a stressful job or anything. Now when I was bullied at school, it usually constituted what would in adult life have been criminal: assault

Close on the heels of World Economic Forum meet and trade talks this month in London, chaired by India Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his British Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, some 300 of the world’s leading executives are meeting in London this week at Global Investment Conference, to be chaired

by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Though, it is not a bilateral talk between India and Britain, trade

and business relationship between the two countries is expected to get a boost.

With the UK the number one European investor in India and India the top Asian investor in the UK, bilateral trade, currently worth12.6 billion pounds per annum, is developing at an impressive rate.

Indian and UK firms are working together across the board to widen the horizons of cooperation. Film companies from Mumbai are setting up in London. Similarly, UK

Renuka buys 2nd Brazilian sugar unit

Banco of Vadodara acquires Dutch firm

India’s biggest sugar refiners, Shree Renuka Sugars last week announced a deal of buying a majority stake in Equipav SA Acucar e Alcool of Brazil.

This is the second acquisition in Brazil by the Karnataka based sugar producer. Last year, they bought Vale Do Ivai Acucar E Alcool, for an enterprise value of $240 million (Rs 11.10 billion) Equipav is Brazil’s seventh-largest sugar maker with a cane crushing capacity of 10.5 million tonne a year at two plants in Sao Paolo.

Renuka said in a statement that it would acquire “not less than 50.8% stake” in Equipav.

Banco Products India Limited (BPIL), a leading manufacturer of radiators for automobiles has acquired the Netherlandsbased privately held firm ‘Nederlandse Radiateuren Fabriek BV (NRF)’ for a sum of euro 17.70 million.

The European firm enjoys presence in 9 European countries, including UK, France and Germany.

BPIL, the auto ancillary firm with four manufacturing plants in India, including two located at Bhayli in Vadodara, one each at Jambusar and Jamshedpur, on Monday announced that it had acquired 100% stake in the Dutch firm.

NRF has a presence in 9 European countries, including UK NRF is a leading European manufacturer and distributor of automotive, industrial and marine heat exchangers, with its head office and main manufacturing facility in the Netherlands and other manufacturing facilities in France, England and Spain apart from sales and distribution facilities in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland and Switzerland.

NRF was till recently owned by a subsidiary of a major US manufacturer and distributor – Proliance. The US entity is in chapter 11 proceedings.

“Banco has taken over this company clear of all

liens, claims and encumbrances,” said a company official, adding that it has acquired the firm and its subsidiaries by purchasing all the equity shares of its shareholders.

Through this acquisition, Banco will be able to leverage its design and manufacturing skills with NRF’s market presence and its niche product range in marine coolers into shipbuilding industry in India and South-East Asia. “The NRF acquisition is very good strategic fit and will enable deeper penetration into European market with wider basket of products,” said Vimal Patel, chairman of BPIL.

and battery. Most people being bullied are fearful of violence to their person. There have been no such allegations against the PM. He threw a phone at a wall. Been there done that. He was sarcastic and mean and rude. Oh my god, I think I need to report myself to the anti-bully helpline, or apply to be PM. Of course we are never our better selves all the time and in hindsight if the PM did what was alleged he would rather have not I am sure, or would he? I do want a person at the helm who has emotion, can vent it. Not some uncaring android who just may blow one day…with their finger on the big red nuclear button.

What of the poor staff? I assure you, they have far more power than the PM in these matters – as witnessed by the barrage of newspaper comment against the PM. Not the timid poor powerless victims are they, or at least they don’t need to be. Stick it back to the bully, and apparently they have.

But the real bully to me in this episode seems to be the bully helpline.

Instead of dealing with the allegations in private they have decided to publicise them. Is the victim playing the bully?

Little wonder they lost all their patrons in a space of a few hours.

Indeed one wonders that their interest and angle was more in publicity than the genuine issue at hand. I recall after nine years of schooling in Armley, Leeds, often at the sharp end of racists

taunts, I went to India to start schooling in Baroda. And there, on the first day, I saw an English student. At last, my immature brain thought, the shoe is on the other foot, I can be the racist bully. But of course I couldn’t. It wasn’t me.

And so it is with bully or victim; you will be measured by your conduct indeed. And even the victim should know, magnanimity and decency of character continue to be of the utmost value, not self-righteous indignation, take it from a victim.

(The columnist hails from Karamsad and is a Board Member of the United Nations Association (UK) and Trustee of Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs).

He is a former Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He read Philosophy, Politics, Economics at St Anne’s College, Oxford when he also interned in the US Congress researching the illicit nuclear proliferation activities of AQ Kahn. He also has a degree in law and qualified as a barrister. He is a former Bloomberg TV presenter and Financial Times columnist with 250+ columns published in the FT and author of 13 books. He is officially designated ‘Dealmaker’ for the British Government, looking for high potential technologies of strategic importance to the UK. He runs a fund management company.

Alpesh.patel@tradermind.com)

Tata to set up defence JV with Italian firm for chopers Italian defence major AgustaWestland last week has signed an agreement with Tata Sons, one of India’s prominent conglomerates for a joint venture to set up an assembly line for AW – 119 helicopters. The choppers will be for Indian Army and the global market also.

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata and AgustaWestland CEO Giuseppe Orsi signed the agreement.

The new company would be responsible for AW-119 final assembly, completion and delivery while AgustaWestland

would be responsible for worldwide marketing and sales, Agusta officials said here. The first aircraft was scheduled to be delivered from the new facility in 2011 with production forecast to rise to 30 aircraft a year to meet worldwide demand, they added.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

17

Suresh Vagjiani is the Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.

Property – The Best Performer Over A Decade A recent report by Halifax shows property has outperformed cash shares and bonds over the last decade, despite the recent decline in property values.

The survey shows on average house prices were up 105% in 10 years to December 2009 whilst BTL landlords would have made 187% including the return of rents. This statistic even allows for a deduction of 33% of rents which came in.

property is strictly limited and future residential development is too. One reason for this is many of the properties in this area are Grade II listed, this coupled with the strict planning exercised by Councils like Westminster contribute to the restricted development potential of these properties.

This all is good for ensuring strong future growth for property prices though frustrating when

years which implies that medium-term prospects for house prices remain strong.”

Jones Lang LaSalle, Feb 2009 There is a fundamental shortage of housing in the UK. And a growing population coupled with a rising trend for single ownership/occupation is putting even more pressure on the housing supply. Buyers have not left the market, they just don’t have the

Table 1: All Houses, All Buyers (Seasonally Adjusted) 4th Quarter 2009 – Quarter Averages Region North Yorkshire & the Humber North West East Midlands West Midlands East Anglia South West South East Greater London Wales Northern Ireland Scotland UK This is higher than your funds would have made in cash, bonds and shares over the same period.

This is an average figure over all regions of the UK. This is an average, so if someone closed their eyes and put money into a property somewhere in the UK a decade ago this would probably be their return. If the property was purchased with a little guidance the returns would outperform the average, and if the property was in Central London the price rise for this region would much higher than the average shown due to a number of reasons. Firstly the demand for Central London properties is not restricted to the UK, it is international, from buyers who like a second home in London to parents who want to purchase for their children going to university.

Secondly the amount of

Index 1983=100 490.4 553.7 502.4 520.4 545.8 542.9 562.9 554.3 641.6 530.6 498.8 428.0 540.6

Standardised Average Price £ 123,746 127,852 128,506 136,032 154,053 163,334 186,124 224,991 255,473 137,316 128,259 123,805 167,020

you want to develop a property.

This is confirmed by both Savills and Jones Lang LaSalle – two highly respected real estate agents – they have indicated that they believe that the recovery will start in London and the South East. The South drives the UK economy, has a high population density and most importantly recovered from the recession in the late ’80s and early ’90s ahead of the rest of the UK. “The recovery will be led by London and the South East, with a ripple effect filtering out from the capital. The assumption is for London and the South East to recover peak values by 2012.”

Savills UK Residential Forecast, November 2008 “The gap between underlying housing demand and supply will widen over the next 2-3

Annual Change % -0.2 4.2 0.4 -2.3 -0.9 -3.6 5.5 4.9 1.5 2.4 -17.2 -6.8 1.1

Change 1999 Q4 – 2009 Q4 % 120% 130% 112% 104% 106% 111% 110% 85% 80% 122% 99% 94% 105%

same access to credit, which is why prices are falling and the equity rich investors are benefiting.

“The primary reason for the unprecedented speed and level of decline is obvious in retrospect: the sudden restriction of mortgage finance.” Knight Frank London Residential 2009.

As soon as more finance products are made available by lenders buyers will look to get on to the ladder, building more confidence and pushing prices up to start the whole cycle all over again.

And recent product released by a BTL lender is a good sign this is starting to happen. The BTL products have been typically around the 5-5.5% mark with an arrangement fee of 2.5%. What normally happens is one lender reduces their rates and the rest follow in order to ensure they maintain their market share.

Gujarat Properties - Sale & Resale Mortgages Commercial Finance Property Sourcing

New products are now priced at 4.69% with a £999 fee on a BTL basis.

As time goes on the products will improve.

Auction Watch The property I wrote about last week: 51 Cadagon Sq, which I predicted would go for north of £2.5m went for £3m.

This kind of price is similar to the price one pays for a rare work of art. The price paid represents the rarity of this type of property to even come on the market.

I knew the amount achieved in auction would leave little margin from an investment angle. This was due to the type of people coming to view the property prior to auction.

They were not developers

but end users, and from all over the world, and they came with their buying agents and interior designers pushing out the investor even before reaching the auction room.

Allsops had a huge turn out at their auction

on the 17th February 2010. Properties sold for way over guide price. Notably three properties in Wembley: a studio converted to a one bedder went for £128,000 the agent who was marketing previously thought it was over priced even at that level; and a one bedroom which went for £151,000; and a two bedroom which went for £186,000.

The overall sales for the day: 86%. The sale takes place over two days, this was the first day.

These figures show there is an upbeat attitude, properties selling for these prices clearly indicate there is an optimism at least with the investors at auction.

SMALL ENOUGH TO CHEW

l 300% high in prices in last 2 years. l Plotting size available from 300 sq. yrds to 3000 sq. yrds. l Investment starts only from INR 8 lacs to 80 lacs. l We have invested – Why don’t you ?

Call us now. 0207 262 2279

Sow & Reap

Call On: 0207 706 0187 Email at: info@sowandreap.co.uk

Sow & Reap Properties Limited is trading as Sow & Reap.

Registered in England No. 05083823 Registered Office Address: 31 Southwick Street, Paddington, W2 1JQ

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asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

by

Swati bhan

Treating nose bleed at home Each one of us has had a nose bleed at some point of time or another.

Infact, this is a very common ailment in people, though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly children who are seen to suffer from it more frequently. The nose lining contains various tiny blood vessels that tend to bleed quite easily. And there are a number of reasons responsible for encouraging a nose bleed in people.

Nose bleeds are often the result of common events,but nose bleeds can be a warning of other problems. Nose bleeds are caused by a small blood vessel rupturing.

There are two main types of nose bleed, upper and lower septum nose bleeds.

In children, many doctors feel that nasal drying is a common cause of nose bleeds.

Nasal drying is common in the winter during cold dry weather and in the summer with air-conditioning. If due to nasal drying, nose bleeds can sometimes be prevented by placing KY Jelly about 0.5 inches into the nose using a Q-tip. This should be done two to four times a day. Placing a humidifier in the home will also help. However, this will also promote the growth of molds and other allergens. Do not use Vaseline. Vaseline is petroleum-based and thus will dry, not moisten the nose.

Bleeding from the nose originating from sites other than the nasal mucosa is a common and

serious occurrence in all species but particularly in the horse because of its implication for safety while racing. The passage of large amounts of blood suddenly is usually associated with pul-

monary hemorrhage and is often fatal in horses and cattle.

In horses this usually occurs during hard exercise. When the bleeding in the horse occurs at rest the origin is commonly from the guttural pouch and due to mycotic erosion of the blood vessels there.

Home Remedies for Nose Bleeding Every time you breathe in air, it the job of the nose to ensure that the air that reaches lungs is well humidified. As such, when your surroundings are dry, your nose has to work extra hard. So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advised that you humidify the air with a good air humidifier.

Goldenseal Another herbal remedy is to make a tea from goldenseal using one teaspoon to a pint of boiling water.

Steep a few minutes, let settle, and, when cold, snuff some into your nostrils. Do this several times during the day to prevent

To stop a nosebleed pinch the nose firmly but not hard at the bridge of your nose just below the bone. Do not lie down or tilt the head back, as this makes the blood go down your throat and will make you sick to your stomach. Hold this pinch for 2 -3 minutes until bleeding stops. Do NOT blow your nose.

This will blow the clot out and make it start bleeding again.

Apple cider vinegar is useful in getting a nosebleed to stop. Apple cider vinegar safeguards the body from loss of blood. Soak a small cotton ball in the vinegar and pack it lightly into the nostril. The vinegar will help the blood to congeal.

Put a drop of lemon

juice in your nostrils.

Place a wet towel on the head. It will stop nose bleeding recurrence.

Take equal parts of Red sandalwood (Rakta Chandan), liquorice (Yashtimadhu) and Naagakesara and make a fine powder out of them.

Add 2-3 pinches of this powder in a glass of milk and take it.

Before you begin to stop the nose bleed, blow your nose once forcefully. This will blow out any clot that is keeping the blood vessel in the nose lining open. Once the clot is out, the flexible fibers around that minute opening in the nose will itself contract.

Holi, also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival.

The most celebrated Holi is that of the Braj region in India, in locations connected to the god Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon, and Barsana. These places have become tourist destinations during the festive season of Holi, which lasts here to up to sixteen days.

The main day, Holi, also known as Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi).

The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad accomplished when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire.

Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of God Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion.

Holika Dahan is referred to as Kama Dahanam in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month P h a l g u n a (Februar y/March), (Phalgun Purnima), which usually falls in the later part of February or March.

Principal ingredients of celebration are Abeer and Gulal, in all possible colours. Next comes squirting of coloured water using pichkaris.

Coloured water is prepared using Tesu flowers, which are first gathered from the trees, dried in the sun, and then ground up, and later mixed with water to produce orange-yellow coloured water. Another traditional Holi item now rarely seen is a where a red powder enclosed in globes of Lakh, which break instantly and covering the party with the powder.

In Vaishnava T h e o l o g y , Hiranyakashipu is the king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed "during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra". Consequently, he grew arrogant, and

Holi attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping gods and start praying to him.

Despite this, Hiranyakashipu's own

son, (Prahlada), was a devotee of Lord Vishnu.

In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada continued offering prayers to Lord Vishnu. He was poisoned but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlada to sit on

a pyre on the lap of his sister, Holika, who could not die by fire by virtue of a shawl which would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. Prahlada readily accepted his father's orders, and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as

the shawl flew from Holika, who then was burnt to death, while Prahlada survived unharmed, after the shawl moved to cover him. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi.

Later Lord Vishnu came in the form of a Narasimha (who is half-

man and half-lion) and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk (which was neither day nor night), on the steps of the porch of his house (which was neither inside the house nor outside) by restraining him on his lap (which is neither in the sky nor on the earth) and mauling him with his claws (which are neither astra nor shastra).

In Vrindavan and Mathura, where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna). Lord Krishna is believed to have popularised the festival by playing pranks on the gopis here. Krishna is believed to have complained to his mother about the contrast between his dark skin complexion and Radha's (Shakti or energy that drives the world) fair skin complexion. Krishna's mother decided to apply colour to Radha's face. The celebrations officially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love.

There is alternate story detailing the origin of Holi. This story is about Kamadeva, a god of love. Kama's body was destroyed when he shot his weapon at Shiva in order to disrupt his penance and help Parvati to marry Shiva. Shiva then opened his third eye, the gaze of which was so powerful that Kama's body was reduced to ashes. For the sake of Kama's wife Rati (passion), Shiva restored him, but only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and spiritual state of love rather than physical lust. The Holi bonfire is believed to be celebrated in commemoration of this event.

Holi is a festival of radiance (Teja) in the universe. During this festival, different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colours that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere.

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

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Ajay Devgan returns to action movies

Karan Johar is fed up of Bollywood stuff Karan Johar whose film “My Name is Khan” is being lauded by audiences and critics in Berlin, says he was fed up with the typical Bollywood stuff.

“I was fed up with Bollywood, its item numbers, big sets – it was all too easy and getting repetitive for me. I wanted a challenge. “I’m not tearing the envelope with this film, but just pushing it.

The music is ethnic, commercial, all heart,” he said at the red carpet premiere of the film at the Berlin International Film Festival recently.

An emotional Johar thanked the people of Germany for making them feel at home. “We were anxious being in Berlin when

we were releasing (the film) in Mumbai, but thank you so much for making us feel at home here.

“It is such an honour to be at Berlin, thanks to festival director Dieter Kosslick and India programmer Dorothee Wenner, and our distributor Fox. We love Germany.

We get such unconditional love only from our mothers and our fans in Germany,” he said.

German director Uli Gaulke, who was at the premiere, said: “‘My Name is Khan’ combines the very important topic of

terrorism through the eyes of Muslims post-9/11, with an emotional story.

This is such a big political topic, yet I have seen no films on the Muslim viewpoint.

“And this film is also so intimate, personal and emotional. Initially I was disappointed, we were all waiting for the dancing to begin and nothing happened. But instead came such a dramatic energy, that I was moved to tears, and women all around me were crying. The cinematography and direction were great,” he added.

Big B adopts 90-year-old freedom fighter Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has moved by the plight of a 90-year-old who was fighting for her pension, and decided to take care of her for the next five years.

The actor, who made the announcement said all that Gayatri Devi wants was her due. "I am moved by their plight.

Particularly that of the 90year-old lady and have announced that I shall take care of her pension for the next five years. She blesses me," the 67-year-

old posted on his blog.

"She has only that element of humanity left in her. She can barely walk.

And she is old. And all she wants is her due - her pension – nearly 50 pounds per month from the government."

Gayatri Devi had been on dharna on the streets of New Delhi for the past four years, fighting to get her freedom fighter's pension restored. She was getting money from the Bihar government under the “Samman” pension

scheme for freedom fighters since 1997 and has relevant documents to support her claim. But in 2002 her pension was suddenly stopped.

She was told that her name appeared in a list of fake freedom fighters. She approached many prominent leaders and got them to write applications on her behalf,

‘Mausam’ has nothing to do with ‘Top Gun’, says Shahid Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut "Mausam" has nothing to do with “Top Gun” except for the fact that Tom Cruise played the role of a naval flight officer in the film while in ‘Mausam’ I play the role of an air force officer, Shahid Kapoor said.

"Other than that, there is no similarity whatsoever since my dad has written an entirely original story and screenplay of the film," he said.

The young actor says his father's credibility should be kept in mind by

those floating rumours that "Mausam" is a remake of "Top Gun".

"My father's career spans more than 25 years and he has been known for his original work even as an actor. This is the reason why he has acted in only 35-odd movies despite getting so much critical acclaim. Do you think that for his own film as a director, he would end up remaking another film," he said. "I don't know how someone just picked the Tom Cruise angle just because I play a uniformed

officer in the film. On the contrary, 'Mausam' is a love story, " said Shahid.

"I am quite interested in contributing to 'Mausam' other than just being an actor and I am sure dad would be sympathetic enough to give me an opportunity."

Shahid would next be seen in Ahmed Khan's "Paathshaala", which would be released in April, "Milenge Milenge" with Kareena Kapoor in the same month and Parmeet Sethi's directorial debut for Yash Raj Films in June.

Madhavan is having a dream run now Madhavan who is a superstar in south, says he is enjoying the work he is doing in Hindi cinema. He began the year with the record breaking success of '3 Idiots' and now he is all set to surprise fans in much-awaited 'Teen Patti', which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley.

"I am very very happy after the success of '3Idiots'. The success is huge and I am living a dream right now.

Everything seems to be going right and now I can say that I am finally proud of the work I am doing," Madhavan said.

The 39-year-old actor

was first seen in 2001, 'Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein', though the film was not a major hit. Madhavan did create a fan base in North India. Almost 10 years from then, Madhavan has been extremely choosy doing just nine films and has given memorable performances in 'Rang De Basanti', 'Guru' and '3 Idiots'.

"I have done really few Hindi films that shows how choosy I am. It sometimes depends on the right timing. I may be a star down south but I am happy that North India is finally accepting me as an actor. It is really overwhelming," Madhavan said.

Madhavan is all set to surprise his fans by playing a charming teacher. He has donned six different looks in 'Teen Patti'.

"I play this professor who wants everything in life too quickly without wasting too much time. It is a completely different role for me where you will see me in six different looks," Madhavan said.

but nothing happened.

A news channel filed an RTI on her behalf.

Soon after, the Delhi government intervened.

They moved Gayatri Devi into an old age home and granted her a destitute pension.

But her battle will continue till the Bihar government restores her freedom fighter’s pension.

Ajay Devgan is returning to action movies after featuring in comedies like 'Golmaal' and 'Sunday'. The actor-producer has bought the rights to produce the Hindi remake of Malayalam film 'Puthiya Mukham'.

'Golmaal' director Rohit Shetty will wield the megaphone for the yet-to-be titled Hindi remake.

'I have seen 'Puthiya Mukham' three times. Ajay and I have been wanting to do a hardcore action film for the last three years. At last, we are doing it,' said Shetty whose last action film was 'Zameen'.

Released in 2003, 'Zameen' starred Ajay with Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu.

Farhan takes the Khan route to promote his film Farhan Akhtar is joining the bandwagon of Aamir and Salman Khan as far as promotion of film is concerned.

Farhan will be roaming around the cities to promote his forthcoming venture 'Karthik Calling Karthik'. If sources are to be believed Farhan will be visiting six cities.

According to reliable sources, “Farhan is planning a six city tour which includes Surat, Indore, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Bangalore for the promotions of KCK. Farhan is very excited about the whole idea and is looking forward to meet his fans all over.”

“Farhan is in two minds about other cities but the tour to these six is confirmed, ” adds the source.

Wonder, whether Deepika will join her co-star in these tours considering the super-ambitious actor she sounds to be nowadays. In that case, it will be like an icing on the cake.

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asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Bipasha delivers her ‘baby’ – the fitness DVD Dhanush appoints a gym master Kollywood actor Dhanush has appointed a gym master now. Guys!

Don’t laugh, we’re serious. Yeah!

The actor has decided to maintain a slim body and not to put on more weight (How he has been looking so far?) Right from the morning tea till his night dinner, the actor has been constantly seeking the aid of his gym master.

Now, the actor has started focusing more on his appearance.

Precisely, he’s been looking so perfect with his costumes in ‘Kutty’.

Now the actor has got so many projects in hand and his next release will be Suraj directorial ‘Maapillai’ starring Hansika Motwani opposite him in female lead. Apart from this, he has planned to shoot for three films at the same time and kick-start his quickie with brother Selvaraghavan for his dad’s banner.

us ro o m la g s rn tu i n a m a Priy xt e n ’s ra d n e h a M lu a B in

usemaid After playing a ho nivasan Sri e sit po Thulasi op muchthe in ) sh nu ha (D il film Tam t bea off acclaimed alam” Ka na Ka u Or u dh “A winard aw l na tio (2005), Na ll once wi ni ma iya Pr g nin director again team up with his new in ra nd he Ma lu Ba ced by Tamil film to be produ . an nk La Sri I NR an hu If Balu Mahendra’s “Ad had m” ala Ka na Ka u Or the role Priyamani portraying new his of a girl next door, mgla a in r he ve ha film will . This orous role, it is heard ll introyet-to-be-titled film wi hero. duce a new face as the ll be wi y ph gra ato Cinem a gold handled by Anwar, ne Film film is medalist from the Pu ourite Ilayaraja. This Balu Mahendra’s fav by Institute. Music is il g in November 2010. ace Mani Ratnam’s Tam expected to start rollin y busy with five films: ntl lugu) rre (Te am hy ad Sa ), Priyamani is cu am yal Raavan, Master (Mala annada) and and Hindi versions of t releases are Raam (K en rec r He ). da na an and Eno Onthara (K (Telugu).

Shambo Shiva Shambo

I live for Prabhu Deva: Nayanthara It looks like few journalists have been permanently vigilant on Prabhu and Nayan. They’re almost behaving like the Vodapone puppy roaming behind the pair. Here’s news about them reported by such a reporter.

Last Friday Prabhu Deva and Nayanthara had gone to a theatre in Chennai to see the Hindi film “My Name is Khan” which has Sharukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles.

They celebrated the Valentine’s Day in Chennai before. There is also news that they will be getting married soon.

Recently while speaking to the media in Kerala, she said,” If I like a person I will do anything for that person.

Many are asking me why I have tattooed Prabhu Deva’s name in my hand. I don’t understand what people think. We are living for people who live for us. That is the truth. This will apply for everyone. I am also doing this. I am not bothered about what others think of me. Many are also

asking me about my marriage. I am currently acting with Arya in the Tamil film Boss Engira Bhaskaran.

I am also acting in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. I have not thought of marriage for time being.”

Bipasha Basu is a self-confessed fitness freak. She says her workout DVD is essentially for the “busy, lazy” people who can’t afford gym fees. Calling it her “baby”, the svelte actress says boyfriend John Abraham supported her all through to make her dream a reality.

Initially, Bipasha wanted to do the fitness video only for her friends.

“There were so many unhealthy people around me. Every time I’d try to push them into the gym, they’d say they’ve no time.

My music video is for busy, lazy, shy and nonprivileged people who can’t afford the gym fees.

“I wanted it to be concise exercises that could be done in just 25 minutes and I didn’t want them to look intimidating, like ‘Oh my God only Bipasha Basu can do them’,” Bipasha said in an interview.

“The idea was to make it fun and easy…I wanted

to be comprehensive and that included precautionary measures to make sure no injury happened,” she said. “This project was my baby …It provides a 25minute fitness regime with all the shot posturing being made very clear on camera so that the audience would be led into the exercises shot by shot. I’ve never done anything like this. I did it all by myself with the help of a team.

“I wanted maximum

eyeballs for this. A lot of hard work has gone into it…Eight months of toil.

Even at the gym I kept working on the video,” the glamorous star said.

Bipasha hopes to inspire a lot of people.

“Fitness and health are becoming really big in India. Everybody wants to be fit. I’m glad I came out with my health video at this time.”

“I already have the idea for the next fitness video. I’ll do something completely different in my next. The first one was tiring because I was groping in the dark. The second and third will be far smoother.

Sometimes working on the first fitness video was like banging my head against the wall…I had to remind people on my team this was a fitness not a music video. I was like Goddess Durga protecting my project.

This is one baby that had nothing to do with John.”

London to celebrate Indian cinema in March

By KaniKa Tandon Come March and London will celebrate Indian cinema like never before. To entice and whet the appetites of cinema lovers, a curtain raiser for Tongues on Fire, the 12th London Asian Film Festival, (to be held from from 5-14 March), was held at Apollo Piccadilly Circus on February 18.

The festival will see the screening of 30 films and five premieres at six London venues which include BAFTA, Richmix, the Nehru Centre, University of Westminster and the Brady Centre.

Founding member Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry, in her opening speech, said, “The festival will showcase the best of Bollywood and beyond. It is a big step and the enthusiasm is catching up fast.”

Sangeeta Dutta, director, Life Goes On, also attended the function along with some of the cast of the film. She was excited that her movie will premiere at the fest and will be the closing film of the festival. This British Asian film stars Sharmila Tagore and her daughter Soha Ali Khan.

The festival’s highlight is going to be the Bachchan family.

Bollywood’s first lady Jaya Bachchan will receive a lifetime achievement award and her son Abhishek Bachchan will give a ‘BAFTA interview’ at the launch of the festi-

val on March 5.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is also expected to attend the event. To the cheer of cinema enthusiasts, a host of workshops and master classes will also be held with world-famous professionals. Offering a unique opportunity, actor Abhishek Bachchan too will hold an acting master class for film buffs.

On March 7, renowned director Shyam Benegal will host a BAFTA interview. Benegal’s movie Well Done Abba is one of the 30 films to be screened at the festival. The movie stars Boman Irani and Minissha Lamba and is a tale of a driver from Mumbai who takes an eventful extended leave from work to find a husband for his teenage daughter.

The festival will host British Asian film, An Act of Terror, directed by Shahid Nadeem and produced by Sarmed Mirza.

This thought-provoking film portrays the night-

mare of a Galswegian Asian household when the son Ali Malik is arrested in a police raid.

Other exciting works include Lovesongs, directed by Jayabrato Chatterjee and starring Jaya Bachchan, which traces a family’s journey through three generations.

Debutant director, 26year-old Afghan female, Roya Sadat’s Playing the Taar depicts the treatment of women in the country.

Flowers from Heaven marks its London release with the festival. Directed by famous Sri Lankan director Prsanna Vithanage, the story depicts true love between a mother and her daughter.

Mehul Shah’s Bollywood Beats and Deshantari, investigating Bangladeshi migration, by Sujun Mahmud and Mridal Chowdhury participate as well.

Tongues on Fire was started in 1999 by Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry and Harvinder Nath.

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

www.abplgroup.com

21

BollyKats Kashmira creates another row

A dramatic flick produced by Ambika Hinduja (daughter of British Indian businessmen – Hinduja family), Teen Patti is also produced with India and England in the background. Two of the great actors from both the worlds – Ben Kingsley (Hollywood) and Amitabh Bachchan (Bollywood) playing leading roles in the film make it all the more interesting. Teen Patti is an emotionally riveting and razor sharp thriller about greed, deception and giant feats of imagination. Relayed against the backdrop of modern India - made internationally beloved following the success of Slumdog Millionaire, Teen Patti is one of the most fascinating new films to emerge from Asia, its themes and narrative are so profoundly particular to India that it is ultimately transcendent and therefore universal in its appeal.

Ben Kingsley plays Perci Trachtenberg, widely regarded as the word's greatest living mathematician, meets Venkat, played by Amitabh Bachchan. Venkat is a reclusive math genius from India, at a high rolling casino in London. Venkat tells Perci about an equation that could not only change the dialogue on mathematics forever, but one that has already left an indelible impression of guilt - for many painful reasons - on Venkat's life.

As it turns out, the reclusive genius Venkat has cracked a theory that could redefine the principles pf probability and randomness. However, as with all exceptional knowledge, his equation has its upside as well as its dark underbelly. Aware that he is on the precipice of an extraordinary discovery, one that could find applications across various sciences, Venkat is encouraged to test his theory in the real world by professor Shantanu essayed by Madhavan, an ambitious colleague of Venkat.

Although Venkat has no interest in the money that could come from practicing his equation to crack Teen Patti, (a poker game) which could rake in all the moolah, he eventually succumbs to Shantanu's charismatic persuasion. Soon, with the help of a few students, each with a complicated and singular fate of their own, they explore the addas (underground gambling dens) of wild Bombay, and a series of edge-ofyour-seat escapades keep the film moving faster than a bullet. But what starts out as an experiment between a charismatic young professor and an eccentric older one soon descends into a game neither of them can control. When their lives sink into maddening chaos, the greed and desperation that had fueled them on can no longer save them.

The film later oscillates back to the casino in London. The film has been produced under the banner of Serendipity Films. The lead cast consists of Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, R. Madhavan, Raima Sen, Saira Mohan, Dhruv Ganesh, Shraddha Kapoor, Siddharth Kher and Vaibhav Talwar.

Leena Yadav has directed the film. She also shares the credit of Story writing with Shiv Subramanyam.

Dialogues are by Ben Rekhi. Irfan Siddique has penned the lyrics, while Salim and Sulaiman Merchant have scored the music.

New Hindi movies releasing this week 1. Teen Patti 2. Karthik calling Karthik 3. Prem Kaa Game

Top 5 Bollywood movies for the week No. Film 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

My Name Is Khan 3 Idiots Ishqiya Veer Rann

No. Last Week New 2 1 3 5

Total weeks 1 8 3 4 3

Kashmira Shah has resorted to her dirty game again. The actress who is mostly seen in the side-roles of Bollywood films yet again created a storm by calling certain actors 'liar' and 'hypocrites'.

The 'choosy' or nearly out-ofwork actress courted controversy yet again at the launch of Mahesh Manjrekar's film 'City of Gold', where in the middle of a press meet, she took a potshot at actors saying, “Nowadays, the actors who say that they get plenty of scripts everyday but don't have time to go through them are nothing but big liars!”

Saying that in a roomful of veteran actors like Satish Kaushik and Seema Biswas, Kash just kept hitting on her kind by further claiming, “The reality is - they (actors) don't even have a single script in their hand!”

This was enough to hush a room full of actors, as Kash continued glibly, “I don't know why some actors do things like that, I mean, what's the reason?”

With this all the limelight went off from Mahesh's directorial comeback, to Kashmira. Seeing the ball in her court, Kash went on, “Talking about myself, I get only 2-3 projects in a year but let me tell you they are substantial projects.

Moreover, I'm proud that at least I don't lie like other stars do.”

Priyanka Chopra goes green Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra is on a spree of firsts this year. After winning a national award recently for her role in "Fashion", the actress is now making a debut in an animated video in order to raise environment consciousness.

Produced by Red Dot Productions, it is an attempt to inspire people to take action such as saving water and electricity, planting trees and reducing pollution, as a part of the NDTV-Toyota Greenathon Campaign.

"It was the first time I shot for an animated video and I

had to imagine everything as I was standing against a chroma screen... We were very sure about the fact that it had to appeal and connect with the audience and not be boring and preachy. The animation has made it visually appealing and interesting, " Priyanka said in a statement. Priyanka who is also the ambassador of the campaign, will be seen in a mix of animation and real life sequences in the video.

Titled "Hawaaein, patte, paani", it has been penned by legendary lyricist Gulzar and composed by musician trio

Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. In the video, the actress shows a polluted, dry and barren landscape and is looking for a solution.

As she finds it, a green sapling sprouts out of the cracked earth. She hands the sapling to a little girl, who gives it to carefree young people. These youngsters inspired by the little girl hand out saplings to people and urge them to think of the impact of their everyday actions on the planet.

Please give me a Filmfare Award: Katrina For once, diplomacy saw its defeat. Katrina Kaif surprised one and all when she chose Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan as the two actresses who deserved to get the Filmfare Best Actress award for 2009.

"If I had to choose, apart from myself, I would choose Priyanka or Vidya.

'Kaminey' is one of my favourite films. And I loved Vidya in 'Paa'," said the current toast of B-Town while announcing the 55th Idea Filmfare Awards 2009. "But why can't I

choose myself?" she added with a mischievous grin.

Besides Katrina, who has been nominated for 'New York', the other nominees include Deepika Padukone ('Love Aaj Kal') and Kareena Kapoor ('3 Idiots' and 'Kurbaan').

India's oldest cinema awards which is often compared to the Oscars, is scheduled to be held on the 27th of February at the Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai.

Katrina further said that she would be happier if her movies win the award. "Everybody wants

to win. But I would want my movies to win," she said. However, she added, "I am happy being nominated. I don't want to go through that nail-biting experience of whether I am winning the award or not. As long as I am nominated, it is fine," said Katrina.

When queried whether her beau Salman Khan comfort her, since he has never got a single best actor award in his entire career of over two decades, and nor has she.

Camel race leaves Esha in pain Esha Deol is bruised black and blue.

After participating in a camel race in Jaisalmer and doing road stunts in Goa for her mother's production 'Tell Me Oh Khuda', she can barely move a limb.

'The director Mayur Puri and the fight master Parvez Bhai forgot I was a girl and therefore delicate in my own way. This has been the most physically demanding experience of my life,' Esha, who was last seen in 'Hijack', said. Twenty-seven years after Hema Malini got on a camel in the Rajasthan deserts to sing the haunting 'Ae dil-e-nadaan' in Kamal Amrohi's 'Razia Sultan', Esha rode the camel like a pro in Jaisalmer.

'In 'Razia Sultan', mom was singing on the camel. I was wincing in pain. For 10 days I rode the camel like a professional for a camel race along with Arjan Bajwa, Chandan

Roy Sanyal and Sudhandhu Pande. I was the only girl in the team. But people seemed to forget that. But if I may say so, I had the best calves on display in the typical Rajasthani camelrider's costume, the kurta lungi and all,' said Esha, 28.

For the first few she was in a daze. 'The seat on top of the camel is so rough and so unfriendly to comfortable riding, my knees and inner thighs were constantly bruised. When my mother saw I was hurt, she was livid. But I told her to chill. And we continued shooting on the camels for a good week after that. Now I can call myself an expert camel rider,' sad Esha.

While nodding in agreement vigorously, Katrina's spontaneous reaction to the organisers was - "So please give me an award," amidst uncontrollable giggles. And the organisers couldn't help saying that they should have brought a trophy for Katrina on the day of announcement itself.

22

INdIA

Asian voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Gay professor at AMU suspended On the verge of retirement, a professor at the famous Aligarh Muslim University was suspended early this month, after he was caught in the act by CCTV cameras.

Dr. Ramchandra Siras, reader and chairman f Modern

Indian Languages at the University said he would not contest the suspension.

Siras was caught having consensual sex with a rickshaw puller of the city at his campus home.

Being gay, having con-

sensual sex with a person of same sex is no offence, but the AMU felt constrained to take action.

Public Relations Officer of the University said, “It’s a scandal no institution of repute can overlook.”

Brand UK should not suffer in the education sector: Tony McNulty Harrow east Mp and Navin Shah, London Assembly Member favour BA’s flight to Ahmedabad DiLip D. TRiveDi Tony McNulty, Harrow East MP and Navin Shah, London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow are on a tour of India recently. The two representatives of the ruling labour party alongwith Kishor Joshi, owner of Pradips Sweet Mart Ltd. also visited the Ahmedabad office of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

Asian Voice lapped up the opportunity to have their views on two hot issues that are of importance for people in UK, India and Gujarat – the student visa problems and immigration woes as also the problems of travelers between London and Gujarat - not having a direct flight to connect to one of the fastest developing states of India.

Asian Voice asked McNulty as to why should not British Airways also get into an exploratory exercise – start a direct flight to Ahmedabad from London. It’s not that only Gujaratis settled in UK or students going to London for studies that have to face problems.

UK business leaders have already conceded that India and Indian investments play a prominent role in driving the UK economy. The trade relations between the two countries are growing rapidly. As Gujarat is acknowledged as the growth engine of India, the state naturally is important. In these circumstances, BA can and should definitely explore the possibility of connecting London and Ahmedabad with a direct flight. McNulty said he would do all that is needed on this front, including launching a campaign, as the need is very genuine, urgent.

On the student visa issue, McNulty and Navin Shah emphasized that students as well as their parents/guardians should ascertain the credentials of the institutions – colleges/universities that they wish to join. They can do it with inquiry from friends, relatives or various other sources in UK, before they spend any money for securing admissions.

(From Left to Right) Kishor Joshi, Tony McNulty, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Navin Shah at Gandhinagar

AV also asked whether it is not also obligatory on the part of UK government to see that bogus institutions are not allowed to operate and bring disrepute to brand UK. AV cited the recent decision of UKBA, in which they said they have stopped accepting visa applications of students from North India, alongwith some other neighbouring countries. UKBA may be right, but for no fault of theirs, genuine and brilliant students also would be suffering. The decision could also spell huge monetary losses to the students and/or their families. The stand of UKBA that they would not be responsible for any losses that the students may have to suffer; arising out an action of the agency is not justified.

(Later last week, UKBA has granted partial concessions for students from India, but the ban for the rest continues.)

AV pointed out that education is a business and Universities UK have already voiced their concern over this and earlier decisions of the UK government, tightening visa norms.

For students, they are the clients/customers, seeking services in the form of education. They are dealing with UK as a country. Normally the process of admissions prescribe that students have to seek admissions, when they get it, they have to pay up their fees and only thereafter they can submit their visa applications.

Even in case of genuine colleges/universities and students; just because

UKBA has a problem and they stop accepting visa application, students would be the sufferers. It would be a double whammy for them – they may be losing their precious time and educational opportunity as well as huge money too. UKBA cannot just escape saying they have no control over the institutions and would not be liable for refund of fees.

The point is, why can’t the government and their various agencies follow the single window process or system to facilitate students?

McNulty agreed that not looking at issues comprehensively, giving knee jerk reactions would ultimately bring disrepute to brand UK. Not in a distant future, genuine students seeking higher, better education would turn their back on UK and seek other destinations that provide smooth admissions and hassle free visas.

UK would be the end loser. He said, in fact, even if students after their studies do not settle in UK, they should have got such a good experience and education that they turn brand ambassadors for UK back in India.

Navin Shah felt that there needs to be a system wherein, institutions are only allowed to charge a nominal amount as fees from the students for admissions and full fees should only be payable after they get the visa. He also said fees or charges should be refundable in certain circumstances, when the service seekers (students) are unable to finally get the services and the reasons for that are not under their control.

in divine light

By RAJeN vAKiL

Nakula and Sahdeva The greatest mystery in life is the birth of a child.

Simplistically, it is out of the meeting of two parents, but holistically, it is a lot more.

What comes from the parents, what was there of that child before, and in what form was it there? The shastras call this something that was already there as jeeva or soul.

This soul is NOT made from the material provided by the two parents. It uses the material provided by the two parents to form a body to come in contact with the world. The soul does this for its own growth.

We may have a well formed body but that does not ensure growth of the soul. We may have many degrees, a lot of money, or be very famous, but that too does not ensure growth of the soul. In old age, most people become childlike, which shows that the soul has not grown at all. The same child that was born now dies. The purpose of the soul is to free itself of animal tendencies, become human, and realise its divine nature.

When the shastras say that a particular soul is the son (or a part) of a particular God, it is signifying the degree of development of that soul or rather, how close the soul has come to its divine nature.

Nakula and Sahdeva, the Pandava twins are the children of the Ashwinikumars, born of the Devas or Gods.

Here, the shastras do not talk about the physical parents but unravel to us the development of the souls of Nakula and Sahdeva. Souls of the level of the Ashwinikumars would mean that they have knowledge of the laws of Karma and Time, the word ‘Ashwa’ meaning time. Nakula, within us, is the moving centre, which controls the organs of action.

Sahdeva is the instinctive centre, which controls the sense organs.

Nakula means the one who is free of conditioning, signifying a relaxed moving centre.

Whenever we observe our body, we will find that we are holding so much of muscular tension – around the eyes, jaws, cheeks, elbows,

and knees. When we walk, we are either in agitation or in stiffness.

This continuous tension in our muscles is one of the biggest causes of illness. Nakula had a special ability to look after and understand horses, symbols of time and emotions. All our emotions come from our subconscious and unconscious minds. To be able to enter into our unconscious is to conquer time and reach the roots of our emotions. In yoga, this technique of consciously entering our unconscious mind is called ‘yoganidra’. The capacity to enter into a deep state of relaxation is essential to practice ‘yoganidra’. Nakula was also very handsome, signifying pride. The student of spirituality learns to use pride positively to move ahead on his path.

He was also an expert in sword fencing and defeated Ashwathama (memory) in this form of fighting during the Great War. This shows that one who commands or rides time cannot be bound by memory. We use our organs of action together with the sense organs to enjoy the pleasures of life. Nakula could ride a horse in the rain without getting wet. This shows that he could enjoy all the pleasures of life, yet, not be touched by them.

When we work consciously with our moving centre, all our actions have a relaxed beauty about them. I used to love observing my teacher do simple tasks such as drinking tea or reading the newspaper; it was like poetry in action.

Sahdeva is an expert at looking after cows, symbolising the five senses controlled by the energy of sensitivity.

When we are able to increase the intensity of this energy, we are able to sense what will hap-

pen in the future.

Sahdeva was a great astrologer and could see the future but the rule was that he could not foretell, unless asked.

The moment we talk about what we have sensed, the ego comes in and eats away the energy of the senses. Sri Krishna once asked Sahdeva how to stop the war. Sahdeva said that Sri Krishna must be bound and imprisoned.

Sri Krishna challenged him to do so, and Sahdeva meditated – Sri Krishna found that he could not move. This signifies that if we can work on the energy of sensitivity, we can at one point sense and then, hold the sensitivity of the divine.

From the Yoga perspective, Nakula is the ‘swadhisthana chakra’, which contains the power of adherence and of holding attention for a long time on one object.

Sahdeva is the ‘muladhara chakra’, which gives the student the power of restraint, tenacity and support.

These two chakras are twins. By working on these twin chakras, the disciple can make the energy of kundalini rise.

The popular way of doing this is by creating tension between the two chakras and forcing the energy to rise. This is a dangerous process and can bring about imbalances in the body and mind. The other way, only taught by the guru to certain disciples, is to merge the two chakras into one. When this is done, the energy rises in a balanced manner.

If the student can balance sensing and moving, then he has balanced action and knowledge and achieved the highest state of yoga.

(Edited by Chintu Gandhi. Illustration by Siddharth Ramanuj.)

The author can be reached by emailing 3srb@live.com

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

23

Gadkari’s appeal to Muslims to give up Ayodhya claim Bringing to the fore yet again the party's pet issue, new BJP President Nitin Gadkari on Thursday last said the Ram temple in Ayodhya is its soul and appealed to the Muslims to adopt a "generous" attitude by giving up their claim on the disputed site. In his presidential address at the opening of the two-day National Council of the party in Indore, he also spoke on issues seeking to broadbase support for the party like wooing Dalits and minorities and the need to instill a new work culture in the organisation without resorting to sycophancy. He said, "the BJP stands fully committed to the construction of a grand temple in Ayodhya".

Chidambaram’s no for Sikh youths’ return from PoK evokes strong protests Indian home minister P Chidambaram saying no to offer the same ‘surrender’ benefits for Sikh youths who had moved to the Pakistan occupied Kashmir has trigerred strong protests from Punjabi leaders of all hues. People in Punjab have slammed the stand of the union government as discriminatory and unjust. Even veteran Congress leader and former chief minister of Punjab, Captain Amrinder Singh openly said he did not agree with PC’s decision.

It may be noted here that Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had disclosed a ‘surrender’ policy for Kashmiri youth who had crossed over to the other side of J&K. Union home minister P Chidambaram had also agreed for that.

Following that, Akal Takht Jathedar had sought a similar offer for Sikh youth now holed up in PoK. Navjot Sidhu, BJP MP from Amritsar accused the

home minister of “a shocking violation of Indian constitution where Union government was indulging in discrimination on the basis of caste, colour and creed.

Anybody, who violates the constitution should be made to face action.”

A lawyer has also said he will challenge Chidambaram’s decision through a PIL before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal termed the decision as “unfortunate”.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh described the home minister’s statement as a ‘gross injustice with Sikhs’.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, who had asked black-listed Sikh youths to approach the Akal Takht with their details about six months back, said his office had received over 100 such names, where people have been denied the chance visit their home country.

A campaign for direct flight to Ahmedabad You all might have read in recent issues of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar that efforts are on to make emphatic representations in Gujarat, Delhi and in Mumbai for restoring the London – Ahmedabad direct flight.

During the Vishwa Gujarati Conference, recently organised Vishwa Gujarati Samaj also, Editor and Publisher of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar had made a forceful plea before the Civil Aviation Minister of India Praful Patel, Special advisor to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Knowledge Commission of India, Sam Pitroda and other leaders who attended the conference.

With a view to give a definite push to this just demand and convert it into a campaign, the Trustees of the NCGO has set up a task force for the purpose and Mr Kapil Dudakia has been appointed as the CoCoordinator of the same.

Kapilbhai is an experienced man. He had previously held an important position as an Ofsted inspector in schools.

Last week on Thursday, some viewers of MATV’s CB Live Programme, presented their complaints and sought early resumption of the direct flight. We have

published the petition in Gujarat Samachar for the purpose. We invite our readers and all concerned to get the petition signed and send in to the office address of Asian Voice and

Gujarat Samachar. Our demand for a direct flight is just. If Gujarat or Gujaratis are being ignored, we simply need not take such a treatment lying low.

Join the movement for streamlining visa process for India Tuesday I received a letter from one Mr Yusufbhai Panchbhaya. London based India House [Indian Embassy] has amended rules for Indian visa and like Yusufbhai, many of our brethren are either in dark or in confusion, not only about the visa but also on Person of Indian Origin [PIO] and Overseas Cards and they want certain clarity on such issues.

Earlier also our readers have raised their concerns over the difficulties they face in obtaining visa for India.

To address the grievances of the readers and people of India origin, a meeting last week of trustees of National Congress of Gujarati Organisations [NCGO, UK] also discussed at length on the issue.

There was a complaint that India House even did not bother to acknowledge the letters and petitions they received from leaders of some organisations. NCGO has, therefore decided to set up a task force to study in detail the issues involved and represent the grievances to the India House and the Government of India. Mr Raj Joshi, a barrister by profession, has fortunately agreed to be coordinator of this task

force and he is engaged with this task without charging his fees. Mr Joshi, till last year, was serving as Director in Crown Prosecution Service. In his capacity as a Director, he served as legal expert for 25 long years. We are fortunate enough that we have been able to rope in such a talented and well educated person to help us.

Readers of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice are invited to write their experience-good or bad on the visa problems and other related issues. They should send in their letters to the office address of Gujarat Samachar-Asian Voice. In a democracy, people need to be vocal and only voice of vocal is heard.

Don’t tolerate any injustice silently.

Last Thursday, viewers of MATV’s CB Live programme too raised their complaints and problems. Like our readers I appeal to them also to come forward with their views and suggestions. You can preferably write in English or Gujarati, but do write.

CB Patel Publisher/Editor Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Taliban behead two Sikhs in Pakistan

Continued from page 1 Taliban had beheaded one Sikh businessman, identified as Jaspal Singh.

The victim was kidnapped along with two other Sikhs by Taliban militants from Tirah valley in Khyber Agency near the provincial capital Peshawar. A letter was found with the body warning the relatives of the deceased and other Sikh locals against disclosing the case to the media. His two other companions, Gorwandar Singh and Surjeet Singh, are still being held captive by the militants, according to media reports.

Punjab seeks centre’s intervention The government in Punjab has sought the central government's intervention to ensure the safety of Sikhs in the restive tribal region in Pakistan.

"The government should not sleep in this matter. Life of Sikhs should be protected," Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said in Chandigarh.

The BJP has asked the government to mount "diplomatic pressure" on Pakistan to ensure release of the abducted Sikh residents in that country.

A large number of Pakistani Sikhs have fled from Orakzai and Tirah valley where the nonMuslims have been charged "jaziya" or tax by

• Pakistan asked to ensure safety of minorities • Sikhs want to flee to India

militants on the pretext of providing security to them in the area. The incident evoked sharp condemnation in Punjab with political parties, top sikh religious bodies and the Akal Takht terming the incident as barbaric and an outrage against humanity.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded immediate intervention of the Prime Minister in ensuring the safety and security of the Sikhs in Pakistan as its ally BJP staged a vociferous protest at the Attari border.

Terming the killings as an outrage against humanity, SAD supremo and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asked the Union government to put the issue on the agenda of upcoming Foreign Secretary-level talks

between India and Pakistan. The Taliban demanded Rs 30 million as ransom for their release, media reports said.

Since the Taliban began enforcing 'jaziya' in the tribal belt, particularly Aurakzai Agency, many Sikhs fled to cities elsewhere in the country fearing for their lives.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction and murder but members of the Sikh community blamed it on the Pakistani Taliban, which has close ties with Al Qaeda, and said they wanted to quit Pakistan for good. “We want to return to India but we are not getting the visas. The Taliban keep demanding jaziya (religious tax) from us,” Arvind Singh, a cousin of the beheaded Jaspal Singh, told a Pakistani TV channel.

He said the business interests of Sikhs were suffering in Pakistan because of the Taliban.

presents

TRIBUTES

English Folk to Bengali Folk - The

Way!

This year, Samyo returns to Queen Elizabeth Hall to take your breath away with a stunning new array of specially commissioned new compositions which pay tribute to a variety of eclectic themes ranging from the English Folk Songs to Bollywood!

Powered by Youth Music

Don’t miss this one of a kind concert, which showcases orchestral Indian music through the contemporary and vibrant young voices of modern day multicultural Britain.

Sun 7 March 2010, 7:30pm Special £8 ticket offer for Asian Voice readers! Call the Southbank Centre box office at 0844 875 0073 and quote ‘Asian Voice Offer’ now!

Hurry - there are a limited number of tickets left!

24

Saturday 27th February 2010 - asian Voice

Sajjan Kumar not appearing in court Former Delhi MP and Congress leader Sajjan Kumar did not appear in a Delhi court which is hearing the case of 1984 anti Sikh riots. At the hearing on Tuesday, the court issued a fresh non bailable warrant against him and other accused. The case was adjourned for 10th March. The magistrate also directed to CBI director to ensure that the former MP and others accused are presented before the court on that date.

Indian teaching standards impress UK teachers Five teachers from london visit three ahmedabad schools K K JoSePh Learning is a continuous process, especially for teachers and students. You learn many things from interacting with others.

New ideas and tips from others help the teachers better equip their students to face the real world and make them responsible citizens. The role of teachers in moulding the character of the students is great.

Three Ahmedabadbased schools –C U Shah Primary School, Gyanodhaya English Primary School and Rajasthan Seva Samiti School – were lucky to host and interact with five teachers from London.

The visit gave an opportunity to London teachers to get a first hand knowledge about the teaching methods here. The Ahmedabad teachers also got an opportunity to know about the latest trends in teaching methods.

The teachers—Susan

Jones, Abbie Knott, Venessa Evangelista, Avnee Shah and Donna Jones — from Weald First and Middle Schools, Harrow London – were very much impressed by the teaching standards in the schools they visited.

According to Susan Jones, these Ahmedabad children learn better English than their counterparts in London. Though they may not be as fluent in conversing as their counterparts in London, they are not lagging behind others as far as writing or reading are concerned.

When asked about her impression of Ahmedabad schools, Susan Jones said she finds it very odd to have 60 or more students in a class. Yet, she complimented the teachers for managing such a large number of students. She finds the discipline here very impressive. She finds the students here under great pressure to pass the exams. The students here

(From left to right) abbie Knott, Donna Jones, Susan Jones, avnee Shah, Vanessa evangelista

are constantly under stress to score high marks and to pass the exams. The expectations of the parents are also another source of worry for students.

Because of the less number of students in every class there, the teachers get more time to devote to weak students.

Since there is an assistant teacher there, it is an added advantage. The education is more informal in London. They use modern

methods to teach the students. According to Susan Jones, there is no exam stress there and the students and teachers get more free time and it can be utilized for interaction with the students and for practical purposes. There the schools do have exams but not every year. They depend more on the assessment of the teacher and every student will be promoted to the next class.

There the big exam is

conducted when the students reach the age of 1618. After passing the exam, the students go to council college for two years. Then you can continue your studies in the university.

The teachers from London came to Ahmedabad on an exchange programme.

Their school and the three Ahmedabad school have a tie-up so that teachers from Ahmedabad can visit London to learn the teaching methods there. For Susan Jones, the recent visit was her fourth one.

For the other teachers, it was their first time experience.

For another teacher, Avnee Shah, whose grandparents migrated from Gujarat, it was a good experience. She says they visited many historical places like the Adalaj Step-well, Gandhi Ashram, Kankaria Lake, Heritage Walk, Akshardham temple in

Gandhinagar, Shaking minarets, Jagannath temple and Pranlal Bhogilal’s vintage car exhibition..

They were very much impressed by the architectural beauty of the places they visited. The visit gave them an opportunity to learn more about the people and their culture here.

This exchange programme also gave an opportunity to the Principal of Gyanodaya School to visit Weald First and Middle Schools and get a first hand knowledge about the teaching methods in London. Mrs Bela S Mehta, the principal of the C U Shah primary school, says that she had a very good interaction with the visiting teachers. She along with two or three teachers will be visiting London in May after the final exams here. This exchange programme is very much helpful in bringing the people of both countries closer to each other.

An unconventional school supports the under privileged students ‘Kamal Sir’ has guided many students to a brilliant future in Ahmedabad NileSh Parmar Here is example of the famous saying – “Where there is a will, there is a way”. Except a black board and a few benches, there is nothing here to testify that it is a school.

Yet, the unconventional school that Kamalbhai runs has been instrumental in churning out quite a few brilliant students in a decade and half of its existence. It is all the more creditable fact that, had it not been for Kamalbhai to take up this mission, most of students would have perhaps lost the zeal to study, for many reasons.

The ambience here is that of a busy road. That is because this school is operating from a footpath in the Bhuderpara – Ambawadi area of Ahmedabad. The students have to study amidst all the noises of vehicles moving close by, making a hell lot of noises. Yet, most of the children are eager to come and study here.

There are no fixed timings. The school operates between 4.00 pm to 10.00 pm. Kids come and go as per their own convenience.

But so popular is the place, that at times, there is no vacancy on the benches and the students have to be turned away, they are really disappointed.

It is also interesting to find out how Kamalbhai

got the inspiration to start this ‘unique’ school, when he himself is a school dropout, having studied upto std. VII only.

Recounting the day he struck with the idea, Kamalbhai, a welder by profession says one day, he was just sitting outside his welding shop in the evening. As students from the nearby municipal school were going back home, he Kamal Sir busy cooking asked them a quesplete their homework, tion on maths. He was show it to Kamal Sir. shocked with the answers Kamalbhai also helped the that he got. Kids studying kids with hot and tasty in std. VII were unable to dinner, which he used to do simple things like mulcook it himself. (Cooking tiplication and division. by himself saves the Kamalbhai said though expenses that would otherhe has himself not studied wise would be incurred on much, he knows the a cook. He also strongly importance of education. I believes that not a single was puzzled about the rupee given by donors education that these chilshould go wasted.) On an dren were getting. Their average, around 125 stubase was pretty weak and I dents come here daily. wondered what would They are almost all with a they be able to do in low income, labour family future? This was the seed background. The kids are that germinated to be definitely enthusiastic known as Kamal Sir’s about studying, but they as school. well as their parents – famHis school started. ilies cannot afford to go to Students from the poor – private schools. Further, in labour dominated neighmost of the cases, their bourhood would come in parents are illiterate and the evening. Kids from std. do not realise the imporI to std. X used to come. tance of education. In They would learn, comsome cases, Kamalbhai

Student seeking guidance from Kamal Sir

even goes to the home of kids and explain to their parents the importance of studying.

Kamalbhai has played a vital role in moulding careers of many students.

This man of 63 has also got amazing support from his family members. For primary students, he himself teaches them, while for high school kids, his sons Gautam and Shailesh guide them. Kamalbhai’s role goes beyond supporting the kids in learning.

He mobilises support from many sources to ensure that the deserving kids get clothes and even books for their studies.

Bhavini Chavda is one of the leading examples.

She studied with Kamalbhai right from std.

I to std. X. In the board exam for std. X, she came out with flying colours – securing 82% marks. Five other protégés of Kamalbhai have also secured around 75% in

std. X. Three brilliant students with a financially weak family background were even provided with special tution facilities by Kamalbhai for studying std. XI and XII. Handling so many students almost comprehensively – teaching them, providing food for one time and all that is not easy. Even financially, it is a challenge. Seen in the light of his own economic status, Kamalbhai’s efforts are stupendous. He had to support his own family of six also.

For the first five or six years, the going was tough. He had to put in his own hard earned money in making the kids study. But a simple lifestyle in his family helped the matters.

Later, as his school gained fame, now funds are coming from many sources.

Apart from his two sons, his wife Shantaben and three daughters also contribute in their own style

in the mission education that Kamalbhai is carrying on.

Even as he had no ambitions whatsoever, the journey was not smooth for Kamalbhai. Yet, he overcame all the obstacles that came his way. On one occasion, he faced an allegation that he was aspiring to jump into politics in the garb of social service. To refute the allegation, Kamalbhai vowed in front of the ‘lamp’, with all his near and dear ones present, that he would never have anything to do with politics. He kept his vow.

Recalling the episode, Kamalbhai said he explained to the people who had cast aspersions on his intentions that by raising doubts on him, they are ultimately damaging the interests of the poor kids. Yet, to leave no doubt in anybody’s mind, he took the vow.

We couldn’t resist asking Kamalbhai as to what did he achieve after doing all this? With a smile on his face, he replied, “A satisfaction for myself that I have done something for the society.

The life and teachings of Lord Buddha are his inspiration; Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is his idol.

Kamalbhai concluded, “There is no better happiness than seeing others feeling blessed as we observe simplicity”.

25

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Keith Vaz concerned about safety of Indian students in OZ London: British MP and labour leader of Indian origin, Keith Vaz has expressed his concerns for the safety of Indian students in Australia after reports of increasing violence targeting them. In a letter to the Australian High Commissioner in London, Mr. John Dauth, Vaz asks for an explanation as to what is being done to ensure that people of Indian nationality are safe following this ‘spate of attacks’. Vaz represents the constituency of Leicester East which boosts Britain’s largest Indian population outside of London. He said, “I am extremely concerned about the situation that appears to be unfolding in Australia. I have received anxious messages from constituents with family currently living in the country scared by reports of violence.”

Obama meets Dalai Lama, angers China Washington: US President Barack Obama hosted exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, drawing an angry reaction from China and risking further damage to strained Sino-US ties.

Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press China, under international criticism for its Tibet policies, to preserve Tibetan identity and respect human rights. He sat down with the Dalai Lama, reviled by the Chinese government as a dangerous separatist, in the face of wider tensions over US weapons sales to Taiwan, China's currency practices and Internet censorship.

Barack Obama with the Dalai Lama at the White House

While defying Beijing's demands to scrap the talks and showing a willingness to irritate an increasingly assertive China, the White House took pains to keep the encounter low-key, barring media coverage.

But it later posted a photo

on its official website of the two men side by side in conversation.

Beijing said it was "strongly dissatisfied" about the meeting and expected Washington to take steps to put bilateral relations back on a healthy

course.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the meeting "violated the US government's repeated acceptance that Tibet is a part of China and it does not support Tibetan independence".

Monks living in Tongren, an overwhelmingly ethnic Tibetan part of the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai, set off fireworks for a second night to celebrate.

"This is great news for the Tibetans," one monk said. "We don't care that it makes the government angry. It makes us very happy that Obama met him."

Canadian employer fined for racial abuse Toronto: A Canadian employer has been fined $25,000 for calling his Pakistani-origin woman employee a 'Paki' and 'nigger.'

Taunting the woman's two young sons as "halfnigger," he reportedly told her, "That's what you get for sleeping with a nigger."

She was later sacked by him.

Accepting Cheryl Khan's complaint of racist abuse against her boss

Lynn Tompkins, the human rights commission has now ordered him to pay her $25,000 in damages as well as $6,750 in lost wages after her sacking last year.

He has also been ordered to introduce an anti-harassment policy at his company and undergo re-orientation to change his behaviour.

Cheryl Khan, who joined Lynx Trucking Transportation as a dis-

patcher in 2007, said she moved the human rights panel after racial abuse by her employer became unbearable. She told the Toronto Star that Tompkins started racially abusing her immediately after she joined his trucking company.

In her testimony she said he would yell, shout and call his South Asian employees, including truck drivers, stupid immigrants. She said once

when she told him not to speak abusively, he shouted back, saying it is his "f--ing company."

Another employee who testified in her favour told the panel that Tompkins would ridicule his South Asian employees as "stupid or dumb."

The testimony further said that when Indian-origin employees wanted to take leave for Diwali, he said "the f---ing Indians don't want to work."

Malaysian women have no complaints about being caned All the 3 cases are of pre marital sex with boy friends; they also served prison sentences Kuala Lumpur: While there were protests and uproar over canning of three women in the country for sex outside marriage, the three women seem to have no complaints against being

caned for their offence of illicit sex. They also said caning helped them deal with their guilt and now they would be able to start life afresh.

Caning was hitherto limited to men only.

While the real identities of the three have not being disclosed, ‘The New Straits Times’ carried the interviews of the three last week, a couple of days after the news of caning and protests by human

rights and women’s organisations.

One of the women even said it served as a good deterrent. She added she did what she did because of love and pleasure.

Indian–American to run for Democratic primary race New York: For the first time in history of IndianAmerican community, the Yale-educated lawyer Reshma Saujani, 34, is contesting in the highprofile Democratic primary race. She is taking on nine-term incumbent Carolyn B Maloney, 60.

Saujani's bid has all the ingredients of a David versus Goliath story. The daughter of Gujarati immigrants, Saujani's story embodies the promise of the American dream. Her parents came to the US as political refugees after Idi Amin expelled Indians from Uganda in the 1970s. A qualified mechanical engineer, Saujani's father

Reshma Saujani

found work in a machine shop. Living as one of the first Indian families in suburban Chicago, Saujani faced discrimination. But as a gutsy freshman at the local public high school, Saujani started PRISM - the Prejudice Reduction Interested Students

Movement. She said "it was a defining moment" in her life that sparked her commitment to community activism.

Saujani studied in Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where she worked part-time to pay for school. She also made it to Yale Law School and later, at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, handled asylum cases pro bono. She has been a lawyer for hedge funds.

"I am not the typical candidate to run for office. We have changed the paradigm of who can run for office," said Saujani, who is trying to unseat Maloney, from

New York's 'silk stocking' district on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and parts of Queens. "I am a young woman who doesn't have a famous last name. I don't come from money. We are the underdogs. We are the insurgents. But I have a gut feeling about winning," Saujani said.

If Saujani beats the odds, she will be among a handful of current elected US officials of Indian parentage. A win would pole vault her into that tiny club with Louisiana's governor Republican Bobby Jindal and Democrat Kamala Devi Harris, San Francisco's district attorney.

Furious engineer crashes plane into US federal tax building Texas: A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service plowed his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees last week, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

A US law official identified the pilot as Joseph Stack - whose home was set on fire just before the crash - and said investigators were looking at an anti-government message on the Web linked to him.

The Web site outlines problems with the IRS and says violence “is the only answer.''

Federal law enforcement officials have said they were investigating whether the pilot, who is presumed to have died in the crash, slammed into the Austin building on

purpose in an effort to blow up IRS offices.

“Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer,'' the long note on Stack's Web site reads, citing past problems with the tax-collecting agency.

“I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity.

Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well,'' the note reads.

At least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalized, said Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton. She did not have any information about the pilot.

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Saturday 27th February 2010 - Asian Voice

Zia to take on Hasina without Islamist allies Dhaka: The main opposition party in Bangladesh - Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - is distancing itself from Islamist allies as it takes on the ruling Awami League (AL) led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The BNP and Islamist parties have launched separate movements against the government over the deals that Hasina signed during her visit to India last month. Separately, they have accused Hasina of 'selling out' the country's interests. It is not, however, clear why Zia is keeping away from the allies with whom she shared power in her second tenure as prime minister during 2001-06.

Roundup 36 killed in Morocco minaret collapse Rabat: In a major tragedy, at least 36 people were killed and 71 others were injured after the minaret of a historic 18th century mosque collapsed in the central Moroccan city of Meknes during Friday prayers last week, the interior ministry said. The mosque was packed with worshippers when the mishap and many blamed the heavy rains that lashed the region for the mishap. "The minaret and part of the roof fell on the congregation, which had gathered for the weekly prayer," a resident said.

Rescuers worked with shovels - and some with their bare hands - while others formed human chains to carry away rubble from the site of the disaster.

"Apart from the Friday prayers, the faithful were also offering funeral prayers for a deceased person whose body was inside the mosque," a local official said.

Charges framed against one-time richest man in China Beijing: Authorities have formally charged a business tycoon, who was once regarded as the richest man in China, with bribery, insider trading and illegal business dealings. The charges have been presented at a court 15 months after Huang Guangyu, the tycoon, was taken into detention in November 2008. Huang’s rags-to-riches story is almost folklore in the Chinese business community. This will be the most high profile court case ever fought in Chinese courts, sources said. The business community is agog with speculation on what he did to annoy the top echelons of the Communist Party.

Authorities have indicated that they are seeking a high degree of punishment from the court by expanding the number of charges against the tycoon, who was initially accused of stock market malpractices.

Huang, who founded Gome Electrical Appliances, has now been charged with bribery and illegal business dealings as well. The case has been handed to the Beijing Municipal Number Two Intermediate People's Court.

Indian-origin man killed in S Africa, wife commits suicide Pretoria: An Indian-origin man was shot dead in South Africa by unidentified assailants, driving his distressed wife to commit suicide by using her husband's gun. Indian-origin businessman Kushalen Naidoo, 28, was shot dead last week by unknown gunmen as he waited for his wife Farzaana who was attending evening classes as a psychology student.

The childhood sweethearts were married just two years ago. Farzaana killed herself with a gun from Naidoo's prized collection moments after excusing herself as the family prepared for his funeral rites. Family members said the overwrought Farzaana could not bear the thought of a life without her husband. Minutes after she excused herself to go to the bathroom, Farzaana shot herself in the head after she locked herself in her room.

Singapore man gets jail, caning for raping sister Singapore: A Singapore court has sentenced a man who raped his younger sister to 13 years in jail, a media report said on Saturday.

The now 21-year-old brother, who was not named to protect the victim's identity, started to rape his sister, now 16, when both shared a bedroom in 2005 or 2006, the Straits Times newspaper reported. He repeatedly raped his sister, the youngest of three siblings in the family, until 2007 when the girl eventually left home to live with her then-boyfriend. The teenage girl did not reveal the abuse until April last year, the report said. Her brother was also ordered to be caned 15 strokes. In sentencing, the judge took into account his young age at the time of the crime, said the report.

Fonseka becomes rallying point for tattered Lanka opposition Colombo: The detention of former army chief Sarath Fonseka is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the tattered Sri Lanka opposition parties.

Now they have joined hands together in support of Fonseka, which indicated a possibility of a post parliamentary election understanding.

The opposition political parties, who fielded Fonseka against Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential polls, have decided to go it alone in the upcoming parliamentary polls but have jointly expressed solidarity with him.

The opposition leaders backed Fonseka's wife Anoma, at a meeting to discuss his arrest and expected trial, as she expressed concern over the "conditions in the country". "We are living in a country where we don't have freedom of speech...

Sarath Fonseka

Not only we have freedom of expression violated, we have to listen to foul language and incorrect facts used by those in government. That is what they have ordered," an emotional Anoma said here.

Fonseka's former spokesman Mangala Samaraweera said there was need to engage in broad discussions to face challenges. The main opposition United National Party (UNP) has formed its own alliance, and so far Samaraweera, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by Rauff Hakeem and

Mano Ganeshan led Democratic People's Front (DPF) have agreed to contest the parliamentary election under the UNP's Elephant symbol.

Signature campaign Meanwhile, the opposition parties have launched an aggressive campaign to collect 10 lakh signatures for the release of Fonseka.

"The signature campaign began has begun at J R Jayawardenapura Centre here," General Secretary of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Tissa Attanayake, said.

Liam Fox wants a civil trial for General Fonseka British conservative leader and shadow defence secretary Liam Fox has said Sri Lanka should conduct a civil trial for General Fonseka. The former army chief was arrested after he lost the

21 Afghan civilians killed in NATO air strike

Kabul: At least 21 civilians were killed when NATO forces bombarded southern Afghanistan, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday.

NATO forces confirmed in a statement that its planes fired on Sunday on a group of vehicles that it believed contained insurgents who were about to attack its forces, only to discover later that women and children were in the cars.

NATO did not provide a figure of how many died or say if all those in the vehicles were civilians.

The Afghan government and NATO have launched an investigation.

Investigators on the ground have collected 21 bodies and two people are missing, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri

Bashary said. Fourteen people were wounded, he said.

The strike hit three minibuses that were driving down a major road in the mountainous province. There were 42 people in the vehicles, all civilians, Bashary said.

NATO said that its forces transported injured people to nearby medical centers.

"We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives," NATO commander Gen Stanley McChrystal said in the statement. "I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan people and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission. We will redouble our effort to

regain that trust.''

McChrystal apologized to President Hamid Karzai for the incident on Sunday, NATO said.

NATO has gone to great lengths in recent months to reduce civilian casualties as part of a new strategy to focus on protecting the Afghan people to win their loyalty over from the Taliban. Rules for air strikes have been tightened, but mistakes continue to happen.

In the continuing offensive against a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province, south of Uruzgan, two NATO rockets killed 12 civilians and others have gotten caught in the crossfire. On Thursday, an air strike in northern Kunduz province missed targeted insurgents and killed seven policemen.

presidential elections in the country. He has been charged with plotting a coup against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Conservative leader was on a visit to Sri Lanka last week. In the island nation, he visited the office of Sri Lankan foreign ministry office, where he said, “The law not only has to be applied fairly but has to be seen to be applied fairly. It is my strong view that the General should be tried in a civil court where the charges against him can be tested with all the rigour that the law can muster and where transparency will enable both the domestic population and the international community to have confidence in the judicial process.”

He visited the island nation on invitation from the Sri Lankan government.

Women lawyers set to enter Saudi courts Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is going to create history by drafting a law that would allow female lawyers to argue legal cases in court for the first time.

Sheik Mohammed alIssa, the justice minister, told reporters on Saturday that the bill would be issued in the coming days as part of the Saudi king’s “plan to develop the justice system.’’

The law would mark a major step for female lawyers in the kingdom.

Currently, women law graduates can work in government offices and in court offices, but cannot argue cases before court.

Under the new law, women would be allowed to argue cases on child custody, divorce and other family-related issues.

Niger’s military sack govt after toppling president Niamey: Niger's new military junta announced it had dissolved the government after a coup that toppled President Mamadou Tandja in the impoverished but uranium-rich west African country.

The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) announced that its head would be squadron leader Salou Djibo, whose heavily armed unit played a key role in coup.

"The government is dissolved," said a statement signed by Djibo and read by an unnamed military officer on state television.

"The CSRD informs the population that public business will be run by secretaries of ministries and local government administrators." Soldiers in Niger ousted Tandja amid gunbattles that killed at least three troops. "On this day, we the defense and security forces, decided to take our responsibilities in ending the tense political situation," said CSRD spokesman colonel Goukoye Abdoulkarim.

Commander of Niger's elite military unit and former member of the junta behind the 1999 coup,

colonel Dijibrilla Hima Hamidou popularly known as "Pele" flanked the spokesman who announced the take over.

Abdoulaye Adamou Harouna, a former aidede-camp of the 1999 coup leader commander Daouda Mallam Wanke, also stood next to Abdoulkarim.

The CSRD said it "has decided to suspend the constitution of the Sixth Republic and dissolve all its institutions".

Tandja had defied outcry both inside the country and abroad at his move

to change the constitution to allow himself to extend his grip on power.

Djibo's junta called on the people of Niger ranked last at 182 on the UN Human Development Index for 2009 - to say calm and united around its ideals of "restoring democracy and good governance".

The African Union condemned the violence in Niger, the latest in a litany of states such as Guinea, Madagascar and Mauritania, where coups and unrest have replaced democratic rule.

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

27

Musharraf hints at returning to Pakistan to re-enter politics London: Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf hints that he may re-enter the country’s politics. He made these hints amid the tussle between the executive and judiciary in Pakistan. Now that issue has been resolved.

Addressing the Chatham House think-tank here, Musharraf said he would do anything for Pakistan, but added that it was for the people of Pakistan to decide whether they want him back or not. "I love my country and I would do anything for Pakistan. However, it is for the people of Pakistan who need to decide," Musharraf was quoted as saying. "I have to come through the political process, through the process of elections," Musharraf said.

Gilani bows CJ over judges’ appointments Islamabad: Seeking to resolve the standoff with judiciary over the elevation of two high court judges to the Supreme Court, Pakistan government last week agreed to the suggestions made by country's chief justice on the issue.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said that a fresh notification would be issued regarding elevation of justices Mian Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa of Lahore High Court to the Supreme Court.

While justice Khawaja Mohammed Sharif would continue as LHC chief justice.

The announcement

Pakistan kills 30 militants in air strike Islamabad: Pakistani jet fighters killed 30 militants in remote, forested mountains on the Afghan border on Saturday, the military said, as US forces spearhead one of NATO's biggest offensives against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pakistani security forces launched a major offensive against the al Qaeda-backed Pakistani Taliban in their main bastion of South Waziristan in October and the military has captured most militant bases in the region.

The Saturday air raid was in Shawal, a militant sanctuary near the border of the South and North Waziristan regions, where many militants are believed to have sought refuge from the October offensive.

Yusuf Raza Gilani

came after an over threehour long meeting between the Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the prime minister at

latter's residence here.

Gilani announced the decision superseding the earlier notification issued

by President Asif Ali Zardari for appointment of justice Khawaja Mohammed Sharif as judge of the Supreme Court and justice Saqib Nisar as acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, APP reported.

The meeting took stock of institutional framework as enshrined in the constitution and it was agreed that the rule of law 'forms the basis for the functioning of all the state organs to ensure greater welfare of the people', a statement issued by the

Prime Minister’s House said. 'It was decided that judiciary would be further strengthened to provide cheap and immediate justice to the public at their doorsteps,' the prime minister said.

Gilani also announced that justice Khalil-urRehman Ramday, who retired as judge of the Supreme Court last month, would be appointed as ad-hoc judge of the apex court for one year.

The meeting followed a decision of the apex court bench to suspend the president's earlier notification and termed the decision as in violation of the constitution.

Taliban No 2 commander held Baradar is the most senior Taliban leader held since 7/11 Islamabad: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s number 2 leader and a close associate of Osama bin Laden was captured in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, two Pakistani intelligence officers and a senior US official said.

One Pakistani officer said Baradar was arrested 10 days ago with the assistance of the US and “was talking” to his interrogators. Baradar is the most senior Afghan Taliban leader arrested since the beginning of the Afghan war in 2001 following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US. His capture represents a significant success for the administration of President Barack Obama, which has vowed to kill or seize Taliban and al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It follows the ramping up of CIA missile

strikes against militant targets along the border between the two countries that have reportedly killed many midlevel commanders. It was unclear how Baradar was tracked down.

Pakistan’s spy agency has been accused in the past of protecting top Taliban leaders believed sheltering in the country, frustrating Washington.

Moving against Baradar could signal that Islamabad increasingly views the Afghan Taliban, or at least some of its members, as fair game.

There was also speculation that the arrest could be related in some way to a new push by the US and its NATO allies to negotiate with moderate Afghan Taliban leaders as a way to end the eight-year war in Afghanistan. Pakistan has an important role in that process because of its close links with members of the

movement, which it supported before the Sept. 11 attacks.

“If Pakistani officials had wanted to arrest him, they could have done it at any time,” said Sher Mohammad Akhud Zada, the former governor of Afghanistan's Helmand province and a member of the Afghan parliament.

“Why did they arrest him now?”

Baradar heads the Taliban’s military council and was elevated in the body after the 2006 death of military chief Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Usmani. He is known to coordinate the movement’s military operations throughout the south and southwest of Afghanistan.

His area of direct responsibility stretches over Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.

Hafeez Saeed declares himself innocent Islamabad: Mumbai attacks mastermind and Jamaat ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed denied that he had ever met Ajmal Amir Kasab in Pakistan as claimed by the latter and debunked the findings naming him as the chief orchestrater of the 2008 assault by 10 LeT gunmen.

While denying his involvement in the 26/11 conspiracy in an interview to Al-Jazeera TV, the JuD leader and LeT founder also had some advice to offer on the approaching Indo-Pakistan dialogue.

He asked India to accept Kashmir as a core dispute between the two neighbours so that “confidence is restored” in the talks with Pakistan. Denying having ever met the lone 26/11 attacker in Indian custody, Saeed said that “it was from the media in

India that I discovered Kasab was a Pakistani national.”

He said the Indian agencies’ probe identifying him as the chief orchestraters of 26/11 strikes was “baseless propaganda without an iota of truth.”

Saeed’s outright rejection of 26/11 probe findings comes on the eve of resumption of bilateral talks between the two nations. The composite dialogue process was put on hold following the terror attack on Indian consulate in Kabul in 2008 and called off altogether after the 26/11 assault.

Saeed, who has been at the helm of affairs in LeT and is now heading its front JuD, is wanted both in India and the US. He was put under house arrest by the Pakistani army on December 11,

Hafiz Saeed

2008, after the UN declared that Jamaat-udDawah was a front for Lashkar.

“But the Punjab high court exonerated me and they concluded that neither I nor the Jamaat-udDawah had any involvement in the Mumbai attacks,” he told Al Jazeera. Pakistan has

made several arrests in connection with the Mumbai attacks, including that of Zaki-ur-Rehaman Lakhvi who it refers to as the key mastermind.

However, the agencies here feel Islamabad, by playing up as Lakhvi as the prime mover of the attack, is only trying take the blame off Saeed, who continues to roam free in Pakistan.

In a recent interview also with Al Jazeera, India’s home minister P Chidambaram had alleged that the training for the Mumbai attacks was personally co-ordinated by Saeed.

“Hafiz Saeed selected the trainees and gave them new names. Kasab was given a new name, Abu Mujahid, and that name was given by Saeed.” he said.

Taliban leader’s son killed in US drone attack

Islamabad: Muhammad Haqqani, the son Afghan Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, was killd in a US done strike in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region in northwest Pakistan last week.

Muhammad Haqqani was killed along with three close associates in Friday’s drone attack at Dande Darpa Khel village, a few km north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

The intended target of the strike was Sirajuddin Haqqani, another son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, but it is believed he was not hurt. The Haqqani network is believed to use

bases in Pakistan's northwest tribal regions to plot and launch attacks on the US and other international forces in Afghanistan.

The Long War Journal, a website that tracks the war against terror, said Muhammad Haqqani was not a top-level commander of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network that frequently targets US-led forces in Afghanistan.

However, it said that if Muhammad Haqqani was killed, it "may be an indication that US intelligence on the Haqqani network is improving".

The Haqqani network is considered the second most dangerous Afghan Taliban faction after Mullah Omar's Quetta Shura.

25 killed in blasts Islamabad: At least 25 people were killed and many others were wounded in different violent incidents in Pakistan during the last week. In the first incident, 19 people were killed Thursday in two bombings in northwest Pakistan, media reports said. Ten people were killed when a deafening explosion tore through a cattle market in Orakzai district while nine people died in a suicide bomb attack in Khyber Agency.

At least 10 people were injured in the blasts. The bombing took place in

Darmela when scores of people were at the market.

In another incident in al least 6 people were killed 12 wounded in car bomb explosion in Pakistan's northwestern Mingora city, a media report said.

The blast took place at the Saidu Sharif bus stand in Nishat Chowk. Six shops and eight vehicles were also destroyed, Dawn newspaper reported on its website.

Mingora city is located in the Swat district of North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Avalanche, landslide kill 102 Islamabad: At least 102 people were killed in an avalanche and the consequent landslide in a remote mountainous region in northwest Pakistan last week even as the army and local residents continued rescue efforts for the third day on Sunday.

Lt.-Col. Asif Ghafoor, head of rescue efforts in the avalanche-hit villages in Kohistan district of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), 200 km from the federal capital of Islamabad, told media representatives that the death toll rose to 102 after more bodies were recovered from the snow.

He said a six-member medical team from the King Abdullah Hospital and the Red Cross was providing medical care to victims, and so far members of 72 families were treated.

Twelve persons were also dug out of snow on Sunday, officials said.

Local residents said they had to shovel through 60 feet of snow at some places to recover both the injured or bodies. With weather improving in the Kandian valley, helicopters flew to the main area hit by the disaster, and airdropped foodstuff, other essential items and stoves for about 250 families.

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28

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

This week meet well known Gujarati poet Pankajbhai Vora and his wife Bhartiben Vora with Mr CB Patel only on CB Live

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

If you do not have a tv, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

Week commences 27th February 2010 ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

To ask questions please call on: 020 8963 1001

For more information e-mail:

cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Don't miss !!!

Thursday 7pm to 8pm

Only on CB Live - MATV Sky 793 - Thursday 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Coming Events l Simply Rahat by Ustad Rahat Fri 19th March Palace Theatre, Manchester, 7.30pm, w w w. m a n c h e s t e r palace.org.uk Sat 20th March Royal Festival Hall – South Bank Centre, London, 7.00pm, www.southbankcentre.co.uk Sun 21st March, De Montfort Hall, Leicester, 7.00 pm, www.demontforthall.co.uk Mon 22nd March, Symphony Hall, Birmingham 7.30pm, www.thsh.co.uk l Holi celebrations at Adhya Shakti Mataji Temple on Sunday 28th February, 2010 from 3.00pm to 5.30pm, Cowley, UB8 2DX. Contact: 07882253540. l AMC presents traditional Indian music and traditional Jewish musica at Café Oto, Wednesday 3 March, 8.00pm, Café Oto, Dalston, London, E8 3DL l UK Charity launchMusic Concert by Sonal Shivkumar at Bhavans, London W14 9HE 14th March, 2010 at 6.30 pm, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London W14 9HE Contact: 020 7381 3 0 8 6 / 4 6 0 8 , https://www.eventelephant.com/helpsmile l Shree Swaminarayan Temple- Stanmore presents Holi on Sunday 28th February from 6pm.

Nar-Narayan Dev Jayanti, Fuldol utsav on 2nd March from 7:30, Stanmore HA7 4LF Contact: 020 8954 0205

l The Shree Kutch Leva Patel Community (SKLPC) celebrates Holi on Sunday 28 February. India Gardens, West End Road, Northolt from 4pm onwards. l St Luke’s Hospice Indian Mela (fair) with lots of Indian themed stalls, selling products and offering taster sessions. St Luke's Hospice on Saturday 24th April 2010 Venue: Claremont High School, Claremont Ave, HA3 0UH Time: 11am until 2pm Entry fee: £2.00.

Contact Kate on the details below Kate Gammell on 020 8382 8096 or email kgammell@stlukes-hospice.org l BAPS Shri Swaminarayan TempleNeasden presents Holi on Sunday 28th February from 5pm, The Swaminarayan School, London NW10 8HE, Contact: 020 8965 2651 l Holi Celebrations on 28th February from 6pm-10pm, Mother's Day with Pandit Ravi Sharma on 14th March 2pm-6pm. Community Centre, London N2 8DR, Contact: 020 8346 6686 l Raga Jyoti presents Divinity, Saturday 27th Feb 7:30pm Curve, Leicester. Contact 01162423595 l Holi by Hindu Council (Brent). Roe Green Park, London NW9, Contact: Manubhai Makwana 07976 364 515

Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Anne Hoose Deputy Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Accounts Executive: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Managers: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893 Email: alka.shah@abplgroup.com Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07957 694 909 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Advertising Sales Executive: Girish Katira - Email: girish.katira@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4011 Nikhil Gor - Email: nikhil.gor@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4009 Media Consultant: Rovin John George Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 Business Development Managers: Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 - Email: george@abplgroup.com Design and Layout: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Saroj Patel Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad Tel: +9179 2646 Fax: +9179 6061

COMPETITION What is the Ideal Home Show all about?

If you give a correct answer you may win 4 tickets for your family.

Write to Alka at alka.shah@abplgroup.com with your correct answer and full postal address.

Last day of entry: Monday 1st March 2010.

Special ticket offer expires on 19 March 2010.

Visit www.shreemevents.com for more details.

Please note that kids 15 years and under can attend the show for free.

COMPETITION Choose three themes Samyo will pay 'Tribute' to, on March 7th 2010 at the Southbank Centre, from the followinga. English Folk Music b. Bollywood c. World Music d. World Peace e. Bengal f. Indian Dance The two lucky winners will get two pairs of free tickets. Email your correct answer to Rupanjana at rupanjana@abplgroup.com.

Last date of entry: 1st March 10am.

With Mars being the prime mover in the romantic sphere, it is likely that new developments will be swift and passionate. Your experience in love is likely to be rather dramatic but also deeply satisfying emotionally.

Whether you are seeking relaxation or want something more challenging, all tastes will be catered for this week.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Having all the major planets above the horizon in your solar chart shows that the general pattern of events will focus your attention on the need to make an impact on the world. Although the very practical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, this does not mean that there will be all work and no play.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Whatever you are aiming to achieve, either in the near or distant future, everything is now swinging into your favour. Do not be afraid to aim high if you are working towards promotion or wish to begin a new venture. It is definitely a time of high potential in regard to worldly achievement.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

If you are taking a holiday, so much the better ! Not only do you have Jupiter putting a favourable emphasis on travel but, with sun and Venus you can be sure of deriving the utmost pleasure from adventures and excursions. There are influences around you now that will do much to give you greater confidence.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

You will be able to sort out any difficulties regarding any long-term investments by taking immediate action. There may be a certain amount of unfinished business to be dealt with. Therefore you will need to adopt a fairly flexible policy in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 All close ties of love and affection will benefit from the gentle influence of Venus. If you are married or have a well-founded relationship, it seems that the pattern of events will somehow draw you closer together emotionally. Careerwise, this is a fine time to do some serious thinking.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

To advertise in Asian Voice call 020 7749 4085 Amazing predictions

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Marriage Compatibility Love Affairs Court Cases Any other problems

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All sorts of demands may be placed on you from all sides. Take some time out to reflect and work out where you want to make changes in your busy life. Once you know, implement it systematically. A tremendous amount of planetary activity in your chart signals a time of mixed emotions and personal issues to be dealt with.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

Venus traversing your sign of leisure will put you in the right mood to indulge in your pleasure-loving instincts. Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on affairs of the heart. Existing emotional differences can be easily sorted out now. Your creativity is riding high and you should make the most of this phase.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

Brilliant ideas come easily, as you trust your higher self and allow thoughts to flow freely. You are able to embrace new opportunities and make positive changes in your life. Your efforts bring you into a more stable way of working than ever before, an important development, with all the changes occurring around you.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

There will be increased scope for varying your activities, widening your network of contacts and getting out and about. It is an excellent time for exercising your mental energies, claryfying your and other people's ideas and getting involved in discussion. Exercise caution when it comes to making financial decisions.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

This week progress is made by focusing your mental and physical energies on what you want to achieve.

The underlying trend seems to be pulling you into a much wider social circle now. This will enrich your life and give you a deeper sense of purpose. The prevailing pattern of planets gives you many opportunities - take advantage.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 If you're currently romantically involved, your lover could well go from strength to strength in the area of passion. The work that you are involved with at this time is likely to demand a great deal of energy and initiative from you. This will also involve a lot of moving around and a need to establish a wider network of contacts.

time

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

C R O s s W O R D - 76 1

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Across 1 In good health 5 Banned orchard spray 9 Woo 14 Jai__ 15 Evans or Earnhardt 16 “Lau Grant” star 17 Bro’s bros.

18 Start of Samual Jhonson quote 20 Waste make?

22 Disturb 23 Attends

24 26 28 32 33 34 39 41 43 44 46 48 49

Model Macpherson Takes umbrage part 2 of quote Beer holders Hot time in Le havre Palliating Danger Hosp. readout Cowboy’s showcase People with pads Satisfied sigh Love handles Part 3 of quote

sCRAMBLE - 49

Rearrange the letters in the four word jumbles, one letter to each square/circle, to make four ordinary words DGLAE

How to play

Now arrange the letters in the circles to form the answer to the riddle or to fill in the missing word as indicated

RIFLE CRUsTY

21 25 27 28 29 30 31 35 36 37 38 40 42 45 47 50 51 52 53 54 55 59 61 62 63 65 66

52 Take that!

56 Draw breath 57 Guarded 58 “Eyeless in ___” 60 Battery terminal 64 End of quote 67 Apple device 68 Orderly stored 69 Singer James 70 Back of the neck 71 Romanov rulers 72 Speak roughly 73 Secluded valley Down 1 Bathe 2 Writer/director Kazan 3 Scientists’ workplaces 4 Eavesdrops 5 Pt. of speech 6 Honored poet 7 In addition 8 Become a pensioner 9 Sedan or roadster 10 Missouri feeder 11 Merger 12 Correct a clock 13 Lock 19 West Point beginner

Pipe around a corner Causstic substance Have the lead role Diminutive devils Tallow material Fairy tale villain Low-boost coffee?

Toning down Like a couch potato At one’s elbow Elapse Ear part Gents Sudden ruch Yokohama affirmative Puzzling problem Dam-buliding grp.

Speedy Desert greenery Ref ain syllabies Too high strung Greek letter Fiery birthstone Latest info Idyllic place Hwys.

Spigot

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_______ ______ is an instant vacation.(8)

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solution of scramble - 48

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pass

LOOP THE LOOP - 49 Rules Connect adjacent dots with vertical or horizontal lines, creating a single loop.

(Fig A).

Crossovers or branches are not allowed 2 1 2 (As shown by dotted lines in Fig B).

2 Numbers in the puzzle indicate the 1 1 1 2 number of lines that should 1 3 surround it, while empty cells may 3 0 2 3 be surrounded by any number of 3 2 lines.

You can’t draw lines arround 2 1 2 zeroes.

Each puzzle has just one unique solution.

How to begin: Example (Fig A) - Begin with the zero next to 3. Since no lines can be drawn around zero, mark crosses around it, as shown. Now there is a cross in one space around 3. So we know the three lines of 3 can only be drawn in the remaining three spaces. Next these lines can only be extended in one direction each. Continue, using the same Solution of LTL No. 48 logic. x x x Hints: Keep elimix 3 2 x 3 2 nating possibilix x x x ties by marking x 0 x 1 x 2 x crosses in x x x x x spaces between x x 2 x 1 x dots where a line x x x isn’t possible, x 2 x x 2 x i.e., if you have x x x x already completx 2 2 x ed required lines x x x x x x or where a line x x 2 2 2 3 extension may x x x x create a branch 2 x 2 x 2 x 1 x 3 3 or cause a deadx end (Fig B)

MINDBENDER - 76 What can be driven, but has no wheels.

And can be sliced, and still remain whole?

Words: Leafy, hurry, postal, shying.

Answer: The value of consistant prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him

WHATZIT? - 76

solution of 75 : A life

sPELLATHON - 76

Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this arrangement of letters.

sudoku-76

Today’s Ratings: 12-average | 14-good | 16-outstanding

I N

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How many words of four or more letters can you make from the letters shown in today’s puzzle? In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each word must contain the central letter. There should be at least one seven-letter word. Plurals, foreign words and proper names are not allowed. British English Dictionary is used as reference.

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solution of spellathon - 75

Nothing new under the sun

20

7

KAKURO - 76

12

The numbers in the pink squares refer to the sums of the digits that you must fill into the empty spaces directly below or to the right of the pink square containing the number. For instance, in the given example, the 2 boxes below 12 must contain 2 digits that add upto 12, whereas for 20, the 3 boxes places horizontally next to it must add upto 20.

No zeroes are used here, only the digits one through nine.

Example

solution of KAKURO - 75 5

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gate, GESTATE, sage, stag, stage

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Sollution-75

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HOW TO PLAY Each row, column and square 3x3 box is a subgrid of 9 cells. Fill in the grid so that each sub-grid contains the digits 1 to 9.

Every puzzle has one solution.

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HEALTH WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

Oat extract likely to boost brain power An oat extract could boost your brain power and maintain it even unto old age, says a new study.

Researchers at the University of South Australia (USA) Nutritional Physiology Research Centre are investigating whether an oat extract can improve mental health in older adults.

Peter Howe, USA research professor, said while the physical health benefits of oats were well known, there was growing interest in how oats

could improve mental health.

"With the proportion of ageing population set to increase over the next several decades, mental disability through agerelated cognitive decline looms as a major public health problem with enormous economic and social impact," he said.

"In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of foods to enhance cognition. We're embarking on a study to look more closely at how an extract of wild green

oats can potentially improve cognitive performance in older adults, especially when under duress."

Janet Bryan from USA School of Psychology has worked extensively in the field of cognitive ageing

and nutrition and is lead study researcher, said a USA release.

"Oats and oat extracts have long been recognised for their health properties. Green oat preparations have been used to combat fatigue, irritable mood and poor concentration for hundreds of years. Wild green oats contain certain bioactive nutrients which may assist in improving blood flow in the brain, which in turn may help with attention and concentration," Bryan said.

NHS launches BME Organ donation campaign

By PRiyAl SAnghAVi Famous names in the African, Caribbean and British Asian communities have joined the NHS to launch a campaign in order to promote organ donation. NHS Blood and Transplant launched BME Organ Donation Campaign on last Friday

Professor Gurch Randhawa, member of Organ Donation Taskforce urged more discussion in the family and wider social circles.

He said: “This is a problem only Black and Asian community can solve. We cannot expect anyone to do so for us. There are not going to be any

Flexible schedule improves health Flexible working hours might benefit employees’ health, including their blood pressure (BP), sleep patterns and mental health, says a new study.

Police officers who rescheduled working hours significantly improved psychological wellbeing, compared to peers who started work at a fixed hour, the study found.

“Flexible working seems to be more beneficial for health and wellbeing where the individuals control their own work patterns,” said Clare Bambra of the Wolfson Research Institute, Durham University, who led the study, part of the Cochrane Systematic Review.

The study may shed some light on such poten-

tial benefits linked with more flexible hours. In Scandinavian countries, such arrangements are commonplace.

Last year, the British government extended an earlier piece of legislation permitting parents with children under 16 years to request flexible hours.

The Cochrane Systematic Review includ-

ed 10 studies involving 16,603 people which focussed on various different forms of flexible working. “Given the limited evidence base, we wouldn’t want to make any hard and fast recommendations, but these findings certainly give employers and employees something to think about,” Bambra said, according to a Wiley-Blackwell release.

Peanut allergies tackled in largest ever trial Doctors in Cambridge believe they may soon have a cure for peanut allergies. The largest ever trial to find a treatment for potentially fatal peanut allergies is to give sufferers tiny amounts daily to build up tolerance.

The Addenbrookes

team will give increasing doses of peanut flour to 104 British children, up to the equivalent of five nuts a day.

Twenty out of 23 sufferers in an earlier study became able to eat more than 30 peanuts safely.

The new £1m threeyear trial could lead to a

widely available treatment.

About one in 50 young people in the UK suffers from peanut allergies which can cause breathing problems, itching and, in severe cases, a potentially fatal inflammatory reaction called anaphylaxis.

Diabetes sufferers warned that widely-used drug Avandia can cause heart disease and death The safety of a diabetes drug used by thousands of Britons was called into question again on Sunday.

U.S. senators said the makers of Avandia, British firm GlaxoSmithKline, knew it carried a higher risk of heart attack than a rival medicine but had tried to keep evidence of the risk from the public.

Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley said GSK executives 'attempted to intimidate independent physicians and focused on strategies to minimise or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk'.

Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the medicines watchdog, has asked an advisory committee to look again at the drug.

Britain's equivalent, the MHRA, said it would be 'continuously monitoring' the safety of Avandia.

The drug is prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes and up to 100,000 Britons take it.

In their controversial report, senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley accused the FDA of not having banned the drug because it is too 'cozy'

with drugs firms like Acandia maker GlaxoSmithKline. They quoted a memo written by two FDA reviewers which concluded: 'The risks of (Avandia) are serious and exceed those for' rival drug Actos.

The reviewers said there was 'strong evidence that (Avandia) confers an increased risk of' heart attack and heart failure when compared to Actos.

It followed a 2007 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found Avandia puts users at a 60 per cent greater risk of heart failure, a 40 per cent greater risk of heart attack and a 29 per cent greater risk of death than other medication.

But the FDA decided later that year against pulling the product from the shelves.

The senators' report said evidence showed GSK 'knew for several years' that there were 'possible cardiac risks associated with Avandia'.

Executives 'attempted to intimidate independent physicians, focused on strategies to minimize or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk and sought ways to downplay findings that a competing drug might reduce cardiovascular risk,' the report said.

Senator Baucus said: 'Americans have a right to know there are serious health risks associated with Avandia and GlaxoSmithKline had a responsibility to tell them.

Patients trust drugs companies with their health and their lives and GlaxoSmithKline abused that trust.'

On Monday, FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said a committee had been asked to look into the safety of Avandia.

'I await the recommendations of the advisory com-

mittee,' she said.

'Meanwhile, I am reviewing the inquiry made by Senators Baucus and Grassley and I am reaching out to ensure that I have a complete understanding and awareness of all of the data and issues involved.'

A spokesman for the MHRA, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said: 'We look at any new data that comes to light about a medicine and can update the product information if necessary.'

A spokesman for GSK said it rejected the report's conclusions.

The company said the report 'cherry-picks information from documents, which mischaracterises GlaxoSmithKline's comprehensive efforts to research Avandia and communicate those findings to regulators, physicians and patients.'

It said it had rigorously studied Avandia's safety and 'consistently shared this data with regulators around the world'.

The company said it 'does not condone any effort to silence scientific debate'.

RnB star Jay Sean, singer Jaya, BBC radio presenter Sonia Deol and TV presenter Ama K Abebrese

at London’s Hammersmith Hospital with celebrities like RnB star Jay Sean, singer Jaya, BBC radio presenter Sonia Deol and TV presenter Ama K Abebrese.

The focus on BME communities is the result of alarming statistics.

Out of 16.9 million people on the organ donor list, a mere 1.2% of people are from the South Asian community and 0.4% of people from Black communities.

Organ donation has no age barrier and only depends on organ quality.

The transplant is more likely to be successful if the donor and recipient are from the same ethnicity. The shortage of compatible donors results in British Asian and Black patients to wait twice as long to receive an organ, than their White counterpart.

The campaign aims at dispelling myths, creating awareness and ultimately getting people to sign up for organ donation to ‘prove’ they care.

Lynda Hamlyn, Chief Executive NHS Blood and Transplant spoke about the numerous worries which deter people from signing up- family, religion, cultural beliefs, whether the procedure treats the body with respect and dignity and whether the doctors will fight that hard to save an organ donor.

She said: “People from BME communities have particular susceptibilities to diabetes and high blood pressure and there is massive demand for kidney donors.”

Deol, the host for the event, spoke about cultural issues with British Asians.She says: “I have been hearing things from my grandmother while growing up. She said don’t talk about it cause its tempting fate.”

overnight matches.”

Patients and families having dealt with organ donation joined in and narrated their accounts.

Donna Okuffo spent five years waiting for a kidney transplant. “You get used to not getting a transplant and when they told me, I was really shocked. I had resigned to my life on dialysis.”

Bobby Mudhar lost his brother Mandip due to a road accident. He recalled the six-seven days Mandip was fighting for his life. He said: “An Organ Transplant team member approached us and we were quite surprised because we were going through so much trauma already. My parents realising that he wasn’t going to pull through told the doctor “Take what you need.” It was a human decision devoid of faith.”

Mandip had a discussion about this earlier, making the process easier for Bobby’s family.

Both the kidneys were donated- one to a 14year-old girl and other to a young mother, and the heart went to a middleaged man.

The campaign is personal for Jaya who’s grandfather received eye donation. She said: “When I saw my PR company working on this campaign, I wanted to be involved. My Grandad was blind and after coming to this country, he got his sight back. I want to promote the cause specially among the younger generation. As a celebrity you have access to people to get such messages across, and this is something I have lived it.”

NHS plans to target other communities too, following up on this campaign. Hamlyn summed up the campaign in a sentence. “If you believe in organ donation, than prove so and put your name on the register.”

Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

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England, SA, OZ players feel the heat of terror threat for IPL Reg Dickason’s security report terms terror threat as credible Participation of cricketers from atleast three countries in the IPL is facing a big question mark.

Players’ unions in England, Australia and South Africa had commissioned a security review in India following the warning by a Pakistan based terror group. The report

by Reg Dickason, England team’s security adviser has described that the

threat by 313 Brigade as credible. Media reports in England and Australia, quoting the report have also said that security for foreign cricketers cannot be guaranteed.

It is to be noted here that recently that cricket boards, particularly in England and Australia have said players from their countries going to India for IPL will be doing

so at their own risk. IPL being a private tournament ECB or CA would say nothing.

The England players signed up for the IPL are Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Owais Shah, Ravi Bapora, Dimitri Mascarenhas, and Graham Napier.

Collingwood, England's T20 captain, and

Pietersen are expected to join the IPL only on March 24 but the rest are due to play the entire tournament.

Shane Warne, the former Australian spinner had earlier said he would exhort all fellow cricketers to go to India and play IPL has also of late, changed his stance. Now he says he will think twice before going to India.

England women level ODI series 1 – 1 India miss the target by 3 runs in the second match A valiant unbeaten 91 from Mithali Raj went down in vain, as England women beat India in their second ODI at Bangalore on Sunday by 3 runs to level the series 1 – 1. Katherine Brunt captured five wickets for 22 runs, producing her career best figures.

Chasing a modest 184run target Mithali (91, 138b, 10x4) weathered the aggressive Brunt and took her side nearly home but the visitors sprang back into the game, picking the last four wickets for seven runs. India finished at

Goswami, Sultana bowl India to a 35 run win In the first match at the same venue of Friday, Jhulan Goswami and G o u h e r S u l t a n a scalped three wickets a Indian captain Jhulan Goswami exults after dismissing England’s Jenny Gunn in piece, as India the first one-dayer in Bangalore on Friday. managed to defend a mod180/9 in 49.3 overs. est 199 score that was Thirush Kamini could not piled up thanks to bat as her leg injury aggraPriyanka Roy and Mithali vated.

Raj. Both scored half centuries. England women could score just 164. {Brief scores: 2nd ODI- England 183 all out (Jenny Gunn 64; Preeti Dimri 2/33, Gouhar Sultana 4/30) beat India: 180 for 9 in 49.3 (Mithali Raj 91 not out, Amita Sharma 40; Katherine Brunt 5/22, Jenny Gunn 2/38) by 3 runs. 1st ODI India women 199 for 5 (Roy 69*, Raj 62) beat England women 164 (Rainford-Brent 64, Goswami 3-16, Sultana 326) by 35 runs}.

Amla unbeaten, SA outplayed in Kolkatta India draw test series 1 – 1, retain no. 1 rank After the tailenders, in company of Hashim Amla almost pulled it through for South Africa, they lost to the guiles of veteran offie Harbhajan Singh. On the fifth and final day of the Kolkata test match, India beat the tourists South Africa to defend their top ranking as a Test team last week.

Picking up crucial wickets just before lunch and soon after, Indians had the shine in their eyes,

Amla proved durable, inching on to his second century of the match

but Hashim Amla would simply not give up. Finally, as it looked like Amla and Morne Morkel would pull through to deny the home team the last wicket, Harbhajan Singh struck.

They had just nine balls left. Amla scored a century each in the two innings, the second one being unbeaten. He won three awards, including the man of the match, series for his resolute batting. India had four centurions in their

first innings. Barring the first two sessions on the opening day, South Africa were truly outplayed in Kolkata. {Brief scores: India 643 for 6 dec (Sehwag 165, Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132*, Tendulkar 106) beat SA 296 (Amla 114, Petersen 100, Zaheer 490, Harbhajan 3-64) and 289 (Amla 127*, Harbhajan 5-59, Mishra 3-78) by an innings and 58 runs}.

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After hockey, a Kabaddi World Cup in March Punjab government to host; UK, USA, Canada, Pakistani teams expected Punjab government has announced hosting of a Kabaddi World Cup in March, officials announced on Monday. This is expected to give a big boost to the traditional Indian sport. The winners will take home Rs. 10 million, while the first and the second runners up will get Rs. 5 and Rs. 2.5 million respectively. Deputy chief minister and also handling the sports ministry, Sukhbir Singh Badal said teams from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Iran and Italy are among those expected to participate. The state government is also trying to rope in TV channels for a live telecast of the event. The showcase event will be held in eight different cities of Punjab, from 31st March to 10th April.

India shoot 13 gold at Commonwealth in five days Samaresh Jung won his second gold in the air pistol events on Monday, as India took their tally of gold medals to 13. Three new meet records were also set by the host country shooters. Navy man Sanjeev Rajput shot the second gold of the day in 50 metre 3 positions rifle contest. Zakir Khan and Imran Hasan Khan, both Indians bagged the silver and bronze medals in respective events.

Michael Gault of England bagged the bronze in air pistol, while his compatriot James Huckle took the silver in the rifle event.

In the men's 50m 3 Positions Rifle team event, India's Sanjeev Rajput and Gagan Narang shot the gold with a new record, while the English shooting pair of James Huckle and Parr Jr Ken bagged the silver medal. Scotland's duo Graham Rudd and Neil Stirton scored 2266 points to bag bronze medal.

India swept all medals in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol category.

In the women's Trap Pairs event, England's Anita North and Charlotte Kerwood bagged the third gold for their country by scoring a total of 87 points.

Scotland's Shona Marshall and Linda Pearson bagged the first bronze for their country.

English Premier League Matches Saturday, 27 February Birmingham v/s Wigan St. Andrews Ground 15:00 Bolton v/s Wolverhampton Reebok Stadium 15:00 Burnley v/s Portsmouth Turf Moor 15:00 Chelsea v/s Man City Stamford Bridge 12:45 Stoke v/s Arsenal Britannia Stadium 17:30 Sunday, 28 February Liverpool v/s Blackburn Anfield 15:00 Sunderland v/s Fulham Stadium of Light 15:00 Tottenham v/s Everton White Hart Lane 13:00

Warner hurricane blows away West Indies at Sydney OZ complete the white wash with winning both the T20s Australia continued their domination over the West Indies, as they remained unbeaten for the entire summer. The visitors lost all of their ODIs (four out of five after one was washed out) and both the T20s. At Sydney on Tuesday, David Warner batted like a hurricane, hitting the second fastest half century of T20s in 18 balls, helping OZ achieved the rather easy target of 139 runs with a good 50 balls to spare. West Indies lost the game by 8 wickets.

Warner started his belligerence from the first over itself, hitting three sixes off Kemar Roach,

while the two openers together belted 26 runs from the helpless bowler.

That was the signal of the hurricane that followed.

The fastest half century in a T20 contest stands in the name of Yuvraj Singh of India, and that record also looked under a threat on Tuesday. Warner was out for 67 off just 29 deliveries. But by that time, the match was more than decided. He had seven sixes in that score.

His opening partner Watson finished with an unbeaten 62 from 33 and after Brad Haddin fell with one run needed, the debutant Daniel Christian

The Australia squad after winning the Twenty20 series 2-0 at Sydney on Tuesday

struck a four to complete the triumph.

When the West Indies were batting, the OZ field-

ing was outstanding.

The debutants Ryan Harris and Christian grabbed two early wickets

each and Steven Smith was everywhere in the field, producing one of the most memorable catches of the summer.

Travis Dowlin was the man who appeared most likely to guide a West Indies recovery and he made an admirable 31 from 32 balls, though he never found the perfect touch. He needed more assistance from the middle order but Morton, Kieron Pollard, Wavell Hinds and Dwayne Smith at Nos. 3 to 6 all failed to reach double figures.

Narsingh Deonarine (36 not out) and Sammy (26 from 11) effected

some late recovery for the team, but the inadequacy of their total was shown

by Warner and Watson. It was a memorable way to end a summer of Australian dominance. {Brief scores: 2nd T20 - OZ 2 for 142 (Warner 67, Watson 62*) beat West Indies 7 for 138 (Deonarine 36*, Harris 227) by 8 wickets. 1st T20 – OZ 8 for 179 (Warner 49) beat WI 8 for 141 (Ramdin 44, Nannes 3-21, Tait 3-30) by 38 runs. 5th and last ODI - OZ 5 for 324 (Ponting 61, Hopes 57*, Watson 51) beat WI 199 (Sammy 47, Bollinger 3-33) by 125 runs}.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 27th February 2010

SA set up a thriller, India survive

Pakistan level T20 contest with England

Last ball, nerve wrecking one run victory for Dhoni’s boys

A fullhouse Sunday crowd virtually was stunned by the South African tail wagging merrily, but the visitors failed to seal the thriller that they set up.

India survived, winning the first ODI at Jaipur by a solitary run…on the last ball.

Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell almost snatched away the game from India when they came together, after the fall of captain Jacques Kallis. At that stage, the equation was SA needing 74 runs from 43 balls with just two wickets remaining. But Steyn and Parnell were not to be cowed down.

They unleashed a hurricane on the wayward Indian bowling, bringing down the numbers game to 10 run required in the last over. Suresh Raina, Sreesanth and Ashish Nehra were all thrashed.

Finally, Dhoni called up Praveen Kumar to bowl the crucial last 6 deliveries. He bowled a beauty to Dale Steyn and the batsman was on his way back.

Sachin Tendulkar saved a crucial single, as he dived across to prevent a Langeveldt stroke touching the boundry. On the last ball, three runs were required for South Africa to win, two to level the scores, but Sreesanth and Dhoni effected a runout, leaving Parnell well short at the batting end.

Both the sides gave a rather poor display on all the fronts, as India and South Africa had just one half century each, despite both the sides scored almost 300 runs each.

Raina contributed 58, while Sehwag and Karthik scored 46 and 44 respectively. For the visitors, their captain Kallis was the top scorer with 89, while Dale Steyn almost became the hero with 49.

For India, Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, as he tied down all the batsmen – Gibbs,

Pakistan's win in the second game means they share the series with England

The Indian team is cock-a-hoop after securing the win at jaipur on Monday

Kallis and even A B de Villiers. His bowling figures spoke for him – 10 overs, 2 maidens, 29 runs and two wickets. Praveen Kumar was the next best.

Sreesanth also captured two wickets, but giving away 74 runs in 9 overs, was the most expensive, while Nehra had the figures of 10-0-67-1. Yousuf Pathan was economical, at 51 runs in 10 overs, claiming one wicket.

Steyn and Parnell perhaps played the one-day innings of their lives.

India were at 32 for the

loss of Tendulkar in seven overs when Karthik started to go for his shots.

Things changed in the eighth over bowled by Parnell.

Raina took over after Karthik's exit, starting off with a boundary off Albie Morkel, and handled himself well against the short stuff from Kallis. In the 44th over, with India on 260 for 6, Raina moved away from the stumps to try an expansive insideout drive over the covers, only to edge Kallis behind the wicket.

In the South African response, Kallis carried on gamely with a characteristic innings but he received no support from his teammates. He dealt in singles initially, put away most of the bad balls, and tried a few big shots in the end overs but the stiff target proved too much for him to pull off a one-manshow. {Brief scores: 1st ODI - India 298 for 9 (Raina 58, Sehwag 46, Karthik 44, Kallis 3-29) beat SA 297 (Kallis 89, Parnell 49, Jadeja 2-29) by 1 run}.

Abdul Razzaq blitzkrieg brought the much needed boost for Pakistan, as they beat England in the 2nd and last T20 match a Dubai on Saturday last week by four wickets.

They had lost the first match a day earlier by 7 wickets.

Pakistan had lost hopes after a fine debut from Ajmal Shahzad, capturing two wickets and Graeme Swann choked the home team with figures of 4-1-14-3.

Suddenly, Abdul Razzaq produced a blistering innings of 46 not out from 18 balls. He decided that aggression was the best route out of the hole that Pakistan had dug for themselves.

Pakistan earned their first victory in 11 outings

2011 Cricket World Cup: OZ – NZ on standby The tournament has to go ahead as planned, says Justin Vaughan With the threat perception increasing on sports persons and sporting events in India, the ICC also seems to have charted out some contingency plans for the show piece event – the World Cup 2011, which is to be cohosted by India – Sri Lanka – Bangladesh.

Initially, Pakistan were also a part of the hosting team, but they were later left out as no country is prepared to play in

Pakistan.

Justin Vaughan, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket on Monday admit-

ted that such a move was on. At the same, he also said he was hopeful that the tournament would go ahead as per the plans.

New Zealand is also scheduled to go to India later this year.

ICC chief Haroon Lorgat however said, that all major cricket playing countries were working in unison to ensure that cricket does not fall prey to terrorism. He added that his security concerns

for India are not the same as they are for Pakistan.

Justin Vaughan described Asia as the heartbeat of cricket as of today and added that “We’ve got to find a way to make this work (the hosting of World Cup). By tightening the security measures around the teams we somehow have to make it safe, otherwise the sport will struggle to survive if we cannot find a solution.”

in all internationals.

England could not defend a total of less than 150 once again - they have never yet managed that feat in T20 internationals.

Pietersen virtually announced his return to best form.

With Jonathan Trott providing solid support in a 98-run stand for the second wicket, He cracked four fours and three sixes including one of the biggest hits of the week to power England along to 148 for 6.

A day before, he had scored 43 of 43. On Saturday, he hit 62.

First game: Morgan – Pietersen overwhelm Pakistan In the first match the previous day, Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen recorded an unbeaten 112 runs partnership for the fourth wicket to stamp their dominance over the Pakistan bowling. The England batsmen took home the advantage of restricting the Pakistani team to 129 for 8 wickets.

It is the highest partnership for England in T20s. {Brief scores: 2nd T20 - Pakistan 149 for 6 (Razzaq 46*, Swann 314) beat England 148 for 6 (Pietersen 62) by 4 wickets. 1st T20 - England 130 for 3 (Morgan 67*, Pietersen 43*) beat Pakistan 129 for 8 (Malik 33) by 7 wickets.}