AV 28th March 2015

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Osborne Presents Budget 2015

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

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Indian-origin author assaulted in SA for 'praising' Rushdie

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Modi pips Xi in handling domestic, international affairs

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VOL 43. ISSUE 45

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Some call it money transfer We call it the bat that makes his dreams come true

India, China agree to safeguard border peace

Ajit Doval meeting Yang Jiechi

As India's national security adviser Ajit Doval and Yang Jiechi, China's state councillor, sat down for the 18th round of bound-

ary talks in Delhi on Monday, peace on the border was as much an issue as the boundary Continued on page 26

No role for third party in Kashmir talks: India

VK Singh with Abdul Basit in New Delhi

The government of India on Monday ruled out a role for separatists in resolving the Kashmir

issue, saying there was no place for a third party in Indo-Pak ties, as it Continued on page 26

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Afzal Amin resigns after allegedly plotting staged feuds The Conservative candidate, Afzal Amin resigned on 23rd March as the parliamentary candidate for Dudley North after being accused of plotting a staged racial row with the English Defence League in order to garner votes.

Afzal Amin denies any iniquity in this matter.

The Conservative party are now left in a lurch after his resignation and are swiftly trying to find an alternative candidate for one of the main target seats before 9th April, when the nominations closes.

The ex-army captain,

Afzal Amin found himself embroiled in controversy when tapes surfaced of him supposedly plotting with EDL to aggravate and then soothe tensions with the local Muslim community in order to polish his dependability and trustworthiness with the voters.

There are further allegations that Amin had meetings with the former EDL leader, Tommy Robinson and its chairman, Steve Eddowes to persuade the group to plan but then cancel a demonstration against a new “megamosque”.

Tommy Robinson went on to further claim that Amin had covertly offered to pay him and the EDL to campaign on his behalf in the election. This would have been illegal under the Representation

Conservatives may have more Asian MPs than Labour A new study suggests that for the first time the Conservatives could have more ethnic minority MPs elected in the next parliament, compared to the Labour Party.

The Conservative Party could see more new black and Asian MPs, with a possibility of three out of five being considered for the general election.

The Liberal Democrats currently have no non-

white members and it could be claimed that this will remain unchanged after the elections in May. Experts believe that whatever the outcome of the election may be, the total of ethnic minority MPs will reach a new high.

It would most likely be around the 40-45 mark, making way for prospectively a black or Asian Prime Minister in the future.

The British Future report says, “Ethnic diversity is the 'new normal' in British politics. MPs like Sajid Javid [the Culture Secretary] and Chuka Umunna [the Shadow Business Secretary] are tipped as future party leaders. There is every reason to conclude that a non-white Prime Minister is just a matter of time.”

Continued on page 2

of the People Act 1983.

Amin denies all of these allegations.

There were pressure on Afzal Amin to resign after the emergence of these allegations. Amin stresses that he was trying to amend the hostility between the two communities. “Using my experience as a strategist in Afghanistan, negotiating between pro-Taliban militias and the US military, I decided to use the same tactics to improve community relations here in my own country between the EDL and Muslim communities.”

Spring is finally here

On Sunday 29th March 2015, the clocks will go forward one hour from 1am. Don't forget to change the time on your clocks and watches.

UK

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Afua Hirsch there to get people and places on camera. It’s a logistical headache but the end result is that you experience things first hand, meet people in person in their own environment, and really live incredible moments.

There is no substitute.

Afua Hirsch is Sky News’ Social Affairs and Education Editor.

She covers a range of issues including school and higher education, training and skills, unemployment, equality and social change.

Afua worked for the Guardian Newspaper, and came to journalism from the legal profession where she was a barrister practicing human rights law. Throughout her teenage years she wrote and reported for The Voice newspaper, covering issues affecting young black people. She attended Oxford University where she read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

1) What is your current position?

Social Affairs Editor at Sky News

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

People underestimating me – although I have learned to use this to my advantage!

2) What are your proudest achievements?

All the young people I have helped get a leg up, who make me proud of their creativity and achievements. I got a lot of people from people who gave me work experience or opportunities when I was young, so it’s important for me to continue the cycle of helping eachother.

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

My mother – she raised us as women to believe that whilst there is no ‘having it all’ and that wanting to combine having a family with having a career comes at a cost, there is nothing I can’t do if I set my mind to it.

3) What inspires you?

People who make personal sacrifices because they believe in a cause bigger than their own life.

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

As a print journalist a lot of interviews and research could be done by phone or email,

7) And the worst?

Realising that the end product of three months’ work is often reduced into one 3 or 8 minute piece of television. It might be a very powerful few minutes, but it can be hard to accept.

whereas as a broadcast journalist you have to physically be

8) What are your long term goals?

To find ways of waking people up to things happening all around

Conservatives may have more Asian MPs than Labour

Continued from page 1

However, while the parliament still requires around 65 black and Asian MPs in order to represent modern-day Britain, British Future has applauded the Conservatives for making compelling improvements.

Further on, claims suggest that the Conservatives are more

Rishi Sunak

likely in comparison to the Labour Party to select new

William Hague

non-white candidates for safe seats.

Those who are expected to secure a place for themselves in politics include Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak is a former Business Executive of Indian origin.

He has been chosen for Richmond, North Yorkshire. The seat was vacated by the former Foreign Secretary, William Hague.

Mosques used by extremists are being shut down The authorities are planning to shut down many mosques which are used by extremists. The home secretary, Theresa May announced several measures of tackling Islamic extremists. These measures include requiring people who seek visas to enter the UK to sign a declaration stating that they will respect British values while they are in Britain.

Further on, it was also announced that all foreign religious workers, including imams will have to speak English. There will be a review of the application of Sharia courts due to the fears of women being oppressed.

Many Islamic groups

Home Secretary Theresa May

have criticised these plans and have even said that Theresa May was gratifying Islamaphobia to which the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper responded that there was a “massive gap between rhetoric and reality.”

On questioned about these new measures,

Hate cleric Anjem Choudary

Theresa May replied, “This will make sure nobody unwittingly lends legitimacy to extremists, and will make it very clear that the government should engage with people directly and through their elected representativesnot just through selfappointed and unrepre-

sentative community leaders.”

In response, the Muslim Council of Britain said, “The home secretary proposes a series of measures that are designed more to address the anxieties people have against Muslims and their religious life, rather than the scourge of terrorism itself.

Talk of extremism in Tower Hamlets [in east London] and dangers of Sharia courts need to be borne out of real facts, not just rumours set by misinformed journalists. The evidence shows that extremism and radicalisation takes place outside of mosques, and often online.”

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

I would insist on an honest assessment of our history of and continuing legacy of inequality. I don’t think we have truly confronted our past as a nation and as a result our perspectives and policies on how to make positive change are skewed.

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

Lucy – the Australopithecus humanoid whose skeleton was found in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia. I’m really fascinated by the history of early humankind, and how we made the transition from animals to having human consciousness. I read a lot about it and I’ve always wished I could go back and see what those early humans were like.

Shop manager nominated for honoured citizen award A food shop manager who helped a woman injured in a scaffolding collapse in the city centre has been nominated for an honoured citizen award.

Faisal Bashir, 29, manager of Love2Lunch, in Charles Street, immediately below the scene of the collapse, helped Heather Cook who was knocked inside the shop when planks from the

scaffolding hit her on the head in the incident in January.

Oldham mum who received £100,000 in benefits changes plea to guilty The trial of an Oldham mother-of-five alleged to have accepted more than £100,000 in benefit payments, was dramatically halted when she changed her plea to guilty.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court heard evidence that 38-year-old Nazma Hoque had wrongly claimed Income Support and housing and council tax benefits from Oldham Council for 10 years. She repeatedly claimed her husband Shafiqul had deserted her, even though he was living at the family

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Belsize Park / Camden Town / Hampstead / Kentish Town / Kew / Marylebone / Canary Wharf / Bow / Hackney / Victoria Park / Walthamstow / Wanstead

home in Sherwood Street, Oldham.

On the day her defence case was due to begin she told the court she was pleading guilty to two counts of failing to declare changes in her personal circumstances.

The jury was formally discharged from considering verdicts on the three remaining counts of making false representation to obtain benefits. She will be sentenced on the two counts of failing to declare changes in her circumstances on May 6.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

COMMENT

India faces up to Afghan challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successful diplomatic engagement with the Indian Ocean states is to be supplemented in a closer accord with Afghanistan under the new dispensation headed by President Ashraf Ghani Ahmedzai. India’s ties with his predecessor Hamid Karzai were particularly close, but those with Ahraf Ghani have thus far been somewhat distant, as he seeks to maintain what is widely perceived as a balance of power between India and Pakistan.

Under normal circumstances this would have presented no great problem, but circumstances in the area are far from normal. At its heart is Pakistan, whose military and civilian governing class has long has had as its prime objective, the crippling of India and its eventual destruction, and to accomplish this goal through the export of jihadi terror since a conventional war, tried and tested, had led to the break-up of the old Pakistan. The strategy now is to bleed India to death with the aid of well funded and armed non-state jihadi actors. The attack on Mumbai on 26 November 2008 was the most dramatic example of this strategy.

Complementing its India policy was something broadly predicated on the situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s generals have crafted their Afghan policy on the concept of ”strategic depth”, to use Afghanistan as a base in the conduct operations against India in a projected future war. The concept arises from the delusional perception that Afghanistan is the preserve of the Pakistan military, that any Indian footprint in the country would constitute an existential threat to Pakistan’s territorial integrity and a challenge to its sovereignty. This bizarre and quixotic approach to regional politics may, like Frankenstein’s monster, has come to haunt its creator, as jihadi terror groups take a heavy toll of Pakistani lives in continuing suicide assaults on civilian and military targets in the country. Hamid Karzai’s security chief pointed out time and again in the bluntest terms, that Pakistanfunded and armed Taliban had wrought havoc in Afghanistan. Over and above this, is the ambivalent attitude of the United States, which has provided Pakistan with huge amounts of financial and military

aid, and turned a blind eye to Islamabad’s procurement of nuclear technology through covert channels in Europe and China for the purpose of manufacturing a nuclear bomb. The US disapproves Pakistan’s jihadi activities entails no penalties on Islamabad. President Ashraf Ghani is presently negotiating a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban, with Pakistan pulling the strings behind the scenes to get an arrangement favourable to itself. There is also the well founded suspicion the Obama administration is doing much the same. After all, jihadi terror was incubated with American and Saudi money has reduced much of the Middle East to a howling desolation. The Bush administration’s brutal invasion of Iraq, President Obama admitted publicly, led to the creation of ISIL and the consequent terrorism.

The Indian leadership will undoubtedly take their bearings after assessing President Ghani and his policies at firsthand. The private visit to India of Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive in the Afghan regime and an old friend of India, enabled Delhi to sound him out on the future prospects of the India-Afghan relationship. Mr Abdullah was reassuringly upbeat. “In terms of cooperation between India and Afghanistan, there is no limit to what India can do….. there is no exclusion of any area of cooperation,” he said, He went on: “Based on our national interest…..It is a comprehensive and strategic partnership we seek . It will only expand.” India has a training programme for Afghan officers,it has supplied Kabul with three helicopters, but the bulk of its considerable aid to Afghanistan has been in the civilian sector, building roads, bridges, hospitals and a new parliament and the like. On talks with the Taliban, Mr Abdullah said these were yet to commence. When they did, a true assessment of their worth could be made. Regional trade would be an essential factor for stability. Pakistan will not permit Indian goods to pass through its territory to Afghanistan, a mindset that needs to change, said Mr Abdullah without mentioning Pakistan. The Afghan reality will surely be revealed in the fullness of time.

Tata research centre for Coventry The Tata Group’s former chairman, now Chairman Emeritus, Ratan Tata, and the Group’s current Chairman, Cyrus Mistry, unveiled the foundation stone of a 159 million pound automotive research centre in Coventry. Its goal is to enable the UK to plug its development skills gap. Funding for the National Automotive Innovation Centre came from the Tataowned Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors and Warwick University, on whose campus the centre is to be built.

The British Government was also one of the principal donors to the project. Once constructed the centre, with its 33,000 metre square space for engineers, designers and academics, will get working. Among its facilities will be a design and simulation area, an advanced propulsion systems laboratory and a sophisticated drive-in car simulator. The centre will also be part of the Jaguar Land Rover experimental base for driverless cars. According to Cyrus Mistry the centre would “greatly enhance the ability of academia to and industry to work side by side on leading edge research to deliver exciting new innovative products and meet the widely held ambition to deliver exciting

new products that will be smarter, lighter and greener.”

Lord Kumar Bhattachrya, Chair of the of the Warwick Manufacturers Group, a part of Warwick University, highlighted the UK’s relative backwardness compared to the world’s advanced players, in translating top research into economic and industrial growth, in other words, the inability to transfer the results of research to the marketplace. In the US, for example, research centres and industry worked cheek by jowl to make products that were consumer friendly and thus saleable to a wide section of the community. Lord Bhattacharya cited the rewarding partnerships between Stanford University and Google and MIT and Bose sound engineering systems which now dominates the global market. Germany and Japan, the world’s two most successful automobile manufacturers, are adept at harnessing the best brains to the productive entrepreneurial talent. It is time for Britain to do likewise. Britain had to explore and develop the interface of science, engineering and industry to its maximum potential in the national interest.

Astra takes significant leap forward Astra is India’s Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile, a force multiplier in the country’s armoury. It was recently put through its paces with a critical 27high-g manoeuvring capability, following its launch from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at a lower altitude of one kilometre at a moving simulated target, a critical performance successfully achieved, said the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). The test was carried out from Chandipur, Odisha, over the Bay of Bengal. The missile’s structures, guidance, control and aerodynamics came through the exacting test without the slightest glitch. The smallest of the missiles developed by DRDO, the 3.8 metre-long Astra is powered by a solid propellant and can carry a warhead

weighing 15 kilogrammes. The state-of-the-art missile can intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in tail-chase and at very long range head-tohead modes. The missile possesses a high Single-Shot kill probability, has electronic counter-counter measures and smokeless propulsion. Astra can be launched from different altitudes, it has a 110 kilometre reach when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched at an altitude of eight km and 21 km when fired from sea level. India’s indigenous fourth-generation Tejas light combat aircraft, said DRDO scientists, are to be equipped with Astra missiles. DRDO has built India’s Agni medium and intercontinental range missiles together with the shorter range Prithvis.

Krishnan new President of Royal Society Indian-born Nobel laureate and Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, Venkataraman Krishnan has been elected President of the Royal Society, the first Indian to be so honoured by the world’s oldest and most prestigious science body, founded in 1660, whose past luminaries include Isaac Newton and Lord Rutherford and whose current fellows include Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins among a galaxy of other distinguished names. Professor Krishnan was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, and

took his first degree in physics from Baroda University, before moving to the United States for his higher education. He moved to the UK 16 years ago and is now a British citizen. He received a knighthood in 2012. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009 with Tom Steitz (US), Ade Yonath(Israel, for his researches on ribosomes. He is a regular visitor to India and believes Indian science should be kept free of politics and religion to ensure its future growth and development .

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Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

- Barack Obama

“Our London” Navin Shah

GLA Member for Brent and Harrow

Unveiling of Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue in Parliament Square When the concept of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square was floated the first person who came to my mind is our veteran activist Dhanjibhai Tanna who’d been campaigning for years for a statue in a public place in London. He’s collected thousands of signatures.

Another person who promoted this project in 2007 was Ken Livingstone the then Mayor of London Who said: “If you’re looking for people who represent a major part of our history you think of India……

Mahatma Gandhi, who perhaps had a bigger significance on the British Empire than anyone else. You get millions of people from all over the world who come to see Big Ben and see the statue of Churchill and so on, and here’s someone they would understand.”

The vision and people’s aspirations came true when Mahatma Gandhi’s statue was finally unveiled in Parliament Square on Saturday 14th March 2015. The statue was promoted by ‘The Gandhi Memorial Trust’ and headed up by Lord Meghnad Desai raising in excess £1 Million.

The statue marked 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s return from South Africa to India when Mahatma led his unique and historic peaceful struggle for the independence of India.

The ceremony involved the Prime Minister David Camron; Gopikrishna Gandhi -the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and Amitabh Bachhan – one of the greatest stars of Bollywood. Also on the stage were Lord Desai and Mrs Desai who’ve contributed hugely for the suc-

cess of the statue.

I was pleased to be amongst a huge crowd from all over the nation and abroad. Marking the occasion. Representing Brent and Harrow were Barry Gardiner MP, Cllr Rekha Shah and Uma Kumaran. Sharing the excitement and joy with us of course were CB, Manoj Ladwa, Shashibhai Vekaria and a large number of community leaders including Nitiben Gheewala and other colleagues representing the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.

This was truly a momentous occasion which I will remember and cherish for ever. Popularly known as ‘Bapu’, Gandhi was a father of the nation who achieved the most remarkable and unthinkable feat of freedom for India through peaceful struggle.

The word attached to Gandhi ‘Mahatma’- a Great Soul, truly sums up his vision for equal and peaceful India and his vision for the rest of the world. The presence of the statue in Parliament Square, in the company of Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill, underpins Mahatma Gandhi’s great standing worldwide.

When the world is torn apart by terrorism and wars let Mahatma’s statue remind and inspire the values of peace and respect for all faiths and people worldwide.

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 © Asian Business Publications www.abplgroup.com AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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MIDLANDS VOICE

Six charged with money laundering Six people have been charged with money laundering after a massive police operation last year.

Officers seized high-value cars, including Porsches, a Range Rover, and a Mercedes, as well as designer bags, perfume, shoes, laptops, and a significant amount of cash.

The raids were part of an eight-month investigation into money laundering by organised crime groups across Europe.

Those charged included: Gurinder Singh, 27,

of Granby Row, Manchester, Razwan Munir, 38, of Egerton Drive, Altrincham, Nokhaz Adam Haider, 34, of Broomhurst Avenue, Oldham and Imran Sarwar, 32, of Prospect Drive, Altrincham.

All four appeared before Manchester City Magistrates’ Court on march 18th and were remanded in custody to appear before Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square, on

April 1st.

In addition Waqar Afzal, 51, of Wordsworth Road, Manchester, and Umar Murtaza Haq, 35, of Edge Lane, Chorlton both appeared before Manchester City Magistrates’ Court on March 19th and were remanded in custody to appear before Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square, on April 1st.

All six men were charged with money laundering.

Jailed ex-mayor 'liar and a cheat' A former mayor and Scunthorpe councillor who helped to organise the first visit of the Queen to a mosque in Britain has been jailed for three and a half years for "dishonesty on a grand scale" by a judge who called him a "liar and a cheat", a court has confirmed.

Jawaid Ishaq, 72, was convicted of a number of offences including fraud and theft earlier this week relating to how he dealt with the financial affairs of a friend who had returned to Yemen.

Sentencing Ishaq, pictured, at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Paul Watson

QC described how the defendant had stolen tens of thousands of pounds from Ali Sultan.

The jury heard that Ishaq had been a Labour councillor in Scunthorpe for more than 30 years, had acted as the deputy chair for Humberside Police Authority and had been awarded an MBE. The jury in the sixweek long trial was told how Mr Sultan, who has since died, moved back to the Yemen but had various affairs in Scunthorpe that needed looking after, which included two properties in the town.

He signed a document

granting p ower of attorney over the two houses to Ishaq but the defendant used this power to syphon cash to himself.

Ishaq was convicted of nine offences, including three counts of fraud, three of theft and one of perverting the course of justice.

58 years for ‘untouchable’ £1.9m Leeds drugs gang

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Crooked sergeant exposed as a brothel boss has appeal rejected A disgraced West Midlands Police officer who led a secret double life as a ringleader of a sex-and-drugs racket has been told by top judges he deserves every day of his seven years and two months jail term.

Osman Iqbal’s moonlighting as a brothel runner and drug dealer in London’s West End was rumbled when he turned up for his work as a sergeant at Kings Heath Police Station, responding to 999 calls, in a £170,000 Ferrari.

The 37 year-old, from Birmingham, appealed against the length of his sentence imposed last September, which he argued was too long, with his cousin, Talib Hussain.

Hussain, of Douglas Avenue Hodge Hill, admitted the same

offences as Iqbal – conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to supply, conspiracy to manage brothels and conspiracy to launder money – and was jailed for eight years and four months.

But the cousins’ appeal bids were rejected by three of the country’s most senior judges at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, who said their jail terms were ‘not excessive’ in light of their serious

criminal enterprise.

Iqbal, picture, and others had been in charge of two ‘high-class’ brothels, where prostitutes charged up to £300-an-hour to rich businessmen and cocaine was sold to both them and their clients.

The brothels, which had been running since February 2012, attracted nearly 150 customers in just nine days – nearly 40 of whom bought drugs.

The gang laundered the profits from the brothels into legitimate business accounts and by buying expensive luxury cars, giving the impression they were running a chauffeur company.

The court heard Iqbal and Hussain were the ‘leading lights’ of the operation, run out of two properties in the West End of London.

Tycoon’s son who left toddler brain damaged jailed for brutal fight A multimillionaire’s son has been jailed for a second time after he got involved in a brutal fight.

Antonio Boporan Singh, 28, was given a one-year prison sentence on Friday for punching and kicking a man when he was down after a night out.

In 2006 he left toddler Cerys Edwards brain damaged and paralysed in a horrific car crash. She is now nine and requires a ventilator to stay alive.

Singh almost killed her when he hit her car at 70mph in an 30mph zone while overtaking and was jailed for 21 months. He was released after six months. He has now been sentenced for another bru-

tal attack in Birmingham in which he and a group of friends attacked two men.

They were involved in an altercation in a bar causing Jarondeep Kooner to lose an eye after he was slashed in the face with a champagne flute by Singh’s friend Theodore Mullings-Fairweather.

When they left, they saw 31-year-old Harprit Singh with a ripped shirt.

They assumed he was part of the group involved in the fight and set upon him before running off.

Singh, heir to a £130 million chicken fortune, pleaded guilty to inflicting ABH and violent disorder and was jailed for a year.

Mullings-Fairweather,

Antonio Boparan Singh

25, admitted GBH and GBH with intent and was jailed for eight months.

Mullings-Fairweather also received another eight years for a separate offence of robbery after stealing a cash box from outside a Tesco store.

Two other members of their gang, Nathan Pringle and Edward Ansah, were given 18 month sentences.

Hospital order for 'devoted' mother

Twelve members of an ‘untouchable’ gang of drug dealers have been given jail sentences totaling 58 years after they sold around £1.9 million of cocaine on the streets of Leeds.

A court heard the gang’s domination of the drugs market in Leeds was close to a monopoly over a 12 month period.

The majority of the drug deals took place in the city centre in front of the Malmaison Hotel, on Swinegate.

It is believed 14 men involved in the operation may have generated a total of £3 million throughout the period of offending through the sale of cocaine, heroin and cannabis. They operated a series of ‘ring and bring’ dealer lines which generated almost 200,000 calls.

The men were arrested from properties across

Leeds in March last year as part of West Yorkshire Police’s major crime fighting initiative Operation Viper.

Twelve members of the gang were sentenced Monday and included five Asians. They were: • Shea Varley, 27, of Miles Hill Street, Leeds, jailed for nine years.

• Aiden Gidman, 24, of Borrowdale Close, Leeds, jailed for eight years.

• Daniel Franks, 24, of Miles Hill Avenue, Leeds, jailed for eight years.

• Richard Varley, 23, of Monkswood Close, Leeds, jailed for six years.

• Ashton Sutton-Barrow, 23, of Royal Park Road, Leeds, jailed for six years.

• Kevin Steele, 27, of Potternewton Avenue, Leeds was jailed for four years, eight months.

• Gurjodha Rathore, 25, of Scott Hall Road, Leedsjailed for four years, four

months.

• Randeep Singh Mudhar, 27, of Cambrian Street, Leeds- jailed for four years.

• Ralph Steele, 26. of Harehills Park Avenue, Leeds – jailed for three years.

• Preetpal Singh Mallli (24) of Stainburn Gardens, Leeds- jailed for two years, four months.

• Gurdas Rathore, 22, of Stainbeck Lane, Leedsjailed for 16 months, suspended for two years, and given 150 hours unpaid work.

• Gurmal Singh, 22, of Alma House, Brentford London- jailed 12 months, suspended for 12 months, and given 250 hours unpaid work Shaun Varley, 24, of Miles Hill Street, Leeds and Alex Simpson, 21, of Potternewton Avenue, Leeds will be sentenced at a later date.

A "devoted" mother who killed her 22-month-old daughter in Bradford after suffering from delusions that someone was coming to torture her has been given a hospital order.

Gundeep Sanghera, 37, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to the manslaughter of Amrita Kaur on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Wheelchair-bound Sanghera, pictured, sobbed audibly into a tissue throughout the hearing as the court heard how she killed Amrita when she jumped out of a firstfloor window in a suicide attempt.

It is not known whether Sanghera threw her daughter from the window before jumping herself, or if she jumped with the girl.

The court heard that Sanghera was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the killing and believed that someone was coming to take Amrita and torture

her.

Sophie Drake, prosecuting, said the defendant also believed that Islamic terrorists were using satellites to monitor her and were coming into her home.

The court heard that Sanghera suffered from memory loss about the incident in February last year and cannot remember how she or her daughter came to be outside the house in Delamere Street, in Bradford.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said: "This is a tragic matter Gundeep Sanghera and you have pleaded guilty, without prevarication and clearly at the earliest opportunity, to the unlawful killing of another person. That person is your 22-month-old daughter Amrita, who you loved deeply and you will never recover from this."

Judge Durham Hall sentenced Sanghera to a hospital order with an indefinite restriction order on her release.

He said: "The doctors in this case unanimously come to the conclusion that you were very seriously poorly at the time.

At the material time, you were in the grip of the severe symptoms typical of schizophrenia, with persistent delusions, including a belief your daughter was to be taken and tortured. A very grave delusion that must have affected you."

He added: "It is necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm to impose a restriction on your release.

Everybody I know will be working to achieve your recovery and to assist you to cope with the dreadful and tragic actions that unfolded on the 18 February 2014."

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Kapil’s Spriha Srivastava

Christie’s supports Jodhpur One World Retreat charity gala Celebrations for Jodhpur charity gala supported by Christie Inset: Viscount Linley

Christie’s, the world’s leading art business supported the Jodhpur One World Retreat charity gala at Umaid Bhawan Palace. The evening auction offered 11 unique experiences, including a boardroom lunch at Christie’s headquarters in London hosted by Viscount Linley. The charity was conducted by Nick Finch, who celebrated 30 years with Christie’s.

The proceeds of the event has gone to the Indian Head Injusry Foundation, which was set up by His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur in 2007.

The main aim of this organisation is to foster the development of a comprehensive brain trauma care system in India. A total of 1300 first responders, doctors and paramedics have been trained in primary trauma care.

This was the second edition of the Jodhpur One World Retreat after the inaugural 2013 gala which created a fantastic platform for building awareness for this truly important cause and which thrived to another level.

Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, reached a total of £2.4 billion/$3.68 billion in global auction and private sales in the first six months of 2013.

Christie’s has consistently offered the finest Indian works of art since James Christie, the charismatic founder of the firm, offered four fine India pictures painted on glass in his inaugural sale on 5 December, 1766.

Growing interest in Indian Art led to the opening of Christie’s first representative office in India in 1994. The following year, Christie’s

held its first stand-alone Indian Art sale in London. Today Christie’s holds regular sales in New York and London and is the market leader in all categories of Indian art. Collectors from India make an increasingly important contribution to the global art market across international categories. In the last one year, Christie’s has lent its support and international reach to the India Art Fair in January and to the Homelands exhibition, organised by the British Council and exhibited in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra to hold masterclass at SOAS

Famous film director Vidhu Vinod Chopra is expected to take part in a special student masterclass at the world-famous SOAS, University of London, in the coming weekend. Chopra is well known for movies like 3 Idiots, PK and others. He is also the first Indian filmmaker to write, produce and direct a Hollywood film with his new film Broken Horses, to be released on 10th April 2015 through UTV Motion Pictures.

The film has received a lot of attention and has already gained critical acclaim from Hollywood legends James Cameron

(Titanic, Avatar) and Alfonso Curaon (Gravity). The masterclass is hosted by the National Indian Students Union UK and SOAS South Asia Institute, and will be chaired by renowned author and SOAS’ Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema Rachel Dwyer.

The masterclass will be held for 1.5 hours of lively, thought-provoking conversation. The event will involve Vidhu Vinod Chopra discussing the process of making such sincere and society-challenging films as Broken Horses, PK, the Munnabhai Series and 3 Idiots. He will also talk about the experience of working in Bollywood and Hollywood and how the two differ.

Speaking about the event, Sanam Arora, President, National Indian Students Union UK said: “NISU is delighted to be hosting Mr Chopra. As the man behind India’s biggest blockbusters and social game changers, we are honoured to host him for the UK student community.”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a legendary film-maker, who has always set a new benchmark for the Indian film fraternity and has made some of the most memorable movies that India has cherished like Mission Kashmir and Parinda. He has stepped out of his comfort zone and with Broken Horses to become the first Indian filmmaker to make a Hollywood Production.

Set in the shadows of the US–Mexico border gang wars, Broken Horses is an epic thriller about the bonds of brotherhood, the laws of loyalty, and the futility of violence.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

KHICHADI

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com

Cowardice at Oxford University?

It will go down in history as one of the most shocking and cowardly decisions ever taken by the Oxford India Society (of Oxford University).

On the very day (23rd March) the whole of India and the Indian Diaspora remembered the sacrifices of our martyrs Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar - news came to me that the Oxford India Society (OIS) had decided to cancel an event titled ‘Contrarian’ that was to take place on 3rd April 2015. It was to host international speakers Dr Subramanium Swamy and Shri Rajiv Malhotra. The news came as a shock to the British Board of Hindu Scholars and Satish Sharma their Chairman who commented, ‘We are stunned that a leading British University that should be championing free speech and freedom of thought, has taken such a cowardly decision. We cannot allow the appeasement of extremists to stifle cherished values and I fear this decision will reflect very badly on Oxford University and their much publicised “free rigorous thinking” credentials’.

It seems one of our leading universities has fallen foul to either trying to be politically correct, exercising political appeasement or downright lack of respect for freedom of speech.

Whatever their true motives, what is clear is that an event that was scheduled to take place at Oxford University was cancelled after what appears to be cowardice by members of the Oxford India Society, and also by the University itself.

I wrote to ALL members of the OIS asking them for their perspective and it seems they have gone all shy on me. So let me tell you who these people are who are part of the OIS. They are: Anjul Khadria President, Dhruti Babariya Secretary, Niharika Gurram Treasurer and committee members Arghya Modak, Nikhil Nair, Pranoy Raul, Shifali Shishodia, Mandvi Dogra, Arvind Jain, Madhav Kumar, Sounak Sahu, Varshita Sher, Ritesh Tibrewal, Devendra Meena, Vishal Maingi and Ashish Thandavan. Have these Indians from India shown their remarkable capacity to succumb to pressure?

Martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar gave up their lives in their youth so future generations could experience freedom. It seems their sacrifices and those of millions of other Indians mean so little to members of the OIS. People will conclude that they have betrayed

their country to appease their new colonial masters at Oxford University. It seems for some Indians they might be enjoying freedom, but they remain slaves in all other aspects.

Only a few weeks ago we had the unveiling of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square. The Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Finance Minister of India did the unveiling no less. I am reminded of what Mahatma Gandhi said, “Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologise for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind.

Speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth”.

On closer inspection it seems that Oxford University are very happy to give access to speakers such as Marine Le Pen (Head of French National Front), Wendy Doniger (a writer considered by many to be anti-Hindu), Tony Blair of WMD fame, Gerry Adams of the IRA, David Irving a Holocaust denier and Dr Zakir Naik an extremist Muslim preacher.

The executive committee of OIS should hang their heads in shame. Dr Subramanium Swamy is a recognised public champion fighting for justice for the ordinary folks. He puts himself in harm’s way by taking on the most powerful in the country and outing them for their corrupt practices. It is beyond belief that his own country folk on the OIS have let him and the nation down so badly.

Freedom of speech is often championed by leading educational institutions. They often cite the ‘Human Rights Act’ when they challenge Government restrictions on free speech.

It is therefore shocking that we witness such overt irrational decision making when it comes to a leading Hindu thinker and speaker. Sometimes one wonders if free speech is the reserve of those who exercise extremism.

Fortunately the British Board of Hindu Scholars and the National Council of Hindu Temples will continue with their programme of events around the country. So we will all still have that great opportunity to listen to Dr Swamy and to interact in the question answer sessions. If you want to attend, don’t waste your time.

Book your tickets now.

Leicester welcomes king's remains King Richard III's remains have finall arrived at Leicester Cathedral ahead of his reburial. His funeral cortege entered the city on Sunday 22nd at the historic Bow Bridge after touring landmarks in the county.

Cannons were fired in a salute to the king at Bosworth, where he died in 1485. His coffin which has since been on public view at the cathedral has drawn crowds from across the globe. He will finally be reinterred during a ceremony on Thursday when his remains will be lowered into a purpose-built tomb made of Yorkshire Swaledale stone, before visitors are allowed back

inside Leicester Cathedral to see the completed memorial on Friday.

Richard's skeleton was found in 2012, in an old friary beneath a car park.

Archaeologists, academics, researchers and descendants of Richard III's family, including Michael Ibsen who built the coffin, placed white roses on it during the ceremony.

The funeral cortege, led by knights wearing plate armor and riding horses, passed sites of significance to Richard III, such as the Bow Bridge that he crossed to battle Henry Tudor’s forces. It is also said that his naked and battered corpse —

analysis of his remains showed he suffered eight wounds to the skull, one to the ribs, and another to the pelvis — was slung on a horse’s back and carried into the city over that same bridge.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015 Reshma Trilochun

Osborne Presents Budget 2015

Chancellor George Osborne presented the budget for 2015 on 18th March 2015 at the House of Commons.

This was the final budget for the current parliament.

George Osborne stated, “Today I report on a Britain that is growing, creating jobs and paying its way. We took difficult decisions in the teeth of opposition, and today Britain is walking tall… We will use whatever resources we have to get the deficit down. This is a Budget that takes Britain on one big step on the road from austerity to prosperity.”

Osborne's budget plan is a bid to amend the economic state of the country, aiming to get many historic debts paid off. Further on, the pension lifetime allowance, which according to Osborne is “unsustainable” will be cut. However, the chancellor claims this cut will affect less than 4pc of people.

Savers will not have to pay tax on interest on the first £1,000, or £500 for high-rate taxpayers. In addition, there will be a new “Help to Buy ISA” scheme to help first time buyers to acquire a property. For every £200 saved, the government will give an extra £50. Plus, other ISAs will become more flexible, allowing savers to keep tax benefits whenever they withdraw or deposit money into the account.

Osborne has claimed

that he would eventually want to raise tax free allowance to £12,500 and 40p rate to £50,000. So far, the personal tax free allowance has risen to £10,800 next year and will be £11,000 the year after. In addition to the further changes, the annual tax return will be abolished, with the details being automatically uploaded online.

There have been further changes announced, some promising and some questionable; however, the budget has not only been a worrisome subject for the general public. Many politicians have been vocal in stating their discontentment and opinions about the 2015 budget.

Labour MP, Sadiq Khan has express his views on the new budget. He states, “I sat in the House of Commons Chamber on Wednesday, listening to George Osborne’s budget with dismay. We continue to be told how as a country we’ve never had it so good – yet after five years of this government, that’s not how it seems to me...

Here in Wandsworth we have seen our first food bank open, and then several more since. Wages have been frozen, and the cost of living has gone through the roof.”

Khan further adds, “But none of this was mentioned in Mr Osborne’s budget.

Neither was the NHS. St George’s A&E is in crisis, and our hospital is in desperate need of more nurses and

doctors. But nothing was said about addressing the crisis in our NHS. I’m worried about what another five years of George Osborne and his party would mean for our community.”

Labour's Shadow Public Health Minister, MP Luciana Berger said in regards to the health budget cuts, “These figures are the latest in a long line of broken promises and false economies on mental health from this Tory-led Government. For five years Ministers have been promising that mental health would be treated with the same importance as physical health but these figures prove that they have broken that promise. Mental health budgets have been squeezed, spending on children’s mental health services is down by £50 million, and we’ve lost thousands of specialist nurses and hundreds of specialist doctors.”

MP Seema Malhotra expressed, “This is a budget that cannot be believed.

Whilst George Osborne spent an hour telling people they have never had it so good, the truth is that work-

ing people across the country are £1,600 a year worse off after five years of the Tories. I am disappointed the Budget said made no mention of investment in the NHS. And the Tories today confirmed plans for extreme spending cuts in the three years after the election- which will put our NHS at risk.”

On the other hand, in regards to the long-term economical plan, the DirectorGeneral of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), John Cridland said, “Stability and consistency are what businesses need to grow and prosper. This Budget sets the tone, providing a clear plan for fiscal health and growth.”

In additon, the DirectorGeneral of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), John Longworth expressed, “The Budget unveiled today recognises both short-term electoral horizons and long-term economic needs...Yet the Chancellor avoided the temptation to use newfound windfalls for gimmicks. His focus on fiscal responsibility will play well with business audiences.”

While some have been in favour of the new budget, others have not been shy in stating their displeasure.

Only time will tell whether these new plans will be beneficial or detrimental to the economic and social state of the UK.

FREE with Asian Voice "Bandhan: A Wedding Special"

UK

Don’t forget to look out for your copy of Asian Voice’s latest magazine "Bandhan: A Wedding Special" with your newspaper. Free to all paid subscribers.

British South India Council organise business meet at Parliament

Some of the dignitaries at the Business Meet

A business meet, “UK Business into Renewed India” was held on Tuesday 17th March at the British Parliament in London. This business meet was organised by the British South India Council of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) and Cochin Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI).

There were 18 speakers who participated at this business meet with UK and South India expertise including British Deputy High Commission based in Chennai, Mr. Bharat Joshi; the Ex-British Deputy High Commission, Mr. Mike Nithavaranakis and the

Chairman of BBG Chennai, Mr. Christie Cherian, plus many more.

There were around 160 delegates who were registered to attend the UK Business into Renewed India meeting and around 25 delegated traveled from various South Indian states, of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerela, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana to attend this meeting.

The purpose of this business meeting was to generate haulage with the UK M/SMEs with the prime focus at this meeting was on trade, auto and advanced engineering, as well as healthcare and innovation.

MACKRELL TURNER GARRETT: A TRULLY Y INTERNA ATIONAL TIO ONAL LONDON LA AW FIRM WIT WITH TH OFFICES IN MUMBAI, DELHI AN AND ND BANGALORE Mackrell Tur ner Garrett is a multi-awar mu ulti award-winning, d winning full service law firm, firm which has been based in London since 1846. As a firm we offer a diverse e range of personal and commercial services to a wide-range of clients s both in the UK and abroad.

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Our commer ercial and nd personal services for clients include: UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Shailesh Vara

As I See It A political budget

Any Chancellor uses his budget to gain more popularity for his party.

George Osborne has done exactly that and one can not but accept it.

When he has to present a budget just seven weeks prior to a very historic election, though it is “a popular budget” the question remains how far it can produce the expected favourable results.

Out of 100 British voters, as of now, some 33 appear to have opted for both the Conservative as well as the Labour party. The real battle is to win those who are not yet committed to any political persuasion.

This budget, the last in the present Parliament, would make everyone compare the overall change between 2010 and 2015. The economic indicators can be summoned up as under: * unemployment rate: 2010 - 7.9% ; 2015 5.7% * size of the economy: improvement of 8.5% * exports: increased by 14.8% * imports: increased by 13.3% * national debt: whopping increase by 44%.

From £974 billion to £1402 billion * budget deficit: decreased from £141 billion to £93.6 billion. A reduction of 33.6% falls far short of the earlier objectives * economy: according to the Financial Times (FT) “the Office of the Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) initial forecast was honest but wrong and badly so. The biggest error was to overestimate productivity growth. * labour market: in the words of the FT “the performance of the labour market has been one of the biggest surprises of the past five years.”

Given the weaker then expected economy, low unemployment with poor productivity and wage growth was probably a better outcome than the alternative of high unem-

ployment with descent productivity and wage growth.

But now the economy is recovering, the wages and output per hour need to rise too — * public finances - FT wording “the Chancellor says he has halved the deficit as a share of national income.” That is true, but records are far less impressive than any planned in 2010, so the deficit reduction must be regarded as a failure — * winners and losers: FT wording is very noteworthy “the government policy over the past five years has favoured the relatively elderly over the young” — In a way when I was watching the Chancellor’s budget speech a lingering thought was if he was trying to bribe the voters or not. It appears, like other chancellors, he had no option but to offer several bribes. To raise money he has to dig some more - almost £10 billion - from the banking sector. Tomorrow or the day after the burden will be passed on to the citizens.

- CB

Nine British medical students flee Sudan for Syria

Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire and Junior Justice Minister

Budget that works for you Last week the Chancellor gave the final budget of this Parliament, and the message was clear. We have a long term economic plan that is working – and it was a Budget that works for you: tax cuts so people keep more of the money they earn, a helping hand for first time buyers, support for savers – and a plan that is building a healthier economy that won’t burden future generations with more debt than they can ever pay off.

Labour’s reckless overspending and mismanagement of the economy brought Britain to the brink – with businesses closing, people losing jobs and a record deficit.

Since then, we’ve been working to our longterm economic plan.

There is much more to do, but we have made good progress. The economy is growing, living standards are rising, the deficit is down, debt is set to start falling as a share of national economy.

There are record numbers of people in work – and more people of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity in

work than ever before.

That means more people with the security of a regular wage and able to provide for their families.

This budget continues the work we are doing.

We believe that hardworking people should keep more of the money they earn. So we’ve announced income tax cuts for 27 million people – raising the amount of money you can earn before paying income to £10,800 next year and £11,000 the year after.

This is a downpayment on our commitment to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by the end of the next Parliament.

For first time buyers, we’re giving a helping hand. A new ‘Help to Buy ISA’ will mean for every £200 a first time buyer saves, the government will give a bonus of up to £50 – up to a total of £3,000. This will help more people achieve the dream of owning their own home.

And we’re backing savers, with a new Personal Savings Allowance that abolishes savings tax altogether for

17 million people. A new flexible ISA will also give people complete freedom to take money out of an ISA and put in back later in the year without losing their tax-free entitlement.

This is all good news.

But with warning lights flashing in parts of the world economy – like Greece in Europe – now is not the time to put this at risk. That is exactly what Ed Miliband as Prime Minister and a Labour government would do. All they offer is a return to the chaos of the past: more wasteful spending, more reckless borrowing, more taxes hitting families – and people across Britain would pay the price.

So at the election in just a few weeks, voters have a clear choice. We can put at risk the progress Britain has made, with Ed Miliband trying to lead a chaotic Labour government. Or we can stick with the competence of David Cameron as Prime Minster, leading a proven team and working to a clear plan to secure a better future for you, your family and Britain.

High Commission of India holds Visa press conference

Reshma Trilochun

Hisham Mohammed Fadlallah

Nada Sami Kader

Ismail Hamadoun

Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine

Nine British medical students have secretly fled to Syria to help treat jihadists at hospitals controlled by Islamic State.

Five men and four women in their late teens and early twenties fled from medical school in Sudan where their families had sent them to learn more about their culture.

The family of the absconded believe that they were “brainwashed”

by ISIS sympathisers and have travelled to Syria, in attempt to persuade their children to return home with them. It is said that one of the students, who is

Lena Maumoon Abdulqadir

Sami Ahmed Kadir

Mohamed Osama Badri Mohammed

Tamer Ahmed Ebu Sebah

Sami Ahmed the daughter of Kadir. These stua surgeon sent a dents are of smiling “selfie” Sudanese backto her sister grounds, born before arriving and brought up at Syria. in the UK. The names The father of of the runaway Lena Mamoun students are Abdelgadir (19) Lena Maumoon reveals, “We sent Abdulqadir, our children to Nada Sami Kader, Rowan Tasneem Suleyman study [in Sudan] Huseyin so that they would Kamal Zine El be surrounded by their Abidine, Tasneem culture. But their decision Suleyman Huseyin, to go to Syria has been a Ismail Hamadoun, Tamer shock for all of us. We Ahmed Ebu Sebah, have decided not to return Mohamed Osama Badri home unless we go with Mohammed, Hisham them.”

Mohammed Fadlallah and

A press conference at the High Commission of India was held on Wednesday 18th March 2015 to discuss the new visa schemes that they are implementing, as well as the biometrics collection procedure during visa applications.

Many travel companies and journalist were present at the press conference, posing questions at the authorities regarding the new biometrics procedure and the uncertainty of the date.

Many people were appalled at this new regulation that is supposed to take place and what enraged them even further was the contradicting statements of the High Commission of India with the information that was available on their website.

While the authorities stated that the new dates of implementing the new procedures are yet to be decided, the website clearly stated that the changes will be taking place on 16th March.

The High Commission of India, Mr Ranjan Mathai mentioned that this will not be a rule significantly for India, this is proving to be the way forward with many countries

adapting to the new technological advancement to visa and their procedures.

“They [biometrics] are increasingly becoming the norm all around the world.

And I refer to the norm all around the world because very often, what systems are introduced here [UK] becomes not just an international norm but an international rule.”

Further on, Mr Mathai elaborates on the different visas and the requirements as well as how to acquire them.

For instance, the e-visa availability may come into progress, as UK citizens may become eligible to visa on arrival in the near future. With the e-visa, you will apply for the visa online prior to your travels and receive your visa on arrival at India, where you will be required to do the biometrics process on arrival itself. This would be a single entry ticket to India and would be given once a year only. The evisa procedure have yet not been implemented and negotiations are taking place on when and how this procedure will take place.

The reason being this press conference was to give an insight to the proposed plan and to answer

High Commission of India, Mr Ranjan Mathai

queries as the new prospective procedures have received criticism. A lot of flak was received for the idea of having to book separate appointments for each family members for an Indian Visa at the Indian Embassy, not guaranteeing that the appointment could be given in blocked slots. However, it has now been clarified that it is not mandatory for the personal presence of the applicant; a nominee or family member are able to submit the visa application on their behalf, provided that the nominee/family member are able to produce an authorisation letter signed by the applicant.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Anita Anand’s Book on Sophia Duleep Singh is a Hit BBC television and radio presenter Anita Anand presents Any Answers every Saturday at 2pm on BBC Radio 4.

In January 2015 her new book ‘Sophia – Princess, Suffragette Revolutionary’ was published in the UK, US and India and she is currently on a hectic national and international book promotion tour. Leading Lights caught up with her during a brief respite in London.

The book description reads; “In 1876 Sophia Duleep Singh was born into royalty. Her father, Maharajah Duleep Singh, was heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, a realm that stretched from the lush Kashmir Valley to the craggy foothills of the Khyber Pass and included the mighty cities of Lahore and Peshawar. It was a territory irresistible to the British, who plundered everything, including the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond.

Exiled to England, the dispossessed Maharajah transformed his estate at Elveden in

Suffolk into a Moghul palace, its grounds stocked with leopards, monkeys and exotic birds.

Sophia, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, was raised a genteel aristocratic Englishwoman: presented at court, afforded grace-and-favour lodgings at Hampton Court Palace and photographed wear-

ing the latest fashions for the society pages. But when, in secret defiance of the British government, she travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary.

Sophia transcended her heritage to devote herself to battling injustice and inequality, a far cry from the life to which she was born. Her causes were the

struggle for Indian independence, the fate of the Lascars, the welfare of Indian soldiers in the First World War – and, above all, the fight for female suffrage. She was bold and fearless, attacking politicians, putting herself in the front line and swapping her silks for a nurse’s uniform to tend wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefields. This story of the rise of women and the fall of empire introduces an extraordinary individual and her part in the defining moments of recent British and Indian history.”

Anita told one publication how she discovered the story of Sophia Duleep Singh. “‘In 2010, I was on maternity leave from the BBC. Because my son had just been born, I missed covering the general election so I was fidgety, really fidgety. Life had taken on a different pace, because previously I had been presenting two live shows a day: TV in the morning, radio in the afternoon. So I was reading everything I could lay my hands on, cereal packets, everything.”

Flicking through a local paper destined for the recycling, Anand saw an article about a suffragette exhibition at Richmond Museum. “The picture—of a suffragette dressed in Edwardian

clothes—just leapt out at me because it looked completely wrong! I could see the woman was Indian. In fact, she looked like an auntie of mine. The article gave her name, Sophia Duleep Singh, so I started picking at the thread of her story, and with every tug, an avalanche of stuff came down”.

Anand is quick to

“To write a book and do all that I do means juggling.” point out that she is not a historian. “But I have a hack’s brain. As a journalist, when you come to something you don’t understand, you ask why.”

She scaled her presenting duties down to the weekly Radio 4 show “Any Answers?” to have more time for research—which was just as well, given the scope of the story she was unearthing.’”

Anita told us that her

9

husband, mathematicianauthor Simon Singh (a former Leading Light), is her best friend and closest adviser. He was responsible for getting her to start her manuscript.

“When I discovered the story and started researching it, I would come home every day and tell him a bit more about what I had discovered. I would say ‘And did you know about this? And the next day, I would say, ‘Did you hear about this?’ He told me it should be written down and go into a book. He’s got a good eye for a story and was very supportive. I got him to read the first three chapters and give me feedback, just as I did with my other close friends. He was great. And very constructive. But after that, I made him wait for the rest of the book, just like the others.”

With a husband, a young child, and regular radio broadcasting to do, how did Anita manage her time?

“To write a book and do all that I do means juggling. It’s a question of creating time. There was a period when I was researching and writing and it was really hectic. I was sleeping on average four to five hours a night.”

It paid off, for the book has been well received and we look forward to seeing her next one.

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Shop before switching

India not safe for women

Wrong priorities

Tunis Massacre

I read with interest Dineshbhai's article on the above subject in Asian Voice of the 21st March issue. Oil and gas prices are down, some energy suppliers have reduced the prices and I do agree we should shop around to switch. It's simple and should not fear. This is not to advertise or advise but to apprise Asian Voice Readers.

Just find out your own gas and electricity charges per kWh and total annual kWh consumed for each energy, also daily fixed gas and electricity charges for a year. Compare with prices of other Suppliers and then decide.

I switched last year through Confused.com to nPower. It was in a mess. nPower was fined millions of pounds, had warnings to improve by the Energy Regulator, now it's better organised. I did save about £150.

Now they have offered me a new Cheapest Tariff that will save me about £200. It's called June'16 Deal. It's a good one, just find out very soon if it's beneficial for you!

May I add something else here?! Last July Dineshbhai wrote about sabudana and how it was produced. I wrote the first time to reply in Asian Voice. Luckily it was published and since then I am happy that almost all my articles have been published!

What I want to stress is most of the readers of Asian Voice are over 50 or retired and both newsweeklies (Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar) are not only keeping us abreast of all the current news and events of the world. They are also providing us with a nice opportunity to express our views and thus talking indirectly to our AV and GS community.

Without this opportunity those of us who wish to write and share our thoughts would be idle and bored.

India is not a safe place for women anymore. The present rape laws should be amended. Minors (juveniles) should be given the same punishment as those of adults.

There shouldn’t be any differences between juveniles and adults. After all, both of them have committed the same crime by ruining the life of a woman. Its high time women in India are not treated like sex toys but are respected and treated with dignity.

The death of the British woman, Suzette Jordan on March 14, 2015 shall always remind us of our failure to protect the dignity and honour of a woman who stood tall in the wake of her fight with the system. She refused to hide her identity and was raped in India. Her contention that it's time for rapists to hide their faces and not their victims hold true. She tried to show a mirror to our society which shamelessly criticizes women for their attire, dresses or their chosen timing to go out.

Suzette Jordan not only refused to be cowed down by irreverent attitude of the government of Kolkata where she was raped but defied orthodox and outdated methods of social blackmail by hiding her name.

She left behind two daughters whose future seems uncertain because she was a single mother. Her fight is unfinished and her daughters intend to carry on with her unfinished fight.

If there was any need to support any cause, this is the cause which our women's organization and other NGOs must undertake and start a fund to take care of her daughters and their fight.

Our nation shall ever be indebted to such a brave women who made a difference to how we should look at rape victims.

India hated Suzette Jordan just because she was fighting for justice. India raped her and never gave her justice even when she died.

I feel disgusted to call myself an Indian.

Our green, green land was once envy of the world with beautiful parks covered with dazzling plants in rainbow colours.

Now we are at the bottom, as those who travel to Europe would readily acknowledge how beautiful are their parks, open spaces, roundabouts and Central Reservations in countries like Spain, Scandinavia and Northern Europe.

In Spain and Italy, dual carriageways have central reservations six to ten feet wide, covered with evergreen plants, mainly Oleanders (Pink Rose) and Hibiscus.

These subtropical bushy plants are cleverly manipulated into standard mini trees that flower throughout the year giving sweet scent, watered by automatic sprinklers, as during hot summer months, they need watering twice a day.

Moreover most roundabouts have fountains, work of art statues and colourful lights, presumably funded by EU, paid by us!

Most surprising were up to date exercise machines everywhere, in the open, working on just one Euro, without being vandalized.

In Finland we were surprised to see roadside trees of same height, size and planted equidistance. It would be difficult to find single pothole on these roads.

It is time we beautify our roads with similar plants, as oleanders and hibiscus are hardy plants capable of withstanding our winter that would minimise winter gloom and doom, mental illnesses we suffer during dark, damp winter months, money coming out of overseas aid budget of £15 billion that is being spent on undeserving projects, in countries better off than us.

Tunis, capital of Tunisia and administrative centre of French North Africa during colonial heydays, is beautiful, articulate, culturally rich city with equally industrious, well educated, bilingual people.

Even now French influence is overwhelming, in food, wine and entertainment.

Tunisia was the only country to come out with credit after euphoria of “Arab Spring” revolution that is but distant memory in Libya and Egypt, in worse state now than ever before.

With ISIS influence spreading fast amongst young, well-educated but unemployed Tunisians, country is heading for disaster.

The attack on Western tourists on day trip from cruise liners, in most popular tourist hot-spot, museum next door to Parliament, is the last straw.

In draconian retaliation, holiday firms and cruise liners have taken Tunisia off their itinerary, thus creating mass unemployment, poverty and resentment, as tourism provides most income and jobs.

One may wonder why these countries, once peaceful, progressive and prosperous choose the path to self-destruction and chaos?

Could it be fiduciary, being fleeced or hatred towards West, once their colonial masters, now uninvited guests who interfere in their internal affairs in name of democracy or is it the clash of civilization, different values, different mind-set?

When we were on city excursion, we visited some of the most beautiful churches, cathedrals preserved solely for tourists, our guide boasting that once Tunisia was multi-faith country but now Islam rules supreme, Christianity has been eradicated? He was surprised when no one left tips?

Upendra Kapadia By email

Keeping traditions alive

Last week we all celebrated Mother’s Day and from today we will be celebrating Navratrai for another nine days in the memories of our Devi Mata. Keeping good traditions is very important but we must not forget the people who gave their and their loved ones lives for us.

During these days we must remember Mata Gujri the Mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of Sikhism ,The wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji the ninth guru of Sikhs and Grand mother of Ajit Singh, Jujjhar Singh, Zorawar Singh, Fetah Singh.

Her husband, her son and all her four grand sons were killed by the Mogul Muslim Kings for not accepting the Islam.

Is there any where we can find the similar example of a woman . If not then.

We must therefore remember her in all the Temples and Gurudwaras on mother day and in Navrathrai the Greatest Devi of all. Due to short of space I cannot go on for more historical truths.

Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India

Slaughter of innocent cows

Referring to Jubel D'Cruz's letter in Asian Voice (14th March 2015), the majority government in India can decide on banning the slaughter of cows.

Cows are worshipped by the majority of indigenous Hindus of India and since ancient times, cows have been very useful in many respects to the farming nation.

Plus, due to its beneficial and non violent role, it has permanently become part of the Hindu culture and religion.

It is absurd to think that a lot of Hindus eat beef; and incase they start to eat beef, the writer [Jubel D'Cruz] will not be able to buy the meat (whether it's cheap or expensive, tasty or tasteless) due to its certain scarcity in that event.

Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God has said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.”

The writer has not even been struck on one cheek, yet in spite of this, he is

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Kumudini Valambia By email

Mother’s Day or Mothering Day?

On 15th March 2015 Mother’s Day was celebrated all over the world. In America, it is celebrated on different days in May. It is different from “Mothering Sunday”; when both are combined, the date varies.

At present it is a Christian festival. But roots of this festival go far back in ancient pre-Christian scriptures and folklores.

Hindus have many festivals to honour power of Godesses, most popular is Navaratri, festival of Nine nights.

The Greeks observed this festival on Ides of March, to worship Great Mother of God. The Anglo Saxons celebrated Night of Mothers to honour all Godesses.

Going back to 16th Century, mothers were “churched” after birth of baby. That practice was known as “Mothering prepared to strike hard blows on the cheeks of his assumed enemy!

R.N Patel Essex

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Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email Sunday” which was held on Forth Sunday of Lent.

It is also believed that English employers allowed female servants to visit family and especially mothers, thus the day is named as Mother’s Day. Mother’s day was revived in 1908 by an American lady Anna Jarvis to honour memory and express love for her late mother. This became a national and with passing of time an international festival.

Mother’s Day is woven overtly and covertly into the fabric of present day society.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Intel leads to £10k illegal tobacco haul Illegal tobacco with an estimated street value of £10k has been seized from a shop in the Wexham area of Slough, as part of an enforcement operation.

Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team, acting on information from the community, removed a large stash of illegal cigarettes and tobacco from a rear store cup-

board at the premises during checks on Tuesday 10 March.

The products broke the law by not carrying pictorial and English health warnings – suggesting they were smuggled into the country.

The team also seized more than 100 bottles of suspected counterfeit vodka and some out-of-date food, both of which could

have been harmful to consumers.

An investigation has been launched and the store owner could be prosecuted.

The trading standards team, who were joined by licensing officers and sniffer dogs, visited six shops across the borough during the day-long operation but no other illegal products were found.

Protests held outside Parliament against closure of Upton Community Centre On 17th March 2015, there was a protest held attended by many at the Houses of Parliament.

The unexpected closure of the Upton Community Centre, which was the heart and soul of the Indian community of Newham was protested. It was told that after the community centre being active for over three decades, the centre was closed on 19th December 2014 by the Council as landlords of the building, without any prior notice or consultation. The users of this community centre were not officially informed until 22nd January 2015.

A reason cited for the closure for the Upton Community Centre was for the dysfunctional heating system for the past ten years, which the Council had many opportunities to rectified; however, they chose to closed down the

11

Don't make children born in the summer start school too early

Parents of children born in summer months should be given new rights to appeal if headteachers and councils try to force them to start school too early, MPs say.

The Education select committee has written to Nick Gibb, Minister for School Reform, to request that parents be granted the right to appeal if summer-born children are refused permission to delay starting school until they are five years old.

Children born prematurely should also be able to

start school according to their due date, rather than their actual date of birth, the committee says.

Children are not legally required to start school until the term after their fifth birthday, but young-

sters are usually expected to start the reception class the September before they turn five.

This means summerborn children would normally be expected to start reception when they’ve only just turned four.

Parents can delay until compulsory school age but campaigners warn that individual headteachers and councils have made this difficult for families by insisting that they go straight into Year One if they delay – missing out on a year’s education.

Oxbridge Application Process branded 'institutionally racist

centre instead. Many protestors believed that the Council was at fault as they were made aware of this issue for more than a decade, yet no help was given.

To date, the Upton Community Association has submitted a petition with over 2100 signatures from Users/Members of public, a Traders’ Petition backed by over 131 businesses and User Groups Petition signed by representatives of 28 groups

covering over 9000 members against this closure to the London Borough of Newham.

Simultaneously, many young and old Hindu community members protested at Old Palace Yard, opposite the Houses of Parliament. The Hindu shrine at the community centre has been locked up with the locks changed.

Lord Dolar Popat came to the protests and greeted the demonstration and listened to their concerns.

Residents unite against parking permits A parking scheme proposal has caused a great deal of upset amongst residents. Residents have hit out at plans to implement parking permits, extend double yellow lines and introduce parking bays.

Families living in Diamond Road, Colonial Road, Australia Road, Canada Road, India Road, Aldin Avenue North, Princes Street and Connaught Road in Slough, have voiced their upset at the decision to implement the ‘experimental’ parking scheme outlined in a letter sent out on Monday March, 9.

From May 1, between 8am and 10pm Monday to Friday, residents will have to display permits priced £25 for the first car and £50 for the second, while visitors will have a two hour free period before having to pay between £2.50 and £15 for three hours up to one week.

Residents against the scheme say that rather than solving the current parking issue in the area, the scheme will mean a loss of parking spaces and will cause more financial worry to residents.

Babar Khalil visits his mother, who is widowed and suffers from knee problems, in Aldin Avenue North with his disabled son, several times a week.

Mr Khalil brings his son to enable him access

EDUCATION/COUNCIL VOICE

L to R: Mohammed Ikhlaq, Mohammad Yasir Khurshid, Zahoor Chattha and organiser Babar Khalil

to his disabled tricycle which is kept at his mother’s home as it is too big to accommodate at his own.

The residents accept that the parking ‘is not perfect’ but say that since staff from businesses Yell and QA have stopped parking in the roads 18 months ago, parking is much less of an issue.

Mohammed Khurshid, chair of Slough Central Community Association as well as voluntarily running Slough Central Football Club, says that the three door-knocking surveys that he has done with a group of residents, since 2011, have shown the majority are against the parking scheme.

New yellow lines will prevent Muhammad Khalild Jameel Latif from parking outside his own home, despite the fact he

will still have to pay for a permit. He says it is ‘simply not acceptable’.

Slough Borough Council says it has received petitions for and against residents’ parking and it is through formal consultations, public meetings, informal surveys from residents and local councillors that they have arrived at this decision, assuring residents that as it is an experimental scheme, it can be altered if there are problems.

The council also says it has received complaints that groups have been ‘intimidating residents into having a particular view’ and that anyone with specific issues, for example people with disabled family members, should contact them directly.

A Cambridge University professor has launched a scathing attack on the Oxbridge application process, labelling it "institutionally racist".

Professor Diane Reay accused Oxbridge universities of "accentuating elitism," branding them as "a finishing school for the private school system." She made the comments in a report for the race relations think tank the Runnymede Trust.

Reay, a professor of education at Cambridge, argued despite attempts to attract more youngsters from poorer backgrounds, black and white working class students were still

likely to find themselves in a minority at institutions like Oxford and Cambridge. She also added that many working class students at Cambridge saw the university as "a white, middle class bubble".

The research from the trust states the Oxbridge application process assumes "the vast majority of their intakes will be

aged 18 with very high A-level scores" and the universities "don't allow students to work in term time". This, it argues, excludes the majority of black and minority ethnic (BME) students and equates to positive discrimination, "bestowing advantage on the already advantaged".

Just last year, it was revealed just 57.4% of Oxford entrants came from state school backgrounds. At Cambridge, state school admissions accounted for 63% of undergraduate entrants in 2014.

12

MEDIA WATCH

The keenly awaited Insurance bill – one of the most important in the government’s economic reforms agenda – has been passed by the Rajya Sabha [the Upper House of Parliament] and thus becomes law. Of particular significance was the cooperation rendered by the opposition Congress party, which enabled the ruling BJP-led coalition to muster majority required after a three-hour debate. The cooperation between India’s two largest parties in the national interest was a cause for general satisfaction.

The present Parliament, thus far, has proved to be the most productive in recent memory – a far cry from the previous one, when proceedings were repeatedly stalled by a fractious BJP-led opposition. The Insurance bill, drafted and placed before Parliament by the Congress-led UPA regime failing to get the required numbers, lodged in limbo. It has now been restored to life, enabling a 49 per cent cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector from the earlier 26 per cent.

Support from bankers, industrialists

Sustained GDP growth Priority: Jaitley Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that India needed sustained GDP growth of 9-10, per cent for the next decades in order to improve infrastructure and reduce rampant poverty. “We need resources and I can’t get resources until I grow by 9-10 per cent, “ he said during an impromptu speech at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. India’s $2 trillion economy could only find these resources from foreign funding and inflows (Mint March 4)

Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO State Bank of India

Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO, State Bank of India, said: “This could result in an inflow of Rs 20,000 crore immediately. This is de jure an increase in FDI limits for pension too as so much of retirement products come from this sector.” This view received strong support from Chanda Kochhar MD & CEO, ICICI Bank: “The passage of the Insurance bill is long awaited development. It signals the commitment of the government to implementing reform and attracting global capital to support India’s growth.”

Industry captains Sanjeev Bajaj and Sam Ghosh were equally supportive of the bill (Times of India March 13).

Dipen Sheth, head, institutional research at HDFC Securities, said he found the excitement understandable. “It is like this, structurally speaking, insurance is great opportunity to be in. There are tonnes and tonnes of longterm value to be created….”

(Mint March13)

Implementing projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set great store on project implementation, hence has set up a monitoring body across State ministries to monitor their progress within agreed timelines. The Prime Minister will review progress with State secretaries on implementation. These meetings will be held through video conference on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

The later data on projects under review will be uploaded on line a week prior to these meetings (Mint March 11)

Baring lines up $1bn investment

Baring Private Equity Asia, which manages $9 billion in assets, expects to invest at least $1 billion in India. “We don’t have hard allocations, but judging by our past experience, I would be surprised if we didn’t invest a billion dollars in India,” said Jean Salata, founding partner and executive of Baring. Baring has already invested $1,04 billion in the country across three deals including $389.4 million

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam (Mint March 4)

in a part buyout of software services firm Hexaware Technologies Ltd and an investment of $233.5 million in cement maker Lafarge India Ltd. (Mint March 9)

Telangana focus on education, irrigation

Sales of trucks, buses in revival mode

Sales of trucks and buses in February grew at their fastest rate in three years, indicating that the economy is picking up apace. Sales of commercial vehicles grew for the fourth straight month , according to figures released by the Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

They grew 10.1 per cent in February from a year ago.

Sales of cars also grew for a fourth straight month, rising 6.85 from a year ago. Sugato Sen, Deputy Director General of Automobile Manufacturers, was hopeful that growth would continue, saying that “commercial vehicle sales are a reflection of economic activity in the country, the challenge will be to sustain it.” (Mint March 11)

Chinese, South Korean firms India-bound

China’s Baoding Tanwei Group and South Korea’s Hyosung Corporation plan to set up electricity transmission equipment manufacturing facilities in India. “Due to the mandatory requirement that one needs to have a manufacturing base in India and the size of the electricity transmission equipment market here, firms such as BTW and Hyosung have firmed up plans to manufacture transformers here,” said a senior industry official. (Mint March 4)

Technical tie-ups for rail infrastructure

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the Indian rail network can grow faster with a partnership model. He said that the ministry would be setting up a new body to enhance partnership with the private sector to raise efficiency and speed in the implementation of rail projects. “We need partnership which is our thrust area… ..Partnership can help the Railways grow faster,” he said at an international conference in New Delhi attended by the ambassadors of China, France and the Czech Republic. He continued: “We seek partnership with many of you and I look forward to Railways becoming a growth engine, Railways becoming the wheels of social transformation.”

(Business Line March 12)

Ratan Tata to head Railway advisory body

Ratan Tata, former head of the Tata Group has been appointed by Railway Minister to head an advisory council to suggest improvements in the

Ratan Tata

system and its modernization to make it for purpose in the 21 century. (Business Line March 20)

US envoy for inclusive growth

US Ambassador Richard Verma

US Ambassador Richard Verma, addressing a conference in Kolkata, said one of the purposes of pan-Asian connectivity was inclusive growth, with India as an emerging leader in crafting such enabling policies. “It is worth noting that India is emerging as a regional leader in creating policies to encourage inclusive economic growth.” In this context, he praised the work of Kolkata-based Bandhan microfinance, which has been granted a provisional banking licence by the Reserve Bank of India. Ambassador Verma praised Bandhan’s efforts to promote inclusive growth , citing it as one of the examples of “goodgovernance.” (Business Line March 12)

Harley-Davidson cruising in India

The Indian unit of the USbased Harley-Davidson Inc is to start exporting the Street 750 and Street 500 models to Europe and Asia as the iconic motorbike seeks to accelerate sales across the continents.

The company’s two manufacturing units are in Kansas City and Gurgaon in Haryana in the outskirts of Delhi. “That will certainly drive production planning for the plant in India,” said Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, HarleyDavidson India. Prakash, a former in the US Marine Corp who did his MBA at the Harvard Business School, returned to India to take charge of the company’s Gurgaon unit, which is set to target the ASEAN bloc including Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia,

The government of the new state of Telangana is to focus on education and irrigation, according to the budget presented to the State Assembly.

Telagana was a part of the old Andhra Pradesh, which was bifurcated after a prolonged campaign to redress the traditional economic imbalance between the two halves of the State (Business Line March 10)

Bengal’s shame, India’s shame

The attack on a Christian school in the West Bengal border town of Ranaghat has shocked and aroused public opinion across the State. The school was robbed; worse was the rape of a 74 year-old nun by the assailants, all caught on CCTV, although at the time of writing no arrests have been made. Bengal has had, still has, a close relationship between Hindu and Christian communities, bound by language, culture and mutual regard. The prompt response of the BJP, Communists, Congress and Trinamool Congress to the outrage was no surprise. The candle light vigil in Kolkata and the interfaith prayers led by Cardinal Beselios Cleemis from Kerala, captured the mood of the city.

Forgiveness

The abused nun, repeating the message of Christ from the cross, asked that her abuser be forgiven. West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, a loose cannon at the best of times, went berserk, accusing the BJP and the Communists of exploiting the situation. The children from the school took out a procession with placards appealing to political parties not to politicize the tragedy and to consider humanity. A reluctant Chief Minister has been forced, against her inclinations, to call in the CBI to help in the investigation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed that all the relevant reports on the ongoing investigation be delivered to him.

Education is (and has been )greatly prized by Bengalis; and Christian schools and colleges in the State have and do give students the best available instruction. That is why applications for admission to these institutions outnumber the places on offer. The vast majority of pupils, from all classes and ethnicities, come from a Hindu background, otherwise these institutions wouldn’t be financially viable. (Telegraph, Times of India, Ananda Bazar Patrika (in Bengali) March 1721)

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Cllr Rabi Martins

UK

13

Watford Borough Council

Indian and the Election - we don’t get told to sit in third class Remember, there stands a statue of Gujarati on Parliament Square. And that is why British Indians will swing this election, and change Britain forever. Let me explain.

The Labour de facto stranglehold on the British Indian block vote is at an end.

Why this huge shift?

Ironically a Labour MP put it best. At a National Congress of Gujarati Organisations event organised by this paper, at which I spoke, alongside Labour MP Keith Vaz – Keith pointed out that Lord Feldman (Conservative Party CoChairman) had done more to reach out to British Indians than any Conservative in the past. And Lord Feldman said himself that the Conservatives had previously not done enough.

A study by the cross-party group Operation Black Vote (OBV) suggests that in 168 marginal seats, the ethnic minority vote is bigger than the majority of the sitting MP. The Conservatives secured only 16% of the minority vote at the last election, compared with 68% for Labour.

Given how much has been done by the Tories to woo ethnic minorities, acknowledged openly by Labour stalwart Keith Vaz, the figures should improve in this election. And so British Indians clearly could swing this election, as never before.

But as I said in my speech, if there is any part of the political system you are not happy with, you think does not get you as a British Indian, then remember there stands a statue of a Gujarati in Parliament

Square. We don’t get told to sit in third class. If we don’t like something, we look it in the eye, we square up for a fight. If the Tories are the Party of Government, and we want some of that, we aint going to sit in opposition sulking with Labour.

So if you think you have Tory values but don’t think the Party would be welcoming, flood the membership, join, make it like you. Because if you don’t and they form the Government, then you are part of the problem – not them. They are ready, willing and able to welcome you. You who goes where they please, you who are the sons and daughters of revolutionaries like Gandhi.

Lord Feldman told me after the event – he can’t understand it, everywhere he looks hugely successful British Indians, yet not at the top of FTSE 100 companies or top of Government – the reason is they don’t have the confidence to apply.

Excuses of bias are easy. And yes it is all about who you know – so get out there, and get knowing the right people. There will be no favours just because you’re British Indian, you wouldn’t want favours anyway.

But you already have all it takes, you have the skills, the ability, the reputation of your community that you are the best at all you do and achieve – but success doesn’t knock on your door, you go knock the bloody door down – that’s the Gujarati way in business, in academics, in everything else – and so too it must be in Politics – just blow the bloody doors of opportunity off.

Are men afraid of female bosses?

It is the year 2015 and society has forged forward and accepted many traditional and contemporary traits as part of their own.

However, equality is still questionable in society, especially in regards to men and women and gender roles. Statistics show that there are currently 10 women serving as Chief Constables or are in equivalent ranking across 43 forces in England and Wales. It seems as though there is still a long way to go until men and women are finally equal.

Chief Constable of Northumbria, Sue Sim, pictured, seems to have made her male colleagues scared of her. Senior male

officers have complained about how Sue Sim allegedly dispirited them after being on the receiving end of her tyrant treatment. Sim is currently facing misconduct proceedings after superintendents and chief inspectors complained to the area's police and crime commissioner, Vera Baird, QC. A person who is aware of the allegations on Sue Sim said, “One woman has all these grown men walking on eggshells because they're terrified of her. She's a heart on sleeve person but the knives seem to be out for her.”

What could be understood from this scenario is that the men were finding

it uncomfortable or intimidating to have a female boss and, perhaps, would rather be bossed around by a man than a woman.

Currently, Sue Sim has not been suspended as the investigations are being carried out. Sim states, “I will, of course, cooperate fully with the investigation and I am keen to do so at the earliest opportunity.”

Working with the community to build a better Harrow The Labour administration has ambitious plans for Harrow.

We all know about the housing crisis in Harrow.

When I’m out on the doorstep I’ve heard stories from people of all ages about their struggles with housing, from being ripped off by their landlord to not being able to move out of home due to rocketing house and rental prices.

Everyone is concerned about housing in Harrow at the moment.

It is clear that we need to start building affordable homes and since taking over in May 2014 we have been working round the clock to kick start this

process, with building work on the first Council Houses to be built since the 80s in Harrow due to start in early summer. This is only the start of our ambitious plans.

Last month we successfully bid for £31.2m of funding to build new homes in the Harrow & Wealdstone Town Centre.

As well as tackling the housing crisis this will create new jobs and apprenticeships for our young people; which also fulfils one of our key manifesto pledges.

As an administration we are clear that it should be local residents that benefit from these redevelopments, from new housing

and leisure facilities to a new Civic Centre that will be designed for all the community to use and benefit from.

As with everything the Council does we need to work closely with residents and ensure that their views are heard. Residents will have a unique opportunity to become involved in shaping the plans through public meetings and a special Regeneration Panel, which will influence how the plans are taken forward.

Over the coming months we look forward to working with residents as we build a better Harrow together.

UN Anti-Racism Day demonstration held in Central London UN Anti-Racism Day was marked by many international demonstrators on Saturday 21st March 2015, where people stood up to racism and fascism.

Parliamentarians, Trade unionists, Faith communities anti-racism activists, youth and students joined the national demonstration by marching through Central London.

This mass demonstration commemorated UN Anti-Racism Day which was also part of series of mobilisations which took place in cities across the world.

The main messages that came from this demonstration were, “Stand up to racism and fascism - No to Islamophobia -Stamp out anti-Semitism – Black Lives Matter - Immigrants are welcome here – yes to diversity.”

MP Diane Abbott stated, “A wave of ugly immigrant-bashing racism is sweeping through Britain, led by UKIP, pandered to by the media and conceded to by many others. This demonstration is the start of the fight back. We have to gather everyone willing to stand up to racism.”

Senior Lecturer of the University of East Anglia, Marina Prentoulis said, “The banner of the International Brigades at the Peoples’ Museum, Manchester is a precious reminder of how we came together, volunteers from 53 different nations, to fight fascism in Spain in 1936.

Once again, we are called today to fight against the rise of fascism and racism across Europe. Once again, we have to unite across nations and once again we have to form a wall that extremism in all its forms, from Islamophobia to AntiSemitism and Nazism will not pass.”

Gethin Roberts, Founding member of

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners added, “Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners was formed because we believed in solidarity- standing up for others when they are under attack. 30 years ago it was the miners that were under attack, today its Muslims, migrants and others who are being scapegoated and vilified and who are on the receiving end of racism and bigotry. The bigotry used against these communities in the morning is used against LGBTI communities in the afternoon. That’s why we say, stand up to racism and why we are proud to join the UN AntiRacism Day demonstration.”

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Labour election rival apologises to Priti Patel for offensive tweets Conservative MP, Priti Patel has accused Labour election rival, John Clarke of sending her “misogynistic” and “racist” tweets while also labelling her as a “sexy Bond villain”. She also claims that John Clarke compared her to the “village idiot.” Priti Patel wants Clarke to be furloughed.

Priti Patel (42) who was elected in 2010 with a 15,000 majority informed the Labour leader, Ed Miliband regarding Clarke's tweets and labelled him as a “nasty piece of work.” She also told Miliband that Clarke was making "derogatory, sleazy and demeaning comments, which had misogynistic and racist undertones to them".

Patel has also accused Clarke of lying after he

Priti Patel

claimed in a leaflet that Patel employed her husband, Alex Sawyer on more than £50,000 a year, also hinting that she was the most expensive MP in the UK. John Clarke has apologised to Priti Patel. “I would like to apologise to you for any offence caused and assure you that any inaccuracies will not be repeated.”

John Clarke

A Labour Party spokesman added, “The candidate has apologised for any offence caused and we are satisfied that any inaccuracies will not be repeated."

However, Priti Patel has retaliated and said, “Until Ed Miliband turns around and says 'this is not acceptable, we are taking action against this individual', it is simply not enough."

Petition presented to Commons criticising downsizing of visa services The Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Britain’s longest serving MP of Asian origin, has presented a petition to the House of Commons, which was based on a petition signed by 250 residents in Leicester East. The petition expresses the deep concerns of the petitioners with the downsizing of visa services in Mumbai and Dhaka.

Keith Vaz said: “The decisions made to centralise visa services in South Asia, which has led to the removal of all visa decision making powers from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and downsize services in Mumbai, India, have been

widely lambasted.

The petitioners have expressed concerns that this will significantly delay visa applications in both countries, and any human interaction or face-to-face interviews are being increasingly removed from

the application process, to the detriment of both the applicant and the UK. In stark contrast, the Indian government recently announced that it would be opening 14 visa application centres throughout the United Kingdom. After opening the new full-time centre in Leicester, I certainly view this as a positive move which will provide a convenient and effective service for people across the United Kingdom.

I hope the government will address the concerns of the petitioners, and perhaps learn some lessons from our friends in India.”

Gang on money laundering charges A GANG of men, including one from Oldham, will appear at Manchester Crown Court next month charged with money laundering.

Nokhaz Adam Haider (34), of Broomhurst Avenue, Werneth, appeared at Manchester City Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday last week alongside Gurinder Singh

(27) of Manchester, and Razwan Munir (38) and Imran Sarwar (31), both of Altrincham. Waqar Afzal (50) and Umar Murtaza Haq (35), both of Manchester appeared in court last Thursday.

Police raided addresses in Cheetham Hill, Salford and Hale Barns, Altrincham, Openshaw, Bolton, Oldham and Sale

last November and seized high-value cars designer handbags and shoes, perfume, significant amounts of cash and laptops.

The raids were part of an eight-month investigation into money laundering by organised crime groups across Europe. All six were remanded in custody to appear at crown court on April 1.

Slough man missing for over a week Rajan Gill (20) from Slough has been missing for more than a week. He was last seen leaving his house in Manor Park at around 4pm on Monday 16th March 2015.

Gill's aunt, Kalvinder Dhupper has made an emotional appeal for her nephew to come back home. She said, “Rajan, you have now been missing for a week and we’re all so worried about you.

Please come home or call us or the police to let us know you are ok. We know that you have been feeling a little low recently but there is nothing we can’t do as a family to help and support you. We all miss you, especially your two little sisters who want

their big brother home. I would also ask for everyone to look at the photos of Rajan, please just check. You may have seen him but not known he is missing or in need of help.”

His aunt further added, “To go missing like this is totally out of character for him. He is a gentle soul, a quiet, but caring man he wouldn’t put his family through this. We have had no clues to his whereabouts, he cannot have just disappeared.

Someone will have seen him but maybe not realised that we are all searching for him. So please check the photographs again and if you have seen him please call

NCGO Political Conference The National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (UK) held a political conference on Monday 23rd March 2015.

This event took place in Central London and had many dignitaries present, such as Rt Hon Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for the Communities and was held for the forthcoming general elections and included one representative from the three main political parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats).

Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar Publisher/Editor

Rt Hon Eric Pickles

Four ‘Sun’ journalists found not guilty Rupert Murdoch's tabloid, The Sun is synonymous with controversies. On Friday, four senior journalists were cleared of making illegal payments to public officials. The latest reporters are to be acquitted after a substantial police investigation.

The journalists, the chief reporter and royal editor, the deputy editor and the newspaper's executive editor were found not guilty of making illegal payments to military figures for information, which also included

details on Prince William and Prince Harry.

On the other hand, a former Ministry of Defence employee was jailed for a year after proof of the newspaper paying £100,000 for passing on stories.

After the verdict, the newspaper's royal editor, Duncan Larcombe stated, “There is no celebration whilst this witch hunt continues against my colleagues who are still facing the nightmare that I hopefully one day will wake up from."

This extensive police investigation into illegal payments emerged from an inquiry about phone hackings journalists from the News of the World newspaper.

This consequently led to the imprisonment of Andy Coulson, the ex-editor of News of the World along with several other senior members of staff in June 2014.

The four journalists were found not guilty by a jury at London's Old Bailey criminal court after 10 days of contemplation.

A Unique Project by Brick Lane Circle On Thursday 19th March 2015, a project launch took place for Human Stories and The East India Company: a unique project by Brick Lane Circle.

The launch took place at Whitechapel and had many guests from many various professional fields talking about the East India Company and its prominence in the United Kingdom. There were many guest speakers, such as the author of the novel, Lascar, Shahida Rahman as well as the author of the novel, The World Beyond, Sangeeta Bhargava.

The purpose of this project was to encourage people from all walks of life to participate in exploring objects, institutions and human stories linked with Britain and Asia through the East

Authors, Shahida Rahman and Sangeeta Bhargava at the project launch, Whitechapel

India Company for about two and a half centuries. It also showcased the impact the East India Company had on people living in London and how that changed over the years.

Those who wish to be a part of this group will get the opportunity to go on excursions to the National Maritime Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the British

Library plus many other institutes which are have relevant records and associations with the East India Company. In addition, they will help you improve your creative writing skills on heritage fiction writing. For those interested in applying, visit www.bricklanecircle.org for more information. The closing date is Monday 20th April 2015.

Elderly couple abused and burgled in Leicester

the police.”

Rajan Gill is Asian and is 5 foot 6 inches tall with black hair. He was last seen wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a grey cardigan and a black jacket.

If anyone has any information about Rajan's whereabouts, they are urged to call the police on 101, quoting “URN 1505 16/3.”

An elderly couple were attacked and burgled on the night of Tuesday 17th March 2015, in Leicester.

People in the street in which the elderly couple were attacked by burglars have expressed shock and disgust at the crime. Witnesses claimed that the elderly man was punched in the face while the burglars threatened his wife.

One neighbour said: “I think most people here feel unsafe after what happened to this couple.

The thought of people coming into your home is

bad enough, but when they come in when you are there is very frightening. There have been problems in this road before. About a year ago a lady had a gold chain snatched from her neck while she was standing outside her house.”

The Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator for the area, Ratilal Govind said, “This is a shocking crime but we have very good police officers in this area and I am confident they will catch these men.”

Both of the attackers

were Asian men, age 20 or 21. One was slim, approximately 5 foot 10 inches in height and was wearing black clothes, including a hooded top that covered his face. He was also wearing gloves.

Contact Detective Constable Sam Bates on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

Dal Dhaliwal

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Millennial Fitness

W

Sunetra Senior

ith business that is booming, and increasingly regular segments across leading Asian channels – including BritAsia TV and BBC’s Asian Network – Dal emerges a personality on the UK’s fitness scene. As we spoke about her particular journey, those little tips we should all keep in mind as busy-bodies on the go, and of course the place it all started - her one-on-one women’s training gym ‘BodyPerfect', it became clear why she is so lauded. Dal understands the landscape, both socially and emotionally, and as 21st century individuals, our physical lives are an intrinsic part of this: “That’s what makes my approach so unique” she pointed out, “I’m also a life-coach who works from the inside” Upbeat and relatable, this is especially encouraging to hear as we continue the momentum into the New Year:

What attracted you to the area of fitness?

It’s ironic how it started really; with an exercise bike from Argos which I set up in my own box-size bedroom! I started off when it wasn’t the ideal career choice for an Asian woman, and I actually went into beauty therapy – working on department store counters etc. because that was more of a girly job. It wasn’t until I got married at 22, had my two children and put on the baby weight that the real training began. I’d done aerobics classes for example, but that wasn’t the intensive stuff.

As a stay-at-home mum, I couldn’t go to the gym so I just put my bike in the corner, spread out a couple of fitness magazines, got my stereo blaring, and off I went. I really felt the benefits then.

How does physical health affect positive change?

The physical development is always a reflection of the changes inside. And women especially have so many responsibilities. We are constantly chasing our tails; that’s why approaching exercise from the point of view of a life coach is a big part of my service.

Everyone is different but what they all have in common is the search for happiness. The inability to regulate eating habits or control cravings always goes back to that one need. So I have that consultation first and ask the specific questions. I don’t just beast you on the floor and make you a hundred sit-ups so you’re left in a pile of sweat! You don’t want that when you’ve 'increasing come to me with bad sleeping, and your periyour energy ods and hormones are all over the place. It’s about is about improving confidence as doing less.' much as the outside: that’s what will really affect your weight.

And how did your own company ‘Body Perfect’ come into being?

When my kids got older – I have three daughters now, aged 16, 18 and 21, one

of whom is really into psychology which has become my interest too – I considered going to college, but then my husband said ‘why not the fitness? You’re really good at it!” This was1998, I am 46 now (I gasp) – and there were not that many female fitness instructors at the time. I aimed high with the most prestigious club in the West Midlands known as Virgin Active today. I strategized by becoming a

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daughter too. It was also challenging because I chose to start a business in the middle of a recession.

People were actively saying to me ‘don’t do it.’ But I felt I had a lot to offer and wanted to move on.

I wanted my own place where the customer was going to be looked after because I’d noticed that a lot of personal training gyms are actually quite shabby and didn’t have that sense of comfort.

Did you face many barriers?

When I was training to be an instructor it did feel strange as I was often the only Asian woman.

Not many people take the job seriously, let alone when it comes to people of our background. It was seen as just a hobby. But I am not too bothered about things like that, I get on with everyone. I just carried on doing my thing.

What are some of your recommended snacks?

Having been a bit of a sugar addict, my choices have always been a stand-in for that – organic yoghurt, pineapples and particularly almonds are good power foods. Also having a mug of hot water in the morning with a few pieces of lemon gets you feeling zingy and energised. It gets your metabolism going to help with that weight-loss. It helps settles your stomach too.

Working in the city can be very draining. What else can you suggest for 'There’s a lifestyle boost? only one of As well as the nutrition, write down what you you and you’re want to achieve for the day – not too completely unique; much because you’ll just tire yourself out. be the best One or two things possible version that you want to get done, and focus on of yourself.' that. Also, what is important is making sure to rest and chill out. That’s what helps your energy levels in the long run: gentle mediation, focusing on breathing, reading a book or going to the cinema.

Increasing your energy is actually about doing less! Try not to base it around food if you can. I know a lot of people like to go to restaurants. People come to me complaining that they’re not doing enough exercise, but they actually have a lot of that in their life. It’s those glowing screens member and really getting to know them, and stressful situations that you need disand within three months I’d been protance yourself from. You can exercise as moted. I’d always had the vision of hard as you want, but you’ll regress if you expanding out, and that just got bigdon’t address that emotional baggage. ger as I continued moving up there. I You’ll just yo-yo with the dieting: train the thought of maybe mobile training, brain! going house to house, but ended up wanting a whole gym. Later, I Finally, what can we expect for the also decided to make it a future? women’s only experience I want to start my own teaching academy because it just felt right. I alongside the personal business to show wanted to work with women, especially Asian women, that a women in their thirties career in motivating others can be very who were trying to lose lucrative and respectable. I’m combining that post-pregnancy my own business and fitness acumen to weight and balance their show others they can do the same. The career with a healthy routine. brain science and psychology is going to be a huge part of that education as well.

That sounds like the episode of ‘The Simpsons’ when Marge Dal’s TV Specials starts her own little same-sex gym, Having recently looked at diabetes as a ‘Curves’, and it ends up being a huge prominent condition in the Asian comsuccess… munity in a two-part special, Dhaliwal's Haha. It was a little like that actually. I remember talking to the people higher up new bit ‘Dal’s Vitality Show’ will air and joking with them ‘one day you can online on BodyPower.TV in the summer. come work for me’, and they would just This interviews women and men about say ‘oh whatever Dal’ and sometime their body image, and arrives at soludown the line, there they were, standing tions after identifying the neuroses. at my launch party. But it was hard. My brothers are big entrepreneurs too and I Don't miss it! was feeling the pressure. I had a lot to prove. My dad hadn’t been too enthusiaswww.bodyperfectpt.com tic about it from the beginning, and I twitter.com/daldhaliwalpt wanted to show that I could do it as his

SPECIAL

Easter marks resurrection of Lord Jesus from death

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Lord Jesus Christ suffers and dies on the cross on Good Friday. It represents the lowest point in the story of this man who did nothing but good. It’s a tragic ending to a life spent loving people. The world had pronounced its judgment on Jesus: he was a failure, and his mission was now doomed to die with him on his cross.

The events leading to his crucifixion are heartrending, the circumstances surrounding his death, even more so.

Abandoned by the people he had come to redeem, abandoned by closest friends, he now seemed abandoned by his heavenly Father as well. What more could the world want in showing itself.

Jesus was utterly alone.

The loneliness of Good Friday, when the beloved Son of God died hanging on the cross is the loneliness all of us experience when suffering and pain assail us and when all the world seems to have abandoned us, when even our strength seems not to be there for us. It is the experience of

Navratri, the word is formed using two words 'Nava' and 'Ratri'. Nava means nine and Ratri means nights hence Navratri literally means nine nights. During the festival of Navratri, Maa Durga is worshipped and revered in Her various forms for ten days and nine nights. Navratri is celebrated four times a year, during the Navratri Festival the nine manifestations of Goddess Durga are revered and worshipped for nine nights and ten days. The four different Navratri that are celebrated are Magh Navratri, also known as Gupt Navratri (January – February), Vasant Navratri, also known as Chaitra Navratri (March April), Ashad Navratri, also known as Gupt Navratri (June – July) and Shardiya Navratri, also known as Maha Navratri (September - October).

Out of these four Navratris the Vasant Navratri and Shardiya Navratri are especially considered important and auspicious by devotees. In 2015, Vasant Navratri Festival will be celebrated from 21st March to 29th March, 2015 and Shardiya Navratri will be celebrated from 13th October to 23rd October 2015. The nine nights of Navratri are considered as most auspicious period to perform devotional sadhanas, worship Goddess Durga and perform Navratri Puja.

every human heart that has come face to face with pain. God does not pretend to take the pain away from us. As on Good Friday, he didn’t take his Son down from the cross, so does he not

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take our crosses away from us at times. But as on Good Friday when Jesus hung on the cross, God is unmistakably there, bearing our pain with us, joining us in our suffering, weeping with

us, and with us, seeking to find a way to change our suffering into joy.

Good Friday is not the end of our story, just as it wasn’t the end of Jesus.

The forty days’ time, prior to Easter is known as Lent. Lent is the most important time of the year to nurture our inner life.

It is the time during which we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus, but also the death and resurrection that constantly takes place within us. Life is a continuing process of the

death of the old and the familiar, and being reborn again into a new hope, a new trust and a new love.

The death and resurrection of Lord Jesus therefore is not just an historical event that took place a long time ago, but an inner event that takes place in our own heart when we are willing to let go of everything that prevents us from growing into spiritual maturity.

Lent is a time to discover and experience the love of God. What can we say about God’s love?

God’s love is unconditional. God does not say,

“I love you, if….”. There are no ‘ifs’ in God’s heart.

God’s love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity, God’s love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God’s love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances.

The entire world is reminded again this week of the hope that lives and endures forever. Easter is time of joy and renewal.

Easter is the season many Christians will celebrate a hope that overcomes even death. These holy days represent some of the most profound hopes of humanity, which are shared in many traditions.

We feel our reliance on the Creator who made us.

We place our sorrows and cares before Him, seeking God’s mercy. We ask for forgiveness for our failures, seeking the renewal God can bring.

Christopher Benjamin Presbyterian Church, Wembley

Puja is done in which 9 girls (who haven’t attained puberty) symbolizing nine manifestations of Maa Durga are worshipped and fed.

Legends of Navratri Festival in India There are different legends associated with Navratri in different parts of India: • North India: In North India it is believed that once there was a might demon Mahishasura who performed penance for Lord Shiva and gained unlimited power. Drunk with power he started terrorizing heaven and earth, terrified Gods asked Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva asked all Gods to combine their powers and create a divine female warrior Goddess Durga. Goddess Durga fought demon Mahishasura for nine days

and nights and at the end of the ninth night She beheaded the demon.

Thus the tenth day of Navratri is also celebrated as Vijayadashami.

Another legend is that Lord Ram worshipped Maa Durga in Her nine manifestations for nine nights before the war with demon king Ravana. On the tenth day Lord Ram slayed the demon king Ravana. Thus the nine nights are celebrated as Navratri and the tenth day as Vijayadashami or Dusshera.

• East India: In East India it is believed that Maa Uma, the daughter of king Daksha, the king of the Himalayas was a devotee of Lord Shiva and wanted to marry Him. To win over Lord Shiva Maa Uma performed severe penance and managed to please Lord Shiva. But king Daksha wasn't pleased with his daughter choice and once when he organized a Yajna he didn't invite Lord Shiva.

Angered with Her husband's insult Maa Uma ended Her life by jumping into the agnikund of the Yagna. Thus Maa Uma came to be known as Goddess Sati, Maa Uma took re-birth and again won Lord Shiva as her groom. It is believed that during Navratri, Maa Uma comes down to earth every year with Ganesh, Kartik, Saraswati and Laxmi and two of her best friends Jaya and Bijaya.

Navratri and its significance

The nine manifestations of Goddess Durga are worshipped each day of Navratri these incarnations are Goddess Shailputri, Brahmcharni, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. Worshipping the nine Goddess is the primary ritual of any Navratri Puja.

Rituals of Navratri Festival • First 3 days (1st 3rd day of Navratri): The first three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the Goddess of power. On the first day, barley seeds are sown in a mud pot and the pot is kept on the Puja Altar.

• Second 3 days (4th – 6th day of Navratri): The second three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity.

• Third 3 days (7th – 9th day of Navratri): The

next three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and learning.

Mahanavami : Navratri culminates with Mahanavami. Kanya Puja is performed on Mahanavami in which nine young girls (prepuberty) representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshipped and

fed.

During nine days of Navratri Festival Goddess Durga is worshipped for all nine days. It’s best to conduct the Puja at a particular time each day, sunrise is considered as the best time. On the first day Sthapana of idol of Goddess Durga and the Kalash with mango leaves and coconut is done on the chowki. Also barley seeds are sown in the clay pot and watered.

Offer the prayers to Maa Durga and conduct Aarti. To w o r s h i p Goddess Durga one may recite the Durga Saptshati each day of the Navratri.

On the ninth day of Navratri, Kanya

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UK

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Why is now a great time to invest in British companies?

A question that almost every trader and investor in the UK has in mind is quite simply "where's the FTSE 100 headed a few weeks down the road?". I know this because from all the people I meet on various occasions this is the most usual question. To put it in simple words so we can really drill down to the core essence of it: is the FTSE 100 headed higher over the medium term or not?

I will keep this plain and tidy because I know that many readers will find this analysis helpful. So here it goes, the FTSE 100s’performance is influenced by roughly three forces: the performance of the British Pound, the interest rate policy and the performance of the other global indices, namely the major US stock markets.

So starting with the British Pound, we can assess that the Sterling has been trading relatively sideways against its counterparties in recent times. It has declined against the US Dollar and I think it will continue to do so but at the same time it has appreciated versus the Euro and I believe this trend will continue, especially with the Euro-zone now undergoing another easing program. So to sum it up, I expect the Pound to remain flat on average against the other currencies.

Thus I expect no pressures upwards or downwards on the FTSE from the Pound.

Now taking a look on the matter of the interest rate policy and the Bank of England's intentions on it we know what they intend to do: raise the interest rates.

But we also know that they won't do it soon due to two reasons: the domestic progress is not yet sufficient and also they would want to wait for the US Federal Reserve Bank to go first. And the Fed will most likely pull the trigger after June so no rate change from the BoE is expected either before that.

As long as the Bank of England leaves the interest rates at their current levels we know that this is a bullish indicator for the stock market as investors love cheap money supply. Hence we can count that as a precursor towards further gains for the FTSE 100 at least until the BoE becomes more serious about a rate hike.

But what about the US stock markets and their correlation with the domestic stock index? It is true that the FTSE 100 takes its cue from the US markets most of the time as the investment sentiment is a global affair nowadays. And as I mentioned above Fed's reluctance to hike their interest rates means that the likes of Dow Jones and co. will have more room to grow to the upside.

Alpesh Patel Asian Voice readers get 33% off my FX online training course: www.udemy.com/tradefx4profit (coupon code: AsianVoice1)

India overtakes US as 3rd biggest steel producer

India has overtaken the US to become the third-biggest steel producer in the world with a production of 14.56 million tonnes (MT) in first two months of the year. India has been the fourth-biggest steel producer for the past five years, behind China, Japan and the US. Data compiled

by World Steel Association (WSA) showed that India’s production growth was the highest during the January-February period at 7.6 per cent as compared to the global average of just 0.6 per cent at 127.6 MT. Production in China, which accounts for nearly half of the global steel production, fell during the period by 1.5 per cent. It produced 65 MT steel during the period. Japan, the second-largest producer, reported a total output of 17.4 MT, but production in

the country fell 2.2 per cent. The US, which was the third-largest steel producer since 2010, produced 13.52 MT during the January-February period, giving away its position to India. On a yearly basis, India may retain the position given the fact that a lot of capacities are set to be commissioned during the year from its present installed manufacturing capacity of a little over 100 MT. Production in the US, on the other hand, is heading for a stagnation with no signs of growth in the immediate future. Output in the US has been hovering between 86 MT and 88 MT for the last four years.

The gap of production between the two countries was just 5 MT last year.

Interestingly, the US snatched the third slot from India in 2009.

FDI in India doubles to $4.48 bn in Jan Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

The inflows were at USD 18.74 billion during the same period a year ago. Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecom received the maximum FDI of USD 2.83 billion in the 10month period, followed by services (USD 2.64 billion), automobiles (USD

2.04 billion), computer software and hardware (USD 1.30 billion) and pharmaceuticals (USD 1.25 billion). During the period (AprilJanuary), India received the maximum FDI from Mauritius at USD 7.66 billion, followed by Singapore (USD 5.26 billion), the Netherlands (USD 3.13 billion), Japan (USD 1.61 billion) and the US (USD 1.58 billion).

In 2013-14, FDI stood at USD 24.29 billion as against USD 22.42 billion

a year earlier. Healthy inflow of foreign investments into the country helped India's balance of payments (BoP) situation and stabilized the value of rupee.

India is estimated to require around USD 1 trillion over five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

Government is taking steps to boost FDI in India and has relaxed norms in sectors, including insurance, railways and medical devices.

The Narendra Modi government unveiled a set of stringent provisions, including a 90% penalty on those who have undisclosed foreign assets and income overseas as it introduced a Bill to deal with black money stashed abroad. This will be above the 30% levy on the value of assets or income that will be imposed.

But those who want to avoid the hefty penalty will be given the option to pay 30% penalty of the value of undisclosed assets and avoid prosecution, the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha proposed.

Although the government wants the law to be active from April 2016, it has not specified how long the one-time compliance window would be open. The Bill has also detailed safeguards to prevent any mis-

use of the stiff provisions by tax authorities. Apart from penalty, the bill provides imprisonment of up to 10 years for concealment, non-disclosure, false declaration as well as abetment. The provision for abetment can put financial advisers and chartered accountants in the crosshairs of the law should they be deemed guilty of cooking the books.

“It's not an amnesty scheme because under amnesty you only pay tax, and no penalty. Here the requirement is to pay tax at 30% and equivalent 30% as penalty. The intention of the government is not to give a soft landing facility to anyone. The one-time compliance opportunity is to enable such people who have hidden assets abroad to come clean and avail of the opportunity. It is not a rev-

enue mobilization measure,” revenue secretary Shaktikanta Das said.

Asked about the time frame of the compliance window, Das said it would be notified after the passage of the bill.

The Bill, was announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech on February 28, as the BJP government moved to smother the criticism of going soft on black money, a key poll plank during the 2014 general elections.

The Bill is the latest move to get money stashed overseas back into India, even as the tax department has also asked its officers to focus on illegal wealth within the country as well.

Apart from the penalty, the legislation also lists a 10-year jail term for “wilful attempt to evade tax.”

Anyone who possesses or controls documents or

books of accounts with false entries or statement, wilfully omits entries or statements in the papers, or takes steps that result in tax evasion will be treated as wilful evader.

“In the prosecution proceedings, the wilful nature of the default shall be presumed and it shall be for the accused to prove the absence of the guilty state of mind,” the government said. Further, the Bill has proposed imprisonment of six months to seven years for failure to provide details of foreign assets and income, or interest in a overseas entity, in tax returns as well as for making false statement. A similar term is proposed for those abetting making of false statement, a move that will impose a burden on chartered accountants and financial advisers who are often involved with overseas transactions.

When most of the illustrious names in grocery chains like Carrefour of France, Tesco of Britain and Walmart of the United States, are making a retreat from their overseas forays, two German chains, Aldi and Lidl are making it big in their international expansion.

They are now the world’s biggest “deep-discount” grocers, offering mostly their own brands of goods and almost no premium-priced products.

The Schwarz Group, which owns Lidl as well as a hypermarket brand, Kaufland, is also Europe’s biggest retailer. As mainstream supermarket groups contract, in Europe especially, the German duo continue to eat up market share. So, how far can they go?

In their home market their position is strong, though far from dominant.

Their combined share of sales among German foodretailing chains was just over a quarter last year.

Aldi (which is divided into two legally separate but co-operating companies, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd) had 14.8% and Lidl 10.9%. In Europe as a whole they are still relatively small: Aldi has a 3.3% share of sales and Lidl 3.8%. In Britain where the two increased their sales by 22.6% and 15.1% respectively last year - their combined share is now 8.5%. Aldi, which already has 600 stores in Britain, aims to have about 1,000 outlets by 2022.

Aldi’s performance in Australia has been impressive.

The discounter opened its first store there in 2001 but already has about 10% of the grocery market on the eastern seaboard. It recently

announced plans to spend A$700m ($530m) on distribution centres and outlets to expand into southern and western Australia.

In America, Aldi has been quietly growing for decades. Aldi Süd has 1,375 stores under its own name, mainly on the east coast, but has expanded into Texas, Florida and California. Aldi Nord operates 435 shops in America under the name of Trader Joe’s. Together they have just 1.7% of the national market. But in 2013 the group announced a $3 billion expansion plan, to add 650 Aldi-branded stores.

Lidl had planned to enter the American market this year but has postponed this until 2018.

Despite the impression of relentless expansion, Aldi is picky when it looks abroad. It only “seeks out countries where returns

on groceries are significantly higher than global averages,” explains Paul Foley, a former head of Aldi UK. Usually this is because the local market is dominated by a few giants.

Britain is one such place.

Australia is another: Aldi has muscled in on a cosy near-duopoly between the Woolworths and Coles chains. In America, Aldi started out in those states and regions where market conditions were similar.

As a family-owned, private company, with no need to appease outside investors, Aldi grows slowly and organically, Foley explains, “to suck the profitability out of the industry in favour of the consumer.”

This is not the only way in which its strategy is self-limiting. Aldi is highly protective of its reputation as a squeaky-clean, familyowned business.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India more than doubled to USD 4.48 billion in January, the highest inflow in last 29 months.

In January 2014, India had received USD 2.18 billion in FDI. It was in September 2012 that India had attracted FDI that was worth USD 4.67 billion.

During the AprilJanuary period of the current fiscal, the foreign inflows have grown by 36 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 25.52 billion, according to data from Department of Industrial

India unveils stiff law for black money stashed abroad

The success story of Aldi and Lidl

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

19

Undercurrents of the property market

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

The market is softening, more so on the higher values. A property we purchased for £2.625m with a market value of £3.2m is sticking, and it should not be, we have had offers at £3m post completion but this isn't quite high enough. In ordinary times this should have been sold already and long ago.

I have had firsthand reports of leading valuers marking properties in prime locations, such as Victoria, down. The price of around £2m is especially being hit. The valuation for these types of properties are being down marked by 15-20% on 90 day valuations, the cause of this are the upcoming elections, and the dreaded mansion tax, at least dreaded to those in the London property market.

The impact of this is more severe than expected. I do think however the fear in the market is a little ill founded. What people fear is the unknown, when something becomes known the fear evaporates and a known problem can be dealt with.

If L a bo u r c om e s in t he re h as be e n n o f ir m i n d i c at io n of at wh at prop e rt y v al u e s t h e m an si o n t ax w il l be a ppl i e d , n e it h e r i s t h e re an y in d i c at io n o f h o w t h is t ax w il l be i mpl e m e n t e d . T h e re h as b e e n su g g e st i o n it wi l l b e a ppl i e d at t he £2m pl u s l e v e l, b u t h o w it wil l be app li e d is n o t cl e a r; w he t h e r it wi ll be d o n e in sl ic e s o r w he t h e r i t wi l l be a b l an ke t t a x h as al so n ot be e n c l ar if i ed .

The London market has already absorbed two rounds of stamp duty changes, the last one introduced in December 2014 being a severe one especially for higher end properties.

It seems whilst the market is still adjusting to this change, the mansion tax is another possible blow to the market coming, hence the market is in a flux, and no one truly knows what will happen.

This is however only from one perspective.

Another is there are not many choices of safe places to store your money pretty much regardless of the charges involved. London property is a safe haven for the wealthy and the corrupt.

A recent report states billions of pounds of corruptly gained money has been laundered by criminals and foreign officials buying upmarket London property through anonymous offshore front companies – making London the world capital of money laundering.

Some 36,342 properties in London have been bought through hidden companies in offshore havens and while a majority of those will have been kept secret for legitimate privacy purposes, vast numbers are thought to have been bought anonymously to hide stolen money.

This flow of corrupt cash has driven up average property prices. It is found that 75 percent of properties owned by people under criminal investigation for corruption are held through secret offshore companies.

London has become a global magnet for corrupt funds, and Britain’s relaxed rules on the disclosure of property ownership help to ease the flow into the capital. Any anonymous company in a secret location, such as the British Virgin Islands, can buy and sell houses in the UK with no disclosure of who the actual purchaser is.

UN figures suggest only 1 percent of money laundering flows are detected, these types of property purchases are nearly always layered through offshore structures.

Companies set up in the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories such as Jersey, British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar are the preferred option for concealment of corrupt property purchases.

M o re t h an a t h ird o f co m pan y - o wn e d L on d on h o u se s a re h e l d by e f f e c t iv e ly an o n ym ou s f irm s i n t h e B r it i sh Vi rg in I sl an d s . J e rse y c o m pan i e s o w n 14 p er c e n t an d t h e I sl e o f Ma n a n d Gu e rn se y 8. 5 p erc e n t a n d 8 p e rc e n t re spe c t i ve l y.

The lack of access to beneficial ownership information about offshore companies that hold property in the UK is a major barrier for investigations.

For this type of money, whether the stamp duty is 7% or 15%, and whether there is an additional mansion tax to pay, will make little difference; the money will still flow in from all over the world, it will not inhibit the demand.

And this is the reality; the money is coming in from questionable sources. Another triangle route is Dubai; money goes from a high risk country into Dubai for a stop over and then comes into London.

T h e pro c e e d s f ro m la n d sa le s in In d i a wh ic h a re o f t e n d o n e pa rt ly wi t h a l u m p o f c as h, are b an k e d i n In d ia a n d t h e n t ran s f er re d t o D u bai an d t h e n f in d t h e i r way i n t o L o n d o n pro pe rt y. O rd i n ari l y t o d o t hi s d i re c t l y i n t o L o n d o n wo u l d be d i f f ic u l t h o we v e r wh e n ro u t e d t h ro u g h D u b ai i t b e co m e s e as ie r f o r t h e f u n d s to f in d t h e ir wa y i n t o t h e pro pe rt y mar ke t .

Bishops Avenue is notorious for attracting these types of buyers.

Recently the road has fallen out of flavour and many properties remain unsold.

Sahara is a property owned by the Sahara Group which has been in the headlines recently. It happens to be a property I went to see on behalf of a Filipino pastor from the Church of Jesus Christ, a large religious movement, some years ago. The property remains unsold and has been taken off the market. The founder of Sahara Group, has been held in New Delhi's Tihar jail for over a year in a protracted dispute over refunding billions of dollars to Indians who had invested in outlawed bonds.

The group is also in the market to sell London's Grosvenor House hotel after it defaulted on a Bank of China loan for the property.

I had a request by someone to purchase Heath Hall, a property in Bishops Avenue owned originally by the Tyte and Lyle family, which was on the market for £100m, then dropped to £65m and now available for between £17-£21m depending on who you talk too.

I admired the man’s audacity, he actually wanted to purchase it for free using the difference in the valuation and purchase price as the deposit. However this property has been touted all across the market, and it doesn't take long for someone to find this out, I was offered it at least three times and was told it is off market! I heard through the grapevine the property had been bought, developed and then refinanced, returning all the money back to the owner along with a sizeable profit. From this moment the asset becomes the banks problem and not the owners!

The Real Deal

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SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week

l Look beyond your doorstep. Investing on your doorstep is often a safe but poor option. The question you should ask is: where will your money serve you best?

l Big redevelopments and infrastructure projects create new local amenities and better transport links and provide a significant long-term boost to local house prices.

Invest in areas with good redevelopment projects in the pipeline if you are looking for long term capital growth.

20

LEGAL VOICE

TCS plans to reduce skills gap in UK

Tata Consultancy Services, India's leading IT firm, has unveiled a new initiative in the UK designed to help encourage more young people into digital careers. In partnership with The Tech Partnership and MyKindaCrowd, has created a resource pack to help teachers educate young people about possible roles in the IT industry, and the steps they need to take to achieve that ambition.

"Digital technologies are playing a defining role in all aspects of our lives and this trend will continue to grow. As a result, there will be an increase in demand for employees with digital skills, and hence more young people need to choose the right education, to give them the required future skills," said Nupur Singh Mallick, HR director, Tata

LIC to invest Rs 1,500 bn in railways

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has agreed to invest Rs 1,500 billion in Indian railways for modernization and upgradation of its infrastructure over the next five years. The investment would be made in bonds issued by various railway entities such as Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), beginning next fiscal. An MoU was signed between LIC and the transporter with railway minister Suresh Prabhu terming it as a “win-win situation” for both organizations.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said, “LIC has taken the task of supporting Indian Railways... It is a commercial decision.”

There will be a five-year moratorium on interest and loan repayment and the rest of the terms would be negotiated while signing the finance assistance agreement. At a time when the state-run transporter is reeling under financial stress and finding it hard to modernize and execute pending projects, the funding comes as a big boost. Prabhu said with such encouraging initiatives, the railways will be able to augment its resources for speedier execution of projects. The MoU is seen as a big achievement for Prabhu as he managed to mobilize the funds within 15 days of his budget announcement. Prabhu had indicated meeting part of the gross budgetary support of Rs 1,000 billion for 201516 through extra budgetary resources, such as market borrowings by tapping lowcost, long-term funds. LIC will be subscribing to bonds worth Rs 300 billion on an average every year over the next five years.

Consultancy Services UK & Ireland.

"At TCS, we believe that businesses must take action to help educate and inspire young people about the potential advantages of a digital-skillsbased career," she said.

"The TechFutures Careers Resource Pack is a key part of our IT Futures programme, a series of TCSled initiatives designed to foster enthusiasm and engagement among young people and address the long-term challenges limiting the growth of the UK's digital talent pool."

"It is vital that we have a secure talent pipeline to ensure the future success of the digital economy.

T h e s e employer c re a t e d resources will help to inspire the future tech workforce about the fascinating careers that are available to them in the tech industry," said Sue Nieland, director of Education for The Tech Partnership.

"It is encouraging that businesses are proactively looking to help shrink the digital skills gap. Forging links with schools and teachers, and providing them with dedicated resources to inspire them and provide them with new skills is excellent in helping students explore what careers will suit them," said William Akerman, MD, MyKindaCrowd.

Currently, there are no teaching resource packs of

this kind available for this topic. The research, which assessed the challenges and issues that schools currently face found that although young people are well-versed in using technology, there is a lack of knowledge of how that technology is created and little understanding of the breadth of technology career.

Bringing together industry insights, practical lesson guides and activities, The TechFutures materials are designed to address this deficit, TCS said in a statement.

TCS volunteers will also be hosting a number of sessions in schools in partnership with MyKindaCrowd based around the resources. TCS and MyKindaCrowd have already run over 50 similar sessions and will be doing 60 more in the next 12 months.

Seven years after it was first introduced by the UPA, a bill seeking to raise FDI cap in insurance sector from 26% to 49% was finally approved by Indian Parliament with the consideration of the Upper House. The NDA government had issued an ordinance last year to implement the bill which had been lying in cold storage after it was referred to a Rajya Sabha select committee in the face of stiff opposition then by ironically the BJP-led opposition.

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 will replace the ordinance promulgated by the government last year. The passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha, with help from Congress, comes as a major relief to the Modi government which had come under fire for the high-handedness with which it had taken the ordinance route to carry

out major policy decisions.

The bill was passed through a voice vote after a three-hour debate which saw Left members repeatedly clashing with treasury benches. The Left parties, which had consistently opposed the bill since it was introduced in 2008, insisted that amendments they had moved be put to electronic voting. They said they did not want the bill to go through without registering a protest but the amendments were overwhelmingly negated in the voting.

Despite their opposition to the bill, regional heavyweights - SP, BSP and JD(U)-staged a walkout making it more convenient for the government.

Apart from Congress, the Modi government received the backing of AIADMK, the Nationalist Congress Party, Biju Janata Dal besides allies Shiv Sena

and Akali Dal. DMK and Trinamool Congress, whose member Derek O'Brien accused the Congress of acting hand-in-glove with the BJP, also walked out before the voting.

Participating in the heated debate, O'Brien tore into the government as he recalled how BJP was initially opposed to the idea behind the bill with its senior functionary Yashwant Sinha, father of MoS finance Jayant Sinha who moved the bill in the Upper House, then saying that one of the reasons why India had averted the 2008 financial crisis was the fact that it had not raised FDI cap.

The House had to be adjourned twice earlier as SP, Left and BSP members insisted that the bill could not be introduced in the Rajya Sabha as a similar bill introduced in 2008 was still pending with the House select committee.

India passes bill to raise FDI cap in insurance sector

Ratan Tata to head railways' innovation council

Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has been appointed as the head of an innovation council of Indian Railways called 'Kayakalp', the government said. India's railway minister Suresh Prabhu constituted the council and appointed Tata to head it, an official statement said.

The purpose of the council will be to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of Indian Railways. "This council would be a standing body and would interact with all stakeholders and other interested parties," it said.

Ratan Tata

It would initially also have as members Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF), and M Raghavaiah, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian

Railwaymen (NFIR), the two recognised federations representing the railway employees.

The other members would be announced in due course.

Prabhu in his railway budget speech on February 26 had said: "Every dynamic and thriving organisation needs to innovate and re-invent its practices. In accordance with the vision for innovation, technology development and manufacturing, the Indian Railways intends to set up an innovation council called 'Kayakalp' for the purpose of business re-engineering and introducing a spirit of innovative in railways."

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Maria Fernandes

The new frontiers of attack against employers

Codes and interpretation When the Points based system came into being, the main selling point was that it offered flexibility to employers. However that is very far from the truth.

Whilst employers have been given this right, in effect it is an illusion.

A case in point is the allocation of jobs.

Sponsors now have to select an appropriate Code from a list of Codes available. The process is not an exact science. It is based on 3 issues: 1. That the Job is at level NQF level 6 ( with some exceptions for those in the UK already in a Tier 2 category) 2. That the salary is the minimum that is laid down in the Code 3. Examples are provided about the type of work that code permits.

Other than this, there is very little information.

Employers particularly those which do not have experience of this system rely on what they believe is the correct Code. Now however, the UKVI are challenging the choice of employers and are imposing their own view of what the employer should have selected. Employers in my view are now in a worse position than they were.

They are now given a free hand but this is illusory.

Another area which is a cause for concern is the very liberal use by the UKVI of labelling employers with accusations of falsehood. They have introduced the following

regulation: Sponsor Guidance 15.14 Examples of vacancies that are not considered to be genuine include: • one which contains an exaggerated or incorrect job description to deliberately make it appear to meet the requirements of the Tier and category when it does not • for a job or role that does not exist in order to enable a migrant to come to, or stay in the UK • advertisements with requirements that are inappropriate for the job on offer, and have been tailored to exclude resident workers from being recruited.

Dishonesty/ False representations The Courts have repeatedly thrown out cases brought by the UKVI alleging falsehood as they have the burden of proving this and fail to do so or do so on very flimsy grounds. In sponsorship matters there are no rights of appeal and there is a tendency at present for the UKVI to accuse employers of falsehood when in fact it is a simple disagreement about facts.

This is a worrying development and unless challenged is likely to remain on records and be used against employers. It is an insidious development which is also snaking its way in other areas of immigration, where rights of appeal are not available. Be aware, be very aware.

To contact Maria Fernandes, please email at: info@fernandesvaz.com

SC gives Sahara 3 months to raise funds for Roy's bail

The Supreme Court of India gave Sahara another three months to come up with a final proposal to raise funds against its assets to secure bail for its founder Subrata Roy. The apex court bench of Justice T S Thakur, Justice Anil R Dave and Justice A K Sikri said it was the final and last opportunity for Sahara to raise Rs 100 billion in bail money.

Roy has been in jail for more than a year after Sahara failed to comply with a court order to refund billions of dollars to investors in a bond programme that was ruled illegal. The Supreme Court last week gave Sahara, a sprawling conglomerate that ranges from property to Formula One motor racing, a final

Subrata Roy

chance to raise funds in order to bail out Roy. On Monday, India's top court allowed Sahara to sell part of its Aamby Valley township outside Mumbai, which has luxury villas and a golf course, to raise funds. If Sahara failed to raise the cash, the court will appoint a receiver for selling the properties, reports said.

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

21

Foreign Exchange

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

Unsecured borrowing hit an all-time high It appears UK borrowers are more vulnerable to an interest rate rise than ever before after new figures showed unsecured household borrowing hit an alltime high last year. Unsecured debt rose nine per cent in 2014 to a record £239bn, or £9,000 per household, driven by an increase in student loans and credit card borrowing.

The rate of growth is the fastest in a decade, and represents an additional £19.6bn borrowed last year. With borrowing set to reach £10,000 per household by 2016, Brits are even more exposed to a hike in the Bank of England’s base rate, currently at a record 0.5 per cent low.

Also a new report from think tank "Open Europe" looked at the potential for the UK to leave the European Union indicating Britain's economy could take a hit of up to 2.2 per cent of GDP or £56bn by 2030. The report argues that in the worst case scenario, the negative effects of a British exit would not wholly be offset by a new free trade agreement with the EU. As part of the Eurozone’s stimulus package Banks took 97.8 billion euros in the socalled TLTROs, which are tied

to lending to the mostly smaller firms that are the euro zone's economic backbone. Banks took more than twice the expected amount of long-term loans from the European Central Bank on Thursday, loading up on the cheap credit is a fresh sign that this lending will help to spur the recovery.

The ECB is offering banks the loans as part of a cocktail of measures aimed at pumping around 1 trillion euros into the euro zone economy, with a view to shifting inflation from below zero towards its target of just under 2 percent.

The ECB made its latest batch of TLTROs more attractive by removing a 10 basis point premium over its main interest rate of 0.05 percent that was applied to the first two tranches.

Thursday's bumper loan take-up came after the ECB earlier this month painted an upbeat picture of the euro zone's growth outlook as it embarks on a plan of money printing to buy sovereign bonds, a policy known as quantitative easing or QE. The Dollar weakened on Friday after the US interest hike again dominated the headlines, this time Atlanta Federal

Reserve President Dennis Lockhart played down the certainty of a June rate hike.

Lockhart indicated it could be during June, July or September policy meetings, barring a significant downturn in the economy. The lower economic forecasts issued by the Fed earlier this week reflect mostly "transient" changes that do not fundamentally change its outlook for continued U.S. growth Lockhart told reporters.

Cheap borrowing costs are keeping homes affordable for some Americans. The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.86 percent in the week ended March 12, according to data from Freddie Mac in McLean, Virginia. That’s below the average 4.26 percent rate since the expansion began in June 2009.

Greater employment opportunities are providing support for the housing industry as well.

The economy added 295,000 workers last month, more than forecast, and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent, the lowest in almost seven years. At the same time, weaker income expectations are weighing on consumer confidence, which declined in March to a fourmonth low.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 24th March 2015 @ 5.30pm

GBP - INR = 92.74

USD - INR = 62.36 EUR - INR = 68.09 GBP - USD = 1.49 GBP - EUR = 1.36

EUR - USD = 1.09 GBP - AED = 5.46

GBP - CAD = 1.86

GBP - NZD = 1.95

GBP - AUD = 1.89

GBP - ZAR = 17.56

GBP - HUF = 408.17

www.rationalfx.com

Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

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22

WORLD

Pak military holds first R-Day parade in 7 years

Islamabad: Pakistan held its first Republic Day parade in seven years on Monday, full of flag-waving pomp and aerial military expertise, a symbolic show of strength in the war against the Taliban months after a militant attack on a school killed 132 children.

The Pakistan Day parade, complete with a 31-gun dawn salute, was held amid tight security.

Cellular phone networks were blocked as a precaution to thwart militants, who have often used mobile phone signals to trigger bombs. No parades had been held since 2008, following an escalation in the military's conflict with the Pakistani Taliban.

But the military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its history, says the militants have been on the run since the army launched an operation last year to dislodge insurgents from the northwestern regions of Khyber and North Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who attended the parade, issued a statement warning of the threat from anti-state elements.

"Pakistan is resolved to redeem its pledge given to its founding fathers that it

will protect the homeland," Sharif said.

Military jets looped the loop over the picturesque, low-rise city in the spring sunshine, with a sky-diving team showing off its skills against the backdrop of the Margalla Hills, the forested foothills of the Himalayas.

The show of military might has traditionally also sent a message to rival India. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947 and continuing mistrust is a factor behind conflict in various parts of the region, including Afghanistan.

Modi calls for IndoPak bilateral dialogue Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted his counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the occasion of Pakistan's National Day and called for a bilateral dialogue

between New Delhi and Islamabad in a terror and violence free atmosphere.

"I have written to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, conveying my greetings on the National Day of Pakistan," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

"It is my firm conviction that all outstanding issues can be resolved through bilateral dialogue in an atmosphere free from terror and violence," he added in another tweet. Pakistan's National Day is held to commemorate the Lahore Resolution, which was introduced at a Muslim League convention in Lahore on March 23, 1940, and passed the following day.

The day also signifies the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

ૐ

Birth Date: 11-10-1923 (Hoshiarpur-Punjab)

Demise: 24-3-2015 (Hillingdon-Middlesex)

Mrs Kaushalya Devi Joshi

wife of Late Mr Ram Piara Joshi of Kisumu

Primary school teacher in Kisumu from 1947 to 1973 Our beloved Mum, Grandmother, Teacher and Inspiration passed away on Tuesday 24th of March and will be dearly missed by all of us.

Om Shanti:Shanti:Shanti

Archna, Alka and Sanjiv Joshi Jaysen, Raam and Bhavini

For funeral details pls email: sjoshi5457@aol.com

Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew dies at 91

Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, died on Monday aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny citystate's rapid rise from a British colonial backwater to a global trade and financial centre.

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee had receded from public and political life over the past few years, but he was still seen as an influential figure in the government of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his oldest son. In his lifetime, Lee drew praise for his market-friendly policies but also criticism at home and abroad for his strict controls over the press, public protest and political opponents.

He died at Singapore General Hospital, where he had been admitted on Feb 5 suffering from pneumonia. The government has declared a period of national mourning until his funeral on Sunday.

Lee's family will hold a private wake in the next two days, then his body will lie in state at parliament till Saturday. Thousands of people had been leaving flowers and cards at the hospital over the past three days, praying for his recovery, and many rushed back there when they awoke to the news of his death. "Harry" Lee became Singapore's first prime minister in 1959 and held onto power for 31 years, overseeing the island's transformation from a port city battling crime and poverty into one of Asia's most prosperous nations.

Even after stepping down as leader in 1990 - signing off as the world's then longest-serving prime minister - the acerbic Lee stayed on in the cabinet until 2011. He was a member of parliament until his death.

Modi to attend Lee's funeral: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the funeral of Lee on March 29, the Spokesperson in the external affairs ministry said. In his condolence message, Modi had said, "A farsighted statesman and a lion among leaders, Lee Kuan Yew's life teaches valuable lessons to everyone. News of his demise is saddening. In this hour of bereavement, our prayers are with Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's family and the people of Singapore. May his soul rest in peace."

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

In Brief

Pound suffers biggest fall

London: Pound suffered a steep fall against dollar after a Bank of England's chief economist predicted the prospect of an interest rate cut. Andy Haldane warned that inflation may miss the Bank’s 2 per cent target and claimed that “the chances of a rate rise or cut are broadly evenly balanced.” He said his personal opinion was that “risks are skewed to the downside.”

Bank worker jailed for trying to kill girlfriend

London: Amish Kansagra, a former Barclays bank employee, was jailed for 15 years after he tried to kill his girlfriend Anna Imporowicz, 35, who is a single mother. Kansagra was a regular customer at Anna Imporowicz's massage parlour and fell in love with her and had sexual intercourse. He quit his job and joined her in the parlour. However, he knew that Anna's ex-boyfriend in Poland was still pursuing her and finally snapped after a man smiled at her during a night out at a Holborn salsa club. He felt betrayed when Anna flirted with other men. He became jealous and attacked her with a knife inflicting serious injuries on her.

Most women never take exercise seriously

London: A survey has found that only 17 per cent of the women have taken regular exercise since childhood compared to 36 per cent of men. Well over half of women said that they had never taken regular exercise (59 per cent), compared with just a third of men. On average, women who exercised regularly said that they did so 48 times a year, while for men the figure was 65 times a year. The poll, which questioned more than 2,000 adults in the UK, was commissioned by CBRE, a property company and principal partner of England Rugby’s all schools programme.

Travellers to France on ferry advised to leave home early

London: Those families who are planning to travel to France on ferry have been advised to leave homes early as there will be a five mile queue at Dover when new exit checks are imposed next month. James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, issued his advice after ferry companies warned that the checks could lead to the queues at Dover port as staff checked the passports of those leaving the country. He said it was “advisable” for people to set off early for their holidays on days when ports were particularly busy. His advice came after the UK Chamber of Shipping warned of travel chaos at Dover, with traffic blocking the A20 as far as Folkestone in Kent after exit checks are imposed on April 8.

Breastfed babies have more intelligence

Brasília: Brazilian researchers have found that babies breasted for a year will have more intelligence when they grew up which would help them earn more. They have an IQ about four points higher by the age of 30 and earned almost a third more than those nursed for less than a month.

While previous research has found that breastfeeding improves a child’s brainpower, the latest study is the first to show that the effect lasts into the workplace. Experts urged the NHS to do more to help mothers breastfeed, saying that this would improve the productivity of society as a whole.

Tories have to find extra funds for defence spending

London: The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that the Conservatives will have to find an extra £8 billion if they want to meet Nato’s stipulated target of spending 2 per cent of national income on defence.

The institute has warned that other government departments would face cuts of up to 16.3 per cent if David Cameron agrees with demands from Tory backbenchers to maintain defence spending.

Crowd urge suicidal man to jump to death

London: A crowd urged a suicidal man to jump, filmed him and took selfies at the scene before he fell to his death from a multi-storey car park. Police are investigating the “disgraceful” conduct at a shopping centre in Shropshire after photos and video from mobile phones were posted online. The man, in his 40s, fell to his death from the top of the Southwater centre in Telford despite the efforts of police negotiators to dissuade him.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

In Brief

75 pc rise number of people working in their 50s and 60s London: Official figures show that millions more Britons are working in their 50s and 60s. A study shows that participation in the labour force since the early 1990s has risen five times as fast among those approaching pension age as in the working age population overall. The total number of people in their 50s and early 60s with a job surged by 3.4 million or 75 per cent at a time when economic activity rates among young adults fell sharply amid growing expectations that they will go to college or university before starting work.

30,000 men dying of prostrate cancer

London: Experts say that more than 30,000 British men are living with prostrate cancer without much support. The figure is a third higher than the number of patients with advanced and incurable breast and bowel cancers. Charities predict the number of men with prostate cancer will continue to increase, but prostrate cancer is not high enough on the government’s agenda.

Sarath Fonseka becomes Lanka's first field marshal

Colombo: Sri Lankan government conferred the country's highest military rank of field marshal to former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who was jailed on alleged treason charges by the previous regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa, for “achieving the victory over terrorism.” President Maithripala Sirisena awarded the honorary title to retired Gen Fonseka at an official ceremony in the capital. He said ensuring justice for the 64-year-old former army chief was a “responsibility undertaken by the government in our quest for justice for the whole of the army.” Fonseka, who became the first Sri Lankan to receive the title, was stripped of his rank, pension and medal he received during his 40-year career, and jailed after he unsuccessfully tried to challenge Rajapksa's re-election bid in 2010. But, the new government used its executive powers to drop all charges against Fonseka.

Fonseka led Sri Lankan troops to victory over the Tamil Tigers in 2009. But, he and Rajapaksa fell out over who deserved the credit for guiding the country to the victory.

Londoners fear online crime more than burglary

London: A survey of Londoners found that they were more worried about online crime than burglary and theft of personal possessions. According to a report, some 85 per cent of all fraud and online crimes representing a £12 billion loss to the economy - were not reported to police last year. Official crime figures for England and Wales would have been more than 1.1 million higher if all fraud and cyber crime had been included.

Indian-American named dean of top US engineering school

Washington: Vijay Kumar, an Indian-American expert on robotics and cyber physical systems, has been named dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science effective July 1.

Kumar is recognized around the world for his ground breaking work on the development of autonomous robots and on biologically inspired algorithms for collective behaviour, the school said announcing his appointment.

WORLD

Pak court rejects Lakhvi's plea against detention

Lahore: A Pakistani court dismissed the plea of Zaki-urRehman Lakhvi against his detention under a public security act, keeping the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack in jail till next month. Lahore High Court (LHC) judge Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa dismissed 55year-old Lakhvi's plea against his detention under Maintenance of Public Ordinance (MPO) by the Punjab government on March 14.

The judge had reserved his judgment early in the day after hearing the arguments of Lakhvi's counsel advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi and law officer Khawar Ikram Bhatti.

"The court issued a short order announcing dismissal of Lakhvi's petition. The detailed order will be issued later," a court official said.

Lakhvi had challenged his detention and prayed LHC to it set aside the Punjab home department's order for being "illegal and a violation of Islamabad High Court order". "The government had detained my client for four times since he got bail in the Mumbai attack case," Abbasi said, adding the government had detained Lakhvi under pressure from India and the US. The law officer argued that Lakhvi was a prime accused in Mumbai terror

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi

attack and his release (on bail) could trigger serious law and order problem in the province. The Punjab government on March 14 detained Lakhvi for another 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order, before he could be released from Adiala Jail Rawalpindi on the Islamabad HC order.

IHC Judge Noorul Haq Qureshi on March 13 suspended the federal government's order to detain Lakhvi and ordered his immediate release.

India had strongly reacted to the IHC's ruling, saying the overwhelming evidence against Lakhvi has not been presented properly before court by Pakistani agencies. On December 18, 2014, the trial court (Anti-Terrorism Court-I, Islamabad) granted bail to Lakhvi but he was detained next day under the MPO. However, the IHC suspended Lakhvi's detention on "weak legal ground".

Just before he was to

Sikh pilgrim marks World Water Day at the Golden Temple

Rustlers have stolen 8 most expensive sheep

London: Rustlers have stolen eight most expensive sheep in the world, which can sell for more than £150,000 each. The flock of pedigree Texels was stolen from a farm near Lydney in Gloucestershire.

The most expensive Texel in the world was sold for £232,000, by a farmer in Scotland, in August 2009.

Police have warned that the meat of the stolen sheep must not be eaten because they have been given lifelong worming pills.

Terrorists kill 17 western tourists in Tunis museum

Tunis (Tunisia): At least 23 people, including 17 westerners, were killed when gunmen clad in military uniform and brandishing Kalashnikovs stormed the Bardo museum next to the Tunisian parliament. They rounded up hostages, holding them for two hours before security forces stormed the building, killing two men believed to be sympathisers of Islamic State, the Syria-based terrorist group. Polish, Italian, French and Spanish tourists were among the dead, said Habib Essid, the prime minister of Tunisia. Another 42 people were injured in the attack.

Sunday 22nd March marked World Water Day. There are still many parts of the world which have to deal with poor sanitation, lack of clean drinking and bathing water, or lack of water in general.

The United Nation Secretary- General, Mr Ban Ki-moon states, “To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future. If we do so, we can end poverty, promote global prosperity and well-

being, protect the environment and withstand the threat of climate change.”

Sanjay Wijesekera, the head of the UN Children Fund's (UNICEF) global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene programmesmentioned, “Water is the very essence of life and yet three-quarters of a billion people – mostly the poor and the marginalized – still today are deprived of this most basic human right.”

On World Water Day, many Sikh pilgrims took the opportunity to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India and bathed in the holy Sarovar.

be released from Adiala Jail, Lakhvi was arrested on charges of kidnapping an Afghan national in 2009.

He also got bail in the kidnapping case. Later, the government challenged the IHC's order in the Supreme Court which suspended its order. Lakhvi again challenged his detention and got relief from the court (on March 13). The IHC has constituted a three-member Review Board headed by Justice Shaukat Siddiqui to hear Lakhvi's plea against his detention.

Lakhvi and six others Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

National anthem in Tamil sparks row in Lanka

Colombo: A decision by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to allow the singing of the national anthem in Tamil has sparked a row, with the move coming under attack from his own Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP).

“This is nothing but a betrayal. A decision to please just a two million (Tamil) population,” Sarath Weerasekera, who was a senior commander of Sri Lankan navy before entering politics, told parliament.

He said that in India, with over 65 million Tamil population, the national anthem is not sung in Tamil. “It is clear in our constitution that the national anthem must be sung only in the state language,” Weerasekera said. Dilan Perera, a former senior minister and current SLFP spokesman, said: “That is his private view and not that of the SLFP. We believe in the constitutional provision that Tamil version of the anthem is allowed.”

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24

INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Karnataka CM agrees for CBI probe in IAS officer's death

Bengaluru: Bowing to public pressure over the mysterious death of IAS officer DK Ravi, the Karnataka government finally handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the announcement in the assembly saying: “We are handing over the probe into Ravi's death to the CBI not because of the pressure from the opposition (parties) but keeping in view the feelings of his family.”

The CBI will take over Ravi's case from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was entrusted to probe it, though preliminary investi-

gation by a special police team found it to be a suicide case. Ravi, 36, was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru by his wife Kusuma and her father after he did not attend to her calls since noon. Meanwhile, Karnataka High Court stayed the tabling of the CID's interim report on death of the IAS officer. The order was passed on an emergency writ petition filed by the husband of a woman IAS officer whom Ravi had reportedly called many times

and sent messages to her mobile phone before allegedly hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his apartment on March 16.

Earlier, violent protests took place across Karnataka over the question of a CBI probe into the death of Ravi.

The protesters were lathicharged by the police in Bengaluru. In Tumkur too, the mob clashed with the police. The opposition BJP and JDS held protest at the assembly demanding CBI probe.

Davangere (Karnataka): Siddesh, a 9year-old, class 4 student of Avaragere village, on the outskirts of Davanagere city, averted a railway accident. He not only alerted his father Manjunath about a crack in the track but also flagged down an approaching train with his red Tshirt.

Manjunath has a small, thatched hotel near the DCM township about 50 yards away from the railway line. Siddesh said, "I was worried on seeing the fracture and rushed to tell my father about it." Initially, Manjunath didn't take the boy seriously. But when the little boy dragged him to the spot, he realized the gravity of the problem. Some walkers and joggers had already assembled at the spot but couldn't decide what to do even though a couple of trains had passed over the

faulty section. “When the sound of a train approaching, our son stood on the track waving his red T-shirt wrapped around a stick at the train” said the boy's mother Anasuyamma.

Railway authorities said track fractures can happen around the onset of summer. Some passengers on the train appreciated the boy's courage and appealed to the district administration and elected representatives to recommend him for a bravery award.

“It was a welding failure.

We appreciate the boy's quick thinking in flagging down the train. Our engineer paid him Rs 500 and thanked him. We'll recommend a bravery award for him,” said a railway official.

Hyderabad: In an embarrassment to the Congress, the Hyderabad police have booked party's senior leader and former union minister Renuka Chowdhury for allegedly taking bribe of over Rs 11 million from an aspirant by promising him an Assembly election ticket, reports said. The petitioner, B Kalawati, said that before Assembly polls Renuka Chowdhury had promised her husband, Ramjee Naik, Wyra Assembly ticket for last year's elections but he was not given the same.

“She took more than Rs 11 million but cheated us.

We want justice and will take this matter to the court,” Kalawati was quoted as saying. Police in Khammam district of Telangana has registered a case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act against Chowdhury. Kalavati has also alleged that her husband died due to pressure of the debts they incurred to raise the money. The case was registered following an order by high court in Hyderabad on

Renuka Chowdhury the complaint by B Kalavati.

The complainant alleged that Choudhary abused her by her caste when the money was sought to be returned, Khammam circle inspector Sridhar said. The case was registered after the court sought to know what action has been taken, Sridhar said, adding that charges of cheating were also there.

The matter would be investigated now following the registration of the case, he said. "This is totally baseless, unsubstantiated and politically motivated. I have never met this woman in my life. I can swear by that.

Such unfortunate things happen in politics," Chaudhary said when contacted.

Chandigarh: After Maharashtra, Haryana passed a much more stringent bill banning sale of beef.

According to the legislation, the rigorous imprisonment for selling beef would be five years - same as that in Maharashtra - and the fine of up to Rs 50,000.

The western state has kept it at Rs 10,000. In case the convict fails to pay the fine, in Haryana he/she will have to spend up to one year more in jail. The Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill 2015, passed by the assembly unanimously, bans sale of all kinds of beef.

As per the law in force so far, sale of beef was banned but there was no prohibition on packaged beef. This distinction has also been removed. "No person shall sell or offer for sale or cause to be sold beef or beef products..," reads the bill, which was tabled in the assembly by animal husbandry minister Om Prakash Dhankar.

According to the bill, a person convicted of cow

slaughter can be sentenced up to 10 years in jail, apart from a fine of up to Rs 100,000. There is provision of additional imprisonment of up to one year if the fine is not paid.

The bill makes both violations - cow slaughter and beef sale - non-bailable.

During the trial for cow slaughter and sale of beef, the burden of proving the innocence would be on the accused, much like other most stringent laws like the Dowry Act. The bill also mentions that any person found indulging in export of cow for the purpose of slaughter either directly or through his agent can be sentenced up to seven years of jail term with a fine of up to Rs 70,000.

Any person desiring to export cows out of the state will have to apply for a permit from the government stating the reasons for which they are to be exported along with the exact number of cows and the name of the state to which they are proposed to be sent.

New Delhi: Haryana police arrested the main accused in the vandalisation of an under construction church in a village in Hisar district.

"The main accused Anil Godara has been arrested from Hisar today," Hisar SP Saurabh Singh said.

He said that the accused has been produced before a court. "Further investigations in the case are under progress and search is on for remaining accused," he added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed "deep concern" over the gang-rape of a 71year-old nun in West Bengal's Nadia district and the vandalisation of a church in Hisar, Haryana.

"The Prime Minister is deeply concerned about the incidents in Hisar, Haryana and Nadia, West Bengal," the PMO said in a tweet.

An under construction church in Kaimri village in Hisar district of Haryana was vandalized by miscreants and the idol of Hindu god Hanuman was placed

inside the premises.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had told the assembly that the church was reportedly built in an illegal colony and the dispute was the result of an altercation between the priest and those who attacked the place of worship.

Making a statement in the state assembly, Khattar said that an FIR has been registered on the statement of church priest Subhash Chander, against accused Anil Godara, Dalbir Singh, Raj Kumar, Kuldeep, Satpal, Krishan, Suresh, Dinesh, Jogender, Kulwant, Sudhir, Bijender, Satnarain, Chhotu Ram and others.

The complainant has alleged that the accused entered into his house and damaged their religious symbol.The accused persons have carried out this act because an altercation had taken place between the church priest and them on February 8, Khattar told the House.

D K Ravi

Brave schoolboy averts train accident

Senior Cong leader booked for allegedly taking bribe

Haryana makes sale of Main accused in Hisar church beef a non-bailable offence attack case arrested

South Brief

YSR Congress boycotts Andhra Assembly

Hyderabad: Opposition YSR Congress has boycotted the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in protest against the alleged "biased attitude" of Speaker K Sivaprasad Rao. The issue figured in the Assembly during Question Hour with a member of ruling TDP's ally BJP saying it is unfortunate that the Opposition stayed away from the House. Observing that the Opposition members were losing an opportunity by not attending the House, he appealed to Opposition Leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to attend the Assembly. In response, the Speaker said it was the right and responsibility of the public representatives to attend the Legislature and that the matter be left to the party.

Woman magistrate, driver attacked

Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu): A woman magistrate of Vedaranyam was attacked by some people in Kumbakonam while returning from work, police said. Magistrate Latha, given additional charge of the Nagapattinam Judicial Magistrate court, was returning to Vedaranyam in a car, when some persons intercepted it and attacked her and the driver. Both the magistrate and the car driver have been admitted to a private hospital. The motive behind the attack was not immediately clear, they said. Meanwhile, about 450 members of the Kumbakonam Bar association boycotted courts and staged a demonstration in Kumbakonam in protest against the attack.

They demanded swift action against the culprits and adequate protection to judges.

TN CM seeks Modi's intervention in Cauvery issue

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise the Karnataka Government not to proceed with their plan of construction of reservoirs at Mekedatu and also not to take up any scheme in the Cauvery basin without Tamil Nadu's prior permission. In a letter, Panneerselvam has drawn the attention of Prime Minister Modi to the repeated violation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by Karnataka government.

North Brief

Badal wants British teachers

Chandigarh: Punjab students, especially those in rural areas, could soon be dealing in the Queen`s language if Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has his way. Badal urged British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to send a delegation of English school teachers to make students in Punjab, especially with rural background, "proficient in spoken as well as written English". The request was made when the visiting British foreign secretary, who inaugurated the country`s deputy high commission here, called on Badal recently.

Badal said the significance of the English language was that it was a "global link" of communication in the world. Both leaders discussed cooperation between Britain and Punjab in the fields of skill development, food processing and power generation from solar and biomass waste. A significant number of Punjabis are settled in Britain since decades.

US troops shown as Indian soldiers on Martyrs Day hoardings

Chandigarh: On a day which was meant to remember and salute the sacrifice made by India's three great sons on the occasion of Martyr's Day, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation ended up committing an embarrassing goof-up. In a major blunder, the civic body of Chandigarh authorised the putting up of such Martyr's Day hoardings across the town, which had the photographs of three US soldiers instead of Indian Army men, reports said. March 23 is marked as the Martyr's Day to honour the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who were hanged to death on this very day in 1931. The hoardings were put up to let the citizens know about the events to be held for the commemoration of the martyrdom day, that would include a wreath-laying ceremony and honouring the war widows..

INDIA - WORLD

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

25

Modi pips Xi in handling Indian-origin author assaulted domestic, international affairs in SA for 'praising' Rushdie

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure the top rank in handling domestic and international affairs in a global survey conducted by a Chinese firm. In the 'China's National Image Global Survey 2014, conducted in nine countries the US, UK, Australia, Japan, South Africa, India, Russia, Brazil and China Modi's handling of domestic and international affairs has won him the top rank while Xi figured second. "Xi's handling of both domestic and international affairs has won high praise. He ranks second, after Modi, for his capability of handling domestic and international affairs," Wang Gangyi, vice-president of China International Publishing Group, said citing the survey report, which was released in Beijing last week. The survey, based on 4,500 respondents from the nine countries, was conducted by the Centre for International Communication Studies of China Foreign Languages P u b l i s h i n g Administration, Millward Brown and Lightspeed GMI. The survey, which did not include China's close ally Pakistan, found that

Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping growth with its people Beijing's overall image has enjoying relatively high livbeen increasingly recoging standards", while 45 nised by the global comper cent believed that munity. The "more people China is a country with "a in the nine countries are big gap between the rich convinced of China's and the poor". future robust economic More than half of the growth," Wang was quoted respondents are optimistic as saying by state-run about China's future develChina Daily. The average opment, with 37 per cent score of China's national saying they believe China's image in 2014 was 5.9 on a economy will keep growscale of 1 to 10, up from ing at a rapid rate, and 20 the previous year's 5.1. per cent saying they The survey found that believe China will overtake Xi was the fourth bestthe US to become a superknown among the leaders power. of the nine countries, with The study found that 70 per cent of the responpeople from emerging dents having heard of him, economies tend to have a after US President Barack better appreciation of Obama (97 per cent), China's development.

Russian President "Most people in emerging Vladimir Putin (91 per economies regard China as cent) and British Prime an important force for Minister David Cameron maintaining world order (86 per cent), it said. and peace, while many About 46 per cent of from the developed counoverseas respondents said tries still believe in a China China's image is one of military threat," he said. "having rapid economic

Johannesburg: Zainub Priya Dala, an Indian-origin author in South Africa was brutally assaulted and verbally abused after she praised controversial writer Salman Rushdie whose work has angered Muslims around the world. She was hit in the face with a brick last week after she praised Rushdie's writing at a school in Durban, a city on the country's east coast.

Dala was due to launch her novel “What About Meera” on Saturday, which was ironically Human Rights Day in South Africa, but had to postpone it after being injured. She was reportedly followed from the hotel where the festival was taking place by three men in a vehicle who forced her car off the road. When she stopped her vehicle, two of the men came to the car, one allegedly putting a knife to her throat while the other struck her in the face with a brick as he verbally abused her.

Dala said she believed the attack occurred as a result of a comment she made during a writing forum for schools earlier in the week, when she and two other authors were asked to comment on their favourite authors.

She replied that she liked

Zainub Priya Dala before and after assault

the styles of Rushdie and Indian author Arundhati Roy, which led to a number of teachers and students attending the workshop walking out in protest.

Reacting to the attack, Rushdie said the attack on Dala was "appalling and disgraceful". "I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you're recovering well. All good wishes," Rushdie said in a tweet.

In her reply, Dala said: "Thank you. I have my family and children around me and am recovering."

Dala has filed an assault case with the police but there have been no arrests yet amid an appeal for any witnesses to come forward.

Steve Connolly, managing director of Random House and her publisher, said: "We condemn completely the brutish attack on author Dala. Have we reached such a state of

In Loving Memory Of Our Father

Kusal Kumar Datta

(31 October 1948 - 18 March 2015)

What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now for ever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind...

(William Wordsworth) Memorial & Prayers Date & Time: 28 March 2015, 11am onwards Venue: Rang Darbar, Swabhumi, Kolkata 700054 Rupanjana and Vivek

intolerance that we cannot listen to one writer profess admiration for another without wanting to attack her with a brick and a knife? It is ironic that at a time when the communities of Durban are welcoming writers, some elements are attacking those writers who hold different views. We must not let this shameful and violent bigotry prevail," Connolly said.

Rushdie spent a decade in hiding following a fatwa by Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, calling for his death because of controversial views in “The Satanic Verses.”

Muslim outcry led to withdrawal of an invitation to Rushdie to a South African literary festival in 1988. A similar situation prevailed in India in 2012, when Rushdie withdrew because of death threats he had received.

26

INDIA

No role for third party in Kashmir talks: India

Continued from page 1 tore into Islamabad on a day the Pakistani high commissioner met Hurriyat leaders in Delhi.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) struck back after envoy Abdul Basit said India had no objections to Hurriyat representatives being invited to Pakistan’s National Day celebrations in New Delhi.

“Having repeated it on so many occasions, there should be no scope for misunderstanding or misrepresenting India’s position on the role of the socalled Hurriyat,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin. “Let me reiterate there are only two parties and there is no place for a third party in the resolution of IndiaPakistan issues.”

New Delhi had called off foreign secretary-level talks with Islamabad last year after Basit held consultations with Hurriyat leaders ahead of the official dialogue.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the Hurriyat’s moderate faction, expressed his disappointment on being denied a legitimate stake in the talks and accused India of treating the people of Kashmir like “cattle”.

“Don’t understand why

there is so much resistance towards this dialogue involving the Kashmir residents on both sides,” he said. “Are the people of Kashmir some down-driven cattle that India and Pakistan will take decisions without involving them?”

Amid the cold vibes, India's minister of state for external affairs and former army chief general VK Singh represented the Indian government at the Pakistani National Day reception in Delhi, with Congress’ Mani Shankar Aiyer and Hurriyat leaders Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani as well as Yaseen Malik also present.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of aiding and funding separatists as well as militants to stoke tensions in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cricket diplomacy had signalled a thaw in relations between the two countries, when he telephoned Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last month to convey his best wishes for the World Cup and announced he would send foreign secretary S Jaishankar to Islamabad as part of a trip to the SAARC nations.

Jaishankar met Pakistani foreign secretary

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in Islamabad this month and the two sides agreed to find common ground and narrow differences following tensions at the border, triggering hopes of a resumption of bilateral talks. Modi said on Monday he was of the firm belief that all outstanding issues with Islamabad can be resolved through bilateral dialogue in an atmosphere free from terror and violence, as he greeted Sharif in a letter on Pakistan’s National Day. Criticising the Prime Minister, the Congress said the government should adopt a coherent and consistent approach to engage in talks with Pakistan.

“Talking about our neighbours, with Pakistan or China, relationships which are sensitive, complex and sometimes there have been areas of concern, have to be integral to the foreign policy. That is why I said it has to be consistent; it has to have a roadmap,” party leader Anand Sharma said. “And the Prime Minister alone knows what assurances he has given. Our concerns are about continued terror attacks.”

The BJP sent out a strong message to

Pakistan, saying Basit should ensure the Pakistan high commission does not become a hub of anti-India activities, though it added that India is a free country and people have the right to meet anyone.

Row over V K Singh attending Pak Day dinner V K Singh stayed at Basit's dinner for 15 minutes. After media asked questions to the government regarding its stands on talks with Pakistan, Singh said that he was asked by the government to represent it at the Pakistan National Day reception at the Pakistani High Commission here.

"The Government of India has to sent an MoS. They sent me and I went there and came back," he said replying to a question about his presence at the reception.

Asked specifically whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to attend the event at the Pakistani High Commission, he said, "The Government of India asked me to go there, so I went there.” He also posted a series of tweets on call of 'duty' and 'disgust' at some of the reactions on his attending Pakistani envoy's dinner.

India, China agree to safeguard border peace

Continued from page 1 dispute itself.

This was the first time the two special representatives discussed the boundary issue since the Narendra Modi government assumed office.

While the Chinese side had a fair idea of how the previous Manmohan Singh government approached the talks, they were keen to see what are the priorities of the new government during the talks. The talks this time also included preparatory discussions for Modi's visit to China, expected in May-June. The Indian side refrained from commenting on talks.

However, the Chinese side reported in their official media that both sides had agreed to “safeguard peace and tranquility in their border regions before the boundary issue is solved.” During Doval's first meeting with the Chinese leadership in 2014, he was told that this was an appropriate moment for both sides to put political will behind a settlement, particularly with two strong leaders at the helm of affairs in both countries. However, after the bruising experience of Chinese troop incursions in Demchok and Chumar in Ladakh coinciding with Xi Jinping's maiden visit to India, the Modi government has prioritized stability on the boundary as a precursor to any settlement on the boundary issue.

Working on new bor-

der patrolling framework Official Xinhua news agency reported the two sides agreed to take forward process of negotiations based on consensus achieved following Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting in September. The report indicated the two sides were trying to bring in greater flexibility in negotiations instead of remaining bound by the framework that Manmohan Singh and former president Hu Jintao had worked out. The agency said the two countries have agreed to “properly handle and control their disputes''. The two agreed to jointly safeguard peace in the border regions before the boundary dispute is resolved.

India’s hardtalk on trade India has raised the heat on trade talks with China, with New Delhi warning Beijing that “protectionist tendencies” in the Indian industry may force the government to take a “proactive view” on Chinese imports.

According to Indian officials, New Delhi is frustrated that administrative agencies in China have not responded to India’s demands in three key sectors - pharmaceuticals, agriculture, including bovine meat, and IT services - where the country has “demonstrated its strength”.

The timing of the official communication from

the department of commerce is significant with Modi scheduled to visit China within the next two months. While a large part of Modi’s bilateral talks President Xi Jinping would focus on the crucial boundary question, Modi is also expected to raise issues relating to greater market access for Indian products and services, and Chinese investment in India. According to senior officials, China has been warned “in as many words” that New Delhi may introduce standards for a variety of products and subsequently restrict Chinese imports of “nonessential items where India had quality concerns”. The officials said Bejing’s first reaction when India expresses concern in a particular area is to sign a memorandum of understanding, with little follow-up action. “We have signed several MoUs with China. Two of them relate to export of buffalo meat and IT services. But in both these areas, where India has immense potential to export, Chinese agencies have been very bureaucratic,” a senior official said.

Bovine meat needs sanitary and phytosanitary clearance from the relevant Chinese agency. “It’s been more than two years, but they continue to delay finalisation of protocol on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and certification procedures,” the official said, adding that Indian

buffalo meat finds its way to China through Vietnam.

Similarly, for IT services, tenders floated by Chinese state organisations have set a high bar of US$100mn for bidding.

“This is an artificial barrier and many Indian companies are unable to participate despite their competence,” the official said.

Trade in pharmaceuticals has, meanwhile, become a strategic issue, the officials said. India imports almost 70% of its API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) requirement from China.

But non-trade barriers have held back Indian drug companies from exporting formulations to the Chinese market.

“There are regulations which require state-run hospitals to sell two branded versions of a medicine for every generic version they want to sell,” a commerce ministry official said, adding this was why Indian companies were unable to get a foothold in China despite their products being much cheaper.

Officials also pointed out that the bilateral trade balance has consistently worsened over the years.

In 2013-14, bilateral trade stood at US$65.78bn, with India suffering a deficit of US$36.21bn. During the first half this year (AprilSeptember 2014), bilateral trade was US$16.4bn, with a US$9bn deficit. A slowdown in China will likely derail the two countries’ plans to cross US$100bn in bilateral trade.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

In Brief

NZ Sikh MP calls for law to allow kirpans

Melbourne: New Zealand's first Sikh MP has called for new legislation to enable Sikhs to wear ceremonial daggers freely in the country, saying they are “sensible” people who would not use the `kirpan' inappropriately.

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi's statement comes three days after seven Sikhs were barred from entering the ground to watch the India vs Zimbabwe cricket World Cup match. He said a legislation around ceremonial daggers is needed so, it is clear they are not weapons and safe to be worn, The Dominion Post reported.

Judges sacked for watching pornography on court computers

London: Three judges have been sacked from office and a fourth has resigned after allegations that they viewed pornography on court computers. The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office had investigated allegations against the men. They concluded that it was an "inexcusable" use of court equipment and condemned the judges' conduct as "wholly unacceptable". A statement from investigators said: "District Judge Timothy Bowles, Immigration Judge Warren Grant and Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock have been removed from judicial office following an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on judicial IT equipment in their offices. Another judge, Recorder Andrew Maw, who sat at Lincoln County Court, was also found to have viewed similar inappropriate material on his judicial IT account.

Woman told to pay £100,000 for deception over son

London: A woman was told to pay her former husband £100,000 for deception over a son born out of fertility treatment. The sperm was taken from the woman's former boyfriend. The woman deceived her former husband to believe that he was the father of the child. But when he came to know that he was not the father, he broke down as he was awarded £100,000 in repaid maintenance and costs.

Indian wins Stockholm Water Prize

Stockholm: Rajendra Singh, an eminent environment activist, has been conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize this year for his innovative water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian villages. Singh, who is widely popular as the `Water Man', was named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize laureate for improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need, a statement said. Born in 1959, Rajasthanbased Singh for several decades has dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities.

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, will honour Singh at a Royal ceremony during 2015 World Water Week on August 26. “He has literally brought villages back to life. We need to take his lessons and actions to heart if we are to achieve sustainable water use,” the committee said.

Lanka arrests 54 Indian fishermen before talks

Colombo: Fifty-four Indian fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan navy for allegedly fishing in its waters. Sri Lankan naval spokesman Commander Indika Silva said 21 fishermen were arrested and five boats seized at Kankesanturai, while 33 others on five boats were held at Talaimannar. The arrests came days before a Lankan delegation's visit to India for discussions on the contentious and longstanding issue emanating from the alleged violation of the maritime boundary by Indian fishermen. Indian and Lankan fishermen's associations will meet this week to thrash out a solution.

Burglars attack 83 year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer London: Burglars entered 83-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer Zallu Hassan's house and attacked her so badly that her family feared that she was dead. Zallu Hassan suffered severe facial injuries including a broken cheekbone and jaw and a fractured eye socket after the gang stormed her home in Ilford, Essex. Her daughter Tulay Ahmadi, 46, believes the intruders kicked her mother's head and stamped on her face during the attack. Ahmadi, who raised the alarm after arriving at her mother's house and finding her in a pool of blood, is now offering a £10,000 reward for anyone who has information leading to the arrest of the offenders. She said: “The people who did this are pure scum. They're so evil they'd probably do this to their own mothers.” Detectives have now launched an investigation to find those responsible for the incident.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

White, Brown or Red Rice: Which is healthiest?

Why has eating rice been such a problem for those who are trying to lose weight or are on a strict calorie restricting diet?

Rice is not an enemy of the weight related goals that you are trying to achieve - inadequate knowledge about this food item is.

White rice

White rice is the highly refined version of raw rice, which is hulled and milled. Processing and milling it takes away significant parts of the grain - bran and germ. Bran and germ are rich in dietary fibre as well as nutrients that are beneficial for human health.

White rice is primarily starch and therefore falls short on some essential nutrients like thiamine, also known as B1 as well other B Vitamins.

Consuming un-enriched white rice can lead to a condition called beriberi, which occurs due to thiamine deficiency.

White rice is also treated with additives that can - in certain cases - harm human body and trigger metabolic disorders like diabetes, obesity and so on.

Brown and red rice

Both brown and red rice have similar nutritional

profiles including harvesting process. These are either un-hulled or partially hulled types of rice, which means you get to chew on the bran and germ that are known to have various beneficial properties.

Brown rice is easily available across the globe whereas the red one is specifically typical to Himalayan Mountains, southern Tibet, Bhutan, as well as southern India.

Both are great sources of fibre, B vitamins, calcium, zinc and iron, manganese, selenium, magnesium and other nutrients. One thing that sets the red variety apart from its brown counterpart is it being enriched with antioxidants that can help fight damaging free radicals in our body.

The red variety gets its rich colour from an antioxidant called anthocyanins, which are also found in deep purple or reddish fruits and vegeta-

High-energy breakfast, modest dinner good for diabetics

A high-energy breakfast and modest dinner can control dangerous blood sugar spikes all day, says a new Tel Aviv University study published in Diabetologia. More than 382 million people in the world suffer from diabetes, predominantly type2 diabetes. For these people, blood sugar surges glucose spikes after meals - can be life threatening, leading to cardiovascular complications.

The study proposes a new way to suppress deadly glucose surges throughout the day - eating a highcaloric breakfast and a more modest dinner. The combined consumption of a high-energy breakfast and a low-energy dinner decreases overall daily hyperglycaemia in type-2 diabetics, said the study.

The new study was

conducted on eight men and 10 women aged 30-70 with type-2 diabetes.

Patients were randomized and assigned either a "B diet" or "D diet" for one week. The B diet featured a 2,946 kilojoule (kj) breakfast, 2,523 kj lunch, and 858 kj dinner, and the D diet featured a 858 kj breakfast, 2,523 kj lunch, and 2,946 kj dinner.

The results of the study showed that postmeal glucose elevations were 20 percent lower, levels of insulin, C-peptide, and GLP-1 were 20 percent higher in participants on the B diet compared with those on the D diet.

Despite the fact that both diets contained the same calories, blood glucose levels rose 23 percent less after the lunch was preceded by a large breakfast.

bles. The compound is believed to have properties that can reduce inflammation, allergy, prevent risks of cancer and help in weight management. The manganese present in both varieties helps in strengthening metabolism, while magnesium helps in migraine, lowers blood pressure as well as risks of heart attacks. Along with calcium, magnesium helps in maintaining healthy bones and teeth, and prevents risks of arthritis and osteoporosis. Selenium on the other hand protects the body against infections.

Moreover, since they are high in fibre content, the digestion process is slow, which leads to a strengthened digestive system. Fibre also aids in slowing down the rate at which carbs are converted into blood sugar; therefore fibrous foods are low on the glycemic load.

According to experts,

the two varieties are also highly recommended for diabetics - because of their low glycemic index and heart patients. These are considered whole grains, which can help in reducing the arterial plaque, prevent risks of cardiovascular diseases, tame high cholesterol and regulate blood sugar.

According to recent studies, consuming one cup of brown rice on a daily basis can significantly cut short the risks of developing diabetes by up to 60%.

Black rice

Shiny black grains of rice when cooked turn purple that not only is a treat to the eyes but also to the taste buds.

This variety beats the nutritional benefits of brown and red rice combined. Rich in fibre, it comes loaded with antioxidants, phytonutrients, phytochemicals, Vitamin E, protein, iron, and other nutrients. It is believed to be beneficial for the liver, kidney and stomach. It has high content of anthocyanins, which help in preventing risks of cancer. Its also low sugar and glycemic content makes it an extremely desirable dietary option for heart patients, diabetics as well as for those with high blood pressure.

Why vegetarians could live longer A diet which is 70% vegetarian can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by almost a fifth.

Scientists from London's Imperial College followed nearly half a million people from 10 countries for about 12 years. The participants, aged 35 to 70, were asked to submit information about their food consumption, lifestyle and physical activity.

Each person was given scores based on the types of food they ate. They also took into consideration other influencing factors including age, gender, daily calorie intake, body mass index (BMI) and smoking status. Based on their scores, participants were placed in different

categories, ranging from the least to the most provegetarian.

Finally, death rates from heart disease were compared. Their findings conclude that ‘pro-vegetarians’ who obtained almost 70% of their food from plant-based sources had a 20% less risk of dying from heart disease than those who followed a diet where only 45% comprised of plant products.

High Cholesterol stops Vitamin E reaching tissues High cholesterol levels have become a common lifestyle problem. High cholesterol levels may lead to an obstruction of proper blood flow to the heart as well as other organs. It may lead to stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and so on. Though it can run in genes, lifestyle factors and one's diet have much to contribute in triggering the condition. Some of the recent medical studies indicate that high cholesterol may risk of breast cancer in women.

According a recent research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, high cholesterol and triglycerides levels can prevent the essential vitamin E from reaching the tissues that need it. People with elevated lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) in their blood plasma are facing increased inflammation on tissues. Vitamin E is known to have anti-

inflammatory properties.

However, due to high cholesterol, the Vitamin finds it difficult to make its way to these inflamed tissues.

Vitamin E forms an extremely crucial component in our body. It plays an important role in some places such as artery walls, the brain, liver, eyes and skin. It also aids in scavenging free radicals and neurologic function.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant which can assist in combating high cholesterol and can protect against the development of atherosclerosis. It is also associated with maintaining good skin, skin, can strengthen immunity as well as may slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

A balanced diet could cut the risk of heart disease According to a study conducted by King's College London, switching to a healthy diet can reduce the risk of heart trouble in people over 40.

Scientists engaged 162 men and women (non-smokers) aged between 40 to 70 and measured their blood pressure, artery health and cholesterol - All factors that are usually good indicators of the chances of someone getting a stroke.

One group was given the ideal 'healthy diet' which is based on the current dietary recommendations in the UK. It's high in fat, salt and sugar, and low in fibre, oily fish, fruits and vegetables. The second group ate a diet with higher amounts of fruit and vegetables, less of animal fat, oily fish

once a week, replaced refined with wholegrain cereals and restricted salt and sugar intake. Both the groups were also asked to limit their intake of sweets, biscuits, cake, chips and alcohol.

The 'healthy diet' resulted in a considerable drop in blood pressure, an average reduction in heart rate, 8% in men and 4 % in women, and an 8% fall in cholesterol levels.

Specialist Chef required Specialist Chef required by a well established company specialising in Indian catering based in London. Must be a specialist in the preparation and cooking of all types of Indian Gujarati vegetarian sweets (Mitahi), desserts and savouries, and be able to use fresh or raw ingredients. Must have a relevant experience. The role requires being able to handle our large wholesale Indian sweet orders on a regular basis.

Closing date for the vacancy will be 28 calendar days from 4 march 2015.

Please contact with your cv at:

enquiries@saverafoods.co.uk

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

Kajal is super excited

G

reat days are ahead for Kajal Aggarwal, for she has been paired opposite top stars Dhanush, Vikram and Vishal in their upcoming movies. As if these are not enough, she is acting in a Bollywood flick opposite Ra n d e e p H o o d a .

While she is sharing the screen space w i t h Dhanush for the first time in B a l a j i M o h a n directed “Maari,” she is Vishal's pair in his upcoming cop movie, helmed by Suseenthiran.

Kajal and Priya Anand will be the lead ladies of an action thriller starring Vikram, which is going to be directed by Anand Shankar of “Arima Nambi” fame. "I am super excited. I can't ask for more," the 'Thupakki' girl says.

'Barkhaa''

“Barkhaa” is an upcoming Bollywood movie whose trailer received excellent reviews.

According to the director, “Barkhaa” is actually a sensitive and beautiful love story that has been directed and written by Shadaab Mirza. The storyline is that Jatin Sabharwal played by Taaha Shah, is a wealthy lawyer’s (played by Puneet Issar) son and also a serious professional, who is set to take

Shruthi Amala Paul spends 30 hours for 30 minutes Hassan does it at Lightning Fr Speed om Chennai, Amala Paul travelled all the way to Ballari in Karnataka for a single shot in her next Malayalam movie “Lailaa O Lailaa,” which has Mohanlal in the lead. "It was the climax scene and Amala had to shoot for just half an hour. She was in Chennai for “Haiku,” and came to Ballary for the 30-minute shoot. She spent nearly 30 hours travelling to and fro, by both road and air," sources said. It is learnt that the entire crew, including Mohanlal and director Joshiy, were surprised and moved

by Amala's gesture.

Meanwhile, in

T

Ul

aganayagan Kamalhassan is known for his multi talent and his undying dedication to cinema is there for everyone to see for the past 50 years. His daughter Shruthi Hassan is proving to the world that she is in every way her Daddy’s Girl.

A couple of days back Shruthi Hassan got a half day break while shooting for “Puli” with Illayathalapathy Vijay in Pollachi. Not the one to waste time the bold and beautiful actress took a two hour ride to Coimbatore, boarded a flight to Mumbai, walked straight to a recording studio and recorded a song to be picturised on herself in the upcoming Hindi film “Gabbar is Back.” Shruthi finished singing the song inside of an hour with perfection and what more she took the return flight back to the sets of “Puli.”

Thala on top of Hollywood and Bollywood!

hala is one superstar who never chases fame, but is the favourite child of the Goddess of Fame. After giving a knockout performance in “ Y e n n a i Arindhaal” Ajith is doing his usual thing, that is, concentrating on his work for the film with Siruthai Siva but elsewhere the media is working overtime to bring him glory.

A Bollywood online media channel recently conducted a poll asking users to

over the legacy of his father.

However, his life changes, when he travels to Himachal, where he comes across a beautiful girl called B a r k h a a , played by Sara Loren. To Jatin, Barkhaa seems like the breeze that comes just before the initial rains.

However, she disappears before he can meet her. But they do meet under some strange circumstances.

Jatin is quite shocked when he finds that his lady love has been leading a very shocking dark life. But, nothing actually matters, if a heart selects someone to love, not even any harsh truth could change the feelings. The leading stars are Sara Loren, Taaha Shah, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Shweta Pandit etc.

Pandiraj-directed “Haiku,” Amala is sharing the screen space with Suriya.

select the celebrity who looks the most stunning in salt and pepper look. The choices were Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Milind Soman and George Clooney. Well, no prizes for guessing that 75% votes were polled for Thala Ajith and please mind the fact that it is a north Indian site predominately catering to Hindi viewers. That is Thala for You, always on top without trying!

Sexy Sunny shows her emotional side

I

t is always difficult to deal with the loss of a near and dear one. Bollywood actress Sunny Leone, who lost her mother 7 years back too misses her mother and wishes she was part of her life to see how far she has come in life. She got onto a microblogging site to express her feeling.

She wrote, "7 yrs have past and it still feels like yesterday that my mother looked at me for the last time. She closed her eyes and never woke up again: "The saddest part is always a selfish one. I wish she was a part of my life to see how far I have come in life. Hear her say my name just once," she further added.

Virat confesses his love for Anushka

I

ndian cricket team's vice-captain Virat Kohli made his affection for girlfriend Anushka Sharma known to all by posting a tweet recently.

The cricketer who is in Australia/New Zealand playing in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2015, had a chance to watch Anushka's thriller “NH10” which was released on March 13. Virat took to micro-blogging site Twitter to post, "Just watched #NH10 and I am blown away. What a brilliant film and specially an outstanding performance by my love @AnushkaSharma. SO PROUD:)" [sic]

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Beauty lies in the eye of beholder: Shraddha Kapoor Brit Sisters go to Bollywood Y

oung and gorgeous but more keen to let her work speak for her than her appearance, actress Shraddha Kapoor agrees “beauty lies in the eyes of beholder” and she will not hassled if she is photographed without make-up. Asked if she is scared to go out without make-up now that she is one of most sought-after actresses in Bollywood, Shraddha said: “All the shutterbugs have got the picture of me without make up already.”

“There were many times when I am out and I don’t know whether there is a photographer or not and I am caught without make-up. I am comfortable being shot without make-up. I think you have to be comfortable with your own skin and then make-up or no make-up, it won’t bother you much,” added the “Ek Villain” fame actress who walked for Lakme Absolute Sculpt Show on the first day of Summer-Resort 2015 edition of Lakme Fashion Week.

Shraddha feels that “make-up is very special moment in every girl’s life” and recalls the time when she put on it first to attend an annual function during her childhood days. “I was very young when I tried make-up for the first time. I was in junior KG class when I attended an annual function. There was a qawwali song with bunch of girls and I saw the pink shade of lipstick that my mom always used to wear. I was waiting to wear that lipstick and have some make up and blush. I have the picture too of that day and that’s when I was allowed to wear make-up,” said the daughter of actor Shakti Kapoor.

Shahid goes through 15 looks for ‘Udta Punjab’ M

Amitabh now has 20 mn followers on Facebook

B

ollywood megastar A m i t a b h Bachchan is celebrating another social media milestone after crossing the 20 million followers mark on Facebook. The 72-year-old actor is very active on various social media sites and regularly engages with his fans through his twitter page, blog, and Facebook account. “Yes it is 20 million on Facebook and it could never have been possible were it not for the affection of those that are at this very moment reading this transcript! “Thank you all. I survive another milestone,” Bachchan posted on his blog.

The actor has 13.7 million followers on twitter.

a s t e r blaster Sachin Tendulkar has invited his fans to suggest the title of a “docufeature” based on his life.

He has also promised a treat for those who suggest the best names. “There is something very special in store for the ones who come up with the most ideal title for my movie. I am waiting to hear from you,” he added.

Sachin too will star as himself in the biopic, conceived by Mumbai-based production company 200 Not Out in coordination with World Sports Group, the firm that manages Brand Sachin. The movie, to be directed by London-based writer-filmmaker James Erskine, promises “never seen before facets and footage” on the cricket legend, Apart from his presence in the movie, Sachin is

said to be making a lot of contribution to the project, which will capture his phenomenal rise in the world of cricket. In his career spanning 24 years, the cricketer scored 15,921 runs from 200 matches at an average of 53.78.

He also has most batting records under his belt in Tests as also in the 50-over format.

Having started as a 16-yearold, the ‘Little Master’, at five feet five inch, holds the record for the maximum number of appearances and is the highest run-getter and century maker in both versions.

Kangana Ranaut to play Meena Kumari

K

angana Ranaut will star as Meena Kumari in a biopic on the tragedy queen. The actress was given a copy of the book and she found it "absolutely riveting," stated a report.

"Kangana is looking at her date diary and is hoping to accommodate the film in August-September. The research has begun and a formal announcement will be made soon," the report quoted a source. Kangana has previously played an '80s star in Milan Luthria's “Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai,” while her character in Mohit Suri's “Woh Lamhe” was inspired by actress Parveen Babi. However, playing Meena will be a challenge as the film will explore the actress' rise, the men in her life and her struggle to cope with fame which resulted in an alcohol addiction which led to her death at the age of 39, the report concluded.

The Raichand sisters from Wembley, Karishma (17) and Kareena (13) won an international competition, hosted by the B4U channel. The girls won a trip to Mumbai and had the opportunity to meet Bollywood stars, experience live film shooting and also got to have an interview with the stars.

This trip took place during 13th-16th March 2015. The girls were treated no less than stars once landing in Mumbai, with a TV crew always around to interview them during their two day exploration.

Karishma Raichand said, “I first found out Karishma and Kareena Raichand at Mumbai airport the good news via a email confirmation that the girls dreams came true as I received. I could not believe they always wanted to visit it at first so I called the organ- Mumbai and see how a film is isers to double check and it produced. Meeting the stars was like a dream come true!" was an added bonus as they Kareena Raichand added, had the chance to ask them “It was an amazing experi- questions and gain an insight ence. We got to meet the stars behind the scenes.” and visit some of their homes Karishma and Kareena visand I also had the opportunity ited many film studios in their to visit temples and markets 2 day visit to Mumbai and they in Mumbai.” also had the opportunity to The girls' father, Umesh meet actors Sharman Joshi, Raichand expressed his happi- Richa Chadda, Renuka ness for the girls. “This was Shahane and actor as well as such a great achievement and B4U presenter, Salil Acharya.

With actor Sharman Joshi

Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Shashi Kapoor

V

eteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor has been chosen for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contribution to the Indian cinema. Kapoor, who turned 77 earlier this month, is the 46th winner of the prestigious award. The award is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals. Shashi Kapoor has acted in a large number of Hindi films as well as in a few English films. Also, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2011.

Ranbir Kapoor’s advice to his parents

R

anbir Kapoor has been closely observing Neetu and Rishi Kapoor's social media accounts. Ranbir has apparently asked his parents to be more cautious while posting anything on social media. Rishi Kapoor recently faced flak for his tweet about beef ban.

Neetu Kapoor's posts on social media accounts, too, have created a buzz in the past. So the advice from Kapoor Jr is quite natural.

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Women who studied Maths at A-levels earn more Surveys have revealed that girls who study maths and science as A-level subjects go on to earn a third more in wages, compared to those who take up art and humanity subjects.

Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan stated that this data produced by the consultancy London Economics revealed the importance of alleviating female students to take up subjects such as maths, science, technology and engineering in order to help bridge the gender pay gap. Girls who take up one of these subjects (also

known as STEM subjects) are likely to see their wages rise by £4,500 a year on average, while those who take up two of such subjects are anticipated to emprise a pay rise of 33.1%.

Nicky Morgan reveals, “More girls are studying maths and sciences than ever before and today’s landmark report shows this can benefit their earnings by as much as a third.

Encouraging more young people – especially girls – to study STEM subjects is a vital part of our plan for education and it has been

vindicated by this in-depth research.”

The research conducted by researchers from London Economics analysed information linked to 13,000 people who had gone through the education system since 1970. Researchers found that the students who performed well in maths tests at primary school ended up earning 25% more than their peers, regardless of what other subjects they chose to study as teenagers.

Earlier in March, the Department for Education

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 The Sun transits your first house and this affects your personal identity, appearance, outward behaviour, and self-expression. This marks the peak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the position to make an impression on others, and to assert your personal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage of your charisma to achieve your goals.

formed investigation revealed that getting two or more A-levels added an extra £140,000 to a student's future lifetime revenue.

Jeweller ordered to pay £70,000 after hallmarking offences Umran Rafiq, trading as Asian Jewellers in Birmingham has been ordered to pay more than £70,000 after admitting to hallmarking offences at Birmingham Crown Court.

Although he avoided an immediate prison sentence, he was ordered to pay £60,000 under the Proceeds of Crime and £10,763 in costs.

Rafiq was also given a

10-week prison sentence that was suspended for six months after he pleaded

Coming Events

l The Bhagavad Gita - A Story of The Universe by Prof Jatindra Saha, Sat 28 March, 3pm, Bhavans, 4a Castletown Road, W14 9HE l Gujarat Hindu Society will be holding two events at South Meadow Lane, Preston, PR1 8JN. They are: Ram Navmi Saturday 28th March from 11:45am Hanuman Jayanti Saturday 4th April from 10:30am l Sampad presents Rang Barse (A Rain of Colour) Sunday 29 March 2014, 4pm. The Drum, 144 Potters Lane, B'ham B6 4UU. Contact: 0121333244 l On Sunday 29th March 2015, there will be a "Hanuman Chalisa Paath" from 11am to 5PM. This will be held at: Vishwa Hindu Temple, 2 Lady Margaret Road, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 2RA. For more information, telephone 020 8459 5758/ 07973 550310 l Book launch: The Transcendent/Mind- The Missing Peace In Emotional Wellbeing by Sunita Pattani Wednesday 1st April 2015 6:30pm High Commission of India, The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London, W1K 1HF Suggested Dress Code: Smart Casual l Dharma Rising Conference is being held by NCHTUK at the DLHC Hall, Harrow, on 5th April from 12.30pm till 10pm. There will be panel speeches, Hindu Question Time, “Dharma Rakshak” Awards and VIP Dinner. If you have any queries please call Satish Sharma on 07711 245000 Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Sales Executive: Daxa Gami - Email: daxa.gami@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4089 - Mobile: 07875 229 111 Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak 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.

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guilty to 21 offences under

the Hallmarking Act 1973 and the Trade Marks Act 1994. In addition, Umran Rafiq was also ordered to complete 60 hours of unpaid work.

Rafiq has six months to repay the £60,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act or faces prison.

He must also complete his unpaid work within six months.

Trojan Horse school spent £7,000 on office refurbishment instead of pupils’ education A school embroiled in the Trojan Horse scandal has received another damning Ofsted inspection highlighting violence, racism and wasted funds.

Teachers at Nansen Primary – which has been placed in special measures – told inspectors that children as

young as eight hit them without any action being taken when they reported it to the school’s leadership.

The report also claimed that £7,000 which could have been spent on educating pupils was instead used to refurbish the headteacher’s room.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 The Sun illuminates your sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities. You will be in constant demand and will be in a position to network with new-found friends who will promote your cause.

Personal relationships are also to the fore and some of you might even find true love. This is a time to follow your dreams and ideals.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 More than any other time of the year, your focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society. This is the time when you are more interested in, and focused on, accomplishing something important.

Contact with authority figures is more likely during this period. Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it or not, and the responsibility that goes with it.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 You are feeling most adventurous and willing to achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth. This is a good time to broaden your horizons through travel and higher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pursuit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourself from the mundane grind of life and take on something which is more meaningful for your inner growth.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 The Sun energizes your sector of change, transformation and regeneration. On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 As the Sun transits your seventh house, you have a greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The emphasis is on "us" rather than "me". Social interactions of a personal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extremely busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in your dealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over confident and egotistical.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The Sun transits your solar sixth house and highlights your health and also makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, you should enhance your skills, get organized and take up a health regime for your well-being. This transit highlights the need for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 After a period of relative inactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to perform and to express yourself creatively. This is a very progressive period of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. You take more pride in your your love affairs, your children, and your hobbies and are generally very sociable and make friends easily.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 With the Sun transiting your solar fourth house of family and home, these areas are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of property or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind as you will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It is also a time when family life will be charged with emotions so be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, close relatives and friends may play an important role in your life during this period.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 The Sun highlights your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. If travelling make sure you keep your documents safe as there is a possibility of misplacing them. Some of you might change your travel itinerary.

Sania-Hingis win Paribas Open title

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

India's Sania Mirza and Swiss legend Martina Hingis began their partnership with a title win as they overcame Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-4 in the summit clash of the BNP Paribas Open.

Top seeds Sania and Hingis didn't drop a set en route to the title. The Indo-Swiss pair, who joined forces recently, was trailing 2-4 in the second set but went on to win four games in a row to clinch the issue.

With this win, Sania achieved her career-best doubles rank of No. 3 when the new WTA rankings were announced. “On paper, obviously we are supposed to be a good team, but it doesn't always turn out that way when

Sania Mirza and Swiss legend Martina hits a big forehand, espeyou step on the court,” cially on the right side, and Sania said after the win.

I can move and finish off “We're really happy we the point. She prepares, I weren't just able to win, finish. That's pretty cool to but win in such a dominatme,” said Hingis, winner ing fashion, not losing a of 16 Grand Slam titles set and being down just including five singles. “I'm two times in the whole very happy we made this two weeks,” the Indian move. Obviously, we had added. “This is something partners we played well we were hoping for. She

with, like me last year with Flavia, and changing was a big move. I'm very happy it worked out, because you never know what to expect. Winning the tournament in our premier is new energy, and hopefully we can keep it up,” she added. Sania was asked what makes them such a good team in terms of strategy. “She's one of the best people who can complement the way I play.

She's got probably some of the best hands in the world at the net. I need that. I need someone who can finish the balls off where I set them up. And that's really it. Like I said, on paper everything looks great, but you still have to go out there. Names don't do anything. You have to go out and win,” she said.

national teams from UAE, Singapore, Ireland, Japan and Germany. The India Mixed team broke seed finishing 14th from their starting place of 17th and

the Open and Masters divisions held seed in 11th and 7th.

The India Mixed team won the Spirit of the Game award. This presti-

gious award is unique to the sport of Ultimate Frisbee in which the emphasis is placed on fair play and sportsmanship rather than just winning.

The award is highly respected and for India to win it at World Championship level is an incredible achievement.

Ultimate Frisbee in India is rapidly growing and a team will be coming to perform at the Under 23 World Championships to be held in London in July 2015.

- Dharmesh Mistry

Mustafa Kamal handed a 109-run thrashing by India in the quarter-final match. The only dramatic moment in what was otherwise a clinical Indian performance was when Rohit got a close no-ball reprieve.

Rohit was on an individual score of 90 and team total on 196 in the 40th over bowled by Rubel Hossain when a marginal 'no-ball' call went in favour of the Indian opener. Rohit went onto add another 47 runs in quick time to help India go past 300-run mark.

Ian Gould was the umpire who adjudged Rubel's full-toss as waist high 'no-ball' with Rohit being holed out at deep mid-wicket boundary.

However, TV replays showed that it was a real touch-and-go situation which could have gone

either way.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza had also expressed his displeasure at a few decisions going against his side, though he did not say in so many words. "I don't want to say anything about the umpiring decisions.

Everybody present saw what happened. So it's not fair on my part to comment on this," a peeved Mortaza said.

ICC backs umpires ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, "The ICC has noted Kamal's comments, which are very unfortunate but made in his personal capacity. As an ICC president, he should have been more considerate in his criticism of ICC match officials, whose integrity cannot be questioned.

The no-ball decision was a 50-50 call. The spirit of the game dictates that the umpire's decision is final and must be respected.

Any suggestion that the match officials had 'an agenda' or did anything other than perform to the best of their ability are baseless and are refuted

Team India win at World Championships for Beach Ultimate

Team India put up an incredible performance at WCBU 2015 held in Dubai last week. The squad entered 3 divisions of the tournament, Masters, Mixed and Open. The tournament held every 4 years attracts teams from around the world; this year was no different with 25 countries participating.

Two of India’s players were placed in the top 10 players list and 1 in the top 3 assists list in their respective divisions. The India Open team beat highly respected Ultimate

ICC President threatens to quit over umpiring in India-Bangladesh QF

International Cricket Council (ICC) president Mustafa Kamal has threatened to quit his post alleging foul play in the second quarter-final between India and Bangladesh that the defending champions won. The controversy over a no-ball decision, which gave a life-line to centurion Rohit Sharma.

"From what I have seen, the umpiring was very poor. There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind," he said and added that he may quit his post over his country's controversial defeat.

"Umpires may make mistakes. The ICC will see if this was done deliberately. Everything is on record. The ICC has to investigate and inquire the issue to see if there's anything to it," Kamal said.

Also outraged by the umpiring, the Bangladesh Cricket Board is all set to lodge a protest in the ICC and has got the backing of Kamal.

"Bangladesh were

in the strongest possible terms.”

Protests erupt in Bangladesh Rage in social media continued to mount as mainstream Bangladeshi newspapers castigated the “poor umpiring,” reflecting a nationwide anger against umpires’ alleged ‘bias’ for Indians.

Most Bangladeshi newspapers carried comments of cricket connoisseurs criticising the umpiring in the Bangladesh-India match to justify the protests with mass circulation Samokal newspapers carried a banner headline saying “The umpires defeated Bangladesh.”

“India, umpires beat Bangladesh in World Cup QF,” read another headline carried by the Dhaka Trubune.

Furious fans continued to ventilate their rage in the social media after hundreds supporters staged protest marches at different parts of the country including the premier Dhaka University campus where they also burnt an effigy of Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar.

SPORT WORLD

31

Sachin leads cricket world in lauding Sangakkara, Jayawardene

Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar led the cricketing world in applauding Sri Lankan veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who bowed out of ODIs after their team's World Cup quarter-final loss to South Africa.Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara had announced that the World Cup would be their final ODI assignment and much to the dismay of the Lankan fans, it ended on a disappointing note for the much celebrated duo with Sri Lanka losing by nine wickets to the Proteas. "Well done on glorious ODI careers @KumarSanga2 & @MahelaJay Being an integral part of the ODI side for so many years, it is difficult to imagine the side without the 2 of you. Wishing you the very best and will miss the 2 of you constructing the innings in coloured clothes," Tendulkar tweeted. Already retired from Tests, Sangakkara played a whopping 404 ODIs, scoring 14,234 runs at an average of 41.98.

Jayawardene, on the other hand, amassed 12,650 runs from 448 ODIs at an average of 33.37. Tributes also poured in from other international stars with former South Africa captain Graeme Smith being among those who congratulated the two for their stellar international careers. "Congrats to @MahelaJay and @KumarSanga2 on incredible careers and what brilliant memories they gave us all," tweeted Smith. "To @KumarSanga2 & @MahelaJay bad luck tonight but well done on your superb careers. Good luck and hope to see you both in the future!" added former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore. Australian all-rounder Shane Watson also tweeted his appreciation for the veterans. "Sad to see two of the greats @MahelaJay @KumarSanga2 leave the one day game... #Quality #Class #Humility," Watson wrote on his Twitter handle.

ECB pondering ways to promote one-day game

England’s poor showing at World Cup has rattled officials and ECB is pondering to have a shorter County Championship to bring to fruition its commitment to give greater priority to one-day cricket. A team of ECB executives is conducting a root-and-branch review of the game with a number of eye-catching suggestions, including four-day Test cricket, already contained in the “Strategy Conversation Summary” hatched from an initial powwow. The only way to create space for more limited-overs matches is by reducing championship fixtures. One county chairman said: “The programme of 16 four-day games has been a sacred cow, but there is a growing appetite to change.” David Morgan, the author of the most recent review in 2011-12, recommended a drop to 14 matches. He was overruled, but the 20-over format has continued to grow worldwide since and the leading 50-over players are increasingly coming from Twenty20 rather than the first-class game.

If the ECB wants to introduce an English Premier League to supplement the existing NatWest t20 Blast - possibly with a smaller number of franchise or merged teams - then even a 14-game championship may be too long. One radical option understood to be up for discussion would mean three divisions of seven, with the leading Minor Counties brought in to supplement the existing 18 first-class outfits. This would generate 12 games per county, playing each team in their division home and away, and free about a month for the white-ball game. Serious reform is unlikely to be introduced before 2017.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 28th March 2015

New Zealand beat South Africa to enter WC final

New Zealand scripted history by managing their maiden cricket World Cup final appearance with a stunning four-wicket win in a nerve-wrecking lastfour clash against the formidable South Africa.

Chasing a stiff target of 298 runs in 43 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis rule in the rain-curtailed game, New Zealand crossed the line when Grant Elliot (84) smashed Dale Steyn over long-on for a six with just one ball to spare in a thrilling showdown.

Needing 12 to win off six balls, Vettori found the fence to bring the equation down to five from two balls, before Elliot hit the winning runs as the Eden Park broke into wild celebrations. The result meant the perennial choker's tag would continue to haunt South Africa and they would once again look for soul searching.

Since the inaugural edition in 1975, New Zealand have reached the semifinals of the showpiece event six times, but failed to clear the penulti-

mate hurdle on all the occasions. However, they looked determined to script history today and despite being set a daunting target, the Kiwis never gave up and were spurred on by a vociferous home crowd.

Earlier, David Miller had blazed his way to a 18-ball 49 as the Proteas set a difficult target.

Opting to bat, South Africa notched up 281 for five, but the target was revised under the Duckworth/Lewis method after seven overs each were deducted per side following a two-hour rain interruption.

Skipper AB de Villiers made an unbeaten 65 off 45 balls, while Faf du Plessis top-scored with a 107-ball 82, but it was Miller's innings that gave Proteas the much-needed impetuous towards the end.

In reply, the New Zealanders were off to a flying start with skipper Brendon McCullum going hammer and tongs at the South African pacers, especially Steyn. Such

was his onslaught against Steyn that the South African pace spearhead was clobbered for 25 runs as New Zealand raced to 71 for no loss in five overs.

McCullum's two sixes and three fours against Steyn was followed by a maiden over by Imran Tahir, and it worked in the Proteas' favour as the pressure created by the

leg-spinner saw McCullum throwing away his wicket. His 50 contained eight boundaries and four sixes. The belligerent 26-ball 59 set the tone for what turned out to be a historic chase.

Elliott and Corey Anderson (58) played smartly, mixing caution with aggression, and it was their 103-run partnership for the fifth wicket

that kept the Black Caps in the game after McCullum's dismissal.

By the time Anderson was the fifth man out, New Zealand needed 46 runs from 30 balls, standing a very good chance of crossing the line. Elliott ensured he finished the task by staying till the very end.

Elliott hit seven fours and three sixes in his

unbeaten 73-ball knock, while Anderson found the fence six times and cleared it twice in his 57ball innings.

36-year-old veteran Daniel Vettori, playing in his last World Cup, was at the crease when victory was earned. New Zealand, who achieved the highest run-chase in knockout rounds of World Cup, will meet either defending champions India or fourtime winners Australia in the summit showdown on Sunday.

Australia-India semifinal on Thursday Australia will meet India in the second semifinal on Thursday, March 26. Australia entered the semi-final stage by beating Pakistan by six wicket.

Pakistan batsmen were bowled out for 213 which the Aussie batsmen made with the loss of four wickets.

Earlier India thrashed Bangladesh by 109 runs to enter the semi-final.

Batting first, India compiled a daunting total of 302 for six, built on the back of a magnificent century from Rohit Sharma, who completed his first World Cup hundred with a slice of luck.