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VOL 41. ISSUE 38

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Revised version of Citizenship Test irks critics and candidates India shows its achievements in various fields at Republic Day parade

Expressing his empathy for the public protests that rocked India after the bru-

tal gang rape of 23-yearold physiotherapist in New Delhi, President

To commemorate the 65th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Asian Voice has put together a four-page exclusive looking back at his life and legacies.

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Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said that the incident had left young Indians “outraged’’ and shattered the nation’s complacency.

The President, who was addressing the nation, his first speech on the eve of the Republic Day, exhorted the nation to “reset its moral compass.’’

Mukherjee also used the occasion to send a stern message to Pakistan saying that the country’s offer of friendship should not be taken for granted. He also touched on the issue of Maoist violence stressing on firm and quick action.

During the Republic

Day parade, India showed its achievements in various fields, the military prowess, scintillating display of air power as also country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. The highlight of this year’s Parade was the above 5,000 km range Agni-V missile. The advanced Long Range Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile capable of being launched from anywhere in any direction and within a few minutes from a self-contained Road Mobile Launcher was paraded by the Defence Research & Development Organisation.

Continued on page 25

While the UKBA's backlog of immigrant applications has reached shameful heights- reportedly over 16,000 applications at present, the Home Office appears to have plenty of time on its hands to continually change the application process for prospective applicants. In what seems like a futile exercise, a new and modified version of the UK citizenship test for foreign nationals has been created and will be enforced from March this year.

The modified version of the test taken by foreign nationals who wish to become UK citizens

will focus more on the nation's history and culture and less on the practicalities of daily living in Britain, the Home Office has said. The new handbook, which will form the basis of the revised 45-minute exam that all those wishing to attain British citizenship must pass, went on sale from Monday. Topics such as job interviews, the internet and water metres have given way to history, sport and music.

Ten example questions offered by the Home Office include Who is the patron saint Continued on page 2

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Keith Vazwith MP

Keith Vaz MP

Angie Bray MP

constituency so quickly and easily.

7. And the worst?

Angie Bray was elected MP for Ealing Central and Acton in May 2010. She grew up in Croydon and later went to St. Andrew’s University in Scotland to read History. After leaving University she worked for the British Forces Broadcasting in Gibraltar and then spent 8 years with LBC radio. From 200008 she was a member of the London Assembly for London West Central, eventually becoming leader of the Conservative Group. Since her election in 2010, Angie has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Francis Maude MP and currently sits on the Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

1. What inspired you to stand for Parliament?

Breakfast meetings – I’m not very good at getting up early!

8. What are your long term goals?

To continue serving as the MP for Ealing Central and Acton and to support solid Conservative measures such as improving education standards, reforming our welfare system for the twenty-first century, growing our economy –hugely important issues that if we get right, will see a Conservative Government elected in 2015.

Ealing’s first Music and Film Festival to celebrate Ealing’s brilliant heritage in both these fields and also to bring footfall during the darkest month of February.

I think the opportunity to get things done and actually help people. I worked for years as a journalist covering the news, reporting the things that were happening to people and how politics affected them. Being in Parliament allows me to have my own say and help where I can.

9. If you were Secretary General of the United Nations, what one thing would you change?

3. Please tell us about your current position.

I’m the MP for Ealing Central and Acton in West London, which is a really interesting and diverse constituency to represent. Before Christmas I was elected to be on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee so I’m getting involved in things like the reforms of our national press and also defending its freedom and conducting an inquiry into our creative industries – the cultural sector contributes about £28 billion to our economy each year.

2. What are your proudest achievements in politics?

Being elected in 2010 to represent Ealing Central and Acton in Parliament in what was one of the most critical three way marginal seats in the country.

Working with Baroness Berridge to set up a new All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom, which we hope will focus attention on this important issue, particularly in countries where this freedom is no longer upheld. Setting up and working with a committee of local residents to develop

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

Mostly I consider myself to have been extremely lucky having been able to do the jobs in

politics and in journalism that I always wanted to do. Looking back to my schooldays, I suppose my biggest regret is my lack of skill with languages and sciences, including maths.

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

My father, although he’s no longer with us, always taught me the importance of hard work in order to achieve your goals. He always supported me in all the choices I made, and most importantly, he nurtured

Doctor cleared of sexual assault charges A doctor has walked free from court after being found not guilty on two counts of sexually assaulting a female patient.

Narendra Sharma, 56, said: “I’m delighted and tired. It has been a year and a half of trauma, mental stress and depression.

“Hopefully I’ll feel better once I've had some time to reflect.”

Asked if he would return to the medical pro-

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fession, Dr Sharma (pictured) said: “Yes, it’s the only thing I know.”

The father-of-two, who gave evidence during his two-week trial, said that he had done nothing untoward and had followed recognised medical procedures.

A 33-year-old woman had claimed that she had been sexually assaulted with a medical instrument and touched in an inap-

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propriate way. She had gone to hospital after feeling unwell following a wasp sting.

Judge Barnett, recorder of Salisbury, told the jury one of the key questions was to consider whether Dr Sharma’s actions were ‘part of a proper and justified medical examination.’ He said: “If he knew full well what he did was not part of a proper and justified medical examination you may find the prosecution have proved the case.”

Judge Barnett ordered £300 travel costs to be paid to Dr Sharma and told him: “You are free to leave without any stain on your character.”

in me an interest in politics from a young age and taught me the values and principles that led me to the Conservative Party.

6. What is the best thing about your current role?

While I enjoy being in Parliament taking part in debates, nothing beats spending time out and about in Ealing and Acton and meeting all the different people who live and work there – I’m lucky as a London MP that I can get to and from Westminster and my

I would look at ways of reinforcing Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is designed to protect freedom of conscience and religion, so that it is properly implemented and adhered to across the globe.

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

Alfred the Great. A remarkable survivor against the odds, who went on to become arguably the first King of all England. He brought huge wisdom to his role, not least because he was genuinely fascinated to learn everything he could, including Latin – and like me, he wasn’t a very good cook!

Revised version of Citizenship Test irks critics and candidates Continued from page 1 of Scotland and Which of these sporting events was hosted in London in 2012?

“The new book rightly focuses on values and principles at the heart of being British. Instead of telling people how to claim benefits it encourages participation in British life," Immigration Minister, Mark Harper, told BBC. He added: “This is just part of our work to help ensure migrants are ready and able to integrate into British society and forms part of our changes which have broken the automatic link between temporary and permanent migration.

We have made radical changes to the immigration system and are determined to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands into the tens of thousands by the end of the Parliament.”

The new test has sparked a wave of criticism.

“Now the Home Office has come up with something that looks more like an entry examination for an elite public school. It is very difficult to think that this is a positive move,”the director of Migrant Rights Network, Don Flynn reportedly said.

Labour Party's Chris Bryant, the shadow immigration minister, said Theresa May should focus more of her time on sorting out the mess in the UK Border Agency rather than on rewriting the citizenship test. However, Alp Mehmet, of the MigrationWatchUK think tank, an independent, non-political body concerned about the scale of immigration into the UK, said the “underlying principle and thought process” behind the citizenship test was “absolutely right”.

“People who want to come to live in this country should know a little about the country they're joining,” he told the BBC. Interestingly, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, famously failed to answer several questions on history, of the kind that could be part of the new and revised citizenship test, when he appeared on popular American TV show- 'The Late Show with David Letterman'. And he is not an exception. Reportedly, when 11, 000 British citizens took a sample test, they had a pass rate of just 14%, abysmally lower than the pass rates of actual can-

didates from other countries. For instance, between 2005 and 2009, Indian candidates had a pass rate of 79.2%. By the standards of the Home Office, these statistics might be taken to imply that Indian candidates are more qualified to be UK citizens than nativeborn people, which of course is not the case but it proves the gross inadequacy of the existing systems to judiciously assess the suitability of a candidate for naturalisation. Since the example questions have been made available, several online forums have erupted with comments and critiques of the new test. John wrote on one of the forums, “So easy my six year old got 4 out of 10 and she's never lived in the UK.” Another user, Lisa wrote, “Not a single question on the responsibilities of a citizen.”

Others like Sharan have offered alternate questions that they call more 'relevant' and 'suitable' , “At what age can I legally drink ?”, “How do I access legal aid ?”

Last year, over 150,000 Life in the UK tests were taken nationally, with 77,000 of those in London.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Comment

Republic Day: Time for celebration and introspection January 26 was India’s 64th Republic Day. The military parade and the accompanying floats had the customary pomp and pageantry, with the vast crowds in attendance contributing to an air of jubilation. But India also happens to be a troubled society. The Delhi gang rape and the ritual molestation of women in the country’s capital city and beyond tell of a deep malaise that needs addressing.

President Pranab Mukherjee was bang on the button when he called for a change in India’s “moral compass”.

The malfunction of some of the nation’s most critical institutions, most notably Parliament, where the conduct of legislators leaves much to be desired, needs to be addressed by MPs, who sit in chamber and are expected to do a job for which they are paid by the ordinary tax payer. Judicial and police reforms must surely be near the top of the national agenda. And, of course, there is famously the bureaucracy and red tape, of which Lord Curzon left this memorable description: “Round and round like the diurnal revolution of the earth went the file – stately, solemn, sure and slow.” To which Malcolm Muggeridge added his special savor: “It was government pure and undefiled, endless minuting and circulating files, which, like time itself, had nether beginning nor end, but just were.”

Televised discussions on issues of the day are scrimmages, where brawling has become a substitute for reasoned argument, in which anchors, alas, are frequent participants. The party divisions receive indecent exposure. Of any awareness of the national interest there is little sign. Then there are the scams. These have lowered the public’s esteem for the great and the good, those given to pontificating on and every topic without contributing a grain of wisdom to the proceedings. Come January 30, and familiar faces are out in force polishing their silverware of clichés and shibboleths on Mahatma Gandhi, for that happens to be the date of his death anniversary. These orgies of Pecksniffian rectitude have become an annual ritual, with few of the indulgent performers aware of Gandhi’s Seven Deadly sins, which are as follows: “Commerce without ethics; Pleasure without conscience; Politics without principle; Knowledge without character; Science without humanity; Wealth without work; Worship without sacrifice.”

The bejewelled cut-glass maxims should be read out every school morning, at every session of Parliament, before every cabinet and ministerial meeting and at the start of every company board conclave. No miracles should be expected, but something, hopefully, may rub off on speakers and audiences.

However, it won’t do to surrender to pessimism.

India has repeatedly surprised those given to Cassandra-like judgments. The country, they pre-

dicted, would fall apart after Partition, but it rose Phoenix-like to confound its detractors. Its people would die of starvation, they pronounced. The Green Revolution and Milk Revolution, the eradication of polio, the advances in science and technology, the explosion of entrepreneurial energy speaks volumes for India’s continuing vitality and her capacity for renewal and progress shows how wrong they were and are. Mumbai, India’s financial hub, has been subjected to three major terrorist strikes and a number of lesser ones, yet its business heart and brain keep working in tandem despite the pain inflicted and the threat that still looms menacingly over the horizon.

The rush-hour bombings of Mumbai’s suburban rail network didn’t stop it from functioning the next morning, nor did the terrorists of 26/11 bring the city’s development to a standstill. Mumbai picked itself up and pressed on regardless.

Much the same can be said of India as a whole.

Her ability to reinvent herself is a continuing wonder. As one of three founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, she still exists, alive and kicking, while one co-founder, Yugoslavia, is extinct and the other, Egypt, is caught up in the maelstrom of civil disorder and sectarian strife.

The pains of labour during a country’s transformational stage, when an agrarian economy gives way to modern industry and finance, can be deep, but what emerges from the experience is hugely rewarding. Expect few free lunches in a life that matters. India is not a basket case; and it never was. Seeds sown in science and agriculture in the early and difficult years of the republic; in software, space, nuclear energy and medicine are now in blossom. There is much to be grateful for, even as we regret the many wasted opportunities to do better. India is yet to fulfill its true potential – an appropriate theme for Republic Day reflection.

One final word. The Republic Day guest this year was the King of Bhutan, the small Himalayan state bordering India on the north-east. The IndoBhutan relationship is one of trust and tranquility and a model that hopefully will endure long into the future. Bhutan may be small, but its Buddhist tradition and culture have given the country a deep and enduring wisdom. Where countries the world over, including India, measure themselves against their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Bhutan perceives itself in the mirror of Gross National Happiness (GNH). The country may not have rockets or space satellites or the advanced technologies that are the norm elsewhere, but the absence of inner demons leaves Bhutan at peace with itself and the world beyond – a truly unique state of mind and spirit from which humanity can learn and grow.

The global face of jehadi terrorism Developments in North Africa are a reminder of the menace that stalks the civilized world. The long reach of al Qaeda extended to the northern reaches of Mali, provoking a vigorous response from France and a number of African states including Nigeria, which itself is plagued by an Islamist insurgency.

And if this wasn’t enough, it was followed by an even more brazen Al Qaeda assault on an Algerian oil centre in the south-west of the country. An Algerian anti-terrorist unit launched a military operation in which 69 people died, including the 32 terrorists. The other 37 killed were largely foreign workers, many of whom were Japanese.ß Meanwhile, in Chicago, David Colman Headley, a self-confessed Lashkar-e-Taiba operative received a 35 year jail sentence for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in which 167 people perished. Mr Colman toured India on an American passport (his mother being American) photographing sites in Mumbai that the terrorists might prof-

itably target.

Born of a Pakistani father, Mr Headley confessed to an abiding hatred for India from an early age. The judge wanted to impose a harsher sentence but was prevented from doing by a plea bargain and the prosecutor’s demand for a maximum 35-year sentence. The judge hoped that Mr Headley would spend the rest of his natural life in prison. It is said that Mr Colman had revealed valuable information to the US authorities on Pakistani terror networks and their links with the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence Bureau.

Finally, the activities of an Islamist vigilante group harassing passers-by in an east London suburb on their dress code and drinking habits with the claim that the area was Islamic and the writ Sharia. The political and moral dry rot has emanated in part, from the inertia and indulgence of the authorities. Past sins are catching up. The Islamist chickens are coming home to roost.

India-Israel ties grow stronger The four-day visit to Israel by Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne has been fruitful. He held talks with his counterparts in Israel and called on the Defence Minister Ehud Barack and other senior figures in the country’s security establishment. Mr Browne laid a wreath at the Holocaust Memorial in Tel Aviv. A number of critical agreements on joint research and manufacture of missiles were signed.

The Air Chief was a liaison officer in Israel in 1998 between the Indian and Israeli air arms, when this

special office was set up to co-ordinate mutual cooperation. India and Israel have moved further down the road in their relationship than many observers thought possible.

Today, Israel is the second-largest foreign supplier of India’s defence needs, Russia being the first. It would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that India is Israel’s second strategic partner after the United States. The stakes being high, the IndoIsraeli relationship is set to get stronger.

3

Act as if what you do makes a difference.

It does - William James (1842-1910)

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central

A helping hand to reduce energy bills The recent drop in the temperature and the snow that has come with it has put a smile on the face of many children up and down the UK. I can certainly remember the thrill of waking up to discover that it had snowed and that my neighbourhood had been transformed overnight.

But while many of us are in a position to enjoy the snow we should not be blind to the real hardship that it can bring to members of our community. The elderly are particularly vulnerable as the cold weather leaves pavements and driveways slippery and dangerous. This winter and the last I was especially concerned by stories of elderly and disabled people struggling and trapped at home and I would urge anyone with an elderly relative or neighbour to check that they are safe.

Looking in on the elderly in our community is one way we can help each other out. However, there are also ways that the Government can help support the vulnerable and their families when the weather turns cold.

It is vital that when temperatures outside plummet people feel able to turn on their heating to warm their homes without having to worry about this resulting in huge energy bills. This is why we support The Warm Home Discount scheme which offers help to roughly 2 million households. This includes around a million pensioners who will receive a discount of up to £130 off their electricity bills by the end of the year.

It is also why we continue to support Cold Weather Payments – an amount of money given to vulnerable people whenever the local temperature is either recorded as, or forecast to be, an average of zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive

days. We have permanently increased the amount of Cold Weather Payments from £8.50 to £25 for each week of cold weather.

However, that is not all the Government is doing. Importantly we are also simplifying the energy companies pricing system. At the moment energy companies offer customers a choice of hundreds of different complex tariffs which can make it incredibly hard for people to find the best deal for them.

The Liberal Democrats, as part of the Coalition Government, are taking steps to improve this. Firstly, from next year, energy suppliers will have to automatically place households on the cheapest tariff for their needs and secondly, energy companies have been made to commit to simplifying the market by allowing each energy supplier to offer just four core tariffs.

We are doing this because in 2011, as few as 15% of energy customers switched who they get their energy from and yet it can make a huge difference. Ofgem, the regulator of both the gas and electricity markets, has estimated that customers could save £72 on average and up to £158 per year simply by switching to the best deal. What’s more, the Government is encouraging people to switch suppliers by investing £5 million to support collective switching schemes to help people negotiate cheaper energy prices.

When it’s cold, people shouldn’t have to worry about whether they can afford to turn on their heating. By supporting the most vulnerable and simplifying the complex tariff scheme, the Liberal Democrats in Government are making this decision a lot easier.

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

4

asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Midlands Voice

Memorial service in honour of “leading light” Nadeem Soomro Dhiren Katwa The town of Newbury in West Berkshire will fall silent for a few minutes this Saturday as a mark of respect for one of its highly respected citizens who recently passed away.

Father-of-two Nadeem Soomro, described as a light” of “leading Newbury’s Muslim community, was a founder member of the West Berkshire Minority Ethnic Forum.

Mr Soomro, pictured, collapsed in the evening on New Year’s Eve at his home and died en route to hospital. He was aged 47.

Locally, Mr Soomro, with the full support of his wife Waheeda, had sponsored cultural events, and worked tirelessly to change hearts and minds over intolerance and racism.

Ruwan UduweragePerera, paid tribute to his friend and forum colleague: “Nadeem was an admired community advocate and respected business leader who will be missed by many people in Berkshire and beyond.

He had promoted better

Asian Voice / Gujarat Samachar announces LILY as the sponsored charity of Asian Achievers Awards 2013

Human trafficking How come we are not talking about this?

Nadeem Soomro

Richard Benyon

understanding between people of different beliefs, and cultures.”

Local MP Richard Benyon, who is the minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries, described Mr Soomro “an influential leader”. He added: “He did so much to bring the community together.” MP Benyon, who has been a longstanding local champion on equality and diversity, will also be attending the memorial service this Saturday (February 2).

Mr Soomro, who was director of Empowering West Berkshire, had also been an active member of the Newbury mosque,

chair of the Police Independent Advisory Group and a member of Thames Valley Crown Prosecution Service Advisory Group.

Newbury is a town with a population of around 32,000 with a reasmall, but sonably dynamic and hardworking ethnic minority community. Newbury Town Council has 23 councillors representing seven wards of the town, of which two are from an Indian background – Cllr Mukesh Bansal (Lib Dem) and Cllr Kuldip Singh Kang (Cons).

Photos: Left, Nadeem Soomro; right, Richard Benyon MP.

Commission sets out actions to help poorest households

A Leicester-based commission has set out a wide range of recommendations on what can be done to help the poorest households in the city, and tackle the growing problem of child poverty.

Proposals in the report, published last Friday by the Leicester Child Poverty Commission (LCPC), include a citywide network of food banks, neighbourhood credit union satellite bases, and low cost council loans for the purchase of essential goods.

More than 26,000 Leicester children and their families are estimated to live in poverty.

According to the government’s definition, these are families whose income is less than 60 per cent of the national median income. This is around £357 for a couple with two children.

The LCPC was established in June 2011 by Councillor Rory Palmer,

2013

pictured, the city’s deputy mayor. Its members are drawn from the public sector, voluntary sector, business, academia, and politics. They include include Imran Hussain, head of policy, rights and advocacy with the national Child Poverty Action Group, Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth, and Martin Traynor, group chief executive of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Cllr Palmer said: “We are determined to see these proposals put into action, and making them happen will now be the

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focus of our work.

“Our recommendations are not a wish-list that can’t be afforded.

They are feasible and practical and would make a real contribution to tackling the worst impacts of child poverty in Leicester.”

The 66 proposals are set out in five categories: early years, schools and education; income, personal finance and housing; health and wellbeing; economy, work and transport; policy and governance.

More details about child poverty in Leicester and the work of the commission is on the city council’s website at www.leicester.gov.uk/child povertycommission

“Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons […] for the purpose of exploitation.” It is modern day slavery. With approximately 4 million people trafficked every year for slave labour, sexual exploitation and prostitution, it is fast becoming the largest crime of this century. Over 50% of those trafficked are minors and the average age of entry for girls forced into prostitution is 12. And sadly, this age of entry is decreasing at an alarming rate.

“I have been doing charitable work with vulnerable girls for over 25 years now, but I was still shocked to discover this dark world of human trafficking. How could girls of 3 be used as sex slaves? How come we are not talking about this?” asks the founder of the LILY foundation, Lady Mohini Kent Noon.

LILY foundation was

started to encourage the global community to be part of the change process that ensures that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. LILY along with its charitable partner, iPartner India, is working with the survivors of this

LILY Ambassadors Ms. Sharmila Tagore Ms. Kamini Bhaga Ms. Lillete Dubey

McDonagh Prof Lord Kamlesh Patel, OBE

LILY Patrons Lord Gulam Noon, MBE Hon. Apurv Bagri Baroness Margaret

horrible crime in India. iPartner India is a registered charity in the UK and India, working to bring about positive change by addressing the most pressing development issues facing modern India. They work with local grassroots partners, who are change makers in their own

LILY Committee Members Lady Mohini Kent Noon (Chairperson) Dr. Alka Bagri

Lady Mohini Kent Noon

right, to break the trafficking circle at every point – from the root cause of poverty and illiteracy, the prevention of abuse and exploitation to the prosecution of traffickers.

“LILY's response is not just based on need, which is huge – there are an estimated 2.5 million children in brothels in India alone – but on the moral imperative of saving lives, as many as we can. Even if we could rescue one precious life from a living hell, it would have been worth it” say Lady Noon.

For more information on how you can help, contact LILY at iPartner India, Tel: 020 7841 8919, E:info@ipartnerindia.org Ms. Bina Rani Ms. Rita Bhagwati Ms. Heena Vekaria Ms. Nandia Ahmed Ms. Shakiba Rangoonwalla Ms.Asha Pai Sethi Ms. Anita Roy Ms. Shama Bhardwaj

Benefit fraud ordered to pay back A woman has been ordered to pay back £10,000 after admitting a benefit fraud.

Hardev Kaur Basra (58), of The Osiers, Braunstone Town, claimed income support, housing and council tax benefit on the basis she was a single woman.

However, it was discovered that she was actually married and her husband was working at that point

and they lived together.

The case was investigated by Blaby District Council and Jobcentre Plus, which found she was not entitled to £10,813 she received.

She denied the allegations throughout the investigation, but admitted all charges at Leicester Magistrates' Court last week, a local paper reported.

She was give a two-

year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £200 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

The court heard all the overpaid money was also being recovered.

Blaby Councillor John Hudson said: "This sends a clear message – people should know they run the risk of being prosecuted if they are not honest about their circumstances."

Families living in fear of intimidation by yobs A teenager has told that families in her area are scared to leave their homes at night because of yobs’ anti-social behaviour. The 18-year-old student, from Belgrave, has started a petition which her councillor, Manjula Sood (pictured), presented to Leicester City Council and is backing the residents and supporting the petition.

The petition, which had 57 names on it in a week, is calling for more and better lighting in the

streets around the Cossington Street recreation ground, in Belgrave, in a bid to deter the yobs.

Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Police have approved a dispersal order covering every street in both Belgrave and Latimer wards, after complaints that teenage thugs were intimidating residents.

It means police can disperse troublemakers from the area, with under-16s taken home to their families, and older

people being ordered out of the two wards. Those who ignore an order face being arrested.

The new order came after 47-year-old Rajesh Devaliya was badly beaten by four masked assailants as he stepped into a lift in the St Mark’s housing block, in Southey Close, two weeks ago.

Police are not linking the assault to any particular youths, but said the incident had heightened fears.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013 Met. Police Hindu Association celebrated Swami Vivekanand's 150 Birth Anniversary on Thursday 24 January 2013 in the House of Commons.

Varsha Mistry with Steve Pound Ealing North MP

5

CIM shocked by their chief patron's U-turn In an ironical turn of events over the last few days, the executive committee of Council of Indian Muslims-UK (CIM) has expressed shock and deep sense of sorrow as well as concern at the actions of their own founder Lord Patel, for his recent meeting with arch rival Modi. Given that the UK-based organisation was formed primarily to campaign against the Gujarat riots, its chief patron suddenly cozying up to Modi appears almost farcical.

Baron Patel of Blackburn, as he is known in the UK, played a pivotal role in organising protests during Modi's visit to London in 2003 but has now put the credibility of his own organisation in a fix by extending an invitation to the Gujarat CM to visit London this year.

An urgent meeting was called to discuss Lord Patel’s reported meeting during which EC (executive committee) members of the CIM expressed, disappointment, dismay and disbelief and unanimously agreed to wait until his return from India and give him an opportunity to

explain his position.

EC also advised the Chairman to see Lord Patel, if possible, during his visit to Gujarat in the coming days.

Lord Adam Patel is one of UK's most influential Gujarati Muslims.

Patel, who hails from Karmad village in Bharuch, moved to the UK in1964 after graduating from MS UniversityVadodara, where he headed the students' union.

Along with local businessman Zafar Sareshwala, who is a staunch Modi supporter, Patel met Modi at his official residence in Gandhinagar.

Patel told TOI that he congratulated Modi on his victory and that they had “a good first meeting”. He added that while there may be differences of opinion on Modi, it is important for the Muslim community to initiate dialogue with him.

Patel's change of heart is bound to create a stir within CIM which continues to oppose Modi. The organisation has criticised the UK government's decision to resume

Lord Adam Patel

trade ties with Gujarat. In December, British MP George Galloway moved an 'early day motion' in the House of Commons deploring the UK government decision to end Modi's boycott.

Earlier this month, British high commissioner to India, James Bevan, attended the Vibrant Gujarat summit held in investment Gandhinagar.

FTSE 100 companies urged to reveal ethnic breakdown Nilesh Solanki, SV150 Committee Secretary addressing the gathering

Deputy Comisioner Craig Mackey, Harrow Borough comander Dal Babu and Commander Neil Basu

Big companies like the FTSE 100 would be urged to publish the ethnic breakdown of their workforce under Conservative plans to help to repair the party’s image with Black and Asian voters.

David Cameron has told the Cabinet to come up with policies to appeal to ethnic communities amid fears that without them the party will struggle to win an outright majority. One idea would encourage Stock

Exchange-listed companies to state how many ethnic minority employees they have and how many they have recruited over the past year.

The move comes after Tory Cabinet ministers told that Mr were Cameron’s modernising drive had done little to ease the decades-old antipathy towards the party from ethnic minorities. Alok Sharma, the Tory vice-chairman and MP for Reading West, has

been charged by Mr Cameron with providing ideas. One would involve exerting the kind of peer pressure behind the Government’s recommendation that at least 25 per cent of the boards of FTSE 100 companies be made up of women by 2015. It could involve ethnic breakdowns at different levels of seniority, he told The Times. Mr Sharma also told the newspaper: “I’m not talking about quotas, it’s about informa-

tion. All the companies I’ve talked to are incredibly keen on having diversity in the workforce, making sure that they are representative of communities so long as people get the job on merit. This could be an interesting way of shining a light and saying to people, maybe you should be doing a bit more mentoring with these communities.

Something like that is a statement of values.”

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Kapil’s

KHICHADI

HOW BRANDS BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND

Follow me on Twitter: @kdudakia

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com

Politics of misdirection Recent shenanigans in politics reminded me of a saying: "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." And David Cameron walks in with his much awaited speech on Europe. One can understand that with the rise of UKIP and the gradual deterioration in the polls, the Tories had to do something. The speech went down very well with the faithful, and it even fooled many in the country including many in the media – but then we also have a saying: ‘duniya Jhukti hai, jhukane wala chahiye.’ The result being that in that masterful moment he caught Ed Miliband off guard – even though the Labour leader has had all the time in the world to have his position clear. The Prime Minister basically mugged Ed at PMQ in full view of the masses. The polls suddenly saw a rise of 5% leaving the Tories about 6% behind Labour. So what do we make of this speech?

Let’s dissect the thrust of the speech that the Prime Minster will engage with the EU in order to significantly change the very nature of the EU as well as repatriating significant powers back to the UK. Sounds great (and in all honesty something that is required) until you realise that it takes another 26 countries to agree to each and every change in the treaty. Whilst I accept that there is always a miniscule chance that such a proposition might become a reality, I am also reminded of the saying, ‘when pigs will fly’. The Prime Minster is so sure of his position that he has confirmed an in/out referendum – which is great. The only problem being that his ‘cast iron’ guarantees don’t always mean much – and neither do those from his side kick, Nick Clegg the Deputy Prime.

The bold move by the Prime Minster will no doubt give him short term gains.

However within a week already doubts are being cast by his own back benchers in terms of whether he can deliver the significant changes yet to be negotiated with the EU. The Prime Minister has been bold also in stating that if the negotiations are fruitful then he and the Tory party will campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote to stay in the EU. However he has also so far refused to answer one simple question, ‘what will he do if the negotiations do not live up to expectations?’ i.e. The logical answer should be that he would then campaign for the ‘No’ vote and take Britain out of the EU. He has however refused to clarify this aspect and that in my view undermines the very credibility of his speech.

How will this impact Britain? In the short term the multi-national companies that might want to consider long term investment into Britain will have to re-

think if it is in their interest, and that of their shareholders, to take such a risk.

After all, they can quite easily select one of the other 26 countries that give them similar benefits to the UK. This uncertainty for the next 4 plus years is of no value to anyone. It would have been more true and bolder had he sought the in/out referendum during this Parliamentary term. It seems that was too much of a risk given the public opinion on Europe – a referendum now would give a total majority to the ‘Out’ campaign.

At this time I am reminded of the words of H. L. Mencken who said: ‘the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary’. It works all the time and we the people get duped thinking we are actually making a difference.

So what can rattle the Prime Ministers cage further? What about the Bulgarians and Romanians? Well just to be clear our Home Secretary Theresa May has stated that they will gain the unrestricted right to live and work in the UK from December 2013. Therefore there is a real danger that Spring 2014 might well turn into an emerging nightmare for the Prime Minister. He is of course hoping that these migrants will choose to go to other EU countries.

There is a huge difference between ‘hoping’ and the ground reality of what might actually happen. Needless to say, if there is any type of immigration surge into the UK, it will begin to undermine the weak cotton stitching done to hold the Tory Party together.

The truth of the matter being that Britain should have, and should still strive earnestly to forge a very powerful partnership with India. Of all the BRICs countries, India affords Britain the best opportunity in securing a readymade back office enterprise with a populous that is now becoming affluent and wanting key products and services from the west. Britain hitherto has failed to take full advantage of its unique relationship with India.

The EU represents a costly misdirection from our failing economy. It will give the Prime Minister a short period of time to gather his thoughts and troops, but I fear it will be his own party that will end his dreams before the year has ended. As I conclude I hear on the grapevine that Adam Afriyie MP is being groomed to potentially take over from David Cameron. I would have thought Priti Patel might actually make it in that mix as well. Hold your breath, the Tory rollercoaster is about to take off, yet again.

Lords to appoint more peers The Prime Minister and his Liberal Democrat deputy Nick Clegg had proposed a legislation that would have cut the 800-strong Lords to only 450. But senior Whitehall sources has recently revealed that the reform plans have been scrapped and the Coalition is set to announce around 50 new peers – including highprofile party donors.

Around 15 are expected to be Lib Dems,

including Rumi Verjee, pictured, the businessman who brought Domino's Pizza to Britain and allegedly gave £775,000 to the party – a donation currently being probed by the Electoral Commission watchdog.

The plans put Mr Cameron on course to create the most peers in a Parliament of any Prime Minister in recent history. This will raise the Lords to a bloated talking

shop of more than 900 members.

Mo Luthra Branding Consultant www.moluthra.com For those of you who like your sports, you will know that this coming Sunday is the grand daddy of all sporting events. Yes, the NFL 2013 Super Bowl. And I hear you all say, ‘who cares?’…Well I do…And if you are a business owner you should as well.

The interesting thing for this event is the cost

to advertise at it. With a viewing public of over 111 million, a 30 second slot is around $3.5 million dollars!!!! The most expensive piece of advertising media in the world.

With the event estimated to generate over a quarter of a billion dollars in advertising sales…

Wow!!!

The reason I bring this up is that we need to understand why any business would pay that much?

The simple answer is that space in between your ears. Your mind. For a brand to insert itself in a potential customers mind is invaluable.

To put this in context, the battle for your mind is worth a lot more than any physical space.

The cost of the last Gulf War was estimated at around $150,000 per minute. A mere bargain

compared to a $3.5 million 30 second advert at the Super Bowl.

That’s why for small and medium sized companies they really need to pick their fights carefully. Advertising at the best of times is fraught with making difficult decisions. This is further compounded when you try and get your message to say too much and to a very broad audience.

Really see what is winnable, where can you really get some break through, and are you going to get into someone’s head or not.

The temptation is always there to advertise just like the big boys do.

Unless you have lots of money that you are willing to throw at it, it’s better to just sit back put your feet up and watch the Super Bowl.

Britons of Indian origin engaged in family feuds over India's booming land values A growing number of Britons are fighting legal battles with their relatives in India over ancestral land, a report by BBC Asian Network's Poonam Taneja reveals. In the last decade, rapid urbanisation across many parts of India has resulted in a major real estate boom.

Consequently, many Britons of Indian origin are returning to India to cash in on their inheritance only to discover that their land has either been sold, occupied or is disputed, causing bitter feuds and lengthy legal battles.

The problem seems to be particularly prevalent in the Punjabi community.

"It's a huge problem because many Punjabis in the UK stand to inherit ancestral land," Londonbased lawyer Harjap Singh Bhangal, who works in Southall, also known as “little Punjab” owing to the large number of Indian immigrants settled there, told BBC Asian Network.

Iqbal Singh is one of many immigrants to be embroiled in years of legal feuds with Indian kin. His father was a first-generation immigrant to the UK from India, who arrived in the 1960s and worked long hours as a manual labourer to overcome initial financial hardships.

His father bought twenty acres of farmland in Punjab with his savings, hoping to return there someday. At the time, the land was bought at a cost of £30,000 but today it is estimated to be worth 10

times more than that. A relative was made in charge of farming the land but on a visit to India, Mr. Singh's father found others were claiming to be owners. Mr. Singh alleges that the land was fraudulently sold by his grandfather who was not on speaking terms with the rest of the family. The case to reclaim the property has been in court since 1996 and after numerous hearings has reached no resolution yet.

In many cases, Indian relatives feel reluctant to hand over the property because they funded migrants to seek a new life in the UK. Also, they accuse their British relatives of returning only to cash in on India's real estate boom. On this side of the fence, many of the farmers lead a hard life and costs associated with farming resources and maintenance of the land have risen,meaning that the last thing they need is a long-drawn expensive legal feud. Indian courts are infamous for the duration involved in a case reaching settlement, even going up to 25 or 30 years

and can cost thousands of pounds in the process.

The bitter battles between the two sides also include accusations levied against each other for using violent threats and intimidation. Each year, 2000-2500 such cases are registered with the Punjab police and the majority are diverted to civil courts.

Meanwhile, a third party is emerging the winner in these battlesorganised gangs getting involved in the dispute by buying the land concerned at a cheap price and making a profit at the expense of both the feuding sides.

The Punjab police are aware of these gangs, which reportedly comprise property dealers, perhaps even a few government revenue officials.

Following a conference that was held earlier this month by the Punjab government to discuss land disputes in the state, a special website has been created where complaints can be logged and the setting up of fast-track courts are also being considered to expedite the process.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

In Unity there is Strength Tejal Shah Religion and sports are seen to be strong influences in inspiring young individuals in society to be successful. This has been seen by the London 2012 Olympic Games organisers acknowledging the need of a multi-faith centre for inclusion and diversity. This need is being met on Saturday 16th February 2013 at Tipton Sports Academy, where the National Hindu Students Forum (NHSF) UK is holding their ninth National Annual Sports Competition.

Over 800 students will be competing in 94 teams from over 43 Universities across the country in some of the Hindu cultures most ancient, exciting and adrenalinepumped sports.

The NHSF (UK) National Annual Sports Competition celebrates sport in Britain today, showcasing popular modern sports such as netball,

cricket and football whilst also keeping alive traditional Indian sports, including Kho Kho and Kabaddi.

Hindus are currently underrepresented in British Sport. NHSF (UK) strives to take lead from the London Olympic Games 2012 by encouraging young people to involve themselves in sport and the NHSF (UK) National Sports Competition is a perfect platform to encourage Hindu Students to take up sport at a higher level and one day represent Great Britain in the Olympics.

Pranav Bhanot, President of NHSF (UK) said, "This has always been a fierce competition, but we also aim to instill a fundamental principle of Hindu Dharma; ‘Sangathan Mein Shakti Hai’- In unity there is strength.”

For more information, please contact prteam@nhsf.org.uk.

Fauja Singh to stop running at Marathons Indian-born British national Fauja Singh admitted age was finally catching up with him and he had decided not to compete after the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, five weeks before his 102nd birthday on April 1. "But I will keep running for at least four hours daily after that," Mr Singh, who lives in Ilford, England, told the Times of India newspaper during a visit to his home state of Punjab. He finished his fifth London Marathon last year in a time of seven hours and 49 minutes and was honoured by being invited to carry the Olympic torch.

Heart broken father leaves with Manchester student’s body The father of Indian student Souvik Pal, who was found dead in Manchester in mysterious circumstances after going missing on the New Year eve, left for Bangalore with his body on Wednesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Larkin of Greater Manchester Police has said that the police believe it is a "tragic accident" but returned to the Warehouse Project, the club Souvik was seen leaving on New Year's Eve, over the weekend to piece together his final

movements.

A post-mortem had proved inconclusive and further toxicology test results are awaited.

Two books of condolence have been opened for the product design student on his university's campus for fellow students to pay their tributes.

Vice Chancellor John Brooks led the tributes to a "special person" who he described as an "affable young man" and "fine student with great potential."

A bound book of

Souvik Pal

thoughts and memories will be handed over to the family.

"We have nothing further on the cause of his death but the Indian consulate in Birmingham has been very helpful.

They have written to the police on our behalf," said Souvik's father Santanu Pal. His football fan son had trained for a parttime job serving refreshments at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium.

Beware of courier fraud Brent Police are warning people to be aware of a courier fraud taking place across London.

The method is that the victim is cold called at home on their landline number. The suspect then either pretends to be the police or from the victims bank. The suspect will say that there has been a compromise on their account and that in order to investigate it and catch the suspects responsible the card needs to be collected ASAP for forensic or other issues.

The victim is asked for the pin number to the card which they may give verbally over the telephone or the victim is asked to key in the pin

number on their telephone keypad.

An App is used which decodes the tone to the number keyed in. The telephone allows the suspect to successfully obtain the pin number.

In addition to verify the fraud the victim is advised to phone their bank or the police to confirm what they have just been told. This is when the victim's line has been held open by the suspect who does not hang up their end. Once the victim is convinced a courier is sent round to the victim’s address to collect the card.

The courier is more often than not an innocent cab driver sent to collect from A to B or the suspects themselves.

Brent Police said, “Neither your bank nor the police would ever ring you and state that they are coming to your home to pick up your card, so never hand it over to anyone who comes to collect it. Your bank will never ask you to authorise anything by entering your pin into the telephone handset.

Never share your pin with anyone – the only times you should use your pin is at a cash machine or when you use a chip and pin machine in a shop/restaurant.”

If you think you have been the victim of a fraud or scam of this nature report the crime to your local Police.

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UK

8

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If you have any particular topics you would like covered on my page, please let me know.

MuSIc

Tanveer Mann

TAMIR KHAN GOES INTERNATIONAL After the success of his debut album and single “Talaash” last year, India-based artist, Tamir Khan is set to release his new track ‘Khuda Tere Bande’ globally.

With a voice reminiscent of Pakistani pop stars Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, Tamir brings his own unique take to Hindi pop with the new track. Combining refreshing and skilful acoustic guitar skills with emotive lyrics, ‘Khuda Tere Bande’ finds Tamir asking the lord to come down and save those that have strayed from the path.

Tamir is an accomplished guitarist who writes and composes the music to all his songs.

He draws musical inspiration from a host of genres and is particularly influenced by Sufi, Alt Rock and Urdu Pop, all of which are set to feature in his forthcoming offerings.

This release marks the start of the next stage of Tamir’s journey… a musical journey that promises great music, powerful vocals, inspirational and heart-wrenching lyrics and a refreshing new sound for 2013. ‘Khuda Tere Bande’ is released on the Virtual Recordz label and will be available via iTunes from 31st January 2013.

producer Rishi Rich. He now has a new single called 'Jadon Holi Jai', produced by his idol.

The singer’s talents were spotted on YouTube video covers and he has now signed to Boiler Room Records. Young Archie, MD of the label has developed and supported Usman over a two-year period. In the three-week period since the debut single was launched, it has had extremely positive feedback from fans and even Rishi has said “I am a fan already”.

The single is available to buy from iTunes on the 24th January and Usman Rehman will be performing at a launch event in conjunction with V o o d o o Entertainment in London on the 1st February.

Read next week’s issue for an exclusive interview with Usman Rehman.

Get more on Tamir Khan: Twitter: @TamirKhanMusic FB: http://www.FaceBook.com/TamirKhanMusic USMAN REHMAN RELEASES 'JADON HOLI JAI’ Bradford Born Youth worker turns his dreams into a reality as Usman Rehman’s debut single hits a record-breaking 10,000 views in just 4 days.

In 2010, Usman who is a vocal coach and young offenders worker, declared live on radio that his dream was to cut a record with multi award winning and internationally renowned

Did you know..?

The first city in the world to have a population of more than one million was Rome.

Word of the Week: Coruscant - giving forth flashes of light; glittering

FASHION

Ha Ha.....

He He.... :P

If God wanted me to touch my toes he’d have put them higher up on my body.

The dresser and the kitchen unit had a race. Neither won, it ended in a drawer “You want a lift?”, the driver asked a pal.

“No thanks, I’ve just moved to a bungalow,” he replied.

DESIGNER ASIAN OUTFITS With January being synonymous for the month of Asian Bridal Shows, I thought I would come up with a gallery of some of the fashion industry’s most stylish and fashionable garments. As per usual, the catwalks showcased the best of the best Asian Bridal and occasion outfits with the most outstanding presentations to accompany.

On 20th January 2013, the National Asian Fashion Show took place in Bradford and was host to some

of the best designers for beautifully embroidered outfits. Bombay Stores showcased a beautiful array of colourful designer suits perfect for a wedding or birthday whilst Designer Gul Ahmed went for the regal look with look trails and dark, elegant fabrics.

Rosha by Marium also took to block colour suits with fine embroidery and beautiful necklines whilst Khushboos

by Chand focused on a more pastel palette. courtesy of Rafael Photography

www.punjabeeblonde.wordpress.com tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com

VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL

The day of love is rapidly approaching us so guys get your thinking caps on and start planning the perfect way to spend the day with the one you love. What better way to do it then publicly announcing it in next week’s Asian Voice issue!

We are offering the chance for you to feature your Valentines Day Message (up to 50 words) free of charge in our next week’s issue. Send in to rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com or tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com.

IN DEPTH

Is it normal that men spend longer getting ready than women in this day and age?

Women of all different ages can relate to the old-age complaint of a man whining that we take too long to get ready for an occasion. However, it seems to have all changed in the 21st century with men actually taking a lot of pride in their appearance, sometimes more than women! According to a recent survey taken by Socked.co.uk, figures show that men can spend up to 75 minutes every day washing, shaving and styling themselves. That is longer than the average 70 min that a woman would take to choose her outfit, shower and complete her beauty regime.

Mark Hall, Gentleman Creation Officer at Socked.co.uk, said "This is superb news for the British gentleman. At last they're paying more attention to their personal image, and mankind will be all the better for it."

"Once men start to take care of themselves, they also start caring for the people and things around them. They turn from mere 'men' into 'gentlemen'."

Further figures obtained by Socked.co.uk show the lengths to which the gentleman will go to maintain his image. 85% of men admitted to spending more than half an hour on hair styling. 42% said they owned a hair dryer. 36% said they owned hair straighteners. 88% said they groomed their private parts once a week. 98% said they planned at least 2 days in advance what they were going to wear. 76% said although they had planned, they would try on different looks before settling. The survey also highlighted that the average man owns four pairs of shoes, five pairs of jeans, 17 shirts, and 11 pairs of socks of varying quality. This emerges in conjunction with the rapid change in fashion over the last decade from the old-fashioned, un-moisturized man to a man of style, sophistication, and security, just as strong and confident as his predecessor, but having a lot more diverse interests, tastes, and, most importantly, his selfimage. We now call this type ‘the metrosexual man’: a man who is well dressed an well-groomed but still as masculine as the traditional notion of a man implies.

"The funny thing is," said Hall, "despite spending longer to get ready, it's still solely the male experience to be ready and waiting at the front door on a night out."

"Is it simply because men are better at managing their time?" he asked, "Or is Einstein's Theory of Relativity at work, where time runs at different speeds in separate locations?"

"In the name of keeping peace between the sexes, it is a question best left unanswered."

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Kirpal Ubhoo Foraying successfully into Forex!

Kirpal Ubhoo is the Director of Indigo FX. Kirpal is a 25 year old British Sikh; his parents were born in Chandigarh, Punjab, India. They immigrated to the UK at a young age, where Kirpal’s father worked long hours establishing himself in the manufacturing industry, becoming very successful as a result.

Kirpal told the Asian Voice; “I believe I have this work ethic and discipline in my character and use this when conducting business for Indigo FX. This drive, this hunger to succeed and look for the next level has got me to where I am now. I believe my family’s strong morals have had a massive influence on me and continue to do so.”

Kirpal went to City University, London, where he achieved a 2:1 BSC (HONS) Economics in 2008. He was always a firm believer in leading from the front, whether it was taking the lead role in university assignments or

leading a sales team trying to reach a performance goal in the work environment.

He worked in the forex industry for a leading FX brokerage house after graduating. Kirpal worked his way up from an entry level sales position where he signed and opened client accounts to dealing with high level corporates and running his own desk.

But Kirpal needed a new challenge, and that’s how Indigo FX was created. He sat down with his business partner, Nailesh , and created both a business plan and a vision for what they wished to do. They wanted to revolutionise the remittance market. They had found that with the development of technology over the years, the global exchange of money had become lot easier.

Kirpal provides a personal service with dedicated forex dealers to trade clients’ currency requirements. He and his team also take time to understand what clients have to

Kirpal Ubhoo

do over the course of the year and devise strategies to protect the bottom line for corporates.

They ensure profit margins are never affected by unpredictable market movements. In addition, Indigo FX has opened channels to trade currencies that historically were difficult to trade, such as Russian roubles and Chinese Yuan.

“My vision is to make Indigo FX a market leader providing individuals and

businesses with competitive exchange rates and a personalised service unparalleled by any other market player.” Kirpal told us.

Kirpal is sure that having worked in the industry for a number of years starting at grassroots level, he understands the pros and cons of the foreign exchange market.

“This knowledge has allowed me to adapt and change certain areas where I felt others were failing and ensure Indigo FX does not follow suit.”

He says that the recession has affected everyone, and stresses the importance of being able to adapt. “Innovation in an ever- changing climate is crucial. The advancement of technology has made foreign exchange a lot simpler, so 24 hour online trading and enabling clients to login and send funds to any-

where in the world has never been so easy. It also widens the firms’ target audiences on a global scale. Of course this has to be coupled with hard work and dedication at all times to ensure we get through this tough period.”

Innovation in an ever- changing climate is crucial We asked Kirpal how he was able to make a profit while staying competitive.

He told us, “Indigo FX prides itself on offering its clients very competitive prices matrices. Unlike the big outfits in the industry we work on tight spreads and leverage on the volume of trades we do. This allows us to make profit but also offer each client the best prices on whichever currency they wish to pur-

chase. “ He told us that relationship building is very important and he treats each client as unique. He and his team of providers listen to clients to understand what they are looking for; whether it is better exchange rates, low transfer charges or swift payments to beneficiaries.

Kirpal says that in his opinion, “This isn't the case with others in the industry where the client simply becomes a number in a database. At Indigo FX we try our best to go that extra mile for our clients leveraging our wide product coverage and ensure they are protected from unpredictable markets.”

He says that Indigo FX is operating at profit and is planning to expand its product coverage over the next 12 months. “So do watch out for us!” he smiles.

Harrow Borough Commander Chief Supt Dal Babu to retire Harrow Borough Commander Chief Supt Dal Babu has announced his retirement from the Metropolitan Police after completing 30 years' service. Dal joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1983 and was first posted as a PC in Tottenham where his duties included patrolling the Broadwater Farm Estate. Since then he has carried out a variety of

operational, community, public order and partnership roles including at Haringey, Islington, Redbridge, Camden, Enfield and Tower Hamlets boroughs, New Scotland Yard, District Support Unit, a six month secondment to Zimbabwe, Hendon Police College, Specialist Operations, the Home Office and the Public Order Branch.

He has served the last

Dal Babu

three-and a half years of his career as Borough Commander at Harrow and received an OBE for services to police and community in 2010.

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Your Voice

10

Prisoners in our own Homes A famous nursery rhyme goes like this… “The north wind doth blow and we shall have the snow…”. Sure enough, when the cold wind blows from Siberia, Russia or Scandinavia, we get snow here and whenever it snows, the schools are shut, airports are in a disarray, transport is disrupted, cars skid and flights are cancelled. Because the side roads are not gritted by the councils, people are stuck indoors for fear of slipping and falling flat on their faces. This begs the questionWhy is it only the main roads are cleared of the snow by the councils and the roads in the residential areas are not cleared?

The pavements are like skating rinks making it very difficult to walk. We are afraid to go out and hence have become prisoners in our own homes because the councils will not spend some of our tax money to grit the slippery pavements.

We are given advice on how to drive the car so that it does not skid. But there are no clear instructions on how to walk safely without toppling over and breaking a bone or two. While I was walking on a frozen pavement near my home like a robot, I was given advice by a fellow walker who told me to walk wearing only socks and no shoes. I have not tried this as I am sure my toes would freeze and get numb and would cause more of a health hazard. Some people advise us to get shoes with spikes on them. I have, however, tried walking by pressing the shoe firmly on the icy surface, first with the heel and then ending with a rolling motion of the balls of the feet. I have personally found that this makes walking on the frozen surface a little easier.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Temples and pragmatism Dharam Sahdev has showed temple authorities’ apathy when faced with physical problems affecting Hindus; apathy results in unfavourable consequences for temple devotees. This reminds of praying during calm but failure to attend to ship during storm.

Temples in the UK focus on prayers during storm when ship can crash on rocks. This is where other religions gain upper hand as they use places of worship to motivate devotees to be pragmatic outside the place of worship. Spirituality must be used by temples as steam to run the engine, which cannot run on prayers only. While amassing money and followers are essential, solving physical problems with spiritual methods is inadequate.

To reinforce social vitality via temples, priests must empower followers to pursue activities and vocations beneficial to other Hindus. Prayers only make temples a mound of marble where under the guise of religion and spiritual heritage, money has unfortunately become the target.

Prayer in the temple along with a streetwise, assertive and aggressive attitude outside must be motto of every Hindu temple. Too much of ahimsa,

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Animal spirit of capitalism

Modi’s victory

Indian democracy

India’s progress after independence does not match its past glory. American writer and humorist, Mark Twain, once said,“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition”.

In terms of quality of life, the gap between the rich, middle class and the poor, between different states and among sub-regions have continued to widen.

There are 50 elite industrial families that give 300 million Indians a decent quality of life. However, they have not done enough to uplift the other 900 million; upon whose consumption and expenditure they rely to increase their personal and corporate wealth [with helipads and yachts].

Your article “India needs greater financial supervision, liberalisation: IMF” [AV 26 Jan p20] advises India to gradually reduce mandatory holdings of government securities by financial institutions and allow greater access to private domestic and foreign capital. It also recommends RBI directors do not sit on the board of PS Banks. I believe their advice is misplaced.

Private enterprises are still not sufficiently transparent and accountable, nor are they free from corruption, tax evasion, greed, profiteering from speculative short term investments and exploitation, to be given a bigger role.

On the contrary, well-run public enterprises, such as State Bank of India, should emulate private businesses like Tata Group and acquire foreign businesses. SBI could start with a stake in say Santander [10th largest bank in the world], now in need of new direction.

I would like to congratulate Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar for delaying the regular Saturday edition twice in a row to give the latest and updated news regarding recent Gujarat assembly election. Here in Canada I used to gather information on the internet from the Asian Voice edition and also pass to our Gujarati community. They all were very happy to get the latest election news and also conveyed their gratitude for facilitating it so.

In spite of opposition from the Congress party, some selfish BJP members played dirty politics and stooped really low to discredit Shri Modi but his hat-trick victory gave a very strong message- that voters of Gujarat are matured enough for a democracy and cannot be brainwashed in the name of communal or caste based politics. In our recent visit, we saw and experienced progress and developments in Gujarat in agriculture, education, industries, roads, canals, health sector and so on.

By seeing this, we also predicted that Modi would win. Here in Canada, we live in York Region and on all police cars there is a very nice slogan that says “Deeds speak” and this slogan is very true in Shri Modi’s case.

We would like to congratulate Shri C.B.Patel for his social and religious activities especially as the Chief guest at Dharmaj-day and Swami Vivekananda Jayanti celebration on January 12,2013 at the town of Dharmaj,Gujarat. Kudos to him and Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Ontario, Canada

Nitin Mehta is totally ‘naive’ in criticising overseas Indians for condemning corrupt Indian politicians and Indian administrators. India is the second largest democratic country in the world at least on paper and even that democratic freedom is suppressed brutally by the Indian police which is in the hands of corrupt politicians.

The late congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrasekhar Reddy was very corrupt and looted temple funds but no action was taken by the Indian Criminal Investigation Bureau. The Congress party has made Rahul Gandhi, who has no political experience, as the Vice- President of the party. According to recent estimate Sonia Gandhi’s family has spent more than 1500 crore Rupees abroad for accommodation and medical expenses. Sonia Gandhi’s family claims they do not have any income apart from the salary as Lok Sabha members.

The bootlickers in the Indian cabinet shamelessly condemn BJP and RSS for promoting terrorist activities in India in order to please non Hindu vote banks and these type of political renegades insult the majority Hindu community. A duly elected Chief Minister for three terms in Gujarat, Narendera Modi, is branded by Congress members as Nazi and a supporter of Hindu terrorists. It is a shame that a person like Sonia, who comes from a former Fascist country can make such remarks. The present UPA government takes every opportunity to condemn Hindus and its tradition and unfortunately Hindus tolerate such things.

In India to buy even a train ticket you have to pay bribe. Politicians claim it is safe to travel in Delhi and still an ordinary MP like Sonia Gandhi needs 1000 special policemen to protect her.

India has become a laughing stock of foreign governments and even Bangladesh provides better educational and medical facilities.

India needs a revolution to change the system and you cannot claim India as a democratic system, since more than 40 per cent of the population cannot read and write.

Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email prayers or spirituality has hurt Hinduism throughout history. Claim that Hinduism has survived 10,000 years is bogus when expansionist Non Hindu religions are winning in all countries. The area of Hindu influence is shrinking in spite of global extravaganz in temple buildings .

West has prospered for last 700 years, by bold physical measures to eradicate rampant poverty. Physical technology is the best gift by the West while confining prayers to churches. Swami Vivekananda has specified need for Hindu monks to preach and practise physical methods fearlessly. Temples must get out of shell of divinity into world of reality.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Pakistan and India Two Indian soldiers were killed on the border with Pakistan by the Pakistani Army. One soldier was tortured and killed.

Pakistan does not understand the term ‘negotiations’. India tries to negotiate every time and every time Pakistan breaks its promises and then laughs at India for trusting them. They have done this in the past and will continue to do it

in the future.

Only way to deal with Pakistan is to frighten them and keep them frightened all their lives. India has that power. With Pakistan, there should be no negotiation, no trade and the border should be shut.

We mustn’t forget they burnt Hindu houses and their temples recently and even murdered some of them. Where are the human rights activists then?

It is evident Pakistan is jealous of Indian progress and a cold shoulder is the best treatment India can give it.

Vinod Dattani Via Email

PM’s ‘In Out’ Referendum The Prime Minister’s promise to hold an “In-Out” referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union in the first half of the next Parliament will be welcomed by the many voters I meet who are worried about European political integration. Representing London in Brussels and Strasbourg, I am struck by the determination of politicians from other EU countries to build what Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, calls a federation of nation states.

The challenge now for the Prime Minister is to reach a deal for Britain which returns powers to British voters and to Parliament at Westminster. To do that we will need your input: if you feel

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Consultative Conference, (and a member of the politburo of Communist Party of China), Modi showcased Gujarat as a destination with a conducive environment to invest and work. He also explained Gujarat becoming a major tourist destination. He brought out the richness of Buddhist culture in Gujarat which solicited very keen interest among Chinese leadership. He also dwelled upon the ancient Indian and Chinese ethos, relationship, friendship, cultural and business ties.

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strongly about any aspect of your life or work that has become governed by Europe when it should be a matter for British politicians, please write to me at syed@syedkamall.com I share the Prime Minister’s confidence of persuading our European partners to see our point of view. We can get the right deal for Britain in Europe. But if we don’t get the right deal, the British people can choose to leave or stay in the European Union if they wish.

Syed Kamall Conservative MEP for London Continued on page 11

YOUR Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

The Pot calling the Kettle black I am incensed by recent press report that a Pakistani politician has asked India to provide security to Sharukh Khan, the Bollywood Actor. If anyone has been to that country as I have been twice overland, you could not but help watching your back all the time. Just asking a fellow passenger at Quetta railway station during my journey in 2000 to look after my rucksack whilst getting tickets, he enquired whether there were explosives in it!! Mind you the common people on the ground couldn't have been kinder.

India and her countrymen are proud to actually make an actor of SRK in the same way we love to listen to Mohammad Rafi, Nusarat and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Whatever SRK writes about his experience as a Muslim has nothing to do with a level of security he receives, not least because he is a rich man and can afford should he feel insecure in his motherland.

It is also no business of a country which has a long list of 'what not to do' such as being economically bankrupt, with non existent democracy, involved in high level corruption, promoting religious persecution and discrimination meted out to non-

Prince and his Pauper Minders

Muslims including Shias and Ahmedis, morally desolate, harbouring terrorists..to name a few.

The worse thing is some of those ideas are brought in to British life, you only have to look at places like Newham and south Ilford to witness the change in the planning landscapes where religious and/or teaching centres are opened at each block. Where else would you see protests against returning soldiers from their tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan?

I hope the same politician gives advice to his British expats to go and watch the brilliant film Zero Dark Thirty on the successful elimination of OBL. But for some reason I suspect the terrorist sympathisers would boycott to watch such brave act by the US Navy Seals made possible, thorough intelligence, finally proving that Good always triumphs over the Evil. The old saying 'you do not throw stones from a glass house' is so true!

Jai Hind Bharat Parmar Via Email

In good form Why is it that an IT-savvy country like India still clings to its obsession with paperwork? Visitors are urged to fill in forms at every opportunity. As someone whose fingers are more accustomed to dancing around a keyboard than gripping a pen, I find handwriting a laborious experience, reminding me of my schooldays in Maharashtra way back in the middle of the last century. At Delhi airport my wife and I wanted a taxi to take us to our hotel.

To our surprise, we had to complete a form in duplicate: one copy for the driver, the other for booking records. On our

11

last day, we asked the hotel receptionist if we could leave our suitcases behind his desk and explore an unfamiliar part of the city for a couple of hours before heading to the airport. He handed us a form to fill in confirming our simple request.

We could not believe it but meekly obliged.

Until India sheds its mania for paperwork and bulging files gathering dust on creaking shelves it cannot call itself a dynamic modern country.

Rudy Otter Via Email

While it is admirable for the members of the Royal Family to serve the nation, especially by joining the Armed Forces, it was a royal gaff of gigantic proportion for Prince Harry to openly boast that he has killed Taliban in Afghanistan, attracting unnecessary attention and putting his and his minders’ lives at risk.

When one is a soldier on active duty, it is inevitable, indeed one’s duty, to neutralise enemies by any means and that includes taking lives. But it should not be a topic of open conversation, especially through media, that would draw unwanted attention and be detrimental to his well-being. The media’s fascination with Prince Harry as a soldier borders insanity, as our TV screens are full of his images 24 hours a day.

Prince Andrew served distinctly in the Falkland war but he never ever mentioned killing enemies, although it was a short, brutal war with loss of so many

lives, especially on the Argentine side.

Scotland Yard is already reviewing and upgrading Prince Harry’s security cover in view of his surprising statement to the press. It is an additional and unnecessary expense on the taxpayers due to inadequate and deficient advice Harry must have received from his minders.

In line with today’s youngsters, especially those who come from a privileged background, Prince Harry is a robust, boisterous, fun loving person. It is his privilege to enjoy life at its best. But he needs mature and influential minders who would keep his enthusiasm under check for his own safety and the wellbeing of the Royal Family. Harry may be an officer but perhaps he has a long way to go to become a gentleman?

UK

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Newham community united for Holocaust Memorial Day Newham Council commemorated the Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday 25 Jan and involved around 150 school children, Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales, local councillors and special guests.

The community united to remember and reflect on the horror of Nazi atroci-

ties during the Second World War. Holocaust Memorial Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is estimated that six million Jewish people and countless other innocent people were among the victims of what became known as the Holocaust.

Primary school students expelled for violence The latest data from the Department for Education reveals that expulsions for assaulting teachers are now more common among primary school children than in secondary schools.

The statistics showed that 8,030 primary school pupils aged five to 11 were expelled in the 2010/11 teaching year - a rise of 15 per cent over four years.

Unions have warned that this figure may not even represent the truth of the endemic violence as staff are warned not to report incidents to protect the reputation of their schools.

The South East has seen the sharpest rise in violence in this age group, increasing by 41 per cent from 2006/7 to 2010/11.

The future of Higher Education.

Become part of the debate.

Lay Members of Council Higher Education in the UK is changing rapidly. Facing tomorrow’s challenges will demand not only a bold vision but also mature judgement, expert guidance and critical objectivity. A perspective like yours could make all the difference.

Leicester is re-defining what a university needs to be. An established top 20 university in league tables and the only one to meet benchmarks for inclusivity, we are aiming higher through the inseparable combination of excellence in research and teaching.

Helping to shape this future is our governing Council, with its mix of University staff and lay members.

It’s an opportunity for accomplished professionals to bring their public or private sector experience to bear on University strategy and development: questioning intelligently, challenging rigorously, debating constructively and deciding impartially for the good of Leicester as a whole and the higher education sector in general.

These three-year, renewable, unpaid appointments are open to suitable applicants anywhere in the UK. They call for the utmost integrity and dedication as an ambassador of the University and typically involve the equivalent of five to ten days’ work per year.

Express an interest by contacting us via the website: www.le.ac.uk/council

Elite without being elitist.

12

Media Watch

Rahul Gandhi’s election as Congress Party’s Vice President at Jaipur, had all the hallmarks of a coronation. The Indian media, initially, concentrated on the glitz and glamour, barely taking a glance at his acceptance speech, where he dwelt extensively on matters of moment and explained at length his vision for the future.

Dynasty has become something of a buzzword unique to India, but looking beyond India to well-established democracies, such as Britain and America, one sees much that is similar in their past. For instance, in 1902, when the venerable Lord Salisbury was British Prime Minister, his son and nephew were members of the cabinet, other relatives were ministers, which provoked Punch to make a witty reference to 10 Downing Street as Hotel Cecil (the Salisbury family name).

Randolph Churchill was a senior cabinet minister, but his son Winston did better by becoming prime, sharing with his fellow citizens their “finest hour” during the Second World War. Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, both Presidents of the United States, were distantly related; father and son Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush were in the White House not so long ago.

The source of authority for all these figures was due process and the ballot box. The circumstances of their rise may have fallen short of perfection, but democracy itself is far from perfect. Such reality was accepted with maturity and some good humour by the public. If you don’t get the best solution learn to live with the next best thing.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 2nd February 2013

the eating, come the next general election May/June 2014. Mr. Gandhi understands what needs to done but does he have the will and political nous do it?

Gadkari’s demise

few natural resources. Otherwise why would so many of India’s great and good and captains of industry and commerce from abroad cross the seas for the Vibrant Gujarat conclave? These men and women have no time to waste, as time means money.

They came in search of business opportunities and satisfaction.

Loud mouth Shinde What need was there for Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to utter a libel by accusing the BJP and RSS of “inciting Hindu terrorism”? (Hindu January 22) Has he any proof whatsoever, even a shred that would stand up in a court of law? The decent thing to do surely would be to apologize, which Indian politicians as a rule loathe to do.

Whither India?

India celebrated its 64th Republic Day on Saturday 26th January 2013

PM Manmohan Singh during Republic day celebration with Army, Navy and Air Force officials

It’s a question posed by Nicholas Burns, a former State Department official of high repute, who was closely involved with India, and is now at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Diplomacy. His edit-page article entitled “The Promise of India” appeared in the Boston Globe (January 17) and is well worth reading for its close critical scrutiny of a none too easy subject. He points to India being vast, bewilderingly diverse, chaotic and with masses of poor people and a multitude of social problems highlighted by the recent Delhi gang- rape case. This incident illuminated “serious and overlapping crises of policing, governance, and social dislocation which must be addressed on an urgent basis. For all its promise, India faces enormous challenges of modernization as its 1.2 billion people transform this increasingly urbanized country,” he writes.

Indian strengths

Rahul Gandhi assessed The Telegraph (January 21) was first off the blocks with critical extracts from Rahul Gandhi’s speech, leavened by the newspaper’s critical comment. He commenced with plain speak based on his eight years of experience in the party. Much was wrong with it. Governance lay in the hands of a few when it came to selecting candidates for parliament and state assemblies. He said: “At times, I wonder how

does this party run?”

Then: “Power is grossly centralized in the country……Every single day I meet people who have tremendous understanding, deep insight and no voice. And then I meet people holding high positions with tremendous voice but no understanding.” Mr Gandhi’s malaise continued: “Why is our youth angry; why are they out on the streets? They are angry because they are alienated. They watch from the sidelines as the powerful drive around in their red beacons.” The country’s administrative system was designed to promote mediocrity, he said. He spoke of better ITbased connectivity, rights-based legislation, a reinvigorated work culture, innovation and much else. Stirring stuff. The proof of the pudding, however, will be in

The controversial Nitin Gadkari, erstwhile President of the BJP, was replaced in a swift move by the party leadership following income tax raids on companies with which he is closely associated. He has been replaced

by Rajnath Singh, a former BJP president. He is a compromise choice by the party top brass. Mr. Singh will lead the party into the next general election, due in 2014. (Times of India, Hindu January 23).

Modi ‘s stall Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi set out his stall in an interview with columnist Swapan Dasgupta. To a leading question on development, he replied: “If we had the natural resources of an Assam, Jharkhand and a West Bengal, I would have changed the face of India.” He may get the opportunity, come 2014. Swapan Dasgupta’s edit-article in the Telegraph (January 21) told of the remarkable economic strides Gujarat had made with relatively

Having presented this dark but true side, Mr Burns looks to the positive elements in the present to outline his hopes for India’s future. “India is changing in real and perceptible ways and it would be a mistake to underestimate its enormous potential. It won’t progress on a straight path, and the United States will need to be patient.” Mr Burns referred to the US government’s National Intelligence Council’s projection that, in Mr Burns’s words, “in 2030 India could be the rising powerhouse that China is seen to be today. It went even further to predict that India will likely overtake China in economic power in its tortoise and hare race by the end of this century, due in part, to its much more youthful population.”

Indo-US ties Mr Burns explained that such trends as well as India’s pivotal geographical position in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific made the country “particularly relevant to core American interests for the future.” India had been very supportive of the American campaign in Afghanistan and “is an increasingly important air and maritime partner along with Japan and

Australia.” As the world’s largest democracy, India wielded considerable soft power in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. Mr Burns pointed to the burgeoning to Indo-US trade ties now close to $100 billion. India was a biparsubject on which tisan Democrats and Republicans were in accord. The diplomatic garden in New Delhi needed tending.

“We have an impressive broadbased relationship with India in science, education health care, counter-terrorism and homeland security.”

Nicholas Burns concludes: “As global power shifts to the East, and we help to remake the strategic map of the world, the India of today and tomorrow will be at its centre.”

IKEA poised to enter India The Indian government has given permission to IKEA, the Swedish furniture maker to set up establishments in the country as per the new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. IKEA is to invest Rs 10, 000 crore ($1 billion) in stores and cafeterias, setting the stage for the largest foreign investment in single-brand retail so far.

The decision by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) came days before Finance Minister P.Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma set off on their separate journeys to court foreign investors.

While Mr Chidambaram will visit various parts of Asia and Europe, Mr Sharma will be in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to meet the top brass of Walmart and Tesco and other retail giants. (Hindu January 23)

RIL posts growth In keeping with most third quarter (October-December 2012) trends, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest private sector company, reported higher third quarter profit of 24 per cent following buoyant performances in the refining and petrochemical sectors.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani said expansion in this area would provide employment opportunities for young Indians and support economic growth. New investment in the sector.

“Refining and petrochemicals are bread and butter for RIL and it should do what it is good at doing rather than diversifying into other sectors.” (Times of India January 23)

Upbeat Minister Finance Minister P.Chidambaram buried the ghost of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules. During a visit to Hong Kong, he said there was no threat of a rating downgrade in view of FDI legislation and signs of an economic revival and the return of investor confidence in the country. He was hopeful that the fiscal deficit would be contained within target limit of 5.3 per cent of GDP this fiscal and trimmed to 4.8 per cent next fiscal. Growth, he said, was expected to climb from the anticipated 5.7 per cent to 6-7 per cent in the next fiscal.

(Hindu January 23)

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

13

Former 39 Essex Street silk faces VAT fraud trial The Call To Civic Duty and Public Service This speech, this audience, this place – my whole life I had waited to give. At the House of Lords to the Young Patidar/Patel Federation last week on Civic Duty. Why? Because the greatest honour is always to speak to your own.

The venue helps of course. Lord Popat had graciously hosted the event for us and Captain Sandip Patel and Rami Ranger both spoke exceptionally well with profound passion. My words: This Parliament decided long before you were born whether you would be born free or not. It was this Parliament that decided your independence. If you do not think the big decisions in human history and even your family history have been and continue to be made in this Parliament then you are wrong and dangerously wrong.

It is why your voice must be counted here. Your Indian forefathers fought for the Independence of Britain in the Second World War. Before your Indian Independence could be granted, you had to fight for Britain’s independence. Do not think your voice has no right to be heard in this Parliament. Your bloodline is your birthright. Indians should never ever feel inferior to anyone.

How dare anybody determine our independence? How dare anyone every make slaves of us? How dare anyone determine whether you of the oldest of all civilisations of all faiths should be born free or not? In this Parliament - let your voice be heard here. Our masters have become our allies. Now our duty is to lift them and ourselves by the same action.

The secrets to success. They are sim-

ple. First earn this name. Remember who you are. For me it’s simple. And every family has a story out of which they gain a sense of who they are, and what they must do in life – what is their duty and their right – you do not have to be a Royal Family to have that motto – ‘Mon Deau et Mon Droit’ (My God and My Right). For me it is that my maternal grandmother’s uncle is Sardar Patel. That my paternal grandfather and great grandfather were in the British Army, part of the British Independence movement. Success is about continuing your family’s story in your actions.

The secret of success is that someone breathes easier because you have lived.

Your parents do because you have top grades. So what? Well done. Now is time to do something really successful.

Broaden how many can breathe easier beyond your family. Impact more people.

We speak too often nowadays of human rights. You are here with access to Parliament. You have no right to speak of human rights – you should speak of human duties. Your duties now that you are well educated bankers and developers and accountants and doctors and auditors? You have only duties – the duty to earn your name and be truly successful – ensure a community, no, a country breathes easier because you have lived.

You have all the tools you need, because you have your education, now go and finish the job Sardar Patel and the greatest generation of global Indians that ever lived started. So you know success and earn your right to be free and Independent.

A Former 39 Essex Street silk Rohan Pershad QC faced allegations of VAT fraud at Blackfriars Crown Court on Monday 28 January.

Pershad, pictured, was charged in July last year with deliberately failing to declare VAT payments to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on services he billed for between 1 June 1999 and 24 September 2011. He is charged with a single offence covering the 12year period.

The CPS said Pershad was working as a barrister at the time and is charged with “knowingly” not paying a total of £600,000 in tax.

The barrister, who is represented by Kinsgley Napley partner Angus McBride, pleaded not guilty to the charges at a

Police detains Bangladeshi man

The UK police have detained a Bangladeshi expatriate for his alleged involvement with the abduction of a British and a Dutch journalist in civil war ravaged Syria.

31-year-old Najul Islam, who lives in Stratford, was caught from his East London home by the police on last Thursday.

He was charged at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday and was expected to appear at the

Old Bailey judicial court on Monday.

British photographer John Cantlie and Dutch journalist Jeroen Oerlemans were kidnapped from the TurkishSyria border on July 17 last year. They were freed with assistance from the Free Syrian Army on July 26. Based on the photographer’s allegations, police detained NIH doctor Shajul Islam, 26, and his associate Jubayer Chowdhury, 24, from

Heathrow Airport in October last year. The law enforcers later moved on Shajul’s brother Najul in course of their investigation. Najul is accused of financing the travel arrangements in Syria of both the journalists and supplying them with equipments and a car.

Najul Islam, Shahjul Islam and Jubayer Chowdhury have been charged with laundering money to finance terrorist activities.

Sex gang threatened to burn teenage girl's brother alive A young woman has told that a gang of men blackmailed her into having sex with them when she was 13 years old, by threatening to burn her younger brother alive. The vulnerable schoolgirl was also sold to other men for sex from the age of 12 until she was 15, under threat

that the Oxford gang would hurt her family, a court heart last week.

Nine men deny 51 counts, including rape, trafficking and organising prostitution involving six schoolgirls, some as young as 11.

Jurors heard she suffered so much at the

hands of the men she cannot even remember the first time she was abused by them.

Four more girls are still to evidence including one who was allegedly forced to have a back street abortion after one of the men got her pregnant.

The trial continues.

the taxman, Mr Marshall added.

Mr Pershad, of Hammersmith, West London, is charged with one count of cheating the public revenue which he denies. The trial continues.

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hearing last August.

18 Red Lion Court barrister Andrew Marshall will lead the prosecution for the CPS. The Times reported that Mr Pershad is being defended by Mukul Chawla, QC, an experienced criminal lawyer who is helping the Serious Fraud Office with its investigation into alleged Libor-rigging.

He is expected to argue that Mr Pershad believed that 39 Essex Street was paying his VAT. “That’s an absurd explanation but it’s the only one that is available to him,” the prosecutor said.

Most barristers are self-employed and typically pay their own VAT. Mr Pershad’s chambers had “no clue” that he was not meeting his liabilities to

www.acuitus.co.uk

14

GANDHI’S 65TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Remembering the 'Mahatma' Dr Reenu Punnoose On the night of 30 January1948, the first Prime Minister of a newly independent India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, while addressing his people over the radio said, “...the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere...Our beloved leader, Bapu as we call him, the Father of the Nation, is no more.”

Gandhi's death marked one of history's greatest tragic ironies. A man who had dedicated all his life to the cause of non-violence and peace was killed by an assasin's bullet. Gandhi, who was on his way to an evening prayer meeting at Birla House, was shot three times at close range by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse, plunging the entire nation into sorrow. A newly independent India, still coming to terms with its freedom and the aftermath of the partition, was suddenly left orphaned by the loss of its 'Mahatma'.

Early Years Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 to Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai in Porbandar, a coastal town in Gujarat.

In 1883, 13-year old Gandhi was married to 14year old Kasturbai Makhanji, according to the then-prevalent child marriage customs. They had five children. One died soon after birth and the rest, all sons, were born between 1888 and 1900: Harilal in 1888, Manilal in 1892, Ramdas in 1897 and Devdas in 1900.

In 1888, Gandhi arrived in London to study at University College London, where he studied Indian law and jurisprudence and trained as a barrister at the Inner Temple.

Gandhi was called to the bar in 1891 but left for India soon after. After failing to establish a law practice in Bombay because he was too shy to speak up in court, he returned to Rajkot where he earned a modest living drafting petitions for litigants. In 1893, he took up a yearlong contract offered by the Indian firm, Dada Abdualla & Co. in South Africa, which was then part of the British Empire.

pelling registration of Indians in the colony , that he adopted the still-evolving approach of Satyagraha (devotion to truth) and non-violence for the first time. It was an approach that was to form the crux of the Indian freedom struggle years later, one that the world had never witnessed before.

Architect of India's fight for freedom Gandhi's success in South Africa gained him an international reputation as a champion of justice, equality and freedom by the time he returned to India permanently in 1915. He joined the Indian National Congress and under the guidance of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who was a key Congress leader at the time, he acquainted himself with issues concerning the Indian people. Over the years, Gandhi helped transform the Congress's approach to one that was wholly Indian rather than one inspired by British traditions. He took over leadership of the party in 1920 and began a series of campaigns and protests that were steeped in his now

Jawaharlal Nehru shares a light moment with Mahatma Gandhi, Mumbai, July 1946

British Raj, later on demanding complete freeMohandas Karamchand dom for the Indian people.

Gandhi During this time, Gandhi ing room for a European was arrested twice, once passenger. Soon, Gandhi on 10 March 1922 after he realised the plight of called off the campaign of Indians in South Africa mass civil disobedience and extended his stay in owing to violent clashes the country, initiating between his followers and campaigns to highlight the Raj and the second their grievances to the time at the height of the authorities. In the process Quit India movement on 9 he formed the Natal August 1942.

Indian Congress in 1894, Perhaps the biggest blow to Gandhi came after his release from prison in May 1944. Without his strong unifying leadership, the party he had helped shape had split in his absence. More worryingly, his hopes for a religiously united India were under threat, fuelled in great part by the rising prominence of the Muslim League headed by Gandhi's visit to the Lancastrian cotton mills in 1931 Jinnah, who refused to settle for anyevolved methodology of through which he unified thing less than a completenon-violence, non-cooperthe Indian community in ly independent state for ation and peaceful resistSouth Africa into a single Muslims because he ance to address a range of political force. It was on believed that a unified issues that affected the 11 September 1906, when India would fail to cater to lives of the aam aadmi Gandhi led a mass protest the needs of minority com(common man) under the against a new law com-

Civil Rights Movement in South Africa (1893-1914) It was his experiences in South Africa that in many ways shaped his views on social activism and nonviolence. He faced several instances of racial discrimination-he was thrown out of a train because he refused to move out of the first class, barred from several hotels, and beaten by a train driver for not mak-

Gandhi with the leaders of the non-violent resistance movement in South Africa

An East End crowd gathers to witness the arrival of Gandhi in Canning Town, East London in 1931. Gandhi was in London to attend the second Round Table Conference

munities.

Much to Gandhi's dismay, the Empire delivered its final blow in the form of the partitioning of British India into two nations-

man who practiced principles of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in his everyday life, preached the universality of their basic tenets

Lord and Lady Mountbatten with Mahatma Gandhi (1940s)

India and Pakistan. On August 15 1947, India became a free nation and on the previous day Pakistan was officially born.

What ensued is perhaps one of the bloodiest massacres in the sub-continent's history, one that underlies the years of mutual hostility, distrust and enmity between India and Pakistan till today. At the time of the partition of India, around 12.5 million people are said to have been displaced, with loss of lives estimated to be ranging from several hundred thousands to a million. Gandhi stayed away from the independence celebrations and continued to work towards Hindu-Muslim unity. For a

and tirelessly worked for most of his life to sustain religious unity in a diverse India, it must have been heart-breaking, almost anti-climactic even, to receive the gift of freedom at the cost of two of his strongest ideals- non-violence and secularism.

Five months later, the principles which Gandhi gave life to during the Indian freedom struggle became the very cause of his death when he was assasinated by a religious extremist. Perhaps then, the most fitting homage to the Mahatma on his 65th death anniversary would be to keep alive in our hearts and in our deeds his commitment to truth, justice and peace.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

GANDHI’S 65TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

15

Gandhi's London connection: Past and Present Perhaps the most predominant global image of Gandhi is that of a bald bespectacled man, clad in a white dhoti, his upperhalf often draped with a cotton shawl and holding a wooden stick. Hard to imagine a Gandhi dressed in a suit? And yet it is fact. Here is proof of it in this picture from his time in London.

When nineteen year old Gandhi arrived in London to study Law at University College, he was just as curious about the great city and what it had to offer like the scores of people even today who come here to travel, study or work. The only difference of course is that 125 years ago only a fortunate few could afford to visit and study in London, not to mention the challenges he would have had to face because he was non-white.

His desire to explore and experience London was as strong as his yearning to pursue his law degree.

Here is an excerpt from what is called Gandhi's London Diary, a diary which Gandhi began writing in London in 1888.

While the original diary is said to have included 120 handwritten pages, only the first 20 pages have survived (source: Paul K

Gandhi during his years in London as a law student

mother involving abstinence from meat, alcohol and promiscuity.

Abstinence from meat was one of the tougher challenges during his time in the city as vegetarian options were very few and he found the food offered by his landlady very bland.

He is said to have frequently gone hungry until he came upon one of London's few vegetarian restaurants.

Inspired by his writer, social reformer friend Henry Salt, he even joined the Ve g e t a r i a n Society and got elected to its executive committee. Some of the vegetarians he met were also members of the Theosophical society, which was founded in 1875 to promote universal brotherhood and also devoted itself to Gandhi With Charlie Chaplin and Sarojini Naidu, during his visit to London, 1931 the study of Buddhist and Lyons' blog http://thediHindu literature. It was second floor. aryjunction.blogspot.co.u through this association U n s u r p r i s i n g l y, k/2009/10/gandhis-lonthat a previously disinterGandhi's time in London don-diary.html). ested Gandhi was encourpresented him with its fair aged to read the Bhagwad share of challenges. Before October-November 1888 Gita, both in translation he left home for London, … Before the intention of and in the original and it he made three vows to his coming to London for the sake of study was actually formed, I had a secret design in my mind of coming here to satisfy my curiosity of knowing what London was....

In the last surviving paragraph from Gandhi's diary reproduced on Lyons' blog, Gandhi refers to his visit to the Victoria Hotel in London with his friends and describes his awe at the hotel's luxurious ambience: I was quite dazzled by the splendour of the hotel. I had never in my life seen such pomp. It

was also Gandhi's first experience travelling in a lift.

Then we were to go to the second floor by a lift. I did not know what it was...The doors were opened and I thought that was a room in which we were to sit for some time.

But to my great surprise we were brought to the

Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Sankey and Pandit Malaviya at the Round Table Conference, 1931

marked the beginning of his commitment to its teachings which he practiced and preached till the very end.

James Tepfer in his 2004 article Gandhi's India-A biographical sketch (published by the Institute of World Culture) describes “the gradual awakening of the religious spirit” in Gandhi as one of the two most significant impacts of Gandhi's years in London on his young consciousness, the other being “the slow metamorphosis of his personality”.

Due to his initially-positive attitude towards Britain and the British empire and his belief that India should be self-governing but within the confines of the empire, Tepfer says that Gandhi attempted to mould himself into the image of an 'English gentleman' whether it was in his dressing style, or trying to learn dance or to play the violin, a far cry from the Gandhi who visited London years later as the architect of the Indian independence movement.

Mahatma Gandhi standing outside 10 Downing Street 1930

Gandhi taking an apple from the daughter of a pearly king during his visit to London in 1931

Gandhi left for India after he passed his law degree in 1891. His second visit was in 1931 as a delegate representing the Indian Congress at the Second Round Table Conference (September 1931-December 1931) demanding complete independence for India.

Although he returned disappointed because many of his demands were not met, his stay with the working class in East London during the conference duration made him a popular figure amongst the British public and sensitised them to India’s struggle for freedom.

Gandhi’s 1931 visit to London saw him set foot on British soil for the last time but his memory has been honoured to this day through plaques marking where he lived as a law student, statues like the one in Tavistock Square in

Central London, and another in Leicester, conversion of Kingsley Hall where he stayed during his 1931 visit into a community peace centre and more

explored and walked.

Organisations like the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation ensure his teachings are kept alive by constantly initiating cam-

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Tavistock Square, London

recently a guided ‘Gandhi’ tour walk taking visitors to London across the different sites in the city where he lived, studied,

paigns, events and discussions surrounding prevalent social and political issues using Gandhian principles.

16

GANDHI’S 65TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

India League marks 65th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi On 30 January 2013, The India League observed Mahatma Gandhi's 65th death anniversary at 11 am in Tavistock Square, London, WC1, where Bapu's statue is situated. British Asian MPs, Lords, dignitaries from the Indian High Commission and Borough of Camden, like every year, paid their floral tribute to the 'Mahatma' and addressed the gathering.

The current executive members of the India League are: S N Gourisaria (Vice President), Lord Robin Corbett (Chairman), CB Patel and Dr Cyriac Mapreil (Vice Chairmen) and Manab Majumdar (Hon Gen Sec)

What is India League?

India League is a Britain-based organisation that evolved from the Commonwealth of India League, which was established in 1922 with the aim of campaigning for complete independence for the Indian people. At the helm of affairs was lawyer,

activist, editor, Mr. V.V Krishna Menon, who became joint secretary of the League in 1928. In the 1930s, the organisation flourished under his leadership opening multiple branches across London and in other British cities including Bournemouth, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin, Hull, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Southampton and Wolverhampton.

The League organised its members into various committees including a Women's Committee, an Action Committee, a Parliamentary Committee in an attempt to raise awareness amongst the British public of the injustice of British colonial rule in India and to urge them to join the League members in protesting for the Indian independence cause.

The Parliamentary Committee lobbied MPs, several of whom spoke on the League's behalf in

Tracing three decades of Gandhi on reel Over the decades, celluloid interest in Gandhi has reflected the change in attitude towards the Mahatma.

The first film on Gandhi that took the international audience by awe was Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi' in 1982. With Ben Kinsley acting as the Mahatma, the film was a very detailed depiction of Gandhi's life, almost in toto. It won 8 Academy awards and the film of course showed everything that would describe Gandhi as the rightful owner of the title- 'Father of the Nation' (India).

In 1996 Shyam Benegal made 'The Making of Mahatma'. This film highlighted Gandhi, more as a human than just a hero. It not only showed his strengths but also looked at some of his flaws, his rather troubled relationship with his family.

Though the film escaped cont r o v e r s y, Gandhi was finally portrayed as a man of a certain character, indeed a national hero, but much less than a 'God'.

In 2000 came Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram — the story of Saket Ram who was on a mission to kill Gandhi.

The film showed Saket's journey from being a Gandhi-hater to becoming a true Gandhian.

Unconventional in story and treatment, Hey Ram saw protests from both the Right wing and Congress representatives, as the unconventional 'figure' of the Mahatma was hard to digest by the public.

However, Gandhi's biggest onscreen makeover came in 2006, when the lovable gangster Munnabhai teamed up with the Father of the Nation and coined the term 'Gandhigiri' — and Mahatma was reborn, repackaged as a modern icon of peace and tolerance.

The most recent film was Feroz Khan's 'Gandhi My Father '— a film which took a hard and critical look at Gandhi's stormy and troubled relationship with his eldest son Harilal. It narrated the story of the 'father of the nation' who unfortunately failed as a father to his son. But the film didn't make any impact at the box-office.

the House of Commons, provided opportunities for League members to address the House of Commons and discussed strategies based on events in India. The League also held public meetings to mark 'Independence day' celebrations, Tagore's birthday, and to commemorate the Amritsar Massacre. Executive members of the League, including Menon, addressed several different groups of people- workers, women's groups, church-goers, and also spoke at several conferences held by other organisations like the Labour Party, the Communist Party and the Fabian society. They published numerous articles on the plight of India via their own two organs Indian News (NewsIndia) and the Information Bulletin. Several treatises and pamphlets were also issued to the British public to counter government propaganda and misinformation regarding the true state of affairs

in India.

During India's independence struggle, the League was a strong ally of the Indian National Congress in Britain, which was a consequence of the close ties between Menon and Jawaharlal Nehru. While the organisation was successfully active for the most part of the 1930s, the second world war marked a period of lull with respect to the impact of its activities since the political focus of Britain was diverted towards the war. However, the 'Quit India' movement in 1942, the subsequent imprisonment of Nehru and other Congress leaders saw a zealous surge in the League's activities, as did the Bengal famine of 1943.

Even though Indian and Ceylonese people resident in or visiting England, which included several students, attended the League meetings, membership to the League was largely elitist and predominantly British until the early 1940s. At this time, in

an attempt to win the support of South-Asian working class in Britain, the League opened a branch in the East End. After Indian independence in August 1947, the organisation continued its work, this time with the aim of strengthening the ties between Britain and India, as well as working towards people's empowerment across the globe.

Even though its primary objective involved India's struggle for freedom and later BritishIndian ties, the league remains internationalist in its outlook till today, reaffirming its view that India's fight for independence was a part of the larger global campaign against imperialism and capitalism, still prevalent today.

When in Doubt ...

I will give you a talisman.

Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him

to a control over his own life and destiny ?

In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions ? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away.

- Mahatma Gandhi

MESSAGES FROM BRITISH ASIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS On the 65th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, I hope we all can remember the important values that Gandhi has taught us.

Gandhi as a national hero and India’s Father, has enlightened the world with three universal principles; peace, love and tolerance. Mahatma Gandhi as a teacher has been a profound symbol of hope and liberation, peace and harmony and struggle and freedom. To mark Gandhi’s 65th anniversary, I will be chairing a session in Parliament on how we can use Gandhi’s values in modern day.

These values are paramount in our everyday lives, in everything we do. I hope we will all use Gandhi’s message as inspiration and guidance.

Virendra Sharma MP Gandhi’s message of satyagraha (‘devotion to truth’) and the use of non violence to achieve his aims is a powerful one. At a time when man’s intolerance of his fellow man is increasing, Gandhi’s message is as relevant today as it has always been, with countless world leaders making reference to it, including Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

It is right that we should commemorate the 65th anniversary of Gandhi’s death, for his message of nonviolence and truth should not be forgotten, particularly in our troubled times at present.

Shailesh Vara MP It was Gandhiji’s sheer love for the human race that has inspired India to become one of the world’s most secular countries. Gandhiji may not be with us today, but 65 years later his spirit, philosophy and wisdom seem as relevant today as they have ever been. Times may have changed, but this anniversary gives us an opportunity to stop and consider what Gandhiji would think of our actions today and what he would do to solve the problems we face. With Gandhiji’s passing

away our responsibilities become greater and the most fitting tribute that we can pay is to carry forward the principles which he lived and died for; to remain true to oneself, to love thy neighbour and to protect freedom.

Lord Dolar Popat Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most truly remarkable and inspirational figures of the twentieth century. Not only did he lead the land of his birth, India, to independence – becoming the spiritual Father of a rapidly emerging superpower. But he also inspired legions of civil rights activists across the world. His footprint on history runs from India to the USA, South Africa to the Soviet Union, Nepal to Burma. And although the world has changed beyond all recognition since 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s message of peace, community and social responsibility is one that all of us should draw from today.”

Alok Sharma MP Congratulations to India League for the celebration of Martyrs day at the Tavistock Square on 30 January 2013. Let us also remember that we are also celebrating the 60th anniversary of India’s Parliament.

Both these events are historic. We have embraced Parliamentary democracy as the key factor in the governance of India. This has been possible because of the struggle for independence in which Mahatma Gandhi and other distinguished leaders played such an important part. India and Indians are valued today because of our democratic institutions which have played a prominent role in preserving rights liberty and freedom of our people. So when we look at that small but significant an impressive statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Square let us not forget that Bapu was the pioneer of modern India.

Lord Navnit Dholakia

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

GANDHIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 65TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY 17

Gandhi The 'Sacred Warrior' and His Enduring Legacies Dr Reenu Punnoose While the world reeled from the devastating effects of two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, one man quietly showed the world how to shame your enemy into defeat, not by the use of violence, but on the grounds of moral superiority. It was this unique approach to social justice that gave a war-torn world hope for a peaceful future. For nearly a century, Gandhi has been known the world over for his principles of non-violence and truth, peace and religious unity, simplicity and the power of self-sufficiency. Sixty-five years after Bapu's death, his life continues to be the greatest message he left for the future. On the occasion of his death anniversary, we explore some of his most unique legacies.

Satyagraha Satyagraha ('insistence on truth') is a particular philosophy adopted by Mahatma Gandhi which gained popularity during the Indian independence struggle. Gandhi himself described it as follows: I have also called it love-force or soul-force.

In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and compassion.

For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other.

And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on oneself.

In later years, Gandhi also differentiated between Satyagraha and passive resistance in that the former insists upon truth always, is a weapon of the strong and will admit no violence under any circumstance.

Gandhi's non-violent devotion to truth through Satyagraha have influenced and inspired others, notably, Martin Luther King Jr., who used the philosophy to develop his own ideas regarding the civil rights movement in the United States. Nelson Mandela, who like Gandhi suffered colonial oppression and mobilised his people against their oppressors, stayed committed to the path of nonviolence for the majority of his fight for South African independence.

Other leaders who have been guided by this philosophy include Cesar Chavez, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, and

Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize-winner Rigoberta Menchu.

Many autocratic regimes around the world were toppled by visionaries inspired by Gandhi's ideals, which includes the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines in 1986, Augusto Pinochet in Chile in 1989 and Slobodan Milosevic in Yugoslavia in 2000.

Khadi (cotton) the Mahatma's fabric & Charkha (spinning wheel) Khadi refers to handwoven cloth, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel known as the charkha. In the Indian context, Khadi refers to a lot more than just handspun cloth. It also refers to the Khadi movement started by Gandhi which aimed at boycotting foreign goods and promoting Indian goods, thereby improving India's economy.

The focal point of the Empire's rule in India lay in its control of India's

Gandhi with spinning wheel (charkha)

where science had overthrown religion, machines had replaced manual labour resulting in loss of jobs for skilled workers and material wealth was more sought after than

nomic self-reliance but of late has become the next big thing in the fashion world. Fashion designers across the world are selling Khadi products and have recently showcased their Khadi designs at ramp shows in Paris , Berlin, London, New York and Los Angeles.

Gandhigiri

Gandhi breaks the salt laws at Dandi beach, April 6, 1930

indigenous industries.

From time immemorial, India have been exporters of cotton and apart from agriculture, much of its economy depended on weaving. But Gandhi's revival of Khadi and the symbol of the charkha stand for not only rural empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of the Indian people but also serves as a critique of modernisation -the kind that he witnessed in the West during his lifetime -

spiritual growth.

Most politicians in India are still seen only wearing Khadi. However, its real significance as a symbol of self-sufficiency and simplicity appears to have waned over the years in a nation where corruption, immorality and violence continue to threaten the freedom of its people six decades after inde pendence.

Interestingly, Khadi has not only come to represent a way of life as well as a nation's socio-eco-

Gandhigiri is a recent term that refers to the practice of Gandhian ideals like Satyagraha, non-violence and truth. In other words, it is a more colloquial contemporary term for Gandhism, which gained popularity through the 2006 movie Lage Raho Munnabhai, written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

The movie revolves around a local Mumbai Don, Munnabhai, played by Sanjay Dutt, who begins seeing visions of Gandhi.

His interactions with Gandhi's spirit inspires him to adopt Gandhigiri and help ordinary people solve their problems. The movie was a huge hit, successfully simplifying the relevance of Gandhian ideals in everyday life in a manner that people across socio-economic classes could identify and relate to.

The success of the movie and its message translated into the revival of the Gandhian approach especially amongst the youth in India and also in other parts of the world.

Several acts of Gandhigiri have been reported across India in the last few years.

In September 2006, The Times of India carried an article on how youngsters

in Hyderabad were practicing Gandhigiri in their daily life- a girl who ended her relationship with her boyfriend when she saw how badly he treated a waiter at a restaurant (based on similar incident in the movie), a young man who stood up for a driver when the latter was barred from entering a ball room due to his socioeconomic status. In July 2007, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were sent flowers by protesters who are legally in the U.S but caught in a green card backlog. Soon after the USCIS director announced that the application process for permanent residency would be expedited. In 2011, social activist Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption gained momentum when he began an indefinite hunger strike, a method he has frequently used for several social causes and one that is reminscent of Bapu.

More recently, traffic cops in Visakhapatnam have embarked on a week-long Arrive Alive campaign of coaxing traffic rule violators to give up their dangerous driving by handing out roses and chocolates to those breaking traffic rules. In another incident this month, nearly 100 of the 300 employees of the

Karnataka State Legislative Council Secretariat took part in peaceful protests and offered roses to the Council Secretary V. Shreesh urging him to meet their long-pending demands for better pay and facilities. These incidents and the many others that have been reported these last few years since the movie's release prove that Gandhian ideals have a significant place in the 21st century and beyond.

As Joseph Lelyveld rightly points out in his book, Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India, the country today pays obeisance to his idols and not to his ideals. It seems a common trait around the world- whenever there have been great historical figures who have changed the course of the world, we tend to deify the person more and their message less. It is all very well to show our respect to Bapu by having his statues erected, streets and centres named after him, coins, notes and stamps with his face on it but surely the greatest mark of respect we can show the prophet of peace is to spare a thought for his legacies and the wisdom behind them, in the hope that it will inspire us to 'be the change that we wish to see in the world'.

Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.

- Albert Einstein (theoretical physicist)

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Financial Voice

So if I had to risk my reputation on 2013 bets – which would they be and why?

Amazon Cheaper than iPad is the Kindle Fire and the Amazon store sells everything not just music. Simple. People have underestimated both these factors.

FTSE 100 I see the FTSE hitting its 2007 peaks. That would place it close to its all time high of the dot-com era. But at least you are looking at least another 10-15% rise this year in my view. This is partly due to momentum looking good on charts. It is also because the valuation of the Index as a whole based on earnings is not overextended and there is ample support from a lack of returns from bonds.

It sounds quite an incredible journey to have all time highs in the middle of periods of recession. But the companies making the FTSE 100 are making gains because either they are making ever increasing profits thanks to having exposure to the growth regions of the world, or are making profits because of severe cost cutting, or are loss-making but not as badly as feared because of cost cutting and exposure to global growth.

Whichever the reason, the FTSE 100 has risen 50% since 2007 and the bottom of the credit crunch. Why didn’t we buy then? Because we were too scared.

Apple I still am an Apple Shareholder because shareprices are not a guess on future growth, they are ultimately based on the money you can make from owning them and that is based on all their free cash flow. The company needs very small growth to justify even a relatively large uplift on shareprice. So all the focus on Steve Job’s death being a dampner on innovation is overdone.

It may be a problem sometime in the future – but not for the next two years that I am looking at. I expect a 50% return in the next two years.

Tata Motors, listed on the US stock market, trades at $30. It has doubled in over 12 months and its all time high is $35. I expect a 20% return over 18 months from this one because of global demand and excellent profits.

Infosys is cheap – its share price compared to the profits it earns are very reasonable. It’s broken its fall from $80 to $40 and now I expect it to gradually resume back to at least a 50% gain over two years.

And the ever popular Facebook? It is on a gradual rise back to the price at which it floated on the stock market - $38. It seems likely this will happen in 2013 as the company announces innovation after innovation. But as the revenue figures will not match the hope and hype, the stock price on reaching $38 will fall back again.

GBP/USD looks rangebound and I am happy trading 1.66 to 1.53 range for the year based on the trading reange of most of last year. That is, go short at 1.6600 and long at 1.5300. Any breakouts of those and have a tight stop-loss in case it is a genuine runaway.

Gold: Best bet is long – as it’s highly linked to the US debt ceiling and that will be raised.

EUR/USD: The waves since 2008 in which the Euro moves are quite predictable and periodic. Presently it is on a upwave and then should resume back to 1.25 from touching 1.45.

Barclays may move hundreds of jobs to India Britain's leading financial services giant Barclays is planning to move hundreds of back-office jobs to India as part of cost-cutting measures.

With around 2,000 jobs on the line at its troubled investment banking unit in London, Barclays is believed to have dispatched a team to recruit and train new staff in India to replace workers in both London and New York, according to reports.

It had sent out emails to staff at its investment bank consulting on the planned job cuts earlier this week.

Barclays

employs around 9,000 people at its investment banking division in the UK. It has not confirmed the exact number of jobs at risk but said that more details would be revealed next month. Those affected will be largely linked to back-office and support functions. News of further

off shoring and job losses could generate fresh controversy, particularly among workers' unions, given that the roles slated to move to India will be primarily modestly paid ones, the report said.

"As part of our ongoing location strategy, we have been and will continue to move roles from one international location to another. This strategy will deliver improvements in our processes for the ultimate benefit of our clients," a Barclays’ spokesman said.

Barclays is reviewing its operations in the light of recent scandals over the

alleged fixing of inter-bank lending rate (Libor rates) and mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) in the UK. In July, the bank was fined 290 million pounds by the US and UK regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor rate.

The bank's boss, Antony Jenkins, said last September that he would be quick and bold in making reforms at the bank and has been taking some tough measures.

Last week, he told the bank's 140,000 employees to sign up to a new code of conduct, or leave.

Air India ranked world's P Chidambaram restarts third worst airline debate on ‘super rich’ tax Air India has been rated world's third least safe airline after China Airlines and TAM Airlines, according to a report from a website that monitors plane crashes around the world.

India's national carrier is ranked 58th among 60 listed airlines by Hamburg based Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC). Finnair is now the world's safest airline, followed by Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific and Emirates, according to JACDEC Safety Ranking 2012.

None of the top nine ranked airlines had lost an aircraft or had a fatality during the 30-year period, but many had also not been active for the full 30 years. Not one North American carrier made the top 10 list, but none of

them made the bottom 10 either.

The centre calculates its annual rankings based on aircraft loss accidents and serious incidents over the past 30 years. The resulting index relates that information to the revenue per passenger kilometer (rpk) earned by the airline over the same period.

There were 496 fatalities on commercial passenger flights last year, according to the report, two fewer than in 2011.

The most significant involved a Dana Air flight which crashed in Nigeria, killing 169 people, and a Bhoja Air flight which crashed in Pakistan, killing 127. A total of 30 planes were destroyed and there were 44 "hull losses", or aircraft write-offs, one less than the previous year.

India’s finance minister P Chidambaram recently restarted the debate on taxing the “super rich,” barely a couple of days after assuring foreign investors that tax rates would remain stable.

“The tax rates that are announced in 1997 have remained and have survived four governments and four finance ministers.

I believe in stable tax rates.

However, I must concede that there is an argument, underline the word argument, that when the economy requires, government requires more resources, the very rich willingly should pay a little more,” the minister told a TV channel in an interview in Singapore. “That is not to say that tax rate should not be stable. I think we should have stability in tax rates but we should con-

sider the argument that very rich should be asked to a pay a little more on some occasions but that is not the view I am expressing. That is simply the argument I have heard and I am repeating,” said the finance minister.

The finance minister made it clear that he was repeating an argument that he had heard and it was not his view. Chidambaram was on a whistle-stop tour of Hong Kong and Singapore where he wooed foreign investors and convinced them about the India growth story promising a balanced budget.

My son will never become Britain's economy shrinks anew, flirts with 'triple dip' The country slipped Britain's economy shrank year. But politically, the ning a 2015 election.

CEO of Wipro: Azim Premji more back into recession in the than expected at the latest dip in national outSterling fell to its low-

India’s IT czar Azim Premji has said his son Rishad wwould never be the chief executive of his company Wipro, but would represent promoter ownership on the company's board.

Rishad, 35, joined Wipro in 2007 as business head for special projects in the banking and financial services vertical and rose to become chief strategy officer three years later.

Premji, who founded Wipro, said becoming CEO was not the career path for the eldest of his two sons. "He (Rishad) is not going to be the chief executive officer, that's not the career plan for him but, he would be representing ownership obviously," Premji, chairman of

Wipro, said in television interviews on sidelines of World Economic Forum at Davos.

Azim Premji directly owns 3.7 per cent in the company, while entities related to him own over another 74 per cent.

Rishad has a direct ownership of 0.03 per cent shares in Wipro.

Rishad has for long been speculated to be a natural choice for taking over the company's operations.

Prior to joining Wipro, Rishad, a management graduate from Harvard Business School, worked with Bain & Co, working across segments like consumer products, automobiles, telecom and insurance.

end of 2012 with a North Sea oil production slump, lower factory output and a hangover from London Olympics pushing it perilously close to a "tripledip" recession.

The country's gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, the office for national statistics said, a sharper fall than the 0.1 per cent decline forecast by analysts.

The news is a blow for Britain's Conservative-led government, which earlier defended its austerity programme against criticism from the International Monetary Fund. It needs solid growth to meet its budget targets, keep a triple - A debt rating and bolster its chances of win-

est in 13-1/2 months against the euro and hit a five-month low against the dollar in response to the data. The euro was also buoyed by a stronger-thanexpected German Ifo sentiment survey.

"This is a very disappointing out turn," said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec in London.

"Clearly now the talk will focus on whether we are in a triple dip recession.

Certainly the news is unwanted."

Britain's economy is now 3.3 per cent smaller than its peak in Q1 2008, having recovered only about half the output lost during the financial crisis a worse performance than most other major economies.

last three months of 2011, and only emerged from it in the third quarter of 2012, after a boost from the London Olympics.

After a bout of inclement snowy weather in January - which is likely to have hit spending and output - the risk is that the economy will continue to shrink in the first three months of this year, technically pushing it into a rare and unwelcome "triple dip" recession.

Britain's biggest department store group, John Lewis, said earlier that snow was responsible for its sales growth stalling in the latest week.

Politically incendiary: In economic terms, the picture remains one of stagnation over the past

put is more incendiary.

"Stagnation is going to be the theme for the next couple of quarters or so.

This obviously brings Osborne's strategy into sharp relief and also the (Bank of England) strategy of maintaining or not sanctioning further monetary policy action," said Rob Wood at Berenberg Bank. "The Bank of England was forecasting a return to some growth in Q1 and that is likely to be disappointed."

Finance minister George Osborne stuck fast to his austerity plan, rejecting suggestions from the International Monetary Fund's chief economist that he should consider slowing his deficit reduction plan.

finAnciAl Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

19

It's not all a bed of roses...there are thorns involved!

Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

A few days ago we only just completed on a property in Hampstead.

The property was a garden flat with a lower ground floor and it was purchased for £965,000 with a share of freehold for the whole block. The end value we believe is £1.4m; and so there's a lot of meat on the bone.

Even after the refurbishment costs.

Completing was no easy task. Two of our clients were purchasing this property as a JV between themselves. We exchanged some time back, the mortgage was promptly applied for and we received the offer following the valuation of the property. After this you leave it to the lawyers to complete the transaction – or so I thought.

One of the clients asked me if he can go on a trip to India, so I casually said "it's no issue as long as you have cleared all the paperwork with the lawyers".

In this particular case the lenders have their own lawyers and we have ours. Although the offer was in their lawyers were still working on the legal paperwork checking all the titles etc; we expected all of this to be in order as our lawyers checked all of this prior to exchange.

However a couple of days before completion we were told by the lender's lawyer that things were not in order, as according to them the freehold which we were also purchasing had not been transferred properly.

There were two bits to our purchase: one was the leasehold interest which held the bulk of the value and the other was the freehold which held a nominal value of £30-£50k.

When the freehold is transferred it is supposed to be offered to the other leaseholders first, in other words they have the first right of refusal. Therefore they were of the opinion we were not purchasing it in the correct manner; we could only purchase it after it had been offered to the other leaseholders.

This had not happened.

However there were a couple of issues with this: Firstly the sale of the freehold was a separate transaction and secondly the freehold was not sold. The freehold was owned in a company name and all that happened was a share transfer and therefore our lawyers felt it was unaffected.

Lend ers always view everything from t he worst case sc enario, so bef ore len ding mon ey the y want to be su re that sh ould the situation arise they can re possess the pro pe rty q uickly and can get their mon ey bac k.

In this situation the freeholder would be the same as the leaseholder so if they repossessed the property the freeholder could make it difficult for them by not authorising the leasehold to be transferred, though they cannot unreasonably withhold this. Secondly the other leaseholders could challenge the freehold ownership at a later date, and this could affect the freehold title.

They first insisted they take a charge on the freehold, we mentioned we didn’t have an issue, but our problem was that one of our clients was in a remote part of India and therefore couldn’t make it down to the lawyers office to sign the relevant documents - which they insisted must be signed in front of UK lawyers.

We even suggested we sell the freehold to a third party and get rid of the problem once and for all, but they weren't having that either. In all fairness I never anticipated these kind of issues would be raised by the simultaneous purchase of a freehold and leasehold.

Our lawyers were of a different opinion, that none of this mattered as the way the freehold had been sold circumvented the right of refusal requirements; and this was an independent transaction.

Now I'm not a lawyer, so I do not to date know if the mortgage company's lawyers were talking sense or not. But I do know most lawyers' primary objective is not to get the deal done, but to cover themselves from any imaginable issue ever to arise in the future. They also get paid irrespective of whether the deal completes or not, so they have no vest-

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ed interest in making the deal happen.

When our lawyers pointed out the reasoning for not offering the freehold to the other leaseholders, rather than answer quickly and cooperate the lender's lawyers started to drag their feet; this is because it is very difficult to take a stance and then go back on your word as it indicates you're incompetent, so then they stretched the time on hoping we would disappear. The lenders have to stand behind their lawyers decisions as if they venture outside of their recommendations, and if they prove to be incorrect, they can be sued as their indemnity insurance probably wouldn't cover them.

So the completion day had come and gone. We were served with a notice to complete from the seller which means if we didn’t complete within 7 days we would stand to lose £100,000. With only 5 days to go we were left hanging. What was even more annoying was that these ‘issues’ were always on the table, nothing was hidden from the lender; and so to bring these issues up so close to completion was very unprofessional and completely unnecessary.

So with only a fe w days to g o and no mo ney to complete we were stu ck be twe en a ro ck and a hard place.

Generally I always try and keep ideas of one or two backup sources of funds at the back of my mind; so on the Friday we managed to get another company to approve the loan, in time for completion on Wednesday. We actually had a few more days than this but we wanted to keep a couple of days in reserve (just in case...). I was impressed at the speed of their solicitor, she was working over the weekend, after she had got an undertaking for her fees from our lawyer, to get all the paperwork done in time for completion on Wednesday; emails were flying around at 4.30 am in the morning on a weekend. This was a small Jewish firm who were in the same location as our property in Hampstead, they knew the property well, surprisingly well, as they were acting for the original buyer who was going to purchase the property for £980,000, so they had been down this road before. This party had been looking to buy this flat prior us; however they were gazumped by us, not by a higher offer, but by our speed.

The lawyer worked flat out for three days to ensure the deal was ready to complete on Wednesday. However, she then found out that she did not need to complete on Wednesday and we did in fact have more time, needless to say she wasn’t too happy and so she then started to be difficult with us, though our lawyers tried to explain we didn’t say we had to complete on Wednesday simply that we would like too. But she had got the hump so started asking awkward questions.

However we managed to speak to the mortgage company and between our lawyers and their lawyer the matter completed on Thursday to the relief of all concerned.

It just goes to show you, one can never be too relaxed with funding.

Lenders or their lawyers can get cold feet very quickly and there are more people requiring money then there is money to go around. The lending market has changed dramatically in only a few years, on the ground level. More and more borrowers are turning to bridging companies as a means of finance. The bridging market was worth £1bn in 2012 and is looking to grow by 50% in the following year. Bridging finance is now becoming mainstream as a consequence of the decline in lending by the high street institutions.

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

0207 313 4595 info@sowandreap.co.uk

www.sowandreap.co.uk

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

Tips of the Week l Three points should be considered when investing in property: Firstly, is the investment safe? Meaning can you rent the property quickly and for what amount?

Secondly, is there capital growth? And thirdly, can you exit quickly - if required. l Flipping properties can give very high returns in the short time while BTL properties give constant income and continuous growth.

Decide which ones suits you before buying.

UK

20

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Kingfisher needs at least `10 bn to restart

The Fourth Golden Rule of Investing – Taxation

The First Golden Rule of Good Investing

maria@abplgroup.com

Maria Fernandes

Sponsor licences: Punitive rather than conciliatory

Mr Justin Urquhart Stewart “The Tax Tail must never wag the Investment Dog” is the frequently quoted phrase about the effect of tax, and generally this is quite right. I often look with astonishment at some of the intricate structures that are often promoted by clever tax advisers to bemused and confused clients. We should be wary of schemes that seem too sharp and too clever by half. These days we must be clear that with the government (of any political colour) being short of money, its tax hounds in the form of the HMRC will be baying for the blood of not just tax evaders but those sailing too close to the wind as tax avoiders.

For most of us tax is relatively straightforward, but it still requires planning and to be linked into our investment aims. However, we should regard tax facilities as being not too dissimilar from a Mars Bar wrapper – it may be pretty, it may be durable, but if the contents are stale then it is just a worthless wrapper. It is the investment content that is the key issue - the wrapper is there just to enhance the value, not provide the value.

Thus, for example, an ISA can provide a tax free environment for investments which can be very valuable, but if the investments themselves fail, then it doesn’t matter what level of tax you are paying; 20% of zero and 40% amount to the same nice round number! This applies just as much to pensions, as many sadly will have found over the past few years when they look at the performance of their “closed” pension funds when they get around to retiring.

Another vital issue is cost. Care is needed here.

Sometimes the charges are stated and on other occasions they are more covert and take the form of internal “deductions” and costs. With the advent of the Retail Distribution Review, front end commissions have been banned and so for products like off-shore bonds, the old habit of some outrageous front end fees of 7% should be a thing of the past. However, as consumers, please be aware that greedy product sellers will always try to find other ways of stealing and slicing off part of your assets for their own gains.

These days good providers should be absolutely clear about tax wrapper costs and charges and many are now much lower than before. ISAs are now often provided without a charge and the SIPP costs have come down dramatically. However, we should also take into account other tax opportunities which will benefit both ourselves and our families. Capital gains tax exemption is a valuable (£10,600per annum at present) benefit but needs to be managed each year.

Additionally, the threshold for paying inheritance tax can catch us out unless managed in advance (£325,000). This is a cost which one can sensibly and legally avoid but it does require some forward planning within the family.

However, one thing we should all remember is that tinkering Chancellors will always change the tax rules and history shows us how the tax regulations have grown hugely over the past two decades. Thus what may have been a perfectly well applied tax structure for your investments may well alter in the various budgets of the government. Therefore, we all need to keep such tax structure under review and adjust as necessary.

The answer therefore is to use all your tax breaks to your benefit, whilst making sure that these tie into your investment intentions and also into your longer term financial planning. The key here is for effective co-ordination across all those disciplines – something difficult, but worth doing. You can avoid a lot of tax liability quite legitimately but you can’t evade it. Thus with our tax breaks, we use them or lose them.

Justin

Seven Investment Management 125 Old Broad Street London EC2N 1AR Tel: 020 7760 8777 Seven Investment Management is authorised and regulated by the FSA

t present there appears to be a flurry of activity A on Sponsor Licences with

unannounced visits and threats to downgrade or terminate licences. When the scheme began, the emphasis was on helping applicants to obtain licenses. Numerous employers were granted licences after making online applications even though representatives were advising caution.

Now after concerns about abuse (unbelievably this was not assessed adequately in advance) and the need to cut down on numbers the process has become punitive rather than conciliatory. The process is much more cumbersome, typically taking around 6 months to process, consists of unannounced visits (which unlike the immigration raids carried out by officers do not need a reason to

visit). The officers are quite robust and require instant gratification in terms of what they want to see. Applicants are advised to keep their documents in a way that suits them yet if they do not demonstrate it in an way which the Officers are used to seeing they are very keen on downgrading applicants and collecting a £1000 fee to create a non existent plan. It certainly is one way of making money for the Government and the evidence suggests that it is a lucrative area.

A pleasant and reasonable officer may make the process bearable but the indications that are coming through in relation to the small businesses in particular is that officers are increasingly bad tempered about any shortcomings and unwilling to give Sponsors a chance to put

RBI cuts repo rate, CRR by 25 basis points The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered its key policy rate as expected for the first time in nine months to support an economy set for its slowest growth in a decade, but signalled there was less room for aggressive cuts in future due to concerns over inflation.

The RBI cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 per cent.

The RBI unexpectedly also reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the share of deposits banks must keep with the central bank by 25 bps to 4 per cent, which will infuse an additional 180 billion rupees into the banking system.

India's headline inflation rate moderated to a three-year low of 7.18 per cent in December, and the central bank said there

was likelihood that inflation would remain range bound around current levels heading into 2013/14 fiscal year starting April.

"This provides space, albeit limited, for monetary policy to give greater emphasis to growth risks," the central bank said in its quarterly monetary policy review.

Bond and stock markets were largely unmoved as dealers had already priced in a quarter percentage point rate cut. The 10-year bond yield was flat at around 7.87 per cent.

The Nifty was also flat, with the bank sub-index was up 0.2 per cent, paring initial stronger gains.

The rupee strengthened to 53.79 to the dollar from around 53.84 before the decision.

things right. Although a requirement for a Sponsor to speak good English is not (yet) part of the requirements, it is usually likely to count against an Applicant. It always surprises me that there is a belief that it you can speak English then you must be thick. At least this is the case at the lower end of the market. Those who bring in funds, such as Investors with a £1 million do not need to meet the English test and the English test for Entrepreneurs has gone down on level following some rule changes.

Maria Fernandes has been in practice exclusively in immigration for the past 25 years. Fernandes Vaz is based at 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley in Wembley and can be contacted by telephone on 02087330123, by email on info@fernandesvaz.com.

Kingfisher Airlines needs at least Rs 10 billion to restart its grounded operations and must also demonstrate an ability to sustain itself for at least 6 months, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said.

Earlier in the day, a senior government source said India was willing to support a rescue plan from Kingfisher if it could settle months of salary due to frustrated employees, sending the airline's shares up as much as 9 per cent.

The comments came after Kingfisher Chief Executive Sanjay Aggarwal met officials at the ministry of civil aviation to discuss the plan, which was earlier rejected by the regulatory Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Singh said all stakeholders, including banks, airports and oil companies, will have to give no-objection certificates for the carrier to fly again. Kingfisher has already received no-objection certificates from oil companies and some aircraft leasing companies to restart operations, a senior regulatory source said last week.

Maruti Suzuki’s Q3 net profit up two-fold

Riding on good sales of new models like Ertiga and Swift DZire, and benefiting from low base effect, India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India reported an over two-fold jump in net profit at `5.01 billion for the third quarter ended December, 2012.

The company's net profit stood at `2.05 billion during the same period last fiscal. Net sales during the period under review stood at 109.57 billion, up 45.57 per cent from `75.27billion in the year-ago period, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

"The growth in net profit was primarily due to higher sales and good response to new models like Ertiga and Swift DZire," it said, adding the company's continued cost

reduction efforts helped to drive profit in the quarter.

Hit by low sales and labour unrest at its Manesar plant and rupee depreciation, MSI had reported a 63.6 per cent fall in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, to `2.05 billion, its worst performance in previous 12 quarters.

MSI said its sales volume stood at 3,01,453 units during the third quarter this fiscal as compared to 2,39,528 units in the corresponding period of previous year, up 25.85 per cent.

During the quarter under review, the company sold 2,68,957 units in the domestic market compared to 2,11,803 units, reflecting a growth of 26.98 per cent.

Mittal uses 'blackmail’, 'lies': French minister

France's minister for industrial recovery has accused ArcelorMittal boss Lakshmi Mittal of "blackmail" and "lies", after the giant steelmaker said it would close six facilities in neighbouring Belgium.

Speaking on France 2 television, Arnaud Montebourg said: "I have to tell you that when he (Lakshmi Mittal) uses blackmail, lies ... that is what is happening in Belgium since he has announced that in the end he will not honour his commitments."

Blaming weak demand for cars, ArcelorMittal said it would close six cold-processing facilities in the Liege region of eastern Belgium, eliminating 1,300

Lakshmi Mittal

jobs. Angry employees burned tyres at the news while trade unions called immediately for a strike.

The company was already embroiled in controversy in France over the closure of two blast furnaces that sent tension between Mittal and members of France's government soaring in late November.

Montebourg, regarded as a protectionist by crit-

ics, told a French newspaper then: "We don't want Mittal in France anymore", before later retracting his comments. However, the minister said his remarks about the Indian-born steel tycoon were nonetheless widely understood and "were thus possibly necessary." Montebourg urged the European Commission to look into ArcelorMittal's decision to close the Belgian sites.

Belgian police, Mittal workers clash at PM's quarters: Belgian police fired water cannon and pepper spray at ArcelorMittal steelworkers protesting outside Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's official residence ahead of crisis talks on a big

wave of job cuts.

Several hundred workers, angered by the steel giant's decision to close a string of Belgian plants and make 1,300 workers redundant, hurled firecrackers, rocks and bottles at officers struggling to keep barriers in place.

Federal and regional politicians were meeting with unions seeking solutions to save jobs, and union representative Egedio di Pansilo called for the facilities to be nationalized.

"The authorities must take over Mittal's interests here," he said. "If they don't want to, we don't care ... Nationalization is a word that scares them, but it's what they must do."

finAnciAl voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

21

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

GDP shown 0.3% growth contracted The headline figure for fourth quarter GDP has shown that growth contracted by 0.3% against an expected 0.1% putting the UK economy one step closer to an unprecedented triple dip recession.

Manufacturing and industrial output contributed to the overall bearish GDP figure, with the respective sectors contracting by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. The impact on the pound was unsurprisingly detrimental, with the currency falling to a 13 month and 5 month low against its two major trading counterparts, the euro and the US dollar.

The (ECB) European Central Bank announced on Friday 28th January that 278 banks planned to repay â&#x201A;Ź137.2bn of the money it lent as part of the LTRO (long term refinancing operation). With other central banks, the US Fed, Bank of England and Bank of Japan still looking to bolster their balance sheets to boost their economies; the news that the ECB was taking back some of the excess liquidity provided confidence in the euro. Support also came for the euro with the German IFO business confidence index coming in higher than antici-

pated, indicating signs of recovery in Germany.

Spanish Unemployment data last week showed a record 26 percent of the workforce without jobs in the fourth quarter, bringing the total close to 6 million people. In Greece, the rate was even higher in October, at 26.8 percent, also a record. Unemployment will probably continue to trend higher in the next couple of months. Meanwhile economists predict the German unemployment rate will stay

unchanged, they still see an increase of 8,000 people without work this month from December.

U.K. house prices stagnated in January and the number of new buyers looking for homes fell as concern over the euroarea debt crisis and the impact of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscal squeeze hit demand. House prices in England and Wales were unchanged from December, after declining for the previous six months. The number of new buyers register-

0 8 0 8

$ 0 4 5

ing with agents fell 9.9 percent from a month earlier, while the number of properties listed for sale fell 6.8 percent. On the year, house prices generally in the UK fell 0.3 percent and in London values rose 0.3 percent, as global uncertainty boosted demand for homes in the center of the capital.

United States new home sales unexpectedly fell 7.3% in December, although the previous monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data were revised upwards to the highest in more than two years. Meanwhile United States jobless figures fell to a five year low. First time claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 in the week to January 19 to a seasonally adjusted 330,000, the lowest since January 2008 data showed on Thursday.

We saw further weakness in the Japanese yen on Friday, following comments made by Japan's Deputy Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura that an exchange rate of 100 yen to the dollar would not be a concern to the government.

The Canadian dollar also added to its recent losses following unexpected weak inflation data indicating that the Bank of Canada would hold back from hiking interest rates.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 29th January 2013 @ 3pm GBP - INR = 84.35 USD - INR = 53.60 EUR - INR = 72.26 GBP - USD = 1.57 GBP - EUR = 1.17 EUR - USD = 1.35 GBP - AED = 5.78 GBP - CAD = 1.58 GBP - NZD = 1.88 GBP - AUD = 1.51 GBP - ZAR = 14.21 GBP - HUF = 346.03

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 areâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFXâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

PX XJ S F U S B OT G FS

G FFT

B OE OP IJ EEFO D PT U T

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Pakistan-Bangladesh-sri lanka

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 2nd February 2013

In Focus US to bring new human rights resolution against Lanka Colombo: The US will bring a fresh resolution to the UN Human Rights Council in a bid to force Sri Lanka to deliver on promises to probe its troops for war crimes, top US diplomats announced on Monday after talks with Colombo. "The US has decided to sponsor a procedural resolution (against Sri Lanka) at the March 2013 sessions of the UNHRC," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Moore said, adding Colombo must do more to ensure accountability after decades of war.

Target killings continue to rock Karachi, 27 killed

Karachi: Unabated target killings continued to rock Pakistan's biggest city with six people including a toddler being killed, rising the toll since Saturday to at least 27.

Six people were killed on Tuesday, including a two-year-old child and an activist of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), increasing fears that the coming general elections will be hit by violence. Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban for 60 per cent of the killings and crimes in Pakistan's financial hub.

Lahore: Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari should "quit political activities" and give up the post of the chief of the ruling PPP in line with a judgment issued last year, the Lahore high court has said.

The chief justice of the high court, Umar Ata Bandial, asked Wasim Sajjad, the counsel for the federal government, to present a clear point of view on behalf of the president about implementing the court's order of May 12, 2011 that had said Zardari was expected to quit as the chief of the PPP. Bandial, who is heading a

Asif Ali Zardari

five-judge bench that is hearing a petition seeking action against Zardari under the contempt of court law, gave Sajjad time till February 6 to file the president's reply.

He said the court would decide the matter without

India, Bangladesh US Senators introduce ink extradition treaty legislation after Malala

Pak Taliban vows to strike ‘BJPbacked terror camps’ in India

Peshawar: The Pakistani Taliban has vowed to attack Indian-administered Kashmir if the UN bodies and the US fail to stop the "BJP-sponsored state terrorism" against Muslims in the disputed region.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said Indian home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's statement regarding BJP-backed terrors camps is an open confession that Hindu extremists are being patronized under the state's authority for killing innocent Kashmiri Muslims, reports The Dawn.

Indian prisoner dies in Pak jail

Islamabad: An Indian national, who was about to complete his five-year imprisonment on charges of espionage, has died in a Pakistani jail, amid reports that he was "mercilessly beaten" by prison staff two days before his death. Media reports quoted a Pakistani lawyer named Tehseen Khan, who was recently released from Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, as saying that he had seen prison staff assault Chamel Singh for using water from a tap to wash clothes on January 15 and that the Indian national died two days later at Jinnah Hospital.

However, officials of the Indian High Commission told that they had been formally informed by Pakistani authorities that Singh had died in Lahore on January 15.

Pakistan's supreme court to probe graft official’s death

Islamabad: Pakistan's supreme court formed a bench to inquire into the "shocking" death of an officer who was probing corruption allegations against prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and other senior political figures. Chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry converted a note submitted by the SC registrar's office on the death of National Accountability Bureau official Kamran Faisal into a constitutional petition and said a two-judge bench would begin hearing the matter.

Pakistan holding 700 over terror links: Lawyer Islamabad: Pakistan's top law officer disclosed for the first time that security agencies are holding at least 700 people indefinitely without trial in connection with the "war on terror". Attorney general Irfan Qadir told the Supreme Court the suspects were arrested in the semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt, where the military has been fighting Islamist militants for around a decade. He said none of the suspects could be freed until the end of operations in the tribal belt, and declined to say how long they had been in custody.

any further delay. Sajjad argued there was no such urgency in the matter and considerable time should be granted to seek the president's view. He said the president enjoyed immunity under Article 248 of the

Constitution.

The Chief Justice remarked: "Contempt proceeding is not launched to bring punishment only but to get the contemnor to realise his offence." He asked Sajjad whether punishment under Article 204 of the Constitution fell under the ambit of criminal proceedings.

Sajjad said the president was not above the law but the procedure to punish him was defined in Article 47 of the Constitution, which relates to impeachment. He said the President had not violated any law or order of the high court.

Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir inked the agreements

Dhaka: Bangladesh and India on Monday signed two crucial agreements, including an extradition treaty, on the first day of the two-day visit of India's home minister Sushilkumar Shinde here.

Bangladeshi Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir and Shinde signed the agreements on behalf of their countries, the Daily Star reported. After their meeting earlier, the two ministers announced the agreements at a joint press conference. The extradition treaty, designed to tackle terrorism, has, however, some "refusal provisions", the report said.

If extradition of some person poses a threat to national

security, the country concerned might refuse the deportation request, a Bangladeshi home ministry official was quoted as saying.

The second accord signed was for a friendlier visa regime for Bangladesh titled "Revised Travel Arrangement" (RTA). According to the visa accord, businessmen from either side would be given a five-year multiple entry visa.

Those who want to travel on medical grounds would get two-year multiple entry visa, which is extendable for one more year.

In case of medical purpose entry, as many as three attendants of a patient would be entitled to visa.

Washington: Two top American Senators have introduced a legislation in the name of MalalaYousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani peace activist who was shot by the Taliban, to provide scholarship to girls from Pakistan.

Introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer and Mary Landrieu, the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act is designed to expand scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged young women in Pakistan. The Boxer-Landrieu bill would require a 30 per cent increase in the number of scholarships awarded under the program for the next four years, and that these additional scholarships be awarded solely to women.

The measure would also expand the range of academic disciplines that scholarship recipients could pursue to improve graduates' chances of obtaining meaningful employment.

"Malala Yousafzai bravely advocated for the education of women and girls, something that should be a basic

MalalaYousafzai

human right," Boxer said.

"This bill not only recognises Malala's incredible courage, but will ensure that more young women in Pakistan are able to pursue their dreams through higher education," she said. Malala was brutally attacked on October 9, 2012 by a Taliban gunman when she was returning from school. Currently, she is recovering from nearfatal injuries in UK. Senator Landrieu said, "Providing an education is absolutely critical for the future of every girl and society as a whole. When women and men have equal access to educational resources, economies flourish, families strengthen and societies move forward," she said.

Agni V at Indian R-Day parade unsettling: Pak daily

Islamabad: Now is not the time to whip up war clouds, said a Pakistani daily that described India showing the long range nuclear missile Agni V at its Republic Day parade as an "unsettling display of muscle flexing".

An editorial in the Daily Times on Monday said: "In an unsettling display of muscle flexing, neighbouring India paraded its newest long range nuclear missile Agni V that reportedly can hit anywhere in China and even as far off as some areas in Europe."

"The occasion was India's Republic Day and it was marked by a barely diplomatic choice of words when Indian President Pranab Mukherjee stated that India was ready to extend the hand of friendship to Pakistan but that the friendship should not be ‘taken for granted'," it added.

That Pranab Mukherjee should "speak so harshly and hastily after the recent hostilities at the Line of Control (LoC) is surprising". IndiaPakistan relations took a hit

after New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of brutally killing two Indian soldiers close to the LoC on Dec 8 and beheading one of them.

The chopped head was carried away.

ment highlights the growing concern about the nuclear arms race in the region, especially between two neighbours as bitterly divided in the past as Pakistan and India," said the daily.

Pakistan accused Indian troops of killing two Pakistani soldiers on two separate days.

"It is also extremely alarming that the Indian president decided to use such deliberately scorching words on the day his country was exhibiting a mighty nuclear weapon - intimidation or threat? This particular state-

It went on to say that the peace process that the two countries laboured so meticulously over after a tense silence following the Mumbai attacks in 2008 is "an effort that must be nurtured and seen through".

"Just getting both countries to the table, willing to approach their respective

issues with ears and minds open is achievement enough.

Seeing it through is the real challenge. And it is this challenge that many of the detractors of the peace process wish to sabotage in any way possible," it added.

The daily stressed that the Indian authorities should look into the possibility that non-state actors may have carried out the attack on their soldiers.

"Those who have a stake in the peace process and composite dialogue between India and Pakistan must understand that maturity, humility and a real commitment to preserving the delicate balance needs to exist if non-state actors are to be defeated.

"A bilateral settlement between both sides must be initiated instead of the blame game that is being touted.

Now is not the time to whip up war clouds because, if real, effective communication is not established, then the bigger picture is lost."

world

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

In Focus Brazil nightclub fire kills 245 teenagers

Sao Paulo: At least 245 people, mostly teenagers, were killed and over 200 injured in a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria on Saturday, raising serious questions about public safety in Brazil ahead of the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The inferno started during a fireworks show while a band was playing in the club on Saturday night. As fireworks hit the ceiling of the club packed with 2,000 teenagers, the soundproofing material made of foam caught fire and within minutes the club was engulfed in flames and smoke. Most casualties were due to asphyxiation or being trampled to death.

Indian-Filipino couple jailed for kissing in Dubai

London: A couple, a 28year-old Indian man and a 25-year-old Filipino woman, has been jailed for a year for kissing in public on a Dubai beach. The couple was spotted 'wrestling' by an Emirati child told his mother and who thereby called the police. Despite admitting to police upon their arrest that they were a couple, the man and woman pleaded not guilty to kissing in public. The man argued that he was performing CPR on his colleague who had suffered an asthma attack. The couple confessed to drinking alcohol without a licence.

The Dubai Court sentenced them to 12 months in jail.

China flexes military muscle

Beijing: China successfully tested an indigenouslybuilt freight plane capable of airlifting tanks and combat troops to difficult and inaccessible mountainous areas like its Tibet border with India.

The transporter, Y-20, puts China in the exclusive club of countries having large air lifters like the US’ C-17 and Russia’s Il-76. The Y-20 is also likely to cause a cringe in Tokyo and Manila, which are involved in island disputes with China. This is the second major piece of military hardware that China is showcasing since the recent launch of its first aircraft carrier.

Plane with 21 crashes in Kazakhstan

Almaty (Kazakhstan): A passenger jet with 15 passengers and six crew members on board crashed on Tuesday in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, Interfax quoted sources and aviation officials as saying.

The jet, whose make or operator was not immediately made clear, went down in the southeast of the ex-Soviet nation.

Starving North Koreans eating own kids, corpses Pyongyang: Reports from the secretive famine-hit pariah state, North Korea, claim a man has been executed after murdering his two children for food.

Shocking reports claim North Koreans are turning to cannibalism, including details of one man who dug up his grandchild's corpse to eat and another who boiled his child and ate the flesh. Details of the incidents were reported by the Asia Press. They claim a 'hidden famine' in the farming provinces of North and South Hwanghae has killed 10,000 people, and there are fears that cannibalism is spreading throughout the country.

The reports come as sanctions are tightened against the backdrop of

N Korea's leader Kim Jong-un

angry rhetoric over missile testing. The litany of horrors was documented by Asia Press and is considered credible. Interviews have led Asia Press to conclude that probably more than 10,000 people have died in North and South Hwanghae provinces, south of Pyongyang, the capital.

North Korea has not confirmed or denied any reports of the deaths. One

informant, based in South Hwanghae, said: "In my village in May, a man who killed his own two children and tried to eat them was executed by a firing squad.

While his wife was away on business he killed his eldest daughter and, because his son saw what he had done, he killed his son as well.

When the wife came home, he offered her food, saying: 'We have meat'. But his wife, suspicious, notified the ministry of public security, which led to the discovery of part of their children's bodies under the eaves."

Another of the citizen journalists, Gu Gwang-ho, said: "There was an incident when a man was arrested for digging up the grave of his grandchild and eating the remains."

Emergency imposed in Egypt after clashes kill dozens

Cairo: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities along the Suez Canal where dozens of people have been killed over the past four days in protests that his allies say are designed to overthrow him. Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 people killed there when locals angered by a court decision went on the rampage as antigovernment protests spread around the country.

A total of 49 people have been killed recently and Morsi's opponents, who accuse his Islamist Muslim Brotherhood of betraying the revolution that ousted long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, have called for

Mohamed Morsi

more demonstrations.

"Down, down Morsi, down down the regime that killed and tortured us!" people in Port Said chanted as the coffins of those killed were carried through the streets.

Morsi, who was elected in June, is trying to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary poll in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

Repeated eruptions of violence have weighed heavily on the Egyptian pound.

In a televised address, he said a nightly curfew would be introduced in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, starting Monday.

Several hundred people protested in Ismailia, Suez and Port Said after the announcement, in which Morsi also called for a dialogue with top politicians.

Activists in the three cities vowed to defy the curfew in protest at the decision.

23

Headley gets 35 years in jail for Mumbai terror attack

Chicago: Pakistani American David Headley, who played a key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, received a 35 year jail term from a judge who said the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative should be "under lock and key for the rest of his life".

Headley, 52, the Washington-born son of a Pakistani diplomat and an American mother, faced life imprisonment without parole, but US District Judge Harry Leinenweber gave him a lesser sentence in line with the prosecution's recommendations.

Citing the "significant cooperation" provided by Headley to US government's efforts to combat terrorism, US federal prosecutors had sought only 30 to 35 years in prison for him.

Before imposing the 35year prison term, the judge said he wanted to make sure Headley, who had changed his given name of Dawood Gilani to scout targets in Mumbai without arousing suspicion, is "never in a position again to commit a terrorist attack", the Chicago Tribune reported.

Leinenweber was skeptical of a letter that Headley recently wrote to him. "I don't have any faith in Mr Headley when he says he's a changed person," the judge said.

Headley should be "under lock and key for the rest of

David Headley

his life", Leinenweber said.

In the letter, Headley claimed he was learning to embrace "American values" and coming to grips with how he was convinced to plan terrorist attacks under the guise of religious obligation, Leinenweber said.

"Headley's letter to the judge expressed his sincere remorse," Robert Seeder, one of Headley's attorney, told reporters after the sentencing.

"He did explain in that letter what led him to this and how sorry he was.

And I think we'll leave it at that," he was quoted as saying by the Tribune.

India to continue to press for Headley extradition: India said that it would continue to press for the extradition of Headley and would have sought more punishment had he been tried in India. India’s external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said: "Had we tried him we would have sought much more."

24

IndIa

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Jethmalani, Yashwant bat for 'secular' Modi as PM

Supporting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, party MPs Yashwant Sinha and Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday said Modi was "secular" and the party should convince allies like JD-U of his suitability.

"Modi in my definition of secularism is 100 per cent secular and his enemies and detractors have done their best to silence him by disseminating untruth and creating false evidence supporting their false claims. I believe he is impeccably secular," Jethmalani told reporters.

A day after Sinha openly backed Modi's projection as the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate for 2014, Jethmalani seconded his opinion.

"Narendra bhai is the best prime minister of the country, nothing has happened to change my mind.

Yashwant Sinha has supported my view, and I am very happy," said the Rajya Sabha member who has been suspended from the BJP. The Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the second largest party in the BJP-led

Narendra Modi

National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has been against projecting Modi for the top post, as he has been involved in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Asked if the JD-U could walk out over Modi's projection, Jethmalani said: "I don't think that will happen, but if it happens, let it happen."

"Tomorrow if like my friend (JD-U chief) Sharad Yadav, some new gem of purist race turns up and declares he is also an aspirant, there is enough time to evaluate his candidature."

"This is democracy, everybody has the right to proclaim his candidature, but at the present moment I still think Modi is the best and Sharad Yadav has said nothing to the contrary," Jethmalani said.

Sinha said, "The BJP

leaders should try to convince the JD-U leaders that Modi is secular and walking out of the alliance is not good". He said it was he who forged the alliance when JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was in the Samata Party.

"The alliance has stood the test of time despite some differences," he said.

On the charges against Modi, Sinha said: "The 2002 riots were unfortunate but they have been attached to Modi deliberately."

"But the situation is different in Gujarat.

Muslims also voted for Modi in substantial numbers," Sinha said.

In an interview, party president Rajnath Singh said: "No one can deny that Modi is an extremely popular leader at the national level. But, the parliamentary board will take the decision on the issue of projecting a prime ministerial candidate."

Similar sentiments were expressed by Venkaiah Naidu, BJP's central parliamentary board member, who said a decision in this regard would be taken at an appropriate time.

India slams Pakistan minister's 'concern' for Shah Rukh Khan

The Indian government as well as the political class on Tuesday slammed Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik's unsolicited statement asking India to provide security to Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, stating that India was fully capable of looking after the security of its citizens.

"We are quite capable of taking care of the security of our citizens....

Pakistan need not worry about it," Union home secretary R K Singh told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.

Malik had, while interacting with reporters at a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal in Islamabad, said: "He (Shah Rukh Khan) is born Indian and he would like to remain Indian, but I will

Shah Rukh Khan

request the government of India (to) please provide him security".

Malik was reacting to a first-person account by the actor in an Indian magazine focusing on his experiences as a Muslim in the post 9/11 world.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said Malik would rather worry about the security of its own citizens, considering the fragile state of Pakistan's internal security.

"We all know what is going on in Pakistan.

Pakistan has no right to say anything about any Indian.

Even when Pakistan artistes come here, we provide them security. Muslims are safest in India," said Alvi.

Rebuffing Malik for his remark, the BJP said Pakistan must stay away from meddling in India's internal affairs. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Khan said India should send a stern message to Islamabad on the issue.

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Pakistan should worry about the security of its own minorities. "We are a secular country," he said, in a snub to the Pakistani minister.

Incidentally, on Sunday, Jamaat-ud Dawa chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed had also asked Shah Rukh Khan to move to Pakistan if he did not feel safe in India.

BJP threatens to block Parliament if Shinde not sacked The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) threatened to block proceedings in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament if India’s home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was not sacked over his controversial 'Hindu terror' remark.

BJP president Rajnath Singh said Shinde would have to go because his remark has caused nationwide outrage. He was addressing party supporters at Jantar Mantar in

New Delhi.

"Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh must apologise for the Shinde’s chaotic remark.

Sonia Gandhi will have to come out and clarify Shinde's statement. We will not let the upcoming parliament session function if Shinde is not sacked," said Singh.

"BJP doesn't discriminate anyone or do politics on the basis of caste, race and religion. But Congress

is doing dirty vote bank politics. The home minister's remark has hurt the sentiments of the patriotic people of the country," he added.

Shinde had made the controversial remark on the final day of the Congress Party's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur. He had accused the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of holding terror-training camps and promoting "Hindu terrorism" in the country.

The Story of Indra and Baka –II time we saw that Indra asked the rishi LBakaast what are the joys of a

long life. Baka answered, “O Indra the one who grows his own food and eats it even if it is once in eight days and is not dependant for his existence on anyone is a happy or ‘sukhi’ person. The one who first feeds his guests, his animals, his forefathers or ‘pitrus’, and then eats the rest will always be happy. Further the food must not be too tasty and full of spices.”

“If a man is choosy in the friends he keeps and does not waste his time in worthless pleasures then a long life will always be full of joy and peace. A long life sweeps away the fear of death; one does not count one’s days. Yet one can remain happy if one is totally independent. If we have to depend on someone for our existence then after sometime the other person will feel that we are a parasite.

Indra then left the rishi’s ashram and went to the heavens.

What is the inner meaning in this simple story from the Mahabharata? Indra came to the earth. He went

to the rishi Baka’s ashram and asked him two questions. The rishi Baka was more than a lakh years old and so Indra tested him by asking him first what are the sufferings of such a long life and what are the joys of such a long life.

The rishi is one who practices tapas and austerities to rise above both pain and happiness, to be able to reach a state where both are in balance. Sri Krishna calls this as ‘samatvam yoga uchyate’ or the yoga of balance. Indra tested the rishi but from the rishi’s reply he saw that the rishi was still stuck in the opposites of pain and pleasure.

A long life does guarantee spiritual progress.

The word Baka means to chatter as we say ‘baka

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

Justice Verma panel gets tough on sexual crimes, but rejects death for rape In keeping with the public outrage over Nirbhaya's gang rape, the Justice J S Verma Committee has raised the bar of punishment for a wide range of existing and proposed sexual offences even as it rejected the demand for introducing death for rape.

The report, released last week, has proposed codification of a stringent alternative to the life sentence, evolved through judicial activism in the last five years. Unlike the existing life sentence in which the convict is likely to be released after 14 years, at the discretion of the government, the Verma Committee's alternative would statutorily bar him from being released for 20 years or for "the rest of that person's natural life".

This new variety of 'long life' or 'whole life' sentence has been recommended for aggravated forms of sexual assault: rape causing death or persistent vegetative state, gang rape, repeat offenders of rape, rape of an underage person followed by death or coma, trafficking by a public servant or of a minor.

In another innovation, the committee has proposed that for several sexual offences, besides being

baka’. Thus the rishi was not free of the chatter of the mind or the inner monologue which goes on automatically in all of us.

The first step in calming the mind leading to rising above the opposites is to calm the inner monkey which chatters continuously.

The word Indra means the lord of the senses or ‘indriyon’. It also means one who has power. That is the energy of sensitivity.

We live in excitement. We need something to excite us all the time and if we are not excited we continuously chatter.

To move from excitement to sensitivity is to become Indra. To experience each moment of life as if it is fresh and virgin with no interference from the memory that this is old and repetitive is the shift from excitement to sensitivity. We see the same wife everyday but are never bored or do we feel repetitive. In the same face we see a new one every moment. This is the power of Indra or sensitivity.

awarded imprisonment, the convict should be rendered "liable to pay compensation to the victim, adequate to meet at least the medical expenses incurred by the victim".

The offences introduced by the committee include voyeurism, stalking, acid attack and most significantly, "breach of command responsibility", which makes senior officers of the police and security forces accountable for the sexual crimes committed by their subordinates.

The committee has also attacked some of the patriarchal features of the existing statute. It has suggested, what is effectively introduction of marital rape in India. For, the existing law penalizes marital rape only if the wife is below 15 years of age. While enlarging the current provision of molestation, the committee has also asked for the removal of the archaic expression: "outraging the modesty" of a woman.

SC rejects transfer of gang rape trial outside Delhi

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday rejected the plea of one of the six accused in the gang rapecum-murder case of 23year-old paramedical student to transfer the trial outside Delhi.

In his transfer petition, Mukesh claimed that the police and judicial officials in the Capital were under tremendous pressure due to regular protests in the city. He expressed his apprehension that a fair hearing was impossible as the protestors were already demanding death sentence for them and sought transfer of the case to Mathura, UP. "The sentiment has gone into the root of each home in Delhi by which even the judicial officers and the state are not spared and in these circumstances, he cannot get justice in Delhi at all," the petition added.

Gang rape beast a minor: The youngster described as the most brutal of the six accused is likely to get away with the mildest punishment - three years in a reform home. A juvenile justice board on Monday accepted his school certificate and declared him juvenile, which means if found guilty, he will spend three years in a reformatory. The victim's family has expressed shock over the order.

indiA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Gujarat’s R-Day celebrations held in Dang district

Think of national festivals such as Republic Day and Independence Day and the first thing that comes to one’s mind is top Government officials unfurling the tricolour in the confines of the state capital. This is followed by routine performances by school children and the celebration concludes.

Gujarat also celebrated national holidays in this mundane manner till Narendra Modi ushered in a breath of fresh air and started a completely revolutionary practice of celebrating these occasions of national pride and honor.

Now every national occasion, be it Republic Day or Independence Day is celebrated in one of the districts of Gujarat among the people. Modi, top

Gujarat Governor Shrimati Kamla and Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the Republic Day function held at Ahwa in Dang district.

bureaucrats and other officials go to the respective district for the celebrations. The celebrations do not begin and end with flag hoisting but are spread across two days and involve series of programmes that showcase the cultural diversity of the district and the state

of Gujarat.

Continuing this practice, the state level celebrations of the 64th Republic Day were held in the Dang district from 25th to 26th January 2013 during which Modi attended several programmes, including a cultural programme, dedicated devel-

opment works and participated in the parade and Tricolour hoisting on the morning of 26th January.

As Modi himself pointed out, for a small Gram Panchayat (Ahwa) that is a part of a Tribal dominated district (Dang) to host the state level Republic Day celebrations is a remarkable feat in our nation’s history!

On 25th January Modi addressed youngsters at the Vivekananda Yuva Parishad in which he listed out the state government’s vision to strengthen Yuva Shakti and give a galaxy of opportunities to our youth.

He described the state’s Yuva Kaushalya Vardhan Kendras as model for the entire nation and distributed sports kits to youngsters.

Reset moral compass, Mukherjee tells people

The Chief Guest of Republic Day, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Bhutan Queen, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck with the Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on January 26.

Continued from page 1 The state-of-the-art missile, which was successfully flight tested in the month of April last year, has provided the true deterrence capability and brought India at par with the elite group of advanced countries possessing this capability. A mini version of INS Vikramaditya which would join the Naval fleet by the end of this year was showcased to highlight Indian Navy’s blue water operating capability.

Mukherjee’s comments on the gang-rape victim come days after Congress President Sonia Gandhi had also empathized with the protestors. “The brutal rape and murder of a young woman, a woman who was symbol of all that new India strives to be, has left our hearts empty and our minds in turmoil. We lost more than a valuable life; we lost a dream. If today young Indians feel outraged, can we blame our youth? When we brutalize a woman, we wound the soul of our civilization,’’ he said.

He added, “Nothing should be allowed to spur

cynicism, as cynicism is blind to morality. We must look deep into our conscience and find out where we have faltered. The solutions to problems have to be found through discussion and conciliation of views. People must believe that governance is an instrument for good and for that, we must ensure good governance.’’

Warning that “Naxalite violence’’ could acquire a dangerous dimension, the President said, “The results of our policies should be seen in our villages, farms and factories, schools and hospitals… .Figures mean nothing to those who do not benefit from them. We must act immediately, otherwise the current pockets of conflict, often described as "Naxalite" violence, could acquire far more dangerous dimensions.’’

Referring to the recent tension between India and Pakistan, Mukherjee said, “In the recent past, we have seen serious atrocities on the Line of Control on our troops. Neighbours may have disagreements; tension can be a subtext of frontiers. But sponsorship of terrorism through nonstate actors is a matter of

deep concern to the entire nation. We believe in peace on the border and are always ready to offer a hand in the hope of friendship. But this hand should not be taken for granted.’’

The DRDO put on display the Armoured Amphibious Dozer (AAD), an indigenously developed versatile Combat Engineer support equipment with excellent earth moving and amphibious capabilities in varied terrain. Besides Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System and Naval Sonar was also on display on Rajpath by DRDO. The weaponry put on display by the Indian Army includes the Main Battle Tank ‘Arjun’, APC Ambulance tracked, the only Super Sonic Cruise Missile Brahmos Weapon System, Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) Recce Vehicle, Sarvatra Bridge, Mobile Integrated Network Terminal (MINT) and Radio Trunking System Mk-II (RTS Mk-II).

The Indian Air Force showcased its latest acqui-

sitions on its tableau. It comprises the new basic trainer aircraft, the Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II and the new VIP helicopter, the Augusta Westland AW101. It also showcased the indigenous ‘eyes in the sky’ atop the Embraer 145, Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and the strategic heavy lift aircraft, C-17 GlobemasterIII, which entered service by the middle of this year.

The parade ceremony commenced at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate where the prime minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying wreath. As per tradition, after unfurling of the National Flag, the National Anthem was played. The parade then commenced and the President took the salute.

This year’s Chief Guest in the parade was His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, the King of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.

R-Day celebrations were held in various state capitals and abroad wherever Indians are staying by hoisting the national flag, singing national anthem and other cultural activities.

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Scientists, film stars, athletes on Padma list Legendary matinee idol late Rajesh Khanna, director of “Sholay” fame Ramesh Sippy, actresses Sharmila Tagore and Sridevi, cricketer Rahul Dravid, Olympic bronze medallist M C Mary Kom, satirist late Jaspal Bhatti and renowned painter S Haider Raza and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra are among the 108 distinguished persons from various walks of life who will be feted with Padma awards – India’s civilian honour - for 2013.

The list of awardees, announced by the government on the eve of the Republic Day on Friday, also includes noted physicist Yash Pal, space scientist Roddam Narasimha, DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat (scientific advisor to the defence minister), missile scientist A Sivathanu Pillai (BrahMos CEO), physicist Ashoke Sen, poet-lyricist Nida Fazli and actor Nana Patekar.

Yash Pal, Narasimha, Mohapatra and Raza were chosen for this year's second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan.

Despite a clamour for honouring several big wigs like Sachin Tendulkar with the country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, the government didn’t select anyone for this category. Hindustani vocalist Bhimsen Joshi was the last recipient of this honour in 2009.

While Khanna, who passed away last July, Tagore and Dravid have been chosen for Padma Bhushan, others from the film industry, Sridevi, Patekar and Sippy will be awarded Padma Shri.

Khanna and Bhatti, who passed away in a road accident in Punjab last year, are among the five persons who have been selected for the civilian honour posthumously.

The others are social workers Manju Bharat Ram and Ram Krishan and educationist-Urdu poet from West Bengal Shaukat Riaz Kapoor alias Salik Lakhnawi.

Padma Shri for Reema Nanavaty: She left the

Rajesh Khanna

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1984 because she felt it was not important to stay in position to serve the poor and the strife-stricken. Almost 30 years later, Reema Nanavaty, 48, chairperson of Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre was conferred the Padma Shri by the President of India for her work and her mission for rural women.

In all four personalities were awarded Padma Vibhushan, 24 for Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri. Of the awardees 24 are women, 11 belong to the category of foreigners, NRI, PIOs and posthumous.

Among the foreigners, six are from the US, and one each from Bangladesh, Japan and the UK. Ace photographer Pablo Bartholomew of Delhi will get Padma Shri, but no journalist has been selected for the awards for second year running.

Janaki rejects award, says she deserves Bharat Ratna Well-known playback singer of South S Janaki rejected the Padma Bhushan award, for which she has been chosen, describing it “too late to come to her.” The ace singer said though she rejected the award “I am not finding fault with anyone for this late recognition. I have no grouse against the government. I was happy that the government has honoured me.” She said she had rendered thousands of songs in different languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi. There were appreciations from a large number of people, including Keralites. “I consider it as the highest award from the people of different parts of the country.”

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Kolkata girl is new Subhash Ghai heroine Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai's musical-thriller magnum opus 'Kaanchi' has finally found a face. It is Mishti, the 21- year- old, lighteyed girl from Kolkata. After a long and arduous audition period that saw over 240 girls vying for the opportunity, Subhash Ghai found his Kaanchi in Mishti. Paired alongside Kartik Tiwari, the lead from Kumar Mangat's ‘Aakash Vani,’ Subhash Ghai has once again invested his faith in new and upcoming talent, giving them the shot at fame that they deserve. ‘Kaanchi’ is set to go on the floors by Feb 18.

‘Kaanchi’ is the story of an innocent girl from Uttarkhand whose father, an ex-army man, gets shot. This event turns her life upside down and after a certain point.

Ayushmann wants to play real characters, not hero VJ-turned-actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who made a successful Bollywood debut with 'Vicky Donor', wants to play realistic characters onscreen and not the typical hero. He will be seen next in Rohan Sippy's directorial venture 'Nautanki Saala'.

Theatre being the backdrop of the film, the lead actors Ayushmann and Kunal - will be dressed up as 'nautanki walas', donning the traditional attire of folk drama artistes. It looks he will once again do something that will raise eyebrows, as he did in ‘Vocky Donor.’

Nayanthara in ‘Kahaani’ remake! ayanthara has been roped in to play the N lead in the remake of Hindi

super hit film “Kahaani.”

The film is to be remade in Tamil and Telugu simultaneously by acclaimed director Sekhar Kammula.

Nayanthara, expressing her excitement on being a part of the film, says that she is extremely lucky to have been approached for this role, which is performance oriented and that she will be seen in a completely different avatar! The director feels Nayanthara can express and connect well with the audience, which is why she had been finalized! The film will be co-produced in Tamil and Telugu. The story revolves around a pregnant woman, who is in search of her husband in Kolkata. It is a woman-centric movie, in which Vidya Balan played the lead.

mala Paul, that “crazy, happy, friendly” girl is back after a A month-long schedule in Thailand and

Bangkok. Talking about Allu Arjun her co-star Amala quips: “We became good friends and though it was physically tiring and challenging, I had a blast shooting in deep forest near Thailand. Amala who is referred as “mega heroine” of Tollywood is riding high after the success of “Naayak” has joined the shoot of Ilayathalapthy’s “Thalaivaa” in Mumbai. After a two weeks shoot, she will be flying to Spain for the songs. Amala’s career is going great guns and when quizzed why she said no to Pawan Kalyan next, she reasons with a naughty smile: “I don’t want to be greedy. Jokes apart, there were dates issue and I hope to work with him in future.”

Imran-Kareena to pair up again Actor Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor will be paired for the second time in Karan Johar's movie titled “Gori Tere Pyar Mein.” Director Punit Malhotra is all set to make his second film with Kareena and Imran after “Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu.” "After a long wait and lot of brainstorming, producer Karan Johar and director Punit Malhotra have finally decided to title Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor starrer film as 'Gori Tere Pyar Mein'," sources close to the project said. To be produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the film will go on floors from March this year.

Shah Rukh Khan first Indian actor to appear on Forbes cover The king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan will soon be appearing on the cover page of Forbes magazine. The upcoming edition will list out the names of the 100 most powerful people in India. A source close to the magazine said, “In the four years since Forbes has entered the Indian market, SRK will be the first actor on the cover page.”

Marriage won't affect my work: Vidya Balan

Newly wed Vidya Balan, who stars opposite Emraan Hashmi in upcoming comedy 'Ghanchakkar', says that her marriage won't have a bearing on her career in Bollywood. When asked if she would be ok doing bold roles or kissing scenes post marriage, Vidya said, "I am an actor and I am married are two different things. Both of us (Siddharth and I) respect each other and our work.

"The comedy directed by Rajkumar Gupta releases on June 21."This film is special in a way as it's releasing after marriage.

It was great working with Emraan this time," she said.

‘Special 26’ releases on 8th Feb

One of the most compelling Bollywood heists dramas of 2013 and based on real life events, Neeraj Pandey's “Special 26” releases in the UK and Worldwide on 8th February 2013. The movie is presented by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Tip Top Entertainment. The crime action drama stars Akshay Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Jimmy Shergill, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher and Divya Dutta, with music by M.M. Kreem and Himesh Reshammiya.

Set in the early 80s, “Special 26” is inspired by a real life collective of con artists who pulled off a

string of intelligently calculated robberies targeting famous business personalities and politicians by posing as CBI or Income Tax Officers, on the pretext of conducting raids to uncover hoardings of black money. The police are close on their heels and a brilliant cat-and-mouse game unfolds, with each side’s gain only proving to be temporary, as the master criminal minds are pitted against the diligent perseverance of the law enforcers. Only the side that can out-think and outmanoeuvre the other will emerge victorious.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

Bad Boy Karthi is now a Good Boy

espite doing some highly experimental and off beat kind of D films, Ranbir Kapoor has managed to

K

arthi was portrayed as a bad boy in his latest "Alex Pandian" with Anushka and Santhanam. This young actor's next film in the making is "All in All Azhagu Raja" for which the director is Rajesh. Sources say that the fans will see the total opposite of what Karthi was in "Alex Pandian." "He will essay the role of a very good boy in the film.

The character (Azhagu Raja) will be liked by everybody. He will be an obedient son to his parents, a truthful boyfriend and a helpful friend. He doesn't even utter any harsh words! In his past few films, Karthi has been playing roles with negative shades. Audience will get to see a refreshingly new Karthi as Azhagu Raja.

Mom pressing pressing Mom me to to get get me married: Soha Soha married: Ever since her brother Saif Ali Khan’s marriage to Kareena Kapoor in October last year, actor Soha Ali Khan has been bombarded with questions about her own marriage. Soha, who is in a relationship with actor Kunal Khemu for four years, admits that there is a lot of pressure to settle down, especially from her mom, Sharmila Tagore.

“She is after my life to get married but that has never made a difference. She is certain not getting hitched this year. Regarding her sister-in-law Kareena, Soha says, “I have known her for five years now. Her life revolves around her work and my brother. They complement each other very well and make a good couple."

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he may have made her Bollywood S debut with superstar

Shah Rukh Khan and worked with biggies like Amitabh Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan but actress Deepika Padukone feels that she is still not a star.

"I don`t think I am a star, I consider myself like any other girl who is of my age. Others may be working in office and doing different jobs. Similarly I don`t think I am doing something different.

I am also working. For me it is like I am doing something that I love and enjoy just like others do. I don`t see anything different," Deepika said in an interview. From her debut film `Om Shanti Om` in 2007 to her upcoming release ‘Race 2,’ Deepika`s journey has been eventful having worked with the likes of Prakash Jha and Imtiaz Ali. "It has been learning experience. Every film teaches you something and working with different co-stars will also teach you something. You learn something new. I think the challenge is to keep working harder and doing better. I am enjoying my work," she said. “I feel today I have become a lot more comfortable. I think hard work and always trying to better myself is something that is an on-going process," she added.

maintain an astonishing success rate, and ‘Rockstar’ followed by ‘Barfi’ are the perfect examples, as both of them were big hits! No wonder then that his next, ‘Besharam,’ is indeed a project that most of the discerning audience will look forward to, and especially those who are thirsting to see more of Rishi-Neetu after their superb cameo in ‘Jab tak hai Jaan.’ Yes, indeed for those who do not know, ‘Besharam’ becomes all the more special because it unites for the first time super star, Ranbir Kapoor with his star parents, the much loved reel and real life couple, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh.

The good news is that the film is complete and will be released this year. Talking to the media recently about his parent's role in the film, Ranbir said, "Both of them are essaying very interesting characters. Dad essays the role of a Haryanvi cop, mom is a police inspector, and I essay the role of a car thief."

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ontroversial Pakistani actor and model Veena Malik’s TV ‘Swayamvar’ never really took off, but that hasn’t stopped her from embarking on a hunt for a man. This time, she’s looking for a costar for her upcoming film, ‘The City That Never Sleeps.’ Veena will choose one person to act opposite her. “Hers will be the last word,” says Reddy, the producer of the film. That’s not all, another actor, a singer and an item girl will also be selected in a similar manner.

“Hollywood actor Jeremy Williams will choose an actor opposite him. Singer Taz of Stereo Nation will select a singer for the film, while choreographer Longinus Fernandes will pick an item girl for one of the songs,” says Reddy.

Aspirants for the acting, singing as well as dancing parts can apply online for a chance to win any of the contests, R e d d y says.

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travel & women

Paradise on earth The Indian Ocean Islands

or the most idyllic and luxurious escapes imaginable, think of the Indian Ocean islands – the Maldives and Mauritius.

Imagine sunlit days, romantic walks along soft sandy beaches, warm breezy evenings, exotic culture and cuisines, and

even at distances of fifty metres away.

Mauritius – known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean , is an idyllic island with perfect sunny weather most of the year. As well as the amazing lagoons and coral reefs there are top sightseeing

sipping cocktails against the backdrop of stunning sunsets. All of the islands offer fantastic weather almost all year round and the perfect setting to relax and recuperate. Uniquely placed, these islands are home to some of the friendliest, and happiest, people one could possible meet. Complete relaxation is order of the day as you lounge under the bright blue skies and crisp clear water of these paradise isles.

The Maldives, with deep blue seas and white sandy beaches fringed with palm trees, you can’t help but fall in love with the tranquil horizon views over the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives is made up of 1,190 coral islands which encircle turquoise blue lagoons. About 200 of these islands are inhabited with exciting sights and fascinating cultures to discover. A major attraction of the islands is the underwater life, which you can discover by boat tours, snorkelling or diving. The warm seas of the Maldives have high visibility throughout the year, with water is so clear one can see over 3000 beautiful coral reef formations, and watch fish swim by

spots like the buzzing nightlife of Grand Baie, bustling markets of the Goodlands, and for nature lovers, visit Casela Bird Park. For shopaholics, you can pick up some excellent designer clothes at discounted prices in the city centre malls.

brand Grande Jiva Spa offering heavenly treatments. A 7 night stay B&B at the Taj Exotica including Emirates flights and transfers starts from £1929pp, valid until 15 July 2013.

Lux Grande Gaube, Mauritius a 5-star beach hotel with stunning ocean views and unparalleled natural beauty. Their spa LUX* Me offers something a little different. You can personalise a rejuvenation program with a unique 'Me Time' menu, designed to tailor-make an experience just for you from indulgent treatments to spiritual relaxation and exercise classes. Enjoy up to a 70% discount for the 2nd person per night and free nights offers e.g. stay 10 nights, pay for only 7 & enjoy a free massage for two! Y ou will also be treated to the following complimentary package when booking with Brightsun: a private romantic dinner for two, cooking class, welcome gift including a bottle of sparkling wine, honeymoon cake and more. A 7

Brightsun have some exclusive offers to the Indian Ocean including : Taj Exotica Maldives, voted number two out of the “Top 100 Hotels & Resorts in the World” by Conde Nast Traveller Reader’s Awards 2012.

This resort does not believe in self-serving buffets as they like to spoil their guests, every meal is á la carte and offers a range of delicious cuisines. Their restaurants have won worldwide accolades, as has their own

night stay with Half Board at the Lux Grand Gaube Mauritius including Emirates flights and transfers starts from £999pp, valid until 30 June 2013.

For all details and to book call the Brightsun Travel Tours team on 0208 819 0486.

Brightsun Travel offers a price match promise on worldwide flights and holidays so you will get the best deals. To book your dream holiday, call Brightsun Travel on 0208 819 0486 or visit www.brightsun.co.uk

www.abplgroup.com - asian voice 2nd February 2013

Sidi Saiyyed Mosque an architectural marvel

By AV Correspondent

he Sidi Saiyyed Mosque built in 1573 is one of T the most famous mosques

of Ahmedabad. As attested by the marble stone tablet fixed on the wall of the mosque, it was built by Sidi Saeed or Sidi Saiyyed, an Abyssinian in the retinue of Bilal Jhajar Khan, general in the army of the last Sultan Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah III of the Gujarat Sultanate.

The mosque was built in the last year of the Sultanate in Gujarat. The mosque is famous for beautifully carved stone latticework windows (jalis) on the side and rear arches. The rear wall is filled with square stone pierced panels in geometrical designs. The two bays flanking the central aisle have reticulated stone slabs carved in designs of intertwined trees and foliage and a palm motif.

This intricately carved stone window is the Siddi Sayyed jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design and the logo of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

The central window arch of the mosque, where one would expect to see another intricate jali, is instead walled with stone.

This is possibly because the mosque was not completed before the Mughals invaded Ahmedabad.

Thousands of tourists visit this mosque to see the art work from all over India and even from abroad.

The jali was basically made so that the mosque remains fully lighted from inside at all times of the Go green with this famous Mumbai snack – spinach, fenugreek leaves, green peas, capsicum, green tomatoes, all in one!

Cooking Time: 10-15 min Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 10-15 min Ingredients: Green gram (sabut moong)1/2 cup, Spinach leaves (palak), boiled and chopped 1/2 cup, Fenugreek leaves (methi), boiled 3 tablespoons, Green capsicum, chopped ½, Green peas shelled 1/4 cup, Green tomatoes, pureed 4 medium Cauliflower, grated 1/2 cup, Potato, Boiled, peeled and grated 1 Brown bread pavs 8, oil 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon, Butter 3 tablespoons+ a dollop Ginger-garlic paste 2 tablespoons, Green chilli paste 1 tablespoon, Onion ,finely chopped 1 medium, Pav bhaji masala 2 tablespoons, Salt to taste Lemon 1, Onion ,finely

day. The size of this artistic jali is around 16 feet and is in semi circular shape. It is situated at the height of around 20 feet above the ground level. The art work on this jali is so fine that the magnifying glass is required to view its internal intricate design in detail. The design consists of the flowers arrangement in various symmetrical shapes. Some of the portion of this jali also shows the events of the famous war between the King of Ahmedabad and the Rajput Solanki rulers of other towns in Gujarat.

The jali is made of smooth white stones and the fine engraving is done with the human hands. It took around 6 years to get this jali completed. Around 45 main artists worked on it, day and night. And the result, what we see is simply out of the world. It is a unique Muslim architectural piece. Its replicas have been put in various famous museums at Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Ajmer. This mosque and the fine art work are maintained by the Archeological department of India. It remains open on all week days except on Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm for the

public view.

Though, the entire mosque is having a very small area, and there is nothing extraordinary in this mosque, the tourists come here only to view the jali. This jail is designated as one of the national monument of friendship and love. Hence, whenever any guest, invited by the government arrives to see this art work, they are presented with the smaller size silver replica of this jali as a token of love and friendship between the two countries. Such silver replica was presented to Queen Elizabeth of England when she visited Ahmedabad by the then Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. There is also a small shop at this mosque, which sells the smaller size wooden replicas of this art work along with the photographs of this fine art piece. Tourists can easily reach the city of Ahmedabad by air, train or by bus service. Ahmedabad has an international airport and there are regular flights from USA, London, Australia, and the Middle East countries for Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is also connected by train from major cities of India.

Hariyali Pav Bhaji

chopped 1 small.

Method: Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a non-stick pan.

Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute.Add green chilli paste, mix and sauté for 2 minutes. Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes or till pink. Grind spinach and fenugreek leaves with a little water into a fine paste.Add capsicum, green peas and cauliflower in the pan, mix well, mash and cook for 45 minutes. Add pureed tomatoes, mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add ground paste, mix well and add pav bhaji masala, salt and 2 tablespoons butter.

Mix well, cover and cook

for 8-10 minutes, stirring once a while. Add potato, sprouts, mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add ½ cup water, mix again and switch off heat.

Health benefits: One cup of spinach has nearly 20% of the RDA of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 2nd February 2013

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Are anti-ageing products bad for you in the long run?

nti-ageing-cream makes lofty promises of A taking the years off your

face, of reversing the clock and making your partner fall in love with you “all over again”. But be careful before reaching out for anti-ageing products.

Dermatologists say that such products could actually end up harming your skin. Notwithstanding the fact that many such creams, gels and other products are medically proved to yield good results, doctors say that they should still be taken under medical supervision because sometimes the results can be disastrous – and one may actually invite a host of harmful side effects in the bargain.

“The lure of anti-ageing creams lies in the fact that they are seemingly less complicated than a cosmetic surgery, a botox treatment or some other procedure in the ultimate run to regain a youthful look. It’s also less expensive,” said Shweta Mehra, a beauty consultant based in Delhi. ”But what people forget is that one’s skin is very specific to a person and you cannot expect the same results for everyone.

While some creams do give visible results, there are also cases in which the skin texture of a person has changed over prolonged use of a particular product that didn’t suit her,” she added.

Explaining the science behind the work of antiageing products, Ranjan Upadhyay, consultant in the dermatology department of Max hospital, said: “As we age, the turnover of our skin cells reduces, and anti-ageing creams regulate this turnover.” ”So some products are medically proved to increase the glow of the skin and rejuvenate. For instance, lactic acid in a product can have some good effects.

But it should not be more than two percent in the product composition.

Then, peptide in mixed serums is good, and so is alpha hydroxy acid,” he added. Some of the prod-

ucts that form a part of the composition of anti-ageing products, like hyaluronic acid, are used by dermatologists in procedures.

“Injecting hyaluronic acid has a collagen stimulating effect that helps in removing wrinkles. Some serums contain this.

Similarly, vitamin C preparations improve pigmentation. There are others that are dermatologically tested to prove the rejuvenating effect,” R.K. Joshi, senior dermatologist at Apollo hospital, told IANS. ”Having said that, one should be careful before trying an anti-ageing product because there are many factors at play. For instance, your skin type – there is dry , oily, normal and combination skin, and the same product may not be suitable for all,” he added.

Your hormonal balance is another crucial factor. ”There are certain creams recommended for premenopausal women, when the hormonal balance is disturbed. The age bracket therefore is the late 30s to 40s. Also, if you have any endocrine problem, you may need certain creams.

But please don’t blindly follow any advertisement that tells you to go for such products when you are nearing 30, or be guided by the brand or price of a product – if you are healthy, your body will take care of your skin’s needs,” Joshi further said.

Warning against ads that show western women and men, he further said that their skin texture is different from Indians’ and therefore similar results should not be expected. ”Ultimately, these creams contain chemicals and can even change the tissue texture. Further, if it doesn’t suit you, it may be carcinogenic in the long run,” Joshi said.

Harping on the fact that anti-ageing creams should be used under supervision, Upadhyay rolled out some more possible side effects: “Overusage of such creams can cause acne, and a dependency can lead to rashes.

eloquent about the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids.

If we were to do a random search for benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, you would start believing that they are the elixir of life. It is said that they can make you smarter, prevent heart disease, boost your memory, cut down the damages caused due to smoking and help repair cells and a lot more. So, is there any truth to these claims?

Let’s find out more about these miracle-nutrients!

What are omega 3 fatty acids?

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids (‘essential’ because they cannot be synthesized by the human body). From where does my body get Omega 3 fatty acid?

Fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, herring, etc. are great sources. A form of the fatty acid called the ALA is found in soybean, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, spinach, walnuts and salad greens.

How do Omega 3 fatty acids benefit our health?

Improves blood cholesterol levels: According to studies, fish, fish oil and walnuts can decrease triglyceride levels. People

urning calories to lose weight doesn't stop at B the daily workout. If a

healthy life is what you are after, then introduce healthy 10 minute fitness activities to your day and you'll find that you feel fitter, more energetic and healthier. An active lifestyle provides you with a range of health benefits like lower heart disease risk, protection from obesity, and general good moods. Today, we're talking about a few 10 minute fitness activities that will enhance your daily workouts and balanced eating. Let's begin...

1. Be a kid: Dietitian Eileen Canday says, "Play with your pet or your kid every morning.

This requires loads of running around which will help you to lose some quick calories and excess fat."

She further says, "Include games wherein you sweat, like football or basketball.

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HEALTH & VITALITY Tablets

who eat fatty fish tend to have increased HDL cholesterol and decreased triglycerides.

Prevents heart disease: A diet low in saturated fat and rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (including omega-3 fatty acids) helps prevent heart disease.

Regulates important physiological functions: Some studies suggest that omega 3 fats play an important role in the pro-

duction of prostaglandins which are known to regulate important physiological functions like blood pressure, blood clotting, nerve transmission, allergic responses, etc.

Helps improve symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Various studies have found that fish oil supplements EPA and DHA significantly reduced stiffness and joint pain of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

They also seem to enhance

the efficacy of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Reduces depression levels: Researchers have found that people eating foods with high levels of omega-3s have lower levels of depression. Fish oil also seems to increase the effects of anti-depressants and help reduce mood swings.

Increase bone strength: Omega-3 fatty acids may help increase calcium levels in the body thereby improving bone strength, although not all results were positive.

Protection against Dementia and Alzheimer’s: Decreased intake of omega3 fatty acids is associated with increased risk of dementia. Scientists believe that omega-3 fatty acid DHA is protective against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Reduces risk of cancer: An omega-3 fatty acid rich diet seems to reduce the risk and prevents worsening of colon cancer.

Women who eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids over many years may be less likely to develop breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Slows aging: According to researchers, taking enough omega-3 fatty acid supplements could slow a key biological process linked to aging.

Playing with your kid will help you to be fit and healthy."

2. Skip the elevator: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. You must have heard this a million times by now, but how often do you do it? This activity will help you combat a sedentary lifestyle since urban living involves entering several buildings each day.

3. Hop a little: Remember the nursery rhyme - hop a little, jump a little? This hop, skip exercise is also a very good 10 minute fitness activity to introduce to your day.

Whenever free, take a

skipping rope and skip for 10 minutes, this will help ward off lethargy and extra calories. Besides, it is also good for your heart, bones, flexibility and co-ordination. Hence, find an open space, take that rope and get going.

4.

Dance baby!

Everyone likes dancing and it is also one of the best ways to lose excess kilos.

All you have to do is put on your headphones, pump up some energetic music and

dance like no one's watching. Dancing even for 10 minutes will help. Besides, after a tiring day at work it will also energize you and your mood.

5. Stationery cycle: Tired after work, want to watch your favorite serial but at the same time don't want to lie down and be lethargic? Then park a stationery cycle in front of your TV. Pedal for at least 10 minutes and this is as good as running on the treadmill.

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

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Coming Events

Asian Voice Youth Conference Shaping Young Lives Asian Voice is organising a Youth Conference on Saturday 23 March 2013 for 15-25 year olds. The conference will begin at 11am and will continue into the afternoon. It will feature leading professionals from different walks of life who will share their personal experiences and offer practical advice on how young people can fulfil their aspirations and get ahead in the world of work. The conference will also include interactive sessions and mentoring opportunities.

This year we are hoping to attract a wide range of people and all youth within the age bracket are welcome. There will be various competitions to win prizes and opportunities to talk to successful and inspiring people in the field of your choice. We will also bring out a Youth pullout for the participants and young readers. If you wish to participate in this youth conference, please email aveditorial@abplgroup.com, with your full name, age, email address and phone number by 3 March 2013.

COMPETITION Want to win a 3 Months Free subscription of Hindi Basic GBP Package of Yupp tv? Choose the right answer for the following simple question Q: What is the offer currently going on in YuppTV? The winner will be chosen from the correct entry on first cum first basis. Email your answer to

nihir.shah@abplgroup.com

Warsi warns one in four people believe Islam is compatible with British way of life Fewer than one in four British voters believes following Islam is compatible with the British way of life, the UK's first Muslim woman Cabinet Minister revealed last week.

Baroness Warsi quoted private police figures which show that more than half of race hate attacks in Britain are against Muslims as she condemns critics of Islam for peddling 'hate'. In a

new speech she accused critics of Islam of being 'un-British' themselves by grouping ordinary Muslims with extremists.

An unrepentant Lady Warsi, whose parents emigrated from Pakistan, said that she was right to speak out before and will use the new evidence to warn that the 'underlying, unfounded mistrust' of Muslims is fuelling extremism.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

l Gujarat Hindu Society organises Youth Sports Festival, Sunday 24 February, 2013, 10am-4pm.

Juniors-8-11 years, Youth 12-14 yearsm Senior 1518 years. Entrance £1/per sport, sports include: Badminton, Table Yennis, Carom, Chess, Kho Kho, darts, Dodge Ball. Contact: 01772253901 l Shazia Mirza Cuckooland UK Tour 1 Feb: Oxford- North Hall 9 Feb: London- artsdepot 15 Feb: West Bromwich- The Public 17 Feb: Brighton- Komedia 21 Feb: Bath- Ustinov Studio Theatre Royal 24 Feb: Leicester- Just the Tonic For more information contact David Burnsdavid@davidburnspr.com l Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sat 2 Feb, 6:30pm, Bharatnatyam featuring Laksmi Kuhendran

Sikh family charged A Sikh family 'kidnapped and imprisoned' their female relative's secret boyfriend to stop them marrying, a court heard.

Paveet Landa's fled her home to escape an arranged marriage. But the 20-year-old's father, mother, older brother and other relatives traced the boyfriend to a Southall Sikh Temple, where he was trying to book them a marriage ceremony, and allegedly imprisoned him. Mr Singh, who eventually broke free and called police, a jury heard.

Next day, the morning of Paveet's wedding, they

allegedly kidnapped her friend Harjinder Singh at knifepoint and her father threatened to kill him if he did not disclose their whereabouts. Balvinder Singh, 42, Rani Landa, also 42, and Lakhanpal Landa, 21, have been charged with falsely imprisoning Ramanjit. They have also been charged with kidnapping Harjinder by force. Balvinder has also been charged with making a threat to kill Harjinder and unlawful possession of a knife. All plead not guilty.

The trial continues.

Restaurant competition winners: Chakra Q: Which show did Chef Andy Varma anchor in India every day? b. Good Morning India Winner: Vidhan Shah Zaman Q: What is the name of the chef of the restaurant Zaman? a. Mahmud Zaman Winner: Hasu Jadeja Namaaste Kitchen Q: What is the name of the Chef Patron of Namaaste Kitchen? b. Sabbir Karim Winner: Zulekha Bharmal

The opening up of a more diverse social life is a point in favour of romantic attachments, if this is what you most desire. The need to push ahead with personal interests and to assert yourself with added force will take precedence over everything else for some time to come. The general pattern of things continues on a progressive and buoyant theme.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Jupiter is transiting your solar second house for some time to come.

During this transit, you have the chance to make lots of money and improve your standard of living.

You are likely to feel more confident and enthusiastic about life. Your personal relationships are still going through a period of re-assessment.

Your horizons are most certainly expanding. Your philosophical thoughts will make your mind run wild. With Jupiter transiting your sign, there will be many opportunities. Your financial affairs are looking up. Do not miss out on ways to better yourself in the coming weeks.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

Although all kinds of opportunities are coming your way, there are many obstacles between you and the fulfilment of any of these.

You’re likely to find yourself weighing practical considerations with long–term goals. Some of you will try to get away from the routine chores.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

Business partnerships are tested, some of them could challenge your authority. The more you live up to your own set of principles the more you will gain.

Now is the time to cultivate an easier relationship with life, get out and about, explore fresh possibilities. Once you set your mind on a goal you must go for it.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 The Sun moves into your solar sixth house, the accent shifts to your job interests and physical welfare. Do not try to rush projects to completion - pace yourself sensibly. At the moment, relationships are experiencing major transformations - those with shaky foundations should be extra careful.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 The prevailing pattern of planets gives you a marvellous opportunity. Take time out to strengthen close ties of affection, sort out emotional differences and proffer the olive branch to anyone who may have caused you pain in recent months. Venus throws an easy light on affairs of the heart - prime time for engagements and weddings.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Don't be afraid to act forcefully if your instinct tells you it's time for change. If you know your ground and are not afraid to stick your neck out, you can create your own opportunities. Besides spending more time tending to domestic affairs, the focus can be on cultivating and nourishing your inner foundations, so to speak.

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 Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 Mobile: 07875 229 220 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Business Manager: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893 Email: alka.shah@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 Nihir Shah - Email: nihir.shah@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4089 - Mobile: 07875 229 111 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Kalpesh Shah Tel: 07539 88 66 44 Email: kalpesh.shah@abplgroup.com Design and Layout: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4096 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 The prevailing astrological trend indicates increasing vigour and stamina. At an ordinary everyday level you can expect this to be a pleasant time, indulging in the good things of life. At a deeper level, there does appear to be a new energy stirring within you. This will urge you towards creating greater independence in your lifestyle.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 The focus is on finances this week, but that doesn’t mean you should worry yourself sick. Rather, it is about finding new and improved ways to boost your earnings potential. Don’t let nebulous tendencies interfere with your plans. It’s fine to consider several options but don’t get caught up in indecision.

Schedule networking opportunities later this week.

Your communications are at their peak and any initiatives you take now will be well received by people in authority. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time. Although the very practical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, you will still be very much in demand socially.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

The fiery planet Mars, continues to occupy your sign for some time to come. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. If you are involved in a fairly competitive field of activity, you will be the one who comes out on top.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Sport World

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31

Victoria Azarenka dreams big after crazy win

Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive Australian Open titles in the professional era when he beat third seed Andy Murray 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a battle of attrition on Sunday. The Serb, who has now won four of his six grand slam titles in Melbourne, managed to win the important points as the Briton suffered from blisters on his right foot and problems at the top of his left hamstring.

Both players produced superb service games throughout the match with Djokovic the first to achieve a break in the eighth game of the third set, propelling him to the brink of the title after the pair had shared tie breaks in the first two sets.

Djokovic then capitalised on a flagging Murray, who had battled to a five-set win over Roger Federer earlier, breaking early in the fourth set and then holding on to clinch the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the fourth time.

Djokovic was not the only man chasing a record.

Murray was also hoping to become the first Briton to win the title since Fred Perry in 1934 and the first man to win his second grand slam immediately after winning

his first. Djokovic had the first opportunity to take an advantage when he held four break points in the sixth game, but Murray fought them all off and levelled at 33 with a kicking ace down the centre line.

The world number one held another break point in the eighth game, but Murray again saved and forced a tiebreak, which he sealed 72 after he had jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked like giving it up.

Murray's first serve, which had caused him problems in the first set, was much better in the second and the Scot reduced the number of unforced errors though neither man looked likely to lose their serve.

The top seeded Djokovic

seized the advantage in the tiebreak when Murray double faulted after he had been forced to stop his serve as a feather from birds in the roof fluttered down on court.

That point gave the Serb a 32 lead, which he capitalised on to win 7-3 when Murray hit a backhand into the net.

The Briton then took a medical timeout before the third set began to have sticking plaster and strapping tape applied to blisters around the big toe on his right foot and the momentum had shifted to the Serbian world number one.

Djokovic, however, waited until the time was right to pounce on Murray's weakness, which he did in the eighth game when he claimed the first break of the

match after almost three hours of play to take a 5-3 lead.

The Serb then blasted through his service game to love to take the third set in a relatively lightning 41 minutes after the first two sets had taken 68 and 65 minutes respectively.

Murray’s foot continued to give him trouble in the fourth set. Djokovic broke in the third game and sensing the finishing line was in sight, achieved a double break in the fifth and sealed the win when a Murray backhand return thudded into the net.

Oz duo clinches mixed doubles title: Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden became the first locals to win a main draw Australian Open title since 2005 when they clinched the mixed doubles.

The Australian duo, both aged 25, beat the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-3, 7-5 in the final at the Rod Laver Arena in 73 minutes.

Gajdosova and Ebden both crashed out of the singles competition in the first round. Gajdosova and Ebden had never played together but got together as a wildcard pairing for the seasonopening Grand Slam.

Rahul Dravid to play T20 tournament for Marylebone Cricket Club in Dubai

Former India captain Rahul Dravid will feature in a Twenty20 tournament in Dubai in March as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

Dravid, who retired from international cricket last year, has confirmed to play for the MCC team which will take on Sussex, Warwickshire and 2011 County Champions Lancashire in Emirates Airline Twenty20 Trophy which will he held on March 21 and 22 at 7he Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

Australian fast-bowler Shaun Tait will also play in MCC's T20 side for the second year running in the tournament, the MCC said in a statement.

The Twenty20 tournament is being held before the four-day (March 24-27) Champion County game, which will be a day-night match between MCC and Warwickshire to be played with a pink

ball at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Dravid's appearance will mean he has played for MCC in the UAE for three consecutive winters, which included scoring a century for the Club in its victory over Nottinghamshire in

the 2011 Champion County fixture.

He appeared alongside fellow Indian player Sourav Ganguly and his teammate at Rajasthan Royals, Tait in the Emirates Airline T20 the following year.

Dravid has a warm relationship with MCC - where he is an Honorary Life Member - also sitting on the Club's World Cricket committee. The 40-year-old retired from first-class and international cricket last year, but is set for another season with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League season six this year.

MCC squad (two more to be added): Dale Benkenstein (capt), Jimmy Adams, Joe Denly, Rahul Dravid (T20 only), Simon Kerrigan, Steve Kirby, Dawid Malan, Sam Northeast, Alan Richardson, Shaun Tait (T20 only), and Peter Trego.

Team India likely to have spin bowling coach Former players and critics have come down hard on the BCCI after the loss in the Test series against England.

While the England spinners Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann - relished the Indian conditions, their Indian counterparts struggled against the likes of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen.

India's bowling coach Joe Dawes looks after the fast bowlers, who will have a limited role to play in the Australian series. That might have forced the BCCI to think about the spin coach again.

If sources are to be believed, the BCCI is seri-

ously thinking on this direction and Team India is likely to have spin coach during the Australian series. "It's in very early stage but we are definitely thinking about it. We will speak to the Indian team management about it after the one-day series and take their point of view. Let's see what happens. The BCCI will do anything that will help the players," a BCCI official said.

After the Nagpur Test former England captain Geoff Boycott had advocated for the need of spin coach for the Indian team. "I never thought I would say this about India, but they need a spinning

coach, like Mushtaq Ahmed is for England. They need someone who understands spin bowling, someone who can tell R Ashwin that he's not putting enough body into his action, or that he needs more shoulder turn at delivery," Boycott had written in one of his columns.

The spin departmentonce India's strength - is not the same anymore. India's most experienced spinner Harbhajan Singh has been in and out for the last one and half years. Although Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin did exceptionally well against weaker teams like West

Indies and New Zealand at home, it was a different ballgame altogether against Australia earlier this year and England recently.

It has been learnt that the BCCI was also thinking about the spin coach before the England series but the team management didn't show much of interest.

However, things are different now. "Spin is our strength and with most of the fast bowlers aren't fit, the spinners will play a big role in the coming Oz series. It would be better if experienced coach guide these youngsters," he said.

A glint of Belarusian steel and the support of her crazy e n t o u ra g e have given Victoria Azarenka hope she can win any Grand Slam title - and take on her nemesis, the great Serena Williams.

Celebrations were long and noisy for the world number one after her win over Li Na in Australian open final, when she overcame a hostile crowd and a host of distractions to successfully defend her title. After a night on the town with her boyfriend, musician Redfoo, the world number one had just four hours' sleep before confidently telling media she believes she can “make it happen” at any major.

“Every one,” said the tall blonde, 23, when asked which Grand Slam tournament she would most like to win this year. “I mean, you cannot prefer any because they are so different, so special. So it's really, really hard. I don't rate my chances. I just make it happen. I don't rate, I don't look at statistics. I just make it happen.”

The evening started bleakly for Azarenka when, extraordinarily for a Grand Slam final, she was subjected to jeers and occasional boos at Rod Laver Arena, and near-silence when she won important points. Azarenka had raised suspicions of gamesmanship in her semi-final against Sloane Stephens, when she took a medical timeout after blowing five match points, and then returned and broke for victory.

Jayasuriya named Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors

Former Sri Lanka cricketer turned politician Sanath Jayasuriya was appointed chairman of selectors in a new-look five-member committee named by sports minister M a h i n d a n a n d a Aluthgamage on Monday.

Jayasuriya, 43, is joined by 1996 World Cup winning team mate Pramodya Wickramasinghe. Former Sri Lanka players Hemantha Wickramaratne, Eric Upashantha and Chaminda Mendis were the other selectors appointed. Wickramaratne is the only surviving member of the previous committee headed by Ashantha de Mel whose extended term ends on January 31. A destructive lefthanded opener, Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka in 110 Tests and 445 one-day internationals in a 22-year career before quitting in 2011 and taking to politics. He is a Member of Parliament of the ruling party United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in his hometown Matara.

Glenn McGrath takes charge at MRF Pace Foundation

Former Australian pace man Glenn McGrath began a new innings as the director of MRF Pace Foundation. He has replaced another Australian pace legend Dennis Lillee.

The right-arm pace bowler, known for his accurate bowling, retired from international cricket in 2007. McGrath took 563 wickets in 124 Tests. In his 250 One Day Internationals, he finished with 381 scalps. Several bowlers from the Pace Foundation have represented India at Test and ODI level. McGrath is expected to continue the good work of Lillee, who had been involved with the academy for the last 25 years since its inception in 1987. McGrath, who retired at the end of the 2007 World Cup that Australia won, was holidaying in Hawaii with his wife and kids. Nick-named Pigeon, McGrath is fourth in the all-time list of Test wicket-takers after spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. McGrath, 42, has himself trained at the MRF Foundation. The New South Welshman was among the first batch of trainees sent by the Australian Cricket Academy to tutor under Lillee in 1992, a year before he made his international debut.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd February 2013

MS Dhoni is the richest Indian sportsperson

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named as the richest sportsperson in India as per the Forbes’ list of top 100 Indian celebrities. According to Forbes India, Dhoni earned an estimated Rs 1.35 billion in the period between October 2011 and September 2012 which is the highest among any Indian sportsperson. The list ranks top 100 Indian celebrities based on their popularity and income. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan tops the list with Rs 2.03 billion followed by Salman Khan and Dhoni. According to the magazine, SRK might be the richest Indian celebrity but he lags behind Salman and Dhoni in terms of popularity. Other Indian sportsperson who made it to the top-50 includes the likes of Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal, and Sania Mirza. The 23year-old Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal is the youngest celebrity in the list.

India retain third spot in T20 rankings

At fifth, Virat Kohli is the highest placed Indian in the ICC rankings for Twenty20 batsmen, while India have managed to retain their third position in the team rankings.

With 730 points in his kitty, Kohli has equalled his highest rating points.

Apart from Kohli, the other Indian batsman to feature in the top-10 list for Twenty20 batsmen is Suresh Raina, who is placed ninth with 718 points.

Other Indians in the top-20 list includes Yuvraj Singh (13) and opener Gautam Gambhir at the 17 position.

Australia’s Shane Watson leads the T20 batting chart with 798 points, followed by destructive West Indian opener Chris Gayle (792), Kiwi Brendon McCullum (787) and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (759).

Among T20 teams, India, despite losing one rating point have maintained their third position with 119 points while leaders Sri Lanka stand firm at the top with 127 points, followed by reigning T20 World champions West Indies at 122 points. Meanwhile, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashiwin, ranked 16, is the only Indian to have found out a place in the top-20 bowlers list. Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal leads the bowlers’ table with 756 points followed by Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka (746) and England’s Graeme Swann (720).

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India have won the oneday series against England 3-2 by winning the second, third and fourth matches, while England have won the first and the last match. With the victory in Mohali, India sealed the one-day series with a comprehensive 5-wicket win over England. With this win, India took the series 3-1. It was apt that Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs, after his allround show throughout the series helped the team at crucial junctures.

The Indian chase was powered by an unbeaten 89 from Suresh Raina, who was given the Man of the Match award. Raina was involved in two fiftyrun partnerships, one each with Rohit Sharma and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which paved the way for India’s victory.

India’s start was far from ideal. In the second erroneous decision of the day, umpire Steve Davis gave Gautam Gambhir caught behind, even though there was a clear gap between the bat and the ball. England could have had Rohit Sharma too, but Kevin Pietersen couldn’t latch onto a difficult chance at mid-off in the 8th over.

Virat Kohli (26), after a 52run partnership with Rohit Sharma, got out tamely giving a return catch to James Tredwell.

The English off-spinner made it four-out-of-four against Yuvraj Singh, having accounted for him in the previous three onedayers, by trapping the southpaw leg before. At the other end, Rohit Sharma not only completed 2,000 one-day runs but

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The Indian team poses after winning the series 3-2 at Dharamsala.

went onto score his 13th fifty as well. Sharma (83) was unlucky to miss out on a century, courtesy a second howler of the Indian innings by umpire Steve Davis, who adjudged him LBW even though the ball was missing the leg stump.

Earlier, Dhoni made sure that his fast bowlers get the best use of a fresh wicket, by winning the toss and electing to field.

Cook hit Shami Ahmed for three boundaries in the 6th over to break the shackles. However, the mounting pressure resulted in the wicket of Ian Bell (10) who tried to give Ishant Sharma the charge, only managing to give a skier to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar at third man. After that Kevin Pietersen and Cook resurrected the England innings as the pair added 95 runs for the second wicket, mixing caution with aggression.

Cook brought up his fifty in the 22nd over and went on to score 76 but umpire Sudhir Asnani’s error of

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judgement ended the skipper’s innings. Cook was wrapped on the pads by a quicker delivery from R Ashwin, but the ball had clearly pitched outside the leg stump.

Along with Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root forged a partnership of 78 runs off 56 balls in the death overs.

KP broke loose hitting Ishant Sharma for 4, 4, and 6 in the 46th over before Ishant had the final say.

Root’s unbeaten 57 gave England the final impetus as they surged to 257/7.

Raina shines in defeat

With a single off Ravindra Jadeja, Ian Bell brought the curtains down on the five-match ODI series between India and England. The win in Mohali earlier meant the game at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala had no bearing on the outcome of the series but Bell’s 113 ensured an easy sevenwicket victory for the visitors. Chasing India’s modest 226, England crossed the line with 16 balls to spare.

The loss notwithstanding, India have reasons to smile and none bigger than the return of Suresh Raina, the finisher. Like some of his teammates, Raina faced criticism before the start of the series. The left-hander is one of the senior most players in the team, not only in terms of matches (159), but also the number of years he has been part of the squad, having made his debut in 2005.

So it was natural that he was being expected to play a senior statesman’s role by setting up and winning matches on a regular basis. He had the designated role of a finisher. He was the batsman who could have come at any-

where between No 4 and 7, in any over between fifth and the 45th and do the job. In the series against England, Raina ticked all the boxes. When he came out to bat in Dharamshala, India were in dire straits, 23 for 3 in the seventh over. Rohit Sharma (4), Virat Kohli (0) and Yuvraj Singh (0) were back in the hut, failing to negotiate the moving ball in the conditions that warranted patience rather than flair.

He had Gautam Gambhir for company and with the conditions not exactly for his liking; Rania had a tough battle at hand. He started with a boundary through midwicket off Chris Woakes but was lucky to survive when James Tredwell dropped him in the slips.

Raina did not let that cloud his mind and punished Woakes with three boundries in an over. As always, his approach was positive. His disappointment at the non-striker’s end - he banged the bat on the ground - was evident when Gambhir (24) cut Tredwell to Bell. It spoke of his desire of seeing his teammates do well. India were 49 for 4 at that stage and as on so many times, the onus of rebuilding the innings was on him and MS Dhoni. But an iffy decision cut short the 30run stand with his skipper.

Raina brought up his fourth consecutive fifty of the series with a boundary off Joe Roots. It looked that he and Jadeja would take the score beyond 250 but the latter had a brain freeze when he charged Tredwell. Raina got another chance (on 61) when he was dropped by Cook.

When he finally got out on 83, in the 42nd over, India had reached 177.