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Gujarat’s Babubhai Panocha qualified for the London Olympics

Story on page 31

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2nd July to 8th July 2011

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Gurkhas: "We served the Queen with loyalty, we deserve equal treatment"

By Rupanjana Dutta On Saturday 25th June, Britain celebrated Armed Forces Day at over 350 places in the UK. Gurkhas

are among the most formidable and feared amongst soldiers anywhere in the world. Former Chief of staff of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sam

Manekshaw, once famously said about Gurkhas: “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha.”

Continued on page 6

Asian millionaires overtake Europe in rich list

British Gurkhas with Joanna Lumley during the settlement campaign

Booming Asia had more millionaires than Europe for the first time– and is fast closing in on North America for the top spot, according to new research.

The annual Merrill Lynch Wealth Management /Capgemini

analysis of investors with $1m or more in assets found that as of late last year, there were 3m millionaires in both the AsiaPacific and Europe. The survey quantified the wealth held in Asia at $9,700bn, compared with $9,500bn in Europe.

Nick Tucker, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management’s operations for the UK and Ireland, said: “It’s not a bubble.

Asia has caught up with Europe in terms of its high-net worth population and their wealth.”

Continued on page 26

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

one to one Keith Vaz MP with

Anushka Asthana, Chief Political Correspondent and Columnist - The Times Anushka Asthana is a campaigning journalist and columnist. A Mancunian who has worked in London and Washington, she writes about policy, politics and people. In 2006 she was the Lawrence Stern Fellow, working for the Washington Post, where she covered the midterm campaign trail. Her last job was as policy editor at the Observer.

What inspired you to begin your career in journalism?

I never thought of journalism because I did not consider myself a writer.

But experience at my student newspaper as well as a local paper near Manchester and the New Statesman magazine taught me there was a lot more to the job than that. It opened a world in which you spend hours talking to fascinating people from all walks of life.

Which political piece are you most proud of?

The piece that had most impact recently was an interview with Paul Maynard, a Tory MP with cerebral palsy, who revealed that he had

been jeered at in the House of Commons’ chamber. It appeared to be over his disability.

That has led me to become very interested in just how prevalent abuse of disabled people is – and I am hoping to do a lot more on the issue.

Please tell us about your current position?

I’m the Chief Political Correspondent at the Times, which means I am based in the House of Commons. I write news stories about what is taking place in Parliament.

I’ve also recently started writing a fortnightly column – giving an opinion is quite a shift from news reporting. So far I have looked at social care and school admissions.

to date?

What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

I really can’t think of something – I’ve been very lucky throughout. I got a job as a junior reporter at the Observer when I was 23 and they really supported me by putting me in different roles – first as a general reporter, then specialising in education, later learning about editing and commissioning on the news desk and finally as policy editor in the lobby. From there I came to the Times.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career

The Global Goans Convention, London

By Anita Rebello - PR Director Goan Association (UK) – London The success of past Global Goan Conventions and the determination of the Office of NRI Affairs, Government of Goa to advise and support Goans outside of their beloved motherland, have created heightened interest and recognition globally.

We are deeply honoured that Shri Eduardo Faleiro, Commissioner for NRI Affairs – with support from the Government of India – decided to hold the Global Goans Convention in London this year under the patronage of the Indian High Commission. And why not, as London has one of the oldest Goan communities of the Diaspora. The Convention will also highlight the Golden Jubilee of Goa’s Freedom Movement and felicitate past freedom fighters.

The world has changed dramatically and our past freedom fighters would be appalled that our people in Goa are still fighting for their lands, their homes, and their dignity. Some even feel like strangers in their sorrowing land and it is hoped that the outcome of this Convention will produce the proverbial pebble

in a far-reaching sea and culminate with appropriate agreed resolutions.

We look forward to respectfully welcoming illustrious and esteemed guests to the GGC in London this year, especially the High Commissioner for India, London - HE Mr Nalin Surie and other ministers, Shri Eduardo Faleiro and the Director for NRI Affairs, the Right Hon MP Keith Vaz, Hon MP Valerie Vaz, Councillor Rabi Martins, Professor Damodar R SarDesai (University of Los Angeles) and Professor Teotonio R de Souza (Head of Department of History at the Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, Portugal) as well as other highly respected local speakers who will cover a wide range of relevant topics.

For well over 100 years, Goans in the UK have made their niche among their host communities but have never forgotten their roots.

The Goan Association (UK) is celebrating its Sapphire Anniversary which represents 45 years of service to the Goan Community. It has constantly kept a sports, social, cultural and welfare calendar alive annually – thanks

to the dedication and hard work of many volunteers headed for the past 13 years, by the Chairman – Flavio Gracias. He particularly has been the driving force behind the arrangements for this year’s Global Goans Convention.

Other unsung and quiet Goan heroes and heroines in all areas of UK life give of their time and efforts selflessly for their and other communities and some have been recognised and applauded. Proceeds from events held by most Goan organisations have benefitted not only deserving charities in the UK but many worthy causes in Goa – be it the renovation of churches, homes for the aged or the wellbeing of children.

The popular Annual Goan Festival (theme Goan Solidarity) on Sunday 24 July expects over 5000 people to gather together and enjoy music, cultural programmes, offerings from a variety of stalls, as well as a Konkanim Samellan involving Goans from Goa, Karwar and Mangalore.

The Convention will showcase a culture known for its work ethics, honesty, good manners, charitable works, strong Catholic faith and food – particularly sought after by tourists to Goa!

Very difficult. Can I name a few? Three news editors at the Observer were hugely influential: Kamal Ahmed, Chris Boffey and Julian Coman – all of whom gave me amazing opportunities that made me a much better journalist than I was before. I haven’t been at the Times long but there are a huge number of brilliant journalists who I admire.

What is the best thing about your current role?

Being in the House of Commons and the access that gives you to the men and women who are forming policy in the country.

It really is incredible. And journalism also means that your colleagues are fascinating, diverse, interesting etc…

And the worst?

That it can take over your life (and is often irritating for my husband!)

What are your long term goals?

I tend to take each day, month, year as it comes.

I didn’t realise when I started working on my student paper that I’d be so taken by news; and when I started in a national newspaper I wasn’t immediately drawn to politics. But I’m incredibly happy where I am. I really love the industry and hope that I’ll remain in it for many years.

If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change?

I’d try to drive a cultural change in the way women and men view parenting. I would really like to see men in the UK become a bit more like men in certain Scandinavian countries, where looking after children is seen as shared responsibility.

Good start is the shift to parental leave that can be transferred from the mother to the father.

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

People ■ The empire of VFS grows even larger. They have won the contract to provide visa services for US citizens visiting India. Their head in the US is the dynamic Nilambari Sheth who will bring the success of VFS in the UK to the US. ■ Anand Sharma, the Indian Minister of Commerce was guest of honour at a dinner held in Washington D.C. by Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar. Other guests included Former US Defence Secretary William Cohen and current Under-Secretary of Commerce and Trade Francisco J. Sanchez.

■ Former Lambeth leader Neeraj Patil will be holding a function at Lambeth Town Hall this week for Indian Foreign Minister Mr S. M. Krishna who is on a visit to the UK. They both hail from the same state of Karnataka in India.

John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith and Milton Friedman. I did an economics degree and think it would make for an interesting evening.

Youth Seminar 2011 Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar is organising a Youth seminar (for 16 to 25 years only) on Saturday 6th August in the City. Our invited speakers will discuss the problems of today's youth and offer solutions on how to choose an appropriate career, how to cope with generation gaps and family expectations etc followed by a workshop at the end of the seminar. If you are interested to take part in our ‘Youth Seminar 2011’, please email your details (with 50 words on yourself) to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com.

Please note entry only on prior registration.

Closing date: 31st July.

This week the paid subscribers of Asian Voice will receive the British Asian Women magazine along with their weekly newspaper.

UK-India: Next Steps towards Greater Partnerships The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and University College London (UCL) has organised a Conference on “UKIndia: Next steps towards greater Partnerships”, on Wednesday, June 29th 2011 from 9:30am onwards at University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. The last 12 months have seen a number of new initiatives being taken to strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relations between the UK and India, all mean to take the relationship to new heights, the launch of the

UK-India CEOs Forum being a significant step towards it. One of the key areas identified for cooperation is manufacturing technology and innovations. India’s growth demands continuous innovations and use of new technology to maintain the competitive edge.

UK’s expertise in innovations and research can satisfy this demand and create a win-win situation for both. The Conference proposes to discuss Partnerships and the Next Steps required to reach the “Special Relationship” and will also discuss skills in Manufacturing.

Guest of Honour is due to be Lord Stephen Green, Minister for Trade

and Innovations.

Mr B Muthuraman, President, CII and Vice Chairman Tata Steel Limited; Professor Michael Worton, ViceProvost, UCL; H.E. Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India to UK, Senior industry leaders from the Confederation of British Industry and Imperial College, UK business leaders, experts from UKTI and BIS and leaders of the Indian industry are due to speak in the conference.

The Conference is organised to mark the CIICEOs annual delegation to the UK, led by President CII, Mr B Muthuraman.

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

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Thought for the Week

Aung San Suu Kyi: A light unto the nations Burmese pro-democracy leader and human rights activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, is this year's BBC Reith Lecturer. The first of her three lectures, recorded in secret back home in Burma, where her movements are restricted - even as she has been released from house arrest - and her political and social activities monitored by the state security apparatus, was delivered on Tuesday in London to a distinguished and enthusiastic audience, and broadcast on Radio 4.

This was followed by a stimulating question and answer session over a video link.

Daw Suu Kyi's spoke with passion, her words were elegantly crafted, and her moral and intellectual imperatives set out with translucent clarity. She referred to the struggles of the Burmese people for democratic freedoms and human rights since the military takeover in 1962, and referred to her attempts to achieve these goals through her League for Democracy, following her return to Burma in 1988 after long years of residence at Oxford, where she studied, married and raised a family. She referred to the people from whom she drew inspiration, from the Buddha to Max Weber, the German thinker, and others too numerous to mention.

Daw Suu Kyi talked of the different ways that the outside world had helped the Burmese struggle, from the sanction regimes imposed by the US and EU (which had made an impact on the country's military rulers), through the pressure of media reports and discussions at the UN Security Council. Her party was a fledgling organisation, hence it would take time to acquire the telling experience that would

contribute more creatively to the movement for national liberation. But the learning process continued apace and recent events in the Middle East had added to the Burmese opposition's stock of wisdom, she said.

In answer to a question, she hoped India, as a valued neighbour, would do more for Burmese civil rights. Timothy Garton Ash, the political commentator, referred to Indian democracy and Mahatma Gandhi; but in an imperfect world these do not always translate into policy for compelling geostrategic reasons. That said, India has it within her to keep pushing at the junta's door by engaging publicly with it as well maintaining access to Daw Ssu Kyi. Hence the recent high-level contact by India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who called on the iconic Burmese leader at her home in Rangoon is to be warmly welcomed. India's Ambassador to Burma, V.S. Seshadri, had visited her earlier.

During her hour-long conversation with Ms Rao, Daw Suu Kyi recalled her time in Delhi, where she had taken her first degree in politics in 1964 from Lady Sri Ram College. Ms Rao informed her of India's relationship with Burma's post-election civilian government, and India's help to the country in a variety of fields. Daw Ssu Kyi reacted positively to India's role as a partner in Burma's economic development; she hoped for greater people-to-people contact between the countries and mentioned their ageold cultural and religious ties.There are grounds for cautious optimism on Burma's future and the future trajectory of Indo-Burmese relations.

Prime Minister Wen comes calling Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiaobao's European tour has been carefully calibrated. The economic crisis across the EU and beyond, with Greece the eye of the storm, makes the prospect of a Chinese leader bearing gifts doubly attractive to his hosts. Having visited Ukraine, Hungary and Greece with offers of financial help, Premier Wen arrived in Britain promising lucrative Chinese contracts and investment in the UK and greater access to China's market by British companies. The move is certainly shrewd, for the Middle Kingdom has foreign exchange reserves that run into trillions of dollars. China can afford to be generous, but the generosity comes at a price, as it usually does in such matters.

Ukraine, Hungary and Greece are happy to take whatever is on offer few questions asked, but for Britain discussions on trade and investment and much else does not preclude the thorny issue of China's human rights record. The release of dissident artist Ai Weiwei and human rights activist Hu Jia makes topic an inevitable part of Anglo-Chinese talks at 10 Downing Street. However, money talks and never more eloquently than when the object of Chinese largesse is hobbled by straitened economic circumstances and deepening social unrest. The Daily Telegraph broke ranks with a forthright editorial advising that the Chinese guest should not be unduly provoked by raising human rights issues. The paper cautioned that the release of the above mentioned dissidents “should not lead the West into the mistake of thinking that hectoring the Chinese on human rights is anything other than counter-productive. This is a regime that will instinctively kick back against such outside pressure. And the more powerful it becomes economically, the harder the kick will be. This was recognised by Hillary Clinton when she made her first visit to Beijing as Secretary of State

and insisted that human rights 'can't interfere' with such issues as the economy, climate change and security. Mrs Clinton was right and it makes sense for this country to take a similarly realistic posture.”

Trade, investment, the euro and terrorism, China “has its own experience of Islamic fundamentalism”- were fit subjects for the Cameron-Wen Downing Street talks. Is the Dalai Lama, therefore, to be viewed as an Islamist terrorist or fundamentalist?

Moral values and political practicalities are frequently at variance, but there is surely an osmosis between the two in the fullness of time. Otherwise the international slave trade would never have been abolished. Let us be a little more hard headed about Premier Wen's presence in Britain (and Europe). He is here because it is in China's interest. Diplomacy is most rewarding when its fruits are mutually beneficial. Kowtowing to China does not preclude a kick from Beijing at some later time of its choosing. The Telegraph writes bravely of the need for a “close and constructive [Sino-British] relationship”, but it takes two to tango. China is behaving in predatory fashion in the South China Sea, a popular trade route for British commerce in the Far East. The US and Vietnam, bitter enemies in the 1960s and 70s, are engaged in a naval exercise in its waters. How “constructive” do Sino-British ties have to be? Have the lessons of Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy and Imperial Japan been forgotten?

Meanwhile, Mr Wen's opaque dissimulation at the press conference with David Cameron, conveyed to readers of The Times with such telling wit by Political Sketch writer Ann Treneman, is suffused with an exemplary grasp of reality. Her piece should be read and digested by the denizens of the Daily Telegraph.

US debt is taking its toll Great Powers, according to Yale historian Paul Kennedy, start reaching their allowed lifespan through imperial overstretch. Sixteenth century Spain, followed by the French, German, Japanese, British empires, together the former USSR, were reduced by time to more manageable entities. The rise and decline of these powers has been part of Professor Kennedy's engrossing narrative. So what lessons are on offer for today's empires, of which there are two.

The first is the United States, long a centre of extraordinary entrepreneurial and technological excellence and a land of opportunity for generations of immigrants who wished to live the American dream, but it is today an increasing a hulk on uncharted seas listing under the crippling burden of

national debt made worse by spiralling defence spending. The inability to balance the books is proving to be the source of America's Time of Trouble, yet its chosen arc of responsibility shows little sign of contracting. America's democratic empire may be withering but the country has yet to find an appropriate role in the world. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates's gloomy valedictory address on an uncertain national and international future said it all.

The second of the two listed empires is China, but the country's autistic political culture is the seed-bed of its present troubles from which is likely to emerge the enduring obstacle to permanent imperial expansion. The opposition Beijing is engendering in Asia could signal the limit to such delusions of grandeur.

Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central and Minister of State for Children and Families

NHS reforms: the road to recovery The last few weeks have rightly been dominated by important discussions about the future of the UK’s most treasured collective achievement – the National Health Service.

We have also seen something quite rare in politics, politicians up to and including the Prime Minister putting official timetables to one side and taking real time to listen to what professionals and the public think. I believe the result has been a dramatic success, not just for grown-up debate over political point-scoring, but for the future of our NHS too.

All political parties know the NHS has to change. NHS funding has been increased by £11.5 billion over this Parliament but, due to an ageing and growing population and the development of new technologies costs are rising. Studies produced under the previous Labour government stated that the NHS needed to find savings of up to £20 billion over the next four years. The NHS has to adapt and improve to face this challenge.

Nevertheless, despite the need for change, as Liberal Democrats we have also always been clear on what must stay the same. The NHS must always be universal, based on need and free at the point of use. These are values that are not up for negotiation – they are at the core of the NHS and our vision of what a publically-funded health provision must look like.

It was concern for these values that meant Liberal Democrats at our Spring Conference raised significant worries about private companies ‘cherrypicking’ the most profitable services, the pace of the reforms and the lack of accountability of the new GP consortia. Likewise it was determination to implement these values that has meant Liberal

Democrats in government have successfully argued for significant changes to the original plans for reform. This has meant that 11 of the 13 demands that Liberal Democrats made at Spring Conference have been directly met. These key changes will safeguard the NHS for years to come.

Under the new plans there will be no privatisation of the NHS. This means no preference given to private sector companies to cherry-pick services and the Secretary of State remains responsible for securing a comprehensive health service, and for ensuring that the interest of patients remains the most important consideration. Equally importantly, the pace of the reforms has been significantly slowed. Doctors and nurses told the government clearly that major changes like these must proceed carefully and this is why we have made sure that there will be no artificial deadlines set – local healthcare professionals will only take on extra responsibilities when they are able to. What’s more, after the changes are implemented there will be better democratic scrutiny of the NHS. Where before health services were run by distant and unaccountable decision-making bodies, local health services will now be accountable to local people for the service they provide through the creation of new health and well being boards.

I believe these changes add up to an important victory for our NHS and for patients.

They signal that grown-up discussion has triumphed over the old view that politicians always know best. It also shows the best of what Liberal Democrats can do in this coalition: translate our core values into meaningful change on the issues that matter to people most.

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LEICESTER VOICE/UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Female law student jailed after making up rape allegation A former law student who cried rape because she was ‘too ashamed’ to tell her family she had been kicked out of university was locked up for two years last week.

Aisha Mather, 19, (pictured) ripped her tights, overturned a coffee table and pulled down curtains in an attempt to convince police she had been attacked at knifepoint and raped in her home.

She believed this would give her an excuse to leave her course and move back in with her parents, and kept up the pretence for eight days – even after police arrested a man who matched her detailed description of the tattooed black ‘rapist’.

Three other men were questioned during a major investigation involving

forensic examinations and door-to-door inquiries.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Mather had been studying law at Nottingham Trent University but had mounting debts and spent ‘more time socialising than studying’.

She was ordered to leave after failing her first-year exams.

Phillipa Ellis, defending, said Mather was ‘too ashamed to tell her parents what was going on, and made up a story to get out of Nottingham without having to incur further

Couple hides abuse of baby daughter A couple abused their baby daughter - but repeatedly deceived health professionals by showing them her identical twin sister instead, a court heard.

Nafisa and Mohammed Karolia from Blackburn, Lancashire, allegedly inflicted a catalogue of more than 20 injuries on the seven-monthold baby, identified as Twin M, who died of lung problems.

Mohammed and Nafisa Karolia But although the arriving at Preston Crown Court pair were not held from health visitors until responsible for Twin M's her death in June 2009, a death, the court heard that jury was told. throughout her short life Prosecutor Joe Boyd they concealed what the said parents Nafisa, 22, prosecution described as a and taxi driver 'battery of non-accidental Mohammed, 29, 'wilfully' injuries'. inflicted the injuries and Whenever health visithat it would have been tors or social workers vis'impossible not to notice ited, they would show them'. them her uninjured sister, The trial, which is Twin A, instead, a jury at scheduled to last between Preston Crown Court six and eight weeks, conheard. tinues.

The couple hid Twin M

Appeal for more school governors More black and minority ethnic people are being encouraged to become school governors.

In Leicestershire County Council-run schools, 13 per cent of pupils are from black or minority communities, but only 2.6 per cent of school governors are from those communities.

A recent recruitment drive to encourage the public to become governors has been successful, reducing the vacancy rate to 4.5 per cent, compared with a national average of 10.5.

However, the number of black and minority ethnic governors is still unrepresentative compared with the number of pupils.

Mansour Dhifallah, a governor at Limehurst High School, in Loughborough, told a local paper: "Being a school governor is very rewarding. It would be excellent to see more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds become school governors and making a contribution to education in their local area."

debt’.

Last week Mather sobbed in the dock as Judge Tony Mitchell described her actions as ‘mind-boggling’.

Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said that on the night of the ‘attack’ in January Mather had been unable to pay for shopping because she had run out of money She rang her father and claimed she had been followed home by a man, then became hysterical, prompting her mother to take the phone and ask if she had been raped.

When Mather simply continued crying, her mother assumed she had been attacked and told her to call the police.

When officers arrived, Mather told them that the man had followed her

home from the university library.

The court heard that Mather had ‘seemed visibly shocked’ when describing the incident to detectives and had consented to a medical examination.

Her account even included the name of the book she had been reading in the library.

But when officers checked with library staff and discovered that it was in storage and not available to read, they began to doubt Mather’s version of events.

Mather, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, admitted perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to two years in a young offenders institute.

Female entrepreneurs under police spotlight

In brief

Leicester mayor says troops will parade through city

Then Lord Mayor Manjula Sood at 2009 homecoming parade

Though controversies prevail about whether the troops fighting in Afghanistan will have a homecoming march through Leicester city or not, City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has insisted troops fighting in Afghanistan will have the parade in Leicester during autumn on their return.

The city council originally turned down a request for a city centre parade by the 9th/12th Royal Lancers - a decision criticised by serving soldiers and army charities.

Sir Peter had defended the council's decision, saying the city had a special relationship with a different regiment, the Royal Anglians and will make sure the parade will go ahead.

Gang hunted over murder Police are looking for a group of men seen running from the scene of a gun murder in Warwickshire.

The victim, who has not been formally identified, was found by officers at a property on Rugby Road in Bulkington, near Bedworth, at 1655 BST on Sunday.

A BBC report said Det Supt Nav Malik said: "We are dealing with a violent murder, where at this stage of the investigation it would appear this male was specifically targeted.

"We urge members of the public who may have seen anything, or who know anything about the events in Rugby Road, Bulkington, on Sunday afternoon, to contact us."

Rugby Road remained closed to vehicles and pedestrians overnight while forensic science experts examined the scene.

Rani Uppelle, left, and Kavita Jnagal with celebrity Hardeep Singh Kohli

Two Birmingham businesswomen who met the Queen and two Prime Ministers during their rise to the top have been arrested as part of a fraud probe.

Rani Uppelle and Kavita Jnagal were detained in connection with an alleged conspiracy to defraud a government department – understood to be the adult learning provider learndirect. The pair, aged 34 and 38, are co-founders of Edgbastonbased Simply Recruitment, described on its website as “one of the UK’s leading equality and diversity recruitment specialists”.

The duo, who made

front page news headlines on last Wednesday’s Birmingham Mail, have twice been invited to 10 Downing Street, first by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown for a breakfast meeting of leading female executives and then by David Cameron for a Vaisakhi reception in April this year.

On their website, they are pictured with other dignitaries including Chancellor George Osbourne, Prince Charles and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan. The two women have been put on bail and are due to attend a central London police station on August 31.

Man witnesses 'ruthless' attack A man has told a murder trial how he witnessed a "ruthless" attack which left his childhood friend with a fatal stab wound to the heart. Riaz Choudhury told Leicester Mercury he was with Nitu Das on the night he was allegedly stabbed by Andrew Smith, at about 2.30am on July 26 last year, following an argument outside Smith's Loughborough home.

Mr Choudhury, 19, told the jury at Coventry Crown Court last week that the dispute started when Smith (39) complained about the noise he, Mr Das and two friends were making outside the flat Smith shared with coaccused Elaine Pendery, in Cartwright Street. Both Pendery and Smith deny murder. The case continues.

Kate's wedding guest might face jail

The convenience store owner who went to the Royal wedding as a guest of the Middleton family has been convicted of fraud.

Hasmukh Shingadia, 51 (pictured), faces jail after claiming he had more cash at a Post Office branch inside his shop than he really did, in an attempt to cover up a cash flow problem.

The Indian-born shopkeeper and his wife Chan were invited to the wedding with several other businessman local to Michael and Carole Middleton.

Mr Justice Saunders described him as a man of ‘previous good character’ but concluded he was ‘taking money from the Post Office bills to meet bills on the other side’. He will be sentenced next month and could be jailed. Shingadia, pleaded not guilty to one count of theft.

Residents join forces to cut crime

Leicestershire residents have banded together to form a new Neighbourhood Watch group.

Police have welcomed the decision by residents in Huggetts Close, Rushey Mead.

Dharmesh Rana, a founder member, told a local paper: "We had concerns about burglaries and received help from the police and council."

The new group was formed last week, which was national Neighbourhood Watch Week.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Dentist faces trial to fraud A millionaire used his business partner's dead father's disabled parking badge for his Ferrari, as reported by Daily Star.

Dentist Dr Chirag Patel (pictured) allegedly used the blue badge used repeatedly to park outside one of his Perfect Smile practices instead of paying £15 a day in a car park.

Council officials filmed him six times using the badge in December 2009 in Putney, south-west London.

Dr Patel, 33, told South Western Magistrates he used the badge because he had confused it with his £540 business parking permit, as he had only just sold a Bentley to buy the Ferrari.

He admitted two charges of misusing the badge but denied fraud, which carries a maximum sentence

of five years in jail, and could lead to the dentist being struck off.

Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, told the court: "There is no dispute that the blue badge was issued to somebody

who died in August 2008.

"The offence occurs some 14 to 16 months later. In August 2008 that badge should have been returned to the local authority.

"The defence argues that the defendant is a Ferrari driver and has been singled out and picked on by Wandsworth Council because of his wealth. That is not the case."

District Judge Barbara Barns, who said she was "bemused" about the way the case had been considered, said: "I do not find the decision to prosecute is aggressive or vexatious."

Dr Patel, of Kingston, Surrey, will be tried for fraud at the same court in September and could lose his successful chain of dentists, worth £2million, if convicted.

150,000 British tickets for Olympics sold to Europeans Foreigners snapped up 150,000 Olympic tickets allocated to Britons as it was revealed organisers have a secret stockpile of seats not for sale.

And in a further blow to those who lost out on tickets Olympic organisers have been 'stockpiling' sought after event seats with 16,000 still not being sold.

Critics claim it is part of a strategy to offload tickets to less popular events this year to avoid empty seats.

The disclosure, reported in the Sunday Times, will infuriate people who have been angered by a perceived lack of transparency in the allocation of tickets. One large scale ticket seller told the Sunday Times: 'The public enthusiasm for the Games in London has really been exploited.'

Figures reported in The Sunday Telegraph show around 95,000 EU

residents entered the first round of ballot for three million tickets. And 150,000 people were lucky, making up 5 per cent of all those sold. At the same time, fewer than half of those who applied received tickets in the first round, as demand outstripped supply.

But LOCOG stressed the system 'works both ways', with many Britons trying to buy tickets through European agents.

Priti Patel, the Conservative MP for Witham, Essex, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'British taxpayers and Londoners who have paid through their taxes to fund the Games will be alarmed and hugely disappointed to see they were not given priority on tickets when they went on sale.

'The system is a farce.'

Alison Seabeck, the Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, agreed some people will feel 'rightly

Priti Patel, MP

aggrieved that they won't be able to share in this fantastic event'.

The figures do not include the second round sale of 2.3 million tickets which began on Friday.

IJA welcomes Dr Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India India's Chief Election Commissioner, Dr S Y Quraishi joined IJA members and their guests for a lunch and pre launch function of his book " Old Delhi Living Traditions" on Friday 24 June at the Silk restaurant in Courthouse hotel Dr Quraishi, has been an outspoken critic of corruption among political parties in the Indian electoral process and was interviewed in Asian Voice last week. He spoke on "Managing Elections in the world's biggest democracy" and was joined by Ambassador Rajesh Peter Wardle, Chief Election Commissioner of Britain, Dep High Commissioner Prasad, India's Deputy High of India Rajesh Prasad, Dr Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India, Commissioner, Monika Mohata, Ashis Ray, President, IJA with journalists Director, Nehru Centre and soon to Ashis Ray, Dr Quraishi spoke ple could be trained from all over be Ambassador to Poland and about the new and modern systems the world about mechanisms of an Peter Wardle, Electoral of election introduced to the syselection that requires involvement Commission in the UK. tem of election and also spoke of 11mn people to manage the elecDr Quraishi was also accompaabout starting a school where peotion procedure. He also mentioned nied by his about standardisation of the expendaughter Sarah diture by candidates for election and son in law, campaign. who are resident Peter Wardle, the UK Election of London.

Commission added that he was After a short delighted to be welcomed in such a drinks recepget together. He said that UK's election, Mr Prasad toral system is no more than 11 launched Dr years old and he could imagine the Quraishi's book problems faced by a country, which and briefly is as vast as India with two levels of spoke about government. In the light of the Delhi and it's recent referendum initiative and life. commitment to freedom to fair After lunch, election, Peter Wardle promised to being welcomed pick up a few tips from the largest Rajesh N Prasad, Dep High Commissioner of India

by IJA President launching Dr Quraishi’s book Old Delhi Living Traditions democracy- India.

Steve Pound, MP Ealing North (Labour)

Hail and farewell!

It is over ten years ago that I was generously invited

by C.B.Patel to write a regular column for Asian Voice in exchange for absolutely no remuneration at all but as part of a dialogue between many of my south Asian friends and constituents and myself.

I’d originally wanted to call the piece “Through Western eyes” but the Great Editor insisted that there should be no theme but rather a series of snapshots illustrating the interchanges between my constituents and I. Over the years and in scores of columns I have chronicled the emerging global super colossus that is modern India and shared with AV readers my impressions of the numerous community events that I have been honoured to attend.

You were there when I first met Narenda Modi and you were watching on as Arjan Vekaria presented me with my cherished Kutchi puggaree. It was you who turned away in horror as I first attempted the dandia ras and you chuckled from a distance as the full extent of holi was made apparent to me as I disappeared under an iridescent cloud of dazzling colour.

We shared the impact of the Mumbai bombings and walked together in Jammu and Kashmir. We delighted in the achievements of great sons of south Asia such as Lord Gulam Noon and both breathed in the peaceful scented air of Bakdivedanta Manor. In the wise and philosophical company of my guru and guide, Vikas Pota, I have wandered wide from Chennai to Mumbai and to Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore more times than I would have believed possible.

Throughout this journey you, the readers of Asian Voice, have been my travelling companions and when I have experienced satori/enlightenment on the pilgrim way I have shared it with you.

The original team of Gareth Thomas, Tony McNulty, Barry Gardiner and I have all travelled far since those days when our proudest achievements were to be columnists for AV. Tony has left the House and is, I hear, working on at least one earth shattering book. Gareth is now a Shadow Minister where once he was the more substantial item and Barry has taken his turn as Chair of Labour Friends of India.

Since my own appointment as Shadow Northern Ireland Minister I have found my writings for Asian Voice being severely circumscribed.

Clearly any comments that I may make about terrorism in the Indian context can be seen as having Northern Irish significance so I have been told to avoid any subject which is capable of such interpretation.

Now I could do as some Parliamentarians do and simply reheat a party press release and slip it out in pretence of original thought but I think that this would soon be seen through and I wince at what words Bhupendra Gandhi would aim at me should such a ploy be detected.

I could devote all my writings to a subject that never ceases to delight and which has certainly given me more pleasure than almost any other – Indian cricket – but AV has a superb sports team and you really don’t need one more person to tell you that India currently has a batting line up of such stellar quality to stand comparison with the West Indian pace attack of the late 1970s as approaching perfection.

But enough of this – I must take my leave of Asian Voice while I have rather grim and serious responsibilities over the water and where words can be dangerously misinterpreted. It is, I hope, au revoir, and that I am able to return one day.

Until then - thank you for your patience and forbearance, for your kind words and sound advice and, above all, from showing in India how a peaceful and prosperous democracy can rise and thrive while setting an example to the word.

Thank you Asian Voice, thank you India.

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6

BRITISH GURKHAS

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Gurkhas: "We served the Queen with loyalty, we deserve equal treatment" Continued from page 1 Twenty-Six, Victoria Crosses have been won by Gurkha Regiments.

Amongst them, Nepali Gurkhas have won thirteen Victoria Crosses, including countless other military awards.

Slightly built, for the most part, these devotees of Lords Shiva and Ganesha are also renowned for their hospitality, gallantry, loyalty and infectious humour and good nature.

Today, these loyal soldiers of Her Majesty's Army are fighting for a live a life of dignity in Britain, without two square meals a day!

Kamal Rao, News Editor of Gujarat Samachar and I took a train from Waterloo to Farnborough Main, to meet this brave community from the Asian subcontinent - the same who served the Queen's Army with might and main over years. On reaching our destination, we were warmly welcomed by the Chairman of British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS), Major (Retd) Tikendra Lal Dewan and Mr Chhatra Rai (also an

Major (Retd) Tikendra Dewan, Chairman of BGWS, demonstrating how the Gurkha Radio will work, after installation of the satellite antenna

only after 15 years of service. If the Gurkhas were to receive equal pensions, it would be possible for these ex servicemen to live a comfortably in Nepal and not come to Britain.

But the British government argues that lifestyle and cost of living being much less in Nepal, they are not eligible for an equal pension.

So these old servicemen have sold their lands and cattle, taken bank loans back in Nepal to come and live in Britain at least to receive benefits

British Gurkha soldiers in a parade

ex-serviceman) who is the General Secretary of BGWS. The ex-soldiers practically have three requests of the British government: the right of settlement in the UK, equality and equal pensions. The settlement issue and equality of treatment have been dealt with satisfactorily by the British government. The current serving Gurkhas are eligible for an equal pension after two years of service (same as the British), but the exGurkhas are still struggling to achieve the right to an equal pension which is available to them

like social housing, free transport, free health services and 24 hrs water and heating, while their pension amount is used monthly to pay back a loan or run a family they have left behind in their homeland.

The elderly Gurkhas often don't speak English, but they try to learn the language just out of curiosity. Every morning they go out of their houses and do a small brisk walk, trying to be friend the locals and familiarise with the locality. Obviously that is not very well received by the natives as a little element of racism often surfaces towards them,

including vandalism and break through.

However, the youth is definitely fairing better, but they have cultural gaps, personality clashes and they need better care.

What is the government doing for them?

Aldershot & Farnborough Farnborough, famous for its air shows is a picturesque place and Aldershot is a small Gurkha town within that.

As we walked around the town, we saw a number of Gurkha/Nepalese restaurants, corner shops, saloons/parlours, jewellery shops as well as Rodhi bars (bars where folk dances are performed) and lounge.

The restaurants around the town not only served Nepali dishes but also provided menus in Nepali. The jewellery shops sold traditional Nepali wedding jewellery.

The corner shops had elderly Gurkhas as customers trying to understand how to top up a phone, as young girls stood by itds workings explaining in their native tongue. Some Nepali teenagers walked up and down the tiny hilly slopes with groceries, talking to each other in English.

Some elderly Gurkhas, wearing some sort of Malay clothing sat on the roadside bench, smoking cigarrettes.

The BGWS headquarters has a community centre, where Nepalese people had gathered, when we stepped in. The elderly among them enjoyed the warm cup of coffee and tea, while they chatted

A typical afternoon scene in Aldershot: Gurkha shops with Nepali names and Gurkha couples in traditional dresses strolling by

with their friends and family.

Tikendraji added, "Every weekend we have something or the other.

Just to engage these Nepalese and help them cope better to a new country.

We have a few newspapers just for the community and soon we will start a radio station as well. We have been donated a satellite antenna and we are waiting the permission to set it up in our premises."

Aldershot is the home for the Queen's serving battalion. The Gurkha regiment was settled in Rushmoor till 2000, but then it moved to Dover, making the locality a popular site for Gurkha settlement.

(BGWS) in defence of their right to settle in this country.

BGWS took a historic march to stop the deportation but soon Tony Blair government changed the policy. That policy asked for a continuous service of 3 years to earn a settlement in Britain for the Gurkhas.

The treatment of Gurkhas and their families was the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom once it became widely known that Gurkhas received smaller pensions than their British counterparts. The nationality status of Gurkhas and their families was also

tain retirement. BGWS, Gurkha Justice Campaign, and the British National Party joined the debate in support of the Gurkhas.

On 21 May 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that all Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years service would be allowed to settle in the UK. The campaign of Gurkha settlement was highlighted by Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP along with the actress and daughter of Gurkha corps major James Lumley, Joanna Lumley. She commented: "This is the welcome we have always longed to give".

History of the Gurkha settlement in Britain The Gurkha battalion first settled in Britain with families around 1962, based in Tidworth, near Salisbury. Soon afterwards there came the Malay Emergency and they moved out. Since the 1970s, one regiment of Gurkhas has always been in the UK, with demonstration companies quartered in Sandhurt and Brecon. In the late 90s, many ex Gurkhas started arriving to Britain, taking the well trodden path as students, overstayers, and asylum seekers etc. At that point the Gurkhas realised that Commonwealth soldiers were getting the pension benefits after 4 years of service. So they joined the bandwagon and five of their number got naturalisation papers as well as well. But then the government realised it was not a

Tilakbahadur, Mr Sunuwar, Mr Chhatra Rai, General Secretary BGWS, Mrs Sunuwar and Netradevi

an area of dispute, with claims that some ex-army Nepali families were being denied residency and forced to leave Britain.

On 8 March 2007, the British Government announced that all Gurkhas who signed up after 1 July 1997 would receive a pension equivalent to that of their British counterparts. In addition, Gurkhas would, for the first time, be able to transfer to another army unit after five years' service and women would also be allowed to join although not in first-line units con-

Currently there are about 12000 Gurkhas in Britain. A charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust, provides aid to alleviate hardship and distress among Gurkha ex-servicemen.

Pension issues and Gurkha families We went down to meet two Gurkha families who have recently arrived in Britain.

The Sunuwar family: Mr Lal Sunuwar and Mrs Sunuwar came to Britain after taking a bank loan.

While his £190 pension

Community event being held at the Gurkha Bhavan (BGWS headquarter)

correct path for the Gurkhas due to the existence of the Tripartite agreement between Britain, India and Nepal.

The policy stalled, In the meantime one or two Gurkhas were getting deported. So ex-Gurkhas started approaching organisations like GAESO. Some exGurkhas were offered refugee status as well.

Obviously that was not something the Gurkhas desired for, having served this country for long, they felt they deserved better.

Hence they formed British Gurkha Welfare Society

forming to the British Army's policy. The act also guaranteed residency rights in Britain for retired Gurkhas and their families.

Despite the changes, many Gurkhas who had not served long enough to entitle them to a pension faced hardship on their return to Nepal, and some critics derided the Government's decision to only award the new pension and citizenship entitlement to those joining after 1 July 1997, claiming that this left many exGurkha servicemen still facing a financially uncer-

goes in paying the loan back, they receive a total benefit of £750 per month.

Mr Sunuwar is disabled and Mrs Sunuwar is a breast cancer patient.

Their flat costs them £615 per month (exclusive of bills). The local NHS is on a top of a hill and Mrs Sunuwar who used to be a strong woman, pushed the wheelchair uphill. Now as she is getting weaker and weaker, she complains about their trips to NHS. Affording a taxi is not a possibility. They hardly have money to eat, and such luxuries are out of question.

Continued on page 26

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Danny Jatania ventures into 'Pockit' Danny Jatania from the Jatania Brothers, owner of The Lornamead Group has embarked on setting up 'Pockit', a new business venture with his own sons, continuing the family’s business success into the next generation.

Danny is passionate about the success of Pockit, and is currently working very closely with Virraj and Yuvraj Jatania (his sons) to launch a revolutionary personal finance service which will generate savings for British households and SME’s.

The Lornamead Group, a personal hygiene and homecare brands

Danny Jatania

company owned by Uganda-born Indians Mike (44), George (58), Vin (53) and Danny Jatania (50), has been trading since 1978, building up a private business thought to be valued at more than £600m. Since

1985, Lornamead has been developing its own brands, including the ethnic skincare range Tura, across Asia, Europe and South Africa ..

It has followed a strategy of snapping up unwanted consumer brands from multinationals such as Unilever, Bristol Myers-Squibb and Sara Lee. Headquartered in Dubai with offices in London, Toronto, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos and Dublin, the brothers have a tongue-incheek motto - Let dynasty not become Dallas - to warn them against getting into family feuds.

Delhi Belly- Critical Review On Friday 24th June, Spice UK PR had organised an exclusive screening of the film Delhi Belly in a Central London hotel.

Directed by Abhinay Deo, starring Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Poorna Jagannathan, Vir Das and Shenaz Treasurywala, the film is written by Akshat Verma, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions and UTV Motion Pictures and released worldwide on July 1, 2011.

The story revolves around three friends and their adventures leading

Aamir Khan as the item boy

on to some life and death situations. On the lines of 'comedy of errors', the film also celebrates the virtue of loyalty, bravery and commitment amongst friends. A slapstick comedy certain scenes are borderline offensive but not in a bad way. Clearly a film for

youngsters- is not meant for a family viewing.

Imran Khan as an actor shows glimpse of his potential talents and he could have done better. His casual approach towards chaotic situations made him quite different. Kunal and Vir were commendable in their acting. Shenaz Treasurywala was a pretty face but Poorna Jagannathan, with no acting experience was worth noticing as a new comer.

Sultry, long legged and bold- she portrayed the true colour of a modern day woman in India.

Millions in school do not speak English as their first language One in four primary school pupils in Britain are from an ethnic minority - and almost a million school children do not speak English as their first language.

Official figures from the Department for Education show the numbers in both categories have soared in the last five years.

More than one in four (26.5 per cent) primary school pupils are from an ethnic minority, compared with 21.9 per cent in 2007.

Around 150,000 more youngsters than in 2007 do not have English as their mother tongue.

Overall, the data shows that 957,490 pupils in primary, secondary and special schools, as well as pupil referral units (PRU) have a first language that is known or believed to be other than English.

In 2007, five years ago, this figure was just under The music of the film is composed by Ram Sampath while the lyrics are penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, Munna Dhiman, Ram Sampath, Akshat Verma and Chetan Shashital. The lyrics of the song 'Bhaag Bhaag D K Bose Aandhi Aayi' created controversy upon the

800,000. This does not include PRUs. The figures are higher in primaries than in secondaries, with around one in six (16.8 per cent) of primary pupils speaking another language at home - 547,030 in total.

In secondary schools, that figure is around one in eight (12.3 per cent), song's release. Though the lyrics had no reference with any character in the film, it was well shot and blended correctly with the backdrop.

Taken in the suburbs of Delhi, the film revealed the true colour of Delhi middle class, suffering from heat and eating roadside

some 399,550 children.

And in secondary schools, over one in five (22 per cent) of pupils are from an ethnic minority background, compared to 17.7 per cent five years ago.

A DfE spokesman said: 'Having English as a second language doesn't always mean that English skills are necessarily poor.

'It only shows the language to which the child was initially exposed to early on at home, irrespective of whether they speak English fluently later on.

'The evidence is clear that once English is established, children catch up and even overtake their peers.' The statistics give a snapshot of the makeup of England's state schools in January this year. food- which are tasty but often unhygienic! Though the lengthy item song at the end of the film by Aamir Khan was absolutely unnecessary but overall the film is a good and entertaining view, and would be loved hopelessly by the Indian college goers.

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Dee Katwa

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Midland Voice Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com

Celebrating Hindi in multilingual Britain The historic three-day UK Hindi Conference in Birmingham ended last Sunday. Here, the highlights: It was a glowing success.

Over 500 delegates, mainly those of Indian origin, from all over the country took part in the symposium which was officially launched by the most senior Indian diplomat in the UK, Nalin Surie. “In the world today,” he began, “the biggest concern is of identity.” Mr Surie explained: “Language is the tool that links one to one’s culture. We are all

part of the same world, but we are unique because of our food, attire, language and way of thinking. The youth today sees everything by way of one’s actions.”

The 72-hour celebration of Hindi, India’s national language, featured a series of lectures, workshops, stage cultural performances, dinners, the launch of newsletters and much more.

Dignitaries included

Jewels in the Black Country crown

Baroness Sandip Verma, Lord Tarsem King, veteran volunteer Harmohinder Singh Bhatia, His Holiness Hazur Tarlochan Darshan Das Ji, Dr Krishna Kumar, Professors Pawan Budhwar and Aishwarj Kumar, Hamidbhai Malik – to list just a few. Mr Bhatia said that we in the UK had accumulated a lot of wealth, but at the expense of our language and culture. “Younger British Indians and Asians have top jobs, but when it comes to knowledge of their culture and mothertongue”, said Mr Bhatia, “that’s where they fall down.” Participant and MBA student Varun Gadhiok, 27, from Dubai, said it was important to understand the psychology of younger people to win their hearts and minds, thus attract them to such a conference, should it happen again.

Entrepreneur Rami Ranger, who had travelled from London, described language as a “unifying factor”. He explained: “Hindi is not just a language. It connects us to our rich Indian culture and heritage, wherever in the world we are.”

Another delegate, Dharam Jay Sandhu, Secretary of Arya Samaj London, said he was disappointed to see hardly any young people at the conference and recommended that in future, organisers offer free coaches to the Hinglish generation, aka the youth, rather than to middle-aged and senior citizens, as was the case. Despite comments from critics, as is expected of any event of this scale, this celebration of Hindi was indeed one which we as Britons with an ancestral connection to the Indian subcontinent should be proud of, don’t you agree?

Rameshbhai Oza to visit Leicester Pats on backs to the Mann Brothers, pictured, of West Bromwich who scooped two awards – Overall Business of the Year and Innovation and Enterprise –at the Black Country Asian Business Association (BCABA) awards. Held at the Copthorne Hotel in Dudley on Friday a fortnight ago, the prestigious event, now in its tenth year, brought together around 350 guests reflecting the region’s multicultural mosaic. In his welcome speech, BCABA Chair Ninder Johal highlighted the need for up-skilling to counter the threat from the East, adding, “despite everything it is reassuring to see that the Asian business community is still thriving.” A short, but extraordinary film featuring a string of mind-blowing facts about the world in the next few decades was screened. Other categories and winners on the night included: International Trade, Perfection Foods; Community Excellence, Raaj Radio; Business Start-Up, Venue Cuisine; Regeneration, Buffet Express and Young Entrepreneur, Sunny Rall of Support Asia. The keynote speaker was black-sari clad Perween Warsi, founder and chief executive of Derby-based S&A Foods, who read out her almost repeat speech, one she had shared with an audience at a local university some weeks ago. Again this year, the event was hosted by the self-glorifying Tommy Sandhu, a presenter with BBC Asian Network. A total £1,224 was collected on the night, through raffle ticket sales, for the chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. In addition to the chair and vice-chair of BCABA, which represents 2,750 local businesses, its board consists of seven members.

Trio charged over Ricky murder A woman and two men have been charged with the murder of Ricky Basra, pictured, who was shot dead on Melville Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, last Tuesday. Mr Basra, 22, “a much loved son, brother and nephew” was found lying in the street with a suspected gunshot wound to his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene by members of the ambulance crew. Anyone with information should contact DCI Simon Wallis in Force CID on 0345 113 5000.

Hindu spiritual leader Pujya “Bhaishri” Rameshbhai Oza, pictured, is coming to Leicester next Wednesday (Jul 6). Bhaishri will deliver a special discourse in Gujarati from 7pm onwards at Shri Prajapati Association, Ulverscroft Road (LE4 6BY). Free entry, all welcome.

The event is being hosted by Sanskruti Foundation UK and sponsored by Dullabhbhai Lakhani and family of Leicester. For more information visit www.sandipani.org

A Bride from London Full marks to the cast of stars, pictured, who featured in the inaugural performance last Saturday of London ni Laadi, a Gujarati comedy stage play. The sold-out, outstanding show brought to life modern day issues and challenges facing the Hindu Gujarati, and wider Asian communities, across Britain.

The two-part show, which captured the hearts, minds and emotions of the audience, won a standing ovation and rapturous applause, proof enough of its notable success. Written and directed by Mukesh Gohil, “A Bride from London” was presented by The Wanza Samaj UK. For bookings contact Ashokbhai Bharakhda on 07852 274203 or email mail@wanzasamaj.org

China-Brum link boost Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, pictured, was welcomed by his native ambassadors in the UK as he arrived at Birmingham Airport last weekend. He was attending the launch of the new MG6 Magnette car at the Chinese-owned Longbridge MG Motor UK car plant – the only business he visited during his stay in the UK. There are around 20,000 people of Chinese origin living in Birmingham.

News in Brief Olive oil vs Money People who cook with olive oil are 41 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke, claim researchers in France.

Have you noticed how all the things that are claimed to make us healthier, including olive oil, red wine, salads, fruit and nuts, are found in the diets of richer people? Maybe the real secret of long life is money.

New role for Sheetal Hanover, the communications agency, has appointed Sheetal Morzaria as a senior consultant in the firm’s healthcare practice. She joins from Clew Communications, having previously provided product and corporate PR advice to high-profile clients at both Clew and Cohn & Wolfe.

Gran gives thief £10 A Midland grandmother caught a thief who snatched her handbag – and then gave him £10. The victim gave chase and after another woman managed to slow him down, the thief apologised and gave her the bag back. The generous gran handed him a tenner after he explained that he was homeless and hungry.

Cash going up in smoke A purpose-built new £10 million fire service building in the Midlands is one of nine lying empty, costing thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money, union leaders claim. The Fire Brigades Union said the cost had risen to £50,000 a day even though the buildings will never be used by the fire service.

New president at IAB Congratulations to Nasir Awan who has been appointed the new president of the Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB). He took over the reign from interim chief Shantose Kaur. An unfamiliar face, Mr Awan is the director of Awan Marketing which imports and distributes consumer goods to 14,000 customers. The IAB, which is part of Birmingham Chamber, represents Asian businesses in the Midlands.

New move for Saha Rishi Saha, pictured, Downing Street’s head of digital comms, is to leave his post after less than a year. He will become regional director for Hill & Knowlton across Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central Asia and will relocate to Dubai for the new role.

Crazy world…

A woman in Kazan, Russia, died of heart failure after waking up at her own funeral. Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov woke up in an open coffin as relatives prayed at her memorial service. She began screaming, and was rushed to hospital, but died of a heart attack.

Q & A on Hindu festivals An interactive seminar about Hindu festivals took place in Birmingham last Saturday. The event, hosted

by Hindu priest Rakeshbhai Bhatt, in English and in Gujarati, was organised by Gujarati language teacher Hemaben Chauhan. Why do we celebrate them?

What do they mean to you? were two of many questions asked during the two-hour evening event at Farm Road Community Centre in Sparkbrook.

Tushar killer caught – again The killer of DJ Tushar Makwana has been recaptured after five days on the run. Brett Frewin, 24, who is more than seven years into a ten-year sentence imposed for the manslaughter of father-of-three Mr Makwana, had absconded from HMP Sudbury, an open prison in Derbyshire. The 37-year-old Heart FM presenter was killed as he tried to stop thieves escaping in a stolen car after he disturbed them breaking into his home in February 2004.

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

9

10

YOUR VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Discredited Examination System

Day of Judgement a credible concept?

Giving Bank of England more powers is a bad idea

As hundreds of thousands of pupils across the country finish taking their A levels and GCSE examinations, the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has described our examination system as "discredited". Mr Gove, who is set to announce an overhaul of the exams for 16 and 18 year olds, said one of his main goals as Education Secretary was to “change our discredited exam system”.

In our days in India and Africa, we learnt things differently- remembered things by constant repetition, by memorising. We relied on what our teachers told us and remembered that or read books in the library. Students now a days depend on their calculators for mathematics or on the Internet for assistance with their studies. So even when they complete their studies with higher grades, they can hardly read or write or do calculations without anybody else's help. The Education Act, 1944 placed emphasis on the three Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic as the fundamentals of learning. But this seems to have gone by the wayside in today’s education system.

In corroboration, I would add that at my place of work in the then Department for Education and Skills, we used to receive letters from university students and even school teachers and headmasters of secondary schools and I must say that even their spelling and grammar left much to be desired.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

According to Rev Harold Camping of the USA the Day of Judgement was due on 21st May 2011 at 6 PM. It was supposed to be the Doomsday when a huge unimaginable earthquake or natural disaster was going to bring to an end everything on earth and resurrection of human bodies would take place for judgement of God. But unfortunately for those who prepared themselves for the occasion nothing had happened and the day came and went peacefully. The question is: Is Day of Judgement a credible and viable concept or belief?

A human body is made up of natural elements such as organic and inorganic materials, water, air, etc. About 68% of a human body is water. Whether a body is buried or cremated water will find its way to the oceans, its source and reservoir and the body itself will be transformed into its constituent natural elements.

There will never be any resurrection of the original body. It is this reason why the western people are abandoning the tradition of burial of dead bodies and instead progressively cremating them.

Judgement of human deeds and activities is the right thinking. However the concept or belief of Day of Judgement is not either a credible or viable. We are living in the modern world. What is needed is rational analysis of everything that we do or think of doing.

STEM Education

Gujarat ex-royals queuing up to join BJP

George Osborne has proposed legislation to abolish the present Financial Service Authority and transfer its functions to the Bank of England. That means that BoE will supervise not only the authorised deposit taking institutions but also all other banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, independent financial advisors, mortgage advisors and thousands of other mutual and pension funds firms.

This is a bad idea and he should rethink. BoE already has too much on its plate: managing the macroeconomic side of the economy: capital account, interest rate, inflation rate, exchange rate, aggregate demand and stabilisation policy, aggregate supply and supply-side intervention, unemployment, non-employment and an eye on global developments.

The FSA formation was approved by Parliament in 1998 and was formed in 2000 to supervise the microeconomic side of the economy. It has functioned fairly well. The only mistake was that it had only one head for whom it was too much to manage.

The different parts can each have a separate Head: Self Regulating Organisations; Investment Management Regulatory Body; Personal Investment Authority; Building Societies Commission; Financial Central Register Helpline; Publications for Consumers and The Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The Self Regulating Organisations include all the accountancy bodies, law societies and Institute of Actuaries; Recognised Investment Exchanges, Recognised Clearing Houses; Designated Investment Exchanges and Ombudsman Schemes.

Interview of Professor Jonathan Shepherd in column - “One to One” of Keith Vaz MP gave amazing picture of world of Maxillo facial surgery that needs skills of a surgeon, cosmetician, beautician, utilitarian bone engineering and altruistic ethos.

As companions on desert island, Professor’s chose dynamic inventors, engineers and military leaders, instead of people with mickey mouse/ farcical degrees, preachers of unintelligible subjects and aspirants of easy going careers.

Understanding about such occupation, could reveal that Britain needs more such STEM(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates to build a strong nation. America is leading in technological arena after alluring STEM personnel post World War 2.

Britain has to import skilled graduates, because today’s youth pursue trivial degrees like trichology, nail maintenance, cake making, music, rap etc which can be good to adorn ones life style while pursuing any STEM degree STEM education is dynamic, adventurous and good booster to ones patriotism.

British home grown STEM pool is one way to beat flood of immigrants and conserve Britain’s resources, dignity and pride.

Import of STEM graduates can dumb down Britain. Government can lower fees to motivate youth to pursue STEM degrees, offer lucrative jobs and block drain of skilled graduates away from Britain.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Dr Jatindra Saha Via Email

It seems Modi magic is penetrating the once bastion of Congress, Maharajas that ruled the erstwhile princely states of Gujarat, albeit under the patronage of the British Raj, projecting Modi, the CM of Gujarat as the PM in waiting. The ceremony to introduce the royals, to bring them into the fold of BJP was held at Ranjit Vila Palace in Wankaner, thus breaking 15 years long isolation, hibernation when these Royals kept away from the political activities, concentrating on their business activities.

Led by Crown Prince Kesarisji, the son of Digvijaysinh, once an Environment Union Minister in Indira Gandhi’s government, 18 other Royals joined BJP, sharing the dais, giving their seal of approval to CM Modi, praising the tremendous economic progress the State is achieving under his almost corruption free leadership. Even Royals from Rajasthan joined in, making it a grand Royal occasion. A week later, the Gujarat Royal Muslims followed the lead of Maharajas and joined Modi on the podium, led by Sultana Babi, who was once the President of Balasinor Municipality, an independent candidate supported by BJP. Modi praised their sacrifice in giving up their kingdom to make Bharat a united nation, in response to a request by Sardar Patel which was in sharp contrast to Indira Gandhi, who when asked by the court to step-down, imposed Emergency Rule to hold on to power at any cost.It is time other economically backward states

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Alpesh's Political Sketchbook I do not, normally, make any comment on any article or any subject. But after having read Alpesh's Sketchbook in your esteemed Paper, (dated 25th June) my conscience has forced me to say a few words. I fully agree with Mr Patel's article. To be "great" is to "be cruel to be kind" If India was in the UN Security Council, she would have declined going into Iraq, Libya etc. For instance, The Security Council could also order, India to intervene in one or two of her States which might not be up to scratch. Would India have agreed to it, had she been in the Security Council?

Today, Einstein might say a " few kind words" for Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare. But.....so different from reference to Gandhiji !

AM Via Email follow Gujarat and make Bharat an industrial giant to match China who is leaving India behind on almost all commercial fronts.

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Please detach the form and send it with your payment or credit card instructions to address below FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Health Watch

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Sardar Patel's statue It is very important that we have our press media where we can express our views and the editor of our news media should be brave enough to write about the truth and also about the needs of our people. I am therefore proud of the editor of Asian Voice who daringly wrote the editorial in Asian Voice-Saturday 25th June 2011 about the comments made by the Daily Telegraph`s Correspondent in India Dean Nelson- "One third of British aid to India is consumed in building Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel `s Statue in Gujarat".

The Editor of the Daily Telegraph should publish the articles with right information and not provide false information to its readers and lower its news paper`s image in the people `minds.I have been subscribing some time ago for this news paper but now I will have to think twice because of such articles which are baseless and have no truth .

The editor of this paper also have to consider publishing the views of Non White people as well than only publishing the profiles of some of the rich Asian people or actors or actress of India.

Sardar Patel and Shastri ji , these two great leaders of India command the greatest respect in the minds of Indians,and I will not be wrong to say Nehru comes after them.

Dharam Sahdev Ilford

How Britain throws around money!

It is well-known that Musharraf was engaged in terrorism. Yet he is allowed to settle in this country.

The BBC is allowed to charge a huge amount for the licence fee which the public cannot even afford it, makes it extravagant. As an example, for the Wimbledon tennis matches, although for each match there is no need for more than 1 commentator but instead on the ground itself, 3 commentators are employed at a huge expense. This does not enhance the audience's enjoyment; in fact, it mars it. Boris Becker who cannot even speak proper English is paid £15,000 per day as a commentator.

Jenny James Via Email

M F Hussain's death It is really sad to note the death of MF Hussain the renowned and internationally acclaimed painter. He unfortunately suffered exile after he painted Hindu Gods as naked.

It is irony on the part of Hindu militants driving posh cars with seats made up of cow skin (leather), they ignore ignore wedding invitations, advertisements, pamphlets, visiting cards and gift wraps printed with Hindu Gods crowded and scattered on them. Often there are photos that are naked!

It is a hypocrisy just to target Hussain saab and it's a work of the politicianspoliticising everything including simple art.

Dr K R N Moorthy Handsworth

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

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

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

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

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EDUCATION

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Swaminarayan school secures second place in 2011 Times Spelling Bee Local Heat Chalfonts Community College have won their local heat in the 2011 Times Spelling Bee. In second place was The Swaminarayan School, from London, with Watford Grammar School for Girls, from Hertfordshire coming third.

The players from Swaminarayan school were Aditya Ladhani, Nikita Patel, Param Patel and Krishnan Kara. The eleven winning teams

Who am I? What defines my identity?

from the semi-finals travelled to London to com-

pete in the Grand Final at the O2 Arena on June 23.

church will no longer get priority over less regular congregation members for classroom places for their children.

The measures will end "points systems" under which classroom places

are offered to children whose families are most involved in the church.

Critics have claimed they make it easier for middle-class families to dominate church schools, with parents taking up religion simply to gain places for their children at high-performing schools.

The changes will also mean buying a house near a Church school and joining the local church may not be enough to secure a place.

Canons Gujarati School Canons Gujarati School celebrates an open day on 10th July for further enrolment in September for 2011-12 academic year.

Established in May 1992 the management and the security committees of the school comprise of dedicated parents who provide a very commendable service to the community on a voluntary basis.

The classes are held on Sundays at Canons High School in Edgware between 10.00 am–12.00 noon and are small and very friendly.

Students are enrolled from age of 4 years and upwards and are intro-

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Tejal Shah, NHSF Publications and Marketing Team

Church to give chances to non Christian students The Church of England is to attempt to break a middle-class stranglehold on its most popular schools with a dramatic shake-up of rules on admissions.

New moves open the door for schools to give places to ethnic minorities and immigrants who are not Christians in preference to local church goers Parents who "gold plate" their membership of the Church by worshipping every week and volunteering to help at

11

duced to spoken Gujarati by songs and stories in order to develop their listening and speaking skills.

Following this, from the age of 6 years and upwards, the students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are developed during the next eight-year period to build up their confidence and prepare them to sit for GCSE in Gujarati. The school has a structured programme of teaching based on National Curriculum and OCR GCSE Specification.

The school has dedicated experienced teachers, supported by a strong

leadership team with a teaching background. This is reflected in the 100% result in the GCSE examinations since the inception of the school.

Majority of students achieve A*, A and B Grades in their GCSE with occasional C grades.

Students also have an opportunity to participate in cultural songs, dance and music activities which enable their achievements to be recognised by their peers, teachers, and parents alike.

For further information visit the school’s website at www.canonsgujarati.com.

These are some of the questions we may ask ourselves from time to time and indeed the National Hindu Students Forum UK (NHSF) has been asking throughout its years. Having established a vibrant Hindu community within the UK for a few decades now, we have endeavoured to protect that Hindu identity through our various strengths.

But, has our necessity to understand this Hindu identity been overshadowed by our need to promote, protect and preserve it?

This idea of consciously seeking to understand our personal and communal identity has been an on-going discussion for a while now and NHSF has created various initiatives in order to develop this awareness.

One such idea is – ‘Roots’, a journey to India in order to expose British students to their own identity. The initiative started in 2010 when 6 students took a leap of faith and immersed themselves in a 21 days programme of learning. This year, 4 students have

dent’s ability to adapt to a culture which they have never been exposed to. Therefore the itinerary will encompass no extra niceties than that of what Indian residents face already. The students, for 3 weeks, will live in the exact same conditions as those living in the places they are to visit. This includes travelling on overnight trains with no air conditioning, using very basic shower, toilet and lodgings facilities for extended periods of time.

Whilst this type of trip on the outset may seem very much out of the western comfort zone, it is agreed that by immersing the student to the day to day Indian way of life will give them the best opportunity to fully connect with their motherland and tongue.

For just 3 weeks, participants have been advised to leave their natural instincts at home and challenge themselves to break the barrier between their ancestral roots and their 21st century upbringing in the UK.

come on board to undertake the same journey.

Starting in Delhi, the students will embark in a range of activities, moving from different villages and cities up to the state of Punjab. The itinerary will include staying at the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in the spiritual city of Amritsar, meeting Kashmiri Pandit refugees in the state of Jammu & Kashmir and trekking a height of around 14,500 ft to take part in the auspicious Amarnath Yatra.

The idea of the journey is to bridge the gap between the student’s British and Indian identity and it will test the stu-

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MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Scrutator’s Critical voices on aspects of Indian development are a reminder that things are not as swimmingly smooth as bald statistics would suggest. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata, in a frank and forthright conversation with market research firm JD Power, spoke hopefully of the progress of Tata Motors in developing products with “reliability, finish and technology,” even as it “may still be sub-scale by international standards,”although in certain segments economies of scale had been achieved. Tata Motors, he said, was looking to bring world-class products in the coming decade to meet customer needs.

However, the company's endeavours to forge ahead with improved technology had hit a road block in the abnormally high tariff duties for imported critical components such as automative transmissions. The company, therefore, found it unviable to import these items. “So we have to keep on developing these components ourselves, which is very time consuming and is not our core business.” For this reason, Mr Tata favoured cutting custom duties on vehicles and components manufactured overseas. “If the tariff barriers go down, we may have the luxury of buying a product to fill the gap in our range, and not develop a product, which is very expensive and wasteful for us,” said Mr Tata.

When asked about the role of the British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, the industrialist responded optimistically on the possibility of “great synergy” between the company and its Tata Motors parent in engineering and development. “We are looking at joint engine projects and common platforms for the future, which would help improve the economies of scale.

However, the brands would remain distinct in terms of their positioning and retail strategy,” Mr Tata said (Indian Express June 16).

Stifling bureaucracy, regulation The second critical voice was that of E. Sreedharan, who forever will be associated with the Konkan railway and the magnificent Delhi Metro. Interviewed by Outlook magazine (June 27), he railed at the dead weight of bureaucracy and regulation that was throttling industrial enterprise in India. For instance, why had engineers at state electricity boards to be answerable to IAS

cision.” But in the private sector, ethics, efficiency and delivery are very good despite many regulatory obstacles. “The KrishnaGodavari (K-G) Gas Basin of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is a fantastkic showpiece. If you see the time taken, the way it has been done, the high technical standard.....it is perhaps better than anything in a country like America.”

Finally, there must be a firm timeline on public debate. The Koch underground metro was held back by four years of flatulent discussion, remarked Mr Sreedharan caustically.

One hopes someone in authority was listening to these criticisms from Messrs Tata and Sreedharan and preparing to act.

India-Russia commercial ties

E. Sreedharan

Delhi Metro carriage

officers with no technical competence in the field. In Japan and Germany such enterprises had qualified engineers in the top tier of management. India, he said, should adopt such best practices.

“The problem is with our government environment, where there is wastage, inefficiency and inde-

According to a report in The Hindu from its Moscow Correspondent, Vladimir Radyuhin (June 18), India's Industry and Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma, called on the city's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, until recently Prime Minister Vladimr Putin's pointman on India, to discuss the possibilty of greater Indian investment in the area. The two sides agreed to set up a joint study group to draft a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, to host the annual Forum on Trade and Investment in Moscow in November, and to set up within the forum three round tables in Public-Private Partnership format focussing on innovation and commercialization of scientific research, infrastructure and pharmaceuticals.

Mr Sharma0 revealed that Mayor Sobyanin had offered to provide unused industrial facilitiess in the Russian capital for Indian pharma and auto parts manufacturers.

TB, HIV molecule Another Hindu report (June 16) said that scientists at the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) in Chennai had hit upon a new molecule with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that could lead potentially to a more effective drug for the treatment of TB and common HIV subtypes. The TRC team had extracted the molecule 'Transitmycin' from the marine micro organism 'Streptomyces', isolated from a soil sample off the Rameswaran coral reef.

The brominated and pigmented (yellow) anti-biotic was found to be effective during invitro tests against dormant and active forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis – the pathogen that triggers one of the leading infectious diseases worldwide.

“The significance of the discovery of this molecule is that it comes at a time when there is virtually nothing to offer to patients developing multi-drug resistance to an otherwise effective secondgeneration drug like Rifampicin,” said Vanaja Kumar, Head of Bacteriology, TRC. Chennai.

Indian firms, global prices A Hindustan Times report (June 6) tells how Indian firms were helping push down global prices of certain vaccines. For instance, Bharat Biotech had announced it will price Rotavac, India's first indigenously developed rotavirus vaccine, at US $1 per dose.

Rotavirus causes fatal diarrhea that kills around 500,000 children under 5 years every year.

The vaccine is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials for safety and efficiency in 8,000 people and, alongwithth vaccines from Serum Institute and Shantha Biotechnica, is expected to reach the market by 2015.

These vaccines will bring the price of vaccinating a child to $3, down from $7.5 per dose.

Cheaper vaccines from India are forcing global giants to scale down their prices.

GKS announced it had reduced its rotavirus vaccines to $2.5 per dose - or $5 to fully immunize a child – in response to a current tender administered by UNICEF.

Nuclear plants near criticality According to a Hindu newspaper report by T.S. Subramanian (June 6), preparations are at an advanced stage in the commissioning of the first unit of the 1000 MWe of the Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu at the end of September or early October. Commissioning activities of the of the second reactor at the KKNPP, also of 1000 MWe capacity, have already commenced. It will reach criticality (about nine months after the first reactor is commissioned), in May/June 2012.

The two reactors are Russian; they belong to the advanced design of the VVER family but have been by built by the Nuclear Pawer Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). These are the

biggest reactors to be constructed in India. They use enriched uranium as fuel, and light water as both coolant and moderator.

The Kundankulam reactors have state-of-the-art safety features, said Kasinath Balaji, Site Director, KKNPP. Each reactor is provided with four diesel generators, only one of which will be required to keep the reactor in a cool state under shutdown condition. These generators have been installed at a height of nine metres above mean sea level, isolated from tsunami-like flooding, said Mr Balaji. The bulk of the power from the two reactors (2000 MWe) will go to Tamil Nadu (925 MWe), the rest to be taken taken by Karnataka (442 MWe) and Kerala (266 MWe), Pondicherry (67 MWe), with 300 MWe unallocated.

Philanthropy recognised The Hindustan Times (June 23) tells of a Forbes Asia business magazine report - “Heroes of Philanthropy” - which lists four Indians among chosen Asian 48 benefactors. Giving poor children access to education is a priority of priorities for Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar, Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao and Vivek Oberoi, their individual brands carrying the sign of four.

Azim Premji of Wipro, transferred nearly $2 billion of his

Organisation (DRDO) for testing Research & Development aeroengines and aerodynamics bodies.

Air Chief Marshal P.V.Naik has said that the IAF would consider ordering a further six Globemasters after the aircraft on order were inducted and evaluated. This rugged plane will bolster India's power projection capability as it can take large numbers of troops and equipment to the battlefield area. The deal also comes as a boost for the US as it will guarantee 22,000 American jobs (The Times of India June 16).

IAF upgrades Antonov -32s The Times of India had earlier reported (June 9) the induction of its Antonov-32 airlift aircraft, which underwent a comprehensive overhaul and life extension programme in the Ukraine. Said a senior IAF official: “Four of the first batch of five AN-32s that recently underwent Total Technical Life Extension overhaul and re-equipment at Ukraine were inducted with a new nomenclature AN-32RE into service.”

The upgrades would extend the life of the aircraft to and beyond 2025, said Air Officer-incharge Maintenance Air Marshal Joseph Neri.

Shiv Nadar

Azim Premji

wealth to the Azim Premji Trust for disadvantaged children's education, health and nutrition.

Billionaire Shiv Nader's HCL Technologies takes the brightest children from India's poorest villages and sends them to good boarding schools; Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao has pledged $340 million to GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, while 34-year-old Bollywood star, Vivek Oberoi, has donated $3 million to date and helped raise $25 million to support education, health and disaster relief. This is a brilliant ray of sunshine amid the dark clouds of scams. There is hope for India.

Ready for action

Done deal India has signed the talked about deal for the puchase of America's 10 C-17 Globemaster-III strategic heavy lift aircraft for $4.1 billion, the largest single defence deal between the two countries.

The aircraft will be delivered over the next four years by manufacturer Boeing, together with a high-altitude engine facility as well as a trisonic wind tunnel facility to India's Defence Research and Development

The best way to avoid war is to be prepared for it and to send the appropriate signal to potential adversaries. Hence the words of Air Marshal K.J.Matthews, Commander-in- Chief of India's tri-services Strategic Forces Command (SFC), that “a lot of work is going on” to keep the country in full readiness to use its nuclear arsenal in case the need arose, assumes special significance.

Speaking in Bangalore at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the inauguration flight of India's first indigenous aircraft, the Marut, by Hindustan Aircraft Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the Air Marshal, as chief guest, explained: “We (SFC) are in charge of development and delivery of nuclear weapons. We report directly to the prime minister......I must assure you that a lot of work is going on as far as our credible minimum deterrence is concerned. We are way ahead and way up than our adversaries” (The Tribune online June 18).

It is better to be safe than sorry.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel’s

Indians do not have the right to be in Palaces Why does it take the kindness and generosity of a few dozen Western strangers to help a billion Indians feed so many of their children, when a few dozen Indians are billionaires?

I am writing this at 2am (before having to get up at 5am for a flight) following yet another charity fund raiser for Indian children – to school and feed them. I attend, donate, sometimes help organise and sometimes compere these charity fundraisers.

Whether Loomba Trust, Akshaya Patra, Pratham, Isha VIdhya, Sewa, GOAL..oh the list goes on. I’m not bragging – I’m fed up. I donate, as many of my readers do, more as a percentage of my income than the United Kingdom or the United States does as a percentage of its gross national income. And I’m fed up. Not with the charities but with rich Indians who don’t pull their weight. I have better things to do at 2am – like sleep. But I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep because too many wealthy Indians are sleeping comfortably and the uncomfortable destitute Indian can’t sleep and are keeping me awake.

So I ask again, why does it take the kindness and generosity of a few dozen Western strangers to help a billion Indians feed so many of their children, when a few dozen Indians are billionaires?

I don’t get it. Can someone explain it to me please? Can someone explain the Ambani tower? I don’t mean explain why it looks like an NCP car park, but what audacity a man has to build something like this when all around are living in squalor? An Englishman has the right – because by and large he won’t be overlooking a slum. But an Indian has yet to earn the right to live in a Palace – not until his country is rid of destitute slums.

When I worked in the US Congress, an Indian diplomat told me the

Government of India did not want US aid. Not because India didn’t need it, but because the Americans in giving it would lecture the Indians on the floor of the Congress for hours and hours.

He used it as an example of how the Indian in America were doing things, in pushing for aid to India, which the Government of India did not consider in the Indian national interest because it put on the record so many antiIndian sentiments and lectures.

Just like the Chinese Premier said he didn’t like being lectured. Just like I am lecturing. Well, being lectured at is the price you pay when your house is not in order. And I’ll keep on doing it.

I’ll do it because Gandhiji and Patel did not live in Ambani towers.

And for those who think this is selfrighteous, pious indignation – I say this – far far more than me is done by the dozens you never hear about. Take someone you will never have heard of – Minaxi Mistry. She organised the fund raiser for Isha Vidhya (I confess all the auction items were out of my price range - so a more modest donation will be due from me) or Dipika Khaitan who with CB Patel organised this past week’s Akshaya Patra fund raising dinner. They all do so much. As does the proprietor of this paper.

So where is the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett of India? I don’t mean someone who has made as much as these two men, but who has given away as much as them. You want to know why America is great? Carnegie, Rockefeller. Billionaires who endured through charity not wealth. Ambani will always be nought until it becomes a Carnegie.

Indian business giants have yet to understand what makes a great society. I worry for Indians when they have to learn from American history and not their own. www.alpeshblog.com

Caste Discrimination Conference A conference on the sensitive theme of caste discrimination, which still, unfortunately, lingers on in our society is to take place in Coventry this Saturday (Jul 2). The free, all-day

event, entitled Caste and Equality Act 2010: Next Steps, has been organised by CasteWatch UK, a lobbying group. The programme, which will feature presentations,

workshops, speeches, a short film and a panel discussion, will take place at Conference Theatre, 101 Lockhurst Lane (CV6 5SF). To find out more visit www.castewatchuk.org

World-class artists put off coming to Britain for its immigration system World-class artists and musicians are being put off coming to Britain by of the “bureaucratic and intrusive” points-based immigration system introduced under Labour, more than a hundred leading cultural figures have warned in a letter to The Daily Telegraph.

Acclaimed artists such as Abbas Kiorastami, the Cannes prize-winning director, and Grigory Sokolov, one of the world’s greatest concert

pianists, have decided not to return to Britain after being “treated poorly” by immigration officials, the letter claims.

The group of 120 artsleaders, novelists and musicians call for a new visa for artists and entertainers to make it easier for leading performers to enter the country for cultural events.

The letter is signed by the directors of the National Theatre, The Tate, The Royal Academy

Salman Rushdie

and the Royal Opera House as well as dozens of authors including Salman Rushdie, Howard Jacobson and Phillip Pullman.

From Bollywood to your Family Vacation Switzerland is often synonymous with film scenes by the veteran Director Yash Chopra- Shahrukh Khan and Kajol Devgan in a snowcap mountain by a bonfire- dancing to a catchy Hindi song or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan running in the Swiss valley in a colourful transparent saree! It is often a picturesque backdrop with sultry beauties or Greek god like men performing heart stopping numbers. But is Bollywood telling us all about the real Switzerland?

What do you think of when you think of Switzerland? Diversity, value for money, warm hospitality, quaintness, easy to travel around in, safe and clean? Probably not, but this is what Switzerland is truly about. It is just not a Romantic getaway but it is a family holiday spot- where you have something for everybody!

It offers diversity which is not only derived by a country which has four official languages and cultures (German, French, Italian and Romansh) but also by an ever changing countryside of spectacular mountain panoramas, alpine peaks glittering with snow, gushing waterfalls in hidden valleys, crystal clear lakes, vineyards and lush alpine meadows. By the way - most lakes and rivers are so clean that you

can take a refreshing dip in the heat of summer - even in bigger cities such as Zürich or Geneva!

Switzerland is the land of public transport and a tourist’s dream to travel around in. Wherever you want to go there is a train, a bus, a boat, a funicular, a gondola or a mountain railway that can get you there – and all this with a connected timetable and on time.

And best of all children under the age of 16 years travel for free on almost everything even to the highest mountain tops provided their parents hold one of the fabulous Swiss Travel System tickets.

The Swiss Travel system offers a variety of tickets to choose from depending on the type of holiday you are planning. The ‘Swiss Pass’ of the Swiss Travel System for example allows you to explore the whole country with unlimited travel on the public transport system. It also covers the trams and buses in most Swiss cities and even offers free admission to more than 450 museums.

Many train, bus or boat journeys are purely made because of the spectacular scenery. There simply is no better way than to comfortably sit in your seat and enjoy mountain scenery you thought you never could reach unless you hike up to the top.

There is a wide choice of flights from all major UK airports to Switzerland’s main airports Zürich, Geneva or Basel.

Or would you prefer to travel by train?

Eurostar and TGV-Lyria bring you in record time directly into the heart of Switzerland. There are several routes via Paris into Geneva, Lausanne, Bern or Zürich. This might take a couple of hours longer than flying but is far more relaxing and children under 12 years travel for free.

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COMMUNITY & ART

India Connect Q & A: Visa to India How do I apply for Minor Child (Under 16 Years of age) A copy of the child’s birth certificate showing both the parents names.

Consent letter signed by both the parents.

Photocopy of Parent’s passports along with the copy of their current Indian Visa, if Jiten Vyas, VFS Global already holding one.

In case of Divorce, Child Custody Letter from court in respect of the child is required.

In case of Single Parent, Solicitor’s Letter and Child Benefit letter will be required.

Applicants can visit India without the ‘02 month entry’ restrictions with a valid Long term VISA. This is different from a Tourist VISA. What is long term VISA. A Long term entry visa is issued to people of Indian origin only and hence appropriate documentation is required to substantiate Indian origin e.g. Old Indian Passport copy or any document issued in the name of the applicant by the Government of India.

The visa is valid for up to five years with multiple entries. Please note the validity of the visa is effective from the date of issue.

What are the requirement for Long Term VISA ?

Passport - valid for a minimum of 180 days with at least two blank pages.

Correct visa fee.

Two recent 50 x 50 mm size photographs. Please check the Photo Specification Correctly filled application form.

Any of the below listed Documents for Proof of Indian Origin: Surrender Certificate of the Applicant.

Copy of the Applicant's Parent’s Indian Passport /Surrender Certificate of their Indian Passport along with the applicant's Birth Certificate.

Copy of the Applicant’s Wife’s / Husband's Indian Passport or Surrender Certificate of his / her Indian Passport along with the applicant's Marriage Certificate.

(If claiming Indian origin by virtue of spouse's (Wife / Husband) Indian origin).

In absence of any of the above documents, an affidavit signed by the First Class Magistrate from India about Indian Nationality.

I want to submit a PIO / OCI application, where do I do this?

For all PIO or OCI applications or queries, you will be required to apply directly at the India High Commission or the Consulate General in UK. I have completed an online visa application but forgot to note down my web reference number, how do I retrieve this?

If you require your web reference number to retrieve, modify or print your application, please email our information desk (info.inuk@vfshelpline.com) or call our helpdesk on 0905 757 0045)

For more information regarding any quires about Indian Visa please contact by email or post: Email: info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Customer Relations Department.

India Visa Application Center, 60-62 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

India Connect - your questions answered on India visas” a service offered by

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Community raises cash for vital Bangladesh cancer project A charity auction in Manchester attended by 350 guests from across the North West of England has raised £16,000 for a vital cancer hospital project in Bangladesh.

The evening was organised and hosted by global food group Seamark, which has its headquarters in the city and took place at its highly-acclaimed Vermilion and Cinnabar restaurant and bar next to Sport City in New East Manchester.

The money raised will go towards a £33 million project to build the modern Ahsania Mission Cancer and General

the UK, as well as the Bangladesh government and business community.

The auction was attended by members of the Bangladeshi community from across the North West and Manchester businessman and Seamark founder Iqbal Ahmed, who organised the proceedings, now has plans to make it an annual event.

Deputy Lord Friends of Dhaka Ahsania Mission with Iqbal Ahmed OBE (far right), Seamark Group Chairman and Chief Executive and his son Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Kabir Vermilion Managing Director Manzur Ahmed (centre) Ahmed, who was born Hospital in Dhaka. £16 date by fundraisers in in Bangladesh, was among million has been raised to Manchester and around the evening’s guests.

London Event Looks To Tip Scales Toward Good Work Life Balance Business professionals are set to descend on leading law firm Irwin Mitchell’s London office on Monday 4th July for a free session where achieving a good work life balance in today’s challenging times will be discussed.

Work/Life Balance in the 21st century will see four key speakers address issues including maternity leave and flexible working.

Dad of two John Hayes, partner at Irwin Mitchell who heads up the employment law department in the firm’s London office, will give an overview of discrimination issues and flexible working.

Other speakers are QC Rachel Langdale, Barrister Elaine Banton and Head of Irwin Mitchell’s Clinical

Negligence department in London, Alison Eddy.

Leena Savjani, a clinical negligence specialist at Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester office, and committee member for the Association Of Asian Women Lawyers, has planned the event in association with both organisations.

She says: “Balancing a family life with a successful career undoubtedly brings challenges.

Through this event, we hope to give both men and women the chance to talk openly about their experiences and views relating to flexible working and maternity leave, and to give them valuable information to help them on their career and family journeys.”

DVD Launched to Tackle Mental Health Stigma Among BME Communities A brand new DVD, “Beyond Prejudice”, which explores the stigma of mental ill-health and recovery among black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in Scotland was launched on Monday, 27th June.

The DVD, which is the result of collaboration between mental health organisations ‘see me’, Voices of Experience (VOX) and the Glasgow Association

for Mental Health (GAMH), explores mental health issues experienced within BME communities. It acts as a forum for people to voice their personal experiences of stigma, racism and attitudes of family and communities. It also explores the way some people have overcome their mental health issues, whether through support, community activities or medication.

A breath of fresh air Harrow East Labour Party has selected Niraj Dattani as the Labour Party Candidate to contest the by-election in Stanmore Park Ward to be held on 28th July 2011.

Niraj, a graduate in politics, is a product of Park High School and St Dominics Sixth Form College. He has worked for a global think tank and a medical research company in a temporary capacity and is in the process of setting up his own business.

Niraj, a through and through Harrovian, is proud of his upbringing in Harrow which he says has played a major part in influencing and shaping his life.

Commenting on his selection Niraj told Asian Voice “From my childhood I have been able to enjoy the community spirit within Stanmore and across Harrow and I’m proud of it. Harrow has played a major part in

Niraj Dattani

influencing and shaping my life. This is something I’d like to preserve and is at the heart of what I’d like to achieve when representing Stanmore...My interest and number one priority is protecting key services in these tough times and tackling local issues like congestion, concerns about the Anmer Lodge site and problem of accessibility to Stanmore Station. I meet the people of Stanmore on a regular basis, and if elected as their councillor I will make sure their voices are heard."

Fined for illegal loft conversion Waltham Forest Council's planning enforcement team chalked up a considerable success last week, landing one Waltham Forest resident with a £12,000 fine for failing to take down an illegal loft conversion.

The planning enforcement team did everything it could to negotiate with the property owner before legal action was

taken. The defendant Mr Imitaz Akbar Khan of Walthamstow - was not to be swayed and the matter was heard at W a l t h a m s t o w Magistrates Court on 6 June.

Mr Khan was unable to put forward a defence for his non-compliance with the Councils enforcement notice and entered a guilty plea.

Literature Festival to be held in January Considered to be Asia’s leading literature event the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, is all set to enthral literary enthusiasts from January 20-24, 2012. As always, the annual festival will be held at the heritage property Diggi Palace in Jaipur] The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2012

will play host to over 130 authors from across the globe. Some of the prominent authors who have confirmed their participation are Ben Okri, David Hare, David Remnick, David Shulman, Deepak Chopra, Diana Eck, Fatima Bhutto, Hari Kunzru, Jamaica Kincaid, James Schapiro, Jason Burke,

Jatin Nayak, Mahesh Dattani, Mohamed Hanif, Pankaj Mishra, Purshotam Agarwal, Rabi Thapa, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Tahmima Anam, Thant Mynt-U and Zoe Heller.

The Directors of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival are William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale.

Kiran Desai

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

15

by Shree Short Story by Neha Garg

Robbie the Robot 'Waiter, a glass of water, please' 'Beep,' said XL-270 as he rolled up to table 5 with a tray.

It was the year 2176 and XL-270 was the newest, most modern robot available. He was green with blue eyebrows and antennae. The children that chased him playfully around the restaurant lovingly called him Robbie.

'I love you, Robbie,' one little boy would say often. This boy's name was Ali. Robbie beeped happily.

He loved Ali too.

One day, Ali came in with his father. He looked around but couldn't see Robbie. Instead, a big grey robot was busily bringing food and beeping orders. Ali was surprised. Who was this?

'Mr. Manager,' said Ali standing on tip-toe to look over the manager's desk.

'Where is Robbie?'

'Robbie?' said the manager, irritated at the disturbance.

'I mean the XL-270, sir. He was here last week. Now there is this new robot,' said Ali. 'Aah. That old clunker. It blows a fuse every week. It is no use anymore so I replaced it. Its going to be destroyed,' said the manager returning to his paperwork.

Ali was horrified. Destroy Robbie?

He looked up at his father, eyes teary.

His father nodded and turned to the manager.

'Where may we find the XL-270, sir?' asked Ali's father.

'In the dumpster, out back.'

Ali ran to the door the manager had pointed to. He threw it open to find Robbie lying in the dumpster, eyes closed.

'ROBBIE!' cried Ali in panic, shaking Robbie's arm.

The robot opened his eyes and beeped feebly.

'How are you Robbie?' asked Ali, sad to see his friend hurt.

Robbie beeped again. He knew he was being taken to the junkyard. He didn't want to leave Ali. 'Robbie,' said Ali's father quietly. 'I run a children's nursery and need someone to help me. Would you like to come work for me?'

Robbie looked into the kindly face of his friend's father. The corners of his mouth twitched. He nodded slowly.

Ali was ecstatic! He hugged Robbie and Robbie hugged back, beeping happily.

'You dont have to go to the junkyard, Robbie. You don't have to die. Oh, thank you dad. Thank you.'

Lighter Life!

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather.. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

3. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

4. We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.

5. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.

6. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

7. If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

8. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

9. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

10. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Colour me

Sudoku

with

Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to share with us, please write to Shree at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Return of the Trousers I know, I know it’s summer and the season of shorts and I shouldn’t be wishing it away etc. but hey, if it’s already summer sales in the stores, can new autumn fashion be far behind? Trousers are always a firm trans-seasonal staple. And some of us with less than perfect pins and corporate dresscodes to adhere to can’t eschew them even in the middle of a heat-wave. So,

never mind if you are a fan of the pants or are altogether more dressy, let this post be your guide to the maze of trouser trends.

The tailored ones: Equally appropriate at work or play, the smart tailored trousers are a

classic. Available in abundance on the High Street or Harvey Nichols, there is no excuse for not possessing a well-fitted pair of tailored trousers in a neutral colour. The flares have had their moment, the supremely cut straight legs or slight boot cuts still reign supreme.

The skinny cropped ones: Or cigarette pants as they are widely known.

The last word in French chic, think Audrey Hepburn, white tees and fitted jumpers. Perfect for showing off fabulous shoes, pair them with ballet flats for the day and sky-high heels once darkness falls.

The palazzo pants: Stylistically, the opposite of skinny cropped and maybe a cousin of the ubiquitous maxi skirts.

The palazzo trousers can be patterned especially at D&G who had an array of floral and lace trousers or plain shades which are equally as striking. Very forgiving due to their looseness; you can wear them with a variety of tops, and wedges.

The coloured trousers:

The colour blocking trend was all over the runways this year. The British High Street, taking its cue from the designers, have been awash with bold hues.

Trousers have been no exception.

A cheery option for summer, many celebs have already dipped their toes in. Be inspired by your mum’s 70s wardrobe and rock a brightly coloured pair with a loose top, hat and raffia wedges.

We do love our 50% off madness, but once you are done with elbowing fellow crazed women in Zara buying last season’s minis, go off and make some, ahem…‘pant’astic (I just couldn’t resist) new season purchases. Happy shopping!

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BoLLYwood

Asian Voice Saturday 2nd July 2011

Large-hearted Rajinikanth

Superstar Rajinikanth in known for large-heartedness. Industry insiders say that the actor is a person, who never holds grudge against anyone. This has proved again, as he has excused Vadivelu to include him in the cast for his upcoming multilingual film “Rana.”

During the 2011 assembly election cam-

paign, Vadivelu had commented against Rajinikanth after he was not included in the cast.

The comedian, who was quizzed about his exclusion from “Rana,” replied that he does not care, whether it is Rana or Gana!

Vadivelu, who shared a good rapport until then, created a furore in the Tamil film industry with his statement.

Later, Rajinikanth reportedly refused to meet him, when he went to meet the superstar in a hospital in Chennai during his illness.

Meanwhile, there were reports that Ganja Karuppu was roped for the role of the comedian.

However, Rajinikanth has now excused him and has reportedly told the makers of the film to include him in the cast.

Kamal Hassan introduces two Bollywood babes

Kamal Hassan’s “Vishwaroobham” is turning out to be a platform for the entry to the regional films for two of the hottest babes of Bollywood! It is well-known that Sonakshi Sinha has been signed to act in the film. The other gal, who has been roped in to play one of the female leads, is none other than Isha Sharvani.

Isha Sharvani has recently signed ‘Vishwaroobham.’

The actress will be playing the key role in the film,

which is said to be a remake of Hollywood movie “Mission Impossible.” The character, which was rumoured that it was offered to Shreya Saran, is enacted by the 27-year-old actress.

Sources say that she will join the team for the shoots in August. She is also a trained Kalaripayattu, Kathak and Chhau dancer. The actress made her Bollywood debut in 2005 with ace director Subhash Ghai.

Madhavan’s weighty cop

Madhavan (Maddy) seems to be thinking differently in this age of six-pack and eight-pack. To portray his role of a cop in Lingusamy's “Vettai,” the actor has put on weight and developed a paunch!

The actor confirms the

'development ' and says, “for a certain part of Vettai, I'm supposed to look totally unlike a cop and unfit before it all changes! I can't wait to watch the film myself as I'm having so much fun doing it.”

Katrina-Hrithik smooch too hot to handle

Ranbir Kapoor is reportedly keeping a safe distance from his “Barfee” co-star Ileana D'Cruz to keep wagging tongues a rest. After the shoot at Darjeeling, Ranbir withdraws to his own corner or chats with director Anurag Basu. According to a close friend, "Ranbir doesn't want to be seen in public with his new co-star Ileana.

He knows the rumours about them are waiting to start. It really troubles him that he has been linked with his every co-star from Sonam Kapoor to Nargis Fakhri. The reputation of a Casanova no longer amuses RK," the friend adds.

"I just want to be left alone. I want to focus on my work," Ranbir told a friend recently. In fact, RK is hoping that his new co-star, the TamilTelugu actress has a boyfriend.

He knows that a fresh bout of rumours linking him with Ileana are going to erupt and the only way they can be averted is if the lady in question has a boyfriend.

Says a source, "The only leading lady Ranbir has not been linked with is Konkona Sen and that's because when they worked together she was involved with Ranvir Shorey.

‘Barfee’ has a very difficult role for him and the last thing he needs is romantic diversions, imagined or otherwise."

But, there's some good and bad news for the actor. Ileana is apparently, unattached and single.

However, she is never alone and her mother constantly accompanies her.

Scared Ranbir keeps away from Ileana

After toning down Hrithik-Katrina's sizzling chemistry for a song in “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,” director Zoya Akhtar is acting prudish again. Buzz is that she is planning to cut the steamy kiss between the duo. Apparently the kiss is three-minutes long and is an essential part of the script. Revealing the nature of the scene, an insider said, "After a severe exchange of words, Hrithik's character Arjun leaves in a Buick. Katrina (Laila) chases him on her bike. Stopping his car, she forces him out and pinning him on the bonnet, kisses him. And it's a rather long scene, about three minutes long."

"That's why Zoya is finding it difficult to decide on how much of the kiss to retain and how much to leave out," the source says.

But Zoya is still in a dilemma, which emerged after seeing their chemistry in the “Ek Junoon” track.

"When they saw the first cut of the song shot during the Spanish Tomatina festival, Zoya felt that the chemistry between the two actors was too much for a group song," continues the source.

Kissing in Bollywood is now a done thing. Hrithik-Aishwarya kiss in “Dhoom” and Katrina-John's smooch in “New York” sparked much gossip. This can hardly be fresh food for thought.

According to the source, the scene is very crucial as it conveys the strengthening of Arjun and Laila's romance.

"That's why Zoya is finding it difficult to decide on how much of the kiss to retain and how much to leave out, " source says.

Zoya was not available for comment.

IIFA Awards 2011: Bolywood star power sparkles Toronto

Toronto played host to four days of jampacked events, the glamour meter was set high with “IIFA Rocks”on 24th June, which saw a host of celebrities walking the green carpet. Salman Khan starrer "Dabangg", last year's biggest Bollywood hit, was adjudged the best film at the glittering 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, it bagged seven awards. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was named the best male actor for his performance in "My Name Is Khan", while Anushka Sharma received the best female actor award for her lively role of a wedding planner and Ranvir Singh won the

award for best debut male award for his role in "Band Baaja Baaraat" The award for male supporting role went to Arjun Rampal for "Raajneeti".Prachi Desai won for female supporting role for her performace in underworld drama "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai". Mamta Sharma won the award for best female playback singer for her song "Munni Badnaam" in "Dabanng".

In an international first, legendary Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam teamed with Grammy Award nominee and iconic American pop star Jermaine Jackson in a dazzling performance paid tribute to his brother, the late ‘King of

Salman Khan drops his shirt, again!

Look's like Salman Khan is doing an Aamir in “Chillar Party.” With the film, Salman makes his foray into Bollywood production. Just a few days ago, Aamir and his team had released a promo of their upcoming film ‘Delhi Belly,’ where the actor got into an informal chat about the movie with the star cast Imran Khan, Vir Da and Kunal Roy Kapoor.

Looks like Salman has done just the same, with “Chillar Party.” The star shot an exclusive promo with the kids who star in the film. There is a humorous exchange of dialogues that is akin to Aamir's act for the Delhi Belly promo.

And who can stop Salman from shedding his shirt at the drop of a hat? Salman did his trademark act in this exclusive promo.

Pop,’ Michael Jackson.

Fashion going great with design ers like Sabyaschi whose creation walked down the ramp was the Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu. .Zayed Khan and Rahul Khanna were showstoppers of Delhi based designer, Rajesh Pratap Singh. A beautiful Sonakshi Sinha walked the ramp in an Indian design from the ‘Nizam’ collection. A fourth segment of designs were showcased by The Bay, a chain of 90 department stores across Canada, with actress Neha Dhupia as the s howstopper. The performances of Jalebi-bai Mallika Sherawat was mindblowing.

New brand identity for Zee TV To give a new push to its outlook, Zee TV has introduced a new brand identity featuring a new logo with a slogan 'Umeed Se Saje Zindagi.' Punit Goenka, ZEEL MD & CEO said, "We believe the time is right to infuse renewed freshness into the brand and reflect an identity that truly articulates our spirit. The new positioning is about a celebration and vindication of a woman's emerging beliefs and a reflection of her changing hopes, dreams and optimism. This essence is very well captured in the line, 'Umeed Se Saje Zindagi'. Since its launch, Zee TV has always showcased content that made the common man its superstar. As it heads to a new look, we acknowledge their contribution in making us India's leading GEC and unveiling our new brand identity would have been incomplete without them. The bond the channel has built over the last two decades will be strengthened by involving our viewers in revealing the new logo and giving them a sense of ownership.”

People are jealous of me & Saif: Kareena Kareena Kapoor has been upset with rumours that her four-year-old relationship with Saif Ali Khan is coming to an end. Upset with the 'baseless' stories doing the rounds, Kareena said, "This is all unnecessary news spread by jealous people. I think, in this industry, people can't see two people happy in a relationship and doing so well. We are both in the best phase of our careers and that is what affects people. I am hurt and upset, as the entire news is false and baseless. I would never have reacted if there were any truth to it. We definitely don't want to entertain such malicious gossip." When asked who she suspects of spreading these false claims, Kareena said, "Obviously these rumours have started from somewhere. It is disgusting to involve families into things like these. I would never discuss my personal life on film sets. In fact Saif and I know how close we are. We don't owe anyone any explanation.

“All these media speculations sometimes get to us. At the end of the day, we are known for our jobs and we have always been open to everyone about our relationship." Ironically, amidst these talks of a break-up, there have also been rumours of the couple marrying soon.

However, Kareena confessed, "I have been shooting regularly. I know that people have been speculating that we will marry soon, but I have so many movies to finish and Saif is busy with his films. We have ‘Agent Vinod,’ which releases in December. How can we get married now? If we announce that we are going to get married on a particular date, then people will speculate about the guest list and other things."

Aishwarya Rai is on the family way Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are finally going to be parents after four years of marriage. Unable to contain his joy, Amitabh Bachchan proudly announced the joyful tidings on a micro-blogging site last week. Soon after, everyone who knew the Bachchans was on phone and some close friends even dropped by Jalsa to celebrate the happy news.

It’s been crazy,” Abhishek admitted. “We’ve been trying to inform all our close friends about it. How do I feel? It’s not sunk in yet. There’s been no time. We’re still busy sharing the news. The realisation will come later. Right now I’m kind of numb. It’s a big moment.”

As usual, the most restrained and controlled member of the Bachchan household was Jaya. Rather than getting carried away by the bustle of celebrations, she had already started thinking of practical matters.

Given the chance, the Bachchans would’ve liked to keep it quiet for as long as possible. “But I guess it couldn’t be kept quiet. Now you know why I’ve been trying to stay out of the public eye lately. It’s still to sink in, really. Abhishek and I are super happy, but it is a matter of happiness for our entire family and that makes all the difference,” said Aishwarya.

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

17

Sonakshi out to conquer India first Sonakshi Sinha says she is quite content with all the accolades, appreciation and laurels coming her way. But, her loaded work schedule has led to her rivals making snide remarks against her and bared their claws in vengeance. How does she react to that?

Sona laughs blithely and says: “I don’t pay heed to such stories and keep away from catfights and claws.” With some of the biggest producers making a beeline for her nod, any plans to look westwards now? ‘Let me conquer India first and then Ill look at the world,” says she with supreme confidence.

I will marry after Salman: Yuvraj Cricketer Yuvraj Singh feels that Btown actor Salman Khan is more eligible a bachelor than him and he will sure tie the nuptial knot after the brawny actor. "Salman is real eligible.

He is the real star. First he marries, then I will do," Yuvraj said humourously. Yuvraj was in Kolkata to promote 'UTV Bindaas Emotional Atyachaar 3' where he will feature in one of the episodes as special guest.

Yuvraj was in the city along with the anchor of the show Pravesh Rana.

Pooja Bhatt returns to acting After being behind the scenes for 10 years, Pooja Bhatt is eager to step back in to the spotlight. The “Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi” sweetheart, who followed in the footsteps of her filmmaker father, had been expressing her desire to return to acting for a while now. And in January 2012, her wishes will come through in her very own production. When contacted, Pooja confirmed, "Yes. You are right. But I can't divulge any details from my end."

18

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

SBI offers savers early access to their cash Dear Financial Voice Reader, So many reader questions this week. So here goes: ‘What about Greece – should we bail them out?’. No. If we don’t we may need to bail some of our UK banks.

I’d rather do that than the much larger sums needed to bail a whole nation.

‘Dessert Island Stocks: if you were desserted on an Island which stocks would you take with you?’ Easy.

Apple and Microsoft. Both have lots of cash so even if the world melts it is fine. And they continue making products their competitors can’t beat. Yeah I know about Google and Android. Can’t beat – ya hear?

‘Inflation – what will happen?’ Prices are going up.

Sorry. Will incomes rise? No. It’s going to be painful.

The reason is the Indians and Chinese are pushing prices up due to demand and unless they do it by pushing up our incomes too then we’re stuffed.

‘So what do we do?’ Well buy gold. Yes even at these prices. And land – in India – in Gujarat. Borrow money to do it. The price of the land will rise faster than the interest rate payments.

‘What about UK?’ We’ll be okay – as long as you work hard and train up your skills.

‘How does India look?’ There is a lot of dumb money pushing up prices – so good luck finding good value. We are professionals and we only do 2-3 deals a year. Too many people are buying at a high price to sell to a bigger fool at an even higher price. But, buy land in Gujarat – as long as you have done due diligence.

‘What about the Euro?’ It will be stronger than the dollar. Sounds crazy I know but the US problems are bigger than Europe with its micro-economy of Greece.

And without going into the technical reasons, the Dollar is overvalued against the Euro.

‘What about equities?’ Well they are undervalued.

How do you tell? You look at their prices compared to their profits. If the profits are going up and the prices are not moving then they are undervalued – there is a more precise measure. And on the more precise measures the prices are cheap compared to the profits of US and UK companies.

‘What about UK properties?’ Prices will continue to rise as inflation rises and earnings rise slowly. But expect slow property price rises. Interest rates will rise slowly too. So no shocks up or down expected. Worth buying? Sure, you can borrow cheap and prices are rising – so you should have a return.

‘What about retail?’ Dead. Please don’t plan restaurants or clothes stores. The economy depends on consumption (that’s people like you and me spending) well we’re not a good bet right now. It depends on business investment – a lot better – build business on that. And it depends on Government spending – don’t depend on that.

Oh and if you can export – that’s what you should focus on. There are parts of the world which are growing faster – so get learning how to export to them!

Alpesh Patel (alpesh.patel@tradermind.com) www.alpeshblog.com

RIL strikes natural gas in Godavari basin Reliance Industries has made a natural gas discovery in the very first well drilled on its D9 block in the Krishna Godavari basin, its junior partner Hardy Oil and Gas Plc said last week.

London-listed Hardy through a press statement announced "first gas discovery in the exploration well KG-D9-A2 within the D9 licence."

Reliance hold 90 per cent interest and is the operator of the deep-sea block KG-DWN-2001/1 (D9).

Reliance-Hardy combine had won the 11,605 square km (equivalent to 48 North Sea blocks) in the third round of bidding under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 2003.

Hardy holds 10 per cent interest in the block.

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State bank of India UK has launched five-year stepped-rate fixed deposit which offers depositors full access to cash from the second anniversary of account opening. The rate interest will be 5.75% AER in year five a high overall rate of 4.59%.

The fixed deposit has a top rate of 5.75% AER in year five and, unique in the market, offers savers full access to their cash after year two, without any penalties or loss of interest.

Subsequent withdrawals can be made on each anniversary of the fixed deposit over the

five year period.

The vast majority of long-term fixed deposits do not offer early access to cash and can charge up to one year’s interest if funds are withdrawn early.

This product became quickly oversubscribed due to its popularity with savers, who were looking for the high rates associated with fixed-rate deposits but early access to their money in case the Bank of England base

rate begins to rise in the coming years.

Deepak Ahuja, Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth at State Bank of India UK, said: “We continue to listen to our customers and look to meet their needs, which is why we’ve brought back the popular step-up fixed deposit. Savers are looking for high rates of interest but with the flexibility of accessing their cash if they need to. Our simple and transparent five-year step up fixed deposit offers customers both of those perks.”

Rachel Thrussell, savings expert at price com-

Tata Steel accepts $130-mn to settle UK plant loss Tata Steel’s arm in UK said it had got $130 million as final settlement from the consortium of global steel buyers which had prematurely terminated, in May 2009, a 10-year purchase contract.

The termination had plunged Tata’s Teesside Cast Products (TCP) unit in northeast England into losses, leading to partial closure and layoffs at the factory. The matter went into arbitration, with Tata claiming a loss of $220 mn from the action.

The arbitration tribunal upheld the Tata claim that agreement was not validly terminated. On

January 5, Tata Steel UK received a partial final award in its favour. Tata Steel, in a statement issued to the stock exchanges in India, said, “Following that partial final award, a commercial settlement to all disputes relating to the offtake agreements was reached and on June 21, Tata Steel completed a full and final settlement of claims with

the consortium of former offtakers. As a result of this settlement, Tata Steel has received an aggregate sum of approximately $130 million.”

This final settlement comes four months after Tata Steel UK sold TCP to Sahaviriya Steel Industries, a Thai company, in a deal valuing the business at $469 mn.

The consortium of four buyers which had withdrawn from the 10-year buying contract were Marcegaglia of Italy, Dongkuk of South Korea, the Swiss-headquartered Duferco and Alvory of Uruguay.

StanChart heads for record profit

Staff cuts coupled with growth in Hong Kong and other key Asian markets have put Standard Chartered on track for record profits in the first half of this year, up over 10 per cent on a year earlier.

The Asia-focused bank said income and profits were up over 10 per cent in the first five months of the year and cost growth would be broadly in line with income growth in the first half.

"We are highly liquid, very well capitalized and have a firm grip of risks and costs," the banks said in a trading update.

Cost growth rising

faster than income growth, known as "negative jaws," has dogged StanChart for the past year as it battles rivals such as HSBC Holdings to keep and

retain talent in key fastgrowing Asian markets such as China and Hong Kong.

Analysts had expected costs to outpace income again in the first half and be broadly flat for the full year.

The London-headquartered bank, which makes over four-fifths of its profits in Asia and other emerging markets, said it cut the number of employees in the first five months, but did not give details. In May, finance chief Richard Meddings said it had cut 800 staff in the first quarter, after adding 7,000 staff last year to give it 85,000 employees.

A strong performance in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Indonesia helped offset a weaker showing from India - which was its biggest market last year and Africa, the bank said.

parison site Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “For those who missed out on State Bank of India’s unique steppedrate fixed deposit last year, this impressive new product provides an even better opportunity to earn high rates with exceptional flexibility for the fixedrate market.”

The account offers top rates each year: 3.10% in year one, 4.25% in year two, 4.60% in year three, 5.25% in year four and 5.75% in year five. This equates to a high overall average rate of 4.59% if funds are left on deposit for the full five-year term.

Nano drives into Nepal

The Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, reached Nepal, three years after its launch in India, with bookings starting as low as NRS 10,000 – less than Indian rupee of 7,000.

"We are delighted to introduce the Tata Nano in Nepal," said Johnny Oommen, head of International Business (passenger vehicles), at Tata Motors. "We are confident that with its comfort, performance and manoeuvrability, the Tata Nano is the ideal small car for discerning customers of Nepal."

Till now, the highestselling Tata car in Nepal has been the Tata Sumo.

However, the new entrant could change that given the price tag of NRS 7.98 lakh, the lowest in Nepal.

The price escalation – the Tata Nano Standard costs IRS 1.51 in Mumbai – is due to a combination of duties and taxes imposed by the Nepal government that increases the price of imported cars by a whopping 240 per cent.

Cairn, Vedanta lower deal value The managements of Scottish explorer Cairn Energy Plc and Vedanta Resources of NRI metals tycoon Anil Agarwal, which are negotiating a $9.6-billion deal, on Monday announced major changes in the terms of their transaction that signal an acceptance of the fact that the new owner of Cairn India will have to take on a $2.5-billion royalty burden in the company's crown jewel - the Barmer oilfields in Rajasthan.

The "adjustments", as a Cairn Energy Plc

announcement on its website euphemistically described them, reduces the value of the deal. It is to be seen whether the changes pass muster with the Cairn Energy board or its shareholders. These changes may also face challenge from minority shareholders who would see returns on their stocks decline. At home too, the changes would adversely impact shareholders of Cairn India. The Barmer royalty-share issue has been dogging the deal since its announcement in

August last year. State-run ONGC, Cairn's 30% partner in Barmer, pays the entire royalty on crude from the field under a historical policy anomaly.

ONGC, which has the preemption right, set the condition that it would clear the deal only after Cairn or subsequently Vedanta accepted to equitably share the Rs 180 billion royalty burden, to be borne through the fields' life at $70/barrel crude price, by allowing the outgo to be included in cost of operations before calculating

profit. Cairn and Vedanta have so far opposed the condition. Cairn issued a number of deadlines - only to extend them each time for the government to clear the deal.

It said the contract with the government did not allow such conditions which would suck out $22.5 billion out of the deal's valuation. But the oil ministry and a ministerial panel set up to examine the deal stood by ONGC and the Cabinet is expected to take up the deal with the same conditions.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

19

Foreign Buyers & Return Of Bonuses Fuel Demand

Suresh Vagjiani Managing Director Sow & Reap A Property Investment & Financing company.

This week several stories are in the press which confirm the renewed demand on the capital’s property market which is having an upward effect on property prices. Let’s look first at what’s actually happening locally on the street.

A property I went to see this week was a probate property on Sutherland Ave seconds away from Maida Vale station. The Building had a beautiful classic London entrance large door, with a nice big bronze handle with high ceiling Cornish and was beautifully decorated.

This is the kind of entrance one would expect in central London. This was in complete contrast to the actual state of the probate flat on sale.

It was like entering another world from the communal building parts to the actual flat was like stepping back 50 years. To illustrate one of the cabinets had a newspaper dated from 1963 to cover the bottom of the draw as lining paper. This was definitely a probate property - no lies.

The property was on the market for £325,000, only two people had seen the property we being the second. I instantly put an in offer in at £300,000. By the end of the day the price went to £337,000. At this level it didn’t really suit us as we were looking for a turn and the return was question mark on a turn going in at this price. Though keeping this long term would have been fine. This close to the station you cannot go wrong. This illustrates the rarity of good properties which require work. The properties had offers from both viewings and in hours went £12,000 above the asking price.

Here’s an example from the properties we have sourced for our clients: We sourced one in Hallfield Estate in February 2011 for £315,000 which was a two bedroom ex local authority flat, similar properties are now on the market for £375,000. Who says there’s no demand for Ex Local Flats? A quick browse on the internet will confirm this to any doubting reader. If we assume a final sale price of £360,000 the uplift would be £45,000. From a 25% deposit of £80,000 this would be a 50% return in a matter for months.

These two are examples of our personal experiences of the way properties rise in this location.

One of the main components of the Central London Market are City bonuses and foreign buyers. In some ways the lack of one encourages more demand from the other segment.

If the UK econ omy is doin g badly the pou nd de value s, the poun d be comes che ap as well as the hou sin g mark et typically becoming slug gish. This no w becomes fert il e in ve st me nt groun d for foreign bu yers. Buyers from all aro und the world se e cent ral Lond on property mark et as a saf e haven t o pu t mo ney bo th in terms of its transparen cy an d capital growth prospect s.

It is also important to note there are no restrictions on purchasing any number of properties in the UK for foreigners. Not the case with other countries in particular India has tight regulations regarding foreigners purchasing Property.

This puts the central London market on a pedestal where the current of the UK economy cannot quite reach. And this is exactly what occurred through the financial crisis. When speaking to one of our contacts during the week in Hamptons he informed me he had a confirmed buyer from Greece who needed to get his money out of the country, he had to purchase 5 apartments in Central London within a short time frame, he did not have time to see the properties and simply wanted this executed. This is testimony to the level of confidence the central London property market commands worldwide.

Currently we have a strong demand reported by both these segments.

The FT reported City workers with bonuses have started spending their cash on upmarket properties in the capital again, as confidence over their future bonus stream grows. Bonus buyers have entered the property market in higher numbers than last year, figures from property agents show.

B onus cash has be en a less do min an t forc e in the marke t sin ce the fin ancial crisis, afte r many bank s introdu ced structured bon uses with paymen ts staggered in shares and bon ds rathe r than a cash lump sum.

The impact of the financial crisis in Paddington on the rental side resulted in a weird phenomena where Council tenants started occupying penthouse apartments in West End Key - a very up market development built in Paddington about a decade ago as part of the areas regeneration. A three bedroom property in this development is currently on the market for £1.15m. The tenants at that time paying the highest rents weren’t bankers or overseas buyers, they were DSS tenants. A 4 bedroom property was attracting rents of £1050 a week, a five bedroom £1800 equating to £90,000 per annum - courtesy of Westminster council. Rather than these types of tenants being shunned into bottom of the barrel type accommodation, traditionally being put up in the cheapest Ex council properties because no one wants them, these tenants were now being wooed into 4 bed 4 bath penthouse apartments as they had become the highest paying tenants in the market! During this patch ex-

council properties over 2 bedrooms remained on the market empty for weeks rather than days.

This was a short lived honey moon period for the claimants as now these rents have been capped by the government in an attempt to save funds.

According to Savills the number of buyers from the financial and business services sector over the past three months is up by 18 per cent compared to the same time last year whilst in prime south-west London they’re up by 69 per cent.

According to Hamptons at least 25% of prime central London buyers are currently British. It’s always refreshing to see some domestic demand after all the recent statistics re foreign buyer’s propping up the Central London Market.

As lump sum bonuses have now been substituted for staggered payments and company shares it is interesting to note more than half of the 650m shares awarded to Royal Bank of Scotland employees this week for their performance in 2009 were immediately sold into the market on Monday, creating potentially further cash injections into the property market.

The other headline grabbing story in the FT was of Berkley Homes which will be redistributing £1.7bn back to its share holders. In complete contrast to other builders.

W hy ? Be cau se it is conclu ded Lo ndon hou se builders are o perat ing in a fo reig n market . Analysts are refusing to make comparisons t o othe r bu il ding firms. It is not fair, th ey arg ue, to place the companies ne xt to on e anothe r when Be rke ley is e ffectively o perating in a foreign mark et; Lond on.

London is fertile ground for foreign investment especially the new build market which is perceived to do away with many of the variables which come with second hand properties, especially important considerations if you are a overseas buyer.

Other builders have smelt the honey and are staring to flock around. From Barratt building mini-skyscrapers on the edge of the City to Bellway converting an old cinema in Fulham into upmarket flats, the national house builders are turning their attention to the capital.

Even Redrow, a stalwart of semi-detached, out-of- town homes in the Midlands and north of England, has moved into London, buying up plots on the opulent streets running along the edge of Hyde Park.

“Part of it is that house builders are struggling to get developments sold off in other parts of the country and they are also looking at the success Berkeley are having and are thinking ‘we want some of that’,” says Simon Brown, house building analyst at Northland Capital.

The above confirms with a strategy of focusing on Central London for your investments you cannot go wrong and local knowledge is priceless.

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Specialists in: l Property Sourcing l Mortgages l Commercial Finance l India Properties

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323

Tips of the Week l Always buy according to what the market wants not what you want l Use sites like EBay & Gum tree to secure good quality furniture rather than new but poor BTL furniture

Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

20

finAnciAl VoICe

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field of Leadership and Human Resource Management

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

Avoiding litigation where possible There is a move within the courts in general to place emphasis on parties to settle their disputes outside court using alternative dispute resolution ( mediation). In certain areas of the law for example in divorce cases mediation is mandatory. Mediation is different to other forms of settlement and is most closely aligned with a negotiated settlement will inevitably involve compromise on both sides.

Within the area of immigration however it has not really been considered possible as immigration is believed to be an all or nothing legal dispute.

However in a recent case it was made clear by the judge that claims should only be brought where there is a good reason for doing so.

This case concerned asylum seekers who suffered what the court described as “unacceptable delay” in being issued their status papers which resulted in them being unable to work, claim benefits, travel, or open bank accounts. By the time the case came up before the High Court however the issues had all been resolved and the UKBA had issued apolo-

Infosys, Tata beat global majors to emerge as top brands in India IT giant Infosys and salt-tosoftware conglomerate Tata have emerged as the top 2 brands in India, beating global majors like Google, Nokia and Facebook, in a new index. According to TLG's index of emerging market 'Thought Leaders', seven out of the top ten brands in India were indigenous firms. TLG, in partnership with international research consultancy firm GlobeScan, launched the index wherein government ministers, directors of blue chip companies and newspaper editors were asked to identify corporate brands with the power to change the attitudes and behaviour of consumers, employees or politicians -- defined as " Thought Leaders".

The list of top 20 firms was peppered with Indian brands including Larsen & Toubro (5th), State Bank of India (7th), Life Insurance Corporation of India (12th), Bharti Airtel (13th), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (14th), Aditya Birla Group (15th), The Oberoi Group (16th), HDFC Bank (17th), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (18th) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (19th).

gies as well as compensation. However the case was pursued for 2 reasons, the first was to get a finding from the court that their Article 8 rights had been violated and secondly in order to make a claim for compensation as a result of a breach of Article 8. Lord Justice Sullivan rejected these arguments. He noted that any damages awarded would be excessively disproportionate to the costs of bring the case to court.

There was criticism of the UKBA internal complaints scheme which he described as “insufficiently clear and transparent”.

However he took the view that the claimants should have used the system to make a complaint and that if it was not resolved they should have gone to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. He referred to a previous case in which Lord Woolf, who is a mediation enthusiast, suggested that permission to bring the proceedings should not be given until both avenues had been explored.

Reference was made to the leading case in mediation R (Cowl) v Plymouth Council which illustrates the importance, even in disputes

between public authorities and members of the public, of avoiding litigation wherever possible.

He warned that both sides must be acutely conscious of the contribution which alternative dispute resolution (mediation) can make to resolving disputes in a manner which both meets the needs of the parties and the public and saves time, expense and stress.

Although in the High Court there are in place rules which requires parties to exhaust any avenues for pursuing this matter, there are no such rules or penalties for failure to do so in the lower courts.

What this case demonstrates is the need for a robust complaints system which can address issues before they come to court.

Next week I will look at the Chief Inspectors Report on the Complaints system within the UKBA. 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.

GM shelves small car project in India

US car maker General Motors said it has shelved plans to launch small car in India that was planned to take on Tata Motors' 'Nano', citing viability issues. "It (small car) was under discussion when the Rs 100,000 car (Nano) came in. We have reached a decision point that it is not right for us," General Motors India (GMI) President and MD Karl Slym said.

The small car was looked to be positioned below the company's existing entry level compact car 'Spark', he added.

"We did have a plan (to launch a smaller car than Spark), but no longer now.

We have shelved the plans to get into that segment," Slym said.

There is no decision now to go below the segment where 'Spark' is pres-

ent and GMI's all future models in India will be positioned above this car, he added.

Slym said when the 'Nano' came, there was much talk about the Rs 100,000 price but it is no longer the case as the price has already gone up.

The flagship small car 'Spark' comes with a 1,000 cc engine in both petrol and LPG options. As per GMI's website, the car is priced between Rs 301,000 and Rs 431,000.

When asked if the company would introduce a smaller engine in the 'Spark', Slym did not commit himself but said: "We have a power train facility that can produce different types of engines." The company has now geared up to launch the diesel variant of its another small car 'Beat' in next month.

Judging Books, Covers and Other Things In the aftermath of Osama Bin Laden’s death, the US government released a few videos they found in Bin Ladens’ home to give people an idea of what he was like when he was alone. There was one particular image of Bin Laden wrapped in a blanket sitting in front of a small television which was rather striking. While watching TV is a normal thing that most of us do at home. The difference was that Bin Laden was watching videos of himself. Not just once, but repeatedly.

No doubt this shows that he had a sense of vanity about him, but then who amongst us has never admired ourselves in front of the mirror?

But more importantly it revealed that as well as having a penchant for destruction, Bin Laden also understood the power of image. He realised that he did have to look a certain way, that people did believe what

they saw and that how he looked would be a powerful message all on its own. Even small details such as dying his beard were given due care and attention.

The fact is that despite the saying that one should never judge a book by its cover, we do.

Now this is simple enough for anyone to understand. If you want to be credible you have to look credible. Lets face it, if who would listen to a man with a shaved head, dressed in a white dhoti and claiming to know the way to freedom? Ok so Gandhiji was an exception. But for us mortals the standard rule certainly applies.

When Mahendra Singh Dhoni was appointed as captain of the Indian cricket team he cut his long hair and adopted a more conservative hairstyle. When Rahul Gandhi decided to enter politics he packed up his trendy shirts and had a few dozen white kurta sewn.

Molson Coors, Cobra India JV to brew and market Cobra beer in South Asia

Molson Coors Brewing Company and Cobra India has formed a joint venture that will brew and market Cobra beer in South Asia.

Under the terms of the agreement, Molson Coors will purchase a controlling stake of Cobra India from the existing shareholders and will have operational control over the new Molson Coors Cobra India. The joint venture will be chaired by Lord Karan Bilimoria, Cobra’s founder and chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership in the UK. Molson Coors will also be investing additional capital in Molson Coors Cobra India to meet the working capital requirements and the future expansion plans of the brewery operations.

The total investment by Molson Coors is approximately $35 million.

Kandy Anand, President, Molson Coors International said, “This deal marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to establish Molson Coors in India, the world’s fastest growing beer market. Our first step will be to work with Cobra India’s employees, customers and suppliers to consolidate

the business. Longer-term, our ambition is to build this compelling brand and grow the business to a meaningful market share as part of Molson Coors International’s strategy to achieve critical mass in high-growth emerging markets.”

Peter Swinburn, President and CEO of Molson Coors commented, “Our joint venture in India is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our footprint in Asia and represents the next major milestone in executing our global growth strategy.

Over the past year, we have entered several new markets and I believe we are now in a much stronger position to leverage our experience and accelerate our international growth trajectory over the next few years.”

The capacity of the Indian brewing industry year ending March 2011 was just under 27 million hl and it has a per capita consumption of just under 1.5 litres. The Indian beer market is growing at 12% CAGR and is estimated to grow to 50 million hl by 2020, putting it in the top 10 beer markets globally.

By Amit Patel

Image matters – why?

Because we make it matter. First impressions do last because if people don’t like what they see, there is usually no opportunity to make a second impression. There are innumerable incidents in history illustrating that outward appearances do not always reveal the true measure of a person. In the Mahabharat, when Karna entered the arena dressed as a charioteer, the Pandavas dismissed him. Duryodhan did not and we know the rest.

Adolf Hitler styled himself as a progressive leader who would stand up for his people – and the people believed it.

While we all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or judge anything on a first impression, the fact is we do. People judge everything from how a person walks to the colour of their tie. So how should leaders look? Answers on a postcard please.

India-born Manwani becomes Unilever COO India-born Harish Manwani has been appointed as the chief operating officer (COO) of global FMCG Unilever part of a global reorganisation in the business structure of the company to drive future growth.

The company said it has made changes to its category and go-to-market structure to further support its growth plans, especially in fast developing businesses in the emerging markets.

Rotterdam-based Unilever is creating the post of COO with an eye on tapping opportunities in emerging markets. This is the first time that an Indian has risen to this level in the company to lead the business.

Previously, former HUL Chairpersons T Thomas, Ashok Ganguly, K B Dadiseth and Vindi Banga have been members of the Unilever Executive Committee (UEx).

Manwani (57) is currently the President, Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe. He had joined Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), now Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), in 1976 and became a board member of HLL in 1995 as director responsible for the Personal Products business.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

21

Foreign Exchange Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail info@rationalfx.com

Dollar Fights Back Early last week the only piece of data from the UK was the Public sector net borrowing, which came in at £15.156bn higher than the month prior yet lower against market expectations.

This saw the government run up a record budget deficit in the first two months of the fiscal year despite a slightly larger than expected drop in borrowing in May, official data showed on Tuesday, highlighting the tough road ahead for the government as it tries to slash public borrowing. The following day Sterling continued to be weak dropping further down to 1.60 levels from the previous gains and 1.12 levels against the Euro.

Given BoE minutes showing a 2-7 vote for interest rate increase and the weak economy concerns, Sterling trade-weighted index dropped to 8-mth low?

We began the week in the euro zone with all the attention turning to Greece with fundamentals at the moment looking to take a back seat. Most of the data towards the beginning of last week came in towards the lower side on German PPI, German ZEW and European industrial new orders. Midweek saw all the attention switch to the Greek debt situation .The euro rebound briefly against the

US dollar on Thursday as the Greek’s had looked to agree a deal with the EU and IMF regarding an austerity aid package. Stock markets rallied this on Friday morning ever so slightly, The deal will only be consider if the Greek PM get’s the full backing of his government only then will the EU and IMF look to assist Greece. If the aid package is given to Greece there’s no question we will see a rally in the euro which in turn will see sterling/dollar trade higher, unfortunately sterling euro could trade lower being that it is a cross currency. The meeting of government is next Tuesday with a decision on the package being decided on July3rd. Whatever way you look at it there will be people who have reason for having a bailout and others who will have the reason for not giving the necessary aid. In fairness a bailout is really the only way forward with many countries heavily exposed to Greek debt with French banks having $56bn Germany $33bn and the UK $14bn with most of that linked to other assets.

The US started the week from Existing Home Sales in Tuesday, where we saw a positive set of MoM figures against

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 28th June 2011 @ 1pm GBP - INR = 71.80 USD - INR = 45.01 EUR - INR = 64.26 GBP - USD = 1.59 GBP - EUR = 1.11 EUR - USD = 1.43 GBP - AED = 5.86 GBP - CAD = 1.57 GBP - NZD = 1.98

last month. However these figures didn’t really impact the greenback at all though a good set of figures went a long to assure the economy that sales did recover ever so slightly against market expectations.

On Wednesday we had the interest rate unchanged at 0.25% as expected. However, we have not expected the following Fed’s Press Conference talking down of the economy, which caused the stock market shrink and risk aversion return.

Jobless claims came in at 429k from 414k which shows the

labour market is still weak. New home sales figures also decreased for the first time in three months which shows the industry is struggling to gain momentum. This failed to weaken the US Dollar as there was a lot of risk aversion in the markets. Finally, the US GDP, durable goods orders and durable goods ex transportation came in late Friday afternoon with mixed results. The dollar gained back the position lost in the morning and showing a risk aversion again at the end of EU session.

GBP - AUD = 1.52 GBP - ZAR = 10.93 GBP - HUF = 301.01

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

22

PakistaN-Bagladesh-sri laNka

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Pakistan expels British military trainers London: Pakistan has expelled a group of British military trainers sent to help fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists, a move seen as an indirect casualty of worsening relations between Pakistan and the US following the killing of Osama bin Laden in an American raid.

The Ministry of Defence here confirmed that at least 18 military advisers, deployed as part of a 15-million-pounds programme to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps, have been withdrawn from Pakistan.

Most are already back in

Pakistan has expelled 18 British military trainers sent to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

the UK, reports said.

Although British relations with Pakistan are warmer, the embattled army, stung by a barrage of public criticism, is keen to demonstrate its independence from all western

allies, the report said.

Since bin Laden's death, Pakistan has sent home at least 120 US military trainers, most of whom were engaged in training the FC. The British team, a

Lankan woman faces ‘beheading’ in Saudi Arabia Riyadh: A Sri Lankan woman in Saudi Arabia is poised to be executed by beheading in front of people for allegedly killing a baby in her care.

The young maid, Rizana Nafeek, was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering a fourmonth-old baby who was in her care.

Sri Lankan born Nafeek, who alleges she was a teenager at the time of the incident, has vehemently denied all allegations against her, saying that she had desperately tried to save the child, who choked while she was

Rizana Nafeek

looking after it.

Nafeek's mother Rafeena said that her daughter moved to Saudi Arabia looking for a job, and ended up becoming a domestic worker. She was later asked to take care of

the baby, a task which Rafeena thought her daughter was incapable of handling.

Just weeks into her employment, tragedy struck and the infant choked while he was being fed, she added.

Human rights groups have criticised the Saudi Arabian authorities for misquoting the maid’s date of birth while handling her case.

The authorities have her date of birth as 1982, while her birth certificate states that she was born in 1988, making her 17 at the time of the alleged incident.

Nawaz is the biggest threat: Zardari Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has asked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif to refrain from "defaming the army and institutions of the country for his personal gains".

Zardari said that the national institutions, including the army, were fighting against the mindset which had so far killed thousands of people, including former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Nawaz Sharif's thought is the biggest threat to Pakistan's security. His earnest regret is that this time army did not maneuver against the government of the day and refused to listen to his conspiracy theories," Zardari was

Asif Ali Zardari

quoted as saying.

"He (Nawaz) wants the politics of General Zia-ul-Haq," he added, claiming that the "mindset which took the life of Benazir Bhutto is on the retreat".

He also called upon political forces to work for strengthening the coun-

try's institutions and refrain from inciting clash of institutions.

"There is no single country in the world which survived or achieved progress after its institutions, including the army, were damaged. Do not speak against institutions. Do not talk about breaking them," the President said.

Expressing concerns over the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, Sharif had earlier said that the country's rulers and foreign agencies were behind the current imbroglio in Pakistan.

He said that corruption was in full swing in all departments, and that Zardari was following the policy of destruction.

mix of seasoned officers and NCOs, had been stationed at a British-funded FC base near the capital of Balochistan, Quetta. The training scheme began last August and was scheduled to run until at least summer 2013. The MoD hopes to redeploy the team once the tensions abate.

The 60,000-strong FC, which is deployed along the length of the 1,600mile border with Afghanistan, has long been in the frontline of Pakistani efforts to combat Taliban militancy and flush Al Qaeda from its tribal havens.

International Widows Day organized at UN New York: Widows, advocates from civil society, diplomats, UN officials, NGOs and other dignitaries met at the UN on June 23 to mark the “International Widows Day” and to raise awareness about the plight of the more than 245 million widows and more than 500 million of their children around the world.

According to research by the Loomba Foundation, the largest NGO dedicated to promoting the rights of widows’ issues, many widows live in conditions of abject poverty and degradation and are victims of many forms of violence.

Addressing the plight of widows is central to achieving the UN Millennium Development goals and social and economic justice for women.

Dr. Gillian Tett moderated panels at the conference.

Participants in the panels included Dr. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women; Madame Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, First Lady of the Gabonese Republic; Mrs. Cherie Blair, President of the Loomba Foundation; Lord Raj Loomba, Founder of the Loomba Foundation; Mrs. Ban Soon Taek, wife of the United Nations Secretary General; Mr Amir Dossal, Founder of the Global Partnerships Forum.

Trustees, Lord Dholakia, Balbir Singh Kakar, Peter Rajsingh, Harjive Singh, Reeta Sarkar and Roma Loomba attended the conference in New York.

Most Pakistanis see India as threat No. 1

Washington: Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger threat than the Taliban and the al-Qaida and disapprove of the US military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll.

When asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or al-Qaida, a majority of Pakistanis (57%) say India, the poll noted.

Although al-Qaida leader bin Laden has not been well-liked in recent years, a majority of

Pakistanis describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14% say it is a good thing, according to a poll released last week by the Pew Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin Laden's hideout will have a negative impact on the already strained relations between the US and their country. The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis about an extremist takeover and support for using military force against extremist groups

are slipping, but the groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12% of Pakistanis have a positive view of alQaida, down from 18% in 2010. Only 12% give Taliban a favourable rating with both Pakistan based

Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27% have a positive opinion of the terror outfit. Results of two surveys conducted in Pakistan by Pew's Global Attitudes Project also show that Pakistani views of traditional rival India have grown increasingly negative in recent years.

In focus Taliban using female suicide bomber in Pak

Dera Ismail Khan: The Pakistani Taliban said on Sunday the group had sent a husband and wife suicide squad to carry out an attack on a police station in northwestern Pakistan that killed 10 people, a rare instance of militants using a woman as a bomber. The pair entered the police station in Kolachi on Saturday and said they were there to lodge a complaint, said Imtiaz Shah, a senior police official . Once inside, the two attacked with grenades and machine guns, triggering a five-hour standoff with police. Both attackers, including the woman wearing a burqa, eventually blew themselves up. They killed eight police officers and two civilians, said Mohammad Hussain, another police official.

60 killed in bomb blast at Afghan hospital Kabul: At least 60 people were killed and more than 120 injured when an explosive laden vehicle blew up on Saturday outside a small hospital in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan. The blast ripped through the Akbar Khail hospital, a 10-bed facility in the Azra district of Logar Province, about 40 miles southeast of Kabul near the Pakistan border. The explosion leveled the one-story building and sent debris crashing down on patients, visitors and staff members inside, said Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office. Rescuers continued to pull the dead and injured out of the wreckage, Mr Darwish said.

“The hospital is totally destroyed,” he said.

Hina Rabbani set to be Pak’s new foreign minister

Islamabad: Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's minister of state for foreign affairs, is being widely tipped to be elevated as a full-fledged foreign minister ahead of crucial talks with India next month, official sources said. . Khar, 34, is the daughter of veteran politician Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and the niece of former governor Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar. She was a member of the PML-Q party during former military ruler Pervez Musharraf 's regime and joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party ahead of the 2008 general election.

Osama’s wife allowed to go home Islamabad: Osama bin Laden’s youngest widow, wounded in the US operation to take out the al-Qaida leader in Pakistan’s Abbottabad town on May 2, will return to her native Yemen soon, a Yemeni newspaper reported. The Yemen Times said Pakistani and Yemeni diplomats were finalising arrangements for the return of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah (29) and her 12-year-old daughter, Safiya, to Yemen. Safiya was also injured in the US raid. It reported that Yemeni diplomats in Islamabad told al-Sadah’s brother, Zakaria al-Sadah, that she would return in days after the completion of legal formalities.

Pakistan to build more N-plants: Gilani Islamabad: Pakistan's nuclear capability was purely for peaceful purposes, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said while declaring that the country would build more power plants to meet its growing energy needs.

Addressing a seminar, Gilani said Pakistan would continue to comply with the requirements of International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear safeguard agreements.

"Building and operating nuclear power plants is vital to country's interests because of its severe energy deficiency," Gilani was quoted as saying.

4 Pak army majors grilled over terror links Islamabad: Four army majors were questioned in Pakistan in connection with a brigadier who was detained over links to the banned Hizbul-Tahrir Islamist group, an army spokesman said last week.Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the men had been questioned but had not been detained. “They are being questioned in relation to the brigadier case,” he said. The arrest of the brigadier - the highest ranking officer held in a decade - has raised fears about the growth in the military of the Islamist group which sees Pakistan as a powerful base for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate.

MQM slams PPP, pulls out of govt Karachi: The Pakistan government's main coalition partner said on Monday it had quit the beleaguered administration, citing the "dictatorial" and "brutal" approach of the ruling Pakistan People's Party. "The MQM leadership and workers have reached the conclusion it is difficult to go along with the PPP, keeping in view its democratic and dictatorial attitude," senior party official Farooq Sattar said. "The PPP was unwilling to mend its ways leaving us with no option but to quit the coalition government," Sattar said, adding that MQM lawmakers in federal and provincial assemblies would sit on opposition benches. A spokesman for the governor of the southern Sindh province, confirmed the governor, also a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) loyalist, had sent his resignation to the president.

wOrld

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Obama announces US troop pullout from Afghanistan

In fOcUS 40 killed in Baghdad bomb blasts Baghdad: At least 40 people were killed and many others were injured when four bombs ripped through Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad last week. An American civilian aid specialist working to improve education in Iraq was killed in a separate attack. The first three bombs went off in quick succession in a south-western Baghdad in the evening. One targeted a Shiite mosque, another exploded just outside a popular market, while the third went off inside the market where people were doing their evening shopping, Iraqi police officials said.

Qaeda militants escape from Yemen jail Sanaa: At least 40 al Qaeda militants escaped from prison last week in the latest sign that Yemen's political upheaval has emboldened them to challenge authorities in the country's nearly lawless south. In a carefully choreographed escape, the militants attacked their guards and seized their weapons just as bands of heavily armed attackers descended on the prison in Mukalla on the Arabian Sea. The escapees included militants convicted on terror charges or held in protective custody pending trial, according to officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Death sentence for Indian national in Tanzania Abuja: An Indian national has been sentenced to death by a court in Tanzania for murdering a Tanzanian, media reports said last week. Vinoth Nadhesan accused of killing a man and stuffing his body parts in the boot of a car last year in Dar es Salaam, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder, Tanzanian newspaper reported. Nadhesan was accused of killing Abdulbasid Abdallah on February 6, 2009 by using a knife.

Arrest warrant against Gaddafi The Hague ( Netherlands): The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday issued arrest warrants against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, his son and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity in the early days of their struggle to cling to power.

Judges said that Gaddafi is wanted for orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple him from power after more than four decades, and for trying to cover up the alleged crimes.

Washington: US President Barack Obama has announced plans to withdraw 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year. The first US soldiers will begin returning home next month, in line with the deadline set by Obama in December 2009, when he authorised a surge of 33,000 US troops to break the Taliban's control in Afghanistan.

All the troops sent in the surge will be pulled out by next summer, Obama

Kathmandu: An American lesbian couple married in a temple here in accordance with Hindu tradition, according to a sexual minority rights advocacy group. This is the first same sex marriage in Nepal where a government panel is currently considering legalizing the practice. Sarah Welton, 48, a lawyer and Courtney Mitchell, 41, a psychology professor are from Colorado. Mitchell was in Nepal from 1998 to 2003 as a Peace Corps Volunteer and also worked at the United Nations.

"I have always loved Nepal and wanted to bring Sarah here," Mitchell said.

"I also wanted to be part of the success of the move-

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'After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into

the lead,' he said.

'Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security,' he said.

The US had made significant progress on meeting its three goals for the surge - denying Al Qaeda a safe-haven, reversing the Taliban's momentum and training the Afghan security forces, the president said.

US lesbian couple marries in Nepalese Hindu ceremony

ICC issues arrest warrant against Gaddafi The Hague ( Netherlands): The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday issued arrest warrants against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, his son and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity in the early days of their struggle to cling to power. Judges said that Gaddafi is wanted for orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple him from power after more than four decades, and for trying to cover up the alleged crimes.

Presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Gaddafi and his son are both "criminally responsible as indirect coperpetrators" for the murder and persecution of civilians. The warrants turn Gaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah alSanoussi into internationally wanted suspects, potentially complicating any efforts to mediate an end to more than four months of intense fighting in the North African nation. Libyan officials rejected the court's authority before the decision was read out in a Hague courtroom.

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ment in Nepal for sexual minorities." In 2007 Nepal's Supreme Court recognized people of the third gender and directed the government to form a committee to explore the possibilities of same sex marriage.

The government two years ago formed the committee, and it is in the final stages of preparing its report. According to a

member of the committee, it will recommend the government to legalize same sex marriage.

"We decided to do it in Hindu tradition because there are instances of Hindu gods of same sex marrying," said Mitchell.

It is an inclusive ceremony where the gods are honored, she added. She said that both of them are Christians but non-practicing ones. Mitchell said that they have filed papers for domestic partnership in Colorado and are thinking of getting married in Iowa which allows same sex marriage. Although they are yet to be legally married, Mitchell said, "We feel that our marriage is 100% official."

According to US officials, up to 5,000 troops would leave the country next month, and another 5,000 soldiers would return home by the end of the year. Some 70,000 US servicemen will stay in Afghanistan till the summer of 2012.

The US has been the largest contributor to the 48-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which currently has more than 130,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Michele Bachmann enters Republican race

Minnesota: Michele Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota, has entered into the Republican race to take on Barack Obama in next year’s US presidential election. A mother of five from Iowa is ahead of her rival in the race to win the party nomination.

One day after dominating the Sunday political shows, the former tax lawyer formally launched her campaign in her home state of Iowa, which hosts the first stage in the Republican contest in February next year.

24

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

18 royal families of Saurashtra hail CM Modi Eighteen royal families of Saurashtra region in Gujarat has hailed chief minister Narendra Modi for the development work he has carried out while Kesridevsinh Zala, 28, yuvraj of erstwhile princely state of Wankaner in Rajkot district, has joined BJP in the presence of Mr Modi.

The yuvraj’s father Digvijaysinh Zala has been a Congress leader and was a Union environment minister. However, he is not active in politics since the past few years. The felicitation memento describes various schemes and works

Narendra Modi.” Gohil said, “Royal families have been pro-people in their rule and have provided best examples of development.”

“This is the first time that the chief minister and royals from the princely states from across the region got together. Modi’s work has been inspirational for many and is model one,” said Digvijaysinh Zala. "Modi has been doing a good job and under his able leadership the state has achieved new heights of progress," said Kesridevsinh Zala.

Modi welcomed Zala

carried out by the Modi government and praises him for Vibrant Gujarat summits. It says that “people want you (Modi) to be a prime minister and we wish you to achieve this as you are a rajpurush”.

While welcoming Modi, Shivbhadrasinhji Gohil of erstwhile princely state of Bhavnagar, described the definition of ‘kshatriya’ and said, “I would say that in my opinion, there are two kshatriyas by their karma. One was Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel and the other is

to BJP and said times were changing and the youth has a major role to play.

“In 1947, all the princely states handed over their ‘raj’ to the nation and their contribution is unmatched,” Modi said.

“I am impressed by the development work being carried out under the leadership of Mr Modi. I want to ensure that the people of Wankaner too benefit from this development activity,” Kesridevsinh Zala said.

His joining active politics is being seen as a sig-

nificant development as far as the erstwhile princely states of Saurashtra is concerned. Observers say this will have little impact on electoral politics in the region. Much has transformed in the past two decades with changing socio-economic and caste equations in Saurashtra, they opine.

Members of the princely states in the region have been mostly with the Congress or have remained independents.

Mandhantasinh Jadeja, yuvaraj of the erstwhile state of Rajkot, and Satyajit Khachar, scion of the royal family of Jasdan, are active BJP members.

Mandhantasinh Jadeja’s father Manoharsinh Jadeja was Cabinet minister in the Congress government in Gujarat.

Zala was schooled at Rajkumar College in Rajkot and graduated from the United Kingdom. He is engaged in the family business since 2007 after his return to Wankaner. “I am active in my native place and keen to solve local problems.

People approach us with varied issues and I want to help them,” he said. Asked if he would contest elections in future, he said, “My focus is to work for the betterment of public.”

Many members of the princely states were in the past elected to the state assembly and had also served as ministers.

However, in the recent past no member from the royal families belonging to Saurashtra had held any significant post.

Surat boy wins global space Olympiad India has topped in the global space Olympiad which was held to mark the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin: the credit for this goes not to a rocket engineer but a 19-year-

old third year mechanical engineering student from Surat, Siddharth Kalra.

The competition, which saw the participation of nearly 50,000 space-crazy youngsters from different countries, was organized

Cartoon: Jami

Ra m md bi illio ev ’s l Sa -- lion nt h tr Sai ya ill ’s io n

Somebody help, please. Our son after graduating with MBA, now wants to be a SADHU !!!

by the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Unesco, the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Mumbai and another organization known as Rossotrudnichestvo.

Surat forms a part of the Mumbai-Russian diplomatic zone. Siddharth, who is studying at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, said the test had three rounds consisting of objective and subjective questions in maths, physics and space sciences.

For the third round, the candidates had to submit a proposal for a spacerelated project and Siddharth’s dissertation was about the development of astronautics and space exploration in the next 50 years. “About 20 of us were chosen from the initial rounds and we gave our presentations at the Russian Centre For Science and Culture in Paris. Our examiners were six astronauts from Europe and Russia, including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space,” Siddharth said.

In divine light

By Rajen Vakil

The Transformation of Nala

We saw how Nala (in the guise of Bahuka), Rituparna and Varshneya set out for Vidharbha after hearing that Damayanti was to remarry. On the way Bahuka stopped to rest the horses. Rituparna was in a hurry to reach Vidharbha as he was excited at the prospect of marrying Damayanti, and so asked Bahuka not to stop.

Bahuka did not listen to him as the horses needed rest. They stopped near a Balearic tree.

The Balearic has many uses in Ayurveda. In addition to its unmatched medicinal value, it also has symbolic religious and spiritual values. On the seventh day of the new moon, Hindus worship the Balearic tree and keep parts of the roots of this tree in their safe. It is believed that this helps increase their wealth, thus we see it is connected with Kali or counting.

Pointing to the tree, Rituparna told Bahuka that he could tell the exact number of leaves on each branch of the tree, and also the number of leaves on the ground.

Bahuka doubted him saying this was impossible unless the tree was talking to Rituparna. So then Rituparna told him the amount on one of the branches. Bahuka started counting the leaves. The king told him that we do

not have time to waste, but Bahuka went on counting and found the number was the same that Rituparna had said.

Bahuka told him that he would like to have this secret knowledge and in return would give him the knowledge of speed and horses. Rituparna agreed and gave Nala the secrets of counting and the dice.

The minute Nala acquired this knowledge Kali could no longer stay in his body. He immediately came out quivering in pain. Only Bahuka could see him. Nala was very angry with Kali as it was because of him that he had fallen into this deep suffering. He was about to curse him when Kali begged him not to.

He told him that he had already been burning inside of him for long because of Karkotaka’s poison. Kali told Nala that if he did not curse him, then he would increase

his fame and also pledged that in the ages to come whosoever read the story of Nala and Damayanti, or told this story to others, would be free of pain and that happiness and prosperity would follow them.

Saying these words, Kali entered the Balearic tree to rest there for a while.

Man has two higher faculties, higher emotions and higher thinking. We have seen that in Nala the higher emotional faculty had already opened and because of this, he was able to marry the power called Damayanti but to hold on to this power the seeker should know that both the higher thinking and higher emotional parts of the psychic nature should be developed. Rituparna had this higher thinking faculty which is symbolised by his mastery over counting and knowledge of dice. To open the higher thinking centre, Nala had to go through a period of preparation which is depicted in the suffering he endures.

Now Nala’s psychic nature is fully developed and his higher faculties are active.

The author can be reached by emailing 3srb@live.com (Edited by Chintu Gandhi) (to be countinued next week)

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

Som Yagya being organized in London UK-Indians will have the privilege to witness the grandeur of 5000 year-old Som Yagya with the blessings of Aacharya Goswami Shri Gokulotsavji Maharaj at Harrow, west London soon. The Yagya will be performed in a grant form with exact Vedic principles and standards as those performed in India.

For its cultural value, in 2008 UNESCO inscribed it in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Som Yagya, a divine and rare Vedic Vishnu Yagya will be conducted under the guidance of Aacharya Goswami Vrajotsavji, being ‘Yajamana”, the purest and the best worshipper and his wife “Yajamana”, they has already conducted a large number of such Yagyas in India and ascends from the esteemed lineage of Jagadguru Aacharya Shri Mahaprabhuji. Prior to the Yagya, there is a long period of fasting and other austerities that the Yajamana and Brahmins must undertake.

A Som Yagya is important for the immediate atmosphere and environ-

ment.Vanaspati used as ahuti in the Yagya remove pollution, the bacteria and virus residing in the ground, water, light and air gets destroyed. The flames of Yagya have a positive impact on our mind and calms the body.

There is a great significance of the number 17 in Som Yagya, as 17 is a symbol of Lord Vishnu. There are 17 priests as Yagya officiators, 17 varieties of dakshinas (offering to priests), 17 renderings of the shastras and 17 stotra renderings.

Som Yagya has a very important significance to Pushtimarg Vaishnavas.

The divine arrival of Jagadguru Aacharya Shri Mahaprabhuji, in Champaranya, was the fruit of the boon granted to his ancestors.

Importance of Donations (Bhiksha) in the Som Yagya The wealth of King Bali was impure, so his Yagya was also impure, so, to make this Yagya pious, Lord Vaman accepted the wealth of King Bali and made this wealth pure.

It’s the earnest duty of the public to participate in

arrangement of various manoraths and benefit in the Som Yagya with their physical, mental and financial means. Do not donate any physical items without prior arrangement, always ensure that you obtain a receipt for all donations.

For women, please note that during the menstrual period, you should not come to the Som Yagya for 5 days.

Contact the Som Yagya committee to register your interest.

Venue for the Som Yagya is Zoom Leisure, Kodak Sports Ground, Harrow View, Harrow, HA2 6QQ. List of Organising Committee members for contacts: Pravinbhai Jatania 07775 710400, Sangitaben Ladha 07773 766546 , Rohitbhai Morjaria 07770 536026, Sanjaybhai Morzaria 07932 623852, Manjobhai Pankhania 07966 842254, Deenaben Radia 07958 122634, Vijeshbhai Saujani 07932 617325 Organised by Utsav Sangeet, 55 Sefton Avenue, Harrow, HA3 5JP. Registered Charity No: 1137951

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

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35 Somali ‘pirates,’ 3 Yemenis detained off Gujarat coast In less than a week after 14 Somali pirates were caught off the Junagadh coast, the police detained another 21 Somali men from near the Dwarka coast. Jamnagar police officials fear this new group too may be pirates but have not been able to confirm their identity because the police could

from a drifting boat to Nandana village in Junagadh and were spotted by the villagers. An Indian Coast Guard chopper brought one Yemeni from the drifting boat to the shore.

The Somalis and the Yemenis, who claim to be fishermen taken hostage, were in police detention

tions 447 and 114, Indian Passport Act 3/12 and the Foreigners Act. Junagadh district superintendent of police Dipankar Trivedi said the court was requested that the police be granted the remand of the accused as many missing links about their landing on Gujarat’s coast were still to be

found out.

A forensic team has confirmed that the marks on the boat were indeed caused by bullets, as claimed by the three Yemenis. Initially, the Yemenis and the Somalis both said they were stranded fishermen but when interrogated separately, the Yemenis said

their boat had been fired upon and hijacked.

Ashish Bhatia, IGP of the anti-terrorist squad, said, “There is no reason to disbelieve the Yemenis who are saying that the Somalis are pirates who kidnapped them.” He added that since the intruders don’t have any passports, they will be

booked under the Indian Passport Act and the Foreigners’ Act. “We will wait for the outcome of the interrogation by a joint team before taking a decision,” he said. According to the Junagadh police, the Yemeni nationals said they had been kidnapped and kept on an island near Somalia for over 15 days.

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not be able to understand their language. The men swam to the coast after which they were detained.

There are startling similarities between the latest group and pirates caught on June 20. While the earlier group had 14 Somali pirates and three Yemeni hostages, a local court in Junagadh district remanded them in police custody for seven days. The pirates and two Yemenis swam

since then. They were interrogated by sleuths belonging to 14 central and state agencies, which included Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and customs police during the period, after which a first information report (FIR) was lodged against them for entering India illegally. They were booked under IPC sec-

Plan panel hails Gujarat growth story, hikes outlay

Montek Singh

Narendra Modi

The Planning Commission on Friday finalised an annual plan of Rs 380 billion for Gujarat for 201112, higher by nearly 27 per cent over the previous financial year, appreciating the states double-digit growth rate for the second consecutive year.

Officials participating in the meeting between chief minister Narendra Modi and the commissions deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said, the commission allowed a higher plan size as it was appreciative of the fast infrastructure growth achieved in ports, gas-andoil and energy sectors, which has triggered a much higher industrial growth.

Officials said, though some Planning Commission members expressed misgivings on the continued lag in the states human development index, its member-secretary Sudha Pillai wanted the Gujarat government to send across to her a complete note on the public-private partnership (PPP) model, especially in health and education sectors. She wanted the states PPP model to be emulated elsewhere in India.

At the same time, sen-

ior economist Abhijit Sen, member, Planning Commission, disputed the states claim about high agricultural growth, saying it was erratic and rain-fed.

Sen said, the average of the last five years suggested the states growth has been less than that of the nation.

Another commission member Sayeeda Hamid raised the issue of failure of the state to provide security to the minorities.

Hamid cited lack of banks in the minority areas and failure of the banks to provide loans to the minorities. Modi reacted that the critique did not stand reason as the nationalised banks came under the Central government.

Hamid also referred to the states refusal to allow implementation of the Centres pre-matric scholarship to Muslim students.

Modi replied back,We have provided scholarship to 1.5 lakh minority students.

Addressing the meet, the CM said there are growing list of instances of the Centre breaking the federal dharma. It seems that UPAs strategy is clear encroachment on states matters and economic freedom and agenda of GoI is of centralisation of powers and interference in state subject matters, he said, citing the Draft Ports Regulatory Bill which showed the UPAs intention to undermine the authority of the Gujarat Maritime Board.

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InDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Asian millionaires overtake Europe in rich list Continued from page 1 Asia-Pacific beating Europe in rich-list is largely because of the relative health of stock markets in Hong Kong, India and China last year, according to a new survey. The survey defines millionaires as people with net financial wealth of more than $1m, excluding their primary residence.

Millionaires in region became worth more collectively than their counterparts in Europe in 2009, but there are also now more of them, at 3.3 million in the region, against 3.1 million in Europe.

The number of millionaires in Asia and the Pacific has jumped sharply to overtake Europe, driven by the fast-rising superrich population of Hong Kong, a study says.

In terms of wealth rather than population numbers, Asia-Pacific’s millionaires are worth a combined $10.8 trillion compared to Europe’s high net worth assets of $10.2 trillion, according to Capgemini and Merrill Lynch’s estimates.

The growth in Asia was led by the number of millionaires in Hong

Mukesh Ambani

Kong, which grew 33.3 per cent in 2010 to 101,300 people, compared with 76,000 in 2009 - the second straight year in which the city's super-rich population grew the most.

The rocketing number of millionaires in Hong Kong was due to a healthy economy as well as gains in the equities and real estate markets, the report said.

The report also noted the boom of millionaires in India, which came in 12th - its highest ever placing.

Asia, which has emerged quickly from the global recession, has produced some of the world's richest people including India's business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, nicknamed "Superman" for his business prowess.

While Asia has been the engine of growth for the world economy, North America’s millionaires

have also done well for themselves despite slow growth. High net worth individuals were worth a combined $11.6 trillion in 2010, up an impressive 9.1%. Only Asia’s wealthy assets have grown more.

Asia had more millionaires last year for the first time than in Europe, said the latest world wealth report by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Hong Kong and Vietnam lead the list while other countries include Indonesia, Singapore and India. Sri Lanka is also among the first ten.

The report findings illustrate how Asian economies are growing faster than those in the developed nations.

Chinese and Indian economies grew 9 and 10 per cent while those in North America and Europe recorded a low single digit growth.

North Americans are still the best-off. At the end of last year, the continent was home to 3.1m millionaires worth $10,700bn.The US, Japan and Germany produce about half of all millionaires, who were numbered at 10m in 2009. China was ranked fourth, boasting

477,000 individuals with $1m or more in their accounts. India is catching up, having seen the number of millionaires rise more than 50 per cent to 126,756 in 2009.

Though the UK economy shrank, British millionaires swelled to 448,100, up 24 per cent from 2008.

Russian millionaires also saw their ranks rise to 117,700.

The Middle East struggled, with the United Arab Emirates losing 19 per cent of its millionaires in 2009 as the Dubai property crisis took its toll.

Investments by the wealthy in fixed-income instruments crept up to 31 per cent from 29 per cent in 2008 and allocations to equities also increased slightly to 29 per cent from 25 per cent in the previous year.

Cash holdings dropped, meanwhile, as investors grew dissatisfied with the poor rates on high street banks’ savings accounts.

Demand for art, coins, antiques and wines picked up again toward the tail end of last year, as the wealthy sought out collectables with “tangible, long-term” value, the study said.

Gurkhas: "We served the Queen with loyalty, we deserve equal treatment" Continued from page 6 Mrs Sunuwar through a translator told Asian Voice, "I have a daughter, Pushpa, back in Nepal.

She did not get the right to come to Britain. It worries us but the government will not let us bring her here. If she was here, she could have helped me and my husband. We are both so sick, you see.

We try to send some money back home for her but it is getting more and more difficult. we have been interviewed by British media about our plight. Our friends and family have told us we are embarrassing Nepal in front of the whole of Britain. So we do not want to step out of our house and make a big issue of our current situation."

Tilakbahadur and Netra Kumari: They have arrived in Britain about 45 days back. The benefits

take at least 12 weeks to clear. While they wait, they have almost no money to eat. They are living on borrowings from their friends and family.

Their youngest son (of 7) is 13 years old and going to school- the first in the family to be educated.

But he was born after Tilakbahadur left the regiment. Since he is not registered- he cannot travel with his parents or get the rights of settlement with his parents!

Netra Kumari told us, "Our friend Manbahadur who is also here does not get a pension. I do not know how is he surviving.

We have taken a loan and come here- but we still haven't received any benefits! Do you know when can we get that?"

Chhatra Rai added, "One of our friends in Grimsby were even targeted at a knife point to buy him alcohol. Nobody did any-

thing to save him. This sort of racial threats are increasing. This family recently migrated to Reading.

Also the Government's decision to make 150 Gurkhas involuntarily redundant is beyond imagination. This decision will not only harm a significant resource within the armed forces but will add to the numbers of Gurkha veterans facing financial hardship."

BGWS tried to take the British local government to Nepal to make them aware of the needs and requirements before the Gurkhas started migrating to Britain after winning the rights of settlement.

But due to the national Government alleged intervention- nothing materialised. Tikendraji told Asian Voice, "The question is not just about settlement. The Gurkhas back at home think their life standards will improve

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are renowned for organising community events and seminars. Please note our forthcoming events till September 2011.

Date 30th June 2011 9th July 2011 16th July 2011 14th July 2011 23rd July 2011 30th July 2011 6th August 2011 28th August 2011

Event/Special Issue Akshaypatra fundraising dinner East London special KPGN British Punjabis British Goans Gujarati Women Conference and Karma Yogi Awards, Leicester British Asian Youth seminar Poet Meghani Festival

4th September 2011 Gujarati language seminar 16th September 2011 AAA

Coordinator Jyotsnaben+George Surendra+Kokilaben Nihir+Kokilaben+others Nikhil Gor George Kokilaben Rupanjana+Alkaben Kokilaben+Jyotsnaben+ Kamal Kokilaben+Kamal George

with leaps and bounds when they migrate to the UK. They calculate everything in their local currency, but they fail to understand a life in Britain is much more expensive.

They come here and struggle. The council offers benefits, but these people are left alone to find their house or find a footing for the first 12 weeks that they are without any benefit. Settlement is not the only answer. We need equal treatment and equal pension and we have taken the matter to ECHR. We have served the British with loyalty, we deserve equal rights as he British ex servicemen!"

Happy 10th Birthday to Rahul D. Shah.

D.O.B. 30th June 2001 All our love and best wishes from Ba (Manglaben Kantilal Shah), Mum, Dad and the whole family.

In focus Singur land issue: Tatas move SC Tatas has moved the Supreme Court as Calcutta High Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order restraining the West Bengal government from distributing to farmers in Singur the land acquired earlier to set up Tata’s car manufacturing unit. On Tata Motor’s plea that an interim injunction be passed to restrain distribution of the land from Tuesday, Justice Saumitra Pal said in that case the company’s original petition challenging the Singur Land Rehablitation and Development Act, 2011 would become infructuous.

Justice Pal observed that since the court found from the petition that no specific statement has been made that land distribution would start on Tuesday, no interim order was being passed.

200 youths detained after raid on rave party Over 200 boys and girls were detained in Maharashtra's Raigad district after police raided a rave party at a resort.

“We have detained over 200 boys and girls in the operation,” said inspector S. Patil, head of Khalapur police station. The police were trying to ascertain the type, quantity of drugs and liquor served in the party. The police action came on a day which is observed as International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Chhota Rajan behind journalist Dey's murder: police

The seven men from the underworld who killed investigative reporter Jyotirmoy Dey had no idea who he was when they shot him dead, police said. Mumbai Police Joint Commissioner Himanshu Roy identified the man who fired the five bullets that killed Dey June 11 as Satish Kalia, a professional assassin who acted on the orders of underworld don Chhota Rajan. Dey was a respected journalist who worked for Mid Day newspaper and specialised on the mafia. The daring afternoon murder triggered widespread protests, putting enormous strain on Mumbai Police. But, even as they felled him, the killer gang of seven did not know who the victim was or why he was being killed.

Ranjan Mathai is new foreign secretary Ending weeks of speculation, the government of India has decided to appoint Ranjan Mathai, India's ambassador to France, as the next foreign secretary. Mathai will succeed Nirupama Rao, who is tipped to be India's next ambassador to the US. Rao will succeed Meera Shankar in Washington, sources said. A 1974 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Mathai's appointment will be announced soon. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's permanent representative to the UN, and Sharat Sabharwal, India's high commissioner to Pakistan, were also seen to be claimants for the post of foreign secretary.

Right to Appeal Petition We, the undersigned believe that the government's plan to scrap the Right to Appeal is absolutely unfair and cannot be justified on any ground. Our relatives residing in different corners of the world visit us for important family events like weddings, funerals etc.

Due to the incompetency reflected in the Home Office's decision-making process, the Right to Appeal is a necessity. The right helps ensure that no one is wrongly rejected from visiting their family in the UK. This measure would simply lead to unnecessary tension, discontent and drift in the Asian community.

Hence we request you to take into account the significant importance of retaining the Right to Appeal whilst considering the damaging outcomes if the proposed government plan is passed.

Readers of Asian Voice are asked to add their names to this petition by emailing rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com with their details.

No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Name

Address with postal code & phone number

Sign

WoMen & HISTORy

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

27

Indian Wedding

Manipuri wedding and unique traditions

Manipuri wedding is just amazing and different from all other Indian weddings. And various tribes have more or less similar process of marriage. Before the marriage, parents of the boy go to meet parents of the girl. This approach is called 'Hinaba'. The horoscopes are tallied and if both the parents agree then the next date for the meeting is fixed. On the next meeting, called Yathang Thanaga, the consent is given by the girl's parents. The next stage is 'Waroipot puba' and the groom's family members bring food and the agreement is finally sealed.

Finally the engagement is declared amongst the friends and relatives and is called 'Heijingpot'. Friends and relatives from the boy's side then go to the girl's parents with food, fruits and presents. The girl's parents also invite their friends and relatives.

Then the marriage is fixed by a Brahmin.

The marriage party is a great show. A marriage procession will have at least 30 cars. The prestige and the status symbol of the party depends on the number of cars present in the procession.. The men dress in dhoti and kurta with a shawl wrapped around and women in pink 'fanek' and white chader. The reception is very formal. At the entrance of the gate a Meitei woman extends a Thali containing a banana leaf in which the betel nut, pan and tamul is arranged.

The arrangement for sitting is made around the Tulsi rostrum. In each Meitei house the Tulsi plant is grown over a raised rostrum. All ceremonies are conducted around this plant. The bridal dress is unique. It is obligatory for the bride to wear the Raslila skirt.

The bride-groom's dress is white dhoti, kurta and turban. Kirtans and Shahnai music is started when the bride and the

bridegroom make seven rounds round the Tulsi plant. The bride follows the steps in rhythmic styles with the Shahnai music. She has to perform the role of a gopi.

There are many good points in Meitei marriages. There is no stress on huge expenditure. The ladoos and sweets are distributed after the marriage ceremony. The guests are given Dakshina. The dowry is not a compulsion but voluntary. The parents of the girl provide essential items for her use such as utensils, sewing machine, implements, clothes etc.

The next day bride’s family and friends visit her to check the wellbeing in the new house. It does not end there, after 5 days there is something called the “mangani chakouba.” The groom, bride and other invitees visit the bride’s place after 5 days and have a nice “Fish” meal, including many other Manipuri dishes.

Sachin’s Ferrari arrives in Surat

AV Correspondent The '360 Modena Ferrari', which once occupied pride of place in batting icon Sachin Tendulkar's fleet of premium cars, is now a prized possession of a businessman of Surat.

Jayesh Desai, Chairman of Raj Hans group, said he purchased the car a fortnight ago.

"I have bought the 360 Modena Ferrari car directly from Sachin Tendulkar with all legal documents,"

Desai said not wanting to reveal the price. "It was my dream to drive a Ferrari and now my dream has come true," said Desai.

The Ferrari, which was presented to Tendulkar by racing legend Michael Schumacher, will be the first racing car in his fleet of luxury vehicles, Desai said, adding that his latest acquisition was a prized possession as it was owned by the batting great.

The Ferrari had got mired in a controversy in

2003 after it was reported that Tendulkar had requested for a customs duty waiver despite getting it as a gift and not winning it as a prize in a tournament. In August 2003, the finance ministry had exempted Tendulkar from paying around Rs 1.13 million (approximately $245,000) towards import duty for the vehicle, valued at Rs 750,000 (approximately $162,600).

The car was gifted to him by FIAT, which manufactures the premium Ferrari cars and endorsed

by Tendulkar, after the Indian batting legend equalled Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test centuries.

Ferrari's Formula One driver Schumacher presented the car on behalf of the company to Tendulkar when the two met in 2002 at Silverstone, England.

By Dr Anil Mehta

Tipu, the Tiger Sultan Tipu Sahib or Tipu Sultan (1750-99, Sultan 1782-99), the son and successor of Haidar Ali, was the formidable ruler of Mysore state, and East India Company’s best organised and most resolute enemy.

He is known for his daring military campaigns which along with those of his father proved a perennial menace to East India Company’s ambitions in southern India. He dominated the political stage of southern India for almost forty years.

Tipu was born at Diwanhalli. His father though illiterate, gave him a good formal education as well as an early exposure to military and political affairs.

He was his father’s right hand in the first two Mysore Wars. He learnt early in his career that the way to defeat European armies was to emulate their techniques.

With the support of the French, he developed a well-drilled and well-equipped army winning a series of victories over the course of four Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-69, 1780-84, 1790-92, and 1799).

During the late 18th century Tipu dominated south Indian politics for almost 40 years. Firstly he fought in his father’s campaigns against the British.

After Haidar Ali’s death in 1782 during the 2nd Mysore War, he became sultan and continued the fight until the British were forced to make peace with him by signing the Mangalore treaty (1984).

During this war Tipu won a significant victory at the Battle of Polilur (near Kanchipuram) which he celebrated by commissioning a wall-to-wall painting of the battle in his Srirangapatnam Palace.

Tipu’s invasion of Travancore, a state under British protection provoked the third Mysore War in which, heavily outnumbered and outgunned, he was defeated by joint British, Maratha, and Nizam force under Governor General Cornwallis. Tipu was forced to cede half of his territories including most of the Malabar coast and pay heavy indemnities. To add to the indignity, he had to surrender his two sons aged 8 and 10 to the British as surety for peace (the sons were returned to their father two years later).

Despite defeat in the 3rd War, Tipu revived with such rapidity that he was still regarded a considerable threat by the British. Not reconciled, he began to look for new allies. He formed a vague alliance with Napoleon which gave the new Governor General Richard Wellesley a pretext he needed to invade him. In 1799, in a triple alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas, he stormed the capital Srirangapatnam, nine miles from Mysore (4th Mysore War). Wellesley was also assisted by his younger brother Arthur (later the Duke of Wellington of Waterloo fame, and British PM). Outnumbered by a vast army and badly let down by his French allies at the last minute, the brave sultan fell fighting to the last. Some nine

Tipu Sultan

thousand Tipu’s men perished against four hundred (mostly wounded) British.

Almost half of Mysore was annexed by the British linking Madras to the West coast, a portion of the north was given to the Nizam as compensation for his support, and the much reduced Mysore state was restored to the old Hindu dynasty of Wodeyar (or Wadiyar) family whose throne Haidar Ali had usurped earlier.

Some of the Tipu’s belongings which were seized as trophies are on display in the South Asian Gallery of London’s V & A Museum. These include the famous Tipu’s Tiger – a unique musical organ in the shape of a tiger seen in the act of devouring an English victim.

A small plump man, Tipu was a devout Muslim ruling a mainly Hindu population. As the most powerful of all the native princes of the time, he stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries. He was feared by his neighbours, Nizam and Marathas who were ready to join forces with the British against him.

Though vindictive and cruel, he was a shrewd diplomat and his military and administrative skills were complemented by his vision of modern state which he developed through systematic industrial and agricultural policies. During his time, Mysore was known for its social and economic stability. On a personal note he was an accomplished poet, and much versed in Kannada, Urdu, Persian, and Arabic languages.

Tipu was a brave soldier and a great general. So long as he lived there was little chance of the British reaching an agreement with him. His view was ‘In this world I would rather live two days like a tiger, then two hundred years like a sheep.’ And, indeed, taming the Tiger of Mysore was not easy. It took almost 40 years and most of East India Company’s resources before Mysore was brought under British control.

Tipu’s Tiger

28

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

This week in CB Live, Rakhi Gokani, who looks after her grandmother- who is an Alzheimer patient, will talk about the disease Alzheimer and Dementia.

All India Radio (Rajkot) singer Vinod Patel will also be interviewed.

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500 A progressive time ahead regarding money and the material world, and the keyword is increase.

Personal charm and confidence is on the increase, so get involved in high level talks. During this phase, choose your words carefully as you can upset people around you.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

If you do not have a tv, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

To ask questions please call on: 020 8963 1001

Don't miss !!!

For more information e-mail: cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Only on CB Live - MATV Sky 793 - Thursday 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Coming Events l ISKCON Croydon presents Croydon’s first ever ‘Rathayatra’ on 3rd July 2011, 12.30pm –5.00pm at Park Hill Croydon. Programme is totally free of cost and includes music, dance, drama and food. For more details contact - iskcon.croydon@gmail.com

l Baroness Flather invites you to Vatayan: Poetry on South bank Award ceremony in association with The Nehru Centre and UK Hindi Samiti honouring Shri Prasoon Joshi. Special Guest: Shabana Azmi.

Compere Dr Sangeeta Datta, 30th June, 6:30pm, House of Lords London W1.

Contact: Divya Mathur at divyamathur@aol.com.

l Ambo Utsav (also known as Aam ka Manorath), Sunday 3rd July 2011 in Crawley, UK. Sanatan Mandir, Crawley RH11 0AF. 10am-4pm. Contact: 01293530105.

l Rabindranath Tagore and Dartington: a Documentary Exhibition July 2-10, 2011, 11am – 7pm weekdays, 11am-6pm weekends. M.P. Birla Millennium Art Gallery, The Bhavan Centre, London W14 9HE, www.bhavan.net, Nearest Station: West Kensington, Barons Court

l Mare Kone Kahevu? at At Patidar Samaj Hall, Tooting, London SW17 0RG A Show of this Gujarati Drama which is produced by Bhartiya Bhavan, 6.30PM, Saturday 16 July 2011.

Tickets: £15, £10 and £8

l "Action against corruption together with NRI community of the UK": A peaceful protest outside of The High Commission of India, India House Aldwych, London, WC2B 4NA, Friday 1st July 2011, 12.00pm - 1.30pm

l Ernst & Young will be hosting an event on Monday 4 July 2011 entitled "How the Mighty Fall: Reading between the lines from the Mahabharata."

RSVP will be required- london@vpnglobal.org.

l Hanuman Chalisa, Saturday 9th July, 6pm-11pm, Byron Hall, Harrow Leisure Centre, HA3 5BD, 6pm to 7:30pm. Contact- Sharad: 079676 738671.

l Annual Queensbury Eco-Cultural Festival in Eton Grove Park Queensbury on Sunday 3rd July 2011. Contact: Public Relations - Kamlesh Jadeja. Tel: 078095697 l Caste Watch UK Conference: Caste and Equality Act 2010, Conference Theatre, Coventry CV6 5SF. Contact: info@castewatch.org

Amazing predictions

Sneh Joshi, the UK’s leading Vedic astrologer, writer and TV personality can answer questions on:

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" " !

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Health Problems Investments Married Life Marriage Compatibility Love Affairs Court Cases Any other problems

Call 020 8518 5500 & face your future with confidence!

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TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Decision making will prove to be a bit of a bind because of your wavering mind - seek professional advice and then steam ahead.

You will also be in great demand socially and you can expect to be invited to a few get-togethers. Be careful with your expenditure as you have a tendency to be extravagant.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 You’re likely to receive insights into where everything is going and this may shape your life for months to come. You can look forward to advancing both personal and professional ambitions from now onwards. There are opportunities to expand and you and a partner could really go places.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 A good time for restructuring and rethinking your aims and interests.

You now have an excellent opportunity to sort out where things may be going wrong. The hard part is that you will have to be honest with yourself. Do not get over-anxious if everything seems to be in slow motion it is time to pull a few strings.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Make a very conscious attempt to stick to main priorities. Organise your time so that it is not taken up entirely by the demands of other people. Ego confrontations with family members are possible now, but the best way to handle this energy is to do your best to strengthen your relationship with your family and your home base.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Progress will be slow and may incline you to a negative view of your current work situation. Make up your mind early in the week to knuckle down to the tasks in hand. This should be a wonderful week for those aspiring to higher knowledge - foreign travel is strongly indicated. Associate with people that you are comfortable with.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 Do not kid yourself that emotional problems can always be solved by material means. This only covers the cracks and does nobody any good in the end. If love has left you feeling rather dejected or cynical, it looks as though soon events will pull you out of this mood of despondency.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Opportunities abound, professionally and socially, so make the right choices.

You should enjoy a very popular phase in your life where everyone wants to invite you to parties. This will give you a chance to meet people and pursue any romantic liaisons. There will be excesses associated with splashing out on luxury items which sometimes we do not really require.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 There are subtle transformations taking shape in you life and a feeling of helpful influences in the background. There is much to suggest that you are in tune with your inner self and in touch with those hidden forces which often seem to take a guiding hand in one's life. Focus on essentials and establish a solid foundation.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You may find yourself hard at work behind the scenes, although that may not be apparent to others. You may find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of activity, with opportunities to advance on both the inner and outer level. There is likely to be a powerful incentive to do what remains to be done and tie up loose ends.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 It seems that the winds of change begin to gather momentum and put a strong focus on domestic and family matters. The outlook remains optimistic as developments point the way forward and bring you a sense of real achievement.

However, this week, demands on time and energy are going to be heavy.

A wind of change may be in the air; attention should turn to the wider world and benefits come from broadening of horizons and mental stimuli. All things considered, your health should be robust. The more you live up to your own set of principles the more you’ll gain.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

HealtH WatCh

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Fruit juice can put your health at risk

New studies have claimed that people who regularly drink fruit juice may actually be putting their health at risk, because the beverage is packed with so much sugar that it can be addictive.

Drinking just two glasses a day could give people a "sweet tooth", making them crave calorie-

packed food, claimed one study, while the another suggested for eating dried fruits as they contain as many antioxidants, polyphenols and nutrients as normal fruits do.

The findings of both the studies concluded that fruit juices should not be counted as one of your five-a-day and con-

Chocolate milk best for recovery after exercise Scientists have claimed that chocolate milk is the best recovery drink to have after exercise, as it helps build more muscles, boost performance and keep off the fat.

After an exhausting session on the treadmill, many athletes usually reach for an isotonic sports drink or good oldfashioned water, but two new studies from The University of Texas at

Austin have shown that chocolate milk is the ideal post-workout recovery drink.

"Serious and amateur athletes alike enjoyed physical recovery benefits when they drank low-fat chocolate milk after a vigorous workout," lead researcher Dr John Ivy said. "The advantages for the study participants were better body composition in the form of more muscle and less fat, improved times while working out and overall better physical shape than peers who consumed sports beverages that just contained carbohydrates," he said.

Ivy and his team compared the recovery benefits of drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise to the effects of a carbohydrate beverage with the same ingredients and calories as typical sports drinks as well as to a calo-

rie-free beverage.

They asked 10 trained cyclists to ride a bike for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals. The scientists found the athletes had significantly more power and rode faster (reduced their ride time by an average of six minutes) when they consumed low-fat chocolate milk rather than a carbohydrate sports drink or calorie-free beverage.

The team also tested 32 amateur male and female cyclists, putting them through five intense spinning sessions a week followed by one of the three beverages.

They found after four and a half weeks that chocolate milk drinkers had twice the improvement in maximal oxygen uptake compared to the others. Maximal oxygen uptake is one indicator of an athlete's aerobic endurance and ability to perform sustained exercise. The amateur cyclists also built more muscle and shaved off more fat during training when they drank low-fat chocolate milk.

"We don't yet understand exactly what mechanism is causing low-fat chocolate milk to give athletes these advantages that will take more research," Ivy stated.

"But there's something in the naturally-occurring protein and carbohydrate mix that offers significant benefits," he added.

Ivy added that a threeminute recovery window after exercise, for people of all fitness levels, was as important as the nutrition supplement. The study has been published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

sumption of dried fruit needs to encouraged.

The first study, carried out by a team from the Bangor University in North Wales, found that even freshly squeezed fruit juices can contain as much as five teaspoons of sugar per glass because the squeezing process concentrates their sweetness.

This is around twothirds of the amount found in a can of soda and can contribute to obesity and also disturb blood sugar levels and the body's natural metabolism.

Researchers said that the juices should be taken off the five-a-day recommendations so that people are encouraged to eat whole fruits and vegetables instead which have far more nutrients per calorie.

Just one sleepless night adds to your flab

Scientists have indicated that just one night of sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain. It slows down the body's metabolism the next morning – meaning less energy, in the form of calories, is burnt off.

Our findings show that one night of sleep deprivation acutely reduces energy expenditure in healthy men, which suggests sleep contributes to the acute regulation of daytime energy expenditure in humans," the Daily Mail quoted Christian Benedict , who led the research at Uppsala University in Sweden , as saying.

He and his colleagues put 14 male students through a series of sleep 'conditions' - curtailed sleep, no sleep, and normal sleep - over several days, then measured changes in how much they ate, their blood sugar, hormone levels and metabolic rate.

Even a single night of missed sleep slowed metabolism the next morning, reducing energy expenditure for tasks such as breathing and digestion by between 5 and 20%.

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Apples can reduce cholesterol level in women

An apple a day can reduce the cholesterol levels in women, according to a new study.

"Apples are truly a miracle fruit that convey benefits beyond fiber content," said Bahram H Arjmandi, Margaret A Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University, who led

the study.

Animal studies have shown that apple pectin and polyphenols in apple improve lipid metabolism and lower the production of pro-inflammatory molecules. Arjmandi's research is the first to evaluate the long-term cardio-protective effects of daily consumption of apple in postmenopausal women.

The study randomly

Jogging doesn't help lose weight

Running might not be the ideal form of exercise, especially if you want to lose weight.

Says Greg Brookes, a London-based personal trainer: "Lots of people start running to lose weight and it doesn't always work - and this is why."

"Fat is one of our body's favourite sources of energy," says Brookes.

"The more you run, the more your body prepares itself for your next run.

You will actually start to hold on to more fat” Brookes, with a clientele that includes celebrities, high-fliers and housewives, suggests why you won't get leaner is that the body is an amazing machine and will

adapt to anything.

"The more time you spend running, the better you become at running and the more efficient you get, the less energy you use and the fewer calories you burn," says Brookes.

According to him, running is also bad for joints. "When you run, two-and-a-half times your bodyweight is transmitted through your joints."

"If that force is repeated over and over, eventually your weakest joint will give out. Usually the ankles or the knees are the first to go," he adds.

Contrary to popular belief that any exercise will speed up your metabolism, running can, says Brookes, do the opposite.

assigned 160 women aged between 45 and 65 to one of two dietary intervention groups: one received dried apples daily (75g/day for 1 year) and the other group ate dried prunes every day for a year.

Blood samples were taken at 3, 6 and 12 months. The results surprised Arjmandi, who stated that incredible changes in the apple-eating women happened by 6 months they experienced a 23 per cent decrease in LDL cholesterol.

The daily apple consumption also led to a lowering of lipid hydroperoxide levels and C-reactive protein in those women.

"I never expected apple consumption to reduce bad cholesterol to this extent while increasing HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol by about 4 per cent," said Arjmandi.

high fibre diet gives long life

A diet having excessive fibre, particularly the kind from whole grains, can help you live longer, a new study has claimed. Diets rich in fibre are already linked to multiple health benefits, including preventing gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The study, published in an international medical journal, found that eating lots of dietary fibre reduces a person's risk of dying from heart disease, infections, and respiratory diseases. "Prior studies have focussed on the relationship between fibre intake and cardiovascular disease. A few have examined the link between dietary fibre and mortality," says Yikyung Park, the author of the study and a member of a renowned cancer research facility.

He says, "Our analysis adds to the literature and suggests that dietary fibre is associated with a decreased likelihood of mortality."

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30

Sport

Dhoni surpasses Azharuddin’s record Mahendra Singh Dhoni was typically calm and collected after India finished at the right end of the first Test.

His record as captain is only getter better. This is the first time that India has won the opening Test of a series in the Caribbean. The 63-run win at Sabina Park was also Dhoni's 15th victory in Tests as captain.

He has now gone past Mohammed Azharuddin's mark of 14 victories. Only Sourav Ganguly, with 21, has more wins in Tests as skipper. On the win that gave India a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, Dhoni said, “We were missing some regular cricketers. But the players took responsibility and rose to the occasion. It was a team effort.” Dhoni commended Man of the Match Rahul Dravid for his match-winning 112 in the Indian second innings. “He is an exceptional batsman. He was patient like he always is and made the bowlers bowl to his strengths.”

Lanka T20 League to go ahead without Indian players Despite failing to get Indian cricketers, Sri Lanka will go ahead with its inaugural Twenty 20 Premier League with Australian and Pakistani players.

The Sri Lanka's Sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage said Lankan cricket would lose money because of the absence of Indian players, but the tournament will still be played as planned, The Herald Sun reports. Fast bowlers Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel were among 12 Indian players who were stopped by the BCCI from playing in the T20 tournament in Sri Lanka from July 19 to August 4.

The minister said the Indian board's reluctance stemmed from media reports that a Singapore-based company with alleged links to Lalit Modi was organizing the event. "Mr Modi is not involved in our tournament. But we have to accept India's decision. We remain friends with India," Aluthgamage was quoted as saying

by The Herald Sun. The Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures, who won the marketing rights for five years, have already paid an advance of almost $300,000 to Sri Lanka Cricket, some media reports said. It said India's reluctance had led to broadcaster ESPN withdrawing support for the tournament, which will feature seven teams and include a mix of local and international players.

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Not a famous victory

By Premen Addy

The First Test match at Jamaica's Sabina Park, once the happy hunting ground of the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers - whose debut Test hundred there was a world record 365 not out against Pakistan in 1957-58 – ended in a convincing 63-run victory for India over the West Indies in the three-match series.

It was far from a one-sided contest.

Shortly after lunch on the opening day.

India, having chosen to bat, were reeling at 85 for 6, with all the key batsmen save Suresh Raina back in the pavilion.

Disaster loomed and 150 total appeared to be the limit of Indian horizons. West Indies were in the box seat, as Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards took full toll of some indeterminate Indian batting. Bishoo, with his flighted leg-breaks and googlies, interspersed with clever changes of pace, was in his element with the distinguished scalps of Rahul Dravid (40), VVS Laxman (12) and captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni (0) after the pace of Rampaul had made the initial breakthrough with the early wickets of Murali Vijay (8) and his lefthander partner Abhinav Mukund (11).

Fidel Edwards then opened up Viraat Kohli (4) to a wicket keeping catch by Carlton Baugh.

Thereafter, the home side lost the plot, as Raina (82) and Harbhajan Singh (70) plundered 146 runs between them, with the bowlers wilting under the onslaught. The Indian innings folded at 246 all out, when at 231 for 6 the future looked distinctly promising. Edwards returned the best figures of 4 for 56, followed by Rampaul's 3 for 59 and Bishoo's 3 for 75. West Indies began with a painfully slow reply, the first 34 runs for the loss of Lendil Simmons (3) coming in a 20over crawl. Ramnaresh Sarwan (3) fell early on the next day, lbw to Ishant Sharma offering no stroke to an express delivery swinging in late. Adrian Barath (64) swung lustily for a half-century, but the West Indies batting had lost momentum and the innings ended on 173.

Test debutant Praveen Kumar (3 for 38) performed superbly with his two-

way swing and skilful variations of pace; he received splendid support from Sharma's express pace and disconcerting lift (3 for 29), with Harbhajan and Amit Mishra in less impressive mode returning figures of 2 for 51 apiece. Beginning with a useful 73-run lead on a wicket of uncertain bounce and turn, India soon lost Vijay (0) to a Rampaul delivery that kept wickedly low. Wickets fell at regular intervals to a steady West Indies attack in which captain Darren Sammy (4 for 52) and Bishoo (4 for 65) excelled.

However, Dravid, given a life at slip by Sammy at 6, took charge with a magnificent display of technique and temperament, scoring 112 in a total of 252, with Mishra's 28 towards the end giving the side a critical lifeline, as 56 runs were posted on the board.

The West second innings began with a 62-run blitz between Barath (38) and Lendl ((27), but the slow death of the first innings soon repeated itself amid a flurry of poor shots and soft dismissals. They looked dead and buried at 183 for 8, before Rampaul

(34) got going with Edwards (15 not out) and Bishoo (26): all out for 262 in the first half hour of lunch on the fourth day.

Kumar (3 for 42) was again the pick of the Indian pack, with Sharma coming into his own (3 for 81) after rocky start when his two opening overs went for 29 runs. Spinners Mishra and Singh were mostly anonymous (2 for 62 and 1for 54 respectively).

West Indies lack self-belief and application, but not talent. The chronic inability to prepare decent surfaces worthy of Test cricket is an abysmal comment on the state of West Indian cricket administration. Two Test matches in the Caribbean have been abandoned in recent years, within an hour of the start, as umpires and players alike considered the pitches dangerous and unfit for play. Pity the poor West Indies batsmen and understand their lack of development.

As a team, India were anything but convincing. They have to do better if they are to give England a run for their money in their backyards.

Sachin loses No. 1 spot to Jacques Kallis

I am fully fit for England tour: Yuvraj Yuvraj Singh, who is missing India's ongoing tour of West Indies with a chest infection, has announced he is fully fit and ready for the England tour that gets underway on July 15.

"I am 100% fit for the tour," Yuvraj said. "I am sure most of the other seniors who are battling respective injuries would be fully fit for the tour. I am really looking forward to the tour."

Yuvraj played a pivotal role in India's World Cup triumph, scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets to pick up Player-of-the-Tournament honours. He is one of several first-choice India players - along with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan - to sit out of the West Indies tour, that follows a bloated IPL season that began five days after the World Cup final. Yuvraj rubbished speculation that he had opted out of the West Indies tour since he did not want to play under the leadership of the much younger Suresh Raina, who captained the depleted ODI side, in MS Dhoni's absence. "I have played under Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir," Yuvraj said. "I have played under so many captains. And Gautam and MS came to the team five years after I joined the team. There has been no such thing.

I play for my country and not for captains."

Rahul Dravid drives during his century, West Indies v India, 1st Test, Kingston

Indian batsman Rahul Dravid has returned to the ICC list of top 20 Test batsmen, while master blaster Sachin Tendulkar lost his top spot to South Africa's Jacques Kallis.

ICC Rankings Kallis, who shared the top position with Sachin, is now in sole possession of the coveted number-one position. Tendulkar has slipped to second place.

According to rules, a player loses one per cent of his ratings for every Test he misses.

This means

Tendulkar will lose more points as he will also not figure in the remaining two Tests but will still manage to enter next month's Test series against England in second position.

Dravid, on the other hand, has climbed nine positions to 20th after his splendid show in the first Test against the West Indies in Jamaica, Dravid, who won Man of the Match award, scored a magnificent 112 in the second innings on a difficult Sabina Park track. This seven-hour classy innings set the platform for India's 63 runs victory which handed the tourists a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

As a result, Dravid earned 45 ratings points which has lifted him to 20th position. This is his best position since November 2010 when he slipped out of the top 20 following the Nagpur Test against New Zealand.

Left-handed batsman Suresh Raina has moved up

26 places to 61st spot after his contributions of 82 and 27, while West Indies opener Adrian Barath has rocketed 29 places to 62nd spot after his scores of 64 and 38.

Batsmen losing ground in the latest rankings include Shivnarine Chanderpaul in eighth (down by one place), VVS Laxman in 13th (down by five places), MS Dhoni in 38th (down by two places), Ramnaresh Sarwan in 39th (down by two places) and Brendan Nash in 52nd (down by five places).

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, India's fast bowler Ishant Sharma has moved up three places to 11th position after figures of 3-29 and 3-81.

West Indies wrist spinner Devendra Bishoo has maintained his upward movement. This time he has gained 12 places after match figures of 7-140 which has put him in 49th position.

Bishoo is still in the qualification period (a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets)

which means he can potentially improve his rankings further depending how he performs in the remaining two Tests.

The bowling table is headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa with England's pair of Graeme Swann and James Anderson in second and third positions, respectively.

SPOrT world

Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011

Sabine Lisicki storms into semis, Rafa Nadal injury eases

Sabine Lisicki

Sabine Lisicki continued her heartwarming run at this year's Wimbledon championships when she beat Marion Bartoli on Tuesday to become the first German woman to reach the semifinals since 1999.The 21-year-old, who needed a wildcard into the tournament after sliding down the rankings due to a career-threatening ankle injury, played sparkling tennis to beat livewire ninth seed Bartoli 6-4 6-7 6-1 as rain drummed on Centre Court's closed roof and thunder rumbled.

Nadal injured: Even before a ball was struck on Tuesday all the talk around the grounds was the state of men's champion Rafa Nadal's injured foot which he feared could end his tournament.

However, the world number one issued a statement saying that a scan had revealed no serious injury and he would practise as normal later before his last-eight clash against American Mardy Fish.“Thankfully the tests don't show an injury,” Nadal, who needed lengthy treatment during his four-set win over Juan Martin del Potro on Monday said.

Riveting Contest of Lisicki and Bartoli: The unfamiliar line-up of the

women's last eight produced some raised eyebrows but Lisicki and Bartoli produced a riveting contest full of incredible rallies.

Lisicki missed five months in 2010 with an ankle injury and slumped to 179th in the rankings from a high of 22nd in 2009 when she also reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Murray, Federer & Nadal into quarters: The last 16 in the men’s draw had something for everyone, a true medley of flavours.

For the connoisseurs, there were the top four seeds all reaching their third consecutive Grand Slam: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

Murray posed yet harder questions of his opponent with each game as he found perfect rhythm, high consistency, great defence and incisive offensive strikes.

Others: For the fourth Wimbledon in a row, unseeded players also had a toe-hold. Feliciano Lopez and Xavier Malisse rub shoulders in the rankings at 44 and 42 respectively.

Then there was the added spice of two qualifiers. Lukasz Kubot at the older end of the scale,,29,and Bernard Tomic at the younger extreme,18.

Mikhail Youzhny and Roger Fedrer both aged 29 was playing his 13th straight Wimbledon while Youzhny in his 11th—and the sixth time he had reached the fourth round.

It was a valiant, high-quality performance but still not quite enough to turn the tide against his old adversary, though he detained Federer for an unexpected three hours before the match was closed in the fourth, 6-3.

Meanwhile, a bitter-sweet drama was playing out on Centre Court in a crunching, adrenalin-pumping match between two power-houses of tennis, Nadal and Del Potro.

First Nadal needed medical treat-

Rafa Nadal

ment for an ankle injury at the start of the first set tie-break and then Del Potro was helped off court at one set apiece and two games apiece after a heavy fall injured his hip. Tomic, the youngest man to reach this stage since Boris Becker, lost just 10 games in three sets to Malisse, and will now face Djokovic.

Lopez needed 59 games and four hours and 20 minutes to end the run of qualifier Kubot—they made an astonishing 80 winners each—and will play Murray.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat David Ferrer in straight sets with some impressive serving—a top speed of 136mph and an average first serve speed of 122—and next plays Federer.

In the other quarter-finals, Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova plays eighth seed Petra Kvitova and Austria's 20-year-old Tamira Paszek plays fourth seed Victoria Azarenka.

Wozniacki crashes out and Williamses lose: World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki crashed out of the Wimbledon championships as Slovakian 24th seed Dominika Cibulkova secured a shock 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over the top seed in the fourth round on Monday.

Win a chance to be McDonald’s player escort at England V/s Holland match Asian Voice has teamed up with McDonald’s, the official Community Partner of The FA, to offer two lucky youngsters between the ages of 7 and 11 the chance to become McDonald’s Player Escorts as England take on Holland in a friendly match on 10th August.

The selected ones will get the chance to walk out, hand-in-hand, with the nation’s greatest footballers as they line up to take centre stage as they take on Bert van Marwijk’s ‘Oranje’ army in the last friendly of the year. The prize includes four tickets to the match as well as a goody bag, replica of national shirt and shorts and a contribution towards travel expenses on the day for each player escort.

Since the partnership of McDonald’s with FA was formed, it has created over 20,000 qualified football coaches. Sir Geoff Hurst, McDonald’s Director of Football said, “Young football fans across the world dream of one day, playing for their country, and becoming a player escort takes them one step closer by actually getting the chance to walk out hand in hand with their

football heroes at the national stadium.

To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, answer the following questions: Q: Which recently retired Dutch footballer has been awarded the most caps for his role in the Holland national team?

The first two entries to be randomly selected from all correct answers will win the prize.

For more information on McDonald’s grassroots programmes and for future competitions visit www.TheFA.com/yourgame.

Media Partner Prize Promotion Provisions McDonald’s/Agency Prompt Sheet 1. Rules: Please note that, in addition to these provisions, entrants are bound by both the Promoter’s [terms and conditions] at www.abplgroup.com and the Supplemental Rules For Third Party Promotions Featuring Football-Themed Prizes Supplied By McDonald’s (“General Rules”) at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/policies/footballterms-and-conditions.shtml.

2. Participants: Must be 18 and over and UK resident and a parent or guardian of the child wanting to receive a place as a player escort.

3.

Duration of Promotion: Enter the Promotion between 2nd July 2011 and 8th July 2011, 3pm inclusive.

4. Entry Criteria: Answer a question correctly to be entered in to a draw for a chance to win.

5. Conditions of entry: Limit of one entry per person.

6. How to Submit your Entry: Entries to be submitted via post or email. No other method of entry will be accepted.

- Email Entries should be sent to rovin.george @abplgroup.com - Postal entries should be sent to Rovin George, Asian Business Publication ltd, Karma Yoga House, Unit 2 ,12 Hoxton Market (off Coronet Street), london N16HW 7.Prizes: The prize pool consists of 2 prizes each of: o1 player escort place at the England v Holland match on 10th August 2011 for a child aged 7 – 11 at time of match, including 4 match tickets and a player

escort strip as well as a contribution towards travel costs. A parent/guardian must sign liability release, certification and publicityconsent forms as well as undertaking to accompany the player escort.

8. Prize Awards: Winning entrants will be notified by telephone and / or email and should be contactable no later than 9th July 2011, 3pm . Prize notification will be sent by email to the address registered at time of entry. If the winner cannot be contacted by telephone before 13:00 pm on 10th July, an alternative winner will be selected.

9. General: Winners will be required for promotional and media activity in relation to this promotion and other related McDonald's football activities, including facilitating the publication of press releases, editorial and photographs on the UK websites of the Promoter, McDonald's, and The FA, winners’ local media and in McDonald's UK restaurants.

10. Promoter’s Details: Asian Voice, ABPL Group, 12 Hoxton Market, London, N1 6H

31

Gujarat’s Babubhai Panocha qualified for the London Olympics With impressive performances at the 18th Dublin International Grand Prix of Race Walking, Gujarat’s Babubhai Panocha has qualified for the 20 km walk at the 2012 London Olympics.

Panocha have also made the cut for the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea from August 27. He returned a personal best of 1:23:04 and finished 11th. He bettered the ‘B’ standard of qualification (1:24:30). China’s Wang Zhen (1:19:46) won the event.

The race was held under trying conditions with a heat wave making it difficult for the competitors to finish the race. Only seven of the 18 walkers completed the race. Finland’s Antti Kempas won the race in 4:02:37.

Panocha is the first Gujarati to be selected for Olympics. He and other Indian walker Gurmeet Singh delivered noteworthy performances to attain the qualifying marks for the World championships (Daegu, Korea – 27 Aug to 4 Sept, 2011) and the XXX Olympiad (London–2012) at Dublin, Ireland.

National champion Gurmeet Singh clocked an excellent 1:22:05 while finished ninth in the 20 km event held at Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Earlier this year he clocked a fantastic 1:20:35, an Indian best, during the national grand prix at Patiala on 3rd May. Panocha’s earlier mark of 1:23:06 was achieved when he finished 20th at the World championships in Berlin two years ago. Gurmeet bettered the “A” standard of 1:22:30 while Panocha’s time was better than the “B” grade (1:24:00).

In the gruelling 50 km walk, Indian Basant Bahadur Rana barely missed the “B” qualifying standard of 4:09:00 as he clocked 4:10:51 for the second place. Harminder Singh, another Indian on the fray has also dropped out midway.

Harminder was the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in 20 km race walk at New Delhi last year.

When Federer met Sachin Tendulkar It takes lot to bowl over Sachin Tendulkar as bowlers around the world would confess but tennis ace Roger Federer managed to do it just by his knowledge of cricket when the two legends caught up during the Wimbledon in L o n d o n .

Tendulkar, a selfconfessed Federer fan, met the winner of 16 Grand Slams at the All England Club after the world number three beat David Nalbandian to advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Tendulkar chatted for an hour with the Swiss and posed with him for the shutterbugs.

"Spent an hour with Roger Federer chatting on the balcony of Wimbledon Royal box. What a humble guy! And by the way he knows a lot about cricket!!" Tendulkar later tweeted. The two reportedly also had dinner together after Federer's match. Federer too talked about his meeting with Tendulkar on his facebook page.

"Today was a special day, played a good match and had the chance to catch up with the great indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar," read the status message on his facebook page.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd July 2011