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VOL 41. ISSUE 27

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe 3rd November to 9th November 2012

Manmohan Singh reshuffles cabinet; inducts 22 ministers

Are care homes “putting profits before humanity”?

Wayne Rogers, Holly Draper, Kelvin Fore, Graham Doyle, Alison Dove, Sookalingum Appoo

In a mega reshuffle, 22 ministers, including seven of cabinet rank, were inducted into the Manmohan Singh government in what is seen as the last such exercise by UPAII before the 2014 general elections. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi did not join the government - leaving the field open for him to play a larg-

er role in the party.

Several portfolios were changed, some new faces introduced, some elevated to cabinet rank and at least one old hand - Shashi Tharoor - was back in what is possibly UPA II's last facelift - an exercise that jettisoned tainted ministers like Subodh Kant Sahay and roped veterans like Ambika Soni

and S.M. Krishna back into the party organisation to gear up for the 2014 electoral battle.

In the reshuffle of the pack of ministers, Salman Khurshid got external affairs while his previous ministry, law, went to Ashwani Kumar. Khurshid had served as minister of state (junior foreign minister) under prime minister P

London celebrates Diwali on Trafalgar Square

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Story and photos on page 8

V Narasimha Rao in the nineties. Pallam Raju was made human resource development (HRD) minister in place of Kapil Sibal, who was left only with communication and IT. Pallam Raju's minister of state in HRD is Tharoor, who had to resign as minister of state for external affairs in 2010 over a controversy regarding his alleged conflict of interests in the affairs of IPL Kochi cricket team that was subsequently disbanded. The crucial railways ministry, which had long been with one-time ally Trinamool Congress, was given to P.K. Bansal. M. Veerappa Moily was given charge of petroleum, while his previous responsibilities of corporate affairs and power were split - Sachin Pilot was elevated as minister of state with independent charge of corporate affairs and Jyotiraditya Scindia got independent charge of power.

Continued on page 26

Abuse in care homes is becoming a widespread issue, that impacts all sorts of communities.

The national media has widely covered abuses in Winterbourne, fears grow amongst families as they anticipate that such abuses faced by ethnic minorities may have been overlooked.

Asian care homes, like many other ethnic minority care homes also need a greater sense of vigilance as even a small mistake on their part, could grab undue attention.

It is evident that a patient, especially one with a learning difficulty need a lot of attention and care which under many circumstances family members cannot give.

Therefore they make the difficult choice of sending them to a private care hospital, like the parents of the patients at Winterbourne.

This week, an undercover journalist filmed six staff members of Winterbourne care home, who were directly abusing vulnerable residents.

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Five more, allegedly involved have been given sentences at Bristol Crown Court. The 11 staff members, nine of which were support workers and the other two nurses, were captured by a reporter, posing to be a carer in a BBC Panorama sting.

Judge Neil Ford, QC, strongly condemned the verbal and physical abuse of disabled patients at the Winterbourne View private hospital, in Hambrook, South London. The six: Wayne Rogers, Holly Draper, Kelvin Fore, Graham Doyle , Alison Dove, Sookalingum Appoo PA have now been jailed.

The footage uncovered forms of abuse that was used. It included residents being “slapped, soaked in water, trapped under chairs, taunted, sworn at, having their hair pulled and eyes poked”. One occasion which struck the reporter was where three support workers held down a resident, Continued on page 30

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

one to one

Keith Vaz MP with

The Hon Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey MP was elected as the Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot in May 2005.

Born in 1968, Mr Vaizey attended Merton College, Oxford. After university he spent two years working as a political researcher, before training and practising as a barrister. From 19962004 he was director of a public relations company. In 2004 he became a political speech writer. Mr Vaizey was Shadow Culture and Creative Industries Minister 2006-2010.

He married Alex in September 2005. They live in Sparsholt and London with their son Joseph and daughter Martha.

1) What inspired you to stand for Parliament?

I came from a political household, my dad was a Labour adviser who later joined the Conservatives, so I grew up understanding that politics was important. I wanted to have a say in the future of our country, and not just comment from the sidelines, so I decided to stand for Parliament.

2) What are your proudest achievements in politics?

Being a good constituency MP. That may sound banal, but you can really make a difference to people’s lives if you respond quickly, whether that’s reuniting families or getting someone a much needed operation – or even occasionally overturning a parking ticket!

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

3) Please tell us about your current Ministerial position?

Sadiq Khan

the local town hall, where the National Anthem would be played.

A Conservative MP for The Wrekin, Mark Pritchard misinterpreted Khan’s remarks and said that the tests “unites the country and breaks barriers”, justifying this by saying that it helps individuals to intergrate. He added that if Labour had plans to “scrap” these tests they would surely “declare it openly”. Despite Pritchard expressing that the benefits of these tests is to break barriers, one could simply argue in some ways that citizenship tests does the counter opposite; it establishes barriers.

Last month, Prime Minister David Cameron, who is a native, struggled

4) India has a thriving film industry, what plans do you have to promote cooperation between the Indian and British cinema?

We already cooperate – there is a co-production treaty with India, and obviously Indian films are big in the UK. But we need to do much more, and have the kind of close relationship we have with Hollywood.

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

I’ve been lucky in finding it relatively straightforward to get into Parliament and pursue the issues I am passionate about.

Current immigrants have more knowledge of British history than natives Sadiq Khan is known to be the first Asian Privy counsellor of “modern times” and the “first Muslim” to attend Cabinet. The shadow justice secretary and MP for Tooting seemed frustrated that whilst native Britons know very little about their own heritage, new arrivals who are made to sit citizenship tests, knew much more. Khan’s owns parents were once immigrants from Pakistan.

He had told House magazine that many new immigrants were indeed “excited and enthused” about being citizens of the UK. “It frustrates me that you've got new citizens who have an obligation to learn about our country but we aren't doing enough to make sure everyone shares that knowledge”.

Citizenship tests were first introduced by the Labour government in 2005 during the time when David Blunkett was Home Secretary. Those who wished to gain a citizenship were required to speak English and also sit a test called Life in the United Kingdom. This was followed by an oath of allegiance to the Queen, a ceremony carried out in

phones; responsible for our highly successful creative industries such as film, TV and video games; and for our arts and heritage which make life worth living.

to respond to two questions in a mock immigration test put forward by American television host, David Letterman. Mr. Cameron was unable to translate the term “Magna Carta”, as well as not being able to name the composer of “Rule Britannia”.

The House interview managed to disclose that Mr. Khan had once been a victim of racial stereotyping. He was mistaken to be a defendant when attending the court in his former role as a Human Rights lawyer. But he does not play the “victim card”, and attempts to prevent discouraging youngsters from “coming forward to be lawyers, judges, journalists and politicians”.

I have a great job responsible for putting in place the infrastructure for broadband and mobile

My dad – and Margaret Thatcher, from afar. Ken Clarke was the first politician I worked for when I was a young man, and I have always enjoyed his approach to

politics, while not necessarily sharing the same views.

7) What is the best thing about your current role?

The huge range of interesting people I meet, from every walk of life 8) And the worst?

The time it takes – it is a 7 day a week, 365 days a year job 9) What are your long term goals?

I would love to carry on in this job for the time being, and when the time comes for me to leave Government to pursue my political interests in Parliament.

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

Charles James Fox and John Wilkes, great fighters for liberty in eighteenth century England.

John F Kennedy, the most charismatic politician of the twentieth century; William Shakespeare, to understand how one mind could create such a canon of work.

Seema Malhotra takes on business and equalities role Seema Malhotra, Member of Parliament for Feltham and Heston has been promoted as a Parliamentary Private Secretary for Equalities to the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Shadow Home Affairs and Equalities Minister. Seema has also been asked to chair the Parliamentary Labour Party Business Committee, which works with the Front Bench Shadow BIS team. This is in addition to her role on the Justice Select Committee where she is currently working on issues in the youth justice system.

Ms Malhotra said: “I am honoured to be working with Yvette Cooper who has led so much of the campaign for fairness for women since the last

Seema Malhotra with Chuka Umunna

election. With women bearing the brunt of the government’s failed plan through loss of jobs and income, and unacceptably higher levels of women and BME unemployment, there is clearly a lot more to do to keep our commitment to equalities strong in Britain.”

On Seema’s new business role, Chuka Umunna, Shadow Business Secretary said: “I am delighted to be working with Seema, Labour’s newest MP, who brings both experience of working in business and a fresh perspective to this critical agenda in Parliament.”

No cap on international students coming to the UK During a media briefing on UK universities on the 24th October 2012, Professor Eric Thomas and Dr Joanna Newman clarified issues regarding International students, fees and visas, which has been given negative media coverage. As the The Times Of India has already touched upon: “British authorities have closed down an estimated 500 bogus colleges operating in the country over the last 18 months”, all which

have greatly affected students from abroad, especially students “from India”. Professor Eric Thomas, President of Universities UK and ViceChancellor of the University of Bristol, at a conference briefly mentioned that despite a certain number of colleges being closed down, for genuine and legitimate students, Britain is still an viable option. “There is no cap on international students coming to the UK”,

especially when international demands for places remains strong.

UK universities are featured higher up in global league tables. Top officials in the education sector believe that international students make a fundamental contribution to university life and the UK can be a home for multiculturalism. Up-dates on the student visa were also given, suggesting that there has been a number Continued on page 14

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

COMMENT

Obama deserves another term The race for the US Presidentship is at a very critical stage. Up until few days ago, Barack Obama was slightly ahead. The Superstorm Sandy has created havoc in almost the entire Eastern region of USA. However it has also severely hampered the election campaign- especially of Barack Obama who has to discharge his duties as the President. He cannot forget the debacle of George W. Bush following hurricane Katrina in 2005.

It appears that Sandy has spared the US much severe damage and destruction. The advanced warning and prior preparations have added to the efficiency of the administration. It is always more difficult for an incumbent to be re-elected.

Barack Obama came with high hopes and huge expectations. He has not done too badly if assessed in light of the global recession and the challenges of the foreign policy.

Indeed he has not succeeded very much in the Arab-Israel stalemate. Thought the Iran issue is simmering, it is still far off from exploding.

Afghanistan and Pakistan, a legacy from Bush era is a big bother for the US and the world.

However, the removal of Bin Laden has changed the scenario substantially. President Obama has been less trigger happy and a better communicator especially with the Muslim world compared to his predecessors.

On the economic front, the US appears to have managed better than Europe and Japan. Of late there are some green shoots in terms of the employment statistics. The core question of budget deficit of the US is put on the back burner. However, there are signs of some sensible steps in the near future.

US, not unlike UK has to restrain the defence expenditure where the arms industry and the foreign policy hawks can create lucrative markets and the emotional impact of the people prevent unrealistic expenditure from the exchequer.

Barack Obama is quite different from Mitt Romney who is a staunch supporter of big businesses and his core vote bank comprises the Right Wing Christians. Politics and religion are closely intertwined in the US and Barack Obama's stand on abortion, same sex marriage and homosexuality provide a readymade ammunition for the followers of the 94 years old evangelist preacher Billy Graham.

Obama and Romney appear to share the same views vis a vis Pakistan and Afghanistan as well.

Both have also made it clear that if Iran attacks Israel, the US will stand shoulder to shoulder with it's old ally Israel.

The choice between the two candidates is not so simple. However, Barack Obama deserves four more years to complete his mission.

Let the pensioners and old people live with dignity In Britain, like elsewhere in the developed economies, people live longer and also have higher and better expectations from their retirements.

On one hand pensioners are penalised with low returns on their savings and in the pension pot itself. There are many serious questions about treatment they receive in the care homes and nursing homes. The grave reports about inhuman treatments meted out to those in care-homes and nursing homes is a very sad story. The old people deserve a better treatment, valuable service and a dignified retired life.

But some recent cases are examples of mismanagement and inadequacy in looking after care homes. It is also believed that more and more care

homes are owned by Asians. And if they provide professional services, for those Asians who have dietary, religious or linguistic problems, a valuable provision would be available. Those Asians who own such homes should also be very careful.

They are expected to be whiter than the white.

Any negligence or excessive profit making on their part will tarnish the image of Asians in other walks of life. The Asians and other ethnic minority who arrived over last 40-50 years are entitled to retire with dignity. And the central government, the local government and the communities must rise to the occasion and ensure that the final phase “of these pensioners is without anxiety or exploitation.”

Manmohan cabinet: Not just faces but methodology be the change!

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's new team got down to work on Monday with some new ministers taking charge and old ones relinquishing responsibilities after a mega revamp of the council of ministers that saw 17 new faces and many key ministries changing hands.

Few promoted while other demoted. The major shake-up of the government on Sunday, is possibly the last before the 2014 general elections.

No option, but to be receptive regarding it.

Manmohan government is breaking its own records. Manmohan Singh has already established his place in the annals of statistics. The Opposition will no doubt speak of the recordbreaking scams he has presided over –He is, for example, the only prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to get re-elected after serving a full fiveyear term. The prime minister who has maximum number of ministers involved in corruption till now. Also a Prime minister who has organized maximum ceremonies of ministers reshuffle. The recent one to believe is supposed to be the last in the row.

The recent Cabinet reshuffle can be rounded up as Manmohan’s political compromise, like he had no other option but to simply go for this setup only. The reshuffle did not boot the wornout’s neither did it announce the induction of the hard-core honest ones who will be capable to take away the dome of corrupted government. It appears that the reshuffle is done only and only for the sake of upcoming Loksabha elections. In the reshuffle, six from Andhra Pradesh and three from West Bengal got the representation.

Andhra Pradesh, a state where Congress has been losing out over Telangana, and Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress denting its support base, found maximum representation. The

three Congress leaders chosen as ministers of state from West Bengal were selected only to 'needle' the party. After Mamta Banerjee had a break-up with UPA, she concentrated more on Congress West Bengal. Two from Rajesthan got the representation. Dinsha Patel was given the Cabinet rank from his current ministry, the only one from Gujarat. No new faces were from Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgardh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Surely, it is the right of Prime Minister to reshuffle the cabinet. But the million dollar question is that would this reshuffle prove to be a masterstroke? How and how much would it be beneficial to UPA government? The raised eyebrows points that the reshuffle did not care to shun out the weathered ones but instead were promoted aheadOne who always stayed in news regarding the scams, Salman Khurshid was expected to be run down, instead got promoted as minister for external affairs. Prakash Jaiswal who was accused of the coal blocks allocation issue, got unaffected and was continued in his position. Manish Tewari from whom the party speaker designation was taken away, is brought back to the seat of minister.

With such reshuffle, it appears that Prime Minister and Congress has been very light with the accusation and allegation made at the ministers. It looks that the ministers were not shunned down but the allegations made on them were not taken into account. The new face change is merely cosmetic make-over. The change of faces does not matter, but what matters most to common man is to see change of methodology of government. What they expect is anti-corruption network and value-based system of government!

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Thought for the Week It is from ignorance and greed that the world of delusion is born and the vast complexity of coordinating causes exists within the mind and nowhere else - "The Teaching Of Buddha"

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central

We all have an opportunity help young people into work It can be stressful going into new environments – be it starting a new school, leaving home for the first time, or moving to a new community. For me, one the biggest changes I have gone through was when I was looking for a job for the first time.

When I speak to young people in my constituency, one of the things I most often hear is that they feel they are caught in an impossible situation.

More often than ever before potential employers are looking for applicants to have significant work experience. But how, I am often asked, are people expected to get that work experience without someone giving them an opportunity in the first place?

This isn’t a new problem. Even when the British economy was growing in the years leading up to the economic crisis, more and more young people were unemployed, unable to put their considerable talents to use.

In my Brent constituency, I recently helped promote an excellent scheme being run by Newman Catholic College. The school has worked closely with local businesses to give their pupils a taste of a variety of different work places over the course of a year.

Although still very young, the scheme, which the school calls “the work ready programme”, has already been a great success.

Not only does it give pupils the valuable experience that will help them find their

first job, it opens their eyes to job possibilities that they may not have considered.

When I started to tell some of the people I know who run businesses about the scheme, they thought it was a great idea and many of them have agreed to open their doors to the students.

Business leaders have so much to teach young people and can inspire them to reach heights they may not even thought were possible.

Through being involved with the work ready programme, I have been struck by not only how much the pupils got from it, but how valuable the businesses themselves have found the experience of taking on a student.

However, you don’t have to wait for schools to come to you.

If you run a business, why not consider getting in touch with your local schools to see if some of their pupils would be interested in coming to learn from you? Or perhaps you would make you a fantastic school governor. The valuable skills and extensive knowledge you possess could make a real difference to so many young people.

Not only will those pupils who learn from you gain experience that could help them get that first job, but, as the employers in the Newman Catholic College scheme can attest, the knowledge that you are making a real difference to young people in your community will inspire a deep sense of pride.

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

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LEICESTER/MIDLANDS VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Leicester prepares to light up for Diwali Work to hang over 6,500 festive lights along Leicester's Golden Mile is almost complete, ready for the city's annual Diwali switch on event on Sunday, November 4.

The switch on ceremony will mark the start of Leicester's Diwali celebrations, and this year's event is set to be as spectacular as ever thanks to the continued support of event sponsors O2.

Lighting engineers have been busy lining Belgrave Road with more than 1,000 metres of decorative lights and garlands ahead of the festi-

val.

The switch on celebrations will take place on Belgrave Road from 6pm until 9pm, with local performers leading a lively stage programme of classical Asian and Bollywood dance and music.

The lights will be switched on at 7pm, with guests and speakers on stage including City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, Mr Maganbhai Patel OBE, president of the Leicester Hindu Festival Council, representatives from event sponsors O2 and others.

After the switch on, the celebrations will move to the nearby Cossington Street Recreation Ground where a firework and laser display will take place from 8pm.

Cllr Piara Singh Clair, Assistant City Mayor and chair of the council's Diwali working party, said: "Leicester's Diwali switch on is a wonderful celebration, which is enjoyed by tens of thousands of people each year.

We are very grateful for the continued support of O2, who have again sponsored this fantastic event.

I am sure this year's cele-

brations will be as spectacular as ever and I hope that even more people will come and join the festivities on Belgrave Road and share in the special atmosphere."

Leicester's Diwali celebrations are organised by Leicester City Council and the Leicester Hindu Festival Council. They are among the biggest outside of India.

Diwali Day itself will also be celebrated with stage entertainment and a firework display on Tuesday, November 13, at Cossington Street Recreation Ground.

Dentist faces ban for poor work and fraud A dentist faces being barred from the profession for giving poor-quality treatment and being involved in an insurance fraud.

Dr Amit Kotecha, pictured, appeared before the General Dental Council accused of providing ÂŁ26,000 worth of complex restorative dental treatment "beyond the limits of his clinical competence" between March 2008 and November 2009.

The dentist, from Kirby Muxloe, was also accused of being involved in a fraudulent claim to a health insurer for ÂŁ3,150.

After hearing evidence against Dr Kotecha, the

council concluded that "for the protection of the public" it was necessary to suspend his registration immediately. If he does not appeal within 28 days, Dr Kotecha, who has previously hit the headlines for twice attempting to reach the top of Everest for charity, will have his name "erased from the dentists' register".

The council's professional conduct committee was told the patient to

whom the allegations related had more than 50 appointments with Dr Kotecha at Care Dental, in Leicester Forest East.

During that time, the dentist did not act "in the best interests of the patient", whom he should have referred to a specialist. Failings included the poor fitting of teeth implants, the fitting of an unsatisfactory bridge and poor patient record-keeping.

Three drug dealers caught by police sting Three drug dealers who supplied heroin and crack cocaine were caught in an undercover police sting.

All three unwittingly arranged deals or sold the class A drugs to detectives posing as addicts.

The investigation – Operation Saffron – clamped down on drug crime in the city, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Ejaz Gul (21), of Berners Street, Highfields, Leicester, who had already been snared once before in a previous police sting, was jailed for three years.

High court judge Mr Justice Flaux told him: "You were a street dealer – and more than just a runner. Evidence suggests you had an operational role within a chain of dealers."

Tariq Khan Gul (20),

Ejaz Gul

Tariq Khan Gul

Nazmul Ali

of Apollo Court, Highfields, received a two-year detention sentence.

The judge told him: "You were phoned by (undercover) officers and supplied them, but your role was less than Ejaz Gul." Nazmul Ali (21), of Attlebridge Close, Hamilton, Leicester, was jailed for two years for his role as a drugs runner.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said the defen-

dants were involved at street level.

Two officers, calling themselves Rob and Paul, posed as drug users in July and August.

Miss Rose said: "Ejaz Gul, nicknamed H, provided his number to an officer and arranged other persons to be present to carry out the transactions. He was only involved in one supply but ensured others supplied the officers."

Ejaz Gul admitted two

offences of supply, one of offering to supply and six of being concerned in supplying, all involving either heroin or crack cocaine.

Tariq Gul admitted one offence of offering to supply a class A drug, two of being concerned in supply, one of supply and possessing criminal property – £500 cash.

Ali admitted four offences of supplying heroin and one of crack cocaine.

Curry Capital crown retained Bradford is once again crowned the curry capital of Britain. It beat off stiff competition from Glasgow and Wolverhampton to keep the curry crown for the second year running and become Curry Capital of Britain 2012. The title went to a tiebreak with Bradford clinching the win due to its high number of public votes.

The four restaurants chosen by the public to represent Bradford this year are Aagrah, Akbars, Shimla Spice and Zouk Tea Bar and Grill.

L to R: Mohammad Akhtar - Shimla Spice, Amjad Bashir Zouk Tea Bar and Grill, Tahir Iqbal - Aagrah and the Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Dale Smith.

A cruel father has been jailed for life for the horrific murder of his five-yearold son who was subjected to weeks of abuse before he finally died from severe head and abdominal injuries.

Ordering Pazeer Ahmed, pictured, to serve a minimum of 19 years in prison, Mr Justice Coulson told him the mental and physical suffering he inflicted on his son Haroon Bhatti was� beyond imagination�.

Ahmed, 34 of Aberford Road, Wakefield, was unanimously found guilty by a jury at Leeds Crown Court of his son’s murder

! !

Student flats are perfect location for Bollywood stars and stuntmen Students could hardly believe their eyes when they woke to find stars of the Indian screen filming an action scene outside their rooms.

Bleary-eyed residents of Code, in Upperton Road, Leicester, were greeted by stunt men flying past their windows as they opened their bedroom curtains yesterday.

Somewhere among a crowd of film crew technicians and extras below was the Action King of Bollywood himself, Sunny Deol.

The 56-year-old star was filming Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (Mad Madder Maddest 2), which co-

stars his superstar father Dharmendra and brother Bobby.

The film is being shot almost entirely in Leicester – chosen because Sunny's wife is from Oakham and the couple's two children were born in the city.

Terrified children witnessed dad attack sister-in-law A father-of-three who attacked his sister-in-law in front of his terrified children has been jailed.

Resham Singh (37) was holding his threeyear-old son when he grabbed the victim's face and dragged her to the floor, in the family-run shop in Park Rise, Western Park, Leicester.

The "sustained and vicious attack" was captured on CCTV. Singh's two other children pulled the three-yearold to safety. All were "crying and screaming".

A customer called the police after trying to pull Singh away as he repeatedly struck the 36-yearold woman, who was lying defenceless on the floor.

She suffered cuts and bruises.

Siward James-Moore, prosecuting, said there

was bad blood between the defendant and his sister-in-law and Singh had previously assaulted her.

On this occasion, they fell out because the defendant had collected his own children from school but failed to bring her children home, as expected. Both families were living in flats above the store.

Singh, who has since moved to Watson Road, Northfields, Leicester, admitted causing actual bodily harm on May 25.

He was jailed for 10 months and made the subject of an 18-month restraining order, banning contact with the victim.

Simon Eckersley, mitigating, said: "It was spontaneous and lasted 26 seconds. The defendant and his brother married sisters and they bought a shop together."

Life for man in horrific murder of his young son

on January 23.

The judge told him: “Haroon’s suffering at your hands was truly appalling. Over the course of the three months during which he lived with you between November 2011 and January this year you inflicted 104 separate injuries or areas of injury upon him.�

His death finally resulted from a fractured

skull after his head was struck against the bathroom wall and he was hit so hard in the abdomen it caused massive internal bleeding and damage. “It was a terrible attack on a defenceless child,� he said.

After his death doctors also found that Haroon had old fractures of the ribs, fingers and feet, part of one ear lobe missing, a mark on his leg where he had been burnt with an iron, injuries to his genitals and bite marks including four to his face where “you had bitten so hard you had penetrated the flesh of his cheek�.

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

The Starbucks brand ready to invade India

Mo Luthra Branding Consultant www.moluthra.com

made. The flagship store in Mumbai at the historic Elphinstone Building, Horniman Circle opened.

By the time this article is in print another two are scheduled to make their mark, one in an upmarket Mumbai shopping centre and the other at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. With a further 50 proposed to be opened in the space of a year across Mumbai and Delhi.

The Greeks have done it, the Mughals did it, and the British only really just left. Yes, they have all had their fun with the mother land, India. Now the latest invasion is ready to begin its conquest.

Starbucks.

In just over 40 years of existence (the first 20 where nothing much out of Seattle really happened) Starbucks has opened almost 20,000 stores worldwide. At its peak, this brand was opening a store a day. So what can we expect to happen in India?

On Friday 19th October, the first settlement on Indian soil was

India is a fertile market for the brand. As the West suffers from austerity measures, the East is buoyant. Premium brands are doing exceptionally well and Starbucks should fit into the scenery.

Indians are already culturally ingrained into

By Spriha Srivastava

Diwali in the square ence. versatile singer songLondon’s famous Another performwriter Swaati who perTrafalgar Square was lit ance included a themed forms English pop and up on Sunday when show starting with indie, alongside classiIndians around the UK explosive Ganesh dance cal Indian folk in her gathered to celebrate from Winners, followed native Gujarati; Diwali, the famous festival of lights. This is the 11th year that the festival is being celebrated in London. Every year the Mayor of London in association with the Diwali in London Committee organises the event at Trafalgar Square.

This celebration is free and open to all and is supported by Lycamobile, Zee TV and Incredible India.

Zee TV took over the stage to provide Photo courtesy: Hayley Madden musical entertain- The traditional garba at the Square. by children singing ‘We London-born spiritual ment with actor and pop diva Shivali and presenter Asad Shah are the Champions’.

Southall’s kings of the from “Brits Bollywood” Traditional kathak style show on Zing along from Shamaa Dance folmash up Punjabi Hit with Veena V. A dance lowed by the Tea Squad, joined by British performance by bollyPickers folk dance of Indian vocalist Alyssia. wood singing sensation Taal Torongo swayed The event came to a Ash King accompanied the audience. close with religious

by Shaimak Davar Other artists includhymns and musical aarti Dance Troupe also ed bhangra dance team provided by Oshwal entertained the audiVPA Entertainment; association of the UK.

Skin camouflage treatment launched A new treatment for permanently concealing unwanted scars and skin imperfections comes to the UK this autumn. Available from DermInk, a new specialist London clinic by Theresa Bush, the procedure known as medical micropigmentation has already taken the US by storm and provided help to those with scars, burns, stretch marks and other unwanted skin imperfections.

“Stretch marks are extremely common and darker skin tones can be particularly vulnerable due to contrasting skin tones” says Theresa Bush, one of the worlds leading micropigmentation specialists. “For those looking for a solution, micro-pigmentation can be the answer not curing the condition but providing a good cosmetic result that helps rebuild confidence”, a press release

said.

The treatment is done through medical micropigmentation, also known as ‘skin camouflage’ involving the use of special medical pigments which are custom blended to match the skin tone required and then applied into the skin.

Practitioners carefully ‘colour in’ or ‘colour out’ unwanted marks, be they lighter or darker than the surrounding skin tone. The procedure is virtually pain-free and healing is minimal with only four to six weeks required between treatments.

The result is that scars and skin imperfections are minimised or completely hidden and inconspicuous on close inspection.

Theresa Bush holds numerous advanced certifications in medical micropigmentation, and works exclusively with pigment restoration and

skin abnormality issues alongside leading teaching hospitals, universities, surgeons and dermatologists both within the UK and internationally. She is a member of the European Society for Cosmetic and Aesthetic Dermatology – ESCAD, as well as the American Academy of micropigmentation, amongst other relevant organisations.

She splits her time between London and the USA where she set up her clinic in San Francisco in 2005, and has now opened a new DermInk clinic in Hampstead, north London. Patients are routinely referred to Theresa through prominent plastic/cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists nationwide, including the Stanford Derm Surgery Department at Stanford University, PAMF, Sutter and El Camino Hospitals in the USA.

Telugu festival at Nehru Centre The Nehru Centre is organising a Telugu festival on Friday, 2nd November celebrating the rich culture and showcasing classical and folk performing arts of Telugu people. The chief

guest for the event will be Shri Virendra Sharma MP and the special guest will be Shri V.S Ramalingam, Consul General of India, Birmingham.

The event will

include Veena and Violin recitals, array of K u c h i p u d i , Bharatnatyam, Koya, Lambadi, Kolatam and other dances, songs, parody, fancy dress & a display of Telugu handicraft.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

drinking tea; Starbucks is banking on the switch over to consuming coffee to be a straightforward matter. This is supported by the trend that has seen coffee consumption double in the last 10 years within India.

To hedge it bets, the food offering is being given considerable push and is seen to be the initial driver to gain traction. Specialist panini’s with an Indian twist will be served.

Everything will be free from beef and pork, with separate ovens for vegetarian food.

To ensure rapid e x p a n s i o n Starbucks has partnered with the multinational conglomerate, the Tata Group. A smart move, as entering into foreign markets is tricky for any business.

Tata will add the local knowledge and expertise that is required.

As the British East India Company gradually took over India, we are here to look on and see if Starbucks has a similar impact…

Princess Anne to unveil statue of Noor Inayat Khan in London HRH The Princess Royal will unveil a memorial bust of WWII heroine Noor Inayat Khan in Gordon Square on November 8.

The bronze bust, sculpted by Londonbased artist Karen Newman, will be situated in the north east corner of the Square, near the house where Noor lived.

The event marks the end of several years of campaigning by the Noor Inayat Khan Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust to revive the memory of the forgotten war heroine.

The campaign, led by Noor’s biographer Shrabani Basu, has received the support of the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and several M.Ps and peers including John Bercow, Speaker of the House, Valerie Vaz, Julian Lewis, Bob Russell, Baroness Crawley and Lord Hameed.

It has also received the backing of eminent Asian women like Shami Chakrabarti, Gurinder Chadha, Anoushka Shankar and Nina Wadia.

“We are delighted that HRH The Princess Royal is unveiling the bust. It will be the highest honour for Noor,” said Shrabani Basu, author of Spy Princess, The Life of Noor Inayat Khan and founder of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust.

“The memorial for Noor in Gordon Square will ensure that her story of bravery and sacrifice is not forgotten by future generations.”

The University of London, which owns Gordon Square, gave permission for the installation of the bust in 2010.

Noor Inayat Khan was a secret agent in the Second World War. She was the first woman radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France and did crucial work for the Allies. She was eventually betrayed, captured and killed in Dachau Concentration Camp. Her last word was “Liberte”. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross by Britain and France awarded her the Croix de Guerre.

Born in Moscow to an Indian father, Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker, Noor was a descendant of Tipu Sultan, the eighteenth century ruler of Mysore. The family lived in London and moved to Paris when Noor was six. In 1940 as Paris fell to occupation, Noor returned to London to volunteer for the war effort. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and was eventually recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

As an SOE agent, Noor lived on 4 Taviton Street near Gordon Square and would often spend her off-days reading on a bench in the square.

The Trust has raised £60,000 for the Memorial from public donations. It is a UK registered charity.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012 Conmen may appear dashing when you are watching Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt or George Clooney in a film, but in reality the harrowing experience of being conned or cheated is never welcoming for anyone- whether rich or poor. As UK faces severe financial crunch, people becoming victims of innovative scams across the country, is reported to be growing in number.

The most common of the recent scams is a viral email. Don't be alarmed if you a receive an email from a known person that says she/he is stuck in Madrid, Spain, has no money as the bags and phones are stolen and would like you to wire money which she/he would return on reaching home. Of course it's worrying when the email is from a near or dear one, but eventually one can understand that it's part of a scam. This usually is a case of email or password hacking.

Another story that Asian Voice came across was that of a real estate scam. Partha an Indian professional, was looking for a flat to stay in. He looked up several websites and found a place in Westminster at a throw away price. On contacting the owner who claimed to live in Southampton seemed to be very happy to engage him as a tenant and passed on several photographs of this beautiful

‘Catch me if you can’ apartment.

When he wanted to view the apartment, the owner made an unusual request for a money transfer through Western Union that would ensure Partha could view it. Growing suspicious, Partha asked for a proof of the owner's identity. The owner therefore sent a copy of his council tax document, which proved

asked to pay 50% of the courier charge, which was to be reimbursed later. As she made the payment, she waited for the courier company to come and pick up the stock- which did not happen. In the mean time she was contacted by her bank, which notified her about her payment to a fraudulent account somewhere in the US.

not to be real after the reference number was verified. He also added a phone number which never worked, hence making the case even more fishy.

Shivani lives in Manchester. She owns a small business of household items. She recently received an order for a stock of 5000 pieces of her lace bed linen to be couriered to Korea. She contacted her usual courier company but the potential client instructed her to send the items through another courier- a regular of their own. She was

Kamlesh works from home as a Consultant. He was contacted by a man who claimed to be from his gas company that explained a payment was missed. He confirmed his details on the phone and made the payment of X amount to the company.

After a few days he was notified by his bank that a few hundred of pounds was moved from his account to Europe in a fraudulent transaction.

Companies everywhere are aware of such possibilities. Hence Vodafone in its website wrote: “Be careful if you receive an

unexpected email claiming to be from Vodafone or sent on our behalf – even if it looks the part. There’s a good chance it’s from a fraudster.

These emails often claim to offer jobs, business opportunities or share swapping services with Vodafone. Some tell you that you have won a competition or lottery.

Usually they ask you to reply with personal details such as your user name, password, or even bank details, or direct you to a website that asks for this information. Any legitimate organisation will never ask for this type of personal information in an email or by sending a link to a website.

Here are some tips to help you spot a scam email or website: l Double check the email address. At first glance, fraudulent messages can look like they’re from Vodafone, but on closer inspection are from a hotmail or other public email account. For example, vodafone@hotmail.com is not a genuine Vodafone email address. l Double check the URL of websites and links.

Companies always use clear URLs like www.vodafone.com/content/index/about.html.

Scam sites and links usually have long addresses

using special characters like &^%%%&*$£” l Look at the wording used. If it doesn’t read like a request from a legitimate company, it probably isn’t. l Avoid requests that sound vague, unlikely or too casual, such as “our database has been corrupted, please resend your details”, or “recent legislation means we require this information”. l Look for grammar and spelling mistakes. Scam emails are often electronically translated from different languages, resulting in obvious spelling errors and odd sentence structures.”

Similarly, the Companies House wrote on its website, “There have been instances recently where Companies House customers have been contacted by someone claiming to be from Companies House, asking for details of company directors.

room for all the family

Happy Diwali from everyone at DFS

Please be aware that Companies House personnel will never contact you by telephone to try to ascertain who your officers are or asking for details such as company a u t h e n t i c a t i o n codes.Should anyone contact you claiming to be from Companies House please try to obtain a return telephone number and contact us immediately.”

In most of the cases, these frauds can never be traced by a common man.

So it is important to remember that thinking through before revealing your financial details over the phone saves you from a distressing situation later. So do ensure you double check the authenticity of the call/caller before you read out your debit/creditcard details.

As it is rightly said, prevention is better than cure.

The Asian Achievers Awards will be telecast on Sunday 4th Nov at 3pm and the repeat on Friday 9th Nov at 11am on Sony tv (Sky- 782, Virgin-805)

Handcrafted in Britain

7

8

Diwali on Trafalgar Square

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

ThE LEgacy conTInuEs Trafalgar Square was abuzz with frenzied preparations on the frosty morning of Sunday, 28 October 2012. Fresh-faced volunteers from the 11 Diwali in London (DIL) organisations* and the Greater London Authority (GLA) arrived at the Square early to set up for the landmark celebration in London’s event calendar, Diwali on Trafalgar Square (DOTS). This Diwali festival which is a Mayor of London event, is organised and funded by the GLA - with assistance from Diwali Committee who support this on a voluntary basis.

The free saree stall, which opened at 1 p.m., was inundated with enthusiastic tourists and Londoners desirous of being draped in traditional sarees, with queues snaking right across the North Terrace of the Square.

Despite the unmistakable chill in the

that visitors were well fed and watered as they soaked in the vibrant atmosphere within the Square. Information stalls by various organisations, including Wherever the Need, Chinmaya Mission

Cllr Navin Shah, AM offering a flower on the deity’s feet People gathered to celebrate Diwali on the square, enjoying the performance on the stage

ardently urging shy onlookers to join in. Their excitement proved infectious and, soon, the Square came alive with people from diverse backgrounds dancing the garba merrily in concentric cir-

Andrew Boff lighting the diya, formally inaugurating DOTS as Chimanbhai Shah looks on

air, small crowds began to amass in the Square whilst musicians, Bali and Angrez, diligently warmed up before exhibiting an explosive garba performance. At approximately 2 p.m., exuberant volunteers started a warm-up round of garba to conventional folk music, whilst

the official media sponsor, ZEE TV, and the presenting partner, Lycamobile.

He also delivered a sincere vote of thanks to the Office of the Mayor of London, whose continuous support has ensured

cles around the rippling fountains.

The DOTS 2012 opening ceremony, which was compered by Nil Kumar, commenced with Andrew Boff relaying a warm Diwali message from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Mr. Boff spoke passionately of the impor-

Rupanjana Dutta, Associate Editor, Asian Voice, Tara Menon, Business Development Executive, L George, Chief Operating Officer, ABPL, distributing Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar newspapers at the square

tance of spreading the light of Diwali by giving generously to those less fortunate than us and then lit a symbolic red candle to officially start the day’s festivities. The 2012 DIL Chairperson, Mr. Chiman Shah of Oshwal Association of the UK, then thanked the GLA, the sponsors and the crowd for their unwavering support of DOTS over the past 11 years, and noted that DOTS 2012 was a perfect finale to what had already been an eventful year for the city of London. Also present on stage for the opening ceremony were London Assembly members, Mr. Navin Shah and Dr. Sahota, Mr. C B Patel of Asian Voice, Veena V of ZEE TV, Mr. Rami Ranger of Sun Mark Ltd. and representative trustees from

each DIL organisation, Mr. Bhavesh Sanghrajka (Art of Living), Mr. V H Patel (BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha), Mr. Govind Vaswani (Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK)), Ms. Parul Jani (Brahmin Society North London), Mr. Ramesh Pattni (Chinmaya Mission UK), Mr. Vinay Tanna (ISKCON), Ms. Varsha Mistry (Metropolitan Police Hindu Association), Mr. Raxeet Shah (Oshwal Association of the UK), Mr. Anil Gadhia (Sai School Harrow) and Mr. Bharat Pathak (VHP Ilford Hindu Temple).

This set the stage for the first round of the day’s performances, which beautifully portrayed the Olympics theme.

An array of talent kept the crowd entertained, ranging from the endearing children of the Sai School choir, who sang a warm tribute to Team GB, to the immensely graceful

UK and Bank of Baroda, ensured that attendees’ appetite for different types of knowledge was whetted, while activities such as face-painting catered to families with young children.

Dr Rami Ranger and CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar at the marquee by Lord Ganesha statue

dancers of Encee Arts, who enthralled the multicultural crowd with their fusion flamenco-kathak dance, and Binal’s Dance Academy, who skilfully incorporated the Olympics theme into the Om Nama Shivaya dhoon dance using hoops, a torch, footballs and pompoms. The first round of performances reached a touching and mellow culmination with 35 young children from Honey’s Dance Academy singing

The second round of performances, presented

by ZEE TV, started with the chart-topping vocals of Shivali, followed by versatile singer, Swaati. The powerhouses of talent, Juggy D, Punjabi Hit Squad and Navin Kundra, had the crowd braving the icy London rain to dance energetically to their pumping beats and commercial hits. The supremely soulful, Ash King, ended with an electrifying performance which had the audience, especially the ladies, humming spiritedly to his catchy tunes.

The charismatic MC then expressed his gratitude to Incredible India,

that Diwali on Trafalgar Square is presented to Londoners year after year.

The MC finally thanked members of the DIL Committee, who worked tirelessly and selflessly throughout the year to ensure the success of this unique, annual Diwali celebration. Bhavik Haria and his musical team ended DOTS 2012 with the devotional Hare Rama Hare Krishna dhoon, which sadly had to be cut short due to lack to time, but nevertheless had the massive crowd singing along despite the piercing algidity and ensured that the event ended on a musical high.

With an estimated attendance of over 30,000 people and an impressive selection of accomplished artists, the day concluded with true joy and humility from the event organisers for presenting to London another extraordinary and captivating DOTS event.

Here’s to an even bigger and better DOTS 2013! (*Art of Living, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK), Brahmin Society North London, Chinmaya Mission UK, ISKCON, Metropolitan Police Hindu Association, National Hindu Students Forum, Oshwal Association of the UK, Sai School Harrow and VHP Ilford Hindu Mandir.)

Photo courtesy: Hayley Madden & Cllr Navin Shah

Diwali in Ilford Exchange the Peace Anthem, which incorporated prayers from all major world religions and urged everyone to join hands for universal peace.

A steady supply of delicious vegetarian cuisine from Tandoori Box, savoury snacks from Oshwal Association of the UK and refreshing coconut water ensured

Diwali in Ilford Exchange is being celebrated on Sat Nov 10 11am-5pm. It promises to be fun for families especially children, who will be able to draw and paint diwali cards and get their face painted too. There will be competitions, entertainment programme on the main stage and fun workshops too. To round off the day there will be free ayurvedic head and feet massages as well as henna artists and some mouth watering Indian street food. Ravi Bhanot, Chair of the Diwali in Ilford Exchange Committee, of Green Lane, Ilford said, "This is the start of a new chapter in the history of Ilford. The event is for people from all backgrounds to come together to this festival of lights- a time to celebrate light over darkness. We have also this year started Diwali in Chigwell and we look forward to seeing more local diwali events."

COUNCIL/EDUCATION VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Cllr Thaya Idaikkadar elected as new leader of Harrow Council Harrow Council’s former Deputy Leader has taken over the authority’s top post following the resignation of the previous leader, becoming the first ever Sri Lankan to hold the position of Council Leader in UK history.

Cllr Thaya Idaikkadar, pictured, was elected leader at a meeting of the Labour Group on Tuesday (October 23) As part of a phased handover Cllr Bill Stephenson will continue as Leader until the next full Council meeting on November 8.

Cllr Idaikkadar will become Leader of Harrow Council within the next two weeks and is now officially Leader of the Labour Group.

Cllr Idaikkadar will hold meetings over the coming week to determine who will make up the new cabinet and become the next Deputy Leader.

Cllr Thaya Idaikkadar, said: “I am immensely proud and honoured to hold this position and I am looking forward to taking this administration into the next election in 2014 and beyond. This administration has numerous significant achievements to its name – not least being named Best Achieving Council in the UK for 2011/2012 and fulfilling 90 per cent of our

manifesto commitments for a four-year term in only two-and-a-half years.

We have made a real difference to the lives of our residents and the services we run in what remains an extremely tough financial climate.

Cllr Idaikkadar was first elected as a Labour Councillor in 2002 and represents the Roxeth Ward. Most recently he has held the title of Deputy Leader of Harrow Council and was Portfolio Holder for Property and Major Contracts.

Current Leader Cllr Bill Stephenson announced his intention to stand down three weeks ago due to health reasons.

Cllr Stephenson is looking forward to spending more time with his family and friends while remaining an active member of the Labour Group and Councillor.

Students given harrowing driving lesson A teenage crash victim warned students of the consequences of dangerous driving in a new road safety initiative by Ealing and Hounslow Councils.

The hard-hitting Safe Drive, Stay Alive roadshow at the Questors Theatre in Ealing also featured presentations from a father whose 16-year-old daughter was killed when a car mounted the pavement in Enfield and members of the emergency services who talked about dealing with crashes involving young people.

Nick Bennett stunned the theatre full of 16-18 year olds when he told how his impatience on the road and refusal to wear a seatbelt resulted in a head-on collision with a truck which nearly cost him his

life and left him in a wheelchair with serious brain injuries.

Nick, then 17, spent three weeks in a coma and months in hospital after crashing when trying to overtake two cars he felt were driving too slowly.

He said: “My message is please, please, please don’t think that you can drive dangerously without suffering the consequences. Take a look at the people sitting around you.

They’re your friends and they will probably be the ones to egg you on in your car to take unnecessary risks but ask yourself one question. Will those friends still come and visit you when you’re stuck in a wheelchair because mine don’t.”

Record numbers of students have applied for the most competitive university courses, according to figures from the admissions service Ucas.

Almost 57,000 applied for dentistry, medicine, or veterinary science courses or to study at Oxford or Cambridge, before their 15 October early deadline.

Ucas says the numbers are 2% higher than for the same courses this time last year. A breakdown of the same set of figures also

shows a slight rise in applications for these courses from English students.

So far almost 600 more students living in England have applied to start one of these courses in 2013, compared with 2012.

In total, 36,051 English students have applied for these courses, compared with the 35,455 who applied for courses starting this autumn - an increase of 1.7%.

Record numbers apply to competitive uni courses

9

AR Rahman students arrive in London for British-Indian music collaboration

L to R: Altamash Ansari from Allahabad, Aditya Akkapeddi from Hyderabad, Anurag Sharma from Delhi, Abinav Sridharan from Chennai, Tshering Leezum Bhutia from Sikkim, Sachin Shankor Mannath from Trivandrum and Rituraj Sen from Suri

A group of Indian students have become the first musicians from AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory to arrive in the UK as part of a new educational partnership.

Middlesex University has worked with KM Music Conservatory to build a course which allows Rahman’s students to bring together Western and Hindustani styles, with musicians who successfully complete their Diploma in Chennai now given the chance to gain a full honours degree in London.

In October the first group of KMMC students began their studies at Middlesex University and BA Music programme leader Dr François Evans is excited about the collaboration: “In the short time

the students have been in London we've already learned much from each others' cultures and the way we perform. Apart from experimenting with fusions of Indian and Western music techniques, it will be wonderful to contrast different educational styles, mixing instruction in India where it’s common to learn under a single highly regarded musician, with the UK, where we teach under a shared curriculum.”

AR Rahman said: “When a vision becomes a reality, you are inspired to do more. This is a great start for Indian kids to have this multicultural exposure, because they are the leaders of tomorrow.”

The partnership will now see further students come to London each year.

YOUR VOICE

10

A manifesto of superpower Alpesh Patel in his piece,’ A manifesto for a Superpower ‘ wants India to invite the British to run the anti-corruption units (even though according to him there is corruption in UK) and the national infrastructure programme so that there are no power cuts (even though there are power cuts in the UK) and a police force (even though there are police force failures here).

Assuming these proposals are presented to Indians they will surely have a few questions. They might ask about the many massive corruption scandals here in the UK. They might also ask about the infrastructural issues regarding our inability to build a new airport. Regarding the police they might ask about the many inquiries set up to look into policing failures. Indeed the Indian’s might even say that, ‘In 1947 we started with nothing, but today we are an economic giant and a stable democracy in spite of our huge population and immense diversity.’ India is a beacon of hope to many countries of the world where there is no freedom or democracy.

Alpesh wants NRIs to be given a red carpet welcome. Many young Indians from UK are going to India to find jobs.

We NRIs live here in our comfortable homes and speak about the many failures of India without realising how difficult it is to run a country with over a billion people. Constructive and balanced criticism without a tinge of moral superiority would be fine but we have no business of asking for the institutions of a country to be taken over by people of another country. I would urge Alpesh to put his many talents into tackling some of the acute problems UK is facing Nitin Mehta Via Email

Skeletons in the cupboard In the early seventies, when my son was a mere toddler, we used to watch the BBC’s “Jim’ll fix it” and other such children’s programmes, and greatly admired the way in which these programmes were presented. Recently, according to media reports, the authorities are concerned about the affairs of people involved in the production of these programmes. They will specifically consider what can be done to alert relevant organisations where there are issues which are cause for concerns. It is reported that the government will do everything it can do, and other institutions must do what they can do, to make sure that we learn the lesson from this scandal and ensure that such things can never happen again.

Last year we saw how the MPs and Lords fiddled with their expenses claims; then there were enquiries in which newspapers hacked into people’s mobile phones. We recently heard about the prison sentence handed out to Italy’s former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, for tax fiddling. How many more skeletons are there in the closets? No doubt, more such shenanigans of people in the public eyes will come to light in due course.

Such greed from people in power in the

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

India v/s Britain

Indo-Australia Relations

Mr Nitin Mehta continues to focus on negative elements about Britain whilst stating positive attributes about India. In so doing, be provides a perspective that is neither balanced nor accurate.

We all like and love India but in our admiration of all things great about India, we must not get carried away and slag off Britain. It is true that Britain’s economy is far from ideal but the country by all key metrics of measurement is far ahead of India. On the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), it ranks 2nd compared to India at 35. On the index of Ease of Doing Business, UK ranks 7th whilst India stands at 132. Similarly, in the assessment of the credit rating agency Standard & Poor, UK’s credit worthiness is rated at AAA and its outlook is stable whereas India on a similar score is BBB and the outlook is negative. All of these indices tell us that India has far more to worry about than does Britain. If the countries lending to UK don’t see an issue with it, we should not either.

I accept India has progressed incredibly over the past two decades and lifted millions out of poverty but it still has a massive 450 million people, a third of its population living below poverty line.

I also agree some of the problems in India are linked to its size but not all. For instance, corrupt politicians in UK are hounded out of office by the media whereas in India we have 128 MPs who themselves have criminal charges pending against them. This situation or inability for people to do business with ease in India cannot be linked to India’s size.

Nor can we say that those 171 Hindus who crossed the border and entered India last month from Pakistan to escape persecution there, not being given an asylum in India, is a function of India’s size.

Australia has been courting close relations with India for well over a decade, albeit hesitantly in view of its close business relations with China, an economic superpower in the making.

Australia may be the only nation with balance of payment surplus with China, as China imports huge quantity of minerals, mainly iron ore to feed her huge and successful manufacturing base.

China, with her huge foreign exchange reserves, mainly at the expense of US and Europe is buying up multinational conglomerates with mining interest, investing billions in asset striping operations that would turn Australian hinterland, outback, bare in a decade or two, an industrial wasteland with little value.

Australia has at last wisen up to this one sided destructive trade and is now looking up to India and other South-East Tiger economies that would invest in infrastructure, build industrial base and manufacture goods in Australia for local consumption as well as export.

Australia is a mineral rich fertile country exporting besides minerals sugar, wheat, wool, meat and wine in large quantities. The recent visit to India of the Australian PM Ms. Julia Gillard was indeed a roaring success, discussing trade, migration and student exchanges, including the recent racial attacks on the Indian students that has almost dried up enrolment of Indian students, thus depriving Australian universities of much needed financial income to progress and prosper.

In fact law abiding Indians with their work ethic, mild manner and ability to integrate are in such a demand that Indian immigrants outnumber the next five nations and surnames like Patel, Shah and Singh is more common in some Sydney suburbs replacing Smith and John. Indians are the new Tom, Dick and Harry. One question is will these new arrivals ever able to out drink Pommy Australians!

Lalit Shah Via Email

Centre for global technology London is rapidly becoming a global centre for technology companies, with hundreds already located around ‘Silicon Roundabout’ at Old Street and elsewhere in the capital. We have here a businessfriendly culture, which has brought tech start ups together into a cluster in this part of our city. The EU has recently published a new strategy on cloud computing, where data is stored remotely and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. So often we see Europe attempting to regulate new industries and technologies. I am encouraged that on cloud computing at least, they are acting in an enabling capacity rather than a dictatorial one.

Syed Kamal MEP

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

40 years anniversary magazine

so called developing countries in Asia and Africa may be understandable. But when it happens in affluent European countries where people are not short of a bob or two, it is very much regrettable.

It was a pleasure to receive the 40 years of pictorial overview of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar. It was even flattering to see my own photo receiving the Gujarat Garima Award.

Congratulations on steering the ship for forty years so successfully. It has been an excellent journey. I believe that excellence is not a skill, but an attitude which you have exhibited so well. Benjamin Franklin, an American politician once said ‘at twenty years, the will reigns, at thirty the wit and at forty the judgement.’

Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice at forty have the right judgement to continue to serve the community for years to come and hope your editorial leadership will help achieve that.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Gautam G Bodiwala, CBE Leicester

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Brand ‘Gujarat’ – which is equated with Guangdong of China, he invited Chinese business community and public enterprises to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit- 2013.

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A new theory says that any physical activity for 15 minutes every day is a good insurance against a plethora of health problems, be it related to the heart, the brain or even cancer.

A study published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, said that just a quarter-hour of physical exertion a day could reduce a person's risk of death by 14% and increase life expectancy by three years compared to inactive people.

Incidentally, another theory published in a different British journal said daily TV-viewing for six hours could take

away five years from your life.

Adding and subtracting years from your life has never before been quantified in such medical terms, say doctors.

The 15-minute short-cut to good health, in fact, changes the most fundamental rule that was approved by the World Health Organizationthat 150 minutes of activity a week is needed to stay healthy. )(.#(/

)( * !

E-mail: support@abplgroup.com

Your article [AV p25 27 Oct] refers to industries along the river which have been releasing harmful effluents into the river over decades. It also states that the disposal of waste has been arbitrary and unscientific. And how it is causing more cases of cancer than in other parts of India. The Industrial Revolution began about two centuries ago. I believe it has now reached a saturation point with mass production of mobile phones, cars, computers and thousands of other products that are discarded every time a new model comes up and perfectly good products are abandoned to pile up in huge industrial recycling plants. It is madness. In 2008, for the time in world history, the urban world population crossed the 50% of the world population mark. Mega cities with 10 million plus conurbations are cropping up everywhere.

India needs to reverse this trend of this harmful industrial relentless mass production and get back to basics: encourage and improve villages, small towns and cities and have strict planning laws where the bigger city conurbations have legally defined boundaries and are not allowed to grow in all directions.

50 years from now the countries that have developed more in organic agriculture, not in industrial mass production, will enjoy a happier cleaner and healthier way of life. These countries will also be able to make best use of all natural resources and become economically more successful. The above is the long term solution for Ganga and many other great rivers of India that have sustained India for two thousand years.

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Parking penalties

As you are aware, at the moment, local authorities, private companies and their sub-contractors can issue parking tickets/penalty charges in the United Kingdom and it is up to you to prove them wrong or else pay up which can be up to £130. In my opinion, this is an unfair system because if they are proved wrong, it is at no cost to them. For this reason, I have started an e-petition to lobby government to fine them if proved wrong.

Here is an open invitation to all drivers and vehicle owners in the United Kingdom to participate and transmit this unfairness to HM Government so that they can consider changing the law. You can take part by signing the e-petition at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/40848 or search epetitions.direct.gov.uk or HM Government E-petitions and under the search engine on the site "Fine issuers of Vehicle Penalty Charges when they are wrongly issued". Please contact me if you have any problems on the e-mail given below and I would appreciate it if you can forward this message on to anyone you know in the UK and invite them to take part.

Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath Continued on page 14

Visit our website: www.abplgroup.com

*Subscriptions paid will not be refunded ."

*

In a rare gesture, China’s top leadership hosted his delegation at Great Hall of People and had a free and frank discussion and exchange of ideas on a range of subjects including trade, industry, socioeconomic development, investment, and prevailing global economic scenario. Modi emphasized about the shared heritage of India and China, and common vision for improved quality of lives of their people.

In his meeting with the Mr Wang Gang, Vice Chairman of the China People’s Political

1 Year 2 Years

Ganga now a deadly source of cancer

!

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Leading Lights

by Rani Singh

Special Assignments Editor

Angela Saini Angela Saini is a British science journalist and the author of Geek Nation, about India's rise as a scientific superpower, published by Hodder & Stoughton. Until summer 2013 she is a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. Her writing appears regularly in New Scientist, Science and The Guardian, and she's a regular presenter on BBC radio. She won the best news story award from the Association of British Science Writers this year. Before going freelance in 2008, she was a reporter for BBC News in London, where her investigation into bogus universities won the Prix Circom Award for European television journalism.

Q What led you to focus on science?

I studied Engineering Science at Oxford so it was a natural specialism for me. That said, I spent the first five years or so of my career as a general news journalist, mainly at ITN and the BBC. In hindsight, that was for the best, because it gave me an understanding of what makes good news, irrespective of the subject.

to Boston to take up a year-long science journalism fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There’s so much exciting research happening here, and I have an opportunity to research in detail subjects that have always fascinated me but I've never had time to explore. It’s interesting to be in the US during an election year - it's given me an insight into the culture.

Q Does being a scientist automatically raise your value as there are so few in the UK? Having an engineering degree is certainly a bonus in the media world, not least because I'm comfortable with technical language and statistics in a way that many journalists often aren't.

The thing about covering science and engineering is that there are endless stories out there

Q What fascinates you about your work?

The thing about covering science and engineering is that there are endless stories out there.

Someone in the world is always inventing something, or making a discovery. I feel like I'm reporting from the future sometimes.

Q Can you give me an example of a discovery you made?

I'm not a scientist, so I've never made any discoveries of my own. I'm just a journalist! But I'm proud to have done some investigative reporting in my career, including a big story on bogus universities, one on lie detectors, and recently a story on the misuse of statistics in courtrooms.

Q Tell me about your current post and how long it is for.

This summer I moved

Q How is it going to help you in your work?

The real benefit of this year at MIT is to refresh my ideas bank, exposing me to the latest research without the pressure of producing stories. I think that will benefit me for the rest of my career. I've also used the time, space and equipment here to produce a short film, about MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club (https://vimeo.com/5044 4911) Q How can other women be helped to follow in your footsteps?

There are loads of fabulous women science writers all over the world, so we're certainly not facing too many barriers to success! But I think the media industry (and all professions) could benefit from more family-friendly policies to make it easier for women to excel in their careers without fear of losing out if they choose to have children. I don't have any children yet, but it is a

Angela Saini

concern at the top of my mind.

Q Now you are spending time in the US, are you tempted to make a future there?

No! I love London, and I always end up back there.

Q In what ways is science is approached differently in the UK to India?

In India, science is important because there's a belief that technology can be transformative. In the UK, science is not so high up the agenda, but there is a strong, small and creative scientific community.

Q Tell me about one of your most fascinating stories - one that stands out for you.

One of my favourites was for The Guardian.

With so much complex scientific evidence in court cases these days, it's easy to make mistakes about the relative weight that each scrap of evidence carries. But lawyers, judges and jurors are resistant to using mathematical formulae to interpret this evidence accurately. So the story was about how this problem has caused miscarriages of justice -and could lead to more.

Please go to my site at http://www.angelasaini.c o.uk/index.htm.

Qaida women squad now to hit western targets?

Al-Qaida has formed an all-female 'Burkha Brigade' whose cadres are being trained to infiltrate and hit military bases and official buildings in the Western nations as they are less likely to attract suspicion than men, the Times of India reported.

A film posted by fanatics online shows the all-female unit of al-Qaida using a fearsome array of weapons, including machine-guns, grenade rocket launchers and sniper rifles during their training session at an unknown place.

These women are thought to have

been recruited from the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya by an al-Qaidalinked group, with bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, British tabloid The Sun reported on Sunday.

The films carry the symbol of 'Islam Awazi' or 'Voice of Islam', an al-Qaida linked terror group based in Russia's Caucus region. The report has raised concerns among authorities and experts who say the global terror network has formed such units as women are less likely to attract suspicion than men and can easily infiltrate the security barriers.

11

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Shivani Pandya

National Blood donation day- B Positive B Positive is an exciting new campaign launched by the National Hindu Students’ Forum (NHSF (UK)) in association with the National Health Service (NHS) Blood Donation Campaign.

National Blood Donation Day will take place on Wednesday 7th November 2012. An Important date for the diaries!

At present, there is a severe shortage of blood supplies in the UK. With only 2% of the South Asian community on the blood donor register; particular blood types are in very low reserves. There are specific blood types more common in our community; for example25% of Asians are blood group type B, compared to only 9% of

Caucasians. In the case of patients needing long term transfusions programmes it is beneficial to have blood which is as community matched as possible. This is a problem for our community, and one which can only be fixed by our community!

By donating blood YOU can save lives! One donation can help save or improve the lives of up to 3 Adults or 7 babies.

Think of the difference you can make to people most in need. The entire donation process takes less than an hour and is fairly easy and relatively painless. Although most people can give blood, there are some who can’t.

There are measures in place by law to protect donors and recipients of

blood, please check these exemptions on www.blood.co.uk before heading to a blood donation van or appointment.

NHSF (UK) are promoting B Positive by encouraging all students from universities across the country to donate blood on this day. With 43 universities getting involved with this campaign, we hope that this event will be an annual event- where students and local communities actively partake in sewa and help to improve lives.

Who said you needed to be a superhero to save lives? On 7th November 2012, do something amazing, give blood.

For more information about the campaign, please contact: blood@nhsf.org.uk

Treasures from Mughal era to be displayed in the UK Treasures from the Mughal era, including the gem-set crown worn by Bahadur Shah II, last emperor of the dynasty which ruled India for about 200 years, will be displayed in a major exhibition in the UK. Jewels, rare ornaments, paintings

and intricately illustrated manuscripts exploring the extravagant lives of the Mughal emperors will feature in the British Library's exhibition, The Telegraph has reported.

A rare jade and gemstudded 'fly-whisk', dating from the mid-17th

century, will also be on loan from a private collection. It is thought to have been used by an attendant to Shah Jahan.

The exhibition, which opens next month, will also include treasures from the reign of Jahangir Shah.

12

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Scrutator’s J.K. Galbraith, the eminent Harvard academic, described India (a country he knew uncommonly well as frequent visitor and one-time US ambassador) as “a functioning anarchy”. He complained subsequently that his remark was taken a trifle too seriously. Maybe.

Embalmed with solitary or multiple grains of truth, the best wit transcends time.

There were anarchical scenes in parts of India’s capital city as anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal and his merry band laid siege to targeted homes of the country’s good and great, including the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The mud slinging has often been irresponsible. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has taken out a writ of libel against Mr Kejriwal, as did Rahul Gandhi against two members of the ruling Samajwadi party in Uttar Pradesh, who had accused him of rape and kidnap. The accusations were dismissed by the Allahabad High Court and India’s Supreme Court and substantial damages imposed on the accusers, coupled with scathing observations on their demeaning conduct.

(The Hindu October 10, 19).

Passing the baton The eagerly awaited government reshuffle will be an important moment for India, the passing of the baton to a new generation of leaders.

Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna at 80, responding to the early winds of change has tendered his resignation, as have six colleagues. There is no guarantee that reworking the government will lead to the desired political renewal, but the risk is worth taking. No risk, no gain.

The Times of India editorial (October 25) put it well. “A younger team is required that’s in step with the New India and ready to articulate its aspirations as policy. People like Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia can surely be elevated to positions of real authority…..An aspiring industrial front-ranker and knowledge economy, India must boost human resources to reap its much anticipated demographic dividend. Rahul Gandhi could be in his element pushing youth interests in a ministerial capacity. For a leader on whom Congress hopes ride but who’s yet to demonstrate results, it’s a natural place to start.”

TCS bumper profit Arvind Kejriwal and Vijay Goel protest outside Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission

The story doesn’t end here. Mr Kejriwal and his coterie have fallen out with their erstwhile guru Anna Hazare and his followers. Both sets of Lilliputians traded charges at a Delhi landmark site, providing free entertainment for passersby and those with time to spare, and for street vendors keen to cash in on the swell of customers with stomachs to fill. Freedom obeys its red lines; licence transcends sense and sensibility. Public debate is most compelling when it is honest, robust and relevant.

People’s Tribunes

Ignored contenders

Which was hardly the case with the choreographed encounters on television between President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney on issues ranging from the state of the US economy to US foreign policy. A

The true reality show, chaired by the TV’s venerable Larry King, involved anonymous third party contenders ignored by corporate interests and national television networks. From their spirited lips came forth concern and wis-

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 44 per cent rise in its net profit in the second quarter of 2012-13 financial year. Addressing a press confer-

N. Chandrasekaran

ence in Mumbai, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director N.Chandrasekaran said: “We delivered a strong performance with growth across industries and geographies. As the global operating environment continues to evolve, there is little doubt that technology is playing a more pivotal role to shape the future of every industry than ever before…..We are investing hugely in areas such as digital in an effort to be holistic with our clients” (The Hindu October 20).

Buoyant Maruti

President Obama and Mitt Romney TV debate

sacramental relationship with God and America’s historic mission to rescue benighted humanity from error and folly is a mainstream American conceit to be endured, not celebrated. Spiro Agnew, in full flow as vice president to Richard Nixon, was at least entertaining, as this gem demonstrates: “The United States, for all its faults, is still the greatest nation in the country.”

dom: audiences were treated to a close analysis of America’s crippling 16 trillion dollar national debt and growing, its inadequate education and healthcare services, its unsustainable imperial overstretch encompassing 1,100 US military bases and much else. Their time will surely come when maladies can be endured no longer.

(BBC World, Al Jazeera, Russian Television)

Not so long ago India-based, Japanese carmaker Maruti Suzuki took a terrible hit when its plant in Haryana was vandalized and a manager killed by rogue elements in the company’s work force. The plant was shut down for many weeks and there was fevered talk of Maruti relocating in, say, trouble-free Gujarat. But the company was made of sterner stuff. Come wind or high water it would stay the course.

Now, Maruti Suzuki has released its latest model, the Alto 800 in petrol and CNG versions. Speaking to reporters in

Delhi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shinzo Nakanishi said the Alto, released in 2000, had sold exceptionally well in India. However, “by unveiling the new Alto 800,” said Mayank Pareek Chief Operations Officer, “we have created excitement, and it will be a preferred vehicle for youth.

Forty per cent of customers will be below 35” (The Hindu October 17)

and its messianic goal to reduce India to ground zero.

Islamabad’s strategic relationships with the West generally and with China, in particular, complicates the overall situation as each of these great powers view Pakistan as a useful piece on the regional chessboard.

Maoist-ISI link

Dissuasive power is the one realistic option open to India in its dealings with China. The Hindu (October 14) reported the testfiring in Russia of an upgraded BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Russian-built Indian frigate, INS Teg, its satellite guidance system having adapted the mechanics of Russia’s X-555 long-range cruise missile and its latest X-101 version. Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass) has been added to the BrahMos Dopplerinertial guidance system to increase its range to a maximum 500 kilometres from the present 290 kilometres, and hone its precision capability. A submarinebased flight-test with a dummy nuclear warhead is expected shortly. The upgraded BrahMos promises to be a sub-strategic force multiplier.

Anniversary of 1962 war

The fiftieth anniversary of the Sino-Indian border war of Locals replace Expats October-November 1962 produced a spate of articles, none of Four years and more after taking any real quality, alas, that would over as President & Managing add a cubit to a broad underDirector Ford India Michael standing of the event. The Boneham decided to call it a day Hindu newspaper in a notable and hand over the reins to exercise in special pleading, Joginder Singh, who headed based on the selective use of Ford’s Global Business Services Chinese documents, argued that the fault lay with India’s inflexible policies on the disp u t e d Himalayan border. Be that is it may, the source of the border dispute was China’s invasion and occupation of Tibet, which S a r d a r Michael Boneham Joginder Singh Va l l a b h b h a i Patel, long years arm. ago, predicted would be the Says Mr Boneham: “The curcause of future troubles. rent levels of growth compared Tibetan unrest has been to five years ago coupled with placed by Chinese leaders at the the competitive scenario with so Dalai Lama’s and India’s door. many global manufacturers here Beijing’s threat perceptions, in India now makes it the right from Dalai Lama to the Falun time to move on and give others Gong, tell of Han China’s inner an opportunity.” demons and insecurities. As is And he isn’t the only one. also the case with censored Vinay Piparsania, a Ford veteran internet reports of corruption in with stints in the Philippines the top echelons of the and Thailand has taken over as Communist Party. The rot withHead of Sales and Marketing in may eventually put paid to the from Len Curran, who has shiftsoaring ambitions and conceits ed to China, while Sudhir Rao of the Middle Kingdom (The replaces Karsten Bogun as Telegraph October 28).

Managing Director Skoda India.

Ponder Shelley’s immortal Arvind Saxena takes the newly lines. “My name is Ozymandias, created post of Managing King of Kings/Look upon my Director, Passenger Car works, ye Mighty and despair”/ Business Volkswagen. The Nothing beside remains. / exception to this rollout of local Round the decay/ Of that colostalent is the expat Karl Slym, the sal wreck, boundless and former General Motors execubare/The lone and level sands tive, who has been roped in by stretch far away.”

Tata Motors to head its Operations division.

(The Economic Times October 27).

Securing the peace

Bengal police have identified four districts in the state – Murshidabad, West Midnapur, Purulia and Bankura - where Maoist insurgents and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence are working in tandem (The Times of India October 19).

Elsewhere in India Indian Mujaheedin (IM) operatives have been caught before they were able to execute their terror plans, which included bombing Hyderabad, Pune Mumbai and Delhi. Scarcely a day goes by without reports of an arrest of a terror suspect. It’s a cat and mouse exercise in which India has done fairly well so far. The stakes for the country are existential, given the Islamist springs of the Pakistani state

13

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

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14

ART & CULTURE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

by Debasree Ghosh

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

YOUR VOICE

Ye Olde Apothecary There are advantages of having one’s workplace on top of a subterranean shopping centre. Firstly, my daily lunch/coffee run is all I need to keep abreast with the changing High Street fashions. Secondly, I have been desensitized by this daily exposure to frivolity, to the point that I only notice a piece of clothing if it’s nothing short of extraordinary. And third and doubtlessly most important, being for a good part of the day, five minutes’ walk away from not one, but two branches of Boots. Ah Boots… what would my life be without you? You see I have this obsession with pharmacies. In India, when I grew up there, there was nothing akin to our regular old British pharmacies, where you can browse the aisles and peruse the products on offer for hours. In 80s India, you had to know what you wanted, and the friendly neighbourhood shop of miscellany would have it for you.

As is so often the case with me, I often don’t know what I want or indeed need. That is why I constantly delight in the joys of a treasure trove that is English pharmacy.

Here I give you some of the great stuff to be discovered in Boots, Superdrug or the grandest dame of pharmacies, John Bell & Croyden, pharmacists to the Queen.

This Works: A British brand

Honesty still prevails

that mixes in natural, high-quality ingredients into all of its formulas.

Their No Wrinkles Get Started is a little antiageing starter pack, with a super moisturizer and an active anti-wrinkle serum. They also make a lavender-infused relaxing bath gel that I love. I find their clean packaging very enticing too.

Cowshed: My love affair with them started when a few years ago, I got gifted their Pocket Cow Bath and Body…sort of like a mini spa pack. Now I frequent their soothing, fragrant Soho salon for manicures. The products are natural and paraben free and all of them feature essential oils grown right at the Victorian walled garden at the original Cowshed Spa in Somerset.

Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Shampoo: I’m not afraid to say that I’m a wild haired woman. My hair is a mass of curls that is both beautiful and terrifying.

I have neither the time nor the money to visit hairdressers enough.

What I do do though, is invest in nice shampoos and conditioners that keep my waves in shape.

Bumble and Bumble helps me greatly.

Umberto Giannini Shapely

Curls Mousse: Where would I be without this? Muss it up into your damp wavy curly frizz prone hair.

Let it dry naturally…and revel in your glorious tamed curls. This is all I do to my hair on a daily basis and I am very happy.

Yardley: Soaps, talcum powder, eau de toilette; reminds me of my lovely grandmother who has been a Yardley fan all her life. For me, this is the scent of my childhood. I find myself buying their products on days I need reassurance.

La Roche Posay Transforming Cream for dry skin: My face saviour on long flights. I have sensitive skin, so I can experiment too much with potions and tinctures. But this is a very reliable solution for dry, dehydrated skin.

Orly Mini nail polish: I don’t know about you, but I have never managed to finish a whole bottle of nail varnish. So these mini bottles for a mini price work perfectly well.

Navratri celebrations in the UK If you are an UK based non profit organisation and have recently celebrated Navratri. Email us a photo of your Navratri celebration by Monday 29 October 2012 along with the name of your organisation in full with address and phone number, and we will try to publish the photograph in our Asian Voice newspaper in the coming weeks.

Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Darji Mitra Mandal of the UK organised a successful Navratri festival at their community hall in Palmers Green

About thirty middle aged to senior citizen ladies organised navratri for all eight days under the banner of Shakti Mandal in Kings Heath of Birmingham. They hired the hall at All saints Church.This was organised as it was difficult for some of them to attend navratri festival at night in halls or temples. There was a good support from everybody who participated.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will be published next week as usual.

Unlike some other publications we never deprive our readers under the pretext of Diwali special preparations.

The Wanza Samaj UK celebrated Navratri at Crest Boys Academy in Neasden from Tuesday 16 Oct to Tuesday 23 October 2012. There was an excellent attendance during the weekend. The Samaj prepared Prasad of hot badam/pista milk everyday for all. This tradition has been going on since 1985. A children’s fancy dress competition was also held on Friday 19 October.

In India when so many politicians, ministers, officials at all government levels, trustees of charitable institutions including socalled religious leaders, gurus, saints, devotees running places of worship involved in corruptions, scandals, scams are adopting dishonest ways to make cores of rupees, living a lavish life. We during our recent trip to India for “Char Dham Yatra” by Hari Aum Travel of London, witnessed an act of values from a young boy, who is from a very poor background.

We went to the Wagha border of India/Pakistan at Atari to watch the very beautiful flag lowering ceremony by soldiers.On our way back, we were surrounded by hawkers mostly very young boys. I was approached by many to buy DVDs of the Wagha border ceremony and I bought one from one of them.

Suddenly another young hawker asked me why I refused to buy it from him, even though he

had approached me first.

Frankly I didn’t remember who spoke to me first and I felt bad just looking at his disappointed face. So I offered him Rs.10 (which I had saved from my DVD bargain).

To my surprise he refused it. When I insisted, he told me that he didn’t want free money and he would not take it. It showed that honesty and values still prevail in India and because of people like him, I still feel proud of India.

As Diwali and Hindu New Year is around the corner, we hereby convey our warmest felicitation to all the readers of Asian Voice. I regularly read it on the internet here in Canada and I must say that Asian Voice is in fact comparable to any Western or North American newspapers, especially in terms of content and the team definitely deserves kudos.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Markham, Canada

Welcoming Narendra Modi to Britain I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Coalition Government and in particular to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs directly responsible for relations with overseas countries, our PM Mr David Cameron and his Cabinet, Lord Dolar Popat who took the initiative to form the influential Conservative Friends of India, in line with the very successful Labour Friends of India, bringing Indian community and in particularly Gujarati community nearer to Conservative Party.

As you may know Gujaratis believe in freedom, self reliance and private enterprise rather than State domination. We Gujaratis and that include East African Asian are one of the most successful entrepreneurs with highest living standard and excellence in educational achievement in UK. Practically 95% of our children go to Uni and come out with a degree or

two. Most of our children occupy high position in professions such as accountancy, law, medicine and media. Our greatest achievement is that our children, our community is the most law abiding with the lowest prison population.

Our Gujarati community is as diverse as chalk and cheese and that includes the Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Goans, Indian Christians as well as Muslims, who are as staunch a Gujarati as me. I have personally met Shri Narendra Modi when he came to this country as well as on my many visits to Gandhinagar, Gujarat. He is one of the most dynamic person, political leader I have ever met, Mr incorruptible, a rare achievement for an Indian politician. By establishing a close relations with Gujarat, the first step has been taken.

Shashikant K Patel Overseas Friends of BJP (UK)

No cap on international students...

Navratri Celebrations by Dacorum Indian Society, Hemel Hempstead

Mr Paul Lorber – Liberal Councillor for Brent with Mr Manubhai Makwana of - Hindu Council Brent Chairman, Mr Mahendra Pattni - Hindu Council Brent, Treasurer, with Samaj members.

Continued from page 2 of changes that have been made to the system, but legitimate students are still entitled to a student visa if they are capable of meeting the UK Border agency’s requirements. It is significant to note that

international students indirectly contribute to producing “thousands of jobs and generating goodwill for the UK and businesses see tremendous value of employing them once they graduate.

UK

Asian voice - Saturday 3rd november 2012

15

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

MuSIC

Tanveer Mann Urban-Asian Music Legends RDB Win Award for Contribution to UK Asian Music Scene at The Lebara UK Asian Music Awards 2012 Music legends RDB celebrated last night after winning two awards for their dedicated contribution to the Asian music scene, at The Lebara UK Asian Music Awards (AMAs) 2012.

The esteemed AMAs, which are a UK music industry benchmark for recognizing and honouring musical talent, saw RDB scoop the much sought-after Commitment To The Scene Award at wembley Arena in London for their outstanding contribution to putting UrbanBhangra music on the mainstream map in the UK and internationally. RDB also claimed the Best Desi Act Award at the event by public vote.

Surj and Manj said of RDB’s win: “we are really elated to have received these awards! it means a lot that our music has been recognised, not only by our loyal fans around the world and in the UK, but also by the British-

Today, we feel blessed to still be doing what we love and to be working with such amazing people. we are truly honoured to have written, produced and sung with some truly talented musicians.

Upcoming

EvEntS

World Food Awards 2012 The much-anticipated 4th annual World Food Awards will be taking place on 4th November at London’s prestigious Lancaster London Hotel and will attract a star-studded guest list.

Asian music industry which we The World Food Awards announced the shortlists for the ten shall always be a part of.

Award categories last week, which include music sensation Rihanna, “RDB started out over a celebrity chef and TV presenter Anjum Anand and Levi Roots, the decade ago as the dream of entrepreneur who shot to fame through Dragon’s Den three Bradford brothers.

With a big name line up of finalists like Vita Coco, Tesco, Asda, Reggae Reggae and Tilda as well as Jamie Oliver and Anjum Anand, the World Food Awards hope to drive world food further into the mainstream and celebrate the people who have worked so hard to help it Did you know..? evolve into a thriving and compelling industry. in 2002, the admission price for a The World Food Awards 2012 will be broadcast on Star Plus to Disneyland ticket was $45. Today it’s $87 over 1 million viewers in the UK alone. Sponsors include Word of the Week: ASDA, Jaguar, Patak’s and Clairvoyant- adj. able to see into the future and Rajah. connect with the supernatural world.

RAPID FIRE IntERvIEW JIND MAHI Hailed as one of UK Asian music’s brightest emerging talents, Jind is an all-round musician who recently released his debut track Saday Naal. Jind composes, produces, writes, sings and plays instruments, which he has accomplished perfectly with his diverse album Like Father Like Son, which is collaboration with his father and musical inspiration Binder Pasla.

How would you describe your music?

I would describe my music as traditional Punjabi lyrics mixed with modern R&B/Electro beats. I have always been inspired by eclectic mainstream producers like Ryan Leslie, Timbaland & RDB. How did the idea for ‘Saday Naal’ come about?

I initially came up with the composition for the song and couldn't stop humming it. After showing it to my Father, he thought of the chorus lyrics, which I loved! Musically, I wanted to take the lis-

BOOK Review The Hunger Games

RDB is here to stay and will continue to go from strength to strength and this is only due to the support and well-wishes from our fans worldwide. we dedicate our awards to you all.”

Has music always been your number one passion?

Yes, from a very young age, I have been surrounded by music with my father (Binder Pasla) singing and performing. It's always been my dream to produce my own song and release my own music.

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

tener on a journey and illustrate the different emotions that a person feels when going through a tough relationship. I used different speeds with a positive beat in the verses to symbolize hope; before a powerful half speed beat in the chorus to represent a reality check of the situation.

How important do you think it is for upcoming artists to create a new sound rather than simply producing what sells?

As an upcoming artist, it can be very difficult to be noticed and differentiated from the more prominent artists. This is why I think it's key to focus on developing your own unique sound that the audience can engage and relate with. I feel it's essential to experiment and aim to create a sound that is instantly recognisable and not easily imitated.

After the movie came out earlier this Suzanne year, many people probably forget that Collins the highly intense thriller was a novel by Suzanne Collins well before. The dystopian novel is set in the future and describes North America as a destroyed land that has been divided into 12 districts by the powerful Capital. Within District 12 is ace hunter Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl who lives a simple life fending for her younger sister Prim and their widowed mother. Each year, the Capital organizes a game to keep the population under control and to assert their power. One boy and one girl are picked from each district, as ‘tributes’ to go and fight against the other contestants whose only option is to kill or be killed. Katniss has to fend for herself against extreme conditions that place in her a position where she comes face to face with death.

The novel highlights many themes, which almost everyone can empathise with. The well-written style concatenated with a high-action plot makes the novel a very quick and interesting read.

I would highly recommend reading the book as it explains in depth a lot more of the ideologies that are left unexplained in the movie.

Ha Ha.....

He He.... :P A man walks into a bookshop and says, "I hope you don't have a book on reverse psychology."

What did the fish say when he swam into the wall? Damn If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is it naked or homeless?

Overall, this does involve taking calculated risks, which is a personal challenge.

How does it feel to work with Bhangra legends RDB’s music label Three Records?

I feel very blessed to be signed to Three Records and working with RDB is a dream come true. I have been a lifelong fan of theirs from a young age and can remember listening to their hits at school. With the guidance of RDB, I will aim to keep making fresh music and improve as an artist.

What type of music can we expect to hear on your new album Like Father Like Son? The album will have very diverse styles, from hard-hitting house beats to powerful traditional Desi (Asian) beats. The album is a joint project with my father who brings a more Desi element to our sound.

We also have some great collaboration on the album featuring Miss Pooja & RDB to name a few!

What advice can you give to upcoming artists like yourself?

The industry can be very difficult at times and it can be easy to be disheartened if you don't receive the response that you hoped for. The best advice I can give is try take criticism positively and keep working hard to improve yourself as an artist. Keep making the music you love and never give up!

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Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Kochadaiyaan: Each scene shot with 48 cameras

With Superstar Rajinikanth's much awaited “Kochadaiyaan” in its final stages of completion, some interesting details about the movie are emerging out. Since the film was shot using performance capture technology, 48 cameras were used to shoot each and every scene. "The 48 cameras captured performance of artistes 48 angles," say sources in the know.

"Actors are required to wear a mask (where cameras were installed) to shoot most of the scenes. The film's shoot is over and it is now in its final stages of post production," they add. Directed by Rajinikanths's younger daughter Soundarya R Ashwin, 'Kochadaiyaan' has music by AR Rahman.

Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman come together

Mani Ratnam's next film, “Kadal” is being spoken about much by the media. The latest report is that the film has three songs written by Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu in the album. Meanwhile, the director has acquired two other songs from Vairamuthu's previous works. Mani Ratnam and A.R.Rahman have continually produced magic in their films right when they started working together in “Roja.” This time around, one of the tracks will feature a compilation of various Vairamuthu works and another will showcase words from his work 'Thanneer Desam'. The poet has expressed his joy about the news and is excited for the release of the songs.

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Neetu Chandra turns Taekwondo expert Actress Neetu Chandra is known to us for being glamorous and sensual from films like “Yaavarum Nalam,” “Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai” etc.

However, the actress seems to have another side to her in which she is a top class Taekwondo fighter. Recently, she got awarded the 2nd Dan Black belt and became one of the first ladies in India to do so. She says, "Grandmaster Jimmy is popularly known as the Father Of Taekwondo in India, and I'm glad I was honoured by him. I was told that I'm the first Indian actress, even woman, to receive the award. I've learnt this form of martial art, and have even represented India in Taekwondo championship. It's a shame I haven't been able to continue practicing this art form."

Hot Garam masala Playing seductress on screen not easy: Neha Dhupia Actress Neha Dhupia, who will next be seen in 'Rush' opposite Emraan Hashmi as a scheming media tycoon, says playing a seductress onscreen is not easy. Dhupia has portrayed bold avatars in films like 'Julie' and 'Ek Chalis Ki Last Local' and 'Raat Gayi Baat Gayi'. 'Rush', directed by late Shamim Desai, released last week. "People say that it must be easy for me to play someone who is ultra glam. However, the hardest part is to seduce on screen. You have to pretend it but make it look real for the audience. It is ironical," says Dhupia.

Emraan is the most underrated actor: Salman Emraan Hashmi, who is riding high on the success of “Raaz 3”, is the most underrated actor of the present generation, says Bollywood star Salman Khan.

Emraan's box office success ratio was recently compared to Salman's, as he has earned a thumbs up with most of his recent films, including “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai,” “Murder 2”, “The Dirty Picture,” “Jannat 2,” “Shanghai” and most recently, ‘Raaz 3.” "Emraan Hashmi is the most underrated actor and now he should get his due. He has given hit after hit. He is damn good as an actor. I really like him," Salman said during the music launch of a film.

Sharmila Tagore gets honorary doctorate Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore has been awarded honorary Doctorate of Arts by the Edinburgh Napier University for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The 67-year-old, the great-grand niece of noted poet Rabindranath Tagore, received the honour. The honour comes just months after the university’s Institute for Creative Industries opened the Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies (SCoTS), the first centre of its kind in Britain. SCoTS promotes Indian culture, education, philosophy, art and literature by highlighting the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.

Bollywood has immense impact on our lives: Pak actress Bollywood's influence on Pakistani lives and on its film industry is undeniable, says model-actress Aamina Sheikh, a well-known face in the neighbouring country's fashion and entertainment sector. "One can't deny the Bollywood influence in Pakistan," Aamina had said, adding that people in Pakistan were as passionate about Bollywood as Indians. "So much so that they want to compete with Bollywood films.

We, as actors, always say that we can't c o m p a r e t h e two

Is Shah Rukh Khan trying to patch up with Salman?

From last four years, box-office king Salman Khan has captured the Eid slot.

His last four Eid releases “Wanted,” “Dabangg,” “Bodyguard” and 2012 Eid release “Ek Tha Tiger” has created phenomenon business in film trade. In fact, It was Salman Khan who was first to create a new 100- crore club in Bollywood.

The Salman/ Shah Rukh rival is known to all but it seems the differences between them are narrowing. Shah Rukh Khan on his part is making all the possible efforts to sort out the differences but the

superstar Salman Khan is showing no efforts.

Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, 'Chennai Express' which is directed

by Rohit Shetty is slated to release on 2013 Eid but when King Khan came to know that Salman is planning to remake 'Brindavanam' in Hindi with brother Sohail Khan and will release the film on the same day, he stepped back.

Shah Rukh gave Salman the Eid 2013 slot. His film, 'Chennai Express' might release 23 week gap post the release of Salman's film.

We have to wait and watch to see this Shah Rukh Khan's gesture is successful in ending the 'Hot' war between the two stars.

A special song shot for Aamir's ‘Talaash’ A special song has been shot for Aamir Khan-starrer suspense thriller “Talaash” and in the song all the suspects of a crime come under one roof. In the Reema Kagti-directed film, the song “Muskaane jhoothi hain” has been shot to raise the anticipation among the audiences, said a source.

Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment, the film marks the coming together of the producers and Aamir after 11 years since the 2001 release “Dil Chahta Hai.” Aamir Khan plays inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat who is given the task of solving a case. The movie also stars Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji in lead roles. It is expected to come out Nov 30.

industries at infrastructural and other level.

But people can't help but compare."

"Bollywood has an immense impact on our lives. Who doesn't want to take a deep dive into it," added the 29-year-old. Asked about her favourite actor and who she would want to work with, Aamina answered promptly: "Abhishek Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor would be nice." Aamina, was in India for the first time for her forthcoming film “Josh,” which was screened at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) here.

Directed by Iram Parveen Bilal, “Josh” is the only fiction film from Pakistan screened at MFF in the last five years. It is also the only film from the neighbouring country to be showcased at the festival this year. "I am here for the first time and what better way to come for work through work. Josh is a film that has been made with a lot of passion and heart. I am hoping it does well," she said.

Poonam Pandey making her debut Controversy queen Poonam Pandey, who is set to start shooting for her debut Hindi movie, says that the untitled project will have some "bold" and "intense" scenes but won't face any problems with the censor board. "Yes, it's an adult film, it's a bold film but the script is very strong. I know people love to watch bold films, but for me, the script matters. The story of this film is great. My family is very happy with my debut film. They are saying it's the right move," Poonam said. "I don't think we will have to face any problem with the censor board. Yes, I agree we have some bold and intense scenes in the film but it should not create any problem," she added.

"Jism" fame director Amit Saxena is wielding the megaphone for the film. Poonam created a stir when she offered to go nude before Team India if it won the 2011 cricket World Cup. Poonam also announced that she would strip if superstar Shah Rukh Khan's franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). And the model kept her word. Post the KKR win in May, she posted her nude picture on Twitter. Talking about her expectation from her first film, she said: "I want to be the heart of a film and not just a part of a film."

Big B hooked to ‘Radha’ song The megastar went out for dinner with family, but was caught in traffic jam due to Durga idol immersion. And the actor had the Radha song played on repeat mode in his car. "Radha” from “Student Of The Year” keeps us company and on repeat... the mood is happy and charged with rhythm," Big B wrote on his blog. The traffic was such that a police car came to whisk Amitabh out of the jam. "Returning back home causes happy problems ...traffic is jammed and there is recognition and mobbing... it gets impossible to move... the police squad car moves in and with great difficulty extricates us to pilot us home," he added.

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Priyanka Chopra may have gone international as a singer with her new single "In My City," but the actress says she is too shy to sing in Bollywood. "I was offered to sing whether it's by Salim-Suleman or VishalShekhar, but I was too shy for it. I used to try singing on the mic at their insistence but then I used to feel shy and back out saying 'I can't do this'.

I had even recorded a song with Vishal and Shekhar for 'Bluffmaster', but the song was not released," Priyanka said.

"But now as I have already launched my own album, I can think about it. But I'll be selective as I am really shy," she added. The actress says she's honoured to have got a chance to work with artist international Will.i.am on her debut international album.

"Will.i.am is an extremely talented musician and artist. It was an honour for me to work with him. We have heard so much about him, we love their music. It was a really new experience. There are other international collaborations in this album too, you'll get to know about it as I keep unraveling my songs in the album," she added.

A working birthday for Asin While most people like to have a blast on their birthdays, Asin decided to bring in her special day while working on the sets of her next film. The actress is known to party with her close circle of seven friends but this time it was different. Asin is currently shooting at Film City.

The actress said, “It has been a crazy and chaotic month for me so far so I have not even thought about my birthday as such. My film is releasing in December and we have to finish work as all of us are racing against time.”

Apparently, the actress has slept very little, as she has been busy shooting and travelling for work.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Rajat Gupta gets two years in prison for insider trading Dear Financial Voice Reader I see a lot of entrepreneurs in my field. One of the best is my friend in Silicon Valley, Kanwal Rekhi. His firm Inventus, summed up what entrepreneurs get wrong.

This is what they had to say about why people don’t get money – and it can be summed up as ‘ideas are a dime a dozen’.

“Top Traits of an Entrepreneur 1. Intellectual honesty. Brutal honesty. You can never fall in love with your business. If you do, you will fail to make the hard but necessary decisions.

2. Humility.

3. Accountability to yourself and your team. You ultimately have to be able to say that you accomplished something or that you did not. If not, why not? You cannot ever blame others. If you fail, it is on your shoulders – no excuses. If there is no accountability at the top, others below also will not feel accountable.

4. Fairness. You have to be able to make sure the rewards are proportional.

5. Economics. You have to be able to determine values and prioritize these values. The highest value-added issues get prioritized. You also have to understand the fundamentals related to costs and margins.

6. Expertise. You have to be an expert when it comes to your customer and competition. Although you also have to quickly become a generalist, you don’t have enough money when you start out to hire specialists.

7. Execution intelligence. Investors pay a premium for this rare skill. For every great idea that you have, there are 10 very smart people with the same idea.

What will make the difference is the ability to execute.

Ideas are a dime a dozen.

8. Leadership. When times are tough, pull everybody up. Inspire others to look beyond today. When times are good, keep everybody grounded; don’t get too exuberant.

9. Self-reliance. Entrepreneurs do not need any approval. This comes from within. Also, there is little daily satisfaction; success comes in the long run.

10. Confidence. Success loops are long, so you need to be confident and patient to reap your rewards.”

Or as a Hare Krishna priest emailed me today put it, ‘Wish you, That may you not in blindness grope, But that may you with vision clear, Know when to speak a word of hope, Or add a little wholesome cheer.

That through the year which lies ahead, No heart shall ache, no cheek be wet, For any word that you have said, Or profit you have tried to get.’

QPR tycoon to launch sports car company

Disgraced Wall Street titan and philanthropist Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison last week, a much lighter sentence than US prosecutors had demanded, by a judge who called his insider trading crimes "disgusting" and "a terrible breach of trust."

Gupta was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine. He was convicted in Manhattan federal court last June for leaking Goldman Sachs boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund manager at the center of a US government crackdown on insider trading over the past four years.

Some legal experts said the sentence came as a

Loud music on headphones

surprise, while others said the judge struck a fine balance. US District Judge Jed Rakoff told a somber courtroom audience, including Gupta's wife and four adult daughters, that the illegal sharing of corporate secrets at the height of the 2008 financial crisis "was the functional equivalent of stabbing Goldman in the back."

Indian Hotels reach out to Orient-Express R K Krishna Kumar, vice chairman of Indian Hotels, the company that has made an “unsolicited” $1.8 billion offer to buy Orient-Express Hotels, has reached out to the British chain’s board of directors, including chairman J Robert Lovejoy, for an amicable deal.

In a letter addressed to Lovejoy, also a long-standing shareholder of OrientExpress, Krishna Kumar explained Indian Hotels’ objectives for making the offer for the NYSE-listed company and to “dispel any misunderstandings.”

After Indian Hotels, part of the Tata Group, made its bid public, Orient-Express termed the move “unsolicited” and added that the board would evaluate “carefully and respond” to the offer. The seven-member board of OrientExpress will play a crucial role in Indian Hotels’ bid to clinch the deal. In the west, the board gives its opinion relating to a merger & acquisition in which the company itself is in play and whether the buyout is beneficial to shareholders.

To allay fears of a hostile takeover, Krishna Kumar

said that the company has always endeavoured to “pursue friendly transactions with counterparties.”

Kirshna Kumar added that Orient-Express will remain a “separate and independent company with standalone management and board of directors,” just as in the case of the Tata Group’s past acquisitions such as JaguarLand Rover and Corus.

Through Krishna Kumar’s letter, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, and Luca Montezemolo, chairman of Ferrari, who is a joint bidder, have sought an appointment with Lovejoy to apprise him about the offer and the group’s plans for Orient-Express.

Gupta, 63, gave no visible reaction to the sentence, which was given at the end of a 30-minute statement in which the judge spelled out the businessman's "extraordinary" philanthropy over decades that stood in stark contrast to his crimes.

Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's co-founder, and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan were among 400 friends and luminaries who had written letters to the judge urging leniency.

I lost my reputation built over a lifetime: Gupta Rajat Gupta said in a statement just before the sentencing that he has lost his reputation built over a

Kingfisher Airlines staff agree to resume work Employees of grounded Kingfisher Airlines Ltd have agreed to return to work, the embattled carrier's chief executive said last week after meeting with staff, who have not received their salaries since March.

The airline founded by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, which has not flown since the start of October after an employee protest turned violent, still must convince the aviation regulator to reinstate its licence, which was suspended earlier.

"All employees have agreed to resume duty right now. They are on duty as we speak ... We are all in this together and looking forward to getting the airline going in the next few weeks," CEO Sanjay Aggarwal told reporters.

Earlier this week, Kingfisher offered to pay three months wages by November 13 and clear arrears every month after that, were striking employees agreed to resume duty.

The airline, which was once India's second-largest by domestic market share, has never made a profit since its launch in 2005,

RBI holds repo rate, cuts CRR by 25 basis points

Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian tycoon who owns Air Asia and Queens Park Rangers (QPR) has teamed up with Renault to launch a sports car company. Tony Fernandes, who also owns Caterham, the British kit-car maker and Formula One team, has spent the past nine months in negotiations with the French motor giant.

Renault and Caterham are set to announce a deal to launch two new sports cars, one of them under Renault’s Alpine brand.

The vehicles will be built in France and it is understood buyers will have a

choice of two engines. The cars will cost about £30,000 or £40,000, depending on the engine size. The joint venture is Caterham’s first move into volume manufacturing of road cars.

Its roots are entwined with those of Lotus, its British rival. Caterham Cars had been a Lotus 7 dealer until Lotus ended production of the model in 1972. Caterham bought the rights to the car a year later. Fernandes, former owner of F1’s Team Lotus, snapped up Caterham in April 2011 following an internal dispute.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left interest rates on hold on Tuesday but cut the cash reserve ratio for banks, defying pressure from the government to lower rates for the first time since April but also indicating it may soon ease policy further.

While the decision to leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 8 per cent was in line with recent forecasts, expectations for a rate cut had grown after finance minister P. Chidambaram on Monday outlined a plan to trim the country's hefty fiscal deficit.

"As inflation eases further, there will be an opportunity for monetary policy to act in conjunc-

tion with fiscal and other measures to mitigate the growth risks and take the economy to a sustained higher growth trajectory," RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao wrote in his quarterly policy review.

Headline wholesale price index inflation rose to 7.8 per cent in September, a 10-month peak, and the RBI said it expects inflation to rise before easing in the final quarter of the fiscal year, which ends in March.

"While risks to this tra-

lifetime and apologised to his family and colleagues.

"The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager. I have lost my reputation that I have built over a lifetime," Gupta said in a tone that did not betray any emotions.

Standing before the judge for his sentencing, Gupta said, "The overwhelming feelings in my heart are of acceptance of what has happened, of gratitude to my family and friends, and of seeking forgiveness from them all. It is with these feelings that I hope to move forward and dedicate myself to the service of others."

jectory remain, the baseline scenario suggests a reasonable likelihood of further policy easing in the fourth quarter of 2012-13," Subbarao wrote.

Investors, companies and the government have been clamouring for a cut to interest rates that have been on hold since April and remain some of the highest among major economies.

GDP forecast to 5.8% for FY'13: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday sharply lowered India’s fiscal economic growth projection to 5.8 per cent, from 6.5 per cent earlier, in view of global and domestic factors like poor investments and subdued demand.

and has total debt of nearly $2.5 billion, according to an estimate by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a consultancy.

Earlier, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the airline's licence after the carrier failed to address its concerns over safety. "The salary is a big issue and the employees should be paid. But the larger issue than that is their fiscal assurance to the DGCA", Ajit Singh, India's civil aviation minister, said.

"They have a lot of outstanding (debts) to the airports authority, to oil companies, to the leasing companies. So it's not just a question of salary ... To allow them to fly again, DGCA is to be satisfied on many more things," Singh said.

S.P. Infra Management venturing into realty, infrastructure management S.P. Infra Management, a subsidiary company of a reputed business house in Ahmedabad, is venturing into realty and infrastructure management. They offer you well- connected lobby of investors/industrialists as well as wellconnected lobby of builders across Gujarat and Mumbai city.

For buying and selling of open lands, luxurious bungalows, high-end apartments, industrial plots & warehouses in Gujarat and Mumbai city, kindly contact kingsvilla7@ gmail.com & Siddharth_ ddit13@yahoo.com. web: www.kingsvilla.in

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

19

Buying Wholesale Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

We are currently working on a deal in the heart of the London medical district, Harley Street. The property has a commercial element on the ground floor with six residential flats above. The square footage of this big piece of property is nearly 8000 sq ft.

The residential component comes to 6300 sq ft, this portion can be resold at a conservative price of £7.25m. The reason for pricing it low is so we can sell the property very quickly prior to completion.

The commercial element can be sold for £900,000 , which represents a 5% yield on its rental of £45,000. This has been under rented as with the whole building actually. This is often the case when someone has owned the building for decades. They get relaxed and take their finger off the pulse; the managing agents also know that they don’t have to try to hard as it’s an old landlord for whom they have been renting the property for ages. The condition drops and the rent stays the same whilst the market rent increases.

The yield of a property has some affect on the price, especially for clients looking to hold on to a property, and therefore a lower yield has the effect of dampening the price the property should command. This is good for a resell and is therefore good for property traders for whom the yield is almost irrelevant due to the anticipated time period the property is held.

We are looking to not complete on the property but to ‘flip’ it, this means we will be reselling the property prior to completion, so the yield is irrelevant to us.

The re are only th ree points o f con sid eration for u s: The pu rchase price, the sale price and the time period bet wee n t he t wo.

The rest is simply noise and irrelevant for our purposes.

The sale price is proportionally related to the time line, meaning the higher price we ask for the longer it will take to achieve, the less we ask for the quicker it will sell. As this is London even if we ask for something ludicrous like say £2,000 per sq ft given enough time, say within a ten years, my belief is it will sell for this price, as the ceiling for London prices is always rising.

We have asked for the property to be vacant on completion; however the aim here is not to have a vacant building. That makes no difference to us really. This is a red herring; the aim of this is that it acts as a delaying tactic to give us as much time as possible between exchange and completion. If we had said we would like to have a long completion it wouldn’t have looked as good as us say-

The Real Deal Prime property in Mayfair

ing we need vacant completion for legal reasons. The time period between exchange and completion is very valuable to us.

Completion on this property would mean we have to come up with 90% of the purchase price, this would be made up from a combination of bank funding and our own funds. So we would have to come up with this along with stamp duty, which in this case would be 7%, which comes to nearly £500,000.

It would be far easier if we took £80,000 off from each flat to ensure they complete quickly prior to completion.

In th is situ atio n t ime lite rally is mone y.

l Short

lease of 22 years £1.35m l Lease extension £900,000 max l Price post lease extension £2.7m l Funding is available l New purchaser will have the right to extend the lease l Price

Due to the popular location of these properties we are confident of selling them on. To put £1.2m to £1.5m on a property in this location is not a big issue, this is the standard price you would expect to pay in this location. We have an intention to purchase from a couple of clients already without even putting these properties on the open market.

In one way we are buying wholesale, due to the quantity bought, and then selling them as retail individually. This deal requires a £700,000 investment; the potential gain on this deal will be in excess of £1m within a 4-month period.

Of course one should be prepared for the worst. In this case the worst will be we will require 50% of the total funds on the assumption we can get funding for the other 50%. This comes to £3.5m, split amongst two parties this comes to £1.75m.

The investor will need to have £350k immediately with access to another £1.45m after a 4 month period. It is very unlikely you will need the full amount as at the very least a few properties from the block should have been sold, if not all. It is always prudent to prepare for the worst case scenario.

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

0207 313 4595 Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Tips of the Week l Even when buying a bad property in Central London you are unlikely to go wrong in terms of rentals and resell, apply the same to other parts of London and you might not be so lucky l You should think about the funding properly when considering a property requiring work, BTL funding may not always work as this is based on a property which is ready to Let

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financial VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

The First Golden Rule of Good Investing

The First Golden Rule of Good Investing

Mr Justin Urquhart Stewart If you are planning to invest – don’t! Invest in planning. It may sound trite but from personal experience I can clearly say that it’s true. Before you part with a single pound, sit down quietly and do some clear thinking as to what you to want to achieve, as well as how and when. After all, none of us would set up a business without a business plan, so why wouldn’t the same apply to your private life as well. In fact the only thing that most of us actually plan is our holiday, and the rest we leave to good fortune – if we are lucky.

All too often good investing can get easily mixed up with having an exciting but risky punt, whether on the horses, the casino or the stock market. Placing a bet is a very different issue to investing, where the aim is to achive a measured rate of return, whether via income or capital growth, in order to satisfy a given goal. Unfortunately because the authorities deem it not necessary to teach to us about finance, it is something we have to pick up by trial and error, and often painful errors at that.

For those of us who are lucky enough to come from traditional generational families, such planning is more logical and often quite normal. Sadly though for the next generation, they have been encouraged to try and do it all themselves. Laudable in effort but ludicrously difficult on your own.

A family has far greater wealth than the individual, and thus deploying the strength of the family for better investment, lower borrowing costs and greater tax efficiencies are significant advantages, but no one is going to willingly pool their assets with one family member. What is required is the successful co-ordination demonstrated so often by traditional Swiss family office structures. These days there is absolutely no reason why we can’t do this ourselves for the glorious albeit somewhat “squeezed”, middle class.

It takes little to lay out the needs and goals for a family as you go through the generations. The eldest need provision for health and age care, the next need housing and pension provision, and the youngest need everything from education, including university to business start up support. Each family will be different in size shape and requirements and no one plan fits all, but with some straightforward planning the key needs and returns will become easily apparent.

As individuals we tend to plan, and hence invest, far too late. Just a few years earlier in saving and investing can make a huge difference later on, thanks to the power of compounding. For example if a family had a single sum of £10,000 invested today with an investment return of, say, 7% after costs, after 80 years this would amass to £2,240,000 – proving that you don’t need to buy a ticket to win the lottery, you can earn the lottery in your lifetime. Of course, that also assumes you haven’t saved anything else in the meantime.

Just think what our families would look like if we had all adopted such a simple discipline. We would all be free of the incompetency of politicians messing around with the economy, and despite the baying calls of the media that we are all doomed at least your family would know the secret to successful personal and national economies – confidence.

I for one will not be relying upon an unreliable State for my family’s future, but I will be, (and have been) planning for whatever “slings and arrows of misfortune” are hurled at my family through some thorough financial planning.

Seven Investment Management 125 Old Broad Street London EC2N 1AR Tel: 020 7760 8777

During visit to Nebraska, in 2005, the then President George Bush met said to a divorced mother of three, "You work three jobs? …

Uniquely American, isn't it?

I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." I’m not sure that what he said was what he actually meant, but it is clear how it sounds. It is often said that some people love the sound of their own voice.

While this is often used in a sarcastic tone it is in fact something that we should all do more often.

We’ve all been told the think before we speak and this is very important.

However, during the journey from the brain to the mouth things can sometimes be lost in translation. The only way of knowing what actually comes out is to catch the words as they bounce off our ears. It’ not really as dif-

Listen to Yourself

ficult as it looks, or sounds if you are reading this aloud.

What it does do is it allows us to correct ourselves if we have said something which doesn’t sound like what we thought it would.

George. W Bush was famous for such gaffe’s, if you search on the internet for ‘Bushism’s’ you will see what I mean. On many occasions it was just a slip of the tongue, which is acceptable as we all do that. But when you are the President of the most powerful country on the planet and you say to a group of Journalists, "Should the Iranian regime do they have the sovereign right to have civilian nuclear power? So, like, if I were you, that's what I'd ask me.

And the answer is, yes, they do." (Bush, 2008). It can have far reaching implica-

tions. Imagine what the Israelis made of that!

It is also important to know your facts and whom you are speaking to, so you don’t address the Italian Prime Minister in Spanish and call him, "Amigo!

Amigo!" (Bush calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the G-8 Summit in 2008).

These are just a few examples of the types of things that can come out of our mouths when don’t think, know or listen to what we are actually saying. Mitt Romney would have done well to have spent some time with George Bush to get some tips. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been caught saying that his party didn’t need to focus on the 47% of American voters who will

By Amit Patel

never vote for him. Such errors can be terminal to one’s credibility. One tip we should all take from exPresident Bush, "People say, well, do you ever hear any other voices other than, like, a few people? Of course I do." (Bush, 2008) Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field of Personal Development and Human Resource Management. He provides consultancy services on Leadership, People Management and Development. To contact Amit, email amitpatelmail @gmail.com

Virgin Atlantic re-enters Mumbai

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

Deprivation of Citizenship: Is it fair?

Unusually for me, I found myself agreeing with the sentiments expressed in the Daily Mail, about an article on deprivation of citizenship of a Somali national who it appears may have been lured out of the UK because he refused to co-operate with M15 and whilst out was deprived of his citizenship and is currently detained somewhere in Africa. The thrust of this report was of draconian measures that have gone unchecked. As a result of the terrorist challenges we have faced since 9/11 we have undoubtedly accepted these laws blindly as a necessary consequence.

Until 2003 a person could only be deprived of citizenship on the basis of fraud, false representation or concealment of a material fact.

Following 9/11 David Blunkett introduced the “Hamza amendment” which provided for deprivation if satisfied that the person had done something prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK. It was not clear what conduct this covered as no cases were decided on this. Hamza won his case on the basis that if he was deprived of citizenship he would become stateless and so the matter was dropped there.

Initially there was a right of appeal in country against deprivation and the decision could only be made once these rights were exhausted. However in 2004, without any notice or debate the section on retaining British citizenship whilst the right of appeal was pending was removed.

The effect of this was drastic. A person could now lose their right to be a British citizen whether or not a right of appeal was exercised. For those in the UK already deprivation and deportation would be served at the same time and an applicant would obtain a right of appeal against deportation. The problem is what happens when a person is outside the UK. The worrying trend seems to be that the Secretary of State waits for a person to leave the country and action is then taken to deprive the person of citizenship.

Notices informing the applicant are sent to a person’s last known address.

Astonishingly, there is no requirement under nationality law (although there is under immigration law) to serve these by recorded delivery. Once the order is served warning notices are sent out to the ports which prevent the person’s return.

By the time a person discovers what has

happened appeal rights have long passed.

By 2006 the test was widened and made much more subjective. A person could now be deprived of citizenship if satisfied that it is “conducive to the public good”. In an excellent article written by an experienced barrister in this field, Amanda Weston, she expresses concern about the fact that extremism would be grounds for deprivation and argues that “one person’s extremism is another person’s adherence. It is difficult to know, without a definition where one ends and another begins and who gets to judge” Even where a right of appeal is exercised abroad an applicant is not allowed to be present at the appeal to give their side of the story and because there is a closed procedure which prevents the applicant from seeing the evidence presented the case is stacked against them from the start.

The irony is that those who have a lesser status, ie indefinite leave or any other temporary status have the safeguards of a right of appeal before an independent body whilst British citizens do not.

An eminent lawyer Nicholas Blake QC, now a High Court Judge expressed severe reservations about the changes but as a result of the political climate no one was ready to take this on board. Ms Weston argued that one way of restoring the rule of law was to look to the European Court of Justice for a solution.

A recent case before the Court of Appeal challenged the absence of an in-country right of appeal which was argued violated a right to an effective remedy and the right not to be discriminated under EU law.

The case was lost on the grounds that it was a domestic case with no exercise of any right conferred by EU law. It appeared that the Court primarily did not want to interfere in issues that involve nationality as this is a matter for each Member State.

In the meantime these draconian provisions continue to blight the essential principle of the rule of law. As a democracy we should be concerned about these developments.

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.

Richard Branson-promoted Virgin Atlantic, has relaunched its MumbaiLondon flight from Sunday after a three-year gap. It said it would fly to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Goa as and when it gets the approvals.

“We are planning to apply for flying rights to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Goa,” Virgin Atlantic president Richard Branson told reporters after announcing the re-introduction of Mumbai services.

Richard Branson in Mumbai

However, he also noted that “it maybe difficult to get slots at the Heathrow airport.”

Virgin Atlantic, which had closed Mumbai operations three years ago, but continued to fly to New Delhi, lauched its Mumbai services from October 28 with a wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft.

“We are delighted to be back in Mumbai. Virgin would not only connect Mumbai to London, but its daily flights also offer seamless connectivity from London to New York, Boston, Miami and Washington and Chicago, with only a couple of hours of stop-over,” Mr Branson said.

The airline has invested 300 million pounds in aircraft products and the re-launch of the Mumbai operations will create 140 jobs in both India and Britain, he said.

On the recent policy enabling allowing the overseas carriers to invest up to 49 per cent in the domestic carriers, Mr. Branson said despite policy change, the investment climate is still not conducive.

financial VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

21

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

Frustration emanates through uncertainty Last week sterling appreciated against many of its counterparts as positive growth data dimmed speculation regarding a further Bank of England easing programme.

We saw GDP growth extend well beyond analysts’ expectations, reaching 1% for Q3.

Though the figures are supported by the positive impact of the summer Olympics, the improvements seen were enough to justify weekly gains versus both the dollar and euro.

In Europe the image is starker. Tuesday brought with it a host of bad manufacturing data, whilst Spanish unemployment reached 25% later in the week.

Previously bad news in the region has prompted euro strength, indicating that a Spanish bailout would become a necessity. This time, thanks to success in regional elections, conditions suggest Rajoy wants to continue sovereign financing without requesting external aid, causing weakness in the shared currency.

Spain’s reluctance to accept bailout funds can be derived from the troubles in Greece at the moment. Having requested

help, Greece’s government has relinquished an element of power to the troika, who insist on socially unpopular levels of austerity before releasing tranches of money.

Having received two tranches already, negotiations for a third have broken down. The troubled Mediterranean nation is having difficulty making further cuts in order to qualify for the next round; resultantly officials appear to be at an impasse.

Uncertainty in the markets typically causes risk aversion for non-safe haven currencies.

On the other hand, despite the negative connotations associated with uncertainty, it can actually prompt action. As frustration mounts, so does the pressure to respond. Any indications that a plan is forming to find a solution could return belief to the markets, though for now confidence is low and this has been reflected in the euro’s decline.

Japan, attempting to re-energise its economy, has been leaning ever closer to more quantitative easing. This week the Bank of Japan is expected to announce new levels of stimulus, designed

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 30th October 2012 @ 3.30pm GBP - INR = 86.78 USD - INR = 53.96 EUR - INR = 69.94 GBP - USD = 1.61 GBP - EUR = 1.24 EUR - USD = 1.30 GBP - AED = 5.91 GBP - CAD = 1.61 GBP - NZD = 1.96 GBP - AUD = 1.55

to aid its struggling export levels.

Whilst in the US, as storms prepare to batter the East coast and the presidential election enters into the finishing straight, the economy is exhibiting signs of its consistent, though unspectacular, recovery.

The extent of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy could total as much as $6bn. The NYSE and numerous Wall St. banks closed their doors on Monday, whilst there are fears

0 8 0 8

$ 0 4 5

that if the storms rock oil tankers, equities could tumble as a result. Regarded as a safe haven economy, negative news in the US could actually strengthen the currency and create an aversion to those which exhibit greater risk. If this holds true, dollar strength and euro weakness may be apparent, but the delicately balanced sentiment in the markets means that just one meaningful announcement can change investors’ outlook in an instant.

GBP - ZAR = 13.88 GBP - HUF = 352.39

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.

PX XJ S F U S B OT G FS

G FFT

B OE OP IJ EEFO D PT U T

22

PakiStan-BangladESH-Sri lanka

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Pak Parliament may be dissolved in January; elections to be held by April Islamabad: Pakistan's Parliament is likely to be dissolved in January 2013 and a caretaker government installed to oversee elections to be held by April.

Speculation has increased in political circles about the government preparing a preliminary roadmap for the next general election, which is scheduled for early 2012.

The National Assembly or lower house of Parliament is likely to be dissolved on January 16 or 17, The News daily quoted its sources as saying. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf would make a final decision about installing a caretaker government, dissolving the national and provincial assemblies

and the holding of the general election after consulting partners in the ruling coalition.

If the National Assembly is dissolved in January, the constitutional limit for holding polls will be 90 days. At the same time, the Constitution states that polls

must be held within 60 days of the completion of the tenure of the current Parliament.

VideoPhotoGallery. The National Assembly or lower house of Parliament is likely to be dissolved on January 16 or 17. The current National Assembly will complete its

tenure on March 16 and the general election may be held

by April 26, the report said.

As the polls get closer, political "wheeling and dealing" has gathered pace and new political alliances may be forged before the election, the report said. However, it would be a landmark for the country as a democratic government will complete its tenure for the first time and credit for this achievement is being given to the political strategy of President Zardari, sources said. Some sources claimed the 2013 election would be surprising like the last polls to the Senate or upper house of Parliament, in which the ruling Pakistan People's Party emerged stronger than before.

EU parliament slams Pak for Hindu trader killed by 'grave' human rights abuses unidentified men in Pak's Sindh

Strasbourg: The E u r o p e a n Parliament has slammed Pakistan for its "grave human rights abuses" and raised concern over the "pathetic condition" of the girl child in that country as it condemned the Taliban attack on teenage activist Malala Yosufzai.

It also called for a determined effort by the international community to use its moral, financial and military power to stem the rot that "afflicts certain societies where children have become targets of terrorist organizations like the Taliban which continue to have support and sanctuaries in Pakistan".

During a debate organized in the European Parliament on March 26, the members of South Asia Peace Forum ( SAPF) highlighted the pathetic condition of the

Imran Khan taken off US-bound plane in Toronto

Imran Khan

Toronto: Pakistani cricketerturned-politician Imran Khan was taken off a New Yorkbound plane and claimed that he was questioned by American officials about his stance on US drone strikes in Pakistan. Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf party, was questioned for about an hour before he was allowed to travel by the US officials.

"Missed flight and sad to miss the fundraising lunch in NY but nothing will change my stance. Still looking forward to meet family there," Khan said. Khan had intended to hold a demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in protest against the US drone strikes on his country's soil.

girl child in Pakistan.

"The emergency debate specially focused on the discrimination against girls in Pakistan with special reference to Malala Yousafzai.

"The members of the European Parliament spoke at length about the situation of human right abuses," an official statement said. The debate highlighted the attack in Mingora in which the 15year-old Malala was targeted.

"Malala is widely respected for her work to promote the schooling of girls; something that the Taliban strongly oppose and apparently became the reason for the attack," it said.

Islamabad: A Hindu trader was killed in Pakistan's southern Sindh province during the Eid holidays, triggering protests by the minority community in the Hyderabad region.

Trader Dhayan Chand Bhagri was killed early in the morning on Saturday while he was returning home after selling cattle in the livestock market at Latifabad, his father Sobho Bhagri told the media.

The unidentified killers escaped with Rs 720,000 that Dhayan Chand had earned after selling his cattle, his father said. Members of the Hindu community protested outside the press club in Hyderabad city and demanded the arrest of those who killed the trader.

The protestors were led

by the parents of Dhayan Chand and representatives of various political parties.

The protesters shouted slogans and criticised police for not arresting the killers.

They appealed to the Sindh chief minister to take notice of the incident and direct police to arrest the killers.

Police officials in Latifabad said they had lodged an FIR on the basis of a complaint by Sobho Bhagri.

Two unidentified persons were named in the FIR, they said.

Pervez Musharraf to contest general elections from Chitral

Islamabad: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, who is a "proclaimed offender" in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, announced that he will contest the upcoming general elections from Chitral, a constituency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Musharraf, 69, made the announcement while addressing the elders of Chitral via a video-link from Dubai, the Express Tribune reported.

The former president who ruled Pakistan between 1999 and 2008 had formed a party called the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and had vowed to end his selfexile to contest the elections in the country.

However, with only months to go to the general elections, he is yet to return to the country on account of security concerns. APML secretary general Barrister Saif said the former president

Pervez Musharraf

had rendered great services to the people of Chitral, and development projects had been initiated during his tenure.

Saif said the people of Chitral had invited the former president to contest the forthcoming election from their area.

The former president was declared a "proclaimed offender" by a trial court hearing the Benazir Bhutto

assassination case and a red warrant has also been issued to Interpol for his arrest.

Reports last month had said that Musharraf is keen to return to Pakistan from selfexile when an interim government headed by a "neutral" Prime Minister is formed ahead of the general election scheduled for early next year.

Musharraf's party sources had then said that he has started contacting friends in the powerful army and in political circles to assess the possibility of his homecoming under a caretaker set-up.

Musharraf, who has been living in London and Dubai since early 2009, dropped plans to return to Pakistan earlier this year after the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government warned he would be arrested on arrival as a court had issued a non-bailable warrant for him in connection with the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

In Focus Pak MPs to visit militancy-hit Waziristan on Kayani's invitation Islamabad: A Pakistani parliamentary panel is set to visit the restive, militancy-hit tribal area of Waziristan the first visit by Ashfaq Parvez Kayani an official political delegation - on the invitation of Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Senate Standing Committee on Defence, headed by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, will make the trip next month to visit thousands of troops stationed in an area described as the “frontline against extremism.� The invitation comes on the heels of a heated political debate on whether the military should undertake another offensive in militancy-hit areas - particularly North Waziristan.

Flag-waving 'Uncle Pakistan' dies Lahore: After 10 years of whipping up crowds at the elaborate daily ceremony to close Pakistan and India's main land border crossing, the flag-waving star of the Pakistani side of the show has died. Huge crowds gather on both sides of Wagah border post each sunset to see the display of military preening and pageantry, and for a decade Mehr Din, known as Uncle Pakistan, led his compatriots in cheering on their men. Dressed in the vivid green and white of the Pakistani flag, Din, who died aged 90, was as familiar a figure at Wagah, near Lahore. Din sold vegetables before making his regular trips to the flag-lowering ceremony. Eventually the Pakistani Rangers, the Border Security Force, started paying him 14,000 rupees ($150) a month for his services.

Suicide bomber kills 40 at Afghan mosque during Eid Mazar-E-Sharif (Afghanistan): A suicide bomber killed at least 40 people in a mosque in Afghanistan's relatively peaceful north as worshippers gathered for prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. The attack in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, also wounded 40. The suicide bomber detonated explosives when the countrymen were congratulating each other on the Eid holiday. As soon as the police chief got in his vehicle, the bomber detonated his explosives. About 20 bodies, some in police uniform, lay in front of the mosque's gates as smoke billowed above.

Pak govt takes credit for peaceful Eid Islamabad: Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has described it a government's success that no terrorism related incidents occurred in the country on Eid-ulAza festival on Saturday. Malik told media that the closure of mobile services on this occasion helped in preventing terrorists from carrying out attacks, Dawn reported. The minister apologised to the public for the inconvenience caused by closure of mobile phone services on the festive occasion.

Over closure of You Tube in Pakistan, Malik said if the popular video website barred access to anti-Islamic material, there was possibility of the site being reopened in the country.

Pakistan's role important in region, says US envoy Islamabad: New US Ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olsen, has said that Pakistan plays an important role in the region, adding that he is looking forward to strengthen ties between the two countries. "I am honoured to be the new US Ambassador to Pakistan. I am honoured to serve in Pakistan because I understand and respect its important role in the region and the world," The Nation quoted Olsen, as saying in a message released by the US Embassy in Islamabad. "We may not always agree and we may face challenges, but fundamentally we share many common interests and values," he further said.

world 23

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Man pleads guilty of killing Indian woman in Australia

Melbourne: A 21-yearold Australian man has pleaded guilty to murdering a young Indian woman, whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase in a Sydney canal in March 2011. The body of Tosha Thakkar, 24, was found in the suitcase floating in a canal near the Parramatta River at Meadowbank by some construction workers in March 2011. Police say she had been raped and then strangled, a crime which drew a shocked and furious response from the Indian community both in Sydney and overseas.

Burwood local court said that Daniel StaniReginald, who was Thakkar's neighbour, pleaded guilty to the murder.

Over 100 killed in Myanmar sectarian violence

Kyauktaw (Myanmar): The number of people killed in six days of unrest in western Myanmar reached at least 112 as security forces used deadly force to break up the worst sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in years.

The United Nations warned that Myanmar's fledgling democracy could be "irreparably damaged" by the clashes, which come just five months after communal unrest killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in the same region. Ethnic Buddhist Rakhines said that they were shot by security forces struggling to impose order on Rakhine State, where violence with Rohingya Muslims has engulfed several districts.

Pakistani-Indian couple in dock for 'cuddling and kissing’ in Dubai

Dubai: A Pakistani student and her Indian lover, who became friends on Facebook, have been accused of cuddling and kissing each other consensually after he promised to marry her in Dubai.

The student admitted in court that she cuddled and kissed her lover nearly 20 times in his flat. Prosecutors accused the couple, both aged 24, with hugging and kissing consensually without being married.

The Indian boy, who works in customer services, also entered a guilty plea, but denied that he promised to marry her.

Prosecution said that the boy's family reported to police that the girl repeatedly harassed them and kept coming to their flat wanting to coerce their son into marrying her.

Super storm Sandy batters US east coast; 30 killed New York: Super storm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph (130 kph) and hurled a record-breaking 13-foot (4-meter) surge of seawater at New York City, flooding tunnels, highways, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street. At least 30 deaths were blamed on the storm.

Sandy knocked out power on Monday to at least 6.2 million people across the US East, and New York's main utility said large sections of lower Manhattan had been plunged into darkness by the storm.

The superstorm also forced President Barack Obama and Republican nominee to cancel campaign events in the key battleground states, punching holes in both campaigns' carefully mapped out strategies to

make their closing arguments to voters with only a week left before the November election.

Just before its center reached land, Sandy was stripped of its hurricane status, but the distinction was purely technical, based on its shape and internal temperature. It still packed hurricaneforce wind, and forecasters were careful to say it remained every bit as dangerous to the 50 million

people in its path.

The full extent of the storm's damage across the region was unclear, and unlikely to become known until day break. Heavy rain and further flooding remain major threats over the next couple of days as the storm makes its way into Pennsylvania and up into New York State. Near midnight, the center of the storm was just outside Philadelphia, and its winds were down to 75

mph (120 kph), just barely hurricane strength.

"We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "This is a once-in-a-long-time storm." Stock trading was closed in the US for a second day on Tuesday - the first time the New York Stock Exchange will be closed for two consecutive days due to weather since 1888, when a blizzard struck the city.

The National Hurricane Center announced at 8 pm that Sandy had come ashore near Atlantic City. It smacked the boarded-up big cities of the Northeast corridor, from Washington and Baltimore to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, with stinging rain and gusts of more than 85 mph (135 kph). The sea surged a record of nearly 13

feet (4 meters) at the foot of Manhattan, flooding the financial district and subway tunnels.

Sixteen deaths were reported in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Some of the victims were killed by falling trees.

As it made its way toward land, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned into a fearsome super storm, a monstrous hybrid consisting not only of rain and high wind but of snow.

Forecasters warned of 20-foot (6meter) waves bashing into the Chicago lakefront and up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow in West Virginia.

Storm damage was projected at $10 billion to $20 billion, meaning it could prove to be one of the costliest natural disasters in US history.

Obama retakes lead over Romney nationally: Poll Hindus welcome Australia’s plan Washington: President Barack Obama has recaptured a narrow national lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney, getting increased support from women and an edge in early voting.

A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Tracking Poll of 1,000 likely voters shows Obama ahead of Romney by 1 percentage point, 49 percent to 48 percent nationally. Obama leads by eight percentage points among those who have already voted, 53 percent to 45 percent. These early voters represent 15 percent of the electorate, with many more expected to vote in the next few days, though Hurricane Sandy could change that, Politico reports.

The poll found that nearly 60 percent of those who support Obama said that they are “extremely likely” to vote as compared to 73 percent who backed Romney.

Among this group, Romney leads Obama by

"#

Romney & OBama

nine points, 53 percent to 44 percent.

The poll found that the race is, however, neck and neck with 43 percent saying that they will “definitely” vote Romney as compared to 42 percent who said the same for Obama.

According to the poll, Obama leads among women by 11 points, 54 percent to 43 percent.

Men, meanwhile, support Romney over Obama by 12 points, 55 percent to 43 percent.

Obama also has a 50 percent job approval rating nationally, with 51 percent personal favorability rating and 54 percent expecting him to win regardless of whom they are supporting. The poll

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also found that nearly six in 10 disapprove of how the president is handling the budget and spending.

And 56 percent believe the country is on the wrong track — 48 percent strongly so. Romney, however, is favored by 5 points, 51 percent to 46 percent, both on the questions of which candidate will better grow the economy and create more jobs.

to introduce Hindi in schools

Nevada: Hindus have welcomed Australian plans to introduce Hindi in country’s schools as outlined in the recently released “Australia in the Asian Century White Paper”.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, termed this development as a “step in the right direction” for Australia.

This White Paper states: “All Australian students will have the opportunity, and be encouraged, to undertake a continuous course of study in an Asian language throughout their years of schooling. All students will have access to at least one priority Asian language; these will be Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese.”

24

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Victoria Cross for bravery in India to fetch over £100,000

One of the first Victoria Crosses awarded is expected to fetch more than £100,000 when it is sold at auction next month.

Sergeant-Major Peter Gill of the Bengal Army fought off more than two dozen attackers during the Indian Mutiny in 1857, armed only with his sword, saving the life of his commander and other senior officers and their families.

The story of the 25year-old NCO’s heroic action was recorded in The London Gazette, which announced the award of the highest medal for gallantry. The medal had been introduced the previous year at the request of Queen Victoria. The citation read: “This NonCommissioned Officer conducted himself with gallantry at Benares, on the night of the 4th of June, 1857. He volunteered, with SerjeantMajor Rosamond, of the 37th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, to bring in Captain Brown, Pension Paymaster, and his family, from a detached Bungalow

By Rajen Vakil

Markandeya tells the story of Creation

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s claim to fame in Gujarat seems to be Hindutva, but the party’s result in temple towns does not seem to project so.

Since 1990, the party’s best performance came in 2007 in which the party won five out of the eight assembly constituencies which represent these temple towns.

Of the eight constituencies where major temples are located, only Palitana in Bhavnagar district has been with the BJP since 1995. Even Danta which has the famous Ambaji temple has not seen a BJP win since 1998.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi in his recently concluded Vivekanand yatra did try to reach out to the people of this constituency by holding a rally there but only time will tell whether his party will be able to make any inroads during this assembly elections.

Even in 2002 when Hindutva was the only agenda, even then the people of this constituency

The rishi Markandeya continued. “Once the Kaliyuga is over the Satyuga will come again. At the send of Kaliyuga the rains will stop falling in time and famine will be there everywhere.

People will become aggressive and violent. People will be corrupt and will be ruled

by Adharma or falsehood.

People will sell goods with tampered weight scales and traders will find different ways to cheat people. At the very end of the Kaliyuga people who follow the path of Dharma will live very short lives in suffering and poverty and those who cheat and are violent and follow Adharma will live long lives full of prosperity.

The control of money and power will come into the hands of an evil few. They will cheat people by first winning there trust, taking their money and then deceiving them. A whole group of new traders will be formed whose only objective is to cheat people.”

“Wild man eating animals will enter the cities.

They will occupy people’s houses, guesthouses and places of worship. These will be times when eight year old girls will give birth

to the Barracks and saved the life of the Quartermaster-Sergeant of the 25th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, in the early part of the evening, by cutting off the head of the Sepoy who had just bayoneted him.

“On the same night he faced a Guard of 27 men, with only a Serjeant’s sword; and it is also represented that he twice saved the life of Major Barrett, 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry.” SergeantMajor Gill, who was born in Dublin in 1816 and trained as a tailor, was the first non-commissioned

officer of the Indian Army to win the VC. He was killed in action in 1868.

Oliver Pepys, a specialist at Spink, which is selling the medal, said: “Early VCs all have an interesting story but this is an incredible example of gallantry.

There is always a lot of interest when a Victoria Cross emerges and the estimate is conservative. It gives us great historical insight into the period and the outstanding acts of courage and single-handed gallantry during the mutiny.” The medal is being sold in London on November 22.

rejected the BJP. “It is not the religion on the basis of which the party fights in these areas,’’ said BJP spokesperson Vijay Rupani. He said that there were several factors like local equations and caste equations which matter.

He said that it was ultimately the candidate who matter the most for a victory in the elections.

Agreeing with Rupani, party leaders said that one such example was BJP MLA Mahendra Mashru, who joined BJP in 1998 and has been winning the elections from Junagadh which is also known for the religious seat of Girnar. “Mashru has been winning since then and has a large following as well, here religion has got nothing to do with his victory,’’ said a senior BJP leader. Citing another such

example where candidate matters more than the party is that of Prabhuda Manek who was elected from Dwarka as an independent, won the same seat in 2002 after switching over to the Congress and won even in 2007 after having joined BJP. Though the BJP and Modi himself has been focusing on areas like Somnath and Dwarka but the party blames the loss on the large number of minority voters for which they have not been able to swing it in their favour. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “These religious towns have not seen religious polarisation, the BJP did try to win these constituencies but the voters rejected the Hindutva card of the BJP.” Some of the religious towns in Gujarat apart from Ambaji and Dwarka and Somnath where the BJP is trying to make inroads include Dakore, the Chakaso constituency and Chotila where the Congress has been winning since 2007.

Days after an FIR was registered against Gujarat Congress MP Vitthal Radadiya for pulling out a gun at a toll plaza in Vadodara, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday made some strong observation against him while hearing on the petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him.

"It's very unfortunate that a person with a special stature of MP, a lawmaker, behaves in such a way," Justice RH Shukla said. The judge went on to say, "Just because you have a licensed weapon it does not mean that you will brandish it in public." He also said that Radidya should be willing to face an inquiry.

The MP, it may be recalled had refused to

Surendranagar and Ahmedabad districts. The meeting is being attended by the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national vice president Purushottam Rupala, BJP national organizational secretary V Satish, and former Gujarat MoS home Amit Shah apart from other senior leaders of the state.

BJP is facing a problem of plenty in selection of its

candidate as more than 2,500 candidates are vying for party tickets for 182 seats. What has made things little trickier for the selectors is the fact that many of these contenders are serious candidates.

BJP leaders maintain that balancing caste equations and ensuring that the selection process does not lead to benefit the newly found GPP will indeed be

a daunting task. Narendra Modi on his part has so far been successful in balancing anti-incumbency with his no repeat formula and it is expected that a large number of the sitting MLAs may not be repeated this time around. “It is largely the imprint of the MLA among his electorate and winability that would finally seal their fates,” said a BJP leader.

BJP fails to make inroads in temple towns

By AV Correspondent

In divine light

Gujarat BJP has initiated the final phase for selection of its candidates for the ensuing assembly elections.

The Parliamentary Board started its five days meeting near Gandhinagar on Tuesday and is scheduled to deliberate on at least 29 seats spread across Bharuch, Navsari, Dang, Valsad, Tapi,

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

Court comes down heavily on Congress MP

By AV Correspondent

BJP begins candidate selection process

By AV Correspondent

to children. Young children will act and behave like old people and old people will become immature and childish. The nature of women will change dramatically. They will leave their strong and powerful husbands and find union with men of lower castes and even with animals.

Once this Kaliyuga is over there will be heavy rain for a number of years. Entire species of animals and plants will be wiped out completely.”

“Then seven great suns will be formed and they will drink up all the water of the oceans. All plants and trees will dry up complete-

ly because the great Adityas (Suns) have dried the waters. The wind and fire will wreak havoc on the earth. The fire will penetrate the core of the earth and the invisible beings like the gods and demons will also shiver in fear. The fires will burn all the underworld kingdoms of the Nagas or snakes. Soon everything will be reduced to ashes.

Once all life has been reduced to ashes then the seasons will change. Great streaks of lightning will light up the sky. The skies will be full of beautiful clouds of different shapes and colours. Some clouds will be black, some white, some saffron and some golden yellow. These clouds will create tremendous sounds as if shattering the earth and the skies.

It will rain as never before and soon the whole earth would be drowned in water. The clouds will act according to the will of the creator Brahma and nothing but water will be seen everywhere.”

To be continued...

Vitthal Radadiya

apologise for pulling a gun on the toll booth attendant who wanted to see his ID as MPs are exempted from paying toll. The attendant wanted to verify his documents before letting his car pass. Radadiya said that he was incensed after the staff at the toll plaza called him "a bogus MP." He also insists that he felt endangered because 15 security guards were surrounding him - a claim not corroborated by security cameras. An FIR filed against Radadiya by the toll plaza manager, Ajaysinh Thakore, accused him of life threats and rioting.

While Thakore's advocate made a U-turn in court and did not insist on pressing charges, the BJP government said it would pursue the case as Radadia's conduct was "unbecoming" of a public servant. The case will next be heard on November 5.

Daughter alleges corrupt practices by her MLA father

Leaving the Gujarat BJP red faced, a 34- year -old daughter has filed an affidavit against her father, a ruling MLA from Saurashtra region alleging that he was corrupt.

An MBA graduate, Rita Virani has filed an affidavit in a Surat court alleging that her father, Kalubhai Virani, sitting MLA from Savarkundla in Saurashtra had amassed over Rs 9 billion ill gotten money and had made several benami investments. She has further alleged that her father had stashed black money in Swiss and Kiwi banks and also had investments in hotel industry in Singapore.

Rita Virani

She has also made some remarks on her father's past alleging that he had allegedly murdered her step mother. Rita has further asked the BJP to deny a ticket to her father failing which she has threatened to campaign against her father. The BJP has refused to react stating it was family's internal matter while the fathers side have alleged that the girl was being used by his political opponents.

By AV Correspondent

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

25

In Focus

RSS distances itself from Gadkari controversy

Bees delay Dubai flight by 45 minutes at Mangalore airport

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday distanced itself from the controversial “corporate” affairs of Nitin Gadkari, denting the BJP chief’s hopes of unstinted support from Nagpur-based Sangh bosses and escalating speculation about his prospect of getting a second term.

A defiant Gadkari, however, told his colleagues in a late night meeting that he doesn’t intend to quit. The BJP chief who seemed unfazed by the storm building around him, also said that he would be going to campaign in Himachal.

Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar claimed after the meeting that BJP leaders had unanimously decided to back him in view of his decision to offer himself for a probe.

Gadkari seems to have dug in his heels. In the meeting with his colleagues, he accused the media of hostility and said the party, instead of getting distracted by techni-

Bees at the Mangalore airport delayed the takeoff of a Dubai flight by 45 minutes.

Sources said ground staff detected the presence of honeybees near the tip of the Air India Express aircraft wing during a predeparture check. The aircraft had arrived from Dubai and parked on the apron overnight for 14 hours. During this time, a swarm of bees built a hive there. The AIE authorities got the hive removed from the aircraft wing before giving the green light for the takeoff. Technical delays further extended the departure time. The 11.45am aircraft finally took off at 12.30pm.

Begum Khaleda Zia meets Manmohan Singh

Former Bangladesh prime minister and leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The meeting was cordial and for thirty minutes. Both leaders discussed a variety of issues, including bilateral matters. Begum Zia, was appreciative of various Indian initiatives, including efforts to liberalise trade and to provide power. She also expressed satisfaction over India working out issues related to the Tipaimukh Dam and on border management, including deaths on the border.

Both the leaders felt that terrorism is a an issue of great concern and agreed to continue cooperation on terrorism and insurgent groups. PM Singh said that India was willing to discuss all issues of importance to Bangladesh.

Child artist killed during TV show shoot in AP

Another example of negligence during shootings of TV shows came to light when a child artist died on the sets of a TV show.

Reports confirm that a five-year-old boy was rushed to death during the shooting of a television serial in Andhra Pradesh. A girl child too is reported to have suffered serious injuries. Both children were acting in the same show. As per the producer of the show, the incident took place when a female actor driving a car, accidentally ran over the children. The police are investigating whether she had a valid driver`s licence.

The accident took place in the Medak district of the state.

Clashes in UP over idol immersions, nine injured Nine people, including two policemen, were injured in violence that broke out during the immersion of Durga idols in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad and Barabanki areas. The routes of the idol processions were changed and the immersion completed. Principal Secretary (Home) R.M. Srivastava said "the situation was under control now".

Prohibitory orders were imposed in Faizabad, about 120 km from here, and the situation in the twin town of Ayodhya was being watched closely.Schools, colleges and other educational institutions were closed till further orders. Temples in Faizabad did not open either.Curfew was imposed in Faizabad's Kotwali area - the first time in 20 years.

Engineer repatriated from Pakistan after seven years Pakistani authorities repatriated a 32-yearold Mumbai software engineer, who had accidently boarded Pakistan-bound Samjautha Express from Amritsar and was arrested upon his arrival in Lahore seven years back. Bhavesh Parmar was depressed and had lost his father to cancer days before he ended up on the train to Pakistan. He was forced to resign from a multinational company in Mumbai as he was refused leave when his father was diagnosed with cancer.The 32-year-oldsaid he had fainted before reaching Pakistan after mistakenly boarding the Samjhauta Express. He said he had been writing letters to his mother and that he was treated well in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. His mother, Hansa, who was crying constantly on meeting her son, said, “These tears are of happiness. I have finally got my son back.

Mamata painting auctioned in NY Purple flowers on a bed of green leaves in acrylic and oil on canvas by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been auctioned in New York for $3000, her first painting to be sold abroad. With a reserved price of $ 2500, five bids were made before the painting titled ‘Flower Power’ was sold at $3000 to Sundaram Tagore Gallery, a spokesperson of the US-based NGO Children’s Hope India which auctioned the painting to raise funds for the welfare of underprivileged children in India, said.

The auction was held at a gala event in New York City to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the NGO. Founded in 1992 by a group of Indian American women professionals, Children’s Hope India sponsors health, education and vocational programmes for thousands of children in India.

Among other items, a cricket bat with the signature of Team India members including M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar was auctioned for $15,000.

L.K.Advani with Nitin Gadkari

cal details about the business practices of Purti group that he founded, should prepare for a political battle. “It is the party which is the target,” sources quoted him as saying.

In a statement earlier on Friday, RSS’s deputy chief Bhaiyyaji Joshi regretted what he called the efforts to drag Sangh’s name into the allegations of “corporate affairs of some political leaders”, and asserted that “everyone in the country knows that Sangh has nothing to do with any of these allegations”. Joshi further said, “It has been an article of

faith with RSS that any individual or organization indulging in any illegal activity must be subjected to impartial probe and all those found guilty be punished.”

Joshi did stress that “some of the allegations have been leveled by sections of media only and an authorized agency is yet to look into those allegations”, and even regretted the politicization of the matter.

But on balance, the statement seemed designed to scotch the perception of Sangh’s unwavering support to the beleaguered BJP chief despite the growing contro-

versy about his business practices. It differed sharply from the Sangh’s initial response on Gadkari’s business affairs when its spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya spoke of “trial by media”.

Advani backs Gadkari: The rank and file of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was somewhat left in a state of confusion after senior party leader L.K.Advani came out strongly in support of Gadkari, and rejected all allegations of corruption against the latter.

Advani claimed there was a "conspiracy" against Gadkari, and that it was aimed at "deflecting attention" from the graft charges confronting the UPA Government.

There are some in the BJP who feel that the allegations against Gadkari, viz-a-vis the activities of his Purti Group, will dent the main opposition party's image in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.

Gadkari has refused to answer any questions on the controversy.

Ahmedabad students to make ‘space call’ to Sunita Williams

Amid Diwali fireworks, a group of students in Gujarat will reach out to the stars.

For the first time in India, about 500 students will have a live chat with Sunita Williams, the Indian-origin astronaut aboard International Space Station, through Ham radio set-up at Science City in Ahmedabad.

"We have got a go-ahead from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to organise the talk between November 12 and 16. We are trying to hold the event on November 14, celebrated as Children's Day in India. It is a great opportunity for the students as they would be talking to Williams in space.

As she has roots in Gujarat, it is all the more special for us," said Ravi Saxena, additional chief secretary, department of science and technology. The scientific community from the state contacted Nasa soon after Williams set off for her record-breaking journey in July this year.

Williams, who is also the

commander for expedition 33, holds records for the longest space flight time for a female astronaut, record number of spacewalks by a female and most spacewalk time by a female. She will end her four-month space odyssey later next month.

Narottam Sahoo, senior scientist at the Science City, said the Ham radio, also known as amateur radio is frequently used for the spaceto-earth communication and in the past, many of the astronauts stationed at ISS have had talks with students narrating their experiences and answering queries through

the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS).

The goal of ARISS is to get students interested in mathematics and science by allowing them to talk directly with the crews living and working aboard the station, according to Nasa website.

Williams, an avid Ham radio operator, has talked to a number of groups from around the world during both her space travels. Since its installation on ISS, the astronauts have held more than 600 conversations through ARISS. It will be the first for India, claim organizers.

Prince Charles, Camilla in Bangalore for holistic healing

Endorsing Bangalore's credentials as a major global healthcare hub, British royal couple Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive there on Saturday for a week-long holistic healing session.

They'll check into Dr Issac Mathai' s Soukya Holistic Health Centre in Whitefield. Soukya practises different systems of medicine like ayurveda, naturopathy, homoeopathy, yoga and other therapies on a 30-acre organic farm. The couple will undergo several ayurveda and naturopathy procedures like yoga, mud therapy and hydro-therapy and will be on a South Indian vegetarian organic diet.

A presidential suite has been readied for them. Dr

Mathai has been a health adviser for the royal family for the past two years. A Scotland Yard team came to Bangalore last week for a recce as part of security preparations.

The Duchess came to

Whitefield in September 2010 for rejuvenation when Prince Charles was in India to inaugurate the Commonwealth Games. Soukya is a global model for holistic and integrated medicine where guests

and patients from over 70 countries come for treatment.

The royals' association with integrated medicine and Bangalore began after Prince Charles, as founder of the Royal College of Integrated Medicine, London, met Dr Mathai last year to collaborate with Soukya. The collaboration included clinical training to European and Western doctors in ayurveda and homoeopathy and traditional forms of medicine to integrate them in their practice.

The foundation stone for the extended campus of the Royal College known as the International Institution for Holistic and Integrated Medicine was laid by Dr Michael Dixon in 2011 in collaboration with the Royal College of Medicine.

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INDIA - World

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Zee, Naveen Jindal trade defamation charges Zee News said it has sent a `1.50 billion defamation notice to Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal, who too had filed a Rs 2 billion case against the media conglomerate claiming the TV channel had tried to extort money from his company.

"Zee News has granted a three-day time period to Mr. Naveen Jindal to withdraw all his unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations against Zee News, failing which Mr Jindal would face civil and criminal actions initiated by Zee News," the media

Naveen Jindal

house said in a statement.

At a press conference on October 25, Jindal, who is the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) had claimed that the Zee News group attempted to "extort" `1

billion from the firm for not airing stories against it on coal block allocation.

Jindal had released a CD claiming that it has records of attempts by Zee editors to strike a purported deal with JSPL. JSPL had filed a defamation suit for `2 billion against four executives of Zee at Mumbai High Court.

"Notices for which have already been issued to Subhash Chandra, Puneet Goenka, Sudhir Chaudhary and Sameer Ahluwalia of Zee News and Zee Business. The case is likely to come for

hearing next week at Mumbai High Court," the company said. However, Jindal's charges were strongly denied by the Zee group. "Zee News has condemned and completely rejected the doctored evidence produced by Jindal.

At a press conference Jindal showed some video footage of a 'sting operation' where Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary and his colleague Samir Ahluwalia, alleged demanded `1 billion worth advertising for a period of five years from Jindal Steel and Power Ltd representatives.

I have no energy left, support Uddhav and Aditya, Bal Thackeray tells Sainiks Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has made a passionate plea to his countless followers to accept his son Uddhav and grandson Aditya as their leaders, in a clear indication that he was ready to hang up his boots because of his frail health. "You stood by me all these years. Now, you should back Uddhav and Aditya,'' Thackeray said.

Bal Thackeray recorded message was played at the party's annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park grounds. "I have not imposed Uddhav-Aditya on you. They are my natural successors and you have accepted them.'' The Sena patriarch expressed concern about the split in Marathi votes because of the Sena and the MNS contesting against each other. "It's time for intro-

Bal Thackeray

spection. Marathis should come together to throw out the Congress party.''

"My health is failing. I become breathless while talking. The days when I used to address five to six public meetings every day and travel extensively across Maharashtra for poll campaign are gone...I was keen to meet you today and address the Dussehra conclave. But I have no energy left in me,'' said the Sena supremo who will turn 86 years old next January. In his 15-minute address,

Thackeray exhorted Shiv Sainiks to keep intact their 'imaan' (integrity). "Be true to the party, to the party's philosophy. Don't sell your vote. If someone comes to buy your vote during polls, tell him with pride that your vote is not a purchasable commodity,'' Thackeray stated. The Sena supremo asked Shiv Sainiks to get rid of the Gandhi-Nehru family in the next elections. "Show the door to the NehruGandhi quintet. Throw them out. Unless you do that, India will not be in good shape,'' he said. The Sena chief lambasted NCP chief Sharad Pawar for his involvement in the controversial Lavasa project.

Defying the Bombay high court order, the Shiv Sena for the third successive year went ahead and

used loudspeakers for its Dussehra rally. While Sena chief Bal Thackeray was the softest at 63db going up to 81, his son and Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray started at 66db and he too went up to 81 db. Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam was the loudest at 88db. Shivaji Park has been declared a silence zone and while allowing the Sena to hold its last rally this year, the court had reiterated that it must use the distributed sound system so as not to disturb the neighbourhood. From next year onwards, it has been asked to hold its rally at the MMRDA grounds, Bandra.

A resident said the Sena had taken care to keep the noise low. "Compared to last year, it was much more peaceful," he said.

UK keen to learn Gujarat govt’s e-governance initiative With the British government reviewing its stand on Gujarat, the UK is seeking further opportunities to collaborate with the state.

An e-governance programme by Gujarat government has generated interest from UK’s medical regulatory body.

The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) is all set to impart training on the state’s regulatory mechanism to Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK.

The state government’s self-licensing software called the Xtended Licensing and Laboratory Note (XLN), developed and adopted by FDCA, has bagged the Prime Minster’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration.

FDCA regulates sales and manufacturing aspects of drugs, food and cosmetics and issues licenses through this software. H G Koshia, commissioner, FDCA who pioneered the e-governance programme, said, “MHRA has sought collaboration on

various fronts. The officials are impressed with the online licensing initiative and want to adopt the same.” FDCA and MHRA will sign an agreement for training, sharing knowledge and joint inspection this month once the central government issues clearance.

The software enables regulators to put a check on the activities of various stakeholders in Gujarat to ensure public safety. It also enables the registration of all the pharmacists and chemists, which prevents

multiple illegal enrolment of pharmacists. Through the software, FDCA can effectively recall any drug, which is below the required standards. Drug regulators from across India — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal — have shown interest in the self-licensing software developed and adopted

by FDCA. Gujarat is also the first state to have started an SMS alert system for spurious drugs last year.

Manmohan Singh reshuffles cabinet; inducts 22 ministers Continued from page 1 Harish Rawat was made water resources minister and Chandresh Kumari Katoch, who belongs to an erstwhile royal family in Rajasthan, is union culture minister. Ajay Maken was elevated as housing and poverty alleviation minister and Dinsha Patel as mines minister.

S. Jaipal Reddy got science and technology and Kamal Nath got additional charge of parliamentary affairs besides urban development. Amongst the ministers of state sworn in were Congress spokesperson

Manish Tewari who got independent charge of information and broadcasting.

Earlier with Ambika Soni, the ministry has been downgraded.

Telugu actor Chiranjeevi, whose Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) merged with the Congress, got independent charge of the tourism ministry. Tourism is one of the country's major foreign exchange earners.

The largest contingent of four ministers is from Andhra Pradesh - Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Sarve Satyanarayana, Porika Balram Naik and Killi Kruparani. Three are

from West Bengal: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury and Deepa Dasmunsi.

Two are from the northeast: Ranee Narah (Assam) and Ninong Ering (Arunachal Pradesh).Kerala has two ministers: Shahsi Tharoor and Kodikunnil Suresh. Maharashtra and Rajasthan have one minister each: Tariq Anwar and Lalchand Kataria.

With the exception of Tariq Anwar, who is from the NCP, the other 14 belong to the Congress.

Ahead of the reshuffle, S.M. Krishna quit as external affairs minister,

Ambika Soni stepped down as information and broadcasting minister, Subodh Kant Sahai resigned as tourism minister and Mukul Wasnik as social justice and empowerment minister.

The ministers of state who quit were Vincent Pala (water resources), Agatha Sangma (rural development) and Mahadeo Singh Khandela (tribal affairs).

The reshuffle comes at a time when the UPA government is buffeted by allegations of corruption and comes ahead of the winter session of parliament to be held November-December.

Political Sketchbook www.PoliticalAnimal.me

Alpesh Patel’s Can Indian Thought Save the World?

‘Can Indian thought solve the world’s problems?’

This is the title to my panel discussion on Sunday at the South Asian Literature Festival. And by Indian I of course mean Vedic. So can it?

‘It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.’ Said the historian Toynbee.

So those that believe are clearly many in number.

I don’t mean the growth in Yoga and meditation as those in finance look for peace from the feeling of emptiness that only wealth brings, or that had we been detached from reward, there would not ever have been a credit crunch.

And for all the teachings by Indian ‘Gurus’ and Swamis at Harvard Business School to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, not one of them could halt the credit crunch with their trite comments passing for wisdom – all the while Deepak Chopra sells diamond encrusted ‘Om’s.

No, let us take something more important than ourselves, and money and finance. Let us take human rights. The last one thousand years in the West started with the Magna Carta, which laid down the human rights of the citizen over their ruler and ended in 1947 with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights – after the bloodiest conflict in world history. When will we learn? Universal it says. Your cultural practices are no excuse. Your religion is no excuse. Universal Human Rights. The most translated document in human history.

But ask any student of Vedic literature and the will tell you we are all connected. We are one. In the 20th Century physicists proved that no two electrons anywhere in the universe can ever be at the same level of energy. And should you heat one, then every other electron in the universe would alter its state to hold this law true. As nuclear physicists look for the God particle, we already know it was discovered over 7,000 years ago in India – we are all connected. What better driver for a Universal Declaration of Human Rights than this. Asoka’s pillars around India remind us so too. We are all connected and that is from where we have rights and duties. So said Donne, ‘No man is an island, Entire of itself… Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.’

What of great ideas such as democracy, freedom?

‘We can't equate democracy with Christianity because the largest democracy on earth is India, which is primarily Hindu. Democracy and freedom are not dependent on Christian beliefs.’ Said President Jimmy Carter. No, democracy and freedom are Vedic beliefs – some 5,000 years before the Greeks.

There is not a clash of civilisations, there is only one civilisation – the human civilisation, but of course some are further down the road of enlightened evolution and thinking than others. It is not the fault of Indian thinking that it was ahead of its time – it started earlier than the others after all – being the cradle of all civilisation. So he was not being patronising, but rather recognising this fact, when Mahatma Gandhi on being asked what he thought of European civilisation said, ‘I think it would be a very good idea’.

Returning to the literature festival – so it was then that one of my first books was dedicated, not to a family member or a friend, but ‘to my proud heritage’.

The bigger problem is not whether Vedic thought can save the world – it has to- but that we do not listen to it and choose not to practice it. That will be the greatest human tragedy unless we desire to believe that our greatest days lie ahead of us.

Only Hindus on temple boards: Kerala govt

The Kerala government’s decision to reserve posts in Devasom Boards only for Hindu legislators who believe in God has come under attack. The decision was announced by chief minister Oommen Chandy after the weekly cabinet meeting. It specifies that Hindu legislators who believe in God will be eligible to be elected a member to the Devasom Boards, which administer temples, of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. The Travancore Devasom Board is the richest of the lot. The famed Sabarimala comes under its jurisdiction.

INDIA - world

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Cyclone alert in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are bracing for Cyclone Nilam that is approaching the coast.

The Met Department, which has issued a cyclone warning, says it is expected to hit the coastline on Wednesday afternoon or evening.

"Cyclone Nilam will hit the area between Nellore and Nagapattinam by Wednesday evening," IMD Deputy Director MR Ramanan said. Cyclone Nilam is aiming straight for Nagapattinam and Nellore. Ports are on alert and fishermen have been advised against venturing out to sea. Schools and colleges in Chennai remained closed on Tuesday. According to the IMD, Kollidam received the highest rainfall on Tuesday at 15 cm.

Ludhiana man creates Guinness record by lifting 85 kg with his one ear

Rakesh Kumar, a native of Ludhiana, created a new Guinness record by lifting 85 kilograms with his one ear and 20 kilograms weight with his one eye. He had made 28 records before. Kumar also pulled a school bus with an ear. Recently in London I lifted 15 kilograms of weight. I also lifted 81 kilograms of weight by one ear in Italy and lifted 6 kilograms by one eye. I have made a record in Limca book of records as well," said Kumar. Kumar's aim is to create 51 records and put India's name on the top in the list of records created. "Whenever I get a call from Guinness World Records to go to America, Italy, and London or wherever, I will go. ‘I will pull 8 tones of bus by one finger and pull a car by one nail and I will also pull 20 foot of car by one eye.

UP CM sacks top Samajwadi leader

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has sacked a senior leader of his Samajwadi Party over allegations that he assaulted a photo journalist in Lucknow.

Natwar Goel was the vice-chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Khadi and Gram Udyog Board, a post equivalent to a Minister of State in the government.

In his police complaint, journalist Ashutosh Gupta alleged that he was assaulted by Goel and his supporters when he had gone to take photographs of an allegedly unauthorised building that was being constructed after an aided college had been razed. Goel, however, has refuted the charges.

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Jaspal Bhatti: King of satire Anna, Gen Singh attack UPA, seek dissolution and spoof is no more The genial sardar who not just brought on a smile but also provoked introspection with his biting wit and humour is no more.

Jaspal Bhatti, who passed away after a road accident was the original king of satire and spoof. He was 57. His simple smile and disarming warmth struck an instant chord, spreading good cheer. On Thursday last, as his body lay covered with a sheet in a Jalandhar hospital, there was gloom all around.

This was the day he was to end his over 40-day promotional tour of his latest film “Power Cut" in Punjab's cultural capital Jalandhar. The film, which sees the launch of his son Jasraj, is to be released Friday.

The quintessential entertainer till the very end, Bhatti, who was born on March 3, 1955 in Amritsar, was killed near Punjab's Nakodar town.

An electrical engineer by profession, Bhatti, perhaps the most famous Sikh comedian, had humour and satire in his blood. It was during his days at Chandigarh's prestigious Punjab Engineering College (PEC), also the alma mater of astronaut Kalpana Chawla, that he launched his Nonsense

of Parliament

Club in the early 1980s to poke fun at social evils and issues. There was no stopping Jaspal Bhatti from then on. Though he joined the Punjab government as an engineer, Bhatti's heart and soul lay in comedy and satire. Starting as a cartoonist with an English daily in the late 1980s, Bhatti later came up with the popular "Ulta-Pulta" on national channel Doordarshan. Within no time, Bhatti's satire on social issues became a national hit. He followed it up with another hit TV show, "Flop Show". Bhatti was the most visible and popular Sikh of his times, a well loved figure not just in Punjab but in other parts of the country as well. Though he was Chandigarh based, he was

a frequent traveller to Mumbai and Delhi for films, TV appearances and shows. He produced and directed the popular Punjabi film "Mahaul Theek Hai", a satire on the Punjab police, administration and society, in 1999.

He acted in several Bollywood films. His role as Jolly Good Singh in the Aamir Khan-Kajol starrer "Fanaa" was a particular favourite. He participated in TV shows as a celebrity contestant and a judge.

Married to Savita Bhatti, who acted with him in TV shows and Punjabi films, Bhatti had set up his MAD Arts and film school at Mohali, near Chandigarh, three years ago. His son Jasraj was also involved with him in the venture and film production.

Modi calls PM 'Maun Mohan Singh'

A new-look Team Anna mounted a scathing attack on the UPA government and sought immediate dissolution of Parliament, saying the two pillars of democracy were not acting in the manner enshrined in the Constitution.

Heralding formation of a new movement against corruption, Anna Hazare and former Army chief General VK Singh targeted the "unconstitutional" UPA government over decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail.

Addressing a joint press conference, Singh said the government had taken the controversial decision on FDI despite being in minority. "As per the Constitution, India is a welfare state in which a democratically elected government is duty bound to protect and improve the lives of the people.

However, the current system has completely ignored the directive principles enshrined in the constitution and has surrendered to market forces," Singh said.

"Parliament should be dissolved and fresh elections held," he said, reading from a prepared statement. Hazare endorsed Singh and said they had jointly prepared the state-

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Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Monday mocked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, describing him as 'Maun (Silent) Mohan Singh'.

Addressing a rally in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, Modi said: "Yesterday, during his Himachal Pradesh visit, 'Maunmohan' Singh came, and the news today is that he broke his silence in Himachal!

Appealing to the people of the state to vote the BJP back to power, Modi said: "I pray to the people of Himachal Pradesh to choose the BJP, and I promise as much development here as in Gujarat."

"Himachal Pradesh too can show the same development that Gujarat has shown," he added. Modi had earlier also attacked the PM over the issue of being a helpless Prime Minister who had no answers to any issues.

"The country's Prime Minister cannot give a reply to this. Anyway, he is

silent. If nobody speaks at all, then what reply can you get from such a person?" he said.

While taking potshots at the government on the issue of corruption, Modi also took a direct dig at Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's alleged involvement in illegal land deals.

"Now, I am a happy person. Who have I to loot for? I don't even have a son-in-law. My dear brothers, you should also be careful of sons-in-law. The entire institution of sonsin-law will soon be blacklisted," said Modi sarcastically.

The Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly consists of 68 seats, and Bharatiya Janata Party won 42 in the previous election.

The single-phase election in Himachal Pradesh will take place on November 4 while counting of votes is scheduled on December 20.

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ment. The government policies were being framed to benefit private businesses instead of the common man and no one was raising voice against this in Parliament, the retired general said. Elections should be held to allow formation of a new government which works for people, he said, adding "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ignored the principle of collective responsibility."

On the recent reshuffle in the Union government, Hazare said, "the reshuffle is nothing but misleading the people". Hazare, who announced launching a year-long campaign from January 30 to create awareness among the people for bringing about a change in the system, said he would support candidates with clean image in the next general elections.

To a query, Hazare said he would support Arvind Kejriwal if he contests polls. "Arvind is a nice man," he added.

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28

travel & WOMEn

asian voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Purvi’s travel bag

By Purvi Apurva Shah

women achievers

Priti Adani - the face behind Adani Group’s CSR success

By AV Correspondent

Mohammadpur Umri - A village of Twins A small village in India has about a hundred pairs of twins, mostly same sex and 90 per cent of them were born in the last 20 years. No one can explain the phenomenon.

Scientists from around the world are flocking to a small Indian village to try to find out why an extraordinarily large number of identical twins are being born there. One in 10 births in Mohammadpur Umri involves twins, most of them identical. Looking at the faces of Umri’s residents, you can be forgiven for wondering if you have stepped onto the set of a scifi film on cloning. Globally, the odds of a woman giving birth to identical twins are one in 300.

The range is wide – from 77 years to one-month-olds, this unique village is full of human clones. Mohammedpur Umri is a dusty and remote village situated behind the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Bamrauli, some 80 km from the holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The village has attracted global attention for its highest density of identical twins in the world. Out of a population of about a thousand in the village, nearly 120 were born identical twins.

The unique monoclonal twinning phenomenon has shot Umri onto the global scientific map. Scientists from all over the world, including the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, have descended on the village to decipher the genetic and nature’s

biggest mystery. But none have so far been able to crack it.

Dr Reversade said,“Identical twinning in humans and animals in Umri seems to be the most baffling puzzle in my career. It could be genetic or environmental. I can’t say anything for sure at this stage, but of course, after some time we will come to some conclusion,” he claimed.

Village elders claimed that identical twinning in Umri dates back to 1931.

Villagers attribute this phenomenon to “the grace of god and something unique in the water and soil of the village.”

Believe it or not, even chickens in Umri lay two-yolk eggs and a buffalo recently gave birth to twins. “In the past many cows have also given births to twins in the village,” says Mohammed Kaiser.

Though the village has been adopted by the Indian Air Force, it still lacks basic infrastructure and amenities. Farming remains the main source of the villagers’ livelihood. The majority of the population, Muslims, believes that inter-marrying within families may have led to the high rate of twinning. But the assumption may be flawed. Scientists may have been concentrating on the Muslim factor, ignoring the fact that even Hindu families have shown a similar trend. The Indian custom of dressing up identical twins alike only makes matters worse.

And then there are the usual funny stories of mistaken identity.

Cashew Barfi

A sweet that can be prepared during festival of Diwali.

Ingredients: 1 cup (100 grams) broken cashewnuts (kaju), 1/2 cup (50 grams) sugar 1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder Method: Soak the cashewnuts in warm water for about 30 minutes and wash them 2 to 3 times. Drain all the water out and blend the cashewnuts to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup of water and prepare a syrup of one string consistency.

Add the cashew paste and cook over a medium flame, stirring continuously till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan (approx. 5 to 7 minutes).

Transfer to a plate and cool slightly. Keep aside.

Health Benefits: Cashew nut is packed with energy, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins

that are essential for robust health! They are very rich source of minerals, especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium are concentrated in the nuts. A handful of cashew nuts a day in the diet would provide enough of these minerals and prevent deficiency diseases. In addition, the nuts are also containing small amount of Zea-xanthin, absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes. It is to provide antioxidant and protective UV ray filtering functions and helps prevent age related macular degeneration (ARMD) in the elderly.

Priti Adani is the brain behind the corporate social responsibility wing of the Adani group, a Rs 260 billion business conglomerate of Ahmedabad.

Adani Foundation, the CSR wing of the group works for education, community health, sustainable livelihood development and rural infrastructure development in areas where they have operations like Mundra taluka where they run a privately operated port. They also run a school for underprivileged children in Ahmedabad. Recently, they have launched a Health Card for senior citizens in villages near the Mundra Port. They are also starting programmes in other areas like Dahej.

Priti Adani who heads the Adani Foundation, is a qualified dentist but did not practise after marriage. While her husband's corporate group was growing rapidly from 1986, she was involved on an ad hoc basis to help his business, apart from looking after their children. Established in May 1996, the Adani Foundation began work with rural communities near the Mundra Port.

The early years were not easy. The team had only three people at that time and had no qualified social workers or previous

experience in community work. Initially, the work was largely among the communities around Mundra Port, helping them with fodder for their cattle, improving sanitary conditions and basic infrastructure, check dams and medical services.

The CSR work gained momentum in 2001 when a major quake devastated Kutch. Working on relief and redevelopment following the earthquake, they began to develop the CSR team. Today, the foundation has a 40member team of professionals, across disciplines such as administration, education, social development and infrastructure building to implement the projects.

The foundation also supports the 'Mamata Abhiyan' for promotion of 100 per cent immunisation, growth monitoring and use of iodized salt, handwashing, maternal and child nutrition, and prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria through awareness and initiatives.

It organises regular health camps, and have undertaken programmes for Thalassemia awareness and prevention, blood donation drives, cataract detection, surgeries and support for underprivileged patients.

The Foundation has adopted a bottom-up approach to poverty

reduction. It is coming up with village-specific livelihoods promotion plans with the active cooperation and support from Gram Sabha or Village Assembly, which holds the constitutional status.

The main occupations of people living around the Mundra Port are agriculture, horticulture, fishing or work in the fields.

However, the monsoonbased cropping and deep level of ground water extraction for agriculture has led to salinity in the coastal villages of Mundra taluka. Therefore strategies include skill development, encouraging enterprise and village institution development. The foundation also promotes Self Help Groups among cattle owners, farmers, women and youth. They provide technological support to cattle owners and farmers. Trainings related to animal husbandry and dairying, and demonstration of good practices through progressive farmers. The Adani Foundation has promoted The Society for Creating Opportunities through proficiency in English, which has been successful in achieving English language training in the Foundation's target rural areas. One of their key projects is Adani Vidya Mandir, which gives free education to deserving children from underprivileged families.

Fast-food giants transforming eat out habits of Indians The arrival of global fastfood giants in India is transforming the way that people eat out. Salman Adhal takes his brown plastic tray from the counter and turns on the heel of his cowboy boot to swagger to his seat and unwrap his McSpicy chicken burger.

In doing so, the 18year-old from Mumbai demonstrates a truth of sorts: it’s cool to eat McDonald’s in India.

There is none of the stigma of Super Size Me. Ronald McDonald’s redand-white-striped trousers haven’t worn thin. Even giving a kid over the age of 6 a Happy Meal seems to have the desired effect.

With India’s huge, young and increasingly affluent population, it’s no surprise that the elder statesman of the fast-food industry has chosen the country for its first vegetarian restaurant, to cater to local preference and sparkle up the Golden Arches.

The meat-free branch will open at the end of 2013 in Amritsar near the Sikh Golden Temple. The sale of meat is prohibited within a square mile of the shrine. It will add to the relatively tiny number of

McDonald’s flagship restaurant on Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi

McDonald’s - just 271- in the country of 1.2 billion people. The first branch opened in the ex-pat area of Delhi in 1996 and the newest came to the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir in August.

Where will the veggie restaurant fit in a market where cheap, quick and virulently tasty vegetarian food is available from almost every roadside stall? And how will it measure up to local upstarts already offering boutique Indian street food in sanitised restaurants for the same price as a Filet-O-Fish? The eateries along one of India’s oldest and most bustling streets give some idea.

Chandni Chowk cuts

across the 16th-century walled city of Old Delhi.

Its crumbling pavements are tightly packed with shoppers from around the world’s largest democracy, searching its dusty stores for the best saris, jewels and food.

Just over a decade ago the only places with western dishes were five-star hotels in New Delhi or enterprising restaurants experimenting with a pizza base and plastic cheese.

But today the shiny front of the McDonald’s flagship store on Chandni Chowk juts out from the worn buildings to the left and right, and its protruding pillars swallow up passers-by into its air-con-

ditioned belly.

Inside, the lunchtime crowd of students, tourists and businessmen sample the menu, which is stripped of beef and pork in deference to the country’s laws and religious sensibilities. Cow-slaughter is illegal here.

India has the only McDonald’s restaurants with separate vegetarian and meat kitchens.

Chicken Maharaja Mac replaces the Big Mac, but it’s the 28p McAloo Tikki, a mildly spiced potato-andpea burger in a bun, which outsells other products by three to one. About 60 million are eaten each year.

“The majority of Indians are vegetarians; we have to develop the menu which is relevant to them,” says Rajesh Kumar Maini, manager of corporate communications for McDonald’s in north and east India.

As Charu Chhibber tucks into a Big Spicy Paneer (Indian cheese) Wrap, the housewife from Delhi says the taste is “proper Indian spicy”. Her son who is 14 likes the Happy Meal toy and her family, who are vegetarians, visit a McDonald’s about twice a month.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

TABLETS

Skipping breakfast could make you fatter

Those who skip breakfast to lose weight not only eat more for lunch, they also crave fatty and sugary foods, researchers say.Over time, this could lead to slimmers piling on the pounds, despite their best intentions, The warning comes from doctors and scientists at Imperial College London who scanned the brains of 21 healthy young men and women while they looked at pictures of various foods. The volunteers also rated how appealing they found the foods, which ranged from salads and vegetables to calorie-laden chocolates, desserts, cakes, pizzas and burgers.

To Our Readers We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement it. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

control body mass index and waist size, and boost brain health. In 2002, Loma Linda received a grant from the National Institutes of Health gave to continue the research on Seventh-day Adventists, branding this round of research Adventist Health Study 2.

The study, which is midway to completion and includes 96,000 people from the United States and Canada, presents findings just as dramatic, principal investigator Gary E. Fraser, MD, PhD, said at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics'' 2012 Food 'n' Nutrition Conference and Expo.

Vegetarian Adventist men live to an average of

83.3 years and vegetarian women 85.7 years - 9.5 and 6.1 years, respectively, longer than other Californians, Fraser explained.

The Adventist Health Study 2 also found that • Vegans are, on average, 30 pounds lighter than meat eaters.

• Vegans are also five units lighter on the BMI scale than meat-eaters.

• Vegetarians and vegans are also less insulin resistant than meat-eaters.

• Lean people are also more likely to exercise regularly, eat plants, and avoid cigarettes than overweight people, suggesting that numerous factors are boosting the overall health of these participants.

• Pesco-vegetarians and semi-vegetarians who limit animal products, but still eat meat once a week or so, have "intermediate protection" against lifestyle diseases.

Perhaps the most staggering finding is that obesity cuts an AfricanAmerican's life span by 6.2%.

The study population is 25 per cent AfricanAmerican and half vegetarian.

HealtH Watch

HEALTH & VITALITY Tablets

Sleep disorders signal Alzheimer's disease A pattern of disturbed sleep could be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's disease, suggest scientists. Working on a mouse model, researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, found that when the first signs of Alzheimer's plaques appear in the brain, the normal sleep-wake cycle is significantly disrupted.

"If sleep abnormalities begin this early in the course of human Alzheimer's disease, those changes could provide us with an easily detectable sign of pathology," said senior study author David M. Holtzman, professor and head of neurology at Washington, the journal Science Translational Medicine reported. "As we start to treat Alzheimer's patients before the onset of dementia, the presence or absence of sleep problems may be a rapid indicator of whether the new treatments are succeeding," added Holtzman.

Holtzman's lab was among the first to link sleep problems and Alzheimer's through studies of sleep in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's plaques as they age, according to a university statement. In a 2009 study, he showed that brain levels of a primary component of the plaques naturally rise when healthy young mice are awake and drop after they go to sleep. Depriving the mice of sleep disrupted this cycle and accelerated the development of brain plaques.

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Video game with biofeedback teaches kids to control anger Children with serious anger problems can be helped by a simple video game that hones their ability to regulate their emotions, a pilot study at Boston Children's Hospital has found. Noticing that children with anger control problems are often uninterested in psychotherapy, but very eager to play video games, Jason Kahn, PhD, and Joseph Gonzalez-Heydrich, MD, at Boston Children's Hospital developed "RAGE Control" to motivate children to practice emotional control skills that they can later use in challenging life situations.

The fast-paced game involves shooting at

"However, to succeed at RAGE Control, players have to learn to use these centres at the same time to score point," he noted.

One group, with 19 children, received standard treatments for anger including cognitive-behavioural therapy, presentation of relaxation techniques and social skills training for five consecutive business days. The second group, with 18 children, got these same treatments, but spent the last 15 minutes of their psychotherapy session playing RAGE Control.

After five sessions, the video gamers were significantly better at keeping their heart rate down.

enemy spaceships while avoiding shooting at friendly ones. As children play, a monitor on one finger tracks their heart rate and displays it on the computer screen. When heart rate goes above a certain level, players lose their ability to shoot at the enemy spaceships. To improve their game, they must learn to keep calm.

"The connections between the brain's executive control centres and emotional centres are weak in people with severe anger problems," explained Gonzalez-Heydrich, chief of Psychopharmacology at Boston Children's and senior investigator on the study.

They showed clinically significant decreases in anger scores. The gamers also had a decrease in suppressed, internalized anger that reached marginal statistical significance. In contrast, the standardtreatment group showed no significant change from baseline on any of the above measures.

The video gamers gave their therapy experience high marks for helpfulness (5 to 6 on a scale of 7).

"Kids reported feeling better control of their emotions when encountering day to day frustrations on the unit. Results were published online October 24 in the journal Adolescent Psychiatry.

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Vegetarians live longer than meat eaters

Being vegetarian may give you more heath benefits than eating meat, suggest Loma Linda University study. In the ''70s and ''80s, a series of studies from Loma Linda University in California, which has tracked tens of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists since 1958, were the first to show that vegetarians live longer than meat eaters.

The studies also revealed that the kinds of foods frequently consumed in vegetarian diets — fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes — can reduce a person's risk for diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes,

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

Are care homes “putting profits before humanity”?

Continued from page 1 while a nurse shoved paracetamol down her mouth.

A former nurse, Terry Bryan went to the BBC to address the concerns after his complaints to the owner, Castlebeck Ltd, of Darlington and care watchdogs were ignored.

The prosecutor Kerry Barker elaborated on how care watchdogs refused to act on repeated warnings of “inhumane, cruel and hate-fuelled treatment” of patients.

It was clear to Mr Barker that the “so-called restraint techniques” were deliberately used to inflict pain, humiliate and bully the patients. This meant that patients, in fear, complied to the demands of the hostile carers.

The home opened in 2006 and by 2010 the home had “turn over of £3.7 million with an average weekly feel of £3,500”. A serious case which was published in August accused Castlebeck, the owners of the hospital, for “putting profits before humanity”.

Mr Barker added by saying: “The offenders were operating in groups; the offenses involved the abuse of power; an abuse of trust; the victims were particularly vulnerable and on occasion the illtreatment of a patient was sustained, with the consequences of serious psychological effects.”

There is no doubt that although prosecutors can provide justice, they cannot provide psychological comfort to the patients inflicted by these incidences. Among a handful that suffered, five residents in particular, Simone Blake, Simon Tovey, Louisa Deville and Lorraine Guilford were severely mistreated in the hands of the abusers (defendants).

The footage shown to

the court during the hearing was indeed horrific, especially the part where Wayne Rogers is heard telling Miss Blake: “Do you want me to get a cheese grater and grate your face off? Do you want me to turn you into a giant pepperoni? He further went to slap Mr. Tovey on the whilst saying that if he decided to fight back he would he would “bite” his “bloody face off”. Alison Dove claimed that Miss Blake “loved pain” and clearly stated that if Simone Blake was to come near her she would “punch” her “face”. Dove also threatened her when she broke a window in the lounge with a chair.

The former staff (already named above) admitted 38 charges of either neglect or ill-treatment of people with severe learning difficulties.

Barristers representing the 11 defendants apologies on behalf of their “clients” but blamed the nature and culture of Castlebeck, referring to it as a “disease”, a “cancer” and a “fog” that has managed to engulf Winterbourne View.

These occurrences should not just be addressed as Winterbourne’s and Castlebeck’s issue, but rather should be an eyeopener to what is really going on and those that are continuously becoming victims.

Perhaps patients from other ethnic backgrounds could be more vulnerable to these types of abuses. All factors that can influence an abuse should be thoroughly accounted for, in particular, racial prejudices.

Undoubtedly, private care homes are expensive, but more importantly there maybe more like Winterbourne, with owners such as Castlebeck that have put “profit

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before humanity”. If this is the case then a question needs to be raised: Is there a point of sending family members to care homes, with the added

responsibility of paying for special treatment when they are far from being taken care of, and are instead subject to abuse?

Coming Events l Diwali and New Year celebration, Chopda Pujan and Aarti - Tuesday, 13th November 2012 from 8pm to 11pm. Hindu New Year - Wednesday, 14th November 2012. 8am to 10pm -Ankot (Rajbhog) Darsan from 12noon. Contact Shree Jalaram Mandir Greenford on 0208 578 8088 / 9285 l Diwali Mela on 3rd n 4th of November, Variety of stalls, Meet n Greet the artists from Ek Hazaron Mein Meri Behna Hain. l 4th November, 2012: Shree 108 Hanuman Chalisa. Social Club Hall, Northwick Park Hospital Watford Road, Harrow, HA1 3UJ 11am-5pm.

Kumari Jalpaben Patel.

Contact: 020 8459 5758/ 07973 550 310 l Pankaj Sodha presents Kings of Comedy, Ruislip Winston Churchill Hall, Friday 23rd Nov, 8pm.

Contact: Bhanubhai Pandya: 07931 708 026 l Theatre- 'How to kill your westernised daughter', Thu 22 - 7.45pm Fri 23 – 7.45pm. December Sat 01 - 7.45pm Sun 02 – 7.00pm. Peepul Centre Orchardson Avenue Leicester, LE4 6DP. Contact: 0116 261 6000 l Posun.UK Annual General Meeting 2012. Sunday 4 November 2012. 4-9pm. Archbishop Lanfranc school. Surrey CR9 3AS. l Royal Court Theatre presents five new plays to be performed in English as rehearsed readings for one week only.

12 – 17 Nov. Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS. Contact: 020 7565 5000. www.royalcourttheatre.com/season/new-plays-fromindia l Soulful Sounds with Mehboob Nadeem & Hanif Khan Recital 31st October, Museum of Asian Music, 1 Bradford Road, London W3 7SP, 0208 742 9911

COMPETITION WINNER The Diwali Mela ticket winners will be chosen and contacted directly by the organisers. Tickets will be available to the winners at the gate on showing a copy of their confirmation email.

Don't take short-cuts in legal or official matters. It will be only too easy to feel exasperated by bureaucracy but you won't be doing yourself any favours if you lose your cool. This is a fine time for you to get away from the mundane realities of life and relax. Some of you will probably go abroad.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

Strengthen close ties of affection, sort out emotional differences and proffer the olive branch to your loved one. You often sabotage your emotional interests by keeping too much inside. However, your inner pressure builds up and manifests as irrational moods that others find hard to understand.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

You know you have no choice but to streamline and re-assess your priorities before haphazardly saying yes to everything that smells like a potential opportunity. Try to create a balance between expansion and conservation. Jupiter in your sign makes you feel invincible, base your decisions on facts.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 An inspiring boost to matters of communication but make sure your curiosity on a range of topics does not lead to a scattering of mental energy. With a surge of energy and enthusiasm, this is a favourable time to make fresh starts.

Personal relationships may be more intense.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 At home, be at your diplomatic best and try not to tread on anyone's toes.

Passions will run from hot to cold, and relationships may suffer. Even the most strong-willed Leos will be more open to compromise to keep the peace. Plan your spending and set sensible budgets.

Responsibility is your key word, especially at work. Set your own goals, rather than trying to meet those set by someone else. Your ability to manage what you have on your plate earns respect from others around you. You will benefit in every way if you learn to self-discipline and pace yourself wisely.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

The focus is on finances this week, but that doesn’t mean you should worry yourself sick.

Rather, it is about finding new and improved ways to boost your earnings potential. It’s fine to consider several options but don’t get caught up in indecision.

Schedule networking opportunities later this week.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Work is going to play a great part for some of you, who are widening their horizons. An important time to build too, as Saturn can be very severe and cold especially regarding relationships. Regardless of the limits, you have the capacity to turn the course of your life in a more fulfilling direction.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

The prevailing cosmic pattern packs a powerful punch early this week. Having such potent energies, make you feel positive and confident in whatever you do. This is not the time to hold back or underestimate your potential if you wish to further an important aim. Some of you will try to get away from the routine chores.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

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CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

As social life is likely to gather a pleasant momentum throughout this week, this is bound to present a better prospect, not only for striking up new friendships but also romantic encounters. This is going to be one of those times when insignificant events give rise to unexpected developments especially regarding work and health.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

Don't get over- anxious if you feel that you're being kept in the dark. You will probably find that worries have been unfounded. Although you may be faced with a difficult decision concerning your career or employment, this is not the time to hide. Don't waste time if you can improve matters.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Much enthusiasm goes into professional ambitions right now, but you need to be your own boss in many ways. You will be determined to place your lifestyle on a foundation of greater security. Taking a broad perspective on the prevailing cosmic pattern, far-reaching change begins to gather momentum.

SPorT World

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

ICC gets innovative, allows day-night test matches

Cricket's traditional red cherry may soon be history. In a decision intended to boost the flagging popularity of the five-day game, the International Cricket Council gave its nod to day-night Test matches, leaving it to interested parties to choose the type of ball to be used.

The world body's decision to okay proposals made by its own cricket committee in London in May could prompt a move away from the red ball, which is not clearly visible under lights. Day-night one-dayers and T20 Internationals are played with a white ball, while research on finding a suitable ball colour for day-night Tests has yielded mixed results.

The ICC has, therefore, left it to teams to go with any ball colour they can agree on.

"Participating countries may agree to play day/night Test matches. The home and visiting boards will decide on the hours of play which will be six hours of scheduled play per day while the two boards will also decide on the precise brand, type and colour of ball to be used for the match," the

BCCI awards Hyderabad IPL franchise to Sun TV

Sun TV chairman Kalanithi Maran

Chennai-based Sun TV Network has bagged the Hyderabad franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament for an annual fee of $15.81 million, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said last week.

Sun TV Network made a bid significantly higher than the second highest offer of $12.83 million, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement after an IPL governing council meeting in Mumbai.

"This franchise fee represents a premium of over a 100 per cent above the amount paid by DCHL

(Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd) for the Hyderabad franchise in 2008," he added.

Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara captained Deccan Chargers in the 2012 edition of the IPL but he and his players faced an uncertain future after the franchise was thrown out of league last month for non-payment of fees and other issues. DCHL, who paid $107 million for the franchise, made a legal challenge to the expulsion merely to delay their exit. The new owners, engaged in producing and broadcasting satellite television and radio software programming in south Indian languages, are yet to announce the new name for the franchise.

Purists allege BCCI has milked the IPL to the detriment of test cricket and the Twenty20 league has also lost much of its sheen since its glitzy 2008 inception.

Last year, the BCCI terminated the Kochi franchise's contract for defaulting on payments while DLF, India's largest real estate firm, ended title sponsorship of the league in August after a fiveyear association.

ICC said in a statement.

The introduction of daynight Tests headlined a slew of other revisions to playing conditions for Tests, ODIs and T20 Internationals to be effective immediately. The new regulations include allowing two bouncers per over in ODIs and changes to the Decision Review System (DRS). Powerplays in onedayers have also been altered, with two blocks instead of three. Lunch and tea intervals for Tests, which are of 40 and 20 minutes duration respectively, may now be altered to 30 minutes each based on ICC approval, while the third umpire has been asked to check for a no-ball immediately after every dis-

missal and also been given the authority to advise the on-field umpire to recall a batsman if a delivery is deemed unfair.

The first Powerplay in ODIs will continue to be restricted to the first 10 overs, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. The second five-over batting Powerplay will have to be completed by the 40th over, with three fielders allowed outside the circle.

Changes in the Eliminator in T20 Internationals, which is played out in case of a tie, include allowing the fielding side to choose from which end to bowl, and only allowing nominated players to participate.

Sebastian Vettel Wins Indian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel's seemingly unstoppable march to a third straight Formula One title took another stride with victory in the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday, though the Red Bull driver's nearest rival, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, kept up the pressure with a second-place finish.

Vettel won a fourth straight race in a season for the first time in his career completing a clean sweep of the Asian swing - and now leads the drivers' championship by 13 points with three races to go. He is trying to join Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as the only men to win a hat trick of drivers' championships.

"It's pretty amazing (to win four straight races)," Vettel said. "It's very hard to target these kinds of things, they either happen or they don't happen."

The one-two finish of the top two drivers in the standings meant the fight for the title had now boiled down to a head-to-head fight in all but the mathematical sense.

Asked if he had one hand on the championship trophy, Vettel suggested it was too close to call yet.

"The other one is probably Fernando's," Vettel said. "It's a big step for us but there is a long way to go and we know how quickly things can change."

Ashwin replaces Harbhajan in top bracket of BCCI contracts Rising off-spinner R Ashwin replaced out-of-form senior tweaker Harbhajan Singh in the top bracket of BCCI’s list of central retainership contracts, while struggling pacer Ishant Sharma was also demoted from Grade A to B. Harbhajan and Ishant have spent the better part of this year out of the team struggling for form in whatever chances they have been handed.

The 26-year-old Ashwin, on the other hand, has played eight Tests since making his debut in November last year, grabbing 49 wickets. In the recent home series against New Zealand, he had taken 18 wickets in two Tests.

In the ODIs, he has scalped 56 wickets in 40 matches.

The Chennaibowler has 12 wickets from his 15 Twenty20 International appearances.

The elite Grade A features nine players this year,

three down from the last season, according to a statement issued by the BCCI. With the retired duo of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman out of the equation Ashwin was only new name in the top bracket, the players in which are paid an annual retainership of Rs 10 million.

The likes of veteran Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the struggling opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan retained their Grade A contracts.

The in-form Virat Kohli, middle-order batsman Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh completed the top category, all three retaining their contracts.

In Grade B, the BCCI has offered contracts to eight players, three more than last season with batsman Rohit Sharma being the only one to have retained his contract.

Pacer Irfan Pathan, who is on a comeback trail after in the wilderness, has been given a contract along with young players such as Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav, all of whom have been elevated from Grade C. The players in Grade B are entitled an annual retainership of Rs 5000,000.

In the Grade C list, a demoted Ravindra Jadeja has replaced off-colour pacer S Sreesanth.

All-rounder Yousuf Pathan, pacers L Balaji and Ashok Dinda have come in replacing the likes of

Jaydev Unadkat.

In all, the BCCI has offered contracts to 37 players, which is the same as last year.

The list of BCCI contracted players: Grade A: Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin.

Grade B: Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav.

Grade C: Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Abhimanyu Mithun, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron, Abhinav Mukund, Ashok Dinda, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar, L Balaji.

31

Action at a Glance Pankaj Advani wins World Billiards title

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani proved his class once again as he notched up his seventh World Billiards Championship title after comprehensively beating defending champion and seasoned Englishman Mike Russell in the final. The celebrated cueist stamped his dominance with a 1,895-1,216 win over the local favourite. Fresh from his resounding 881281 victory over compatriot Dhruv Sitwala in the semifinals, Pankaj raced into a lead with a century break of 147 and a double century break of 298 within the first hour of the five-hour long encounter.

BCCI's lifetime achievement award for Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar will be conferred the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award at the annual BCCI awards function. The BCCI's Col CK Nayudu Award Committee met last week and decided to confer the honour on the legendary opener, a release from BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said.

The award comprises a trophy, citation and a cheque for Rs 2500,000. Gavaskar will receive the honour at the BCCI Awards Ceremony, to be held shortly. Gavaskar represented India in 125 Tests from 1970-71 to 1986-87, scoring a record 774 runs in his debut series in the West Indies. He was the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Tests, and the first to play 100 consecutive Tests.

He was the first batsman to score hundreds in each innings of a Test thrice and was the first batsman to surpass Sir Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test centuries.

Saina Nehwal falters in French Open final

When top seed Saina Nehwal took to the court in the final of the French Open Super Series, in Paris on Sunday, against a relatively unknown and unseeded Minatsu Mitani of Japan, few would have bet against the Indian clinching another back-to-back title. But in a matter of 39 minutes, the Japanese demolished the Indian to script history by becoming the first player from her nation to win a Super Series title. The 19-21, 11-21 loss to Minatsu will surely hurt Saina a lot as this is the first time that she has lost to the Japanese, whose best career ranking so far has been 26.

Angelo Mathews to captain Sri Lanka T20 side

All-rounder Angelo Mathews was named Sri Lanka Twenty20 captain for the next 12 months in an appointment which could lead to him taking over as leader of the test side.

Mathews, 25, the Sri Lanka vice-captain in all three formats of the game, succeeds Mahela Jayawardene who resigned as T20 captain after his side lost this month's World Cup final to West Indies. "We are giving Mathews a free hand to captain the T20 side for one year after which we will review his performance," said chief selector Ashantha de Mel. Mathews' first assignment will be to lead Sri Lanka in a one-off T20 international against New Zealand at Pallekele on October 30. Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been named at the T20 vice-captain, also for a one-year term.

Del Potro stuns Federer

Juan Martin del Potro took Roger Federer's Swiss Indoors title on Sunday, beating the hometown favorite 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) in the final. Del Potro showed an impressive allaround game to help avenge a heartbreaking loss to Federer in the Olympics Games semifinals in August. "It's amazing for me," Del Potro, who never dropped serve, said in an on-court interview. "Always, playing against Roger is a pleasure. We know he's the best player ever in this sport."

32

Asian Voice - Saturday 3rd November 2012

England start India tour with warm-up game

England's cricketers started their preparations for what promises to be a gruelling Test series against India by taking on India 'A' in a three-day warm-up game from Tuesday.

Led by opener Alastair Cook, who made a fine debut in India with a halfcentury and an unbeaten century to boot at Nagpur in March 2006, the Englishmen have arrived with a mission - to become the first team from their shores to defeat India in a Test rubber since David Gower's 1984-85 tourists.

England have won a few Tests on the Indian soil, notably in Cook's debut series when Indian batsmen crumbled against the spin of long-forgotten Shaun Udal and the pace of James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff, but have never clutched the Test rubber in hand while departing.

England are coming off a 0-2 series loss to South Africa that also took away their top ranking in Tests.

Now they face a determined-looking India, who

are waiting to avenge the humiliating 4-0 whitewash sustained last year in England.

That the visitors had practiced extensively for three days in Dubai against their own spin bowlers Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar and Samit Patel at the ICC Global Cricket Academy is a clear sign of what they expect would be the biggest hurdle here.

However, the home team, in the warm-up game led by Test middle order aspirant Suresh Raina, does not have any spin bowlers to boast of, viewed as a deliberate ploy to deprive the visiting batsmen any practice against slow bowling.

The return of Kevin Pietersen as the 17th additional member after his recent patch-up with teammates would be another interesting piece of the puzzle.

The patch-up came after weeks of peace talks that followed his unceremonious ouster for offfield happenings despite

Tiwary, Mukund, Yuvraj among runs in warm-up game

England team arrive in India

scoring a hundred midway through the Test rubber against South Africa at home.

How quickly and well the lanky batsman, who had scored a classy hundred on his last Test visit to India in 2008, gels with his teammates in alien conditions would be watched with a lot of interest by the host country's Test team members, some of who are in India 'A' squad.

While the rest of the squad had come from England via Dubai,

Pietersen arrived separately from South Africa where he was playing for IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League T20.

Pietersen will need to quickly get into the Test mode from the slam-bang of T20s.

The retirement of former skipper Andrew Strauss has also come as a headache for England as they are still searching for a suitable opening partner for Cook in the short time they have got ahead of the opening Test at Ahmedabad

from November 15.

Rookie opener Nick Compton, grandson of former England great Dennis who had played in the Ranji Trophy championship in India but never came on a Test tour, is one option for the visiting team.

The match would also be the first chance for the much-touted England pace attack to get used to the slow pace and low bounce of Indian pitches. The spin trio of Swann, Panesar and Patel, on the other hand, would be licking their lips in anticipation.

Manoj Tiwary led a fine batting display by India A, who were 369 for nine at stumps on day one of their practice match against England XI at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday. Tiwary (93) top-scored for the home team with other substantial contributions coming from Abhinav Mukund (73), Yuvraj Singh (59) and Irfan Pathan (46).

Fast bowlers R Vinay Kumar (25) and Parvinder Awana (11) were batting at close of the play. India A scored at an impressive 4.10 runs per over.

Speedster Tim Bresnan (3/59) was the pick of the bowlers for England, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 2.95. Off-spinner Graeme Swann too struck thrice while conceding 90 runs at 3.91. All eyes were on Yuvraj, who is fighting for the No. 6 spot in the Test side alongside Suresh Raina. Yuvraj eventually won the small battle over Raina (20), who is captaining India A in the match.