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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 41. ISSUE 51

80p

4th May to 10th May 2013

Delhi riots: Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal leads to protest

Clarke heads Healthcare Trade Mission to India

Kenneth Clarke, MP

After the historic Indian mission by the British Prime Minister David Cameron, the UK Ministry is making another trade delegation to India, to strengthen the Indo-British economic ties.

Continued on page 7

Chinese troops have reportedly erected one more tent in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector of Ladakh, raising to five the number of such structures in the area of incursion.

Even as the standoff between India and China enters the third week, Beijing is showing no signs of withdrawing its troops from the Indian territory.

China is reportedly insisting that any troop withdrawal can take place only if the Indian Army dismantles some bunkers at a key vantage point.

The vantage point is at a junction between two mountains in Ladakh area from where the Indian troops would remain unseen and Continued on page 26

SC raps CBI over coalgate probe In a big embarrassment to the Manmohan Singh government in the coalgate case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed as “very disturbing” the CBI affidavit on sharing its report with the Law Minister and others and

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slammed the agency for having kept the court in the dark on the issue.

Hearing the coal blocks allocation scam case, the bench said “suppression” of the fact that CBI has shared its probe report with Continued on page 26 Send at:

Unhappy with acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the anti-Sikh riots case, a man hurled a shoe at the judge as protests erupted inside and outside Delhi court after pronouncement of the verdict, with police detaining several people.

Protesters gave a tough time to police as they tried to enter the court complex. A large number of people had gathered outside the court before the pronouncement of the verdict and tried to enter the courts but police prevented them. Anticipating trouble, police had deployed personnel in strength and barricaded

Sajjan Kumar

the area but some of the protesters managed to enter the complex.

However, they could not enter the courtroom.

As soon as the judge acquitted the Congress leader while convicting five persons, angry protesters shouted slogans against Kumar and tried to enter the complex.

Continued on page 26

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Keith Vazwith MP

Keith Vaz MP

Navin Kundra

made them feel’ - and music is my way of making people feel a certain way to create lasting memories.

Being able to travel the world with my music and meet some incredible people are amongst some of the best things about my role.

Navin Kundra is a singer-songwriter whose music combines eastern and western influences with a contemporary and edgy sound. He sings in Hindi, English and Punjabi and plays both the guitar and piano. Navin has had six number one hit singles in the Asian charts and his videos have received over 3 million hits on YouTube.

1) What are your proudest achievements?

I think having created a place for myself in the music industry with a strong loyal fan base is my biggest achievement. It is difficult in any career to differentiate yourself and stand out within a saturated field, so I’m most proud of having achieved that. I remember reaching number one in the charts with my debut single ‘Tukde Tukde’ was also a very proud moment.

2) What inspires your song writing?

The majority of my songs are inspired by real life experiences and emotions. They may not always be my own, but I am very sensitive towards people’s feelings and am an avid observer of life in general…there is so much inspiration to pour into songs from that. Ultimately, my aim when writing any song is to create music that resonates with my listeners, and if the stimulus for that comes from their own emotions, then

I secure a powerful connection with them. The best examples of this are my songs ‘Tere Liye’ and ‘Khaali Dil’.

3) Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Doing what I’m doing now but on a larger scale. I want to become more widely recognised internationally, support more charities and host my own TV show! Let’s push the boat out a little…even star in a movie! (Laughs) 4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

Where others see obstacles, I see opportunities...therefore, there haven’t been any obstacles in my career. That said, a constant challenge we artists face is mass piracy and illegal downloading. I would ask anyone reading this to buy music legally.

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

My father. His guidance, sup-

7) And the worst?

I have to work on weekends!

port, and love has carried me throughout my career. If I am standing here now with the profile I have doing this interview with you, it is down to my father’s support.

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

I’ve always had a desire to create and leave behind a body of work that will keep me alive far beyond my years, and being a singer/songwriter enables me to do that. There’s a saying that ‘people may not remember what you did, but they will always remember how you

8) Please tell me about your charity work?

Charity is something that means a lot to me and I try to support and contribute to as many charities as I can. I’m an ambassador for the British Asian Trust, which was founded by HRH The Prince Of Wales, and I’ve helped them raise over £10,000 by breaking a Guinness World Record for the biggest Bollywood dance performed to my song ‘Mehbooba’. I am also an ambassador for Silver Star, a charity that helps raise awareness of diabetes amongst communities, and I have performed at a lot of their fundraising events. Most recently, I have become an ambassador for a

new charity, Wishful Smiles, run by an extremely young group of people and out to make a positive difference in some of the poorest areas of the world. I truly believe that being an artist is about so much more than just making music. I have been given so much love and support from people for my work, and now I want to give that love back to those who need it most.

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

The price of fuel! I also think that the younger generation should be taught about managing their finances and entrepreneurship from an earlier age as part of the curriculum. These core skills will help them as well as our economy in the future.

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

There are so many iconic historical figures I would like to spend time with, but most of all, I think I’d like to hang out with Martin Luther King. ‘I have a dream…’ resonates with my motto of ‘dream, believe, and make it happen’ and that’s exactly what he did. The way he adopted the Gandhi notion of non-violent protest to bring about positive change and equality is fascinating. I would love to ask him how he sees the world now.

CHN hosts successful event to raise mental health awareness in South Asian communities On last Thursday night the City Hindus Network (CHN) in conjunction with the City of London Police hosted its second event on raising awareness of and reducing stigma related to mental illnesses in the South Asian community.

Titled, ‘Tackling the stigma of mental health illness in the South Asian Community,’ the event, was attended by over 70 mental health professionals, patients, carers and community leaders including Asif Sadiq, Chair of the Association of Muslim Police and Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change.

The compere for the evening was Bijal Shah, Personal Development lead at City Hindus Network. Her work to date focuses on raising awareness of mental health issues within the South Asian community and coordinating the City Hindus Network mentoring schemes for South Asian university graduates.

Held at the City of London Police headquarters, the evening consisted of: l An expert presentation by Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Chair of the Mental Health Foundation and President-Elect of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA).

Dinesh introduced the evening by providing insight into mental

Cllr Krishna James, Raza Griffiths, Dr Dinesh Bhugra, compere Bijal Shah and other panelists during the Q+A session

health and the issues associated with stigma in South Asian Communities l Raza Griffiths, a survivor who is now a Joint Network Coordinator for the Social Perspectives Network, discussing his own journey of mental illness and the stigma he experienced.

While Dr Bhugra spoke about the different aspects of mental illness and the different case studies, Raza Griffiths spoke about his own experience and his life story that moved the crowd immensely. l Cllr Krishna James also spoke about her own experi-

ences that gave a complete different light on the mental conditions involving politicians and local councillors.

The ultimate aim of the event was to urge community leaders and attendees to tackle the prejudice and discrimination associated with mental health problems by introducing simple and workable strategies, such as setting up help lines or nominating ‘mental health champions within communities.

There was also the opportunity to network with mental health professionals, carers, service users and members of the public who have an interest

in mental health issues.

Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Chair of the Mental Health Foundation and President-Elect of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA): “Continued pressure within South Asian communities to adhere to cultural norms and the resulting conflict of this can lead to higher rates of certain psychiatric illnesses. Indeed, shame and stigma means often that communities do not receive the culturally appropriate help that they need and will

benefit from. Patients, their families and carers suffer needlessly.

Making the community aware of psychiatric disorders and their treatability is important, hence events like this one, which aim to inform, debate, share and challenge the status quo are significant milestones and welcomed.”

Chandrakant Shah, a local mental health coordinator at MIND in Harrow: “The stigma associated with mental health is profound and ingrained. In order to improve the prognosis, we need to work together to address the misconceptions head on. Mental Health is everybody’s business, there is no health without mental health.''

Audience at the event

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th may 2013

Comment

Empire in crisis: China needles India in Ladakh The arrival of a Chinese military unit in the vicinity of Daulat Beg Oldi on India’s mountainous Ladakh border with Tibet has aroused justifiable concern across the country. That the intrusion is the 600th in the past three years has raised questions about the stability and direction of SinoIndian relations. The customary pieties emanating from the foreign ministries in New Delhi and Beijing are fast ceasing to be a palliative for fraught Indian nerves. Memories of the 1950s and 60s, have begun to surface. India’s well heeled appeasement lobby blames the Indian public for limiting the government’s diplomatic space in its dealings with China, but it takes two to tango and such questions are rarely directed at Beijing.

The needling of India, from time to time, interspersed with sweet double-talk, has become standard Chinese practice and is calculated to wear India down. A couple of years ago, on the eve of an Indian military mission’s departure for Beijing for high level talks, the China refused to issue a visa to Lt General B.S.Jaswal on the ground that he was commander of Indian forces in Kashmir, a sop clearly to Beijing’s all-weather client, Pakistan.

China also issued a strong protest at the Dalai Lama’s presence in Arunachal Pradesh, to which Beijing lays claim. The protest was rejected and the Tibetan leader proceeded to address a Buddhist congregation, as planned. Coupled with this come a steady stream of disturbing reports of Chinese dam constructions on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet. Any disruption to its flow into India will have serious consequences for India’s eco-system and agriculture. The headwaters of Asia’s great rivers, the Brahmaputra, Mekong, Salween, Indus et al originate on the Tibetan plateau, whose occupation by China since 1950 is the root cause of the disturbance in the Sino-Indian relationship.

The territorial disputes along the Himalayan border are the symptom and not the cause of the friction. A Chinese statement in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict pointed to Tibet as the source of Sino-Indian mistrust and suspicion, and the tension arising there from. If Delhi were to expel the Dalai Lama, say, tomorrow, Beijing might well reach a border settlement with India without further ado.

Truth is that the Chinese state runs an empire.

Its principal constituents, Turki Muslim Uighers in Xinjiang, the Buddhist population in Tibet, not speak of their kinsfolk in Inner Mongolia, chafe at Han Chinese rule, which is based on conquest.

This resentment is far from new. Way back in 1908 a Chinese official in Tibet confessed to his counterpart F.M.Bailey, that the prime cause of Chinese unpopularity in the country was that “we treat the Tibetans like dogs, while you [British] treat them like men.. A year and more later, following the arrival of a Chinese military force in Lhasa, Tibetan monasteries were routinely looted by the occupying soldiers, and their precious Buddhist manuscripts used as lining for their boots. Much the same occurred during Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

Trapped by the tyranny of history, Beijing’s living tyranny is wedded to an arcane tradition of centralized government. Its primary objective being to chasten its non-Han subjects into a common Han shape. Beijing demonizes the Dalai Lama, the pacific Falungong and Catholics as China’s mortal enemies, proof of the Han rulers’ endemic insecurities. The crisis of the Chinese state echoes those that once beset the AustroHungarian and Ottoman empires, each weakened by a variety of ethnic discontents beyond accommodation by an imperial establishment in thrall to its inner demons.

China’s paranoia marks out India as the source of Tibetan unrest. Beijing feels threatened by what it perceives to be the challenge of India’s confection of soft and hard power in Asia. Arming Pakistan with nuclear weapons and displaying benign disregard of Islamabad’s export of terrorism is neither wise nor prudent. Even less so are the threats to “teach India a lesson” emanating from the Chinese twitterati (normally subject to censorship but allowed free rein now).

China has major territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia.

The cross-currents of the Middle Kingdom’s opaque politics remain hidden to the Chinese and foreign public. The pride of the Chinese mandarin may be “beyond human conception,” as Lord Curzon pronounced a century ago, but hubris carries always the germs of its nemesis. India has nothing to fear except fear itself.

India, Israel: Developing a people to people relationship It is 21 years since India and Israel established long overdue diplomatic relations. The relationship has flowered in critical areas, from defence and intelligence cooperation to agriculture, animal husbandry, water conservation and research in various fields of science. Official diplomacy is conducted discreetly for self evident reasons, but a growing awareness in Israeli society as a whole about India is opening new avenues of cultural interaction between their peoples.

When the documentary, “Shalom Bollywood,” is completed and released later this year by Australian Jewish academic and filmmaker, Danny Ben Moshe, a new vista may well open in the India-Israel people-to-people relationship. It was popular Indian cinema, - with the legendary Raj Kapoor and Awara in the lead role – that brought India into Soviet homes, after the fraught years of the World War, and seeded a close relationship between Soviet Russia and India. Indian journalist K.P.Nayar draws a telling, parallel development unfolding in the India-Israel sphere.

Mr Nayar tells of Danny Ben Moshe’s Washigton lecture, complemented with film clips, of the thespian Indian Jewish presence in the formative years of popular Indian cinema in Calcutta

and Mumbai. Cinema billboards had the name of Sulochana blazoned across it, the star’s real name being Ruby Myers. Or consider Nadira, in real life Florence Eziekel. Only David Abraham Chuelkar, “Uncle David” in “Boot Polish”, looked unmistakably Jewish. It was apparently the father of his Indian student at Melbourne’s Deaken University, who brought the subject to Danny Ben Moshe’s attention. Ben Moshe then went on to mine near forgotten facts in extensive visits to Mumbai and Calcutta, the heart of modern Indian cinema.

However, the trail blazer to this enterprise was the former Indian ambassador to Israel, Navtaj Sarna’s month-long festival in 2011called “India in Israel” is now into its third year and has by all accounts been an outstanding success. It has been catalyst for a broader Israeli perception of India.

“Shalom India” will be a test-bed of soft Indian power in a new and challenging environment. The Jewish presence in Indian cinema, to go no further, is visible evidence of a lack of anti-Semitism in the country, whatever its myriad ills. Danny Ben Moshe acknowledges this in the following words: “In Hollywood, in its early days, the Jewish influence was behind the camera. But in India it was always upfront, right there on the screen.”

Sachin Tendukar at 40 Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his 40th birthday on April 24. He first appeared on the international cricket scene as a tender 16-year old. During these past 23 years, he has set records - 100 international centuries, of which 51 were made in Test matches against the most testing of bowlers which may last into the next century, if not longer.

Like Alexander the Great, Tendulkar has no new worlds to conquer, but his hunger for the game seems unquenchable. But Father Time has the final word on such things and the Little Master’s revels will soon be ended. His achievements have been the “stuff on which dreams are made on.”

Tendulkar’s iconic status with the people of

India transcends his skills as a cricketer. It owes much to the way he has conducted himself on and off the field. Modest, self-effacing, with feet planted firmly on the ground, Tendulkar has taken “Triumph and Disaster just the same.” He plays always for India, leaving caste and religion to the mercies of the rabble-rousers on the streets and, alas, in parliament. The Little Master’s boundless respect for cricket, cricketers and the game’s noblest traditions has made him a universal brand.

When Tendulkar’s bat is finally laid to rest, we might be tempted to repeat Shakespeare’s lines in The Merchant of Venice, “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”

3

People who care about other people are on average happier than those who are more preoccupied with themselves - Richard Layard (2005)

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central

Measles outbreak and the need for responsible journalism Over the last few months, I, along with many others, have been deeply concerned by the scale of the measles outbreak in Wales.

Since November, nearly 1,000 people, many of whom are children, have been infected with the disease.

There have been warning signs ahead of the current, unfortunate outbreak. Last year there were 2,016 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales, the highest levels for 18 years. There is a current generation of teenagers who are at risk because of the effects of the 1998 MMR – measles, mumps and rubella – vaccine scare.

This followed the high profile reporting by numerous tabloids of claims by one researcher of a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism and bowel disorders.

Despite the research being widely discredited by other scientific research, many parents decided not to vaccinate their child as a result of the newspaper headlines.

This lead to one in five children being denied the MMR vaccination, leaving vaccination rates far below the level needed to prevent the spread of the disease. It is those children who were not vaccinated – and are now teenagers – who are most at risk of contracting measles during the current outbreak.

What this issue highlights is the need for the press to realise the immense responsibility that comes with their position. It is understandable that

newspaper editors should wish to publish stories that sell papers.

It is clearly the case that claims made about a vaccine and a much feared and poorly understood medical condition should interest the public.

But newspapers need to exercise some caution about the way in which they cover claims that directly affect the public’s health. The very act of publishing material makes it credible and accessible to a wide audience, and influence decisions that people make about their own and their family’s health.

Treating one man’s claims, made at a press conference, as having equal weight as a whole body of peer-reviewed medical evidence, is not really good enough.

Furthermore, reporting the claims with aggressive intent to cause a scare, knowing that the research has few supporters amongst mainstream scientists, is irresponsible. But the final nail in the coffin of responsible journalism is to publish, sensationalise, change behaviour, and then fail to give proper weight to research that follows which undermines previous colourful headlines.

The price of this is now being paid for by the hundreds, and the, tragically soon to be, thousands of people who are now victims of the recent measles outbreak. This is unacceptable. It should give some headline writers some pause for thought.

I would like to think they may behave more responsibly in the future.

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

4

Midlands Voice

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 4th May 2013

Horrific attack on Leicester curry house termed as 'lawless anarchy' in the court The actions of 7 men involving the attacking and ransacking of a Leicester curry house, in which several people were seriously injured, was termed "lawless anarchy", a judge has reportedly said.

Jailing each of the men for two years, Judge Simon Hammond said: "This was mob rule."

The owner and two members of staff suffered stab wounds, and customers were also attacked, when a group of 40 to 50 people burst into Moghul Durbar, in East Park Road, Leicester, at 9pm on January 14.

Leicester Crown Court was told the group had earlier met at a Sikh temple in Gipsy Lane, Northfields, in response to a text message claiming a member of their community was the victim of abuse.

They wrongly assumed the police were not taking action and, after being incorrectly informed that one or more of the suspected culprits would be at the restaurant, decided to take the law into their own hands. “The owner and two members of staff were going about their lawful business and several members of the public, occupying four or five tables, including women and children, were eating there and enjoying themselves," said Gordon Aspden, prosecuting.

"The attack happened without warning...�

A husband and wife with their three children were finishing their meal when the mayhem broke out.

The husband was punched and retreated to the kitchen where a pan of hot curry was poured over him.

Mr Aspden added: "Two of his children followed him and saw what happened, and one was injured by a flying

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In Brief Profoundly deaf girl represent UK in worldwide pageant

glass."

The man was the only witness willing to make a statement, as everyone else was too fearful.

People were seen fleeing in terror and covered in blood.

The emergency services were called and who arrived quickly, moments after the mob fled. Two witnesses gave the police a registration number of one of the vehicles at the scene, a VW Golf, which was stopped northbound on the M1. Masking tape had been used to alter its registration number, to try to evade the police.

Six of the defendants, all from Derby, were in the car: Surjit Pandher (28), a former prison warden, of Northfield, who owned the car; Gurmukh Singh Cheema (25), of Harrington Street; Ranjit Singh (21), of Harrington Street; Sundeep Singh Sangha (25), a gas heating engineer, of Wordsworth Avenue; Rajveer Singh Sangha (24), a college

student, of Wordsworth Avenue; and Ranvir Singh (21), of Harrington Street.

Mr Aspden said blood-stained gloves were found in the car.

The seventh defendant, Kahan Khalsa (26), of Oldbury, Birmingham, was later arrested in the West Midlands.

All seven men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit violent disorder, on the basis they played no part in the stabbings or beatings. He also said the dozens of testimonials handed into the court spoke highly of the defendants.

In mitigation, the court heard the defendants, including two sets of brothers, genuinely regretted their involvement. Francis Laird QC, mitigating for Ranjit Singh, said that at the meeting in the temple emotions were "whipped into a frenzy".

Other defence counsel said some of them were only expecting "a protest" at the restaurant and did not anticipate violence.

Benefits clerk jailed A corrupt benefits clerk who masterminded a ÂŁ91,000 welfare fraud in which vital winter fuel payments were deliberately diverted away from hard up pensioners has been jailed.

Vajid Ashraf, 34, was the 'lynchpin' behind the scam in which money needed to keep pensioners warm was siphoned off and instead sent to the bank accounts of his relatives and friends, the Daily Mail has reported.

Under the noses of col-

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leagues at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office in Simonstone, Lancashire, Ashraf targeted accounts where he knew he could get the most money.

He also rigged the computer to ensure electronically generated letters were not sent to those who should have received the handouts.

Twenty four struggling pensioners across Britain were denied Pension Credit, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold

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The current Miss India UK Leicester’s Nehal Bhogaita - represented the country in the final round of the Miss India Worldwide contest last weekend.

The 24-year-old beauty therapist and community support worker who is profoundly deaf will take to the stage in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with her 19-year-old sister Jayeesha by her side, acting as her interpreter.

The Miss India Worldwide grand finale took place on April 27 and saw more than 40 girls battle it out for the title.

For her talent round, Nehal performed a Bollywood dance illustrating the story of someone who never gives up. Although Nehal cannot hear the music when she performs, she dances through the vibrations she feels through her feet.

Nehal has received great support from local business in particular HKS Retail and Mumtaz Collections who are her sponsors for the pageant. She has also received ongoing support from other retailers, including Anokhi House of Sarees, Arinder Bhullar and Vetas Jewellery.

100,000 people enjoy Birmingham's Vaisakhi festival

Zaheer Uddin

Vajid Ashraf

Weather Payments during the nine-month fraud.

The scam was uncovered after concerns about the bank account of an 80-year old woman who lived in a council run care home in Bedfordshire.

All the pensioners eventually received their payments totalling ÂŁ91,344.69 from the DWP at the further expense of the taxpayer.

At Preston Crown Court, father-of-one Ashraf, from Burnley, admitted conspiracy to defraud and was jailed for three years and seven months.

In mitigation for Ashraf who has three previous convictions including an offence of dangerous driving, defence lawyer Mark Stephenson said his client had been short of money.

Uddin, 28, of Blackburn admitted conspiracy to defraud and was jailed for two years.

Shakeel Butt, 28 also of Blackburn, was convicted of conspiracy and jailed for three years and four months.

Sanaa Khan, 24, of Chorlton, Manchester, admitted to converting criminal property by making payments of ÂŁ1,951 to a Natwest bank account and was given six weeks jail sus-

Sima Khan

pended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work.

Sima Khan, 27, of Moseley, Birmingham, admitted a similar offence, relating to ÂŁ5,429 and a Lloyds TSB account and was given a 12 month community order with 12 months supervision and 50 hours unpaid work.

Sanaa Khan's husband Darrell Aldore, 24, received 12 months jail whilst Haseena Dawood, 26, from Urmston, Manchester received a 12 week jail term suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work.

Wayne Pecco, 31, from Stoke, was given 10 weeks suspended for two years and 120 hours unpaid work.

All pleaded guilty to converting criminal property.

Sentencing upon two other women was adjourned.

After the case a DWP spokesman said: 'We take internal and external fraud extremely seriously. It is looked into by professionally trained investigators and those caught are subject to disciplinary action, police are informed and we will prosecute.'

A sea of saffron and blue washed over Birmingham as thousands of Sikhs enjoyed the largest annual Vaisakhi celebration outside India.

Organisers said about 100,000 people, many wearing the colours of the Sikh nation, had flocked to Handsworth Park on Sunday for the mela.

Many poured into the park in processions which had started simultaneously from Gurdwaras – Sikh temples – in Hockley and Smethwick, with thousands more lining the streets to watch.

The festival, organised by the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham, marked the Sikh New Year and the creation of the Khalsa, the collective body of baptised Sikhs.

Long queues formed outside a marquee housing a holy Sikh scripture and many more visitors converged by the park’s bandstand to watch live music and presentations.

Free Langar meals, named after Guru Ka Langar, were served while stalls sold traditional Sikh cuisine.

A large children’s play area boasted fairground rides and games and there was even a sports arena, where a five-a-side football tournament and Sikh sword fighting demonstrations were held.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

5

Conflict over Caste continues even after multiple votes Sunetra Senior Debate for the inclusion of caste as a protected characteristic under racial equality law, alongside other acknowledged identifiers such as nationality, sexuality and disability, has been ongoing in parliament since 2010 when the Labour Government incorporated the enabling power in the Equality Act. Consequently a report was conducted by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) where there was some evidence of caste discrimination in Britain.

Not surprisingly, the politics surrounding an issue as controversial as this, have been turbulent-both in terms of argument and legislative trajectory.

Earlier in the year, on March 4th 2013, the House of Lords voted by a majority of 103 for the introduction of an anticaste discrimination clause via the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. On April 22nd they voted again to retain the amendment (181 to 168), against Governmental opposition, after it was overturned by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on April 16th by 307 to 243.

Both sides of the discussion agree that caste-

based prejudice is unacceptable, and that caste is a cultural problem, not necessarily limited to any one religion or indeed, any religion at all. Lord Deben said about the consensus “We at least start this discussion from the same basis. This is not how it has been in the past because there have been arguments that caste is somehow different, and that you should not say this because there are religious and cultural reasons”.

However Conservative Peer Baroness Stowell of Beeston, and Lord Dholakia of the Liberal Democrats voiced their issues, not with the moral position of caste, but with the sketchiness of its categorization and the subsequent difficulty in implementing justice properly.

The Baroness commented “here is a fundamental difference with caste, in that not only do we wish to get rid of caste prejudice from British society, we actually see no useful value in caste itself or of anyone defining themselves by their caste.

In that sense it is not like colour or ethnic origin, or any other of the protected characteristics. We need to ensure that the action we take, particularly if in legislation, sets us towards

this aim and not of embedding caste as a concept.”

This is a fair point; geographic and sexual identification can be enriching and empowering in a wholesome way where hierarchal affiliation can be nothing but harmful and tyrannous. The counter-productive risk of drawing attention to caste is then far greater.

The Baroness Stowell further added that the current research into the extent and nature of caste discrimination was flimsy “This Government are not against legislation as a way of tackling caste discrimination. However we do not have all the information necessary to decide that the power in the Equality Act 2010 should be exercised.” The contradiction existing, not just between the expected public groups (National Secular society pushing for the amendment and Alliance of Hindu Organisation arguing against), but between those deemed the 'lowercaste' groups themselves, is a sure sign that the confusion around caste is a valid point; though the Dalit Solidarity Network campaigns in favour of the clause, the GAKM UK which represents the Mochi community believes the enactment of

Lord Parekh

Lord Deben

Lord Dholakia

Baroness Flather

Lord Singh

Baroness Stowell

the law could undo all the work done in the British community over the past 20 years removing the differentiation by caste in all aspects of life.

Lord Parekh also joined his fellow Peers in their worry of rash bureaucracy, and their disagreement “with the amendment, not because of principle or disapproval of it, but because I believe that

it is trying to go about achieving it the wrong way. There will be frivolous complaints based on caste. Since every Indian who is Hindu carries a caste mark, every action he does with respect to another can be subsumed under one or another form of caste discrimination”.

He would not want the legislation to backfire so that his grand-child might

ask him in ten years “Grandpa what caste do I belong to?”

These arguments were met with some sincere concerns from Peers supporting the amendment too, such as Lord Harries of Pentregarth “All attempts to bring in equality legislation have met with initial opposition.

Continued on page 14

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Three top tips in growing your brand and small business

I am always asked if there were a few things I could do to help improve a business, increase profits and protect it from the competition, what would they be?

Well here are my three top tips for small and medium sized businesses:

For example this is a typical thing I see; a company with a name like ‘Zest’ and their tag would be along the lines of ‘making your world brighter’. That really doesn’t tell me what it is that you do and whether I would want your services or not. With words like that you could potentially be in the lighting business, detergent business or even in personal psychology. It’s all too ambiguous.

Imagine how many people see your signage, or name and tagline on a flyer, or whatever other media and from the name and the first few words can’t figure out what is it that you do and who you do it for. That’s a lot of wasted communication and potential customers.

1) Have a tag line This is the simplest thing any business should have in place. A few words that actually tell potential customers what it is that you do, and even better, who do you do it for.

Communication is at the heart of any good business and brand. After the name, the next line of communication is this tag line. More often than not these are constructed rather badly.

2) Use imagery Whether that is on your premises, on a website, a brochure, wherever it is, good imagery really sells your business. Images are emotional, they are compelling, and they are symbolic. They create feelings, which is the basis of any good brand.

This is because they take the business beyond the literal and they can represent what it is that you stand for and what you as

Spriha Srivastava

What’s better than mum’s cooking?

What if there was a way you could have Mum’s homemade food away from home while reducing the rising unemployment rate amongst women in the UK? Four recent graduates from London have come up with a delicious antidote for these two assumingly unrelated issues. Nelson Sivalingam, Iram Zahid, Jaina Patel, and Kartik Bharadia, have come together to help unemployed women from vulnerable backgrounds and isolated communities gain skills and employment through the medium of cooking.

After forking out to eat in restaurants only to discover the food didn’t match up to Mum’s home cooking and frustrated from seeing talented women struggling to gain employment they decided to take matters into their own hands.

The result – an innovative social enterprise by the name of Mummy’s Cooking!

Mummy’s Cooking is a culinary treat born out of passion for good homemade food and bringing the local community together. The focus is on helping women from vulnerable backgrounds and isolated communities to gain skills and employment through the medium of cooking. Many of these women have mastered cooking authentic, ethnic cuisines by cooking for their families but for reasons such as a lack of formal qualifications, confidence issues and language barriers they are unable to secure employment.

The process is designed to make the transition from home to professional kitchen as easy as possible for the women, with fully subsidised training and the opportunity to be men-

tored by a professional chef. Once the women are fully equipped, oozing with confidence and raring to go, Mummy’s Cooking provides them with employment. This in turn allows Londoners to eat delicious, authentic homemade food and meet the women at pop up events, market stalls and even at your wedding with the private catering option.

According to Mummy’s Cooking, “Born out of love for homemade food and a passion for bringing the local community together, we want to take you

on a journey to try as many Mums’ cooking as possible while helping these amazing women gain skills and employment through the medium of cooking. As well as providing training and employment, these women will be given the opportunity to meet likeminded women, work in a commercial environment and share their cooking with foodies like us!”

The four food lovers are keen to try as many Mums’ cooking as possible while building an ethical brand known for its quality food and community spirit. To get Mummy’s Cooking off the ground, they’re trying to raise money through the crowd-funding platform Sponsume.com.

The funds from the campaign will be used to take this opportunity to the women who need it the most by working with women’s organisations, community groups and job centres and to get these women fully certified to work in commercial kitchens. It will also cover the costs of setting up the launch pop up and taking this exciting concept out into the market.

According to the founders, the concept is simple and works in 4 easy stages. Stage one involves working with community groups, women’s organisations and job centres to reach out to women who can benefit from this opportunity. These are women who have no formal qualifications, language barriers and lack confidence, which holds them back from getting entrylevel jobs. It is known that they are amazing cooks but they will need the necessary certification to work in a professional environment. So

Stage two provides fully subsidised training and support for the women to obtain a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate from Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

In Stage three, to make the transition from home to professional kitchen as easy as possible, an experienced chef will guide them through this process and help them harness their skills in order to work in a commercial kitchen.

And finally, now they’re fully equipped, oozing with confidence and raring to go, here the organizers will be providing these super-talented women with employment. This is the part where you get to eat delicious, authentic homemade food and meet the women who made it.

This could be at pop up restaurant, market stalls or through private catering. It’s an interesting and innovative concept and requires a funding back up from those who want to help. The group is looking to raise £3000 to cover costs of training, setting up launch pop up event, getting Mummy’s Cooking out into the markets in order to secure employment for the women and so on.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Mo Luthra Branding Consultant www.moluthra.com

a business value.

Normally what I see, if a business does use imagery, is your typical shots of handshakes, or people in suits. Try and use imagery which is either unique to you, or would be unique if you used it within your industry. Remember the old saying; a picture is worth a thousand words. If you get the right picture it will grab attention and your marketing will be much more effective.

3) Don’t be scared to show off your personality Ultimately it all comes down to this. How you create differentiation is based not on what you do or sell, as there will probably be hundreds of companies within your marketplace doing the same thing. How you make yourself different and desirable is through the personality around your brand. Express that, trade on that. How you make someone feel is more powerful than anything else. Some people will love it others will hate it.

That’s where the power lies. If there is a group of people that feel they like you and love you, that they trust you, they will be happy to pay whatever it is that you ask.

Asian community comes together to turn Harrow pink for St Luke’s Hospice ‘Strangers become friends on the night and families become closer. There is always a sense of love and loss, strength and hope in the air and a wonderful sense of achievement. ‘ Anji Modi St Luke’s Hospice will once again be hosting their biggest fundraising event of the year, the ladies Midnight Walk, on Friday 21 June. 1400 ladies of all ages will walk a 9 mile circular route starting and finishing at Harrow Leisure Centre.

Theeveningwillstartwithaf unandenergeticliveperformanceand Bollywood master class with dancing sensation, Karan Pangali, and walkers will receive a goody bag and breakfast on completion.

All funds raised will help the hospice which is

based in Kenton and which aims to help people whose illnesses are no longer curable to achieve the best possible quality of life in the final stages of their illness. Pinner resident Bindu Rav will take part in the walk for the 5th year running, along with members of her family. She says ‘I particularly love the team spirit among walkers, volunteers, supporters and

A major exam board has become the first in Britain to outsource exam paper marking to India as part of a cost-cutting project to speed up the assessment process, the PTI reported.

City & Guilds has been sending off thousands of papers to be marked by an education firm based in Bangalore as part of a pilot scheme, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

It had started outsourcing marking to

MeritTrac as part of the scheme launched 18 months ago.

"We have made a substantial investment in a more flexible way of marking, which we are piloting for tests with clearly defined marking schemes for right and wrong answers. Highly-experienced, subject-matter experts continuously monitor and uphold our standards," the board said.

However, Alan Smithers,

the general public.

Everyone encourages walkers of all ages and abilities which is a huge motivator’ Help turn Harrow pink for your local hospice and register at www.stlukes-hospice.org/midnightwalk.

There are also lots of opportunities for men to volunteer, the hospice particularly needs teams of marshalls.

Britain outsources 'exam paper marking' to India director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University reportedly said, "The idea of putting call centres in India was that you had a very highly educated workforce who could get the job done more efficiently and cheaper than in this country. But you try ringing British Telecom and it is incredibly hard to get any kind of technical advice out of them.”

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

7

Clarke heads healthcare Trade Mission to India

Indian Wives Not Fit To Be British Wives

tr En

y

Happy Birthday to us

FOR ST LUKE’S HOSPICE

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar started its journey in May 1972. From next issue we begin our 42nd year. We are grateful to our readers and well wishers who were instrumental for the continuous success. We pledge to do our utmost to serve our readers and community at large.

3

FRIDAY 21st JUNE 2013

Come on ladies, show you care!

Protest targets Primark over Bangladesh workplace disaster As rescuers continue to search for survivors from the collapsed Bangladeshi block where workers made Primark clothes, on 27 April campaigners protested outside its flagship store in support of victims and their families.

The demonstration at the store in London’s Marble Arch demanded the retailer pays full compensation, including loss of earnings, to the injured workers and the families of those who lost their lives, and takes action to prevent any future disasters. It came on the eve of International Workers’ Memorial Day, which marks workplaces deaths and injuries. Six thousand

based Brit Healthcare, Horsforth based TPP, Bradford based 3DiFM, BMJ Learning, London based Downtown Engineering Consultants, Sheffield Hallam University, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing and BT. In a statement Ken Clarke told Asian Voice: “Many people say that the National Health Service is the closest thing the British have to a religion.

But what they don’t know is that our NHS was only actually built with the help of Indian doctors, and continues to rely on them.

Now some of the most exciting British companies are being drawn to India to return the favour in kind.

As a result of the NHS people in Britain have amongst the fastest access to GPs in the world, the best coordinated care, and they suffer from the fewest medical errors. Britain is quite simply a world leader in organising and administering first class medical care. The companies I am taking with me on my visit want to bring all this expertise to India.

The historic partnership between Indian and British doctors has already saved millions of lives in Britain. On our visit we will be meeting with senior ministers and officials, and visiting hospitals and clinics, to work out how together we can save millions more.”

0 £2

grateful you are the country offered you a home as a Ugandan Indian, or a penniless migrant from Kenya, or Tanzania or India – remember too you worked for it, you earned it. You repaid your debt of gratitude manifold to the country. Look the country in the eye not from a position of being prostrate on the floor.

And please save me the rubbish about ‘immigration is a real problem, we must ensure every case is evaluated on its merits…blah blah blah’ - yes I too have a legal education and know how to stonewall. When we signed the EU treaty we didn’t have a problem with immigration – but suddenly with women, wives, the mothers of our children, suddenly the country is overrun.

There was in Parliament a vote on caste last week. That is not the problem.

We, all of us British Indians are untouchable, when our wives and husbands, are treated this way. Does caste exist in Britain – that’s not the problem – Indian Wives are not fit to be British Wives is the bigger race, nationality problem.

Patriotism is loyalty of the citizen to the country, but the country owes loyalty to its citizens. A British Indian seeks not extra protection but certainly demands no extra prejudice because he is Indian.

He expects not to have to have his right to family life and privacy invaded. A right British Indians fought for. A right without British Indians would certainly not exist to native Britons because British Independence would not exist and the European Convention on Human Rights would not exist.

So do not mistake our gratitude for weakness, our gratefulness for a willingness to be maltreated. We too, by the millions, put the Great into Great Britain.

So the next time one of our number wishes to bring their newly married spouse from the land of their ancestors – show us the respect we deserve and demand.

We are British Indians. This is our nation.

Lest YOU forget.

other professionals needed to meet the ever growing demand for healthcare in India. The UK hosts four of the world’s top ten universities for clinical, preclinical and health subjects, with the University of Oxford in first place globally.

The Minister will be in Mumbai on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 May, where he will meet with the Maharashtra State Minister of Health and other senior officials, as well as senior representatives of the life sciences and healthcare sectors.

He will then spend Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 May in Chennai, where he will call on the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr Ms J Jayalalithaa, and hold a meeting with Mr K.C Veeramani, the Tamil Nadu Minister of Health and Dr J Radhakrishnan, the state’s Principal Secretary (Health). He will also visit the MIOT and Apollo hospitals in Chennai.

The delegation will include 16 organisations, that cover a wide spectrum of healthcare related sectors spanning: Health service providers and GP practices, Technology p r o v i d e r s , Infrastructure/finance/equ ipment and Education, training, and consultancy.

Some of the companies in the delegation will include: Wolverhampton

t, en nm ai g rt a te y b en d t, goo ir sh a t- nd nk t a pi fas es ak ud re cl b in

I’ve received another case of an Indian wife of a British man having to wait years to get a British passport – and so certainty in her life. This one has a daughter with a British passport, from the husband with a British passport.

She wants my help. I will give it as much as I am able. My darker side wants me to suggest she dye her hair blonde and lighten her skin with those creams they sell in India – she may be more palatable to UK Border Patrol, I mean, Border Agency.

I am surprised she’s not in an internment camp. I am also thinking she should apply for Australian or Canadian Citizenship first, then British!

Her local MP or Keith Vaz MP as Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee could take up the case – but they may well get stonewalled – impotent and totally without any meaningful power or influence that MPs humiliatingly are.

You will recall last year I wrote about the case of my cousin. There gets a point where it is not just about what you can do for your country, but what your country should do for you.

A British Indian relative, Kavish Patel, tells me how despite getting married 12 months ago, he still is being refused permission to bring his wife to the UK from India. Do you know what immigration officers want to know? The intimate details of his Facebook chats with his wife – so they can determine it is not a sham marriage. Oh, and more intimate private information than that too – like what they did on honeymoon. 12 months!

I ask, beg, plead, with every British Indian Parliamentarian to stand up for British Indians and take up the case of the humiliation of British Indians seeking to have the right to family life, to marriage. You Parliamentarians walk on the shoulders of giants – Indian giants. Just as quick as you are to be grateful to Britain at every opportunity, and how

Continued from page 1 Next week, Mr Kenneth Clarke, MP, the British Cabinet Minister and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy, will be leading this delegation to India, consisting of some of Britain’s most innovative and ambitious health companies.

The mission is to introduce British business to the Indian healthcare sector, which is expected to be worth $150bn by 2017 and is anticipated to reach $250 billion by 2020.

Annual growth in healthcare expenditure is forecast to be 15% in India.

The primary healthcare system is estimated to be worth $30 billion and growing at 25% a year.

The Indian Government has highlighted the need to improve access to affordable and reliable primary care, particularly in rural areas. As the first ranked country for effective and efficient care by the Commonwealth Fund, the UK is already involved in this effort. A UK-funded study in Kerala will see a new model of primary care tested in the state. Several UK companies have already established GP practices (a form of primary care) right across India.

Partnerships have already been established between UK universities, the NHS and Indian institutions to train the many more doctors, nurses and

Sign up to Harrow’s biggest sponsored walk and join 1500 women walking 9 miles at midnight for your local hospice Register Now at

www.stlukes-hospice.org/midnightwalk or text LUKES followed by your name and email to 88008*

/st.lukes.hospice

@stlukesharrow

*Text messages will be charged at your standard network rate. St Luke’s Hospice will contact you about the Midnight Walk and similar events.We will not allow any other organisations to contact you.

workers die each day around the world.

The charity and its Bangladeshi partner, the National Garment Workers’ Federation, have launched a call on the cam-

paign website Change.org which urges the public to demand that Primark signs the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement in a drive against further disasters.

Sponsored by:

Reg. Charity No: 298555

8

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Virendra Sharma MP awards celebrated singer Shreya Ghoshal for her services to Bollywood

Murder charge for husband of young mother-of-two

In the august environment of the Houses of Parliament, on Thursday 25th April 2013 Virendra Sharma MP presented singer Shreya Ghoshal with an award for her services to Bollywood and music on behalf of the British Asian community.

Virendra Sharma MP welcomed Shreya Ghoshal and the distinguished gathering to the House of Commons, alongside fellow MPs and Don Foster, Minister for the Department for Communities and Local Government, as Shreya started her tour of the UK, Shreya Ghoshal being presented with the award by Virendra Sharma MP in presence of relishing the British Asian Barry Gardiner MP and others Shreya showing the AV-GS partnership to promote her tour Shreya Ghoshal is best known as organisations. DNA classified her as community’s appreciation for her a playback singer in Hindi films. Her one of the 50 most powerful women music and her talent. in India. songs are recorded in a number of Virendra Sharma MP said: Interestingly, DNA described her Indian languages nine in total, “Shreya Ghoshal is an incredible according to DNA, such as Bengali as having a soulful voice and said singer and has a glittering career in and Nepali. She has been recogthat Shreya represented a generation Bollywood and in music in India. nised for her work in music, receivthat owed its success to network telI’m delighted to be awarding ing numerous awards and nominaevision. DNA also commented when Shreya on behalf of the British Asian tions including the National Film it placed her in the power list that community as she has a great followAward for Best Female Playback she is a genuine singer with a strong ing in the United Kingdom, as is Singer four times –in all probability, voice, ie not someone who relies on exemplified by her sold-out tour and one of the youngest ever to do so. As studios to finesse the quality of her she has greatly contributed to prowell as this she has been won the singing. DNA made this judgement moting Indian culture, music and on account of the fact that Shreya Filmfare Awards five times. Shreya film abroad. has had to go through the rigours of has also been honoured in Ohio.

I wish her the very best of luck During her 2010 Summer US tour, various music contests to get on the with her tour and hope she enjoys Shreya Ghoshal received a rare ladder of stardom, such as being a her visit of the UK.” honor from the State when finalist in a Zee TV show.

Shreya Ghoshal has been supGovernor Ted Strickland issued a Shreya is very well known within ported by the Asian Voice and proclamation declaring June 26, India and increasingly among NRIs, Gujarat Samachar and the newspa2010 as Shreya Ghoshal Day. having been a judge on shows such pers are proud to continue that supShreya has received best singer as X Factor India and Star Voice of port as she continues her rise in awards from a number of different India-Chhote Ustaad. music.

Sisters born in 9 months- but they are not triplets Sister Cara became the big sister to twins Laura and Jenna Singh when she was 9 months old. Her mother Tessa Singh, 40, became pregnant within 12 weeks of Cara's birth and the twins were born prematurely at 28 weeks. In the circumstances, for three months of each year, the sisters are all the same age, yet they are not triplets.

Mrs Singh, a teacher, and her hairdresser husband Daynie, 39, had their first daughter Cara in July 2008.

The couple, who live in Chorlton, Manchester, were in for a further surprise when Mrs Singh went for a 12-week scan and the sonographer told her she was expecting twins, as either side of

Three Singh sisters with parents

their families had no twins.

In April 2009, when Mrs Singh was 27 weeks pregnant, she went into premature labour.

She told the Mail on Sunday: ‘It was so frightening that the babies were on their way at such an early

stage. We didn’t even know if they would survive. We really thought that we were going to lose them.’

Doctors at Royal Oldham Infirmary managed to hold off the contractions for a week. Then the twins were delivered, each weighing only 2lbs.

The girls were transferred to St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester.

Jenna suffered two bleeds on the brain, had a hole in her heart and had a collapsed lung.

Jenna was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and the doctors warned Mrs Singh that she may never walk.

But she has proved the medics wrong, something that Mrs Singh believes is down to her close relationship with her sisters.

Anaesthetist saves his 'right to practice' after accused of 'misconducts' Dr Rajat Subhra Banerjee (pictured) was accused of a catalogue of misconduct charges at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, a local newspaper reported.

But the panel opted not to restrict him from practising in his current position at Fairfield Hospital as his previous misconduct had been “remedied”.

He was accused of failing to maintain supervision of two patients on another occasion in 2009.

He was alleged to have failed to take adequate precautions when administering medication to a patient being treated for muscular paralysis on another occasion.

Further allegations stemmed from his employment at Whiston Hospital

in St Helens in 2006 when he failed to attend a number of courses he was booked on and did not go to work.

Dr Banerjee’s conduct had also been questioned while working at Whiston as he allegedly left a patient he had anaesthetised to get a glass of water.

The patient started to vomit but suffered no long-term harm.

During the hearing, the doctor claimed to have been a victim of bullying and racial discrimination during his employment at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust.

Chairman of the panel Dr Malcolm Phillips said: “The panel does not consider that your conduct fell just below the threshold for a finding of impaired fitness to practise; it considers that it fell some way below that threshold.

“The panel accepts that warnings should be viewed as a deterrent to remind the doctor that his conduct fell below the required standards.”

The panel found the doctor put patients at “unwarranted risk of harm” between three and eight years ago, but heard there had been no further complaints and Dr Banerjee has since changed his practice.

photo courtesy: Raj Bakrania

Rani Singh

The husband of a young mother found dead after being repeatedly stabbed in the throat in her own home has been charged with her murder.

Jahangir Nazar, 34, of Bamford Street, Chadderton, was arrested on last Monday night over the death of his wife and mother-of-two Jabeen Younis, 30.

He was charged with murder and was due to appear at Oldham Magistrates Court on April 26th.

Jabeen's body was discovered on 19 April morning at her home on Bamford Street, Chadderton, with her young son close by, a local newspaper reported.

A 20-year-old woman was arrested in connection with Jabeen's death the day after the attack and has since been

released on bail.

A post-mortem revealed Jabeen, pictured, also known as Farkhanda, had died of several stab wounds, including some to her neck.

GMP's Professional Standards Branch have launched an investigation over claims Jabeen had been visited several times by officers.

A GMP spokesman said there had been no record of any threats to kill Jabeen and that the Independent Police Complaints Commission would be kept informed as the investigation progresses.

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

The Master of McDonald’s – Atul Pathak!

Quite often promising entrepreneurs ask themselves; “What sets some people apart from other business owners, and what makes some entrepreneurs so successful, and why is it so important to always be giving something back? Different people from different backgrounds with different interests have different approaches to business.

Award winning and successful entrepreneur, Mr. Atul Pathak, Managing Director – Appt Corporation Limited t/a McDonald’s is someone who has addressed that question.

Appt Corporation Ltd owns and operates 20 McDonald’s restaurants in and around West and North West London. Atul bought into his first franchise in 2003 in Hanwell, West London and soon became the proud owner of 20 restaurants with the vision to keep growing.

Atul now employs over 1,600 people.

Atul was born in India, and gained a degree in

Atul Pathak

English, Geography & Economics at Panjab University before arriving in the UK in 1984. His career in the UK started on Southall Broadway working in a local grocery store and making ends meet. Atul had many ventures thereafter, however it was not until 2002 where one of his biggest

opportunities, to apply to become a McDonald’s franchisee, arose.

Since opening his first restaurant, Atul has been recognised as a pillar amongst the locals. His work within the local community has been extensive. Atul proudly quotes Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald’s and said “we

have an obligation to give back to the community that gives so much to us – I uphold this ethos in the day-to-day running of running my restaurants and I, along with my staff, am actively involved in a wide range of local initiatives, lending our support wherever we can”.

Last year, Atul trekked across the Sahara Desert raising over £20,000 for a children’s charity and had also contributed to donating over £200,000 to other charities over the last three years. Aside from this, Atul is an advocate of enhancing local communities so that they are a good place to live and do business in. Atul’s also been a chair of the Safer Neighbourhood team in Southall for the past four years.

Since 2003, Atul has organised annual deep cleaning within local areas of where his business operates his restaurants.

These areas are significantly challenged with litter, graffiti and dirt. These campaigns are supported by local police officers, councillors and MPs. In addition, each of Atul’s restaurants undertakes a litter patrol three times a day. During these patrols, staff pick up litter within a 100-metre radius of the restaurant. This also includes litter from his competitors.

Education and the development of the local

economy is another drive for Atul. He enjoys helping students understand the world of business through working with the Education Business

I enjoy sharing my experience of running a business with other business owners and budding entrepreneurs Partnership of Ealing, Barnet and Enfield. Atul’s restaurants allow a number of schools to use the facilities in their restaurants to support their courses on food technology and food safety.

Students can see firsthand how McDonald’s operates, which is extremely useful for their studies.

Atul also supports schools by presenting at careers days, helping students with interview skills and giving talks on different aspects of operating a business. Atul has worked in partnership with Business Education Service International to support their pre-apprenticeship programme. It is aimed at young adults in Ealing ages 16-18 who are not in education, employment or training.

Atul’s restaurants are involved in supporting a number of local football

9

teams including most recently Wingate and Finchley FC. The club supports disabled players and provides a forum for young people to use their spare time in a positive way.

Atul treats his employees as valuable assets and maximises opportunities for them by offering both workplace skills and nationally recognised qualifications in their training centre in Hanwell.

So far, over 82 members of staff of staff have successfully completed the apprenticeship scheme, and over 200 have completed GCSE Maths and English examinations.

Atul believes that betterqualified staff who carry out their jobs with pride means that you should receive the highest level of customer care when you visit his restaurants.

“I enjoy sharing my experience of running a business with other business owners and budding entrepreneurs, with the aim of helping them to take their business ideas to the next level, which in turn benefits the UK economy. I’ve been able to offer business advice in my capacity as a guest speaker at the British Library, Deloitte, the Business Growth Show, and Cranfield School of Management. I aim to do more of this in the coming months” he said.

The Sportsman sponsors East London cricket team ahead of first match win

Joshi Haque from The Sportsman Casino with Taweed Cricket Club players

cover brand new kits and all training, membership and playing fees for the season. Neil Howells, at The Sportsman Casino said: “We are thrilled to support the Tawheed Cricket Team for their 2013 season and look forward to seeing how the team performs in the league this year! We hope that The Sportsman Casino Community Fund will allow them to concentrate on playing cricket and enjoying the season.”

Sajid Rehman, manager-

player of the Tawheed Cricket Team added: “We are very excited and grateful to have received funding from The Sportsman Casino Community Fund. This is a fantastic initiative which will really allow our team to focus on our performance on the field and engage with the community to encourage them to take up cricket.”

“Our players are mainly based in the East London area and sponsorship like this enables the club to provide subsidised facilities for members who would not normally be able to afford to take part.”

w^bQbU_qTL4&'<D+@+<~kh9<n~j

Players of East London’s Tawheed Cricket Club were presented with new kits ahead of their first match against Victoria Lounge last night by 2013 sponsors The Sportsman Casino.

Taweed CC went on to win the match with 132 runs to Victoria Lounge’s 75 all out.

The Victoria Park Cricket League team, which reached the semi-finals of last year’s competition, was sponsored as part of The Sportsman Casino Community Fund, which aims to support local causes and promote community spirit.

The 2013 sponsorship will

10

Your Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Poverty in the UK

Frugal to the end

Thinning out

Lottery scams

Average national wage is discussed often enough; however, “average wealth” hardly crops up in the nation’s debate.

A Treasury Report, published in 1999, concluded that 12 million people in the UK were in poverty.

In various ways figures for income alone under-estimate the degree of inequality in British society.

Income can be “original”; “disposable”; and “final”.

Distribution of original, disposable and final household income, 1998-99 [As a percentage of the average income of all households) was as follows respectively: Original Income: Bottom Fifth 14%; Next Fifth 35%; Middle Fifth 79%; Next Fifth 128%; and Top Fifth 245% of average income.

Disposable Income: Bottom Fifth 36%; Next Fifth 56%; Middle Fifth 85%; Next Fifth 119% and Top Fifth 206% of average income.

Final Income: Bottom Fifth 48%; Next Fifth 62%; Middle Fifth 86%; Next Fifth 111%; and Top Fifth 193% of average income.

The wealthiest top 1% owned 23%; the top 10% secured 56% of wealth; and the top 50% owned 94% of total wealth.

Thus the remaining 50% of households, or 12 million households, owned 6% of the nation’s total wealth.

England extended its territory by military conquest of Wales and Ireland and unification with Scotland. The English State became Great Britain in 1707 and United Kingdom in 1801.

The Act of Union in 1707 united the two Parliaments. It allowed the Scots to run many of their own institutions, including their legal system, their church and their schools.

One may love or hate Lady Thatcher but no one can ignore her. She was a towering politician, giant among pigmies, a rare breed of principled politician among shifting, selfish and morally bankrupt generation of lustreless politicians. Her hectic pace of life personified her dedication to our nation.

Although she saved the nation some £70 billion in EU contributions and refunds, loony Left saw it fit to carp at her funeral expense that gives them Satanic Pride. It was expected to touch £10 million but in the end it came to £3:6 million; drop in the ocean compared to our £10 billion overseas aid budget, pat project for this out of touch Coalition as well as the Opposition. Her resolves were tested when Falkland Islands were so brutally occupied by Argentina. She came out with flying colours. Today we live in the land of the blind with “one-eyed Jack” politicians who would flog dead horse seem to be the kings!

Ceremonial funeral with panache and dignity was fitting end, well-deserved farewell to glittering career, watched all over the world in admiration and awe, worthy praise for the organizers.

Although we are not told about her family’s contribution, I hope it is negligible, token one.

God knows how badly we need politicians of her wisdom, dedication and panache when the country is going through an economic meltdown that may ruin lives of many inspiring younger generations who are setting foot on the ladder of self-sufficiency.

Rudy Otter has generated amusing dialogue about our changing attitude towards obesity, reflecting on loss of nutritional value of food.

In old days, food was less refined and more nourishing. People were outgoing and physically active to work out excess calories. We enjoyed fruits straight from trees. Milk came straight from cows to homes. Farm produce had very few antibiotics/pesticides. Then, people indulged more in cycling and walking in all weathers.

Today people are sedentary due to televisions, computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets etc. Pesticides, antibiotics, and polished flour, sugar and salt etc outbalance nourishing value. Fizzy drinks loaded with sugar, caffeine, harmful additives and colouring agents, cause diabetes, acidity and high blood pressure etc. Alcohol induces false sense of fullness, leading to malnutrition among drinkers, besides damage to heart, kidney, liver and brain.

Thus, it is not the food but human interference that is to be blamed. Add to this propaganda that obesity is sin.

Painfully thin models rule the diet charts.

Eating disorder, bulimia, is rampant in youngsters.

Humans must go all out for nourishing food e.g., unpolished flour, salt, sugars etc; vegetarian milk available as soya milk with almond, chocolate and other appealing tastes; green and red fruits /vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans etc which are sun-cooked foods.

Health foods are not expensive at all.

Judicious buying/meals planning, home cooking, storing leftovers and reheating can make same food cheap. But we insist on supermarket shopping, brand names, tinned fruits, bottled juices and boxed cereals.

I would like to warn our community and the readers about a lottery scam that has been going around the Barnet area.

On 26 April I was getting in my car parked on Brookdale Road near Arnos Grove Station. As I was getting in my car I was approached by a lady and asked me for an address of some solicitors by the name of Buxtons. I was a bit surprised because we were in a residential area and would not have imagined a solicitors office there.She informed me that she was from Bhutan and did not speak English. She looked distressed. While I was talking to her a smartly dressed Sikh gentleman approached the scene. He said he was working for HSBC Bank and said that this solicitors were mentioned in one of the BBC documentary and are no good. He then was doing most of the talking with the lady and asked her why she wanted to see the solicitors. She informed that she is an illegal immigrant and has won a lottery on 6 April and that her boss an Italian Dentist has offered her £25000 for the lottery. The Sikh gentleman said lets go to my house which was just a few yards away and check the lottery results on his computer. The Bhutanese lady said “no no no house” or something. So the Sikh gentleman said lets go to my car and check it on his phone. He checked the results and indeed it was a jackpot of 4.2 million pounds. The Sikh gentleman said we must help this lady, He rang the lottery people in Watford and talked to someone called Shilpa and got the details of how to claim.

He also informed them that he had the winning ticket and that he was sharing it with someone else (meaning me) He also inquired the documents that would be needed and the procedure. While he was doing these he asked me to write down the details which I did. He then informed that lady that she will need to stay in UK for at least two years. The lady seemed confused and said that she wants to go back to Bhutan as soon as she gets the money. The lady further said that you both are nice people if you help me I will give you £3000 each. At that stage the Sikh gentleman told me that let us go to the lottery office and put in the claim for the two of us and we should give the lady £50000. He said he has £20000 and asked me how much could I contribute and also asked me if I had a bank account and passport.

At this stage I smelt something fishy and my sixth sense told me not to get involved. I politely told the Sikh gentleman (Should I call him that?) that I did not want to get involved and left the scene.

When I came home I did some search on this matter. I came across a similar incident http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2120 757_warning_over_lottery_win_scammers.

I have written to National Lottery Customer Care Team but have not received a satisfactory reply.

L M Nirmal Via Email

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Only the truth prevails I thank Mr C B Patel, the Editor and writer of the article ‘Memento Modi’ dated 20 April 2013 referring to the Gujarat riots. The following 2 questions often arise: 1. Why are the tv media seem busy repeating the consequence of the 2002 Gujarat riots, separating from and ignoring the main cause- that is burning of the railway carriages occupied by Hindu devotees, who were found burnt to death? That stirred the communal harmony and peace endeared to Mr Modi, the CM of Gujarat, instead of taking a detached view of the event.

2. If the same incident had occurred in any other state of India, could the CM of that state have instantaneously and simultaneously controlled the inflammatory riots spread over vast areas affecting innocent people- Hindus and Muslims alike?

We noticed that the Western people appear culturally, educationally and politically more advanced and yet are sometimes found involved in widespread riots making it difficult for the government to control instantaneously; but in India people say that, many political parties deepen the roots of communalism, under the

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

No end in sight

Asian Voice reader Ramesh Jhalla has kindly treated us to a detailed and fascinating explanation of how reincarnation works, following my query in this page.

When I asked why we have to go through so many lives to achieve perfection, I meant maybe several thousand or more incarnations - but to what end?

Mr Jhalla implies there may be no end because every time we achieve one goal another is placed before us, with God pushing the horizon further away to make us try harder. Mr Jhalla describes reincarnation as “communicative interplay” between ourselves and God. Highly enlightening stuff.

What do other readers think?

Rudy Otter Via Email pretext of such incidence, to create strong voting blocks to win elections in succession.

Muslims chose to have their own Muslim state in 1947, but about 85% Hindus, Sikhs etc accepted the rest of the Muslims in left over India, having mutual trust and confidence in each other’s faith with conscientious honesty, conceding Mahatma Gandhi’s wish to which Mr Modi has abated truthfully.

R N Patel Essex

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Proud to be British The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he is “proud” to be both English and British as he marked St George’s Day on 23 April. I wonder where does this leave us. I, like many of us Gujaratis living in Britain, was born in India, brought up in East Africa and residing in Britain for over forty years. Like the British, we celebrate Christmas and the New year.

But we also celebrate Diwali and the Hindu New Year, making the most of both worlds.

We celebrate India’s Independence on 15 August and its attainment of Republic status on 26 January by singing patriotic songs. But what has India given us? In a land of corrupt politicians who line their own pockets at the expense of the masses, would we have owned our own houses and be driving our own cars if we had stayed there? What could a hard working honest person achieve there? Our forefathers left India for greener pastures in East Africa which was then a British colony. Most of us were either born or brought up in Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda and came here in search of even greener pastures.

Given half a chance, many people living

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abroad would want to come and settle here. Although our roots are in India, we have adopted Britain as our abode and have thrived here as we would probably not have done in our motherland. We are classed British Indians in the census survey and should be proud to be that.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

EducAtion/council Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Chelsea Asian Star pre event held with overwhelming success More than 100 children congregated at Three Bridges Primary School in the heart of Southall at the Chelsea Asian Star pre-event hosted by Sporting Equals, to prepare young players for the Asian Star 2013 that will take place at Chelsea Fo o t b a l l C l u b ’ s Cobham training ground on Monday 6TH May. Chelsea Fo u n d a t i o n c o a c h e s joined coaches from Southall Sports Trust to put kids through their paces in a series of drills, similar to those which will be used in May at the Asian Star event.

Asian Star offers successful applicants the chance to win a seasonlong placement on Chelsea Foundation's Football Development Centre.

Sporting Equals Ambassador Peter Virdee said: “It was an absolute delight to come down and watch kids from the South Asian community come out in force alongside their parents and partake in the pre-event.

The kids showed great enthusiasm and I was impressed by some of the talents that I saw. Hopefully after today we will be able to drum up further support for Asian Star in May.” Asians in Football Forum Butch Fazal, also came down to the preevent to show his support to the proactive Asian Star campaign.

Fazal added: “"It was a pleasure to attend the pre-event for Chelsea Asian Star 2013 and uplifting to not only see aspirational players but also to see so many committed parents. There is a clear generational shift in the attitude of South

Asian parents and with their support I am confident the critical mass of quality players from our community is only round the corner."

Speaking about the support of Sporting Equals for this year’s

Asian Star event, Chief Executive Officer of Sporting Equals Arun Kang commented: 'Sporting Equals are delighted to be working with Chelsea FC and supporting Asian Star 2013.

Chelsea has shown their commitment to finding players from south Asian backgrounds by opening up their youth programmes to the whole community when scouting for new talent. Often young Asian talent gets missed and this is an exciting opportunity for us to address the underrepresentation of Asian faces in football.’

Simon Taylor, Head of the Chelsea Foundation, added: ‘The event at Southall was a great day for everyone concerned. The kids had a fantastic time and their passion for the game was evident. There's clearly a talent within the Asian community, a talent we want to nurture by providing opportunities for Asian players to get into the game. We look forward to the main event on Monday 6 May and urge any player with a love of football to get involved.’

Register here for Asian Star 2013 www.chelseafc.com/asia nstar

Cass Business School: Migrant giving culture boosts support for UK charities Migrants are boosting donations for UK charities thanks to a “remittance culture”, say academics, who also found that families sending money abroad were more likely to give to British charities than other UK households.

Researchers found that 42 per cent of UK households who send money overseas also give to British charities, compared to just 29 per cent of the general UK population.

The findings come from a new study by Cass Business School’s Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy which examined patterns of remittance and charitable giving among UK migrant and minority groups.

Based on the spending habits of more than 63,000 households, the study reveals how the often-overlooked giving culture of remitters, now widely regarded as making a significant contribution to international aid, is strongly linked to financial support for UK charities.

Co-author of the study, Professor Cathy Pharoah of Cass Business School, said: “The findings of our study indicate that there is a relationship between remitting money overseas and donating to UK charities which cannot be explained simply in terms of the age, educational, or spending characteristics of the household involved. A common gen-

erosity may be driving all such behaviours.”

In 2012, the World Bank estimated total UK remittance transfers hit $23.16 billion, a figure expected to rise by eight per cent this year.

According to Cass’s study, five per cent of households in the UK send money overseas. Among these households, overseas remitting is worth an average of £31 a week, or 3.9% of household budget, and households that remit money are more likely also to donate to UK charities. Charitable giving represents around 1.6% of donor household budgets in the UK. The findings showed that remittances and donations are often made at considerable personal cost. Over one tenth of households who sent money overseas were at risk of poverty, surviving on a typical weekly budget of under £166 for two adults.

Black or black British populations were found to be at the highest risk of poverty, and were also the most likely to send money abroad.

They also gave the highest share of their budget to charity, 2.5 per cent compared to the average of 1.6 per cent. A quarter of all households who sent money overseas lived in London.

Professor Pharoah said the findings have important implications for

government policy and its Big Society concept. “As government looks to empower communities to develop their own local resources at a time of austerity, norms of giving amongst the UK’s migrant and minority groups provide valuable models for shared community responsibility, and of direct giving to extended family and community needs. Surveys of giving in the UK have overlooked such models.”

She added: “Migrant communities should be supported in making use of the most tax efficient ways of supporting good causes at home and abroad.”

In a foreword to the research, Shadow Minister for International Development, Rushanara Ali, writes: “Shifting patterns of population mean the trend for remittance payments is on the increase as more people than ever live and work abroad and feel a sense of connection to their country of origin, while also, as this report shows, giving to meet the needs of countries where they reside.”

‘Giving back to communities of residence and of origin: An analysis of remittances and charitable donations in the UK’ by Professor Cathy Pharoah and Tom McKenzie of Cass Business School. The research was funded through a grant from Trust for London.

Bratislava marathon runners join Neasden Temple fun walk and run Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Paul Lorber, Syed Shah and Peter Corcoran joined 3,000 walkers and runners from the Swaminarayan Neasden Temple in their annual charity fun 10K event through Wembley on 28th April.

The running mates, who recently went to Bratislava for Councillor Lorber’s first ever marathon, ran the 10K route which included part of Wembley High Road past Friends of Barham Library near Argos.

While Councillor Lorber continues to run in support of Friends of Barham Library and welcomes donations to virginmoneygiving.co.uk/paulllorber the 3,000 walkers and runners from the

Swaminarayan Temple were raising money for a number of other good causes including national charity Kids which supports young children.

Councillor Lorber said: As always the Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden organised a fantastic event. The beautifully sunny Sunday morning attracted a record number of participants who walked or run the the 10km with smiles on their faces.

It was great to see people of all ages taking part. The oldest participant was 90 and the youngest just three years old. Syed, Peter and I were honoured to Syed Shah, Paul Lorber and Peter Corcoran after their 10K run take part.

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Media Watch

“Competitive hooliganism,” was how the Chairman of India’s Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, described the behavior of certain legislators, mainly from the opposition benches. The absence of self-restraint and proper decorum is something the Indian electorate must mull over and address come the next general election. Irresponsible conduct in the public domain stains India’s democratic image at home and abroad.

Hopeful symptoms on economic front Amid such “functioning anarchy” (J.K. Galbraith’s famous description of India) it is a wonder that the country’s economy ticking over.

The keeps International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent review of the global economy detected a hopeful economic tide in India: the slowdown, it pronounced, had bottomed out. The prognosis was supported by the (Indian) Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) headed by former Reserve Bank of India Governor (RBI) C.Rangarajan. The Council’s report , released last week, projected 6.4 per cent growth in the current fiscal (2013-14) on the back of a predicted improvement in agricultural output, arising from a good monsoon forecast, the fast tracking of delayed projects and government policy measures that have started to kick in. With a notable decline in inflation, the report expected an RBI interest rate cut in early May.

Ambitious Godrej

tion: “What are your thoughts on India...?” Answer: “We are very buoyant on the Indian economy. We think India will continue to grow very strongly.

Our expectation is that by 2050….India will be the largest economy in the world, overtaking both the US and China.”

HDFC, Axis earnings up Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank Ltd has posted an impressive 30.2 per cent net rise in earnings in the fourth quarter of the fiscal 2012-13, a remarkable achievement at a time when GDP growth at 5 per cent had fallen to its lowest level in a decade.

This was due in no small measure to the income generated from the sale of retail loans while non-interest income increased as asset quality remained stable.

HDFC Bank classifies loans to small firms as retail loans, which grew 31 per cent year-onyear, followed by personal loans, which rose by 26 per cent. The sharper rise in retail loans ensured that its percentage in HDFC Bank’s book rose to 56 per cent, the highest since 2008.

HDFC Bank is well placed to tap into the growing rural and semiurban market through its range of networks attuned to varying customer needs. Economic activity is moving into prime time. (Hindu April 24) Axis Bank also posted an encouraging net profit of 22 per cent for the financial ending 2012-13 on retail loan demand.

(Mint, Hindu April 25)

Jet Airways-Etihad deal sealed Adi Godrej, as President of the Confederation of India Industry (CII)

Adi Godrej, Chairman of the $4 billion Godrej Group, one of India’s most respected corporate houses, gave a freewheeling, full-page interview to the Hindu newspaper (April 22). Having recently stepped down as Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) he was well positioned to assess the present and sense future directions at home and abroad.

The Godrej Group is a truly global player. Per capita, the Group earns more in South Africa, Indonesia, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile than it does in India, said Adi Godrej, “and we have manufacturing operations in 25 countries.” The Group, he went on, aims to grow 10 fold in 10 years. Phew!

Had the government done enough for reform?, he was asked, “Definitely” was his reply. Certain negative perceptions on, say, retrospective taxation remained and should be addressed quickly. Final ques-

Etihad and Jet Airways have signed up to an agreement under which the Abu Dhabi-based airline will take a 24 per cent stake worth $379 million in the Mumbai-based Indian company., which becomes the first beneficiary of New Delhi’s policy

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 4th May 2013

change allowing a foreign airlines to invest in domestic ones.

Sweetening the deal, India signed a new bilateral agreement with Abu Dhabi, expanding the number of seats available on flights between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to 50,000 from the present 13,330, an almost fourfold increase to be spread over three years (Mint, Hindu, Times of India April 25)

Tata footprint in Punjab, Haryana Tata Group Chairman, Cyrus Mistry, met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a bid to enlarge the company’s regional footprint. Mr Mistry spoke of his group’s interest in setting up joint ventures in infrastructure, agriculture and information technology.

Mamata Banerjee

Alleged fraudster Sudipto Sen

into a swirl. Thousands upon thousands of people, the vast majority from rural and semiurban areas – Trinamool’s core constituents have lost their savings in an all too familiar Ponzi scheme. Images of mass distress filled the pages of the print media, while television and

lifelong water conservationist, Mr Singh showed pictures of greenery and flowing rivers, where there had once been a semi-arid environment, at a water conservation seminar in Kannur. One needed to know the sense of flow and the science of aquifers before embarking on water conservation methods, he said.

Know the earth, its curves, its soil and water flow, before setting out to conserve water.

The balance between the subsurface, the underground should be maintained. A decentralized, community-driven water management system would pay, he affirmed, urging people’s representatives and the administration to join forces and extend support to such endeavours (Hindu April 22)

Cyrus P Mistry, Chairman of Tata Group (left) meets Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (right)

Chief Minister Badal sought the group’s expertise in providing modern technology to ensure safe water supply and sewerage facilities in his State, and also for the utilization of solar power in the farming sector. Mr Mistry spoke of his company’s interest in setting up a heavy commercial vehicle plant in Punjab.

In talks with Mr Hooda, Mr Mistry offered to build 200,000 houses in Haryana for the poor.

He also evinced interest in fertilizer and agricultural projects in the State (Hindu April 25)

Mamata’s Sea of Troubles The hostile political West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee’s Troubles keeps rising. fund collapse has sent

swell in Minister Sea of The chit the State

radio sound-bites told of suicides and attacks on agents hired by the alleged fraudster, one Sudipta Sen, to bring in the loot for his Sarada Group’s empire with generous commissions as reward.

Alas, for the best laid plans of mice and men. The fugitive Sen, a Naxalite before his makeover as capitalist roader, and two close associates were picked up by police in far-off Kashmir. However, Sen had already posted a 17-page report to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) giving the names of Trinamool Congress politicians who, he claimed, had extorted money from him through threats and blackmail.

Witch’s brew Chief Minister Banerjee, true to form, accused the previous Communist-led Left Front regime and the Centre in Delhi for creating the mess. The Centre pointed suavely to the Chit Fund Act, which fell within the States’ authority. Ms Banerjee’s no-tax-for-the- poor government has now levied an extra tax on cigarettes to raise money for those who’ve lost theirs. She proclaimed her hope that the fraternity of smokers would increase exponentially to help out (Telegraph, Times of India, Hindu, Mint April 20-28)

Rajasthan’s water harvester

(From left) Hameed Ali, chief operating officer, Jet Airways; James Hogan, president and chief executive, Etihad Airways; Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal, and James Rigney, Etihad’s chief financial officer

Known as Rajasthan’s “water man,” Rajendra Singh, explained his 27 years of effort and struggle to revive seven of the State’s dormant rivers. A

Northeastern migration A newspaper report around Easter told how a youth group from India’s North- eastern states on a visit to Mumbai were jeered at by a posse of policemen. The young men and women traced the offenders to the right police station. Having got there, they invited them for coffee and a friendly chat. The guests were received hospitably.

In an amicable conversation, the leader of the youth group told the policemen something of themselves, their society and history. Their features were unfamiliar to many in mainland India, and, yes, they were Christian, but they were as proud to be Indian as any in the land. A new friendship was sealed and the offending incident put aside.

Socially advanced Harish Nambiar’s absorbing piece in the Economic Times Magazine (April 14), published subsequently, relates how internal migration within India is bringing a creative dimension to the nation’s social and cultural life. The peoples of Mizoram and Meghalaya, for example, have greater gender equality than exists in most parts of India, and their literacy rates exceed those of most States except Kerala. Mr Nambiar referred to the disgraceful attacks on students and young people from the Northeast in Bangalore in August 2012 by Islamist militant who held them responsible for the ethnic and Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Myanmar. Some 30,000 Northeasterners fled the city in panic, but, happily, have since returned.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

What is in a name? The legal position on changing a child’s forename or surname Naming a child is one of the most important decisions parents make together; so is it justified for the resident parent to simply change their child’s forename or surname when their relationship breaks down?

By Savita Sharma Changing a child’s name requires the consent of all parties with parental responsibility. Hence both parents need to provide their explicit consent to change their child’s name. It is viewed that the child’s name is paramount to the identity in which they hold and recognises the parents. If both parents are agreeable to the change of a child’s name this is a simple process.

However, it is unusual for there to be an agreement so usually the parent who wishes to change a child’s name will require a Court Order.

When the Court assesses a change of name application they refer to a number of factors such as - whether it is in the child’s best interest to change the name? Is the child at risk of harm with their current name? Would the change in name improve the child’s welfare?

If a child has a different surname to his/her siblings it is insufficient to state that a change of name would be in his/her best interests on the sole ground that this difference in surname would isolate the child. Further, as a parent, it is insufficient to argue that as the child does not share the same surname as you, you face constantly queries about whether or not the non-resident parent is aware of the assistance you are seeking for your child.

The burden lies with the parent who wants to change the name to provide evidence to support their case that the change of name is in the child’s best

interest. The change of the child’s name will only be made if it will improve their welfare. This threshold is reiterated in established case law. If it cannot be shown that the change of name will improve the child’s welfare then the court generally adopt a policy to maintain the status quo.

Interestingly, despite residing in a multi-cultural community it is not sufficient, upon the break-up of the marriage to seek to change a child’s name based on the name not being accepted socially and culturally. Although, this may be viewed as a harsh position, the Courts have confirmed that in order to change the name of the child, the paramount consideration must be the child’s welfare. However, the Courts appreciate the sensitive cultural issues that prevail in some cases. For example, it was allowed for the children in a case to be called by Muslim names on a day-to-day basis however the Court refused to allow the formal change in order to protect the child’s Sikh heritage for the future. Even if a name cannot be changed formally, there is still scope to have the name amended on a day-to-day basis through an order of the court.

Therefore, it is imperative that there is careful consideration of these issues and that legal advice is sought promptly when considering the change of a child’s forename or surname. Duncan Lewis is a leading Legal 500 & Chambers UK Law Firm with offices across London and throughout the UK. If you believe that it is in your child’s best interests for his/her name to be changed or your ex partner intends to change your child’s name without your consent then legal advice and assistance can be provided to you by the Family Department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors.

Harrow’s young people elected into Youth Parliament Harrow Youth Parliament elected a new chair as the new parliament was declared open at their annual general meeting last Thursday.

Oliver Hurcum beat two other candidates to the position as chair of Harrow Youth Parliament.

The candidates were chosen after an impressive hustings where each young person eloquently promised what they would do for Harrow’s youth, should they be elected.

In February Jasmine Botchey, aged 16, and Liam Ackermann, aged 14, were chosen to represent the borough’s young people on the national stage for two years, beginning on April 1st, as Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) MYPs ensure the views of the young people within Harrow are listened to by meeting with MPs and local Councillors, organising events and campaigns, and holding debates. The

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M Munshi.

There was a short play produced by well known director Kiran Purohit and was attended by more than 150 people.

K M Munshi who is one of the main inspirations for a united India, started more than 90 schools, Bhavans centre at various places to pre-

Liam Ackermann, Jasmine Botchey & Oliver Hurcum

elected MYPs will also get the chance to join the debate at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting at the House of Commons.

The group also chose their new, secretaries and press officers and ran through the successful year the previous executives chaired, which included visits to the London Assembly, lobbying of Government ministers about youth issues and taking part in a debate in the House of Commons with other members of the

serve and promote our Indian culture, art, traditions and languages all across the nation.

Bhavan's Chairman Joginder Sangher, Director Dr. Nandkumar, and AV-GS Publisher/Editor CB Patel gave speeches on K M Munshi's life and his importance in our Indian history. Full report will be published in the following issues of AV.

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UK Youth Parliament.

Oliver Hurcum, newly elected chair of Harrow Youth Parliament, said “I’d like to thank everyone for voting for me. It’s a real privilege to know that I am trusted so much for this position. It’s going to be a challenging year ahead but I’m looking forward to working with councillors, council directors and all the new members of Harrow Youth Parliament to represent Harrow’s young people to the best of my ability.”

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125th birth anniversary of Kulpati K M Munshi organised at the Bhavans Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar organised the 125th birth anniversary of Late K M Munshi in association with Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan on Sunday 28th April. The event started with a vegetarian dinner by Kirti Caterers at the Bhavans followed by a documentary video on Kulpati K

13

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14

As I Saw It

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Let us welcome that Community spirit...

In the Financial Times of Monday (April 29) I saw an interesting article 'Posh Communes Show Way to Love Thy Neighbour'. I reproduce one photograph- courtesy of the FT. On Sunday I attended a prayer meeting for one of my closest friends and a formal colleague, Narendra Patel who passed away on 29th March after a short illness. The Bhajans were sung by Gary and his troop.

At the event I was approached by one DR Peter Patel, a dentist who was born and brought up in this country. Peter is aware of his ancestral roots and spent a shorttime in his childhood in Nadiad, Gujarat India.

He made a very valuable suggestion: that amongst the readers of Asian Voice, there are a large number of youngsters, who may or may not know about life in their ancestral villages or towns where their parents and grand-parents were born and brought up. He advised me to do something to fill this gap.

The FT article has encouraged me to attempt to portray life in the rural areas of my own childhood. “More and more families are clubbing together to buy land and buildings” say Elaine Moore and Tanya Powley, the writers of the FT story. “Middle-class families are clubbing to buy land and buildings for communal housing schemes that allow them to share the cost of property in closer knit communities (…) Co-housing projects, a relatively new feature of the housing market, consist of individual houses or flats grouped around central shared facilities such as gardens or offices.” The article describes that “the philosophy behind cohousing lies in a rosyhued vision of what life in towns and villages used to be like when supposedly everyone loved their

.

neighbour and helped one another out.”

In Bhadran which is my ancestral village, I only spent five continuous years in high school.

The village itself is about three hundred years old and in a way it encompasses the concept of cohousing. My own house was a traditional three storey building with a front room (living), middle (a dining room and store room) and at the back a kitchen. Upstairs were the bedrooms and a toilet that was just outside the front door.

Next, was a similar house occupied by a distant relation who had two buffalos, who provided them with valuable financial support. One buffalo pen was in front of the house. There were two other properties in that row.

A small alley-way beside my house opened on one side, to a square of say twenty by thirty feet where kids would play and elders would relax on a stone built plinth, some with hookahs and some engrossed in various conversations ranging from small family talk to the freedom struggle going on in India at the time.

A ten or twelve foot road led to an L-shaped street which was a bit wider and had buildings on either side. There were two vacant 'plots' for buffalos (animal husbandry).

In the middle of that street there was another small space for children to play or ladies to spread their poppadoms in preparation, drying them out under the scorching sun stacked over a Charpoy (a bed of haysian strings).

In front of my house, on one side, there was a property leading onto a wider road opening onto Moti Khadki. The square was about sixty by eighty feet. Again it was used for children to play and for other communal activities.

Similar layouts of the houses and roads with

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variations formed the village. The rows of terrace houses built in England, especially prior to the Second World War were missing, but there was definitely a co-housing situation. Shops for various daily needs were at various places in the village, though there was a main Bazaar comprising of about two-hundred shops towards one end.

fortable floor made from stones, kids would play, the elders sip their tea and grown-ups would exchange gossip or discuss the various topics of their lives.

The only absences are the stray dogs with their pups and perhaps the wandering cow or passing villagers in their traditional Dhoti.

Bhadran had a popu-

different parts of India including Kerala and other parts.

The change of demography is visible, seen in the high school and the four different colleges of Bhadran. Most of the teachers and academic staff come from different corners of India, and consequently among the students you can see similar 'new faces'.

The Co-housing project in Lancaster, Lancashire

The educational institutes were on the North side of the village and the civic amenities like the Town Hall and police station were on the Eastern side, facing a large pond.

Towards the South end were religious facilities with several temples, and one with a large Hall and facilities for weddings or gatherings for up to eight hundred people. Towards the West end was another beautiful Bhagol with several large Banyan trees (alas they were cut down to make way for the electric pylons). Next was a very remarkable arch called Darvarjo which has been there for nearly one hundred years now, still going strong as a shelter for passers by at the bottom, and for kids to play on the upper terraces.

The railway station is further down the road from that Bhagol.

The FT photograph is not exactly what my village life was, but not far from it: furniture was different, houses different but we had a very com-

lation of twelve thousand and today it has the same numbers. You might wonder what happened to the population growth. In England today there are one thousand families from Bhadran and in the USA twelve hundred if not more. In Africa, MiddleEast and Australia, there could be another thousand families from cities like Vadodara, Amdavad, Mumbai and others. There may be at least another thousand families from Bhadran.

Most of the Patels have moved out of Bhadran and where they were once sixty percent they are not even ten percent today. Hence most of the houses are empty and quite a few are occupied by an elderly family member or two. Immigration and emigration is a part of life. People from Bhadran have gone away for a better future and some four thousand, if not more families, have come to live in Bhadran from near and far, from

Bhadran is a comparatively well organised town with a population of twelve thousand even now. In 1949 it had a separate primary and secondary school for boys and girls. Today there are still separate primary schools but secondary schools and colleges are mixed. Fortunately there is no cinema in that town.

Almost every house has a television (70%) so the touring cinema is no more to be seen.

Television has ruined our village libraries (there were three, one for children, one for adults and one separate for women with a technical training facility). I owe a lot to the two libraries.

Today during my frequent visits to Gujarat India, I invariably visit my village to pray at the temple where I am rejuvenated, but the pond is dry where I used to swim, the local gymnasium where I used to go every evening is not so well used and the condition of the libraries depress me.

In my time there was no shops selling chicken or even eggs. Today there are restaurants selling non-veg food. There is so much transformed, some for the better and some for- at least in my viewthe worse.

With so many people abroad, there is substantial family remittance, and the town has up to fifteen branches of banks where huge amounts of money have been deposited. The family remittance also creates a problem because some of the younger generation have become 'dependent', which has deprived them of any deep desire for education or a more structured career.

Ok, there are village dispensaries and a few other facilities, people live longer, there is a panchayat where the head of the council is a woman from the Dalit community, and the age old discrimination or caste barrier is more or less gone which are all welcome.

In a town of that size there are very few quarrels or thefts or robberies.

However, with the increase of prosperity there are disputes of wealth, ownership of land and such 'new developments' that are welcomed by the lawyers of Taluka court of Borsad.

The main inspiration for this article was about 'clubbing' together and certainly as far as I know hardly anybody goes hungry because someone, somewhere, knows that there is a problem in that household and people share and care.

The FT article says that such co-housing began from Denmark, and they are quite a phenomenon in several countries. In India and in other places in the bygone days there was definitely more communes, eco-villages and the co-housing type of village. Perhaps the avatar of housing will be a better way of life.

- CB

Conflict over Caste continues even after multiple votes Continued from page 5 For example Fenner Brockway brought forward nine Private Members' Bills to make racial discrimination illegal in the 1950s, and it took years for that to make it to the statute book.

Surely after years of campaigning for anti-caste discrimination it is the time for it to become law'.

Baroness Flather could vouch personally for the fact that caste discrimination is prevalent enough, experiencing it through her upbringing

and seeing children being bullied for their Indian class heritage when she was a teacher. Lord Singh emphasised that Sikhism teaches respect and equality, and that anti-caste legislation would be welcomed by the Sikh community.

The Bill will now return to the House of Commons. It does appear that the most democratic and sensible course of action is to look further into the issue before enforcing the amendment as Baroness Stowell pro-

posed “A full balanced public discussion is something that has not previously happened, and we think it is crucial.

The government intend to start the consultation before the Summer Recess and finish it before the end of the year. In the same time scale, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will investigate independently the right way of tackling the problem, using evidence from the NIESR. The EHRC will look in light of evidence from

existing studies what is the right way of -legislative or otherwise-of tackling caste prejudice and discrimination. If it is clear from this assessment that legislating is necessary, the Government will then take steps to do that”.

In his neutral vein, Lord Deben conceded that it did seem right to wait for more thorough results, but also warned that if legislation was recommended, and the Government ignores “we will never trust them again”.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

BAPS Charities Annual Challenge Raises Funds for Needy Children More than 3,000 people across the UK participated in the BAPS Charities Annual 10K Challenge to raise money for KIDS as well as various other charities and good causes.

The Challenge in London took place on Sunday 28 April 2013 amidst glorious spring sunshine. Children from as young as three through to elderly participants in their nineties gathered at 9am in the courtyard of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden (the ‘Neasden Temple’), sporting their event shirts during the opening ceremony. Members of the British Army were also present as part of the ceremonial proceedings and began the event with the playing of bagpipes.

Participants and organisers were also joined by distinguished guests, including Warren Koehler (London Regional Director of KIDS), Cllr Mohammed Butt, Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala, Cllr Reg Colwill, Cllr Colum Maloney, Cllr Paul Lorber, Cllr Harbhajan Singh, Cllr Colum Maloney, Cllr Bhikhu Patel, Cllr Ketan Sheth, Cllr Krupa Sheth, and Cllr Vina Mithani.

Also present were Mr Rani Singh The London Book Fair is one of the most important international publishing events of the year; Frankfurt is the only other one which comes near as a must-visit for all the top publishers and agents. It is held at Earls Court over three days (this year, April 15-17).

Publishing houses have stands according to their size and status; these vary from one man at a table with chairs, his house’s books neatly arranged behind him, to those like the high octane Random House and Penguin, who have whole bunches of tables and chairs, easy lounge areas, drinks, refreshments and a set of receptionists to fend off wannabees and check in regular meetings.

Each year the British Council in collaboration with the London Book Fair arranges a country focus; this year it was Turkey’s turn; two years ago it was Russia; last year it was China. India last came around in 2009, with 45 prominent Indian authors attending, like Amartya Sen, Vikram Seth and playwright Girish Karnad.

Reed Exhibitions Books & Publishing portfolio is the organiser; other events happen in

Bhupendra Singh, Managing Director and Mr I N Dhar, Branch Manager of the Punjab National Bank (International) Limited.

The event brings together more than 3,000 people each year of all ages and backgrounds around the country. The Challenge is a chance to have fun, do something healthy, and most importantly, raise valuable funds for a variety of worthy causes. This year the

Annual Challenge will raise funds for BAPS Charities and its national beneficiary partner, KIDS. KIDS is a national charity working with disabled children, young people and their families across England.

The Challenge offered an opportunity for participants to run, jog or walk 10 kilometres and built upon 19 years of sponsored events that have

been organised by BAPS. Previous national partners have included Macmillan C a n c e r Research, Barnardo’s, The Anthony Nolan Trust, Diabetes UK, The British H e a r t Foundation, Breast Cancer Care, and Age UK. B A P S Charities volunteer Dr Sejal Saglani shared, “We are delighted to partner with KIDS this year and hope that the Challenge can help to really further the great work they are already doing.”

Cllr Butt said: “I wanted to say ‘thank you’ to BAPS Charities for organising this event. BAPS Charities has been working for a very long time with the community. I do hope that everyone sup-

London Book Fair 2013

Brazil, France, Japan, UK and USA. The most famous; Bienal do Livro São Paulo, BookExpo America, eBooks, Salon du Livre, The London Book Fair and Tokyo International Book Fair, collectively attract over 770,000 participants, 2,600 primary exhibitors and rights centre table holders, interested in buying or selling intellectual property rights, buying, selling or specifying titles, discovering the latest trends in publishing, understanding new markets or meeting authors and discovering new titles On the first day, for the Turkey Market Focus, Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, opened the Turkey Market

Focus Pavilion. Next year the focus is Korea.

I counted 42 Indian companies represented at the LBF this year, many of them in prime position and occupying spacious stands. Among them were the National Book Trust of India, Om Books International, the Red Ink Literary Agency, Roli Books, Thomson Press, Wilco and Young Angels.

In the wider literary world, agents and publishers inform me that India is seen as a huge growth market. With the popularity of Kindles and ebooks squeezing traditional book formats, publishers are desperate to find new markets for books and the numbers of possible sales in India –even among the growing but minority liter-

ports the charities and digs deep to help.”

Participants moved along the route from the Mandir towards the picturesque King Edward VII Park in Wembley where completed participants two circuits before returning to the Mandir. The route was well marshalled by stewards and plenty of refreshments were available. The last to complete the route was a batch of volunteers who were also clearing up any traces of litter.

Priya Patel, aged 16, stopped by to share her thoughts during her 10 kilometre jog: “It’s a really nice day and good to see so many people take part and also the local residents waving and smiling us along. It really is very rewarding to know that you are doing something good to help children and families not as fortunate as you.” ate classes-dwarfs what can be achieved in the UK for instance. What publishers have also revealed is that they are changing behaviour and not just recycling western fare for the Indian market, but actually creating works that will appeal to Indian readers even when written

by Indians outside India.

So budding book writers, sharpen your pencils and get onto those agents and publishers! You could be a topic of discussion at next year’s London Book Fair!

15

Virendra Sharma MP marches on to save A&E at Ealing Hospital

Virendra Sharma speaking while Cllr Navin Shah AM and Stephen Pound MP look on

Local MP for Ealing Southall marched from Southall Park to Ealing Common on Saturday to stop the Government’s downgrade of the A&E at Ealing services Hospital, which culminated in a rally on the Common.

Thousands of constituents and community leaders marched alongside Virendra Sharma MP, leader of Ealing Council Julian Bell, GLA member Dr Onkar Sahota and MPs Stephen Pound, Andy Slaughter, John McDonnell and Angie Bray.

Virendra Sharma MP spoke in Southall Park to

unite the protesters and at the rally in Ealing Common in front of all those who had also joined from Acton.

Virendra said: ‘The huge numbers of people who joined this march are a testimony to the upset and anger in Ealing over the Government’s planned closure of the A&E services at Ealing Hospital.

Today was a great step forward in ensuring that these services are available to all those who need them. We will continue to fight these closures and I know that the Council is doing everything in its power to challenge these unfair plans.

Sharma welcomes £180,000 revitalisation of Pangbourne station

Alok Sharma MP and First Great Western's Sara Hibberd on Pangbourne platform

Alok Sharma, the Member of Parliament for Reading West, on Friday 26 April 2013, visited Pangbourne Station with First Great Western to mark the completion of station improvements and a car park extension at Pangbourne station. Following over £180,000 investment, including Department for Transport Station Commercial Projects funding, the car park has been extended to create an additional 35 spaces. Further work has also seen the toilet facilities refurbished and upgraded as part of FGW’s on-going station improvement plans.

Marathon champions raise money for noble causes A hearty congratulations to Shubha Patel of Stanmore (54 year old) who completed the London Marathon on Sunday 21st April of 2013. She covered the distance of 26.2 miles in 6 hrs 49mins and raised £3670 so far for UNICEF, the worldwide children’s charity. Anyone wishing to donate to the charity can do so on http://fundraise.unicef.org.uk/MyPage/ShubhaLondon-Marathon?pageNumber=2 Gurpal Oppal and wife Nicky took part at The London Marathon that covered 26.2 miles and had over 37,000 runners participating.

The couple raised money for Children with Cancer UK, formerly Children with Leukamia and have raised £10,000 so far. They conveyed a big thank you to all who have assisted them to raise that amount.Readers can donate to the charity at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/GurpalOppal.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Vidya Balan in Cannes Film Festival's jury Bollywood actress Vidya Balan and 'Life of Pi' director Ang Lee are part of the prestigious 66th Cannes Film Festival's nine-member jury, headed by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg. Vidya, one of the most respected performers in India, is best known for her pathbreaking roles in films like 'The Dirty Picture', 'Kahaani' and 'Parineeta'.

The other big names joining Spielberg are Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, Oscar-winner Christophe Waltz, Japanese director Naomi Kawase, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay, French actor-director Daniel Auteuil and Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.

Hansika Motwani ready to do it for a cause

At a time when top stars charge a bomb to make an appearance or cut ribbons using such platforms for photo-ops and publicity (the money they often demand is exorbitant, though this can never be proved), here is a star who has voluntarily come forward to stand up for a social cause. Hansika who is just 21 has become the brand Ambassador of “Chennai turns Pink, an awareness programme to create breast cancer awareness among urban women.

Erica Fernandez to star in ‘Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu’ Southern actress Erica Fernandez grooved like late singer dancer Michael Jackson (MJ) when she performed one of his signature moves in her upcoming Tamil debut 'Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu'. "I got to do MJ's signature 'stand on the toes' finisher move. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and I'm looking forward to feedback from the audience. It may be a small scene, but I'm sure it's something no other heroine has attempted before," Erica said.

Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna honoured with Phalke awards Filmmaker Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna, legendary playback singer Asha Bhosale were among those Bollywood legends, who were honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards. Bhosale was presented with the Phalke Ratna Award for her contribution in the field of music.

Late Yash Chopra was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award for his services to the Indian film industry while his wife Pamela received the Saraswatibai Phalke Award. Rajesh Khanna was honoured as the first superstar of Indian cinema award.

Akshay Kumar received the Best Actor award for 'Rowdy Rathore' and his mother-in-law Dimple Kapadia got the Phalke Ever Memorable actor award.

Another Kamal hassanDeepika movie on cards

Bollywood's leading lady Deepika Padukone is making her debut in Kollywood with K a m a l h a s s a n ’ s “Kochaadaiyaan.” The latest news from the tinsel town is that the “Om Shanti Om” actress has been roped by Lingusamy's production house "Tirupathi brothers" alongside Kamal hassan. Kamal hassan is currently busy with his “Vishawaroopam” sequel and it's still not clear if he will be committing to direct a Hollywood flick or will wrap up a quickie with Lingusamy.

Singer Shamshad Begum is dead

Renowned playback singer Shamshad Begum, who gave voice to classics like "Mere piya gaye rangoon" and "Kabhi aar kabhi paar", has died, family sources said. She was 94. She has been ailing for the past few months. A widow since 1955, she lived with her daughter Usha Ratra. Amongst the first woman playback singers in the Hindi film industry, Shamshad Begum was born in April 14, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. Interested in singing from a young age, she got her first break with Peshawar Radio, Lahore, in December 1947. Later, her voice with a nasal tinge became a hit and she sang for top heroines of the era.

No more glamorous roles for Mallika Sherawat

Mallika Sherawat who is known for her bold roles and glamorous item numbers now wants to do performance-oriented films. "Now I want to do performanceoriented roles. I don't want to do glamorous roles and item songs. It is a conscious decision that I have taken. I do get lots of offers for item songs and glam roles but it is a deliberate choice not to do it," she said. In an image overhaul, Mallika will be seen in a complete desi avatar in her upcoming film 'Dirty Politics', where she essays the role of Anokhi Devi, based on Jodhpur's Bhanwari Devi, who was killed under mysterious circumstances after her alleged relationship with politicians.

Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Choli Ke Peeche..…’ is top of the Bollywood pops !

“Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai” has beaten off stiff competition from some of the most sizzling songs, to win the ‘hottest song from the last one hundred years of Indian cinema’ poll conducted by Sanona.com™, Bollywood Pay-Per-View movie streaming portal. Madhuri Dixit’s song beat Katrina Kaif’s sultry turn in ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ from Farah Khan’s “Tees Maar Khan” (2010) and the legendary dancer Helen’s sultry “Yeh Mera Dil” from “Don” (1978).

The once controversial song from director Subhash Ghai’s 1993 action thriller, “Khal Nayak,” was voted number one in a poll conducted across Facebook and Twitter as part of Sanona’s celebration of the industry’s landmark anniversary.

Bobby Friction, BBC Asian Network says “Choli Ke Peeche is an unrivalled song and moment in Bollywood history. The track stands out as the very essence of everything Bollywood is sonically and musically and is without any doubt is the template for everything’s that’s happened in the industry afterwards. It’s fair to say when the word Bollywood is mentioned in years to come the image used to illustrate it will always be Madhuri Dixit as picturized in this song.”

Sung by playback queens, Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun, ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’

became an instant classic. This saucy number composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal was the subject of huge controversy after the film’s release for its double-meaning lyrics by Anand Bakshi which was defended by the filmmakers as being based on a traditional folk song.

In the picturisation, an older woman (Neena Gupta) repeatedly asks: "What's underneath that blouse?" To which the younger sexy female dancer (Dixit) cheekily replies: 'My heart!'

Anil Sinanan, Time Out London’s Bollywood Film critic explains why this sassy remark caused a furore in India.

“Since everyone knew exactly what was really beneath the blouse, this caused a sensation at the time. It sparked the national debate: was it vulgar or sensuous?

Ultimately, most agreed it was the latter due to Saroj Khan's clever choreography which pushed but never crossed the line of decency. It probably sparked off the trend which has continued to this day of big stars doing 'item' numbers in films. Dixit's performance as a police officer, alongside Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff, earned her a sixth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award and saw Khal Nayak become the year's second highest grossing film.

17

Indian cinema completes 100 years on May 3, 2013. We will take you back to the golden era and showcase its evolution in a four part series. “Bollywood” is the name which defines art, talent and vision which has reached every nook and corners of the world today. The French might have introduced the concept of moving images, but India would in near future become the largest film producing country in the world. It's a miracle that Indian cinema has withstood the test of time despite the vast cultural differences. istory of Bollywood: The first few films India watched were not made in H Bollywood but had indeed arrived on India’s shores. The year was 1896, and thanks to the country’s colonial rulers, it was the Lumiere Brothers who introduced the art of cinema to the sub-continent.

Bombay, as it was then called, was the first Indian city to screen Cinematography, six short films by these cinematic pioneers.

But it was a portrait photographer called Harischandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar who made Indian ‘motion picture' history. His short ‘reality’ film screened in 1899 was called The Wrestlers and was a simple recording of a local wrestling match.

Chetan Anand, S S Vasan and Nitin Bose, among others.

In the meantime, the film industry had made rapid strides in the South, where Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films were taking South India by storm. By the late 1940s, films were being made in various Indian languages with religion being the dominant theme.

Golden Age: India’s struggle for independence in the 1950s finally parted the curtain on the Golden Age of Indian cinema. This historic period provided a strong impetus to the industry, with themes

Mehboob Khan

Dadasaheb Phalke

Silent Era to Talkies: It was only after the turn of the century that Indian entertainment underwent a sea change when the Father of Indian Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke, released his path breaking film of the Silent Era, Raja Harishchandra. The

Raja Harishchandra

film, based on a mythological character, was released in 1913 and was India’s first full-length feature film. Yes, Bollywood had finally arrived!

The growth of technology and the excitement it generated the world over eventually gave birth of India’s first ‘talking and singing’ film – Alam Ara made by Ardeshir Irani and screened in Bombay in 1931.

Finally, India’s actors had found a voice. They could talk, they could shout, they could even cry, and they could do one more thing – sing for their audiences! It was a gift that remains the signature of the quintessential Hindi film to date.

Developments in the world of Indian cinema were rapid and the 1930s and 1940s saw the rise of film personalities such as Alam Ara Debaki Bose,

Gradually, the face of Indian cinema was changing once again. Technology now gave us Dolby digital sound effects, advanced special effects, choreography and international appeal. This brought investments from the corporate sector along with finer scripts and performances.

Nutan

Guru Dutt

changing to social issues relevant at the time. Sure they were entertaining but the movies were also a potent medium to educate the masses.

But it was the Golden Age – 1950s

and 1960s – that produced some of India’s most critically acclaimed films and memorable actors of all time. Among those in Bollywood’s hall of Raj fame were Guru Dutt, Kapoor Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahani, Nargis, Bimal Roy, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nutan, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar.

So while the Guru Dutts and Bimal Roys Balraj held audiences in a Sahani trance, Indian cinema moved one step further with the release of K Asif’s Mughal-eAzam in 1960. The film kickstarted a trail of romantic movies all over India.

While Indian comDev mercial cinema Anand enjoyed popularity among movie-goers, Indian art cinema did not go unnoticed.

A d o o r Gopalakrishnan, Ritwik Ghatak, Dilip Aravindan, Satyajit Kumar Ray, Shaji Karun and several other art film directors were making movies that took India to international fame and glory.

Madhubala

Shah Rukh Khan Kajol

Meena Kumari

Nargis

The Masala Movie: The masala film – the quintessential Bollywood entertainer – burst onto the scene only in the 1970s. And audiences were enthralled by the histrionics of actors such as Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Tanuja and others.

This was Bollywood’s heyday, a time when director Rajesh Ramesh Sippy gave us Khanna

It was time to shift focus to aesthetic appeal. And stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Chiranjeevi, Juhi Chawla and Hrithik Roshan began to explore ways to use

Rajnikanth

Madhuri Dixit

Aamir Khan Juhi Chawla

Sanjeev Kumar

Waheeda Rehman

Hrithik Roshan

Asha Parekh

his iconoclastic Sholay (1975). The Tanuja film, which has been internationally acclaimed, also clinched the title of ‘superstar’ for Amitabh Bachchan, who already had well over 30 films under his belt by then.

The 1980s saw the rise of several woman directors such as Aparna Sen, Prema Karnath and Meera Nair. It was also the decade when sultry siren Rekha wooed audiences with her stunning performance in Umrao Jaan (1981).

Rekha

Technology Rules: The 1990s ushered in a mixed genre of romantic films, thrillers, action movies and comedy films.

new techniques to enrich Indian cinema with their performances.

Global Appeal: Indian cinema finally found global mass appeal at the turn of the 21st century. As the world became a global village, the industry reached out further to international audiences.

Apart from regular screenings at major international film festivals, the overseas market contributes a sizeable chunk to Bollywood’s box office collections.

Investments made by major global studios such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros was confirmation that Bollywood had etched itself on the global psyche.

Prominent Indian corporate firms such as Zee, UTV and Adlabs also jumped onto the Bollywood bandwagon, to both produce and distribute films. This coupled with the multiplex boom across India made fame and fortune soar to new heights.

Such was the excitement in the industry that by 2003, as many as 30 film production companies had been listed on the National Stock Exchange.

Cinema in India remains the single largest entertainer to date. And despite technology such as Direct-to-Home TV bringing the movies straight into the living room, the marquee still rules.

18

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Financial Voice Dear Financial Voice Reader,

The biggest question I am constantly asked is why is the market rising and should you buy stocks. Look it’s simple. When our expectations are exceeded share prices rise. Our expectations are very low about the markets because of debt problems so they are easy to exceed. And they are therefore exceeded even by small profit rises. How are profit rises happening for companies? They are sacking workers, investing money, and cutting costs.

It really is simple as that. People love to complicate it and say European debt and all other things mean prices should be lower. Well the markets aren’t rational. If you want rational look elsewhere. If you want to buy cheap and sell high then look at the markets.

Will it continue to year end. Yes about another 10% for the US markets. Well Goldman Sachs agree with me, so I have the big guns on my side. And once you have invested some rules which also will help you – because it is the opposite of what private investor do and they usually lose money.

Once a security risen 10% into profit, if it falls back into loss, you are less likely to make money: Traders who saw a stock rise 10%, rarely made money, if they then held onto it whilst it slipped into a loss. Winners did not let winning trades becoming losing trades.

Some make money that are right only 4 times out of 10: Some winning traders made money despite being right less than half the time. They did this because the amount they won when they were right was more than the amount they lost when they were wrong. Put another way, soon after their positions were in a loss, they exited and did not hang around for the trade to turn into a longer term profit. If they tended to hold winning trades for, say, 25 days, then they did not hold losing trades longer than the average period.

Forex traders were particularly successful – trend following and reverse trends: Those trading the foreign exchange markets were particularly likely to be profitable and successful of the batch I observed. This is not to say those buying and holding stocks for the long term are not profitable, it’s just that the audience being observed was one of active traders. So out of those why should foreign exchange trading work well? It appears that one reason is that such markets often ‘trend’ ie move in one smooth direction and then reverse.

This is not a hard and fast rule – but relative to equities it has been noticed by many traders. This may help such traders make money. Of course it could be they are better – but it appeared from the trades I saw, they captured trends and those trends existed, rather than with those trading other securities. One exception was commodities. Those traders did well too, but also often due to wild swings, in losing periods, gave back gains.

Those who bet small amounts, but did more trades, were more profitable than those trading big size but infrequently: We found winners did not make big bets.

But rather their risk was limited, it’s just that when they found that 1 or 2 trades in a hundred which kept on winning, they were able to hang on to them.

India cuts tax on interest in govt, corporate debt for foreigners Government will cut the tax on interest payments to foreigners on government and corporate debt to 5 per cent from up to 20 per cent for a two-year period, in a bid to draw further inflows to bridge its current account deficit and polish its reformist credentials.

The move meets a long-term demand of foreigners and makes debt more attractive. Many other Asian countries such as Singapore do not tax such interest income.

India’s finance minister P Chidambaram also clarified that a tax residency certificate issued by a foreign government would be an accepted proof of residency for tax purposes.

The government, in its budget proposals, had cre-

ated confusion with a proposal stating that a tax residency certificate "shall be necessary but not a sufficient condition" to take advantage of double taxation avoidance agreements.

Chidambaram, moving amendments to his budget proposals on Tuesday, said that the February budget proposal to lower withholding tax on infrastructure bonds would now be extended to government debt and infrastructure bonds.

Roger Aitken Are you are shareholder?

Well, probably not. With the majority of individual shareholders in public companies in the UK holding shares in nominee accounts (i.e. in accounts created by stockbrokers to record their interest in the shares of companies), the fact is that many retail investors are not ‘members’ of listed companies that they invest in with all the rights and protections afforded under Company Law. The truth is that many individuals are only ‘beneficial’ owners: receiving dividend income, having the right to buy and sell that interest and being able (sometimes) to instruct their nominee operator how to vote. But they cannot necessarily attend annual general meetings.

Indeed, figures from the Office of National Statistics indicated that based on ‘beneficial’ ownership individuals held 10.2% of shares listed on the London Stock Exchange at the end of 2008. More recently a submission in 2011 by the

Association of Private Client Investment Managers (APCIMS) to the Kay Review indicated that retail shareholders accounted for around 30% of the ownership of FTSE100 companies.

Almost a decade ago a submission the DTI pointed to some 4 million people holding nominee accounts, with 23 million shareholdings in those accounts.

Now this all might be a bit academic. However, the legal position was recently re-emphasised in a High Court ruling in the case of Eckerle vs Wickeder Westfalenstahl GmbH). Wickeder, a manufacturing company registered in England that had previously transferred from the German stock market, subsequently sought to re-register itself from a public company to a private one.

Despite a small provision within the Companies Act that enables a holder of more than 5% of the shares in a company to oppose such re-registration through application to the court (as being prejudicial to the financial

interests of a minority) the defendants (represented

by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe) argued simply that the plaintiffs had no legal standing in law as they were not ‘members’ of the company (i.e. not shareholders on the share register). The claim was upheld by the court and the application rejected.

Lawyers for Mr Eckerle argued that he was enfranchised by the Company’s Articles of Association and section 145 of the Companies Act. However, the Court determined that the Articles of Association could not be interpreted that widely. This left Mr Eckerle without redress as a minority shareholder.

There are also problems around nominee account holders voting on smaller listed companies (i.e. not able to unless they have their nominee holdings rematerialised), which have been highlighted with recent AIM delistings.

VSA Capital Group, for example, recently won a vote to delist but by a narrow margin. A similar case was Turbotec this April.

ShareSoc, the UK indi-

India's GDP likely to improve to 5.7% in 2013: IMF Indicating that India's declining growth has bottomed out, International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the country's GDP is likely to improve to 5.7 per cent in 2013 and further to 6.2 per cent a year after.

For Asia as a whole the economic growth is likely to be 5.7 per cent this calendar and 6 per cent in 2013, IMF said in its 'Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific' report.

As per IMF's projections, India's real economic growth was 11.2 per cent in 2010, 7.7 per cent in 2011 and 4 per cent in the last calendar. It further said that in South Asia, "notwithstanding a modest growth recovery in India on a more

favorable external demand environment, deep-rooted structural challenges are expected to exert a substantial drag on potential growth while keeping inflation at elevated levels by regional standards."

The Washington headquartered multilateral agency said medium-term growth prospects for China, India, and other emerging Asia economies have recently become focus of economic debates in the region. "Indeed, growth in both China and India has declined since the global financial crisis," it said.

On inflation, IMF said that across much of Asia, headline inflation slowed markedly through 2012, and in many cases by some

2 percentage points. "...the notable exceptions were India, Indonesia, and, to a lesser extent Thailand," it added.

The report said, for countries where inflationary pressures have been elevated, vigilance on inflation will pay dividends for long-term growth.

"For example, in India, monetary policy can best support growth by putting inflation on a clear downward trend," it said.

As per the report, a drop in private investment over rising policy uncertainty exacerbated supply bottlenecks in India, which contributed to headline inflation that was high compared to most other Asian economies in 2012.

vidual shareholder society ( w w w. s h a r e s o c . o r g ) , encourages investors to invest directly in companies and act like owners. As such they are trying to change the current situation.

Holding shares in a nominee account can be dangerous as regards your legal claim to those shares in the event your broker goes bust. It is not unknown that unravelling sub accounts post that event can be an extremely time consuming process.

The society would also like to see all clients of stockbrokers “warned about the dangers of nominee accounts when first opening accounts.” ShareSoc advises holding shares either in a paper share certificate form (not especially handy in the modern age and costly to buy/sell); or, by being a Personal Crest Member, effectively an electronic share registration system similar to a nominee account.

For a complete list of brokers and those facilitating Crest personal membership see APCIMS’ website: www.apcims.co.uk/buyand-sell-shares/find-a-firm/.

Mukesh Ambani joins hands with Sunil Mittal Reliance Industries joined hands with arch rival Bharti Airtel to use the latter's submarine cables for its 4G launch, a deal which surprised industry as both its promoters - Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal - have been so far seen as competitors.

Earlier this month, Mukesh Ambani buried years of rivalry with younger brother Anil after inking a similar deal to share Reliance Communications' nationwide optic fiber network.

Clearly, the senior Ambani is out to make new friends in his bid to launch bundled voice & hi-speed data on 4G network across the country later this year.

India all set for another overhaul of FDI policy

After the September FDI reforms, the government of India is all set for another overhaul of the foreign direct investment policy to give a simpler structure to the overseas investors.

It is trying to minimise layers of caps, clearly define the break-up of FDI and foreign institutional investment (FII) sub-limits, besides removing ambiguity regarding green field

and brown field projects.

“The idea is to simplify the whole structure. There are different caps. In some cases FDI, FII break-up is given but in some cases it is silent. There is negative list where FDI is not permitted; distinction between brown filed and green filed investment is too complicated; then you have automatic route and approval route,” said a finance ministry official.

In some of the sectors such as pharmaceuticals and airports, the FDI is permitted in brown field only with government’s approval, whereas in case of green field there is automatic approval. The government may look at removing the brown filed and green field distinction.

The official said FDI ceilings and norms are same for existing and new

projects if the distinction between brown filed and green filed is not clearly specified in the policy.

Last month, Air Asia’s proposal for 49% FDI in a new airline with Tata Group had become a subject of controversy, with the aviation ministry insisting that the use of word ‘operating’ in the policy meant FDI was allowed only in existing projects.

finAnciAl Voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

19

Looks Can Be Misleading

Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Recently we had one client look at a property in Queen's Park for £285,000. The property looks like a house, as you enter it from street level and it has two floors; rare to get anything resembling a house in this location, at this price. The property is an ex council flat situated on the borders of Maida Vale and Queen's Park.

The property already has an offer on it, but we were given the opportunity to close the deal, if we wanted to, due to the relationship we have with the agent. The angle here is to turn the kitchen into another bedroom and relocate it in a store room, which is next to the living room.

This would turn the property from a two bedroom to a three bedroom property, and therefore attract a rental of £475pw, giving a yield of 8.23%; an excellent yield given the location, allowing for a £15,000 refurbishment, quoted by a builder.

This area is being pushed by the ripple effect, meaning as Maida Vale increases in value so do the neighbouring areas. Only a few minutes from this property on Bravington Rd we purchased three flats for £710k. We spent £180k refurbishing the block and we have just had an offer of £443k for the top floor flat. This demonstrates the area is on the rise.

We had a viewing on this Queen's Park property on Friday and stressed the need for a quick decision due to the other offer being on the table; however to my surprise the response given was they did not want to proceed because they did not like the area.

This is actually a very silly reason; the criteria for choosing an investment is not whether someone likes the area, But whether the price will increase in the future.

The re are on ly two t hin gs t o consider: t he value of th e prope rty and th e rent al. If t hey bot h are set to increase there is no que st io n of l ik ing the area.

There is only one reason why someone should not go for this property and this is if their money is working harder doing something else.

This is not the first time I have had this feedback. Notably a good few years ago, a client who lived in East Sussex wanted to invest in property so I showed him a deal in Westbourne Grove which was a three bedroom for £275,000, this was a duplex ex council property in a block of flats.

He travelled over from Sussex over the weekend to look at the area and the property from outside; and then told me he didn’t want it because he didn’t like the look of the block. Admittedly the block was ugly and a monstrosity.

I mentioned to him that looks were not what he should be considering, as he was not going to live in the property. At this time the rental on this property was a massive £720pw and this increased to £820pw, thanks to the Department of Social Security. This means after a deposit of £68,750 which is 25% of the property value you will have an income of £23,127pa net of mortgage, service charges, and management expenses. This was back in the day when the government had money of course, looking back this was a honeymoon period; however they cannot turn the tap off straight away in reducing benefits and rehousing tenants, there needs to be a winding down period, so after a few years of this you would have your whole deposit back! The current market rent on this property is about £550pw which gives you roughly £14k per annum after all costs, which is still a very good return as opposed to what was an excellent return.

If you allow your opinion and sentiment to interfere with investing in property it will cost you in money terms. There's a reason why you have a different day job to someone who deals full time in property and has knowledge of the area.

There is of course room for sentiment and feeling within some aspects of property, when purchasing properties at the higher end of the scale the feel of the property is essential. There are two types of buyers, one is the investor and the other the end user. When it comes to selling you want an end user to purchase the property. They do not purchase because it's a deal, they purchase more from emotion. It is important to have all the elements which arouse someone to become an emotional purchaser - even down to the paintings and smells you have in the final finish of the property.

One of the reasons why recent auction results have been achieving higher than expected prices is because new buyers have flooded into the rooms; the latest Barnard Marcus auction raised £19.3m with a 75% success rate. Investors are now coming out disappointed from the auction rooms and many of them are commenting it is becoming difficult to purchase in auctions currently due to new buyers; an example of this is a one bedroom flat needing modernisation which sold for £424,000 in Bayswater on Tolbot Rd on the 14th February 2013. These are the people who have a bit of cash in the bank and are looking for investments for their pension and more money than they are getting in the bank.

So anything with a yield above 3.5% is a bonus for these buyers, their standards are low and this is being translated into inflated prices.

As far as investments go there are not many decent places in the UK to put your money into than London property, as rentals are still very strong. However there are holes to be exploited in this new turn of the tide. From a sales point of view difficult Lots with issues can be got rid of via the auction route, for example if you have a DSS tenant in your property and wish to sell it, it will be difficult through an agent as most lenders do not like to lend on a property with this type of tenant.

However in auction this will probably be missed, and once the hammer is down you have to put your 10% down come rain or shine. If you have just exchanged on a property for a lot cheaper than what it's worth, reselling straight away may again be problematic due to lending, as lenders don’t like properties which are being sold very quickly for a quick profit; hence most have a six months waiting rule. However if the property is put in auction chances are this will be missed as well and the purchaser is forced to come up with the funds, they may need to resort to more expensive lending than originally anticipated.

There are still good reasons to purchase through auctions though; many of the novice buyers will have smallish budgets and therefore stock which is on the higher end will still be reserved for the investors, this can be seen by examining historical records.

Also sitting tenants and unknown tenancies will scare most novice buyers away as they do not have the confidence to sink their teeth into these types of deals; this is where you can still exploit the auction for your benefit.

This pro perty was then off ere d to a season ed property investor whom we explaine d the deal too an d he pu rchase d it blin d purely on t he basis of t he cash flow. Mone y is more important than look s.

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SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week l Generally if an investment is high risk it is high return and low risk is low return. Property is considered low risk, hence banks will lend 75%, BUT you can make high returns, if done well. l When renovating a BTL property always be mindful of not just the quotation but the time period, as any delay will cost you in lost rent.

UK

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Tata Steel may shut UK technology centres

The First Golden Rule of Good Investing

Maria Fernandes

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In this series I have deliberately avoided any of the rules around trading and short term investing. Whilst this can be both fun and potentially profitable, it is also much riskier and requires a different range of key disciplines. I have focused on longer term wealth creation for individuals and especially families to foster and grow the value of their wealth over the decades.

Here one of the key lines to remember with investment is that in reality you can very rarely time the market – it is the time you spend in the market that counts.

The Seventh Rule, therefore, is the discipline and control that you must exercise over both the assets and liabilities of the family. From your financial planning, asset allocation, investment research, taxation and costs, you then need to pull all the issues together into a co-ordinated structure so that you have as much control and understanding over your financial affairs as if you were running your own business.

As such I would expect to see a “Family Balance Sheet” and a “Cashflow” exactly as you would in a business. It is astonishing that in most peoples’ worlds, the only thing they normally get round to planning is their holiday – not their lives, nor their finances. Let me be clear though, this is not a call for the the dull control of finances, but rather the liberation of families to be able to enjoy their finances far more than they currently do.

Multi-generational financing allows for greater flexibility of housing finance and investment, tax mitigation, cost reduction, but above all a far greater level of predictability as to the financial strength of the family. There is after all a very good reason why so many of the “uber-wealthy” continental Europeans manage their families as a family office.

There is then one key issue that arises from the management of the family funds in this way – there is one single word that controls the success of an economy, of a company and come to that each of us – confidence. If we are confident that our family has a plan looking ahead several decades, taking account of those things we know about such as education, housing and retirement, also taking into account potential issues such as age and health care, then we will be a lot more confident in our attitude and frankly have a far more comfortable way of life rather than having to worry about what might be happening and where our money really is.

We can’t make it entertaining as that would be too flippant, but we can at the very least make it interesting so that everyone can understand what is happening and why. Thus you will need to ensure that there is a regular watching of the progress of the plan and I would suggest using the professional assistance of a financial planner to regularly guide you almost as a business consultant. They will keep you up to date with all the relevant areas from all the professions, from legal and accounting issues through to investment and banking. I would look upon this as your annual audit and servicing just to validate that all is running to plan and to make whatever adjustments need to be made with, say, new family members and social changes.

There is of course nothing certain other than “death and taxes” as the phrase goes, but we can go a long way in trying to improve the safety and predictability of our financial welfare for our family. And with judicious planning no family need ever play the lottery, but rather just make the lottery without the risk – and then enjoy it!

Good luck Justin

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maria@abplgroup.com

Erosion of Democratic Rights

n many ways we take democracy for granted; believing that we have rights, that the courts will protect us when things go wrong and that somehow the truth will shine through.

The reality is slightly different.

This week the Home Office have finally confirmed that the right of appeal for family visitors is to go soon, now that the law has finally been passed. We have, of course, known this was going to happen but when it does, it will be particularly hard for families to reconcile themselves with the fact that if loved ones are refused entry this will mean no possibility of ensuring that Mum and Dad can attend your wedding or the birth of your child. When reality kicks in only then will the pain of the new rules hit home.

Over the last few years there have been a number of subtle and not so subtle changes, all of them erod-

India’s airline major Jet Airways said it would seek shareholders' approval through an extraordinary general meeting for issuing the company's equity at Rs.10 per share to the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

"The board of directors has approved, subject to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the issuance, by way of a preferential allotment... of 27,263,372 equity shares of the face value of Rs.10 to Etihad Airways at a price of not less than Rs.754.73 (including premium of Rs.744.73 per share) per equity share," the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). “The board of directors has granted

ing an entitlement to bring your grievance before a truly independent body – the courts.

The Points Based System introduced a system which did not allow for a right of appeal and as a result cases that might have succeeded had they had a right of appeal have quietly disappeared. Don’t forget the success rate of appeals is around 40%, which would indicate to anyone that there is a problem with the system.

The hand having writ moves on.

There is of course, theoretically at least, the possibility of bringing proceedings before the High Court but they are expensive and challenges have to be based on the basis that the decision is unreasonable or irrational – a test that is not easy to prove. Those with deep pockets are the only ones who can afford to take cases. The High Court, in the meantime, is also in

approval for the company and Etihad to enter into, inter alia, the investment agreement in relation to such issuance and allotment and other documents incidental thereto. The said preferential allotment is subject to various conditions precedent including regulatory approvals." The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders will be held later on. The deal is expected to garner around Rs.20 billion for

the process of being reformed with the intention of making it more expensive, allow less time for an application to be brought and much difficult to access. Legal aid for immigration has disappeared except in a few areas, and other means of access such as and law centres are disappearing altogether from the landscape or no longer offering immigration advice.

Access to justice is a central plank in the building blocks of democracy.

However in immigration this is a pipe dream. As rights are slowly dismantled brick by brick, access to justice is only a word.

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.

Jet Airways.

Talks for a possible stake sale has been doing the rounds for quite some time, ever since the government allowed foreign airlines to pick up 49 per cent shares in domestic carriers last year.

Jet-Etihad Airways concluded a deal on Feb 27 to acquire three Jet Airways slots at London airport for $70 million. In February, Etihad chief executive James Hogan and Jet Airways' chairman Naresh Goyal led a joint delegation of both the airlines and separately met Indian finance minister P Chidambaram, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh

Steel giant Tata Steel has reportedly warned the British government that it plans to shut down two research and development facilities in the country and shifts them overseas including to India, resulting in 300-400 job cuts in the UK. In a move that will be seen as a major blow to Britain’s already struggling industrial base, the company plans to close its technology centres on Teesside, in the north-east of England, and in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, over the next 18 months. A source said that Tata Steel may then shift this research to the Netherlands and India, resulting in 300-400 job cuts in the UK. In November last year, the company had revealed plans to restructure its British business, which is expected to lead to 12 site closures and 900 job losses. Its Europe operations have been hit by a combination of high energy costs, falling demand and plummeting steel prices, which have fallen by 5% in the past month.

and commerce minister Anand Sharma to apprise them about a possible stake sale deal.

Last year, the government allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in private domestic carriers.

Foreign carriers were not allowed to directly invest in Indian carriers for security reasons although 49 per cent FDI by non-airline players was allowed. The Indian civil aviation sector has been going through a tough operating environment as high fuel and interest costs have hurt it. The government expects that the decision will help bring in more funds to the airlines that have been cold-shouldered by banks.

It’s time to upgrade India’s rating, S&P told

India’s finance ministry sought to convince global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) about an upgrade in India's sovereign rating against the backdrop of reforms, which are expected to boost investment and growth.

A team of S&P analysts met top finance ministry officials, led by economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram, and discussed the economic parameters of Asia's thirdlargest economy.

"We are simply saying we have taken strong, hard decisions," Mayaram told reporters after the meeting. This country has shown its determination to put economy back on track. We believe it will

happen," he said.

Fitch & S&P had cautioned India about a ratings downgrade due to the deteriorating fiscal situation.

But since September, after P Chidambaram returned to the finance ministry, the government has announced a series of measures, including fuel price reforms, to trim the subsidy burden. "I think there is a case for an upgrade because we have taken the kind of

decisions that most of countries in the world have not been able to take," Mayaram said.

The finance minister has consistently vowed that the government would make every effort to ensure that the fiscal deficit for the current year remain below the estimated 4.8% of the gross domestic product. Growth is expected to pick up around 6.5% level due to the improvement in

farm, industry and services sectors. The fear of ratings downgrade had prompted the government to push through some politically tough reforms which economists say will start showing results in the months ahead.

Any rating downgrade would have hurt India's efforts to attract foreign capital inflows and made oversees loans for Indian companies costly. S&P said in a report that India continues to struggle, grappling with low growth and relatively high inflation. It had said that economic data in early 2013 have not been encouraging. "We forecast India's GDP to grow 6% this year," the report had said.

finAnciAl voice

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

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

'EASE THE PACE' The dollar seems to slip back into its customary position on the risk spectrum this past week with a retreat that mirrored the S&P 500â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued gains and increased investor optimism. However, risk trends and dollar bearings may be shaken in the near future as we prepare for the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decision on Wednesday 1st May and Aprilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Non-Farm Payrolls to be released on Friday 3rd May. Weaker figures again from the job market could put further pressure on the US dollar as it will give the Fed less scope to reduce their US$85bn monthly bond purchasing program.

An effort to close the gap between dollar and sentiment trends may be made through the upcoming event risk. The FOMC rate decision and the following monetary policy press conference is a key opportunity to stir risk aversion, which is positive for the US dollar given its safe haven status, or inversely deflate the greenbackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strength. The market and media has become deeply divided over assump-

tions that the central bank will ease the pace of bond purchases well before year end or that it will actually increase the effort.

In the euro zone this past week, trouble in the area was read in headlines and on the economic docket. There were many various reasons for euro bears to draw on, but perhaps the most surprisingly minimized development was Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trouble. After the Bank of Spain offered a 1Q GDP assessment for a 0.5 percent contraction, the Government

both downgraded growth forecasts (2013 will contract 1.3 percent instead of 0.5 percent) and lifted its deficit projections (from 4.5 to 6.3 percent this year). This is a serious threat that went unrewarded by reaction because of the high tolerance for pain in the euro-area for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;risksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and a distraction in debate of an ECB policy move.

The European Central Bank interest rate decision and monetary policy statement looks set to be a key risk event for euro investors this week.

Speculation of a rate cut has

0 8 0 8

$ 0 4 5

soared amongst economists recently, with many talking of a cut taking place as early as this week. Even if this does not occur, investors will look to take cues from Mario Draghiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monetary policy press conference for any indication of a rate cut in the future or other possible measures of stimulus.

Before we come to the Thursday central bank move, though, we must also keep an eye on Cyprus and Greece.

Both have critical votes for more austerity they must push through in order to keep the stimulus flowing.

Sterling finished this past week higher against all of its major counterparts as first quarter GDP figures beat market expectations with the UK growing by 0.3%. The growth figures seem to have alleviated recent concerns amongst investors of further stimulus being required by the Bank of England, which put the pound under selling pressure throughout the first quarter. Given the changed outlook on further quantitative easing we may also be seeing a change of sentiment for the currency.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 30th April 2013 @ 2pm GBP - INR = 83.31 USD - INR = 53.77 EUR - INR = 70.30 GBP - USD = 1.55 GBP - EUR = 1.19 EUR - USD = 1.31 GBP - AED = 5.69 GBP - CAD = 1.57 GBP - NZD = 1.81 GBP - AUD = 1.50 GBP - ZAR = 13.96 GBP - HUF = 355.43

www.rationalfx.com Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used areâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFXâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

PX XJ S F U S B OT G FS

G FFT

B OE OP IJ EEFO D PT U T

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world

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Amnesty says the upcoming CHOGM meeting should not be allowed in Colombo unless human rights violations are stopped Colombo: The Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics through threats, harassment, imprisonment and violent attacks, Amnesty International said in a new report.

The 78 page report, ‘Assault on Dissent’ reveals how the government, led

by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is promoting an official attitude that equates criticism with ‘treason’ in a bid to tighten its grip on power.

Journalists, the judiciary, human rights activists and opposition politicians are among those who have been targeted in a disturbing pattern of governmentsanctioned abuse, often involving the security forces or their proxies.

In November the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is set to take place in Colombo. Following that meeting, Sri Lanka would represent the Commonwealth as its Chair for the next two years. Amnesty said that under current circumstances that should not be allowed.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director Polly Truscott said: “Violent repression of dissent and the consolidation of political power go hand in hand in Sri Lanka. There is a real climate of fear, with those brave enough to speak out against the government often having to suffer badly for it. The CHOGM meeting must

In Focus Quake, flood kill 33 in Afghanistan

Jalalabad (Afghanistan): An earthquake in Afghanistan's east and flash floods in the north killed at least 33 people last week as hundreds of mud-brick homes collapsed, officials said. The 5.7 magnitude quake was felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi and was the latest in a spate of tremors to shake Asia this month. At least 18 people were killed in adjacent Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, a spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society said. Some 70 people were injured in Nangarhar alone.

Taliban key commander killed in Afghan town

Beijing: Afghan forces raided a Taliban hideout and killed a Taliban key commander along with three of his armed comrades in the southern Zabul province, 340 km south of Kabul, a local official said.

"Personnel of Afghan police acting upon intelligence report raided a hideout of Taliban militants in Naw Bahar district and killed Mullah Bakht Mohammad along with three of his bodyguards," district governor Wazir Mohammad Jawadi told Xinhua.

Pak clerics' fatwa: Voting compulsory

Islamabad: The religious scholars in Pakistan issued a 'fatwa' that declared voting in the country's upcoming general election was "compulsory under Islamic injunctions", a senior religious leader said. Over 300 clerics from different schools of Islamic thought issued the decree in Islamabad nearly two weeks ahead of the May 11 general elections, Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Allama Tahir Ashrafi said. The edict was in marked contrast to the stance taken by the banned Pakistani Taliban, who have described democracy as "un-Islamic" and warned people not to participate in the landmark polls.

Blasts in Quetta, Karachi kill seven people

Islamabad: Seven people were killed and over 60 others injured in five bomb attacks in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Karachi, including one that was carried out by a suicide bomber who was trying to target the minority Shia Hazara community.

Five persons, including a Frontier Corps personnel, were killed and over 40 injured by the powerful explosion.

not be allowed to go ahead in Colombo unless the government has demonstrated beforehand that it has stopped systematic violations of human rights. All attacks on individuals must be promptly, impartially and effectively investigated and those responsible held to account.”

The report identifies a pattern of sustained and escalating assault on dissent dating back to the end of the conflict in the country. Almost immediately after the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) were defeated in May 2009, the government started consolidating its power. The introduction of the 18th constitutional amendment in September 2010, placed key government institutions directly under the president’s control, while the use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) continues to grant sweeping powers to the security forces.

At the same time, official government discourse has become increasingly hostile towards critics, with terms like ‘traitor’ now used regularly by state-run media outlets. Government critics have been subjected to verbal and physical harassment, attacks and in some cases killings.

The report details dozens of such cases.

The judiciary has been a key target of repression, with the government undermining its independence by making threats against judges who rule in favour

of victims of human rights violations. In January Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was impeached on charges of misconduct, despite a Supreme Court ruling that the impeachment procedure was unconstitutional.

While much of the Sri Lankan media is firmly in the hands of the government, the authorities have targeted the few outlets that remain independent and criticise official policies, or have questioned the government’s conduct during the armed conflict.

Journalists continue to suffer intimidation, threats and attacks for reports that are critical of the government. At least 15 have been killed since 2006 and many others have been forced to flee the country. In a recent example, Faraz Shauketaly, a journalist with the Sunday Leader was left badly injured after unknown gunmen shot him in the neck in February.

Websites with articles critical of the government face frequent cyber-attack, while their offices have been raided by police or burned down by arsonists. The government has also used amendments to legislation – such as the imposition of exorbitant ‘registration’ fees – to shut down critical online outlets.

Pressure on critics tends to intensify around key international events including at the recent UN Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions, where resolutions high-

Bhutto murder case: Musharraf in judicial custody for 14 days Rawalpindi: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will spend Pakistan's general election day in judical custody after a court extended his house arrest over the murder of Benazir Bhutto. An antiterrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, put Musharraf on 14-day judicial remand over the death of the former prime minister, who was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in 2007.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month to stand in the May 11 general election, vowing to "save" the country from militancy and economic collapse but he was barred from running and will now spend polling day in his Islamabad villa, which has been designated as a jail.

The retired general was already under a two-week house arrest order set to expire on May 4, over the sacking of judges when he imposed emergency rule in November 2007, and did not appear in court in person.

"The court granted a 14-day

judicial remand and ordered that Musharraf be kept in a judicial lock-up until May 14," prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said. The order was made to give investigators time to work on the case and the regular hearing is due to begin on May 3. Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder two-time prime minister Bhutto.

Musharraf banned for life from contesting elections: The Peshawar High Court has on Tuesday banned Musharraf from politics for life. The court ruling against Musharraf was made on allegations of abrogating constitution twice and detaining judges during the emergency in 2007. Earlier, an appeal was filed by the former army strongman over the rejection of his nomination papers for the National Assembly seat in Chitral.

A four-judge bench, headed by PHC Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan, ruled that since Musharraf had abrogated the Constitution twice, he could not be allowed to contest elections.

lighting the need to investigate alleged violations of international law by the Sri Lankan government during the armed conflict were passed.

Participants in UN meetings and Sri Lankan journalists covering the events were repeatedly verbally attacked in Sri Lankan government media outlets, and in some cases, were physically threatened.

Polly Truscott added: “The government’s blatant attempts to restrict and silence the independent media fly in the face of the press freedom, which is supposed to be guaranteed by both domestic and international law. Before November, Commonwealth governments must pressure the Sri Lankan government to address the alarming human rights situation in the country.”

In addition to these on-going violations, the Sri Lankan government has failed – despite repeated promises to do so – to effectively investigate allegations of crimes under international law committed by the LTTE and the army during the armed conflict.

Polly Truscott concluded: “It is abundantly clear that Colombo is unwilling and unable to investigate the credible allegations of crimes under international law, including war crimes, during the conflict.

What is needed is an independent, impartial and internationally led investigation.”

Taliban vow suicide, ‘insider’ attacks in Afghanistan

Kabul: The Taliban in Afghanistan vowed to start a new campaign of mass suicide attacks on foreign military bases and diplomatic areas, as well as damaging "insider attacks", as part of a new spring offensive this year.

The offensive was announced via emails from Taliban spokesmen. The Islamist group has made similar announcements in recent years, which have sometimes been followed by spikes in violence after Afghanistan's harsh winter months.

The announcement of more mass suicide and insider attacks will likely be greeted with concern by the NATOled military coalition, which is in the final stages of a fight against the Taliban-led insurgency that began in late 2001.

However, there was no immediate reaction to the Taliban's statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). After announcing their spring offensive last year, the Taliban launched a

large attack in Kabul involving suicide bombers and an 18-hour firefight targeting Western embassies, ISAF headquarters and the Afghan parliament.

The start of the traditional "fighting season" is particularly important this year, with ISAF increasing the rate at which it hands security responsibility to Afghan forces before the withdrawal of most foreign troops by the end of 2014.

The Taliban statement said this year's offensive, named after Khalid bin Waleed, one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Mohammad, will involve "special military tactics" similar to those carried out previously.

"Collective martyrdom operations on bases of foreign invaders, their diplomatic centres and military airbases will be even further structured while every possible tactic will be utilized in order to detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors," the statement said.

Nearly 400 killed in Bangladesh building collapse

Dhaka: Bangladeshi lawyers and protesters chanted "hang him, hang him" on Monday as the owner of a factory building that collapsed killing nearly 400 people was led into court, witnesses said. The drama came as rescue officials said they were unlikely to find more survivors in the rubble of the building that collapsed last week, burying hundreds of garment workers in the country's worst industrial accident.

Heavy cranes were being used to lift huge concrete blocks from the wreckage of Rana Plaza, where 385 people were confirmed to have been killed. The building housed factories making clothes for Western brands.

Eight people have been arrested - four

factory bosses, two engineers, building owner Mohammed Sohel Rana and his father, Abdul Khalek. Police are looking for a fifth factory boss, David Mayor, who they said was a Spanish citizen.

Rana was arrested by police while he

was apparently trying to flee to India.

Hundreds of the mostly female workers who are thought to have been inside the building when it caved in remain unaccounted for. About 2,500 people have been rescued from the wrecked building in the commercial suburb of Savar, about 30 km from the capital, Dhaka.

Officials said the eightstorey complex had been built on swampy ground and without permits, and more than 3,000 workers were inside when the building collapsed. The collapse was the third major industrial incident in five months in Bangladesh. In November, a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory in a suburb of Dhaka killed 112 people.

world

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Rebels strike at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's capital

In Focus 21 killed in China clashes

Beijing: The local government in China's restive northwestern region of Xinjiang said that a clash between authorities and assailants left 21 people dead in what it described as an act of terrorism. The death toll was the highest in months in Xinjiang, which sees recurrent outbreaks of violence pitting members of the indigenous Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group against the authorities and majority ethnic Han Chinese migrants.

Indian-origin teacher sentenced for sex with minor girl

Singapore: A 25-yearold Indian-origin teacher in Singapore has been sentenced to one year in jail for having sex with an underage girl student.

Aravind S Menon became close to the minor when he was her teacher and they started a relationship. But when the girl wanted to break up with Menon, he threatened to post their sex videos online. The Judge noted that Menon warranted a heavy sentence as he had captured their sex acts on video. But the Judge also considered that it was Menon's first brush with the law and that the accused was remorseful.

38 killed in Russian hospital fire

Ramensky (Russia): Thirty-eight people were feared killed after a fire raged through a psychiatric hospital north of Moscow last week, killing some patients in their beds and trapping others behind barred windows.

The fire, which raised questions about the care of psychiatric patients in Russia, swept through a single-storey building at the hospital, a collection of wood and brick huts that was home to people sectioned by Russian courts. Officials said the blaze was caused either by patients smoking or an electrical fault.

Half of Americans anticipate more terrorist attacks

Washington: Half of the Americans feel that a terrorist attack in the United States could be imminent, a latest Gallup poll has said in the immediate aftermath of the Boston bombings that killed three people and injured more than 200 others. In its latest poll, Gallup said 51 per cent of those surveyed believed that there is more likelihood of a terrorist attack.

Sydney: Australian prosecutors demanded life sentence for a 21-year-old man, who has pleaded guilty of raping and killing Indian student Tosha Thakkar in 2011 before stuffing her in a suitcase and dumping it in a canal.

The Sydney based Supreme Court heard that the accused, Daniel StaniReginald, who lived next door had been planning his "cold and calculated" crime well before he raped the 24-year-old Thakkar.

Daniel then stuffed Thakkar's body in a suitcase, dumped it in a canal and went home to read an article called Beginnings of a Serial Killer, it was told. Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi has urged Justice Derek Price to impose life sentence on Daniel, saying he was capable of seeking notoriety as a serial killer.

He said while other young men his age were going to college or learning a trade, Daniel "made a deliberate decision to

school himself on how to become a serial rapist and murderer. In the three months before he raped and strangled Thakkar in the Croydon unit where she lived next door to him, he had viewed about 9,500 disturbing internet articles and websites on serial killers and notorious rapists", the report said, adding the accused also looked up articles on infamous Australian cases like that of Dean Shillingsworth, the murdered toddler whose body was dumped in a suitcase.

He read judgments on the

sentences of notorious killers and viewed pornography relating to the "degradation of Indian women" on the morning he murdered Thakkar, the court heard.

Kenneth Nunn, who assessed Reginald at the Children's Hospital at Westmead after he was charged with arson and malicious damage to property when he was 16, said that he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after being physically assaulted by his father, who murdered his mother when he was a child.

Pak faces possible hung parliament

Imran Khan

Nawaz Sharif

Islamabad: The first general elections in Pakistan that will usher in a smooth democratic transfer of power in 66 years is likely to go down to the wire with no party expected to get a majority.

With less than two weeks to go for the landmark elections to choose the 342-member National Assembly, two-time former premier Nawaz Sharif appears to have an edge over others and his group may emerge as the single largest party notwithstanding a late surge by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan in the heartland of Punjab. All indications are that the country could be heading for another coalition government, analysts say.

Battered by allegations of poor governance and corruption and hampered by a lacklustre campaign, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its allies, which held power till recently, are unlikely to get

23

the numbers that had helped them capture power in 2008. At that time, the PPP bagged a total of 125 seats in the National Assembly largely on the strength of a sympathy wave generated by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto weeks before the election.

This time around, Bhutto’s widower, President Asif Ali Zardari, has been barred from campaigning by the judiciary and the PPP has struggled in wooing voters even in its traditional strongholds in Sindh. Attacks by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on the PPP and its secular allies, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), have forced them to curtail their election campaign and keep their leaders away from rallies and meetings.Analysts say all this has strengthened the hands of Sharif in an election seen largely as issue-less.

Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, have attracted massive crowds during their campaign but these large turnouts have largely been in their traditional stronghold of Punjab, the country’s most populous province and the only region where campaigning has not been affected by militant threats.

In the last polls, the PML-N bagged 92 seats in the National Assembly, including 69 directly elected seats and 20 nominated seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

Analysts believe the PML-N will bag around the same number of direct-

ly elected seats this time around though the figure will be lower if the Tehrike-Insaf is able to woo the large crowds that have turned out for Imran Khan’s rallies.

Beirut: Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on Monday, state media and activists said, as rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar alAssad's capital.

The explosion shook the Mezze neighbourhood, sending a plume of thick black smoke into the sky, Internet footage posted by opposition activists showed. The Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources across Syria, said one person accompanying the prime minister had been killed. State television reported casualties, but gave no details.

"The terrorist explosion in al-Mezze was an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister.

Doctor Wael al-Halki is well and not hurt at all," state television said.

Syria's Al-Ikhbariya television later broadcast footage of Halki, who looked and sounded composed and unruffled, chairing an economic committee at the prime ministry.

Mezze is part of a shrinking "Square of Security" in central Damascus, where many government and military

Bashar al-Assad

institutions are based and where senior Syrian officials live.

Sheltered for nearly two years from the bloodshed and destruction ravaging much of the rest of Syria, it has been slowly sucked into violence as rebel forces based to the east of the capital launch mortar attacks and carry out bombings in the onceinsulated city centre.

Counter-offensive Assad has lost control of large areas of northern and eastern Syria, faces a growing challenge in the southern province of Deraa, and is battling rebels in many cities.

But his forces have been waging powerful ground offensives, backed by artillery and air strikes, against rebel-held territory around the capital and near the central city of Homs which links Damascus to the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite sect in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean.

24

IndIa

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 4th May 2013

South 4-member gang hacks Chennai temple priest to death A four-member-gang hacked to death a temple priest, who was also a soothsayer in Choolai. Janakinathan alias Paachiswamigal, 44, of Chennakesava Perumal Koil Street had gone to get milk from a nearby shop when a four-member gang came in an autorickshaw and hacked him with sickles.

Neighbours rushed him to Hospital where he was declared brought dead. He was a priest at the Periapalayathaman temple which he owned.

All for love: Store worker steals 297 bangles over 2 years

The employee of a Purasaiwalkam jewellery store, arrested two days ago on charges of stealing 3.5kg of gold, had carted away 297 bangles over two years, all to keep his girlfriend happy. The 41-year-old, who is married, used the money to buy a car and jewellery for his girl friend. About 90 sovereigns of bangles, a Honda City car and a scooter have been seized from him.

Bhaskar said that his monthly salary of Rs 10,000 wasn't enough to support a lavish lifestyle and he began taking away one bangle a day.

I am also a CM aspirant: CK Jaffer Sharief

Former union minister C K Jaffer Sharief said that he was also one of the aspirants for the chief minister's post. The veteran Congress leader said: so far, not a single person from the minority community has assumed the top post. Why shouldn't it be given to a person from the minority now?''

He said that he wants to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. He had lost the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from the Bangalore north constituency.

Punjab Dial 108 helped 732 successful deliveries in 2 years The 108 Ambulance service has made a remarkable change not onl in the lives of the people of Punjab. Since its launch two years ago, a total of 5.94 lakh genuine calls have been received till date, out of which, 4.66 lakh patients were provided ambulance services through a network of 240 ambulances. As many as 1.34 lakh pregnant women were also taken care of and there were 732 cases of successful deliveries in the ambulances. The project covers 20 districts in Punjab with a network of 240 ambulances.

5 arrested for gangraping minor girl

Five youths were arrested for allegedly abducting and gang-raping a minor dalit girl in a village of Rohtak district. The 15year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped on April 22, but her family approached the police on April 25. The accused were produced in the court and sent to judicial custody. The victim was lured by the youths to a secluded place outside the village.

Indian grapplers win team trophy

Hosts India claimed the men's freestyle team championship by logging 48 points in the Asian Wrestling Championship held at India Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.

Amit Kumar (55 kg) and Amit Kumar Dhankar (66 kg) earned gold for India in the freestyle competitions.

Issueless man arrested for kidnapping boy

An issueless 37-year-old man was arrested for kidnapping a 12-year-old boy in Chandigardh. The boy's mother had filed a complaint with the police and given them the registration number of the car in which her son was kidnapped from near a public lavatory. The police said Surjit Singh was nabbed two-kilometres away from the crime spot. Surjit got nervous when he was signalled to stop.

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa announced in the assembly the formation of a new university for policing and internal security.

Jayalalithaa, who is also the home minister, unveiled new housing projects for the police, hiked allowances and unveiled new measures for upping security in the state.

While 30 police deputy superintendent of police (DSPs) will be hired, at least 17,138 police constables,

1,091 sub-inspectors, 1,004 fire men and 292 jail wardens will be recruited this year, she said. As many as 4,800 police quarters will be built at a cost Rs 575 crore in the state. Her government is also likely to constitute the promised Tamil Nadu special youth brigade this year, comprising 10,500 personnel.

Risk allowances for police personnel have been hiked from Rs 300 to Rs 400 (constables to inspectors) and Rs

J Jayalalithaa

350 to Rs 450 for DSPs. While the traffic constable

uniform allowance has been increased from Rs 250 to 350, allowance to cover tailoring charges will go up from Rs 250 to 450.

With special focus on coastal security in the country after the Mumbai serial blasts, the state government has decided to set up at least 30 more marine police stations this year. The government has increased the daily allocation towards food for sniffer dogs from Rs 85 to Rs 200.

Alagiri deposes in high Double-decker train fails court, denies bribing voters to double the joy in Lok Sabha election

Former Union minister and DMK leader M K Alagiri appeared before the Madras high court in connection with a case against his election from Madurai in 2009.

Deposing before Justice V Dhanapalan for more than an hour, Alagiri denied allegations of bribing voters and said he was not aware of the party affiliation of A Lazar, who had been permitted by the court to substitute the deceased Mohan, who lost to Alagiri.

Admitting that party cadres and the public welcomed him to several villages during campaigning, he said neither he nor his supporters paid money to anyone. When it was asked about a list of about 34 people, who were described by the election petitioners Mohan and Lazar as persons appointed as poll agents by Alagiri, the DMK leader said he had not

M K Alagiri

appointed any of them. "I appointed former minister Pon Muthuramalingam as chief election agent," he said.

He denied the allegation that he had assigned the job of distributing 500 to his close aides, and described as false the allegation that one DMK man each was put in charge of 50 voters in his constituency. As the deposition remained inconclusive, the judge said it could be continued. Counsel for Lazar, however, said it could be resumed after the summer vacation.

The doubledecker train, which started service recently, was the cynosure of all eyes at stations between Chennai and Bangalore.

Many passengers said they booked tickets on the train to enjoy a 'novel experience', while others complained there was not enough space.

The much-awaited service started without fanfare as Southern Railway did not arrange a flagging-off ceremony and senior officers stayed away. Being the first day, it had just 45% occupancy.

Tickets for the weekend have been sold out.

"I usually travel by Shatabdi, but I wanted to try the double-decker train," said Ahobilan, who travelled in the C7 coach. "The train looks nice but there are four toilets for 120 passengers.

This will start to show in the

coming days," he said.

Several passengers had their pictures taken with the train in the background, while a few sent friends to go on the platform and photograph them as they sat on the lower deck of the coach.

Vani Reddy, a passenger, said. "The seats are just not comfortable and food was not available. The train stopped at many stations like the Brindavan Express. I got a feeling that I was travelling in a tin box, but a lot of people en route were amused by the train and were taking pictures." One of the passenger said "It seemed as if they didn't like the lower deck. The train stopped for around five minutes at every station.

Former librarian of Panjab University makes it to Limca book

IB Verma, a former librarian from Panjab University and Government College, Sector 11, has made it to the Limca Book of Records 2013 for his International Encyclopedia of Abbreviations, with 8,000 words. He is 67 years old and spends most of his time reading & writing.

"Even after retirement, I never gave up on my love for reading and writing. An earlier book of mine International Dictionary of Abbreviations - comprising 80,000 words, was published in 2012," says Verma, whose encyclopedia has been cited as 'the first of its kind in the

world', by compilers of the Limca Book of Records.

A mission undertaken out of self-motivation, it took him nearly six years to complete the book. The first edition of his encyclopedia was published 12 years ago by a pub-

lisher in New Delhi with 5,000 words.

Now, the revised edition - with 3,000 more words and in two volumes - has won him accolades.

"The two volumes of my work are unique because they contain not only the expanded forms of the abbreviations which are already available in my dictionary -- but also very useful information about each of the commonly used national and international abbreviations," says Verma.

His interests have not

Emm Aar International School, Adampur.

Surprisingly, their family members have not lodged any 'missing' report, leading the principals to allege that the students "may have stayed back in the US in connivance of their parents." "The motive of the students is clear. They went there with the aim of staying back and parents are in the know," said Narottam Singh, chairman of State Public School, Nakodar.

"The US authorities have been informed but the students still have valid visas to be in the country," said Singh.

According to him, students paid Rs 2.10 lakh each for the 11-day tour.

"It was an educational tour that included sigh-seeing and four students disappeared during a visit to the Niagra," said Sandeep Singh of Academic Aims International, the company that organized the tour.

"The first to disappear was Karanjot Singh from Emm Aar International School, Adampur, at Orlando on April 17. It was at the same place that another student, Ranjit Singh, disappeared. Two days later, four

been limited to self-growth.

He has also been encouraging others to read. "My mission is to inculcate the habit of reading, particularly among schoolkids. I have served as the general secretary of Chandigarh Librarian Association for more than 15 years," added Verma, who has written two Hindi novels too.

Verma has brought cheers for other members of his fraternity who are elated at his achievement. A book titled Young Librarian's Bible, which he wrote a few years ago, is a useful guide to young librarians on managing the system in a library.

Punjab students â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;disappearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; during study tour to US

Seven students from three schools in and around the city Jalandhar have 'disappeared' during a study tour to the US and didn't return along with others in the group after the visit ended on April 23.

About 50 students had gone on an "education trip" from April 11 to April 23, organized by a Delhi-based company. They were all students of class 11 and 12 of three schools in Jalandhar district. Of the seven 'missing' children, three each are from State Public School, Nakodar and State Public School, Shahkot while one is from

more students disappeared after a visit to the Niagra Falls. Another did the vanishing act on April 20 when the team reached a hotel in New York," Singh said.

"Our representative in the US had informed the authorities there. We were told that these students had valid visa and no action could be taken against them as it does not amount to over-staying," he added. Other students who disappeared included Jaskaranbir Singh, Lovedeep Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sahil and Manveer from State Public School, Nakodar.

IndIA

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25

Why Gujarat should get caught under crossfire?

Suresh Samani

R

ecently, opposition leader in Gujarat state assembly Shankersinh Vaghela had questioned Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s claims on development of the state and tried to give an impression that the growth model was flawed and that the state was lagging behind, particularly on human development index.

One can understand his political compulsion to do so. Modi is projecting himself as prime ministerial candidate, mainly on good governance and growth story of Gujarat. There is nothing poetically wrong if Congress leaders, in order to pin down the chief minister, use and quote some important parameters that have direct bearing on quality of life of people. What saddens us is that Gujarat is caught under crossfire between Modi

Narendra Modi

and his rivals. It should not have happened, but the fact is that it is happening, particularly at a time when we are celebrating 54th foundation day of the state. Incidentally; May 1 is also celebrated as International Labour Day. Ever since it was carved out of the Bombay state in 1960, aspirations of people to be masters of their destiny and create a distinct identity has found wings. The experience of last five decades shows that the flight has not been smooth .But the foundation that has been laid by the leaders and vision they set, the successive generation of political leadership took the journey to ever increasing height. And in the life of a state or a nation, there can’t be a full stop and sense of fulfillment. What we can have are milestones and goals .To achieves the objective of inclusive growth, we must pause and review before strategizing for policy parameters and creating favorable condition for it.

In today’s world, economic jargons such as economic development and growth has assumed altogether a new preposition. Sheer GDP growth numbers would not throw any light on interrelationship of different sectors and their relative performance, and above all human development. In healthy economic growth, all activities in manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, tertiary and service sector must rise in tandem. More people should get employment and income beyond the subsistence level. Chief Minister Modi recently advocated “less government and more governance.” He is right in the sense that the role of government should be minimum – that of a regulator and facilitator. It should not put any hurdle to entrepreneurs wanting to set up a unit or a trader setting up a shop. Even a citizen should not suffer on account of bureaucratic hurdles. Establishing and operating a business should be a smooth affair. It should not be blocked or delayed by administrative and procedural rules and regulations.

But it should not be forgotten that a state has its own responsibilities to provide ultra modern infrastructural facilities - better roads, uninterrupted power supply, potable water, and safe environment .These assumptions stem from the fact that the state has either monopoly or control over these sectors and services. Similarly, for building institutional

and social infrastructure, the state has a leading role to play. Primary education, health care are some of vital areas that have direct bearing on the welfare of people. The state, of course, can ensure the participation and partnership of private sector through different models and policy framework.

Successive governments in the states have taken initiatives in different fields of economy. While some of the measures met with partial success or proved to be a non-starter. A few of them, like establishment of industrial estates or industrial finance institutions by a state owned body, have taken firm roots.

Industrial development was the focus area right from the beginning.

Pharmaceutical and chemical industries have become stronger, though textile has lost its sheen. Gujaratis have been

Shankersinh Vaghela

known for its entrepreneurial skill and that could be seen in the proliferation of small and medium industrial units across the state. Be it oil engine, machine tools, auto parts manufacturing in Rajkot, ceramic industry in Morviwankaner-Than belt, brass part in Jamnagar, diamond polishing and synthetic textile industry in Surat, people have shown the way.

The last decade has seen the state recording high rate of economic growth.

During this period, the economy grew by on average 10 per cent annually. What is more striking is the agricultural growth.

Thanks to expansion of irrigation network, and good monsoon, the farm production has witnessed an exceptional jump, almost 10 per cent.

Being in power for more than 11 years, it is but natural that Modi government takes credit for the progress. His success, could be, partly attributed to strong foundation laid by the previous governments and entrepreneurial skill of the people, and opening up of more opportunities in post liberalization era, and overall bullish sentiments in the country. We must also give him credit for providing long period of political stability, strong leadership, showing vision and taking some bold steps. Right from the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investment Summit to the thrust on solar power, the government has taken several initiatives in infrastructure development, finance, knowledge and information and so on.

Critics may point out many lacunae in his development model and may contest its achievement claims, however the fact remains, as supported by CARE rating agency that the state has forged ahead.

It is true that we are lagging on many a count, such as malnutrition, school dropout, and few others on human development index. That should not undermine the development performance. At this juncture, we wish that the present and future governments concentrate on removing shortcomings that are being pointed out by experts and opponents.

Don’t portray them enemies of Gujarat.

As we have seen this year, we are still dependent on rain for irrigation and drinking water. Massive efforts are needed to harness and conserve water along with distribution network. To meet the challenges we need to join hands.

(Suresh Samani is a Rajkot-based senior journalist.)

If you were expecting Narendra Modi's speech in Haridwar to be as good as the one Swami Vivekanand gave in Chicago in 1893, you would have been disappointed.

But flashes of that speech and the vision of 'Bharat Mata' shared between the two Narendras were heard distinctly by Baba Ramdev Baba Ramdev and the again and again, he galaxy of Hindu saints, recalled the filthy language sadhus and seers who had that had been used against gathered at the Patanjali the yoga guru. To highlight ashram. The baba's yoga he and Baba Ramdev went posture was virtually a back a long way, Modi said prostrate before Modi. He he had known the yoga guru since the time he even asked for his ‘ashirused to ride a bicycle and wad’ once to the amusedistribute pieces of ment of other saffron-clad cashew. godmen — some of whom Modi said he had come blatantly endorsed Modi to Haridwar for the event while others were largely straight from Narayan positive towards the 'next Guru's abode in Kerala.

PM'. Amid frequent chants Earlier, he had gone to the of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’, temple of Goddess Kali in Modi’s presence here in the sea of saffron was Kolkata. He said his regret clearly a ‘trishul’ aimed at at not attending the VHP ‘strongman’ Dr Mahakumbh this year had Pravin Togadia who had got washed away on tried his best to dissuade Friday in the midst of so saints from attending the many saints. He clarified event. that he didn't want blessings for getting some covFrom Baba Ramdev's eted position. As a 'bachpoint of view, it was clear ha' of 'Bharat Mata' he that he was backing Modi only needed blessings to as PM because he wanted make his motherland a friendly government — proud. He remarked that not one which hounds him people were always trying if he questions the corrupt to read some ulterior system. He declared that design in his plans. He ‘Gujarat ka sher’ will soon also talked about observbecome ‘Bharat ka sher’.

Baba Ramdev and Modi ing Navratri by by fast in clearly empathized with recent times and people each other as victims of were misunderstanding the government in New saying his visits to temples Delhi which Modi once were a part of a grand addressed as political design. There is ‘Shahenshah’. While Modi no such design, Modi bowed before the saints asserted. Sounding a true

patriot, he said the problems were in the minds of the people who believed 'Bharat' was born on 15th August, 1947, and not those who know this is a civilisation that was born thousands of years back and documented by our scriptures written by saints.

Modi invoked the name of Swami Vivekananda on two occasions, and Sri Aurobindo and Gandhiji once.

As for Ramdev, Modi said the guru had touched crores of people through his Yoga sessions and this certainly would qualify as a Guinness world record for face-to-face instruction without use of technology.

He said if this had happened in any other country, universities would have done PhDs on the subject. Here in India, Modi said, the guru was being humiliated just because the government could not stomach his views. He said ancient Indian wisdom was a sure winner in this 'gyan' (knowledge) age.

Modi says it with slokas ‘Na tu-aham kamye rajyam, na sukham, na punarbhavam, kamye dukhtaptanam praninam arti nashanam ‘ (I have no desire for any kingdom, nor for happiness and nor for heavens. I only desire that the sufferings of beings be removed and that all are happy) ‘Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niraamayaah, sarve bhadraanni pashyantu, maa kashcidduhkha-bhaag-bhavet.

A to Z of Cosmetic Surgery Nowadays doctors from other fields, even paramedics are performing cosmetic procedures regardless whether they have specialized training or not. To select proper cosmetic surgeon, find out whether he is well trained, qualified and experienced.

Inquire about his reputation and also discuss complications and risks while undergoing the surgery and a good surgeon will surely explain to you whether the procedure is in your best interest or not.

Now, cosmetic surgery is very reasonable because of competition. Breast implants are not dangerous, if proper suppliers are used, approved by reputed company of US/Europe FDA. It is proved that implants do not increase risk of cancer. Since the implant material has been changed so now there is no leakage of silicon liquid

even in case of rupture and puncture. After pregnancies, breast at times lose their mass and so breast augmentation is the best option. Soon after surgery, routine activities can be done from first day itself.

Scars are only in the hidden area. Other than that size of breasts can also be increased by taking body fats from your abdomen or thigh and injecting it into your breast.

Breast enlargement is also possible without surgery by Brava system from US where external silicon cup are used with negative suction system for 10-12 hours a day for 10-12 weeks. On the negative side sometimes hardness is developed around implants. One of the common surgeries is Liposuction; it means removal of fat by surgery.

Once you undergo the procedure, fat is removed

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Nose can also be contoured but there are surgical limitations. In hair transplantation, hair from back and sides are taken in form of grafts and placed in bald areas. Face-lift helps to remove creases and loose skin. Laser facelift is the new trend where carbon dioxide and Erbium YAG lasers are used for making skin look younger and healthy. Laser resurfacing may result in pigmentation at times.

Botox, fillers & RF tightening can reduce age for 5 to 10 years that too without operation. Tummy reduction treatment and many other treatments and surgeries are available at Amish hospital.

For details: Email: amishhospital@hotmail.com Web: www.amishospital.com

26

IndIa

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SC raps CBI over coalgate probe India asked Pakistan to take a ‘humanitarian’ view of death row convict Sarabjit Singh’s case - whose condition is critical after being brutally assaulted by jail inmates in Lahore - and release him. Sarabjit was convicted by Pakistani courts for his alleged involvement in bombings in Punjab in 1990. He was lodged in the Kot Lakpath Jail.

India on Monday asked Pakistan to release death row convict Sarabjit Singh, whose condition remains critical after being brutally assaulted by jail inmates in Lahore, and demanded that a through investigation be done into the attack to ensure punishment to the guilty.

Sarabjit sustained several injuries, including a skull fracture, when six prisoners attacked him in Kot Lakhpat Jail and doctors have said his chances of survival are slim.

He was hit on the head with bricks and grievously injured with sharp weapons. He is in a deep coma and on ventilator support in an intensive care unit of Jinnah Hospital.

The governmental so asked Pakistan to consider the option of transferring 49year-old Sarabjit to India so he can ben-

efit from the best medical treatment available, and demanded a thorough probe into the attack.

Based on the most recent medical bulletin put out by doctors treating him, it is clear that his condition remains critical, said India’s ministry of external affairs on Monday, adding that it "shares the anguish and concern of his family members, and our prayers will remain with them".

“In view of the recent tragic events and present circumstances, we once again appeal to the Government of Pakistan to take a sympathetic and humanitarian view of this case, and release Sarabjit Singh,” said the statement.

It reiterated its demands for a probe to ensure that those responsi-

ble for the attacks are punished, adding that "it is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of all Indian prisoners in their custody."

Punjab’s food and civil supplies minister Adaish Partap Singh Kairon echoed MEA’s requests to hand over the prisoner, stating that such a step would help strengthen bilateral ties.

Pakistan’s information minister Arif Nizami, however, said that Sarabjit was being given the ‘best possible care’ and that there were no plans of moving him. The country also dismissed a report that a medical board was considering a proposal to send Sarabjit abroad.

MEA also noted that "it is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of all Indian prisoners in their custody."

Meanwhile, the ministry said officials of the Indian high commission are in touch with the medical authorities at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore and "we would like them to consider the option of transferring Sarabjit Singh to India so that he can benefit from the best medical treatment available here."

First Gujarati film on gays released in state AV Correspondent It could be an unheard subject a few years ago, but with the passage of time and more talks about it and celebrities declaring their status as gays or homosexuals, even a director in Gujarat has dared to move into this terrain and explore it as a subject for his film. The film titled, “Meghdhanushya - the colours of our life,” is all set for release in the state.

Unlike other movies where there are reflections of a gay character, in this movie, the hero is a gay.

The movie is divided into

Continued from page 1 oversee the activities of the Chinese troops in that area. Fifty Chinese soldiers are presently deployed 19 km inside Indian Territory in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector.

The Chinese troops have also deployed molosser dogs to keep a vigil, according to latest reports from the site of incursion, 70 km south of Burtse in Ladakh division.

The reports said the Chinese side has increased the number of tents to five. A banner hoisted outside the camp reads in English "you are in Chinese side" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel maintaining a round-the-clock vigil along with the molosser dogs which are considered as the best for keeping a watch in these high-altitude areas, official sources said.

While their officers were armed with Chinese Makarovs, the PLA sol-

three parts - the first part speaks about the life of the protagonist due to hormonal changes and his unawareness about his inclination towards the same sex.

The second part is on adulthood, wherein he realises about his sexuality and accepts that he is a gay. And the third part of the film wherein a gay couple (two men) who despite changes in the societal system, continue to face issues of acceptance and existence in the homosexual society.

“Gujarat continues to show their disapproval for

homosexuals even today, so much so that discussions on homosexuality continue to be a taboo even today,’’ said gay prince Manvendrasinh Gohil who also has done a narration in this venture. Gohil admits that awareness about homosexuality has increased in comparison to that of few years ago. He said had this movie been released about five years ago, the response would have been negative but now at least with these kind of movies it would generate a discussion about homosexuality which is indeed a positive sign.

He said that the censor board having certified it as ‘A’ shows the change in the thinking trend of the society. Many also admit that the de-criminalisation of section 377 has also made the difference in talking and discussing homosexuality. Apart from Gohil’s contribution, several other organisations like Lakshya Trust of Vadodara, Humsafar Trust of Mumbai, Swalambi Trust of Ahmedabad and several other such trusts working for homosexuals have extended their support and joined hands for the release of this maiden venture.

diers had a variant of AK series of assault rifles.

According to a detailed report, the additional tent has come up after three failed flag meetings between Indian and Chinese armies at Chashul. The report said aggressive patrolling by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had managed to push back intruding Chinese troops back by at least 9 km before they settled down at the present location which is nearly 18 km inside Indian territory in the DBO Sector.

According to a report submitted to the ministries of home and defence, the incursion was detected by the ITBP on the intervening night of April 15 and 16 which sent its quick reaction team which not only prevented the Chinese PLA personnel from further progressing in the area but also pushed them back across the Rakhi Nallah. The sources said the situation would have further worsened if

the ITBP personnel, deployed at the high altitude, had not moved in quickly.

The Chinese, however, halted their retreat and pitched their "artic" tents well 18 km inside the Indian territory.

The ITBP jawans immediately erected flags with message in Mandarin and English reminding the Chinese troops of "peace and tranquillity agreement and asking them to return to their side".

The Indian government is seized of this issue at the meetings of the China Study Group headed by the National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and including Secretaries of key ministries such as defence, home and external affairs, sources said. As the government came under opposition attack on the incursion issue, Congress said it was well aware of the situation in Ladakh. "As and when an appropriate action is necessary, the

government will take it," Congress spokesperson Sandip Dikshit said.

He also emphasised that war is not an option in such scenarios. External affairs minister Salman Khurshid, who will be visiting China on May 9, said he hopes that the stand off between Indian and Chinese army would be solved by the time he travels there.

The move comes at a time when the government has been cornered by the Opposition and its allies.

The government's China policy came under fierce attack from the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Opposition MPs led by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh described the government's conduct on the Chinese intrusion into eastern Ladakh as 'cowardly'.

The MPs accused the government of holding back the armed forces from retaliating. Some MPs even called for war if that was what China wanted.

Continued from page 1 the government is “not ordinary.” A bench headed

by Justice R M Lodha observed that there was a “very disturbing feature” in the affidavit filed on April 26 by CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and the agency must be restored to its independent position.

Sinha in his two-page affidavit filed in the Supreme Court had said that the agency’s status report on coal allocation scam was “shared” with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and senior officials of PMO and Coal Ministry “as desired by them”.

The Supreme Court said that sharing of information with the government about the probe into the scam has “shaken the entire process” and CBI need not take instructions from “political masters” on their probe.

“Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political interference,” the bench said.

In his affidavit, the CBI Director had said, “I submit that the draft of the same (status report) was shared with Law Minister as desired by him prior to its submission before the Supreme Court. Besides the political executive, it was also shared with one joint secretary-level officer each of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Coal as desired by them.”

Sinha’s affidavit had contradicted the claim made by Additional Solicitor-General Haren Raval on behalf of the CBI on March 12 that the probe report in the scam has not been shared with any member of the government and it has only been shared with the Supreme Court after being vetted by

the CBI Director.

I am part of government, CBI chief says: Sinha maintained that the agency was not an "autonomous organisation" and that he had not shown it (report) to any outsider but to the law minister of the country. "I am a part of the government. I am not an autonomous body. I have not shown it to any outside person. I have shown it to the law minister of the country. I will inform the Supreme Court about any situation arising out of that,” Sinha said.

Sinha, in an earlier interaction with reporters admitted that changes were made in the draft report and he gave the full details to the Supreme Court.

Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval quits: Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval resigned from his post following his remark over the coal scam report. Earlier, in a sensational development, Raval had accused Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati of trying to interfere in the CBI’s probe into the coal block allocation scam. In a letter to the attorney general, Raval said that besides the coal scam, the shadow of Attorney General Vahanvati could be deciphered in other scam related investigations by the probing agency.

PM meets Law Minister: Hours after the Supreme Court castigated the CBI, Prime Minister met Law Minister, who is accused of demanding changes to the report.

Sources said the Law Minister did not offer to resign at the short meeting. "Whatever action is called for will be taken after I study the Supreme Court observations," the PM said.

Delhi riots: Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal leads to protest Continued from page 1 Complainant Jagdish Kaur sat on protest inside the courtroom saying she would not leave until justice is done.

One of the victims, who lost her son and husband in the riots after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, said there was "no justice" for them.

“There is no justice for us.

My son was killed, my husband along with his brothers were killed. There was reign of terror for three days (during the riots). People were burnt alive," the victim said.

Police detained several protesters, including the one who threw a shoe at district and sessions judge J R Aryan after the pronouncement of the judgment. The verdict also drew sharp reactions from the families of the victims

and political leaders who termed it as a "black day".

Expressing shock and anguish at acquittal of Kumar, Shiromani Akali Dal chief and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked the Congress saying it would not be allowed to put a lid on the issue.

Stating that the verdict had dashed hopes of people who waited for nearly three decades for justice, he expressed hope that the Supreme Court would take cognisance of the plight of the families of 3,000 Sikh victims and order reinvestigation as done in the case of Jagdish Tytler.

Member of Parliament Naresh Gujral said that the case has not reached its logical conclusion due to shoddy probe by the investigators. "We are absolutely shocked and disappointed with the judgment," Gujral said.

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27

Born in Mwanza, Tanzania, Mahendra Patel toiled to create platform for the next generation of his family. The story of Patel, who recently passed away at a ripe age of 86 is the fitting tribute to many Indians who struggled on foreign soil to change the fortune of their kin.

By Nayan Dave Of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK, 65 are of Indian origin as per the 25th Sunday Times Rich List, published on April 21, 2013. Thirty-nine are foreign born, including from the Indian sub-continent. In fact the foundation for many of these wealthiest British Indians was laid years ago by their ancestors.

The British Indians forms one of the largest ethnic groups. However, decades ago their ancestors migrated almost empty handed from India, Mauritius, Fiji, and Central & East Africa etc. They toiled for better future of their children. Many worked as shop keepers and send children in private schools so that they would become successful in their lives. It actually paid off as their next generations with brilliant academic success are excelling as professionals in both private and public sectors.

Some of them laid strong foundation for their children and encourage them to become entrepreneurs. Not to forget contribution of mothers for securing bright future as most of the female immigrants were not used to work outside. But in UK they also toiled with their husbands to give much needed financial support to their families.

Same stories have been repeated with families of Indian origins settled in Africa, USA, and Middle-East and now in Australia. In fact foundations of their affluence were laid by their ancestors who dared to migrate and work hard in order to give secure, peaceful and comfortable lives to their children. In a nutshell the

young generation of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) owes their good fortune to their enterprising forefathers.

The story of Mahendra Patel, who passed away recently at Vidyanagar in Gujarat, has links to India, Africa and the Great Britain. Though Patel returned to India in his 40s from Tanzania, he was instrumental in settling his daughter in UK and two brothers in USA. It began in the year 1920, when Mahendra Patel’s father Mansukhbhai, hailing from India’s Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s village Karamsad came to London to become a barrister in 1922 and migrated to Nairobi to start practice there. Later on he moved to Mwanza in Tanzania.

Within a short period, he was a wellknown name in Mwanza region as Barrister Mansukhbhai among Indian community. As he became financially sound, Mansukhbhai along with his partners started a hotel (Lake Victoria) and a Ginning mill in Mwanza. The business and practice as lawyer both flourished.

During that period barrister Patel’s elder son Mahendra was born in 1927. His other children Sushila, Hasmukh, Janak, Saroj and Pushpa were also born in Mwanza.

Everything was going well till 1937.

But suddenly, barrister Patel died at a relatively young age due to black water illness. His wife and six children found themselves in adversity as barrister’s partners didn’t support them. They had no option but to return to ancestral village Karamsad. Mahendrabhai was hardly 12

Mahendra Patel

years at that time, eldest among six siblings. Barrister’s family which used to have all comforts of affluence in Africa found themselves toiling on farmland. It was real hard life for young children of Mansukhbhai as they had to stay in a small house made of iron sheets. Being eldest, Mahendrabhai decided to concentrate on study as well as on work to change adversity into prosperity. The family got warm support of their relatives from their mother’s village.

By 1947, Mahendra completed Bachelor of Science degree and pursued Civil Engineering course at Birla Engineering College. Patel got the job as engineer in 1954 at Vidyanagar near

Anand town. As he wanted to earn more to settle down his younger brothers and sisters, Mahendrabhai decided to migrate to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He stayed there for almost 15 years and established well. During that period he lost his wife Chandrakanta. As he had responsibility of his siblings, he decided not to marry again and concentrated in his profession. His priority was to give best education to his brothers Hasmukh and Janak who also became civil engineers. Later on both migrated to USA for greener pasture. He also made sure to settle down all sisters in their lives.

As his siblings settled in their lives, again Mahendrabhai was experiencing loneliness and decided to marry. In 1964, he married to Charulataben. In a year’s time, he was blessed with a daughter. As the weather of Dar es Salaam was not suitable for his health, Mahendrabhai decided to move back to Anand and started an Architecture firm with his friend Rameshbhai. The partnership broke in 1980 due to Rameshbhai’s sudden death.

He was also appointed as government registered valuer of properties. In 1986, his daughter got married in Leicester.

Patel used to believe that his kin have given him more than what he had done for them. When he was admitted at a hospital in Anand due to Flu, his younger brother Hasmukh was with him. There might be many Mahendras who had toiled for the prosperity of their kin. The life of Mahendra Patel is fitting tribute to numerous NRIs who toiled their entire lives to give secure future to generation next.

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13TH

ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS NOMINATION FORM

The prestigious Asian Achievers Awards is hosted every year by UK’s leading news weeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to honour British Asians par excellence. If there is someone you know who has broken boundaries and deserves recognition for their unique contribution to the community and the nation then please nominate them for one of the awards listed below. Make sure that you fill in this application form and send it on or before 12th July, 2013 by post, fax or email to Mr. L George, Tel: 020 7749 4013, Fax 020 7749 4081, Email: aaa@abplgroup.com. If you are sending it by post the address is Mr. L George, ABPL Group, Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW.

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Most important career achievements till date.

Nominee's contribution to the community and nation.

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(Please include a summary in not more than 150 words why the nominee is worthy of win-

ning the particular award in a separate sheet)

Nominators name and contact details: __________________________________________ Nominators current Occupation/Company: ______________________________________ Tel/Mobile: __________________________________________________________________ Email:_______________________________________________________________________ NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS: This is a unique event where readers nominate and an independent panel of judges comprising of eminent personalities selects the winner. Judges’ decision is final. ABPL Group will not entertain any dialogue with members of the public regarding the judging process. In order to ensure a high degree of transparency and fairness, the management and members of the staff of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will play no role in the nomination or judging process. You may use an additional sheet if the space provided is insufficient. The winners will be announced at the AAA Awards ceremony on 6th September, 2013. Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar will publish the names of the short listed candidates and winners after the event. The winners names will also appear in our e-edition www.abplgroup.com You can nominate yourself if you wish to. Nominations and entries must follow the prescribed format. All nomination forms must reach our offices on or before 12th July, 2013

Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture ................................

Someone who has made a mark in media including print and broadcast media; cinema, art and culture.

Achievement in Community Service............................................

In recognition for an individuals service to community.

Sports Personality of the Year ......................................................

Awarded for excellence in sports.

Uniformed and Civil Services ........................................................

For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services or contribution to the community through any of the above services.

Professional of the Year ..................................................................

Professionals in the field of medicine, law, education, banking, finance and others, who have scaled the heights of their chosen profession.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year ..................................................

Awarded to an young entrepreneur (less than 35 years) with a proven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Business Person of the Year ..........................................................

Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense of the word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for social issues.

Woman of the Year ............................................................................

The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made a significant mark in any chosen field.

International Personality of the Year ........................................

Awarded to those who have acclaimed popularity internationally for his/her contribution in any particular sector and is recognised for their timeless philanthropic activities.

Lifetime Achievement Award ........................................................

To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have made immense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

28

travel & women

www.abplgroup.com - asian voice 4th may 2013

Purvi Apurva Shah

Solan offers solace to tired minds and bounty of fresh air olan nestles amidst the beautiful mountains in Himachal Pradesh. For S an amateur trekker, the trip to the snow-

capped mountain ranges of Solan would be an extremely memorable one. Unlike Manali, Solan is not a tourist destination for lavish spending but is a place that offers solace to tired minds and bounty of fresh air.

give up.

The final ascent to the top of the range will be even more difficult; because the terrain's surface was rough and getting a footing was not easy. But manage to reach the highest point of the Beas Kund. There you may be greeted by a thundering blast, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid. It can be an avalanche crashing down a

the architectural beauty of Champaner AV Correspondent ama Masjid, also known as Jami Masjid; meaning Jpublic mosque in

It is quite rustic and scarcely populated, but a destination for trekkers to explore the mountains in solitude, listen to the gushing waters of Beas. There are a number of small eateries in Solan which cater to the taste-buds of nonpahadi tourists who visit the place on the one-day tour package. In the evening you set out for an acclimatising journey to a nearby mountain range. The day-long sun's harsh rays had melted snow-capped mountain ranges of Solan, and hence the levels of the n e a r b y streams had risen.

The next two days can be spent on acclimatizing yourselves for the final trek.

Loosening of limbs, strengthening the back and inhaling the air in this terrain helps before setting out on a trek to higher altitudes.

On the fourth day, set out for the base camp at Dhundi before heading for Beas Kund which is a higher mountain range in the Himalayas. Before sun set, you will reach Dhundi camp. Early next morning set out for trek to Beas Kund. Two hours of climbing hilly ranges and walking through narrow pathways of large expanses of meadows you will be ready for the final leg of the trek. But it will not easy. You may start skidding, but do not

mountain. This way you can have a firsthand experienced of the immense power of nature.

Descending to the base of Beas Kund would be a nightmare. Your feet may either slip under the rolling pebbles scattered on the surface or they refuse to stir with fear. Once you reach Beas Kund, you may suffer altitude sickness and you will find it difficult to reach the base camp in Dhundi.

N e x t morning you can set off to Solan. After a brief halt at M a n a l i , drove down to Rohtang Pass nestled in the icy slopes of the mountain r a n g e s , which is an ideal location for skiing and snowboarding. Manali is the gateway to Rohtang pass beyond which lies the twin valley of Lahaul and Spiti.

In winter the mountain slopes are snow clad and they turn into perfect skiing slopes. This pass opens for tourist from April end to October end of the year. You can have white water rafting which will be trilling and energising too.

Other activities in Himachal Pradesh Angling and fishing, rafting, mountaineering, paragliding, rock climbing, wildlife adventure, Heli skiing, skiing or snowboarding.

Champaner, Gujarat state, is part of the ChampanerPavagadh archaeological park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is among the 114 monuments which are listed by the Baroda Heritage Trust. It is located about 150 feet east of the city walls. The mosque dates back to 1513; construction was carried out over 125 years. It is one of the most notable monuments built by Sultan Mahmud Begada. The Mughal architecture is said to have drawn from the architecture of the Sultanates, which is a blend of Hindu religious connotations and workmanship with Muslim ethos; the large domes are indicative of such a mix. Of the two minarets, one was damaged by a firing in 1812 by Patankar, a Scindia Governor considered a tyrant. Restoration works were carried out in the 1890s.

It is considered one of the finest mosques in Western India for its elegant interiors. The ornamentation of the surface areas of the mosque and tomb consists of symbols of motifs of the sun, diamonds, pots and vines and lotus insignia which were used in the earlier temples; the artists of the region who worked on these monuments had imbibed their craftsmanship from their forefathers and they were not sectarian in character as they worked on assignments given by Hindus, Muslims or Jains. This mosque had three oblong mural plaques, one at the top of the pulpit and the other two on the sides, with engravings of hymns from the Koran.

The building is two-storied, with both Islamic and Hindu styles of decoration.

The plan is similar to that of the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad; it is rectangular with the entrance on the east side. There is a

portico which has a large dome built over a podium.

There are steps to the mosque from northern and southern directions. Tall octagonal minarets 30 metres (98 ft) in height are situated on both sides of the main carved entrance.

A typical Gujarat style of architecture is seen in the

hall is separated from the main area by jalis.

There is a double clerestory in one of the domes. Other interior features include an actuate maqsurah screen, trabeate hypostyle lwan, double square side wings, zanana enclosure, and screened off northern mihrab.

Step well

form of oriel windows with distinctive carvings on the outer surface. The carved roof contains several domes, and the courtyard is large. There are seven mihrabs and the entrance gates are carved and fitted with fine stone jalis.

Multiple prayer halls are separated by almost 200 pillars. The main prayer hall has eleven domes, with the central dome, a double-storied structure, built on pillars in an arcade form. The ruler's prayer

Tombs have been built adjacent to the mosque, invariably to a square plan with columns and domes erected over them, and also embellished with decorations. An ablution tank of octagonal kund appearance is near the building; it was used for rainwater harvesting and washing before prayer. The mosque has become a place of pilgrimage for those who seek blessings from the pir who is buried in one corner of the garden.

Sindhi Kadhi

Ingredients: 1/2 kg Tomatoes 100 gm Lady Finger (Bhindi). Make a small slit 100 gm Cluster Beans (Gawaal) 1 pc Drumstick (Cut into 5-6 pieces) 1 Tsp Brown Mustard Seeds (Rai) 1 Tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi) 1 Tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera) 1 Tsp Besan (Bengal gram flour) Few Kokum flowers 1 Tsp Red Chilly Powder 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder 1/4 Tsp Asafoetida (Hing) 1 Tsp grated ginger (adrak) 4 to 6 curry leaves (kadi patta) 1 Tbsp Oil 3-4 Green Chilly Salt to taste Method: Boil tomatoes and make puree. Keep it aside. Take a vessel add oil & add rai, jeera and methi.

Then add besan, mix it for two minutes till the besan turns light brown. Put green chilly, ginger, red chilly powder, turmeric, and hing.. Add tomato puree in the vessel. Add two glasses of water followed by kokum flowers, cluster beans, drumstick, curry leaves and salt. Keep it to boil for 30 minutes.

Then add lady finger and boil for 15 minutes. Serve with hot rice.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 4th May 2013

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How Jacqueline Fernandez stays fit

acqueline Fernandez can boast of having one J of the fittest bodies in B-

before shoots and then hogging at length after it. She experimented with various kinds of fad diets before she realised it is important to be fit on a regular basis than just looking slim onscreen.

Though she was going to the gym regularly, she wasn’t too inclined towards it and did not enjoy working out. Then she came across yoga and embraced it as a lifestyle. She now practises yoga for an hour, five days a week and enjoys these sessions. Her skin’s glowing, she looks fresher and it is also a stress reliever for her mind and body.

Jacqueline believes in a simple yet healthy diet and swears by her dose of fresh fruits, salads, and green tea. Her day starts with warm water with lime and honey, raw fruits and boiled or scrambled eggs. She prefers having a vegan lunch full of salads, lentils and brown rice while dinner consists of grilled fish and veggies.

According to her, the body needs the right amount of carbs, fats and proteins for it be healthy and fit. But one thing that Jacqueline totally avoids is sugar, indulging in her cravings only once in a while.

Her workout starts with a light warm-up and about 20 rounds of suryanamaskar. She also includes other asanas like vrikshasana, utkatasana, poorna halasana, kapalbhati kriya and anulom vilom in her regime.

And the regime seems to be working as well because we’ve not seen anyone look that good onscreen for a very long time!

Town and perhaps the most flexible one too.

She trained hard for Race 2 as she wanted to perform her own stunts without using a body-double and looked hotter than ever in Murder 2. We spill her fitness and diet secrets in this post.

She is born and raised in Sri Lanka, Jacqueline was on a staple Sri Lankan and Malay diet of curry and rice until she moved to Mumbai. Being athletic since childhood, she never really had to work too hard to stay in shape as she did not put on weight too easily. Her charming looks and fit body were enough to woo the judges at the Miss Sri Lanka pageant which she eventually won.

Her initial films tanked at the box office but she managed to create a buzz in the industry thanks to her hot physique.

She looked hot onscreen, but she wasn’t her fittest self in the beginning. She once admitted that one had to be quite slim in order to look good onscreen as the camera always makes you look fatter than you really are. She started crash diets, starving herself ne of the yoga instructor has O claimed that the

popular practice, which has long been praised for helping people improve their flexibility and core strength, can also be used to help women conceive.

S h e r r y Longbottom, a registered nurse and yoga instructor, has developed fertility yoga, which avoids poses that could strain the body instead, she favours simple gentle poses that help lessen anxiety.

Mission of their yoga is to get blood flow in the pelvic area.

While practicing fertility yoga is not exactly as beneficial as in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments or hormone therapy, she asserted that yoga can help women by helping

them take a moment to relax and calm down.

She said that people today live in fight or flight mode, which goes completely against what people are trying to look for in creating a fertile environment.

Dr. James Goldfarb , the director of infertility and in-vitro fertilization at University Hospital Cleveland, said that he approves of patients trying

!

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...

!

safe alternative therapies like yoga or acupuncture as long as they feel better after a session.

IVF had helped many women conceive, these women often suffer from a tremendous amount of anxiety at the same time.

This practice to help with an individual's mental health in addition to their physical health was one of the reason she wanted to start the fertility yoga class.

She added that mind, body and spirit are all tied together and once people address these areas, then they are taking care of their whole body.

ou are running a race and you cross the perY son who was second, what

place are you in now?

Nope, not first, you crossed the second person, so you are now second.

Congratulations, your brain has just been teased.

A brain teaser is like a puzzle that looks deceptively simple but in fact, requires some thought..

This is a challenge to the linear way our brains think and form associations. But why are we talking about brain teasers? Because they help you exercise those grey cells and keep your mind healthy.

What goes on in a busy brain?

With time, your brain learns to adapt to your daily life and develops patters in your subconscious that help you go on about your daily business without even thinking. For instance, you wouldn’t touch a hot plate because your subconscious knows it’s hot.

When you think on a day-to-day basis, your brain fires up neurons that communicate with each other resulting in a particular action. And when you think outside the box, say to solve a puzzle, you are involved in what’s called ‘critical thinking’. At a very basic level, it improves how brain cells communicate with each other. The more you exercise your brain, the better these connections. It’s like physical exercise – the more you keep physically active, the healthier you are.

Why your brain needs to stay busy Every time you do something new, something out of the ordinary, you force your brain to adapt. It does this by generating new cells and establishing new connections between cells.

So why does your brain

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need to remain active?

Imagine you were to stop using your left leg forever. Over time, it’ll lose muscle, become limp and entirely lose function (yes, even though you are feeding your body). Why? Because it isn’t getting any exercise. It’s the same with your brain. Stop using your mental abilities and the brain no longer receives any signal that it is supposed to maintain those connections.

That’s one reason why aging people tend to fall behind when it comes to mental faculties and become prone to Alzheimer’s disease where their cognitive abilities no longer work.

Keeping your mind healthy You’re probably thinking – I think daily about what to make my kids for lunch, I face new problems at work every day, I drive everyday to work for which I have to think so why wouldn’t my mind be healthy? Think again.

These are things you do on a daily basis for which your brain doesn’t have to do any work because they are patterns already established. How is it getting any exercise?

Give your mind something truly new. And once you get really good at it, find something else to learn. For instance, if you start doing the daily crossword you’ll eventually get better at solving them. So take a dig at cryptic crosswords once in a while.

Here are some other things you can try: Solve puzzles and crosswords: There are many online websites that offer daily riddles and crosswords so subscribe to them. Your daily newspaper comes with crosswords too.

Take up a dance/ art/

music class: Studies have shown that the part of the brain that controls limb movements in people who play an instrument or dance regularly is larger than in those who don’t.

So take up a new dance or painting class, or learn a new language.

Play video games: Yes, you can’t tell your kids anymore that playing video games is bad for their brains! Nintendo DS was the first company to launch games with the aim of improving brain function. A lot of video games (especially tactical) require players to think about the best possible outcome of a challenge.

Board games: No, not ludo or snakes and ladders but more like Scrabble, Scotland Yard, Jenga, Taboo! and Pictionary – they make you think and of course, are a lot of fun.

Reading: It could be a daily newspaper, magazine or novels. The more you read, the more you process words and the better it is for your brain. Of course, thought provoking and meaningful articles are even better.

Lifestyle: A healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Yoga, meditation, walking or jogging does a lot of good to both. Eat nutritious food. Get ample sleep and try to stay free of stress.

Neurobics: Neurobics refers to using different parts of the brain for familiar tasks, such as combing your hair with the left hand or eating with your eyes closed.

We place a lot of emphasis on keeping our body healthy but we rarely stop to think about the one organ that controls the body. It’s about time we started. And remember, it’s never too late to begin.

30

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

New spaces and places improve learning Staff and children at Russet House School are celebrating the opening of their new exciting extension for the very youngest children whose needs cannot be met in mainstream schools.

Russet House is a special school for children with autism and Enfield Council has funded the extension at a cost of £2.46 million with additional contributions from the school.

It contains a new kitchen and hall / dining area; an ITC room; new hall and a superb sensory room.

Cllr Ayfer Orhan,

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said, “This new building will help us meet the demand for more school places and it is designed to help the children with such special needs enjoy learning.

“A modern new kitchen equipped with full cooking facilities means that children an now enjoy a tasty fresh midday meal prepared and cooked on site. No longer is it necessary to have meals delivered from a nearby school.

I am so pleased that this and other parts of the extension really improve this school.”

Rising number of schools ditch GCSEs Rising numbers of schools are ditching GCSEs in favour of alternative exams modelled on the old O-level following widespread chaos over the grading of test papers last summer, it has emerged.

Figures show that the number of state schools entering pupils for International GCSEs – alternate qualifications originally drawn up for pupils overseas – through one major exam board has soared almost three-fold

this year.

Examiners are reporting particular demand for courses in English, with entries rising from 31,000 to 85,000 in just 12 months.

The qualifications are seen as more rigorous versions of conventional GCSEs, with pupils being assessed almost entirely in end-of-courses exams.

The rise in entries follows criticism over a grading fiasco that dogged GCSEs last summer.

Dear Letter Writers Thank you for your letters to our ‘your voice’ section. As you may recall a few years back we made it mandatory that your ‘letters to the editor’ must not be more than 200 words. Despite that we have allowed people to write upto 250-300 words and have edited them as and when required.

However some letter writers continue to send letters worth 400-450 words. Our Editorial team has been editing them every week. However the team and the Editors have decided that from now on, if any letter is more than 250 words, we would unfortunately not be able to accommodate in the paper.

Please note: Letters must be written within 250 words. And can be sent via email to aveditorial@abplgroup.com by Monday 5pm or by fax to 020 7749 4080 or by post.

- AV

Coming Events l NCGO Gujarat Day celebrations on Wednesday 1 May 2013 at Kadwa Patidar Hall, Kenmore Avenue, Harrow, 6.30pm till 10.00pm.

CJ Rabheru 07958275222 l The Federation of Brahmin Associations, Saathi Samelan organised by the Federation of Brahmin Associations. Sunday 19 May 11am-5pm.

Contact: Hema: 020 8554 0753. l Bhavans present Bhina Abhinna, Sunday 5 May, 3pm experimental music featuring Sitar and Electronic guitar.

Saturday 11 May, 7:30pm, Rangoli, bhavans with Pratap Pawar Triveni Dance company.

Contact 0208 568 0423 l Shrimad Bhagvat Katha, 12-18 May, 2-6pm, Lambeth Asian centre Lonon, SW162PJ. Contact: 02086534451 l Shree Bharatiya mandal presents Vivekananda Exhibition on ancient Indian civilisation, Indian community centre, 103 Unior Road, OL6 8JN. 3-6 May, 12-8pm. Contact: 07882772813. l The Nehru centre: Wed 8 May 6:30pm onwards, Music: Kavi o Sanyasi- the poet and the hermit- Dr Ananda Gupta Tue 14 May, 6:15pm- Tribal art from Central India l Shrimad Bhagvat Katha, 2May-8 May, 1-5pm, Balham High Road, London SW12 9AL l 2 Idiots, Thursday 2May, 8pm, Hayes Navnat Center. Contact: 020 8422 8988 l Reliance Global Call- EXCLUSIVE offer for Asian Voice subscribers. Call 08003769636 PRIDEVIEW CRICKETERS' CUP The 2nd edition of The Prideview Cricketers’ Cup will be held once again at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood Middx on Sunday 14th July 2013.

Everything earned via team entry fees, corporate sponsorship and the raffle will again be donated to The Big Hug Foundation.

The team entry fee will be a minimum of £350 (including food and drinks for your players / supporters) and it will have 8 teams like last year. If there is more demand for spaces then priority will be given to the team that donates the most, but of course any team who pays their fee in advance to Big Hug will have their space guaranteed.

Contact : Nilesh Raj Patel t : 0208 863 8680 (ext. 36) email: nilesh@pridemanagement.co.uk

The cash situation continues to be rather erratic. However, problems can be avoided if you can curtail extravagant impulses and keep everything well organised. However, there are indications of favourable changes and developments in the areas of career and employment. Keep away from any emotional tensions with your partner.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 You will have the distinct feeling that everything is moving ahead at a very satisfying pace. You will be in a forward-looking mood, more inclined to reflect on the future and its potentials. The power of destiny is very much in your own hands and that any major decision you make will have a profound effect on your future.

Sun's transit of your 12th Solar House indicates that experience will put you in a deeply reflective mood. This is a favourable time for getting away from usual routines and seeking a retreat for a few days. All the better if you are interested in such things as meditation, yoga and therapies that help you to get in closer touch with your inner self.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

Having all the major planets above the horizon chart shows that the general pattern of events will focus your attention on the need to make an impact on the world. Although the very practical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, this does not mean that there will be all work and no play. In fact, you will be very much in demand socially.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

This is not a time to take undue risks with money yet it is certainly favourable for those who are working towards improving their earning potential. It is not only career and employment that come under this fortunate trend because your creative energies will be very much to the fore, too. Tread carefully where legal matters are concerned.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 You will feel energetic and confident as the week begins. New beginnings are favoured around now, as long as you do not bite off more than you can chew. Your thinking is inspired, so listen to your thoughts. This may be a time of expansion and improved opportunity and it would be unwise to let yourself become complacent.

It is a particularly favourable time for dealing with financial interests with a long-term basis.

You will be able to sort out any difficulties by taking immediate action. There may be a certain amount of unfinished business to be dealt with. Therefore, you need to be flexible in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

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All close ties of love and affection will benefit from the gentle influence of Venus. If you have a well-founded relationship, it seems that the pattern of events will somehow draw you closer together emotionally. Scorpions who are not yet wholly decided on what direction to take career-wise, this is a fine time to do some serious thinking.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 If lately you have had all sorts of demands being placed on you from all sides, don't despair; take some time out to reflect.

Once you know, don't hesitate to implement it systematically. A tremendous amount of planetary activity in your chart signals a time of mixed emotions as well as personal issues to be dealt with.

With Venus traversing your sign of desires for some time to come, it will put you in the right mood to indulge your pleasure-loving instincts.

Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on affairs of the heart. Existing emotional differences can be easily sorted out now. Your creativity is also riding high.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 If you're currently romantically involved, your lover could well go from strength to strength in the area of passion. The work that you are involved with at this time is likely to demand a great deal of energy and initiative from you. This will also involve a lot of moving around and a need to establish a wider network of contacts.

You will make your best progress by focusing your mental and physical energies on what you want to achieve. The underlying trend seems to be pulling you into a much wider social circle now. This is bound to enrich your life and give you a deeper sense of purpose. The prevailing pattern of planets gives you a marvellous opportunity - take advantage.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Sport World

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

Wimbledon organisers moved to justify a staggering 40 per cent rise in total prize money that will make the pot at this year's championships the biggest ever in tennis. Players at this year's grass court grand slam, which starts on June 24, will receive a total of 22.6 million pounds with the men's and women's singles champions each pocketing 1.6 million pounds.

Last year's Wimbledon singles champions earned 1.15 million pounds - 39 per cent less.

"These are significant increases and we have made them because we wanted to and not because we had to," All England Club chairman Philip Brook told reporters and also outlined a redevelopment of the site including putting a roof on Court One by 2019.

"We understand and appreciate the difficulties for all players reaching the top echelons of our sport. It's a long and expensive road to the top and it's getting longer."

Asked if the rises were justifiable during a harsh economic climate in which many people struggled just to afford tickets for the prestigious tournament, he said Wimbledon had to compete with other major sporting events.

"I know the economic climate is difficult, I accept that, but the world that we live in is a world where we are competing with other international tennis

events and we also keep an eye on what is happening in other sports. We do think that this was a moment in time when we could respond to a subject that has been spoken about a lot over the last 18 months and we have chosen to make these increases this year because we feel it's the right thing to do.

"Fans won't pay the price (through ticket increases)," he added. "It's an affordable increase in terms of our

overall operations here. "We've had early discussion about 2014 ticket prices and there won't be any significant change to how we look at that."

Brook said there had been no pressure from the world's leading players but said the increases reflected calls for more prize money for the lesser-ranked players who are often packing their bags after the early rounds.

Qualifying rounds: Players who lose in the opening three rounds at

Wimbledon this year will be the chief beneficiaries of the prize money rises with increases of between 62 and 64 per cent.

Those who fail to survive a single match in the main draw at the championships will be rewarded with a 23,000-pound cheque, up from 14,500 pounds last year.

"We started last year focusing the prize-money increases on those that lose in the early rounds or qualifying," Brook said. "These are not players who are superstars (but) players who are finding their way and not making a lot of money."

A women's singles player who bows out in the first round without winning a game will still be rewarded with a cheque that is close to the average annual earnings in the UK. With a 6-0 6-0 demolition usually lasting less than 45 minutes, Wimbledon officials were quick to defend their generosity.

Richard Lewis, chief executive of the All England Club, said the public should recognise that the riches enjoyed by the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic through prize money and sponsorship were not available to rank and file tour players.

"It's not just the top players, we have to make the sport attractive to the next generation of talent and that means that players ranked 50 to 100 or 100 to 200 need to know that they can make a good living."

Sachin turns 40, cuts cake with Bangladesh complete first visually challenged in Kolkata Test win in Zimbabwe

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned 40 last week with cricket administrators and his fans lining up a series of events to celebrate the event in Kolkata ahead of a Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders IPL match in Kolkata.

Sachin began the day with a customary cake-cutting ceremony at the Mumbai Indians team hotel.

Earlier, the Cricket Association of Bengal celebrated Sachin's birthday a day in advance by cutting a 10-pound cake in the presence of 100 blind students.

Visually challenged students from Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Blind School and Light House for the Blind cut the cake in the evening. "We are overwhelmed with joy. We want Sachin to live 100 years," a message from the CAB read.

Next dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cake cutting ceremony was a private affair held near the dressing room. Sachin's wife Anjali cut the cake and fed him the first piece in the presence of Mumbai Indians team owner Nita Ambani and other guests. The chocolate cake was made up of special cocoa from Ghana and Madagascar. It had an image of Sachin and the World Cup-winning moment of April 2, 2011. Sachin thanked the people across India for forwarding their best wishes for his birthday.

In a career spanning 24 years, Sachin has got almost all the batting record to his name other than Brian Lara's Test highest of 400 not out.

Hamilton Masakadza's determined 111 not out went in vain as Bangladesh wrapped up only their fourth Test win on Monday to earn a share of a two-match series with Zimbabwe.

Masakadza held off the Bangladesh attack for more than six hours but lacked support at the other end, allowing the tourists to bowl Zimbabwe out for 257 and complete a 143-run victory at Harare Sports Club.

The home side went into the final day with six wickets intact and a slim chance of scoring the 263 runs still required to chase down a target of 401.

Although Masakadza gave Zimbabwe hope of avoiding defeat after seeing out a wicketless first hour with his younger brother, Shingirai, a double breakthrough quickly put the result beyond doubt.

The Masakadzas had thwarted Bangladesh's bowlers for 119 minutes in total after coming together

on the fourth evening but they were parted when Shingirai was trapped lbw by Mohammad Ashraful for 24.

With Elton Chigumbura soon falling lbw to Sohag Gazi and Ziaur Rahman claiming the wickets of Richmond Mutumbami and Graeme Cremer after lunch, the match only stretched into the second half of the day because of Masakadza, who went to his century with a huge hit over midwicket for six.

When Shakib Al Hasan trapped Kyle Jarvis lbw, Masakadza had run out of partners and Bangladesh had their fourth Test win from 79 matches -- and their first ever in Zimbabwe and first Test win since 2009.

"After such a huge defeat in the first Test the boys have come back well," said Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

"We were under big pressure because when we play against Ireland and Zimbabwe we are expected to win every match at home or abroad."

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Milkha Singh gets lifetime achievement award

Sincere and determined efforts and hard work from athletes, coaches and the sports organizations are the essential ingredients needed to earn a medal in the Olympics, legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh said. in Kolkata. 'If Jamaica, with such a small population, can produce great athletes like Usain Bolt and others, then why India with a huge population cannot produce medal winning athletes in Olympics," Milkha Singh wondered while in Kolkata to receive an award. Known as "The Flying Sikh" Milkha took the Indian athletics on the world map with his sterling performances in sprints like 200 m and 400 m winning top position in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and other international meets. Milkha, who after becoming the first Indian to win a gold in athletics in Commonwealth Games at Cardiff in 1958 became 4th in 400 m at summer Olympics in Rome during 1960 in a photo finish, said India has the potentiality to win medals in the Olympics. After receiving "the Lifetime Achievement Award" conferred by the Calcutta Sports Journalists' Club at the historic Town Hall in Kolkata, the great runner was overwhelmed by the honour bestowed on him and said "no other city shows this much adulation, honour and respect to the players and sportspersons as shown by Kolkata."

Lancashire batsman hits six sixes in one over

Lancashire's Jordan Clark has become only the fifth batsman to hit six sixes in one over during a professional cricket match.

The English County said in a statement that the 22year-old had achieved the feat in a Championship Second XI game against Yorkshire to join an illustrious list of names.

Former West Indies all-rounder Garfield Sobers was the first man to do it, in 1968, and Indian Ravi Shastri followed suit in 1985.

South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs smashed six sixes in an over at the 2007 World Cup and Indian Yuvraj Singh did the same at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup the same year.

US govt sues Lance Armstrong over sponsor money

The US government has filed court documents laying out its case against cyclist Lance Armstrong, who is accused of defrauding the Postal Service by taking millions of dollars in sponsorship money while flouting professional cycling rules by doping. The US department of justice said in February it would join a whistleblower lawsuit brought in 2010 by Armstrong's former teammate, Floyd Landis, and filed its formal complaint. Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and was banned for life from cycling in 2012 after accusations he had cheated for years. In January, he said the accusations were true in an interview with television host Oprah Winfrey.

Virat Kohli's passion reminds me of myself: Viv Richards he old swagger is not conspicuous, the chewing gum and maroon cap that T added to his menacing image on the pitch

are also missing. As he settles down to a media conference, Viv Richards presents a mellowed image.

As he admits later, he is less confident against journalists than he was on the field. "The cricket field was my home." In his heyday, he spread fear among his rivals and inspired awe among fans.

Picture this: His fastest Test ton, off 56 balls, which came in the mid-80s, remains a record to this day. There have been players who have surpassed his records, but none has matched the impact he had.

That cold stare, the horizontal-bat shots against the fastest of bowlers without the protection of a helmet, all that made him one of the finest batsmen ever

in the game.

While experts are still looking for someone who would fit into the mould of the Antiguan, Richards himself dropped a hint on who could be his successor.

Virat Kohli.

Yes, that youngster from Delhi who was known to mouth abuses at the hint of confrontation but is fast maturing as a batsman and now represents India's batting future.

Years back, Don Bradman spoke of how Sachin Tendulkar's batting style reminding him of his own approach. Look where Tendulkar has reached?

Richards said: "I love Virat's aggression and passion. He reminds me of myself."

Richards had his ways of unnerving the opposition. He spoke for long on what true aggression means.

Standing at the crease and looking into the other guy's eye, that to me is aggression, not sledging.

The bowler will try and bang (at) you but if you are there till the end of the day, that'll hurt him more. You should stand the ground." Walk, don't talk.

Virat, according to Richards, is someone who can stand his ground even under

tremendous pressure. That ability has shone through in the past two years - in the World Cup, in Australia, in the Asia Cup and even in the home Tests against England and Australia.

Bluff master: Among qualities Richards is looking to impart to struggling players like Virender Sehwag is the 'art of bluffing', in his role as the Daredevils ambassador. "I would always have a Sehwag in my side knowing how destructive he can be. I had a little chat with him.

(Knowing his style) the opposition would plug the boundaries, so he can collect singles or doubles.

"That's what I mean by bluffing (basically, change your style). Gayle has played bluff on a few occasions. He plays cautiously and then he explodes. He's been so successful."

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 4th May 2013

IPL Results of 33 to 42 matches played till Tuesday, 30th April Match Date 33 24 April

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Teams KKR v/s MI at Kolkata MI won by 5 wickets Brief scores: KKR 159/6 (20 overs); MI 162/5 (19.5 overs) CSK v/s SH at Chennai CSK won by 5 wickets Brief scores: SH 159/6 (20 overs); CSK 160 (19.4 overs) KKR v/s KXIP at Kolkata KKR won by 6 wickets Brief scores: KXIP 149/6 (20 overs); KKR 150/4 (18.2 overs) RR v/s SH at Jaipur RR won by 8 wickets Brief scores: SH 144/9 (20 overs); RR 146/2 (17.5 overs) MI v/s RCB at Mumbai MI won by 58 runs Brief scores: MI 194/7 (20 overs); RCB 136/7 (20 overs) CSK v/s KKR at Chennai CSK won by 14 runs Brief scores: CSK 200/3 (20 overs); KKR 186/4 (20 overs) DD v/s PW at Raipur DD won by 15 runs Brief scores: DD 164/5 (20 overs); PW 149/4 (20 overs) RR v/s RCB at Jaipur RR won by 4 wickets Brief scores: RCB 171/6 (20 overs); RR 173/6 (19.5 overs) MI v/s KXIP at Mumbai MI won by 4 wickets Brief scores: MI 174/3 (20 overs); KXIP 170 (20 overs) CSK v/s PW at Pune CSK won by 37 runs Brief scores: CSK 164/3 (20 overs); PW 127/9 (20 overs)

Australian cricket brings back Haddin as vice-captain The dearth of talent in Australia's cricketing stocks were exposed last week with selectors being forced to recall two 35year-olds in an attempt to wrest back the Ashes from England in July.

Veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who had been dumped last year, and top-order batsman Chris Rogers, who had played just one test in 2008, were named in a 16man squad for the first of back-to-back Ashes series against England.

Haddin will reclaim the vice-captaincy from Shane Watson, who relinquished the post earlier this week but still made the Ashes squad as a batting all-rounder, while the uncapped James Faulkner was named the bowling all-rounder.

"The most impressive thing about Brad is that he ... continues to put form on the board," Australia captain Michael Clarke told a news conference in Sydney. "His leadership and his experience will play a large part in this group ... the best teams in the world have a good mix of youth and experience and I think this squad of 16 has that mix. I'm confident that we have a good

group of players that can learn from each other."

Australia's planning and confidence to regain the Ashes from Alastair Cook's side when the first game begins at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on July 10 suffered a massive dent last month when they were hammered 4-0 in the test series in India.

The result on the subcontinent, however, was merely a manifestation of the loss of experience and world class talent from the side that dominated the game for more than a decade from the early1990s.

The trickle of retirements from that side, which included greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, ended with former captain Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey calling time on their international careers over the Australian summer.

Chennai Super Kings register an easy 37-run victory over Pune Warriors India in their IPL match at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.

Chasing 165, Pune could only manage 127 for the loss of 9 wickets in their stipulated 20 overs.

Pune Warriors India lost half of their side inside 55 runs against Chennai Super Kings.

Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Steven Smith, who held the one end for quite some tine and scored a fighting 39-ball 35, to give Pune seventh blow of their innings. Team Pune was in tatters as run out seems to be the word of the day for them. Pune lost three wickets out of the first six in the form of run-outs.

Abhishek Nayar survived an lbw appeal but got run out after Steven Smith ran halfway down the pitch.

The luck also eluded Pune as they lost their fifth wicket when Steven Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s straight drive touched Albie Morkel's boots on the way to hit the stumps, finding Luke Wright well short of the crease.

Pune had a disastrous start as they lost skipper Aaron Finch and T Suman as early as in the third over against Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai paceman Mohit Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief as he dismissed Pune skipper Aaron Finch and T Suman in the last two balls of the third over. Mohit finished with the figures of 3/21 in his quota of four overs.

Mohit picked up his third wicket in the form of

Suresh Raina pulls to the boundary

Yuvraj Singh, who scored only 5 runs. Pune were tottering at 29/3 when they lost Robin Uthappa (10) who ran himself out in search of a cheeky single.

Earlier, a decent innings by Suresh Raina (63 off 50) and a blistering knock by skipper MS

Dhoni (45 off 16) at the fag end helped Chennai set a 165-run target for Pune.

The Raina-Dhoni duo put up a staggering 61-run stand for the fourth wicket by smashing the ball to all parts of the ground and making a mockery of the Pune Warriors bowling attack.

While Raina hit 5 boundaries and lone six, Dhoni blasted his way to glory with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes to put up a dazzling show right at the end of the innings.

Earlier, Luke Wright proved instrumental in breaking a steady partnership between Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath by dismissing the latter.

Raina and Badrinath (34) put up a decent 75run stand for the third wicket that stabilized the innings after the Super Kings lost openers Michael Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha early.

Hussey (5) was the first to be dismissed when the Aussie failed completely to judge Richardson's delivery and was comprehensively bowled.

Saha (13) then joined his fellow opener in the dug out when Rahul Sharma caught the Chennai batsman plumb in his failed attempt to sweep the delivery.

Then after a much needed stand, Badrinath was dismissed when he was caught at long-off by Steven Smith off the bowling of Wright.

Raina, however, continued his powerful innings by completing his half-century in 42 balls with the help of 3 boundaries and a lone six.

Indian Premier League 2013 Points Table (30 / 04 / 2013) Teams Match Won Lost Tied Chennai Super Kings 10 8 2 0 Royal Challengers Bangalore 10 6 4 0 Rajasthan Royals 9 6 3 0 Mumbai Indians 9 6 3 0 Sunrisers Hyderabad 9 5 4 0 Kings XI Punjab 9 4 5 0 Kolkata Knight Riders 9 3 6 0 Delhi Daredevils 9 2 7 0 Pune Warriors 10 2 8 0

N/R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Points 16 12 12 12 10 8 6 4 4

Net RR +0.733 +0.690 +0.577 +0.241 -0.197 +0.172 -0.016 -0.761 -1.433

Pakistan drops Afridi from Champions Trophy squad

Pakistan has dropped Shahid Afridi from their 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy following his below-par performances in South Africa and a domestic competition.

The 33-year-old, who still holds the world record of fastest one-day century off 37 balls made against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996 - has not taken a single wicket in his last six one-day internationals.

Undoubtedly the most popular player in Pakistan recently, Afridi has hit just two half-centuries in his last 15 one-day innings, while managing a mere 70 runs and three wickets in four matches for his domestic side this month.

He was also dropped from the one-day squad for last year's tour of India before making a comeback to the team for the limitedover series against South Africa in March, where his top-score of 88 came in a losing cause.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said Afridi had not been in good form recently. "Afridi had been selected as a bowling all-round-

er but he was not up to the mark and couldn't score at crucial occasions so we had to left him out," Qasim told reporters while announcing the squad.

"His (Afridi) career is not finished, if he performs at domestic level, he can stage a comeback," said Qasim, a former left-arm spinner. Afridi has 7201 runs and 348 wickets in 354 one-day internationals.

Pakistan will be led by Misbah-ul Haq in the eight-nation Champions Trophy to be played in England from June 6-23.

They are drawn in group B along with India, the West Indies and South Africa. They play the West Indies at The Oval,

London on June 7 before squaring off with South Africa (June 10) and India (June 15).

Defending champions Australia, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand form group A. The squad will also play two one-day matches each against Ireland and Scotland in May before the Trophy.

Squad: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Umar Amin, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil, Wahab Riaz.