AV 8th March 2014

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Indian soldiers killed by British forces as they suppressed the 1857 Mutiny, have been discovered at the bottom of a well. The skeletons were found by archaeologists at a Sikh temple in Ajnala, about Continued on page 26

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Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer wins ‘Politician of the Year’ award at the Asian Voice Political and Public Life Awards on 27 February at the HoC. Full story page 14-16

Sahara chief Subrata Roy sent to Tihar jail

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Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy and two other directors were sent to Tihar jail by the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to a multi-billion-dollar investment scheme ruled to be illegal.

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The 65-year-old tycoon’s two group company Sahara India Continued on page 26

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Keith Vazwith MP

Sundip Patel

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

My mum certainly stands out for me, not so much in a business advisor role but more from a motivational and drive standpoint.

That is a woman who has real strength and I guess as a child I always wanted to show her that her hard work would one day pay off which is what instilled drive in me.

Sundip Patel, usually referred to as Sunny, is the CoFounder and Chairman of the Haathee Group. He started his career as a stockbroker in the city of London before joining a company specialising in marketing Indian real estate worldwide. In 2008 he co-founded the Haathee Group.

1) Please tell me about your current position?

I am the Co–founder and Chairman of Haathee Group, which is an Indian real estate development company responsible for large-scale residential projects in the region of Gujarat, India. My position requires me to have an overall bird’s eye view on the entire operation of the company along with creating new visions and strategies for the company. We currently employ over 55 members of staff based between London and India so constant travelling is a pre-requisite.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievement pro-

fessionally would be growing Haathee Group as a company within a short span of time to be recognised as one of the most prominent builders in the city of Vadodara. My proudest personal achievement is the birth of my Triplet girls, they really are my pride and joy.

3) What inspires you?

My inspiration is drawn from many areas but I draw an immense amount of motivation from meeting people who have had very little in life and have used the essence of will and drive in order to turn themselves into something. Seeing humble people achieve great feats has always been an aweinspiring moment for me.

Boris Johnson issues warning and states Islamists' children should be put in care

Mayor of London Boris Johsnon has warned that hundreds of children are at risk of radicalisation but due to “absurd” political correctness, authorities are unable to put them into care.

He reportedly warned that young people were increasingly being “radicalised at their home” and “taught crazy stuff” like the views espoused by the killers of Drummer Lee Rigby. He said a lack of understanding about the law was making police and social services hesitant to intervene even if the children were being brought up with an extremely dangerous view of the world that could turn them into murderers.

Mr Johnson's warnings come in the wake of leaked documents revealing an alleged plot by Muslim fundamentalists to take over state schools in England.

The plot is currently being investigated by police and council officials. The papers revealed an alleged plan to target ailing schools, force out heads and convert classes to Islamic principles.

It states a five-step strategy, allegedly written by unnamed Salafists — fundamentalist Muslims — to remove unwanted head teachers. This case is particularly worrying because the victims involved are young and

therefore are easily manipulated into a way of thinking.

Only a week ago, did a school in Birmingham made headlines for allegedly sidelining nonMuslim staff and trying to teach Islamic studies, despite not being a faith-based state school.

The leaked documents reportedly suggest that the strategy, called Operation Trojan Horse, should be used in Bradford and Manchester as well as Birmingham.

Birmingham schools named as targets in the document include Regents Park, where the head teacher, Tina Ireland, was given an “outstanding” Ofsted report but resigned last year amid questions over the school’s exam results. Others are Adderley Primary School and Saltley School, a specialist science college where the head, Balwant Bains, resigned last year. Bains quit after an Ofsted report concluded that he had a “dysfunctional” relationship with the governors.

Birmingham city council reportedly said: “We are investigating allegations in relation to some schools in the Birmingham area and have passed any relevant information to West Midlands police to investigate.”

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

Since my career has mainly been based in India, the obstacle that I find most challenging is the mind-set and cultural challenges of working in India.

However I think being an entrepreneur means that you will face obstacles on a daily basis, that’s life, I would rather just treat and see obstacles as challenges.

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

I love the fact that I am a creator, meaning that a vision in my mind can then be created in reality. Having a vision of a particular type of development and then actually going about creating it can be such a rewarding task.

7) And the worst?

The constant travelling for me is the worst part, I am actually a more homely type of person

and with young kids at home I find travelling and staying away from my family the worst part of what I have to do.

8) What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goal would be to create Haathee Group in to one of the most recognised brands in the Gujarat market. We also have a some great new ideas so perhaps diversifying into a few new markets would be a great achievement, I think I would like to create a company that one day can inspire my children and the younger generation.

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

I feel a lot more can be done for encouraging entrepreneurs, we must ensure the next generation is enterprising, I feel this will be very important for the UK. 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

Lord Krishna. I think understanding the true essence of life is really why we live.

Search continues for Bradford Uni student Aamir Qudeer since been switched off, they reportedly said.

Mr Qudeer had played football with friends on Tuesday night, before returning to his flat with friends and later going to sleep.

Police said Mr Qudeer’s disappearance was reported to them on Thursday night by one of Mr Qudeer's friends, who did not want to be named, reportedly said: “This is not like him – it is not a runaway case. We just want him, or whoever he is with, to get in contact with us or his family.”

Police are continuing their search for missing Bradford University student Aamir Qudeer, pictured, who turned 21 on Monday 3 March.

Friends of the 21-year-old have pleaded with him to get in touch after he disappeared on Wednesday 26 February. He was last seen at 1.15pm leaving his flat at Forster Hall student accommodation in Great Horton Road. His friends said his last mobile phone activity was about an hour and a half later. Both his phones have

Woman kills two toddlers in an accident A court in Leicester heard that a BMW driver killed two toddlers when she accidentally drove into their pushchairs after another car collided with hers as she allegedly made a call on her hands free mobile phone device.

Accounts manager Sharmila Mistry, 42, mounted a pavement and struck Zofia Tabaka, two, and Oliwier Baczyk, 21 months, as they waited at a pedestrian crossing with Zofia's father, Lucas Tabaka, and a family friend.

A jury was told Mistry’s BMW 520d was diverted towards the youngsters when

she was involved in a crash with a Mini Cooper which was jumping a red light at a busy junction in Leicester.

The Daily Mail reported that the prosecutors said that while the Mini was going against the stop light, Mistry, pictured, who was on her way to a business meeting, was driving over the 30mph speed limit and failed to notice the other car, or take evasive action, until it was ‘too late’.

Oliwier and Zofia, whose parents are Polish, died of head injuries later that day.

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Aristocrat racially attacks businessman and a security guard An aristocrat allegedly attacked a businessman and a security guard at a luxury hotel while drunkenly ranting: ‘You brown people are ruining Britain.’ The baroness carried on with a rant about ‘blacks, Arabs, Asians and Jews’.

As Mr Hamza escorted Von Alvensleben out of the hotel, she said: ‘You have stayed here ten years, this must be India.’

Baroness Marie-Claire Von Alvensleben’s rampage at the Belgravia Sheraton in London ended with her spending 15 hours in a police cell. She pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault and obstructing a police officer. The baroness was handed six weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

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COMMENT

Strange messages across the air waves

Clearly disappointed that the predicted collapse of the Sochi Winter Olympiad was an outstanding success on every count, as the Sports Management Consultant and US Olympic historian at Georgetown University, Lisa Lareretti proclaimed in a BBC TV interview, following the closing ceremony, the BBC wheeled in Aam Aadmi pied piper Arvind Kejriwal for his consoling thoughts on India. He didn’t disappoint. He foresaw India’s breakup under the weight of corruption and communal discord; he denounced the lack of achievement in India, contrasting this with Indian achievements in the US and UK, and the lack of opportunity for its deserving citizens - all these cancers to be put right by his healing touch, he told his interlocutor Andrew North. Did he have a Ukraine-style regime change in Delhi in mind, with the American and European good and great in close attendance with refreshments and money for petrol bombs? Since Mr Kejriwal was spared the question, it will be awhile before we know the answer. One answer he can be given is that the US and UK have had the time and accumulated wisdom to build stable societies and institutions, while India is still in its transformative period with all the pains of labour that come with the process.

The revolving stage brought Imam Bukhari of Delhi’s Jama Masjid under the lights. He bestowed his blessing on Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee’s goal to be India’s next prime minister. She had done a great deal for the State’s “minorities” and would be a boon for the country’s secularism, he said, on a visit to Kolkata. Muslim leaders, like him, are much addicted to the term “minorities,” when what they really mean is the Muslim minority. Better to come clean in the interests of honest debate, rather than take cover in subterfuge.

Bengal has a sizeable number of Christians whose contributions in heathcare, charity and education is widely appreciated; Bengal has smaller numbers of Buddhists and a miniscule Jewish population, none of whom come under the Islamic radar.

Furthermore, unlike Bengal’s imams, who receive state stipends, no religious leader in these other minority communities have asked for or are being given similar financial perquisites. Imam Bukhari has a warped understanding of the true meaning of

secularism. It entails a separation of religion and politics in the public space, and the rule of law in which every citizen is guaranteed his/her civil rights, irrespective of his/her faith, race or ethnicity. Imam Bukhari will be hard put to name an Islamic country where these principles are embedded in constitutional safeguards. Preaching to the faithful at Friday prayers is one thing, preaching to the nation is a more demanding exercise. He would be better advised to hold his glib tongue and do some hard thinking instead.

The stage revolves once more, and we are privy to the revelation that the Indian Mujahideen (IM) had planned a nuclear attack on the Gujarat city of Surat and warmed up to al Al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban in an effort to procure explosives and arms to be used against India. The revelations were made in the National Investigation Agency’s supplementary list of charges filed in a special court in New Delhi, where IM co-founder Yasin Bhaktal, and IM operative Asadullah Akhtar Ujjair Ahmed will be tried. The information came to light when intelligence officers listened to echats between these men and the absconding Riyaz Bhaktal, believed to be in Pakistan. In a conversation dated June 1, 2013, they discussed a plan to nuclear bomb Surat, the weapon to be obtained from Pakistani sources, if possible. Surat was targeted in 2008 with conventional explosives, which misfired badly. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

And so to the final turn of the stage. India’s supersonic surface-to-air missile, Akash, was successfully test-fired for the second time in four days from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-onSea, Odisha, off the Bay of Bengal. Fired by the Indian Army, it intercepted a fast moving pilotless plane 19 kilometres in the sky, the missile destroying it completely.. These are part of a series of tests in various modes to gauge Akash’s capability. The Akash system was produced by the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) with the active involvement of 200 private sector companies and academic institutions. The challenges facing India are serious, the measures to counter them are formidable.

The passing of the Vendors Bill by the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) will become an Act with the President of India’s signature. “I think we will no longer be harassed by the authorities,” says Shamsuddin Khan, a seller of fruit and vegetables in Delhi. It is a sentiment that will be echoed across the land in cities, towns and villages. The Bill will make street vending an organized trade, with each vendor receiving a licence. “It will enable him/her to conduct the business whether he/she happens to be stationed at a fixed place, or go from one weekly market to another, or keeping hawking across different neighbourhoods daily,” says Arvind Singh, coordinator and founder of the Delhi-based National Association of Street Vendors of India, a federation of organizations, trade unions and non-government organizations that played an influential role in bringing the bill to life. It gives street vendors an assured income from their sales without fear or favour. A Delhi

vendor, Niwas, owns several buffaloes , sells buttermilk from a container attached to his bicycle.

He has to set out early from his village, near Rohtak in Haryana; he wakes up at 3am and prepares the buttermilk with his wife before leaving home on his bicycle at sunrise for the nearest railway station that will take him to Safdarjung on the outskirts of the capital, from where he will pedal to his appointed place in the heart of the city.. Dressed in a striking red coat, he pours out the drink in plastic glass to his customers. After a hard day, he returns home at 10pm tired and exhausted. On hearing of the bill’s passage through Parliament, he utters a simple “Thank you.” Another vendor nearby nodded his approval. Muhammed Kasim, a barber who runs an open air business under a peepal tree remarks cheerfully that he shaves traffic constables for free and would continue to do so. They are happy that their rights are now law. A modest victory maybe, but a real one for all that.

Arvind Kejrival made passing reference to Indians excelling in America. He was merely stating the obvious. Take the case of Sangeeta Bhatia, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor , who is already a star in the US science firmament. Professor Bhatia’s team has developed a cheap, simple paper test that can detect cancer, circumventing more expensive diagnostic methods such as mammograms and colonoscopy. The process is much like a pregnancy test, based on a urine sample. The new technology will detect non-communicable diseases using the same strategy. “When we invented this new class of synthetic bio-marker, we used a highly specialized instrument to do the analysis,” said Ms Bhatia, who is John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “For the developing world, we thought it would be exciting to adapt it instead of a paper test that could be performed

on an unprocessed samples in a rural setting , without the need for any specialized equipment.

The sample readout could be transmitted to a remote caregiver by a picture on a mobile phone,” Professor Bhatia explained. Cancer rates in developing countries have risen sharly in recent years and now account for 76 per cent of cancer mortality worldwide. Early detection has been seen to improve outcomes. Professor Bhatia is the senior author of the seminal paper.

Its lead authors are graduate student Andrew Warren, post-doctorate Gabriel Kwong and former post-doctorate David Wood.

An MIT statement told how in 2012, Professor Bhatia and colleagues had introduced the concept of synthetic biomarker technology to amplify signals from tumour proteins that would be hard to detect on their own. The best in the Indo-US relationship is the interaction of their civil societies. Inter-state relations belong to a less exalted class by far.

Street vendors released from constraints

Indian American makes waves in science detection

3 Who struggles can fail. Who doesn't struggle has already failed

- Berthold Brecht (1898-1956)

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central

Why it’s right to support those in need Over the last month my office and I have been watching Benefits Street – the Channel 4 documentary chronicling the everyday lives of those in receipt of benefits.

Since the start of the economic crisis, those in receipt of benefits have often borne the brunt of spending decisions made by the national and local governments.

Yet in Benefits Street there was little focus on how the residents of James Turner Street, Birmingham – the place where the documentary was set – were managing in the face of the cuts, and more focus on portraying them as lazy, crime committing, drugtaking scroungers cheating the system.

Through this lazy demonisation of benefit claimants, Channel 4 have played into the myths that have been peddled successfully by politicians of all parties and that appear on countless tabloid frontpages.

The denigration of those on benefits by programmes like Benefits Street is hugely beneficial for politicians who, faced with the difficult task of rebuilding the economy, are only too happy to be provided with a group of individuals who can be attacked all in the name of economic progress.

I find this particularly difficult because of the many people who come into my constituency office in Brent looking for help after their benefit payments have been cut or, due to an error, not been paid.

Politicians and commentators alike have been quick to condemn those featured on the show, instead of offering solutions as to how they can be helped. It is difficult to stand by whilst those who participated in the documentary are demonised for political ends. Demonising the participants of the documentary has a negative

impact on the residents themselves, but also on British society as a whole. When anyone receiving benefits is seen as a “scrounger”, our communities become divided.

The high rents and the cuts to housing benefit as a result of the benefit cap have forced families, and more importantly children, to move away from London – leaving their schools, communities and support networks behind.

Those who stay face a struggle to provide just a basic standard of living – it’s no coincidence that the Brent food bank is supporting more and more people. It’s a pattern I see in my constituency office in Brent.

I was particularly shocked recently when a heavily pregnant constituent came into my office for help because her benefit payments had been taken away and she could no longer afford to feed herself. Of course, work should pay. But making work pay shouldn’t mean targeting the poorest and most vulnerable people for political ends – that only leads to destitution and despair.

Recently, 27 Anglican bishops made these points when they criticised the Government’s benefit cuts, pointing to the hardship and hunger they have caused.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols – Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric – has also labelled the poverty being caused by the welfare reforms a “disgrace”. The response from the Government has, unfortunately, been dismissive.

It’s time that we remembered why the welfare state exists. We should be proud of a system that provides for people when they are unable to provide for themselves.

After all, a measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.

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MIDLANDS VOICE

4

Business influencers in Midlands honoured

Dhiren Katwa

One of Britain’s top Asian business leaders, Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society, has been crowned Business Person of the Year.

Father-of-one Mr Kurji, from Birmingham, who scooped the title at the Midlands Business Awards, said: “I’m thrilled to receive this trophy which makes me feel really proud. But I attribute this accolade to my brilliant team and their efforts without which our success so far would not be possible.�

An impeccably polite and modest Mr Kurji paid tribute to the blessings of his parents and support of his wife Ruksana. He recalled how, at the tender age of 17, he had embarked on a daunting journey – one which would change his life forever. Leaving behind his family in Uganda, he arrived alone in the UK to fulfill his parents’ dream of gaining an education and becoming an accountant. An aspiration he fulfilled and went on to launch his remarkable career.

Mr Kurji, who was joined on the night by the Society’s President and Chairman, added: “We pride our-

Business Person of the Year Ali Kurji

Lifetime Achiever: Sir John Peace

selves on our 180-year heritage in which we see our Society as being more than a retailer, but serving as a pinnacle of our community.� The Society has continued to pledge a percentage of profits to charities, worthy causes and non-profit organisations across its trading community. To date the scheme has shared £736,000 across the area, benefiting children, elderly and the sick.

Other awardees, of a total 11, included: Coventry University (University of the Year); Hall-Fast Industrial Supplies Ltd (Exporter of the Year); Ali Baylav of Cavendish Lettings Ltd (Service Provider of the Year); Suleman Sacranie of 99p

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Shopper (Young Entrepreneur of the Year) The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sir John Peace, a British businessman and currently Chairman of Standard Chartered, the multinational banking and financial services company. Sir Peace who celebrated his 65th birthday last Sunday said: “I feel honoured and humbled.�

The Awards, now in their eighth year, were held at the Hilton Metropole NEC last Friday. The round-table prestigious ceremony, which was hosted by ITV Central presenter Lucy Kite, attracted over 400 guests.

Guests included Professor Nat Puri, Dame Asha Khemka, Principal, West Nottinghamshire College, Jaffer Kapasi from Leicester, Chairman of Black Country Asian Business Association Ninder Johal, financier Deepak Parekh, cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr Rizwan Qureshi and youngest-ever Chairman of Institute of Directors Midlands Jason Wouhra of East End Foods. The awards are the brainchild of Harj Sandher from Leamington. To see the full list of winners and for more information visitwww.midlandsbusinessawards.com

NSS warns religious schools encouraging gender discriminations

Miller MP, Minister for Women and Equalities, the National Secular Society has called on the Government to publish guidance that makes clear to schools that unlawful gender discrimination must not be accommodated within the education system.

Religious schools are already permitted by the government to discriminate against teachers who do not share the faith of the school.

Jon Ashworth MP visiting Madani High School, meeting with its Exceptions to equality legislaStudent Council in 2012 tion that permits single-sex placed by the Madani "genuine occupation requireschools to admit pupils of only Schools Federation which ment" can be established or one sex apply only to admisruns the publicly-funded where the employer is seeking sions, and do not apply to the Madani Boys School to comply with religious docappointment of teachers, the which had previously trines. In a letter to Maria NSS said. placed a similar advertisement for a male ICT (Information and Communications Technology) teacher.

Capita has argued that Nigel Farage, the discrimination was leader of right allowed under exceptions wing UKIP has to the Equality Act that reportedly permits religious organisadefended comeditions to discriminate on an Paul grounds of gender and Eastwood's sexual orientation of a alleged "racially offensive" performance at a black tie dinner and dance at Torquay, Devon, Nigel Farage Paul Eastwood organised by the 6, T MFBEJOH TPMJDJUPST get their hands on.� party.

As for the Somalis, GPS /3* TFSWJDFT According to the Sunday Eastwood reportedly said: Mirror, Mr Eastwood started his “Team Somalia – they had to act by complaining about t 0$* 1*0 DBSET apologise. Didn’t realise sailing “bloody political correctness�, - Preparing full application and shooting were two different before embarking on what the events�: an apparent reference newspaper’s investigators - Transferring OCI visa on to new passport piracy off Somali waters. described as “a 45-minute rou- Re-issue of OCI / PIO card (if lost or stolen) On Sunday Mr Farage said tine littered with stereotypes - 100% money back guarantee (subject to T&C) he could not comment on speand tasteless gags�.

- Avoid the Indian High Commission queues cific jokes but did admit that Eastwood is said to have immigrants had "jollified" t 1"/ DBSE BQQMJDBUJPOT gone on to imitating Indian Britain and "improved" the food. accent and tried chanting the t "GmEBWJUT 4VSSFOEFS PG *OEJBO QBTTQPSU He told the BBC's Andrew Muslim call to prayer, saying it Marr show: “I think we're in was a "traditional folk song" in t *OEJBO 8JMMT 1PXFS PG "UUPSOFZ huge danger here. This was a the Midlands, that is home to guy telling jokes about national large Indian and Pakistani t *NNJHSBUJPO BOE /BUJPOBMJUZ stereotypes, not racial stereoimmigrant communities. types.

He allegedly made allusions 502-504 Honeypot Lane Stanmore Middlesex HA7 1JR We are heading down a road to Poland "doing well" at the t JOGP!QJOEPSJBMBX DPN here where we would kill all Olympics, saying they "took humour in this country if we home bronze, silver, gold, lead, XXX QJOEPSJBMBX DPN tear things to pieces." copper – anything they could

After an Islamic boys school in Leicester advertised for a 'male only' science teacher, the National Secular Society (NSS) has warned that the increasing number of religious schools in Britain is encouraging such gender discriminations.

Outsourcing firm Capita had reportedly placed the advertisement for a temporary science teacher at the school but the ad was later withdrawn after the company was warned by the Department of Education that it may be in breach of equality laws.

A qualified female science teacher who was looking for work in Leicester alerted the NSS about the advertisement, promising ÂŁ150-a-day for a fill-in teacher until the end of the current academic year, but only for a male teacher.

According to an NSS statement, the ad is thought to have been

Leader of UKIP defends comedian's alleged "racially offensive" performance

Fight for control over Gurdwaras reach the Supreme Court The Supreme Court on last Wednesday was due to start a two day hearing on a petition on whether a Punjab based Sikh leader is the rightful head of two gurdwaras in Birmingham and High Wycombe.

Sant Baba Jeet Singh, who has never been to the UK, reportedly claims to be the rightful controller of the two shrines. He claims to have even the right to sell them and remove their funds from the country.

The two gurdwaras were established in 1987 and 1993 for the advancement of the Sikh religion under the spiritual guidance of Sant Baba Gian Singh. The trust documents set up for them refer to "his successor". But there has been no agreed successor after his death nor any mechanism exists for saying who the successor is or should be. Baba Jeet Singh claims to be the rightful successor. But the British Sikh community does not agree with him.

Paul Ridge, who represents caretakers of the High Wycombe Gurdwara reportedly said, "Some are calling Baba Jeet a cult leader. My clients certainly reject him as having any authority or say over their lives."

"They simply want nothing to do with him and reject entirely his claim that they should follow him, his direction or his teaching.''

Ridge added despite such clear rejection, they are faced with having this man imposed on them by the court as a successor.

Brum MP Khalid Mahmood feeling 'fantastic' after kidney transplant

Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood said he felt “amazing� – after having a kidney transplanted from a secret donor.

Speaking publicly for the first time since undergoing the op five weeks ago, the Perry Barr Labour politician said he was delighted to be free of his old dialysis regime.

Mr Mahmood, 52, would not name the live donor who gave him the kidney but admitted the two-hour procedure had made a huge difference to his life.

Mr Mahmood, Perry Barr MP since 2001, was hospitalised with kidney failure in 2008. He has been recovering at home after undergoing surgery at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital and hopes to return to work within a few weeks.

Police inquiry into Channel 4 Dispatches film showing racist chants

Police are investigating an officers' handling of the two incidents shown in the Dispatches film. The film showed outbreaks of offensive chanting at Leicester City matches after visiting fans were filmed singing racist songs. A Channel Four Dispatches documentary crew filmed police apparently taking no action against visiting Millwall and Nottingham Forest fans for obscene chants this season. The programme, screened on Monday night, covertly filmed a small section of Millwall fans chanting during the match, while a Forest fan was caught on camera while he and others were being escorted by police to Leicester railway station. Both times, the programme has reportedly said, officers close by failed to act.

The undercover journalist was filmed reporting the Millwall incident to an officer in the ground. However, the officer apparently made no record of the incident and did not notify his commanding officers.

In the last two seasons, nine visiting fans have been arrested for racially aggravated offences at City home matches and, in the current season, one away supporter has been arrested for similar offences.

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British Sikhs express disappointment in Lib Dems over 1984 massacre

The British Sikh community has expressed their great disappointment in the Liberal Democrat party, who as a part of the Coalition have refrained from making any comments on the role of the Tory party in the 1984 Amritsar massacre (Operation Blue Star), unlike the other main British parties.

The Sikhs Helping Sikhs, non-profit organisation issued a statement saying that: "The roots of 1984 go back to independence and partition of India.

Prior to 1984 Sikhs weren't calling for independence. Actually they were campaigning for things like better access to water and electricity, recognition of the Punjabi language, the right to broadcast radio from Sri Harmander Sahib and the state capital being located within the state."

They also said that to date,

they have not seen any statement made by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats or for that matter by any other senior Liberal Democrat parties on this issue.

On 1st February Sikhs Helping Sikhs were allegedly forwarded a Statement from Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes MP and international affairs co-chair Martin Horwood MP, though no official copy has been made available.

There have been no mention in Simon Hughes' official website and twitter feed and there has been no reference to the statement or indeed to 1984 and the current revelations.

The organisation has now demanded that the Lib Dems need to speak out on this essentially human rights issue and be seen to be doing so.

An ex-Guantanamo Bay inmate, who received up to £1m in compensation from Britain for its alleged complicity in his torture, was taken into custody yesterday after appearing in court charged with terrorism offences linked to Syria. Moazzam Begg, pictured, 45 has denied charges of providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas, at Westminster magistrates’ court in London.

Alongside him was Gerrie Tahari, 44, a woman accused of facilitating terrorism overseas.

Both defendants, from Birmingham, were remanded until March 14, when they will appear at the Old Bailey.

Begg is reportedly accused of involvement “in an arrangement as a result of which money or other property was to be made available to another person, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it would be, or might be, used for the purposes of terrorism” between July and August 2013.

During that time, he is also alleged to have provided

“instruction or training”, knowing the person receiving it intended to use it for terrorist purposes.

In 2001, Begg took his family to live in Afghanistan, but was soon after detained in Pakistan as an “enemy combatant” linked to al-Qaeda in 2002, and was later sent to Guantanamo Bay by US authorities. He was freed in January 2005 and, in 2010, the British government agreed to pay Begg compensation after claims were made that MI5 and MI6 agents had played a role in his torture at Guantanamo.

Begg and Tahari were arrested on Tuesday 25, February.

Young South Asian people at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes and associated heart disease Young South Asian people have higher rates of Type 2 diabetes leading to a higher risk of heart disease and other related conditions than people from a white background, according to research presented at Diabetes UK’s Diabetes Professional Conference on Tuesday.

According to the study, South Asians with Type 2 diabetes aged 20 to 60 are at increased risk of cardio vascular problems and associated conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart attacks and high cholesterol. The survival rates in these young patients are also significantly lower in the South Asian community.

Type 2 diabetes is up to six times more common in people of South Asian descent, and is a growing problem in the community. The South Asian community is also at risk of Type 2 diabetes from the age of 25, opposed to 40 in the White population. The study compared anonymous routinely collected hospital data of 19,469 Type 2 diabetes patients aged 20 to 60 attending seven hospitals in the North West of the UK between 2000 and 2013. The data was obtained from the local health authority computerized hospital activity register and processed using the ACALM protocol.

To find out more information on complications of diabetes visit www.diabetes.org.uk/complicaitons

Freed ex-terrorism suspect Moazzam Begg returns to court

Young South Asians at risk of Type 2 diabetes

UK

Harrow Council appeals for return of parents and baby from Spain

Harrow Council has appealed to the parents of a missing four month-old girl who have gone to Spain to return with the child.

Farah Afzal, aged four months (2.10.13), who is subject to an Interim Care Order, was taken to Barcelona by parents Mohammed Afzal, aged 38, (father) and Zainab Rasul, aged 30 (mother) from the family home on January 16th 2014. They are known to have taken a 6.55am easy Jet flight to Spain from Gatwick airport.

Harrow council initiated care proceedings following Farah’s birth due to concerns about the parent’s drug use and non-engagement with drug support services. The court is very concerned about the abduction of Farah during the proceedings. The proceedings were taken because of her parents’ abuse of illegal drugs and their dependency on them. The documentary evidence filed raises real concerns about the ability of the parents to care for the baby safely Farah is an infant of four months who was placed with her mother within her extended family after care-

5

Council has tried to work with family members to persuade the couple to return from Spain for the safety of their child.

Mohammed Afzal, Zainab Rasul and Farah Afzal However, ful consideration. Farah’s the maternal grandfather, Ali placement required careful proRasul, of Rayners Lane was fessional monitoring to ensure found to be in contempt of her safety and well-being. This court over the case at the High has been interrupted by her Court on 31st January and on unlawful removal.

10th February was sentenced Harrow Council social to 28 days in jail. workers were alerted by Cllr Susan Hall, leader of Grandmother Nazma Rasul Harrow Council, said: “The that Farah and Zainab were evidence we have suggests that missing from their home in at the parents and baby Farah 3pm on January 16th. Nasira have been staying in a runAfzal, paternal grandmother down area of Barcelona and we was also in the house at the are worried for their welfare. time. Farah was immediately “What is important here is reported missing and alerts the safety of this child. The placed with Interpol. A joint important thing is for the famichild protection and police ly to return to the UK so we investigation commenced with can plan the best way ahead Farah being made a Ward of the together.

I appeal to Court on 17th January.

Mohammed and Zainab to do The parents are understood what is best for their daughter to have recently stayed at a and contact us so we can talk hotel in Barcelona. Harrow this through..."

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South Asian charity fighting against forced marriage

As forced marriage looks set to be criminalised in the coming months, The SHARAN Project, working closely with the Forced Marriage Unit, has launched a global initiative 'Harnessing Change' to ensure that the message against the practice reaches as wide an audience as possible.

Both high profile and grass roots supporters have signed on as ‘Ambassadors’ for the charity and will use their expertise and resources to raise awareness of forced marriage and campaign to improve the lives of South Asian women in the UK. The Ambassadors are to meet with Mark Simmonds, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Tuesday 4 March, at a

Shay Gerwal pictured alongside fellow Ambassadors Superintendent Parm Sandhu and Sukki Singapora

special event hosted by The SHARAN Project and the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU).

Ambassadors include Sunny and Shay Grewal, a couple who shot to fame on Channel Four’s The Family and who now present a weekly BBC London radio show.

In 2013, the FMU gave advice or support

related to a possible forced marriage in 1,302 cases.

Other Ambassadors for the charity include Superintendent Parm Sandhu, the highest ranking Asian female police officer in the UK, and Sukki Singapora, the world's first professional Burlesque performer from Singapore.

Investment banker claims his marriage was a 'sham' to avoid expensive divorce A Former wealthy UBS employee has reportedly claimed that his marriage was a "sham" in order to avoid becoming involved in an expensive divorce, the Court of Appeal has heard in London.

Amit Goyal, had met his HR manager wife Ankita on Shaadi.com.

Allegedly a marriage registration took place prior to the main wedding so that Mrs Goyal could apply for a visa to France after he had decided to pursue an MBA at the famous INSEAD business school in Paris. Mr Goyal has asserted that his wife tied the knot with an imposter at Meerut’s luxury Hotel Samrat Heavens, claiming that he had been six hours’ away in his home town, Bathinda, on the morning of the nuptials.

Mr Goyal insisted that his subsequent 'marriage' was invalid - even though the groom’s name on the wedding certificate for the previous ceremony matched his own. As a result the 36-year-old

AnkitaGoyal

claimed that his wife of eight years - and mother of his six-year-old daughter could neither divorce him nor claim financial support from him.

He has also claimed that there were virtually no photographs of the ceremonies, an "integral part of Hindu wedding tradition" as he called it.

Mr Goyal said that he is in debt to the tune of more than £300,000 despite earning £185,000 per annum plus bonuses before being made redundant by the Swiss banking giant.

However, Judge Mark Everall QC granted Mrs

Amit Goyal

Goyal the right to pursue divorce proceedings against her husband, describing Mr Goyal as "there was a valid marriage between the couple".

Judge Everall also described Mr Goyal as an "unreliable" witness.

Rejecting his claim that he did not check the marriage papers until long after the split, the judge said his evidence about that was 'unconvincing and implausible'.

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Goyal said she was 'very happy' at the outcome which would have 'massive implications' for her future.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Kapil’s

Follow me on Twitter: @kdudakia

KHICHADI

Hindu Sentiments Violated

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com

The Mother of Parliament was abused on 26th February by a group of extremist whose sole purpose was Anti-Modi and Anti-Hindu rhetoric.

Organisations such as ‘The Monitoring Group (TMG-UK)’ and ‘Awaaz’ came together under the pretence of meaningful discussion, but the event hosted by the Labour MP John McDonnell and supported by Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn was nothing but an excuse for them to spill their vile allegations to a bunch of mindless followers who lapped up every negative sentiment expressed against Hindus.

In a press release by the group it stated Virendra Sharma was also hosting the event. It seems after being exposed he withdrew to save face by claiming he had been misled by the group and their intentions. I have written to Virendra and it seems he has become rather shy by not responding to legitimate questions about his role in this fiasco. I have also written to John McDonnell MP and guess what – yes, he has become shy all of a sudden as well.

The response I got from Ed Miliband suggested that the event had been cancelled. In fact I had to inform him that not only was it going ahead – but the room booking in the House of Commons was done by none other than his own Labour Party MP – John McDonnell. I have asked Mr Miliband a series of questions – yes folks you got it in one, he has now become very shy and so far no response.

Let me also tell you that I have asked Suresh Grover of TMG-UK to respond to the issues arising. He promised to come back to me with a detailed account. I await with baited breath. However it seems in his initial response to me he appeared to reject Virendra Sharma’s account of events.

So it seems someone somewhere is not quite telling us the full story.

A number of Hindus did manage to attend the event. Feedback from them suggests that the whole debate was totally one sided. There was not one person on the panel who could have put forward an alternative perspective and so it seems this was nothing but an excuse for extremist to air their grievances against the Hindu community.

Good Hindus attending left distraught and sad that the sanctity of the British Parliament was allowed to be abused in such a fashion.

This episode is not new. Only last year we had the grotesque showcase of the Labour Party supporting the Lord Harries Caste amendment against the wishes of the Hindu community. At that time it became clear that a number of Labour MPs and high profile Hindus let us all of down. As one Hindu leader

said to me, ‘they say one thing to our face, then they come to our functions to get the photos and hoodwink our community for votes – and then they stab us in the back’.

Satish Sharma, the Secretary General of National Council of Hindu Temples put it nicely when he said: ‘Hindus, members of the oldest multi faith culture, subscribe to the ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning – the whole world is one family. It would appear that Parliamentary process has been perverted by persons who do not wish to see such confident interfaith principles being developed.’

He was supported by Madhava Turumella, Vice President of the Hindu Forum of Britain who said: “Hinduism is magnanimous in respecting the ideologies of others, it is clear that our tolerance has given these extremist the opportunity to attack and undermine our faith and our community” As far as Narendrabhai Modi is concerned – extremist spreading misinformation is basically of zero relevance to the election that is taking place in India. The wave of support from people of all backgrounds and all faiths right across India for Narendrabhai is breathtaking. In the midst of this I must say it was refreshing to see the Conservative MP Bob Blackman’s (Harrow East) statement in the House of Commons: ‘In the run-up to the Indian elections, it appears that opponents of Narendra Modi will stop at nothing to smear him, including using rooms in this House to publish thoroughly scurrilous reports attacking him personally. May we have a debate on the relationship between Britain and India—and in particular on the Indian elections—which would give the Foreign Secretary an opportunity to welcome Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister of India?’

The issue therefore is for us, British Hindus who have shown over decades that we are one of the most cohesive and well integrated communities in the UK. Ours is a tradition of living a life based on sound Hindu values of righteousness, peace and non-violence. We work hard, we contribute in almost all spheres of life and we are the most law abiding citizens in the UK. Therefore to see a Labour MP opening access to Parliament to groups that conduct themselves in such poor fashion is nothing short of treachery.

When politicians act in a manner that adversely impacts our community, we have every right to question them and their intentions. You the voter have every right to demand an apology from Ed Miliband, after all this fiasco in Parliament would have been avoided if he had kept his MPs in control.

Desecration of Hindu sentiments in Parliament

On Wednesday 26th February 2014 the mother of Parliament was high-jacked by alleged extremists who reportedly abused the privilege and desecrated the sentiments of a peaceful and harmonious British Hindu community. In a meeting room booked by Labour MP John McDonnell, organisations such as ‘The Monitoring Group’ and ‘Awaaz’ spewed vile

unsubstantiated hate towards the Hindu community.

A Joint Statement has been Issued by the Hindu Forum of Britain, National Council for Hindu Temples City Hindu Network, Hindu Council UK, National Hindu Students Forum and British Hindu Voice talking about how the British Hindu community is one of the most cohe-

sive, contributory and peaceful communities in Britain. Letters have been sent to the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband as well.

Madhava Turumella, Vice President of the Hindu Forum of Britain, Satish K Sharma who was in attendance at the event, the Secretary General of the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHTUK), Sri

Rajnish Kashyap, Secretary General of The Hindu council UK have expressed their disappointments in their respective statements.

Prinal Nathwani, pictured, Chairman of the City Hindu Network said, "Once again, we come across a situation where the Hindu community in Britain is being unfairly and aggressively vilified.

CHN is further shocked

that such views are being supported, and indeed

peddled, by supposed community leaders and organisations.."

Mukesh Naker Communications officer for British Hindu Voice said “Statements by Awaaz & TMK by implication brands every Hindu as being a raciest and a fascist. We strongly object to this form of vilification and undermine a peaceful and tolerant community.”

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

UK

Baroness Warsi EXCLUSIVE

7

A Spirit Not To Be Reckoned With

"We should just be who we are and if that means certain people don't like you, that's fine..."

Tanveer Mann & Rupanjana Dutta

their religion.”

“The tragic case of the individuals like Anjem Choudary and the challenges that they then presents to the society is so vast. British Muslims, for years, have been saying Omar Bakri, Abu Hamza, Anjem Choudary, these are dangerous individuals, who create so much friction between communities."

“But what heartens me is that as a Government we have done more to deal with the issue of anti-muslim sentiment and Islamophobia than any Government before us."

Currently campaigning to propagate the contribution of 'forgotten heroes' of the British Empire in World War I, with the centenary celebrations underway, she aims to reinforce the fact that the War was not an all-white war.”

“I think the contribution of the Commonwealth soldiers, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, who served for a King and country that, at that time, they hadn't actually seen, is truly praiseworthy. For young men to be plucked out of the Punjab and thrown into these lands which were so alien to them and for them to fight so deeply and loyally, these are stories that have to be told and need to be told because Britain needs to know it was not an all-white war.

“Our boys were not just Tommys, but Tariqs and Tajinders too. And that is my way of saying we had a broad Commonwealth army, who fought the war effort and also I think for a young Asian boy or girl, I want them to know that they played a part in the country that is their home, that they haven't just arrived one day, there is a sense of belonging that comes with this contribution that was made.”

A lot has been said about Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. She has been at the heart of controversies, but again and again praised incredibly by the Government for her unequivocal nature. Evidently, her determined and irrepressible attitude ensures that nothing can dampen her indomitable spirit.

In honour of International Women's Day, there is no better person to represent the strength and power of women in Politics than Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, pictured, the first Muslim woman to serve as a minister in the United Kingdom. Having recently been promoted, she now holds the position of the Minister for Faith and Communities and Senior Foreign Office Minister. She is a very keen promoter of the role of Commonwealth soldiers in the First World War and a great advocate of anti Muslim sentiments.

Looking at Politics as an incredibly tough job and not necessarily a lifestyle choice, Baroness Warsi elaborated on why she entered it. Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice she said, “I think quite naively and quite idealistically I thought I wanted to change things. I think at that point I thought you can either be counted and get involved in Politics or stand on the sidelines and become a grumpy, old woman!"

But was she always prepared for her years to follow in Politics? "I think I came into it very much as an idealist.

Women have quite specific challenges in Politics and being from a minority ethnic background comes with its own set of challenges, especially being a British Muslim in Politics, at a time where Islam forms so many parts of the discussions, on so many levels both domestically and internationally,” explained Baroness Warsi.

It wasn’t an easy journey for her, facing mixed responses from her own family. Her mother could not understand why she chose Politics over a lucrative career in Law, whilst her father thought it was a fantastic choice of occupation.

However, does she think Politics still remains a taboo amongst the Asian communities, Baroness Warsi added with a smile, “If you go back a decade ago when I first stood, I think there was something taboo about getting involved in Politics.

But, in a way, by getting involved in Politics, I've made it more respectable and acceptable. When I stood as a candi-

date, there were people who told my father it was a terrible thing for a girl to be doing and now those same people are encouraging their daughters to go into Politics."

When asked if Britain could ever have an Asian Prime Minister, given the lack of unity amongst people of different faiths, an optimistic Baroness Warsi responded, “There is no reason why we shouldn't have an Asian Prime Minister or even a Black Prime Minister. For me, what is important is not so much the fact that we must have a PM who is Asian or who is Black, but I want to be governed by a Government who understands Britain today, who understands its different communities genuinely and I want to see Politicians, who come to Politics, authentically for who they are. One of the challenges that I see, there are people who come into Politics whether they are Asian or Black and then spend all their time in Politics pretending they're neither Asian nor Black. We should just be who we are and if that means certain people don't like you, thats fine.”

A heavy critic of extremism in Britain, she also spoke about her feelings regarding the possibility of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister of India.

"Our Government's line is to engage with whoever is elected by the Government of India and it's up to the people of India to determine what kind of PM they want. They know Narendra Modi and its up to them to decide if they

think he is the best person to represent India, " added a resilient Baroness Warsi.

Talking about the backlashe on Muslims from the recent sex grooming cases and the killing of soldier Lee Rigby by two Muslim extremists, she said, “There are a small minority of predominantly men of Pakistani origin who think women are second-class citizens and white girls are third-class citizens and that is true, there is a small minority of men who think like that. But our community is against this kind of despicable behaviour.

“Islamophobia is an incredibly personal subject for me. I feel that we need to draw the line in the sand about the challenge we face and its only when you acknowledge the problem, that you can present some sort of solution for it.”

“What disappoints me is the demonisation of Muslim communities and the kind of sense that somehow Muslim communities have to be held accountable for the actions of people who do incredibly criminal acts in the name of

Survey shows Britain has 56 sterling billionaires, including 7 of Indian origin

Sir Anwar Pervez

Lakshmi Mittal

and Indonesian entrepreneur Prakash Lohia, who made his fortunes from petrochemicals and textiles. Known as The Maharajah of Mayfair, he spent an estimated £50 illion restoring his London

Prakash Lohia

Srichand Hinduja

house.

The list includes Lakshmi Mittal in second position (£10.2bn), followed by Srichand Hinduja and family (£7.2bn) on 3rd, David and Simon Reuben (£3bn

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According to an authoritative new survey by the Hurun Global Rich List, Britain now has an astonishing 56 sterling billionaires, including 5 originally from India, one of Indonesian-Indian origin, and one British born Indian. The report establishes that around half of Britain’s super-rich have come from abroad now or before.

London already boasts more than 30 billionaires. And it emerged that French luxury goods tycoon Francois-Henri Pinault and his wife, Hollywood star Salma Hayek, are moving to Kensington.

New millionaires include Farhad Moshiri, an Iranian-British businessman who owns 15% of Arsenal Football Club,

Anil Agarwal

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As I See It

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Broader perspective required to document India’s History Recently I received a book, “India – A Short History” by Andrew Robinson to be published by Thames & Hudson on 24th March 2014. I have not read the book thoroughly, but had a good look through it over several hours. I am impressed by the lucidity of the author (Andrew Robinson). By and large he has been able to portray India fairly.

The title itself describes the enormity of the problem. It is a story of a very long civilization and the country with its immense diversity and contradictions. It is specifically a political history of India. In view of a very striking change on the political horizons of India likely to happen in the next 90 odd days, I should be permitted to articulate my thoughts about any such important endeavour in the future.

India now has population of over 1.2 billion. From all different accounts, it appears that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the government. Narendra Modi is forging ahead to be the next Prime Minister of India. Perhaps for the first time ever, a common Indian, born after India independence will take reign of the nation.

65 per cent of the Indians are under age of 35 years. Most of them have very limited knowledge of the history of the prepartitioned India.

The book by Andrew Robinson

‘India – A Short History’ has been a very good attempt to encompass the long history of India within 250 pages.

Genuinely I have dual political perceptions – I was born and brought up in India and lived there for 23 years of my early life. Then nearly six and half years in East Africa (Tanzania) and since the last 47 years, I am residing in the United Kingdom and have become a Brown Londoner. I choose to have British citizenship over US citizenship, as I could have also obtained the United State Green Card.

Thanks to the British Council in Dar es Salaam, I was well informed about the British, their history, their way of life and came here to pursue law studies at the London University and also at the Lincoln’s Inn. I also have benefitted enormously from this great country. I owe so much to the Great Britain of today and yesterday.

In the UK, nearly 3.5 million South Asians (if not more) live today, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans form about 50 per cent, but half of the British Asians are Indogenic people.

Nearly quarter of a million students, who are pursuing higher studies in the UK, hail from Indogenic backgrounds.

Predominantly they are Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists – the four faith traditions which evolved in India but to a certain exten, there are many common beliefs and traits.

Relics of the Nalanda University in India

In view of the possible change in the politics of India, some of the expectations from future efforts of historians and scholars like Andrew Robinson are both opportunity and challenge for the writers as well as the publishers.

Andrew Robinson has described briefly in the Chronology on the important landmarks in the long life of such an important country in today’s world. It began with village habitation at Mehrgarah (Baluchistan), Indus civilization has ample information (from seabed near Dwarka in Gujarat with evidence of a 9000 year old temple). The Rig-Veda, one of the oldest religious scriptures, perhaps the oldest Hindu sacred text was composed around 1500 years BC. The great war of Mahabharata took place 1000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Mahabharata itself is a very interesting, informative and inspiring narration about the hostilities between two parts of a family. It is not only about a family squabble or a very destructive and damaging war but the Mahabharata has been introduced as an added subject of study for the top most Business Schools in the USA. Of course over such a long period, so many different people migrated to India, so many invaded India, some became part of the Indian society in totality and some created their own separate identity as well. The advent of Islam and Christianity was aided and abetted by rulers. In spite of the preferential treatment, both Islam and Christianity received in today’s India, almost 90 per cent of them have remained within the Hindu fold which is a tribute to the durability, dignity and the eternal message of the Hinduism.

The author of this book has gone through various aspects of these migrations and invasions. I would like to quote why such a situation was able to develop: What caused the Hindu rulers of the 11th and 12th centuries to be more vulnerable to the Turko-Afghan attacks than their predecessors had been to the Arab attacks in the 8th Century?

Historians have advanced various theories since the 19th century, including the enervating effects of tropical climates, the petty rivalry born of feudal loyalties, the inherent divisiveness of the caste system and the unwieldiness of the rulers’ elephant mounted armies.

However, all of these factors would presumably have applied during the abortive 8th century Arab expansion.

A more convincing explanation lies in the comparative strength of the later invaders. “While several factors defeated the Hindu rulers, the overriding elements in the Muslim victory were their advanced military tactics and the tenacity of their Turkic leaders, who from their childhood were nurtured in the guerrilla warfare of the steppes’, argues the historian S.A.A. Rizvi. “If able leadership counted for anything, Mahmud (of Ghazni) and Muhammad (of Ghor) were such leaders.” Moreover, ‘Prospects of limitless Indians loot united the tribes’. No doubt Muslims religious zealotry against Hindu idolaters was an additional motivating factor,

but while much evidence exists of Muslims iconoclasm, surprisingly little is available for forced conversions of Hindus to Islam by the invaders.

There can be no question about the scale of destruction by the TurkoAfghan in India in the three centuries from the time of Mahmud of Ghazni to the death of Alauddin Khilji in Delhi in 1316 – if we judge from the accounts of Muslim chroniclers, such as al-Biruni, who was a contemporary of Mahmud.

Between 1001 to 1027 Mahmud made seventeen great raids on India, carrying back to Ghazni enormous quantities of loot, as well as slaves, from places and Hindu temples in the west and north of India as far apart as the great Shiva temple at Somnath in Kahtiawar, the cities of Kanauj and Mathura in the Ganges valley, which were captured and plundered, and the central Indian kingdom of the Chandellas.

At Somnath Mahmud ordered, the upper part of the Shiva Lingam to be broken and the remainder to be taken to Ghazni, ‘with all its covering and trappings of gold, jewels and embroidered garments, writes al-Biruni. ‘Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome … another part…. lies before the door of the mosque of Ghazni on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet.’

In the 1190s, first mosque in Delhi, named Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam), with its famous victory tower known as the Qutab Minar, was constructed by Qutb-ud-din Aibak from the reassembled pillars, capitals and lintels of no fewer than 27 Hindu and Jain temples (as noted in a Persian inscription on the mosque’s gateway).

In 1309-11, after Malik Kafur, a slave who became General of the Army of Alauddin Khilji, had campaigned southwards as far as Madurai in Tamil

Hitler and Nazi Germany during World War II

Nadu, his army eventually returned to Delhi with booty consisting 612 elephants, 20,000 horses, 96000 man of gold (nearly 241 metric tons) and countless boxes of jewels and pearls, one of which was said to have been the Koh-I-Noor diamond – as recorded by the historian Ziauddin Barani, who was personally present in Delhi. Barani writes in his chronicle: “The old inhabitants of Delhi remarked that so much gold had never before been brought to Delhi. No one could remember anything like it, nor was there anything like it recorded in the history.”

Scholarship and libraries suffered, too, under the Turko-Afghan assault.

The great university at Nalanda in Bihar, founded under the Gupta dynasty, appears to have been ransacked and its library burnt by the forces of Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1193, according to a contemporary Persian historian, Minhaj Siraj – though he does not specifically name Nalanda, referring only to the destruction of a city in western Bihar that was found to be a place of study.

Over a long time, most of the places of our world have seen the process of

migration and invasion. Today, United Kingdom (comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island) has evolved over the last 3000 years if not more. Romans ruled these islands for more than 1000 years. In a recent DNA study it was revealed, millions of British have Roman blood in their veins. Vikings and Normans also invaded and plundered this country.

Over the last 500 to 600 years the Jewish, Huguenots, Hungarians, Blacks, Asians and Somalis and the flow is continuous for one or another reason.

Qutab Minar in Delhi, India

Britain had also its own involvement in the slavery, abolition of the slavery, colonial conquest & exploitations, racial intolerance and now a much more better environment in that sphere without Truth and Reconciliation mechanism (like in South Africa). British in their unique way have reached a level of give and take and created much acceptable as well as an inclusive society.

As far as India is concerned, the story in any future history (Political, cultural and economic) shall also have some space for the Tamil and Telugu people and the rulers who expanded their influence from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, Indonesia and up to Cambodia and Vietnam in the Far East. Since the abolition of slavery, the indenture labour from India was taken to Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, Mauritius, South Africa and some other countries. Such stories may be also worth including in the story of India itself along with the present large Diaspora.

The story of Gypsies or the Romani is a very sad one indeed. It is the story of continuous exploitation and atrocities taking place in some countries of Europe. By all accounts, the Romani people migrated from India over the last 600 years, from present day Rajasthan and some parts of the Punjab. There are various details available on Wikipedia on the Romani people.

What hurts me most though, 1.2 million Romani were exterminated by Hitler’s Nazi Germany, in spite of the long linguistic connection of the Romani language with Hindi and other Indian language, not much is spoken or written about them. May be India only remembers or is reminded by the foreign born historians and writers a limited or selective story.

Sometimes I feel that overseas authors do not do enough study of the writings of famous historians like Jadunath Sarkar, KM Pannikar, R.C. Majumdar as well as those British or Anglo German scholars. Max Muller, William Jones, Colebroke, Reverend William Carey and Mr. Prinsep. Even Warren Hastings understood India much more closely and correctly. Future writers on India should use the knowledge and the eyehole through such eminent writers.

- CB

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

The International Stockbroker

Balbir Judge is a senior international stockbroker.

A Punjabi, he was the youngest person to take a financial services degree in the UK at age 17. “I was looking for a degree aimed at the financial services sector that was unique.

The course at Bournemouth University was dynamic and revolutionary.” he told me.

After his degree, Balbir joined Lloyd’s of London, where he managed drawdown facilities for syndicates, dealing with a number of international banks.

Essentially, he was moving money around the world.

After that, he managed a youthful investment team at Barclays Trust, where he was looking after international private wealthy clients.

While there, he was headhunted by Flemmings Save and Prosper, the investment house. Here he managed the unit trust business.

Then Balbir joined the largest stockbroking firm in the US, Edward Jones Stockbrokers, which was setting up in the UK. He was its first Asian stock-

Balbir Judge

broker in Britain. He helped the company build in the UK and developed 50 offices of Edward Jones here. He was made a limited partner in two years. Its staff numbered more than 10,000.

Staying in the financial services industry, Balbir joined AX Markets as a stockbroker helping Alternative Investment Market companies to raise funds.

He managed clients’ funds worldwide.

He had a consultant role with this firm.

Now, Balbir is working closely with Wellesley, a peer to peer lender, in order to help the group develop new business. He has other irons in the fire too. He enjoys mentoring and building networks- he is launching a business networking lunch group in the City this week and it already has around forty visitors per session.

Balbir is also supporting Cube8, a financial peer to peer lender and commercial brokerage.

He is helping raise

Dewani loses appeal against extradition to South Africa

as the couple travelled Honeymoon murder susthrough a notorious pect Shrien Dewani, Cape Town slum area pictured, has lost his and Mr Dewani was latest appeal against r e l e a s e d extradition to unharmed by South Africa. the hijackers.

Dewani is facSouth African ing charges of authorities later organising the accused him of murder of his hiring his wife's wife Anni durkillers. ing the couple's The Nursing honeymoon in care home South Africa in owner Mr November Anni Dewani Dewani, 33, had 2010.

The appealed a decision by Bristol based businessthe High Court which man has been detained ruled in January that he at a secure mental could be extradited after health facility in the city receiving after suffering post trauassurances matic stress disorder in from the South African the wake of his wife's government would murder. return him to the UK if 28-year-old his health didn't Anni Dewani, who was improve. born and raised in Dewani's lawyers Sweden, was shot dead

had intended to take their appeal against extradition. They have been fighting extradition to South Africa saying Shrien was mentally unfit to stand trial but the High Court ruled in January that it would not be "unjust and oppressive" to extradite him, but a panel of judges refused the case to be heard in Britain's highest court.

Coalition cuts affect minority ethnic women, says report

The problems, caused by the coalition’s cuts, highlighted in a new report on Coventry’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women, are being replicated across the UK, Unite, the country’s largest union, said on Wednesday 5 March.

The report said that

unemployment among BAME women in Coventry increased by 74.4 per cent between 2009 and 2013 while unemployment among white British women increased by 30.5 per cent during the same period. It also elaborated that cuts to welfare benefits will

cost all women in Coventry £76 million a year out of a total of £112 million. BAME women are among those hardest hit – the government’s assessment of the benefits cap concluded that 40 per cent of families affected would include someone who is BAME.

funds for a new technology start up fund, one that Balbir tells me might just be the only one in the UK. It purely invests in new technology start ups.

“The fund is being launched in four weeks’ time and already has £10 million invested, with a goal of achieving over £100 million. The partners of the fund are Foresight Investment Group. It will focus on internetbased businesses with a two- year goal of joining the Alternative Investment Market group of companies.

Balbir’s activities are diverse. He has also started www.tolinkup.com to bring social media connections to a physical location.

The inspiration that drives me is that you need to "dream big as you are as only as big your dreams".

Balbir is currently working with billionaire James Ridinger, building a £1 billion shopping retail business called Shop.com in the UK. “At shop.com I business coach and manage over 60 unfranchised business owners.” Balbir

said.

On being head hunted for several of his positions, Balbir says that the reason “was often for achieving outstanding revenue results.

Recently I have become involved with Card Connect - a merchant cash payment company that is expanding internationally.”

How is Balbir helping society?

“I have been actively involved with the community, with the New Sikh temple in Gravesend for which I helped to raise over £200000. I am also former Director of the Chamber of Commerce in Gravesend, and I have organised a number of events at the House of Commons for local business owners, with a former MP, Chris

9

Pond, talking about setting up small businesses.

I was involved with the Gravesend Rotary club; fund raising over £60,000 for sponsored bike rides for a number of charities.

I want to have people involved in with Shop.com who want to start their own businesses.

Some have been housewives, some are business owners looking to diversify, some are students and others are disabled people.

I believe I have a solution that can empower entrepreneurship with a proven business system.

The inspiration that drives me is that you need to "dream big as you are as only as big your dreams".

And finally, what does Balbir hope to achieve by the end of the year? He replies, “I want to; 1. Manage 200 unfranchised owners of Shop.com.

2. Raised £100 million for the tech fund.

3. Have close to £30 million lent by peer to peer finance companies.

4. Develop www.tolinkup. co.uk as a networking brand in London.”

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YOUR VOICE

Freedom of speech and defending Hinduism

Shaan Patel (1st March 2014) in his letter has adopted double standards in supporting Wendy Doniger’s book. Freedom of expression is not absolute. When a book upsets or insults the sentiments of a religious group, and if it proves to be blasphemous, it has to be banned. Since Doninger’s book denegrades Hindu religion it has to be banned in India where the majority are Hindus. Only renegade Hindus like Romila Thapar. Guha and some Muslim academics supported Doniger. No Muslims or Christians in India had the guts to support the publication of ‘Satanic Verse’ knowing they will be killed or have their heads chopped. Non Muslims are not allowed to say anything against Islam.

If Hindus were sensible they would not have allowed Gazini to loot Somnath temple several times. During Babar and Aurangzeb rule thousands of Hindus were slaughtered and most Hindu kings did not fight against the Moghuls. If we see what is happening in the world, the philosophy of non-violence is irrelevant.

If India is a powerful nation like America, we can talk about non-violence and not for weak nation like India. One should note what is happening to Hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and we are not able to stop the beheading of Hindus in Pakistan.

Arun Vaidyanathan By email

Freedom of speech

Shaan Patel’s, letter about Wendy Doniger’s book “The Hindu-an alternate history” is partly correct. He is wrong to suggest that Wendy Doniger’s book, to be published in India, debated irrespective of whether it was factually accurate, offensive or hurts feelings of Hindus, and then the book, material/ texts may have been deconstructed. Such suggestions have been practiced often by humble Hindu thinkers; but seen as a sign of timidity and cowardice, reciprocated with abuse and arrogance. Many vocal protests by Hindus against misrepresentations and misinterpretations of Hindu divine icons on utility items viz tissue papers, toilet seats, flip-flops, jeans etc. have successfully elicited apologies and soothing remedial measures.

Shaan Patel should note that the book is ban-worthy on three simple reasons: 1. mistakes-types and number; 2. blatant assertion that Hinduism is enemy of Christianity, thereby driving wedge between two comensal religions, and 3. viewing Hinduism through blickered telescope. Wendy Doniger must have danced with joy to note that her book is not facing the same fate as Satanic Verses. As to democracy and freedom of expression in India, I am citing Article 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code, which states that deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs shall be punished with imprisonment or fine, or both.”

If the law is used to ban antiChristian films and anti-Muslim books, it

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

A Gujju PM in India?

The heart of the matter

Female Mutilation

Narendra Modi is today’s most popular prime ministerial candidate. He was born in Vadnagar in Gujarat. At present there is not a single person in Gujarat and in India who does not respect Modi. He has admirers all over the world. This is because he has been instrumental in making Gujarat an envy of the rest of India by the changes he has brought about. Before him, Gujarat was lacking behind other states in almost all fields. If he becomes PM, he will be the second Gujarati to do so after Morarji Desai, a first Gujarati who was the fourth Prime Minister of India and held the post from 1977-1979. The achievement by Modi will make us Gujaratis proud and will prove that Gujarat can not only produce great people like Mahatma Gandhi, it can also give the country a prime minister who has done so much towards the advancement of not only Gujarat, but India as a whole.

However, would the shower of ministers and politicians that influences elections and rules India by the divide and rule method and thereby line their own pockets at the expense of the masses, let a second Gujarati become India’s next prime minister? Or would they again settle for a puppet who would dance to the tune of an Italian woman? It is time Indian people should give a capable person, be he a Gujarati, the chance for the betterment of our motherland.

I read the article on pages 74 and 75 of the Accounting and Business, March 2014 ACCA Monthly Magazine on NHS finance called “The heart of the matter”.

The government has appointed six directors, one each, from NHS England; Department of Health; Healthcare Financial Management Association; NHS Monitor; NHS Trust Development Authority and Health Education, England. This new Council will work with clinicians to tackle a possible funding gap of £30 billion by 2020/21 based upon current model of care. The article writer states that this Council will work with value as well as cost.

Page 93 of HMRC 2008-09 Annual Accounts, paragraph 4.1 states that revenue from National Insurance Contributions was £98 billion. Cash paid to National Insurance Fund was £73.6 billion and to NHS £22.5 billion. [NIF funds State Pension]. Therefore the bulk of NHS funding comes from general taxation, NOT National Insurance Contributions. Consequently impossible to forecast.

Finance professionals are not competent to assess value. They need to concentrate on cost, cost and cost. Every patient that comes out of a GP appointment should be given a debit and credit real time invoice suggesting to him or her how much her consultation had cost NHS for that single event. Until that is implemented, all above initiatives are muddled, very costly and very bureaucratic quango attempts that do NOT go to “The heart of the matter”.

The horrific ritual of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985. Despite it still being widely practised in some communities in London, there has not yet been a single prosecution. I recently attended a hearing in Brussels organised by my colleague Marina Yannakoudakis MEP that brought together experts from different fields and nationalities to share their experience and knowledge. We heard from Alimatu Dimonekene, a brave FGM victim from London who gave a horrifying account of her experience at the hands of family members, leaving her with physical and mental scars.

We have to seek greater prosecution of those involved in the barbaric practice of FGM, not least so that this acts as a deterrent to others and as punishment for their cruel abuse of girls and young women. This is a crime and a humanrights violation. If you suspect any person of plotting female genital mutilation or being involved in its practice, please do not hesitate to call the police.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Jain as minority

We are all aware of the present government providing minority status on religious and caste basis to create a vote bank for them. However the Jain community being more literate in India are able to see the wood from the trees and will not be fooled by this kind of trick from government.

The Jain community is also one of the most prosperous and does not rely on the handouts given by the government to its minority. The only benefit I see in being a minority status is the protection that will be offered to Jain trusts and they will be able to avoid government interference in the trust property.

In the long term such status would detach the Jains from Hindus, which could be regrettable. For centuries the Jains have adopted most of the 16 samsara of Hindus as part of Jain ritual which is practiced even to present day. Thus many scholars from outside Jain community have often observed that Jains are “indistinguishable from Hindus”.

Although some Jains deny this claim but the bond between Hindus and Jains has always been very strong. I hope Jain community continue this bond and not be distracted by the minority status.

Suresh P Shah By email must also be used to ban Wendy Doniger’s book.

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Ramesh Jhalla By email

ASIAN VOICE

Nagindas Khajuria By email

Charity

Brits are the most generous and caring of people. We give to charity more than any nationality, come hell or high water per capita. No wonder charitable organizations are mushrooming at a geometric progression.

Our TVs are inundated with begging adverts, proliferating on weekly basis, projecting half-starved children, mainly from African countries like Somalia, demanding just £3 monthly that most of us could easily afford. These adverts never promise that every penny we donate will be used in front line care. In fact most have high flying CEOS, MDS and other officials drawing six figure salaries, spending between 30% to 90% on administration, that include travel, entertainment, salaries.

My favourite charities that I trust and respect are ISKCON, SEWA and SHM who rebuilt Gujarat in record time after the devastating earthquake and the only Hindu organizations that manage highly successful Hindu schools that top the chart on regular basis.

It is time they should get involve in Care Homes for elderly, private hospitals, in partnership with other dyed-in-thewool enterprising communities like Jewish, Sikh, Jain, Ismalis, Ahmedia, few among many ethnic flourishing minorities. It is time to come out of den of inequality, denounce gullibility, anything

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US, EU instigators of new cold war

Rivalry between two super-powers, the US and the Soviet Union armed with nuclear weapons, gave Europe the longest peace era in modern times. But with the demise of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the EU, the cold war is back with a vengeance. What Hitler failed to do with might, Germany under Chancellor Angela Mercer is achieving with economic domination.

During the last decade, the West has interfered - directly or indirectly - undermined, instigated wars, subjugated, occupied Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Serbia, Kosovo, Egypt and Syria, few among many nations who would not be lackey of the West.

Elections were due in Ukraine by the end of the year whereby President Yanukovych could have been legitimately replaced by popular vote. But with opposition deeply divided, Yanukovych if allowed to stand or his successor may win again. This EU sponsored anarchy could break-up Ukraine whereby eastern section, Crimea which was part of Russia until 1954 when President Nikita Khrushchev gifted it to Ukraine, may secede, even lead to civil war with Russian tanks rolling in to protect their naval base at Odessa, on Baltic Sea. Russian President Putin is no pushover. He knows that after Ukraine, next target will be Belarus, to encircle Russia.

He will not hesitate to act as he did in Abkhazia Georgia conflict with West watching from side-line.

Bhupendra M Gandhi By email else is mockery of holy charitable concept.

Kumudini Valambia By email

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COUNCIL VOICE

Multifaith communities come together for launch of Near Neighbours £3m expansion plan

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Tanveer Mann

In a move to strengthen, transform and improve local communities, the Department for Communities and Local Government have announced a £3million expansion of the hugely successful Near Neighbours programme across nine new areas of the country.

This great initiative was announced at an intimate event on Thursday 27 February, at an extremely fitting location, the Rockingham Community Centre in Elephant and Castle – London, a borough which boasts its own multicultural, diverse populace. The launch was attended by a number of MPs, religious figures, community leaders, charities and volunteers, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles and Mayor of Southwark Councillor Abdul Mohamed.

Launched by the Communities Secretary in 2011, Near Neighbours provides small grants and support to grassroots groups and multi-faith communities, recognising that local groups know what works best in their area. Funding is given to those communities which have significant religious diversity to help them run projects that will bring about lasting benefits to their neighbourhoods.

This new funding will enable projects to expand into Luton, Rochdale, Bury, Dewsbury, Leeds, Nottingham, North and West London and the Black Country. It will also further equip people with the skills, relationships and confidence to improve their local communities, building on the achievements on the first phase of Near Neighbours.

The Chairman of the Near Neighbours project, Baroness Margaret Eaton, introducing the guests, said: “I do feel this morning is a real celebration. There are so many people who have made Near Neighbours such a good project and a success and today is a celebration of that.”

Secretary Eric Pickles, enthusiastically, said: “It’s been terrific to see Near Neighbours go from strength to strength over the past three years, helping grass roots groups to improve the lives of those around them through practical action. These fantastic projects have been met with huge amounts of enthusiasm, creating a sense of lasting community spirit, and helping to transform

neighbourhoods in the process.

This extra money is a real investment in our shared future that will enable Near Neighbours to reach many more communities so they can become even better places to live.”

Some successful Near Neighbours projects to have benefitted from the small grants include a youth football team in East London – using sport to provide mentoring and development opportunities, a youth music programme in Oldham which has brought people together from different backgrounds and a community garden in Leicester created by local residents and school children

and enjoyed by the whole community.

F a i t h M i n i s t e r , Baroness Warsi said: “We developed the concept of Near Neighbours many years ago – using the existing infrastructure of the Church to bring together people of all faiths. It was ambitious and it was challenging. But after three years, hundreds of small grants, and thousands of volunteers, this programme has proved one thing: that faith can make a real difference at the heart of our communities. So today I feel immensely proud to see Near Neighbours reaching out to more people, having more of a local impact, and showing more and more that faith is a positive force in our society.”

At the event, Communities Minister Stephen Williams heard from an interfaith women’s group from the Rockingham estate in Southwark who have benefited from the Near Neighbours programme. The group consists of women from Sunni, Anglican, Methodist, Sufi, and Buddhist

backgrounds who have been meeting and building relationships amongst themselves for the past year.

Stephen Williams said: “I’m delighted that this substantial new funding will enable Near Neighbours to bring real and lasting changes to many more communities across the country and look forward to seeing more projects than ever before in action.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, welcomed the additional funding and said: “This renewed funding is a recognition of the hard work and prayer put in over the last three years by hundreds of people from local faith communities supported by the national church and inter faith groups.

That work has touched thousands of lives, strengthening the fabric of our society. We have heard some great stories from Near Neighbours over the last three years and we look forward to many more.”

The event concluded with a tasty lunch of chicken briyani, samosas and other Asian delicacies, specially cooked by members of the Rockingham Community Centre. Guests were invited to come together to wrap up toiletries as gifts to give to the homeless, whilst a very talented member of the local interfaith woman's group offered her henna services to all guests present.

Asian Voice Youth Conference 28-29 March 2014

Asian Voice Youth Conference 28-29th March 2014 SATURDAY

Workshops

March 29, 2014

Networking Evening On Friday 28 March, we will be hosting a networking evening with drinks and canapés at PWC, More London Riverside. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers who will share their success stories, give motivational short talks to inspire and advise the younger generation, so that young people can fulfil their aspirations and get ahead in the world of work.

There will be a scope to take part in Q&A. Date & Time: 28 March 2014, 6-8:30pm Venue: PWC, 7 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RT Age: 16+ RSVP: tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com

In Association With PwC Hindu Network, a part of PWC’s diversity networks, established since 2005, as the first Hindu professionals network in the City. Founder and Chair Nilesh Solanki wanted to create a platform to bring together Hindu professionals to collaborate, network and learn. Sunil Patel (Partner) and Umang Paw (Partner) are advisory board members, supporting the network strategically and managed by a team of 10. Their objectives are, to provide a meeting point for people of any belief, who follow, or are interested in the Hindu culture. The network, its meetings and events are open to all.

Confirmed Speakers

Rajeeb Dey

Founder and CEO, Enternships, Co-Founder, Start up Britain.

Announced as the youngest Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, 2012

Roma Agrawal

Associate Structural Engineer, WSP Group.

Only Asian woman to work on creating The Shard

Theme: The power to think differently, develop innovative business ideas and pursue your career ambitions through building effective interpersonal, entrepreneurial and leadership skills Time: 12.00 - 4.00pm Age: 16-30/Students

Register: tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com

WORKSHOPS I Building your brand: how to differentiate yourself - through extra curricular activities and networking I Using social media to advance your career: why it is so important and how you can use social media I What it takes to become an entrepreneur - key skills you need, how you can get started, helpful resources I Preparing for interviews: how to prepare in advance, how to present yourself on the day

Arjun

A British singer-songwriter, record producer and actor.

Famous for the R&B cover version of 'Why this Kolavari di' which received 8 million views

COMPETITION FOR ORGANISATIONS: Any non profit/community organisation that will send the highest number of participants (between 16-35 years) will be eligible to win a free space in Asian Voice Editorial section for 6 months* If you want to take part in this competition and are affiliated to a certain organisation, mention the full name when * Terms and Conditions apply you register.

@ King's Cross Impact Hub

Competition Sponsors:

11

34b York Way, City of London, N1 9AB

We are excited to announce that the Asian Voice Youth Conference Workshops will be held at one of London's most innovative and coolest spots - King's Cross Impact Hub. Dubbed the 'business incubator', the social enterprise community centre offers a unique place for resources, inspiration and collaboration opportunities - the perfect place to complement our theme this year!

12

MEDIA WATCH

Narendra Modi left the beaten track of the Ganges plain for the Northeastern mountain state of Arunachal Pradesh, abutting Chinese territory. Beijing claims Arunachal Pradesh by virtue of its conquest of Tibet. It has laid claim to the South China Sea and, no doubt, eyes Mongolia as well. Countries in China’s neighborhood are learning to live with these irredentist demands, so Mr Modi’s first foray into foreign policy as aspirant Indian prime minister occurred at a large public meeting at Pasighat, where he reiterated the position set out by Pranab Mukherjee, then foreign minister (now President), and subsequently by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh was not negotiable, that Arunachal Pradesh was an inalienable part of India and “will always remain so.” Mr Modi said “China should shed its expansionist mindset. “ Mr Modi lauded soldiers from Arunachal Pradesh who had defended the Kargil heights against Pakistani aggression in 1999. He promised, were he come to power, that development in Arunachal Pradesh would include environmental protection so that the state would be regarded as a global model. (Business Standard 23)

Success against terrorism

As Business Standard’s guest columnist, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote that the past year had seen some notable successes against terror groups, both Maoist and jihadi. “Our government has taken several steps to deal with the threat of terrorism. These include amending the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, strengthening the Central Armed Police Forces…..creating four new hubs of the National Security Guard, strengthening coastal security and by the setting up of the National Investigation Agency. He also highlighted economic and welfare measures to meet the needs of forest dwellers and the landless who are tempted to fall victim to Maoist propaganda.

Yechury on Third Front

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, in an edit-page interview in Business Standard (February 23), said there was “No difference between BJP and Congress policies,” hence the need for a Third Front consisting India’s two Communist parties, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s

Communist party leader Sitaram Yechury

Samajwadi Dal in Uttar Pradesh, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal in Bihar and Jayalalitha’s AIDMK in Tamil Nadu.

According to Mr Yechury, Congress and BJP economic policies were similar in content, had “badgered the people, who apparently were “looking for an alternative that can provide them with relief……Our own

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Bullish Chidambaram The media is awash with real or contrived opinion polls predicting a BJP victory and a Congress whitewash at the forthcoming general election, but Finance Minister P.Chidambaram appeared unfazed by these forecasts. In answer to a question Business Standard from (February 22) citing India Today magazine’s projection (along with other publications) that the worst Congress performance loomed large, Mr Chidambaram made the following reply:”All I know is I have the India Today poll of 2004 and 2009 – in both polls……India Today predicted in 2004, Vajpayee would return to power and in 2008, Manmohan Singh’s government wouldn’t return to power.”

Period.

Tariff relief for Adani, Tata

Admiral D.K. Joshi

objective is to try and bring together political forces that will be able to form a government that can follow alternative policies.” His party’s rout in West Bengal after 34 years of misrule makes his claim hollow.

Mr Yechury is tempting fate with his high faluting talk. The two Communist parties appear to be withering away. Hopefully, they will disappear in the coming general election..

Adani Power and Tata Power, two companies that rely of imported coal-based power plants have been allowed compensation amounting to Rs 830 crore for the former and Rs 329 crore for the latter by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission from state-owned distribution companies in five states. The relief has been granted to compensate for the higher costs of imported Indonesian coal. For India’s first ultra-mega power project in Mundra, the sector regulator has permitted Tata Power a compensatory tariff for the 4,000MW. The Adani power plant, also based in Mundra, a compensatory tariff

Infosys, Wipro outpaced

Infosys Chairman Narayana Murthy (left), Wipro Chairman Azim Premji

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cognizant are rapidly pulling ahead of software rivals Infosys and Wipro.

Their contrasting figures are startling, indicating a new polarization in India’s IT sector. Cognizant’s record in the past decade has been little short of astounding. In 2004, it had a revenue of $0.59 billion, 40,7 per cent of the sum earned by Infosys $1.44 billion. Cognizant’s revenue in 2013 touched $8.84 billion to Infosys $8.1 billion. Against Wipro the rise is even higher.

TCS revenue in 2005 stood at $2.6 billion, in 2013 it had reached $12.99 billion, twice the size of Wipro. The company is now in a league of its the country. “We’re hoping this will help eliminate the drudgery associated with bullock cartbased ploughing,” said Palash Maji, one of the three engineers at the institute. The tractor is

Naval Chief resigns

Following another accident on another Indian submarine, INS Sindhuratna, in which two officers died, the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi tendered his resignation within 24 hours of the disaster, saying that he accepted full moral responsibility for the tragedy as it had occurred on his watch. India’s ageing submarine fleet has been (and is) exercising parliamentary defence committees and the Navy brass but ministers and bureaucrats seem impervious to the rot that is now taking its toll. The wheels of the Indian bureaucracy grind exceeding slow and none too well, but the arrogance of some of its officials, especially those in the Defence Ministry, are a blight that must be removed, sooner rather than later, in the national interest.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, it would appear, is ponderous and slowmoving, and say, some newspapers, is increasingly at odds with his senior commanders. Shades of Krishna Menon many moons ago. Hopefully there won’t be at sea the repeat of the land disaster of 1962 against the Chinese.

(Times of India, Telegraph, Hindu February 2, 28)

Adani and Tata plants at Mundhra port

has been allowed for 1,000MW power sold to Gujarat Vikas Nigam Ltd and two other utilities in Haryana for 1,424 MW. Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd, the fully owned subsidiary of Tata Power will recover Rs 329.45 crore in compensation for the last year (Business Standard February 23).

Bengal tractor to boost farming

A 12 horse power tractor, among the world’s smallest machines, is all set to roll out for the market, having passed field tests and received the required certification. Named “Krishi Shakti” (Farmers’ strength) the tractor, developed by engineers at the Central Mechanical Engineering Institute – a government facility – in the steel city of Durgapur.

The machine will benefit farming communities with small holdings, in particular, across

considerably cheaper and consumes much less fuel than the larger models. Scientists say the greater the spread of mechanization, the shorter will be the time spent on preparing the soil for cultivation The new tractor can also be used to draw a trolley with a 2,500 kg load. (Telegraph February 22).

Powai Valley

It’s Silicon Valley in sunny California; in India it may turn

own, with only Cognizant narrowing the gap. Peter Bandor- Samuel, founder of the IT advisory firm Everest Group, believes there is at present more than a one dimensional lead by TCS over Infosys and Wipro. He said: “I think the market reputation of of TCS and Cognizant are perceived differently. They have become far more relevant to their customers and hence they have been rewarded with huge growth. They have started to compete with Accenture and IBM with big transformational deals. So they have earned their way into a new class of opportunities.”

(Times of India February 24). out to be Powai Valley in the northeast suburb of Mumbai.

There’s abuzz here reminiscent of the iconic Silicon Valley, the seedbed of the world’s fastest start-ups, where young entrepreneurs with new and exciting ideas go to translate these into next-generation , head-turning technologies. Anytime you wander into Powai food joint you will hear at least start-up conversation in progress,” says Zishaan Hayath, co-founder of Toppr.com and Powai Lake Ventures, an angel investment club. Hayath’s 18 month-old company was funded by pooling money from friends, which prompted this Bombay IIT graduate to spread his wings. It helped that the IIT was located in Powai, as was the National Institute of Industrial Engineering.

(Business Standard February 23).

Cipla to co-market AIDS drug in India

In a significant move, Indian drug maker Cipla has joined forces with Merck & Co, a leading player in HIV treatment, in an India-specific strategic partnership under which Cipla will have a non-exclusive licence to market, promote and distribute MSD’s Baltgravir 400 mg tablet under a different brand name in India.

Speaking to reporters Jaideep Gogtay, Chief Medical Officer.

Cipla, said the “main benefit will be providing access to patients here using extensive reach. It is a new class of drug and acts differently from currently available drugs. It is likely to be introduced by mid -2014.”

(Hindu February 22).

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Flavours

A Century On

We Must Remember Indians, Women

“This reminds us that people who are injusticed must fight their corner to ensure recognition and dignity and that fight continues all over the developing and developed world today” said Baroness Flather at the Memorial Gates commemorating the soldiers of the Commonwealth in the Two World Wars.

This Centenary year of the start of the First World War, a war between three cousins who were three grandchildren of Queen Victoria – the Russian Tzar, the British King, and the Prussian Kaiser, we may well ask what does it have to do with us? Why should we care?

You’ve probably heard the quote "When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today". Most don’t know where it comes from. It is inscribed for instance as the epitaph at the Memorial Gates at Constitution Hill outside Buckingham Palace and is attributed to the Battle of Kohima, India, where in WWII, the Japanese suffered the greatest defeat in their history.

This Monday 10th March, I invite you to the Ceremony of Commemoration from 10am at the Memorial Gates outside Buckingham Palace.

And on this day in the heart of London politicians and representatives from India and the other Commonwealth countries, together with Field Marshalls and Major Generals will gather to commemorate the armed forces of the British Empire from

five regions of the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka), as well as Africa and the Caribbean, who served in the First World War and Second World War. The Gurkha Bugle will be sounded at 10.59. Baroness Flather will remind us: “It took over fifty years after World War Two ended to build a lasting memorial to honour the five million men and women from the Commonwealth nations who fought as part of the British Empire in both world wars.

It was a woman’s vision to have this Memorial. Another Memorial on Whitehall outside the entrance to Downing St commemorates the work of the women in the World Wars. It was not just the men that suffered and sacrificed.

On 6 November 2002 HM The Queen officially inaugurated the Memorial Gates with an inscription stating that this took place in the Golden Jubilee year of her reign. So if you want to know about women’s contribution to society – just look at our greatest monuments.

If only we look around we will see those citizens past and present who shaped today’s Big Society. They will be present in spirit at 1059 on March 10 at Constitution Hill. I hope you will be there too. I will. For all those who gave their todays.

‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’.

Join us. Remember them.

Students turning to stripping to fund expensive Uni lifestyle

An increasing number of middle-class university students are turning to stripping to make ends meet, research by Leeds University has found. The research, which was carried out by sociologists at the university found that up to a third of strip club dancers are students, with most entering the adult entertainment industry to pay their way through a course.

It also found that the adult entertainment industry was actively targeting students themselves for business, with clubs sending leaflets to

undergraduates during freshers’ week to draw in a crowd.

Researchers interviewed almost 200 strip club dancers as part of the study and found that almost a third were “engaged in some form of

education”.

The study also reportedly claimed that students were now a “core supply group into the sex industries”.

The disclosure follows a decision to increase the cap on tuition fees to up to £9,000 a year for the first time in 2012.

The study also stated that some students were “drawn in by the initial excitement of engaging in a transgressive world, and the prospect of cash in hand on the night was considered a bonus”.

UK Border Agency Director passes on sensitive data to fake lawyer boyfriend UK Border Agency (UKBA) director Anjali Patel, pictured, of Outram Road, Addiscombe, passed confidential data to her fake immigration lawyer boyfriend, Abdul Farooq, 27, of Barrow Road, Waddon, who used it to con immigration applicants out of thousands of pounds, a jury has heard.

Ms Patel is alleged to have illegally accessed sensitive information about vulnerable immigrants while in her position as an executive director for the agency and supplied it to Abdul Farooq. Mr Farooq, a law student drop-out at Brunel

University, posed as an immigration solicitor to charge applicants hoping to stay in the UK up to £13,000 for advice, Croydon Crown Court heard on Tuesday 25, February. Miss Patel, 30, allegedly also advised an illegal immigrant friend of Mr Farooq to supply fake information to UKBA to ambush its attempt to deport him, while the couple are also accused of laundering more than £70,000 of criminal cash.

Miss Patel denies two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, two counts

of money laundering and attempting to assist unlawful immigration. Mr Farooq denies three counts of fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and provision of immigration services while unqualified.

The trial continues.

Tanveer

13

Mann

Flavour's restaurant is London's newest and hip Indian fusion bar and restaurant offering an array of unique, authentic north Indian dishes, fused with tastes from the far east.

Conveniently located by Burnt Oak station, the ex free-house boasts its own in-house mixologist shaking & stirring the best cocktails, live HD screens broadcasting all major sporting events and a unique carrom board lounge with 3 boards.

Each dish is extremely unique, individually produced by a select few coveted chefs, including Head Chef, Anil Panchal, who has previously worked at a number of 5star hotels including the luxury Oberoi Group and Centaur Group.

The menu has an extensive range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes which are very affordable. Specialities from the starters menu include the Moga

Ratings Taste : Ambience : Location : Service : Value 4 Money :

UK

HHHHH HHHHH HHHH

Chatpatta Lassooni, a traditional Kenya cassava dish, cooked with garlic and spices, delicately finished with fresh coriander, a unique Tandoori Mushroom stuffed with paneer, mild cheddar, potatoes and fresh herbs, covered with a spicy marinade and cooked in a tandoor and Kurkuri Bhindi Jaipuru, crispy fried okra seasoned with spicy chaat masala.

Vegetarian specials from the main menu include Dragon Paneer and Subzi Chilly Milly whilst the non-vegetarian dishes include numerous choices of lamb, chicken and seafood curries. However, most unique of all, Flavour's desserts steal the show,

with their trio of chocolate pyramids, profiteroles, german apple torte and red velvet bundt cake being the best sellers.

The chic and swanky bar and stylish family dining area coupled with the outdoor area makes this spot perfect for summer lounging and a place that caters to all social tastes. Flavour's bright décor, which includes memorable yellow, dinerstyle sofas in the 'dessert' area, mixed with its mouth-watering menu makes for a truly relaxing and delicious dining experience.

Address: 218 Burnt Oak Broadway Edgware, HA8 0AP Tel: 020 8951 2500

Competition Flavours Restaurant is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a complimentary meal for two, and a bottle of wine. All you have to do is answer the below question and send your answers to: tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com by Saturday 22nd March 2014. The winner will be picked on a lottery basis from the correct answers received.

Justice is served for Drummer Lee Rigby HHHHH HHHHH

The brutal killers of British Army Drummer Lee Rigby erupted into a fit of violence at the Old Bailey on Thursday 27 February, whilst they were being sentenced for murder.

Michael Adebolajo, 29 and Michael Adebowale, 22, fought with guards and launched abuse at the judge, after reportedly being told by Mr Justice Sweeney that their crime was a "betrayal of Islam".

Adebolajo was manhandled down the stairs, and his co-defendant was held to the floor and cuffed before being carried downstairs head first.

Adebowale stood up and reportedly shouted: "I swear by Allah that America and Britain will never have any safety.

Allah Akbar." His codefendant, Adebolajo, also stood up and began shouting before dock officers grabbed both killers and wrestled them to the floor.

Adebolajo and Adebowale hacked the young soldier to death after driving into him with

Question: Where is Flavours Restaurant located? a) Brent Cross

b) Belsize Park

a car outside Woolwich Barracks in southeast London last May. Adebolajo was given a whole-life sentence while his younger accomplice will serve a minimum of 45 years before he is considered for parole.

Adebowale, who now calls himself Ismail Ibn Abdullah, offered no evidence in his defence during his trial in December.

Adebolajo, who now calls himself Mujaahid Abu Hamza, gave a testimony glorifying his love for alQaeda. He reportedly claimed that they were “soldiers of Allah” and had carried out the killing as revenge for abuse of Muslims abroad. They

c) Burnt Oak

chose Fusilier Rigby as their victim because he was wearing a Help for Heroes hooded top and they assumed he was a soldier.

The murderers had been surrounded by nine dock officers during the two-hour hearing.

Mr Rigby's widow, Rebecca, was left sobbing uncontrollably at the scenes. She had earlier issued a statement reportedly stating that “Of all the feelings I have, the one thing that overrides everything is that I know my son will grow up and see images of his dad that no son should ever have to endure, and there is nothing I can do to change this."

Political & Public

Leading Lights of the British Community awarde

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, receives Po Asian Voice organised its eighth Political and Public Life Awards at one of Britain's most grand venues, the House of Commons, London on Thursday 27 February. These awards are given to people who have made significant contributions in the preceding 12 months in both public and political domains, irrespective of race, religion or nationality.

Politicians who played an essential part in national and international politics while individuals who made a difference in their local community, received awards for their efforts making annual Asian Voice Political and Public Life Awards a massive success.

Rupanjana Dutta

Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer winner of the ‘Politician of the Year’ award along with Baroness Boothroyd and CB Patel

‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ winner Moira Stuart along with Baroness Boothroyd and CB Patel

X Factor 2013 Winner Sam Bailey receiving the ‘Breakthrough Woman of the Year’ award from Rt Hon Bercow MP

n total, 28 awards were presented in company of some 250 high profile people that included the most eminent politicians, entrepreneurs and community leaders. An expert panel of judges selected the winners from the various nominations made by the readers of Asian Voice.

The compere for the evening was Anjali Vaz while Ragini Nayak from Asian Voice was present to garland each winner and Editorial Executive Tanveer Mann helped the presenters with the awards. The Guests of Honour were Baroness Betty Boothroyd, former Speaker of the House of Lords and Rt Hon Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons. Also on the stage was the Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar - Mr C B Patel.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne, received the Politician of the Year Award. Receiving the

I

Norman Baker MP, Minister of Crime Prevention winning the award for 'Liberal Democrat Minster of the Year' and Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Mr Jagjeet Singh (Co Founder/Director of Tradenext) receiving the 'Financial Services provider of the Year' award from Valerie Vaz MP and CB Patel

award Mr Osborne said, "Thank you to the readers of Asian Voice for giving me the award. I am deeply honoured. I was surprised that any Chancellor has received this award and more surprised, as I am the first Chancellor to be awarded. I am very touched; the Asian community makes enormous contribution to our lives and economy, their aspirations and hard work are extremely praiseworthy. My job is to help you to do what you do best. I am genuinely very touched, thank you very much for this award."

The big political winners at the awards included Rosie Winterton MP, the Opposition Chief Whip as Shadow Minister of the Year and Norman Baker MP, Minister for Crime Prevention at the Home Office as Liberal Democrat Minister of the Year.

Others honoured by the Asian community included Sam Bailey, winner of last year’s X-Factor who has been awarded Breakthrough Woman of the Year and aspiring politician of The Voice fame

Jermain Jackman, awarded Breakthrough Man. He sang the Liverpool anthem (originally sang by the Gerry & The Pacemakers) to entertain the guests. The Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on the legendary Moira Stuart, the BBC News presenter, who has graced our screens for over three decades.

The ceremony was held in the opulent Member’s Dining Room in the House of Commons and attended by the good and great of the Asian community, MPs and Peers.

Keith Vaz MP, host of the Political and Public Life Awards 2014 said: “Each year the Asian community pay tribute to those who have made a special contribution to our public and political life.

This year is no different and we are delighted to honour those who work so hard to celebrate the diversity of our multicultural country.”

CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice said: "Through contributions in Politics and more often in Public life, there are so many devotees, so much to serve to the common humanity.

Asian Voice has been privileged for the last 8 years to honour some of such beacons of light and the galaxy of the men and women saluted today, just illustrates the variety and vibrancy of such exemplary human endeavours."

A raffle was held to raise money for the diabetes charity Silver Star and was won by Priya Anand Patel.

Ragini Naik, Customer Service Manager, ABPL garlanding Rt Hon George Osborne MP

CB Patel with Mahendra Kaul CBE, Winner of the 'Community service' category and Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Zubin Jal Karkaria, VFS Global picking up the award for ‘Service Provider of the Year’ from Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Life Awards 2014

d in a gala ceremony at the House of Commons www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

15

litician of the Year Award as voted by readers of Asian Voice The 2013 winners of the AVPPL are:

l Media Personality of the Year: Rajan Singh

l Parliamentary Journalist of the Year: Tom Harper l Minister of the Year: Helen Grant MP

l Innovation of the Year: Dharmesh Lakhani and Kamal Prabhakar l Health Professional of thew Year: Dhirindar Bhullar

l Shadow Cabinet Minister of the Year: Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP, Opposition Chief Whip

l Politician of the Year: Rt Hon George Osborne

l Conservative Backbencher of the Year: Nicola Blackwood MP l Conservative Councillor of the Year: Cllr Robert Davis l Special award for diversity: Michael Crick

l Service Provider of the Year: Zubin Jal Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global l Breakthrough Woman of the Year: Sam Bailey l Professional of the Year: Vijay Vaidyanathan

l Labour Backbencher of the Year: Karen Buck MP

Mr Rajan Singh receiving the 'Media Personality of the year' award from Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Mehdi Hasan after wining the ‘Journalist of the Year’ award along along with Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons

l Journalist of the Year: Mehdi Hasan

l Breakthrough man of the Year: Jermain Jackman l Lifetime achievement of the Year: Moira Stuart

l Community Service Award: Mahendra Kaul CBE

l Liberal Democrat Minister of the Year: Norman Baker MP l University of the Year: De Montfort University l Airline of the Year: Air India (Kailash Singh)

l Innovative Business Person of the Year: Frank Khalid

l Financial Service Provider of the Year: Tradenext (Jagjeet Singh) l Entrepreneur of the Year: Sunny Patel and Meraj Alam (Hathee Group)

l Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Vivek Chadha

l Labour Councillor of the Year: Cllr Muhammed Butt

l Bank of the Year: Craig Donaldson, Metro bank CEO

Winner of ‘Shadow Cabinet Minster of the Year'Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP (Opposition Chief Whip) with Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Nicola Blackwood MP winner of the 'Conservative Backbencher of the Year ' with Baroness Betty Boothryod

'Minster of the Year' winner Helen Grant MP (Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities) with Baroness Boothroyd

Abhishek Lodha (Lodha Group), Winner of 'Entreprenuer of the year' award Sunny Patel and Meraj Alam(Hathee Group) with Baroness Betty Boothroyd and CB Patel

Baroness Betty Boothryod with winner of 'Conservative Councillor of the Year' - Councillor Robert Davis, Deputy Leader of West Minister Council

Mr Dharmesh Lakhani (Owner of Bobby Restaurant) receiving the award for 'Innovation of the Year' from Helen Grant MP

Winner of 'Young Entreprenuer of the year' Vivek Chadha with Abhishek Lodha, Baroness Betty Boothryod and CB Patel

Baroness Betty Boothryod with Michael Crick winner for 'Special Award for Diversity'

‘Health Professional of the Year’ winner Dhirindar Bhullar with Helen Grant MP , Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities

16

Political & Public Life Awards 2014

Leading Lights of the British Community awarded in a gala ceremony at the House of Commons www.abplgroup.com

Frank Khalid receiving the ‘Innovative Business Person of the Year’ from Valarie Vaz MP

Jermain Jackman Contestant The Voice 2014 receiving the ‘Breakthrough Man of the Year’ award from Rt Hon Bercow MP

Tom Harper, Winner of 'Parliamentary Journalist of the Year' category with Baroness Boothroyd

Prof Shellard Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University receiving ‘University of the Year’ award from Norman Baker MP, Minister of Crime Prevention

Kailash Singh, Regional Manager of Air India for UK receiving the ‘Airline of the Year’ award from Norman Baker MP, Minister of Crime Prevention

Chief Executive Officer, Craig Donaldson and Nimesh Sanghrajka of Metro Bank accepting ‘Bank of the Year’ award from Baroness Boothroyd and CB Patel

Labour Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council receiving the ‘Labour Councillor of the Year’ award from Baroness Boothroyd

Shailesh Vara MP and L George with singer Navin Kundra and Jon Ashworth MP

Raffle Winner Priya Anand Patel (Director -Legal- Eye) with Baroness Betty Boothryod and L George

Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Ms Anjali Vaz, Compere for the evening

‘Professional of the Year’ winner Vijay Vaidyanathan along with House of Commons Speaker Rt Hon Bercow MP Guests at the event

Speaker John Bercow MP with Karen Buck MP winner of the 'Labour Backbencher of the Year'

Photo courtesy: Raj Bakrania, Prmediapix

SPECIAL

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

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International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on March 8 every year and is celebrated in various ways in different regions of the world. From general celebrations of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievement, the day has been observed since the early 1900's. This was a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. This year's UN theme for International Women's Day 2014 is "Equality for Women is Progress for All". The UN aim to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

Our Top 15 Most Inspirational British Asian Women

1. Malala Yousafzai is a young Pakistani schoolgirl and education activist who is known for her bravery after she was shot in the head by the Taliban simply because of her belief that all women had a right to be educated.

2. Lolita Chakrabarti - an award winning English actress and writer based in London, United Kingdom.

6. Ruby McGregor Smith, CBE - the CEO of MITIE Group PLC, a strategic outsourcing company headquartered in Bristol, UK. She is the only Asian female chief executive of a FTSE 250 company.

3. Meera Syal - a British comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress.

4. Sukki Singapora - a burlesque artist who gained global recognition for being the World's first Professional Burlesque Performer from Singapore.

9. Priti Patel, MP - a Conservative Party politician in the UK, she was first elected in the 2010 general election and is MP for the Witham constituency in Essex.

5. Meena Patak - an entrepreneur and an expert in herbs and spices. She is the main force behind the worldwide enterprise Patak's.

10. Shazia Mirza - an award winning British Asian Muslim Stand up Comedian from Birmingham England. Shazia is also a columnist for The New Statesman.

8. Roma Agrawal - associate Structural Engineer, WSP Group - Shard

Q1: What does women's day mean to you?

Tilusha Vyas, Journalist: Being a woman is being multi-skilled, where multi tasking is just natural to women. If I had the choice to pick my sex in the next life then I would chose to be a woman again.

Dr. Gunveena Chadha, Director and Head CII-UK: While personally I would like each day to be a women’s day, to me the day signifies ‘celebrating being woman’, that amazing creation of God- love, compassion, strength, intelligence, beauty all rolled into one.

Rima Amin,City University London Students' Union, First female President after 11 years: Women’s day is an opportunity for me to reflect and celebrate all the work women have and are continuing to achieve in developing this world.

Manisha Choudhury, Entrepreneur: A day for greater awareness of women's equality and for equal recognition of women.

Aekta Mahajan, Civil Servant: Women’s day is an opportunity for us to think forward about how we can support those women that are being left behind.

Tanika Patel, Student: Women’s day signals the amazing progress we’ve made and the many, countless women who have paved the way for our rights.

Tanya Datta, Student: Women's day is a day that to me means that we as group of individuals have broken old views of society and taken a long lasting stance and have come closer to equality with men.

Deepa Sugathan, Solicitor, Silk Route Legal: I feel Woman's day is a day dedicated to celebrate the achievement of humanity in their fight to outlive the discrimination against women.

Neishaa Gharat, House of Gharats Art+Fashion Collusion: Woman's Day is a celebration of women. It's a day when we can all come out in strength and wear our badges, make a lot of noise, feel good and remember who we are and what would we like to stand for.

14. Geeta Venkat – the Director of Harley Street Fertility Clinic with over 20 years experience.

11. M.I.A - a British recording artist, songwriter, painter and director.

7.

Reeta Chakrabarti Contributing editor, education and social affairs correspondent for BBC News

12. Ashpal Kaur Bhogal - the First British Asian Female to represent England in Hockey at any International level.

Q2: Who is your role model?

Tilusha Vyas: I am inspired by my mother Mrs. Rama Vyas who is not only very talented, creative but also very loving, caring, a strong person and a beautiful woman.

Dr Gunveena Chadha: My mother; my school principal Sister Lorraine Marie, my Nani (maternal grandmother); Reema Nanavaty from SEWA ( Self Employed Women’s Association) who has dedicated a life time to the amazing project of empowering women in rural India…and many such beautiful women. They are all my role models.

Manisha Choudhury: Mary Kom - an Indian boxer, a mother of 2, five time World Boxing champion and winner of 2012 Olympics bronze. Shows how grit, courage n perseverance can take one to the pinnacle of success.

Rima Amin: Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana selflessly chose to use the spotlight placed upon her to highlight the suffering of others. What was even more inspiring to watch was her ability to change people’s perceptions of diseases which had stigmas attached to them e.g. AIDS. Tanika Patel: American actress and activist Mariska Hargitay, who appears on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and is the founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation. She is inspiring both as a detective on the show and in her real life feats. She has done a huge deal for women, men and children who are survivors of abuse and continues to protect and heal them.

Aekta Mahajan: I look up to my mother for her strength and her determination to always persevere.

But even more, I look up to all women that have the qualities which I seek to have within me.

Tanya Datta: My role model is Ellen Degeneres. She makes people laugh and acts the way she wants to and not care what other people say about her.

D ee pa Su g at h an : Every working mother. Because I always get some useful tips on “how to do it all”.

Neishaa Gharat: It begins at home with my Mother.

The simplicity, the silent strength in her daily actions.

13. Nina Bracewell-Smith an Indian-born, UK-based businesswoman who was a major shareholder and former non-executive director of the English Premier League football club Arsenal.

15. Ishrat Bano - a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University and winner of award of UNESCO-L’Oreal Cosponsored Fellowship for Young Women in Life Sciences Award 2009.

Q3: As a woman, if you were given one thing to change in society, what would it be?

Tilusha Vyas: Given the chance, I would want women to be respected, treated as equals and earn the same as men.

Dr Gunveena Chadha: Change the attitude of men towards women! To make women strong and powerful, happy and compassionate, it is important to change the attitude of men in this world.

Manisha Choudhury: Eradicate Child labour, especially in developing countries like India where population is over a billion and around 32% live below the poverty line.

Rima Amin: The way we encourage women. Though women are increasingly told to take on senior roles, they are often told to adopt the more male-associated characteristics. But a woman is liberated the moment she acts, wears or goes on to do whatever she wishes as a free-thinking individual.

Tanika Patel: I would seek to change the landscape of rape culture and prosecution, which is a very difficult and complicated issue in today’s society. I would want to change it so that women, as well as men, would not have to be afraid when going out alone or when going to the authorities to report assault.

Aekta Mahajan: I would fix the broken judicial system in India. I would ensure that any corruption in the legal system was addressed and every woman had the right to legal aid. I would ensure every woman that experienced any form of injustice in India – whether it was domestic abuse, rape, slavery, sexual exploitation received the justice they deserved.

Tanya Datta: If I could change one thing it would be that media would not use women in a derogatory way to make them feel insecure through the use of Photoshop so girls are not subject to aiming for perfection when in real life no such thing exists.

Neishaa Gharat: More women stand for women and men should not think it is not their problem!

Deepa Sugathan: The general attitude of women towards other women. The attitude has to change first and then everything will follow.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Asian businesses Must Read Predictions for 2014

Continued from last week

What to spreadbet trends Those with strong up or down trends are also ones I like betting in in favour of the trend.

These names include: SAB, Tullow, Standard Chartered, Morrison, Centrica, William Hill.

On the uptrends are Ashtead, Associated British Food, London Stock Exchange, I n t e r n a t i o n a l Consolidated Airlines, Whitbread.

GBPUSD I am going to enjoy trading short off 1.8. I don’t think that will broken but the closer we get to it, the more I would want to be short.

EURUSD I am also going to enjoy shorting off 1.40. I don’t think it will be broken, but the closer we get to it, the more I would want to be short

Gold It will fall back to $1200 base before attempting to test $1,600 this year. If it falls below $1200 – then I am short all year long.

The Last Shall Be First Already this year is proving that the international markets which we loved to hate are the ones doing the best – like Greece and Italy and Argentina and Spain. So spreadbetters really should look at international indices. These can often provide smoother moves and longer trends

because they are a basket of diversified stocks, than individual stocks can.

Copper Spreadbetting in copper for the year will prove lucrative. The reason is the massive falls we have seen because will either continue a smooth downward fall due to over-capacity – something I am well aware of from my days speech writing for the then Chairman of the London Metal Exchange Lord Bagri. We seem to be in that era again. The industry had common failings with others in all sectors. The flip side is a sharp resumption to the upside with global growth. I think this less probable scenario is not a problem either because our positioning as spreadbetters will be for days, or weeks, not for months. That agility will be key to success in copper and I think a commodity often overlooked by spreadbetters.

Ideal Spreadbets The ideal spreadbets are as ever going to come from smooth price moves and cylces and trends.

These I’ve tried to highlight above. The trick as ever will be to avoid long term bets lasting months, but instead have biases in favour of a direction, well aware to close the position when moving against the overall trend.

I’ve given you names above which I favour.

Spreadbetting is about a technique.

India’s GDP growth disappoints in Q3

Indian economy grew 4.7 per cent in the quarter ended December, slower than the previous quarter’s 4.8 per cent and dashing the government’s hope of a recovery from the second half, data showed.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter of the current financial year was at a subfive per cent level for a seventh straight quarter. It had expanded 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of the previous year.

Economists attributed the decline in pace of growth to weak investment scenario due to policy uncertainty ahead of the general elections. The outlook for the future, too, appeared bleak, as eight core industries, which have a little more than one-third weight on the Index of Industrial

Production, grew only 1.6 per cent in January, compared with 2.1 per cent in December.

Besides, exports continued to expand at a single-digit rate for a third straight month in January.

GDP data showed both mining and manufacturing declined in the threemonth period to December - mining contracted 1.6 per cent, while manufacturing was down 1.9 per cent.

Both these sectors have seen a contraction in the first nine months of the current financial year.

Agriculture growth, too, slowed to 3.6 per cent, against 4.6 per cent in the previous quarter. However, expansion in the services sector picked up to stand at 7.6 per cent in the October-December period, compared with 5.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Accept the presence of big retail and face them, Modi tells traders

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi told small traders that they have to accept the presence of large retail chains instead of “running away” from the challenges posed by them.

The Gujarat chief minister’s comment is the first clear statement in favour of big retail and e-commerce from the party that has publicly opposed foreign direct investment, especially in multi-brand retail.

While Modi made no mention of foreign direct investment in any of his three speeches in Delhi, he said his party supports the roll-out of a national Goods and Services tax, a major demand from industry for the next Central government and a key element for big retail to expand.

Modi surprised small

going for branded stuff.

They are going to malls to buy them. Small traders can build a virtual mall by getting into agreements with brands. You can have a virtual mall in small shops at the click of a button,” he said.

Modi used the opportunity to deliver three speeches on the same day to provide some indicators of the economic policies the BJP could follow if it

came to power. He said India does badly on ease of doing business and added there were too many laws impeding business.

“What we need is a complete overhaul of the departmental system.

Laws should be made simple,” he said.

The pace of India’s urbanisation, Modi said, was an opportunity to be tapped. “We should aim for developing more than 50 vibrant cities which will become the driving force for the economy,” he said.

Simultaneously, he said the government ought to improve farm infrastructure which will encourage rural people to stop migrating to cities.

“No one has seen the employment opportunities in the agriculture sector,” Modi said.

Pakistan's GDP grew by 5 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal, beating the target by running high on industry and service sectors, the country's central bank said. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)'s first quarterly report said since

should speed up structural reforms in fiscal and energy sectors to maintain the current growth momentum and to take the economy to a higher growth trajectory.

"Estimates for growth exceeded expectations: GDP grew by 5 per cent during Q1-FY14, com-

macroeconomic indicators were favourable at the start of the year, the increase in real GDP growth in FY14 was discernible. Pakistan's economists had set a growth target of 4.4 per cent for the current financial year and the central bank in earlier reports had forecast growth of four per cent. The report suggested that the government

pared to only 2.9 per cent in Q1-FY13, and a target of 4.4 per cent for the full year," the report said.

Industry and services were the major drivers of growth, as agriculture performed below target. As the industrial sector revived, import pressures reappeared, especially for capital goods and raw materials, it said.

Narendra Modi

traders with his comments at their convention as they have expressed fears that organised retail will swamp them and had expected Modi to highlight those concerns.

Instead, he said small traders must learn to build brands and go online, creating virtual malls to take on large and multinational retailers.

“Customers from even small towns are now

Pak economy beats Indian manufacturers post strongest growth in Feb growth target, up by 5%

Indian manufacturing activity and new orders showed their strongest growth in a year in February, according to a survey that suggested that the worst is over for Indian factories struggling through an economic slowdown. The HSBC M a n u f a c t u r i n g Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which gauges the business activity of India's factories but not its utilities, rose to 52.5 in February, its highest in a year, from 51.4 in January. Overall new orders for factory goods, which rose to a one-year high of 54.9 contributed to the surge. Export orders climbed to their highest in

eight months.

"Manufacturing activity picked up further in February. New order flows have firmed, with the improvement in external demand and the reduction in macroeconomic uncertainty since last summer," said Leif Eskesen, Chief Economist for India & ASEAN at HSBC. The survey showed a sharp rise in input prices in February although firms passed these rises on at a slower pace than last month. Costlier raw material prices for manufacturers could lead to higher consumer price inflation, which was running at 8.79 per cent annually in January.

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REAL ESTATE VOICE

The art of creating an eternal income

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

We are soon due to complete one of our projects which we purchased in July 2013. We purchased the property because someone buying it for a far higher price wasn’t moving quickly enough, so a second contract was issued.

When this happens often a slow seller and solicitor turn into superman and get focused about what needs to be done to get the deal over the line, so we knew the clock was ticking.

It was a big block, and we purchased it for £2.675m, we had to take assumptions on certain issues which our lawyers made us aware of. I was under no illusion - no bank would fund this, we were looking at a bridging company which charges high rates for short periods. What’s more is we wanted a lender who will not take personal guarantees on this project, since the credit crunch many lenders do not consider this as they want to see some hurt money in the deal.

A housing association chased us down as soon as they realised someone had purchased the property. Their proposition was too attractive not to take up: a £500k grant in exchange for a rental of £180k per annum going up with the rate of inflation every year for a period of ten years. This is for only part of the building, not even the whole lot. If you add the other rental we are looking at a total income of £260k per annum. And this still leaves us free to play with the other part of the property.

The property consists of 18 self-contained studios which the housing association will be taking and also five self-contained flats in another block which will be rented on ASTs. The project will be completed in the end of May 2014. We are currently looking to refinance the deal with a high street lender with less extortionate terms. There is plenty of money coming in to service the interest.

This is more likely to be so in this case as the loan will be on a non –recourse basis.

On the positive side a lot of lenders like the deal due to the level of income being generated, the lending market is getting warmer in response to the rising house prices. Therefore we can use this situation to play one lender off the other, I have no issues spending extra money on valuations and legals so that we end up in a position of power rather than being at the mercy of one lender.

The investors too will need to agree to change this model from what we went into it as to what it will become. The figures speak for themselves and I’m reasonably sure we will have a unanimous vote to agree to keep this deal as a perpetuity, meaning something which produces income eternally.

With the first project completed the chances are we will use the extracted funds again to replicate the success of this deal. Each property is unique and therefore will have its owns particular challenges and investment shape.

W hat starte d up as a q uick break up an d resell has been chang ed to a bu y an d hold.

W e set up a company o n the advice of lawyers t o purchase this prope rty in , t he co mpany was supposed to be in e xisten ce for on ly 5 ye ars as we an ticipated this propert y to be resold and all the mone y given back plus profits.

However looking at the figures this looked like too much income to be giving away, especially as this is the kind of project where the investors can get their funds back and have an income for the rest of their lives. Based on a refinance value of £4.5m and a loan to value of 65% the loan will be £2.925m which means most, if not all, of the initial deposit of £1.4m will be released.

The amount of mortgage payment at 5% will be £146,250 p.a.; this means there will be a surplus of £114,000 income per annum without any money stuck in the deal.

However this is only my speculation and future plan. The bottom line is what the valuer states it’s worth, and what terms the banks are happy to offer.

H aving this prope rty in the back gro und however will mean anot her project can be e ngage d with which is lumpier in retu rn, as this prope rty will be pro vid ing the month ly inc ome to cover an other propert y’s out going whilst it is bein g d eveloped .

W e have had a valuer come in an d valu e a building we purchase d for £5.2m f or o nly £3. 1m an d they were fro m Knig ht Frank . What’s mo re is we sold the bu ilding a few mon ths later for £6m and the re was an other o ffer for £8m after we e xchang ed on it f rom so me one want in g to use it as an e mbassy.

The story is not finished on this project, there seems to be a strong possibility of gaining planning on the upper floors of this property as well. There appears to be space for two more floors on top of the building. To the rear and the side there seems to be no obstruction. I estimate about £1m can be added through only planning permission. We will apply for this after the property has been rented and there is income coming in.

Engaging in a project like this means the individuals who invested can get returns that they may struggle to get by themselves. They also have the security of an independent and audited firm of accountants dealing with the finances and the property has been bought using a company which gives them security as well as setting the terms out very clearly. The property itself is in a very strong location, which in addition to ensuring it is always rented will also ensure the price goes up. In addition to this no personal guarantees will be given, so after the money has been pulled out they have a risk free investment earning money for them; whereas a normal mortgage means they will be personally liable if there are any issues. Most people don’t realise this; no one sees issues when the markets are going up, it’s only on the way down. You don’t know who’s swimming naked until the tide comes in… The last credit crunch was a good example of what happens when the tide comes in.

Currently on a similar scale we are looking at a similar size deal in a site not far from this one. If you’re interested in coming into this please call the office.

Many banks do not like the idea of all the initial money being taken out, they like to see what they term as hurt money in the deal.

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19

SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week l When investing in property you must forget your whims regarding investing where you may want to live or close to where you live, and instead follow the sacred property mantra Location, Location, Location!

l When renovating a property always be mindful of not just the quotation but the time period, as the delay will be costing you in nterest and losing you rental income.

20

LEGAL VOICE

Maria Fernandes

info@fernandesvaz.com

Investors: The Winds of Change

With countries all over the world marketing visas for investors, the Migration Advisory Group, an independent committee, was asked by the Government to consider whether the investment thresholds were appropriate to deliver significant economic benefits for the UK. They have reported back and firmly concluded that the investment rules, which have been largely unchanged since 1994, do not do so in their current form. The main thrust of the conclusions reached was that it is the migrant who benefits the most with marginal benefits to UK residents. Whilst they concluded that there is some benefit to the UK in the form of expenditure on education, private health care, creation of some staff, and indirect expenditure which generates VAT, this is marginal.

There was particular scepticism that investors contribute to the housing market as demand for housing exceeds supplyand additional demand only serves to increase prices which,in turn,place those looking to purchase a home at a disadvantage.

As far as the actual investment is concerned, it concluded that investment in gilts is in effect a loan fornothing more for 5 years. The Government are apparently selling around £300 million gilts a day. The annual aggre-

gate loan is equivalent to less than 2 days of the budget deficit. The loan is called in as soon as the investor obtains settlement.

The proposals for change include increasing the threshold from £1 million to £2 million, removing gilts as an acceptable form of investment and widening the permitted investment types to include, for example, Venture Capital schemes, infrastructure bonds, pooled investments, SME business funds and philanthropic donations. The most controversial of these measures is the creation of an auction of some slots (around 100) with a reserve price of around £2 million and the suggestion is that it should be based on sealed bids. The excess over £2 million would then go to serve good causes. In return the investors would receive accelerated settlement and residence requirements would be relaxed.

Practitioners argue that this system would create uncertainty for the applicant and therefore take up might be low.

It is inconceivable that the Government will not raise the threshold and tinker with the types of permitted investments.

However it will be interesting to see how the issue of auctions will play out with the public.

Changes are likely to take effect in October of this year.

World’s biggest bitcoin exchange goes bankrupt

Close to half a billion dollars worth of the bitcoin virtual currency has gone missing from an exchange in Tokyo - in what is either the bank heist of the century or a sloppy glitch, or a combination of the two.

Mark Karpeles, the 28-yearold French CEO of Mt Gox, which once handled around 80% of the world’s bitcoin trades, filed for bankruptcy at a Tokyo District Court.

His lawyer said that nearly all the bitcoins in the exchange’s possession 850,000 of them - were missing. At current bitcoin

rates on other exchanges, that would mean $473 million is lost - around 7% of all bitcoins minted. “If the theft is true,” said Campbell Harvey, a professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, “it’s the biggest bank heist in history,” aside from when Saddam Hussein ordered his son to withdraw $1 billion from Iraq’s central bank in 2003. How this happened remains a mystery. But most observers say Mt Gox’s laxness played a key role in the debacle.

Following the government’s new initiative driving demand, the British Bankers’ Association has approved a record 49,972 loan applications from house buyers in January, a

57 per cent rise compared with last year.

Meanwhile, 22,972 approvals worth £3.6 billion were granted for remortgaging, up 51pc on a year earlier.

Mortgage approvals surge

Indian banks face regulatory hurdles to doing business in UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Branches of Indian banks operating in Britain could face new hurdles in doing business under proposals for a shake-up of the way foreign lenders are regulated. Some non-UK banks could be forced to overhaul their legal structure or stop offering retail services altogether as a result of proposed rules put forward by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority.

In a Consultation Paper, the PRA warned that some retail banks could be “significantly impacted” by its new rules, without singling out any specific countries or lenders. It added that some management could decide to quit the UK retail market because of added costs stemming from its regulatory overhaul. Indian banks rank among those exposed to the new regime, which makes it much tougher for foreign lenders to offer customer banking in Britain from lightly regulated branches, rather than full-fledged subsidiaries.

The proposals from the PRA come as the UK authorities attempt to strike a balance between welcoming foreign finance and protecting the UK from imported banking crises.

The Chancellor last year rolled out the red carpet for Chinese bank branches on a trip to Beijing as he sought to bolster Britain’s status as a hub for Asian financial business. However, a condition of their entering London will be that they focus on wholesale banking, rather than more economically sensitive retail services.

The Consultation Paper sets out the detailed approach the UK will take to oversight of foreign

lenders – both new ones from China and existing ones already operating in Britain.

It has particular implications for just fewer than 50 branches of banks from outside the European Economic Area that are already established and accept deposits from retail customers. Among the Indian banks operating deposit-taking branches in Britain are State Bank of India, Bank of India, and Bank of Baroda.

The PRA paper makes it clear that it no longer wants to see non-EEA branches offering anything other than minimal retail business unless there is a “very high level of assurance” about their country’s crisis-management

plans.

If countries such as India fail to meet that hurdle, some banks could be forced to turn their UK branches into subsidiaries, which are subject to more onerous UKspecific requirements mirroring those facing domestic British lenders.

The alternative would be to quit retail banking in Britain.

Andrew Bailey, deputy governor, prudential regulation of the Bank of England and CEO of the PRA, said: “It is important that we get the right balance between maintaining our place as an open financial market while delivering our statutory objective of promoting safety and soundness in the firms we supervise. This is crucial for the stability of the UK financial system.”

Rajneesh Sharma, deputy chief executive of Bank of Baroda’s operation in the UK, said any change in his bank’s business model would have to take time, adding “We have to follow the rules of the local law.”

stronger balance sheet than Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland all of which continue to operate.

David Blundell, BBAG’s chairman, said: “The main purpose of the meeting is to present the positive aspects of the campaign going forward and discuss the past failings of the Treasury, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, the Cabinet Office and the Bank of England.”

He added: “Informed opinion amongst many in the accounting profession is convinced that there will be a substantial surplus when B&B is finally

wound down. This should be returned to the shareholders not the Treasury.”

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley that includes Bingley, is one of the main speakers scheduled to appear at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford. For the past six years Davies has worked tirelessly to secure justice on behalf of B&B employees, share and bondholders.

Sir Neil Macfarlane, who held several ministerial posts, including Sports Minister under Margaret Thatcher and was also a B&B non-executive director, hopes to attend.

Gordon Brown has also been invited to speak,

which will provide him with the opportunity to explain why his Government nationalised B&B in the manner that it did.

Other senior members of the major political parties have also been invited to speak, which if they attend should provide a useful indication of their intentions in this matter prior to the General Election in 2015.

BBAG anticipates a “considerable level” of interest and requests to attend will be treated on a ‘first come first served basis.’ For more information on BBAG and to attend the meeting see www.bbactiongroup.org.

to its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in Hutchison Essar and the other is the transfer pricing case involving Vodafone India Services.

“The cabinet has decided not to take any hasty decision regarding review of conciliation talks with Vodafone,” the official added.

The decision regarding the Vodafone conciliation offer may have to be taken by the next government as

ITAT, which will hear the transfer pricing case from March 19, will take a few months to decide on the dispute.

The Cabinet had in June 2013 approved a finance ministry proposal to go in for conciliation with Vodafone to resolve the capital gains tax dispute related to its acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in Hutchison Essar.

Earlier this month, the finance ministry circulated a draft Cabinet note seeking to withdraw the conciliation talks after Vodafone demanded that the Rs 37 billion transfer pricing row be clubbed with the capital gains tax case.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday asked Nokia India to come up with a concrete proposal to settle its tax row with the income tax department. A bench, headed

by Justice A R Dave, decided to hear the matter on March 11 after Nokia's counsel submitted before the court that there was a need for an early settlement of the tax dispute as the assets transfer to Microsoft has to take place in another two to three weeks.

Further, the failure to resolve it would lead to more difficulty as negotiations with the government have broken down.

B&B Action Group to hold public meeting

By Roger Aitken

Bradford & Bingley Action Group (‘BBAG’), a campaigning group for almost a million former disposed shareholders of Bradford & Bingley, is to hold a public meeting later this year on Saturday, 27 September, in the city of Bradford.

The date marks the sixth anniversary since former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to nationalise the UK bank and sell the savings book together with the retail branch network to Santander.

This act destroyed B&B as an ongoing business despite it having a far

India yet to decide on Vodafone conciliation talks

The Indian government will take a decision on withdrawal of conciliation offer to Vodafone for resolving the Rs 200 billion tax dispute after a transfer pricing case concerning the UK telecom giant is settled.

“The Cabinet has decided to instruct the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to expeditiously solve the Vodafone transfer pricing case. Once that is done, the Cabinet will review the conciliation process,” a senior Finance Ministry official said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Vodafone is locked in twin tax disputes with the government. One pertains

SC asks Nokia to settle tax row

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

21

Foreign Exchange

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

Businesses More Optimistic Data from the Eurozone was fairly positive on Friday 28th February and as a result we saw the euro strengthen by 1% across the board. Firstly, retail sales in Germany increased by 2.5% in January surpassing an expectation of a rise of only 1%.

Despite worries of inflation dropping in the Eurozone, we saw a surprise pick up in the rate with inflation now at 0.8%.

Unemployment in France has hit a new record high, in another reminder of President Francois Hollande’s failure to get to grips with the jobless crisis. The French labour ministry reported that the number of people out of work rose by 0.3% in January to 3,316,200, the highest level since records began in 1996.

Hollande had claimed that unemployment would start falling before the end of 2013, but it's actually done the opposite.

Most of the economic data in Europe centred on Germany.

Firstly, their unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 6.8%.

Inflation in Germany continued to fall and fell down to 0.5%.

This is only going to continue to

increase the pressure on the European Central Bank to further reduce interest rates in the Eurozone area.

Business leaders and households in the Eurozone are there most optimistic for more than two years. The European Commission index of consumer business and business sentiment rose to 101.2 in February; this is the highest level since July 2011.

Also industrial confidence and

services sentiment surveys both showed positive increases from previous month.

This is all positive news from Europe and shows that both consumers and business are growing more optimistic about key factors that drive economic growth. Despite the good surveys, falling inflation in Germany will continue to weigh on the euro as intensifying pressure on the European Central

Bank to lower interest rates Data from the US on Friday 28th February was fairly mixed with economic growth in the fourth quarter only coming in at 2.4% instead of 2.5%. The Reuters Michigan consumer sentiment index came in higher than expected and pending home sales rose only by 0.1%.

Following all this data, the US dollar weakened ever so slightly across the board.

Head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellens testified in front of congress and reiterated the Feds stance that it will continue to taper QE, even as they monitor the recent data to determine if recent weak economic data is a temporary glitch due to poor weather conditions.

Durable Goods orders fell much slower than the previous month and also beat forecasts coming in at -1%. Durable goods measure the cost of orders received by manufacturers for goods that have a life span of 3 years or more. These are seen as big investments carried out by companies and provide a good insight into how confident companies are to invest.

Weekly Currencies

As of Tuesday 4th March 2014 @ 1pm

GBP - INR = 103.15 USD - INR = 61.87 EUR - INR = 85.02 GBP - USD = 1.67 GBP - EUR = 1.21

EUR - USD = 1.37 GBP - AED = 6.12

GBP - CAD = 1.85

GBP - NZD = 1.99

GBP - AUD = 1.86

GBP - ZAR = 17.99

GBP - HUF = 376.80

www.rationalfx.com

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

22

INTERNATIONAL

IN BRIEF

Fight against female genital mutilation

London: Education secretary Michael Gove has pledged to fight against female genital mutilation. He agreed to write to all schools in England about this menace after a signature campaign and meeting 17year-old student Fahma Mohamed, the face of the campaign. He will draw the attention of head teachers about the guidelines and remind them of their duty to protect schoolgirls.

Warning against dyslexia test

London: Experts in Durham and Yale Universities said that millions of children are wrongly diagnosed with dyslexic while the condition probably does not exist. They say that the term should be abandoned because it is unscientific and lacks meaning. They say that the term is used for children who often display vastly different reading problems and resources are being wasted by putting youngsters through diagnostic tests.

Replica to replace 'Juliet' statue

Verona: The authorities in Verona has decided to replace the Juliet statue with a replica as the tradition of rubbing the right breast of the bronze statue to bring good fortune for those who are unlucky in love has left it in a bad condition. The caressing touch of tens of thousands of thwarted romantics has done such damage and the authorities has removed it from the courtyard of what is known as Juliet’s House in Verona, the city where Shakespeare set his tale of “star-cross’d lovers”.

Islamists in Syria order Christians to pay protection tax

Damascus: A militant Islamist group has ordered Christians living in north-east of Syria to pay it a tax in return for protection as it seeks to build a traditional "Caliphate" in areas it controls. They said that every adult Christian male of wealthy families should pay the value of four golden dinars, half of that for middle-income citizens and half of that for the poor.

Aged fathers’ kids at health risk

London: Scientists found that children of older fathers are more likely to have psychiatric problems and learning disabilities. The study suggests that a child born to a 45-year-old father is 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD and 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder than a child born to a 24-year-old man.

Demand for tough laws to protect elderly

London: Campaigners and charities demand tough laws to protect pensioners from abuse and neglect in their own homes. According to figures produced at the House of Commons, at least 241,700 pensioners were suffering from physical, psychological, financial or sexual abuse at the time of the last census in 2011.

Wealthy women advised not to marry

London: Victoria Luckwell, 37, the daughter of one of the richest men in UK, said that the legal system acted as a “disincentive” for the rich to wed, because they had no way of protecting their family’s assets.

She made the comments after her ex-husband was handed a £1.2 million payout by a judge, despite having signed numerous agreements waiving his right to any of his wife’s money.

Crackdown on fake shares fraudsters

London: At least 110 people were arrested, mostly in Spain and UK, who cheated British victims of millions of pounds by promising high returns on worthless or non-existent shares. The fraudsters used high-pressure selling techniques to trick mainly elderly victims out of their life savings. Police said there were 850 confirmed victims in UK, but the real figure may be in hundreds of thousands.

Lord Owen supports Miliband’s moves

London: Lord Owen who parted ways with Labour Party to set up SDP, has come out as a supporter of Ed Miliband and made a donation of more than £7,500. Owen described Miliband’s overhaul of Labour’s historic links to the unions as “brave and bold” step and said he hoped the party would form the next government.

US court permits Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

New York: A US federal judge in Washington has granted a Sikh rights group's plea to serve summons on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a case of alleged violation of human rights during his tenure.

The 1965 Hague Service Convention allows the process of judicial documents from one signatory state to another without the use of consular and diplomatic channels.

A Washington federal court had issued summons against Manmohan Singh during his September 2013 visit to Washington on a plea by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) Washington: There is widespread corruption in India in all levels of the government including judiciary, said a US Congress-mandated report. "Corruption was widespread," said the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 released by US secretary of state John Kerry.

According to the report, though the law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, the Indian government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.

"Corruption was present at all levels of government. The CBI registered 583 cases of corruption between the months of January and November.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) received 7,224 cases in

accusing him of "funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in

India."

In response to SFJ's plea for extension of time to serve summons on Manmohan Singh in India, Judge James E Boasberg ordered that "plaintiffs shall by April 14, 2014, either file proof of service or file a status report updating the court on their progress in effecting service."

SFJ had filed a motion with the court requesting extension of time. In support of its motion, SFJ submitted a copy of the engagement letter retaining Process Forwarding Internationala (PFI), a Washington-based firm to serve summons on Manmohan Singh in

India as per Hague Service Convention.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser to SFJ cited the US state department's recent Human Rights Report in support of SFJ allegations of "widespread torture, extrajudicial killings and security force abuses" during Manmohan Singh's tenure.

SFJ has also alleged that Manmohan Singh, as finance minister of India, funded several counter insurgency operations in Punjab during the 1990s resulting in more than hundred thousand Sikhs being killed extra judicially by Indian security forces.

2012. Of those, 5,528 were received in 2012 and an additional 1,696 remained from 2011. The commission recommended action on 5,720 cases," the report said. "The CVC operated a toll-free hotline to lodge complaints and a web portal to share information.

NGOs noted that bribes typically were paid to expedite services, such as police protection, school admission, water supply, or government assistance," it said. Civil society organizations drew public attention to corruption throughout the year, including through public demonstrations and websites that featured individual stories of corruption, it added.

The government designated chief vigilance officers to address public complaints and grievances in the banking, insurance, and other sectors serviced

by private, public, and corporate bodies.

Parliament passed a bill in December establishing an ombudsman organization known as a Lokpal to investigate allegations of government corruption.

The state department said many government-run programs to alleviate poverty and provide employment suffered from poor implementation and corruption.

For example, after obtaining government documents under the RTI Act, a petitioner alleged misappropriation of funds in the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department.

On June 13, the Bombay high court ordered that a special team be formed to investigate an alleged fraud in which money meant for tribal welfare was used for other purposes, it said.

New York: Two Indian-origin men are among this year's prestigious Heinz Awards recipients in the US. Abraham Verghese, a professor at Stanford University Medical School, and Sanjeev Arora, a computer scientist, of Albuquerque in the US state of New Mexico will be honoured in Pittsburgh April 3, the foundation announced on its website.

The five recipients will receive a cash award of $250,000 each as well as a medallion inscribed with an image of late US senator John Heinz. Abraham Verghese, who was born to parents from Kerala in Ethiopia, was given the award in recognition of his best-selling authorship.

Sanjeev Arora, born at

it was not seriously considering military action.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev to show "strong support for Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future, without outside interference or provocation", the State Department said in a statement. The Group of Seven major industrialized nations, condemning the Russian intrusion into Ukraine, suspended preparations for the G8 summit that includes Russia and had been

scheduled to take place in June in Sochi, site of the recent Winter Olympics.

Finance ministers from the G7 said they were ready to offer "strong financial backing" to Ukraine, provided the new government in Kiev agreed to pursue economic reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund.

Analysts said US economic sanctions would likely have little impact on Russia unless they were paired with strong measures by major European nations, which have deeper trade ties with Moscow and are dependent on Russian gas.

But EU officials said the European Union was unlikely to match the United States in threatening sanctions against Russia when its foreign ministers meet to discuss Ukraine, instead pushing for mediation between Moscow and Kiev.

Manmohan Singh

Corruption widespread in India: US report

2 Indian-origin men get award in US

Ukraine mobilizes army after Putin's 'declaration of war'

Kiev/Balaclava (Ukrine): Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. "This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in English. Yatseniuk heads a pro-Western government that took power in the former Soviet republic when its Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted last week.

Putin secured permission from his parliament to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine and told US President Barack Obama he had the right to defend Russian interests and nationals, spurning

Western pleas not to intervene.

Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea, an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base.

On Sunday, they surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. Some refused, leading to standoffs, although no shots were fired.

As Western countries considered how to respond to the crisis, the United States said it was focused on economic, diplomatic and political measures, and made clear

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

IN BRIEF

Knife - wielding men kill 28 in China

Beijing: At least 28 people were killed and 162 injured when a gang of knife-wielding men attacked people at random at a railway station in southwest China in what police described as a terror act. Many of the attackers were shot dead by police at the scene in Kunming, Yunnan province.

Dozens of victims were taken to hospital, according to a local television station. The attackers have not been identified and their motives were unclear, according to police.

'Ethnically diverse' areas can change your outlook

London: Now researchers believe that people can be made less racist by simply moving them to live in ethnically-mixed areas. An international study found that white people develop ‘passive tolerance’ of minorities in mixed areas, even if they have no direct contact with them. Professor Miles Hewstone, director of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict, said governments could create more ‘harmonious neighbourhoods’ by encouraging different ethnic groups to mix.

Snake eats crocodile after long battle

Brisbane: A snake has won a long battle with a crocodile in northern Queensland and eats it finally. The incident at Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, was captured on camera by local residents. The 10-ft snake, thought to be a python, coiled itself around the crocodile and the two struggled in the water. The snake later brought the dead crocodile onto land and ate it.

Keep calm to avoid heart attack London: Researchers have found that angry outbursts can increase the chances of a heart attack.

Psychological treatments to calm people down could be an effective way to prevent attacks alongside drugs, scientists at Harvard University said.

‘Chai Pe Charcha with NaMo' to be held in London

London: i4Unity in coordination with Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar has organised 'Chai Pe Charcha with NaMo', the first and unique initiative in the UK where Overseas Indians will come face to face with Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj on a video conference.

They will interact with people, discuss, deliberate and answer questions.

Such interactions will take place simultaneously across Indian cities, towns and villages at the same time. This is Narendra Modi's signature style of using cutting-edge technologies to make governance, outreach, dialogue and delivery an opportunity rather than challenge.

Date : 8th March 2014 Time: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm Venue: Sangat Centre, 28 Sancroft Road, Harrow, HA3 7NS Event coordinator: Mr. Hemesh Patel, Mr. Vrajesh Patel and Mr. Yogesh Parmar.

For further information please call Mr. Nachiket Joshi Convener i4unity, 07550772888, Alkaben Shah, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar: 07944151893 or Kamal Rao, Gujarat Samachar: 07875229211

Shishukunj raises much needed funds to provide opportunities galore for the community

‘We are aiming to attract over 800 people to our inaugural celebration of the festival of colour’ explained Raj Mistry, one of the organisers.

He also explained that this event is being held to raise much needed funds to convert the existing headquarters in Edgware, into a multipurpose ‘community centre’ that will provide a wide variety of activities for the young and elderly including – music, dance and other cultural activities, yoga, martial arts, zumba and other fitness opportunities, mother and toddler groups and academic and careers support as well.

Shishukunj needs to raise a r o u n d £850,000 for the redevelopment and there are a number of other fundraising initiatives that are also being organised in conjunction with this particThe vision for Shishukunj’s redeveloped premises in the heart of ular event.

Edgware Anyone interested in knowing more about the in some of the poorest parts of the Rang Holi Raas Garba event should world. visit rangholi.shishukunj.org.uk or Shishukunj is hosting its first ever contact Samuben on 07947 575 153 ‘Rang Holi Raas Garba’, an event or Jayuben on 07825 215 608. which combines traditional Gujarati To know more about Shishukunj’s folk dancing with colour throwing at work in the UK and abroad, please Byron Hall, Harrow Leisure Centre on visit www.shishukunj.org.uk.

Saturday, 15th March in the evening.

Shishukunj, a children’s charity which has been running Sunday morning activities for over 35 years in London has seen over 5000 children develop through its unique programme of activities. Run almost entirely by teenage volunteers, the Sunday activities are based in Kenton, Finchley and Croydon. The organisation seeks to inspire rich values and positive morals in youngsters with the hope that they will become great leaders of society in the future.

The charity also works extensively to relieve poverty and distress to children

INTERNATIONAL

23

UK calls for international probe into Lankan massacres

London: Britain has backed a call for an international investigation into the massacres in Sri Lanka.

Saying that the international community has a duty to act, Britain has confirmed "will be using our position on the UN Human Rights Council to actively press for an international investigation given the lack of a credible domestic accountability process to date".

Welcoming the progress which has been made by Sri Lanka in areas including the reintegration of child soldiers, demining and reconstruction of conflict affected areas, UK said it strongly believes "that, without a credible investigation in to very serious allegations of the past, it will be very difficult for the Sri Lankan people to move forward in the true spirit of lasting peace, reconciliation and unity and for Sri Lanka to reach its true potential." Britain has earlier issued a warning that in the absence of an independent investigation in sexual crimes carried out by government forces in Lanka, "pressure would mount for an international investigation including from the UK".

UK's foreign minister has supported the High Commissioner for Human

Rights' call for an international investigation.

British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Hugo Swire said UK was seriously concerned about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and the lack of progress on accountability.

"These concerns include the undermining of independent institutions such as the judiciary, a 'significant surge' in attacks on religious minorities, reports of sexual harassment and violations, continuation of impunity, continued militarisation of former conflict areas and the continuing trend of restrictions on freedom of expression and association," Swire said.

On Feb 24, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay released her report on the

promotion of accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka following her visit to Sri Lanka last August.

Swire said: "It is deeply disappointing to note that the government of Sri Lanka have not taken any of the steps recommended following the High Commissioner's visit in August 2013 and that they have failed to accept all offers of technical assistance on accountability from the UN. We strongly agree with the High Commissioner's assessment that the Sri Lankan government has 'failed to ensure independent and credible investigations into past violations of international human rights and humanitarian law' on both sides during the civil war, and we therefore strongly support her call for an international investigation."

24

INDIA

SOUTH BRIEFS

Leaders from UP, MP and Gujarat join AIADMK

Chennai: Signalling its pan-India expansion, members of various parties from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat joined AIADMK in the presence of party supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. A total of 201 leaders and members of parties such as Congress, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (U) from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh received AIADMK membership cards from Jayalalithaa at the party headquarters in Chennai, an AIADMK release said.

Rajiv Gandhi statues vandalized in Chennai

Chennai: Miscreants allegedly damaged statues of Rajiv Gandhi in three places in Chennai as seven members of a Tamil outfit were arrested in connection with the clashes at the state Congress office during a protest against Centre’s opposition to release of convicts in the case related to assassination of the former prime minister. Police said K Veeralakshmi and six others of “Tamilar Munnetra Padai” who clashed with Congress supporters were arrested and remanded in judicial custody.

President signs Telangana bill

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

New Delhi: The bill to carve out Telangana received the assent of President Pranab Mukherjee who also signed the proclamation to impose central rule in Andhra Pradesh.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014, which got Parliament’s approval on February 20, 2014 despite strong opposition from Seemandhra leaders, got the Presidential assent, paving the way for creation of India’s 29th State.

There will be 13 dis-

Pranab Mukherjee

tricts in residuary Andhra Pradesh while Telangana will have 10 districts, including Hyderabad.

In a bid to address concerns of the Seemandhra

Karunanidhi calls Modi a hard worker and good friend

NORTH BRIEFS

Haryana CM Hooda woos voters with property tax relief

Chandigarh: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Haryana government has announced a major relief in the payments of property tax in the municipalities of the state. Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while presiding over the state Cabinet meeting, announced one time rebate of 30 per cent for those property owners who clear all their dues or arrears up to year 2012-13 by March 31, 2014.

The government has also announced a rebate of 10 per cent admissible to those assesses who pay their total tax for the assessment year by July 31 of that assessment year, a statement said.

IAF sergeant gets life term for killing colleague

Chandigarh: A local court sentenced a sergeant of the Indian Air Force, Gurmet Singh Gill, for life imprisonment for killing his colleague in July 2011 following a heated argument. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. The victim, Surjit Singh, 39, was posted as sergeant in 3 Base Repair Depot (3 BRD) air force station near Hallomajra, while Gill was posted at local 12 wing air force station. The incident had taken place on the intervening night of July 16 and 17, 2011.

Lokayukta summons Haryana health minister

Chandigarh: Haryana health minister Rao Narender Singh, chief parliamentary secretary Vinod Bhayana and Congress MLAs Ram Niwas Ghorela, Naresh Selwal and Jarnail Singh were issued notices to appear before the Haryana Lokayukta on April 11. They were allegedly caught on camera in sting operations carried out by INLD men into the cash-for-CLU scam.

18 Congress councillors to join BJP in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: The BJP has claimed that it would soon have a majority in MCG with the support of 12-18 councillors who will defect from Congress. The BJP has been making these claims ever since Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh joined the party and the demolition of a controversial property co-owned by deputy mayor and Congress leader to build its own fortunes in a city has give BJP a shot in the arm.

whose term is slated to end on June 2.

The decision to impose the President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh came after N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s resignation as Chief Minister on February 19 as he was opposed to division of the State to carve out Telangana.

Governor E S L Narasimhan had recommended central rule in the State after the resignation.

The Telangana bill was passed by Parliament on February 20.

among the people that all was not lost because of the bifurcation issue. The Seemandhra leaders also invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi to address public meetings in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra. “She (Sonia Gandhi) has agreed and most probably in the month of March, she will tour the State,” AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh said. He said a workers convention has been planned in Telangana and Seemandhra regions to work out strategy for next Assembly elections.

Singh said that very soon, two separate Pradesh Congress Committees, election, campaign and manifesto committees would be constituted.

Gurbachan Singh who was accompanied by Giani Mal Singh, Jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, f o r m e r Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Baba Avtar Singh Sursingh Wale, head of Nihang Singh Dal Baba Bidhi Chand, said "publication of Punjabi magazine possesses big importance as Guru Angad Dev, second Guru of the Sikhs, provide linguistic importance to Punjabi language and form first systematic alphabet of Gurmukhi script on this sacred place. Not only this, he too established first school of Gurmukhi.

Besides, he made arrangement for publishing Sikh literature in the form 'Janam Sakhis' (history of Guru Nanak Devi)".

TRS rules out merger with Congress

Chennai: DMK president M Karunanidhi described BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as a 'hard worker' and a 'good friend.'

Karunanidhi's response came in an interview in which the 90-year-old DMK patriarch refrained from commenting on a possible tie-up with the saffron party post-elections. "The hectic election campaign by Modi shows he is a hard worker. He is also a good friend of mine," Karunanidhi said when asked about his 'personal opinion' on the Gujarat chief minister.

When asked whether his announcement at the

recent DMK state conference that his party would not align with 'communal forces', meant BJP, Karunanidhi shot back "are you giving a confessional statement that BJP is communal."

When asked if there was a chance for DMK joining BJP-led alliance after elections, he said he "cannot speculate and tell what will be the situation after the Lok Sabha polls."

The DMK chief's response assumes significance as it comes two months after he ruled out any alliance with the BJP besides former ally Congress, in his party's general council.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has ruled out its merger with Congress ahead of the upcoming general elections. However, the TRS has decided to form a committee of senior leaders headed by Keshav Rao to look into the issue of alliances.

This was disclosed by the Party President K Chandrashekhar Rao after a day-long meeting of the general body of the party.

"Our party has unanimously decided not to merge with Congress party.

There is a committee in the chairmanship of K Keshav Rao, the secretary general of the party, who looks into alliances, if any," said Rao. The development came a week after the TRS president met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the national capital about a possible merger or alliance between the two.

Earlier during a meeting with Sonia Gandhi, the Seemandhra leaders invited her to tour Rayalaseema and Andhra regions to instill a sense of confidence

Gurgaon: A senior executive with a consultancy firm murdered his wife, stabbing her 18 times in their Gurgaon home, after an argument over her alleged infidelity spiralled out of control. He then called up the police and surrendered.

Rajnish Kumar Singh, 44, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus and vice president with Shared Reach consultancy firm in Gurgaon, used a kitchen knife to stab his wife in the stomach, chest and back.

The victim, Shweta Bindra, 36, ran a play school in DLF Phase IV. The couple had been married for nine years.

Two of the couple's three children - a daughter, 7, and an 11-month-old son - were sleeping at the time in their house. A fiveyear-old daughter was at a relative's house.

Singh told police that the argument "went out of

control". After the stabbing, he called up his parents and then informed the cops. Shweta was dead when the police reached the house. Badshahpur police reached the spot and arrested the accused.

"We got a call from the police control room around 10.43am, after the accused had called them about the murder. We took the body in custody and recovered the knife used in the murder. An FIR has been lodged and we are questioning the accused.

He will be produced in a city court", said inspector Jitendra Rana, SHO, Badshahpur police station.

The body was later sent to civil hospital for postmortem. "The accused claims that his wife had an illicit relationship with a person living in the neighbourhood who works in her daughter's school. We are questioning him and will verify his claim.

A m r i t s a r : Nishan-E-Sikhi Charitable Trust, Khadur Sahib being run under the chairmanship of environmentalist Baba Sewa Singh Karsewa Wale, launched its quarterly magazine 'Nishan-E-Sikhi', the first issue of which was released by Giani Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib in a Gurmat Samagam (Congregation) organized by Dera Kaar Sewa.

The congregation was held in memory of Sant Baba Gurmukh Singh, founder of Karsewa sect and Saints of Karsewa namely Baba Sadhu Singh, Baba Jhanda Singh, Baba Uttam Singh and Baba Amar Singh.

After releasing the magazine, Giani

Kiran Rao’s new party to emulate AAP

Hyderabad: After keeping everyone guessing about his future political plans for a long time, caretaker chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will finally launch a new political party. Restoring the selfrespect of the Telugu people will be the party’s main plank.

Sources close to Reddy said that he was planning to emulate the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) strategy to woo the public. His aides are, therefore, trying to procure the ‘chappal’ (footwear) symbol and urging people to teach a lesson to all the political parties that ‘betrayed’ them during the state’s bifurcation process.

region, the government had already announced grant of Special Category Status including tax incentives to the residuary State as part of a six-point development package for AP’s two successor States.

The President also signed the proclamation to impose President’s rule in Andhra Pradesh following the Union Cabinet’s recommendation. Mukherjee gave his nod to place under suspended animation the State Assembly

M Karunanidhi and Narendra Modi

Executive kills wife by stabbing her 18 times

K. Chandrasekhar Rao

Akal Takht Jathedar releases Sikh magazine

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Explore Nepal’s tourist sites

ick off your Nepal escapade with Kathmandu, the capital city that K serves as your gateway to the best scenic

landscapes, Hindu temples, Buddhist monasteries, ancient settlements, traditions and adventure trails that Nepal has to offer. Sink in Nepal’s beguiling nature bed teeming with rich subtropical forests packed with plentiful wildlife, soaring Himalayan peaks, winding river and playful falls. Explore the popular tourist sites like Durbar Square, Swayambhunath Stupa, Patan, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot, Pokhara, Boudhanath, Himalayan National Park, Bandipur, Chitwan National Park and many more.

A visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh will bring you close to the religious core of India.Take a dip in holy Ganga amidst divine morning prayers and constantdrone of temple bells before heading to popular sites including Durga Temple, Vishwanath, Mother India Temple and the Deer Park.

Discover the awe-inspiring sculptures and ruins dating back to 950 AD and 1050 AD at the marvelous Khajuraho Temples, which were alsothe motivation behind the ancient art of Kama sutra.

Sarnath, the holy site of Buddhism, is home to Buddhist hotspots such as Chaukhandi, Dhamekha and Dharmarajika Stupa and the Sarnath Archeological Museum.

A hidden gem of North India, Orchha is another historical city that preserves a garland of striking heritage ruins and imposing palaces and temple such as

Jehangiri Mahal, Raj Mahal, Laxmi Narayan Temple, etc.

Next visitAgra, the city of the world famed architectural wonder, Taj Mahal.

The city also houses world heritage sites like Fatehpur Sikri, Bulund Darwaza, Agra Fort, Tomb of Itamad-ud-Daula, Diwan-e-Khas, Punch Mahal and Tomb of Salim Chisti.

A must see the royal capital of Rajasthan – Jaipur is known for its amiable hospitality culture, vigorous traditions and majestic forts, palaces and local bazaars. The pink city tourist highlights include Moti Dungri Temple, Birla Mandir, Amber Fort, City Palace, Central Museum, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Chowki Dhani Resort, several parks and shopping sites. Finally unveil the architectural legacy of the capital city New Delhi with a trip to historical landmarks such as Red Fort, Qutab Minar, India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, Birla Mandir, Jama Masjid, Akshardham Temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and the pungent bylanes of Old Delhi.

A choice of flight, transfers & sightseeing, 11 night’s accommodation with daily breakfast are available starting from just £ 1125 pp. Book with Brightsun Travel by calling our dedicated tours line 0208 819 0531 or visit www.brightsun.co.uk.

INDIA - TRAVEL

END 7 Ambassador Abhishek visits Orissa

Bhubaneswar: Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has been made first END7 Campaign Ambassador in India by The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (Global Network).

Abhishek, also the son of Hindi film icon Amitabh Bachchan started campaign by pouring water over the feet of an elderly man suffering from lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), a debilitating and disfiguring neglected tropical disease (NTD), at he Banamalipur Resource Centre run by Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) just outside of Bhubneswar in the eastern Indian State Orissa.

Junior Bachchan met with women and men suffering from lymphatic filariasis. These patients shared heartbreaking stories with him, including how the stigma and shame associated with the disease’s massive swelling prevented them or their children from marrying, securing employment and socializing freely within their own communities.

"We have a staggering proportion of fellow Indians who are infected by or at risk of contracting at least one NTD.” He

25

Abhishek Bachchan assisting in treatment of patients with neglected tropical diseases in Orissa

said. “We are making good progress and have free, safe treatments available.

But we must build greater momentum and every Indian should do their part to help make defeating NTDs by 2020 our country's next big health success story,” he added.

Maintaining the progress that India has gained against NTDs is crucial as India comes closer to achieving the control and elimination of five NTDs by 2020. DR. Niraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases said that the lymphatic filariasis centre in Odissa is at the forefront of India's efforts to combat NTDs Tropical Diseases,

the initiative behind the END7 campaign.

“CASA has a winning model, treating over 20,000 LF patients and providing cost effective medicines to prevent thousands more cases of LF in Orissa. By integrating NTD programs with other health initiatives on water, sanitation and nutrition, this centre is a micro example of what India can achieve with NTD control and elimination programs at greater scale,” said Dr. Mistry .

Pills to treat the most common NTDs are donated by pharmaceutical companies or procured by the Indian government, offered free of charge to the public.

the entire picture of the nation,” said the veteran activist.

He reiterated that Banerjee's “austere lifestyle” and her "sincerity" has not been seen in any other leader in the country.

“I came to the conclusion that people like her should

lead the nation. I agree to her views. I have not supported Banerjee or her party, but their social and national thoughts. My support is limited only to the forthcoming elections,” he added. “Banerjee is working in West Bengal with this idea.

Anna terms Kejriwal as ‘Power Hungry’

Pune: Social activist Anna Hazare termed Aam Adami Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal as power hungry.

The reaction came after Kejriwal didn’t respond on Anna’s 17-point agenda.

“I had handed over a 17-point agenda letter to Kejriwal and told him (Kejriwal) that I would support him if he agrees to it.

But till date, neither Kejriwal nor his party has given me any assurance on it. It is now very clear that these (Kejriwal and his close aide) people are thinking of power more than of the nation. Nation will not have any bright future as there will be no difference between them and other parties,” said Anna in a written statement. Anna endorsed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as a likely prime ministerial candidate after Banerjee had agreed to Hazare's 17-point agenda, which includes village-centric social and economic initiatives and proposals such as boosting vocational education and stricter laws against corruption.

“I didn't support any political party in the past.

For the first time in my life, I have announced support to Banerjee because no other party responded to my letter except her. I feel if the 17-point agenda is implemented, it will change

Hatch-Match-Dispatch

Indians and other Asian diaspora disperse continuously within the UK and several readers have demanded that family newsweeklies like Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar should allocate some space, charge some modest amount if necessary, to communicate family arrivals or departures.

From 15 March 2014 issue, both our newsweeklies will provide the following services: 1. Birth and Weddings: Upto 25 words free of charge without photo

2. Bereavement notices and others: Upto 25 words without photo- No charge. For upto 150 words and a photograph £100+VAT.

The written message has to be in English and the photograph will have to be provided by the sender, with their relevant contact details and need to be emailed to Saroj Patel at saroj.patel@abplgroup.com.

Phone: 020 7749 4006/4080

26

INDIA

IN BRIEF

Climate change ended world’s great civilizations

London: According to a new study, the Indus Valley civilization region of Pakistan and northwest India declined and disappeared because of dramatic climate change. The research, carried out by the University of Cambridge and India’s Banaras Hindu University, reveals that a series of droughts lasting some 200 years hit the Indus Valley zone – and was probably responsible for the rapid decline of the great Bronze Age urban civilization of that region.

Councils may stop free offpeak travel for old, disabled

London: Councils in England warned that elderly and disabled passengers could lose vital bus services because of cuts in government funding. The Local Government Association says support for the concessionary fares scheme has been reduced by over a third since 2010. Under these conditions, the councils say they find it difficult to continue the free travel for the elderly and disabled.

Negative equity afflicts many UK households

London: Nearly half a million UK households are in negative equity - meaning their homes are worth less than the mortgages on them. There is wide regional variation, with 41% of borrowers in Northern Ireland in negative equity at the end of 2013, the figures show. But in London, where house prices have surged, only 1% are in negative equity.

Stamp prices to go up

London: The Royal Mail has announced that the price of a first-class stamp is to go up by 2p to 62p while a second-class stamp will increase by 3p to 53p. Also from 31 March, a large letter first-class stamp up to 100g will rise by 3p to 93p and a large letter second-class stamp will increase by 4p to 73p.

Childcare costs skyrocket

London: A research suggests that many parents in Britain are paying more for childcare in a year than they pay for their mortgages. The Family and Childcare Trust's annual report says average fees for one child in part-time nursery and another in an after-school club are £7,549 per year. The average annual UK mortgage costs an estimated £7,207 last year.

Con woman cheats unsuspecting customers

London: A con woman made a neat £30,000 from unsuspecting customers by selling fake designer accessories from China at inflated rates.

Katherine Padania, shipped in knock-off Mulberry handbags, purses and wallets after buying them online for £100 each. She would then organize 'handbag parties' where she claimed the bags were real and sold them at £150 each as 'factory seconds'. She was arrested following a complaint and a court sentenced her.

89 skeletal remains found in mass graves in Lanka

Colombo: Eighty nine skeletal remains have been dug out from two mass graves in a former LTTE stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels. "We have collected some 80 skeletal remains and removed them for safe keeping," said Dhananjaya Waidyaratne, a judicial medical officer. Meanwhile, a family has stumbled upon the remains of at least nine bodies buried in the garden of their home in the country's former war zone.

Indian doctor fined for insulting female colleague

Dubai: An Indian doctor was fined 100 Bahraini dinar (about $265) for insulting a woman colleague in Bahrain. A lower criminal court in Bahrain's capital Manama convicted the doctor, who works at Salmaniya Medical Complex, for insulting a female Bahraini doctor, the Gulf Daily News reported. He said she "disrespected" him on social media networks. The woman accused him of not knowing how to treat his colleagues, the doctor said.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Congress plans Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting in Central Gujarat

Av Corrospondent

group meetings during the week, 100 meetings in each constituency, he informed, adding that large number of Gujarat Congress workers will walk at least 15 K.M. in every constituency.

During the Padyatra, the local leaders in the Congress were spreading ‘achievement’ of the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the past one decade, said Doshi adding that that include Food Security Bill, Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act to name a few.

Ahmedabad: All India Congress Committee vicepresident Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting at Balasinor town in Central Gujarat on Tuesday, 11 March 2014.

The public rally of the Congress party’s ‘unannounced’ PM candidate is marked at closing ceremony of the Gujarat Congress’s initiative to organize a week long ‘Padyatra’ in all 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state from March 4 to March 11 in view of upcoming general elec-

tions. This is the second visit of the scion of NehruGandhi family in his rival number– Narendra Modi’s

home state in two months.

Last month he addressed a huge rally at tribal dominated Bardoli area in South Gujarat. Sources in the Congress said that, many more rallies of Rahul as well as Sonia are being planned in the state in coming days.

Gujarat Congress spokesman Manish Doshi said that leaders of the state Congress units would address nearly 1000 public meetings in those villages having more than 2000 population across the 26 constituencies.

Besides, the party is also eying at organizing 2600

Continued from page 1 Real Estate Corp. Ltd. and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd. were involved in the raising of funds through optionally fully-convertible debentures. The apex court bench, headed by Justice KS Radhakrishnan, however, spared the third woman director Vandana Bhargava, saying she will negotiate with Roy and other two contemnors and make an acceptable concrete proposal.

“We are not happy with your proposal. No concrete proposal has been made. No bank guarantee has been given,” the court remarked while sending them to custody. The Supreme Court has asked Sahara to come up with a concrete plan to refund

investors, said the lawyers, who declined to be named ahead of the official court order. The court did not immediately say when it will next hear the case, they said.

Subrata Roy begged the court to save the conglomerate and vowed that every direction of the apex court would be followed.

Roy also offered to sell his property to pay his dues but the apex court refused.

He also apologised to the court for not complying with its order.

He urged the court to give Sahara more time to settle the dues of thousands of investors. Earlier in the day, a lawyer threw ink at Roy outside the Supreme Court premises.

Manoj Sharma, 44, who claimed to be an advocate

from Gwalior, threw ink at Roy as he got out of a car and was heading for the court amid security personnel and a large number of mediapersons.

Sharma is the same person who in 2011 had tried to hit Suresh Kalmadi with a slipper. "I threw ink at Subrata Roy as he is a thief and has robbed the poor," Sharma shouted, after which he was hurriedly taken away by police.

Roy was arrested after failing to appear at a Supreme Court hearing which he says he missed to attend to his ailing mother.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) says Sahara failed to comply with a 2012 court order to repay billions of dollars to

investors. Sahara says it repaid most investors and that it’s remaining liability was less than the Rs 51.2 billion it deposited with SEBI. The Supreme Court, which has expressed frustration at Sahara's conduct, had ordered Sahara to disclose the details and source of funds from which it said it repaid investors, but a lawyer for the regulator told the court in late January that Sahara had not given the details. Sahara had offered to give SEBI title deeds of properties it said were worth 200 billion rupees as security, but the regulator said the properties were far over-valued. The court also ordered that Sahara not sell any of its property.

honours, said a senior official in the Punjab government.

The 1857 rebellion by Hindu and Muslim Sepoys - soldiers serving Britain’s East India Company erupted because of a string of anti-British grievances.

The flashpoint was a rumour that bullet casings provided to the troops the ends of which had to be bitten off before they could be loaded into the soldiers’ Enfield rifles were greased with animal fat forbidden by both religions.

Interestingly the well from bodies were recovered was locally known as

the Martyr’s Well, said an archeology department official. According to him the archaeological team was examining other finds at the site, including medals, coins and belt buckles to see if they might help to identify the bodies. The victims, who had been stationed near the city of Lahore, had escaped from their garrison after killing two British officers. According to British accounts, the native troops, after a battle, were surrounded on an island on the Ravi River by a force led by Frederick Cooper, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, and surrendered.

After briefly holding them, he decided that they should be summarily executed, as part of British efforts to suppress a wider uprising that gripped much of northern India, including Delhi and the cities of Meerut and Lucknow. The subsequent execution of the 26th Native Infantry later triggered questions in the House of Commons.

Rahul Gandhi

Sahara chief Subrata Roy sent to Tihar jail

Skeletal remains of Indian Mutiny victims found in Punjab

Continued from page 1 20 miles from Amritsar.

About 157 years after over 200 Indian soldiers were slain in anonymity by British troops, volunteers have dug out the remains of 22 of them from a well where their bodies were dumped. Around 500 Indian soldiers had revolted at Mian Mir Cantonment in Lahore during the 1857 mutiny and swam across the Ravi River to reach Ajnala town of Amritsar. Of them, 218 were killed by British soldiers at Dadian Sofian village, local NGOs said. The remaining 282 were incarcerated in a cage-like room. While many of them died of asphyxiation, the rest were shot dead and their bodies thrown into a well, which later came to be known as 'Kalianwala Khu'.

The archaeology department of Punjab state, which is conducting the excavation, said it was possible that the “40 to 50” skulls found so far belong to the rebel soldiers, but said further investigations would be

required to confirm this.

There are claims that there may be many more bodies yet to be recovered.

According to the sources, Punjab government records showed that 282 Indian soldiers from the 26th Native Infantry were imprisoned by the British at Ajnala. They were all executed, and the bodies shoved into the well by British troops during the rebellion, known in India as the First War of Independence, said the sources in the archeological department. The said bodies of the ‘freedom fighters’ would be reburied with full military

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

IN BRIEF

Jats in OBC category

New Delhi: Ahead of the general elections, the Congress led UPA government has decided to put Jats into OBC category in order to woo the community spread in large number across Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. The Cabinet approved the inclusion of jats in the central list of OBCs that defines the eligibility for 27% Mandal reservations.

The community has been lobbying aggressively for the decision, leveraging its strong social and political clout in western UP and its bordering areas of Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan besides also being present in Gujarat and MP. The Congress's quota dole on the eve of elections is a political move because the community is threatening to polarize behind BJP after the Muzaffarnagar riots in western UP and has shown a distinct antiCongress mood in Rajasthan and Delhi.

Navy chief Joshi resigns

New Delhi: Indian Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned taking moral responsibility for a series of accidents that have hit naval vessels over the past few months. The government accepted his resignation with immediate effect, a defence ministry release said. The resignation came on a day when seven Indian Navy personnel were injured and at least two went missing after smoke filled a compartment in the INS Sindhuratna submarine that was underwater off Mumbai, about 50 nautical miles (80 km) in the Arabian Sea. There were 94 sailors onboard the submarine when smoke was reported in the sailors' accommodation. "Taking moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents which have taken place during the past few months, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned from the post of CNS," the release said.

Vrindavan to have tallest temple

Mathura: Pilgrimage Vrindavan in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh will have India’s tallest temple soon. A 210-metre-high temple is going to be built in the holy city. The project, whose foundation stone will be laid on March 16, has been conceived by Madhu Pandit Dasa, president of ISKCON, Bangalore, and will consist of a grand temple of Sri Krishna at its centre. Poised to be the tallest and largest religious structure in India, the monumental temple, named the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, with a footprint of about four and a half acres and a built-up area of 540,000 square feet, will integrate elements of modern architecture with traditional Indian temple architecture.

Indians buried alive in Saudi Arabia, says report

New Delhi: Three men have confessed to a Saudi Arabia court of torturing and burying alive five Asian workers in 2010. According to a report in Arab News, the three men confessed in the Qatif general court on torturing five Asian workers — believed to be Indians — for hours and then burying them alive. The decomposed bodies of the five men were recovered from a farm in Safwa, a city in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, situated on the Gulf coast. The report claimed that the local police have arrested 25 men in connection with the brutal killings.

Tiwari accepts Rohit as son

New Delhi: Finally, senior Congress Leader Narayan Dutt Tiwari accepted 34-year-old Rohit Shekhar as his son. The 89-year-old leader earlier denied accepting Shekhar as his son, it was only after DNA test report, he publicly hugged his son.

However, the case is still pending in the Delhi High Court but Rohit is now satisfied by Tiwari's admission and will bring it to the court's notice.

He had moved court in 2008, claiming that the Congress leader was his father and that he was born out of an affair between the leader and his mother. In 2012, Tiwari was forced to take a paternity test by the Delhi High Court.

SC to rescue people from Fatwa

New Delhi: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court assured it would come to the rescue of any citizen who felt harassed by a fatwa issued by a Muslim cleric and said such fatwas had no sanction in law. A bench of Justices C K Prasad and P C Ghose made it clear that the judiciary could redress a fatwa while hearing final arguments on a PIL by Vishwa Lochan Madan, drawing the court’s attention to parallel Shariat courts that were mushrooming in India.

Kejriwal in Modi-land

INDIA

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Narendra Modi wants transformation in judiciary

Av Correspondent

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is all set to address first ever public meeting in BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat. According to AAP Gujarat unit Kejriwal will address a rally in Ahmedabad on Saturday, March 8 in Bapunagar area. Already a team of AAP workers in Gujarat has started gathering negative points pertaining to Modi government to brief their leader, so he can raise these issues during the rally. The venue of the rally is also selected very carefully by state AAP unit as Bapunagar area is dominated by people of North Indians as well as Saurashtra region.

Apart from a public rally Kejriwal will visit Gandhi Ashram, and attend series of meeting with state leadership of his party to decided probable Lok Sabha candidate in Gujarat during a three-day visit. Already, AAP has announced, name of Atul Shekda from Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency.

Ahmedabad: NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday said that there is a need to bring a transformation in the judicial system and also advocated for mapping of the litigations through universities and social scientists.

Addressing a large gathering of legal experts converge from across the country at the closing ceremony function of the Golden Jubilee function of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Bar Council of India (BCI) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister opined to make judicial system digital by making maximum activities on-line.

“There is a need to adopt online analysis of legal cases, and emphasized on disseminating judicial knowledge to the common man. This could be achieved by promoting a special judicial TV channel or having a weekly session through the electronic media, wherein cases and their verdicts are shared,” said Modi adding that it could develop a near perfect

counseling system.

He said that generally common people didn’t take interest in judiciary related issues. “But I strongly believe that people should have knowledge of law and justice system. For the purpose television is the best medium.

A separate channel on the law and justice would not only keep people wellinformed on the subject but it would also play important role to create healthy society,” Modi said adding that programs on interesting cases, their evidences and verdicts and even interesting details of proceedings can be a great help to educate the people on law.

The role played by forensic sciences in the judicial system was huge and it is high time to strengthen it even further,

he said adding that the significance of providing good facilities to the legal fraternity is the need of the hour and the government can play a key role in it. He gave example of how the Gujarat government has provided elibrary facilities to tehsil level courts in the state.

Modi said that the significance of having a policy-driven government and how this could be an effective way of decreasing discrimination and thereby lowering the scope for litigation.

He also emphasized to carry out district-wise research on various types of cases to understand what kinds of cases are prevalent in different districts of the country.

“Even social scientists can be roped in for the research study,” he added.

under Narendra Modi in Gujarat right from Panchayat elections to Lok Sabha elections. If that was not enough, as many as five MLAs have recently quit congress to join BJP, which further reduced the Congress party’s strength in the Gujarat assembly.

Two Koli community leaders and sitting MPs from Saurashtra region, Kunwarji Bavalia and Somabhai Patel are said to be sitting on the fence and may join BJP. Sources said that if it would work out,

for NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate Modi would be one step closer to achieve his target of winning all 26 Lok Sabha seat from Gujarat.

There has been a common complaint within Gujarat Congress that, those who are loser (Modhvadia, Shaktisinh Gohil) and imported in the party (read Shankersinh Vaghela) are being designated on key post, while those who emerged victorious even during a BJP wave, are simply ignored.

Congress contemplates to replace Gujarat chief

Av Correspondent

Ahmedabad: The Congress high command is learnt to have seriously planning for change of guard in its Gujarat unit. If sources in the Gujarat Congress Pradesh Committee (GPCC) have to be believed, the union minister of state for sanitation and drinking water, Bharatsinh Solanki seems to be the front runner for the post of new GPCC president.

Solanki, who had been GPCC president in the past is seen as young leader compared to other options and also belongs to OBC community. Besides, he is also the son of Madhavsinh Solanki, the Congress party’s longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat. Talking to the Pioneer, a senior leader in Gujarat Congress requesting anonymity divulged that Solanki had a meeting with All India Congress Committee president (AICC) Sonia Gandhi as well as AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi. “In the meeting Solanki was insisted to take charge as early as possible. However, he has bought some time to think over the offer. In fact, he was offered the post in mid 2013, but at that time he refused,” said a close aide of Solanki confirming possible change of

Bharatsinh Solanki

leadership in the Gujarat Congress.

Sources in the state Congress also confirmed that Sonia as well as Rahul had convened one-on-one meetings with elected MLAs, MPs as well as office-bearers of GPCC of Gujarat on who can be the best possible candidate for the post before the upcoming elections, in which many of the them opined in favour of Solanki to replace incumbent GPCC president Arjun Modhvadia.

Under Modhvadia leadership, the Congress not only lost assembly elections in December 2012, but Modhvadia himself lost with huge margin against current agriculture minister Babu Bokhiria from Porbander constituency.

Even after assembly elections, the Congress kept on losing in by-elections against the saffron party

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Simbu I'm not desperate to get married: announces break Kajal Aggarwal up with Hansika A

ctress Kajal Aggarwal is in the news for performing the Rahu Ketu pooja at Sri Kalahasthi temple recently.

And the buzz was that she sought divine intervention because she wanted to do 'parihara' as her younger sister, actress Nisha, got married ahead of her, and some of her recent works in films have come in for criticism. Ask the actress about this, and

she laughs, "Some of my cousins from the US, who had come down for the wedding, wanted to visit Tirupati, and I went to the temple along with my family. Sri Kalahasthi is just an hour from there, and we thought it would be good for us to go there as well. We went as a gang, and performed small poojas. This has nothing to do with my films. I'm very happy that my sister got married to the guy she had been dating. And, I'm not desperate to get married. I'm happy where I am."

T

amil actor Simbu has issued a formal press statement saying that he has broken up with actress Hansika Motwani. He says that the statement was issued to give clarity to his friends, associates and his fans over his status. “As of now, I am concentrating on my career...and need less to say I am happy and relieved too. I am single now and I have nothing to do with Hansika,” he added. There was speculation for some time now that Simbu and Hansika were heading towards a break up.

Revathy back in Bollywood as Tamil mom A

ctress Revathy was one of the top heroines of 1980s and 90s and gave some inspiring performances in Tamil and Malayalam films.

She is also a successful actress in Bollywood. However, the last film she acted in Hindi was “Nishabdh”

Sruthi to act in Kannada film

S

ruthi Hasanm, the daughter of Ulaganayagan Kamalhassan and leading heroine who keeps flying between states to act in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films is likely to debut in Kannada films as well. As per reliable sources the young actress is all set to act in a Kannada film starring Puneet Rajukumar, the son of yesteryear Superstar Rajkumar.

A renowned play-back singer she is, Sruthi has sung a song in “Prithvi” that was released in 2010. Interestingly Puneet Rajkumar was the lead hero of Prithiv. The film as well as the song sung

by Sruthi were super hits.

Vi

‘Queen’

kas Bahl directed film “Queen” stars Kangana Ranaut, Lisa Haydon and Rajkummar Rao in lead roles. The film’s story is about a small-town Indian girl, who decides to go on her honeymoon alone. Amit Trivedi has scored the film’s music for the lyrics by Anvita Dutt. The film premiered at Busan Film Festival in October 2013.

Vikas Bahl wrote the script of the movie keeping in mind Kangana Ranaut, however it was Anurag Basu who helped him connect and cast Kangana in the film.

‘Total Siyapaa’

otal Siyapaa” is an romantic comedy film “T directed by E. Nivas and writ-

ten Neeraj Pandey. Film stars Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam in

that was released seven years ago.

Now Revathy has faced the camera after a brief gap in the Bollywood film “2 States,” the filmy adaptation of an English novel written by Chetan Bhagat with the same title.

The film directed by Abhishek Varman stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles.

Interestingly Revathy plays the role of a Tamilian mother of Alia Bhatt who belongs to a Tamil speaking family.

Trisha to act in woman - centric film T

risha, the former Miss Chennai is busy shooting for RUM, Tamil-Telugu bilingual film. It is touted as a woman-centric film and Trisha says that she is happy to be a part of a women-oriented movie for the first time in her career. The pretty actress also says that the story of the film revolves around her and a negative character. Trisha also adds that she has tried some action scenes in this film which is also another first in her decade long career. To a question about her alleged love affair with Rana Daggubati, the actress said that it was not the time to speak about relationships.

New Release ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ lead roles. Veteran actor wins 9 technical IIFA Anupam Kher and his real life wife and Veteran actress Kiron Awards Kher are appearing together for the first time in a movie.

'Gulab Gang'

rector Soumik Sen’s debut film, ‘Gulaab Di Gang’, is a women-centric

film, where both the protagonist and the antagonist are played by women and have men in supporting roles. The movie has Madhuri Dixit playing the leader of a vigilante group, Gulaab Gang, which not only spreads women’s empowerment, but also bashes up those who try to suppress them, while Juhi plays an astute politician who wants to use everyone to her advantage. The film tells the story of a gang of Indian women dressed in pink saris fighting against social injustice.

arhan Akhtar starrer, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ bagged nine awards in the technical category – best F cinematography, best screenplay, best dialogue, best

editing, best sound design, best sound mixing, best background score, best costume designing and best make-up. This was followed by ‘Krrish 3’ with two wins – best action and best special effects – visuals.

Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’ also joined the list of winners with best song recording and best sound mixing.

Fearless Priyanka buys a Harley Davidson

riyanka Chopra P who on

Season 3 of her reality s h o w , “Khatron Ke K h i l a d i ,” proved that she was fearless on wheels and has bought a hot pink H a r l e y Davidson for herself and now plans to arrive at her shoots with a vroom. Of course, not many Mumbaikars will recognise 'Don' Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jungli Billi' as she blasts past them on the busy streets. She will be hidden under a helmet but B' town's biker boys are gearing up for the competition having seen Pee Cee make a smashing entry at an awards function in 2012.

29

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

Latest Shabana Azmi praises Alia he 5-times National award winning actress Shabana Azmi Tpraises Alia Bhatt on her performance in “Highway” and sees her as the true inheritor of my (Shabana’s) talent.

Interestingly Alia’s father Mahesh Bhatt has compared Alia’s performance to Shabana’s sterling career-defining performance in “Arth.”

Shabana who won a National award for her performance in Arth, agrees with Mahesh Bhatt’s assessment.

Shabana feels Alia has got where Shabana did in Arth in

no time at all. “Alia’s achievement is all the more laudable because I did Arth after 9 years of facing the camera. Alia has done it in her second film. That’s amazing! Alia took me completely by surprise.

She possesses both vulnerability and insouciance.”

In fact Alia’s protective stepsister Pooja Bhatt is planning a film with her baby-sister.

Says Pooja, “If Student Of The Year launched Alia as a young star, Highway has launched her as an actor. I am so proud of her and I shall remain ever-grateful to Imtiaz.”

‘Queen’: A Journey of Self Discovery Charu Smita

efreshing locations. Crisp script. New faces. Quirky R characters. Yes, I’m talking

about Vikas Bahl’s new venture, “Queen.” Rani, an alleged quintessential 24 year old Delhi girl (from ‘Rajouri’) finds herself directionless and purposeless after her fiancé calls off their wedding. The film is about what follows thereafter. The trailers show her going away for her ‘honeymoon’ alone, a decision which surprises you, given how she was raised in an environment where she can’t leave the house without Chintu, her younger brother. Her decision to take that holiday alone is a turning point. The film seems pretty believable despite larger than life coincidences and this can be attributed to Vikas Bahl’s direction. Amit Trivedi’s musical score reminded me of Dev D. It is definitely not his best work but it’s pleasing nonetheless.

Songs like Gujariya and London Thumakda blended in the film well.

“Queen” rightly boasts of wonderful locations and doesn’t disappoint in terms of the feel-good factor it promises to deliver. I’d say this film is but a

bunch of memorable moments.

It highlights the little joys that make up our sense of freedom.

Kangna’s performance is convincing and almost makes you feel protective for Rani but she still needs a little work on her consistency and sync with the character. There were some strange bits, though. Rani talks in Hindi despite knowing that the other person is unable to understand it, same with another character, a Japanese guy named Taka. She does speak English sometimes but for reasons unknown, the filmmaker has decided to keep it that way. It breaks the flow of the film in those scenes.

Another problematic element in the film is that while you are watching it you might feel as if you are watching

‘EnglishVinglish’ in parts all over again- the trad i t i o n a l I n d i a n w o m a n ’ s struggle in a foreign land, eventually befriending people from different countries, sharing their joys and sorrows and finding solace in their friendship. The theme is touching but I would have loved to see something new on screen, especially when it is globally lauded Vikas Bahl’s venture. The film is highly predictable but it is enjoyable in parts. The humour is original and performances by Rajkumar Rao, Lisa Haydon and others are commendable and touching.

The characters in “Queen” are many and all of them are a treat to watch. It is worth joining her in her journey of self-discovery.

‘Gulaab Gang’ brings Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla together

“Gulaab Gang,” a woman –centric film which is being released on 7th March, brings Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla together on screen for the first time

omewhere in the Hindi heartland, an S ashram of sorts has been

set up by ‘Rajjo’ (Madhuri Dixit), where women armed with axes and sickles and dressed in pink sari seek justice for all. But when the party she was campaigning for reveals its true colours, Rajjo knows she has a whole new battle ahead of her, dualheaded by a corrupt force of evil in the guise of ‘Sumitra Devi’ (Juhi Chawla).

Sumitra Devi is an institution whose money, bullet and connectiondriven juggernaut of politics are a threat Rajjo hasn't encountered before.

Realising the devil incar-

nate is soon enough going to swamp, sabotage, silence and encompass the work she has been striving for all these years and draw her into a deadlier web of buyout, Rajjo is forced into battle with this

new, unseen evil… at the ballot box. With something she has lived to learn all these years – the strength of soul, song and stick – this season the color of justice will be pink.

Big B wants to act with Ranbir

ollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, B who is the protagnist in

“Bhootnath Returns,” says he didn't have the opportunity to share screen space with Ranbir Kapoor who does a cameo in the film, and hope they can work together some day. "Ranbir has done a cameo but I have not shot with him. He is very popular and I can't compare myself with him.

Hope I get to work with him someday," the iconic actor said at the trailer launch of the film.

And it's not just Ranbir, Amitabh says he enjoys working with new talent. "I am still learning and for an actor, observation is very important. It has been so long for me in this industry and in every 10 to 15 years there is a new generation coming and I enjoy working with them," says the veteran. And while he likes to observe the younger lot, he admits that his greatest inspiration have been his parents.

"For me, inspiration comes from different fields. When it comes to my work, I look up to Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman and many from

the west," he says, adding, "In my life, my father and my mother have been my greatest inspiration. I feel my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. I feel fortunate to be born to them."

30

UK

Coming Events

l Wednesday 12th March 2014 – Om Shakti Day Centre celebrates International Women's Day at 10am – 3pm at Harrow Leisure Centre, Byron Hall, Christchurch Avenue, Harrow HA3 5BD. Contact: 07930335978. l Saturday 8th March 2014 - Tessa Sanderson CBE to Attend International Women’s Day Celebrations at Neasden Temple.

Contact: IWD.outreach@mandir.org l Saturday 8th March 2014 – Swadesh Dance Festival at 7.30pm at The Sangam Centre, 210 Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware HA8 0AP. Contact: 02089527062. l Saturday 15th March 2014 – Music and Dance Soiree from 6pm at the Bhavan Centre, 4a Castetown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE. Tickets £15/£10. Contact: 0207 381 3086 l Sunday 16th March 2014 – Holi Celebrations from 6pm till late at Shree Shakti Mandir, 30 Talbot Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 4UE. Contact: 0208 903 6100. l Sunday 16th March - Celebrate Holi, the festival of colours, at the Bhaktivedanta Manor with Rang Mela (throwing of colors) at 4pm, followed by the Holi bon-fire (burning of Holika) at 6pm. l Sunday 16th March 2014 – Karnatic Vocal Concert by O.S. Arun from 6pm at the Bhavan Centre, 4a Castetown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE. Tickets £15/£10.

Contact: 0207 381 3086 l Friday 2nd May 2014 – The Royal Vaisakhi Tour 2014 at Royal Albert Hall, London.

Contact: 0854 401 5045

London based lawyer to sue British government

Sarosh Zailawalla, pictured, a London based well acclaimed Parsi (Indian) origin lawyer is about to launch a fight against the British government, suing them for almost $4 bn after the Supreme Court lifted the sanctions imposed against Bank Mellat.

The UK Supreme court imposed sanctions on Bank Mellat over alleged links to Tehran’s nuclear programme as the governments from western countries believed that Iran is attempting to enrich Uranium so that they can use it in making atomic bombs.

However, according to Tehran, its nuclear programme is only for peace-

First ‘Casual Dining’ event pulls in food-and-drink professionals

Rudy & Marlene Otter

Hundreds of profit-motivated foodies streamed into north London’s Business Design Centre to learn how they could carve out a bigger slice of the Casual Dining sector for themselves worth a mouth-watering £6.7 billion a year.

Launching Casual Dining’s first annual twoday show on 26th February, group event manager Chris Brazier, in his welcome-guide message, said that the eatingout sector has “changed dramatically” in recent years, with pubs moving more strongly towards food-led operations, and high streets “increasingly dominated by branded restaurant chains”. He described casual dining as the “main battleground” for the UK’s restaurant industry, hence the need for a new annual trade show targeted on this multi-billion pound sector.

Visitors included decision-makers from wellknown restaurant and pub chains as well as inde-

pendents and multiple operators. They were able to sample and discuss innovative products and services provided by more than 120 suppliers with the aim of expanding and improving their range to attract more customers.

Asian guests had long and animated conversations with exhibitors.

The show was designed to appeal to everyone from single-unit entrepreneurs to senior directors of large organisations.

Visitors were offered advice on “how to find new business solutions, hear about trends, get ideas and gain inspiration” from some of the “most influential business and thought leaders”.

There were lectures on how to succeed in a crowded casual dining market, secrets of all-day trading, and how to market “like your life depends on it”, also how to bring an “artisan touch” to one’s business with minimum financial investment. Food and drink demonstrations also drew the crowds.

COMPETITION WINNER

Congratulations!

The winner of the Salt 'N' Pepper Restaurant Competition is: Pravin Patel

ful purposes. So, in its verdict, Britain’s Supreme Court ruled that the government was wrong in imposing sanctions on the bank in 2009.

Zaiwalla confirmed that Bank Mellat will claim for the compensation for the “significant pecuniary loss” and reputation damages caused by the sanctions imposed in 2009, which is around $825 million.

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

Mars has been in retrograde motion since 1st March, and it’s been nothing if not frustrating for you. It’s all about cultivating patience until your ruling planet goes direct on 19th May. This is evident mainly in the arena of relationships, but it could also flow over into business partnerships and joint ventures. While you wait, don’t waste any time organise yourself.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

The next few months may bring confusion and misunderstandings at work and troubles with your health as Mars turns retrograde in your sixth house. You'll need to pay more attention to detail and double check everything before finalising important matters. Close relationships need to be re-assessed.

Relationships are likely to widen your horizons, but exercise caution, because some opportunities won't prove quite as amazing as they first seem. Unpredictable energies continue to influence your health sector, bringing erratic highs and lows. Anything or anyone that drains your time should be re-assessed. Find time for relaxation.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

At home, be at your diplomatic best and try not to tread on anyone's toes. Passions will run from hot to cold, and relationships may suffer. Even the most strong-willed Cancerians will be more open to compromise to keep the peace. Plan your spending and set sensible budgets to reach your financial goals. All things considered, your health should be robust.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

The underlying trend towards increased contentment in love continues with Venus and Mercury shedding a pleasant and harmonious light on close ties of affection.

You will have a powerful urge to push ahead with moneymaking and business interests but, one way or another, something will intervene to hinder progress.

Progress will be slow and may incline you to a negative view of your current work situation. Make up your mind early in the week to knuckle down to the tasks in hand. This should be a wonderful week for those aspiring to higher knowledge - foreign travel is strongly indicated. Associate with people that you are comfortable with.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Mars has been in retrograde motion since 1 March, and it’s been nothing if not frustrating for you. It’s all about cultivating patience until the planet goes direct on 19th May. This is evident mainly in the arena of relationships, but it could also flow over into business partnerships and joint ventures. While you wait, don’t waste any time organise yourself.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

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You might feel that life is in the doldrums, but appearances could prove deceptive. The underlying trend indicates that deep creative energies are stirring within you and that seemingly insignificant events and meetings will play a vital role in the future enrichment of life. This is not a time to force things, rather a time to flow with the tide.

Social commitments are liable to increase considerably. At times this could lead to a conflict of loyalties and perhaps a degree of resentment that others are taking advantage of you. Jupiter, the planet of expansion and excesses is associated with splashing out on luxury items which sometimes we do not really require - take care or you will end up having things that you really have no use for.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

Progress will be slow and may incline you to a negative view of your current work situation.

Make up your mind early in the week to knuckle down to the tasks in hand. This should be a wonderful week for those aspiring to higher knowledge - foreign travel is strongly indicated. Associate with people that you are comfortable with.

The pattern of significant relationships in your life will continue to favour you. It seems that a great deal of mutual benefit will accrue because of various interactions.

This is an excellent time for making investments and for dealing with all soundly-based and long-term money matters. You also stand to benefit through a bonus, rebate or perhaps a lucky windfall.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 With both Venus and Mars resonating powerfully in your Solar chart, amorous affairs are likely to become extremely intense.

Sometimes it is a good idea to stand back and get a more objective view of the pattern of your life. You may find that you can enrich your lifestyle considerably by simplifying certain areas and re-organsing your priorities.

India knocked out of Asia Cup

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

After defeating Bangladesh in a thriller, Pakistan sailed into finals of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka. With this result India were automatically knocked out of the title race.

With this victory, Pakistan grabbed four points to aggregate 13 with the help of three victories in four matches.

India, on the other hand, are currently with four points and even a win against Afghanistan won't be enough for India to reach into the summit clash.

Though the Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad blasted a 123-ball 103 to set the foundation for a record chase, but it was Shahid Afridi's blistering 59 off 25 balls helped Pakistan to surpass Bangladesh. Mohammad Hafeez (52) and Fawad Alam (74) too blasted scintillating half-centuries to chase Bangladesh's record score of 326 for 3 in their stipulated 50 overs.

For Bangladesh, Mominul Haque (2/37) was the highest wicket taker, while Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak and Mahmudullah scalped one each.

Earlier, Bangladesh feasted on a below bowling and fielding effort from Pakistan to pile up their highest-ever ODI total of 326 for three. While opener Anamul Haque build the foundation with a patient 100 off 132 balls with six fours and four sixes, it was their seniormost stars Mushfiqur Rahim (51 not out) and Shakib al Hasan (44 not out), who finished the innings with a smashing 77-run partnership in only 5.3 overs.

Opener Imrul Kayes

(59) who added 150 runs for the opening stand with Anamul and Mominul Haque (51) also made useful contributions to prop up Bangladesh total.

Chasing a mammoth 327 to win, Shehzad laid the foundation with his fifth ODI century as the elegant right hander put on 97 run with Mohammad Hafeez (52) for the opening wicket.

Afridi clinches the issue for Pakistan India paid the price for costly blunders at crucial junctures to suffer a nerve-

wracking onewicket defeat to Pakistan at Mirpur on Sunday night.

Pakistan rode on Shahid Afridi's brilliant cameo to virtually assure them a berth in the final.

Sangakkara steers Sri Lanka In the second match K u m a r Sangakkara hit a brilliant 103 as Sri Lanka survived anxious moments to overcome India by two wickets, securing their second win.

The victory was set up by spinners Ajantha Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake, who shared seven wickets to restrict India to 264-9 in the daynight match in Fatullah.

Kohli guides India to victory over Bangladesh India captain Virat Kohli cracked a stylish 19th one-day international century in guiding India to a six-wicket victory over Bangladesh at Fatullah in the opening match.

Eighteen grandmasters and 19 international mas-

ters were in the fray in this tournament. After the victory of Ashkaray Kore last year, Rajpara became the second Indian and the first Gujarati to win this title.

While doing so he got his third GM norm and also crossed the 2,500 Elo points required to become a GM. Rajpara now has 2,506 points. Rajpara remained unbeaten in both the tournaments, in Graz (Austria) and in Cannes, and his best result came when he defeated

the higher ranked Peralata in the third round.

Rajpara said, “When I started playing chess I never really thought that I would come this far. My parents sacrificed a lot for me and were always there to support me. I owe a lot to them for what I have achieved in chess today."

“I am thrilled to hear the news. It has been a decade since I became a GM. So this is a positive development for chess in Gujarat,” said Bakre.

ed to be part of this competition, and look forward to playing for Bangkok. I have fond memories from the days I've played there," he said.

Owners are allowed to add and have up to 10 players on their roster.

Team owners are due to make their own announcements in their relative cities over the next few weeks.

The 2014 IPTL Season will feature 24 matches across the four host cities in the Middle East and Asia. This unique format will have

all four teams competing in a round-robin format in each of the four cities.

Current list of players: Singapore (November 28-30): Tomas Berdych, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Serena Williams, Bruno Soares, Patrick Rafter, Daniela Hantuchova, Nick Krygios Bangkok (December 2-4): Andy Murray, Jo Wilfred Tsonga, Victoria Azarenka, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya, Kirsten Flipkens Mumbai (December 7-9): Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils, Pete Sampras, Rohan Bopanna, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Fabrice Santoro Dubai (December 1113): Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonic, Malek Jaziri, Martina Hingis

Guj gets its 2nd grandmaster in Rajpara

Ankit Rajpara, 20, became the second grandmaster (GM) from Gujarat after Tejas Bakre earned the title a decade ago. Hailing from Mehsana in north Gujarat, Rajpara, who scored his second GM norm in Austria last week, finished on top in the XXVIII Chess Festival in Cannes with seven points from 12 rounds. He was tied with Argentine Fernando Peralta (2,613) but emerged on top with a better tie-break score.

ITPL: Mumbai bag Nadal, Sania and Bopanna World No.1 Rafael Nadal and India's doubles specialists Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna will be seen in action for the Mumbai franchise in the inaugural edition of the International Tennis Premier League (IPL).

Besides Nadal, Sania and Bopanna, the retired Pete Sampras will also be seen in action for Mumbai. Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic and Fabrice Santoro have also been bought by the Mumbai franchise during the first player's draft that took place at Dubai on Sunday.

The team owners finalised the planned operations for the first season slated to be held from Nov 28 to Dec 14 in the four Asian cities of Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai and Dubai. The owners splurged approximately $24 million in buying players.

Dubai bought Novak

Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonic, Malek Jaziri and Martina Hingis.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and French star Jo Wilfred Tsonga will be seen in action for the Bangkok franchise.

Victoria Azarenka, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya, Kirsten Flipkens have also been bought by Bangkok.

Moya, who attended the draft, said he was happy to play for Bangkok. "I'm very excit-

SPORT WORLD

Roger Federer claims sixth Dubai title

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Roger Federer came from one set down against Tomas Berdych to claim a sixth Dubai Duty Free Championships title on Saturday. The Swiss who rallied after losing the first set to Novak Djokovic in the semi final repeated the trick against his Czech opponent in the final winning 3-6 6-4 6-3 to claim the 78th tour title of an illustrious career. "Things definitely went my way out here tonight, but I have had a lot tougher matches in the last one-and-a-half years, so this is nice to get a lucky break again," he said.

Doubles crown for BopannaQureshi

India's Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi have won their fifth ATP World Tour doubles title and the first since reuniting at the start of 2014 by beating Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Dubai Championships. The 'Indo-Pak Express' received 500 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings as they claimed victory in 68 minutes, winning 78 per cent of their service points and breaking the top seeds twice from seven opportunities.

SA captain Graeme Smith announces retirement

Graeme Smith, one of the most dogged batsmen of his generation, stunned South Africa on Monday by announcing he will retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing third test against Australia at Newlands. The 33-year-old captain made the announcement after the third day's play, catching all unaware, including Cricket South Africa (CSA) chiefs. His departure comes after arguably the world's greatest all-rounder Jacques Kallis quit the South Africa test team in December. "This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life. It's a decision that I have been considering since my ankle surgery in April last year," Smith said in a statement.

Sachin to tell his tale soon

His innings on 22 yards may have come to a close, but Sachin Tendulkar has already padded up for his next endeavour. The Bharat Ratna awardee is working on his autobiography but is reluctant to share any details yet. “The work on it has started. If I give out the details of it, then who will read it? When the time is appropriate, I will let you know (more about it),” Tendulkar said during an event in Chennai. While Tendulkar’s writing skills will be put to test when he pens his autobiography, the batting maestro arrives with some experience under his belt in this regard. “When I started playing cricket, there were no mobile phones. So, writing letters to my parents and later on, to my wife Anjali became one of the ways to stay connected with near and dear ones. Anjali and I used to plan on sending the letters in such a way that it would reach me in whichever part of the world I was in. I ensured that my handwriting was legible for her to read,” Tendulkar said.

No decision on IPL venue

Desperate to keep a bulk of the IPL matches in India, the BCCI last week decided to wait till the announcement of the dates of general election before finalizing the venues of the Twenty20 megaevent, a part of which will have to be held abroad due to security issues. The BCCI's working committee met at Bhubaneswar to discuss the matter days after the Indian government made it clear that it would not be able to provide security for the event due to the elections set for April-May. The elections are set to clash with the IPL window, which has been kept from April 9 to June 3. "A final decision on IPL venues will be taken after getting the schedule of general election," BCCI president N Srinivasan said after the meeting.

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SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 8th March 2014

England level ODI series with Windies

Ravi Bopara and captain Stuart Broad put on 58 unbroken runs to guide England to a nerve-jangling, three-wicket victory over West Indies in the second one-day international in North Sound, Antigua on Sunday.

Bopara, 38 not out, and Broad, 28 not out, combined in a patient stand for the eighth wicket as England reached 163 for seven in 44.5 overs in reply to the West Indies total of 159 all out at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

England levelled the three-game series at 1-1, having lost the opener at the same venue on Friday by 15 runs despite a superb 106 from Michael Lumb on his ODI debut.

On a slow pitch England lost opener Moeen Ali for 10 and Luke Wright for a duck, with only 30 runs on the board, before Lumb (39) and Joe Root (23) orchestrated something of a recovery with a thirdwicket stand of 49 in 13 overs. Lumb was then dismissed leg before wicket

as he played across the line to a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.

Just four overs later, England had slipped to 89 for six as Root, Ben Stokes (four) and Jos Buttler (no score) also departed. Bopara and Tim Bresnan mounted a minifightback, adding 16 runs before Bresnan was run out for 10, but it was Bopara and Broad who spared England blushes as they doggedly overhauled the West Indies target with 31 balls remaining.

Earlier, Lendl Simmons provided the backbone in a mediocre West Indies batting dis-

play, hitting four boundaries and two sixes in 98 balls as he top-scored with a fluent 70.

He dominated partnerships of 51, for the fourth wicket with Darren Bravo (13), and 52, for the fifth wicket with Dwayne Bravo (20), before he departed in the 38th over.

Attempting to loft the left-arm spin of Stephen Parry over the infield, Simmons holed out to Stokes at deep midwicket for West Indies to slip to 145 for six. Parry, making his ODI debut, picked up two more wickets as the West Indies innings quickly folded, finishing with a return of three for 32 in

his 10 overs.

Windies defeat England by 15 runs West Indies defeated England by 15 runs in the first one-day international after the visitors squandered an excellent platform that had put them in position to take the lead in the three-match series.

Replying to the home side's competitive total of 269 for six, England were restricted to 254 for six after cruising along merrily at 180 for two in the 37th over. Michael Lumb's fluent 106 on ODI debut, only the second England player after Dennis Amiss to achieve the feat, and an opening partnership of 96 with fellow first-timer Moeen Ali (44), seemed to ensure that most of the hard work was done in pursuit of a morale-boosting victory following the harrowing tour of Australia.

But just as in the West Indies innings, when the home side plundered 116 runs off the last ten overs, England lost their way in the home stretch, losing four wickets for 31 runs.

Stevens issued a statement through Kent expressing his gratitude for their support. "I can assure all the fans of the Dhaka Gladiators, the people of Bangladesh and all cricket followers, that I have always played the game of cricket honestly and, with integrity and to the best of my ability," he

said. "I have loved playing cricket in Bangladesh, as well as everywhere else in the world and I hope that I will be allowed to continue to play cricket globally."

M o h a m m a d Ashraful, a 29-yearold veteran of 61 Tests and another 200 oneday and Twenty20 internationals who played for the Gladiators, had confessed last May to involvement in spot-fixing and match-fixing. Stevens was one of nine people who were then charged in August with violating the BCB's anti-corruption code, following an investigation by the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption

and Security Unit.

The allegations against Stevens were not of corruption, but of failing to report two corrupt approaches. That allowed him to continue playing for Kent last season, which turned out to be one of his best, as he was named the county's player of the year, ending with an unbeaten double century against Lancashire at Canterbury.

The ICC issued a statement expressing their disappointment at the outcome – in which only Ashraful, one of the Gladiators' owners and another unnamed player have been found guilty, with the other six cleared – and reserving their right to appeal.

Asian players with professional deals with England's top four divisions.

And just four of those Swansea left-back Neil Taylor, Blackpool striker

Michael Chopra, Wolves centre-back Danny Batth and Walsall left-back Malvind Benning - are first-team players. While the plan is being finalised, the FA said initiatives to address the issue were still on. "This year already, positive work has taken place this season, with two Asians in Football talent ID best practice days delivered to over 100 Asian coaches, and three community development centres currently delivering coaching opportunities to young Asian players," it said.

Darren Stevens cleared of corruption charges

A tribunal set up Bangladesh Cricket Board has cleared the Kent allrounder Darren Stevens of involvement in corruption in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. Following the clearance he could continue with his career with Kent this summer.

The 37-year-old former Leicestershire all-rounder was in danger of a lengthy global ban that would effectively have ended his career after being charged last August with failing to report a corrupt approach when playing for the Dhaka Gladiators in the Twenty20 competition.

But after a harrowing six months, Stevens was one of six defendants cleared by the tribunal and

Publication of British Asians in football again delayed

The Football Association in Britain once again delayed the publication of the list of British Asians in the game. It was scheduled to be published at the end of 2013, but postponed to late March which too is set to be missed.

The FA said it had been "working extensively with relevant community and football stakeholders."

The plan was "gathering pace" but more discussions with "key groups and individuals" were needed, it added.

The ultimate aim of the Asians in Football plan

is to increase the number of homegrown Asians playing and coaching at both grassroots level and in the professional game.

There are currently only eight homegrown

BCCI to earn $600 mn from 2015-23

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will earn an estimated $ 600 million in the years between 2015 and 2023 following the implementation of the new structural overhaul that has been proposed to the ICC (International Cricket Council), according to Sanjay Patel, the Board secretary. India is set to become a permanent member of the three major committees of the ICC during the same period of 2015-23. BCCI is contributing about 68 per cent of the revenue of ICC and getting only four per cent in return, he said. He said that instead of four per cent share, BCCI will now get 21 per cent. During 2015-23, BCCI’s expected gross revenue will be close to 2.75 to three billion dollars, he said. As per the existing rules, the ICC divides 75 per cent of it’s earnings among the 10 full members equally, while the associate members get the rest of it. “Again out of the remainder, India will get another four per cent,” Patel added.

IPS officer who probed IPL betting case suspended

Tiruchi railway superintendent of police G Sampath Kumar IPS, who had probed the IPL betting case as 'Q' branch SP before it was handed over to Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, was placed under suspension for allegedly receiving money from a bookie. Police sources said Sampath Kumar was suspended because the CB-CID police booked a case against him for collecting Rs 5300,000 from one of the bookies. Kumar later surrendered Rs 3000,000 to the CB-CID, the sources said.

Sampath Kumar's statement to the Justice Mudgal Committee probing the match fixing issue also sparked controversy across the country, as he claimed that bookie Uttam C Jain alias Kitty had told him that Indian skipper M S Dhoni and few other players attended a party thrown by bookies.

India finish 5th in under-19 World Cup cricket

India finished fifth in the Under-19 World Cup after a strong batting effort saw them overcome the West Indies by 46 runs in a high-scoring classification match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. India overcame Tagenarine Chanderpaul's century to emerge victorious. Opting to bat first, India's Ankush Bains (74), Sanju Samson (67) and Shreyas Iyer (66) batted well to help India post 340/8 in 50 overs, the highest team total of the tournament. For the West Indies, Gudakesh Motie picked up three for 52 and Preston McSween bagged two for 74.

Chanderpaul then scored 112 from 136 balls with eight fours and a six as the West Indies, chasing India's mammoth total, finished at 294 for eight.

Chanderpaul finished the tournament with 293 runs with one century and two half-centuries.

116-year-old Indian farmer 'sprints' to glory

Dharmapal Gujjar, a 116-year-old athlete from Uttar Pradesh, cleared 200 metres in 46.74 seconds at the 35th National Masters Athletic Championship at Coimbatore. Born on October 6, 1897, Gujjar was the only athlete in this category, as others were younger to him. Hailing from Gudha village in Meerut district, Gujjar, a farmer, said he was fit and had participated in many marathons across the country, including the one held in Kochi last year. The 6 feet tall Gujjar credits his balanced diet and his own prepared chatni (out of herbs) for his longevity and healthy body.