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By SESHADRI KUMAR She does not wear the crown anymore, but she is a living testimony of the American Dream.

Devoid of glamor, Nina Davaluri, Miss America 2014, the first contestant of Indian descent to win the Miss America Competition, stood as an inspiration for young Hindu Americans at India House in Houston on Nov. 7.

She was the keynote speaker at an awareness dinner hosted by Hindu American Foundation, Houston chapter.

Soon after her tenure of Miss America ended in September 2014, Davaluri began working with HAF as she found a common cause of ‘celebrating diversity through cultural competency,’ her own platform.

Davaluri faced typical problems faced by a Hindu child in America like she would go to hell if she does not believe in Jesus as a boy told her during her third grade or the stereotyping due to ignorance after the 9/11 attack when she was called a terrorist.

During her elementary school year, Davlauri’s mother advised her not to talk about religion, but today that is totally unacceptable, Davlauri said.

As a person of different color, Davaluri faced umpteen barriers in her journey to the world of beauty pageant and her goal was to earn the scholarship money, even while showing to the world that Miss America is the girl next door.

By the way, Davaluri also highlighted that the beauty pageant was not all glitz and glamor, but a major part of the competition involved the brain as well.

During the competition 53 girls aspiring to the crown stood in a prayer circle and prayed. That was a powerful moment, according to Davaluri.

At the crowning moment, the words that came of Davaluri’s mouth was “Thank You, Swami.”

Davaluri was able to inject See NINA, Page 16 humor and her Hindu faith during

Miss America Nina Davaluri inspires Hindu youth

Miss America 2014 Nina Davaluri addresses a meeting organized by the Hindu American Foundation at India House in Houston on Nov. 7. Photo by BIJAY DIXIT.

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NEWS Hindu Americans celebrate Diwali WASHINGTON, D.C. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) co-hosted the Congressional Diwali celebration in the nation’s capital last week alongside Indiaspora, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, and Coalition of Hindu Temples in North America.

Other organizations including Art of Living (AOL), Hindu Mandirs Executives’ Conference, Sikh Council on Religion and Education, and Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington (JSMW) also participated in supporting the event.

Over twelve hundred guests packed the Library of Congress last Wednesday at the invitation of participating national Indian American groups who planned the mammoth event with the support of Congressman Ami Bera, co-chair of the House India Caucus.

“Community organizations from across America were key to ensuring Diwali came onto prominent stages in our nation’s capital,” said Suhag Shukla, Esq., HAF Executive Director and Legal Counsel.

“Dozens of Congressional officials greeted hundreds of Indian Americans thanks to the teamwork and efforts of dedicated volunteers.”

Hindu priests, from the DC-area based Sri Siva Vishnu Temple chanted Hindu hymns as 30 Congressional leaders, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), ascended to the podium.

“I would like to wish all of you the very best and a Happy Diwali! Diwali represents the victory of light over darkness, truth over untruth, righteousness over wrong,” said Congresswoman Gabbard. “[A]s we light our lamps for Diwali, let us light the lamps of love for God within our hearts.

Let us share the light of His unconditional love for us and do what we can to bring about positive change in the world.”

Ambassador Arun Singh from the Embassy of India also delivered greetings from the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Thursday’s events began with a morning meditation for staffers on Capitol Hill, guided by representatives from Art of Living, and attended by Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH).

Shortly after, HAF, in conjunction with Indiaspora and dozens of community members, organized an advocacy effort to support House Resolution 32 and Senate Resolution 113, urging the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to issue a postage stamp in honor of Diwali.

Community members knocked on the doors of a hundred Congressional offices requesting their co-sponsorship.

“Diwali is a festival that transcends linguistic, cultural and national barriers, and very

much reflects the essence of America’s pluralistic core,” said Jay Kansara, HAF Director of Government Relations.

“The endorsement of dozens of Congressional leaders towards the Diwali stamp initiative displays the growing influence of Hindu Americans.

HAF is proud to be part of that effort as we continue to advocate for various issues including civil liberties and human rights of Hindus and others in the United States as well as globally.”

In addition, HAF, AOL, and the JSMW assisted the Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. in hosting the city’s first ever Diwali observance in the Old City Council’s Chamber on Thursday, honoring the achievements of the Indian American community in the District. During the

Mayor’s evening reception, Congressman Bera, Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu of the Indian Embassy, and Aditi Hardikar from the White House Office of Public Engagement were joined by community leaders in the ceremonial lighting of the diya.

In her keynote address at the event, Shukla described Diwali as a sacred occasion

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 3

Diwali celebrated in the Grand Hall of the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building.

for thousands of Hindu, Jain, and Sikh Americans living in Washington D.C. She noted, “Tonight’s celebration is as

much a celebration of what the District has done for the South Asian and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh communities, as it is

a celebration of the contributions of these communities to the District.”

PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 , 2015

VIEWS

Intolerance has always existed, says Niti Ayog’s Bibek Debroy

Niti Aayog’s member Bibek Debroy is a renowned economist who is known for speaking his mind. In an interview to TOI, Debroy reflects on the issue of intolerance and cites examples to show the need for multiple views.

Excerpts: A debate has been raging on the issue of intolerance in the country. What has been your experience?

What is generally not known is that Jagdish Bhagwati was essentially made to leave Delhi School of Economics and had to go abroad because his life was made very uncomfortable.

He left DSE because there is a certain prevailing climate of opinion and if you buck that, your life is made uncomfortable.

In the course of the second five-year plan, a committee of economists was set up to examine it. Dr B.R. Shenoy was the only one who opposed it.

Do you find Dr Shenoy’s name mentioned in the history of union policymaking? No. He was completely ostracized. He could not get a job in India and he ended up in Ceylon.

The third is a book called ‘Heart of India’, written by Alexander Campbell who was a journalist. A patronizing book for that day and time but it is still banned in India because it says frivolous things about Jawaharlal Nehru, socialism in India, and the Planning Commission. People who say there should not be bans, why don’t they ever mention ‘Heart of India’.

I cited these three examples to drive home the point that intolerance has always existed and we will be stupid if we haven’t recognized it.

At a personal level, did you ever experience intolerance in the academic arena?

I studied at Presidency College in Kolkata and in a real sense my first job was there at its Centre for Research. Then it was time for me to apply for a proper job, meaning Department of Economics. The head of the department was Dipak Banerjee, who told me you are not going to get a job, just forget it. Remember it was the Left. All the experts are Leftwing. So, I went off to Pune.

How do you view the Rajiv Gandhi Institute, which you once headed, holding this conference on the issue of in-

tolerance?

I was there for eight years and during that period we consciously distanced ourselves from the Congress. In 2002, I decided to organize a conference on what India was supposed to be, what its society be like, what the idea of India would be? I invited Seshadri Chari who was the editor of Organiser. Several people from the Left also came.

On the day of the seminar, a paper front-paged a report ‘Congress think tank invites editor of Organiser.” I get a phone call from 10, Janpath.

Not Mrs Gandhi. “Madam has asked me to speak to you.

Please withdraw this invitation to Seshadri Chari.” I said I have issued the invitation and if Madam wants to talk to me, let her talk to me. Ten minutes later the phone rings again.

“Will you please ask Seshadri Chari to give in writing what he is going to speak?” I said I am not going to do that. “No, Madam wants to see it.”

Again the phone rings.

“What happens if Seshadri Chari goes ahead and speaks about Godhra?” Meanwhile, all hell broke loose and some noted Congress people dropped out because Seshadri Chari was invited. I held the conference.

In 2004, Loveesh Bhandari and I did a study on economic freedom rating of states. Gujarat was number one. In 2005, municipal elections were being held in Gujarat and a newspaper carried a front page story, ‘Congress think tank ranks Modi’s Gujarat as number one’, and all hell broke loose.

I got a note from Mrs Gandhi saying anything that the Rajiv Gandhi Institute publishes henceforth be politically vetted. I said this is not acceptable to me. I resigned.

There was an Arjun Sengupta Commission. Next day, I was thrown out of there. I was on two task forces of Planning Commission, I was thrown out of there. Did anyone complain?

I only remember two people.

One is Loveesh, he was biased because he was the co-author, and the other was a journalist, Seetha Parthasarathy. All these people who are complaining about different points of view, none of them raised their voices.

The intellectual discourse has been captured by a certain kind of people, with certain

kinds of views. It is a bit like a monopoly and that monopoly does not like outsiders and that monopoly survives on the basis of networks.

A section of academics has raised the issue of growing intolerance. Do you think they have a point or is it because they are politically aligned?

If you tell me intolerance is increasing, it is purely anecdotal and is purely a subjective perception, there is no point in arguing with you because you will say it is increasing and I will say there is no evidence of it increasing. The only way I can measure something is that if I have got some quantitative indicator. If I look at any quantitative indicator, communal violence incidents, internet freedom, these are objective indicators, and I don’t think it is increasing. In the intellectual circuit there has always been that intolerance. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

Now people are saying there is a risk of a new type of monopoly, ideological hegemony taking place.

If there ever is, which I doubt very much, I will argue against.

Demonstrate to me that there is a monopoly. Where is it? All the institutions which thrive on the basis of state patronage they are still populated by that old crowd. So where has it got populated?

So what should be the reaction of the establishment?

I cannot speak on behalf of the government. I can only give you my view on this. I have two reactions to what you are saying. Firstly, many of our views are formed as to what we read as children in school textbooks.

I may never study economics after my school leaving examination. How much reference will you find in the textbooks to any of the southern dynasties? Very little in passing. Instead, we are deluged with the Mughal dynasty. Fine. The fundamental question I am asking is who writes these textbooks?

There is an advisory committee presumably for all of this texts. Is that advisory committee sufficiently broadbased? Because that is what we really want. We don’t want that advisory committee to become uni-dimensional from the other end either. We want it to be broad-based.

Second point I want to make is that I talked about state patronage. All of these institutions are funded by citizens’ money. ICHR, ICCSR even UGC. As citizens we have a right to know of who is being funded for what purpose?

How that selection is happening? And what is the outcome of that. Today, the system is so much cloaked in lack of transparency and opaqueness. I don’t know why is ICHR giving project to XYZ? Why has not been completed for Z number of years?

I am arguing for transparency and accountability not controlling it. That’s a wrong word to use.

Do you think the government should broad-base these committees now that there is a regime change, whether it is for writing history books, or the composition of ICHR? In any of these institutions the ruling dispensation always has chosen the heads, so to

speak. So that’s part of life. It has happened for the past 65 years it will continue to happen. If I did not complain for the last 65 years I should not be complaining now on a matter of principle. But the broad basing requires the subsequent transparency, accountability.

Because until I do that I will not be able to ensure what you are asking either.

—The Times of India

A firm rejection of BJP in Bihar

By SRINIVASAN RAMANI The script for the 2015 Assembly elections was one of a battle between incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar, widely regarded as someone responsible for the turnaround of Bihar’s fortunes and the prime minister Narendra Modi who personifies his party, his government and to his supporters, even the nation-state itself. Political outcomes rarely subject themselves to a script. There are the arithmetic vagaries of the first past the post system that push results in unforeseen directions. Added to this is the peculiar nature of Bihar’s politics - the higher number of effective parties (parties that are relevant in each constituency), the coherent social bases of respective parties within the fray, and how of course the way elections were spread out and conducted in phases.

The outcome of these variables was of course a victory for the incumbent Janata Dal (United) led coalition - the Mahagatbandan - but what must be a surprise was the emergence of the Rashtriya Janata Dal of convicted former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, as the single largest party in the state. The phoenix did indeed rise from the ashes, as the veteran politician, convicted in the fodder scam and debarred from contesting elections, managed to resuscitate the fortunes of a party which was expected to wither away following his conviction. They did so, not just by the dint of their steadfastness in holding against the BJP, but also due to a confluence of political factors.

Nitish Kumar’s principled decision to break the longstanding alliance between the JD(U) and the BJP in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls was termed as a severe strategic blunder then. After all, Mr Modi was blazing a path toward sure success and the wind was behind the BJP’s sails and it neither made political nor electoral sense for an incumbent to break a rather successful alliance. But Mr Kumar’s decision was seeped as much in Realpolitik as in principle.

The long time backward class-

es’ leader’s discomfort of sharing power with a party that had consolidated the support of the upper castes heightened following the assertion of upper castes against some of his welfarist aims in his later tenure. Mr Kumar sought to appropriate the support base of the backward classes (apart from the Yadavs), the extreme backward classes and the Mahadalits as well, whom he had carefully nurtured through various government schemes and presumed that this coalition of classes and castes will help him thwart the BJP. It was not to be in 2014 as Mr Modi’s national message of development overcame casteclass contradictions rendering Mr Kumar’s project a failure and leaving him with no other option but to forge a new alliance, this time with his long time bete noire Lalu Prasad.

The alliance brought a theoretical edge in terms of arithmetic. The respective social bases of Mr Kumar and Mr Prasad could clearly outweigh the base of the BJP in terms of numbers. But it required something more than mere arithmetic to surpass the Modi effect, which was now combined with yet another feature of Indian politics, the Honeymoon Effect.

In about 93 state elections before the Delhi Assembly polls were held in December 2014, which were conducted in the first two years of an incumbent in power at the centre, the ruling party or its ally had won 53 of those since the seminal year of 1977 in Indian politics. Mr Modi’s BJP had just won victories in Haryana, in Maharashtra, in Jharkhand and even in Jammu & Kashmir (by managing to enter into government in alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party).

A peculiar set of local circumstances, the consolidation of support from the urban poor and an energetic campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party resulted in the first loss for the BJP in Delhi. Many considered this loss as an aberration.

Even after the Delhi loss, the BJP was placed rather comfortably in Bihar. The arithSee Page 5

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 5

VIEWS

Dharma-Dhamma in the media age

By VAMSEE JULURI In the presence of Buddhists, Baha’is, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Jains, Hindus and others, I was reminded in passing of what it felt like on festival days in Prashanthi Nilayam, in those days when India was less globalised and the mere presence of spiritual seekers from other nations and religions conveyed the message of the oneness of spirit.

The stage at the conference brought together a diverse and passionate set of voices that determinedly rejected the simplistic “clash of civilisations” discourse about religion that has dominated politics and political discourse of late.

Instead, an inspiring set of speakers exhorted the audience to consider the deep common core of spiritual wisdom that makes us human, rather than the superficial trappings of religious approaches that make us suspicious and intolerant of each other.

The message of this conference, relevant as it is to the present moment, regrettably seems not to have made any headway into today’s torrid media discourses.

The most effective response to concerns, real and exagger-

ated, about religious intolerance, after all, is not the kind of distorted and distracting drama we have seen of late, but to turn our attention to religious leaders who are extolling and embodying the right sort of message about the meaning of religion.

After all, when a nation sees only fear spread across its media landscape, without even an acknowledgment of the moments of hope that exist still among its citizens for religious and world harmony, it can warp whatever possibilities that exist for seeing religion as an influential, cultural source of tolerance and acceptance in the world.

Dominant media myth As a student of media and culture, I am concerned that the positive messages that many devout people derive from their religions fail to find a reflection in the broader media culture.

Given the relative absence of popular education in critical media interpretation from both secular and religious institutions, especially in India, those who believe in religion as a positive cultural resource often fail to counter the dominant media myths and distortions.

One challenge today is that this media culture, globally and in India, has veered towards what scholars and religious figures are starting to call “religionphobia”.

Although numerous religious organisations and figures have invested in their own media outlets, the disconnect between mainstream media narratives about the self, culture and nature, and religious and spiritual teachings remains.

The key question that those of us interested in religion as a form of culture, with great potential for human improvement, must explore now is whether spiritual pursuit, even of the well-meaning, interfaith variety, can succeed without a common intellectual front against media discourses in an age of global consumerism and violence as spectacle.

I proposed at the conference, as a starting point, that religious and cultural leaders encourage discussion of three broad themes to broaden critical media awareness to include positive religious and spiritual sensibilities.

First, we must critique media narratives about the self.

Can we seriously expect children, or even adults, to culti-

From page 4 metic had not yet materialised into inter-party chemistry between the JD(U), the RJD and the nationally debilitated Congress. Mulayam Yadav’s dropping away from the alliance, while not mattering much in terms of political support certainly mattered symbolically.

What resulted in a gel being cemented between the Grand Alliance was the BJP’s unravelling of its true self and Mr Modi’s silent endorsement of this process. In the past few months in the run-up to the Bihar elections, Mr Modi’s party embarked upon a naked embrace of majoritarianism - in its and its state governments’ vocal support for beef bans, subliminal messages reeking of cultural intolerance and so on. This was not particularly surprising to those who have followed Mr Modi’s career or his party’s history. The adoption of “development” as a mantra by the BJP had always been for expedience and while this has garnered support from the upper-middle classes, an aspirational youth and the business classes, there has been little in terms of difference of emphasis or in performance on the development front from the BJP since it came to power in May 2014.

It is pertinent to look at a larger picture of India’s politics and political-economy here. At the national level, the UPA’s challenge in its second term was to retain its success in combining growth and welfare in its economic policies.

Amidst a flailing global econ-

omy, the UPA could neither live upto the expectations of an aspirational electorate, nor implement its welfare schemes as effectively as it could. Burdened with problems such as rising inflation and growing corruption, the UPA essentially paved the way for Mr Modi’s BJP, which pitched a message of reform and growth and soon occupied the central pole in Indian politics, snatching that position away from the Congress.

A large section of the electorate was willing to overlook Mr Modi’s baggage from the past either out of hope that this would not be revived or out of a selective memory or as many voters in UP did, fall into the trap of communal polarisation.

But India hadn’t changed that significantly despite 2014.

Communal harmony and peace is a virtue that is desired not just by the minorities. A panHindu consolidation with the paramountcy of the uppercaste interest is still going to be received negatively by not just the backward classes but also from Dalits. This is exactly what happened after the remarks of RSS Sarsangchalak Mohan Bhagwat about reviewing the system of reservation were played out. Despite the loss of Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi from the grand alliance and the presence of dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan in the NDA camp, the Grand Alliance won nearly 64 of the 81 seats (BJP+ won 17) with the Dalits constituting more than 18 per cent of the electorate. This was in contrast to the 61 seats won by the NDA in 2014.

The loss for the NDA must be a setback for the communal agenda of the BJP. Bihar suggests that the BJP can’t merely paper over this subliminal push for a reversal of India’s secular ethos, and communitarian welfare model through a Hindutva model of consolidation by posturing as a party setting out to achieve “development”.

Development itself is a contested notion of modernisation.

It is not merely enough to deliver economic growth without achieving social and cultural progress - values not just inculcated from the Western influence of Enlightenment but seeped in India’s transition into modernity over the years. That the BJP’s retrograde policies have received a firm rejection even in the earlier phase of its party’s majority rule is evident in the successive losses both in Delhi and in Bihar.

That said, the victory for the RJD and the JD(U) is not a mandate for the return of the 1990s, when Mr Yadav and his party utilised mandates for social change to merely mean a patronage system that paid scant attention to governance and rule of law. The new contestation within the ruling coalition will not be played out in mere caste terms, but in emphasis - between Nitish Kumar’s “developmentalism” and Lalu Yadav’s backward class led patronage. It remains to be seen whether the champions of Mandal politics will manage to evolve a new identity in government after this victory. Only time will tell.

—The Hindu

vate spiritual insights about the self as something sacred and inviolably entwined with the other, when the entire media environment hammers home a message that the self is nothing more than the individual, desiring, acquisitive, competitive body?

Second, we must critique media narratives about identity. In everyday life, especially in India, we are accustomed to religious, linguistic and cultural diversity on a uniquely remarkable scale.

However, media and especially news discourses about identity tend to barely reflect that everyday sense of diversity and harmony, and play up a sterile, academic notion of religion as identity-based conflict instead.

Narrative of violence Third, we must critique media narratives about the naturalness and inevitability of violence. Several speakers at the conference addressed the importance of non-violence in their own traditions and as an inter-religious ideal.

But non-violence will become more than a mere homily only when it is taught accurately as a form of critique in our curricula, particularly in relation to narratives about violence that we confront in our bloodlust-driven media today.

BUY

We must learn to identify and reject popular myths about “survival of the fittest”, and “might is right”, and distinguish the artificially bloated world of media violence from the natural world in which violence has a much smaller part than what we commonly believe it to be.

Amidst the despair of our times about religious intolerance, we must also turn our attention to the efforts of people who have not given up on religion as a source of tolerance, peace and non-violence either.

The secular solution for religious strife, after all, has had a much shorter history than the spiritually-rooted quest for coexistence that has protected humanity from itself for several millennia now.

In this age of high violence in real-life and in our culture and our thoughts, perhaps we can turn once more to the hope that by conquering our own selves, we can still conquer the forces of untruth, violence, and divisiveness that plague our world, and to our hope that all that is good in nature will still prevail.

(Vamsee Juluri is a professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco and the author of Rearming Hinduism)

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PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

PERSPECTIVE

In defense of cow protection

The concept of animal protection in general and of cow protection in particular may be a Hindu one but it is one that has global importance and impact.

Hindus have a special place for cows in their hearts and minds.

The Hindu scriptures proclaim the venerable and gentle cow as “kam dhenu” or, loosely, allgiving.

To a Hindu, the cow is sacred and is given the position of a communal mother as she provides milk much as a mother does.

As pure science and knowledge is often dry and boring to a common man, the wealth of the Hindu scriptures is often relayed in stories with rich science, metaphysics and wisdom stuffed carefully within them by the ancient Yogis and Rishis. As many ancient cultures and especially Hinduism bear out, such stories far outlive dogma, being carefully “handed down” from generation to generation.

Hindus, then, revere the gentle cow as holy and akin to a motherly figure richly deserving of veneration and protection.

This issue was violently highlighted with the brutal killing on October 9, 2015, in Moodbidri, India, of Prashant Poojary, a Hindu involved in a non-violent struggle to protect cows from illegal slaughterhouses.

Prashant was only 29 when his life was cruelly taken by six or

s

more cowardly thugs allegedly sanctioned by spineless and abhorable politicians, profiteers and rich businessmen driven by greed and dirty politics. He was the only breadwinner in his family, and a fund raiser was arranged for November 7, 2015, in Houston, Texas to help his family.

The cow has earned a special place in Hindu hearts over thousands of years for many reasons, and only a few will be highlighted. Just as westerners cringe at the very thought of eating dog meat, Hindus cringe at the mere thought of eating flesh and especially cow meat.

Psychology aside, there are other well-known (to Hindus!) reasons too.

Cows are far more valuable alive than dead socially, economically as well as medically according to Hindu scriptures (especially Ayurveda and Arthashastra descriptions). It is the demure cow that allowed the somewhat nomadic early humans to originally settle in one place and thrive. Cow products from a living cow are extremely useful. Cow urine is beneficial for a variety of medical issues ranging from stomach ailments to cancer. In fact, US companies now have multiple patents on anti-cancer drugs that involve some components of cow urine, for example. Cow dung is extremely valuable in farming as it

is a natural insect-repellant and is far more potent than chemical fertilizers as well as in helping with moisture retention in soil, greatly diminishing or entirely eliminating the need for longterm irrigation and toxic chemicals from the food and water supplies. Cow dung is also used as part of rural building materials (bricks), insect and mosquito repellants, and more importantly for producing bio-gas.

The bio-gas thus derived could potentially drive the fuel needs of motorists in entire countries if adopted. Cow milk for those driven to need for milk and some of its derivative products are nutritious and beneficial.

They are also used in sacred Hindu rituals, ceremonies and rites, some of which are highly purifying of the surrounding atmosphere, and the rest of which are highly purifying and stabilizing of the restless human mind, preventing or alleviating greatly such psychological and neurogenic conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease. Karmic consequences of cruelty and violence against “dumb” and “mute” creatures such as the cow cannot be escaped but that is a topic that deserves a fully separate discussion. Spiritual ascension or, put bluntly, human evolution, the ultimate goal and very purpose of human life, is minimal at best and unlikely

at worst without compassion for all of creation, especially the cow. It should be blatantly obvious that a cow is far more valuable alive than dead, even a non-milk producing cow! Killing the cow is akin to killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, to make a crude economical analogy.

Based on energy transfers in the food pyramid, it is highly wasteful to consume flesh. The insatiable need for beef and animal flesh in general is causing depletion of world water supplies, deforestation and species extinction, pollution of fresh water supplies as well as oceans, pollution of food supplies, and the direct and indirect causing of human disease and suffering, especially some types of cancer, endocrine diseases such as diabetes and likely accelerated ageing and its attendant disorders, all at an alarming rate. Global warming from greenhouse gases, of which animal farming is the major contributor more so than all others combined and the resulting climate change, is a real and immediate catastrophic threat. Rising ocean levels, whitewashing of coral reefs from desalination resulting from melting ice caps, depleting and polluted fresh water aquifers, sinking land masses, prolonged droughts and intermittent flash flooding are all real. A lot of people everywhere will run out of fresh water long before fossil fuels, for example! The planet is being thrown into chaos and

disarray with disastrous consequences looming in the future ultimately for all mankind.

Will our future be a barren and toxic earth devoid of beauty and bio-diversity stemming from unchecked human greed and a total and brutal lack of compassion for all creatures? The responsibility lies with each of us educating ourselves with what is happening around us locally, nationally and internationally rather than resigning ourselves to such a bleak future, with not a moment to waste. The best of intentions achieve nothing. To paraphrase what someone wisely said, it is only the lack of action by the good majority for the evil minority to succeed.

Cow and animal protection should not remain merely a Hindu ideal and struggle, for it is truly a global urgency and should be recognized as such.

It’s not just about morals or ethics anymore, the time for that debate is long past. Nay, the time for action is at hand. Vote with your wallet, the only language that human greed understands, for the stakes are high – human ill health and suffering, and the very future of mankind and our beautiful blue planet, no less! What’s on your plate?

— Deepak N. Kotecha, O.D. | (The columnist is a health professional, author of book series “Hindus Awake!” and radio talk show host on Hinduism. His website is http:// discoverhinduism.org)

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 7

OBITUARY

Narainji Kataria – An iconic Hindu activist

By Prakash Waghmare It is shear heart breaking to know that Iconic Hindu Activist, Shri Narainji Kataria is no longer with us. The ‘Hindu Lion’ that roared relentlessly for more than 30 years in the interest of his community, passed away quietly in his sleep, sometime on Nov.2 night. In all his approaches to tackle various issues, Narainji was like Iconic ‘Shri Balasaheb Thakare of USA’ - fearless, passionate, and determined to uphold the dignity of ‘Hindus and Hindutva’. Narainji was a hardcore nationalist, a superb community organizer and an incomparable relentless political activist for Hindu-diaspora in USA for three decades. When it came to Hindu aspirations, related worthy socio-political causes or injustice feted to Hindus, he was unapologetically partisan in his ‘politicking’. If I can recall, I met him for the first time in 1984 during the “10th International Vishwa Hindu Parishad Conference” at ‘Madison Square Garden’, in NYC, NY. From the beginning, I was impressed by his boldness and courage with which he expressed his inner thoughts in conversations. I really got to know him well, soon thereafter, when, we, as the part of Indian community converged on Washington D.C., to pressurize the U.S. Congress to deny state-of-the-art AWAC surveillance Planes to Pakistan. The friendships that started then got strengthen over the years as, we

went through countless events, rallies, protests, and issues-centric conferences together.

Narainji was a victim of a horrific historic trauma called the ‘Partition of India’. As a teenager in Sindh, what he saw and experienced during the ‘Partition’ was what essentially shaped him for the future. He was born on February 15, 1930 in Sukkur, Sindh, which became Pakistan after the partition. His parents died when he was quite young and so, as the eldest son, he, not only had to look after his family of 3 siblings but also ensure their safe passage to India. After, settling down in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai, he once again started pursuing his passion for education, earning a Master’s Degree in History while simultaneously working day and night, to support his family. In May 1956, he married ‘Bhagwantiji’ and had two daughters, Meena and Rajni.

After a stint at “Bhabha Atomic Research Ctr (BARC)” in Mumbai, Narainji came to USA in early 1970s and started working as ‘Legal Asstt.’ for the Law firm of ‘Cahill Gordon’, till he retired in 1998.

From the beginning, Narainji, was troubled by Hindu’s callous indifference towards preserving and propagating their culture & religion. He strongly felt that vested interests of some of the minority sections of the society, were bent upon marginalizing Hindu society and nation’s character with the help of leftist

Narain Kataria Media. To educate the masses about this impending danger, he used his proficiency in writing.

He was not only a gifted prolific writer but also had the ability to rouse the readers through his razor-sharp, opinionated prose.

Narainji probably had the most exhaustive listing of e-mails through which he reached out to tens of thousands of this supporters and admirers, on weekly basis. He invested every single waking moment of his life to awaken Hindus. There wasn’t anyone like him nor there would be at least in foreseeable future.

He had admirers, not just in USA but also in other countries. The guy who was so ‘vocal’ in his writings was surprisingly very shy or at loss of words when it came to public-speaking and tried to avoid it as much as possible. Nevertheless, he gave numerous interviews on TV and Radio and arranged record number of protests and rallies with his inseparable dear friend, Aris-

hji Sahani. I, myself, had participated in 12-15 of them. He also founded “Hindu American Intellectual Forum” to take his mission to the elites of the society. To bring the entire Hindu-diaspora on a single ‘Hindu’-platform, irrespective of its minute subdivisions, he successfully started organizing “Hindu Sangathan Din” (meaning, Hindu Solidarity Day), 20 years back. Now, it is one of the most eagerly-awaited events in New York. Once during his Mumbai trip, he wanted to meet Shri Balasaheb Thakare whom he idolized and asked me to arrange it. As a Maharashtrian, I knew some people who were very close to ‘Balasaheb’ and so I obliged.

Always sharply dressed in suite and tie, Narainji was a people’s person with his trademark broad smile and over-spilling enthusiasm to attend every event that brought Indian community together. On lighter side, with his ‘favorite-Uncle’ persona, also came a child-like mischievousness. Though, he was very devoted to his family, he invariably moved everywhere without them. Once on a rare occasions, when I met his wife for the first time, I said to him, “now, at last I know that you are married”.

With his usual hearty laugh, and without missing a beat he responded,” what makes you think that I am really married to her”?

Narainji was very passionate about music, especially old nostalgic Bollywood melodies, and

could play ‘Banjo’ like a pro. His exuberance, energy and uprightness made him almost ageless.

Moreover he had that rare ability to make anyone feel that he was their age. Queens-borough President once proclaimed a ‘Narain Kataria Day’ in Queens-County, NY in his honor to acknowledge his contributions to the society.

Once he confided in me that many a times he had been threaten of bodily harm, by his distractors but he simply couldn’t care less. His happiest days in life were when BJP got majority in the Parliament in 2014 and when Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. Sadly, it was also the time when his wife of more than a half-century passed away in September of that year. In spite of this loss of a life-time, Narainji, without taking refuge in his personal grief, worked hard organizing support-rallies in New York for PM Modi, when he visited USA in 2014 and in 2015.

Narainji was larger-than-life and touched millions of lives, inspiring countless among them not just on East-coast or in USA but in several other countries.

So many adjectives have been tagged on him from all over the world after his departure. Make no mistake – each one of them is true and help define him. He was one of a kind ‘Karmayogi’ who served ‘Bharat’ and ‘Hindus’, residing thousands of miles away in a modest one-bedroom apartment with his family.

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PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015 PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

COMMUNITYCALENDAR CALENDAR COMMUNITY COMMUNITY CALENDAR Arya Samaj Satsang

RadhaKrishna Temple on works of Swami VivekananWeekly Havan Satsang every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Goverdhan Pooja and Anna- da, 4th Sunday; Holy Mother DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10 a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindi koot on Sunday, November 15 Sarada’s Gospel, 5th Sunday. and Naitik Shiksha classes. DAV Montessori School for ages 2 to 7 starting 05:30PM Onwards. Swamis of Ramakrishna Oryears. Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat. Tulsi Vivah (Saligram Weds der visit to conduct retreats and Sanskrit & Upanishad classes Tue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 Schiller Rd. Tulsidevi) celebration on Sun- lectures. www.houstonvedanta. (bet Westpark & Bellaire off Hwy 6). 281-752-0100. day Nov. 22, 2015 from 4 p.m. org or 281-584-0488. to 7 p.m. Maha Arti at 7 p.m.

Chinmaya Mission Durga Bari Temple Prasaad will be served after Sunday satsangs for adults, youth, and children. are no Durga Bari There temple is weekly open program. For further informaBalavihar classes and Sunday satsang for children during the sumfrom 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 tion please call temple at 281mer.

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New aarti at 6:30 p.m.

Temple closes Org. Temple is located 11625 membersStreet. may visit the welcome desk 8 a.m. special - 8:45 a.m. or at 7between p.m. Sunday from Beechnut 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Visit www.chin mayahouston.org or call Bharati 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Puja services Sutaria Arya281.933.0233.

Samaj Satsang - Priest Bishnupada Goswami Weekly Havan Satsang every 281-597-8100 Temple is loat 13944 Schiller Rd (off Vedanta Society Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 cated Hwy 6 bet.Lindita Bellaire &(77083) Westnoon.

DAVSociety Sanskriti School Vedanta of Greater Houston, 14809 Drive park).

Call Ganesh Mandal Sundays 10every a.m. Sunday to 12 noon. has classes from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Gospel at of 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541.

Havan, Hindi and1st Naitik Sri Ramakrishna, & 3rdShikSunday; Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Sunday; on sha classes.

DAVVivekananda, Montessori 4th Sunday; Holy Mother Sarada’s works of Swami Shiv Shakti Mandir School 2 toSwamis 7 years.

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Open daily 7 3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat. a.m. to 8 p.m.

All major festiSanskrit & Upanishad classes Durga Bari Temple vals, as well as birthdays, naam Tue.Durga 6-8 p.m.

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Temple closes at 7 p.m.

Sunday Call Pandit Virat off Hwy from 6). 281-752-0100. special 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Puja services - Priest Bishnupada Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik Goswami 281-597-8100 Temple isRaval located at 13944 Schiller Rd (off 361-243-6539 for puja or Chinmaya Mission Hwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark). other Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797ceremonies.

Sunday satsangs for adults, 9057 / 832-423-8541. youth, and children. Located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 ‘The Universe Within’ Marg is a natural and Mandir Synott Road, SugarShiv Land,Shakti TX Sahaj simple system of heart-cen77498.

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Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Saumyakasi Sivalaya Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya 77478. Temple timings: Mondayisto located at Chinmaya Prabha, Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and 10353 Synott Road, Sugar 5:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday and SunLand, TX 77478. day: 8:30-2:00 PM Temple and 5:00 tim- 8:00 ings: Monday to Friday: 9:00 PM. Call Bharti Sutaria 281-568AM 12:00 Noon and832-5415:00 1690- or Jay Deshmukh 8:00 PM Saturday and Sunday: 0059 or visit www.saum 8:30-2:00 yakasi.org.PM and 5:00 - 8:00 PM. Call Bharti Sutaria 281568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh Gandhi Library 832-541-0059 or visit www.

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Web: days families who believe in Veerashaiva dharma (Basava 5 to 7 pm.dharma).

MantraMonthly mediwww.pyptusa.org and www. and Mahamane program for prayer discussion on Vachana Sahitya tation, kirtan, Sanatan Dharma DivyaProducts.com. followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnahous ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh classes. Vedic Education and Halyal 832-744-4166.

Hindi classes for kids. Gita Sathya Sai centers classes noon - 1:30 pm Wed. Sunday program held two Hanuman MaratThoma Church Chalisa and Ramlocations (North Houston: charit Manas onAlmeda Tue. 7:30– Trinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Genoa 12127 Louetta Rd,at 9:15 Houston; 8:30 p.m. info@sggm.org Rd. Sunday School a.m. Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. onor 1st South Houston: & 3rd Sunday.

Adult246 BibleFluor class at 281-499-3347.

9:30 a.m. English service at 10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281-261-4603.

Heartfulness Meditation Heartfulness meditation is a practical technique of tuning inSri Guruvayurappan Temple wards to experience our higher selves. Meditating with someone to Friof 6 a.m.

-8 transmission a.m. and 5:00 can p.m.help to 8:30 WeekwhoHours: has theMon capacity yogic youp.m. explore ends & Holidays:practice 6 a.m. to noondeeply. and 5:00 p.m. are to 8:30 p.m. Bhajans the Heartfulness more There no charges for Saturdays p.m. toyou 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 the a.m.unique to 1 a.m.

Special this, and we7 invite to experience benefits ofpoojas this (weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids, transmission.

Workshops on Heartfulness relaxation and meditaThulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara.

Temple is located at 11620 tion are held weekly throughout Houston, including Saturdays at St (77035) Tel: 713-729-8994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us 11Ormandy a.m. at the India House.

Web: www.heartfulness.org.

Email: houston.heartfulness@gmail.com. Cell: 713-929-0040 Preksha (Ragini Prakash Miryala MD) Meditation New facilities of JVB Preksha Meditation Center. Classes for Yoga and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. At 14102 Schiller Road (off HwyHouston 6 bet Bellaire - 77082).

India Culture Center (ICC)and willWestpark be holding its An-Tel 281-596-9642. nual General Body Meeting on December 6th 2015 at 2 p.m at India House, 8888 West Bellfort Houston TX 77031. All Patanjali Life Members & Annual (2015) Yogpeeth Members are requested to attend the same.

For any details reach President Charlie Free Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 amPatel to 9:30 832-4237979 or visit www.icchouston.org. a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000. Web: www.pyptusa.org and www.DivyaProducts.com.

India Culture Center

Krishna Vrundavana

LEGAL NOTICE

Houston is fortunate to be home for Udupi Shri Krishna. The Krishna Vrundavana of Houston was established by Shri SugVSNA Houston is a group of unendhra Theertha Swamji of Puthige Mutt. Puthige Mutt is one families whoTexas believeLottery in Veer-Commission These will be closing soon: of the eight Scratch-Off Mutts setup bygames Shri Madhwacharya who introduced ashaiva dharma (Basava dhar- Dwaitha philosophy in the 14th century. In addition to daily pujas Official Close End Validations Game # Game Name / Odds ma). Monthly Mahamane proof Gamethe UdupiDate Shri Krishna Vrundavana has$ maintained tradition of gram for prayer and discussion Theerta prasada distribution.

1651 Sahitya Ultimate Crossword - Overall Odds are 1 in 3.27 $10 7/12/15 1/8/16 on Vachana followed Due to the overwhelming response of the devotees, the Vrundaby Prasada. Contact: vsnahous vana has purchased a larger facility located at 10233, Synott Rd, 1690 Cash Frenzy - Overall Odds are 1 in 4.09 $5 7/30/15 1/26/16 ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh Sugar Land TX 77498.

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Trinity Mar Thoma Church Praveshotsava: This new Temple facility inaugurated 1657 Red Chili Tripler - Overall Odds are 1 in 4.14 $2 8/26/15 would be 2/22/16 every Sunday at 5810 Almeda by Shri Sugunendhra Theertha Swamji on Monday, 23-Nov-2015.

Genoa1648 Rd. Sunday School LoteriaTM -atOverall Odds are 1 inDetails: 3.98 $3 8/26/15 by vedic2/22/16 Program Vaastu Pooja followed rituals start9:15 a.m. Malayalam service at ing from 4:30 a.m..

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English service at 10:30 a.m. Praveshotsava!

Veerashaiva Samaja

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 9

INDIANS ABROAD

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson offers Diwali greetings Congressman Pete Olson attended Diwali celebration in Washington, DC at the Library of Congress last week.

In honor of this Festival of Lights, he share a Diwali greeting message with India Herald readers.

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson offers his salutations to a Hindu priest at the Library of Congress during a Diwali celebration last week.

Sharma Tilal Senanayake, CPA Certified Public Accountant

Off: 713-984-4852 • Cell: 832-283-1677 • Fax: 713-278-1656

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The United States-India relationship is a special partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies. Both of our great nations ensure justice, freedom and liberty to our citizens.

I’m proud to represent one of the most diverse communities in our nation and to take part in this years’ Diwali festival. Happy Diwali, my friends!

Diwali – the Festival of Lights – is literally the brightest festival in India. It is a time of year that is cause for great celebration and excitement. It strikes me as similar to what Christmas is for my family.

Indian families spend a great deal of time planning for this event, choosing special gifts, preparing special food and coming together as a community to honor important traditions and paying homage to a peaceful and prosperous future.

The Diwali Puja is an important tribute to Laxmi, the Goddess of prosperity and wealth, and I am humbled to share it with you. It’s always a special honor to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, good over evil.

This year I had the honor of celebrating Diwali in a beautiful ceremony with over 1,200 people at the Library of Congress. It was a beautiful night full of light, color and pure joy.

I was honored to attend and to celebrate with everybody.

IMMIGRATION

LAW OFFICES OF

DAKSHINI R. SEN, P.C. Attorneys at Law 7100 Regency Square Blvd., Ste. #190 Houston, TX 77036

Tel: 713-278-1677 Fax: 713-278-1656 New York Office:

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Dakshini R. Senanayake, B.S., LL.M. Licensed by the Supreme Court of New York Not Licensed in Texas nor certified by any Board of Legal Specialization

H-1B, L1, P3, TN, O1, R1 and other non immigrant visas Green Card thru Employment: PERM / I-140 Green Card thru Family: I-130/I-485 Citizenship Web: www.dakshinisen.com • Email: dakshini@dakshinisen.com

Some of the participants with Pete Olson at the Library of Congress Diwali celebration.

I’m blessed to represent a lively and diverse district in Congress. As a proud member of the India Caucus in Congress, I will continue every effort to

strengthen the strong partnership between the United States and India. Thank you for always sharing your culture and festivities with me.

Indian Member of Parliament Deepender Hooda, is IU Kelley School of Business’ Poling Chair

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Deepender S. Hooda, a member of India’s parliament since 2005 and an alumnus of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, has been named a leader-in-residence at the school, its Poling Chair of Business and Government, for the upcoming academic year.

The Poling Chair was established in 1993 by the late Harold “Red” Poling, a Kelley School alumnus and Ford Motor Co. chairman and CEO from 1985 to 1994.

Recipients of the Poling Chair are given the charge to stimulate discussion in the areas of leadership, the Hooda critical interactions between private business and government in matters of public policy, enterprise competitiveness and economic growth.

He will make periodic trips to the Kelley School in Bloomington and Indianapolis, where he will interact with students and faculty, including an upcoming visit Nov. 12 to 18.

“I’m excited at the prospect of being back in Bloomington after a span of about 12 years,” Hooda said. “I’m thankful to Indiana University and the Kelley School for providing me with this wonderful opportunity to give back, though in a relatively small measure, to the institution that added, and continues to add, great value to my life journey. “I am looking forward to meeting with some of the faculty members that I had the privilege to learn from, and to interacting with the bright IU students,” he added.

Kelley School Dean Idalene “Idie” Kesner said Hooda was her student while studying for his MBA, and she said he was very engaged in the Kelley experience. “He represents the leadership talent that Kelley produces,” said Kesner, who also holds the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management. “He took the skills he learned here and made major contributions to his country, and we are very proud and excited that he has accepted this opportunity to share his unique international perspective with today’s Kelley students.”

Hooda became the youngest member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, when he made his political debut after completing his MBA at Kelley. Last year, he was re-elected for a third time -- and by a record margin -- at a time when his party, the Indian National Congress, faced strong anti-incumbency sentiments nationwide. He represents Rohtak, a city in the state of Haryana.

He serves as the Indian National Congress’ party whip, leading the main opposition party in Lok Sabha. He also leads his party’s national digital and social communications team.

PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

COMMUNITY Mohammad Tariq leads Hanmi Bank’s market expansion in Texas Hanmi Bank is expanding its presence in the Texas region.

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NSDAQ: HAFC), the holding company for the bank has recently announced its 3rd quarter earnings reporting solid loan and deposit growth and strong asset quality.

Its 3rd quarter net income was $14 million ($0.44 per diluted share), with 5.8% increase in loans receivable and 47.1% increase in new loan production compared to 2nd quarter. One of the contributing factors in Hanmi’s strong growth was due to its acquisition of CBI, a holding company of United Central Bank, a Texas based bank which Hanmi completed in August of last year.

Leading Hanmi’s Texas market growth is Mohammad Tariq, Executive Vice President. He is a driven banker with a deep understanding of customers’ business needs.

Having resided in the region for more than 30 years, Tariq knows from experience that Texas is one of the nation’s fastest growing economies with ample business growth opportunities.

Tariq joined Hanmi Bank over a year ago. He chose to join Hanmi because of its successful track record in supporting the needs of Asian American owned businesses and their communities.

Hanmi Bank was well established as one of the largest Korean American banks and was actively seeking to expand its customer base by strengthening its reach to other Asian communities.

Tariq knew his expertise in supporting the Asian community would fit well with the bank’s expansion strategies.

One of the biggest challenges Tariq faced was to introduce Hanmi Bank into the competitive banking landscape in Texas.

Although the United Central Bank acquisition provided Hanmi with a nine branch network in the Dallas, Houston and Austin region, Hanmi Bank was little known in their communities.

Stephanie Lohale of Oman crowned Miss India Worldwide 2015

Outgoing queen Monica Gill crowning Stephanie Lohale

Mohammed Tariq

Drawing from his management experience, Tariq knew that establishing a strong team was crucial in determining the success of the bank.

“Hanmi is a community bank that heavily emphasizes relationship banking. We have focused much of 2015 in building a strong team, so that we can both understand and communicate with the diverse markets we serve in Texas. By doing so, we will form lasting relationships with our customers, their friends and families”, said Tariq.

Combined with his efforts and the bank’s recent marketing campaigns in Texas region, Hanmi is steadily gaining interest from the Asian communities.

C. G. Kum, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Hanmi’s strong 3rd quarter results were driven by the continued success of our strategic expansion initiatives, improving credit quality and the positive impact of repositioning our balance sheet since the CBI acquisi-

tion. Meaningful loan production from our operations in Texas and Illinois, along with the strong performance of our new Healthcare Banking Group, augmented solid growth in our core markets in California.”

Prior to joining Hanmi Bank, Tariq served as the Chief Lending Officer at MetroBank, N.A. (now East West Bank), then the largest Asian ethnic community bank in Texas with $1.1 billion in assets, where he was responsible for loan portfolio growth, commercial lending strategies and marketing plans in the Houston and Dallas metropolitan areas.

After MetroBank, Tariq was Executive Vice President and Chief Loan Officer at Golden Bank, N.A. (formerly Texas First National Bank).

Tariq received graduate banking education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking and holds a Leadership Certification from the Wharton School of Business.

Stephanie Lohale of Oman crowned at the Twenty Fourth Annual Miss India Worldwide 2015. The pageant was held at the LaliT Hotel in Mumbai, India. Stephanie, 19, is currently pursuing a Bacherlor’s Degree in Fashion Design, at Heriot Watt University, Dubai and is an aspiring fashion publisher.

Stephanie was crowned by outgoing Miss India Worldwide, Monica Gill. Apeksha Porwal of India and Shivani Govender of South Aftica were crowned first runner-up and second runner-up respectively. The other top 5 finalists were Nivetha Pethuraj of UAE and Jyotsna Arora of Qatar.

Contestants from 33 different countries took part in what has been acclaimed “the most glamorous Indian pageant in the world”.

Some of the celebrities who attended the pageant included Shrathugan Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Shashi Tharoor, Hrishita Bhatt, Reecha Sharma, Ayesha Jhulka, Rohit Verma, Geeta Kapoor, Nikkitasha Marwaha and Niharica Raizada. Choreography was done by Ace Choreographer, Sandeep Soparkar and Alesia Raut. TV actor Karan Tacker was the emcee.

The sub-contest winners were Miss Bollwood Diva - Grace Walia of Indonesia, Miss Social Media - Dipti Bhudrani of Sint Martin, Miss Photogenic - Priyanka Sebastian of Sri Lanka, Miss Beautiful Face - Stephanie Lohale of Oman, Miss Beautiful Skin - Lieve Blanckaert of Guyana, Miss Talented - Jyotsna Arora of Qatar, Miss Beautiful Smile - Nandini Kochar of Botswana, Miss Catwalk - Apeksha Porwal of India, Miss Beautiful Eyes - Kareen Seepersaud of French Guiana, Miss Congeniality - Soesoe Mustafa of Netherlands and Miss Chairman’s Professional - Veena Gurbani of Jamaica.

Miss India Worldwide is organized by IFC, New York, headed

by Chairman/Founder, Dharmatma Saran and managed by Emirates Vision of Dubai.

Dharmatma Saran thanked all the supporters for making the pageant a grand success and looks forward to an even grander event next year when the pageant celebrates its silver anniversary.

Pictures courtesy of Raj Suri, Australia & Bhiku Bhula, New Zealand

Suite 127

Fax: 877-399-7576

COMMUNITY

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 11

Deepavali Bazaar festivities at Sri Meenakshi Temple

HARDIK VYAS

Youngest Astrologer in North America Vaastu & Gem Stone Consultant; Hindu Priest for all Pujas & Marriages Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Gujarati & Marathi

The deity being taken on a chariot procession around the temple premises.

Sri Meenakshi Temple Society’s (MTS) annual Diwali bazaar is a much looked forward to celebration every year and the 2015 festivities was no exception.

Dedicated volunteers working hard for this past one week made Sunday, Nov. 1 yet another memorable blissful Diwali Bazaar at MTS. With the beautiful decorations, early morning chanting of slokas welcoming the deities, the day was destined to be memorable.

Even though the weather decided to bless us with continues drizzle/ rain through the day, this did not dampen the mood of the crowd that were ready to enjoy the day at the Diwali bazaar.

A key feature of the Diwali bazaar is the annual Health Fair. The 19th Annual Health Fair was a huge success in spite of the rain. More people lined up for registration at 8.30 am. The health fair was inaugurated by Honorable Mayor Tom Reid and Mr. Kyle Price, the CEO of Memorial Herman Southeast hospital. (See picture on top right) Several local physicians from various specialties, nurses and technicians from Kindred Hospital and Southeast memorial hospital volunteered. EKG, Blood tests such as CBC, complete metabolic profile, Lipid profile, TSH, General medical advice, Visin screening all were provided free. Since there was a continuous flow of registrants, testing continued until 1.30pm. Chairman Dr. Vaduganathan, thanked all those who volunteered on behalf of MTS. A continuous stream of Devotees were streaming all day with families to offer prayers, partake in choices of delicious food items provided by the vendors, art workshop, facial paintings and the carnival games and a shiny Red Fire truck kept the children excitingly engaged.

The bazaar stalls transported all visitors to mini India with ornaments, jewels, clothes, sarees, gift items, paintings, handicrafts, imported art work, ayurvedic medicine, just to name a few. Information on the upcoming Kumbhabhishekam (consecration of the renovated main Temple) was provided.

This year’s theme of Devas and Asuras formed the backdrop to the Kids Fancy dress in the Kalyanamandapam. This was followed by the Dance competition with the MTS perpetual trophy changing hands.

With the early onset of dusk (day light savings finished already in Sunday) the Priests had prepared a beautiful alankaram of Sri Maha Lakshmi for the traditional Lakshmi Pooja. The Lakshmi Sahasranama and pushpa archana was intently followed by devotees. The utsava murthy of Sri Lakshmi was taken out on the majestic silver chariot pulled by hundreds of devotees with thousands assembled all around the temple to have a darshan of this auspicious scene.

A real kudos to the young volunteers from the VHS who enthusiastically took part in the Diwali bazaar food drive, alternating with helping at the Kids carnival. The enthusiastic crowd rejoiced the day’s proceedings, whether inside the Youth center bazaars or in the Kids Carnival area.

All the Temple staff deserve our sincere thanks for the hard work both before and during the Diwali bazaar with many last minute issues that the rain posed. The success of a big event like Diwali bazaar requires many hands working together and indeed the 2015 Diwali bazaar is a testimony again.

Astrologer Hardik Vyas, a famous young face in Vedic Astrology from India is in Houston. Call for guidance on Health, Wealth, Education, Career, Business, Property, Love & Passion, Marriage & Compatibility, Horoscope-Making, Child Problem, Luck & Fortune, Peace & Prosperity, Karma & Economic success.

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Listen to Hardik Vyas live on 1320 AM Shoba Joshi’s Geetanajali Radio

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PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

mall ment,

xes,

l

tion, aight an as ricans

Preserve Faith, Family & Freedom

Republican Party of Fort Bend County wishes all Hindus a Happy Diwali

Conserve Preserve

Fort Bend GOP invites Indian Americans to elect Conservative leaders.

Vote Straight Republican.

atives e values.

Protect

by The Republican Party of Fort Bend County, Pat Baig, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Mike cgop.org Gibson www.fb

Chairman Republican party of Fort Bend County

Happy Diwali!

The Republican Party of Texas extend hearty greetings to Indian Americans on the occasion of Diwali, the festival of lights.

—Tom Mechler, Party Chairman

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 13

PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 15

Happy Diwali!

Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers

Greg Abbott

The Indian American community congratulates and thanks Texas Governor Greg Abbot for hosting a reception on the occasion of Diwali festival for the first time in Governor’s mansion this year.

wishes the Indo-American Community a Happy Diwali!

Please Join Us: PRATHAM HOLIDAY LUNCHEON 2015 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015, 11.00 AM

The Junior League of Houston, 1811 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston

Co-Chairs Susan Boggio Dr. Sippi Khurana * Annu Naik Platinum: $10,000 (1 VIP Table for 10 ) Gold: $5,000 (1 Premium Table for 10) Silver: $2,500 (1 Preferred Table for 10) VIP (Individual) $1,000 Premium (Individual): $500 Individual: $250 FOR TICKETS/SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION, CONTACT

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Rekha Muddaraj Reporter/Weekend Anchor, KHOU 11 9703 Richmond Avenue, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77042 Tel: 713-774-9599 Pratham USA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization

PAGE 16 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

COMMUNITY

Western and Indian music blend in melody of divinity

Love, Music and Divinity are universal. They bring harmony. They unite. In fact, they are the very essence of all life.

On Saturday, November 7th, in Houston TX, Indian ragas and western notes mingled seamlessly, merging with lyrics in many languages to make heavenly music that had the 60+ performers as well as the audience swaying to the tunes of Divinity.

A unique presentation, Shaking Hands Across Continents was a western-Indian concert ensemble featuring the compositions of His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, and directed by accomplished Houston-based musician Vidushi Smt. Rajarajeshwary Bhat.

Organized by worldwide nonprofit Global Organization for Divinity, the event benefited its Houston Namadwaar Prayer House’s educational and cultural service center.

Dignitaries who attended the event included the Honorable Consul General of India Houston, Mr. Harish Parvathaneni and his family, and the Honorable Mayor of City of Manvel Ms. Delores Martin, Smt. Thara Narasimhan, secretary of Hindus of Greater Houston and representatives of the Pearland Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, a beacon of bhakti and Nama

sankirtan in India, has composed (and continues to compose) over 600 songs in multiple Indian languages and also in English, all of which stem from his actual divine experiences depicting different bhavas (divine moods/attitudes) of a devotee towards God - from praise and enjoyment, friendship and motherhood, to celebration, gratitude, love, intense prayer and more. The beauty of these songs lie in the seemingly simple lyrics that couch profound philosophical meanings, and in the heartfelt prayers and entreaties to God set forth in the verses, which can touch a cord in the hardest of hearts.

The concert presented 12 songs in English, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, in various ragas, and a unique finale of Kaliyaiyum Bali Kollum - Mahamantra Song (a 16-verse composition originally in Tamil) on the universality and greatness of the Divine Name that was translated into and sung in 16 global languages including Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Hindi, German, French, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish.

Led by star vocalists Kruthi Bhat, Uma Ranganathan and Keerthana Bhat, the group of over 40 singers of all ages was divinely impeccable in their performance, as they were accompanied by the Indian and Western orchestras. The

Nina

Like the HAF team, Miss America ‘14, Nina Davuluri, is proud to be Hindu and American. Growing up in the South, she was often bullied by her peers for being different, but she overcame that adversity to become the first Hindu and Indian crowned Miss America.

Earlier this year, HAF conducted a nationwide antibullying survey to track these types of incidences.

This is only one of the many initiatives HAF has launched.

Since 2013, HAF has made over 100 improvements to the portrayal of Hinduism in Texas textbooks and trained 200 public school teachers in Texas on the basics of Hinduism.

Rishi Bhutada of Hosuton, a director on HAF board, Samir Kalra, Esq., Senior Director and Senior Human Rights Fellow based in the Bay Area, CA and, Seetha Aiyar, Director of Philanthropic Partnerships​ is ​based in Philadelphia, PA, explained the various activities of the foundation and appealed to the community to support the advocacy group.

Neethi Nayak, HAF intern, shared her experience at the Capitol Hill with the audience.

The Foundation educates the public about Hinduism, speaks out about issues affecting Hindus worldwide, and builds bridges with institutions and individuals whose work aligns with HAF’s objectives.

From Page 1

the interview session of Miss America competition. What made laugh?

Their family dog was named Hanuman, a god in the Hindu pantheon. While it was good to utter god’s name as many times as possible, the dog was called “bad Hanuman” whenever he did something wrong.

Over the course of her service as Miss America, she logged approximately 250,000 miles traveling across the country to address an array of audiences on her platform: “Celebrating Diversity through Cultural Competency.”

She has spoken with over twenty colleges and universities about Cultural Competency including: Yale, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Michigan.

As part of her Nina also continues to advocate for STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Through her campaign called “Circles of Unity.” she is asking communities and people across America to tweet pictures and their thoughts about cultural competency and awareness to Miss America so we can really start a discussion and keep everyone involved.”

The western music team led by Orchestra Director Arthur Delany performs. western orchestra – of piano, violin, viola, cello and bass – was directed by Mr. Arthur Delaney of Houston who also performed on the piano. The Indian percussion line-up of three mridangists and a chenda player added zing to the presentation and was ably directed by international percussionist Vidwan Sri Erode Nagaraj.

The Indian orchestra was led by experienced violinists Sri Mahesh Iyer and Smt. Deepa Ramachandran of Houston and also included drums and key-

board.

A highlight among the Indian songs was the beautiful Srinivasa Karavalambanam, a captivating sloka composition of eight verses that had been set into a ragamalika of eight apt ragas by Smt. Rajarajeshwary Bhat. On the western side, a deeply significant song, Life is short… Your Grace Has Come Not, stood out with its haunting melody and refrain – “Today we are alive, we don’t know about tomorrow… so chant Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama

Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.”

Global Organization for Divinity aims to promote peace, harmony and universal love amid cultural diversity, and is involved in several cultural, spiritual and social activities in Houston, around the USA and the world. To know more about G.O.D. USA and Houston Namadwaar, please visit www.godivinity.org , call +1 281-4026585 or email houston.god@ godivinity.org.

Nina Davaluri is greeted by audience after her keynote speech at the HAF dinner meeting. Above Prof. T. N. R. Rao and Praveena Danda chat with Davaluri.

Photos BIJAY DIXIT

HAF focuses on human and civil rights, public policy, media, academia, and interfaith relations. Through its advocacy efforts, HAF seeks to cultivate leaders and empower future generations of Hindu Americans.

HAF officers Rishi Bhutada, left, Sameer Kalra and Seetha Aiyer.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 17

SPORT

Spinners rule Mohali pitch

MOHALI: The last quintessential imagery of spin bewilderment in India was a close-up of Johnny Bairstow’s face. The moment started just after he was discarded by a ripper from Ravindra Jadeja that had turned past his iffy prod in a series in 2011.

The dust swirled up in the haze, the close-in fielders’ feet were in the air, and celebratory shriek was just about to rush out of the crowd’s throats when the camera started to zoom in. A shifty disbelieving look to either side, the jaw fell, and he then looked up straight at Jadeja. Confusion, shock, and cluelessness etched on his pale face.

The mauling of Bairstow wasn’t a surprise. After all, he comes from a long tradition of Englishmen sinking in dustbowls of India.

Who can forget the sad canine expressions of Richard Blakey in 1993 when Anil Kumble kept showing him up mercilessly with a kind of cruelty only kids seemed capable of.

Watching the Mohali Test left with two contrasting feelings — a sense of confusion about the way the batsmen, from both teams were struggling against spin and the joy of watching such a struggle on a spin track.

Much has been written about the primal feeling inherent in watching a fast bowler harass a batsman. And there is indeed something to be said about watching a human terrorizing another in a controlled envi-

ronment of sport.

When a spinner manages to wreak similar kind of psychological damage on a batsman, even without the ability to pose any threats of bodily harm, the cerebral tease and taunt can make for a fascinating watching experience.

So the whines about spin tracks are hard to understand.

It can come from batsmen, losing captains, and those in the cricketing fraternity who fret about the moral ambiguity involved in creating devilish tracks, but why would a fan not like watching this disrobing of a batsman’s ego?

But that joy is diffused when batsmen go down tamely without fight. We are then just left with this empty feeling of watching batsmen fall in a heap as if they are images from a flip book of dismissals. Like it happened in Mohali.

Especially, as the visiting batsmen have changed in character since the times of Blakey.

They never quite learnt the art of sashaying down the track but found other ways.

Most often than not, as seen in Jacques Kallis or Damien Martyn, or even in a lesser batsman like Neil McKenzie, it has been a simple technique – they would shuffle towards off stump and tread on the back foot, and would work everything with the turn. At times, they would even take the off stump guard.

Even Ricky Ponting, who could often look all at sea on designer spin tracks, learnt not to just cope but be successful

with that approach. The entire top-order would adopt such a move; it was a team plan. It was a method with which Australia eventually found success in Sri Lanka and South Africa in India. Other times, the sweep shot has been deployed though the low bounce on Mohali didn’t make it an attractive option on that surface as M Vijay found out in the first innings.

What was more irking was the defensive techniques of the Indians. There seems to be a fear of bat-and-pad catches that can lead to iffy defensive techniques. Instead of playing close to the body, the bat goes out alone in search of the ball, way in front of the body, which can often lead to disaster.

Someone like Mohammad Azharuddin was a master in this technique — his bat would wager out, like a stretched out torch illuminating the darkness ahead, and his wonderful wrist allowed him to turn and twist the ball into gaps.

The modern batsmen are in a catch-22. They don’t have the wonderful hands that allowed Azharuddin to do what he did, nor the compactness in technique that enabled Rahul Dravid to stretch out and defend bat-and-pad together — play close to the body, basically — and nullify the spin.

Someone like Sehwag hardly left the crease on a spinner’s track, but his balance in the crease was so supreme that it allowed him to flow his hands through the shots.

BCCI positive on Indo-Pak series

The first hints, though faint, of the resumption of India-Pakistan cricketing ties emerged at the AGM when president Shashank Manohar informed the meeting that the BCCI had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to play a two-Test and fivematch one-day series in the United Arab Emirates in December 2015.

“We are committed to playing Pakistan in December.

However, since it’s not possible to play them in Pakistan or the UAE, we have to look at playing the series in Northern India in December,” said Manohar, giving the latest status report on the series.

Though former and current Pakistan players have urged PCB not to pursue the series because of BCCI’s lack of encouraging response, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has time and again impressed upon Manohar to give his best shot to execute the MoU and play in the UAE. After his election in October, Manohar had said that resumption of India-Pakistan series hinged not only on the decision

Shashank Manohar will take over the reins of BCCI for the second time. of the Boards, but also on the decision of the two governments in New Delhi and Islamabad.

“To play against Pakistan we need to get government permission. So we need to speak to the government and abide by whatever decision the government takes,” he said.

When asked whether BCCI would be inviting a team to play a home series in Decem-

ber, Manohar said at the post AGM press conference: “It all depends on what happens to the proposed India-Pakistan series.

“We have to get an appointment with the government first and then we will take a call.”

India and Pakistan have not played a Test series since December 2007 and a One-Day International series since December 2012.

Warne’s Warriors beat Sachin’s Blasters

Virender Sehwag, left, and Sachin Tendulkar NEW YORK: Set a target of 141, Shane Warne’s WarriorsWarriors romped home with 16 balls to spare after Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara hit 81 runs between them.

Shane Warne snared three wickets, including that of Tendulkar and the legendary Brian Lara. For the Blasters, Virender Sehwag hit the series’ first half-century which came off just 22 deliveries.

Electing to field after winning the toss, the Blasters were given a rollicking start by Tendulkar and Sehwag, much to the delight of an expatriate crowd that filled the stands. Together, the former Indian batsmen raked in 85 runs in a mere 48 deliveries.

However, the rest of the star-studded line-up failed to come good and the team ended with 140 for 8. For Warriors, Warne showed that he had lost none of the famed magic with figures of 3/20 in his four overs.

Cricket All-Stars in Houston Cricket icons from around the world are facing off on U.S. soil as part of the inaugural “Cricket All-­Stars,” a three-­game series sponsored in part by Sling International.

The first match took place November 7 at Citi Field in New York, and will be followed by matches on November 11 at Minute Maid Park in Houston and November 14 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Legendary cricket players Sachin Tendulkar of India and Shane Warne of Australia are headlining their respective teams, “Sachin’s Blasters” and “Warne’s Warriors.”

The two teams feature former all-­ star players from eight different countries. Fans attending the Cricket All-­Stars matches can visit the Sling International booth to learn more about the product and snap a picture in the photo booth.

“Our goal is to bring the excitement of cricket to fans living in the U.S., and we wanted to show our support for this rare opportunity to see some of the game’s greatest players live and in-­person,” said Chris Kuelling, senior vice president of International Programming for Sling TV. “Not only is the Cricket All-­Stars series a must-­see event for lifelong cricket fans, it’s an opportunity to engage a whole new audience who may never before have experienced the game.”

Sling International’s sponsorship of the Cricket All-­ Stars stems from the brand’s support of the game and commitment to entertainment that connects viewers with their culture. A leading provider of global content to viewers in the U.S., Sling International delivers over 200 international channels including many top rated South Asian channels.

Customers of Sling TV who have the “Best of Live TV” package can watch the Cricket All-­Stars matches on ESPN3 for no extra cost by entering their Sling TV username and password on WatchESPN.com or within the WatchESPN app. Sling customers who wish to subscribe to “Best of Live TV” and receive access to ESPN3 can do so by logging into their account at www.sling.com and adding the “Best of Live TV” package.

For more information regarding the Cricket All-­Stars series please visit www.cricketallstars2015.com.

MUSINGS by Gadfly PAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

INDIA

Lalu’s Mulsim-Yadav combine proved the game changer

The grand victory of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad in the crucial Bihar poll was possible not because of Mr.Kumar’s celebrity publicity manager Prashant Kishor, but because of Mr.Prasad’s M-Y(Muslim-Yadav) vote bank which proved the real game changer, according to political analysts. The RJD of Mr.Prasad won more seats than JD(U) of Mr.Kumar.

Of the total 49 Yadav candidates that the RJD fielded, 42 won the poll while 12 out of the 16 Muslim candidates bagged the seats. Similarly, out of the total 13 Yadav candidates the JD(U) had fielded, 11 won the poll while out of seven Muslim contestants, five registered wins.

Even for the Congress, out of the three Yadav candidates, two won the poll and out of 10 Muslim candidates, six bagged the seats.

The RJD’s Yadav candidates had a whopping 85.71 strike rate whereas Muslim candidates notched up 75% strike rate for the party. For the JD(U), the strike rate of Yadav candidates was 84.61 % while Muslim contestants had 71.42% strike rate.

However, for their third alliance partner, the Congress party, the strike rate of Yadavs was 66.66% while for the Muslims it was 60%.

The political analysts told The Hindu that such an impressive M-Y strike rate had lifted the vote-share of the grand alliance to an extent that no other factor could affect the outcome.

“Even this M-Y combo helped JD(U)’s vote-share to pick up substantially”, said one of them.

It is said that if Mr.Kumar’s face and his “development” image being projected and publicised on a huge scale by his celebrity campaign manager Prashant Kishor had been the factor for the grand alliance’s grand victory, his party JD(U) would have got more seats than the RJD. But, the RJD got nine seats more that the JD(U)’s 71 seats.

During the poll campaign, Mr. Kumar’s face was splashed on huge billboards side by side the posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, all across the State. But, nowhere were visible RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s images, except on very few hoardings in the State

Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Bihar 30 times, four in the run-up to the announcement of poll dates, and 26 thereafter. These frequent visits made him the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA’s star campaigner, but the magic he demonstrated in 2014 had clearly faded away even though he drew large crowds.

Take just two statistics: of the 26 of the State’s 38 districts where the Prime Minister addressed election meetings after the election schedule was announced, the BJP-led NDA scored a duck in six; of the 26 Assembly segments where he spoke, 10 BJP-held seats were snatched away by the RJD and the Congress, five each.

Only in four districts did the BJP’s star campaigner make an impact: the party won all four seats in Kaimur district, seven of the 14 in Patna district, seven of the 12 in East Champaran district and five of the nine in West Champaran district. And the BJP retained 11 Assembly constituencies that Mr.Modi

visited — Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Darbhanga, Katihar, Patna Sahib, Gopalgunj, Forbesganj, Purnea, Motihari, Siwan and Hajipur. In one more, Bhabhua, a seat won by the Lok Janshakti Party in 2010 was contested and won this time by the BJP and thus retained with the NDA. An examination of where Mr. Modi went shows that the BJP drew a blank in the districts of Munger, Samastipur, Begusarai, Jehanabad, Buxar and Madhepura; it won a seat each in Banka (out of five), Aurangabad (out of six), Vaishali (out of eight), Nalanda (out of seven) Siwan (out of eight), Madhubani (out of 10) and Sasaram, where its ally, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party won one seat out of seven. If the BJP won three of 11 seats in Muzaffarpur district, it won two seats each in the districts of Nawada (out of five), Saran (out of 10), Darbhanga (out of 10), Purnea (out of seven), Forbesganj (out of six), Sitamarhi (out of 8), Gopalganj (out of

The other tale: “The alternative to electing a regime that would put a question mark on hardwon privileges and self-respect by the backward classes of the State is the combined rule of a kinder, gentler Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar.” Picture shows Mr. Prasad in Patna, demanding publication of the caste census. Photo: Ranjeet Kumar capital Patna.

It is being observed that Mr Kishor’s publicity efforts had not reached people in remote villages who voted for the M-Y candidates of the RJD.

Modi made little impact in Bihar

six) and Katihar (out of seven).

A look at the results in the Assembly constituencies where the Prime Minister addressed poll meetings also shows that he made marginal impact despite the huge crowds that turned up.

The BJP lost Bhagalpur, Buxar, Aurangabad, Bettiah and Begusarai to the Congress, suggesting that the latter was able to attract some upper caste votes as well.

The BJP lost another five seats to the RJD: they are Saharsa, Madhubani, Sasaram, Arrah and Sitamarhi. In return, the BJP succeeded in snatching the RJD-held seat of Banka.

The grand alliance held on to Madhepura, Marhaura, Nalanda and Jehanabad, all of which the Prime Minister visited. The BJP was out for a duck in 13 districts — apart from the six districts mentioned earlier, it failed to open its account in Kishanganj, Khagaria, Arwal, Sheohar, Saharsa, Sheikhpura, Jehanabad and Bhagalpur.

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UPA’s order. According to me by issuing this order this government has gone from its solemn commitment to Indian soldiers.

This is not one rank one pension; It is one rank five pension,” Mr. Antony said.

Among the key points highlighted by Mr. Antony is the fact that soldiers, who retire voluntarily after minimum required period of service won’t get OROP. He said this will affect government policy to maintain a very young profile for its force. “If we follow the new policy, our armed forces would become one of the oldest in the world,” Mr. Antony said.

“The order issued by the UPA government on 24 April, 2014 itself has clarified the definition of OROP. One rank one pension means those soldiers who retire of same rank, with same length of service will get same pension, irrespective of the date, which they retire. We also included that all future enhancement will be automatically passed on to the ex-service men also. So it was clear, if one retires today or five years back will get the same pension. But the new order is against it,” he said.

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pension.

Also, OROP won’t be available to those who retired prematurely from now onwards.

Meanwhile, former defence minister A.K. Antony attacked the Modi government. ‘’It is not a Diwali gift. It is a Diwali shock for service personnel by the Modi government,” he said.

“I am not satisfied with government’s new order on OROP. I am very disappointed.

This order is a vast dilution of

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its promise, and instead notified OROP that would lead to officers retiring from the same rank getting different pensions, defeating the overall purpose of OROP. According to the OROP package announced by the government, pensions will be equalised every five years only. The ex-servicemen want pensions to be equalised every year, so that everyone retiring from the same rank with same years of service get the same

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Unhappy over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) notified by the government last week, a group of military veterans tried to stage a protest march to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, calling the day a ‘Black Diwali’.

The protesting ex-servicemen, who marched to the Rashtrapati Bhavan were stopped by the Delhi police a few hundred metres away from Raisina Hill.

The protestors claim that the Modi government has not kept

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PAGE 20 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

INDIA

Foreign Direct Investment rules eased

NEW DELHI The Narendra Modi government today tried to stoke overseas investor interest in India by relaxing investment restrictions in 15 sectors, including banking, broadcasting, civil aviation, construction, defence and single-brand retail, indicating it was ready to hunker down to business after the humiliating loss in the Bihar elections.

It also raised the financial powers of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, which will be able to clear projects requiring foreign investment of up to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,000 crore earlier - lifting the limit that had been raised in May. Foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals above the Rs 5,000-crore limit will be placed before the cabinet committee for economic affairs.

Prime Minister Modi approved the new FDI limits and regulations, which the government has tried to project as a set of big-bang reforms, before he heads for London. “Today’s reforms are another example of minimum government, maximum governance... today’s FDI related reforms will touch 15 sectors and benefit youth,” Modi tweeted.

The “reforms” touted by the government relate to procedural changes but fall woefully short of what reformists seek. They do not, for instance, limit the ambit of government

even though Modi professes an abiding faith in the concept of “minimum government and maximum governance”. All the changes appear to do is push the buttons on executive action.

“We need large resources for investment (and) need to take steps to ease the process of doing business in India... there has been a 40 per cent increase in FDI over the past year. This needs to be supplemented,” finance minister Arun Jaitley told a late-evening media conference.

“The crux of these reforms is to further ease, rationalise and simplify the process of foreign investments into the country and to put more and more FDI proposals on the automatic route, instead of the government route, where the time and energy of the investors are wasted,” the government said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the sensex, the bellwether index, tumbled 378 points as the markets were spooked by the thought that the poll debacle would force the government to abandon reforms and adopt a slew of populist measures.

Officials contested speculation that the measures had been unveiled to soothe skittish markets and claimed that the exercise had gone on for weeks, oblivious to the heat and the dust of the election and its outcome.

Private banks like Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra and Yes Bank will be able to raise fresh capital abroad after the government permitted foreign portfolio investors to collectively hold up to 74 per cent as long as they do not affect control and management of the bank. Older private banks like ICICI Bank, which has a foreign holding of a little over 67 per cent at present, will also benefit.

In defence manufacturing, firms can automatically increase foreign ownership to 49 per cent without seeking government approval.

The new FDI rules, however, left media groups a trifle confused about the impact of the relaxations on the conduct of their business. There are no visible changes to the FDI limits in the core media business and its ownership rules that remain broadly in line with a Nehruvian-era cabinet resolution.

But the government has tweaked investment limits on the technical side of the business that deals with delivery of content. So, the FDI limit on teleports, direct to home (DTH), large cable networks, mobile TV and headend in the sky (HITS) have been raised to 100 per cent from 74 per cent.

Investment up to 49 per cent will be automatic and beyond that level, the investor will require government approval.

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ULFA leader Anup Chetia handed over to India by Bangladesh ULFA leader Anup Chetia was handed over to India by Bangladesh on Wednesday morning, highly placed sources told the agency.

Chetia, a founding member of the United Liberation Front of Assam and its general secretary, is wanted for murder, abductions and extortion in India.

Chetia, who was in Bangladesh since his arrest by the neighbouring country’s police in 1997, was handed over to India at the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and through active involvement of Ajit Doval, present National Security Adviser to PM. The development follows on

the heels of the deportation to India of underworld don Chhota Rajan, one of country’s most-wanted criminals, who was on the run for 27 years.

Chetia had sought political asylum in Bangladesh thrice in 2005, 2008 and in 2011 after Bangladesh police arrested him in December 1997 and was subsequently handed seven years of jail terms by two courts for cross-border intrusion, carrying fake passports and illegally keeping foreign currencies.

Despite the expiry of his term, Chetia was in jail under a 2003 High Court directive asking authorities to keep him in safe custody until a decision was taken on his asylum plea.

VHP leader killed

Violence in Madikeri during the celebration of the 165th birth anniversary of erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan on Tuesday led to the death of a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and a bystander, heightening tension across an already simmering State.

According to police Kuttappa a local VHP activist and a former State Government employee, suffered fatal head injuries due to stone-pelting by those participating in a procession, to celebrate Tipu’s birth anniversary.

Police baton-charged protesters at Madikeri leaving many VHP and BJP workers injured. Police also resorted to firing tear gas shells after clashes erupted between the opponents and supporters of the celebrations. The deaths at Madikeri in the coffee district of Kodagu in Western Ghats have put the Government in a spot. IGP (Southern Range) BK Singh said a function was held at the Town Hall to observe Tipu Jayanti and the organisers were told to keep it indoors.

“We had banned the procession as they had not taken any permission. Also, another group had organised a programme to show black flags. We were anticipating trouble, but they were not ready to listen to us. So there was a baton-charge and tear gas was used to disperse them and they were sent back, and Section 144 was promulgated,” he said.

“A VHP activist Kuttappa died due to the unrest. There was stone pelting and he ran in order to escape that. But in his panic he fell from the retaining wall and died,” Singh added.

The VHP was quick to react and alleged that Kuttappa was killed by the police.

The decision of the Government to go ahead with Tipu Sultan Jayanti across the State has seen widespread criticism by right wing organisations and even the BJP boycotted the function held at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power in Bengaluru.

State BJP chief Prahlad Joshi blamed the State Government and termed the move to celebrate Tipu’s birth anniversary as one more step in the minority-appeasement politics of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The newly-appointed Home Minister of Karnataka G Parameshwara blamed the BJP and the VHP for the incident. He called for restraint as it was the State’s decision to observe Tipu’s birth anniversary. He said stern action would be taken against people who are taking the law into their hands.

In another incident, one person, Raju died after falling from a hospital building. The police confirmed the death but said it was unrelated to the protests. Additional reinforcements were rushed to the area to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah justified his decision in Bengaluru during the day saying: “Tipu was a nationalist and the Government will continue to celebrate his birth anniversary across the State on November 10.”

Right wing orgainsations had called for a bandh in Kodagu on Tuesday to protest the Government’s decision.

Besides the BJP and the VHP, several organisations and individuals have opposed the State Government’s move.

In the coastal town of Mangaluru, United Christian Association has protested against the celebrations, alleging that Tipu was responsible for the destruction of many churches in the coastal region and harassing Christians.

Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore (now Mysuru) and he was considered a tough enemy by the British East India Company. He was killed by British forces in May, 1799, while defending his fort in Srirangapatna.

—The Pioneer

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11,10, 2015 • •PAGE 21 INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2015 PAGE 21

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