India Empire November 2015

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DISCoveRInG AFGHAnISTAn There is more to Afghanistan than is projected

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CLoSe WATCH Blessed with a sharp political acumen, BJP President mr Amit Shah will play key role in consolidating his party’s position in forthcoming assembly elections

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GRIT AnD CoURAGe The inspiring story of mrs Deepi Singh

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PoLITICAL CABIneT Recent interviews of Indian Union ministers by India empire

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SURInAme memoRIAL In memory of PIos in Kolkata

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RAISInG THe BAR mr K K Anand, Advocate— focused on nRI services

22 BUSIneSS AnD GoveRnAnCe Key focus in Government

cover story

Talent hits a target no one else can hit, Genius hits a target no one else can see —Arthur Schopenhauer

POLITICAL MASTERMIND The German philosopher could well have been speaking of Amit Shah, one of India’s finest and fertile political minds, an unrivalled game-changer who knows what it takes to play hardball, and mostly win

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By Sayantan Chakravarty

bsolutely no one had expected the BJP—then still not quite the world’s largest political party—to sweep the state of Uttar Pradesh at the general elections in May 2014. While even the most optimist BJP politicians were hesitating to forecast victory at more than 45 - 50 of the 80 Parliamentary seats in U.P, the media opinion polls also heightened skepticism about the BJP’s prospects in India’s largest state. So when BJP in one breath swept the state with 71 seats, and two allies took the tally up to a history-making 73, not even the party’s staunchest critics could find any words, excuses, or reasons. Far too many people remain dumbfounded, shell-shocked and were made to eat their words over and over again. Inside television studios, regular BJP critics who get ample opportunities to run their throats hoarse during drawn out slanging contests, were faltering for words—a rare sight. Genius and talent had combined to hit a target that no one else had seen. The BJP, in the heart of the Hindi heartland, had made history.

After the excitement of BJP’s extraordinary victory at the Parliamentary elections, and its stupendous performance at U.P. hit home, all attention turned to the genius himself, Mr Amit Shah. The man had pulled off a monumental victory, a bit like India’s cricket openers inflicting the opposition with a 10 wicket drubbing when a cup is at stake. Pundits and analysts alike could suddenly see no more beyond the versatile and smiling mastermind, Amit Shah. They bent backwards to announce his big time arrival on the Indian political scene. Mr Shah had broken the back of the opposition in U.P. (which in operational terms he managed very closely), first by decimating the ruling Sama6

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jwadi Party, and then by near obliteration of the Congress from a state that has given the party several Prime Ministers. Of course Mr Shah could not have done this without a winning Prime Minister like Mr Narendra Modi who spread his infinite charm on the electorate wherever and whenever he campaigned.

After the grand victory in U.P., and India, it was time for Mr Shah to be coronated, and the mantle of BJP president passed over smoothly to him from Mr Rajnath Singh, who by then (July 2014) had been Union Home Minister for over two months. At 50, Mr Shah became the youngest BJP president in its history.

WELL BEGUN But the head that wears the crown seldom can rest easy.

For any new president, the pressures of delivering are very high. The party’s grassroots consolidation must go on, and at the same time it is expected to reinvent itself in states where it has an uncertain future, or a shaky past. Mr Shah started off on the right note. In 2014, BJP emerged as the largest party at the Maharashtra state elections with 122 seats, and went on to form an alliance with Shiv Sena (63 seats) in the 288 member assembly to form the Government.

In the Haryana elections BJP won 47 of the 90 seats, securing outright victory. In J and K, BJP won 25 seats, while the PDP bagged 28 in the 87 member assembly. In Jharkhand where it got 37 seats, the BJP combined with the JMM (19) to lead in the 81 member assembly.

DELHI DEBACLE, WORLD’S LARGEST PARTY As things motored along fine, someone forgot about the pending Delhi elections. Elections in the national capital are

RIGHT PITCH: Mr Amit Shah addresses a rally in Bhagalpur, Bihar

always crucial. Anyone who wins the Delhi assembly becomes an overnight star. The BJP had last ruled the Delhi Government in 1998, so there needed to be urgency about getting back to power. In 2013, when the AAP Government quit after 49 days, the BJP was still at the time the largest party with 32 seats in the 70 member assembly. So in 2015, when re-elections were to take place, somehow the BJP brass started making miscalculations. Firstly, elections that should have been held immediately after the Lok Sabha victory (in which BJP won all of Delhi’s 7 Lok Sabha seats), was indefinitely delayed.

Dr Harshvardhan, the trustworthy face of BJP that had fetched them 32 seats in 2013, was left out in the cold, and for some time there was no clarity as to who was to lead the BJP in Delhi when the time appeared. And then came the fatal mistake of asking Dr Kiran Bedi, a retired police officer, to become the CM candidate. The move backfired hugely. The cadres were instantly demotivated, and the party’s campaign started floundering. The BJP sunk to a low of 3 seats in the assembly, the AAP put its stamp of authority by winning 67.

The Congress led by Ajay Maken did not open its account, a rare instance in Congress’ political history.

Sometime during the course of the year, thanks to a very concerted drive by workers on the ground, the BJP became the world’s largest political party in terms of primary membership.

CONSOLIDATION REQUIRED Post the 2014 victory at the Parliamentary elections, Mr Shah has been working away very methodically and on overdrive, galvanizing his cadres into action in faraway corners of India. But some of the worries about consolidation are clear and present. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh the party has only 4 seats in a 175 seat assembly and is in alliance with the ruling TDP. In Telangana, the BJP has 5 seats, but the ruling party—TRS—is in alliance with the Congress. In Arunachal, the BJP managed to give the Congress traditional strongholds a shake-up and mopped up 42 of the 134 seats. But in Odisha it needs to find a way to do better than the 10 seats it has in a 147 seat assembly, and get away from the stranglehold of the BJD which now has 117 seats.

There is no question that time, energy and a young India are on Amit Shah’s side. He has the discipline acquired from his early years as a volunteer with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and can keep on finding ways of consolidating the party in the years to come. His party has done well, overall.

Between last year and now, though, there has been one major development over which even Amit Shah has had no control over—the burden of expectation on his shoulders has gone up, which is not such a bad thing to happen. Knowing him, though, he may well hit another target that few today can see. ❐ november 2015 | india empire

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IndIans In canada

A GREAT DAY

By Gurmukh Singh

Mr Harjit Sajjan

Mr Navdeep Bains

Ms Bardish Jhagger

Mr Amarjeet Sohi

The swearing-in of four Indian-Canadians as cabinet ministers is "a great day for Canada and a great day for India", said Herb Dhaliwal, the western world's first Indianorigin cabinet minister when he was appointed Canada's revenue minister in 1997.

Hailing the appointment of a record four Indian-Canadians as cabinet ministers by Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, top Indian-Canadian leaders said this historic development will herald a new era in India-Canada relations.

Harjit Sajjan, 42, took the oath as Canada's defence minister, Navdeep Bains, 38, as innovation minister, Amarjeet Sohi as infrastructure minister, and young woman Bardish Jhagger as minister for small business and tourism.

They are among the record 19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canada's Parliament in elections held on October 19.

Their swearing-in ceremony followed that of Justin Trudeau who took oath as the new prime minister on November 4.

Dhaliwal, who held the Canadian cabinet post from 1997 to 2004, said: "It reflects a new Canada which is lead8

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ing the world in inclusiveness. It makes me feel proud that we created an opening and today we have four cabinet ministers. People in India must be proud of it."

Ajit Someshwar, chairman of the Canada India Foundation (CIF), said, "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be commended for achieving gender parity and for reflecting Canada's ethnic diversity in his cabinet. The inclusion of four members of Indian origin in the cabinet, out of a record total 19 Indo-Canadian MPs elected, is a matter of great pride for all Indo-Canadians."

He said, "The appointment of four ministers is a good start for the inclusion of other communities."

Stressing the conclusion of the long-impending free trade treaty between India and Canada, Someshwar said, "We hope that Prime Minister Trudeau will continue to enhance relationship with India and boost bilateral trade between the two countries which still remains far below potential. The Canada India Foundation will support the new government in achieving this objective." â??

IndIa EmpIrE

publIshIng WIng

We publish books related to Indian Diaspora, apart from magazines related to several Business Chambers and Embassies

POLITICAL CABINET: MINISTERIAL INTERVIEWS Recent interviews held by India Empire Magazine with various Cabinet Ministers in the Indian Government

Mr Ananth Kumar Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India

Mr Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India

Mr Thawar Chand Gehlot Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

Mr Ram Vilas Paswan Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India

PolItIcal cabInet: mInIsterIal IntervIews

Mr Ananth Kumar Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India

“We have finalized mega plans to undo 10 years of neglect” Mr Ananth Kumar, the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers in the present Government, is set for big things. He has brought in a fresh thought process into his ministry, and has charted out a very detailed road map for galvanizing India’s chemical, petrochemical and fertilizer sectors. If his plans are implemented on time, then India’s economic performance will surely be applauded, and investments of billions of dollars will pour in. The buzzword of Make In India will also get actuated on the ground. The clarity with which he speaks on a range of issues shows why he is able to strike a chord with his electorate year after year—he has been elected 6 consecutive times to the Lok Sabha from the Bengaluru South constituency of Karnataka. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections he was pitted against the Congress party’s Nandan Nilekani, a former co-founder of Infosys and architect of the Aadhar card. Yet Mr Nilekani could not unsettle the heavyweight BJP leader from south India and lost by over 2.28 lakh votes. Mr Kumar won on the strength of his “tried, tested, trusted” campaign line. He had held several ministerial positions in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. Today he is among a crop of young BJP ministers who are tasked to plan and deliver on the promises made by the party on bringing about India’s economic and social turnaround. He spoke to India Empire Editor Sayantan Chakravarty at his Parliament office

As an initiative under Make in India, you have taken a decision to fast-track growth in Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemcial Investment Regions (PCPIRs) in 4 states to attract investments to the tune of Rs 7.63 lakh crore and generate employment of 33.96 lakh.

How is this progressing?

During the UPA period the entire thing was in limbo.

To make such a thing happen, you require anchor tenants.

Once you have identified them, you have to bring on the table state Governments. Then you need to have a steering committee. After all, the process of creating infrastructure in hundreds of square kilometers is detailed, and long. It is about attracting investments from across the globe, in order to make India a petrochemical hub. You bring in crude, refine it using cracker units to get the C2, C3, C4 and downstream industries. Then you create building blocks, then the plastic parks, pharmaceutical companies, fertilizer companies. It is an entire chain which to be completed requires railroad links, aviation and telecommunication facilities. All this combines to make a mega park. After our Government has taken over, Dahej as a brownfield PCPIR is almost ready. Paradip has started rolling. We have held meetings for 12 india empire | november 2015

Vishakapatnam, and Nagapatnam in Chennai is going to happen. To these four we are adding a few more—Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are ready to have PCPIRs. Maharashtra is also looking positively to have one.

In India you have 22 refineries but there are only four petrochemical complexes. It is a real anomaly. You can, therefore, go from 4 to 22, and you can go from 2.5 per cent value addition to 7.5 per cent value addition, which means instead of Rs 10 lakh crore of investment you can go up to Rs 30 lakh crore of investment, and from generating 37 lakh jobs to generating over 100 lakh jobs. We are using 230 million of litres of crude, and this value addition requires to be done. We need to milk the fuel.

You are very focused on setting up of new Plastic Parks. Please elaborate…

India, and indeed world over, plastic has come to stay.

Today we are using 11 million tonnes of plastic, by the year 2020 we will be requiring 20 million tonnes of plastic.

From agriculture to horticulture, in real estate, housing, automobiles, healthcare, telecommunications, space technology, everywhere you need plastics. There is no field of

PhotoGraPh © SiPra DaS

AT HOME: Minister Ananth Kumar who has a keen sense of history is at home while fielding questions on his ministry

activity which does not have a plastic component and the amount of plastic in use is on the rise. Earlier it was 10-15 per cent. Now it is 30-40 per cent, even in areas like automobiles, space crafts, aero planes, agriculture, horticulture.

In several areas the use has gone up to between 80 and 90 per cent. In your canal linings, pipelines, everything is plastic. In India, therefore, we require more and more plastic parks. India requires not less than 1 plastic park per state, but currently you hardly have four plastic parks in the entire country. We are going to fuel the construction of plastic parks in India. There is not only a misinformation about plastics—only two per cent of total plastic is used for polythene bags, but that two per cent is marring the image of the rest 98 per cent usage. The bywords for plastic are reduce, reuse, recycle.

As another initiative under Make in India you have decided to ramp up production and building capacity in domestic manufacturing of urea and NPK fertilizers and fast-tracked revival of various fertilizer units.

Please talk us through this…

Hon’be Prime Minister has given a direction to us that India should be self reliant in urea. To do so we need to have revival of plants, add new plants. Already initiatives to start plants in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Barauni in Bihar, Sindri in Jharkhand, Talcher in Odisha and Ramagundam in Andhra Pradesh, and in Maharashtra have been taken up. Besides, MP and Karnataka will have one fertilizer plant each. You can see, therefore, there are around 9 fertilizer plans on the anvil, each one with a capacity of 1.3 million metric tonnes and each involving investments ranging between Rs 5,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. The total investment, therefore, is whopping—between Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore over the next five years. India, therefore,

will become self reliant in urea in the next five years, and will become an urea exporter in the next 10 years. Right now we require about 31 million metric tonnes of urea per year.

While 22 million metric tonnes are indigenously produced, 9 million tonnes are imported. With each of the upcoming plants capable of producing 1.3 million metric tonnes, we will be self sufficient. This will be “Make in India” in urea.

These plants will not be stand alone plants, they will produce NPK and other fertilizers as well.

What are the major measures to encourage production and capacity building in the pharmaceutical sector?

The major obstacle in the pharmaceutical sector is that we have lost our capacity to produce active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), 80 per cent of which is, at present, imported from one source that is China. That is strategically not correct. We recently had a brain storming, and have decided to come up with Bulk Drug Parks, and have already proposed a note on it. I think we require 2 – 3 Bulk Drug Parks in the country. We can use them to step up production of bulk drugs with the help of various incentives in areas such as tax, interest, power and infrastructure. The year 2015 – 2016 is being celebrated as Bulk Drug year. There is a report by the Katoch Committee and the Government is in a mood to accept the recommendations of this committee, within a very short time.

I have also told the bulk drug associations that each month we will initiate a reform and move forward. We will not be celebrating the Bulk Drug year by holding seminars and symposiums, but by taking one new initiative to promote and expand the bulk drug industry every month in India. ❐ To read the rest of the intervifew, please go to http://indiaempire.com/article/250/we_have_finalized_mega_plans_to_undo_10_years_of_neglect

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PolItIcal cabInet: mInIsterIal IntervIews

INTERVIEW WITH MR DHARMENDRA PRADHAN, MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE), MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

“We want to boost private investment in oil industry” As Mr Dharmendra Pradhan goes about swiftly meeting with dozens of people at his house in the morning hours, with hundreds more waiting eagerly for an audience, one thing becomes clear—he is very much a part of the BJP’s A Team that has been pressed into service to strengthen the party politically and administratively in the short and medium term. In general, he is more action, than talk. As is amply evident, this 46year-old Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas prefers to keep a reasonably low profile, and barring the odd interview, or the occasional press briefing, he is not seen or heard giving too many sound bytes to the Media. The high-profile ministry that he heads boasts of directly overseeing the activities of among others, three of India’s top 7 public sector undertakings—known popularly as Maharatnas, a testimony to the importance attached by the BJP to Mr Pradhan’s young shoulders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of course, also expects him to strengthen the BJP in Odisha, a state from which Mr Pradhan won the 14th Lok Sabha elections. Currently, though, apart from his regular ministerial work, it is Bihar that is keeping him pretty much occupied. A Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Mr Pradhan is seen running a hectic schedule as Bihar goes into election mode, and BJP tries desperately to

wrest back the initiative in the state after the fallout with Nitish Kumar. He is co-incharge of elections in Bihar. Prior to joining the NDA Government, Mr Pradhan has, at various points, overseen elections for his party in Karnataka, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhatisgarh. He opens up to India Empire’s Editor Sayantan Chakravarty on matters concerning his Ministry

What is your vision for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas? In the long term we would like to boost domestic production. Presently we import about 75 per cent of our re-

quirement of crude oil. There are plans to cut down on this import so that we can save the country valuable foreign exchange. But in order to augment and step up domestic production, plenty of exploratory activities need to be taken

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POLITICALLY ASTUTE: On the Minister’s young shoulders rests the tough responsibility of expanding BJP’s bandwidth in Odisha, his native state

PolItIcal cabInet: mInIsterIal IntervIews

up. Production capacity has to be doubled. Plenty of additional infrastructure must be put in place. Geology in India needs new techniques and cutting edge technology. Besides, we are also focusing on conservation and production of alternative fuels. That means we are diversifying the energy consumption basket across sectors by trying to introduce more biogas, bio-diesel and ethanol. These are some of the key innovations, and new areas that need to be well planned and executed in the near future.

oil and gas production.

You have initiated some serious measures, including surprise checks and terminations, to check the quality of petrol and diesel being supplied by retail outlets belonging to public sector oil marketing companies. Kindly elaborate…

I firmly believe that the customer should get what he is paying for without any compromise on quality, as well as quantity. I have asked all the concerned officers that people’s faith in the system must be ensured at all costs.

We would like our readers to consider investing in Exploration and Production in the Oil and Gas Sector.

Please let us know about some of the opportunities Have you been able to make a complete assessment that exist… of what was going on in the corporate espionage case?

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Mr Naren- What corrective measures have been taken to ensure dra Modi has given its approval to the Marginal Fields Policy that there is no repeat of such incidents? for development of hydrocarbon discoveries made by naThe matter is sub-judice. It will not be proper for me to comtional oil companies. India will auction 69 small and marginal ment. All I can say is that those who are guilty will not be spared. oil and gas fields surrendered by state explorers like ONGC and Oil India. These discoveries could not be monetized for We understand that about 15 lakh people have volunmany years due to several reasons such as isolated locations, tarily given up their subsidy on LPG. This is a result of small size of reserves, high development costs, technological the successful GiveItUp campaign by the Government… constraints, fiscal regime. At the Our Honourable Prime Minissame time India is the world’s ter had appealed to countrymen fourth highest oil consumer and that those who can afford LPG we need to augment local producfrom their pockets and cook their The Union Cabinet chaired tion, as mentioned earlier. We exown meals through non-subsidized

by Prime Minister Mr pect bidding to start within the gas, should do that. The appeal has Narendra Modi has given its next 3 months for such fields. caught the imagination of the naapproval to the Marginal They have reserves of about 89 tion, and over 1.5 million countryFields Policy for developmillion tonnes. Exploration commen have given up their LPG ment of hydrocarbon discovpanies will be able to submit bids subsidy. As you know, domestic eries made by national oil for exploiting these oil fields.

LPG is heavily subsidized by the companies These oil fields were not develGovernment, and every cylinder in oped earlier as they were considthe kitchen carries a substantial ered marginal fields, and hence subsidy. This translates into a huge received low priority. With appropriate changes in policy, it is annual subsidy burden on the Government, draining preexpected that these fields can be brought into production. In cious resources which could have been used in developkeeping with the principle of Minimum Government Maxi- mental activities, especially for the poor by providing them mum Governance, significant changes have been made in the drinking water, sanitation and roads. The subsidy burden in design of the proposed contracts. With private and foreign 2013 – 2014 was over Rs 40,000 crore. In the next two years, participation in this sector, output from these fields can be to we have a target of 10 million countrymen who will volunthe tune of USD 10.5 billion (about Rs 70,000 crore). tarily give up their subsidy through this campaign. Going by the response, we should be able to achieve our target.

Can you tell us more on the design of the proposed contracts?

There has been a significant time lag between when The earlier contracts were based on the concept of international crude prices fall, and when actual reducprofit sharing. Under the profit sharing methodology, it be- tion in prices of petrol and diesel is passed on to the came necessary for the Government to scrutinize cost de- consumer. Your comments… tails of private participants and this led to many delays and The oil companies have delayed passing on the benefit disputes. Under the new regime, the Government will not of sliding oil prices to the consumer. Now as a policy, Govbe concerned with the cost incurred and will receive a share ernment has linked prices to the market, which in any case of the gross revenue from the sale of oil, gas and other is dynamic most of the time. In the past one and a half year items. The second change is that the licence granted to the period of the new Government, there has been a sliding ❐ successful bidder will cover all hydrocarbons found in the trend, and people have benefited. field. The new policy for these marginal fields also allows the successful bidder to sell at the prevailing market price of To read the rest of the intervifew, please go to gas, rather than at administered prices. The decision is ex- http://indiaempire.com/article/639/we_want_to_boo pected to stimulate investment, and ensure higher domestic st_private_investment_in_oil_industry

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PolItIcal cabInet: mInIsterIal IntervIews

INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT, MR THAWAR CHAND GEHLOT

“We welcome all NRIs who want to join the social justice movement” Taking time out from Parliament, Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr Thawar Chand Gehlot spoke to Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty and spelt out the challenges before him in the coming months

Please let us know about the vision of the Ministry, both short term and long term...

The vision of our Ministry is to cater to scheduled castes, backward classes, handicapped class, transgender, nomads and senior citizens. If we calculate their population, it comes out to be around 70 crore. It also involves education of the children of these castes and tribes. Mainly, we look forward to providing facility of education to the children of these tribes. In order to keep the students from dropping out of school we provide both pre-metric as well as post-metric scholarships. Also, we provide financial aid for higher studies of the students. We mostly support compulsory and system education so that the children do not drop out of school because of financial crisis.

Secondly, these classes are also lagging behind on the socioeconomic front, which is why they have been put in these categories. To uplift these classes we need to provide them proper education, proper physical, mental and psychological facility.

Keeping this in view, we provide them with proper medical services and training and accordingly provide all the necessary facilities required by them. From the financial point of view, we have set up Financial Development Corporations like Schedule caste Financial Development Corporation, Backward Classes Financial Development Corporation and so on. So, with the medium of these financial development corporations we provide them loan at 5 -6 per cent per annum. This helps them in starting their own business. We provide training to these classes and try to make them competent enough to get a job, for the same we collaborate with the states, as well as with NGOs, and make them employable.

The main target groups of the Ministry include Schedule Castes/ Other Backward Classes/ Persons with Disabilities/ Senior Citizens And Victims Of Substance Abuse. What is the Ministry’s role in empowering them?

People in our country are getting drawn towards substance abuse. We have been continuously advertising about 18 india empire | november 2015

the harmful effects of liquor, drugs and other kinds of substance abuse and trying to control their spread, but we find the more we try, more people are getting into it. May be it is because of the curiosity amongst the people which later turns into an addiction. We are running many programs to control the situation. Also we provide financial aid to the NGOs, and other organizations working for the cause, and to rehabilitation centres for addicts. The rehabilitation centres conduct drives and if a person is identified as an addict of any kind of substance abuse, he is kept in the centre and given medical and psychological attention. Medication is administered to overcome the urge of substances. They are later helped to get employment and start a normal life. We try our best but I wouldn’t say that our success rate is too high. But the numbers of beneficiaries of these programmes are much lesser than ones getting addicted to intoxicated products. This condition mainly prevails in Punjab and North Eastern region.

There are many prevention measures like there is a law. There are certain steps being taken to make sure that the intoxicated products are not easily available. But it is observed that various kinds of intoxicated products are smuggled from the borders that India shares with Pakistan, mainly in Punjab and Rajasthan. Not only Pakistan, but these products are also smuggled from other countries that share the border with India. The Narcotics Department has been trying to keep a check and the Home Ministry by the medium of IPC Sections of Police Department tries to prevent smuggling and the Health Ministry is trying to stop any such activity by the means of medical treatments. Our Department is running the Rehabilitation Centres, but we have great difficulty in identifying the addicts, like when we go out on a survey, even the addicts would not admit that are addicted until he/she is caught red handed and identified with the help of devices and technology. Despite this our ministry with the help of Health Ministry, State Governments, Police Department and Narcotics Department tries to prevent the situation.

PhotoGraPhS © SiPra DaS

What is the Government’s policy of outreach to the target groups through NGOs? Will NGOs play a more prominent role in coming times?

It is true and there is no doubt about it that the Government Policies cannot be implemented by only the Government officials and employees. For better implementation, reaching the ground level and making most these policies, public contribution is very important. Public contribution can be by means of State Government systems like Panchayats.

Municipal Corporations play their role but there are many NGOs that work for particularly this purpose only, which is why they are of great importance. These NGOs have become very significant and their need will further grow in coming future. We do receive many complaints against some NGOs indicating that the purpose these NGOs are set up for is not being fulfilled and the money is being misused. We do keep a check on what they are doing and we ask the State Governments also to keep a tab on their activities. In case of any complaints filed against them we do investigate the matters and take necessary action against them.

The Ministry works to empower the target groups through national institutes and corporations. Please tell us briefly about their role?

Like I said, Ambedkar Foundation and Jagjivan Ram Foundation help in the protection planning of the people of scheduled caste. The NGOs do get associated with these organizations as they get funds as well as lots of work done is carried by their medium. All the steps that we take for the betterment of the scheduled caste are supported by them financially as well as practically. All our national institutes and corporations work similarly like providing vocational training for different businesses and providing them financial support. These institutes also check on economic, educational and social development and try to remove if there are any atrocities happening. All these institutes have different purposes and play different roles in the programs that have been initiated by us. Small steps lead to big changes.

These institutes help us to manage the policies that we have for the protection of the scheduled castes.

Public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management are the key areas when it comes to improving the life of target groups. You must be working closely with other ministries in this regard?

As I said, my department would benefit population of 70 crores which includes but are not limited to senior citizens, scheduled castes, backward castes, kinnars, drug addicts and beggars. Social security is also very important, there are old people who have money and house but stay alone, and they have servants to look after them but servants often commit crimes for the sake of money. And such economic, social and educational problems are prevalent across social strata. Hence providing security to these people and guarding their interests becomes extremely important, and Modi ji wants all people should be protected and especially for people fighting drug abuse all people should come together to give their support to them. All people of our nation also have a responsibility towards handicapped

Mr Thawar Chand Gehlot Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment people as we have a culture of “live and let live” philosophy and are based on principles of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.

So for people who feel excluded from family and society we should try to include them socially and culturally in mainstream. We have a responsibility towards such people as all these also have talents and if we give our support they’ll be able to do their bit for national development.

Handicapped people are also not behind normal people in any area. Recently our Blind cricked team defeated Pakistan to win the world cup trophy. Prior to this, two Asian Games events were held in Japan and Korea, and our team of 135 sportspersons had gone and out of those 3 gold medal, 14 silvers and 16 bronze medals were won. This is an example of how talented they are and how they can prove themselves in any competition.

Like I said small steps lead to big changes, all Indians should support their fellow brothers and sisters by taking small steps of change so that they can better their lives and our ministry also promotes such talent and policies. Also they have support of Sports ministry.

The role of our ministry becomes even more important but all departments have their role to play. ❐ To read the rest of the intervifew, please go to http://indiaempire.com/article/171/we_welcome_all_ nris_who_want_to_join_the_social_justice_movement

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PolItIcal cabInet: mInIsterIal IntervIews

“A customer is the most important visitor to our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

—Mahatma Gandhi in a speech in South Africa in the late 19th century

INTERVIEW WITH MR RAM VILAS PASWAN, MINISTER FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUbLIC DISTRIbUTION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

“We are becoming pro-consumer” A heavyweight with a formidable track record at the top levels of Indian politics, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan has been tasked with a challenging portfolio—Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. His job is to ensure that the tormented customer’s trust in the freemarket economy in restored. It is a market where with the daily advent of new brands and slick marketing, consumer complaints are constantly on the rise. Mr Paswan needs to ensure that Mahatma Gandhi’s noble words on the importance of the customer are practiced each day this country. In previous Governments, Mr Paswan held key federal ministerial positions in Labour and Welfare, Railways, Communication and Information Technology, Coal and Mines, Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Steel. A Member of Parliament for 38 years, Mr Paswan has been elected to the Lok Sabha eight times, and nominated to the Rajya Sabha once. In the 2014 elections, he entered the Lok Sabha for the eighth time from Hajipur, a largely Dalit constituency he has made very much his own. He spoke to India Empire’s Editor Sayantan Chakravarty at his Krishi Bhavan office in Lutyen’s New Delhi You have said in the past that the NDA Government is committed to upholding and protecting the welfare of consumers, particularly rural consumers, women and children. What measures have you taken in this direction?

The Consumer Protection Act came about in 1986. In the last 29 years, things have changed completely. E-commerce has come into play in a major way, and consumer awareness has increased. But the old law is still in place.

Keeping in tune with the times, we introduced a new bill in Parliament, known as the Consumer Protection Bill, 2015.

It has been passed by both Houses, and will soon become an Act. This will help address a range of issues related to the segment you mentioned, and assuage several grievances.

20 india empire | november 2015

Are you satisfied with the cooperation of various stakeholders such as State Governments, NCDRC, State Consumer Forums, District Forums, BIS and Voluntary Consumer Organizations?

We are very thankful to all activists with whom we have held meetings for discussing consumer rights and consumer protection. They are all knowledgeable. We have had three meetings with the Consumer Affairs Ministers of state Governments in the past one year to discuss problems being faced by the consumers. We are continuously holding meetings with the secretaries which are creating a lot of awareness. We have also written letters to the Chief Ministers, after all in states, consumer courts exist at two levels—district and state. We seek their cooperation in this movement. Usually at respective district, state and

PhotoGraPh © SiPra DaS

individual complaints but complaints pertaining to a batch of products. The courts earlier did not have such authority. For instance, if a bottle of water is poor in quality, chances are that the entire batch has poor quality water. Now the entire batch can be looked into.

The CPA will have various departments to cater to the consumers. It will have wide ranging powers. For example if a builder promises you a ready-to-move-in house in 3 years, but fails to do so, the CPA will have powers to investigate. Investigation results will be submitted to the National Forum, but the CPA will be empowered to take action against the offender. Cases of unfair trade practice and false advertising will be addressed as well.

Improper services by hospitals, airlines and other organizations will also be investigated by the CPA. ENDURING LEADERSHIP: Mr Paswan has been a Lok Sabha Member since 1977, about 70 per cent of Indians were not even born then

central levels the consumer forum is headed by a retired judge of a district court, a High Court, and Supreme Court. Members are appointed to each forum. As of now, unfortunately, consumer courts in our country are not functioning effectively.

The reason is very basic—a lack of infrastructure and remaining headless. Five state forums including those in Kerala, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Telangana do not have presidents, and 17 of them do not have members. At the district level, 102 forums do not have presidents, and 266 of them are without members. Members at many places at district and state levels do not have a place to even sit. In some states they are paid a nominal salary, in some they do not even receive that. Our priority is to improve infrastructure and fill up vacancies at the district level forums, because that is where 90 per cent of the cases are filed. We have also now mandated that if a case is not admitted within 21 days, it will automatically be considered an FIR so that the consumer does not suffer. Also, there is another major change we have brought about—while earlier a consumer needed a lawyer to file a case in a consumer court, now we have announced that the consumer does not necessarily need a lawyer and can file on his own.

How do you enhance awareness among consumers about their rights and responsibilities?

Currently, we have a campaign “Jago Grahak Jago’ running but I feel there is great need for more aggressive campaigning at every level. For example, the gold and silver is brought by even the poor and people are unaware of the quality of gold in terms of carats. In some cases the consumer is given gold of 9 carats but is charged for 10 carat gold. Although there is hallmarking, it is not mandatory. We have made modification in the BIS also; we have placed it in Parliament as well. The Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986 has been completely changed. Prime Minister has introduced ‘Make in India’, how will it work if there are no proper standards, which is why the changes in BIS were necessary.

Is there a way that things can be settled out of court?

We have made a few other changes. In case a State Court gives a judgment in favour of the consumer, it cannot be appealed at the National Forum. We have introduced a system of mediation, and it can be opted at any level. We are trying to make all these courts pro-consumer. We have issued guidelines that courts need to give judgments within 90 days of a complaint being filed.

What is your personal vision and mission for the Department of Consumer Affairs?

I want this department to become the strongest it has ever been in its history. I have been very fortunate that until now wherever I have been, I have made a difference to that department and taken it to the top. While with the Labour and Welfare Ministry I had to handle at the time what are 6 different departments today. The workload was enormous, as you can imagine. It was a very important portfolio. While with the Ministry of Railways I introduced 6 new railway zones, taking the number of railways zones to 10 in India.

While in the Communications and IT Ministry, I realized that consumers were being charged Rs 16 per minute for outgo❐ ing calls, and even incoming calls were being charged.

We understand that you have formed the Consumer Protection Authority?

Yes. We have also authorized courts to handle not just

To read the rest of the intervifew, please go to http://indiaempire.com/article/612/we_are_becoming_proconsumer

november 2015 | india empire 21

BUSINESS AND GOVERNANCE

busIness and governance

CIVIL AVIATION POLICY Minister of Civil Aviation Mr P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju released the Revised Draft National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2015) in New Delhi in October. Speaking on the occasion Mr Raju urged all stakeholders to participate in the process of firming up the policy by giving their valuable suggestions to the Ministry. He said that the Civil Aviation Policy should be a dynamic one which can keep pace with the ever changing demands of the sector.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation and MoS (I/C) Tourism and Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma was also present at the function. Dr. Sharma underscored the importance of bringing air travel within reach of the common man and facilitating regional air connectivity within the country.

Secretary Civil Aviation Mr Rajiv Nayan Choubey gave a presentation highlighting the salient features of the draft policy. The policy aims at providing a conducive environment and a level playing field to various aviation sub-sectors. These sectors include airlines, airports, cargo, maintenance repairs and overhaul serv-

Mr P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju

ices, general aviation, aerospace manufacturing and skill development. The policy also aims to create an eco-system to enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027 and increase the international ticketing to 20 crore by 2027.

COAL INDIA IMPRESSIVE

Mr Piyush Goyal (right) with Mr Sutirtha Bhattacharya, CMD Coal India Limited

Mr Piyush Goyal Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New Renewable has said that the ‘Maharatna’ Public Sector Enterprise Coal India Limited has registered a growth rate of 9.4 per cent during the first six months of the current fiscal. He expressed confidence that it would certainly achieve the targeted growth of 50 million tonnes in the annual production this year. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr Goyal said that the company has achieved impressive growth last year which was more than the accumulated growth in production during the previous four years together and the company has now resolved to grow higher briskly.

The Minister said that inauguration of the two open

24 india empire | november 2015

cast mine projects of the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) at Dinesh and Yekona in Umred area of Nagpur district marks fulfillment of assurance of opening one new mine per month and leads to a new era in the history of the company. The two projects would add the production capacity by 6.75 million tonnes out of which around 5.7 million tonnes of coal would be provided to Mahagenco and other power houses and lead in turn to generation of additional power of 1400 mega watts. These projects would also provide job opportunities for the 1,773 land oustees and indirect employment opportunities for hundreds of more from the local populace, he added.

Mr Goyal further said that the fourth Skill Development Centre in the region set up in Nagpur has also been launched along with Kamptee mine to Kanhan township Jal-Sahyog Project which is a novel initiative to meet 24x7 drinking water requirement through gainful utilization of mine water discharge in Nagpur area.

In addition, an Eco-Park at Saoner was also inaugurated which is to be launched from November 01. It would involve Eco-Mine tours from the Zero Mile stone in Nagpur- Adasa Temple-Saoner Mine-Eco Park- Gondegaon Mine and return journey to Nagpur.

The Minister also informed about the two new decisions taken in consultation with the Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Mr Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mr Hansraj Ahir along with the Guardian Minister of the district Mr Chandrashekhar Bawankule on this occasion.

busIness and governance

INDIA AFRICA MEET Ms Nirmala Sitharaman

The 4th India-Africa Trade Ministers’ Meeting (IATMM) was held in New Delhi on the eve of the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit in October. The meeting was attended by 37 delegations comprising of Trade Ministers/ officials/ 8 Regional Economic Communities

PULSES SEIZED Mr Ram Vilas Paswan

In the endeavour to make pulses available at reasonable prices, several states in the country continued their enforcement action against hoarding and black-marketing. Over 15,000 metric tonnes of pulses were seized in October, taking the total quantity of pulses seized in de-hoarding operations to over 98,000 metric tonnes. At the same time states continued with the arrangements to sell pulses at reasonable rates ranging between Rs.120-140/kg through various retail distribution networks available in the respective states. These two steps have had a salutary effect in improving the supply situation as well as in cooling down the prices of pulses both in the retail and wholesale markets.

from various countries. These countries included Algeria, Angola, Benin, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Minister for Commerce and Industry, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman said that India sees Africa as a natural partner and together, we can have a positive influence on the future global economic order. Speaking at the 4th India-Africa Trade Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, she said that both India and Africa face similar challenges and concerns and the world economy offers tremendous opportunities to the two Fastest Growing Regions.

Addressing the Trade Ministers, Ms Sitharaman said that consequent to the First India-Africa Forum Summit in Delhi in 2008, India made an announcement of granting Duty Free Tariff Preference to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in order to open the Indian market to greater exports from African countries.

HOUSING FOR ALL Mr Arun Jaitley

The Union Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley in October said that the real estate sector has huge potential for growth and hoped that the period of slow down would end soon. Delivering the keynote address at the CREDAI-BANKCON 2015 on Role of Banking and Finance in Real Estate Development in Mumbai, Mr Jaitley said the sector will be the next big mover as far as the Indian economy is concerned. The industry must survive on market economy and subsidies should not be the essence of survival, he added.

The Finance Minister said the Government was committed to housing for all – a dream project of Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, and would adopt positive approach. He said easier availability of land was crucial to realising the dream of affordable housing. "It is not cheaper availability of land - it is easier availability. If we complicate procedures too much, then we will be preventing people from acquiring affordable homes” he added.

november 2015 | india empire 25

busIness and governance

REVISED E-TOURIST FEES Government of India has decided to revise the eTourist Visa (e-TV) fee in four slabs of 0, USD 25, USD 48, and USD 60 from November. Presently e-TV application fee is USD 60 and bank charge is USD 2 which is uniform for all the countries. The revision of Visa fee has been done on the principle of reciprocity. Bank charges have also been reduced from USD 2 to 2.5 per cent of the e-TV fee. There is no bank charge for zero visa fees.

Government had launched e-Tourist Visa scheme on November 27, 2014. The scheme has been extended to 113 countries and territories. Sixteen Indian airports have been designated for providing e-Tourist visa service till now. The scheme has been implemented in completely online mode with provision of pre-authorization of visa in the form of ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation). The visa service under the scheme is being rendered in time-bound manner and decision is communicated to applicant via e-mail within 72 hours of making online application.

Out of 113 countries and territories included in eTourist Visa scheme USD 60 has been fixed for 5 Countries/Territories (Mozambique, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and USA).

USD 48 has been fixed for 86 countries and territories namely Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Island, Chile, China, China- SAR Hong Kong, China- SAR Macau, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Island, UAE, Vatican City-Holy See, Venezuela and Vietnam.

USD 25 has been fixed for 3 countries and territories namely Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Zero Visa fees has been decided for 19 countries and territories

26 india empire | november 2015

Mr Mahesh Sharma

namely Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay and Vanuatu. e-Tourist Visa holders can enter India through any of the 16 designated Indian Airports namely Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum and Varanasi. Besides reciprocating the gestures of other countries it is expected that this revision of fee will also help in boosting tourism in the country. Since the launch of the scheme in November last year, more than 3,40,000 e-TVs have been issued till now.

RECORD TOURISTS Government of India launched Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), presently known as e-Tourist Visa scheme in November 2014. At present e-Tourist Visa facility is available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India.

The following are the important highlights of eTourist Visa during September: i) During the month of September 2015 a total of 31,729 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 2,170 during the month of September, 2014 registering a growth of 1362.2 per cent. ii) During January- September 2015 a total of 2,01,705 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 19,290 during January- September 2014 registering a â?? growth of 945.6 per cent.

busIness and governance

MAKE IN INDIA BY IITs Ms Smriti Irani

Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Ms Smriti Irani while chairing a meeting of the Council of Indian Institutes of Technology at IIT Mumbai in October emphasized that IITs carry a major responsibility of facilitating the Make in India campaign by participating in research and innovating processes to improve the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing on the global stage. Already many IITs are engaged in research, but they need to reach the fron-

tiers of knowledge. It is also essential that socially relevant themes are given focus in research. She emphasized the need to build IITs into robust and autonomous institutions, and become global centres of knowledge.

The Council is the apex policy making body for the (18) IITs. Mr Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Secretary, Higher Education along with senior officers participated in the meeting along with Chairmen and Directors of all IITs. Prior to the Council meeting, the Minister has opened a new 1,000-seater hostel for girl students and visited the National Centre for Aerospace innovation and research (NCAIR) in IIT Bombay.

The current system of admission through a two-stage entrance was reviewed by the Council. It was decided that the system would be examined in depth by a group of eminent persons to determine whether it needed modification. Their recommendations were provided by the first week of November. The Council proposed a funding mechanism for IITs that would appreciably enhance Government investments for building world class infrastructure. A committee of Directors would examine ways to enhance loans to students, and maintain and enhance scholarships to needy students, especially those from the SC/ST/economically weaker sections.

RECORD BUYERS AT IHGF Business enquiries worth Rs. 2700 crore were generated as curtains drew in October to mark the closing of 40th edition of IHGF Delhi fair (earlier known as IHGF) organized at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) – the nodal agency for promotion and development of handicrafts in the country.

“Over 7300 trade visitors including international buyers, buying agents and domestic volume retailers interacted with India’s handicraft sector making it the world’s largest fair of Indian handicrafts, home, lifestyles and fashion products”, informed Mr Rakesh Kumar, ED – EPCH. Since the inaugural edition in 1994 with 313 exhibitors covering an area of 5,500 sq.m, the show has come a long way; in its 40th edition the IHGF Delhi Fair played host to over 2,750 exhibitors spread over 1,90,000 sq.m area, with more than 1600 product lines and styles at state-of-the art India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida.

The spectacular display of traditional Indian art and craft mesmerized overseas volume buyers from more than 110 countries and Indian volume retail visitors. Business was transacted in an ambience enlivened by colorful spectacle enriched with dances, art and culture of India. Foreign media from Australia and ASEAN and African countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal were also invited to cover the home, lifestyles and fash-

28 india empire | november 2015

Mr Rakesh Kumar

ion products which are still unexplored in these countries.

More than 1600 types of products including house ware, tableware, kitchenware, hotel ware, home furnishing, home textiles, linens and made-ups, festive décor, Christmas, halloween, valentines, birthdays, anniversaries celebrations, fashion jewellery, bags, scarves, ties, fashion compliments, luggage, leather bags and cases, furniture, hardware and accessories, carpets, rugs and floorings and bathroom accessories were displayed in the expo.

busIness and governance PhotoGraPh © SiPra DaS

UNITY PLEDGE

The Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi administering the Unity Pledge, ahead of the Run for Unity on Rashtriya Ekta Diwas at Rajpath in New Delhi on October 31, 2015

LIGHTHOUSE TOURISM “All over the world lighthouses enthrall tourists with their scenic and serene surroundings and rich maritime heritage. In India there is a vast tourism potential, which has largely remained untapped”, said the Minister for Shipping Mr Nitin Gadkari while addressing the Investors Summit on Development of Lighthouses as Beacons of Tourism at Mumbai in October.

Mr Gadkari said India has as many as 189 lighthouses and the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), Noida, has drawn up a plan to develop 78 of them as tourist attractions under Public-Private Partnership. Such identified Lighthouses are in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 9 Lighthouses from Maharashtra and Goa – located at Sunk Rock, Kanhoji Island, Uttan Point, Korlai Fort, Jaigadh, Ratnagiri, Devgadh, Vengurla Rocks, Tolkeshwar Point, Fort Aguada and Sao George are part of the lighthouse development project.

Mr Nitin Gadkari

Mr Gadkari said the Shipping Ministry has already held road shows in Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam and the outcome has been very encouraging, with 236 potential investors participating in them.

november 2015 | india empire 29

busIness and law

Mr K K Anand, Advocate for NRI causes

RAISING THE BAR German philosopher Albert Schweitzer once said that “success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Mr K K Anand, born and raised in Punjab, embodies this statement. As a much sought after and busy advocate in the bar rooms, Mr Anand travels to courts across the country throughout the month, attending to a range of matters. He is an absolute master of his subjects. He totally loves his profession that has allowed him to scale heights he never thought were possible, especially when as a young student at a school in Khanna, Punjab he was trying to come to terms with the ways of the world. When he moved from Chandigarh after completing his legal studies to Delhi in 1987, he was acutely conscious about wanting to add life to his career, and not just a career to his life. That he has managed to accomplish with a great deal of aplomb. He is indeed happy and joyful about what he does, and success has shadowed his steps over the past quarter century. Clients have queued up to brief him cases, they come from all sectors—public, private, corporate and multinational. Even after years of hard work, and having won dozens of cases, he still does not hesitate to burn the midnight oil, trying to work the best solutions for his clients. He believes sincerely that NRIs, sitting far away from India, need good guidance on a range of issues, and is willing to serve them genuinely in times to come. Here’s a brief Q and A with him

What according to you is the secret of attaining success in the profession?

Sincerity towards your profession, and lots of hard work. I believe that until you are sincere towards your profession and you put in lot of effort, you cannot attain success in your life or in your profession.

What are the areas in which your firm provides legal consultations?

Direct taxation, indirect taxation, FEMA, all types of NRI services, and corporate practices.

What do you think NRIs are primarily expecting in India when they engage a legal firm or attorney?

NRIs have multifaceted problems but they are not getting proper services.

There is a great deal of apprehension among investors in India, particularly from overseas, about the 30 india empire | november 2015

legality of the land they purchase, and the title thereof.

How do you go about dispelling such apprehensions, and provide confidence to investors?

Their apprehension can be removed by doing due diligence about the property in a transparent and honest manner. Once you provide them services in professional manner, I think their confidence will grow and their apprehensions can be addressed.

When did you set up your legal practice? Where you always on your own?

I set up my legal practice in the year 1986. For the first two years, I was a junior counsel, but since 1988 I am on my own.

Where did you grow up, study, and attain your higher education?

I grew up in Punjab and thereafter did my higher education in Chandigarh.

They say Chandigarh is on top of the Index of Best Cities to Live in India. You could have lived and practiced there, and yet you chose to move to Delhi. Why did you make that move?

I agree that Chandigarh is on top of the index of Best Cities to live in India, but I left that city because I wanted to achieve heights in my profession, and I believed these heights could only be achieved in a place like Delhi.

Mr K K Anand

Apart from the legal profession which keeps you far too occupied, do you find time for other activities?

I am very fond of good music. I have interest in travelling and also in reading.

What kind of books do you read?

The kinds of books that I read are fiction and various types of biographies and autobiographies.

Are you a movie buff ?

No, I am not a movie buff. I hardly get to watch four or five movies a year.

We understand you have interests in real estate and the hospitality sector. Can you tell us about those?

Yes, I have interest in hospitality and real estate sector.

One of the indicators of being successful is when clients retain you, or keep coming back to you for advice and relief. In your case, what is it that makes clients come back to your firm? What is it that you deliver that puts you a notch above?

It is true that most of my clients have remained with me since the beginning because I try to provide them best of services. My clients are aware that I will be putting best of efforts in their cases, and in the work they allocate me.

So some of your clients must be there for years…

Yes, as I have said that most of my clients are there with me for number of years and they are still with me.

If you were to mentor today’s generation of lawyers, both budding and settled, what kind of words of wisdom would you provide them?

My advice to today’s generation of lawyers would be that don’t look for shortcuts as there is no substitute for hard work. They should be sincere towards their profession and should put their best efforts to ensure that they provide the best of services. ❐ november 2015 | india empire 31

column

Mr Modi is World’s Tallest Leader Mr K J Alphons

The biggest achievement of the Modi Government is that it has wiped out corruption from the capital completely.

There has not been a single allegation of corruption against any of the union ministers or any of the departments in the Government. So, without a doubt the person to be credited, and eventually acclaimed for this historic turnaround, is Mr Narendra Modi himself. In spite of the clearances of huge purchases worth thousands of crores of rupees by the Ministry of Defence, there has been no allegation of corruption.

This in itself is a phenomenal achievement. At the time of taking over, the Prime Minister had reassured the nation about his fight against corruption by saying, “Neither will I make money, nor will I let anyone else make any.” He has truly lived up to his words, and inspired hundreds of millions of his countrymen, and the world at large. Just take a look at the Transparency International Index—India which for years would languish at the bottom of the list of most corrupt nations is today significantly climbing higher and higher, a reflection on the commendable job of the Government in tackling the menace of corruption.

TRANSPERANCY IN GOVERNANCE There is complete transparency in the Government. Everything that is being done, all decisions that are being taken, are out in the open. There are no hidden agendas. If the Government did not insist on transparent dealings, by now the Media would have jumped all over it. And the opposition would be running loose with allegations. It is clear to one and all that the Prime Minister follows the rule of law, and there are no favourites. His own family is not involved at any position in the administrative command system. And he also ensures that there are no favourite families that get contracts.

GREATER DEMOCRACY Mr Modi’s entire philosophy has been that we are a federal setup and states should be empowered. One of the very first things that the NDA Government did was to distribute more money to state Governments. This is true federalism in practice. This helps democratically empower states, and gives them the freedom to take their own decisions. Instead of having decisions pushed down their throats, states now have a choice to make their own. This is also keeping in line with what the Constitution has envisaged. This is clearly stepping away from the malpractice of one particular political dynasty that in the past 32 india empire | november 2015

would keep all powers vested with the Centre, especially when it came to distribution of funds to states.

INVESTORS’ CONFIDENCE In the world order, India is looked up to with pride. Indians can now hold their heads up so high, which has not happened before. There is no world leader of the stature of Mr Modi, neither Obama or Putin come close. He has the highest stature among world leaders, he stands the tallest. He is a rockstar. All these factors have built confidence among investors.

They feel that there is an administration that is strong enough.

They feel that their money is safe in India. They feel that there is a rule of law here. They feel that there is a Prime Minister who is ever willing and hands-on about addressing issues that investors want to know about, and thereby create a climate of investment and enterprise. It is true that the big money has not started coming in as yet, but all this does not happen overnight.

Investors are realizing that the ease of doing business with India has increased dramatically, and this is crucial for the nation. So the global community will come to invest huge amount of money in India over the next few years.

MONEY REACHING POOREST The Prime Minister has struck out all the middlemen and started accounts for every poor person in India. He has ensured that all the money that needs to given to the poor is transferred into their bank accounts. The insurance scheme in which you pay a premium of Rs 12 and get an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh are a success. I think nowhere in the world has it ever been done, that a scheme covers every citizen that is below the poverty line.

These are dramatic achievements in the first year of Governance.

So yes all the schemes that are meant for the poor are actually ❐ getting filtered and reaching out to the poor.

—K J Alphons is a special invitee to the national executive of the BJP. He made daily headlines while with the Delhi Development Authority in the mid 1990s where he helped protect 60,000 acres of prime real estate, and in the process took on some of the country’s most influential land mafia. Even his bosses in the bureaucracy did not have enough steam to stop him from doing his job. He quit the IAS in 2006 and became an MLA from Kerala. These days he is busy working on making the BJP a relevant political party in Kerala..

(As told to Misha Singh)

country Feature

Afghanistan

A Cultural Gem

Situated at the crossroads separating the Mediterranean world and Persia to the west from India and China to the east, Afghanistan owes its history to its position on the map. The product of many overlapping cultures, Afghanistan has been a focal point for invasion and migration for thousands of years.

About Afghanistan Afghanistan's history spans five thousand years and the Afghan people have contributed to the emergence of many Central Asian empires. The ancient centers of culture and civilization were influenced by diverse outsiders such as Rome, Greece, Arabia, Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. Great conquerors such as Jenghiz Khan and Timurlane swept through Afghanistan during the 13th and 14th century. These rulers brought with them the desire to establish kingdoms, and founded cultural and scholarly communities in Afghanistan. In particular, during the Timurid dynasty, poetry, architecture and miniature painting reached their zenith.

For centuries, Afghanistan has been a mosaic of people with diverse cultures, religions and languages. Afghanistan’s ethnically and linguistically rich and mixed population reflects its location at the crossroads of Central, South and Southwest Asia. Communities with separate religions, languages, and ethnic backgrounds have lived side by side for generations.

Afghanistan still remains a country of dynamic diversity. The main ethnic groups are Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turk-

34 india empire | november 2015

men, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, and Kizilbash.

Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80 per cent of the population is Sunni. The remainder of the population is predominantly Shia. The rise of the great Mughal Empire again lifted Afghanistan to heights of power. Afghanistan extends from the imposing Pamir Mountains in the northeast Wakhan Corridor, through branches of smaller mountain ranges, down to the southwestern plateau where the fertile regions of Kandahar merge with the deserts of Farah and Seistan. More than 49 percent of the total land area lies above 2,000 meters. There are a number of smaller mountain ranges spanning Afghanistan but the largest mountains are found in the north-eastern section of the 600 km Hindu Kush mountain range.

Afghanistan is completely landlocked, bordered by Iran to the west, by the Central Asian States of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north and northeast, by China at the easternmost top of the Wakhan Corridor and by Pakistan to the east and south.

Art and Music Afghanistan local arts spans back to many centuries. The world's oldest oil painting was also found in Afghanistan. One of the most famous kinds of art in Afghanistan is the Gandhara art found between the 1st and 7th century. The Gandhara art was based on Greco-Buddhist art. Since the 1900s, the nation began to use Western techniques in art and Abdul Ghafoor Breshna was a prominent Afghan painter and sketch artist from Kabul during the 20th century. He made many paintings and skteches but most were lost or destroyed during the decades.

Originally, the Afghan art was entirely done by men but in recent times the women have started venturing into arts programs at Kabul University. Art is largely centered at the National Museum of Afghanistan, the National Gallery of Afghanistan and the National Archives of Afghanistan in Kabul. There are a number of art schools in the country. The Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) in Kabul provides young people to learn contemporary paintings. The women in Afghanistan have also begun to take center stage in theatre arts.

Other known forms of art in Afghanistan are music, poetry and several sports . The art of making carpets and beautiful oriental rugs has been prominent for centuries in Afghanistan.

The Afghan carpets have certain prints that make them unique to Afghanistan.

Afghans enjoy music by playing many types of instruments.

The Attan, which is considered the national dance of Afghanistan is thoroughly enjoyed by the people. The folk songs or ballads are most popular amongst Afghans. Many of the songs are known by almost everyone and have been around for many years.

Cuisine Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt and whey. Afghanistan is at the culinary crossroads of many cultures. The cuisine relies on spices such as cumin, sesame, cinnamon and coriander, which are also central to Indian food. Green cardamom flavors Chinese green tea. The country's many kebabs show kinship with the Middle East, as does the liberal use of yogurt. The flagship dish of Afghan cuisine is the Kabuli Palaw, which consists of tender meat domed under rice that’s mixed with lentils, raisins and julienned carrots. It is also the national dish of Afghanistan.

The nation's culinary specialties reflect its ethnic and geographic diversity. Afghanistan is known for its high quality pomegranates, grapes and sweet football-shaped melons. Most food and trade recipes were traditionally handed down through the gen-

erations. Late in the 19th or early in the 20th century, a collection of formal gastronomy documents was published by the Afghan Government which included preparation, food history, cookware fabrication and dining etiquette.

Dastarkhan Known as dastarkhan , the floor spread is an important expression of culture in Afghanistan. Regardless of economic status, creating an adequate dastarkhan is important to any family, especially when hosting guests. A large tablecloth is spread over a traditional rug. Usually a young family member presents the “aftabah wa lagan”, a copper basin and elaborates pot filled with water, to each guest, pouring fresh water over the guest's hands. The dastarkhan is then filled with breads, accompaniments, relishes, appetizers, main courses, salads, rice, and fruits. ❐

november 2015 | india empire 35

evolvIng HIgHer educatIon

“Release regulatory grip,” says Ambassador Verma United States Ambassador to India Mr Richard Rahul Verma in October asked India to release its regulatory grip over its higher education system. This would enable leading universities and institutes of academic excellence in US to open up their campuses in India to cement Indo-US partnership in the field of higher education.

Addressing a Panel Discussion on ‘Reimaging the Future’ organized under the aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ambassador said, “regulatory regime in India, particularly in its higher education system, is stiffer and firmer that has halted institutions of academic excellence to set up their campuses in India even though India and US have closely been cooperating in the areas of space, defence, research, agriculture and ocean sciences”.

“What is needed as also called for are successive attempts on the part of the Indian government so that its regulatory grip over its higher education system is released earlier than anticipated to make sure that leading universities are able to expand in countries like India so that the partnership is further intensified and multiplied and the quality of education undergoes a massive transformation”, he said.

The alluded issue is very much in the knowledge of Prime Minister Mr Modi and US administration is hopeful that the referred grip would gradually snip away and the two largest democracies of the world begin to cooperate in the field of higher education also as India is the second largest country in the world whose students immigrate towards US for attainment of higher education, pointed out Ambassador Verma.

Presiding over the Panel Discussion, Purdue University President and former Governor of Indiana, Mr Mitch Daniels said that ethics should be made one of the subjects mandatory in the syllabi of management education in India. In his welcome remarks, President, PHD 36 india empire | november 2015

Mr Richard Rahul Verma

Chamber, Mr Alok B. Shriram suggested that the evolving education system in general and that of higher education in particular need to grow and get diversified to serve the emerging needs of the modern businesses with an element of practicality in it.

Among others who participated on the occasion consisted of CEO, Greenoil Energy Sciences Ltd. Mr Anupam Jalote; Purdue University Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, Mr Suresh Garimella, Co-Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Chamber Dr. Rubina Mittal and Secretary General, PHD Chamber, Mr Saurabh Sanyal. ❐

PHIlantHroPy and booKs

InvEsTmEnT foR

socIAl chAnGE

C

iting the example of American India Foundation (AIF), dedicated to catalysing social and economic change in India, an Indian-American business and philanthropy leader has advised donors to treat philanthropy as an investment. If one wants to do philanthropy "properly," one has "to treat it like an investment requiring thorough due diligence and regular goals and metrics tracking and assessment," AIF Chair Lata Krishnan said in an event.

AIF has more than 200 people in India who "source and screen" projects, monitor them while they are being implemented and deliver values to "investors," she said delivering the second American Bazaar Philanthropy Lecture. The essence of philanthropy is listening to those in need, she said. "It isn't about what we want to get done," said

Ms Krishnan. "It is about those who are underprivileged and in need; (and finding out) what do they want, and how can we best deliver that." Ms Krishnan, who co-founded two enormously successful companies with her husband Mr Ajay Shah, stressed the need for bringing business-oriented values to philanthropy, which, she said, is one of the two core things AIF focuses on.

Ms Krishnan and Mr Shah along with a friend, bootstrapped SMART Modular Technologies "with only USD 110,000 in angel funding" in the early 1990s. By 1995, when the duo took the company public, the firm had more than USD 1 billion in revenue. They sold the company in 2002. Currently, Ms Krishnan is the chief financial officer of Shah Capital Partners, which invests in technology companies. â?? —Arun Kumar Ms Lata Krishnan

BOOK LAUNCH

Justice Dr Arijit Pasayat, retired Supreme Court judge (2nd from left), Guruji Sri Chandrabhanu Satpathy (2nd from right), Mr Charudutta Panigrahi (left) and author Mr Uma Charan Naik at the launch of History of Kandhamal published by India Empire Publications 38 india empire | november 2015

DIASPORA NEWS

dIasPora: sPecIal column

REAlITY Is sTARK Before superannuating in July, Ambassador malay mishra was in charge of the Indian mission in hungary, and prior to that he headed the Indian mission in Trinidad and Tobago. In earlier stints with the mEA he had been Js (nRI), and later Js (Ds) with the moIA. he pens his thoughts hoping that the RPBD in los Angeles would pursue some course correction measures in order to get some wind in the tail of India’s diasporic engagements Dear Reader, As I write this column from a sparsely appointed office of the Forum for Integrated Research and Development, acronymed FIDR, where I am tasked to mentor some young and smart management and social work management graduates who hold a bright vision of servicing the poor through innovation and ideas, I think of my ersatz vision of a just and humane society against the backdrop of socially regressive forces playing out their obscurantist designs to disturb the delicate secular fabric of the most diverse society of the world.

Once upon a time, NRI stood for a “non responding Indian”, an Indian who left India suitably qualified in the stealth of night for greener pastures and better opportunities, to take life’s manifold challenges forward for his own good. Not any more, today’s NRI is very much a respectable entity carrying his motherland on his sleeve, if not in his blood system. Not yet, though Prime Minister Modi’s recent foray into the digital world of Silicon Valley with all the hype, adulation and ovation that 21st Century’s India’s visionary leader could muster, gave a fair idea of how India has come to regard her NRI breed. Honorable, as the PM succinctly put it “brains in storage”, a powerful brain gain holding enough potential to service India where more than a quarter of the population still comes under BPL, 40 india empire | november 2015

a rather uncharitable expression for people below poverty line.

The brain power incubated in the plush laboratories of Silicon Valley coagulates as a mighty force to unleash its potential to change the visage of India, or so it seems. And Mr Modi was just nibbling at the idea. Back home however, the reality is stark.

Digital India sounds good to power the mind, but perhaps this is an idea whose time may not have come yet, in harsh reality. The many Indian CEOs, who seemed to be eating out of the PM’s hand in their cerebral interactions, could change the landscape of India if circumstances suitably evolve to welcome them home and ease their efforts to invest in the digital sector of India.

Today even the poorest of the poor, in some God forsaken interior, sports a mobile telephone to keep himself connected. Connected with what, one will be tempted to ask. While bandwidth connectivity is a virtuous factoid of modern day society, connectivity among people themselves, better still between those who govern and those who are governed is of even more salience.

When the leadership goes out to connect hearts and minds overseas to bring them back for the country’s development, it is equally important to ensure that the country is not racked asunder in the name of obscure irredentism of the medieval age. For ex-

ample, food habits which are totally part of the personal domain of the citizen should not fall under the state’s dictat. Digital India is a modern concept and to foster in a milieu of modernity it presages understanding and goodwill among the umpteen groups and communities that dot the land. The dots need to be connected to make the picture perfect.

I remember when I had joined the fledgling Ministry of Overseas Affairs as a Joint Secretary to formulate policies for the Diaspora, it was an uphill task to even quantify the numbers, spread as they were, and still are, all over the globe, leading to the flattering epithet, “the sun never sets upon the Indian Diaspora”. Times have changed since.

Today the Diaspora is unabashedly wooed, welcomed with open arms to come to their motherland with finance, technology and ideas. Back home, it is a different story however. I know of one NRI from California who has been shouting hoarse in his home state of Odisha for government intervention and support for his project for the promotion of ayurveda with proper instrumentation which he has brought in, as part of his own technology transfer from the land of his success to the land where his story began.

Alas, he has no takers. And that, mind you, is the correct way to project ayurveda overseas, that which fits squarely with GOI’s policy.

Does this not jar in popular imagination? Is it not a contradictory narrative of aspirations melting away in sordid reality? Of course, civilizational India stands heads and

shoulders over very many countries in the world today, but that glorious heritage has to be preserved at any cost, of maintaining the oneness of the diverse land that we have proudly inherited. What does an overseas Indian stand tall for, while jostling for space in the congregation of peoples and interests? Granted his own worth, the habits that cloak his integrity, but at a different level for the essence of the undying, perpetually renewing civilization of which he is an integral part, unity in diversity.

This letter is particularly meant for all those overseas Indians who would have gathered thousands of miles away from their motherland, in the balmy environs of LA with their stellar achievements, each one a success story of which mother India is truly proud. But then the need for immediate course correction in social behavior among all religious and ethnic groups must not be lost sight of. Equally important, the essentiality of actually transforming the entire process of inviting NRIs for investment in India at the level of implementation should be taken seriously. Otherwise the inspirational words uttered by the Indian PM in the SAP Auditorium of San Jose will dissolve in an unfortunate void. Until Air India one touches some distant land some other time again to fete and pamper India’s overseas community. ❐

Malay Mishra november 2015 | india empire 41

scIence

InDIAns In fInAl

By Arun Kumar Indian-Americans failed to win the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge even as five of them made it to the final ten in the competition to develop scientific plans to solve everyday problems. The top prize of USD 25,000 and an "adventure trip" went to Hannah Herbst, 14, a Grade 8 student from of Boca Raton, Florida at the finals St. Paul.

She developed an Ocean Energy Probe that aims to provide a stable power source and fresh water to developing countries around the globe by using untapped energy from ocean currents. Last year 14-year-old Sahil Doshi, an Indian-American ninth grader from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was named America's top young scientist for his innovative, eco-friendly battery design. Among the five Indian-American finalists this year, Raghav Ganesh, 13, a 7th grader from San Jose, California has invented a device that predicts and prevents Autistic Meltdowns to help those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and their caregivers.

Monitoring physiological and environmental factors that can cause and trigger stress, Raghav's wireless and wearable machine alerts the wearer and caregiver when any stressors rise above a certain threshold. His invention allows care to be tailored to individuals' needs by recording all sensory data and therapeutic responses. Raghav hopes his invention can help many people in daily situations, catering to the Autistic population and their caregivers. With a goal of preventing distractions while trying to concentrate, Amulya Garimella, 11, a Grade 6 student from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has invented a distraction monitoring system that alerts the user of distraction by measuring EEG brainwaves.

When users get distracted, they will receive an alert reminding them to concentrate and get back to work. Amulya hopes that being distracted while doing homework or working will be a thing of the pas. Iris Gupta, 12, a sixth grader 42 india empire | november 2015

Raghav Ganesh

Amulya Garimella

Iris Gupta

Krishna Reddy

Sanjana Shah

Hannah Herbst, winner of the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, with her $25,000 prize money, and her mentor, Jeffrey Emslander, a 3M scientist

from North Potomac, Maryland, has invented a device to stop allergies at the source. She believes that by inhaling or injecting nanoparticles, allergens' ability to attach to antibodies present in one's body would be blocked as they entered one's systems. Her invention aims to give people suffering from allergies some much needed relief by testing to find the correct amount of nanoparticles optimal for blocking allergens.

Krishna Reddy, 13, Grade 7, from Wichita Falls, Texas, has invented a device that finds other substances that a breathalyzer for alcohol consumption cannot detect. Krishna created a pupillary reflex computer programme and apparatus that measures pupil dilation. Many drugs influence the uncontrollable movement of pupil dilation, and by detecting drugs through dilation, Krishna hopes many more preventable accidents can be stopped.

Sanjana V. Shah, 13, a Grade 8 student from Cupertino, California, has created a programme to detect where cities may need more drains and where they may need to increase current drain pipe sizes to prepare for heavy rain falls. By using pipe network analysis modelled after city drain pipe maps, Sanjana can simulate heavy rainfall to see where possible flooding may occur. â?? november 2015 | india empire 43

IndIans In west coast

GRIT, COURAGE AND

DETERMINATION From Lyallpur to Los Angeles, the extraordinary life journey of Mrs Deepi Singh, and how she overcame the handicap of a polio-stricken body to teach and serve patients with determination, grit and a smile on her face “Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy” —Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction writer

W

e live in times of forgetfulness. So when at age 81 someone distinctly recalls when and where she took her first baby steps in life, the person must be gifted with an extraordinarily sharp memory. And when at age 33 she is informed with a great deal of certitude by the head of the orthopedics department at an institution no less than the UCLA that she won’t be walking beyond age 40, and yet she is still managing fine at 81, albeit these days with a stick, she must be inordinately strong willed as well.

Meet Mrs Deepi Singh who between the ages of 5 and 81 has done quite a few remarkable things in life, stoking wonder and awe in equal measure not only in her doting husband, Mr Inder Singh, the chairman of the GOPIO International, but the community around her as well. Mrs Singh who lives in Tarzana, a suburb in Los Angeles, California, rose to become Director of Foods and Nutrition at Kaiser Permanente, an integrated managed care consortium based out of Oakland in the same state. A measure of the size of the company she worked for where she became a name to reckon with, can be gauged from this figure—in 2014, the non-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals reported a combined net income of USD 3.1 billion. And then she gave it all up to return to her favourite profession—teaching!

Which brings us to the point that the Chinese word for crisis has two distinct characters signifying danger and opportunity, in fact the proverb says that “crisis is opportunity riding a dangerous wind.” Mrs Singh walks that proverb every day, having turned an enormous crisis in her infancy—she was nine months old when severely afflicted with polio—into an opportunity to learn and discover things about her own self that she otherwise may not have explored. She also managed to 44 india empire | november 2015

excel in her profession in ways few others can, working to rise to the top everywhere, and making an instant impact. And to imagine that she started walking for the very first time only at age 5, and even then the real and constant danger of leading a crippled life shadowed her at every step. But Mrs Singh, powered by the force of her indomitable will, and the care of her parents, never gave up dreaming. Eleanor Roosevelt once famously said that “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Indeed Deepi Singh’s future was shaped by her own beautiful ones.

INITIAL YEARS, PARENTAL SUPPORT Mrs Singh’s story is paved in inspiration, but the initial steps in her life were taken on the cobbled streets of pain and rejection. When she could not run and walk like other kids in her school at Lyallpur in undivided Punjab (today Faisalabad, Pakistan), she felt rejected. But quickly, she resolved to turn that rejection into her strength, an ally that has stood by her all her life. The early years were indeed very hard. She had no sensation in her legs. She is grateful eternally to her parents who did their best to make their daughter gain confidence, and never feel pitied. Like Robert Heinlein says, they didn’t handicap her further by making her life very easy, she was made to feel like any other normal person. Her paternal grandfather, a well-todo physician, was very fond of her, and wanted her to get the very best treatment. Her own father, a postgraduate in Chemistry who Mrs Singh fondly remembers at every step in her life, left no stone unturned to deal with her difficulties. All efforts were made to ease her pain on those pathways pebbled with physical discomfiture.

Once French doctors came visiting Lyallpur, but the British would have no Indian subjects visit their arch rivals. In a stroke of ingenuity, Mrs Singh’s father wrapped his young

son,” Mrs Singh says.

While her father wanted Deepi Singh to become a medical doctor, she herself was quite averse to the idea of having a stethoscope around her neck. Several rounds of hospitals right from early childhood had made her somewhat tired of the medical community. “I just did not want to see the face of a doctor or a hospital, I had been examined by so many doctors during my growing up years,” she says. She deliberately left her questions answered, even though her father sent her to sit in several medical school examinations. Earning the F.Sc (Fellow of Science) was just not on for Deepi Singh. Then one day when she informed her parents that she wanted to be a criminal attorney, they blew a fuse. She then decided upon Home Science, and her parents conceded, sending her to Delhi’s Lady Irwin College from where she graduated with a B.Sc., and then added a B.Ed against her name. The last degree would allow her to teach, at Delhi’s Lady Irwin School, which came naturally to her. The bone grafting surgery in one of her legs during this time helped. “Earlier I used to travel in buses with crutches,” she recalls.

Mrs Deepi Singh daughter in a blanket and smuggled her into a French doctor’s cabin. A team examined the feeble and young Deepi Singh at length, and finally advised her father on the course of action to alleviate her problems. Mrs Singh’s parents determinedly started carrying out all the exercises and medications as prescribed by the doctors, and even went a step further—her father regularly corresponded with the French doctors who kept dispatching to him the latest research, remedies, and rehabilitation studies on polio. It all began to work out well, and the young Deepi Singh took her first baby steps at the ripe old age of 5!

It is with a great deal of fondness that she recalls that moment. “I remember that day very clearly, because prior to that I used to fall easily because my legs were extremely weak.” At age 7 she attended the Sacred Heart Convent High School in Lyallpur, an institution where the Nuns were extremely supporting, even putting in place a special commode for the child.

She recalls having danced at a concert in spite of her obvious handicap. Her parents constantly pushed her into raising her game, no obvious sympathies were shown, or handicaps granted, because of her affliction. It helped her become more determined to pursue her dreams, much like what the Berlin Olympics hero Jesse Ownes once said, “we all have dreams.

But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

EDUCATING DEEPI Post partition, her family moved to Jalandhar, and life changed. She was now attending a regular Government school, starved of funds, and with peers who were not as well groomed as those in her school in Lyallpur. They would often laugh at her discomfiture, and make open fun. While it did make her dejected, it did not break her will. “When I look back today, I think everything happened for the best, it all had a rea-

KAPURTHALA, AND BEYOND She was the first girl in Home Science in the state of Punjab to have earned a B.Sc with a B.Ed. It immediately helped her walk into a teaching job at the Randhir College in Kapurthala. But the journey to college was anything but a walk in the park. She had learnt to bicycle, and this she did for five kilometers to the bus-stop, before boarding the bus that would take her to Kapurthala. The return leg was similar.

When one day she expressed a desire to study further, her encouraging father immediately let her know how proud he was of her. He had promised me that he would let me study as long as I wanted to. “‘What you earn through studies are like jewellery, but no one can ever steal them from you,’ my father would say,” Mrs Singh says nostalgically, recalling how it meant moving away from home once more. By then she was helping her father handle all his accounts, because his vision had deteriorated sharply. When she asked her father how he would manage on his own, his reply was that of a hugely self-respecting, self-reliant man, “that is not your problem.

You must go and study.”

LIFE IN GUJARAT So, off Deepi Singh went to Baroda to get a Masters in Food and Nutrition. When she was leaving for Baroda, one of her relatives asked her whether she would ask her father for money for her higher studies, since he was sick and ailing. It was a huge moment in Mrs Singh’s life. She decided there and then that she would not ask for any further financial help from her father. At the MS University Baroda she met with the dean and said she needed a job to sustain her studies. She got one, as a social worker in Gujarat—working for someone who was doing a doctorate on the dietary impact of lactating mothers’ milk. In order to break through the wall of skepticism about the subject, she learnt to speak Gujarati, wore Gujarati outfits and “became one of them.” Life was tough. Sleeping in a dorm with its noisy environs wasn’t easy. Deepi Singh would wake up at 1 in the morning, and study till 5—those were the quietest hours she could find. Hard work paid handsomely, she topped november 2015 | india empire 45

IndIans In west coast

cents an hour. We need the extra money to pay for student loans, and meet our expenses,” she recalls.

Mrs Singh with the Kaiser family the university. She found a job in Chandigarh, and almost immediately lost her father. “He was living to see me become successful. He left a happy man,” she says, eyes moistening up.

BACK IN PUNJAB At age 25, and married to Mr Inder Singh, she became a gazetted officer, and quickly made chairperson of the food and nutrition department at the Home Science College in Chandigarh. No student failed during the 7 years she taught there. She started teaching “Homemakers’ Classes”, attended in the evenings by daughters of the affluent and influential. One of her students was the daughter in law of the then Governor of Punjab. So impressed was she by Mrs Singh’s teachings that she convinced her father in law to throw a dinner in honour of the frail young nutritionist. When Mrs Singh and her husband arrived in a red scooter at the gates of the Governor’s bungalow, they were stopped. This was no place for the hoi polloi they were told by the guards, but only for the limousine classes.

But the uniformed sentinels quickly realized their grave error, it was Mrs Singh who was the guest of honour that day!

AMERICA CALLING Dr Awtar Singh, Mrs Singh’s eldest brother, had moved to the USA some years ago, and was a professor at the UCLA. He asked her to come over as well. By now Mrs Singh was head examiner and had extra income in the summers. Mr Inder Singh also had a very good career as a manager in the finance department of the Government of Punjab.

Once her brother sponsored her, the decision to seek a new life became easier for Mrs Singh. In 1967, she joined a Masters course in public health and nutritional sciences at the UCLA. Her husband and son joined her six months down the line. The initial years were one of struggle. From settled jobs back in Punjab, they were now working odd ones to survive— once again Mrs Deepi Singh decided that she would not borrow money, this time from her fairly well-to-do brother. “Here I was a few months before in India heading the Foods and Nutrition Department at the Home Science College in Chandigarh, and suddenly in the USA I was baby-sitting for 50 46 india empire | november 2015

LIFE IN A HOSPITAL While she had refused to become a doctor, and not wanted to be inside a hospital in her earlier years, in the USA her father’s words came back to push Mrs Singh to give a hospital job a shot.

When she joined Kaiser Permanente as an assistant director after her master’s degree, she had 6 dieticians reporting to her at the 300-bed hospital. She was planning 3-4 meals per patient on a daily basis and handling hundreds of patients every year. Four years down the line the retiring director proposed her name as a successor. As director, her team grew to 60.

RETURN TO TEACHING But teaching was her real calling in life, something she had started doing at Delhi’s Lady Irwin School, and later at Kapurthala. Seven years into her directorship of one of the largest hospitals in the west coast of the USA, Mrs Singh decided she wanted to teach, and no longer wanted to be the paper-pushing administrator she had turned into. From hiring nutritionists, she would become one of them. She would have to take a cut in her salary. But she displayed the determination of old, and her mind was made up. The management, though, would not want her to go away, and even decided not to reduce her salary. For everyone at the hospital, “she was the little Indian lady that limps.” A special job profile was created for her. Now she was required to teach patient classes and provide consultation to patients on diet on a one-on-one basis. In all she worked 40 years at Kaiser, and another 8 years in India.

RETIREMENT, AND BEYOND Along with retirement came requests for appearing on television and radio, where she would discuss her favourite topics on diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension. Once when she gave her viewers a phone number, she received in excess of 300 calls, some came in from northern neighbor Canada. These days when Mrs Deepi Singh, lady of extraordinary willpower, finds the time, she is to be heard on radio, talking about nutrition, diets and weight reduction. Even writing for publications is something she likes.

A message for the world? “Well, whatever handicap you have, you can conquer those with hard work, sincerity and willpower. Determination will help you triumph over all obstacles and roadblocks.” Few can deny that the girl from Lyallpur has indeed walked the talk, and come a long, ❐ long way.

—Sayantan Chakravarty

strategIc dIalogue

Investment in Education

E

ntrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam would like fellow Indian-Americans to make a strategic investment in education in India as it is the great equalizer and opportunity creator.

"Supporting educational institutions is one of our highest priorities because education is the key to opportunity and the bridge to the future," he said during the Second American Bazaar Philanthropy Dialogue and Dinner.

Dozens of prominent philanthropists, nonprofits, stakeholders and leaders from the South Asian and Indian American philanthropic community attended the dialogue to brainstorm giving. Ms Lata Krishnan chair of the American India Foundation delivered the 2nd American Bazaar Philanthropy lecture. "While education is important in America, the needs are even greater in India and that is why I am supporting initiatives in India," Mr Islam said. "My intent is to use education as a tool to improve the socioeconomic status of the underprivileged in India. My desire is those who benefit will in turn contribute towards social, political, and economic development in India," he added.

Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, born Islam has announced a USD 2 million donation to his alma mater, Aligarh Muslim University, which "shaped my history and my journey and determined my destiny," for building the Frank and Debbie Islam School of Management. The school, Islam said will place emphasis on entrepreneurship and preparing the students at AMU to become entrepreneurial leaders and engage in economic development activities that will create jobs and opportunities for thousands of people throughout India. "We see our contribution not as a charity but as an investment that will yield exponential returns," he said.

"We not only support AMU, but also give to other educational institutions as well here in US and in India," said Islam who was presented the American Philanthropy award for his pioneering efforts in the fields of education arts and culture. Receiving the award from Mr Arun M. Kumar, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, Islam told fellow Indian-Americans that they had done well in the US and now it was their turn to do good in India. "Let us together change the face of India. One family, one village and one life at a time. Let us extend our hope, our help, and our hand so that we can together change the face of the world," he said.

Apart from AMU, Islam has made major gifts and supported scholarships at his alma mater in the US, the University of Colorado at Boulder and his wife Ms Debbie 48 india empire | november 2015

Mr Frank Islam with President Obama Driesman's alma mater in Canada, Western University among others. Underlining the importance of strategic philanthropy, Islam said, "I invest in education and promotion of the arts because these are two of those critical areas. I refer them as pivot points -areas that can be leveraged to build a bigger and better future for all. Education is a pivot point because it is the great equaliser and opportunity creator," he said. "Art is also a pivot point because it educates and advances social causes. Art and culture transcend all boundaries." Islam has also donated USD 1 million to the US Institute of Peace, an organization devoted to nonviolent prevention and mitigation of conflict around the globe, "because it's very much engaged in curbing violent extremism. In addition they are engaged to make the transition to peaceful and stable democracy," â?? he said. —Arun Kumar

arts

Mr Sedunath Prabhakar

PRAbHAKAR’S

bRUSH WITH

HISTORY

A

Kerala painter has created history Down Under through his unique painting "Pride of Australia" in which 50 eminent Australian personalities are depicted on a single canvas. The canvas measures 50 metres in length and 1.5 metres in width. Melbourne-settled Keralite painter Mr Sedunath Prabhakar's work, which took him close to three years to finish, won him many accolades when it was showcased for the first time at Glen Eira city Town Hall, Melbourne in September.

The event was inaugurated

50 india empire | november 2015

by Mr Craig Ondarchie, state member of northern metropolitan region, shadow minister for investment and jobs, and other Australian dignitaries. "I received a good response when the exhibition opened and was approached to showcase my work in other Australian cities too," Mr Prabhakar said. "Ever since I landed in Australia seven years back, what fascinated me was the country's rich indigenous culture and history.

Many famous personalities and their contributions triggered within me the desire to provide a tribute to them and to this country, through my artistic talent," said Mr Prabhakar. "After lot of research, I selected 50 personalities."

PRIDE OF AUSTRALIA has been created in a single canvas

The 50 personalities include Ms Donald Bradman, first lady prime minister of Australia Ms Julia Gillard, Captain James Cook (explorer), Mr John Monash (Army Commander who took part in World War I), Mr Patrick White (Nobel Awardee), Ms Emily Kame Kngwarreye (aboriginal artist), swimmer Ian Thorpe and footballer Tim Cahill among others.

Recalling his piece of art, Mr Prabhakar said that he first sketched the individual and then used acrylic medium to paint. It took, on an average, three to four days for him to complete each of the 50 personalities. He was elated by the response he received from the guests and Mr Craig Ondarchie. "But he (Prabhakar) will be another icon who is from another country and made an amazing portrait of our

greats. I have never seen this kind of a tribute in Australian art history," said Mr Nick Staikos, an MP. The painting is on a canvas which can be rolled up and, thus, is easily portable.

Hailing from Kidangoor in Kottayam district, Mr Prabhakar did his graduation in Fine Arts from the prestigious Baroda School of Arts in 1998 and reached Melbourne in 2008 along with his wife who now works as a social worker.

Mr Prabhakar is not resting on his laurels and is trying to explore the possibilities of a fusion of Australia's rich artistic tradition with his own. "I am now looking forward to meet indigenous Australian artists to work with them and learn from them. I also would like to teach them some of our Indian traditions," added Mr Prabhakar. â?? november 2015 | india empire 51

baba and maI

Suriname Memorial in Kolkata In October, Minister for External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs, Ms Sushma Swaraj unveiled a memorial here to honour thousands of Indian indentured workers forced to work as labourers in sugar plantations in Suriname. She inaugurated the 'Suriname Memorial' in the presence of West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi and Suriname envoy to India Ms Aashna Kanhai.

It has been set up at the Suriname Jetty under the Kolkata Port Trust, from where the indentured workers from India set sail in ships to the small country located on the north-east Atlantic coast of South America from 1873 to 1910. Gifted by the Surinamese Government, the memorial is a bust of 'Baba and Mai' - a depiction of male and female indentured workers known as father and mother - and a replica of a monument in Suriname capital Parimaribo. It symbolises the first Indian man and woman to set foot in the Dutch-speaking nation. "This memorial is not only in the honour of those who went to Suriname but thousands of our forefathers forced to migrate to other countries as

indentured workers," Ms Sushma Swaraj said at the event.

"There are numerous heart-rending stories of Indian indentured workers who faced numerous hardships. It was their endurance, hard work and determination that they not only survived despite all odds, but went on to become successful in all fields. Two of Suriname's presidents – Mr Ramsewak Shankar and Mr Ramdat Misier - were of Indian origin," said the minister. She also lauded the Indian diaspora in foreign countries for preserving Indian culture and values and tradition.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Kanhai said the memorial would play a big role in strengthening the already cordial bilateral ties with India. "Around 34,000 Indian indentured workers migrated to Suriname, many of whom perished during the voyage that took more than three months. Most carried the Ramayana, Hanuman Chalisa or Quran with them while some carried the Victoria rupee that still is a very desirable gift in Suriname. Even in my family, we have a Victoria rupee," said Ms Kanhai. "I represent the fourth generation of those who left this very shore and I am honoured for that," she added.

"From this jetty several people, in the prime of their youth, left Indian shores as indentured labourers to work in Suriname, to face an uncertain future. The migration spanned between 1870 and early 20th century," reads the plaque below the memorial, set up jointly by the Governments of the two countries. The first ship named Lalla Rookh, carrying Indian indentured labourers, had arrived in Suriname in June 1873. Mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the indentured labourers were shipped from the Calcutta port on the Hooghly banks during the 19th and 20th centuries. An estimated 1.5 million bonded Indian labourers were transported to various parts of the world in the service of British colonial masters. â??

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs and Foreign Affairs, Mrs Sushma Swaraj at the Suriname Memorial. Others in the picture include West Bengal Governor, Mr K N Tripathi, MOIA Secretary, Mr A.K. Agarwal and West Bengal Finance Minister Mr Amit Mitra

52 india empire | november 2015

antI-bullyIng

WhITE hoUsE ToUGhEns UP By arun Kumar The White House has teamed up with a Sikh and an Asia Pacific community group to launch a public awareness campaign to address bullying in six languages including Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The resources for the "Act To Change" campaign are also available in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese as one out of three in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community does not speak English fluently.

The initiative launched, in partnership with The Sikh Coalition and the Coalition Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) will also feature video testimonials of AAPI celebrity athletes, artists, and entertainers. "Growing up, sometimes people made me feel like an outsider; I was the perfect storm of nerdy, gay, and Indian American," wrote Mr Maulik Pancholy, a member of the President's Advisory Commission on AAPI discussing the campaign. "But now, I've come to find that those very things that were sometimes used as fodder against me are the things I love the most about myself," he wrote in a White House blog post.

"I have the privilege to be connected to amazing communities of incredible people: people who know that it's actually cool to nerd out about stuff, who celebrate the strength and joy of what it means to identify as LGBT, and who appreciate the rich cultural heritage of being Indian American. It's okay to be weird, but it's NOT okay to be bullied," said Mr Pancholy, noting: "Every day, kids of all

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ages suffer from being bullied in schools across the country." In the AAPI community, this problem is often complicated by cultural, religious, and linguistic barriers that can keep AAPI youth from getting the help they need, he said.

"And we've seen that certain AAPI groups - including South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Micronesian, and limited English proficient youth - are more likely to be the targets of bullying," Mr Pancholy wrote.

In addition to raising awareness, the campaign encourages AAPI youth and adults to share their stories, engage in community dialogues, and take action against bullying.

The campaign website, ActToChange.org, includes video and music empowerment playlists, and encourages one to "Take a Pledge" to join the #ActToChange movement and stand up against bullying. The Sikh Coalition has also launched a new anti-bullying awareness video. The short five-minute film was developed for community members to share on social media to raise awareness to the challenges that Sikh children face when confronting this problem. Sikh children are acutely vulnerable to abuse in our nation's schools, said the Sikh Coalition's law and policy director, Mr Arjun Singh. "The bullying of Sikh children is an epidemic," he said noting that the Coalition's 2014 national bullying report found that 67 percent of turbaned Sikh children have been bullied. â??

cHarIty

SIKHS HELP NORTHAMPTON

The Sikh community is offering free hot meals to the homeless and the poor in Northampton town in Britain. This is done every Sunday, the Northampton Chronicle reported in October. A Sikh leader, Mr Amarjit Atwal, was quoted as saying that the numbers queuing up for the free food had been growing each week. There were about 140 people over the last two weeks, he said.

"Last November we were having 20 people but more are coming all the time now. I would say about two-thirds are homeless, living in doorways with all their belongings. Some prefer to live like that. But most of the rest are vulnerable people ... who cannot always afford hot meals. There are some people who tell us they have not had a hot meal for three days.

I think they come to us because they rely on services that are only there during the week. They need more support at weekends," Mr Atwal said.

Mr Atwal also noted that many of those he spoke to were educated but problems like benefit cuts and wrong decisions cost them their jobs, homes and families, forcing them into poverty. The Sikh community does not take cash donations but accepts clothes and other useful material. â??

november 2015 | india empire 55

busIness and commerce

STARTUP GUIDANCE Valterra Corporate Advisors Pvt Ltd is mid market Boutique corporate Advisory Firm Mainly Active in USA, EU and India Corridor since 2010. Its main activities are focused on Country entry business advice for firms in India and USA. Fund Raising for corporates through special structures in debt and Equity. Guidance to Startups and Incubators. The firm is navigated by Mr Jayant Borkar who has Mr Jayant Borkar been Investment Banker and Investor. He is MBA from FMS, Delhi and BE from NIT Surathkal. He also Holds Masters in Business Laws from NLSIU, Bangalore. India Empire magazine is well known name among NRIs given its wider reach across the globe to NRI. India Empire Magazine along with Valterra has come together to showcase the best of the Indian Startups to the NRI investors across the globe through its dedicated startups covering going forward and they found the RPBD platform as most appropriate one to launch their Novel Initiative for participation of NRIs Investor in Indian Startups Ecosystem

How do you see the Indian startups story unfolding in future?

I am extremely bullish on startups sector in India as it has changed the landscape of retail industry completely. There are many Unicorns (Revenue in excess of $1Bn) in makings. Development of market places is good for industry segment as it brings the market players on to one platform. Logistic segment is going to be the backbone. There is huge enthusiasm among youth to dream big, especially in technology-oriented field. This will generate lot of employment and create jobs.

How do you see the Silicon Valley Influencing Indian Startups?

Silicon Valley has been the centre of Technological Revolution and Innovation and India’s best of the technical minds get attracted here. At the beginning there would be mostly the copying of the models and customisation as per the needs of Indian market, but as the ecosystem matures I see serious innovations taking place back in India as well. But for that to happen it will take a little time.

Which are the segments and startups that you are mentoring at present?

At present there are startups from Logistic, Ecommerce, Agriculture, Banking and Social Impact sectors that are being mentored and prepared for strategic fund raising.

How do you see event like this helping Indian Startups Ecosystem?

Event of such nature will play extremely important role to showcase the world fantastic things that are taking place in start ups space in India.It will also facilitate and smoothen the interaction of Indians here in Silicon Valley to contribute to the development and prosperity of India under the guid❐ ance of most vibrant and pro active government.

56 india empire | november 2015

recognItIon

NIRMaL SINHa HONOURED

Mr Nirmal Sinha has been inducted to the 2015 Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame honorees

Ohio’s well-known Indian community leader Nirmal Sinha was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame on October 15.

As a representative of the Asian Indian community, Mr Sinha has received national recognition for his civil rights contribution. Serving as President and Trustee of the Federation of Asian Indian Associations (FIA) of Central Ohio, President of the Asian Indian American Business Group (AIABG) and a member of the Asian Indian Alliance of Ohio, Sinha has helped Ohio grow in its diversity and acceptance of the Asian Indian Community.

In order to promote trade and international relations of Ohio, Sinha regularly hosts business leaders and diplomatic delegates from various countries such as Russia, China, South Africa and India. He accompanied President Clinton during his visit to India for promoting international trade.

As Commissioner of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission from 1991 through 2006, Sinha developed programs to welcome new immigrants to the U.S. and created outreach programs for various ethnic groups including Asian and Hispanic communities. 1n 2003, Mr. Sinha received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor which recognizes American citizens who celebrate their history, traditions and values of their ancestry while exemplifying the values of the American way of life.

As one supporter said, “Mr. Sinha approaches every challenge with empathy, reason, passion and ❐ dignity.”

column: yogI asHwInI

mInd and body

SPIRITUAL IS SATVIK

By Yogi Ashwini YoGi aShwini

W

hy do you do dhyan? What is the purpose of mantras? All of you had seen certain colours and forms when you were made to close your eyes for five minutes. How could you see these colours when your eyes were shut?

Some might say, it is the subconscious mind at play, but even for that to happen it takes at least twenty minutes while you just sat for five minutes…

Understand this, it is not just the eyes that are seeing, or ears that are hearing…there is more to you. The mantras that you just chanted, every mantra is a dhwani (sound) and dhwani is what you are, what your body is. When you chant or listen to a dhwani that brings jagriti (awakening) inside you, then every cell of the body experiences this energy in the form of prana.

When you hear an unpleasant noise, you feel disturbed.

You can try shutting your ears at that time but the sound will continue disturbing you because the sound is not just affecting your ears. Similarly if you are watching a beautiful sunrise, even if you shut your eyes, you will feel the pleasantness inside you, because the visual is not just affecting your eyes. The five senses are controlled by the brain and are only involved in the physical act and you have tied yourself to this physical act. For example, when you eat food, you tie yourself to the taste of masalas. Try eating the food without the spices for sometime, you will get to experience the actual taste of food… Once I had gone to a Chinese restaurant and while ordering food, I asked the waiter not to put ajinomoto, chilly sauce and other spices. He expressed his concern that without these the food would have no taste.

I told him that had I wanted the taste of masalas, I would have ordered just the masalas, why bother to order food?

Baffled, he got the food as ordered but as soon as he placed in on the table, he poured the sauces that were kept there on it. I asked him, what did he just do? He replied that if he had not added these, the food would have tasted like nothing. So that was the level of his consciousness/awareness…he could not comprehend that food has its own flavour. Had there been no flavour, the food would have been colourless. Though colourless too has a flavour, which can be experienced at a higher state of consciousness.

For example, the people who do tapa on the mountains observe fasts for long months and take in the prana from 58 india empire | november 2015

the atmosphere - that has its own flavour. Everything has a flavour…the deeper and darker is the colour, the grosser is the flavour. The same holds true of life—the more you try to enjoy, more disappointed you will be as desires and expectations can never be satiated The things, with which you have maximum expectation, will disappoint you the most.

Those who excel in academics are the ones who are most disappointed with it. “I only got 99 per cent, I could have got 0.1 per cent more!”

Once I remember in college we were checking our results on the notice board. I was the happiest among all those around me. One of the people, who seemed most dissatisfied, thought that I had topped and enquired the same. I had got a 50 per cent while he had got an 85 per cent! He had an expectation of 100, while I had none, I was happy to pass. When you have no expectations, there is no question of disappointment.

The people who enjoy good food and make efforts to render it more tasty are the ones who crib the most after eating, that the food was not up to the mark. At times, they even forget to put salt in my food, but I am never disappointed. I have no expectations from the food because it's taste can only please the taste buds and that too for a couple of minutes. That’s it. Then what is the point? Not just food or academics, you may also look at your relationships.

When you establish a relationship with a lot of excitement, there is a lot of expectation from it, but then the same expectations become the biggest source of your disappointment.

The bottom line is, the more attached you are to something or someone, the more disappointed you will be. This holds true even for your Guru figure. The more attached you are to the Guru physically, the more you relate to the physical body, the more disappointed you will be. That is why it is said that one must relate to the Guru as energy and access that in totality. Those who expect physical things out of me are the most disappointed; those who access me in the realm of the ether stay content because Spiritual is Satvik, there is no taste in it. So if even the body of Guru can do nothing for you, you can rest assured that everything ❐ else in life is surely a disappointment.

—The writer Yogi Ashwini Ji is the head of Dhyan Foundation, Delhi. For details contact: ashwiniyogi@yahoo.co.in