India Abroad - NGO Special

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INDEX Letters to the Editor......................................A2 People................................................................A3 Immigration..................................................A66 Business........................................................A52 Community....................................................A61 Magazine.......................................................M1 Sports.............................................................A58 Pages: 68+12+4=84

Friday, November 29, 2013 XLIV No.9

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LETTERS

What ails science in India ‘India aims at Mars,’ (Cover Story, India Abroad November 15), is a story that is sure to elevate the spirits of most Indians and expatriates.

This is an example and a result of the vision that Indian leaders of another generation had forged. Indian scientists, given some support and encouragement, proved that they are capable of the highest level of achievement in research and technology.

It is sad to observe, however, that today’s political leaders in India have mostly narrow interests and little vision for the nation as a whole.

The characterization of India’s political leaders by Dr C N R Rao, the newly minted Bharat Ratna awardee, as ‘idiots’ may be too blunt, but is not too off the mark.

When political leaders have vision, the nation rises and achieves as a whole, but when there is no vision, when only narrow interests — personal, political and economic — become the primary goals, the nation suffers, and could perish.

As an expatriate Indian I feel proud of India’s democracy, in spite of all its warts, but it is very sad to observe that Professor C N R Rao contemporary India’s political leaders have shown neither vision nor courage to think big. Instead, they have consistently demonstrated their proclivity to serve narrow personal and regional political interests.

Having visited China several years ago, and revisited India twice recently after a long interval, I am struck with the contrast between the leadership’s vision in these two countries.

China exudes national confidence, India shows deep self doubt. China’s leaders have been able to forge a powerful and confident nation despite regional issues. India’s political leadership, enmeshed in personal and regional interests, has failed to develop a common vision for the nation.

Disturbing remarks from India’s celebrated scientist at this

No welfare state?

Seriously?

Bharat Desai and Shashi Dave’s letters (‘No welfare state please’, India Abroad, October 25) were equivalent to Sarah Palin’s one liners.

How could anyone from the Indian subcontinent be blind to the role of government?

If not for the government, what would become of the unmet needs of Americans who struggle below the poverty level, face setbacks to finance education, suffer from being uninsured, who are subject to the tricks of the insurance industry, and/or the medical conglomerates?

Most Indians who made their way to the United States were educated in institutions supported by funds from the government of India.

The majority of Indian physicians here went to medical schools which were funded by the people of India.

These individuals are now on the GOP’s tail-pipe as they are supposedly fighting for their much needed lower taxes.

They have forgotten how they benefited in India, yet, are now in big business on the backs of many seeking health care in the US, screaming that

India Abroad November 29, 2013

time, modified later in a ‘damage control’ statement, should not be dismissed as an angry outburst. These views resonate with the views of millions who would like India to have a common national vision.

India’s leaders do need to think big and support science and technology research more vigorously. Yes, with more money.

Surinder Bhardwaj Professor Emeritus, Geography Kent State University Kent, Ohio II Professor C N R Rao is absolutely right.

Funding for science is paltry in India, and it is amazing that even with sparse funding you see some exponential spikes in the research output sporadically.

In materials science, except the creamy layer, many of India’s institutions are conservatively 20 years behind because many institutions lack cutting-edge facilities.

Computational materials science badly needs a nationwide fiber optic link.

There is a total disconnect between the biochemistry, biophysics communities to integrate materials science with life and medical sciences.

Politicians are not at all understanding the realities, they are in utopia and deliri-

um.

No one at DST, CSIR ever return telephone calls or reply to e-mails. They are shy of using Skype, and use the obsolete Indian postal system for transfer of materials from India to abroad.

India needs to revamp its recruitment of scientists. Salaries are not on par with the rising cost of living. It is a tragic state of affairs. Poor communication within India is also plaguing Indian science.

the US government hands out ‘freebies to the needy and lazy.’

That line, incidentally, is rattled off

by Palin, Cruz, Boehner, and every illeducated gun carrying Tea Party supporter in America’s backwaters.

Today, a number of wealthy Indians unashamedly shuffle their parents here and despite their wealth, make all the maneuvers to place them under Medicaid — a US government benefit for the needy. They are quick to condemn the needy as lazy, yet adept at exploiting a government program to avoid humane expenses for a parent.

Few Indians or recent immigrant minorities would admit that they continue to benefit from the Civil Rights struggles of so many African Americans. Had it not been for black Americans, we Indians would have been subjected to more obvious indignities.

‘If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich,’ said President Kennedy. The rights of the displaced should never be up to the whims of a few individuals, and this fact alone confirms the need for moral and just government policies.

President Obama is the voice this nation needs for affordable health care, for those who lack equal access to edu-

Professor V Renugopalakrishnan, Boston

cation, and for those whose voting rights are being trampled on.

This swarm of GOP killer bees in Congress will meet their demise with the increasing acceptance of Affordable Care Act even though they have managed momentarily to obstruct this law even from the state level through Republican governors.

This nation has become a war zone and it is a shame that this President has to go to battle to create a more just society.

The GOP has certainly made a concerted effort to destabilize the United States government through its continued opposition in Congress. Whether it is to end gun violence, feed the hungry, provide equal quality education, address the stand your ground laws, expand Medicaid (3.6 million people) for the needy, or to even get the food industry to lower sodium…..their people are there to deny the truth.

Meanwhile, GOP welfare benefits keep flowing in the form of subsidies.

Why would any Indian become a Sarah Palin, or Tom Cruz puppet?

There was one Indian called Dinesh.

He profited for a short time with a series of hate literature, but he fell.

Alphiene Anthraper By e-mail

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PEOPLE

Celebration of words

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Shekhar’s next magnum opus

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/HUISCEBEATHA

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hekhar Kapur has a fascinating new project in his kitty. FX has put in development a television series on Rasputin and roped in the Indian filmmaker of Elizabeth and Bandit Queen fame to direct it.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Russia’s Romanov dynasty and Rasputin was a pivotal force during the Romanovs’s final years.

‘Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring will write the script based on the upcoming book Shekhar Kapur Rasputin: Dark Forces And The Fall of The Romanovs by Douglas Smith,’ reports Deadline. ‘Kapur will direct and executive produce with Scheuring. Smith serves as consultant.’

When the newsbreak came, Kapur posted, ‘#rasputin Was he the Devil or a Saint?’

Jhumpa Lahiri at the National Book Awards in New York, November 20, a photograph that Heather McCormack tweeted noting, ‘Jhumpa Lahiri: best dress hands down #nbawards.’

Lahiri’s Booker-nominated novel The Lowland lost out in the fiction category to James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird.

George Packer won the non-fiction prize for The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America; Mary Szybist won the poetry prize for Incarnadine and Cynthia Kadohata the young people’s literature award for The Thing About Luck. E L Doctorow received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters for his work spanning five decades while Maya Angelou was honored with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

When BFFs chat

On the Obama team W ell Kal Penn’s recently axed show We are Men was a disappointment, but all in all he has been doing a good balancing act with his acting career and his interest in political awareness and involvement. He served as a member of the Obama National Arts Policy Committee in 2008, as an associate director of the Office of Public Engagement with the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2011 and as a National Campaign co-chair in 2012.

We were delighted to hear that The Namesake star is returning to the Obama team as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. A committee that also includes The Namesake author Jhumpa Lahiri.

Congrats, Kal!

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Gargee Ghosh

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JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

Kal Penn at the White House in 2009 during his stint at the Office of Public Engagement.

ays after the Kal Penn appointment, President Barack Obama appointed Gargee Ghosh, director, policy analysis and financing, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as member of the President’s Global Development Council.

Ghosh, who has been with the Gates Foundation since 2004, has earlier worked at McKinsey & Company, Google and the Center for Global Development.

Considering the trajectory of another Gates Foundation import — USAID administrator Dr Raj Shah who had served as director, agricultural development, at the foundation — we are going to stay tuned for more on Ghosh.

here is so much that Mindy Kaling and Lena Dunham have in common. They are funny, they are smart, they are creators and they are friends. So when Tavi Gevinson, founder and editor, Rookie, commissioned a conversation between the Girls star and The Mindy Project star for the site’s second print publication, Rookie: Yearbook Two, something fantastic was bound to came out of it.

The interview, which debuted online on Rolling Stone, is everything we love about Mindy. She opens up about what makes her laugh, what makes her feel guilty, her parents and other role models, gender bias and sexism.

And the reply about what she would like her legacy just fuelled our Mindy crush: ‘“She threw the most amazing parties and she had the most gorgeous and cheerful husband. Gay teenagers would dress up as her for Halloween.

She seemed to have read every book, yet no one ever saw her reading. She had the appetite of an Olympic swimmer and the physique of an Olympic figure skater. She dressed like Chloë Sevigny and could fuck for hours...”

‘I could write those for another 10 pages.

Truthfully, I guess I would like to be remembered as a great writer and a kind person. I wouldn’t mind if an expensive bag were named after me, like Jane Birkin.’

PEOPLE

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A fellowship for Madam Ambassador

Kicking off the red carpet season COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/NMENONRAO

Oscar winner A R Rahman at the Governors Awards banquet of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.

‘First held in 2009, the Governors Awards started as a low-key, parlor-style celebration that was meant to push the honorary Oscars, and their aging recipients, out of the annual telecast,’ wrote The New York Times. ‘But it... has evolved into a free-for-all campaign stop for those who want to be seen as candidates for the current round of Oscars.’

Rahman wrote, ‘Knowing what commitment it takes to do something outside of your comfort zone, I felt Angelina (Jolie, who was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) really deserved the love she got from the Academy...’

He added, ‘Met Mychael Danna (Life of Pi composer) and his lovely Indian wife (Aparna) on the way out — though we have worked together in Water, this is the first time we met...’

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Nirupama Rao tweeted this photo November 12 saying, ‘Leaving Washington DC for India in a few hours. Last photo at the Embassy Residence with autumn leaves and my son.’

Gates’s lesson from India

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Freida Pinto, Dev Patel and an ‘in-love’ moment at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Inaugural Gala in Beverly Hills last month.

CHARLEY GALLAY/GETTY IMAGES

Freida in a new zone

COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/ARRAHMAN

reida Pinto enjoys trying new roles and she will soon try her hand at another thing she hasn’t done before: A comedy.

She will star as the love interest of Guy Pearce — who plays the role of a detective who finds dead relatives — in Mis-Fits.

‘Freida has been trying to move out of her safe zone,’ a source tells Hindustan Times.

‘That’s why she has been experimenting

ess than two months after leaving her charge as the Indian ambassador to the United States, Nirupama Rao will return Stateside on a fellowship. She has accepted a one-year appointment, beginning in January, as the Meera and Vikram Gandhi Fellow with the Brown-India Initiative at the Watson Institute for International Studies.

‘The India Initiative at Brown’s Watson Institute has provided a needed and valued focus on the study of contemporary India,’ Rao says in a statement. ‘I am thrilled to contribute to scholarship on India’s global outlook and its foreign policy priorities and challenges.’

Ashutosh Varshney, director of the Initiative, adds, ‘Having served as India’s ambassador to the United States and China and also as the country’s foreign secretary, she has accumulated invaluable diplomatic experience, knowledge, and insight. She will add greatly to our collective life at the India Initiative.’

Rao will be working on an ‘India-China’ book and deliver a lecture in the fall of 2014.

See you soon, Madam Ambassador.

with directors like Woody Allen (You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger), Tarsem Singh (Immortals), Julian Schnabel (Miral) and Terrence Malick (upcoming Knight of Cups). Also, a few days ago, she surprised audiences with a complete departure in look and appeal with her bold appearance in Bruno Mars’s single Gorilla (India Abroad, October 25). That’s why she wants to try her hands at acting in a comedy.’

stations, accompanying their families on xperts predicted that polio would their way to find work.’ be eliminated in every other counAs he watched this unfold he realized, he try before it was eliminated in had seen ‘India’s obvious talent and energy, India,’ writes Bill Gates. ‘But India surprised but... missed its hidden strength — the rich, them all: The country has now been poliothe powerful and the poor working together free for more than two years.’ toward a common goal.’

The Microsoft founder’s essay in The Wall Gates considers India’s accomplishment Street Journal — titled ‘What I Learned in in eradicating polio ‘the most impressive the Fight Against Polio’ — is an eye opener about India’s hidden strength.

‘When Melinda and I started our foundation’s work in India, we began to meet people from the areas we’d been flying over,’ Gates writes.

‘They had little education and poor health, and lived in slums or poor rural areas — the kind of people many experts had told us were holding India back. But our experience suggests the opposite: What some call a weakness can be a source of great strength…’

‘India responded to this challenge (polio eradication) with an army of more than 2 Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda in a Bihar slum in million vaccinators, who March 2011, two months after the last case of polio in India was identified. canvassed every village, On this trip they met a brick kiln worker, an young mother, and asked if her children had been vaccinated: ‘She proudly produced an immunization card hamlet and slum. listing the names of all her children and showing that each had received the Vaccinators took the polio vaccine — not just once, but several times. We were amazed,’ says best maps they had and Gates. made them better. They walked miles every day global health success’ he has ever seen and and worked late into the night. They found says, ‘India’s success offers a script for winchildren in the poorest areas of Uttar ning some of the world’s most difficult batPradesh and in the remote Kosi River area tles in every area of human welfare. The key of Bihar — an area with no electricity that has been the participation of the humblest, is often flooded and unreachable by roads. most vulnerable members of the Indian They found the sons and daughters of population.’ migrant workers in bus stations and train

KRISHNA MURARI KISHAN/REUTERS

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US SPECIAL

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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Making history Nisha Desai Biswal sworn in as first-ever Indian-American Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.

Aziz Haniffa reports

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COURTESY: US DEPT OF STATE

nited States Secretary of State John Kerry formally swore in Nisha Desai Biswal as the new Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs November 21.

Biswal, who succeeds Ambassador Robert O Blake, created history by becoming the first Indian and South Asian American to hold this portfolio.

Over 350 guests, including Biswal’s family; Denis McDonough, White House Chief of Staff; Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Charges D’Affaires at the Indian embassy in Washington and several ambassadors to the US representing South and Central Asian countries, attended the ceremony.

‘One of the best parts of this job is when you get to recognize extraordinary talent and you see families and friends, colleagues, people come together to celebrate extraordinary talent and service to our country,’ Kerry said.

He spoke about Biswal’s superb track record in public service. From her time as a senior Congressional staffer to administration official, she

has held several key posts.

Biswal was Assistant Administrator for Asia in the US Agency for International Development. A trusted confidante of USAID Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah, before President Obama nominated her as the point person for South and Central Asian Affairs — exclusively reported by India Abroad months before the formal announcement by the White House.

‘I will not be the last person to mention the incredible energy of this woman and her focus and her enthusiasm for what she does,’ Kerry said.

‘Think about the message that we’re sending today, which I am excited about. The story of a woman who left a small town in India at age six to come to America and now becomes one of the most important leaders in the Department of State. It’s a great story. It’s the American story, and it’s proof of the power of the American journey.’

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Nisha Desai Biswal sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs by Secretary of State John Kerry.

‘Throughout my life, I sought the opportunity to serve my country, America, the way my grandparents, who were freedom fighters in India, served theirs’ AZIZ HANIFFA

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s Nisha Desai Biswal spoke after her swearing in ceremony, her voice began to crack. But she quickly composed herself and delivered perhaps one of the most comprehensive and substantive expositions of why the region she would now formulate policy for, was vital for US interests.

‘Throughout my childhood and life, I have sought the opportunity to serve my country, the United States of America, in the way that my grandparents, who were freedom fighters in India, served their country and to be part of something that is greater than myself,’ she said. ‘And that is why I am so honored by the responsibility that has just been invested in me.’

Biswal pledged, ‘As Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asia, I will devote every ounce of my energy towards making sure that we, the United States, the Department of State, and the Bureau for South and Central Asia do everything possible to bridge from the Asia we see today to the Asia that we know is possible tomorrow.’

She thanked her family for putting up with her absences and working long nights. She said her husband Subrat was her ‘toughest critic’ and ‘strongest supporter.’

‘Our daughters Safya and Kaya, who remind me every single day why we do what we do, what the stakes are, and why we must strive to do better,’ she said.

Biswal also introduced her parents, Kanu and Lata Desai, and in-laws, Nilambar and Anu Biswal, and brother Pinank Desai.

‘My parents and my in-laws lived the classic immigrant experience as they left India in search of opportunity,’ she said. ‘And in so doing, they fulfilled their dreams and found that their dreams are the American dream, and their experience is the American experience.’

She paid tributes to John Kerry and her close friend Denis McDonough, with whom she had worked on Capitol Hill over a decade ago and thanked the audience that packed to capacity the East Auditorium of the George Marshall Center of the State Department ‘to share in one of the most momentous occasions in my life.’

Biswal recalled that she had had ‘an opportunity in 2008 to campaign on behalf of President Obama, and to understand his vision of the world, his life story, his experience, and to be able to connect with the way that he has connected with our country and really with the world.’

‘And it’s such an honor for me that Secretary Kerry and President Obama have placed in me their faith and their trust to take on this very important job,’ she said.

She took time to thank all of her former bosses on Capitol Hill, particularly those she had served under when she was a staffer on the House Appropriations Committee.

She specially mentioned US Congressman David Obey, one of the most powerful and influential legislators, who was unable to attend her swearing in at the last minute, as his wife had taken ill.

Biswal also thanked Dr Rajiv Shah, Administrator, US Agency for International Development and the highest ranking Indian American in the administration.

‘For the past few years, I have had the privilege of working for the President at

USAID, under the very dynamic leadership of Raj Shah,’ she said. ‘That experience more than any other has prepared me for the opportunity to help steer our diplomatic engagements in South and Central Asia.’

She spoke about her new portfolio and the importance of the region, which she described as ‘a region of extraordinary geographic, linguistic, and cultural diversity — a region of great natural beauty and vibrant societies.’

She argued that while ‘most people in the room will immediately think about the very looming transition in Afghanistan, with its elections in 2014 and with the drawdown of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, and indeed that is a critical transition… it is not the only one.’

Biswal noted, ‘In fact, there are political transitions in five of the countries of South and Central Asia between this fall and next spring, and many are apprehensive about the elections that lie ahead.

But there’s also great opportunity in the region as we seek to support an integrated and interconnected landscape of trade and economic opportunity.’

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NEWS SPECIAL

India Abroad November 29, 2013

GOP’s Indian-American spotlight Aziz Haniffa reports from the Republicans’ first-ever Indian American Meetup on Capitol Hill

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early 200 Indian-American Republicans, including several grass-roots activists and a sprinkling of long-term fundraisers attended the first-ever GOP Indian American Meetup on Capitol Hill, November 19, hosted jointly by the House Republican Conference and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

This meeting was viewed as a GOP attempt to resurrect itself from the battering it received after the government shutdown in October where the blame was laid on the extreme conservative right-wing of the party, led by the Tea Party favorites, and to project itself as a party of diversity.

It was also viewed as an effort to attract more funds from the affluent Indian-American community.

The joints hosts are policy groups with the Republican Conference and sources told India Abroad that the National Republican Congressional Committee, which raises funds for Republican candidates, would have urged them to host the outreach to the community.

The sources said there had been similar outreach to other AsianAmerican groups earlier and that an outreach to the Indian-American community, which has the highest per capita income of any group in the US, was long overdue.

However, except for attracting a fundraiser like K V Kumar, there was a conspicuous absence of heavy hitters in the IndianAmerican Republican fundraisers like Dr Zach Zachariah and Dr Raghavendra Vijayanagar.

The event was kicked off by US Congressman Ed Royce, California Republican, chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee, and erstwhile cochair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans on at least two occasions He set the tone by declaring, ‘We have so much in common with India, and this should be the focus of our foreign policy. So, let us engage with our natural ally.’

He also discussed the IndianAmerican community as ‘one of our greatest assets.’

‘You know better than I that your sons and daughters have the highest percentage of advanced degrees of any ethnic group in the United States,’ he said and cited Kumar as an example.

‘I see K V Kumar and his son Vishnu is just back from serving in the Marine Corps with distinction in Afghanistan and the Middle East and has just started at Columbia,’ he said.

‘His is a typical story of an entrepreneur — comes to the United States and gives back. He’s been involved in

PARESH GANDHI

The inaugural Indiaspora Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC. The GOP Indian American Meetup was viewed as an outreach effort to the Indian-American community that was long due

Sandhu talks business T

aranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Charges d’Affaires at the embassy in Washington, made use of the GOP Indian American Meetup to urge the House of Representatives to address provisions related to the movement of highskilled professionals in the Senate-approved immigration bill, which could adversely impact Indian information technology companies.

‘These discriminatory provisions, if they are enacted, will... create a market access barrier, for Indian IT companies in the US and will, not only cause damage, to their operations, but will also impact the ability of US companies, who depend on their services to innovate, grow and be competitive, and affect the local economies.’

The House is yet to take up the legislation that was passed by the Senate months ago. With President Obama besieged by the controversy over Obamacare and the Senate and House Democrats on the defensive against a Republican onslaught, Congressional sources acknowledged that a debate on the immigration bill, which seemed like it would be enacted into a law by the end of this year, was unlikely now, and might never happen.

The US-India Business Council, which has hired the top-notch lobbying firm of Patton Boggs to try to eliminate the provisions that could be detrimental to Indian IT firms, as well as lob-

byists retained by groups representing Indian industry bodies like the National Association of Software and Services Companies, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry have privately acknowledged that they would shed no tears if the entire bill died in the House.

Sandhu also addressed America Inc’s concern over the pace of economic reforms in India, and the protracted regulations for investment: ‘The government of India has focused, on improvement of our investment regulations, leading to significant FDI liberalization, in the past year, in a number of sectors, of US interest, including, multi-brand and single-brand retail, civil aviation, telecommunications and defense. In addition, clearances for pending projects, have been fast-tracked, taxation issues have been addressed upfront and clarified, and the much talked about Preferential Market Access guidelines for private sector companies have been kept in abeyance.’

He lauded Congressman Ed Royce, California Republican, and one of the key organizers of the Indian American Meetup, ‘for being an ardent promoter of India-US relations, for more than last 15 years… You are a source of strength, for United States, Indian Americans and India.’

— Aziz Haniffa

the Republican Party for many years, and to see his son succeeding and giving back, serving in the United States military and to see the passion in the community to get more involved — it’s important for the Republican Party to be part of that engagement with you.’

Royce urged the community to ‘share your vision of how we can cooperate with you because a lot depends on our relationship with India. But also, there’s a lot to be learnt by everyone of us here of the strength of the Indian culture in this country and the contributions made by the Indian-American community.’

The main draw was Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, tipped to be the next House Speaker if the Republicans retain the House in 2014.

‘There is a lot of discussion in this town right now,’ Cantor said, ‘of things that divide us, pull the country apart, but if there’s one thing that pulls us together — and I know as Majority Leader in the House — it’s the notion of upward mobility and opportunity.’

‘It is this common experience in America that brings us all together and provides our country with a real source of strength that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world — the notion that we are the statue of liberty to the world is one that every single one of us can somehow relate to.’

He highlighted the importance of education in this and lauded the education programs put in place in Louisiana by Republican Governor Piyush ‘Bobby’ Jindal for the indigent and for abandoned children: ‘These kids have an opportunity and a chance to aspire and succeed, and that’s what America is all about,’ he said. ‘And, you, coming here today, some of you as first-generation Americans, some as new immigrants, know the draw of our country is the potential of leadership that lie in it — the pursuit of success for everyone, no matter where you come from. That is the guarantee of America.’

South Carolina’s Republican Governor Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Randhawa Haley, in a video message, said she was proud of the Indian-American community, ‘which has the highest education and the highest per capita income of any community in the United States.’

‘I continue to brag about the Indian American community across this country, Haley said, ‘but what I am most proud of is that we are the

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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, center, with Cathy McMorris Rodgers, to his left, and other GOP lawmakers in India in March.

Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar, to Modi’s left second row, had organized the visit under the NIAPPI banner.

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How Modi fans almost hijacked the GOP Indian American Meetup

he Republican leadership is incensed over the attempt by some Hindutva elements in the United States to promote Gujarat Chief Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to piggy-back on the first-ever GOP Indian American Meetup.

Congressional sources told India Abroad that although the Meetup had gone on without a hitch because the Hindutva attempt had been detected in time, the efforts by Modi’s supporters in the US — led by Chicago-based entrepreneur Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar — had cast a pall over the carefully planned strategy to woo Indian Americans to the GOP, including the majority percentage of the community who have traditionally remained in the Democratic camp.

The GOP leadership discovered that Kumar had circulated a flyer under the aegis of the National Indian American Public Policy Institute, which he had founded, that indicated that Modi would address the meeting via a video link.

The flyer had a House seal and showcased Modi as one of the speakers along with other prominent House Republicans with all of their photographs, apparently used without the permission of any of these lawmakers.

On the eve of the Meetup the Republican leadership denied that it had extended any invitation to Modi and castigated Kumar for ‘misrepresenting’ the Republican Party.

The office of US Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair, House Republican Conference, served Kumar with a ‘cease and desist’ letter to stop misrepresenting the Party and the intent of the Meetup.

Nicolas D Muzin, director, outreach and coalitions, House Republican Conference, informed journalists about this in an e-mail and said, ‘Additionally, I believe he (Kumar) is in violation of ethics rules regarding improper use of the Congressional seal, stationary, and indicia. I have been in touch with the House Committee on Administration about steps we can take to properly distance ourselves from his actions.’

US Congressman Pete Sessions, one of the lawmakers whose name and visage were included in Kumar’s flyer, according to his aides was “hopping mad.”

Sessions issued a statement saying, ‘At no point in time did I agree to attend this event, nor did I approve of the use of my name or image on this invitation. Further, I did not see the invitation until it had been distributed publicly.

Had I known that my name and image were on this invitation before it was distributed, I would have requested that they both be removed.’

Additionally, I have contacted NIAPPI to request that they remove my name and image from this invitation and

that they explicitly ask my approval before using my name or image in any of their materials going forward.’

Congressional sources close to the senior Republican leadership lay much of the blame for Kumar’s actions at the feet of Rodgers, who they said had been cultivated by Kumar to the extent that she was “pretty much willing to do whatever he wanted.”

They noted that Kumar, under the NIAPPI banner, had taken Rodgers and some other GOP lawmakers to India earlier this year and gotten them an audience with Modi and pointed out that she had provided Kumar with an accompanying letter to his flyer, mentioning ‘Bharat Divas’ and the invitation to Modi to address the Meetup.

Despite this correspondent and others buttonholing Rodgers and some of her aides on the day of the event as to why she had provided such a letter, the Congresswoman rushed off without answering the questions.

Earlier, calls to her office and asking for a response on this letter did not elicit any answers.

These sources said that for all of Muzin’s assurances that Kumar had been severely reprimanded by the HRC and Rodgers’s office, they pointed out that he had not been removed from the HRC’s Advisory Council.

According to one source, “This idiotic effort has backfired to the extent that most of the lawmakers will now be on the defensive when it comes to Mr Modi.”

Another sarcastically quipped, “I wonder if Mr Kumar is working for the anti-Modi forces.”

The purported Modi appearance via video link began to unravel when anti-Modi forces in the US, led by the Coalition Against Genocide, got wind of the flyer and began contacting the offices of the lawmakers featured in the invitation.

The CAG said in a statement, ‘After five days of phone

calls, letters, document verification and hundreds of e-mails between CAG activists and Congressional staffers, several members of the House Republican Conference whose names had been used to endorse the Modi event have washed their hands off the event…’

‘CAG activists spoke with the offices of Rep Greg Walden and Rep Bob Goodlatte seeking clarification, since their pictures appeared on the flyer. Staffers from both Congressmen’s offices stated categorically that they were unaware of the event, or that the Congressmen’s names and pictures were being used without authorization to promote it.’

The CAG called on the House Ethics Committee ‘to launch an investigation into the fraudulent use of the House Seal, and the fake projection of GOP support for the event.’

It also called upon Rodgers to expel Kumar from the HRC’s Indian American Advisory Board and publicly disassociate herself from NIAPPI and Modi.

‘The NIAPPI, the key agent behind this misrepresentation and fraudulent promotional tactics, is a Hindu nationalist front organization posing as a public policy institute.

It is a resting ground for RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) stalwarts,’ CAG claimed.

A s a consequence of Kumar’s failed attempt, the CAG and other anti-Modi forces were able to get a bipartisan Congressional resolution introduced in the House of Representatives calling on the US government to continue the policy of denying a visa to Modi on the grounds of religious freedom violations.

The resolution also called on India to protect the rights and freedoms of religious minorities and urged the Obama administration to include this on the agenda as part of the US-India Strategic Dialogue.

The resolution was introduced by Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota and Republican Congressman Joe Pitts from Pennsylvania and co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Asia and Pacific, which has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to South Asia.

Ellison said, ‘All Indians should have the right to practice their faith freely, or to change their faith if they so choose.

India is big enough for all its citizens. Its best leaders have worked to promote unity among its diverse populations, not division.’

Pitts said, ‘The victims of events like the riots in Gujarat demand justice.’

The Ellison-Pitts resolution was condemned by the

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GOP’s Indian-American spotlight Page A6 most philanthropic of any minority (community) in the country.’

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair, House Republican Conference, noted, ‘It’s also important that… we talk about and discuss the issues that face us as Americans. As leaders of our families and communities, we have a shared opportunity and responsibility to work together toward an Representative Cathy McMorris America that continues Rodgers to reward hard work, discipline — an America that is rich in opportunity and free, no matter where you come from DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES or your background.’

She had traveled to India earlier this Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and House year, and said one of the big take-aways Majority Leader Eric Cantor, second from right, on was ‘how the entrepreneur, the innovator Capitol Hill. was celebrated.’ accomplished a lot, we tend to live in a soci‘America has continued to prosper becety, which is take and take—we expect ause Indian Americans, small business-owthings to come to us. We are a Type A socieners, often who started with a few dollars, ty — a shark society where the winner wins have then created thousands of jobs,’ she all. It’s important that we give back to the said, lauding the community for ‘not only next generation… It comes from the princibecoming part of the American Dream, but ples that all of you have seen in our growing contributing to the American dream.’ up and respect in our founding fathers in Several other lawmakers were also proIndia, and the same should exist here.’ fuse in their praise of the community, with Congressman Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, saying, ‘You didn’t come here looking for anything — you didn’t come here looking for a handout.’

He called the community ‘the embodiment of what America’s promise has meant to the world.’

America has continued to prosper because Indian Americans, small business owners, often who started with a few dollars, have then created thousands of jobs

T he organizers also showcased some leading entrepreneurs.

Trivedi, chairman and co-founder, iGate, and an angel investor and venture capitalist based in Pennsylvania, said the Indian American community with its propensity for ‘hard work, entrepreneurship, fiscal prudence,’ could relate more to the Republican Party.

He slammed the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama: ‘Today, we are living in a democratic welfare state… For the first time in the US history, the number of people who are dependent on the government for jobs and for entitlements, exceed the number of people who are wage-earners in the private sector. This happened after the Obama election.’

Trivedi also made a strong pitch for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the GOP presidential candidate in 2016 and advised against right-wing conservatives who take a hard line on issues like immigration and get mired in social issues like abortion and gay rights, saying they would only alienate people.

Sanjay Poonen, formerly with Microsoft and Apple and now the CEO of VMWare in Silicon Valley, staying away from any political statements, said, ‘Many of us, who’ve

‘It is this common experience in America that brings us all together and provides our country with a real source of strength that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world — the notion that we are the Statue of Liberty to the world is one that every single one of us can somehow relate to.’

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

‘We don’t need to pay Pakistan to hate us. They will do it for free’

exas Congressman Ted Poe always kicks off his remarks with the caveat: ‘I am no diplomat and I am going to be blunt.’

TThus, it was no surprise that this is exactly what he did at the GOP Indian American

Meetup, when he thundered to laughter, whoops and applause, that it was high time for the US to forsake Pakistan and not provide Islamabad with any American aid at all because ‘we don’t need to pay Pakistan to hate us — they will do it for free.’

Poe, chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, said, ‘This is my personal opinion — Pakistan is not a friend of the United States. Did you know that? That may shock you! They are a disloyal ally. I call them the Benedict Arnold ally. We give them a lot of money and they turn that money around and that goes to the bad guys that kill not only folks in America and Afghanistan, but you (India) got problems with Pakistan and how they spend their money as well.’

He said, ‘The House of Representatives cut military aid for legislation I proposed (last year), in half. But it was put back in by the Senate and so once again Pakistan keeps getting money… The United States should redirect its national security interests in partnership away from Pakistan and to the stable democracy in the area, which happens to be India.’

Poe also made a strong pitch for selling natural gas to India, and slammed the bureaucrats at the Department of Energy for delaying permits for companies that want to do so even though the Indians have expressed much interest.

He said when he visited India last year, ‘All they wanted to talk about was natural gas from Texas. We can produce natural gas, we can ship it to India, we can make a profit in the United States and we can still deliver it to India for 20 percent less than what they are paying for it now. That’s a great idea for everybody.’

He added, ‘We want to encourage them probably through legislation because we want to use all the natural gas we can and sell the rest and sell it to our friends in India.’

— Aziz Haniffa

How Modi fans almost hijacked the GOP Indian American Meetup Page A7 Hindu American Foundation.

‘It ignores recent jihadi terror attacks while recalling decades old violence, and it fails to contextualize India’s history with religious riots,’ HAF said.

‘Pitts, who made headlines as one of the largest recipients of financial largesse from the convicted Pakistani spy, Ghulam Nabi Fai, to promote Pakistan’s agenda on Kashmir, teamed up with Ellison last year for a similar resolution that barely attracted a handful of co-sponsors,’ HAF added.

HAF also complained that the resolution ‘specifically’ censured Modi.

Jay Kansara, associate director, government relations, HAF, said, ‘It fails to note that the (Indian) Supreme Court’s Special Investigative Team pointedly absolved Narendra Modi of any complicity in the horrific riots in Gujarat that followed the burning of Hindu pilgrims on a train by a Muslim mob.’

Suhag Shukla, executive director and legal counsel, HAF, told India Abroad, “The omissions in this resolution are simply a reflection of Congressman Ellison’s demonstrated animus towards engaging all stakeholders to gain better insight into inter-religious dynamics in India.”

She recalled, “During HAF’s first attempt to engage directly with the Congressman in 2009, we were confronted with questions which appeared to arise from a rather Hinduphobic presumption — that all Hindus necessarily prescribe to divisive ideologies.”

“In a subsequent meeting with one of his senior staff members in 2010, our delegation was met with outright hostility for not having condemned inter-religious violence that occurred prior to HAF even being founded.”

“When we broached the topic of atrocities committed against minority Hindus in Pakistan or Bangladesh, the staffer would evade and revert to his violence against Muslims in India talking points.”

She added, “Until Congressman Ellison is willing to interact meaningfully with Hindu Americans and promote religious freedom for all people, regardless of their religion, it’s probably best that these sorts of ideologically motivated resolutions not detract from the more important goal of supporting and promoting secular democracies in the region.”

US NEWS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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Teen gets 15 years in jail for Divyendu Sinha’s murder

Middlesex County Superior Court judge last week sentenced Julian Daley, 18, to 15 years in prison for the fatal attack on New Jersey scientist Divyendu Sinha in 2010.

Judge Bradley Ferencz Daley sentenced Daley for charges of aggravated manslaughter and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.

Daley’s behavior was not impulsive because He will face five years of parole supervision upon he got down from the car three times, he said. release after serving a minimum of 85 percent of the Kuberiet referred to several incidents where he prison term. had a brush with the law, including his expulDaley was also sentenced to five years for an unresion from middle school and his neighbor’s letlated burglary charge for which he had previously ter detailing wayward and destructive behavior. pleaded guilty. The sentences will run concurrently.

Alka Sinha, Dr Sinha’s wife, spoke briefly and The guilty plea that the prosecutor accepted in said she saw no remorse on Daley’s face in February, called for a maximum of 15 years in prison. court.

Mitchell Ansell, Daley’s lawyer, argued that his Three others — Christopher Conway, Cash client be given a 10 year sentence. He referred to a Johnson and Christian Tinli — accused of psychiatrist’s report that postulated that Daley had attacking Dr Sinha and his sons have already impulsive behavior problems. been sentenced.

Ansell also referred to his client’s clean record Steven Contreras, the driver of the getaway before the attack, his athletic accomplishments, his car, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to remorse, his age at the time of the attack — Daley commit aggravated assault and had a deal limwas 16 then — and his being influenced by older iting his exposure to four years, has not been boys in the group. sentenced so far.

Ansell’s argument was that the mitigating factors Kuberiet had asked the judge to vacate the outweighed the aggravating factors.

MOHAMMED JAFFER-SNAPSINDIA sentencing part of the plea and replace it with All these did not cut much ice with the judge. the maximum possible sentence of 10 years as Ferencz said he found Daley to be a risk to society A condolence meeting for Dr Divyendu Sinha in Old Bridge, New Jersey, days after his murder Contreras failed to testify truthfully in Johnson and that he would likely commit a serious crime in 2010. and Tinli’s trial. That was a condition of the again.

Acting Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet said plea bargain.

Ferencz referred to Daley’s parents’s unsuccessful Contreras’s attorney sought more time to prepare his attempts to steer him on the right path. He said a message contrary to the defense plea rather than being influenced by should be sent to the community that one should be free to others, Daley was the prime mover on that fateful night arguments. Hearing and sentencing are expected sometime this month. when Sinha was attacked. walk in his neighborhood without being attacked.

Kshama Sawant’s ‘political earthquake’ shakes up Seattle GEORGE JOSEPH

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shama Sawant, the Socialist alternative candidate, celebrated her victory to the Seattle City Council with a rally at the Service Employees International Union local headquarters in the city.

Terming her victory a ‘political earthquake’, she said, ‘this movement also belongs to the activists and students and everyone who worked hard on the information campaign. We’ve shown that it’s possible to succeed with an openly socialist campaign not taking money from big business.’

Kshama Sawant, center, celebrates her win.

Sawant said her first action as a city councilor would be to put forth the ideology. Socialism is no longer a dirty word, $15/hour minimum wage in Seattle or put it on while capitalism is facing enormous problems,” the ballot.

Sawant said.

“We are currently doing solidarity actions with Born in 1973 to Vasundhara and H T Boeing workers. When Kshama takes office, we Ramanujam in Pune, Sawant grew up in will move a city ordinance for a $15 minimum Mumbai where she studied computer science wage,” Anh Tran, Kshama’s spokesperson, said. and graduated with a science degree from the “If the other city councilors try to delay or University of Mumbai in 1994. block the ordinance, we will write an initiative She married Vivek Sawant, an engineer at and campaign for it so people can vote for the Microsoft, and moved to the US. wage hike themselves in 2014 elections.”

Sawant moved to Seattle in 2006 and became Sawant was declared the winner after her a US citizen in 2010. opponent Richard Conlin conceded as her lead She held part-time teaching positions at the grew to 1,640 votes.

Seattle Central Community College and Seattle Conlin, a 16-year incumbent, was backed by University and was a visiting assistant professor the city’s political establishment. at Washington and Lee University.

“Younger people now favor socialism and its

Sikhs for Justice to file amended complaint against Sonia Gandhi GEORGE JOSEPH

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nited States Federal Judge Brian M Cogan allowed New York-based rights group Sikhs for Justice, time till December 3 to file an amended complaint against Congress party President Sonia Gandhi in a pending human rights violation case.

The amended complaint will include Gandhi’s awarding political positions to those who were involved in the genocidal attacks on the Sikhs in 1984, according to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor, SFJ. During Sonia Gandhi’s visit to America in September for medical treatment, a class action lawsuit was filed against her by SFJ along with victims seeking compensatory and punitive damages for her role in shielding and protecting Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and other Congress party leaders from being prosecuted for their crimes committed during the antiSikh riots.

While the SFJ claimed that federal court summons were served properly on Gandhi through the hospital and security staff at Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York September 9, her attorneys are challenging the legality of the service of summons.

The case was filed in the US after the victims were denied justice in India for almost three decades, Pannun said.

“The gravity, scale, organized and intentional nature of the genocidal attacks was concealed by Indian governments by portraying them as the anti-Sikh riots of Delhi,” Pannun noted.

The complaint will also point out the recent nomination of Sajjan Kumar’s son Jagparvesh Kumar as Congress party candidate for Delhi’s legislative assembly seat.

Ravi Batra, attorney for the Congress party, said there was nothing unusual in granting more time to the plaintiffs.

“Judge Cogan’s granting SFJ attorney Guljit Bains’ request for an additional two weeks to file the first amended complaint, over defense objection, was in the finest tradition of judicial compassion and largesse, and served to enhance professionalism,” he said.

“We await the amended complaint, so that it can be reviewed and its predicate allegations and claimed jurisdiction, personal and subject matter, tested in court,” Batra said.

Currently, Batra added, there are four cases in federal district courts filed by the SFJ against the Congress party.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Lawmakers call on Senate to confirm Vivek Murthy AZIZ HANIFFA

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resident Obama’s nomination of Dr Vivek Hallagere Murthy continued to be hailed last week, with some lawmakers calling on their Senate colleagues to confirm him expeditiously.

‘President Obama’s nomination of Dr Murthy as our nation’s next surgeon general is a historic moment for Indian Americans across the country.’ Joe Crowley, United States Representative (New York, Democrat) and vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said. ‘Indian Americans have made many important contributions to American society, including in the Dr Vivek Murthy medical field, and it is great to see another well-qualified leader rise in government.’

Crowley, also co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, added that Dr Murthy would not only bring knowledge and experience to the position, but also a clear commitment to improving the health of the American people.

Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also applauded Murthy’s nomination. US Representative Judy Chu (California, Democrat) and CAPAC Chair, thanked President Barack Obama for nominating Dr Murthy.

‘From his work in health advocacy to his service as an attending physician and instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr Murthy is uniquely qualified to be America’s doctor,’ she said. ‘I am excited to see the new initiatives Dr Murthy will introduce to keep our communities healthy and I urge my Senate colleagues to move quickly on his confirmation.’

US Representative Mike Honda, (California Democrat) and CAPAC Chair Emeritus, applauded Obama for JASON REED/REUTERS the nomination and said Dr Murthy’s nomination strengthened the Asian American and Pacific Islander community’s voice and presence and ‘marked a positive step toward addressing the need for greater diversity at all levels of government.’

‘As a physician, educator, and innovator, Dr. Murthy’s wealth of knowledge on public health issues will ensure

his success in his new role,’ Honda added.

Dr Amerish ‘Ami’ Bera, the only Indian American in Congress and the first Indian-American physician to be elected to the legislature, also joined his CAPAC colleagues in hailing the nomination.

‘As a practicing physician and instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard, a supporter of innovation and technology in medicine, and a leader in the medical community, Dr Murthy is extremely well-qualified to take on the role, and I look forward to his confirmation,’ Dr Bera said.

Meanwhile, elation over the nomination at Doctors for America, which Dr Murthy co-founded, continued unabated. The organization’s executive director Dr Alice Chen, said that Dr Murthy had ‘a tremendous dedication and commitment to improving the lives and health of Americans. He has been a tireless leader in bringing together 16,000 doctors and medical students from all 50 states for the common cause of improving the health of the nation.’

‘He brings two decades of experience as a champion in improving health, building coalitions, and bringing diverse people together to bring better health to communities,’ she said, and predicted, ‘ We are confident Dr Murthy will be an extraordinary leader for the nation and for improving the health of all Americans as Surgeon General.’

New Jersey Dream Act may become a reality State Senate approves measure to grant undocumented students in-state tuition fee.

George Joseph reports

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decade after New Jersey Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula sponsored a bill to allow in-state tuition fee for undocumented students, the move may become reality soon.

Termed the New Jersey Dream Act, the state senate approved a measure that would grant what supporters call tuition equality.

The bill applies to students who graduate from high school in New Jersey after attending a high school in the state for at least three years. If it becomes law, eligible students would qualify for the lower instate tuition rates at state colleges and could also qualify for state financial aid programs.

“I was the sponsor of the bill in 2003 when I realized tuition inequality. I believe educational matters bring about reality of the cost of higher education,” Chivukula said. “In-state tuition will enable more students who have gone to school in New Jersey for three of more years of opportunity for a brighter future.”

Earlier the move did not succeed mostly due to opposition of Republican Governor Chris Christie. The governor opposed it saying the state could not afford it. But dur-

Supporters of the act at a demonstration in Washington, DC. ing his re-election campaign, he changed his stand and said that the economy had improved and he planned to take up the issue with the state legislature.

In the state Senate the bill was passed by a 25-12 vote. It still requires a vote by the full assembly before it goes to the governor.

The Assembly plans to vote on it before the lame duck session ends in January, a

spokesman said.

‘These are New Jerseyans, and they want to go to school here. They deserve a right to have the same educational opportunities as every other student in this state.’ Senate President Stephen Sweeney said ahead of the vote.

State Senator Robert Singer, who opposed the bill said it would take away the

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seats of the students who were living in the state legally.

‘Understand by doing this we are clearly saying to New Jersey students — totally qualified, who are citizens of this country and this state, who have lived here their whole life – there’s not enough room for you,’ Singer said. ‘Though the intent is wonderful, the outcome is not.’

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‘Washington and New Delhi need to rejuvenate ties formed under Bush’

Senator John Cornyn, center, at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Houston.

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nited States Senator John Cornyn, (Texas, Republican) and founder of the Senate India Caucus has said ‘America’s strategic partnership with India was one of the Bush administration’s greatest diplomatic achievements.

He asserted it was imperative that the United States ‘do everything possible to make that partnership stronger.’

Delivering the keynote address at a conference ‘Future of US-India Relations,’ organized by the American Enterprise Institute — a neo-conservative Washington, DC think tank — Cornyn warned against the US committing errors that could poison the well.

As an example he cited the immigration bill passed by the Senate that contained inimical provisions that penalized Indian information technology companies that has caused much heartburn in New Delhi.

After a rousing introduction by Sadanand Dhume, head AEI’s South Asia Program, Cornyn said when it came to US-India relations he felt a personal attachment to the issue, for ‘several reasons,’ including that he represented a state ‘ that roughly a quarter million Indian Americans have chosen to call home.’

‘In fact, earlier this month I had the privilege of visiting the magnificent BAPS temple in Houston,’ he

said. ‘Every time I meet with their community leaders, I’m reminded of all the tremendous contributions that Indian Americans have made to our society. I’m also reminded of the tremendous potential of the USIndia partnership.’

But he bemoaned, ‘Unfortunately, that potential remains unfulfilled.’

He took swipes at the Obama administration and the Democratcontrolled Senate for certain actions and inaction, which he implied had sullied the partnership to some extent from the highs during the Bush administration.

‘When President Bush and Prime Minister Singh signed a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2006, they made it clear that a US-India strategic partnership had finally arrived,’ he said.

Cornyn acknowledged that under President Obama, ‘we’ve made some progress on various security issues, including the Defense Trade Initiative, ‘ and that between 2002 and 2012, overall US trade with India grew by 293 percent, with total US exports growing by 439 percent.’

And yet, he argued, ‘ two-way trade and investment could be much, much greater than it was now.’

‘To get us there, officials in both Washington and New Delhi will have to rejuvenate the partnership that was launched under President Bush,’ he said.

‘Under the Bush administration,

American officials effectively ‘dehyphenated’ US policy in South Asia. They separated US policy toward India from US policy toward Pakistan. That was a crucial step in the process of gaining India’s trust and forging closer relations.’

‘Unfortunately, the US-India partnership has lost some of its momentum — partly because of economic factors, and partly because both countries have neglected obvious opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation.’

He said the US ‘could dramatically expand US exports to India by making it easier for American companies to export liquefied natural gas.’

Cornyn said he could understand the angst of US business and industry over issues like market access.

‘After all, India’s treatment of foreign investment remains highly protectionist, and its regulatory system remains overly burdensome and complicated,’ he added.

‘Instead of asking New Delhi for special favors, US multinationals should be pushing Indian officials to adopt broad-based economic reforms that would benefit all companies — and all people — who do business in the world’s secondlargest nation.’

In a set of recommendations to US policymakers, he said, ‘We need to be realistic. Americans know how difficult it is to pass major fiscal and regulatory reforms in a country of 300 million people. So we can imagine how difficult it must be in a country of 1.2 billion.’

He argued that ‘India cannot transform itself overnight any more than we can. The last thing US officials should do is to alienate our Indian partners by applying too much pressure. Instead, we should focus on modest but achievable short-term goals that will encourage Indian reformers and create a new sense of momentum.’

California couple’s death not a simple suicide case: Police RITU JHA

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he apparent murder-suicide case of a newlywed Sikh couple in Fresno, California, could be more complex, according to local police.

Harmandeep Singh, 33, and Kiranjeet Kaur, 29, were found dead in their home November 16.

“We know this was a murder-suicide case but it’s complex because we are getting more stories from witnesses and are still trying to determine what actually occurred,” Sergeant Jaime Rios, Fresno police department, told India Abroad. “We have to obtain the motive and how it occurred.”

According to the Fresno County coroner office report, Singh committed suicide at 12:31 pm. Kaur was killed a minute before that.

The police received a call November 17.

Sukh Bhandal, Harmandeep’s uncle, said his sister went to the house when no one picked up the phone and discovered the bodies in the bedroom.

He said Harmandeep got married in India three months ago. A month ago his wife came to the US. The family was planning a wedding party during Thanksgiving.

He said a note written by Harmandeep had been found. It said that he loved his wife but she was the reason he was committing suicide.

The note asked to cremate the bodies as soon as possible.

Bhandal said Harmandeep’s family lived in New York before moving to the Bay Area.

“I have seen him for the past eight years. He was a hard working truck driver,” he added.

Harmandeep’s mother Gurbax Kaur told India Abroad that she worked as a nanny in Sunnyvale and was at work when she learned about the tragedy.

“They used to call me two, three times in a day. I am confused what went wrong,” she said.

Harmandeep Singh and Kiranjeet Kaur

US NEWS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

California doctor, friend allege ill treatment at Delhi airport RITU JHA

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alifornia doctor Harmandeep Rai and his friend Rupinder (Ruby) Kaur have alleged that they were ill-treated and humiliated at Delhi airport.

Rai claimed the airport police beat him up.

The police have denied the charges, and claim their action was in response to Dr Rai’s drunk and abusive behavior.

September 29, when Dr Rai and Kaur arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Kaur was pulled aside for questioning over what the airport police described as her resemblance to someone mentioned in a lookout circular.

She said she was unlawfully interrogated, detained and mentally tortured by Indian immigration and police officers at the airport.

“I was scared of these officers because there was no lady cop or immigration officer in the room,” alleged Kaur. She added that officials asked her personal and embarrassing questions, which had nothing to do with her resemblance to a wanted person.

Her request that her family be informed about her detainment was turned down. She was allegedly told they were not her servants and that she could not expect special treatment.

After being interrogated for about four hours, Kaur was allowed to leave. She says she still has nightmares about the incident.

Meanwhile, Dr Rai, who was waiting outside for her, asked immigration agents about Kaur’s whereabouts.

“I was worried about her,” said Dr Rai. He spoke to the immigrant agents about Kaur’s status after 45 minutes and then again after an hour. Each time he was told the matter would take a few more hours.

After fruitless inquiries he said he sought to file a com-

Dr Harmandeep Rai

plaint.

“When they heard the word ‘complaint,’ they got agitated and told me that I could not file any complaint and this investigation could take another two hours if they wanted,” Dr Rai said.

He alleged that an immigration officer abused him in Hindi and threatened to break his legs.

“Another officer told the immigration officer he should take me in the back room and teach me a lesson,” Dr Rai

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alleged.

He added that when he realized the situation had gone out of hand he went back and waited by the duty-free shopping area.

After a while Dr Rai said two officers came up to him and said they needed to speak to him in private.

He was taken to a secluded room where he alleged that seven officers punched and kicked him.

“They told me they could make me disappear forever if they wanted to. They forced me to (squat) on the bare floor and told me to grab my ears from beneath my legs,” he alleged, and when he refused the officers cursed and punched him.

Four hours later, Dr Rai was taken to a police station.

“I told (the police officer) Varinder Jain that the immigration officers had beaten me up and cursed at me. But he said that could never happen,” said Dr Rai. The officials charged him under sections 186 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with obstructing a public servant discharging public functions, and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duties. He was offered bail after a night in jail.

Dr Rai said while he got back his passport, he still has a case to fight in India.

He migrated to the US from Punjab with his parents when he was 17, studied at the University of CaliforniaDavis and is now a licensed doctor in California.

Sub-Inspector Randhir Singh, who is investigating the case, told India Abroad that he was not authorized to talk to the media, and transferred the call to Delhi police officer Varinder Jain, who had a different story to tell.

“Rai was drunk that day. He used foul language at the airport. He abused and assaulted everybody, and hindered the police and the immigration officers,” Jain claimed.

Jain denied that Kaur had been held for many hours.

Jain said an hour or two after being arrested the detainee was given a medical check-up and a report filed.

He said the police had footage and the medical report to back their charges. But the first information report does not mention Dr Rai being drunk.

“I have never drunk a drop of alcohol in my life. Why didn’t they mention that in the FIR? Why didn’t they get the medical lab report to (show) that I consumed alcohol?” Dr Rai said.

Woman killed, dragged by vehicle for 3 miles, driver gets bail GEORGE JOSEPH

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fter posting $3,000 cash bail, Moses Acloque walked out free, two days after hitting and dragging Kanchan Patel under his truck for three miles.

Patel, a mother of three and a recent American citizen worked at the Arbor Inn in Wrentham, Massachusetts, with her husband Dahyabhai Patel.

Acloque, 22, whose father is a detective in Boston, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Wrentham District Court, November 19.

Acloque is charged with leaving the scene of a collision causing death, motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, two counts of leaving the scene of property damage and driving while license to operate suspended.

“The investigation is continuing and we may add more charges,” David Traub, a spokesperson for the Norfolk District

Attorney, told India Abroad.

The DA’s office requested a $5,000 bail and GPS monitoring of the suspect, but his attorney Rudy Miller asked that the bail amount be set at $2,500.

Miller said Acloque, who assembles garage doors, came from a prominent and responsible family and was ‘depressed’ by what happened. ‘He’s a decent human being,’ Miller claimed in court.

The police said he showed no remorse when arrested along with a friend.

Miller claimed Acloque was fleeing attackers at the motel and he did not know that his vehicle had hit anyone.

Judge Emogene Johnson Smith ordered a $3,000 cash bail with GPS exclusion zones to include the Arbor Inn. The case will be heard December 19.

According to the timeline of events noted by the district attorney’s office in court, a state trooper saw a grey and a white Ford F-150 driving down Route 1 at high speed around 10 pm, November 18.

The driver of the truck told the trooper that he drove erratically to attract the police’s attention since a white truck ahead had just run someone over.

Meanwhile, Acloque had entered a parking lot and was beginning to drive away when Trooper Sean O’Brien arrived.

‘As I approached Acloque, it appeared that he had a deer carcass wedged underneath the truck,’ Trooper O’Brien wrote in his report. ‘I could hear the sound of something being dragged.’

The trooper said his investigation had determined that before Acloque was stopped, he and the passenger in his vehicle, Michael Skuncik, 22, had got out and inspected the body the vehicle was dragging.

They both decided to leave the parking lot after seeing Patel’s motionless body, O’Brien wrote.

Acloque was at the motel earlier to watch Monday Night Football at a party.

Prosecutors said he refused to pay when asked for money, but his defense attorney

claimed he was visiting friends.

When Acloque and the friend were leaving the motel, the staff demanded payment and there were arguments.

Kanchan and her husband were not parties to the dispute, reports said.

Acloque and his friend rushed out and got into the vehicle and hit Patel and her husband when they attempted to stop him from leaving, reports said.

While the husband escaped with minor injuries, Kanchan was pulled under the truck.

Acloque, ‘with complete carelessness and disregard for human life, accelerated so quickly that the truck left a long burnout patch in the parking lot’ at the motel, the police report said.

Acloque was driving with a license that had been suspended.

Miller claimed his client drove away because he was attempting to escape an assault by three men including one motel employee. The prosecution denied the claim.

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COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013

‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’ November 26 to 28, 2008, the world watched horrified as 10 Pakistani terrorists unleashed mayhem in India’s commercial capital.

Five years come startling revelations: How the United States knew what was about to happen, how a Pakistani-American triple agent, David Headley, helped the Laskhar-eTayiba and Pakistan’s spy agency plan and execute Mumbai’s 9/11, and how India’s security forces were caught napping.

Sheela Bhatt interviews Adrian Levy, co-author of what is being hailed as the definitive book on 26/11.

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his is a book that was dying to be written. The Pakistani terrorists’ siege of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, which began November 26, 2008 and ended three days later, was an emotion-filled, historic event that caught the world’s attention.

Not just Mumbai, but India was under siege as Pakistani jihadis went about killing 166 innocent people, largely Indians.

Those hours were filled with astonishment, anguish and anger.

A few Indian authors published books soon after the terror attacks, but no Indian media or authors have brought out the depth of the event and spread of the operation that took place before the horrendous event, and its implications for the future of India and the world.

Daood Gilani, also known as David Coleman Headley, is serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US. that highlights how America’s compromise The comprehensive version has now ‘THEIR GREED TO with David Coleman Headley, one of the arrived in India in the form of The Siege: masterminds of the attacks, affected India’s 68 Hours Inside the Taj Hotel. The disCATCH BIN LADEN national interest. tinguished authors, Cathy Scott-Clark MEANT THAT THEY The book is worth reading because it is and Adrian Levy, are well-respected written after getting Pakistan’s version of names in South Asia with remarkable WANTED TO PROTECT the genesis of the terror plot, America’s books like Deception: Pakistan, the HEADLEY.’ dealing with Headley and its self-centered United States and the Global Nuclear diplomacy and, most importantly, truly Weapons Conspiracy to their credit. exhaustive details that have been obtained Levy has written extensively on Burma, from the Indian system.

Russia, Cambodia, and Pakistan. He has worked with the Scott-Clark and Levy traveled to 15 countries across four British print media and is an acclaimed filmmaker who continents and interviewed hundreds of sources, witnesses has directed some incisive films for channels including the and people, including the parents of Pakistani jihadis BBC and The History Channel.

In an exclusive interview with India Abroad, Levy narrates the hard work that went into the making of the book Page A15

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

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Flames rush out of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, November 27, 2008

Page A14 who landed in south Mumbai to attack the city.

The book re-creates the human tragedy inside the Taj Mahal hotel in those 68 hours, giving a virtual second-bysecond account of what went on inside when the world was watching the horror unfolding on television.

Even five years after the terror attacks, Levy says, the Indian establishment has not honestly approached the event and learned the right lessons.

What brought you to this subject?

I was really motivated by the fact that no one, to my mind, has really taken this seriously.

You know when 9/11 happened, there is the 9/11 Commission report and there are nearly 600 pages of very detailed analysis.

When 7/7 happened in London, there are thousands of pages and it is available for the public to see in the National Archives, it is being updated all the time.

In both cases, particularly in the American experience, there are may be two or three great books that have been written — Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright; Steve Coll has written a great work on (Osama) bin Laden.

And you tell me what happened after 26/11? The Pradhan Committee report is just 64 pages. 64! No interviewing of the intelligence agencies, no interviewing of the military, no interviewing of the National Security Guard, no politicians, just the police.

This is not a serious response to a seminal event like 26/11. The sacrifice by people, and also the stigma of the attack on the city, and it is one of the first of many things that will happen now.

It was a new wave. We have seen it with Nairobi and we will see it again and again and again. And it is very significant for so many reasons. Firstly, because people are not taking 26/11 seriously enough. I feel they have brushed it under the carpet. I think that is not also a testimony to the dead, to the survivors, to the people in the security service, the Taj staff, the guests, the policemen who did fight, where are their stories?

You know, maybe a little bit on cable news, something on YouTube, maybe (reporter) Ashish Khetan wrote something in the book (26/11 Mumbai Attacked) that came out in 2009, which was an immediate gut reaction.

Where is the attempt to do the big picture? Tell this as it is and say that this is the story of 26/11? This is my thinking.

What is the big picture? Can you take us to Pakistan and let us understand the scene behind the attack?

I think there is a ladder here, and I think that two things happened simultaneously.

The first thing is that Pakistan, the military and intelligence establishment, was going through a very tumultuous period. Incredibly racked by problems, leading up to the Red Mosque siege in 2007, when you remember (then Pakistan president Pervez) Musharraf made the decision to send in his boys from the Special Services to storm the mosque.

That was a turning point for Pakistan. A watershed.

Because suddenly the jihad industry, which they nurtured and grew and that they funded and trained, had split. And after Pakistani forces were seen in a mosque, killing seminary students and women, then the movement split, many became radicalized and turned against the State-sponsored outfits and moved to Al Qaeda.

It was a very important event. So, the Inter Services Intelligence, elements of the military, became very scared. They were no longer in control of the foot soldiers that General Zia-(ul Haq) created lovingly from 1979 onwards.

And at the same time one of the prime organizations that has done the foreign policy, the black foreign policy, of Pakistan is the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The Army of the Pure had solely been focused diligently really on Kashmir. And that was the recruiting ground. But now it was losing people left, right and center, its military council was split, people wanted to take up the Khajul (Islamic finance) for Ummah and not for Kashmir.

INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’ They wanted the pan-Islamic platform, like Al Qaeda. They were jealous of Al Qaeda, the young.

So the ISI needed a plan, they needed to show up the jihad factory. Lashkar was split and needed something cohesive that could bring itself back together again.

Into this mess, shortly beforehand, there walks this chameleon — Daood Gilani who would become David Coleman Headley, he was also needing a plan.

Now the story of Daood Gilani is that he has always needed a plan. If you look at his life very carefully, basically from his birth onwards, he needed a big idea. Essentially, he was a drug dealer when he got caught.

He needed a plan.

So when he was caught in 1988, he PTI PHOTO/COURTESY INDIAN EXPRESS offered up all the people he was working with so that he got a short sentence. And he offered to ‘THE POLICE SAY ALL THE TIME, THAT WE work directly for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in America.

NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE SEA, WE COULD This methodology would be one he would pursue NEVER HAVE GUESSED — THEY KNEW. THEY throughout. He got caught again, he offered up more people. And by the time he gets to 1998 and caught again it KNEW HOW MANY MEN WOULD BE IN THE was 10 years of informing, 10 years of working his way into the intelligence establishments in America.

TEAM, THEY KNEW THE METHOD OF He was caught in New York.

LANDING, BY DINGHY, THEY DIDN’T KNOW Being extraordinarily bright and a psychopath to some degree, he believes that what America wanted most was a WHERE. THEY KNEW MUMBAI WAS THE grassroots understanding of the jihad factory being grown in Pakistan. Already, everyone was getting worried.

TARGET. THEY KNEW ROUGHLY THE If you remember in 1998 the US embassy bombings in METHODOLOGY — RDX EXPLOSIVES, AK-47S… Africa.

America has been caught in Kenya, Dar-esSalaam. The embassies were blown up simultaneously, EVERY SINGLE TARGET WAS KNOWN APART hundreds were injured. And apparently it is Al Qaeda.

FROM THE JEWISH CENTER IN SOUTH They don’t know who Al Qaeda really is or bin Laden.

And here is an American — half Pakistani, half Victims of the terrorist strike near the swimming pool in the Taj in Mumbai, November 26.

MUMBAI.’

Page A16

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COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013 The bloodied Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station in Mumbai, December 26, 2008.

Page A15 American. Carrying an American passport. Two mismatched eyes, blond, speaks Urdu, speaks American like an American, who is offering a bridge between America and the jihad factory. And he says that if you let me off this sentence for drug dealing, I will take you into the world of jihad.

And in 1999 this is very tantalizing, if you look at the backdrop. So, to this man, it is another deal that is being offered. And he would wedge his way in.

So he, between 1999 and 2006, did not get very far. And the people who were backing him and paying him and pushing him in America were growing bored.

Gilani was in danger because he was losing his influence. But around the 2006 period, to come back to your question finally, Pakistan is approaching this tumultuous watershed, Lashkar is split, the military is looking for how to keep hold of its jihad factory, and Headley/Daood appears, and he offers a plan.

He says, ‘Why don’t you use me as the Trojan Horse? I look like a white guy, as you say like a gora. I have an American passport.’ And he said, ‘I will stake out a city for you and I will choose places where there is an international crowd and I will enable you to attack India but also to appease Al Qaeda, the people who are enamored with Al Qaeda, by broadening the base of the attack out, attack the West, attack America, attack the British, attack Jews.

We all find somewhere like that and I propose that the place to do that is the metropolis.’

He told this to the LeT. He put this plan up as an idea and he in fact put this idea up because he himself believed that he was getting nowhere with any organization.

LeT was initially suspicious but together with the intelligence establishment, they all became sure that this was a great idea because here was a plan where for one faction India was still the target, which was very important to the old faction, but the new faction, it was an Al Qaeda-kind of raid because it was also taking on the West.

Taking on Israel in the form of attack on the Jews.

And it was going to be potentially — if they made it work — an attack on an enormous scale, captured by live television, like 9/11 was, shown around the world as it happened. It would be India’s 9/11. I think that those were factors that created enormous interest potentially.

The coming together of the right time, the right people, the right plan, and all of that begins to embed and pretty much, as soon as the plan is discussed, elements of it are reported back to the American intelligence establishment. They know things right at the beginning.

Don’t you think Headley may be a pawn, still?

The way you are highlighting Headley in your book, can you give me more evidence for your story?

The first thing to establish is how he works. So, if you examine his relationship with the American authorities, you can see that every time, first of all when he is threatened, his methodology is to give up the people he works with.

So when he was a criminal, he gave up the other criminals, even though they were his best friends 26/11 played out on the media, like 9/11. and his accomplices.

When he was with his best friend, (Tawahhur) ‘THERE WAS A SHOWDOWN IN 2009. VERY Rana, from his school time, at the first opportunity he manipulated Rana; he used Rana’s political past. In order SENIOR PEOPLE AND THE INDIAN to drive through the NWFP (North West Frontier ESTABLISHMENT CONFRONTED THE Province) in Pakistan to get drugs — he hid it in Rana’s military vehicle without Rana knowing it!

AMERICANS IN DELHI, AND SAID, YOU HAVE So, this is a man for who everybody is an opportunity for him. And if you look at that methodology, as soon as BETRAYED US BECAUSE YOU ALLOWED he is captured, he is always bidding with the Americans, HEADLEY TO STAY IN PLAY, BECAUSE YOU he is bidding with them — I can give you this, I can get you that, I can take you here; and he ultimately runs out WERE GREEDY FOR AL QAEDA, AND of ammunition.

YOU HAVE SACRIFICED MUMBAI.’ He gets himself into a terrible situation with a lot of really big consignment of drugs. As I said, when caught he needs to offer something really good to get himself off

STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’ the hook.

There is a closed court record in America which shows the court is eternally grateful for the cooperation Headley is now giving. And we then see subsequently after that all the other people involved in the drug conspiracy in 1999 answer present sentences in excess of four, five years.

So we know that the deal is done, we know that he is in their employment, we know from people working from the security establishment that he becomes untrusted because he is as yet untested.

But very interesting as a proposition is the approach of the American establishment. We know because Lashkar and elements within the ISI and the Pakistan military were also skeptical about Headley. And pretty much from the beginning believe that he may well be an American agent.

They were being entrapped into becoming involved with something very different; a kind of very adventurous operation they had never done before.

They are very careful about how they push the jihad factory and to take on American, British, Jewish, French, Dutch targets, to make themselves alienated before all of these nations, a very provocative act; so there has to be reason.

There were suspicions that Headley was a provocateur from America, from their side too.

Did you meet people from America for this book? Did the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies who interrogated Headley cooperate with your work?

Yes, we talked with some people who had worked with Headley, they have something called the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and they bring together into this lots of different elements of the security establishment — from the FBI and from the police and from intelligence services, they form an organization that can talk.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Page A16 So we talked to people who served there, we talked to diplomats, we talked to people in Western intelligence, to Lashkar-e-Tayiba, to people in the ISI, to former and serving officers in the Pakistan military, and we talked on the Indian side to people in the intelligence community in India — serving and retired. People who worked on the case as well.

And, lots of varying analysis comes to play afterwards because at the time of the event there is chaos, to be frank.

And one of the strongest things you take from here is that a deal was formed and in that deal, the bargain in essence was that America concealed its knowledge, its true knowledge of the growing risk on Mumbai.

It never revealed where the information was coming from. It never expressly explained that it knew how the plot was growing.

But at the same time it passed information to its partners in the Intelligence Bureau and R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency) in the form of bulletins and schedules, and these bulletins consisted of very precise information from 2006 onwards.

As the plot became more fixed, for example, Bombay was decided on as the target almost straightaway to be attacked. That information is fed in 2006.

But also really very quickly it was decided that a marine assault would be done. So that information was passed straightaway.

In which year?

In 2006 and 2007, that there will be an attack by the sea and it will come in the form of a fidayeen (suicide) unit, exactly the same method as used in Kashmir. A kind of ‘swarm attack,’ as they call it in intelligence, where men will land, there will be multiple targets, it will create the illusion of the city burning, but the team will be small and they will choose the sea as the route is unprotected.

So that was identified.

Now people will tell you, and the police say all the time, that we never knew about the sea, we could never have guessed — they knew. They knew it was the sea; they knew it was Bombay.

This is the first couple of pieces they were given to act upon. At the same time no one knew about Headley. On the Indian side they were never told.

They didn’t know. America concealed the information about him.

And it will become the opinion, later in 2009, of the intelligence services here that America sacrificed Mumbai, in a sense, to keep Headley playing and you may ask why would an ally of India do that?

But phone intercepts and e-mail intercepts maintained by the Americans show that David Headley, when he finally became acceptable to an element of Lashkar, the faction that he befriended was the faction moving to Al Qaeda.

It was the faction that was sick and tired of the old ways of LeT. And instead they were following — do you remember Ilyas Kashmiri of the 313 Brigade?

So Ilyas Kashmiri was LeT and then he moved up into FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan)?

COVER STORY

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‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’ Commandos drop down from a military He helicopter onto the roof of Chabad House, was in Mumbai, November 28, 2008.

Waziristan as an affiliate of Al Qaeda with his own 313 Brigade and they attacked Musharraf continually, they set up bombs in Rawalpindi, they became the most vicious insurgents against the Pakistan establishment, and the story is that Kashmiri was once part of the army special forces in Pakistan although this is not clear by any means.

But Headley was enamored with Ilyas Kashmiri and as soon as it became clear through the very open e-mail conversation that they were getting near to each other.

What America could figure out is that this finally was an American with an American passport operating in Pakistan who had access to Al Qaeda.

Now the prime objective of that time was the capture of bin Laden. This is three years before Abbottabad, the only thing that the intelligence agencies were thinking about was how do they decapitate him, how do they cut the head off of Al Qaeda and here was this tantalizing, untrustworthy, difficult, hard to control, psychopathic individual, who was American.

I think undoubtedly, what you can see is America’s desire — not all of America, but PTI the desire within certain elements of the ‘WHAT THE LASHKAR DOES IS TO REMOVE THE American intelligence community. Their greed to catch bin Laden meant that they wanted to protect Headley.

NEED FOR EVERYTHING OUTSIDE THE Leave him in play, leave him in the field. So they fed tidbits to their friends in the intelligence community in LASHKAR. SO IF YOU WERE FROM India. They said here is a bulletin. You should know that A FRACTURED FAMILY AND YOU GET the tidbits they believed gave a fairly clear picture. But the reality is completely different.

SWEPT INTO THE ORGANIZATION, On the other side, in India, they never really appreciated how significant the intelligence was. I know that there THEY SLOWLY CHIP AWAY AT THE BONDS was a showdown in 2009, very senior people and the SO THAT YOUR FAMILY IS THE LET.’ Indian establishment confronted the Americans in Delhi, and said ‘You have betrayed us because you allowed Headley to stay in play, because you were greedy for Al Qaeda, and you have sacrificed Mumbai.’

They made that allegation, using those words. And the response from America was that you were incompetent. We gave National Security Guard commandos outside you tidbits, we built the picture.

Chabad House, November 27, 2008.

It is shameful on both sides because the narrow self-interest of America meant that they never explained the context for the intelligence, they never really pushed it and foregrounded it. The same argument applies to Western agencies, who also picked up details, and on the Indian side. By 2008, they had been given a colossal amount of information.

They knew how many men would be in the team, they knew it would about 10. They knew the method of landing, by dinghy, they didn’t know where. They knew Mumbai was the target, they knew roughly the methodology — RDX

SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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Page A17 explosives, AK-47s — that was in the bulletins, they knew the exact targets.

Every single target was known apart from the Jewish center in South Mumbai. The Oberoi, Taj, CST-VT, one of the hospitals was named. They also named the Bombay police headquarters as another target and they knew a cluster of Jews would be targeted, but they didn’t know where at the time.

I am sure, I’ve seen the bulletins. So if you actually put this accumulative data together, what you have is a massing threat.

Now the police in Bombay ignored it pretty much because they weren’t given the assistance to develop it.

R&AW didn’t seem to develop it, IB (Intelligence Bureau) didn’t seem to develop it.

What is the reason?

Let us ask them what is the reason? I think it is incompetence. I think there is a political dogfight between IB and R&AW. There is a political dogfight between the state IB node and the Delhi IB node.

I think the police relationship through Special Branch and IB is fractured and both sides don’t trust each other.

The police on the ground work very hard. They do the dog’s work.

They work very hard, but they don’t have the resources because in this city of multi-millionaires, where you can build yourself a 27-storey town-house to live in with a helicopter landing pad, no one will pay for the police.

Who will buy their helmets? Who will pay the tax for the vests? And I do think that is the essence of the problem.

The infighting, the lack of seriousness with which they greeted it, until Vishwas Nangre Patil came into office.

He comes into office in June-July 2008 and the first thing he does is, he does a security appraisal. Very young, ambitious officer from the countryside. Not part of the establishment. He is not like (then police commissioner Hasan) Gafoor and Nawab (Mumbai police’s crime branch chief Rakesh Maria).

He has not come from the same background. He is one of a new breed of country boys who has a lot to prove.

Who has gone through the IPS (Indian Police Service).

His father is a gym instructor, a weightlifter. He doesn’t have the family credentials.

I think what you see with a man like him is that immediately in the summer he begins to piece together the amassing evidence that Bombay is going to be hit and all of these targets are going to be hit and he begins to organize a committee of junior officers he meets regularly in the evenings, looking at how to deal with the pitiful resource system and make the city safe.

He goes and addresses the general managers of the hotels and says that you are gonna get hit. And in fact he is even more precise than that, he delivers through September and October (2008), incredibly detailed information to those hotels, particularly to the Taj. He forces his way though the door, takes on the Tatas.

Very brave decision, young officer taking on influential corporations like the Tata family. And he gives information saying that this is a folly, we can’t give you the date.

We don’t know which date this is going to happen, but you are going to be attacked.

And then after the attack on the Marriott Hotel in September 2008 in Islamabad where 50, 60 people were killed with a truck bomb, he goes back to the hotels and says it is gonna happen. You are going to get hit now.

Look, they have done that because the jihad factory is turning against the establishment and we will get hit too.

He writes up a report that he sends to Gafoor, it is a superbly detailed report, and in it he itemizes all the things that must be done, shutting all the doors of the Taj, creating checkpoints in the hotel, having a full-time police picket on the Taj’s roof by the opening doors.

A whole transformation of the way the hotel perceives itself. And the hotel agrees to some of these changes, most of them it is forced to agree.

Patil goes away on leave, and when he comes back, all

India Abroad November 29, 2013

‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’ A hostage peeks from a window of the Trident hotel, November 28, 2008.

PAL PILLAI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

‘HEADLEY ASKED ONE OF THE ARMY MAJORS, WHO CLAIMED TO BE A RETIRED OFFICER, FROM WHERE A LOT OF THE INFORMATION WAS COMING FROM AND HE WAS TOLD THE MILITARY HAVE BECOME PARTICULARLY PROUD OF A SERIES OF SOURCES THEY HAVE IN INDIA. THE PRIME SOURCE IN DELHI WAS CHRISTENED HONEY BEE. HONEY BEE HAD ACCESS TO MATERIAL WHICH ALLOWED LASHKAR AND THE ISI TO KNOW HOW INDIAN SPECIAL FORCES WOULD REACT IF THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE.’

the changes have been dismantled. And the hotels complain that the cops are greedy. They want to be fed. And it is unsightly having them hanging around begging for food. And all the doors are opened again.

There is no checkpoint, there are no snipers, there is no blast barrier, the CCTV is disorganized, there are illegal alcohol storages still kept all around the hotel.

These are issues, if you want to ask who did the work, the local police in the end tried. People like Vishwas Patil and Rajwardhan Sinha, he was in the Special Branch.

They would be ultimately the only people who fought for the safety of the hotel.

Sinha is remarkably insightful and a battle-hardened officer. He spent his time in Gadchiroli (the Naxal-infested tribal area of Maharashtra).

SHASHANK PARADE /PTI

A father and child after being rescued from the Trident, November 28, 2008.

But here you have a disaster in the brewing. Intelligence services that don’t take intelligence services seriously.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

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‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’

Establishments that believe in creating excuses...

Why are we like this?

Why are we like this? I have no comment to make. I think this is a matrix where narrow selfinterest from the West meets dogfighting in the subcontinent. And that is what happened.

You have tried to understand Headley’s psyche. Can you tell me what his understanding of India is?

It is so conflicted. I think we wrote this in the book really clearly that he loves Mumbai. He thinks it is a really rambunctious city of enormous energy. A city of enormous wealth, a city of enormous color.

A city with a large Muslim population. He loved the city’s traditions.

And he understood all of that. He liked the political hucksters, he understood the evolution of the Shiv Sena ideology. The evolution of Muslim gangsters. And you see all this in the way he wrote about the city, in the way the relationships that he formed.

His love of the Taj Mahal hotel is recorded. He hung out at the Taj all the time.

And a lot of that time he wasn’t working in the hotel. He hung out at the Taj because he liked the Harbour Bar. He liked the Sea Lounge. He liked to be seen sipping champagne with his rich friends, living the high life in Mumbai. Figure that out.

You got this split, whereby on one hand he loves the city, but he hates the country; what the country stands for. On one hand he loves the people. But he can justify his hatred of certain people, some Hindu people, some Jewish people, some American people. You know he is not really a political Policemen inspect a car at Girgaum Chowpatty after animal. shooting dead a terrorist and capturing another alive, When you call him a psychopath, what do November 26, 2008. you mean?

Well in a sense that ultimately he cares about himself. The deal with Headley is Headley. The deal with Daood Gilani is Daood. He has ‘THEY KNEW HOW A MUMBAI POLICE always sacrificed all the people around him.

CONTROL ROOM WORKED, THEY KNEW His mother, as you know, was Caucasian. She was from Maryland and from a remarkable family, an adventuress.

HOW THE GPS SYSTEM WORKS IN MUMBAI And she got together with his father, who was a very famous, wonderful Lahori broadcaster. Syed Gilani was a CARS. IN KARACHI, THEY BUILT A MODEL fantastic man.

OF THE TAJ HOTEL USING BLUEPRINTS And they got together during the 1950s and their son, the product of this mixed marriage, was born in 1960 as a SO THEY HAD A KIND OF A SCHEMATIC cross fertilization between a liberal intellectual from OF THE TAJ.’ America and liberal intellectual from Lahore.

David, according to his mother, was suffering from lack of self. He was divided between two communities so much that he almost couldn’t find himself.

Why would Headley give such important information Was he the Pakistan boy? He went to the military acadeabout the terror operation in Mumbai to the Americans in my in his teenage years. first place? He was not forced to do that. He could have Was he the all-American kid who lived on the Upper given any other fake or real information.

Westside in New York and opened a video store and dealt I think he also had a bigger plan. He is always trying to in drugs? play people off against each other because Headley Which one of these conflicted identities was his? believes he is cleverer. Headley is a survivor.

And in the midst of the fight between Pakistani Daood If you talk to DEA agents who interrogated Headley and and American David, he got lost. who worked with him and if you talk to the people within Because when you or I, if we have a sense of self, we the intelligence community who interrogated him, they have the morality, social conscience, friendships, we don’t found he was amazingly charming, amazingly convincing. sacrifice our friends, family. Where are those things? They If you see Headley in action on any of the tapes, when have all gone. They have all been stripped away. eventually he was interrogated by the FBI in 2009 and The friends, he turns over, he sacrifices them. Rana he 2010 after the Mumbai attacks — there are 80 hours of betrays. He was his best friend from school. All of his footage — he is the most remarkable communicator. He criminal associates he betrays. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba, he puts everyone at ease in the room. betrays.

When you say remarkable, what do you mean?

You said America gave so much information to India and He is very convincing. He is a human being who underother countries like France about a possible terror attack.

stands the weaknesses of other human beings. He understands the need of people to be loved and liked. He is a salesman. He goes into these situations and he knows everyone has a weakness.

The center point of your story, your book, is Headley.

Well, no. I think, actually, he is the evolution of the plot. What comes out of this is the conflicts of interest of America.

On the broader scale, the backdrop is the conflicts of interest. But actually you know it is the people who drive this story.

Tell us about the Karachi plot. How did the actual training of the terrorists happen? How did the Lashkar move ahead with this terror plan?

The plan didn’t actually move to Karachi till a later date. The really interesting thing is that they themselves couldn’t work out how to get the plan going.

They began with a core group of 32 men and those men trained very hard, they were religiously indoctrinated... that is not really a fair word...

The LeT, you know, is quite principled — to them the religious dogma is very important. It will not take anyone willy-nilly like Ilyas Kashmiri (did). If you want to be a fighter, join Kashmiri. If you want to believe in Deobandism, if you want to believe in the Sunni sect and back the Hadith view, then you would move to a different organization.

The LeT has a bit of a secular view. So all of these people went through complex training.

Who was the head?

It was run by two, three people who were SHIRISH SHETE/PTI effectively involved — there is a military coordinator, who is called Qahafa, it is a very strange nom de plume.

Then the second in command for foreign operations is Sajid Mir, which is his real name.

The third man involved is a military trainer who was primarily the LeT commander in Kashmir, in the valley for many years, who was brought out specifically for this job.

And those three were put in charge. And they got through their religious indoctrination, which is very detailed. And they do that in Muridke, the LeT headquarters outside Lahore. And they are put through a whole series of experiences that none of them have had.

The philosophy of religion, it is quite challenging. It is not simply — as people portray in movies — like rote learning. They go through some very deep debates.

Like Ajmal Kasab (the terrorist who was captured alive and later hung)?

Yes, like Kasab. He had to confront for the first time a school of thinking. It is not just about reach for the gun; he had to actually listen to a process of thinking that he hadn’t heard before.

They (the killers) meet a community within the LeT because what the LeT does is to remove the need for everything outside the LeT. So if you were from a fractured family and you get swept into the organization, they slowly chip away at the bonds so that your family is the LeT. I tell you how this works with the group of 32. Many in that group grew scared when it became clear that a plot

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Page A19 was emerging. No one knew it was Mumbai.

But as soon as some details were clear — for example, it would be a fidayeen operation — people rang up uncles and brothers, people who had good families, and they said, ‘I am scared, this is not why I joined. I joined to fight in a military conflict, I didn’t join for this and I didn’t join to kill myself.’

And people knocked on the gates of LeT and they said we want our sons back. They paid fines and they took their children away.

Every week people dropped out and a lot of the people who were left behind were from families that were heavily fractured, where the mother and father were split or where the father was absent. Where there was no one home, where there was no money, where there was no telephone.

They are the people the LeT picked.

So they start off there, they have religious indoctrination, they move them up beyond Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, to the Chella Bandi hills, and there is a base up there which was actually created initially for the first big push for training in the Kashmir valley.

A section of that base, in a place which they call House of the Warriors, which is just the mujahid house, was turned over to the group of 32.

When they arrived, their names were removed, they were given numbers, they were split up into canvas tents, and they were put through the military mill.

So they have gone from spiritual to military.

And the group gets smaller until there are 20 and then they go back to Muridke and they are involved in more spiritual training, physical training, they begin to introduce swimming because the marine element has come to the fore.

The Lashkar built a bit of a white elephant, a very rare folly, something really stupid. They built an Olympic size swimming pool in Muridke in the university. But there is no filter system. So it is basically a tank, you fill it with water and the water turns black and no one wants to swim in it.

So they built this really massive pool which after a while was treacle thick. So they used to swim in the canal outside, the canal was really clean.

And these guys begin to learn swimming and went back to Muridke where they received much more intense training.

Things were very interesting in the camp. Some things stand out. The first thing that stands out is the kind of training that was offered. They were offered training in room clearance using, what I would describe as, Western methodology. A method of moving in close spaces in rooms using hand signals so there is no speaking.

They created mock-ups with buildings so they would learn to take doors down, shield behind mattresses, to use each other as human shields, to communicate nonverbally so that the group would move together.

And they did this at night, low vision, under light fire, with no food. There was a process culminating in awards to reward the people who were most successful. It was very sophisticated, not involving lots of money.

So when and how did they know this training is for Mumbai and the Taj Hotel?

They didn’t know it was the Taj initially. They didn’t know until they were given a final briefing in Muzaffarabad where the targets were identified and in this camp in the hills in the House of the Warriors, they were shown for the first time the material gathered by David Headley.

That material was the videos shots inside the Taj when he joined a tourist group on one of the Friday afternoon tours. He was there with his mother-in-law’s tourist camera, shooting everything.

All the still pictures, the GPS, way-markings for the whole city were shown to the boys.

And then they mapped that over Google Earth. They (the terrorists’ trainers) could sit these country boys down

India Abroad November 29, 2013

‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’

Remains of the taxi in which the terrorists planted a bomb, near the Mumbai domestic airport. The idea, authors of The Siege say, was to make it look like an army had attacked the city on multiple fronts.

‘YOU COULD GO TO OKARA NOW, WHAT IT SAYS ON THE WALLS IS NOT BOLLYWOOD, NOT CRICKET, BUT JIHAD. THERE ARE NEWSPAPERS WITH CARTOONS AND IN THE CARTOONS ARE THE FIDAYEEN. YOU KNOW THEY JOKE THAT THERE IS A CHARACTER CALLED JIHAD-JOE FOR SCHOOL BOYS. AND THE LASHKAR KNOWS THIS. THEY DESCRIBE CHILDREN AS BLANK BLACKBOARDS. THEY FILL THEM WITH THESE IDEAS.’ before the computer. They had never seen one before, let alone the Internet. They showed them Google Earth and a GPS system, and said you are going here. And the teams are broken up.

So, they begin to get the idea that there will be teams and that Mumbai will be the target, but in fact even then it is not the finished job.

Because another operation occurs in Kashmir and a quarter of the team are moved off for a specific hit-andrun operation and more recruits are brought in to top up the team.

And then they all get together down in Karachi where the control room has been set up, pretty near to the airport, in a military controlled area, which was an obvious place for them to be.

They had two centers, a control room there and two places for the team. One is effectively a bunking room, where there was lots of equipment, maps.

The other room is on a creek to the east of the city and on that creek you could get out to the sea eventually which meant that they could practice on the still waters of the creek.

ARUN PATIL

An interesting thing happened here. The intelligence people who were hanging around the Lashkar — remember the Lashkar is full of soldiers; it is full of spies, and you never know who is retired and who isn’t.

It is a ball of wool. So many of them are military, it is very difficult to say whether they are military serving on deputation or whether they have left. They all claim to be retired.

Headley asked one of the army majors, who claimed to be a retired officer, from where a lot of the information was coming from and he was told the military have become particularly proud of a series of sources they have in India.

They had one in New Delhi. And they have these names for their sources. The prime source in Delhi was christened Honeybee. Honeybee had access to material which allowed Lashkar and the ISI to know how Indian Special Forces would react if the attack took place.

So what is the security plan on the floor? How will Indian counter-insurgency happen? On the basis of the Indian material, the training manuals were prepared which included training manuals for room clearance, for top to bottom hostage-taking clearance, they had all sorts of marine charts and they had a schematic of Mumbai that showed a potential number of landing places, something like four spots were identified.

How did they get this Honeybee?

They claimed this was a name they used to disguise an Indian source that they recruited who was passing information for money.

Who is he?

If we knew, we would have written that.

He or she?

He. As far as we know. Based in Delhi.

From the military?

I cannot say because I don’t know. It is ambiguous whether Honeybee is military or whether it is someone in a ministry who has access to the same information.

It has to be a person connected to national security. It is someone within this orbit. It has to be.

I am less inclined to believe that it is someone in the

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Page A20 military. Because the Indian military is a very ideological establishment. It is less likely because, as you know, it is very fraternal. But these are guesses. You have to say we don’t know.

Did you try to find out?

Yeah. I tried. I haven’t got very far on this. But you know... It is quite shocking. Because it seems that it enabled them to work out what to expect after the event and what the weaknesses of the Indian response would be and how to evade it.

So, for example, they knew how a Mumbai police control room worked, they knew how the GPS system works in Mumbai cars. In Karachi, they built a model of the Taj Hotel using blueprints so they had a kind of a schematic of the Taj. That was shown to the boys in Karachi.

I think for them it was not really the most significant thing. I think the digital elements helped.

The fact that if you have never been to a city, but you know street view on the map, if you put it on street view, then you can walk down the highway in Colaba, past Leopold, and take a right and head down two blocks and hit the service lane at the back of the Taj. That is what you need to know. You need to know the tailor shops on the left, the hardware store is on the right. It is that kind of thing that helped them.

These are country boys, they don’t have any great experience.

What is the life story of these 10 terrorists?

This is a really interesting thing. First of all, nearly all the names given are partially wrong. The lives of eight of them are pretty identical. In the sense that they are, broadly speaking, from Pakistani Punjab, broadly speaking, mostly from southern Punjab. As you know, that is the hotbed of sectarianism where there is presence of LeT or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or Sipah-e-Sahaba, particularly.

It is also an area where a lot of political horse-trading takes place. Really, they run a government within a government and no one is in control of those groups.

You can see that if you go to these places, particularly to Okara, where Kasab comes from. Zaki, the LeT military commander, is from Okara, too.

It is significant because Okara was a very impoverished, down-on-its-luck city until lots of boys began to die in Kashmir. Then it was renamed the Blessed City. Because the only way it got virtue was through the fidayeen.

There was no industry, no social welfare. The welfare was provided by the LeT. The hospitals are run by them, the seminary is run by Sipah-e-Sahaba.

The only way you could get medical treatment or money for the family was by being an adjunct. But it is not just joining the Lashkar, it is also about publicity.

You could go to Okara now, what it says on the walls is not Bollywood, not cricket, but jihad.

There are newspapers with cartoons and in the cartoons are the fidayeen. You know they joke that there is a character called jihad-Joe for school boys. And the Lashkar knows this. They describe children as blank blackboards. They fill them with these ideas.

Even now?

Even now... completely! This is a very difficult thing because in the absence of the writ of the government, in the absence of investment in education, what will happen is that these groups pick them out.

So, these 10 boys, the first thing to identify is broadly speaking their families are fractured. Broadly speaking, they are from that geographical area. They are brought up in districts that are held together by the governments of jihad.

More than that a lot of the boys come from places which can watch India. They are from border areas where they look out of their bedroom windows and they are looking

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‘AMERICA CONCEALED ITS KNOWLEDGE, ITS TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GROWING RISK ON MUMBAI’

Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was captured alive, at the CST station, November 26, 2008.

KIND COURTESY: SEBASTIAN D'SOUZA/MUMBAI MIRROR

‘ALL OF THE TERRORISTS’ FAMILIES WERE APPROACHED BY LASHKAR AFTERWARDS, THEY WERE APPROACHED BY THE INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS AND THEY TOLD THE FAMILIES ‘I AM SORRY BUT YOUR CHILD IS DEAD.’ THEY CLAIMED THE CHILDREN DIED IN KASHMIR, THERE WAS A GLORIOUS BATTLE.’

over the borders.

They are involved permanently in the instability of the border. They know about the tit-for-tat raids, the shelling from all the border wars. So there is the culture.

I can think of two of the boys whose family had lost members in the 1965 and 1971 wars. So in sense, the view from the bedroom window then becomes the worldview and then they are picked on by an organization offering them a glorious way out. Even then children try to get out.

One of the 10 (terrorists) is slightly different. In that the leader of the operation was much more decisive. And we know from all of the conversation that took place from the interrogations of Kasab.

The man in the end picked out to lead the operation, in

some sense, was much more of a veteran. But he was not typical of the way the operation worked.

Nine terrorists died in Mumbai, but there is no social visibility of their parents. Neither did the media in Pakistan report about them. Why? The second part of the story is this. All of the families were approached by the jihadi outfit, they were all approached by LeT afterwards, they were approached by the intelligence apparatus and they told the families ‘I am sorry but your child is dead.’

They claimed the children died in Kashmir, there was a glorious battle. ‘Here is a photo. This is your son, he is a shaheed (martyr). And he died in the war at Baramullah, in Sopore...’

The families were not told that they died in Mumbai?

The intelligence agencies categorically denied that.

They told the families you would hear lots of stories. It is black propaganda. These boys fought in Kashmir. Every family was given the same story.

How do you know that?

We went to all of them. In two cases the family was told the boy had drowned running away from the Rashtriya Rifles in a river in Kashmir. Their whole thing was to pay money. They (the terrorists’ families) got shaheed money.

They got cash from the Lashkar, pitiful amounts of money.

How much money?

Really insignificant amounts. They were promised like Rs 100,000. Nothing really, for a life. And they were given this back up story and they were told that anyone comes to you, say this only.

A22

COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013

‘There is circumstantial evidence that retired — and possibly active duty — members of Pakistan’s intelligence service and Special Forces were in some way connected with the attack’

Women and children run for safety as security forces provide cover during the Nairobi Westgate Mall siege.

NIKHIL LAKSHMAN

T

his week, Mumbai mourns the fifth anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, which scarred perhaps forever its psyche and left an inerasable imprint of anxiety on many of its citizens.

Five years later, many questions linger as does the fear that such an attack could recur at any time.

David Kilcullen is one of the world’s leading experts on terrorism. The Australian-born retired colonel served as chief strategist in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department from 2005 to 2006. He then advised General David Petraeus for two years, 2007 and 2008, helping to create what came to be famously known as The Surge, the US military’s operation to vanquish terrorists and insurgents in Iraq.

Thereafter a special advisor on counter-insurgency to then secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Dr Kilcullen now runs Caerus Associates, which advises private clients and nations on strategy.

His latest book, Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla (Oxford University Press), ‘offers a compelling case on the spread of urban warfare in coastal cities across the world, representing the future of conflict.’

Dr Kilcullen spoke to India Abroad on e-mail about the lessons from Mumbai and the coming threats to the planet’s urban aggregations.

Five years after the attacks in my home city Mumbai, are there cities you believe are more vulnerable to terrorists?

Why do you believe these cities are more vulnerable?

Many of the planet’s largest cities are increasingly vulnerable to conflict — including terrorism — as a result of massive population growth, urban overstretch and lack of government presence in some areas — all of which create urban “no-go” areas that give cover to violent groups including terrorists — combined with massively increased connectivity, so that violence which emerges in one city can have major repercussions elsewhere.

Terrorism won’t be the only, or even the most important,

GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS

That said, terrorists can also carry out extraordinarily effective attacks — as in Nairobi this year, or Mumbai in 2008 — with just small arms and grenades, so even without such a “dirty” device the risk is very real.

As Mumbai showed, and the Nairobi Westgate Mall attack reinforced, “guerrilla-style terrorism” — where terrorists build an attack team close to their target, use local cover and draw on the natural flow of large urban areas to hide their activity — has increasingly become the method of choice for terrorist groups.

Urban terrorism is on the rise in Pakistan where the terror template from Iraq of random mass murder has been copied with brutal ferocity.

What can a government do in such circumstances?

Would you advocate that the security forces mount a counter-terror operation of even greater ferocity to exterminate the enemy, the way, for instance, Peru and Columbia confronted Shining Path and FARC? In fact, the Colombian government’s approach to dealing with the FARC in recent years relied heavily on civil democracy programs and on building a partnership at the grass-roots level between communities and the police, military and civil officials charged with protecting them.

As the classical counterinsurgency theorist Bernard Fall once said, ‘A government that’s losing to an insurgency isn’t being out-fought — it’s being out-governed.’

I think this is a key lesson for any government confronting an urban terrorist threat: Not only is it impossible to be more brutal or ferocious than modern terrorists, it’s foolhardy to take that approach.

In the book I put forward what I call the theory of competitive control, which shows that governments and non-State armed groups alike gain control through a spectrum of persuasive, administrative, and coercive measures.

Terrorists can always be more brutal than governments at the coercive end of the spectrum, but where governments have the advantage is in the persuasive and administrative parts of the spectrum.

Terrorists can easily out-compete governments in terms of brutality, but there’s no way they can compete with a government’s ability to administer, persuade and bring benefits to its people.

With the American and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) pullout from Afghanistan next year, do you think that terrorists like the Pakistani Taliban and the Lashkar could join forces to mount a mixture of 26/11 and Peshawar operations with greater frequency in India?

Do you think India is more vulnerable to terror attacks than any other country in the world?

It’s possible that militant groups could join forces to attack India after the ISAF withdraws from Afghanistan. It’s at least equally possible, however, that these groups will be drawn into a struggle for control in Afghanistan itself, should a power vacuum emerge after the international troops leave.

I do, however, think that India has a range of threats to consider — from sea-borne terrorism in the style of the 26/11 attacks, to the increasing urbanization of Naxalite and Maoist groups, to the rise of urbanized violent crime and criminal networks.

From the standpoint of people who live in rapidly growing, massively over-populated, densely connected cities, the very environment itself may become a threat if we don’t plan for ways to deal with the coming era of massive urban growth in crowded, networked environments on the world’s coastlines.

‘NOT ONLY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO BE MORE BRUTAL OR FEROCIOUS THAN MODERN TERRORISTS, IT’S FOOLHARDY TO TAKE THAT APPROACH.’

problem in these cities — it will be just one aspect of city systems under stress, as coastal cities in the developing world will be forced to absorb 3 billion new urban dwellers by 2050: The same number of people that it took all of human history to generate, across the entire planet, right up until 1960.

Could the Mumbai attacks been possible without the connivance and sophisticated planning of the Pakistani military?

In your understanding, did the Lashkar-e-Tayiba have the tools to mount such a precise military operation?

Can such a terror operation be mounted without the participation of State actors?

As the case study of Mumbai in my book shows, the terrorists who attacked Mumbai had professional help, not only in planning and preparing for the attack, but in command and control and intelligence support they received from an LeT safe house in Karachi as the attack was unfolding.

There is circumstantial evidence that retired — and possibly active duty — members of Pakistan’s intelligence service and Special Forces were in some way connected with the attack.

However, the attackers were not themselves military operators, and the successful attack indicates both their high standard of training, preparation and equipment, and their extreme ruthlessness and willingness to commit atrocities.

“Loose sponsorship” by people associated with a State — rather than by State institutions itself — gives terrorist groups key elements of support without exposing their sponsors to retaliation.

It is unfortunately only likely to increase.

There has been the fear that terrorists may detonate a ‘dirty bomb’ in a city. How real is such a threat?

In what forms can we expect the next terrorist threat to our cities?

It’s certainly possible that a terrorist group may set off a dirty bomb — whether chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear in nature — in an urban environment, and urban “no-go” areas offer both cover/concealment and a densely packed cluster of targets.

COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A23

‘Terror can come in any shape.

We can’t give it a particular name of religion’ Rajvardhan, a daring police officer who fought the terrorists at the Taj Mahal hotel on 26/11, discusses the attacks and its aftermath with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel in an exclusive interview During the siege of the Taj

Mumbai police officer Rajvardhan.

UTTAM GHOSH

M

umbai police officer Rajvardhan reads Indian history, non-fiction, spiritualism, philosophy, in his frustratingly-limited free time.

William Dalrymple. Alex Rutherford. Larry Collins-Dominique Lapierre. Whatever he can lay his hands on.

Gregory David Roberts’s Shantaram, with its Mumbai setting, streets away from his home, was an interesting read. It reminded him of his college days in Delhi and hanging out at similar, mildly-grubby “joints”.

Late one evening, five years ago, when he heard there had been a curious round of firing in south Mumbai, at the Leopold Café, Colaba, the first thing that came to his mind was Shantaram. And the possibility that a new chapter of a gangland fight was unfolding at the (then) 121-year-old, buzzed, boisterous café.

He rushed to the Colaba police station from his home, and then across the road to Leopold without a gun. His job, then, as deputy commissioner of police at the Special Branch 2, did not require him to carry a gun on his person.

He usually kept a revolver in his briefcase.

He reached Leopold probably 20 minutes after three

Pakistani terrorists left the café’s premises to walk up to the back entrance of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, a few seconds from the Gateway of India.

On their trail, now much more puzzled over these mysterious gunmen, the gutsy Rajvardhan followed, headed up the shadowy lane that ran next to the café, past the tailor shop, the medical store, the Bagdadi restaurant, to the hotel.

Only when he entered the Taj — saw the endless spent AK-47 cartridges littering the polished marble floor, the spreading pools of blood and the appalling number of bodies slumped about — did an odd chill start to scuttle up his spine.

No, this was not out of Shantaram. This was a terrorist attack.

For the next 24 hours, or so, after he grabbed a revolver from injured Inspector Dhole, Rajvardhan — who has seen action, and perhaps more bodies in the worst Naxalite belt of Maharashtra, at Gadchiroli — fought a battle, shoulder to shoulder, with his Indian Police Service batch-mate, Vishwas Nangre Patil (then deputy commissioner of police, Mumbai, Zone 1) against a band of terrorists.

He deftly dodged near death, but was injured.

Patil, Rajvardhan and a small band of about 10 policemen/Taj security personnel, one of whom died, courageously made the best of a dreadful situation, holding the fort, steadfastly engaging heavily-armed terrorists with minimum weapons, preventing them, largely, from continuing their killing spree, till reinforcements arrived.

You knew it was a terrorist attack when you reached the Taj. Did you not see the cartridges at Leopold?

There were cartridges. But I did not see them.

When I entered the Taj I saw them. I saw the dog (the Labrador belonging to Taj security) and I saw that if there is anyone there, they are dead.

Then I realized it is something bigger.

Apart from that, what also made me realize it was something bigger was because if it were gang wars, or somebody was shooting like this, they would have left by now. Why was that someone not leaving? But going up and up (deeper into) the Taj.

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‘Terror can come in any shape.

We can’t give it a particular name of religion’ Page A23 So it meant they had not come here to leave easily.

At that moment, what did you think it was?

I thought it was a terror attack.

But there are all kinds of terror attacks...

To be very frank with you, till the next day I did not know they were Pakistanis.

Mr Patil is in charge of that area so he was supposed to be there. I had gone just like that.

He was slightly shaken up at that time, anyone would be.

(When he saw me at the Taj) he asked me: Please help me out. I said okay, but I don’t have a pistol or anything with me.

So I borrowed a revolver and I went inside. We tried to secure all the cutouts (exits or possible contact points in police operation parlance) of the ground floor. I thought it would be a bigger embarrassment if they shot many (more) people upstairs and come down and quietly walk away.

At least we should secure all the exits so they should not be able to run away, after what they were done. I blocked all the entrances and the elevators so they become non-functional.

When did you knew they were Pakistani terrorists?

I could not hear them speak. I came to know from my boss (the next day). I had to inform him, because I was injured, and he was my boss. So I asked him: Any idea who they were?

H

as much changed for Rajvardhan in the five years since 26/11?

Rajvardhan, who prefers not to use his last name, whose family hails from Patna, Bihar, though he was schooled at the Vikas Vidyalaya boarding school in Ranchi, now in Jharkhand, came to Maharashtra in 1999.

After stints — pre-26/11 — at Gadchiroli, that left its parting mark in the form of a long slash across his face; at Malegaon, during the Hindu-Muslim riots; at Nashik, where he was partially credited with the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul (AK-47s and RDX to be used in a Mumbai attack, that did not happen, according to the Indian Express), the police officer, today concentrates on financial scams.

His attention is now focused on cases like the National Spot Exchange suit (a Rs 56 billion/$950 million payout scam), the SpeakAsia case (an Internet fraud scam) and understanding what he terms “how white collar criminals operate” and expanding his professional skill base.

His manner, as he speaks, is very low key; he chooses his words carefully, thoughtfully, but does not evade a question.

The scar inside him after 26/11 is much larger than wound on his face.

It is second nature for him now to ask a security man at a mall to remember to please check him, or to point out to hotel security men where their security is lax.

Seeing the surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, during the course of the crime branch investigation, he says, had no

India Abroad November 29, 2013

the Coast Guard. Be it the Navy.

There are systems in place. For example: Numbering of fishing vessels, registering them, giving them a particular color, so they can be identified from far, giving them a biometric card etc.

So as a citizen, you feel 50 per cent safer?

Definitely.

Or more than that?

At least that, not less than that, yes.

Do we have a system of the perception of a threat?

We don’t still have a system of picking up the dead or the wounded.

If you see photographs of the Patna blast last month the dead and wounded are being carted off on people’s shoulders like sacks of potatoes. I understand we have limitations. We don’t have a society like Israel. But haven’t we learned anything?

You are absolutely correct, as far as the citizens’ perspective is concerned.

But as a police officer working in a system I have seen what all internally has changed within the police after 26/11 happened.

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are in place defining the role of each and every person.

There have been lots and lots of practice on the ground. Special Forces have developed. All this happened post 26/11. Coastal security has become an area we have identified (that needs work) which is vulnerable.

We are trying to harden the targets. We have so many soft targets. Hardening of even one of them in itself becomes a challenge…

I give you an example: If you go by all the alerts that have come, including the targets (tracked down) by David Headley, there are more than 115 targets, only in Mumbai city. There could be more.

Even if you try to harden all those targets, every day new targets are coming up. Now you have to add all these new hotels and restaurants.

Were these SOPs in place at the time of the subsequent 2011 blasts at Dadar and Opera House? … Yes. Everybody (members of the police force) knew who has to be where, who they were to report to. Every Tom, Dick and Harry was not rushing to RAJESH KARKERA the spot. They were simultaneously hardening the Mumbai police personnel outside Chabad House, Mumbai, November 27, 2008. targets in their respective areas, which were identified, manning them, checking them.

There was a team knowing that they have to go (to the emotional effect on him. blast sites) and secure the perimeter, so the investigation “I felt nothing. The way you feel for a criminal. Not much can begin. Yes, I have seen that it has happened. more.” Kasab was a foot soldier in the operation, but that Can you quantify what percentage of change there has did not take away from him the conscience that any human been in police preparedness? If say we were at 25 to 30 per being has to tell him what is right and what is wrong, feels cent then, where are we now?

Rajvardhan.

If you give it on a scale of one to ten I think we are someWhat have you learned from 26/11? Any fears? where around five now. We have a lot to do.

Professionally, I have learned that terror can come in any Where were we then pre-26/11 in 2008? shape. We can’t give it a particular name of religion, color, We were somewhere around two. community or creed. It can adapt to circumstances and Some critical areas where we need to be developing more come (in another form). is the area of prevention, to prevent.

Secondly, I have learned that we have to always emphaFor that you need an atmosphere where you have intellisize the importance of training and learning. I always gence and a better system where you can gather intelliemphasize to our men to not get lax and to have systems in gence and properly analyze that intelligence and execute place, where we can respond if an attack comes. that intelligence.

If we are not able to prevent it, we need to be able to But intelligence-wise also, (I know) things are being ensure it is localized, and it ends smoothly and very fast. taken very seriously. Even small, small alerts are being purOn a personal level I have learned, that when such kinds sued. of crises come, I personally don’t, at that point of time, feel …If citizen wants a good police force then citizens will that I am scared. have to first ensure that the police is legally kept impartial.

In the attack that took place five years ago, there was a cerThe police is empowered enough to enforce the rule of law, tain daring with which ten people arrived on a boat from the way its powers have been enshrined in the Constitution Pakistan and walked into the city. In your view, can 10 peoof India. I am talking about police reforms, which is a subple still land in Mumbai again and start a ‘war’ of terror? ject in the Supreme Court…

I will not say 100 percent anything is not possible. If I say Is the greatest threat to preventing the reoccurrence of 100 per cent not possible, then I am lax. Because then I feel 26/11 the honesty of the police force? In some areas the the system is perfect and there is no scope of improvement. police is very effective (bar raids and rave parties) but that is After (2008) there have been systems put in place in the because of the incentive of money. Would you not say honcoastal security arena, where there are checks and balances, now making what happened in 2008 extremely difficult to do again, especially in the city of Mumbai. Because so many other agencies have got (into the picture) — be it Page A45

Ro Khanna is shaking up the establishment

MAGAZINE India Abroad November 29, 2013 The International Weekly Newspaper

The

Challenger COURTESY: RO KHANNA

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MUSINGS

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad November 29, 2013

When did

GLITZY embrace GEEKY? Murali Kamma wonders if the choice of an Indian American with a degree in science for the title of Miss America reflects a changing nation

S

ince when did STEM become so cool that a Miss America could be made its brand ambassador? Yes, I’m referring to Nina Davuluri.

Given her degree in brain behavior and cognitive science, not to mention her academic awards, she’s certainly qualified to be a spokesperson for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Still, I couldn’t help wondering — when did Glitzy embrace Geeky?

I’m not being facetious, for it’s indeed refreshing that an Indian-American — and a self-confessed “nerd” — has become the new face of Miss America, reflecting a changing nation in more than one way.

But my focus is not the 2014 pageant and the accompanying drama, about which much has already been said. I’ll stick to STEM. This acronym became a buzzword only in recent years, though it’s been around since the early years of the last decade and existed as SMET earlier.

I feel a sense of déjà vu. Oddly enough, I’m reminded of shirts, which I used to wear untucked.

But having long adapted to the tucked-in trend, I now realize that tucking in is, well, out.

STEM was what we preferred in India, where we used different terms for it — like MPC (math, physics, chemistry) and BiPC/BPC (biology, physics, chemistry), which would hopefully lead to a BE (engineering degree) or an MBBS (medical degree).

For American students, STEM was far from a popular choice when I arrived here. I was amazed to discover you could earn a degree in creative writing.

How attitudes change over time. Now in Atlanta, even the elementary school near our house proudly displays a “STEM Certified” sign. Given the trends in employment, this emphasis is understandable.

Sure, the MFA is still widely available — but the decline of liberal arts has been steep, particularly at the undergraduate level, going by a report put out by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences this year.

Between 1966 and 2010, the number of bachelor’s degrees in the humanities fell from 14 to 7 percent, with the drop accelerating in recent decades.

That’s a pity. We need the arts just as much as we need the sciences. In the formative period leading up to the undergraduate years, a more holistic approach in education is better. For our globalized world, we need individuals who are culturally aware and empathetic, not just technically skilled. We need well-rounded citizens who can think critically, act PARESH GANDHI

responsibly. Liberal arts, anybody?

In India, if you were a middle-class youth, you seemed to have only two career options: engineering and medicine. To a large extent, that still seems true.

Not everyone can be an engineer or a doctor, but it isn’t for lack of trying.

Did you know that the world’s highest concentration of engineering colleges — over 500 — is in a district called Ranga Reddy, Andhra Pradesh?

Across India there are 3,800 engineering campuses of varying quality that can absorb 1.7 million students annually. At independence, India had 38 engineering colleges that could accept 2500 students.

This boom was fueled by the Nehruvian enthusiasm for science and technology. On our totem pole, if the heights of engineering/medicine eluded us, it was respectable (or at least acceptable) to aim for the science/commerce position at a lower level. We avoided the humanities/liberal arts, which remained at the bottom.

Take the renowned IITs. Although I wasn’t keen on becoming an engineer, I sat for the all-important entrance exam like hordes of other students— because, as I was told, getting accepted was the key that would unlock my golden future. I did not get in.

This high regard for Nehru’s temples of technology is not unanimous. In an Academic Ranking of World Universities this year, only 1 Indian university made it to the top 500 list — and it wasn’t any of the IITs. It was the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The Times Higher Education ranks the IITs, but not in the top 200. To find the IITs in a top 50 list, you’ll have to turn to the Asian university rankings put out by the Times Higher Education and QS World.

In The Post-American World, Fareed Zakaria writes: ‘In fact, many of the IITs are decidedly second-rate, with mediocre equipment, indifferent teachers, and unimaginative classwork.’

Ouch. Let me add, however, that Zakaria’s assessment includes praise. Many IITians have done exceptionally well no matter where they end up—which is precisely Zakaria’s point. The best thing about the IITs is that, although they cannot compare with America’s best universities, they do a great job of picking and bringing together the nation’s crème de la crème, who will thrive just about anywhere.

What about those who attend tier 2 and tier 3 colleges in India? There can be a noticeable drop in quality. This became apparent to me only after I came to the US as a student. My academic focus in India had been somewhat narrow, the curriculum here at the undergraduate level was broad-based, allowing students to explore all kinds of subjects. A lopsided dose of technology—or science, as in my case—can come at a cost, leaving gaps in one’s education. Cramming, and a fixation on make-or-break exams, impedes analytical thinking and creativity.

That’s why America came as a breath of fresh air. It meant freedom. You could explore new horizons, enlarge your mind. Ironically, despite this country’s prowess in science and technology, I didn’t associate it with STEM, primarily. What came to mind first was the great liberal arts tradition.

Does a bachelor’s degree in history imply a life of poverty? Of course not. A liberal arts degree can provide great value, instill a lifelong love of learning, prepare you well for the career specialization that follows. Besides, for those seeking assurance in these tough economic times, more practical minors are readily available. I recently read about a new minor in entrepreneurship and social enterprise. This trend is bound to grow in the coming years.

At the same time, don’t we need historians, philosophers and musicians, just as we need physicians, engineers and scientists?

A shorter version appeared in The Atlanta JournalConstitution . Murali Kamma is an Atlanta-based writer and editor.

THE MAGAZINE

MUSIC & LYRICS

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Rapper Chee Malabar speaks to Chaya Babu about growing up with hip hop, his work with at-risk youth and their culmination in his recent album — The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners

H

ow did he get into this? How is he in a position to relate to that stuff?” a friend, Kumar, an Ivy League-educated hedge fund guy, asked when hearing of Chee Malabar’s recent album, The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners.

The record, a collection of stories about and from incarcerated youth in Los Angeles, came out this summer, and is a culmination of years of Malabar’s work with young people in at-risk urban communities.

Though the narratives focus on the voices and experiences of others, all of his music comes from a personal place.

Kumar, an Indian American from suburban Pasadena who grew up loving hip hop, seemed to be expressing more than curiosity — perhaps there was a tone of doubt? — in his question about how Malabar arrived to writing and rapping about certain issues and people.

The site of confusion lay in Malabar’s simultaneous status as Indian, hip hop artist, and voice of oppressed. How could this be, Kumar wondered. Surely there must be an error of authenticity in one of these facets of identity.

For Kumar, now 33, rap and the culture that came along with it was something he picked up and dropped depending on the stage of his life. Based on his perspective, this was the only way that Indian-ness and a genre of music that originated deep in the South Bronx and consists of beats and rhymes created by black kids on the street could coexist: Two things that may pass each other by but don’t and fundamentally can’t stick.

The traces of ’90s rap are scarce in his Upper East Side apartment, and if there was ever a time when he pondered some of the deeper themes in more social-political hip hop lyrics, he is far from that now. That it could not be like this was unbelievable.

But there are Indians for whom the school-to-prison pipeline, in which The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners has roots, holds more relevance than the school-to-elite-university pipeline. Malabar is one of them.

HIPTHEHOP,

LANGUAGE OF HIS

STREETS “I was only around communities of color, and my idea of what it meant to be American prior to me coming here was one of white people and Disneyland and all that stuff,” Malabar says. “But landing in America, in the city I arrived to and the school I attended, I was only around black, Latino, and Asian people. And the language on the streets was hip hop. So for me, this existence and culture wasn’t alternative — it was the only one I had available to me; it was the only one I understood; it was the one I felt most connected to. It wasn’t a conscious choice because there were no other options for me. To me it was like, ‘This is what it is.’”

“Maybe if I had grown up in the suburbs, or if I had exposure to other kinds of music early on or other communities or even a larger South-Asian community, my experience would have been different. But not having that, it wasn’t even something I thought about.”

Malabar came to California with his family when he was 12 after growing up in Baroda, Gujarat. They settled in a pre-Silicon Boom San Francisco that he described as much different from what it is now: The community he was immersed in as a teenager was working class and ethnically diverse with a range of immigrant groups. His exposure to other Indians or South Asians at this stage was limited; his family was mostly on its own in this regard.

He had mostly black and Asian friends, and together, they spoke a shared language of hip hop and understood the world through the lyrics of legendary rappers like Ras Kass, Nas, Gang Starr, and Pharcyde to name a few.

Malabar, still reconciling his preconceived notion of white America with the world he was actually living in, used music to grasp the social fabric of the US: How black people got here, how they were treated, how that translated to the current experience of all people of color. None of these were things he had learned about or imagined having to deal with. But they were organic to his reality.

“I remember listening to the Ice Cube record, Death

Certificate, and that’s what really got me into rap music and also just helped me understand what was going on around me,” he says. “Then Ras Kass’ Soul on Ice was basically about being black in America, and about sort of the anger, the contradictions — every lyric on that record I digested and they just stayed with me for a long time. There were so many parallels between what he was expressing and what I was feeling at the time.”

This is at the core of Malabar’s album featuring young people who have been in prison: The ability to find overlaps and points of connection with any and all people. To a person like Kumar, it may seem far off that Malabar can relate to the voices on his record, but to Malabar, it’s not far off at all. In this specific case, there’s a strong thread that connects the marginalization of brown skin and that of lowincome urban communities. For most of the kids, some form of abandonment by their families or society has taken place; for children of immigrants, there is often a disconnect and sense of isolation that can feel very much like abandonment as well.

“When I see a lot of the young men I work with, I see myself sitting in those chairs,” Malabar says. “I could have been one of those kids. Easy. If it hadn’t been for one or two decisions I made or did not make. So I don’t see a difference between them and myself. I see them as basically a reflection of me as a kid.”

He has been doing youth work along with writing and making music since graduating from Penn State. He released three albums over the years through the Himalayan Project, which involves him and a ChineseAmerican friend, Rainman, using hip hop as a platform for political and cultural dialog. Their lyrics have made their way into college curricula and PhD dissertations on race and identity. His trajectory has taken him from New York to Los Angeles, where he has been working with Street Poets, an organization that gives disadvantaged youth — some of

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HIP HOP, THE LANGUAGE OF HIS STREETS

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“These kids later are very expressive and very intelligent, but for whatever reason, no one has ever asked them for their experiences,” Malabar says. “No one is having faith in their stories or their truth.”

Their narratives fueled and fed The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners.

In Wild Geese, the final track with Anand Subramanian and Teju Cole, Malabar raps a second verse: There’s so much love to give, yet no one left to love Few days until Christmas she wishes for her kin to visit before her death Sons and daughters busy growin’ clans from the same seeds that’s planted in her vein imprinted hands Hands that slapped them senseless Made meals and made do when their daddy left home in a Caddy with his mistress Thick skinned through chill winds, she kept the coop together Drinking through winter nights, hiding fright While daddy flying south flocking with exotic birds with different feathers A few letters came, she sent him pictures of their kids Same ones that blamed her drinking for breaking up the crib Barely time to nurture so they harbored some resentment She never played the martyr, just labored to keep them nested Less said the better now this season of her life When all the rhymes and reasons only cast a meager light And she might miss the wild geese come home in eager flight.

Malabar also mentions Sugar Cubes and Carry Me Home as tracks that are special to him, one talking about a child who is the product of incest, his lonely life on streets, and his longing for love, the other dealing with issues of addiction, faith, death, despair.

Most people like to think of such

things as distant and unrelated to them. But instead of seeking out divisions, Malabar thinks we might find something deeper and more fulfilling in compassion and empathy: “We all have different vices, and I don’t think this is fundamentally any different for someone who is not ‘at risk.’ It’s not about, ‘Oh, I didn’t have it bad because I grew up in a middle class house in the suburbs.’ It doesn’t matter. Those are the things that society tells us so that we can feel we’re doing just fine.

But sexual abuse, violence, mental illness, even the simple need for love — these are not confined to certain ethnicities or classes.”

“It’s not about Oppression Olympics

This album is a series of songs and vignettes inspired Chee Malabar’s, top, work with incarcerated youth and their families. or who was hurt more by what; it’s just about owning your story. I’ve been in spaces where white men who are millionaires are sharing ground with young men who have been incarcerated for five or six years and were just released.

The connections that are made when you start telling your story just authentically — you’d be surprised at how much we do have in common with each other.”

Making our way to these spaces, recognizing ourselves in others, and coming to a place of valuing others and communities we may not feel connected to is a part of how social change happens — Malabar calls this ‘soul work.’

‘WE ARE BOTH STORYTELLERS’ Chaya Babu finds out what inspired novelist Teju Cole’s collaboration with Chee Malabar

COURTESY: TEJU COLE

In the opening track of Chee Malabar’s The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners, Teju Cole reads an excerpt from his book Open City.

T

he Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners, Chee Malabar’s recent record, is, at its heart, exactly what its title says: The songs are about young people who have been in prison. But the lyrics are Malabar’s narration along with bits from Fair and Kind’s Anand Subramanian and author Teju Cole, who between the two of them appear on four of 11 tracks.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Anand’s work and his band Fair & Kind; I love their music and I’ve gotten to know Anand since I moved to LA, so it just felt natural,” Malabar says.

“With Teju and other writers I admire, when I read stuff that I like, I tend to dog-ear those passages and take notes, and I had been working on a song and came across this passage and I was like, ‘This is perfect.’ He basically captures what I’m trying to get at in a few sentences. So, we ended up chopping it up with him and making it happen.”

Malabar is referring to Cole’s words in the album’s opening track, Starshine. Cole reads an excerpt from his book Open City with a haunting piano behind him and a soft echo as he trails off. ...but in the dark spaces between the dead, shining stars, were stars I could not see, stars that still existed, and were giving out light that hadn’t reached me yet, stars no living and giving out light but present to me only as blank interstices. Their light would arrive on earth eventually, long after I and my whole generation and the generation after me slipped out of time, perhaps long after the human race itself was extinguished. To look into these dark spaces was to have a direct glimpse of the future.

Cole is a Nigerian-American writer, photographer, and art historian who has won numerous awards, such as the PEN/Hemingway Award and the New York City Book Award for Fiction. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and more.

Though Malabar felt that Cole’s writing res-

onated deeply with him, the two didn’t actually know each other — except through Twitter — until it came time to make the album and they were introduced through friends, mainly author Amitava Kumar.

Cole was a hip hop fan and ready to hear Malabar’s rhymes. He too saw a connection point in words.

“On the most basic level, we are both storytellers,” Cole tells India Abroad. “We use language as a means of relaying complexities. More specifically, Chee’s interest in telling the stories of the disregarded is very encouraging to me. I collaborated not because of the overlap, but in order to make the overlap happen.”

Cole, whose work also has themes of social justice, specifically mentions the incarceration crisis in the US, or as it has come to be known, the Prison Industrial Complex, as a motivator for his personal interest in the project. He calls it “one of the most serious blots on American ideals,” something that is in dire need of a solution. His writing by which Malabar was inspired was rich with material that related to the subject matter of The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners.

“I love the fact that Chee chose passages that were not explicitly ‘political,’” Cole says.

“There’s a passage about migrating geese from the opening chapter of my novel Open City, and another one about the mystery of starlight, in particular the fact that some stars have ceased to exist by the time their light reaches us. Basically, whether we are talking about politics or justice or about the natural world, as human beings we inhabit mystery.

There are always more questions than answers. And maybe that’s what an artist is: Someone who finds new ways to state the questions.”

Cole sees working with other committed artists like Malabar as an opportunity to grow as an artist himself. Just this year, he also teamed up with jazz genius Vijay Iyer, rapper Himanshu Suri, and dancer-choreographer Nora Chipaumire. He expresses his admiration for Malabar and his chosen art, and for the ability to take rap music into a different realm.

“I love Chee’s work because of his skill in a difficult-to-master area of endeavor,” Cole says. “Rapping well, having genuinely good lines and flow, is one of the hardest things to do. Writing novels is easy by comparison, and I think more people are likely to do it well.

You can go to school for it, get a degree in writing. But rap you have to cultivate from an inner fire. But, even more importantly, I love Chee’s work because he brings virtues not usually associated with hip-hop into his music: Gentleness and clarity, and these are virtues that may not make his tracks club bangers, but they serve the stories he is telling.”

DESI VIEW

THE MAGAZINE

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

A woman holds a Guyana flag at a Holi (aka Phagwah) event in Queens. The spring festival, organized by Indo-Caribbeans — from Guyana and Trinidad — is among the largest Holi celebrations in the country. Sonny Singh has seen very few desis who were not from the Caribbean at the event.

MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES

Solidarity in the city Lucky to live in a city with people who hail from every corner of the world and are able to maintain many of their traditions, says Sonny Singh time where I saw South Asian Americans really organizing against injustice on a wide scale. Inspired, enraged, and fired up, I worked with many grassroots organizations over the years, including Youth Solidarity Summer (an activist training camp for young desis from around North America), South Asians Against Police Brutality and Racism, and the Sikh Coalition.

So much of what I have seen and been a part of as a desi in New York City has been uplifting and inspiring.

Our communities have had to work extra hard in the last 12 years to maintain our dignity and engage in our spiritual and cultural traditions in the face of ever-increasing bigotry.

At the same time as I have been inspired by our communities, I have also been concerned with how insular we often are.

Coming from environments much less ethnically diverse than New York, it has surprised me to see desis so disconnected not only from other communities of color, but

even from each other. Whether based on racial, regional, religious, or caste differences, many of us seem to be living quite parochial lives in the middle of a vibrant, diverse city.

An example of disconSonny Singh nection between our communities that I witnessed recently was attending the Holi (aka Phagwah) festival and parade in Richmond Hill, Queens the last few years. Richmond Hill is home to tens of thousands of Indo-Guyanese and Punjabi Sikh families.

The springtime festival, organized by IndoCaribbeans, is the largest Holi festival in the country with an estimated attendance of 100,000 this past year.

While Holi is not a part of Sikhism, I was shocked to see almost no Sikhs at the massive, joyous festival in their backyard. Not only did I not see Sikhs, I saw very few desis who were not from the Caribbean. Some might suggest that immigrants from the Subcontinent just didn’t know about this RICH GASTWIRT

I

have been living in New York City for 10 years, the last nine in Brooklyn. Growing up in a middle-class Indian immigrant family in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Phoenix, Arizona, I was eager to come live in a more diverse, progressive city with a large South Asian and Punjabi Sikh community.

As a child in Charlotte, my brother and I were literally the only turban-wearing Sikh boys in the entire city. By the time I was in my early 20s, the prospect of living in a place where being desi and Sikh didn’t mean isolation and marginalization in part propelled me to come to New York.

I didn’t expect New York to be a utopian model of racial justice and inclusion, but I was surprised to face more blatant harassment and bigotry here than anywhere else I’d previously lived. My first months here were a sobering reminder that diversity in and of itself does not mean unity, solidarity, or justice. Indeed, New York City may be one of the most diverse cities on the planet, yet we are a painfully long way from ending racism and xenophobia here.

Upon my arrival, many of our communities were dealing with the crisis of post-9/11 backlash, from hate attacks and harassment to detentions and deportations. Racism certainly wasn’t new for desis in the United States, but this was the first time in my life

festival, which may be true to some extent, but I wonder if there is more to the story.

Over the years, I have often seen South Asians from the Subcontinent distance themselves from those from the Caribbean.

In Richmond Hill, I’ve heard Punjabis characterize their Guyanese neighbors as more black than Indian, culturally speaking — the implication being to keep our distance from them, to not trust them.

This is indicative of a much deeper and older problem in our community: Anti-black racism.

Indeed, many of us South Asians in the Diaspora have grown up with subtle and not so subtle negative messages about black people from our families and friends.

While on the one hand I learned through Sikhism that all people are equal regardless of their race, caste, or gender, I simultaneously learned that I should not socialize with black people and certainly not date them. I learned that they are unattractive and that we most certainly want to keep our skin as wheatish and fair and ‘lovely’ as possible or else we might be called kala (which my Nana Ji, maternal grandfather, used to jokingly call me, as I was the darkest in my family).

I recall a family member bluntly telling me when I was a kid, “You can marry whoever you want when you grow up as long as she is not black.”

In his 2001 book Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting, Vijay Prashad explains the anti-black racism so pervasive in our communities: Some of my South Asian bretheren… feel that we should take care of our own and now worry about the woes of others, that we should earn as much money as possible, slide under the radar of racism, and care only about the prospects of our own children…

Since blackness is reviled in the United States, why would an immigrant, of whatever skin color, want to associate with those who are racially oppressed, particularly when the transit into the United States promises the dream of gold and glory? The immigrant seeks a form of vertical assimilation, to climb from the lowest, darkest echelon on the stepladder of tyranny into the brightness of whiteness.

Perhaps it is this desire for vertical assimilation (despite maintaining our cultural traditions in various ways) that keeps South Asians from the Subcontinent in New York so distant from other immigrant and black communities. Interestingly, while Indian immigrants tend to distance themselves from Caribbean immigrants, including Indo-Caribbeans, I have noticed the opposite dynamic in the other direction.

In my many years of living in predominantly Caribbean neighborhoods in Brooklyn, I have seen a consistent desire to connect from my neighbors from Jamaica, Trinadad, Guyana (among other Caribbean countries).

I fondly remember my first time eating a Trindadian Roti down the street from my old apartment off Church Avenue in Flatbush.

The man working at the restaurant, who had long dreadlocks wrapped up under his hat, called me “Singh” and told me his grandfather was Indian.

We became friends over the months and years, chatting about India, Trinidad, and

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THE CHALLENGER

Congress aspirant, lawyer, and professor — Khanna’s many roles in a busy campaign year.

‘For me, politics is about a currency of ideas’ JEFF SINGER

This is a race to represent the innovation economy, to represent the only Asian majority district in the US, says Ro Khanna.

The man who has challenged an iconic seven-term US Congressman meets Aziz Haniffa’s questions head on

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad November 29, 2013

Khanna with volunteers.

Ro Khanna, center, during his stint as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce with then Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, left.

Khanna says his time in the administration taught him about what the country needs to do to be competitive in a global economy.

PHOTGRAPHS COURTESY: RO KHANNA

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o Indian-American political aspirant — Piyush ‘Bobby’ Jindal included — as far as this correspondent in his nearly three decades of covering United States politics and diplomacy can remember has created the buzz and controversy as has Rohit ‘Ro’ Khanna, 36, in mounting a primary Congressional challenge to the iconic seven-term Asian American lawmaker Mike Honda, 71, in California’s 17th district — considered the heart and soul of Silicon Valley.

The mainstream media, from The New York Times to the Washington Post, from Time magazine to BusinessWeek, and The Wall Street Journal to Politico, not to mention television and radio, have reported on this primary race (still to get down and dirty) as it has never done before on the candidacy of any Indian-American Congressional candidate — for that matter any US Congressional candidate.

This is largely because the Democratic establishment from President Barack Obama downwards is solidly behind Honda, while Silicon Valley heavyweights from the Sheryl Sandbergs to the Romesh Wadhwanis and the Vinod Khoslas to the Marissa Mayers are in Khanna’s corner.

Many second-generation Indian-American political activists and lawmakers led by the likes of the only IndianAmerican member of Congress, Dr Amerish Bera, are backing Honda. They are incensed with Khanna’s decision to go up against Honda — who has always been there with his support and fundraising efforts for any IndianAmerican Congressional candidate.

Khanna, buoyed by the support for him by the IndianAmerican community in District 17, is unmoved.

Khanna — a longtime Bay Area resident who returned to Fremont after a two-year stint serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce in the Obama Administration — had raised over $1 million even before he officially declared his candidacy April 2 for the primary, not scheduled till May 2014.

According to his camp, he was the ‘first non-selffinanced challenger to an incumbent to raise seven figures in an ‘out-of-the-gate’ quarter.’

He has now raised nearly $2 million and counting,

which is five times more than Honda’s war chest and led to such incessant buzz that the San Francisco Chronicle ran a headline, ‘Honda v Khanna: Could Silicon Valley be Ground Zero for 2014 House Asian American Battle Royale?’

A WashPo blog by Aaron Blake, said Khanna’s fundraising numbers were ‘nearly unheard of for a House candidate, much less a non-incumbent in a non-election year.’

A blog post in Roll Call — which reports exclusively on Capitol Hill — said Khanna’s fundraising numbers made him ‘Honda’s first legitimate primary challenger during Honda’s tenure in Congress.’

Politico called Khanna ‘the new fundraising powerhouse of the 2014 midterms.’

The Los Angeles Times quoted Larry Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State University, as saying that Khanna’s early fundraising haul demonstrated, ‘his seriousness as a candidate and to give the incumbent something to think about, perhaps gracefully retiring.’

Bloomberg Businessweek went as far as saying Khanna’s high profile technology donors ‘could indicate that Silicon Valley may be ready for a new representative in Congress.’

Adding to the buzz has been the fact that Khanna has hired some political operatives who were part of Obama’s re-election campaign, raising the perception that this gives him a distinct edge in strategizing.

Honda’s endorsements from the President and other Democratic Party heavies on the other hand, sources say, “is a clear indication that he’s running scared.”

A Silicon Valley insider tells India Abroad, that considering that Khanna has the support of more than 80 percent of the Silicon Valley high-tech constituency, “it would do well for Congressman Honda instead of the endorsements

by President Obama, Nancy Pelosi (Minority Leader of the House of Representatives) and others, gets himself a job in the administration, so that he doesn’t have to face the embarrassment of a primary defeat to Ro.” Besides challenging Honda, Khanna is currently a Silicon Valley technology lawyer, a visiting lecturer in economics at Stanford University and adjunct professor of law at Santa Clara University.

He flew down to Washington, DC recently to sit down for a no-holds-barred chat with India Abroad and spoke not like a candidate but like a winner.

Why did you decide to run for Congress? You could have easily stuck in out in the administration and perhaps got-

ten an even more senior position in the Obama second term. Why quit?

Moreover, why take on an established Asian-American iconic incumbent, who has been a mentor to all IndianAmerican Congressional candidates?

I loved my time in the administration and I had the opportunity to learn a lot working with business, with manufacturers, about what our country needs to do to be competitive in a global economy.

I was working on a book (Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America’s Future) and I felt the ideas about how to grow the economy and be competitive in the 21st century were absent in Congress. I wanted to get my ideas out. So, partly, I left to publish the book.

When I got back to Silicon Valley and started showing the draft of the book, the agenda in there resonated — what we need to do for upgrading our skills in education, what we need to do for tax reform, what we need to do for regulatory simplification, how we have to embrace the global economy. That led to me to believe that I could offer some new perspective in the public domain.

Then, of course, the lines all got redrawn in California and you had a district where the heart of Silicon Valley, the heart of innovation for the nation (resides)…

It was in my mind a confluence between a district that was the heart of Silicon Valley, the issues of innovation and competitiveness that I cared about.

I thought this is the place that I can represent and make a mark in the country and for the world.

Was the book a strategic step? Were you contemplating it while serving in the administration?

It was honestly an organic thing. I kept visiting businesses and manufacturers and hearing these inspiring stories about how they were still making things in the US or competing — the stereotype is that all of the advanced manufacturing has gone offshore or that American entrepreneurship is stagnating — and I said here are all these counter-examples. So, I started keeping in my mind, a sort of track of all these stories and I wanted to share them.

It emerged, out of all these visits and all those stories.

That’s really what became the theme of the book. Then at the end, I draw these policy conclusions. But it was really inspired by my travel across the country — I felt like I really got to understand America in the job.

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Ro Khanna, second from left, with his family — from left, mother Jyotsna, sister-in-law Lauren, niece Maya, brother Vikas and father Vijay.

PHOTGRAPHS COURTESY: RO KHANNA

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When you decided to challenge iconic California Congressman Tom Lantos in the primary over a decade ago, you angered the Democratic establishment and the larger Indian-American community because he was a close friend of the community and a strong supporter of US-India relations.

I remember slamming you in an opinion piece, saying you had been misled by some Indian-American Silicon Valley honchos who had helped you raise loads of money.

You lost badly then, but resurrected yourself in the eyes of this establishment. Besides being mentored by Lantos himself, you had the support of the likes of Pelosi, who, along with several others, strongly recommended you for the senior position in the Obama administration.

This time around many of them wouldn’t have minded you challenging Pete Stark in the primary last year, but you refrained even though at the time you had a hefty campaign war chest. Why? First, let me talk about the Lantos challenge. It was a four-month campaign. I announced in October of 2003 to run in a March 2004 primary.

If Lantos was in Alaska, I would have gone there to challenge him because it was about standing up against the war and standing up against the Patriot Act. I believe that run earned me the respect of people like Lantos himself and the Democratic leadership because they saw a young person willing to stand up for his beliefs running the first anti-war campaign in the country.

This was probably one of the things I am proudest of in my public service career.

In my judgment, that (showed) to the Democratic leaders that I was someone who was going to stand up for human rights and what I believe in.

After that, I was fortunate because of the graciousness of Lantos and Pelosi to build a lot of relationships.

I moved back (to Silicon Valley) at the end of 2011 and explored when these lines got redrawn the option of running in a Fremontbased district.

The majority of Fremont was drawn in the district where I am now running; that is

‘For me,politics is about a currency of ideas’ where the majority of the South-Asian American population is. It’s where the heart of Silicon Valley is. I always wanted to run from that district.

Yes, there was a suggestion that Stark may retire and that may be one option, and I looked at that. But that district, which is Livermore, Tri-Valley, Dublin, is really not where the heart of Silicon Valley is nor is it the heart of the South-Asian community.

Instinctively, I did not think that was the place I wanted to represent.

This is a place where my skills, my background, my heart is fully in — representing this district. To me, this is the right place for me to be representing.

By challenging another iconic Democratic lawmaker you’ve again created a lot of angst among the Democratic establishment, including Pelosi and others who have all joined President Obama in endorsing Honda.

Was it worth for you to anger the party establishment again, even the White House?

How do you expect to prevail when the entire political establishment in the party is essentially backing Honda?

I have great respect for President Obama and Leader Pelosi, but these political endorsements don’t really matter in Congressional races. I mean, they all endorsed Stark (who lost in the primary).

I have not had a single leader — to their credit — ask me not to run. They have all understood that democracy is based on competition — that competition makes us better.

We’ve had a lot of Democrats endorse us too — (former San Francisco Mayor and current Lieutenant Governor) Gavin Newsom, some of the local mayors, some of the local state assembly members…

But I was talking about the Democratic establishment — the hierarchy of the establishment?

If I were running from Washington, DC, it would be a problem, but I am running from Silicon Valley and the establishment in the district is quite split.

We have quite a few of the mayors, we have

quite a few of the City Council members, we have quite a few of the State Assembly members supporting me, and we have a lot of people staying neutral. So, that is the district that I aspire to represent and where I have built a decade of activism.

I have no doubt that if the election was in Washington, DC, I would not prevail. But I don’t know Washington, DC. My opponent knows DC. I know my community and there we’ve had overwhelming support.

The majority of Indian-American political activists and those who have been supported

by Honda — including Ami Bera, Ashwin Madia (who ran for Congress in 2008), Manan Trivedi (Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional district in the 2010 and 2012 elections), Upendra Chivukula (serving in the New Jersey General Assembly) — strongly back Honda and are pissed with you for challenging him.

How do you reconcile all of this? Do you care about what they have been saying about your chutzpah in challenging someone who’s been their mentor, supported them and raised funds for them when they ran?

I care about what people in the community think and I have a lot of support from Indian Americans in my district, but also nationally.

The Indian Americans whose support I have are the ones who I admire and respect the most — people like Vinod Khosla (venture capitalist), Swadesh Chatterjee (community activist), Deepak Chopra (celebrity guru), Romesh Wadhwani (founder, Symphony Technology Group)… They have been out there advocating for me.

These are the people who built the South Asian community — who have accomplished and sacrificed far more than any of the politicos you mentioned and who I admire and whose respect means a tremendous amount, people who have been the entrepreneurs in the district.

We have also gotten… lot of support from people in New York and DC — people like

Above, Ro with his grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar, who fought for India’s freedom and whose legacy he holds very dear.

Mahinder Tak (co-chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Indo-American Council) and others. The reason is there is a difference between me and many others… let me put it in a positive way.

My grandfather (Amarnath Vidyalankar) spent four years in jail under British colonialism. I visited India as a young person and I was inspired genuinely by that story.

I speak fluent Hindi, I am proud of my heritage and faith.

That sense of humility and that sense of understanding of historical context, allows me to relate to that first generation in a way that is unique, and they get it that I deeply respect those values and want to take that to enrich this nation.

I believe that’s why I have the extraordinary support that I’ve always enjoyed with that generation across the country.

Do you believe that some of the younger generation like Ami, Manan, Ashwin and others, and even some in the older generation like Chivukula, for instance, feel a sense of obligation, loyalty and gratitude that makes them stand solidly behind Honda and question your running against someone who they argue has always been there for the community, and for IndianAmerican candidates who’ve run for Congress, putting his money where his mouth is, raising funds, batting for them in the Democratic Party?

There is a difference of being tactical or strategic. Some people are tactical about politics, about alliances — who’s there for whom, who’s not and so on. That’s not how I view politics.

For me, politics is about a currency of ideas. It was about that when I ran against Lantos, it’s about that now.

I have better ideas for how to foster entrepreneurship, how to help our education in the 21st century, what we need to do to embrace the global economy and align with China and India on economic interests, what we need to do to build an alliance of liberal democracies.

For me, politics has always been about a vision of ideas. I don’t like the cocktail cir-

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cuit; I don’t like the chatter; I am not big on the back-scratching.

I will never support an Indian American just because they are Indian American. I will support a candidate for excellence.

For me, it’s about ideas and excellence and vision and that’s what the first generation was about.

They built this country through hard work — through sweat, blood and tears. Not through back-scratching and political gamesmanship.

I want to take their model of entrepreneurship to a model of political entrepreneurship.

I will not play the traditional Washington game even after I am elected.

I am campaigning on a reform agenda. I am campaigning on a vision and I will be true to that when I come to Washington.

Honda’s office recently put out a poll that voters overwhelmingly support him over you by 49 to 15 percent. Do these polls bother you?

The reality is that polls right now are meaningless because we have still not gone on to our message. We have not been on television; we have not been in the mail; we have not had debates; we have not had newspaper endorsements or coverage.

That will happen next year and till then, he has a huge name ID advantage and that’s always going to be reflected in the polls, much like you often have in Presidential contests.

You have covered these major races for decades — people who are 2 or 3 percent when they started and are unknown, and once the voters get to know them they have to make their choice.

I am confident that once — based on my conversations in the district — voters know who I am and what I stand for, they will pick my vision and we will then see how they reflect in the polls.

When they (the polls) will matter is May of next year or October of next year, a month from the election. That’s when the polls will matter, but for now, it’s kind of an academic exercise. They keep releasing these things and it only shows name ID. Do you feel the fact they keep putting out endorsements and releasing polls is an indication that the Honda camp is running scared?

I don’t think it’s scared. I believe it’s old politics. Their view of politics is so divorced from the 21stcentury view of politics. They view politics as putting out polls, getting endorsements, going to traditional groups, running an inside-the-Beltway campaign.

The new generation of politics is about knocking on doors — which I do three to four times a week — it’s about going to every community event, it’s about being on Facebook, being on Twitter, and earning every voter’s confidence at a time of increased cynicism in politics.

Some just have a very, very different vision about what it means to run a 21st century campaign. I have been inspired by the Barack Obama model — of community organizing, of digital organizing, and going into the trenches of the community, while they are running a 20th century, traditional campaign relying on DC insiders and tradi-

Ro Khanna canvasses in California’s 17th district.

COURTESY: RO KHANNA

‘For me,politics is about a currency of ideas’ tional endorsements and polls and consultants to win.

I just don’t think that model of politics resonates and it certainly doesn’t inspire.

Several Silicon Valley constituents, particularly the techies, acknowledge that they are supporting you — about 80 percent of them — and talk of your progressive priorities with regard to manufacturing, growing businesses and the tax report you speak of.

If you are elected, surely they aren’t so naïve to believe that as a junior freshman lawmaker you can affect change, more so considering that you have gone against the party establishment.

How do you expect to be an effective legislator?

Isn’t all this idealism, pledges and promises, either naïvete on your part or simply the usual rhetoric we hear from all those who run promising change?

It’s not just the Indian-American community that is supporting me — it’s Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) and Marissa Mayer (Yahoo! CEO) and Sean Parker (Napster cofounder) and Mark Benioff (Sales Force’s CEO) and a hundred of the top Silicon Valley leaders.

People thought they were naïve when they said Facebook could transform the world, people thought they were naïve when they said Google would transform the world.

They are just awakening and they will change. We will change Washington politics.

Washington has no idea what’s coming when people of this caliber and talent and idealism are starting to mobilize. I will go to Washington representing hundreds of these job creators and entrepreneurs that have been responsible for America’s innovation and success.

People in Washington will have to listen when I say I am speaking for the people who are responsible for our innovation and job creation.

I will have the backing — financial backing, intellectual backing — of some of the leading innovators of our time and that will make me and the district I represent — that has Apple, Intel, Yahoo!, Google, Cisco, Tesla — different from almost any other member of Congress, which will make talk of a rookie, junior and freshman Congressman meaningless.

In today’s day and age, what matters is not your time in Washington, what matters is what ideas are you standing for, who can you mobilize outside Washington, what is your ability to communicate the message.

I will be one of the most impactful players in Washington from day one because of the constituency I represent, which I honestly believe is the greatest, most influential constituency in the country, in the world.

The only majority Asian district, with a huge Chinese American and Indian American population in a world which is going to be dominated by the United States, China and India — the heart of the high tech innovation economy.

I would have had the overwhelming support of those folks who say, ‘This person gets entrepreneurship, he gets what America needs to do, he gets our relationship with Asia, and people in Washington will listen’ as is evidenced by the fact that Time magazine, and BusinessWeek, and The Wall Street Journal, and Politico and all of the mainstream publications are covering the race.

When is the last time they have covered a member of Congress, let alone a Senator in this way, and they are not covering it because they are enamored with Ro Khanna, they are enamored by that constituency.

So, if we are generating that kind of national interest, not even having won, imagine the impact we will have, once we win.

This is beyond a race simply for Congress.

This is a race to represent the innovation economy, to represent the only Asian major-

ity district in the US, and the Indian-American community.

To represent this district is an extraordinary honor, an extraordinary privilege, and if someone of Indian origin, who’s proud of their heritage, happens to be given that privilege, that is an extraordinary moment in the South Asian-American community’s political empowerment.

How many debates do you think Honda should engage in with you?

Debates are the ideas of conversation of the future of the country, and I’d love to have those conversations with Congressman Honda. I will have those conversations after we win the elections with whoever I run against.

I would encourage such conversations.

One thing I believe is that we should have contested elections, we should have debates.

I would always debate folks and I would love to have substantive conversations with the Congressman about the direction of the country because I believe that’s good and healthy for democracy — not as some gimmick.

You have raised over five times the money Honda has in his campaign coffers. With such a war chest is your strategy to overwhelm him just before the primary with a media blitz in television, radio, print, etc?

It’s a case of our message resonating. We’ve both had our messages out there. He’s a seven-term incumbent and he should be out-raising us.

He has all the advantages and perks of the institution. He has relationships and yet we’ve been getting far more support.

Why? Because of our message of taking PAC (Political Action Committee) money out of politics, taking federal lobbyists money out of politics, having transparency and using technology to improve government and making it more user-friendly.

Having the right type of tax and regulatory reforms that encourage entrepreneurship.

The message is resonating and the money is to just be a proxy for evaluating the support of the message and ultimately it will allow us to get the message out in the district.

What would you say to cynics who may say, ‘He’s just got the Romesh Wadhwanis and

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Solidarity in the city

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the Vinod Khoslas and the techie crowd among the mainstream community — who’ve got plenty of bucks and who can keep contributing by bundling this constituency — and it’s not necessarily the message that has been the catalyst but just that he’s got Silicon Valley money behind him that has helped him out-raise Honda’?

If you look at the FEC (Federal Election Commission) filings, it’s much more broadbased — we have educators, we have artists, we have working families, we have large numbers of people from the Asian-American community from different backgrounds — small business owners, entrepreneurs, folks who are doing start-ups, working professionals. It’s a very, very diverse base.

The second thing I’ll say, is every person is limited to giving $50 to $100 and I have personally pledged not to take the corporate PAC money, not to take federal lobbyists money, so all the corporate PAC money is actually going to my opponent and we are raising it one coffee at a time, one small meeting at a time, on the strength of our message.

You have retained some of the most powerful hired guns to run your campaign — in fact, virtually all of President Obama’s reelection campaign team, the A team. Was this a strategic move to psyche Honda?

Jeremy Bird (Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign team field director) has become a good friend and calling him a hired gun is doing him a huge disservice.

These people are visionaries. They supported Obama because of the belief — not simply in Obama but a belief in community organizing and grass-roots campaigns. In saying that establishment endorsements don’t matter and what matters is engaging the local community.

We had a philosophical meeting of minds on what type of campaign is necessary to restore people’s confidence in American democracy.

There is a disconnect between people in Congress and their communities and I was committed to running a grass-roots campaign — to knocking on doors, to doing the community organizing, to engaging people digitally. Jeremy Bird had the same vision to run that same type of campaign. We all thought that this is the laboratory to do it in Silicon Valley — that there could be no more an exciting place and that really was the genesis of the collaboration.

How did it come about? Did you seek them out? Did they put out feelers that they were interested in running your campaign?

My campaign chair Steve Spinner, who was the California chair and founder for TechforObama and one of the top supporters of the President in the country, and I — we had relationships with people in the Obama world and as we started to meet and think about the exciting nature of this new district, there was a sense of excitement among all of us and we started to pull the team together. Steve and Jeremy took the lead in pulling this team to together.

Is that team still intact?

Yes. In fact, Jeremy is the general consultant and he just released a memo on the polling you asked me about. He is the numbers guy and (David) Axelrod’s firm’s got Larry Grisolana and John Kupper advising

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THE MAGAZINE

Ro Khanna, center, at an event hosted by entrepreneur and angel investor Eugene Zhang, left, to introduce him to the Chinese-American community.

With his ideas for the economy and other aspects of governance, Khanna has won the support of the likes of Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Yahoo!’s Marissa Mayer, Napster’s Sean Parker and Sales Force’s Mark Benioff.

‘For me,politics is about a currency of ideas' us on how best to inspire people to believe in the change message.

We have David Binder as the President’s pollster also on our team, who by the way, polled for our opponent the last cycle and is now polling for us.

That whole team has stayed and that’s a sign of a healthy campaign as you know. The team will stay intact; we haven’t had one departure.

When I interviewed Mike Honda, he admitted he had sought out high-profile endorsements, particularly from the White House, because he alleged that you had been misrepresenting yourself and misquoting him, etc.

While it’s unlikely that President Obama would come out to California to stump for him, in the event that Honda, being an established and iconic Democratic lawmaker, implores Obama to do so, how would you deal with it?

How would the President campaigning for Honda affect your campaign?

The President has never gone out to the stump as far as I know for a member of Congress, other than for (Democratic incumbent) Tim Periello, which was in Virginia in a Blue and Red district. So, it would be highly unprecedented.

Honda has attacked the President on a number of issues — recently on sequestration — and he has criticized the administration on a number of other issues.

I respect the President and the President can do whatever he wants, but it would be quite unprecedented.

But what if it happens? Won’t that be a major boost for Honda, which could make the difference in a tough primary?

In terms of our governing philosophy, I believe mine is much closer to where the President is than Honda’s… I know the

President was going to endorse Honda; he has endorsed every sitting Democratic incumbent.

But in terms of our worldview, objectively, my views are much closer to the President’s than Honda’s. He is much more critical on a number of issues of the administration.

The story here is also the emergence of the Silicon Valley and the South Asian Diaspora nationally in a way that I don’t believe has ever happened before.

I respect Honda’s many years of service, but that’s not the real issue.

The story is for the first time, Silicon Valley is mobilizing locally to have a voice in American politics and the national Asian American-South Asian Diaspora with the Swadesh Chatterjees and Deepak Chopras and Vinod Khoslas, and Romesh Wadhwanis, and Arshad Zakarias and Mahinder Taks are mobilizing in a way that’s never happened before.

This is a moment of extraordinary pride for the South Asian Diaspora and for me an extraordinary moment of humbling.

I am humbled and awed by the responsibility of having to do a good job to represent Silicon Valley and the South Asian Diaspora.

The faith they’ve put in me is something that weighs on me everyday, and the extraordinary privilege for me to represent these communities and what I can say is, I will work so hard to be a good voice — someone they can be proud of, someone who will never be ashamed of their heritage, never be ashamed of their faith, never be ashamed of their roots, and yet will talk about not what the community needs from Washington, but what Silicon Valley and the IndianAmerican community can give to make this country better.

That’s the aspiration of what I hope will be a productive career in Congress.

Brooklyn over some delicious food that reminded me of home, with a twist.

Others, like Rastafarians I often come across, are eager to connect as well, even though our ancestors don’t hail from the same part of the world. Nearly every time I cross paths with a man who appears to be Rastafarian, without fail I get a shout out: ‘Respect, brother,’ or ‘Blessings, brother,’ usually accompanied by a hand or fist on his heart. This is a breath of fresh air in my day-to-day life, which involves no shortage of street harassment, dirty looks, and sometimes worse. I’m grateful for this genuine, simple act of human connection and solidarity.

It saddens me that I rarely hear stories of desis from the Subcontinent reaching out, welcoming in people from other communities, especially other immigrant or black communities. Instead we distance ourselves, literally and figuratively.

I don’t mean to imply that desis are the only community who suffer from this insular, vertical assimilationist dynamic. To some extent, all immigrant communities deal with this tendency. Since this is a community I am a part of and which I love, I want to see us evolve. I think we can do better than this.

As we struggle with post-9/11 racism, there is so much we can learn from communities who have faced similar forms of injustice in this country long before us. And so many communities are facing similar forms of injustice today. The internal work we’ve done in our South Asian communities is essential, but equally important is standing up for and with others facing injustice.

Sixty years before Muslims, including South Asians, were indefinitely detained and tortured at Guantanamo, Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps. Decades before the socalled ‘dotbusters’ attacked and beat up Indian immigrants in New Jersey, hundreds of white sailors in Los Angeles were attacking Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits.

Fifty years prior to six Sikhs being shot and killed by a white supremacist at a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, leaving four black girls dead.

Indeed, our struggles are intertwined.

We are lucky to live in a city with people who hail from every corner of the world and are able to maintain many of their traditions.

While it’s clear that the pluralism of New York City, and the United States, does not erase racism, simple acts of human connection and solidarity, like the Rasta brother who gave me blessings from across a busy Brooklyn street, go a long way in bringing our communities closer. The moment all the different communities targeted by racism join together in solidarity, breaking down the walls of isolation and petty divisions, racism won’t stand a chance.

Sonny Singh is a musician and social justice educator living in Brooklyn, New York City.

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AGAINST ALL ODDS

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he first time Hans Dalal saw a tiger in the wild was at Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha National Park in 2007.

He was captivated.

“After I returned to Mumbai, I could not sleep,” says Dalal, a sound engineer who has worked with the likes of Bollywood composer duo Vishal-Shekhar and jazz percussion virtuoso Trilok Gurtu.

Dalal was born with cerebral palsy. He could not walk on his own till he was 6, and underwent years of painstaking therapies. He scraped through school, because his debilitating condition ensured his attention span drifted.

He beat all the hurdles his condition posed, and built a successful career. But he says that Kanha encounter in 2006 changed his life: “All day, I would sit by the computer learning more about tigers and their way of life.”

He got himself two certificates in wildlife conservation, and started a pro-conservation non-governmental organization called Prowl.

Dalal, 34, organizes Hans Dalal, inset, credits Tiger awareness workshops Watch for having transformed his and camps, is a Right to understanding of the tiger. He is Information activist for an avid photographer of the tiger causes, and has magnificent beast. worked in about 20 of India’s protected forests for tigers.

And in an effort to wean them off poaching tigers, he has made a heart-warming documentary film and lovely music featuring women and children of the Moghiya tribe of Rajasthan.

Differently abled Despite his cerebral palsy, Hans Dalal’s parents enrolled him at a regular school (Activity High School, Mumbai).

Weekends were for a school or clinic for the differently abled — a phrase that he seems to personify.

“I was never interested in academics, I somehow managed to complete class (grade) 12,” he says. “The principal and teachers were very kind. They’d punish me for my pranks, but they’d also take good care of me.”

At age 8, Dalal, who needed years of therapy to even walk on his own, climbed an artificial rock climbing wall, billed as the first of its kind in India then.

As he grew older, he developed music as another passion, but his condition proved to be a hurdle again.

“I understand music and can technically play the guitar, but I cannot control the movement of my fingers,” he explains.

So he became a sound sculptor. He earned himself two diplomas in audio engineering from Mumbai University, and another one from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

His first job was at Dev Anand’s recording studio in Mumbai, which he says he quit after the Bollywood legend refused to compensate him for his work.

Dalal’s first experiences as a tiger activist were traumatic too, and not because of the beasts.

After about a year of research on tigers, in 2009, Dalal enrolled for a course in conservation leadership with Tiger Watch — an organization he credits for helping change his life.

In the first week he was among a group of people — including forest officials and a Tiger Watch senior — to raid the house of a Moghiya tribal poacher.

“We were travelling in a jeep and riding uphill,” Dalal remembers. “Suddenly, I could hear gunshots and the next

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY: HANS DALAL

He beat cerebral palsy to help tigers with music Hans Dalal overcame the limitations his condition posed to become a successful sound engineer. Then he fell in love with tigers, and decided to merge his passions. Divya Nair digs deeper. thing I know is I’m hiding in the space between the driver’s seat and another policeman. The firing continued from both sides and went on for some time. We got off the jeep and entered the house we found several gunny bags.

We opened it and found seven illegal guns inside. There were also some iron boxes, more like suitcases with hard locks. We broke them open and found raw deer and bull meat. For me, it was too much of a learning experience in a single day!”

Helping tigers through music Dalal has organized workshops and activities to help Moghiyas find alternate means of living, but he admits it continues to be a challenge.

“Even before the time the Mughals ruled India, Moghiyas were royal hunters and gatherers who worked with kings,” he explains. “They’ve spent their entire life hunting in the wild. When the Mughals came, they were driven away and they lost their jobs and livelihood. Since they did not know anything beyond hunting, they took refuge in the jungle and became an aggressive, rebellious tribe. They indulged in poaching, and made small profits to sustain themselves.”

The Moghiyas are a diminishing tribe with roughly 300400 families, most of who live in jungles. Most have never been to school and can barely read or write. Many have criminal cases against them.

Dalal saw ability in them.

“During the time I spent with them, I realized that they could sing. The women were good at handicrafts. I saw tremendous potential in them,” he says.

With his musician friend Sidd Coutto — who has played in Mumbai rock bands like Zero and Tough on Tobacco —

Dalal recorded an album with Moghiya tribals.

He also made a 24-minute documentary, With A Little Help, that features the making of the album.

Dalal credits Tiger Watch for having transformed his understanding of the tiger and the issues surrounding protection of the magnificent beast, but he says some of the other NGOs he worked with as a volunteer for free were not above corruption.

“Some of these NGOs get a lot of private funding, which they put to their own use,” he says. “At one of the NGOs I worked for, the head invested public-funded money to buy a luxury jeep. I fail to understand why an NGO needs to spend money on a luxury jeep when it can use that money for other useful purposes.”

So in February, Dalal started Prowl. One of its first activities was a photography workshop in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh — famous for, among other things, being one of the country’s prime snow leopard habitats.

“The aim of Prowl,” he explains, “is to identify people who are working towards the cause of wildlife conservation and help them in their quest. In the first phase, we plan to reach out to the forest guards.”

The humble forest guard, Dalal says, is the most under threat in the war for protecting India’s 1,400-odd tigers left in the wild.

“They go out in the wild and risk their lives, but most of them are using outdated equipment and first-aid kits,” he says. “With the profits from Prowl’s workshops and activities, we aim to share first aid kits with the forest guards.”

Each kit costs Rs 600 ($10), and people who want to contribute can drop an e-mail to makeadifference@prowl.co.in.

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THE MAGAZINE India Abroad November 29, 2013

All for a cause

Sharon Stone, actress and global fundraising chairman of amfAR, with Kenneth Cole, right, designer and amfAR's chairman of the board, and Kevin Robert Frost, chief executive officer, amfAR, at the inaugural amfAR India gala in Mumbai, November 17.

COURTESY: KEVIN TACHMAN/FACEBOOK.COM/AMFARTHEFOUNDATIONFORAIDSRESEARCH

Bollywood couple Abhishek Bachchan, right; and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, left; with actress and event chair Hillary Swank, second from left; Kenneth Cole, center; and Nita Ambani. The Bachchans co-hosted the event with Stone.

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/AMFAR

COURTESY: KEVIN TACHMAN/FACEBOOK.COM/AMFARTHEFOUNDATIONFORAIDSRESEARCH

Hollywood meets Bollywood at the inaugural amfAR gala

International pop star Ke$ha performs at the event. Her look was created by Mumbaibased make-up artist Clint Fernandes.

From right, Sharon Stone, designer Tarun Tahiliani, model Nethra Raghuraman, designer Rohit Bal, model Sapna Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, designer Sandeep Khosla, model Nayanika Chatterjee and designer Abu Jani. The designers put together five creations each using the theme of gold at the 'The Gold Fashion Show,' which was part of the event.

Response Feature

NGO SPECIAL India Abroad November 29, 2013

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Response Feature

Helping India’s future, one child at a time ChildFund promotes societies that value the rights of children, and try to get them out of poverty

A Legacy of Supporting Children ChildFund started 75 years ago as “China’s Children Fund,” helping to support orphaned children in China after the second Sino-Japanese war. The child sponsorship program launched then is a model still used today – connecting sponsors to children in need and providing one-to-one connection, as well as funds to support locally run programs that benefit the child’s community.

Over the years, ChildFund has evolved and expanded worldwide. Now working in 30 countries, ChildFund promotes societies that value the rights of children, seeking long-term solutions to complex problems that keep children and their families mired in poverty.

ChildFund in India Since it began work in India in 1951, ChildFund has helped more than 1 million children in 1,600 communities.

In rural areas, girls must walk for hours to get to school, which is grueling, impractical and often dangerous.

ChildFund’s Dream Bike program provides bicycles to girls, allowing them to make the trip much faster - and more safely - with time left over for studies and helping at home.

The program, launched in 2012, has given hundreds of girls access to school in India and Sri Lanka, with plans to expand to other countries in the coming years.

Now, 65,000 children are enrolled in the sponsorship program, and more than 7,000 await sponsorship. With more than one-third of the world’s poor living in India, there is a monumental challenge, but ChildFund faces it head-on.

ChildFund’s impact in India is vast, and its programs range from early childhood development, maternal and child health care, livelihood training and micro-lending to child rights awareness and water and sanitation projects.

Some recent program successes confront child labor, access to education for girls and disaster recovery.

Confronting Child Labor Vipin is a young man with big plans. The 18-year-old from the northern region of Uttar Pradesh wants to be a doctor one day, but his work responsibilities are making it hard to reach his goal. Vipin supports his family by assembling bangles in a factory in Firozabad. Without his income, the family would struggle to make ends meet, but if Vipin does not complete his education, the generational cycle of poverty will continue.

“Some days, I get my fingers burned and blistered,” Vipin says. “But I have to work. Otherwise, we will not complete the day’s quota.”

The exponential economic growth seen over the last few decades has brought both employment opportunities and exploitation, often with dangerous working conditions, particularly for children and youth like Vipin. But, thanks to a ChildFund sponsor, he has been able to continue his education and is an active member of the Youth Federation, a ChildFund-supported organization dedicated to ending child labor and promoting educational opportunities for Indian youths.

ChildFund’s Disha Children’s Program has found particular success for other children who work in Firozabad’s glass and bangle industry. More than 1,600 children were removed from bangle making factories through the program, and an impressive 95 percent have been able to continue their studies. Due to a focus on the health and nutrition of child workers, malnutrition has decreased by 71 percent. Chronic health problems decreased by 50 percent, and 1,500 mothers were trained in nutrition basics.

JAKE LYELL

Young Shivana at a ChildFund center in Gondale Shedgekond village.

Giving Back to India For children like Vipin and families like Manali’s, ChildFund programs have meant access to a better life, a chance at education and to finally break the poverty cycle.

A holistic package of community-based services including early childhood stimulation, nutrition, access to health care, educational support, water and sanitation, parenting education and other services follow children through life as they become successful young adults.

Despite the thousands of children who are receiving support through ChildFund programs, many more need assistance. This year, ChildFund has teamed with Bollywood icon Sridevi to launch a new campaign, “Give Back to India.” It aims to inspire millions of Indians living in the US to give back to their homeland through child sponsorship or by supporting many initiatives, including a scholarship program for girls in Udaan, a food program for orphans and health care efforts for Indian children with disabilities. For more information, to make a donation or to sponsor a child in India, please visit childfund.org/give-joy.

SAROJ PATTNAIK

Breaking Barriers to Girls’ Education In many parts of the world, including India, girls often have more barriers to face than boys when accessing education. Cultural norms, responsibilities in the household and financial limitations are just some of the issues ChildFund works to address.

Responding When Disaster Strikes When Cyclone Phailin hit the east coast region of Odisha in mid-October this year, many more lives might have been lost if the area had not been on alert and evacuations already complete. Although the devastation to the farmland and to people’s homes is extensive, compared with storms in recent years, the death toll was low. A 1999 cyclone that hit the same area killed more than 10,000 people. The number from Cyclone Phailin was fewer than 50.

Due in part to response efforts of ChildFund’s local partner organizations, all of the children and families in the threatened areas where ChildFund works were safely evacuated. Unfortunately, more than 75 percent of the rice paddy crops were lost, and floods destroyed many of the roads. As the communities confront their losses, ChildFund will be there to institute long-term recovery efforts and psychosocial support to help families and children continue coping with the trauma of a natural disaster.

A family in Kendrapada before their home, damaged by Cyclone Phailin.

JAKE LYELL

I

n my childhood, if a child was not feeling well, we used to take him to the traditional healer, who would beat the sick child with a broom in order to drive out the sickness and evils inside,” says Manali, a 25-year-old mother of two from Raigad district of Maharashtra state. Remembering life in the remote village where she grew up, she says, “My parents didn’t pay much attention to us. Even when I was 6 years old, my son’s age now, I had responsibility for my younger siblings.”

Manali’s children, Kunal, 6, and Komal, 3, are getting an all-around different start. They participate in programs provided by ChildFund International, a child-focused international development organization committed to improving the lives of children living in poverty

Girls in Khireshwer with their bikes from the first Dream Bike program.

India Abroad November 29, 2013

The children of India need us.

You know the need back home. Sponsor a child with ChildFund, and, for less than a $1 a day, you will provide education, access to health care and good nutrition to a child in need.

ChildFund.org/give-joy 800-720-5198

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Response Feature

Giving the gift of sight

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here are 45 million people in India who are visually handicapped, of which 12 million are fully blind.

Trying to address their needs would be a daunting task at best. But the Sankara Eye Foundation, a US-based organization, has realized that given that the condition is curable in 80 percent of these people, decided it is unconscionable to not to do anything about it.

Murali Krishnamurthy, K Sridharan, and Ahmad Khushnood, who set up the organization in San Jose in 1998, have seen the efficiently-run organization enter the top possible category on Charity Navigator and greatnonprofits.org, websites that gauges the effectiveness of non-profit organizations.

It works with Sankara Eye Care Institutions, India, headquartered in Coimbatore, India, and set up by Dr R V Ramani, to help eradicate curable blindness in India by year 2020.

The original idea for the US-based foundation came from Krishnamurthy’s uncle, P Balasubramaniam, who often volunteered at the Rotary Club in Coimbatore and who had seen Dr Ramani’s work, including the minimally invasive surgery he had developed.

The master plan, called Vision 20/20 has seen projects expand from one hospital in Coimbatore performing about 8,000 free eye surgeries in 1998, to nine hospitals in 2012, performing a total of around 160,000 free eye surgeries in that year.

Now, the foundation, the largest free eyecare provider in the world now, has performed more than a million free eye surgeries and, when it gets to 20 Sankara eye hospitals by 2020, hopes .to give free eye care to over a million poor rural people every year.

If the last decade was about establishing a core infrastructure, ensuring self-sufficiency and scaling up infrastructure, this one is about implementing the plan scale up and replicate the proven Sankara model, and build the additional 12 Sankara Eye Hospitals by 2020.

A typical Sankara eye hospital is a state-ofthe-art facility, with 225 beds and providing a full range of eye-care services. Sankara goes to the doorstep of rural India - reaching villages within a 300 kilometer (186 mile) radius of the base hospital. Camps are conducted at the villages where the poor are examined and screened, and those needing treatment are brought back to the base hos-

The Sankara Eye Foundation aims to eradicate curable blindness in India by 2020 pital for surgery.

Sankara personnel not only transport the patients for free, but also provide them with free food and lodging during their stay at the hospital. Once the treatment is done the patients are dropped back at the village - and their progress is systematically followed up, a diligence that ensures very high success rates.

Sankara has received many national and international awards,. Just last month the Sankara Eye Care Institutions, India, was honored as the Best Healthcare NGO at an event in Mount Abu, Rajasthan by Six Sigma Star Healthcare, India’s first and world’s fourth largest healthcare company. SEF director and mentor R Balasubramaniam collected the award from Dr Devji

As depicted in their posters, above left and right, the Sankara Eye Foundation has clear-cut goals and a iron-clad deadline.

Patel, member of Parliament from Mount Abu in the presence of Dr D.S Rana, chairman, Sir Gangaram Hospital, and Dr D R Rai, vice president of the Indian Medical Association.

Hema Chamraj, an executive committee member, described SEF’s upcoming projects.

“Our immediate plans are to raise funds for SEF hospital at Jodhpur, Rajasthan and for Phase III expansion of Guntur,” she said. “Our fundraising efforts will include banquets in New York, New Jersey and Texas to reach out to our donors. There is one coming up in New York. Also, we plan to approach more foundations to demonstrate the scale achieved by Sankara in the last decade and gather funds. Also, this is year of our millionth free eye surgery and we are celebrating this milestone with our donors and supporters.”

Donors can also help out in specific programs, giving $30 for the aptly named Open an Eye surgery, or an annual $360 for its Open an Eye a Month program, There is also a Wall of Founders sponsorship program of $1,000, and a Golden Wall of Founders sponsorship program of $5,000 for those helping fund hospital constructions.

As Chamraj pointed out, Sankara has gone from one hospital in India to nine community hospitals in 2012, and has performed nearly 150,000 free eye surgeries that year.

“Sankara has now performed more than a million free eye surgeries and is the largest community eye care organization in India. It prides on the unprecedented combination of high volume, uncompromising quality (98.8 percent success rate)” and compassion all at the same time,” she said.

She said SEF has not only had strong financial impact because it is self-sustaining, but has had a social impact by empowering individuals by restoring economic independence (85 percent of the men and 58 percent of the women returned to work within weeks of surgery). Chamraj pointed out that SEF programs especially empower economically challenged women trained as paramedics (40 in each hospital) and restore the hopes and dreams of children aiming to lead a life free of blindness (40 million screened).

Anyone can become a founding member, fund Open an Eye surgeries, or become an SEF volunteer. The benefits are there for those who can see it.

Donate at www.giftofvision.org

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

A MILLION EYES - A JOURNEY FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE...

Give Vision, Rebuild Lives!

WWW.GIFTOFVISION.ORG

1-866-SANKARA

INFO@GIFTOFVISION.ORG

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Response Feature

India Abroad November 29, 2013

The altruists Contributing time, money – and some very impressive drive – well-meaning community members do their bit to help the disadvantaged in India An Akshaya Patra fundraiser in New York City.

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Students enjoy the new playground at Jila Pareshered Primary School, a school in Kolhewadi, India, whose renovation was made possible by a grant from Tredegar Corporation to ChildFund.

hen over 200 people, many of them second-generation Indians, gathered a few weeks ago in Seattle to raise money for Pratham, one of India’s best known NGO that provides education to thousands of economically disadvantaged children, they were offering more than their dollars. They shared first-hand information people gathered after visiting Pratham schools, and many knew of second-generation Indian Americans who had volunteered in Pratham’s efforts in India.

The fundraiser, organized by the Seattle branch of Pratham, which is among a dozen more active branches of the organization in North America, raised over $400,000 in pledges, according to the organizers. They said that at least 16,000 children will benefit over a year’s period, thanks to the funds raised.

Deepti Vyas shared memories of her many visits to Pratham projects and about the inspiring teachers and students she has met.

Srilakshmi and Srilata Remala explained how their family supports Pratham’s mission of "every child in school and learning well," by giving a multi-year donation to a project in their father’s hometown.

Board member Manisha Chainani shared a personal story of a family staff member who, while running her own catering business, still cannot read or write.

Chainani encouraged the audience to think about what this woman could have accomplished if she had learned to read and write through Pratham programs when she was young.

Every year, thousands of Indians in America and Canada, with a substantial number of them being second-generation Indians, raise several million dollars for NGO work across India. Hundreds go to India to work with NGOs there. Their work in India has also inspired them to contribute to NGO work in Africa, Central America and in a few Asian countries. Over the years, many Rhodes and Marshall scholars in America have brought home to America impressive examples of their

work with NGOs in India. Some have even started their on NGO projects in India.

Several young Indian Americans recalled how their parents were so worried about job security when they first came to America in the 1970s and 1980s that they did not think much about India, apart from sending a few thousand dollars a year to their parents. Then they began building temples. Only a decade and a half or so ago did they think of building a school in India, expanding a hospital or starting a medical camp. Slowly, they started getting their children involved.

But in the last five years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Indian students and young professionals, many of them born in this country, fueling NGO work across India. There are at least two dozen organizations, including the high-profile Pratham, and Akshaya Patra, that are benefiting greatly from this. The examples of described here touches only a small part of the vast network of social workers, professionals and developmental entrepreneurs involved in this task.

Consider, several young people have foregone their Sweet 16 birthday celebrations, usually a rite of passage, to save and raise money for Akshaya Patra which offers free nutritional meal to over 12 million school children across India. A New Jersey student raised over $10,000 by using her Sweet 16 party money to perform a fundraiser dance for the organization. Athletes in many cities have raised money for the organization, too.

There are other organizations, covered elsewhere in this issue, that have done yeoman service.

There is the Sankara Eye Foundation, which has worked with an Indian team to help it meet its goal of eradicating curable blindness in India by 2020.

Another organization in the field is The Eye Foundation of America, set up by Dr V K Raju and now poised to expand to many rural areas in India.

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Redemption Research for Health and Educational Development Society (RRHEDS) AN OVERVIEW

OUR MISSION

AN APPEAL FOR SUPPORT

To provide quality education, health and financial care for the poor, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised, regardless of caste, creed or religion

So many lives are at stake in the poorly developed remote and rural areas of Andhra Pradesh. We appeal to the generosity and humanitarian spirit of Donors and Philanthropists to come forward and donate generously to install RO water plants in the government schools located in Andhra’ s remote and rural areas.

Though the project has already ensured some schools have water plants here, there are still so many schools, attended by the poor, which do not have even the basic amenity of safe drinking water.

Life here is a constant struggle and even the simplest things cannot be taken for granted, especially those related to ones health.

OUR VISION To identify and work with the impoverished, weaker and vulnerable sections of the society with the aim of finding viable solutions to the challenges threatening their lives. This endeavour is aimed at catapulting society into a more aware and responsible entity set upon the cornerstones of equality, fraternity and social justice. Furthermore it will be the right step in not only ensuring its sustainable and holistic development with emphasis on human rights, but also in and motivating a culture of social service driven by greater synergy and strategic partnerships with the Government, NGOs (non-government organizations), SHGs (self help groups), CBOs (community based organizations) and various national and international organizations. These measures will be further enhanced with appropriate downstream and upstream interventions along with help extended to, not only the poor and needy children, but also to people at risk and marginalized communities (regardless of caste, creed or religion) — and— to create opportunities to develop their potential to become self-reliant and selfsustainable individuals

OUR GOAL Development of the poor, needy and destitute (adults and children) in slums and villages, to help them break the terrible cycle of poverty.

ABOUT REDEMPTION RESEARCH FOR HEALTH AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY (RRHEDS) AND THE AREA OF INTERVENTION Our primary focus is in the areas of Health, Education, Rural Development, Disaster Management, HIV/AIDS, Water and Sanitation for Poor and Needy in Guntur, Prakasam, Krishna, Nellore, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram along with all the other districts of Andhra Pradesh. Presently our focus is on the remote and rural expanses of Andhra Pradesh.

CASE STUDY It was just recently that our team visited the Zila Parishad High School at J. Panguluru in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam District.

We were horrified to learn that there was no water facility in the school; moreover all the children were struggling during the Midday meals because the quality of drinking water was so appalling — not only was the water salty it was also contaminated with the effects of its Fluoride content. It was at this juncture that RRHEDS stepped in and approved the setting up of a RO water plant in Zila Parishad High School. Sadly, the appalling lack of safe drinking water in the government schools across Andhra’s remote and rural areas became a familiar story for us. As the government was unable to deal with the situation RRHEDS took a concerted decision to install RO water plants in each and every government school here with the active support of donors For Online Transfer of Funds Please add the following bank details and we are having FCRA Permission from Government of India Bearing Number: 010190458 especially for Foreign Donations.

Cheques/Demand Draft’s send to the Following Address: RRHEDS, # 31-59/1, GUNDAIAH THOTA, CHILAKALURIPET-522616, GUNTUR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA PHONES: (O) +91 8647 251010 M) +91 9989553280, +91 9985692033 E.mail: RRHEDS@gmail.com www.rrheds.org www.rrheds.blogspot.com https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos?noredirect=1 https://www.youtube.com/user/RRHEDS 1) http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/ other/2011071291795.htm 2) http://www.indiamart.com/hindpharma/news.html 3) http://www.aidworkers.net/?q=node/2203 4) http://disaterrelief.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/cdrncollaboration-and-actions-for-times-of-disasters/

Name of the Account: Redemption Research for Health and Educational Development Society (RRHEDS) Type of Account: Savings Account Number : 0000031026784213 SWIFT CODE : SBININBB307 IFSC CODE : SBIN0001195, BRANCH CODE : 01195 BRANCH ADDRESS : NH-5, RAMAKOTI BUILDING, CHILAKALURIPET-522616, GUNTUR(Dt), ANDHRA PRADESH. ADVERTISEMENT

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Making a passionate case for literacy Ekal Vidyalaya brings literacy to 1.5 million children in rural and tribal areas in India

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or what is the largest grassroots non-government movement in India, one reaching nearly 1.5 million children in almost 52,000 villages in India and Nepal, Ekal Vidyalaya has a seemingly small goal: to ensure everyone has an education.

It is the largest literacy movement in India with a presence in all states in India.

For just a dollar a day or $365 a year, Ekal Vidyalayas bring basic functional education to nearly 30-40 students. Present in every state in India, Ekal’takes a holistic approach to social and economic development.

One fan is Sam Pitroda who currently serves as the adviser to the Prime Minister and credited with having laid the foundation of India’s technology and telecommunications revolution in the 1980s.

“I have known the work of Ekal Vidyalaya for a very long time. I know what it takes to get where you are. Very few people recognize what it takes to do some good work in India”, said Pitroda, at the annual Ekal Vidyalaya conference held in Chicago. He had seen it all himself when he pushed for a technological revolution in India.

Ekal brings basic literacy to children aged 6-14, ensuring they can read and write their own language and have a basic knowledge of arithmetic and health. Ekal also helps the motivated children find suitable schools and colleges to further their education. Its success has drawn the attention of Harvard Business School students, who are studying it for a operations and strategy class.

The organization has a large pool of over 500,000 volunteers in India whose selfless work helps keep the costs low. The value of the volunteer time magnifies the donor’s dollar impact almost four times. Accountability and transparency has been key to keep the organization successful for 25 years and it has won several awards for accountability and transparency. Every donor who supports a school gets a picture and complete information of the school sent to them, and donors are encouraged to visit the schools they support. The motto here: A dollar a day keeps illiteracy away.

In a Rampur village in the Madhubani District of Bihar, no girl had ever gone to school until 2001. In 2001 when Ekal opened a school in that district, the teacher went door to door to convince the parents of girls to send their children to school. Now those efforts have borne fruit.

“When Ekal came to the village, girls started attending school,” says Chandini, who, but for Ekal, would have been illiterate like her mother. “Since the Ekal school was in the village and the timing did not clash with household work, my parents allowed me to join. I was very motivated to learn and today I am getting a BA degree from a local college. I also work as an teacher in the Ekal school.”

The focus for the past three years has been on ensuring the schools remain sustainable. Schools over six years old are now on the path to sustainability. Villagers pay Rs 50 a year for Ekal membership and keep the schools running. Currently, 36 percent of schools are self-sustaining.

Ekal is experimenting with small pilots to impact the health of the villagers. This includes nutrition gardens planted in villages, health camps to tackle anemia, and an expanding micro-rural entrepreneurship drive.

Above and below, students at Ekal schools in India.

Ekal takes your dollar further than most other organizations - and reaches places no educational NGO does. By transformng1.5 million children to be change agents, Ekal Vidyalaya is empowering underprivileged villagers to become a productive force of change.

Ekal Vidyalaya has 45 chapters raising funds across the US. While 75 percent of the funds are raised in India itself, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA provides the remainder of the financial support.

Pitch in. Join up. Become part of the effort. If you like the idea - or know a high school or college student who would like to volunteer in either in the US or in India - please send an email to ekalvidya@ekalvidya.org To know more about the organization, visit ekal.org. Your donations - and your interest will go a long way to educate children like Chandini in the remote villages of India.

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

31 years of empowering, enabling and impacting rural India The Share and Care Foundation is transforming rural areas, thanks to its focus on education, women, youth and healthcare

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id you know that just in Gujarat state in India more than 5,000 bright students every year give up on college because they cannot afford it?

Since 1982, the Share and Care Foundation (SCF) has been active in transformative work, particularly in rural areas, with a focus on education, empowering women and youth, and providing primary and basic healthcare.

In 2006, its efforts crystallized into unique signature programs, when it launched Educate to Graduate (E2G), a 4 year college degree scholarship, to support brilliant, and driven high-school graduates who could not afford college fees to pursue a degree in the sciences. And the results have been positive and many dreams have been realized.

Dharmesh Guna of Surat, who scored 80 percent of the points in the 12th grade (a standard much harder to achieve in an Indian context), is in his final year, pursuing a degree in technology with the support of SCF funds and donors. His family annual income is $1,000. During college campus interviews, he received a job offer from the Tata Technologies Ltd, with an annual starting salary of $8,000, an income his father would have taken eight years to earn.

Or there is Abhishek Shirke of Vadodara, whose father earned $250 annually. Abhhishek often needed to relieve his father at work. And yet, he earned 60 percent of the points in his finals in mechanical engineering. Recently, he received a job offering him an annual salary of $5,000 - 20 times his family’s current income.

SCF is supporting 720 students at different stages in the four-year college cycle, while 100 students have already graduated due to the E2G program. The program’s graduates are gainfully employed, their starting annual salaries ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 - multiple times their family annual incomes. Once through, they are able to help their own siblings go for higher studies without having to rely on help from others or loans.

This is the kind of work that prompted Drs Leena and Nitin Doshi of the Doshi Foundation in New York, to assert that ‘this program will dissolve the barriers that have been blocking the full potential of a student and a future leader. We are privileged to deeply absorb vision and strategies of Share and Care that are incredibly powerful.’

To fund this effort, SCF seeks to get $1,000 per year, with a recommended four-year commitment.

Did you know that 100 million children in India do not go beyond middle school?

SCF’s Educate to Success (E2S) signature Program will SCF argues that compassion should support high-school inspire action

education in 20 schools in seven remote states of northeastern India. These areas are hilly and densely forested and are populated by tribes.

This is where we found Simran, who lost her parents to malaria when she was 10 and moved to her aunt’s, where she did household chores and work on their farm in exchange for shelter and food. Today, Share and Care programs ensure that she goes to school.

The foundation aims to help 1,000 students by the end of this year. Besides enrolling 500 brilliant students, it has helped reduce absenteeism and dropout rate. It has helped recruit highly qualified teachers to raise the teaching standards by using unconventional techniques such as field trips and reading seminars. It has also increased the rate of college enrollment and literacy in northeastern India.

Make a difference by donating $50 a year and/or $200 to educate a child from Grade 8 to Grade 12, and $500 to fund a two-year web development program for physically challenged youth.

SCF also takes special attention to address Women Empowerment Programs for economic independence & health services. Only 48 percent of adult women are literate in India, which is far below the male literacy rate of 73 percent.

Economic growth is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Opportunities for poor women to earn a living and providing preventive healthcare education and services promise a better standard of living both for the present and future generations in Indian villages.

Using a loan of $250 from the SCF-supported Grameen Technique School, Rajani (now 35) opened a beauty parlor in a village near Bharuch, Gujarat. Today she employs three stylists and is expanding her business to a second location.

The school offers courses on marketing and finance skills to help women earn a livelihood and support families.

Rajani’s daughter visits a neighborhood school and gets education on preventive healthcare and receives nutritious mid-day meals. SCF supports more than 12000 boys and girls in 20 schools in south Gujarat and in the Rajkot area, providing preventive healthcare to combat disease and malnourishment. It also trains local doctors monitor the program through the year.

Donations to SCF enabled 7,000 women to earn a decent livelihood through 25 SCF-sponsored projects backing micro-entrepreneurship programs.

SCF youth wellness camps help more than 1,500 students in village and tribal schools every year. Visiting physicians from the US examine them once a year and, teachers and families are educated on preventive healthcare, hygiene and nutritional needs.

Support women with $300 for a skill training course, $1,000 for the micro-finance loan program for entrepreneurs, $200 to combat polio, cataract and provide preventive healthcare for a child, $350 for sanitation and hygiene programs, and $5,000 for the youth wellness initiative for village schools.

Did you know India is ranked number 144 out of 188 with an infant mortality rate of 52.91? (5 years average ending 2010) SCF’s Healthcare to Unreached (H2U) Signature project

Girls who are part of the Help Her Learn and Earn Program aims to help people in remote areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Results in Rajasthan have been particularly encouraging.

There is Madu Devi, 30, who was eight months pregnant, when the community-based health team brought her to the Health Center in Rajasthan. She had received no prenatal care until then. A mother of 3 children, she had lost 2 during delivery, and suffered two miscarriages. Her prenatal checkup and ultrasound revealed a fetus of 32 weeks with no heart beat, indicating it was dead. After counseling, Madu Devi and her shocked family agreed to have her admitted to the facility and get the stillborn baby delivered, thus saving her life.

There are many such success stories from this center and thousands of sad ones from parts of India where such help is not available. SCF hopes to duplicate this model center in other villages needing our help.

SCF investments helped cut down infant mortality rate from 79 percent per thousand to 0 percent in a year. The infant vaccination rate went up from 13 percent to 55 percent. Of the3,500 patients who received healthcare, 1,350 were women and 760, children with 206 prenatal visits. 9 babies were delivered at the center. Besides, more than 5,000 people received healthcare education.

Impact the unreached by donating $50 for healthcare education, $100 for the vaccination program, $200 for prenatal care, and $500 and more to set up a healthcare center.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

Give the Gift that Matters FOUNDATION

Some Gifts create lasting memories.

Some gifts change lives. SCF does both.

Why Give to SHARE AND CARE FOUNDATION (SCF)?

• SCF has 31 years' experience, supported over 700 NGOs and invested over $65 million in Education, Health care and livelihood programs.

• SCF spends 92 cents on a dollar on programs.

• SCF provides quality education to kids (E2S) and college education to brilliant but needy students (E2G) • SCF has talented, motivated staff and caring volunteers.

• SCF is committed to research-proven methods and measurable results.

• And………because disadvantaged women and children need your help.

GIFT CATEGORIES: $100 $250 $500 $1000 $5000 Other $ Educate to Success (E2S) Science & Engineering courses for one year for Brilliant but needy students (E2G) Healthcare to Unreached (H2U) Skill development to Empower Women Vocational Training for physically challenged

Contributions are tax deductible - Tax Exempt Number: 22-2458395 For other programs please visit www.shareandcare.org and donate (http://www.shareandcare.org/ways-to-give/donate) at the level that is appropriate for you: NOTE: Most companies in US match your gift to non-profits. Please consider filling out the matching gift form that your company has so that your gift can potentially be doubled in value.

Name: Street Address: City:

State:

Phone:

Email:

• My Gift is in memory/in honor of • My Gift will be matched by: • Share and Care Foundation accepts gifts of Securities and Planned Giving.

Zip:

I wish to pledge: $

Please make check payable to Share and Care Foundation and mail to 676 Winters Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652

Tel: 201-262-7599, Email: info@shareandcare.org or visit: www.shareandcare.org HELP US GO GREEN: PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR EMAIL ID & SUBSCRIBE TO SCF MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER Share and Care is registered with Guidestar, Charity Navigator, Network for Good, and Combined Federal Campaign for Federal Employees & Recognized by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

SHARE AND CARE FOUNDATION IS GRATEFUL FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT

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Support a Cause

Response Feature

A village community in Kerla, Rajasthan, makes for a colorful poster for the Share and Care Foundation.

Page A30 One group that particularly works in rural areas is the Share and Care Foundation. Its areas of concern are eduation at the school and college level, empowerment of women and youth, and improved healthcare.

ChildFund focuses on children who are mired in poverty - and fights to ensure them their rights and needs, often connecting sponsors to these children and funding locally run programs that benefit the child’s community.

Often non-Indians help NGOs after hearing about them from Indian friends or reading about them in a magazine or newspaper.

Akshaya Patra supporter Chikashi Miyamoto, for instance, recently cycled through the Italian Alps and raised money across three continents. Of his efforts he says, "Supporting the Akshaya Patra Foundation is very important to me because no child should be forced to choose between income and basic education."

The Cricket Club of Lexington Kentucky held its annual Indian Charity Cricket Tournament a few months ago and raised more than $1,000 for Akshaya Patra. Ganesh ‘Ganny’ Sundaresan recruited friends and family to sponsor him as he ran the Chicago Marathon October 13 to support Akshaya Patra and raise a few thousand dollars.

Three years ago, Toorjo Ghose, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, began looking for half-a-dozen intrepid students to work with NGOs in Kolkata where they empower women prostitutes by getting them to look after their health, protect them-

Students pose outside an Ekal Vidyalaya school.

India Abroad November 29, 2013

selves from moneylenders and ensure their children got a proper education. He found nearly double the number willing to spend several weeks in India, mostly in the red light district of Kolkata. He took seven in the first batch.

During the six-week course in Kolkata, his students complete a placement in a sexworkers’ collective in Sonagachi, one of Asia’s largest red-light districts. They discovered that because of the NGO work, sex diseases in the Kolkata red light district was manageable. While the rate of HIV infection among sex workers in Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai ranges from 50 to 90 percent, in Kolkata it is just 11 percent.

He started Sonagachi Project, a very different kind of NGO compared to Pratham or Akshaya Patra, as a graduate student at UCLA eight or nine years ago. It is now a very successful enterprise.

‘A lot of people were looking at it as a medical intervention,’ Ghose told a University of Pennsylvania publication. ‘But the social-worker perspective really examines the cultural, ecological, social determinants of health. It wasn’t just about HIV. It was collective identity; it was working around the stigma of sex work; it was negotiating politically with the outside world.’

Some South Asian students have also joined him in his work in the last few years.

To many young people working with a NGO India has meant paying a tribute to their parents, by giving back to a country that helped their parents become high achievers.

Some college students such as Hari Prabhakar, currently a medical student at Harvard, have started NGOs, with the help of American institutions and Indian entrepreneurs. Prabhakar, a Marshall Scholar who studied the impact of tropical diseases, while on a scholarship in the UK, began looking at the lack of good medical service in tribal areas in India while he was studying at Johns Hopkins over six years ago.

Prabhakar decided to help one such area in Tamil Nadu where his parents had been educated before they moved to America. He became an advocate of efforts to improve access to care for sickle cell anemia, and established the Tribal India Health Foundation and the Sickle Cell Disease Center. He has also focused on improving care for sickle cell patients in America States through publications and development of action plans, guidebooks, and primers for public and private agencies.

Many volunteers with NGOs in India (as well as in other countries) say that their work at times is hindered by NGOs that are self-serving and are run by those who do not have the welfare of the people at A tribal girl who is gaining her education thanks to heart. And yet the idealists, the wellthe Share and Care Foundation, shows off her meaning and resourceful keep pegging artistic skill. away, in the face of skepticism and doubt.

One person who fought hard for change - and succeeded - is Rajeev Goyal a lawyer and activist with degrees from Brown University and New York University whose work has been featured in The New Yorker by Peter Heseller, a former fellow Peace Corps volunteer. Goyal himself chronicled his efforts to create water resources for several villages in Nepal and his successful fight to increse congressional allocation for Peace Corps in the book The Springs of Namje published over two years ago.

Visiting Namje, a remote village in the eastern hills of Nepal, 12 years ago. he organized the villagers to build a water-pumping system in the midst of the Maoist war that had gripped much of the country.

‘In the part of eastern Nepal where Rajeev served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2001 to 2003,’ Hessler wrote in The New Yorker, ‘people sometimes weep when his name is mentioned. Locals refer to him as Shiva, the god who is also the source of the Ganges River. Old folks turn on a tap and say, "This is what he gave us."’

Years after this experience, Goyal applied the lessons he learned in Namje to his work on Capitol Hill. Approaching Congress as if it were a Nepalese caste system, Goyal says he led a grassroots campaign to double the size of the Peace Corps. At times he waited outside the men’s room of the Capitol building to catch lawmakers. Thanks to his efforts, the Peace Corps was granted a $60-million increase in funding, the largest dollar-amount increase in the organizations history. Since 2008, he has served as the national coordinator for the Push for Peace Corps Campaign.

With socially aware people like Goyal Prabhakar and others leading the way, non-government organizations have a solid future to look forward to.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

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Support a Cause

Response Feature

India Abroad November 29, 2013

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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Response Feature

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Social change in India’s rural education T he All India Movement for Seva was launched by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a great visionary, an eminent and traditional teacher of Vedanta, a brilliant thinker and writer, as a public trust in November 2000 with the late President R. Venkataraman as the chairman of the trust. The vision was to bridge the gap between those who have and who have not in urban, rural, tribal or hill regions of India.

As the name suggests, this social enterprise is a movement of the people with the governing principle of caring or Seva. According to Swami Dayananda, AIM for Seva is a movement of caring where people care for people. The organization's mission is to bring about a transformative social change in education, particularly in rural and tribal regions of India where more than 75% of Indians live.

As noted by Nobel laureate Amrtya Kumar Sen, in order to achieve a measurable change in rural conditions, efforts have to be made to bring primary education to the doorsteps of the rural people. Although great strides have been made in improving the literacy percentage in India, access to quality education in the rural areas still remains a problem.

Similarly, with the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) act, while national dropout rates have been steadily declining, they remain, however, high in the rural areas. Surprisingly, one of the reasons cited for this situation in the rural areas is the lack of all weather roads that act as the deterrent for regular school attendance . AIM for Seva addresses this fundamental issue that hinders the accessibility to education for the rural children through the innovative concept of a “chaatraalaya,” a free student home (FSH).

Since its inception, AIM for Seva has completed 96 FSHs, including 18 homes exclusively for girls, across 15 states serving 5000 villages and on an average 3000 children a year. The FSHs are constructed near an existing secondary school thereby immediately removing the principal obstacle of the physical 'accessibility' to education. A FSH constructed near a school enables a child to attend school regularly. It gives him/her the atmosphere and encouragement and more importantly, a safe environment that reassures the parents to send their children, especially their daughters, to the student homes without any concern. The FSHs provide for all the child's needs that include lodging, food, school uniforms and tuition.

The results after the advent of the AIM for Seva's FSHs in the rural areas are astounding. The dropout rate is strikingly less than 1%; 100% of the children pass in the board exams; 50% of the students go for college and vocational training. So far, 14,000 children have benefit-

Photos, clockwise from above, SEVA focuses on wholesome personality development; Swami Dayanada Saraswati, founder-chairman of SEVA; A dance program by SEVA students; A student home on the banks of Sabarmati river in Gujarat; and an evening study hour at a student home. ed and the number is growing. The success stories are many and heartwarming. Says a beneficiary in Pune, “I am confident I can manage anywhere in the world because of the foundation at AIM for Seva.” Another student from a student home in Andhra Pradesh went to do his post-graduation in biochemistry and who is currently employed in a leading pharmaceutical company in Hyderabad remarks, “Every day I say a silence 'thank you' to AIM for Seva.”AIM for Seva's care extends beyond the school going years. Children with an aptitude for higher education are provided with scholarships.

Several students stay back in the student homes to receive vocational training and are helped in finding a job through a network of well wishers. All the students serve as role models in their communities and serve as inspired contributors. Every success story is a re-affirmation of the latent potential of every child notwithstanding the economically and environmentally challenging circumstances he/she is placed in. The children prove that given a good start, the sky is the limit for their achievements.

In 2013, AIM for Seva plans to build 16 additional FSHs to benefit 320 more villages. The organization's grand vision for 2020 is to construct 200 more FSHs to cover

two-thirds of the most backward districts of India. AIM for Seva's holistic approach to education that encompasses academics, sports and extracurricular activities, helps to build the wholesome personality of the students who develop discipline, emotional maturity and responsibility. AIM for Seva is reviving the innate spirit of sharing and caring in the society. As more and more FSHs are constructed and the benefits to the communities are realized, it is expected that they will be entirely supported by the Indian people and corporations. As a social enterprise, AIM for Seva carries out its mission entirely on support from donations from the public, corporations and special grants. Swami Dayananda says, “In the act of giving, you grow, people grow and the country grows.”

The enterprise has kept its administrative costs less than 10% in a sustaining manner thereby ensuring that the donations are effectively used for the purposes they are intended for.

All donations to AIM for Seva are exempted from tax under section 501(c)(3) of US Internal Revenue Service code. Contributions can be made online as well @ www.aimforseva.org.

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

All India Movement (AIM) for Seva A Social Enterprise Creating Public Value Mission: To make education accessible to every child in the tribal, rural, and urban areas through the concept of a Student Home.

Sponsor a Child and make a difference in the lives of children who need your help “In the act of giving, you grow, people grow and the country grows” Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Donation Options

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Sponsor a child – for one year (food + academics) New clothes for 40 children Academic expenditure (incl. uniforms) for one child/year Special meals for 40 children (on a donor designated day) AIM for SEVA CHILD EDUCATION ENDOWMENT Education, food, shelter and clothes for one student in perpetuity

US $ 450 250 150 60 3400

All Donations are tax deductible in the US (Please make checks payable to “AIM for Seva” or contribute online)

Caring is AIM www.aimforseva.org

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Response Feature

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Looking out for the blind

I

n these days of economic uncertainty, says professor, ophthalmologist and philanthropist Dr V K Raju, people are viewing their contributions to charity in a new light, with many wondering which humanitarian effort can deliver the most bang for the benevolent buck.

Dr Raju, with more than 30 years experience as a surgeon, has facilitated thousands of eye surgeries for the poor in many places, including India, Afghanistan and several African countries. He speaks about turning a child’s life around by preventing blindness with a vitamin A supplement that costs only pennies for a dose. He is talking particularly about the situation in India where the organization he founded in Morgantown, West Virginia, over three decades ago, where a few hundred dollars can fund sight-restoring surgery for a person who would otherwise experience a life filled with missed opportunities such as a lack of education. For children, the benefits may span as many as 75 years-a lifetime of bene- Dr V K Raju treats a young patient. fits, he adds.

The Eye Foundation of America, which Dr Raju has been running for a long time, is poised for a major expansion this year in many rural pockets in India. It is funded by Dr Raju’s own contributions and the donations he receives from some of his patients and the people at large. It has a new president, Jay Reddy, the foundation’s second one, who recently succeeded Dr Raju. The West Virginia businessman, says Dr Raju, will bring new entrepreneurial skills and philanthropic aspirations to the organization. said, adding that that was why his foundation focuses on Dr Raju recently received the American Medical blindness avoidable in childhood.

Association’s Dr Nathan David International Award, The foundation also seeks to provide a good education which honored him, describing him as an extraordinary on dealing with diabetes. person in medicine. It also recognizes his efforts for his “Diabetes today is going to bankrupt developing councontributions in the fight against blindness and offered tries if the present trends continue. Even developed tribute to the lives that he has touched through sight-savnations feel the burden of diabetes-related diseases,” said ing procedures worldwide.

Dr Raju, whose mother died of diabetes complications Dr Raju recently announced ‘100,000 Lives,’ a fundraiswhen he was young. “Unlike a few decades ago, today ing campaign aimed at providing eye care to 100,000 peothere is a lot of literature available in changing our ple in rural India during 2014. lifestyles and leading a life that will keep away dangerous The campaign will focus on those who suffer from diadiseases.” betes and are at risk for, or may already be suffering from Diabetic retinopathy is the result of blood sugar levels diabetic retinopathy - a condition that often leads to weakening blood vessels in the retina. Over time this blindness if left untreated. Studies have shown that if diacauses blood to seep into the eye - often leading to blindbetic retinopathy is detected and treated early, blindness ness. The International Diabetes Federation estimates can be averted up to 90 percent of the time. that nearly 20 percent of the world’s population with diaIt’s estimated that more than 61 million people in India betes (61.3 million people) lives in India. For Dr Raju and have diabetes and that one out of every two are unaware the foundation see that just as dire as those statistics are, of their condition. More than half India’s diabetic populathe prevalence of people going blind from diabetic tion lives in rural areas where needed health care is virturetinopathy in rural India is an immense concern. ally non-existent. Dr Raju is looking for the campaign to Data suggests that if diabetic retinopathy is detected raise $1 million. and treated early, blindness can be averted up to 90 per“Our fundraising campaign has been created to cover cent of the time. Dr Raju is striving to bring that level of both the hard costs of getting our people and equipment success to rural India where screenings are rare and to the remote areas that are so desperate for this care,” he access to treatment is virtually nonexistent. said, “as well as a way for us to economically source the “Blindness from diabetic retinopathy is so preventable technology and equipment,” he said. that our upcoming mission will have a profound effect on the life of virtually every person that we treat,” Dr Raju He is not looking at the mission as a charity. said. “Diabetes and its complications are going to be the “We have to empower people - not unlimited charity is worst in developing nations. Most of the organizations not our goal,” Dr Raju says. Education will play an imporconcentrate on cataract blindness and diabetic blindness tant role in preventing blindness among children. may become 10 times worse than cataract blindness.

Eighty percent of our learning is through vision,” he

The Eye Foundation, the creation of Dr V K Raju that addresses preventable blindness, is doing more than its fair share around the globe

Most cataract-related blindness occurs in relatively older people, whereas diabetic blindness can affect individuals during their more productive years.”

The Eye Foundation of America this year will deploy healthcare teams for eye care clinics in India and other countries, including Tanzania.

Dr Raju and his support team will spend several weeks in India.

Even ancient Indian sages had warned again sugar-related diseases.

‘It may be prognosticated that an idle man who indulges in day sleep, or follows sedentary pursuits or is in the habit of taking sweet liquids, or cold and fat-making or emollient food,’ Susruta wrote, “will ere long fall an easy victim to this disease.’

On a personal level, Dr Raju, who looks athletic and can be mistaken for a man in his mid 50s, leads a spartan life, even when he travels and makes sure that he eats simple but nutritious food. “If nothing else is available, I am very happy with lentil soup and yogurt,” he says.

Foundation President Jay Reddy, who had consulted Dr Raju many years ago, says his dream is a world in which everyone has equal access to education, whatever their social or economic status. He believes that the foundation’s goal of eliminating avoidable blindness is a giant step in that direction. He calls education a ‘great equalizer,’ especially for underprivileged children, who stand the most to lose from vision problems.

Reddy is founder and former CEO of ProLogic, Inc, a company that delivers technology solutions to the US government. He oversaw the business as it grew from one person to over 300 people in 2008, and led the company through a merger year. He is now its chairman.

Reddy was born in southern India and came to the US after graduating from the Institute of Bangalore with a degree in computer science. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from West Virginia University. He has been active in the foundation for nearly a decade and is involved with other nonprofits that promote equal access to education for the world’s children.

He has admired Dr Raju’s work for many years. The West Virginia-based ophthalmologist envisioned the Eye Foundation of America in 1979 after volunteering his spare time to conduct eye camps and provide free eye care for years in his native India. He created the Foundation to extend the work’s scope and to partner with other organizations who shared the same goals, maximizing its capabilities many times over.

Dr Raju also helped found the Goutami Eye Institute in 2006, a fully equipped eye hospital in Rajahmundry, with a wing dedicated to children’s eye problems. The institute, which is also a teaching hospital, has trained 200 ophthalmologists, served 400,000 patients, and performed 50,000 surgeries in the short time it has been in operation.

Educated in India, Great Britain, and the US, Dr Raju has a large private practice in Morgantown where he is also an adjunct clinical professor of ophthalmology at West Virginia University’s School of Medicine. He spends his ‘spare’ time teaching and performing surgery and medical services on a volunteer basis for the Eye Foundation of America.

For more information about the Eye Foundation, visit http://www.eyefoundationofamerica.org

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

(Est. 1979)

www.eyefoundationofamerica.org The Green Eye Hospital pictured here will be constructed soon with your help.

If EFA raises $500,00.00, Joe Swiger, a grateful patient from Morgantown, WV will match with $1,000,000.00

Retina Before Treatment

Retina After Treatment

FOCUS ON DIABETES • Diabetic retinopathy is the result of blood sugar levels weakening blood vessels in the retina. Over time this causes blood to seep into the eye - often leading to blindness.

• Data suggests that if diabetic retinopathy is detected and treated early, blindness can be averted up to 90% of the time. Dr. Raju is striving to bring that level of success to rural India where screenings are rare and access to treatment is virtually nonexistent.

• "Diabetes and its complications are going to be the worst in developing nations.

Most of the organizations concentrate on cataract blindness and diabetic blindness may become 10 times worse than cataract blindness. Most of the cataract blindness is in relatively older people, whereas diabetic blindness can affect individuals during their more productive years."

• The Eye Foundation of America, this year, will deploy healthcare teams for eye care clinics in India and beyond.

Pledges:  Founders society - $25,000.00  Patron - $1,000.00 Other Name: Address: Phone number: Email: All contributions are tax deductible. Tax Exempt #55-0621735

Since it’s inception in 1979, the goal of the Eye Foundation of America has been to improve eye care in the underprivileged world. The Foundation facilitates the exchange of ideas and services between the U.S. and India, provides fellowships for physicians worldwide, conducts research projects to prevent blindness, and has helped support the work of 2 eye hospitals in southern India. More than 1.8 million people have been treated and 300,000+ surgeries have been performed including 25,000+ on children.

The Dilemma Facing India • More than 61 million people in India have diabetes • 55% of Indians with diabetes live in rural areas • 96,000 children in India have Type 1 diabetes • Up to 20 percent of India's rural populations are affected by diabetes • 52% of people with diabetes don't realize they have it • India has a health care worker shortage of 515,000 (largest in the world) We partner with many organizations. Currently we are working with GAPIO (Global Association of Physicians from India) "Global Assos. of Physicians of India (GAPIO) in partnership with Eye Foundation of America is pleased to be part of the mega Diabetic screening project going to be deployed in Rajahmundry in Jan 2014. Diabetes prevelance in India is one of the highest in the world and the major cause of blindness. This project will help immensely in early diagnosis and we plan to screen 100,000 population." Sanku S. Rao MD. President Elect, GAPIO

EyE Foundation oF amErica Jayachandra Reddy President

Leela V. Raju MD, Secretary

V.K. RAJU, M.D.

Medical Director 3140 Collins Ferry Road, Morgantown WV 26505 304.599.0705

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

ABOUT HOPE AND COURAGE WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PARTICIPATION

Place your NGO full page color ad in any of the next four issues of India Abroad (on or before December 31, 2013) and avail a special discounted rate.

Email:

advertise@indiaabroad.com

India Abroad November 29, 2013

COVER STORY

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‘Terror can come in any shape.

We can’t give it a particular name of religion’ Page A24 esty is very crucial to the police making progress in securing the city?

You are correct that the integrity of a person (in this case the police) gives a different strength of character. That strength, that the person’s character acquires, by being professional, by being honest, by being straight, gives him a chance to rise to an occasion, whenever the occasion comes.

Because he has no skeletons?

To hide.

It gives you immunity also?

I cite you an example: Had it been an honest officer in Customs, in 1993, the landings that happened in Raigad district (south of Mumbai), where instead of gold something else came (the 1993 blasts would not have hapGirgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai, minutes after Ajmal Kasab was nabbed pened). there thanks to heroic Mumbai police officer Tukaram Omble.

That is because of the way the systems have been maligned (abused). Naturally for national security, the integrity of a person who is in charge (or conother startling revelations of The Siege. tributes to) national security is very important.

If one were to take a hypothetical situation, facing a midWasn’t it very apparent, shortly after 26/11, especially dle rank police officer – there is a choice between acting on when you check out the location of the Jewish Chabad a vague terror alert or cracking down on a bar, where some House (one of the attack points), that even a long-term money may be involved, given that the terror threat could Colaba resident like me did not know of its existence, that eventually result in the threat to the policeman’s own life – there had to have been a David-Headley-kind of figure 26/11 was about policeman getting killed too. who provided such information?

Would today the police still opt to ignore the terror threat At that point of time it was not so apparent. Apart from and go after, with efficiency, something which is of financial Chabad House the other (targets) were very accessible interest? and easy to come and go to.

Human nature is such that at times you feel that you are But even entry through Machimar Nagar, where the ten the chosen one, who will probably not be in the line of fire, terrorists landed, was a hard one to figure out? until unless you die. You always feel you will die at the If you look at the coast (it would be obvious) and by GPS grand old age of hundred. it is not so difficult to land there.

That perception has to change. That is where police leadHow would terrorist Ajmal Kasab and his group have ership needs to be emphasized. known about it on the ground level?

Even during my daily rounds, my commissioner says we But (David) Headley had recce-ed it. should tell the people who are guarding, say a synagogue or But no one knew about Headley at that time. Headley a hotel, not to be lax. came up later.

If you are there in uniform, the first thing the terrorist When 26/11 happened, and immediately thereafter, will do is to shoot you. there were write ups in the Indian media saying there It is because of your own personal security that you could be some insider. should be fully alert.

But the police said no. I remember (then joint commissioner of police) Rakesh Maria saying no.

I was not part of the investigation. But in any perspecajvardhan’s admirable role in holding the terrorists tive we all went with Mr Maria because he had Kasab. So at bay at the Taj in the first 24 hours with Nangrethere was a person living and talking. Maybe we all went Patil and a few young policemen not used to terrorism of with him because he had a more authoritative version. this proportion, has been celebrated in the recently-pubHow could the police investigating team at that time lished The Siege: The Attack on the Taj by investigative believe the terrorists could get to the very inaccessible, journalists Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark. less-known, Chabad House without additional pre-help?

The book compellingly profiles the enigma named Because Kasab, at that point of time, said it was only David Headley, the double agent who masterminded the done by GPS. Mumbai attacks, and the impudent manner in which he He kept insisting? was allowed to function by his American handlers.

Yes It details the manner in which the Pakistan-rooted terHe never indicated otherwise? ror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba operates. The Siege also vividHe said we all came by this route. We all landed here. ly, and uncomfortably, draws attention to the paralysis of We were all aware who has to go where. the Mumbai police force in those 68 hours.

And he didn’t know about Headley?

The existence of a Delhi-based mole for Pakistan’s Inter No. Services Intelligence directorate, codenamed Honey Bee, At what point for you, speaking not as a police officer, and the terrorists’ accomplices in Mumbai, the chuhas did you think that there was more to this story? (the mice), who provided on-the-ground assistance, are

R

We had intelligence earlier that the Taj has been recce-ed. That the Taj was on the terror list. Anybody, a tourist, can come and see where the Taj is and give a photograph.

Anybody can give a photograph of the Trident to anybody. Right?

What do you think about the existence of a Honey Bee? He is talking about a Honey Bee passing to them a drill manual, and other things, like how the Indian police functions.

But you will find most of these are already on open Web sites. How you take a drill and how you do an SOP. If you go backwards you will find that, at many other times, ISI-affiliated spies have been picked up, from the rest of the country, who have been found passing this kind of information to their handlers in the Pakistan embassy (in Delhi) and elsewhere. So Honey Bee could be anybody sitting in the Pakistan embassy.

So in your view he may not exist?

UTTAM GHOSH I can only speculate. He may exist.

But the issue is — that if he exists, and this information is with some intelligence agency, they should pass it on.

Because he has potential to be dangerous in the future?

Yes, which we as a general public may not be aware.

Honey Bee, if he exists, seems to be in Delhi. What about the chuhas? They must be still loose and they must be in Mumbai.

You cannot deny it. There may be somebody who could be in Bombay. How can you deny it? There is a possibility. You never know.

You are now part of the economic offence wing of the Mumbai police, as additional commissioner, and no longer directly in touch with the issues around 26/11. But as a police officer what are the frustrations that you feel with the system?

The entire incident, which happened that night, had a deep impact on me as a human being. For a very long time.

Personally I went through a psychological trauma.

Secondly, was the feeling of helplessness, at times, for not being able to save so many lives which, as a policeman, we should have saved.

I am not talking from a high pedestal — that I am Mahatma Gandhi (a picture of Mahatma Gandhi hangs on the wall behind him in the British era-police headquarters opposite Crawford Market). I am trying to share with you my inner feelings. You may feel that I am trying to be over smart or something.

But there is a sense of frustration, as a policeman, because you feel that these people are relying on you.

They are looking up at you. And at that critical moment, if you are not able to save them then that feeling, inside, of not being able to do your duty — it is there.

Apart from that is a kind of feeling, to be very blunt: ki tera baap ka ghar hai ki koiee bhi aake, sala, kuch bhi karke chala jayega (is it your father’s house that anyone can come, do anything and go away)? You know that kind of a crude feeling.

Anger.

Anger with frustration. And a feeling that had we, at that point of time, had some area weapon, or a grenade, perhaps then it would not have taken three days for us to (end the operation).

A46

COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013 The Taj Mahal hotel on the night of November 26, 2008. Inset, George Mapp.

I

n May 2009, India’s National Investigative Agency — which was set up after 26/11 — claimed it had found an American who was part of the attack.

George Mapp was in India on a holiday and a chance meeting with Faiza Outalha, one of David Headley’s wives, is what led the NIA to him.

Mapp, who was questioned several times by the NIA, tells India Abroad the ordeal he faced. first met Faiza Outalha in Old Manali, Himachal Pradesh, in “I May 2008. Since Faiza and I met, our

out of Pakistan and India several times, undetected

by Indian intelligence.

Any person that can do this and not get caught has to be extremely intelligent and be able to keep secrets even from his wife.

I know for a fact that Faiza was lied to and used and abused by Headley. If you do any research into Headley’s past you can tell that he was extremely selfish and would turn on anybody including his childhood best friend Tahawwur Rana (sentenced to 14 years in prison in the US for helping Lashkar plot an attack on the Danish newspaper JyllandsPosten) to save his own skin.

This modus operandi by Headley is what led him to his career in US intelligence. He became a Drug Enforcement Agency snitch in order to avoid jail time. He was very cunning, manipulative, charming and a great liar, which enabled him to be such a successful deep-cover operative.

Faiza and I were reunited in Morocco face-toface in December 2010 and January 2011. I spent approximately six weeks with her in Meknes. We saw each other every day except for two days durARKO DATTA/REUTERS ing my stay. We have remained close friends.

Due to our life experiences together and sharing such FBI investigation. The nightmare continued. unlikely and unique circumstances in relation to the It was as a direct result of Faiza’s then ex-husband, Mumbai terrorist attacks, and to the man who orchestrated David Headley, who she later re-married — and is still the attacks, we have developed a close bond that I imagine currently married to him — that our lives became a will last a life time. combination of a surreal dark comedy and a living I hope to complete my book, titled The Accidental nightmare.

Terrorist, by the summer of 2014. It is a true account of my Unfortunately, the inadequacies, unprofessionalism and travels to India, Thailand, Morocco and Russia. My initial lack of skill of India’s brand new intelligence agency created journey to India to meet for the first time my satguru specifically to combat terrorism, the NIA, just added to our Amma in Kerala. When I leave the safe confines of the woes. ashram my life takes amazing twists and turns. I go from Indian intelligence has been for years trying to question being a tourist in foreign lands to an accidental terrorist.

Faiza. There was an NIA operation dubbed ‘Operation How I met fascinating and interesting people like the Morocco’ that has only been aborted within the last year. arms dealer Viktor Bout — I stay in touch with him — In my opinion, Faiza is a victim. Headley has been found accused spies in Russia and last but not least David guilty and sentenced to 35 years in a US federal prison for Headley’s third-wife, Faiza. being the mastermind of a terrorist attack. He was in and

THE TERRORIST WHO WASN’T

George Mapp, an American who Indian sleuths thought was involved in the 26/11 attacks, speaks to Vicky Nanjappa

TWITTER.COM/DOBROYEUTRO

lives have been drastically altered. It left us, our close friends and our families emotionally scarred for life.

We met each other through a mutual friend, strictly by chance. She was divorced from Headley, but appeared to me to be heartbroken and scorned.

She was a young, vibrant, beautiful and an energetic tourist trying to leave her past behind her. We became extremely close in a short time.

About a year after the 26/11 attack, I was walking on the beach in Palolem, Goa, with my then pregnant girlfriend, Natasha — now my wife — when policemen and officials from the NIA surrounded me and escorted me back to my flat for intense questioning. I initially underwent over 30 hours of intense questioning that some nights lasted into the early morning.

About 4, 5 hours into the process, on the first day of questioning, I then learned about the connection between Outalha and Headley.

I was shocked and overwhelmed when the NIA first approached me on November 23, 2009. There was much more than a lookout notice against me. I was treated like a terrorist and had to basically prove myself innocent. There was not one shred of evidence whatsoever connecting me to terrorism.

The missing papers of David Headley I was the Number One terrorist During investigations into Headley in suspect in India because David 2009, his visa documents were missing Headley and I knew the same from the Indian consulate in Chicago for a woman; I was in Old Manali, so was considerable amount of time.

Faiza; Headley had a five-year visa, I This broke the tempo of the investigation had a 10-year visa; he was American, and even when India’s National Intelligence I was American. There was a lot of Agency sleuths visited the US to question circumstantial evidence, but that’s it!

Headley, they did not have the access to It would have been much more these papers. valuable to the NIA had they treated After much protest and repeated requests me as a witness rather than as a terby India, the papers were mysteriously rorist. My United States passport was found in the record room of the consulate confiscated, as well as my Apple from where it had gone missing. Indian Macbook Pro computer — which the investigators said this led to a great deal of NIA has refused to give back. Armed confusion. police slept outside our door for over Worse, Indian sleuths were not able to ask two weeks, and followed me and my Headley relevant about his travel details. He nine-month-pregnant girlfriend only said his friend Tahawwur Rana had everywhere we went. helped him. India has not got access to They even followed us to the beach Rana. swimming practically naked. Natasha Who is Honey Bee? delivered our daughter December 12, In their book The Siege, writers Adrian 2009, less than three weeks after the Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark mention an never-ending investigation began.

Inter Services Intelligence agent in New Sajid Shapoo from the NIA had Delhi called Honey Bee. alluded to me that if it were not for Speaking to a cross-section of officers in my white, nine-month-pregnant girlIndia’s Intelligence Bureau and also the friend, I would have been arrested police, one does get the impression that this simply by being guilty by association person was not Rabinder Singh, the Central as opposed to being questioned at Intelligence Agency mole who former home.

Research and Analysis Wing officer Amar Even after Natasha and our newBhushan had spoken about in his book born daughter Zoya left India for Escape to Nowhere.

Thailand awaiting Natasha’s US K-1 When Headley was in India surveying the visa, the NIA investigation led to an

Unanswered questions attack sites, he was in touch with a lot of locals. One of them could have been an informer of the intelligence and the local police, Indian intelligence sources say.

Sources tell India Abroad that Headley was handed over information by the ISI through a Major Iqbal about an informer for the intelligence who could be easily cracked.

Sources point out that Headley did not name this informer when the National Investigation Agency was questioning him for two reasons.

One, he did not want to let down a source.

Second, he was protecting him due to his religion. Most police informers are criminals and they have no loyalties. They can be easily lured them with money. Headley appears to have done that.

It seems he was in touch with the local informer, who gave him information on the landing point that was used by the terrorists. During the attack the same person could have extended help, the sources also point out.

Former officials of India’s Research and Analysis Wing say for such a major operation, Pakistan would not have engaged the services of a major officer within India’s

Intelligence Bureau. Intelligence agencies across the world set up moles in other agencies, but when it comes to such a major operation they do not take such a huge risk, the sources insist.

Is all of The Siege’s information authentic?

Bhushan points out that Americans also died in 26/11, and Washington has done nothing really to nail the culprits who are sitting in Pakistan. This is not the American style of dealing with people who kill their citizens.

This book speaking about Honey Bee is essentially a book written by the CIA, Bhushan alleges, which is trying to indicate that despite giving the Indians so much information nothing was done about it.

“Americans never or hardly give complete information,” Bhushan says. “All through their manner of dealing with this case has been surprising. They did not allow any major access to Headley. Giving us vague information and then blaming us for it appears to be the intention behind this book. Just remember that our intelligence does not comprise a bunch of fools. Had they been given proper information they would not have sat over it.”

C D Sahay, a former RAW chief, also questions the authenticity of Honey Bee. “Anyone can write anything, but I think it would have sounded more authentic had the Honey Bee been named,” Sahay says.

— Vicky Nanjappa

COVER STORY

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A47

Snipers take position ahead of the final assault on the terrorists inside the Taj. VICKY NANJAPPA

C

ounterterrorism expert Stephen Tankel, author of Storming the World Stage, the story of Lashkar-e-Tayiba, is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, where his research focuses on insurgency, terrorism, and the evolution of non-state armed groups.

You must have heard about the Indian mole in the 26/11 attack, codenamed Honey Bee? I have read the claims about Honey Bee and the additional indigenous support Lashkar may have received.

It would not shock me to find out the ISI (Pakistan’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence) had recruited an Indian agent, just as it would not shock me to know RAW (Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency) had recruited a Pakistani one.

Nor would I be surprised that Lashkar had indigenous support for Mumbai, as it has received for other attacks in the past.

So, all of this is theoretically feasible.

Whether any of it is true, I have no idea.

How has the structure of the Lashkar-eTayiba changed in the five years after 26/11?

Overall, the structure looks similar from the outside, though the group has probably done some internal tinkering. Lashkar also launched additional front groups over the past five years, partly in response to the pressure it came under following the 2008 Stephen Tankel Mumbai attacks.

Along with Jamaat-ud-Dawa, some of those front groups are members of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council.

parts. One expects, and hopes, it has been used to prevent other attacks and degrade militant groups like LeT that both countries consider a threat.

The 26/11 terrorists appeared to have a free run for nearly 20 hours of the attack.

Why do you think it was so easy for them?

Whether or not the claims about Honey Bee are accurate, it’s impossible to escape the fact that the Indian response was seriously lacking.

There were individual acts of heroism and sacrifice, and we should not forget these.

Collectively, however, the authorities were not well enough equipped or prepared to deal with the attack. ??

Pakistan is conducting a trial of the attack. Do you think they will be able to convict Hafiz Saeed and/or Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi?

Hafiz Saeed has not been arrested. Lakhvi has been in SANJAY SAWANT jail since soon after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. I don’t anticipate he’ll be convicted any time soon, but I would be happy to be proven wrong.

What do you think of America’s handling of Pakistan following this attack?

United States officials worked closely with their counterparts in India to identify Lashkar-e-Tayiba as the culprit and quickly trace the attack back to Pakistan.

From what I understand, the US also put pressure on Pakistan to arrest the perpetrators and crack down on LeT. Clearly, the results were far from satisfactory.

I know some in India believe the US does not take the LeT threat seriously, but I believe Washington clearly recognizes it as a problem. Unfortunately, like New Delhi, it has yet to find a workable solution.

EXPERT DOESN’T RULE OUT ‘INDIGENOUS SUPPORT’ WWW.CARNEGIEENDOWMENT.ORG

Additionally, its presence in Afghanistan and across Pakistan expanded. And, of course, its social media offerings have increased, as anyone who follows JuD on Twitter knows.

Do you think the ends of justice have been met where the sentencing of David Headley is concerned?

I understand why Indians want Headley extradited and are dissatisfied with his serving a life sentence in the United States.

However, the terms of his plea deal with the US make that highly unlikely.

He has provided American officials a lot of information, much of which has been shared with their India counter-

‘Still very detailed, as if burned into my mind’ RITU JHA

Y

usuf Safdari, senior counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, California, was at the Taj hotel on the night of November 26, 2008.

“This attack is now a part of my life, and I feel that I am now a small piece of Indian history even though I am an American citizen,” Sardari told India Abroad.

In November 2008, he was in India on a business trip. His father — Dr Yahya B Safdari, who came to the United States from Amravati, Maharashtra, in 1964 — accompanied him to visit family.

Yusuf Safdari said they were sitting in the Shamiana restaurant at the Taj, and he left his father there to use the restroom at the back of the lobby.

He was walking towards the hall behind the elevators, Sardari said, when he saw a glass window shatter. He heard gunshots.

He spun around and caught a glimpse of a terrorist with a gun in his hand.

“If I was a few seconds late, I would have been at the front of the lobby where most people were hurt immediately,” said

Safdari.

He rapidly ran around a corner away from the shooter. There were only two options for him at that moment –– a bathroom without windows or a Kashmiri rug store that had an open door with a glass front.

The glass front was clear; so anyone could see inside. He said he chose to enter the rug store where he saw a shopkeeper and another guest.

“I was extremely worried about my father,” Safdari said. “I was also very worried about my wife, children and family in case something should happen to me, and I could not be there for them.”

Safdari heard many gunshots after that.

After a while, the gunshots grew faint. He thought the attack was over and started walking towards the lobby, but he was intercepted by staff at a bookstore by the elevators. They told him to seek shelter in the bookstore because the attack was not over.

“I had no way to communicate with my father because I did not have a cell phone with me. I stayed for many tense hours in the bookstore with men, women and chil-

dren,” Safdari said.

Around midnight, Safdari said, some Taj staff entered the store and told them they would help them flee if they wished to, but could not guarantee safety.

“We decided to make a run for it,” Safdari said. “We fled out the front of the Taj with the guidance of the Taj staff who only had walkie talkies and no firearms.”

“Outside, we saw Indian police and many media trucks. We ran to the Gateway of India and to safety. I immediately began asking around to see if someone had seen my father. I called America.

My brother told me my father was temporarily safe inside the Taj. I spoke to my father, and I was relieved.”

“I stood outside the whole night as the attack unfolded. In the morning, we were evacuated to another Taj property. I was told that my father would meet me there so I agreed to go. I can still remember the emotions that I felt at the time. The maximum stress that I felt was not knowing if my father would be fine since he was trapped in the Taj for many hours after my escape. I was so relieved when we were reunited.”

How does he look back on that fateful night, five years later?

“I have a mixture of feelings,” he replied.

“I am very thankful for the prayers of many that my father and I emerged safely from this attack on India and its innocent people. I feel sorrow for those who were injured or killed in this senseless attack. It was an experience I can never forget.”

Over time, Safdari said he has tried not to let the experience affect him.

“I don’t want to give that victory to the people who perpetrated this attack. It brought home the lesson to me that there are people out there who see some goal in attacking innocent people and maximizing damage,” he said.

Would he visit the Taj again?

“Absolutely,” he said. “I want my children to be very familiar with India and their relatives in India. Many of my best memories are from my visits to India, including the sights, the sounds, the people and visits with my relatives. I often think back on this experience and consider how fortunate we were to escape with no harm. My memory of the event is still very detailed, as if burned into my mind.”

A48

EYE ON PAKISTAN

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A Pakistan airforce F-16 flies over Islamabad.

Experts, from inside and outside the US, have consistently warned the government against supplying military aid to Pakistan.

‘A regime dominated by its military’ Despite Pakistan’s democratically elected government, defense experts warn Congress about the country. Aziz Haniffa reports MIAN KHURSHEED/REUTERS

Burden of delusions Former Pakistani envoy Husain Haqqani speaks up about the flawed US-Pakistan relationship.

Aziz Haniffa reports

T

he United States has been an enabler of Pakistan’s obsession with acquiring military parity with India by continuing to provide Islamabad with sophisticated weapons systems, Pakistan’s erstwhile ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani has said.

He was speaking at the launch of his book, Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, where he is a Senior Fellow.

He was Pakistan’s envoy to Washington from 2008 to 2011 before the ‘memogate’ controversy led to his firing. He is virtually persona non grata in the country of his birth with credible threats to his life from the Pakistan army and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Haqqani, who also teaches at Boston University, said, ‘America’s delusion is that if we give Pakistan enough assistance they will not want to pursue

their objective (to acquire military parity with India), which is totally upside down because what you are doing is you are encouraging that whole process by arming them.”

He explained that it ended up being a case of ‘We now have four squadrons of F-16s, and three more and we are OK, and then we would have the qualitative edge. That is the psyche, which has been fed over time, and the United States has been an enabler in that.’

He bemoaned that Pakistan ‘did not move away from a huge conventional outlay on the military and the militarist militant approach’ even after acquiring nuclear weapons capability that should have shorn it of its insecurities.

Pakistan’s delusion, Haqqani said, was ‘that it could count on US support forever,’ and that standing on Washington’s shoulders it could acquire ‘parity with India and that using jihadis as proxies will be useful for increasing Pakistan’s political, military

and strategic weight in the region.’

Later, in an interaction with journalists, Haqqani asserted, ‘Pakistan cannot forever live as a nation that takes arms from America to confront India.

At some point, we have to have a good relationship with our neighbors and an economically-based relationship with a country like the United States.’

‘Right now, the US-Pakistani relationship is mostly about aid and arms.

It should be about trade and investment. General Electric and General Motors, should matter more than General Dempsey and General Kayani.’

He called the US-Pakistan relationship a ‘flawed transactional relationship.’

‘Even in a transactional relationship, both sides know what to expect. Here, there are exaggerated expectations. So, with exaggerated expectations, how can you have a functioning transaction?’ he said.

‘Transactional relationships can never be the foundation of a long-term strategic partnership. All strategic partnerships have transactions within them, but a purely transactional relationship cannot be a strategic partnership.’

Haqqani’s remarks to the audience — comprising several former US administration officials who formulated US policy toward Pakistan and the South Asia region — before this was permeated by a scathing indictment of this policy.

‘The Pakistani public has never been told the truth about US-Pakistan relations because successive Pakistani leaders thought… it would be advantageous to tell the Americans that, “Look, our people are against you and

Page A49

L

eading American military, defense and terrorism analysts and experts have exhorted Congress not to pander to Pakistan, notwithstanding its newly elected democratic government. They have warned that Pakistan’s military and the Inter-Services Intelligence still call the shots and will up the terrorism ante, particularly against India, once the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

Testifying before joint subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including the Subcommittees of Asia and the Pacific, that has jurisdiction over South Asian affairs and the Subcommittee of the Middle East and North Africa, Retired General Jack Keane, the lead witness, said Pakistan-based terrorist networks were essentially ISI proxies and continued terror operations against India despite Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s talk about seeking a rapprochement with India.

‘They support terror operations in India with terrorist organizations, they support the Haqqani Network and the Taliban in conducting operations against the United States and NATO and Afghanistan. They’ve got blood all over their hands with the casualties,’ he told the committees that were convened to discuss ‘After the Withdrawal: The Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

‘This is a regime that is dominated by its military, who puts its military self above the state. We’ve got a weak civilian government, fundamentally corrupt. The economy is in the tank. We’ve got a raging insurgency. We’ve got an escalating nuclear power.’

Keane, chairman of the board, The Institute for the Study of War, Washington, DC, said, it was imperative that the US go after terrorist safe havens in Pakistan with a vengeance.

Frederick W Kagan, director, The American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, and a former professor of military history at the US Military Academy at West Point, said, ‘Pakistan continues to harbor, shelter, and support some of the most virulent insurgent and terrorist groups, closely associated with Al Qaeda, including serving as haven for some that have already tried to attack the US homeland. It is also a fact that Pakistan is a country of some 190 million people with perhaps 100 nuclear weapons and the deepest

Page A49

EYE ON PAKISTAN

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A49

Making history Page A5 Kerry said, ‘And as she wrote recently, over the next six months, more than one billion voters across South Asia will choose leaders of some of the most diverse and vibrant countries in the world. That’s her challenge, our challenge. And there are many in the region – frankly, some in this building – who look at this sort of transformation potential with trepidation.’

He acknowledged, ‘The risks of the moment, obviously, are real, and none of us should be blind to them.

But I know that Nisha confronts these challenges in the same way that she’s met every other challenge in her career.’

Kerry pointed out how last week in Bangladesh, Nisha spoke forcefully about the need for leaders to rise above partisan differences and find a peaceful way towards the ballot box.

He added ‘All of us know that the countries she’s going to represent are complicated and have been going through enormous challenges. America’s prosperity rests more than ever in the strength of our links to this region.’

Nisha Desai Biswal signs the oath of office as her daughters Safya and Kaya, husband Subrat, left, Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough look on.

Kerry spoke of how ‘Nisha’s experience and the success that so many Indian Americans bring to the American table shows to everybody in the world the deep ties that we have between the United States and India.’

Then with Biswal’s husband Subrat Biswal holding a copy of the Constitution on which Biswal placed her left hand, Kerry administered the oath of office and hugged the first Indian-American Assistant Secretary of State for the subcontinent.

McDonough then took to the podium to tell the audience that when he got a note from Biswal inviting him to attend her swearing in, ‘I was eager to come because ‘I wanted to underscore that as the President puts together his team for the second term, he has in his mind somebody like Nisha —a young mom, talented career professional, somebody who comes from an amazing story.’

He added that he had known Biswal for over a decade when ‘we started to work together in the House of Representatives.’

McDonough declared that Biswal ‘was an unyielding defender of this country’s ideals and unmatched and unrivalled patriot for everything that we want to advance. And, she is a tireless advocate for our interests in this region that is so vital to us and to our longterm interests.’

COURTESY: US DEPT OF STATE

‘A regime dominated by its military’ Page A48 hatred for the US of any nation on earth.

Pakistan is also, moreover, perennially on the verge of complete economic collapse that would lead to political collapse and consequently, very likely, a massive increase in the number of terrorist groups operating there.’

He highlighted the worst-case scenario where a terrorist group might gain control of a Pakistani nuclear weapon.

He added, ‘There can be no rapid conclusion to the problems of South Asia, nor is there any end in sight to the threats to American security and its interests emanating from that region.’

Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow, South Asia, Heritage Foundation, said, ‘Given that the Pakistani military continues to seek to undermine Indian regional influence through terrorist proxies operating in both Afghanistan and India, Sharif ’s election alone is unlikely to have significant impact on the core US goals of stabilizing Afghanistan and rooting out terrorism from the region… Its policies toward the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups like the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba have remained largely unchanged over the last 11 years, despite US pressure on Islamabad to crack down on the terror groups.’

Pakistan, she said, maintained ‘a short-term tactical approach of fighting some terrorist groups deemed to be a threat to the state,

while supporting others that are aligned with Pakistan’s goal of curbing Indian regional influence.’

An erstwhile Central Intelligence Agency analyst who did tours in Islamabad and New Delhi, Curtis lamented that ‘the provision of nearly $27 billion in military and economic assistance to Pakistan over the last decade has had little impact on Pakistan’s strategic calculus with regard to Afghanistan and India.’

The US policy ‘of continually overlooking Pakistani inaction against extremist groups on its territory,’ she warned, ‘would have longterm negative consequences for US.’ She urged US policymakers to make it clear to Pakistan that the future of US-Pakistan ties would ‘hinge on how helpful Pakistan is in supporting the US objective of stabilizing Afghanistan and reining in terrorist groups on Pakistani territory.’

Pointing out that ‘the global terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan remains a core US national security concern,’ she added, ‘The problem is that Pakistan is paranoid about any role that India has in Afghanistan. Even if the Indian role is helping with the economy, Pakistan sees any increased influence that India has in Afghanistan as detrimental to Pakistan’s interest… I think the only way to reduce the Pakistani paranoia is to encourage better Indo-Pakistani relations.’

She saw no reason to ‘ask India to pull back from Afghanistan just to appease Pakistan.’

Burden of delusions Page A48 I am the only thing that stands between these hostile to America population and United States interests.” And, so, it was always in the interests of Pakistan’s successive leaders to be hostile toward America in public, while in private it was exactly the opposite.’

He warned that in turning ‘public opinion more and more negative, hoping to use it to your private advantage,’ Pakistan’s leadership was running a risk.

‘What happens when the public FAISAL MAHMOOD/REUTERS opinion has become so hostile that Hussain Haqqani the things you promise in private, rect the mistakes of your own side. I you become unable to deliver because don’t think any of my successors as of the hostility of public opinion (he ambassador will do that.’ said 83 percent of Pakistanis don’t have He noted, ‘That Kashmir, the prize as a favorable view of the US).’

Pakistan saw it, still remained a prob‘The Pakistani people feel that they lem,’ but ridiculed the contention of have been let down; it’s not so much some Pakistani quarters that India because of how America acted toward wanted to absorb Pakistan.

Pakistan and vice versa, it’s because the ‘Pakistan needs to get over this belief Pakistani public was never told the that everybody is out to get us. We need truth.’ to be self-confident. A nation with He added that if the hardliners ‘take nuclear weapons shouldn’t behave like over the state completely, Pakistan will a guy who keeps buying guns because have to reconcile to becoming an Iran he says he needs to defend his family without oil — and that is not easy.’ and then stays up all night because he’s Haqqani said he tried to explain this a afraid somebody will come and steal to his compatriots as an ambassador, his guns… He has a heart attack but acknowledged to laughter: ‘It turns because of high blood pressure that he out that that was perhaps a mistake suffered from staying up all night.’ (costing him his job). Never try to cor-

A50

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Tehelka editor-in-chief booked for rape

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Rape fear keeps US students out of India: Powell US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell said frequent rape incidents in the country had created an adverse image of India abroad.

While addressing students at the Xavier Institute of Social Science in Kolkata, she said concern for personal security and ‘perceived increased danger to women’ was perhaps a factor in American students not choosing India.

Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad burn a poster of Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in New Delhi, November 22.

UP: School girl raped

A 19-year-old school girl, who had gone to attend the Uttar Pradesh government’s free laptop distribution function in Faizabad, was raped on her way home November 18.

The villagers blamed the authorities for neglecting girls’s security during the event that went on late in the night.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sought an explanation from Social Welfare Minister Avdhesh Prasad who arrived seven hours late for the event that began at 10 pm.

Bengaluru: Woman attacked with machete

A 38-year-old woman was brutally attacked with a machete in an ATM kiosk in Bengaluru November 18. The thug allegedly asked her to withdraw cash from the ATM, but when she refused he hit her head repeatedly with the weapon, leaving her paralyzed on her right side. At press time, police were trying to trace the assailant whose gory act was caught on a closed circuit camera.

Court bars Sahara chief from leaving India

November 21, India’s Supreme Court

Tarun Tejpal, editor of the investigative magazine Tehelka, stepped down November 20 after allegations of sexual misconduct against him by a female employee surfaced.

He was accused of sexually assaulting the journalist twice in a hotel elevator during a conference organized by Tehelka in Goa earlier this month.

The magazine's managing editor Shoma Chaudhury also faced public ire for allegedly trying to protect her boss and not taking immediate action after the victim described her ordeal to her in an e-mail.

Although the victim did not file a police complaint, the Goa police filed a rape case against Tejpal November 22.

restrained Sahara Group Chief Subrata Roy from leaving the country and also barred the group from selling any of its properties.

The development comes in the wake of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India telling the court that Sahara had overvalued its properties and did not hand over all original title deeds of assets worth $3 billion as per the court’s direction.

Modi’s gaffe galore

ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS

called Mahatma Gandhi Mohanlal Karamchand Gandhi instead of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi during a rally in Rajasthan November 19.

The slip up comes days after his goof up between Jan Sangh founder Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerji and revolutionary Shyamaji Krishna Verma.

‘Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was a revolutionist. He died in 1930,’ Modi had said at another election rally. He clarified later that he meant to speak of Verma.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi

Page A51

Cyclone Helen hits Andhra Pradesh

Amit Shah

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

Modi’s aide Amit Shah in snooping scandal Severe Cyclone Helen touched the northeastern coast of Andhra Pradesh November 21, triggering heavy rains in the coastal region where thousands of people were evacuated to safer places and state agencies put alert.

According to reports, the cyclone, moving at a speed of up to 75 mph made landfall at around 2 pm in Machilipatnam, nearly 372 miles from Hyderabad.

Fishermen tie their boat along the shore before leaving for a safer place at Donkuru village in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district.

Web sites Gulail.com and Cobrapost.com claimed that Amit Shah, the former Gujarat home minister and close confidante of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, allegedly misused the state police and surveillance to illegally stalk a young woman.

According to Gulail.com the report emerged after former Gujarat cop G L Singhal handed over recorded telephonic conversations between him and Shah to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

As soon as the tapes were revealed in New Delhi, Pranlal Soni, the woman’s father, issued a statement saying how had requested Modi to ‘look after’ his daughter.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

A51

PHOTOGRAPHS: MUNISH SHARMA/REUTERS

Matters of faith

Devotees light candles at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, on the 544th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, November 17.

Page A50

Abu Salem convicted in fake passport case

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court convicted gangster Abu Salem in a 2001 fake passport case November 15.

Salem, who was extradited to India from Portugal in 2005, had obtained three fake passports, one for himself, one for his wife, and a third for his girlfriend starlet Monica Bedi in 2001.

Cash-for-vote scam: Amar Singh let off

A court hearing the 2008 cash-for-vote scam — on the alleged bribing of members of India’s Parliament by the ruling United Progressive Alliance government to survive a confidence vote in Parliament — discharged all but one accused in the case.

Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, three Bharatiya Janata Party members of parliament and two others were let off in the case.

Jailed persons can contest elections

India’s Supreme Court approved an amendment, November 19, to the Representation of the People Act wherein people in jail or in police custody can contest elections.

The court said after ‘amendments brought by the government of India in the Representation of the People Act, a person does not cease to be an elector only by being in police custody/jail and can therefore contest elections to the state legislation and Parliament.’

fully with a record 74.65 percent voters exercising their franchise November 19.

BJP felicitates riots accused

Two Bharatiya Janata Party legislators — accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots case — were felicitated by the party in Agra November 20.

Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana spent over a month in jail for instigating HinduMuslim violence in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.

The Congress party deplored the BJP’s

Sikh pilgrims on a train traveling to Pakistan, at a railway station in Amritsar, November 15. Hundreds of devotees traveled to Pakistan to visit Nankana Sahib shrine, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, on his birth anniversary.

action claiming it would create a ‘hate situation’ while the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh said it reflected the saffron party’s culture.

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013. An international jury headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chose her for the honor.

Ink attack on Kejriwal A man claiming to be a Bharatiya Janata Party worker and social activist Kisan Baburao ‘Anna’ Hazare’s supporter threw ink at Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal November 18.

He said Kejriwal had ‘betrayed (his mentor) Hazare and the people.’

Meanwhile, in response to a letter by Hazare, Kejriwal said his party would not contest the Delhi assembly election if charges of using India Against Corruption movement funds for political campaigning were found true.

AAP gets the sting

Less than two weeks before the Delhi assembly elections the Aam Aadmi Party received a jolt following a sting operation November 21 that showed AAP leaders accepting funds without proper verification of the donors.

The party said the video had been doctored and demanded raw footage of the tapes. Kejriwal said anyone found guilty upon examination of the footage from the sting operation would face action.

The Aam Aadmi Party office in New Delhi.

Mumbai: Teen commits suicide after being stalked on Facebook

Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao became the third scientist to be awarded the Bharat Ratna — India’s highest civilian award — for his contribution to structural chemistry.

Sir C V Raman and former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam are the only other scientists who have received the award.

Rao, the founder of the Bengaluru-based Jawharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, has served as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to India’s prime minister.

He was conferred the honor along with cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar November 16.

Former army general apologizes to apex court

Former Indian Army chief General V K Singh tendered an ‘unconditional apology’ to the Supreme Court for making certain remarks on its order on his age row.

He said he had no intention to bring disrepute to the institution and judges. Singh, who was rapped by the court for attributing motives to its verdict, said he had ‘highest respect’ for the judiciary, particularly the apex court.

Unnao gold hunt ends

A month after the Archaeological Survey of India began excavations in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, following a seer’s claim that 1,000 tons of gold was buried at the site, officials stopped the hunt after hitting a dead end November 18.

Ban English in Parliament: Mulayam

A 14-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide November 19 in Mumbai after being harassed by a minor stalker on Facebook. The boy was arrested later.

The victim’s family claimed they had filed a police complaint, but no action was taken, resulting in the tragedy.

Chhattisgarh: Record turnout in second phase of elections

Barring a few stray incidents of violence, polling for 72 seats in the second phase of elections in Chhattisgarh passed off peace-

Professor C N R Rao becomes third scientist to get Bharat Ratna

MANSI THAPLIYAL/REUTERS

Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav demanded a ban on the use of English in India’s Parliament.

‘When members of Parliament ask for votes, they do so in Hindi, but address the Parliament in English. This should stop,’ Mulayam Singh said. ‘We should use our mother tongue. Countries which use their mother tongue are more developed. It’s the need of the hour to promote Hindi.’

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BUSINESS India Abroad November 29, 2013

The inequality that matters

In conversation with Suman Guha Mozumder, the economist presents a different view of inequality in the face of India’s declining poverty

A

rvind Panagariya, the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia, says that contrary to popular perception, poverty has declined shapely in India during the last two decades.

In his latest ‘working paper’ — Poverty by Social, Religious & Economic Groups in India and Its Largest States 1993-94 to 2011-12 — coauthored with Vishal More, an associate professor at Columbia, he says India is finally winning the war on ‘abject poverty along virtually all fronts’ and that growth has been the most important factor behind the progress.

He speaks to India Abroad about the data available, what it means and the way forward.

Your working paper talks about alleviation in the poverty level in India, which in some ways, contradicts popular perception of a major discrepancy in income and wealth as well as economic growth between rural and urban areas, both nationally and state wise. How did you arrive at your conclusion?

My conclusions are primarily based on the latest NSS (National Sample Survey) data.

Every five years NSS does this very large sample survey. We used that data to estimate poverty by social religious groups etc, and so this conclusion.

The Business Interview

Arvind Panagariya In the paper you talk about two different things behind poverty alleviation — the per capita income in 2004-2005 that was significantly higher than in 1993-1994, and the growth acceleration between 2004-2005 to 2011-2012. How do these factors translate into actual removal of poverty or deceleration of the poverty level?

Your question is what part of the acceleration in the decline (in poverty) was due to acceleration in growth and what part of the decline was due to anti-poverty programs.

Frankly, we do not know yet. That is the question that remains to be analyzed.

But we certainly speculate that going by the sharp decline in the urban area, growth was an important reason for it.

This is because in the urban area you do not have the National Rural Employment Scheme. Probably this needs to be verified.

I have not done that so far, but my gut feeling is that even in terms of public distribution system in the urban areas perhaps there has not been that kind of major change during the second period relative to the first period. So at least in the urban areas I am inclined to think that it was mostly driven by growth.

In the rural areas you might see a different story because there was employment guarantee scheme, which was not there in the first period. That needs to be studied. So we or somebody else will be studying that in the next few years.

You talk about the Tendulkar line in the paper while talking about poverty. Could you elaborate what that line is?

The line is more or less equivalent to the World Bank line of poverty. The World Bank draws a poverty line at purchasing power parity and the line happens to be pretty

close to that.

It is named after Indian economist Suresh Tendulkar who had been appointed by the Planning Commission as chair of the committee that was appointed to look into the issue of whether the poverty line was OK and if not, to suggest measures. Tendulkar looked at various issues with the old poverty line that was used and suggested a revision.

The revision more or less amounted to keeping the old urban poverty line, but suggested aligning the new rural poverty line with the urban poverty line. The old rural poverty line had fallen below urban poverty line… so there were some anomalous things…

Tendulkar employed a methodology under which in future various poverty lines remain aligned to each other in real terms.

You mention poverty rates declining among various social and religious groups, including Muslims, while traditionally many view a large part of the community as lagging behind in terms of income and wealth. How did you arrive at that conclusion?

We are reporting what the NSS data shows. We are not saying that either ways there is more discrimination, less discrimination or no discrimination. Discrimination can take many different forms.

Like?

The commonest one is the way police treatment of Hindus versus Muslims. It can happen in the education

sphere… All I am saying is that as per the data there are seven states where the overall poverty rates among Muslims has dropped out of 16 states. The seven states include Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir…

Compared to Hindus, the rate is slightly low still, but not abysmally low as used to be the case, or the perception in earlier decades.

But there is a view among a section of economists that although the poverty rate is down, inequality between the rich and poor in terms of income and wealth is rising. Any comment on this?

We have been doing a lot of work on inequality also as part of our program. That is not this particular paper, but what you find actually is that inequality in rural areas shows no particular trend — rise and fall and rise again. From 1983 to 2011-12 there is no net increase actually.

Rises, falls, and rises again. So rural inequality, if anything, is below than what it was in 1993.

There has been a slight increase in urban inequality, but not a huge increase. At the least in the ways we measure inequality — which we call the Gini coefficient that is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation’s residents — there has been not a huge one.

But the form of inequality is very visible is if you think in terms of the wealthiest 2 percent or the wealthiest 1 percent relative to the bottom 10 percent or so. If you take that then that gap has definitely widened, but that is inevitable.

The simple fact is urban inequality tends to be higher than rural inequality because that is where the growth centers are and that is where wealth is created.

So when wealth is created, whoever creates the wealth does get a bit wealthier relative to places PARESH GANDHI where wealth is not created. That kind of gap will certainly be rising — urban-rural gap or wealth of top 1 percent or 2 percent relative to the bottom 5 or 10 percent.

Is that not a matter of concern?

I do not think sociologically people get worried. Today if Donald Trump’s wealth doubles or triples, it does not mean anything to me. What worries me is how my salary is rising relative to my colleagues’ salary. That is the kind of inequality that matters more.

So, there has been increase in rural areas, and a modest increase in urban areas; I think it is far more outweighed by the fact that India is really bringing these poor people above the poverty line.

People who are really disadvantaged are becoming better off. And that to me counts much more than even if there is some increase in inequality…

Social inequality is of concern, but there we are talking about Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes versus the rest of the population. We are concerned, but there we are making progress, meaning that the poverty rates between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the one hand and the general population on the other is declining. There are still more poor people among them and poverty rates among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are still higher than the general population. That is still of concern

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India Abroad November 29, 2013

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BUSINESS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

The inequality that matters

REUTERS/DANISH SIDDIQUI

Page A52 because that translates into very large degree of poverty.

But it is declining. We are making progress there.

Also, there is another study on wages of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, relative to the wages of the general population and that gap has also been declining. The gap is mostly explained by the education level gap between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the general population. The gap is still there, but it is declining.

The elections are round the corner in India. As an economist do you have any suggestion as to what kind of policies the government, whoever comes to power, should form in terms of poverty alleviation and bridging the gap you just talked about?

Children play inside a Mumbai slum. People who are really disadvantaged are becoming better off, and that, Arvind Panagariya says, counts much more than the increase in wealth inequality.

One thing or many things they need to do is to streamline and reform labor laws.

The big problem India faces is that none of our companies are investing in labor-intensive industries by which I mean clothing and apparel, which are highly labor-intensive industries. The most dramatic example is that India is about eight times the size of Bangladesh, but India exports fewer clothing than its neighbor and compared to China, we are less than one-tenth of Chinese apparel exports. You cannot have a workforce of half a billion and not have employment-intensive industries flourishing.

If you do not have such a flourishing industry then you

are leaving a big opportunity for growth and to make growth much more inclusive. If you bring people and give them good wages… you can export (more) garments and can even displace China.

Do you mean increase in wages for workers?

No. Under current laws, if you are a company with 100 workers or more, under no circumstances are you allowed to lay off workers. If you are going to hire 5,000 or 10,000 workers that China does you should be able to lay off workers who are not doing their job. Sometimes you may become unprofitable and want to close down a factory. If you are not allowed to lay off workers, how do you close down a factory?

That is why nobody wants to enter that kind of business, especially when 80 or 90 percent of our cost are labor costs.

You need to have flexibility in hiring workers and firing them if need be. The absence of that in India is a big problem and that is why we hardly have any large factory in the clothing sector. All are basically tiny little factories.

The trouble, although people talk about union resistance, is that these unions do not even represent 5 percent of the workforce. Therefore, it can be done despite unions and political parties, but one has to be a little creative in coming up with new labor laws.

Reformed labor laws will help add so many jobs to the markets place and at the same time build on workers’ interest. Everything depends on how you begin.

In 1981 people used to scream that if import licensing is abolished, foreign goods will come like an avalanche and the country will be finished. Look what is happening today!

Well, you say things can be done in terms poverty removal and job creation. But will it be done by the new government after the election? What’s your gut feeling?

That depends on who comes to power, UPA or NDA. I think chances are very high that it will happen if the BJP comes to power.

What gives you optimism?

You see BJP means (Narendra) Modi and Modi believes in growth and economic reform. But then anything can happen without expectation. (P V) Narasimha Rao (former Prime Minister) did it without any expectation of liberalization.

But so far as one can form some expectation based on their past behavior, I think Modi very much wants India to grow. I think there are very good chances. But if UPA comes, then I do not know. UPA might do it as well. But what I am basing my optimism on is past observations about Modi.

The question of hyper-personalization RITU JHA

S

IPACon, Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association’s annual conference, held November 9 in San Jose, California, tackled the theme of ‘HyperPersonalization: Confluence of Social, Mobile and Big Data.’

‘Think before you interact with the Internet that is one way we can protect our privacy,’ Milind Bhandarkar, chief scientist, Pivotal, and one of the panelists told the audience of about 300 people, mostly representing technology. ‘However, the notion of privacy is changing. People today exchange daily intimate info of their life,’ A founding member of the Yahoo! Big Data platform, he said, ‘We know how paranoid we were about security information and personal information. In Yahoo! we always had information security group (named paranoid).’

Later, speaking to India Abroad on the

sidelines of the conference he added, “People are using Gmail or Yahoo! because users trust them and that is why I think that recent

blog post and recent response from Yahoo! or Google against NSA is based on this fear that users would lose trust on their compa-

The panel discussion on Hyper-Personalization: Confluence of Social, Mobile and Big Data.

nies and that is why I think it’s very unlikely they were complicit in sharing the information.”

Bhandarkar said he expected not just more involvement of government in protecting their citizens in the future but also a lot of regulation on how this data can be used and shared.

Siva Kumar, co-founder and chief executive officer, TheFind, a shopping search engine targeting lifestyle products, and one of the panelists spoke to India Abroad about the commercial aspect of hyper-personalization — how it helps marketing companies collect the information about users and target a particular segment.

“We are dividing the world between a man and woman, age groups, race and now saying target these bucket of users. This is what we call personalization,” he said. “Now that there is so much data available through

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BUSINESS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

the week that was

Abdullah, besides Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

RBI should embrace anti-inflation policies: Nobel-winning economist

Burger King set to enter India Burger King has entered into a joint venture with private equity and real estate firm Everstone Group to start operations in India. The JV is a long-term master franchise and development agreement, which includes sub-franchise rights for all of India.

If Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has to choose between taming inflation and focusing on growth, it has to be the former, Nobel Laureate Andrew Michael Spence said in Delhi November 21.

After crashing to a decadal-low of 5 percent in 20122013, India’s growth dropped to 4.4 percent in the first quarter of the current financial year, a four-year low.

However, inflation has been rising.

Vinod Khosla-backed Boku acquires Indian startup

Global payment company Boku Inc, backed by investors like Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, has acquired Qubecell — a Mumbai-based mobile payment startup founded by Harvard Business School alumnus Ranjan Reddy.

The deal, whose financial details were not revealed, will help the US-based Boku to have direct partnerships with some of the largest telecom networks in India.

RBI’s new norm to affect growth of multinational banks

Many big foreign banks, including Citibank, Standard Chartered and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, may not get unfettered branch access in India, even if they opt for the wholly-owned subsidiary route.

This is because the countries where these lenders are headquartered have set stiff rules for branch expansion by foreign players.

So, when these lenders look to expand footprint here, the ‘reciprocity’ clause — one of the cardinal principles in the latest guidelines, released by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month — could prove a major hurdle.

The RBI’s reciprocity principle meant that overseas lenders would be given near-national treatment in India only if their home countries allowed Indian lenders to open branches without much restriction.

Another senior-level exit at Infosys in North America

Stephen R Pratt Infosys’s head of utilities and resources for North America has quit. Infosys Americas Regional Head (energy and services) Alexandre Elvis Rodrigues will replace him.

Pratt, whose last day at the firm will be January 31, 2014, has left the company to start an entrepreneurial venture.

Dispute over Nokia’s Chennai plant rages on

Nokia has asked the Delhi high court to help release its Indian factory after its seizure by local tax authorities, as it seeks to resolve the tax dispute ahead of the sale of its mobile phone business to Microsoft. Nokia said it wanted the assets to be released by December 12.

A55

REUTERS

Seized gold bars at the international airport in Kolkata, November 19.

Seven Indian drinks among world’s best-selling alcohol brands

There was a time when American and British liquor brands ruled the world, but no more. Asian companies, including Indian ones, are now among the biggest sellers.

The 10 percent import duty on gold and stringent import Seven Indian brands featured among Drinksint.com’s rules have resulted in huge quantities of the precious metal coming through unofficial channels into India. Back of the the top 20 — McDowell’s No 1 (whisky) ranked 8; envelope calculations suggest 40 to 50 tons could have entered Officer’s Choice (whisky) ranked 11, McDowell’s No 1 Indian borders unofficially after July.

Celebration (whisky) ranked 12, BagPiper (whisky) ranked 14, Old Tavern (whisky) ranked 16, McDowell’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram assured the No 1 (brandy) ranked 18, and Original Choice (whisky) Indian Diaspora at the South Asian Diaspora ranked 19.

Convention 2013 in Singapore that their home country South Korea’s Jinro (soju), Philippines’s Emperador was a safe investment destination, adding that the rupee upgraded China to ‘overweight,’ saying reforms will likely (brandy), and the United Kingdom’s Smirnoff (Vodka) take was stable after the Reserve Bank of India took urgent steps cause China to outperform Asia except Japan for the next the top three slots respectively. to manage the currency volatility. few months.

Rampant gold smuggling in India

Chidambaram woos Diaspora

BRICS Development Bank in pipeline assures Singh

Stressing on a need for greater economic and political coordination among BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the setting up of a BRICS Development Bank was in the pipeline. A contingency reserve arrangement would also be made for the benefit of five nations, he said.

Jet-Etihad deal takes off Jet Airways and Etihad announced the closure of the $329 million deal for the Abu Dhabi-based carrier to pick up 24 percent equity in the Indian airline, marking the first foreign direct investment infusion by an airline in the Indian aviation sector.

UBS downgrades India, upgrades China

UBS downgraded India to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ and

2 Indians in Fortune’s 50 top businessmen list

Two Indian Americans are among the top 50 people in business in 2013 in an annual list compiled by Fortune magazine. MasterCard’s India-born Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga and the co-CEO of Workday Aneel Bhusri are among the 50 top business leaders in the list. A returnee to the list, Banga is ranked 15th. Bhusri, along with others from Workday is ranked 37th.

India’s first all-women bank launched

The first all-women Indian bank, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank, was launched with a corpus of $159 million to function as a universal bank.

Coinciding with the 96th birthday of the late prime minister Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first of its seven branches in Mumbai in the presence of United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, coalition leaders Sharad Pawar and Farooq

Ratan Tata returns to prominent US think tank

Ratan Tata has returned as a board member of the East West Center, a prominent American think tank. He has worked with the Honolulu-based organization several times between 1993 and 2004.

FDI in Indian pharmaceuticals doubled in April-August

Foreign direct investment in the Indian pharmaceutical sector more than doubled to $1.07 billion during the AprilAugust period amid concerns over increasing acquisitions of domestic firms by multinationals.

FDI in drugs and pharmaceuticals was $487 million during April-August 2012, according to the latest data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

India allows 100 per cent FDI in this sector. Other sectors that received high FDI during the period include services ($1.19 billion), automobile ($661 million), construction ($592 million) and chemicals ($ 359 million).

A56

BUSINESS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Tax breaks after relocation to India My mother is selling her apartment in Mumbai. She is likely to realize a sale price of around Rs 20 million (around $318,000).

Since she was given a flat by the developer as a result of demolition of the old building, I am assuming her cost basis is ‘zero’.

What would the capital gains tax be? Is there a way to tax shelter it by buying government bonds? What are the limits on buying bonds?

If she wants to gift me some or all the proceeds in dollars, how will that work out? I am a United States citizen and her only off-spring.

transaction at that juncture. The second capital gains she would be earning, if and when she sells this flat, is unrelated with her first capital gains.

2. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, resident individuals can remit up to the limit of $75,000 per FY (AprilMarch) for any permitted capital and/or current account transactions or a combination of both.

The facility under LRS is in addition to those already available for private travel, business travel, studies, medical treatment, etc.

Gifts and donations are subsumed under the LRS limit. In other words, she can send as a gift to you up to $75,000 per financial year.

AN SANDEEP SHANBHAG SHANBHAG

— R Kairamkonda 1. It is necessary for you to get the value of the redeveloped flat she is occupying as on the date she was given possession of the flat by the builder. This can be obtained from the builder or her neighbors who have bought their flat from the builder. If this is not possible, you can get the flat assessed for its value on that date from an official valuer.

This is her deemed cost of acquisition of the redeveloped flat.

If she was the owner of the redeveloped property for a period of over 3 years, compute the LTCG based on this deemed cost of acquisition. She can save the 20 percent tax on this capital gain by investing this amount, (limited to Rs 5 million per financial year), in Capital Gains Bonds of the Rural Electrification Corporation or the National Highways Authority of India.

If she was occupying the property for less than 3 years, she has earned short-term capital gains and will have to pay tax at the normal rates applicable to her after taking into account her other income chargeable to tax and the tax-saving strategies she is employing on this income.

Though there are some accountants who carry the same view as you do in assuming the cost of acquisition of the redeveloped flat as nil, we have a different view. She did earn LTCG when she surrendered her original flat to the builder for redevelopment. These gains became exempt under section 54 when she was given possession of the redeveloped flat since the value of this flat (= her deemed cost of acquisition) was far higher than her capital gains.

She was right in not paying any tax on this redevelopment

Page A56 social networking on mobile apps or search engines these are coming together, which means the bucket size getting smaller and smaller. When the bucket goes to one that becomes hyper-personalization. That means the result is particularly targeted at you.”

“Hyper-personalization is not new though it was on a slow slope,” he said, noting that it was the technology of delivering this hyper personalized experience that was not there.

“But what has happened in the last 10 years is basically the rise of commodity hardware and commodity open source software. The cost of these new platforms got cheaper and cheaper. Data Warehousing platform just about 10 years ago used to cost $70,000 to $80,000 to analyze 1 terabyte data.

Today it cost less than $100 and is available in the market all because of open source. Now you can keep more and more data in your saving system.”

In July my family and I relocated to India from the US. We have rented out our house in the US. If I have understood your past columns correctly, as per Indian laws, I will be a Resident but not Ordinarily Resident. Consequently, the US rental income will not be taxable in India. Is this correct?

If I were to eventually sell the US property, by what time should I sell it so that I don’t have to bear any India-related taxes on the same?

—- Berjis Mistry Your understanding is correct. RNOR is basically a substatus under the general category of the Resident Indian status. Under this status, one’s foreign income is not taxable in India. Consequently, the rental income from US will not be taxable in India as long as you are an RNOR. Generally, the RNOR status would be available for a period of two FYs. Hence, if you have relocated in July this year, then you would be an RNOR for FY 13-14 and for FY 14-15.

The same principle would apply in the case of selling the property too. Any profit (capital gain) on sale of the property would qualify as your foreign income and if you wish to remain outside India tax liability, then you should execute the sale before March 31, 2015.

I’m a senior citizen. Recently, I have taken up Canadian citizenship and have obtained the Overseas Citizenship of India card. However, over the long term I plan to live in

India and hence wish to maintain all my records and bank accounts as they are. I wish to continue my Resident Indian Saving Bank Accounts my Permanent Account Number and also file Income Tax Returns as an Indian Resident. What amount of stay in India do I have to show for this? Can I still retain my Canadian citizenship?

—- Malati Joshi If you are based in Canada and keep visiting India, then you need to be in India for 182 days or more in each FY to maintain your resident Indian status. Once your status is resident Indian, you may file your return as a resident as well as maintain all your resident bank accounts. The PAN is, as the nomenclature suggests, permanent and does not change during your lifetime. You can file your returns in India even if you do not come to India during the FY. Your Canadian citizenship will in no way affect your residentship status. That would strictly be as per the number of days spent in a particular country.

Readers who wish to ask A N Shanbhag a question can fill in the following details and mail the coupon to: The Business Editor, India Abroad, 42 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004 Or fax it to 212-727 9730 Your question:

Name: Address:

A N Shanbhag is an investment consultant and author of In the Wonderland of Investment; How to Convert a Taxpayer into a Taxsaver; NRI Investment Guide. This article does not constitute tax or legal advice. Consult your tax or legal advisor before making any tax- or legally-related investment decisions. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com

The question of hyper-personalization He added, “So companies are not deleting data collected earlier, though there are regularity requirements. But if it is not there, we have enough technology available economically in order to keep this data forever.

Ubiquitous connectivity is actually one of the major causes of what we are seeing in the market today.”

But Kumar also acknowledged that hyperpersonalization came with the risk of making users more vulnerable. Citing Scott McNealy, co-founder and chief executive officer, Sun Microsystems — who predicted the lack of privacy in an Internet-driven world in the 1990s — he said, “The notion of privacy has to change. We have made ourselves more vulnerable by carrying those devices. But we have to live with it, because

the value that we get out of giving up some privacy is actually enormous.”

This vulnerability was also a key concern among the attendees, who posed questions on the subject.

Deepak Deolalikar, president, SIPA, spoke to India Abroad about why they chose hyper-personalization as the topic for the conference.

“Over the last few years, big data, mobile and social technologies have evolved tremendously. So the question is what next,” he said. “The topic of personalization is a very interesting one as it involves the confluence of big data, social, Web and mobile technologies. Pioneers like Amazon, Netflix are already at the forefront of provided highly personalized recommendations. It is now

time for other companies to take advantage of this trend.”

The event was keynoted by Ro Khanna, former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Commerce and now a Congressional candidate from California District 17 for the 2014 election.

He spoke about creating job opportunities for the middle class as well as keeping the products made in the US consumer friendly and cheap.

He also spoke about the need for the United States to fix its immigration policy: “US is losing high-skilled immigrants and these people are moving, seeing opportunity in China, India and Brazil. We have to see what type of jobs could we keep in the United States.”

A57

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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India Abroad – in print, and now online If you are a subscriber to India Abroad, access the online edition FREE by calling us at 877.463.4222 choose option 1 for subscription and providing your email ID. Or just shoot over your email ID to circulation@indiaabroad.com.

A58

SPORTS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Celebrating A LEGEND Cricket and Bollywood stars attend Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement party

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Clockwise, Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali arrive for a party they hosted for close friends and family in Mumbai, November 18.

Indian Cricket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni with wife Sakshi.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, right, with son Rohan.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan arrive separately, while Karan Johar and Aamir Khan carpool.

West Indies legend Brian Lara.

Sachin’s coach Ramakant Achrekar makes a rare appearance.

SPORTS

India Abroad November 29, 2013

C

ricket fans are saddened that Sachin Tendulkar has quit the game, but there is a new star in the making.

Prithvi Shaw, 14, set a record in Mumbai school cricket November 20 by scoring 546 for Rizvi Springfield against St Francis D’Assisi in the first round of the Mumbai School Sports Association’s Harris Shield match.

The Harris Shield first brought Sachin Tendulkar into national prominence — after his world record partnership of 664 with Vinod Kambli.

Prithvi seems to be following in the Master Blaster’s footsteps.

“I didn’t know my score when I was batting at 490,” the teenager said. “I had told my teammates not to tell me my score because I was doing well and wanted to continue batting the way I was. I only knew about the feat when everybody shouted and cheered. That is when I knew I had crossed 500.”

Prithvi, who hammered 207 runs in the morning session on Day 2, added that he played his natural game.

“I didn’t have any plans. My coaches told me to concentrate on batting for long in the middle, so I was playing the singles and twos and waiting for loose deliveries. They (St Francis) bowled some loose deliveries and I was able to score boundaries. They also dropped a few catches, but it was not easy to take them because they had to dive for them,’ Prithvi said.

He is also one of the youngest to hit a 100 in Mumbai’s Kanga Cricket League tournament, scoring 109 for Parel Sporting last week.

“I was happy to score a hundred in the Kanga League A division. It was not easy to play in that division, but I managed by being patient,” Prithvi said. “Before that match my dad and coaches told me to be patient and spend time at the wicket and just wait for the loose balls,” Cricket has been Prithvi’s focus since he decided to take up the sport at a young age.

He has worked his daily routine in such a way that he does not miss even a single day of cricket practice.

“I get up at seven in the morning to go to

Prithvi with his father Pankaj Shaw.

Pankaj revealed that initially it was difficult, as the father-son duo had to travel nearly 43 miles daily on crowded local trains from their home in the Mumbai suburb of Virar to Shivaji Park in central Mumbai.

Help poured in from all quarters once Prithvi started making a name for himself in junior cricket.

“It was not easy in the beginning. Prithvi would wake up at 4.30 in the morning, and by the time we returned home after his school, training and tuitions, it would be around nine at night, and he only got time to sleep,” Pankaj said.

The Rizvi Education Society provided the father-son accommodation initially, before a municipal officer gave them a permanent

Tendulkar

PHOTOGRAPHS: HITESH HARISINGHANI/REDIFF.COM

in the making?

Mumbai boy Prithvi Shaw, 14, creates history with 546 runs in inter school cricket tournament.

Harish Kotian reports

school and come back by 3.30 in the afternoon. Then I have a coaching camp, after which I go for my tuition class at 8 pm.

Then I come home, eat and sleep. This routine continues every day,” he said.

His father, Pankaj Shaw had to give up a garment business to make sure he could spare time to nurture his child’s dream.

Since his mother passed away when he was just four, Pankaj had to perform the dual

role of a father and mother so that Prithvi got all the love and care at home.

“When he was around four I felt that he had something in him to take up cricket.

Even my friends who saw him bat told me that his technique looked good and he could be a good batsman,” Pankaj said.

“Despite not having played cricket before, I felt my son was good even at a young age and decided to enroll him for coaching.”

Dethroning the King Norway's Magnus Carlsen, right, and Viswanathan Anand arrive at a press conference during the World Chess Championship November 19.

Carlsen closed in on the crown after defeating defending champion Anand in the ninth game November 21.

At press time, Carlsen led with 6-3 and needed just half a point from the next three games to become the new world champion.

BABU/REUTERS

A59

Prithvi in action. residence in Santacruz, northwest Mumbai, so that their travel time was reduced.

Prithvi is another bright star in Rizvi’s golden run in Mumbai’s Inter-school cricket.

“Cricket is a culture at Rizvi and we have won the Harris Shield for the last five years.

Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Wasim Jaffer have all represented Rizvi and gone on to play for India. Nearly half of the current Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad is from Rizvi,” Javed Rizvi, trustee, Rizvi Springfield, said.

Prithvi’s coach Raju Pathak said it was a big achievement to cross the 500-run mark.

“He batting was excellent. It is a very big thing to score 500 in any level of cricket,” Pathak added.

Prithvi was named captain of the Mumbai team for the Vijay Merchant Trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s under-16 tournament.

“There will be pressure because now I have been selected for Mumbai’s Under-16 team. It is a big responsibility. I will have to continue this form and win matches for Mumbai too.”

SPORTS

A60

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Who will carry

forward

SACHIN’S legacy?

Cheteshwar Pujara

N

ot long ago, Team India was feared for its awesome batting line-up, studded with gems like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and V V S

Laxman.

The scenario has completely changed now. Only Dhoni has survived in all three formats of the game.

While Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar have retired, Sehwag and Gambhir have been dropped and are unlikely to return to Test cricket.

It is heartening to see that a set of totally new faces like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma promise a formidable batting lineup.

No, one is not prompted to say this on the basis of their individual and collective performances in the just-concluded two-Test series against the West Indies.

It would not be proper, simply because this West Indies team is not Test class. But the spark of their brilliance and performances against better teams are a fair indication that here is a bunch of exciting young batsmen who will go places, individually and collectively.

What is more, these true representatives of India’s bright young brigade have been playing in the heavyweight division of cricket for the last couple of years only. To be more precise, none of them was seen in Test cricket before 2010.

But they have already been very impressive and what they have achieved hint at the greater things to come as Team India enters a new era — post-Tendulkar.

Maybe, just maybe, the selectors will be inclined to test Vijay for some more time because he has not been as consistent with the bat and sure at the crease as the rest. He is

Virat Kohli

In Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India has a bunch of exciting young batsmen, says Haresh Pandya also a bit of an odd man out, as it were, in this exciting batting line-up. Vijay is 29 and the rest of the young batsmen are between 24 and 25.

Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli and Sharma have already been inspiring awe in much the same way Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Tendulkar did in the millennium’s first decade in which Team India scaled dizzier peaks of success, first under Ganguly and then under Dhoni.

The dashing Dhawan made his Test debut this March with a blazing, record-breaking century (187 off 174 balls with 33 fours and 2 sixes) against Australia at Mohali.

Sharma’s scintillating Test debut against the West Indies was at Kolkata when he got 177 runs (301 balls, 23 fours, 1 six) earlier this month.

Pujara came on the scene with a timely, match-winning 72 (89 balls, 7 fours) in India’s crucial second innings against Australia at Bengaluru in October 2010.

Though Kohli had a lackluster start to his Test career on India’s tour of the Caribbean in 2011, he came on his own on the otherwise disastrous tour Down Under.

Although India lost all four Tests to Australia, Kohli

Rohit Sharma

PHOTOGRAPHS: BCCI

showed his craft with two outstanding performances — 44 and 75 at Perth and 116 and 22 (run out) at Adelaide.

Vijay may not match Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli and Sharma, but he, too, has done fairly well. He scored 1,108 runs at 38.20 in 29 innings in 18 Tests, including three centuries and three half-centuries.

It hardly matters whether Kohli or Sharma take Tendulkar’s place at number 4. What is noticeable is the substance and solidity these youngsters lend to India’s batting. And the batting just does not end or stop with either Kohli or Sharma at number 5.

At number 6 will be Suresh Raina (who also made his Test debut with a 100, 120, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2010) or somebody else before the redoubtable Dhoni comes at number 7.

Ravichandran Ashwin is principally a spinner but emerging fast as a genuine all-rounder, having already hit two centuries in 18 Tests. He bats at number 8 in this line-up.

And if the selectors prefer Ravindra Jadeja to Pragyan Ojha for the slot of an orthodox left-arm spinner, Team India can boast of having one more accomplished batsman in its rank, and that too at number 9.

Jadeja may not have yet proved his batting ability at the Test level for want of opportunities, but he has played useful innings in some one-day internationals. Importantly, he has two triple centuries and one double hundred to his credit in first-class cricket.

Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami can also bat a bit at number 10 and 11 respectively and, at least, give good company to better batsmen when really required.

Indeed, India’s gen-next is quite capable, and actually ready to carry forward the rich legacy of Tendulkar and other greats who built this powerful Team India.

NY/NJ/CT

India Abroad November 29, 2013

T1

Walk to end domestic violence A CORRESPONDENT

O

ver 300 men and women of diverse backgrounds braved the cold and winds to participate in Domestic Harmony Foundation’s second annual multi-cultural walkathon recently.

The 1.5-mile ‘Walk to end domestic violence’ event, in Long Island, was part of DHF’s outreach and educational initiatives to bring different communities together and to send a powerful message against domestic violence.

Jasia Mirza, DHF program coordinator, welcomed the participants. Ahmed Chaudhry, a high school student from

Manhasset, sang God Bless America before the beginning of the walk.

Thomas Suozzi, former Nassau County executive, spoke about the need for organizations like DHF. Judge Hope Zimmerman; Rizwan Qureshi, senior executive vice president, HAB Bank and Hamza Byas, president, Islamic Center of Long Island stressed on the need to stand up against domestic violence.

Margaret Abraham, professor of sociology and a special advisor to the Provost for Diversity Initiatives at Hofstra University, said it was the responsibility of each individual to work against domestic violence.

Sunny Sachdev presented DHF with an acknowledgment letter from United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Volunteers at the event.

T2

NY/NJ/CT

GEORGE JOSEPH

P

rachi Modi, 19, was crowned Miss India New York and Naeha Pathak, 14, won the Miss Teen India New York contest recently.

“Participating in this pageant was really exciting and a great experience. I met many new people and made great friends. We all had a great time,” Naeha, a 9th grader at Herrick’s High School in Albertson, New York, said.

Prachi, a sophomore at the University at Albany, New York, said this was the first time she was contesting in a pageant.

“The experience was incredible and the best part about it was meeting the other contestants who have shown me that it does not matter what part of the world we live in we will always be true to our Indian heritage,” she told India Abroad.

Prachi will compete in the Miss India USA contest.

“I want to win the contest and move on to the Miss India Worldwide contest. In the long term I want to use my title as a platform to raise awareness about social issues around the world,” she said.

Her family moved to the United States from Mumbai in 2006.

“I have a very conservative father and a very cool mom who I love to go shopping with. I have an older brother and an sister who are my backbone and without whom I cannot imagine what my life would be,” Prachi added.

Though Naeha is interested in acting and modeling, she plans to pursue science and scientific research.

She credits her dance teacher Shilpa Jhurani for cultivating her interest in dancing.

Her parents Naveen and Isha are physicians in New York.

Her brother Neil is a junior at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, intending to pursue a career in science.

Both Naeha and Prachi are happy that Indians are winning titles like Miss America.

“Indians have always been known for their culture and beauty and wining these mainstream contests has just asserted this fact,” Prachi said.

“Some people have the notion that Indians excel in academics only. But (this winning mainstream titles) shows that they are multitalented and multifaceted,” Naeha added.

Dharmatma Saran, founder and chairman, India Festival Committee and Miss India Worldwide, said it is gratifying

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Meet the newest desi beauty queens

Miss India New York Prachi Modi, left, with Miss Teen India New York Naeha Pathak. that they could provide a platform to young Indian women to display their talent and beauty.

“Both Prachi and Naeha are very good contestants and I wish them all the best for Miss India USA,” Saran said.

The IFC began its annual India Festival in Central Park in New York in 1974.

The Miss Teen India New York contest started in 2008.

‘When Miss India New York started in 1980, I had not even in my wildest dreams imagined that in less than 20 years, we would fledge out to be a mass movement with affiliates in over 40 countries,” Saran said.

A homecoming cocktail reception was organized for Miss America Nina Davuluri November 15 at the Carlton in New York. The Fayetteville native, who has been touring the country since she won the Miss America crown, had a busy schedule during her trip back home.

She visited the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse November 16 and also interacted with people at a local mall during the three-day homecoming celebrations.

Homecoming reception PARESH GANDHI

India Abroad NY/NJ/CT

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A61

COMMUNITY India Abroad November 29, 2013

The US Army Diwali gets bigger

AZIZ HANIFFA

F

or the second successive year, nearly 200 members people — United States Army personnel, medical professionals and other guests — celebrated Diwali at the Walter Reed National Medical Center’s Memorial Auditorium, November 15.

The center, in Bethesda, Maryland, is the country’s premier medical facility providing support to wounded service members and their families.

Last year, the first Hindu chaplain in the US Army, Captain Pratima Dharm, had initiated the first Diwali celebration at the center. She had told India Abroad that she hoped to make it an annual tradition.

This year, there clearly were more active duty service members, Department of Defense workers, contractors and other guests present at the celebration.

Led by Dharm, an enthusiastic group of volunteers recreated a typical Indian Diwali setting amidst stately military flags in the auditorium. The stage had a temple, colorful saris, images of Lord Vishnu, and a row of lamps.

Chaplain Robert Powers, head of the Chaplain Department at Walter Reed; Shiv Ratan, counselor at the Indian embassy; and Sushila Kaul lit the ceremonial inaugural lamp.

Dr Adarsh Ramkumar, a scientist at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, performed a Ganesh puja. Mandira Sarkar, Promilla Banik, Raj Mahajan and Shashi Arora sang bhajans. Lakshmi Swaminathan from the Natananjali school of Dance in Bethesda, Maryland, performed Bharata Natyam.

Subha Maruvada’s students performed a group Kuchipudi dance. Inderjeet Singh and Inderpal Singh sang Gurubani bhajans (Sikh hymns).

The event concluded with a meditation led by Najuk

Page A62

US Army Captain Pratima Dharm, center, in sari, at the event.

Teen from Mumbai’s red-light district still needs help GEORGE JOSEPH

T

women in need. There are not many Indians in the college. Only 16 students are in her class.

At the EduCare event, which raised more than $40,000 for EduCare’s projects in India and the US, Shweta spoke about the struggle she endured to achieve her dream of education abroad.

New Jersey Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula presented a State of New Jersey Resolution to the EduCare management recognizing its devotion and work for education. ‘Education is the greatest equalizer,’ he said, citing his own experience.

The nonprofit EduCare Foundation was started by Jain and three of his friends in 1994 after a Jain monk told them to do something for India’s children.

hough Shweta Katti, a girl from Mumbai’s red-light district, was able to come to the United States to study on a full scholarship at Bard College in upstate New York, she still needs help.

The scholarship is for tuition — about $28,000 a year — but at the EduCare Benefit Night held at Chutney Manor in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, November 16, Shweta, 18, said she still has to raise funds for room, board and personal expenses.

Naresh Jain, founder of EduCare, said Shweta’s immediate need is to buy winter clothes. EduCare gave her an honorarium and Jain took her for shopping for warm clothes, but a suitable winter jacket was not found.

Jain has also arranged for a cell phone with unlimited access for one month. Shweta’s earlier telephone plan was for 250 minutes a month, for $25.

“We are raising money for her through our Web site. We will continue to help her,” Jain said.

Shweta said she has funds to continue the education for a year, thanks to the media coverage, but once media coverage ends, the help may also end.

“We will make sure it will not happen,” Jain said.

Bard College, a small private college, is 90 miles from New York City. Katti, 18, is studying psychology and plans to go back to India after graduation to help Shweta Katti, second from left, at the EduCare event

It has provided educational assistance to over 20,000 children, including scholarships, books, uniforms, desks, blackboards and computers.

It supports children in 11 schools in nine Indian states. EduCare volunteers work with a committee of three teachers in each school.

The foundation also supports Bal Vidya Niketan in Allahabad, where 60 children of sex workers, widows and divorcees get school supplies and uniforms every year.

Last year, EduCare started an educational assistance program in a preschool in Piscataway, New Jersey, for computer education to nine needy children and has added 8 children this year in Perth Amboy.

It also has a youth leadership program to

train high school students in community service leadership.

At the event, Arvind Shah from the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust of Mumbai screened a documentary that showed the impact of 30 scholarships sponsored by EduCare on the lives of the children of the victims of the November 2008 terrorist attacks.

Dr Subhash Jain displayed slides of the hardship children have to endure every day from their dunes and villages to attend the Bal Academy located in Khichan in the tribal areas of Rajasthan.

Drs Shantilal and Chandrkanta Lunia also screened a documentary on a school for 50 hearing and speech impaired children that was completed last August in Barwaha, Madhya Pradesh.

“The presentations were eye opener for many,” Jain said. “They did not know that such situation existed in many parts of India. Food and transportation are the two problems faced by many students in rural areas. If we could bring help in these two areas, things would dramatically change.”

The event included a peacock dance by the Educare’s youth ambassador Avani Jain of the Rutgers University’s classical dance team; dances by the students of the Creations Dance Academy; a fashion show; and songs by Rosemary Loar, a veteran of six Broadway shows.

The program also honored youth leaders including Shweta, Avani and Priya Jain. www.educarecharity.org

COMMUNITY NEWS

A62

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Rahul Jindal is Outstanding American by Choice GEORGE JOSEPH

A

ccepting the Outstanding American by Choice award from Rand Beers, acting Secretary, Homeland Security, at a ceremony held at the Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, Dr Rahul Jindal, a transplant surgeon at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, saluted America.

‘Today is a time for celebration — for myself, my family, and friends and for our newest citizens,’ he said. ‘We have achieved a dream which will be cherished for generations to come.’

The award recognizes the outstanding achievements of natural- Dr Rahul Jindal, left, at the award ceremony ized United States citizens. Jindal to current historical challenges and participate in the dembecame a US citizen in 2006. ocratic process rigorously. Some of the issues being debatUSCIS Deputy Director Lori Scialabba honored Jindal. ed are how to provide health care to every American, Jindal said, ‘I shall quote from my fellow Indian reduce the disparity in health and wealth here in America American, Fareed Zakaria of CNN, “I am an American not and in the world. The issue of immigration reform conby accident of birth, but by choice. I voted with my feet and cerns us and deserves our attention now,’ Jindal said. became an American because I love this country and think ‘We as new citizens from many different nations should it is exceptional and will continue to be exceptional.” To engage with our leaders and even run for office, such as my which I may add that I love this country for many reasons friend here in the audience, Majority Leader Kumar Barve — the most important is that this is the only country where of Maryland, whose grandparents immigrated from India.’ immigration is celebrated.’

Jindal cited Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and South He described his journey from Ahmedabad to the United Carolina Governor Nicky Haley as people who have broken Kingdom, then to the US East Coast and Midwest, and the glass ceiling and are an inspiration. then to Maryland.

Jindal, well known for his work for Hindu charitable ‘In good times and bad, we, the new citizens should rise

activities, is a professor of surgery, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, and clinical professor, George Washington University, Washington, DC. In the late 1990s, he performed the world’s first operation to link a tube with blood vessels in the damaged liver of a critically ill six-year-old boy.

Jindal also set up the first comprehensive kidney dialysis and kidney transplant program in Guyana, South America, and successfully performed the first living kidney transplant in that country.

In the US in 2009, he performed the first-ever pancreas islet cell transplant for traumatic pancreas in a wounded soldier.

Jindal co-authored a book, The Struggle for Life: A Psychological Perspective of Kidney Disease and Transplantation, which is used as a standard physicians’ textbook around the world.

He is associated with several medical organizations and was recently appointed commissioner of the Maryland governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism.

Jindal is the director of the National Blood and Bone marrow Drive Campaign, sponsored by about 600 Hindu temples across North America.

His wife Dr Kalpana R Jindal is an internist at Washington Hospital Center. Daughter Mayuri Jindal is a pediatric resident at Yale University, and son Tarun Jindal is a final year medical student at Indiana University.

The US Army Diwali gets bigger Page A61 Mehta of the Art of Living Foundation.

Dharm — who also emceed the program — reminded the military audience ‘especially of the spiritual significance of Diwali to reflect upon the inner light that exists within all of us and which continues to glow no matter what life brings our way.’

The celebration concluded with a vegetarian Indian lunch.

Key organizers of the event included Dharmendran Rajendran, president, South Asian Military Family Support Network; Nitin Shinde; Piragash Swargaloganathan, the Hindu lay leader at Walter Reed; Rashmi Suman, Tulsi Pandey, and Sunil Sudigulla.

“My heart swells up with waves of emotions to see the support building up for South Asian culture and traditions in the US military,” Dharm told India Abroad.

She said besides active duty service members and civilians, at the event there were also members of the Indian-American

community from the DC metropolitan area “from the local Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Christian and Buddhist communities.”

She added, “When I started as a Hindu chaplain three years ago, this was exactly my intent to open up doors for a better understanding of South Asian culture, traditions and religions. The celebration of Diwali seems to do just this. It not only brings people of different faiths together but also allows a deeper understanding and dialogue.”

Swaminathan said, “I loved performing at Walter Reed. My students have been performing here for several years. This year Chaplain Dharm asked me to perform and it was a wonderful opportunity for me to serve the US military through the medium of my Bharata Natyam Dance… I also very much appreciated the meaningful and thoughtful address given by Chaplain Powers.”

Rajendran said, “The core team worked hard to make this happen. We stand behind to serve the South Asian service members

and their families in the US military always. These events give us an avenue to do more for the soldiers for whom these events are reminders of home away from home.”

Maruvada said, “My students did well and came through with flying colors. I am very proud of them. We look forward to performing and serving the US military again. I have done my PhD under a DOD grant, and feel even more obliged to serve the DOD and the military. I feel I am giving

A snapshot from the event. back what I received from the DOD.” Banik, who retired from Walter Reed recently but still remains a Red Cross volunteer at the center, said, “It is a great feeling to serve others.”

Abhi Janamanchi, the local Christian Unitarian Church pastor who attended the event, said, “The event was very well organized and I am glad to be part of it. I am looking forward to attending other similar events in the future.”

A63

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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A64

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Classifieds SECTIONS Matrimonial

Medical

Business/Investment Opportunities.

Sale/Lease: Business/ Motel/Restaurant/Store

Real Estate

Doctors, Medical Assistants, Dentist, Clinics, Medical Services

Matrimonial Bride BENGALI parents seeking alliance for our Kolkata born beautiful daughter, 29/5'7'', American Citizen, working in NY. Please email biodata with recent photograph to: ghoshalliance@yahoo.com JATSIKH parents seeking professional NRI match for Canadian born dentist, 30 years/5'4'', slim and beautiful.

Only serious email responses with biodata & recent pictures to: dentistcan@outlook.com NORTH Indian Medical Doctor in practice, 41yr /5', never married, loving & out going. Family of doctors & lawyers. Looking for professional, never married gentleman. Email bio/recent photographs to: amittal@ft.NewYorkLife.com

Fax: (212) 691-0873 Email: classified@indiaabroad.com Website: www.indiaabroad.com/classifieds

For Rate Information: Business/Finance

One stop place for finding the Bride and Groom of your choice

Call: (800) 822-3532

Rentals: House/ Apt/Property for sale/lease. USA, Canada, and India

PUNJABI/ SIKH parents seek US raised, professional match for their 29 year old daughter, 5'7", working as a marketing consultant in NYC.. Email biodata/ recent photo: ajsd999@gmail.com SIKH parents seeking well educated, professionally employed clean shaven boy; for US born beautiful, family oriented daughter, 41yrs/5’3", Master’s, employed (IT). Issueless divorced.

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PARENTS invite correspondence for divorcee girl, 35yrs/5feet, having a daughter 7 yrs. Caste and religion no bar.

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BENGALI Hindu parents of Canadian citizen, 38/6'4'', IT Systems Analyst, seek suitable female. Language, caste no bar. Contact: csprof1@yahoo.ca

US based Brahmin family seeks suitable match for tall, beautiful, dental hygienist daughter, 27yr/ 165cm.

Inquiries with photo invited from US based well-qualified, well-placed professionals.

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Matrimonial Groom

Employment Career Opportunities, Job Offers, Help Wanted, Household help, Job Wanted

Services/Miscellaneous Public Notice, Computers, Adoptions and many more

HINDU Punjabi physician parents invite proposals from tall, beautiful, cultured, professional, young ladies, 25-29/5'6" or taller; for son, US born, 1980/6'1", USMD specialist in practice, very handsome, athletic and sincere. Please email biodata, recent pictures & contact info to: namasteji18@gmail.com NORTH Indian well-settled Physician, 32/6’3”, in Tristate, US born, invite correspondence from slim, 5'5"+ under 29, beautiful professional girl, US born. Email biodata photo must: naggy214@aol.com WELL-ESTABLISHED Jain swetamber parents invite correspondence, from Gujarati families for their US born son, 28/6'1”, attending physician, emergency medicine, very goodlooking; attractive w/family values.

Call (732) 525-8913 or Email biodata/recent photo: kshah16@optonline.net

Toll Free: (800) 822-3532 Fax: (212) 691-0873

Classified Policy: India Abroad reserves the right: *Not to accept an advertiser’s order. *To edit or alter any and all ads.

By Fax: Complete name, address, telephone number, ad copy & credit card information required.

India Abroad assumes no financial responsibility for errors in advertisements except to the extent of reprinting the rectified text of the ad, provided the newspaper is notified within 48 hours of the error. Failure to honor position requests shall not be cause for rerun, refund or adjustment.

Via Internet: Log on to: www.indiaabroad.com/classifieds (Place your Ad directly)

*Advertisers are advised to check the Category of the ad prior to publication. *No telephone orders will be accepted. *Mailing of any unsolicited material to our advertisers is prohibited.

Visit: India Abroad Publications, Inc. 42 Broadway, Suite 1836.

New York, NY 10004.

INDIAN US citizen male; seeking beautiful, female companion, 40-50.

Reply to P.O.Box 180419, Brooklyn, NY 11218.

Business / Finance Business Opportunities ESTABLISHED Indian Restaurant for sale, Tempe, AZ. Email: mirujegan@yahoo.com or Call (480) 678-9992

Motels For Sale WELL-MAINTAINED franchise motel in Kentucky tourist town for sale. Call Sunny (615) 479-6346

Store For Sale/Lease FINE INDIAN RESTAURANT For Sale in Princeton area , 50 seating dining hall, 100 seating Banquet hall.

Pls call (609) 475-2586 (732) 277-7920

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Deadline for submitting Ads: Thursday 5:00 pm of the preceding week.

EXCELLENT RETAIL SPACE AVAILABLE Matawan, NJ Space available in tenantoccupied shopping center directly across street from busy train station. Ideal for coffee shop, convenience store, or grocery.

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Help Wanted BOOK KEEPER FLUENT English speaking fulltime/ part-time book keeper wanted for Hempstead, Long Island. Quick books knowledge must. shoes1958@hotmail.com BOOKKEEPER / STAFF ACCOUNTANT with following qualifications : 1) Day-to-day book-keeping, A/P, A/R, payroll processing etc..

2) Experience with Quick books, Excel, preferred.

3) Associate or Bachelor degree in Accounting or Finance Email to: jdnyhrd@yahoo.com GARMENT importer from Central NJ seeks: SALES MERCHANDISER Manage House A/c., Service major U.S. retailers. in Sales & Merchandising.

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Continued on Page A65

Place your ad online www.indiaabroad.com/classifieds

A65

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Classifieds Continued from Page A64

Central NJ Office needs: CAR DRIVER/ OFFICE HELP Drive the company car for owner/ office use. Also, General office help-filling, copying Clean driving record w/3 to 5 yrs experience Salary plus med, Dntl, 401K/bonus Citizen, GC or EAD must. Email: Opportunitynj@aol.com CHEF WANTED For Restaurant/Lounge in Suburb Atlanta, with Indian Tandoor skills/ American Cuisine Knowledge. Good pay and Accommodation available Please call (404) 931-8777 or email @ johnnyfarista@gmail.com EDISON NJ GARMENT IMPORTER seeks: ADMIN / OFFICE HELP Smart person with Spreadsheet knowledge (Excel).

Profile: Office admin, Assist sales, Data entry.

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Email: opportunitynj@aol.com ELEC. CONTRACTOR SEEKS Office Tech.Support, estimation, bidding projects, tech.purchasing, record keeping.

Exp in contracting biz is a plus. Email resume: electricdeol@msn.com

HOTEL GENERAL MANAGERS (Two): Energetic, self-motivated, independent, experienced 3+ years for mid-range franchise hotels, one in Columbia, MO and second in Eugene, OR. Need strong managerial, inter-personal and computer skills. Salary DOE. Email to: tax1590@gmail.com INDIAN RESTAURANT IN FLORIDA Needs head chef, curry cook, tandoori chef and general manager. Excellent salary.

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MANAGER For a Franchised Hotel in Virginia. Must be legal (Green Card or US Citizen), Fluent in English with Computer knowledge with hotel experience.

Call (240) 291-2345 WANTED Young, honest, hardworking individuals as cashier cum stock clerks full-time for 24 hour grocery store in Manhattan.

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for nights only, Summit, New Jersey, $75 per night.

Must travel daily.

(908) 665-9047 NEEDED IN BOSTON Live-in nanny kind, loving, mature lady with good cooking & housekeeping skills. Call (412) 585-4103 or (724) 772-7468

FAMILY physician/Internist opportunity in Monmouth County, NJ, partnership potential, production incentive, both full HELP needed for child care (3 and 4 and part time. md6099@gmail.com years) and light housekeeping in Louisiana. Please call (504) 458-4303

REAL ESTATE Room For Rent

LIVE-IN ( or out) Adult care( very light) light cooking.

Call Anup (714) 520-1773. Fullerton, CA and/or San Jose, CA. BROOKLYN: Room $350. Share LIVE-IN Hindi speaking housekeeper/ kitchen/ bath. Near Manomedies nanny wanted in Weehawken, NJ. Call hospital. Call (718) 490-9517 LIVE-IN nanny needed for 2 year old in White Plains, NY. Email: tripa009@gmail.com

NEED experienced curry, tandoori, cooking and housework. Call appetizer chef, waiter, manager for (781) 504-7266 restaurant in PA. Call (888) 636-7649.

NEED office help for an insurance office. Must speak Hindi, Punjabi and computer skills a must.

Call (718) 426-1195.

NEED Waiter, South Indian and Tandoor Cook for Indian Restaurant in Hartford area. Call (203) 887 7280.

RECEPTIONIST & Medical Assistant needed for Doctors office, Marlboro, New Jersey. Must be fluent in English & live closeby. Good salary/benefits.

MD6099@gmail.com VIRGINIA Hotel help wanted Multiple positions available. Call (804) 991-0306

Household Help Wanted

DRIVER wanted for Car dealership; Required stick Shift driving and GUJURATI lady, good driver w/car, excellent driving record. Require living around Edison, needs live-out job. (646) 407-0008. cleaning. Tel (718) 545-0500

ISELIN NJ: Rooms for rent near Oak 1BR APT, 185th Street Hillside Ave, tree Rd. $450+ utility. Contact near F train/subway, free utilities, Dish network. (917) 673-6183 (909) 353-1255 QUEENS: Fully furnished room for CORONA: 1BR and basement apt Rego Center Mall. rent. Near everything. Call (212) 731- near Owner:(718) 271-0513.

4592

Apartment/ House To Rent

REAL ESTATE NEW 2 FAMILY HOMES Howard Beach LR, kitchen, 3BR, 2Baths each floor. $549,000 near transportation, JFK. (917) 650-9606 Bir Grewal Licensed salesperson Douglas Elliman RE

SPRINGFIELD, NJ Short Hills border.

1 & 2 BDRMS & TOWNHOMES FREE MONTH RENT Fitness center, parking.

Lofts/basements available.

Walk to NYC train.

SHORT HILLS CLUB VILLAGE forestrealtyinc.com 973-379-4500

(973) 330-6939

MANHATTAN family seeks babysitter, variable hours (mainly part time, occasionally full-time) for two girls ages HIRING food runner and waiter. Call 5 & 8. Prefer Bengali speaking and Rocky (443)703-6603 married. Contact: (917) 312-0937.

NEED female for construction office WANTED a live-in housekeeper for a work, paper work & computer doctor family near Boston, MA. 13 programming. (718) 376-3265. & 12 year old children, includes

NEED North & South Indian Cooks Tandooria Indian restaurant. $50K. Call: Mr Singh (414) 581-3784

SEEKING MEDICAL DOCTOR FOR CARDIOLOGY OFFICE For full-time physician assistant position in busy cardiology practice in Queens, New York City. Prior cardiology experience preferred.

Excellent salary and benefits available.

Email resume: gallardosystems@ yahoo.com

Doctors

PEDIATRICIAN AND NP/PA Pediatrician and Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant to join a well established pediatric practice in Pikeville, KY, starting immediately or July 2014. No high risk neonatal coverage required. Abundant outdoor activities, recreation and great school system. Excellent compensation, benefits, lifestyle. Send CV to: Elizabeth Cantrell, Physicians for Children, 1330 South Mayo Trail, Suite 201, Pikeville, KY 41501 Call: (606) 432-0123, Fax: (606) 433-1414 or email: sachdev1@bellsouth.net

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A66

India Abroad November 29, 2013

Visa availability AVAILABILITY OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBERS – DECEMBER All Chargeability Areas Except Countries Separately Listed China

India

Mexico

FAMILY-SPONSORED CATEGORIES 1st Unmarried Sons and Daughters of United States citizens (F1)

15NOV06

15NOV06

15NOV06

22SEP93

2A Spouses and Unmarried Children of Permanent Residents – (F2A)

08SEP13

08SEP13

08SEP13

01SEP13

2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 Years of Age or Older) of Permanent Residents (F2B)

01MAY06

01MAY06

01MAY06

01APR94

Married Sons and Daughters of US Citizens (F3)

08MAR03

08MAR03

08MAR03

01JUN93

4th Brothers and Sisters of Adult US Citizens (F4)

08SEP01

08SEP01

08SEP01

22OCT96

C

C

C

C

EMPLOYMENT-BASED CATEGORIES 1st Priority Workers (E1) 2nd Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability (E2)

C

08NOV08

15NOV04

C

3rd Skilled Workers and Professionals (E3)

01OCT11

01OCT11

01SEP03

01OCT11

Other Workers (Unskilled Workers) (EW)

01OCT11

01OCT11

01SEP03

01OCT11

4th Certain Special Immigrants (E4)

C

C

C

C

4th Certain Religious Workers (SR) (E4)

C

C

C

C

5th Employment Creation (Investors) (E5)

C

C

C

C

5th Employment Creation (Investors in Targeted Employment Areas) (E5)

C

C

C

C

C = Current; Cut-off date The cut-off date for an oversubscribed country is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached U = Unavailable within the statutory limits. Only applicants who have priority dates earlier than the cut-off date may be allocated a number.

RETROGRESSION OF EMPLOYMENT CUT-OFF DATES The India Employment Second and Third preference category cut-off dates were advanced very rapidly at the end of fiscal year 2013. Those movements were based strictly on the availability of thousands of ‘otherwise unused’ numbers which could be made available without regard to the preference per-country annual limits.

The movements have resulted in a dramatic increase in the level of applicant demand received in recent months. This has required the retrogression of those cut-off dates for December in an effort to hold number use within the numerical limits.

INDRA PAL ATTORNEY AT LAW SPECIALIZING IN: Immigration, Real Estate & Business Closing, Matrimonial, Incorporations, Wills & Estate Planning, etc.

Over 35+ years experience 50 Court Street, Suite 710, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 875-4653 (718) 875-3334 (718) 875-2007 Fluent in Hindi, Punjabi & Urdu • Reasonable FEE

FREE PHONE CONSULTATION

H 1 B 1 .com IMMIGRATION Law Offices of

Ajay K. Arora, Esq. 1270 Broadway, Suite 510 New York, NY 10001

Tel: 212.268.3580 Fax: 212.268.3582 Email: info@h1b1.com

MOALLEMZADEH & AKSAKAL ATTORNEYS at LAW P.C. Dedicated Attorneys ready to handle and assist you in cases involving all aspects of

U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW/FREE CONSULTATION

Tel: (646) 416-6364 • Email: immigrantlaw@gmail.com 1501 Broadway 12th Fl. Suite 12103, New York, NY 10036 We speak Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian & Turkish

Suresh H. Dalal AT TO R N E Y AT L AW

For Display Ads in

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INDIA ABROAD

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Call Toll Free: 866.702.1950

(732) 283-7400 • Fax: (732) 283-5092

OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN IMMIGRATION MATTERS

worldwide date.

India: No forward movement.

Mexico: Expected to remain at the worldwide date.

Philippines: Three to six weeks.

Employment Fourth: Current.

Employment Fifth: Current.

The above projections for the Family and Employment categories are for what is likely to happen during each of the next few months based on current applicant demand patterns.

Readers should never assume that recent trends in cut-off date movements are guaranteed for the future, or that ‘corrective’ action will not be required at some point in an effort to maintain number use within the applicable annual limits. The deterVISA AVAILABILITY IN THE mination of the actual monthly cut-off COMING MONTHS dates is subject to fluctuations in Family-sponsored categories applicant demand and a number of (potential monthly movement): other variables. Unless indicated, Worldwide dates: those categories with a ‘Current’ proF1: Three to five weeks. jection will remain so for the foreseeF2A: No forward movement, the able future.

Mexico cut-off date is likely to retrogress at some point.

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFF2B: Three to five weeks.

ERENCES LIMITS F3: Three to five weeks.

First, unmarried sons and daughF4: Two or three weeks. ters of United States citizens: 23,400 Employment-based categories plus any numbers not required for (potential monthly movement) fourth preference.

Employment First: Current.

Second, spouses and children, and Employment Second: unmarried sons and daughters of Worldwide: Current. permanent residents: 114,200, plus China: Three to five weeks. the number (if any) by which the India: No forward movement. worldwide family preference level Employment Third: Worldwide: exceeds 226,000, plus any unused This cut-off date has been advanced first preference numbers: extremely rapidly during the past A (F2A), spouses and children of seven months in an effort to generate permanent residents: 77 percent of new demand. As the rate of appli- the overall second preference limitacants who are able to have action on tion, of which 75 percent are exempt their cases finalized increases, it could from the per-country limit. have a significant impact on the cutB (F2B), unmarried sons and off date situation. The rapid forward daughters (21 years of age or older) of movement of this cut-off date should permanent residents: 23 percent of not be expected to continue beyond the overall second preference limitaFebruary. tion.

China: Expected to remain at the Third, married sons and daughters of

United States citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth, brothers and sisters of adult US citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by the first three preferences.

NUMERICAL LIMITS Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.

Section 202 prescribes that the percountry limit for preference immigrants is set at 7 percent of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, ie, 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2 percent, or 7,320.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES First: Priority workers: 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second: Members of the professions holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability: 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third: Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers: 28.6 percent of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to ‘other workers.’

Fourth: Certain special immigrants: 7.1 percent of the worldwide level.

Fifth: Employment creation: 7.1 percent of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or highunemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

India Abroad November 29, 2013

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A67

FRIDAY, November 29, 2013

INDIA ABROAD

www.indiaabroad.rediff.com

Bulletin Board To advertise in the Bulletin Board call toll free (800) 822-3532 ANNOUNCEMENTS Q: ANY QUESTIONS ON ISLAM? A: WATCH: WWW.Peacetv.tv Visit: www.whyislam.org

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES 56 Unit Apt Bldg Springfield, OH 95% Occ., $1.45M. No Brokers.

(859) 466-4779 vpatel@preky.com

67 Unit Econo-Lodge Motel for Sale, St. Genevieve, Missouri 3 Bedroom House Attached Fully Renovated, Owner Financing.

(937) 626-9854 Small down-payment will do it!

C-Store w/Gas Station Building, Business w/Equipment, Sale/Lease Money-maker near Richmond, Virginia.

Sunil (804) 437-4404 Visipura@yahoo.com

EGG DONOR WANTED Married Couple Seeks Indian Origin Egg Donor Young Lady 18-28, Chicago Area, Compensation and Travel Provided.

ourfamily201328@yahoo.com

HELP WANTED Downtown Manhattan Stationery Magazine Store Needs Honest, Experienced Person Immediately Will train. Good salary.

(212) 529-1146

HOTEL MANAGERS FOR 2 SOUTH FLORIDA FRANCHISES

REAL ESTATE: INDIA FOR SALE GREENWOOD SONATA NEWTOWN KOLKATA FURNISHED SOUTHEAST OPEN 3BEDROOM 3BATH STUDY TERRACE SERVANT QUARTER COVERED GARAGE COMPLEX HAS MODERN AMENITIES.

CONTACT (609) 356-8106

Hotel experience preferred.

Work any shift.

Email resume to: bhavnptl@aol.com

HELP WANTED Need Experienced Waiter & Food Runner

Hotel/Restaurant Nearby Columbus, Ohio Immediately Requires

for Indian Restaurant, MA. Good salary w/accommodation.

Hotel Front Desk & Curry Chef, Tandoori, Waiter,

(781) 929-0032

Sunny (740) 404-7478

Waitress & Manager for restaurant.

Getting Married? Having a Baby?

Celebrating an Anniversary?

LET EVERYONE KNOW! Place your ad under “ANNOUNCEMENTS” in India Abroad’s Bulletin Board section in Color!

Full-Fledged Grocery Store at Queens Village, NY

Call (646) 432-6025 • Toll free (800) 822-3532

for rent/lease or sub-lease.

Contact (347) 510-6118

Selling/Leasing Multibrand Gas Stations, C-Stores, Car Washes & Subways Under One Roof.

HELP WANTED 30 Yr Old North Indian Fine Dining Restaurant, Los Angeles Area

High Volume corner locations in Upstate NY.

Wants experienced Cook & Food Server/Assistant Mgr, for expansion. Opportunity to become partner also.

Financing available by owner.

Peter: (315) 368-7591 Fax: (315) 732-9803 Romegas114@gmail.com

info@royalkhyber.com

Vending Business for Sale, South Carolina

Indian Restaurant, Harrisburg Experienced Cook, Tandooria, Dishwasher & Helper

Profitable low investment.

Free accommodation & sponsorship.

hussvending@aol.com

(717) 350-3640 / (717) 903-2838

ABSON INC. Direct Importers of Corals, Jades, Pearls, Precious, Semi-Precious Stones & Ready-Made Jewelry.

We Sell Natural Yellow Sapphire (Pukhraj).

REAL ESTATE: INDIA APARTMENT SALE GURGAON Sec 49, 3 bedroom, 3 bathrooms, 1 parking, club, pool & corner suite, full privacy/secured & safe lots of malls & markets. Prefer NRI.

Find your Life Partner in our Matrimonial

Email owner: dimpwalia@yahoo.ca

Pages

New Duplex Bungalow 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths, Dining & Hall Near National Highway 8, Nana Chilora, Ahmedabad.

91 922 888 1309 (973) 735-3762

Call: 646.432.6033/6026 classified@indiaabroad.com

Showroom by appointment only.

Tel: (732) 574.0101 • Fax: (732) 574.0071 Email: info@absoninc.com • 216 St Georges Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065

Visit ABSONINC.COM to buy a few selected items online.