7 August, 2015 • Vol. 7 Issue 20 | www.iwk.co.nz
New Zealand’s first Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper
The Pulse of Kiwi-Indians
Auckland • Christchurch • Wellington • Hamilton • Palmerston North • Hastings • Invercargill
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CONTENTS
7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Pg 22
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FIJI
Pg 14
PIMP YOUR CAUSE
Pg 19
INDIA
SPORTS
Pg 26
HEALTH
Pg 28
FACE OF THE WEEK
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EXCLUSIVE
www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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How safe are you?
This week we round up our three-part series on safety. Indian Weekender thanks its readers and the Police for their participation in bringing up the key points that contribute to our safety.
¡¡Maya Shivam
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recent survey states that Kiwis say New Zealand is becoming more dangerous, with over a third of us having been burgled, and many battling long-term psychological damage following a break-in. The Vivint survey found that two-third (68%) of the people believe living in New Zealand is less safe and burglaries have a long-term negative impact on the victims. Of the one-third respondents who said they had been burgled, more than a fifth (21%) said it took them “some time” to feel safe again following the crime, while more than 220,000 New Zealanders (5%) said they have never been able to feel secure in their house again. For some Kiwis, a burglary continues to affect them years down the track and even after moving, with over one-third (38%) of that group admitting they have never felt safe in any other house following the incident.
However, despite New Zealanders’ growing concerns over safety, a majority of us are lax when it comes to home security. Around six out of the 10 respondents said they do not have a home security system, and a further sixth (17%) have a home security system but do not always turn it on when they leave the house. Many of those surveyed said they only take basic security
measures at night, with twothirds (63%) saying they usually only lock doors and windows after dark while they are at home. More than 300,000 Kiwis also admit they usually don’t lock up at all, day or night. A more safety-conscious 29% say they always lock doors and windows when they are at home, regardless of the time of day, which is something former police officer and Vivint general manager Marsden Hulme says
is becoming more common following reports of daytime ‘opportunist’ break-ins. “During my experience in the police force, we often came across situations where thieves had capitalised on an open front door, bedroom window or garage door. “This is particularly common if high-value items are in a position where they are easy to spot, such as laptops, smartphones, cameras, tools and jewellery left in plain sight and close to unsecured doors and windows.” (Source: Vivint by Impact PR) This has been the consistent message that our safety, at the end of the day, is our responsibility. In running this series, we received tremendous feedback from the community and numerous questions that we took back to the Police. Here is what Jessica Phuang, Asian Liason Officer and Senior Sergeant Marty Brown had to say to your top questions when speaking to Rizwan Mohammed and Kumar Suresh of the Indian Weekender. IWK: One of the biggest
complaints from the people is that when the emergency number is called, the operators ask too many and at times unwanted questions that make the victim or the caller impatient. Jessica: I think people have to understand the way 111 works. When people call 111, the line is transferred to the telecom department where the operator asks the caller what emergency service they are seeking— ambulance, fire, police, etc. The caller is connected to the Police department only when asked for Police service. I would like to advise people that if English is not your first language, you could ask for help in Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, etc. We offer services in 44 different languages. While a person is talking to an operator, the operator types every word spoken by the caller, which is displayed on the screen of a dispatcher who on priority basis calls the police on ground. So even as the operator is talking over the phone and taking down
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EXCLUSIVE
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the description or asking about the specifics, the information is being processed and the Police are already in action.
The additional information is for the Police on ground to help the caller and in some cases, identify the criminal. The safety of the caller is also a priority for the operator. They usually make sure that the caller is safe until the Police arrives. This is another reason why operators ask so many questions. Some complain that Police is always late but the fact is, if the Police car is around the vicinity, they will arrive as early as possible to the crime scene, but if there is another situation that requires immediate attention and is of higher priority, the Police will always attend to that crime scene first. For example, if there is a car broken into and on the way to the crime scene, the officer finds out from the operator about a domestic violence case, he will attend to the more pressing
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7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz and important case of domestic violence first. IWK: We have come across cases where shops have been broken into, but the owners have not reported the crime, as they feel this would make them vulnerable to burglary again. What do you have to say to them? Jessica: If the incident goes unreported, the signal that is being sent to the criminal is that he can do it again and get away with it. If the incident is reported to police and the next day, the offender sees the Police vehicle in the vicinity, it makes a statement that you are not taking the theft lightly. Automatically you are no more the target. IWK: We have also heard that once the theft has taken place and the insurance money is claimed, the place becomes the potential target for theft again as the things are being replaced. Jessica: When a person reports to the Police, the report goes into our system. We have something called victim focus. In this system, a victim or an area gets different levels of attention depending on the number of crimes that has taken place in that area or with the individual. So if a house or an area has been burgled on multiple occasions, Police will give multiple visits every now and then to make sure things are under control. The Police area manager may also increase patrolling in the area. So it is always better to report burglaries or the Police will not
be able to give proper resources required to stop the crime in areas where crimes are taking place repeatedly. Also when valuables are being replaced, I would advise not to put package boxes outside the house. It is like advertising that I have recently bought new items. Marty Brown: When you buy new things, keep a record of the serial numbers, model numbers, etc. You could also take photographs and keep it as a backup. This helps Police track your belongings when it is lost. IWK: How can one get the update on the complaint filed? Marty Brown: The first step would be to call the local Police station and ask for the file management center. They would be able to check electronically where the file is and what stage it is in. They will also be able to advise you about the investigating
officer handling the case and how to get in touch with the concerned person. Jessica: Each district has a file management department, which has all the information about all the reporting that has
“When you buy new things, keep a record Red of the serial numbers, model numbers, etc. You could also take photographs and keep it as a backup. This helps Police track your belongings when it is lost.” taken place. At times, it becomes challenging for people in the file management department to come on the phone to answer all the calls. That is why we advise the community to approach their liaison officers. They will be in a better position to help with their cases and also help them find the right people to talk to. IWK: There are times when the cases are closed or the offender is not caught and the victim is not satisfied with the investigation. What can a person do in such a scenario? Marty Brown: There could be a number of possible reasons why a person could not be caught. Maybe the person left the country, has gone underground and we are not able to find them. There are a number of occasions when the offences are minor and if we are unable to solve the case in say, six months, we close the file. We have a list of guidelines that we follow and we discuss these things with the person who has filed the complaint. But having said that, if someone has committed a serious offence and has gone out of the
country or has gone underground and we can’t find them, it doesn’t mean that Black we won’t deal with them Orange when we find them even if it means many years after the crime. If someone is not satisfied with the investigation, they should talk to the investigating officer and give them an opportunity to explain. Many times there are a lot of things complainers may not be aware of. If they are not happy with the explanation, they can contact the supervisor. The issue can also be taken to Independent Police Conduct Authority by writing to them at PO box 5025 Wellington or visiting their website. IWK: People have complained that Police takes burglary lightly after finding out that the property was insured. And in many cases, only 40% or less of the insured amount claimed is given to the victim. What is the police viewpoint on this issue? Marty Brown: The fact that someone is insured or not has nothing to do with how we go about our investigation. It has no bearing or impact on the investigation. Jessica: I always advise people to get themselves and their property insured. When Police ask the victim if the stolen items were insured, it is to make sure that they are able to carry on with their lives normally. The Police have no say in how the insurance company pays the victims. IWK: We have heard that teenagers in a group, under the influence of alcohol, intimidate
EXCLUSIVE
www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015 people in public. What is the Police’s stand on alcohol-related crime? Red Jessica: We advise Black people Orange to call the Police immediately when they see drunken teenagers outside shops selling alcohol. Not only does it help us identify and fix problems, it also helps us to review licenses of the stores selling alcohol to underage people. Marty Brown: We understand that alcohol is one of the drivers of crime. We urge people to drink sensibly and not to be victims when drinking. We usually advise that one person should be sober when others are drinking in a group. The co-relation between alcohol and crime is well established through research both nationally and internationally. That is why
“Auckland District Police is proud of the fact that we have reduced the amount of crime in the city over the years. We have done it through the strategy called prevention first.” we are also reviewing Auckland Council’s decisions towards local alcohol policy. But again, it comes down to common sense. Alcohol is an aggravator and more drinking means more chances of being a victim or even being offenders. IWK: How do you think the public and Police can work together to make our city a better place? Marty Brown: Auckland District Police is proud of the fact that we have reduced the amount of crime in the city over the years. We have done it through the strategy called Prevention First. The basis of the strategy is to enable people to look after themselves and their property.
It is basically avoiding putting oneself in a situation where they lose stuff in the first place. We do everything to investigate once the offence has occurred, but we would rather make sure it doesn’t occur at all. That means taking basic precautions such as not leaving your valuables unattended, not putting yourself in a situation where you might get hurt, avoid walking in dark, unlit places during the night and avoiding places where you might get victimised. That is what we would advise the community and we would do as much as we can to protect them. But it is also people’s responsibility to take care of themselves. Jessica: It is also about common sense. For example, in India, would you leave your bag unattended? A lot of people think that New Zealand is safe and they are not wrong. We are safer than many countries but at the same time it doesn’t mean that we should be careless. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves safe. We just need to be extra careful. We would like to encourage our readers to keep writing to us as we will henceforth run a regular column on various aspects of our safety in the community. Please send your queries and questions to editor@ indianweekender.co.nz
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NEW ZEALAND
7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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ANZ Migrant Expo
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More than 350 students learn about Sikhism
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ore than 350 students of Greenmeadows Intermediate school visited Gurdwara Nanaksar on Friday, 24th July 2015 to learn about Sikhs and Sikhism. The Year 7 and 8 students of various ethnicities were shown a powerpoint presentation on Sikhism followed by a Q&A session wherein they got answers for their queries about Sikhism and the Gurdwara. The day started with the first group reaching Gurdwara Nanaksar at 9.30 am and very patiently waited for their turn to cover their heads. Then they walked in line to the Darbar Hall where they sat quietly and listened very attentively to the presentation. The children were accompanied by their teachers and some parents who also were visiting a Gurdwara for the first time. The second group came
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Kiwi-Indian food scientist gets international award
Join us at the ANZ Migrant Expo ndian Weekender is proud to partner with ANZ for the upcoming Migrant Expo. Whether you are a migrant looking for help to settle in New Zealand, want to connect with migrant communities or simply looking for a fun, free family event, come along to the ANZ Migrant Expo. At the Expo you can get helpful information and support from government agencies, consulates, ethnic community groups, law firms, construction, media and a range of other businesses where you can experience their products and services. We will also be running a number of helpful seminars, and fun activities for the whole family.
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in at 12.30 and spent about two hours at the Gurdwara. The children, parents and the staff were highly appreciative of the chance to visit the Gurdwara and thanked the volunteers for spending time guiding them and taking care of them during the visit. This visit from Greenmeadows Intermediate school is a bi-annual visit and is promoted by Gurdwara Nanaksar to make the wider community aware of the teachings of Guru Nanak and also the concept of Sewa.
noted Indian-origin food scientist based in New Zealand has been honoured for his contribution in improving the quality, safety and processing efficiency of dairy food. Harjinder Singh, who was recently named head of Massey University’s Institute of Food Science and Technology, was conferred the “International Dairy Foods Association Award” in dairy food processing by the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), technology news website voxy. co.nz reported. Singh is the first recipient from outside North America of the prestigious award, given at a ceremony organised in Orlando, Florida. “This recognition reflects our innovative and sustained dairy foods research activities at Massey
Harjinder Singh, the head of Massey University’s Institute of Food Science and Technology (Photo: www.massey.ac.nz)
during the last 25 years. Our programmes are characterised by excellent science combined with relevance to industry needs,” he was quoted as saying. The award was created to recognise individuals whose research findings have allowed dairy food processors to develop
new products and improve the quality, safety and processing efficiency of dairy foods. He is corecipient of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize (2012), the most prestigious science honour in NZ. Singh was elected fellow of Royal Society of New Zealand in 2002 in recognition of distinction in research and the advancement of science. He was also elected fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology in 2006. This fellowship recognises outstanding contributions to the field of food science and advancement of knowledge. Singh, who has received several international awards, has published more than 300 papers in international journals and books and is a co-inventor of 12 patents.
Air passengers to face new biosecurity controls
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ew biosecurity measures will be introduced by the Ministry for Primary Industries to make it tougher for air passengers to bring goods into New Zealand that could carry pests or diseases. The measures are the result of new biosecurity funding from the government’s 2015 budget. Expected to be in place by December for the busy summer season, the measures include the introduction of 20 more biosecurity detector dog teams, more x-raying of baggage and more targeting of passengers likely to be carrying risk goods. One of the plans is to use
detector dogs to screen passengers much earlier than before in the arrival process for international passengers, says Steve Gilbert, MPI Border Clearance Services Director. “We’re keen to have dogs as close as possible to where passengers leave the aircraft. This approach will provide more opportunity to detect risk goods, particularly within hand-held baggage, where passengers often carry fruit and other food.” Rising international passenger numbers is one of the reasons behind the new measures, he says. He says MPI recently recruited 42 new trainee quarantine officers and 24 trainee dog
handlers to ensure it has sufficient biosecurity staff to introduce the new measures. The planned new biosecurity measures include: • Introducing 20 new biosecurity detector dog teams. • Introducing five new x-ray machines. • Trialing a mobile x-ray machine that can shifted to different sites. • Greater ability to increase the level of biosecurity intervention for air passengers according to risk. • Introducing specific communications to target passengers more likely to carry Queensland fruit fly host materials.
YES students learning on the job
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uckland’s future business leaders and entrepreneurs will be continuing their on-the-job education as part of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) this weekend, demonstrating and selling innovative products and services at the annual Auckland YES Trade Fair. The trade fair is a free event taking place at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, August. YES, which involves students forming teams to come up with a real-life business product or service, and running their business
for a year, is delivered across the Auckland region by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). Around 100 teams will be demonstrating and selling the goods and services they have created through YES at the trade fair, ranging from recycled furniture and robot making classes to boxed herbal teas and yogurt made from almond milk. This year, more than 1,400 students from 52 Auckland schools are taking part in YES, forming more than 180 small enterprises. YES students have had mentoring from their teachers and members of Auckland’s business community, and taken part in a Dragon’s Den
type pitch event. Patrick McVeigh, ATEED General Manager Business, Innovation and Skills, says YES is an important initiative to help develop a skilled workforce for Auckland. Auckland regional YES winners will be announced in October, before national winners are announced in December. Auckland schools have a strong track record in the YES national competition, winning the national title in 2012 and 2013. Last year’s Auckland Central regional champions, Nude Water from St Cuthbert’s School, were runner-up for the 2014 national title, while Bizz Broz from Pakuranga College (joint Auckland South champions) came third.
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www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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Packed house premiere for Twisted Families
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he premiere of Twisted Families 100% New Zealand made, motion picture under Dreamz Productions held on Monday, August 3 received a full house. The romantic drama-comedy stars Amit Sharma, Lucy Russel, Rishi Deepak in lead supported by Neelam Madhu, Rupinder Virk.
The premiere was screened at Hoyts Sylvia Park and a total of 460 people attended the premiere which included eminent personalities from the industry and the Members of Parliament too. The film will also be premiered in three cities in Fiji this month—Suva, Nandi and Lautoka on August 19, 20 and 21 respectively. “The response from the movie goers has been extremely positive, people have loved the story, and applauded its comic timings,” says Rishi Deepak, lead actor and also the executive producer of the film.
Twisted Families is a love story of a Punjabi boy Aman played by Amit Sharma and a rich Fijian girl Tina played by Lucy Russel, and clash between the two families when they meet to plan their wedding. The movie is a romantic drama; it shows the bond and differences between not so similar cultures. The movie takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions
and laughter, a good plot and brilliant acting by both the lead and supporting cast. The film has taken one year from script to release, shot in Auckland, Pukekohe and parts of Fiji. The film has been directed by Devesh Sharma and produced by Dr Rachel Singh and Curran Singh under Dreamz Productions banner. The film officially releases on September 11 in both New Zealand and Fiji.
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Bindra rises to the occasion ¡¡Kumar Suresh
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ast week, at the annual meeting of the NZ First Party in Rotorua, an idea was proposed that all the migrants coming to New Zealand would need to be covered by personal medical insurance for a period of 10 years. Although backed by many leaders such as party leader Winston Peters, the idea was put in cold storage after a fierce debate. Those opposing the policy included the Indian-born MP, our very own, Mahesh Bindra. When the Indian Weekender caught up with Bindra, he stated that it was a “no-brainer because, for NZ First, every single New Zealander is equal. So the basic idea of treating new Kiwis as unequal did not make sense”. The idea was termed as discriminatory and against the bill of Rights. The policy, therefore, was passionately opposed, which led to NZ First MP O’Rourke threatening to resign if the party supported the policy. Even as the idea was shelved, those in support of the policy came
out in the open and defended the logic behind the proposed idea. On Saturday, Winston Peters said, “You can climb off a plane in New Zealand and be in the hospital the next day. We have long waiting lists... It seems to me to be only reasonable and fair.” Although the idea of getting insured before travelling is always advisable, enforcing it for a period of 10 years on every new migrant coming into the country is absurd and illogical. Even bigger question is who are the ones who really need to get themselves insured? One of the major chunks of migrants is the student community. A student coming to New Zealand from India has
to undergo eye test, blood test, urine test and routine check up to see if they are carrying any of those forty plus diseases. As if, these are not enough, a separate X-ray report needs to be sent to the New Zealand embassy to get a study visa along with these reports. Students then again are forced to spend big amounts on the insurance coverage charged by the university. On the other hand, people with a work permit in the country are already paying their taxes and with the cost of living so high, it will be unfair to expect everyone to buy insurance cover for themselves and their family. One needs to understand that they are here because of their skill sets and are actively contributing to the growth of the country. They wouldn’t be here if they were not required in the country in the first place. Thus, emergency service in the dire situation becomes the fundamental right of a person who is expected to contribute to the country’s cause even without insurance.
Kiwi-Indian rugby coach is Personality of the Year Red
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Tasty Takeaway Awards. The premier awards for takeaway restaurants, now in their second year, nationally recognise takeaway establishments that provide great-tasting food, good value for money and superior customer service.
More than 500 restaurants listed on the online service will encourage their customers to vote for them as the Best Takeaway Outlet. Votes will be totalled to announce one national winner, in addition to the Top 5 winners. Following the announcement of
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n Indian-descent rugby coach has been named Personality of the Year for guiding his team to its first title in last five years. Rahul Das, who was born in Auckland and is of Fijian Indian descent, was honoured at the Dunedin club rugby awards held earlier this week, Otago Daily Times reported. Das, a fourth-year medical student, finds time during his busy schedule to coach rugby. “I am not sure how I got into rugby. I have just always followed the All Blacks I guess,” Das was quoted as saying. His effort was all the more impressive considering he is a rookie at premier level. Das played rugby at school and at a social club when he was 18 years old. But he gave up playing in his early 20s after facing some injuries.
Entries now open for Tasty Takeaway Awards 2015 he search is on for New Zealand’s best takeaway restaurant. The online and mobile ordering service for takeaway food, Menulog. co.nz, has launched its search for New Zealand’s best takeaway restaurant, as part of its annual
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the national winner, which will be awarded to the restaurant with the most overall votes, the next five runners-up will also be awarded as a Top 5 winner, letting customers know which restaurants lead the way in the world of takeaway. To vote, New Zealanders
The 30-year-old coach stayed involved in the sport through coaching, getting his start with the university women’s team. “Fitting the game into the busy life is a juggling act but easy when you have a passion for the sport,” he said. “There are definitely some long hours. But you can’t have too much of one thing in your life, so I guess rugby gives me some of that balance. I get to do something that I really enjoy and also get to work with some really cool people,” Das said.
simply need to log on to Menulog. co.nz and select their favourite restaurant. In doing so, they will automatically be entered into a prize draw with a grand prize of $2,000 cash and five other prizes of $250 vouchers, to be used on the website.
IWK Face of the Week crowned Mrs India NZ
Congratulations Rupal!
(Extreme left and middle) Crowing moment- Rupal C Solanki being crowned as Mrs India NZ (Left) Runner-Up, Sonal Bhavsar-Joshi, Mrs India New Zealand 2015 Winner, Rupal C Solanki, 2nd Runner-up, Bharvi Padhiyar and 1st Runner-up, Pusarla Sridevi Krishna
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Three tips for avoiding the biggest insurance mistakes
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¡¡Ajay Kumar
page last month. Adding to this, in my experience many times customers don’t even realize that they may be eligible for a claim against their personal risk insurance policies. This is another important reason for a review.
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n today’s world of uncertainty, insurance is one thing that protects a person and his family at the time of need. It is a time where your family is better off dealing with other issues than arranging for finances or dealing with the insurance company. As such, one needs to invest time, effort and wisdom in not just buying a life and personal risk insurance policy but also in maintaining and reviewing it from time to time. This brings me to this week’s discussion on the Paul Henry show and the recent article in NZ Herald “…biggest life insurance mistakes Kiwis make”. I was really happy that they talked about what we at Global Financial Services (GFS) have been asking customers for more than 16 years. I am providing three tips that I feel are most critical and will help you avoid the biggest mistakes, not just while buying insurance but also for maintaining it. Life insurance, critical illness and trauma insurance, total and partial disability cover, health insurance or medical insurance and income protection insurance
are some of the most popular types of personal risk insurance. Different companies have different products but the underlying principles remain the same. Ensure the cover is sufficient Personal risk and not just life insurance is very important to protect your family home and family from the mortgage in unforeseen circumstances. The insurance cover should be sufficient to cover your mortgage in addition to your family’s other requirements. For instance, if your insurance is of $200K but mortgage of $500K, it may not be sufficient in such circumstances. Review your policy every year I can hear a clear echo of our voice when the NZ Herald article says, “Your circumstances can change and insurance policies evolve.” It repeats what GFS tells all its customers and even posted on its Facebook
Policy terms and Reputation for claims Don’t buy just on price, look at other terms and conditions, customer service and reputation at claim time. Almost every month we come across families who had bought insurance from a friend many years back. Fifteen to 20 years later when they need a claim, they find that their friend stopped working as an insurance adviser many years back. You can read of such cases on our Facebook page as well. GFS has assisted not only our insurance customers but also mortgage customers get their claim even if they took insurance from someone else. Whenever you take insurance, think about who can help you at the time of claim years from now, not just the best deal you are getting today.
– Ajay Kumar is New Zealand’s largest single mortgage adviser, leading insurance adviser and Director of Global Financial Services Ltd (GFS) based in Auckland.
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Interpretation services for 111 calls essential, says Labour
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abour Spokesperson for Ethnic Communities, Phil Goff, says it is essential that every person in New Zealand is able to communicate risk to life and the need for help using the 111 emergency phone number. “Police disclosure that no 24/7 interpretation service is available to back up their 111 call system in emergencies is a recipe for disaster,” Phil Goff says. “Not having this service puts lives at risk. Any new migrant or person who has difficulty with English faces not being able to communicate with the service when accidents, fire or criminal actions endanger human life and wellbeing. This was highlighted by a recent case in Auckland where the emergency call operator failed, in a 12-minute connection, to understand what a member of the Chinese community who had limited English was trying to tell her. “It’s not good enough to have to rely on informal assistance
through family and friends, Language Line during office hours, or the chance that some 111 operators are bilingual to communicate the need for help when lives are at stake. “There needs to be a professional 24/7 interpretation service available especially in the case of communities such as Chinese, Indian, Korean and Filipino where there are large numbers, not all of whom speak English fluently,” Mr Goff said. “I know Police have suffered big cuts in funding that make additional expenditure by them difficult. Government needs to come up with the extra money needed because in this case it can involve a life or death situation.” Protection of human wellbeing is a core Government responsibility. They should fund it as an essential service from general taxation. Alternatively, they could use the migrant levy, which has been diverted to cover Immigration New Zealand costs,
in line with the purpose for which is was originally intended. It is Government’s responsibility to make sure that migrants have the essential services they need when they come to New Zealand,” Phil Goff said. Mr Goff and his colleague Labour Spokesperson for Police, Kelvin Davis, have both written to the Minister of Police urging that a 24/7 emergency interpretation service be put in place urgently.
Improving results for Youth Guarantee learners
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ertiary Education Organisations have increased achievement rates across all sectors, particularly in course and qualification rates for students at Youth Guarantee Providers, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced this week. The Education Performance Indicators (EPIs) for all tertiary institutions in 2014 including Industry Training Organisations (ITOs), Youth
Guarantee providers and Student Achievement Component (SAC) funded providers were published this week by the Tertiary Education Commission. “The EPI’s saw a significant improvement in both course and qualification completion rates across Youth Guarantee providers when compared with 2013. Course completion rates increased from 61 per cent to 66 per cent, while qualification completion rates jumped from 52 per cent to 60 per cent,” says Mr Joyce. “The improvement in completion rates for Youth Guarantee learners is a good result as these are hard to reach learners who either have disengaged or are at risk of disengaging from conventional schooling. This Government remains committed to providing a range of learning opportunities that ensure all young New Zealanders have the skills they need to prosper and contribute to their
communities,” Mr Joyce says. “It shows the government’s approach of measuring and incentivising educational performance rather than just the number of enrolments is working.” Course completions rates across SAC providers are now averaging over 80 per cent for universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics, Wānanga and private training establishments. The most significant increases for the year in SAC providers occurred in the Private Training Establishments sector, with marked improvement in qualification completions as well as student progression rates. ITOs also recorded a four per cent increase in their credit achievement rate, which rose to 76 per cent. The increase came on the back of an improving labour market with employers showing increasing confidence when making hiring and training decisions. The data released this week measures areas such as course and qualification completions, progression and retention of students, and credit and programme achievements.
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More housing support for vulnerable youth
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ulnerable young people, who need a supportive and stable living environment will benefit from a new accommodation service, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says. Supported Accommodation for Youth will see up to 21 young people aged 16-19, who are on the social housing register, housed for as long as they need it. “I’m thrilled to launch this initiative, because it will make a genuine difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable young New Zealanders,” says Mrs Bennett. The service started in Palmerston North and Christchurch at the beginning of July with two young people already placed in the service in Christchurch and referrals underway in Palmerston North. Auckland’s service will commence in early August. Nationwide, the service costs around $125,000 per year. Delivered by community providers, the service also provides young people with a range of support from learning basic living skills to helping them access other support in the community, such as Youth Service. “We have always been more ambitious for our youth. Ensuring they have a roof over their heads means we can more effectively
dig in and ensure they’re getting access to education, employment, and we are supporting them back to independence. “The combination of a stable, safe living environment gives these young people a better opportunity to become selfsufficient. They will be living with others their own age in properties ranging from two to five bedrooms with ready access to adult support,” Mrs Bennett says. The community organisations will provide alternative housing in two- to five-bedroom properties to house youths referred from the social housing register. This includes accommodation suitable for teen parents, particularly mothers and their child. As either specialist social services providers or health service providers, the organisations will mentor these young people and connect them to other support. The service will help improve the lives of nearly a quarter of the 82 young people on the register at the end of June, who will have access to social workers and psychologists if required. Supported Accommodation for Youth is a part of the Government’s Social Housing Reform Programme, which is increasing the supply of social housing and better supporting vulnerable New Zealanders in housing that suits their needs.
Carrying tasers a welcome move
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olice Minister Michael Woodhouse welcomes the announcement by Police Commissioner Mike Bush that all frontline first response staff will soon routinely carry tasers. “The taser rollout is an important step to help ensure the safety of both the community and our frontline officers and I fully support the decision,” Mr Woodhouse says. “We know frontline officers often find themselves in rapidly changing situations and it is not always practical to return to their vehicle to retrieve a taser. “Having a taser strapped to their hip provides officers with another option to diffuse or deal with violent offenders. “This Government has always acknowledged the use of the Taser as a vital tool available to Police. They have proven to be
an effective tactical option for both preventing and responding to high risk situations, with a consistently low risk of injury to the public, offenders and police staff.” Over the past five years, tasers have been available to Police during more than 30,000 reported incidents attended by Police, but due to their deterrent effect, in almost 90 per cent of cases they have not been discharged. “We owe it to the frontline officers protecting our communities and keeping us safe to ensure they have access to all tactical options they may need during the course of duty.” The change will require around 400–600 additional devices to be purchased and will be funded from within Police’s current budget.
www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Gangs, not Serco, running Mt Eden prison Phil Goff Labour MP
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he recent disclosure of events at Mt Eden prison will have appalled everyone. What the videos on You Tube showed was that gangs, and not private contractor Serco, are running the prison. The organised prison fights are brutal and uneven. Uneven because brawny Black Power gang members are pitched against other much smaller inmates forced into fights, and brutal because of the serious injuries incurred. Mt Eden has a high recorded level of assaults of prisoners
on prisoners. The likelihood, however, is that most assaults are probably not even recorded. The reason? If the figures are bad, Serco loses some of its $1.2 million annual bonus. You have to think the figures are being cooked and that Corrections weren’t doing their job in properly monitoring Serco’s performance. When inmates are found to be seriously injured, Serco has the responsibility of finding out how the injuries were sustained and taking action to prevent this occurring. Instead, injured prisoners just seem to be shuffled off to public prisons, arriving with serious injuries. One prisoner, Nick Evans, sent up to Ngawha prison subsequently died after suffering a lung injury. Other allegations have been made about inmates being
dropped from second storey balconies. One, who suffered two broken legs, named the gang members responsible. Serco and apparently the Minister said he ‘fell’ off the balcony. Like most New Zealanders, I’ve had a gutsful of gang members behaving violently in the community. When they are imprisoned for this, I don’t expect to see them ruling the roost in our prisons and getting away with continuing to act violently there. Serco, the Corrections Department and the Minister need to clean up their act and do something about it. Other videos show inmates smoking dope and drinking home brew. They are filmed on cellphones, which are meant to be illegal in prisons, and the gangs put the films up on the net to
boast about what they are getting away with. In all of this, you wonder where the prison officers are and why Serco as the prison authority let them get away with it. One answer seems to be that in order to improve their profits Serco have cut the ratio of guards to prisoners. The problem with private companies running prisons for profit is that they cut corners to save money often at the expense of public safety and security. Over the years, Serco has been involved in scandals in a number of countries for the way in which they run prisons. In the United Kingdom, Serco has recently had to repay $70 million for ripping off the British taxpayers. National, and specifically the then Justice Minister Judith
Collins, were warned about this. In 2009 as Leader of the Opposition, I opposed National’s private prison legislation. I said that every private prison in the world has made its profit by reducing staff levels and reducing services. In 2001 the United States National Council on Crime and Delinquency reported that privatisation led to a 15 per cent lower ratio of staffing to inmates. It stated that the number of serious incidents was higher in the privately run system than in the public system and that there was a higher rate of assaults by prisoners on prisoners, and by prisoners on staff, in the private sector. Sadly, what I warned about in Parliament, and they ignored, seems to have come to pass.
in fact dancing to the strings of the US. Mr Key has realised over the past month that public outrage is growing. He’s been in serious damage control and is trying to soften the public and media. We’ve also suddenly seen
representatives from our primary industries speak out, worried that they won’t get more market access to Japan, Canada and the US. It took a long time for everyone to wake up to the fact that a trade deal must be about improved trading conditions for New Zealand, and not just for the big players. It is disappointing that the National Government has not been up front about the TPPA. Malaysia has now said it will not sign until its people and its parliament has a chance to scrutinise the agreement. That’s being open and transparent. Our government could learn that lesson.
Waking up to TPPA Winston Peters NZ First leader
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ew Zealand depends on trade exports for our livelihood. So it was an easy sell for the National government to talk up the TPPA as a big deal for the country and our future, while telling us they were keeping the negotiations secret for our own good. Like many Kiwis, we had reservations too. New Zealand First is keen on trade, but we were suspicious
that things were not going well for us. When a government won’t even talk about the overall picture of negotiations there is something wrong. Why were we signing up to a deal that allowed big corporations to sue our government if they felt our regulations and law changes might affect their profits? Finally, the Prime Minister fronted up and revealed that no government would ever be able to ban foreigners from buying our land and houses under this new agreement. He wasn’t worried of course. One, he won’t be around, and two, he didn’t care that future
governments might want to ban non-residents’ purchases. We feel that Trade Minister Tim Groser and Prime Minister John Key have been working as double agents, pretending to negotiate on our behalf but
Electricity market reforms warmly received by New Zealanders Kanwaljit Bakshi National List MP
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he electricity market is more competitive than ever. Thanks to National’s reforms, consumers are benefitting from more choice in the electricity market, and are saving more on their power as a result. In Auckland alone there are 21 retailers operating in the electricity market. As a result, more people are switching electricity providers.
Latest estimates show 107,470
deal on your power.
of households took advantage of
Data shows that, across all
the competitive electricity market
regions, there were savings to be
in the region by switching their
made for people who switched
supplier. I encourage you to check
providers. Last year, more than
whether you are getting the best
385,000 consumers around New
Zealand switched retailers, and by doing so they saved an average of $162 a year. The Government’s efforts to open up the market are seeing results as 27 brands, the most ever, currently operating in New Zealand’s electricity market. All regions saw an increase in the number of retail brands on offer. Part of the Government’s reforms has been to create a level playing field and encourage new players into the New Zealand retail market. It’s encouraging to see more Kiwis choosing to switch to smalland medium-sized retailers, with this group growing its market
share 23 per cent last year. By doing so they’re benefitting from increasing choice and innovative deals that have come about as a result of National’s reform of the market. Our careful management of the economy, delivering low inflation and low interest rates across the board, is benefitting families. According to the latest Consumer Price Index there was a zero per cent change in electricity prices—the lowest annual increase since 2001. It is a great sign that National’s commitment to an open and competitive retail market is making a real difference for Kiwi households.
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www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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Auckland Council announces new Community Empowerment unit
their areas, energise them about coming together to shape local activities, and have more influence over things they care about and which matter uniquely to them.”
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new community-focused unit that aims to better serve Aucklanders and its communities will be up and running from October 1. The Community Empowerment unit will replace the Community Safety and Development Unit (CDS), which currently sits within the Community Development, Arts and Culture (CDAC) department. Community Empowerment is being established as part of Auckland Council’s commitment to deliver the Empowered Communities Approach (ECA), as driven by the Mayor’s Proposal under the Long Term Plan (2015-2025). “An empowered community is one where individuals, whanau and communities have the means to influence decisions, take action and make change happen in their lives and communities. “This includes communities of place, interest and identity,” says CDAC General Manager, Graham Bodman. “By working in fresh and innovative ways, the new unit will help enable and support communities to better improve
have been also been created – a Principal Specialist, Universal Access, and a fixedterm Specialist, Safety and Security Advisor. They will be located in the Auckland Design Office. Mr Bodman adds, “We took steps to ensure the skill-set of accessibility knowledge is maintained. By creating these roles we are ensuring that council continues to receive considered, strategic advice on matters of importance to the disability community.”
Otahuhu recreation precinct opening soon
As part of the decision-making around designing and developing the new unit, CDS staff have participated in a robust feedback and consultation process. “We were really pleased to see the overall clear support for the proposal, which included endorsement for the intent of the Empowered Communities Approach to embed responsiveness to Māori,” says Mr Bodman. Two new positions that will focus on inclusive design and CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design)
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fter years of anticipation, Ōtāhuhu’s new recreational precinct, Tōia (pronounced ‘tawe-ah’), will open on August 8. Tōia is a $30.9 million project that incorporates the new Ōtāhuhu Library, aquatic and leisure centre, new playground and outdoor recreational and community spaces. “The community is so excited to finally have this facility opening – something they have wanted and talked about for more than 10 years,” says Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene. “It’s going to be a great place for them to gather, relax, get fit and learn.”
Opening day festivities start with a dawn blessing at 6 a.m., followed by a civic opening from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and entertainment, performances and activities from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Railway Safety Week 2015 - Stay safe around the tracks
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ucklanders are reminded to ‘Expect a Train’ during Rail Safety Week 2015, which launches on August 10. The campaign encourages people to talk about safe behaviour around train tracks with their friends, family and colleagues. “Trains can come from both directions at any time, and often in quick succession,” says TrackSAFE NZ Manager Megan Drayton. “We are urging Aucklanders to be especially careful around the new electric trains, which are faster and quieter. Stay alert, look for trains in both directions, and never cross while the warning lights and bells are operating.” Organisations supporting Rail Safety Week include KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, Transdev Auckland, NZ Transport Agency and the New Zealand Police.
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7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Fiji-India move on medical plans
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ijian and Indian Government health officials plan on working together on medical education, drug procurement and other areas of mutual interest. As part of this, a delegation led by acting Health Minister Jioji Konrote, acting Permanent Secretary for Health Dr Meciusela Tuicakau and other senior officials welcomed a delegation from India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.
The latest meeting is a followup from the first Joint Working Group Meeting in India five years ago. India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Joint Secretary Dharitri Panda said Fiji and India had a Memorandum of Understanding on medical education, drugs procurement and other areas that had been highlighted by the Fijian Government. “This is a secretary-level discussion between both countries to progress and follow-up on the
various actions that have been taken and also to detail more new areas of co-operation,” Ms Panda said. “The areas we are looking forward to are working with pharmaceutical companies for drug distribution, for procurement of medicines, especially generic medicines and for training under the procurement.” She hopes an MOU can be signed in the areas of attachments, training and exposure visits for Fijian health officials to India.
Vakamoce, Lal top essay writing
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wenty-eight students from schools across Fiji took part in an essay writing competition in Suva last week. This competition was organised by the New Zealand High Commission and the Fiji Association in Auckland (Inc). The competition is seven years old and has attracted 400 entries from 83 secondary schools. The topic this year is ‘How trade and economic links between Fiji and New Zealand can be further strengthened’ and ‘Celebrating Fiji’s cultural diversity at school and beyond.’ Sunia Vakamoce of Kadavu Provincial High School,
Sunia Vakamoce (left), and Rohitesh Lal (right) shared the best all around prize
Kadavu, and Rohitesh Lal from All Saints Secondary School, Labasa, shared the best all around prize. The judges were Lady June Hillary of New Zealand and Satendra Singh of the Fiji
Association in Auckland (Inc). Lady Hillary is the wife of the late Sir Edmund Hillary of Mt Everest fame. Mr Singh piled praises on the performance of participants.
Fiji Sun press crew heads for NZ training
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hree of the press crew who print the Fiji Sun each night are off to New Zealand this month for intensive professional development. They are head printer Mohammed Akbar, senior printer Hirdesh Chand and lead colour hand Joana Ratunimatari. Fiji Sun publisher/CEO Peter Lomas said, “This is part of our continuing commitment to investing in training and development. It reflects the emphasis on this from the ownership and management of the C. J. Patel Group, of which we are proudly part. “Mohammed, Hirdesh and Joana are three of our key people as we continue to develop our press site in Walu Bay. “We’ve invested in industry leading pre-press and press facilities. Same time we’re developing our people. In all areas. “We now send Production people to SWUG every year. This year, with support from
Mohammed Akbar, (front), Hirdesh Chand (back), and Joana Ratunimatari (centre)
Webco’s managing director, Brendon Whitley, we’ve expanded the programme. “Brendon is a former leading newspaper production manager himself. He’s been able to open doors for our team to get a warm welcome and access from the people running sites like Beacon Print. Our production capacity is growing day by day. It is increasingly recognised both here in Fiji and in the region. “As well as the Fiji Sun we now print newspapers from Samoa and Vanuatu here at Walu Bay. We also print the fast growing local Mandarin-language China Mail Newspaper. “Our new Production Centre in Walu Bay is not only a Fijian
News source: Fiji Sun
market leader. It’s attracting business from the region, coupled with the development of Fiji Airways regional services.” The trio will: Do a working attachment at Beacon Print, a high-quality multi-newspaper production site in Hastings. Tour the Norske Skog mill at Kawerau to understand how Fiji Sun is printed. Spend time in Tauranga with engineers at Webco, the company which puts together, provides and supports the press which prints the Fiji Sun. Go to Rotorua to attend SWUG, the big annual conference of New Zealand newspaper printers, and its associated workshops.
“The areas which the Government of Fiji has elaborated are basically training and admission in India’s medical colleges and institutions, manufacturing supplies of pharmaceuticals, Indian doctors to work in Fiji under the Indian government’s assistance and to collaborate in public health and assistance for developments in a new 500-bed hospital for tertiary care.” Mr Konrote said that the meeting was a milestone in the two countries bilateral relations.
“The topics obviously appealed to writers,” Mr Singh said. “Selecting the winners was a daunting task. We enjoyed reading interesting accounts of improving trading links between Fiji and New Zealand, as well as the celebration of cultural diversity in Fiji.” Following the prize giving ceremony, representatives from the New Zealand High Commission and Fiji Association in Auckland (Inc) will visit schools to meet the participants and their teachers, present Certificates of Appreciation, and donate library books to participants.
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Fijian PM condoles death of former Indian President Abdul Kalam
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ijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has sent a message of condolence to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, expressing sorrow at the death of India’s former President Abdul Kalam, the Fijian government announced last week. Kalam, who was India’s 11th president from 2002 to 2007, died at the age of 83 during a lecture in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya last week. In the message, Bainimarama described Kalam as a great man who became known as India’s “People’s President” because he was undoubtedly one of the most dearly loved figures in India. The Fijian prime minister also described Kalam of a great friend of developing countries such as Fiji, and a great believer in SouthSouth cooperation - the ability of developing countries to learn from each other and carve out their own paths to prosperity and happiness. “We mourn his passing in Fiji and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the Indian government and the Indian people at this time,” said Bainimarama.
Officer tells of Ebola outbreak horror
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he outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West African countries last year was a career highlight of a senior Police officer who was on tour-ofduty in Liberia. Fiji Police Force Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anil Prasad led an 18-member team for a year-long tour-ofduty in March last year under the United Nations Missions In Liberia (UNMIL). ASP Prasad said the one year spent in Liberia was an eye-opener and a testing time for him since it was his first peacekeeping mission overseas. He said one of the scariest and testing times he went through was when the outbreak of the Ebola virus came about. “The only difficult situation we faced at one stage was the outbreak of Ebola,” ASP Prasad said. “During the month of July to December there were like 20 to 25 cases per day reported and we were very fearful about it.
“We were told about it by the UN media brief that this was a killer disease and if one gets it there was no cure, but we were glad all the precautions were taken by the UN to prevent us from getting it. “It was frightening especially when we were moving around in the UN vehicle. We would see a person dead on the street for a couple of days before special teams come with protective gear and vehicles to transport the body, so basically it was scary at times.” However, ASP Prasad said he was overwhelmed with what he was able to grasp from the yearlong tour. He said the use of new technologies in their workplace also made work easier for them.
FIJI
www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
Air NZ cargo hosts annual awards night
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ir New Zealand hosted its stakeholders to the annual awards night at FNU Namaka Campus. Air New Zealand Sales Cargo manager Pradip Singh said the Cargo Agents Awards commenced in 1991. “Air New Zealand was the first to host this event in honouring and recognising the tremendous support rendered to the airline by you agents and customers,” he said. He said this also allowed taking another proactive approach in recognising key customers from both the airline and forwarders fraternity (The Shippers) who have contributed solely in supporting their industry.
“Through this, I believe we have managed to establish a profound relationship which has developed from the past 25 years, in which we can now regard each of you as being part of the Air New Zealand family. “Air New Zealand Cargo has put Fiji on the world Arena by means of carrying and delivering Fijian Made products
NEWS in BRIEF Fiji secures prime land in India
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he Indian government has offered Fiji some property in New Delhi’s diplomatic quarter. The property has been given to build our new High Commission. Fiji’s High Commissioner to India, Yogesh Karan revealed on FBC TV’s 4 The Record last night that the property is worth $120 million. “It’s a very prime area close to Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate. The price of real estate in India is perhaps one of the most expensive in the world now. We’re very privileged because there’s hardly any land available in that area. We’re very fortunate to be very close to the bigger countries, the superpowers.” The property is in Chanakyapuri, an affluent neighborhood and diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s. It plays host to the majority of foreign embassies in India and is home to many staff members of the consulates.
Education, an investment for the future says A-G
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elebrating the opening of the Early Childhood Week Awareness, Attorney-General Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum said education is an investment for the future. Kindergarten students and parents from eight different schools around Sigatoka gathered at Korotogo Andhra Sangam Kindergarten School for the celebrations this morning. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said, “The Government is very much focussed on providing for the future and we are investing in the future. “These children in about 18 to 25 years time will be running the country. These children are the future of the country. “Amongst them you have a very good chef, you may have a Minister, you may have Prime Minister, you may have a very good farmer, and you may have a very good engineer, doctor or lawyer.” He said the young children are the contributors to the economy of Fiji in the future.
around the globe. “We have concurred with the Fijian Government’s initiative in ensuring our products produced locally are marketed around the world on a whole new spectrum.” Mr Singh said it had been an exciting year and was pleased to announce that they have met their revenue projection from Fiji and also Pacific Island Region. Meanwhile, they currently have nine IATA credited agents of which International Freight and Clearance Services Limited is their top agent for the past 15 years. Also raked in the top five includes William & Gosling, Carpenters Air Freight, Corporate Freight and Gibson Freight.
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Sahaydri Group doctors to conduct surgeries in Fiji
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team from the Sahaydri Group of Hospitals in India will be in the country this week to conduct Angio-grams and Advance Cardiology. They will be based in Suva for almost three weeks conducting surgeries at a fraction of the cost involved in overseas treatment. Health Ministry’s Spokesperson – Evelyn Mani says the team consists of ten doctors, nurses and cardio surgeons. “It’s a public private partnership with the Ministry and Sahaydri hospital. We are trying to provide our people with services within the country so that way they don’t have to travel abroad to receive these specialist treatment.” So far seven patients have shown interest in having their treatment done by the Sahaydri Group. The Ministry is urging more patients to come forward. Surgeons from India’s Sahaydri Hospital have been coming to Fiji since 2012. News source: Fiji Sun
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Thought of the week
If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great. — Tom Hanks
Editorial
Pick of the week
From the desk of the Managing Editor
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his week we flaunt two Kiwi Indians being honoured with awards, Harjinder Singh, the head of Massey University’s Institute of Food Science and Technology, and Rahul Das, Rugby coach. Read their stories in this issue. Josh Billings’ great line comes to mind when I hear of achievers: “Be like a postage stamp—stick to one thing until you get there.” Sometimes that can be the key that differentiates winners from the rest of the crowd. Often the people who finish on the top are the ones who made up their mind and stuck to the grind. This is something you will often find me talking about. Among the many strengths in people, I advocate ‘persistence’ probably often comes on the top. Our Face of The Week this week also has a similar story to tell. We have tried to bring some snippets of everything that he has achieved at a young age, but there is a lot more to Dr Gaurav Sharma and hopefully we will bring you some more from him in subsequent issues. Indian Weekender is known for constantly bringing events that add value to the community and dedicated to making our country a better place for all Indians. We are now proud to bring another such endeavour--the ANZ Migrant Expo to be held on September 5, 2015 at The Cloud, Auckland City. We will bring you more details on this in our coming issues. The other upcoming event that Indian Weekender is proud to be a presenter for is the upcoming dedication to the legend Lata Mangeshkar in a musical evening called Khamoshian Gun Gunane Lagi. You will find more details of the event in this issue. Talking of achievers, we had Mahesh Bindra do us proud recently when he passionately took a stand against the policy of making it compulsory for new migrants/students to take out a 10-year personal medical policy. We all understand how this could clearly impact our own community. This is what it means to have our representatives, who can become the voice of our people. As we approach our Independence Day, there are many celebrations taking place all around. This issue carries many community notifications of what is happening and where. This is a wonderful time to come together as a community and celebrate the day of our independence, so make sure you mark out the event that appeals to you and attend with family and friends. No doubt we will bring you reports from each one, but you would surely not want to lose out on the experience. This week we round up our cover story on safety in the community. We are proud to be the first ones to speak on this issue and even go out into the community to interview people and bring to you their stories. It has been heartening to see that mainstream media have also chosen to speak on the issue. Coming out of our various interviews and feedback from our readers, we went back to the Police to seek advice on various issues and have included them here. We also bring you statistics from a recent survey stating how safe people actually currently feel. We would like to thank NZ Police and our readers in participating in our series. We do wish to continue to hear from you on the issue of safety and security and would like to address this through a regular column. Have a great week ahead. Until next time.
Pick of the week
The enormous full moon rising over the Kazan Kremlin and the Qol Sharif mosque in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia on early Wednesday, July 29, 2015. (Photo credit: Denis Tyrin/AP)
Giri Gupta
Indian Weekender : Volume 7 Issue 20 Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Managing Editor: Giri Gupta | girigupta@xtra.co.nz Editor: Annu Sharma | editor@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | reporter@indianweekender.co.nz Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | iwk.rizwan@gmail.com Reporter: Esha Chanda | iwk.eshac@gmail.com Reporter: Kumar Suresh | iwk.kumar@gmail.com Columnist: Paula Ray | paula@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | rohan@indianweekender.co.nz Senior Graphic & Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | mahesh@indianweekender.co.nz Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | designer@indianweekender.co.nz Accounts and Admin.: Farah Khan | accounts@indianweekender.co.nz Sales and Marketing: 021 1507950 / 09-2137335 | sales@indianweekender.co.nz Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of the team at the Indian Weekender Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, Auckland Printed at Horton Media, Auckland Copyright 2015. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.
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www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
OPINION / EDITORIAL
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India and the effects of the First World War
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he First World War was an important watershed that saw a major change in the Indians’ attitudes to the British Empire. At the end of the war, when the Indian soldiers returned home—some with life changing injuries and with a variety of eyeopening experiences—they came back to a country where people were seething with discontent against the empire they were defending. And their stories of suffering only exacerbated that accumulated anger. There were indeed many reasons for the Indians to be angry, as the war had caused serious economic and social dislocations in India’s domestic life. First of all, since all the expenses for the deployment of the British Indian Army had to be borne by the Government of India, there was increasing war expenditure, causing war debts, which rose by Rs 3 million between 1914 and 1923. The government could only manage this fiscal deficit by imposing new
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indirect taxes, as land taxes were already fixed either permanently or for longer terms. The higher taxes and transport dislocation caused by the war led to rising prices for essential goods, as the price index rose from 147 in 1914
to 281 in 1920, with 1873 as the base year. The poor peasants, who had already suffered from forced recruitment and family disruptions, as they sent their sons to war in Europe, now had to bear
the brunt of high inflation. This was compounded by unusual crop failures in 1918-19 and 1920-21, leading to near famine situations in parts of the country. To add to that, there was an influenza epidemic in 1918-19. And all these factors cumulatively led to high mortality rates—between 12 and 13 million people died in a decade between the census years of 1911 and 1921. Apart from the poor peasants, the rich peasants suffered from stagnant export prices of cash crops, and a market crash in 1917-18, which led to dispossession, most visible in Madras and UP between 1914 and 1922. In the urban areas, the middle and small traders were aggrieved against high taxes and fluctuating exchange rates. And the industrial working class suffered from falling real wages, resulting in an “epidemic strike fever”. More importantly, the educated middle classes, who had supported British war efforts at the beginning, were now thoroughly disillusioned because this was
no ordinary war, and it made them see for the first time the ugly face of Western civilization in its destructive worst. The ideological disillusionment about the West was accompanied by political disappointment with the constitutional reform—the Montagu-Chelmsford Reform of 1919, which did not give them the Home Rule they desired. As the Ottoman Empire was dismembered in Peace Treaties of 1919, the Khilafat issue rattled almost the entire Muslim community. And over and above everything, came the Rowlatt Act on March 18, 1919 to equip the government with extraordinary coercive power to deal with the problem of terrorism. This was not the reward the nationalists were expecting in return for the sacrifices of thousands of Indian soldiers in the battlefields of Europe and Mesopotamia. The result was the beginning of mass nationalism in India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
Can WTO legitimately make global trading rules? ¡¡Amit Dasgupta
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he last quarter of 2001 saw two dramatic events that had a transformational impact on the global community: first the terrorist attacks on the US in September followed by the launch of the Doha Development Round through the WTO’s 4th Ministerial Conference in Qatar in November. A couple of months prior to the commencement of the conference, Muraosoli Maran, then the Indian commerce minister, commissioned a book to be released prior to the meeting. The objective was to capture the sentiments and, more importantly, the fears of the developing and under-developed countries, as seen through the member states of SAARC. Bibek Debroy and I edited the volume, which, thereafter, went into multiple editions. After the manuscript was complete, Bibek and I argued about the title. All the chapters in the book were highly critical of the WTO and the arm-twisting of the developed countries, especially the US and EU, as also the autocratic manner in which the WTO, under its then director general, Mike Moore, was functioning. I had argued that there was a clear political agenda, driven primarily by the US, as to why the Doha Round was being dubbed the ‘Development Round’. None of the developing countries, for
instance, were demanders of a Development Round. It was a proposal from the developed countries, especially the US. In my view, post-9/11 and the WTO negotiations were intrinsically linked. Washington needed friends because chasing al-Qaida through overt and covert operations would necessarily require friendly and cooperative governments in the developing world. It was my assessment that proposing a development round was to win friends and influence governments in poor countries. This was nothing short of deception at the highest level. After all, a genuine development round meant that trade would lie at the heart of the development agenda with the developed world unilaterally opening-up to products from poorer countries. This was least likely to happen. I believed then, and I maintain now, that the WTO is a rich man’s club and that Doha was a fraud foisted on the developing world as it was always intended to collapse. My suggestion to Bibek, consequently, was to title the book: Savaging the WTO. With supreme diplomatic finesse, Bibek persuaded me to agree to something milder and the book was finally published under the title Salvaging the WTO’s Future: Doha and Beyond. Maran released the book on the eve of his departure for Doha and was forthcoming in expressing his apprehensions on the
Perhaps it is time to ask if WTO, controlled as it is by the corporate sector and developed countries, can legitimately be the policeman, guardian and rulemaker of the international trading system. proposed Round. After almost 15 years, the Development Round negotiations are yet to be concluded. Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz had argued that “the so-called free trade talks should be in public and not corporate interest” if they
are to be genuinely development oriented; instead, in his view, the talks would perpetuate a managed trade regime and a negotiation process that is undemocratic and non-transparent. The mandated deadline of July 31 to agree on a clearly defined work programme on the remaining Doha issues, especially because they have been so polarizing, has gone without substantive progress. India, too, has already given indication that it will not ratify the trade facilitation pact for want of any visible progress in negotiations on finding a permanent solution on food security for public stockholding purposes. At a time when farmers’
suicides continue unabated, the government recognizes that it is first accountable to its own people and not to an amorphous multilateral trading system that is visibly biased in favour of developed countries. For the WTO Secretariat, the talks are a makeor-break scenario that clearly reflects the widening chasm between rich and poor countries. Indeed, even the most diehard negotiator would concede that talks on the Doha Development Round are on the verge of collapse. The US does not see any significant gains through a successful round. Consequently, it is focussing on regional agreements. Europe is crisisridden to offer any major concessions. The Chinese economy is under severe strain with signs of a slowdown. A well-crafted deception, forged in the aftermath of 9/11, has played itself through successfully. Development was never the end objective. Perhaps it is time to ask if WTO, controlled as it is by the corporate sector and developed countries, can legitimately be the policeman, guardian and rulemaker of the international trading system. If not, the obituary for the Doha Development Round might well turn out to be the obituary for the WTO as well. Amit Dasgupta, a former diplomat, is the head of the Mumbai campus of the SP Jain School of Global Management. The views expressed are personal
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7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Land law: victim of cynicism and lack of vision ¡¡Amulya Ganguli
Modi government’s views. But the Congress has chosen to ignore he clumsily what Sharma said two years ago designated Right to because it runs counter to the Fair Compensation party’s objective of throwing a and Transparency in Land spanner in Modi’s “Make in India” Acquisition, Rehabilitation and industrial endeavours. The Congress is well aware that Resettlement (Amendment) Bill has been the victim of clumsiness if the process of industrialisation in forms other than its name. takes off, then the party can say To start with, these relate to the goodbye to any immediate chance of returning to power. Hence, absence of an uncluttered vision the aggressiveness with which term view of industrial growth among politicians about the best the party’s vice president, Rahul presumably because such a stance way to achieve the objective of Gandhi, has been opposing the would have enabled the BJP’s protecting farmers’ interests proposed amendments to dilute opponents to accuse it of being while advancing the cause the provisions on securing the pro-corporate, as Rahul Gandhi of industrialisation. consent of farmers, and declaring is doing today by alleging that the In a hasty manoeuvre to negate that he will not allow an inch Modi government is “suit-boot the provisions of the 1894 land of land to be acquired by the ki sarkar”. acquisition law, the politicians government or the industrialists. This one-sidedness has long seemingly lost a sense of balance The Congress’ crown prince been a feature of Indian politics and tilted rather too heavily does not seem to care that stalling and also of the popular culture in favour of the cultivators. industrialisation will hurt the reflected in fiction and films, Among those who noted the country in the long run since it will which propagates that the rich imbalance was the commerce stop a large number of peasants are evil while the poor are the minister in the Manmohan Singh to move from farms to factories repositories of all that is good in government, Anand Sharma, and also be detrimental to overall human beings. who said that “insistence on the development In this respect, B.R. Ambedkar by scuppering consent of 80 per cent of affected infrastructural was in a league of his own when projects. families will seriously delay land But it will not do to blame the he described villages as “a den of acquisition and in many cases halt cynicism of the Congress alone. As ignorance, narrow mindedness essential infrastructure projects”. Modi once pointed out, when the and communalism”, echoing As Finance Minister Arun Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Karl Marx’s condemnation Jaitley has pointed out, this supported the land bill in 2013, of the “idiocy of rural life”. objection echoes the Narendra they desisted from taking a long- If the BJP is now taking a stand,
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heir apparent has never said a word about his economic vision. On the other hand, the BJP’s attempt to wriggle out of the logjam created by the opponents of the proposed amendments by calling upon the states to frame their own laws offers no solution. Since land is in the concurrent list of the constitution, the states will be unable to draft a law, which goes against the central which is diametrically opposite legislation. For instance, the 80 to what it did in 2013, the reason per cent stipulation cannot be is that the responsibility of tampered with, nor the directive governance has made it realise about assessing the social impact that employment generation via of the acquisition. industrialisation and economic The BJP’s hope, therefore, reforms is the best way to lift that the need to attract investors millions out of poverty. will persuade the states to The opposition of Rahul prepare industry-friendly Gandhi and the Congress, laws is unlikely to be fulfilled. including Anand Sharma is However, even as parties such as not only a major hindrance to the Congress, which is leading the acquisition of land by the the charge against the land law, industrialists, but also condemns continue to pose as champions the cultivators to remain confined of the underprivileged, they to their increasingly unproductive may ponder over why they and sub-divided plots as the were defeated in last year’s land is parcelled out among general election despite enacting the succeeding generations. supposedly pro-poor laws such as Although the charges about the one on land and the other on being anti-industry have recently providing subsidised food-grain. persuaded Rahul Gandhi to Amulya Ganguli is a political say that he is not anti-big analyst. The views expressed business, the no-longer-young are personal.
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India, Bangladesh enclave residents get freedom after 68 years
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n August 1, when the clock struck midnight, around 52,000 inhabitants of 162 enclaves in Bangladesh and India got the taste of freedom for the first time in 68 years, officially becoming citizens of either of the two countries. It was also the moment when the tiny pockets of land—or enclaves—in each other’s territories got merged with their respective countries, bringing an end to one of the most complicated and confusing border disputes in the world. The moment marked the end of the stateless existence of these people as the neighbouring countries exchanged the land, following the historic land boundary agreement signed and ratified earlier this year. There was joy all around the 111 enclaves in Bangladesh, with people organising an array of programmes to mark the end of their identity crisis, deprivation and obscurity. They lit 68 candles, released 68 balloons, brought out processions and organised traditional sports and cultural programmes on Friday, July 31. In some enclaves, people brought out processions carrying the red and green flag of Bangladesh, and chanting slogans like: Noi ar chhit basi, amra ekhon Bangladeshi (We’re no more enclave people, we’re Bangladeshis).” “We are Bangladesh nationals now. I cannot describe in words how happy I am,” said 65-year-old Hashem Ali, an inhabitant
Cooch Behar: People lighting candles at Mashal Danga Enclave celebrating the India - Bangladesh enclave exchange in Cooch Behar district in West Bengal on August 1
of Bhitarkuti enclave in Lalmonirhat, the district that had 59 enclaves. Mansur Ali, 60, of Banshkata enclave said, “Now we will enjoy all kinds of state facilities. Our children would not need to use fake identities anymore. They will now get jobs.” Azizul Islam, general secretary of India-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee’s Lalmonirhat unit, said the national flag of Bangladesh was hoisted officially in all these enclaves. In India, similar programmes were held in Mashaldanga enclave in Cooch Bihar of
A boy of Poatarkuti enclave celebrates near India-Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal as India and Bangladesh exchange enclaves on August 1
West Bengal where political leaders and officials of local administration attended.
Did not help Lalit Modi on travel documents: Sushma Swaraj
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xternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said she never helped former IPL chief Lalit Modi in getting travel documents from the British authorities. The minister told Rajya Sabha that she has been waiting for the past last two weeks to make her stand clear. “This issue about me is being raised since the last two weeks. I had informed through the leader of the house that I am ready for discussion. Since last seven days, I am sitting here every day just so that a discussion may start,” she said amid ruckus in the house. “But they don’t start the discussion, they just create ruckus. The facts, this notice is based on, are baseless and untrue... I never requested the British government to give travel documents to Lalit Modi,” said Sushma Swaraj. Her remarks came as the first two weeks of the ongoing monsoon session have washed out amid opposition protests over some issues, including Sushma Swaraj’s alleged help to Lalit Modi and the Vyapam scam. Earlier, Congress members from Andhra Pradesh wanted to raise the issue of special status for the state after its bifurcation. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was ready for the discussion. Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal, meanwhile, objected to comments that MPs should not get salary as parliament was not functioning.
Sonia attacks Modi for ‘maun Naga peace accord signed, vrat’ on party scandals stakeholders welcome move
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ongress President Sonia Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on any issue taking a controversial turn, notably the recent ones involving the external affairs minister and two chief ministers. She said “Parliamentary majority does not give anyone a license to escape accountability.” Gandhi also ruled out any change of stand in the party’s position in parliament till such time action is not taken against those responsible for “gross wrong-doings”. “There is a mountain of incontrovertible evidence in public domain for PM to require resignations of EAM (Sushma Swaraj) and the two CMs,” the party’s official Twitter account quoted Gandhi as saying. Besides Sushma Swaraj, the reference was to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “The ‘#MannKibaat’ man appears to retreat into a ‘Maun Vrat’ (vow of silence) whenever there is a scandal involving his colleagues,” she said. “No productive discussions,no meaningful proceedings as long as action is not taken against those responsible for “gross wrong-doings”.
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Congress President Sonia Gandhi
Gandhi said while the prime minister never missed an opportunity to claim moral high ground on transparency, integrity and accountability, he maintained a “deafening silence” on some blatant transgressions by his party leaders. “We’re nt being aggressive just to match BJP’s aggression of past, we are forced to take our position bcoz of BJP’s brazen attitude (sic!),” she said in her tweet.
he central government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah this week signed a historic accord that promises to bring peace in the northeastern state ravaged by violence for more than six decades. Various stakeholders welcomed the move, saying it will bring a new dawn of peace and development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accord was an inspiration in “our troubled world”, and not only marked the “end of a problem, but the beginning of a new future”. “Today’s (3 August) agreement is a shining example of what we can achieve when we deal with each other in a spirit of equality and respect, trust and confidence; when we seek to understand concerns and try to address aspirations; when we leave the path of dispute and take the high road of dialogue. It is a lesson and an inspiration in our troubled world,” he said. He said the Naga political issue had lingered for six decades, “taking a huge toll on generations of our people”. NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, who signed the accord at the ceremony held at the Modi’s 7 Race Course Road residence, hailed it as a “momentous occasion”. “Under Narendra Modi, we have come close
to understanding each other and have worked out a new relation” with the government, he said, adding that the Naga people have great respect for Mahatma Gandhi. Muivah, 81, is a key leader of the NSCN-IM which has been in talks with the government since 1997 after a ceasefire agreement was signed. Meanwhile, various stakeholders in the peace process cautiously welcomed the accord. While congratulating Modi, Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang told media, “This positive development will pave the way for a permanent solution acceptable to the Nagas.” The Naga Hoho, the apex body of all Naga tribes of Nagaland, welcomed the accord but said it needed to see the contents of the deal before further commenting on it. Former Mizoram chief Minister Zoramthanga, who was successful in brokering peace between the centre and the NSCN-IM, also congratulated the government and the Naga leaders on signing the peace accord. “... I am sure both the parties signed an agreement which is acceptable to them,” Zoramthanga, who was once a militant leader of the rebel Mizo National Front before the outfit surrendered in 1986 and entered the political mainstream, told IANS over phone from Mizoram capital Aizawl.
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Rs.1,150 crore plan Maggi will be back on shelves as soon as possible: to build strategic petroleum reserves Nestle India chief Red
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uresh Narayanan, the new India chief of the $97.5 billion Swiss processed food giant Nestle, last week said the popular instant noodle brand Maggi will be back on retail shelves as soon as possible even as the company will now focus on other areas of operations as well. Narayanan, 55, who officially took charge of India operations last week replacing managing director Etienne Benet who stepped down on July 25, said dairy, chocolates and confectioneries will all be in focus to push growth. “All of this is part of the agenda,” he said in a meeting with select media persons. He, however, declined any direct comment on the controversy over the ban on Maggi noodles, over which Nestle has moved the Bombay High Court. “We have to get back Maggi on the shelves. As of now, the matter is sub judice. Everything depends on the outcome. Let’s wait and see,” he said. “The journey of Maggi will continue and the journey of other categories will also be emphasised.” Having specifically
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flown in to India from Manila, where he was overseeing the Philippines operations as chairman, Narayanan said he had faced a host of challenges in his career and that the current one too would tide over. India’s official food regulator on June 5 had banned the sale of Maggi after an allegedly high amount of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) were found in samples. Following that, Nestle withdrew all the variants of the noodle, while continuing to maintain that its products were safe. At the same time, a number of other countries also found the
noodle imported from India to be safe. The countries included Britain, Singapore and Canada. For Nestle India, Maggi was the dominant brand under “prepared dishes and cooking aids” and accounted for 31.5 per cent of the sales in 2014. Among the other three divisions, “milk products and nutrition” fetched 47.1 per cent, followed by 12.2 per cent for “chocolates and confectionery” and 9.2 per cent for “beverages”. The Maggi unit saw a 1.8 per cent increase in volumes in 2014 over the previous year and 8.1-percent rise in value at Rs.21.4 billion.
o secure India’s energy economy against supply and price fluctuations globally, an additional funding of more than Rs.1,150 crore is being provided for the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL). Through supplementary demands for grant presented to parliament earlier last week, union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought an allocation of Rs.1,153 crore for buying crude oil to fill the first strategic crude oil reserve being built at Visakhapatnam by ISPRL. India plans for a strategic reserve that could hold up to 1.3 million tonnes of crude oil. Under this plan, the government would set up a Strategic Crude Oil Storage of about 5.33 million tonnes at two other locations in the country— Mangalore (1.5 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes) in the first phase. The Mangalore and Padur projects, both on the western coast of Karnataka, are nearly complete, awaiting pipeline connections from the nearest ports. A second phase is also under planning, which seeks to create 12.5 million tonnes storage
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
capacity at Padur, Chandikhol (Odisha), Bikaner (Rajasthan) and Rajkot (Gujarat). While India currently imports about 80 per cent of its oil requirements, the International Energy Agency predicts that by 2020, India could become the world’s largest oil importer. The current slump in oil prices that have been in steady fall since the later half of last year, is considered an opportune time to build up strategic oil reserves. The India basket of crude oil fell this week to levels around $52 for a barrel of nearly 160 litres.
‘Make in India’ for 90 medium combat jets
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n another major step towards self reliance in the defence sector, a plan is being finalised to produce 90 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in India, according to the informed sources. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be drafted soon after the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) comes in place. Expected to be one of the biggest projects under the Make in India campaign, the cost of the programme is expected to be around $30 billion, the sources said. The Indian Air Force requires 126 MMRCAs. With India getting into an agreement with France to get 36 Rafale fighter jets in flyaway condition, there was a lack of clarity on how the rest of the gap will be filled. The sources said that now these remaining jets will be made in India, in what will be a major step in domestic manufacturing of such aircraft. According to the sources, the air force does not have
enough squadrons in the event of a joint war with Pakistan and China. “An RFP is expected to be drafted soon for making 90 MMRCAs in India. A global tender will be floated. The private sector will also have an active participation,” said an official from the defence ministry. As many foreign bidders were in the race when India set out to buy 126 MMRCAs, for which Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, was finally chosen, the sources said all original bidders will be invited. The list of fighters that were in competition for the MMRCA bid included Russia’s MIG-35 (RAC MiG), Swedish Gripen, Dassault, American Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s F/A-18 Super
Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian firms. The sources said that out of the 90 aircraft, 54 will be single-seaters and the remaining 36 tandemseaters. There will be an option of acquiring 45 additional fighters as a follow-up order. The Indian Air Force is expected to be down to 32 squadrons by the end of this year, 576 fighter jets short of the 750-strong fighter jet fleet required as per vision documents to face simultaneous twofront wars with Pakistan and China. At least three squadrons of the vintage Soviet origin MiG-21 and MiG-27 single engine aircraft are scheduled to be phased out.
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www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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US House introduces resolution on India’s Independence Day
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mi Bera, Co-chair of Congressional Caucus on India and IndianAmericans, has introduced a resolution to recognise India’s Independence Day and the significance of the US-India partnership. The resolution introduced by the lone Indian-American lawmaker commemorates the 68th anniversary of India’s Independence Day on August 15, and celebrates the contributions of Indian Americans in various
sectors of the American society. “As the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy, the US and India share common values and the growing partnership between the two countries makes sense,” it said. The resolution also recognises the importance of continuing and growing the strategic partnership between the United States and India to further common goals of supporting democracy, pluralism, and rule of law. With a population of more than 1.2 billion people,
the Republic of India is the world’s largest democracy, and shares a commitment to promoting human rights and freedom, it said. Mentioning the economic dimension of the US relationship with India, which is based on trade and investment interests, the resolution said these ties have helped create jobs and growth in both countries. “On this Independence Day anniversary, and as the son of Indian parents, I’m proud to recognise the contributions of
this community to our military efforts, law enforcement, scientific innovation, and so many other aspects of public life,” said Bera. The resolution was co-sponsored among others by Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu-American in the House, Joseph Crowley, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Elliot Engel, top Democrat on House Foreign Affairs committee, and George Holding, co-chair of Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.
Indian-American student baseball player honoured
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rising baseball player Kumar Nambiar from Westchester county will be the first Indian-American student athlete to be honoured as the “New York State Player of the Year,” media reported. Nambiar, a 2015 graduate of Mamaroneck High School, was felicitated on Sunday, August 2 during the 16th annual Heritage of India Festival at Kensico Dam Plaza County Park, Daily Voice newspaper quoted the event organisers as saying. The Indian American Cultural Association of Westchester (IACAW), that serves the Indian community of Westchester County, will organise the event. Playing as a pitcher—the player who delivers the ball to the batsman—Nambiar was a
Kumar Nambiar will be the first Indian-American student player to be honoured as “New York State Player of the Year” on August 2. (Photo: Courtesy, Daily Voice)
key player who helped his team, Mamaroneck High Tigers, win
British-Indian sells food to fund school in India
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British-Indian woman is selling Indian street food in London to fund a school for girls in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer town, a media report said. The food lovers are making a beeline to Tanya Gohil’s stall called Devi’s at Maltby Street market. Gohil’s stall sells dishes like the Mmmmumbai Grill – her take on a grilled club sandwich. According to her, she was born with “the British devotion to Indian cooking”, the London Evening Standard reported. “If you have leftover curry and had too much to drink the night before, the first thing you do is create a toasted, buttered sandwich with curry, onion and cheese,” she was quoted as saying. And the Bombay sandwich is a famous street food staple. “I wanted to create the most pimped-up version of the two,”
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she added. Gohil, who studied economics and development at Manchester University, has visited India twice. The first visit was to help a girls’ education organisation and the second for road-testing recipes. She aims to raise up to 20,000 pounds through crowd-funding to buy land in Jaisalmer on which to build a school. “I am selling out every weekend, which is not something I expected. I have also been approached to do pop-ups in pubs around south London and I can’t keep up. There is only one of me!” Gohil is hopeful that her efforts will help bring about real change in India. “This is not just about educating girls,” she says. “It’s about educating boys and men about the changes that need to happen. And change begins with education.
the Section 1 Class AA State Championship in May, the report
said. Nambiar will be pitching for Yale University next season. “Baseball stardom is considered rare among Asian Indians. Nambiar might even be the first Indian-American named a state high school baseball Player of the Year anywhere in the US,” Sid Mehta, volunteer broadcaster for Bedford Central School District TV and Fox Lane Foxes varsity sports, said. Few Indian-Americans across the country play baseball beyond Little League. Hardly any of them become the ace of their pitching staff as Nambiar has or named the most valuable player (MVP) of the varsity team, the report added. “Nambiar is a true trail-blazer in the Indian-American community here in the Westchester county,” Mehta added.
Indian students get $100,000 funding for startup
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startup founded by three Indians and a German student at the Mississippi State University (MSU) has received $100,000, setting a record for private investment in a student-run startup at the university, a media report said. CampusKnot, founded by Rahul Gopal, Hiten Patel, Perceus Mody and Katja Walter, is an online educational hub designed to increase collaboration among faculty and students, the ClarionLedger newspaper reported. “We’re excited, but we’re scared at the same time,” said Gopal, a senior aerospace engineering major at MSU. “It’s funny, I guess, how I feel about it, but I’m looking forward to continuing to grow the company.” CampusKnot, which is free to users, seeks to serve as a single website for students at MSU and other colleges and universities to easily reach teachers and classmates, besides offering space for faculty to post course syllabi and related academic material. CampusKnot debuted in 2013. Since then, creators spent two years refining their project at MSU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Business. They won secondplace in the centre’s 2013 startup competition and, in December, earned a $2,500-startup grant.
Indian-origin man develops thought-controlled prostheses
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n Indian American electrical engineer from the Stanford University has developed a technique to make brain-controlled prostheses more precise. The thought-controlled device developed by Krishna Shenoy and his team analyses the neuron sample and makes dozens of corrective adjustments to the estimate of the brain’s electrical pattern – all in the blink of an eye. “Brain-controlled prostheses will lead to a substantial improvement in quality of life,” Shenoy said. “The speed and accuracy demonstrated in this prosthesis results from years of basic neuroscience research and from combining these scientific discoveries with the principled design of mathematical control algorithms,” he added. Shenoy’s team tested a brain-controlled cursor meant to operate a virtual keyboard. The system is intended
Krishna Shenoy, an electrical engineer from Stanford University
for people with paralysis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS degrades one’s ability to move. “The thought-controlled keypad would allow a person with paralysis or ALS to run an electronic wheelchair and use a computer or tablet,” Shenoy informed. The goal is to get thought-controlled prosthetics to people with ALS. Today these people may use an eye-tracking system to direct cursors or a “head mouse” that
tracks the movement of the head. Both are fatiguing to use as neither provides the natural and intuitive control of readings taken directly from the brain. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also given Shenoy’s team its nod to conduct a pilot clinical trial of their thought-controlled cursor on people with spinal cord injuries. When we type or perform other precise tasks, our brains and muscles usually work together effortlessly. But when a neurological disease or spinal cord injury severs the connection between the brain and limbs, once-easy motions become difficult or impossible. In recent years, researchers have sought to give people suffering from injury or disease some restored motor function by developing thoughtcontrolled prostheses. Such devices tap into the relevant regions of the brain, bypass damaged connections and deliver thought commands to devices such as virtual keypads.
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SPORTS
7 August 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz
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I’m a girl first, then a sportswoman: Sania
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ew sportspersons are associated with glamour and fashion but tennis star Sania Mirza, who walked the ramp at the India International Jewellery Week (IIJW), contends she has the same wishes and desires as a normal girl, despite being in a challenging sport. “I am a sportsperson but I’m a girl first. And that’s why I’m fond of jewellery just like any other girl. “Being a sportsperson doesn’t mean that I don’t have desires and wishes that other women have,” she said on the show’s opening day this week. Sania, who also said that she is excited about walking the ramp at the IIJW, is no stranger to fashion though, having walked the ramp in various types of outfits at shows such as Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, Indian Bridal Fashion Week, and Global Fashion Show. Sania displayed the collection of
Sania Mirza
designer Moni Agarwal for her brand, Zohrakshi. The IIJW is the sixth edition of the the show launched in 2010 to showcase India’s finest in jewellery in terms of design and innovation. Sania also said that she is proud about her Wimbledon victory with Swiss star Martina Hingis. The Grand Slam win was also her first doubles title in the women’s category. Previously she had won three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
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Inaugural Pro Wrestling League from November 8 to 29
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he inaugural Pro Wrestling League (PWL) will be held between November 8 and 29 and the six franchise-based event will see the participation of not only the world’s top male and female stars but also the young Indian grapplers. Indian icons—double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, 2012 London Games bronze medal winner Yogeshwar Dutt and 2012 World Championships bronze medallist Geeta Phogat—will also go under the hammer during the auction. Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and sports firm Pro-Sportify, the organisers of the league, claimed that as many 20 Olympic medallists and eight reigning world champions have already shown interest to be in the auction. PWL has a prize and auction purse that aggregates to $3 million. Sushil was full of praise for the league, saying it will provide Indian grapplers the exposure which they now get abroad. “It will be a great boost when the cream of
world wrestling comes to India. This will be a great opportunity for our players to travel with them and learn a lot,” the 2010 world champion said. “Besides the league will keep the focus on the sport and motivate the upcoming wrestlers,” added the 33-year-old. The world’s top 66 wrestlers, six city-based franchises covering north to south and east to west of India will vie for the top honour and the prize purse of Rs.3 crore. The league format will see six city-based teams battle it out against each other once. Each squad will consist of 11 players -- six men and five women; six Indians and five
foreigners. The PWL will be played on the best-of-nine format, but all the nine bouts will be contested during the league phase. Each bout will have three rounds of three minutes each, separated by a oneminute break. To make the contest more interesting players will get half-a-point bonus for fall and also half a point bonus for greater superiority that will be determined by a 15-point lead, PWL governing council chairman G.S. Mander said during the launch of the event. The competition will be televised live to more than 150 countries. “Pro Wrestling League is a step in the right direction. Of late, Indian wrestlers have been doing extremely well. And with financial boost from the League, I am sure our wrestlers will reach greater heights,” WFI president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh said.
Final day of World Summer Willis breaks Games lifts NZ’s medal count NZ 1,500m record
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uring the final day of competition on August 3 at the World Summer Games in Los Angeles, New Zealand athletes excelled in the pool, on the bocce court, in the equestrian arena and on the track. Matthew Slone (Special Olympics Waikato) and Stephen Moody (Special Olympics Horowhenua) were both gold medalists in the pool in the 50 metres butterfly final and the 200 metres breastroke final respectively. Matthew was the fastest qualifier heading into the final against very tough competition from India and China but he pulled out all stops to achieve a personal best and a gold medal. Stephen came from behind in a powerful final length to take out the gold in his event against Macau and Latvia. Equally impressive in the pool today was Sam MuirJames (Special Olympics Counties) in the 800 metres freestyle final. This was a very fast division and Sam finished a credible sixth place in the final. Nikolas Taris (Special Olympics Tamaki) added to his medals by securing silver in the walking trail at the Equestrian Centre at Griffith Park. The Unified bocce team and Unified partner Olwyn Humphreys took out the silver medal in the final at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. “Both Monique and Trevor Hetherington (Special Olympics Wellington) have played out of their skins and haven’t relied on their Unified partners. (The partnerships) were evenly
¡¡Author: Athletics NZ
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matched and so they were very good combinations”, said Head Bocce Coach, Lyn Ryan. Jacob Osborne (Special Olympics Counties) in very warm conditions took out the silver medal in the 1500 metres and knocked nine seconds off this time to achieve a personal best in the final. The New Zealand team performed very well at the World Summer Games with a total of 32 medals (11 gold, 12 silver and 9 bronze) awarded over eight sports.
ick Willis set a New Zealand 1500m record at the Herculis Diamond League meeting in Monaco recently. Willis trimmed a quarter of a second off the time he set at the same meeting last year, recording 3:29:66, also an Oceania record for the metric mile distance. In a very fast race, won by Kenyan Asbel Kiprop in 3:26.69, Willis avoided the breakneck speed of the first two laps, preferring to sit near the back of the field before making his way through the pack on the last lap, running 54.7 for the final 400 metres, faster than anyone else in the race and grabbing fifth place, the fastest ever time for 5th place in a 1,500m race. Speaking to Andrew Alderson of nzherald.co.nz Willis said, “I couldn’t have asked for a better race to run that sort of time. I slotted in near the back and ran dead even splits. I was still a bit disappointed to get behind a second wall of Kenyans behind Kiprop with 200m to go. I wasn’t sure whether to go to lane three, or wait until the home straight and wait for a gap. “It took a long time but I got through. I crossed the line not feeling the jubilation I thought after running a sub 3m 30s. I really wanted to finish in the top two. I was ready to drive more, but it’s my fault for being slightly behind those guys. “It’s my best race time-wise so I must be in some of the best shape of my life. The blessing of this race on calendar for the world championships versus the London
Nick Willis
Olympics is that there are six weeks to go rather than three. I will go back to basics and rebuild at altitude. “This will also give me a good seeding going into world championships (starting on August 22 in Beijing), so the heats won’t be stacked with too many good guys. It puts me in the top five or six in contention for medals.” Willis has raced sparingly in Europe this season, hoping to hit peak form for the IAAF World Championships, starting in Beijing on 22 August, where he has been selected for both the 1500m and 500m events.
KID ZONE
www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
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Drawing by Racha na Rajeev
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Spot five diffe rences
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in a village. One day nce upon a time, there lived six blind men hant in the village the villagers told them, Hey, there is an elep is. They decided, Even today. They had no idea what an elephant us go and feel it anyway. though we wou ld not be able to see it, let . Everyone of them All of them went whe re the elephant was a pilla r, said the first man touched the elephant. Hey, the elephant is who touched his leg. who touched the tail. Oh, no! it is like a rope, said the second man the third man who Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree, said touched the trunk of the elephant. who touched the ear of It is like a big hand fan said the fou rth man fifth man who touched the elephant. It is like a huge wall, said the the belly of the elephant. touched the tusk of the It is like a solid pipe, Said the sixth man who elephant. They began to argue about the elephant and eve ryone of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting man was passing agitated. A wise , What is the matter? by and he saw this. He stopped and asked them hant is like. Each one They said, We cannot agree to what the elep was like. The wise man of them told what he thought the elephant . The reason eve ry one calmly explained to them, All of you are right one of you touched the of you is telling it differently beca use each the elephant has all those different part of the elephant. So, actually features what you all said. t. They felt happy that Oh! eve ryone said. The re was no more figh they were all right. some truth to what The moral of the story is that there may be truth and sometimes someone says. Sometimes we can see that ive which we may not not beca use they may have different perspect d men, we shou ld say, agree too. So, rather than arguing like the blin don't Maybe you have you r reasons. This way we get in arguments.
Send us stories, drawings,poems and other contributions by your little ones along with their photographs for this page. Email us at editor@indianweekender.co.nz
Riddles What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries
I have 28 days in a month. Which month I am?
I am the biggest alphabet, as I contain the most water in the world. Who am I?
What has a bark, but no bite.
What can honk without a horn?
What does a cat have that no other animal has?
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From the desk of
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The celluloid chapter Continuing our series from last week, we look at some of the best-known women directors in the world of cinema who are at the top of their game.
Kathryn Bigelow Notable work: The Hurt Locker (2009) The fourth woman to be nominated at the Academy Awards in the category of Best Director and the only one to take the award home, Kathryn Bigelow’s win marked a monumental occasion for female directors in Hollywood in 2009. The Hurt Locker, Bigelow’s seventh feature film, is an American war film about a three-man US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq war. The movie was nominated in nine categories and eventually won six. Bigelow made her directorial debut in 1981 with The Loveless featuring Willem Dafoe and has since then directed movies such as Near Dark (1987), Blue Steel (1989), Point Break (1991) Strange Days (1995), The Weight of Water (2000) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Jane Campion Notable work: The Piano (1993) A New Zealand screenwriter, producer and director, Jane Campion is the second of the four women who has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the first woman to win the prestigious Palme d’Or (Golden Palm)—the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. She wrote and directed her masterpiece The Piano, a 1993 drama film based on the west coast of New Zealand about a mute female piano player and her daughter. The movie won Oscars for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. An impressive storyteller, Campion’s later works includes Portrait of a Lady (1996), Holy Smoke! (1999) and Bright Star (2009). She also directed the engaging crime drama Top of the Lake, a 2013 television mini-series.
Haifaa al-Mansour Notable work: Wadja (2012) Haifaa al-Mansour, the first female film-maker from Saudi Arabia, is the one of the country’s best-known and most controversial directors. The first person to shoot a film entirely in Saudi Arabia, Al-Mansour began by making short films. One of her shorts, The Only Way Out, won awards in the United Arab Emirates and in the Netherlands. She also worked on Women Without Shadows, a documentary that talks about the lives of women in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf that was shown at 17 international festivals. The 2012 film Wadjda took five years to complete mainly because the director spent most of her time trying to find financial backing and obtaining film permissions. Filmed on the streets of Riyadh, the film-maker often worked from the back of a van, as she could not publicly work with the men in the crew. Her upcoming project, A Storm in the Stars, is set for a 2016 release.
Deepa Mehta Notable works: Elements trilogy An Indian film-maker based in Canada, Deepa Mehta is best known for her Elements trilogy— Fire (1996), Earth (1998) and Water (2005)—that talks about the controversial social reform issues in India. Fire, the first in the series, is a romantic drama film starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das—one of the few mainstream films in India that explores homosexual relations. Mehta found herself in controversial waters upon the release of the film in India. It was criticised for featuring a lesbian relationship, which is “not a part of Indian history or culture.” Mehta’s other notable works include The Forgotten Woman (2008), Heaven on Earth (2008) and Midnight’s Children (2012) based on Salman Rushdie’s famous book of the same name.
Lynne Ramsay Notable works: Ratcatcher (1999) Scottish film director, producer, cinematographer and writer, Lynne Ramsay is best known for her Ratcatcher—her debut feature film—that was screened at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Ratcatcher narrates the story of working-class childhood and won critical acclaim and awards. Ramsay has also directed two other movies, Morvern Callere (2002) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). Her stories have recurring themes of guilt, grief, and death. We Need to Talk About Kevin, based on Lionel Shriver’s novel, explored the complicated relationship between a mother and her troubled son. The film was premiered in 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Knowing the symptoms of cervical cancer can save your life
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ancer of the uterine cervix is the second most common cancer among women in the world after breast cancer. It is the most common cancer among Indian women. Cervical cancer usually develops over a number of years, often with no symptoms. It commonly occurs in women over 35 years of age. It rarely occurs before the age of 25 years. In New Zealand about 200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and approximately 70 women die from the disease. Causes: Cervical cancer is caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common sexually transmitted viral infection affecting an estimated 80% of sexually active women at some point in their lives. Most HPV infections clear by themselves but some high risk types can cause cell changes on the cervix that may lead to cervical cancer 10 to 20 years after infection. Factors that can increase the risk of developing cervical cancer include:
Sexual activity: Cervical cancer is very rare in women who have never had sexual intercourse. Any woman who has been sexually active is at risk of developing cervical cancer. Women who began having sexual intercourse as adolescents appear to be at greater risk of developing cervical cancer. Women who have had multiple sexual partners (and those whose partners have had multiple sexual partners) also appear to be at greater risk of developing cervical cancer. Smoking: Smoking increases a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer. The risk appears to increase with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years of smoking. Diethylstilboestrol (DES): Daughters of women who were given the drug DES during pregnancy to prevent miscarriages are at increased risk of developing cervical cancer. This drug was used until around 1970. Other factors that may increase the risk of developing cervical cancer include the use of oral contraceptives and having a weakened immune system.
Symptoms: During the early stages of cervical cancer there are often no symptoms at all but the most common symptom experienced is abnormal vaginal bleeding. This bleeding may occur between periods, following sexual intercourse or after the menopause. Menstrual bleeding may also be heavier. Other symptoms that may occur include: Unusual vaginal discharge, Pain in the pelvic area, Excessive tiredness, Swollen or painful legs, Lower back pain Prevention: It can be prevented, however, through
infections that lead to cervical cancer. The target groups for vaccination are females aged 9 to 45 years, and males aged 9 to 26 years. The vaccine is offered free as part of the New Zealand Immunization Schedule to girls at 12 years of age (Year 8 at school). For maximum protection the full three-dose course should be taken. Roopa Aur Aap Charitable Trust and (CMDHB) Counties Manukau District Health Board are organizing a workshop to spread awareness about the Cervical Cancer and risk screening and early detection; factors. Meena Narang, Counties smear tests are recommended for women between ages 20 and Manukau District Health Board 70 as a means of detecting cells will be the guest speaker at that may develop into cancer. the workshop. Cervical Screening: Because cervical cancer usually develops The details of the workshop are as follows: slowly and has no symptoms in Date: Sunday, 23rd August 2015 the early stages, regular cervical Time: 3 PM Onwards smears to detect early cell Venue: BSCT Hall, 13 May Rd, changes are recommended for Mt Roskill, Auckland all women aged 20 to 70 who Confirm your presence by calling have ever been sexually active. Roopa Suchdev at 021665609 or HPV Vaccine: A vaccine against email at roopaauraap@gmail.com HPV is available in New Zealand. References: Southern Cross It has been formulated to prevent health Group the four most common HPV
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Unwell Aishwarya turns perfect muse for Manish at AICW 2015
AICW: Kangana’s ‘queen’ act for Manav Gangwani’s show
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anav Gangwani is known for his opulent couture line and his collection at the ongoing Amazon India Couture Week (AICW) 2015 in New Delhi echoed the same design thought when the “Queen” of Bollywood Kangana Ranaut walked for the designer in an outfit that defined exquisite craftsmanship. “She is a very dear friend who I have worked with so she was the best fit for my collection as she represents a woman who has her own fashion choices and believes in leading her life on her own terms,” Gangwani said. Kangana wore a glittery gown and completed the look with nude
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esigner Manish Malhotra unveiled his newest limited edition collection titled “The Empress Story” at the Amazon India Couture Week (AICW) 2015 and who could be the better choice than beauty queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the showstopper for the final show of the fashion gala. Despite being under the weather, Aishwarya looked as confident as ever as she walked for the designer in an ensemble that reflected femininity and sensuousness. “I have known him (Manish) from very long . He was with me right from the beginning when I started my journey so it is certainly a proud moment for me to walk for him as a showstopper. I have viral but I had to be here as I always liked his collection. Its so special,” said the globally renowned Indian actress and the mother of one. The showcase was held at a special off-site event at The Leela Palace in New Delhi on Sunday 2 August and since Malhotra is known as the favourite designer amongst the Bollywood fraternity, the show had to possess grandeur. While Kriti Sanon, Aditi Rao Hydari, Pernia Qureshi and Pakistani actor Imran Abbas represented the young faces of Bollywood, veterans like Shabana Azmi added their own charm to the fashion gala. However what took everyone’s attention was the presence of veteran actress Jaya Bachchan who was not only seen sharing some light moments with Shabana but also spotted clapping for her daughterin-law Aishwarya as she walked the ramp.
Malhotra showcased his collection titled “The Empress Story” - a line that will debut in Spring 2016 at the first Manish Malhotra Flagship Boutique in London and Dubai.
Political background has made me wiser: Riteish
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ctor Riteish Deshmukh, son of late former Maharashtra chief minister and union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, feels that being born in a political family has made him wiser. “I hope that being born in a political family has made me wiser, because you are very careful about the words that you speak. Since childhood I have realised and known what one speaks and how things are put forward in front of media. And always being an architect has taught me ‘Less is More’. So I try and choose wisely what I say. “Belonging to a political background with some party, my viewpoint apart from being an individual are inclined towards where my father or my brother
belong. So my opinions for it, against it or with it, I try to keep it to myself. As I know being from films my comments will be taken a bit ahead and reacted more than usual,” Riteish said to a query on how his political background
has affected him as a person, as a celebrity and also in choice of his films. “About choices of films, it has nothing to do with political backdrop or else I would have never done Grand Masti. I think the films I choose to do, may be it will sound politically incorrect, are the ones which I enjoy to do and I am glad that people enjoy watching them too,” he said at a promotional event for his forthcoming film Bangistan, whose release date has been pushed from July 31 to August 7 due to the strong pull of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali. His co-star Pulkit and director Karan Anshuman were also present. The debut of critic-turned-director Karan Anshuman, Bangistan is a satire on terrorism.
make-up. She was equally excited to walk the ramp. “This dress weighs around 30 kg so, I was not walking the ramp but it was pushing me towards the direction. I find Manav’s designs extremely amazing and feminine. Couture in India is bridal and I was amazed to see the detailing,” Kangana said. Titled Le’amoureuse that means the beloved, Gangwani’s collection was sensuous, feminine and larger than life. The designer took the fashionistas to a floral garden to celebrate the sensuality of a woman depicted through the avenue of fashion.
Enjoying being an entrepreneur: Gul Panag
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ctress Gul Panag, who recently turned an entrepreneur with a fitness app, says that she is enjoying the current phase in her life. “I’m enjoying being an entrepreneur. I’ve co-founded a tech startup that makes fitness apps. Our first app, First Run, came out two months ago. In addition to that, I run a production company that makes interesting digital television content,” said Gul at the curtain raiser of the Lakme Fashion Week. She will be wearing her close friend Urvashi Kaur’s designs at the event. Asked about the culture of studios and big production houses ruling the film production market in Bollywood, Gul, who is also a producer, said: “It’s a huge challenge to be an independent filmmaker and try and match up to the marketing blitz that bigger studios and bigger producers put up. “But that’s the nature of the game, you can’t be in the game and complain about the rules.
You know what the rules are, you need to play by the rules.” Gul hasn’t been seen in films of late after Ab Tak Chappan 2 but clarifies that she doesn’t want to quit acting. “Of course I do enjoy acting, and reading scripts is what the challenge comes down to. I haven’t really found interesting scripts so far. There is a film in the pipeline. You’ll hear about it soon. Watch this space.”
Trying to spread Geeta’s story to find her family: Kabir Khan
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ajrangi Bhaijaan has found an unexpected coincidence with a reallife story of an Indian woman named Geeta stranded in Pakistan and the film’s director Kabir Khan said that they’re trying to spread the story across various media platforms so that her family can get in touch. “We came to know of Geeta’s case just two days before and it
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was extremely surprising. There are far too many resemblances, little girl, who can’t speak, lost across the border. So when I received calls from newspapers and channels, I thought we should talk about it. “If we can help in any way to bring attention to it, to spread more information across newspapers and channels, then it’d be really good for the case,” he said at a press conference.
Khan also said that Salman Khan was also surprised hearing about the story. “He too said the same thing that we should talk about it through tweets and other mediums. Because our film is still running in the theatres and has been successful, so if we use this platform to talk about the case, then this news will spread farther.” In the film, Nawazuddin Siddiqui helps Salman and Harshaali
Malhotra to find their destination. “We can do only one thing, which is to talk to the media. We can actually do what the character of Nawazuddin said in the film, ‘there is only medium TV’. If we spread it through TV, newspapers, then perhaps someone will recognize Geeta or perhaps a relative could inform them about such a story. Our ultimate goal is to see that the family knows about it,” said Khan.
The Indian government too has got into the act, sending the Indian envoy to Karachi to meet the hearing and speech-impaired woman, who was handed over to the Edhi Foundation after she accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory in 2003 when 11. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj subsequently said they will bring Geeta home.
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Complimented Salman on new, emotional avatar, says Bhagyashree
Pyar Kiya is often considered his debut film since he left a good impression on the minds of viewers. Their chemistry in the film is discussed even today. But post the film, Bhagyashree went away from the spotlight, and post marriage and having kids, she only did a film once in a while, even down South as well as Marathi and Bhojpuri films. But her interaction with Salman does show that they’re still in touch and that he hasn’t forgotten his first heroine.
Anil finds Tom Cruise ‘impossibly great’
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ollywood actor Anil Kapoor has called his 2011 Hollywood film Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol co-star Tom Cruise “impossibly great”.
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aine Pyar Kiya fame Bhagyashree said that after watching Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, she complimented him for his new and emotional avatar. “I really liked the film. I even told Salman that he came across in a completely new avatar. And it’s a different kind of emotional connect that he’s got with the audience this time around,” Bhagyashree told media at designer Rohit Verma’s store launch after being asked if she had seen the film. Bhagyashree had arrived on the big stage with her debut in Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya as a sweet and innocent girl in love with Salman. Though, Salman’s debut film was Biwi Ho To Aisi, it is Maine
Anil is all praise for Cruise’s latest offering Mission: Impossible— Rogue Nation. “Came out of #RogueNation in a @ TomCruise trance! The man defies laws of physics and biology to prove, once again, that he is Impossibly great!” Anil tweeted on Sunday. The Mr.India star found the film “unbelievably, insanely, jawdroppingly awesome”. “Seriously @TomCruise! Is there anything you can’t do?!” asked the Bollywood actor. On the work front, Anil will be seen in Anees Bazmee’s forthcoming masala entertainer Welcome Back.
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the Himalayas. Produced by Kamal Birani and Mahesh Bhatt, presented by Hans Productions and Reality Films, The Silent Heroes is slated to release in September.
Never been, never will be talent like Kishore Kumar: Lata
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elody queen Lata Mangeshkar paid tribute to cinematic legend Kishore Kumar on his 86th birth anniversary on 4 August, saying he was a rare talent.
Didn’t face problem working with deaf kids: Mahesh Bhatt
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ournalist-turned-director Mahesh Bhatt said he did not face any problem while shooting with the 13 deaf children for his debut film The Silent Heroes. Sharing his experiences of shooting with the deaf children in the Himalayas, Mahesh said, “The best part is we did not face any problems with these kids. In fact, the problems were with the real artistes who call themselves professional actors, theatre actors with experience of so many years. “We had a tough time with these actors but with the deaf kids, we did not have any problem,” he said. Talking about his work experience with deaf people, Mahesh said: “I feel there is no problem in working with the deaf community as far as you have the passion and the emotions to work with them. One should have the art and capability to listen to silence.”
The 85-year-old singer took to microblogging website Twitter to share her thoughts. She wrote her message in Hindi, and stressed how there has never been a talent like the multi-faceted Kishore Kumar—a singer, composer, poet, writer, director, producer, hero, scriptwriter—and there never will be another talent like him. Lata also shared a link of the song along with a tweet. The duo have together given hits like Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai, Tere bina zindagi se, Holi ke din, Bhool gaya sab kuch, Wada karo nahin chhodoge tum mera saath and Bheegi bheegi raaton mein among many.
Drishyam mints over Rs.17 crore in 2 days
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Recently, the film’s teaser was released and it showed a few deaf children making signs of nature like flower, sun, mountain and river, on a frosted glass window of their school and then they go on mountaineering on
jay Devgn starrer- Drishyam saw “super growth in business” on the second day of its release, taking its total to Rs.17.45 crore, says an expert. Also starring Tabu and Shriya Saran, the crime thriller that was released on 31 July, has received “terrific” word of mouth. “Terrific word of mouth translates into super growth in biz on Day 2. #Drishyam Thu pre + Fri 8.05 crore, Sat 9.40 crore. Total: Rs.17.45 crore,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted about the Nishikant Kamat directorial. While the movie’s business is still picking up, Adarsh tagged Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan an “all time blockbuster”. #BajrangiBhaijaan (week three) Friday Rs.4.11 crore. Total: Rs.276.36 crore, he tweeted.
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The young and the restless
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It began with volunteering at an elderly care facility; an experience that led Dr Gaurav Mrinal Sharma towards the field of medicine. The Indian Weekender talks to him to find out more about his life, career and his future endeavours. ¡¡IWK Bureau Tell us how your journey in New Zealand began.
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came to New Zealand when I was 12 years old. My father had migrated to the country a few years earlier with $250 in his pocket and multiple degrees and diplomas. He worked hard so that he could provide his son with the best education. I began schooling in Auckland Grammar School. Over the years, I moved from being at the bottommost class in 5N to being the Runner up Dux in Form 7A/Year 13A, topping every subject and bagging nine awards including the prestigious and highly venerated Ben Gould Prize for Chemistry, O’Sullivan Prize for Biology, Rabone Prize for Science and Eric Astley Prize for Mathematics. How did you decide to get into the field of medicine? During sixth form at Auckland Grammar, I volunteered at the local rest home. The incredible experience at the elderly care facility led me to cancel my scuba diving training at school and commit to working in the rest home for further four years and embark on a career path in medicine. I was accepted into undergraduate medicine and surgery programme at the University of Auckland, where I developed an interest in public health issues and policy making. At 21, I was the elected
Dr Gaurav M Sharma
the 130th biannual Executive Board assembly and meeting and learning from some of the visionaries of our times such as Dr Bruce Aylward who has been the driving force behind eradicating polio in the world. You are a part of Young Leaders Network. Tell us a little more about it.
representative for more than 3,000 medical students on the board of New Zealand Medical Student Association (NZMSA) for two years. I worked closely with the Ministry of Health, medical schools, various specialty colleges, DHBs and Medical Council of New Zealand in organising events and conferences as well as in drafting health policies such as the Voluntary Bonding Scheme for encouraging healthcare workers to consider training in rural health and in-demand specialties. You completed an internship at World Health Organisation. How was your experience working there? In my fifth year of medical school, I was involved in writing and presenting a paper that examined climate change as a
population health issue for New Zealand, evaluating its potential impacts, and critically appraising existing strategies. Based on the above paper, I was encouraged to apply and was accepted for an internship at World Health Organisation Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. At WHO, I was able to broaden my public health experience by working with the Non-Communicable Diseases cluster on projects that looked at implementation of known health research findings in developing countries, many of which suffer from extreme poverty and poor health outcomes. During my time in Geneva, I sat on the board of Geneva Intern’s Association, which advocates for and represents interns from all the UN or UN-related organisations and missions. I also had the pleasure of attending
Over five years ago, I was handpicked to be part of Young Leaders Network—an incubator group under the Asia NZ foundation funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that provides guidance and networking to emerging young leaders from various fields who are committed to forging a brighter future for New Zealand. In August last year, the Young Leaders Network sent me to the University Scholars Leadership Symposium in Manila as a representative from New Zealand. I met other young leaders from across the globe. The platform provided an opportunity to share some of my own encounters while learning more about challenges faced by others in their endeavours to address global issues. The seven-day event provided academic, cultural and social programmes with many distinguished young speakers that helped me establish a strong network. How did into being?
come
Upon my return to New Zealand from Manila, I launched a new medical device start-up
India Independence Day
Date: Saturday 15 August 2015 Time: starts at 10:30am with flag raising Venue: The Mahatma Gandhi Centre, 145 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland.
Let us honour, salute and be proud. Auckland Indian Association and NZICA is celebrating 68th Indian Independence Day and inviting all individuals and groups interested in participating to showcase their talent by performing a patriotic themed item, song, dance or play. Register your interest ASAP so you do not miss out. Contact Baldevbhai (billy) Bhaga at 027 535 8438 or email at billy. bhaga@yahoo.co.nz
Workshop by HOTA Forum
Date: Sunday 16 August 2015 Time: 1pm to 2pm Venue: Chinmaya Mission NZ, 63 McKenzie Road, Mangere
HOTA Forum presents a free workshop on “Why are we CREATED?” In this workshop, Br. Adarsh Chaitanya from Chinmaya Mission New Zealand will share with us the ancient wisdom on popular questions like: Is there a purpose to creation, why do I exist, why creation? You will also get an opportunity to interact with Br. Adarsh Chaitanya during the workshop to clarify any specific questions on this topic.
CAB Workshop on NZ Tax System
Pillion
called Pillion, using ideas I had been nurturing after meeting Tom Chi in Spain, with further inputs from networks I had established in Manila, Geneva, Spain and Australia. The group comprised electrical and electronics engineers, IT specialists and pharmacists and was building innovative solutions to simplify pharmaceutical and healthcare delivery to the elderly in New Zealand. Pillion was selected as one of the top 13 finalists in University of Auckland’s SPARK Entrepreneurial Challenge. What are your plans for the future? My long-term plan is to bring clinical medicine, public policy and business together to provide a novel and affordable solutions to the challenges of our society. From my experiences in healthcare, I have realised that while organisations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization have done an incredible job in bringing down the incidence of preventative medical diseases and prevalence of non-communicable diseases over the last 50 years of their mandate, the future will require focusing on establishing and providing better, affordable and efficient solutions in conjunction with public partnerships with private stakeholders. This is where an MBA, Public Policy and clinical medicine would work seamlessly and that is what I am keen to pursue.
Date: Saturday, 15 August 2015 Time: 9:30am to 1:30 pm Venue: CAB New Lynn, New Lynn Library Building, 3 Memorial Drive, New Lynn
CAB New Lynn will hold a free workshop on “New Zealand Tax System” and “Making a Will and appoint a Power of Attorney”. Come and join us at our FREE workshop with Adon Kumar and a speaker from the Public Trust and learnt about: Personal Tax, Kiwisaver, Wills and Power of Attorney. Refreshments and Light lunch will be provided. To register, please email at newlynn@cab.org.nz or call 8274731 / 8277830
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www.iwk.co.nz | 7 August 2015
FREE FEES @ SIT
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