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US, UK ask Pak to hand over Lakhvi to India Details on page 6
Britain warns India of terror attack by ISIS Details on page 9
VOL 20, No. 1062
January 23, 2015
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Periodical Postage
INDIA SAYS 'NO' TO U.S. SNIPERS Guarding Obama during India visit
NEW DELHI: India has said a polite 'no' to the US for its proposal that only the American snipers be deployed on the rooftops of buildings overlooking Rajpath during the Republic Day parade where President Barack Obama will be the Chief Guest. With preparations for the high-profile visit beginning January 25 entering the last leg, top security officials of
the two countries are engaged in sorting out such issues about deployment and other aspects related to protection of the world's most secured leader. Furnishing a list of demands to their Indian counterparts, the US Secret Services officials wanted rooftops overlooking Rajpath as an exclusive domain for their men to guard Obama. Details on page 5
Indian Americans pledge $300,000 for Clean India Details on page 17
‘India world's second most trusted nation’ Details on page 10
Lawmaker asks Obama to back Diwali stamp Details on page 8
Jindal declares he's not IndianAmerican
Martin Luther King award for Frank Islam
Details on page 11
Details on page 9
No terror attack during Obama visit, US tells Pak
CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 28-29 Classifieds ------------------------- 48
Details on page 6
Community Post -------------- 16-24 Date Book -------------------------- 47
INDIA POST SURVEY
Edit Page --------------------------- 54 HealthScience Post --------- 32-35
survey@indiapost.com
Horoscope ------------------------- 49
This week’s question
Do you agree with Jindal remarks on Indian Americans? Last week’s result
Will Modi be able to keep promises? YES 73%
NO 27%
Immigration Post ------------- 44-46
YOUNGEST ENTREPRENEUR: Shubham Banerjee, center left, works on a prototype for his braille printer joined by his family including mom Malini, left, sister Anoushka, 8, and dad Neil at home in Santa Clara, California. Banerjee launched a company to develop a low-cost machine to print Braille materials for the blind. It is based on a prototype he built with his Lego robotics kit for a school science fair project. Last month, tech giant Intel Corp. invested in his startup, Braigo Labs, making the 8th grader the youngest entrepreneur to receive venture capital funding.
Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”
Life Style ----------------------- 50-52 Philosophy ------------------------- 53 Publisher’s Diary ------------------ 4 Real Estate -------------------- 30-31 TechBiz Post ------------------- 36-39 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 40-43
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here's something not so settling about Bobby Jindal. Through the years of his rise to Governor of Louisiana and since, all the talk of his potential bid for a Presidential run have always left me in a dilemma as to whether I should really support the idea that is Bobby Jindal. Thinking as an Indian American, I knew only too well that Jindal did not particularly relate to the community even though the community was going gaga over him for doing them proud. His recent comments that he did not identify himself as a hyphenated American, meaning, an "Indian-American" vindicate the truth of his desperation to shake off the label stuck on his sleeve. But while I think Jindal's own awkwardness whenever he seems to stage controversial remarks - political or otherwise - will prove to be his own political nemesis, I must concede that I find merit in the "non-assimilation" comment he made with regard to Muslim communities living in Europe and other western countries. I would not sweepingly generalize though. In America, I know, the issue of non-assimilation is true of most immigrant communities including non-Muslims. Why do we invariably have a "Chinese village" in most big cities or all those Italian ghettos where non-American accents fly thick as the cheese on their pizzas? And what about the Indians? I remember the '60s and '70s when Indians migrating to the United States made a no-option effort to assimilate themselves into the mainstream community in spite of discriminatory attitudes of both the White and Black American communities. However, later immigrants from India that came by the hordes riding the IT bandwagon, owing to the comfort of their sheer numbers, never really felt the need to assimilate into mainstream America. They are content moving in their own regionally parochial temple or bhajan or potluck circles. For that matter, how many among the old timers who have proudly taken the Oath of Allegiance, have at least taken the effort to learn to speak decent English? The need for assimilation is as old as the adage "when in Rome…". Unfortunately, it would seem, it is the least followed.
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HIGHLIGHTS Bollywood: Pak import Pakistani beauty Mahira Khan makes her Bollywood debut alongside Shahrukh Khan in Rahul Dholakia directed 'Raees.'
Cover Story: No US snipers India has said a polite 'no' to the US for American snipers being deployed on Rajpath during Obama visit
Community: Swatchha campaign NRI community activist from Florida, Dr Kiran Patel first began Swatchha campaign in his home town in Gujarat.
House vote The House of Representatives has voted to block funding for President Barack Obama's executive order
Life style: Open letter Aamir Khan signs an open letter to PM asking him to address critical issues such as poverty, climate change and equality.
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India says 'no' to US snipers Guarding Obama during India visit NEW DELHI: India has said a polite 'no' to the US for its proposal that only the American snipers be deployed on the rooftops of buildings overlooking Rajpath during the Republic Day parade where President Barack Obama will be the Chief Guest. With preparations for the highprofile visit beginning January 25 entering the last leg, top security officials of the two countries are engaged in sorting out such is-
to guard Obama. This was politely turned down, officials involved in the arrangements said, adding the US officials were asked not to interfere in the security set up as the Indian officials are well trained and equipped to provide protective cover for the VVIP. The Indian officials engaged in the negotiations conveyed that they had a host of VVIPs including President Pranab Mukherjee,
posal of the US security establishment for declaring a 'no-fly zone' over the venue as this would have meant cancellation of a customary fly past by Indian Air Force. Another issue during the negotiations was whether Obama would travel to the podium at Rajpath with Mukherjee. The American side insisted that Obama should come separately rather than with the host President, deviating from the tradition.
An advance team of US visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra on January 19 as part of security arrangements for President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit
sues about deployment and other aspects related to protection of the world's most secured leader. Furnishing a list of demands to their Indian counterparts, the US Secret Services officials wanted rooftops overlooking Rajpath as an exclusive domain for their men
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other important dignitaries to look after at Republic Day function and therefore, stationing of its own snipers was necessary, sources said. India has also shot down a pro-
If Obama does come with Mukherjee in his bullet-proof Limousine, he will possibly be the first US President not to travel in his own highly-secured 'Beast'. The US also wanted three routes exclusively meant for the
'No link between infiltration bid and Obama's visit' PANAJI: Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has dismissed reports linking any possible infiltration bid by terrorists from across the border with the upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama. "The reports of terrorists trying to infiltrate from across the border are unnecessarily linked with Obama's visit. From the information given by northern command this happens every year," Parrikar told reporters after launching of four vessels of Indian Coast Guard at port town of Vasco. Parrikar said in recent times
"There is no exact link between the media reports about terrorists trying to enter India and that of Obama's visit. So far there are no links found," he said. Observing that the country is always prepared to foil terrorist atDefense Minister Manohar Parrikar tacks, the defense Army has intercepted almost ev- minister said, "Irrespective of ery intrusion and neutralized ev- Obama visit, we are fully prepared to neutralize terrorists." -PTI ery terrorist.
travel of their President from every venue and insisted that there should be no overlapping with travel plan of any other Indian dignitary, the sources said. However, after intense negotiations, the security agencies
made them understand that route planning is the domain of the host country and that other VVIPs including the President and the Prime Minister will have to use the same routes designated for the visiting VVIP.-PTI
US bid to meet its anti-terror promises to India WASHINGTON: Ahead of Pakistan to bring the perpetrators President Barack Obama's visit to of the November 2008 terrorist atIndia, the US is rushing through tack in Mumbai to justice. to meet his commitment to Prime The reported move by Pakistan Minister Narendra Modi on to impose a ban on terrorist netcounter-terrorism, including tar- works including the Haqqani netgeting underworld don Dawood work and Jamat ud-Dawah is also Ibrahim and dismantling LeT, seen as part of the effort of the JeM, al-Qaeda and the Haqqanis Obama Administration to push networks. Islamabad in this regard. This week the US Treasury Such a move by Pakistan has Department slapped sanctions come soon after the Islamabad against two key aides of India's visit of Secretary of State John most wanted underworld don Kerry. The US has described this Dawood, who runs his D-Com- as a welcome development. pany criminal network from In his meetings with the PakiKarachi. stani leadership, including Prime By targeting Mehran Paper Minister Nawaz Sharif, Kerry Mill, a Kotri City, Pakistan-based stressed on the need to bring to paper company owned by Anis Ibrahim, The US Treasury Department brother of Dawood, is a clear indication from slapped sanctions against the US about how en- two key aides of India's trenched D-Company is most wanted underworld in Pakistan. Anis and Aziz don Dawood, who runs his Moosa Bilakhia D-Company criminal (Bilakhia) have been designated as Narcot- network from Karachi ics Traffickers under Kingpin Act due to their ties to D- justice the perpetrators of the Company. Following their White Mumbai terror attack. House meeting on September 30, The US was quick to come out Modi and Obama had stressed the in public against the decision of a need for joint and concerted ef- Pakistani court granted bail to forts, including the dismantling of LeT leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, safe havens for terror and crimi- who played a key role in the nal networks, to disrupt all finan- Mumbai attack that left 166 people cial and tactical support for net- dead, including six Americans. works such as al-Qaeda, LashkarWorking behind the scene, it e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the is understood to have asked PaD-Company, and the Haqqanis. kistan to ensure that Lakhvi reThey reiterated their call for mains behind bar.-PTI
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US, UK ask Pak to hand over Lakhvi to India ISLAMABAD: The US and the UK have asked Pakistan to hand over Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack, to India to improve bilateral ties or to them for his "independent trial". During 54y e a r - o l d Lakhvi's bail case the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the prosecution informed that the "two countries had demanded handing over of Lakhvi to India". However, the prosecution lawyer did not name the countries in the court. However, an Interior Ministry source told PTI that the US and the UK had asked the Nawaz government to hand over Lakhvi either to India in order to "improve ties" with the neighboring country or to them for his "independent trial" as several nationals of different coun-
tries were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack. The prosecution also requested the division bench of IHC
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi
headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui to expedite the case. On this, Saddiqui remarked, "Shift the case to the military court if the government is in such a hurry." The judge also said handing
Lakhvi over to any country was a "diplomatic issue" concerning the government and the court had nothing to do with it. Prosecution Chief Chaudhry Azhar told PTI that Lakhvi's lawyer did not attend the hearing. "The court in last hearing had issued summons for Lakhvi but his counsel did not appear. On this, the court adjourned the hearing," he said. The court office will fix the next date for hearing. In the last hearing, the prosecution told the IHC the trial court had ignored testimony in the 26/ 11 case while granting bail to Lakhvi on December 18, 2014. Lakhvi will remain in jail under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) till February 18 after the government extended his detention for another month. Lakhvi and six others - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attacks in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead. Lakhvi was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the other accused on November 25, 2009. -PTI
No terror attack during Obama visit, US warns Pak WASHINGTON: Ahead of President Barack Obama's India visit, the US has asked Pakistan to ensure that there is no crossborder terror incident during the trip and subtly warned of "consequences" if any such attack is traced back to the country. Obama will travel to New Delhi later this week to attend the Republic Day parade on January 26, the first US President to do so. The US and Indian security agencies are taking extra care for Obama as he will be on an open air platform at Rajpath for more than two hours, witnessing the parade. It is believed that the US has asked Pakistan to ensure that there is no cross-border terrorism or even attempts of it during Obama's trip. Pakistan has been subtly warned of the "consequences" of any terrorist attack during Obama's trip if that is traced back to their country, sources said.
The warning has been issued keeping the track record of Pakistan-based militant groups that have carried out attacks in India coinciding with high-profile visits from the US.
At least 10,000 paramilitary troops will be deployed along with the 80,000-strong Delhi Police to ensure fool-proof security in and around Rajpath the main venue Militants had shot dead 36 Sikhs in March 20, 2000, in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, coinciding with the visit of the then US President Bill Clinton to India.
The US forces in Afghanistan are also keeping a close eye on the activities of the terrorist groups in the region. The US Embassy in Pakistan too has been alerted. Ahead of the presidential trip, there is an unprecedented level of intelligence sharing between India and the US. At least 10,000 paramilitary troops will be deployed along with the 80,000-strong Delhi Police to ensure fool-proof security in and around Rajpath - the main venue. A seven-layer security ring will be thrown around the VVIP enclosure at the venue and the airspace over the area would be monitored by a radar to be specially set up. This will form part of the planned unprecedented groundto-air security drill that will turn the national capital into an impregnable fortress during Obama's visit.-PTI
US-India tech group meet agrees on collaborations VYAS SUDHIR
WASHINGTON DC: A meeting of the United States-India Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Working Group agreed to continue exploring the opportunities for collaboration on implementing India's ambitious Digital India initiative, with the goal of enhancing digital infra-
They also discussed issues relating to the international mobility of Indian skilled professionals. The joint government-and-industry discussions included panels on promoting manufacturing and investment; IT and telecom policy developments; Internet governance; mobility of skilled
Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda and R.S. Sharma
structure, deploying e-gover- professionals and other issues nance and e-services, and ex- related to trade, investment, and panding the diffusion and use of the ease of doing business. A ICT as a tool to expand economic panel of non-government experts opportunity, boost productivity, also shared insights on strategies create jobs, and empower citizens. that may help India achieve the The meeting of the group that goals outlined in the 'Make in Inseeks to promote development in dia' and 'Digital India' initiatives. the ICT sector for mutual benefit Broad agreement was reached was held in Washington, D.C., on on the importance of policies that January 14-15. The next U.S.-In- promote innovation in the ICT dia ICT Working Group meeting sector, facilitate the flow of data will be held in India later this year. across borders, and foster the gloAmbassador Daniel A. Sepulveda, bal and open nature of the Coordinator for International Internet as a platform for ecoCommunications and Information nomic growth. Policy at the U.S. Department of Participants agreed to continue State and R.S. Sharma, Secretary discussion of policies that stimuof the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Broad agreement was Ministry of Communi- reached on the importance cations and Information Technology, led the of policies that promote U.S. and Indian delega- innovation in the ICT sector, tions, respectively. facilitate the flow of data The participants at the January meet noted across borders, and foster that the ICT Working the global and open Group aims to strengthen collabora- nature of the Internet tion between the governments and private sector of the late rapid diffusion and use of ICT two countries in the field of infor- products and services and facilimation and communications tech- tate cross border trade that renology. duces costs to consumers and During the two-day working businesses. In this context, the group meeting, U.S. and Indian U.S. side noted the Indian congovernment representatives held cerns with regard to mobility of extensive discussions on ICT and skilled Indian professionals and telecommunication policy issues, agreed that the U.S. government focusing on accelerating broad- will continue to engage on visa band deployment, aligning spec- issues for skilled professionals. In trum policy for the mobile era and addition, the Indian side noted the exchanging views on internet U.S. concerns relating to equipgovernance and best practices in ment testing and certification, and ICT and telecommunications agreed to engage on issues relatregulatory policy. ing to equipment testing.
January 23, 2015
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'Obama's India visit chance to tap potential in ties' WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama's unprecedented second visit to India offers an "incredibly important opportunity" for the world's two largest democracies to tap the "real potential" of their strategic ties, a top American diplomat has said. The "real potential" of IndoUS strategic and economic relationship, which leaders of the two countries have been striving for the past two decades, is coming to "fruition" after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India with an impressive mandate, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said. "We are starting to see that strategic importance actually manifested in the quality of our engagements. In the nature of the conversations we are having on the whole - they are not just bilateral, but also regional and global issues. That has always been and that is what both countries have aspired to, but I think, we are now achieving it in real and tangible ways. "The pace and the level of engagement is the most intense and at the most senior level, that I have ever seen," Biswal told PTI in an interview ahead of Obama's visit
to New Delhi. At the invitation of Modi, Obama will be in New Delhi as the chief guest of the Republic Day parade on January 26, making him the first US President to visit In-
Biswal said Kerry's recent visit to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a state-level meeting, in Ahmedabad "represents the importance that the United States places on India's economic transformation" dia twice while in office. The Obama Administration's top diplomat for South and Central Asia was in India recently along with Secretary of State John Kerry. After the September 30 White House meeting between Obama and Modi, there has been an unprecedented level of engagement between the two countries. In the last three months, at least three dozen high-level meetings
have taken place both in India and the US, with several of them as late as this week and a few of them scheduled for the next week as well. Biswal said Kerry's recent visit to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a state-level meeting, in Ahmedabad "represents the importance that the United States places on India's economic transformation". "We want to be partner in this endeavor," Biswal said, noting that though the meeting was on investing in Gujarat, but was also on economic agenda for India as well. The occasion was also used by Kerry to meet Modi in Ahmedabad and give a final shape to the agenda of talks for the Obama-Modi summit in New Delhi later this month. "It was also an opportunity, two weeks before the President's visit to be able to engage with the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet on the important agenda for the President's visit. "We see this as an incredibly important opportunity," she said, adding that the two leaders were able to have good conversations about the priorities for Obama's visit as well as to be able to talk about the bilateral and the economic relationship. -PTI
Lawmaker asks Obama to support Diwali stamp NEW YORK: An influential American lawmaker has appealed to President Barack Obama to support issuance of a Diwali US postal stamp, saying it will signify that the US honors its religious diversity and inclusiveness and help strengthen Indo-US cultural ties. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York wrote to Obama in a letter dated January 15 that since there currently are stamps commemorating a number of holidays including Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid, it is now "time for a Diwali stamp" and hoped that the President would consider announcing his support for a Diwali commemorative US postage stamp when he visits India next week. "As the first President to light a traditional lamp, the 'diya', as part of the White House Diwali celebration and the President who has done so much to promote the Diwali values of compassion and tolerance, I hope you will use the
occasion of your visit to India to support a Diwali commemorative stamp," Maloney said in the letter. She said a Diwali stamp would
friendship not only between India and the US, but also between the US people and the Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists around the world who celebrate this holiday," she said, adding the US and India share strong cultural ties that are in large part driven by the over three million IndianAmericans living in the US. "Deepening those cultural ties will be an important part of our growing relationship with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney India," she said, adding that a Diwali send a message to the more than stamp would also help strengthen one-billion people who mark the the US Postal Service with addiIndian festival that the "US shares tional revenues from the millions these values and honors our of people who would purchase country's religious diversity and such a stamp to send cards to their inclusiveness. family and friends as part of the "It would also help deepen the Indian holiday.-PTI
PanAm73 victims pin hope on Obama & Modi WASHINGTON: Literally run- dian victims of the flight, said in a ning from pillar to post in both recent email to the US Embassy in India and the US for the past sev- New Delhi. eral years, Indian and IndianBhanot is brother of Neerja American relatives of victims of Bhanot who died in the Pan Am the 1986 terror attack on Pan Am 73 hijack. The jet, with 360 pasFlight 73 are now pinning their last sengers on board, was hijacked hope on President Barack Obama by four Palestinian militants on and Prime Minister Narendra September 5, 1986, while on the Modi to resolve the issue of com- ground at Karachi, Pakistan. pensation. "We are hoping that this matThe Indian and Indian-Ameri- ter is raised during Obama's trip can victims of the terrorist attack, to India," Prabhat Krishnaswamy, in which 20 passengers including representing the Indian-American two American and 13 Indians families from Pan Am Flight 73, died, and over 120 injured, have said. sought an appointment with "In my opinion, US flagged airObama when he travels to New carriers (Delta, United, US Air) opDelhi later this month to attend erating in India must be asked to the Republic Day Parade as its respond with regard to their reChief Guest. sponsibility for Indians on board The US, who the Indian and - since they are allowed to operIndian-American victims allege ate and profit from Indian customthat they are being discriminated ers every single day," when it comes to paying them Krishnaswamy said. compensation, has pleaded its inIn an interview, Biswal acability to do so arguing that it is knowledged that in recent weeks bound by rule of the land and in- the two countries have started ternational strictures in matter of talking on this issue. compensation for victims who "In recent days the issue (of were not American national at the time of the Bhanot is brother of Neerja attack. But in a fresh move, Bhanot who died in the Pan it says it is willing to work with the Indian Am 73 hijack. The jet, with Government to address their grievances on the 360 passengers on board, matter of compensawas hijacked by four Palestion. "There is a history tinian militants on September on this that can be looked at and then we 5, 1986, while on the ground (India and the US) can have discussions and at Karachi consultations on what the options are for moving for- compensation) has come up (beward and what the legal require- tween the US and India). I have ments are on both sides. This is had some conversation with the something that we would be pre- (Indian) Embassy here on this ispared to sit down and discuss," sue. Assistant Secretary of State for "Certainly the Government of South and Central Asia Nisha India is following this with deep Desai Biswal told PTI. interest. I do understand that this In the past several weeks, the area is a concern and priority for Indian and Indian-American vic- them. This is something that we tims of the Pan Am 73 flight have are prepared to engage with them renewed their efforts in both on," she said. Washington and New Delhi pushMadhvi Bahuguna, a flight ating the two governments to get tendant on board Pan Am 73, said them the compensation due to that she and many others feel bethem and thus bring to an end ing discriminated as they do not what they allege as the discrimi- deserve compensation simply benation of the US Government. cause they were not US national "We are a group of victims of at the time of the terror attack. Pan Am 73, an American flagship In 2008, the State Department carrier, which was hijacked at concluded the US-Libya Claims Karachi airport. We have been Settlement Agreement, which led discriminated against and aban- to the permanent termination of doned by USA pursuant to the all pending lawsuits against Libya US-Libya Agreement of 2008. We and to the creation of a humaniwould like to meet President tarian settlement fund adminisObama when he visits India in tered by the Foreign Claims SettleJanuary to present our case," ment Commission, she said in a Aneesh Bhanot, representing In- recent interview.-PTI
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Indian-American receives Martin Luther King award WASHINGTON: An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award in recognition of his contribution to the
award. He noted there is an "indelible connection" between Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. "King visited India in 1954, studied the non-violent move-
involvement. I have given to numerous causes to support humanitarian efforts and to advance the interests of the under-served in the world," Islam said during his speech. King Peggy (Peggieliene Bartel) was honored with Dorothy I Height Leadership Award. The annual awards ceremony was started in 1991 to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr and the legendary Dorothy I Height and their impacts both at home and abroad. Born to a peasant father, Islam moved to US when he was 15 years old, with less than USD 500 in his pocket, to become an entrepreneur. He bought a struggling IT company in Maryland in 1993 with USD 50,000 raised by mortgaging his Eminent Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam being presented house. with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award at a ceremony in Washington on January 18 in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through Islam sold of his IT comhis efforts in international service and civil engagement pany in 2007 to spend the rest of his life in philanlegacy of the civil rights pioneer ment and patterned the protests thropy, both in India and the US, through his efforts in international he led after those of Gandhi. As and lends his palatial house for service and civil engagement. an Indian-American, I am proud fund raising activities - for both Azamgarh-born Frank Islam and humbled to receive this award political and charitable events. was given the annual award by which honors the memory of one He is a board member of sevthe president of the Memorial great man directly and another eral think-tanks, academic and Foundation, Harry Johnson, for indirectly," he said. cultural organizations including working to keep the "dream alive." "King and Gandhi have been Kennedy Centre for Performing Islam said he was proud and beacons to me in my personal life Arts, the Brookings Institute and humbled to have received the and charitable and philanthropic US Institute of Peace. -PTI
Indian-American appointed minority floor leader WASHINGTON: Indian-American Sam Singh, a two-term legislator, has been appointed as the Democratic Floor Leader in the Michigan State Assembly in the US. This is his first term as the Democratic Floor Leader. Republicans form the majority in the State. "My position works very closely with the Republican floor leader to make sure, as we discuss policy, that ideas from both sides of the aisle are being heard, and work closely with my Democratic colleagues to make sure our ideas and voices are heard here at the Capitol," 43-year-old Singh was quoted as saying by the local The State News. Singh's parents immigrated to Michigan from India in the 1960s for a better life and an opportu-
nity for the American Dream. Before serving in the Legislature, Singh was elected to the East
Sam Singh
Lansing City Council at the age of 24. He was also its Mayor for
one term. According to The State News, Singh plans to reintroduce a bill that grants money for higher education scholarships. He also hopes funding for higher education will not be cut during this legislative session. Singh said he will also reintroduce the expansion of the ElliottLarsen Civil Rights Act to members of the LGBT community - the expansion will prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, identity and gender. -PTI
Britain warns India of terror attack by ISIS NEW DELHI: Britain has 2014 and apparently joined ISIS. warned India about possible at- One of them returned in Novemtack by ISIS and said all efforts ber last year and was subsemust be taken to check activities quently arrested. of the Middle-East terrorist group. A Bangalore-based executive British officials have conveyed was also arrested last month for this to their Indian counterparts operating a pro-ISIS Twitter at the Indo-UK Counter Terrorism handle to propagate the ideology Joint Working Group meeting held of the Middle-East terrorist group. in London on January 15-16. A US-returned engineer, on Officials said that during the way to join ISIS, arrested in meeting, India had asked Britain Hyderabad two days ago. to impress upon Pakistan not to Asif Ibrahim, who had retired as differentiate between "good" and Director of Intelligence Bureau on "bad" terrorists in the wake of re- December 31, 2014, had said in Nocent attack on a school in Peshawar and said that it must take a firm British security agencies stand on why Pakistan have good links with Pakihad become a nursery stani intelligence agency ISI of terrorists. "We have asked Brit- and they feel that it is an ain to be alert about pos- insurance for preventing sible attack by Lashkare-Taiba there. Britain in a terror attack turn has warned us that an attack by ISIS could take place vember last that there was an immiin India," an official said. nent danger of Indian youths movBritain was more focused on ing to the conflict zone (Iraq-Syria), the ISIS threat than from Pakistan- emerging as a role model and such based terror groups. developments may directly or indi"Britain is petrified that a ter- rectly pose a threat to the country. ror attack can take place on its soil The Indian delegation to the Lonby ISIS and radical elements as- don meeting also raised the issue sociated with it may help the of growth of Sikh radicalization in group," the official said. Britain and asked for action. British security agencies have "There are 2-3 TV channels in good links with Pakistani intelli- the UK which are carrying offengence agency ISI and they feel sive material against India and that it is an insurance for prevent- encouraging Sikh radicalization. ing a terror attack on its soil by We have asked the UK to crack Pakistan-based terror groups, the down on them and impressed upon official said. them that Sikh radicalization is dead Four Mumbai youth had dis- in India but still has a presence in appeared in Iraq-Syria in May the UK," the official said.-PTI
Indiaspora dialogue to be held during Obama visit WASHINGTON: A dialogue by eminent Indian Americans will be launched to identify areas that can fast track Indo-US relationship in the next two years during US President Barack Obama's Republic Day visit to New Delhi. "Indiaspora Dialogue" will be launched by Indiaspora, an organization of influential and top Indian Americans, in New Delhi. The one-of-its kind dialogue will be attended by 15 Indian Americans and 10 eminent Indians and will focus on issues of critical importance to India-US relations that can be put on a fast track over the next 24 months, organizers of the event said. Some of the issues that will
be highlighted in the dialogue include, changing the dynamics of the current business climate, meeting India's energy needs by leveraging renewables, entrepreneurship and innovation models for scaling Indian SMBs, harnessing education to harvest the demographic dividend, building a digital India for the 21st century and dramatically improving healthcare and hygiene in India. The next round of Indiaspora Dialogue would be held in May in Washington. The India-US relationship has traditionally been driven by the people to people relationship in particular the Indian Diaspora. The launch of the dialogue is an effort in this regard. -PTI
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India world's second most trusted nation: Survey DAVOS: Moving up the ranks, India has emerged as the second most trusted country in the world in terms of faith reposed on its institutions even as globally trust levels have fallen, says a survey. The list is topped by UAE with 84 per cent trust. As the world's rich and powerful gather in the Swiss resort of Davos, a study by public relations firm Edelman has found that general level of trust in institutions among college-educated people around the globe are at levels not seen since 2009 in many of the markets it surveyed. Trust in institutions in India has im-
proved sharply in 2015 with the country Italy. moving up three notches to the second Brazil, Malaysia, France and the US are place among 27 nations. among the 8 "neutral" nations as per the While the number of "truster" countries trust index, the survey said. are at an all-time low India, which last of six in 2015 includyear saw BJP-led ing UAE, India, Indonesia (78 per cent), NDA government China and Nether- China (75 per cent), storming to power lands, the number of at the Centre, "distruster" coun- Singapore (65 per cent) and stands tall. tries has grown sig- Netherlands (64 per cent) are According to nificantly to 13 in- the others that have recorded the report, an cluding Japan, Rus"alarming evaporasia, Hong Kong, highest levels of trust tion of trust" has South Africa and happened across
all institutions, reaching the lows of the Great Recession in 2009. Trust in government, business, media and NGOs in the general population is below 50 per cent in two-thirds of countries, including the US, UK and Germany, it said. From fifth most trusted in 2014, India has now become the second-most trusted in 2015 with a score of 79 per cent in the barometer. The study has put India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image on the first page. Indonesia (78 per cent), China (75 per cent), Singapore (65 per cent) and Netherlands (64 per cent) are the others that have recorded highest levels of trust. Globally, the overall trust index was down a percentage point from the previous year at 55 per cent. Trust levels in major developed economies, such as the United States, Germany and France, hovered around 50 per cent. The barometer shows waning trust in non-governmental organizations, media and business. Trust in government recovered somewhat but politicians remain the most distrusted group assessed at 48 per cent. Interestingly, trust in politicians in India has grown to 82 per cent in 2015 from 53 per cent a year ago. Government was the only institution to gain trust in 2015, driven by improvements in 16 countries, including India. In terms of NGOs in India, trust was almost flat at 74 per cent from 75 per cent. Also, while trust in media has fallen in more than half of the countries, India appears to have scored well on that front too with 76 per cent in 2015 vis-a-vis 71 per cent in 2014.
With President objecting; govt deliberates on Ordinances NEW DELHI: A day after President Pranab Mukherjee voiced his objection to the 'Ordinance route', senior ministers went into a huddle to discuss how the recent Ordinances can be replaced by legislative action in the Budget session of Parliament starting next month. The meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and six others deliberated upon the implications that some sectors like coal will have if the Ordinances are not followed up by passage of bills in Parliament. The government has issued at least 8 Ordinances including one on raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent and e-auctioning of coal mines. The meeting significantly took place a day after the President voiced his objection to the 'Ordinance route' used by the government and cautioned it against it. The two-hour meeting discussed issues involving procedures to be followed for replacing Ordinances with Bills and the preparatory measures in the coming session in Parliament likely to begin in the third week of February.-PTI
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Jindal declares he's American, not Indian-American WASHINGTON: Asserting that he didn't believe in hyphenated identities, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said that his parents came to the US from India four decades ago to become Americans and not Indian-Americans. He invoked his ethnic heritage to make a call for immigrant assimilation in the multi-cultural American society and said people who talked about skin pigmentation were the "most dim-witted lot" around. "My parents came in search of the American Dream, and they caught it. To them, America was not so much a place, it was an idea. My dad and mom told my brother and me that we came to America to be Americans. Not Indian-Americans, simply Americans," Jindal said in London.
they were looking for greater opportunity and freedom," Jindal said, explaining the reason why he does not like to be called or described as an Indian-American. "I do not believe in hyphenated Americans. This view gets me into some trouble with the media back home. They like to refer to Indian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, ItalianAmericans, Mexican-Americans, and all the rest. To be clear - I am not suggesting for one second that people should be shy or embarrassed about their ethnic heritage," he said. "I am explicitly saying that it is completely reasonable for nations to discriminate between allowing people into their country who want to embrace their culture, or allowing people into their country who want to destroy their cul-
"If we wanted to be Indians, we would have stayed in India. It's not that they are embarrassed to be from India, they love India. But they came to America because they were looking for greater opportunity and freedom," Jindal, the first Indian-American Governor of any American state, was addressing the Henry Jackson Society in London. The prepared remarks of Jindal's speech called for immigrant assimilation to strengthen countries and protect freedom. "If we wanted to be Indians, we would have stayed in India. It's not that they are embarrassed to be from India, they love India. But they came to America because
ture, or establish a separate culture within," he said. "It is completely reasonable and even necessary for a sovereign nation to discriminate between people who want to join them and people who want to divide them. And immigration policy should have nothing at all to do with the color of anyone's skin. I find people who care about skin pigmentation to be the most dimwitted lot around. I want nothing
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
to do with that," he said. Jindal said his objective is to speak clearly about what he believes to be America's proper role in international affairs; to speak bluntly about the nature of the threats being faced and the recent tragic events in France; and to suggest what he think is the way forward. "The first step for America, and for any nation that wants to protect its own freedom and encourage it everywhere is to have a strong economy. When the United States became a major economic power at the end of the 19th century, it had the means to become a major military power and to become a leader in the free world," Jindal said. The Governor said the first tenet of American foreign policy must always be freedom, and the relentless pursuit of freedom for our people, and for all people, regardless of race, creed, religion, ethnicity, or any other artificial
Commission on plan for NRI women's pension DUBAI: Women from Kerala working in Gulf countries may get pension in future as a women's commission from the state is conducting a comprehensive study in this regard, an official said. "The Kerala Women's Commission (KWC) is conducting a detailed study about the problems faced by the Indian women in the Gulf, especially the low-income earning domestic workers, as part of a long-term plan to introduce a pension scheme for them," said Prameela Devi J, a member of the commission. KWC will conduct the study with the assistance of Non-Resi-
dent Keralites Association, a Kerala government entity, created for the welfare of overseas Keralites. "A comprehensive study is
Dr Prameela Devi J
among the various strategies planned to improve the welfare of South Indian women in the GCC,
especially those with lower incomes, who face a bleak future once they return home after working there for many years," Times of Oman quoted her as saying. The initial study reveals that women from the lower income group often return home emptyhanded. "Our plan is to start a contributory pension scheme for them after studying an ongoing contributory pension scheme for overseas Keralites," she added. The proposed study will also cover Kerala women entrepreneurs. The KWC is a statutory body under the Kerala government working for the welfare of women. -PTI
divisions, which humans use to divide one from another. "America must always be a beacon of freedom throughout the
world. I'm not naive enough to suggest that the entire world will ever be free, but I'm also completely opposed to ever giving up on the notion that all people everywhere in the world deserve and desire to be free," he said. "The next principle is of course security. America must and will pay any price to defend itself and to defend its allies. No two countries are the same, but those countries that value freedom and democracy and civility and decency must band together, and must defend each other," he said. "Those countries that desire security and harbor no ill-will toward their neighbors must stick together in an increasingly dangerous world. The third principle that is crucial is truth. We must speak the truth, to each other, and to our own countrymen," he said.-PTI
EU lifts ban on import of mangoes from India LONDON: The European are now available to ensure that Union has decided to lift a ban on the exports of mango fruits are the import of mangoes from India free from quarantine pest, like the after it made significant improve- fruit flies not known to occur in ments in plant health controls and the Union. certification system, clearing the "The measures will allow the way for them to return to the 28- import of mango fruits before the member bloc by March. start of the next import season in However, the prohibition on the March 2015," the statement said. import of vegetables from India The legislation now needs to will be reviewed at later stage af- be formally adopted and pubter collecting more evidence, the lished by the European CommisEU said in a statement. sion. A European Commission comThis will take around a month, mittee meeting in Brussels voted but the positive vote by the Comto lift the ban on mangoes. mittee gives certainty to Indian "A proposal by the Commission to lift the import ban of mango "The measures will allow fruits from India was endorsed by Member the import of mango fruits State experts meeting at the relevant Regulatory before the start of the Committee concerned next import season in with Plant Health," the statement said. March 2015," the "An audit carried out by the statement said Commission's Food and Veterinary Office in India in Sep- exporters and UK importers about tember 2014 showed significant the position for the forthcoming improvements in the mango season. phytosanitary export certification The EU accounts for more than system. 50 per cent of total exports of fruits The European Union's "tempo- and vegetables from India. The rary ban" came into force on May UK is the main destination, fol1, 2014 and was to remain effec- lowed by the Netherlands, Gertive until December 2015 after au- many and Belgium. thorities in Brussels found conWelcoming the decision, Britsignments infested with fruit flies ish High Commissioner in India that they feared could damage James Bevan said: "This is great European salad crops. news for the UK-India and EUAfter the vote, the EU said, India trade relationship and espe"India has also provided assur- cially for Indian exporters and UK ances that appropriate measures consumers.
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Kejriwal challenges Bedi to public debate NEW DELHI: A day after she was named the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has challenged Kiran Bedi to a public debate. Bedi responded by saying that she will debate with him "on the floor of the House". The AAP leader said, "It will be a good initiative for democracy if there is a debate between us on different issues. People vote in the name of religion and caste...they are not aware of issues. The debate, around 1-2 hours long should be on concrete issues." Responding to Kejriwal's challenge, Bedi said the AAP chief believes "only in debates" while her focus is on delivery of services, and that she will debate "on the floor of the House". "Arvind believes only in debates whereas I believe in delivery of services. I will debate with him on the floor of the House," the former IPS officer said. Kejriwal, known for his active social media presence, also requested Bedi to "unblock" him in on microblogging site twitter. He tweeted, "@thekiranbedi Kiranji, i used to follow u on twitter. Now, u have blocked me on twitter. Kindly unblock me." Terming Kejriwal's twitter account as a "polluting" one, Bedi hit back at Kejriwal, saying that she blocked him more than a year ago as he was "spreading negativity". "I blocked him 15 months back when he called himself an anarchist. He was spreading negativ-
ity. Didn't want my four million followers to see negativity... it was a polluting account," Bedi, who was last night named the Chief Ministerial candidate for the February seven Delhi Assembly elections, said. 65-year-old Bedi, the country's
Chief Ministerial candidate so that she could be made a scapegoat as the party was not confident of its victory because of AAP's growing popularity and increasing support base. Bedi is not a challenge for AAP," senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti had said.
Indian-American hotel owner jailed NEW YORK: An Indian-American hotel owner has been sentenced by a US court to over three years in prison and ordered to pay a hefty fine of USD 2.8 million for bank fraud. Jayesh Dahyabhai Patel, 49, of Tennessee was sentenced by US District Court Judge Leon Jordan, to serve 42 months in federal prison. Patel was also ordered to pay restitution of USD 2.80 million to a local bank in Tennessee and serve five years of supervised release after he serves his prison term. Patel was indicted last year and he pleaded guilty to bank fraud. He admitted engaging in a
Indian girl dies in school van due to heat
BJP leader Kiran Bedi waves to supporters during a road show in Rohini as part of her campaign for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, in New Delhi on January 19
first woman IPS officer, was named the BJP's Chief Ministerial by party President Amit Shah after a meeting of the BJP's Parliamentary Board. In its first reaction after the announcement, AAP said Bedi was not a challenge to AAP and BJP's choice will have an adverse effect on its rank and file. "BJP has made Kiran Bedi the
Bedi will contest from the Krishna Nagar seat in East Delhi, considered a BJP stronghold. The Parliamentary Board meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj among others. -PTI
DUBAI: A 4-year-old Indian girl, who was found dead in a school van in the UAE, died due to heat exhaustion and inability to breathe, according to forensic report. The girl had died in Abu Dhabi in October after she fell asleep inside the bus and was left unattended for several hours. According to the forensic report, the child died due to heat exhaustion and inability to breathe. The bus driver and bus attendant have been accused of causing the death of the child as they "failed to do their job properly". Lawyers of the employee in
Modi to visit Germany in April NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Germany in April when India will be the partner country at the Hannover Fair. Conveying this to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble who called on him here, Modi said he was looking forward to the visit to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel whom he had first met in Australia on the sidelines of G-20 Summit in October last year. Modi and Schauble discussed the key areas of bilateral cooperation, like green energy, infrastructure, Make-in-India, affordable housing, and clean Ganga, a PMO statement said. They also discussed the federal structure of India, its paral-
scheme from approximately January 2009 to August 2011 to defraud the Tennessee bank in connection with an application for a loan to his business. Patel provided false tax returns to induce the bank to issue the loan for the purchase and renovation of a hotel. Patel further schemed to defraud the bank by providing false invoices to induce the bank to disburse loan funds and by providing additional false tax returns in order to increase the amount of the loan. As a result of the fraud, the bank suffered losses of USD 2.80 million. -PTI
lels with Germany, and the lessons that could be applied to the evolving political structure of Europe, it added. Modi expressed concern over the recent terror attack in Paris and related developments in Europe and lauded the able leadership of Chancellor Merkel in such difficult times. The Prime Minister said he was also looking forward to the visit of Chancellor Merkel to India later this year. -PTI
Finance Minister of Germany, Wolfgang Schauble calling on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on January 19
charge of students' list, the school principal and the owner of the transport company denied the charges leveled against them and demanded their acquittal, Khaleej Times reported. The school employee tasked with checking the attendance of students was charged with negligence, the report said. The verdict in the case is expected on February 8. The school management and the school transport provider were charged with endangering the lives of students since they allegedly deployed an unlicensed bus that did not fulfill school transportation safety requirements.-PTI
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UN Chief commends outgoing Indian commander UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has commended India's Lieutenant General Iqbal Singh Singha on the completion of his assignment as force commander of the UN mission in the Golan, acknowledging his "dedicated leadership" during an attack by Al-Qaeda-linked armed groups last year. Singha completed his assignment on January 2 as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). He will be succeeded by Nepalese Major General Purna Chandra
Thapa, 54, who studied Philosophy at the University of Madras and graduated from the National Defense College in New Delhi. "The Secretary-General is grateful to Lieutenant General Singha for his dedicated leadership during a particularly difficult period in the mission's history," Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters here. Forty-five Fijian peacekeepers, serving UNDOF, monitoring a ceasefire established in 1974 between Israel and Syria, were detained on August 28 last year by armed elements of the Syrian op-
'ISIS an evil perversion of teachings of Quran' India Post News Service
available to equip themselves to become advocates for justice here and abroad. Ayloush urged Muslims to work with their fellow Americans to pressure our government representatives to stop supporting international governments that engage in occupations, human rights violations and repression. "We must refute ISIS' false claim to Islam and help bring freedom and justice around the world in order to remove the grievances that ISIS exploits," said Ayloush. "Islam stands for freedom," said Salaam Al-Marayati. "The root problem with ISIS is their ideology of compulsion which stems
ANAHEIM, CA: On the evening of Friday, January 9, the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), in partnership with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC) hosted an educational community forum on how to address the issue of ISIS and its negative effects on American Muslims and the world community. Nearly 150 attendees filled the main prayer hall of ISOC to learn and partake in the discussion. Panelists included CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush, ISOC Religious Director Dr. "We must refute ISIS' false Muzammil Siddiqi, claim to Islam and help MPAC President Salaam Al-Marayati and bring freedom and justice ICOI Shaykha Muslema around the world in order to Purmul who presented their views on the ori- remove the grievances gins, issues, and solu- that ISIS exploits," tions to the "CRISIS of ISIS". The forum was moderated by Ustadha Lobna from some Muslim countries that practice this ideology. We as Mulla of ISOC. Dr Muzammil Siddiqi described American Muslims have the opISIS as a cult and an evil perver- portunity to declare freely and sion of the teachings of the Holy openly that we are Muslims beQuran. Denouncing the ongoing cause Islam stands for freedom". Shaykha (scholar) Muslema brutality and ideology of ISIS, he emphasized that Muslims in Purmul explained the obligation America and around the world the American Muslim community have an obligation to ensure that has to contribute to the accurate Muslims and others understand portrayal of Islam by leading through example in our daily inthe true teachings of Islam. Hussam Ayloush praised teractions with others and become American imams and scholars for well integrated as a community to continuing to refute and challenge positively influence the public's ISIS's deviant and destructive ide- perception of Islam and Muslims. CAIR-LA had co-sponsored a ology. Advocating a preventative and similar panel a few months back proactive approach, he encour- with MPAC and the Islamic Cenaged youth to take advantage of ter of San Gabriel Valley (ICSGV) the leadership training programs that was well-received.
position in the vicinity of Al Qunaytirah. The Syrian rebels, including fighters from the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, stormed the crossing Al Qunaytirah sparking an exchange of gunfire with Israeli
legedly asking Filipino troops to surrender to the Syrian rebels who had attacked and surrounded their camp. However, head of United Nations peacekeeping operations Herve Ladsous had commended
"The Secretary-General is grateful to Lieutenant General Singha for his dedicated leadership during a particularly difficult period in the mission's history," Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters here troops. In a separate incident, 72 Filipino peacekeepers had been surrounded by armed elements in two different locations in the Golan and were later safely relocated. Singha came under criticism by the Philippine military which said he should be investigated for al-
Singha for his "strong leadership" and "good and sound judgment" during the crisis. Ladsous had said the Indian military official "displayed very strong professionalism and very strong leadership in making decisions all along" that helped. "And he is utterly to be com-
mended and I place on the record my full trust in the way he performed his duty," he had said. Haq said Thapa brings to his new position extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping attained through service at the national and international levels. Prior to his appointment, Thapa was the Master General of Ordnance at the Nepalese Army Headquarters. From 2012 to 2013, Thapa was Commanding General of an Infantry Division and had twice served with the Nepalese contingent in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. He also served as a UN Military Observer in the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in 1994 and was the Vice Chairman of the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) from 2009 to 2011. -PTI
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Perspective
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Islamic terrorism - a perspective from the West
R
espect for religion' has become a code phrase meaning 'fear of religion.' Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.'- Salman Rushdie on Charlie Hebdo attacks While Charlie Hebdo attack was still unfolding in Paris, 4000 miles (6500 km) away, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a young man Raif Badawi was flogged 50 times in public view on Friday (Jan 9) after the prayers. The crowd chanted "Allah-hu Akbar". His crime: He had created an online blog to discuss ideas of liberty and democracy. Raif was sentenced to jail for 10 years last May and has been ordered 1000 lashes (50 lashes every week for 20 weeks) and a fine of 1 million Riyals (2.6 lakh USD). His crime: He insulted Islam. Feeling nauseated? Look at another massacre happening in your world. And it is happening parallel to Charlie Hebdo: 2,000 people are feared dead in one of the most gruesome attacks by Islamists in Boko Haram in Nigeria in the first week of January. The militants sprayed bullets indiscriminately in Northern Nigerian villages, leading to piling up of human bodies everywhere. The list can go on. These examples illustrate a civilizational clash that radical Islam has created in the modern world. Humanity is witnessing a cultural clash where we have a larger part of the world that believes in freedom of speech and religion and another part of the world which is medieval in its outlook, where human rights of people (and women in particular) are openly subjugated and more astonishingly, where violence is unleashed if you do not agree with them. As if, it is my way or 'deathway'! But, look at the narrative that is being presented after the Charlie Hebdo.
DR MUNISH KUMAR RAIZADA
(CBC) stated in an internal circular: "Let us not show the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. Other elements of Charlie Hebdo's content and style are fine, but this area should be avoided, as quite simply, it
There is an impression that the left and liberal media in USA is avoiding to examine the issue critically lest it give rise to antiIslamic sentiments (Islamophobia). However, this time, some media channels are shooting direct. Fox channel is criticizing Obama for equating terrorist attacks with a mere criminal activity. Largely, political leadership is trying to be politically correct by not linking this issue with religion. But as Peter King (R-NY) - member of Homeland Security Committee - says: "First, label it 'Islamic Terrorism' and not plain extremism". Another commentator asked: "Have we become politically so correct that we have become suicidal?"
Violence within Islam
Dr M.K. Raizada
is offensive to Muslims as a group". After the Charlie Hebdo incidence, New York Times editorial board stated: "This is also no time for peddlers of xenophobia to try to smear all Muslims with a terrorist brush". Dean Howard, former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Convention (DNC) chair, said: "Charlie Hebdo attackers are not Muslim terrorists. They are as Muslim as I am". Hillary Clinton- probable Presidential aspirant for 2016 expressed after the French attack that other side's version too must be understood. Therefore, it seems that everyone wants to condemn the violence without condemning the underlying religion. But Somaliaborn American activist Ms Ayaan Hirsi Ali says: "This argument now has become redundant. There is a strong relationship between the violence and Islam. You cannot divorce Islam (religion) from these acts of terrorism."
Does the problem emanate from the spirit of Islam? Tarek Fatah does not mince words when he says: "Let us not even talk about West and violence. Within Islam, there is a running celebration of violence." Looked more carefully, there is a cancer of violence within Islam and the biggest victims of this are Muslims itself. Look at the conflictstricken Middle East where democracy is
lims only live. Why would you set up ghettos in the Western world where equality, liberty and free speech are the mantra? Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, explains the reasons behind this. He argues that Islam is a political system as well as religious one. It has a complete system for governance and social order. Thus, the migrating Muslim populations continue to nurture the idea that their system of rules (Sharia) must replace the existing law of land even in the newly adopted lands The exact diagnosis would require that we look at the symptoms more critically. At the root of Islamic extremism lies an ideology that does not have the spirit of liberty and intellectual inquiry. And then there are compounding factors. Then anti-blasphemy laws or policies, and laws penalizing apostasy further compound the situation.
Honest conversation Where do we go from Charlie Hebdo? Without raking up xenophobia, honest conversation needs to happen within the world communities and within the Islamic community. The attack on French magazine raises
There is a cancer of violence within Islam and the biggest victims of this are Muslims itself. Look at the conflict-stricken Middle East where democracy is not able to even seep in. Tarek says, referring to battle of Karbala, that we (Muslims) killed grandson of our own Prophet. Similarly, the whole Ummayad caliphate (700- 800 people) was killed in Damascus in a day around 700 C.E.
not able to even seep in. The royalties and kingdoms in the modern times are a telling story. Tarek says, referring to battle of Karbala, that we (Muslims) killed grandson of our own Prophet. Similarly, the whole Other side's version Ummayad caliphate (700- 800 people) was Canadian Broadcasting Corporation killed in Damascus in a day around 700 C.E. and the new caliphate of Abbasids had dinner over the dead bodies. In the 14th century, after the Mongols destroyed the Arab sovereignty, Islam evolved out of two characters: Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qudamah. Ibn Ta y a m i y y a h ' s teachings have a great impact on what we see in today's Salafism, Wahhabism and Jihadism. Is Islam a victim of its own ghettomentality? Look at the number. There are 751 official "nogo zones" in A tribute at the Place de la RĂŠpublique, in Paris, to victims killed during the attack at Charlie Hebdo France where Mus-
an issue that has political, security and societal dimensions. There are more than 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Why there is no outcry among them? The world would be a better place even if a small segment of Muslim population stands up and says: "Enough is enough. Stop killing people in the name of Islam." Why Imams and Mullahs seem to be more concerned about burning of Koran rather than continued incidences, violence and killing in the name of Islam? The answers must come from within Islam and not outside! Why do not we see any Mahatma Gandhi (who was killed by a fanatic of his own faith, that is, Hinduism) in the Islamic world willing to exhort his own people to bring peace? Why the U.S. president is so lenient on Pakistan where the doctor who gave crucial info leading to finding of Osama bin Laden is holed up in jail? Why is the U.S. still giving aid to a fanatic country where 150 children were gunned down in a school by the Taliban? The West has to figure out if they will impose embargo on the Islamic countries or let the medieval mindset continue to nest within their pluralistic societies. Islam is at crossroad and is threatening others more than themselves. The author is a Chicago-based sociopolitical commentator. Twitter:@drmunishraizada, Email ID: pedia333@gmail.com
January 23, 2015
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Desi News Lohri celebrated at Fremont Hindu Temple with fanfare India Post News Service
FREMONT: Fremont Hindu Temple celebrated Lohri festival this year with great fanfare. Devotees celebrated the festival with traditional songs, bonfire and dancing. Dr Romesh Japra, President and Convener FIA, led the celebrations and regaled the audience with stories about the Lohri tradition. Lohri is celebrated to denote the winter solstice. Apart from Punjab, people from other northern Indian states of the Punjab region (Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh), Chandigarh and Jammu also celebrate Lohri. Details on page 23
Nikki Haley calls for closer ties with India India Post News Service
COLUMBIA, SC: Nikki Randhawa Haley, the first female Governor of South Carolina, has called for closer economic and trade relations between her State and India creating more opportunities in the areas of manufacturing, service and infrastructure sectors Nikki Haley was talking to a delegation of her supporters from Dallas led by Dr Prasad Thotukara that had specially come to attend her swearing in ceremony held on Wednesday January 14 in Columbia after she got re-elected, winning the elections by a record margin. She was sworn in as the 116th Governor of South Carolina. Details on page 18
Senior citizens celebrate India's Republic Day JAYANTI OZA
CHICAGO: Bharatiya Senior Citizens of Chicago (BSC) celebrated 66th Republic Day of India at the Rana Regan Center in Carol Stream with patriotic fervor and enthusiasm. More then 200 members attended the function. To start with, BSC's Secretary Rakshika Anjaria sang Ganesh Stuti and gave New Year 2015 good wishes. The members then celebrated 66th Republic day of India waving Indian flags. After that every body sang the American and then the Indian Anthem. Details on page 22
COMMUNITY ACROSS AMERICA
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There is no real happiness in the world Details on page 23
January 23, 2015
Swathchhata Abhiyan plus more at Mota Falia in Gujarat RAMESH SOPARAWALA India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Much before Swatchha India Campaign on a national scale was launched by Indian PM last October; a front ranking NRI community activist from Florida, Dr Kiran Patel thought of it and began implementing it in his home town Mota
- many were Adivasis (aborigines) -and offered financial help if they would put in labor. Common and individual closed door toilets - 300 plus in a village with 4000 population - were set up with waste disposal facilities to the delight of residents. Not only that, Dr Kiran also saw to it that scores of garbage bins were placed on both sides of the road and encour-
Mota Falia redone water reservoir after repair
Dr Kiran Patel with Mota Falia locales explaining the importance of hygiene
Falia in Gujarat. Dr Kiran is a big time philanthropist making hefty donations to a number of educational institutions here and back home in Mota Falia. He was moved to the core when he saw that many a household there lacked toilet facility and residents were relieving in the open. Women and seniors were decidedly in more disadvantageous position and nothing was being done to address the problem. He called a meeting of villages
aged the locals to dump their garbage in the bins and not litter on the roads. Another community oriented project that was taken up at the instance of Dr Kiran concerned improving the water supply. Mota Falia like many villages in India, had a huge Talao (reservoirpond) but over the years it became filled with dirt, garbage and neem tree leaves. Much of it was also used as an open toilet. The Talao that used to have plentiful
Mota Falia School
water turned almost non existent and vanished impacting the water levels in the wells around the area also. Dr Kiran had tripartite meetings with the government agencies and locals and induced col-
Mota Falia Hospital and Arogya Kendra
lective efforts with the villagers pulling in their carts and clearing the Talao of debris, waste and tree waste while the government helped to build the side wall. Cont’d on page 20
January 23, 2015
Community Across America
India Post 17
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Indian Americans pledge $300,000 for Clean India Campaign RAMESH SOPARAWALA India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Swatchha Bharat Abhiyan Clean India campaign - launched by the PM office in October last is set to get a big boost with a likely hefty donation from Indian American Community Foundation (IAFC). The Foundation was set up by a group
Dr Barai with PM Modi
of well meaning Indian Americans in New York last year in the wake of Indian PM Narendra Modi's visit to the country. Its fund raising efforts for hosting India PM
events met with huge success and it could raise close to one and half million dollars from contributions across the US. With close monitoring and effective management it ended the year with a surplus and it has decided in principle to release its "unutilized funds" for a good cause in India. "And what can be a better cause than PM's Swatchha India Campaign," said Dr Bharat Barai, an IAFC prime coordinator. According to informed sources, the IAFC would be in a position to contribute $300,000 for Clean India Campaign. PM Modi's successful US visit last September had triggered "euphoria" across America and many from different parts of the country wanted him to come to their cities too. Chicago was in the forefront inviting him to come. It was widely believed and held to be near certainty that the PM during his next visit would come to Chicago which hundred years ago hosted the Parliament of World Religions attended among others by an Indian monk Swami Vivekananda. Dr Bharat Barai extended an invitation to the PM on behalf of scores of Midwest organizations during his recent meet in New Delhi and pitched strongly for a Chicago visit. Hopes were entertained that the PM would oblige them when he comes to New York to attend the 70th UNO anniversary celebrations in September. Indications are that he is weighing different options and one of the options is that of going to West Coast - Silicon Valley. Motivation for the Silicon Valley is meeting IT entrepreneurs and professionals to pave the way for larger investment in this sector in India. In a talk to this paper, Dr Barai said that he would not rule out completely his Chicago visit as yet, but larger consideration
Swatchha Bharat Abhiyan
of India's interest may tilt the balance in favor of Silicon Valley. Even if the PM plans coming to Chicago, it would be up to the Midwest based organizations to take the lead and host all the events. Dr Barai and a group of PM supporters
from across the USA were hugely successful in planning and organizing Modi's reception in New York last year under the auspices IACF. With the prime purpose served the Foundation will stand disbanded, it is learnt.
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January 23, 2015
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Nikki Haley calls for closer ties with India India Post News Service
COLUMBIA, SC: Nikki Randhawa Haley, the first female Governor of South Carolina, has called for closer economic and trade relations between her State and India creating more opportunities in the areas of manufacturing, service and infrastructure sectors Nikki Haley was talking to a delegation of her supporters from
Dallas led by Dr Prasad Thotukara that had specially come to attend her swearing in ceremony held on Wednesday January 14 in Columbia after she got re-elected, winning the elections by a record margin. She was sworn in as the 116th Governor of South Carolina. Nikki (Namrata) Randhawa Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants and hence it was a proud moment for the entire InSouth Carolina Governor Nikki Haley with Dallas team in Columbia
dian American community as it is slowly marking its presence in mainstream politics. The election results indicated that it was the largest margin of victory for a South Carolina gubernatorial candidate in 24 years. To her credit she is the first minority governor in South Carolina history and currently the youngest Governor in the country. Nikki Randhawa had recently been to India on a ten-day trip covering the length of the huge country, from Bangalore in the south to Mumbai, which has led India's emergence as an economic powerhouse in the 21st century, to Punjab in the north, the heartland of her parents' Sikh religion. Governor Haley also observed that she and her team were highly
Anisha Anand, Amitabh Ghosh among others. Governor Haley conveyed her special appreciation and thanks to the Dallas team for its unwavering support for the past several years and hosted a special breakfast at Governor's Mansion on Thursday, January 15th for the IAFC team. She took the opportunity of introducing members of her family to the Dallas team. Dr Prasad Thotakura extended an invitation to Governor Haley to visit Dallas and see the newly built Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza. Governor Haley, who had attended as the Chief Guest of Honor at the ground breaking ceremonies of the same project last year, readily accepted the invitation.
The Dallas team led by Dr Thotukara in Governor Mansion
appreciative of the welcome extended to them by the Indian Government. Dr. Prasad Thotakura, Chairman of the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) and a team of her supporters were specially invited by Governor Haley to attend her swearing-in ceremonies. Dr Prasad led a delegation of more than 15 people from Dallas for this historic occasion. The team included IAFC Board of Directors and supporters: Murali Vennam, Ramki Chebrolu, Arun Agarwal, Anya Agarwal, Suresh Vuluvala, Grace Suresh, Dr Rajesh Adusumilli, Vijay Krishna Pilla, Sanjay Anand, Avita Anand,
Under Governor Haley's leadership, during her first term, South Carolina's jobless rate hit record lows. The state has announced more than 58,000 jobs and more than 25,000 South Carolinians moved from welfare to work, and the state made its largest infrastructure investment in a generation without raising taxes. Governor Haley is one of the current rising political stars in US politics and is expected to be a Vice-Presidential candidate in US Presidential elections to be held in 2016. Governor Haley and her husband Michael, who is a Captain in the Army National Guard, have two children, Rena 16, and Nalin 13.
Community Across America
January 23, 2015
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VoSAP empowering specially abled people in India USHA DESAI
T
he Indian Diaspora in the US are a proud lot nowa days with so many positives being heard around the globe about our country and its people such as dynamic global leader Indian PM, economic potential, our
Pranav Desai, Vice President with world's 6th largest IT services company, has polio since age of 4. An engineering student and an activist since college days, he has not only met India PM Narendra Modi whom he knows since 1988,
Pranav Desai with Indian PM Narendra Modi
frugal and effective Mangalyan mission, Nobel Prize for Satyarthi and the many strides that Indian doctors, entrepreneurs and technocrats have taken at the national stage in the US. The NRI community has many times taken up upon themselves the cause of the country and helped it address many issues in the past. As proud children of mother India to share the many blessings and knowledge that
but also his team - eight ministers and several MPs explaining the objective, motive and purpose behind the VoSA movement. He has also met with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and his team, several corporate leaders including Chairman of Reliance Industries, PepsiCo and other CEOs, CSR and HR heads to make a strong economic argument, beyond traditional social and welfare perspective. Pranav believes that education
creating a vibrant community of all the stakeholders (individuals, NGOs, solution providers, experts, volunteers, companies) and create a strong influencing voice that will impact policy, programs and implementation. This will foster the way to creating proud inclusive 21st century Indian society that cares and respects the needs and rights of Specially Abled People. VoSAP believes that empowerment of the Specially Abled People is possible by positioning this large population (6%) as a strong support group like in the US and other mature democracies. VoSAP also believes that economic argument offers more sustainable solutions instead of the traditional welfare and entitlements. Proposition is that this is an "untapped" market opportunity, branding opportunity, human capital opportunity to improve both topline and bottom line of the company by adopting the strategies around this sector. To achieve the vision of "Barrier-free India" by 2020, Vision 2020 was developed in January 2014. Pranav Desai and his team of volunteers could get seven transformational commitments into the election manifesto of BJP (India's ruling party), that became the priorities of the current Central government. Voice of SAP has started Accessible Bharat Abhiyan, efforts to make India's infrastructure ac-
Pranav addressing Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry Meet
they have gained with their families and fellow countrymen in India in many ways. "Voice of Specially Abled People" (VoSAP www.voiceofsap.com is one such undertaking by Pranav Desai from Los Angeles who has the vision of changing the perspective towards the Specially Abled People of India, approx 70 million. Specially Abled People in the US have been empowered to live an independent life whereas in India they are mostly relegated to a life of dependence, poverty and indignity. VoSAP is committed to give its mite for a change in this area.
and mobility can help empower Specially Abled Persons so he is promoting accessibility, transportation, employment and skill development to empower millions of SAP. India has thousands of NGOs working in the disability sector and there is a felt need of a strong advocacy organization that can influence India's top leaders (elected, social, corporate and media) as they have the power to implement the change. www.voiceofsap.com is aimed at filling this gap at the top level (top-down approach to bring in large scale societal change) by
cessible. The core theme here is physical accessibility and as a result of this ABA intends to make all government buildings, schools, banks, public and office buildings and modes of transportation accessible with safety for SAP. PM Shri Narendra Modi had announced in his national address ("Maan Ki Baat") on November 2 to allocate Rs 1 lakh per school to make them accessible. Another initiative is Employment through Skill development. VoSAP has undertaken a target of getting 1 million Specially Abled People employed by 2022 (75 years of celebrating India's In-
dependence) because employment brings empowerment and dignity not only for the SAP but also the family. VoSAP has partnered with very dedicated organizations, who can scale up to bring this vision to reality by providing training and skill devel-
solutions, Digital India and Make in India initiatives of Government, strong political will at the helm, availability of sustained CSR funds by law and young India ready to adopt more inclusive perspective, all these factors have come together to make the impact,
Pranav with global famed Indian Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
opment programs. We are living in historic times and believe in the high probability to change social perspective, adopt inclusive business practices, upgrade infrastructure and make it accessible, improve legal framework and create conditions to mainstream this 6% of India's population. Today's technology
change the lives of millions of Specially Abled People. The team of VoSAP, is a volunteer team. It encourages every reader to visit the website, join the team, contribute in any way possible like thought leadership, expertise, network of contacts that can be leveraged to bolster this voice.
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January 23, 2015
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Grand Lohri festival at Hari Om Mandir Asian Media USA
MEDINAH: This year also the festival of Lohri was celebrated with great fanfare at Hari Om Mandir in Medinah on Tuesday, January 13 with house full attendance in spite of cold winter weather. Lohri is one of the most cel-
ebrated harvest festivals in Punjab. It is the time for people to thank God for his kindness and for a plentiful harvest in the coming season. It is time for community celebration. The devotees celebrated with traditional food of Sarson ka Saag (mustard) and Makki (corn) ki roti and lassi (buttermilk), bonfire,
tappes, and songs suitable for the occasion. Lohri is distinguished for honoring the day of harvesting crop. The time was considered auspicious and special to the farmer as it rewarded him of his toil all the year round. A week before Lohri preparations started which included decorating the Mandir. A nicely deco-
Swathchhata Abhiyan plus more at Mota Falia in Gujarat Cont’d from page 16
Dr Kiran through his charitable organization Shakit Krupa Charitable Trust provided equipment
wife Dr Palaver Patel are equally wedded to promoting education and have made hefty donations for promoting it. The Mota Falia village can boast of primary, middle
The then Gujarat Chief Minister paying visit to Mota Falia School
and lent logistic as well as financial support. A few rainfalls later the Talao filled with water and now presents an awesome sight. Interestingly, the overflowing water reservoir not only helped better supply of water but also gave a fillip to the economic well being as fishing activity got a boost. Dr Kiran Patel is a former head of prestigious AAPI (Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin) and a face lift of the village that he hailed from would not have been complete if he did not do something to help their physical well being. He helped set up a Medical Clinic which after a few years blossomed into a full fledged hospital called Chhotubhai A. Patel Hospital and Samuhik Arogya Kendra. It looks after health care needs of the village and surrounding areas. It has fully equipped maternity, children (ICU, NCIU and Modular Operation Theatre), dental and eye care facilities. The 20,000 sq. ft built area hospital has well managed OP department and also treats Malaria and TB patients. Dr Koran and his physician
and high school Chhotubhai A Patel Learning Institute that stands out in imparting education to children in Mota Falia and surrounding villages, unmatched by any similar education facility in
school in Mota Falia was in dilapidated condition and Dr Kiran helped repair and got it fitted with necessary equipment to bring it back to excellent working condition. The then Gujarat Chief Minister Narenda Mod paid a visit to the school and welcomed the initiative of Patels, Drs Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel have donated $12 million to the University of South Florida in a new endowment aimed at creating the Patel College of Global Sustainability, expanding on nearly a decade of world-leading applied research to advance sustainability around the globe and improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. In a talk to this paper, Dr Kiran said that India in general and villages in particular face immense problems and he welcomed the initiative of newly elect government headed by Narendra Modi in resolving them in a practical manner. "Most problems can be solved with an ideal partnership between the government and private sector supplemented with
Visitors from Tampa FL at Mota Falia School
Gujarat State. It is not only the CA Learning institute that has benefited by the generosity and foresightedness of the Patels but even the nearby public schools also. A public
active participation from the people. "We have in our modest way tried to translate this partnership concept in practice at Mota Falia and we have seen the results too," he said.
Hari Om Mandir Lohri celebration: Ladies dancing
rated Punjabi Beda (Village) gave the feeling of being in a Punjabi pind. It was decorated with Chullah, Charkha (spinning wheel), fresh vegetables, sugarcanes and many small decorative items creating a Punjabi village atmosphere.
ladies to mark the day. Dhol player Ajay Ghai was on all the times. Prayers were done for families with newly weds, the new born babies and everyone by priest Pandit Dinesh Kumar. Ayodhia Salwan (Trustee Chairman), and President Indrajit
Having great fun
The celebration was not limited to lighting a bonfire but there were traditional dances; Ladies group led by Anshu Paul did Jago and Gidda (Punjabi folk dance), traditionally dressed ladies danced through the hall carrying a Gaggar (pot) decorated with lighted candles and singing jaago song. Special tappaas or to be specific, Punjabi verses were sung by the
Sarkar greeted everyone and also thanked everyone for their generous donation. Special thanks to India House, Star Foods and various devotees for arranging Sarson ka Saag, Makki ki Roti, Kheer etc. under the guidance of Ms Usha Verma. Devotees relished popcorns, gajar, revari, bhugga and peanuts as prasad.
January 23, 2015
Community Across America
India Post 21
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$ 5 mn Ram Temple & Community Center for NZ India Post News Service
AUCKLAND, NZ: A $5 million Shri Ram Mandir and a community complex in Henderson, about 13 kilometers from Auckland, currently under construction is expected to be ready in the next few months. A project of Shri Ram Mandir Charitable Trust, a registered charity, whose objectives include enhancing "cross-cultural understanding"; this three-level complex with a reported capacity of about 1,000 persons aims to address the spiritual, social, and cultural needs of the community. Besides a sanctuary on the top floor, it will also include a community center and place for youth activities. In addition to being involved in community/social service and advancing Hinduism, it also aims to promote harmony among diverse communities. In addition to offering worship services, Shri Ram Mandir also plans to organize cultural activities, festivals, events, community gatherings, educational projects, services for seniors, social welfare and community service programs, camps and spiritual-philosophical-recreational-cultural activities for youth, classes/seminars/discourses/lectures on Hinduism, and establish a library. Its Bhoomi Pooja was held on July 21, 2012, although the idea of the temple was initially launched much earlier. Marble and Hindu artifacts have been imported from India for this temple, which is claimed to be the biggest temple in New Zealand when
Its Bhoomi Pooja was held on July 21, 2012, although the idea of the temple was initially launched much earlier. Marble and Hindu artifacts have been imported from India for this temple, which is claimed to be the biggest temple in New Zealand completed. Shri Ram Mandir Charitable Trust (SRMCT) was established in September 2011, among others, to build a community centre and a place of worship for people of Hindu religion in West Auckland, New Zealand. This also happens to be the first community initiative for a community center of its type in West Auckland for the benefit of general public and community at large. While providing a place of worship for all Hindus, it also pledges to promote and enhance community well-being through community service, education and other necessary services to the community to address its various needs. It is also aimed to partner with existing government services and other community institutions to address the general needs of the community and enhance diversity, multiculturalism and cross-cultural under-
standing. Pravin Kumar, a businessman and community activist, is President of the Trust; Salendra Kumar is the Treasurer; while other trustees include Giyannendra Prasad and Shiu Charan. An "Akhand Hanuman Chalisa Paath" is being held on January 24 and 25, where Ram Temple in New Zealand
a "specially blessed oil" will also be available to the devotees. Henderson is a major suburb of Auckland, the most populous and largest urban area in New Zealand. Welcoming the efforts of the temple trustees and area community for realizing this Hindu temple complex, Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new temple would help in this direction.
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January 23, 2015
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Senior citizens celebrate India's Republic Day JAYANTI OZA
CHICAGO: Bharatiya Senior Citizens of Chicago (BSC) celebrated 66th Republic Day of India at the Rana Regan Center in Carol Stream with patriotic fervor and enthusiasm. More then 200 members attended the function. To start with, BSC's Secretary Rakshika Anjaria sang Ganesh
Bharatiya Senior Citizens of Chicago members carrying the Indian flag to celebrate the 66th Indian Republic Day
Nalini Musical Group singer Ishaan Ahmed, Du Page County Seniors Program Coordinator Moneeka Khan, BSC Secretary Rakshika Anjaria and Nalini Parikh
Stuti and gave New Year 2015 good wishes. The members then celebrated 66th Republic day of India waving Indian flags. After that every body sang the American and then the Indian Anthem. Nalini Parikh and Ishaan Ahmed of the Nalini Parikh Music Group rendered patriotic and
3 mn view AI's 'Cheer for Champions' campaign RISHIKANT SINGH
W
ith the World Cup round the corner, Air India offered its social media fans an amazing New Year gift, by extending a personal invitation to join stars Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Anjum Chopra and Nikhil Chopra, all Air India employees, on a very special Google Plus Hangout, the first of its kind by any airline in India. The Hangout marks the launch of the Air India "Cheer for Champions" campaign on the social media. Air India has wide social media presence through Twitter and Facebook. https:// www.facebook.com/AirIndia The "Cheer for Champions" campaign reached out to an astounding 3 million people on social media. The Hangout was viewed live by 1500 viewers! With the video of the Hangout on You
Tube as well, the number of people Gandhi Khel Ratna, 31 Arjuna, 1 viewing it in the days to come will Dronacharya and 1 Rashtriya Khel Protsahan see a tremenP u r a s k a r dous increase. awardees." Those who In an informal missed the live and chat 45chat can watch minute session, it on social methe four players dia channels. made the chat a Link to the profun-filled one, gram: http:// with interesting bit.ly/14tmGyS anecdotes from Commenting their experion the launch of ences. They this initiative, were effusive in Rohit Nandan, Air India Regional Manager their mentions of Air India CMD Americas the national said, "We at Air carrier's support India, have always been associated with sports and encouragement to them in and cricket deeply and we take their early days. The forthcoming great pride in the success of our World Cup in Australia has Suresh players. Air India is proud to have Raina, an Air Indian, in the team. as many as 11 Padmashri, 3 Rajiv Earlier World Cups have had Air India players M.S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, J.Srinath and Nikhil Chopra representing Team India. The airline has been a major patron of sports in India and has on its rolls several international and national players across disciplines like hockey, shooting, chess, badminton, carrom, kabaddi and football, besides cricket.
old melodies of Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshker. BSC new members and old members participated in singing songs that were enjoyed by all present. Two minutes silence was observed in memory of senior member Pushpaben Patel as well as another recently deceased BSC
member Laxmanbhai Patel. At the end of the program Du Page County's Seniors program Coordinator Moneeka Khan and BSC Treasurer Madarsang Chavda gave good wishes to seniors whose birthday and marriage anniversary fell in January 2015, by presenting them flowers.
Invitation to Miss Jewel of India pageant MOON KHAN
CHICAGO: Miss Jewel of worth of package that will inIndia beauty pageant will be the clude free airfare and one-week main attraction of the forthcom- hotel accommodation and they ing 66thIndian Republic Day will be able to participate in the event, organized by the Federa- international pageant to be held tion of Indian Association to be held at Meadows club on Saturday January 24. Based on the East Coast, Miss Jewel of India is offering free entries to Illinois contestants as a special favor to the FIA. The pageant will be in three categories: Miss Teen Jewel of India (age group 13-18), Ms. Jewel of India (age group 19-29), and Mrs Jewel of India. For registration, contestants should Jewel of India Pageant 2015 ready to contact Juhi Jagiasi announce State winners at 302-252-7024 or Shalini Saxena at 773-812-7049. in Jacksonville, Florida. Winners of the pageant will Besides the pageant, FIA will be nominated to the national also showcase several cultural pageant scheduled in April. Ul- and musical programs, which timately, the winners of the na- will be witnessed by several tional event will get a $5,000 prominent state elected officials.
January 23, 2015
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India Post 23
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Lohri celebrated at Fremont Hindu Temple with great fanfare India Post News Service
FREMONT: Fremont Hindu Temple celebrated Lohri festival this year with great fanfare. Devotees celebrated the festival with traditional songs, bonfire and dancing. Dr Romesh Japra, President and Convener FIA, led the celebrations and regaled the audience with stories about the Lohri tradition.
gion (Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh), Chandigarh and Jammu also celebrate Lohri. Singing and dancing form a key part of the celebrations. People wear bright colorful clothes and come to dance the B and G to the beat of the dhol. Sarson da Saag and Makki di Roti is usually served as the main course at a Lohri dinner. Lohri is a great occasion that
Panditji performing Lohri pooja with Dr Romesh Japra, Rajesh Verma, Vijay Thapar, Sudesh Kumari and Sunita Gupta
There is no real happiness in the world SWAMI NIKHILANAND
I
n the previous article (Gods, Souls and Maya are eternal entities) we learned that our true identity is the soul, and the soul is eternal and indestructible.
Shree Krishna convinces Arjun to fight the war As previously discussed (see Chapter 1, Part 8), it was clearly
Arjun's duty to fight the war. So Shree Krishna tells him that if he does his duty, then he can't lose: if he fights the war and is killed, then he will be rewarded with entry to swarg; and if he fights the war and wins, then he will enjoy the sovereignty of the earth (chapter 2, verse 37). According to the
law of karm, he will be rewarded whether he wins or loses the actual war, because he chose to do the right thing. But if, choosing not to fight, he shirks his duty, he will incur sin which will bring suffering upon him in the next life. In addition, people will see him as a coward because they will assume that he left the battlefield out of fear. He
would lose the respect of other warriors. Thus, ruining his good name and bringing infamy upon himself, he would spoil his happiness in this life; and by incurring the sin of ignoring his duty, he would also spoil his happiness in the next life. Shree Krishna thus explained in simple, straightforward logic why
Arjun should fight the war.
The Futility of Worldly Happiness Shree Krishna Himself had already explained the futility of worldly happiness to Arjun earlier in chapter 2. He explained that the world is full of pairs of opposites, like heat and cold, and pleasure and pain. In other words, cold doesn't last forever - it eventually gives way to heat; and heat doesn't last forever - it eventually gives way to cold. Pleasure doesn't last forever it eventually gives way to pain; and pain doesn't last forever - it eventually gives way once again to pleasure (chapter 2, verse 14). All situations are temporary, which means that worldly happiness is always fleeting. Thus, Shree Krishna advised Arjun to remain equanimous both in situations that bring pleasure and in those that cause pain. A fact or truth is permanent, unchanging, and everlasting. Worldly happiness on the other hand exists only as a fleeting experience in our mind, not as a substantial and real thing. We cannot enjoy anything in this world unceasingly. The longer we go on enjoying it, the more the enjoyment fades, until it finishes altogether. Cont’d on page 24
Ritu Maheshwari, Aarty Nath, guest and Soni celebrating Lohri
Lohri is celebrated to denote the winter solstice. Apart from Punjab, people from other northern Indian states of the Punjab re-
holds great importance for people as this festival provides the opportunity to interact with family and friends.
Devotees dancing
Lohri bonfire
24 India Post
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January 23, 2015
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There is no real happiness in the world Cont’d from page 23
The truth is that there never was any happiness in those worldly things: not in the tasty food, not in the beauty, not in anything of this world. We experience happiness in the association of those things in proportion to our desire for them. The hungrier we are, the better food tastes,
and the more pleasure we receive in eating it. The thirstier we are, the more we enjoy water. The longer we have been separated from the object of beauty, the greater our desire for it has grown, and the greater the pleasure we receive upon meeting with it. But as we go on eating, our desire for food wanes, and the happiness we experience in eating decreases accordingly. As we go on
drinking, our thirst is quenched, and our pleasure in drinking the water also disappears. The longer we go on looking at a beautiful thing, whether it is a person, or a painting, or any natural scene, the more accustomed to that thing we become, and the less desire we have to keep looking at it. Eventually, we become bored, and we want to look at something else.
When we reach such a threshold, if we were forced to continue, then the very thing that initially gave us pleasure, would now start giving us displeasure. If we were forced to keep on staring at the same beautiful face or painting for hours on end, we would get fed up and not want to look at it anymore. If there was real happiness in these things, then how could we receive pain from the very same things? If there was real happiness in any object or person of this world, then everyone would be able to get the same amount of enjoyment out of the same person or thing. Everyone would love chocolate and hate onions. But there is no consistency: some people love onions and hate chocolate. Everyone would feel the same happiness in seeing your son as you do. But they don't; you receive the happiness from your son, because you are attached to him. Your neighbor is not attached to him, so he is neutral towards him. He gets happiness from his own son, not your son. Thus, we see that the so-
Swami Nikhilanand
called happiness is received based on the attachment of the mind, not based on the existence of happiness in that person or thing. The next question is: if there is no real happiness in this world, then is there only pain? We will see what the philosophy of the Gita has to say about this in the next article. Disciple of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj: Swami Nikhilanand Ji is a Canadian born Hindu spiritual leader based in Austin, Texas. He is a sanyasi disciple and pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Attracted to the teachings of Hinduism from a young age, Swamiji eventually let his deep spiritual longing lead him to India, where he was most fortunate to come under the guidance of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Thereafter, living in the ashrams of JKP, he extensively studied Hindi, the philosophy of the prime Sanskrit scriptures (Vedas, Darshan Shastras, Gita, Bhagwatam), and practiced meditation in the tradition of raganuga bhakti. In 2003, he was given sanyas. Now, with the blessings of his Guruji, he offers satsang programs throughout America, engaging audiences with his clear explanations of Hindu philosophy coupled with inspired chanting of Sanskrit mantras and shlokas and charming nam sankirtan. His informative and compelling speeches provide practical insight into how to adopt the teachings of Sanatan Dharm into our daily lives, and inspire us to awaken our inner spiritual potential. To stay in touch with Swami Nikhilanand Ji, like his Facebook page at h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / SwamiNikhilanand or follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/Swami_Nikhil.
January 23, 2015
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TOP TEN HINDI FILM SONGS
1 Khamoshiyan : Khamoshiyan 2 Tu Hai Ki Nahi : Roy 3 Sooraj Dooba Hain : Roy 4 Tu Har Lamha : 28 India Post
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January 23, 2015
Khamoshiyan 5 Tharki Chokro : PK
"I was nervous before the audition and thought I'd forget all my lines. I did meet Shah Rukh. He was very kind."
6 Superman : Tevar
P
10 Chaar Kadam : PK
akistani beauty Mahira Khan's Bollywood debut is going to be quite a special one, since she is working alongside Shahrukh Khan in Rahul Dholakia directed 'Raees.' Mahira was not conversant with the details when she was invited for the auditions. She just knew the names of the director and producer and decided to audition as she liked the scenes. The actress told the media, "I got a call for an audition and wasn't told the exact details of the film, except the names of the producer and the director, both of whom I liked. Once I read the scenes, I found them to be interesting and went ahead and auditioned for the role." She was not even aware that she was being auditioned for Shahrukh's film! But then, she met Shahrukh who supported her, "I was nervous before the audition and thought I'd forget all my lines. I did meet Shah Rukh. He was very kind." Ta l k i n g about her co-actors," she said, "I'm a fan of both Shah Rukh and Nawazuddin." Shahrukh later said that both he and the director think highly of Mahira. "Rahul liked her. She suited the film a lot. I have seen a little bit part of her television stuff. I have met her and she is a marvelous actor."
7 Dance Basanti : Ungli 8 Lovely : Happy New Year 9 Mileya Mileya : Happy Ending
T
Evelyn is gushing and is indeed happy. But she likes the whole excitement to keep this guy a mystery for now
E
velyn Sharma sure knows how to tease! The pretty actress, who will next be seen scorching the screen with Sunny Leone in Kuch Kuch Locha Hain, was recently on a work cum leisure trip to Dubai. While on the trip, she seems to have cozied up to a certain mystery boy. This is the first time Evelyn has posted a romantic kissing picture on social media and we are left wondering who is this lucky boy Navdeep Chhabra who seems to have stolen Evelyn's heart? Of course she remained unavailable for comments. What a tease! A source close to the actress said, "Evelyn is gushing and is indeed happy. But she likes the whole excitement to keep this guy a mystery for now. The two were in Dubai recently hanging around town."
he 'Khoobsurat' actor Fawad Khan will romance Priyanka Chopra in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Madamji'. Fawad Khan, who wooed his audience with his intense acting caliber in 'Zindagi Gulzaar Hai' and 'Humsafar' debuted with Sonam Kapoor in 'Khoobsurat'. Priyanka who is donning the hat of producer with 'Madamji' is considering Fawad for the male lead of her production venture. 'Madamji' shows the journey and struggles of an item girl who climbs the ladder of success and becomes a politician. The film will be shot in Bhopal, Delhi, Johanpur, Lucknow and Mumbai. It is said to be inspired by Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata Dutt. Priyanka Chopra will be playing the role of an item girl and PC will be co-producing it with R a m Mirchandani. The Pakistani heartthrob is highly in demand and he is flooded with Bollywood offers. We are sure he will make an interesting pairing with Priyanka in 'Madamji'.
January 23, 2015
Bollywood
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Akshara who is all set to make her Bollywood debut in R Balki's Shamitabh is already being singled out as one of the most promising newcomers of the year
A
fter investing his entire energy and re sources to producing Tevar for his son Arjun, producer Boney Kapoor is all set to produce a film for his stunning wife Sridevi. The ambitious Sridevi project is a dramatic and emotional story of a stepmother and her stepdaughter. While the stepmom's role would be played by Sridevi, the daughter will be played by Kamal Haasan and Sarika's younger daughter Akshara Haasan. Akshara who is all set to make her Bollywood debut in R Balki's Shamitabh is already being singled out as one of the most promising newcomers of the year. Apparently, it was Balki, who produced Sridevi's comeback film English Vinglish, who recommended Akshara. Interestingly, Sridevi and Akshara's father the legendary Kamal Haasan have done 21 films in Tamil and of course the classic Sadma in Hindi together.
A
kshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey's Baby is a self-pro claimed narrative based on real-life instances of terrorism, but both the actor and the filmmaker were careful about not targeting any specific country in the movie. There is a tendency, especially in mainstream patriotic films, to cash in on the animosity between India and our neighboring nations. However, when it came to Baby, both ensured that the film steered clear from that volatile superfluous space. The movie, therefore, addresses terrorism as a global issue and not so much as a trouble-making one. "We do not believe in bashing any country. Even Ajmal Kasab's name in the trailer is not indicative of any particular country. No country is homogeneous and hence it is unvalidated to make any remarks against any specific group or country," explains Akshay.
We do not believe in bashing any country. Even Ajmal Kasab's name in the trailer is not indicative of any particular country
I
t looks like Kareena Kapoor Khan's reel pairing with Emraan Hashmi isn't meant to be. The actress will not be essaying the part of Sangeeta Bijlani in the biopic on Mohammed Azharuddin, starring Emraan as the former Indian cricket captain. Reason being that she's unable to allot dates for this Anthony D'Souza directed film that is scheduled to start shooting this summer. A well-placed source says that after meeting producer Ekta Kapoor, Kareena had even met Anthony for the narration. However, some days later, she conveyed to the makers that she can't accommodate her dates in their schedule. Says our informer, "Kareena has to first wrap up Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which is scheduled to release this Eid. Next, she's committed to Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, also featuring Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. So she can't give her dates this summer to the Azharuddin biopic."
„
Realty Tidbits
S&P in 1 bn deal to settle US subprime suit NEW YORK: Standard & Poor's has agreed to pay USD 1 billion to settle US charges that the ratings agency defrauded investors ahead of the housing bust, a person familiar with the matter said. The accord is in the final stages of negotiation and is expected to be announced by the end of the first quarter, the person said. The settlement would resolve a 2013 US Department of Justice suit accusing the ratings agency of misrepresenting as safe highrisk securities linked to subprime mortgages. The US argued S&P's ratings of the securities were too positive because it sought to win business from investment banks packaging the toxic mortgage-linked bonds that were at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis. S&P initially contested the suit, accusing the Justice Department at one point of attacking the ratings firm as payback for a move by S&P in August 2011 to strip the US of its triple-A credit rating. The Justice Department denied the allegation. -AFP
„ PropTiger enters secondary market space NEW DELHI: Backed by funding from Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp, realty portal PropTiger has forayed into secondary market property transactions and plans to expand operations in ten more cities in the next 18 months. Noida-based PropTiger, founded in February 2011, has so far facilitated sales of over 10,000 housing units, worth about Rs 7,000 crore, in primary market and is targeting to sell 50,000 homes over the next three years, its cofounder Prashan Agarwal told PTI. In November, News Corp announced acquisition of 25 per cent stake in PropTiger.com for USD 30 million (Rs 185 crore). The portal's existing investors, including SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Horizen Ventures, also invested USD 7 million. Since inception, the company has received over USD 44 million in funding. "We currently have nine offices in eight cities with employee strength of about 550. We provide end-to-end services to home buyers and help customers across the value chain, right from identifying property to owning it," Agarwal said. -PTI
Real Estate 30 India Post
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January 23, 2015
Land banks announce 1,294 Ohio demolitions COLUMBUS, Ohio: Land banks in central Ohio say more than 1,200 blighted housing units were demolished last year at a cost of $10.2 million. The demolitions, paid for by Columbus, Franklin County and a grant from the state attorney general's office, are up considerably from the 527 units demolished in 2013. Edward Leonard, Franklin County Treasurer and board chairman of the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation, said such problem properties depress property values and reduce tax revenues that fund schools, human services and job creation efforts. -AP
RBI rate cut will boost demand, say industry sources NEW DELHI: The real estate industry has hailed the RBI's decision to cut key interest rate, saying the move will boost housing demand and also improve sentiments in the sluggish property market. However, real estate developers and property consultants demanded that interest rates be further reduced. Encouraged by softening inflation, the RBI had cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent with a view to boosting growth. "It's a great new year gift. It seems that the Finance Minister's effort has borne fruit to convince RBI governor. Given the background of RBI governor, even the small beginning will be marked as a big sign of hopes for the Indian economy," DLF group executive director Rajeev Talwar told PTI. The move would definitely encourage buyers now to invest in new homes, he added. Commenting on the develop-
ment, property consultant CBRE South Asia Chairman & MD Anshuman Magazine said: "This decision, early in the year, is a welcome one. Given the current market situation, this reduction in the base rate is an important step in improving home buying senti-
Housing sales fell to 1.75 lakh units in the primary markets of seven major cities in 2014 against nearly 2 lakh units in the previous year due to demand slowdown, according to recent JLL India report. CREDAI, the apex realtors'
ments". Magazine said that this move, hopefully with expected reduction in mortgage rates, would improve residential sales across the country, which have been suffering from general slackness in recent times.
body, Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain termed RBI's decision as a "good beginning" but said "this is not enough." "A reduction of 200 basis point (reduction of interest rate by 2%) within short span is needed," Jain
Haryana tells 575 builders to register sale deeds CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government has directed 575 builders or colonizer licensees to register sale or conveyance deeds of the transferred properties within 20 days, failure of which can lead to action against the non-compliers. Complaints were received from the allotters alleging that "colonizers have collected a huge amount from them on account of registration charges or stamp duty for executing sale deeds of the plot, flat, shops and office space in their favor, but the said sale deeds or conveyance deeds have not been registered till date," an official release said here. If the builders or colonizer
licensees fail to comply, then penal action against them will be initiated in accordance with the provisions of law, it said. Moreover, the amount so collected has been retained by them in an illegal manner and were using it for their benefit, it said. In the cases, where it is not possible to register the documents, the stamp duty so collected should immediately be returned with interest. After complying with these directions, the builders would be given a time frame of 30 days to a submit detailed information of cases in the execution of sale deeds.-PTI
said. Echoing similar views, Credai President (Elect) Getamber Anand said: "Good small step, but industry is awaiting a more aggressive cut this quarter". Global property consultant JLL India Chairman & Country Head Anuj Puri said: "I expect this cut in interest rate to be the first of several to come, and these will cumulatively make a big difference to home loan borrowers. As of now, the current rate cut will help revive market sentiment, which is very timely". Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Sanjay Dutt said this move would instill hope and confidence in the real estate industry that a recovery in housing sales is around the corner. SARE Homes MD David walker said the measure will cheer up the markets and hoped that financial institutions would pass on this reduction to customers, which in turn would boost housing demand.-PTI
$1.5M grant to buy 'zombie homes' in Minot MINOT, N.D.: City officials in Minot hope to use a $1.5 million grant from the state to buy some of the region's derelict properties left over from the Souris River flood and turn them into affordable housing. Officials recently announced that they received the funding from the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, which will go toward buying and demolishing the
estimated 250 ``zombie'' homes still left in the city, KXMC-TV in Minot reported. The city has been grappling for months with what to do with the hundreds of boarded-up, mold-ridden and debris-infested properties that remain, creating eyesores and potential dangers. The Souris River swamped more than 4,000 Minot homes, businesses and other structures in June 2011. Cont’d on page 31
Real Estate Post
January 23, 2015
India Post 31
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Is homebuyer responsible for past damage? STEVE MCLINDEN
Dear Real Estate Adviser, We're in escrow to purchase a house with a cracked driveway that's also been raised an inch or so, thanks to the roots of a nowchopped-down tree. (Only the stump remains.) The neighbor's driveway is also visibly cracked from the roots. While the tree sat between the two driveways, its trunk was fully on the side of the house we're buying. Would we as new homeowners be liable for damage to the neighbor's property? -- Tony R. Dear Tony, Probably not, but that's hard to say definitively without a little more information. State laws and local civil courts vary somewhat on who's responsible if a tree damages a neighbor's driveway or foundation. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned a 70-year-old precedent not long ago, saying homeowners can now sue to force a neighbor to cut back roots or branches. However, most other states still use the equivalent of the so-called "Massachusetts rule," saying that if a homeowner's tree roots crack a neighbor's driveway or home, then that's the neighbor's problem. Other laws state that homebuyers are not responsible
for damage to neighboring properties that occurred before they bought a property. That should pre-empt a claim by your new neighbor, with an emphasis on the should. Making a nuisance But there's another asterisk: civil "nuisance" judgments are occasionally rendered against the owners of offending trees based on the notion that landowners are obliged to prevent conditions that may adversely affect an adjacent home's property or interfere with their right to use and enjoy land, whether or not such an outcome was intentional. Again, since the neighbors apparently didn't ask for compensation from the current owners, such a suit would likely fail. When to tackle this issue A far better time to address this problem, of course, would have been during your due diligence discovery phase and before the onset of closing. I'm a little surprised your buyer's agent, if you're using one, didn't run interference for you and that you let this potentially expensive problem ride till the 11th hour. (It sounds like you really want this house!) Dealing with the seller
If the inspection contingency timeline spelled out in your contract is yet to expire, you can certainly revisit the issue and demand a credit from sellers for replacement of the driveway (generally
about $4,000 to $6,000 or more, but get a couple of bids to be sure). If the damage wasn't listed in the seller's disclosure, you might even be able to back out of this deal entirely, assuming you'd want to. However, if you must clearly sacrifice your earnest money to exit at this juncture, you might be best served by completing the purchase, assuming those monies are roughly equivalent to what a new driveway costs. Coping with the neighbors As for the neighbors, you or
CCI order soon on unfair ways in realty sector NEW DELHI: Competition Commission is expected to soon finalize its order on alleged unfair business practices in the realty sector, a matter where around 20 entities have come under its scanner. The Commission, which had issued notices to various real estate entities with regard to the case, has completed their personal hearings. According to sources, the fair trade watchdog has completed personal hearings of entities in the realty sector with regard to alleged cartelization and anti-competitive trade practices. Written submissions were sought from these entities and most of them have submitted the same to the Commission. The regulator is expected to take a final decision on the case to be taken soon, sources said. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had issued notices to about 20 entities, including realty companies, following a detailed
probe by its Director General (DG). DG, which is the investigation arm of the Commission, had flagged off various issues in the real estate space. Among others, the developers
along with other anti-competitive practices. In the past also, many real estate players have come under the CCI scanner and some were found to be violating competition norms.
are being probed for inserting onesided clauses in favor of the companies and against the interest of consumers in the buyer agreements for sale of flats, apartments and other residential properties,
The watchdog had even slapped a fine of Rs 630 crore on DLF and that order, upheld by the Competition Appellate Tribunal, was later challenged in the Supreme Court.PTI
your agent should try to get a clear answer from sellers as to whether they've discussed the obvious damage with them. If the sellers are evasive, you may need to contact the neighbors directly. Some-
times a next-door neighbor with a loyalty to the seller will wait until
a new owner takes over to try to demand damages. That's why you will want to create clear documentation that you broached the subject with them before you bought; plus it confirms the problem was pre-existing. Will lawyers get involved? My guess is that you are going in with your eyes open about your own cracked driveway. But there is no way you should let yourself get stuck fixing two of them. If you've already closed, and those stray roots "suddenly" become an issue with the neighbors, contact your state's bar association for a referral to an attorney experienced in tree law. Here's hoping you're able to cut this knotty problem off at the roots. Good luck! Courtesy Bankrate.com
$1.5M grant to buy 'zombie homes' in Minot Cont’d from page 30
Over the past year, the Minot Housing Authority had been working to get back the $1.5 million in flood relief funding that it returned to the state previously after a different project to provide FEMA housing fell through. Now, the city has asked the Minot Area Community Foundation if it would like to purchase some of the homes and lease them to families needing financial assistance. Officials say they'll turn to private citizens if the foundation declines. Most of the abandoned homes cost around $180,000, but that price can vary, said Cindy Hemphill, the finance director for the city of Minot. She added that it also costs the city about $15,000 to $20,000 to demolish the home.
``It depends on what the home is, what we have to do to purchase it, whether we have to pay
The city has asked the Minot Area Community Foundation if it would like to purchase some of the homes and lease them to families needing financial assistance. unpaid taxes, or there is a mortgage that has to be satisfied, or something like that,'' she said. -AP
„ Health
Line
Doctor gets four years in prison for kickback scheme HAMMOND, Ind.: A northwestern Indiana doctor has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for her role in a kickback scheme involving Medicare and Medicaid patient referrals. Federal prosecutors said that 60-year-old Linda Rosenberg was sentenced to 46 months. The Chicago woman pleaded guilty in April to three criminal counts related to her Hammond practice. The (Munster) Times reports Rosenberg was accused of accepting about $1,500 a month from a Chicago-area laboratory for sending Medicaid and Medicare patients there for blood draws. Her indictment alleges she had a similar referral arrangement with a northwestern Indiana business that provides body scans and Xrays, and allegedly accepted $34,000 between June 2011 and February 2012. Rosenberg also illegally dispensed the prescription painkiller hydrocodone to a patient without a legitimate medical purpose. -AP
„ Scientists extend life of flies by 60 per cent LONDON: Scientists have managed to prolong the lifespan of flies by up to 60 per cent after activating a gene which destroys unhealthy cells, an advance which may help develop new anti-ageing treatments for humans. Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland, led by Eduardo Moreno, have developed a new method to extend lifespan of flies based on improved selection of the best cells within the body. "Our bodies are composed of several trillion cells and during ageing those cells accumulate random errors due to stress or external insults, like UV-light from the sun," said Moreno. "Because some cells are more affected than others, we reasoned that selecting the less affected cells and eliminating the damaged ones could be a good strategy to maintain tissue health and therefore delay ageing and prolong lifespan," Moreno said. To test their hypothesis, the researchers used Drosophila melanogaster flies. The first challenge was to find out which cells within the organs of Drosophila were healthier. Moreno's team identified a gene which was activated in less healthy cells. -PTI
Health Science
Poor sleep may lead to drug problems in teens
32 India Post
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January 23, 2015
Details on Page 34
Experts unhappy with lab test packages becoming industry NEW DELHI: Looking to gift his wife something unusual on Karva Chauth, Delhi businessman Devesh Verma zeroed in on a novel option of buying her a health package. The package involved a series of tests for blood sugar (diabetes), vitamin D (strength of bones) and serum creatinine (kidney) along with lipid profile (cardiac). With several executive health packages being offered by private hospitals and diagnostics, experts feel, is growing as an industry. The phenomenon does, however, raise concerns, they add. "Laboratory medicine is a vital specialty which is of prime importance in assisting doctors to arrive at a correct diagnosis but, unfortunately, lab medicine is becoming an industry where the emphasis is more and more on tests whether required or not," says Dr Navin Dang, Director of Dr Dangs Lab.
According to a senior doctor at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, such health packages are not scientific as there are very few diseases which can be picked up
"For example, at present breast cancer is quite prevalent and every other woman is going for check up. Some hospitals offer mammogram screening as part of
"Tests have to be directed to a specific objective. In such health packages, barring a few necessary ones, most of the tests are unnecessary." Dr Navin Dang
early, like blood pressure, diabetes, anemia, etc. "Tests have to be directed to a specific objective. In such health packages, barring a few necessary ones, most of the tests are unnecessary.
their health package. But a woman less than 40 (years of age) should not opt for such screening as it exposes them to radiation and so doing an ultra-sound should be enough," the doctor says. Also, in the absence of strin-
gent guidelines on screening, some experts said they feel that these tests do not serve much purpose. Several health packages also offer sample collection from home which, according to lab experts, is a very tricky situation as the maximum errors in lab medicine are due to sample collection, labeling and transportation. "The source of 80 per cent of the errors in lab investigations is in the pre-analytical phase, which includes preparing the patient, sample collection techniques and transportation. "As the person doing all that may not have the required education level and they collect more than 50 samples a day, an error in labeling is always a possibility. Thus, a patient is always recommended to go to a laboratory to give his samples," says a senior doctor at AIIMS. Cont'd on Page 35
More nurses in UK taking time off due to stress LONDON: The number of nurses taking time off due to stress in the UK has soared as health authorities struggled to cope with rising demand for care. Both the number of nurses on stress-related leave and the amount of time taken off are up significantly in the past three years in London, Scotland and Wales, responses to freedom of information requests submitted to National Health Service (NHS) organizations by the Observer newspaper show. The figures have prompted claims by health unions that the NHS's 400,000 nurses are being stretched to breaking point as a result of having to work more demanding and longer shifts. In London, almost 1,500 nurses at 31 NHS trusts took time off because of stress during 2014, up 27 per cent on the 1,179 who did so in 2012. That meant that one in every 29 nurses were off ill with stress.
The 1,497 nurses took an average of 38 days off for stress. The number of nurses' working days lost to stress at the 28 acute trusts and three mental health trusts rose from 38,654 in
stressed they could no longer work were off sick for an average of 51 days. Scotland also saw stress-related sick days among nurses rise, by 34 per cent from 116,735 in 2012 to 156,880 last year.
Health unions say the NHS’s 400,000 nurses are being stretched to breaking point
2012 to 57,156 last year - a rise of 48 per cent, the report said. The seven health boards in Wales have seen the number of nurses off with stress rise 17 per cent from 2,188 in 2012 to 2,563 last year. Those who become so
The Royal College of Nursing, which represents about 300,000 NHS nurses, said they were "being driven to breaking point". Kim Sunley, its senior employment relations adviser, said: "The strain put on the health service in
recent years, with jobs having been cut and resources frozen as patient numbers have gone up, has made the situation even worse. NHS Employers, which represents hospitals and other providers of care, estimates that over 30 per cent of all NHS sick leave is caused by stress, which is believed to cost the service up to 400 million pounds a year in lost productivity and the cost of replacing stressed staff. In 2012 and 2013 combined, 38 per cent of NHS personnel told a staff survey that they had suffered stress in the previous year. An NHS Employers spokesman said there had been "a lot of work and progress in this area". The Department of Health maintained that stress levels were stable across England. "We know nurses are working extremely hard, but these figures create a misleading picture," a spokesman said. -PTI
January 23, 2015
Health Science Post
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Psychosocial factors tied to better heart WASHINGTON: Children with favorable psychosocial experiences may have better cardiovascular health in adulthood, scientists say. Positive psychosocial factors include growing up in a family that practices healthy habits, is financially secured, provides a stable emotional environment, and where children learn to control aggressiveness and impulsiveness and fit in socially. In a Finnish study, participants with the most psychosocial advantages in youth scored higher on an ideal cardiovascular health index in adulthood than those with
hood had 14 per cent greater chance of being at normal weight as an adult; 12 per cent greater chance of being a non-smoker as an adult; and 11 per cent greater chance to have a healthy glucose level as an adult. "The choices parents make have a longlasting effect on their children's future health, and improvement in any one thing can have measurable benefits," said Laura Pulkki-Raback, study senior author and research fellow at the University of Helsinki in Finland. "For instance, if an unemployed parent gets steady employment, the effect may be huge. If he or she also quits smoking, the benefit is even greater. All efforts to improve family well-being are beneficial," she said. Researchers initiated the project with 3,577 children ranging in age from 3-18. They measured six factors: socioeconomic status, emotional stability, parental health behaviors, stressful events, self-regulation of behavioral problems and social adjustment. Twenty-seven years later, researchers assessed 1,089 of the participants 30-45 years old to Results from the study found those with the most determine their level of ideal carpsychosocial advantages in childhood had 14 per cent diovascular health. greater chance of being at normal weight as an adult. Favorable socioeconomic the least psychosocial advantages. status and self-regulatory behavior, meanTo calculate "ideal cardiovascular ing good aggression and impulse control, health," researchers used the American in youth were the strongest predictors of Heart Association's Life's Simple 7: being ideal cardiovascular health in adulthood. active, controlling cholesterol, eating Early experiences appear to have cardiohealthy, controlling blood pressure, losing vascular health benefits for all people. The weight, reducing blood sugar and stopping results also highlight the importance of smoking. early life stages - periods during which other Results from the study found those with studies have proven cardiovascular disthe most psychosocial advantages in child- eases begin to root. -PTI
China starts clinical trial to repair spine BEIJING: Chinese scientists and doctors began a landmark clinical trial using a collagen complex and stem cells to repair damaged human spinal cord. Six patients have signed up for the trial and the first surgery was completed recently, said a statement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said. The research was led by Dai Jianwu, a research fellow with the Institute of Genetics and Development Biology of CAS. The surgery done a patient went smoothly and he is in a good condition, Dai said. The patient was implanted with mesenchymal stem cells and a collagen complex made up of collagen scaffold fibers, also described as collagen tubes, with collagen
binding brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein to support and encourage the growth of neurons, Dai was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency. The collagen complex acts as a bridge for nerves to reconnect and mesenchymal stem cells help tissue recovery, Dai said. "Previous tests on rats and dogs showed positive results," he said. In this stage, scientists aim to test the safety of surgery and perfect its design, he said. In the next stage, about 20 to 30 more patients will be involved, he added. The trial is the first in China and probably the first across the world. "We hope the research can shed light on this clinical challenge," Dai said. -PTI
'Nation's health can be assessed by IMR, MMR' CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that the status of healthcare of any country could be assessed by its statistics of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). Apart from this, implementation of programs like pulse polio immunization for polio eradication also play a significant role in reflecting the health status of the country, the Chief Minister said while addressing a gathering after administering pulse polio drops to children. He inaugurated the first National Immunization Round of Pulse Polio 2015 at his residence here. Khattar administered polio drops to 12 children in the age group of 0 to 5 years, a statement said. "Though our country is polio free yet the health department needs to remain always alert towards polio eradication with the help of agencies like World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, National Rural Health Mission etc," he said. Additional Chief Secretary Health Ram Niwas apprised the Chief Minister of a target that has been set to administer polio drops to about 40 lakh children under this
three-day campaign. As many as 16,000 polio booths have been set up and 66,000 vaccinators have been deployed there. The activity will be supervised by 3,300 officers and 1,500 mobile teams will visit
Manohar Lal Khattar
brick kilns, construction sites, nomadic sites and far-fledged areas to vaccinate all high risk population. Ram Niwas informed that one case of polio was found in Nuh town of Mewat in 2010. -PTI
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Poor sleep may lead to drug problems in teens WASHINGTON: Adolescents who get poor or insufficient sleep may be at higher risk of developing alcohol and drug problems, scientists say. Researchers have found that sleep difficulties and hours of sleep can predict a number of specific problems, including binge drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, and risky sexual behavior. "Among normal adults, sleep difficulties and insomnia have predicted onset of alcohol use one year later, and increased risk of any illicit drug use disorder and nicotine dependence 3.5 years later," said Maria M Wong, professor and director of experimental training in the department of psychology at Idaho State University. "Among adult alcoholics who received treatment for alcohol dependence, those with insomnia at baseline were more likely to relapse to alcohol use. "The association between poor sleep and substance use has also been found in younger age groups. Overtiredness in childhood has predicted lower re-
sponse inhibition in adolescence, which in turn predicted number of illicit drugs used in young adulthood. "Overtiredness in childhood has also directly predicted the presence of binge drinking, black-
ties and hours of sleep prospectively predicted several serious substance-related problems that included binge drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, and risky sexual behavior," Wong said.
cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol as well as diabetes, said researchers from Northwestern University in the US. "This disease takes a huge
ation one later regretted due to drinking, and ever using any illicit drugs and drugs-related problems at the second wave," said Wong. "Previous studies on adolescents were mostly drawn from high risk samples," said Wong. "This study has added to the existing literature by establishing the relationship between two sleep variables - sleep difficulties and hours of sleep - and the odds of serious alcohol- and drug-related problems in a nationally representative sample," she said. The study will be published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.-PTI
Cone snail venom can cure cancer, addiction outs, driving after drinking alcohol, and number of lifetime alcohol problems in young adulthood. "The purpose of this study was to examine whether sleep difficul-
Wong and her co-authors analyzed data collected via interviews and questionnaires from 6,504 adolescents (52 per cent girls, 48 per cent boys) partici-
Eczema sufferers run risk of heart disease WASHINGTON: Adults suffering from eczema, a chronic itchy skin disease, have higher rates of smoking, drinking and obesity and are less likely to exercise than adults who don't have the disease, a new study has found. These negative behaviors put eczema patients at a higher risk of
pating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the US. Data were collected for three waves - 1994-1995, 1996, and 2001-2002 - and study authors used sleep difficulties from a previous wave to predict substancerelated problems at a subsequent wave, while controlling for substance-related problems at the previous wave. "Sleep difficulties at the first wave significantly predicted alcohol-related interpersonal problems, binge drinking, gotten drunk or very high on alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol, getting into a sexual situ-
emotional toll on its sufferers, like chronic pain," said lead study author Dr Jonathan Silverberg. "Because eczema often starts in early childhood, people are affected all through their developmental years and adolescence. It hurts their self-esteem and identity. That's part of why we see all
these negative behaviors," he said. Adding to eczema patients' health woes is difficulty exercising, because sweat and heat aggravate the itching.
"They will avoid anything that triggers the itch. Patients report their eczema flares during a workout," Silverberg said. "This opens our eyes in the world of dermatology that we're not just treating chronic inflammation of the skin but the behavioral, lifestyle side of things," Silverberg said. Dermatologists need to ask patients about their lifestyle habits such as smoking and physical activity so they can offer interventions, the study suggests. The study analyzed data for 27,157 and 34,525 adults aged 18 to 85 years from the 2010 and 2012 National Health Interview Survey in the US. The study found patients with eczema had 54 per cent higher odds of being morbidly obese, 48 per cent higher odds of hypertension, up to 93 per cent higher odds of having prediabetes and up to 42 per cent higher odds of having diabetes. They also had 36 per cent higher odds of high cholesterol. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. -PTI
WASHINGTON: Cone snail venom may lead to medical treatments for some cancers and nicotine addiction, a new study has found. Cone snails are marine mollusks, just as conch, octopi and squid, but they capture their prey using venom. The venom of these marine critters provides leads for detection and possible treatment of some cancers and addictions, researchers said. Frank Mari, professor in the Department of Chemistry and B i o chemistry in Charles E Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University, has focused his research on cone snail venom. "The venom produced by these animals immobilizes prey, which can be worms, other snails and fish. The venom is an extraordinary complex mixture of compounds with medicinal properties," Mari said. The venom components selectively target cells in the body and make them valuable drug leads and powerful molecular tools for understanding the human body's processes, researchers said. One class of venom components is the alpha-conotoxins, named so because they target nicotinic receptors that are cen-
tral to a range of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, tobacco addiction and lung cancer. The venom of a particular species of cone snail, Conus regius, collected by Mari's group, is particularly rich in alpha conotoxins. Aldo Franco, who worked in Mari's lab has described more than ten new alpha-conotoxins in his PhD dissertation at FAU. Among these, the team found RegIIA, a compound that potently blocked the alpha3beta4
nicotinic receptor. This particular receptor when activated can be associated with lung cancer and nicotine addiction. "We investigated in detail how RegIIA interacts with the alpha3beta4 nicotinic receptors and embarked on engineering new compounds that were more specific toward alpha3beta4 receptors and not other nicotinic receptors," said Mari. "Our aim is to open new avenues for cancer and addiction research inspired on compounds from marine animals," Mari added. The research has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. -PTI
January 23, 2015
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Indianapolis slow in removing lead-based paint INDIANAPOLIS: Indianapolis is moving at a slow pace spending a $3 million grant intended to prevent lead poisonings among low-income children by removing lead-based paint from older homes. Since 2013, the city has spent just $600,000, or about a fifth, of the three-year grant that's overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and aims to prevent lead inhalation or ingestion among young low-income children. At the halfway mark of the lead mitigation grant, the city had completed work removing lead paint from just five homes out of the grant's goal of 240
Kearney health complex to open in August KEARNEY, Neb.: A $19 million, 30,000square-foot health complex in Kearney is nearly complete and set to open in August. The Health Science Education Complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney is a collaborative effort between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center and will be operated by the university system's medical school. Officials from the two schools are now visiting with regional health care providers to share what the new facility may mean for them, the Kearney Hub reported. Juliann Sebastian, dean of UNMC's College of Nursing, said she hopes the new facility will keep graduates in the area and provide greater access to health care in rural Nebraska. ``In nursing, we find that, by far, the largest majority of our graduates stay in this region,'' Sebastian said. ``So our goal is to provide even more health profes-
sionals for the rural parts of the state.'' UNMC will offer seven programs at the new facility: nursing and graduate nursing, physician assistants, physical therapy, clinical laboratory science, medical nutrition, radiography, and diagnostic medical sonography. ``We have been across central Nebraska, and there is uniform enthusiasm,'' said Charles Bicak, senior vice chancellor of academic and student affairs at UNK. UNK has about 850 pre-health majors, and that's expected to grow to 1,000 by fall 2016, Bicak said. The UNMC staff is also working to develop and design curriculum and collaborating with UNK on how to best serve the students when they arrive on campus, and a joint development of a health sciences master's degree also is in the works, university officials said. -AP
Experts unhappy with lab test packages becoming industry Cont'd from Page 32
"It takes a couple of hours before it goes into processing. Temperature variability and humidity in our country makes it difficult to get the best possible results," explains Dr Dang. However, according to Dr Arvind Lal, chairman and managing director of Dr Lal Pathlabs, early diagnosis can help prevent 60 per cent of the menace of non-communicable diseases, which includes high blood pressure, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer and kidney and respiratory diseases, etc. "The watchword here is detecting these diseases before they become full-blown and that is where preventive health check ups come in," says Lal. He stresses that people should get them-
selves tested at accredited laboratories. "There are several labs which are not accredited but offer such kind of health packages. There is a need for regulating them as that will be the first step towards ensuring quality," says Lal. Testing laboratories are mushrooming all over the country many of which, however, lack accreditation and whose investigations are, therefore, not reliable. Laboratories where one should go for tested should have National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation, says the doctor from AIIMS. AIIMS here was the first to start a postgraduate course in laboratory medicines in 1997. The government now plans to introduce the course in all medical colleges. PTI
homes. The city now says it has completed work on 42 homes, and 16 more are pending. Local and federal officials downplayed the severity of HUD monitoring reports, which flagged the city as a ``high risk'' grant recipient, but the struggles in getting the program off the ground raise questions about the city's handling of public dollars, The Indianapolis Star reported. Jennifer Fults, an administrator with the city's Department of Metropolitan Development, said the lead-mitigation push was ready for its rollout in early 2013, only to have its grant manager
leave. She said that person's replacement was later pulled off the job to help with an FBI investigation of the city's Land Bank, a probe that resulted in criminal charges. ``They got behind and it was no fault of the people running the grant,'' said Jerry Freese, a HUD representative who oversees Indianapolis' program. But Freese said other city agencies were uncooperative with Department of Metropolitan Development employees. He declined to offer specifics, and Fults would not explain what those problems were. Whatever the factors, the slow pace has hampered Indianapolis' efforts to mitigate lead poisoning in a state that has more cases on average than the nation at large because of its aging housing. More than 63 percent of Indiana's nearly 2 million homes were built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned for residential use. Of 48,500 children screened in 2013, more than 2,300 - or about 5 percent - had elevated blood lead levels, according to an Indiana State Department of Health report. Lead exposure can cause childhood learning problems, stunted growth and in extreme cases - death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -AP
Tech News Bajaj, Cisco join hands for smart cities project NEW DELHI: Consumer durables maker Bajaj Electricals has partnered with technology major Cisco to jointly bid and participate in the Indian government's project to build smart cities. The two partners are likely to finalize by March their go-to-market (GTM) plans, which include development of products, their promotion and approaching customers for the same. "Cisco would do the software applications and networking aspects such as routers and wireless
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India ripe for investment with favorable turn at Center
A
applications while we will be in active services and fittings of radio frequency, video display, cameras and street lighting," Bajaj Electricals President - Lighting Business Group Sundararajan R told PTI. He said the partners were still working on GTM plans after signing agreements with Cisco in last month. Asked how the two partners would bid for out of the 100 smart cities that the government was planning to develop, Bajaj Electricals Joint Managing Director Anant Bajaj: "Every smart city where Cisco would be involved, we are going to be a default partner with them." -PTI
Need to gradually rationalize all subsidies: Jaitley CHENNAI: Ahead of the 201516 Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there was a need to rationalize all subsidies and ensure stability in policies to attract investment and drive growth. "From January 1 LPG subsidy is going through banks...We have to gradually rationalize all possible subsidies," the Minister said while addressing a CII function here. The government is expected to incorporate the suggestions of the Expenditure Finance Commission headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan in the budget proposals for 2015-16. Jalan is reported to have submitted interim recommendations to the Finance Ministry suggesting various steps to rationalize subsidies and public expenditure. The government's subsidy bill towards oil, fertilizers runs into lakhs of crores of rupees.-PTI
January 23, 2015
CEO POSCO, Kwon Oh-Joon calling on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on January 2
lthough it was on January 1, 2015 that the New Year is universally claimed to have begun but for India and its entire population of 125 bn and 2 bn Indians abroad, the New Year full of hopes, dreams and immense possibilities really began long back on May 16, 2014 with Shri Narendra Modi romping home with BJP's election victory in the general elections and taking over the reins of the Indian government. With the Modi government on the move from day one, Indian economy and business have got a shot in arm which is reflected in the prices of Indian stock markets inviting all and one to invest in Indian equity with strong fundamentals of corporate economy which are briefly discussed herein. I. GOVERNMENT IN ACTION: Seven months would be considered a very short span for any new government to function and show desired results. But the new Indian government has commenced action and implemented economic agenda in this short span which the previous government didn't bother to take up over decades of its rule. The Important initiatives of the government are briefly summed up here: 1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in insurance raised after 20 long years. 2. FDI in Defense and Railways opened and liberalized in Real Estate and Insurance. 3. Coal Blocks auction initiated which was suffocating Power sector and Industry at large. 4. Investment commitments sealed with USA, China, Japan and Russia. 5. Strangulating laws regarding Land Acquisition; Labor laws; Domestic Gas and Toll Collection simplified and implemented. 6. Common Goods and Service Tax (GST) initiated. 7. Transparent disinvestments of Public Sector Companies initi-
RAJESH DHRUVA
ated. are also discernible. The glaring 8. Diesel prices deregulated. examples are: 9. Subsidies to poor by direct 1. Consumer Price Index (CPI) transfer launched. reflecting the retail inflation has 10. Banking inclusion for poor come down from 9.13% in Decemand rural mass implemented. ber 2013 to 4.2% in November 1 1 . 2014. Telecom Spec2. The trum auction Wholesale initiated Price Index whereas De(WPI) has fense Specmoved from trum of 2100 6.4% in DeMHz band cember 2013 freed for comand has come mercial use. down 0% in 12. Public November Sector banks 2014. autonomy ini3. The tiated and Gross Domes13. Plantic Product ning Commis(GDP) growth sion replaced rate has by National started movRajesh Dhruva Institute for ing up from Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. 4.7% last year end shooting up to 5.5% this year end. II. VISIBLE IMPACT: 4. And the bonanza of prices of The visible impact of this ac- oil below the level of US$ 50 has tion chart and in some cases fruits created multiple possibilities of:
.01 Foreign Exchange savings of app. US$ 10 bn this Quarter and possibly US$ 40 bn per year if the rates do not go up. .02 Thereby enhancing Foreign Exchange Reserves of US$ 40 bn+. .03 Cost cutting across the country of US$ 40 bn plus i.e. INR 2,50,000 crs +. III. STOCK INDICES: The surge in Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex from 17000 to 27000 in recent times may normally be termed as Bull-Run of the Indian stock markets and may give a message that the market is overpriced. The facts are exactly the opposite. The barometer of valuation of an index or stock price is the Price Earning / PE ratio which is multiple of the Earnings. Now Investors and media talk a lot about the BSE Sensex gain of 58% from 17000 to 27000 but totally miss the Earnings gain of 49% of all 30 BSE Companies making BSE Sensex which is the backbone. Cont’d on page 38
India's holding of US bonds at 1-yr high WASHINGTON: India's holding of US government securities touched a one-year high of USD 80.5 billion in November 2014, amid the world's largest economy witnessing signs of strong recovery. This is also the highest ever since the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May last year. However, mixed trends were seen among the BRICS grouping. While India, Brazil and South Africa hiked their exposure, China and Russia marginally trimmed their holdings. India, which had trimmed its exposure to US Treasury securities to USD 77.5 billion in October last year, hiked it by USD 3 billion to USD 80.5 billion at end of November last.
Latest data available with the US Treasury Department show that India's holding of its securities was at the highest one-year level in November, 2014. In May last year, when the Modi government came to power, these
Despite reducing its exposure, China remained the largest holder of American government securities in November last holdings were worth USD 70.1 billion. Since then, the same was gradually increased and touched USD 80.4 billion last August. However, in September, the
holdings were cut to USD 80 billion and further down to USD 77.5 billion in October. Despite reducing its exposure, China remained the largest holder of American government securities in November last with holdings worth USD 1.25 trillion. During that month, Brazil and Russia's holdings stood at USD 264.2 billion and USD 108.1 billion, respectively. South Africa, which has the lowest exposure among the BRICS nations, slightly increased its holdings to USD 10.4 billion in November. Reflecting strong growth momentum, the American economy grew 5 per cent during the July-September quarter of 2014, much higher than 4.6 per cent expansion recorded in the preceding three months. -PTI
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January 23, 2015
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Mindtree to buy US firm Discoverture for $15 mn NEW DELHI: Mindtree will acquire US-based insurance solutions provider Discoverture Solutions for USD 15 million (over Rs 92 crore), a move aimed at helping the mid-sized Indian IT firm tap the USD 1.5 billion opportunity in the global P&C services market.
Krishnakumar Natarajan
The acquisition will also help Mindtree gain access to 15 marquee clients and add over 300 experts across US, UK, Canada and India. "This is a USD 15 million, allcash deal and has been funded completely through internal accruals. The addition of Discoverture along with our existing offerings will accelerate our journey to be amongst the top 3 service provid-
ers in the Global P&C (property and casualty) services industry," Mindtree CEO and MD Krishnakumar Natarajan told PTI. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Arizona, US, Discoverture has subsidiaries in the UK, Canada and Bhubaneswar in In-
USD 1.5 billion. This is a huge growth area and we see a huge potential here," Natarajan said. He added that there is no overlap with Discoverture, which has about 15 clients and along with its own set of 18 customers, Mindtree has the opportunity to cross and upsell joint offerings. ‘The addition of Discover"We are excited to add our technology ture along with our existing and expertise to its offerings will accelerate large and growing inour journey to be amongst surance practice. As the top 3 service providers part of Mindtree, we can now engage our skills in the Global P&C (propand technology with its erty and casualty) services full service capabilities to deliver greater value industry’ to insurance clients," Discoverture President dia. Steve Addair said. The acquisition is subject to Of the over 300 people coming customary closing conditions and on board as part of the acquisiregulatory approvals. BMR Advi- tion, about 275 are located at the sors acted as the sole financial Bhubaneswar facility. advisors for the transaction, "We have one of our biggest which is expected to close in the campuses coming up in next 4-6 weeks. Bhubaneswar. It is spread over 20 "The packaged implementa- acres and we have invested Rs 125 tion market in the life and prop- crore. The acquisition will provide erty insurance market is estimated a jump start to that," Natarajan to be between USD 1.2 billion to said. -PTI
Rural consumers are aspirational, go for high quality NEW DELHI: Businesses in India are more confident than ever about the growth of rural markets, but are failing to respond to the changing needs and behaviors of consumers, says a report. While businesses in India have built their physical footprint in these regions they need to build trust and loyalty in this market, said Accenture in its annual research report. It also said that the findings of the survey defied conventional wisdom that rural consumers care most about price and will settle for sub-standard offerings to achieve the best deal. Rural consumers are aspirational and strive to purchase branded, high quality products, it said, adding that around 71 per cent of respondents have purchased branded products and 59 per cent see them as trustworthy. "The expectations of today's rural Indian consumers differ markedly from those of previous generations. They are moving away from purely economic concepts of
value driven by low prices, towards a broader notion of value that combines price with utility, features of products and services," said Sanjay Dawar MD for Accenture's Strategy practice in India. Interestingly, only 7 per cent of the respondents said that adver-
"Being present is not sufficient to be competitive. To succeed, companies must extend from physical touchpoints to experience-led 'trust points'," Dawar said. tisements influence their final purchase decisions. "While these findings convey a shift in rural consumption patterns, Indian businesses are still using conventional marketing channels, such as celebrity en-
dorsed advertisements, to reach these consumers," the report said. It noted that rural consumers are better networked and proactively seek information through multiple sources. Additionally, women and children now play a more empowered role in purchasing decisions and travel further to buy goods and services. "Being present is not sufficient to be competitive. To succeed, companies must extend from physical touchpoints to experience-led 'trust points'," Dawar said. As per the report, while many business believe consumers make most planned purchases on special occasions, more than half (55 per cent) of the respondents said they make such purchases as the need arises. Likewise, while many companies underestimate the importance of customer service in rural markets, almost half (49 per cent) of respondents consider high-quality customer services to be an important factor when making purchases.-PTI
India's growth rate to surpass China's in 2016: IMF WASHINGTON: India is expected to grow at 6.3 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2016 by when it is likely to cross China's projected growth rate, the IMF said while terming the new government's reforms as "promising" but insisted that their implementation is key. In 2014, India's growth rate was 5.8 per cent against China's 7.4 per cent, said the World Economic Report update released by the International Monetary Fund. India's growth rate in 2013 was five per cent as against China's 7.8 per
cent. India is projected to grow at 6.3 per cent in 2015 and 6.5 per cent in 2016, when it is likely to cross China's projected growth rate of 6.3 per cent, the IMF said. "I think the reform plans of the new Prime Minister are promising. We are going to have to see the speed of the implementation," said Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, Deputy Director in IMF's Research Department. Responding to a question, the IMF official said the effect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led
government's economic reform would be difficult to predict as these are structural reforms and are growing gradually over the medium term. "Key is going to be implementation," Milesi-Ferretti said. According to the latest IMF report, in India, the growth forecast is broadly unchanged, however, the weaker external demand is offset by the boost to the terms of trade from lower oil prices and a pickup in industrial and investment activity after policy reforms. The report said global growth will receive a boost from lower oil prices, which reflect to an important extent higher supply. But this boost is projected to be more than offset by negative factors, including investment weakness as adjustment to diminished expectations about mediumterm growth continues in many advanced and emerging market economies. Global growth in 2015-16 is projected at 3.5 and 3.7 per cent, a downward revision of 0.3 per cent relative to the October 2014 World Economic Outlook (WEO).-PTI
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Taranjeet Singh to head Twitter's India biz NEW DELHI: Taranjeet Singh has been appointed the India Business Head of Twitter as the micro blogging site looks to enhance revenues from one of the world's biggest Internet markets. India is also one of the fastest growing markets for the social networking platform. Taranjeet's responsibilities include increasing commercial opportunities for Twitter in India and to work closely with brands and agencies to maximize value of realtime marketing, the US-based firm said in a statement. Twitter's Managing Director (Southeast Asia, India and Middle East and North Africa) Parminder Singh said: "India is a very important market for us. We've seen strong usage of our platform across the board last year and now is a great time to increase our local sales presence by bringing in
Taranjeet as our country business head." The firm has seen growing momentum from brands and agencies to use Twitter to connect with their audiences in realtime for major events and everyday moments in India, he added. Ta r a n j e e t will lead the company's partnership with brands for maximizing their creativity and deepening their customer engagement on Twitter's platform, he said. Taranjeet served as the Sales
New glass doubles smartphone's battery life LONDON: Researchers have discovered a new type of glass material that may be used as an electrode in lithium-ion batteries to almost double a smartphone's battery life. A material discovered by ETH Zurich researchers led by Dr Semih Afyon and Reinhard Nesper may have the potential to double battery capacity. Researchers are using the Vanadate-borate glass as a cathode material. It is made of vanadium oxide (V2O5) and lithiumborate (LiBO2) precursors, and was coated with reduced graphite oxide (RGO) to enhance the electrode properties of the material. They used a vanadium-based compound because vanadium is a transition metal with various oxidation states, which can be exploited to reach higher capacities. To produce the cathode material, Afyon and his colleagues blended powdered vanadium pentoxide with borate compounds. "Borate is a glass former; that's why the borate compounds were used, and the resulting glass compound is a new kind of material, neither V2O5 nor LiBO2 at the end," the researcher said. The scientists melted the pow-
der at 900 degrees Celsius and cooled the melt as quickly as possible to form glass. The resulting paper-thin sheets were then crushed into a powder before use, as this increases their surface area and creates pore space. "One major advantage of vanadate-borate glass is that it is simple and inexpensive to manufacture," said Afyon. This is expected to increase the chance of finding an industrial application. To produce an efficient electrode, the researcher coated the vanadate-borate powder with reduced graphite oxide (RGO). This increases conductivity while at the same time protecting the electrode particles. One battery with an RGO-coated vanadate-borate glass electrode exhibited an energy density of around 1000 watt-hours p e r kilogramme. It achieved a discharge capacity that far exceeded 300 mAh/g. Initially, this figure even reached 400 mAh/g, but dropped over the course of the charge/discharge cycles. "This would be enough energy to power a mobile phone between 1.5 and two times longer than today's lithium-ion batteries," Afyon said.-PTI
Director (South Asia) for BBC Advertising and was responsible for revenue and business strategy of BBC World News and the
various positions at Outlook Publishing Pvt Ltd, including heading its advertising sales and business development in Northern India. Last year, Twitter VP (Global Media) Katie Jacobs Stanton had said that India is one of its fastest growing markets.
Seventy-eight per cent of the over 284 million users on the NYSE-listed firm are from outside the US. Research firm eMarketer had forecast that India will become Twitter's third-largest market with 18.1 million users in 2014. -PTI
Twitter acquires Bengaluru startup ZipDial
Taranjeet Singh
website www.bbc.com. Prior to joining the BBC, he held
Flipkart joins hands with TCYonline BENGALURU: Homegrown eretailer Flipkart has joined hands with online education pioneer TCYonline to offer a wide spread of test preparation tools, the company has said. Products/coaching material for over 90 exam categories from TCYonline will be exclusively available for 90 days on Flipkart. The partnership will offer students across India access to an entire gamut of educational offer-
ings from TCYonline, the company said in a release. TCYonline is one of the largest and most popular testing platforms in the country with tests from over 50,000 teachers across 90+ exam categories. This unique collaboration is Flipkart's way of exploring new opportunities in the in-demand elearning space, it added. Gaurav Gupta, Director - Retail, Flipkart said: "In recent years, the e-learning space in India has seen a huge surge in demand. With this exclusive partnership, we are introducing a range of new age test preparation tools for students and learners in India. Products from TCYonline will add more depth and a new dimension to our rapidly expanding e-learning category." -PTI
NEW DELHI: Twitter has acquired Bengaluru- based mobile VAS firm ZipDial to mark its first acquisition in India, as the microblogging firm aims to expand its presence in one of world's largest Internet markets. Though the deal size was not disclosed, reports suggest the monetary value is between USD 30-40 million (between Rs 185 crore-Rs 247 crore). The Ind i a n startup, which was already working as a partner with Twitter, offers services like missed calls for user verification and alerts to its customers. "India is one of the fastest growing countries for us. We have been focused on growing our audience here and this acquisition will dramatically accelerate that strategy," Twitter Market Director (India and Southeast Asia) Rishi Jaitly told PTI. He added that the acquisition
will also help Twitter strengthen its engineering efforts in the country. "Millions of people are coming online for the first time in countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia. For many, their first online experience will be on a mobile device - but the cost of data may prevent them from experiencing the true power of the Internet. Twitter, in partnership with ZipDial, can make great content more accessible to everyone," he said. He said the ZipDial platform is a "perfect match for India", which is a mobile-first country. Founded in 2010 by Valerie Wagoner and Amiya Pathak, ZipDial has built a mobile platform that lets people follow and engage with content across interfaces, combining SMS, voice, mobile web, and access to mobile apps to bridge users from offline to online. -PTI
India ripe for investment with favorable turn at Center Cont’d from page 36
It is interesting to note that today's PE ratio of BSE Sensex at 18.82 and Nifty PE of 18.30, is close to and below average PE ratio of last 5, 10 and 15 years at 18.79 ; 18.82 and 18.53 respectively. IV. POSSIBLITIES: It seems that all these positive factors have been considered by the market pundits across the globe which is why Morgan Stanely ; Goldman Sachs ; Dr. Mark Mobius ; Macquarie ; Rakesh Jhunjhunwala ; Ramesh Damani and almost all Investment Analysts are singing one song in unison and that of "Invest in India ". India's leading InfoTech Company Infosys has already sur-
prised the markets by unusual 13% rise in Q3 profits and revenue growth of 6% pushing its stock prices by 7%+. With Q3 results lined up to follow the EPS of 1494 should improve by at least 4% to 1554 and PE ratio of even 19, should result in BSE at the level of 29552. And think of the scenario when the Indian Stock Markets start into a Bull Run even a PE of 21 should shoot the BSE Sensex to 32663. At the cost of repetition it be said and understood that Indian stock markets are not overpriced but are rather underpriced. Still a good time to invest. Rajesh H Dhruva is a Tax -Investment Consultant email rajesh@femaonline.com ; keynote@nribanks.com
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Jaitley hints at special steps to boost public spending CHENNAI: With one-and-ahalf months left for the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here the government will take "special steps" to boost public spending on infrastructure and initiate measures to rationalize subsidies. "Even with the present constraint of fiscal deficit in revenue, it's a challenging and a difficult opportunity for us. But I think we have to take some special steps as far as public investments is concerned," he said. The Minister underlined the need for stepping up public investments in infrastructure sector to boost economic growth. "The whole PPP model is still under stress and we have to revive this. This is a course we are on and hopefully, with clarity in governance, we will be able to proceed," he said while addressing a CII function here in the southern Indian city. Referring to the need to rationalize subsidies, the Minister said: "From January 1, LPG subsidy is going through banks...We have to gradually rationalize all possible subsidies." The government is expected to incorporate the suggestions of the Expenditure Finance Commission
headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan in the budget proposals for 2015-16, which will be presented by Jaitley next month. Jalan is reported to have sub-
lakhs of crores of rupees. The Minister also underlined the need for stability in tax and other policies to make India an attractive place for investment.
"none of them will lose a single rupee" following the implementation of the new indirect tax regime. "A seamless transfer of GST is going to add to the GDP. It will make business easier. In the long run it may even lower taxes. Higher buoyancy is going to help the States in areas where States had no share of taxation (like) service tax," Jaitley said. Stating that almost Rs two lakh crore are collected as Service Tax and States also have a share of it, he Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley said some coninteracting with the members of Confederation of Indian Industry on “Crafting an Economic suming States Turnaround�, in Chennai on January 19 will gain from mitted interim recommendations to The implementation of the day one of GST implementation. the Finance Ministry suggesting Goods and Services Tax (GST), he Referring to the proposed various steps to rationalize subsi- added, will help in improving the changes in land acquisition laws, dies and public expenditure. business climate in the country. Jaitley said that it would eventuThe government's subsidy bill The GST, Jaitley said, was wel- ally help farmers to get a better towards oil and fertilizers runs into comed by different states and that price for their land.
Moreover, he added, establishment of rural infrastructure and industrial corridors would increase the price of land and generate employment for rural youth. Commenting on the changes in companies law, he said the government is committed to improving ease of doing business. "Yes, we are committed to the ease of doing business...we worked out the amendment, I moved the amendment in Parliament that has been unanimously passed by Lok Sabha and it is now pending before the Rajya Sabha," he added. Jaitley said he wondered why the industry chambers supported new Companies Act brought by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government though it had incorporated some of the provisions from anti-terrorism and narcotics laws. Also, he said the previous companies law unduly favored minority shareholders. "The basis of company's law in India is corporate democracy. Rule by minority is completely to the contrary. Now this Company Law which has been passed has provisions which actually enable rule by minority," Jaitley said. -PTI
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legantly placed on the shores of Coromandel Coast, Chennai boasts of a rich heritage which is elabo rately intertwined with the culture, traditions and living style of the people through generations. One of the prettiest metropolitan cities in India, Chennai perfectly mixes the elegance of past with the vibrancy of modernism. This contemporary city is often referred as the Gateway to the South India. Chennai was formerly called Madras. An ancient city, which has got a rich history of long 350 years, Chennai has been able to preserve its ethnicity and charm. In between the long busy sandy beaches, parks, sculptures and historic landmarks, one can see a vivacious and lively city which is ever growing, sprouting, mounting and shifting in harmony with the modern trends. One of the oldest cities of India, Chennai is a melting point of culture and tradition. Harvest festival Pongal - a seven-day event, showcases the art of Tamil Nadu.
www.indiapost.com When we think about Chennai, the first place that comes to mind is the Marina Beach whose long expansion of sandy beaches with its alluring charm enthralls the spectators. The pious among the visitors can go for a short trip to Milapur where ancient shrines like Kapileswara temple, St. Thomas Basilica, St.Thomas Mount and a Portuguese church are located. One can start the sight-seeing from Fort St George where a museum awaits visitors to unfurl the richness of the past. Then the Clive House stands proudly as a true testimonial to British legacy. Another important place to be visited is the St Mary's Church, which is considered as oldest Anglican Church in Asia. An intrinsic network of so many industrial, software and automobile sectors in the 200 square kilometers expansion of Chennai shows the progressiveness of an enduring so-
January 23, 2015 ciety. Without losing its traditional vigor, this metro has been able to establish a good name as a new entrant in the field of software and sophisticated technological arena. A genuine blend of diverse cultures, people with distinct features, varying viewpoints, beliefs, values and morality has shaped the culture of this famous city. There is a combination of cultures and ideas that mark the cosmopolitan nature which tourists can experience on their Chennai holiday packages. With its charismatic monuments, temples, mosques and churches coupled with the deep sense of ethnicity and tradition this metropolis offers exciting activities to the visitor. For tourists Storytrails service is a great way to know the city, which unveils facts and stories that many locals don't know. Taking up an Ooty tour from Chennai is a good way to reach this popular hill station. Cont’d on page 42
January 23, 2015
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Indian tourists visiting US to cross 1 million WASHINGTON: Indian tourists visiting the US will cross the one million mark for the first time this year, a public-private tourism organization has said hoping the visit of President Barack Obama to India later this month will increase the inflow of tourists in coming years. "We view India as top five emerging markets as a potential to hit the goal of having 100 million international travelers by 2021," Christopher L Thompson, president and CEO of 'Brand USA', told PTI. "The presidential visit to India later this month, would give a big boost to Brand USA and help in increasing the number of Indian travelers to the US," Thompson said. 'Brand USA' is the public-private partnership responsible for launching America's first-ever nationally coordinated tourism marketing effort.
In 2014, nearly 9,00,000 Indian tourists traveled to the US which he estimated would easily cross
travelers spend USD 4,500 per visit but Indians spend more between USD 5,000 to USD 6,000 per
the million mark in 2015 and by 2021, the US hopes to have more than 1.5 million visitors from India every year. "On an average international
visitors. It could be even more than that", he said. "The spending per visitor from India is higher than the average," he said, adding that Indian tour-
'Lucknow by cycle' to be launched for tourists LUCKNOW: On the lines of Berlin and London, Uttar Pradesh Tourism will launch a new scheme here 'Lucknow by cycle' for visitors by the end of this month and later in heritage cities of Varanasi and Agra. "Under the scheme to be launched by the end of this month, cycle will be provided on rent to tourists," Director General Tourism Amrit Abhijat said. He said that in many countries
walk, it has been decided to make cycle tour its part. He said that in the first phase eight geared cycles would be provided by UP tourism on a rent of Rs 200. "The tour which will start from Residency will end at Shahnajaf Imambara via Chotta and Bara Imambaras," he said. Abhijat said that a guide would accompany the tourists and provide information about the histori-
like China, cycles are available on rent at local level in a few cities to visit tourist spots. "Cycles are also available for city tours in Berlin, Munich in Germany, Amsterdam and London. On similar lines, UP tourism is launching 'Lucknow by cycle'," he said. He said that in lanes where it is not possible to reach by car, it will be easier to reach by cycle. The DG said that keeping in view the popularity of heritage
cal buildings. He said that similar scheme would be launched in Varanasi and Agra. "It will be most successful in Varanasi where the tourists have to pass through narrow bylanes," he said. He said that foreign tourists were favorable towards riding cycles. "If foreign tourists get cycle here, they will feel more comfortable," he said. -PTI
ists have much greater impact on the American economy than those from other international travelers. The top 10 travel destination for Indians are New York, California, Hawaii, Florida, Washington, Texas, New Jersey, Alaska, Virginia and Michigan. 'Brand USA' is now planning to promote new travel and tourist destinations for Indians. For instance the South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, during her recent trip to India had promoted her State as a travel and tourist destinations for Indians, he said. According to latest available figures, Indian tourists ranked 10th in international-tourist spending in the US during 2013. This USD 5.6 billion in spending by Indian tourists was an increase of 14 per cent over the previous year. A recent 'Brand USA' study said that outbound travelers from
India are informed, sophisticated and educated and they are increasingly looking for rich, authentic experiences during their trips. Niche-travel products are gaining popularity, especially in the luxury market. Prime interests for Indian travelers include sightseeing, nightlife and entertainment, theme parks, beaches and water sports, and shopping. They also have a high demand for adventure and outdoor experiences. Thompson said there is a huge potential for Indian travelers coming to the US. In three major emerging markets - India, China and Brazil - he said the US is taking steps to ease the visa process. "The good thing for India is that people here have got 10 years visa validity," he said adding that visa wait period has been reduced considerably now in the emerging markets. -PTI
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Chennai, Tamil Nadu A vivacious melting point of culture and tradition
Breezy Beach
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Attractions Connemara Library: Connemara Public Library at Chennai is one of the four 'deposit libraries' in India which entitles them to a copy of every publication in India. The library began in 1861 as part of the Madras Museum and in 1896 Lord Connemara, the then Governor of Madras Presidency, opened it to the public. Henry Irwin, the renowned architect designed the building in the Pantheon complex in Chennai. The library stores a rapidly growing collection of over half a million books. Fort St George: Fort St George is an important and marvelous landmark in Chennai. In Tamil Nadu political leaders aim to reach this Fort, as the Secretariat and Legislative Assembly are housed here. This beautiful edifice is situated on the eastern side of the city, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. The British East India Company, under the direct supervision of Andrew Cogon, built it in 1640 AD. National Art Gallery: National Art Gallery (also known as Victoria Memorial Hall) is located in the Pantheon complex, Egmore. It is a
Ashtalakshmi Temple
pink sandstone building that was built in Jaipuri-Jaina style. T. Namberumal Chetty built the gallery in 1907. The gallery contains various traditions of Indian painting including the Rajput and Moghul schools. It has 11th and 12th century Indian handicrafts, 17th century Deccan paintings, 16th to 18th century Mughal and Rajasthani paintings and 10th and 13th century bronzes. Ripon Building: The attractive white structure, close to Chennai Central, has a rectangular shape with of dimension 252 ft by 126 ft. This classic structure, presently the headquarters of Chennai Corporation, is a blend of three types of architectural styles - Gothic, Ironic and Corinthian. To support the huge structure, the walls have been erected with stock bricks, composed and plastered in lime mortar. Valluvar Kottam: Valluvar Kottam is an auditorium, with a capacity to hold 4,000 people, built in remembrance of the poet-saint Tiruvalluvar. Verses of the Tiruvalluvar are emblazoned on the pillars around the auditorium and a major draw here is the 101feet high temple chariot structure, which attracts many tourists.
Vivekananda House: Vivekananda House, also known as Ice House, is a shrine and target of pilgrimage for the admirers of Swami Vivekananda. It is in this house that Swami Vivekananda stayed for six weeks in 1900. Built way back in 1877 or much earlier, the two-story house is a master-
Chennai, is second longest beach in the world and has a wide sandy foreshore. One can see statues of heroes from Tamil culture to Samadhi of great leaders like Anna and MGR here. Walk along the Marina in the evening to cool off and eat crispy sundal and murukku. Ashtalakshmi Temple: Ashtalakshmi Temple is a highly revered shrine situated in Besant Nagar, on the shores of Bay of Bengal. The architecture of the temple is unique, with the deities installed at four levels. It looks different than other South Indian temples; its modern construction being less than 25 years old. ISKCON (Hare Rama Hare Krishna) Temple: ISKCON Temple is located in the Injambakkam region in Thyagaraj Nagar of
latest scientific technology. Marundeeswarar Temple: Marundeeswarar Temple, God of Medicines, in Tiruvanmiyur has the deity Shiva in the form of Marundeeswar or Aushadeeswarar. Mythology says that it was Agastya, great saint, who named the deity "Aushadeeswarar". The Sun and the Moon, it is said, perform puja at this temple every evening. Unlike other Shiva temples, it does not have a shrine to the Navagrahas because the Sun and Moon are in prayer mode here. Prakasam Salai: Opposite Parry's Corner, one of the Chennai milestones built in 1795, is an impressive stylish building in IndoSaracenic style with grandeur in red bricks. Prakasam Salai, earlier known as Popham's Broadway, a
Chennai. The temple is one of the many popular worshipping places established by the ISKCON society in India. It is a blend of tradition and modernity to give the artistic style as well as the best of
little distance off George Town, has a cluster of old shrines that include Kandaswamy Koil, Tucker's Church, a Wesleyan Chapel and the Anderson's Church. Cont’d on page 43
Vivekananda House
piece of Victorian architecture with its characteristic designs of sunburst and gabled roof. The bedroom where Vivekananda stayed, lived and slept is now a safe haven for meditation. Breezy Beach: Breezy Beach is located in the quiet neighborhood of Valmiki Nagar in Chennai. It is smaller and less popular than the Elliots beach. This beach is not as commercialized as the Elliots beach, and is hence more quiet and peaceful. Evenings are very pleasant and breezy here. Elliot's Beach: Elliot's beach is a beach of calmness and beauty, which cannot be forgotten by any visitor. This is a paradise of beach lovers. Elliot's Beach is spread along the coast down south from Marina. It is also the night beach for Chennai youth. It is a comparatively quieter place and ideal for sea bathing. It is located near Besant Nagar. Marina Beach: The famous Marina Beach, the pride of
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Visitors from 40 countries to attend VADFEST VADODARA: A large number of NRIs and foreign nationals from around 40 countries are expected to attend the biannual Vadodara International Art and Culture Festival (VADFEST) starting here from January 23, Gujarat Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel said here. "The Gujarat government has set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) known as Vadodara International Art and Culture Festival Authority to promote Vadodara as the state's cultural capital and encourage tourism in the city," Patel told PTI. Vadodara has the potential to become the cultural capital of India, he said adding that VADFEST will give a boost to tourism, hotel and real estate sectors and also open doors for investment in industries, education and IT in the city. After promoting Gandhinagar
and Ahmedabad as business destinations through Vibrant Gujarat Summit since 2003, the state government has decided to promote Vadodara as its cultural capital, he said. The four-day event will focus
R Rahman, legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle and other well-known singers like Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan and Kailash Kher will perform at the event. A 'Shiv Shakti' dance perfor-
on art, folk music, dance, drama, culture and food and there will a special festival for children as well. Veteran Greek musician Yanni, noted musician and composer A
mance by contemporary dancer Isha Shravani and a flute recital by classical flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia will be the other highlights of the festival. PTI
Liquor permit on arrival at Vadodara, Bhuj VADODARA: The Gujarat government has decided to start issuing liquor permits to foreign as well as domestic travelers arriving at Vadodara and Bhuj airports. "Foreign, domestic tourists
and other visitors, landing at Vadodara and Bhuj airports, will just have to approach the tourism department counters set up there to seek liquor permits. The process will start from next week
as orders have already been issued in this regard," Sanjay Kaul, Commissioner of Gujarat Tourism Department, said here. The department had initiated a similar move a few years back
at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. "Now, in addition to Ahmedabad, airports in Vadodara and Bhuj will be added to the list,
taking the total number of airports in Gujarat to three from where the visitors will get the liquor permits on arrival," Kaul said. Gujarat has a total prohibition policy and liquor permit is issued to individuals only on the health ground. "We have taken the initiative to ensure that liquor is not an impediment in the growth of tourism sector in the state. The government has taken this move as it wants to get rid of the time consuming procedures involved in giving liquor permits to air travelers," another government official said. As per the new move, the visitors can get necessary forms, and file it along with the permit fee with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) officials at the airports. "A foreign passenger only needs to submit a photocopy of the passport, while domestic travelers will have to give their identity proof. Once the license is given, they are free to buy alcohol from any authorized liquor shops across the state," the official said. -PTI
Tourist arrivals down by 35 pc in Goa PANAJI: The Goa government says that tourist arrivals by chartered flights has dropped sharply by 35 per cent in the current season owing to inadequate facilities at the airport. "There is a drop in chartered tourist arrival by almost 35 per cent compared to last year. A less number of chartered flights have arrived in the current tourist season," Chairman, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Nilesh Cabral said. A delegation of Goa tourism ministry, comprising State Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, Cabral, tourism director Amey Abhyankar and others met Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma and Civil Aviation Minister P Raju to discuss issues faced by the industry. Problems encountered by air-
line operators at the existing lone airport in the state were also put forth. He said 1,128 chartered flights had arrived in Goa during last tourist season which was only 850 this season till now. "There is no facility at the airport for overnight parking. Also,
there are restrictions in terms of landing of air planes because the airport is naval facility," he said. He said Goa is the only state where tourism comes by chartering flights. The Corporation is also pitching in for lucrative measures to boost the number of tourists. -PTI
Chennai, Tamil Nadu A vivacious melting point of culture and tradition Cont’d from page 42
Santhome Cathedral Basilica: Santhome Cathedral is a historical ancient pilgrim centre built during 14th to 15th century AD by the Portuguese. The cathedral, near Chennai beach, got its name from St Thomas, the doubting disciple of Jesus Christ. A museum is located in the grounds nearby. The main attraction of the museum is a 16th century map of South Asia. Thirumalai Thirupathi Devasthanam Temple: Thronged by millions of people daily, the world famous Shri Venkateshwara Temple is placed very high at Tirupati in Thirumalai. This is most celebrated abode of Lord Vishnu located on the seventh peak of Venkata Hill known as Venkatachala of the Tirumala Hillocks and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini. Dash 'N Splash: Dash 'N Splash amusement park is located 30 km from Chennai city, on the national highway no.4 leading to Bangalore. This park is indeed an amazing spot, providing a num-
ber of water reservoirs as well as shaded locations giving total refreshment. Best time to visit Chennai weather is hot and humid as it lies close to the thermal equator and is in also on the coast. The best time for visiting is from November to February. How to reach By Train: Chennai has three railway stations - Central, Egmore and Tambaram. Chennai Central is well connected to all the major cities in India. By Air: Anna International Airport is connected to many important cities abroad including Singapore, Colombo. Kamraj Domestic Airport in Chennai is well connected to all major cities in India. All the major airlines provide their service from Chennai to other cities. By Bus: Chennai metro city is connected to all parts of India by road. TSTC and other private bus services provide services to all cities in the state.
In Brief House immigration bill likely won't pass Senate GOFFSTOWN, N.H.: U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte doesn't believe a House-passed immigration bill that rolls back protections for immigrants who came here illegally as children will pass the Senate. Although she believes immigration reform is needed, Ayotte said that passing a budget and fixing the federal highway fund are her top priorities in the next several months. ``I don't think it could get 60 votes in the Senate, so it's not clear yet whether we're even going to have a vote on it,'' Ayotte, a Republican, said of the House immigration bill, which dismantles President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration through a Homeland Security funding bill. Ayotte, who is up for re-election in 2016, outlined her priorities during an open town hall meeting with about 60 voters. -AP
„ Indians become largest migrant group in UK LONDON: People born in India have overtaken the Irish to become the largest immigrant group in the UK. According to latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), India-born migrants now living permanently in the UK has risen by 232,000 since 2004 to total 734,000 in 2013. Along with Polish nationals, at 679,000 in 2013, they lead Britain's surge in population by 1,200 per cent since 1983, adding the equivalent of a city to Britain annually. "Net migration was at a relatively low level during the 1980s and early 1990s. Since 1994 it has been positive every year and rose sharply after 1997," the ONS said. It added: "During the 2000s net migration increased further, partly as a result of immigration of citizens from the countries that have joined the EU since 2004. Since the mid-2000s, annual net migration has fluctuated between approximately 150,000 and 300,000. "More recently, as the UK economy recovers from the economic downturn, net migration has begun to increase once again, with work generally the most common reason." Overall the number of migrants coming to the UK rose from 173,000 in 1980 to 526,000 in 2013 and has been more than half a million in every year except one since 2002, the figures show. -PTI
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January 23, 2015
Plenty of positive state actions on immigration Details on page 46
US House votes to block funding for Obama immigration orders WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to block funding for President Barack Obama's executive order to protect about millions of undocumented immigrants from being deported and allow them to work legally in America. The measures passed 236-191 votes immediately drew sharp reaction from the White House. "This vote is bad policy. It is essentially a vote for amnesty. It is also bad politics," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. "House Republicans are mucking around with DHS funding just weeks before the funding deadline. There's never a good time to muck around with the funding of the department of homeland security, but given the events of the last week, this seems like a particularly bad time to do so," Earnest said. In a rare floor speech in support of the legislation, House Speaker John Boehner, quoted 22 times when US President Barack Obama said he didn't have the authority to unilaterally rewrite im-
migration law. "We are dealing with a President who has ignored the people, ignored the Constitution, and even his own past statements," he said.
"The time is now for Congress to take a stand against these abusive actions," he said. The Obama Administration slammed the Republicans for the legislation to block President's ex-
"If President Obama's unilateral immigration amendments are not stopped, future presidents will continue to expand the power of the executive branch and encroach upon individual liberty," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said.
ecutive actions. "The House has essentially complicated an effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security with amendments that are not relevant and which prevent both the implementation of the pending executive actions as well as revers-
ing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has allowed 600,000 people to come forward, pass background checks, become taxpayers, get work authorization and become fully contributing members of our society and economy," said Cecilia Muoz, the White House Director of Domestic Policy. The administration, she said, has made clear that if this legislation were to reach the President's desk that he would veto it. Senator Tom Carper, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said instead of passing a straightforward, clean full-year funding bill for the Department, the House has sent the Senate a bill that includes a number of amendments aimed at undermining the President's immigration policies. "These amendments will unfortunately jeopardize passage of the bill and threaten to prolong the debilitating budget uncertainty facing the Department of Homeland Security," he said. -PTI
Indian students' arrival in UK declines 12% LONDON: Enrolment of students from India at the UK universities declined by a "worrying" 12 per cent last year, partly due to the government's clampdown on student visas and tough rhetoric on immigration, according to official statistics. Students from India declined by 12 per cent and Pakistan by 7 per cent, however, the United Kingdom received more Chinese foreign students than from the whole of the European Union, The Independent said, citing official data. The report said that the government's clampdown on student visas and tough rhetoric on immigration had put many off coming to the UK. Gordon Slaven, the British Council's director of higher edu-
cation, described the decline of students from India and Pakistan as "worrying" and warned that the UK needed to be more proactive or risk losing talented students to
worrying trend; the decrease of students coming from India by 12 per cent and Pakistan by 7 per cent... While the UK sector can be pleased that the overall numbers
Gordon Slaven, the British Council's director of higher education, described the decline of students from India and Pakistan as "worrying" and warned that the UK needed to be more proactive or risk losing talented students to competitor countries such as the US and Australia. competitor countries such as the US and Australia. "It is very pleasing that the overall figures for non-EU students coming to the UK has increased by 3 per cent. But this headline figure does disguise one
have increased, our competitor countries such as the US and Australia have shown much more significant increases," he was quoted by the report as saying. The number of international students, however, rose by 3 per
cent to 310,195, the figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed, the report said. Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of Universities UK, said, problems remain with recruitment from India. There is growing demand for quality higher education around the world, so the UK should be capitalizing on this, rather than seeing the stagnation of the past few years. Under current rules, international students can remain in Britain for four months to search for graduate jobs, which critics have already argued is too harsh compared with the US, Canada and Australia which allow 12 months. -PTI
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January 23, 2015
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Republicans plan to offer their own solutions on immigration HERSHEY, Pa.: Republican lawmakers determined to counter President Barack Obama on immigration want to advance solutions of their own, starting with a border security bill and perhaps moving on to tackle other aspects of the broken system. It's a goal House Republicans have tried and failed to achieve for the past two years, even as the Senate passed a comprehensive, bipartisan bill that ultimately died because of inaction in the House. But as House and Senate Republicans met for a joint retreat in this capital of chocolate and sweets, lawmakers said that with the Senate now under GOP control, they have a new opportunity to take aim at immigration with their own, step-by-step approach. Many viewed the Senate's bill as amnesty because it included a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally, and they want to take a much different tack. ``It is happening now because members want it to happen, the American people want it to happen,'' Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., a conservative on the issue, said as the retreat wrapped up and lawmakers headed out of the homey Hershey Lodge to board buses and vans back to Washington. ``We should do a border bill first, secure our borders,'' Barletta said. ``It's a big job, and it's going to be a tough bill.''
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, outlined proposed border legislation to lawmakers at the retreat, including penalties for select administration
Republicans oppose Obama's moves as an unconstitutional overreach, and the House offered one response. House Republicans attached language to a must-pass, $39.7 billion spending bill for the
Cont'd on Page 46
In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, lawmakers don't want Homeland Security legislation jeopardized with veto-bait amendments. Funding for the Homeland Security Department expires at the end of February, so Republicans have until then to resolve the issue. Republican leaders renewed pledges not to let funding for the Homeland Security Department expire or risk a government shutdown. Lawmakers and aides said that whether they're able to move forward on broader immigration legislation - and how - will depend on how the fight over Obama's executive actions is resolved. -AP
PRADEEP ROY-SINGH B.A. LL.B. M.B.A. J.D. Attorney-at-Law
House Speaker John Boehner, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell meet with the press at the GOP retreat at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa.
Former Assistant StateÂ’s Attorney
Civil & Criminal Litigation Felonies, Misdemeanors, Inc DUI 1 Personal Injury, Business, Divorce etc. 1 Property Tax for Commercial Properties 1
officials who fail to comply with border security provisions within the bill. The discussions came as lawmakers struggled for a path forward on a related issue: How to stop Obama's executive actions on immigration that have offered work permits and protection from deportations to millions.
Department of Homeland Security that would undo Obama's actions, in the process exposing hundreds of thousands of younger immigrants to deportation. Obama has threatened to veto the bill. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledged that the Senate would vote on the House bill, but he was not predicting it
Immigrants can now get Mexican birth certificates SANTA ANA (US): For Mexicans living in the US illegally and hoping to stay in the country under President Barack Obama's new immigration policy, things just got one step simpler. The Mexican government has begun issuing birth certificates to its citizens at its consulates in the United States. That will make it a little easier for Mexicans hoping to obtain US work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation. Up until now, Mexico required its citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Many of those living in this country had to ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve the paperwork.
would pass. ``We're going to try to pass it. That'll be our first choice,'' McConnell told reporters. ``If we're unable to do that, we'll let you know what comes next.'' At a town hall-style meeting in Goffstown, New Hampshire, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., was more blunt when questioned by a reporter: ``I don't think it could get 60 votes in the Senate,'' she said of the House bill. Although the Senate is now under GOP control, Republicans are still six votes shy of the 60vote margin needed to advance most legislation, and a number of Senate Republicans have concerns with the House approach.
Pablo Luna showed off a copy of his birth certificate after receiving it from Mexican Consulate employee Raul Perez Rodriguez Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, Texas. Mexican Consul General in El Paso Jacob Prado is at right. Luna, who was born in the Mexican state of Veracruz, was the first person to take advantage of the consulate's new program to provide copies of birth certificates for Mexican nationals. The consulate can now print birth certificates in order to save nationals a trip back to Mexico in order to obtain them. The consulate charges $13 for the certificate. The birth certificates are required for various official purposes.
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January 23, 2015
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Plenty of positive state actions on immigration GARY ENDELMAN & CYRUS D. MEHTA
A
lthough states have been experimenting with their own initiatives on immigration, they have been related to mainly punitive enforcement laws, the most notorious being Arizona's SB 1070. Section 2(B) of the Arizona law, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in Arizona v. USA, requires police officers to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that the person in "unlawfully present in the United States." While such punitive laws have received the most media attention, other states have been experimenting with initiatives that attract immigrants. But state laws need not always be punitive. If we have the eyes to see them, examples of positive
gration Law (1776-1875), 93 COLUM. L. REV. 1833 (1993). The federalization of US immigration policy is a relatively recent historical development, dating as it does from the late 19th century, largely in response to inadequate and ineffective state and local efforts. Not until the early years of the last century would the states cease to play an active role in shaping American immigration policy. What is happening now, therefore, is not a new approach but is a selective incorporation of what is the original American approach on immigration. Long ago, Justice Brandeis recognized that federalism offered a constitutional framework for experimentation and creativity: "To stay experimentation in
Many of the progressive achievements in modern American history, such as progressive income taxation, women suffrage, popular election of senators, wage and hour laws, occupational safety, and most recently health care and same sex marriages, first appeared on the state level. state actions on immigration are all around us, such as the issuance of driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in California and Connecticut. Many of the progressive achievements in modern American history, such as progressive income taxation, women suffrage, popular election of senators, wage and hour laws, occupational safety, and most recently health care and same sex marriages, to name but a select few, first appeared on the state level. The many instances where federal intervention has been necessary to protect civil rights against state abuse should not blind us to the possibility that state action can also be a force for good. State action on immigration harkens back to salad days of our national existence. It is certainly true that, for the first century of American independence, there were no illegal aliens in a national sense for the simple reason that Congress had not yet placed any limits on immigration and would not do so until 1875. This incorrectly assumes that, prior to the Civil War, the states had no proper constitutional role to play in regulating immigration. A leading scholar has called this period of our history "the lost century of American immigration law." See Gerald L. Neuman, The Lost Century of American Immi-
things social and economic is a grave responsibility. Denial of the right to experiment may be fraught with serious consequences to the Nation. It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country‌" New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262, 52 S.Ct. 371, 76 L.Ed. 747 (1932) (Brandeis, J. dissent) A case in point is Massachusetts's launch of the Global Entrepreneur in Residence program. The GEIR is part of the 2014 Economic Development Bill, which facilitates partnerships with institutions of higher education such as universities to provide valuable, relevant part-time work opportunities to foreign graduates who are entrepreneurs and want to grow their companies, but cannot remain in the United States due to the H-1B visa annual cap. The university, as a cap exempt employer under INA section 214(g) (5) (A), can sponsor a foreign national who will not be counted towards the numerical limitations in INA section 214(g) (1). Non-profit affiliates to institutions of higher education can also qualify as capexempt employers. So far so good, but there is a golden nugget by way of INA sec-
tion 214(g)(6) that allows one who has been sponsored by a cap exempt university employer to accept concurrent employment with an employer who is subject to the H-1B numerical limitation. INA section 214(g) (6) reads as follows: "Any alien who ceases to be employed by an employer described in paragraph (5) (A) shall, if employed as a nonimmigrant alien described in section 101(a) (15) (H) (I) (b) of this title, who has not previously been counted toward the numerical limitations contained in paragraph (1) (A), be counted toward those limitations the first time the alien is employed by an employer other than one described in paragraph (5)." The magic word in section 214(g) (6) is "ceases." In other words, so long as the foreign national has not ceased to be employed with an H-1B cap-exempt employer, he or she can be approved for an H-1B visa through a cap-subject employer without regard to the H-1B annual numerical limitation. Once the H-1B visa petition through the cap-subject employer is approved, according to a May 30, 2008 USCIS Policy Memo, even if the foreign national ceases employment at the cap exempt employer, he or she may continue to remain in H-1B status through the cap-subject employer, although a subsequent extension request will get denied unless there are new H-1B cap numbers available at the time of the new filing. Vivek Gupta is one such recipient of the GEIR program. The University of Massachusetts, according to the CNN news story, spon-
sored him in the university's Venture Development Center as an "entrepreneur in residence," where he will advise other founders of startup companies. This would allow Gupta's own startup WealthVine, a cap subject employer, to sponsor him. While we do not know whether Gupta's H-1B visa petition through his company got approved, the GEIR would allow entrepreneurs like Gupta to work for their companies in H-1B visa status, which otherwise may not have been available to them due to the annual H-1B limitation. The USCIS Entrepreneurs Pathways portal provides a guide to how founders can use their startups to apply for H-1B visas. Michigan is another state that is actively innovating to attract top
to further develop the standards under the National Interest Waiver pursuant to President Obama's November 20, 2014 Executive Action. Indeed, one of the Executive Action memos entitled Policies Supporting U.S. High Skilled Businesses and Workers acknowledges the underutilization of the National Interest Waiver, and states can assist the DHS in establishing criteria for supporting applications from entrepreneurs and others that promote economic growth in the state. The same memo also indicates that DHS will use its "significant public benefit" parole authority under INA 212(d) (5) to develop criteria to bring in promising entrepreneurs who do not yet meet the National Interest Waiver cut. Here too states can provide input
Once the H-1B visa petition through the capsubject employer is approved, according to a May 30, 2008 USCIS Policy Memo, even if the foreign national ceases employment at the cap exempt employer, he or she may continue to remain in H-1B status foreign talent. GOP Governor Snyder of Michigan will support those applying for the green card through the National Interest Waiver. While the specifics of Michigan's plan have not yet been spelt out, it appears that Michigan will support applicants for the National Interest Waiver who reside in Michigan and who contribute to Detroit's economic growth. There is ample scope for states
regarding developing criteria, and supporting entrepreneurs' applications to the federal government when applying for parole to come to the United States. To be continued * Cyrus D Mehta, may be contacted at 212-425-0555 or info@cyrusmehta.com
Immigrants can now get Mexican birth certificates Cont'd from Page 45
Pedro Zamora, a 52-year-old cook in Southern California, took advantage of the new program to obtain his birth certificate at the Mexican consulate in Santa Ana, California. He plans to apply for a California driver's license now. Before the change took place, Zamora had to ask his sister-inlaw to pick up his son's and daughter's birth certificates in Colima, Mexico, so they could apply for Obama's immigration program for those brought to the US illegally as children. But Zamora said the paperwork got
lost in the mail twice. "It would take seven or 15 days and there was a risk of losing it," Zamora said. While Republicans in Congress are trying to undo Obama's plan to shield millions of immigrants living illegally in the US from deportation, Mexico is trying to help them stay here and continue sending money back to relatives across the border. About half the 11 million immigrants living in the US illegally are from Mexico, and immigration experts say roughly 3 million of them could be eligible under the administration's plan. Immigrants will probably need
to produce photo identification such as a passport to apply for the program. And to get a Mexican passport, they need a birth certificate. That has proved to be a problem for many Mexican immigrants. Those who cross the border illegally to reach the United States rarely carry documents with them on the treacherous journey, partly to avoid detection. And many Mexicans born in remote, rural communities do not make the necessary journey to the nearest government office to start the process of obtaining a birth certificate.-AP
Datebook
January 23, 2015
NEW YORK
NEW JERSEY
Upcoming
Upcoming Sat, Jan 24
• Republic Day Celebration 2015 - Fundraiser for Project Udaan Venue: Hotel Westin, Newport (Grand Ballroom), 479 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310 Time: 5:00 pm
Sat, Jan 24
• Chakde India - Indian Republic Day Bash Venue: Maple / Aspen Club, 157 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036 Time : 10:00 pm Contact: 646-543-8127
Fri, Feb 13
Sat, Jan 31
• Bollywood Disco Presidents Day Weekend
Venue: North Brunswick High School, 98 Raider Road, North Brunswick, NJ 08902 Time : 12:00 pm Contact: 732-801-4814
Venue: Drom NYC, 85 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009 Time: 10:00 pm Contact: 718-207-0058
Sat, Mar 14 • Music Workshop by Sharda Rajan
Sat, Feb 14 • Harry Malhotras Valentine
• INDIA Republic Day
Venue: Homewood suites by Hilton, 66 Stanley St, East Rutherford, NJ 07073 Time: 10:00 am Contact: 203-599-1437
Party
Venue: Antun's by minar, 244 W Old Country Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801 Time : 8:00 pm Contact: 917-325-4903
India Post 47
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
CHICAGO
Upcoming
Upcoming
Sat, Jan 24 • NetIP LA-OC 4th Annual Kites
Sun, Feb 15 • Brahma Kumaris Silicon Valley Meditation Center, Milpitas will celebrate Shivratri
Festival Venue: Claremont Sand, 54th Pl, Long Beach, CA 90803 Timet: 11:00 am Contact: 714-925-3237
Sat, Jan 31 • Akshaya Patra Reception for President Vicente Fox and Dr. Deepak Chopra Venue: The Renaissance Hotel Long Beach by Marriott, 111 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802 Timet: 06:30 pm Contact: 424-765-0907
Sat, Jan 31 • The Biggest International Bollywood New Years Eve Ball Rhythm Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 39900 Balentine Dr, Fremont-Newark, CA 94560 Time: 07:00 pm Contact: 510-432-6385
Sat, Feb 7 • Roshni - Cricket 2015 Venue: Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, 5005 C E Los Angeles Ave, Simi Valley, CA 93063 Time :07:00 pm Contact: 310-920-1863
Sun, Feb 8 • Surati Ponk – Undhiyu” Ujjani 20145 Venue: Shreemaya Krishnadham, 25 Corning Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035 Timet: 1:00 pm Contact: 408-586-0006
Venue: Jain Center, 722 S. Main St., Milpitas, CA 95035 Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Contact: www.bksiliconvalley.org
Fri, Mar 13 • Zakir Hussain Celtic Connection Venue: Pabst Theater, 144 E Wells St, Milwaukee, WI 53202 Time: 8:00 pm Contact: 414-467-3032
ATLANTA Upcoming Sat, Jan 31 • Maa Tujhe Salaam Venue: Shree Shakti Mandir's Sumant Center, 1450 Huie Rd, Morrow, GA 30260 Time: 6:00 pm Contact: 678-789-4690
Sat, Feb 14 • Cupid Calling ! Valentines Day Party 2015 Venue: Ashiana banquet hall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd, Norcross, GA 30071 Time: 9:00 pm Contact: 404-246-3256
Mon, Aug 31 • MITHAS 2014 Membership Venue: Wong Auditorium, MIT, 70 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, MA 02142 Time: 07:00 pm Contact: 857-205-9731
ILLINOIS Upcoming • J K Yog Satsang and Bal Mukund Hindi Classes are held every 2nd and 4rth Sunday of Month Chicago Satsang Information: J K Yog, Chicago - Swami Mukundananda Venue: Clarion Inn/Waterford Banquets, Board Room, 933 South Riverside Drive, Elmhurst, IL 60126 Time: 3:30pm-5:30pm Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @ 630-561-4807 Website: www.jkyog.org
1st and 3rd Sunday of Month • Chicago Children's Bal Mukund Character Building Program and Hindi Literacy Classes Venue: Vogelei Center, 650 W. Higgins Road, Hoffmann Estates, IL 60192 (Next to Nissan Dealership) Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @ 630-561-4807
Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105
Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Where: Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105Time: 5:30 pm
48
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January 23, 2015
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Fax: 562-947-0632 shashi19@yahoo.com CHICAGO (Ramesh Soparawala) Tel: 773-973-7394 / Fax: 773-973-7396 sramesh@aol.com NEW YORK (Pinky) Tel: 908 338 3752 pinky@indiapost.com
Horoscope
January 23, 2015
India Post
49
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Your Weekly Future by Pandit Parashar
January 23rd - January 29th 2015 (March 21 to April 20)
T
here is no point in waiting anymore and you should go for the challenging exam. Help from a very influential person will steer you closer to goal. Financial gamble will pay off and you will reap rich rewards. Some of you may also travel long distance to attend an important meeting. Spouse may also confirm the good news. You will also receive blessings from a mature person.
(April 21 to May 20)
N
o harm in listening to spouse but do not make any hasty move in career for next several weeks as if you maintain patience, things will improve at existing place itself. You may also sign some important papers related to a property. Spouse may complain of some aches and pain in the joints. You will have a good opportunity to make money through stocks also this week.
(May 21 to June 20)
Y
ou will be doing lots of soul searching this week. It will be in your best interest to let the past go if you wish to move ahead in life. People self employed will continue to gain edge over opponents and one of the main competitor decide to close and move away even. Transiting Jupiter in second will get new business to people in consulting or investment brokers.
(June 21 to July 22)
Y
ou will meet some famous and successful people this week. Some positive changes in career just few weeks away and no harm in start applying now. You may avoid going to a party and attend to your issues. Speculation and lottery can get extra money. You will be still worried and looking to help a child with some important issues.
(July 23 to August 22)
(November 23 to December 22)
T
hings will continue to go well but you will not be content. You may continue to negotiate for a new venture and submit more papers to back your claim. It will be better to stay away from stocks for some more time. You may also try hard to get rid of a property adding strain on finances for quite some time. Boss will assign a challenging job with pressure of deadline.
(August 23 to September 22)
Y
ou will see all stress of past disappearing this week. Your ideas are not bad and if you are firm, you can achieve a lot this week. Health complications will go away with change of diet. You may need to submit more papers in ongoing legal matters. Business will keep getting better with the help of new customers. Do not hesitate to seek advise from a trusted person.
(September 23 to October 22)
M
oney wise you will continue to do well but it's the stress level which will be slightly high. You may travel long distance to attend an important event this week. Some one from different culture will be helpful. Some of you may be looking for a possible change in career and start applying. You may spend some money on repair to one of your vehicle also.
(October 23 to November 22)
L
onger hours and hard work will be rewarding. Meetings will go well and assurance will come quick. People will try to cause disturbance but will fail quickly. You may find yourself leaning towards a person from different culture. Chance of making money through stocks very strong. You may take time out of busy schedule and attend a social event with family.
PANDIT PARASHAR, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individual consultations. He can be reached at: parashar@parashar.com
C
ombination of Sun and Mercury will help you achieve your professional goals and may cause major improvement in career soon. You will continue to make bold decisions and succeed in chopping off wastage of money. Do not ignore any legal paper that require little attention right now. You may take a short trip with family to meet some close relatives.
(December 22 to January 19)
M
oney will go on enjoying life. Few visitors will show up kind of unannounced. Ideas crossing your mind recently are not bad, rather they can cause major change in career if you forcefully implement them. You may also buy some high tech item for personal use. You will negotiate with insurance and save money.
(January 20 to February 18)
M
ake necessary changes in diet and limit on quantity. A friend may suggest some stock. You may bring some work home in order to finish it before deadline. Day with the family will be relaxing and you will make many phone calls to people out of touch. It will be better to take outside advise before you start any venture with new partners next month.
(February 19 to March 20)
O
ne of your child will need extra medical attention. Some of you may start applying for a short term course to update your knowledge. Expenses will definitely exceed your budget this week. You may find your self drifting away from religion also. You will be looking for ways to trim expenses and liability. maintain distance from a new friend from different culture.
510-886-4370 www.parashar.com
50 India Post
January 23, 2015
www.indiapost.com
of people today doesn't come at the expense of our children's futures. Joining the likes of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Malala Yousafzai, Bill Gates, Hugh Jackman, JosĂŠ Padilha, Bono and Ted Turner among others, Aamir Khan is the only person invited to join the initiative from India. India is a signatory to the program and Aamir is the representative from India. As a part of Action 2015, Aamir will work towards achieving the New Millennium Goals which are; removing poverty, education for all children and protecting the environment among other goals. His job will be to promote the idea from a grassroots level that poverty and illness can be eradicated and to tell those in need that help exists.
India Post News Service
A
amir Khan was amongst several international personalities to sign an open letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage further action by India to address such critical issues as poverty, climate change and equality. Other major names to sign the open letter include Queen Rania Al Abdullah, U2 frontman Bono, Hollywood actors Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, UK-Sudanese entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim, singer Shakira and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai among many others. Aamir Khan was supporting the launch of the action/ 2015 campaign internationally. The campaign is billed as one of the biggest global outreach initiatives in history to address world-changing issues of climate change, poverty and inequality and was announced by education activist Malala when she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, last year. Several personalities across the globe have signed the initiative to make a better tomorrow and create awareness in their countries. Action 2015 is a global initiative wherein world leaders have signed on to eradicate poverty. Two critical United Nations summits will take place this year. The first in September, where the world must agree new goals to eradicate extreme poverty, tackle inequality and ensure a more sustainable planet. The second is the climate summit in December where we must ensure the well being
Excerpts from letter to PM:
Cont'd on Page 52
India Post 51
January 23, 2015 www.indiapost.com
Friday' hitmaker shares India connect NEW DELHI: A first generation Indian American and the front man of New York-based band named after 'Goldspot'a popular orangeflavored carbonated drink in India in the early 90's; Siddharth Khosla creates music which tugs at heart strings and sets feet tapping. Khosla's music is a blend of retro indie, pop-rock, light pyschedelic rock, something for every mood. The first thing which you notice about the band and their music are the lyrics. The 'Friday' hitmaker who founded the band, also pens the lyrics of the songs which 'Goldspot' plays, prefers doing concept records- basing all songs on a singular concept. On a recent visit to India, he revealed that many songs from the band's latest album Aerogramme (2013) are based on stories about his family and his childhood in India. "I believe when I write an album, I'm creating a piece of art and
I'm always trying to write from the heart and in my heart is my family so that is all I can really write about", Siddharth told PTI. Khosla shares that his parents moved to the US from India in 1976 with only 8 dollars in their pockets. "Within a year of their arrival, I was born. They were studying and at the same time managing full-time jobs. They had to make one of the toughest decisions they had ever made - sending me back to India to live with my grandparents in Delhi", says Khosla. In fact even the name 'Aerogramme' is inspired by the letters that his father sent him from the US, a sheet of paper which was used to write a letter and then doubled as an envelope. Some popular songs from the album are based on his childhood experiences in India, like the 'Monkey Song', which he narrates with a laugh.
"When I was younger I spent a lot of summers in India and one of my fondest memories is of being home in Shakti Nagar, Delhi and a monkey used to climb on our roof top to eat fruit from the Litchi tree and my aunt used to beat it" says Khosla. Another song from his album, the 'Evergreen Cassette', which he calls his favorite song from the album encapsulates the story of his mother sending him taped lullabies to India, because it was expensive to make phone calls. "I was probably like 1 or 2 years old, when my parents sent me back to India. My mother would put her voice on a cassette and send it to me in India so that I could hear her voice. At that time it took 24 dollars a minute to make a long distance phone call. So they sent that cassette", Siddharth says. The band's front man, who spent a large chunk of his childhood in the narrow lanes of Kamla
Suhaag show for the best in wedding solutions India Post News Service
TORONTO: The 18th Annual Suhaag Winter Show will be held on Sunday, February 1st at the Toronto Congress Centre from 11am to 7pm. The show promises to be the grandest and most glamorous show of all! This year, all attendees are encouraged to visit the Chevrolet display where they can enter to win a new vehicle. They will also be able to get their hands on the 16th annual edition of Suhaag Magazine, hot off the press. With recent shoots being held in Toronto and New Delhi, India, this year's edition has quickly become the most fashion forward issue to date! The Suhaag show has tons in store for not only brides and grooms-to-be, but also for their
friends, family and the general public. The Suhaag team is excited to announce 2 grand fashion shows at 1.30pm and 4.30pm, with models sashaying down the ramp
ture. This fashion extravaganza will be high on style and glamour quotient while showcasing the richness of South Asian heritage in a modern avatar for the today's
in the bridal forecast for the upcoming wedding season by eleven of Toronto's leading fashion boutiques specializing in bridal cou-
bride and groom. "Chevrolet is proud to support the 18th Annual Suhaag Show," said Paul Bailey, Advertising Man-
Nagar here, considers performing in India like a dream come true and
has been to the country on multiple occasions to perform at popular music festivals. "Everytime I perform in India it's like I am living my dream. My favorite musicians were all Hindi singers - Kishore Kumar and
Mohammed Rafi and they used to perform in front of all these audiences and the fact that I can do now is just a reminder that I'm living my dream, I'm humbled by it", Khosla told PTI. He says that Delhi is a nostalgic city for him, which reminds him of his childhood. "The other day I went by our old house in Shakti Nagar and a new building stands in its place now, new people live there, but I walked down that alley and it brought me back to flying kites with my cousins and playing cricket in the street and stepping in cowdung. "The first thing I do when I come to Delhi is to eat Bille de Hatti di Puri. It is one of the best meals I've ever had", tells Siddharth. Apart from creating music for his band, Khosla has forayed into Television and was the composer for the recently concluded ABC series "The Neighbors". -PTI
ager, Chevrolet. "The show helps us connect with Canada's important South Asian community and to share our best wishes with all of the new couples and their families as they prepare for their weddings." There will be more than 150 booths with everything you need to plan your dream wedding, glamorous dĂŠcor set ups to inspire you, various food sampling, and great giveaways that include: an all-in-
clusive Mexico getaway, courtesy Abslutewedsite.com; complimentary hotel stay at the Fairmount Royal York; foursome round of golf courtesy Clublink; and much, much more. Lots to win and do for the whole family. A must visit event for all newly engaged and soon to be wed couples, the Suhaag Wedding Show is the perfect stop for the best in wedding solutions.
Siddhartha Khosla
52 India Post
January 23, 2015 www.indiapost.com
Indianapolis teens pour hearts into vision care for India INDIANAPOLIS: Robert Crossin and Pavani Peri are teenagers. High school students. One is thinking about going into politics; the other is leaning toward medicine. But neither is waiting until adulthood to begin changing the world, one set of eyes at a time. The Park Tudor juniors, who met on the debate team, have launched a foundation to benefit a poor village in India. Kriya Foundation has raised a few thousand dollars so far - but it's enough to convert a building in Revidi (population 2,410) in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh into an eye clinic that provides free vision care. The student-run foundation partnered with a prominent nonprofit in India, LV Prasad Eye Institute, to open and staff the clinic. In December, just its second month of operation, the clinic saw 180 patients, prescribed 33 pairs of glasses and referred dozens of people for treatment of cataracts and other eye problems, said Robert, 17. During an hour-long interview after school at a local coffee shop, he handed over his business card - Robert Crossin, chairman of the board of directors,
Kriya Foundation - but insisted he's more comfortable answering to Bobby. He said the experience has changed him and others who are involved. ``When we're in high school, so much of what we do is like, yeah we put on a cool play and
Park Tudor juniors Robert Crossin (left) and Pavani Peri have launched the Kriya Foundation, a student-led non-profit raising money to benefit eye health in India.
we had a good season for the lacrosse team, but ultimately none of it really has any staying power. It's kind of cool to do
Aamir writes to PM Celebrities support ‘action/2015’ campaign Cont'd from Page 50
"There are moments in history that become turning points. In our view, 2015 will be such a moment. It is the most important year for global decision-making since the
start of the new millennium. We believe it's just possible that we could end 2015 with a new global compact - an agreed pathway to a better, safer future for people and planet that will inspire all the citizens of the world. We can choose the path of sustainable development. Or we might not - and regret it for generations to come. Which side of history will you be on? There are millions of voices
something that actually changes something somewhere,'' Crossin told The Indianapolis Star. Pavani's parents, Sarves and Aruna Peri, are from India, and she returned from a visit there a year ago with a big idea but little knowledge of how to get it done.
you can't afford to ignore - the voices of the people you represent. They are voices of all ages from every corner of the planet the voice of a young girl currently deprived an education… of a pregnant mother deprived healthcare…
of young people deprived decent work… of a family from a minority group fearful of discrimination from corrupt officials… of farmers forced to migrate to cities as climate refugees… and of billions of other people. Their voices will roar ever louder against the inequality and injustice that keep people poor. They - and all who stand with them - are calling on you to come up with a grand new
She asked Bobby for help. Together, they set up a board of directors (all high school students), incorporated and received 501(c) global contract for our one human family - and then deliver on it together. The great news is that in 2015 you have a historic chance to do just that. Two critical United Nations summits will take place this year. The first in September, where the world must agree new goals to eradicate extreme poverty, tackle inequality and ensure a more sustainable planet. The second is the climate summit in December where we must ensure the wellbeing of people today doesn't come at the expense of our children's futures. Together with critical discussions on financing, these opportunities are the biggest of our lifetime. We know from past efforts against AIDS, malaria, preventable diseases and saving the ozone layer that when we come together, so much can be achieved. Yet, with
(3) status as a nonprofit. ``Both my parents grew up in poor villages in India,'' said Pavani, who was born in the United States. ``My dad got polio when he was 5 or 6, and like so many people there, he didn't have access to adequate medical care. As a result, he now has depleted muscle in his left leg.'' For Pavani, the idea that simple, preventive care could change someone's life opened her eyes. At 15, she knows she's fortunate to live in a country where she can get quality health care. ``It's very different there. There's no preventive care for people in lower classes; there's a lack of knowledge of even the most basic care that we take for granted.'' That includes eye exams. Lack of awareness of screenings and preventive care is a major contributor to childhood blindness in India, according to curableblindness.org. Among the estimated 15 million blind people in the country of 1.2 billion, approximately 320,000 are younger than 16. ``When you learn that you can change someone's life so completely, it motivates you to
do more,'' said Pavani. ``I can do something to help these people.'' Kriya's first fundraiser was a dance show in September choreographed by Pavani, which included traditional Indian and contemporary dance, as well as vocal and instrumental pieces. ``The dance program told the story of social and medical injustice in the world,'' she said. ``We combined different dance styles to tell one story.'' The group's next event is an art show and auction in Broad Ripple on Jan. 31. Kriya is soliciting two-dimensional artwork. Artists can submit photos, paintings and drawings to Kriya Inc., 13246 Broad St., Carmel 46032. The daylong show at Eclipse Realty will feature a silent and live auction of the artwork. Money raised will go for supplies and operational costs for the clinic, but the board is considering broadening the foundation's scope to benefit other medical causes in developing countries. Pavani said she would like to see other high schools work with Kriya. But more than anything, she wants to inspire young people to find a cause bigger than themselves. '-AP
just months to go before these summits, few leaders are playing the leadership roles we need. We see climate progress but not yet of the scale that is needed, and a set of goals that are hugely ambitious but will be meaningless without brave financing and implementation agreements led from the
the world turns for decades to come. Please take the right path."
very top. If this does not change, we fear you and your fellow leaders could be sleep-walking the world towards one of the greatest failures of recent history. It's not too late to rise to the occasion. We're asking you to help lead that change. Let's be clear: the actions we take in 2015 will decide which way
Support from Mumbai MUMBAI: India's leading global ambassadors comprising A-list actors, actresses, renowned directors, award-winning authors, dignitaries and esteemed public figures came together in an unprecedented show of unity on the 15th of January to show their support via Twitter and Facebook for the launch of the historic action/2015 campaign. The campaign, billed as one of the biggest global outreach initiatives in history to address world-changing issues of climate change, poverty and inequality, saw a massive outpouring of solidarity from celebrities such as actor Akshay Kumar who tweeted support for the campaign reaching over 7.2 million Twitter followers and over 14 million users on Facebook. He was joined by compatriots Sonam Kapoor, Malaika Arora-Khan, Pulkit Samrat, Kiara Advani, Mohit Marwah, Arfi Lamba author Chetan Bhagat, producers Ashvini Yardi (Grazing Goat Pictures) and Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel Entertainment), TV personalities Gautam Rode, sport stars Yuvraj Singh and Vijendra Singh to name some of the growing list of supporters.
Philosophy
January 23, 2015
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magine, that you have only a few minutes, maybe an hour left to live; somehow you have discovered exactly when you will die. What would you do with this precious hour of your stay on Earth? Would you be able to complete all your things in this last hour, do you have a conscious idea about how to do it? And letting go your last breath would you feel satisfaction from knowing that you have done everything possible in this life to fulfill that you are constantly present, always vibrating, always waiting, like the son is waiting for the father-sailor? In the manifested world everything has its beginning and its end. In the Real World everything is always present and one beautiful day you will be allowed to forget everything and leave the world "forever". Freedom is worth a million times more than [political] liberation. The free man, even in slavery, remains a master of himself. For example, if I give you something, let's say, a car, in which there is no fuel, the car cannot move. Your car needs a special fuel, but it is only you who is able to define what kind of fuel is needed and where to get it. You have to define yourself how to digest my ideas to make them yours, so that they belong only to you. Your car cannot work RAMESH BALSEKAR
F
or the average person, love is a manifestation of the violent, possessive doership of the ego. Whereas for the spiritual person, it is not a sentiment at all, but a state of mind in which love exists to the degree in which the selfish element is transcended. According to the average person, the desire for possession is the criterion, the touchstone of sincerity or reality by which love is to be judged. Even the mother is accused of not loving her child if she is not particularly possessive towards her baby. Love - the sentiment, and love the non-affective state of mind, where a subject-object relationship does not exist, are infused by the same force. Though basically not different, one is steeped in egoistic involvement, the other unaffected and pure. The former is exemplified by the love of a man for a woman, the latter, sometimes called divine love or caritas, is a luminous pool of light and not a beam focused on one object at a time. All-embracing, bathing all alike in its radiance. It must, however, be recognized that the discrimination between spiritual and romantic love is illu-
on the same fuel my car is working on. I suggest to you only the primary material. You have to get from it what you can use. So, more bravely, sit down at the steering wheel. The organic life is very fragile. The planetary body can die at any moment. It is always one step from death. And if you could manage to live one more day, it is only a chance accidentally given to you by nature. If you will be able to live even one more hour, you can consider yourself to be a lucky
up your things with nature and yourself in every hour given to you, then you will never be met unprepared. The man has to be taught this starting from the [esoteric] school: how to breath, to eat, to move and to die right. This has to become a part of an educational program. In this program it is necessary to include the teaching about how to realize the presence of "I" and also how to establish consciousness. Question: How to act if you do
which was given to you. Get to know yourself better, look at your machine as if from the outside. Now you do not know much about yourself. But with each day you dig deeper and deeper into this bag of bones and start knowing more and more details. Day by day you will be finding out what you should have done and what you have to re-do among the things you have done. A real man is one who could take from life everything that was valuable in it, and say:
Be ready to die and not sorry about anything
G. I. Gurdjieff
The organic life is very fragile. The planetary body can die at any moment. It is always one step from death. And if you could manage to live one more day, it is only a chance accidentally given to you
From the Bhagavad Gita It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection. A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place,
person. From the moment of conception we are living on borrowed time. Living in this world you have to feel death each second, so settle all your life affairs, even in your last hour. But how can anyone know exactly his last hour? For the sense of security make
not feel that there is something unfinished? Gurdjieff: Ask yourself who will be in difficulty if you die like a dog. At the moment of death you have to be wholly aware of yourself and feel that you have done everything possible to use all, within your abilities, in this life
"And now I can die". We have to try to live our lives so that we could say any day: "Today I can die and not be sorry about anything". Excerpted from 'The Last Hour of Life.' The 149th birth anniversary of Gurdjieff was observed on January 13
sory because both are aspects of the same reality. Physical expression of love cannot be excluded because the relationship is on the plane of phenomenality. In a few rare cases, even the sense of doership and possession will not exist. Recently, I came across an instance where the personal element
who he was, nor had she recognized him in five years. I was surprised and asked him: 'And you still go every morning?' I had to hold back tears when he smiled, patted my hand and said: 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.' I realized that true love is nei-
(the divine play in phenomenality). Indeed, Consciousness first identifying itself with each individual as separate entity and then dis-identifying itself and recovering its impersonality is itself the Lila. Consciousness writes the script, Consciousness produces and directs the play, Conscious-
Spiritual & romantic love are aspects of same reality Consciousness first identifying itself with each individual as separate entity and then dis-identifying itself and recovering its impersonality is itself the Lila was not excluded from true love. A nurse recounted: "While taking care of my patient's wound, we began talking, and he told me that he needed to visit the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. She had been there for a while, a victim of Alzheimer's disease. I asked him if his wife would be worried if he was a bit late, whereupon he replied that due to her loss of memory she no longer knew
ther physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, that has been, that will or even will not be." Divine play Consciousness has identified itself with the individual human organism in order to create separate egos so that this life and living with the subject/object relationships may take place as Lila
and when we expect nothing in return No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come Anyone who is steady in his determination for the advanced stage of spiritual realization and can equally tolerate the onslaughts of distress and happiness is certainly a person eligible for liberation. Perform all thy actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure
Ramesh Balsekar
ness plays every role (like a oneman show) in the play, and finally Consciousness itself witnesses the play. When this situation is apperceived, no doubt of any kind remains, and all there is, is Silence. Consciousness is in its primal state of absolute rest. Reproduced from The One in the Mirror: See What You Truly Are! published by Yogi Impressions Books, India.
with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity. The peace of God is with them whose mind and soul are in harmony, who are free from desire and wrath, who know their own soul.
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January 23, 2015
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The indigenization challenge in defense procurement
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ragmatism informed by the appreciation of national interests seems to have given way to a garbled policy of compromising national security in favor of playing safe to avoid the accusations of 'kickbacks' in defense purchases. One really fails to understand as to why it took so long to comprehend the emergent need for replenishing our defense hardware, more so when the same has serious implications for national security. The best that could have been done under the circumstances by the then decision-makers was to evolve a consensual policy in con-
SAUMITRA MOHAN
over the years to the chagrin and detriment of the armed forces in this country. Such priggish thinking has at times tarred every 'agent' with the same brush, vilifying each of them as a crook of the first order who must be shunned at any cost. Defense purchases in this country have continued languishing in the wilderness for want of timely decision to the extent that our arsenals were said to have become dangerously depleted. The state-of-affairs only got worse as the list of black-listed defense suppliers grew longer with every inquiry instituted to probe into such accusations.
Former defense Minister Arun Jaitley with Admiral RK Dhowan and other Navy officers during the commissioning of the first indigenously built stealth AntiSubmarine Warfare Corvette INS Kamorta at a ceremony at Visakhapatnam naval dockyard
sultation with ll the stakeholders to shop for the required military equipment and hardware. A transparent defense purchase policy predicated on a well-thought out guideline would have long done the needful in this regard. It is good that the new dispensation in New Delhi has finally seen through the problem to effect the necessary changes to keep our war machine fighting fit as the same was slowly becoming rusted for want of due care and nurturing it needed. After all, they rightly say, 'if you want peace, it is better to prepare for war'. As per the decision taken by the government, the operations of 'representatives', another term for agents or brokers, will now be officially recognized and allowed in defense purchases, something that could have been done long back. The fact remains that these 'brokers' have always been there and working behind the scenes to facilitate defense deals for governments across the world. However, the same has often complicated defense acquisitions
There came a time when it became really difficult to find a single established producer with credentials from whom military hardware could be procured. Reportedly, former Indian Defense Minister George Fernandez attempted to put in place a system of 'registered agents', but the initiative did not go very far for want of clarity and response from stakeholders. Against this background, it would be rather premature to give a verdict on the success of the newly-drafted Modi-Parrikar formula, but the silver lining is the framing of a well-delineated policy backed by a clear thinking on the issue that has eventually accepted that defense agents are important facilitators in defense procurement. The presence of 'agents' or 'brokers' is a hard reality across the world. Few defense deals could move without their doing the necessary facilitation that is deemed to be a very mechanical and specialized task - though the method of their payment still remains ambiguous and woolly in
this country. Terms like 'commission' or 'brokerage' have become dirty expressions in defense lexicon, something that is integral to business and commerce in a laissez-faire economy in a globalize world. After all, what problem should be there with commissions in a commercial deal to purchase defense hardware if the same is buttressed by a well-laid out transparent policy. After all, commissions are nothing but 'remuneration' paid for the services provided and promote a healthy competition that could actually work to our advantage in securing the best available deal. Have not we allowed brokerage or commissions in many other sectors of our economy and day-to-day life? If yes, why should we have any objection with the same when it comes to defense procurements? One feels that as long as the defense deals and the cognate 'commission' are transparent and known to all the stakeholders, there should be no problem. The authorized, registered, commissioned, or empanelled 'representatives', 'agents' or 'brokers', whatever we may call them, can rightfully claim their 'commission' or 'brokerage' as offered by the suppliers as per declared pre-laid and pre-declared norms. The problem arises only when the alleged 'sweetener' is offered to an office holder (read a Minister or a bureaucrat) for their legal or illegal facilitation of the process, thereby vitiating the process. Be it noted that while kickbacks in major deals have become 'hot' political issues, corruption is deeply entrenched in all the purchase processes down the line be it footwear, foodstuffs or clothing. A perusal of the government or independent probes into corrupt deals will confirm the same. Hence, if New Delhi sincerely intends to effect a clean-up, the entire defense purchase architecture needs to change across the spectrum; and the same should be extended to other sectors of government operations as well. The writer is District Magistrate and Collector, Burdwan, West Bengal, India. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of India.
India Post
Bedi vs Kejriwal
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here is Anna Hazare? After having spawned the anticorruption movement of 2012, he seems to have retired to his temple abode in his hometown Ralegan Siddhi as if the mission has been accomplished after seeing the BJP ensconced in power in Delhi. His chief lieutenants, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, have however disregarded his aversion to politics and have jumped into the sea of Delhi politics as rivals. Both Magsaysay award winners are claimants of chief ministership from the two strong parties in the fray, the BJP and the Aam Admi Party (AAP). Till recently the BJP did not have a credible leader for the top post. The induction of the former police officer has come as a shot in the arm for the BJP and the fight has now become interesting. Kejriwal and company have learnt a few lessons from last year's fiasco when he made a great virtue of throwing up the towel and resigning. His theatrics of dharna against the Central government and sleeping on the street in cold January instead of running the government from his chamber as chief minister has still not been forgotten by the electorate as an embarrassment. Add to it his ministers storming colonies to detect alleged brothels in confrontation with the police has only diminished his chances. His anti-corruption plank has been blown to smithereens by his new antics. Addressing a recent public meeting he exhorted them to take bribes from BJP and the Congress but vote for BJP. If this is not encouraging corruption, then what is it? After the fiasco in General Elections when it spread itself thin contesting from Varanasi and Haryana, AAP decided to concentrate on Delhi. All the energies of its leaders are now focused on the capital city. But going by the desertions from AAP and desperate statements of Kejriwal, it seems the electorate is reluctant to repose faith once again in the Kejriwal party. Even his wooing the electorate by promising to reduce rates of water, power and petrol are not valid by standards of healthy development. It is old politics to offer subsidies, half rates for essential services. What the modem voter requires is first rate facilities without disruption; and he is willing to pay the price. Kejriwal has not promised that there would be no power cuts and short supply of water. That is what pinches today. As for the rates, they go up if the salaries go up. In fact even the farmer today is willing to pay the price if he gets uninterrupted power supply. So the Kejriwal party is playing the old politics of the Congress and thus has got it all wrong. With the announcement of Kiran Bedi as the chief minister candidate, the BJP has filled a big hole in its campaign. The country's first woman IPS officer, Magsaysay award winner, Asian lawn tennis champion and activist, Bedi showed lots of guts in her career and is known to gets things done. She was an inspiration to lakhs of people as a police officer. She shot to fame after she ordered, as Traffic Police Chief, the crane-lifting of a wrongly-parked vehicle of the Prime Minister's Office during Indira Gandhi's rule which won her the nickname, 'Crane' Bedi. By picking Bedi as CM candidate, the BJP is accepting the changed character of the Delhi voter who doesn't vote on the lines of old equations anymore where a party could win a seat by fielding a candidate who brought together a few castes. The advent of Arvind Kejriwal has also shown that voters want a new kind of candidate with a more modern outlook. But the BJP is not daring to put her up directly against Kejriwal and has given her the safe seat of Krishna Nagar. Narendra Modi has to be very careful for this Delhi election can make or mar his future.
January 23, 2015
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