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Manan Trivedi

Manan Trivedi wins Dem primary Details on page 6

VOL 15, No. 820

May 28, 2010

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Periodical Postage

3 INDIANS IN RACE FOR SOLICITOR GENERAL

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Neal K. Katyal, who is currently Acting Solicitor General, is being tipped off as the top contender for Solicitor General if the nomination of Elena Kagan, who currently holds

the post, to the Supreme Court is confirmed.

Katyal, 40, is one of the three Indian American names among a handful of others that have come up since Kagan's nomination, for Solicitor General; the other two being Preeta Bansal and Sri Srinivasan.

Kapil Sibal

Kapil Sibal to get prestigious US Award Details on page 6

Indian mom jumps into Hudson with baby Details on page 6

Details on page 5

Indian burnt sons to death, sentenced to life Details on page 7

Racquelle Heffernan

Bappi Lahiri’s discovery in Hollywood

After Facebook, Pak blocks YouTube

Details on page 9

Details on page 7

'US has failed to protect its borders' Details on page 7

SCORE opposes Arizona's Immigration Law Details on page 8

TANA launches campaign for NRIs' safety

FORGET CRICKET; HERE COME THE HOCKEY CHAMPS: Arjun Halappa (2nd L) carries the trophy over his head while Indian captain Rajpal Singh (L), South Korea's Kim Yong-bae (2nd R), and Ro Jong-hwan assist following their final match of the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia on May 16. India and South Korea were named joint champions of the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after the final was abandoned because of heavy rain

Page 14

CONTENTS Bollywood -------------------------- 50

Details on page 41

INDIA POST SURVEY

Classifieds --------------------- 58-89

New Indian rules irk Indian-origin US citizens

Do you agree with new Indian rules on surrendering passports?

Last week’s result

Is the US soft on Islamic states?

YES 53%

NO 47%

Date Book -------------------------- 60 Edit Page --------------------------- 62

survey@indiapost.com This week’s question

Community Post -------------- 37-45

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) has strongly objected to new rules imposed by the Government of India regarding the surrender of Indian passports upon acquisition of US citizenship stating that the "new rules impose undue and unnecessary burdens on the Indian American community."

The most recent notice posted on the websites of Consulate Generals of India in San Francisco and New York stipulates that Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in the United States, who have acquired US citizenship, are required to surrender their Indian Passports to the nearest Indian Consulate within 90 days of their naturalization as US citizens.

HealthScience Post ------------- 54

Contíd on page 5

Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 51-53

Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”

Horoscope ------------------------- 55 Immigration Post ------------- 12-13 Life Style ------------------------- 9-11 Philosophy ------------------------- 61 Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4 TechBiz Post ------------------- 46-47

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ooking at Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal the other day on an aerial round in a navy helicopter to survey the gigantic oil spill caused by an explosion on the offshore BP drilling rig, it struck me that no significant event, calamity or happening in this country goes without an Indian American angle to it.

At the height of the financial meltdown last year when major banks in the country were falling like a pack of cards, we saw Vikram Pandit at the helm of the Citi Group holding his ground in explaining his institution's position to the American people.

Talk of bringing Wall Street executives to justice for their greed or the case of the attempted Times Square bombing and we have prosecuting US Attorney Preet Bharara in the center of the action.

Harvard Business School gets a new Dean - turns out it's an Indian American - Nitin Nohria.

And now, President Obama nominates Solicitor General Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice - an epoch making event in itself if she is appointed - and suddenly we have three eminent Indian American names emerging as contenders for the Solicitor General's post.

Neal Katyal, Preeta Bansal and Sri Srinivasan are the leading legal eagles whose names popped up almost by default soon as the President nominated Kagan for the Supreme Court.

Katyal, by far is a front runner as he is already serving as Acting Solicitor General since Kagan's nomination. Although there were murmurs against him by some conservatives when he successfully fought the case for Osama bin Laden's driver during the Bush Administration -- which probably would make him an Obama favorite -- Katyal enjoys bipartisan support in the legal circles.

If nothing, I would think, it is his youth - at 40 - that would make him an Obama pick. And irrespective of whether any of the three Indian American contenders are chosen for the important position or not, the fact that they have risen to the point of being considered for such a prestigious position is in itself an achievement. More power to us!

Romesh K Japra rkjapra@indiapost.com

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HIGHLIGHTS Bollywood: Barbara & son Kites heroine Barbara Mori's 12-year-old son Sergio will soon hit the big screen in a Mexican film, with his mommy.

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Cover Story: Solicitor General Acting Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal is being tipped as the top contender for Solicitor General after Elena Kagan.

Community: Gujarat Day

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800 law enforcement officials and members of the Indian American community attend the Gujarat Day celebrations.

Health: Stroke Identification A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke.

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Life Style: Dream recording California teen Racquelle Heffernan got a dream of her life recording with Bollywood composer Bappi Lahiri.

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Travel: Tawang The small town of Tawang in the eastern Himalayas is famous for its 400year-old monastery.

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May 28, 2010

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3 Indians in race for Solicitor General India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Principle Deputy Solicitor General, Neal K. Katyal, who is currently Acting Solicitor General, is being tipped off as the top contender for Solicitor General if the nomination of Elena Kagan, who currently holds the post, to the Supreme Court is confirmed.

Katyal, 40, is one of the three Indian American names among a handful of others that have come up since Kagan's nomination, for Solicitor General; the other two being Preeta Bansal and Sri Srinivasan.

The Indian American community is eagerly awaiting developments in the US Justice Department in the next several weeks that could well prove to be historical as one of them could become the first Indian American to hold that post - the third highest in the Department of Justice.

Soon after President Obama nominated Kagan to the Supreme Court, she notified the court that Katyal would serve as Acting Solicitor General.

"In light of my nomination to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the US, the Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Kumar Katyal, will serve as Acting Solicitor General in all fill-

ings after the date of my nomination involving the United States Government," Kagan said in a her letter dated May 17 to the Su-

Neal K. Katyal

preme Court clerk.

The move would protect Kagan from future conflicts if her nomination is confirmed by the Senate.

Katyal was an undergrad at Dartmouth and graduated from Yale University Law School. He joined the Solicitor General's Office in January 2009, and has argued six cases before the high court as a government attorney.

As a Georgetown University law professor, Katyal successfully argued the landmark de-

tainee rights case Hamdan v.

Rumsfeld, in which a 5-3 majority on the Supreme Court found that the Bush administration's military commissions violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions.

Since joining the Justice Department last year, Katyal successfully defended the Voting Rights Act in Northwest Austin v. Holder.

The Indian American community is eagerly awaiting developments in the US Justice Department in the next several weeks that could well prove to be historical as one of them could become the first Indian American to hold that post Katyal served in the Clinton administration as national security adviser to then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, and clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer.

Katyal previously served as National Security Adviser in the US Justice Department and was commissioned by President

Clinton to write a report on the need for more legal pro bono work.

He also served as Vice President Al Gore's co-counsel in the Su-

Preeta Bansal

preme Court election dispute of 2000.

Katyal was named Lawyer of the Year in 2006 by Lawyers USA, one of the top 50 litigators nationwide 45 years old or younger by American Lawyer (2007), and one of 10 Non-Resident Indian Achievers Worldwide by Hindustan Times. He has also been awarded the Town of Salem, Massachusetts Prize (2007); the ACLU Foundation's Roger Baldwin Award (2007), and the 2004 National Law Journal pro bono award for his work.

If appointed, Preeta Bansal, a former Solicitor General of the State of New York, would not only be the first Indian American to hold the post but also become the first woman US Solicitor General.

Bansal was appointed earlier this year by President Obama as the General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Management and Budget in his administration.

Currently a partner at the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. In New York, Bansal was mentioned as possible Solicitor General when President Obama was naming his various administrative appointments when he took office.

Bansal had also been a Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, serving as Chair from 2004-05.

A Harvard University graduate, Bansal was law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens of the US Supreme Court and has been a Commissioner on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Election Modernization Task Force and serves on numerous nonprofit boards.

Srikanth "Sri" Srinivasan is a noted American lawyer who has argued 17 cases before the US Supreme Court and also is a lecturer at Harvard Law School.

New Indian rules irk Indian-origin US citizens Cont’d from page 1

The surrender certificate is free of any charges if the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. However, if the Indian Passport expired after January 1, 2005 and was not surrendered within three years of obtaining US citizenship, a service fee of $175 would be charged, provided the Indian passport was not used for travel in which case a penalty would also apply.

The Government of India requires completion of a form and payment of fee and penalty, if applicable, for obtaining the surrender certificate. A US citizen of Indian origin applying for an Indian visa, OCI/PIO cards or wanting other consular services may not be able to get any such service without complying with the new rules.

Per Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955, "any citizen of India of full age and capacity, who is also a citizen or national of another country, makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship, the declaration shall be registered by the prescribed authority; and, upon such registration, that person

shall cease to be a citizen of India."

However, Section 9 of the same Act states that, "Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires, or has at any time between the 26th January, 1950 and

GOPIO points out that the provisions for making a declaration of renunciation are separate and distinct from the provisions of termination of citizenship the commencement of this Act voluntarily acquired, the citizenship of another country shall, upon such acquisition or, as the case may be, such commencement, cease to be a citizen of India."

GOPIO points out that the provisions for making a declaration of renunciation are separate and distinct from the provisions of termination of citizenship. While renunciation of citizenship is cov-

ered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955 and has to be applied on a prescribed form, automatic termination of citizenship is covered under Section 9 and requires no formal application to the Indian government.

"Indians in the USA who have acquired American citizenship are covered under section 9 and not under Section 8. But the new rules posted on the consular website postings require that the "Indian passport must be surrendered within 90 days of US naturalization" and 'Surrender Certificate' should be obtained from the nearest Consul General of India.

This rule will be enforced by refusal to grant consular services, such as visa to India, grant of OCI/ PIO card, etc." says GOPIO. "There are several thousand people who have obtained US citizenship over the last sixty years and they have been traveling to India on American passports with Indian visas granted by the same consulates whose websites now have new rules which are applicable retroactively. If the law did exist in the past, Indian consulates in the USA should have asked for the surrender of Indian passports

before granting Indian visas to US citizens of Indian origin.

Requiring Americans of Indian Origin to surrender their Indian passports after the lapse of many years of their naturalization as US citizens, would cause undue hardship and delay in getting consu-

A large majority of the new citizens, having no use for their old Indian passports, may have lost, misplaced or never kept them in their possession after naturalization as US citizens lar services."

In case an applicant has lost, damaged or surrendered his Indian passport to a foreign Government, he/she is now required to furnish certified copies of following documents, as per notice on Indian Consulate website: 1. Details of last held Indian passport (Passport No., Date of

Issue & Place of issue). The onus of providing details rest on the applicant.

2. Official documents submitted to US authority at the time of obtaining US citizenship/naturalization & I -130.

3. Notarized letter explaining reasons for loss.

4. Police report.

GOPIO points out that a large majority of the new citizens, having no use for their old Indian passports, may have lost, misplaced or never kept them in their possession after naturalization as US citizens. The production of these will not be easy and could take months to obtain from the US government and elsewhere, it says.

GOPIO has therefore, urged the Government of India to reconsider the retroactive enforcement of the new rules as many thousands of people who have acquired citizenship of the United States could suffer undue and unnecessary hardship for no fault of their own.

GOPIO has also urged Indian community groups and individuals to write to the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and Secretary Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

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Kapil Sibal to get prestigious US Award India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Kapil Sibal, India's Union Minister for Human Resource Development has been conferred the Stephen P. Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding by the New York based Institute of International Education (IIE).

In a letter to Sibal, Allan E. Goodman, CEO of the IIE has written that this honor is for the minister's "resolute support of global collaboration in education".

On a regular basis, the IIE recognizes outstanding accomplishment in government and education by the award of the Institute's Stephen P. Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding, the highest honor of the institute. The award will be presented at their 2010 International Awards Gala, to be held this Sep-

tember in New York City.

Founded in 1919, IIE is among the world's largest and most experienced international education and training organizations.

On a regular basis, the IIE recognizes outstanding accomplishment in government and education by the award More than 26,000 individuals from 175 countries participate in IIE programs each year. These include the Fulbright Program, which IIE has administered on behalf of the US Department of State since 1947, as well as the Scholar Rescue Fund. Sixty-two

institute grantees, Trustees, and Fulbright alumni have been awarded Nobel Prizes.

In March this year, the IIE had announced the names of ten US colleges and universities that were selected to participate in the pilot group for the International Academic Partnerships Program (IAPP) wherein they would develop institutional linkages with India.

IAPP is one of several IIE initiatives targeted at strengthening higher education bonds between the US and India. Earlier IIE's President Dr. Allan Goodman and Dr. Martha Kanter, the Under Secretary of Education, led a delegation of US higher education leaders in a week-long visit to India, to promote US higher education and to expand linkages with Indian higher education institutions.

Indian mom jumps into Hudson with baby India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Legal experts believe an insanity plea may be a far cry for an Indian American woman living in Manhattan's Upper Westside who last week threw her 18month old bay into the freezing Hudson River before jumping in herself in an apparent attempted murder-suicide.

Devi Silvia Dominic, a 33-yer old immigrant who lived in New York City with her husband Prithviraj Dominic told the police, after being rescued along with her baby following 911 calls from alert citizens who saw her in the water on the morning of May 11, that she was "sad, lonely and angry" with her husband and threw her baby into the river as an act of revenge against him.

The Tamil Nadu native apparently had told family members earlier that she wanted to return to India because she was unhappy and that she had threatened her husband she would go back taking the daughter with her. Prithiviraj is reported to be working for the software company Oracle. The couple also has a six-year old daughter.

At a hearing on May 14, Judge Melissa Jackson, the supervising judge in Manhattan Criminal Court, ordered Devi Silvia to be detained and sub-

jected to psychiatric evaluation.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Robert Hettleman told the court that Devi Silvia had told relatives she wanted to go back to India with her daughter because she was unhappy with her husband's job. The family has moved over the past several months from Chicago to Califor-

The Tamil Nadu native apparently had told family members earlier that she wanted to return to India because she was unhappy and that she had threatened her husband she would go back taking the daughter with her nia before moving to New York.

According to the criminal court, Silvia told a detective "she threw her infant daughter into the river and wanted to die to hurt her husband."

"She told us that she was sad and lonely and angry at her husband, and that she did this horrific act on purpose," Hettleman said as she was arraigned on attempted murder and other

charges.

Arraigned via video link from a hospital in Elmhurst, Queens, where she's being held for psychological evaluation, Silvia listened calmly to Hettleman's account with the help of a Tamil interpreter. Silvia didn't enter a plea and is being held without bail at least until a June 15 court date. If convicted, she could face up to 25 years in prison.

The judge, in her order, forbade the woman from having any contact at all with her little daughter.

On May 11, at about 11.30 am, witnesses saw Silvia abruptly toss the child, Jessica Prithiviraj, into the river off a pedestrian pier on Manhattan's Upper West Side and then leap in herself, police said. A mother out for a stroll on the deck happened to see the empty stroller and upon looking around saw Devi and her baby bobbing in the waters, when she called 911.

"By all accounts, (Silvia) made no attempts to save her baby's life," Hettleman said in the court.

Jessica was blue and motionless when rescuers plucked her and Silvia from the roughly 50degree water, Hettleman said.

The child, however, is in stable condition.

The city Administration for Children's Services is investigating, according to reports.

The Institute's Stephen P. Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding is named after the Institute's first president, a professor of diplomatic history, who

IAPP is one of several IIE initiatives targeted at strengthening higher education bonds between the US and India founded the Institute in 1919 with two Nobel Laureates, Elihu Root and Nicholas Murray Butler.

The award is presented by the Institute's Board of Trustees to distinguished world leaders in the fields of government, educa-

tion and diplomacy in recognition of their lifetime of accomplishment and commitment to the causes that represent the underpinning of the Institute's mission: a deep-seated belief that the world can be made a better and safer place through educational exchange and an understanding and appreciation of other peoples and other cultures.

The Stephen P. Duggan Award was established by IIE in 1990. Among the recipients of the Duggan Award in recognition of their government service include: former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright; former President of France Valery Giscard D' Estaing; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; and former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan.

Manan Trivedi wins Dem primary WASHINGTON: Iraq warveteran Indian-American doctor Manan Trivedi has won the Democratic Party nomination to contest the November elections to the US House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Congressional district.

A doctor-turned war-veteran, Trivedi, 35, defeated Dough Pike, a former local journalist, with a narrow margin of 672 votes; thus earning the right to challenge Republican incumbent Jim Geralch in the November polls for Pennsylvania seat for the US House of Representatives.

Conceding his defeat, Pike in a statement supported Trivedi.

"Manan would be a much better member of Congress than Republican Jim Gerlach, a career politician who has let working families down again and again.

I endorse Manan Trivedi-a doctor and veteran who served on the front lines in Iraq-and I urge my supporters to unite behind him," he said.

The victory of Trivedi surprised many as Pike; nine months ago appeared to be cruising toward the party's nomination.

"Trivedi came on the scene in September as an insurgent candidate, but quickly won over party leaders and rankand-file activists alike, several

Conceding his defeat, Pike in a statement supported Trivedi. "Manan would be a much better member of Congress than Republican Jim Gerlach, a career politician who has let working families down again and again’ of whom changed their endorsements in the race to back Trivedi, a Reading doctor," said the Philadelphia Inquirer.

I think voters across this district made a clear choice for a change in the type of Representation they want in Washington, Trivedi said in a statement.

"People are tired of career politicians and Washington insiders, it's clear that they are looking for a new breed of civil servant.

Someone who has the real world experience to tackle the problems we face and the courage to state their beliefs clearly regardless of which way the political winds are blowing," he said. - PTI

Top Stories

May 28, 2010

Indian admits burning sons to death, sentenced to life CHICAGO: An Indian has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the US after he pleaded guilty to setting afire his two sons, who succumbed to their injuries in 2007.

Kaushik Patel, 37 from Glendale Heights near here entered the guilty plea in DuPage County Circuit Court.

In return for his plea, Patel would not be sentenced to death but would remain behind bars for life, without possibility of parole.

Patel replied "Yes" when Judge Kathryn Creswell told him, "You will die in prison, do you understand that?" DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett agreed not to seek the death penalty after talks with defense attorneys.

"This disposition provides the closure the victims' mother was hoping for. I had to take that into consideration.

Ultimately, I am satisfied with the disposition," he added.

Patel said little during the sentencing hearing, except to acknowledge that he was aware of the punishment being imposed.

He lowered his head and wept softly during the hearing as pros-

ecutors recounted the murders of his sons.

Patel faced first degree murder charges for burning his two sons Vishv 7 and Om, 4 on November 18, 2007.

Patel, who was also injured in the attack but has since recovered, had claimed that he was attempting suicide when the boys ran into the room and accidentally were splashed with gasoline and caught on fire According to the State Attorney, in November 2007 Patel had lured his two young sons into the bathroom of their Glendale Heights home where he then doused them with gasoline and set them on fire.

Later, Patel drove his two boys to a relative's house approximately five miles away where the relative alerted authorities. A couple of

months later, the boys succumbed to their injuries.

Patel, who was also injured in the attack but has since recovered, had claimed that he was attempting suicide when the boys ran into the room and accidentally were splashed with gasoline and caught on fire.

Public defenders had said in August 2008 that Patel was willing to accept a life sentence in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

Birkett had at that time rejected the offer as prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty for Patel.

But last month prosecutors had told the court that Patel would be pleading guilty in return for a life sentence.

He is being held in the DuPage County jail.

The boys' mother Nisha Patel had told the court at a pre-trial hearing earlier that while battling for life in a hospital, Vishv had described to her in detail how Patel had set them on fire.

Patel married Nisha in August 1997 in India and came to the US five years later. They divorced in July 1, 2008. -PTI

India Post

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After Facebook, Pak blocks YouTube for 'objectionable content' ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have blocked video sharing website YouTube for hosting "objectionable content", a day after cutting off access to Facebook over a page featuring blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.

In a statement, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that YouTube had been blocked due to "objectionable content."

It did not give detail about the content.

The PTA directed Internet service providers to block YouTube. By late afternoon, most Internet users were unable to access the site.

The move follows the Lahore High Court's order to block Facebook till May 31 as it acted on a petition filed by the Islamic Lawyers Forum, which had sought a complete ban on the social networking website.

The court directed the Foreign Ministry to raise the issue of the blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Mohammed at international fora. It also asked the Foreign Secretary to register a protest with the concerned countries.

The move follows the Lahore High Court's order to block Facebook till May 31 as it acted on a petition filed by the Islamic Lawyers Forum, which had sought a complete ban on the social networking website Acting on the court's order, the Information Technology Ministry directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block Facebook and all "other Internet links displaying sacrilegious caricatures" of Prophet Mohammed.

The ministry also directed PTA to "remain alert and watchful and block all such links displaying the profane caricatures immediately", an official statement said.

The ministry asked people to inform it about "objectionable caricatures" at any website. -PTI

'US has failed to protect its borders' India Post News Service

NEW YORK: In the context of the issue of illegal immigration to the United States, Prakash Khatri, former Ombudsman at the US Citizenship & Immigration Services at the US Department of Homeland Security, said at a gathering recently that "if a Mexican wishes to migrate to the US today legally, it would take him/her more than 100 years to get an appropriate visa".

Khatri was part of a heated debate on the subject of immigration at the 7th annual roundtable conference of the Association of Americans for Civic Responsibility (AACR) held in Washington DC recently. The theme of the conference was "Tocqueville in 21st Century: Challenges for Democracy in America".

Further on the discussion of immigration, while Dr. Piyush Agrawal of Florida, Vice President of GOPIO- North America, made a distinction between "legal" and "illegal" immigrants and branded the "illegal immigrants" as "law breakers", Prof. Michael Schneider of the Maxwell School remarked on the "Politics of Immigration" and how it has created a "divisive-

ness" and "tension" in our civil society.

Participants unanimously felt that the US-Mexican Border was broken and that the US has failed miserably to protect its borders.

Marc R. Rosenblum, Senior Policy Analyst at Migration Policy Institute and a former member of Obama's Immigration Policy Transition Team gave a thorough review of Historical Perspective of migration to this country from the Colonial Period (1500 - 1760).

He clearly indicated the various reasons for differing immigration policies suited to the particular period including ban on certain geographical regions or people such as Asian Exclusion Act of 1917. He further explained the reasons why at certain times there was a high volume of immigrants to this country and at other times the number was lowest.

He also pointed out migration through Slavery - involuntary migration and the historical importance of Civil Rights Movement.

The conference was titled after Alexis de Tocqueville, an aristocratic Frenchman who studied philosophy and law in France before traveling to America under the pretext of wanting to study

prison reforms in the country. His visit led to the first (1835) and later second (1840) volume of his most well known book entitled Democracy in America, a twovolume study of the American people and their political institutions.

Prakash Khatri, former Ombudsman at the US Citizenship & Immigration Services at the US Department of Homeland Security, said ‘if a Mexican wishes to migrate to the US today legally, it would take him/her more than 100 years to get an appropriate visa’ In his opening remarks, Dr. Joy Cherian, Founding President of AACR emphasized the importance of civic responsibility in our lives and how it should be a core value in a civil society worthy of a noble pursuit during the 21st century.

Dr. Thomas E. Mann, Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations spoke on Effective Governance; how several factors such as terrorism, decline of trust in government, fiscal irresponsibility, lack of consistent immigration policy, divisiveness of healthcare programs, Wall Street greed, and the failure of the "Bail Out" policy have negatively contributed to the effectiveness of governance in America.

"We must find a way to regain the trust of American people in the government and perhaps a bipartisan Commission may pull the government together," he stated.

Dr. Christian Dorsey, Director of External & Governmental Affairs at the Economic Policy Institute spoke on Equality.

Dorsey's thesis on "Inequality of Opportunity" whether related to economic growth, race based considerations, or depending upon educational achievements highlighted the phenomenon of social discontent in American society. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the polarization of

the country.

Dr. David M. Anderson, Senior Vice President, State and Congressional Relations, the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars spoke on Civic Engagement. Dr. Anderson started with a dichotomy of Civic Engagement and Digital Technology Isolation and posed the question "Is internet helping to solve America's social problems?"

To him, technology is "value neutral" but has been effectively used by terrorists, used in identity theft, used in influencing political outcomes. At the same time, it has been put to some good use in civic engagement; for example, 46% campaign contributions during 2008 elections came through internet. The internet system has made a great impact on volunteerism.

Throughout the Conference the idea of what Tocqueville would have thought of USA today vis-à-vis his thoughts of USA as written by him in his book "Democracy in America" published in 1835, was discussed.

The Conference was hosted

by Syracuse University and Sponsored by Hill & Knowlton.

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SCORE opposes Arizona's Immigration Law nation was based on and is continually renewed by the hard work and contributions of immigrants."

It said, "SCORE calls on individuals, civic leaders, government officials, and like-minded organizations to urge the Arizona legislature to reconsider its approach

India Post News Service

WASHINGTON: The Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) has associated itself with concerns expressed by interfaith and civil rights groups about Arizona's recently enacted immigration law. In a press release it said SCORE stands with Hispanics and all other immigrant communities in Arizona who may be subject to the state's divisive and disappointing stance on immigration.

Under Arizona's new law, police officers may demand papers of anyone who is "reasonably suspected" of being an illegal immigrant. This law is based on the viewpoint that anyone of color or with an accent may be in the United States illegally. It enables the police to act on this stereotype and profile anyone in Arizona who may have a darker skin complexion, appears foreign, or speaks differently. "I firmly and fully agree with the President that this law is misguided," stated Dr. Rajwant Singh, SCORE's Executive Director.

Arizona lawmakers subsequently passed an amendment to the law, requiring that an individual be lawfully stopped before he or she may be asked to produce immigration papers, thus giv-

ing the impression that immigrant communities will be protected from police abuses. But this amendment is not a meaningful safeguard. The police may stop individuals for the most trivial and minor infractions as an excuse to demand papers from a minority.

"The law not only pits immigrants against the police, but creates social distance between immigrant and non-immigrant communities," observed Dawinder S. Sidhu, SCORE's special counsel on

legal affairs. The law effectively encourages immigrants to be viewed with suspicion and not as complete, accepted members of the United States.

Arizona's discriminatory position on immigration may spread to other states. In fact, at least ten other states are considering laws similar to Arizona's, including Maryland. Thousands and thousands of immigrants around the nation may be profiled and harassed as a result. "We must voice

LeT trained NY bomber to fight in Kashmir WASHINGTON: Pakistani-American group had anything to do with the May 1 Faisal Shahzad, arrested in connection with foiled attack in New York's Times Square.

"We told him we wanted to send him to botched Times Square car bombing plot in New York was trained by LeT in a terrorist Kashmir to fight the Indian occupation. But camp in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir to be he refused. He said he wanted to fight infiltrated into the Indian side, a top com- Americans and that Afghanistan is where mander of the terror group has said. he wanted to go.

We were hesitant... But we told him, okay, But, the 30-year-old son of a former Pakistani Air Vice Marshal wanted to go to Af- do your training and we'll see after that," he said. ghanistan to fight US troops.

"He wanted to do someShahzad, financial ana- ‘He wanted to do thing big," the LeT comlyst in Connecticut, visited something big,’ mander said. For us, that was dangerous. We don't Pakistan in mid-June 2006 to the LeT comwant attention on us, and receive training at a camp we were worried that belonging to LeT, according mander said. ‘For to the commander at LeT's us, that was danShahzad's personal agenda main base of operations in gerous. We don't would get him captured and Dulai, a village 25 km south bring the spotlight on us."

He said that Shahzad was of Muzaffarabad, the capi- want attention on brought to the LeT camp by tal of Pakistan-occupied us, and we were another member of the orKashmir. worried’ "Shahzad came to us for ganization. training... He stayed with us "He was an eager refor three months and we provided him with cruit... Very intelligent but also very intense, the basics. Then he went back to the US," and driven to make his mark for the sake of the commander was quoted as saying by Islam," he said. the Canadian magazine Maclean which did Shahzad was arrested at John F Kennedy not named him.

International Airport in New York, while he The LeT commander, however, denied his was trying to flee to Pakistan via Dubai. -PTI

our concerns before it is too late and we must show our support for any immigrant group that may be negatively affected," added Dr. Singh.

The press statement says, "SCORE's objection to Arizona's law may be traced to core Sikh principles, in which justice for all is sought, and to Sikh history, in which the Sikh Gurus sacrificed themselves for the fair and equal treatment of non-Sikhs. It also stems from a recognition that this

The press statement says, ‘SCORE's objection to Arizona's law may be traced to core Sikh principles, in which justice for all is sought, and to Sikh history, in which the Sikh Gurus sacrificed themselves for the fair and equal treatment of non-Sikhs’ to immigration. It also invites the federal government to enter this field and explicitly preempt Arizona's laws and any similar state laws which threaten the welfare and equal treatment of all immigrants."

SCORE is also part of a broader interfaith immigration coalition working for the rights of the immigrants in America.

India bids to get back lost treasures KOLKATA: India is seeking UNESCO support for an international campaign to recover its priceless antiquities that were once taken away from the country in foreign invasions, a senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India said.

"As efforts so far to reclaim stolen treasures have proved futile, UNESCO support is required for launching an international campaign to achieve the end," ASI Director General Gautam Sengupta told PTI here.

Sengupta, who attended the Cairo conference of archaeological heads of countries last month, said India had expressed its wish to get back the stolen treasures like the exquisite Kohinoor, taken away by the British and now in the Tower of London, besides Birmingham Buddha, Amravati railings, Saraswati idol (stolen from Bhoj temple) and many other lost valuables.

He said the whereabouts of fabled Peacock throne, looted during raid by Nadir Shah and taken to Persia, were not immediately available.

"Information is that most of the precious antique items which we lost in raids, attacks or loots during foreign invasions in the preindependence period are spread over museums, mostly in European countries," he said.

Sengupta said the Cairo conference called for a suitable international law to ban

export or ownership of stolen antiquities acquired after 1970.

This would help in preventing acquisition of stolen treasures of any particular country.

The ASI chief said Egypt had incurred huge loss in terms of stolen antiquities, which it desperately seeks to get back.

"Not only India, various other countries like Mexico, Peru, China and Bolivia, Cyprus and Guatemala also voiced the same concern to get back their stolen and looted antiquities and to join the international campaign," Sengupta said.

The Peacock throne inlaid with precious stones was created in the 17th century for Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who had placed the Kohinoor diamond and kept it at the Diwan-i-aam in his imperial capital of Delhi.

It was taken away by invader Nadir Shah to Persia in 1739 and after his assassination in 1747 the original throne was lost in the chaos that ensued.

The Saraswati image is believed to have been at a temple at Bhojsala set up by Raja Bhoj (1010-1053), a Parmar king who spent his life institutionalizing culture, creating knowledge banks and developing centers for art and spirituality, in the town of Dhar in Madhya Pradesh. -PTI

JS BEDI India Post News Service

HOLLYWOOD: 14 year old California teen Racquelle Heffernan, whose mother was born and raised in Mumbai, got a dream of her life recording the opening track for renowned Bollywood composer Bappi Lahiri and his new album World Peace, Love and Harmony.

"I guess I sort of represent the blending of East and West because my mother was born and raised in India and my father is Irish and Italian and raised in California," said Racquelle. She is a first honors eighth grader in Santa Monica who

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Racquelle Heffernan

Bappi discovery in Hollywood travels to India regularly to visit her aunts in Mumbai and Goa. Lahiri's new album is a magnificent blend of jazz, R & B and raags with tabla and sitar, that also features American saxophone great Gerald Albright along with The Waters Sisters, who have toured with everyone from Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, Donna Summer, and currently Neil Diamond.

India's first Grammy Award winner Vishwamohan Bhatt (1994) has also joined the exciting project.

"It's an honor to be among such

great talent and it was a lot of fun to work with Bappi who knows how to bring out the best in your talent and create top performance," said Racquelle who has recorded the opening track to the album called Love Harmony which includes a Latin version of Ave Maria which introduces an inspiring melodic blend of world music.

"My mother asked Bappi to listen to me sing this Latin tune a cappella which is a little daunting, given you have no musical backup, and he was very impressed," said

‘I guess I sort of represent the blending of East and West because my mother was born and raised in India and my father is Irish and Italian and raised in California’ said Racquelle

Racquelle. Lahiri echoed Racquelle's observation saying that when he first heard her singing the Ave Maria his hair on his arm stood on end. "It was just beautiful, innocent and very, very moving," he said.

Lahiri hopes to submit his new album for a Grammy nomination later this year as he is completing the final tracks. He holds a record of recording 461 film scores during his more than 30-year career in Bollywood. For Racquelle, who will be relocating to Mumbai this summer to do some recording for

Bollywood, it is the start of a great future. "I always wanted to sing professionally. I sing with my school choir, I've sung for a few gatherings in Los Angeles, but the history of Rusk Studios and the artists who have recorded there is a highlight I will always remember.

Rusk Studios has been home to past album work by Donna Summer, Elton John, Billy Idol and even Laura Branigan. I guess I have to thank my mom for all her confidence in me and convincing Lahiri to hear me sing," she said.

Tania James- a rare, riveting, new writer PREM KISHORE

T

ania James in her astonishing, debut The sisters are given full range to explore their novel 'Atlas of the Unknowns' is the destinies and we are carried along on a torrent of newest, compelling star on the literary visuals, sprawling exciting plot lines and twist and horizon .Her writing career has taken off dra- turn along with these women as they struggle with matically with her first novel. Her refreshing, conflicts and yearn for freedoms. Spontaneity colstrong, perceptive voice will herald many more lides with realism as Tania James paints the pages dazzling stories in the years with variations, precise, irregular, Atlas of the Unknowns to come. What is amazing is swooping, arched, undulating diathat this young writer, with Published by Knopf Doubleday logue and character with cerebral Kerala roots draws with agilcomposure, yet energetic and vibrant, ity and intelligence. Her detailed perceptions always conjuring new forms and full of surprises. of Indian traditions in a landscape of colors, The sisters explore, love, betrayals, conflicting odors, textures, flavors and juxtaposes it with languages, cultures, while discovering what they American life : sharp comic insights into im- really mean to each other. Both sisters are unforgetmigration while weaving an intriguing, can- table. Linn, a gifted artist is maimed in a childhood not put down novel revolving around the accident.

Cont’d on page 11 psyche of two sisters.

Tania James

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Sunny Jain emerges with new jazz album India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is releasing 'Taboo' the latest in a jazz album from Sunny Jain of the Red Baarat fame.

Jain is a leading voice in an emerging movement of South Asian-American jazz musicians who bring together America's greatest original art form and the ancient and modern sounds of their cultural heritage.

Touted as an Indian-American trailblazer in establishing the contemporary music of Indo-Jazz, Jain has released five CD's since 2002 that have received international acclaim for their "groundbreaking synthesis" (Coda Magazine). With his new recording on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, Ta-

poems that have their origins in the Arabian Peninsula and eventually made their way to India in the 12th century.

Ultimately, I wasn't looking to create compositions based around love poems, but rather utilize the writings of modern day poets and lyricists in addressing the said issues."

Jain draws inspiration from the musical sensibilities of modern India, in addition to ancient classical forms. His Punjabi roots and appreciation for Bollywood classics are audible in the work. Allusions to Indian dance rhythms find resonance with many forms of jazz in the group's performances.

Each composition on Taboo draws upon a specific Indian raga in order to present a mood specific to each work. While the mu-

Sunny leads Red Baraat, a one-of-kind dhol 'n' brass band melding the infectious North Indian rhythm Bhangra with funk, soca, and dramatic improvisatory conducting.

His Sunny Jain Collective has been touted as a leading voice for the new music Indo Jazz boo, Jain "stakes out singular turf in this 21st Century world of cross-pollinating musical traditions" (Signal to Noise).

Jain's Taboo presents seven sparkling new jazz works inspired by ghazals (an ancient poetic form), that address social justice issues. Jain explains further, "This project started through a desire and a sense of obligation to use my music as a platform to address social justice issues permeating the world, and that specifically speak to the South Asian community, where these matters are often considered "taboo": sexual orientation, inequality and violence upon women, and the juxtaposition of religions. The artistic inspiration was derived from ghazals -- love

sic in its entirety is influenced by the Indian and African Diasporas, the players bring their own unique musical personalities, and collectively, they aim to blur the lines of genre.

Jain brings together four of the most in demand, cutting-edge jazz musicians in the world today, himself (on drums and dhol), pianist Marc Cary, guitarist Nir Felder and bassist Gary Wang, with five internationally acclaimed vocalists of the South Asian Diaspora, Achyut Joshi, Sheetal Karhade, Samita Sinha, Sachal Vasandani and YaliniDream, plus singer/songwriter Shayna Steele, presenting a true genre-bend that cuts a beautiful new tributary flowing into

Sunny Jain

the Indo-jazz river. "At the end, I hope this music reflects the creativity of humans, connects to your heart, and inspires you to greater heights of goodness towards all living beings," said Jain.

From the resounding hall of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, to the intimate setting of Smalls Jazz Club in New York City, to the massive applause on festival stages in India, Sunny Jain is a highly respected drummer, composer and educator.

Born to Punjabi immigrant parents and raised in Rochester, New York Sunny has become an Indian-American musical trailblazer.

Sunny leads Red Baraat, a one-of-kind dhol 'n' brass band melding the infectious North Indian rhythm Bhangra with funk, soca,

and dramatic improvisatory conducting. His Sunny Jain Collective has been touted as a leading voice for the new music Indo Jazz (a movement of first-generation South Asians equally steeped in the jazz tradition and the music of their cultural heritage).

In 2002 Sunny Jain was selected as a Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and The Kennedy Center. He is the recipient of the Arts International Award (2003 and 2005), Chamber Music America New Works grant, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and performed at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize concert with the famed Sufi-rock group, Junoon.

In 2008, Sunny was commissioned by the Aaron Copland Fund to record his new CD on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Record, Taboo.

3 Idiots screened at the UN India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Spice Indian Club (Society for Promotion of Indian Culture and Experience) under the United Nations Staff Recreation Council held a successful screening of the Bollywood blockbuster '3 Idiots' as its first initiative towards the series of 'Meet the Makers' of the best of Bollywood which was held in the ECOSOC Council of the United Nations headquarters for all of the UN staff on May 14.

Nearly 500 Bollywood fans, national and international staff along with their families and friends, gathered in the large conference room, eager not only to watch one of the most popular and awarded movies of the year, but also to personally meet and interact with the makers, Director and Writer Rajkumar Hirani and Screenplay Writer Abhijat Joshi to

get the inside stories and their perspective of the film.

Hirani and Joshi shared their gratitude for having been invited

Following the film screening was a Q & A session with the makers when Hirani and Joshi shared the anecdotes of "behind the scenes" experience while making the film, and highlighted its source of inspiration to screen their film to the UN audience and were excited to see such an overwhelming re-

sponse by the international community. During the two and a half hours screening of the film (with English sub-titles) on two large screens, the makers sat amidst the audience.

Following the film screening was a Q & A session with the makers when Hirani and Joshi shared the anecdotes of "behind the scenes" experience while making the film, and highlighted its source of inspiration of the story, the difficulties they faced and also how they selected the stars to fit the characters.

Citibank NRI Business-US sponsored the event.

"The feedback on the event has been overwhelming and very encouraging for us as a Club," said SPICE Club president Promela Suri.

"While we explore more avenues to mirror the Indian culture, we thank everyone for making this event a memorable one."

May 28, 2010

India Post

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Kites - biggest ever release for an Indian film globally India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Reliance BIG Pictures and Rakesh Roshan's eagerly awaited romantic film 'Kites' released on May 21 in over 2300 screens worldwide. Of these over 1800 screens are in India and over 500 screens overseas, making

phase, it will release in additional 30 countries, which include various non-traditional markets.

Due to unprecedented advance bookings in the US, Reliance BIG Pictures announced the film will open one day early with special 8pm shows on Thursday, May 20, in selected theaters nationwide.

Hrithik Roshan & Suzanne Roshan at Odeon Westend in London

directed by Hollywood filmmaker Brett Ratner will release May 28.

New York premiere

Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan at London Premiere of Kites

'Kites' the biggest ever Indian release till date globally.

In its first phase, 'Kites' released in India, US, UK, UAE, Australia, South Africa and 30 other countries on May 21. In the second

Theaters include many of the BIG Cinemas locations in California, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia and Georgia.

The shorter, international version of the film, Kites: The Remix,

In New York, Kites premiered at the AMC Empire 25 Theater in Manhattan on May 16, with the entire Roshan family - Rakesh Roshan, wife Pinky, brother Rajesh Roshan, who is also the music composer of Kites, Hrithik and wife Suzanne, besides lead actress Barbara Mori, director Anurag Basu in attendance.

Some of the prominent guests that turned out in support included Karan Johar, Rajkumar Hirani and Mira Nair.

Hrithik created quite a stir among the hundreds of fans who gathered near the theater, when he spontaneously sprinted across the busy Times Square street where they stood behind barricades, to indulge them with autographs, photographs, hand shakes and even generous hugs.

Owing to the heavy rush of fans at the venue, the organizers hurriedly hired a second, 500-seat theater to accommodate them at the last minute.

Starring Hrithik Roshan with

Mexican actress Barbara Mori in an intensely romantic story directed by Anurag Basu, 'Kites' is a one-of-its kind film produced in India, with Reliance BIG Pictures

Hrithik created quite a stir among the hundreds of fans who gathered near the theater, when he spontaneously sprinted across the busy Times Square street where they stood behind barricades, to indulge them with autographs, photographs, hand shakes and even generous hugs executing the marketing and release of the film on a truly international scale.

The lead cast and crew of the film went all out to promote the film in

New York and London with Mori and Bret Ratner doing additional promotion in Miami and Los Angeles.

In New York, besides the backto-back media interviews, Hrithik interacted with fans at a meet-nGreet in Manhattan.

Brands such as Reliance Mobile, BIG FM, Acer, Provogue, Zapak, Bookmyshow and Ibibo have participated in the marketing and promotion activities of 'Kites'. The film is being aggressively marketed with an innovative and extensive outdoor, TV, print and online campaign to ensure maximum visibility.

According to Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance BIG Pictures, "Kites is a film which has a team of winners behind it - an extremely talented and versatile star cast, an incredibly gifted director and of course, Rakesh Roshan. The movie's universally appealing story is sure to enthrall viewers across the world and it deserves the largest release, not just in India, but also overseas. We have immense faith in the film and have supported it to the fullest in terms of marketing and distribution."

Tania James- a rare, riveting, new writer Cont’d from page 9

Anju, her sister is an achiever and both dream of coming to America. Anju wins the scholarship to get to the US by trickery and arrives in New York, "stepping on American soil with its slick game-show sheen,'' and is thrust into a frustrating landscape of immigrant problems.

Linno meanwhile shocked by the deception of her sister, is wres-

tling with her own conflicts, remaining true to herself. We tarry in Kerala with its coir mats, and congregations who "rise and sit, sit and rise the soles of their feet stamped with waffled patterns, so they can walk into the world weak-kneed but blessed." India is also the place of the Visa God, Shri Balaji. A hundred thousand worshippers per week walk eleven laps around the temple and when closing hour comes,

they jog hoping that Shri Balaji would grant them the American visa. More fodder for foreign people to make fun?

No, says a man, explaining the irrational manner of visa officers in the US consulate issuing visas. "No, we are not the irrational ones. With so many applications, how can they use logic? There is no logic. Totally random. And where there is randomness, there is room for reli-

gion."

The pages rustle with hilarity, tragedy, sadness, and an endearing charm as we swing between two countries India and the United States while plunging into the world of green cards, bikini waxing, the mystery of a mother's death, and the separate worlds of two sisters and their personal demons.

Tania James is always snapping you back to attention with

her excellent story telling devices and there's good reason to believe that she will be back quickly with her second novel.

Tania James was raised in Kentucky, graduated from Harvard University and received her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from Columbia's School of the Arts. She lives in New York City.

Vintage Books has published the book as a trade paperback.

In Brief Immigration debate over college student ATLANTA: In the roughly six weeks since she was arrested for driving without a license, the case of Jessica Colotl, an illegal immigrant and college student in suburban Atlanta, has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate.

The Kennesaw State University senior's situation has drawn an outcry from people on both sides.

The American Civil Liberties Union, upset that she was detained under a section of immigration law it believes should be reserved for violent criminals, contacted the Department of Homeland Security on her behalf.

Palin joins Arizona gov. to defend immigration law PHOENIX: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called on Americans to declare ``we are all Arizonans'' and support the state's tough crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Palin appeared with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer at a brief news conference in Phoenix.

Palin, the former Alaska governor, says there is ``a great deal of misinformation'' about Arizona's law and said fears of racial profiling are unfounded.

The event also launched a Brewer campaign Web site that the governor said was an effort to educate America about border security and discourage an economic boycott of the state.

Palin is in Phoenix for a previously scheduled speech to a hunters group. -AP

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Univision forum held on Arizona's immigration law MIAMI: Detractors and defenders of Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration are airing their views in a lively town-hall style meeting broadcast by the Spanish-language network Univision.

The forum was held in the wake of Arizona passing a law some fear could lead to racial profiling.

Comprehensive immigration reform possible GARY ENDELMAN & CYRUS D. MEHTA

I

n shock at the overtly racist profiling now sanctioned by the State of Arizona, the Democratic Party has turned to comprehensive immigration reform to pay off its political debt to the vast and growing body of Hispanic voters whose allegiance may determine our national electoral map for decades to come.

That is why Senators Reid, Durbin, Schumer, Leahy, Feinstein & Menendez introduced the aptly named REPAIR proposal otherwise known more completely as the Real Enforcement with Practical Answers for Immigration Reform Act. While the prospects for ultimate enactment remain highly uncertain, the commitment by the Democratic Party to moving on CIR is an event of singular importance and one that deserves serious consideration.

This proposal might also be called the "Indian and Chinese PhD Relief Act" because relief for these folks is precisely what it would provide. The per country cap would be lifted for those foreign-born scholars who earned advanced degrees from US universities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the now sacrosanct STEM cordon sanitaire.

There is the slight matter of having a job offer from a US employer in a related field but that is mere detail.

We do not know if these lucky few would be able to apply directly for adjustment of status to lawful

permanent resident given the immediate availability of a green card number or whether they would still have to qualify under one of the existing employment categories such as national interest waiver, outstanding researcher, extraordinary ability or on the basis of labor certification.

What is clear, however, and perhaps most importantly, is that the tyranny of priority dates under which the prospect of gaining green card status had become a cruel dream has now been overthrown. No longer does the priority date regime

possibility of extensions. Numerical caps will be placed on both H and L sponsorship for large employers and all H employers must face both more investigations and more restrictive wage methodology so Wage Levels I and II are likely no longer to be available.

The prospect of further government intrusion in the form of more and more frequent H and L investigations also clouds the happy horizon.

It is ironic that Congress would select the REPAIR bill as the vehicle to deliver such punishment

Most ominous is the Orwellian sounding "Commission on Employment-Based Immigration" which is invested with the awesome power to declare an immigration emergency and issue Olympian edicts have legal relevance. Praise the Lord!

REPAIR also ends the unconscionable injustice of separating lawful permanent residents from their families for years on end by treating such dependents as immediate relatives free of quota restrictions which is precisely what they should and now will be.

Bravo Congress! Before we get too excited, we would do well to remember that significant new burdens would cripple the H-1B and L1 categories.

L-1B specialized knowledge workers are limited to one year, though the statute is silent on the

at the same time as they are making the H1B less relevant. Indeed, if STEM Master's and PhD graduates from our top schools can apply right away for the green card, and since STEM F-1 visas will now enjoy dual intent, why would anyone in his or her right mind seek H-1B sponsorship at all?

Most ominous is the Orwellian sounding "Commission on Employment-Based Immigration" which is invested with the awesome power to declare an immigration emergency and issue Olympian edicts to which a hapless Congress must say "yea" or

"neigh". A concept born in the brain of the AFL-CIO and former Carter Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall, this Commission places all of employment-based immigration on the chopping block, even the priority date relief noted above.

What of those who live in the shadows? For them, REPAIR offers "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" (LPI) status in two phases.

First comes the right to live, work and travel for eight years. Then, once all current green card visa backlogs have been cleared out, one can apply for adjustment of status after learning English, mastering civics, paying back taxes with penalties, registering for Selective Service and passing security checks. Glad the rest of us don't have to do all that!

How will the magic of backlog elimination weave its spell? Well, a massive infusion of new numbers on the family side of the ledger should help some. What about employment-based waiting lines?

Ah, here, REPAIR is strangely silent. What are we to assume from this? Will LPI adjustments take precedence over EB-3 cases where the employer has demonstrated the absence of qualified, willing and available US workers?

Will they come ahead of EB-2 applicants from China or India whose work has been found to be in the national interest?

Cont’d on page 13

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Comprehensive immigration reform possible Congress should step up to the plate and provide the same green card relief on the employment side of the ledger. The fact that REPAIR does not do that once again illustrates the pervasive yet unspoken belief that family migration is worthy of our compassionate concern while employment migration has no claim on our conscience or our sense of national priorities.

If Congress does not do the right thing, what then? That is where executive fiat can help make CIR possible in two key ways.

First, as we have discussed at length previously (Tyranny of Priority Dates, http://drop.io/ E n d e l m a n M e h t a Ty r a n nyofPriorityDates/m) the USCIS can largely eliminate EB backlogs by eliminating family members from the cap, an approach that can be supported by textual reinterpre-

The very notion of visa availability can be redefined to allow for provisional submissions that can be advanced in the absence of current priority dates following I-140 approval tation and legislative history. Second, the very notion of visa availability can be redefined to allow for provisional submissions that can be advanced in the absence of current priority dates following I-140 approval.

If we allow those who have been here without color of law to apply for green cards as lawful prospective immigrants, which we strongly support, there is no reason in law or logic to prevent those who are in legal status from also prospectively seeking to get LPR status.

Allowing adjustment of status applications for EB beneficiaries after I 140 approval but conditioning final approval of same upon a current priority date is the perfect book-end to the LPI program.

It is something that can be done entirely through Executive Fiat

and the effect of which would be to wipe away the EB backlog which very presence could indefinitely delay the implementation of the LPI initiative. What's not to like? Now that Congress has taken the first tentative steps on

the road to real immigration reform, why not use all the weapons at our disposal to make it happen? * Cyrus D Mehta, may be contacted at 212-425-0555 or info@cyrusmehta.com

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Chhagan Bhujbal optimistic about India & Maharashtra Thus, this provides employment to the people in India, and the industries earn profit, leading to the development of India. The number of factories is growing; industries from all over the world US, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and

MAHENDRA THAKKAR India Post Correspondent in Maharashtra

NASHIK: On May 1 this year Maharashtra completed 50 years of statehood. In these 50 years it has developed incredibly in all sectors. The State has maintained its power and prestige and is speedily marching towards advancement. And the government that came in to power each time played a very important role in bringing up Maharashtra's progress.

Chaggan Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and one of the leaders of Nationalist Congress Party, enlightens us about the developments in Maharashtra and the opportunities for FDI in the State.

Here is a candid interview with Chaggan Bhujbal.

Q. According to you what is the current state of international business in Maharashtra?

A. Today businesses in America have reached a saturation point, as there is hardly any market for automobile companies or mobile companies for example. As each and every person owns these already, there is no reason for them

Chhagan Bhujbal, Dy CM of Maharashtra

to buy these over and over again.

Thus, the market for products like these is down, as there are not many buyers. However, these businesses have a very huge market in most of the developing countries, where the demand for the same continues to be high. In India, there is an ever-growing market for all the luxurious products, automobiles as well as latest technologies.

Also, raw material necessary for major factories is available in

India today. We have many national and international industries in India, especially places like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik. 80% of these industries are in Maharashtra today. And the reason behind this is very simple, there are large number of colleges and institutes providing internationally recognized courses which produce excellent students. The best among these students are recruited by the multinational companies as well as the big industries. Also manpower is very much affordable in India as it is cheaper compared to the US.

Maharashtra has developed immensely, and with the kind of FDI that flows in, it is bound to reach much greater heights.

Thus, all those entrepreneurs and industrialists who wish to invest in Maharashtra are more than welcome even Switzerland are investing in India today.

Q. Don't you think the population of India is a barrier in the progress of the nation as compared to the population of the US? A. US is far bigger than India with lesser population. However, the fact is that by 2020 the youth population of India will be well educated and powerful, and will be active participant in the development of India.

In striking contrast to the low population of America, the high population (educated youth) of India in the near future will play a key role in the growth of India's economy.

So, by 2020 India is going to make available the most useful, powerful and educated youth to the world.

Q. Where do you see Maharashtra in the next 25 years?

A. Maharashtra's progress is so amazing, that it can be compared with the other big and small countries rather than the states within India itself. The state has developed in terms of infrastructure, education, educational institutions and manpower. Again, there is a very heavy flow of FDI in Maharashtra. Today, it is prepared to face any kind of challenges.

Q. What message do you have for the Indian-Americans living in the US? A. I wish to give a message to all the Indian-Americans that Maharashtra has developed immensely, and with the kind of FDI that flows in, it is bound to reach much greater heights.

Thus, all those entrepreneurs and industrialists who wish to invest in Maharashtra are more than welcome.

Gaekwads are former rulers of state of Baroda, one of the most Progressive Princely States In British India

BRIDGE TO FUTURE: A view of the Bandra-Worli Sealink in Mumbai. The eight-lane 5.6 km long bridge is designed to ease traffic congestion in the city and has become one of its new landmarks

May 28, 2010

19 India Post

May 28, 2010

20 India Post

Gujarat: Fifty years ago and after Modi took over of 70 pilgrims coming back from Ayodhya at Godhra by the hands of a few communal zealots, who burnt a bogie used by the pilgrims returning from Ayodhya.

Live TV and other media ran this incident naturally inciting passion.

Affected friends and relatives of the dead did resort to violence. Only the opposition parties tried to make political issue out of it, blaming

SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: The State of Gujarat came into existence fifty years ago.

There has been progress in Gujarat after its establishment but the jump start has come only in the past ten to twelve years which is when Narendra Modi took over the reins of the government.

There is no doubt that Gujarat has made more progress during the last ten years than all forty years before. Figures speak for themselves. Let us look at the GDP. It grew at the rate of over 10% a year. Ten years ago, the farm production was about 10,000 crores rupee-wise, in 2009 it jumped to 53,000 crores, i.e. five fold increase in agriculture.

Punjab and Haryana along with Andhra Pradesh had been the agricultural hub of India. Thank God for the Narmada Project. In Saurashtra people were getting very little electricity now it goes all over Gujarat most of the day. It is likely that there will be uninterrupted electric supply in three years. There could be a blackout in Delhi, but not any more in Gujarat. Electricity production increased from 6500 W to over 20000 W. To this just add five-fold growth of agriculture and more than double increase in industrial production in last eight years.

As for India's great leap to IT technology, names usually cropping up would be Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, but now there is an addition -

The ingenuity of Chief Minister Narendra Modi has made it possible for Tatas to decide setting up their Nano plant in Gujarat, which comes as a great boon to the State possibly creating nearly a million jobs

Dr Bharat Barai (left) accepting Kalash at the hands of Chief Minister Modi during Swarnim celebrations in Gujarat

Gujarat. There was not even one day of loss because of strikes or industrial unrest in Gujarat. Industrial peace has given tremendous impetus to all round growth of Gujarat.

The ingenuity of Chief Minister Narendra Modi has made it possible for Tatas to decide setting up their Nano plant in Gujarat, which comes as a great boon to the State

possibly creating nearly a million jobs. This will no doubt catapult the tremendous surge in economic activities of the State, seldom buoyed to this extent before.

Today international flights are going and emanating from Ahmedabad, beginning with India's own Air-India. It is likely that many international Airlines will follow suit and share the prosperity of Gujarat,

where people are experiencing great economic growth.

Most parts of our country witnessed communal riots, but not Gujarat after the unfortunate episode two years ago which took lives of both Muslims but Hindus as well. But as the subsequent report submitted by the special commission suggests the flare-up was the direct cause of savage killings

everyone including the Chief Minister. It is sad that communal tension keeps flaring up in India. Especially when it happened in Gujarat undue importance is given compared to when it happens in other states and cities like Bihar, Hyderabad or Jammu.

It is to the credit of the majority people of Gujarat they understand their Chief Minister. It is a fact again that all the communities under Modi rule now live more peacefully and without communal tension.

Cont’d on page 27

Hemant Patel - proud son of Gujarat bags Ellis Medal PRAKASH M SWAMY

NEW YORK: Dr. Hemant Patel, a former president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), has added one more feather into growing cap of his achievements. He was awarded one of the most prestigious Awards Ellis Island Medal of Honor that put him in the company of likes of six past US Presidents including Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of Defense Colin Powell and many US celebrities.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are awarded annually to a group of distinguished American citizens who exemplify a life dedicated to community service.

People who preserve and celebrate the history, traditions and values of his/her ancestry and who dedicate themselves to creating a better world for the society at large.

Dr Patel said that he is humbled and honored to hear the news of

getting the most prestigious award bestowed on immigrants in the US. "The award will help my resolve to do more for the US and India and make the two nations

As President of AAPI between 2007-2008, Dr Patel worked hard to bring the physicians of both nations together on a common platform and that resulted in the first Indo-US Healthcare Summit in New Delhi a happy place to live under the sun. I firmly believe that every citizen should give back to the community by way of saying thanks. But for the community, society and nation we would be nowhere," he said.

Dr. Hemant Patel with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi

"I thank Bob Miglani of Pfizer who recommended my name for the award."

As President of AAPI between 2007-2008, Dr Patel worked hard to bring the physicians of both nations together on a common

platform and that resulted in the first Indo-US Healthcare Summit in New Delhi.

Dr. Patel, chairman of the AAPI Charitable Foundation of the Federation of AAPI Physicians of New York and New Jersey, is respon-

sible for implementing the Sevak project in Gujarat where the foundation has adopted at least one village in every district to screen all the people and provide total healthcare to the needy and the poor.

His stewardship in AAPI is being considered as a golden period.

He pointed out that the success of the project has invited wholesome praise from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also.

As founding chairman of the Indian American Committee, Dr. Patel helped bring the people of India and the US together. He was also invited as a guest speaker and delegate at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference in New Delhi in January 2010.

A pulmonary critical care specialist in Essex County in New Jersey, Dr. Patel is working on setting up 60 free dialysis centers in India to treat critically renal failure patients under the aegis of AAPI Foundation and Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

May 28, 2010

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21 India Post

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May 28, 2010

22 India Post

Thank you Modi, for turning Gujarat into Swarnbhoomi: Dr. Meshri SURENDRA ULLAL

TULSA: I have been going to Gujarat several times a year.

Ahmedabad is more advanced than ever before. You will see progress all around, in business, in education, in technology, in infrastructure, it looks almost unbelievable.

What Nara Chandrabau Naidu, a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh did in his State and Hyderabad in particular, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is doing in Gujarat and Ahmedabad Gandhinagar in particular. Without prejudice I may add that perhaps Modi is a step ahead of Naidu.

For example the "Fast Transit Plan"; the road that goes round the city of Ahmedabad is used only by emergency vehicles, public transportation, police and taxies among the others.

He reorganized public education, with special emphasis on educating girls and arresting their dropout rate. Now it is at par with private education. He has taken pains

to improve infrastructure and one of the outcome is pouring in of overseas investment Modi did it! The cities are great beneficiaries. The development of real estate is outpacing others. High investment return is a great source of investment for the NRIs. Real Estate is growing exponentially; drawing into the cities affluent

be developed. Some attention is being paid to this direction by the government. Pharmacy, especially is doing very well, Ahmedabad becoming the leading center for pharmaceutical productions. Dye industry is the other beneficiary of the industrial growth, but the major drawback is pollution, causing great health hazard requiring imme-

Without prejudice I may add that perhaps Modi is a step ahead of Naidu. For example the ‘Fast Transit Plan’; the road that goes round the city of Ahmedabad is used only by emergency vehicles, public transportation, police and taxies among the others NRIs and even more vibrant Gujarati entrepreneurial community at home are changing the landscape of the State.

India as a whole has emerged as an IT Center. But it still lacks hardware peripherals and that needs to

diate attention.

As I observe it, Gujarat has done extremely well in assuaging communal tension. It is vested interests and a section of media hype about communal tensions. The facts are otherwise. They are now

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The Central government dominated by the Congress keeps this issue live for their voting and political consideration. Fortunately entrepreneurs of Gujarat and for that matter of other States as well are becoming aware of the benefits of economic opportunities and educational spread. Young generation will definitely work together to create a Gujarat which is not only economically vibrant but communally harmonious. Just one example.

The events that created trouble in Gujarat, finally emerged as the handiwork of some fanatical group, who perpetrated such act of barbarity, that engulfed Gujarat into violence. However, a dispassionate and psychologically viewing would make one convince that the riots were the natural consequence of emotional turbulence.

If history is any indication, tough English rule also could not stop the savagery of religious fanaticism as demonstrated in Mapla Uprising in Kerala. Only the tough government could handle it.

Modi was not responsible for the burning of the train. But he did his duty fairly well, whatever the Congress Government speaks of it.

People of Gujarat of every community are with Chief Minister Modi, because obviously his concern is only the welfare of Gujarat and all the people there.

Now as the industries thrive and economically Muslims do not lag behind their brethren communities

in savoring the vibrancy of development, I hope riots on the basis of religion will become the story of the past.

The celebration of "Swarnim Gujarat" on a grand scale inviting all people of Gujarat from within and abroad to participate and enjoy it is yet another milestone in the history of Gujarat.

Real Estate is growing exponentially; drawing into the cities affluent NRIs and even more vibrant Gujarati entrepreneurial community at home are changing the landscape of the State NRIs of Gujarati descent are doing remarkable work in promoting Gujarat in every which way possible, and their efforts will bear fruit as a new Gujarat will emerge with economic prosperity and communal harmony.

And even those who oppose him will come round and say, "Thank you Chief Minister, Modi, your insight, vision and dedication will continue to lead in all aspects of national growth and Gujarat will emerge as Swarimbhoomi!" (Land of Gold)," observed Dr Meshri.

May 28, 2010

23 India Post

May 28, 2010

24 India Post

Dr Deepak Vyas: A Gujarati with deep Indian spirit SURENDRA ULLAL

ST LOUIS: Prowess of Gujarati community and Gujarat is not just limited to the territorial waters of India. Since time immemorial they were known as entrepreneurs, and in modern times they are considered as among the most mobile people. Their business enterprises are active in most parts of India besides spreading from Africa to Far East and Middle East.

The State of Gujarat within Indian Union came into existence 50 years ago along with the State of Maharashtra. Both forward looking States, said Dr. Deepak Vyas, Chairman Redberri Corporation in a talk to this paper, are celebrating their Golden anniversaries. "It would be very appropriate for all of us - people of Indian origin - to convey our best wishes and our commitment to their progress on this occasion," he said.

India is growing. If one part of the region contributed to the development of services through internet technology, other part made it in business and some oth-

Dr Deepak Kant Vyas being honored by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh with their highest civilian honor for Non-Resident Indians. Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan is presenting Chairman Deepak Vyas with a shawl. Also seen in the picture are Industries Minister Kailashji, Finance Minster Raghavji and President of State FICCI, Ramesh Agrawal of Bhaskar Group

ers in farming and export of minerals and spirituality like Yoga and of lately Science of Life, Ayurveda.

India is going to hold the Second Economic Summit in 2011, Dr Vyas said. Gujarat takes an active role in this program. Already ten foreign countries have given their consent to participate. Dr. Vyas

was the architect of the first Global summit in Madhya Pradesh in 2007. Now Gujarat is taking the challenge.

Referring to the Swarnim Gujarat he said that this was the moment every Indian, especially Gujaratis, should be proud of.

Modi took charge of Gujarat when

its economy was shrinking and domestic growth was stagnant.

Faced with massive economic losses, he re-organized the government's administrative structure and embarked upon massive cost-cutting measures. As a result of his indefatigable efforts, Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10% during his first tenure. This was the highest growth rate among all the Indian states.

As Chief Minister, Modi concretely put to practice many plans that he had envisaged for the development of Gujarat. This included Panchamrut Yojana, a fivepronged strategy for an integrated development of the state, Sujalam Sufalam, a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilization. Following are some of the projects he implemented: Krishi Mahotsav - agricultural research labs for the land, Chiranjeevi Yojana - to reduce infant mortality rate, Matru Vandana - providing preventive and curative services under the Reproductive and Child Health Program, Beti Bachao - campaign to protect baby girls to improve sex ratio, Jyotigram Yojana - to electrify every village, Karmayogi Abhiyan to educate and train government employee, Kanya Kalavani Yojana - to encourage the education of girls, Balbhog Yojana - for midday meal for students As a result of these yojnas Gujarat became number one state in India in from many perspectives. Many scholars and India Inc leaders suggested that if Gujarat model was applied in all states, India could easily become a developed nation.

The U.S. Census Bureau is at work to determine the U.S. population. This is an important issue in terms of allocation of resources

for developments in social, political and business environment in the country. We have a new code for Asian Indians, and its credit goes to Dr. Vyas, who persuaded and followed up to add this section for our benefit.

"I am proud to say that Indians have an identity now and my efforts are hugely successful in achieving yet another milestone in the process of our recognition as a distinct unit of population. This should help us in a varieties of ways, especially allocation of resources for education, industry etc, to say the least," he told India Post.

He was felicitated by the Madhya Pradesh Government for the award of Pravasi Bharatiya last January 18. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan honored him at a special function.

This was the highest civilian award given to NRI for his contribution for the betterment of MP economy.

Among those attending the event were by Industries Minister Kailashji , Finance Minster Raghavji and President of State FICCI ,Ramesh Agrawal of Bhaskar Group and over 200 NRIs from 68 countries representing four continents "I was very humbled with this honor that my motherland bestowed on me," he told this paper.

Dr. Vyas had many feathers added to his hat. St. Louis busi-

‘We have a new code for Asian Indians, and its credit goes to Dr. Vyas, who persuaded and followed up to add this section for our benefit’ ness zone in Missouri recognized him as one of the ten influential leaders in the State. This was followed by "Inclusive Leadership Award" given by the St. Louis Business Community. "It reflects the success of Indian community and that makes me a proud Indian.

You can take Indian out of India, but never take India out of an Indian," a quotation he quotes very often.

Dr. Vyas is the CEO and President of Redberri Corporation. It is the largest minority owned enterprise in St. Louis having diversified business interests from Pneumatic Tools, Redberri Conference Softwares, Medical Education Software.

"Shortly we will be launching "Handicrafts from India," Dr Vyas said.

May 28, 2010

25 India Post

May 28, 2010

26 India Post

Bid to develop Diu & Daman as top tourist spots VAIDEHI PATEL & FRANK FERNANDES

DAMAN: Although he is only a year old as MP from Union Territories of Diu and Daman in Gujarat, Lalubhai Patel is determined to develop these two sea coast spots on the West Coast of India as top class tourist destinations.

Daman, he agreed, is beset with dirt while Diu needs to be more accessible thru railway and airways. "I have made a strong representation to the Central Tourist Department through Shri S Gopal, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Territories, to clean up the sea coast of Daman and make it attractive for the potential tourists from Mumbai and other parts of Gujarat. It has a beautiful beach but it has been in a state of neglect for long," he said.

"For Diu, I am trying to get improved railway facility besides exploring the possibility of establishing a small airport there for international travelers. Diu even now attracts a good number of tourists because of its clean coastal area and religious-historical significance, but chances of a further growth are huge and we would do our best to explore that fully," he told this paper.

Yet another project that is at the heart of Lalubhai is get release of fishermen imprisoned in Pakistan. Out of about 100 fisherman freed by the Pakistani government, 26 were of Diu and other from Gujarat but "we are all trying that more fisherman can get freedom form Pakistan jail," he said.

Lalubhai Patel ingrained the trait of social work from his family which is deeply involved in social ac-

‘For Diu, I am trying to get improved railway facility besides exploring the possibility of establishing a small airport there for international travelers. Diu even now attracts a good number of tourists because of its clean coastal area and religioushistorical significance, but chances of a further growth are huge and we would do our best to explore that fully’

Lalubhai B Patel, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Daman & Diu (U.T.)

tivities. His father was Daman MLA. "I have a lot of support from my people and even from the administration office. Every year we get MP fund from Center of Rs. 2 crore and I have used it for buying two ambulances - one for Daman and one for Diu. They are fully equipped medical vans. I am looking forward to put more street lights, establish a community hall, get computers in all schools and ensure filtered drinking water," he said.

"My focus is on increasing tourism, education, and to help to develop fisheries and related industries. This in turn will generate good employment for the local people," he added.

May 28, 2010

Gujarat: Fifty years ago and after Modi took over Cont’d from page 20

The people of Gujarat have reposed their faith in Modi under whose leadership the State has never looked back from the path of economic progress that is reaching from the labor in the cities to the farmers in the villages. Historically, there have been more riots in India or even in Gujarat during the Congress regime than in BJP rule. But communal harmony is slowly and definitely improving in Gujarat.

The other day in Jasden, community wedding was held where more than 600 couples were married. Out of that 67 were Muslim couples.

During 1st May celebration, where I was also present, religious leaders from all religions participated and addressed the people. I saw Hindu saints, Muslim Mullahs, Christian Padres. I dare say there is more religious harmony in Gujarat than in many parts of India.

The ruling Congress alliance obviously cannot digest the prosperity Gujarat is enjoying under the leadership of Narendra Modi and therefore constantly engages in belittling the Chief Minister. He has been so successful the people no more consider him on the basis of his religion, but the Center is going after him trying to hurt him on the basis of religion, which will not be successful, because of the

great economic and social transformation he has been able to usher in. Historically economic benefits work as equalizer and this is happening in India. Children in emerging Gujarat will play as citizens of India rather than as Hindus, Muslims or Christians.

As far as his initiatives in industrial and investment, Wipro is also considering putting up a factory and investment propos-

‘During 1st May celebration, where I was also present, religious leaders from all religions participated and addressed the people. I saw Hindu saints, Muslim Mullahs, Christian Padres’ als are pouring into the State from the NRIs who are very positive about the leadership of the Chief Minister. This is the greatest gift that Narendra Modi offers to the people of Gujarat during this "Swarnim Gujarat" Celebrations. I would say "Fittest person at the helm of Gujarat at the most fascinating times in the history of Gujarat." It always takes one man to make the change.

27 India Post

May 28, 2010

28 India Post

Shahlon in Surat set for expansion & diversification VAIDEHI PATEL

SURAT: Described as the textile hub of India, Surat is notching very fast growth of late and is on way to carve out a place for itself in the global business map.

The surge in Surat textile production is the outcome of concerted efforts by a large number of manufacturing units and one of the quite prominent ones is Shahlon Industries Ltd. The group is engaged in various synthetic textile manufacturing and marketing activities like texturizing,

twisting, sizing, weaving, etc.

In a talk to this paper Dhiraj Shah, Managing Director of the company said, "We believe

One of the reasons for the Surat products gaining universal acceptance is that manufacturers here by an large, take care of pro-

The group is in the business for the past twenty five years and has taken up a project for rural development in conjunction with an active social organization ‘Oasis’ for the upliftment of the rural community strongly that maintaining quality is sin qua non for progress and we oversee that the quality of our products is uniformly good.

ducing quality items."

Shahlon was awarded a certificate of ISO 9001:2000 for its quality responsibility. "We have also

Dhiraj Shah, Managing Director, Shahlon

registered ourselves with Dun & Bradstreet Global Database," he said with obvious pride.

Talking about textile products in the Surat market , he observed that the city is well known for various products range like: Home furnishing fabrics, Technical textile, Suiting, Shirting, Ladies dress materials, Dop dyed taffeta, Dop dyed slob dhupion.

Twisted yarns, Texturized yarns, Carpet yarns, etc.

Shah said that Shahlon is bent upon expansion and diversification and is looking forward for greener pastures in the textile market. " First, we have diversified into manufacturing garment and the factory would employ 200 plus skilled labor and is largely geared for the overseas markets.

In fact, we are currently in the global Europe market and our garments would have a good outlet there. Of course, we plan going to America as well in not very distant future," he said.

"We have also two new projects of textile parks coming up - Fairdeal Textile Park and Sayan Textile Park- in Surat. The scheme targets industrial clusters/locations with high growth potential, which require strategic interventions by way of providing worldclass infrastructure support. This will help a good number of entrepreneurs in the textile business," he said.

"It is not that we are talking about the international business only, but we are also in the local market and make conscious efforts to cater to the lower and middle class consumers. We also provide employment to 1200 plus workers and are slowly expanding."

The group is in the business for the past twenty five years and has taken up a project for rural development in conjunction with an active social organization "Oasis" for the upliftment of the rural community. The program aims for providing better education facilities to the people in the villages.

Under this project, various workshops for youth, women and leaders of the village are being organized for overall development of the village.

"We are taking care of even the environment also which we find to be a bigger challenge for all of us today and there for we run an ETP plant which has been installed by the group in order to keep the environment clean and healthy. This plant enables to maintain zero discharge of any type of effluent into the public space," he added with an obvious pride. For more information contact: : +91261-3090200 Cell: +91-98251-14363 or e mail : dhiraj@shahlon.com

May 28, 2010

29 India Post

Surat emerges as textile city of India VAIDEHI PATEL

S

urat has finally emerged as the front ranking city in In dia and largely because of the tremendous growth of the textile industry there. It is called the textile city of India replacing Ahmedabad. And, the epithet is perfectly suited to Surat as the textile industry is one of the oldest and most widespread in the city. A very large part of the city population is associated with textile industry.

Surat is well known for its synthetic products market. It is mainly engaged in the production and trading of synthetic textile products like production of yarn, weaving, processing as well as embroidery Nearly 35 million meters of raw fabric and 28 million meters of processed fabric are produced in the city daily. The city has several textile markets that exist since times immemorial. Zampa Bazaar, Bombay Market, JJ Textile Market and Jash Market are among them. Katat Gam, Magdalla and Udhana are the areas of Surat where manufacturing is concentrated.

In the course of time, people from places like Rajasthan and Kolkata have migrated to Surat and have become totally native, merging fully with the local population.

The main markets that the Surat industry covers is domestic and Asian countries.

Around 80% of polyester used in India comes from Surat. The international demand for its products is relatively small but can go up. The Middle East is the major export market for Surat textile products.

The Surat textile industry has grown considerably over time. As per recent figures, textile production in Surat has grown by 10% in the last five years, while the market for embroidery has grown from an almost negligible amount to around Rs. 3000 crores over the same period.

The textile units in Surat are quite adaptive to changes in technology, fashion and design.

This one factor is responsible for the tremendous growth of Surat as the hub of textiles.

Surat is a land of opportunities. Besides textile, diamonds are also contributing to the growth of Surat as a premier city.

Rachana Arts is one of the front ranking textile companies in Surat. Situated at G.I.D.C., Pandesara, it has a total installed capacity of 240.00 lakh meters/p.a. of processing of art silk fabrics.

The company is being managed by a well known "Rachna" group of Surat (Gujarat), with 30 years of experience in textile and other business.

The company's main activity is processing of grey cloth fabrics into finished cloth fabrics, shirting, sarees and dress materials. It accepts job business.

Surat being leader in textile manufacturing and export, it has helped businessmen to open ventures at international level and to do business world wide. This has helped in development of different businesses and to raise the graph of growth rate in export.

"We at Rachna Art give special emphasis on quality and this is also the hallmark of many other units. Besides, we are competitive in prices. This has helped us to penetrate the international market," said Jaiprakash Dwarikaprasad Agarwal, Chair-

The main markets that the Surat industry covers is domestic and Asian countries.

Around 80% of polyester used in India comes from Surat. The international demand for its products is relatively small but can go up. The Middle East is the major export market for Surat textile products man Rachna Group of Companies "We also believe in eco friendly energy and green energy revolution and therefore my company had one Wind Electric Gen-

Shri Jaiprakash Dwarikaprasad Agarwal, Chairman Rachna Group of Companies and textile industrialist

erator (WEG) of 0.8 MW installed at Village Bamnasa, Taluka Kalyanpur, Dist. Jamnagar (Gujarat) in the year 2005. The electric power units generated through this WEG are used actively by processing unit."

In 2007, the group entered into various projects of residential towers in the city of Surat. At present, the group has conceived a joint project of coal based power plant with a capacity of 150MW in first phase of operation and also one educational project in the city of Surat.

Apart from the above, the group has its share in running boarding co-ed school and engineering & dental college in Gorakhpur (UP).

Mr. J.P. Agarwal is also associated as a Vice Chairman with Mahavir Group of Super Specialty Hospital of Surat. He is also a President of Traffic Education.

May 28, 2010

30 India Post

Veer Savarkar: Most Misunderstood Freedom Fighter

ANURUPA CINAR

T

he day - July 8, 1910. The hour - early morning. The place - the harbor at Marseilles, France. As the fingers of dawn curled across the sky, a tiny figure wriggled out of the porthole from the belly of the S.S. Morea and took the Historic Leap into the ocean, the cry "Hail! Victory to Mother India!" on his lips.

That was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar - devoted, heart and soul from childhood to just one cause, India for the Indians! Mother India must be freed, her honor must be reinstated!

O Goddess of Freedom! Life is to die for You, Death is to live without You,‌.

O, so anguished is my soul!

For my Mother is now but a slave to others, Why O, why did you abandon her so Indians, by the early 1900s, were brainwashed into being satisfied with their slave status by the British. In this ambience, Savarkar was the first Freedom Fighter to publicly announce that nothing less than total Independence would do for India.

Certainly, more drastic measures than the Indian National Congress's mewing and bleating to the British Government for concessions for India were required.

Savarkar established Abhinav Bharat, his secret revolutionary society, which spread surely and swiftly within India.

In July 1906 at age 23, he set off for London, ostensibly to become a barrister. In reality his goals were manifold. He wished to study British Law, to circumvent it in his mission. Paramount was the need to spread patriotism in the hearts of Indian youth, the intelligentsia of India, studying there.

The plight of India had to become an international issue. He was also determined to contact revolutionaries of other countries and make a common cause for freedom of all slave countries.

The British recognized at a glance in Savarkar what India fails to see even today! Desperate, the British charged him with waging war against the King of England

making a final bid to escape just that fate. He swam singlemindedly - amidst the shouts of alarm and bullets with the guards chasing after him in a boat.

At the second attempt he scaled the high wall of the quay.

He had made it! By International Law, he now had a right to asylum in France. But he was not yet safe.

His plan had failed, but in this failure was also success! Savarkar's heroic escape and the treachery of the British received worldwide publicity. Such gross miscarriage of justice would not, could not be swept under the rug!

Veer Savarkar

and procuring and distributing arms in London. But to doom him for all eternity, he had to be extradited in India. So they tangled Savarkar in a concocted charge of delivering seditious speeches four years earlier in India!

And here he was on this day

He tried desperately, in broken French, to convey his meaning to the gendarme at the quay. But it was too late! The guards swooped upon him and dragged him willynilly back to S.S Morea.

His plan had failed, but in this failure was also success!

Savarkar's heroic escape and the

treachery of the British received worldwide publicity. Such gross miscarriage of justice would not, could not be swept under the rug!

International hue and cry was raised but to no avail. The die was cast! Savarkar was now at the mercy of the British government.

The British government hoped, no doubt, that this was the last they would hear of this Prince of the Revolutionaries. They could not have been more wrong!

As Savarkar wrote, Without beginning nor end am I, Inviolable am I. Vanquish me? In this world no such enemy is born!

Savarkar, a foremost exponent of Karmayoga as propounded in the Bhagwad Gita, was undeterred by adverse publicity, maligning or misinterpretation by his detractors. He was ever uncompromising of his principles and duty.

Those for the Essence of the Welfare of the Human Race, Only such Deeds did I consider to be righteous.

Joyously have I borne this burden of my duty, Ever true to my Oath have I been Cont’d on page 33

May 28, 2010

31 India Post

Mangrola shines in business and community activities Program" have given fillip to the principle of quality education for all students right from elementary education to higher education.

It is interesting to note, Mangrola said, that his uncle Mansinh Mangrola has been in the field of education for over two

SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: "Having been born in the state of Gujarat after its formation in 1960 my identity as a Gujarati is indisputable. Linguistically we are always called as such from beginning of history but our broader identity is Hindi and now Bhartiya, and we are proud to have that" says Harendra Mangrola, President of Sumit Construction, a front ranking construction company in Chicagoland.

It is a strange twist of history that English set up East India Company in Surat, Gujarat, and principal architect of ending their colonial rule also was a Gujarati, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Harendra wonders.

Harendra, an engineer by profession and education, came to this country and commenced his own construction business soon.

But he is a social bird in the sense that he likes to get involved in social activities. A family trait, he says. He is actively associated with many cultural and social organizations like IADO (Indian American Democratic Organization) and Gayatri Gyan Mandir. He is joint treasurer with IADO which is the only political wing of Indian Americans here.

He is closely associated with the Gayatri Gyan Mandir, Itasca.

He is a principal patron of this institution. Its main objective is to spread among the followers the efficacy of Gayatri Mantra through its continued recital. Known as Gayatri Pariwar throughout the world, this spiritual assembly is known to have a following of nearly 90 million people in the world.

Today, Narendra Modi is the Chief Minister of Gujarat which has been leading the state for over a decade. The state made tremendous progress on every socioeconomic front. The growth of Gujarat has been consistently kept up under successive chief ministers but Narendra Modi has outpaced all previous CMs. Under the leadership of Modi the growth has been quite impressive, as compared to India as whole. Gujarat is among the five most developed states in the Union and as the State is celebrating Swarnim Gujarat, the pace is expected to get even faster.

During this period the rapid industrialization of Gujarat began.

Many centers of excellence like IIM, NID, NIFT, CEPT, IIT, Forensic University and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Petroleum University for higher education were launched and concerted action taken. "School Enrollment Program" and "Girl Child Education

nancial, for the spread of education among the most under-served community members," he said with an obvious pride Under Gayatri Gyan Mandir institution Mangrola actively gets the second generation involved in many of its activities. He has been

Under Gayatri Gyan Mandir institution Mangrola actively gets the second generation involved in many of its activities. He has been one of the main forces in organizing youth camps for the past few years and "every year attendance is on an increase". In a talk to this paper, he said he would like to promote some of the important Gayatri research activities in the field of herbal medicine here

Harendra Mangrola

decades starting his initiative educating Adivasis Dedia Pada. He set up Eklavya Vidyalay and the institution won recognition from overseas agencies with financial and moral help. "My brother is active in this area and I also extend whatever help possible, including fi-

one of the main forces in organizing youth camps for the past few years and "every year attendance is on an increase". In a talk to this paper, he said he would like to promote some of the important Gayatri research activities in the field of herbal medicine here.

May 28, 2010

32 India Post

May 28, 2010

33 India Post

Veer Savarkar: Most Misunderstood Freedom Fighter Cont’d from page 30

Savarkar unequivocally stood for equality and freedom of all people. It was so very evident in the sacred oath he gave to his Abhinav Bharat. He unleashed a vigorous campaign to eradicate the unjust caste system that had pervaded Hindu society.

Yes, he was a staunch supporter and promoter of Hindus. And why not? It is an indisputable fact that Hinduism has a great tolerance for all religions.

The concept that a non-Hindu is a "pagan" or a "Kafir" and must be converted forthwith is just not there! History proves it. It was Savarkar's contention that Hindus, never ones to trample unjustly on the right of others, would work towards freedom and equality of all.

But first, they needed to be free themselves! For the protection of the good people, the Hindus shall set free the world!

His ultimate political goal was a World Commonwealth of Nations, with equal rights for all. His ideals were way, way ahead of his times, so misunderstood. The charge of being an anti-national beating the Hindu drum is laid vociferously at his door by the anti-Savarkar propagandists.

But, in today's world when so much authentic and documented work is so freely available, no one need fall for these tricks or blindly believe the

Veer Savarkar

fairytale that is fed to us in the Indian history text books.

Who dragged religion into politics. Savarkar?

Definitely not! Religion planted its foot into the Indian Freedom Movement when Gandhi, making the Khilafat cause his own in 1919, firmly attached the freedom movement to it. He went further and declared that there shall be no freedom for India unless we first attain Hindu-Muslim unity! What need was there to divide Indians on this basis?

Could we not all just have been Indians, first and foremost?

In 1937, Savarkar burst upon the political scene of India, free after 27 years of bondage. India was in dire straits, the current political milieu was one of Muslim appeasement, of one sacrificing Hindu rights. When a weak-willed Congress was conceding to the vivisection of the Motherland, Savarkar urged them to resign their post and seek re-election based on this issue. Who in the Con-

gress was selfless enough to give up their power for the good of the Motherland? Gandhi avowed to the Indians, "partition over my dead body', but in fact, he

After Independence, the task of hounding and harassing Savarkar was now taken up by the Government of free India. He was embroiled in the Gandhi

In 1937, Savarkar burst upon the political scene of India, free after 27 years of bondage. India was in dire straits, the current political milieu was one of Muslim appeasement, of one sacrificing Hindu rights. When a weak-willed Congress was conceding to the vivisection of the Motherland, Savarkar urged them to resign their post and seek re-election based on this issue threw the full weight of his influence in favor of the resolution demanding Pakistan that was put before the A.I.C.C. And lo, Partition of India we got!

murder trial on the flimsiest of evidence and tried by the hated Special Tribunal Court of the British era. Democracy of India was dispensable, at the discretion

of the High Command! But justice and truth prevailed. Government of India was unsuccessful in falsely implicating Savarkar. Savarkar was declared by the court to be innocent of the charge of conspiring to murder Gandhi. And yet, to the shame of all Indians, fingers are pointed accusingly at him even today.

Without Savarkar's many sacrifices India today would be a very different picture. Let us pose only a few questions to ourselves. Would you want India to be an Afghanistan, or even Pakistan, today?

With India's technological progress, would you want a Charkha, dragging us to the stone age? No, right? Let us then give tribute where it is due, let us recognize the mettle of a true Son of India, Veer Savarkar we salute you!

May 28, 2010

34 India Post

Gujarat- Gujaratis and Narendra Modi Some of the most successful businesses relate to the marketing of Indian grocery products in mainstream America and they are owned by Gujaratis. Indians have a lion's share in hospitality industry and among these Indians one would find many Gujarati Patels. This has given rise to a new twisted slogan in the industry - Hotel Motel and Potel, said Sunil beaming with pride.

SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: Known in the community as one of the most successful insurance agents, Sunil Shah is a multifaceted personality. Besides foray in hospitality industry, being owner-operator of Holiday Inn, he is also a front ranking community activist.

He has bagged numerous awards in the insurance field and the most recent was New York Life Insurance Company's 2009 Life Case Leaser Award at a well attended function in Las Vegas. His interest in music and organizational ability led to organizing of a number of FIA events, including annual Parade and other programs.

In a talk to this paper, he said that Gujarat and Gujaratis are known for entrepreneurship for centuries and this tradition of thousands of years continues as Gujarati community has spread through the nook and corner of India notching prosperity through business. They have also excelled as traders and with their shrewd business sense have spread their interests in foreign lands especially in Africa and now in America.

Among selected billionaires, the Forbes lists many Indians, either in India or settled overseas. One of them is Ambani Brothers ranking among the wealthiest in India.

Tatas, Mafatlal, Premji and Adanis are there too. This is not to downgrade the achievements of non-Gujaratis. A large number of them have excelled in the fields of science, technology and even in businesses.

Members of the Gujarati community even in Chicagoland and this country have proved their business acumen.

Some of the most successful businesses relate to the marketing of Indian grocery products in mainstream America and they are owned

by Gujaratis. Indians have a lion's share in hospitality industry and among these Indians one would find many Gujarati Patels

Sunil Shah

And at this memorable occasion of celebrating Swarnim Gujarat, we have at the helm of affairs a great Gujarati. He is none other than Narendra Modi. Before casting any critical comments about him and Gujarat one should compare the progress that Gujarat has made over the past decade and analyze the performance of all the chief ministers of administration since its formation. Any fair minded person would come to the conclusion that Narendra Modi is the best that happened to Gujarat after Vallabhabhai Patel, said Sunil.

May 28, 2010

35 India Post

May 28, 2010

36 India Post

Tourism in Gujarat waiting for a leap smaller animals and birds. Other predators are the Panther and the Hyena. The Indian Deer, Sambar, Chital (spotted deer), Nilgai (blue bull), Chinkara and the Chowsingha (four horned antelope) are found here, along with the bear and the long tailed lan-

blissfully unaware of some of the historical and tourist spots that Gujarat offers. They could easily spare and spend some days here but they prefer going to Jaipur or Agra. There is an urgent need to create awareness among these visitors about these

being merely functional. ii) Gujarat has only 58 hotels and 2,695 hotel rooms. Their numbers need to be increased. iii) Infrastructure that needs to be studied and improved include communication (roads, airports, rail network) and capacity building

Mafat Patel, CEO Air Tours Inc. with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi

RAMESH SOPARAWALA

CHICAGO: The State of Gujarat set up fifty years ago has outmatched most other States in Indian Union notching tremendous growth in almost all directions. A fly in ointment is that its progress is not reflected in one area- a critical area that too wherein not only the image of the State could get a big boost nationally and globally but also would accelerate its economic engine. This sector is tourism.

The Gujarat State has huge coastal line besides scores of historical and religious places which attract and would continue to attract hundreds of visitors. The point is that this number - less than 10 million - is relatively insignificant compared to the potential or matched with tourists visiting similar places in the country.

Mafat Patel, CEO of Air Tours Inc, a front ranking travel and tour companies in US, says that this figure could easily be more than trebled with a little more support and monitoring from the Government. "Just imagine the economic gains triggered by this jump in tourist traffic. Not only could it be a good foreign exchange earner but would generate huge employment besides buffeting the state revenues with ripple effect on economic growth," he said in a talk to this paper.

Mafat Patel, often described as uncrowned King of Devon Avenue in Chicago, has been a frequent visitor to Gujarat, his home state and has been paying visits to historical and tourist spots in the State. "One of the biggest lacuna is poor lodg-

ing/ boarding facilities. Internationally or even nationally recognized facilities in most places (Sasan Gir and Div for instance) are conspicuous by their absence.

Dirt abounds at some of the coastal areas (Daman to cite one example) which could be easily developed as beaches or resorts.

Transportation and accessibility for some of the spots (Div, Gir, Lothal) is far from ideal. Probably

Some of the tourist spots in Gujarat

gur. Saputara is a good hill resort but needs improved accessibility.

Lothal can boast of a treasure of historical finds of five thousand years ago but has not cropped up as the must see place

none has an airport nearby," he said Sasan Gir Forest, he said, today is the only place in the world

for international visitors. Varsha Patel, COO of Air Tours, said that those who come to Gujarat to attend some of its internal "festi-

sites which offer glimpses of traditional culture and values that Gujarat and Gujaratis have and cherish.

The step motherly treatment that this area is meted out at the hands of the local government seems to be an obvious fact. The government organizes, she added, a number of fests - tourist fests - which are actively participated by tourist agencies of other States.

"I have noticed that in many such fests, it would be hard to find a booth of the Gujarat tourist department. The fests are in Gujarat but facilities are used by others," she said. It is not that the attention of the concerned authorities is not drawn to this lacuna in the development of the State.

outside Africa, where the lion can be seen in its natural habitat. The forest also harbors a variety of

val" like Kite and Garba are askance what to do after these festivals are over. "Most are

A semi government survey indicated that - i) 11 airports need to be developed beyond

‘I have noticed that in many such fests, it would be hard to find a booth of the Gujarat tourist department. The fests are in Gujarat but facilities are used by others,’ she said. It is not that the attention of the concerned authorities is not drawn to this lacuna in the development of the State

(hospitality, tours, food crop). iv) Special impetus to promoting the Gandhi ashrams in Ahmedabad and Porbandar, Somnath and Dwarka, Lothal and Dholavira, and Vishwagram global village.

V) Market Gujarat to the world tourism industry as a 'brand'. vi) Identify attractive investment opportunities for private sector participation in tourism. vii) Tourism land banks to be created.

Out of an estimated 10 million tourists arriving Gujarat, visitors to religious places account for 40 per cent, which include places like of Palitana, Ambaji, Dwarka, Tarnetar, etc, commented a senior state government official. The Gujarat government has set up Rajya Pavitra Yatra Dham Vikas Board to develop pilgrimage tourism. The number of visitors to religious places in absolute terms would not shrink, but relatively speaking there is scope for a larger share of non-religious tourism.

A few circuits can be identified and developed through public-private participation. The response from private parties is not that encouraging and this fuels a lukewarm attitude on the part of the government," he said.

Apart from pilgrimage, the government has identified wild life tourism in Panchmahal, Dahod and Gir and also village tourism in Kutch as major tourism circuits for development, but apparently it is yet to work out a system to promote tourism in these vibrant areas.

Desi News Zeenat Aman lights up Manavi anniversary India Post News Service

JERSEY CITY: Bollywood actress of yesteryears Zeenat Aman was the chief guest at the 25th anniversary gala of Manavi, the women's rights advocacy group, at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, NJ on May 8. The event was addressed by Zeenat Aman besides Manavi co-founder Shamita Das Dasgupta and three survivors of domestic violence.

On the occasion, Manavi honored Ellen Pence, Founder of Praxis International, and her mother Anne Marshall.

COMMUNITY ACROSS AMERICA

37 India Post

www.indiapost.com

TANA launches campaign for NRIs' safety

May 28, 2010

Details on page 41

Police Unity Tour celebrates Gujarat Day in NJ

Details on page 39

BMM - apex body for Maharashtrians in US ANAND JOSHI BMM Board Adviser

B

ruhan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM) is the apex body of all Marathi Mandals across North America (NA). The organization was formed to provide a platform and a common voice to all Marathi people who are spread out through out US and Canada. In 1981, Mr. Sharad Godbole, Mr. Vishnu Vaidya and Mrs. Jayashree Huparikar from Chicago laid the BMM foundation.

Details on page 40

Masala Times opens its doors in NYC India Post News Service

NEW YORK: After successful outings with 'Earth NYC' and the rustic 'Horn OK Please', restaurateur and club owner, Hemant Phul, launched his newest offering in New York City called Masala Times. Touted as the first-of-itskind Indian Barbeque, Masala Times is a tribute to Bollywood, says Phul. "Masala, in Indian cuisine, is a combination of spices that gives our food the flavors that it's known for.

Details on page 40

Officials of the "We Share, We Care" foundation, from left, Shobna Patel, Albert Jasani, Jagdish Patel, Vithal Daduk and Dr Dinesh Patel with Police Unity Tour officers at the Gujarat Day celebrations in Fords, NJ. India Post News Service

NEW JERSEY: More than 800 law enforcement officials of the Police Unity Tour 2010 from across the country and members of the Indian American community attended the Gujarat Day celebrations at the Royal Albert's Palace in Fords, NJ last weekend.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Gujarat's statehood, the event was hosted by the International Gujarati Association and "We Share, We Care" foundation of New Jersey.

The Police Unity Tour, which is one of the events sponsored by "We Share, We Care," is a nonprofit organization of law enforcement officers formed in Florham Park, NJ. It seeks to raise awareness about police officers who died in the line of duty. Each year, since 1997, about 800 police officers from across the country have been riding on bicycles from New York

to Washington, DC, aiming to raise awareness and financial support for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

At the celebrations at Albert's Palace, Harry Phillips, executive director of the Police Unity Tour,

More than 800 law enforcement officers from across the country arrived at the Royal Albert's Palace in Fords, NJ, as part of the Police Unity Tour.

Swaminaryan Temple in Gandhinagar from Karamsad, the birthplace of Sardar Patel.

Their objective would be to raise awareness about Indian police officers, who died in the line of duty fighting terrorism

At the celebrations at Albert's Palace, Harry Phillips, executive director of the Police Unity Tour, declared May 9 as Sardar Patel-Police Unity Tour in NJ. Phillips offered to conduct a Police Unity Tour in Gujarat in January 2011 along with 50 police officers from the US and India declared May 9 as Sardar PatelPolice Unity Tour in NJ. Phillips offered to conduct a Police Unity Tour in Gujarat in January 2011 along with 50 police officers from the US and India. In the spirit of solidarity, he said the officers will ride their bicycles to Akshardham

and show solidarity with their Indian counterparts as both India and the US were continued targets of terrorist attacks.

The event was also attended

by Tilak Raj Kakkar, retired police commissioner of New Delhi. The celebrations also included hon-

oring of 10 Indian Americans for their services to the community.

The Police Unity Tour contingent stayed overnight at the Albert Palace before proceeding on the bicycle tour to Washington, DC, the following morning.

The "We Share, We Care" foundation is a non-profit that has sponsored the Police Unity Tour for the past 10 years.

Among its other activities, the foundation is actively involved in sponsoring the Association of United States Army dinner; the July 4 fireworks in Woodbridge, NJ; and the fundraising event for police association fireworks.

The association is headed by Chairman Albert Jasani; Vithal Dhaduk, president; Dr Dinesh Patel, executive vice president; Jagdish Patel, vice president; Shobna Patel, secretary; Ranjan Dhaduk, joint secretary; and Rupal Patel, treasurer.

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May 28, 2010

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Mississippi Hindu community builds grand new temple India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The Hindu American community in Brandon, Mis-

Lord Balaji Temple

sissippi raised over $3 million over a period of 5 years to construct a brand new Radha Krishna Temple

in place of the old temple structure that has been in existence since 1987.

The beautiful new temple, work on which had begun in 2006, is now akin to original Hindu temples of India in architectural design bearing traditional Hindu interior and exterior ornamentations, sculptures and a gopuram at the entrance.

The building is 3500 sq ft and has 22 columns going as deep as 45 feet. The main front structure ("Rajagopuram") is 45 feet above ground. There are 3 main temples, Lord Balaji, Shiva and Rama, and sub temples for demy gods and goddesses. There is a 40' x 25' outdoor dome and a beautifully decorated 25' x 20' indoor dome.

The final steps in the new temple structure are being completed. With the formal moving of the deities from the old temple into the new temple there will be a grand ceremony to re-consecrate

Radha Krishna Temple

the deities.

The five-day celebration of the grand opening referred as the Prana prathishta / Kumbhabhishekam ceremony is scheduled for May 22 through 26 as being the most favorable days to perform the extensive rituals that are necessitated for the event.

More than 16 Hindu priests have been invited for this occasion from various parts of the US and from India.

A group of Indian immigrants who arrived in Mississippi in early 1960-1980 built the original structure with a vision to provide the cultural (social, religious, and edu-

cational) needs of the people. The need for the new temple was necessitated with the number of these families growing to nearly a thousand in recent years.

This structure is one of the architectural monuments in the state and one of its kinds in the southern part of the country.

Growing curiosity about Hinduism prompts another Summit BHAVANA SHINDE

CHICAGO: The first ever Chicago Hinduism Summit's success last month in bringing together over 200 individuals, leaders and organizations, to facilitate Hinduism learning has prompted spontaneous support for another Hinduism Summit in the Greater Chicago area.

This Hinduism Summit (Hindu Dharma Sabha HDS) will be held on June 5 at the Hindu Temple of Lake County in Grayslake, from 2-30 to 6 pm.

HDS seeks to bring Hindu and spiritual leaders on one platform, to work together for the cause of Hinduism and Hindu issues. It also provides a practical direction on living Hinduism and preserving it in the face of denigration and misconceptions rife about Hinduism in society and media.

The second Hindu Dharma Sabha in the Greater Chicago area will commence and conclude with auspicious recitations from

preserving Hinduism. It will include a unique exhibition of posters and books on Hinduism education. The event will be webcast

Presentations at the last Hindu Dharma Sabha created awareness about the central message of Hinduism, current issues facing Hindus and the unique spiritual science underlying Hinduism concepts and practices that hold out concrete solutions for current issues like the environmental crisis, religious intolerance, terrorism, etc the Vedas and ancient Hindu scriptures. It will feature enlightening presentations by Hindu and spiritual leaders and demonstrative videos on understanding, living and

live on FHA website for attendance and participation from anywhere in the world.

Presentations at the last Hindu Dharma Sabha created awareness about the central

message of Hinduism, current issues facing Hindus and the unique spiritual science underlying Hinduism concepts and practices that hold out concrete solutions for current issues like the environmental crisis, religious intolerance, terrorism, etc. Its different, spiritual dimension based approach towards solving issues appealed to many. Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA), the organizers of HDS, have been lauded by speakers and attendees of previously held Hindu Dharma Sabhas.

Forum for Hindu Awakening is a nonprofit, charitable organization devoted to awakening society to the unique spiritual science underlying Hinduism, motivate people to live and preserve it, and facilitate the spiritual progress of humanity at large.

Balagokulam conducts Shlokas competition SURESH BODIWALA

LAKE COUNTY: Balagokulam Shakha recently conducted Shloka competition at the Lake County Shakha. Jashvant Soni and Dev Desai started the shakha with Ekatmata Mantra and Dhwaj host-

to 6 years while the next group was from 7 years to 13 years. The judging criteria were pronunciation, the flow, rhythm, confidence and expressing the emotion in the shloka.

The following are the winners:

ing. Avni Patel led the exercise session.

The students were divided groups in two age groups.

Younger group included Balasevaks and Bala-sevikas of 3 years

A total of 31 - 16 children and 15 adults - participated.

Acharya Shree Rohitbhai explained how to pronounce couple of shlokas which made them more careful about the pronunciation.

Acharya Rohit Joshi with children

Community Across America

May 28, 2010

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Zeenat Aman lights up Manavi anniversary

FIA launches credit card, iPhone app India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The 30th annual Indian Independence Day Parade will be held on August 15, starting from 38th street in mid-town Manhattan at 1 p.m, the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA)-Tri State, announced. "It is an honor for me personally to be part of this prestigious organization and serve the community in the capacity of its President," said Nirav Mehta.

It is, by far, the biggest celebration of India's independence outside of India.

FIA has also announced the launch of a FIA branded credit card and an iPhone application.

"Now members can enjoy the benefit of using the FIA branded credit card and support the organization in the process," Mehta said.

"Similarly, the members can enjoy the benefit of innovative technology platform to keep abreast of FIA activities and the sponsors can leverage their branding to its maximum."

The FIA has been the champion of organizing the annual pa-

rade to celebrate India's Independence since its inception thirty years ago. In the past, notable personalities such as New York City Mayors, State Governors, Senators and Congressmen, have graced the occasion along with at

Das Dasgupta and three survivors of domestic violence.

On the occasion, Manavi honored Ellen Pence, Founder of Praxis International, and her mother Anne Marshall, for their significant and groundbreaking contributions to ending violence against women across the United States.

The evening included a musical performance by R&B singer, Rajeshwari, a silent auction featuring exquisite jewelry, contemporary art, books and dinner certificates at popular restaurants.

‘Now members can enjoy the benefit of using the FIA branded credit card and support the organization in the process,’ Mehta said least one Bollywood celebrity as the Grand Marshall of the parade.

Last year the parade attracted over 100,000 people and for first time, the event was broadcast live on major Indian television channels in North America and India.

Zeenat Aman India Post News Service

JERSEY CITY: Bollywood actress of yesteryears Zeenat Aman was the chief guest at the 25th anniversary gala of Manavi, the women's rights advocacy group, at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, NJ on May 8. The event was addressed by Zeenat Aman besides Manavi co-founder Shamita

Bala Ghimre honored

Zeenat Aman and Joya Dass

Indian accident victim dies in Texas India Post News Service

CORPUS CHRISTIE, Texas: Naresh Naidu (24), Telugu-origin native of Bangalore, died on May 12 at the Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christie. He was severely injured in a car accident on Tuesday, May 11 near Corpus Christie, Texas.

Naresh just graduated with MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania on May

best to save his life but weren't successful.

Naresh is survived by his parents and one brother. Naresh's father Venkatesh Naidu is a small businessman in Bangalore.

TANA Executive Vice-President Prasad Thotakura is in touch with local hospital authorities and the Indian Consulate office in Houston to send the remains of Naresh Naidu to India. Prof. Anantha Babbili, Dr. Ram Mulukutla, Costal Bend India Association, Indian Students Association mem-

Pradyumna and Naveen who were in the front seats, got away with minor injuries.

Naresh who was in the back seat, suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital. A team of doctors tried their best to save his life but weren't successful Naresh Naidu Maria Pappas, Cook Country Treasurer, is in the forefront of ethnic cultural heritage and has been organizing a number of events and celebrations pertaining to ethnic groups in the county. Last week she organized a well attended event celebrating Asian American Heritage. She recognized a good number of prominent Asians, including Indian Americans and Nepalese Americans. One of the recipients of Recognition Award from Maria Papas office was a front ranking Nepalese businessman Bala Ghimre. Bala's Curry House serves mouth watering Indian and Nepalese cuisine and is frequented by a large number of Americans. This fact was not overlooked by Maria Pappas in recognizing not only Bala's business talents but his cooking ability. Seen in the picture is Bala Ghimre with Award, Maria Pappas and Shyam Shrestha, a Nepalese community activist.

9. Naresh and his friend Naveen came to Texas from Pennsylvania to visit their friend Praduymna. Praduymna who was driving the car lost control and hit an electric pole.

Pradyumna and Naveen who were in the front seats, got away with minor injuries.

Naresh who was in the back seat, suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital. A team of doctors tried their

bers, Aravind, Vikram and several other TANA Team Square members are helping with the arrangements.

TANA President, Jayaram Komati, Secretary Mohan Nannapaneni, Murali Vennam, South West Regional Director and all other Governing Board members expressed their deepest condolences to the Naidu family.

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Community Across America

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May 28, 2010

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Masala Times opens its doors in NYC

BMM - apex body for Maharashtrians in US ANAND JOSHI BMM Board Adviser

B

ruhan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM) is the apex body of all Marathi Mandals across North America (NA).

The organization was formed to provide a platform and a common voice to all Marathi people who are spread out through out US and Canada. In 1981, Mr. Sharad Godbole, Mr. Vishnu Vaidya and Mrs. Jayashree Huparikar from Chicago laid the BMM foundation. They

event of the BMM. The first BMM convention was arranged in Chicago in 1984. Success of that gathering prompted more conventions. The convention helps in bringing the Maharashtrian community together, serves as a platform to showcase local talent and discuss social issues. It has become a tradition to organize biennial convention in various parts of NA. Conventions are huge events with fun filled activities such as music programs, dances, plays, speeches and seminars for 2.5 days. Many artists, politi-

The convention helps in bringing the Maharashtrian community together, serves as a platform to showcase local talent and discuss social issues. It has become a tradition to organize biennial convention in various parts of NA. Conventions are huge events with fun filled activities also started a monthly newsletter called BMM Vrutta which became the voice of BMM. Vrutta publishes news items about Mandal activities including articles, interviews, local Mandal news, and Marathi book reports.

Since 1981, BMM has been operating as a federation of Marathi Mandals to preserve, and promote Marathi culture, language, and its members.

The biennial convention is a flagship

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: After successful outings with 'Earth NYC' and the rustic 'Horn OK Please', restaurateur and club owner, Hemant Phul, launched his newest offering in New York City called Masala Times.

Touted as the first-of-its-kind Indian Barbeque, Masala Times is a tribute to Bollywood, says Phul. "Masala, in Indian cuisine, is a combination of spices that gives our food the flavors that it's known for.

However, in Bollywood lingo, Masala defines the essence of what Hindi movies are all about - Bollywood potboilers with melodrama, fight sequences, song-and-dance.

This is our tribute to everything Bollywood," he said.

Phul teamed up with Indian businessman

cians, dignitaries, celebrities and scholars visit from India and enthrall the audience.

Maharashtrian Association of Indian Youth Together Representing America (MAIYTRA) was formed in 1994 and the first MAIYTRA convention was held in Cincinnati. This convention is also held biennially at various cities and organized by youth committee.

Cont’d on page 42

Sumesh Menon for the décor that reflects the quintessential Bollywood ambience. "Being a Bollywood buff myself, I was completely in sync with Hemant's vision for the look of the restaurant. We've known each other for many years and it was great to expand our friendship into a business enterprise that we both believe in." said Menon.

Masala Times serves up traditional fare such as savory Chicken & Lamb Kababs along with delectable favorites like Keema Pav, Paneer Tikka and Unda Bhurji Pav. "Our goal is to grow this concept throughout Manhattan where people can come and get their fix of great food in a fun Bollywood setting, without hurting their wallet," adds Phul. He is looking to grow the Masala Times brand by offering franchise opportunities as well.

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Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2010 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. #170408 5/10-8/10

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TANA launches campaign for NRIs' safety India Post News Service

O

ver the past few years, there have been many catastrophic events in volving Telugu people in USA. Many young students have died in accidents or other mishaps. The large number of deaths have raised many concerns, particularly in India, regarding safety in US. An analysis of the incidents demonstrates some commonalities in these events. Obviously, adherence to safe practices could have helped avoid some of these mishaps.

To aid Telugus in distress, the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) established the TANA Emergency Assistance and Management Team (TEAM Square) in October 2008.

Now, TANA has launched a safety awareness campaign to prevent future incidents.

A TANA Team is planning to visit various cities and universities in the USA and Canada to conduct safety seminars for NRIs, especially for students and the youth.

TEAM Square volunteers have prepared

brochures in Telugu and English with guidelines for safety. The brochures were released by Jayaram Komati, President of TANA. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", said Jayaram Komati.

"TANA will prominently promote the safety

Associations at all universities. TANA also plans to conduct safety awareness seminars at all universities and collaborate with the Indian government in promoting safety.

According to a TANA press release, TEAM Square now has more than 200 volunteers across USA and Canada who are ready to

TANA has launched a safety awareness campaign to prevent future incidents. A TANA Team is planning to visit various cities and universities in the USA and Canada to conduct safety seminars for NRIs, especially for students and the youth related information on our website and through the media. We plan to distribute thousands of these brochures both in print and electronic mediums and make them widely available in US and India."

TANA will make these brochures available at the consulates, travel agencies, Telugu associations and Indian Student

extend their helping hand to fellow Telugus in need. It says that generous members and supporters of TANA have ensured that TEAM Square has the necessary resources to serve the Telugu community. TEAM Square has quickly become the sole resource for Telugus in distress.

It says, "In the short span of 18 months

since its inception, TEAM Square volunteers extended their helping hand in almost 50 separate incidents and spent more than $120,000 in aid to the victims and their families.

During this time, there have been more than 30 deaths among Telugu people including 14 deaths in eight separate automobile accidents (two in the last 10 days), five murders (three of them apparently by a family member), two suicides, two train accidents, and the rest due to other causes.

Other incidents that TANA TEAM Square intervened included a fire accident that destroyed the possessions of 17 students, two attacks on Telugu persons and some immigration related detention/deportation situations."

Mohan Nannapaneni, Secretary, and Prasad Thotakura, Executive Vice-President, of TANA mentioned that TANA is also working with various insurance companies to make health, accident and life insurance available at low rates to Telugus, particularly students.

IWE honors three outstanding women India Post News Service

Indian American Women Empowered (IWE) had its Mother's Day award ceremony on May 1.

The event was attended by more than 200 guests, all active members of the community. The Chief Guests were Mayor Robert Livengood (Milpitas), Mayor Bob Wasserman (Fremont), Councilmember Anu Natarajan (Fremont), Councilmember Ash Kalra (San Jose), Councilmember Rose Herrera (San Jose), Councilmember Kansen Chu (San Jose). Yogi Chug Spokes person for FIA and Sr. V.P. of Indian American Forum for Political Education, Chandru Bhambhra FIA Chair of Board of Trustee, Dharminder Dewan CFO of FIA, President (CA chapter) of IAFPE and Library commissioner of Fremont.

In her welcome address, Anima Desai IWE chief Executive and Founder of Scholars Academy Private School in San Jose, said the event was an opportunity for IWE members and guests not only to meet and be inspired by three outstanding and exceptional women but also to be motivated by them and ultimately better discern their own unique paths to success. She congratulated the three awardees - Deepika Bajaj, Sonu Ratra and Anita Dharapuram.

Yogi Chug also welcomed the audience and gave a brief history of how FIA President Dr. Japra and he dreamt of a women's group started as a wing of FIA. He congratulated Anima Desai for the stature the organization had achieved in such a short period by her hard work, perseverance and vision.

Mayor Livengood and Mayor Wasserman presented the awardees with IWE plaques.

The Mayors' friendly bantering about their cities and

The event was an opportunity for IWE members and guests not only to meet and be inspired by three outstanding and exceptional women but also to be motivated by them Councilmember Ash Kalra joining in was quite enjoyable. Council member Anu Natrajan topped it off by her statement "I am not in the

suggested dress color because I am a true politician, I am color blind".

The fashion show by Swati Kapoor of Swati Couture created a world of adornment and inner beauty reflected in exclusive fashions and definitely collected some admirers. The outstanding outfits were modeled by the IWE committee members.

There was a champagne toast

by Yogi for all the Mothers and a rose for each mother was presented

by IWE committee. The Jhankar live band touched everybody's heart by the beautiful emotional songs for the mothers.

It was definitely a special time for all the mothers. The evening ended with Salsa Dances by George and Miriam of by Hot-Salsa Nights.

The program, attendees, the dĂŠcor- tables lighted by so many soft candle lights and beautiful pink roses with the live singing, hot salsa dancing and the fashion

show made the event impeccably delightful and enchanting. The event was emceed by Sheetal Singhal.

Among the women honored,

Yogi Chug also welcomed the audience and gave a brief history of how FIA President Dr. Japra and he dreamt of a women's group started as a wing of FIA Deepika Bajaj is Founder and President of Invincible, a company empowering women and a diverse, multigenerational work force to

thrive in a multicultural world.

Sonu Ratra is the Co-Founder and President of Akraya, Inc - a leading provider of IT, Engineering, Creative and Marketing talent that has won several awards for delivering outstanding IT staffing and project management solutions to many Fortune 500 companies.

Anita Dharapuram, MNA, is the Interim Executive Director at C.E.O. Women.

The speeches by the awardees were truly inspirational and poignant. The audience was spellbound by Deepika's and Sonu's stories and experiences.

Indian American Women Empowered (IWE)'s mission is to facilitate the overall growth of Indian-American Women of Northern California and to support, pursue, inspire and propel them towards personal, social, political, economical and professional sphere of power through fun, action, dialogue and learning.

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May 28, 2010

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LA synagogue asked to drop anti-Islam speaker India Post News Service

ANAHEIM, CA: The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) has called on Sinai Temple in that city to drop an anti-Islam speaker who was scheduled to appear at the synagogue.

CAIR-LA said the speaker, Brigitte Gabriel, heads the hate group ACT! for America and has stated that Muslims should not be allowed to hold public office, that an American Muslim "cannot be a loyal citizen" and that Islam is the "real enemy." She has also claimed that Arabs "have no soul" and that Muslims worship "something they call 'Allah,' which is very different from the God we believe [in]."

One of ACT! for America's Florida representatives recently bragged in a YouTube video that he desecrated the Quran, Islam's revealed text, and urinates in the washing stations Muslims use to perform their ritual ablutions (wudu) for prayer. Gabriel has not repudiated those in her group who produced and distributed the video.

"Religious leaders and houses of worship should promote tolerance and mutual understanding, not the type of hatred and bigotry spread by fear-mongers like Brigitte Gabriel," said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. "Sinai Temple has the right to host an anti-Muslim bigot, but we hope the synagogue would also feel a sense of responsibility

to act in a manner that does not harm relations between faith communities or give aid and comfort to those who demonize a religious minority."

Sinai Temple Rabbi David Wolpe, when contacted by CAIR-LA, said he wasn't aware of the Islamophobic comments made by Gabriel and that the event could not be canceled on short notice.

The rabbi also said he was going to ask

the problem."

When asked whether Americans should "resist Muslims who want to seek political office in this nation," Gabriel said: "Absolutely. If a Muslim who has - who is -- a practicing Muslim who believes the word of the Koran to be the word of Allah, who abides by Islam, who goes to mosque and prays every Friday, who prays five times a day -- this prac-

Sinai Temple Rabbi David Wolpe, when contacted by CAIR-LA, said he wasn't aware of the Islamophobic comments made by Gabriel and that the event could not be canceled on short notice. The rabbi also said he was going to ask Gabriel about her hateful comments on Islam and Muslims. A meeting is being set up between the rabbi and Southern California Muslim leaders to clarify the synagogue's position on inviting the antiMuslim speaker and how the synagogue can work to bring area Muslims and Jews together Gabriel about her hateful comments on Islam and Muslims. A meeting is being set up between the rabbi and Southern California Muslim leaders to clarify the synagogue's position on inviting the anti-Muslim speaker and how the synagogue can work to bring area Muslims and Jews together.

Gabriel once told the Australian Jewish News: "Every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim." She also claimed that "Islamo-fascism is a politically-correct word...it's the vehicle for Islam...Islam is

ticing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America."

Gabriel has also stated: "America and the West are doomed to failure in this war unless they stand up and identify the real enemy: Islam."

"She has made it her mission -- one might say her crusade -- to warn that radical Muslims, a term she defines as all practicing Muslims, are bent on taking over the West...Gabriel believes that Muslims cannot serve loyally in the U.S.

military, that interfaith dialogue is 'nonsense, and that the difference between the Arab world and Israel is 'barbarism versus civilization.' The Muslim world will not be satisfied until all infidels are converted or eliminated, she has said."

"Muslims have been using propaganda as part of their wars of conquest for almost 1400 years. It is a key strategy to prepare unwilling populations to submit to Islam. One of the most difficult aspects of defending America from Islamist intentions is its multifaceted nature. It is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing...

"The Qur'an and Islamic law clearly state that all Muslims have a moral, religious and legal obligation to wage holy war against all infidels until this 7th century ideology is the only religion on Earth...

"Their mastery of propaganda is based on Islamic law and religious doctrine that state that Muslims have a duty to lie to nonbelievers in order to defeat them and subjugate them to Islam...

"When Muslims make up only a small minority of a nation's population, they wage stealth jihad. This approach allows them to infiltrate a country without setting off any alarms. Their goal is to prepare the country for the next stage of jihad. When their population increases enough Muslims start to use 'offensive warfare,' such as assassinations to silence critics, bombings and other violence to intimidate enemies and punish perceived slights to their religion."

BMM - apex body for Maharashtrians in US Cont’d from page 40

Although BMM is recognized globally due to the convention, there are many other projects and initiatives undertaken by the committee members. Currently 44 Marathi Mandals are BMM members. BMM introduces artists from NA to all Marathi Mandals.

Mandals can arrange programs

with local artists getting financial help from BMM. This project is called Talent Transfer. Tours of artists from India are also organized for the Mandals. This year BMM decided to provide Marathi movies to Mandals for screening.

BMM has entered legal agreements with the movie distributors.

"Harishchndrachi Factory", which was India's entry for Oscar awards was screened in many Mandals.

This project is a win-win situation for movie producers and Marathi folks in NA. BMM helps people of different age groups. For young children, Mandals have Marathi schools.

The school organizers receive

help in setting up the schools. A curriculum has been developed with collaboration with Bharati Vidyapeeth of Pune. Exams and certificates will also be provided

by BMM and Bharati Vidyapeeth.

This team will help coordinate children's programs at the Convention. For senior members, Uttarang is an initiative that encourages Senior Citizen activities and provides a link with Non Resident Indian Parents Organization (NRIPO) in India.

Maharashtra Mandal Chicago (MMC) will be hosting the next BMM Convention on July 21-24th, 2011 at the beautiful McCormick Place in downtown Chicago.

May 28, 2010

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Nirankari Mission's blood drive in Tracy PRAFULL LANDE

TRACY: The Sant Nirankari Mission, a spiritual movement working towards universal brotherhood celebrated 'Manav Ekata

the word about this blood camp.

The blood camp received an overwhelming response and total blood collected exceeded

Divas' (Human Unity Day) by organizing a Blood Donation Camp on Sunday, May 9 in Tracy, California. The Delta Blood Bank conducted this blood drive. Representatives from the Delta Blood Bank as well as volunteers of the Sant Nirankari Mission (sewadal) gath-

everyone's expectations. Although the timing for blood camp was announced for 10 am to 2pm, it had to be extended well beyond that timeframe and still there were a few who missed their chance due to time constraints. But they promised to visit again next year.

Fresno, San Jose and Sacramento.

Michelle Mills from Delta Blood Bank thanked SNM and mentioned that the love and hospitality she and her team received made her feel as if she was visiting her family.

Arrangements of snacks, water, fruits and juices were made for the blood donors. Apart from that Langar (community lunch) arrangement was also made.

In an adjacent hall, a documentary was shown on a big screen about divine journey of Baba Gurbachan Singhji who fell to the bullets of some fanatics on April 24, 1980.

The Sant Nirankari Mission celebrates human unity day and or-

One could see joy and satisfaction on the faces of volunteers conducting the event as well as blood donors. Some of them had come from places as far as Reno, Fresno, San Jose and Sacramento

ered at the Tracy Bhavan very early in the morning to set up the blood camp.

Sewadal members had worked hard for last few weeks spreading

One could see joy and satisfaction on the faces of volunteers conducting the event as well as blood donors. Some of them had come from places as far as Reno,

ganizes blood donation camps and health fairs as a tribute to his supreme sacrifice. A satsang program (spiritual congregation) was conducted from 11 am to 2 pm in the same hall and it was concluded with screening of the message to mankind by the head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji. He reinforced the importance of human unity. This message of human unity was not just listened to but was being lived by the people

who participated in the blood donation camp.

The Sant Nirankari Mission today is one of the leading blood donating voluntary organizations in India. Scores of blood donation camps are organized in the month of April every year. These camps are held as per the wishes of the present Spiritual Head of the Mission Baba Hardev Singh who said that donation of blood would be the best tribute to Baba Gurbachan Singh who sacrificed his life for the sake of Truth and human values.

Moreover, blood donation is the best service one could offer to humanity. When transfused in human veins blood knows no religion, caste or nationality.

The Mission has organized more than 1247 Blood Donation Camps in India and abroad during the past one decade. It is estimated that the volunteers of the Nirankari Sewa Dal and other devotees have so far donated more than 248,000 units of blood.

In year 2006, 168 camps were held and 28,587 units of blood donated. Quite often, His Holiness, his esteemed spouse and other members of the gracious family also donate blood during these

camps. The miracle is that the number of blood donors always exceeds the capacity of the blood collecting teams.

In recognition of the Mission's efforts towards promoting voluntary blood donation, the Indian Red Cross Society conferred a special award on the Mission on June 14, 2006.

The Sant Nirankari Mission is essentially a spiritual movement.

Its principal commitment to its followers is to make their minds conscious of the Eternal Reality and unite their Soul with the Creator, the Formless God. The Mission believes that ignorance and superstition are the biggest obstacles in man's path to real progress and happiness. The narrow-mindedness, hatred and pride brooded by them are the most vicious source of trouble for the mankind.

The Mission endeavors to remove the same by making spiritual enlightenment within the reach of every man and woman young or old, rich or poor, high or low, educated or illiterate, whatever the language, faith or culture, whatever the state or the nation.

44

India Post

Community/California

May 28, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Women's inter-faith group visits Chino mosque India Post News Service

CHINO, CA: About 130 women from different religions, who all belong to the Women's Interfaith Committee of Southern California, came to the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino for a tour and Question & Answer session with Imam Shamshad on May 13.

After the tour and before the Q&A session, Imam Shamshad took the guests inside the mosque prayer hall and gave them an introduction to the basic beliefs of Islam, along with an overview of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India.

The Ahmadiyya sect, the Imam said, was started under divine command in 1889 to lay the foundation for a community of righteous, God-fearing and peace-loving individuals through whom God would re-establish the religion of Islam and the institution of Khilafat, or divinely-guided spiritual leadership, and spread the true message and teachings of Islam around the world.

Questions addressed included: why women were separate from men in Islam; why women had to cover themselves; and what were the main differences Ahmadi Muslims and other Muslims?

Imam Shamshad explained that the main difference between Ahmadis and other Muslims was that Ahmadis believed that God could send a messianic prophet in the latter days who would be totally subordinate to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and who would restore Islam back to its original pristine purity of teachings and practices. This follower prophet would not bring any new Holy Law from God to replace or

Imam Shamshad addressing guests in Chino mosque

abrogate the Holy Quran.

The trip to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Mosque in Chino was part of an ongoing religious awareness program by the

working towards removing common misperceptions and prejudices, and promoting religious tolerance in today's turbulent times." Nadia Malik said. With

The trip to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Mosque in Chino was part of an ongoing religious awareness program by the Women's Interfaith Committee Women's Interfaith Committee.

Each year, the group charters buses and takes their members to a different place of worship representing one of the world's major religions. This time the religion chosen for its members to better understand was Islam.

The visit to the Chino Mosque was coordinated by the president of the women's auxiliary for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Hawthorne Mosque, Nadia Malik.

She said the Women's Interfaith Committee of Southern California has collaborated with the LA West Chapter, Women's Auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, for the past five years.

"In the spirit of interfaith dialogue and friendship, both nonprofit communities have been

the goal of promoting peace within diverse communities, emphasis is placed on how women play a critical role to help ease tensions in society."

As a result, nearly 130 women and several men belonging to

Guests at Q&A session

various faiths visited the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Chino chapter headquartered at the Baitul Hameed Mosque. Nadia Malik further added that, "Seeing so many Americans coming together at a mosque for their very first time to understand diversity in neighboring communities was truly a remarkable feat, one that the Women's Interfaith Committee of Southern California has been striving toward for over three years."

Lunch was served afterwards, and the interfaith group's chairwoman gave a 20-min, address on the topic of "Love." Free literature on Islam and a free booklet

of selected verses from the Holy Quran were available for the guests to take to better their understanding of the Muslim faith.

About 50 booklets of selected verses of the Quran were given free, along with hundreds of free brochures on various topics relating to Islam, the Ahmadiyya Community, Jesus and his escape from death on the cross.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has made headlines and garnered TV news coverage in recent weeks for standing up and publicly condemning terrorism by any so-called Muslims in the wake of the attempted Times Square car bombing.

Sukhwinder's 'Jai Ho' to beat Rahman's concert India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Even as Indian music maestro A. R. Rahman is preparing to kick off his "Jai Ho" concert tour in New York on July 11, popular Indian singer Sukhwinder Singh, who originally sang the now cult number 'Jai Ho' in the academy award winning Slumdog Millionaire, is preparing to steal the thunder from the iconic composer with his own concert tour in the US, also titled "Jai Ho", beginning May 23 in the Big Apple.

Sukhwinder will be performing live with an ensemble of leading Bollywood musicians at the Dar Constitution Hall in Washington DC on June 5. Local Impresario, Puneet Ahluwalia who is promoting Singh's show in Washington DC is all excited over the initial response of the Indian Diaspora living in the DC metropolitan area.

"Sukhwinder Singh is bigger than the limits that are put on him. It all has to do with the individual journey of this great international singer and music director," stated Ahluwalia.

Sukhwinder shot to fame with

"Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Filmfare award for the best playback singer in 1999. This song was also featured in the musical Bombay Dreams. This song was also used for the title credits of the Hollywood film, Inside Man. Ahluwalia is simultaneously promoting a new reality talent show "Your Minutes of Fame".

For the first time ever, talented in-

dividuals of the South Asian Diaspora are being provided a platform through this new reality show where many different talents can be exhibited in the series, such as contortionism, juggling, magic, stand-up comedy and beat boxing, aside from singing and dancing acts. The winner will be given the unique opportunity to perform at the Sukhwinder Singh Concert.

May 28, 2010

Community/California www.indiapost.com

SALDEF fundraiser banquet on June 6 India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) is holding its 2010 Southern California Fundraising Dinner on Sunday, June 6 at 6:00 pm at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Founded in 1996, SALDEF is the nation's oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization. It seeks to empower Sikh Americans to participate in all facets of American life and to educate

society about the Sikh faith and culture by engaging in legal assistance, educational outreach, media relations, and legislative advocacy.

SALDEF will also be recognizing individuals have supported and fostered the future of the Sikh community in the United States.

Nationally known comedian Rajiv Satyal will be the featured entertainment at the event, in addition to Bhangra and Giddha performance by local Sikh children, and an exhibit of photographs from 1984.

Rekhi daughter to wed Yale lawyer India Post News Service

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Raj-Ann Rekhi, the daughter of Kanwal and Ann Rekhi of Monte Sereno, Calif. will wed John Shiffer, Yale lawyer and entrepreneur at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco on May 29, 2010.

Ms. Rekhi, who works at the San Jose Museum of Art, is an Indo-American from the Sikh faith and Mr. Shiffer is Hispanic.

Their union caps a tradition of intermarriage between the Sikh and Hispanic communities which began in central California almost one hundred years ago. The couple plan to settle in the Bay Area and build on the entrepreneurial legacy of the

bride's father, Kanwal S. Rekhi, who is co-founder of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), and a Managing Director of Inventus Capital Partners in Menlo Park, Calif.

The couple will wed in a traditional Sikh ceremony including a Baraat (procession) featuring the bridegroom's entrance on a white horse.

The wedding will showcase the latest wedding attire from top designers in India and Silicon Valley. Guests to the wedding will include family, leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, public servants, and celebrity entertainers, and a diverse mix of San Francisco society.

India Post

45

Tech News Antony sticks to 26% FDI policy in defense industry NEW DELHI: Defense Minister A K Antony has ruled out for now any change in the defense production policy to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from existing 26 per cent to 100 per cent as suggested by the Commerce Ministry recently.

"At the moment it (policy on FDI in Defense) is 26 per cent. Our Defense Production Policy (DPP) is evolving over the years...But at the moment we feel Indian defense sector is not matured enough...not ready to absorb more FDI in defense sector.

We feel that time is not right to further expand it," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of the Navy Commanders Conference here.

TechBiz 46 India Post

www.indiapost.com

May 28, 2010

Nokia offers X3 to Indian users

N

okia, the mobile manufacturing stalwart is all set to launch another handset in Indian market from its X series. Not quite long after bringing X2 model to India, the company is going to offer X3 in India.

It's a normal segment 2G phone having all the desired features that a phone in this category must possess.

Nokia X3 is packed in the dimensions of 96 x 49.3 x 14.1 mm and carries the weight of just 103 grams. Display of the phone is its attractive feature with 2.2 inches broad TFT screen that is capable in showcasing the operations in 256K colors at a resolution of 240X320 pixels.

The phone is surely a good deal for a music lover, 3.5mm audio jack with stereo speakers offer user a great listening experience. Its dedicated music keys facilitate user to navigate through his favorite tracks.

Kelloggs Business Conference

India much more brand-driven market than China NAND KAPUR

Tata Power drags govt to court MUMBAI: The largest private power utility Tata Power, which is in an intense battle with R-Infra, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking to set aside a state order directing it to supply 360mw to the Anil Ambani-owned discom till June 30 at a cheaper rate of Rs 3.70 a unit.

The petition also seeks a stay on the state's direction issued on May 7 in the interim period. A vacation bench of the High Court is expected to hear the case on May 24.

The petition says the state "directing the MERC to take steps in relation to Tata Power's obligation to supply power to the distribution licensees of Mumbai is patently illegal." -PTI

RCOM offers Facebook's new mobile site

F

acebook, the largest social net working portal has rolled out a new mobile site "0.facebook.com" along with around 50 mobile operators in 45 countries and territories with zero data charges.

This new offering has been optimized to deliver a speedier user interface for people who access Facebook via their mobile on the go across the globe.

Facebook's 0.facebook.com is simply a faster and lighter version of Facebook's mobile site m.facebook.com.

The 0.facebook.com has been composed of all of the key features of Facebook, with no graphics or photos in order to make it faster.

Kellogg students at India Conference (L to R) Guneet Singh Bedi, Ankur Jain, Milind Kopikare, Murali Veeraiyan, Shailesh Rao (Managing Director Google India)

CHICAGO: According to a World Bank report, India has the 11th largest economy in the world.

In addition, its GDP is expected to overtake that of Europe in the next 15 years. Most speakers at the Kelloggs Business conference this year addressed issues relating to India's consumers.

The resilience of the Indian economy during the global recession has added intrigue to the India success story of the 21st century. As India powers up to meet the challenges of a new economic order, the Kellogg India Business Conference (KIBC) offers you the opportunity to listen to and network with India's best and brightest industry talents. Over the years, KIBC has become a leading forum to know more about India's remarkable success.

The conference started with Sunil Chopra welcoming the speakers on behalf of faculty and students present.

Ambassador H.S. Puri said, "In the line with our long held view, the

Amb H.S. Puri with former Kellog Dean Deepak Jain

said the technology company was focused on numbers. "India will see the largest human migration to urban areas, with 31 villagers arriving in a city every minute, in the next ten years," she said. She

The Kellogg India Business Conference (KIBC) offers you the opportunity to listen to and network with India's best and brightest industry talents. Over the years, KIBC has become a leading forum to know more about India's remarkable success country has fared extremely well from a growth perspective and India has definitely shrugged off the global headwinds. India's success story is almost two decades old."

Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer at Cisco Systems

correlated this future with a networked future which will transform the nature of work. India, she said, was a key market for Cisco for pilot studies of innovative products for this future and as a consumer market.

For D. Shivakumar, vice president and managing director of Nokia in India, the country translated into the largest market for mobile phones in the world. He said the country is much more brand-driven market as compared to China.

"The consumer there works in a different way," he said. "Indians are very brand and value conscious. For example, customized ringtone sales for mobile phones are driven by star names." Expanding further on this theme after the conference, he said that entertainment will lead the convergence market in India.

At 1:20, the ratio of mobiles to PCs is the highest in the world.

This, he said, would have implications for space storage as well.

Cont’d on page 47

RCom, Bharti bag 13 circles in 3G; Govt gets Rs 67,710 cr NEW DELHI: The auction for 3G mobile license ended with RCom, Bharti and Aircel bagging 13 circles each, and will leave the government with a Rs 67,710 crore revenue windfall.

However, no single operator managed to bag all 22 circles on offer -- the total bid price for which touched Rs 16,750.58 crore on the

34th day of bidding.

Anil Ambani-led RCom will pay Rs 8,585.04 crore towards the 3G license, but the single largest outgo would be from Bharti that will pay Rs 12,295.46 crore.

Vodafone, which is second in terms of fee outgo, would be paying over Rs 11,617 crore for license to offer high-speed voice and data

service in nine circles.

Key circles Mumbai and Delhi went to Bharti, Vodafone and RCom. Bharti complained that the auction format and severe shortage drove up the prices beyond reasonable levels.

The government had fixed a reserve price of Rs 3,500 crore for

3G spectrum and had originally estimated to raise Rs 35,000 crore from the sale.

"We would like to point out that the auction format and severe spectrum shortage, along with ensuing policy uncertainty, drove the prices beyond reasonable levels.

Cont’d on page 47

TechBiz Post

May 28, 2010

India Post

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Pitroda assails 19th century mindsets India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: Nineteenth Century mindsets, Twentieth Century processes, to meet Twenty First Century needs cannot lead to growth said Sam G Pitroda, Adviser to the PM Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations and Chairman C-Sam Inc. He was speaking at a session on "Achieving Inclusive Double Digit Growth: Government Industry Partnership" during the CII National Conference and Annual Session, 2010 organized by Confederation of Indian Industry here.

Pitroda said that the solution to inclusive growth lay in providing high bandwidth connectivity to rural India. This would open the possibility of making rural India into the back office of urban India providing them the growth opportunity.

He further added that India is today a nation of a billion connected people thus necessitating a different growth strategy. The next big phase of growth will be information infrastructure and innovation in processes not just in products.

The world has changed in a very fundamental way over the

last 20 -30 years and the processes we are using do not work in this world, said Arun Maira, Member Planning Commission.

Elaborating on the concept, Maira added that the idea of democracy, the idea about inclusive rights and the idea about voices of people are much more recent.

The earlier models of management are not appropriate for India today. Today's problems require

NASSCOM, urged the government to arrive at an index to measure inclusive growth on the lines of the Stock Exchange indices. It was important for the country to know, on a periodic basis, how we had fared on the inclusive growth index, he said.

Expressing faith in the country's ability and position to achieve inclusive growth, Karnik said, we are unique and well

India's uniqueness also lies in the fact that we have been a democracy before moving towards becoming a developed nation thus making it important for us to follow a growth model different from the already developed nations people with different perspectives to work together, he said.

According to Maira, India needs to learn a "new institution" of communication, of the role of government and of the role of businesses. He emphasized that India's growth model needed innovation that enabled people to earn and own their enterprises.

Kiran Karnik, Former President,

placed but we require a different growth model. We need to relook, reexamine and rethink to arrive at this new growth model, he said.

India's uniqueness also lies in the fact that we have been a democracy before moving towards becoming a developed nation thus making it important for us to follow a growth model different from the already developed nations,

India much more brand-driven market than China Cont’d from page 46

indiapost.com

"Unlike Western markets, we see largescale storage primarily happening on PCs," he said.

Shailesh Rao, of Google, concentrated his talk on India's 43 million small businesses. He said the company was focused on introducing new products, such as an SMS blog and search through mobile phones, for them. According to him, the Indian consumer was especially value con-

scious. For example, the SMS blog was popular and brought in more revenue than the search service because small businesses saw value in promoting their products through SMS blogs rather than expending revenue through SMS search.

The technology focus of the speakers was not intentional said Gaurav Panwar, cochair of the conference. He said technology had played an important role in the new India and the conference reflected this in its speaker list.

added Karnik.

B Muthuraman, Vice Chairman, Tata Steel, highlighted that the industry had a responsibility towards the society and it was for every organization to discharge such duties. This requires the industry to change their mindset to realize that if we do not promote inclusive growth, we can not have growth.

Muthuraman said that the new index of measurement should be such that it drives organizations to take a view on inclusiveness. India and Indian companies need a business model that includes society's aspirations and thus grows in consonance with its needs.

Tarun Das, Former Chief Mentor CII and President, Aspen Institute India summarizing the discussions said that India was going to achieve growth with transformation technology i.e. television, information technology, telecom etc.

It is also evident that there is a larger role for the private sector in this growth process, he added.

Das also emphasized that twenty first century India required us to redefine public private partnerships to include people.

47

RCom, Bharti bag 13 circles in 3G; Govt gets Rs67,710 cr Cont’d from page 46

As a result, we could not achieve our objective of pan-India 3G footprint in this round," Bharti said in a statement.

Nine operators, who were in the fray for three-four slots of spectrum, had welcomed the format in the mock auction.

"They knew what they were bidding. I'm quite certain we should respect the market determined price," telecom regulator J S Sarma said. "I calculated Rs 35,000 crore (revenue from 3G and Broadband Wireless spectrum sale) in the Budget. I'm getting Rs 67,000 crore, almost double. So, (I will get) that much elbow room," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

The revenue mop up will help the government cut its fiscal deficit to nearly 4.9 per cent from 5.5 per cent of GDP projected in the Budget. "I'm happy to see that the government is going to earn more than expected," Telecom Minister A Raja said. Delhi spectrum went for Rs 3,316.93 crore, while that the bid for Mumbai closed at Rs 3,247.07 crore. -PTI

48 India Post

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India Post 49

1 Khili Re - Raavan

6 Bekarar - Paathshaala

2 Ghum Suhm Ghum Suhm - IAWA

7 Ranjha Ranjha - Raavan

3 Dont Know What To Do - Housefull

8

4 Mein Tenu Samjjawan - Virsa

9 Rang De - Bumm Bumm Bole

5 Chaska - Badmaash Company

50

India Post

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May 28, 2010

Yaadan - Virsa

10 Ankahi Si - Chase

Barbara & son B

arbara Mori's 12-year-old son Sergio will soon hit the big screen in a Mexican film, with his mommy.

The movie is being produced by Barbara's production house.

After having shot her first Bollywood movie Kites, the actress now plans to concentrate on her regional films, rather than on Hollywood.

A source reveals that, Sergio is quite excited to face the camera. "Sergio has been on the movie sets from quite an early age. He is looking forward to shooting with his mom."

Sergio plays Barbara's son in the film. The movie is about a single mother finding love, late in her life. It will showcase the mother-son bond between the two.

However, this isn't the first time Barbara and Sergio will be facing the camera together. The two have previously done a commercial shoot for the global 'Got Milk' campaign.

Deepika wins B

ollywood's sex symbol Deepika Padukone gets a thumbs up from various designers for the perfect attire she was in - on her very first appearance on the red carpet. She stole the limelight from the experienced Aishwarya Rai who made many a fashion blunder at the Film Festival.

Aishwarya Rai, who has been attending the French film festival since 2002 as the global face of L'Oreal, has been drawing criticism from designers for her wrong choice of outfits and was only appreciated last year when she wore a white off-shoulder Roberto Cavalli.

24-year-old Deepika was able to make the right choice in her first go itself. The young actress, who is attending the event as the face of liquor brand Chivas Regal, opted for a Rohit Bal - off white, slightly embroidered saree with touches of gold, instead of a western look.

Designer Charu Parashar said, "She was wearing a saree and I think that's an appropriate outfit for any Indian diva walking an international platform. It was a nice off-white saree with a sexy blouse, making the look exude a good amount of glitz and glamour."

51 India Post

T

he small town of Tawang is located amidst the eastern Himalayan ranges. It is famous for its 400-year-old monastery. It is one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in India and is an important pilgrim center for the followers of Buddhism. Apart from its religious importance, Tawang is famous for its natural beauty, which attracts and enchants the traveler.

Tawang is located in the northwestern part of the state of Arunachal Pradesh, in the northeastern region of India. It is adjacent to border with Bhutan. It is

set amongst the mighty Himalayas at an altitude of 3400 m above sea level. The weather in Tawang is alpine. Summers (April-June) are short and mild, while winters are very cold (November-February). It experiences scant monsoon rains in July-September. It experiences snowfall in the months of December and January.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit Tawang is between the months of June and October History: The origin of Tawang is obscure. It was a part of the kingdom of Tibet in medieval times.

Local tribal rulers governed it from time to time. The British had de-

The 8m tall statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in the Tawang Monastery

It is one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in India and is an important pilgrim center for the followers of Buddhism. Apart from its religious importance, Tawang is famous for its natural beauty, which attracts and enchants the traveler

www.indiapost.com

clared this area as off-limits in 1873.

The area around Tawang became a cause of disagreement between India and China, after India gained independence in 1947. The Chinese army invaded Tawang in 1962 but they later withdrew.

Tourist attractions Tawang is perched at a height of over 10,000 ft above sea level. It is an important Buddhist center of northeast India. The origin of the Tawang monastery can be traced to the mid-17th century.

A monk, Mera Lama, a contemporary of the fifth Dalai Lama, founded this monastery. The sixth Dalai Lama was born in this monastery. The Tawang Monastery is also known as the 'Galden Namgyal Lhatse.'

This monastery is a virtual treasure trove of Tibetan Buddhist culture. The Parkhang hall within the monastery has a library that houses a good collection of rare Buddhist manuscripts and Thanka paintings (traditional Tibetan paintings on cloth). The monastery complex also houses a tower-

May 28, 2010

ing 18-ft-high gilded statue of the Buddha in the prayer hall. The monastery is situated on a spur about 2 km from the heart of the town. Tawang provides the traveler with panoramic view of the eastern Himalayas. The area around Tawang is suitable for trekking and hiking.

Places around: The picturesque town of Bomdila is an important town to visit near Tawang and is known for its natural beauty and Buddhist monasteries.

Fairs & festivals: The Tibetan Buddhist festival of Losar is celebrated in the month of FebruaryMarch every year with great fanfare in the Tawang monastery.

How to reach Road - Tawang is located in a remote part of India amongst the lofty Himalayan ranges. It does not have an airport or railway station of its own. It is connected by road with other towns in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam via Bomdila.

Tawang can be reached from the town of Tezpur in Assam by local bus (24 hours), while it takes 12 hours in a shared jeep.

52

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

May 28, 2010

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Kerala to woo tourists with serviced villas KOCHI: Exploring new options to meet the growing demand for room space in God's Own Country, the Kerala Tourism Department has launched a new initiative -serviced villas.

The serviced villas will be independent, furnished homes preferably built in Kerala architecture style. The villas will have a minimum of one room and maximum of six rooms or 12 beds for guests besides a well equipped kitchen with a cook well versed in Kerala

cuisine and a qualified person who can speak English.

"The new scheme will increase accommodation options in the state and is aimed at providing comfortable stay facilities of standardized high quality to visitors and supplement accommodation availability," Tourism Director M Sivasankar said.

"The aim is to provide affordable accommodation at various destinations. Apart from providing a clean and affordable place of stay

Apart from providing a clean and affordable place of stay for tourists, villas will offer a never before opportunity to experience authentic Kerala at its best," he said for tourists, villas will offer a never before opportunity to experience authentic Kerala at its best," he said.

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Lot of enquiries have poured in for the scheme from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Pathnamthitta, Wayanad and Idukki.

This scheme is different from homestays as the property owner need not stay in the house.

"In homestays, the main regulation is that owners or their relatives should stay in the property."

A five-member apex committee, appointed by the Department of Tourism, will approve the establishment and oversee the implementation of the scheme. A fee for approval or renewal of the service villas is Rs 2,500.

The tourism department has also started 11 units under

'Vazhyoram' project, which envisages development of quality wayside facilities throughout the state with private sector participation.

Refreshment centers, toilets, parking facilities can be provided by those having landed property on national highways and main roads under the project. Three more are likely to be started this year.

Kerala Tourism is expecting an increase of 10 per cent in tourist arrivals this year -- both domestic and international -- tourism department sources said.

As per provisional figures of 2009, about 5.48 lakh foreign tourists visited the state last year, while domestic visitors were 77.89 lakh.

"Presently, there is need for another 10,000 good quality rooms in the state," the sources said.

There are about 1500 rooms in unclassified hotels and about 429 homestays. -PTI

J-K plans car rally on 'Mughal Road' JAMMU: Retracing famous "Mughal road", the Jammu and Kashmir government has planned a car rally on the route to boost tourism in the state.

"Tourism department will organize a car rally on Mughal road to boost tourism in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch," state tourism minister Nawang Rigzin Jora told PTI. The rally named "on the footprints of Mughals" would be held in June, he added.

Medieval Mughal emperors and their royal armies used to travel on the route due to which it came to be known as "Mughal road".-PTI

Tunnel to shorten Anantnag-Kishtwar distance SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government plans to construct a tunnel at Vailoo on the justopened Anantnag-Kishtwar road to reduce the distance between the two places and facilitate tourists, especially Amarnath pilgrims.

State Roads Minister G M Saroori said more facilities would be created at different spots along the route for the convenience of travelers.

Saroori, who inaugurated the road built at Rs 4.50 crore, said the road linking Anantnag in south Kashmir and Kishtwar district in Jammu could boost religious tourism and improve the economy of the area. -PTI

Travel & Hospitality Post

May 28, 2010

India Post

53

www.indiapost.com

India major medical tourism destination NEW YORK: India is surging ahead in the race for medical tourism leaving behind countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore which were earlier considered preferred destinations of foreign patients.

India holds a strong appeal for Americans as the exploding costs of medical treatment in the US are forcing them to venture to exotic places to get heart surgery, cancer therapy, and dentistry.

Many Indian hospitals have been quietly negotiating with US companies to send their employees to India for medical treatment at "rock-bottom rates", as one brochure of a Bangalore-based hospital in circulation in the New York/ New Jersey region professes.

Indian companies are acquiring firms in Singapore and Thailand which enables them to take advantage of a large trans-Asia presence that results in boosting business, besides strengthening infrastructure and treatment possibilities for

foreign patients.

Many foreign patients who arrive in India have already acquired some exposure to and confidence

Many Indian hospitals have been quietly negotiating with US companies to send their employees to India for medical treatment at "rockbottom rates", as one brochure of a Bangalore-based hospital in circulation in the New York/New Jersey region professes in Indian medical experts and nurses who maintain a ubiquitous presence in hospitals in USA, Canada, UK or even Australia.

Studies have forecast that

India's medical tourism market will be worth some USD 2 billion a year by 2012 compelling the Indian Government to introduce a new category of medical visas for foreigners to facilitate their stay in India.

The visa issued to the patient and an accompanying caretaker, could be extended up to three years.

Indian hospitals in Mumbai and Bangalore - and also in other cities - report of a steady rise in the number of patients from the United States.

"Even with airfare, the cost of going to India for surgery can be markedly cheaper, and the quality of services is often better than that found in the United States and UK. Indeed, many patients are pleased at the prospect of combining their tummy tucks with a trip to the Taj Mahal," YaleGlobal, a flagship publication of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization contended. -PTI

Beach patrol timing increased in Goa PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat has said that the state's beaches would now be manned till late night under beach management scheme.

"We have extended the beach management scheme till 11 pm so that the beaches are manned properly," Kamat said here.

Earlier, the beaches were manned till 6 pm.

The Chief Minister said this at a function organized by World Travel and Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) to hand over vehicles to the state government that would be used for proposed Tourist Security Force.

The state has already implemented beach management scheme contracted to a private party, which has employed several

lifeguards along the 105-km-long coastline.

Kamat said certain incidents

He said that Chief Justice of Bombay High Court has agreed to have a designated court for trials involving foreigners. The court will expedite the hearing and dispose them off on day-today basis involving foreigners raise apprehensions in the mind of international travelers.

"Such incidents happen in the

countries where tourism is the backbone of the economy. But we have taken abundant precautions and all the culprits are booked," he added.

He said that Chief Justice of Bombay High Court has agreed to have a designated court for trials involving foreigners. The court will expedite the hearing and dispose them off on day-to-day basis.

The private players in the tourism field have donated 15 jeeps and 7 two wheelers for Tourist Security Force, an elite force that is being conceived to look after safety of tourists in this coastal state.

These vehicles will patrol the coastline from extreme south to north. -PTI

Gulmarg golf course by this tourist season SRINAGAR: The Gulmarg golf course will worldclass facilities will be ready and functional this tourist season a promotional campaign will be initiated to woo international golfers to the state, Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani said here.

While reviewing pace of work on the golf course,

60 km from here, he stressed the need to create infrastructural facilities to woo tourists.

"Golfing has the potential to emerge as a major tourist activity in the State. Once golf courses at Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sidhra become operational, we will be able to attract a totally new class of sports and adventure lovers to the state," he said. -PTI

Chardham Yatra begins in Uttarakhand DEHRADUN: The annual religious "Chardham Yatra" has begun with opening of portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines, nestled in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

Amid chanting of hymns and shlokas, doors of the two temples were opened, after six months, coinciding with the auspicious day of "Akshya Tritiya".

Scores of pilgrims offered prayer at the two temples on the first day of the yatra season, officials said. The yatra will continue for six months.

Doors of Yamunotri shrine, situated at a height of 3700 meter in Uttarkashi district was thrown open at 1100 am. Two hours later, the portals of Gangotri were also opened amid religious fervor.

The Chardham yatra collectively comprises pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in Garhwal Himalayas of the hill state, which is also considered to be mainstay of the hill's economy.

Badrinath, which is located in Chamoli district at a height of 3133 meter, will be opened on May 19

and Kedarnath (3584 meter) on May 18.

The Chardham yatra is considered as backbone of the thriving religious tourism in the state that attracts nearly 15-17 lakh pilgrims

The Chardham yatra collectively comprises pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in Garhwal Himalayas of the hill state, which is also considered to be mainstay of the hill's economy every year from home and abroad.

The government has taken various steps for the smooth conduct of yatra and directed all the departments to work in tandem during the period. -PTI

„ Health

Line

Abortion foes capitalize on health care law

WASHINGTON: Abortion opponents fought passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul to the bitter end, and now that it's the law, they're using it to limit coverage by private insurers.

An obscure part of the law allows states to restrict abortion coverage by private plans operating in new insurance markets.

Capitalizing on that language, abortion foes have succeeded in passing bans that, in some cases, go beyond federal statutes.

„ Ariz. officially joins suit against health reform PHOENIX: Arizona is now officially among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the federal health reform law.

Gov. Jan Brewer's office says that an amended lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida adds Arizona and six other states to 13 previously participating in the suit.

It challenges the constitutionality of the federal law signed in March by President Barack Obama. -AFP

Health Science 54

India Post

www.indiapost.com

May 28, 2010

High-risk patients may pay more CHICAGO: The federal health law won't offer relief to thousands of Illinois residents who pay high premiums because of medical problems. The 16,000 residents who already pay into Illinois' highrisk insurance pool will keep paying high rates. -AP

Identify stroke & save a life

D

uring a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance) They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.)

She had suffered a stroke at the party. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this...

Stroke Identification A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within

getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then

Recognizing a Stroke Remember the '3' steps, STR. Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a

stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: S * Ask the individual to Smile...

T * TALK. Ask the person to Speak a Simple Sentence (Coherently) (eg 'It is sunny out today').

R * Ask him or her to Raise Both Arms.

If he or she has trouble with Any One of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Another 'sign' of a stroke is 1. Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue.

2. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

Horoscope

May 28, 2010

India Post

55

www.indiapost.com

ARIES Mar 21-Apr 20 You will be more confident and take decisions wisely. Value of stocks will appreciate suddenly and you may dispose off some and pocket the money.

People in business will be concerned about growing competition. You will call an old friend to discuss some important issues. Victory in ongoing legal matters within your reach.

LEO Jul 23-Aug 22 Suddenly you will be full of energy. Presence of Mars in first will cause major changes in life. You will be out of past restrictions and make a fresh start. Justice will be served in ongoing and pending legal case. You will have better controls over finances from now and on.

Some of you will be getting ready to move to a better and bigger place.

SAGITTARIUS

May 28th to June 3rd

Nov 23-Dec 22 There will be couple of fortunate changes in life. Commitment may come this week. You may beat heavy odds and get selected for the new position.

Property deal may also go through after minor changes. Some of you may start a new venture in partnership with a younger person. You will also give final shape to a vacation.

TAURUS Apr 21-May 20 Venus in second will make you financially comfortable. Money promised will be delivered on time. You may be travelling to a warm area for an important meeting. Large financial gains possible from overseas. You will spend money on buying some expensive items for the house. Very favorable time for people in food and grocery business.

VIRGO Aug 23-Sept 22 You will attend a religious ceremony with family this week. Stress level and pressure will come down a lot and boss will be more cooperative from now. You will have some concerns about the health of an older family member. You have very strong chances of making extra money through stocks.

CAPRICORN Dec 23-Jan 19 You will be called for the second interview. People in business will have better sales. You may call to inquire or visit a person not feeling well lately.

You will become very ambitious and keep trying various directions for a possible change. You will easily convince people on the other side and get the job done quickly.

GEMINI May 21-Jun 20 You will attend several social events this week. You will need to mail a small check out to a government agency.

Changes in career will prove to be a turning point and can take you to an entirely different level. Use proper tools or help or will feel hurt in arms later. Your liabilities will reduce and financial worries will disappear.

LIBRA Sept 23-Oct 22 Mind will be relaxed as things will become easier at work. Money wise also it looks promising as you will be out of several previous small debts. Some one lot younger will give some very useful tips. Launching another project with friends will be a good idea. You will have your eyes set on a nice house and may make the offer too.

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18 Offer will be hard to turn down. Meetings will go well but answer will come at another time. You will spend an evening with well known and successful people. A short vacation with the family will also get finalized. People working on research will see final breakthrough. You may spend some money on repairs to property or car.

CANCER Jun 21-Jul 22 You will be surrounded by admirers and may receive a nice gift at the event.

Some of you may start the process for a business loan also. Changes will be good you know but will cause slight nervousness in mind. Sun in eleventh can get you the money through speculation and even lottery, so take your chances and buy a ticket.

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 22 Business trip will be enlightening and fruitful. There will be some positive changes at work and the new assignment if completed on time will take you to next level. You will be able to help many with your expertise. You will be excited about an upcoming family reunion. Value of your stocks will grow considerably.

PISCES Feb 19-Mar 20 Your valuable advice will help a needy person. All important contracts will be signed this week and end the suspense. You will feel very motivated and take care of few other pending issues.

Spouse will make good use of nice weather and may start going for walk.

An old friend will call and invite you to his place for dinner.

UK to seek 'new special relationship' with India LONDON: Britain's new coalition government has committed itself to forge a 'new special relationship' with India, an objective Prime Minister David Cameron had articulated as early as 2006 during his visit to New Delhi as the Conservative leader.

The full text of the coalition agreement published here says: "We will work to establish a new 'special relationship' with India and seek closer engagement with China, while standing firm on human rights in all our bilateral relationships".

The agreement also supports India's membership to the UN Security Council.

It says: "We support reform of the UN Security Council, including permanent seats for Japan, India, Germany, Brazil and African representation".

Cameron, who made his first overseas visit as leader of the Conservative party to India in 2006, has been in close touch with the Indian community often addressing public meetings of Indian spiri-

tual leader Morari Bapu.

Writing in The Guardian after his visit to New Delhi, Cameron wrote: "For most of the past half century we in the west have assumed that we set the pace and we set the global agenda. Well now we must wake up to a new reality.

We have to share global leadership with India, and with China".

"And we must recognize that India has established beyond argument, through its economic and political success, its right to a seat at the top table. India, one of the great civilizations of the world, is truly great again".

He added: "Our special relationship with America has been forged through a shared past and a shared understanding of the world. And now, in the 21st century, as the world's centre of gravity moves from Europe and the Atlantic to the south and the east, I believe it is time for Britain and India to forge a new special relationship, to meet our shared challenges in this new era of international affairs".- PTI

56

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Classifieds

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May 28, 2010

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MATRIMONIALS BRIDEGROOM WANTED

Looking For A Suitable Match For "Hindu Punjabi" girl, 29, 5'5" working. Boy Should Be Tall, Good Looking, Well Educated, Professional And Financially Stable. Please Email At vivah4ca@gmail.com

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Notice is hereby given that sealed competitive bids will be accepted in the office of the GSA-Purchasing Department, County of Alameda, 1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 907, Oakland, CA 94612 NON-MANDATORY NETWORKING/ BIDDERS CONFERENCE, South County RFP #900627 Employee Service Recognition Awards, Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at 10:30 A.M.- Dublin Public Library, 200 Civic Plaza, Program Room, Dublin, CA NON-MANDATORY NETWORKING/ BIDDERS CONFERENCE, North County RFP #900627 Employee Service Recognition Awards, Thursday, June 3, 2010, at 2:00 P.M. - Alameda County General Services Agency, 1401 Lakeside Drive, Room 1107, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA Responses Due by 2:00 pm on July 1, 2010 County Contact : Stefanie Taylor at (510) 2089610 or via email: stefanie.taylor@acgov.org Attendance at Networking Conference is Non-mandatory. Specifications and bid copies regarding the above may be obtained at the Alameda County GSA-Purchasing Department or the Current Contracting Opportunities Internet website at www.acgov.org.

5/28/10 CNS-1860910# Notice is hereby given that sealed competitive bids will be accepted in the office of the GSA-Purchasing Department, County of Alameda, 1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 907, Oakland, CA 94612 NONMANDATORY NETWORKING/ BIDDERS CONFERENCE, South County RFP #900627 Employee Service Recognition Awards, Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at 10:30 A.M.- Dublin Public Library, 200 Civic Plaza, Program Room, Dublin, CA NON-MANDATORY NETWORKING/ BIDDERS CONFERENCE, North County RFP #900627 Employee Service Recognition Awards, Thursday, June 3, 2010, at 2:00 P.M. - Alameda County General Services Agency, 1401 Lakeside Drive, Room 1107, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA Responses Due by 2:00 pm on July 1, 2010 County Contact : Stefanie Taylor at (510) 2089610 or via email: stefanie.taylor@acgov.org Attendance at Networking Conference is Non-mandatory. Specifications and bid copies regarding the above may be obtained at the Alameda County GSA-Purchasing Department or the Current Contracting Opportunities Internet website at www.acgov.org.

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Datebook

India Post

May 28, 2010

www.indiapost.com

NEW YORK

ILLINOIS

NEW JERSEY

WASHINGTON DC

Upcoming

Upcoming

Upcoming

Upcoming

Fri May 28 • The White Party featuring India's Celebrity DJ Aqeel Venue: PRANNA, NYC, 79 Madison Avenue @ 28th Street, New York Time: 10pm to 4am Contact: 646-452-3424

Sat May 29 • Bharatanatyam Dance Intensive with Manjari Chandrasekhar Venue: Battery Dance, 380 Broadway, NYC Contact: info@sonaliskandan.com Time: 1pm to 5pm

Sun May 30

Tues May 29

Every Sunday

Sat May 29

• Divine Equations

• Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan host Satsang, Bhajan & Meditation Program

• How to apply Bhagavad Gita in daily life

Venue: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, 10915 Lemont Road, Lemont, Illinois Contact: 312-212-1240 Highlights: A visual poetry of compositions by Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi, World PremiereChicago, Tyagaraja Utsavam presents Natya Dance Theatre. Dance choreography by Hema Rajagopalan. Music direction by Chitravina N. Ravikiram

Sun May 30 • ABCD Chicago presents The White Out Party with DJ Aqeel Venue: Sound-Bar, 226 West Ontario Street, Chicago, Illinois, CA Time: 10pm Contact: 773-490-0975

• Dileep's Show 2010 Venue: Colden Center Auditorium, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, New York Time: 6:30pm Contact: 718-288-1217

Sat June 5 • CRY Walk 2010 Venue: Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, 300 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, Connecticut Time: 9am to 1pm Contact: 860-761-9947

Fri June 18 • A R Rahman Jai Ho The Journey Home World Tour 2010 Venue: Sears Centre, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, Illinois Time: 9pm Contact: 847-770-1088

Sat July 10 • Dealmaas 2010 USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN

Fri June 11

Venue: North Shore Center For Performing Art, Skokie, Illinois Time: 7:30pm to 9pm Contact: 414-336-5982

• A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho 2010 - The Journey Home World Tour

Fri July 23

Venue: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, New York Time: 8:30pm Contact: 703-595-4500

• Single Gujarati Find your Perfect Match at Matri 2010 Venue: Ramada Inn, 999 Rt. I S, North Brunswick Time: 8pm Contact: 2010@matri.org

Venue: Woodbridge township ambulance and Rescue squad, 77 Queen Road, 3rd Floor, Iselin, NJ 08830 Time: 10:30am to 1pm Contact: (732) 485-0647 Highlights: Lecture by close disciple of Shree Ashutosh Ji Maharaj, Bhajans, free meditation and Mahaprasad.

Sat May 29 • Mind And Meditation (Free Event) Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church, 131 Mountain Way, Morris Plains, New Jersey Time: 9:30am to 10:30am Contact: 973-400-9191

Sun May 30 • Jai Ho Live in Concert with Sukhwinder Singh Venue: Ritz Theater, 1148 E. Jersey St , Elizabeth, NJ Time: 6pm to 9:30pm Contact: 732-763-0118

Tues June 1 • Classses for Voice Modulation and RJ Venue: EBC Studios, 2088 US Highway 130 N, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey Time: 10am to 5pm Contact: 732-668-3726

Fri June 4 • Carnatic Music Concert by Bombay Jayashri Ramnath Venue: Sri Venkateswara Temple, 1075 Route 202/206, Bridgewater, New Jersey Time: 7:30pm Contact: 732-422-6830 Highlights: Carnatic Music Concert by Bombay Jayashri Ramnath With H.N. Bhaskar on the violin Manoj Shiva on the mridangam Anirudh Atreya on the Kanjira

Venue: Chinmaya Mission, 46 Norwood Road, Silver Spring, Maryland Time: 8:30am to 5pm Contact: 703-981-1808

Thurs June 10 • ORB Festival 2010 Venue: Ramblewood Resort, Darlington, MD, Maryland Time: 5pm to 8pm Contact: 917-569-1177

Sun July 4 • DC Rathyatra & Festival of India Venue: National Mall, 4th Street & Madison Ave, Washington, DC Time: 10am to 9pm Contact: 301-299-2100

Sat June 12 • Good Vibes Peace Festival Venue: Meditation Museum, 8236 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, District of Columbia Time: 10am to 3pm Contact: (301) 588-0144

Sun June 13 • A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho 2010 - The Journey Home World Tour - VA Venue: Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, WDCn Time: 7:30pm Contact: 703-595-4500

Fri July 23 • Single Perfect Match at Matri 2010 Venue: Ramada Inn, 999 Rt. I S, North Brunswick Time: 8pm Contact: 2010@matri.org

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Upcoming

Tues May 25

Every Sat (start from Sat Aug 8)

• Pancha Bhootam

• Gurukul Classes for Children

Venue: Freud Playhouse, Westwood, California Contact: (949) 874-3662

Venue: Sindhu Center, South California Time: 2pm to 4pm Contact: 818-541-1754 & 909-576-1114 Highlights: Children between the ages of 5 and 18.

Children will be taught the Fundamentals of Hinduism, Prayers, Shlokas, Bhajans and Values of our culture.

Sun May 30 • Annual Students Program Venue: Jewish Community Center, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, California Time: 2pm to 6pm Contact: sugandaiyer@comcast.net

Wed June 2 • Crow Canyon Country Club Wedding Showcase & Dinner Venue: Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr, Danville, California Time: 5pm to 9pm Contact: 510-825-6132

Fri June 4 • Bollywood Dreams Venue: The Venue formerly known as Empire Events Center, 1417 R St, Sacramento, California Time: 9pm to 2am Contact: 916-709-2578

Fri May 28 • Bollywood Bhangra Desi Fun Venue: Tanzore, 50 North La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, California Time: 9:30pm to 2am Contact: 805-587-9144

Sat June 5 • Bhajans and Ghazals

by Sudhir Narain Venue: Chinmaya Mission, 14451 Franklin Ave, Tustin, California Time: 6pm Contact: 714-832-7669

Sun June 6 • SALDEF Dinner

Sat June 5 • IIM USA Global Convention - Pinnacle Venue: The Ranch Golf Club, 4601 Hill Top View Ln, San Jose, California Time: 8am Contact: 818-209-0172

Sat June 12 • Bombay Jayashri - Vocal Venue: India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St, Milpitas, California Time: 3:30pm

Fri June 11 • Mount Madonna School's 32nd annual Ramayana Venue: Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave, San Jose, California Time: 7:30pm Contact: 408-847-2717

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Philosophy

May 28, 2010

India Post

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Q

uestion: A common impression that people have is that Hindus worship multiple gods. In fact, Hindus worship idols. Is there any truth in that?

Answer: To say that in Hinduism many Gods are worshipped is a misconception. Such a statement originates from a wrong understanding of Hindu Dharma. I would not even use the word monotheism - worshipping one God - to describe Hinduism. It is something much more than that.

In Hindu Dharma, there are not multiple Gods. One may argue that there is not even one God. The true essence of Hinduism is that there is only the God. Our understanding based on the Vedanta philosophy of Hindu Dharma is that this entire universe is not a special creation of an external God. Furthermore, we do not look at God as someone residing somewhere in heaven, and having created this universe from that vantage position is now controlling it as an outside entity.

The concept of having many gods, in my opinion, is rather ridiculous. It is not possible to have many gods. So, there is only one God, and to put it even more pre-

T

he child of Kisagotami died when he was two years old. She went to her friends and relatives, asking them to give some medicine to bring the child back to life. A monk advised her to go to the Buddha.

She at once ran to Buddha and said, "O venerable sir! Can you give any medicine to this child?" Buddha replied, "Yes. I will give you a very good medicine. Bring some mustard seed from some house where no child or husband or wife or father or mother or servant had died."

She agreed to do so.

Carrying her dead child in her bosom, Kisagotami went to a house and asked for some mustard seed. The people of the house offered it to her. Kisagotami asked, "In your house, has any son or husband or wife, father or mother or servant died?"

They replied, "O lady! Many have died in our house".

Kisagotami went to another house. The owner of the house said, "I have lost my eldest son and my wife".

She went to a third house.

People of the house answered, "We have lost our parents". She went to another house. The lady of the house said, "I lost my hus-

cisely, there is only the God. This entire universe happens to be not a special creation of the God but is itself a manifestation of the God. Worshipping idols Many people say that Hindus worship idols. I would like to differ with that kind of a description.

We do not worship idols; we worship Isvara, which is the Godhead.

Isvara. And he can choose any form because there is no superiority of one form over another. Since every form is the manifestation of the formless Lord, the choice is left to the devotee.

The devotee can choose any one of the myriad of forms available. He can then worship or relate to Isvara, he can propitiate the

Afterwards it is the mind which relates to the Isvara as it understands Him. Therefore the idol is simply an intermediary step.

In reality, nobody worships idols; nobody offers flowers to a piece of stone. The devotee's offering is to Isvara, fixed in his mind. The idol is nothing but a symbol of Isvara.

Hindus do not worship multiple gods

Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati

In reality, nobody worships idols; nobody offers flowers to a piece of stone. The devotee's offering is to Isvara, fixed in his mind. The idol is nothing but a symbol of Isvara

The Godhead, Isvara, has essentially no form. Isvara is formless, and not limited in time and space.

Hence Isvara can manifest in the framework of time/space as any form and every form. But the human mind being what it is, functions within the framework of space and time.

It can therefore relate to forms and names alone. And hence at least in the beginning of religiosity and also spirituality, the human being needs a form to relate to

Godhead through that form.

When the devotee offers a flower to an idol, it appears to an outsider that he is offering a flower to a piece of stone. But the devotee has a clear understanding that he is offering a flower to Isvara.

And the idol helps him to gain the Bhagvad akara or the particular mind modification, in which the mind is filled with the bhavana or the devotion to Isvara. Therefore the form serves a very limited purpose of fixing Isvara in the mind.

If you allow me to give you an example, a young man in love keeps a passport size photograph of his beloved in his wallet. He smiles when he takes out and looks at the photograph with love and affection.

When he relates to that photograph it is clear that he is not relating to a piece of paper but he is relating to his beloved who is brought into his mind by this photograph. An idol serves a similar purpose for the devotee.

band last year."

Disappointed, Kisagotami returned to the Buddha who asked her, "O good girl! Have you brought the mustard seed?"

Kisagotami answered, "I am not able to find a single house where no one has died."

Then Buddha said, "All the objects of this world are perishable and impermanent. Man or woman is troubled by birth, death, disease, old age and pain. We

entered the Order of Nuns.

I sow the seed of faith. The good actions that I perform are the rain that waters the seeds. Viveka and Vairagya are parts of my plough.

Righteousness is the handle.

Meditation is the goad. Sama and Dama - tranquillity of the mind and restraint of the Indriyas (senses) - are the bullocks. Thus I plough the soil of the mind and remove the weeds of doubt, delusion, fear, birth and death.

The harvest that comes in is

Ploughing the field Once Buddha went to the house of a rich Brahmin with bowl in hand. The Brahmin became very angry and said, "O Bhikshu, why do you lead an idle life of wandering and begging? Is this not disgraceful?

You have a well-built body. You can work. I plough and sow. I work in the fields and I earn my bread at

Bringing back a dead child to life

The Buddha

should gain wisdom from experience. We should not expect for things that do not and will not happen.

This expectation leads us to unnecessary misery and suffering.

One should obtain Nirvana. Then only all sorrows will come to an end. One will attain immortality and eternal peace". Kisagotami then became a disciple of Buddha and

‘I sow the seed of faith. The good actions that I perform are the rain that waters the seeds. Viveka and Vairagya are parts of my plough.

Righteousness is the handle’ the sweat of my brow. I lead a laborious life. It would be better if you also plough and sow and then you will have plenty of food to eat".

Buddha replied, "O Brahmin! I also plough and sow, and having ploughed and sown, I eat". The Brahmin asked, "Where are your plough, bullocks and seeds?"

Then Buddha replied, "O Brahmin!

the immortal fruit of Nirvana. All sorrows terminate by this sort of ploughing and harvesting". The rich arrogant Brahmin came to his senses. His eyes were opened.

He prostrated at the feet of Buddha and became his adherent.

Buddha Jayanti, the 2573rd birth anniversary of the Buddha will be celebrated on May 27.

Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome.

Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live.

-Eckhart Tolle A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything.

-Ramakrishna If you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.

-Deepak Chopra Do not try to approach God with your thinking mind. It may only stimulate your intellectual ideas, activities, and beliefs. Try to approach God with your crying heart. It will awaken your soulful, spiritual consciousness.

-Sri Chinmoy All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.

-Aristotle I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

-Socrates Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

-Dalai Lama

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May 28, 2010

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IAS topper from J&K: A shining example for all MOHAMMAD ASHRAF

T

here was a time when the Indian Administrative Service in Kashmir was considered to be the 'East India Company'! Except for some brief periods during the rule of Sheikh Abdullah, most of the important administrative positions in the state have been held by the Central Services Officers who were mostly from outside the state.

These Officers were considered colonial officers and they were resented by the local officers, who in some cases were more competent than the outsiders. The members of the Central Services played the same role as they used to play during the British rule in India when the service was called the Indian Civil Service. The British had created the service to control a vast country like India.

The British inducted people from the elite class into the Civil Service to ensure the writ of the Crown ran throughout the length and breadth of the country. They created an edifice with its centre at Delhi to keep the colony as part of the empire. The Governor General administered the country through these Central Services.

After Independence, the Government of free India also depended upon the same colonial edifice to run the country. Only the name of the Service was changed to Indian Administrative Service.

Delhi continued to be the seat of absolute power and the system of governance remained virtually unchanged.

Earlier the British Aristocracy was running India through the Indian Civil Service and after Independence the Indian elite ran the country through Indian Administrative Service.

For quite some time the Service was the most sought after and the competition to get into the service was the toughest. The brightest and the most competent opted for induction into its ranks.

The prestige of the service started getting diluted after the reservation quota and the globalization phenomenon. With the opening up of the economy and the entry of multi-national corporations, the most sought after area of employment for the brightest and the competent from the elite became the corporate sector.

This somehow lessened the glamour of the Central Services.

Government Service cannot compete with the private sector, with regards to perks and compensation.

The only attraction of the Central Services especially the Administrative one is the taste of power

it gives to the individual officers over the destiny of their fellow citizens. There has been politicization of these services in recent times and the politicians have been patronizing specific officers of their own choice.

Frequent transfers based on political considerations have made it an annoying service in some states. Moreover, a number of retired bureaucrats have been joining different political parties which have also given a political

have been shying away from the Indian Central Services for two reasons. First, they have considered everything Indian as alien.

This alienation has been created by the attitude of the Kashmiri leaders especially the ones advocating 'Azadi' who have kept a distance from everything Indian.

For them everything short of 'Azadi' is taboo. The other factor has been the attitude of Delhi. It has always distrusted the Kashmiri Muslims. The alienation would

India Post Maoist menace

I

Chief Minister Omer Abdullah honoring Shah Faesal

tinge to the service.

The recent topping of the IAS selection list by Shah Faesal from Kupwara is no mean achievement.

In a country of 1.2 billion people if a young man tops the selection list of the toughest competition, it is a commendable feat.

He truly deserves the kudos he is getting. In the present choked atmosphere of siege in Kashmir,

Shah Faesal's feat is food for thought for everyone. The leaders of the 'Azadi' have to think about it. Their goal is not going to be diminished or diluted if they attend to all other pressing issues being faced by the common people any achievement by a Kashmiri any where in the world makes generates a sense of pride.

Over the years an impression has been created by a section of the media that Kashmiri youth are only capable of creating disruption by stone pelting. In reality, outside India, Kashmiris have excelled in many fields.

They have risen to appreciable positions in various multinational organizations. Kashmiri Muslims

have been less had there been sizeable representation of Kashmiri Muslims in the Central Services.

On the contrary, Kashmiri Hindus got a disproportionate share in all these Central Services including the ones connected with national security.

Shah Faesal's feat is food for thought for everyone. The leaders of the 'Azadi' have to think about it. Their goal is not going to be diminished or diluted if they attend to all other pressing issues being faced by the common people.

The induction of the elite into the Central Services during the British rule did not in any way affect the Indian Freedom Movement. In fact, some members of these services may have been instrumental in furthering the cause of freedom.

If the alienation of the youth is to end, Kashmiris have to be fully trusted. They have to be encouraged and provided facilities for competing in all Central Services including those connected with national security.

Shah Faesal through the IAS selection may have shown the way and it is for others to follow it, to demonstrate that the Kashmiris are no less talented than any one else.

Given the trust and the opportunity, they have the capability to rise to the top in every sphere of activity.

The writer is former Director General, Department of Tourism, J&K

ndia's Maoists have done enough to provoke a confrontation with the state but the State has been found to be unprepared.

Attack after gory attack on security forces and civilians have been taking place with regularity but the Home Ministry led by P Chidambaram has come up with the excuse of limited mandate.

Even after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared Naxalism to be the biggest threat to internal security, no coherent strategy has been put in place to tackle this menace. Chidambaram had won kudos for strengthening internal security vis a vis the terrorists originating from Pakistan after the Mumbai attack of 26/11. But in the case of Maoists, he has been a big failure. His own party, the Congress, has been of no help either. Partymen speak with so many voices not afraid of even tripping up their own Home Minister.

Part of the problem lies in the lack of development in the poverty-ridden Maoists dominated areas. The State governments and chief ministers have played vote bank politics in the region, playing up one group against the other instead of delivering on development of the region. And now such guilty former chief ministers like Digvijay Singh of Madhya Pradesh question the hardline approach being thought of by the Home Minister.

On the second anniversary of the UPA coming to power for a second innings, it presents the image of being soft on internal security and soft on defense issues. That the Maoists have gained an upper hand is apparent from their rejection of the latest offer of talks made by the Home Minister. And that Chidambaram made such an offer shows how compromised has become his position.

In an admission that the state police and paramilitary forces in the area are ill-equipped and ill-prepared, the Home Minister has asked for a number of BSF and CRPF battalions from Jammu and Kashmir to be redeployed in four states worst hit by Naxal violence. He has also clarified that the primary responsibility of fighting the Naxalites is that of the state governments.

The Home Minister has often criticized intellectuals who have spoken up for the Maoists by claiming that the violent Leftists are only reacting to the callousness and neglect by the state of the people of the region. But by their methods of killing civilians the Maoists also have won no friends. What is preventing the Center from taking an immediate hard approach of using the Army and air power is a consideration that the solution should not become a problem. When enforcement agencies are empowered with sweeping powers, there is a danger of the powers being misused. The government is now being accused of dithering which has emboldened the Maoists. If strong military action is taken it will be blamed for collateral damage. And when even an armed police force cannot enter the Maoist areas, what development can the governments, whether state or central, plan.

The most interesting aspect of the Maoist menace in Chhattisgarh is that the Chief Minister has escaped all blame. Law and order being a state subject, it is CM Raman Singh of BJP where the bucks stops. But Chidambaram has taken on so much responsibility himself that all the media focus has turned on him. Raman Singh has only come up with the outlandish theory that the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taeba could be assisting the Maoists. He put forward the reason that IED blasts of such precision could not have been done by a tribal from Bastar (district in Chhattisgarh).

Instead of indulging in blame game, chief ministers of Maoist affected states need to show some leadership qualities.

May 28, 2010

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