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Police search for missing Gujarati woman Details on page 11

Court tells FIA rivals to resolve dispute Details on page 11

Judge declines to hear Rana bail plea Details on page 4

VOL 15, No. 801

January 15, 2010

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Periodical Postage

2 TERRORISTS KILLED IN SRINAGAR ENCOUNTER

SRINAGAR: Security forces stormed a hotel in busy Lal Chowk area killing two LeT terrorists including a Pakistani, ending a 22-hour fierce gun battle that also left a policeman and a civilian dead.

At least 11 persons including two CRPF jawans were injured in the encounter, the first this year, which paralyzed life in the heart of the city.

"The encounter is over. Two terrorists of Lashker-e-Taiba including a Pakistani have been killed," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told reporters at the scene of the gun battle.

The Pakistani terrorist was identified by security agencies through wireless intercepts as Qari while the other was named as Usman from Sopore.

Details on page 4

Nitin Garg

Oz police on hunt for Garg killer Details on page 6

‘India expects its citizens to be safe in Australia’ Details on page 7

New House bill renews hope for immigrants

Indian IT experts build NYC iPhone app

Details on page 35

Indian companies top H1B visa seekers

Details on page 22

Details on page 36

Indian executive embezzles company funds Details on page 5

Bollyood stars add glitz to Auto Expo Details on page 20

INDIA POST SURVEY survey@indiapost.com This week’s question

Should India reduce troops in Kashmir?

Last week’s result

Do you approve of changes in India visa rules?

YES 83%

NO 17%

FIDAYEEN ATTACK: Flames engulf the Punjab Hotel in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, where militants were holed up during the gun battle with Indian security forces on January 7. Commandoes (left) stormed the four-storey building killing the gunmen and bringing an end to the siege.

CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 24-25 Classifieds --------------------- 46-48

‘Pravasi’ envoy from Australia Commissioner to India - a journey back to the country of his origin, a country he is finding to be fascinating and colorful.

“It has been a great opener of doors for me,” he says. “I have been interested in this job for some time, and in a sense I am lucky - it is a great opportunity for me to get Australia’s message across to India.”

SPECIAL INTERVIEW CAPT. KRISHAN SHARMA & ABHISHEK MUKHERJEE India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: It was some homecoming of sorts for Peter Varghese, when he was transferred to India in August last year. It has been a happy posting for the Australian High

Peter Varghese

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Community Post -------------- 11-20 Date Book -------------------------- 28 Edit Page --------------------------- 50 HealthScience Post --------- 39-41 Horoscope ------------------------- 44 Immigration Post ------------- 35-38 Life Style ----------------------- 26-27 Philosophy ------------------------- 49 Publisherís Diary ------------------ 3 Real Estate ------------------------ 43 India ---------------------------------- 42 TechBiz Post ------------------- 21-23 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-32

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January 15, 2010

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January 15, 2010

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ndia hosted yet another Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration in New Delhi this month attracting about 1500 delegates from more than 50 countries around the world. The number of attendees is hardly representative of the 25 million-plus diaspora, (which incidentally is spread through every country on the globe except for Pakistan) but at least these people are conscientious enough to respond to India's efforts to reach out.

I have always been skeptical about what such a diasporic conclave can achieve, but honestly, I believe it's an admirable effort on part of India to bring people of its origin to stay connected with their motherland.

It's also nice to know that India takes this jamboree pretty seriously, despite the dwindling and unenthusiastic attendance over the years.

The entire administrative set up -- both central and regional - from the President of India, Prime Minister, various federal ministers to state chief ministers participate in the events.

If India expects its diaspora to give back in terms of knowledge, experience and of course monetary investment, it is quite justified, I think. After all the country did invest in the initial growth of its citizen till he/she decided to adopt another country as home. But I find it obnoxious when Indians who have left India for their own benefit in search of greener pastures, expect that India should take care of the problems they face in that country. India is trying to take care of their interests in India, and that is more than they can ask for.

Romesh K Japra rkjapra@indiapost.com

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Khan war The overwhelming response to Aamir Khan's '3 Idiots' has meant that the other two Khans are feeling the heat.

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Cover Story: Terror attack Security forces stormed a hotel in busy Lal Chowk area in Srinagar killing two LeT terrorists including a Pakistani.

Community: Missing woman A Gujarati woman Sangeetaben Patel has been reported missing from Maine township for the last six days.

India: C’wealth Games Delhi's Chief Minister is nervous about hosting of Commonwealth Games but Suresh Kalmadi assures that all is well.

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Life Style: SRK-Kajol magic Filmmaker Karan Johar says establishing a romantic track between Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan is always easy.

Techbiz: Auto Expo Celebrities Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and cricketer Sourav Ganguly add glitz to the 10th Auto Expo.

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Travel: Gulmarg The lush green slopes, their silence broken by occasional tinkling of cowbells, have been the locale for several films.

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Two terrorists killed in Srinagar encounter SRINAGAR: Security forces stormed a hotel in busy Lal Chowk area killing two LeT terrorists including a Pakistani, ending a 22-hour fierce gun battle that also left a policeman and a civilian dead.

At least 11 persons including two CRPF jawans were injured in the encounter, the first this year, which paralyzed life in the heart of the city.

"The encounter is over. Two terrorists of Lashker-e-Taiba including a Pakistani have been killed," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told reporters at the scene of the gun battle.

The Pakistani terrorist was identified by security agencies through wireless intercepts as Qari while the other was named as Usman from Sopore.

Security forces had a tough time dousing the fire that erupted in Hotel Panjab even as the terrorists lobbed grenades and opened indiscriminate firing at them.

While a CRPF jawan was killed

earlier in the firing, an injured civilian identified as Mohammad Akbar Lone succumbed to his wounds.

forts were being made by Pakistani terrorists to hit targets in J and K and in other parts of the country. "There is desperation in

to open fire at the police".

The ultras first lobbed grenades and opened fire at a CRPF picket outside Palladium Cinema

Describing the Lal Chowk operation as a success, he said ‘We handled the situation extremely professionally. We did not cause any collateral damage at all. We could evacuate all the civilians’ A policeman runs towards encounter site in Srinagar

Khoda said one militant was killed when the operation was resumed on Thursday morning after it was suspended the previous night. The other militant was shot dead around noon.

The DGP said concerted ef-

infiltration; there is desperation in carrying out such attacks".

Khoda said the militants probably had some other target to attack, "but because of the encounter, they rushed into the hotel and took positions there

in Lal Chowk before taking shelter inside the hotel.

Inspector General of CRPF N C Asthana said the militants always had the element of surprise when they carry out such attacks. The security forces were

fully alert and determined to foil such attempts.

Describing the Lal Chowk operation as a success, he said "We handled the situation extremely professionally. We did not cause any collateral damage at all. We could evacuate all the civilians".

The IGP said the operation to flush out the militants from the hotel was prolonged as hundreds of civilians were inside shops and buildings in Lal Chowk.

The hotel caught fire in the morning as the security forces inched closer to the militants holed up on the top floor of the five-storeyed building.

"The militants set the hotel ablaze to divert the attention of the security forces and even targeted the fire brigade vehicles to prevent them from dousing it," he said.

"We moved cautiously to ensure all the trapped civilians are rescued and we succeeded in our mission before eliminating the terrorists," he said. -PTI

India a major contributor to world development: Clinton

Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi addressing the Seminar on Property Related Issues of NRIs/PIOs during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)-2010, in New Delhi on January 7.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs, Salman Khurshid and other dignitaries are also seen

Judge declines to hear Rana bail plea CHICAGO: Pakistani-Canadian terror suspect Tahawwur Rana will have to spend more days in custody after a US judge did not hear his bail plea, saying an expected indictment against him may send the case to a different judge.

Rana, who has appealed against his detention and was making renewed efforts to be freed on bond, appeared before US District Judge Matthew Kennelly in the US District Court, Northern District of Illinois here.

But the prosecutors said they expect to obtain an indictment against Rana, under investigation for possible links to 26/11 terror attacks, by January 14. After the indictment, Rana's case could be handled by a different judge.

Then judge Kennelly said since he was not certain he would continue to be in charge of the case after the indictment, he would not act on Rana's bail request just yet.

He set a status hearing for January 21.

Assistant US Attorney Daniel Collins told Kennelly that the government has no plans to request more time to obtain an indictment against Rana, who is custody since October 18.

A Chicago court had in November last year given a 58-day extension to the FBI to file indictment against Rana by January 14.

Rana, 48, appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit for the hearing that lasted only a few minutes. -PTI

WASHINGTON: US Secretary the Gates Foundation, CARE, the of State Hillary Clinton has said Clinton Foundation, Oxfam Interthat countries like India are emerg- national, networks of NGOs like ing as major contributors to glo- InterAction, as well as other bal development efforts which smaller groups like ACCION and has emerged as a key foreign Transparency International bring policy tool. their own resources, deep knowl"New countries are emerging edge, and commitment to humanias important contributors to glo- tarian missions that complement bal development, including China, Brazil, and India - nations with the opportunity to play a key role, and with the responsibility to support sustainable solutions," she said.

"Long-time leaders like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan, and others continue to reach billions through their Hillary Clinton longstanding work in dozens of countries," she said in a speech 'On Development in the 21st ‘New countries are emerging Century'. as important contributors to Multilateral organizaglobal development, includtions like the World Bank, the IMF, the ing China, Brazil, and India UNDP, the Global Fund nations with the opportunity to fight AIDS, Tubercuto play a key role’ losis, and Malaria have the reach and resources to do what countries working our work in critical ways. alone cannot, along with valuable "Some foundations are combinexpertise in infrastructure, health, ing philanthropy and capitalism in and finance initiatives, she said. a very innovative approach, like Non-profit organizations like the Acumen Fund," she said. -PTI

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Shopaholic Indian executive embezzles company funds India Post News Service

NEW YORK: An Indian American woman, who embezzled her company of more than $4.5 million has been fired from her job even as her company is facing investigation for possible breach of law as a publicly traded firm, thanks to her unauthorized financial transactions arising out of obsessive shopping sprees.

Sujata Sachdeva was Vice President of Finance and Secretary of the Milwaukee-based Koss Corporation, the company that specializes in sophisticated headphones, since 1992. Last month,

the company said that following the discovery of unauthorized financial transactions, Sachdeva has been terminated and two members of the company's accounting staff who worked under Sachdeva, were placed on unpaid administrative leave.

Following investigations into potential violations of federal securities laws against Koss the Company said: "Preliminary estimates indicate that the amount of unauthorized transactions since fiscal year 2006 through the present may exceed $20 million, but at this point the Company and its advisors cannot assess the

Sachdeva is accused of using company money to pay down her personal credit card bills, which totaled more than $4.5 million from Jan. 1, 2008, to Dec. 19, 2009, according to a criminal complaint filed by the United States attorney's office in Wisconsin

India offers USD 130 million credit to Zambia

potential impact on its financial statements or identify the extent that specific fiscal periods may be affected. Nor can the Company and its advisors yet assess the extent of the possible offsets through insurance, asset recoveries and other mechanisms related to the unauthorized transactions.

As a result, the Company has concluded that its previously issued financial statements at least since the end of its 2006 fiscal year should no longer be relied upon.

The Company plans to restate its financial statements for such periods as further investigation indicates."

Sachdeva is accused of using company money to pay down her personal credit card bills, which totaled more than $4.5 million from Jan. 1, 2008, to Dec. 19, 2009, according to a criminal complaint filed by the United States attorney's office in Wisconsin.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the amount of unauthorized transactions since fiscal year 2006 may exceed $20 million, Koss said.

Sachdeva's total compensation for fiscal year 2009 was $173,734, according to a regulatory filing.

Sachdeva had bills that often ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the complaint showed.

The case was discovered when American Express noticed that a customer's personal card

account balances were being paid using several large wire transfers originating from a Koss bank account.

According to the complaint Sachdeva spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at high-end stores in and around Milwaukee over the last two years, buying expensive items some of which she did not even unpack. The spending spree included $1.3 million at a store called Valentia and $600,000 each at Au Courant and Zita.

Koss' CEO Michael Koss, who personally went to Sachdeva's office, found many American Express credit card statements and several large piles of women's clothing with attached price tags, some for more than $2,000.

Upon questioning, Sachdeva acknowledged to the FBI that she had been using her position at Koss to authorize wire transfers to pay her personal credit card bills, and that she falsified the balance in Koss's bank account to hide the fact, according to the complaint.

What comes as a shock to the Indian American community is Sachdeva's addictive behaviour considering she was in such a senior position in her company where she worked for nearly two decades, earned a six-figure salary, was married to a well established physician and lived in a million-dollar suburban home.

Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari visiting the Victoria Falls, in Zambia on January 6.

Minister of State of Labor and Employment, Harish Rawat and Mrs Salma Ansari are also seen

LUSAKA, Zambia: Seeking to step up its presence in Africa, India has extended a liberal credit line of USD 130 million to Zambia as the two countries agreed to "reinvigorate and re-energize" their relationship to mirror the changed international scenario.

The agreements were signed between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Zambian Ministry of Finance and National Planning in presence of Zambian Vice President George Kunda and Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, who is here on a three-day official visit.

An agreement with the government of Zambia for extending a USD 50 million Line of Credit (LOC) for its ambitious Itezhi Tezhi Hydropower Project was inked as New Delhi announced to extend another LOC worth USD 75 million in two years. An additional grant of USD 5 million for Zambia's social sectors was also announced.

Briefing newsmen on talks between Ansari and his Zambian counterpart Kunda, Vivek Katju,

Secretary (West) of Ministry of External Affairs, said they underlined the need to reinvigorate and re-energize the relationship.

"It was also recognized that times have changed and there is a need, as our Vice President put it, to reinvigorate and re-energize the relationship between the two countries.

That process began in 2008 at India-Africa summit," Katju said.

The USD 300 million Itezhi Tezhi project being constructed by Itezhi Tezhi Corporation (ITPC) is a joint venture between the Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO) and Tata Africa Holdings. India will provide a USD 50 million LOC for this ambitious project.

Katju said project has been designed to produce 120 megawatts of electricity, which will help contribute to the energy sector of Zambia. The measure is likely to give a boost to industrial investments in the country.

He said that the USD 50 million loan granted on concessional terms will go to ZESCO's equity

participation.

Earlier, Ansari referring to the old and special relationship with African countries, said India's engagement in Africa is at its own pace and as per its capabilities.

Asked how India will respond to the China's "aggressive investments" foray into Africa, the VicePresident said: "I do not think we should look at Africa in terms of Chinese engagement. Look at it in terms of our standpoint."

"Indian style is not to be aggressive... The elephant walks at its own pace but the elephant is not to be underestimated," he said.

The Vice President also discussed the issue of reforms in the United Nations Security Council with his Zambian counterpart in which Lusaka reiterated its support to India's bid for permanent membership in the UNSC after its expansion. "It was realized that there is a need for reforming the international institution so that it is in tune with international realities," Katju told reporters. -PTI

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‘Pravasi’ envoy from Australia CAPT. KRISHAN SHARMA & ABHISHEK MUKHERJEE India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: It was some homecoming of sorts for Peter Varghese, when he was transferred to India in August last year.

It has been a happy posting for the Australian High Commissioner to India - a journey back to the country of his origin, a country he is finding to be fascinating and colorful.

“It has been a great opener of doors for me,” he says. “I have been interested in this job for some time, and in a sense I am lucky - it is a great opportunity for me to get Australia’s message across to India.”

In a candid chat with India Post, he spoke on a range of subjects sensitive issues like the attacks on Indian students to optimism over the Commonwealth Games and his efforts to broaden the already rich relations between the two countries.

How has your stint in India been so far?

It has been fantastic. India is a fascinating country, and there is so much to know and explore. India-Australian bond is big; still there is scope for a lot of further growth.

India and Australia do share a common bond – both are essentially pluralist democracies. It is very heartening that non-governmental people-to-people relationship between the two countries is very warm.

I am looking forward to taking this relationship further, and this a wonderful opportunity for me to get the message of friendship and cooperation across to India.

Right now its lovely weather here, I’m really liking it.

What are the important areas in which your thrust will be?

I am looking to work on strengthening the ties in three key areas: First, the economic ties. I am very hopeful of the commencement of a Free Trade Agreement between Australia and India. The feasibility study for the FTA will most likely conclude in the first half of next year, and I am optimistic about it.

The FTA will definitely be a huge step forward.

On the strategic side, I am looking at the naval exercises in the Indian Ocean; I am looking to strengthen the cooperation.

And of course, I am also striving to strengthen the people to people relationship.

Already there are many governmental and non-governmental Indo-Australian joint projects.

MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) like that in Water Man-

agement, development of clean coal technology through the Carbon Capture Technical Institute, etc. are steps in the right direction.

Bilateral and collaborative researches in science and technology – biotechnology, nanotechnology, energy and the kind, and particularly the Australian collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) on solar power cooling systems are very good and beneficial projects.

‘India is a fascinating country, and there is so much to know and explore. IndiaAustralian bond is big; still there is scope for a lot of further growth’ There seems to be an influence of China in your foreign policy.

How do you justify your stand over border issue in Arunachal Pradesh?

Yes, there are perceptions about an undue influence of China in our foreign policy.

Our economic relationship with them is very important and mutually beneficial. Like with India, our relationship with them is constructive.

I would like to stress that our relationship with India is also very significant. Both Australia and India are essentially pluralist democracies, and this single fact takes the relationship to a whole new level.

On Arunachal Pradesh, I would only say that we have taken a stance which we would take for most border disputes the world over. We do not take sides, instead we believe in resolving conflicts through peaceful negotiations.

Supply of uranium to India is another sensitive issue. Australia does not intend to supply uranium to a country which has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but I can understand India’s anxiousness over the ban.

The recent attacks on Indian students will likely be a deterrent in the inflow of Indian students to Australia. How have the Australian authorities handled the situation?

It is very important to explain the facts in the right context and the right background.

The media has seemed to distort facts sometimes, but the curiosity over the attacks is understandable. It is an urban crime, and we have taken steps to stop and prevent such attacks.

We have made visa regulations more stringent, which would ensure that only genuine students come to Australia. It may mean less inflow of migrants, but it is a positive step for long term interests for

SPECIAL INTERVIEW both countries.

Many of the unethical and substandard institutions which lure Indian students have been closed down by the government, or have themselves closed because of strict laws. Rapid and rigorous auditing in private institutions has been introduced after the attacks.

Security has been beefed up through more police presence.

Also, we are trying to increase awareness among the Indians there to develop good communication with the police. We also have a hotline exclusively to address grievances of the Indians.

I would say that the unfortunate incidents are more likely to happen in low-cost communities, in which many Indians have to stay for affordability reasons. It is not an excuse, but a possible explanation.

How big is the Indian community in Australia?

It is not huge, but definitely thriving and growing very fast.

Indians number over 200,000 out of a population of 22 million.

They are very important to us, and a lot of Indians are getting into

various sectors like government services and IT, which is a good sign.

I would say most of the Indian community is to be found in Melbourne and Sydney, and then followed by Brisbane.

Which is the most popular sport in Australia? Are you looking forward to the Commonwealth Games?

Australia is a cricket crazy country, like India.

Born in Kenya in 1956 to Kerala-born parents, Peter Varghese migrated to Australia as a young child of eight In the summers, cricket is the number one sport. And in winter, Aussie Rules Football seems to have taken over the interest of people from rugby, which was most popular earlier.

I would like more prominence to be given to test matches, for I am personally very fond of test cricket.

We are positively looking forward to the Commonwealth Games, and have the best wishes for India to hold the Games. We want it to

be a success. We understand that there are bound to be problems in hosting such a big event, for we’ve been through it last time.

If there is any assistance required in organizing the games, we are there for you.

What games have you played?

Oh, I played cricket, rugby league, rugby union, and tennis till the matriculations. I was also there in athletics – 100m, relay and the kind.

I took up golf in Malaysia while I was posted there in 2000, but I couldn’t pursue…no time.

Now that you are in India, have you tried to trace your roots?

Well yes. Recently I and my family made a trip to Kerala to look for my place of ancestry.

It was terrific.

(Varghese’s mother was from Tripunithara, close to Kochi, and father from Changansseri, near Kottayam) Born in Kenya in 1956 to Keralaborn parents, Peter Varghese migrated to Australia as a young child of eight. He went to school in Brisbane and is a graduate and university medalist in History form the University of Queensland. He is married to Margaret, an Irish-Australian.

They have an adult son, who is an engineer.

Prior to his posting, Varghese was for five years the Director General of the Office of National Assessments (ONA) in Canberra.

Oz police intensifies Garg killer hunt; backs Indian advisory MELBOURNE: Australian police has stepped up efforts to nab the killer of a 21-year-old Indian and launched a 'search and seize' operation to curb street crimes amid a spate of assaults on the community which has led to a whopping 46 per cent slump in student visa applicants from India.

Inspector Bernie Edwards, Australia's leading homicide squad detective, appealed to the public for information on the murder of Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park on January 2.

Edwards asked the killer to surrender, guaranteeing him safety.

He described the murder as a "senseless act".

The Victoria Police said they supported the general statements made in the recent travel advisory issued by India for its students that Melbourne had seen an increase in violence, and that this was often "accompanied by verbal abuse, fuelled by alcohol and drugs."

In a bid to crack down on rising

street crimes, Victoria Police has started randomly searching for weapons in some of the troubled areas. The trial 'search and seize blitz', dubbed 'Operation Omni', is made possible after beefing up of police powers and is expected to be expanded to other suburbs.

Inspector Bernie Edwards, Australia's leading homicide squad detective, appealed to the public for information on the murder of Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park on January 2 Meanwhile, Acting Victoria Premier Rob Hulls met Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh and Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar to reassure them that the authorities were doing every-

thing possible to bring Garg's killer to justice and that the state is a safe place to study.

Amid security concerns, Australia has experienced a decline of 46 per cent in the number of Indians applying for student visas last year, the Immigration Department has said.

The total number of student visa applications from around the world also dropped by over 20 per cent.

However, Department's spokesman Sandy Logan said issues of racism and violence against foreign students were not the main reasons for the slide in visa applications.

It was also due to stricter and tougher scrutiny of applications and the immigration department has been rejecting a higher number of applications from India, he said. "It is correct to say that there has been a decline in the number of student visa applications coming from India," he added.

Cont’d on page 7

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Science has failed to bring peace: Dalai

PRAYING ACTOR: US actor Richard Gere (C) prays during the second day of a teaching session by The Dalai Lama at Kalachakra Ground near The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya on January 6

WITH CHINESE DEVOTEES: Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama poses for photographs with Chinese devotees on Jan 6, after the teaching session at Namgyel Monestry near the historical Mahabodhi Temple premises where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya, Bihar state

BODH GAYA, Bihar: Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama again had Hollywood megastar Richard Gere among his 40,000 disciples assembled here to hear his lectures.

Sitting in the front row, Gere intently listened to the teachings of the Dalai Lama who said science and technology had failed to bring peace of mind.

Gere had reached Patna without informing the state government and traveled here in a private vehicle to attend the discourses by the Tibetan spiritual leader at the Kalchakra Maidan.

A practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, Gere reached Bodh Gaya incognito and met his teacher before leading a candlelight march with over 500 monks here last

evening to pray for peace and prosperity of the world.

The Dalai Lama lauded the 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinail Dorje for his efforts to protect environment in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama's five-day teaching session has been organized on the occasion of the sevenday Geluk Monlam Puja at Mahabodhi Mahavihara here. -PTI

India expects its citizens to be safe in Australia NEW DELHI: Dismissing Australian suggestions that Indian reaction on the issue of attacks was "hysterical", External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said India expects that its citizens, whether they are students or otherwise, should be safe in that country.

"None of us needs to be hysterical but all that we expect is that Indians, whether they are students or otherwise, should be safe in the countries to which they go for pursuing

their higher studies," he said reacting to reports of Australian government asking Indian leadership not to fuel "hysteria" over the issue.

However, Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese has denied the reports quoting his government's acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean as having described the Indian reaction as "hysterical." "He did no such thing," the envoy said.

Krishna also advised parents

to be "discreet" and better informed about the courses and the institutions while sending their children for studies in Australia.

"The kind of courses to which our students have been going are certainly not very encouraging...So I would suggest the Indian parents to be discreet.

They better get informed themselves about what courses to send for and what courses not to," he said. -PTI

Oz police intensifies Garg killer hunt; backs Indian advisory Cont’d from page 6

India had issued an advisory asking its citizens studying or planning to study in Australia to take certain basic precautions to ensure their safety.

Speaking about the increased police powers, Premier Hulls said, "The tragic death of Nitin Garg in recent times confirms absolutely that we have to do everything we

can to support police to wipe out street crime, to wipe out knife- related crime and that's why these powers are so important."

According to media reports here, a team of officers patrolled Footscray train station searching for knives.

Deputy Police Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police were required to give the public seven days' notice of planned search

operations but other, intelligencebased, searches could be carried out without warning.

People would be scanned with a metal detector wand, then frisked and body-searched if required, he said.

"I am confident that these laws are going to give us a great opportunity to take weapons out of the community," Walshe said. PTI

HC notice to Centre on Ruchika expulsion CHANDIGARH: The Punjab not issued any notice to the and Haryana High Court has is- school. . sued notices to the Centre and the "When the minor was weeping, CBI on a PIL seeking a probe into the school instead of giving her a expulsion of Ruchika Girhotra shoulder expelled her on flimsy from a local school and the alleged ground for non-payment of school hardships her family underwent at fees," Lakhanpal alleged in the the instance of disgraced former PIL. Haryana DGP SPS Rathore.

"The school was equally reThe notices were issued by a sponsible for the circumstances division bench comprising Chief which led Ruchika to commit suiJustice Mukul Moudgil and Jus- cide three years after her molestatice Jasbir Singh to the Union of tion by a senior IPS officer of India, the state of Haryana, CBI Haryana," Lakhanpal alleged. and Rathore on the PIL filed by He further alleged that the an NGO, Global Human Rights school had probably taken the Council through its Chairman action against Ruchika under Ranjan Lakhanpal, a local practic- pressure of Rathore whose ing lawyer. The notices are return- daughter was also studying in the able on January 27. same class.

The PIL submitted said that The PIL demanded action certain aspects in the Ruchika molestation case needed to be ‘The school was equally reprobed so that the fam- sponsible for the circumily of the victim got justice and the accused, stances which led Ruchika to especially those hold- commit suicide three years ing high positions, were after her molestation by a brought to book.

The PIL comes in the senior IPS officer of Haryana,’ backdrop of the public uproar after 67-year-old Lakhanpal alleged Rathore got away with a light punishment of six months imprisonment and a against all those people "responfine of Rs 1,000 for molesting the sible" for the delay in the investi14-year-old girl. gation in the molestation case and The NGO sought a thorough those who were involved in the probe into the case, including the alleged torture of Ruchika's circumstances leading to the sui- brother Ashu and registration of cide of Ruchika three years after cases against him. her molestation by Rathore in The petitioner pleaded that the 1990, besides booking of her high court should lay down guidebrother Ashu in false cases, in- lines for taking action in such cluding dacoity. cases so that the accused are The Sacred Heart School, brought to justice. The petition which had expelled Ruchika on also sought enhancement of the the ground of non-payment of punishment awarded to Rathore, fees, is among the respondents in a 1995 batch IPS officer, who rethe PIL. The court, however, has tired in 2002. -PTI

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Did not facilitate access for gatecrasher: Indian Embassy WASHINGTON: The mystery over the entry of a "third gatecrasher" into the White House for the Obama-Singh state dinner deepened with the Indian Embassy making it clear that it did not "seek or facilitate any access" for him.

The Secret Service had claimed an "uninvited" member sneaked into the White House by boarding a bus of the Indian delegation.

Though the agency has not yet disclosed the identity, the US media named him as Carlos Allen, a 39-year-old American entrepreneur, who traveled to the White House in the bus "carrying top Indian CEOs who were last-minute invitees to the state dinner".

The Indian mission, however, denied any such "uninvited individual" was part of the country's delegation.

"The person is not known to Indian Embassy. We did not seek or facilitate any access for this person," Spokesman Rahul Chhabra said.

Though the Indian Embassy

didn't release the names of the CEOs who were in that group, Chhabra said: "The Embassy had requested for arrangements to be made for invited Indian CEOs who were part of the CEOs' Forum and were staying at Willard Hotel to be taken to the state dinner.".

‘It appears at this point that the subject traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delegation was staying and arrived at the dinner with the group’ The Secret Service had said investigations have revealed that apart from than the attention-hungry couple Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a third individual entered White House on November 24, without an invitation, by managing to get into the bus of the In-

dian delegation.

"It appears at this point that the subject traveled from a local hotel, where the official Indian delegation was staying and arrived at the dinner with the group, which was under the responsibility of the Department of State," the agency said.

Meanwhile, Allen's attorney A Scott Bolden said that his client is indeed the person in question, but claimed he was invited to the White House on November 24.

"He participated in the reception, he participated in the dinner; we're not denying that.

"This whole issue of him being a third gatecrasher, while it merits more investigation, he's unlike the other two individuals who are subject to this investigation. He did stay for the dinner," 'The New York Times' quoted him as saying.

White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs, however, refused to entertain any question on this issue at his daily press briefing, saying it is "a subject of criminal investigation". -PTI

YEH DOSTI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Amitabh Bachchan share a light moment at a multiplex in Gandhinagar, some 30kms from Ahmedabad on January 6. They were to watch a special screening of Bachchanís latest film ëPaaí which centres on progeria or premature ageing

2 Indian origin persons charged with theft of fighter engines KUALA LUMPUR: Two men, including an Air Force sergeant and a businessman, both of Indian origin have been charged by Malaysian authorities for a theft of an engine of F5E fighter aircraft worth USD 29 million.

N Tharmendran Nagaraja, 42, and a scrap part dealer K Rajendran Prasad, both ethnic Indians, were produced at a Sessions Court here for framing of charges for disposing of military equipment, for which where they could face up to ten years in jail.

Tharmendran, who is still serving in the Air Force, allegedly conspired with Senior Airman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop at the Subang Royal Ma-

laysian Air Force Centre, to steal the two J8521-type engines.

The two Northrop F-5E jet engines were reportedly sold on the black market by military officers to a South American company after being removed from an air force base.

It was not clear if more people including some top military officers could be charged over the scandal, which has triggered allegations of rampant corruption in the country's military.

The jet engines, worth an estimated 100 million ringgit and belonging to the 12th Squadron (Scorpion) were stolen in 2007 from the RMAF godown in Kuala Lumpur. -PTI

Bhutto probe: Pak denies UN panel access to top army officers ISLAMABAD: The UN probe had demanded that it should eninto the killing of former premier joy complete cooperation from the Benazir Bhutto has hit a roadblock Pakistan government. with the Pakistan government deThe terms of reference state nying access to top military offi- that the Pakistan government cials, including powerful army "shall comply with the requests chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. of the commission for assistance The UN inquiry commission in collecting the required informaheaded by Ambassador Heraldo tion and testimony, and shall proMunoz had submitted a written vide it with the necessary facilirequest some time ago for access ties to enable it to discharge its to senior military officials, includ- mandate." ing Kayani, former ISI chief Lt Gen Meanwhile, the UN announced Nadeem Taj and ex-Military Intel- that the investigation will be exligence head Lt Gen Nadeem Ejaz tended by three months because Mian. of the scale of the task facing the After thorough consultations commission. within the government, the UN The panel had earlier been due panel was informed in writing that access to military officials could The UN panel had sought not be granted, Dawn News channel reported access to the serving Pakiquoting an unnamed stani military officials shortly top government offiafter it interviewed former cial.

There was no official President Pervez Musharraf in word on the developNew York in November ment.

The UN panel had last year sought access to the serving Pakistani military officials shortly after it inter- to submit a report by December viewed former President Pervez 31 following a six-month investiMusharraf in New York in Novem- gation. ber last year.

"Because of the substantial Acting on a request from the amount of information collected Pakistan People's Party-led gov- by the commission in Pakistan and ernment, the UN appointed a further follow-up work that rethree-member inquiry commission mains, the commissioners reto determine the facts and circum- quested additional time to comstances of Bhutto's assassination plete their report," a UN statement on December 27, 2007. said.

The panel is not expected to UN Secretary General Ban Kiname suspected culprits and any moon has informed the Security criminal investigation will be up Council and the Pakistan governto Pakistani authorities. ment that the inquiry will be exAccording to the terms of ref- tended until March 31, it said. erence of the commission, the UN PTI

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Rathore booked for abetment to suicide PANCHKULA: Six years after the CBI dropped abetment to suicide complaint against former DGP SPS Rathore in the Ruchika molestation case, Haryana Police brought back the charge against the disgraced officer by registering a fresh FIR. The FIR, the third against Rathore since last week, has been registered on the complaint of Ruchika's brother Ashu which he filed on December 31, Superintendent of Police, Panchkula, Maneesh Chaudhary told PTI. Besides Rathore, four other police officers - then Ambala SP K P Singh, ASI Jai Narayan, SI Prem Dutt and ASI Sewa Singh - have been made co-accused in the FIR lodged at the Sector five Police Station here, police said. The maximum punishment under section 306 IPC (abetment to suicide) is ten years imprisonment.

Rathore was recently handed down a lighter six months imprisonment by a CBI court at

Chandigarh for having molested Ruchika Girhotra here on August 12, 1990.

The budding tennis player had attempted suicide at her

The CBI would be investigating the abetment to suicide charge against Rathore for the second time since the Ruchika's molestationcum-suicide 19 years back Panchkula residence on December 28, 1993 and died the following day.

The earlier two FIRs against the top cop were registered on

the complaints of Ruchika's father Subhash Chander Girhotra and Ashu for various offences, including attempt to murder, torture and harassment and

SPS Rathore

doctoring the post-mortem report.

The SP said that the local police has recommended that the third FIR also be entrusted to

the seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed

by IGP (Security) S S Kapoor probing the case.

The Panchkula SP, who is a member of the SIT, said that subsequently the SIT will recommend to the state government to hand over all the three cases to the CBI as has been demanded by the Girhotra family.

Chaudhary said the FIR under section 306 IPC has been registered after receipt of legal opinion. "Ashu gave a detailed complaint alleging that for Ruchika's suicidal death, Rathore was responsible. Based on the statement of Ashu, we have registered the case against the former DGP," he said.

Asked about further action against the accused, including Rathore till the case is taken over by the CBI, he said, "Our investigations are on."

He said that as far as Haryana Police was concerned, they would take all steps including question-

I love Aamir, says apologetic Chetan Bhagat NEW DELHI: After the war of words over the credit issue in blockbuster '3 Idiots', author Chetan Bhagat has apologized to actor Aamir Khan and the filmmakers, saying he would like to put a lid on the controversy and "move on".

The author, whose book 'Five Point Someone' became the basis for the film, had accused the producers of not giving him due

Chetan Bhagat

credit in the movie.

"I definitely do not have anything against team '3 Idiots'. I may have some issues on the mistake they may have made but nothing about their personality or the kind of people they are. I apologize to their families if there was any distress caused to them," Bhagat told a news channel.

"I also want to thank all my fans, who stood by me but I don't want them to turn against anyone especially Aamir. I love Aamir and they should continue to love Aamir. I also apologies to his fans," Bhagat said.

Aamir, who plays Rancho in the movie, had blasted Bhagat for being "hungry for cheap publicity" and trying to take the credit away from the scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi.

Bhagat had retorted to the allegations by saying that Aamir should stay out of the issue as he has not even read the book.

He had called Khan and the filmmakers --producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Director Rajkumar Hirani-"uncivilized people", saying, "They are making a fool of themselves."

Bhagat said he has tried to give a closure to the whole controversy and has "moved on".

"While we maintain our stance on the issue, me and my fans want to move on, and we have," Bhagat wrote on his blog.

The controversy started after Bhagat blogged about his disappointment over not being given proper credit in the film.

He rued the fact that his name appears in the end credits of the movie while the story credit was shared by Abhijat and Hirani.

Aamir and the filmmakers reacted sharply to allegations, accusing the author of hankering for publicity after the film's success.

The whole issue turned ugly after Chopra told a journalist to "shut up" when questioned about the similarities between the book and the film. Chopra later apologized to the media for his behavior.

Next day, Hirani and Joshi issued a clarification to Bhagat's allegations and also uploaded the contract signed by the author on their website, refuting Bhagat's charges.

But Bhagat continues to stick to his point that the contract was

abused by the makers.

"They did not buy rights of the book, they bought the rights to adapt the book, a basic error they continue to make whether out of lack of knowledge or to evade the issue. And yes there is a contract to adapt the work but it doesn't mean they can claim authorship of the story. You can buy a painting, not claim you painted it -? basic copyright law. My points are valid, and I am not a liar. Anyway, like I said, we've moved on," Bhagat said in a latest blog post.

'3 Idiots' is about two friends who set out on a journey to find their friend 'Rancho', who disappears after graduating from the engineering college. The film has grossed more than 200 crores at the box office since its release this Christmas. -PTI

ing the accused and the complainants and others having any information or in any was connected with the incident which includes the school where Ruchika studied.

"No time frame can be stated for any action in the matter as the record of the past 19 years has to be examined," he said.

Meanwhile, sources in the Home Department told PTI that the three cases in connection with the Ruchika molestationcum-suicide cases were expected to be handed over to the CBI shortly.

The CBI would be investigating the abetment to suicide charge against Rathore for the second time since the Ruchika's molestation-cum-suicide 19 years back.

Earlier, the investigating agency had dropped the charge of abetment to suicide against 67-year-old Rathore and charged him only under section 354 of the IPC (molestation) on March 17, 2003. -PTI

'Pak terror groups intend to strike India' WASHINGTON: Pakistanbased terror groups have a "strategic intent" to launch major new attacks on the Indian soil to trigger a conflict between the two countries, according to a US intelligence and security think-tank.

In its annual forecast, Stratfor predicted that 2010 might see the US intensifying its drone strikes in Pakistan as the bulk of the al Qaeda leadership is believed to be hiding there.

As the nature of the war shifts to Pakistan, Stratfor said, there is a strong jihadist strategic intent to launch a major attack against India in order to trigger a conflict between India and Pakistan.

"Such an attack would re-direct Pakistani troops from battling the jihadists in the country's west, towards the Indian border," the think tank Stratfor said in its security forecast for South Asia in 2010.

But the think tank said both Washington and New Delhi were well aware of such tactics and since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, India and the US had garnered better intelligence on groups with such goals, making success less likely.

"But that hardly makes such attacks impossible," the Stratfor said.-PTI

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Nigerian indicted for attempted bombing of US plane WASHINGTON: Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab accused of trying to blow up an American airliner on Christmas day was indicted on six-counts, including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon-of-mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.

Abdulmutallab, 23 was charged for trying to destroy a passenger plane in flight by trying to ignite explosives and chemicals. He is being held in a federal prison in Michigan.

"Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab faces faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a bomb on the plane," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement after filing the case in a Michigan court.

"The investigation is fastpaced, global and ongoing, and has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wher-

ever it leads," Holder said.

"Anyone we find responsible for this alleged attack will be brought to justice using every tool - military or judicial - available to our government," the attorney

Abdulmutallab, 23 was charged for trying to destroy a passenger plane in flight by trying to ignite explosives and chemicals. He is being held in a federal prison in Michigan general said.

US Attorney for the Eastern district of Michigan said that the attempted murder of 289 innocent people merits the most serious charges available, and that's what

we have charged in this indictment.

According to the indictment, Abdulmutallab allegedly boarded Northwest Airlines flight 253, with 289 passengers and 11 crew members, at Amsterdam on December 25 carrying a concealed bomb. .

The Nigerian will make his first appearance in federal court tomorrow to determine his custody. The bomb components included Pentaerythritol (also known as PETN, a high explosive), Triacetone Triperoxide (also known as TATP, a high explosive), and other ingredients.

The bomb was concealed in his clothing and designed to allow him to detonate it at a time of his choice, thereby causing an explosion on the plane, the indictment said.

US investigators have said that Abdulmuttalab had told them he had received training and instruc-

US asks Pakistan to hunt down and extradite Illiyas Kashmiri ISLAMABAD: Suspecting the hand of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami commander Ilyas Kashmiri in coordinating the suicide strike on the top secret CIA base in eastern Afghanistan, US authorities have asked Pakistan to hunt down and extradite the dreaded terrorist.

Eight CIA operatives were killed when a Jordanian terrorist walked into the Chapman base in the Khost region and blew himself up.

US intelligence officials said later that the Arab militant was a triple agent and could have been used as a human bomb by al-Qaeda.

A media report here said that an investigation had revealed that the attack was planned in

Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region and the bomber is believed to have been sent by Kashmiri, the fugitive chief

Eight CIA operatives were killed when a Jordanian terrorist walked into the Chapman base in the Khost region and blew himself up of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir chapter of HuJI. American media reports said

that the suicide bomber who killed CIA personnel inside the base Afghanistan was a Jordanian-born terrorist Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year old doctor, who had been invited to the base because he claimed to have information targeting Osama bin Laden's second-in-command Ayman-al-Zawahiri.

The reports also feared that the wily Egyptian could have planned a counter coup against the Americans and sent the Jordanian bomber. US intelligence agencies have earlier marked Kashmiri as being closed to both al-Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. -PTI

Maoist number one and two spar in Nepal KATHMANDU: Bringing the differences in the Maoist leadership to the fore, party chief Prachanda has claimed that India favors his second-in-command Baburam Bhattarai for Nepal's prime ministership, prompting the latter to hit back at him.

Prachanda said in a program in Kathmandu last week that India wants to make Bhattarai the Prime Minister of Nepal and has been "putting pressure" in this regard.

Bhattarai has slammed the party supremo's statement.

"It is an attempt to assassinate my character," Bhattarai told reporters after the party's central committee meeting. The Maoist number two leader also lodged a

strong protest against Prachanda's remarks during the meeting, the Republica daily reported quoting party sources.

"Why don't you tell others when some Indian leaders have also proposed your (Prachanda's) name as the next Prime Minister candidate," Bhattarai is reported to have said.

Meanwhile, Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma has alleged that India was trying to create a division within the party by backing one against the other.

"It is a game plan of India to play one leader against the other," Sharma told PTI. "At one time, India had favored Prachanda for the top post

and at another time, it had favored Bhattarai, which is an attempt to create division in the party," Sharma said.

Efforts have been made by various elements to cause mistrust within the Maoist party, he said.

Meanwhile, the CWC meeting of the party concluded that Prachanda would lead the government should the Maoists get chance to form another government.

The meeting has also decided to make "national independence" a focal point of their 'fourth phase' of movement. Earlier, the party had made restoring 'civilian supremacy' the main agenda of their ongoing movement.-PTI

tions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Since the botched attempt the US administration have boosted security at the US airports.

Abdulmutallab detonated the

The bomb was concealed in his clothing and designed to allow him to detonate it at a time of his choice, thereby causing an explosion on the plane, the indictment said bomb, shortly prior to landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, causing fire in plane. According to an affidavit, filed in support of a criminal complaint, he was subdued and restrained by flight

crew passengers after detonating the bomb.

The plane landed shortly thereafter, and he was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection officers.

Abdulmutallab was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Centre after the plane landed for medical treatment.

Count one of the indictment charges Abdulmutallab with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

On the second count he has been charged with attempted murder within the aircraft jurisdiction of the US, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Third count charges him with attempt to destroy an aircraft within the jurisdiction of the US, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. -PTI

Court gives CBI nod for narco test on Aarushi's parents GHAZIABAD: A special court here granted permission to CBI to conduct narco analysis test on Rajesh and Nupur Talwar - parents of 14-year-old Aarushi who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her Noida residence less than two years ago.

Special Judicial Magistrate Preeti Singh granted the permission on an application filed by CBI about two weeks back.

Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj were found murdered in her Noida house on May 16, 2008.

The CBI, which has re-constituted its entire investigating team to probe the case, had earlier taken a written permission from the

Talwars for conducting the tests on them.

Narco analysis involves psychotherapy which is conducted while the patient is deeply sedated with medication so that inhibitions are reduced and responses more truthful.

Incidentally, Rajesh, who was arrested by the Noida police, was let off after the CBI gave him a clean chit. Earlier speaking to PTI, Rajesh had said, "Last year too, we had given our consent for narco test but the CBI did brain mapping and lie detector tests. After that they said narco test was not needed.

Now they want it again and we have no problems with that." -PTI

Ex-Nepal minister's son, 2 Pakistanis held in currency scam KATHMANDU: Acting on CBI's request, Nepal police have arrested the son of an influential politician here along with his two Pakistani accomplices and a bodyguard in connection with a fake Indian currency and drugs racket having links to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Yunus Ansari, son of former Nepalese minister Salim Ansari, his bodyguard and two Pakistani nationals were arrested here.

Police first arrested the bodyguard Kashi Ram Adhikari - who was allegedly involved in transporting the drugs and fake currency - from a guest house in Thamel, a tourist hub here.

Later, they arrested two Paki-

stani nationals, Amir alias Mohamad Iqbal and Raju alias Mohammad Saiyad, from Thamel.

Ansari was taken into custody after the Pakistanis pointed towards him during the interrogation, according to Superintendent of Police, Ganesh Khatri Chhetri.

Police also seized 3.7 kg brown sugar and fake Indian currency notes in denominations of 500 and 1,000 with a face value of over 25.44 lakh from the Pakistani nationals. A case against Ansari and the three others would be filed in the Kathmandu District Court and they been sent to the judicial custody for 10 days for investigation. The group is also learnt to have a connection with Dawood Ibrahim, police said.-PTI

Desi News

Gayatri Mantra catching up worldwide SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: The Itasca Gayatri Gyan Mandir, set up two years ago, has announced celebrating Vasant Panchami, an Indian festival, on January 20 with a non-stop collective chanting of Gayatri Mantra from 7 am to 7 pm in by Gayatri devotees.

Non-stop chanting will again be held on Saturday January 23, from 7 am to 7 pm and also on Sunday January 24.

Details on page 12

11th year of Surya Namskar program NAND KAPOOR

CHICAGO: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) has been conducting Surya Namaskaar Yajna (SNY) during the month of January for the last several years.

The designated period for 2010 is from January 16 through 31.

The goal as usual is to increase health awareness. Most of us work at a desk all day long and have a very hectic and stressful work schedule. The participation in the SNY gives us a boost to adopt a healthier lifestyle. But the effect does not last long. Shortly after the completion of SNY we revert back to our earlier routine.

Details on page 13

Indian groups in food drive for needy HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: Sri Jagannath Society of Greater Chicago (SJSGC) and Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) of North America jointly conducted a food drive for needy people in the western suburbs last month. It was the first time that both organizations have cooperated for the purpose of increasing the participation of their members in charitable activities.

Hundreds of people donated nonperishable, vegetarian canned foods or dried goods.

Details on page 14

COMMUNITY ACROSS AMERICA

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Ahmadiyya Muslim annual convention in Chino draws record attendance

January 15, 2010

Details on page 15

Court tells FIA rivals to resolve dispute India Post News Service

CHICAGO: The Cook County Circuit Court Chancery Division is reported to have asked rival FIA (Federation of Indian Associations) groups to find a way out to resolve their elections disputes amicably within sixty days from January 4, failing which the Court would take up the matter for hearing.

The recent FIA elections (Sunday Dec. 13) for office bearers next year turned out to be a hot and acrimonious affair with a group led by Secretary Sunil Shah alleging irregularities and fraud among other things in registering member associations. The election committee headed by Anil Pillai declared Sunny Gabhawla elected President for 2010 bagging 14 votes against four had by rival contender Sunil Shah.

Shah took objections to the way the elections were conducted alleging that some of their points about the registration of member associations were overlooked. The group comprising Sunil Shah, Omkar Singh Sangha, Rev. Dr. Jaswant B

and that the Court was unlikely to set aside the result.

John Miller of Woerthwein & Miller in a release to the media said that his clients have sought a temporary restraining order from a Cook County Circuit Court Chancery Division in Chicago

The newly elected FIA team is set to celebrate the 60th Indian Republic day in a grand manner on Saturday January 23 at India House Restaurant in Schaumburg Singha and Hina Trivedi decided to more the Circuit Court of Cook County for a temporary restraining order. A member of the election committee said that the elections committee acted impartially

and the matter had come up for hearing last week. The Court is credited with the view that public service organizations in general are doing creditable job and that all efforts needed to be

made to resolve amicably intraorganizational problems like this.

The Court is reported to have asked both the parties to find a common way to end the dispute within sixty days failing which the matter could be taken up for hearing.

Meanwhile, the newly elected FIA team is set to celebrate the 60th Indian Republic day in a grand manner on Saturday January 23 at India House Restaurant in Schaumburg.

The Indian community of Niles township and Students Association of Northeastern Illinois University have also announced a grand celebration of Indian Republic Day on Saturday January 23 at Niles West High school. A highlight of the near four-hour program commencing 5 pm would be a grand cultural program by local artists.

Police steps up search for missing Gujarati woman SURI SWAMY

CHICAGO: A young Indian Gujarati woman, Sangeetaben Patel, 32, has been reported missing for the past six days and the Cook County Police department has sought public help in getting information that could help it find her.

Sangeetaben was last seen on Saturday January 2, near her home near Ballard and Dee roads in Maine Township.

She is stated to have left for her work on the day in her subway uniform pants and a purple jacket. She was seen walking towards the bus stop

Members of the Indian community in the area are surprised about the missing Sangeetaben and efforts made by this paper to contact her home did not meet with any success Sangeetaben Patel

near her home as she was wont to commute. She worked at Palwaukee Plaza Subway in

wheeling .She did not have a car or cell phone, the Police sources said.

The description shelleld out by the Police said that she was 5'2" tall weighing about 125 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. She spoke limited English and had not history of domesic violence or trouble.

Members of the Indian community in the area are equally surprised about the missing Sangeetaben and efforts made by this paper to contact her home did not meet with any success.

The police said that anyone with the information should call the Cook County Sherrif office at 708 865 4896.

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Community Across America

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January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Gayatri Mantra catching up worldwide SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: The Itasca Gayatri Gyan Mandir, set up two years ago, has announced celebrating Vasant Panchami, an Indian festival, on January 20 with a non-stop collective chanting of Gayatri Mantra from 7 am to 7 pm in by Gayatri devotees.

Non-stop chanting will again be held on Saturday January 23, from 7 am to 7 pm and also on Sunday January 24.

the crowded program would be a greater involvement of the youth who are expected to present a couple of well rehearsed cultural performances. Gayatri bhajans and a video lecture from Shantikunj Haridwar (India) would be added attractions, he said.

Mangrola also pointed out that a renowned Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) in Australia has decided to open with 21

Harendra Mangrola, the head of the Mandir, said that reciting of the Mantra has a favorable impact on the surroundings and also for the persons chanting it Harendra Mangrola of the Mandir

Harendra Mangrola, the head of the Mandir, said that reciting of the Mantra has a favorable impact on the surroundings and also for the persons chanting it. Besides a non-stop chanting of the Mantra, the Itasaca Gayatri Mandir would be conducting 108 Kundi Gayatri yagya on Sunday January 24. He added that one the highlights of

repetitions of sacred "Gayatri Mantra" followed by "Hari Aum" on three Fridays and Saturdays from January 8 to 23.

Before the Gallery is open to the public, atmosphere of temple worship in India will be recreated through music and chant on Fridays and Saturdays Musical instruments associated with medi-

Gayatri Gyan Mandir in Itasca

tation - including the harmonium, tanpura, conch shell, prayer bowl, Indian bell (ghanta) and harp - will begin the session with the performance of a prayer to the universal mother energy, reports add.

Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition till January 26 called "Garden and cosmos: the royal paintings of Jodhpur", which includes many Hinduism subjects, like Illustration from Ramcharitmanas. The Gallery will hold a "Rangoli demonstration"

on January 23 and 24, creating Indian Rangoli floor painting using traditional patterns and symbols from colored rice powder.

Collections of this eminent Gallery include many paintings, sculptures, drawings, watercolors, prints, etc., depicting deities, concepts, legends, and topics of Hinduism, including Shiva-Parvati, Krishna-Radha, Circular dance of Krishna and the gopis, Dancing Ganesh with

the Mahvidyas, Religious mendicant, Krishna's brother Balaram, Ardhnarishvara, Figure of Shani (from around 10th century), Vishnu and his avatars, Gandharva, Durga Mahishasuramardini, Surya the sun god, Krishna as the divine cowherd, Krishna serenading Radha, 24 manifestations of Vishnu, Rama and Sita enthroned in Ayodhya, Lotus-clad Radha and Krishna, etc.

Cont’d on page 13

Masquerade New Year Ball by India House SURI SWAMY

SCHAUMBURG: A spectacular New Years Eve event presented

by India House in Schaumburg attracted large crowds of enthusiastic, fun loving individuals from the Chicago land area.

Miss Shaila Khedkar a versatile vocalist welcomed the partygoers and DJ Sahil & his team rocked the event with his amazing vocal and DJ'ing skills.

A best dressed costume competition was organized by Ms. Jenifer D'costa with MC Ravi Jayara's wittiness and comedic timing and the following participants were winners: Deepa Grover (Score 103); Komal Kherde (102); Rajeswari Rawat (96); Shannon Arora (93) Mr & Mrs Dinesh Patel (91); Aayushi Patel (88); Sonia Dua (86); Neesha Pathak (84).

The competition was judged

by Ms. Rita Singh, Pankaj Patel & Raj Hashilkar.

The Dress competition was sponsored by India House Restaurants & Sonia Salon Chicago.

All the winners were awarded with gift certificates of sponsoring businesses.

The event was enjoyed by both the young and the old. Families were able to be a part of the event by strutting down the runway with their gorgeous selves.

Over 100 food items were elaborately displayed with Indian and international cuisine. This was an event to remember until India House's next big event.

DJ Sahil continued playing his vibrant Bollywood numbers till the New Year's countdown began by DJ Raja and a Champagne toast.

Party concluded at 1 am.

Cont’d on page 13

Participants in Costume competition

January 15, 2010

11th year of Surya Namskar program NAND KAPOOR

CHICAGO: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) has been conducting Surya Namaskaar Yajna (SNY) during the month of January for the last several years. The designated period for 2010 is from January 16 through 31.

The goal as usual is to increase health awareness. Most of us work at a desk all day long and have a very hectic and stressful work schedule. The participation in the SNY gives us a boost to adopt a healthier lifestyle. But the effect does not last long.

Shortly after the completion of SNY we revert back to our earlier routine.

To keep our motivation, the need of the time is to have an ongoing activity. HSS is

‘We would meet once a week for about an hour and half, perform yogas, pranayaam and also try to address other needs of the participants’ in the process of planning such an activity, according to Vasant Pandav, a spokesman.

In a talk to this paper he said "We would meet once a week for about an hour and half, perform yogas, pranayaam and also try to address other needs of the participants."

He has urged potential participants to give their ideas as to what would be a convenient day and time, as well as possible venues. An ideal place will be centrally located, will have ample parking, carpeted, reasonably high ceiling, and will accommodate 25-30 participants standing arms stretched without interfering with each other.

HSS will then select a time, day, place that suit majority of the participants and communicate with the participants.

Gayatri Mantra catching up worldwide Cont’d from page 12

The AGNSW in Sydney, whose history goes back to 1871, is one of Australia's foremost cultural institutions, whose vision is "to inspire, interest and provide enjoyment". It holds a collection of about 29,000 works of Australian, European and Asian art, and presents nearly forty exhibitions annually. Edmund Capon is the Director and Steven Lowy is the President of the Trustees.

Gayatri Gyan Mandir in Itsaca was formally set up two years ago and now the management plans further expansion of the facility with the acquisition of near by land and building.

Community Across America

India Post 13

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Masquerade New Year Ball by India House Cont’d from page 12

The talk of the town, Masquerade Ball theme, took India House to the next level.

The event was directed by Ravi Rawat, Manager India House & presented by Jagmohan Jayara owner India House.

India House management extended special thanks to Nalin Shah of Khadayta Samaj, Mukesh Shah of Gujarat Samaj of Chicago, Social Six, Andy Patel, Snehal Patel & Jignesh Modi of Vishal Studio for all their support in making the event successful.

Revelers ushering in New Year

14

Community Across America

India Post

January 15, 2010

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Indian groups in food drive for needy HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: Sri Jagannath Society of Greater Chicago (SJSGC) and Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) of North America jointly conducted a food drive for needy people in the western suburbs last month.

It was the first time that both organizations have cooperated for the purpose of increasing the participation of their members in charitable activities. Hundreds of

and BSS turned over the food, which was greatly appreciated by the staff of Loaves and Fishes.

The food drive was organized by Padmini Khuntia, Nilamadhab Nanda, and Prashant Joshi from SJSGC and Swami Purnatmananda, Swami Shantanu Maharaj, Prashant Banerjee, and Khokan Dutta from BSS. Sri Jagannath Society of Greater Chicago is a non-profit religious

The BSS and SJSGC donated 500 pounds of collected food items to Loaves and Fishes, a food pantry that has served the needy people of the Naperville area for over twenty-five years people donated non-perishable, vegetarian canned foods or dried goods. All of the donated food items were collected at the facilities shared by SJSGC and BSS, located in Aurora, a south west suburb of Chicago.

On December 30, the BSS and SJSGC donated 500 pounds of collected food items to Loaves and Fishes, a food pantry that has served the needy people of the Naperville area for over twentyfive years. Officials from SJSGC

and charitable organization established in 2007 with the following objectives: to serve Lord Jagannath and establish his worship in the Chicago area; and to serve mankind through various philanthropic activities. In 2008 the society installed the deities of Sri Jagannath, Sri Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra in the Bishnu Shiva Shakti Mandir located inside the BSS facilities in Aurora.

In addition to the daily and weekly pujas, the SJSGC conducts

Volunteers of two Indian organizations collect food for needy on Dec 28 in Aurora area

many yearly events, such as the famous Ratha Yatra or Chariot Festival.

Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) is a spiritual organization founded in India in 1917 by the saint Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj. Known for its philanthropic and disaster relief activities, the BSS has branches all over

the world. The monks of the BSS are dedicated to serving humanity with a non-sectarian, non-communal, and non-political outlook.

In addition to its service to mankind, the BSS conducts educational and cultural activities at its various institutions.

The Chicago center was established in 1997. BSS moved to its

present location in Aurora in 2007.

SJSGC welcomes all devotees of Sri Jagannath, and BSS welcomes all service minded devotees regardless of ethnicity or background.

Accompanying these religious activities, the SJSGC and BSS teach religious values to the younger generation and inspire them to serve God by serving mankind.

Sunil Shah becomes NY Life district agent MOHAMMAD GHOUSE

CHICAGO: Front ranking community activist Sunil Shah has added one more feather to his cap. He has become the first Asian Indian New York Life Insurance company agent from Illinois to get selected as the District Agent of the company in Illinois.

A graduate of Bombay University, Sunil Shah will complete 15 years on April 15 as

Sunil Shah

make a career in the insurance field.

Earlier, Shah was selected to be a 2008 Chairman council member with the New York Life Greater Chicago Office and is life and qualityqualifying for 2008 member of Million Dollar Round Table. He has received National Quality Award for 2008, National Sales Achievement award for 2008 and Life Stars Award for 2008.

Shah said that his success in the insurance field is in no small measure due to the huge cooperation and support that he received from the community at large. He lauded his wife for extending consistent support in discharge of his duties

an Agent with New York Life Insurance Company with Greater Chicago General office. Registered Representative NYLIFE Securities LLC and an Agent with New York Life Insurance Company from the Greater Chicago General office, Shah has already recruited two agents and will be recruiting many more individuals who would like to

Shah said that his success in the insurance field is in no small measure due to the huge cooperation and support that he received from the community at large. He lauded his wife for extending consistent support in the discharge of his duties. Shah is associated with a number of community organizations and served FIA as its Secretary in 2009.

PHOTO CHIEF WITH OBAMA: Mohammed Jaffer, editor of SnapsIndia has had the rare photo opportunity for an ethnic media photojournalist, with President Barack Obama during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the White House recently. Jaffer covered President Obama's state reception and dinner to Prime Minister Singh on November 24. Earlier last year, Jaffer had traveled with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India to cover her various meetings including those with the Indian Prime Minister, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Opposition leader L.K. Advani. A few years ago former President Bill Clinton inaugurated an exhibition in New York of press photographs taken by Jaffer.A native of Hyderabad, Jaffer is the son of pioneering press photographer late M.A. Rahim, in whose name the government of Andhra Pradesh has instituted an annual award called the "Father of Press Photography Award."

Community/California

January 15, 2010

India Post

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New Year events at Riverside Temple VICTORIA TRUVER

Ahmadiyya Muslim annual convention in Chino draws record attendance

RIVERSIDE: Riverside's Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir welcomed the New Year with several well-attended programs. The celebrations began on New Year's Eve with an all-night event, which began with Sunderkand followed

by Hanuman Chalisa Paath, Hanuman Arati, Ramayan Arati, and Rudrabhishkam. Shiva Arati took place at midnight followed

by Shiva Mahimna Stotra recitation. Bhaktas then participated in a havan, Ram Raksha Stotra Paath and concluded with Shri Lakshmi Narayan Arati at 6:30 am.

Details on page 16

New Supervisor's plans for Riverside Mandir

Maulana Azahar Hanif India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: Baitul Hameed Mosque was the venue for this year's 24th West Coast Annual Convention, which drew 1,161 attendees from across the US. Inter-

Imam Shamshad Nasir speaking

Charge, Imam Naseem Mahdi. The opening session was highlighted by a speech on the Remembrance

build there infrastructure with water wells; with the country of Guatemala being the starting

of the Baitul Hameed Mosque addressed the gathering, speaking on the topic of the relation-

VICTORIA TRUVER

T

he future is promising for Riverside's Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. During their New Year's celebration former Chairman Akshaya S.Sheth announced the addition of a new full-time Supervisor, Viraj Jani.

Viraj Jani comes well-qualified. A Brahmin born in Ahmedabad.

Gujarjat, India, Viraj arrived in the U.S. in 2001. His father, Pandit Vipul Jani is a priest for the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. When asked about his plans for the Mandir, Viraj replied, "I want to grow with and make Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir the finest Mandir in the Inland Empire."

Jani explained that plans are now being made to build a new Mandir on 6 acres of land owned by Mandir and located adjacent to the Temple.

Details on page 17

The opening session was highlighted by a speech on the Remembrance of God and showing true gratitude for his Bounties, delivered by Dr. Waseem Sayed. The evening concluded with a special meeting of Spanish speaking members with Imam Naseem Mahdi nationally it drew people from Canada, UK, Guatemala, and from as far as Belarus and Australia.

Opening session

of God and showing true gratitude for his Bounties, delivered by Dr. Waseem Sayed. The evening concluded with a special meeting of Spanish speaking members with Imam Naseem Mahdi where he emphasized that we must reach out to the less fortunate Central

Moulana Nasim Mahdi

point for this mission.

Saturday Morning was highlighted by Imam Azhar Haneef who spoke on our duties as

ship we must have with the Khalifa (Caliph) and how it is of utmost importance to follow his Guidance (currently the World-

Make 2010 a year of love, hope, peace & good works IMAM SHAMSHAD A. NASIR

W

e have all seen the ads on TV - "Get in shape for the New Year! Join our gym and get physically fit for 2010." Of course, this is good advice, but it made me stop and wonder why we never see people being called to get spiritually fit for the New Year? Instead of losing inches, let's strive to gain more compassion and be more caring towards our fellow human beings. And instead of shedding pounds, let's work on shedding our bad habits and replacing them with good works.

Details on page 20

Rizwan Jattala

A section of the audience

The convention began with the Friday sermon delivered by the United States Missionary In-

American countries and discussed and how the New Year's focus will be on helping them

Muslims in America and how we need to reach out and spread the peaceful message of Islam to our local communities showing them through our actions what they see presented on TV is not the true Islam. Following Imam Haneef's speech, Imam Shamshad

wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is led by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad who resides in London UK, the fifth Caliph and successor of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founder of the Community).

Cont’d on page 19

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India Post

Community/California

January 15, 2010

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New Year at Gurudwara Sarab Sanjha Darbar AVNIT KAUR KHALSA

Tips for boosting children's growth India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: Gurudwara Sarab Sanjha Darbar, also known as Khalsa Care Foundation, celebrated its first New Year. The Gurdwara opened only in November of 2009 but still there was a huge gathering.

The program started at 5pm

with Sukhmani Sahib and went along with kirtan by various Raagi jathas such as Bhai Ajit Singh Nimana, Bhai Attar Singh Hazoori Raagi Darbar Sahib, Bhai Harjinder Singh Jalandhar wale, and Professor Ranjit Singh.

There were children jathas from

Ujjal Didar Memorial Foundation and Khalsa Care Foundation.

Kids also participated in the melodious kirtan.

There was a gathering of at least 2500 to 3000 people which doesn’t include the children and the elderly.

Langar was served in steel plates (thaal) and the sewadaars got to do lots of sewa.

The moment the clock ticked 12 am badaam dudh and jalebian started to be served to the sangat for the start of a “Happy New Year” of 2010.

SACRAMENTO: First 5 California has offered a few tips to help parents and caregivers foster healthy child development in the New Year. In a press release, it says, "While young children can't set their own goals, parents and caregivers can resolve to focus on fostering their children's healthy growth and development.

Infants start learning and exploring from the day they are born and 90 percent of their brains develop in their first five years! As your child's first teacher, you play an important role in helping him or her grow up to be healthy and ready to learn."

Being curious is important because it's how children learn new ideas. By asking questions and finding answers, kids discover ways to solve problems and how the world works Start a conversation First 5 says, "Develop your infant's language skills by talking with him or her often. Not only is language the foundation for your child's thinking and communication skills, it also helps to nurture bonds of love and trust between parent and child.

• Encourage your baby to make sounds and be sure to respond.

• Talk, sing and rhyme to your infant - it helps him or her learn new words.

• Read daily to your baby and repeat stories to stimulate language and listening.

Make the most of teachable moments • Whether you're running errands or driving to school, make the most of opportunities all day to teach toddlers and preschoolers new lessons.

• Involve your child in activities like shopping at the supermarket - learn shapes when choosing fruits and vegetables in the produce section.

Cont’d from page 17

Community/California

January 15, 2010

India Post

17

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New Year events at Riverside Temple New Supervisor's plans for Riverside Mandir VICTORIA TRUVER

VICTORIA TRUVER

T

he future is promising for Riverside's Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. During their New Year's celebration former Chairman Akshaya S.Sheth announced the addition of a new full-time Supervisor, Viraj Jani.

Viraj Jani comes well-qualified.

L-R: 2010 President Bhoodev Tiwari, Vice President Lakshman Koka, 2010 Chair Surendra Sharma, 2009 President Bachubhai Chandravadia, 2009 Chair Akshaya Sheth

RIVERSIDE: Riverside's Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir welcomed the New Year with several well-attended programs. The celebrations began on New Year's Eve with an all-night event, which began with Sunderkand followed

by Hanuman Chalisa Paath, Hanuman Arati, Ramayan Arati, and Rudrabhishkam. Shiva Arati took place at midnight followed

by Shiva Mahimna Stotra recitation. Bhaktas then participated in a havan, Ram Raksha Stotra Paath and concluded with Shri Lakshmi Narayan Arati at 6:30 am.

The New Year's Day / Narayan Maha Yagna / Balaji's 9th Anniversary function began with Suprabatham, Balaji Abhishekam, alankaranam fol-

The celebrations began on New Year's Eve with an all-night event, which began with Sunderkand followed by Hanuman Chalisa Paath, Hanuman Arati

lowed by puja and arati. By noon the Mandir was extremely crowded with 800 devotees participating in Narayan Maha Yagna. Weddings are always enjoyed and the Balaji Kalyanam was no exception. The celebrations concluded with arati and Maha Prasad.

It is a tradition that at the first event of the year the new officials are announced. Former Chairman Akshaya S. Sheth introduced the new Chairman for 2010, Surendra Sharma. The President for 2009 Bachubhai Chandravadia introduced the incoming President Bhoodev Tiwari.

Cont’d on page 18

‘The new Mandir will lead us to a bright future where our children will learn our ‘sanskruti,’ heritage and culture. I invite everyone to join in the bright future of Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir’ A Brahmin born in Ahmedabad.

Gujarjat, India, Viraj arrived in the U.S. in 2001. His father, Pandit Vipul Jani is a priest for the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. When asked about his plans for the Mandir, Viraj replied, "I want to grow with and make Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir the finest Mandir in the Inland Empire."

Jani explained that plans are now being made to build a new Mandir on 6 acres of land owned by Mandir and located adjacent to the Temple.

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"The new Mandir will lead us to a bright future where our children will learn our 'sanskruti,' heritage and culture. I invite everyone to join in the bright future of Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir and to become a part of the Mandir community."

Mandir Supervisor Viraj Jani

Viraj Jani is eager to serve the Indian community. "We have three priests to perform pujas etc in the Mandir or at your chosen location. Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is available for your family events such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and special events." The future is bright indeed for the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir.

Tips for boosting children's growth Cont’d from page 16

• Point to signs and traffic lights to teach words and colors while you're driving.

• Guide your child to say "please" and "thank you" when asking for help at the library or checking out books.

Encourage curiosity and creativity Being curious is important because it's how children learn new ideas. By asking questions and finding answers, kids discover ways to solve problems and how the world works.

• Ask your toddler questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer - this fosters thinking and communication skills.

• Play with your child and encourage imagination.

• Try new activities, like gardening or cooking, to stimulate children's minds.

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Community/California

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January 15, 2010

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Airport profiling hands a victory to terrorists NIHAD AWAD

National executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

P

oliticians and pundits ranging from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to New York’s Rep. Peter King are calling for racial and religious profiling at our nation’s airports in the wake of the failed Christmas Day attack in Detroit.

A conservative radio host told Fox News “there should be a separate [airport security] line to scrutinize anybody with the name ‘Abdul’ or ‘Ahmed’ or ‘Mohammad.’”

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said he intends to reintroduce a bill that would allow police to use racial profiling to target “young Muslims of Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian background.”

Retired Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney took his call for profiling even further. On Fox News, he said: “If you are an 18 to 28-year-old Muslim man, then you should be strip searched.”

This would be a dream come true for terrorists.

Many arguments can be made against these renewed calls to institute profiling. There is the moral and ethical argument that profiling violates an individual’s human rights. There is the argument that profiling is un-American that it violates the very principles that our nation was founded on and that we all hold dear. There is the argument that profiling is both ineffective and counterproductive.

In response to calls for profiling following the Christmas Day incident, former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff told an interviewer for National Public Radio: “I’m going to argue that this case illustrates the danger and the foolishness of profiling…

I think it’s not only problematic from a civil rights’ standpoint, but frankly, I think it winds up not being terribly effective.”

Even the Bush administration Justice Department stated in a 2003 advisory report: “Racial profiling in law enforcement is not merely wrong, but also ineffective. Racebased assumptions in law enforcement perpetuate negative racial stereotypes that are harmful to our rich and diverse democracy, and materially impair our efforts to maintain a fair and just society.”

‘The minute U.S. officials put out the word that they’re not scrutinizing people with blond hair and blue eyes is the minute that al-Qaida starts recruiting people with blond hair and blue eyes’ The use of racial and religious profiling can divert precious law enforcement resources from investigations of individuals who have been linked to terrorist activity by specific and credible evidence. It ignores the possibility that someone who does not fit the profile may be engaged in terrorism, or may be an unwitting accomplice to terrorism.

In 1995, after bombing the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Timothy McVeigh was able to flee while

officers operated on the false theory that “Arab terrorists” had committed the attack.

An editorial published by the San Diego Union-Tribune stated in part: “But aside from the moral objections, as we’ve seen, profiling by characteristic isn’t very efficient. The minute U.S. officials put out the word that they’re not scrutinizing people with blond hair and blue eyes is the minute that alQaida starts recruiting people with blond hair and blue eyes. Would looking for Arab-Americans have turned up a passenger that resembled ‘American Taliban’ fighter John Walker Lindh? Would applying extra scrutiny to people with foreign-sounding names have kept would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid off a plane?”

There is also the “creepiness” argument. How would airport security personnel determine who is and who is not Muslim? Do we really want to have each passenger asked about their religious beliefs? And what if the passenger’s last name is “Muhammad,” but they say they are not Muslim? Which line will they be sent to then? What about converts to Islam whose name and skin color do not “give away” their status as Muslims?

We often hear the “Swedish grandmother” argument from those who promote profiling that we should focus security efforts on the real problem, read “Muslims,” rather than on what is essentially a coded term for “white people.”

Then there is the constitutional argument. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution guaran-

tees the right to be safe from unreasonable search. In addition, the Fourteenth Amendment requires

that all citizens be treated equally under the law.

Cont’d on page 20

New Year events at Riverside Temple

Devotees participate in Narayan Maha Yagna Cont’d from page 17

The Executive Committee team will be Vice President Lakshman Koka, Treasurer Dharmesh Kumar Patel and Secretary Pani

Chakrapani. The Mandir remained busy and stayed open late during the entire weekend. Cheerful voices could be heard as friends wished each other a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Mandir crowded on New Year's Day

Even babies celebrated the New Year

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January 15, 2010

India Post 19

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Ahmadiyya Muslim annual convention in Chino Cont’d from page 15

Saturday Afternoon, the Women's Auxiliary had a session where the Role of Women in Promoting Peace was addressed and how the family is the foundation of a society and peace starts from the home.

The Convention concluded on Sunday with an emotional and inspiring talk by Imam Naseem Mahdi, Missionary Incharge and Vice President, USA where he relayed incidents from the life of the Prophet Muhammad and how he served

Audience praying

A section of the audience

humanity in the most humble in sincere way.

During his talk, the over 1000 in attendance were over taken with emotion and many were seen with tears rolling down their checks as the stories were told with such passion and emotion. Imam Naseem Mahdi encouraged the attendees to help the poor and feed the hungry souls, following in the footsteps of Holy Founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad.

The Convention took months of preparation and many young men and women helped to orga-

Imam Naseem Mahdi encouraged the attendees to help the poor and feed the hungry souls, following in the footsteps of Holy Founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad

nize and arrange this historic three day convention that mirrors the one that was held over 100 years ago by the founder of the Community, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in a small village in northern India, Qadian, where 75 people attended.

The convention still happens to this day in Qadian and is replicated throughout the world. The 24th West Coast Convention was special as it coincided with the 118th Annual convention that was taking place in Qadian.

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Make 2010 a year of love, hope, peace & good works IMAM SHAMSHAD A. NASIR

W

e have all seen the ads on TV - "Get in shape for the New Year! Join our gym and get physically fit for 2010." Of course, this is good advice, but it made me stop and wonder why we never see people being called to get spiritually fit for the New Year? Instead of losing inches, let's strive to gain more compassion and be more caring towards our fellow human beings.

And instead of shedding pounds, let's work on shedding our bad habits and replacing them with good works.

Let's all work together to spread happiness and peace in

our communities. In the Islamic tradition, we say "As-salamo Alaikum," which means "peace be with you." Saying a kind word to

ing for the sick, the needy and the orphaned, are considered the highest of meritorious acts.

One way to "increase the

Let's all work together to spread happiness and peace in our communities. In the Islamic tradition, we say ‘As-salamo Alaikum,’ which means ‘peace be with you’ someone and giving them a smile is an act of charity in Islam. And of course, other forms of charity such as feeding the poor and car-

ZB a real life hero

peace" in today's world is to try our best to not discriminate against anyone. God says in the Holy Quran that He made us all different in our colors and tongues not so we will treat each other badly, but so we can appreciate our differences and learn from each other.

We are all different because we are all unique and beautiful creations of God. Flowers are beautiful precisely because they are not all the same. It is our differences that can enrich our lives and our cultures, but if we only see differences in a negative light, it only produces distrust and hatred between people and groups. This is a root cause of social unrest.

If we all treated each other with justice, dignity and respect -- regardless of our outward appearance -- then the only "discrimination" we should see would be based on merit, where a person gets something because they earned it or have the ability to do a task better than someone else.

An example of this is Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the U.S. Air-

ways pilot who masterfully landed his crippled jet on the Hudson River last Jan. 15 with no fatalities. He deserves every reward he gets because his accomplishment was the result of his abilities, experience and training, not his skin color or nationality. Within our own families, husbands and wives should treat each other with the utmost love and respect. We must be patient with each other's weaknesses and shortcomings. This will not only provide a stable relationship, but will also demonstrate a good example for the children.

Peace within the family starts at

Imam Shamshad A Nasir

home, i with us.

In our communities, we should take care of the poor in our own neighborhoods -- the family about to lose their home, the needy and especially the homeless and the orphans. Doing good for others builds our spiritual muscles so we

can do more in the future. This creates a life that ultimately leads to happiness and gives us a true sense of gratitude and thankfulness for our blessings.

We can also spread hope, peace and good works by donating to disaster relief organizations dedicated to humanitarian service such as Humanity First [www.humanityfirst.org]. This organization was first started in the UK in 1994 and is now worldwide in its scope and services. It has dispatched relief services and personnel to many of the recent disasters in Indonesia, Asia, Central and South America and the United States.

Humanity First only uses about 10% of its donations to cover operating expenses, so it spends about 90-cents of every dollar for direct "on-the-ground" help.

It has built scores of hospitals and hundreds of schools across Africa, Asia and South Asia. One of their main projects now is to dig wells to provide clean water for hundreds of thousands of poor people in rural areas of Africa. This project is called "Water for Life."

No Matter how we go about improving our spiritual health, what is important is that we strive to better ourselves so we can help others better themselves.

Airport profiling hands a victory to terrorists Cont’d from page 18

India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: An actor on silver screen becomes a hero by saving lives in a movie. We have a real life hero amongst us who has saved over 300 lives.

On December 21, Zarrir Bhandara or ZB was awarded a plaque by the American Red Cross Donor Center Coordinator Peter D Vu at Santa Ana Donor Center for donating his blood and blood products to save lives.

ZB, a vegetarian by choice, has saved more than 300 lives by donating through American Red Cross, CHOC, Hoag hospital and Kaiser Permanente for anybody who is in need of blood or blood products.

Zarrir has been donating through Red Cross since April 19, 1998 .Till date he has made 128 donations through Red Cross alone.

Let us all follow ZB's example and start saving lives.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is unconstitutional for a representative of the government to make decisions based on race. But of all the arguments against racial and religious profiling at airports, one stands head and shoulders above the others the argument that profiling hands an underserved victory to the terrorists.

Attacks such as the failed plot to bomb the airliner on Christmas Day cannot possibly have a real impact on our nation in military terms. These attacks are a form of psychological warfare designed to impact public opinion the very definition of terrorism and make us

do things we would normally reject, such as profiling.

Profiling sends the message to millions of Muslim travelers that it is their faith, not terrorism, that is the problem. This is precisely the talking point put forward by the religious extremists of Al-Qaeda who say the West is at war with Islam and all Muslims, and that everyone had better choose sides.

Religious profiling is a recruiting and public relations tool for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda.

Let’s not do Al-Qaeda’s work for them.

If not profiling, what action can we take to boost airline safety and security?

First look at behavior, not at faith or skin color. Then spend

what it takes to obtain more bombsniffing dogs, to install more sophisticated bomb-detection equipment and to train security personnel in identifying the behavior of real terror suspects.

Along with boosting training and detection equipment, clean up the inaccurate terror watch lists that have ballooned in the post-9/ 11 era and work the kinks out of an intelligence system that would let a person get on a plane to America even after his own father had notified security services about his disturbing behavior.

Using profiling may make some people feel safer, but it is a false sense of security that ultimately harms our nation and the principles on which it was founded.

Tech News Comcast's D3 service in California

C

omcast, country's largest provider of cable services - and one of the world's leading communications companies last month, rolled out its DOCSIS 3.0 service in more areas of California. The expanded service are available in residential homes and businesses such as Chico, Grass Valley, Marysville, Orland, Oroville and Yuba City, Beale AFB, Biggs, Butte County, Colusa, Corning, Durham, Gridley, Hamilton City, Lake Wildwood, Linda, Live Oaks, Magalia and others.

The new DOCSIS 3.0 tiers are Extreme 50 and Ultra. Extreme 50 features download speed up to 50 Mbps and upstream speed up to 10 Mbps for $99.95 per month. It also gives a subscription to Comcast's video or voice services.

On the other hand, Ultra has a downstream speed of 22 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up at a cost of $62.95 per month with the same company's video or voice offerings.

Cont’d on page 23

Apple eyeing purchase of Quattro Wireless

A

pple Inc, the iPhone Company would be announcing the purchase of Quattro Wireless, a leading global mobile advertising company, says a report at the All Things Digital blog.

Quattro has been working to provide an efficient advertising model for the advertisers and publishers to have a better reach towards their target audience across mobile web, application and video platforms.

Quattro was started in 2006 with a mission to take major media companies (like the NFL, CBS News and Univision) to the mobile web, so that the growing mobile audience could engage with their favorite media brands wherever and whenever they wanted, says the company overview on its website.

TechBiz

Details on page 22

21 India Post

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January 15, 2010

Bollywood stars add glitz to Auto Expo NEW DELHI: If the first day belonged to small cars, it was the turn of celebrities, including Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and cricketer Sourav Ganguly, to add glitz to the ongoing 10th Auto Expo.

While Khan, the brand ambassador of Hyundai Motors, unveiled the new i10 electric car and sports variant of Genesis, Devgan visited the Mahindra & Mahindra stall and launched a picture booklet of the 'Scorpio', besides unveiling a limited edition of the SUV. On a hectic day that saw unveiling of over 10 different types of vehicles, a late appearance by Khan threw schedules out of gear. It, however, didn't stop other companies from showcasing their latest offerings.

German car maker Volkswagen showcased its high-end luxury car Phaeton with sticker price of Rs 75 lakh that will be available in the market from March onwards.

"With the launch of Phaeton in March this year Volkswagen would register entry into the

Shah Rukh Khan poses with the newly unveiled Hyundai i10 Electric car during the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi on January 6. Global car manufacturers eyeing the explosive growth of the Indian market unveiled new compact models at the Delhi auto show

high-end luxury segment," Volkswagen Group Sales India, Member of the Board of Directors, Neeraj Garg said.

The other highlight of the day was the announcement of de-

'Singur, Nandigram didn't impede investment flow' KOLKATA: Protests over land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram have not had any major impact on investment flows into West Bengal, state industry minister Nirupam Sen said.

"Much has been written about Nandigram and Singur. But even during the phase, large amount of investments have come to the state," Sen said at a meeting organized by Assocham here.

He said in spite of excessive negative campaign about the state, many investors were showing interest in the state. "It is not a matter of joke," he said. -PTI

Ministers' panel points to delay in GST introduction

signer Nano, which will cost around Rs one crore, which is hundred times the original price with another Bollywood star Viveik Oberoi lending support. .

"The Rs 1 crore Nano will be ready for public unveiling within the next two months ... we will make one car to begin with but if there is more demand than we will make additional units," DC Designs Promoter Dilip Chhabria said.

launching their new products with Hinduja flagship company Ashok Leyland introducing, what it claimed the first hybrid bus in India, the Hybus.

German auto major MercedesBenz launched its multi-axle luxury bus which is priced Rs 85 lakh, while Volvo also introduced its advanced truck FH520.

Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd, the JV be-

On a hectic day that saw unveiling of over 10 different types of vehicles, a late appearance by Khan threw schedules out of gear.

It, however, didn't stop other companies from showcasing their latest offerings

Vivek Oberoi poses next to the first car of DYP-DC Centre for Automative Research and Studies during the launch of the institution at 10th Auto Expo 2010 at Pragati Maidan

Italian auto major Fiat showcased versions of its offerings in India, including the Linea, luxury small car 500 and Punto.

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly added the celebrity quotient when he unveiled two bikes from Kolkatabased Vibgyor Vehicles.

The day also witnessed major commercial vehicle makers

tween Mahindra & Mahindra and US' Navistar Inc, introduced two more trucks in 40 and 49 tons segment.

Bike maker Royal Enfield, a part of Eicher Motors, said it will shift entire production to a new engine platform from April this year to make products compliant to stricter emission norms 'Bharat Stage III'. -PTI

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Indian IT professionals build NYC iPhone app India Post News Service

NEW YORK: When New York City's mayor Bloomberg announced a competition (www.nycbigapps.com) where anybody could build mobile and web applications to increase Government transparency, a group of Indian software professionals came forward to build a cutting edge mobile application.

Using the data made available by the city, Archana Patchirajan, Sonpreet Bhatia and Puneet Mehta built the NYC Way iPhone App (www.nycway.com).

NYC Way iPhone App bundles a variety of local resources useful for residents and tourists alike.

The users get to experience the power of more than 30 NYC related iPhone apps packaged

into one. Live Traffic Cams, Restaurant Inspection Results, WiFi Locations, Recreation Locations, NYC Tourism, Street Food Vendors, Free NYC and much more

NYC Way stands as one of the most voted applications in Mayor Bloomberg's NYC BigApps Competition is available in this true NYC App box - NYC Way! Users can benefit from in-built location awareness, twitter and facebook integration to report about NYC from their iPhone.

NYC Way stands as one of the

most voted applications in Mayor Bloomberg's NYC BigApps Competition. It also happens to be within top 35 of iTunes App Store within the travel category.

The NYC BigApps Competition will reward the developers of the most useful, inventive, appealing, effective, and commercially

viable applications for delivering information from the City of New York's NYC.gov Data Mine to interested users.

The NYC Way team now wants to help city and state Governments in India with similar efforts.

The team of developers that built NYC Way call themselves

OneDerr that includes Archana Patchirajan, who has been developing web, mobile and social media applications for many years now; Sonpreet Bhatia, who works as a VP with a financial services firm in NYC; and Puneet Mehta, who works with a Wall Street firm as a Senior VP.

Lenovo brings 'Skylight': The new age 'smartbook'

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ersonal computers are one of the most evolved devices globally. We have seen the shift from desktops to laptops, laptops created change towards notebooks, notebooks followed by netbooks and now we have the new "smartbooks".

Lenovo Group Ltd, the fourth largest manufacturer of PCs in the world uncovered its first smartbook, 'Skylight'.

The Lenovo Skylight, which debuts at the 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES), being held in Las Vegas from 7-10 January, is the first smartbook that has officially hit the computing world as of now. It features an eye-catching sleek and slim outlook. The Skylight offers all day battery life, robust built wireless (3G and Wi-Fi) connectivity and custom interface with live web gadgets.

Smartbooks are the new-age personal computing devices that blend the innovation and the ease of usage at anytime, anywhere.

They are smaller than the

netbooks, run on custom OSes and deploy miniature smartphone processors. 'The smartbooks are supposed to offer the best of smartphone convenience with the form factor of a Netbook,' describes the CNET. "Skylight is designed to transform the mobile Internet experi-

‘Skylight combines the long battery life and connectivity of a smartphone with the full web browsing and multimedia experience of a netbook’ ence," says Lenovo in the press statement. Skylight has a 10.1inch screen and breaks free from the Wintel composition. Skylight has a Linux-based custom OS with "web gadgets" for accessing functions such as Gmail and

Facebook. While, instead of deploying Intelx86 processor, Lenovo has incorporated Qualcomm Inc.'s Snapdragon ARM chipset architecture in Skylight. Weighing less than 2 pounds, Skylight is slightly bigger than an iPhone and smaller than a standard netbook. The Skylight boasts more than 10 hours of active battery life.

Peter Gaucher, executive director, Mobile Internet Product Management, Lenovo says, "Skylight combines the long battery life and connectivity of a smartphone with the full web browsing and multimedia experience of a netbook to create one of the first devices in this developing smartbook category. Consumers want choices.

They can now choose from a full portfolio of Lenovo mobile consumer devices including netbooks, smartbooks and laptops."

The Lenovo Skylight is expected to ship in the US market

by April this year with a price tag of around $499.

Ministers' panel points to delay in GST introduction NEW DELHI: A high-powered group of state finance ministers indicated that the proposed Goods and Services Tax, which will consolidate indirect taxes, may not be introduced as scheduled from April 1, 2010.

"Together (Empowered Committee and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee), we will announce a new date," Empowered Committee of state finance ministers chairman Asim Dasgupta told reporters here.

When persistently asked whether the introduction of GST will be delayed, he said, "I am not saying anything on that."

He said the committee members will meet Mukherjee and discuss date for introduction of GST.

Some states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have called for delay in in-

‘Together (Empowered Committee and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee), we will announce a new date,’ Empowered Committee of state finance ministers chairman Asim Dasgupta told reporters troduction of GST. However, industry chambers earlier this week had called for introduction of GST

as soon as possible.

While states have come out with discussion paper on GST, exact rates for the new tax are yet to be decided. However, a task force constituted by 13th Finance Commission has suggested a single GST rate of 5 per cent for the Centre and seven per cent for states.

Dasgupta said, "We have reservations over the taskforce recommendations, about the entire approach. We would like them to review methodology."

GST is expected to replace indirect taxes like excise duty, service tax at the central level, and VAT at state level, besides surcharges, cesses and other local taxes. -PTI

TechBiz Post

January 15, 2010

India Post

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Plea to restructure FDI policy for M&E sector

T

he industry body, Associ- ing in FM radio to be raised from ated Chambers of Com existing 20% to 49% and for the merce and Industry of In- Direct-To-Home (DTH) services dia (ASSOCHAM) has asked the from 49% to 74%. It has also progovernment of Inposed that FDI limit dia to increase the ‘There is a strong in Cable Networks Foreign Direct Inshould go up to case for review vestment (FDI) limit 74% from existing in the FM Radio of FDI policy to 49% and that of and DTH sectors. bring consistency their share in In a representaUplinking a News & tion to the Ministry in the policy and Current Affairs TV of Information & to provide a level Channel be raised to Broadcasting (I&B) playing field 49% from current and Ministry of Filevels of 26%. nance the industry for competing ASSOCHAM body has stressed technologies’ has pointed out over the urgency of that presently streamlining "FDI regimes for rules regarding FDI vary from Media & Entertainment Sector segment to segment in M&E (M&E)" in the sub-continent. sector. This creates confusion In its current representation and discourages foreign investhe Chamber has asked FDI ceil- tors from investing in India's

UID sole identity for bank accnts, mobile connection NEW DELHI: The proposed unique identification number may become the sole identity proof to citizens for opening bank accounts and getting telecom services, says Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the project.

A proposal in this regard has been mooted and will be recommended to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Nilekani, head of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said.

"That is what we are requesting... the Know Your Customer (KYC) norm to open a bank account is regulated by Reserve Bank of India. So they have to accept our proposal.

The KYC for a mobile has to be done by term sale of the DoT so

they have to accept our proposal.

These are all work in progress...," he told reporters here.

The bank accounts that may be opened through the project would be called the UID Enabled Accounts (UEBA).

Nilekani conveyed this to the Indian Banks Association, represented by 14 chiefs, and representatives of telecom companies, when he met them.

The UID numbers are slated to be introduced by February 2011 and the project proposes to dish out 60 crore numbers in the next five years subsequently.

The UID could act as a sufficient identity to get a mobile number and a no frills bank account, Nilekani said, adding the UID project will "leverage on the strength" of both these sectors. -PTI

US to get first look at Nano CHICAGO: Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, is coming to Detroit and will be on display for the US audience for the first time next week.

Tata Technologies, part of the Tata Group, would put Nano for display on January 14 during a press meet at the Detroit Science Center, where Tata's rivals would display their latest cars at the De-

troit auto show.

With regional headquarters in Michigan near here, Tata Technologies would "show the car to highlight its end-to-end vehicle engineering and design capabilities to its auto industry customers".

"The innovative thinking that brought the Tata Nano to market is symbolic of what Tata Technologies has to offer the automotive industry," Tata Technologies' President and COO Warren Harris said.

The announcement came just a day after Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata said at the ongoing Auto Expo in New Delhi that the company will consider launching Nano in the US in the next three years. -PTI

M&E segment.

"There is a strong case for review of FDI policy to bring consistency in the policy and to provide a level playing field for competing technologies. This issue has gain importance on account of increasing convergence in

broadcasting and telecommunication technologies and the impact of this convergence on competition in the market", said President ASSOCHAM, Dr. Swati Piramal.

Observing this the Chamber has proposed to restructure the

policy and guidelines for the media and entertainment sectors "so that it grows at the required pace and catch up with the best existing in developed and developing economies," said ASSOCHAM in the press release.

Comcast's D3 service in California Cont’d from page 21

Customers who are into Business will also have access to the new wideband services and can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps/ 10 Mbps tier for $189.95 per month, while the Premium tier has speeds of 22 Mbps/5 Mbps for $99.95.

With this the Comcast has increased the speed for its exist-

ing Performance tier residential customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.

DeeDee Brady, General Manager, Comcast's North Valley Area said, "Wideband utilizes our existing fiber-optic network in neighborhoods across our

footprint. With this next generation of service, our customers' online experience is dramatically enhanced."

"And this is just the beginning. Wideband, combined with our fiber-optic network, gives us the capability of meeting the needs of our customers for many years to come by offering even faster speeds in the future."

1 Mann Ka Radio - Radio

6 Shaam Ho Chali Hain - Radio

2 Zoobi Doobi - 3 Idiots

7 Pankhon Ko - Rocket Singh

3 Hichki Hichki - Paa

8 Aal Izz Well - 3 Idiots

4 Paisa - De Dana Dan

9 Tu Jaane Na - APKGK

5 Rasiya - Kurbaan

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10 Sabse Peeche Hum Khade - AWK

January 15, 2010

T

he overwhelming response to Aamir Khan's '3 Idiots' has meant that the other two Khans, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan are feeling the heat. The Raj Kumar Hirani directed movie has already grossed Rs. 240 crores making it the most successful movie in the history of Bollywood. 3 Idiots has beaten the records of the previous highest grosser Ghajini which also starred Aamir making him numero uno actor in the industry.

Aamir's brand value can be well understood from the fact that he has lived up to all the hype he had created while promoting the movie with his disappearing act. '3 Idiots' which had the widest release for a Bollywood movie releasing simultaneously in 40 countries has managed to win over the west - a territory so far held strongly by Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan. '3 Idiots' success has opened a new chapter in the Khan War. Shahrukh who has held the crown of 'King Khan' for years is facing the threat. Never in his career has he felt so much competition as he is this time awaiting the release of his movie My Name Is Khan. His last release Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was going great guns until the release of Aamir's Ghajini. Once Ghajini arrived people dwindled away from the romantic Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. It is not surprising Shahrukh has turned to Twitter to promote My Name Is Khan. If SRK fails this time he will no longer be the 'King.'

Salman Khan's career might have seen lots of crest and troughs but nobody can rule this man out. He is no less than a God to his fans and when it comes to fan following he might well beat Shahrukh and Aamir. After seeing many highs and lows in the past couple of years Salman Khan is all geared up for his period movie Veer. It is a 'do or die' movie for the Bollywood hunk who hasn't delivered a blockbuster for quite some time.

W

edding bells are soon to ring for Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza. The duo has been dating from 2003. Their love story blossomed at the sets of 'Tujhe Meri Kasam'. Since then Ritiesh Deshmukh has been trying to convince his parents to accept Genelia as their bahu. The families had objection earlier as their religions are different. But now they have accepted Riteish and Genelia's relationship. The Shaadi will tentatively take place in July this year.

Excited Ritiesh has already started planning for the wedding and he has also informed his friends and relatives. Genelia was the first and the last girl that Riteish has taken home to meet his parents. There was a huge pressure on Riteish to get married as his older brother Amit married over four years ago.

The two families met and decided the date. Riteish lovingly call Genelia as Genes. The couple has purchased a property at Pali Hill and will shift to the new abode post-wedding.

Says a source, "Riteish being an architect has been busy hunting property for the last few months. In fact, he and Genelia have sat down and designed the interiors. Some of their close friends have even seen the blueprint and it looks very impressive."

Bollywood

January 15, 2010

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Ghazab in Single NY

T

K

atrina Kaif, who is supposedly in London recovering after her surgery, was actually in New York for a bit to meet Ranbir Kapoor, who is shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala's 'Anjaana Anjaani'.

She was in London to celebrate New Year's Eve with her family but looks like family is tangential when it comes to Ranbir.

A family member of Katrina's let slip that she is in New York. And while Katrina denied it saying that it's a family joke that she is in New York because she is harassed by many calls, it is just too coincidental.

Recently, Katrina skipped boyfriend Salman Khan's birthday and their relationship hasn't been going great. Ranbir split with Deepika but neither of them has really let go.

Ranbir and Katrina's friendship blossomed on the sets of 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani' and they even worked on 'Rajneeti'

Soha S a

disgrace?

oha Ali Khan might have inherited acting skills from her Bengali mother Sharmila Tagore, but she says she is "a disgrace" to her "maternal side" because she can't speak Bengali.

"I don't know Bengali... That way I am a disgrace to my maternal side but I am working on it. I am learning it," Soha told.

Sharmila, however, came to her daughter's rescue.

"She is good. The thing is she is very conscientious. She can't speak spontaneously but she does her homework and picks up the lines and then speaks them fluently," Sharmila said.

The mother-daughter actress' duo were in the capital on the first day of the first ever Pravasi Film Festival for the official screening of their first outing together "Life Moves On".

Revolving around the cultural conflict between a father and his youngest daughter, with different sub-plots shown in flashback, it is an English-Bengali bi-lingual.

Asked if Soha's siblings - Saif and Saba - can converse in their mother's tongue, Sharmila said: "They cannot because it is not the language spoken at home."

Soha, however, said: "I'm the best (at speaking Bengali amongst the three)."

jingle

hough grapevine has linked Priyanka with Harman Baweja and later with Shahid Kapoor, she has now declared loud and clear that she is not seeing anyone, is very much single and there would indeed be a day when she would have really something 'big' to talk about.

"Aur kya, mera bhi number aayega", laughs Priyanka without getting ruffled with constant queries coming her way for more than a year now, "I am waiting for the day when I have something to state.

You will just have to wait for a while."

But doesn't she get bothered by all idle talks, gossips, grapevine and speculations?

After all she has been doing quite well in her career, is easily one of the best and top female actors, is maintaining a good hit record and is pretty reliable when it comes to delivering goods.

In such a scenario, don't such constant link-ups followed by breakups (and sometimes reunions) make her wonder if being in public scrutiny all the time really a good idea?

"See, such speculations and rumors are part of an actor's profession so I just take it all with a pinch of salt", she continues to smile, "I am just holding on to things. What's the point when there is hardly anything substantial to talk about? But yes, let me state on record that I am very much single. Period."

MUMBAI: Filmmaker Karan Johar says establishing a romantic track between Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan is always easy because of the crackling chemistry the duo share on-screen.

"I deleted ten minutes of the screenplay which was devoted to the process of the two characters Mandira and Rizwan played by Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan respectively falling in love," Karan told PTI. "Seeing them together, the audience is convinced that the two are in love," he said.

"I would not think of anybody else except SRK and Kajol for the role of Rizwan and Mandira. They look beautiful together and their chemistry is difficult to explain in words."

"It is not common for a neurotpyical (normal) person like Mandira to be in love with a man with Asperger Syndrome or autistic disorder like Rizwan.

But with them playing those characters, it is easy to explain their falling in love. I did not need to waste screen time," the director, who has previously directed the pair in 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum' said.

Karan said working with Kajol after eight years, he realized how much I missed her. "Her presence before the camera is very impactful. Her face is like a light bulb. Every emotion, her inner feelings are seen on her face. There is not a single false note."

Karan said he would have been shattered if Kajol had refused his film.

"Kajol is a mother before being a wife and an actress. Her maternal instincts are very strong. Only a mother in real life could have portrayed Mandira effectively," he said.

"I prayed for Nysa's (Kajol and Ajay Devgan's daughter) good health when Kajol was shooting with me. She would not have shot for the film if her child was unwell because she is a very passionate mother," Karan said.

Describing 'My name...' as his coming of age movie, the filmmaker, known for his elaborate romantic dramas, said, "When you are younger, you create films with the backdrop of an atmosphere which you know and are comfortable in.

'My Name...' is the outcome of my three years of travel across the globe

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January 15, 2010

Karan said working with Kajol after eight years, he realized how much I missed her. ‘Her presence before the camera is very impactful. Her face is like a light bulb. Every emotion, her inner feelings are seen on her face. There is not a single false note’

and the prevailing thoughts and perceptions on different issues," he said.

Karan said he came across some very touching stories while interacting with several Islamic rights organizations 'My Name...' is a fictional story around true facts," he said.

"It is Rizwan Khan's story which stretches

from the time he was four years old to 40 years of age. The movie is not about religion, but of a human being who can belong to any religion," he said.

Karan said his latest film has nothing to do with terrorism.

9/11 is a small part of My Name is Khan.

The story highlights what is happening around the world. But, the emotional love story is foremost and there is no influence of terrorism," Karan said.

When asked about a line in SRK's dialogue -- "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist", Karan said, "It is a simple but a loaded line. You will understand the context when you see the film," he said.

To a question whether it was necessary to make Rizwan's character affected with a disorder, Karan said because of his simplicity and endearing quality, Rizwan Khan can go to any extent to win back his love.

"There is complete normalcy in the relationship of Mandira and Rizwan, Rizwan does not understand compli-

cated issues and takes things literally," he added. The film is releasing on February 12. -PTI

January 15, 2010

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Idiots break all records NEW YORK: 2009 went out with celluloid bang as the muchanticipated film, '3 Idiots', has gone on to set a whole new precedent for Bollywood cinema internationally and broken all previous records following its continued, staggering Box Office response from audiences globally.

Presented and released by Reliance BIG Pictures, the total overseas Box Office gross for '3 Idiots'

commodate additional screenings of '3 Idiots'.

The film is UK's highest grossing Bollywood film of 2009 and now the highest grossing Indian film ever to release in the US, beating the takings of 'Om Shanti Om' which released in 2007. Other territories such as India, Middle East and Australia are also close to this landmark.

From East to West, '3 Idiots' takes the audience through an extraordinary experience of selfactualisation, as it chronicles the

outside of India is a record-breaking $10 million plus, beating records set by any Bollywood release to date.

'3 Idiots' has grossed more than ÂŁ1,115m ($1.8m) at the UK Box Office and was the number one film on Christmas Day out-grossing 'Avatar'. In territories such as Australia, screenings of 'Avatar' have even been reduced, in order to ac-

tale of three friends together in an engineering college. What seems to have touched the right chord in people's hearts is the witty writing, terrific acting and the film's incisive look into the education system in India.

'3 Idiots' continues to draw record crowds, including repeat audiences, as it sets a whole new benchmark for Bollywood.

India Post News Service

DRINK TO DANCE: Shahid Kapoor and Genelia DĂ­Souza drink tea at a promotion ceremony for the film 'Chance Pe Dance' at Kamlistan Studios in Mumbai late January 6

Shah Rukh Khan joins Twitter India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Over New Year's weekend, actor Shah Rukh Khan joined the popular social networking site Twitter opening an account under the name "iamsrk." The star was appar-

ently encouraged to join the site by his My Name Is Kkhan director Karan Johar who is an avid Twitter user.

Khan plans to communicate directly with his many fans via his Twitter account and already has sent out over a dozen tweets

regarding his holiday weekend with his family and thoughts on his projects and upcoming schedule.

Over 18,000 fans signed up to follow Khan in the first day and the number has gone up to 40,000 and still counting since.

28

Datebook

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

NEW YORK Upcoming

ILLINOIS Upcoming

Sat Jan 16

Fri Jan 15

• Mata ki Chowki

• Life is a Gift; Living an Art

Venue: PREM PRAKASH TEMPLE, 180 Burgher Ave, Staten Island, New York Time: 6pm to 1pm Contact: 718-351-0483

Venue: Chinmaya Mission, 11 S. 80 Route 83, Willowbrook, Illinois Contact: (630)-654-3370

Sat Jan 16 • Miss International Pageant with Priyanka Chopra Venue: Colden Center, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY Time: 7pm Contact: 718-200-9311

Sat Jan 16 • Miss International Pageant with Priyanka Chopra Venue: Colden Center, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY Time: 7pm Contact: 718-200-9311

Sat Jan 16 • MILAP Chicago 2010 Venue: Crescendo, 222 West Ontario Street, Chicago Time: 6:30pm Contact: 212-213-5960

Sat Jan 23 • Pongal Vizha Kondattam 2010

• Yaatra Venue: Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street, New York City Time: 8pm Contact: (301) 469-8529

Fri Jan 30

Sat Feb 27

• Sankrant Celebrations Venue: MVCC, 143 State Route 35, Laurence Harbor, New Jersey Time: 4pm 8pm Contact: (732) 355-1782

Fri Jan 23 • Dance Pe Chance Venue: Performing Arts Center, 108 Stirling Rd, Warren, NJ Time: 6pm Contact: 732-369-6626 Highlights: Dance Pe Chance Competition from Rab Ne Bana De Jodi, competition how it changes lives!

Sun Jan 24

Sun Jan 24

Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church, 131 Mountain Way, Morris Plains, New Jersey Time: 4pm to 5:15pm Contact: 973-400-9191

Venue: Balaji Temple, 1145 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, Illinois Contact: (630) 844-2252

WASHINGTON DC Upcoming

• Russell Peters: Green Card Tour Venue: Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, New York Time: 8pm Contact: 212-930-5180

Sat Jan 16

Venue: Balaji Temple, 1145 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, Ill Time: 5:30pm Contact: 815-436-3135

• Ratha Sapthami Celebrations

Fri Jan 22

NEW JERSEY Upcoming

• A New Year! A New You!

Sat Jan 30 • Open MIC Karaoke Venue: Marathi Vishwa Community Center, 143 State Route 35, Laurence Harbor, New Jersey Time: 2pm 6pm Contact: 732 438 6867

Fri Jan 23

Sat March 27

• Sanskriti Saraswati Puja

• Marathi Vishwa-Vasantotsav 2010

Venue: Quince Orchard High School, 15800 Quince Orchard Road, North Potomac, Maryland, WDC Time: 8:30pm to 10pm Contact: 301-983-0142

Venue: Crosroads Middle School- South, 195 Major Road, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey Time: 3pm to 8pm Contact: 732-355-9844

• Mohamana (Infatuated Love) Venue: Simple Studios, 134 West 29th street, NYC Time: 7pm Contact: (800) 838-3006

Fri Jan 29 • Art of Living Course

Venue: City Center Studios, 130 West 56th street, studio #3, NYC Contact: (917) 214-6466

Venue: Art of Living Center, 9502 Claychin Court, Burke, Virginia, WDC Contact: 703-644-1615 Highlights: The Art of Living Course gives participants the practical knowledge and techniques to unlock their deepest potential and bring fullness to life.

Sat May 1

Sat Jan 30

Sat March 6 • Bharata Natyam Student Recital 2010

• Dancing STAR ka Damaka Venue: Shreenath Enterprise Inc, 220-15, 92 ave queens village, New York Time: 7pm Contact: 347-513-8526

• Republic Day Celebration Venue: Hindu Temple, Virginia Beach, Virginia, WDC Time: 6:30pm to 10pm Contact: 757-382-7777

Sat March 27 • 2010 Spring Festival Venue: Ocean Township High School, Ocean, New Jersey Time: 3pm to 9pm Contact: 732-801-4694

Sat May 29

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Upcoming Fri Jan 15 • Wine Tasting Charity Fundraiser Venue: Alberto's Club, 736 West Dana Street, Mountain view, California Time: 8:30pm to 10:30pm Contact: 408-834-9031

Sat Jan 16 • Aero-beats Workshop Venue: Chinese Cultural Center, 1344 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California Time: 9am to 10am Contact: 408-564-3140

Sun Jan 17 • Pongal Festival Venue: Shiva Murugan Temple, 1803 2nd Street, Concord, California Time: 12pm Contact: (408) 871-5959

Thurs Jan. 21 • Julia Moulden: "What Next for our Work and our World?"

Time: 7pm

Wed Jan. 27 • Robin Sukhadia: "What Next for Global Cinema, Politics and Culture?

Time: 7pm Venue: Saint Mary's College of California, Soda Center Activity Center, 1928 St. Mary's Rd, Moraga, CA Contact: 925-631-4222

Sat Jan 23 • Pioneer Bhangra 2010 Venue: Chabot College Performing Arts Center, 25555 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward Time: 6pm to 9pm Contact: 510-459-4198

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Upcoming

• Vishwa Marathi Natya Sammelan

Every 4th Sat every Month

Venue: Raritan Center, New Jersey Convention Center, 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison, New Jersey Highlights: The VMNS will be hosted and executed by the US branch of ABMNP, led by Dr. Meena Nerurkar and her team. It will have an attendance of some V.V.I.P.s in the entertainment industry, about 200 top notch artists from Maharashtra, the chief minister of Maharashtra and government representatives.

• Durga Mata Ka Jagaran Venue: 2335 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, DBC Center, Diamond Bar, CA Time: 6:30pm Contact: 909-519-1579, 626-810-2345

Every Sat (start from Sat Aug 8) • Gurukul Classes for Children 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 Jan 17, 2010 • Celebrate National Service Day Venue: M.A. Center, 10200 Crow Canyon Rd, Castro Valley, CA Time: 2:30pm to 5pm Contact: http://dayofservice2010.eventbrite.com Highlights: hands-on ecological activities hosted by the Amrita Bala Kendra. Kids learn to plant and nurture trees with expert guidance with adult eco-volunteers. Bring your friends and family for a great way to start off the New Year 2010

Sun, Jan 17 • South Asian Wedding Expo Venue: Pacific Palms Hotel & Conference Center, One Industry Hills Parkway, Industry Hills, California Time: 11:30am to 5pm Contact: 714-493-7900

Wed Jan 20 • TiE SoCal Kicks Off 2010! Featuring Karan Khanna Venue: Cerritos Sheraton, 12725 Center Court Drive, Cerritos, California Time: 6pm to 9pm Contact: neena.dolwani@socal.tie.org

Sat Jan 23 • Life Bliss Program Venue: 23015 Wrencrest Drive, Calabasas, California Time: 9am to 6pm Contact: 818-357-0644

Sat Feb 6 • Russell Peters's Stand Up Comedy Show Venue: Nokia Theatre, 777 Chick Hearn Ct, Los Angeles Time: 8pm Contact: (213) 763-6020

G

ulmarg derives its root from "the meadow of flowers" and is indeed a picturesque location. Known for its unparalleled beauty, Gulmarg's virgin forests are a welcoming sight to all tourists.

The lush green slopes, their silence broken by the occasional tinkling of cowbells, have been the locale for several films. The rich verdure with the snow-capped tips provide an ideal ambience for skiing and winter sports.

Located in the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, Gulmarg is in the Baramulla district, 57 km southwest from the capital city of Srinagar. It is perched at an altitude of 2730 meters above sea level and is not very far from the Indo-Pakistan border. It has a gently sloping topography generally identified with European skiing of the 1940s and 1950s.

Tourists Attractions: From Gulmarg, a pony track leads upwards to Khilanmarg, Kongdori and Seven Springs. It takes a couple of hours by pony, and slightly longer on foot. Khilanmarg offers an unparalleled view of the great Himalayan range. From here, across the Apharwat-the peak that looks up from this point-is Alpather Lake, a picturesque alpine lake that remains frozen until late June. It is located at a distance of about 13 km from Gulmarg.

For horse riding freaks, Alpather Lake makes an exciting day's excursion, and one has to start early morning and return by late evening. Slightly lower than Gulmarg is the

29

India Post

Khilanmarg offers an unparalleled view of the great Himalayan range.

From here, across the Apharwat-the peak that looks up from this point-is Alpather Lake, a picturesque alpine lake that remains frozen until late June

www.indiapost.com

January 15, 2010

shrine of Baba Reshi Gulmarg Gondola - The New Cable Car of Gulmarg (a Muslim mystic saint), which is visited by people of all faiths.

Best time to visit: Throughout the year (November-February for skiing) How to reach Air - The nearest airport is in Srinagar.

This airport is connected with major cities of the country.

The nearest railhead is at Jammu.

Where to stay: Gulmarg houses a num- commodation available there suits all budber of hotels that offer good accommoda- gets. One should not miss the opportunity tion and meals. Hotels of international stan- of tasting the traditional Rogan Josh and dards are also available. JKTDC (Jammu and other preparations in non-vegetarian and Kashmir Tourist Development Corporation) sweetmeats while visiting Gulmarg. has huts on offer at Gulmarg and all these properties require advance booking from Srinagar when the season is on. The ac-

30

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Gujarat venture capital to promote tourism MUMBAI: To give a push to tourism sector in Gujarat, the state Government is in process of setting up a venture capital fund, a senior state government official said here.

"We are in an advanced state of setting up a venture capital fund in collaboration with private partners to boost tourism," state TourIf You are looking For the BEST & the MOST AUTHENTIC VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT IN TOWNCome to One and Only One Place

ism Secretary Vipul Mitra told reporters here.

The proposed fund, which will be set up on a 50:50 partnership between the state government and private sector, plans to invest in several tourism projects in the state.

The Government has received a good response for Expressions

of Interests, which it invited last year, to invest in the fund, he said.

Though Mittra declined to divulge the fund size, it is understood that the fund would be to the tune of Rs 500 crore.

The proposed fund, which will be set up on a 50:50 partnership between the state government

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and private sector, plans to invest in several tourism projects in the state He also said the State Government was working on a new tourism policy to promote tourism on a large scale.

"We are working on a new tourism policy, which will give a fillip to tourism sector in Gujarat. The proposed policy is expected to be in place over the next couple of months," he said. -PTI

‘Adequate infrastructure must for tourism’ JAMMU: With an aim to improve infrastructure in the state, Rs 5.42 crore would be spent on developing tourism infrastructure at Patnitop and Sanasar health resorts in Jammu and Kashmir.

“An amount of Rs 5.42 crore would be spent in developing tour-

‘An amount of Rs 5.42 crore would be spent in developing tourism infrastructure at Patnitop and Sanasar health resorts in Jammu and Kashmir’ ism infrastructure at Patnitop and Sanasar health resorts in Jammu and Kashmir. This includes construction of food court, helipad at Patnitop and conservation related works at Sanasar,” Minister for Tourism and Culture, Nawang Rizgin Jora said while chairing the 13th meeting of Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) here.-PTI

January 15, 2010

Travel & Hospitality Post www.indiapost.com

Jet Airways emerges as India's largest airline CHICAGO: Jet Airways, India's premier airline, together with JetLite its wholly owned subsidiary, continued to retain its market leadership with a market share of 27% for November 2009. Jet Airways is also the undisputed market leader for the eleven month

vember 2009 by ferrying 2.91 lakh passengers.

In the US, Jet Airways remains a favorite airline for travelers to many destinations in India from its New York hub. Jet Airways operates daily flights to Chennai from JFK and to Mumbai from Newark via Brussels. The Brussels to Chennai and Mumbai flights connects with other US cities in code

period from January to November 2009. This was revealed in a press release by Jet Airway's local office.

The airline transported a total of 10.52 lakh passengers in November 2009 all of which helped Jet Airways' ensure that it remained India's largest airline. JetLite has also done well to garner a market share of 7.5% in the month of No-

share agreement with American airlines.

Back home the airline has further strengthened its network by selectively introducing routes and enhancing connectivity on key routes in the domestic market. The airline has also judiciously introduced new routes like a Mumbai Kathmandu service and increased

A.Q. SIDDIQUI India Post News Service

frequency on the Delhi Kathmandu sector, while also introducing a new Mumbai - Dhaka service. All of these have been undertaken to offer guests seamless connectivity to several destinations across India, as well as to the Gulf, North America, Europe and the ASEAN region.

Jet Airways' plans to continue enhancing its connectivity by adding more gateway points into its hubs in a planned manner to create a larger customer base and offer enhanced services to its international and domestic travelers.

In line with this strategy the airline plans to develop Delhi and Mumbai as major hubs to international destinations.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 88 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 52 next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900 aircraft and 14 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.54 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world.

Flights to 61 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.

India Post

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32

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Winter tourism inflow goes up in HP SHIMLA: The tourism-friendly policy of the state government and revival of Indian economy has boosted tourism in Himachal Pradesh which is witnessing around 15 per cent increase in arrival of visitors for Christmas and New Year.

On the basis of booking of hotel rooms it can be said that there has been around 15 per cent increase in arrival of tourists to the state in winter for Christmas and New Year this year, Director, Tourism Arun Sharma told PTI. Sharma attributed the rush to the revival of Indian economy from global recession and tourism-friendly policy of the state government.

Report gathered from marketing offices of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), which runs chain of its hotels across the state, said there is about 90 per cent occupancy of rooms in its 57 hotels.

"While HPTDC hotels in tourists hotspots of Shimla and KulluManali are packed till the New Year; occupancy in other hotels at different locations are over 90 per cent," Managing Director,

HPTDC, Subhashish Panda said.

Officials in the state tourism department said nearly 50,000 visitors had made to the picturesque hill state last year and figure is expected to rise substantially this

Officials in the state tourism department said nearly 50,000 visitors had made to the picturesque hill state last year and figure is expected to rise substantially this year year.

The tourists overflow to the state is there despite the fact that snowfall has deluded Shimla and other places of the state around this time. -PTI

Special Zoo admission for football fans India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: On Wednesday, January 6, the Los Angeles Zoo's male orangutan, Bruno, chose the University of Texas to win college football's BCS National Championship.

Animal keepers placed two treat-filled papier-mâchÊ figures, decorated as the mascots for University of Texas and the University of Alabama, in the orangutan habitat.

Then the L.A. Zoo's 30-yearold orangutan, Bruno, chose his favorite to win the 2010 National Championship by immediately picking up the Texas Longhorn mascot and placing it on the ground. Next he demolished the Alabama elephant, Big Al, before returning to the Texas Longhorn.

The L.A. Zoo is offering discounted admission to college football fans. Fans wearing their favorite college football team's gear (e.g. hats, shirts, sweatshirts) just need to mention the promotion to receive a dollar off the price of Zoo admission.

Native to the Indonesia islands of Borneo and Sumatra, orangutans are the sole surviving great ape species in Asia. Orangutans are endangered. In the last

30-year-old orangutan, Bruno, chose his favorite to win the 2010 National Championship by picking up the Texas Longhorn mascot Bruno

60 years, it's estimated that there has been more than a 50 percent decline in the orangutan population. This decline is primarily due to loss of their forest habitat from agriculture and fires. The L.A. Zoo is home to six orangutans.

Orangutans are considered to be one of the most intelligent zoo animals.

In the Malay language orang means person and utan means forest. Decked out in long, shaggy, orange-red hair, orangu-

tans are the largest tree-dwelling mammals.

The males are about twice the size of females, and have an arm span of over seven feet. Males have large throat pouches under their chins that are used to make calls to attract females and warn rival males to keep away. Dominate males have large cheek pads, while subordinate males in the same area don't develop cheek pads until they find their own territory.

100 peaks in Ladakh thrown open for tourists JAMMU: Ladakh may soon become a trekkers' paradise with the Defense Ministry giving its nod for throwing open over 100 peaks in restricted areas for mountaineers.

"We expect that 101 peaks in restricted areas will be thrown open for mountaineers and trekkers in Ladakh soon this year. In this regard, the Defense Ministry has already given its approval for starting trekking to these peaks", Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Tourism, Rigzin Jora told PTI here.

Jora said they are seeking the Home Ministry's clearance for the same. "We urge the Home Ministry to speed up the process for approval."

"Lakdah will also become a trekker's paradise after the start of mountaineering to these peaks. It is already a top destination

for foreigners. The opening up of the peaks would give a multi-fold economic boost to the state in the tourism sector," Jora said.

The Centre had already opened up various out-of bounds and inner-line areas -

Lakdah will also become a trekker's paradise after the start of mountaineering to these peaks. It is already a top destination Chiktan, Batalik, Turtuk, Pachatanag and Tyakshi - in Ladakh for foreigners as Home Ministry and Defense Ministry had given clearance for throwing open the protected areas. -PTI

Work on unexplored J&K tourist sites JAMMU: Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora has asked the authorities to expedite the formulation of project reports of unexplored tourist sites in Jammu and Kashmir for early funding from the Centre.

Assessing the tourism potential of Bahu Fort and its vicinity here, Jora said an integrated project would be formulated for exploring the scenic beauty of the area besides creation of necessary infrastructure at the fort, a renowned heritage and pilgrimage place.

The minister said that pilgrimage sites like Maha Maya Temple and Harki Podi would also be developed.

The state government endeavors to explore various tourism spots of Jammu and other areas of the region so that a large of chunk of Vaishno Devi pilgrims could be diverted to these destinations, he said.

Jora said Bahu Fort has been declared a state-protected monument and is being developed as a heritage site at a cost of Rs.69.70 lakh. -PTI

January 15, 2010

India Post 33 www.indiapost.com

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In Brief GOP leaders vote to censure Sen. Graham COLUMBIA, SC: Republican leaders in a South Carolina county known as a GOP stronghold have voted to censure US Sen. Lindsey Graham for working with Democrats on immigration and climate change.

It's the second time since November that Republicans in a South Carolina county have voted to censure the GOP senator.

Lexington County Republican Party Chairman Rich Bolen said Tuesday the county's executive committee voted 13-7 to rebuke Graham following more than an hour of debate.

In November, Charleston County Republicans censured Graham over climate change legislation. -AP

Feds handle more immigration cases in SD SIOUX FALLS, SD: US Attorney Brendan Johnson says his office's load of illegal immigration cases is growing and makes up the largest single area of federal prosecutions in South Dakota, at 14 percent of all cases.

The U.S. Attorney's office opened 578 immigration cases in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

That's up 1.4 percent from the previous year and up 9.1 percent from 10 years ago.

Johnson says individual cases are fairly simple to prosecute and do not put a strain on his office's resources. He says fraudulent documents usually are enough to make a case in federal court. -AP

AZ border agent shoots illegal immigrant DOUGLAS, Ariz: Authorities say an illegal immigrant was shot and killed after he attacked a U.S. Border Patrol agent with rocks in southern Arizona.

Border Patrol spokesman Omar Candelaria says the shooting happened after the agent and his dog encountered the man in the area of ``D'' Hill just outside of Douglas. The man assaulted the agent with rocks and the agent shot back.

The man died while being transported to a local hospital.

Candelaria says the agent also was taken to the hospital but has since been released.

The names of the agent and the man were not immediately released.

The incident is being investigated by the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the Border Patrol. -AP

Immigration 35

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

6 dead in suspected immigrant boat accident THESSALONIKI, Greece: Police in northern Greece say six bodies have been recovered from the sea or have washed up on the shore following a suspected boat accident involving illegal immigrants. -AP

New House bill renews hope for undocumented workers SRIREKHA N. CHAKRAVARTY India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Bringing renewed hope to the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, a broad cross-section of Democrats in the US House of Representatives last month moved a bill titled Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP).

The bill authored by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill), and co-sponsored by at least 80 other Congressmen, provides for an "earned legalization program" for current undocumented workers, giving them a chance to get legal status by paying a $500 fine, passing a criminal background check and showing that they have made valuable contributions to the American society through employment, education, military service or other volunteer/community service.

The Bill also provides for

strengthening border security, creating a streamlined employment verification system, altering the visa program to promote the reunification of families and establishing a commission to recommend changes to the current system of H-1B and H-2B visas for skilled workers.

Soi has been not only answering frequently asked questions on the issue, but also trying to create a movement in the community to get the undocumented immigrants among them to start calling up their local lawmakers with genuine stories and get them to support the bill in Congress.

The bill provides for an "earned legalization program" for current undocumented workers, giving them a chance to get legal status by paying a $500 fine, passing a criminal background check Although Republicans and many among Democrats believe the bill might just be dead on arrival, immigration experts in the community are encouraging Indian Americans to go all out to campaign for the passage of the bill.

In a weekly interactive local television show community leader and public affairs activist Yash Pal

``This is great news for them (undocumented workers),'' says Soi. ``This bill will make them eligible for applying for a greencard.

Upon receipt of their application, they will be liable for a penalty of $500 and they will then be given work permit with a goal of getting greencard in 6 years, in which period, they will be able to travel

freely in and out of the country."

Soi urges all Indian American organizations to come together in writing to congressmen to support the legislation. ``These undocumented workers are people who have come here in search of better opportunities, they are not criminals,'' says Soi. ``Legalizing them would be win-win for all because they will get on regular pay rolls and pay taxes.''

Priya Murthy, Policy Director for South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) says, ``Congressman Gutierrez's recently introduced bill is a positive starting point for upcoming policy debates around immigration reform.''

Murthy says South Asians have long been affected by the country's broken immigration system - ranging from visa backlogs, to issues facing skilled and lowwage workers, to detention and deportation.

Cont’d on page 38

FY 2010 H-1B cap reached CYRUS D. MEHTA

U

S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on December 22, 2009, that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2010.

December 21, 2009, is the "final receipt date" for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2010.

Regulations now provide that H-1B petitions received by USCIS on or before December 19 (because of the weekend) have been submitted "under the cap," but H-1B petitions received by USCIS on or after December 22, 2009, will be rejected.

USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. Properly filed cases will be considered received on the date that

USCIS physically receives the petition, not the date that the petition was postmarked. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY 2010 that arrive after December 21, 2009.

USCIS will apply a computer-

cap will not be counted toward the congressionally mandated FY 2010 H-1B cap. Therefore, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to: • extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the US. • change the terms of employ-

Regulations provide that H-1B petitions received

by USCIS on or before December 19 have been submitted "under the cap," but those received on or after December 22 will be rejected generated random selection process to all petitions that are subject to the cap and were received on December 21, 2009. USCIS will reject, and return the fee, for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected.

Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the

ment for current H-1B workers • allow current H-1B workers to change employers • allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H1B position Now that the FY 2010 cap has been reached, the earliest an employer can file a new H-1B petition will be April 1, 2010, with an

employment start date of October 1, 2010.

The notice is available at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/ s i t e / u s c i s / menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f 6 1 4 1 7 6 5 4 3 f 6 d 1 a / ?vgnextoid=153a163836 7 b 5 2 1 0 V g n V C M 1 00000082ca60aRCRD &vgnextchannel=684 39c7755cb90 10VgnVCM1000 0045f3d6a1RCRD. For more details on the H-1B count, see http://www.uscis.gov/ h-1b_count. For information on the temporary acceptance of H1B petitions without Departmentcertified LCAs, see http:// www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/ Memoranda/2009/h-ib-petitionstemporary-acceptance.pdf. For a Q&A on the same topic, see foreignla borcert.doleta.gov/pdf/ FA Q _ P E R M _ A p p e als_Filing_Final_12012009.pdf.

Cont’d on page 38

36

Immigration Post

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Indian companies top H1B visa seekers India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Indian companies were among the highest seekers of H-1B visas among the 200odd companies that applied for this category of temporary skilled worker visas last year, according to eWeek.Com. A mix of US and India-based technology, financial and consulting companies were among the top 25 in the list of enterprises that have applied for and received approval for H-1B visas in 2009.

Wipro with 1,964 approvals and Microsoft with 1,318 approvals topped the list and interestingly, major technology companies that did not rank in the Top 25, but did rank in the Top 50 include Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, Texas Instruments, Nvidia and IBM, according to the website.

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also rank in the Top 50. Some of the top H-1B visa obtainers this year included University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, University

A mix of US and India-based technology, financial and consulting companies were among the top 25 in the list of Pittsburgh, Columbia, and Baylor College of Medicine.

Following is the list of the top 25 companies with the number of H-1B visas that they have been each granted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):

1. Wipro - 1,964 visas 2. Microsoft - 1,318 visas 3. Intel - 723 visas 4. IBM India - 695 visas 5. Patni Americas - 609 visas 6. Larsen & Toubro Infotech - 602 7. Earnst & Young - 481 8. Infosys - 440 visas 9. UST Global - 344 visas 10. Deloitte - 328 visas 11. Qualcomm - 320 visas 12. Cisco Systems - 308 visas 13. Accenture - 287 visas 14. KPMG - 287 visas 15. Oracle - 272 visas 16. Polaris Software Lab India 254 visas 17. Rite Aid - 240 visas 18. Goldman Sachs - 236 visas 19. Deloitte & Touche - 235 visas 20. Cognizant - 233 visas 21. Mphasis - 229 visas 22. Satyam - 219 visas 23. Bloomberg - 217 visas 24. Motorola - 213 visas 25. Google - 211 visas

Opponent of illegal immigration may run for Governor NEW YORK: Steve Levy, a suburban politician whose opposition to illegal immigration has brought him national attention, has said he was weighing a primary challenge to Gov. David Paterson.

Levy, the Suffolk County executive, said he had formed an exploratory committee, creating the potential for a three-way race to lead the Democratic Party's state ticket.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely considered to be weighing a run for governor, though he has not publicly announced his intention to run.

Levy said his exploratory committee was ``to test the waters.'' ``But I've got a great deal of interest to take the skill set I've developed here in Suffolk County and apply them to the

state at a time of potential fiscal collapse,'' he told The New York Times.

Levy said potential opponents would not factor into his decision

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely considered to be weighing a run for governor, though he has not publicly announced his intention to run on whether to run. He said he was looking to highlight his skills in managing Suffolk County to demonstrate his ability to handle state government.

Levy was elected as Suffolk County's executive in 2003 after serving in the state Assembly. He was elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in 1985.

Levy signed a law that required contractors doing business with the county to certify their employees are in the country legally. He also supported efforts to get day laborers off street corners and backed doing raids aimed at overcrowded houses where Latino workers live with their families.

He is co-founder of a national group called Mayors and Executives for Immigration Reform.

Levy has raised nearly $4 million for his possible campaign, according to the most recent campaign finance reports filed in July. Paterson has about $5 million. Cuomo has raised about $10 million. -AP

Immigration Post

January 15, 2010

India Post

37

www.indiapost.com

Supporters of sanctions law Ill. Senate candidates say little on immigration seek subpoena power PHOENIX: For the second straight year, advocates for tougher immigration enforcement plan to return to the Arizona Legislature in the coming days to push for greater power for prosecutors who investigate employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

They plan to seek civil subpoena power for prosecutors so they can force suspected violators of Arizona's employer sanctions law to turn over records and give testimony. Prosecutors in Maricopa County say several businesses have cited privacy concerns when refusing to voluntarily hand over employment records at the beginning of investigations.

“How many other violators are out there that we don't know about because we are unable to fully investigate?'' asked Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, whose office has examined the most potential employer sanctions cases in the state.

Proponents say prosecutors need civil subpoenas to hold violators accountable and that the authority they plan to seek is similar to the powers of state boards and agencies that regulate business licenses. Business groups and other opponents say such a move would give prosecutors too much power and could lead to abuses. ``The case has not been made that the law should be expanded to include subpoena power,'' said Glenn Hamer, president and chief executive of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The law, which carries license suspensions and revocations for those who knowingly make illegal

hires, is intended to lessen the economic incentive for immigrants to sneak into the country by holding employers accountable for hiring those who sneak across the border. Supporters say the law was needed because the federal government hasn't adequately enforced a similar federal law.

The state law has prompted or contributed to an unknown number of illegal immigrants leaving Arizona for their home countries or other American states. Authorities across Arizona have examined several dozen complaints of em-

‘How many other violators are out there that we don't know about because we are unable to fully investigate?’ asked Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas ployer sanctions violations. But in the two years since the law took effect, only two civil cases have been filed in court against employers. Both were in Maricopa County, where prosecutors say they have two dozen potential employer sanctions cases.

A now-defunct Glendale amusement park that has acknowledged violating the law in 2008 settled its case in mid-December and will have its business license suspended for 10 days if it reopens. Prosecutors also filed a civil employers sanctions case against a custom furniture maker in Scottsdale.

The two top difficulties cited by prosecutors in building employer sanctions cases are their lack of civil subpoena power and a requirement that they prove that a given employer knew he or she was hiring an illegal immigrant.

Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa, who led the effort to create the law and tried unsuccessfully last year to put civil subpoena power in the law, scoffed at suggestions that giving prosecutors more power would lead to abuses. ``It's not far-reaching. The truth is that there are folks who really don't want any of the laws enforced,'' said Pearce, who plans to file a version of the proposal for the legislative session that begins Jan. 11.

The subpoena bill filed last year

by Pearce would have allowed prosecutors to issue subpoenas that require witnesses to testify and businesses to hand over documents. That bill, proposed at a time when lawmakers were focused on Arizona's budget crisis, never got a committee hearing.

Pearce said prosecutors would still have to present evidence of violations to a judge before getting civil subpoenas.

Julie Pace, a lawyer representing business groups who have unsuccessfully tried to overturn the law, disputed the claim by prosecutors that employers weren't handing over records.

Pace also said prosecutors can get access to the records once they file a civil case against an employer and believes Pearce wants to give access to the records before a case is filed. ``It's too much concentrated power,'' Pace said.-AP

CHICAGO: Illinois politicians and activists have helped shape the national immigration debate, but those vying for President Barack Obama's former US Senate seat had little of substance to say when asked about the issue recently by The Associated Press.

Democratic and Republican candidates alike stuck close to their party lines when answering a recent questionnaire on immigration. They offered few specifics about what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the country. And several candidates don't list immigration as an issue on their Web sites.

The issue touches millions: families that could be split apart because of immigration status, employers who are under scrutiny about hiring, workers in many industries and anyone concerned about border security.

The five Democrats seeking their party's nomination on Feb. 2

support a major overhaul of immigration laws, including a path to citizenship status for illegal immigrants. The six Republican candidates focus on better enforcement of existing laws.

Experts say the lack of specifics from candidates on both sides is disheartening.

"I'm disappointed, obviously,'' said Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for tighter controls on immigration. "I want Democrats and Republicans to be more serious about enforcement, but it doesn't surprise me.''

Responding to the questionnaire, few of the candidates had a clear answer on what to do with children who are US citizens but whose parents are illegal immigrants, one of the most critical points in the immigration debate.

Cont’d on page 38

Gwinnett releases info on immigration enforcement LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.: The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department says a program that allows specially trained sheriff's deputies to enforce federal immigration law is working well.

The program began on Nov. 16 when 18 deputies returned from training by federal authorities. The sheriff's department says 62 percent of the foreignborn population in the county jail has been found to be in the

country illegally.

Deputies have placed immigration detainees on 286 inmates. The charges against them include aggravated assault, rape, child molestation, DUI, robbery, sex crimes and trafficking.

The program is called 287(g) after the section of immigration law that governs it. It has been championed by illegal immigration foes and decried by immigrant rights and civil liberties groups. -AP

38

Immigration Post

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January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Ill. Senate candidates say little on immigration Cont’d from page 37

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"I support a system that keeps families husbands and wives, and parents and children together,'' Democrat Alexi Giannoulias said without elaborating.

Other Democrats were even more vague.

David Hoffman, for instance, said families should be kept together when possible and that the question shows the need for comprehensive reform. Cheryle Jackson's answer focused on children's health care.

Republicans either avoided the question or said children must leave if their parents are deported. ``If a parent or legal guardian are here illegally, but have a child who is a U.S. citizen, the parents are responsible for the child's

well being,'' said Republican Patrick Hughes, a developer. ``This means if the parents are sent out the country the child must go with them.''

Republican Mark Kirk simply said, ``Under the Constitution, individuals born on US soil are American citizens.''

As a member of the US House, Kirk voted in 2005 for legislation that would have made it a felony for illegal immigrants to live in the U.S. The bill failed but became the catalyst for mass immigration protests nationwide.

Illinois has often led the country on immigrant issues.

Chicago has the biggest crowds at May 1 immigrant rights rallies. Illinois was the only state to challenge E-verify, a federal database which helps determine a worker's legal status. -AP

Police nab suspected human smugglers PHOENIX: Authorities say they've arrested five human smugglers and freed 11 illegal immigrants who were being held against their will at a house in west Phoenix.

Authorities discovered the residence was being used as a ``drop house'' for illegal immigration when they went to the site for a welfare check.

Police surrounded the house and eventually arrested five suspected human smugglers, sometimes called coyotes. They are all believed to be Mexican nationals in the U.S. illegally.

Officials say that the 11 illegal immigrants had apparently been held for up to one week in deplorable conditions and some of them reported being pistol whipped. -AP

New House bill renews hope for undocumented workers Cont’d from page 35

“One issue often overlooked in the South Asian community is the need for legalization, given that Indians alone are the 10th largest undocumented population in the country with at least 160,000 residing without status in 2008. In addition, many H-1B workers who have lost their jobs due to the economic downturn, also fear becoming undocumented themselves,'' she explains. ``This bill includes various promising measures to reform current immigration policies, including an earned legalization program and path to permanent residency, provided various re-

quirements are met, including individuals pay fines and taxes and demonstrate economic, educational, or other contribution to the United States.''

Murthy says Gutierrez's bill is intended to be a "marker bill" and will likely won't be voted on per se, "but the intention is that it sets the tone for the policy dialogues moving forward", besides, she adds, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who chairs the House Immigration Subcommittee, can use it as a basis for the bill that she is expected to develop in the coming months.

Murthy feels that South Asians of all statuses clearly have a stake in the immigration debate. ``With

Senator Schumer expected to introduce legislation this month, it is important to make a simple call to your Senators and Representatives to let them know that just and humane immigration reform is needed in our country,'' she says.

With more similar bills being worked upon by other lawmakers, Congress will likely see a renewed debate on comprehensive immigration reform this year, although President Obama himself might find himself more preoccupied with pushing the healthcare reform bill as a priority while juggling the issue of terrorism, economy, climate change and of course the two ongoing wars.

FY 2010 H-1B cap reached Cont’d from page 35

Visa Bulletin Issues Projections for FY 2010 Cut-Off Dates The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for January 2010 includes the following projections for cutoff dates that will be reached by the end of fiscal year 2010. The Department cautioned that the date ranges are only estimates and are subject to fluctuations in demand during the coming months.

It is possible that some annual limits could be reached before the end of the fiscal year, the Department said: Employment First: It is unlikely that there will be

any cut-off dates in the employment first preference categories, which are now Current.

Employment Second: China: July through October 2005 India: February through early March 2005 (If Section 202(a)(5) were to apply: China and India: October through December 2005) Employment Third: Worldwide: April through August 2005 China: June through September 2003 India: January through Febru-

ary 2002 Mexico: January through June 2004 Philippines: April through August 2005 Additional details, including an explanation of INA section 202(a)(5) and other aspects of how cut-off decisions are made, are available in the Visa Bulletin for January 2010 at http:// travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/ bulletin_4597.html.

* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contacted at 212-425-0555 or info@cyrusmehta.com

„ Health

Line

Health care provider sued over privacy issue

MILWAUKEE: A Wisconsin health care provider is being sued by several patients who claim the company violated their privacy when it disclosed their personal medical information in bankruptcy court.

The class action lawsuits filed in federal and state court say Aurora Health Care Inc. included patients' medical history when it routinely filed claims against debtors in bankruptcy court.

Susan Dandridge filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

Dandridge says she never thought her personal medical information would become ``an open book.''

Dandridge and others want the information taken out of debtors' files. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports they're seeking $25,000 in damages for each person whose medical information was revealed. -AP

„

Evidence lacking for special diets in autism

CHICAGO: An expert panel says there's no rigorous evidence that digestive problems are more common in children with autism compared to other children, or that special diets work.

That's contrary to claims by celebrities and vaccine naysayers.

The panel's report is being published in the January issue of Pediatrics. It says painful digestive problems can trigger problem behavior in children with autism and should be treated medically.

Autism is a spectrum of disorders affecting a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. -AP

„

Hawaii cuts HIV coordinator position

HONOLULU: Hawaii is eliminating the job of the state's HIV prevention coordinator due to budget cuts.

The Health Department position focused on working with the community on HIV/AIDS issues, including general education and targeting interventions on highrisk populations.

The position was held by Nancy Kern, who moved to the Health Department's Injury Prevention Branch. She had worked 19 years with the department on HIV prevention and services.

STD/AIDS Prevention Branch chief Peter Whiticar says Kern was a major link with community-based organizations so they could provide prevention services to both the general population and highrisk groups. -AP

Health Science 39

India Post

www.indiapost.com

January 15, 2010

Swine flu vaccine now available to all BATON ROUGE, La.: The state health department says that swine flu vaccine is now available to anyone.

The announcement said people should call their regular medical providers for a vaccination appointment. -AP

Dems intend to bypass GOP on health compromise WASHINGTON: House and Senate Democrats intend to bypass traditional procedures when they negotiate a final compromise on health care legislation, officials said, a move that will exclude Republican lawmakers and reduce their ability to delay or force politically troubling votes in both houses.

The unofficial timetable calls for final passage of the measure to remake the nation's health care system by the time President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address, probably in early February.

Democratic aides said the final compromise talks would essentially be a three-way negotiation involving top Democrats in the House and Senate and the White House, a structure that gives unusual latitude to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

These officials said there are no plans to appoint a formal House-

Senate conference committee, the method Congress most often uses to reconcile differing bills. Under that customary format, a committee chairman is appointed to preside, and other senior lawmakers from both parties and houses participate in typically perfunctory

our bills and send the final legislation to the president's desk as soon as possible,'' Pelosi said late last year as the Senate approved its version of the legislation. ``We hope to get a bill done as soon as possible,'' said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid.

Democratic aides said the final compromise talks would essentially be a three-way negotiation involving top Democrats in the House and Senate and the White House public meetings while the meaningful negotiations occur behind closed doors.

In this case, the plan is to skip the formal meetings, reach an agreement, then have the two houses vote as quickly as possible. A 60-vote Senate majority would be required in advance of final passage. ``I look forward to working with members of the House, the Senate and President Obama to reconcile

The issue is so partisan that only one Republican, Rep. Anh ``Joseph'' Cao of Louisiana, has cast a vote in favor of the legislation.

GOP leaders have vowed to try and block a final bill from reaching Obama's desk. ``This fight isn't over. My colleagues and I will work to stop this bill from becoming law,'' Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Republican leader, said shortly before

the Senate cleared its version of the bill last month.

Both houses have already passed legislation to remake the health care system, extending coverage to millions who lack it while cracking down on industry practices such as denying insurance on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

There are literally hundreds of differences between the two bills, a House measure that ran to 1,990 pages and a Senate version of 2,074, not counting 383 pages of last-minute changes. The biggest differences involve a dispute over a government-run insurance option the House wants one, but the Senate bill omitted it as well as the size and extent of federal subsidies to help lower-income families afford coverage.

Bypassing a formal conference committee enables Democrats to omit time-consuming procedural steps in the Senate and prevents Republicans from trying to delay the final negotiations. -AP

Helping crime victims is academy's goal OKLAHOMA CITY: After her daughter was brutally murdered, Catherine Doak endured years of emotional loss and grief that she worked through alone without the support of victim service counselors and advocates. ``No one contacted me. I had no where to turn. I had no idea where to look,'' Doak said. ``It's a lonely place.''

Doak's experience is not unique. A report issued last summer by Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office indicates a lack of resources and referrals for victims of violent crime and their survivors is the most compelling complaint they have about Oklahoma's criminal justice system.

Some of the 114 victims and survivors who participated in the needs assessment report said they reached suicidal levels

of depression and never received a referral for services by law enforcement officials, prosecutors or others in the state's criminal justice system.

"A lot of these cases, they go on for years. And there's no contact person,'' Doak said. ``I really, really thought our case had

ment officials, health care professionals and others in the victims services field.

Funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice, the academy's goal is to increase the number of victim service providers, improve their skills and raise public awareness of

Some of the 114 victims and survivors who participated in the needs assessment report said they reached suicidal levels of depression and never received a referral for services by law enforcement officials slipped through the cracks of our system.''

Authorities hope to do a better job for crime victims by convening the Victims Assistance Academy, the first organized effort in Oklahoma to provide specialized training to law enforce-

the needs of victims of violent crime and their friends and family members, said Assistant Attorney General Susan Krug, chief of the attorney general's Victim Services Unit. ``There is a need nationwide to provide this foundation-level

learning,'' Krug said.

The first academy, scheduled in June at East Central University in Ada, will include 50 participants including law enforcement, health care and legal professionals as well as victim advocates.

Instruction during the weeklong academy will include intense and advanced academic training on assessment skills, crisis intervention and how the criminal justice system works that providers will need when working with the victims of violent crime, Krug said.

Teaching participants to become compassionate listeners will be harder.

"How do you teach that?'' she said. "So many things you cannot teach. They need that listening skill. They need that ability to communicate.'' -AP

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New agent can inhibit HIV infection S cientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Im munology (GIVI) have discovered a new agent that might inhibit the infectivity of HIV. The agent, surfen, impairs the action of a factor in semen that greatly enhances the viral infection.

Surfen might be used to supplement current HIV microbicides to greatly reduce HIV transmission during sexual contact.

The discovery was made by Nadia Roan, PhD, a senior fellow in the laboratory of GIVI Director Warner Greene, MD, PhD. Surfen is a small molecule that inhibits the actions of certain polysaccharide molecules called heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) that are found on the surface of cells. Importantly for HIV infection, it also interferes with the action of semenderived enhancer of viral infection (SEVI). The discovery was published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

"Surprisingly, although HIV readily replicates once inside the body, the virus struggles to estab-

lish a beachhead of infection during sexual transmission," said Greene, who is senior author on the study. "We have been studying SEVI, a naturally occurring factor present in semen that can make HIV thousands of times more infectious. Knowing more about surfen, a SEVI inhibitor, might enable us to lower transmission rates of HIV." SEVI is a breakdown product of prostatic acid phosphatase, a common protein in semen. Under certain conditions, SEVI can increase HIV infectivity 100,000 times by facilitating the attachment of viruses to target cells. Because the majority of all HIV infections are thought to result from sexual contact (during which semen is either the vehicle carrying HIV or is present during the infection process), SEVI might have a significant impact on HIV transmission rates. Surfen interferes with the binding of SEVI to both target cells and HIV-1 virions but does not cause the SEVI fibrils to break up.

"Because SEVI can so greatly

enhance HIV infectivity, supplementing current HIV microbicide candidates with SEVI inhibitors, such as surfen, might increase their potency and overall effectiveness," Greene explained.

Previously, the researchers found that negatively charged polymers, such as heparin sulfate,

'Surprisingly, although HIV readily replicates once inside the body, the virus struggles to establish a beachhead of infection during sexual transmission' interfere with the binding of SEVI to target cells. This led them to hypothesize that the SEVI fibrils bind target cells by interacting with cell-surface HSPG, naturally occurring anionic carbohydrate polymers with a structure that is closely related to heparin sulfate.

American Red Cross offers ideas for New Year India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: The American Red Cross has offered new ideas to volunteer through the American Red Cross in the New Year. It has invited volunteers for Red Cross Blood Services or with another area of the Red Cross through a local chapter.

Also, if you'd like to schedule your first appointment of the New Year, you can do it easily online.

Listing the new ideas, ARC says, you can also help people in need by donating money.

The Red Cross is a charitable organization "not a government agency" and depends on the generosity of the American public to help it shelter, feed and provide emotional support to victims of disasters; teach lifesaving skills; provide international humanitarian aid; and support military members and their families.

Family Safety Giving tips, it says, "Start the year a little safer by taking simple steps to protect yourself and your family in case of an earthquake, fire, or other disaster.

1. Get a kit. If you've ever fumbled to find a flashlight during a blackout, you know what it feels like to be unprepared. Gain some peace of mind by gathering the fol-

lowing supplies now: • Three-day supply of non-perishable food and water, one gallon per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes • Battery-powered or hand crank radio • Flashlight and extra batteries • First aid kit, medications and medical items • Copies of all important documents (proof of address, deed/

Choose an out-ofarea emergency contact person. All household members should have this person's phone number and email address lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies) • Extra cash 2. Make a plan. Talk with family and household members about what you would do during emergencies that are most likely to happen in your area.

Plan what to do in case you are separated, and choose two places

to meet one right outside your home, in case of a sudden emergency such as a fire, and another outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate.

Other planning tips: • Choose an out-of-area emergency contact person. All household members should have this person's phone number and email address. It may be easier to call long distance or text if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service.

• Tell everyone in the household where emergency information and supplies are kept.

• Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route and plot alternate routes on a map in case main roads are impassable.

• Plan ahead for your pets. If you must evacuate, make arrangements for your animals. Keep a phone list of "pet friendly" motels/ hotels and animal shelters that are along your evacuation routes.

Blood Donors Honored The American Red Cross Southern California Region saluted its blood donors and blood drive partners for their important contributions to ensuring an adequate blood supply for hospital patients in 2009.

"SEVI has eight basic amino acids which makes this factor very positively charged," said Roan, lead author on the study. "In previous work, we showed that the ability of SEVI to enhance infection was dependent on these positive charges. We reasoned that these positive charges may be interacting with negatively charged groups on HSPG of target cells."

The scientists looked for antagonists of HSPG that might interfere with the binding of SEVI to the virus and target cells. They focused on surfen (bis-2-methyl4-amino-quinolyl-6-carbamide), which was first described in 1938 and reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activity.

The team found that surfen inhibits enhancement of HIV-1 infection mediated by pure SEVI or semen.

They further demonstrated that surfen interferes with the binding of SEVI to both target cells and HIV-1 virions.

"Because SEVI can markedly influence HIV infectivity, it forms a rather attractive target for future

therapies" said Greene. "For example, we might be able to create combination microbicides that include agents targeting both the virus and host factors promoting infection. Such combinations might greatly diminish the spread of HIV; it is a target we are energetically pursuing."

Additional contributors to the research include Gladstone's Stefanie Sowinski, and Jan Münch and Frank Kirchhoff from the University Clinic of Ulm, Germany. The work was supported by the Giannini Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Greene's primary affiliation is with the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology where he is senior investigator and the Nick and Sue Hellmann Distinguished Professor of Translational Medicine and where his laboratory is located and his research is conducted. He is also professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at UCSF and co-director UCSF-GIVI Center for AIDS Research.

Ilinois woman runs across US

K

atie Visco ran barefoot into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday, a joyous finale to her 3,132.5-mile journey across the United States. ``I did it!'' she cried, tears running down her face.

The 24-year-old Glen Ellyn native had just completed her run across the United States, a journey that took her from Boston to San Diego, through 15 states and nine pairs of Puma running shoes.

Her parents Diana and Jim were on the beach for her celebration, along with her brother Tyler and family and friends, including many folks she met along the way.

The former Glenbard West High School cross-country runner was determined to run the last 1 1/2 miles, despite a nagging knee injury that's forced her to slow her pace to a walk since early December.

She hit the beach at 11:15 a.m.

Pacific time. On Tuesday night, she was tired, happy and still trying to process her emotions. ``The one thing I can think right now is everything out there in the world is possible,'' Visco said. ``Seeing the water and hitting the ocean and knowing that

I did it... now everything is possible. It was total bliss.''

Visco's journey started March 29. She ran 18 miles a day, sometimes with runners from highschool cross country teams. She raised $11,000 to support Girls on the Run, an organization devoted to promoting the health and overall well-being of young girls.

Along the way, she and the friend who followed in a car stayed in the homes of 85 families, mostly strangers who were friends of friends willing to put them up out of kindness.

Visco, a graduate of Carleton College, said she will spend the next week relaxing. But the young woman known for her leadership, enthusiasm and commitment is not about to stop following her dreams.

She plans to start writing a book, retracing her steps back across the United States - but this time in a car - to revisit the places and people who touched her along the way. She wants to continue to talk to high school students about the importance of dreams and goals and finding one's passion.

And she plans to keep running. "My goal,'' she says, "is to run across every continent.'' -AP

Health Science Post

January 15, 2010

India Post

41

www.indiapost.com

UnitedHealthcare acquires Health Net's licenses and rights India Post News Service

U

nitedHealthcare has com pleted its acquisition of Health Net of the Northeast's licensed subsidiaries and obtained rights to renew Health Net's membership in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Current Health Net customers who choose to renew with UnitedHealthcare will have broader access to quality care with one of the largest local and national networks, robust clinical programs and a full range of affordable products.

UnitedHealthcare focuses on helping members stay healthy and works with employers to find new ways to keep costs down while providing quality care. It also offer discounts on a wide range of health-related products and services, robust wellness programs, and innovative online tools.

On a national level, UnitedHealthcare serves over 25 million members with a network of over 606,000 health care professionals, 5,000 hospitals and 60,000 pharmacies. In the tri-state area, we serve over 2.5 million members with 79,000 health care profession-

als, 200 hospitals and 7,000 pharmacies.

UnitedHealthcare has a long, successful history in the region and its senior management team has deep knowledge of and direct experience in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

UnitedHealthcare says it is committed to responding to local market needs and providing ac-

UnitedHealthcare focuses on helping members stay healthy and works with employers to find new ways to keep costs down while providing quality care cess to the innovative health care products, programs and technology applications of a company with national scale.

It says it looks forward to working closely with people to make UnitedHealthcare products available to Health Net's customers in the Northeast. It has listed Frequently Asked Questions to help

customers in their conversations with clients. The following is a quick overview: • As part of this agreement, UnitedHealthcare has acquired Health Net of the Northeast's licensed subsidiaries and has obtained rights to renew Health Net's membership in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

• After close, UnitedHealthcare staff will assume responsibility for all contract renewals between the acquired subsidiaries of Health Net of the Northeast Inc. and its participating providers. Health Net commercial plan members will continue to be covered under the terms of their existing Health Net plan until they renew with UnitedHealthcare or another carrier, subject to continued eligibility under such Health Net plans.

• As Health Net Northeast's commercial customers reach their renewal dates, UnitedHealthcare will work to enroll these customers in a comparable Oxford or UnitedHealthcare plan. We also welcome Health Net's customers to renew ahead of their renewal date.

• To make this process as easy as possible, they will use technology resources and sales sup-

port to identify the UnitedHealthcare or Oxford plan most comparable to current Health Net plans, streamline the renewal process, and actively engage customers in the process.

For renewals, there will be a locally-based team in place to work closely with customers to provide information, address questions, and resolve issues.

For Health Net's larger commercial customers (51+), it will work with the broker or consultant and the customer to decide upon the best product option for their renewal • For Health Net small group commercial customers (2 - 50), starting with April through June renewals, it will preload the small group customers' information into IDEA. This will streamline the quoting and plan selection process for brokers and groups.

Once the customer makes a plan selection, the group and mem-

bers will be installed electronically. For July renewals forward, it will automatically load the group's information into its online renewal tool via IDEA where the customer and broker can see all of the renewal plan options and rates available.

Once a plan selection is made, it will be automatically updated in the system. Prior to the automated process being available, there will be a comprehensive process in place including a focused, knowledgeable team that can easily renew groups.

• For Health Net's larger commercial customers (51+), it will work with the broker or consultant and the customer to decide upon the best product option for their renewal.

• UnitedHealthcare and Health Net are working together so that members and health care professionals have full continuity of their coverage or payments during the time that the Health Net benefit policies remain in force under existing Health Net contracts.

• Until customers reach their renewal dates or decide to choose another carrier, it is business as usual.

„

Briefs

Escape of 3 Pak nationals: Heads to roll in Del Police

NEW DELHI: Heads are expected to roll in Delhi Police following the escape from police custody by three Pakistani nationals, who were arrested in connection with blasts near the Red Fort nine years ago.

Sources in the Home Ministry said a "detailed report" has been called from all the agencies involved in the case.

The incident took place on January one when Abdul Razzak, Mohammed Sadiq and Rafaqat Ali were being escorted to a hospital for treatment by Meghalaya police personnel who were on deputation to the Delhi Police's Special Branch. -PTI

„ HC asks details of cases against cops, politicians CHANDIGARH: Taking suo motu cognizance of Ruchika molestation case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has said it was a prime example of justice delayed is justice denied while observing that time has come to put on fast track cases against top policemen, bureaucrats and politicians.

The court said the blame for the delay in the Ruchika case has to be shared by all concerned, including the justice delivery system.

It gave notices to Punjab and Haryana governments and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to furnish details about cases pending against officials and politicians

by January 12. -PTI

„ India, Pakistan exchange lists of n-installations NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan have exchanged the lists of their nuclear installations for the 19th consecutive time under an agreement which prohibits any kind of attack on such facilities.

The lists were exchanged through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, a statement by the External Affairs Ministry said here.

Under the agreement signed on December 31, 1988, which came into force on January 27, 1991, the two countries share details of their nuclear installations with each other on the first day of every year.

The pact is one of the best confidence-building measures between the two countries which has continued even when the relations witnessed chill. -PTI

India News 42

India Post

www.indiapost.com

January 15, 2010

Pakistan hands over list of Indian prisoners ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has handed over to India a list of Indian prisoners being held in the country's jails.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the list of Indian prisoners in Pakistan to an officer of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Foreign Office," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement. -PTI

No need to push the panic button: Kalmadi NEW DELHI: Delhi's Chief Minister is nervous about the hosting of Commonwealth Games in the capital but the event's Organizing Committee head Suresh Kalmadi assures that all is well with the preparations despite umpteen delays.

In an interview to PTI, Kalmadi claimed that Delhi will host the Games more successfully than Manchester (2002) and Melbourne (2006).

"There is no need to push the panic button. We are going to have the best ever Commonwealth Games. I would like to assure the entire country that all the pending work would be completed within the set deadlines. The Delhi Games would be better than Melbourne and Manchester," Kalmadi, who is also the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), said.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had recently created a flutter by saying that she was nervous about the preparation and was praying to god for a successful Commonwealth Games.

Kalmadi, however, brushed aside the concerns.

"That you have to ask her. From my side I can assure, we won't let

Suresh Kalmadi (L), Chairman of the Organizing Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and S. Sridhar, Central Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director, attend the signing of a memorandum between the Organizing Committee and the Central Bank of India in New Delhi on January 4

you down. We are working harder collectively towards achieving our goal," he said.

The under-fire OC chief, who has faced all-round criticism for delays in construction work at the Games' venues and some public relations gaffes, said the success of the event would also reflect in India's performance.

"When I say that Delhi will host

the most successful Games, it includes our performance and not just the organizational capacity", Kalmadi said.

"I hope that we will be in top four. Central government has allotted Rs 678 crore for training which is a huge amount.

The preparations are on the right track and we are hoping for the best results," he assured.

Coordinating the functioning of multiple agencies involved in the preparations is a massive task but Kalmadi insists that the challenge has been met successfully.

"I have got a good team and I call it Team India which includes the central government, the Delhi government, sports ministry and of course the IOA. We enjoy full support of the Commonwealth Games Federation," he said.

The public spat with the Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper notwithstanding, Kalmadi said he was on good terms with the CGF, rejecting suggestions that the bitter war of words in the past couple of months has had any impact on preparations.

"We have better understanding now. Some differences always occur before every major event, it happened in Melbourne also. But it did not affect the preparations.

Now I have full support of Hooper and other CGF officials," he said.

The Commonwealth Games Coordination Committee recently made some unflattering comments about the city's preparations but Kalmadi says the Co-Com has been given comprehensive assurances by the Sports Ministry. -PTI

China taking steps to prevent illegal trade in tiger parts NEW DELHI: In a boost to India's big cat conservation efforts, China has issued a series of directives to prevent illegal trade of tiger parts, a move which is expected to curb smuggling in wildlife derivatives.

This is for the first time that China's State Forestry Administration has also called for improved management of tiger captive breeding facilities. India says illegal breeding of the big cat in China for preparing traditional medicines is fuelling demand for poached wild striped cats from here.

Calling China's move as a positive step, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said this would help build pressure on China to curb poaching at the

Global Tiger Summit to be held on January 29 in Bangkok, to be attended by him.

In September last year, during his trip to China, Ramesh had taken up the poaching issue and

between its tiger farming and poaching in India.

"Local forestry bureaux should collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to increase monitoring and enforcement

India says illegal breeding of the big cat in China for preparing traditional medicines is fuelling demand for poached wild striped cats from here said "one of India's main concerns was that demand for tiger and leopard skins and bones would go up in 2010 which is observed as the Year of Tiger in China."

China dismissed the allegations saying that there was no link

against tiger trade and encourage the public to report wildlife crime to authorities through publishing wildlife crime hotline and email.

"Those officials that ignore repeated public complaints about illegal trade will be held respon-

sible," says the directive.

On tiger farming, it calls for increased monitoring and management by tracking all tiger deaths in these facilities.

"All tiger breeding facilities should have required permits and proper conditions for public viewing of wildlife.

Create database to track and identify individual tigers bred in captivity. Stockpile of tiger bodies and parts should be sealed to prevent use," according to the directives.

The dragon nation has also decided to promote public awareness to reduce consumption of tiger parts and encourage public rejection of illegal activities. -PTI

„

Realty Tidbits

Delhi emerging most preferred market

Real Estate

I

nfrastructure development, fuelled by the upcoming Commonwealth Games, has ensured that Delhi is emerging as the most preferred real estate market in the country. After a less than perfect start to 2009 - the global economic meltdown took its toll - the road to recovery has been quick and lucrative.

The experts agree: a report released by Ernst & Young in November listed Delhi as the "most preferred market" in India, followed closely by Mumbai. Some of the factors that pushed Delhi to the coveted spot, as highlighted by the report, include massive improvements in infrastructure - a well-connected metro service, a modern International airport, road widening projects, new flyovers, underpasses, walkways and high capacity buses.

„

Home loans: 2009 was good, 2010 can be better

T

he year 2009 was a good one for home loan borrowers.

Banks rolled out the goodies for them in the form of low interest rate offers and special home loan packages. Stable property prices also helped. So, the demand for home loans was steady. With the economy poised for strong growth and confidence returning to the capital market, most players expect the demand for home loans to grow in 2010.

Bankers expect disbursements to be around 25 per cent higher next year.

The first half of 2009 saw a deceleration in the housing loan segment due to a combination of reasons including the overall economic slowdown, high property prices and high interest rates.

„ Godrej Properties to raise up to Rs 3,000cr MUMBAI: After its Rs 462crore initial share sale, the real estate developer Godrej Properties said it plans to raise around Rs 3,000-crore through debt or equity to fund its expansion plans over the next two-three years.

"We plan to raise Rs 2,000-3,000crore over the next two-three years to fund expansion plans," Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej told reporters on the sidelines of the company's listing ceremony here.

The company was looking at various options to raise money, including the qualified institutional placement route, Godrej said, adding the promoters will dilute stake from the current 86 per cent in the event of a QIP. -PTI

43 India Post

www.indiapost.com

January 15, 2010

BPTP to invest Rs 1,000 cr for developing projects NEW DELHI: Real estate firm BPTP, which aims to raise Rs 1,500 crore through an initial public offer, will utilize around Rs 1,000 crore from the proceeds to develop its existing and future projects.

The national capital-based firm would use Rs 325 crore to partly retire its debt of Rs 771 crore.

As on December 24, BPTP had filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI for an initial public offer (IPO). -PTI

Maharashtra increases real estate value by 10-20% P

roperty in Maharashtra just got more expensive. The state government has increased the market value of real estate by 10-20 per cent in its Ready Reckoner 2010. The ready reckoner is a guide for the market price of residential and commercial properties, based on which stamp duty and registration fee for their sale and purchase are calculated.

Under the revised rates, a land owner would have to pay more stamp duty because his land got more expensive; the developer would raise the sale price of his finished property since his land acquisition cost got higher; and a

retail buyer would have to cough up more for property, stamp duty and registration fee.

This is likely to have its rippling effect on redevelopment of old,

A large number of builders and developers representing the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association (Credai) and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision dilapidated buildings in Mumbai and surrounding Tier II cities, too.

With the upward revision of rates, properties being developed on textile mill land would

Credit Suisse, Cushman sued for $ 24 bn damages LONDON/NEW YORK: A group of property owners have sued Swiss banking major Credit Suisse and real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, seeking USD 24 billion in damages related to a loan scheme for purchasing resorts.

The British daily The Times has reported that Credit Suisse is being sued by property owners in four luxury ski and golf resorts, in the US and the Bahamas.

"The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Boise, Idaho, seeks USD 24 billion of damages against Credit Suisse and commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

"It also seeks class-action status for more than 3,000 investors who bought land or homes," the daily said.

The report noted that the alleged losses relate to a Montana ski resort Yellowstone Club, Lake Las Vegas resort in southern Nevada, the Tamarack resort in central Idaho and Ginn sur Mer on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas.

The complaint seeks USD 8 billion of actual damages plus USD 16 billion of punitive damages, it added.

Quoting the complaint, the

also see a sharp rise as the ready reckoner raised their value on an average by 13 per cent. "The state government expects to mobilize Rs 5,075 crore through

daily said Credit Suisse violated federal racketeering laws by concocting a "loan to own" scheme that inflated the value of resorts and burdened resorts and purchasers of homes there with too much debt.

"Using appraisal methods provided by Cushman & Wakefield, this scheme allowed Credit Suisse

The report noted that the alleged losses relate to a Montana ski resort Yellowstone Club, Lake Las Vegas resort in southern Nevada, the Tamarack resort in central Idaho and Ginn sur Mer on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas to win 'enormous fees' and ultimately foreclose on or take control of the resorts at well below market value," it added.

According to The Times, Credit Suisse and Cushman & Wakefield each had said that the lawsuit lacks merit. -PTI

stamp duty and registration fee by the end of 2009-10," a senior state government official said, justifying the rate revision.

A large number of builders and developers representing the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association (Credai) and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision.

"The increased rates in the ready reckoner will be applicable for land, residential and commercial properties and various premiums charged on additional floor space index (FSI), staircase, etc. This will adversely affect redevelopment of old buildings, chawls and rented houses. There are over 19,000 old and dilapidated buildings in Mumbai alone, in addition to the fresh properties being developed.

Same is the story for other Tier II cities," said a Credai official.

The revised rates would be applicable in Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, Amravati and Nanded as well. The Credai offi-

cial added that with the revised rates, the land that cost Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) would now be valued at Rs 1.15 crore (Rs 11.5 million). A flat of Rs 20 lakh would cost Rs 23 lakh, not to mention the extra Rs 15,000 that one would have to shell out for stamp duty and other charges.

Ranjan Bandalkar, vice-president, MCHI, said residential property buyers would have to pay more transaction cost.

"There is a possibility that prices of houses may increase 510 per cent in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra. The government will have to reconsider its decision." Rajani S Ajmera, former president of MCHI, said the government should not have increased the ready reckoner rates when the real estate sector was just looking up.

"We have in fact demanded that stamp duty should be brought down to 3 per cent from 5 per cent.

The rationalization of these rates is necessary." Credai Vice-President Dharmesh Jain, too, said the government needed to reconsider the decision as the real estate sector was yet to recover from the global economic meltdown.

Credai members also warned that there could be fewer takers for commercial properties. "Development of commercial properties has already been affected due to global meltdown and it has yet to see revival." Otherwise an annual exercise, the ready reckoner was not revised after January 2008 due to the economic downturn.

44

Horoscope

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

ARIES Mar 21-Apr 20 You will do very well with money this week. There will be many chances to make fast bucks. You will become more social and will be in demand in the party.

People will appreciate your contribution.

You will receive valuable advice and tips from an elderly and matured person.

Spouse will pay more attention to health and have few uncertainties in mind.

LEO Jul 23-Aug 22 You will be under lots of pressure in order to prove your efficiency under difficult conditions. Do not allow a co worker distract you from real goals. Sun in the third will help resolve all issues with government in your favor. If you sign any paper in a hurry you will regret soon. People in business will have better sales and make new clients.

SAGITTARIUS

January 15 to January 21

Nov 23-Dec 22 You will join hands with some very like minded and famous people. Plans you are working on will bring drastic changes in career very soon and place you to a totally different level. Home remedy will help you overcome health problems. You will take a short trip to a hot and dry area. You may also dispose off some stocks for a decent profit.

Exports turn positive after 13 months NEW DELHI: The New Year began on a cheerful note for India's exporting sector, as consignments turned positive after 13 months, growing by 18.2 per cent in November.

Exports in November 2009 increased to USD 13.19 billion from USD 11.16 billion a year ago marking a trend reversal of decline that had set in since October 2008 due to widespread recession in key global markets.

Imports remained in the negative zone declining by 2.6 per cent to USD 22.88 billion, leading to a lower trade gap of USD 9.69 billion during the month against USD 12.32 billion in November 2008.

However, the import contraction in November was much lower than 15 per cent in October, signifying pick up in the economic activity.

For the April-November period, exports dropped by 22.3 per cent to USD 104.24 billion, much lower than 26 per cent gap up to October this fiscal.

While exports have turned positive partly due to low base of last

year, experts cautioned against complacency.

"Exporters need to keep their competitiveness both in terms of quality and prices and focus on market and product diversification," R M Joshi of the prestigious

Imports remained in the negative zone declining by 2.6 per cent to USD 22.88 billion, leading to a lower trade gap of USD 9.69 billion during the month against USD 12.32 billion in November 2008 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade said.

ICRIER Director Rajiv Kumar said government stimulus should continue and exporters need to be cautious about the exchange rate volatility. -PTI

TAURUS Apr 21-May 20 If you can keep your emotions under check, you will be rewarded in near future. Money will become available as and when needed. Any changes at work at this point will prove to be beneficial in time to come. You will be again successful in trimming corners and save a lot. You will be working on a great plan with some like minded friends.

VIRGO Aug 23-Sept 22 Opponents will try hard but fail. You will be selected among number of candidates for the job. Quick recovery from minor illness also indicated. You will benefit from some one lot younger in age. Money wise things will start moving in right direction and you will recover some old payments too. An old friend will call and invite for lunch.

CAPRICORN Dec 23-Jan 19 You will need to make changes in plans on the last minute. People in power or the boss will give little headache. Money wise this could be a rewarding week.

Money may come from totally unexpected quarters. You will make an appointment with your dentist too. You will learn from opponents and try to correct your approach to obtain a better deal.

GEMINI May 21-Jun 20 It will be an interesting week and if you play your cards right and quick, it's a win win situation. Changes you had been waiting for can take place so fast that even you will be amazed. You will take little time off work and spend quality time with family and may travel to a nice place for a day. Some body is working behind the scene for you.

LIBRA Sept 23-Oct 22 A long awaited reunion is in the air.

Things will continue to be strong in career with bad days a matter of history. You will spend more time away from home for business purpose. Loan application will finally get approved bringing big relief in mind. You will be full of great ideas and wit for right opportunity and time.

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18 You should not wait another day and cash profit making stocks. Suddenly you will become very ambitious and seriously look for new avenues to supplement your income. Time spent on phone will not go waste and you will save some money for long time. You will get to sit with successful people and learn from their experience and personality.

CANCER Jun 21-Jul 22 Do not act childish and take things seriously. It's a trap, watch out and be careful with a person who's been trying to flirt with you lately. Some disturbance will continue in career but without any real threat. You may need new prescription for glasses. Soon you will have few visitors in the house. You will travel to a nice area with family.

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 22 You will need outside help in order to get out of a sticky situation. Some of you will be trying very hard to find another job. Things will continue to stay on the edge as far as finances are concerned. Hard work and efforts will pay off in near future. You will be spending more on family and their needs.

PISCES Feb 19-Mar 20 A worthy cause will bring you closer to some like minded people. Mars and Venus in seventh can involve you with an adventurous person but it will be temporary only. An upcoming move will cause lots of excitement in the family.

You may have to travel to another city in connection with some urgent business.

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

India Post 45

46

Classifieds

India Post

January 15, 2010

www.indiapost.com

MATRIMONIALS

For Classifieds Ads Call

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Nai Sikh 5.1’ 25 Girl B.M.I.T.; P.G.D.C.A., from India.

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Classifieds

January 15, 2010

India Post 47

www.indiapost.com

Executive Chef San Francisco based restaurant looking for a EXECUTIVE CHEF/culinary graduate.

Must have 10 YEARS of experience.

(650) 271-2849

BUSINESS FOR SALE Quiznos in a prime location in Inland Empire area for sale.

Only interested parties, CONTACT

MOTEL FOR SALE A 62 units economy Franchise motel on Interstate I 80 / 35 in Des Moine Iowa with two separate houses near to it is for sale.

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call (909)851-5395 5.30pm to 7.00pm only.

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PAYROLL ACCOUNTANT WANTED Currently seeking payroll clerks and accountants.

Job comes with great benefits, Applicants should kindly e-mail resumes or

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Philosophy

January 15, 2010

India Post

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Page Sponsored by Sahanis as I come closer to the coffee place.

The dropping of thoughts is also getting stronger. I am getting more powerful as well. The coffee shop passes by and I have gone past without having coffee and without having had to fight inside.

The alternative approach which is common is to fight it. I want to fight my desire of having a coffee. The harder I fight the stronger the desire that I want to drink coffee gets back to me. The

(Cont'd from last week) nce you have learned to drop the thoughts, it can be applied to real life as and when needed.

Here is an example. I drink a lot of coffee. I decide to cut my coffee intake. I like my morning coffee that I get from Dunkin donut which is on my way to work.

I sit in the car and decide that I will not have coffee today. As I get closer to the coffee place, the thought comes that I could have it today and start not having coffee from tomorrow.

I drop this thought. The thought keeps getting stronger

L

DR KRISHNA BHATTA

All exercises help you to deal with real life situations.

The applications are automated. Once you have the tools of dealing with thoughts, you will apply the tools in real life. Practice makes it a real possibility

tension shows on my face. In the earlier example of dropping of thoughts, there is no element of stress or tension. Dropping of thoughts is not a fight.

Multiplicity of thoughts We all know that our mind is ac-

I must get my tee time. All these thoughts and more are in co-existence with me at one time. I do want to remind you that this are just exercises.

We are talking about half-hour meditative exercises. All exercises help you to deal with real life situ-

may have to make an effort; later it becomes effortless. It becomes a way of life for you.

4. Practice: Keep practicing 1, 2 and 3. We will discuss more about this later.

(To be continued)

they demand, they expect ... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retreat from you. For love is meant to be free, you can not change its nature.

It's your outlook that matters: It is our own mental attitude, which makes the world what it is for us.

Our thoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly.

The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.

Life is beautiful: First, believe

God. Set yourself free: The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.

Don't play the blame game: Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go

can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

Be yourself: The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!

Nothing is impossible: Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin - to say that you are weak, or others are weak.

You have the power: All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

Learn everyday: The goal of mankind is knowledge... now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.

Be truthful: Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.

Think different: All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.

The 147th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is being celebrated on January 12

Love is the only law of life

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

The greatest mistake that people do when they meet love is to try to posses it, they demand, they expect ... and just like water spilling out of your hand, love will retreat from you. For love is meant to be free, you can not change its nature

this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love ... they try to posses it,

ations. The applications are automated. Once you have the tools of dealing with thoughts, you will apply the tools in real life. Practice makes it a real possibility. The steps are: 1. Understand: Understand the underlying principles of the exercises 2. Exercise: Do the exercises as directed in half-hour blocks.

3. Apply: Application in real life follows. In the beginning you

Journey from thoughts to no-thoughts

O

ove is the law of life: All love is expansion, all self ishness is contraction.

Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore, love for love's sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said

tive all the time. There is noise in there. Chatter is going on all the time.

Is there only one thought at a time or are there multiple thoughts traversing the mind at any given time?

I get up in the morning. I want to have tea. I also have to brush my teeth. Do I wake up my wife?

My daughter and her daughter are home. I would love to play with my grand-daughter.

Also, I have to write my article for the magazine. What about my golf?

in this world - that there is meaning behind everything. Everything in the world is good, is holy and beautiful. If you see something evil, think that you do not understand it in the right light.

Throw the burden on yourselves!

It's the way you feel: Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach

their own way.

Help others: If money helps a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.

Uphold your ideals: Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.

Listen to your soul: You have to grow from the inside out. None

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

-Buddha A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.

-Wayne Dyer The power of God is with you at all times; through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions; and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument.

-Bhagavad Gita There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else.

-Maitri Upanishad Be quiet in your mind, quiet in your senses, and also quiet in your body. Then, when all these are quiet, don't do anything. In that state truth will reveal itself to you. It will appear in front of you and ask, ĂŹwhat do you want?ĂŽ -Kabir Silence is the language God speaks and everything else is a bad translation.

-Thomas Keating In listening and stillness there is nobody who is still, and this stillness doesn't refer to any object; it is absolutely objectless; it is our real nature.

-Jean Klein

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Future conflict scenarios GURMEET KANWAL

T

hough the year 2009 witnessed marginal improve ment in India's external security environment, internal security continued to deteriorate in view of the heightened activities of the Maoist-Naxalite terrorists.

The unstable regional security environment, unresolved territorial and boundary disputes with China and Pakistan and continuing internal security challenges pose serious national security threats to India.

China: Contours of a conflict over territory Future conventional conflicts on the Indian Sub-continent will flow out of unresolved territorial and boundary disputes in Jammu and Kashmir and along the unsettled border with China. While the probability of a conflict with China is low, patrol face-offs in no man's land are common and these could result in armed clashes leading to another border conflict.

Such a conflict is likely to be limited in area and the application of force levels.

Though the conflict is likely to be predominantly a land battle, air power will need to be employed extensively, including attack helicopters and armed helicopters.

Extensive use will be made of artillery firepower from 155mm howitzers and long range rocket launchers. The Chinese may resort to the employment of conventionally-armed short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) against Indian forces, communications centers, logistics installations and choke points.

Though a conflict at sea is highly unlikely in the 2020-25 time frame, the PLA Navy may be expected to begin operating in the northern Indian Ocean region by about 2015, ostensibly to safeguard China's sea lanes for oil, gas and trade. Consequently, Indian Navy ships are likely to be shadowed by PLA submarines and occasionally even by surface ships particularly during naval exercises.

Pakistan: Another war over Kashmir?

It is now emerging clearly that the Pakistan army is unlikely to allow the new civilian dispensation to govern unfettered. Hence, hostility towards India will remain a key objective of Pakistan's security policies. The present ceasefire along the LoC will hold only as long as it suits the Pakistan

army's interests.

The Pakistan army and ISI will continue to encourage, aid and abet infiltration across the LoC. The most likely conflict scenario is that of another Kargil-type misadventure. This time it may be executed with help from LeT, JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen sleeper cells by occupying terrain features in remote areas like Hill Kaka and the Shamsabari range north of Bandipur.

They may declare these as liberated zones. However, large-scale conflict is unlikely as India will once again exercise restraint.

Ground and air delivered firepower will be extensively employed. India may choose to strike across the LoC at carefully selected targets with its air force.

Fighting on the LoC is likely to be limited in scope. Rear area security will be a major issue and will require large numbers of para-military personnel as terrorists will disrupt the move of army convoys and supplies. The probability of

the conflict spilling over to the plains sector is extremely limited.

In the maritime domain, the Pakistan navy will adopt a defensive posture.

However, the Pakistan navy will lose no opportunity to encourage and even abet terrorist strikes on Indian assets such as oil and gas rigs and shipping. The Pakistan navy is likely to operate with a greater degree of confidence once Chinese PLA navy ships begin to use the Gwadar port as a naval base.

Internal security challenges A low-grade insurgency will continue to fester in J&K despite serious government efforts at reconciliation. However, the situation in the north-eastern states will gradually improve due to socioeconomic growth and political maturity.

The worst internal security challenge will come from the rising tide of Left Wing Extremism or Maoist/Naxalite terrorism as the

state and central governments continue to waver in their approach. The Maoists will challenge the state by bringing small towns in the tribal belt under their political and security control.

At this stage, the army will be called in to stem the rot even though it neither has the numbers nor the wherewithal to intervene effectively over thousands of square kilometers of jungle-covered terrain.

Countries inimical to India will exploit the situation by providing arms, ammunition, equipment and financial support to the Maoists.

Urban terrorism: The new scourge Home-grown Indian jihadis are increasingly joining the pan-Islamic 'movement'. Groups like the Indian Mujahideen will become more sophisticated in their attacks.

They will be more difficult to apprehend as they will form cellular structures in which no terrorist will

know more than two other people.

Terrorists with software expertise may launch cyber attacks on computer-controlled communications, transportation, power and commercial networks to cripple the Indian economy. Maritime and chemical and biological terrorism will increase considerably.

While the probability of nuclear terrorism is low, radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) may be used to spread panic and create hysteria. India will also need to enhance its vigil over its island territories as South-east Asian terrorist organizations will use these as secure bases.

All of these emerging threats will require far greater intelligence effort than has been the case so far and comprehensive inter-ministerial, inter-departmental, interagency and inter-security forces coordination to defeat successfully.

The writer is Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi. Courtesy IPCS

India Post Homecoming

T

he annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is a sort of homecoming for the Diaspora Indians. The Indian government lays out the red carpet for them. It makes out a case that India is now an attractive destination, offering facilities akin to the West, for them to settle down to a good life, close to their families.

Their special skills will help to bring prosperity to the country. If they would not like to settle down themselves, at least they could send their money to India, is the refrain of the government.

The NRIs however come with a different attitude. They want to have the best of both worlds. What took them abroad was the lure of a better life. Without abandoning that they want to see what concessions they can squeeze out of an obliging government.

They love to be treated as VIPs. It is a tug of war between the two attitudes, each trying to cut a better bargain.

Dialogue is always a good thing and the PBD brings the two sides together for a prolonged exchange of views. Many joint initiatives have emerged from such parleys. For instance, the government of India has announced plans to start seven new medical colleges in the country modeled after the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Apprehending problems in finding quality doctors to man these new institutes, the government sought the help of the Diaspora. The response has been heartening.

Ramesh Mehta, president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, told a news agency that nearly 25,000 British doctors of Indian origin are set to return to India within two to four years and some of them are "most likely to join the seven AIIMS-like institutions." There must be other cooperative ventures in the pipeline and the Diaspora's interest in India can be most rewarding at a time when the western countries are getting tough on immigrants. The opportunities in India are rising in proportion even as they dwindle in the West.

Another kind of Diaspora Indian now touring India is Nobel Prize winner for chemistry Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, now a British citizen. Ruling out any plans to return to India, he displayed a quaint innocence in being baffled by the media hype about him. Obviously, Indians worship success and they want a share in the success of Indians abroad. Now that he has won international recognition, India wants to own him up. His comments at a lecture were quite critical of the Indian education system, he himself failing to qualify for the IIT and medicine field. The issue has been dramatically highlighted in the new Aamir Khan movie, 'Three Idiots' which is doing roaring business wherever it has been released. It is an indictment of the study by rote method which is the bane of even the IITs. India has no time for NRIs who go abroad but are not successful. Habib Hussain who was caught hiding in the toilet of an Air India flight from Medina to Jaipur is now cooling his heels in a jail as a security risk. He says he sold his land on the promise of a well-paid job in the Gulf. In Saudi Arabia he was kept like a bonded slave and his passport was taken away. He could afford to eat only once a day and would survive on alms from pilgrims going to Mecca and Medina. "There are many who are being mistreated.

Brokers take you there and once you are there they don't pay you and in a way they sell you off," said Habib.

It is the plight of such NRIs that the PBDs don't have time to ponder.

January 15, 2010

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