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WH urged to stop shielding Dow on Bhopal Details on page 12

US lawmakers propose steps on H-1B visa misuse Details on page 12

Sikh-Americans fear backlash after Orlando Details on page 8

US urged to ratify nuke test ban treaty Details on page 8

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

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Modi foreign policy wise, dynamic?

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VOL 21, No. 1133

June 17, 2016

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Periodical Postage

PM VISIT HELPED BOOST U.S. TIES

WA S H I N G T O N DC: Though it was relatively a low key affair this time, the upshot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to USA was to cement and give a fresh boost to the Indo-US relations. The visit reaffirmed the growing Indo-US ties in economic and business areas also. This major objective was achieved with the PM meeting business leaders and greeting members of Indian community during the course of his 40 plus meetings in three days.

PM Modi began his visit to the United States by meeting with President Obama where they recommitted themselves to strengthening the USIndia partnership.

President Obama said in 2014 that "our friendship with India is the DEEPENING FRIENDSHIP: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting US President Barack Obama in defining partnership of Oval Office, at White House, in Washington DC on June 7 the 21st century."

Continuing this time, President Obama said "the Prime dress the many challenges that face our nations today: Minister's fourth visit to the United States in just two strengthening our economies, promoting renewable clean years signifies just how important the burgeoning rela- energy, protecting our planet, improving cyber security, tionship between our countries is as we continue to ad- and combating terrorism.

Details on page 5

Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”

Umesh Sachdev

Indian among 10 millennials changing world Details on page 6

India in NSG will touch Pak 'raw nerve': China Details on page 6

Pak claims better credentials for NSG Details on page 6

Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2-bn Details on page 9

CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 28-29 Classifieds ------------------------- 48 Community Post -------------- 16-26 Date Book -------------------------- 47 Edit Page --------------------------- 54 HealthScience Post --------- 32-35 Horoscope ------------------------- 47 Immigration Post ------------- 44-46 Life Style ----------------------- 50-53 Philosophy ------------------------- 49 Publisher’s Diary ------------------ 4 Real Estate -------------------- 30-31 TechBiz Post ------------------- 12-14 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 36-39

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atred. It doesn't matter if it was hatred against gays or hatred against Christians, or against non-Muslims or against Americans in general. It also doesn't matter if it was a lone man crazed out on seeing two men kissing or one who was indoctrinated by an ideology of intolerance. It also doesn't matter if it was an American citizen or one born elsewhere. It doesn't matter that the 50 lives lost to such senseless killing were American or not. And it doesn't even matter whether the killings happened in the United States or anywhere else in the world.

What does matter is hatred seems to win against all other rational emotions again and again and again. And let's not kid ourselves on this with platitudes that love triumphs. Even if it does, at whose cost?

President Obama recently said in a television appearance that these times that we are living in are the safest that mankind has ever known. He implied that humanity has made strident progress since the world wars when millions of people perished due to ruthless regimes.

"Progress", really? What does progress mean in a civilization that hasn't managed to learn anything from those wars and has today devised technology that puts more weapons of mass destruction in the hands of individuals who do not need a central command to order mass killing. What does progress mean in a civilization where mercenaries - and that include governments and corporations - live off an industry that facilitates killing in the name of peace. And what does progress mean in a civilization where the chasms between humans on the lines of sexual orientation, religion, race, gender, and economics are growing wider every day.

Sure we will get on with our lives; continue going to night clubs, cinemas, restaurants, malls, schools and colleges; continue traveling by air, road and trains; and of course continue to buy our weapons of choice just because our Constitution says we can.

But guys, just think. It has to be the beginning of bad times when we have to agree with a Donald Trump who is telling us: I told you so!

Romesh K Japra rkjapra@indiapost.com

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HIGHLIGHTS Bollywood: False relationship After keeping mum for over two years, Sussanne Khan has finally opened up about her divorce with Hrithik Roshan.

Cover Story: Boosting ties PM Narendra Modi's recent visit to USA was to cement and give a fresh boost to the Indo-US relations.

Community: Baby after menopause Many people from around the world discover to their amazement how Dr Pankaj Naram learned the deeper healing secrets

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Immigration: Speaker's security plan Paul Ryan is proposing to secure U.S. borders by installing robust defenses to keep out extremists, criminals and drug cartels.

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H-1B visa misuse Several US lawmakers have proposed revisions to H-1B visa laws to prevent misuse by firms in countries like India

Ooty At an altitude of 2,240 mt, Ooty in Tamil Nadu is one of the most popular tourist resorts in India.

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PM visit helped boost Indo-US ties NEELA PANDYA

WASHINGTON DC: Though it was relatively a low key affair this time, the upshot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to USA was to cement and give a fresh boost to the Indo-US relations. The visit reaffirmed the growing Indo-US ties in economic and business areas also. This major objective was achieved with the PM meeting business leaders and greeting members of Indian community during the course of his 40 plus meetings in three days.

PM Modi began his visit to the United States by meeting with President Obama where they recommitted themselves to strengthening the US-India partnership. President Obama said in 2014 that "our friendship with India is the defining partnership of the 21st century." Continuing this time, President Obama said "the Prime Minister's fourth visit to the United States in just two years

PM Modi meets Business leaders

lion over 15 years-a nearly fivefold increase-and India trades more with the U.S. today than with any other country. Similarly, India remains one of our strongest partners

achievement since India would need bi-partisan support for whatever that has been achieved in the past two years in promoting India-US relations. Modi Ji really succeeded in this task meeting the Congressmen collectively during the Congressional address and subsequently many of them individually too." He said.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US Capitol as part of a select committee of lawmakers who escorted him to the House Floor.

She thanked the Prime Minister for his commitment to strengthening the US-India friendship "which will help us grow our economies, strengthen our security partnership in the fight against terrorism, and pursue other areas of common ground."

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also joined Members of Congress, US Government Officials, Members of the Indian Government, and top US and Indian business leaders to welcome Prime Minister Modi at the U.S. India Business Council's (USIBC) 41st Annual Leadership

Hawaii interests. During her visit, the Congresswoman travelled to seven major Indian cities, and met with the Prime Minister and other government and defense officials, business leaders, among others.

During her visit, the Congresswoman also advocated for the

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US Capitol as part of a select committee of lawmakers who escorted him to the House Floor Summit.

In December 2014, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard visited India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi to promote US and

development of a sister-state partnership between Goa and Hawai?i, which was adopted by the Hawai?i State Legislature in April 2016.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard welcomes PM

signifies just how important the burgeoning relationship between our countries is as we continue to address the many challenges that face our nations today: strengthening our economies, promoting renewable clean energy, protecting our planet, improving cyber security, and combating terrorism.

"As the world's oldest and largest democracies, the United States and India have long shared many mutual goals of peace, stability, and economic growth. Prime Minister Modi highlighted the progress our countries have made by partnering in business, national security, and renewable energy. U.S. bilateral trade with India has grown to nearly $100 bil-

in the region in the fight against terrorism. India conducts more security-related exercises with the US than any other country.

"As we look to the potential that lies in the future, the continued commitment of our countries to grow and strengthen our ties as we continue to work together towards furthering our shared values and interests."

Summing up the result of PM Modi visit this time, Dr Bharat Barai, a noted oncologist from Indiana and one of the main organizers of PM's last year New York visit, said that Modiji's US Congress address was really well received by both sides of the House. "This is a singular

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the people of Indian community at the Community Reception Event, in Washington DC, USA on June 8

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India in NSG will touch Pak 'raw nerve': China BEIJING: China's official media has gone public over India's NSG bid for the first time, saying New Delhi's membership of the elite club will not only touch a "raw nerve" in Pakistan and increase a nuclear arms race in the region but also "jeopardize" China's national interests.

An op-ed commentary in staterun Global Times, the first writeup on the issue since China's opposition to India's bid, said New Delhi's NSG membership will set off a nuclear confrontation in the

paralyze regional security, but also jeopardize China's national interests," said the commentary titled "India mustn't let nuclear ambitions blind itself".

"Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a diplomatic journey, travelling halfway across the world with his top goal to garner support for his country's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)" ahead of the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24.

‘India has its own calculations for joining the NSG. India's access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India's domestic nuclear energy program’ region.

"India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers in the region, keep alert to each other's nuclear capabilities. India's application for NSG membership and its potential consequences will inevitably touch a raw nerve in Pakistan, its traditional rival in the region.

"As Pakistan is not willing to see an enlarging gap in nuclear power with India, a nuclear race is a likely outcome. This will not only

"The US and some NSG members have given a push to India's membership bid, but the reported opposition from most countries, especially China, seems to have irritated India," it said.

Reports from Vienna where the NSG is based said that while majority of the 48-member group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission.

The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology.

The group works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid.

"Beijing insists that a prerequisite of New Delhi's entry is that it must be a signatory to the NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) while India is not. Despite acknowledging this legal and systematic requirement, the Indian media called China's stance "obstructionist"," the commentary said.

"India has its own calculations for joining the NSG. Eyeing retaining the fastest growing economy tag, India's access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India's domestic nuclear energy program.

"Meanwhile, with the support of the US, India can advance its development in this regard," it said.

"The deliberations of the US are also clear. With India's NSG membership, the US, the world's largest producer of nuclear power, can sell its nuclear technology to India. A US company is set to build six nuclear reactors in India, an agreement made between the two countries during Modi's recent visit to the US," it said. -PTI

30- year-old Indian among 10 millennials changing world NEW YORK: A 30-year old Indian entrepreneur has been named

by Time magazine to its 2016 list of "10 millennials who are changing the world" for building a phone which can help people to interact and access critical services by communicating in their native languages.

Umesh Sachdev has been named by Time to its 2016 list of "10 millennials who are changing the world" for his work on "building a phone that can understand almost any language".

Sachdev, along with his college

pose," Aziz said.

He claimed that Pakistan has gradually gathered support for the criteria-based approach.

"Last week, I telephoned the foreign ministers of Russia, New Zealand and South Korea, who will in future head the NSG, and our viewpoint was that they should support the criteriabased approach and we have gathered support for it, China was already supporting it," Aziz said.

He expressed hope that due to "Pakistan's efforts and its strong

credentials", if India gains entry into the 48-nation club, Pakistan will also not be left behind.

Responding to a question about nuclear scientist Abdul

Sartaj Aziz

Qadeer Khan's proliferation network, Aziz said Pakistan has come a long way since then and everyone has witnessed Pakistan safe-

Umesh Sachdev has been named by Time to its 2016 list of "10 millennials who are changing the world" for his work on "building a phone that can understand almost any language”

Umesh Sachdev

friend Ravi Saraogi, founded Uniphore Software Systems.

The Chennai-based startup produces software allows people

Pak claims better credentials for NSG ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has claimed that its credentials for NSG membership are "stronger than India" if the elite club agrees on a uniform criteria for non-NPT states to join the group.

Pakistan's Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan has diplomatically engaged numerous countries over the criteria-based approach for the countries that are not signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"If the group forms such a uniform criteria, then Pakistan has stronger credentials for NSG membership than India," he told Dawn News.

Pakistan has bright chances of getting membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on merit, he claimed.

"Our strategy was to apply after India did, after which we would have immediately followed.

We have had our application in an advance state of readiness for the past three months for this pur-

to interact with their phones and access services such as online banking by communicating in their native languages, Time said in its profile on Sachdev.

Uniphore's products, which include a virtual assistant that is able to process more than 25 global languages and 150 dialects, are being used by over five million

guarding its nuclear assets.

"If you compare it with India, when our neighboring country conducted a nuclear test in 1974, it misused the nuclear supplies given to it for peaceful purposes, which led to the formation of NSG. After that nuclear fissile material was stolen from India, but such an instance has never occurred in Pakistan," Aziz claimed.

He said the US has formed a policy to 'build up India' as "their entire attention is towards containing the Islamic world and China".

"We cannot question them but we repeatedly tell them that you (US) are a sovereign country and can maintain any level of relations with any country, but if you increase the strategic and conventional imbalance in South Asia, our problems will increase," the foreign affairs adviser said while referring to the US support for India's inclusion in NSG.-PTI

people, mostly in India.

"Phones can help increase financial inclusion or help a farmer get weather information," Sachdev said in the Time profile.

"But you need a way for people to interact with the technology out there," he said.

Time said through the software, Sachdev is building bridges and helping "hundreds of millions of people cross the divide between the digital and the real world by harnessing the power of speech.

It said Sachdev found solution to a problem that phones didn't carry the language of villagers in rural India.

The list also includes Simone Biles, an Olympic gymnast who overcame a drug-addicted mother and cave explorer Francesco Sauro, 31, who has become one of the most renowned explorers of his generation after he located caves with vivid violet lakes and minerals crystallized in the shape of eggs hidden within the Auyantepui tabletop mountain in the rainforests of Venezuela.

Syrian refugee Firas Alshater, 25 is helping Germans accept refugees, "one smile at a time" with his viral videos on YouTube that invite Germans to take a closer look before passing judgment on the new arrivals, Time said.-PTI

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Sikh-Americans fear backlash US urged to ratify nuke test ban treaty after Orlando WASHINGTON: Sikh-Americans, who have faced hate crimes after every major terror attack, are fearing a backlash following the Orlando gay club shooting even as the Obama administration has assured them of their safety.

In a bid to allay growing concerns within the community, the White House sent one of its top official to a gurdwara in the suburb of Washington DC to meet members of the Sikh community and local leadership to assure them about their safety and interest.

"We know, this is a time when some in the community fear un-

Barack Obama in this regard.

"We are still looking for stronger actions against hate crimes. I think there we need to do some more work, but we are making progress," he said.

Singh said the community wants to have the next president as one who can address its challenge.

"Someone who is more open to the Sikh community, somebody who is more engaged," he said.

Dr Rajwant Singh, Washingtonbased chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said the Sikh community, is very concerned about the possible back-

"We have had several incidents of violence after the San Bernardino killings last December. We are praying for the victims but at the same time very concerned that how this would impact the Sikh community across the nation," ease," Cecilia Munoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, told PTI after her interaction with the Sikh community at the oldest gurdwara of Maryland - Guru Nanak Foundation of America. She also attended 'sangat' with its members.

"I shared the work that the federal government is doing to make sure that every child is safe and secure, every person is feeling safe and secure in the places of worship and the places where they work and the places where they study," Munoz said, adding that there was no need to be fearful.

Her visit to the gurdwara was planned a few days ago but her presence was very timely in terms of the new wave of fear that has gripped the community because of the Orlando incident - the deadliest mass shooting in America's history.

"This is a country of great diversity. We cherish that diversity.

We celebrate it. We feel great gratitude to the Sikh community for the many many contributions to the United States," Munoz said.

"It is fundamental to our democracy that people have freedom of worship, but also have freedom from fear," she said, adding that the Obama Administration has taken steps to address these challenges.

Paramvir Singh Soni, chairperson of the Guru Nanank Foundation of America, acknowledged that there is a sense of fear in the community and said the SikhAmericans are touched by the steps being taken by US President

lash from the Orlando killings.

"We are thankful to the White House for sending Cecilia Munoz to the Sikh congregation in Silver Spring in Maryland. As we were thrilled by this kind gesture, our hearts were broken with the terrible news about the merciless killings of so many innocent people in Orlando," Singh said.

"We have had several incidents of violence after the San Bernardino killings last December.

We are praying for the victims but at the same time very concerned that how this would impact the Sikh community across the nation," he said.

"We have conveyed that this needs to be spelled out by the White House and we request that President Obama include and mention Sikhs particularly in his remarks while issuing a statement about the Orlando tragedy. Sikh congregations across the world need some security assistance and capacity building resources," Singh said.

The Sikh Coalition in a statement condemned the Orlando shooting as a terrible act of terror, hate and bias-based violence and bigotry against minority communities, including the LGBTQ community.

"In the aftermath of such events, minority religious communities are acutely vulnerable to backlash, and we urge every Sikh to exercise extra vigilance and caution during this period of heightened anxiety," it said.

In another statement, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) condemned the hateful attack on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Orlando Florida.

American Sikh Council (ASC) said it is extremely distressed by the indescribable act of mass murder at the 'Pulse' nightclub in the city of Orlando "As a result of such events, religious communities like the Sikh-Americans are acutely vulnerable to backlash, and we urge everyone to exercise vigilance and caution during this period of heightened anxiety. Please notify the local law enforcement in case of any threats of violence," it said in a statement.-PTI

VIENNA: A senior American rocket launch, and the cataofficial has reaffirmed White strophic Iran nuclear deal, the House support for a treaty ban- Obama administration advocatning nuclear testing worldwide ing for a flawed international and urged other countries to nuclear-weapons treaty is move it toward its long-delayed mindboggling," Republican senaenactment despite the "domestic tors Tom Cotton and James political obstacles" keeping her Lankford declared last month. country from ratifying it.

Gottemoeller alluded to such Undersecretary of State Rose opposition and the negative mesGottemoeller's comments at a sage it sends to other nations, meeting marking the 20th anni- despite the Obama versary of the Comprehensive administration's "clear support Test Ban Treaty underlined some for the CTBT." of the obstacles keeping the "The United States acknowltreaty from being activated. edges that we have not comIt will come into force only if the United States and other holdouts among the 44 Advocates say the treaty countries that are des- builds trust at a time of high ignated "nuclear cainternational tensions, and it pable" China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Ko- is needed to reduce or rea and Pakistan - eliminate radioactive ratify.

Officials of the contamination of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organiza- atmosphere tion, the UN body created 20 years ago to monitor the treaty, say that US pleted our work on ratification ratification could serve as an ex- and that our delay gives cover to ample for at least some of the oth- other ...countries," she said. At ers to follow suit, and President the same time, she said her counBarack Obama came into office try continues to work internaseven years ago pledging to "ag- tionally and domestically for the gressively pursue" a global ban treaty "because we know that a on nuclear arms tests. global ban on nuclear explosive But anti-treaty Republicans testing is good for our country." stand in the way of the twoAdvocates say the treaty thirds majority needed in the builds trust at a time of high inSenate for ratification. ternational tensions, and it is "In the shadow of another needed to reduce or eliminate raNorth Korean nuclear test, illicit dioactive contamination of the atmosphere.

But those opposed claim the treaty does not achieve its aim.

US critics say it would allow the country's enemies to cheat while diminishing America's sethe applications for LTV and citicurity in an increasingly hostile zenship and dispose off as much world. as possible, the official said.

CTBTO chief Lassina Zerbo The Home Ministry will also urged Republicans and Demofacilitate the refugees open bank crats to come together in support. accounts, purchase of dwelling The treaty, he said, "serves the units for self-occupation and national security interests of the self-employment, get driving liUnited States."Until we finish cense, PAN card, Aadhar card. what we started ... the world will The special camps will also backslide into nuclear testing," be held at Pune, Nagpur, he added.

Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, The Comprehensive Test Ban Rajkot, Kutch (Bhuj), Patan, Treaty Organization already poBhopal, Indore, Jaisalmer, Jodhlices the world for any sign of pur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Raipur and nuclear tests with a global netWest Delhi. work of monitoring stations that There are an estimated two pick up seismic signals and gases lakh refugees, belonging to mireleased by such events. But it nority communities, from Pakicannot go on site to inspect for stan, Afghanistan and tests.

Bangladesh living in India. -PTI That can happen only if the treaty enters into force. -AP

India to grant citizenship to Hindus from Pak NEW DELHI: Keeping its promise to provide relief to minorities from neighboring countries, the NDA government is holding special camps for granting them Long Term Visa (LTV) or citizenship.

The special camps are being held in seven states Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi - for the benefits of Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The first two camps were held in Thane and Mumbai and similar camps will be held in other places till July 27, a Home Ministry official said.

The move to grant citizenship

rights to minority Hindus is in consonance with the BJP's declared aim of positioning India as a refuge for Hindus fleeing persecution anywhere in the world, much like Israel's stance towards Jews.

In its election manifesto before

There are an estimated two lakh refugees, belonging to minority communities the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had declared India as "a natural home for persecuted Hindus" who "shall be welcome to seek refuge".

The special camps will examine

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Microsoft to buy Indian-Americans' role worthy of emulation LinkedIn for $26.2-bn FRANK FERNANDES India Post News Service

CHENNAI: The role of IndianAmerican community in fostering excellent ties between the two nations and their stellar role in

Hotel in Mylapore, Chennai Dr Surya Prakash said Swamy served the community both in India and in the US with his writings and worked hard as a core committee member of Madison Square Garden Committee that

He said Doordarshan and All India Radio ensured the success of the campaign to rid India of Polio. "We can proudly say its Polio-mukt Bharat now," he said.

"We took the message to the last man and woman in the country

Dr Surya Prakash presenting the Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award to Prakash M Swamy while Vedhavalli, A Subramaniam, L. Neelakantan, Raja Ramakrishnan Ravi Sundaram, Chella K. Srinivasan and Suresh Chhabriya applaud the awardees

enhancing the image of India in their adopted land is worthy of emulation, said Dr A Surya Prakash, Chairman of Prasar Bharathi, India's public broadcasting service here last week.

He was addressing the gathering after presenting the Rotary International's Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism instituted by the Rotary Club of Madras North to Prakash M Swamy, an Indian-American journalist and UN Correspondent. The Emerging Journalist Award was presented to 21-year-old Vedhavalli, news anchor of PuthiyaThalaimurai TV Channel at a gala function held in Savera

welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to New York in 2014.

Doordarshan may lack the glitz of some of the private channels in

ensuring that infants get their timely Polio drops and it worked."

Over the last two years, the Central government has launched several innovative schemes like

Doordarshan may lack the glitz of some of the private channels in India but it's playing a very critical role of dissemination of vital information to the common man to help shape a stronger India India but it's playing a very critical role of dissemination of vital information to the common man to help shape a stronger India, he said.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Jandhan yojana to benefit the people and national initiatives like Swachh Bharat that have a great bearing on national health and well-being. Modi is now drawing attention to the people that over seventy percent of Indian households do not have toilets, that too nearly 70 years after independence, he said.

Institutions like Rotary International which are committed to social change must join hands with the union government and work for the success of such campaigns.

Rotarian Past District Governor A. Subramaniam; Rotarian District Director for Vocational Service L. Neelakantan; Past District Governor Raja Ramakrishnan; President of Rotary Club of Madras North Ravi Sundaram felicitated the award recipients. Chella K. Srinivasan, Chairman of Awards Committee welcomed the gathering and Club Secretary Suresh Chhabriya proposed a vote of thanks.

NEW YORK: Microsoft Corporation will buy LinkedIn Corp for USD 26.2 billion in its biggestever deal, giving the world's biggest software provider access to online network of 433 million professionals.

Microsoft will pay USD 196 per share in an all-cash transaction, a

tunity, this relationship with Microsoft and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn's network now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works," Weiner said.

"I have always had a great admiration for LinkedIn," said Nadella. "I have been talking with Reid and Jeff for a while... I have been thinking about this for a long time."

The offer price is well below the peak of more than USD 270 per share LinkedIn hit in 2015, which values the firm at about 91 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Hoffman described the acquisition as a "re-founding moment" for the networking site.

The companies see cost savings of about USD 150 million a year by 2018. LinkedIn will be required to pay a USD 725 million break-up fee if it backs out of the deal.

This is the biggest deal of Microsoft under India-born Nadella who was appointed chief executive in February 2014.

Since its first acquisition in 1987 of Forethought, Microsoft has expanded operations extensively through the inorganic route. It has made several acquisitions worth over one billion dollars.

This includes Navision in 2002 (USD 1.45 billion), Skype in 2011 (USD 8.5 billion), Yammer in 2012 (USD 1.2 billion), Nokia (2013) (USD 9.4 billion) and Mojang

49.5 per cent premium to LinkedIn's closing price on June 10.

While LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence, Microsoft will speed up the monetization by growing individual and organization subscriptions as well as through targeted advertising.

Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive of LinkedIn and report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Reid Hoffman, chairman of LinkedIn's board and the company's controlling shareholder, said the deal has his full support.

Microsoft is looking at combining LinkedIn services to make workers more productive by revealing connections and data that might otherwise take additional steps to find. That could increase the value of Microsoft's Office to customers.

In India, LinkedIn has about 650 employThe companies see cost ees and R&D operations in Bengaluru. savings of about USD 150 LinkedIn started out million a year by 2018. in the living room of cofounder Hoffman in LinkedIn will be required to 2002 and was officially launched on May 5 in pay a USD 725 million 2003. break-up fee It has seen 19 per cent growth year-onyear to more than 433 million mem- (2014) for USD 2.5 billion. bers worldwide while quarterly In a statement, Nadella said the member page views rose 34 per acquisition could drive growth for cent to over 45 billion.

LinkedIn as well as Microsoft's Over 92 million users came from Office 365 and Dynamics services.

Asia and the Pacific region.

In a memo to employees, In the first quarter of 2016, Nadella said the combination will LinkedIn's revenue increased 35 enable features like a LinkedIn per cent y-o-y to reach USD 861 feed that "serves up articles based million. It had forecast its revenue on the project you are working on for the full year 2016 to be in the and Office suggesting an expert range of USD 3.65-3.7 billion. to connect with via LinkedIn to "Just as we have changed the help with a task you are trying to way the world connects to oppor- complete".-PTI

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After Mukherjee, Modi to visit African countries ACCRA: Close on the heels of President Pranab Mukherjee's maiden visit to three African nations - Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to visit a few countries of the continent soon as part of India's to outreach Africa.

The indications of this plan was given

by Mukherjee while he was addressing the Indian community here during a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana K Jeeva Sagar.

Recalling 'age-old' friendly relations of Indians with Africa, the President said the relationship has deepened over the years.

"My first visit as President of India to three African countries is not accidental," he said, adding it was a follow-up action initiated by the Prime Minister after India Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi last year.

"Very recently, just a few days before Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Tunisia and Morocco, I am visiting these three countries and shortly Prime Minister is also going to undertake visits to four-five African countries to give a message that 'Africa, we stand by you'," the President said.

Speaking to the Indian community, he asked them to join the campaigns launched

by Prime Minister Modi such as 'Digital India', 'Startup India, Stand up India', 'Clean India Mission', 'Smart Cities' etc.

The President said India's trade with Africa is over USD 70 billion and investments worth about USD 35 billion.

Addressing the community, he said their efforts were complementing many foreign policy measures taken by the Indian government to assist the friendly countries in Africa, including Ghana.

He said India has extended over USD 400 million of concessional credit to Ghana in the last few years for various projects.

"Exim bank is also providing funding for

a railway project. India-Ghana bilateral trade has reached USD three billion and Indian investments in this country are estimated at around USD one billion," the President noted.

Mukherjee, during his talks with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, said both the sides have agreed to take the trade to USD five billion by 2020.

He also praised the Indian Diaspora for its engaging role as "force multiplier" in the country's economic growth.

"These giant strides would not have been possible without the active role of the Diaspora. You have become force multipliers of India's growing economic strength. I thank you for your commitment," he said. PTI

Indian-origin whistle-blower sacked in UK LONDON: An Indian-origin employee claims he has been sacked for speaking out against his employer's attempts to dodge paying staff the new "National Living Wage" in the UK. Kumaran Bose, an employee with Kettleby Foods for 12 years, has been backed by his Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU over his whistleblowing.

"What his managers particularly disliked was his brave decision to stand up for his rights and refuse to accept that he and his fellow workers should be treated so appallingly," BFAWU regional organizer George Atwall said.

The Leicester-based firm owned by Samworth Brothers is at the centre of a scandal in which companies have reacted to the introduction of the higher minimum wage in the UK from April 1 this year by cutting workers' terms and conditions.

The food giant has allegedly slashed overtime, night shift and Sunday rates even cancelling paid tea breaks.

The strict rules are set to be highlighted in a television expose by Channel 4's investigative 'Dispatches' program.

"I was the voice of the union, they set me up as an example. This is what will happen to you [if you join]. I feel I've been dismissed for union activities," Bose told The Times. Bose and union officials say that in some cases workers could be denied up to 2,000 pounds a year in wages.

An employee working from Friday to Sunday, they say, would lose 27 pounds per week simply by being docked pay for taking an hour's break each day.

A disciplinary investigation by the company concluded that Bose was guilty of gross misconduct for mentioning the 2,000 pounds figure, which they said was misleading. "Kumaran Bose was dismissed for two reasons and neither of them have anything to do with his union activity. As he has lodged an appeal and therefore the process is continuing it would be unfair on Mr Bose to make any further comment," a spokesperson for Samworth said.-PTI

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'India can make n-power more competitive' MUMBAI: Amidst India's aggressive bid for entry into the elite NSG, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has said a stronger Indian nuclear industry can help make nuclear power more competitive globally.

He said "large anticipated investments" in nuclear energy sector can only happen in a climate of "predictability".

idly beyond the 140 nuclear-related export licenses that we issued last year, it's also in larger interest that our practices are in conformity with global ones," he said.

He said the Ministry of External Affairs is pleased to support this event, which has been organized by the Gateway House and MEA.

S Jaishankar

Delivering keynote address at the inauguration of the two-day 'The Gateway of India Dialogue' on 'Where geopolitics meets business' here, he said India's membership to Nuclear Suppliers Group can "effectively" address concerns regarding certainty of trading rules and technology access.

"We are in a position now to build on the international cooperation openings that have been negotiated in the last decade and confirmed by the settlement of the liability issue.

"The path is once again open to a substantial increase in domestically-produced nuclear power plants while simultaneously moving forward with foreign partners," the Foreign Secretary said.

"These large anticipated investments in the nuclear energy sector can, however, only happen in a climate of predictability. In particular, it would require greater certainty of trading rules and technology access.

"It is our expectation that membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group can effectively address that concern. A stronger Indian nuclear industry can help make nuclear power more competitive globally," Jaishankar said.

While the US has been pushing for India's NSG membership, China has been opposing it.

"Indeed, as our own nuclear industry expands and we go rap-

The Foreign Secretary said of all the global challenges, none has captured the world's attention more than the threat of terrorism.

"Whether it is its orthodox version that this city knows only too well, or the more recent cyber manifestations, the intention remains one of dominating through disruption.

National resilience and systemic hardening are obviously part of the answer," he said.

Stating that the preemptive and responsive policies are "equally important", he said international cooperation in that regard has consequently come to occupy a significant place in our diplomatic agenda.

"While this is a subject in itself, let me just state that events have shown that a reputational downgrade is as damaging for nations as for companies.

"A comparison of statements and outcomes of Indian diplomacy over the last many decades will bring out how much more central economic and developmental issues have become to our external engagements," he said.

Underlining the importance of business, Jaishankar said, "No high-level visit is complete today without a business event. Ensuring market access and responding to investors' concerns are taken as a given. The advancement of flagship programs is clearly a key thrust. Enhancing national branding is a major preoccupation".

He said a more global business outreach has widened the horizons of Indian diplomacy.

"A new normal is in the making, one where the business of Indian diplomacy is increasingly business," he said.

Stating that the connection between business and diplomacy is self-evident, Jaishankar said, "This is a very different foreign service from the one I joined four decades ago".

Replying to queries of the audience, Jaishankar said he was expected to go to Pakistan but then the Pathankot attack happened.

To a query on when will "Made in China" will give way to "Made in India", he said, "This is not an objective and not reasonable also.

I don't subscribe to this thinking".

On the occasion, Sri Lankan deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva thanked the government for having his country as a major stake-holder in this foreign policy dialogue.-PTI

Public private investments down in India WASHINGTON: India recorded a 10-year low in investments in public-private sector in the year 2015, adding to contraction that pulled down the global investment to below its five-year average of USD 124.1 billion, the World Bank has said.

In its latest annual report, the World Bank said global investment in 2015 decreased to USD 111.6 billion, below the five-year average of USD 124.1 billion from 2010 to 2014.

"This contraction resulted from lower investments in Brazil, China and India," the Bank said in its latest report on Private Participation in Infrastructure Database.

"India recorded a 10-year low in investments, as only six road projects usually a rich source of PPI over the past 10 years reached financial closure," the World Bank said.

In South Asia, there were 43 deals for a combined total of USD 5.6 billion that closed in the region, representing 5 per cent of the total investment a decline of

82 per cent from the five-year average of USD 30.5 billion.

"Consistent with historical trends, India generated a majority of the projects (36 out of 43); Pakistan had four; Nepal, two; and Bangladesh, one. Notably, 26 of the 36 projects in India, amounting to USD 2.0 billion, targeted renewable energy, while all of Pakistan's projects, totaling USD 749.9 million, solely focused on renewables," the Bank said.

Solar energy investments climbed 72 per cent higher than the last five year average, while renewables attracted nearly twothirds of investments with private participation, it said.

Global private infrastructure investment in 2015 mostly remained steady at USD 111.6 billion when compared to the previous year, it said.

Among the most notable, commitments in Brazil were only USD 4.5 billion in 2015 a sharp decline from USD 47.2 billion the previous year, reversing a trend of growing investments, it said-PTI

Indian working in Oman goes missing KOTTAYAM, Kerala: A 47year-old Indian national has been reported missing from his workplace in Sunaina near Ibri in Oman, his relatives said here.

Relatives of John Philip, who hails from nearby Manarcadu said they suspected it to be a case of abduction.

"We have informed the matter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj," they said.

According to his brother Jacob Philip, John had gone missing

from the fuel filling station in Sunaina in Ibri, some 217 km from Muscat.

John had been working as a supervisor in the station for the last 12 years, he said.

His colleagues reported for duty and alerted the Oman police after they found signs of disturbance at the station, he added.

The CCTV camera and its hard disc was also found missing from the petrol pump, where John was the only person on duty that night, the relatives claimed. -PTI

'India may join SCO within a year' BEIJING: India is likely to attain full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) within a year, SecretaryGeneral of the six-member political, economic and military alliance led by China and Russia has said.

"For almost a year, we held consultations with top representatives from India. To become a full member of the SCO, the applicant states should adopt all the documents in accordance with the procedures in this country," Rashid Alimov, the Secretary-General, said at the SCO headquarters here.

At the Tashkent summit on June 23-24, India will inch a step closer to obtaining full SCO membership, with the signing of a memorandum on the commitments of applicant states.

"We have around 30 documents of this kind. The main docu-

ment is about long term partnership, cooperation and good neighborhood. In Tashkent, we are expected to sign the document that will take India to the next stage in the process," he said.

He added that India will first have to accept all the documents

At the Tashkent summit on June 23-24, India will inch a step closer to obtaining full SCO membership, with the signing of a memorandum on the commitments of applicant states

that have been adopted by the SCO member states in the past 15 years which may take some time.

"Keeping all the required documentation in mind, a concrete date cannot be set in this regard. It may take six months or a year," Alimov said.

While China may be blocking India's bid to join the coveted NSG club, the prospect of its neighbor joining the six-member SCO, often touted as a counterweight to Western alliances, seems promising to the SecretaryGeneral.-PTI

Tech News China biggest and best 'abuser' of free trade: Trump PITTSBURGH: Branding China as the "biggest and best abuser" of free trade, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has alleged that the Communist trading giant was dumping its goods into the US, stealing intellectual property and imposing hefty taxes on American companies doing business in that country.

"China is the biggest and best abuser. Mexico is a smaller version of China," Trump told his cheering supporters in this steel city of Pittsburgh, which is said to be a key swing state for November general elections as he hit out at several countries including Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Trump said he believes in free trade, but it needs to be fair. "I believe in free trade. But for free trade, you need to have smart people on our side. I want to make good deals. I do not care what you call it," he said.

"I do not want China to dump steel into our country. They are dumping. They are stealing our intellectual property," Trump alleged and warned them of consequences if he is elected as the new president of America.-PTI

Soon travel by air with single token BARCELONA: Thanks to new revolutionary technology, airline passengers could soon be able to travel through airports and borders with just a 'secure single token' eliminating the need of carrying multiple travel documents.

Airline solutions and technology provider SITA is exploring the potential of newly-emerging 'blockchain' technology to provide travelers with a 'secure single token' which was previewed at the 2016 Air Transport IT Summit here in this Spanish city.

The revolutionary technology provides the opportunity to allow secure biometric authentication of passengers throughout the journey across borders which could remove the need for multiple travel documents without passengers having to share their personal data.

SITA's technology research team, SITA Lab, is researching how using virtual or digital passports in the form of a secure single token on mobile and wearable devices could reduce complexity, cost and liability around document checks during the passenger journey.-PTI

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Toyota builds bicycles for foster children GEORGETOWN, Richmond: Production team members from Toyota Motors Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) in Georgetown, set up two makeshift assembly lines inside Toyota South in Richmond recently to build just under 100 bicycles for foster children.

A bike was built per each car sold by Toyota South in the month of May. The project teamed up not only the Toyota production team, and Toyota South, but also the Toyota Christian Fellowship, The Kentucky Foster/Adoptive Care Association, and KVC. ``I was never aware that there are 8,000 foster children in Kentucky,'' said Toyota South owner Steve Gates, and while his company contributes to many causes that benefit children, he felt the need to do something for this large population of often-overlooked Kentucky kids.-AP

US lawmakers propose measures to prevent H-1B visa misuse NEW YORK: Several US lawmakers have proposed revisions to visa laws to include measures allowing former employees to contest their layoffs after a number of American workers lost their jobs to immigrants from countries like India on H-1B and other work visas, a media report said.

The New York Times report said while corporate executives have been outspoken in defending their labor practices, the American workers who lost jobs to global outsourcing companies have been largely silent.

"Until recently. Now some of the workers who were displaced are starting to speak out, despite severance agreements prohibiting them from criticizing their former employers," the report said.

It cited the example of former Abbott Laboratories employee Marco Pena, who was among about 150 technology workers laid off in April by the global health

care conglomerate.

Pena and the other laid-off employees "handed in their badges and computer passwords, and turned over their work to a com-

pany based in India."

Pena said that he had decided not to sign the agreement that was given to all departing employees, which included a nondisparagement clause. Pena said his choice cost him at least USD 10,000 in severance pay.

The report said leading members of the US Congress from both major parties have questioned the nondisparagement agreements, which are commonly used by corporations but can prohibit ousted workers from raising complaints

about what they see as a misuse of temporary visas.

Lawmakers, including Richard Durbin of Illinois, the secondhighest-ranking Senate Democrat, and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, have proposed revisions to visa laws to include measures allowing former employees to contest their layoffs.

"I have heard from workers who are fearful of retaliation," Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut said in the report.

"They are told they can say whatever they want, except they

said Abbott's nondisparagement clause was "overly broad."

Professor Hal Salzman, a labor force expert at Rutgers University, said in the past five years, through loopholes in the rules, tens of thousands of American workers have been replaced by foreigners on H1B and other temporary visas.

In March, two Americans Craig Diangelo, 63, and Judy Konopka, 56, laid off in 2014 by a New England power company, Eversource Energy, spoke at a news conference in Hartford even though they had signed nondisparagement agreements.

They said "most of the 220

Professor Hal Salzman, a labor force expert at Rutgers University, said in the past five years, through loopholes in the rules, tens of thousands of American workers have been replaced by foreigners on H1B and other temporary visas. can't say anything negative about being fired."

Senator Durbin, who is from Illinois, criticized the layoffs and

people facing dismissal had been required as part of their severance to train Indian immigrants with H1B and other visas." -PTI

WH urged to stop shielding Dow on Bhopal WASHINGTON: An online petition on the White House website has called on the Obama administration to stop shielding American multinational Dow Chemical from accountability for corporate crimes in the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy case.

The petition has crossed the threshold of one lakh signatures, making it mandatory for the White House to respond.

Titled 'Uphold International Law! Stop Shielding Dow Chemical from Accountability for Corporate Crimes in Bhopal, India', the petition dated May 15, says that the more than three decades of protection to Union Carbide (UCC) - which is now owned by

Dow Chemicals - must end.

"We insist that the US government meet its obligations under Treaty and international law by immediately serving notice upon Dow to attend court in Bhopal on July 13, 2016," said the petition,

which as of June 12 had garnered 102,000 signatures.

Tonnes of toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from Union Carbide's Bhopal factory on the intervening night of December 23, 1984, killed nearly 25,000 people

and injured half million others.

"India charged UCC with manslaughter, but UCC refused to show up for trial. Dow Chemical bought UCC in 2001 but has not made UCC available to face charges," the petition said.

"Under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, India sent four notices to the US Department of Justice to summon Dow to explain UCC's whereabouts. The DoJ has ignored or obstructed every notice. The same DoJ made BP pay USD 4 billion in criminal fines and penalties for Deepwater Horizon. 31 years of US protection of UCC and Dow must end," the petition said. PTI

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SF battles epidemic of auto burglaries SAN FRANCISCO: Across the street from San Francisco's main jail, business is booming at Auto Glass Now where more than a dozen motorists show up on an average day to replace windows broken by thieves. ``It's been insane,'' said Julio Lara, the shop's manager who says nearby competitors are busy as well. ``It's nonstop.''

San Francisco is in the grips of

flicts tourist haunts and neighborhoods throughout the city.

Investigators say experienced burglars use homemade hammers to quickly smash auto windows and clear out the contents of a vehicle in minutes. Thieves make off with a variety of goods, including electronics, gym bags and loose change. On nearly 60 occasions last year, guns were stolen from burglarized cars - and sev-

The stepped-up law enforcement attention has resulted in several recent arrests and convictions of prolific burglars, including Shawn Gibson who was sentenced in February to 5 years and 8 months in prison after he was convicted of breaking into 15 autos. an auto burglary epidemic. No other place in the country - not New York, Chicago or Los Angeles - had as many ``smash-andgrabs'' per capita as San Francisco did last year. ``We have an auto burglary problem in San Francisco,'' thenPolice Chief Greg Suhr said in October after a California Highway Patrol officer's personal gun was stolen from his car.

The gun was recovered, but the burglaries have grown far beyond a simple annoyance. They are fueling a bitter political feud between the city's police department and district attorney's office, who blame each other for not doing enough. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee recently put some of the blame on local judges, who he said needed to get tougher on those arrested for the break-ins. ``Now is not the time for one branch of government to be pointing the finger at one another,'' Presiding Judge John K. Stewart said in a statement late last month. ``We should be able to work together to remedy these problems.''

The nearly 26,500 reported burglaries have also become a flashpoint in the debate over Proposition 47, a big portion of Gov. Jerry Brown's prison reform package that reduced some nonviolent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. There were 19,871 reported auto burglaries in 2014, almost double from the 10,369 in 2011 - and not everyone calls the police when they wake up to a burglarized vehicle.

Police say they believe many suspects are affiliated with organized gangs or are among the city's ubiquitous homeless, but they struggle to stem a crime that af-

eral of them belonged to law enforcement officials.

One of those guns belonged to a federal agent, who had his car broken into in June 2015. The next month, a homeless man living in the country illegally and recently released from jail is alleged to have found the gun under a bench on a San Francisco pier and used it to fatally shoot Kate Steinle, 32, as she enjoyed an evening walk with her father on July 1.

Last year, an Oakland muralist

also was killed with a handgun stolen from a vehicle in San Francisco.

And so were a Canadian tourist in Golden Gate Park and a yoga teacher on Marin County hiking trail.

San Francisco's police say combating auto burglaries is a priority, but the department needs more officers. Before he resigned as chief last month, Suhr said he was hopeful 200 vacancies will be filled shortly. Suhr also created a special investigative unit, beefed up patrols throughout the city and ordered every burglarized auto dusted for fingerprints. ``Evidence has shown this increase is due in part to repeat offenders,'' Suhr said in a written order last month to all officers.

The stepped-up law enforcement attention has resulted in several recent arrests and convictions of prolific burglars, including Shawn Gibson who was sentenced in February to 5 years and 8 months in prison after he was convicted of breaking into 15 autos. Officials are hopeful the burglary rates will show a decline at the end of the year.

Police are making arrests in about 2 percent of the reported burglaries. The district attorney's office says 80 percent of the arrests end in some form of punishment for the suspect.-AP

China links Nepal with optical fiber BEIJING: For the first time, China and Nepal have been connected with an optical fiber network via Tibet as infrastructure between the two countries is being firmed up to extend highspeed Internet services to Nepal and end its "sole dependence" on India, Chinese state media re-

ported.

China has extended its optical fiber network to Nepal via Geelong (Keyrong)-Rasuwgadhi border point, "which has ended Nepal's

sole dependence on India", Xinhua news agency reported.

State-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) said its optical fiber network has been connected to China Telecom Corporation Limited.

"After establishing connection, we conducted technical test about two weeks ago," Dilliram Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT was quoted as saying in the report.

Adhikari said NT would start commercial use of the fiber cable soon.

As a result of this Nepal now can be directly linked with Hong Kong Data Centre, which is one of the two biggest global date centers in Asia, through the Chinese mainland, he said.

"The use of the Chinese route to connect with Hong Kong Data Centre will help enhancing quality of internet services in Nepal because of shorter distance," he said.-PTI

Air travelers to pay less for extra baggage NEW DELHI: Airlines will charge less from passengers for extra checked-in baggage beyond the free limit, with the government finalizing a rate of Rs 100 per additional kilogram up to a certain level beginning middle of this month.

Against the backdrop of con-

Only Air India allows free baggage up to 23 kg.

Aviation regulator DGCA's chief M Sathiyavathy said the revised rates would be applicable from June 15.

"Airlines have been asked to keep variable checked-in baggage

cerns in certain quarters about carriers charging high for extra baggage, DGCA has decided to reduce steeply the additional charge levied from passengers in this regard.

Now, airlines would charge Rs 100 per extra kg till 20 kg from the current rate of Rs 300.

At present, all domestic airlines allow free checked-in baggage up to 15 kg. Beyond that limit, the charge is Rs 300 per extra kg.

fare between 15-20 kg to benefit passengers who carry checked-in baggage in excess of 15 kg but less than 20 kg," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a presentation.

Checked-in baggage above 15 kg and less than 20 kg would be soon charged Rs 100 instead of Rs 300 per kg.

Airlines will be free to charge any fee on the baggage beyond 20 kg, Sathiyavathy said. -PTI

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Black money outflow report 'exaggerated' NEW DELHI: The estimate of USD 505 bn black money outflow from India by a US-based think tank is "heavily exaggerated", the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has informed the Supreme Courtappointed SIT looking into cases of tainted money.

Global Financial Integrity, a non-profit research and advisory

The DRI then sought relevant details from the Global Financial Integrity (GFI). According to the DRI's findings, the amount of USD 505,555 million (or USD 505 billion) - which is trade misinvoicing from India during 2004-2013 - is heavily exaggerated, official sources said.

They said the DRI report has been shared with the SIT, which is

organization operating from Washington, had in its report "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2004 2013" estimated that black money outflow from India for the period was to the tune of USD 505 bn (about Rs 34 lakh crore, as per current exchange rate).

The report had created quite a stir in the country following which the SIT, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice M B Shah, had in February this year asked the DRI to ascertain the veracity of the findings.

considering sending the agency's officials to select countries abroad, including the US and Switzerland, to assess the actual amount of illicit money.

The sources said the actual amount of black money outflow through trade-based money laundering - could be far less than mentioned in the report.

"The exact assessment would be possible only when a team of officers go out and analyze all details. But it will be far less than USD 505 billion," a source said.

The GFI, however, in its re-

sponse to a PTI query on the issue said the figures were consistent with the data provided by the governments of India and Switzerland to the International Monetary Fund.

"GFI's illicit flows figures for India were consistent with the data provided by the governments of India and Switzerland to the International Monetary Fund. All our country estimates are derived from data provided by governments to the IMF. "What we did not know at the time of publication is that for several decades Switzerland did not report its exports of gold. It was due to this omission of data from official Swiss government statistics that caused the issue now being researched by DRI," said Tom Cardamone, Managing Director of Global Financial Integrity in an email response.

He said Switzerland has recently begun reporting past gold exports to the IMF and we will incorporate that new trade data into our forthcoming annual update.

The SIT, in its second report, has observed that since reports like those of Global Financial Integrity, which calculate illicit financial flows from various countries, are widely used in academic circles and it is very crucial to ascertain the veracity of such reports, as per the Finance Ministry release issued in February in which it announced that the DRI has been asked to look into the matter. -PTI

ED attaches Rs 1,411 cr assets of Mallya MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

"We have attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore (as per the market value) of Vijay Mallya and UB Limited under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," an Enforcement Directorate official said.

The assets brought under the "provisional attachment" order include bank balance of Rs 34 crore, a flat each in Bengaluru and Mumbai (2,291 sqft and 1,300 sqft respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation land in

Coorg (28.75 acres) and residential and commercial constructed areas in UB city and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (84,0279 sqft).

The agency, in a statement, said the order was issued as in-

Vijay Mallya

vestigation found that some of the properties were being "disposed off" by the accused so that further action undertaken by the

agency under PMLA can be "frustrated."

An attachment of assets under PMLA is aimed to deprive the accused from obtaining benefits of their ill-gotten wealth. The accused can appeal against this action before the Adjudicating Authority of PMLA within 180 days.

ED further said that a corporate loan was sanctioned and disbursed "despite weak financials, negative net-worth, low credit rating of the borrower company and despite the fact that the company Ms Kingfishers Airlines Limited (KFA) being a new client did not satisfy the norms stipulated in the corporate loan policy of the bank" and was sanctioned in an "extraordinary haste." -PTI

Parrikar discusses defense manufacture with industry NEW DELHI: Defense Minis- tegic partnership. ter of India Manohar Parrikar held However, Indian private dediscussions with industry repre- fense industry is divided over the sentatives who presented their issue with some big players batconcerns and recommendations ting for it while others pushing to on strategic partnerships that the delay it by at least next five years. government plans to enter with Parrikar has already held a private firms in critical sectors of round of talks with the industry defense manufacturing. chambers over the issue.

Parrikar met with the five-sub groups that were set up to have a focused discussion on the subject.

They gave their presentations before the Minister and the Ministry will now study the recommendations in detail before going in for more meetings, defense Defense Minister of Manohar Parrikar sources said.

The five subgroups are focused on armored The feeling among several prifighting vehicles (AFV), aircraft vate industry players is that only and helicopters, submarines, am- the big firms will benefit out of this munition and macro process man- move. agement of issues.

However, many large firms are Former DRDO chief V K Aatre not open to the idea since they had earlier this year submitted a feel they would be restricted to report to the Defense Ministry rec- just specific fields and, therefore, ommending guidelines for select- their overall investment and plans ing domestic private firms for stra- will get affected. -PTI

Dr Reddy's to buy eight ANDAs in US NEW DELHI: Dr Reddy's Laboratories has inked a pact with Teva Pharmaceutical and an affiliate of Allergan Plc to buy a portfolio of eight abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) in the US for USD 350 million (around Rs 2,300 crore) in cash.

The portfolio consists of products that are being divested by Teva as a precondition to its closing of the acquisition of Allergan's generics business, the Hyderabadbased firm said.

The portfolio being acquired is a mix of filed ANDAs pending approval and an approved ANDA and comprised of complex generic products across diverse dosage forms, Dr Reddy's Laboratories said in a statement.

The combined sales of the branded versions of the products in the US is around USD 3.5 billion, it added.

"This transaction will add strength to our product portfolio, help us be more relevant in the US

market and also create new opportunities for growth," G V Prasad, Co-Chairman and CEO of Dr Reddy's Laboratories said.

The acquisition of these ANDAs is also contingent on the closing of the Teva/Allergan generics transaction and approval by the US Federal Trade Commission

of Dr Reddy's as a buyer.

"The acquisition of these attractive ANDAs from Teva will enhance our short-to-midterm aspirations and is consistent with our growth initiatives to identify inorganic opportunities to expand our base business," Dr Reddy's, Executive Vice president and Head of North America Alok Sonig said.-PTI

June 17, 2016

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Desi News WomenNow presents 'Spring India Day' India Post News Service

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: For the second year running, WomenNow brought Spring India Day on the streets of America. It was a daylong event celebrating Indian culture and heritage in the heart of San Francisco. The event was opened by the prestigious Vice Mayor of Sausolito Jill James Hoffman.

The event was filled with breathtaking performances, unique shopping experiences and myriad flavors of mouthwatering food. It began with the National Anthems at 11:00 am and the celebrations continued till 6:00 pm.

The event was free and it saw a whooping 30,000 attendees from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Details on page 18

Yoga road trip to document yoga in US SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: Chicago Yoga Journal, in partnership with Gaia, is hosting the "Live Be Yoga Tour"a six-month cross-country tour documenting yoga in America.

It stops at yoga studios, festivals, farms, prisons, healthcare facilities, and events in over 20 major cities and small towns in search of standout yoga teachers and fellow passionate yogis and to share how yoga positively transforms lives.

Stops include Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Boulder, Estes Park, etc.

Details on page 19

Balakrishna celebrates birthday in US India Post News Service

MILPITAS, CA: Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna celebrated his birthday in the USA with fans. The hero delighted the fans with his latest makeover for his 100th film. The event was organized by Bhakta Bhalla at India Community Center, Milpitas on June 10. The event was free to public and was attended by over 2000 fans of Balakrishna.

Details on page 25

COMMUNITY ACROSS AMERICA

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What it takes to be an effective citizen

June 17, 2016

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Details on page 22

56 year old woman has baby after menopause, thanks to Dr Naram

A

t 56 years old, Maria Chiara wondered if she would have to give up her dream. Menopause had already come, she was feeling depressed, having pain everywhere, very tired, hot flushes, and she had been without a period for three years. Then why did she have a burning desire in her heart to have a baby?

Dr Giovanni Brincivalli, a highly respected Italian doctor who studied at the University of Bologna medical school, said, "Like in the case of many women going through menopause, all the hormonal changes bring a lot of emotions, frustrations, aches, pains, and emotional, mental and physical challenges Maria Chiara was facing the same challenge. Sometimes she thought maybe she was going crazy. She felt as if her value as a woman, as a person, was fading away."

This was until that fateful day when she read an Italian newspaper article about a visiting master healer from India, Dr Pankaj Naram.

Maria Chiara said, "When I read the newspaper article, something just told my heart to go see this Doctor. Something told me that he could help me."

Many people from around the world discover to their amazement how Dr Naram learned from a 125 year old master the deeper healing secrets , and how he uses them now to help more than a million people from 108 countries. Maria Chiara called Dr Naram to schedule an appointment, and was lucky to get one before it was completely full.

Before meeting Dr Naram, Maria Chiara was feeling depression, fatigue, pain, extreme hot flashes, and cramps. She came and experienced a pulse healing session with the Doctor. In 30 seconds of feeling the pulse in your wrist, Dr Naram begins telling you everything about what is happening in your body, mind and emotions. "It was amazing how accurate he was, without me saying anything," Maria Chiara said. "How can he know so much from just feeling the pulse? It is amazing."

DR CLINT ROGERS

This true story can change your life forever!

Believe it or not, people thought she was crazy, but now she is the one laughing, with joy Then Dr Naram asked her, "what do you want?" and she expressed her dream to have a baby. When

help and heal her and others, but many remarkable things are possible when cleaning the toxins from

Dr Pankaj Naram (left) with Dr Giovanni Brincivalli (right) in Italy

Dr Naram said, yes this is possible, Dr Giovanni said he started to squirm in his seat a little. So Dr Giovanni pulled Dr Naram aside and said, "Do you understand, she has had 3 years of menopause, and is more than 50 years of age.

the body and rebalancing body according to what its nature is.

After this impactful meeting with Dr Naram, Maria Chiara made some disciplined changes in her diet according to his instruction (e.g. no wheat, dairy, lots of cooked

Hormone rebalance at any age: (from the Ancient Scriptures) Ajwain: 1 Tsp, Suva (Dill) seeds: 1 tsp, Fennel: 2 tsp, Gud (Jaggary): 1 tsp How can you say it is possible?"

Dr Naram smiled, and gently said, "It is not about what you want, or what you think is possible. It is about what is possible according to ancient secrets."

Dr Naram assured her that he has seen many cases more difficult than hers and was successful in treating them. He told her it would take time and discipline to

green moong and vegetables), she started taking some herbal remedies that were formulated according to ancient principles for cases like hers, and Dr Naram gave her this home remedy to take every day.

Maria Chiara maintained this discipline for 4 months (diet, herbs, home remedy) without seeing many changes, simply feeling a

little lighter and happier. After about 5 months she felt some changes in her body, and after 6 months her period began again.

After that, she said her period began coming again like when she was younger. When she came back for her next appointment, she was elated. She said before she came the first time she was in pain, confused, and exhausted, and now she felt like she is in heaven. Her smile told it all.

Dr Naram said, "The ancient secrets for how anyone can live to more than 100+ years with vibrant healthy, youthful energy, and peace of mind, are stored in the ancient scriptures which are passed down from master to student, until I have become one of the recipients. How I can learn so much about a person from feeling their pulse, how I know what diet and home remedies to give them, how we know what ingredients to include in these very powerful herbal formulas, this all came from my beloved master and these precious ancient scriptures."

Dr Giovanni said, "This is something I actually don't know how to explain. I am very surprised, as from the medical point of view this is something very amazing. I have seen younger patients, they go in menopause and then with Dr Naram's ancient healing secrets they again regained their cycle. But at this age? Actually I have never seen. I was very skeptical. And now what has happened for her is something fantastic."

Dr Giovanni added, "I have seen in my own clinic how Dr Naram has helped difficult cases of infertility, hormonal rebalance, digestion challenges, asthma, psoriasis, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, back pain, fibromyalgia, diabetes, autism, obesity, high blood pressure, chronic depression, anxiety, phobias, ulcerative colitis, stroke, cancer, HIV, baldness, skin issues, and so many other chronic and acute health challenges. I know this ancient knowledge is precious and needs to be protected, preserved, and passed on."

Cont’d on page 19

June 17, 2016

Community Across America

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LA & Bay Area Spell Bee winners announced India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: The 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee began its 12-city tour this past weekend with the first two US area events in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

With a huge turnout this year as well, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.

In the Los Angeles regional the winners were: Ananya Vinay of Fresno (Champion), Emaad Sohail of Bakersfield (1st Runner-Up) and Kiran Deepala of Temecula (2nd Runner-Up).

In the Bay Area regional the winners were: Rutvik Gandhasri of San Jose (Champion), Rishik Gandhasri of San Jose (1st Runner-Up) and Aaryan Shah of Fremont (2nd Runner-Up).

The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It will give South Asian children a chance to test their spelling skills in their core peer group. Interested spellers need their parent or guardian to register them online at

www.southasianspellingbee.com.

Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee is being conducted in 12 locations across the United States starting June 11. Regional level events will be held in

attend and open to the public.

Accra, Ghana was announced as the 13th center from where spellers of South Asian descent will qualify for the finals.

"For the past eight years, the Bee has consistently provided a

LA Regional from left: Founder of South Asian Spelling Bee- Rahul Walia, 1st Runner up: Emaad Sohail, Regional Champion: Ananya Vinay, 2nd Runner up: Kiran Deepala

Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. Metro, New Jersey, New York and Boston. All events are free to

firm platform for the community to come together and hone their craft.

It's become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child. "We are

proud to enter our Ninth consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers," said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc.

funded the $10,000 champion's grand prize that will be awarded to the winner at the finals.

This year, the Bee is proudly presented by Britannia - Britannia Industries Limited is India's leading food company and marketer of

Bay Area Regional from left: Founder of South Asian Spelling Bee- Rahul Walia, 2nd Runner up: Aaryan Shah, Regional Champion: Rutvik Gandhasri, 1st Runner up: Rishik Gandhasri

The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the finals to be held in New Jersey in August. Similar to previous years MetLife has once again

cookies, dairy products and bread - while Kawan, the world's most popular Roti paratha brand returns as the powered by sponsor.

Cont’d on page 19

Community Across America

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WomenNow presents 'Spring India Day'

India Post News Service

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: For the second year running, WomenNow brought Spring India Day on the streets of America. It was a daylong event celebrating Indian cul-

ture and heritage in the heart of San Francisco. The event was opened by the prestigious Vice Mayor of Sausolito Jill James Hoffman.

The event was filled with breathtaking performances,

unique shopping experiences and myriad flavors of mouthwatering food. It began with the National Anthems at 11:00 am and the celebrations continued till 6:00 pm.

The event was free and it saw a whooping 30,000 attendees from

diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Corporates like Air India, ZEE (& TV), Western Union, YUPP TV,

Xfinity, Macy's and other big names were associated with the event.

Cont’d on page 20

Lecture on NRI investment and tax implications India Post News Service

lock-in period is definitely the most notable modification to the FDI policy. The annual real estate private equity market inflows, which stands at USD 1 to 1.5 Billion per annum over the last few years, could double in the next two years due to this announcement.

Investors will now be permitted to exit either on completion of the project, or after the completion of support infrastructure in the project such as internal and ap-

FREMONT, CA: A lecture on NRI investment in real estate and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act implications will be held during the Indian property show to be held at Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley on Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26 at 4 pm on both days. The show timings are from 10.30 am to 8 pm.

FEMA and tax experts will deliver a lecture on the overview scenario governing NRI investment Investors will now be perin real estate, repatriation procedure, capital mitted to exit either on gains implications and completion of the project, minimizing tax liability.

Issues governing or after the completion of FATCA will assume significance especially in support infrastructure view of the US government's regulations on global reporting system proach roads, water supply, street lights, sewerage, etc. implemented earlier.

With the news that 100% FDI Besides there will be a lecture on the availability of property is now allowed under automatic management services, multiple route in completed project for opoptions available in the real estate eration and management of not sector back home. Both individual only townships but also shopping and institutional investments will complexes and business centers, be discussed especially in view of developers will be able to sell comthe central government's easing of pleted malls and integrated towninvestment by NRIs/PIOs and for- ships to foreign investors.

With the minimum floor area eign investors.

The government has an- requirement for FDI having been nounced easier FDI norms for the lowered from 50,000 sqm to 20,000 construction sector. The fact that sqm, smaller projects will now 100% FDI will now be allowed un- qualify for FDI. Developers will be der automatic route to invest in exempt from restrictions in area completed or under construction and minimum capitalization if they assets along with relaxation of commit 30% of the project cost to other norms is expected to in- affordable housing, which will increase the supply of budget houscrease FDI inflows significantly.

The elimination of the 3-year ing across India.

June 17, 2016

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India Post 19

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Yoga road trip to document yoga in US SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: Chicago Yoga Journal, in partnership with Gaia, is hosting the "Live Be Yoga Tour"a six-month cross-country tour documenting yoga in America.

It stops at yoga studios, festivals, farms, prisons, healthcare facilities, and events in over 20 major cities and small towns in search of standout yoga teachers and fellow passionate yogis and to share how yoga positively transforms lives.

Stops include Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Boulder, Estes Park, etc.

The UN's International Day of Yoga -The Yoga Day Summit this month will present an unparalleled opportunity to experience and celebrate the beauty, power and depth

Society of Hinduism said that of yoga as a vehicle for living a large part at Parmarth Niketan that tion. divine life and creating a world will explore the world of yoga from Yoga, referred as "a living fos- yoga, although introduced and built on oneness.

On the second International Yoga Day, inspiring teachers - including H.H. Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Seane Corn, Pujya Mooji, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Shiva Rea, Michael A. Singer, Janet Stone, Ana Forrest, Tommy Rosen, Kia Miller and others will share their knowledge on a vast array of fascinating subjects that The six-month tour, reaching more than 20 cities across North America, aims to spotlight yoga's transformative can empower one to power and rapidly growing popularity take one's practice to the next level . its ancient roots in India to today's sil", was a mental and physical dis- nourished by Hinduism, is a world The Yoga Day Summit is a FREE global movement of transforma- cipline, for everybody to share and heritage and liberation powerfull day online event, filmed in benefit from, whose traces went house to be utilized by all.

According to US National Inback to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization. Launched in stitutes of Health, yoga may help 1975, Yoga Journal claims to be one to feel more relaxed, be more HARISH RAO "the world's largest and most in- flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. Acfluential yoga brand".

Affordable Care Act and its posi- trepreneurs, Small Businesses, and According to Patanjali who cording to a recently released tive impact on the businesses.

Women Entrepreneurs. Their inicodified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was "2016 Yoga in America Study", By organizing this one-day tiatives are recognized by U.S a methodical effort to attain per- about 37 million Americans (which conference, Raj Tech Solution is Dept. of Commerce and they have fection, through the control of the included many celebrities) now aiming to provide unparalleled op- Keynote presentation from, Isaac different elements of human na- practice yoga; and yoga is portunities for small business McCoy. McCoy was appointed ture, physical and psychical. strongly correlated with having a owners, women entrepreneurs, by President Obama as the Senior Rajan Zed president of Universal positive self image. and minorities business owners to Advisor for Business Developengage in dialogues with other ment at the U.S Dept. of Commerce. business organizations, govern"To help the immigrant commument officials, entrepreneurs and nity in exploring and excelling in other high profile leaders to dis- the world of business we will have speakers from SBA, SBDC, the Women Business Developultimate master who was Lord ment Center, Small Business Cont’d from page 16 Dr Naram said, 'It is not impor- Buddha's physician. His name was Majority, Asian Health Coalicover how to effectively run your tion, Center for Medicaid and tant what we think is possible, or Lord Jivaka. "Although before business smoothly and how to Medicare, National Poverty Law, what anyone thinks is possible. known only to a relatively few, my incite growth through executive Building Bridges Consulting, My master taught me that when master mentioned that in modern decision making.

Chicagoland Habitat for Human- people have a burning desire, and time, my responsibility or my misThe Summit features panel dis- ity, Ralph Schwab & Schiever Char- this burning desire inspires lots of sion in this life should be to help cussions and keynote presenta- tered, Chicago Board of Election discipline, lots of patience, lots of every home and every person. tions from experienced leaders with Commissioner, and Blind Founda- hope - then Ancient secrets can That is why we created the Dr the content focused on Economic tion for India", Ms. Nazneen help them find the way to achieve Pankaj Naram Seva Foundation.

Growth: Opportunities & Options Begum, Founder and President, of many things that before seemed To help protect, preserve and disseminate the precious ancient impossible.'"

Ahead for Business Owners, En- SBCS, observed.

Dr Giovanni added, "It was one knowledge from these ancient of the most transformative experi- scriptures. Unless attempts are ences of my life. I now realize that made to preserve this we face its as doctors we have a responsibil- total loss and that would be a diity. When we see cases that we do saster."

Dr Pankaj Naram regularly travfood, Britannia is a household know the spellers and their fami- not know how to solve the most honest thing we can say is, "I do els from city to city, helping people name among South Asian consum- lies through this wonderful jourers. This unique platform will help ney," said Tim Tan, Managing Di- not know if it is possible.' And in and spreading knowledge of these that way, perhaps we will get away ancient secrets. In July he will Britannia to reach out to Gen Z & rector Kawan Food. showcase some of its popular "Year over year, the MetLife South from ego and be ready to learn again be in many cities of the US, where people are discovering brands like "Milk Bikis" and the Asian Spelling Bee has made for great more.

Discovering what Dr Pankaj what is possible. To discover how new introduction, "Milk Bikis programming that gels with our ethos Creams" which are perfectly suited of compete family entertainment. We Naram has taught me from these you can become part of the solufor the budding spellers. are all about family values and en- ancient scriptures has helped me tion, in helping make this world a "Kawan is proud to return as a courage platforms such as these that to see that many things are pos- healthier, happier place to live, you write to sponsor and we have tremendous highlight the talent of our commu- sible which I never before knew." can Dr Naram said that his master questions@drnaram.com, or you faith in contributing towards cru- nity," said Jaideep Janakiram, Head cial family time for the community. of North America, Sony Entertain- lived to 125, and his master's mas- can call 1-888-817-3481 ter lived to 145, all the way to the We look forward to getting to ment Television-Asia.

Small Business/CEO Summit in Chicago CHICAGO: The Small Business/Ceo Summit is one of the largest business summits of its kind!

It will be held at McCormick Place, in downtown Chicago on July 12 from 9am to 5pm. The summit will be presented by Raj Tech Solution Inc, and it will be attended by Illinois area small businesses from various immigrant communities. It will focus on networking, learning about best practices in the business world, and available resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

SBCS aims to help small businesses start, improve, and/or expand their businesses. It will provide assistance to minority women in exploring their strengths and establishing their businesses in the United States. SBCS will help nurture non-profit organizations through Successful Strategies and help small businesses in understanding the concepts of the

LA & Bay Area Spell Bee winners announced Cont’d from page 17

As always, SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries.

Britannia is extremely happy and excited to continue its association with this platform as a presenting sponsor. With its 120+ years of golden heritage of making healthy, fresh & delicious

56 year old woman has baby after menopause, thanks to Dr Naram

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Royal King wins first International Kabaddi Cup

Kabbadi tournament hosted by Punjab Sports Club - members guests and participants Asian Media USA

CHICAGO IL: Midwest First International Kabaddi Cup tournament hosted by the Punjab Sports Club of Milwaukee was held on Sunday, June 5 at Gurudwara in Oak Creek. It turned out to be a big festival of fun, food and sports.

Despite vagaries of weather, fans not only from Chicagoland area but from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Canada, California and Wisconsin came in large numbers to enjoy this sports festival.

The first match was between Canada east and Canada west and Canada west won. 2nd match

owner of Cafe India restaurant, 3rd prize $7500 sponsored by Baldev Singh Bolla and 4th $6000 prize was sponsored by Gurudwara Singh Sabha Silvis Illinois.

The Gurudwara celebrated the Mela of Sant Baba Prem Singh Ji Murale Wale; 66th Barsi Smagam with Kirtan Darbar, Katha, Langar and open stalls and rides for kids.

Over 1000 devotees enjoyed Mela and watched Midwest First International Kabaddi Cup tournament.

Special thanks were offered to Sikh temple of Wisconsin committee for their help and Bikramjit Singh Sekhon (president of Sikh temple of Wisconsin) and Jasjit Singh Sidhu.

Organizing members were Navpreet Singh Multani (Navi),

Kanwarvir Singh (Kavi), Kulwinder Singh (Mintu)and Sandeep Singh (Sunny).

Executive members are Sukhwinder Singh Ghagar, Jaswinder Singh Jassi, Manjit Singh Owner of Bollywood Grill restaurant, Parmjit Singh Sidhu, Rupinder Arora, Paul Bhatia, Sukhjinder Singh, Mandeep Kler, Rakesh Rehan and Charnjit Bolla.

There was lot of free food for the spectators who enjoyed Jalebi and Pakoras along with Chana masala, Chole, Paratha, Halwa, Dal Makhani, Lassi, and Tea. India Garden restaurant catered sweets and food. The food was free and there was no entry fee. Women also came to see the festival in large numbers.

Royal King USA Vs Midwest USA and Royal King USA won. 1st semi final match Canada west Vs Midwest USA and Midwest USA won. 2nd semifinal match Royal King USA Vs Canada east and Royal King USA won. Playing for 3rd and 4th place match Canada east VS Canada west; Canada west won 3rd place.

Canada east got 4th place. In the Final match Royal King USA Vs Midwest USA. Royal King USA won 1st place and Midwest USA won 2nd place.

1st prize $12000 was sponsored by Sukhwinder Singh Ghagar family, 2nd prize $10000 sponsored by Rakesh Rehan, Kabbadi game in progress

WomenNow presents 'Spring India Day'

Final match between Royal King USA and Midwest USA. Royal King USA won 1st place

Cont’d from page 18

All of them got stupendous response and were glad to be a part of such a marvelous experience of India in America.

Air India gave away free two tickets to India as a prize. Zee TV (& TV) also had a lucky draw contest where they gave a beau-

tifully decorated bicycle. Also there were raffles, photo booths, fashion shows with themes Tribal and Fusion and so much more.

WomenNow attempts to bring a slice of India by such events that rekindle bonds with family and educate the new generations about their heredity and identity.

Spring India Day was conceptualized by Ena Sarkar, CEO of WomenNow, as she is passionate about India and bridging India with USA culturally. Her dream is to make India more available to the Diaspora in the Bay area. She wishes to inspire the community to come together and celebrate India with WomenNow.

Final match between Royal King USA and Midwest USA. Midwest USA won 2nd place

June 17, 2016

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Telangana CM may attend Convention in Chicago KEERTHI RAVOORI

CHICAGO: American Telugu Association [ATA] is gearing up to host one of the most anticipated ATA Conventions in Chicago from July 1 to 3 at the Rosemont Convention Center in Rosemont, a northwest suburb of Chicago. It is drawing huge support from Indian community as well attracting celebrities, dignitaries and VIPs. There is huge likelihood of Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu joining the legion of elected officials from the State of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to attend the convention, thus making it one of the largest and most anticipated conventions that seeks to unveil the beauty, essence and spirit of Telugu cultural heritage.

The spirit and enthusiasm of the ATA Convention is escalating with palpable excitement among the large Telugu diaspora looking forward to the historic silver jubilee celebrations. ATA leaders are making concerted efforts to make this 3-day convention a historic,

ATA Team hosting epic July Convention

wholesome family event on an unprecedented scale to showcase Telugu culture, art, music, dance, literary, religion, social economic, health and political forums surpassed only by great gourmet food, fashion shows, contemporary cinematic music and colorful dance presentations. The convention will also feature spiritual discourses. For the youth ATA is organizing youth-centric activities including a cruise on Lake Michigan.

At the planning meeting held at Tamarind Restaurant in Aurora on June 12, the ATA team of leaders sat together to review all the

convention arrangements, contracts and logistics to coordinate a huge number of volunteers.

Sudhakar Perkari, ATA President

and key ATA Trustees and Board members are working in close conjunction with the convention team leaders and Chairs.

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Govt involvement alleged in Bangla killings PRASAD YALAMANCHI

CHICAGO: Dr. Richard L. Benkin, human rights activist who is fighting to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, recently returned after several weeks in South Asia, from large cities to remote villages to areas along India's border.

His findings reveal that the cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh is a systematic affair and the Bangladesh Government is allegedly involved in this heinous task. His major findings were:

stani human rights violations against these peoples, whose independence pre-dates Pakistan itself and in many cases was suppressed by British occupiers.

• Pakistan could be using aid and materiel provided by the United States to suppress its own Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi citizens, instead of using it to fight terrorism as intended • ISIS is firmly established in India's neighboring countries where it is carrying out violent acts

Dr Richard Benkin

• Bangladesh's governmentcomplicity ethnic cleansing of Hindus, which has reduced that population from almost a third to less than eight percent in East Bengal, continues in force.

• It has spilled over into West Bengal, India.

• He is working with three groups struggling for their national independence from Pakistani occupation. Two are Sunni Muslim (Baloch and Pashtun); one is Sindhi. Benkin has set up a pipeline to receive evidence of Paki-

against foreigners, minorities, and anyone else it considers an enemy of its radical agenda.

• ISIS has now established a beachhead in India, which Benkin has seen and continues to have investigated. It is located near other Islamist offices, with which it could be coordinating efforts.

Benkin finds bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill In his bid to enlighten US lawmakers Dr Richard Benkin, recently engaged Senators, Members of Congress, and their staff

in a trip to Washington on May 24.

He pitched for their support to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, and now also to stop human rights violations against the Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi communities by Pakistan; There is a growing concern with Pakistan's misuse of US largesse; • Evidence is being gathered to show that US aid materiel is being used to commit human rights violations against the Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi.

• Benkin found a growing awareness on Capitol Hill that Bangladesh is not a moderate Muslim nation; rather a hotbed of radicalism.

• The ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh is made worse

by Bangladesh's tolerance for Islamists and its complicity in their crimes.

During his meetings, Benkin discussed specific strategies and legal issues that will enable us to address these issues and be effective in stopping the atrocities.

Dr Richard L. Benkin is the author or A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus, now in its second printing; and has been going to South Asia for ten years, gathering and verifying data on human rights atrocities against Hindus; on the spread of radicalism there; its threat to us; and what we can do to stop it.

He has made himself available for interviews and press confer-

ences where he will bring additional evidence of these human rights violations.

Concern at continuing murders Madhu Patel adds: Members of Indian American community across the country are deeply concerned at continuing violence and murders of Hindus in Bangladesh; as a second Hindu citizen was killed in a week in Bangladesh; which was the fifth such brutal murder in recent

was hacked to death in his shop in April. In February, another Hindu priest at a temple was stabbed to death and a devotee, who came to his aid, was shot and Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism said that it was shocking to observe the hard-working, harmonious and peaceful Bangladesh Hindu community (who made up about 8-9% of the country's population) receiving such signals of hatred and intimidation

Dr Richard L. Benkin is the author or A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus, now in its second printing; and has been going to South Asia for ten years, gathering and verifying data on human rights atrocities against Hindus; on the spread of radicalism there; its threat to us; and what we can do to stop it. months.

A Hindu ashram worker in his early 60s was hacked to death in Pabna district in north-western Bangladesh on June 10 while on his morning walk. His body was later found lying in a pool of blood, reports suggest.

According to reports, on June 7, a 69-year-old Hindu priest was found decapitated in a rice field in Noldanga village in western Jhenaidah district. A Hindu shop owner was hacked to death outside his store in a northern district late last month, and a Hindu tailor

President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of People's Republic of Bangladesh are urged to take this issue seriously and urgently and launch swift action to put an end to such crimes resulting in systematic brutal murders of Hindus.

Adequate security measures should be put in place to protect the Bangladesh Hindu population and both Hamid and Hasina should immediately meet the Hindu community in various regions of the country to reassure them.

What it takes to be an effective citizen

I

t's so easy in a presidential elements. election year to forget that First, a confident belief that our system is not about a change is possible - that the counsingle person. This year espe- try can indeed make progress over cially, when the dynamics of the time thanks to the efforts both of presidential contest have domi- ordinary people and of political nated news leaders. Yes, coverage so we've got miles thoroughly, to go on many the crucial fronts, but on role that citithe whole, our zens play system is workapart from ing better for serving as more people voters in the than it did a few presidential decades ago. drama - isn't The people even an afterwho helped thought. make this hapYet effecpen understood Lee H. Hamilton tive citizentwo things: that ship is the base on which our progress was possible, and that it representative democracy rests. required their efforts. Those who I believe it's made up of several were most effective had an impact

LEE H. HAMILTON

because they had the skills to make a difference.

I'm talking here about the fundamental ability we should all have as citizens to solve problems in a representative democracy. This means knowing how to work together with all kinds of people, being able to find common ground, building consensus, and communicating ideas effectively.

I use the word "skills," but in the end, good citizenship is as much about temperament as it is about ability. Mutual respect, tolerance, empathy, civility, humility, honesty, resolve - these are the simple virtues that our nation depends on in its citizens.

So is a willingness to step up to challenges. The people who make a difference in our system are the ones who not only identify a problem, but then plunge into

fixing it.

There's a final quality that makes for effective citizenship, and it's a tough one: mostly, we're not going to solve our challenges in a single generation. So we have to educate our children and those who come after us in the skill sets I've been talking about.

shepherd it into the future, and then teach those skills to others, our country and our system will struggle.

Lee Hamilton is a Senior Advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government; a Distinguished Scholar, IU School of Global

Good citizenship is as much about temperament as it is about ability. Mutual respect, tolerance, empathy, civility, humility, honesty, resolve - these are the simple virtues that our nation depends on in its citizens.

That's because all of us - you, me, and our fellow citizens - are responsible for the future of our neighborhoods and our nation.

Unless we all shoulder the obligation to learn the skills we need to

and International Studies; and a Professor of Practice, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.

Community Across America

June 17, 2016

India Post 23

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Enjoyable Gunvanti Gujarat & Lok Geet program JAYANTI OZA

ITASCA: Bhartiya Senior Citizens of Chicago, Gujarati Samaj of Chicago and Kadva Patidar of Chicago organized "Gunvanti Gujarat," Gujarati Lok Sangeet and Jajarman Jalso program on June 3 at Midwest Swaminarayan Temple, Itasca, a northwest suburb of Chicago.

More than 500 people and their guests enjoyed this beautiful program. All the three organizations conducted a Lamp Lighting ceremony with sponsors Chhotubhai Patel, Jayantibhai Patel, Jasbir Suga (Suga Builder), Mithabhai Patel, Mafatbhai Patel ,Rajesh Desai (KPS President), Jatin Patel, Haribhai Patel (BSC President) and Suryakant Patel (GSC President) Dilip Rawal flew from India and was the Master of Ceremony.

Bhavna Modi welcomed every one. Rawal handled whole program pretty well from beginning to end.

In the Lamp Lighting (L to R) Chhotubhai Patel, Jayantibhai Patel, Jashbir Suga, Mithabhai Patel, Mafatbhai Patel (Air Tour), Rajesh Desai ( KPS President), Jatin Patel , Haribhai Patel ( BSC President), Suryakant Patel (GSC President)

Meghani poems and Gujarati Qawali in their own style.

Members and invited guests sat till the end - 1 am - very engrossed and enjoying the entire program. All the three organization presidents - Haribhai Patel, Suryakant Patel, Rajesh Dosai thanked the sponsors and the patrons who lent their support thru advertisements. They were State farm , Care for Soul , Macco , Century 21, New York Life, Jasbir Suga (Suga Builder), Anisha Creations, Air Tour , Remax, Sahara Elderly Care, Mast Masala Indian Cuisine, Shree Restaurant & Banquet, 1st Advantage Mortgage, Willow Lake Pharmacy, Ashton Place and World Money Exchange.

Madhuri Goswami sang Avinas Vyas written Gujarat folk songs, Suny Jhadhav and Kalpesh Kharva sang Zawerch and

Faith leaders condemn Orlando massacre India Post News Service

NEVADA: A multi-faith gathering containing leaders of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha'i, Muslim, Native American and Atheist traditions in Reno (Nevada) strongly condemned the Orlando (Florida) night club massacre which killed 50 and injured 53.

Rajan Zed, president of Univer-

observed in which audience of about 150 people and faith leaders stayed standing for the Orlando shooting victims and their families. A lamp was also lighted by various religious leaders on the occasion.

Besides Zed, various leaders who participated in this event included Dawn M. Flower, Senior Pastor of South Reno United Methodist Church; Abdul Rahim

Leaders of diverse faith traditions who participated.

Pic George A. Anastassatos

sal Society of Hinduism, had organized this gathering in South Reno United Methodist Church to discuss God, read on the occasion "We, the faith leaders of Nevada, unanimously condemn any and all acts of violence against innocent people" and gathered faith leaders repeated it after him while standing."We, as people of faith, despite our different belief systems, must take a stand against violence by coming together with kindness and love", they said.

A moment of silence was also

Barghouthi, Acting Imam of Northern Nevada Muslim Community; Matthew T. Fisher, Resident Priest of Reno Buddhist Center; ElizaBeth Webb Beyer, Rabbi of Temple Beth Or & North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation; Gene Savoy Junior, Bishop of International Community of Christ; Justin V. Deverse, Baha'i Teacher; Brian E. Melendez, American Indian Spirituality Scholar; Bernard T. Drumm, Atheist leader; Kenneth G. Lucey, Religion Professor at University of Nevada.

Members and guests enjoying the "Gunvanti Gujarat

MC Dilip Raval, Singers Suny Jadav, Madhuri Goswami, Kalpesh Kharva rendering Gujarati Lok Geets

Participants performing Gujarati Garba at the end

24 India Post

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NY Metropolitan Museum to exhibit Lord Krishna NEELA PANDYA

NEW YORK: The Metropolitan Museum helps the gopis quieten the Yamuna River, of Art in New York (MET), one of the world's Krishna and Radha, etc. largest and finest art museums, is exhibiLord Painted on paper in opaque watercolor Krishna holding Mount Goverdhanting vari- and ink, they are often heightened with gold ous Hindu deities in its "Divine Pleasures" and silver, MET informs. Organized by exhibition from June 14 MET's Navina Haidar to September 12. and Courtney MET claims that Stewart, many of the nearly 100 masterful paintings to be paintings, created shown have reportmainly between the edly never before been 16th and the early 19th exhibited publicly. century for the royal Collections of courts of Rajasthan MET, founded 1870 and the Punjab Hills in and whose mission northern India, are includes "to connect "meant to move the people to creativity, Lord Krishna holding Mount Goverdhan soul and delight the knowledge, and eye" and the "power and magic of the im- ideas"; include over two million works of ages transcends the subjects they portray". art spanning 5,000 years of world culture, Exhibits include Rama and Sita where a from prehistory to the present and from evthorn is removed from Rama's foot, Krishna ery part of the globe. It has the largest asand the gopis take shelter from rain, Shiva semblage of musical instruments outside and Parvati playing chaupar, Krishna hold- Europe and its Costume Institute's collecing Mount Goverdhan, King Dasratha pro- tion is over 35,000.It also undertakes travelceeding to Rama's wedding, Rama pardon- ing exhibitions, conservation, excavations, ing two demon spies, Devi Bhadrakali etc. adored by the gods, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana Thomas P. Campbell, Daniel H. Weiss at the hermitage of Bharadvaja, gopis plead- and Daniel Brodsky are Director, President ing to Krishna, Devi Bhairavi with Shiva, and Trustees Chairman of the Museum redeath of King Dasratha, Sage Durvasa spectively.

June 17, 2016

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Telugu star Balakrishna celebrates birthday in US

India Post News Service

MILPITAS, CA: Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna celebrated his birthday in the USA with fans. The hero delighted the fans with his latest makeover for his 100th film. The event was

P

eople who have not understood Bhagavat Gita (God's song) dub it as a bundle of karma theory. Some may go to the extent of blaming it for all their failures, relating it to fatality. Such misconceptions are due to lack of understanding of the word karma.

Before we analyze this word karma, let us understand the difference between karma, akarma and vikarma (action, non-action and prohibited action).These are not watertight compartments.

The intricacies are difficult to understand. "Karmano hy api bhodhayam…" The demarcation is very thin and it may be difficult to identify action from non action and prohibited action.

No living thing, not necessarily the human beings alone, can remain idle for long. "Nahi kascit ksanamapi…". Abstaining from work is no solution to escape from working. It is also said that remaining idle is also a form of performance though not an ideal one. The Lord of the universe says that He has no wants and that there is nothing that He requires in this world but still He keeps working, so that a good example is set. Therefore, action is must, but the result may depend on various concomitant

organized by Bhakta Bhalla at India Community Center, Milpitas on June 10. The event was free to public and was attended by over 2000 fans of Balakrishna.

Nandamuri Balakrishna has taken up the opportunity to raise

funds for the Basavatarakam Cancer Hospital to help the poor. He hosted lunch for his birthday for the noble cause.

The fans in the US felt happy to see the veteran hero in the makeover for his 100th film.

Gautamiputra Satakarni is the

title for his 100th movie. The makers of his upcoming most prestigious movie "Gautamiputra Satakarni" released the first look poster of the movie, which portray Balayya as a warrior, is grabbing several eyeballs. Tipped to be

made on a lavish budget, the film will narrate the story of an unsung ruler from Satavahana dynasty. Rock star Devi Sri Prasad is working on the music of this historical drama. Earlier Devi had given a super hit album for "Legend".

Karma is dynamic and positive GURUPADANANDA

factors which drive us to working.

I am not referring to the famous verse "karmny evadikaras te…" which is normally understood by many as we have no claim on fruits of the action. This may not be correct. There is nothing wrong in expecting good result from good work. It only cautions us from anticipating too much from too little and suffer from disappointment.

Action and result are not like tossing a stone, which is bound to fall immediately. Results of action may fructify later. It is also substantiated by the last verse in the Gita, "yatra yogesvrah krsna…" meaning where there is profound knowledge and unmatched skill victory is certain; a universal truth. The sum total of the teaching is that we should work realising the work itself (the domain knowledge) and execute it with a positive mind so that the results are positive. It does not however mean that we should only concentrate on fruitive actions. It has to be applied across the board.

"Niyatam kuru karma…" Ordained duties have to be performed; no matter what they are.

No fruits should be expected from performing destined duties unlike the government servants of India who create a cobweb of negative nests around the office. We should remember that in the long run nobody can escape from doing the destined duties. Non action is no alternative to action.

Abandonment of prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is not renunciation; it is running away from responsibility. By non per-

Abandonment of prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is not renunciation forming if anybody hopes to preserve the energy and this body from ageing, it is only illusion. Life is the symptom of death and none can escape this; so that it is better to perform the ordained duties.

The origin of all actions are the consequences of five causes; the

seat of action (body), the force behind the action (god), the instruments of action (the various sense organs), the soul and the super soul. Further the action itself is controlled by the three modes of nature (sattwa, rajas and tamas) and the doer has a limited role to play.

If this is accepted how can we claim or blame a person for the actions? Well, these are the causes and circumstances that govern the course of the action but a medium is required to perform, that medium is the individual. Thus, a person is also responsible for the action to that extent, since he is the visible element in the performance of action it is stated to be focused on him. To conclude, every individual has to perform (Just Do It) without raising any inherent claim on the fruits of action and should be contended with the results flowing therefrom.

As regards vikarma, it is action forbidden by the law of the land, or against the accepted principles of the society in which he is living or against the tenets of Dharma sastra. Results of vikarma are too

obvious to need any mention. A person may avoid the long arm of the law for the time being or he may escape from the watchful eyes of society. These are all temporary. He is bound to suffer for his actions which are forbidden sooner than expected.

Therefore, nobody can claim that he is being punished for the performance of his duty. There is no action against the law which can be claimed as destined work.

Performance of vikarma cannot brush the karma theory with a negative color. It is positive and dynamic.

From the spiritual point of view only actions performed for God's sake (non selfish activity) can deliver a person from the entanglement of material existence. Such a person is free from the bonds of karma and does not enjoy or suffer from the effects of work.

Gurupadananda is on a visit to USA. The article is based on a presentation on "Bhagavat Gita for us" and published by the president of Kumaraswamy Temple. Bangalore.

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Remembering Veer Savarkar - A great freedom fighter SRIRANG GODBOLE, MD

first NDA government Swatantrya Jyot was dedicated to the nation.

In the era of UPA government the then Petroleum Minister, Mani

Port Blair jail in at Andamans

I

am delighted that I was given an opportunity to sing two of Veer Savarkarji's compositions at Cellular Jail Port Blair on 28 May (Veer Savarkar Jayanti).

Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a great freedom fighter, was imprisoned at Cellular Jail for life by the Britishers. To salute these Veer Senanis in the era of

Veer Savarkar in jail

Savarkar Jyot

Shankar Iyer tried to put an end to this by removing the kaavyapanktis written on swantantya Jyot thus damaging and showing disrespect for the freedom fighters of our nation.

On May 28, the same monument was re-dedicated to the nation. On this auspicious and historic occasion I was invited to sing two of the Veer Savarkarji's composition which he had written in the same Cellular Jail at Port Blair in the presence of ministers and government dignitaries.

Srirang Godbole MD is an Endocrinologist in Pune, India

June 17, 2016

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India Post 27

TOP TEN HINDI FILM SONGS

1 Kar Gayi Chull : Kapoor & Sons 2 Sab Tera: Baaghi 3 High Heels Te Nachche: Ki & Ka 28 India Post

www.indiapost.com

June 17, 2016

4 Jabra Fan: Fan 5 Bol Do Na Zara: Azhar 6 Ji Huzoori : + Ki & Ka 7 Bolna: Kapoor & Sons 8 Most Wanted Munda : Ki & Ka 9 Let's Talk About Love : Baaghi 10 Buddhu Sa Mann : Kapoor & Sons

A

fter keeping mum for over two years, Sussanne Khan has finally opened up about her divorce with Hrithik Roshan.

In an interview with Femina magazine, the 37-year-old Interior designer said, "We had reached a stage in our lives where I decided that it's better we weren't together. It was important to be aware and not be in a false relationship."

Adding on to this, she said that though they don't hang out together anymore, they are in constant touch with each other and are very committed towards their kids.

"We are respectful towards each other. When children are involved, it's important to put our differences aside and protect them," Sussanne said. The two announced split back in 2014. Some reports claimed Sussanne's closeness to Arjun Rampal as the reason behind the couple's split, while others blamed it on Hrithik's closeness to Kangana Ranaut.

She said that though they don't hang out together anymore, they are in constant touch

P

arineeti Chopra who recently made headlines for her stunning metamorphosis and later when she was roped in for the film Meri Pyaari Bindu, will soon be making her debut down south. In fact, we hear that Parineeti Chopra is all set to make her Tollywood debut with a film that will be directed by the Ghajini director A R Murugadoss.

The said film, which will feature the actress sharing screen space with Mahesh Babu, will be a bilingual project shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. Apart from this, it is being said that the untitled film will be one of the costliest, with an estimated budget of Rs. 90 cr.

Director-turned-actor S J Suryah will be essaying the role of the villain while Santosh Sivan will be wielding the camera and Harris Jayraj will be developing the film's music.

H

e is riding high on critical acclaim and box office success with his recent films but actor Akshay Kumar says there was a time when people used to call him a "furniture" based on his performances.

Earlier this year, the actor was praised for his role in Airlift as a businessman who carries out the evacuation of Indians based in Kuwait during an invasion crisis.

The 48-year-old Baby star then acted in a comic role in the recently released Housefull 3.

When asked about how he strikes a balance between diverse roles, Akshay told reporters, "I like the scripts, I just go ahead with it. Anybody can do it. When I came in the industry I was called a furniture when I used to act. So if I can do it, anyone can do it."

The actor was speaking at the success party of Housefull 3.

June 17, 2016

Bollywood

India Post 29

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T

he term shelf life is often misused according to Nimrat Kaur. The Lunch box actress feels the phrase is relevant to packaged food products and is not meant for artistes.

Age according to her is just a number and it shouldn't define a person's acting skills.

She also believes an artiste can portray any character, irrespective of her age and age cannot be a barrier for sure. Talking about acting she says actors usually live their on-stage character and this only enhances their performance, making it interesting. In a recent interview with a daily Kaur said that acting is refined with age.

The actress is currently shooting in Canada for M Night Shyamalan's Wayward Pines.

S

onam Kapoor who recently celebrated her birthday is going through a purple patch in her ca reer. She followed up the success of 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' with 'Neerja' which catapulted the actor to the next level. Rumors suggested that she has started preparation for Rhea Kapoor's next production, alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan.

But Sonam has denied the news. Talking to a daily she said, "I have to find the right script. This will be my ninth year in the film industry, and I have done 12 movies. So, look at my average number of films. I have had two back-to-back releases. That's a lot for me. If I am doing a project, it has to say something and make a difference."

A

fter belting out musical hits for previous films, the actress is now learning to play a guitar for Mohit Suri's upcoming ro mance-drama. After crooning 'Galliyan' in Ek Villain, 'Do Jahaan' in Haider, 'Bezubaan Phir Se' in ABCD 2 and 'Sab Tera' in Baaghi, Shraddha Kapoor is set to add to her musical repertoire.

After recording half a dozen songs for her upcoming musicaldrama Rock On 2 alongside Farhan Akhtar, the actress has got herself a guitar tutor for Mohit Suri's upcoming romance-drama, Half Girlfriend, also featuring Arjun Kapoor, which has just kicked off in Delhi and moves to New York next month.

The film is an adaptation of a Chetan Bhagat best-seller and both the actors have been learning basketball.

But along with training in the sport, Shraddha is also pulling some strings.

"I love music and musical instruments fascinate me.The guitar isn't a big part of the film but I had to learn the chords of the songs I would be playing," adds the 26-year-old-actress.

S

hahid Kapoor, who has been praised for his performances in Vishal Bhardwaj's films including 'Haider', says that the filmmaker is his Martin Scorsese. Directed by Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, upcoming film 'Rangoon' features Shahid along with Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut. Asked how did it feel to work with Bhardwaj again, Shahid said: "It's an amazing opportunity to work with Vishal sir who I think is my Martin Scorsese. He has cast me for the third time so, it's very cool. It's a really different film. I think it's a mainstream film and it's always a pleasure to work with Vishal sir."

Shahid's brother Ishaan is expected to make his Bollywood debut. Asked about his brother's Bollywood plans, Shahid said: "He will be doing something at some point. What he is doing and what not, is not my jurisdiction. Let him talk."

Realty Tidbits

Biggest masterplanned city in Bengaluru BENGALURU: Real estate developer Embassy Group has announced the launch of Embassy Springs project here claiming it is South India's "biggest master planned city."

Spread over 300 acres in North Bengaluru, Embassy Springs comprises 188 acres of plots, 41 acres of apartments, 22 acres of villas and row houses, 20 acres of club and schools and 35 acres of commercial and retail space, it said in a statement.

It further said Embassy Springs is located eight km from the international Airport and is set close to the upcoming IFCI Financial City and KSIIDC Devanahalli Business Park, where real estate prices are expected to appreciate significantly.

"The launch of Embassy Springs further reinforces our continued focus on creating a large residential portfolio with a strong focus on the North Bengaluru corridor," Embassy Group Chairman and MD Jitu Virwani said.

Bengaluru has increasingly become an attractive investment destination nationally and internationally and has pipped the NCR to become the second most preferred investment destination for investors after Mumbai, it added.

-PTI

Uttarakhand to reduce land circle rates DEHRADUN: With an eye on the Assembly polls due next year, the Congress government in Uttarakhand has decided to reduce land circle rates in urban and peri-urban areas by around 50 per cent.

At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Harish Rawat, the state cabinet gave its nod to a proposal recommending about 50 per cent reduction in land circle rates, revising its own decision taken in January this year, an official release said.

The state government had effected an increase of 10-30 per cent in land circle rates in January this year, drawing flak from a number of quarters and opposition BJP, which has since been demanding revision of circle rates to bring relief to the common man.

Circle rate is the minimum value fixed for land, house and other real estate transactions.

Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh said it will give relief not only to the common man but also to builders and realtors. -PTI

Real Estate 30 India Post

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June 17, 2016

Developers unsure of site's future after council nixes plan IOWA CITY, IOWA: Developers are weighing their options after the Iowa City Council rejected a request to support plans for a 14-story housing high-rise downtown.

The council voted 4-3 against a request from architect Kevin Monson to invest $72,000 - $1,000 for each of the proposed 72 apartment units - and support state tax credits to build the high-rise, the Press-Citizen reported.

Monson had said the residential units would have catered to young professionals, and the building would have had retail space in the lower levels.

Cont’d on page 31

Fielding at Wallis Ranch to show stunning model homes India Post News Service

DUBLIN, CA: Trumark Homes has invited everyone to "Mark your calendar and get ready for a celebration you won't want to miss!" The invitation for Saturday, June 25, is for the Model Grand Opening of Fielding at Wallis Ranch, a new neighborhood by Trumark Homes coming to Dublin.

In a press release, Trumark Homes says, "Come out from 11:00am to 3:00pm to explore stunning model homes, enjoy music, treats, refreshments and a bean bag toss game. With two-story single-family home options, unique open floor plans, 10-foothigh ceilings, picturesque outdoor spaces and convenient amenities all around, Fielding ensures these homes are always your style. So visit the sales office today for more information and see why Fielding embraces personal spaces for living and growing.

"New single-family homes at Fielding invite you to break away from it all and experience life like never before. Four impressive two-story floor plans with op-

tional bedrooms and lofts provide the space you need, offering designs that range from 1,809 to 2,685 square feet and feature up to five bedrooms and three baths. For private outdoor living, select plans offer optional covered patios,

host of exceptional features and amenities. Gourmet kitchens become culinary retreats with premium Whirlpool® stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and striking shaker-style cabinetry. Great rooms, with over-

while two-car garages, inviting interiors and flexible designs provide the utmost convenience and comfort. Fielding is priced from the high $900,000s.

Perfectly suited for familyfriendly living, Fielding offers a

sized windows, make space for quiet nights at home or entertaining with family and friends. Plus, additional features include a tankless water heater, ample prewiring throughout and electric vehicle conduits in each garage.

In the heart of Dublin, Wallis Ranch is an exceptional masterplanned community with eight neighborhoods and sought-after amenities that create a unique opportunity. Where trees line the streets and community means family, 806 new homes will reflect old dreams and new ideas, spanning from 1,514 to 4,317 square feet with two to six bedrooms and two-and-one-half to five baths.

From attached townhome-style condominium and courtyardstyle homes to single-family residences, each collection will be connected to the land and the people who live on it.

Plus, a sought-after Bay Area location means exceptional conveniences, excellent schools and a short commute to jobs, businesses and recreation.

The entrance to the event will be at the corner of Tassajara Road and The Quarry Lane School/ Rutherford Drive. Wallis Ranch is located at 4201 Wallis Ranch Drive, Dublin, California 94568. To learn more, please visit LiveFielding.com or call (408) 2096306 or (408) 515-3229 for more.

33 Singaporeans protest Chennai land deals SINGAPORE: Thirty-three Singaporeans of Indian origin are crying foul over SGD 780,000 investment in undeveloped land in Chennai, according to media reports.

The investors were drawn by visions of gleaming villas, upcoming infrastructure and returns of more than 100 per cent investment made between 2007 and 2011.

But now they are crying foul at Singapore-registered KMGM International which sold them the land. They own land of questionable value, which is hard to sell as it has not been developed and has hardly risen in value, reported The Sunday Times.

The investors want to sell the land back to KMGM. About 20 of them staged a walk-in on May 5 to confront

KMGM director S Gulam at the firm's premises here, demanding assurances that they could sell back their land.

Gulam was not there, but assured them by telephone that he

would be handled through his lawyers at Advaitha Law Corporation, according to the Singapore weekly.

Advaitha director G B Vasudeven told The Sunday

would meet them on May 16. But, on May 13, the investors received letters saying that the matter

Times that his client was ready to obtain valuations for each of the investors' land parcels, but de-

clined to disclose any further course of action.

He added that he has written to the 33 to say that if they try to enter KMGM's offices again, they will be reported to the police as trespassers.

20 investors have since gone on to make police reports against KMGM. The group of 33 had bought 45 plots of land, each a few thousand sq ft in size, in Chennai.

Mostly in their 50s and 60s, the investors said they trusted KMGM because it is a Singaporean firm and its directors, lawyer R Kalamohan and Gulam, a former journalist, are well-regarded members of the Indian community.

Cont’d on page 31

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June 17, 2016

India Post 31

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Sikh real-estate developer shot dead TORONTO: A 56-year-old prominent Sikh real estate developer has been shot dead in broad daylight in Canada's Richmond city in what authorities are describing as a "brazen" target killing.

Amarjit Singh Sandhu was shot in the parking lot of a shopping centre in Richmond, British Columbia, as shoppers and restaurant diners witnessed the shooting.

Sandhu died in hospital after broad daylight shooting that left his truck riddled with bullets.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called following reports that a man had been shot at the parking lot.

Police found the man suffering from gunshot wounds and reported several bullet holes in the driver's side door of the black pickup truck.

"The act of homicide is one that is selfish and cold," Staff Sergeant Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was quoted as saying by

People at the gurdwara registering to vote in the election said Sandhu was at the gurdwara before he went to Richmond and was gunned down. A witness was quoted as saying that Sandhu was killed while standing next to his black truck.

No one else was injured in the incident.

It was a targeted attack, police said in a statement.

CBC News.

Police released a vague description of a man wanted in connection with the murder of Sandhu.

33 Singaporeans protest Chennai land deals Cont’d from page 30

Retired navy officer Anandam Thomas, 62, bought two plots of land for about SGD 41,470 in 2008.

"My father was from India, and I wanted a little piece of India for myself," he said. . After payment, he and the other buyers were flown to Chennai to see the land and receive their sale deeds.

Last year and in April this year, he went back on his own to check and found the land was still undeveloped and occupied by squatters.

He said after his attempts to sell the land back to KMGM failed, he decided to gather fellow investors in the same situation.

Gulam, 54, told The Sunday Times by telephone that he was

not out to cheat anyone and meant to help the investors sell the land.

However, he said it was impossible to sell it at a profit right now because the Indian rupee had fallen drastically in the last few years and the property market was in a slump.

He said: "When you invest overseas, you must take a risk.

"If you buy a house now and the price goes down, can you tell the developer you want your money back?" Gulam was quoted as saying.

Kalamohan, 68, who left KMGM in 2014, said: "There was nothing more to sell and I was of no use to the company, so I thought it was time to leave."

He added that there was noth-

Developers unsure of site's future after council nixes plan Cont’d from page 30

The development on South Linn Street would have stood on the lot left vacant when the Van Patten House burned down in 2011.

Council members who voted against the measure said they had concerns that the apartments weren't affordable and that the developers wanted an exemption to a requirement for on-site parking.

Developers said rent for lowerlevel studio apartments would have started at just less than $800, and would jump to as much as $1,250 for the lower-level one-bedroom apartments. Those rents would rise on the higher levels.

Given the size of the lot, Monson said he was not able to provide on-site parking and had

sought a waiver for 36 on-site parking spaces. City code allows developers to forgo on-site parking at a fee of about $25,000 per required parking space, which is the estimated cost to the city for providing space in parking structures.

That would have totaled $900,000. ``If we had approved that project as proposed, including waiving the parking fee, that would open the door to a pretty substantial amount of high-rise development without parking in the downtown area,'' Mayor Jim Throgmorton said. ``To combine those two aspects, the $900,000 subsidy without any affordable housing, given how important affordable housing clearly is in our city right now, it did not seem like a wise vote at that moment.'' -AP

ing wrong with the investors' documents, which he had examined, and all the purchases were valid.

Of the 45 contracts among the group, 24 had a clause guaranteeing they could sell the land back to the company after three years "at the best prevailing market price".

However, 27 contracts lacked a "patta", an Indian land ownership document.

New Delhi-based lawyer Alok Tewari, a senior partner with Indian law firm Kochhar & Co, said: "Legally it may be possible to sell the property without a patta."

He added, however, that sometimes the authorities may demand to see a patta to register a sale deed.

Property experts said overseas land-banking is fraught with risk.

Alan Cheong, Singapore research head for real estate firm Savills, advised investors to check whether the country's legal framework is solid and can be enforced even by an overseas national, as well as the reputation of the property agency marketing the product.

Retired civil servant Manokaran Ramasamy, 64, and his late wife spent SGD 129,510 on four plots of land in 2008.

His wife died from cancer in March. He said all he wanted was some form of closure from KMGM. "Even in the pain of her last days, she would go back to them to ask about selling the land. I don't understand why they didn't entertain her," he said.

"I don't think they can honor the agreement. They owe it to us to fill in the blanks," The Sunday Times quoted Manokaran as saying.-PTI

The suspect is described as a nonwhite male in his early to mid 20s.

Sandhu was listed as president of Sandhill Developments Ltd. He and the company are named in more than 80 civil lawsuits in British Columbia dating back to the 1990s.

In a recent case, Sandhu took the Khalsa Diwan Society to court. His actions led to an election being called for leaders at the Ross Street gurdwara in Vancouver, scheduled for September.

An official with the party opposed to changes Sandhu was seeking at the temple believes the shooting was unrelated.

"To my knowledge just for the sake of an election nobody would take such a big risk," Ranjit Hayer of the Khalsa Diwan Society was quoted as saying.

People at the gurdwara registering to vote in the election said Sandhu was at the gurdwara before he went to Richmond and was gunned down.

A male witness was quoted by Richmond News as saying that Sandhu was killed while standing next to his black truck.

The suspect pulled out a gun with a silencer attachment and shot Sandhu. The witness said he heard at least six shots that sounded like a paintball gun.-PTI

DLF to pay 12% per annum for delaying flats NEW DELHI: The apex consumer commission has slapped a penalty of 12 per cent per annum on real estate major DLF Ltd to be given to 50 buyers for delaying giving possession of their flats in its Panchkula project in north Indian state of Haryana, saying it amounted to "cheating".

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) bench headed by Justice J M Malik directed the firm to hand over the apartments to buyers as per a list proposed by DLF for scheduled possession, failing which it will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 per flat per day to the buyers till the project is completed.

The bench noted that the firm had to give the possession of the property within three years including the grace period from the date of letter of allotment till possession was to be given by 2013. After this, it will have to pay interest till the period it has now proposed before the commission, it said.

If the flats are not given till the period now proposed by the firm, it will carry a penalty of Rs 5,000 per day till its possession, it said.

The bench asked the builder to pay Rs 30,000 compensation each to all the 50 complainants for harassment and anguish.

"It was the bounden duty of the Opposite Parties (firm) to put the complainants in possession of the premises in dispute, within 24

months after acceptance of the first installment. It tantamounts to cheating, if one promises one thing and does not do the same thing within time.

"As a matter of fact, after acceptance of the first installment, the Opposite Party should have worked against the clock (in a hurry to get the order finished). Mutual and free consent is a sine qua non (essential ingredient of an agree-

ment). The said agreement smacks of high handedness, despotism, arrogance and arbitrariness," the bench said.

It noted that the homes should have been given by the end of 2012. "Six months is grace period and six months is the time consumed during the stay order, total time being till 2013," it noted.

"We, therefore, grant concession of three years from the date of letter of allotment till the possession is given. The Opposite Parties are directed to pay to each of the allottee/ allottees, interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the expiry of three years from the date of allotment letter, till the possession is given, besides the penalty of Rs 5,000 per day, if there is further delay, as already ordered," it said. -PTI

„ Health

Line

People overdosing on anti-diarrhea drugs: FDA WASHINGTON: Federal health officials are investigating sometimes-deadly overdoses with common anti-diarrhea drugs, a bizarre manifestation of the nation's drug abuse problem.

The primary ingredient in prescription Imodium and similar over-the-counter drugs is intended to control diarrhea. But abusers sometimes try to achieve heroin-like highs by taking massive doses, up to 300 milligrams at once, according to cases in the medical literature. Recommended doses range between 8 milligrams and 16 milligrams per day.

The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and patients that the drugs can cause potentially deadly heart problems when taken at higher-than-recommended levels. The agency has received 31 reports of people hospitalized due to the heart problems, including 10 deaths over the last 39 years. The agency's database is not comprehensive and many drug overdoses are not reported to the government.

But national poison centers reported a 71 percent increase in calls involving loperamide-containing drugs between 2011 and 2014, according to a journal article published last month in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. -AP

„ Tata, MP govt join hands in healthcare NEW DELHI: Tata Trusts says it has entered into a partnership with the Madhya Pradesh government to work together in areas of healthcare, nutrition, mental health and cancer care in the state.

Through this collaboration, the state government will be able to achieve convergence of their programs and improve efficiencies as well. Tata Trusts will play a role in setting up of these initiatives along with strategic and technical advisory support, Tata Trusts said in a statement.

As part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the state, Tata Trusts will also work together with the government in overseeing successful execution of the identified program, it added.

Commenting on the development, Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary Gowri Singh said: "This partnership has a focus on high priority districts of Madhya Pradesh and the aim is to improve the health indicators in these districts in areas of cancer, mental health and nutrition." -PTI

Health Science 32 India Post

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June 17, 2016

'Indoor air in Delhi is not fit to breathe' Details on Page 35

For the first time, more than 4 in 10 US women are obese NEW YORK: The nation's obesity epidemic continues to grow, led by an alarming increase among women. For the first time, more than 4 in 10 U.S. women are obese, according to new government health statistics.

Obesity rates for men and women in the U.S. had been roughly the same for about a decade. But in recent years, women have surged ahead and now just over 40 percent of women are obese, compared to 35 percent of men.

The percentages were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in two articles published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association. The numbers are based on small government survey that is considered the best measure of the nation's obesity problem.

Though it is not altogether

surprising to health researchers because the nation has long been growing more obese, it is ``scary'' that the statistic has reached 40 percent for women, said Dana

Hunnes, a dietitian who sees obese patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. ``It's a really alarming figure, and it's alarming that it's continu-

ing to go up despite government calls to action on weight loss and healthy eating,'' she said.

Why the problem is getting worse for women faster than for men remains somewhat of a mystery to health researchers. ``I don't know if anyone truly knows for sure,'' Hunnes said. Experts say there are a range of possible explanations, including that many women are satisfied with a larger body size.

The rate of obesity in women is also higher than in men across the world, although far lower overall than in the U.S. According to the World Health Organization, 15 percent of women worldwide and 11 percent of men are obese.

Cont'd on Page 35

New California tobacco laws go into effect India Post News Service

SACRAMENTO, CA: Effective June 9, the minimum age of sale for tobacco products in California has been increased from 18 to 21, and for the first time ecigarettes are added to the existing definition of tobacco products. California is the second state in the nation, following Hawaii, to raise the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21.

"Today marks a significant moment in California history as new tobacco control laws go into effect statewide. This is the first time the Golden State has raised the age of sale for tobacco since the law first took effect 144 years ago," said Dr. Karen Smith, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) director and state health officer. "Our focus is on reaching more than 34,000 retailers with tobacco licenses and an estimated 1,200 vape shops to provide them the information and resources needed to comply with the new tobacco 21 law."

To help retailers comply with

these new laws, CDPH developed a series of educational materials, including age-of-sale warning signs, window clings reminding customers of the new law and tips to help clerks check identification.

About 34,000 Californians die each year from tobacco use. In addition, tobacco-related diseases cost Californians $18.1 billion each year in both direct and indirect healthcare costs due to premature death and low produc-

cluding vaping devices and accessories can no longer be sold in self-service displays. E-cigarettes are also not allowed in locations where smoking has long been prohibited, including public transit, worksites, restaurants, schools and playgrounds. Approximately 217,000 California youth between the ages of 12 and 17 currently smoke traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes.

"California is taking a big step

A sign posted outdoors at a smoke shop reads "You Must Be 18 Years Old with Valid I.D.," in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, Smokers have to be 21 and older to buy tobacco products in California

tivity due to illness.

As part of the new law defining e-cigarettes as tobacco products, e-cigarettes, e-liquids in-

forward in preventing a new generation of young people from becoming addicted to nicotine," said Dr. Smith. "The surge in e-ciga-

rette use among teens and young adults is no accident. The tobacco industry's aggressive marketing of e-cigarette gadgets and candy flavors is jeopardizing the health of our young people."

Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive neurotoxin. Research shows that the brain continues to develop until age 25, and nicotine exposure before that age may cause permanent brain damage and fuel a lifelong battle with addiction.

According to the California Department of Education's California Healthy Kids Survey, middle and high school teens are currently using e-cigarettes at much higher rates than traditional cigarettes. Studies also show that teens who use e-cigarettes are three times more likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes within a year.

For those struggling with nicotine addiction, resources are available at www.nobutts.org.

Californians who want help quitting can call the California Smokers' Helpline at 1-800-NO BUTTS.

Health Science Post

June 17, 2016

India Post 33

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80% AIDS drugs supplied by India: Nadda UNITED NATIONS: India has said that over 80 per cent of the drugs used globally to combat the deadly AIDS are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical firms and the lowcost generic medicines have helped scale up access to HIV treatment across developing countries.

Addressing the high-level General Assembly meeting on HIV/AIDS, Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda said that India had faced the "specter of disastrous consequences" on account of AIDS epidemic 15 years back but was able to manage the challenge effectively.

The country today is significantly contributing in the global fight against AIDS as more than 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used globally are supplied by the Indian pharmaceutical industry, he said.

The UN General Assembly adopted a new political declaration that emphasized on the critical importance of affordable medicines to combat the scourge of HIV/ AIDS. The Minister also underlined that the international community cannot afford a

rebound of the AIDS epidemic and that fordable medicines. The low cost generic developed countries should do more and medicines produced by the Indian pharmaenhance their commitments to fight the ceutical industry have been instrumental worldwide scourge.

"Targeted interventions based on close collaboration with and empowerment of communities and civil society with appropriate funding from the government have helped deliver key life saving services to the affected population," Nadda said in his address to the 193-member Assembly here.

Deaths due to AIDS in India have been reduced by nearly 55 per cent since 2007, while new HIV infecHealth and Family Welfare J P Nadda tions saw a reduction by 66 per cent since 2000.

Around a million people affected by in scaling up access to HIV treatment not AIDS are currently on antiretroviral therapy. only in India but in other parts of the world, "These remarkable successes would not especially in the developing countries most have been possible without access to af- affected by this scourge," Nadda said.

He added that the "accessibility and affordability" of drugs has helped save millions of lives around the world.

India's emphasis on providing low-cost generic medicines to combat HIV/AIDS was echoed in the UNGA declaration, which

GOP drops push to 'defund Obamacare' WASHINGTON: Republicans controlling the Senate are abandoning an effort to use their power over the federal purse strings to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The more pragmatic approach came on a huge $164 billion spending measure and reflects a hope by top Republicans like Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to remove veto bait from must-pass spending bills in hopes of advancing them more easily with Democratic support.

President Barack Obama has already vetoed separate legislation aimed at repealing the law, and he has easily kept language to ``defund Obamacare'' out of the final versions of annual funding bills.

Top Senate leader McConnell has been trying, with some success so far, to revive the moribund appropriations process Top bill sponsors Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., instead focused their efforts on boosting medical research, year-round Pell Grants for low-income college students, and a major boost in funding to treat opioid or heroin addicts.

The measure sailed through a Senate Appropriations panel by voice vote and was the first time in seven years that the measure - which funds the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and is the largest of the domestic appropriations bills - has been drafted

on a bipartisan basis.

The measure would increase health research funding at the National Institutes of Health by $2 billion to $34 billion; almost doubles, to $261 million, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention opioid abuse programs; and restores Pell Grants for summer school for an about 1 million students.

Blunt said year-round Pell Grants would ``help students stay on track for graduation, accelerate program completion by taking courses year-round, and, ultimately, enter or re-enter the workforce sooner and graduate with less debt.''

Last year, Blunt inserted several policy ``riders'' aimed at curbing Obamacare, blocking a Labor Department ``fiduciary rule'' on retirement investment advice that's opposed by much of the financial services sector, and preventing the national labor Relations Board from streamlining votes to certify union representation. That measure advanced through the Appropriations Committee on a party line vote and was bundled into a year-end ``omnibus'' spending bill after the most controversial policy provisions were stripped out.

Murray praised the measure for not including ``any new policy riders that would have poisoned the bill.''

Top Senate leader McConnell has been trying, with some success so far, to revive the moribund appropriations process in which both House and Senate are supposed to separately debate and amendment 12 annual spending bills funding the operating budgets of every federal agency. The Senate has passed three of the 12 bills, but the House has passed only a single measure.-AP

recognizes the "critical importance of affordable medicines, including generics, in scaling up access to affordable HIV treatment".

Outlining ways in which the international community can act together over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS, Nadda stressed on need to ensure access to affordable medicines and commodity security.

He said India is committed to maintain the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities.

"We reiterated this commitment last year during the Third India-Africa Summit, responding to call from our brothers and sisters in Africa," he said. The declaration also recognized that protection and enforcement measures for intellectual property rights should be TRIPS compliant and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner that supports the right of Member States to protect public health and promote access to medicines for all.

Nadda said India is proud of being one of the leading partners in the global fight against AIDS epidemic and is collaborating actively with a range of partner countries and other stakeholders including the UNAIDS, the joint UN program on HIV/ AIDS. -PTI

34 India Post

Health Science Post

June 17, 2016

www.indiapost.com

'Air pollution cuts life of Indians by 3.4 yrs' PUNE: Air pollution has reduced the life expectancy of Indians by an average of 3.4 years with Delhi topping the list at 6.3 years, according to a study.

Delhi is followed by West Bengal and Bihar at the reduced life expectancy at 6.1 years and 5.7 years, respectively, stated the study conducted by the citybased Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in collaboration with the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Colorado.

However, no significant mortality was observed in Jammu and Kashmir (0.6 years) and Himachal Pradesh (1.2 years).

The study report, titled "Premature mortality in India due to PM2.5 (fine particulate material) and O3 (Ozone) exposure" reveals that PM2.5 has claimed 570,000 lives in 2011 while Ozone 3 has claimed 12,000 lives in the same year.

Along with Delhi and Bihar, other states where life expectancy is found reduced due to air pollu-

tion are: Jharkhand (5.2 years), Uttar Pradesh and Odisha (4.8 years), Haryana and Punjab (4.7 years), Chattisgarh (4.1 years), Assam (4 years), Tripura (3.9 years), Meghalaya (3.8 years) and Maharashtra (3.3 years).

As per the report, Uttar Pradesh

Maharashtra (10 per cent), West Bengal (9 per cent) and Bihar (8 per cent).

States like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan collectively make for 32 per cent of countrywide PM2.5

has the highest premature mortalities due to PM2.5 exposure, which accounts for about 15 per cent of all premature mortalities in the country during 2011, followed by

premature mortalities.

The percentage of the Ozonerelated mortalities owing to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) was highest in Uttar

Pradesh (18 pc) followed by Bihar (11 pc), West Bengal (9.5 pc), Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (7 pc each).

"We estimate that PM2.5 exposure leads to about 570,000 premature mortalities in 2011 and on national scale, our estimate of mortality by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CoPD) due to Ozone 3 exposure is about 12,000 people," said Sachin Ghude, an IITM scientist, who was one of the researchers in the study. As per the study, the air pollution levels have gone up due to rise in PM2.5 levels as a result of rapid industrialization, transportation and burning of bio fuels.

It quoted a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stating that about 78 per cent of the total 141 cities in country exceed the PM2.5 standard.

The study stated that 90 cities have critical levels and 26 cities reaching the most critical levels, exceeding the PM standard by over 3 times.

However, it is not only about

the life expectancy, which has been compromised.

"The present day premature mortalities due to PM2.5 and Ozone 3 exposure caused economic cost of approximately 640 billion USD, which is a factor of 10 higher than total expenditure on health by public and private expenditure in India," the report stated.

The researchers used a high resolution regional chemistry transport model with anthropogenic emissions from Hemisphere Transport of Air pollution, combined with the 2011 Census data.

"Upward trends in transportation, industrial and energy sectors, urbanization, population growth in India, along with climate change, will raise the levels of O3 and PM2.5 in future, which could worsen the vulnerability of a growing population," the report stated while calling for immediate measures to be undertaken by the government and even at the individual level to control the situation.-PTI

Pollution study plan to defame Delhi's pollution woes far from over: CSE India: Javadekar NEW DELHI: The Centre has rejected a study which claimed that life expectancy in Delhi has been reduced by six years because of air pollution, stating that it was based on research done in Europe and America and has been extrapolated to "defame" India.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said this while claiming that the Earth Sciences department did not agree with the findings, a day after his ministry withdrew his statement that quoted him as having said its timing was "motivated" as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presently on a visit to US. The statement was withdrawn hours after it was released to the press in an unusual turn of events.

The study in question was done by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It was conducted by IITM scientists in collaboration with the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Colorado, US. "We reject the claims made in a so-called article that Indians lose six years of their life because of pollution. This study is based on regional atmospheric chemistry model.

"The research is based on stud-

ies done in Europe and America which are being extrapolated on India. The study is not done on sampling, ground study and long term observations.

So this is completely unneces-

number of premature deaths.

Javadekar said the Earth Sciences department has rejected the claims of the research.

"It is not a study by earth science department and it does not agree with the study. It has completely rejected the study," he said.

Noting that there are only four major pollutants in Delhi including vehicular and industrial pollution, biomass burning, improper waste disposal and dust, Javadekar said there were other serious air pollutants predominantly present in foreign countries than in India like NOx, SOx and Ozone.

"We recognize pollution as a major problem Union Environment Minister Prakash and are tackling it very Javadekar seriously. But there are sary and defames India," the min- other pollutants also which are ister told a press conference here. harmful to health. Ozone has adTitled as 'Premature Mortalities verse impact on life and is predue to PM 2.5 (finer particulate dominantly present in California. matter) and Ozone Exposure in "NOx is yet another pollutant India', the study found that life which is present in Mexico, UK, expectancy in the national capital UAE and China, much more than has reduced by six years because India. SOx is also very serious and of air pollution while Uttar found more in China, Iran and Pradesh and Maharashtra are many other countries," he said.likely to account for the highest PTI

NEW DELHI: Delhi's pollution troubles are "far from over", a green body has said as its analysis showed that the number of vehicles entering the national capital from other states every day is close to the total number of vehicles that get registered in the city annually.

A real time cross-border traffic survey by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that personal and passenger vehicles from outside account for 22 per cent of the total particulate load which is not only undercutting pollution control efforts in Delhi but also making enormous demand for land for parking facilities.

Noting that while cutting down on truck pollution is a good step, but not enough for the city as it is a "pollution highway" for cars, CSE said diesel fuel use is still high in Delhi as the total number of diesel cars, taxis and SUVs entering the national capital daily are also 2.5 times the diesel vehicles registered in Delhi during 2014-15.

CSE claimed that instead of scaling up public transport connectivity in the NCR aggressively, both the Centre and state governments are planning to turn city roads into highways and elevated corridors to induce more personal vehicle travel through Delhi.

"Delhi's battle against pollution, congestion and energy guzzling can get increasingly more difficult if its own explosive motorization gets further aggravated by the huge daily influx of vehicles from outside. An equal numbers of vehicles are going out of Delhi daily contributing to pollution in the NCR towns as well.

"This new analysis reconfirms that ineffective public policy on public transport connectivity is increasing dependence on personal vehicles, leading to enormous pollution and ill-health in Delhi-NCR," said Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE's head of sustainable urbanization program.

The CSE survey at nine entry points shows that around 3.07 lakh cars and 1.27 lakh two-wheelers enter Delhi daily.

If this is taken as the 70 per cent of the total traffic from all 124 entry points, then the total number of cars, SUVs and two-wheelers from all entry points can be as much as 5.65 lakh.

The Economic Survey of Delhi for the year 2014-15 shows 5.69 lakh total vehicles were registered that year in the city and thus, the total number of vehicles that enter Delhi daily is almost equal to the number that is registered in the city," CSE said.

Cont'd on Page 35

June 17, 2016

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'Indoor air in Delhi is For the first time, more than 4 in 10 US women are obese not fit to breathe' Cont'd from Page 32

NEW DELHI: Indoor air in Delhi is not fit to breathe and the elderly and children who spend a lot of time in offices and homes are the worst sufferers, a survey has found.

As per the survey, conducted by Artemis Hospitals as part of Clean Air India Movement (CLAIM), there is a correlation between indoor air quality and lung health of the people.

Due to unhealthy indoor air quality, about 34 per cent of people have one or the other airway disease and 47 per cent showed symptoms of respiratory diseases.

Eighty-two per cent of offices and houses surveyed have unhealthy air quality, according to the survey.

"Generally, we give more importance to outdoor air quality but we should be aware of both outdoor and indoor air pollution.

Considering the amount of time people

spend breathing indoor air, it is important to keep a check on indoor air quality.

"We hope the survey results will help initiate and channelize the discussions on the issue and draw meaningful conclusions," said Dr Himanshu Garg, Head of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care, Artemis Hospitals.

The survey was conducted on 1,500 people across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida, having mean age of 39 years.

"Since we spend more time indoors, the risk associated with indoor air is more.

Women and children are most vulnerable...," said Dr Raj Kumar, Head of the Department of Respiratory Allergy and Applied Immunology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute.

Founder of Clean Air India Movement Vijay Kannan said "we all should plant more trees to reduce pollution." -PTI

Delhi's pollution woes far from over: CSE Cont'd from Page 34

It also said that toxic fumes from local and incoming vehicles is also contributing to growing risk of cancer in the city as the National Cancer Registry Program Report of 2012-14 shows incidence of cancers is highest in Delhi among the major Indian cities.

CSE said that lung cancer incidents have increased by over 33.3 per cent since the middle of last decade here. CSE said that all personal and passenger vehicles coming from outside contribute as much as 22 per cent of the total particulate load from these modes, within and from outside the city.

Among the incoming segments, cars are the biggest contributor to particulate load at 43 per cent, followed by SUVs at 23 per cent. Cars and SUVs together contribute 66 per cent of the particulate load from all incoming traffic while the two together also contribute 46 per cent of the nitrogen oxide load.

CSE said that cars and SUVs coming to Delhi are also the biggest fuel guzzlers and the highest emitters of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.

"The incoming cars have the highest per capita CO2 emissions 3,031 gram/km (gm/km), followed by SUVs at 1,919 gm/ km and two-wheelers at 988 gm/km. "The incoming bus passengers have the smallest carbon footprint of 539 gm/km.

CSE also questioned as to how will Delhi-NCR contribute towards India's INDC commitment of reducing energy intensity by 35 per cent by 2030 with this trend.

"While so much effort is being made to

bypass polluting trucks, both state and central governments are turning the city roads into highways and elevated high speed corridors for personal vehicles from the region.

This is undercutting Delhi's effort to control emissions and exposures in all sectors. These incoming vehicles contribute close to a quarter of the total particulate load from personal and passenger vehicles in the city," Roychowdhury said.

The green body also said that the incoming NCR traffic is undercutting the air quality and health benefits from local mea-

Cars and SUVs coming to Delhi are also the biggest fuel guzzlers and the highest emitters of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. sures to reduce toxic air pollution, especially diesel pollution.

It said that the total number of diesel cars, taxis and SUVs that enter Delhi from NCR are 2.5 times the total registration of diesel segments in Delhi during 2014-15 and already, diesel related pollution is increasing in Delhi.

Particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are high and increasing in Delhi's air. On about 56 per cent of the days during April and May this year, the ozone levels have exceeded the safe standards. -PTI

Obesity, which means not merely overweight, but seriously overweight, is considered one of the nation's leading public health problems because it can trigger diabetes and lead to heart disease and other serious health problems. Until the early 1980s, only about 1 in 6 adults were obese.

The problem is not increasing as dramatically as it was, but the new numbers show it is clearly not improving, said Dr. Felipe Lobelo, an Emory University researcher who focuses on obesity and physical activity.

Researchers looked at obesity rates among different age groups and along racial lines and found wide disparities, mainly ones that have persisted for years.

Obesity continues to be most common among black women. About 57 percent of black women are obese. In contrast, about 47 percent of Hispanic women, 38 percent of white women, and 12 percent of Asian women are obese.

Among men of different races, obesity rates cluster much closer together - at 35 to 38 percent for blacks, Hispanics, and whites.

The researchers also found:

• About 38 percent of all adults are obese. • About 17 percent of children are obese, which is the same as earlier reports. • Obesity rates have been steadily increasing in adolescents since 1988 and now are at 21 percent, but have been stable in kids ages 6 to 11 in recent years at 20 percent.

Obesity is calculated by dividing a person's weight by their height to produce a number called the body mass index , or BMI. A BMI of 25 or greater is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 and above is obese. A person who is 5 foot 4, the average height for U.S. women, is considered obese at a weight of 174 pounds or more. A person who is 5 foot 9, about the average height for men, is deemed obese at 203 pounds.

The findings are from a regular government survey of about 5,000 Americans every two years who are weighed and measured. The new figures are from surveys done in 2013 and 2014. Last fall, the CDC released an obesity report using some of the same data, but the new reports provide more detailed look at obesity numbers through time, including slightly higher prevalence figures for adult men and women.-AP

36 India Post

O

oty, also known as Ootacamund, is the Queen of hill stations and the capital of Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in India. Ooty is also a land of picturesque picnic spots. This place used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the Britishers during the colonial days. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 mt above sea level.

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An added attraction for the tourists is the mountain train journey on a ratchet and pinion track which commences from Kallar, near Mettupalayam and wends its way through many hair-raising curves, fearful tunnels and chugs along beside deep ravines full of verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens.

One can notice a marvelous change in vegetation, as one goes from Kallar to

June 17, 2016

Coonoor. The establishment of numerous tea estates made Ooty famous. Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens greet the passengers on most routes.

The annual Tea and Tourism Festival attracts crowds in huge numbers who have a great time in this wonderful place. The environment is so wonderful that it attracts a

lot of tourists who come here to enjoy a wonderful time with nature while staying close to huge landscape.

Ooty has blooming vegetation and wonderful tea gardens and fine pine and eucalyptus trees, which keep enhancing the beauty of the place. Several areas are preserved like that of sanctuary so as to conserve the beauty of the nature and avoid extinction of the various animals.

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International campaign to promote J&K tourism SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has launched an international publicity campaign to promote tourism sector in the state.

"The international publicity campaigning that we are doing for tourism this year will certainly bear results in the shape of increased footfall," Education Minister Naeem Akhter said intervening on a question in the Assembly here.

Replying to the question, Minister of State for Tourism Priya Sethi informed that an expenditure of Rs 3.13 crore has been incurred on advertisements for print and electronic media for the promotion of tourism since 2015.

She said the advertisements have been published in local, national and international magazines, besides broadcast on television commercials on local and national channels and radio for the wide publicity of tourism promotion in the state.

The Minister said Rs 14.75 lakh were incurred on account of air tickets for participation in national travel events.

About Rs 12.66 lakh has been incurred on the inauguration function of Pahalgam club after fulfillment of required procedures, she said.

Sethi said the Department of Tourism has put in place Tourism Incentive Policy, wherein incentives are provided to interested persons for starting different tourism-related units like conversion of residential houses into guest

ism point of view and they would be developed in a phased manner.

"The government is contemplating to bring Wadwan, Mazmooh, Apple town Chini Wooder, Bijbehara, Dudhal Pahalgam, Shrunz, Tangmarg, Burzama, Fos-

houses, operation of ATVs and tourist coaches.

The department has a publicity committee which finalizes the events in which the department participates including national and international travel marts, besides organizing local festivals, she added.

The Minister said the department has put in its efforts to explore the offbeat and new tourist destinations in the state from tour-

sil Park, Khanmoh, Harwan and Tosmaidan in Kashmir valley and Mantalia, Bani-Basohli, Ranjit Sagar Dam, Noori-Chamb, Seven Lakes, Rajouri in Jammu division on the tourism map of the state," she said.

Replying to another question, Sethi said Rs 2.75 crore have been spent for creation of tourism related infrastructure in Chatroo area of Kishtwar in Jammu region.

She said the government is focusing on strengthening the tour-

IATA stresses on sharing of intelligence NEW DELHI: Alarmed at the growing terrorist threat to aviation, global airlines body IATA has stressed heightened coordination with governments and their agencies across the world for countermeasures and sharing of intelligence and information.

Noting that terror threat was a matter of national security in which governments have the overall responsibility to protect citizens, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also said that airlines have a role to play in the efforts to counter terrorist acts.

A resolution to this effect was unanimously adopted at the ongoing IATA annual meeting in Dublin in which the airline CEOs also pledged that their companies would uphold strict aviation security standards, remain vigilant and ensure the highest levels of preparedness against such acts, a press release said.

The resolution came in the backdrop of the Brussels airport attack and the bombings of Rus-

sia s Metrojet airline passenger plane in October 2015 and an aircraft of Somalia s Daallo Airline in February this year.

"These are grim reminders that aviation is vulnerable.

Airlines rely on governments to keep passengers and employees

secure as part of their responsibility for national security.

And we are committed to working with them in that challenging task," IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said.

The resolution noted that air transport remained "a target for

terrorists, exemplified by a series of recent tragic attacks on aircraft and aviation infrastructure to which terrorists have laid claim," and expressed concern that current conflicts around the world could lead to further terrorist activities, against airlines and the travelling public.

It emphasized that "a coordinated approach to countering terrorist threats by governments, airlines, airports and all other relevant industry stakeholders will be more effective than individual actions alone."

The IATA asked its member airlines, airports and other aviation industry stakeholders to work in partnership to counter the risk of terrorist threats to aviation and called on governments to work in partnership amongst themselves and with airlines to counter the risk.-PTI

ism infrastructure at the existing destinations, adding that presently there is no proposal to develop Famber Meadow Marg in Chatroo tehsil.

However, government would consider to provide road connectivity to the spot in near future and would encourage trekking campus in the area, she said. .

In reply to another question, the minister said Lolab-Bungas-Drangyari Development Authority has been created for the development of tourism related infrastructure in Kupwara district.

She said requisite tourism related infrastructure, to some extent, has been created at tourism spots of Kupwara at Chandigam, Khumriyal, Wader Payeen, Reshwari, Kathgaji, Dardpora, Drangyari, Zachaldara, Lach Handwara, Zangli, Sattabaran Kalaroose and Rawalthpora.

Construction of 10 bathrooms and development of a spring at Ziarat Sharief Guzriyal is in progress, she said adding three shelter sheds at Wader Reshwari and Drangyari would be also constructed this year.

Sethi said a detailed project report has been prepared for different components for the development of Bungus Valley.

The execution would be subject to the availability of funds, she said.

She said the centre had sanctioned a project of Rs 4.56 crore for construction of budgeted accommodation and allied facilities at Lolab during 2012-13, against which Rs 91 lakh have been released and utilized for the execution of different works so far.

The Minister said the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir has taken up 52 works in district Kupwara for execution at an estimated cost of Rs 19.90 crore, of which 30 works have been completed so far with an expenditure of Rs 16.64 crore.-PTI

Ski resorts not liable for avalanches: Court DENVER: The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that avalanches are among the ``inherent dangers of skiing'' so ski resorts can't be held liable for people killed by slides within their boundaries.

The 5-2 ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the widow of Christopher Norris, who was killed in 2012 after being caught in a slide on a designated run in the Winter Park ski resort. Salynda Fleury brought a negligence and wrongful-death lawsuit against resort operator IntraWest, saying the run should have been closed because of the high avalanche danger at the time and resorts should be held responsible for slides that happen in areas they maintain. No signs were posted warning skiers of the risk.

Colorado's Ski Safety Act limits the state's $3-billion-a-year ski industry to $250,000 in damages from lawsuits filed by the family of those killed. That cap has been tested many times since the legislation was enacted in 1979, but no jury or court ever has awarded injured skiers or bereaved families more than that amount. The law includes a list of the potential dangers that skiers assume the risk for, such as ice, packed powder, cliffs and trees but not avalanches specifically. However, it does include ``snow conditions as they exist or

may change,'' and the Supreme Court ruled that covers inbound avalanches.

In a dissent, Justice Monica Marquez argued that unlike weather, snow conditions or terrain, the average skier does not have the training to assess the risk of an avalanche. ``Under today's holding, even

a family of novice skiers traversing the mountain must be expected to look uphill, gauge the steepness of the slope, the quantity of fresh snow, and the multitude of factors that avalanche forecasters consider, and assume the risk of being swept away by an avalanche,'' she wrote.

According to the dissent, Montana's ski law was changed last year to say that avalanches do not qualify as inherent dangers, and Alaska ski operators can be held liable if they do not adhere to their avalanche-control plans.-AP

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Cont’d from page 36

Tourist attractions Government Museum & Art Gallery: The Government Museum, Mysore Road, Udhagamandalam has items of tribal objects, districts ecological details and representative sculptural arts and crafts of Tamil Nadu.

It is situated about 2 km from Udhagamandalam on the main Mysore road. It has various collections of contemporary paintings and sculptures all over from India.

Avalanche Valley: Located at a distance of 28 km from Ooty, Avalanche Valley is one of the most

popular places to visit around Ooty. Named after a landslide which hit the region in the year 1823, the valley is a natural paradise. Filled with shola trees, rhododendrons, orchids, magnolias and a trout stream, Canada dam and Avalanche Lake & Dam are the few attractions tourists can explore here.

Bellikkal Lake: Bellikkal Lake is a beautiful water feature that has some great views to offer. Fishing here may not be a good idea since

this lake is a popular watering hole for a variety of wild animals. Elephants can be frequently seen getting a drink early in the morning or right at dusk here. Tigers, bear, bison, and deer are all possible animals that could be sighted as well.

Bison Valley: Bison Valley acquired its name from the Indian bison that roam throughout the area. Impressive views of cardamom forests are possible from this beautiful valley. Beautiful greenery exists in almost every place that you look.

Catherine Falls: Catherine Falls is located in the area that surrounds Coonoor. This beautiful

waterfall falls from an impressive 250 feet. It can clearly been seen from the top of Dolphin's Nose if seeing the entire waterfall as one total impression is what you are looking for. It is also possible to take a road to the top of the falls.

Doddabetta Peak: Doddabetta peak is the highest known peak in the region of Ooty and its altitude stays to be more than 2,623 meters in height. It actually stays in the suburbs of Ooty and is hardly 10 kms from the place.

Dolphin's Nose: Dolphin's Nose is an enormous rock formation that is entirely unique. The protruding rock formation looks exactly like what it is named after, a dolphin's nose. It takes some effort to climb to the top of this rock outcropping, but the views are absolutely worth the hard work.

There are gigantic ravines found both to the left and right of Dolphin's Nose.

Emerald Lake: Emerald Lake is a wonderful lake in the upper plateau region of the Nilgiri hills. It is a part of the silent valley and is beside the Red hill nature resort which is a best picnic place of the region.

The site of the lake is wonderful and one would definitely love being at that place. One would hold one's breathe by looking at the wonderful sites of the nature and fun is to the fullest.

Hidden Valley: The Hidden Valley is in the region that surrounds Coonoor. This valley is known for being both impressive and beautiful. Access to this valley is not readily available. Instead, it is necessary to trek to this particular valley.

Kalhatti Falls: Kalhatti Falls is a magnificent waterfall that plummets 400 feet or 122 meters. Sometimes these falls are referred to as the Kalahasti Falls. It is almost a transcendental experience to witness the raw power that this waterfall contains, yet it radiates beauty and grace at the same time.

Ketti Valley: Ketti Valley is a small village developed in the valley region of the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu. Ketti Valley stays to be 7000 feet deep inside the mountains near Coonoor.

Lake District: India's Lake Dis-

trict is found near Red Hills where the numerous rain-filled reservoirs make for an impressive and incredibly beautiful landscape. In fact, there are 8 separate lakes in the area with each being remarkably beautiful in its own right. The scenic blue lakes are Emerald, Upper Bhavani, Avalanche, Porthimund, Parson's Valley Lake and Western catchments numbered 1, 2 and 3.

Lamb's Rock: Lamb's rock is an excellent picnic spot near Coonoor. It is a point on the way to Dolphin's Nose. It was named after the man Captain Lamb who tried in earnest to open a path to that particular point. With such a view, no wonder this man put forth such a valiant effort to reach the point.

Ooty Botanical Gardens: Who doesn't know about the Botanical Gardens? It's the best garden ever known in India and is a great tourist destination. It is located on the hillock of Ooty which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.

Ooty Lake: Ooty Lake stays in the heart of Ooty with its L shape construction. It is the best place for boating and the summers are primly wonderful.

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39

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On Environment Day, Tiger Express flagged off NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off IRCTC's Tiger Express, a semi-luxury tourist train launched to spread awareness among people regarding tiger conservation, from Safdarjung station here.

Flagging off the train using a remote control from Mumbai, Prabhu said it has been launched to spread awareness about conservation of tigers.

This is the first semi-luxury train on a tourist circuit having a dining car.

The itinerary has a tariff structure starting from Rs 38,500, IRCTC said in a statement.

The package includes accommodation in air-conditioned rooms of three stars or equivalent ranked hotels for three nights, sightseeing, food, intercity transfers and travel insurance, it said.

Giving details of the itinerary, an IRCTC official said during the five-night-six-day trip the train would take passengers to Katni from where they will be taken Bandhavgarh by road for a safari.

From there they will be taken to Kanha for another safari.

The tourists will then be taken to famous Dhuadhar Falls in Bhedaghar, Jabalpur, before heading back to Delhi.

"The Tiger Express is one of the most innovative tourist products launched by IRCTC. Its announcement was made by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his bud-

Ooty

get speech," said Dr A K Manocha, CMD, IRCTC. "We've planned monthly trips of the fully air-conditioned train October onward," he added.

The train has been launched on the

World Environment Day with an aim to spread awareness among people on tiger conservation, the Railways said in a statement.

Union minister Harshvardan and BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi attended the function.

"I congratulate railways for starting this train. Railways are attempting to make people realize the importance of tigers.

And I am happy about the fact that the launch of this train was announced in the budget and I am happy that the train has been started right on time," Harshvardhan said. Prabhu said Indian Railways is fully

Lofty mountains, dense forest & miles of tea gardens

Cont’d from page 38

Several boat races are conducted and people have a wonderful time enjoying the sport as such a wonderful place on earth.

Ooty Rose Gardens: Rose garden is the heart and soul of city of Ooty. The construction is so beautiful and there are small tunnels made wherein the roses are planted in tunnels.

Best time to visit Ooty is a destination that can be visited all through the year. Summers are quite pleasant, winters are cool, and monsoons are beautiful. However, the best time for visiting Ooty is from October to June.

How to reach

By Train: Mettupalayam, which is 47 km away from Ooty, is the nearest major railway station. There are regular train services from Coimbatore and Chennai to Mettupalayam. Mettupalayam and Conoor are connected to Ooty with toy trains.

By Air: Coimbatore airport is the nearest airport and is around 105 km from Ooty. A number of private airlines provide services to Coimbatore which is well connected with many south Indian cities by air including Chennai, Bangalore, Madurai and Hyderabad.

By Bus: Ooty is well connected with all most all south Indian cities by bus.

committed to address environmental issues and announced that Railways through IRCTC will launch more tourist circuit trains like elephant circuit and desert circuit.

IRCTC said the fare, starting from Rs

38,500, can go up to Rs 49,500 for single occupancy. An additional surcharge of Rs 4,000 per person will be charged from foreigners for safari booking at Bandhagarh and Kanha.-PTI

Govt to issue e-visa for medical tourists NEW DELHI: Foreigners seeking medical treatment in India will soon have a hassle-free travel as the government is all set to roll out e-medical visas for them.

The move comes amid medical tourism in India estimated at USD 3 billion and projected to grow to USD 7-8 billion by 2020.

"E-visa facility for foreigners who want to undergo medical treatment will be offered soon," a senior Home Ministry official said.

TVoA (tourist visa on arrival), enabled

by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), popularly known as e-tourist visa scheme, was launched on November 27, 2014.

Under the e-tourist visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorizing him or her to travel to India after it is approved and

he or she can travel with a print-out of this authorization.

On arrival, the visitor has to present the authorization to the immigration authorities who would then stamp the entry into the country. Till now, the scheme has been extended to 150 countries at 16 Indian airports designated for providing e-tourist visa service.

The facility has recently been offered to those willing to undergo short term course on yoga.

According to a survey of a leading business chamber, the primary reason that attracts medical value travel to India is costeffectiveness and treatment from accredited facilities at par with developed countries at much lower cost. -PTI

40 India Post

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June 17, 2016

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Horoscope

42 India Post

June 17, 2016

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May June 17th - June 23rd 2016 Please send your birthday, place of birth and time, so I can give you your zodiac sign, according to Vedic astrology. Send to Jaysastrology@gmail.com

J

upiter and Rahu are conjunct those with diabetes, liver problems take extra care. Also take care of guru or father. Mars is weak as it is the ruler of your chart, take care of health get rest and get check up. Avoid disputes and extra stress. Saturn is weak spend time on insurance and inheritance.

Those in foreign land and partners or (business) be extra cautious.

M

bdominal issues arises, along with debts, disputes ,theft, fire ,legal problems and people with diabetes and liver problems. Feeling weak and lazy this week.

Professional matters may face disputes avoid arguments and stay low at work.

Mental peace is disturbed and immune disorder and lung problems may arise.

Losses and expenses at home causing disputes and separations.

ajor issue with people with diabetes and liver problems. Be careful driving can have sudden setbacks and obstructions avoid risky activities. Problems to parents and mental peace at home. Focus on managing debts, disputes, theft, fire, litigations. Hot temper is not the answer be patience.

Avoid haste. Focus on children, speculation, and education.

P

C

rofessional matters may face lack of drive. Focus on health especially people with diabetes, kidney and liver problems go get check up. Be aware of expenses, separations, and insomnia and people living in foreign land may face sudden setbacks and obstructions. Avoid disputes in general and with partner or business partners.

Avoid speculation, focus on children and their whereabouts.

onnect with older siblings and highly placed friends, can lead to improved status. Professional matters avoid disputes and obey, otherwise can get into major setbacks and delays even termination. Relationships face challenges can lead to expenses and disturbing mental peace. Focus on health especially diabetes, kidney, and abdominal areas. Focus on father and guru.

void starting new relationships, focus on how to manage sudden changes in marriage and business partnerships. People with diabetes and liver problems be vigilant about your health.

Your older siblings friends and income can cause stress, arguments and issues with your children also. Children, Speculation and education and new ventures could be subject to expenses and separations.

A

ocus on health especially people with liver and diabetes problems. Separation from children, losses from investments. Obey law as sun is weak can lead to expenses and imprisonment. Rahu causing sudden setbacks and obstructions, avoid risky behavior. Status is looking good and can lead work to foreign land. Spend time with family and have a good time. Hot temperament all week.

F

rofessional matters look bad, as sudden unexpected news and obstructions arise. Caused by the junction of rahu and Jupiter.

Assets, your status, your family life still remains the subject to sudden setbacks and obstructions and delays. Pay attention to your health and finances. Focus on managing conflicts especially those living in foreign land.

P

C

A

D

R

V

ue to Rahu and Jupiter conjuction people with diabetes and liver take extra care. Expenses and separations from family creating extra stress. Obey the law. Issues with parents, property matters arise and it can be unexpected. Pay attention to father, spiritual leader. Professional matters may face sudden setbacks and obstructios. Avoid disputes and conflict at work.

ahu and Jupiter causing major problems relating to health those with diabetes, liver, back, and body parts above neck.

Mainly your health, reputation are vulnerable to sudden setbacks and obstructions.

Professional matter avoid conflicts and disputes, watch your speech, anxiety at work may arise. Relationships may face sudden setbacks, and obstructions.

ontinue to focus on health, diabetes, liver, private parts people who suffer from this may face sudden setbacks. Be very vigilant to manage conflicts, and especially with younger siblings.

Avoid new ventures and new relationships can lead to unfavorable outcome. Professional matter continues to be a problem with disputes, remedy stay low and patience.

Father faces challenges.

ery rough week simply put it. Sudden setbacks to parents and husband and wives. Mental peace is disturbed. Problems of abdominal areas, privates parts, kidneys, patients with diabetes and liver see doctor. Professional matter are very challenging in disputes can get sudden unexpected news.

Delays and obstructions are seen overall. Mental peace is disturbed. Low energy, lack of confidence.

This weekly horoscope is more focused and accurate as these are based on ascending signs. The ascending sign is worked out on the basis of your date, time and place of birth. You will find the predictions at other places based on your Sun sign or Moon sign. The Sun remains in one sign of zodiac for one month whereas the Moon remains in one sign for about 54 hours. It is the ascending sign, which changes every couple of hours." That is how this site offers you more focused predictions.

JATIN P - ACHARYA MIHIR • JAYSASTROLOGY@GMAIL.COM • 630-675-7148

June 17, 2016

India Post 43 www.indiapost.com

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In Brief California urged to fund immigrant lawyers LOS ANGELES, CA: Advocates want California to follow New York City's footsteps and start funding lawyers for detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings.

A coalition of immigration and civil rights advocates released a report saying detained immigrants with attorneys fare much better than those representing themselves at deportation hearings.

The report says more than twothirds of immigrants detained in California in the past three years

Gov. Jerry Brown

did not have lawyers.

Public Counsel Staff Attorney Talia Inlender says the coalition hopes Los Angeles County will start funding lawyers for detainees under a pilot program.

A spokesman says Gov. Jerry Brown will consider any proposed legislation and has supported past efforts to provide legal services for immigrants.

Immigrants in deportation proceedings are not guaranteed lawyers. New York City has begun providing lawyers for low-income immigrants in detention. -AP

„

Boom in applications for US citizenship

BOSTON: Officials say Massachusetts has experienced a large surge in the number of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship in the state so far this year.

The Boston Globe reports 8,000 people applied for citizenship in Massachusetts from January to March. That number represents a 30 percent increase from the previous quarter.

Officials say roughly twothirds of immigrants who applied for citizenship this quarter have been approved. To be eligible to apply for citizenship, immigrants must be at least 18 years old and a legal permanent resident of the country for at least five years or three years if they are married to a U.S. citizen.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman Paula Grenier acknowledged the application boom and said the agency typically sees its highest numbers from March through May. -AP

Immigration

Judge delays order on ethics course

44 India Post

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June 17, 2016

Details on page 46

Ryan stresses border control, immigration in security plan WASHINGTON: House Speaker Paul Ryan is proposing to secure U.S. borders by overhauling the immigration system and installing robust defenses to keep out extremists, criminals and drug cartels.

The plan is part of a national security strategy the Wisconsin Republican will unveil. It's a key plank in a broader policy blueprint he is crafting that seeks to unite Republicans amid the frequent distractions triggered by Donald Trump's unconventional presidential campaign.

The focus on immigration and border protection tracks with one of the cornerstones of Trump's platform. Ryan calls for the use of ``high fencing'' along border areas, but steers clear of the billionaire candidate's signature issue: building a wall to keep people from illegally entering the United States from Mexico.

Trump also has proposed banning all Muslims from entering the country, which Ryan has rejected. ``America must secure the border once and for all by accelerating the deployment of fencing, technology, air assets and person-

nel,'' Ryan's strategy reads. ``We also must overhaul our immigration system for national security reasons.''

Ryan said the U.S. has repeatedly failed to eliminate serious vulnerabilities in the immigration

Obama's refusal to enforce ``its red line in Syria'' and the international nuclear deal with Iran among the examples.

Ryan outlines in broad strokes a series of measures for defeating the Islamic State group and other

House Speaker Paul Ryan

system, citing the inability to verify comprehensively whether visitors to the U.S. actually leave when their visas expire.

The plan also hammers President Barack Obama for what Ryan and other Republicans have said is a failed foreign policy. He listed

extremists. He advocates relying on ``local forces'' in Iraq and Syria to defeat militants, but indicates Republicans must be prepared to deploy U.S. troops if necessary. ``We cannot take options off the table, because doing so telegraphs weakness to our enemies

and emboldens them,'' he said.

Ryan's policy blueprint is aimed at defining what Republicans are for, not just what they are against.

In a video, he made an appeal to frustrated Republican voters who are supporting Trump, the party's presumptive nominee. ``We can get angry and we can stay angry or we could channel that anger into action,'' Ryan said in the video.

The few specifics Trump has offered on defense and foreign policy issues have rattled Republicans and unnerved U.S. allies. The billionaire candidate has pledged, if elected, to bring back the use of waterboarding - it causes the sensation of drowning - and worse against captured militants. Congress has outlawed waterboarding along with other so-called enhanced interrogation techniques.

Trump also said he would order the military to kill family members of extremists who threaten the U.S., a position he has since retreated from after being heavily criticized. And he's questioned whether NATO and America's other key alliances have become obsolete. -AP

Sarkar was combative; didn't take criticism well LOS ANGELES: With a wall's worth of academic degrees from top universities and a new wife in his chosen country, Mainak Sarkar entered mid-life with a foundation of success. Then his life began to unravel.

Last week he snapped, and for reasons that investigators are still trying to understand gunned down those he once held close.

Authorities say Sarkar killed his estranged wife in a Minneapolis suburb then drove across half the country to Los Angeles and shot dead the UCLA professor who had helped him earn an engineering Ph.D. As panic began to spread on the bustling UCLA campus, he turned the gun on himself.

He left behind devastated families and a shaken university community, a ``kill list'' that included the name of a second

UCLA professor he felt had tols. wronged him - and many unanWhat soon became clear was swered questions. that Sarkar believed the professor Chief among them is what led he killed, William Klug, had stolen him to violence.

Police also have not detailed when they believe Sarkar shot Ashley Hasti after apparently breaking into the Minnesota home she shared with her father; whether he committed other crimes en route to California; or why he felt wronged by another proUCLA gunman Mainak Sarkar intended to kill 2 professors, but one was off-campus, the police said fessor on the ``kill list'' who was not on campus when Sarkar arcode from him. In March, Sarkar rived with two semi-automatic pisposted online that Klug - the man

he had praised in his 2013 dissertation as a mentor - had ``made me really sick.''

Colleagues said only a deranged person could conclude someone of Klug's character would defraud a student.

Even before his death, Klug had been hailed as a caring father and gifted educator who inspired his students. Hundreds gathered to honor him at on-campus vigils.

Klug's outgoing personality contrasted with Sarkar's introversion.

Where Klug smiles in pictures, Sarkar rarely does. ``He was a little bit of a loner,'' said Ajit Mal, an engineering professor who taught Sarkar in one of his earliest classes at UCLA, where he enrolled in 2006.

Cont'd on Page 46

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Frenchman amassed arsenal for Euro attacks PARIS: A Frenchman with an arsenal of weapons and a grudge against his government's immigration policies was detained as he tried to leave Ukraine and launch an assault on the European Championship, Ukrainian officials said, describing it as a thwarted plot for a ``series of 15 terrorist attacks.''

The announcement came as France promised unprecedented security for the soccer tournament's crowds and stadiums, which includes the French national stadium that was attacked by suicide bombers on Nov. 13.

The tournament has begun among Europe's top 24 national teams and mesmerizes the continent - and much of the world - for a month.

Ukrainian agents had been following the man since December, and allowed him to buy five machine guns, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 125 kilograms (275 pounds) of TNT, 100 detonators and other arms. He also bought 20 balaclavas before he was arrested at the Yahodyn border crossing between Ukraine and Poland last month, the Ukrainian Security Service said.

The intelligence agency, known as the SBU, ``has managed to foil a series of 15 terrorist attacks

cases, said no investigation had been opened yet. France's foreign ministry confirmed the arrest in Ukraine, but offered no further details.

Extremist attacks are a major concern for French authorities as they prepare to host the tournament at stadiums in the Paris area and eight French other cities through July 10. Islamic State extremists have threatened France during the tournament, but authorities haven't confirmed specific dangers.

France is deploying a 90,000-strong security force, and President Francois Hollande says the threat of attacks won't stop the tournament from being successful. The Paris police chief, Michel Cadot, has asked for more The Ukrainian Intelligence Agency SBU agents detain a suspect at the Yahodyn security personnel in the border crossing on the Ukrainian-Polish border. SBU said it has thwarted a plot to French capital, however. attack soccer's European Championships in France by arresting a Frenchman who Cadot declined to comwanted to cross from Ukraine into the European Union armed to the teeth ment on the information from Ukraine, saying only the tournament. specifically. But we cannot neglect ``there is no specific threat against One expert said the universe of the other potential sources of ter- any (Euro 2016) site.'' potential attackers against Euro rorism, like the extreme right.''

French regional newspaper 2016 just expanded with the news The Paris prosecutor's office, L'Est Republicain identified the from Ukraine. which handles national terrorism man as Gregoire Moutaux and said which were planned to target France before and during'' Euro 2016, said its chief, Vasyl Hrytsak.

Ukraine said the suspect wanted to protest his government's immigration policies and the spread of Islam. It said he planned attacks on bridges, railways and other infrastructure for

``Just because you have stopped one group does not mean there's not another one elsewhere,'' David Benichou, a French antiterrorist judge, told RTL radio. ``The security forces are largely focused on a menace that is known, is evident, that doesn't hide and that has threatened us

Nigerians welcome, says Goa CM NEW DELHI: Seeking to play down the recent row over his remarks that people of Goa in general are unhappy with Nigerians, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has said all foreigners, including Nigerians, are welcome in the state which is committed to providing security to everyone.

"Goa is a tourist state.

How can we ask someone not to come or ban them? Everyone is welcome in Goa - be it Nigerians or Africans. We will provide security to everyone," he told reporters here after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Parsekar, however, said there might be one or two incidents involving a few Nigerians but for that a generalized opinion cannot be formed.

"We can't generalize about all Nigerians or Africans for that mat-

ter," he said.

On May 30, Parsekar had sparked a controversy by saying in Panaji that "in general, people

Laxmikant Parsekar

are angry with Nigerians and not other foreigners. I feel they (Nigerians) have a different attitude".

The CM was responding to a question on recent allegations of

rape against a Nigerian national in Goa and racial attacks in Delhi.

"We get people from all other countries, but in general the people of Goa are very much annoyed with their behavior, attitude, their way of life...because on many occasions I hear complaints against Nigerians," Parsekar had said.

His remarks drew flak from opposition Congress which alleged that it reflected the "racist attitude" of the BJP government.

The Chief Minister said that he discussed with Rajnath Singh the forthcoming BRICS summit to be held in Goa in October.

"There will be 8,000 to 10,000 delegates but we have a very small airport.

I have requested the Home Minister to enhance the immigration and other facilities for the benefit of the visiting foreign guests from the five BRICS nations," he said.-PTI

a white minivan and putting him face down on the ground.

The Frenchman arrived in eastern Ukraine last year and was ``trying to establish ties with Ukrainian troops under the guise of volunteering,'' the Ukrainian agency said.

Ukrainian troops and Russiabacked separatists have fought in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, killing nearly 9,400 people. It wasn't immediately clear which side of the conflict the Frenchman had been on.

Cadot said security measures tested since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 victims have been adapted to fit Euro 2016, creating more access points, security checks, bag and ticket controls and some pat-downs. ``We needed to improve,'' Cadot told a press conference. ``We want to avoid the threat of having someone carrying (in) explosives.''

He insisted on more fluidity at the stadiums' entrance after fans complained about severe overcrowding at security checkpoints at the Stade de France in Paris last month. Despite a two-meter (6 1/ 2-foot) security wall surrounding the stadium and triple security checks, supporters smuggled flares into the venue and ignited

Cadot said security measures tested since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 victims have been adapted to fit Euro 2016, creating more access points, security checks investigators raided his home in Nant-le-Petit near the eastern city of Nancy in May. The source for the man's identity wasn't cited.

French television network M6 reported that investigators found Tshirts promoting an extreme-right group.

Ukrainian authorities released photos of a fair-haired man, his face blurred, holding various weapons, as well as a video of the arrest, which showed Special Forces officers dragging him from

fires in the stands. Some supporters also tried to invade the field.

Richard Walton, head of the Counter Terrorism Command at the London Metropolitan Police during the 2012 Summer Olympics, said France's challenge was enormous. ``Successful counterterrorism is ultimately only measured by the absence of a terrorist incident,'' Walton wrote in an analysis. ``An attack anywhere in France during Euro 2016 is an attack on the event itself.'' -AP

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Immigration Post

46 India Post

June 17, 2016

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Judge delays order on ethics course HOUSTON: A federal judge in Texas who's presiding over a lawsuit filed against President Barack Obama's immigration executive action has said he will put on hold until Aug. 22 a ruling he had issued ordering Justice Department attorneys to attend an ethics course.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen last month had ordered the training for the attorneys, saying they misled him about whether the Obama administration had begun implementing one of the proposed measures.

After a group of 26 states filed a lawsuit in late 2014 challenging Obama's proposed measures, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a preliminary injunction that halted them. Before ordering the injunction, Justice Department attorneys told Hanen one key part

of Obama's actions, an expansion of a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, hadn't taken effect.

Federal officials later revealed they had given more than 108,000 people three-year reprieves from deportation and granted them work permits under the program.

Justice Department attorneys had previously insisted the reprieves were granted under 2012 guidelines, which weren't stopped by the injunction.

Obama's proposed executive actions could shield roughly 4 million people from deportation and make them eligible to work in the United States. Many Republicans oppose the actions, saying only Congress has the right to take

such sweeping action. A ruling on the lawsuit, led by Texas, is pending from the U.S. Supreme Court after the case was argued before

Representatives of the Texas Civil Rights Project leave the federal courthouse on June 7 in Brownsville, Texas. The non-profit group is overseeing a case where Judge Andrew Hanen placed a hold.

Sarkar was combative; didn't take criticism well Cont'd from Page 44

As Klug's career and family blossomed in his native Southern California, Sarkar struggled to finish his studies.

While at UCLA, Sarkar was ``a nice guy going through the same anxieties and struggles as anyone else,'' recalled Jeff Eldredge, a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor who was a close friend of Klug's and helped review and later approved Sarkar's dissertation.

Eldredge called Klug an exceptional person and teacher who had a gentle way giving feedback to

By then, Sarkar and Hasti had been married two years.

Hasti's grandmother, Jean Johnson, said Sarkar was reserved and polite but couldn't handle Hasti teasing him. Once, Johnson said, Sarkar called her and asked how he should respond to remarks Hasti made that bothered him.

Johnson described Sarkar as acting like a 2-year-old; Hasti got on the phone and said she had just been joking. ``It was really hard to say `whoopee','' Johnson recalled of the moment her beloved granddaughter shared that she would marry Sarkar. ``I was dumb-

Johnson said 2014 was when the couple split, though they did not divorce. It also was the year that Sarkar left his last known job, as an engineering analyst at an Ohio-based rubber company called Endurica students. Even so, Sarkar ``didn't take criticism well'' when he submitted a dissertation that advisers returned, requesting significant revisions. ``He was rather combative in his responses,'' Eldredge said. ``He'd say, `I don't know how to answer that' or `I don't know what that means.' He was just very stubborn.''

Sarkar submitted a new document that was barely sufficient for Klug to urge colleagues to grant him a Ph.D. in 2013.

founded. I said you've got to be kidding.''

Sarkar is not featured much in Hasti's Facebook pictures. When he is, he's not smiling, even when she is, her hand on his shoulder.

In his own sparse Facebook account, Sarkar posted just a few photos of his wife. In some of those, he does smile.

Sarkar came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2001 after earning a degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur.

the high court in April.

In a one-page order issued after hearing in the South Texas city of Brownsville, Hanen wrote that

In India, former classmates and teachers described a solid student who gave no indication of aggression.

He attended Stanford University from fall 2003 until spring 2005, when he received a master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, according to the university.

A year later, he had moved south to UCLA. It appears that 2014 was pivotal for Sarkar - a fulcrum year when his life tipped toward failure, despite being granted a green card to stay in the U.S. Johnson said 2014 was when the couple split, though they did not divorce. It also was the year that Sarkar left his last known job, as an engineering analyst at an Ohiobased rubber company called Endurica Company President Will Mars said Sarkar left that August, but declined to elaborate.

Los Angeles police found a 2003 Nissan Sentra they believe Sarkar used to drive from Minnesota to Los Angeles.

Earlier in the day, UCLA's engineering faculty met to discuss the shooting. No one could recall a sign that Sarkar would become violent. ``He went through something all I can think is personal struggles the last few days, weeks or years that we weren't privy to,'' professor Eldredge said. ``We assume, frankly, that he went through a psychological break that was pretty profound.''-AP

he would revisit the issue at the August hearing, including any suggestions from the Justice Department regarding ``an appropriate sanction for the misrepresentations.'' ``This (stay) puts us well beyond the Supreme Court ruling. I wish I could wave a magic wand to say, `Let's have a do-over,' but there's not. Give me something to

work with reasonably. Affidavits.

Something,'' Hanen told Justice Department attorneys at the hearing regarding evidence showing that he was not deliberately misled, The Brownsville Herald reported.

The Justice Department had said it ``emphatically'' disagrees with Hanen that any of its lawyers acted in bad faith or with the intent to deceive.

In his May ruling, Hanen had also ordered that federal officials provide a list of the individuals who were mistakenly given the three year reprieves and that this information could be given to officials in states where these immigrants live.

Hanen's decision also delayed the release of this information, which came as welcome news to immigrant advocates. ``The idea of handing (the states) the names and addresses and very private information of (immigrants) to do with what they would was very alarming to the DACA recipients,'' said Nina Perales, vice president for litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, who spoke at the hearing. -AP

Migrant deaths in Med top 10,000 GENEVA: More than 10,000 means of dealing with these movepeople have died attempting the ments". perilous journey across the Medi"They're happening, they're not terranean to Europe since 2014, stopping, they need a solution to the United Nations has said. prevent further lives being lost," "You've now had since the start he said. of 2014 - when this phenomenon The International Organization of rising numbers across the Medi- for Migration meanwhile said the terranean happened - 10,000 death toll so far this year was aldeaths. That threshold has been ready nearly a thousand above crossed just in the last few days," UN refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards So far, a total of told reporters.

206,400 refugees and UNHCR said the number of migrants had arrived in Mediterranean deaths had risen sharply in 2016, with Europe since the start 2,814 people dying since the of the year start of the year, following a total of 3,771 in 2015 and 3,500 the year earlier. the 1,838 deaths registered in the That amounts to 10,085 deaths Mediterranean during the first half in less than two and a half years. of 2015.

"This is clearly an appalling So far, a total of 206,400 refunumber of deaths that have oc- gees and migrants had arrived in curred in the Mediterranean, just Europe since the start of the year, on Europe's borders just in the mainly landing in Greece and Italy, past couple of years," Edwards the organization said. told AFP. Following the latest shipwreck "It's an extremely worrying dy- off the Greek island of Crete, the namic," he said, reiterating the IOM said around 320 people reagency's call for the world to find mained missing, presumed "viable alternative and regular drowned. -AFP

Datebook

June 17, 2016

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Upcoming

Upcoming

Sat, Jun 25 • Sundown Affair : A RoofTop

Upcoming Sat, Jun 18 • Kalyanji Anandji Laxmikant Pyarelal live music Venue: Montgomerry High School, 1016 County Road 601, Montgomery, NJ 08558 Time: 04:00 pm Contact: 732-501-5753

Sat, Jul 16

CHICAGO

Party

Fri, July 15 • Qawali Night With Tabriaz Aziz Mian Qawal

Venue: LEXICON, 226 E 54th St, New York,

Venue: Crystal Jade Jiang Nan, 4 Embarcadero

NY 10022

Venue: Paradise Ballrooms, 4100 Peralta

Center, San Francisco, CA 94111

Time : 9:30 pm

Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94536

Time: 05:00 pm

Sat, Jun 18 • Desi Saturdays New Yorks Weekly Saturday Night

Sat, Jun 25

Sat, Jun 18

Time: 07:00 pm

Edmundson Ave Morgan Hill, CA 95037,

Sun, Jul 17 • Sunidhi Chauhan and Ayushmann Khurrana Live In Bay Area

171 West Edmundson Avenue, Morgan Hill,

Venue: City National Civic, 135 W San

CA 95037

Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95113

• Sensational Heartthrobs

Time: 8:00 am

Time: 06:30 pm

Venue: Colden Auditorium, 65-30 Kissena

Contact: 408-859-2496

• Suhana Safar- A Musical Journey

• Rachna Sarang Academy: Kathak Dance Festival

Venue: St. Demetrius Ukrainian Ctr, 591 Roosevelt Avenue, Carteret, NJ 07008 Time : 5:00 pm

Venue: Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway, New

Sun, Aug 7 • IFMP Annual Summer Picnic

Sat, Jun 30

Venue: Mercer County Park East, 1346 Edinburg Rd, West Windsor Township, NJ 08550 Time: 11:00 pm

India Post 47

York, NY 10027 Time : 07:00 pm

Boulevard, NY 11367 Time : 08:00 pm

• 2nd Annual Morgan Hill Yoga Fest Venue: CRC Community Park, 171 W

Fri, July 1 • Bollywood Night Summer 16 presents DJ Hans Venue: Studio 8 – Downtown San Jose, 8 S 1st St, San Jose, CA 95113 Time: 10:00 pm

Sun, Jul 3 • Folkfest - Regional Folk Dances of India.

Venue: Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose, CA 95116 Time: 4:00 pm Contact: 408 238 8321

Sat, Aug 20 • Dream Team Star Show - The BIGGEST STAR Venue: The Forum, 3900 West Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood, CA 90305 Time: 07:30 pm

ATLANTA Upcoming Sat, Jun 25 • Bollywood Sultana - Featuring 1 Female DJ Venue: CLUB Eden, 1716 I Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20006 Time: 9:00 pm

ILLINOIS Upcoming 1st and 3rd Sunday of Month • Chicago Children's Bal Mukund Character Building Program and Hindi Literacy Classes Venue: Vogelei Center, 650 W. Higgins Road, Hoffmann Estates, IL 60192 (Next to Nissan Dealership) Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @ 630-561-4807

Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105

Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Where: Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105

July 5 - 9 • Chinmaya Mission Atlanta Summer Camp 2016

Swami Ishatmananda

Venue: Chinmaya Niketan, 5511 Williams Road, Norcross, GA 30093 Time: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Contact: 678-717-9814

Venue: Public Library-95th Street 3015 Cedar Glade Rd Naperville IL 60564 Time: 1st friday of every month 7-8 pm Contact: 630-637-0662

Sun, Jul 10 • Thaikkudam Bridge Live In Atlanta!!

Venue: Lassiter Concert Hall, 2601 Shallowford Road, Marietta, GA 30066 Time: 5:00 pm

• Bhagavad Gita: Philosophy of life

• India Eternal: From the Vedic Age to the Present Venue: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago 10915 N. Main Street Glendale Heights, IL 60139 Time: 10:00 pm Contact: 630-655-8822

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June 17, 2016

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Philosophy

June 17, 2016

India Post 49

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Page Sponsored by Sahanis RUPERT SPIRA

H

ow does something that is infinite take on the appearance of something that is finite? How does Consciousness appear to itself as a multiplicity and diversity of selves and objects?

I'd like to give you an analogy.

Imagine a woman named Mary falling asleep here in Titignano (Italy).

Mary's mind is a single indivisible whole, like each of our minds, and Mary dreams that she is Jane walking the streets of New York. So, Mary's mind has fallen asleep to its own infinite, indivisible nature and imagines instead that it has assumed the limited form of Jane's mind. Jane is walking the streets of New York, seeing people, cars, buildings, which from Jane's point of view all seem to be outside her mind.

When Jane closes her eyes the streets of New York disappear, and therefore she legitimately concludes that whatever it is that is seeing the streets of New York lives just behind her eyes. This and similar experiences convince Jane that the knowing with which she knows her experience lives just behind her eyes, or in her chest, in her body. All her thoughts, feelings and subsequent other activities and relationships are consistent with this belief.

One day Jane goes to a cafĂŠ, and sitting at the table next to her NEELAM

T

he mind has its own image of what is supposed to be, which has nothing to do with the way things are really.

Presence is already here. The reason it does not seem to be available all the time is because our attention does not rest here.

The practice is coming here, to know your true nature over and over again. Develop a better habit, training our attention to be here. Break through this misunderstanding, this belief that there are times Presence is not here.

Then you will have moment to moment, the weight of your very own direct experience, rather than believing it or speaking about it, 'well it's not here'. Well, instead of doing that you can actually check on that in the moment.

If you can keep checking on that, that's what breaks the illusion, that's what breaks the veil that what we tend to believe who we are is not available.

When the past arises, our attention moves with that. Our attention moves away from freedom, from who we really are. And over and over again, it seems like we are not really able to rest here.

We have all experienced Pres-

is a handsome man called David.

David and Jane notice each other, they start having a conversation, and Jane feels a mysterious attraction to him.

When Jane feels this mysterious attraction towards David and they begin dating, she has a strange feeling that if she were to get closer to David, the pain that she feels in her heart, that she has been trying to escape from all her life, would somehow be alleviated.

She feels that somehow to merge with David would give her relief

fering? And what happens to her suffering when she and David merge?

In this moment of merging there is a temporary loss of all the limitations with which Jane defines herself. There is a temporary collapse of Jane's finite mind, and in that moment she tastes the essence of her mind, which is Mary's peaceful mind asleep in Titignano.

Now, of course, when Jane and David part, this temporary suspension of suffering comes to an

asleep to the infinite nature of her own mind and rise in the form of Jane's finite mind. It is only from the limited point of view of Jane's finite mind that Mary was able to experience the streets of New York.

In the same way, to bring manifestation into apparent existence Consciousness needs to fall asleep to its own infinite nature, because it is not possible for something that is infinite to know something that is finite.

Manifestation means form, and

How does Consciousness appear as many?

To bring manifestation into apparent existence Consciousness needs to fall asleep to its own infinite nature, because it is not possible for someRupert Spira

thing that is infinite to know something finite.

from the pain from which she has been running all her life.

Eventually she and David do get together, and when they merge in friendship and sexual intimacy, she does indeed feel temporary relief from the pain of her longing. What is really happening? Why does Jane feel this longing? From where does the intuition come that it is possible to be relieved of her suf-

end and she feels everything that defines her again. The suffering bubbles up again.

This wound of separation, this longing for freedom, peace, happiness and love is, in fact, an echo in Jane of the nature of Mary's mind. Mary's mind is at peace, free, asleep in Titignano.

To appear as Jane on the streets of New York, Mary had to fall

form means limit, so in order to experience something limited, such as a universe, Consciousness must overlook the knowing of its own unlimited Being. It must fall asleep to itself and freely assume the form of the finite mind.

Rupert Spira is a British spiritual writer and teacher in the branch of Non Duality. Excerpted from rupertspira.com

ence. Moments of stillness, quietude, love, or expansion. And yet in our day to day life, we often struggle to find the ground, the ground of our true nature, especially when past is present, when our conditioning is here, our habits of not resting here.

Our ability to live the life of freedom, the life that is grounded in and guided by the truth of who we really are, requires us to ad-

you are with what is, and therefore how you are with yourself and others, rather than sharing what you know or what you do.

The mind pulls us to follow patterns of avoiding the painful areas of our past. You have to be present with pain to see the old patterns. When we go within we penetrate the old habits and old beliefs.

is I can't do anything for you. The realization, as you call it, doesn't belong to anyone. If it were "mine," then it would be a problem indeed! So why not just forget about that and look directly, right now, at this misconception of "you" and "me" and "someone" and "having" and "not having."

Rather than expect another to give it to you, which is absolutely

Presence is here; it is never absent When the past arises, our attention moves with that. Our attention moves away from freedom, from who we really are. And over and over again, it seems like we are not really able to rest here. dress the unresolved past.

In any kind of relating we have a certain expectation, a certain need, idea, projection, a certain perception, a certain want, that has nothing to do with reality or with the other.

How you are with everybody you meet, is the sharing of how

Q. I would like to rely on you to pull me out of ignorance. I feel you have the power of realization, which I don't have.

N: It doesn't work like that. As long as there is a "you," then there is a "me." This is in fact the whole problem. So the truth

Neelam

impossible, you can look into the very place where you believe that you don't have it.

Excerpted from neelam.org.

Neelam, a native of Poland, has been giving Satsang internationally since 1996. She is a direct disciple of H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji)

Human effort consists in creating bondage for oneself, clinging fast to it, and wanting to become free without giving up bondage itself.

-Atmananda Krishna Menon If you seek the kernel, then you must break the shell.

And likewise, if you would know the reality of Nature, you must destroy the appearance, and the farther you go beyond the appearance, the nearer you will be to the essence.

-Meister Eckhart You are the fabric out of which this universe is made. And it is created in this present. It was not created in the past. Everything is created from moment to moment, always new.

-Francis Lucille Attention has no past. Attention has no future. Attention is always in the now. And now is the Life!

That thought about Death - 'I know I am going to die one day' - is inattention.

-V. Ganesan No one is born; no one dies. What is born is only a concept. There is no entity to be freed. Not understanding this fact constitutes the bondage of ignorance; apperception of it is the freedom of truth.

- Nisargadatta Maharaj You have agreed that you will die only because you have accepted from someone that you were born.

-Sri Poonja Ji

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JOHANNESBURG: In some parts of Africa, tourists and researchers routinely trek into the undergrowth to see gorillas in their natural habitat. There are no barriers and no enclosures, and the apes, many of whom are accustomed to people, sometimes move past first-time visitors frozen in place, their awe mingling with apprehension.

This delicate interaction usually happens without incident, overseen by guides who brief trekkers on rules designed as much to protect infection-prone gorillas from humans as to shield humans from hulking wild animals. It's a very different situation to the tense, rapidly unfolding events on May 28 at the Cincinnati Zoo, where an animal response team shot and killed an en-

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June 17, 2016

Tourist Stephen Fernandez, center-right, takes photos of a male silverback mountain gorilla from the family of mountain gorillas named Amahoro, which means "peace" in the Rwandan language, in the dense forest on the slopes of Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda.

Tourists must be over 15 years old to be eligible for gorilla-trekking, according to Rwandan park officials.

dangered adult male gorilla named Harambe after a 3-year-old boy fell into an enclosure.

A key to studying gorillas in their habitats is to maintain a minimum distance and convey ``a certain kind of feeling that they are not under too much pressure,'' Thomas Breuer, a researcher with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a telephone interview from the Republic of Congo.

Researchers today, Breuer said, don't practice the up-close methods of Dian Fossey, the American primatologist who won the confidence of gorillas by imitating their noises, moving on her knuckles and

chewing on vegetation. Fossey, who brought international attention to the endangered primates' plight and whose book ``Gorillas in the Mist'' inspired a movie starring Sigourney Weaver, was murdered at her Rwandan research camp in 1985.

In Rwanda, guides who lead tourists to see habituated gorillas ask them to stay at least 23 feet (seven meters) away from the animals. They also say: Don't point, speak softly, don't cough or sneeze in the animals' direction and if a gorilla approaches, crouch down, don't make eye contact and make a low sound similar to that of clearing the throat, which gorillas use to express friendliness.

Tourists must be over 15 years old to be eligible for gorilla-trekking, according to Rwandan park officials.

The Cincinnati scenario was unpredictable. The zoo said it made a hard decision to kill the gorilla to ensure the child's safety. Video shows Harambe swiftly dragging the boy through the moat water, and also pausing and touching the child in a way that some people viewed as protective. Alarmed calls of onlookers can be heard.

The Jane Goodall Institute released an email sent by the primatologist and conservationist to Thane Maynard, the director of the Cincinnati Zoo, expressing empathy with him over what she called the ``devastating loss'' of the gorilla.

Cont'd on Page 53

June 17, 2016

India Post 51 www.indiapost.com

Fight till the end: Shekhar Kapur MUMBAI: Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has urged the makers of "Udta Punjab", which is embroiled in a censorship battle, to continue their fight with the censor board till the end.

The Abhishek Chaubey-directed film that delves into the drug menace in the state of Punjab, faced troubles with Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) which demanded 89 cuts in the film. It also included removal of the word "Punjab" word from the movie as well its title.

Kapur faced similar situation during his 1994 Phoolan Devi biopic - "Bandit Queen" and even approached the Supreme Court for the release of the film.

"If you truly believe in your film then you must be willing to fight

Filmmakers feel bullied by censor board

Shekhar Kapur

to the end. We did with Bandit Queen all the way to Supreme Court #UdtaPunjab," Kapur, 70, wrote on Twitter.

"Udta Punjab" starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh

P

Priyanka Chopra with grandmother

ful. But we should not concentrate on it.

Rather we should look that we lost a family member."

Late Mrs Akhouri's cousin Elias Kavalappara also told a leading channel, "She had confessed and even taken communion in this church two years back. I don't see any reason why she should be denied her last wish. I am not going to take this lying down. This is the 21st century, not some dark age."

Is Priyanka Chopra getting married?

P

riyanka Chopra might be en joying her 'single' status right now but she is quite eager to get married. Yes! The actress had herself quoted her marriage plans recently stating, "I have always wanted babies. Lots of them. For that reason I want to get married, It is not fair to bring a child to this world without marriage. Society is mean like that. I want to get married but no one can claim me until someone really claims me."

However, just because she will be

turning 34 this year, doesn't mean she needs to settle down soon, asserts PC's mom in this latest interview.

While Priyanka had clarified saying, "Marriage is definitely on the cards, but will happen when the time is right. It will happen when it is destined to. Priyanka's mom now echoes the same thoughts about her daughter saying, "Today, I see many marriages are falling apart.

People don't have the tolerance to give each other and their relation-

the process of certification. It's not censorship. We don't have to have that parental attitude towards the audience."

The three-time National awardwinning actress said her 2014 film "Queen" had also run into trouble with the CBFC after it objected to a scene involving the women's undergarment.

"In my film 'Queen', there was a funny moment with the bra. My

very close friends and people I closely work with seem extremely disturbed with the way things are; to an extent they feel bullied," Kangana said.

The actress said it is high time that people stop having this parental attitude towards the audience.

"I would support them. They are legitimate artistes. They know

director called and said they are blurring the bra.

They said it is vulgar. Our director was furious about it. We are artistes... We see props as they are.

A woman's bra is not a danger to the society," she said.

The actress received the 'CNNNews18 Indian of the Year, 2015 Special Achievement' award here.PTI

is scheduled for release on June 17.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt, Sudhir Mishra among others have come out in support of "Udta Punjab".-PTI

Priyanka grandmother's last wish denied riyanka Chopra lost her ma ternal grandmother, Madhu Jyotsana Akhauri, days after returning from America. The actress was close to her granny and to fulfil her last wish of being buried at her childhood church - St John's Attamangalam church, she flew her grandmom's body to Kerala...

However, the church didn't allow her to be buried because she had married a Hindu.

This didn't go down well with Priyanka and she felt awful. However, being her cool self, she remained calm and performed the last rites of her grandmother at another church in Kerala. But talking about the incident, Priyanka said, "The act of church was aw-

NEW DELHI: Actress Kangana Ranaut has backed the makers of "Udta Punjab", which is embroiled in a censorship battle, saying the censor board is bullying filmmakers and called for an end to "parental attitude towards the audience".

"We have been very concerned with the way things are going. I am not a director; I have never been through the process. But my

ship so much time and to see it nurture. So when Priyanka reaches that stage when she has the time to nurture her relationship and give it the attention it needs and demands, she will get married. It's not like you have reached a certain age and now it is time to get married.

That's a wrong basis for marriage."

Priyanka had once said, "If I am ever with someone, please know that, I will be with a show-man. My dad was one and i think whoever I will be with has to be one."

Te3n is a riveting slow-burner T

he ghost of Kahaani romps around unmistakably in Te3n, an intense, psychologically engaging crime drama. After all not only Sujoy Ghosh the producer of this film, it is also, like the earlier film, set in Kolkata.

But this smartly packaged adaptation of the 2013 Korean hit Montage bears a sufficiently strong stamp of originality.

The film is, moreover, enlivened by fine performances by the three principal members of the cast led

by Amitabh Bachchan.

Director Ribhu Dasgupta's sophomore effort his first film, Michael, starring Naseeruddin Shah and also set in Kolkata, slipped through the cracks of Mumbai's distribution system and never saw light of day.

That is not to suggest that everything in Te3n is near-perfect.

But what the film lacks by way of substance is amply made up for by the flawless camerawork (Tushar Kanti Ray) and the paceenhancing editing (Gairik Sarkar).

Cont'd on Page 52

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June 17, 2016 www.indiapost.com

Iconic rubber duck goes digital TOKYO: The iconic rubber duck has gone digital - but maybe it doesn't need to.

Billed as the world's first ``smart duck,'' the $100 Edwin the Duck is yellow, cute and waterproof, just like the good old rubber ducky floating in many bathtubs for generations. But Edwin also reads and plays music. He quacks, rather than squeaks like the traditional ducky, thanks to internal electronics. Motion sensors turn Edwin into a controller for games.

Yet Edwin feels like a work in progress, a collection of miscellaneous functions that are mildly duck-related, without the features that would truly make him smart.

For instance, he doesn't converse with kids using computer-generated responses, as other smart toys do. And most of his wizardry merely directs a child's attention right back to screens.

Perhaps Edwin would have worked better without trying to be all that smart. Not every toy needs to be a smart toy. A good personality might be all that a digital rubber duck needs.

Edwin does have a personality

- and more.

You can have Edwin tell a story or play a song by launching a free iPhone or Android app. The fun part comes through Edwin's builtin motion sensors. As your kid

response in a game or quiz. Tap on Edwin's wing, and a light in his head turns on. Edwin becomes a night light - but one that can also tell a child a bedtime story or play a lullaby.

Yui Matusmoto, 4, plays with Edwin the Duck, a digital duck toy, in the living room of his home in Tokyo, as his grandmother Megumi Sekiguchi looks on.

Edwin the Duck, billed as the world's first "smart duck," connects by Bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet device such as an iPad to play animation stories and songs. It also works as a regular speaker to deliver music of your choice in bed or in the bathtub.

shakes, turns or moves Edwin up and down, an animated Edwin on the app swims or flies, or selects a

Two children asked to play with Edwin appeared to enjoy squeezing Edwin's soft head, just for fun,

We are ordinary family, says Amitabh

T

here is a lot of aura sur rounding the Bachchan family, but megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he does not find anything special in the way they conduct themselves.

In an interview, Bachchan speaks about his family, son Abhishek, granddaughter, Panama Papers controversy and working with Ram Gopal Varma again on Sarkar 3.

Here are excerpts: We often see the Bachchan family together at the screening of films be it of Abhishek or Aishwarya. Do you critically analyze each other's work within the

family?

We are ordinary beings and we conduct ourselves ordinarily. Yes, just as any other would discuss a film, we as a family often do similar.

Abhishek has successfully diversified into numerous things beyond his core competency of acting. To you, is he an actor first or an entrepreneur?

To me he is my son first and last.

His core competency, his diversified fields, are added attractions and accomplishments for me.

How does Jaya react to the work that you do today? Is she impressed?

Bachchan family

At times... Not always...!!

We have been hearing about your granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda getting into films.

That news is incorrect. She is busy with her advanced studies, having recently graduated from school.

You would be teaming up with Ram Gopal Varma for Sarkar 3.

Can his slide be arrested and do you feel he has it in him to come out with another critically acclaimed work?

Every individual in the film world has been through these so called 'slides'. The slides that you observe on the playing fields of children in a park are a good symbolic example. When the kid slides down one of these contraptions, he or she reaches the ground and gets up, he doesn't disappear into the earth below.

Ram Gopal Varma is a most noteworthy talent and has given us some very valuable iconic films.

I enjoy working with him. Whether the work that I do shall succeed or achieve critical acclaim is for the audience to decide.

as that was not designed to control anything digitally. They also liked moving the toy energetically to make an on-screen duck swim in a race. But one of them remarked that he wanted Edwin to read a different story. The selection is still limited.

Of course, the reading capability begs the question of whether parents ought to be reading to their kids directly instead. And should parents give kids yet another screen to stare at for these ducky games and quizzes?

Stevanne Auerbach, author of ``Dr. Toy's Smart Play Smart Toys: How to Select and Use the Best Toys & Games,'' says children need to run around, do fingerpainting, read old-fashioned books and interact with nature. ``I don't think you want to throw the rubber duck out and replace it with Edwin,'' Auerbach says.

But she isn't dismissing Edwin entirely and says there could be room for both. She also says Edwin might be a hit with adults as a night light that can play music.

For now, Edwin ducks con-

cerns about privacy and security, mostly because he doesn't have Internet-enabled conversation capabilities, the way rival smart toys such as Mattel's Hello Barbie have.

Edwin, derived from the Old English word for ``friend,'' is available in the U.S. and Europe.

Edwin's creator, Pi Lab, says it's in talks to bring it to Japan.

Don Inmon, Pi Lab's cofounder, acknowledges that Edwin isn't the perfect duck yet and says more educational features are coming, including foreign-language instruction. He says casting a duck to house the technology was critical in giving an emotional element - a personality - as evident in Edwin's face design and tactile feel.

Perhaps Pi Lab could just stop there. Charlotte Lee, recognized

by Guinness World Records for her collection of more than 7,000 rubber ducks, plans to buy Edwin, but says her favorites are the silly, wacky and not very serious.

In trying to be more, Edwin could be too smart to be truly playful.-AP

Te3n is a riveting slow-burner Cont'd from Page 51

A schoolgirl is kidnapped for ransom. The crime has a tragic end and the victim's grandfather, John Biswas (Amitabh Bachchan), takes it upon himself to bring the perpetrator to book.

Eight years on that is the point at which the curtain goes up on the story the septuagenarian is still at it, determined not to give up until his mission is accomplished.

The police officer in charge of the case, Sarika Sarkar (Vidya Balan), and John's ailing wife Nancy (Padmavati Rao) exhort him to move on with his life. Their entreaties have no effect on him.

Another key figure in this thriller is Father Martin, a policeman-turned-priest whose life took a dramatic turn when John's granddaughter went missing and he took the rap for botching up the rescue.

Now, eight years on, both John and Martin get a chance to rid themselves of their overwhelming sense of guilt when the kidnapper strikes again and all the clues link the latest crime to the past one.

The victim this time around is another child, grandson of an old man (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), who spends his days nursing a

daughter with a heart condition.

The renewed hunt for the kidnapper launched by Sarita Sarkar draws into its vortex all the key characters amid a string surprising twists and turns.

Te3n does not depend on conventional narrative momentum for effect. It relies instead on subtle cat-and-mouse games that lead up to an intriguing, if somewhat predictable, climax.

The film is made all the more riveting by the quality of the acting. Amitabh Bachchan throws all his weight behind etching out the troubled but tenacious character of John Biswas. The result is often spellbinding.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as effortless as ever, is pitch perfect. Vidya Balan, despite being saddled with a role that probably needed a little more writing, holds her own amid the two bravura acts.

Te3n is an edgy, intelligent thriller that proffers more than just superficial thrills.

It abjures the conventions of the genre and delivers a cinematic experience that is rich and rewarding.

While the storytelling is top notch for the most part, in technical terms, too, Te3n belongs right up there with the best that Bollywood can offer.-PTI

June 17, 2016

India Post 53 www.indiapost.com

Separated? Then who gets the pet?

W

hen Tricia Lerdon and her husband separated, they had to figure out how to share their beloved dachshund, Jetson. ``One of us giving up the dog?'' she said. ``That wasn't even a conversation.''

So while living apart, they coowned Jetson for several years until he died earlier this year. He traveled between their homes on the same schedule that their daughter did, so she would always have her pet's company.

Pet custody disputes are on the rise, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in Chicago, in a 2014 survey. The survey cited attorneys handling cases concerning cats, dogs, birds and reptiles.

Christie Long, chief veterinarian for PetCoach, an online resource for pet owners, said that as pets have become more ingrained in

families' lives, pet owners who split up have come up with creative ways to ensure continued relationships with their animals.

She encourages owners to discuss the arrangement at the start of a breakup to avoid problems later. Think about how to provide and pay for veterinary care, and what measures to take if the animal gets sick, Long said. Also address discipline and pet behavior. ``If one party is more rigid about rules like no dogs on the couch and the other doesn't care that much, you definitely want to discuss that,'' she said.

In hindsight, Lerdon wishes she and her ex-husband had talked more about the plan for Jetson. She wonders if shuttling between two homes might have hurt his health as he aged. ``I do think it took a toll on him,'' she said.

Yet she also believes Jetson would have been unhappy if he

were cut off from either her or her ex. ``It's like a child,'' she said. ``You can't keep a child from a parent.''

Long encourages pet owners to consider whether their pet also has a relationship with another animal in the household. ``Animals are adaptable,'' she

Getting close to gorillas Cont'd from Page 50

Goodall wrote that she feels sorry for Maynard having to defend a shooting that he ``may disapprove of'' and that it looked like the gorilla was putting an arm around the child.

Goodall, known for her decades of studying wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, also asked about the reaction of the other gorillas and whether they were allowed to express grief.

Dominant male gorillas like Harambe, known as silverbacks for their distinguishing hair color, can be more aggressive in limited spaces such as zoos than they would be in the wild, and can also seem uncharacteristically ``inactive and stoic'' while sitting in enclosures, said Eva Maria Luef, a researcher with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany.

In the Republic of Congo, ``we never had to be afraid of the silverbacks we were observing and they tolerated us humans (researchers and tourists) around them without ever showing any aggression,'' Luef wrote in an email to The Associated Press. ``When humans treat the gorillas with respect and do not get too close or harass them in their `private

space,' gorillas are peaceful and friendly.''

Harambe was a western lowland gorilla, the most populous of several endangered kinds of gorilla that live in African forests. The population of another kind, the Grauer's gorilla, plunged by 77 percent in the past 20 years to 3,800 because of illegal hunting, past civil unrest and loss of habitat, ac-

cording to a report released in April by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Fauna & Flora International.

The outlook is positive if precarious for mountain gorillas, another endangered group whose population has increased to about 900 in the wild after a big decline in the past century. Many live in the Virunga Massif, which spans Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park

as well as parks in neighboring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo; the population there is growing at about 4 percent a year.

Last year, an AP team trekked to see gorillas in Rwanda. The 23feet (seven-meter) distance rule was difficult to follow because gorillas, which have close genetic links to humans, dropped out of trees and came up behind tourists on a trail, seemingly ignoring the visitors as they pushed past in silence. ``A tourist might feel conflicting impulses to shy away and reach for a hug (the latter is not advised) when a gorilla brushes past on a path. The way a gorilla snoozes, scratches a leg or casts an inquiring glance _ it all seems familiar, and yet wild,'' the AP reported.

Breuer has studied gorillas in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo in a project partly supported by the Cincinnati Zoo. He said a popular image of gorillas as ``gentle giants'' is misleading, and that experienced Congolese guides had occasionally stepped forward with raised sticks to ward off aggressive animals. ``These are not pets,'' Breuer said.-AP

said. ``For the most part, they are happy to be with one owner. I would caution people about breaking up multiple pets that have bonded. Keeping those pets together as much as possible will mean they are less likely to develop behavioral problems.''

Cat owners may want to think twice about pet sharing, Long said. Cats tend to become comfortable in a certain location and might not do well travel between two residences, she said. ``If possible, select one party as the `primary' owner and let the other owner have visitation rights in that home,'' she suggested. ``If this won't work at all, consider a longer period of time for joint custody - maybe six months at a time.''

Couples who have difficulty agreeing on a plan can turn to mediators who specialize in pet cases.

When Mosa Hsu and her ex could not reach agreement about their rescue dog, Pupineya, they turned to mediation. The process let them move past their anger at

each another and work together, said Hsu, who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. ``We don't argue about fairness, inequity or recompense for prior wrongs anymore,'' she said ``We value the terms of agreement - visitations six months each for both of us per year - because we created its terms.''

Mediation can help both parties have honest conversations about the animal, said Debra Hamilton of Hamilton Law and Mediation in Armonk, New York. It also results in an enforceable plan that both parties have agreed to.

Hamilton handles cases involving issues with breeders, and between pet owners and housing associations and service providers. She estimates that about 25 percent of her business involves pet custody.

She has helped couples so angry with one another that they turn to a third party, such as a groomer, pet sitter or friend, to actually handle the logistics of handing the pet over. ``If you truly want to keep the animal in your life, you find a person who's going to be that go-between,'' she said.

Robin Bennett, chairman of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, in Lexington, Kentucky, gives these five tips for exes sharing a pet: • Keep the animal on the same sleep schedule at both houses.

• Maintain similar feeding times.

• Enforce the same rules.

• Make sure the animal gets plenty of exercise.

• Use the same commands and cues.-AP

Kher presents musical serial on Kedarnath DEHRADUN: Singer Kailash Kher met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and gave a presentation on a musical serial made by him on the famous Himalayan temple Kedarnath.

Made in 12 episodes, each lasting 40 minutes, the serial claims to give authentic information on the famed Himalayan shrine located in Uttarakhand, an official release said After viewing the presentation, Rawat asked Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh to work out a detailed action plan in consultation with the State Tourism and Information departments to make maximum use of the serial to arouse people's interest in the shrine and information related to

it, the release said.

He even suggested that short 2-minute films can also be made out of the serial to generate interest about the ancient temple and disseminate information related to its past to people in general.

Rawat government is taking steps to add new features to Kedarnath Yatra to generate interest in visitors so that more people visit the shrine which was witness to large scale devastation in the wake of the June 2013 natural disaster.

In keeping with his plans to generate renewed interest among people to visit the famed temple, Rawat laid the foundation stone of a yoga and meditation centre at Kedarnath. -PTI

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Modi's US visit did not raise high expectations

I

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fourth visit to the US and second meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House had not raised heightened expectations, and thus, the outcome of his visit also failed to generate much excitement in either India or the US. The main event that drew the attention of the Indian media was his address to the joint session of the US Congress. It is difficult to extract any aspect of his speech or statements to highlight any newness in the emphasis or novel initiative. What accounts for little anticipations from Modi's recent visit to the US and tiny excitement over the outcome after his visit?

Firstly, Prime Minister Modi has already met the US president multiple times and it was to be yet another round of interactions. Sec-

India Post Two themes

CHINTAMANI MAHAPATRA

a time when that nation was acutely engrossed in an election year. But such an argument is fallacious.

reiterated his idea of more robust Indo-US cooperation to fight global terror whose incubation takes place in India's neighborhood.

Here, one may say that the two Regular interactions countries have been making some Regular interactions at the combined efforts to combat terrorhighest levels of government un- ism for long, but the nature of endoubtedly have value-addition; gagement between Washington and especially since the two coun- and Islamabad has and will contries have begun a journey along tinue to set the limits. a new trajectory in their bilateral So long as the US forces are relationship in the midst of a diffi- present on the Afghan soil, Pakicult transition in the global politi- stan will remain a relevant secucal economy and subtle power rity partner of Washington's. No shift. matter, who enters the White Moreover, Modi did not yet House after the upcoming Novemhave an opportunity to directly ber election, expecting more than engage with a powerful compo- what already is the level of coopnent of the US federal government, eration between New Delhi and whereas President Obama had ad- Washington would be like builddressed the Indian parliament dur- ing castles in the air. Pakistan ing one of his visits. That gap has seems to be a necessary evil that been desirably filled with this visit. no US government can close its The principal question that eye on.

While the US apparently is seeking closer security ties with India in the emerging context of escalating challenges from enlargement of the Chinese sphere of influence in South and Central Asia, it remains to be seen how India and the US actually collaborate extensively in the economic sphere.

China's economic footprint in Pakistan has been enlarging and the promised implementation of Sino-Pakistan economic corridor will further strengthen Beijing's influence in South Asia. This in combination with Chinese economic presence in other smaller countries in Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting US Congress members, before his address to the Joint Session in Washington DC on June 8 South Asia do pose a long term security risk to the US' influondly, his first visit to the US after needs to be examined is whether ence in this region. Unless the US assuming office as the Indian Modi's recent visit would have any considers this aspect and seeks prime minister was already spec- substantial impact on the US' to enhance its economic involvetacular both in terms of optics and policy towards South Asia. What ment in this region, its singlesubstance. were the major points raised by the minded effort to forge defense and And nothing more could have Indian prime minister during his security partnership with India will been expected in just about two recent visit to the US? be inadequate to maintain a reyears. Thirdly, his initiative to inFirst, he expressed his desire to gional balance. vite President Obama to be the elevate the level of economic and The Indo-US strategic partnerChief Guest at the Republic Day technological cooperation be- ship at present seems heavily celebration also indicated both his tween the two countries. India's loaded in favor of defense and innovative diplomacy and coher- economic performance in the back- security ties. There is no need for ent efforts to effect a deeper co- drop of a slow recovery of the glo- course correction, but greater ecooperation between the US and In- bal economy from recession, and nomic and technological focus is dia. the Modi government's ambitious necessary to make it more balAll that needed to be said had economic agendas to develop anced. Modi's reemphasis in the already been said in the last two India's infrastructure to fit the 21st US on enhanced economic coopyears and this time the visit per- Century global standard; create eration is thus a welcome develhaps meant to reinforce the mu- one hundred smart cities; and im- opment. tual commitment to implement the prove rural-urban connectivity The writer is Rector, measures agreed upon. Many be- through digitization; certainly pro- Jawaharlal Nehru University lieved that it was not prudent to vide a great opportunity to expand (JNU), Professor, School of Intervisit the US to speak with an out- Indo-US economic cooperation. national Studies, JNU, & Columgoing president and especially at Secondly, Prime Minister Modi nist, IPCS

T

here are two themes that run through the BJP drive for dominance in Indian politics: Development and Hindutva. While development is the positive factor which has earned it great dividends, Hindutva is the negative factor which the party is enamored of. It may earn it votes in the present but it has potential for harm in the long run.

For the sake of development, Prime Minister Modi has turned himself into a super foreign minister seeking cooperation of many western developed countries. And the effort is paying off, particularly in his engagement with the USA as a major partner in country's multi-faceted progress. In sending even the President and the Vice President on foreign visits to make friends and influence the people of different countries, it seems the country's real foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, is mostly left behind in Delhi. It is a different matter that she had been sick for sometime, but it seems she has been left to play little role in foreign affairs.

In an economic resolution passed at its national executive meeting in Allahabad, the BJP claimed that "India has emerged as a bright spot in a world in recession, in which most of the nations are facing a slowdown and decline in growth. After inheriting a very bad economy, amidst global slowdown and successive two years of drought, India under the exceptional leadership of Prime Minister Modi, emerged as the fastest growing economy." The kudos are well earned and the promise for the future is even better.

However, at the same session while Narendra Modi kept his speech focused on "vikas", BJP national president Amit Shah spoke of exodus of Hindus from a town in Uttar Pradesh where they seemed to be under "threats and extortion by criminal elements" among Muslims. While there is some truth in the report, but investigations by some newspapers brought out the fact that the report is highly exaggerated. It is designed to put fear in people's minds and turn them against the Muslim community. Amit Shah has thus taken over the task of promoting negative Hindutva which thrives on creating anti-Muslim sentiment. The BJP's victory in Assam was partly due to exploitation of this sentiment. The roles are thus defined: PM Modi for development and Amit Shah for Hindutva.

A useful definition of Hindutva has been provided by Aakar Patel in his column in Times of India. He says, "Hindutva is essentially negative. It offers nothing constructive to Hindus, who are 80% of Indians. The three classic Hindutva thrusts, the issues which built the BJP over the decades, do not concern Hindus but address others. The issues are Ayodhya (Muslims must not keep their mosque), Uniform Civil Code (Muslims must not keep their personal law) and Article 370 (Muslims must not keep their constitutional autonomy).

"What will Hindus like me get out of these demands? Nothing I can think of. Those who properly study it realize that Hindu rashtra can only be brought about by the mistreatment of others.

"The things that get the BJP excited even today, now that it is in power, still concern Muslims, which explains the focus on peripheral things like beef and nationalism."

And how can Hindutva be turned positive? How does it really benefit Hindu society?

Patel has a list: "What about inequality? Ensuring affirmative action or reservations for Dalits and Adivasis, who are 25% of India's population and totally marginalized, in the corporate sector would do wonders for Hindu society. So also the promotion of inter-caste marriage, especially between Dalit and savarna, and especially through personal example.

Another example is getting Hindus, "particularly the mercantile classes, to pay their income tax in full. Getting the upper classes to begin a Hindu tradition of philanthropy (currently missing) that will spread the wealth."

Such things are substantial and meaningful Hindu issues which the State could pay attention to.

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