IndiaPost_09-02-2011 by Ghanshyam Bisht

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IAFC presents Pride of India award to Nikki Details on page 13

IRS REJECTS PLEA FOR LENIENCY

NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA

VOL 17, No. 886

September 2, 2011

50¢

Periodical Postage

Indian Americans must make full disclosure of overseas accounts India Post News Service

FIA (O) hosts 3-pronged celebration

shore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). They would, however, have to make a full disclosure under the Aug 31 amnesty program, according to a response received from the IRS by an Indian American delegation that met with the IRS officials recently. Details on page 5

Indian girl tops at Google Science Fair Details on page 8

LA erupts in support of Anna Hazare Details on page 19

Volunteers fast in support of Anna Hazare

Details on page 12

QUEEN WAVE:

Hari Singh Everest passes away

Bollywood Actress Rani Mukerjee† waves to the crowd at India Day Cultural show in NYC on Aug 21. Pic Mohammed Jaffersnapsindia

Details on page 20

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

Is the community disturbed at IRS rule? Last week’s result

Details on page 19

CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 34-35 Classifieds ------------------------- 47 Community Post -------------- 10-23 Date Book -------------------------- 46 Edit Page --------------------------- 49 HealthScience Post --------- 40-42 Horoscope -------------------------- 9 Immigration Post ------------- 43-45 Life Style ----------------------- 24-28 Philosophy ------------------------- 48 Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4

Is Anna Hazare’s fast undemocratic? YES 13%

Shree Bose

(Details on page 10)

NO 87%

Real Estate -------------------- 36-37 TechBiz Post ------------------- 38-39 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-31

Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”

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September 2, 2011

IndiaNewsweekly Post Mission Statement To empower the Indian Diaspora and make their voice strong and effective in countries of their adoption. RJ Media conglomerate offers a credible, professional and complete package of news, opinion, entertainment, networking and information.

Publisher’s Diary

his August 15, as I celebrated with fellow Indian Americans India's 65th Independence Day and marched in the commemorative parade, I contemplated over events that are currently shaping contemporary India. Living outside of India, there is much that I have taken pride in of my home country. Over the years, I have celebrated in my adopted country, India's history, heritage, culture, festivals and above all its free spirit and democracy among my colleagues, friends and peers in this country, who shared my pride. For a long while though, much as I touted the growing economic prominence of India in the world and its transformation from being a "poor, underdeveloped" country to a "rising economic superpower", I have also cringed in private at the growing corruption that has come to be a way of life in India. Admittedly, I was among those who gave up hope that the scourge of corruption in India would ever be even recognized as an affliction let alone be cured. And for that today I am grateful for Anna Hazare and the millions of Indians who have taken his lead to come out onto the streets across India and even here in the United States to demand of the Indian government accountability and a real time process to treat that disease, which I now believe is indeed curable. All it needed was for one man to take on the responsibility of representing the common man. We saw it happen in the years that led up to 1947 where one Gandhi fasted to inspire a nation into demanding freedom from foreign rule. But changing times demand changed strategies. What worked for Gandhi in overthrowing a foreign power, may not work in redeeming contemporary society of an evil that's become a part of it. It needs leadership that truly represents the common man, not just remove a set of people and replace them with another. Perhaps Hazare and his ilk should come up with an alternative - once they succeed in getting a level playing field with the Jan Lokpal Bill - by forcing electoral reforms for a revolution the next gen can be proud of.

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Bollywood: Sparks flying The two love birds Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha were spotted holding hands in Pali Hills, Mumbai.

Cover Story: No leniency The Internal Revenue Service insists that Indian Americans will have to make a full disclosure under the Aug 31 amnesty program.

Community: New York Parade

The fabled annual India Day Parade in New York came to Madison Avenue this year on Aug 21st with all the usual trappings.

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DETROIT Ashok B Jain, M D Bureau Chief Gurminder Singh SAN DIEGO Neelu Bhardwaj Bureau Chief SACRAMENTO Madan Sharma Bureau Chief Janak Sidhra Correspondent Upen Shukla Correspondent

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Travel: Kurukshetra The great Mahabharata battle in which Lord Krishna played his enigmatic part was fought on the plains of Kurukshetra.

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IRS rejects plea for leniency Indian Americans must make full disclosure of overseas accounts

Indian American community representatives meet with IRS officials on the OVDI issue. LtoR: Shailesh Patel, David Vorley, Rosemary Sereti, Jennifer Beth, Lal Motwani, Dr. Maya Chadda and Dr. Thomas Abraham India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has allowed those Indian Americans who believe themselves to be innocent of violation of not disclosing their overseas bank accounts the choice of opting out of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). They would, however, have to make a full disclosure under the Aug 31 amnesty program, according to a response received from the IRS by an Indian American delegation that met with the IRS officials recently. A delegation of Indian community representatives under the aegis of the National Indian American Coordinating Council met the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials recently to convey the community's concerns and distress regarding the new Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) and the way it has been implemented. The IRS told the delegation that those who believe themselves to be innocent of violation have the choice of opting out of OVDI but they would still have to make full disclosure under the August 31 2011 amnesty program. That would expose them to scrutiny but if their case was genuine, (for example the delegation pointed out to the IRS officials that if the interest income during the process

of supporting children/siblings education and of buying a retirement home is small amount compared to the estimated penalty), they may escape penalty or pay a much smaller percentage of penalty. In the simpler cases of nondisclosure, the tax payer can represent themselves to the agent after filing all amended statements during the opt-out procedure.

The IRS told the delegation that those who believe themselves to be innocent of violation have the choice of opting out of OVDI but they would still have to make full disclosure In response to an earlier GOPIO request for the extension of deadline to December 31, 2011, the Department of the Treasury has responded in the same letter as follows: "At this time, we do not contemplate granting an acrossthe-board deadline extension for all taxpayers. However, a specific taxpayer can request an extension of the deadline (up to 90 days) to complete his or her submission if

the taxpayer can demonstrate a good faith attempt to fully comply with the OVDI requirements on or before August 31, 2011. The request must be in writing and must include a statement of the items that are missing, the reasons why, and the steps he or she is taking to secure them." In response to GOPIO's complaint that the OVDI has not been publicized in ethnic newspapers and other community media in multiple languages, the Department of the Treasury has responded in the same letter as follows: "We have promoted OVDI awareness by posting information about the OVDI in eight foreign languages, including Hindi, on IRS.GOV. We have also released information through traditional media, both national and local, as well as social media websites such as Twitter. We will continue this extensive outreach effort as the August 31, 2011, deadline nears." However, the Indian community groups are of the opinion that OVDI announcement was not been published well within the new immigrant communities who were affected by the new rules. The four organizations namely, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and Asian American Hotel Owners Association

(AAHOA) along with Federation of Indian Community Associations of Cleveland (FICA), Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of NY/NJ/CT have decided to continue their collaborative efforts with the hope that the Department of Treasury may reconsider and provide relief in respect of various demands put forth in the July 19, 2011 letter submitted

In the meeting the Indian community delegation stressed that their collective survey of the Indian American community revealed a very high level of distress verging on panic to the President of United States. The delegation headed by Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), included Lal Motwani, President of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), Shailesh Patel, Director at Large of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Dr. Maya Chadda of GOPIO

and Council on Foreign Relations. The meeting at the IRS headquarters in Washington, DC was arranged by the office of Congressman Steve LaTourette of Ohio. IRS was represented by Rosemary Sereti, Director of International Individual Tax Compliance; Attorney Advisors to Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Beth and Mr. David Vorley, and Legislative Counsel Suzanne R. Sinno of the Office of the Legislative Affairs. In the meeting the Indian community delegation stressed that their collective survey of the Indian American community revealed a very high level of distress verging on panic for the following reasons. 1. Most have only recently found out that they are in violation of the IRS requirements of the voluntary disclosure of foreign accounts and income. Information has been sketchy and almost no one knew what the procedure was to come under the 2011 amnesty program. Those who found out only recently are left with no time to file before August 31 2011. Nor are they aware that they need a clearance from the Treasury Department for entering the amnesty program. The delegation made the IRS officials aware of this drawing on real life examples and explained why the community is distressed and confused. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 8

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Former Smith Barney adviser sentenced for fraud India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Sanjeev Jayantkumar Shah, 36, a former New York financial services adviser at Smith Barney, was sentenced to 38 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to defraud clients of Smith Barney and Citigroup of over $3 million, Preet Bharara, US Attorney for Manhattan Southern District announced. Shah previously pled guilty on November 24, 2010, to one count of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Shah was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by US District Judge William H. Pauley III. According to the four-count Information filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made during the guilty plea proceeding between October 2008 and December 2008, Shah executed unauthorized foreign currency transactions on behalf of a foreign bank that resulted in millions of dollars of losses to the client. To conceal his unauthorized trading and the resulting

losses, Shah misappropriated approximately $3.25million from the brokerage account of another foreign bank that was a client of Smith Barney. In March 2009, Shah fabricated documents purported to be from

Shah subsequently sent fabricated emails to his email address at Smith Barney with attachments that purported to be letters from the bank authorizing the two transfers representatives of the foreign bank authorizing Smith Barney to execute at least two separate electronic transfers of funds totaling approximately $3.25 million. The funds were to be transferred from that bank's account at Smith Barney to an account held by an-

other entity at another foreign bank. Shah subsequently sent fabricated emails to his email address at Smith Barney with attachments that purported to be letters from the bank authorizing the two transfers. Shah also falsely told the representatives of the bank that the transfers were necessary to purchase bonds that he had previously recommended. That same day, and again the following day, Shah represented to the foreign bank that he would send statements reflecting the purported purchase of the bonds. After engineering the fraudulent transfer of the bank's funds, Shah sought to cover up his scheme by telling the representatives of the bank that a technical error on Smith Barney's computer system temporarily prevented the bonds from appearing in the online account statement. In addition to his prison term, Shah was sentenced to three years supervised release and ordered to forfeit $3.25 million. Restitution will be determined at a later date.

'Encouraged' to see improvement in J-K situation: McCain NEW DELHI: Back from his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, US senator John McCain said he was "encouraged" to see the improvement in the security situation in the state, reflected in increased business and tourism. Influential Senator from Arizona and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, McCain said, "I am encouraged from what I saw in Kashmir, the sense of security returning to one of the most exquisite beautiful places on Earth", while pointing out that locals were living more normal lives and there was better handling of issues by the authorities. Hoping that economic progress will continue to grow stronger, he told a press conference here that there was improvement in situation but there will be continued tensions as long as the issue remains of significant importance to both countries (India and Pakistan). He also maintained that "Kashmir is an internal matter" and it was not America or any other nation's place to comment on sovereign affairs of a country. During his two-day visit McCain held discussions with J-

K Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on various issues of mutual interest. Asked if he discussed Kash-

in the Kashmir by certain individuals who are committed to create trouble there. He also talked about the in-

PM rubbishes charges of conniving with corruption NEW DELHI: Taking exception hurts. But I am not going to conto personal attack on him, a "hurt" vert this forum into a forum of acPrime Minister Manmohan Singh cusation one way or the other. has said he may have "made mis"All I can say is that if any takes" but he firmly repudiated wrong has been done by me, I incharges of conniving with corrup- vite the Leader of the Opposition tion and asked the Opposition to to look at my property which I may verify his assets. Taking a dig at BJP in the Lok Sabha, particularly Murli Manohar Joshi, he said during his seven years as Prime Minister opposition members have accused him of "many crimes" but he had "never used harsh language in describing the conduct of any member" of the House. Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Joshi's remarks speaking in Parliament during the debate on corruption, he said the BJP have accumulated in the last 41 leader had made a "powerful years. I would accept the verdict speech" and made a "personal of the Leader of the Opposition if attack on me as if I am the foun- they find that I have used public tainhead of corruption and that I office to amass wealth for myself have knowingly connived with or for any member of my family," corruption of some of my col- he said. leagues." Singh said that in the course Singh cited his contribution to of seven years as Prime Minister, the country first as Finance Min- he may have made mistakes. ister in 1990s and now as Prime "Who is above making mistakes? Minister and said, "I did make a To err is human but to accuse me small contribution in my own way of evil intentions, of conniving to enhance the prestige of the with corruption is a charge I firmly country and, therefore, when repudiated," the Prime Minister charges are leveled against me, it said. -PTI

BJP slams UPA for handling of Hazare movement

John McCain with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

mir during his meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Gen Pervez Kayani, the US Senator said the focus was on ties between America and Pakistan but noted that there have been incursions

creasing realization among Americans, including senior representatives, on the "troubled connections" between Pakistan military and terrorist groups such as Haqqani network and LeT. -PTI

NEW DELHI: The BJP has slammed the UPA for its "changing stance" and "hardening of posture" in dealing with Anna Hazare's anti-graft agitation and warned the government against any misadventure in this regard. In a letter to Hazare, BJP President Nitin Gadkari said he was "shocked" to learn that the government has "backed out" on all the promises made to Team Anna. "The nation was given to understand by the government that the talks with Team Anna were progressing satisfactorily and that a mutually agreed solution was in sight. I fail to understand where things have gone wrong," Gadkari said. He wondered whether it was a result of bickerings within the

government. Gadkari said BJP strongly deplores the "changing stance of the government and its visible hardening of postures in dealing with your agitation. The BJP warns the government against any misadventure in this regard." He said the BJP appealed to Hazare to end his fast after the government said a solution was being worked out. The BJP chief said as his party favours a strong Lokpal Bill, it accepts Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill to be the basis for a strong measure to deal with corruption. He, however, hastened to add that BJP would not get into "procedural wrangles" on how it was achieved by the government. -PTI

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Two Indian American girls win at Google Science Fair MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA: Two Indian American girls have emerged winners at Google's inaugural Science Fair, impressing thousands at the internet giant's California headquarters with their projects on ways to improve ovarian cancer treatment and bettering air quality for the benefit of asthma patients. The top three winners out of 15 finalists at the fair were all girls: Shree Bose, Naomi Shah and Lauren Hodge, prompting Google to laud "girl power" at the fair. "The unifying elements of all three young women were their intellectual curiosity, their tenaciousness and their ambition to use science to find solutions to big problems," Cristin Frodella from Google's Education Team said in a blog post. The finalists examined complex problems and found simple solutions that can be implemented by the general public - like changing

Shree Bose

Naomi Shah

cooking habits or removing toxins from homes, Frodella said. Bose, who won in the 17-18 age group, was also named the 'Grand Prize' winner, taking home a 50,000

dollar scholarship and an internship opportunity at the prestigious Geneva-based CERN institute. Bose impressed judges, more

Mobile signals from Pak present along border NEW DELHI: Telecom operators in Pakistan have set up their mobile towers within 10 km distance from the international border in Rajasthan sector, Indian Parliament was informed. "Inputs indicate that the mobile towers have been set up by U-Fone, Tenlor and Yuang mobile service providers inside Pakistan territory approximately 10 km distance from the international border in Rajasthan sector," Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Mobile service providers are not allowed to provide services within the 'No Service Zone' of 500 meters width along the international border. Further, it is not permitted to provide mobile base trans-receiver stations (BTS) in buffer zone of 10 km width along the LOC, LAC and International boarder in J&K area, Deora said. The mobile signals of the Pakistan service providers are available inside Indian territory in Barmer. Similarly, in some of the border towns of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistan Mobile service providers'

signals are present, Deora said. On Bangladesh frontier, interference inside the international border in West Bengal from a Bangladesh Service Provider named Axiata is observed in the areas of Gosainhat (District Coochvihar) and Gede Railway station (District Nadia) in West Bengal. Illicit use of SIM cards of service providers of foreign countries (Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan) by people or smugglers inside Indian territory in border areas have been reported, he added.-PTI

IRS rejects plea for leniency Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 6

2. People who are caught between the lack of information and lack of time are not willfully violating the tax law. The delegation in fact pointed out that there were broadly two categories of people who are in this situation, those who have sent money to help their extended families in India, supporting aging parents, finance children's education and that of siblings and younger members of the extended family. Transfer of money for these reasons was natural for the first generation immigrants. Culturally Asian Americans, Indians in particular, are intensely family oriented. The second category included people who have worked, saved and are sending money in preparation of

retirement. This usually takes the form of property and allied investments. These monies are also usually after tax monies. The delegation stressed that the way in which the penalty is imposed, i.e. 25 percent on the highest balance over the eight years span, was totally out of proportion to the presumed willful violation. Such a level of penalty itself violates the principle of proportionality on which the US law rests. The penalty therefore violates the 8th amendment of the US constitution and the case law precedents it has set. If the penalty was reasonable, more tax payers will comply. It is obviously in the Interest of the IRS to promote wider compliance of the tax laws. 3. The third point was about the way the IRS has implemented the amnesty program. After entering the program, the tax payers or

their accountants only deal with agents who are given no power to separate willful non-compliance from innocent non-compliance. They simply administer the law and impose punishing penalty. Even If the tax payer has genuine grounds for failing to disclose, the agents are not allowed to use their discretion. This will punish the innocent, in fact the bulk of the community who are law abiding citizens and have regularly paid their dues to the IRS. The delegation suggested that as a first and immediate step, the IRS can take a step to empower the agents with discretionary judgment. The delegation also shared the fear of being singled out among the groups as targets of IRS inquiry. They suggested that penalty should be levied on non-reported income and not for non-disclosure.

than 1,000 local attendees as well as Googlers with her project to "improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs". Apart from the scholarship, Bose also won a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic Explorer. Terming Bose's work as "groundbreaking discovery which could have wider implications for cancer research," Google said she came up with complex solutions that can be addressed in labs by doctors and researchers. Shah won in the 15-16 age group for her "endeavor to prove that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people's reliance on asthma medications". Hodge was named winner in the 13-14 age group for studying the effect of different marinades

on the level of potentially harmful carcinogens in grilled chicken. Shah and Hodge each received 25,000 dollar scholarships and internships at Google and toy company LEGO.

Lauren Hodge

Rani rings the bell

The Federation of Indian Associations, one of the largest umbrella organizations in the Indian community, visited the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City's Times Square in celebration of the 2011 India Day Parade, which took place on Sunday, August 21 in New York City. In honor of the occasion, Bollywood actress, Rani Mukherjee, Bollywood Actor Gulshan Grover and executive committee members of FIA Tri-State, rang the Opening Bell

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Country joins Anna Hazare protest

Anna Hazare on the 10th day of his fast

Differently abled Indian supporters of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare participate in a rally in Ahmedabad

Supporters of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare participate in a mass rally in Siliguri

Priests perform a worship for the good health of Anna Hazare at Dodda Ganpati temple in Bangalore

Supporters at Ram Lila grounds in New Delhi

September 2, 2011

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Desi News FIA’s 3 pronged celebration of India Day JODH SINGH RAWAT, SC SHAH & RAMESH SOPARAWALA

CHICAGO: The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of Chicago headed by Sunny Gabhawala, had a well-chalked-out three-pronged celebration of India Day culminating in India Day Parade on Saturday Aug 20 at Devon Avenue. Among other notables it was graced by Bollywood film heroine, Bhagyashree Dasania as Grand Marshal. Details on page 12

COMMUNITY ACROSS AMERICA

Details on page 20

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Natya Dance theatre to present The Flowering Tree KK RAJDA

CORRECTION

n our August 26 edition news story titled 'Hindu Memorial Day observed in Houston', the Ken Acharya picture was inadvertently captioned as that of Tapan Ghosh. The error is regretted. -Editor

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Independence Day Parade in NYC as colorful as ever SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY

Increasing self reliance among abused women

LA erupts in support of Anna Hazare

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The fabled annual India Day Parade in New York, the largest such parade in the world outside of India, came to Madison Avenue this year on Aug 21st with all the usual trappings there were the hassled members of the organizing Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) jostling

jittery NYPD police officers managing the traffic and crowds; and the anxious media. Also happily usual were the myriad colors, soaring spirits and the sense of oneness quintessentially Indian - at each rising slogan hailing the motherland, India. What can be more liberating for an immigrant community to be able to uninhibitedly scream at the top of their lungs - in the

Standing atop the lead float with Rani were actor Gulshan Grover, Miss India 2011 Ankita Shorey and President of Guyana Bharat Jagdeo for space with the patron sponsors to stand next to the Grand Marshal; the Bollywood celebrities; the floats with their loud, blaring loudspeakers bouncing off the empty imposing walls of the office buildings; the motley community organizations marching between the floats; the crowds all along the parade path bearing against the barricades to catch a glimpse of their favorite star, the

middle of a major New York Avenue - than "Bharat Mata ki Jai." The India Day Parade held in New York City each year to commemorate India's Independence, seems to get louder each year, but not bigger or for that matter, better. The crowds were comparatively fewer than last year and the year before. Cont’d on page 11

Indian Americans march, fast in support of Hazare's movement India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Indian American volunteers of India Against Corruption, the people's movement in India led by social activist Anna Hazare, made their presence amply felt over the past weekend across the New Jersey/New York area by participating in large numbers in the India Day parades as well as conducting group fasting and a protest demonstration outside the United Nations. Over 150 people marched in the India Day parade in New Jersey as well as New York. In New Jersey the volunteers organized a group relay fast for two days, Aug 20-21, on Oak Tree Road, Iselin,

NJ. A stage overlooking the main road was set up and volunteers sat singing patriotic songs/ bhajans. About 50 volunteers wearing all white attire and Anna topi (cap) fasted for two days. At least 4000 people showed up at the event over the 2 days and expressed their support for the fast. They also signed an affidavit to support the Jan Lokpal bill. All arrangements for this event were sponsored by India Business Association (IBA). Kiran Desai, advisor to IBA, expressed his support for the youth organizing the fasting. Cont’d on page 11

Bollywood Actress Rani Mukerjee waves to the crowd at India Day Cultural show in NYC

INOC calls Hazare's movement undemocratic India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) has said that proHindutva forces in the United States and India have seized on the anti-corruption issue not as a movement to demand good governance but as a ploy to weaken the UPA government in India with an eye towards the upcoming elections. In a statement, the INOC said, "We would all agree that the Manmohan Singh Government has done a remarkable job in bringing India to the world stage with current level growth and prosperity and earned great re-

spect among the community of nations. Those vested interests would like to see those remarkable achievements diminished to serve their political purposes." INOC is fully in agreement with the statement Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made in the Parliament recently that his government wants a Lokpal established quickly to combat corruption, "but the path that Mr. Anna Hazare has chosen to impose his draft of a Bill upon Parliament is totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for our Parliamentary democracy", the INOC said. Cont’d on page 11

September 2, 2011

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Independence Day Parade in NYC as colorful as ever

Bollywood Actress Rani Mukerjee at India Day function in NYC

Bharat Jagdeo, President of the Republic of Guyana, honoring first Sikh NYPD Police Office Gurvinder Singh at India Day Celebrations in NYC. (Pics: Mohammed Jaffer-snapsindia) Cont’d from page 10

If anything was different on the mild summer afternoon of Sunday Aug 21st, it was a Grand Marshal who turned up very late, that too with a Man Friday to hold an umbrella in one hand to guard her from the harsh sun and a mirror in the other, just in case she needed a touch up while waving and blowing kisses in the air to screaming

with Rani were actor Gulshan Grover, Miss India 2011 Ankita Shorey, President of Guyana Bharat Jagdeo, classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj and miscellaneous community representatives who routinely ensure their spot on the dais as patron sponsors. Lending the parade its credibility were the NYPD horse mounted police and officers on motorbikes leading the parade and the NYPD

Also becoming a mainstay of the parade now are Gray Line's New York sightseeing buses that cruised down the Avenue with "Salute to India" written on the front panel. Conspicuous by their large presence were supporters and volunteers of India Against Corruption, wearing white Gandhi topis with "I am Anna" written on them. Young activists owing allegiance to Anna Hazare carried

placards saying "Remove Corruption from India". Many among the parade gawkers also carried similar placards. The parade moved with the regular corporate floats and various community organizations marching along. A heavy downpour later did not deter the general revelers out to have fun at the eating stalls on 23rd street and the cultural program that ended the celebrations.

Empire State Building lighting Making it a first, Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee, this year's Grand Marshal at the Parade, had the honor of lighting the tower of the iconic Empire State Building in orange, white and green - the colors of the Indian national flag - to commemorate India's 65th Independence Day. Cont’d on page 15

Making it a first, Rani Mukherjee had the honor of lighting the tower of the iconic Empire State Building in orange, white and green fans. Still, this year's Grand Marshal Rani Mukherjee's charm was undeniable. "Rani", "Rani", called out her fans. "You look beautiful" screamed a young girl, to which the actress responded with a "Thank you." Standing atop the lead float

police band that played the Indian national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' followed by the American anthem to much cheer from the people; also drawing huge cheers were the officers of the NYPD Desi Society, a contingent of about 10 Indian American police officers.

Indian Americans march, fast in support of Hazare's movement Cont’d from page 10

He himself fasted continuously over the 2 days. He said that this was the time the entire country was coming together to support Anna Hazare and that this was truly a second freedom struggle. The fast ended with a symbolic drink of a glass of juice, given by

IBA president Chandrakant Desai and his wife to all the volunteers. The atmosphere was charged with the chanting of Vande Maataram, Bharat Mata ki jai. Slogans supporting Anna Hazare also rang through the air. The IBA sponsored the dinner for all the volunteers who were fasting.

Naseeb Dance Group NYC at India Day Celebrations

INOC calls Hazare's movement undemocratic Cont’d from page 10

Dr. Malhotra, President of INOC characterized the efforts by Anna Hazare and his followers 'undemocratic and unconstitutional' although he said he agrees with its objectives. Shudh Jasuja, Vice-President of INOC added, "Corruption has always been there in the center and states regardless of any party rule. But Sonia Gandhi has sacked more ministers than any leader of any party based on mere accusa-

tion. She got them to resign even before they are convicted. No other party has ever done it." George Abraham, SecretaryGeneral of INOC urged the NRIs to work together with the Congress party, Legislature and the UPA Government to root out corruption while preserving the pluralistic nature of our society and providing inclusive governance. The INOC says that "for those who carefully study the current quasi-movement against corrup-

tion, it becomes increasingly clear that the anti-secular forces are using it as tool to weaken the current government and plotting to regain the power. There is an eerie similarity with the current movement and the movement headed by late Jayaprakash Narayan where antidemocratic and anti-minority forces gained legitimacy and came to power employing the popular sentiment against certain measures taken by the then Government."

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FIA (O) hosts 3-pronged celebration of India Day JODH SINGH RAWAT, SC SHAH & RAMESH SOPARAWALA

Bhagyashree

CHICAGO: The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of Chicago headed by Sunny Gabhawala, had a well-chalked-out

FIA Committee members and dignitaries during FIA Flag hoisting ceremony

three-pronged celebration of India Day culminating in India Day Parade on Saturday Aug 20 at Devon Avenue. Among other no-

tables it was graced by Bollywood film heroine, Bhagyashree Dasania as Grand Marshal. FIA had its traditional flag

Bhagyashree with FIA Committee members

Anna Hazare movement against corruption in India was felt here also and a group of young activists had pinned slogans in sup-

ety, FIA office bearers and media representatives. In a brief talk, Bhagyashree offered her Independence Day greetings to the Indian

FIA parade, the start

hoisting at Daley Plaza in Chicago downtown on August 15. It was well attended by a group of Indians and Americans. Sunny Gabhawala welcomed the guests and dignitaries among whom were Secretary of Sate Jesse White, Cook County Clerk of Circuit Court Dorothy Brown. The impact of

Lady with granddaughter at the Parade

port of Hazare and decrying those opposing the movement. Those present on the occasion had an eyeful of Indian culture including Indian classical dance. Sunny Gabhawala hosted a dinner reception in honor of Bhagyashree at his residence which was attended by the cream of soci-

FIA Parade crowd

community in Chiicagoland and said that India has notched huge progress in the past six decades. She however, observed but for certain shortcomings of the structure and small-minded leaders, "we did not progress to the extent that we wanted to do or we could do." Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 19

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IAFC presents Pride of India award to Nikki Haley India Post News Service

DALLAS: The Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) in Dallas hosted a gala reception in honor of South Carolina Governor Nikki Randhawa Haley at Crowne Plaza in Addison on August 19. The auditorium was packed to capacity. The event was a great success with Indian American flags, stage arrangements with color theme and the entertainment show at the end. Nikki, the first Indian American

throughout. Among the speakers were such dignitaries as Dr Krishna Reddy, founder of the IAFC, Sanjiv Arora, the Consul General of India in Houston, Zulfi Sadeque, the acting Consul General of Canada in Dallas, Tom Leppert, former mayor of Dallas city and Prasad Thotakura, Coordinator of IAFC for the Texas State. Piyush Patel, IAFC Vice President served as the Gala banquet Chair and Rao Kalvala, IAFC Secre-

She resoundingly won although the IndianAmericans population in South Carolina is less than one percent. Her father even now observes the Sikh religious and cultural traditions, one of which is to wear the turban female governor in USA, came to Dallas to specially thank the IAFC for its unstinting support in her election for the governorship of South Carolina State. A ceremonial guard of honor by the veterans was presented to her. From the preliminary ritual of the inaugural lamp lighting ceremony, color guard, taking oath of allegiance and singing of US and Indian national anthems to the phase of final dance performances with highly professional dancers, the ambiance and atmosphere remained upbeat, and joyous

tary acted as Master of Ceremonies. Prasad Thotakura, IAFC TX State Coordinator and Dr. Krishna Reddy, IAFC Founder along with other Board of Directors presented "Pride of India" award to Governor Haley. The speakers eulogized the caliber and integrity of the madam governor who was recently elected to the highest office in her state after a very tough tussle and challenge from other contenders. The governor is just 39 years old. At this young age she is an embodiment of rare qualities that dazzle

IAFC Board with Nikki Haley

everyone. One of these is brilliant articulation and powerful eloquence that really is spellbinding. In her brief yet elevating address she narrated the odd and hurdles, she had to surmount in reaching the pinnacle office in her state. Although she was born in America, yet she was the daughter of an Indian Sikh family that had migrated to USA as the first generation migrants from India. She resoundingly won although

the Indian-Americans population in South Carolina is less than one percent. Her father even now observes the Sikh religious and cultural traditions, one of which is to wear the turban. The IAFC was founded by Dr. Krishna Reddy of California in 1990. The IAFC's headquarters are in Los Angeles but it maintains another main office in Washington DC. It also operates through various chapters set up through-

out the United States. Consul General of India Sanjiv Arora, Consul General of Canada Zulfi Sadeque and Mayor Pro-tem Tom Abraham presented mementos and Sneak Chebrolu, a memorable photo album containing the Governor's previous visits. The final custom of delivering the vote of thanks was undertaken by Sushmita Kosuri, a young member of the executive board of the IAFC Dallas chapter.

Increasing self reliance among abused South Asian women India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Domestic violence is one crime that is showing no signs of slowing down. In 2010 alone there were 7,366 registered cases of violence against women in the Washington DC area, and a sizeable number of the crimes were perpetrated against women and children of South Asian origin. However, this cloud has a silver lining. ASHA for Women has been extending support to such victims for more than two decades and has had the satisfaction of guiding hundreds of helpless women and children to a bright, abuse-free future. The organization is celebrating its twenty-second year of advocacy on September 24, 2011 through an annual gala dinner, where ASHA will be thanking generous donors and well wishers. Acclaimed author Sonia Faleiro will be addressing the gala dinner, giving her keen insights on women and violence. Ms Faleiro's latest book Beautiful Thing is a penetrating journalistic narrative of the life of a much abused female bar dancer, and has won many awards and ecstatic reviews, including

CNN's Mumbai Book of the Year. For ASHA, the most inspiring and awesome stories of courage have come from their own survivors. "We never let our clients give up" says Lakshmi Aiyappa, Executive Director of the organization even though resettling is a complex task and handholding can stretch from months to years. Some victims speak little English, are generally culturally disoriented, and too traumatized to trust the legal system. "The main thing is giving them hope!" And there it is, because 'Asha' means 'hope' in many South Asian languages, a sentiment that warms up ASHA's diverse clients, cutting across barriers of different cultures and religions. Twenty two years is a good show for an organization run entirely by volunteers and supported by donations and grants. In 2009 this vibrant, proactive organization was recognized by the Catalogue for Philanthropy "as one of the best small charities in the Washington, DC area". ASHA's support is easily accessed as help is available on a tollfree helpline. The advocates not only encourage and guide the vic-

tims they also help with custody hearings, and find resources for access to reduced-cost or probono legal and medical services. In addition, ASHA maintains an emergency fund that provides everything from rent, to food, to diapers. "It's like raising bruised families and bringing them back into the social system! They are so emotionally, financially and legally dependent that we are committed

• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. (Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, "Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey," 2000; Sara Glazer, "Violence, Against Women" CO Researcher,

The advocates not only encourage and guide the victims they also help with custody hearings, and find resources for access to reduced-cost or pro-bono legal and medical services to somehow keep the funds coming…" says Aiyappa. Facts about domestic violence • Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. ("Violence Against Women, A Majority Staff Report," Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 102nd Congress, October 1992, p.3.)

Congressional Quarterly, Inc., Volume 3, Number 8, February, 1993, p. 171; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000; The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman's Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women's Health, 1999). • Battering occurs among

people of all races, ages, socioeconomic classes, religious affiliations, occupations, and educational backgrounds. • A battering incident is rarely an isolated event. • Battering tends to increase and become more violent over time. • Many batterers learned violent behavior growing up in an abusive family. • 25% - 45% of all women who are battered are battered during pregnancy. • Domestic violence does not end immediately with separation. Over 70% of the women injured in domestic violence cases are injured after separation. • Nearly three out of four (74%) of Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence. 30% of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year. (Allstate Foundation National Poll on Domestic Violence, 2006. Lieberman Research Inc., Tracking Survey conducted for The Advertising Council and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, July - October 1996)

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Gopio's Ashook Ramsaran honored in Canada

(L-R) Dr Roseann Runte, Premier Dalton McGinty, Ashook Ramsaran India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Guyana born Ashook Ramsaran of the USA was among nine persons of Indian origin honored at a high profile awards event held on August 14 at the Sutton Hotel in Toronto. Toronto Premier Dalton McGinty released the Global Indian Origin publication profiling

the "Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America" and presented Global Indian Origin recognition honors and appropriately inscribed awards to nine of those profiled as notable recipients. Premier McGinty was assisted by Dr Roseann Runte, president Carleton University in Ottawa. Also participating in this promi-

Global Indian Origin awardees with Dr Roseann Runte and Premier Dalton McGinty

Toronto Premier Dalton McGinty released the Global Indian Origin publication profiling the "Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America

nent event was Indian Consul General in Toronto Preeti Saran. The event was moderated by actress Supinder Wraich of Toronto. Participants at the event included members of the POA Education Foundation, the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs)

from the Caribbean and India; Non-resident Indians (NRIs); members of the Greater Toronto area and media. The "Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America" is another in the series of notable publications from Global Indian Origin. Cont’d on page 19

Walkathon in Bartlett by BAPS Charities NYC Council passes Workplace SURESH SHAH

Religious Freedom Bill India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The New York City Council has enacted a law initiated by the Sikh Coalition that will significantly enhance religion-based protections for employees working in New York City. Council Member Mark Weprin (DQueens) is the law's primary sponsor. "It's critical that our local laws Start of Walkathon by BAPS Charities

CHICAGO: Over 750 community volunteers participated in BAPS Charities' 16th annual walkathon held on Saturday August 13 in Bartlett, a northwest suburb of Chicago.

In keeping with its theme, "Building a Better Community, One Step at a Time", the proceeds from this year's walk will go to the American Cancer Society. The 5K walkathon, held at

A group of young participants

Potawatomie Park in St. Charles, IL inspired people to go the extra mile to make a difference in someone's life. Cont’d on page 15

in New York City reported suffering discrimination in employment. At present, Sikhs may not work for the New York City Police Department unless their turbans are hidden. Similarly, Sikhs working for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) are forced to brand their religious headwear with an MTA logo. "This bill sends the message that people should not have to

The law, called the "Workplace Religious Freedom Act" by supporters, changes the legal standard by which courts review claims of religious workplace discrimination by public and private city employees recognize our city's religious diversity and work to protect it," said Amardeep Singh, Program Director and Co-Founder of the Sikh Coalition. "Today's new law is an important step in eliminating the false choice between one's employment and one's faith. We thank Council Member Weprin for his leadership on this issue." Sikhs suffer high levels of employment discrimination because of their Sikh identity. According to a research report issued by the Coalition in 2008, one in ten Sikhs

choose between serving our city and adhering to their religious beliefs. All Americans should receive the full embrace of our country's constitutional freedoms," said Council Member Mark S. Weprin. The law, called the "Workplace Religious Freedom Act" by supporters, changes the legal standard by which courts review claims of religious workplace discrimination by public and private city employees. Cont’d on page 18

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I-Day Parade in NYC as colorful as ever the 'Best Actor Award' in the movie for his role of Bhagwan Dada, a character who came to America in the '60s. Rani refused to answer questions about Anna Hazare's movement against corruption. "Let us not talk about politics here", she tried to avoid the question but quickly added that everyone had a right to express their views.

I-Day at NY Consulate

The Consulate General of India, New York

Nambiar, Chef de Cabinet & Under-Secretary General at the United Nations also graced the function with his presence. Consul General Prabhu Dayal greeted the distinguished guests on the occasion and read out the message of the President of India delivered on the eve of the Independence Day in India. Wayne Jennings, President, Cultural Diversity Awareness Council, New Hampshire, while addressing the gathering, lauded the efforts of the staff of the Consulate General

Rani refused to answer questions about Anna Hazare's movement against corruption. "Let us not talk about politics here", she tried to avoid the question but quickly added that everyone had a right to express their views hosted a reception on Aug 15 to mark India's Independence. About 250 guests including prominent members of the Indo-American community and local dignitaries such as Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula from New Jersey, Assemblyman Dr. Prasad Srinivasan from Connecticut, and Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, representative of the Vatican attended the celebrations. Representative of the United Nations Vijay

Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 11

Actor Gulshan Grover joined her and members of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) as she flipped the switch to light up the building. The Empire State Building management has said the lighting of the tower in the Indian tri-colors on Aug 19-20 was in honor of the 31st Annual India Day Parade.

"At home in NYC"

Rani Mukherjee, who is known for her 'off the track roles' in a number of movies, looked at home at the press conference organized two days prior to the parade. With her simple red gown attire and a smiley face she may have disappointed some who expected to see her in a more glamorous costume. She also began speaking in

Hindi and later switched to English in which every Indian person preferred to speak at the event. Rani then spoke about her love for India and her ambition to work in a Hollywood film, 'if she was offered a suitable role'. She was very happy to see so many Indians in New York City, she said. "I feel like I am not away from India." It was a life time achievement for Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover, who seemed very excited about the 'Best Actor Award' that he had just won at the New York International Film Festival. He arrived at the press conference, posed for photographs with singer Shivani Kashyap and other members of the audience. He left quickly as he had to attend a special screening of 'Desperate Endeavor', taking place in a New York City cinema. Grover won

Walkathon in Bartlett by BAPS Charities Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 14

The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. A portion of the walk's proceeds will be donated directly to the Arlington Heights branch of the organization. With over 46 centers participating in

similar walks across North America, this is just one of many initiatives that BAPS Charities takes to support local communities. Throughout the year, BAPS Charities hosts medical fairs, education and career development seminars, blood drives and much more. BAPS Charities sincerely serves the community, by improving the quality of life of individuals and families.

of India in furthering people to people contact across cultures. Jennings also presented a memento on behalf of the New Hampshire Cultural Diversity Awareness Council to commemorate the occasion of 64th Anniversary of Indian Independence. Prominent Indian-Americans representing various associations and fields jointly cut the cake in celebration of this joyous occasion.

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James Pappachen is Chief of Staff for Suffredin HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: James Pappachen, a young Democrat and an IndoAmerican community activist, was recently named Chief of Staff to Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who represents Cook County's 13th district. James has previously worked as a field director for Congresswoman Jan Schakowski in the 2010 congressional elections and as campaign manager for rapper Rhymefest's campaign for 20th ward alderman in the 2011 run-off election. James is an advocate for youth, education, healthcare access, as well as the empowerment of the South-Asian community. Starting his career at Loyola University, he worked with college students to develop leadership skills and engage in ideas of ethics, faith, and justice. He went on to become a community organizer, working with community leaders on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago to increase access to health care services for the most needy.

Onam celebrations by Geetha Mandalam SURENDRA ULLAL

Celebration of Onam in Kerala

James with Commissioner Suffredin

James holds a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Chicago-Harris School and a B.S. from Loyola University where he studied Psychology and Philosophy. He currently serves as president of the Democratic Leadership

for the 21st Century, as a member of the Asian American Action Fund Endorsement Committee, and as the Legislative Action Chair-Independent Voter of Illinois-Independent Politicians of Illinois (IVI-IPO).

UAE Exchange- Money Dart gaining in popularity HARISH RAO

Dr BR Shetty, UAE Exchange Chief Promoter, at Hoffman Estate facility of Money Dart, a USA subsidiary. With Prabhakar Patel, Asst VP to his left and other staff members

CHICAGO: With fast growing international presence spanning across five continents with over 510 direct offices and correspondent banking relationship with more than 150 major banks across the globe, the UAE Exchange established in United Arab Emirate in 1980, has blossomed to be one of the front ranking remittance and currency exchange houses in the course of past three decades. Dr. B.R Shetty, an India-born entrepreneur and one of the main promoters of the company, said here that there was a time when fund transfer mechanisms in the country were unorganized and in-

September 2, 2011

adequate to meet the needs of the immigrant population, especially laborers who needed a reliable and affordable system to transfer their hard earned money to their homes.

Their prayer was answered when the Indian-born entrepreneur Bavaguthu Shetty joined former United Arab Emirates Minister of Justice Abdulla Humaid Al Mazroei as part of the New Medical Centre Group (NMC) which they had set up together. With rapidly expanding customer Base, product portfolio, and network, it is one of the fastest growing corporate brands who transfer billions of dollars across the world and is acclaimed as the world's trusted money transferor, he said during a short visit to Chicago the UAE Exchange facility in Hoffman Estate. He informed a small gathering of newsmen and the invited guests that UAE Exchange is a pioneer in setting new standards in the industry with diversified product and service offering, customer service

UAE Exchange is a pioneer in setting new standards in the industry with diversified product and service offering It was not uncommon that they had to wait hours in line to do this and were literally praying for an easier and safer course to send money home.

excellence and emergent technologies positively influencing the lives of people through safe and comprehensive remittance solutions. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 17

CHICAGO: A Chicagoland based non profit service organization Geetha Mandalam has announced celebrating its 34th Annual Onam on Saturday, September 10 at Apollo Elementary School in Des Plaines, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Anil Pilai, president, said all are invited with family and friends to join Geetha Mandalm members and office bearers in celebrating this festival of flowers, feast and frolic. According to the program, there will be Group Prayer & Bhajan at 5 pm, Grand Procession 6:15 pm, Variety Entertainment 7 pm, Ona Sadya 8:30 pm. Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the State of Kerala. It is a harvest festival

and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm all over the state by people of all communities. According to a popular legend, the festival is to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam. Onam is celebrated in the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar (Kollavarsham). This corresponds with the month of August-September according to Gregorian Calendar. Carnival of Onam lasts from four to ten days. First day, Atham and tenth day, Thiruonam are most important. Elaborate feasts, folk songs, elegant dances, energetic games, elephants, boats and flowers all are a part of the dynamic festival.

Vedanta Society play on Vivekananda SURI SWAMY

CHICAGO: Vivekananda Vedanta Society, a socio-religious organization of Indians here, will sponsor a play, entitled "Vivekananda", performed by Indian actor Shekhar Sen at the auditorium of the Hindu Temple of

Shekhar Sen in the role of Swami Vivekananda

Greater Chicago in Lemont, a southwest suburb of Chicago, on Sunday, September 11 at 6-30 p.m. September 11 is the anniversary of the first day of the 1893 Parliament of Religions in which Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism into America. It is ironic that the Par-

liament of Religions opened exactly 108 years before 9/11, when the World Trade Centers were destroyed. The play, which is written, composed, sung and acted by Shekhar Sen has been performed with great success over 116 times through-

September 11 is the anniversary of the first day of the 1893 Parliament of Religions in which Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism into America out the world. The play depicts stories from Swami Vivekananda's childhood, his meeting with Sri Ramakrishna, and eventual journey to Chicago to attend the Parliament of Religions. The play will be in Hindi with simultaneous English translation.

Community Across America Natya Dance theatre to present Fundraiser for Mahatma Gandhi Center The Flowering Tree

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ASHWIN PATEL

KK RAJDA

CHICAGO: Natya Dance Theatre , a prestigious Indian dance academy serving the community by promoting classical Indian dances, has announced its ambitious new production The Flowering Tree , based on an ancient South Indian folktale, The performance is slated for Saturday, October 8 at 7:30 pm at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago. This was announced by Director Hema Rajagopalan during a press meet at Tifin India Resturant on Devon Avenue. Artistic Associate Krithika Rajagopalan briefed the newsmen with plans for the new production, the largest evening-length work that Natya has ever created. The Flowering Tree will be a narrated dance theater work about a poor but beautiful young girl blessed with the magical ability to transform herself into a magnificent flowering tree. A prince, so entranced by the girl's beauty, quickly marries her, but when her magical ability is discovered it is soon taken advantage of. A show perfectly suited for families as well as fans of contem-

ST LOUIS: A fundraising Bollywood musical concert was organized in St Louis for the benefit of Mahatma Gandhi Center on Friday August 19. Bollywood musician, singer, composer and arranger Jolly Mukherjee along with his troupe performed at MGC. He sang songs of legends such as Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, among others, and ghazals. Finally he paid a tribute

The Flowering Tree will be a narrated dance theater work about a poor but beautiful young girl blessed with the magical ability to transform herself into a magnificent flowering tree porary Indian dance, The Flowering Tree imparts the lesson of respecting nature's gifts, told

Bollywood musician, singer, composer and arranger Jolly Mukherjee along with his troupe performed at MGC. He sang songs of legends such as Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, among others, and ghazals

Director Hema Rajagopalan (right) with Artistic Associate Krithika Rajagopalan

dancers and an original score composed by renowned world musician Rajkumar Bharati, fusing Indian music with Jazz and Japa-

nese and African drumming. Choreography by Hema Rajagopalan and stage direction by Dipankar

Krithika Rajagopalan said there would be a global presentation of this performance besides presentations in different cities in USA. She said the theme of the dance drama is a unique one and touches upon the age old concept of respect to the Prithvi\ (Earth) Mata who has been so bountiful and kind to mankind. Natya Dance Theatre was founded in 1975 by renowned dancer, choreographer and dance educator Hema Rajagopalan to serve as an agent of cultural preservation, presentation and exchange. Natya seeks to sustain and develop

three Hindi films, "Bambai Ka Babu," "Dushmani" and "Zameer." MGC is a not-for-profit community center that was built by the joint efforts of various IndianAmerican community members with major contributions from Drs. Uday Dash and Kamal Yadav at that time. The center was inaugurated couple of decades ago on August 19, 1990. Since then, MGC has

to R.D. Burman. A native of Mumbai, he got the first break came as playback singer for Feroz Khan's "Dayavan" under LaxmikantPyarelal's music direction and since then there has been no looking back. He has sung for music directors such as KalyanjiAnandji, Nadeem-Shravan, Anand-Milind, Anand Raj Anand, Anu Mallik, Jatin-Lalit, Uttam Singh, Himesh Reshamiya, Pritam, etc. Mukherjee himself has provided background score for

been a very popular community center that is increasingly being used by the local Indian-American community of the greater St. Louis region at a nominal rental price for their personal and/or public events. MGC also serves as an election center and hosts health fairs, visa camps etc. This event was organized to raise funds for the Center's structural maintenance, up-keep and renovation. This event was supported by Seema Enterprises & India Association of St. Louis

UAE Exchange- Money Dart gaining in popularity Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 16

through the expressive power of original choreography in the classical style of Bharata Natyam. The production will feature 20

Mukherji, Artistic Director of the Pangea World Theater in Minneapolis, will round out this international production.

the traditional art forms of India through the teaching and performance of Bharata Natyam for audiences of all backgrounds.

The Exchange is a people's brand and is the most trusted brand to send money back home. Linking people globally through technology-driven, professional and timely services delivered with a personal touch, it ensures that customers fetch good value for their hard-earn money Money Dart Global Services Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAE Exchange, is steadily gaining popularity among the expatriates in USA. Incorporated in New York in 2000, Money Dart currently has its facilities in six states viz New Jersey, Illinois,

Florida, New Mexico, Montana and South Carolina. Prabhakar Patel, Asst. Vice President, said that in USA, Money Dart is fast growing into a people's brand, winning customers through its unwavering focus on reliability, product quality and service. UAE Exchange is a member of SWIFT, which enables Money Dart to transfer money to any bank account in the world in any currency, Patel said Money Dart, Patel added, that plans are afoot to open more branches in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, Michigan, Georgia, California and Texas.

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Scholars discuss Varna, Jati and Kula India Post News Service

PISCATAWAY, NJ: On July 31, the Worldwide Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) and cosponsor All World Gayatri Pariwar concluded a well-attended threeday conference on Varna, Jati and Kula (caste) at Piscataway, NJ. It featured prominent scholars worldwide and robust youth participation, including members of Gayatri Pariwar, HSC and Youth for Sewa. For three days, scholars from various institutions and with diverse backgrounds presented historical, anthropological, social, and spiritual aspects of the caste system in India. Dr. Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Pariwar and chancellor of Dev Sanskriti University, gave the inaugural address. He said, "The origin and purpose of Varna-Ashram-Dharma (the core foundation of Indian civilization) is rooted in the main purpose of life, which is to achieve Self-enlightenment and perfection, for which the Varna-order provided the choice of a suitable path and support system for a thriving social fabric and personal life attainments, including social upliftment and material development as desirable side effects." Several key points emerged from the conference presentations: 1. It was agreed that Jati / Varna in their original form were beneficial for the psycho-spiritual development of the individual and for social harmony and prosperity. 2. It was agreed that the negative social practices of untouchability and the like result from a degenerated and distorted social system that cannot be equated with or blamed on Jati / Varna. Hin-

dus worldwide condemn untouchability and other such negative social practices as discrimination. 3. It was generally agreed that it is inimical to Hindu interests, including Hindu organizations not based in India, to conflate Jati / Varna with racism or crimes against humanity - this is a matter for Indians to solve as an internal social issue under the sovereign power of India and one in which much progress has been made by the Indian government, the democratic / legal institutions of India and the grassroots efforts of many Hindu organizations and acharyas. Youth participants expressed

It was generally agreed that it is inimical to Hindu interests, including Hindu organizations not based in India, to conflate Jati / Varna with racism appreciation for the forum and readiness for engagement. "I am very grateful for this opportunity to learn so much about my culture," said Kshama Desai of Youth for Sewa. Ravi Jaishankar, Secretary of the HSC (Hindu Students Council) National Body, eloquently expressed the need for the community to provide support to his generation to carry forward the Hindu tradition. Several of the youth expressed a yearning to learn more about Hinduism from authentic sources and appreciation for the original Jati / Varna system, which many felt had continuing relevance in modern times.

Whole Foods to celebrate Hindu festival Diwali India Post News Service

CHICAGO: Whole Foods Market, a leading natural and organic food retailer, has announced celebrating the Hindu festival Diwali with a festive cooking class and sampler dinner The Minneapolis (Minnesota) store with headquarter in Austin (Texas) aims at recreating' the festive atmosphere of Diwali" with a hands on Diwali cooking class and sampler dinner on October 22. This class/dinner will include Thandai (which literally means "Nectar of the Gods"), Onion Bhajias, Elaichi Pulao, Aloo Fry (spicy), and Shahi Badami Burfi. Founded in Austin in 1980 with 19 people, it now has about 60,000 employees and over 300 stores and nine distribution centers in

USA, Canada and United Kingdom and its sales was over $9 billion during 2010 fiscal year. It was named "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" by Health magazine. Dr. John B. Elstrott is the Chairman of its Board of Directors. John

tionally more unifying festival, in that all most all traditions of the country celebrate this festival, each of them claiming the common custom of lightening up homes and temples and offering prayer to respective divinities. Because

This class/dinner will include Thandai (which literally means "Nectar of the Gods"), Onion Bhajias, Elaichi Pulao, Aloo Fry (spicy), and Shahi Badami Burfi Mackey and Walter Robb are coCEOs. Welcoming this move, Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism said that even within the Indian context, Diwali is by far the most secular and emo-

Hinduism happens to be widely spread across the country, various legends and traditions have become part of this joyous festival. Diwali, as the name suggests, being the festival of lights, it reflects lighting the lamp of knowledge.

Krishna Temple opens in Salt Lake City India Post News Service

SALT LAKE: Utah's capital Salt Lake City has a Hindu temple now named Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. This is the third Hindu temple in the state of Utah (USA). Other Hindu temples are Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah in South Jordan and Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. There is also an India Cultural Center in South Jordan. Opened on July 23 in a 3.72 acre site near downtown and University of Utah, which was a school building owned by Seventh Day Adventists, this Krishna Temple, as per an announcement, is "dedicated to bringing people to Krishna Consciousness". This new Temple also has a gift shop, a lounge, classrooms, auditorium, and kitchen. It holds services on Saturdays and Sundays, besides a Sunday school and Saturday Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the

Lord) class. It plans to hold festivals like Holi, urban summer camps, community events and become a cultural resource. After a Krishna Janmashtami celebra-

hosted 2002 Winter Olympics. Lonely Planet describes it as "modern city with charming anachronisms and a stunning mountain setting" and it has 213 sites listed

This new Temple also has a gift shop, a lounge, classrooms, auditorium, and kitchen. It holds services on Saturdays and Sundays, besides a Sunday school and Saturday Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) class tion on August 20, it will hold "Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest" on September 3-5 and an "India Fest" on September 11. Supported by volunteers, it reportedly plans to launch a vegetarian sandwich shop and buffet and offer Wi-Fi. Caru Das Adikari is the temple priest. Founded in 1847 by Brigham Young and his Mormon followers, Salt Lake City houses world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and

on National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks. Notable people associated with Salt Lake City include actor Robert Redford, actress Roseanne Barr, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, The New Yorker founder Harold Ross, novelist Wallace Stegner, internet pioneer Ivan Sutherland, vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and football player Merlin Olsen. Ralph Becker is the Mayor.

NYC Council passes Workplace Religious Freedom Bill Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 14

Under current city law, employers are required to make 'reasonable accommodations' for the religious practices of their employees. However, employers can bypass this requirement by showing that such accommodations would impose minimal difficulty or expense for the employer's business. This law will still allow employers to deny religious accommodations, but only by proving that such ac-

commodations would constitute a "significant difficulty or expense." The proposed change in city law tracks a national movement to guard against religious discrimination in the workplace. Every year Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduces a federal "Workplace Religious Freedom Act." While efforts to change the standard at the federal level have not yet seen success, both state and local municipalities are moving to adopt a more faith-friendly work-

place accommodation standard. "We congratulate the City Council, Council Member Weprin and Speaker Christine Quinn for their leadership today," said Singh. "It's critical that employees be evaluated solely on their ability to do their job and nothing else. Today's law ensures that will be the case. We're thrilled that our City is demonstrating national leadership on the issue of workplace religious discrimination. We urge our federal government to also move in this direction."

September 2, 2011

Community Across America

India Post 19

FIA (O) hosts 3-pronged celebration of India Day Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 12

About corruption she said that the problem was not at the top only but also at the lower levels and this hurts common people the most." FIA also conducted flag hoisting ceremony at Daley Plaza in Chicago downtown headed by Sunny Gabhawala along with other FIA members, local dignitaries and guests. One of the eye catching features was a group of Indians voicing their grievance against corruption in India with slogans on caps and banners in the hand. Earlier, FIA had hosted a dinner to celebrate India's 65th Independence Day and to honor some distinguished personalities of Indian community, in different spheres life in US. The venue was the Meadows Club where Sunny Gabhawala, the president, was present with his team members including Kirthi Ravoori, Sher Rajput, Dinesh Gandhi, Chandresh Brahmbhatt and Dr. Kamal Patel to mix with guests and welcome FIA Trustees and VIPs, who among others included Niranjan Shah, Sohan Joshi, and Kanti Patel. The Chief Guest was Smt. Mukta Dutta Tomar, the Consul General of India, Raja Krishnamoorthy and others. Speeches were short and to the point and the stage was set by Sunny Gabhawala who welcomed the guests and briefly touched upon the mission and objectives of FIA. Mukta Tomar congratulated the Indian Community on this auspicious occasion. Gabhawala in an earlier press meeting said that FIA headed by him was the real FIA and the other organization claiming to represent FIA was fake.

He produced a letter from the National Federation of Indian Associations claiming that his organization was the sole facility or chapter of the parent body. "We will move the court to rectify this hijacking of our name and show the community the true colors of the group claiming to be FIA," he

bution to US economy. Then AAOHA chairman, CK Patel was invited on the stage to speak about the success of hotel trade in the US. Another very important personality present was Raja Krishnamurthy, the Democratic candidate for the coming 2012 elections in the Illinois, for US Senate.

FIA also conducted flag hoisting ceremony at Daley Plaza in Chicago downtown headed by Sunny Gabhawala along with other FIA members, local dignitaries and guests thundered. Another V.I.P. invited there to grace the Indian Day celebrations was Ald. Debra Silverstein ,who spoke few words in appreciation of Indian community and their contri-

Gabhawala called on stage his team of F.I.A. and declared this function his last, thanking his team for the support he got. A colorful cultural program was presented to entertain the gather-

ing with a thrilling performance of Kathak that was followed by a fusion of Bhangra with western dance, performed by Nagesh Bhagya's group known as Bollywood Rhythms, Bollywood steps and so on. It was liked and applauded by the audience. This was followed by the usual Bollywood songs and other entertaining items but unfortunately no mention of the great souls, the martyrs who gave their lives for cause of freedom.

FIA Parade on Devon Avenue

The India Day celebration supposed to culminate in a grand way with a colorful Parade on August 20 on Devon Avenue unfortunately ended on a dismal note and the prime culprit was rain god. Torrential rains an hour before the Parade and a continued drizzle

during the march undid what Gabhawala and his team had planned. But congratulations to Indian Americans and also the FIA office bearers that the damp weather did not dampen the spirit of all those present - may be a couple of thousands. Many marched with the Parade and many watched from sidewalks but they were there till the end. The dignitaries - Mayor of Chicago Rham Emanuel and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn - were conspicuous by their absence and an FIA spokesman said that they were dissuaded by the earlier weather forecast that indicated gusty winds and thunder storms. Kudos however to Cook County President Ms Tony Periwinkle, Ald. Joe Moore and Cook County Circuit Court Clerk who joined the Parade despite rains. Bollywood heroine Bhagyahsree came at the end but she stayed on. The FIA office bearers and trustees including Niranjan Shah, Kanti Patel, Sohan Joshi, Harish Bhat, Hetal Patel, Sitaram Patel, Anil Pilai, Bhailal Patel, Keerthi Ravoori, Babubhai Patel marched with the Parade. The Chicago band did a good job. The Parade started with Flag Hoisting Ceremony at the corner of Devon and Western Avenue and ended as usual at the corner of Devon Ave and California Ave. There were about 20 colorful floats but a few presented a deserted look in view of continued rain and drizzle. One of the eye-catching floats was the one manned by a group of activists carrying placards supporting Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption in India. Crowds were patchy but they still cheered the marchers. A lady from Gujarat came to the Parade with her grand daughter.

Gopio's Ashook Ramsaran honored in Canada Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 13

The 25 honorees profiled in "Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America" are: Mr Vasu Chanchlani (Canada), Dr Ram Charan (USA), Mr Sant Singh Chatwal (USA), Mr Bharat Desai (USA), Mr Gururaj Despande (USA), Mr Bob Dillon (Canada), Mr Ujjal Dosanjh (Canada), Dr Aron Govil, Gov Nikki Haley (USA), Dr Valluvan Jeevnandan (USA), Dr Aditya Jha (Canada), Mr Asa Singh Johal, Mr Vinod Khosla (USA), Ms Indra Nooyi (USA), Mr Deepak Obhrai (Canada) , Mr Vickram Pandit (USA), Dr Sudhir Parikh (USA), Mr Hasmukh P. Rama (USA), Mr Ashook Ramsaran (USA), Dr C S Ranawat (USA), Mr Kuldeep Rai Sahi (USA), Mr Ram

Kavitark Shriram (USA), Mr Harinder Takhar (Canada), Dr Salim Yusuf (USA) and Ms Sunita Williams (USA). Ashook Ramsaran was recognized for his many achievements as an active and versatile civic leader both in the local New York community as well as the global Indian Diaspora community of Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). Ramsaran is Executive Vice President of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) and CEO of Ramex, Inc his own electronics manufacturing company founded in 1988 and based in New York. Early this year, India's prestigious 2011 Pravasi Samman Award was conferred on him by the Presi-

dent of India. With his initiatives, the Kolkata Memorial was unveiled on January 11in Kolkata, India.

While the success of Indian immigrants in newly adopted countries can be attributed to economic progress, they have integrated well in their host countries The citation on the "Indian Diaspora Heritage Award 2011" presented to Ashook Ramsaran

states: "In recognition of his outstanding contributions through broader community service and individual achievements in numerous activities". In a statement issued, editor and publisher Dr Anand Raj Giri said that, the "Top 25 Most Influential Indians in North America" publication profiles the lives and achievements of 25 prominent members of Indian diasporic community of North America. While the success of Indian immigrants in newly adopted countries can be attributed to economic progress, they have integrated well in their host countries through good citizenship, hard work, discipline and philanthropy. The personalities included in this publication all have an excellent record of

exemplary successes and outstanding achievements in all segments of society: business, entrepreneurship, politics, humanitarian deeds and philanthropic activities" "As India has grown in recent years into an economic powerhouse, something we all have beheld with amazement, our strong ties to India have given us a competitive advantage that others envy", said Premier McGinty. Similar sentiments were shared by Dr Runte. Both of them spoke highly on the increasingly strong and growing bonds between Canada and India as well as the many significant contributions of Indian immigrants in Canada. Consul General Saran also spoke on Indian immigrants in Canada and common interests of India and Canada.

20 India Post

Community/California

September 2, 2011

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LA erupts in support of Anna Hazare

JS BEDI India Post News Service

ARTESIA, CA: Never before has the Indian community in Los Angeles responded to corruption in India in such a way. Pioneer Blvd in Artesia, the heart of the Indian community in Southern California, echoed with chants of

ers, gave an update on Anna Hazare's health and explained the difference between the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Indian Government's Lokpal Bill. He stressed the need for a strong and independent 3tier anti-corruption institution: Lokpal at center, Lokayukta at state, and Ombudsman at district level. There was a discussion on how

what is probably the busiest 'Indian street' in USA, chanting "We want Jan Lokpal", "Anna nahi ye Aandhi hai, Desh ka doosra Gandhi hai" and "Stop Corruption, Save India". The march ended at 3 pm, back at Artesia Town Center. All participants took an oath of

NRIs are affected by corruption in several ways, such as at customs, passport office and MRO office (for marriage certificate) and so on. Around 2 pm, the gathering started on a march towards 187th street. As more people joined, the crowd grew and soon crossed 500 people, including small children, women and seniors, from all parts of India. They marched through

news of the movement against corruption and Anna Hazare closely and asked them to be ready to come together to show support and strength when needed. This event was organized by India Against Corruption - Los Angeles and People For Lok Satta.

Volunteers fast in support of Anna Hazare India Post News Service

400 Indians for two hours, in support of the campaign against corruption and Anna Hazare. As Anna Hazare continued his fast in New Delhi, Indians across the world are pouring in support. About 250 Indians gathered in the parking lot of Artesia Town Center (Pioneer Blvd and 183rd St) around 1 pm on Saturday, August 20. Sri Atluri, one of the organiz-

non-participation in corruption. One of the volunteers went on a fast, with no food or water, for three days starting August 22, in support of Anna Hazare's fast. One of the organizers, Sreekanth Kocharlakota, gave a call to all participants to follow

TUSTIN, CA: A three-day fast was observed here at Peace Home, Norwood Park Place, by some volunteers from August 22 in support of Anna Hazare, who has been fasting to free India from corruption. While Sundari C'Ganti and Vishakha Purandare fasted for all three days, six volunteers joined a one-day fast in the Southern California location and 52 others joined the fast from multiple other locations. Many more showed their support and joined the fast for two days. Some of the supporters wanted to continue the fast if the Indian government continued to show their inability to defuse the situation. The atmosphere at Peace Home was joyous and peaceful. Everyone was feeling healthy and full of energy. They spent time following the news from Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, where Anna Hazare is fasting, and news about the Indian anti-corruption movement from across the world. Many of the supporters including family and friends called to inquire about their well being. After the fast, all the volunteers gathered at the Peace Home for prayers for Anna's health.

September 2, 2011

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Fresno celebrates India's Independence Day India Post News Service

FRESNO: members of the Indian Community from Fresno and surrounding communities in the Central Valley gathered in large numberS on August 14 at California State University, Fresno to celebrate India's 65th Independence Day. After the flag hoisting ceremony by Col. Sarbjit Singh Deol and Major Sikand Singh Garcha, retired military officers from the Indian Army, the national anthems of United States and India were sung by children of the Indian community. Professor Ellen Junn, Associate Provost, representing Dr. John D Welty, President of California State University, Fresno and Dr. Francine Oputa, director of the Central Valledy Cultural Heritage Institute (CVCHI), welcomed members of the Indian community. City of Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, was the Chief Guest at the event. He read a proclamation on behalf of the city of Fresno and released the special souvenir magazine to mark the celebration.

Mayor Swearengin has expressed a keen interest to visit India in the near future. On behalf of the Fresno County Council of Governments, representing all the cities within Fresno County, Mayor Ruby S. Dhaliwal of San Joaquin read a special proclamation in honor of India's Independence. Special messages were received from Congressman Jim Costa, Assembly Member Henry

Giddha, Garba, Bhangra, Keranirakaladum (Beautiful Kerala) and Des Rangilla Rangilla. The skit "Bharat Ma" and the drama "The True Spirit of Freedom" - a performance by Indian students of Fresno State provided the historical and current scenario of India. Special tributes were paid to Kuka Freedom Movement, one of the very early freedom movements

City of Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, was the Chief Guest at the event. He read a proclamation on behalf of the city of Fresno and released the special souvenir magazine to mark the celebration Perea, John D. Welty, Consul General of India, Ms. Susmita G. Thomas, California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and California State Controller John Chiang. The program presented a mosaic of Indian culture and history. It included classical and folk dances of India: Bharat Natyam,

against British Raj and Rabindranath Tagore, poet laureate of India and Father of Indian cultural renaissance as India celebrates 150th Tagore Jayanti. About 20 Indian organizations and groups in Fresno area sponsored and supported the celebration. CSU Fresno hosted the event.

Community leader Hari Singh Everest passes away India Post News Service

YUBA CITY, CA: Hari Singh Everest, 95, passed away peacefully on August 18 at his home in Yuba City. He was born on January 16, 1916 in Lyallpur, West Punjab (now in Pakistan), India. In his youth, he studied the Constitution of the US and found it paralleling his religious beliefs and values. This inspired him to immigrate to the US in 1955 on the immigration quota. In his own words: "I was a 'British subject' by subjugation, an Indian by birth, a Pakistani by circumstance, and an American by choice." A renowned scholar, he was fluent in five languages and earned two degrees from two universities in India and Pakistan. Shortly after arriving in the US, he gained admission to Stanford University, graduating with a Master's degree in Communications in 1957. He was a resident of Yuba City for the past 50 years. In that time, he became the first South Asian to teach in the Yuba-Sutter school system, teaching for 20 years until his retirement in 1981. His volunteer work included residing on the: California Department of Education Ethnic Advisory Council, PG&E consumer Advisory Panel, Sutter County Juvenile Justice

Commission in which he earned 'The Rodger Kunde' Youth Leader of the Year Award for Outstanding Service to Youth 1990 and the Policy Council. A prolific and persuasive writer, his articles and letters appeared frequently in the local press. He first started writing articles for

Leader in Lahore, Pakistan for about 17 years. He went on to write poetry in which he adopted pen name 'Everest" in his writing. He dedicated much of his life to contribute to the Sikh way of life. He was an integral figure in the building of the first Gurdwara in Yuba City, and was the first stage secretary, serving as a spokesman and community representative for

the Tierra Buena Gurdwara. He was the president of United Sikhs for Human Rights. He was the US representative for the Sikh Review and served as editor of the Sikh Sansar magazine. He also contributed to creating a directory of Sikhs in the United States. While in India, he even started his own magazine titled "Prem Pujari." Well into his retirement, he remained a voice for compassion and cross-cultural understanding, and an effective spokesman for the Tierra Buena Gurdwara around which he centered much of his life. His life was predicated along three simple rules he made for himself, a slight modification of 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) which he deemed "3FO," (faith, family and fellowship). He married Amar Kaur on June 7, 1938, and was married for 70 years until she passed away in 2008. He is survived by his son Paramjit Singh and daughter-inlaw Surinder Kaur, daughter Manjit Kaur and son-in-law Harbhajan Singh, grandsons Jatinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Harmantej Singh, granddaughters Prabhjot Kaur, Tejinder Kaur, Amarpreet Kaur and Harkiren Kaur and great-grandchildren Jaiveer Singh, Sahiba Kaur and Avleen Kaur.

India Post 21

NRCC puts Ricky Gill' on the radar' India Post News Service

of 92 Young Guns won in 2010. Young Guns served as the model LODI, CA: The National Re- for both Member participation and publican Congressional Commit- support for Republican canditee (NRCC) has announced that dates, as well as a training program Ricky Gill has achieved "On the designed to assist candidates in Radar" status under its "Young developing aggressive campaigns. Guns" campaign program. The By Election Day, Young Gun announcement signifies that Gill Members raised $10.6 million for has met critical benchmarks to- Young Gun candidates nationwards building a winning cam- wide. Restoring self-representation paign, and puts Gill in the comMeanwhile, in a full-page ad in pany of only 22 other "On the Ralocal newspapers, Ricky Gill ofdar" candidates nationwide. "Ricky Gill's dedication and ex- fered an open letter to his fellow perience enables him to advocate San Joaquin Valley residents. In it effectively for pro-growth policies he says that new Congressional and fight the failed Democrat sta- districts "give us the best chance tus quo in Washington," said in a decade to restore self-representation to the San Joaquin ValNRCC Chairman ley, which has Pete Sessions been denied a (R-TX). "This voice in Washwill stand in stark ington due to gercontrast to the rymandered disDemocrats' tricts. I'm running record of spendfor Congress to ing, borrowing give Valley resiand taxing that dents that voice." California famiRicky said in lies and small the letter, "I was businesses born and raised in know has failed." the San Joaquin Gill made the Valley, and - as following comthe New York ments regarding Times recently the NRCC anrecognized - I'm nouncement: Ricky Gill proud to call it "Memberhome. By conship in the Young Guns program means that trast, my opponent, Jerry we have launched this campaign McNerney, has never lived here. for self-representation the right It's therefore no surprise that he way. We've sought input from the has failed to learn about and adentire San Joaquin Valley - farm- dress the issues most important ers, doctors, lawyers, teachers and to Valley residents, including wastudents alike. And they've deter rights and agriculture. Nonecided that we need a new genera- theless, he recently announced tion of leadership to address the that he plans to leave his East Bay home of 20 years and run in this issues that matter most. "I may be the candidate lead- district. "There is an urgent need for ing this effort, but this campaign belongs to the Valley residents I genuine, locally-grown leadership hope to represent. Our next step in the Valley. Just this week, our is to use their energy and commit- President told over-regulated ment to build a grassroots move- farmers that they should call the US Department of Agriculture ment for victory in 2012." that they weren't actually facing About the Young Guns the burdensome regulation we all Program: The Young Guns Program was know exists. Given that he has created by Reps. Eric Cantor (R- never lived in the San Joaquin ValVA), Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Kevin ley, it isn't surprising that Jerry McCarthy (R-CA) in the 2007-2008 McNerney has failed to correct the cycle as a Member driven organi- record in defense of our farmers. "As your Congressman, I'll take zation of House Republicans dedicated to electing open seat and the lead in defending our farmers challenger candidates nationwide. by reducing burdensome regulaIn the 2009-2010 cycle, the NRCC tion. Our farmers should be able adopted the Young Guns program to focus on growing the best prounder the leadership of Chairman duce in the world, rather than filling out forms and paperwork. Pete Sessions (R-TX). Last cycle, the Young Guns Pro- When I'm elected, local farmers gram achieved great success in won't have to call the USDA leading the way to return Republi- they'll always be able to call my cans to the Majority in the U.S. office, where I'll be at work fightHouse of Representatives. 62 out ing for their farms," he concluded.

Community/California

India Post

September 2, 2011

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Strengthening roots and giving wings - IGS Now! SUKIRAT KAUR

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Decline and fall of Congressled government?

E SAN JOSE, CA: Sakhaa Retreat, the inaugural event of IGS Now, a non-profit spiritual organization, was a big success. Held in the beautiful, newly built Khalsa School Campus of San Jose Sikh Gurdwara, from August 4-7, Sakhaa was attended by over 75 young Sikh children, youth leaders and experienced facilitators. IGS Now has been established to continue the dream of Captain Kanwar Habhajan Singh, the founder of International Institute of Gurmat Studies (IIGS) known all over the world as Papa Ji. Jessi Kaur (author of Dear Takuya and The Royal Falcon) who had Co-founded IIGS with Captain Singh wants IGS Now to take Papa Ji's vision to the next level by including an outreach element to the organization. Collaborating with mainstream institutions and communities, building cultural bridges using visual arts, theater, and music as a medium, and synergistically working with other Sikh organizations, IGS Now seeks to strengthen the roots of Sikhi while emphasizing in parallel the One Creator One World message of the Sikh Gurus as enunciated by Guru Nanak Sahib in the mool mantra: Ek Ong Kar. Sakhaa was an enriching and enjoyable experience for its young participants. The curriculum was designed to strengthen Sikhi through interactive workshops, breakout sessions in which the participants explored their personal responses to the core messages, and activities and games that instill the values viscerally. Diana Argabrite of the Euphrat Museum in Cupertino guided the children to embellish a beautiful Ek Ong Kar while experiencing the oneness of humanity through weaving various colored strands of sculpi. The children created visual representations of what their faith and culture meant to them. Julie Smith of the Tech Museum created an engineering challenge for Sakhaa keeping the core values of kirat, (righteous action), udham (initiative), Sangat (team support), and chardikalaa (high spirits and positive attitude) as key elements required for a successful venture.

Jessi Kaur and JJ Singh, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, held workshops on topics ranging from the three Golden rules of Sikhi, ardas, chardikala, to leadership, and Sikh identity. Meet Paul Singh, an MD turned venture capitalist, Harbir Kaur, TV Host and budding entrepreneur, Pushpinder Kaur, author and educationist, and Keshav Singh a Jazz guitarist who is doing his undergrad at Princeton were presented as role models who were making strides in life while staying rooted in their faith. With the help of several facilitators from the community, the children created skits and presentations to demonstrate the value and importance of integrity, equality, and selfless service. Games and challenges were designed to

Sakhaa was an enriching and enjoyable experience for its young participants. The curriculum was designed to strengthen Sikhi through interactive workshops, keep the youth engaged in fun activities that further strengthened their core beliefs. Sheena Kohli, a South Bay realtor was responsible for the operations and kept the retreat moving like clockwork. During the closing ceremony, the children got a chance to share their thoughts on the retreat through short speeches. Most shared a common theme; initially they were not very excited to attend another 'religious camp filled with long boring lectures'. But all of them found the experience at Sakhaa exhilarating and left with the feeling of fulfillment, of having learned lessons that would help them all their lives, of having acquired tools they could use in their everyday lives. IGS Now will be collaborating with other cities and states to hold the Sakhaa program in their communities. Kaur Foundation of Maryland had partnered with IGS Now for Sakhaa's debut.

ver since the Congress came to power, the plight of the common man in India has been deteriorating. Endemic corruption at every level of government from the panchayat to the Central Government, from the ration office to the passport office has added fuel to the fire, making our once land of gold into a vast slum of impossible living for those whom the fate cursed to be born and die there. Instead of trying to denigrate Anna Hazare through trumped up charges of corruption, the government should have tried to eradicate corruption by quick introduction and enactment of the Lokpal bill. Instead it spent a considerable amount of time and money making allegations against Anna even calling him an anarchist and Maoist. The government's confusion was amply evident in the way it arrested Hazare and then quickly offered to release him. Astutely

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Hazare refused the offer of release till all his demands including his right to go on a fast, were met. As the recent firing near Pune on unarmed farmers showed, the nexus between Indian politicians and corporate leaders and big builders have subverted every institution in India - from the bureaucrats to the police to the judicial system. The process of justice is there for one who has the money and the lack of principles to buy it. All this occurs in a country that claims Mahatma Gandhi as the father of the nation. And the lead in corruption is taken by leaders of the Congress, who claim Gandhi as their leader! On a related topic, the Congress-led governments have in their hollow attempts to promote secularism, persistently worked in India against the majority community. Secularism in the Congress lexicon seems to exist for every community except the Hindus community, who comprise over 80 percent of the Indian population.

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The most recent example of this was the Congress led 'secular campaign' against Dr Subramanian Swamy at Harvard. All Dr. Swamy had written was that Islamic terrorism should be dealt with a firm hand. Surely in India, which has had the largest number of victims of Islamic terrorism in the world (in absolute numbers), there can be no quarrel with that. However a gentleman belonging to the minority community at Harvard managed to whip up a signature campaign against Dr Swamy, which ended only when Harvard said that it had decided to back Dr Swamy's right to free speech. We wish that these so called 'pseudo secularists' in India and abroad give India's majority community - the Hindus - the same rights of free speech and right to life that they seek for the minorities. Madhu Patel Founder President NRI Press Club, Chicago, IL

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Negative point of view towards Hindus

here is a negative point of view toward Indian history in general and Hindus in particular. Let us keep in mind that treachery by bribe is a common factor of world history. I do not deny that bribe played role in Indian history. I agree with your view that selfishness, individual ambition, castes or sect played important role than the defeat in battles and harsh reality about lack of national spirit. Just like Europe, India being vast country, along with geographical difficulties in transportation, societal vivisection like caste-sub castes, sects, languages, customs and traditions became stronger which overshadowed sublime Hindu ethos of cultural nationalism. Please keep in mind that the word 'Hindu' is a geographical connotation, occurring after Persians and then Alexander's

invasion of India. Till the European advent of India, Western countries described India as Hindu and Indians as Hindus. American media described the California Gaddar case of 1916 as Hindu conspiracy case. No doubt that the divisions among Hindus in general were responsible for downfall of India. Newly western educated Indians in 19th century accepted western concept of territorial nationalism along with secularism, liberty, equality and fraternity. Patriotic Parsees, Jews, Sikhs, Christians and a small numbers of Muslims joined with Hindus. But the British policy of ' Divide and rule', especially encouraged separatism by Islamic fundamentalists. Million dollar question is how to encourage spirit of "my India". Negative approach won't help. We need to look for positive aspects of history and our long tradition of inter-community harmony. Hindus do not donate ornaments to

temples as bribe, but they do so with devotion. That has been a tradition, otherwise why many rich offered ornaments when there was no permit raj? Many Hindus contributed to establish schools, dharmashala (free place to stay for visitors), health clinics, etc. One example how Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs forget their religious differences and fought against the British under leadership of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. Another example is how best and brightest Indian students proudly joined Free India Society of Pandit Shyamaji Krishna Varma and Veer Savarkar between 1906 to 1910. Hindutva or Hindu nationalism was an attempt to unite Hindus on Hindu ethos with democratic attitude towards non-Hindus and was not based on caste, sub-caste or sect. Sridhar Damle Chicago, Illinois

Disclaimer :- India Post does not endorse opinions expressed in the letters.

Community/California

September 2, 2011

India Post 23

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Festival of India 2011 in Fremont (Pics by RaajD, iMEGAstarStudios.com )

Dr. Sarbjit Hundal with celebrities

Master Deepakji with Mallika Sherawat

Mukul Nag

RAKESH KAPOOR

FREMONT, CA: Mukul Nag who plays Sai Baba in the 2007 Indian television serial of the same name was here in Fremont to participate in the stage performance at Fremont Hindu Temple and to grace the

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temple float for the Independence Day Parade organized by Federation of Indo Americans. With his magnetic personality he was able to charm everybody and made several new friends in the Bay Area. He also delivered powerful messages of Sai Baba to devotees at the temple. The devotees were overwhelmed by his presence on the stage and they could not stop themselves from crying. They were seeing the Baba in him. Mukul Nag has been in the acting business since 1972. He took his training from

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Shriram Center For Art & Culture Delhi in 1983. After that he did three years degree course from National School of drama, Delhi in 1990. Rakesh Kapoor, Stage & TV artist, a very

September 2, 2011

tion for the role is concerned, it was tough. I was to be chosen among 50 other artists lined up for Baba's role in Ramanand Sagar's camp. Only good thing was that I had already

Sai Baba of TV Mukul Nag is all praise for Indian Americans old and good friend of Mukul sharing the same home town, Meerut, back in India and at present, Administrator, Fremont Hindu Temple, Fremont talked to him for India Post. Rakesh Kapoor: How did you bag the prestigious role of Sai Baba? Mukul Nag: I had started thinking about Baba, working on how to play Baba, very early when I was quite young. My maternal grand-parents were already worshiping Baba at their home and the stories of Baba started fascinating me. As far as my selec-

worked with Papaji (Ramanand Sagar) for his teleserial "Krishna", in the role of Sudama. It was noticed by stalwarts of the industry. "Baki Baba ka aashirwad." It was all Baba's blessings. RK: Were you attached with any stage or theatre group over there? MN: The name of our group was Young Beatles Club. I was also attached with IPTA, Durga Bari Bengali Group and all other groups which were really working on stage. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 28

September 2, 2011

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Sai Baba play moves audience to tears

people started crying merely on seeing him in the get up of Saint Sai Baba. Everybody was eager to see him, to touch him. Lots of people started rushing to the stage. Some were even able to

reach on the stage. They were requested to sit back in their places as his performance was yet to be started. After the efforts of the volunteers the people started taking their seats and Mukul Nag started his nonstop preaching of Baba. Mainly he spoke on communal harmony and on the teachings of Saint Sai Baba. There was a great difference in Mukul Nag original and Mukul Nag in the get up of Sai Baba. People were talking that he has some divine light on him when he performs as Sai Baba. It was a wonderful experience for the people of Fremont, an unforgettable moment. The artists of this play were all Sai Baba devotees and they did all the rehearsals with full devotion and passion. Here is the total casting of the play:

Baija Ma - Manorama Joshi Lakshmi - Swapnil Anand Tatya - Bala Ganesaratnam Shayama - Sunil Sehgal Nartaki - Aparna Pasumarthi Vidya (kid) - Dakshita Abdul - Shankar Radhakrishnan

Butti - Rakesh Kapoor Sai Baba - Govind Pasumarthi Mahalsapati - Rao Pasumarthi Das Ganu - Dev Roy Vidya (adult) -Tina Kapoor Hemad Panth - Sunny Pasumarthi Bhakt/Miracles - Bala, Mouli

RAKESH KAPOOR

edic Dharam Samaj popularly known as Fremont Hindu Temple is one of the best temples in Bay area where the Hindu community practice their religion usually. The Fremont Hindu Temple has been serving members of the Hindu faith from the Bay area, CA, since 1984. Since its beginning the temple management was very keen to provide excellent services to its visitors and devotees and that is why they celebrate all the festivals and events with full bang and masti. The chart of number of events and celebrations is soaring day by day under the able leadership of Dr Romesh Japra as Chairman and Rajesh Verma as Co-chairman of the temple.

Event chair, Deepak Chhabra, Education Chair, Dharminder Dewan, are directly related to the increment in the number of events at the temple. In the same growing chain of events and to lure the visiting devotees of the temple the idea of inviting Mukul Nag, the famed artist who played the lead role in Ramanand Sagar's tele show "Sai Baba" and staging a

Tina and Priya as Vidya and friend. Kids celebrating Deepawali are Anshu, Niel, Ariyana, Mullika and Dakshica

play during his visit, was introduced by me in the Board Meeting of the temple. It was approved right away by Rajesh Verma and the attendees and the green signal was given to it. Rest is the history.

In 27 years of history of the temple, first ever a play was staged in the parking lot with the name of "Sai Baba Laghu Natika" of 45 minutes. And it was a grand success. Everybody liked it. The management got the tremendous feedback on the play and I was asked to arrange more such activities in the future. All the artists were being greeted by the audience, I too

Yogi Chugh, Mukul Nag and Dr Romesh Japra

Rakesh Kapoor, Mukul Nag and Deepak Chhabra, Event Chair

got lot of acclamation for writing, composing and directing it especially for doing the voice over. "Sai Baba Laghu Natika" tells the story of the great Saint of Shirdi Sai Baba in just 45 minutes. The main episodes of Baba are taken into it based on his miracles and teachings. The main attraction was the Diwali scene in which Baba lights up all the lamps with water instead of oil giving Vidya the gift of Diwali. The scenes of curing the blind, and the handicap were also very touching and there was a clap when Baba did the healing with his divine magic. The play begins with the fog on the stage and with the commentary of Time (Samay) and it ends with the time's narration. Actually Time narrates the story in this play and all the artists play their part on the light and sound in the background. The play went so smooth that there was no other sound except the dialogues or the clapping from the audience. The end of this small play was linked with the entry of Mukul Nag the guest artist of that eve. All of sudden the Dhol started roaring followed by the Mukul Nag as Sai Baba towards the stage and

Shirdi Gram Vasi - Veena Birla, Booni Bala, Payal Sehgal, Lal Singh Bhatti , Baljeet, Kala Bahen, Leela Mathur Deepavali Kids - Priya, Sriansh, Mullika, Niel & Sean Backstage help: Neelu Kapoor, Sunita, Pooja, Anitha Casting Director & Coordinator: Govind Pasumarthi Director & Voice of Samay: Rakesh Kapoor

26 India Post

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September 2, 2011

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Mukul Nag is all praise for Indian Americans Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 24

RK: Tell us about the groups and artists you have worked with in Meerut and Mumbai. MN: In Meeurt, first of all I started working with my first Guru Soomiron Niogi Ji who himself was a very good theatre artist. After that I was with Sudip Biswas, Bisu Banerjee, Dev Banerjee, Shanti Verma, Rajeev, Vijay Jain and Manoj. The artists with whom my association was long and unforgettable were Pradeep Hans, Kamal Kishore Gupta, Arihant Jain, Vinay Kumar and I remember that later you were introduced to our group by Pradeep Hans. In Mumbai, I worked with Prakash Jha in films "Apaharan" and "Gangajal". I worked with Ram Gopal Verma in "Company", with Shyam Benegal in "Netaji the Forgotten Hero", with Madhur Bhandarkar in "Satta" & "Aan", with Govind Nihalani in "Hazar Chaurasi Ki Maa". For TV shows, I worked with Basu Chatterjee for "Byomkesh Bakshi", with Vinod Pande for "Mere Humsafar", with Anurag Basu for "Saturday Suspense", Shakti Samanta Films for "Kalchakra" and With Ramanand Sagar for "Krishna" in the role of Sudama and in "Sai Baba" as Sai Baba, Which gave me lot of recognition as actor. RK: Any other projects in hand or future assignments? MN: Yeah, I am working with Namit Bisht for the latest film "Jeet Lenge Jahan" also working with Directors Sujeet Ghosh and Sanjay Saral, the names of the films are not announced yet. In October I am going to London and Leicester with my show called "Sabka Malik Ek Hai". The dates are 13th to 16th of October. RK: Did you ever think coming to USA and how did it all happen? MN: I know that you gave me a call first on behalf of Temple Man-

Radhakrishnan as Abdul

agement and told me about the play and temple program for participating in FIA festival on Independence Day, in which your temple was also participating with a float. First of all I thought it won't work but these were your and Deepak Ji's sincere efforts that I am here before you. Everything looks good here, the people here are nice. I really salute the FIA Chairman Dr. Romesh Japra and Co-Chairman Rajesh Verma and all his team members who have kept alive, so well, the culture and traditions of India and that too miles and miles away from India itself. Everybody gave me tons of love and respect especially Neeloo Bhabhi, whom I started addressing as "Bhauji". You know "Bhauji' in Bhojpuri means the wife of brother and "Bhabhi" in Hindi. "Bhauji" sounds closer than "Bhabhi". I cannot forget Veena Birla Ji, always smiling and lively, so down to earth and her husband Heera Birla Ji, a diamond in true sense like Kohinoor Hira.

Manorma Joshi Ji, she has been very instrumental in calling me here. Sunil and Payal Sehgal, Govind Pasumarthi Ji, Sardar Lal Singh Bhatti ji, Dhol guy and very good singer and all other artists

It was my first ever visit to US. The people here literally made me cry with their love and affection. Not for a second did I feel that I am away from home who had participated in "Sai Baba Laghu Natika" (a short play on Sai Baba) RK: You have been to Fremont Hindu Temple. Tell us about it. How the people are are here? How was the play "Sai Laghu Natika" and how was your experience about your own perfor-

mance there? MN: Fremont Hindu Temple is really constructed beautifully. People are very nice here and work with full devotion. But all the people cannot be of same nature. All the five fingers are not equal but I am confident that Baba will take care all of them. As far as the play is concerned that was wonderfully played by all the devotees of Baba and they did it with full devotion that is what needed for the success. It was a great success. Rajesh Verma Ji said in the beginning of the play that in 27 years of history of the temple that was the first time that some kind of play is being staged here and all credit goes to all the artists on stage and back stage, coordinators Manorma Ji, Veena Ji, Govind Ji and of course Rakesh Kapoor Ji, who has written and directed it, and his team. If I say about my performance it was not satisfactory for me as there was some sound problem, though the audience liked it very much. I had lot

of stuff to deliver but could not because of interruptions in light and sound. But all is well that ends well. RK: Tell us about the FIA Mela and Parade and how you link it with the Independence Day? MN: People were very excited. I saw this excitement on their faces when I was sitting in the temple float .Celebrating 15th August, The Independence Day, so far from India was also a dream for me. In India just remembering this day is enough. Some people keep sleeping on 15th August and 26th January but here I see an entirely different scene. Thousands of people kept waving and clicking the pictures from the roadside and the two hour time on the float flew away within the wink of the eye. People in India should take a lesson from American Indians as how to celebrate their prestigious festivals. Mela was very good it was very well organized, freshness was there, and cultural program had lot of variety. I liked the Bhangra most. Food booths were of different varieties and I enjoyed our Indian food there. Once again hats off for the FIA team here, the way they handled it, especially Deepak Chhabra for floats and Mohinder Khanna for Mela. RK: Would you like to tell us anything about your visit; how it was? How you liked your stay here? MN: I am speechless. It was my first ever visit to US. The people here literally made me cry with their love and affection. Not for a second did I feel that I am thousands of miles away from my home. I am really indebted to the people here. In the end I would like to pray to Baba that all of you here stay close to each other while doing Sai Baba's Bhakti and be like a big family.

Akshay Kumar hits a first with Hollywood production India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar presents another industry first as he becomes the first Bollywood star to produce a Hollywood film. Akshay Kumar continues to make his mark in Hollywood with the exciting, forthcoming release, 'Breakaway' releasing on September 30. The actor has produced and makes a cameo appearance in the cross-cultural film, directed by Robert Lieberman ('D3: The Mighty Ducks'). Sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar is a host of glo-

bally respected mainstream artists such as Hollywood heartthrob, Rob Lowe; global comedy sensa-

Akshay Kumar has now collaborated with the Grammy Award winning American rap artist Chris "Ludacris" Bridges for the track 'Shera Di Khom' Ludacris and Akshay Kumar

tion Russell Peters and actress Camilla Belle ('The Lost World: Jurassic Park').

After working with international music sensations Snoop Dogg for the title track Singh is

Kinng and Kylie Minogue for Chiggy Wiggy for the film Blue, Akshay Kumar has now collabo-

rated with the Grammy Award winning American rap artist Chris "Ludacris" Bridges for the track 'Shera Di Khom' in Breakaway. Also Aubrey "Drake" Graham has rendered a song for the film. Co-produced by Akshay's home banner Hari Om Entertainment, 'Breakaway' is a gripping, cross-cultural hockey drama set in the Indo-Canadian community of suburban Toronto, Canada. The project provided the perfect Hollywood opportunity for the superstar, combining a locational backdrop he has always shared a deep connect with and his passion for sport.

29 India Post

K Tradition holds that the great 18-day battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas in which Lord Krishna played his enigmatic part, as described in the pages of the epic Mahabharata, was fought on the plains of Kurukshetra.

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urukshetra is situated in the north Indian state of Haryana. The name Kurukshetra was originally given to an area covered by 48 kosas (an Indian form of measuring land) where 860 places of pilgrimage related to the Mahabharata exist today. Kurukshetra is in the district of Karnal, about 150 km northwest of Delhi. Best time to visit: Climatically, Kurukshetra has three major seasons. The summer season (April-June) raises the mercury to as high as 110°F. Rainy season is from July to September. The average annual rainfall is 58 cm. Winter months are from October to March, when the temperature dips to as low as 40°F. This is the best season to visit Kurukshetra.

September 2, 2011

History: The region of Kurukshetra lies east of the Punjab where the Aryans first settled when they began migrating into the subcontinent some time between 2000 and 1500 BC. It is believed that the Rig Veda was composed between 1500 and 1000 BC in this place. From a historical perspective, it was here that the theological and philosophical framework of Hinduism was forged between the 5th century BC and the 5th century AD. It was here that nascent Hinduism, as we know it today emerged. Tradition holds that the great 18-day battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas in which Lord Krishna played his enigmatic part, as described in the pages of the epic Mahabharata, was fought on the plains of Kurukshetra. Cont’d on page 31

Travel & Hospitality Post

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September 2, 2011

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SITA reinstates signature tours to Japan

India Post News Service

ENCINO, CA: With positive updates from the U.S. Department of State and the President of the Japan National Tourism Organization, SITA World Tours has seen a renewed interest in their travel packages to Japan. SITA Vice President, Laudie Hanou, announced that the company has now fully reinstated their various signature tours to Japan and is again welcoming customized travel requests to this ever popular destination. Ms. Hanou recently served as the USTOA delegation leader on a seven-day "Re-Discover Japan" tour for both USTOA and NTA which was hosted by the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) and Japan Travel Agency (JTA), June 20 - 27. Reflecting on the experience, she stressed that, "It enabled us to see the destina-

tion first hand after the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear events. It strategically provided Tour Operators a forum to speak with JNTO and JTA, as well as to multiple key Japan suppliers, about how best to support the rebuilding efforts for the US market back to Japan." The delegation from North America was impressed by the expedited recovery of the key tourism infrastructure including the airports and train system. Ms. Hanou remarked that her overall impression was, "Fantastic. It is a dynamic country filled with interesting and welcoming people that are steeped in culture. It is important that the awareness of all that Japan has to offer, is made to the traveling consumer especially now after the devastation of 3/11. My impression of Japan, out of all the Asian countries, is that it has a unique offering-from its industri-

ous people, its contrast in cities and nature, its mix of traditional and modern-all lend to an experi-

It is a dynamic country filled with interesting and welcoming people that are steeped in culture. It is important that the awareness of all that Japan has to offer, is made to the traveling consumer especially now after the devastation of 3/11 ence that any educated traveler would thoroughly enjoy." SITA is seeing renewed interest

Himachal Pradesh targets 30 lakh tourists NEW DELHI: Himachal Pradesh Tourism Board has said it is targeting 30 lakh tourist arrivals in the state during this monsoon season. The board has partnered with a host of hotels and travel agencies offering discounts in order to attract more tourists during the 'lean' rainy season. "The tourism department has set a target to attract total 30 lakh tourists during this monsoon season, while around 28 lakh tourists visited the state during last year," Himachal Pradesh Tourism Director Arun Sharma said in a statement. Around 22 lakh tourists visited the state during monsoon in 2008, which increased to 26 lakh tourists during the year 2009, he added. For the whole of 2010, the state received 1.32 crore tourists, an increase of 16.83 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the board. "State-run HPTDC hotels are offering heavy discounts in all major tourist destinations during the leisure period from July 1 to September 14, 2011," the statement said. Various travel and hotel associations at

Manali, Shimla and Dharamshala are also offering discounts to the visitors besides extensive marketing campaigns in metropolitan cities through reputed travel agencies. The state is also focusing on foreign tourist arrivals during the season. "A target has been set up to attract around 2.25 lakh foreign tourists during the period ... 1.68 lakh foreign tourists visited the state in 2010," Sharma added. According to the statement, monsoon season is traditionally lean period for the tourism industry the state with hotels even laying off staff due to guest occupancies dropping by nearly 50 per cent. Between April to June every year, the state receives maximum tourist inflow. Driven by active promotion by the department, the inner ranges of Himalayas with open valleys in tribal areas of Lahaul Spiti, Pangi, Bharmour and Kinnaur have become huge hit during monsoon, the statement added. Data show that around 25 per cent of the total tourists visit the tribal districts during monsoon season. -PTI

in their Japanese itineraries. The company has evaluated every aspect of their programs in terms of customer comfort, safety and the company's overall ability to deliver an outstanding experience. Ms. Hanou noted that attention to every detail is a SITA hallmark. She emphasized that the company is satisfied they can show their clients the vibrant and dynamic side of Japan with no compromise to safety. However, she acknowledged that it will take time to change the perception of American travelers, following these historical events. On May 16, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs issued a Travel Alert which confirmed the safety of travel to Japan. In key cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakeone, daily life has resumed and without interruption with most major attractions, transport and tourism services.

SITA is currently offering various packages to Japan, including: • Affordable Japan-8 days/7 nights that begin in Tokyo and include Mt. Fuji & Hakone, Nagoya, Magome, Tsumago and Kyoto. • Japan's Scenic Vistas-6 days/ 5 nights that include Tokyo, Mt. Fuji & Hakone and a Nara Excursion. • Tokyo: Window to Japan-4 days/3 nights which focuses on Tokyo, Mt. Fuji and Hakone. SITA World Tours has a reputation spanning more than 78 years of excellence in luxury travel. With popular itineraries to Africa, India, Asia and South & Central America, SITA has thrived in the highly competitive travel industry by offering customized opportunities and by partnering with travel agents to deliver the comprehensive services and value luxury travelers appreciate.

Kerala Tourism to tap Gujarat in big way VADODARA: Kerala Tourism plans to tap Gujarat in a big way and has been conducting roadshows to attract more travelers from the western state. Gujarat is a prosperous state and its people have desire to visit tourist spots in Kerala, said Nandkumar K P, Tourist Information Officer, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala. According to him, 60 per cent of the domestic tourists visiting Kerala are from Gujarat. "Encouraged by the good response from the state, we have stepped up our efforts to attract more tourists from Gujarat," he told PTI. Nandkumar was here to take part in a tourism partnership meet organized. Such meets were held in Surat and Ahmedabad in January and February this year. "This shows how much importance Kerala Government's Tourism Department attaches to Gujarat." "We have planned more such events in Tier 2 cities like Pune, Raipur, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, Gwalior, Mysore and Coimbatore," Nandkumar said. "We are thinking of a tie-up with Gujarat

Tourism Development Corporation for working out packages," he said. The meets include business sessions, screening of films on tourist destinations and cultural programs. "We are in talks with Tourism Department of Rajasthan Government for taking

‘Encouraged by the good response from the state, we have stepped up our efforts to attract more tourists from Gujarat’ Rajasthan visiting foreign tourists to Kerala," Nandkumar stated. Last year, 6.50 lakh international tourists visited the southern state and this year we are targeting 8 lakh holiday-makers from overseas, he added. -PTI

September 2, 2011

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post 31

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Indian globe-trotter stuck at China border BEIJING: An Indian globe-trotter who has traveled all the way from Germany by road on his caravan van is hopelessly stuck at Kazakhstan's border with China for over a month, failing to get a clear-

ance for his vehicle which he wants to drive through Tibet into Nepal on his way to India. G Venkataramana, a native of Andhra Pradesh, settled in Germany says he experienced no such

problems while traveling from Germany to Kazakhstan, a distance of 7,000 km but he has been stuck at the Khorgos border point between China and Kazakhstan as he is unable to procure requisite papers

Kurukshetra: Philosophical framework of Hinduism was forged here Cont’d from page 29

The sacred sites of Kurukshetra today preserve the memory of the struggle at both levels. Very appropriately, Kurukshetra is also known as Dharmakshetra - the region of the Dharma. Today, Kurukshetra, more than any other place in India, is the reduced image of the religious universe of the Hindus. Places around: Near Kurukshetra, Thanesar is a sacred town for Hindus because the Shiva in the form of linga (organ) was first worshipped here. Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas' ancestors meditated on the banks of the Yamuna and Parasurama killed many Kshatriyas here. King Harsha was born here, ascended the throne at the age of 16 and ruled for 41 years, sharing his seat of power with his widowed sister whom he had rescued from Sati (self-immolation). During his rule, the renowned Chinese traveler Huen

shape, crowned with a dome of white marble and surrounded by a white marble courtyard. Tourists may also check out Chini Masjid and Pathar Masjid, two outstanding monuments built in the Mughal architectural style. Twenty-seven kilometers from Thanesar, Pehowa was built some-

sent for Arjun. It is said that Arjuna's arrow brought the waters of the holy Ganga to quench the thirst of Bhishma. Today the site is worshipped as Bhishma Kund and lies some 12 km from Kurukshetra. Fairs & festivals: Each year in

to travel through China with his vehicle. "It is a frustrating experience. I knocked at doors of various Ministries of Chinese government including Foreign and Tourism but I am unable to secure travel permit," he told PTI here. Though the traveler has a tourist visa to China but with no travel permit for his vehicle to go to Nepal through Tibet he is unable to move ahead for one and a half month. Venkataramana, a resident of Chennai who has specialized in the business of selling used caravans in Germany for over seven years, has made similar trips in Europe but this is the first time he has undertaken a trip through the European and Asian continents. He said he had a pleasant experience of traveling through the 7,000 km route covering Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan without encountering much problems. Initially, he wanted to travel through Turkey, Iran and Pakistan and enter India through the Wagah border. However, he had to abandon the idea after failing to get a Pakistani visa and travel permit for his vehicle. "Now I am stuck here as well," he rues. He said he has approached Indian Embassy as well as several travel agencies so far but without success.

The travel agents were demanding six to eight thousand Euros saying that they need permits from different Chinese ministries, which he says is too much for him to spend. "I have offered to take a Chinese guard or take my vehicle on a truck by paying the necessary expenses, but I have not received any favorable response so far," he said.

The travel agents were demanding six to eight thousand Euros saying that they need permits from different Chinese ministries, which he says is too much for him to spend He says if Chinese authorities refuse him a permit to travel through Tibet, he is even ready to go to Vietnam and then cross into India through Myanmar, he said. His Chinese visa apparently runs out by September 10 and he needs to secure the permit by that time failing which he may have to move out of China. "This is my dream all along to take my caravan to my home in Chennai and I hope I can overcome this problem," he said. -PTI

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Tsang lived in Thanesar for a number of years and Bana Bhatt, the celebrated Sanskrit scholar, met Harsha here. Sultan Muhammad plundered the city in AD 1014, destroyed most of its temples and carried away as much gold as he could. Akbar brought peace, but Aurangzeb just messed things up for the Hindus because it was a sacred place for them. The tomb of Sheikh Chilhi Jalal is a fascinating monument, octagonal in

time in AD 882 although an inscription on a temple claims that it was actually built in AD 895 during King Mahendrapal's rule. Numerous ghats and temples have been built in memory of King Prithu. The legend of the Ban Ganga goes back to the final days of the Mahabharata battle when the patriarch, Bhishma, lay mortally wounded on a bed of arrows. In his dying moments, he felt thirsty and, as the patriarch of both the Kauravas and Pandavas,

November and December, the Brahma Sarovar attracts large crowds to observe Deep Daan and Aarti, the ceremonies especially held to celebrate Gita Jayanti. There are also theatre performances, music recitals and pageants that bring the atmosphere to life. How to reach: Kurukshetra is close to the airfields of Chandigarh and Delhi. It is a road and rail junction serviced by taxis and buses of the Haryana Roadways and other state corporations.

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TOP TEN HINDI FILM SONGS

1 Hale Dil : Murder 2 2 Bhaag D.K Bose, Aandhi Aayi : Delhi Belly 3 Phir Mohabbat : Murder 2 4 Ik Junoon : Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

India Post

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September 2, 2011

5 Aye Khuda : Murder 2 6 Haal-E-Dil : Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap 7 Saathiya : Singham 8 Jalebi Bai : Double Dhamaal 9 Bande : Men Will Be Men 10 Tai Tai Phish : Chillar Party

KARISMA is back

anveer Singh is one Bollywood actor who has never been single, ever since he stepped into the B industry. The latest we hear is that the BBB star is now dating the Dabangg chori, Sonakshi Sinha. The two love birds were spotted holding hands in Pali Hills, Mumbai. "The two looked extremely engrossed in each other, oblivious to everything around them. They clearly looked like a couple that evening. Their body language said it all." Ever since the two performed at an award function in Toronto, sparks have been flying between them. Now, the question is what has happened to Ranveer-Anushka's love story? When did it come to an end? A source close to the actor explained, "Ranveer started feeling suffocated with Anushka. She was getting too possessive. A point came when he could take it no more." "Sparks have been flying between Ranveer and Sonakshi. And now it's a fully blown affair. They do not even have qualms about going out in public together," added the source close to Ranveer.

utting to rest all rumors about their alleged tiff because of Salman Khan's upcoming film "Bodyguard", actresses Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were seen quite elated in each other's company at the grand finale show of the Lakme Fashion Week. It was reported that Kareena was miffed with Katrina for hogging all the limelight in her film "Bodyguard" by doing an item number in it. But the two actresses looked quite compatible and friendly at the event where Kareena was the showstopper for designer Manish Malhotra and Katrina was a guest. The comfort level between the two stars became evident when Katrina stepped on the ramp at the end of the show to shake a leg with Kareena and Manish. Even after the show, the two were spotted holding hands and enjoying each other's company. When asked Kareena whether she considers Katrina her friend, the 30-year-old replied: "Of course she is my friend. Why is this question even being asked?" Guess there are no permanent friends or enemies in Bollywood!

arisma Kapoor, who will face the camera after five years' gap for Vikram Bhatt's 3D venture "Dangerous Ishq", will play a supermodel who gives up her career to marry the man she loves. In real life, the 37-year-old, mother of two, took a break from films after tying the knot with Delhi-based businessman Sanjay Kapoor in 2003 and immersed herself completely in family life. Bhatt tweeted: "Karisma's character in 'Dangerous Ishq' is a super model who gives up her career to marry the man she loves. Her fiance is kidnapped by an enemy who has been chasing her through many lifetimes...to find out who, she must find out about her lives," he further posted. In "Dangerous Ishq", she will be seen opposite model-turned-actor Rajneish Duggal. Karisma was one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s and early 2000 and charmed the audience with hits like "Dil To Pagal Hai", "Raja Hindustani", "Hero No.1" and "Biwi No.1".

September 2, 2011

Bollywood

India Post

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Pure stunts

fter Salman Khan in "Dabangg" and Ajay Devgn in "Singham", get ready for John Abraham's cop film, "Force", in which the star performs gravity defying stunts without the protective cables. "He was very flexible and I didn't use any cables. This is the first time I did any action without using any cables. John has done everything by himself," popular action director Allan Amin said. "He had to jump from 150 ft on an air bag without using any cables and he had to pick a bike of 150 kg, which again he did without cables," said Amin, who was also the action director of "Dhoom". "It has action like 'Satya' but is completely stylized," he added. Amin shoots down reports of John's injury while doing the dangerous stunts, saying: "He was not injured, he was bruised while doing bare body stunts. If you fall on ground with that much of weight, obviously you are going to get a scratch." In this remake of the Tamil film "Kaakha Kaakha", John is paired with Genelia D'Souza.

A Avoiding spotlight

Good dancer

reida Pinto hasn't yet done a Bollywood movie. That's perhaps why it is interesting that she had to be handheld by Michael Winterbottom to do a movie that brings her close to Bollywood. The first look of " Trishna", a movie that gives a new spin to Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles against a contemporary Indian backdrop, has been revealed along with an official teaser that presents Freida and co-star - the British MC and musician - Riz Ahmed in a completely earthy avatar. The actor, who was in India, is going to Toronto where the movie will be screened as a special presentation. Accompanying her on this trip is Winterbottom and Anurag Kashyap. Meanwhile, Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya is excited with his Hollywood debut in Winterbottom's movie that will also see Anurag and Kalki Koechlin make appearances. Did he choreograph Freida keeping in mind the moves he gives to Bollywood stars? "No," Acharya says, adding, "She is a very good dancer and would be good for Bollywood song-anddance movies. It's unfortunate that she hasn't yet done a Hindi movie."

ishwarya Rai is not interested in flaunting her baby bump, in public. If rumors are to be believed, the gorgeous actress bluntly rejected an offer to show off her baby bump for the cover page. Not just that. Sources say, the actress is also trying to stay away from the country to avoid the spotlight. Too much attention is not good. "She doesn't want to be in the limelight when she's pregnant. In any case, too much attention at this time is considered inauspicious. She has decided to stay away (from spotlight) as much as she can, so she stayed away from Mumbai for so long," tells a source to a daily. But now, the question that arises is that despite being pregnant for how many ever months, with the baby bump visible, why did she shoot for a commercial? Well, the actress is a through professional. It was a prior work commitment and Ash only did her job.

Realty Tidbits

CCI Likely to probe Unitech, Parsvnath, Omaxe

Real Estate

nitech, Parsvnath Developers and Omaxe are likely to face the Director General (DG) investigation now. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is likely to order probe on Unitech, Parsvnath and Omaxe based on preliminary investigations which suggest abuse of dominant power by the developers. Several complaints from residents on late delivery of projects and non compliance of agreement by the developers prompted CCI to order the probe, reports ET Now. "We have received some complaints from the residents, but these are mainly for delay of the projects and are not the kinds that come under the CCI purview," said Rohtas Goel, CMD Omaxe.

IT raids Gurgaon developer M3M's offices

recent raid by income tax sleuths on the offices of a prominent Gurgaon-based realty firm M3M India Ltd yielded Rs 314 crore unaccounted income. Searches, conducted this month, led to the seizure of which revealed many unaccounted transactions for purchase of land and other business activities by the company. This is one of the highest seizures in the region, according to I-T officials. M3M India Holdings, a sister company of the M3M Group, sold 8 lakh shares of another firm of the same group RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for Rs 526 crore to Lowe Realty Pvt Ltd, a group concern of Religare, Mumbai, Hindustan Times reported, citing I-T sources.

Omaxe to invest 600cr on land acquisition

www.indiapost.com

September 2, 2011

MUMBAI: Highbar Technologies, a subsidiary of construction and realty major Hindustan Construction Company, has entered into a tie-up with SAP to address the needs of infrastructure and real estate industries in the SME space. "Cloud support computing as a concept has been around for a while and is gaining acceptance across the globe rapidly. However, there are no specific enterprise solutions on the cloud space for infrastructure and real estate sectors in the country," Highbar President Satish Pendse told reporters here. -PTI

Home buyers to take legal action against DLF after CCI order

t a time when the Anna wave has enthralled the entire nation, capturing imagination and consciousness of millions of Indians to protest against corruption and injustice, real estate - one of the sectors perhaps most vulnerable to fraudulent practices - is facing the wrath of aggrieved buyers. Encouraged by an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against DLF, the largest realty developer, home buyers hit by project delays and sudden change in building plans are considering legal action either through courts or the CCI. Lawyers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata have been approached by people whose dream homes remain a distant dream as real estate developers keep postponing projects and missing delivery deadlines. The CCI order has come as a huge boost to those looking for relief as some have decided to move the courts or the CCI, while some others are weighing the options, said lawyers. Law firms have started receiving queries from consumers on how they could seek intervention of the CCI against developers. The competition watchdog slapped a penalty of 630 crore on DLF for taking undue advantage of its dominant position in the market. The commission found DLF guilty of commencement of residential project The Belaire in Haryana's Gurgaon without ap-

provals, increasing the number of floors mid-way through the project, delay in project completion, and forfeiture of booking amount of some buyers. Customers at Kolkata West International City, an integrated township project spread over

now because we did not want to get into legal complications. Not even consumer court because the flats are not yet ready. Some of us who have been given possession letter have approached consumer court but a verdict is yet to be out. On the contrary,

Law firms have started receiving queries from consumers on how they could seek intervention of the CCI against developers 400 acres in the capital of West Bengal, are thinking of approaching the CCI, as the project is far behind its delivery timeline. Even the first phase of the project, scheduled to be delivered in 2008, is yet to be completed. "We did not move court till

we have approached West Bengal government seeking their intervention in the subject. Now, we and our lawyers plan and take a call on approaching CCI in a week's time," said KWIC Buyer's Welfare Association president Abhay Upadhyay. The project, which is a mix of housing and

commercial establishments, is being developed by the Salim Group of Indonesia and the Universal Success Group of Singapore, with support from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. In a similar such instance, a home buyer Shahnawaz Deriya, along with a group of customers at residential project Sagar City in Andheri suburb of Mumbai, has been fighting for over a year against the builder Cordcon Constructions for delay in delivery for four years. The group has already filed a case in the State Consumer Court, but is now seeking legal opinion to get the intervention of the CCI against the developer. "Yes, we are handling few inquiries that have come after the CCI's order on DLF," said H Jayesh, Founder & Partner at law firm Juris Corp.

Indiareit Fund in talks over Trinity's realty exit

ealty firm Omaxe is planning to invest up to Rs 220 crore in the next six months on land acquisition. Meanwhile, the company also targets to cut its gross debt by about Rs 225 crore in this fiscal from Rs 1,477 crore as on June 30. It spent Rs 83 crore on land acquisition in the first quarter of the current fiscal. "We believe that we will be spending Rs 200-220 crore on land acquisition in next six months," Omaxe vice president (investor and strategic relations) Sumit Arora said in a presentation. He, however, did not share details such as where and how much land will be acquired.

India Post

Highbar Tech to offer SAP's ERP solutions

ndiareit Fund Advisors is in talks with investors and prop erty developers to sell the Alternative Investment Marketlisted realty fund Trinity Capital's investments in India, Business Standard reported, citing three executives with knowledge of the discussions. Indiareit, the realty fund manager of the Ajay Piramal group, is also the Indian investment manager of Trinity, earlier known as Trikona Trinity Capital. In India, Trinity had investments worth £172.5 million (Rs 1,178 crore) in eight properties and a lo-

gistics venture in March 2010, according to the company's website. It had invested £150 million in these projects between 2006-2009. The investments included a 4.7 per cent stake in Mumbai-based property developer DB Realty. The projects which Trinity looks to exit include Jodhana, a premium residential project with the Maharaja of Jodhpur within the precincts of Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Uppal Information Technology Park in Greater Noida, an upscale residential project being developed by the

Lokhandwala group in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai, Luxor Cyber City in Gurgaon, MK Malls, a commercial property being developed by DB Realty in the Bandra Kurla Complex of Mumbai, and Horizon Countrywide Logistics, a logistics venture of SKIL group. In March 2009, Trinity decided to dispose its assets in India after some hedge fund investors demanded for it. "There are valuation issues. We have to get the right valuations," said an executive involved in the talks. Last year, Trinity appointed

Indiareit as its investment manager in India after it got in to a dispute with its then manager, Trikona Advisors. Since then, Trinity and Trikona have settled their dispute. Last month, Trinity exited three of its investments in Mumbaibased Rustomjee Group, which the latter bought. Trinity sold its 16 per cent stake in Kapstone Constructions, a unit of Rustomjee, for £12.6 million (Rs 90 crore). Kapstone is developing a 127-acre township in Thane, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Horoscope

September 2, 2011

India Post

www.indiapost.com

Your Weekly Future by Pandit Parashar

SEPTEMBER 2ND - SEPTEMBER 8TH ARIES (MARCH 21 TO APRIL 20)

TAURUS (APRIL 21 TO MAY 20)

ou have some easy money coming your way. Business trips will be fruitful. Divine protection will help overcome a major difficult situation in career. Mind will be full of bright ideas and you will be working on several things at the same time. Other side will present some strong evidence in ongoing litigation.

ll journeys in direction East will be beneficial. Working conditions will get little tough and you may bring some work at home also. You may suffer with little back pain. Venture started in partnerships will be lucky and go long way. You may take family out to a nice place for dinner. A very profitable week for all brokers.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20)

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22)

ou will take some bold steps in career. Gamble will pay off in rich rewards soon. Blessings and guidance from a learned person will steer you in right direction. Mind will be at ease. A relationship is about to become permanent. You may invite few friends at your place for dinner. Bank balance will keep increasing.

xtra hours spent at work will bring in rich rewards. Boss will be on your side openly and forward your name this week. People will benefit from your knowledge and experience. You will be full of energy and take a big courageous move. Some money will go towards repairs also. A long distance trip is also in the air soon.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUGUST 22)

ou will be going on an interesting short trip. Money will become available on time for your projects. A very promising week for people in retail business. Spouse will seek your permission before buying an expensive item for the house. You are in line for a quick promotion or moving to a prestigious position with power.

VIRGO (AUGUST 23 TO SEPTEMBER 22)

ou have lots of easy money coming in next few weeks. Offer will come but require you to relocate. There will be major changes in career soon to your advantage. You may shut down an overseas project not working out so well lately. You will enjoy many favorite dish at home and receive many valuable gifts this week.

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 TO OCTOBER 22)

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23 TO NOVEMBER 22)

t will be another expensive week. You will gain friend ship of an influential person. Reply from a government agency could also come during the week and in positive only. You will stay cheerful and enjoy with family and friends. Some extra expense towards insurance of vehicles or property also possible this week.

ou will enjoy the company of a new friend. Money wise looks like a promising week. All financial deals will go through and you will make money through stocks also. Boss will quickly agree to your ideas and promise the assignment. Pending issue with a government agency will be finally settled in your favor.

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 23 TO DECEMBER 22)

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 TO JANUARY 19)

ou will not have to struggle even to achieve difficult goals. Sun is shining in your house of luck. A close family member will surprise you with a good news. You will make good use of time on hands and clean up the things gathering dust in the house. You will analyze your competitor and change your strategy.

here will be some interesting developments at work but things will stay little unclear for few more days. People in business will be successful in recovering an old and big payment. You will take time out of a busy schedule and make plans with children. Watch out for someone who is trying to make a comeback in life.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 TO FEBRUARY 18)

PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 TO MARCH 20)

pponents will try their best but will fail. Some one in family may travel this week. You will overcome any health issues very quickly. Some one who promised to help will finally call and start the process. You will receive a gift in mail. Some of you will getting ready for an exciting assignment in near future.

oney will come but will not stay. Do not make any hasty decisions about career at this point. This is the right time to change that trouble making vehicle. Party will be entertaining and you will make very good friends. People involved in research program will make good progress. Take care of your health.

Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individual consultations. He can be reached at: parashar@parashar.com

925-833-7170 website: www.parashar.com

Tech News Mahindras launch Spark the Rise movement India Post News Service

MUMBAI: After the successful launch of its new brand position – expressed by the word “Rise” – in January 2011, the US $12.5 billion Mahindra Group recently announced the launch of a multi-media movement which seeks to inspire and empower people across India to shape their own future. It consists of Spark the Rise, a movement which aims to drive positive change, and two inspiring Rise thematic TVCs. This ambitious and provocative campaign was developed by a global team (more than 10 nationalities were involved in the creation of the work) spearheaded by Mahindra, cultural-movement agency, StrawberryFrog, awardwinning filmmakers, Harmony Korine and Anthony Dod Mantle, digital agencies Qais Consulting and Blogworks. It will launch in stages, beginning immediately with innovative digital efforts aimed at building a cultural movement from the ground up, using digital, offline and on-ground media. A major new television commercial (Rise thematic film) as well as press and online advertising will all coalesce to create a sense of a vibrant global movement.

Aventis acquires Universale's nutraceutical business India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: Aventis Pharma Limited (part of the Sanofi Group) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Universal Medicare Private Limited's business of marketing and distribution of branded nutraceutical formulations in India. Also, approximately 750 commercial employees will transition to Aventis Pharma Ltd. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to certain conditions precedent. Universal Medicare, (headquartered in Mumbai, India) manufactures, markets and distributes branded nutraceutical formulations in India through their sales and marketing infrastructure. For the year ended March 31, 2011, Universal Medicare's turnover of the business to be acquired was approximately Rs. 1100 million. With this acquisition, Aventis Pharma will advance its sustainable growth strategy in India and facilitate the creation of a consumer healthcare and wellness platform. Contíd on page 39

TechBiz 38 India Post

www.indiapost.com

September 2, 2011

India's nuke plants safe, world-class: PM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured the Lok Sabha that nuclear facilities in the country were "world-class" and all efforts were being made to maintain the best safety standards for both on-shore and off-shore nuclear power plants. "Safety concerns are paramount...You have my assurance that while expanding our nuclear facilities we will not compromise on nuclear safety. This is an on-going process. Our nuclear facilities are world-class," Singh, who also holds the Atomic Energy portfolio, told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour. -PTI

Google in $ 500 mn settlement over pharmacy ads NEW YORK: Internet search giant Google has agreed to pay USD 500 million to settle charges that it allowed Canadian pharmacies to place ads on its website that resulted in prescription drugs being imported from Canada to the US unlawfully. The Justice Department said the forfeiture is "one of the largest ever in the United States" and represents the gross revenue received by Google as a result of Canadian pharmacies advertising through its 'AdWords' program, plus gross revenue made by Canadian pharmacies from their sales of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs to US consumers. "The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable companies who in their bid for profits violate federal law and put at risk the health and safety of

Google must also undertake a number of compliance and reporting measures to insure it does not indulge in such practices in the future American consumers," Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in a statement here.

The settlement ensures that Google will reform its "improper advertising practices with regard

to these pharmacies while paying one of the largest financial forfeiture penalties in history," Cole said. Google said it "accepts" responsibility for its conduct, acknowledging that it improperly assisted Canadian online pharmacy advertisers to run advertisements on its site. Under the terms of an agreement signed by Google and the government, Google must also undertake a number of compliance and reporting measures to insure it does not indulge in such practices in the future. An investigation by the US Attorney's Office in Rhode Island had found that Google was aware as early as 2003 that online Canadian pharmacies were advertising prescription drugs to Google users in the US through its AdWords advertising program. -PTI

Australian state to set up of office in Mumbai MELBOURNE: Seeking "real partnership" with India in the field of trade, the government of the Australian state of Victoria has announced setting up of its representative office in the financial hub of Mumbai to build links with one of the fastest growing markets of the world. The announcement was made last night by state Premier Ted Baillieu during his address to the Australia-India Business Council. Baillieu said India was currently his state's 14th biggest export market for merchandised trade, adding that the trade between the two sides had touched USD 1.8 billion. "So you can see there is a way to go... I know we can do a lot better in that relationship and if Victoria is to thrive and prosper over the next two decades, the fact is we will have to have a major presence in Asia," he said. "Now what we are going to do is to move from engagement to real partnership with India in coming weeks and months," he said, adding India will become the key focus of the government's global plan.

Baillieu said setting up of state representative offices offices in cities like Mumbai and Beijing will build links to some of the world's fastest growing markets. "And India one day, quite soon I believe, will become an even more important part of our state's future. India along with China, will become one of our state's top trading partners," he said.

He said that the countries had so much in common that it could be tapped to build strong relations. A high-level team of state government officials was on a visit to India as part of a trade mission in April this year that clearly stated the importance attached to India as a business partner, he said. Ballieu also lauded the role of

‘There is no room for violence in the state... I am upfront that I am determined that the best of our reputation is restored and protected and nurtured’ "Just as Victoria will now be on the ground in Beijing, the epicenter of business activity in China, so too Victoria will have a presence in the financial powerhouse of the Indian economy, Mumbai," he said. Both cities were strategically important, critical to the state's future and essential to Victoria's prosperity, the Premier said.

Indian community in the state, which he said has grown from 12,000 in 1981 to the current 200,000. The state is also home to 45,000 Indian students. He said that there was a plan to send another large trade mission to visit India in February next year that would cover nine strategic sectors, including education, automotive, ICT, aviation, clean tech-

nology and tourism. The mission is expected to further leverage the business relations between Victoria and India, he said, adding "our relation with India is a long standing one." The Premier said the issue of attacks on international students, including Indians, was a very serious matter and his government took the allegations of racial violence with lot of seriousness. "There is no room for violence in the state...I am upfront that I am determined that the best of our reputation is restored and protected and nurtured," he said. Speaking on the occasion, Indian consul General S K Behera impressed upon the state government to augment and develop cultural tie through Bollywood initiatives. "We have already identified many areas of interest... we can have more engagement and many more MOUs can be signed," Behera said. He said the state government's proposals were already in place which needed to be implemented to boost the two-way relations. -PTI

TechBiz Post

September 2, 2011

India Post

www.indiapost.com

Tips to chill high bills during the heat wave India Post News Service

ROSEMEAD, CA: To lower bills amid high summer heat forecast for the next several days, Southern California Edison (SCE) has offered solutions to save energy and money and help the environment. "Our first priority is keeping our customers safe and comfortable, while ensuring grid reliability during hot summer days," said Gene Rodrigues, SCE's director of Customer Energy Efficiency and Solar. "We offer a suite of programs for residential and business customers that can help slash electricity usage and keep bills down." One way customers can escape the heat without worrying about running up cooling bills is to come to an SCE Cool Center, open in targeted community buildings during extremely hot days. Cool centers are for everyone, especially those at risk for heatrelated illness. SCE, which leads the nation's utilities in energy efficiency and is recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others for its groundbreaking work, suggests these easy ways to cut electricity usage this summer: • Keep the thermostat set at 78 degrees or higher, cool only the areas in the home that are being used and turn the AC off when you leave. A 3-ton central air conditioner can cost an average of $80 a month to run, when operated four hours a day. To get the most from your air conditioner, regularly clean or replace the filters. A room will cool considerably when you close the drapes and use a fan. • Swap incandescent bulbs for

CFLs and immediately see a savings of 75 percent of your lighting bill. CFLs emit hardly any heat, which reduces the temperature inside the home. SCE works with 23 manufacturers to buy down the cost of CFLs in more than 4,000 stores in its service territory, so cost won't be an issue. CFLs now

One way customers can escape the heat without worrying about running up cooling bills is to come to an SCE Cool Center, open in targeted community buildings during extremely hot days come in many different light qualities and sizes. • Cook outdoors or use the microwave instead of the stove. You'll save on electricity or gas, and you'll also keep the house cooler. On average, it costs $7.23 to run an electric stove for 45 minutes a day; slow-cookers and electric skillets are more efficient options. To maximize your stove's efficiency, match the cookware to the burner size, use tight fitting

lids and cover pots when you bring them to a boil. • Letting the pool pump run longer than four to six hours per day won't significantly improve the water cleanliness, but it will add to your electricity bill. The average cost per month to run a pool pump six hours a day is about $37. Also, older single-speed models can cost more to run. SCE offers rebates up to $200 for more efficient, variable-speed pool pumps. • Take an energy efficiency survey for home or business and get customized solutions that can reduce your monthly electricity bill. • If you're in the market for new appliances and equipment, look for ENERGY STAR labeled devices. SCE offers rebates on the following and you can check with your city or county for additional incentives: • ENERGY STAR-qualified portable room air conditioner ($20). • Energy-efficient evaporative cooling systems ($300). • Refrigerator and freezer recycling program ($50). • Select an ENERGY STARqualified refrigerator ($50). • Variable-speed pool pump and motor ($200). • Air-conditioning maintenance and installation services (up to $2,000). Rebates for businesses include: • Reflective window film ($1.35/ per square foot). • Energy-efficient evaporative coolers ($123 per ton). • Package terminal air conditioners through-the-wall, self-contained and two tons or less ($100 per unit).

Aventis acquires Universale's nutraceutical business Cont’d from page 38

This move is also synergetic with the growth strategy of Sanofi, a majority stakeholder in Aventis Pharma Limited. "India is one of our most important markets in the emerging world and this acquisition reinforces our commitment to invest and grow our presence in India through a diversified portfolio that is focused on patients' needs," said Antoine Ortoli, Senior Vice President, Intercontinental Region - Global Operations of Sanofi. "This strategic acquisition will allow Aventis Pharma and Sanofi

Group to reach out to large sections of India's population through a broad offering comprising of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and now nutraceuticals," said Dr. Shailesh Ayyangar, Managing Director - Aventis Pharma Limited and Vice President - South Asia, Sanofi. Universal Medicare's portfolio of over 40 branded formulations represent key categories within the nutraceutical market, that are primarily antioxidants, vitamins and mineral supplements, antiarthritics, anti-osteoporotics, liver tonics, and other nutrients. Universal Medicare's Chairman and Managing Director,

Vikram Tannan stated "In today's rapidly changing healthcare scenario, I believe that Aventis Pharma with its track record of building strong brands is best suited to take on and strengthen what we have built over the years. They will not only add value by giving new life to this business but will also nurture our employees through best in class training and advanced marketing practices in a multinational environment." Under the proposed transaction, Universal Medicare will manufacture the products that Aventis Pharma will be acquiring on mutually agreed terms.

HP grows 'closed loop' ink cartridge recycling

Mr Tee Chin Eng sharing the science of HP's inkjet printing technology India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: HP has announced its growing collaboration with the Lavergne Group which now extends to Lavergne's new plastic compounding facility in Vietnam, following HP's achievement of manufacturing 1 billion ink cartridges that incorporate recycled plastic from HP's "closed loop" ink cartridge recycling program. HP's growing collaboration with the Lavergne Group is the culmination of a twelve-year relationship focused on developing "closed loop" plastic resin solutions that meet the high quality standards required for Original HP ink cartridges. The Lavergne Group's expansion in Vietnam provides additional capacity for HP to continue year-on-year increases in the volume of "closed loop" recycled plastic used in manufacturing Original HP ink cartridges. The Lavergne Group's new plant in Vietnam will facilitate regional qualification efforts, en-

abling future growth in the volume of Original HP Ink cartridges that can be manufactured using the "closed loop" recycling process. The facility will also be closer to the manufacturing sites for HP Original Ink cartridges in Asia Pacific and local sources of recycled

HP's growing collaboration with the Lavergne Group is the culmination of a twelve-year relationship focused on developing ‘closed loop’ plastic resin materials, which will provide an estimated six per cent reduction in the plastic carbon footprint when the facility is fully operational. HP has achieved several innovation breakthroughs in ink cartridge recycling.

Health

Line

NY recoups $2.3M Medicaid overpayments

ALBANY, NY: New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the state recouped $2.3 million from Medicaid overpayments after an audit found errors in the Health Department's eMedNY computer payment system. The system processes Medicaid claims from providers and generates payments. In the six months ending last Sept. 30, eMedNY processed 163 million claims worth $24 billion. Auditors report finding 21 providers receiving Medicaid money who had been charged with abusing Medicaid, federal Medicare, or other health insurance systems. The Health Department terminated eight with the others under review. -AP

Aerial spraying planned for EEE in Oswego County

OSWEGO, NY: Oswego County officials hope to conduct aerial spraying for mosquitoes that could carry a deadly brain virus. State health officials issued a declaration of imminent threat to public health in Oswego County, clearing the way for the spraying. The action was taken after mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis killed a young girl, two horses and a dog. Officials postponed their plans to spray an area of central Oswego County because of weather conditions. Weather permitting; the department will resume aerial spraying. Health officials say the aerial spraying is a temporary, partial measure to control the spread of the disease. -AP

Flu shots available at many Illinois drugstores CHICAGO: Flu shots are now available at many pharmacies throughout Illinois. CVS announced its pharmacies and MinuteClinics are providing direct medical billing through many health insurance plans that cover all or part of the cost of a flu shot. Customers will receive a $5 CVS gift card if the cost of a flu shot is not fully covered by insurance. Walgreens pharmacies also are offering flu vaccinations and direct billing through many health insurers. Federal health officials recommend an annual flu vaccination for everyone except babies younger than 6 months and those with unusual allergies and medical conditions. -AP

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New West Nile case brings total for Miss. to 15 JACKSON, Miss.: A newly reported West Nile virus case in Hinds County brings the total in Mississippi this year to 15. There has been one West Nile virus death in the state this year, a Jones County resident. -AP

Ill. pulls health care licenses of sex offenders CHICAGO: Illinois yanked the licenses of 11 health care workers citing a new law that bars registered sex offenders and people convicted of violent felonies from working in the field. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation released the names of the health professionals, including six doctors and five registered nurses, after giving them 20 days to alert the department of overturned convictions. The law, which took effect over the weekend, allows the state to permanently revoke licenses without holding a hearing. Department officials said they'll release additional names later. ``The State takes its responsibilities to protect our residents seriously,'' Brent E. Adams, Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation said in a statement. ``This new law establishes tough outcomes that are intended to shield Illinois patients from health care workers who have been convicted of sex offenses and certain violent crimes.'' Of 11 announced and posted online, nine are registered sex offenders and two others were convicted of violent crimes. The convictions of the 11 include child

pornography, indecent solicitation of a child, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and battery. In at least two cases the victims were patients. Illinois Department of Corrections records show that of the 11 health care workers, one is serving time at Stateville Correctional Center for felony sexual abuse, sexual assault of child patients and manufacturing child pornography. Three doctors, all retired,

ment won't release the names in those pending cases until they've been decided in court. The state could add more names to the list because it doesn't include those who are involved in pending litigation. The Chicago Tribune reported that two Chicago-area doctors are among the professionals who filed lawsuits against the state. Mohammed Khaleeluddin of Rockford and Ashvin Shah of

The new law also allows the state to impose restrictions on doctors and others in health care after charges have been filed, but before conviction declined to comment. One registered nurse lives in Michigan, according to the state's sex offender registry, and didn't have a listed phone number. The others had phone numbers that were either disconnected, unlisted or rang numerous times without going to voicemail. After receiving the state's notices, several health professionals filed lawsuits against the department arguing the law shouldn't apply to them. Spokeswoman Sue Hofer said the depart-

Flossmoor claim in their lawsuits, filed in Cook County, that they've already been disciplined and their medical licenses were restored after temporary suspensions. They claim the state is violating their right to due process by creating a ``double jeopardy'' situation for them. Khaleeluddin was suspended from practicing medicine for three years after a conviction for sexual misconduct with female patients, according to Illinois regulatory records. He's been

allowed to practice since 2000 and was fined $30,000. Ashvin Shah's license was suspended for six years after a conviction for battery, the Tribune reported. He's been allowed to practice since 2001, according to Illinois records. The new law also allows the state to impose restrictions on doctors and others in health care after charges have been filed, but before conviction. The state can require health care workers who've been charged with sex crimes or forcible felonies to see patients only in the presence of another health care worker who acts as a chaperone. In Illinois, forcible felonies include crimes involving violence or the threat of violence. The Illinois State Medical Society supported the legislation. ``No patient, under any circumstance, should have to worry about the specter of sexual abuse when seeking health care,'' said Dr. Wayne Polek, the doctors group's president, in a statement after Gov. Pat Quinn signed the measure into law. State Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, said state regulators are acting to protect patients. -AP

CDC seeks to sample Va. waters for deadly amoeba RICHMOND, Va.: Federal authorities are asking for samples of Virginia waterways in an attempt to develop a test for detecting deadly microscopic amoeba. Health officials say two children and a young man nationwide have died this summer from a fatal infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis stemming from a brain-eating amoeba that lives in water. This month, a 9-year-old Virginia boy died a week after he went to a fishing day camp. Christian Alexander Strickland had visited several bodies of water during the Richmond camp. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that The Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention is asking Virginia for help to sample waters for Naegleria fowleri. The free-living amoeba gets up the nose, burrows up into the

from a prevention standpoint,'' said Michael Beach, the federal agency's associate director for healthy water. ``We are trying to learn more, but it's a tough one because it's such a rare occurrence.''

About three deaths are reported each year, on average. Last year, there were four. But the cases that do occur tend to be tragic skull and destroys brain tissue. It's found in warm lakes and rivers during the hot summer months, mostly in the South. ``It's a terrible disease that we would like to know more about and be able to tell the public more about

It's a medical mystery why some people who swim in amoeba-containing water get the fatal nervous system condition while many others don't, experts say. ``That's the million-dollar question,'' he said. ``We have no idea.''

The illness is extremely rare. About 120 U.S. cases almost all of them deaths have been reported since the amoeba was identified in the early 1960s, according to the CDC. About three deaths are reported each year, on average. Last year, there were four. But the cases that do occur tend to be tragic, and there's only been one report of successful treatment. Earlier this month, officials say a central Florida girl who became ill after swimming in a small tributary of the St. John's River in southern Volusia County died from a brain infection caused by amoeba in the water. -AP

September 2, 2011

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Hospital talks partly driven by health overhaul ELKHART, Ind.: The growing ranks of patients insured by Medicare and Medicaid are among the factors driving talks between two independent northern Indiana hospitals to operate jointly in what industry officials say is a growing trend. Elkhart General Hospital and South Bend Memorial Hospital announced in March that they were in talks to affiliate under a joint board of directors. Danielle Dyer, vice president of strategy and marketing at Elkhart General, said the two nonprofit institutions have no specific timetable for completing an affiliation. However, more and more baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare in the coming years and likely increase the financial pressures on care providers, hospital officials told The Elkhart Truth. Also, the federal health care overhaul approved last year contains provisions that will require more efficient and less costly delivery of health care while at the same time making more people eligible for Medicaid. ``As the number of people covered under Medicare and Medicaid grow, covering the cost of care

will be a big challenge,'' Kevin Higdon, Elkhart General's vice president of finance, told the newspaper in an email message. Portions of a hospital's Medicare and Medicaid costs typically aren't fully reimbursed, and if more of those patients are receiving care, that could mean more costs that aren't reimbursed. In 2009, Elkhart General's unreimbursed Medicare expenses totaled $29.2 million, according to the Form 990 that the hospital filed with the In-

more readily be transferred among a patient's various caregivers, Dyer said. The result would be more efficient care of a patient, but the required technology costs money. By affiliating, Elkhart General and South Bend Memorial might receive bigger discounts by jointly purchasing the new systems needed to enable better record keeping. They could also buy medical equipment in higher volumes to trim costs.

'Hospitals are going to have to be more efficient,' he said. 'They're going to have to control their costs. They're going to have to be in integrated systems.' By joining forces they can operate more efficiently and scale back overlapping, duplicated duties, Leonard said ternal Revenue Service as a nonprofit organization. The hospital's unreimbursed Medicaid expenses totaled $18.7 million. The health care overhaul also includes provisions to change how care is overseen and delivered, aiming to increase efficiency and lower costs. One goal, for instance, is increased use of electronic medical records that can

Diane Stover, vice president of marketing at Memorial, said that given the issues brought on by the growing Medicare population and health care reform, there comes a time when ``you have to look at new ways to run your operation.'' Affiliating ``helps share the risks and share the resources,'' Stover said.

Doug Leonard, president of the Indiana Hospital Association, said he expects the health care overhaul to spur more affiliations, mergers and associations among hospitals. ``Hospitals are going to have to be more efficient,'' he said. ``They're going to have to control their costs. They're going to

have to be in integrated systems.'' By joining forces they can operate more efficiently and scale back overlapping, duplicated duties, Leonard said. He estimated that about half of Indiana's hospitals are in some sort of joint operation with others. -AP

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Delaware group eyes child Mich. panel OKs public worker mental health needs health plan changes DOVER, Del.: A shortage of health care professionals is one of the major hurdles to ensuring adequate mental health treatment for children in Kent and Sussex counties, a study group established by the General Assembly said. Lawmakers formed the group, which met to focus especially on the needs of child sexual assault victims with an eye toward ensuring help for those victimized by former Lewes pediatrician Earl Bradley. He was convicted in June of sexually abusing scores of young patients over more than a decade. Susan Cycyk, director of the state Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, said a shortage of licensed professionals is a problem. ``It's a very, very huge challenge for us,'' said Cycyk, whose division, with funding from the state Criminal Justice Council, started the effort to assist families hurt by Bradley. Adding to the problem is that the number of therapists trained to treat victims of sexual abuse, especially children, is even smaller, officials noted. That may be in part because of how third-party insurers, including Medicaid, reimburse doctors and others. According to DPBHS, a clinician added to its crisis service after Bradley's arrest served 25 former clients of the ex-

doctor - 18 children and seven parents. A social worker charged with reaching out to the area's Hispanic community served another 13 parents, while two local mental health agencies worked with DPBHS to offer support services for 39 more adults. The division also offered training to scores of health care professionals on how to work with sexually abused children and their families.

Adding to the problem is that the number of therapists trained to treat victims of sexual abuse, especially children, is even smaller But Chuck Webb, who works with DPBHS as a trainer, noted that the problem of child sexual abuse is widespread, and that officials need to look beyond the Bradley case. ``This problem pre-existed Bradley, and it will continue to exist,'' he said. The study group must provide its findings and recommendations to lawmakers by March. -AP

LANSING, Mich.: Many public employees with Michigan schools and local governments would face higher bills for health care coverage under a revised plan approved by a legislative committee and awaiting final votes in the state Legislature. A Republican-led conference committee made up of House and Senate members approved the plan by a party-line vote. Similar results are likely when final votes are held on the measure in the Michigan Legislature. Republicans say the measure is aimed at bringing the cost of public employee health care benefits more in line with those paid by employees in the private sector. Supporters said it could lead to more money for schools to hire teachers and cities to hire police officers and firefighters. ``The school board gets to keep the money, the local unit gets to keep the money,'' said Sen. Mark Jansen, a Republican from Kent County's Gaines Township. ``It's a savings for them in their budgets.'' The proposal limits the amount of money a public employer can pay toward workers' health coverage. The caps range from $5,500 for a single employee to $15,000 for a family. Some local governments could vote to require employees to pay 20 percent of their coverage instead. There is some flexibility in the plan that could allow employers to give lower-income public workers a break, as long as they don't exceed the overall medical cost contribution limits. Some local governments could opt out of the plan completely if two-thirds of a governing body voted to do so. Schools

don't have a similar opt-out option. Elected officials including state lawmakers would be included in the plan. But many other state employees and university workers would not be affected unless the state constitution also is changed. A constitutional amendment requires approval of twothirds of the lawmakers in both the Senate and House, after which it would be placed before voters. A proposal to make the tougher-to-adopt changes is contained in a separate measure.

Republicans say the measure is aimed at bringing the cost of public employee health care benefits more in line with those paid by employees in the private sector Democrats say the proposal awaiting a vote in the Legislature is an example of state lawmakers getting involved in issues that should be left to local decision-makers. ``Bottom line: This is what we have `home rule' for,'' said Sen. Coleman Young II, a Democrat from Detroit. ``This is something that should be decided between the public employer and the employees through collective bargaining.'' The proposal would apply to medical benefit coverage plans starting Jan. 1. The requirement would not affect existing union contracts until a contract was modified or expired. -AP

Perry wrestles with his own health care approach WASHINGTON: Experts say Texas would be among the biggest beneficiaries of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The state stands to gain coverage for nearly 4 million uninsured residents. But Gov. Rick Perry opposes the health law, and he's blocked moves to lay the groundwork for expanding coverage. It's not clear what he would put in its place. Among the alternatives he's sup-

ported is an untested regional solution. With Perry running for the Republican presidential nomination, health care in Texas and his own ideas as governor will be scrutinized on the national stage. Texas boasts world-renowned facilities such as the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Texas also has the highest proportion of uninsured residents of any state 26 percent. -AP

Student safety at heart of anti-seizure med debate SACRAMENTO, Calif.: A bill authorizing California school districts to voluntarily participate in a program training nonmedical personnel on how to administer an emergency anti-seizure medication to students has pitted teachers and nurses against parents as both sides stress than their position is rooted in concern for the children. SB 161 by Republic Sen. Bob Huff of

Diamond Bar focuses on the drug Diastat, an anti-seizure gel that has to be administered rectally while a person is having a seizure. Teachers and nurses unions say only licensed medical personnel should have the authority to give the drug while parents want to know that an adult capable of giving their child a lifesaving medication will be available in case a nurse isn't. -AP

In Brief Immigration enforcement cutback opposed DENVER: Former US Rep. Tom Tancredo says he is looking for a way to challenge an announcement by the Obama administration that deportation cases will be dismissed for undocumented students and other low-priority immigration offenders. Tancredo says he believes it's illegal, but it may be up to a judge to decide. According to the Denver Post, there is no estimate of how many of the more than 300,000 deportation cases currently being reviewed involve immigrants in Colorado. There are an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. -AP

Gov Scott pushes for Fla immigration law in 2012 MIAMI: Florida Gov. Rick Scott has said he believes the Legislature will pass a law next year that cracks down on illegal immigrants, despite lawmakers' failure to reach a consensus on the issue this year. ``If somebody is in our country illegally, and they're violating our laws, we ought to be able to ask them if they're legal or not. That's what I'd like to have happen,'' Scott told The Associated Press. Local law enforcement officers are already allowed to ask the status of immigrants they arrest, but they don't have to answer. And the Obama administration recently made mandatory its Secure Communities program that requires local law enforcement officers check the fingerprints of those they arrest against Department of Homeland Security immigration databases. -AP

E-Verify immigration policy back in play ST. PAUL, Minn.: A policy that requires big state contractors to check new employees' immigration status is back in play. Gov. Mark Dayton let the policy initiated by his predecessor lapse last April. It required state agencies to use a federal system called E-Verify to check on the immigration status of new hires. A memo from the state Management and Budget commissioner at the time said E-Verify was ``inefficient and yielded negligible results.'' The provision inserted into the budget bill during last month's special session reinstates the policy, but applies only to businesses. -AP

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Alabama town closely watches new immigration law CROSSVILLE, Ala.: Most every face in Crossville's small downtown is white except at the elementary school. There, Spanish-speaking children with black hair and dark skin far outnumber their Caucasian classmates. As much as anywhere in Alabama, Crossville is Exhibit A for supporters of a tough new state law cracking down on illegal immigration. And residents, both English and Spanish-speaking, are paying close attention as a federal judge considers whether to let the law take effect Sept. 1. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn is hearing arguments in Birmingham from Hispanic organizations, public interest groups and religious leaders who want the law blocked. The Obama administration has also said the law should be blocked, arguing the state is unconstitutionally attempting to usurp federal immigration law. The Alabama attorney

general's office declined comment on how it will defend the law, but state legislators who support it filed court documents saying the federal government is illegally treading on state sovereignty. About 90 miles northeast of Birmingham, Crossville looks like any other rural, mostly white city in the state. The main part of town

children to town to attend the elementary school, which is about 65 percent Hispanic. Census figures show 1,297 people live in Crossville, and all but nine of them are white. But DeKalb County, where Crossville is located, has more than 7,100 residents. Many live in Kilpatrick, where scores of families live along dirt

Jeff Simpson runs a gas station in Crossville, and he's tired of seeing people he believes are illegal immigrants use state welfare is a mix of white-owned small businesses, churches and old homes. But five miles west lies Kilpatrick, a community some Alabama-born residents call ``little Tijuana'' because of its overwhelming number of Spanish-speaking immigrants. There, roadside signs are in Spanish and many residents work in poultry plants. They live in mobile homes and send their

roads cut into rolling fields. School buses loaded with Hispanic children make the trip each day between those dusty neighborhoods and Crossville Elementary. Jeff Simpson runs a gas station in Crossville, and he's tired of seeing people he believes are illegal immigrants use state welfare money to buy food and other items. He said Alabama natives are

spending too much educating the children of immigrants. Simpson believes legislators were right to pass a law that both supporters and critics say is the nation's toughest on illegal immigration. ``I don't have anything against them, but I don't like them putting nothing into the system and getting free crap,'' Simpson said. ``They're bleeding the government dry.'' A few miles away in Kilpatrick, Ivan Barrera said the law already is hurting business at his supermarket. While school officials say Hispanic enrollment is up from last year, Barrera said some immigrant families are leaving out of fear of being stopped by police and put in jail if they don't have proper documents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It's hard for the Spanishspeaking people,'' said Barrera, a legal resident originally from Mexico who is married to a U.S. citizen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are scared of the police.'' -AP

Do we have a start-up visa for entrepreneurs? CYRUS D. MEHTA

(Contd from last week) t is the third that is extremely opaque and difficult to over come. The petitioner must demonstrate that "the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required for the alien. The petitioner must demonstrate that it would be contrary to the national interest to potentially deprive the prospective employer of the services of the alien by making available to U.S. workers the position sought by the alien." The AAO went on to further illuminate this criterion as follows: "Stated another way, the petitioner, whether the U.S. employer or the alien, must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications." Overcoming the third prong is difficult, and allowed the USCIS to shoot down the best of argu-

ments made by a national interest waiver claimant. Indeed, the USCIS could always resort to this subjective criterion to thwart even the most meritorious of claims, which is that the claimant does not overcome the inherent interest of the government in making the job available to US workers. The EB-2 Q&A refreshingly

opportunities for U.S. workers. The creation of jobs domestically for U.S. workers may serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than the work of others in the same field. It would have been nice if the USCIS had thrashed the three prong test in NYSDOT, as in my opinion, INA section 203(b)(2)(B)

The entrepreneur who demonstrates that his or her business enterprise will create jobs for US workers may qualify for the NIW provides the following golden nugget to the entrepreneur to overcome the third prong: The entrepreneur who demonstrates that his or her business enterprise will create jobs for U.S. workers or otherwise enhance the welfare of the United States may qualify for the NIW. For example, the entrepreneur may be creating new job

does not set forth such a cumbersome test, and the statute, which is a clear expression of Congress, is more important than an AAO decision, which added a spin on an unambiguous statutory provision. And what if the entrepreneur cannot demonstrate that he or she is working in the national interest or cannot qualify under the EB-2 because he or she lacks

an advanced degree or exceptional ability? The EB-2 Q&A appears to suggest that the entrepreneur can also be sponsored for a green card under the EB-2 through a labor certification. Presumably, an entrepreneur under the EB-3 could also be sponsored through a labor certification. This is a surprise. The DOL has always frowned upon an owner of an entity being sponsored for a labor certification. In order to obtain labor certification, the employer must establish that it has conducted a good faith test of the labor market and that there were no qualified US workers who were available for the position. The DOL has denied labor certification to both 100% and minority owners of companies who filed a labor certification on their behalf. See ATI Consultores, 07-INA-64 (BALCA Feb. 11, 2008); M. Safra & Co. Inc., 08-INA-74 (BALCA Oct. 27, 2008). Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 45

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ACLU sues feds for shackling immigrant detainees SAN FRANCISCO: Yuba County jailers awaken the alleged illegal aliens in the wee hours of the morning, shackle them at the feet, waist and wrists and load them on vans for the trip to San

Francisco for court hearings in immigration court. Except for a brief unshackling before appearing before the judge, they remained chained for up to 12 hours a day when they

are due in court. Similar scenes play out in jails every day across the country as the Department of Homeland Security shackles many of its prisoners traveling to and from their appearances in immigration court. The prisoners often remain chained to one another when before the judge. The American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court seeking a halt a practice the lawyers and prisoners describe as a ``cruel and degrading.'' The ACLU alleges that the blanket policy violates constitu-

tional bans against cruel and unusual punishment. The lawsuit seeks class action status to repre-

The lawsuit also alleges that prisoners suffer ‘physical pain and discomfort, embarrassment and humiliation’ sent the thousands of prisoners transported and appearing in immigration court in shackles. The department declined

comment. According to the lawsuit, the overwhelming majority of prisoners appearing in immigration courts have no violent criminal histories and aren't flight risks. The lawsuit seeks to compel DHS to make individual determinations about shackling rather than carrying out a blanket policy. The lawsuit also alleges that prisoners suffer ``physical pain and discomfort, embarrassment and humiliation, mental and emotional stress and a sense the detainee is being misjudged to be exceptionally dangerous person.'' -AP

Immigrants plead for end to fingerprint sharing LOS ANGELES: Immigrants who say they were hauled into jail for selling ice cream without a permit and for reporting being the victim of domestic violence had one message for a federal government task force assigned to review an information-sharing effort that gives immigration authorities access to the fingerprints of arrestees. More than 200 people, many wearing signs reading ``Terminate Secure Communities'' and carrying flags from countries including Mexico and Brazil, packed a conference room in Los Angeles to recount their experiences with a program they say is making immigrants reluctant to report crime to police out of fear of getting deported. ``Every day I live the nightmare of this program,'' said Blanca Perez, 38, who said she was arrested in February for street vending without a permit. ``Now I am facing deportation for the simple act of selling ice cream in the street.'' The meeting was one of the first public discussions of the so-called Secure Communities program since Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Aug. 5 terminated agreements signed with states to jumpstart the effort and said that

state approval isn't required to share fingerprints. The program touted by immigration authorities as an information-sharing effort has become a headache for the Obama administration, which has plowed ahead with it despite vocal opposition from Latino and immigrant rights groups the president counts on for support. Immigrant advocates say the program lands immigrants arrested for investigation of minor violations in detention and erodes their

‘Every day I live the nightmare of this program,’ said Blanca Perez, 38, who said she was arrested in February for street vending without a permit trust in police. They have also criticized the administration for giving the impression that local governments could choose whether to participate when it is in fact mandatory. States including Illinois and Massachusetts had decided to opt out of the program, only to be told that they couldn't. At the at-times boisterous meeting in Los Angeles, several dozen people spoke out against Secure Communities _ and the bulk of the crowd walked out halfway in protest after a speaker challenged the two task force members leading the session to resign. But a handful of people gave the program

praise, saying more, not less, immigration enforcement is needed. ``Contrary to what you have heard, Secure Communities does not seek out hardworking, law abiding immigrants for removal,'' said Anna Pembedjian, public safety deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich. ``Rather, it seeks out those who prey on them and others in our community,'' Immigrant rights groups urged members of the task force to call on ICE to end the program and questioned whether any real change would come from the meetings held last week in Dallas and scheduled this week in Los Angeles and Chicago. Immigrant advocates are planning to hold protests against Secure Communities in cities across the country. Retired Sacramento police chief Arturo Venegas Jr., one of the two task force members overseeing the Los Angeles meeting, said he isn't going to quit. ``We have the opportunity to give voice to you in those halls of government where in the past, in reality we haven't had it,'' he told the smaller crowd that remained after the walkout in Spanish. ``If we leave now, the work will continue, and they will make recommendations without our voice.'' The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it has recently developed additional training for local law enforcement along with a new policy to protect domestic violence victims. It also said it created the task force to make recommendations for other changes, recognizing ``that there is room for improvement in the operation of the program.'' -AP

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September 2, 2011

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Donations sought to unblock Ariz. immigration law TUCSON, Ariz.: A group representing Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever in the legal battles over Arizona's immigration law is seeking $60,000 in donations to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. The Border Sheriffs group wrote in fundraising letters that it has raised $29,000 but needs $31,000 more for the brief or SB1070 will remain blocked by the courts. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's office is trying to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case and overturn an April decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Brewer had asked the appeals court to lift an injunction imposed by a federal judge the day before the law was to take effect on July 29, 2010. The U.S Justice Depart-

ment sued to block the law, saying it violates the Constitution because enforcing immigration law is a federal issue. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Dever wants to submit a ``friend of the court'' brief saying why the high court should take the case from his on-the-border view. The brief is a filing by an outside party about a case under consideration, and it may include information not in previous appeals. Such briefs can have an impact, said Nick Dranias, an attorney who heads the Goldwater Institute's Center for Constitutional Government and has filed many such briefs. ``I think of the amicus brief as the op-ed of legal briefings,'' Dranias said.

Dever said he wants to tell the court how the Arizona law, known as SB1070, can help his border county. ``We're trying to drive home the importance and significance of this law relieving pressure on the border here by eliminating sanctuary policies in this state,'' Dever said. Border Sheriffs was founded by the Iowa-based Legacy Foundation last year to raise money for the defense of Arizona's tough immigration law on behalf of Dever and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. Initially, the group raised money on the argument that Arizona's sheriffs were being sued personally by the American Civil Liberties Union over SB1070 and faced personal financial jeopardy. -AP

Do we have a start-up visa for entrepreneurs? Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 43

The test for determining whether an employee closely tied to the sponsoring entity could qualify for labor certification was set forth in Modular Container Systems, Inc. 89-INA-228 (BALCA July 16, 1991) (en banc), where BALCA applied a "totality of circumstances" test to determine whether there was a bona fide job offer to US workers. Modular Container Systems considers whether the foreign national: a) Is in a position to control or influence hiring decisions regarding the job for which LC is ought; b) Is related to the corporate directors, officers or employees; c) Was an incorporator or founder of the company; d) Has an ownership interest in the company; e) Is involved in the management of the company; f) Is on the board of directors; g) Is one of a small number of employees; h) Has qualifications for the job that are identical to specialized or unusual job duties and requirements stated in the application; or i) Is so inseparable from the sponsoring employer because of his or her pervasive presence and personal attributes that the employer would be unlikely to continue without the foreign national. Clearly, an entrepreneur who may successfully obtain an H-1B visa under the new guidance will most likely fail under the Modular Container Systems "totality of circumstances" test. Did the USCIS consult with the DOL before issuing this guidance? Will the DOL be receptive to the USCIS's new policy of encouraging entrepreneurs and liberally interpret

Modular Container Systems? When DOL implemented the new PERM labor certification program, it also promulgated 20 C.F.R. Â§656.17(l), which incorporates some of the Modular Container analysis, and also requires the employer to certify on the PERM labor certification application whether the foreign national has an ownership interest in the sponsoring entity or has a familial relationship with the stockholders, corporate officers, incorporators or partners. What will become of this regulation?

Much administrative tinkering still needs to be done if we really want to create a system that will spur amazing economic activity I do not feel that the DOL will change its ways on entrepreneurs. Whether one agrees or not, the DOL believes that its narrow mission is to protect the jobs of US workers, and not to spur economic recovery and growth. Of course, one can argue that foreign entrepreneurs who are allowed to start up businesses and stay in the US will likely create jobs for US workers, rather than take the jobs of Americans, but this logic may fall on deaf ears as far as the DOL is concerned. I hope I am proved wrong on this by the DOL. In conclusion, the new policy, if implemented, will allow foreign

entrepreneurs to obtain H-1B visas, and under certain circumstances, also qualify for a "fast track" green card under the National Interest Waiver. Much administrative tinkering still needs to be done if we really want to create a system that will spur amazing economic activity. The DOL will need to fall into line. The horrendous EB-2 and EB-3 backlogs for Indian and Chinese beneficiaries will still persist. It makes no sense to encourage entrepreneurs from India and China if the wait to get a green card will be in excess of 5 years in the EB-2 or more than a decade in the EB-3. In Tyranny of Priority Dates, Gary Endelman and I offered a blueprint for further administrative action to allow beneficiaries of approved I-130 and I-140 petitions to file adjustment of status applications even if the priority date is not current as well as allow the grant of employment authorization and parole, which would include spouses and other dependants. We have also provided an administrative blueprint for DREAM kids. Our proposals are more ambitious, but I am heartened that the Executive Branch on August 2, 2011 did the right thing by recognizing that foreign national skilled workers and entrepreneurs can be an asset rather than a liability, even in such hard economic times. If the USCIS guidance is properly implemented, these skilled foreign nationals may provide much needed stimulus for the flagging and lackluster US economy. * Cyrus D Mehta, may be contacted at 212-425-0555 or info@cyrusmehta.com

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46 India Post

September 2, 2011

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NEW YORK

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

NEW JERSEY

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Mon Sept 5

Fri Sept 9

• Night Flight

• Euphoria The Item Tour

Sat Sep 3

Venue: Four Food Studio & Cocktail Salon, 515 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, New York Time: 7:30pm Contact: 631-988-3390

Venue: The Vic Theater, 3145 North Sheffield Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Time: 8pm Contact: 215-490-2457

• Indo America fair

Mon Sept 5 • An Invitation to Gala Dinner With Marzi Venue: Akbar Restaurant, 21,Cortlandt Street, Edison, New York Time: 6pm Contact: 609-240-2350

Sun Sept 11 • Interfaith-Intersection Venue: Abbington Distinctive Banquets, 3 S 002 Route 53, (Intersection Rt 53 ad Rt 56 (SW Corner), Glen Ellyn, Illinois Time: 8am to 1pm Contact: 630-707-2789

Venue: Mercer country Park, west Windsor, New Jersey Contact: 609-240-2350

Mon Sept 5 • An Invitation to Gala Dinner Venue: Akbar Restaurant, 21,Cortlandt Street, Edison, New Jersey Time: 6pm Contact: 609-240-2350

Sat Sept 17

Sun Sept 18

Sat Oct 8

• IT-Bhu Global Alumni Aega Meet

• Natak: Sasoo No Suntaap

• Rhythm For Relief

Venue: Hilton Lisle/Naperville, IL Contact: 630-699-8900 Highlights: The program will contain a fun filled walk down the memory lane with cocktails and dinner.

Venue: North Brunswick High School Auditorium, 98 Raider Road, North Brunswick, New Jersey Time: 5pm to 8pm Contact: 609-448-0192

Venue: Haven NYC, 244 East 51st St, NY Time: 6pm Contact: 347-307-1378

WASHINGTON DC

Upcoming Sun Sept 4 • Satinder Sartaaj Live in Concert Venue: George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street NW, Washington DC Time: 7pm to 11pm Contact: 202-709-6684

Mon Sep 5

Sun Sept 11 • Indian Ocean Live In Concert Venue: Shriver Hall, Hopkins University, 3400,N Charles St, Baltimore, DC, Time: 4pm to 7pm Contact: 410-929-4525

Upcoming Fri Sept 2

Fri Sept 02

• Bollywood Bhangra Bash

• Bollywoodpool & 3S International Travel Presents: Disco Bappi Lahiri Live Performance

Venue: Torch Restaurant & Bar, 7850 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, California Time: 9:30pm to 2am Contact: 714-523-8880

Venue: IIC- 525 Los Coches St, Milpitas Time: 7:30pm Contact: 510-249-9333 Highlights: Bay Area Musicians- Music by Melodiens, Accompanying singer Sangeeta & Bappi Lahiri

Mon Sept 5

Thurs Sept 8 • A Widow of No Importance Venue: East West Players, 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles Time: 8pm 10pm Contact: 213-625-7000

• Saraswati Pooja 2011

Sat Sep 10

Venue: M.A. Center, 10200 Crow Canyon Road, Castro Valley, CA 94522 Time: 3pm to 5pm Contact: www.saraswatipooja2011.eventbrite.com

• Veena Sahasrabuddhe

Sat Sept 17 to Sun Sept 18

Venue: Loyola Marymount University, Ahmanson Hall, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles Time: 6pm to 8pm Contact: 610-585-7951

• Vedika Global Yoga Bharati Present A Two Day Workshop

Sun Sept 11

Venue: Vedika Global, Emeryville, CA Time: 9am to 4pm Contact: 877-708-3342

Venue: Bait-ul-Hameed Mosque Chino, CA Time: 9am to 7pm Contact: 909-636-8332

Fri Sept 23

Sat Oct 1

• Parampara-Tradition

• CRY Socal 5K Walk/Run (3K for kids)

Venue: Palace Theatre, Stamford Time: 7:30pm to 11pm Contact: 203-322-9862 Highlights: Ishwara: The Dancing Lord, By Shijith & Parvathy. North Indian Classical Vocal by Ritesh & Rajnish Misra with Pt. Subhen Chatterjee on Tabla.

• Gopinath Muthukads Vismayam Venue: High Point High School, 3601,Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, DC Time: 5pm Contact: 703-506-0807

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Muslims for Life" Blood Drive

Venue: Crescent Bay Park at the beach, 20002054 N Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, California Time: 9am to 11am Contact: 818-519-8355

Sat Oct 8 • Tour the ARTS.MWQ

Fri Sept 16 • IA Sargam Presents: Eighth Annual Mohd. Rafi Nite Venue: Venus Banquet Hall, 20825, Sherman Way, Winnetka, CA Time: 7:30pm Contact: 818-884-4770 Highlights: Featuring the scintillating voice of Avtar Chadda and others artists.

Venue: Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles, 510 W. 7th St,, San Pedro, CA Time: 6:30pm Contact: 323-366-9986

Sat Oct 15 • Inner Engineering, Technologies for Wellbeing Venue: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California Time: 3pm to 9pm Contact: 866-424-4742

September 2, 2011

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For Classifieds Ads Call NORTHERN CA (Sonia) Tel: 510-938-8668 sonia@indiapost.com SOUTHERN CA (Shashi Trivedi) Tel: 562-441-5511/ Fax: 562-947-0632 shashi19@yahoo.com CHICAGO (Ramesh Soparawala) Tel: 773-973-7394 / Fax: 773-973-7396 sramesh@aol.com NEW YORK (Pinky) Tel: 212-944-1931/ Fax: 212-944-1932 pinky@indiapost.com

Notice is hereby given that sealed competitive bids will be accepted at the Alameda County Social Services Agency Contracts Office, 2000 San Pablo Avenue, 4th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612 NETWORKING/NORTH COUNTY BIDDERS CONFERENCE RFP #ACSSA-FS 2012 単 Financial Software Upgrade & Support Services, Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 10:00 A.M. 単 Alameda County Social Services Agency, 2000 San Pablo Ave., 4th Floor, Tilden Conference Room, Oakland, CA NETWORKING/SOUTH COUNTY BIDDERS CONFERENCE RFP #ACSSA-FS 2012 単 Financial Software Upgrade & Support Services, Thursday, September 8, 2011, 1:30 P.M. 単 Alameda County Social Services Agency, 24100 Amador Street, 6th Floor, Shooting Star B (#638), Hayward, CA Responses Due by 3:00 pm on September 29, 2011 County Contact: Kathy Chen at (510) 267-9459 or via email: kchen@acgov.org Attendance at Networking Conference is Nonmandatory. Specifications regarding the above may be obtained at the Current Contracting Opportunities Internet website at www.acgov.org. 9/2/11 CNS-2160377#

Philosophy

48 India Post

September 2, 2011

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Page Sponsored by Sahanis SCOTT KILOBY

ost people I meet on the spiritual path have been buried in a life of doing, doing, and more doing. Constantly becoming . . . seeking. Thinking. Storytelling. Their identities are lodged right there in the thought stream, without the direct experience that this self identity might be a fiction. Their minds have been busy, on overdrive, trying to manage and control outcomes and make sense of their daily, hectic lives. Planning. Plotting. Organizing. Being upwardly mobile in their careers. Buying more gadgets. Working more. Trying so hard to have some financial security. Finding conflict in relationships and wondering why love is so conditional and fleeting. Some are just downright suffering, caught in a story that plays itself out in thoughts like, "I'm not good enough," or "What's the point of even continuing?" It's no wonder that so many are looking for peace and acceptance these days. A quietness of mind. An emotional and mental stability. And all of that is available on the nondual path. In fact, it is quite common for people to start recognizing a deep and profound peace of mind as they begin to recognize nondual awareness. The stories begin to lose their strength and reality. A joy and lightness SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV

uestion: At times I have this inner struggle that I am still missing out on many things in life by walking this path. How can I cope with this? Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: When this one thing is not fixed within you, then every moment is a struggle, because every moment has a doubt; "What shall I do? May be I am missing out, may be I am missing life, maybe this or that may not happen to me," all kinds of things. There are so many things that we don't know about, that other people may be doing. They may be eating, enjoying and doing many other things. Nathalie, have you ever eaten cockroach pickle? No, isn't it? You missed it? But for someone who has eaten it a few times and it is not available anymore, only he misses it. It is just the way we make it in our mind. Nobody is missing anything. It is just that you make it that way within yourself. "Oh I did not eat this. I didn't go snow skiing or disco dancing!" This is simply because you have made these things impor-

start showing up. A deep quietness of being can reveal itself as ever present. This is wonderful. Just to experience that exquisite peace. That really is enough. As some start to wind down in the story, they can start to lose a sense of personal motivation. It's common actually. The story "I must do" has been operating for so long. Its last remnants can appear and taunt us as we are recognizing this deep and profound peace of mind. The story

nowhere. You might even have a sense of 'no ambition' for a while. It's ok. You are ok. As that seeking and ego-based wanting and motivation falls away, this deep and profound peace, this perfection of being, starts to show up quite naturally. A deep well of abundance. Nothing is missing. At the same time, nothing seems totally real. Movement and doing cannot limit it anymore. The flow of life is seen as inseparable from presence.

the sense of the individual doer. It is not a prescription to never do anything again. That is not life, is it? Is anyone you know - even the greatest sage - doing NOTHING? Most teachers and sages I know are moving a lot, creating, teaching, sharing, developing. Before, when the story was your identity, it was all doing, doing, doing-to achieve personal goals, personal satisfaction. It was all me, me, me. Now, from this depth of peace,

The inseparability of Being and Doing Scott Kiloby

Being and doing were never really separate things. The non-doing that is talked about in some traditions is only a trick to help see through the sense of the individual doer

wants to pop back up and say, "But what about this?" "Shouldn't I be doing that?" "Don't I have a life purpose?" If you don't fall for these thoughts and, instead, let them pass, you come to this place of perfection, where you want nothing from life. You no longer feel like there is a self piloting the plane of life. For a while, this might feel sort of inert, as if you are going

Life starts to become a flow, absent the person who thought he or she could manage that flow. Movement and change start to be seen as inseparable from the immovable, changeless peace that you have discovered. You start to see that being and doing were never really separate things. The non-doing that is talked about in some traditions is only a trick to help see through

the next thing unfolds, then the next, then the next. The flow begins. But there is no personal self piloting the plane. There is only movement and change. At this point, you can't predict where it's going to go. Although you can tell a story about where your life has been and where it might go, you can't really control that. The flow is moving you. You are the flow.

tant in your mind. If you fix the goal of your life, you will not miss anything. All these vasanas are there within everybody. The past karmas have influences over you, they push you this way and that way. All your passions, all your desires, you can't fight with them. Don't ever try to fight with your passions and desires. Fighting with them

fighting them. Just educate your passions, educate your desires to flow in the right direction, that is all. You can never fight them. Fighting them will be futile, it will be a waste of life. Question: Master, I hope I never go mad. SJV: What makes you think that you are not mad right now? The limitations that you have set

way. Madness is just the ego. It needs some expression. Now a tremendous amount of time and energy is spent to cover your madness. One way of handling it is to cover it up. Another way is to transcend it. If you cover it up, you will only fool other people who will think that you are a perfectly balanced person; but you suffer for

Don't fight with your passions and desires Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

is like fighting the demon, Mahishasura. If one drop of his blood falls, a thousand Mahishasura rise up. Your desires and passions are just like this. If you try and fight with them, if you chop them, they will spill blood, and with every drop, a hundred or a thousand will come up. There is no point

Fighting with them is like fighting the demon, Mahishasura. If one drop of his blood falls, a thousand Mahishasura rise up upon yourselves, are they not madness? Madness does not necessarily mean that you have to take off your clothes, go on the street and run. Mad people are of different varieties. They need not necessarily be laughing and rolling or ranting and raving. Some mad people are very serious. Others are in some other

the madness that you cover up and keep within yourself. It will grow and you will pay the price for keeping it within. If you transcend this madness, there is something else which opens up, a new fragrance, a new light. The 54th birth anniversary of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev will be celebrated on September 3

I have found that a smile and a stick will carry you through all right, and in ninetynine cases out of a hundred it is the smile that does the trick. -Robert Powell The greatest productions of art, whether painting, music, sculpture or poetry, have invariably this qualitysomething approaching the work of God. -D.T. Suzuki A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. -John C. Maxwell Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem. -Jiddu Krishnamurti All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? -Buddha Life finds its purpose and fulfillment in the expansion of happiness. -Maharishi Mahesh Yogi So, to praise others for their virtues can but encourage one's own efforts. -Nagarjuna

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September 2, 2011

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India's nuclear doctrine is misguided moral pretence ALANKRITA SINHA

he Indian Nuclear Doctrine rests heavily on the con ceptual framework of nuclear deterrence, which is suited to the security environment of the Cold War era and is very different from the South Asian context. This disconnect between India's security imperatives and the adopted conception of nuclear deterrence may have arisen because India's nuclear doctrine was drafted in the aftermath of the international backlash post the 1998 Pokhran II tests. Hence, at the systemic level, India attempted to justify the nuclear tests by projecting a more defensive nuclear stance to evade being labeled an international belligerent. In doing so, India not only diluted the efficacy of its nuclear deterrence, but also sacrificed its conventional one at the altar of misguided moral pretence. South Asia: A Unique Paradigm Nuclear deterrence worked well for super-power rivalry during the Cold War because it was engineered to deal with threats which existed at that point in time. However, this is not so in the South Asian context. South Asia is characterized by three nuclear neighbors with unresolved territorial claims and ethnicities that spill over territorial borders. Geographical proximity, along with the geopolitics of the region, implies that 'threat' to sovereignty does not emanate merely from adversarial states. This fact is a major divergence from the Cold War scheme of threat perception. For example, a major threat for India since independence has been the tactical use of non-state actors as a part of its adversaries' overall strategy to destabilize India. This strategy undertaken by adversarial states has given rise to prolonged lowintensity conflicts between India and these states. The Cold War conceptualization of nuclear deterrence is not tailored to address either the question of non-state actors or that of low-intensity conflicts. Therefore, the framework which is supposed to guide India's strategic behavior is not equipped to consider the myriad possibilities that exist today. Identifying Loopholes: The Divide between conventional and nuclear deterrence India's nuclear doctrine borrows sufficiently from the theoreti-

cal Cold War premises of nuclear deterrence, but does not adequately contextualize it within the Indian security environment. Loopholes in India's nuclear deterrence arise because of this. Nuclear deterrence is supposed to deter adversarial states, not nonstate actors. A nuclear deterrent prevents inter-state conflicts, not low-intensity conflicts. However, the South

Asian scenario is characterized by both these anomalies, ones which 'nuclear deterrence' is traditionally not meant to address. It is because of this fact that the mere western conceptualization of nuclear deterrence is not enough in the South Asian context. Adopting the Cold War conception of nuclear deterrence, without fitting it within India's security environment, divides deter-

The Cold War conceptu-alization of nuclear deterrence is not tailored to address either the question of non-state actors or that of lowintensity conflicts rence into two clinical categories, conventional and nuclear. We as a state are expected to deter an adversary who relies on nuclear deterrence as an enhancement of their conventional capability; while our deterrence hinges on pure retaliatory purposes and that too only if we are first attacked by a nuclear weapon. As a result, India ends up diluting its nuclear deterrence as well as conventional deterrence. Cases to this point are the 1999

Kargil incident and the 26/11 terror attacks. Termed as a 'low-intensity conflict' the 1999 Kargil incident highlights how this division between conventional deterrence and nuclear deterrence abetted the failure of Indian deterrence as a whole. Moreover, even when the 26/11 terror attack was traced back to a particular state, India held back from even an offensive conventional posture. Thus, neither was our nuclear deterrence capable of deterring the adversarial state from indulging in a low-intensity conflict and sponsoring terrorism, nor was our conventional deterrence equipped with handling a nuclear adversary using sub-conventional means. As these conflicts form the bedrock of present day divergences in South Asia, the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence is hampered by the categorical division between nuclear and conventional. In such a case, India's nuclear doctrine must engineer the manner in which nuclear deterrence strengthens its overall deterrence by first taking into consideration the realities of its security environment. Incredulity of credibility Conventional wisdom suggests that both credibility and capability form equal parts of the nuclear threat on which nuclear deterrence rests. India has to realize that the credibility of its nuclear threat is continuously being challenged by the lack of an effective contextualizing of its nuclear doctrine which borrows Cold War nuclear deterrence to fit India's security environment. Moreover, it pre-supposes a clinical divide between conventional deterrence and nuclear deterrence. Therefore, nuclear deterrence as envisaged in the Indian nuclear doctrine is not tailored to fit the reality of security challenges that plague India, but is rather intended at fitting India's security challenges into a framework which is as alien to India now as it was back when 'nuclear deterrence' as a strategic term was coined. The idea of 'nuclear deterrence' thus becomes a double-edged sword for India, one which is as much pointed towards itself as it is pointed towards an adversary. The writer is Research Officer, IPCS

India Post Ego of a good man

t is a wonder to see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said to be a good man, so obdurate on the Lokpal Bill draft which supposedly tackles corruption in high places. Even after the overwhelming support demonstrated by the people of India, who poured out into the streets to rally in favor of Anna Hazare's fast, the PM seems to be standing on ceremony. His letter to Anna Hazare, appealing to him to break his fast, says everything except what was expected of him, to take action to bring all versions of the Lokpal Bill to parliament. One after one responsible people from all walks of life have been appealing to the Prime Minister to see sense and not delay such action any more. But he seems to be delegating responsibility to one colleague or another to deal with Anna Hazare and his team on their demands. He himself continues to stick to his aggressive stand that he has done what was proper to introduce the bill in parliament and now it is for the standing committee to decide what is to be done with the bill. He seems to be eager to wash his hands of the process to make it possible for parliament to discuss the bill. The government's own bill was torn apart in the House by the BJP as weak, insincere and inadequate. The non-NDA opposition parties also sat in dharna outside parliament opposing the government's draft and demanding a strong Lokpal Bill as the need of the hour. But it all seems to be falling on deaf ears. The Prime Minister is not an authoritative person at the best of times but now, in these difficult times, his apparent lack of control on the government's functioning is leading to a situation where things might go totally out of hand, if he is not careful. This is not the time to await due process nor to prolong the wait of the people for some tangible action. Instead of handing over charge to this or that negotiator the Prime Minister should himself take on the responsibility and assuage the people's fear that the government is averse to dealing with corruption, particularly in its own ranks. When the Prime Minister belatedly speaks in defense of the parliamentary process, it has been pointed out by many commentators and citizens as well as opposition leaders that it was the government itself which insulted the institution first by inviting the civil society leaders to discuss the Lokpal Bill but keeping out the opposition, a vital element of the parliamentary process. Again, now that the Prime Minister questions the right of civil society to write laws and claims it is the exclusive privilege of Parliament, then how does the government itself accord so much importance to the National Advisory Council (NAC) which is composed of civil society members who are in the good books of the government? So many previous laws including the Right to Information Act came about with contributions mainly from these civil society members. With the Prime Minister now objecting to pressure from Anna Hazare led civil society, how can he explain that civil society members in the government's pocket are acceptable but those agitating on behalf of the people of India are to be shunned? The Prime Minister should not now stand on ceremony but allow the views of all-comers from civil society to be presented to parliament and a proper debate be conducted. In this context a useful suggestion has come from an Independent MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar who has said that no party whips be issued during the debate and the MPs should be allowed to vote according to their conscience.

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