Indo-American News: June 21, 2024

The film celebrates life of Murlikant Petkar, who won India’s

Indian Railways conducted a train trial run on the new Chenab Rail Bridge, the world’s highest bridge. -- PAGE 5

Ekal youth volunteers gather for a group photo at the Houston gala. PAGE 4

Ekal ki Shaam: A Night of Music and Empowerment for Rural India

Houston: The Ekal Houston chapter brought an exclusive live fund-raising event – EKAL Ki Shaam – to Indian and Mashup music lovers in the Houston Metro area. The audience was entertained by an energetic band and delicious dinner on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The Houston team shared Ekal-inspired successes in India, including women empowerment, organic farming, digital literacy, health education/delivery, and child education. The event enabled Ekal to raise about $718,000 which covers funds for about 1000 plus schools and empowerment programs including tailoring centers, digital literacy, computer labs, organic farming education and health in the India’s rural villages which can empower about 60,000 young learners, male and female.

The event was held at the GSH Event Center of Houston. The overwhelming number of Ekal donors, patrons, and well-wishers socialized over a sumptuous dinner catered by Bhojan. The enthusiastic audience was entertained by Din Check – New England’s premier Bollywood band. Started in a basement in suburban Massachusetts in 2010, The band has been entertaining Indians for over 12 years now. The band has a full ensemble including vocalists, guitar, bass, keyboards, and acoustic drums, and is popular for its high-energy shows. Touching upon all genres, popular singers, and eras, the band appeals to people of all ages. Din Check’s repertoire spans multiple languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Gujarati, and unique fusions or “mashups” of popular American rock and Indian music. Special dance by Houston’s own Kajal Desai ( accomplished dancer and owner of Bollywood dance school for young budding artists) stood out as a special attraction.

After the dinner, the program was kicked off by Rajeev Aluru- Ekal Houston chapter President who welcomed the guests and dignitaries. The stage was then taken over by the energy of Din Check, presenting a bounty of new and old songs from multiple languages. The evening continued with short clips of Ekal activities in India preceded by a speech from our Regional President Yogi Patel. The evening continued with more music with the singers joining the dancing audience on the floor with on-the-spot medleys to further energize them.

The event would not have been possible without the support of our EKAL youth volunteers. Led by Abhay Kakumani, the EKAL youth were instrumental in the smooth running of the event, conducting registration, seating, and running the donation tables. The EKAL youth are the future of EKAL, and having so many young leaders coming out in support of EKAL gives us hope for a brighter future for our fellow children in India.

Finally, the event team wishes to convey a special thank you to the chief guests of the evening – Consulate General of India-Houston, elected representatives from Fort Bend County, Harris County, Yogi Patel, Ekal Southwest Regional President; Ekal volunteers; and Ekal Houston Chapter leadership, current and past.

Your donation will educate children, empower women with tailoring skills, nurture poshanvatika (organic farming) for healthy village life, help bring the tribal youth closer to city dwellers by giving digital education to them, and much more. We encourage you to support Ekal’s mission. You are just a click away from making that important contribution, go to https://www.ekal.org/us/donate and click the DONATE button on the top right of the page.

Ekal Vidyalaya stalwarts Kokila and Ramesh Shah in front of the rural setting created for the “Ekal ki Shaam” fund-raising event.

Some of the executive volunteers (front row) Rajeev Alllluru (front left), Prakash Shah and Yogi Patel, (back row) Pooja Shah, Sheetal Sashital, Srilatha Aluru, Darshna Patel, Vandita Joshi, Uma Dama, Urvashi Shah, Rashmi Nalgirkar

INDIA

In a First, Train Crosses Chenab Rail Bridge -- World’s Highest Railway Bridge

srinagar: The Indian Railways on Thursday conducted a successful train trial run on the newly constructed Chenab Rail Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge which connects Sangaldan in Ramban district to Reasi. Meanwhile the Indian Railways on Sunday, June 16 had successfully conducted engine trial run on Chenab Rail Bridge.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday announced the successful electric engine trial from Sangaldan to Reasi, which included crossing the Chenab Bridge.Vaishnav in his X post said that, “1st trial train has successfully run from Sangaldan to Reasi, including crossing the Chenab Bridge. All construction works for the USBRL are nearly finished, with only tunnel No.1 remaining partially incomplete.”

As the project nears its final stages, the commissioner of railways safety (CRS), D C Deshwal, is scheduled to conduct a two-day inspection of the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section on June 27 and 28. Deepak Kumar, chief public relations officer of Northern Railway, assured that all necessary work would be completed before the inspection.

The USBRL project, which spans 272 km, has faced significant challenges due to complex geological and topographical conditions. Since its inception

in 1997, 209 km of the route has been commissioned in phases. The remaining 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year, finally linking Kashmir with the rest of the country by rail.

Sources within the Railways indicate that the inaugural train between Sangaldan and Reasi is expected to commence on June 30, following the successful trial run.

Last month, Shobhan Chaudhuri, the General Manager of Northern Railway, inspected the Chenab

Bridge and the Bakkal-DuggarSawalkote-Sangaldan section to assess the project’s progress.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took to X to share the news: “The train service from #Ramban (Sangaldan) to #Reasi via the world’s highest railway bridge built on river Chenab to begin soon. The #Udhampur-SrinagarBaramulla Rail Link (#USBRL) project will be completed by yearend.”

Constructed over the Chenab river in the Kouri region of the

Reasi district, the bridge stands at over 1177 feet above the river bed. It features 93 deck segments and is a part of the much-anticipated 272-km-long railway line from Udhampur to Baramulla.

The bridge is 1315m long, making it the highest railway bridge in the world, 35 meters taller than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It is designed to withstand high wind speeds up to 266 Km/ Hour and bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V.

The bridge will remain operation-

al at a restricted pace of 30 Km/ hour even after removing one pier/ trestle. The bridge’s construction involved the fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Earthwork, 66,000 Concrete, and 26 Km of motorable roads. It is also highlighted that the Chenab bridge took more than 1,300 workers and 300 engineers to bring the project to fruition.

The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software is employed for structural detailing using structural steel suitable for -10°C to 40°C temperature. Chenab bridge has had to overcome several challenges; the geology, the harsh terrain, and the hostile environment are just a few of the difficulties the engineers and railway officials had to overcome to get to this point.

The bridge falls under the KatraBanihal stretch of the USBRL, which is the project’s most challenging part due to its complex topography and weather conditions. It will be the highest railway arch bridge in the world, and the USBRL will provide all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley from the rest of India for the first time since Independence.

The Northern Railway has announced that the train service from Ramban to Reasi will soon traverse this awe-inspiring bridge. Currently, trains operate on the Kanyakumari to Katra route.

Southwestern National Bank Selects 19th Consecutive Year Scholars

Houston: Southwestern National Bank has selected its 19th consecutive year Scholars. This year, the bank expanded the number of scholarship recipients from five to six to broaden the opportunities for deserving students and impact another individual’s life positively by providing them with resources and support to pursue their educational goals. Each winner will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship to support their respective college educations.

The selection process for these scholarships considered various factors, including academic excellence, participation in extracurricular activities, community service, and financial needs. Their scholars have demonstrated exceptional dedication and determination throughout their high school years.

Six of the Scholarship Recipients winners are:

Amanda Liu – William P. Clements High School

Avery Nongri – Obra D. Tompkins High School

Pia Saha – Stephen F. Austin High School

Indo American News

Founder: dr. K.L. sindwani

PubLisHer: JawaHar MaLHotra

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®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. Deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 212, Houston, Texas 77036.Tel:713-789-6397, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website:

Sowon Park – Elkins High School

Venness Tang – Elkins High School

Adelaide Clemence – William P. Clements HS

Southwestern National Bank has a long-standing history of service to local communities and is committed to fostering academic excellence and inclusivity by providing funds to students who exhibit the same commitment. Applications were accepted from students in Houston, Austin, and Dallas areas.

Amanda Liu

Avery Nongri

Pia Saha

Sowon Park

Veness Tang

Adelaide Clemence

Indian American Community Celebrates BJP Victory at GSH

Houston: To celebrate the stupendous performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections in India, the Indian American community in Houston hosted a celebration event to mark the occasion. Around 400 people joined the event and over 50 volunteers were recognised on stage for their efforts.

Various community leaders, volunteers and members of the Indian diaspora participated in this event. The event started with a presentation by the local team on the performance of the BJP in the elections. They went through the historic mandate and the vote

share received by the BJP. Along with that they also shared the speeches of PM Narendra Modi, Chandra babu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. The event took place at Friday night, June 7th, at GHS event centre. Modiji also visited Houston in 2019 for the “Howdy Modi” event and inaugurated this venue.

Speaking to the crowd, community leader Ramesh Shah spoke about his visit to over 110 villages in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh for campaigning. He said everywhere he went he saw and heard from the villagers about the development that happened under Narendra Modi, especially when it came to gas cylinders under the Ujjwala

scheme, and the Jan Dhan Yojana.

The presenters Shalini Kapoor and Megha Raja highlighted various facts about the phone call campaign initiated from Houston where volunteers stayed up all night and called people in India to highlight the development work done under PM Modi.

Shravanthi Thirunagari highlighted how in a mere few days with the help of volunteers how an app was developed and the efforts to call people was digitized.

One of the speakers, Haku Israni , who organised the first BJP event in Houston for Shri LK Advani. He spoke about the importance of media representation and how the bias in prominent western media

must be countered and corrected.

He also mentioned how coming together and working hard is the reason for the success of the event.

Event coordinators Achalesh Amar and Umang Mehta helped coordinate the event smoothly and recognized the hard work of all the volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the campaign.

Volunteers who went to India for the campaign in India – Ramesh Shah, Sudhi Seshachala, Prasad Gurajala , and Punit Shah – discussed their experiences and how PM Narendra Modi’s efforts positively impacted them.

Upcoming community leader Kapil Sharma took a humorous dig about the claims of the opposition

and highlighted some interesting facts to hammer home the point about the historic victory of the NDA alliance.

Sambit Pradhan and Swagatika Nayak – two representatives from Odisha – spoke about the breakthrough of BJP in their state in forming a government there and reasons behind the success.

The last speaker of the day, Suresh Patel was one of the few yoga teachers in the 1980s in Houston and he talked about the importance of celebrating International Yoga Day and highlighted the role of PM Modi in promoting the World Yoga Day.

BJP volunteers came on stage for a Victory Party group photo.

BJP volunteers Shalini Kapoor (left), Umang Mehta Suresh Patel and Ramesh Shah, and Megha Raja.

10th International Day of Yoga Celebrations with CG at Space Center

India CG DC Manjunath (top photo) leads celebrations of the 10th International Day of Yoga at the NASA Space Center in association with Rasa Yoga.

Hate-crime Perpetrator Pleads Guilty of Assault, Terroristic Threats

PLano: Esmeralda Upton of Plano, Texas pleaded guilty on Friday, June 14 to three counts of assault and one count of making terrorist threats over her unprovoked, racist attack on four Indian-American women. The hate crimes, captured on smartphone video, took place in the parking lot near the Sixty Vines restaurant in Plano on August 24, 2022.

As the four friends walked through the parking lot after their meal chatting with one another, Upton—a complete stranger to them all, accosted them. She screamed “I hate you fucking Indians.” As she now admits, during the encounter, she assaulted at least three of the women including Anamika Chatterjee, and threatened to shoot them—the terroristic threat to which Upton pleaded guilty.

Upton’s hate went viral, garnering widespread outrage throughout the world. The videos show Upton shouting at Ms. Chatterjee and her companions. “I hate you fucking Indians,” she screamed, “We don’t want you here!” .She called the friends “curry-ass bitches.”

When Ms. Chatterjee and the other women asked Upton to leave them alone, Upton yelled, “Go back to India!” and “If things are so great in your country, then stay there!”

Ms. Chatterjee and her three friends are all American citizens.

The videos also show Upton with her hand in her handbag, threatening to “blow your fucking curry—” and “fucking shoot your ass.”

After police finally arrived, according to a police report, Upton admitted she had hit Ms. Chatterjee and her friends, but claimed they were “videoing and saying all of this shit that I wasn’t doing,” adding, “That’s what they do. Just like the Black people.”

Following Upton’s guilty plea but before her sentencing, Ms. Chatterjee said the following to the Court, “The nightmare of August 24, 2022 will forever haunt me and my family. To be attacked for my race and appearance is very hard to get past. I have now lived in the United States for 25 years. This is where my children were born. To Esmeralda Upton, the perpetrator of this unprovoked attack against us, your hate-driven actions have affected me deeply.

the worst effect of what you did to me—that constant worry and anxiety. It continues to astonish me that a person with a minority background like yourself—which you bragged about during the incident—would behave like this, without a trace of shame.

My American-born children look like Indians. Because of your hatred and attack, I am now constantly scared for them. That’s

“And I no longer feel safe even talking with friends in a public area. You’ve affected my ability to just live a normal life and experience those normal moments of enjoyment without fear or worry.

“I have not gone back to the Sixty Vines restaurant since that day and don’t think I ever will. Your behavior cast a stain on that once-welcoming place for me. You are responsible for them losing my business.

“But my pride as a person of Indian origin remains intact. We value peace, family, education, righteousness, and the rule of law.

My faith in humanity as a whole is also not changed, because people of all races have shown me support and compassion after your attack.

The charges and conviction included a hate-crime specification under Texas law.

The court sentenced Upton to 40 days of incarceration at the Collin County jail, allowing her to serve on weekends, starting July 19, 2024. He warned her that if she fails to appear or shows up late even once, she will serve all of the time consecutively.

The sentence was part of a plea deal struck between the Collin County District Attorney’s office and Ms. Upton’s counsel. As

part of that deal, Upton also surrendered her concealed handgun license and will not be allowed to own a firearm for two years. Upton apologized to neither the court nor the victims of her racist crimes.

Ms. Chatterjee’s lead counsel, Subodh Chandra, said, “Upton’s failure to apologize today or express the slightest contrition shows that she’s not sorry in the least. Still, today’s guilty pleas and sentence to imprisonment of Esmeralda Upton are a step toward holding her accountable, not only as just punishment for her hate crimes, but so others are deterred from engaging in this type of reprehensible behavior.”

The pending civil suit against Upton brought by the victims states claims for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. Now that Upton has pleaded guilty, under Texas law she cannot escape civil liability on the assault-and-battery claims, and likely the intentionalinfliction-of-emotional-distress claim as well.

Ms. Chatterjee is represented by Subodh Chandra and Donald P. Screen of The Chandra Law Firm in Cleveland, with local Dallas counsel Bryan A. Garner and Karolyn H.C. Garner of Garner & Garner.

Hate-crime perpetrator Esmeralda Upton pleads guilty in Plano.

‘Chandu Champion’: Karthik’s Best Acting

by renuKa VyaVaHare

Story: Story: Based on a true story, the film celebrates the fascinating and surrealistic life of Murlikant Petkar, an army man and athlete, who won India its first Paralympic gold in 1972. His achievements and remarkable tryst with destiny lurked in anonymity, until he decided to claim the honour and respect he deserved.

Review: We often hear that it’s wise to leave the table if respect is not served. But what if you decide to sit at the table, compelling people to acknowledge your presence? Victory belongs to the most tenacious after all. Kabir Khan’s film celebrates this thought. It’s about building yourself as a champion, even when the world labels you as a chandu, chomu or looks at you as a laughing stock.

Oscillating between past and present, the story takes us through Petkar’s life, right from the 1950’s to 2018, when he was finally awarded the Padma Shri. We discover that the man who nurtured an Olympic dream since his childhood has a strange love-hate relationship with fate and God. He survived when he didn’t hope he would and was left devastated when he least expected. However, never defeated.

The film has Forrest Gump’s free flowing nature and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’s essence to it, but unlike the two, this one feels a tad rebellious without a pertinent cause or conflict. Being ridiculed unleashes Petkar’s aggression, giving an outlet to his talent and persistence. He dared to question the naysayers, ‘Hasta kayko hai’, which ignited the fire within him. Medal se izzat milti hai, he tells himself.

Most sports biopics follow athletes who pursue a certain sport and excel in it against the odds. Kabir Khan’s film feels different because it’s about a man who desperately wants an Olympic medal, for which he tries everything –Wrestling, boxing and swimming. Sounds preposterous and ridiculously ambitious but that’s the fun of it. Petkar makes you wonder if

being delusional to a certain level helps. Only then can you see yourself as a champion, even when no one thinks you are in the reckoning.

In many ways, Kartik Aaryan’s ambition to be taken seriously as an actor, coincides with the inner turmoil of the character he essays here. You almost hear him say, “Ae hasta kayko hai? Actor hai main actor.” Kabir Khan’s choice of leading man is a clever casting move. Kartik shows considerable restraint, spontaneity and brings a certain ease to his character that we haven’t seen from him before. He is impressively uninhibited in ‘Satyanaas’, a well-shot train song. Along with undergoing physical transformation, he does justice to the character’s emotional arc.

Bhuvan Arora deserves a special mention as Petkar’s likeable sidekick. Rajpal Yadav and Vijay Raaz add a lot of depth to the story with their presence. For a sports drama, the music could have been far more inspiring though.

Kabir Khan loves to make feel good cinema and CC (Chandu Champion) falls into that cat-

too. Be

Petkar, he

Dev

or

the best out of his mainstream actors. He loves to infuse humour, sports and earnestness into his stories, but he can dig deeper than that. There’s more focus on what happened to a person than their inner conflict. Things get monotonous and tiring beyond a point, making the climax less effective. CC is engaging and heartwarming even, but it seems to follow a template. Staying the course is fine, but breaking the rules is not a bad idea. -- TNN

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Send us the correct answer before June 26, 2024. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Recent Winners

Kumud Athavale, Krishna R. Vuddagiri, Sanchali Basu, Prabha Barvalia, Ramana Vadrevu, Yudhveer Bagga, Taranjit Singh, Rohini Mahajan, Tulasi Devireddy, Amit Shah, Arup Gupta, Champak Patel, Sahiti Palle, Prasun Allepalli, Prabhu Narumanchi

egory,

it Salman Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Ranveer Singh as Kapil

in 83

Kartik as

extracts

PNG Jewellers’ Outlet Robbed in Broad Daylight in Sunnyvale, CA BUSINESS

sunnyVaLe, Ca: Pune-headquartered PNG jewellers’ shop was robbed by 20 masked men in United States in broad daylight. Five people have been arrested in the case, the police said.

CCTV footage of the incident that lasts for over two minutes has gone viral on social media showing armed men with ‘hammers’ breaking into the jewellery shop.

“Shocking video of a smash and grab robbery involving hammers and tools at Sunnyvale’s PNG Jewelers USA.Police say they’ve made five arrests and are looking for more suspects”, an X account that posted the video of the incident wrote.

Silicon Valley authorities held a meeting on Friday with leaders and members of the IndianAmerican community in response to a series of robberies targeting Indian jewelry businesses, promising decisive measures against the perpetrators.

Incidents of three high-profile robberies have been reported in Sunnyvale, California.

Police Chief Phan Ngo provided essential safety tips to business owners to prevent future incidents and reassured the community of stringent actions against criminals. He also announced increased police patrols to bolster security in the area.

A hoard of about 20 burglars, who kept their faces hidden under masks and hoodies, used hammers to break into the PNG Jewelers USA store, in Sunnyvale, California in broad daylight on June 12.

Police arrived at the scene about an hour later, with officers able to catch five suspects after police spotted two getaway vehicles still in the area, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

Scenes straight out of a movie played out at a jewellery shop in California. The crime committed in broad daylight in the Golden State by group of 20 robbers is going viral.

A CCTV footage which surfaced from the Pune-based PNG Jewellers outlet shows the masked robbers dressed in black were seen ransacking and smashing the glass open to grab the valuables.

The entire incident lasted a little more than two minutes. Reports

say the robbery was timed at 1:27 pm local time on June 12.

According to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS), the suspects fled the store in multiple vehicles immediately after the heist. The police quickly responded, locating two suspect vehicles attempting to flee the area. While tracking one of the vehicles, the suspects discarded some of the stolen jewellery from the moving car.

Reports say five were apprehended by the police and charged with various offenses, including armed robbery, burglary and vandalism.

While some of the stolen jewellery has been recovered, the total value of the heist remains un-

known at this time.

CCTV footage shows a large group of masked individuals storming the store in the Sunnyvale area before fleeing in multiple vehicles, wielding sledgehammers and shattering display cases. The heist was executed within minutes.

Shocking video of a smash and grab robbery involving hammers and tools at Sunnyvale’s PNG Jewelers USA. Police say they’ve made five arrests and are looking for more suspects.

The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported that the robbery occurred at approximately 1:27 pm on June 12 (local time).

“The suspects fled the store in

multiple vehicles before officers arrived on the scene. Officers located two suspect vehicles attempting to flee the area. Officers attempted vehicle enforcement stops, but both vehicles evaded, leading to pursuits,” the police statement said.

While tracking one of the vehicles, the suspects discarded stolen jewellery from the moving vehicle. Later, the suspects abandoned the vehicle on a highway, and five of them attempted to flee on foot.

However, all five were apprehended by the police and charged with various offences, including armed robbery, felony vehicle evasion, resisting arrest, burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime, vandalism, possession of burglary tools, and outstanding warrants.

Five people were arrested for the robbery. (Photo: Sunnyvale Police)

Some of the stolen jewellery has been recovered. The total value of the stolen jewellery remains unknown at this time.

“This incident remains under investigation. Investigators are trying to determine if this incident is related to the robbery of a jewellery store in Sunnyvale that occurred in May involving multiple suspects,” the official added.

Following the incident, authorities in California held a meeting on Friday with members of the Indian-American community and promised stern action on the matter.