Sat february issue 2014

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CELEBRATING 11th YEAR OF PUBLICATION

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South Asia Times Vol.11 I No. 7 I february 2014 I FREE

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s o u t hasiatimes.com.au Editor: Neeraj Nanda

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community thumbs up for iffm 2014!

OCI/PIO to be replaced by ‘Overseas India Card’

Read on page 5

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Read on page 7

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from the editor

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South Asia Times

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Neeraj Nanda M: 0421 677 082 satimes@gmail.com

EDITOR (Hindi Pushp)

Dr. Dinesh Srivastava dsrivastava@optusnet.com.au

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South Asia Times (SAT) is a monthly newspaper published in English (2 pages in Hindi) from Melbourne, Australia. Contributors supply material to SAT at their own risk and any errors will be corrected as quickly as possible. SAT does not accept responsibility for the authenticity of any advertisement, text content or a picture in the publication. No material, including text or advertisements designed by the SAT or pictures may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the editor/publisher. Opinions/ stories/reports or any text content are those of the writers/contributors and not necessarily endorsed by the SAT.

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community thumbs up for iffm 2014!

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By Neeraj Nanda

elbourne: The Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2014 is getting big community support with thousands of people clicking its website and expressing support despite a dirty but failed campaign aimed at discrediting it. Bollywood diva Vidya Balan is returning as brand ambassador and the festival will take place from May 1 to May 11. So, it is going to be a tsunami of Indian films of all Indian languages laced with the presence of prominent and popular film stars including big wigs from the Indian film industry.

Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher said the Victorian Coalition Government was committed to promoting Victoria’s film industry and pursuing strong trade and cultural links with India.

“The Coalition Government is committed to strengthening ties between the Victorian and Indian screen industries and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is a marvellous way of bring our two cultures together,” Ms Asher said.

“I will also be leading Victoria’s sixth large-scale trade mission to India in March, which, together with the festival, celebrates the evolving understanding and co-operation between our two communities.

“I am especially delighted that Vidya Balan will return as the festival’s ambassador this year, and will be here to officially launch the festival program in March.

“Ms Balan has won India’s National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and five Screen Awards. She was also awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her services to the entertainment community, which is a great honour.”

Mr. Intaj Khan, Councillor Wyndham & Chair Economic Development supporting the festival said, “The IFFM is a great honour to the community done by the Victorian government. It strengthens the ties between Australia and India and people will get to know Indian culture and the talent the Indian

film industry has and give opportunity to Australians to work with it.”

“Mitu Bhowmick, Director of the festival is doing what actually a business should do for enhancing business from overseas, Intaj Khan told SAT. Natasha Chaku, Press Trust of India (PTI) correspondent in Australia told SAT, “IFFM is a hallmark event of Indian Australians as well as Bollywood. It brings new season into the life of the community. Concerns over funding as raised by a section of community members need to be raised at the right platforms with the state government.”

“We’re looking forward to working with the Victorian Government, Mitu Bhowmick and all stakeholders in making successive Film Festivals a success and a testimonial that multiculturalism is a strength in our state of Victoria,” Mr Vasan Srinivasan President Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV) said in a recent statement.

The festival is now in its third year and has consistently brought the best of Indian and regional cinema, and high-profile industry guests to Melbourne, generating huge interest and value for our local businesses and communities.

Ms Asher said the festival will host prominent Indian filmmakers and screen professionals, highlight the depth and diversity of Indian cinema and provide an interactive program of master classes.

“This year, for the first time, the festival will present five international awards, adding an exciting competition element to the program while celebrating and recognising the diversity and craft of Indian cinema", MS Asher.

Mr. Arun Sharma, Chairman Celebrate India told SAT, “I didn't have any idea about problems with the Indian Film Festival. I believe this is a great addition to the Indian and Victorian cultural calendar. We attended the last couple of festivals and enjoyed the variety of films and witnessed large community support. It appears some people in our community have a bad attitude and they like to wash the dirty laundry in public without realising that

Thumbs up for the IFFM 2014! it is our community's image which is getting spoiled. “ “I urge these people who are unhappy with anyone to please approach them directly, with the help of other community leaders if need be but do not go outside the community. Please also stop running to the non Indians and the government bodies as that makes us nothing but a laughing stock. Just remember that it takes a very long time to build but can be destroyed in one false move,” he said.

Mr. Nawal Mudgal, who runs the School of Indian Music & Dance Australia (SIMDA) and has worked in Bollywood for many years says, “IFFM is a crown event showcasing Indian-Australian cinema relations to the world. This festival is an opportunity for film lovers to enjoy this beautiful medium.”

“We are grateful to the Victorian government and the Victorian film industry for supporting the Indian film industry with this festival, Nawal told SAT. Mr. Narendra Garg of Craigieburn and active at

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the Durga Temple told SAT, “I support the IFFM and feel it improves Indo-Australian relations.”

“It’s a good medium to bring the people and cultures of Australia and India together”, he said.

Mr. Rashid Sultan, prominent literary figure talking to SAT summed up the issue on a rather positive note.

He said, “IFFM has become a very important feature of the culture almanac of the cultural capital of Australia. It is covered by the mainstream media with fill vigour and why not India is the largest film producing country. The festival provides a forum to showcase our talents in the realm of films like our scientists in the field of science the world over."

SAT is one of the media sponsors of the festival along with Indian Link and G’day India and other mainstream sponsors.

The 2014 festival will be delivered by the Mind Blowing Films.

For further information go to: www.iffm.com.au

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Indian student numbers in Australia continue to climb

By News Desk

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ew Delhi: Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling, has welcomed a sharp increase in the number of Indians applying for student visas to Australia.

The latest immigration figures show 4148 Indians made offshore applications for student visas between July and September last year – more than double the figure for the same period in 2012, says a media release of the Australian High Commission in New Delhi.

More than 90 per cent of Indians who applied for student visas were successful, compared with 74 per cent in 2012.

“These figures show that an increasing number of Indian students are being drawn to Australia’s world class higher education system,” Mr Suckling said.

“Just as important, they show that far fewer Indian students are being

refused visas, and that recent changes designed to enhance the competitiveness and quality of Australia’s international education

sector are working.

“Australia welcomes Indian students, who make a vital contribution to both academic life and the communities in

which they live.”

The student visa program quarterly report also demonstrates that Australian Government officials are dealing effectively with increased demand.

“Seventy-five per cent of offshore applications by Indians were processed within 29 days, and 50 per cent were processed within 20 days.

More than 10 per cent of all student visas granted in the three month period went to Indian nationals. India remains the second largest source of overseas students in Australia after China, “the release says.

“Australia provides an academic environment that has been internationally recognised as secure, culturally diverse and intellectually rewarding," added the High Commissioner.

“It’s clear that Indian students agree - and they are voting with their feet.”

A copy of the report can be accessed from: www.immi.gov.au/media/ statistics/study/index.htm

New App challenges every day racism

By News Desk

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elbourne, 22 January: A new app which encourages people to live for a week in the life of an Aboriginal man, a Muslim woman, an Indian student as they experience various scenarios of racial prejudice and which was jointly sponsored by Deakin University, was launched today. (Wednesday, January 22) Deakin University’s expert on racism and anti racism, Associate Professor Yin Paradies, said the app, developed with partners - the national anti-racism charity All Together Now, the University of Western Sydney and University of Melbourne drew on the reallife experience of Aboriginal men, Muslim women and Indian students, who shared their own stories of everyday racism, to develop the app.

“Everyday Racism is

insidious because it is infused in the recurring aspects of our lives we don’t think about such as talk (including jokes), ringtones, memes, and behaviour, rather than the extreme incidents we are more familiar with,” he explained.

“In Australia race and/ or ethnicity and/ or religion are also used to denigrate another person’s beliefs or practices.

“This is what makes the everyday Racism app so valuable because it highlights the debilitating effects this form of racism can have.”

Associate Professor Paradies, who works in the University's Centre for Citizenship and Gobalisation heads up research teams looking at everyday racism and bystander racism.

“The app takes players through various scenarios challenging them to respond to instances of racial prejudice, from teasing or verbal abuse, to being ignored while ordering

a coffee, or missing out on a promotion due to the character’s cultural background.

“Our challenge is this: ‘could you live for seven days experiencing the types of prejudices our game characters do?” he said.

“How does this make you feel?

“How do you think this would affect you if it went on 365 days of the year?”

All Together Now’s Managing Director Priscilla Brice said the app was the first in Australia.

“No one else in the world has done something quite like this, in a game format,” she said.

“The app is immersive and evocative, and it’s designed to make you question your beliefs and attitudes.”

Everyday Racism is available for free on the Apple App Store and the Android Market. It is also available for download via everydayracism.org.au Source: Deakin University

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The latest immigration figures show 4148 Indians made offshore applications for student visas between July and September last year – more than double the figure for the same period in 2012, says a media release of the Australian High Commission in New Delhi.

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Three Oz authors attend Jaipur Literary Festival

By News Desk

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ew Delhi, 22 January: Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling, has congratulated the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival (January 17-21) on another successful event in 2014.

Mr Suckling said the five-day festival, with participants from around the world, showcased the strong cultural connections and people-to-people links between Australia and India.

“The festival helped illuminate the historical, political and intellectual bonds between our two countries, as well as providing a platform for some fascinating broader debates,” Mr Suckling said.

India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the Australian High Commissioner jointly launched the Australia India Institute’s Foreign Policy Series at the Festival.

“This series will offer

India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the Australian High Commissioner jointly launched the Australia India Institute’s Foreign Policy Series at the Festival. important insights for understanding India’s place in the world, including its relationship with Australia,” Mr Suckling said.

“The public’s appetite for concise, accessible and intellectually stimulating analysis on Australia and India is growing rapidly, much like the broader

bilateral relationship.”

Three Australian authors – Peter Stanley, Jack Turner and Robyn Davidson – took part in the festival, and delighted crowds with their stories, analysis and anecdotes, says a Australian High Commission release.

“The Australian authors were warmly received at

Jaipur Literature Festival, which is going from strengthto-strength,” Mr Suckling said.

Australia and India’s longtime defence co-operation was highlighted during a session with Australian military historian Peter Stanley, who spoke about Australians and Indians

working hand in hand during the First World War. Peter is writing a book 'Indians at Gallipoli' due for publication in 2015 and will return to New Delhi later this year to take part in a forum on Australian and Indian involvement in the conflict.

—SAT News Service

OCI/PIO to be replaced by ‘Overseas India Card’

By Rajeev Sharma & Neeraj Nanda

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ew Delhi/Melbournei: The Indian government is all set to create a new status for non resident Indians (NRIs) abolishing the current Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and creating a new ‘Overseas Indian Card’. The aim probably is to have one status for NRIs instead of the two prevailing.

A story in the Economic Times “Indians overseas upset over government proposal to scrap PIO & OCI cards” By Ishani Duttagupta (8 Feb., 2014) says, “ The Bill, dubbed amendment to Citizenship Act, has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha and is likely to come up before the Lok Sabha for passage in the current parliament session. “ In recent times many Indians who took foreign citizenship but wanted to continue their emotional relationship with India were happy to get an OCI, which essentially was a lifelong visa to enter and exit India but not dual citizenship.

Though initially it was thought the OCI was ‘duel citizenship’. But the Indian constitution does not allow ‘dual citizenship’.

Indian missions have been encouraging NRIs to take up OCI to avoid last moment rush for Indian visas which are costly and

take time. But the new status one fears may create confusion among those having PIO/OCI and at ports of entry into India.

Enough confusion is already there on the meanings of many categories of NRIs.

Will the conversion to the new ‘Overseas Indian Card’ be free or people will have to dig deep into their pockets remains to be seen.

Past experience shows a hefty fee may be likely. This will create unnecessary rush to Indian

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diplomatic missions with massive paperwork. Naturally, the private companies where diplomatic paperwork for visas etc. is outsourced will have a windfall of income.

—SAT News Service

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Oz High Comm. in Delhi launches 6 new titles by the Australia India Institute

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By News Desk

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aipur: The Australian High Commissioner to India, His Excellency Patrick Suckling, has launched six new exciting titles in the Australia India Institute’s series of published books.

The Australia India Institute, based at the University of Melbourne, is Australia’s leading centre for the study of India and promotes dialogue, research and partnerships between the world's two leading democracies. Its extensive publication program includes seven books and several research papers as well as Task Force Reports.

At the Jaipur Literature Festival, Mr Suckling joined Australia India Institute Director Amitabh Mattoo in launching a series of titles, which offer important insights for understanding India’s place in the world, and its relationship with Australia.

Australia India Institute Artist-in-Residence Robyn Davidson also addressed the festival on “Restless Women” and “Footloose”; a seminar on travel writing.

The following titles were launched on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 16:30 IST at Front Lawns, Diggi House, Sawai Ram Singh Road, Jaipur Amitabh Mattoo and

Mallika Joseph, Rise of China and India: Implications for the AsiaPacific, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 Amitabh Mattoo and Souresh Roy, India-Australia Relations in the Asian Century: Perspectives from India and Australia, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 Amitabh Mattoo and Happymon Jacob, India and the Contemporary

International System: Theory, Policy and Structure, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 Happymon Jacob, Does India Think Strategically?

Institutions, Strategic Culture, and Security Policies, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 Mallika Joseph and Happymon Jacob, India's Economic Growth: Opportunities and Challenges

for the Region, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 Mallika Joseph, Demography in South Asia: Implications for Regional and Global Political Narratives, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014 For more information, or interviews on these exciting titles, contact Alexandra Hansen alexandra.hansen@ unimelb.edu.au +61 (3) 90358681 +61481 014 107

Indians surge in 457 visas

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ELBOURNE: Indians topped the list of temporary work (skilled) visa receivers in Australia during the first six months of the current financial year, according to latest official data.

The data released by the Immigration Department showed that Indians represented over 23 per cent of total 'subclass 457 visa' granted by it during July-December 2013, reports PTI. "The top three citizenship countries for primary visa grants in the 2013-14 programme year to 31 December 2013 were India at 23.4 per cent follwed by the UK at 18.6 per cent and Ireland at 7.9 per cent," it said.

Indians topped the list in the category of primary applications granted under nominated positions located for Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.

The only two regions where Indians followed other nationalities were in South

Australia and Northern territory.

The number of primary visa holders in Australia during the six months till December last stood stood at 90,780, which was 8.3 per cent higher compared with the same period in the previous year with the UK topping the category.

The top three industries for primary visa grants were Other Services at 14.0 per cent, Accommodation and Food Services at 12.9 per cent and Information Media and Telecommunications at 10.2 per cent.

The largest occupation for primary subclass 457 visa grants were cooks, which represented 5.7 per cent of total primary grants. This was an increase from 4.0 per cent when compared to the same period in the previous year.

Cafe or Restaurant Managers recorded the second largest primary visa grants at 4.4 per cent of total primary visa grants.

They were followed by Developer Programmer at 3.1 per cent of total primary visa grants.

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The Australia India Institute, based at the University of Melbourne, is Australia’s leading centre for the study of India and promotes dialogue, research and partnerships between the world's two leading democracies.

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South Indian Film Festival in Melbourne soon!

By News Desk

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elbourne: With popularity for anything Indian soaring, the South Indian film industry and Marathi film industry are all set to have a South Indian Film Festival in Melbourne. The Victorian Coalition government had encouraged trade and cultural relationship between India and Australia and the planned South Indian Film Festival is an off shoot of that initiative.

“The success of Indian Film Festival Melbourne over the years and the upcoming one in May this year indicate the element of interest generated in the community for movies from all the regions of India and the subcontinent in Australia, Mr. Ravi Ragupathy, who is behind the proposed South Indian Film Festival, told SAT. "Kochadayan" star Rajnikanth and Latha Rajnikanth and their daughter are being considered for the South Indian Film Festival here, indicate sources.

“The festival will require

Ravi sitting with actress Rojas daughter and Mr. R.K. Selvamani - Director and Producer , and Actor Mr. Rajnikanth Daughter Ms. Soundarya, Actor Mr. Vijay and Actor Mr. Vikram and Mr. Cine Baskar PRO of entire South Film Industry Connection supporting the proposed South Indian Film Festival in Melbourne and Sydney. a massive effort from the local community and we are seeking prominent Indian organisations to lobby the Victorian Government in making this a reality,” says Ravi Ragupathy.

Anyone interested or from

the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi communities can contact MR. RAVI RAGUPATHY on 0421 655 191 or e mail raviaustra143@gmail.com for more information.

—SAT News Service

NSW targets Indian travellers with ‘Jhappi Time’ (Hug time) digital campaign

By News Desk

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Sydney: India is a fast growing economy and its tourism market is also growing at a fast pace. Anywhere in the world Indians can be seen as tourists. They are frequent travellers and never miss a chance to visit a new tourist spot. 50 million outbound travellers are projected from India by 2020. To tap this growing tourist market, the New South Wales (NSW) government has decided to take the plunge. A new digital marketing campaign by Destination NSW showcases the best of Sydney and NSW to Indian visitors.

The landmark campaign, called ‘Jhappi Time’ or ‘hug time’, is the first campaign developed and executed by any Australian tourism body, to specifically target the visiting friends and relatives market, in India.

“The campaign features four ‘Bollywoodstyle’ vignettes directed by Bollywood director and Head of Films and TV for the Australian India Film Fund, Mr Anupam Sharma, set in various popular tourist locations around NSW including Sydney, Manly Beach and the Blue Mountains. A cast of local Indian dancers, actors and musicians feature in the campaign, “a media release says.

Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase, described the campaign as a creative and industry first that will ensure Indian travellers will have NSW front of mind when they plan their Australian holiday.

“Destination NSW has worked with leading Bollywood film director and Australian

filmmaker, Anupam Sharma, to create a fun, completely unique and culturally authentic campaign that will appeal directly to Indian travellers’ love of family, fun and good times,” Ms Chipchase explained.

“More than one third of Indian visitors come to New South Wales to spend time with their loved ones, so we are tapping into the enormous potential of the ‘Visiting Friends & Relatives’ market segment in NSW. “With our stunning harbour, great beaches, wonderful food and wine, and unique regional attractions, ‘Jhappi Time’ will show Indian travellers that they will enjoy some of their best travel experiences – and holiday moments – here in NSW.” In launching the campaign recently, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said the cam-

paign aims to build on the State’s reputation as the key destination for Indian travellers to Australia.

“Sydney is the number one Australian destination for Indian travellers, with Regional NSW growing in popularity among tourists from India,” he said.

“India is one of the State’s most important tourism, trade and business investment markets, and ‘Jhappi Time’ will enhance tourism from India, which is currently worth an estimated $183 million a year to the NSW economy.”

In the year ending September 2013, NSW received 77,664 visitors from India who spent 3.6 million nights in the State.

Told against the backdrop of famous landmarks in Sydney and around NSW, the ‘Jhappi

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Time’ vignettes feature actors and leaders of the Indian community in NSW including Mala Mehta OAM, Head of GOPIO Lucky Singh, Founder of TiE Dilip Rao and two finalists of Australia’s first Bollywood reality show, SBS’s Bollywood Star.

The four vignettes include the stories of: Sikh parents wanting to visit their daughter who is studying at the University of Sydney; a husband and wife missing their adult children who all live in Sydney; a woman who is becoming a grandmother for the first time and wants to visit her new grandchild in Sydney; and a young woman who wants to visit her best friend who lives in Sydney.

The vignettes will be shown in India through digital media as well as through cinema advertising, where they were tested across different demographics, and will support in- market industry partners and travel wholesalers to promote travel packages and airfare offers to Indian travel agents and visitors.

The vignettes are supported in Australia through an online marketing campaign including shareable postcards featuring some of NSW’s tourism hot spots, as well as on Destination NSW’s sydney.com and in.sydney. com websites and its social media platforms.

Last month Sydney’s Facebook and Google+ pages both reached one million followers, a first for any Australian city.

The campaign has also been launched in India.

—SAT News Service

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Maharaja Express: Luxury, nostalgia, fascinating destinations

By Rajiv Sharma, New Delhi & Neeraj Nanda, Melbourne

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f you care for nostalgia of a bygone era with a modern luxurious train journey deep into the soul of India, then Maharaja Express is your natural choice. Visiting India can become a new experience with this royal experience laced with world famous destinations that will defy your expectations.

Redefining luxury train travel since 2010, Maharajas' Express is the latest and most luxurious train in India. Offering 5 fascinating journeys crisscrossing some of the most vibrant destinations, significant attractions and offering a vista of breathtaking landscape, culture and heritage with which India is blessed; Maharajas' Express offers journeys to the very depth of the soul of India in sheer opulence.

Designed to recreate the elegance and pageantry of the personal carriages of erstwhile maharajas, the interiors of this luxury train in India is suffused with nostalgia. Elegance of a bygone era and state of

the art amenities coalesce seamlessly to offer 5 Star living in the quaint interiors of the Maharaja Express.

Taking to SAT India correspondent Rajiv Sharma, Mr.Vineet Singh, Group General Manager (services) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism

Corporation Ltd said, “The Maharaja Express is the first in the world to have four categories of accommodation, online water filtration system, individual climate control in cabins, largest passenger cabins, largest window sizes, live TV, CCTV

cameras etc.�

There are 14 guest carriages which constitute plush accommodation for guests. 20 deluxe cabins, 18 junior suites, 4 suites and a truly classy Presidential Suite spanning over entire carriage exude finesse previously unseen in train

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carriages. All cabins have their individual climate control and are equipped with amenities such as bathroom, Wi-Fi internet, electronic safe, live TV with satellite channels and direct dial phones. Dining facilities aboard Maharajas'' Express train offered in

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2 suave restaurants each with a seating capacity of 44 guests at a time.

Dining experience during Maharajas' Express is a gourmet's delight with menu including authentic Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisine among others. Food prepared from fresh ingredients by top chefs is tastefully presented for the platter of the guests. Besides on board restaurants, dining at some of the top 5 star heritage hotels during the journey ensure that guests get to savor the best of Indian and international cuisines.

Other on board facilities include a well stocked bar with refined interiors and laid back ambience, a observation lounge with library and personal bar and a high-end boutique with exquisite creations.

Mr Vineet said, “Our major clients are from the US, UK, Spain, Australia, Latin America, Germany, Russia, Japan and many Indians.”

“Top Microsoft people, Russian oil barons, stars from the Harry Potter movie etc. have been some of our big shot clients,” he said.

With world class amenities, exquisitely designed interiors, gastronomic dining and vibrant on board ambience, Maharajas' Express journeys are invariably suffused with romance, adventure and style.

Chugging along some of the most scenic landscapes, most alluring cities and offering an insight of India like no other journey, Maharajas' Express unravels the confounding Kaleidoscope of India bringing out the million

images of tigers, snake charmers, spirituality, mountains, jungles, deserts, forts, palaces, dances, cuisines, romance and dreams. Welcome aboard for a rediscovery of India on a journey like no other on earth in a train like no other.

History

Way before Indian royalty fell in love with the motor car; they were enthralled by Sir James Watt's creation.

An object of perennial fascination and amusement the steam engine has been a part of the lives of kings and queens in various avatars.

Over here, we list a few that tell the tale of a more genteel era that has gone by.

With the passage of time, all the princes vied with each other to display their ostentatious carriages.

Maharaja Gaekwad of Vadodara not content with gifting his son a toy train, went on to install a royal throne in his personal coach. As a matter of fact, the Nizam of Hyderabad's private railway car was covered with thin strips of ivory and had solid gold hardware. As a child, yuvraj or prince Madhav Rao Scindia was fascinated by the railway train.

Seeing this, his father the Maharaja built a two mile rail track on his palace grounds. One would often see the little prince taking his friends on a joy ride on the palace grounds on his special locomotive that ran on a two feet gauge track.

The palace grounds on his special locomotive that ran on a two feet gauge track.

It was around 1880, that the princely states in India took the initiative to lay their own railway lines

with contributions from their own exchequers. But Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur had his own little railway, a year in advance.

The Raika Bagh Palace was probably the first railway station in India! Even when it came to the state of Vadodara, the passion for the railway was intense. As a birthday gift, Maharaja Pratapsinh Gaekwad gifted his five year old son, Ranjit Singh Gaekwad (the present Maharaja of Vadodara), a fully functional toy train that ran on ten inch gauge rails !

Current salons of the Maharajahs Express are designed to recreate the same old panache of the personal carriages of Indian Maharajahs. Each of the cabins including the dining coupes is suffused with nostalgia of past grandeur.

Quaint décor fused together with the contemporary amenities create an aura of sheer opulence and 5 Star pampering inside the cabins of Maharaja Express. Maharajas' Express train consists of 23 coaches and has a total passenger capacity of 88.

Plush facilities such as 2 restaurants, spa salon, bar, lounge, fitness center and business center redefine the art of luxury train travel on board Maharajas' Express.

Journeys

The Maharajas' train comes with 5 pan-India itineraries, each offering a peek into a unique aspect of the Kaleidoscope that is India. The itineraries which are referred to as the Indian Panorama, Heritage of India, Indian Splendor, Treasures of India and Gems of India, traverse across mesmerizing landscapes, some of the

most alluring destinations and illumine the eclectic mélange of intricate tapestry connecting this incredible country, the true essence of India. The journeys:

Heritage of India

Mumbai - Ajanta – Udaipur - Jodhpur - Bikaner - Jaipur - Ranthambore Agra - Delhi -(Covering 3285 Kms) Discover the bustling commercial city of Mumbai and the national Capital Delhi. Admire the beautiful cave paintings at Ajanta, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the shimmering Lake City of Udaipur and the majestic fort at Jodhpur and enjoy sundowner on the sand dunes at Bikaner.

Soak in the colorful Pink City of Jaipur. See from close quarters the legendry tigers at Ranthambore and one of the Seven Wonders of the World 'The Taj mahal' all this and more in utmost luxury.

Treasures of India

Delhi - Agra Ranthambore - Jaipur - Delhi -(Covering 859 Kms) On these journeys visit the world's greatest monument of love- The Taj Mahal, spot the elusive tiger in Ranthambore National Park, soak up the spectacular regal heritage of Rajasthan at Jaipur.

Gems of India

Delhi - Agra Ranthambore - Jaipur Delhi This whirlwind tour itinerary spanning over 96 hours brings out the best of the Mughal and Rajputana.

Attractions include some of

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the most stunning marvels of Indo-Islamic architecture including the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra.

The Indian Panorama

Delhi - Jaipur Ranthambore - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra - Gwalior - Orchha - Khajuraho Varanasi - Lucknow - Delhi -(Covering 2307 Kms) Explore the hidden treasures of India! Embark on an unforgettable escapade that starts off with the capital city of Delhi. Make your way through the sacred city of Varanasi and cruise on the River Ganges to observe ancient spiritual rites. Witness the immortal beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra, the sensuous moods of the temples of Khajuraho, the elegance and imperial splendour in Lucknow and the wilderness of the Ranthambore National Park.

The Indian Splendor

Delhi - Agra Ranthambore - Jaipur Bikaner - Jodhpur - Udaipur - Balasinor - Mumbai -(Covering 2767 Kms) In this journey visit the world's greatest monument of love the Taj Mahal, spot the elusive tiger in Ranthambore National Park, soak up the spectacular regal heritage of Rajasthan in its magnificent forts, vibrant Bazars and the Royal cuisine. The journey will leave you with everlasting memories of a unique mix of Culture, History and Folklore.

Booking, Terms & Conditions @ http:// maharajaexpress-india.com/ —SAT News Service

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Melbourne Durbar

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By Desi Oz

The best story

A

journalist friend recently assisted the SBS Dateline program for six days shooting the alleged Park Street and Madhyamgram gang rape cases in Trinamool Congress ruled West Bengal. The SBS journalist doing the shoot was telling his supervising producer that now West Bengal seems to be the worst state in India as far as women are concerned, the friend discloses.

The police have arrested two guys alleged to have set the raped girl on fire when they were not at the

spot at all and have solid alibis. The Aussie guy was stunned! My friend actually got the information and broke it to SBS and he was excited to film the people with whom they were on that day. He admitted that courtesy my friend the SBS got the best story.

But the unfortunate part was the Indian media was also exposed to the story but they never bothered to meet those people! The only exception was the Indian Express.

My friend tells the first alleged gang rape was a fact but the second one was made up as no rape

is mentioned in the police complaint and the girl actually set herself on fire while she were having a quarrel with a neighbour who insulted her .Though the accused's brother took them to the hospital and was there throughout the day she being out of her mind gave the two names The DIG CID Damayanti Sen who had cracked the Park Street rape case despite CM Mamata saying it was contrived to malign her governmentr has been directed by the Calcutta High Court to investigate and submit a report by February 7.

Forest Hill Police Station Construction Begins

Indians vs. Victoria Police Cricket match

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inister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells has turned the first sod at the construction site of the new $12 million police station in Forest Hill.

Mr Wells, joined by Local Member for Forest Hill Neil Angus, said the new station would help reduce crime and boost the emergency response capability in the area.

"The new Forest Hill police station will provide a 24-hour police presence that will allow quicker responses to incidents," Mr Wells said.

The upgraded facilities will support police in their efforts to tackle all types of crime including

graffiti and other antisocial behaviour in the area, and will supplement the service already provided by the nearby Nunawading and Ringwood 24-hour police stations.

"The new police station is part of the Victorian Coalition Government's commitment to improve police facilities across the state," Mr Wells said.

Mr Wells said the new police station has been designed to accommodate 100 staff, allowing for the initial deployment of police personnel and enabling expansion of police numbers over the coming years.

"Already 26 extra police have been allocated to the Eastern Region, Division

1, since the Coalition Government came to office," Mr Wells said.

The new station will include a uniform branch, sexual offences and child abuse unit, a proactive programs unit and accommodate the divisional superintendent and divisional information unit.

It will also feature public consultation and interview rooms, a mess room, change rooms, shortterm custodial holding rooms, administration areas, conference facilities that could be adapted for emergency management purposes and rainwater harvesting facilities.

Construction of the new station is expected to be completed by March 2015.

ompetitors were presented with ideal conditions for the annual cricket match between the Victoria Police Cricket Club and the Indigos Cricket Club and the Sunshine Heights Cricket Club provided a superb venue at Ainsworth Reserve. The game was enjoyed by a number of spectators including Assistant Commissioner of Police, Andrew CRISP and Indian Consul General, Manika Jain.

Held on the public holiday following both Australia Day and Indian Republic Day, a fine tradition has now been established for this event with the Indigos holding the upper hand, having won for the past 3 years in a row. But taking inspiration from the resurgence of the Australian Ashes campaign, Victoria Police assembled a team to take the game up to the reigning champions. As always the Indian community were well represented by some of the best players from the Indigos Cricket Club and the Shakti Lions Cricket Club.

Assistant Commissioner Andrew CRISP tossed the coin and the signs were ominous with Victoria Police sending the Indigos in to bat.

The Indigos made the most of their time at the crease and spectators were treated to some

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awesome batting by Manny. His innings included 10 of the biggest 6s seen on the ground. In the spirit this game was intended, the Indigos demonstrated great sportsmanship and Manny retired with an unbeaten 70. He was ably supported by his team mates as the Indigos amassed a formidable score of 179 off their 20 overs.

Victoria Police then headed out on the pitch and made a solid start. The game really heated up when Brad MILES came to the crease and took the bowlers on.

He was in fine form and guided the ball through the field all around the ground. Reciprocating the Indigos sportsmanship Brad also retired with an unbeaten 78.

His team mates then followed up and Victoria Police took out the game with 8 balls to spare.

Not surprisingly man of the match for the Indigos went to Manny and Brad for Victoria Police.

The day was a great success and planing is already underway for an even bigger event next year. Superintendent Glenn WEIR, who umpired the day with Col NEWPORT, said “it was a great opportunity for the Indian community and Police to mix in a social environment in a common interest to further build on relationships.�

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Protesters resist an ‘Indian Fukushima’

By Ranjit Devraj

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EW DELHI, Feb 1 2014 (IPS) Activists opposed to India’s plans to massively increase civilian nuclear power production are aghast that a plan for an Indo-Japanese nuclear cooperation deal is gaining pace even while Japan is struggling to cope with the fallout of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was guest of honour at India’s 64th Republic Day celebrations on Jan. 26, announced in a press statement before leaving that talks for a nuclear cooperation agreement were continuing “with the view for an early conclusion.”

At a press conference given jointly with Abe, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said “negotiations towards an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy have gained momentum in the last few months.”

“It would appear that the two countries were only waiting for the anger over the Fukushima disaster to cool down,” Anil Choudhury, leader of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), which ran a poster campaign and a demonstration protesting against the deal during Abe’s three-day visit, tells IPS. “CNDP will continue to oppose any Indo-Japan nuclear deal as also will our counterparts in Japan,” Choudhury said.

“A simultaneous poster campaign was mounted in Tokyo and letters of protest were sent to both prime ministers by Yukiko Kameya, an elderly evacuee from Fukushima.”

In an open letter to Abe, Laxminarayan Ramdas, a prominent leader of the CNDP wrote: “A country like yours, which was the victim of the first two atomic bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the more recent and tragic accident of your nuclear power plant at Fukushima would, one would have thought, helped you to give up this horrible

Street protest against the planned Indo-Japan nuclear cooperation deal. PHOTO : Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. and dangerous source of energy.

“Please do not do us this favour and sell us a potential Fukushima,” Ramdas, former admiral of the Indian navy, told Abe in the letter.

Abe’s visit was marked by marches at sites where mega nuclear parks are functional or in various stages of completion. At the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu, which became operational in October 2013, protests led by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) have been continuing since September 2011.

According to PMANE leader S.P. Udayakumar, the Kudankulam project built with Russian technology is unsafe and threatens the delicate marine ecology of the Palk straits. “A Fukushima-type accident at this mega plant, which is due to generate 9,200 MW when complete, would be truly catastrophic,” he tells IPS. The 2004 December Asian tsunami flooded nuclear installations at Kudankulam and tremors were recorded in the area in March 2006 and August 2011, but the

government continues to insist that the plant is safe, Udayakumar says.

Safety is a major concern expressed by organisations of farmers and fishermen who live close to other major nuclear parks sites like Jaitapur in Maharashtra state, Mithi Virdi in Gujarat and Fatehabad in Haryana.

“There is very little to inspire confidence as India does not even have a nuclear radiation safety policy in place,” Choudhury said. “The lack of transparency and accountability that exacerbated the Fukushima disaster is far worse in India.”

A Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, pending in Parliament since 2011, has been criticised by opposition legislators and activists as failing to give the regulator real autonomy and credibility, although India has gone ahead with plans to boost nuclear power capacity to 20,000 MW by 2020 and 63,000 MW by 2032.

“The scale of peoples’ protests at Kudankulam, Jaitapur and at other nuclear sites has been such that the least the government could do is

to ensure that there is an independent regulator to take care of the public interest,” says Anup Kumar Saha, a member of parliament representing the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Much of the criticism revolves around the fact the regulator is funded by the very organisations it is supposed to be regulating, compromising its ability to act independently. Matters relating to atomic energy are also controlled directly by the prime minister and not parliament, protecting the nuclear establishment from public scrutiny.

M.V. Ramana, physicist and lecturer at Princeton University, tells IPS that the Indo-Japan deal is a corollary to the historic Indo-U.S. nuclear cooperation deal signed in October 2006. Ramana was awarded this year’s Leo Szilard Lectureship Award, given for ‘outstanding accomplishments in promoting the use of physics for the benefit of society in such areas as the environment, arms control, and science policy.’

“The primary motivation for a nuclear agreement between Japan and India is

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“It would appear that the two countries were only waiting for the anger over the Fukushima disaster to cool down." the fact that it is part of the bargain during the U.S.-India deal when the Manmohan Singh government promised to import very expensive reactors from companies like Westinghouse, General Electric and Areva which source key components from Japan,” Ramana says.

“The sad irony is that the deal between India and Japan is being negotiated by democratically elected leaders when their populations are opposed in one way or the other to this agreement,” Ramana adds.

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Sri Lanka: After war comes peace, not prosperity

Education has been boosted in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, but with few jobs to follow. PHOTO: Amantha Perera/IPS.

By Amantha Perera

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OLOMBO, Feb 12 2014 (IPS) - Sri Lanka’s war-battered Northern Province had reason to celebrate when the results of a countrywide exam were announced last December.

Of the 16,604 students from the province who sat for the exam, 63.8 percent secured the required marks for entry into prestigious national universities.

It was a spectacular performance for a region wrecked by three decades of sectarian conflict that ended in May 2009 with a military offensive. The region has endured a tedious reconstruction effort since then.

“It is a national high,” Sivalingam Sathyaseelan, Secretary to the provincial Ministry of Education, told IPS. “Education was always seen as a ladder to a better life in this region – even before the war. Once again people seem to be thinking about that.”

Sathyaseelan, however, was quick to point out that a good education did not mean a good job or even gainful employment in the province.

“There are lots of graduates who are unemployed, there are no jobs here. Graduates have to either move out or settle for manual jobs, [and] even become masons or assistants to masons.”

The country’s overall unemployment rate is around four percent of the labour force, but the figures for the north are exceptionally high. Data is only available for two of the five districts that make up the province, and they are twice the national unemployment rates – Mannar at 8.1 percent and Kilinochchi at 9.3 percent.

Some economists say unemployment rates in the north and, overall in the island, may

be higher if stricter calculation parameters are used.

In the Northern Province “the unemployment rate could be a staggering 32.8 percent,” economist Muttukrishna Saravananthan who heads the Point Pedro Institute for Development based in northern Jaffna told IPS. Overall unemployment among those who have successfully passed the university entrance exam is higher. According to the Department of Census and Statistics, around 10 percent of all those who have successfully completed the exam remain unemployed.

Lack of jobs and income is creating a vicious circle in the north.

Experts say many secondary school children are dropping out to search for jobs.

Rupavathi Keetheswaran, a government agent for Kilinochchi district, says that as post-war assistance reached an end and income levels suffered, many families either headed by women or with disabled family members have found it hard to make ends meet.

There are an estimated 40,000 families headed by women in the Northern Province.

Ramalingam Sivaparasgam, a national coordinator with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), told IPS that children in secondary schools were most prone to being pulled out of school.“The primary reason is lack of livelihoods – the responsibility of earning falls on children,” he said.

Children mainly seek jobs in the construction sector or in agriculture.

The two sectors have boomed in the province due to the construction of thousands of houses and roads as well as the traditional dependence on agriculture.

Education official Sathyaseelan says that when graduates and others with higher educational

qualifications struggled to find jobs, it acted as a deterrent for younger students.

“When younger students see others struggling to get jobs, they find that education does not help much, and want to quit.”

Analysts warn that despite the government spending on the rehabilitation of the former conflict zone, few benefits have gone to those who suffered the worst – the more than 460,000 who fled the war and have now returned.

Within a lopsided reconstruction effort – in which many experts feel more attention has been paid to large infrastructure projects over creating jobs and income – education is one area where everyone, from the government to tens of thousands of returnees, seems more or less satisfied with the redevelopment effort.

During a survey by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released last year, an overwhelming majority of the war displaced who have returned to the Northern Province said they had no complaints on how the region’s education system has been revived.

The survey of 997 households found that “87 percent of the respondents are satisfied with the quality of education.”

But education – one of the fruits of peace – has not spelt prosperity for the Northern Province.

“Till date there is no targeted incentive scheme by the government for the private sector to invest and generate employment in the north,” economist Saravananthan said.

A recent study on global terrorism trends by the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, also found that the government needed to do more to

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"Graduates have to either move out or settle for manual jobs, even become masons or assistants to masons.”

-- Sivalingam Sathyaseelan, Secretary to the provincial Ministry of Education. help the population.

The report said the Sri Lankan government needs to address the needs of ordinary people in the former conflict zone, dominated by the Tamil community as opposed to the Sinhalese majority in the rest of the country.

“This would not only include addressing issues such as livelihood relief and food insecurity but also examine local participation in the implementation of development programmes, psychological counseling for victims of violence and recruiting a sufficient number of Tamil-speaking government officials,” the report said.

This would mean projects such as factories that create jobs, funds to help farming and fishing, and efforts to get children to stay in school – efforts that have been slow to take off amid mega development projects.

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Nepal: Dalit women face multiplied discrimination

Protests over discrimination against Dalits in Nepal are delivering little. PHOTO: Mallika Aryal/IPS.

By Mallika Aryal

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ATHMANDU, Feb 3 2014 (IPS) - Maya Sarki, a resident of Belbari in eastern Nepal, was returning home one summer evening last year when she was attacked. She was forced down on the ground and her attacker attempted to rape her.

She screamed. Locals came to her rescue and the attempt was thwarted. Sarki recognised the voice of her attacker as that of a neighbour and filed a police complaint.

The next day Sarki was met by a mob, led by her alleged attacker, at the village market. She was called derogatory names, her clothes were torn, and soot was smeared on her face. She was garlanded with shoes, beaten, and paraded around town.

After the incident, Sarki fled the village.

In Dailekh in western Nepal, Sushila Nepali, 28, was raped by a local schoolteacher for years. She was forced to abort twice, but got pregnant again and gave birth to two children. Disowned by her family, Nepali has been living on the streets and begging for shelter and food.

Sarki and Nepali are from different parts of the Himalayan nation, but what is common between them is their caste group – both belong to the socially marginalised Dalit community. Sarki’s attacker and Nepali’s rapist were both high caste Hindus.

There are an estimated 22 Dalit communities in Nepal. Researchers and Dalit organisations say they make up 20 percent of the country’s 27 million population. Dalits are considered to be at the bottom of Nepal’s 100 caste and ethnic groups.

They bear a much bigger burden of poverty, with 42 percent Dalits under the poverty line as opposed to 23 percent non-Dalits.

After a long political impasse,

Nepal went back to polls in November. After two long months of negotiations, new assembly members are now finally sitting down and writing a new constitution.

But experts say even in the new assembly, the Dalit community is the most under-represented, with only seven percent, or 38, of the 575 Constituent Assembly members being Dalit.

Rajesh Chandra Marasini, programme manager at the Jagaran Media Centre, an alliance of Dalit journalists formed to fight castebased discrimination, worries that Dalit related issues would, once again, not get priority in the new constitution.

“I am concerned that the new Dalit assembly members would take the party line and become a mere physical presence,” he told IPS. “I fear that Dalit advocacy would become an afterthought.”

Nepal’s Civil Code 1854 had legalised the caste system and declared the Dalit community as ‘untouchable’. In a Hindu hierarchical structure, such a label dictates where Dalits can live, where they can study and where they can socialise.

In 1963, caste-based discrimination was abolished in Nepal and the National Dalit Commission was formed. In 2011, the Caste Based Discrimination and Untouchability Act was passed.

Yet, Dalits continue to be marginalised.

“Violence against the Dalit community is ignored or often goes unreported and unnoticed in Nepal,” said Padam Sundas, chair of Samata Foundation Nepal, a research and advocacy organisation that works for the rights of the marginalised community in Nepal.

Dalits are still barred from community activities such as worshipping in same temples as higher caste Nepalis. The higher

castes don’t eat the food touched by members of the Dalit community or even use the same community tap that Dalits use for water. And women are the worst affected.

“Dalit women are at the bottom of the caste and gender hierarchy in Nepal,” said Bhakta Bishwokarma, president of the Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organisation (NNDSWO), which works to eliminate caste-based discrimination in Nepal.

“Dalit women’s suffering is triplefold – society discriminates against them because they are women, then they are discriminated against because they belong to the Dalit community, and within their own community they suffer all over again for being women,” Bishwokarma told IPS. Women’s rights activists say Dalit women are the most vulnerable.

“If you study the cases of women who are accused of being ‘witches’, they are usually Dalit women.

They are the ones to be trafficked easily, they are the ones who work in terrible conditions,” said Durga Sob of the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO) that works closely with the government on Dalit gender issues.

Activists say when Dalit victims of violence want to file a police complaint, they are discouraged.

“They are told that getting the law enforcement authorities involved would disturb social harmony, and victims are encouraged to informally reconcile,” said Bishwokarma. “No one is held accountable for any discriminatory acts against Dalits.”

News of the attack on Sarki received wide media coverage, and the attack and was severely condemned. A few days after the story broke activists gathered in front of the offices of Nepal’s policymakers and organised a protest. It saw a handful of women’s

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rights activists and allies standing with banners, demanding that the government act.

“The activists stood there for a few days, handed a memorandum to the government and the issue died down,” said Bindu Thapa Pariyar of the Association for Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN).

Researchers say there are major reasons why Dalit issues don’t get noticed.

“We have all kinds of acts and laws in place, but they are never implemented and even when we have tried to implement them, victims don’t get justice,” said Sob of FEDO. She recommends that the legislation be made simple and local law enforcement authorities be trained, so they understand the rights of Dalit people.

Some activists say the Dalit movement has lost its momentum.

“We cannot think of Dalit activism with a ‘donor supported project implementation’ approach,” said Pariyar of ADWAN. “When the project money runs out, we move on but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have achieved what we set out to do.”

In Sarki’s case, for instance, there were issues of her rehabilitation, psychological trauma counselling, the safety of her family and her safe return home.

“Rights activists need to think long-term, a protest only nudges policymakers, real work happens with the victims in the field,” said Pariyar.

She calls for a stronger leadership in Dalit advocacy.

“The Dalit lawmakers may be under pressure from their parties, but we need watchdogs outside the assembly so that we can keep pushing them to make the right decision,” said Pariyar.

“If we don’t push now, when a new constitution for the nation is being written, we will never do it,” she said.

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Sindh seeks return of Moenjodaro’s Dancing Girl from India

HASAN MANSOOR

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ARACHI: As Bilawal BhuttoZardari’s Sindh Festival has turned people’s attention towards the culture and civilisation of Sindh, the provincial government is sending a request to Islamabad for asking India to return the famous statue of the Dancing Girl, which is in possession of the Indian authorities since 1946.

“We are writing to the federal government to help us repatriate our exiled heroine back to us from India,” a member of the Sindh cabinet told Dawn.

The two most famous artefacts belonging to Moenjodaro, regarded as one of the world’s most ancient planned cities, are the King Priest and the Dancing Girl.

Officials said the two relics had been transported by British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler to Delhi in 1946 to be put in an exhibition and had remained there since then.

In 1947 after the partition of the subcontinent, the Pakistani authorities asked New Delhi to return the two relics along with several others including the Fasting Buddha.

A Pakistani official had visited Delhi and succeeded in getting hold of the King Priest and the Fasting Buddha. But the Indians refused to hand over the 10.8cm dark bronze statuette of the Dancing Girl. It has inspired many explorers to write over the decades dossiers on the history it was a witness to and reflections it offered about the role of women in the society millennia ago when it was not under patriarchal dominance.

There is a popular legend which

said the Indian authorities had refused to hand over both the Moenjodaro relics and offered the Pakistani authorities to choose from the King Priest and the Dancing Girl.

“The Pakistanis chose the King Priest made up of soapstone.

Perhaps they were hesitant to get hold of a naked teenager to avoid a possible backlash from religious quarters,” an official observed.

The King Priest — a bearded man wearing an Ajrak-like cloth with hair neatly combed back — is widely speculated to be the ruler of the city.

Experts said they had repeatedly requested previous governments to try to take possession of the Dancing Girl, but no one took any interest.

“It is good to see the government is seriously pursuing this matter,” said a provincial government official who previously worked in the archaeology division.

Archaeologists said under the UNESCO Convention of 1972, the original owner of any artefact is the country where the relic was found.

Qasim Ali Qasim, director of the provincial archaeology department, said since the federal government was a signatory to the UNESCO convention, the Sindh government would have to ask Islamabad, which could send a request to the world cultural organisation to get the things rolling.

He said Islamabad’s efforts in 2009 brought back 13 artefacts belonging to the Gandhara civilization from several countries and same could be done for the figurine wearing bangles all the way up in one of her arms, which is still a common sight in Thar Desert.

“The Dancing Girl belongs to us and everyone knows it.”

—dawn.com

Stamps on Jagjit Singh released From our correspondent

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ew Delhi: India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Saturday (February 08, 2014), released two commemorative postage stamps in honour of famous Ghazal singer and musician Mr. Jagjit Singh. The stamps were released in the presence of the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Mr. Kapil Sibal, and Mrs. Chitra Singh.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said Mr. Jagjit Singh held a special position in the history of Indian music. He described Mr. Jagjit Singh as an exceptional artiste, who was adept at various forms of music, including classical music, devotional music, folk music and Ghazal.

The Prime Minister recalled Mr. Jagjit Singh’s contribution in the fields of film and television as well. His music will continue to touch our hearts, even though he is no longer among us, the Prime Minister added.

—SAT News Service

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India to extend visa-on-arrival facility for 180 countries HASAN MANSOOR

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ew Delhi: India has taken a major step to boost tourism in the country. From next year (October, 2015) it will extend visa-on arrival to tourists of all nations barring eight countries. The barred countries are Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia. No reasons have been given for the countries exempted from the scheme.

“We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations. It will take 5-6 months for the respective departments to put the required infrastructure in place. We hope to implement this from the next tourist session beginning October,” said Planning Minister Mr. Rajiv Shukla.

India currently offers visa-on-arrival to tourists from 11 countries like Finland, the Philippines, Singapore and Japan. This facility is now being extended to 180 countries.

Following a high-level meeting with representatives from various ministries, the Minister said the electronic visa would be valid for 30 days from the date of the tourist’s arrival in India.

The scheme is still to be approved by the cabinet and the notification from the Home Ministry is likely at an appropriate time, the Minister said.

A separate website would be set up for extending the facility to foreigners intending to visit India as tourists. To

get visa, they would need to apply in the designated website along the required fees. They would be granted an electronic version of the visa within three days.

“Visa-on-arrival can be availed in all 26 major domestic airports from where international flights ply,” the Minister said.

BIOMETRIC DATA FROM VISAS Meanwhile, the Parliament was told by the Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry Preneet Kaur in reply to a question that the Government has launched a pilot project in the Indian Consulates to collect the biometric data of all foreign nationals applying for visas to India.

Biometric procedures have been started in a phased manner in Indian Missions and Posts abroad.

Presently enrolment of biometric data for visas has been introduced in 32 Indian Missions and Posts abroad.

Remaining Missions and Posts are expected to be covered in the course of the current year.

The biometric identification system will eliminate the possibility of fake visas and strengthen security aspects of visa issuing system.

Biometric data is a general term used to refer to any computer data that is created during a biometric process. This includes samples, models, fingerprints, similarity scores and all verification or identification data excluding the individual’s name and demographics.

—SAT News Service www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

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exchange their products and services through a system of trade dollars as an alternative to cash. The traditional ‘barter’ system of exchanging goods and services has been around since biblical times but Bartercard takes this one step further by allowing businesses the flexibility of trading not just one on one but with thousands of businesses, locally and internationally.

Given the recent challenges to the global economy, more businesses

are looking for alternatives to cash and Bartercard can give you a simple, flexible and stress free way to exchange and pay for goods and services. Cash flow issues don’t need to strangle your business and you can free up cash to make better use of it elsewhere.

Sell surplus stock or take a holiday!

If you have surplus stock that is going to waste, why not sell it on Bartercard?

By bartering your excess products or services you

can earn trade dollars which can then be spent on growing your business, marketing, purchasing staff incentives or bartering for other services. Some of the services which might be useful to your business include cleaning, vehicle maintenance and travel.

Turning your surplus stock into trade dollars reduces wastage and could help you expand your business and improve your cash flow.

Or you could choose to spend some of your trade dollars on personal leisure and travel, fitness, beauty services or investment.

Pay business expenses with Bartercard With Bartercard you can use trade dollars to directly pay for some of your business expenses including accounting, IT support, marketing, Internet marketing services and even tradespeople.

Another great way to use your trade dollars is to purchase gifts for special

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

offers or customer loyalty programs, reward your staff with tickets to events, or purchase Christmas gifts for staff and clients.

When you use Bartercard there are endless opportunities to reduce your cash expenses and improve your business and lifestyle. You can even use your Bartercard dollars to generate cash customers by using your trade dollars to promote your business or by reselling items purchased with trade dollars.

Bartercard’s 35,000 members are being serviced by 70 offices around the world in 7 countries.

Your local contact is: Louis and Elisabeth Jahshan of Bartercard Melbourne East.

Telephone 03 9561 8811 Address 152 Wellington Road, Clayton, 3168 Email: info@ bartercardmelbeast.com. au Website: www.bartercard. com.au

south asia 22 South Asia Timestimes

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book review

southSouth asia times 23 Asia Times

Lost In You: A blend of romance, ethnic strife and human foibles

By N Ganeshalingam

M

elbourne: Although Dr Noel Nadesan is a Veterinary Surgeon by profession, he is neither a stranger nor a novice to the Tamil literary scene. In addition to contributing innumerable articles to magazines, newspapers and websites, he has also written two novels. The second novel Lost in You is the English translation of Unnaya Mayil Kondu' originally written in Tamil by the novelist.

The protagonists in the novel are Shoba, Chandran and Julia with a host of other characters contributing their share to the theme of the story.

Shoba is a girl from a Tamil middle - class family in Colombo and she was brought up like a princess. Her life was such that she did not have a care in the world. All those good things came to a dead end with the outbreak of racial riots in 1983. She and her friend Meena were the victims of a brutal unruly mob, as they happened to be Tamils. The riots in Colombo erupted following the killing of 13 soldiers in a landmine explosion triggered by the LTTE in Jaffna.

It was only providence that came in the form of one Mr Ratnayake that saved the lives of both girls.

Mr Ratnayake, a retired army officer who was trained in the best traditions of a disciplined force, took both girls to a refugee camp. It was to his credit that he had helped the girls despite the odds being stacked against him. Shoba saw her parents and brother Karthik at camp while Meena came to know her parents were with a Muslim family.

Shoba, her parents Rasanayakam , Rasamma and Karthik went to Jaffna in a ship to lead a safe and peaceful life.

Karthik in a fit of rage over the sufferings and humiliations he and other Tamils underwent in Colombo and other areas joined a 'liberation' movement called TELO to fight for the rights of Tamils.

What's more he went to India and got trained by the Indian Army in North India. Karthik ' s dream of contributing his share to the struggle for Tamils rights did not last long as he was killed in the clashes between the LTTE and TELO. All what his parents saw of him was his half burnt corpse.

Then it was back to square one as Rasanayakam family came to Colombo.

Those tragic incidents had left an indelible mark on Shoba's memory from which she could not recover from for years. It was around this time her marriage to Chandran, a distant relative was fixed and she came to Sydney. Chandran had come earlier on a scholarship to do a course in Ph.D. Although their wedded bliss saw the birth of a son, Suman within one month. Shoba had developed post natal depression. Later on medical examination revealed she was suffering from bipolar disease.

Chandran and his friend fellow researcher went to the Gold Coast to present research papers to a conference that was attended by scientist from around the world. The papers on environmental studies were presented on behalf of University of Western Sydney where both were students.

One day, to while away the time,

Chandran visited a hotel with a casino where he met Julia by chance. She was also from Sydney, but had come to the Gold Coast to visit her daughter. Their chanced meeting later blossomed into clandestine love affair and as days rolled by it reached a crescendo by way of frequent extra- marital relationships between both.

Chandran who was dejected by Shobas tetchy behaviour and her conduct unbecoming of a humble wife found some solace in Julia’ s company.

At the same time he was gripped with a feeling of guilt for having an affair with a woman behind his wife's back.

Chandran could not conceal his secret love affair with Julia for long as Shoba has stumbled on a letter Chandran had written to Julia. Extremely distraught Shoba had attempted to commit suicide but prompt medical attention had saved her life.

When questioned by Shoba Chandran confessed to having a love affair with Julia and tendered his apologies to her.

In the meantime Julia had developed intimate relations with Charles, a great painter and widower. When Chandran becomes aware of Julias new found relationship with Charle his gut feeling was Julia had jilted him.

But Julia's intimacy with Charles turned out to a blessing in disguise to Chandran as if had given him an opportunity to sever his relationship with her without any hard feelings.

Around this time Chandran had got a job in Victoria.

Before moving over to Victoria Chandran visited Julia during which he spoke to her about his feelings frankly.

His parting message to her was that he would never forget her but remember her as a good friend. He also pledged to be in touch when time permits.

The novel is readable and language flows easy especially in conversations.

On reading it one would not say it is an English version of a Tamil novel. The narrative too flows swiftly gripping the reader with the emotionally charged turn of events and incidents. The English used is often poetic.

Normally a lot is lost in the translation. Dr. Mrs. Pavathy Vasadeva's translation has retained the original spirit of the novel with the use of simple English.

The publishers Vijitha Yapa Publications have done a good job. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

south asia 24 South Asia Timestimes

F E B R U A R Y

Sangeet Sandhya Open forum for music lovers – classical, semi-classical & film music

Saturday 1/02/14 - Saugoto Ghosh, Piano Recital Saturday 5/04/14 - Pooja Gupta, Classical Vocal Saturday 7/06/14 - Parag Kaole, Violin Recital Saturday 2/08/14 - Madhuri Kamtikar, Vocal Saturday 4/10/14 - Nicholas Buff (Hindustani Instrumental ) and Sridhar Chari (Carnatic Flute) Recitals Saturday 6/12/14 - Neeraj Sharma, Piano and Harmonica Recital

Swar Sandhya Open forum for music lovers; Karaoke – Popular Indian Music Bring your own music, perform and enjoy

Saturday 4/1/14 Saturday 3/5/14 Saturday 6/9/14

Saturday 1/3/14 Saturday 5/7/14 Saturday 1/11/14

Venue: Waverly Meadows Primary School, Columbia Drive, Wheelers Hill

Time: 8.00pm

Free Entry, with ample parking, Free tea, coffee and biscuits Contact: Phone- 0402 074 278 or 0407 559 113 email- sangeetswarsandhya@gmail.com www.facebook.com/sangeetsandhya

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

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F E B R U A R Y

southSouth asia times 25 Asia Times

2 0 1 4

MELODY & RHYTHM

Stringed musical instruments of India

By Murali Kumar*

M

elbourne: In the last two monthly editions of this column I covered two of the most popular musical instruments used in Indian music – violin and sarangi. In this edition I will cover a few other popular stringed instruments that have their roots in Indian history and culture dating back several centuries, and are still highly popular and used even today.

Given India’s diverse and rich history of civilisation and cultural heritage it is no wonder that several musical instruments have originated from different parts of India during the past centuries and even millennia. The confluence of external cultural influences such as Persian, Arabic, central Asian, Burmese, Chinese, Western etc has also had enormous beneficial impact on the development of Indian music. This is also the case with musical instruments. For instance, the popular instrument, Sitar, is said to have descended several centuries back from central Asia and then undergone several changes

to suit Indian styles of music. The sitar is also said to have been influenced by the Veena (described later). The sitar is used mainly in north Indian classical Hindustani music primarily as a solo instrument. The sitar flourished during the Mughal rule of India – the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries – and thereafter during the 20th century became a renowned instrument throughout the world – largely due to the international fame and efforts of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Sitar is also quite extensively used in semi-classical Indian music and Bollywood music.

The late Ustad Vilayat Khan was another world-renowned

master of the sitar.

The veena, like the sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in Indian classical music.

The veena is one of the most ancient Indian instruments, of which reference can even be found in the Hindu religious texts. The Hindu Goddess of knowledge and learning Saraswati is depicted as holding the standard veena (hence this form is veena is also known as the Saraswati veena). There are various types of veena – apart from the standard classical veena which has frets (used in Carnatic music), there are others such as chitra-veena (also known as gottuvadhyam, also used in Carnatic music) which

is a fretless instrument, vichitra-veena which is also fretless and used in Hindustani music, the rudra veena which has frets and used in Hindustani music etc. The veena is primarily a solo instrument and is performed in concert with accompanying percussion instruments.

The sarod is another very popular Indian stringed musical instrument that is used in Hindustani music. It is a fretless instrument able to produce continuous slides (known as meend). The sarod is said to have come to India from central Asia and Afghanistan during the early Mughal period (16th century). Popular sarod maestros who are

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

household names in India are Ustad late Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

There are several more instruments that the richness of Indian civilisation has given birth to over the past centuries. Perhaps the most important and ubiquitous stringed instrument used in both the south Indian and north Indian styles of music is the Tanpura which is essential accompaniment for concerts, used to provide the melodic drone of basic notes. *The writer is a renowned violinist, and Founder & Artistic Director of Raaga Sudha School of Carnatic Music, Melbourne; www.raagasudha.com.au

South Asia Times south asia 26 South Asia Timestimes

Entertainment

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OBITUARY

Suchitra Sen (1931-2014)

By Murali Kumar*

S

uchitra Sen was easily the most popular actress that Bengali Cinema has ever seen. Her ethereal beauty coupled with her phenomenon screen presence and immense box office popularity, particularly her on-screen pairing with the late Uttam Kumar, gave her a legendary cult status in Bengal. She in fact created a new image in Bengali Cinema of the articulate if tragic heroine carving out an independence space outside that of family and tradition.

She was born Roma Sen, it is said, in 1931. Her film debut was in the unreleased Shesh Kothai made in 1952. The following year saw her act opposite Uttam Kumar for the first time in Sharey Chuattar. The film, an effervescent comedy, was also the breakthrough film of director Nirmal Dey and was a huge hit at the box-office. However, it is today remembered more for launching the pair of Kumar and Sen. They went on to become icons of Bengali romantic melodramas for more than twenty years becoming almost a genre into themselves.

Their films were famous for the softfocus close ups of the stars particularly Sen and lavishly mounted scenes of romance against windswept expanses and richly decorated interiors with fluttering curtains and such mnemonic objects as bunches of tube roses etc. Some popular films of the pair include Shap Mochan (1955), Sagarika (1956), Harano Sur (1957), Indrani (1958), Chaowa-Paowa (1959), Saptapadi (1961), Bipasha (1962) and Grihadaha (1967). Of these, special mention must be made in particular of Harano Sur and Saptapadi, both directed by Ajoy Kar. Harano Sur, inspired

by Random Harvest (1942) showcases Uttam - Suchitra at their peak of their delirious romanticism. In Saptapadi, a romance set against the backdrop of

World War II, even today, every actress in comtemporary Bengali cinema considers the role of the Anglo-Indian Rina Brown essayed by Suchitra Sen as her dream role.

One of Suchitra's best known performances was in Deep Jweley Jai (1959).

She played Radha, a hospital nurse employed by a progressive psychiatrist, Pahadi Sanyal, and is expected to develop a personal relationship with male patients as part of their therapy. Sanyal diagnoses the hero, Basanta Choudhury, as having an unresolved Oedipal dilemma -the inevitable consequence for men denied a nurturing woman. He orders Radha to play the role though she is hesitant as earlier in a similar case she had fallen in love with the patient. She finally agrees and bears up to Choudhury's violence, impersonates his mother, sings his poetic compositions and in the process falls in love yet again.

In the end even as she brings about his cure, she suffers a nervous breakdown.

The film is full of beautiful often partly lit close ups of Sen which set the tone

of the film and is aided by a mesmerizing performance by her. Asit Sen remade the film in Hindi as Khamoshi with Waheeda Rehman in the Suchitra Sen role.

Suchitra's other landmark film with Asit Sen was Uttar Falguni (1963). Suchitra carries the film single-handedly all on her own in the dual role of a courtesan Pannabai and her daughter Suparna, a lawyer. In particular, she is brilliant as Pannabai, bringing much poise, grace and dignity in the role of a fallen woman determined to see her daughter grow up in a good,clean environment. Suchitra as Pannabai is able to connect directly with the viewer and make him or her feel deeply for all that she goes through the course of the film thus giving her death at the end of the film a solid, emotional wallop.

But perhaps Suchitra's biggest histrionic triumph was Saat Pake Bandha (1963). She played Archana who tries to overcome her domineering and snobbish mother (powerfully played by veteran Chhaya Devi) by marrying Sukhendu a serious University Lecturer played

by Soumitra Chatterjee. However the mother continues to interfere reminding her son-in-law of his poverty. Suffering from divided loyalties, Archana's problems are aggravated when Sukhendu insists she sever all ties with her mother.

Archana separates from Sukhendu and stays independently completing her studies. When she finally accepts her wifely duties and returns home it is too late as Sukhendu has resigned and gone abroad. Suchitra Sen's sensitively etched and finely nuanced performance won her the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1963 and the film itself was the basis for Kora Kaagaz (1974) starring Jaya Bhadhuri in the Suchitra Sen role.

While her supremacy in Bengal was unquestioned, Suchitra's forays into Hindi Cinema were far too infrequent and

comparatively less successful. It is hard to fathom the reason for this. While her screen presence in her Hindi films was as stunning as ever, perhaps because of language problems, some of her performances look a trifle stilted and reined in. Her first Hindi film was Bimal Roy's Devdas (1955) where she played Parvati to Dilip Kumar's Devdas. It was her finely honed performance that gave the film its necessary tone of lofty virtue, noble sacrifice and loyal devotion. Musafir (1957), Hrishikesh Mukherjee's episodic film of marriage, birth and death and Champakali (1957) failed to set the boxoffice alight and even her most uninhibited Hindi film performance in Bombai ka Babu (1960) opposite Dev Anand was plagued by troubles between her and the director, Raj Khosla. Mamta (1966), based on Uttar Falguni by the same director Asit Sen, saw her successfully repeat the dual role. She made a huge impact with Gulzar's Aandhi (1975) playing a powerful woman politician whose marriage had broken up since her husband, Sanjeev Kumar, opposed her having a career after marriage. Aandhi however ran into controversy due to her role which was said to be based on Indira Gandhi and was even banned for a while.

She retired from the screen in 1978 and has since went into almost Greta Garbo like seclusion. A devotee of Ramakrishna Mission, Suchitra immersed herself in meditation and prayer. Her outdoor visits were confined to Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission.

Suffering from a lung infection, Suchitra Sen was hospitalized on December 23rd, 2013. She died on January 17, 2014 due to cardiac arrest.

Her daughter Moon Moon Sen and grand daughters Riya and Raima are all actresses as well.

—Source: The ThirdMan, Upperstall.

Abhishek Bachchan named Ambassador to fight tropical diseases

By News Desk

M

umbai, February : The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (Global Network) has named Abhishek Bachchan, Bollywood superstar, as its first official END7 campaign ambassador in India to help raise awareness of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Mr. Bachchan joins the END7 campaign at a crucial time, with India at the tipping point of achieving control and elimination of five NTDs affecting 500 million people by 2020.

“India represents 35 percent of the total global burden for NTDs, causing massive suffering among our poorest citizens. As a parent, I am deeply moved by the devastating toll of NTDs on children, and I want to ensure that no Indian child has to suffer needlessly,” said Mr. Bachchan. “I am proud to serve as the END7 campaign’s ambassador in India and hope that others will join me in ridding our country of these preventable diseases.”

“We have already defeated smallpox, guinea worm and polio in India. NTDs can be our next major public health success story,

and we are on track to eliminate lymphatic filariasis very soon. A focus on NTD control and elimination also represents one of the best investments we can make in the health and economic future of our country,” said Anshu Prakash, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “We are happy that the Global Network is supporting our efforts to control and eliminate these diseases of poverty.”

The seven most common NTDs—hookworm, ascariasis (roundworm), trichuriasis (whipworm), schistosomiasis (snail fever), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), onchocerciasis (river blindness) and trachoma—infect more than 1 in 6 people worldwide. They cause blindness, massive swelling in appendages and limbs, disfigurement, severe malnutrition and anemia. NTDs prevent children from growing and learning. They reduce adults’ economic productivity and ability to care for their families, keeping communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease.

Visit www.end7.org and www.globalnetwork.org for more information, including fact sheets and program videos, or follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

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Akshay Kumar to launch self defence classes for women

southSouth asia times 27 Asia Times

Two doubles for Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Bang Bang’ dangerous stunts

By News Desk

M

umbai: Ever the perfectionist - the international superstar Hrithik Roshan will ensure every aspect of his new action thriller film ‘Bang, Bang’ goes to plan by enlisting the help of two body doubles to perfect the right climatic feel for the film.

The high-octane blockbuster ‘Bang Bang’, which is the Indian version of Hollywood film Knight And Day, will have specially choreographed stunt sequences designed by international stunt supremo Andy Armstrong (The Amazing Spider Man 2). Hrithik Roshan will have two of the best body doubles in the business to undertake the wide angle, panoramic sequences, whilst the superstar himself will do all the close-up

By News Desk

M

umbai: Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar is set to launch a martial arts training institute for women in Mumbai this year. Akshay, who was formerly a professional martial arts trainer in Bangkok before turning to acting, has teamed up with Aditiya Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, for the social initiative.

The initiative is set to empower women in Mumbai, making them able to better defend themselves against all sorts of attacks. According to sources, Akshay and Aditiya will inaugurate the martial arts training institute this May with the first one to be launched in Andheri Sports Complex, in suburban

Mumbai.

‘I am thankful to Aditya Thackeray for coming up with the idea and also lending his complete support. The initiative is very close to my heart,’ says Akshay.

The Khiladi star who is currently shooting for his upcoming movie Gabbar received a black belt in Taekwondo in the 1980s in India. He travelled to Bangkok to enhance his martial arts skills and after learning Muay Thai combat sport in Thailand, he returned to Mumbai and became a martial arts trainer.

The self defense course is set to last for three months and will be free of charge.

—SM

Your Community Marriage Celebrant • • • • • • •

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For Information contact N.R. Wickiramasingham. CMC JP. Mobile: 0404 059 231 Phone: (03) 9794 7942 Fax: (03) 9794 0414 Email: wickiram@hotmail.com 34 James Street, Dandenong, Victoria 3175 Authorised by the Commenwealth of Australia Reg: A4978

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stunts. Hrithik, who underwent brain surgery in July 2013, resumed filming of Bang Bang this month in the wintery hill station of Shimla with co-star Katrina Kaif. The film calls for the action superstar to perform some death-defying stunts, including an adrenaline-inducing 40-foot rooftop chase in a populated area of Shimla.

A source close to the star explained: "Unlike rooftops in cities like Delhi, those in Shimla are sloped with the steep valley on one side. While Hrithik will do all the close-up scenes, the body doubles will be used for wide angle and long shots.”

And it seems Hrithik’s hard work is still not complete, with the whole cast and crew of Bang Bang moving on to Delhi to film a car chase sequence.

—SM

south asia 28 South Asia Timestimes

entertainment

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Rajnikant’s ‘Kochadaiiyan’

release on 11 April M

By NEWS DESK

umbai, 3rd Feb 2014: The new Rajnikant magnum opus ‘Kochadaiiyaan – The Legend’ is all set for its worldwide release on April 11, 2014. The eagerly awaited movie is being released by the Eros International, a leading global Indian film company. The new Rajnikant starrer is a Mediaone Global Entertainment Limited production, directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin.

Kochadaiiyaan features the unique visual mastery of Photorealistic Performance Capture technology for the very first time in the history of an Indian film. This technology has been previously seen in Hollywood masterpieces as Avatar, Tin Tin and Beowulf, says a Eros media release.

Kochadaiiyaan is an epic dramatization of good versus evil with Rajinikanth in a double role in a larger than life depiction. Also starring is the leading lady Deepika Padukone together with South India’s leading stars R. Sharath kumar, Nazar, Aadi, Shobana and Rukmini.

Music for the movie is scored by Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, whose list of credits includes a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards for his outstanding musical contribution for the multi-Oscar

winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Announcing the release of the film, Ms.Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin, the Director of the film said, "Following last year's celebrations of India's film making centenary we view the release of Kochadaiiyaan as part of the next steps of Indian cinema. For the first time a full length feature has been made using performance capture technology in India and I truly hope this creates a whole alternate film making avenue apart from live action films in our country".

Mr. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International added,"Eros is proud to present this magnum opus with Rajinikanth, which will take the Indian film industry to the next level. We are confident that this will be a landmark film in world cinema as a result of the ground breaking technology used. The film will be released in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Bengali and Punjabi in India and overseas in more than 6,000 screens. We will be releasing an English version internationally as well".

In a major brand tie-up, Eros International and Mediaone have also tied up with Karbonn Mobile to launch 1 million Kochadaiiyaan branded mobile phones to celebrate the release of the film. The exclusive Karbonn 'Kochadaiiyaan' mobile phones will

have screen savers and must-have images from the film along with the trailer and the signature tune of the film. These special Kochadaiiyaan mobile phones are intended to launch in February 2014, during the audio launch of the film.

Kochadaiiyaan was shot extensively at Pinewood Studios in the UK with a team of world-class technical experts including the London based Centroid Studios, a state of the art facility for Full Body Motion Capture, which has worked on various Hollywood productions including the recent Brad Pitt starrer World War Z as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, Ironman 2 and Harry Potter, and Counter Punch Studios from Los Angeles, who have been behind successes such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

They worked in collaboration with Faceware Technologies, United Kingdom, who have worked on The Mummy 3 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for the Facial Capturing technology. A team of technical experts from South India and China have worked on this technology, with the best production facilities in London, for the overall completion of the project.

For regular updates on Kochadaiiyaan, please log on to www.erosnow. com —SAT News Service

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

Kochadaiiyaan features the unique visual mastery of Photorealistic Performance Capture technology for the very first time in the history of an Indian film. This technology has been previously seen in Hollywood masterpieces as Avatar, Tin Tin and Beowulf, says a Eros media release.

southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times

Sports

South Asia Times 2 0 1 4

F E B R U A R Y

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 :

Team supporter zones available

By Murali Kumar*

I

CC Cricket World Cup 2015 fans will be able to book their tickets in country-specific Team Supporter Zones for selected matches.

What are team ‘Supporter Zones’?

Team Supporter Zones are seating areas for active fans of a particular team to sit together, like the Barmy Army or the Swami Army. Fans in these areas often stand up, sing and chant together.

Some live locally while others are visiting from overseas.

If this appeals to you, look for the Team Supporter Zone option when you book – but do it now to make sure of a place! For certain pool matches you will have the option to select these seating areas at the time of purchase in the ‘Select a Ticket Category’ drop down menu and will be able to view where they are located on the seating map.

And of course if you choose to sit somewhere else we still encourage you to get behind your team!

Why don’t all matches have team supporter zones?

We have decided to limit Team Sup-

porter Zones to pool matches only because finals matches are more likely to have a wider range of supporters. And in some of our smaller venues people can sit wherever they like on grass embankments so it is not possible to create “zones” in the same way.

Why aren’t there New Zealand or Australia team supporter areas?

Australia and New Zealand are hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 – so we expect a lot of local support for the hosting teams!

How do I select to sit in a team ‘Supporter Zone’?

For selected matches, subject to availability, where supporter zones are available patrons will be able to select this seating area at the time of purchase in the ‘Select a Ticket Category’ drop down box. You will also be able to view where these areas are located on the appropriate venue map. *Supporter Zones are available at selected matches for the following venues: Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Wellington.

SOURCE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

STAR India FIH’s media partner in eight year broadcast & rights deal

By Murali Kumar*

N

ew Delhi: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and STAR India, which runs India’s leading sports network STAR Sports, have signed an eight year strategic partnership to improve the production of international hockey broadcast and extend hockey’s reach worldwide. The ground-breaking deal will run from January 2015 to December 2022.

STAR Sports will be the host broadcaster for key FIH events both in India and throughout the world and will be responsible for ensuring consistent and high level production.

The partnership with STAR Sports is in line with FIH’s strategy to put events at the forefront and also its determination to inspire and entertain a global movement of hockey fans and players.

Leandro Negre, President of the International Hockey Federation, said, “This partnership is an incredibly important and exciting development for international hockey.

Our vision is to entertain and

inspire a global movement of hockey fans and players and STAR Sports is an industry leader when it comes to significantly increasing the reach and popularity of sport. Not only will STAR Sports promote hockey worldwide between Olympic Games’ cycles, which is incredibly important to sustaining interest in hockey, but it will make our sport much more interactive and entertaining. STAR’s ability to deliver immersive, engaging and captivating coverage will draw new young audiences towards hockey. We look forward to working together to truly grow the popularity of hockey.”

FIH recently introduced a strong focus on digital engagement, branding and promotion of events to improve the spectator experience. Making the television coverage more entertaining and compelling is fundamental to achieving this goal. STAR Sports has an impeccable track record. In their position as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) global Broadcast & Production Partner, the company has continuously raised the bar in their television coverage of all ICC

events.

Last year, STAR Sports partnered with Hockey India to launch the pioneering Hockey India League (HIL). STAR Sports showcased hockey in a completely new way, offering a TV experience relevant to the youth market. In its first season, HIL was broadcast in more than 80 territories across the globe. During the period of the deal, FIH will look to host a major event in India each year.

Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, STAR India, said: “We are delighted to be FIH’s global production, host broadcast and distribution partner. The partnership tiesin well with our overall vision of promoting sports culture

in India. Hockey is a priority sport for us and we are thrilled that India will host one key event every year during the eight year term. We believe that hosting an international event each year, which is produced innovatively, will significantly boost the popularity of hockey in India. The sport has a glorious heritage in India and we believe that it has a tremendous future.

We will work closely with FIH and invest in production to ensure that hockey reaches its full potential. As we have done with HIL, we will aim to innovate and create an exciting visual spectacle for international viewers.”

As part of the deal, STAR Sports has acquired global me-

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STAR Sports will be the host broadcaster for key FIH events both in India and throughout the world and will be responsible for ensuring consistent and high level production. dia rights for all territories, excluding Argentina. Through its network of international affiliates and other national broadcasters, content will be distributed to over 200 countries, reaching billions of sports fans taking hockey’s global viewing audience to unprecedented levels.

Source: FIH, January 21.

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स्थापना की| (३) कविवर सूरक ्य ांत त्रिपाठी’ निराला’, जिनकी मातृभाषा बंगाली थी परस्न्तु उन्होंने हिन्दी में पचास से अधिक पुस्तकें लिखीं, जिनमें कविता, कहानी, उपन्यास आदि सम्मिलित हैं | हिन्दी साहित्य के इतिहास में उन्हें आधुनिक काल का प्रमुख साहित्यकार माना जाता है | (४) गुरु/संत रविदास जो चमार थे और जिन्हें निम्न जाति का होने के कारण धर्म ग्रंथों को पढ़ने का अधिकार नहीं था परन्तु जिन्होंने अनेक भजनों की रचना की, जिनमे से कुछ ‘गुरु ग्रन्थ साहे ब’ में भी शामिल हैं | वे कहते थे कि मनुष्य अपने कर्मों से पहचाना जाना चाहिए न कि अपनी जाति से| उपरोक्त महापुरुषों के अतिरिक्त, महात्मा बुद्ध और स्वामी महावीर जी का निर्वाण-दिवस और ‘विश्व कैंसर दिवस’ तथा ‘अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मातृभाषा दिवस’ भी इसी महीने मनाये जाते हैं | आप सभी को इस महीने में पड़ने वाले पर्वों (वैलेंटाइनदिवस, महाशिवरात्रि आदि) की बधाई| इस अंक के कव्यकंु ज स्तम्भ में ‘निराला जयंती’ के उपलक्ष्य में निराला जी की एक कविता है | इसके अतिरिक्त गणतंत्र-दिवस, नव-वर्ष तथा अन्य विषयों पर कविताएँ हैं | साथ में, ‘हम-तुम’ द्वारा आयोजित निबंध प्रतियोगिता में तृतीय पुरस्कृ त निबंध तथा ‘एक थी माया’ कहानी का छठा भाग है | संक्षिप्त समाचार, अब हँ सने की बारी है , मह्त्वपूर्ण तिथियाँ व सूचनाएँ स्तम्भ भी हैं | लिखियेगा कि आपको यह अंक कैसा लगा| —दिनेश श्रीवास्तव

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इतिहास साक्षी है

—लक्ष्मी दत्त नौटियाल, मेल्बर्न

हम धर्म ध्वजा के धारक थे, शान्ति, अहिं सा के पालक थे| भावहीन संसार में मानवता के पोषक, हम ज्ञान पताका के वाहक थे|| विश्व धर्म संसद में जिसने विश्व को ललकारा था| शून्य अवधि के संबोधन से उसी संत ने विश्व चकित कर डाला था|| यह ज्ञान संपदा वाला, अपना भारत दे श निराला था| युद्ध कला के नियम धर्म से शत्रुओं को संहारा था| वह भारत दे श हमारा था|| मुनि वशिष्ठ के ज्ञान श्रोत हों, पतंजलि के योगपीठ हों, ऋषि भृगु के ज्योतिष शास्त्र हों, कौटिल्य के नीति शास्त्र हों, कालिदास का मेघदत ू हो, आदि गुरु का एक सूत्र हो, हो तुलसी की मानस रचना, सबने मानव धर्म सिखाया था| वह भारत दे श हमारा था|| महामुनि व्यास के वेद उपनिषद, पुरुषोत्तम की मर्यादा, पार्थ का गाण्डीव धनुष हो, हो वासुदेव का चक्र सुदर्शन, महाकाल का रूद्र रूप हो, नारायण का विश्व रूप हो, कृ ष्ण के चतुर्भुज रूप ने, विष्णु के वाराह रूप ने, माँ शक्ति के कालि रूप ने, ज्ञान ध्यान अभयशील बनाया था| वह भारत दे श निराला था|| केशव के श्री मुख से निकली थी वाणी, कर्म, भक्ति, ज्ञान की सरिता| अर्जुन को उपदे श दिया, हुई परम तीर्थ और हर घर की श्री गीता|| सिद्धार्थ तुम्ही थे, बोधिसत्व तुम्ही थे| तथागत गौतम तुम ही इस घर पर आये थे|| परम शान्ति की खोज में निकले, कपिलवस्तु के मुकुट को त्यागा, वीतराग बन, शान्ति, अहिं सा का मार्ग दिखा कर, बुद्ध तुम्ही कहलाये थे| गंगा जमुनी दो सभ्यता, सोमनाथ की भव्यता, मोहनजोदड़ो और हड़प्पा, भोजराज की न्याय व्यवस्था गुरु गोविन्द का घोष न भूलो, याद रहे नानक की गुरुवाणी| आाज़ाद, भगत की शहादत न भूलो और हामिद की क़ुरबानी|| यह भारत दे श है हमको प्यारा| आर्यवर्त था नाम इसी का, वैभवमय था दे श हमारा|| धीरे -धीरे कुसमय आया, लोभ, मोह, द्वे ष ने मारा| दे श विदे श के बैरियों ने, वैभाहीन किया दे श हमारा| प्रभु मानव जन्म मिला तुम से तन भी, मन भी, गुण, साहस, बल भी मिला तुम से जगें भाग्य फिर से हमारे | साकार हों दिन जो यश, कीर्ति के थे पुराने||

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गणतंत्र दिवस पर राष्ट्राभिनंदन

-प्रोफ़ेसर दे वेन्द्र मिश्र, कनाडा

अभिनंदन प्रिय राष्ट्र तुम्हारा। तू हमको प्राणों से प्यारा॥ सारी दनिय ा में है न्यारा। ु प्यारा भारत दे श हमारा॥ तेरे गौरव मान के लिये, दे श प्रेम के हे तु मिटे जो , हँ स-हँ स कर बलिदान हुये वो, शोणित से शरीर लथ पथ था, होठों पर जय हिन्द का नारा। अभिनंदन प्रिय राष्ट्र तुम्हारा॥ हैं ऐसे कुछ लोग जिन्होने,

अपना स्वार्थ सिद्ध करने को, किया कलंकित निज जननी को, क्षमा योग्य वे नहीं उन्होने, तेरी गरिमा को ललकारा। अभिनंदन प्रिय राष्ट्र तुम्हारा॥ जाग गया है आम आदमी, नई सोच हैं नया सवेरा, भ्रष्टाचार न होने दें गे, जो पापी है दं डित होंगे, भारत तू है गर्व हमारा। अभिनंदन प्रिय राष्ट्र तुम्हारा॥

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southSouth asia times 31 Asia Times

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Ek qI m;y;³³³³³³ÚÚÚ á.;g-6â -ivjy kum;r hwdr;b;d

áa.I tk a;pne p!¹; ik m;y; a*r a.y Ek dUsre se p[m e krte qe pr'tu a.y kI g¹rIbI a*r apne pirv;r kI ij¹Mmed;iryo' ke k;r,² m;y; ne iksI a*r VyiKt se ivv;h krne k; inXcy kr ily;) m;y; ne jb yh b;t a.y ko bt;yI to a.y ko bhut bur; lg;) m;y; ne a.y ko smZ;ne kI koixx kI a*r kh; - ®Py;r k.I mrt; nhI' hw) hm;r; Py;r k.I %¹tm nhI' hog;)® lIijye a;ge kI kh;nI p[Stut hw - sMp;dkâ mw'ne /Ire se pUz;² ®tuMh;re hone v;le pit ke b;re me' to bt;aoÀ® m;y; ne kh;² ®tuMhe' ¬nke b;re me' j;n kr bhut aCz; nhI'' lgeg;² leikn jws; ik mw'ne kh; hw yh x;dI mw' isfR apne pirv;r ke ilE kr rhI hU\ ² tum v;yd; kro ik tum muZe rokoge nhI'' )® mw'ne xk se ¬se de%te huE kh; - ®Ky; b;t hw m;y;² agr tum %ux nhI'' ho to Kyo'' kr rhI ho ye x;dIÀ® m;y; ne kh; - ®mw'ne bhut phle hI tumse kh; q; a.y ik mw' ab apnI %¹uxI ke ilE nhI'' jItI hU\ ) mere ilE merI ij¹NdgI kI sbse b@¹I %u¹xI isf¹R tum a*r isf¹R tum hI ho) tum hI mere ixv k; sbse b@¹; p[s;d ho) leikn merI ikSmt me' tum hokr .I nhI'' ho)® ifr m;y; cup ho gyI) ”tne me' bCce a; gE) vh `r clne kI ijd krne lge) m;y; /Ire se ¬#I² ¬#te smy mere h;q se ¬sk; h;q nhI'' zU$ rh; q;) mw' ¬ske s;q b;hr tk a;y;) m''idr ke

b;hr a;kr ¬sne merI trf de%;) ¬skI a;\\%o'' me' a;\sU qe) ¬sne kh;² ®tum merI x;dI me' mt a;n;) tum sh nhI'' p;aoge)® pt; nhI'' muZe kuz .I aCz; nhI'' lg rh; q;) ¬sne merI trf de%;) mere ho''#o ko m;y; ne apne d;ye' h;q se zua; a*r ¬s h;q ko apne m;qe pr² apne isr pr² apne idl pr a*r a''t me' apne ho''#o pr lg; idy;) ¬sne kh;² ®a.y² hmex; hI Eese aCze ”''s;n bnkr rhn;) socn; ik koé m;y; qI ijsne तुम से yh kh; q;)® merI a;\%e ifr .Ig gyI) mw'ne kh;² ®mw' tuMhe' k.I .I .Ul; nhI'' p;\èg;)® ¬sne Ek irKxe v;le ko h;q id%;y;) irKx; p;s a;kr ¨k;) irKxe me' ¬sne bCco'' ko ib#;y; a*r muZe de%;) jI .r kr de%;) ¬sk; idl ¬skI a;\\%o me' s;f¹ nj¹r a; rh; q;) ifr ¬sne /Ire se kh;² ®mere hone v;le pit iv/ur hw) ¬Nho''ne v;d;

iky; hw ik ve mere pUre pirv;r kI de%.;l kre'ge² jb tk s.I hw'w² ¬n s.I k; :y;l r%e'ge) dono'' .;é bhno'' ko p!¹;ye'ge² ¬nk; jIvn bn;ye'ge² k.I .I koé kmI nhI'' hone de'ge) sbne ipt;jI se a*r muZse kh; ik ye irXt; Svy'' .gv;n ne .ej; hw vn;R k*n a;jkl iksI ke pirv;r ko p;lne kI b;t krt; hwÀ mw' .I m;n gyI a.y² Ky; k¨\) mer; jIvn ai.xPt s; jo hw) pr mere ilE ye .I yh .I .gv;n k; p[s;d hw) mw' cltI hU\² kl se a;Žifs nhI j;è\gI² agle hFte x;dI hw) tum x;dI me' n a;n;)® khkr vh rone lgI) mw' pTqr k; bn gy; q;² ¬ske khe huE xBd p;re kI trh k;no'' me' brs rhe qe) merI a;\%o'' se a;\sU bh rhe qe) vh irKxe me' bw#ne ke ilE mu@¹I² ifr pt; nhI'' Ky; hua;² muZse ilp$ gyI² Zuk kr mere pwr zuE² pwro'' kI imëI apne isr pr lg;é a*r apnI

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मेल्बर्न के श्री राधेश्याम गुप्ता ‘आर्डर ऑफ़ ऑस्ट्रेलिया मेडल’ (ओ.ए.एम.) से सम्मानित

२६ जनवरी, सन ् २०१४ को ऑस्ट्रेलियादिवस के अवसर पर ऑस्ट्रलिया की सरकार द्वारा सम्मानित किये जाने वाले व्यक्तियों में मेल्बर्न के प्रसिद्ध सितार-वादक, संगीत प्रेमी तथा ‘शारदा कला केंद्र’ के संस्थापक श्री राधेश्याम गुप्ता का नाम भी सम्मिलित हैं | स्मरणीय है कि लगभग १७ वर्षों पूर्व,

सन ् १९९७ में उन्होंने मेल्बर्न में सबसे पहले ‘संगीत संध्या’ और उसके ४ वर्षों बाद सन ् २००१ में ‘साहित्य संध्या’ की नींव डाली थी जिसके अंतर्गत संगीत और साहित्य प्रेमी हर दस ू रे महीने एक स्थान पर एकत्रित हो कर, संगीत व सहित्य का आनंद उठाते थे | यह क्रम आज भी चल रहा है | संगीत

के कार्यक्रमों में वृद्धि हुई है और अब उनमे ‘स्वर संध्या’ और ‘राग-रं ग’ कार्यक्रम भी जुड़ गये हैं | राधेश्याम जी को यह सम्मान भारतीय शास्त्रीय संगीत द्वारा कला की सेवा के लिए प्रदान किया गया है | ‘हिन्दी पुष्प’ परिवार की ओर से उन्हें इस सम्मान के लिए विशेष बधाई|

प्रवासी भारतीय दिवस सम्मान

नई दिल्ली में ९ जनवरी, २०१४ को प्रवासी भारतीय सम्मलेन के अंत में भारतीय राष्ट्रपति प्रणव मुखर्जी ने ऑस्ट्रेलियाई सीनेटर लीसा सिंह और फ़ीजी में रामकृ ष्ण

मिशन समेत विभिन्न दे शों में रहने वाले १२ भारतीय प्रवासियों को सम्मानित किया| श्रीमती सिंह, फ़ीजी में जन्मे पिता तथा ऑस्ट्रेलिया निवासी, अँग्रेज़ माँ की संतान हैं | उन्हें जन-सेवा तथा भारत और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच मैत्रीपूर्ण संबंधों को बढ़ाने के लिये यह सम्मान मिला है | रामकृ ष्ण मिशन, फ़ीजी को यह सम्मान फ़ीजी में समाज-सेवा के लिये प्रदान किया गया जो वहाँ १९३७ से काम कर रहा है और कई शिक्षा संस्थाओं का संचालन कर रहा है | इसके अतिरिक्त यह संगठन सामाजिक, आर्थिक तथा आध्यात्मिक क्षेत्रों में

mhTvpU,R itiqy;\

भी महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता रहा है | इस सम्मान के उत्सव में सूवा में भारतीय उच्चायुक्त के ‘इं डिया कल्चरल सेन्टर’ में २४ जनवरी, २०१४ को एक संस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम आयोजित किया गया जिसमे फ़ीजी

के स्वास्थ्य-मंत्री, डॉ. नील शर्मा मुख्य अतिथि थे| दायीं ओर फोटो में रामकृ ष्ण मिशन के सचिव, स्वामी तेदानंद दीप प्रज्वलित कर रहे हैं और बायीं ओर, सीनेटर लीसा सिंह का चित्र है |

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áé-mel" nalinsharda@gmail.com )

áé-mel" hariharjha2007@gmail.com

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www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

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लड़के व लड़कियाँ एक समान नहीं होते हैं

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ivK$oiryn SkUl a;f¹ lw'Gvejej¹

(इस निबंध को ‘हम-तुम’ निबंध में तृतीय पुरस्कार मिला था| साथ के को मेल्बर्न में भारतीय कौंसलावास कावड़ा द्वारा पुरस्कार प्रदान किया जा

प्रतियोगिता चित्र में लेखिका के श्री राकेश रहा है -संपादक)

३ मार्च , २०१३, प्रिय डायरी, काश तुम बोल सकती कि तुम हर कठिनाई को दरू कर दोगी पर ऐसा नहीं है और ऐसा होगा भी नहीं क्योंकि तुम तो सिर्फ़ एक घिसी-पिटी पुस्तक हो जो मेरी भावनाओं को सहन करती हो| अब यह मत सोचना कि आज मैं कोई कठिनाई को साथ नहीं लायी हूँ| इस संसार में जीवन बिना कठिनाई के तो चलता नहीं| विद्यालय से घर आने के लिये जब मैं रे लगाड़ी पर चढ़ी तो एक बुज़ुर्ग पुरुष अपना समान नहीं उठा पा रहे थे तो मैंने सोचा कि उनकी सहायता कर दँ |ू उनके पास जा कर जो भी उनका गिरा हुआ सामान था, मैं उठाने लगी तो वे बोले –“ए लड़की, तू मेरी क्या मदद करे गी? आजकल की लड़कियाँ सोचती हैं कि अब वे पूरी दनिय ा में सब कुछ कर ु सकती हैं | अब उनकी स्थिति बहुत बदल गयी है | वे बहुत स्वाभिमानी हो गयी हैं | तू रोटी बनाना सीख ले, उतना ही बहुत है | क्या तुम सोच सकती हो कि यह सुन कर मैं कितना खिन्न हुई? ऐसा लगा कि धीरे -धीरे मैं अंदर ही मरी जा रही थी| कुछ अच्छा नहीं लग रहा था| मेरा मन किया कि उत्तर में उनसे कुछ कहूँ परं तु उनका सम्मान रखने के लिये मैंने उनसे कुछ नहीं कहा; उनका बाकी सामान रे लगाड़ी में रखा और स्वयं रे लगाड़ी से उतर गयी| ठीक किया न? चलो, आज बात यहीं समाप्त करते हैं | अब बहुत ज़ोर से नींद आ रही है | शुभ-रात्रि| ४ मार्च , २०१३, प्रिय दै निकी, मेरे दिमाग से कल की बात निकल नहीं रही है | पूरे दिन मैं अपने आप से बोलती जा रही थी कि समाज लड़कियों को ऐसे नहीं दे खता है और वह अंकल (बुज़ुर्ग पुरुष) पुराने ख्यालात के थे| मैं अपने आप से बोलती गई कि समाज में लड़कियों का मूल्य बहुत है और हम कुछ भी उपलब्ध कर सकते हैं , पुरुषों से भी अधिक! किन्तु मेरे मन में एक आवाज़ गूँजने लगी - “लड़का और लड़की एक समान कभी नहीं होंगे”| मैंने इस आवाज़ की उपेक्षा करने के कई प्रयत्न किये पर मैं सोचने लगी कि क्या यह सच है ? क्या भारत जैसे दे श में एक लड़का और लड़की कभी समान नहीं होंगे? क्या लड़कियों के पास सिर्फ़ लड़की होने के कारण कम अवसर होंगे? मुझ से यह सच सहा न गया तो मैंने अपनी अध्यापिका के सामने एक चुनौती रखी कि मेरी कक्षा की सभी लड़कियाँ लड़कों के खिलाफ क्रिकेट मैच खेलेंगी| अगर लड़कियाँ मैच जीतती हैं तो पूरे एक सप्ताह के लिये लड़के लड़कियों की हर बात मानेंगे और लड़कियों के लिये भोजन बना कर लायेंगे| हमारी अध्यापिका ने मेरी बात खुशी-खुशी स्वीकार कर ली| मैच कल है | परिणाम कल बताऊँगी| ५ मार्च , २०१३, प्रिय दै नंदिनी, हम जीत गये और लड़कों के पसीने छूट गये! मुझे तो हँ सी आ गयी| काश वह अंकल दे ख पाते कि हम लड़कियों में बस रोटी बनाने की ही क्षमता नहीं है | हम लड़कियाँ और भी बहुत कुछ कर सकती हैं | यह क्रिकेट मैच बहुत छोटा सा प्रमाण था| अब मैं अपने मित्रों के साथ मैच में सफलता की खुशी मनाने जा रही हूँ| शुभ संध्या!

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south asia 32 South Asia Timestimes

quick community guide Radio GUIDE

SUNDAY Hindi..................................9 am to 10 am – 93.1 FM Urdu................................10 am to 11 am – 93.1 FM Tamil...............................11 am to 12 pm – 93.1 FM Hindi.................................8 pm to 10 pm – 88.3 FM Singhalese.......................8 pm to 11 pm –97.7 FM MONDA Y Hindi....................................3 Pm to 4 pm – 93.1 FM Bengali...............................4 pm to 5 pm – 93.1 FM Hindi...................................6 pm to 8 pm – 88.3 FM Indian (Fiji)..................................6 pm to 8 pm 88.3 Punjabi........................1 1 am to 12 noon 92.3 FM

community

www.ekantipur.com/en THE RISING NEPAL: www.nepalnews.com.np

PLACES OF WORSHIP HINDU Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple 57 Boundary Rd, Carrum Downs, Melbourne, Vic 3201, Ph: 03 9782 0878; Fax: 03 9782 0001 Website: www.hsvshivavishnu.org.au Sri Vakratunda Vinayaka Temple 1292 - 1294, The Mountain Highway, The Basin, Vic 3154, Ph: 03 9792 1835

TUESDAY Hindi..................................... 6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi.................................... 2 pm to 4 pm – 97.7 FM

Melbourne Murugan Temple 17-19 Knight Ave., Sunshine VIC 3020 Ph: 03 9310 9026

WEDNESDAY Hindi.................................... .6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi......................................... 12 to 1 pm – 93.1 FM Punjabi............................ 11 am to 12 pm - 92.3 FM Hindi................................... .8 pm to 9 pm – 97.7 FM

Durga Temple (Durga Bhajan Mandali) Neales Road, Rockbank, Vic 3335 Ph: 03 9747 1628 or Mobile: 0401 333 738

THURSDAY Hindi............................... 5.30 am to 7 am – 97.7 FM Tamil.................................... 8 pm to 9 pm – 92.3 FM Sinhalese.......................... 1 1 pm to 3 am –92.3 FM Punjabi............................. 9 pm to 10 pm – 93.1 FM FRIDAY Indian.................................. .8 am to 9 am – 88.3 FM SATURDAY Sinhalese............................ 7 am to 8 am – 92.3 FM T amil..................................... 12-12.30 pm – 88.3 FM Indian.................................... 5 am to 6 am - 92.3 FM Punjabi.......................................... 12-2 am – 92.3 FM Indian................................ 9 pm to 10 pm – 92.3 FM Punjabi.................................................. 11 pm to 1 am

24/7 Radio stations Indian Link Radio (Subscription) 18000 15 8 47 Radio Santa Banta (Internet) Santabanta.com.au Radio Jhankar 88.6 FM; Every Thursday; 8 to 10 pm; Contact: 94668900 or 0411247320 or 9404 2111

South Asian websiteS India TEHELKA – www.tehelka.com OUTLOOK – www.outlookindia.com FRONTLINE- www.flonnet.com THE HINDU: www.hinduonnet.com TIMES OF INDIA: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com HINDUSTAN TIMES: www.hindustantimes.com Pakistan DAWN: www.dawn.com THE FRIDAY TIMES: www.thefridaytimes.com THE NEWS INTERENATIONAL: www.thenews.com.pk Sri Lanka DAILY MIRROR: www.dailymirror.lk DAILY NEWS: www.dailynews.lk THE ISLAND: www.island.lk Nepal THE HIMALAYAN TIMES: www.thehimalayantimes.com KANTIPUR NATIONAL DAILY:

Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple 197 Danks Street, Middle Park Vic 3206 Ph: (03) 9699 5122 Email: 100237.354@compuserve.com Hare Krishna New Nandagram Rural Community Oak Hill, Dean’s Marsh Rd., Bambra VIC 3241, Ph: (052) 887383 Fax: (052) 887309 Kundrathu Kumaran Temple 139 Gray Court, ROCKBANK Victoria 3335 Ph: 03-9747 1135 or M: 0450 979 023 http://www.kumarantemple.org.au/ SIKH BLACKBURN Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 127 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn VICTORIA 3130, Ph: (03) 9894 1800 CRAIGIEBURN Sri Guru Singh Sabha 344 Hume Highway, Craigieburn VICTORIA 3164 (see map), Ph: (03) 9305 6511 KEYSBOROUGH Gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib 198 -206 Perry Road, Keysborough VICTORIA 3073 (see map) LYNBROOK Nanaksar Taath, 430 Evans Road, Lynbrook VICTORIA 3975, (03) 9799 1081 HOPPERS CROSSING Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 417 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing VICTORIA 3029, Ph: (03) 9749 2639 WERRIBEE Gurdwara Sahib Werribee 560 Davis Road, Tarneit VICTORIA 3029 PH: (03) 8015 4707 SHEPPARTON Gurdwara Sahib Shepparton 240 Doyles Road, Shepparton VICTORIA 3603 PH: (03) 5821 9309 JAIN Melbourne Shwetambar Jain Sangh Inc 3 Rice Street, Moorabbin, Vic - 3189, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9555 2439

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info@melbournejainsangh.org http://www.melbournejainsangh.org MUSLIM Melbourne West Mosque 66-68 Jeffcott Street, Melbourne Ph: 03 9328 2067 Broadmeadows Mosque 45-55 King Street, Broadmeadows Ph 03 9359 0054 Islamic Call Society 19 Michael Street, Brunswick Ph: 03 9387 7100 Islamic Centre of Australia 660 Sydney Road, Brunswick Ph 03 9385 8423 Australian Islamic Cultural Centre 46-48 Mason Street, Campbellfield Ph: 03 9309 7605 Coburg ISNA Mosque 995 Sydney Road, Coburg North Coburg Mosque (Fatih Mosque) 31 Nicholson Street, Coburg Ph 03 9386 5324 Deer Park Mosque 283 Station Road, Deer Park Ph 03 9310 8811 United Migrant Muslim Assn.

72 George Road, Doncaster Ph 03 9842 6491, Footscray West Mosque 294 Essex Street, Footscray Glenroy Musala 1st Floor, 92 Wheatsheaf Road, Glenroy Heidelberg Mosque Corner Lloyd & Elloits Streets, West Heidelberg Islamic College of Victoria (Mosque) 201 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing Ph 03 9369 6010 Huntingdale Mosque 320-324 Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale Ph 03 9543 8037 Al Nur Mosque 34-36 Studley Street, Maidstone Meadow Heights Mosque Hudson Circuit, Meadow Heights Springvale Mosque 68 Garnworthy Street, Springvale

EMERGENCY CONTACTS EMERGENCY CONTACTS Police, Fire & Abulance ........................

000 Victoria State Emergency Service (SES).......................................

132 500 Traffic hazards and freeway conditions..........................

13 11 70 Gas escape...........................................

132 771 Poisons information........................

13 11 26 Maternal and Child Line................

13 22 29 Parentline...........................................

13 22 89 Kids Help Line.........................

1800 551 800 Lifeline (provides confidential telephone counselling).................

13 11 14 Suicide Help Line....................

1300 651 251 Animal Emergencies..................

9224 2222

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HIGH COMMISSION FOR PAKISTAN,CANBERRA 4 Timbarra Crescent, O’Malley ACT 2606 (Australia), Tel: 61-2-62901676, 61-2-62901676, 62902769, 62901879 & 62901031, Fax: 61-262901073 Email: parepcanberra@internode. on.net, Postal Address: PO Box 684, Mawson ACT 2607 (Australia)

Sri Lanka Consulate 32A Brunswick Street ,Walkerville 5081 Melbourne , Phone: 9898-6760, 9248-1228 Email: rodney@techno.net.au

Bangladesh High Commission, Canberra 43, Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT-2606 Canberra, Australia, Ph: (61-2) 6290-0511, (612) 6290-0522, (61-2)6290-0533 (Auto hunting).

Fax : (61-2) 6290-0544 E-Mail :hoc@bhcanberra.com Consulate of Nepal, Melbourne Email: cyonzon@nepalconsulate.net.au Level 7, 28-32 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Ph: (03) 9650 8338 Email: info@nepalconsulate.net.au SBS1 – Daily NDTV News - 11 am - Monday to Saturday. (From New Delhi, India).

TV News/programs Hindi News Urdu news SBS1 - PTV News – 9.30 am - Every Sunday – (From Pakistan).

Readymades Roshan’s Fashions 68-71 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9792 5688 Raj Rani Creations 83-A Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9794 9398 Heritage India 54-56 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175, Ph: (03) 9791 9227 Site: heritageindia.net.au

DVDs, Music CDs & Film Stuff Baba Home Entertainment 52C Foster St., Dandenong 3175, (03) 97067252 Essence of India 76 Foster St., Dandenong 3175 (03) 87744853; 0413707685 Accountants & Loans Deepak & Associates Suite 4 & 6, Bldg.6, Hamilton Place, Mont Waverley 3149, (03) 9807 5992; 0402459174; 0411733737

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quick community guide

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contd from previous page All Banking Needs Rakesh Raizada Commonwealth Bank (Indian Banking) Ground Floor, 378 Burwood Highway Burwood East 3151 Mobile: 0434470095 Email: rakesh.raizada@cba.com.au Immigration iVisa Consulting Level 5, 45 William St. Melb.

Mobile: 0409504094 www.ivisaconsulting.com.au 1st Migration PL, Suite 110, Level 1, 672 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Vic 3122 Travel Agents Gaura Travels 1300 FLY INDIA or 1300 359 463 info@gauratravel.com.au Supa Cheap Travel 381 Burwood Road, Hawthorn 3122 Ph: (03) 98194656; Mobile: 0420201155 info@supacheaptravel.com.au www.supacheaptravel.com.au Mann Travel 329 Clayton Road, Clayton 3168 info@manntravel.com.au www.manntravel.com.au Travel House 284 Clayton Road, Clayton 3168 Ph: (03) 95435123, Mobile: 0425803071 mail@travelhouse.com.au Solicitors/Barristors Vernon Da Gama & Associates 28 Fromer St. Beltleigh 3204 Ph: (03) 95038046; Fax: (03) 95038047 Mobile: 0401407280/042193100 Email: vernondagama@msn.com

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ociinfo.inau@vfshelpline.com CONSULAR SERVICES (Passport, Visa, OCI, PIO & Miscellaneous) Please note that all these consular services are handled by VFS Global (Indian Passport and Visa Service Centre) The Consulate General of India in Melbourne will continue to provide to residents of Victoria and Tasmania the following consular services, for which applications would have to be lodged directly with the Consulate: Miscellaneous OCI Services • Miscellaneous Consular Services (such as attestation of documents, transfer of visas from old to new passport, affidavits, birth certificates, life certificates, certificate required to transport ashes or mortal remains to India etc) IMPORTANT: The Consulate does not accept credit cards, EFTPOS, personal cheques or company cheques. Please send only money orders or bank cheques with applications sent through the post. Cash payments are accepted only at the counter.

WORKING HOURS General Working Hours 9.00 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, Consular Working Hours 09.30 am to 12.30 pm Monday to Friday, (except on public holidays observed by the consulate) International Students International Student Care Service (ISCS) www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/iscs Ph: 1800 056 449 Emergency Services Police, Fire, Ambulance............................000 Crime Stoppers......................1800 333 000 Property st Property PL, Suite 110, Level 1,672 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Vic 3122

INDIAN CONSULATE (MELBOURNE) Address : 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia , P.O. Box No: 33247 Domain LPO Vic 3004 General phone: +61-3- 96827836 Fax No: + 61-3- 96968251 Web site: www.cgimelb.org PHONE NUMBERS Phone Number for General Consular Enquiries(operational only during Consular Working Hours i.e. 0930 hrs to 1230 hrs, Monday to Friday) For PCC and PCC and Driving License Verification enquiries 03- 96825800 02 8223 9908/ 1900 969 969 Email ID for General Consular Enquiries consular@cgimelb.org Visa enquiries: visainfo.inau@vfshelpline.com Passport/Police Clearance Certificate/ Driving License Enquiries passportinfo. inau@vfshelpline.com, OCI/PIO Enquiries

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Ravi Bhatia gets Hon. Doctorate from Swinburne Univ.

By our community reporter

M

elbourne: Mr. Ravi Bhatia, President of the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) Victoria has been honored by the Swinburne Institute of Technology, Melbourne with an Hon. Doctorate in Technology (Doctor of Technology).

The honorary Doctorate was given on 20th December, 2013 during the Convocation of the university, Mr. Bhatia told SAT. The doctorate was awarded: “IN RECOGNITION OF ACHIEVEMENT OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EMINENCE IN INDUSTRY, MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP, AND SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY”, says the Swinburne University of Technology.

The citation printed in the Graduation Ceremony Program and read by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson, at the

ceremony said: “Ravi has contributed significantly to the use of high technology in Australia through founding of Primus Australia and served as its CEO till July 2011. He developed Primus Australia from the beginning into a highly successful and profitable facilities based telecommunications carrier generating over A$500m in annual revenue through organic growth and acquisitions.

Primus became the fourth largest telecommunications carrier and the third largest ISP in an environment of dominance by Telstra.”

“Ravi played a key role in development of a competitive telecommunications industry and Australia-US free-trade agreement as well as interaction with USTR and FCC which are agencies of the United States Government.”

“Ravi led the development and commercial deployment of Australia’s first copper-based DSL broadband services. More recently, he was

responsible for roll out of first release NBN sites in Tasmania and NSW. He also pioneered the development of bypass and override codes to introduce competition in Australia’s international telecommunications.”

“He was responsible for development and deployment of indexable and searchable voice order recording systems that contributed significant increase in productivity in the industry. Earlier, he pioneered the use of inverse multiplexing to improve utilization efficiency of international cable bandwidth for internet.”

Mr. Ravi Bhatia founded the Primus Australia and retired as its CEO in 2011. He has held senior management positions in the US, Germany and other countries with Primus, MCI, OTC and Siemens in sales, marketing and public policy. Ravi is a member of the Board of the Alfred Foundation and the President of Australia India Business Council – Victoria.

—SAT News Service

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

“Ravi played a key role in development of a competitive telecommunications industry and Australia-US freetrade agreement as well as interaction with USTR and FCC which are agencies of the United States Government.”

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The future according to Mr. Clean (Energy)

southSouth asia times 35 Asia Times

By Anna Shen

N

EW YORK, Jan 23 2014 (IPS) - Jigar Shah likes math.

It inspires him. After all, crunching numbers allowed him to convince wary investors of the money-making potential of solar energy, allowing him to ignite an industry that was crippled by roadblocks.

At that time, 10 years ago, he says, profit-hungry investors simply did not understand the extraordinary economic returns of green energy. But Shah knew there was a different way forward.

"We don’t have a hard time believing the opportunity exists, but some have a tough time believing these technologies will be deployed.” -- Jigar Shah He is widely credited in green circles as breaking through the obstacles that blocked traditional financing of solar technology, unleashing an avalanche of activity in that sector. Later, as CEO of Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room, he planted the seeds for success of other green technologies.

And now he has graduated to running his own green fund, Clean Feet Investors, which seeks to provide significant returns from socially responsible investments in small to medium-sized renewable energy projects.

With Shah’s newly released book, titled “Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy,” he aims for no less than launching a new revolution and bringing the whole world along with him. His goal is to show that humans can fend off climate change with green technology and green jobs. The formula is straightforward: “We can get to 10 trillion dollars and reverse climate change; we need 100,000 businesses that already exist to get to 100 million in sales each. If we do that between now and 2020, we can stave off the worst impacts of climate change,” he told IPS. Shah’s proclamation is bold – he looks at climate change as the biggest financial prospect in mankind’s lifetime. In fact, he says it is the largest wealth creation opportunity on the planet. With his book, he wants to make people understand how mainstream capital can create a green revolution.

The book is a “how-to” guide, a basic primer that might be called a “Mainstream Capital for Dummies book,” he told IPS. Shah wants to make the funding side of green more simple for laymen to understand, something he accomplished, as the book is readable and written at an eighth grade reading level. The book is not an academic exercise, it is Shah’s personal narrative on his role in creating climate wealth, and how one person – with a great deal of help – can bring mainstream capital into industries, such as solar power.

Shah adds that it is a book about his “lessons and screw-ups” and how his wisdom could be used and replicated.

Shah draws upon his experience as CEO and Founder of Sun Edison,

Jigar Shah where he figured out how to take solar technology, which had been around for years, and put it into the mainstream with proper funding. After all, the solar panel was invented in 1973 and had not changed much since then. His main contribution was convincing major financial institutions such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan to invest in the technology.

“They did not do so as a favour to me, they did it because it was in their best interest,” he told IPS. “We had a chicken and egg problem, but we were able to overcome it.”

Of course, the bigger opportunity now, he said, is to understand the “pain points” or obstacles, he said, adding: “We don’t have a hard time believing the opportunity exists, but some have a tough time believing these technologies will be deployed.”

Shah notes that today, the world spends 2.4 trillion dollars more for oil than it did in 1999, while at the same time household incomes have not gone up when accounting for inflation.

This is a strong enough argument for alternative energy; in addition, people have to cut outside of their budget.

“People are in a lot of pain now, and solutions are desired for the consumer,” he said. He mentioned vehicle efficiency as a potential area of investment.

The book discusses potential opportunities and how to translate them into wealth. The key is in deploying mature technologies and releasing products into the market.

There are cost-effective technologies that are ready to scale that are enormously profitable, he notes.

Shah says that now, financial institutions have extra liquidity and want to put extra funds to work.

“It is true that in the U.S., there is no lack of money,” he said, adding that if you are a baby boomer, perhaps as you age, you are transitioning into lower risk investments. There is an opportunity for greater returns – for example, by investing in solar technology, which has a five to eight percent return. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

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Morgan Stanley reports Adani coal project on hold

By News Desk

M

elbourne, 5 February: House Broker for Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), leading investment bank Morgan Stanley, has reported that the Indian coal conglomerate has no intention of developing its planned Carmichael mine in Queensland, Australia's Galilee Basin until coal prices increase, and a claim directly at odds with Adani’s own December 2013 quarter results report issued on Friday 31 January.

Morgan Stanley’s research report values the Indian coal conglomerate’s Carmichael project at $0.

The proposed Carmichael mine is the ostensible driver behind Australia's Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt’s approval in

December 2013 of the highly contentious new ‘Terminal Zero’ port development at Abbot Point near Bowen in Queensland.

This development requires dredging and dumping of 3-million cubic metres of seabed in the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef to accommodate up to six new coal ship berths, making it the world's largest coal port. The approval for the dumping has been given and is facing firm opposition from environment groups.

The port development itself is facing trenchant opposition, and UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has required the Australian government to showcause why the Great Barrier Reef should not be listed as World Heritage in Danger.

South Asia AsiaTimes Times South

Ghizal Mahdi elected PRESIDENT OF Jamia Alumni Association

By News Desk

03-9095-6220 / 0421-677-082 www.southasiatimes.com.au MAY 2011

R

iyadh: Mr Ghizal Mahdi has been elected President of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association Riyadh Chapter for two years. He

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

defeated Aftab Nizami by securing 65% of the total votes polled in the recently held election. He has also been President of Delhi State Committee of AISF in 1984.

Mr Ghizal is a renowned activist of Jamia alumni across the globe.

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