SAT March 2015 by South Asia Times

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CELEBRATING 12th YEAR OF PUBLICATION

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South Asia Times Vol.12 I No. 8 I march 2015 I FREE s o u t hasiatim es.com .au Editor: Neeraj Nanda

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In her murder, Prabha unites community

Melbourne's Homage to Prabha

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Read on page 14

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editorial

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200 million fewer women than men online

UNITED NATIONS: Two hundred million fewer women have access to the internet than men, according to a report released recently. The report published by No Ceilings also said an estimated 300 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, with these gaps primarily concentrated in developing countries.

By Lyndal Rowlands

omen’s participation and safety online was a popular topic on the first day of the 59th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations. The 2015 CSW also coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+20), the historic agenda for women’s empowerment. Women’s participation in media and new communication technologies is covered under Section J of the Platform. Discussions at the CSW covered both the positive and negative impact of information communication technology on progress towards gender equality. Jan Moolman, Senior Coordinator of the Association for Progressive Communications spoke

about how women have achieved empowerment by using the internet. She said new media helped individuals to construct and represent themselves online. She also said new media offered women “opportunities for movement building” and the

“opportunity to leap over many kinds of barriers.” Moolman added that threats against women online needed to be treated as a freedom of information issue, because they were used to try to silence women when they spoke up on gender equality.

“If we have 52 per cent of the population unable to express themselves freely that is a freedom of expression issue,” Moolman said. U.N. Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) are also increasingly using new media with their campaigns. For example through social media campaigns such as HeForShe, infographics and a new monitor of countries which have committed to step-it-up for gender equality. Speaking about the HeForShe campaign at Facebook Headquarters in London , U.N. Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson spoke about how she herself had received threats after speaking out on gender equality. “The minute I stepped up and talked about women’s rights I was immediately

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threatened, I mean, within less than 12 hours I was receiving threats.” A website was set up with a countdown threatening to release nude photographs of the British actor. Watson said that she knew the website was a hoax, but that the experience helped her friends and family see the need for progress on gender equality. “I think it was just a wakeup call that this is a real thing that’s really happening now, women are receiving threats in all sorts of different forms,” she said. Watson also said that the threats helped convince her of the importance of campaigning for gender equality. “If anything, if they were trying to put me off, it did the opposite.” —Edited by Roger Hamilton-Martin (Mar 10 2015 – IPS)

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asia times 5 HOLI CELEBRATIONS 2015 southSouth Asia Times

AIII Holi dazzles with colours, music, dancing By our reporter

elbourne: Diwali and Holi events are two of The Australian Indian Innovations Inc. (AIII) premier events every year. The Diwali event is far away in October but Holi – the festival of colours, was recently organised at a new venue, the Springers Leisure Centre, Keysborough on the 7th March with great fan fare, fun and gaiety. Earlier years the festival was celebrated at the Sandown Racecourse. The festival of colours was initially covered by dark clouds in the sky and the fear of a wet holi gripped the organisers. But as time passed the danger subsided as Sunshine broke the clouds and brightness took over. The AIII Committee members had been working for the event for many months and early morning and all was set for the fair to move ahead towards a colourful success. The festival of colours – Holi which is a spring festival (in India) is played with dry and wet colours. Sweets are eaten, special food made and people enjoy meeting each other playing with colours. It happened here also but only with dry powder colours as this was a family event. There were numerous stalls selling food items like Samosa, Tikki, Samosa Chaat, Pani Puri, ice cream and many other mouth watering Indian delicacies. In sweets the yellow coloured Jalebi was the dessert of the day. The festival was gripped and coloured in Red, Green, Yellow and Orange powder

colours which were sold through a stall looked after by AIII committee members and volunteers. Some kids had brought in their plastic water jets for fun. Despite the venue being shifted from Sandown Racecourse to the Springers Leisure Centre the festival took off with a bang and the trickle of people became a never ending process till the very last minute. The place was full as if the venue was familiar to them. People were seen in groups moving around the stalls and playing Holi with colours. Families could be seen playing and enjoying the day applying colours on each other’s faces. The highlight of the day was the participation of many Australian families who seemed to be well versed with playing Holi. Kid’s rides also attracted many and children could be seen riding many of the moving rides. The nonstop entertainment by DJ Vijay and live Dhol by SIDMA’s Nawal Mudgal laced with Bollywood Holi songs made

the Holi atmosphere more lively. Young people danced on these popular songs. The AIII has been organising Diwali and Holi festivals for many years but this year’s Holi had the special mix flavour of powder colours, Bollywood music and songs and the colourful ethnic outfits like Punjabi suits and Kurta-Pajama. But the splash of colours on these outfits blended well with the cloth and shined like stars in a colourful sky. The organisers ensured all facilities needed for families to have a comfortable and happy Holi. Things were made easy for the community. A medical stall took care of anyone needing care and help. AIII volunteers made the atmosphere friendly as help was available as and when needed. ‘Holika Dahan’ was done with enthusiasm followed by the playing of Holi. The festival of Colours took full bloom in just a few hours as the place was full of thousands of people. Their attendance reinforced

the belief that this was the biggest Holi event in Melbourne in 2015. People from different communities could also be seen mixing with the Indian community and wishing them a happy Holi. There were many VIPs who came to support the event including Inga Peulich MP, Hom Lim MP and Gabrille Williams MP among others. They were welcomed on the stage as Vice Chairman Yogen Laxman introduced them to the audience. They wished Happy Holi to the community and praised the AIII for its role in consolidating multicultural Victoria and Australia. The success of the festival once again proved the strength and popularity of the AIII as a community organisation well connected to the people. The dazzle of colours that lit the sky with thousands dancing on the song ‘Rand Barse Peke chuner wali....” was a testimony to the solid foundation of multicultural Victoria.

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Despite the venue being shifted from Sandown Racecourse to the Springers Leisure Centre the festival took off with a bang and the trickle of people became a never ending process till the very last minute. Credit goes to the AIII committee for this successful Holi event. Its Diwali event in October 2015 is now keenly awaited! —SAT News Service

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Wyndham Holi enthrals community M By our reporter

elbourne: The festival of colours was celebrated with a bang at the President’s Wyndham Vale. The big rectangular area was surrounded by stalls and a stage on one side and the entrance on the other side. The lush green surrounding area and plenty of parking made things pleasant and easy. Organised by the Victorian Cultural Association Inc. (VCA), the festival was probably being held for the first time here as was evident from the response. The area has in recent years seen many new Indian/South Asian migrants move into this area. There was Holika Dahan as per tradition which was followed by the playing of Holi with powder colours. There were also children’s rides and kids could be seen enjoying with their parents there. There were plenty of stalls selling Indian food and snacks. Interestingly, though most people came in cars, public transport was not far away. The VCA team could be seen moving around trying to make the event as smooth as possible. Non-stop DJ and other entertainment made people dance and enjoy. The mix of many colours, music and dancing made the atmosphere a happy one. VIPs including Joane Ryan federal MP

from Werribee, Telmo Languiller MP Victoria and Councillors Intaj Khan and Gautam Gupta were also present and expressed their best wishes for Holi. They were honoured on the stage and introduced to the community. In all it was a good beginning for the VCA in organising the festival of colours at this big scale. —SAT News Service

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Splash of colour at Durga Temple Holi

By our reporter

elbourne: Rockbank is a township and rural locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 29 km west of Melbourne's Central Business District. This thinly populated suburb is famous for its reddish volcanic soil. The land contains many large volcanic rocks and

a few years’ back devout Hindu migrants from India built the Sri Durga Temple. It is in its grounds this year’s festival of colours was also celebrated with great fanfare and enjoyment. The temple committee made excellent arrangements and a large stage surrounded by stalls by local business and media for entertainment and other activities was setup.

Food and hot/cold drinks were sold by temple devotees and volunteers from stuff made at the temple kitchen. Parking was plenty and this non alcoholic family event made the Holi festival a pleasant one. Interestingly, it was a two in one event as those who came to play Holi also visited the temple to offer their prayers. There were a few Bollywood dances on the

stage liked by those present. The MC also helped people play Holi by making frequent announcements. The splash of powder colours went up in air whenever an announcement to throw colour in the air. It created a rainbow of sorts. One attraction for kids was the children’s rides. They were popular as the kids were kept busy with them. The Holi event at the Sri Durga temple was a good experience for the community. Congrats to the committee for the event. —SAT News Service

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The temple committee made excellent arrangements and a large stage surrounded by stalls by local business and media for entertainment and other activities was setup.

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Dil Chahta Hai @ Australia India Institute By SAT News Desk

elbourne: In 2015, the Australia India Institute is presenting a unique film series that highlights the cultural and cinematic links between India and Australia. The series will be curated by director and producer Anupam Sharma - the Institute is aiming to screen one film a month. A prominent member of the Australian/Indian film industry will deliver a keynote lecture about the film and will answer questions in a Q & A session following the screening, says the AII website. The first film in the series will be Dil Chahta Hai, which will be presented by the series curator Anupam Sharma. THE FILM Dil Chahta Hai (English: The Heart Desires) is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia. The first film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar. It is set in modern-day urban Mumbai and Sydney, and focuses on a major period of transition in the lives of three young friends. Dil Chahta Hai, was a huge hit in India, receiving praise from critics for portraying contemporary Indian youth

Dil Chahta Hai, was a huge hit in India, receiving praise from critics for portraying contemporary Indian youth as cosmopolitan and urban.

as cosmopolitan and urban. The movie was screened at the International Film Festival of India, the Palm Springs International Film festival and the Austin Film Festival.The film is also a milestone in the process of film production utilizing a hybrid professional methodology with western systems of Professional set up, First and Second Ads, Sync Sound etc. The film was shot extensively in Australia. ABOUT ANUPAM SHARMA Anupam Sharma is an Australian of Indian origin. He is a film director, actor, producer, and

author. He is the director of the Australian feature film ‘UnIndian’, staring Australian cricketer Brett Lee to be released in 2015. In 2014 the film was announced by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in India. In 2013 Anupam was appointed Head of the recently established Australian India Film Fund and has been nominated as an Australia Day Ambassador and named as one of the fifty most influential professionals in the Australian film industry (Encore Magazine). He is best known for producing Bollywood films filmed in Australia, which

includes films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Heyy Babyy, and MTV Roadies Australia. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Arts Communication from University of Western Sydney, and a Master's Degree in Film and Theatre, along with a thesis on Indian Cinema from University of New South Wales. Anupam was involved with a series of film and theatre projects in Sydney until he met Feroz Khan in 1998. In 2000, he founded Films and Casting Temple, (http:// www.filmsandcastingtemple. com) an award winning production, casting and consulting company based out of Fox Studios, Sydney,

Indian festival in Australia with ‘Tribal Art’ theme By SAT News Desk

ew Delhi, 24 February: The Indian government has set the ball rolling for holding the Festivals of India in South Korea, Australia, Mauritius and Myanmar. The festivals will be held in 2015-2016 after similar festivals were held in Malaysia, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Japan among others. The Indian festival in Australia is likely to have ‘Tribal Art’ as its theme. The dates of the festivals have not been announced. The Secretary, Culture, Mr. Ravindra Singh recently held video conferences with Ambassadors/ High Commissioners of South Korea, Australia, Mauritius and Myanmar in

this regard, says the PIB website. Discussing the details with the Ambassadors

and High Commissioners, the Secretary pointed out that these festivals can be used to showcase

Indian art, culture, life and achievements. The Ambassadors and High Commissioners favoured

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leading a team of film professionals working on more than 214 projects between India and Australia which include feature films, television serials, music videos, television commercials as well as film festivals. Most recently Anupam completed directing the successful series of television commercials Jhappi Time for Destination NSW. With a roll out throughout 2014, the commercials comprise one of the largest investments the State has made in India. Date: 8 April 2015 @ 6:00 pm Venue: Lecture Theatre G08, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton —SAT News Service

the idea of projecting the face of modern India by showcasing the rise of Digital India and other modern technological developments in the field of space. They were also of the opinion of showcasing the journey of Indian civilization from 5000 years ago up to modern India. The events and theme of a festival is decided by the participating country. Ambassador to South Korea was in favour of the festival theme based on Buddhism since it has a large Buddhist population. Ambassador to Myanmar emphasised that the Yoga and Ayurveda can be of special interest in Myanmar. Representative of Indian High Commission in Australia favoured the theme based on Tribal Art. —SAT News Service

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Forum to plug domestic violence

By SAT News Desk

elbourne: Domestic violence in the community has been a matter of concern all over and the reasons behind it are often discussed. Many a families have been ruined and many need counselling. To address the issue of import local community worker Mr.Narinder Garg of the South Asian Public Affairs Council (SAPAC) recently held consultations at Craigieburn. As a regional co-ordinator of SAPAC he and his wife Mrs. Manisha Garg gave leadership to the forum to tackle the issue. The Guest presenter of the forum was Ms.Alice Henderson from ‘Project Lead Our Watch’ who also chaired the forum. A large number of Indian/South Asian residents, intellectuals and social workers attended the forum.

The presentation by Alice set the tone for the discussion and many suggestions followed. Issues got highlighted and participants had many ideas and solutions. The debate was often lively with different views emerging. Some of the points highlighted included the education gap between spouses creating distrust, interference by parents and demands from in laws, alcoholism, differing cultural background and gender mindset, and working conditions stress. Solutions suggested included need for grass root campaign, education and leadership training to social workers. Those who attended included Mr. Narinder Kumar Garg & Mrs.Manisha Garg (the hosts), Mr. Neeraj Nanda Editor, South Asia Times , Vice President SAPAC & AIII committee member, Mrs.Kaushaliya

Vaghela ,MC of the Forum & SAPAC Asst. Secretary, Dr.Manjula O’Connor – Executive Director ACHRH, Mr.Manoj Kumar – SAPAC Executive & Ex-Federal Labor Candidate of Menzies, Cr. Chandra Daya Bamunusinghe – Councillor Hume City Council, Dr.

Deepthi Iyer - Academic Research, University of Melbourne, Suresh Vallath – Indian CA association of Australia, Renu Vallath - ACHRH & Indian CA association of Australia, Mr.Jasvinder Sidhu – Jagriti Foundation & office of the Victorian Trade Minister,Mr.

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Nayana Bhandari – Oorja Foundation Victoria, Mr.Shriram Iyer - Writer & singer, Mrs. Molina Swarup Asthana – ACHRH, Harmeet Kaur – Koonj and Emily Loannou – Office of Maria Vamvakinou Federal MP Calwell. —SAT News Service

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$ 5.2 m upgrade of Pound and Shrives roads intersection welcomed Labor Activist Manoj Kumar said “We have been raising concerns for this issue since long time and now this intersection would be upgraded. We need safety for our valued community. By SAT News Desk

elbourne: $ 5.2 million announcement of funding to upgrade the dangerous and congested intersection of Pound and Shrives roads in Hampton Park, has been welcomed by local residents. Their long tern demand has been fulfilled by the new Labour government. Labor Activist Manoj Kumar said “We have been raising concerns for this issue since long time and

now this intersection would be upgraded. We need safety for our valued community” In a response to his role for demanding to upgrade the intersection, he told SAT “The politics has to be a purpose to serve the community in a way to make sure they are fairly treated in all aspects. If we consider focusing on politics & community leadership, it is well defined as “The Community leadership has to be for the community, of the community & by the community.”

“The first objective of politics & leadership should be to engage with community and listen their concerns about the basic needs ,i.e.,food, education, health, jobs and their safety. No country or community can prosper without solutions to such challenges. Politics has to be for many not for few and this is the only way to make community, politics and leadership sustainable. We have been fighting for few important basic needs of our valued local community. One

of the key concerns was to fix dangerous intersection of Pond Rd at Hampton Park. We had raised this concern in mid last year along with the local MP of Narren Warren South Judith Graley, Tim Pallas (State MP & Shadow Treasurer), Luke Donnellan (MP for Narre warren North & Shadow Road safety Minister) and asked them to fix this deadly dangerous intersection,” he said. On 17 February, the local MP of Narren Warren South Judith Graley (who

is Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier) announced that the Andrews Labor government has provided $5.2 million to upgrade the notoriously dangerous and congested intersection of Pound and Shrives roads in Hampton Park. The up gradation of this dangerous intersection is likely to prevent many accidents, save lives and prevent injuries of local residents. —SAT News Service.

Travellers embrace SmartGate expansion By SAT News Desk

elbourne: The use of SmartGate by travellers entering Australia has increased substantially over the past year in an indication of the success of the new multilingual capability that was implemented in late 2014. The Minister for Trade and Investment, the Hon. Andrew Robb MP said from 11 December 2014 to 22 February 2015, 1.5 million travellers successfully entered Australia using SmartGate. “This outstanding result represents an increase of 38 per cent on the same period last year resulting in more travellers spending less time at the airport and more time doing enjoying our beautiful country,” Minister Robb said. The multilingual capability provides travellers the option to select from Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay and Spanish

in addition to English. The Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said SmartGate not only speeds up processing, it also enhances the travel experience

and airport security. “Last financial year the Immigration Department processed 33.6 million international travellers arriving in and departing Australia,” Minister Cash said. SmartGate is currently avail-

able upon arrival for eligible nationals from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America and Singapore. Trials are also underway for eligible passport holders from Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, China,

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Hong Kong (SAR), Macau, Taiwan and Japan. Since implementation in August 2007, more than 18.5 million travellers have used SmartGate facilities. —SAT News Service.

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Debabrata Sikdar led Monash group create "lab-on-a-chip” A

research group in Monash University, led by an Indian doctoral research scholar Debabrata Sikdar, have created tiny optical antennas that offer the potential to measure food safety, identify pollutants in the air and even quickly diagnose and treat cancer. "Analogous to spotlights, the cubic antennas focus light in nanoscale with precise control over direction and beam width," said Sikdar. The new cubic antennas are composed of insulating materials, rather than conducting or semiconducting materials. They do better job than the previous spherical ones at directing and focusing an ultra-narrow beam of light, with little or no loss due to heating and scattering, and are also easier to fabricate. Debabrata Sikdar, a recipient of the prestigious Victoria India Doctoral Scholarship–2012, describes the envisioned applications for their nanocubes in biomedicine, nanolasers,

photovoltaics, and in integrated biosensing devices like “lab-on-a-chip”, where these unidirectional cubic nanoantennas are in use to direct the output from omnidirectional nanoscale light sources (nanoemitters). Researchers claim that the nanoscale directed beams of light incorporated in lab-ona-chip devices can feature as an illumination source in microfluidic analysis to assist in measuring bacterial levels in food/beverages, to help identify airborne pollutants, or even support quick diagnosis of deadly diseases like, HIV and

cancer. Besides, it may also find application in other nanoscale mechanisms, such as in ultra-sensitive force detection using minute deflection nanoscale registers or even in providing light-powered spinning devices to drive micro-machines. "These unidirectional nanoantennas are most suitable for integrated optics-based biosensors to detect proteins, DNA, antibodies, enzymes, etc., in truly portable lab-on-a-chip platforms of the future," said Debabrata Sikdar. He is currently a postgraduate student in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering in Monash University (an alumnus from Birla Institute of Technology & Science [B.I.T.S.] Pilani, Rajasthan, India) working on the project with Prof. Wenlong Cheng and Prof. Malin Premaratne. The nanoantennas can also potentially replace the lossy on-chip IC (integrated

circuit) interconnects, via transmitting optical signals within and among ICs, to ensure ultrafast data processing while minimizing device heating. To test their theories, the researchers placed 200-nanometer wide dielectric (nonconductive) nanocubes in simulation study, where the nanoantennas were located in the path of visible and near-infrared light sources. By arranging the nanocubes in a chain, the study reported that the space between the cubes and the number of cubes can be adjusted to finely-tune the width and focus of the light beams as required for various applications. Researchers are now looking forward to practical realization of these tiny antennas. "We would like to collaborate with other research groups across the world, making all these wonders possible," said Sikdar. The results of this research were recently

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To test their theories, the researchers placed 200-nanometer wide dielectric (nonconductive) nanocubes in simulation study, where the nanoantennas were located in the path of visible and near-infrared light sources. published in the Journal of Applied Physics Source: American Institute of Physics and Gizmag

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Free Family Fun Day at Gateway, Truganina Join in the fun with the family! Saturday 14th March from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Gateway Truganina, a growing residential estate in Melbourne’s thriving west will host a Family Day on Saturday March14th from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. Families can come to learn about Gateway, the land estate from multi award winning developer Central Equity Land that meets the same exacting standards that have won that company several major industry accolades in recent years while having a great time at Gateway’s Family Fun Day. On the day, prospective buyers wanting to learn more about the estate can enjoy fun family activities, view brand new display homes by some of Melbourne’s leading builders and view the estate’s brand new land release. Also present on the day will be the mortgage broker to discuss mortgages and attend to enquiries regarding finance. There will also be some great buyers bonuses on a selected range of homesites at Gateway. There will be a range of free activities including live music, a jumping castle and ferris wheel, face painting, an animal farm and free BBQ, cold drinks and barista coffee.A number of local businesses community groups will be in attendance. With land starting at $199,000 and house and land packages at $348,000, the new Highgrange release

offers an extensive range of lot sizes (up to 16m frontage) with flexible design guidelines that will help buyers to customize and build their dream house. Gateway Truganina offers easy access to a variety of established local shopping, transport and recreation facilities. At just 20km from the city centre Gateway is the eastern most estate in Truganina and offers good freeway access and close proximity to Williams Landing Station (a premium train station with bus depot and car parking). Homesites are set amongst well designed

streetscapes and central to the estate is Truganina Gardens, with two acres of picturesque grounds featuring an adventure playground for children and large grassed areas for recreational activities. Gateway is also home to an expansive conservation reserve that will help indigenous flora and fauna thrive so that they can be enjoyed by generations to come. Many home sites in the estate feature spectacular views across this picturesque setting. The estate is close to major employment hubs and a variety of public and private schools. Nearby

primary and secondary schools include the popular Truganina South Primary School and prestigious Westbourne Grammar. Health facilities in the area include a brand new on-site medical centre and nearby Werribee Mercy Hospital. Visitors can find out more from Central Equity’s friendly consultants at the new Sales and Information Centre. With house and land packages starting at $348,000, new home sites are expected to sell fast. Visit Gateway for some great family fun! Information: www.gatewayland.com.au Inquiries:1800 44 55 20

Online complaint site for overseas Indians By SAT News Desk

elbourne: The Indian government has setup an online consular grievance system MADAD, for registering complaints of overseas Indians. Indians who want to access the system have to register at www.org2.passportindia. in and then lodge the complaint. The system is that the complaint will first be sent to a consular in the mission and then move ahead if not addressed. The online system has been developed to coordinate work between India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) to expedite grievances of overseas Indians. —SAT News Service. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082

Gateway Truganina offers easy access to a variety of established local shopping, transport and recreation facilities.

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In her murder, Prabha unites community By Ashok Kumar

YDNEY, 14 March: It needs one incident to unite the community. And, the news of brutal murder of Indian Techie Prabha Arun Kumar on 7 March 2015 spread like wild fire engulfing the entire Sydney, Melbourne, other Australian cities and the heat was also felt in India. Prabha was walking up the Parramatta Park towards her home and talking to her husband in India when she was accosted by some tall man who apparently stabbed her in the neck and chest. “ I think I’ve been stabbed,” she told him before collapsing in a pool of blood. The line then went dead. The man who had heard her cries tried to give her CPR till the ambulance arrived and took her to Westmead hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. “It is a nightmare. I don’t know why this happens to good people,” Ms Kumar’s friend and flatmate, who asked only to be identified as Sarada, said. “I don’t know how I’m going to face her husband. She is very close to her husband and daughter. “She talks to them every day, as soon as she finishes work she calls her husband and keeps talking. She has a good family.” On 11 March some 400 people had braved thunder storm and gathered at the Parramatta Park to retrace Piranha’s steps to the spot where she had died. The people, after prayers, offered their homage by placing floral wreaths and lit candles. While Police said it has turned no stone unturned and set up a special task force to investigate the murder, the local politicians said steps are being taken to better lighting in the area for the safety of the people. Earlier, NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Communities and Citizenship Victor Dominello sought to reassure the Indian community that every effort is being made to investigate the fatal attack on an Indian woman at Westmead and bring the perpetrators to justice. “I was shocked and horrified to hear about the attack on Mrs Prabha Arun

Kumar and my thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this devastating time,” Mr Baird said. “I was particularly saddened to hear about the attack, which took place on Saturday just hours after I had joined the Indian community to celebrate Holi, the ancient Hindu festival of colours at Parramatta. “This was a brutal and cowardly attack on a member of the public that is now being investigated by a dedicated team of police officers and detectives. “I have every confidence that Strike Force Marcoala will use every resource available to help bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice. Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello said contact has been made with the Indian Consul-General to ensure Ms Kumar’s family receives support and assistance throughout the police investigation. “I have spoken with Indian Consul-General Sunjay Sudhir and assured him no stone will be left unturned to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice,” Mr Dominello said. “The people of NSW have a very strong affinity for India and its people and I want to reassure the people of India that the NSW Government is treating this investigation with the highest possible priority.” Regarding the candle light vigil, Mr. Baird said, “I was touched to hear the

A few questions still remain unanswered. Why the Mindtree, where Prabha worked did not provide a cab or any other conveyance her, especially when she was doing a double shift. circumstances. My sister was a loving wife, mother, daughter and sibling. She was loved by many.

community had organised a gathering at the park where Mrs Prabha Arun Kumar tragically lost her lost her life. “Last night’s candlelight vigil demonstrates how shocked we are that such a vicious attack could have taken place in suburban Sydney, where we live in peace and harmony.” “The community united in mourning last night and Prabha’s family can take comfort in the knowledge they are in our thoughts and prayers at this devastating time.” “A dedicated team of police officers and detectives is investigating Prabha’s death and I am confident the perpetrator of this crime will be brought to justice.” However, the Police have ruled out the murder as a race motivated or a sexual attack Prabha Arun Kumarbut vowed to bring the culprit to justice. On Thursday, 12th March, husband and brother of Prabha Mr. G. Arun Kumar

and Mr. Shankar Shetty, respectively addressed the media and said, “I am a husband who has lost his wife and the father of a young girl who has lost her beloved mother. I cannot describe to you the pain I presently feel. My wife was the most caring and beautiful soul. Prabha was planning to buy a little penguin toy and send it to our daughter in India, but now she will never be able to do that. I know that we can’t bring her back but I want whoever killed my gorgeous wife to be brought to justice. If you have any information that can help police, please contact Crime Stoppers. Her brother Shankar Shetty said, ” I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I have lost my much-loved sister. The pain I have felt since my sister’s death has been unimaginable. No one deserves to have any of their family taken away from them in these horrible

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We don’t want any other family to go through the pain we are going through. Tragically, Prabha will never see her daughter grow up. I appeal to anyone who has any information to contact police. Please help detectives catch whoever killed my sister. And finally I say this to the person who did this; you have taken my sister’s life, please step forward, get help, and get your life back. While her husband has taken Prabha’s body back to India for final rites, there has been no communication or update from ConsulGeneral’s office in Sydney or High Commissioner’s office in Canberra. A few questions still remain unanswered. Why the Mindtree, where Prabha worked did not provide a cab or any other conveyance her, especially when she was doing a double shift. Why the lonely Park area is not brightly illuminated so the people can feel safe. A Mindtree spokeswoman said: “We are providing all the necessary support to authorities investigating the case.” Source: Indian Subcontinent Times

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Taliban, army, hunger: The woes of Pakistan’s displaced By Ashfaq Yusufzai

ESHAWAR, Mar 10 2015 (IPS) - A doctor shakes his head in despair as he examines a 10-year-old child at the Jalozai refugee camp, about 35 km by road from Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. “He is severely malnourished,” Dr. Zeeshan Khan tells IPS. “He is vulnerable to diseases like diarrhoea, and other infections.” Identifying the problem is about all the doctor can do. In this camp, there are too many refugees and too little food. Until that situation changes, kids like little Ahmed Ali will continue to feel the pangs of hunger, and the creeping fear of illnesses that his body is too weak to fight off. Ali came to Jalozai with his family last year, when Operation Khyber-1, a government-led military offensive in their native Khyber Agency, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), forced thousands to flee for their lives. Ali, together with his parents and siblings, has now joined the ranks of some three million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Pakistan, forced out of their towns and villages over the course of a decade: first by militant groups operating in this remote tribal belt that borders Afghanistan, and – more recently – by Pakistan’s armed forces, as they carry out a determined campaign against designated terrorist groups in the area. One such offensive codenamed Operation Zarb-e-Azab began last June, with the military focusing its firepower on the 11,585-square-km North

Waziristan Agency where militants have operated with impunity since crossing over the Afghan border in 2001. Launched in response to the deadly June 2014 terror attack on the Karachi International Airport, the operation has been hardest on civilians. An estimated 900,000 people were displaced last year, nearly all of whom took refuge in Bannu, an ancient city of the KP province where ‘tent cities’ were erected to house some 90,000 families. Each fresh wave of displacement has put more pressure on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to feed, heal and shelter thousands of newly uprooted citizens, while simultaneously tending to some 2.1 million ‘permanent’ refugees who have fled the various agencies of FATA since the Taliban and other militant groups claimed the region as a base of operations in 2001. Meeting the needs of such an enormous refugee population has put tremendous strain on the government. Provincial Disaster Management Authority Spokesman Adil Khan says that each family receives a monthly allocation of 90 kg of wheat, one kg of tea leaves,

five kg of sugar, two kg of rice and two litres of oil in order to alleviate extreme hunger. But most households IPS spoke with, in camps across the northern province, say this isn’t enough for families comprised, on average, of 10 or more people. In Bannu, for instance, there are still 454,000 displaced persons, despite robust efforts to relocate families or unite them with their relatives in the area. According to the director-general of health for the KP province, Pervez Kamal, more than 15 percent of the remaining IDPs were malnourished as of January 2015. “The foodstuffs we get aren’t sufficient to feed my 10-member family,” says Darwaish Gul, a former resident of FATA’s Bajuar Agency, who now resides in a camp in Bannu. “Back home, we were farmers, growing our own food,” the 60-year-old refugee tells IPS. “We always had enough grain, vegetables and fruits. Now, we have only one meal a day, and always go to sleep hungry.” The government has refuted such claims, insisting that its emergency aid and food rations are sufficient to feed every hungry mouth in the camps.

But a United Nations report released in the summer of 2014 pointed out that 31 percent of IDPs didn’t receive relief supplies or food items since they lacked computerised national identity cards. Of the refugees who arrived from North Waziristan alone, over 15 percent did not qualify for food aid. These included displaced families who had no male members (seven percent), families headed by children (four percent) and families headed by people with disabilities, or elderly persons (five percent). The situation was compounded by the fact that many of the displaced from North Waziristan trekked for miles in 45-degree Celsius heat to reach Bannu. Scores collapsed along the way, and those who made it safely were severely malnourished, dehydrated or otherwise weakened by the journey. With limited food and medical supplies, thousands have not fully recovered from the ordeal. They are in need of specialised care, but only the most basic services exist to meet their many needs. Iqbal Afridi, the FATA representative of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), an opposition political party, tells IPS that the situation is “extremely precarious”, with scores of families either experiencing, or on the verge of, hunger. He runs an association of affected people, and last November he led a contingent of IDPs from Bara, a township in the Khyber Agency, to the Peshawar Press Club to protest – among other things – the lack of medical supplies, inadequate food rations for the displaced, and miserable – if not non-existent – water and sanitation facilities, which

Navdeep Suri: the next High Commissioner of India in Australia

elbourne: Mr. Navdeep Suri, has been appointed the next High Commissioner of India in Australia. He is expected to join soon. Till now he was the Ambassador to Egypt and replaces Mr. Biren Nanda who was High Commissioner for five years. He had replaced Mrs. Sujatha Singh in 2012. Mr Navdeep Suri will be India’s 25th High Commissioner in Canberra. Mr. Navdeep Suri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983 and has served in

India’s diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London and as India’s Consul General in Johannesburg. He has also headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs. His innovative use of social media in public diplomacy has received extensive recognition and two prestigious awards. Mr. Suri has learnt Arabic and French, has a Masters degree in Economics and has written on India’s

Africa policy, on Public Diplomacy and on the IT outsourcing industry. His English translations of his grandfather Nanak Singh’s classic Punjabi novels have been published by Penguin as ‘The Watchmaker’ and by Harper Collins as ‘A Life Incomplete’. Mr. Suri is accompanied by his wife Mani who has a degree in Economics and is now an accomplished graphic designer and potter. They have two daughters, a journalist and an avid environmentalist.

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has enabled the spread of diseases. Others say they just want to expedite government clearance from the camps so they can return to their homes. Nearly every week, groups of IDPs protest in Peshawar, either through marches or sit-ins, always condemning the lack of resources allocated to their basic survival. “We have been demanding early repatriation to our ancestral homes as our lives have become miserable,” Shah Faisal, a refugee from Khyber Agency now living in a camp in KP, tells IPS. “We left our home for the sake of peace but peace is still elusive. “Back home, we had agricultural land, which produced enough food for us. We used to sell our surplus grain and vegetables for an income, but now we are becoming beggars,” he contends. Some experts say a health crisis is not far off. Jawadullah Khan, a doctor who has worked extensively with refugees in the Bannu and elsewhere, tells IPS that people here are badly in need of balanced diets, and clean water. “We have been trying our level best to provide the best healthcare facilities to the displaced population as they are more vulnerable to diseases,” he says. In Jalozai refugee camp, which houses families from five out of FATA’s seven tribal agencies, Ahmed Ali has finished with the doctor and is walking back to his tent. Until the government of Pakistan comes up with a national strategy to deal with its displaced population, this little boy will have no respite from hunger. —Edited by Kanya D’Almeida

Mr. Navdeep Suri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983 and has served in India’s diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London and as India’s Consul General in Johannesburg.

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Religion, Politics and Society

What has religion to do with politics? What has violence to do with religion? And how does the expression of major political agenda shape itself in contemporary times? Roughly speaking it seems that the religion is being used as a cover for many a political phenomenon. This seems to be the observation more so from South Asian-West Asian perspective. By Ram Puniyani

o talk of last few decades, the first major presence of religion in politics began with the coming to power of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. This was the political aftermath of the overthrow of Mossadeq, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran in 1953. Mossadeq had nationalized the oil wealth and this move hurt the interests of the Western oil (mainly US) companies. After the overthrow of this Government, Raza Shah Pahlavi, a US stooge, was installed into the seat of power. He was overthrown in a revolution which was so manipulated that Ayatollah Khomeini came to capture power. Khomeini and Company’s politics was that of Islamic Fundamentalism. With this, there were rumblings in the media, and phrase ‘Islam: the new threat’ came to be coined. In South Asia during these decades in India we see the rise of politics of identity constructed around Hindu religion, in Pakistan Zia ul Haq Islamized the politics and Maulana Maududi’s interpretation of Islam came in handy for Zia to consolidate his power. A bit later in Myanmar in due course we saw the rise of likes of Ashin Wirathu, also called as Burma’s Bin Laden, Sri Lanka also saw the emergence of Buddhist clergy which ran along to supplement the politics in name of Buddhism. On a different note one also recalls the presence of Christian Fundamentalism in US. With the Twin Tower, 9/11, attack, the US media coined the word “Islamic terrorism’, dragging Islam into the murky world of terrorist violence. Here after ‘Islam, Muslims are the cause of terrorist violence’ has been a part of social understating all over. The deviant tendencies with Islam, Political Islam have done enough to deepen this understanding to the detriment of Muslims all over. The morality aspects of most religions’ talked of Humanism in the contexts in which they emerged. Somehow, the identity aspects of religion, the rituals; communitarian functions, clergy etc. became the dominant one’s and have been perceived as major parts of religion today. In feudal society, pre-industrial society, we see a big alliance

of clergy of religions with the powers that be. Clergy did evolve the concepts for people’s subservience to the power of the rulers. King-Pope in Europe, Nawab-Shahi Imam in large parts of Islamic world and RajaRajguru, where Hinduism was prevalent; formed the nexus of this alliance where the rulers took the cover of religion to carry on with their goals of power. During this era again we see that Kings' expansionism also expressed through the language of religion, the quest of Christian kings for expansion was called Crusade, Muslim kings had Jihad as a cover and not to be left behind Hindu kings expanded their kingdoms under the guise of Dharmayuddh. The countries where the process of secularization, removal of the hold of feudal-clerical elements from social affairs was substantial, the religion was kept in the by lanes of society. Religion became related more to matters personal. State came to treat all its citizens on par, irrespective of their personal beliefs. In contrast; in South Asia in particular; the process of secularization remained incomplete and the declining sections of landlords and Clergy hit back with the politics in the garb of religion. In India we saw the emergence of Hindu and Muslim communal streams from the section of Kings and landlords, later to be joined in by the section of educated middle classes. They were exclusive, Hindu or Muslim Nationalists, and were led by small section the educated elite, likes of Jinnah or Savarkar or Golwalkar. This had its own

trajectory, assisting the colonial project of ‘divide and rule’ and to maintain the economic dominance of colonial now imperialist powers. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi stood tall religious person advocating the secular state. The communal streams, spread hatred against the other communities.

Communal violence in South Asia is now a frighteningly disturbing phenomenon. It is taking the cover of Hinduism in India, of Islam in Bangladesh and Pakistan, of Buddhism in Myanmar and Sri Lanka for example. This violence has a political motto, the agenda; the values of the pre Modern feudal classes in a modern context. The attempt to reinforce the feudal values of caste and gender hierarchy is made in a language which sounds modern and is modified for the contemporary context.

Al Qaeda was a product of three major foundations. On one hand was Islamism of Zia ul Haq, who set up Madrassas in Pakistan for indoctrinating the youth. The ideology used here was from Saudi Arabia, Wahabism, which centers on the ‘king-ruler as the representative of God. Here one who disagrees with this version is the Kafir (Infidel), and killing the kefir is projected as the noble act Jihad, with reward of Janna waiting for those doing this inane violence. The major support for this endeavor came from US, which poured in 8000 million dollars and 7000 tons of armaments to build this root of the cancerous Al Qaeda and terrorist violence in the name of Islam.

To add salt to the injury of violence in the name of religion, the post Khomeini, labeling of “Islam as the new threat’ was boosted by the phrase “Islamic terrorism’ in the wake of 9/11 attack on twin towers. The Al Qaeda came to the forefront. This organization is the root of most the terrorist violence in the central-west Asia. The Boko Haram, ISIS and AL Qaeda form the triad where Islamic identifies is kept at the core. The process started with joining the anti Soviet forces in Afghanistan, calling the communists as infidels and so the violence. Now other’ sects of Muslims are called as infidels and done to death in the scary manner. Surely, more Muslims have died

So where do we go from here. The roles of religion have been changing over periods of time. We need to pick up the threads from the tradition of religions and face the present challenge to human society. Religion as a moral force needs to be projected; and morality of religions needs to be projected and the violence in the name of religion needs of is deconstructed to see the real intent of the violence, which is aimed at the preservation of pre modern values or which is an offshoot of the politics of oil. The activists and scholars of religion need to harp on the morality aspect of religion and debunk the religion as identity part. Source: TheCitizen

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PANDITH : RAVI VARMA NEW IN MELBOURNE

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Internet.org app now available in India

Late last year Facebook hosted the first Internet.org Summit in New Delhi, India. The Summit, and keynote from Mark Zuckerberg, addressed barriers to internet connectivity and explored ways to provide internet access to more than a billion people in India who aren't yet connected.

oday, Facebook and Reliance Communications are making the internet available to millions of people in India through the launch of the Internet.org app and free basic services. This is the first time the Internet.org app will be available in the region. Reliance customers in six Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Mahararashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Telangana) will now have access to more than three dozen services ranging from news, maternal health, travel, local jobs, sports, communication, and local government information. The full list of free services includes: Aaj Tak - Read news in Hindi, AccuWeather - Get updated weather information, amarujala. com - Read news in Hindi, AP Speaks - Engage with local government, Babajob Search for jobs, BabyCenter & MAMA - Learn about pregnancy and children, BBC News - Read news from around the world, Bing Search - Find information, Cleartrip - Check train and flight schedules & buy tickets, Daily Bhaskar - Read local news, Dictionary.com - Search for meanings of words, ESPN Cricinfo - Get cricket updates, Facebook Communicate with friends and family, Facts for Life - Find health and hygiene information,Girl Effect - Read articles and tips for girls,

HungamaPlay - Listen to music, IBNLive - Read news, iLearn - Learn from Women Entrepreneurs,India Today - Read local news, Internet Basics - Learn about the basics of the Internet, Jagran - Read local news, Jagran Josh - Get education and career information, Maalai Malar - Read news in Tamil, Maharashtra Times - Read news in Marathi, Malaria No More - Learn about malaria, manoramanews.com - Read local news, Messenger Send messages to friends and family, NDTV - Read news, Newshunt - Read news

in English, OLX - Buy and sell products and services, Reliance Astrology - Read your horoscope, Reuters Market Lite - Get farming and crop information, Socialblood - Register to donate blood, Times of India - Read news, TimesJobs Search for jobs, Translator - Translate words and phrases, Wikipedia - Find information and wikiHow Find information. Reliance customers in India can access these services in the Internet. org Android app, at www. internet.org, from the start

screen of the Opera Mini mobile web browser, and using the Android app UC Browser for Internet.org. Most of the services will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi. This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone to the internet, and to help people share their ideas and creativity with the entire world. We’ll continue to improve the experience and roll it out to other parts of the world. Source: internet.org

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This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone to the internet, and to help people share their ideas and creativity with the entire world.

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Coal: Burning Up Australia’s Future By Suganthi Singarayar

YDNEY, Mar 11 2015 (IPS) - With less than a year to go before the United Nation’s annual climate change meeting scheduled to take place in Paris in November 2015, citizens and civil society groups are pushing their elected leaders to take stock of national commitments to lower carbon emissions in a bid to cap runaway global warming. Industrialised countries’ trade, investment and environment policies are under the microscope, with per capita emissions from the U.S., Canada and Australia each topping 20 tonnes of carbon annually, double the per capital carbon emissions from China. But despite fears that a rise in global temperatures of over two degrees Celsius could lead to catastrophic climate change, governments around the

world continue to follow a ‘business as usual’ approach, pouring millions into dirty industries and unsustainable ventures that are heating the planet. In Australia, coal mining and combustion for electricity, for instance, has become a highly divisive issue, with politicians hailing the industry as the answer to poverty and unemployment, while scientists and concerned citizens fight fiercely for less environmentally damaging energy alternatives. Others decry the negative health impacts of mining and coal-fired power, as well as the cost of dirty energy to local and state economies. Globally, coal production and coal power accounts for 44 percent of CO2 emissions annually, according to the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions. Australia’s reliance on coal for both export and electricity

generation explains its poor track record in curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reporting last year that Australia’s 2010 carbon emission rate was 25 tonnes per person, higher than the per capita emissions of any other member of the organisation. According to new studies out this year, the health costs associated with the five coal-fired power stations located in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, about 120 km north of Sydney, are estimated to be around 600 million Australian dollars (456 million U.S. dollars) per annum. A report released in February by the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), a coalition of 28 organisations working to protect human health, concluded that the “estimated costs of health

damages associated with coal combustion for electricity in the whole of Australia amounts to 2.6 billion Australian dollars [197 million U.S. dollars] per annum.” CAHA’s convenor, Fiona Armstrong, told IPS that CAHA aims to draw attention to Australia’s health and energy policy in light of its heavy dependence on fossil fuels. “Without changing our energy choices, we are not going to be able to act effectively on climate change,” she contended. She pointed out that the Hunter Region, one of the largest river valleys on the coast of New South Wales, is one of the most intensive mining areas in Australia. “It’s responsible for twothirds of our emissions,” she explained, “So it’s a good example […] to see what the impacts are for people on the ground, [and] also to see what the contribution of coal from that community has on a global level.”

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Globally, coal production and coal power accounts for 44 percent of CO2 emissions annually, according to the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions. Hunter Valley produced 145 million tonnes of coal in 2013. Keeping in mind a conversion rate of 2.4 tonnes (2.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted for each tonne of coal

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produced), experts say that coal mined in the Hunter Valley in 2013 produced the equivalent of 348 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. According to the NSW Minerals Council, mining in the Hunter Region employs over 11,000 fulltime workers. It contributes 1.5 billion Australian dollars in wages and contributes 4.4 billion Australian dollars to the local community through direct spending on goods and services, as well as to local councils and community groups. But these riches come at a high price. The Hunter Valley is known for its vineyards, horse studs and farming areas, all of which are threatened by extensive mining in the region. Addressing a community meeting in the inner Sydney suburb of Glebe this past February, John Lamb, president of the Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association, spoke about the cost of mines on local communities, and the uncertainty wrought by their inability to fight against the rampant growth of the industry. Lamb’s Association previously fought the expansion of the Mount Thorley Warkworth coal mine by the multinational mining giant Rio Tinto. Dust from coal mines, he said, coats the roofs of people’s homes and runs into their rainwater tanks, polluting the community’s

water supply. Day and night, noise is a constant issue. Lamb also noted the impact of mining on land values in the area. The village of Camberwell in the Hunter Valley, for instance, which is surrounded by mines on three sides, only has four privately owned homes – the rest are occupied by miners or are derelict. Yancoal, the owner of the Ashton mine – 14 km northwest of the town of Singleton in Hunter Valley – owns 87 percent of homes in the area. Wendy Bowman, one of the last remaining residents of Camberwell village who has farmed in the Valley since 1957, is extremely concerned about the extent of mining in the area. She lives on a farm at Rosedale, between the towns of Muswellbrook and Singleton, and she is refusing to leave the area. She left her previous farm when the dust and water pollution caused by the Ravensworth South open cut mine became impossible to live with. In a video on the CAHA website, she says that she has dust in her lungs and that she has lost 20 percent of her lung capacity. But she is far more concerned about the health of the children in the area than she is about her own medical condition, and the consequences for the Department of Health

in 20 or 30 years time. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), coal mining and coal combustion for electricity generation is associated with high emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, both of which react to form secondary particulate matter in the atmosphere. Complex air pollutants such as these are known to increase the risk of chronic lung and respiratory disorders and disease, including lung cancer, and pose additional threats to children, and pregnant women. CAHA states that most health and medical research on coal-related pollution focuses on fine particles measuring between 2.5 and 10 micrometres in diameter (PM 2.5-PM10), which are particularly damaging to human health. According to the CAHA report, emissions of PM10 increased by 20 percent from 19922008 in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan area, an increase that is attributable to the increase in coal mining in the Hunter Valley. The report states that while at one time the Hunter Valley was “renowned for its clean air”, in 2014 it was identified as an “air pollution hot spot”. —Edited by Kanya D’Almeida

Compromising Other Industries

udith Leslie, who lives seven km from Rio Tinto’s Mount Thorley Warkworth mine, also believes that house values in the village of Bulga - approximately five km from three of the largest open cut coal mines in the Hunter Valley – have fallen as a result of the mine’s presence. She said that houses in the area had not sold for years and she believed it was a direct result of the presence of the mine. Brushing aside the community’s concerns, the government appears to be moving full steam ahead with coal-based projects. On Mar. 5 the New South Wales Government’s Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) stated that Rio Tinto’s Mount Thorley mine could be expanded if “stringent criteria” were met. Reasons given for approving the expansion of the mine included the “adverse economic impacts” on the towns of Singleton and Cessnock if the Warkworth and Mount Thorley projects were not approved. The PAC also argued that a further 29 million tonnes of coal could be mined from the area, providing an additional 120 jobs over 11 years, on top of continued employment for the existing 1,300 workers. It also spoke of a projected 617 million dollars in royalties to the state of New South Wales. But this projected revenue will again come at a loss. Expanding mines means threatening existing industries, like the Hunter Valley Thoroughbred Breeding industry, which contributes over five billion Australian dollars (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) to the national economy and 2.4 billion Australian dollars (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) to the economy of New South Wales. According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, in 2010 Hunter Valley wine makers produced more than 25 million litres of wine valued at over 210 million Australian dollars (160 million U.S. dollars). The total value of investment expenditure that is directly associated with the grape and wine industry exceeds 450 million Australian dollars (343 million U.S. dollars) each year. According to the Department, combined vineyard and tourism industries provide 1.8 billion Australian dollars (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) to the New South Wales economy. All this revenue could be lost of mines are expanded at the expense of other, more sustainable industries.

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south asia 28 South Asia Timestimes

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ICC Cricket

Aminul Islam: Bangladesh Captain of his country in its first ICC Cricket World Cup 1999 in England, Aminul Islam played 39 ODIs, scoring 794 runs and taking 7 wickets. A year later, he became his country’s first century-maker when he scored 145 in the inaugural Test against India in Dhaka. In the 1997 ICC Trophy, which Bangladesh won to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999, Aminul scored 217 runs in 10 matches, averaging 31. He is currently serving the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) as its Development Officer. Bangladesh won the game with neither Tamim nor Shakib contributing with the bat, showing the depth of the side, writes the former captain. It was a great victory by Bangladesh, who played a sensible, solid game to beat England. Their batting and bowling was disciplined throughout.

t looked like the batting lost a bit of momentum in the Powerplay as Mushfiqur Rahim was careful to stay at the crease to help Mahmudullah to his century, but even with that they scored at eight runs an over. And when it came to the bowling, the fact that they didn't bowl a single wide showed how they made England work for their runs. James Anderson and Stuart Broad did bowl with very good pace and direction and several inside-edges could have gone their way. Nevertheless, with short boundaries on both sides it was a 300 plus wicket and Bangladesh did well to recover after losing the early wickets of Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal. Soumya Sarkar looked positive from the start and will be hoping to convert his form into big runs. Mahmudullah has been very consistent and successful at No.4 with a solid technique and good temperament. Sometimes he forgets to move his feet when driving to the off but he has good shot selection and his first century was much deserved. England were a spinner short, with Moeen Ali not having any support. When there’s so much planning and counter-planning these days, it's a very good tactic to try an occasional bowler for an over or two just to make the batsmen have to rethink. I thought Mashrafe Mortaza handled the Bangladesh attack very well with some bowling changes that paid off. Mashrafe’s use of Shakib Al Hasan and his performance always kept England in check. It's always a good sign of team spirit when run-outs happen and Moeen Ali's gifting away of his wicket to a needless run-out really got Bangladesh believing they could win.

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M A R C H

southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times

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World Cup 2015

showed it has a lot to offer

here was a time when Ian Bell and Alex Hales were together that the game looked to be moving away from Bangladesh, but Bangladesh took regular wickets and Bell's dismissal by Rubel was the turning point. When an out of form Eoin Morgan went to a very good catch on the boundary by Shakib in the same over, Rubel’s pace forcing the blind hook, the game was Bangladesh's to win. Even with that it was close, Bangladesh fielded well and kept on pressing and they were the better side. It's astonishing to think that we are in the second half of a World Cup without England, but that's what happens when your players don't play to their potential. Bangladesh’s certainly have and considering they won the game with neither Tamim nor Shakib contributing with the bats, shows that they have a lot to offer. New Zealand is next, and after that the quarter-finals. Bangladesh can carry this positivity forward. 2015 © ICC Development (International) Limited

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ihNdI-puãp

south asia 30 South Asia Timestimes

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होली, मूम्बा और अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महिला-दिवस

इस महीने होली का त्योहार है , जो एक ख़ुशी का त्योहार है | इस त्योहार पर लोग ऊँच-नीच का भेद-भाव भूल कर एक दस ू रे से गले मिलते हैं , आपस में रं ग खेलते हैं और विशिष्ट पकवानों का आनंद उठाते हैं | इस वर्ष, मेल्बर्न का ‘मूम्बा’ उत्सव भी इसी समय मनाया जा रहा है | ‘मूम्बा’ आदिवासी भाषा का एक शब्द है , जिसके अर्थ होते हैं –“आओ हम सब मिल कर आनंद उठायें"| इस वर्ष के मूम्बा का विशेष महत्व यह है कि पहली बार भारतीय मूल की एक महिला को मूम्बा-रानी चुना गया है | इस महीने अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महिला-दिवस भी है | यह अवसर महिलाओं की स्थिति के आकलन करने का है | यद्यपि कई क्षेत्रों (उदाहरण के लिये, विभिन्न व्यवसायों में महिलाओं की स्थिति में सुधार हुआ है परं तु आज भी कई दे शों में, जिनमें अमेरिका, ऑस्ट्रेलिया जैसे विकसित दे श भी सम्मिलित हैं , पुरुष और स्त्री के वेतनों में असमानताएँ हैं | महिलाओं की सुरक्षा तथा घरे लू-हिं सा, दहे ज-प्रथा, महिला-भ्रूण-हत्या, बलात्कार जैसी समस्याएँ आज भी गंभीर समस्याएँ हैं , जिनसे जूझने की आवश्यकता है | इस महीने पड़ने वाले होली तथा अन्य त्योहारों व उत्सवों की आप सबको बधाई| इस अंक के k;Vyku'j स्तम्भ में मुख्यतः होली तथा महिलाओं तथा अन्य विषयों से सम्बंधित कविताएँ हैं । साथ में, ‘अमृत वृद्धाश्रम’ नामक कहानी का तीसरा भाग तथा ‘वी.सी.ई. हिन्दी के मेरे अनुभव’ ê'%l; का पहला लेख है । इसके अतिरिक्त, ‘संक्षिप्त समाचार’, ‘अब हँ सने की बारी है ’, ‘महत्वपूर्ण तिथियाँ’ व ‘सूचनाएँ’ स्तम्भ भी हैं | लिखियेगा कि आपको यह अंक कैसा लगा। —दिनेश श्रीवास्तव

p[k;xn sMb'/I sUcn;E\ ihNdI-puãp k; ¬ýeXy a;ŽS$^eily; me' ihNdI k; p[c;r-p[s;r krn; hw) p[k;ixt rcn;ao' pr koé p;irÅimk nhI' idy; j;t; hw) ihNdI-puãp me' p[k;ixt rcn;ao' me' le%ko' ke ivc;r ¬nke apne hote hw'² ¬nke ilye sMp;dk y; p[k;xk ¬Êrd;yI nhI' hw') hStili%t rcn;E\ SvIk;r kI j;tI hw' prNtu ”leK$^^;Žink åp se ¾ihNdI-s'SkOt¾ f¹;\$ me' rcn;E\ .eje' to ¬nk; p[k;xn hm;re ilE ai/k suiv/;jnk hog; kOpy; apnI rcn;E\ ákh;iny;\² kivt;E\² le%² cu$kule² mnor'jk anu.v a;idâ inMnili%t pte pr .eje'-

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नारी-शक्ति

ihNdI

M A R C H

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pirixã$â

m;cR 2015

k;Vy-ku'j --डॉ. सुभाष शर्मा, मेल्बर्न

कितने ही क़ानून बनें पर बंद दहे ज़ नहीं होगा नारी-शक्ति जाग उठो तुम को ही कुछ करना होगा द:ु शासन की कमी नहीं है वेश बदल कर आएँगे चीर तुम्हारा चीर चीर कर तार तार कर जाएँगे कितने ही क़ानून बनें पर चीर हरण फिर भी होगा अबकी कृ ष्ण नहीं आएँगे तुमको कुछ करना होगा आता है हर साल दशहरा और रावण भी फँु कता है रावण ही खुद राम भेष रख सीता जी को हरता है राम गए बनवास आज सीता का हरण सहज होगा राम नहीं तुमको ही अबके रावण से लड़ना होगा नहीं दप ु ट्टे के फंदे से फिर तुमको बंधना होगा

होली के रंग

-डॉ कौशल किशोर श्रीवास्तव,मेल्बर्न

होली त्यौहार है रं ग और गुलाल का, परस्पर मिलन का, हास्य और व्यंग्य का l गुलाबी रं ग प्रतीक है प्रेम का हरा रं ग ग्रामीण हरियाली और ख़ुशहाली का l रं गों का मिश्रण प्रतीक है बहुसांस्कृतिक समाज का, पूरब और पश्चिम के मिलन का l इतिहास पुरातन है होली पर्व का पर मान्यताएँ अनेक हैं , मेरे अनुमान में यह है ब्रज भूमि की धरोहर, वृन्दावन का चिर-संचित आभूषण, भारतीय संस्कृति का एक प्रीति अध्याय l इसके दर्पण में, मैं दे खता हूँ राधा और कृ ष्ण का निर्विकार प्रेम, गोपियों का अलौकिक नृत्य, नारियों का उन्मुक्त जीवन, ऊँच - नीच और भेदभाव का त्याग l इन्हीं में छिपा है होली का सन्देश, रं गों के बादल में दिखता है स्वदे श l अचानक मेरे विचारों की श्रृंखला टू टी ज्योंही एक ऑस्ट्रेलियन मित्र की आवाज़ आयी, “मैंने अभी-अभी फ़ेसबुक पर दे खा है दिल्ली की सड़कों पर होली का हुड़दं ग, उच्छृं खल तत्वों पर पुलिस का प्रहार l गायब है चहकती गोपियों की टोली, बन्द है महिलाओं की रं गारं ग ठिठोली, क्या यही है तुम्हारे दे श की होली ?" मैं तुरंत कह बैठा, "मैंने भी दे खी है खेल के मैदानों में 'कोक' और 'बीयर' के बोतलों की बर्षा, क्या यही है हमारी खेल संस्कृति की पहचान ? हमें असभ्य ही कहे गा कोई विदे शी मेहमान, क्या यही है सामाजिक प्रगति का निदान ?" मैंने पुनः कहा, “अभिनन्दन है तुम्हारा रं गों के समारोह में, इस सांस्कृतिक संगम के जीवन्त उत्सव में" मैं भेज रहा हूँ होली मुबारक का सन्देश, इसी में खिलेगा हमारा नया परिवेश l” उधर से आवाज आयी, “स्वीकार है तुम्हारा निमन्त्रण यही है उभरते समाज का बन्धन ! परस्पर सम्मान का दर्पण !!”

तुमको अपने पैर खड़े हो, औरों से लड़ना होगा डलहौज़ी जैसे मनमौजी से मुकाबला फिर होगा फांसी नहीं तुम्हें झांसी की रानी बन लड़ना होगा कितने घूँट पिये कड़वे, कुछ मीठे भी पीने होंगे जहरीले साँपों संग बाजीगर बन दिन जीने होंगे राणा वाला विष का प्याला तुम्हें नहीं पीना होगा राणा क्या प्याला राणा को तुमको ही दे ना होगा बहुत किया अन्याय कंस ने न्याय मगर अबकी होगा आन, मान, सम्मान तुम्हारा और पिता का भी होगा कंसों की कोई कमी नहीं है कोई तो फिर भी होगा अबकी कंस जेल में होगा, तुमको कुछ करना होगा

होली है वर्ष भर का त्योहार होली है वर्ष भर का त्योहार वर्ष भर का त्योहार, अबीर-गुलाल का प्रहार, होली है - बागों में भ्रमरों की गुंजार, शीतल, मंद समीर बयार होली है -रं ग-बिरं गे फूलों की बहार| प्रकृ ति का अद्त श्रृंगार भु होली है - घर में मित्रों की पुकार, सद्भावना का प्रचार होली है -परस्पर प्रेम का प्रसार,

-सुषमा श्रीवास्तव, नई दिल्ली एक-दज ू े की मनुहार| होली है -पिचकारी से रं गों की फुहार, गुझिया की थाली से प्यार, होली है -रूठे हुओं को दिखाना दल ु ार स्मृतियों का मन में संचार| होली है –अविश्वास पर विश्वास का वार मन में उल्लास की झंकार खुशियाँ आयें आप के द्वार, अगले वर्ष आप सबसे मिलने का इं तज़ार

yh kws; dex mh;n hw ? ijs jh\; a*r jh\;

/rtI k; cPp;-cPp; g'd; hw ibn xu« hv; tpeidk se jnt; mrtI hw ibn pIne l;yk p;nI ko log trste hw‹ kU@¹‘e ke !ero‹ pr bkrI a*r g;E\ crtI hw‹

yh kws; dex mh;n hw s@¹ko‹ me‹ g@(!e y; g@(!o‹ me‹ s@¹ke' hw‹ jh\; pwdl clne l;yk aCze fu$p;q nhI‹ a*r ¬n $U$e f‘U$e fu$p;qo' pr .I l;%o‹ ZuGgI-Zopi@¹y;\ hw‹ jh;\ mn a;y; vh;\ qUk idy; a*r idv;ro‹ pr mUt idy; yh kws; dex mh;n hw k;r² $^k a*r a;Ž$o v;le s@¹ko‹ pr t;<@v krte hw‹ sb ke s;mne bIc s@¹k k$; hua; ko”R rhe p@¹; fkR nhI‹ ko”R p@¹t; hw - mu\h fer - s.I ikn;r; krte hw‹ yh kws; dex mh;n hw ix=; dete hw' l@¹ko' ko² l@¹iky;\\ v'ict rh j;tI hw' bhuao‹ ko ssur;l me‹ koLhU ke bwl ke m;if‘k jIn; p@‘t; hw yh kws; dex mh;n hw jh\; bCce-biCcyo‹ a*r l@¹kI-l@¹ko' ko² mjbUr m;\-b;p becte hw‹ a*r srea;m tSkrI hotI hw apne `r ke a‹dr a*r b;hr .;rt kI n;rI suri=t nhI‹ vh bl;Tk;r krne v;le s;\@o'¹ se bcne ke s;/n !U\! rhI hw‹ yh kws; dex mh;n hw a;j .I dhej lekr log ibkte hw‹ Ees; j‘;ihr hw kuz /nI log d;m;do‹ kI bolI lg;ne me‹ m;ihr hw‹ g¹rIb m;\-b;p bec;re mu\hm\;gI rkme‹ n dene pr apnI s't;no‹ ke jIvn-sl;mtI kI dua;E\ krte hw‹ hm khte hw‹ - .;rt hw mh;n x;yd - yh hm .;rt ko c;hne v;lo‹‹ kI a;dt hw y; Ees; sunne se imltI r;ht hw r;jn - ho skt; hw - ye kevl hm sb kI c;ht hw

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--r;jeN{ cop@¹;² meLbnR

M A R C H

southSouth asia times 31 Asia Times

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कहानी - अमृत वृद्धाश्रम (भाग 3)

-विजय कुमार, है दराबाद

(पिछ्ले अंकों में आपने पढ़ा कि किस प्रकार ईश्वर ने अमृतलाल जी के अस्पताल में काम शुरू किया था| अस्पताल के मालिक, अमृतलाल जी के मित्र, भारद्वाज जी भी अपनी बहू के व्यवहार से दःु खी हो कर, उनके निमंत्रण पर उस अस्पताल में आ कर रहने और अस्पताल की दे खभाल करने लगे थे| अमृतलाल जी का लड़का, गौतम चंडीगढ़ में ‘एम.बी.बी.एस'. की पढ़ाई कर रहा था| लेखक (ईश्वर) की ज़िन्दगी भी आराम से कट रही थी| लीजिए अब आगे की कहानी पढ़िये–संपादक) मेरे मन में कभी शादी करने का ख्याल भी नहीं आया। काम इतना रहता था कि किन्हीं और बातों के लिए समय ही नहीं मिल पाता था। इतने सारे लोगों की सेवा में मुझे बहुत ख़ुशी मिलती, बदले में मुझे आशीर्वाद और प्रेम ही मिलता। सभी मुझे हमेशा अपना ही smZte qe। समय बीतने के साथ भारद्वाज जी ने उस अस्पताल के पिछले हिस्से में एक वृद्धाश्रम खोला जहाँ उन बूढ़े व्यक्तियों के रहने की व्यवस्था की गयी थी, जिनका सबकुछ होकर भी, कहीं कोई नहीं था, कहीं कुछ नहीं था। मैंने धीरे धीरे अस्पताल का वह हिस्सा संभालना सीख लिया। मेरे विनम्र और दयालु स्वभाव की वजह से सब मुझे अपना ही मानने लगे। एक दिन भारद्वाज जी का लड़का अपनी पत्नी के साथ, जायदाद मांगने के लिए आया। खूब हं गामा हुआ| भारद्वाज जी ने गुस्से में सारी जायदाद इस वृद्धाश्रम के नाम लिख दी और उसी वक़्त से अपने बेटे, बहू से रिश्ता तोड़ लिया। मैं अवाक था। मैंने अक्सर यहाँ एक घर को टू टते और दस ू रे घर को बनते दे खा था। हम तीनों - मैं, अमृतलाल जी और भारद्वाज जी - दीन दखि ु यों की सेवा में ही अपना सारा सुख ढू ँ ढते थे। फिर वह दिन भी आ गया जिसका मुझे डर था। अपनी पढ़ाई पूरी करके अमृतलाल जी का लड़का लन्दन जाने की तैयारी के साथ आया और अमृतलाल जी को अपना फ़ैसला सुना दिया। अमृतलाल जी ने कहा, ठीक है पढ़ाई पूरी करके वापस आ जाओ और यह अस्पताल संभालो| लड़के ने मना कर दिया। लड़के ने खुले रूप से कहा कि वह इन ग़रीबों के

लिए नहीं बना है और न ही वह कभी यहाँ आना चाहे गा। उसने अमृतलाल जी से कहा, या तो वे उसके साथ चलें या यहीं रहें । अमृतलाल जी अवाक रह गए। उन्होंने कहा, यह मेरा घर है , ये सभी मेरे अपने लोग हैं , मैं इन्हें छोड़कर कहाँ जाऊं, मैं ही इन सबका सहारा हूँ| लड़के ने कहा आप ने इन सब का ठे का नहीं लिया हुआ है । मैं आपका अपना बेटा हूँ, आपका ख़ून हूँ, आपको मेरा साथ दे ना चाहिए। अमृतलाल जी ने कहा, डॉक्टर तू बना है , लेकिन सेवाभाव मन में नहीं आया है । लड़के ने कहा, सेवा करने के लिए मैंने पढ़ाई नहीं की है । मैंने एक सुख भरे जीवन की कल्पना की है , जो यहाँ रहने से नहीं मिलेगा। आप मेरे साथ चलिए। पर अमृतलाल जी नहीं माने। मैं चुप था। भारद्वाज जी भी चुप थे। अमृतलाल जी ने उसकी पढाई के लिए पैसों की व्यवस्था कर दी और चुपचाप सोने चले गए। लड़का दस ू रे दिन चला गया अकेला ही बिना अपने पिता को साथ लिये। हमेशा के लिए। अमृतलाल जी उसको पैसा भेजते रहे । वह पढ़ता रहा, उसने वहीं लन्दन में अपने साथ काम करने वाली डॉक्टर लडकी से शादी कर ली और फिर बीतते समय के साथ, उसके एक बेटा भी पैदा हुआ, उसका नाम सूरज था| यह नाम अमृतलाल जी ने ही सुझाया था। फिर वह दिन भी आ ही गया, जिसे मैं कभी भी याद भी नहीं करना चाहता। उस दिन अमृतलाल जी का जन्मदिन था। उन्हें सुबह से ही सीने में दर्द हो रहा था। उनका बेटा गौतम लन्दन से आया हुआ था और वह शाम को उनसे मिलने आने वाला था। अमृतलाल जी की उससे मिलने की बहुत

मेल्बर्न का मूम्बा उत्सव

इच्छा थी, क्योंकि उनका पोता सूरज भी साथ आया हुआ था। उन्होंने अब तक उसे नहीं दे खा था। अस्पताल में उस दिन कोई नहीं था। हम सब उनके कमरे में थे| मैंने और भारद्वाज जी ने उनके कमरे को सजाया। शाम को करीब एक वकील साहब आये। अमृतलाल जी, वकील साहब और भारद्वाज जी के साथ अपनी बैठक में चले गए। करीब एक घंटे बाद वो सब बाहर निकले। अमृतलाल जी के चेहरे पर परम संतोष था। फिर वे अपने बेटे, बहू और पोते का इन्तजार करने लगे। मैंने सभी के लिए अच्छा सा खाना बनाया हुआ था और हाँ, उनके लिए केक भी ले कर आया था। हम सब इन्तजार ही कर रहे थे कि अचानक शहर में तेज़ बारिश होने लगी, बर्फ के ओले भी गिरे , और आँधी तूफ़ान का माहौल हो गया। बिजली भी चली गयी, मैंने और भारद्वाज जी ने लालटे न जलाई। हम इन्तज़ार कर ही रहे थे कि उनका बेटा गौतम अपने परिवार के साथ आये लेकिन कुछ ही दे र बाद उसका फ़ोन आ गया कि वो इस आँधी तूफ़ान में नहीं आ सकता। यह सुनकर अमृतलाल जी का चेहरा बुझ गया। उन्होंने हमसे सो जाने को कहा और वापस अपनी बैठक में जा कर अंदर से दरवाज़ा बंद कर लिया। हम दोनों चुपचाप थे। रात गहरी अंधकारमय होती जा रही थी। मैंने भारद्वाज जी से कहा कि वे भी सो जाएँ। उनके सोने के बहुत दे र बाद रात क़रीब दो बजे मैंने हिम्मत करके अमृतलाल जी की बैठक में झांक कर दे खा। वे चुपचाप बैठे थे। बार-बार वे अपने फ़ोन की ओर दे ख उठते थे कि शायद वह बजे और संदेशा आये कि उनका गौतम आ रहा है । लेकिन

उसे न बजना था सो न बजा। केक वैसे ही पड़ा रहा। खाना किसी ने भी नहीं खाया। मैं वहीँ बैठक के बाहर बैठे बैठे सो गया। सुबह-सुबह भारद्वाज जी ने मुझे उठाया। वे और अमृतलाल जी दोनों रोज़ सुबह सैर को जाया करते थे। रात बीत चुकी थी। आँधी तूफ़ान भी ठहर गया था। मैंने दरवाज़ा खटखटाया। दरवाज़ा अन्दर से बंद था| कोई आवाज नहीं आई| हम दोनों आशंकित हो उठे और ज़ोर-ज़ोर से दरवाज़ा फिर खटखटाया। जब दरवाज़ा नहीं खुला तो उसे तोड़ दिया। वही हुआ जिसका डर था। अमृतलाल जी चल बसे थे। मैं और भारद्वाज जी रोने लगे। इतने में गौतम अपनी पत्नी और सूरज के साथ आ पहुँचा। उसे सब कुछ समझते हुए दे र नहीं लगी। वह अचानक चुप हो गया। भारद्वाज जी ने कहा, गौतम तुम यही बैठो। इतने बड़े इं सान है , बहुत से लोग आयेंगे। बहुत सा काम करना होगा, हम सब इं तजाम करते है । अंतिम संस्कार हुआ, सारे शहर से लोग आये। मुझे भी उस दिन पता चला कि अमृतलाल जी की इस शहर में कितनी इज़्ज़त थी। गौतम चुपचाप बैठा रहा| बहू भी चुपचाप ही थी, हाँ पोता सूरज थोडा परे शान सा था, विचलित था। उसने दादा को पहले कभी नहीं दे खा था और जब दे खा तो इस अवस्था में दे खा। वह बार-बार रो उठता था। गौतम चुपचाप इसलिए था कि उसने शहर के लोगों की भीड़ दे खी थी और उसकी समझ में आ गया था कि उसने क्या खो दिया है । मैं ख़ुद है रान सा था कि कितने सारे लोग उनसे प्रेम करते थे और कितनों का रो रोकर बुरा हाल था। (क्रमशः)

s'i=Pt sm;c;r

डॉ. रमन मरार का निधन

३१ जनवरी, २०१५ को मेल्बर्न में डॉ. रमन मरार का निधन हो गया| वे ‘हिं द ू सोसायटी ऑफ़ विक्टोरिया’, ‘फेडरे शन ऑफ़ इण्डियन एसोसिएशंस ऑफ़ विक्टोरिया’ तथा ‘मलयाली समाज ऑफ़ विक्टोरिया’ के भूतपूर्व अध्यक्ष थे| मेल्बर्न में कैरम डाउन्स में शिव-विष्णु मन्दिर को स्थापित करवाने में उनका विशेष योगदान था| वे गणित के अध्यापक थे परं तु भाषा, धर्म, संस्कृति में उनकी विशेष रुचि थी| ऑस्ट्रेलियाई सरकार ने उन्हें सन ् २००२ में उनकी सेवाओं के लिये ‘ऑर्डर ऑफ़ ऑस्ट्रेलिया मेडल’ से सम्मानित किया था| उनके दे हांत से विक्टोरिया के भारतीय समाज ने एक महत्वपूर्ण नेता व समाज-सेवक खो दिया है |

मेल्बर्न में सन ् १९५५ से हर वर्ष मार्च में श्रम-दिवस के अवसर पर मूम्बा उत्सव मनाया जाता रहा है | इस उत्सव में मेल्बर्न की प्रमुख सड़कों पर विभिन्न संगठन परे ड में भाग लेते हैं और रोचक कार्यक्रमों का आयोजन किया जाता है | एक दिन के लिये एक पुरुष राजा बनता है और एक स्त्री रानी बनती है | इस वर्ष प्रसिद्ध क्रिकेट खिलाड़ी शेन वार्न राजा और पर्थ में जन्मी तथा मेल्बर्न में पली-बढ़ी, बॉलीवुड सिने-तारिका, पल्लवी शारदा रानी बन रही हैं | यह उत्सव सोमवार ९ मार्च को हो रहा है | अधिक जानकारी के लिये निम्न वेबसाइट दे खिये- melbourne. vic.gov.au/Moomba #exploremoomba

सिडनी में भारतीय सांस्कृतिक केन्द्र की स्थापना

भारतीय प्रधान मंत्री के वायदे के अनुसार, सिडनी के भारतीय कौंसलावास में ‘इन्डियन कल्चरल सेन्टर’ (आई.सी.सी.) स्थापित हो गया है और यहाँ २७ फ़रवरी से बातचीत की हिन्दी और योग सिखाने के लिये २७ फ़रवरी से निःशुल्क कक्षाएँ आरम्भ हो गयी हैं | ये कक्षाएँ दिन में १२.३० बजे से १.३० बजे तक १०९ पिट स्ट्रीट, सिडनी में हो रही हैं | भविष्य में संगीत व नृत्य की कक्षाओं के आयोजन की भी योजना है | अधिक जानकारी के लिये, निम्नलिखित वेबसाइट दे खिये या सिडनी कौंसलावास से सम्पर्क कीजिये- www.indianconsulatesydney.org

mhTvpU,R itiqy;\

५ मार्च(माघ पूजा-बुद्ध), ६ मार्च(होली/होली मोहल्ला), ८

मार्च(अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महिला-दिवस),

९ मार्च (श्रम-दिवस- ऑस्ट्रेलिया), २१ मार्च(नव-वर-्ष विक्रम

सम्वत), २८ मार्च(राम नवमी),

२ अप्रैल(गुड फ्राईडे ), ३ अप्रैल(महावीर जयंती), ४

अप्रैल(हनुमान जयंती), ५ अप्रैल(ईस्टर),

१४ अप्रैल(बैसाखी/अम्बेदकर जयंती)|

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वी.सी.ई. हिन्दी के मेरे अनुभव

-प्रिशा दाद ू (ग्लेनवेवर्ली केन्द्र,

वी.एस.एल.)

(हम हर वर्ष विक्टोरियन सर्टिफिकेट ऑफ़ एजुकेशन की १२वीं कक्षा की परीक्षा में उच्च अंक प्राप्त करने वाले विद्यार्थियों के अनुभवों के बारे में लेख प्रकाशित करते हैं | इसी ê'%l; में, सन ् २०१४ की परीक्षा में सर्वोच्च अंक प्राप्त करने वाली छात्रा का लेख प्रस्तुत है |)

मेरा जन्म इं डोनेशिया में हुआ था और मेरा लालन पालन ऑस्ट्रेलिया में, इस कारण मैं अपनी संस्कृति से वंचित रही। मुझे अपनी संस्कृति के बारे में सीखने के लिए हिं दी सीखने से बेहतर उपाय नहीं मिल सकता था। जब मैंने अपनी हिं दी शिक्षा आरम्भ की तो मुझे भारत की विविध संस्कृति और इतिहास के बारे में ज्ञान प्राप्त हुआ। अपनी जड़ों से जुड़ने के अतिरिक्त, मैं अब बिना किसी हिचकिचाहट के अपने परिवार से हिं दी में वार्तालाप कर सकती हूँ| इस प्रकार मैं उनके अधिक करीब हो पायी हूँ। अपनी मातृ भाषा में वे मुझ से थोड़ा और खुलकर वार्तालाप कर सकते हैं । आज मैं अपने विचारों को हिं दी में अधिक आसानी से अभिव्यक्त कर सकती हूँ। एक भाषा सीखने से हमारे अंदर रचनात्मकता और आत्मविश्वास बढ़ता है । और तो और, नयी भाषाएँ सीखने से हम अपने लिए नौकरी के अवसरों के द्वार खोलते हैं । ऑस्ट्रेलिया जैसे बहुसांस्कृतिक दे श में भाषाओँ का ज्ञान मूल्यवान होता है । हिं दी की कक्षा में जाना मुझे पसंद था। वहाँ का शांत वातावरण मुझे अच्छा लगता था और कुछ ही दिनों में मेरे वहाँ कुछ अच्छे मित्र भी बन गए। सभी विद्यार्थी और अध्यापिका एक दस ू रे की सहायता करने हे तु सदै व तत्पर रहते हैं । कक्षा में अधिक विद्यार्थी नहीं थे, इस कारण सब एक दस ू रे को अच्छी तरह जानते थे और अध्यापिका भी विद्यार्थियों की मदद अधिक सरलता से कर पाती थीं। ऐसे माहौल में पढ़ना भी अपने आप में एक अनोखा अनुभव था। भविष्य में हिं दी पढ़ने वाले विद्यार्थियों के लिए मेरी एक ही सलाह है , कि वे इस विषय में दिलचस्पी लें। यह ध्यान रखना आवश्यक है कि आप इस विषय को केवल अच्छे अंक लाने के लक्ष्य से न पढ़ें परन्तु कुछ सीखने के उद्दे श्य से अध्ययन करें । हिं दी पढ़ने के पश्चात मुझे स्वयं में बदलाव दिखे हैं जो मैं आशा करती हूँ कि आप भी अपने अंदर महसूस कर पाएँगे। सब विद्यार्थियों के लिए मेरा सुझाव है कि वे हिं दी की कक्षा में अपना दाखिला करवाएँ। मैं आपको यह भरोसा दिलाती हूँ कि हिं दी का अध्ययन आपके लिए एक सकारात्मक अनुभव रहे गा व आपके उज्जवल भविष्य के लिए शुभकामनाएँ भी साथ हैं ।

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पति-पत्नी (पुरानी गलतियाँ)

लीला(शादी के बीस साल बाद): शादी से पहले मैं और तुम एक-दस ू रे को दे खने के लिए कितने बेचन ै रहते थे| पति : अरे छोड़ो, पुरानी गलतियों को याद करने से क्या लाभ |

रे लवे-आम जनता की सपंत्ति

एक बार एक रे लगाड़ी में लिखा था – रे लवे आपकी अपनी सम्पत्ति है . एक चोर ने एक पंखा उतारा और लिख दिया – मैं अपना हिस्सा ले जा रहा हूँ|

South Asia Times south asia community 32 South Asia Timestimes

quick community guide Radio GUIDE

SBS Radio's South Asian

SUNDAY Language Program Hindi..................................9 am to 10 am – 93.1 FM BANGLA Urdu................................10 am to 11 am – 93.1 FM Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 Tamil...............................11 am to 12 pm – 93.1 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB Radio 2 Hindi.................................8 pm to 10 pm – 88.3 FM Monday & Saturday Singhalese.......................8 pm to 11 pm –97.7 FM 6-7 PM GUJARATI MONDA Y Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 Hindi....................................3 to 4 pm – 93.1 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBSPm Radio Bengali...............................4 pm to 5 pm – 93.1 FM Wednesday & Friday 4-5 PM Hindi...................................6 pm to 8 pm – 88.3 FM Indian (Fiji)..................................6 pm to 8 pm 88.3 HINDI Punjabi........................1 1 am to 12 Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 noon 92.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB Radio 2 Daily TUESDAY 5 PM

Hindi..................................... 6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi.................................... 2 pm to 4 pm – 97.7 FM kannada Sydney SBS Radio 3 Melbourne SBS Radio 3 WEDNESDAY Tuesday 3-4 PM

Hindi.................................... .6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi......................................... 12 to 1 pm – 93.1 FM Nepali Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS1Radio 2 12 pm - 92.3 FM Punjabi............................ 1 am to Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB Radio Hindi................................... .8 pm to 29 pm – 97.7 FM Saturday & Sunday 4-5 PM

THURSDAY PUNJABI Hindi............................... 5.30 am to 7 am – 97.7 FM Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 9 pm – 92.3 FM Tamil.................................... 8 pm to Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB Radio 2 Sinhalese.......................... 1 1 pm to 3 am –92.3 FM Monday & Friday Punjabi............................. 9 pm to 10 pm – 93.1 FM 9-10 PM SINHALESE FRIDAY Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 Indian.................................. .8 Radio am to 29 am – 88.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB

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 Melbourne Murugan Temple 17-19 Knight Ave., Sunshine VIC 3020 Ph: 03 9310 9026 Durga Temple (Durga Bhajan Mandali) Neales Road, Rockbank, Vic 3335 Ph: 03 9747 1628 or Mobile: 0401 333 738 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

Monday & Friday

11AM-12 PM SATURDAY Sinhalese............................ 7 am to 8 am – 92.3 FM TAMIL TSydney amil..................................... 12-12.30 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 pm – 88.3 FM Indian.................................... am to26 am - 92.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SB5Radio Monday & Saturday Punjabi.......................................... 12-2 am – 92.3 FM 8-9 PM Indian................................ 9 pm to 10 pm – 92.3 FM Punjabi.................................................. 11 pm to 1 am urdu Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio24/7 2 Radio stations Melbourne FM & SB Radio 2(Subscription) Indian Link93.1 Radio Wednesday & Sunday 18000 15 8 47 6-7 PM Radio Santa Banta (Internet) Santabanta.com.au WORLD NEWS AUSTRALIA RADIO SydneyJhankar 1107AM88.6 & SBSFM; Radio 1 Thursday; 8 to Radio Every Melbourne 1224AM & SB Radio 1 10 pm; Contact: 94668900 or 0411247320 or Monday & Friday 9404 2111 6-7 am & 6-7 PM

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:

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

southSouth asia times 33 Asia Times

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

VIEW POINT

South Asia Times

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 â&#x20AC;˘ 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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Entertainment

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DETECTIVE BYOMKESH BAKSHY Releasing on: 3 April 2015; Director: Dibakar Banerjee; Starring: Sushant Singh Rajput

Synopsis In a contemporary interpretation of war torn Calcutta during the 1940's, the film follows the first adventure of Byomkesh (Sushant Singh

Rajput), fresh out of college, as he pits himself against an evil genius who is out to destroy the world. It's his wits against the most villainous arch criminal the world has

BROKEN HORSES

Releasing in April 2015; Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra; Starring: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee Synopsis Having left town as a child after the death of his father, young music prodigy, JACOB HECKUM, returns to his desolate hometown after years only to discover that BUDDY, the child-like elder brother he left behind, now works for a notorious drug gang. The gangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruthless boss has twisted Buddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simple mind and manipulated him into a killer...a surrogate son who blindly does as he is told.Jacob is unable to convince Buddy to leave his new fraternity. Drowned in guilt for having abandoned him, Jacob realizes the only way to save Buddy is from the inside out.Set in the shadows of the turbulent American-Mexican border Broken Horses is a gritty, epic thriller about bonds of brotherhood, laws of loyalty, and the futility of violence. Broken Horses features Vincent D'Onofrio, Anton Yelchin, Chris Marquette, Maria Valverde and Thomas Jane. It is a film from director Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

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seen, in a world of murder, international political intrigue and seduction.

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SRI RAGHU RAM ASTROLOGY CENTRE

PANDITH: RAGHU RAM is in Melbourne He

CALL FOR APPOINTMENT

0424 975 226 0449 864 419

3 Mason Street 100 (Near Dandenong Train Station) Dandenong VIC 3175 E-mail: somuprince1188@gmail.com

7 Days A Week - 10:00 AM TO 7:00 PM

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