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CELEBRATING 10th YEAR OF PUBLICATION
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South Asia Times Vol.10 I No. 11 I MAY 2013 I FREE s o u t hasiatimes.com.au Editor: Neeraj Nanda
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Ph: (03) 9095 6220 M: 0421 677 082
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Add: PO Box 465, Brentford Square, Victoria 3131
CECA READ INSIDE From The Editor ........................... page 5 Community....................................... page 6 South Asia.................................... page 15 Vidhya Balan interview .......... page 23 Prabhu Deva Interview............. page 23
Vidya Balan: I have become an actress to be in the limelight READ INTERVIEW BY Neeraj Nanda on PG 23
Hindi Pushp.................................. page 30 Business..................................... page 29 Viewpoint..................................... page 37
Prabhu Deva: Films have no language READ INTERVIEW BY Neeraj Nanda on PG 23
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FROM THE EDITOR
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SAT
South Asia Times
PUBLISHER/EDITOR Neeraj Nanda M: 0421 677 082 satimes@gmail.com
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Dr. Dinesh Srivastava dsrivastava@optusnet.com.au
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South Asia Times (SAT) is a monthly newspaper published in English (2 pages in Hindi) from Melbourne, Australia. Contributors supply material to SAT at their own risk and any errors will be corrected as quickly as possible. SAT does not accept responsibility for the authenticity of any advertisement, text content or a picture in the publication. No material, including text or advertisements designed by the SAT or pictures may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the editor/publisher. Opinions/ stories/reports or any text content are those of the writers/contributors and not necessarily endorsed by the SAT.
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IFFM-2013 kicks off with the screening of ‘Raja Harishchandra’ (1913) BY NEERAJ NANDA
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elbourne: The Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2013 (IFFM-2013) was in full swing as we went the press. A full roundup of the festival will come in the June 2013 SAT issue. Meanwhile, we have been able to attend some of the events and be part of the shine and glitter spread across the city. The first was, of course, the dinner at ‘Raheen’ Kew (a beautiful 19 century mansion built in 1870s) on 2nd May. The evening was meant ‘To celebrate the magic of Indian cinema’ and we with the festival organisers and prominent citizens rubbed shoulders with Bollywood diva Vidya Balan (Dirty Picture and Kahaani fame) and yesteryears star and TV celebrity Simi Garewal (Siddarth and Mera Naam Joker fame). The entertainment and food was typical Aussie laced with the ambience of Bollywood. Vidhya dressed in a traditional saree addressed the gathering paying tributes to late Yash Chopra and honoured his wife Pamila Chopra. “Enjoy love and romance through Yash Chopra movies at the festival”, she said. In her address Pamila Chopra said, “I am here because of my husband Yash Chopra and his films will live forever”. The cream of the Indian community was present with many a photo opportunities with the Bollywood stars. It was a fitting tribute to the magic of Indian cinema in its 100th year. The next day (3rd May), I rushed by train beating the morning cold for the festival media conference at the ANZ Tower, Collins Street. Kabir Khan, Simi Garewal, Vidya Balan, Prabhu Deva, Girish Kumar, Farah Khan, Monica Khanna (Western Union), Mitu Bhowmick (Festival Director), winner of the small film competition and others were present. The Indian and other media were in full strength and there were many questions and answers. Answering to a question Vidya Balan said, “I am fortunate to work in Indian cinema at this time. I see the type of work I get and do not worry whether it is for cinema or TV”. “As a woman I feel responsibility towards other women.
A scene from‘Raja Harishchandra’ —Neeraj Nanda/SAT
At the media conference —Neeraj Nanda/SAT
At the festival opening night —Neeraj Nanda/SAT
As an actress it gives me great pleasure if I can be of any help in any way, “she said. Replying to a question by SAT Vidya said, “I have been married for four months and have been taking tips on the subject from my upcoming movie ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’ instead of giving then tips.” Director Kabir Khan com-
menting on the Short Film Competition said the quality of the films was good taking into considering these days a film can be shot and edit on a phone” “It was an interesting mix of small films,” he said. Mitu Bhowmick said, “The short film competition got a good response. We got 160 entries, 22
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were shortlisted and three from India, Australia and New Zealand won the competition.” In the evening I was at the Opening night of the festival. The stars were on the Hoyt’s Melbourne Central stage and the house was full. Vidya Balan declared the festival open and after a lively question answer session. Three films – Sati (Short Film), Raja Harishchandra (1913) and Harishchandrachi Factory, a 2009 Marathi film, directed by Paresh Mokashi, depicting the struggle of Dadasaheb Phalke in making Raja Harishchandra in 1913: India's first feature film, the birth of Indian cinema. Obviously, Raja Harishchandra (King Harishchandra – 1913) screening was the highlight of the evening. It was exactly 100 years back Dadasaheb Phalke released India’s first feature. As the film was silent, a group of three musicians played live music along with the screening. The black and white Raja Harishchandra was gripping (Including the mythological storyline). I wondered how was such an excellent film was conceived and made in 1913. Most of the female roles were played by males in the film as in those days females were not allowed to act. The pioneering effort by Dadasahib Phalke laid the foundation of the world’s biggest film industry. (Interviews of Vidya Balan & Prabhu Deva on page 23)
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Baisakhi
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celebrated in Melbourne
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By Jasvinder Sidhu
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elbourne: The festival of Baisakhi is celebrated on the first day of the month of Baisakh. It marks the end of Winter in north India. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana yield their crops and harvest begins during April. Apart from having socioeconomic significance this festival has religious prominence for Sikhs as on this day the Khalsa was born. All is not happy about this day. In 1919 this day saw a black episode in the history of India’s freedom struggle. Baisakhi has become a key religious day for Sikhs both inside and outside India. On this day special processions are carried out by Sikhs in Canada, United Kingdom, United States and Australia. The history of this event dates back to 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh formed an order of Khalsa which was created to remove differences in society. Guru Gobind Singh called all Sikhs to gather in Anandpur Sahib on this day. He stood up to the gathered crowd and asked for sacrifice. History testifies that not many people had the courage to stand up and offer their life to Guru. But Daya Ram, a Khatri from Lahore stood up and offered his head. Followed by him were other four men from ‘Jatt’, ‘Chhimba’, ‘Ghumar’ and ‘Nai’. Guru Gobind Singh created Panj Payare or five dear ones from different social backgrounds of our society. Khalsa was created to overcome discrimination based on caste and creed. Therefore, all men were asked to use a common family name “Singh” and all women were asked to use “Kaur” as their family name. Guru Gobind Singh created the institution of Panj Pyare and instructed Khalsa to always leave decisions in their hands. This tra-
dition is still continuing and supreme Sikh authority takes all decisions in a group of five Jathedaars, i.e. Panj Pyare. The number five (panj or panch) has a great significance in the Indian classical tradition. In ancient and medieval traditions the Indian village administrations were headed by Panchayats or councils of five. Guru Nanak also refers to five Khands or five stages of human life. Historically in Punjab and Haryana, this day is marked with the celebrations of New Year, end of winter season and arrival of crops. This day is generally celebrated with starting of the wheat harvesting. After the first harvest of Rabi crop farmers thank almighty God for good crops, benevolence and pray for prosperity. Both the states of Punjab and Haryana have been agriculture based societies for many centuries. In fact before November 1, 1966 Haryana was also a part of Punjab and before August 14, 1947 (the day Pakistan gained independence and Punjab and Bengal were divided) Punjab was a much bigger state. Hence the festival of Baisakhi celebrated by a larger part of Indian population and it is still celebrated with same vigour and excitement. In traditional farming communities with harvesting of crops would flow income coupled with prosperity and
growth. Harvesting season and its celebration becomes very important because generally only two crops would be sown in a year. Farmers would wait for crops to ripe. If during winter months rain was good then crops will yield more grain. Farmers would make good money with sale of healthy crops. Famers were never very rich and income would mean new cloths for family, buying other necessary household items and also good food. Therefore, new crops and harvesting became such an event for celebration in traditional farming communities in Punjab and elsewhere in other states. The celebration of Baisakhi is also linked with Punjab’s famous folk dance Bhangra and Gidha which are showcases of colourful, jolly and pleasant nature of Punjabis. It is also celebrated with different rituals in various parts of India. Regional celebrations are like Naba Barsha in Bengal, Rongali Bihu in Assam, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vaishakha in Bihar and Vishu in Kerela. This day also has a sad part in history. On April 13, 1919 a few thousand innocent civilians including men, women, elderly and children had assembled at the Jallianwala Bagh. Lieutenant Governor of Punjab Michael O'Dwyer went to the Bagh with fifty riflemen of Gurkha Regiment and asked
The history of this event dates back to 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh formed an order of Khalsa which was created to remove differences in society. Guru Gobind Singh called all Sikhs to gather in Anandpur Sahib on this day.
them to fire at peaceful crowd without giving any notice to the assembled crowd to leave the assembly. Dyer continued the firing for more than ten minutes and until the ammunition supply of 1,650 rounds was finished. This incident left more than 1,000 people dead. Later General O'Dwyer was forced to retire by the then British Government and was assassinated by Udham Singh at the age of 75 in Britain. O’Dwyer’s killing of innocents was largely condemned by political circles in Britain and India. All Gurudwaras of Melbourne Bisakhi celebrated on April 13. Blackburn Gurudwara President Davinder Singh Bedi told SAT that it has become a tradition to invite famous preachers from India in all foreign countries. Blackburn Gurudwara invited Surinder Singh Jodhpuri and thousands of sangat members listened to his kirtan across different Gurudwaras in Melbourne. Many spe-
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cial programs were planned for during his visit. Blackburn Gurudwara Secretary Jang Pannu said that “The occasion of Baisakhi has special significance for Sikhs. This day Khalsa was born and Guru Gobind Singh ji made us Singh, i.e. ,lions or fearless. Five key symbols were made compulsory for all Sikhs”. Special diwan arrangements were made on this day and Akhand Path were completed between April 12 and 14. Hoppers Crossing Gurudwara also arranged celebrations of Baisakhi. Shepparton Gurudwara representative Gurmeet Singh told South Asian Times “Sikh community is not very large in Shepparton. There are around 200 families. However, we all wait for this day and start preparing many days in advance. All members of family serve at Gurudwara and prepare langar and also share it with locals”. Executive committee of Cragieburn Gurudwara told SAT that the members of sangat had raised it with committee to send invitation to famous orator Pinderpal Singh. Although he is busy and in great demand but Gurudwara Cragieburn has always proactively approached orators and sponsored their visit. The traditional procession at the Cragieburn Gurudwara was led by the Panj Pyare. President Paramjit Singh Grewal and other members of executive committee were also involved in the arrangements. The langar arrangements on the say of Baisakhi were by Amanjot Bedi and his family. Vice-President of Cragieburn Gurudwara said that it has become an ongoing tradition to arrange fireworks at the Gurudwara. Over last few years fireworks were sponsored by outsiders, however, recently the committee decided to make all arrangements themselves. Fireworks were arranged on the night of April 13 and were attended by more than 5,000 people who also had langar after closing of diwans.
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New bus stop for Rockbank’s Sri Durga Temple By our community reporter
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elbourne: Devotees going to the Sri Durga Temple, Rockbank by bus now get down at a bus stop near the temple. The service started in 28 April with a new bus stop for route 456. The new bus stop is located on Neale Road, 400 metres from the temple. Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said that the new bus stop would benefit many devotees who normally travel to the temple for Sunday services and cultural events. “Bus route 456 which runs between Sunshine and Melton will now continue along Rockbank Middle Road to the temple bus stop before returning to the normal route. The typical Sunday frequency is a bus every 55 minutes, so it is important to check the timetable,” Mr Mulder said. “The Shire of Melton assisted with determining the best possible location for the new stop, helping to ensure this improved Sunday bus route has the best chance of meeting the
temple devotee’s needs. Route 456 connects with trains at Sunshine, travelling via Caroline Springs to Melton, a media release says. Mr Mulder said that Caroline Springs Boulevard residents could continue to catch Route 456 from bus stops along Rockbank Middle Road, a short walk away. Alternatively, they may catch bus Route 215 and change to Route 456 along Rockbank Middle Road. ALP activist Manoj Kumar told SAT, “ Labor MP Luke Donnellan followed to get Durga Temple Bus stop issue and finally Ted’s broken promise was followed by Luke Donnellan, Labor MP & Shadow Road Safety Minister. The Hon.MP Luke Donnellan had visited the Shri Durga Temple on 25/08/2012 on the Jagaran day and followed it with the state Transport Minister to get thebus stop for devotees of the Temple.” Route maps and time tables are available at www. ptv.vic.gov.au or by calling 1800 800 007 daily between 6am and midnight.
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Science & technology can drive Asia growth: AII report
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elbourne: A new report by Australian and Indian scientists suggests that the needs of relatively poor Asian consumers could drive science and technology innovation and economic growth in the 21st century. The report published by the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne says the race to provide cheaper goods for Asia’s middle class is forcing down prices of some of our favourite gadgets, not to mention life-sustaining technologies. Already so-called ‘frugal’ or ‘inclusive’ innovation has produced $ 40 tablet computers, cars costing just $2,000, and prosthetic feet for as little as $ 33. The report urges companies entering the market to consider their social mission of ‘doing well, but doing good’ for India’s less privileged. The report, Science Technology Innovation: Australia and India recommends that Australia extend its existing joint scientific research fund with India, the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, saying such collaborations are key to our nation’s future growth in the Asian Century. Welcoming the report, Australia’s Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Dr Craig Emerson said Australia’s future prosperity “will depend on turning research into the next generation of products, services and production processes.” The report’s authors, conclude that the challenge for an economy like Australia’s,
underpinned by large but finite natural resource endowments, is to expand its knowledge base and sustain growth through smart innovation strategies. The report notes that traditional networks and pathways of international innovation have been dominated by activities in the USA and certain European nodes. Increasingly, however, the epicentre of world trade and influence is shifting from West to East as the power and influence of China and India grow in step with their expanding economies. Globalised innovation chains now include Indian cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad, where many research centres are located, some sponsored by governments, others by privately owned multinational or Indian corporations. In a globalised world, collaboration with Asian nations is increasingly recognised as an essential element in the success of other economies. “Collaboration with India can be seen as an investment in innovation capacity, with collaborative research and development projects raising the possibility of shared innovation, shared intellectual capital, and potentially substantial wealth generation for partner nations, including Australia,” the report concludes. The Australia India Taskforce on Science Technology Innovation was led by former Chief Scientist of Australia Professor Robin Batterham and Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Chair of the National Innovation Foundation, Government of
India. The Task Force was convened by Professor John Webb, Distinguished Fellow of the Australia India Institute. The report was produced in conjunction with the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). By 2030, the size of the emerging middle class – those earning $US4 to $US20 a day – will triple to around 49 per cent of India’s population, or 725 million people, and may for the first time exceed the number of people earning less than $US4 a day. This explosion of consumer demand – spread across a range of low and middle-income segments – will allow businesses to experiment with different scaling strategies, the report says. Inclusive innovation CEOs must develop a deep commitment to inclusive growth, which will force them to think of unserved customers, whether the rural poor without access to telephones, for example, or the urban poor, without access to services such as emergency medical services. It is clear, the report’s authors conclude, that inclusive innovation, anchored on the solid foundation of affordability and sustainability will help us design a sustainable future for mankind. Doing well while doing good is a mantra the corporate world can benefit from as it will not only be able to provide value for money but value for many. Inclusive Innovation becoming a reality The coexistence of low
price and high quality may seem contradictory. But there are a number of examples of this being achieved: • A hepatitis-B vaccine costing $US20 per dose has already been made available at one-fortieth of the price • In India, a safe and fuel efficient car has already been made available at a price of $US2,000 * An artificial foot costing $US10,000 has been produced in India for $US33 * High-quality cataract eye surgery costing $US3,000 in the U.S is now available for $30 in Asia. The Aravind Eye Care System in India does cataract surgery at one tenth to one hundredth of the cost of the same treatment in the Western world with worldclass quality standards. Heart surgery can be done at 5 per cent of the prevailing cost in the US, with quality comparable to that of New York hospitals, thanks to innovation in workflow initiated by Devi Shetty and his team. * Prostate treatment drugs costing $US10,000 in the West have been made are available at one-sixtieth in Asia. • A computer tablet comparable to those retailing for $US400 in the West can be bought for $US40 elsewhere.
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The Task Force recommends, among other measures, that: • Funding for the Australia–India Strategic Research Fund be continued • An India–Australia Innovation Forum should be held in both countries, bringing together researchers, institutions, financiers, entrepreneurs, industry and policy makers • A series of science missions to India and to Australia should be staged, comparable to the trade missions currently sponsored by Australian state and national governments • An award recognising joint Australia-India innovations developed through bilateral research collaborations should be established • Australia and India should appoint diplomats in Canberra and New Delhi tasked with fostering research partnerships and science technology innovation • Alternate funding mechanisms be considered to progress science and technology collaborations Full report : www.aii. unimelb.edu.au/sites/ default/files/LOW%20 RES%20INNOV%20 REPORT.pdf SOURCE: Australia India Institute
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southSouth asia times 9 Asia Times
Raaga Sudha School of Carnatic Music: 10th Annual Students Concert
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elbourne: Raaga Sudha School of Carnatic Music celebrated its 10th Annual Students concert on 6th & 7th April 2013 at Chandler Community Centre, Keysborough, Victoria. It was a proud moment for the school and Mr. Murali Kumar, celebrated violinist and founder / artistic director of the school. This year’s event was a milestone for Raaga Sudha School which has achieved enormous success in a short time, and is a
premier institute of Indian music in Australia. The event was a tribute to the memory of violin vidwan late Mr. Kanchi Janardhanan and Padmabhushan Sangeeta Kalanidhi late Mr. M.S. Gopalakrishnan, the revered Gurus of Mr.Murali Kumar. The two-day event was a brilliant showcase of the talent being nurtured in the Raaga Sudha school at various levels of learning. Junior category students demonstrated pure technique and performed beginner lessons with
great concentration. These were followed by geetams (short songs) in praise of all the Hindu Gods. Students in intermediate and advanced intermediate categories rendered a number of wonderful kirtanas, varnams and bhajans. They presented innovative Raga alap and interludes which showed their creative prowess. Renditions of varnams in 2 speeds with clarity, sweetness with precise swara sthanams clearly showed the disciplined training they have received from their guru Mu-
rali Kumar. Vocal performances by senior students were rendered with great technical artistry and showed the strong foundation of vocal singing coaching by Mr. Murali Kumar. Folk and devotional items presented by the students on both days included songs in Hindustani music ragas which is a unique feature of the Raaga Sudha school. The programme included two violin duet mini-concerts presented by four students in the senior category. Their renditions of kirtanas, alapanas and kalpana-swarams were well synchronised, of professional quality, and truly pleasing to the ears. The chief guest for day one of the concert was Mr. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, renowned Sarod player of Melbourne. The chief guest for day two was Mr. Rashid Sultan, a music lover and veteran of Melbourne music community and a well wisher of Raaga Sudha School of Carnatic. On the occasion of the 10th annual show, three new CDs featuring songs from live concert solo violin performances by Mr. Murali Kumar titled “Violin Murali” (volumes 1-3) were released by chief guest
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Sabyasachi Bhattacharya on day 1 of the programme. These CDs contain impressive collections of classical Carnatic and Hindustani solo violin performances by Mr. Murali Kumar. As a special feature item, Raaga Sudha school presented a multi-media documentary on the life and music of Padmabhushan Mr. M.S. Gopalakrishnan, the legendary violin maestro of India. The documentary named “MSG, The Peerless Genius”, produced and presented by Soundarajan Iyer, was an elaboration of the musical life of Mr.MSG covering his mastery over both Carnatic & Hindustani styles of Indian music. It was an extraordinary tribute to Mr. M.S. Gopalakrishnan, the greatest violinist India has produced, by Mr. Murali Kumar and the Raaga Sudha School. Melbourne’s many music school teachers and various music and cultural organisations were felicitated byMr. Murali Kumar for their support to the school over the many years. Annual awards were also presented to deserving students by chief guest Mr. Rashid Sultan on day twoof the concert. The entire event on both days was very professionally organised and delivered by the school and its dedicated team of volunteers who contributed significant time and energy to make this event a great success. In summary, it was a memorable festival of music show-casing the exciting talent being nurtured at the Raaga Sudha school of Carnatic Music. It was a musical feast to all music lovers of Melbourne which will remain in memory of the audience for a long time. —Supplied
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Knox Grand Multicultural Harmony Festival a big hit
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n Saturday 20th of April 2013 the 1st Knox Grand Multicultural Harmony Festival was officially opened by the Hon Nicholas Kotsiras, Minister for Multicultural and Citizenship and by Cr Karin Orpen Mayor of the City of Knox. It was an amazing and successful event, by afternoon there was a crowd of more than 3000 and over the two days it exceeded ex-
pectations of 5,000 to more than 10,000 people attending the festival. This event brought together a wide variety of multicultural groups where Sant Nirankari Mission Rowville represented the Indian Culture to share their traditions with the Victoria community, the City of Knox and surrounding areas, there was an amazement of happiness and social cohesion throughout the
entire festival. Held at the Hungarian Community Centre Boronia road Wantirna on Saturday 20 th and Sunday 21st April, the festival included food stalls, exhibits and performances from members of Victoria’s Indian, Afghani, Austrian, Chilean, Chinese, Egyptian Coptic, El Salvadorian, Filipino, Greek, Hungarian, Iranian, Italian, Polish, Scottish and more, and the crowd loved every mo-
ment, the childrens entertainment area was a popular spot with Face painting, balloon twisting and rides for all. Official guests and speakers included Mr Raj Kumar - Acting CGI & HOC Melb, Marta Marot Chairperson of the MHF, Mr Chin Tan Multicultural Commissioner Chairperson, Nick Wakeling MPState Member for Ferntree Gully, Alan Tudge MP Federal Member for Aston,
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Cr Joe Cossari Knox City Council and Peter Khalil Director SBS Corporation. The event was supported by a grant from the Victorian Government, through the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship’s “Unity Through Partnerships Program”. The bigger and better 2nd MHF will be held in MarchApril 2014 at a venue to be later announced. —Supplied
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southSouth asia times 11 Asia Times
Poll: Indian notion of Oz improving but misgivings remain From Australia India Institute
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elbourne: A poll released recently by the Australia India Institute(AII) and the Lowy Institute reveals some surprising findings on Indian public opinion towards Australia. Despite bad press over security of Indian students in 2009-10, Australia is wellliked in India. Indians hold relatively warm feelings towards Australia (56 degrees on a scale of 0 to 100), which ranks fourth after the United States (62), Singapore (58) and Japan (57) out of 22 countries in the survey. A 60% majority of Indians surveyed by GfK Mode think it would be better if India’s government and society worked more like Australia’s. But there are lingering concerns about previous crimes against Indian students: 62 % of Indians consider Australia a dangerous place for Indian students, al-
though 53 % consider it safer than it was a few years ago, and 49 % of Indians consider Australia generally a safe country. Despite these reservations, Australia ranks second after the United States as a good place to be educated, according to 75 % of Indians, and rates more highly than Canada, Singapore, Britain and Germany. “Most of the results are surprisingly positive,” said the author of the poll study, Rory Medcalf. “Most Indians surveyed seem to admire our society, governance and universities. Only the United States scores much higher in their warmth and esteem. But it is clear we can’t be complacent about Australia’s image or the welcome Indians receive in this country.” Welcoming the poll, the Director of the Australia India Institute, Professor Amitabh Mattoo, said: “The Australia-India relationship is an idea whose time has come. This poll confirms
that Indian perceptions of Australia are improving, but more work is needed to build and secure this vital relationship.” In other findings, 63 % of Indians surveyed see Australia as a country well-disposed to India, 59 % agree the two countries have similar security interests, 60% see Australia as a good supplier of energy and other resources and 57 % think it supplies good agricultural produce. Seventy per cent of Indi-
ans think selling uranium is important to Australia’s relations with India, while only 5 % think it is not important. And it seems cricket is mostly good for diplomacy. Three-quarters of Indians think the game projects a positive image of Australia, a positive image of India, and helps the two countries grow closer. Still, 35 % think cricket can sometimes cause frictions between the countries. The India-Australia poll is part of a larger opinion sur-
Puja Gupta: Beauty in sexy dress made of vegetables By our correspondent
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ydney: We fell in love with her in her smash debut movie, F.A.L.T.U., and we can't wait for her latest film, Go Goa Gone, to hit theatres. But now, Bollywood beauty and Miss Universe India 2007 Puja Gupta has a starring role of a different kind: she's appearing in a brand-new ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India in a dress made entirely of lettuce leaves and other vegetables next to the caption "Let Vegetarianism Grow on You". Gupta also sat down for an exclusive interview about the benefits of going vegetarian. The video can be viewed at http://www.petapreview.com/4preview/ puja_gupta_interview_preview.asp , says a media release. "If you love animals, let's just help them and not eat them", she says in the interview. "I would request you to be kind to animals and be a vegetarian."
Raising animals for food is a leading cause of water pollution, land degradation and the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. In fact, senior United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation official Henning Steinfeld says the meat industry is "one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems". Also, raising animals for food uses vast quantities of water as well as other natural resources. And the nutritious grains that are being fed to farmed animals could better be used to fight world hunger. Meat and dairy products also cause human and animal suffering. Eating meat and other animal products has been conclusively linked to cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes and obesity. And the meat industry is responsible for the daily suffering and terrifying deaths of billions of animals each year. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082
vey covering Indian attitudes to the world. Further results will be released in May. The poll reports the results of a nationally representative opinion survey of 1233 Indian adults conducted face-to-face in late 2012. It was conducted in seven languages across India’s geographic regions and all levels of society. READ FULL REPORT AT: http://www.aii.unimelb.edu. au/sites/default/files/IndiaAust-Poll_0.pdf Source: AII, 17 April 2013
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Indian films don’t project progressive women: Simi Garewal
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epresentation of women in cinema has been in spotlight post the Delhi gang rape incident and actress Simi Garewal agrees Indian movies continue to perpetuate values that should have been abandoned long back. Delivering the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture at Melbourne University on the sidelines of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Simi spoke at length on the topic 'The Evolution of Women in
Indian Cinema'. "Bollywood has been complicit in the process by continuing to show films that perpetuate values and customs that should have been buried long ago,” reports PTI. "It's a problem because there are a lot of people in India for whom films are their school, their way of learning. They may be illiterate, they may not read books but they look at films and think: 'This is the way things are. This is what I am and how I should
be treated'," she said during her presentation to a jam packed audience here. The 65-year-old actress and chat show host said the Indian woman on screen were defined by the male. "If she's a wife she has to put up with all her husband's nonsense. If she's a girlfriend she has to play a little first, but finally succumb and worship him. The lyrics of popular songs exhort a woman to worship her husband even if he is wicked, even if he is cruel."
Even now in most Bollywood films if a woman is intelligent and a career or ambitions, she will have to pay a price, she said. Garewal concluded by pinpointing breakthrough moments, like Tabu's film "Astitva" which questioned existence of both male and female and Vidya Balan's "Kahaani", “ reports PTI. Garewal said Indian cinema has not been able to use its powers to bring about the much needed social change.
Talking about the December 16 gang rape incident that sparked nationwide protests, Garewal said, "What is happening in India and Delhi, there is only one way to stop it that is to put fear of God. I would love to see public hanging. There are policies and laws but no one to implement them. A court case can take 15 to 14 years." The lecture was organised by the Australia India Institute, Melbourne University.
Community upset at change in South Asian TV segments timings on SBS1 By our community reporter
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elbourne: Getup at 7 am and watch the Hindi TV segment of SBS WorldWatch news from India. Looks a bit too early but then you have no other option. The most likely scenario is you will miss the bulletin. If you see the Urdu bulletin from Pakistan then you better be ready to open your TV set at 5.50 am on SBS1. If you have flair of Punjabi language (the fastest growing language in Australia) then don’t even look at the WorldWatch schedule as there is no Punjabi TV bulletin. These South Asian TV news bulletins, in fact, came some time
back after many representations and letters. The community was happy reconnecting to their languages again and thankful to the federal funded SBS TV. But recently when people switched on the TV for the NDTV Hindi news bulletin at 11 am, they realised that they were seeing the Spanish news bulletin. In fact, the Hindi segment had been shifted to the 7 am slot. SAT received many calls as people could not understand how the Hindi bulletin vanished. Talking to SAT a senior citizen and President Indian Senior Citizens Association, Mr. Prem Phakey said, “Who will watch the Hindi news bulletin at 7 am. It is not a suit-
able time for seniors.” “I feel if the SBS wanted to change the Hindi time slot then evening or late evening is a good time”, he said. The last Australian census had revealed Indians as one of the largest community of new migrants in the country. These people are good in English but also cherish their mother tongues includ-
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ing Hindi and Punjabi. Arun Sharma, Celebrate India told SAT, “The new timings are totally impractical and is sheer tokenism on the part of the SBS.” “ It is also sheer waste of resources because if the target audience is not reached then what is the point of telecasting such a bulletin,” he observed. Harbir Singh Kang of Radio ZZZ (Punjabi) and ‘The Page’ Punjabi newspaper was candidly said, “Punjabi migrants are in big numbers and they want to get the news from a quality Punjabi channel from India.” SAT sent a set of questions to SBS on the issue to get its response but did not get any reply.
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Muskaan all around? the night, together with direct donors to Muskaan. The evening united Australians from all backgrounds, particularly members of Melbourne’s Indian community, corporate and community leaders with a shared objective to make a difference to the lives of those less fortunate in the disadvantaged
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elbourne: There were smiles all around as some 250 guests enjoyed the Bollywood Bedazzled Charity Ball at Thornbury Theatre on the 27th April in aid of Muskaan school for children from the slums of Bhopal. The event was organised by the Muskaan Support Australia Inc, an Eltham-based charity established by Marion and Kevin Hadingham following Marion’s experiences teaching at Muskaan. Honoured guests at the night were Mr Raj Kumar, Acting Consul General for India, Mr Steve Herbert, State Member for Eltham and Shadow Minister for Education, Mr Jude Perera State Member for Cranbourne and Co Chair of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of India and Mr Arjun Surapaneni ,CEO of V.I.T and member of the Multi-Cultural Business Ministerial Council, Victoria. They each spoke in support of Muskaan and emphasised the fundamental importance of educational opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage. Honoured guests at the night were Mr Raj Kumar, Acting Consul General for India, Mr Steve Herbert, State Member for Eltham and Shadow Minister for Education, Mr Jude Perera State Member for Cranbourne and Co Chair of
the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of India and Mr Arjun Surapaneni , CEO of V.I.T and member of the Multi-Cultural Business Ministerial Council, Victoria. They each emphasised the fundamental importance of educational opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage. The evening gave those lucky to have educational opportunity in Australia, the opportunity to give opportunity to the children of the slums of Bhopal through Muskaan. In the elegance and sparkling decorations of the Thornbury Theatre guests enjoyed a delicious three course buffet meal, colourful performances by solo dancer Annabelle, the Jhoom Bollywood Dance Group, and the Bollywood beat mixing skills of DJ Baba Saheed. The dance floor was packed during the dance workshop as everyone let go of their inhibitions and became Bollywood stars for the moment! The theme of the night was for fun and enjoyment, while at the same time raising funds toward the building of the Muskaan school. Guests opened their hearts and supported card raffles, secret door keys, and table raffles as well as a “Silent Auction”. All prizes were generously donated by Indian and Eltham businesses. Sponsors were given recognition on the program and throughout www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9095 6220, 0421 677 082
communities of Bhopal. The funds raised on the night are sure to kick start the Muskaan building project. Muskaan Support Australia will be presenting further fundraisers in the future for this noble cause and judging by Bollywood Bedazzled, their events are not to be missed. —Supplied.
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By Desi Oz
Hume Mayor launches three books by Lankan writers
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elbourne: Two well known Sri Lankan writers’ books were launched in Hume Global Learning Centre at Craigieburn on April 27. The Hume Council Mayor Cr. Geff was the chief guest and Councillor Chandra Bamunusinghhe who is Sri Lankan born gave a helping hand for the success of the function. Over seventy people participated in the books launch event and some of them were from Sydney. Dr Nadesan’s ‘Lost in You’ a book in English and ‘Butterfly Lake’ in Sinhala language were published in Sri Lanka in Janu-
ary this year. Mr Murugapoopathy’s ‘Shadow of Memories’ published in Sri Lanka this year was also launched. The three books have been popular among the expatriate community of Sri Lankans living in Victoria. More than one hundred thousand people of Sri Lankan origin live in Victoria including a large number in Craigieburn. Launching the books, Mayor Geoff Porter said, “the books are very important part of our life and we are learning so much from them.”
New blood for Hindi at La Trobe University
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elbourne: A miniscule language in Australia's education system, Hindi was anointed as one of four "priority" languages by last year's Asian Century white paper. Only La Trobe and the Australian National University offer Hindi programs, and both have had veteran staff recently leave. ANU plans to extend its reach by putting diploma programs in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian - the latest priority languages - online within the next two to three years. The Canberra-based institution recently lost to retirement Richard Barz, who had been teaching Hindi there since 1972. ANU has hired Peter Friedlander, who taught at La Trobe for many years.
"Peter Friedlander's replacement is expected to start teaching Hindi and other nonlanguage subjects on South Asia in July," s La Trobe's head of languages Kaori H. Okano, told The Australian. The appointment would be announced soon. Academic Veena Chopra has been keeping alive the program, which has 17 students. The largely unexplained substitution of Hindi for Korean in the four priority languages of federal policy surprised some observers. They argued that the rising middle class of India targeted by the white paper was overwhelmingly English-speaking and that Australia had an edge in Korean studies that it lacked in Hindi.
Victorian Parliamentary ANZAC study tour
Gurjot Singh (top) getting the best player award (under 13) in the Soccer Tournament and Inder Veer Singh (above) got the best player award (under 17) for Soccer at the recently held Sikh Games in Melbourne.
Victorian Parliamentary delegation Anzac Study Tour members, with senior Australians and Greek military representatives, at the Lemnos Anzac Memorial at Mudros Harbour, 20th April 2013. Jim Claven — with Sofia Kotanidis, Athina Rousi, Richard Dalla-Riva, Anne McEwen, Intaj Khan, Sharon Grierson MP, John Pandazopoulos, Jenny Bloomfield, Lee Tarlamis and Wayne Smith.
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Dhaka factory collapse:
$ 15 a month wage, fast delivery, no safety, high profits
By Katelyn Fossett
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ASHINGTON, May 3 2013 (IPS) Worker advocacy groups here are calling on some of the most high-profile U.S.-based clothing companies to make drastic reforms to their international labour practices in the wake of the factory collapse that killed more than 420 workers in Dhaka recently. But critics say U.S. companies appear to be “meeting” these demands with increasingly creative ways to circumvent their core recommendations, by forming their own safety initiatives that rights groups say are essentially meaningless, or pulling out altogether to avoid the risk. “Any meaningful programme needs to be legally binding,” Liana Foxvog, communications director at the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), an advocacy group here, told IPS. “It needs to pay prices sufficient for ensuring compliance and needs to include worker representation so that worker voices on what they truly need are at the table.” The collapse of an eight-
storey factory building known as Rana Plaza was initially reported to have killed more than a hundred workers. As the week progressed and a major fire broke out, that figure quadrupled, setting off a public relations storm as human rights companies scrambled to identify the companies that sourced from the factory. U.S.-based companies The Children’s Place and Cato Fashion have both been tracked as sourcing from the factory, but companies such as JCPenney, which sells European brands manufactured at the factory, are also under pressure from activist groups. As critics strengthened calls for substantive changes in business practices to prevent another Dhaka tragedy, multinational companies responded with a flurry of press releases and attempts at deflecting blame. “We did not have any ongoing production at the time of the incident,” Cato said in a statement. The Children’s Place issued a similar statement, saying “none of our apparel was in production” there at the time of the collapse.
Activist groups also point to companies’ reluctance to sign onto a binding agreement known as the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement as a lack of commitment to worker safety. “The clothing brands’ insatiable hunger for lower prices and faster delivery by factories cultivates this deadly psychology in Bangladesh,” the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent monitoring group, said in a statement. According to the WRC, the agreement would obligate participating companies to “open the doors of their Bangladesh factories to independent inspection and … pay for a country-wide program of renovations and repairs to make these buildings safe.” The agreement, negotiations over which began in December 2010, needs four companies to become binding; so far, it has only attracted two. One of the most notable instances of a prominent company bowing out of the negotiations was GAP, Inc., which owns GAP, Old Navy, and Banana Republic, among others. The company chose instead to create their own
programme in October 2012. Yet critics say that GAP’s alternative plan is inadequate. The plan carries no provisions about paying more to factories so they can abide by safety standards, for instance, and does not involve workers or unions in oversight and implementation. Most importantly, the plan is voluntary and has no teeth for enforcing the measures. IPS contacted GAP for comment but did not receive a response. Walmart, one of the largest retailers in the United States, denied a connection to Rana Plaza to IPS, but had been listed on the factory website, raising questions from activists. It has taken a similar route to that of GAP. In an e-mail from the company’s international corporate affairs office, IPS was referred to a description of the store’s 1.6-million-dollar donation after the Tazreen fire in 2012 to establish the Environment, Health and Safety Academy in Bangladesh. The Academy would give “comprehensive training” on workplace safety to apparel workers. Walmart also pointed IPS to a press release about the
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company’s “strengthening” of fire safety regulations in January 2012 in its factories. Those regulations include “conducting regular fire drills, ensuring adequate number of exit routes and mandating fire safety training to all levels of factory management”, which critics say underscore a weak and inadequate commitment. Missing from both GAP’s and Walmart’s plans is any mention of higher pay to suppliers to pay for safer buildings, which some critics say would be the first line of response if the companies were genuinely committed to the safety of their workers. This is all just part of a “game” these companies play, Scott Nova, executive director of the Workers Rights Consortium, told IPS. “These companies recognise they have to claim they’re doing something in order to avoid damage to the image of the brand, but they don’t want to have to do anything,” he said. “So what we see are token donations and empty promises that can’t be enforced. They weather the public relations crisis and expect (the media spotlight) to fade.”
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I have become an actress to be in the limelight:
Vidya Balan By Neeraj Nanda
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elbourne: The busiest and popular Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was recently in town for the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2013 as its Brand Ambassador. Vidya who has been making waves with her women centric movies like No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, talked to SAT Editor NEERAJ NANDA in an exclusive interview at the Langham, Southbank. She was candid, smiling and freely expressed her views on a wide variety of subjects.
Q: You are now married to a top man in the industry. Is it a benefit or becomes another thing you have to answer all the time. Does it irritate you? A: Different media asks different questions. You can be angry with someone who misbehaves with you. But all people are different.
Excerpts from the interview: Q: Tell me about your new movie Ghanchakkar? A: Ghanchakkar is a comic thriller. This is my second movie with Raj Kumar Gupta after No one Killed Jessica. There is no similarity between the two movies. But Ghanchakkar is fantastic and I did not imagine Raj Kumar Gupta would write such a fantastic script. Q: What actually is the movie? A: There is a ‘hatti-katti’ (fat and strong) middle class Punjabi housewife and she believes she cooks the best food in the world. She dresses the best and is fashionable. Plus, Imran Khan commits a bank robbery and after that loses his memory. This is the Ghanchakkar where you will keep thinking what’s all happening. Q: Your success in movies since ‘Parineeta’ (2005) has been in Hindi movies. Have you given up other languages? A: I was never doing regional cinema. My first movie was in Bengali. Then I just did a song in a Malayalam film ‘Urmil’. I did not have the right opportunities in regional movies. I need a compelling script of a regional film which is yet to come.
like others interfering in their life are telling lies. I love the fact people are interested in me. It gives me access to many more people. I enjoy the appreciation. One has to look at the pitfalls and drawbacks. You want to guard your privacy. You can do it as best as you can.
SAT Editor Neeraj Nanda interviewing Vidya Balan in Melbourne during the IFFM-2013. Photo: Kamal Nannar, Hot Chilli Media, Melbourne.
Q: Most of your movies have been women centric. Why is it so? A: It’s just that I have been able to work with great stories. Women are moving ahead in all spheres of life and cinema portrays reality. That’s why you will find women in strong roles. And I got a chance to live them. In the past women were just Devi’s but now things are changing. A woman now plays different characters in her personal life. One can also see different aspects in a woman. That’s why such films are working. Q: Which of such movies you have liked? A: In fact, I liked all - The Dirty Picture Kahaani...all these were different films. But The Dirty Picture was the most challenging. And so was Ghanchakkar. Women are constantly judged for their appearance. In this situation, I was working for The Dirty Picture and had to increase my weight about 12 kg. Raj Kumar Gupta then wanted me to keep the weight for Ghanchakkar. Q: So, what were you eating to increase your weight? A: Chocolates, pastries, biscuits and ev-
erything. Then after Ghanchakkar I had to cut my weight for Shaadi Ke Side Effects. It was not easy for me to let go my vanity all over again. But I did it. Q: In the early years an actress lost her market after getting married. Has it changed now? A: No more. These days’ women are at work soon after marriage and even after motherhood. Kajol has been acting after becoming a mother. Q: How do you merge in your character? For example, in The Dirty Picture and Kahaani you do it so good. How does that come about? A: Thank you. We do not rehearse all the time but keep reading the script. Sit with the script writer and discuss about the character. In front of the camera one just has to go on. Q: Does being in the limelight effect your personal life. I mean, do you get angry? A: I have become an actress to be in the limelight. Those who say they do not
Q: What is the dream character you want to play? A: I like exciting roles. Biographical characters are difficult in India. People do not like their life portrayed on the screen. Q: Any movie coming with Amitabh Bachchan? A: It is being written. People say it is coming. Q: Did you do a role in ‘Bombay Talkies’? A: No, I have been in a song with other actors. Q: Tell us about ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’. A: It’s also a comedy but not over the top type like Ghanchakkar. All films end with a marriage but this one starts after marriage. I am excited about Ghanchakkar but have controlled my excitement about Shaadi Ke Side Effects as it is to be released in December, 2013. Q: Message for your fans. A: I will keep on coming. Tell your Australian friends about our films. Make the IFFM 2013 a success. —With KAMAL NANNAR (Hot Chilli Media)
Films have no language, says Prabhu Deva By Neeraj Nanda
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elbourne: Prabhu Deva was in Melbourne for the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2013 and to promote his new directorial venture Ramaiya Vastavaiya. Multilingual Prabhu Deva who is an actor, dancer, director and choreographer and known as India’s Michael Jackson talked to SAT Editor NEERAJ NANDA at the Langham, South Bank. He was frank and skilfully answered the queries.
A: It’s a romantic musical movie. It has romance, music fun – it has all. It was a challenging movie as a director. It has songs but are melodious. Q: How can you manage so many languages – Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu...? A: My parents from Karnataka. I was brought up and educated in Tamilnadu and did about 80 movies in Telugu. Can’t say how I shifted to Hindi.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: In what language did u give instructions directing Ramaiya Vastavaiya? A: Well, films have no language.
Q: Tell me about Ramaiya Vastavaiya?
Q: You are known as the Michael Jackson of India. Don’t
you think it would be better to call you Prabhu Deva of India? A: It’s out of love people say so. In fact, it does not matter how you are called. Q: You are more in Hindi movies now? A: I don’t know. It happened. I never planned it. Q: Are you doing another Hindi movie? A: Yes, it’s called ‘Rambo Rajkumar’, an action movie. Q: The moment we hear about Prabhu Deva we think of dance. Do you want to be known for something else also? A: I am happy with it.
SAT Editor Neeraj Nanda interviewing Prabhu Deva (centre). On the right is newcomer Girish Taurani hero of Prabhu Deva’s movie Ramaiya Vastavaiya. PHOTO: Kamal Nannar (Hot Chilli Media).
Q: Your dances are very Western. India is so rich in traditional dances. Can the both
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be done together? A: I am, in fact, a Bharatnatyam dancer. Yes, they can be.
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More imports as Jharkhand coal mines doomed By Arup Chanda
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orth Karanpura, Jharkand, India, April 2013 : Dablu is only ten years old but every now and then as he serves tea laced with thick milk and high dose of sugar, he keeps coughing. He works in a road side restaurant called “Jheel Hotel” overlooking a huge mass of water body at Khalari in North Karanpura Coalfields belonging to the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in eastern India’s mineral rich state of Jharkhand. The place looks cool and calm, other an occasional speeding vehicle passing the highway with a jittery driver and anxious passengers who stop by for a quick bite and a cup of tea. The water is crystal clear and the sky is blue but everything under the sun is polluted. The “dhaba” -- as roadside eateries are called on freeways in India -- is barely 500 metres away from the KDH open cast mine of the coalfields belonging to the Central Coalfields Limited of government owned Coal India Limited. As the boy keeps coughing I venture out to a nearby miners colony. Etwaria Oran, a woman worker complains that there are no proper medical facilities available in the hospitals of CCL. Raman Turi, aged 35 and works in the Dakra mines. He is suffering from tuberculosis but has no other option but go to work as he has a wife and three small children to support. Same is with 30-year-old Jugal Munda. Every morning he gets up but is forced to breathe coal dust an open cast mine throughout the day though he is suffering from tuberculosis as he has a family of three to maintain. Ajay Pal is 50 years old and suffers from asthma. He has and family of five to maintain and works in Churi mines. Kariba Turi a 40-year-old worker working in KDS mines too is an asthma patient. The stories are same from all these poor and hapless workers who work in the open cast mines in North Karanpura area. On a hot Sunday afternoon 27 year old Sugrib Chauhan was loading coal. He was coughing because of the coal dust he was breathing. This was Khalari, 70 kms from Ranchi the state capital of Jharkhand. The place has to be accessed through dense jungles ruled by Maoists.
First you get away from Ranchi, then is Mandar, a vegetable wholesale market, where growers of cauiflowers and cabbage, do good business. After that is dense jungle where the Maosits and not the Government of India rule the roost! Suddenly it’s all black. Down below in Khalari— which is part of North Karunapura coalfields belonging to central coalfields, the labourers are digging coal from an open cast mine. It is at least 1000 feet below. The trucks and cranes are more than 25 years old and though the entire operation is mechanized the working conditions are not. Said B R Reddy, general manager of North Karunapura coal mine, “Everyday 3900 miners work but whenever Maoists call a strike the dispatch is closed. Last year, I closed the target of 6.13 milion of coal. This year the target is 6.49 million.” Reddy has been staying in the area for the last 10 years only with his wife. A graduate from Kottavuram School of Mining from Andhra Pradesh in south India, Reddy has been working with CIL since the last 30 years. The Maoists frequently call general strikes and it is they who rule the roost in this belt. All coal production is stopped. S.N. Sahadev, 59 years old, senior loading superintendent, works at Dakra siding, which loads coal for Jajhar in Haryana. “Two to three rakes leave my siding everyday for Jajjhar. The problem is not in loading but the quality of coal. Most of it is carried with dust and that is why the power plants there face problem,” he said. His deputy Bejoy Khatai, load inspector, aged 55, working in CIL since 1979, and in Dakra siding since last 10 years, said, “We all suffer from asthma. tuberculosis, and eye problems.” Mohan, the sub inspector of Central India Security Force, which guards all industrial establishments in India, spends all day and night in Dakra siding. He has been here for the last one year but already has breathing problems. Mohan, who is from Kerala in south India, is due to retire next year as he is 59 years old. “The coal dust here is impossible to withstand.” Fifteen men working as labourers in the KDH mine of North Karanpura coal mines of Central Coalfields Limited were all covered with coal dust and their faces covered
with cotton scarves. Only their eyes could be seen which also looked watery because of the coal dust which rises high up in the air. They were loading the payloaders using shovels while the loader was depositing the coal on trucks. Said Sahadev, “CCL does only 25 percent of it is supposed to do. After loading the coal water should be sprayed to prevent dust from flying. The trucks are never covered with tarpaulin sheets and overloading is there too.” Said 55-year-old Bejoy Khatai, his deputy and loading inspector, “Security is also a problem. Whenever Maoists call bandhs (shut downs), workers naturally do not turn up for work as mines are automatically closed.” Asked about Maoist strikes, Reddy, said, “Around 3,900 miners work each day in the coalfields. During Maoist bandhs dispatch is stopped.” One of the mines in North Karanpura in a place called Roni was attacked in February 2008. At least 12 large trucks laden with coal belonging to CCL was set on fire and around eight trucks belonging to private contractors were set ablaze as they were coming out of the mines by armed Maoists. Locals, who prefer not to be named, say frequently Maoists put up posters threatening private contractors who are from Ranchi and Kolkata asking them to stop exploitation of workers and stop exploiting the natural resources without spending money for the area’s development. Though none have been killed by people of the area do not attempt to drive down the highway to Ranchi after dark as the stretch of jungle on the 70-km route is considered to be a stronghold of Maoists. A doctor in CCL, on conditions of anonymity, admitted that the medical facilities available for the workers are far from satisfactory. Lack of equipment and unavailability of medicines deny proper
treatment for the patients. Other than asthma, chronic bronchitis workers also suffer from serious eye problems because of coal dust. The main reason, explained Sahadev, is that the mining stipulations to be followed by the CCL are not adhered to. “After coal is taken out from the open cast mines water should be sprayed to prevent flying of coal dust. All trucks are to be covered with tarpaulin sheets and even after loading in the railway rakes more water is needed to be sprayed. Trucks are overloaded leading to accidents in which workers get injured. None of the private contractors follow these rules just for the sake of saving money,” he said. At the railway siding workers also suffer spinal injury and spondylisis, he added. Local coal contractors admit these problems but they point the fingers at the large contractors who operate from Ranchi and Kolkata saying they are involved with the coal mafia in the region. “These are powerful and rich people with connections not only in CCL but even in Coal India Limited and at the ministry level in New Delhi. We are just small time local operators and are given sub contracts by these big guns. We are scared to open our mouth,” said one of them. The Maoist threat too looms large as these large contractors are also in league with the Maoists who are active in North Karanpura and in fact almost in all parts of Jharkhand. The road to North Karanpura from Ranchi, the state capital of Kharkhand, is totally deserted as armed Maoists have camps in the jungles on both sides of the highway. No one dares to travel after darkness as there have been cases of looting, kidnappings and even murders. In fact, the police do now allow vehicles to ply even in cases of emergency, said the local people. A local businessman alleged, “The big contractors
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pay regular levy to the Maoists. Though the Maoists talk about exploitation of the working class they will not resort to kill us if we confront these big and powerful contractors.” We have to bear the brunt as we stay here and get no protection from the police,” said Sonu Pandey, a local subcontractor whose workers do odd-jobs like loading coal into trucks. Sunil Singh, a coal trader from Ranchi who visits North Karanpura regularly, said big contractors can afford to buy protection by paying off the Maoists, but small contractors can’t. They alleged that a Kolkata based “coal mafia was in league with senior officials in the coal ministry and also pays huge monthly sums to the Maoists not only as protection money but also to scare away small contractors from bidding.” However, a Kolkata based “coal king”, who preferred not to be named, said, “It is totally a baseless and false allegation. Maoists have carried out many attacks and even burnt our trucks and loading machines. It is the local coal traders who connive with them to help them extort money from us. True they too are forced to pay money to them out of fear.” Maoists have done nothing for the workers and their exploitation by contractors continue, rues local people. They pointed out, “A labour working for a contractor should get Rs 12,000 per month but they get only Rs 3,000. A truck driver too gets only Rs. 5,000 instead of Rs 12,000. And most of the time work shifts are more than 16 hours a day.” All those who are connected with the coal business either at North Karanpura, Ranchi or Kolkata admit that no rules or guidelines are followed because of rampant corruption at all levels. A CCL officer who is a qualified mining engineer remarked, “Imagine a scenario where industry in India coming to a standstill because of coal shortage. That is possible two years from now if the coal ministry continues flouting environmental guidelines. There will be a shortage of at least 200 million tonnes in 2013-14 unless the country goes for heavy imports, which too is unpredictable because of the volatile international energy and coal markets.” The North Karanpura collieries are a glaring example of how unless immediate remedial measures are taken Indian’s coal mining is doomed.
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From rags to penury: 50,000 Delhi rag pickers to lose job N By Ranjit Devraj
EW DELHI, May 1 2013 (IPS) - India’s planners worry about ‘jobless growth’, but perhaps nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than a policy of handing over the collection and disposal of the capital’s refuse to large private corporations, leaving close to 50,000 rag pickers unemployed. For decades rag pickers provided a service to this city, scavenging waste for recyclable plastic, aluminium, glass and other materials, and earning a livelihood by selling their pickings to contractors with equipment to process the waste into useful items like fibre-reinforced roofing sheets. “We could easily make 300 rupees (5.50 dollars) between us on a good day,” says Nafeesa, who lives in a slum on the edge of the Tughlaqabad landfill with her three children. Now with the new waste disposal policy in place, Nafeesa says she is left with no choice but to return to an uncertain future in her village in Badayun district, Uttar Pradesh state. Last year, defying Supreme Court strictures against incineration technologies, the Delhi government opened its first waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at Okhla under a public-private partnership (PPP). Two more are coming up fast on the same PPP basis.
“A 16 megawatt (MW) WTE plant has been commissioned at Okhla, utilising about 1,950 tons of municipal solid waste daily. Work on another WTE plant at Ghazipur of 10 MW, utilising 1,300 tons of waste per day is in progress, and a third plant with 24 MW capacity, utilising 3,000 tons of waste, has been approved for Narela,” Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dixit informed the Delhi state assembly in March. The Okhla plant is registered as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol on the grounds that the power it generates can be offset against carbon that might otherwise have been produced by burning coal, gas or other fossil fuels. But this claim has been challenged as fraudulent by environmental activists who say that the plant has departed from its original design and uses technology that is not approved for residential and ecologically sensitive areas such as Okhla. According to Gopal Krishna of Toxics Watch, an environmental NGO, the plant violates a Supreme Court ruling which restricts waste processing to non-incineration technologies. “The plant is also sited within the ecosensitive zone of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and the Asola Wildlife Park, which are protected by court orders,” Krishna told IPS.
Okhla’s residents are concerned about what the CDM does not take into account – carcinogenic dioxins, furans and heavy metals that are byproducts of incinerating municipal waste. The residents are fighting to get the plant closed down through a petition that is currently being heard at the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Nafeesa hopes that that the NGT will shut the plant down for reasons that are direr. Its continued operation means that she and her fellow rag pickers will remain jobless. “Rag picking is hard labour, but it does not require any special skill,” explains Nafeesa. The Okhla incinerator has already finished off hundreds of jobs, according to surveys conducted by the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group (CERAG) that has been working to improve the lives of ragpickers who efficiently took care of the bulk of the 10,000 tons of garbage generated by the city’s 17 million residents. “While the ragpickers segregated up to 60 percent of waste for recycling, the large corporations which have been awarded concessions to process waste are required to recycle only 20 percent of the refuse they collect,” says Bharati Chaturvedi of CERAG. Studies conducted by CERAG at Ghazipur and Tughlaqabad show that waste
processing at the landfills is the only income-generating activity for most of the inhabitants. “Most families have at least one member working as a waste picker or supplement their earnings by sorting waste part-time,” says a CERAG study published in 2011. “It is common for children who attend school to spend one or two hours in the evening sorting metal waste and this provides many families with an important source of supplemental income.” With the Ghazipur WTE plant nearing completion, the rag picker families in the nearby slum clusters have begun to move to areas of Delhi that are still out of the reach of the new waste management corporations. Others, like Nafeesa in Tughlaqabad, are planning to return to their distant villages. “Corporatisation of waste management has been at an environmental cost and has had a hugely negative social fallout,” Dharmendra Yadav, general secretary of Lok Adhikar (People’s Right), a major non-governmental organisation that is working to rehabilitate younger ragpickers by getting them into schools. “We need urgently to get children formerly employed as rag pickers into schools,” Mahabal Mishra, who represents the West Delhi constituency in Parliament, tells
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IPS. “We are already trying to set up permanent homes for rag pickers.” But, according to Krishna, the problems created by handing over the management of waste to large corporations are far more complex than building a few shelters and schools. “It is not only depriving people of jobs but bringing in technologies that are costly, unsustainable and dangerously polluting in a thickly populated city like Delhi. “WTE plants depend on waste with a high calorific value such as paper, cartons, plastics and multi-layered packaging and, in a city like Delhi, all these are taken out to be reprocessed, leaving nothing that will burn,” said Krishna. “According to existing laws it is illegal to incinerate plastics which have high calorific value.” In fact, the website of the Delhi government’s environment department reads: “Delhi had one municipal waste incinerator, but it never worked because Indian waste has low calorific value and is unsuitable for incineration.” Yadav says that one way to help the rag pickers is to formalise their activity and pay them to undertake doorto-door refuse collection along with efforts at rehabilitation. “This could easily be factored into the costs of building expensive WTE plants, but who is listening?”
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southSouth asia times 27 Asia Times
Sri Lanka: Still homeless, two decades later By Amantha Perera
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UTTALAM, Sri Lanka, May 8 2013 (IPS) - The camp should not have been difficult to find. We were told to drive straight on the road that leads north away from the town of Puttalam, 140 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, and we would come upon the settlement of internally displaced people. What IPS found were not the typical temporary shelters of the war displaced – no tarpaulins stamped with the telltale insignia of donor agencies, no busy aid workers; only a cluster of small villages comprised of white-painted houses on the outskirts of Puttalam’s narrow traffic-clogged, sewer-lined streets. But on close inspection it became clear that these were, indeed, the homes of the roughly 75,000 Muslims and their descendants who were forced to flee the northern provinces at the height of this country’s civil war in 1990. IPS spoke with Ahamed Lebbe, a casual labourer in his fifties originally from the village of Pallai in the northern Jaffna Peninsula, who said his life changed forever on Oct. 29, 1990, when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) – the rebel group that was then fighting the Sri Lankan government for a separate state for the island’s minority Tamil
population – ordered all Muslims to evacuate the province within 24 hours. The message that he would have to leave with nothing more than 300 rupees (about two dollars) in cash came to Lebbe by word of mouth, though there is some evidence the Tigers made a public announcement in Jaffna Town earlier that day. The public rationale behind the order was that Muslims, along with their fledgling national political party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, represented a threat to the Tigers’ ideal of ethnic hegemony in the North, which formed the basis of their demand for an independent Tamil state. The command was taken dead seriously and on the night of Oct. 29 the exodus began, with one Muslim family after another leaving behind homes, valuables and businesses, carrying with them only the meagre monies allowed by the LTTE, fear, and memories. “There were only four Muslim families in the village where we lived,” Lebbe told IPS. “But it was our home – I still speak in the Tamil dialect used in Jaffna.” Twenty-three years later, Lebbe has still not regained a sense of belonging, even though he has lived half of his life in an exclusively Muslim village in Puttalam. “There is always this sense
that we don’t belong here, that we are not at home,” he said. The number of IDPs living in these semi-permanent “camps” has now swelled to nearly 250,000, according to some researchers. The majority never left the northwestern coastal belt, where they arrived over two decades ago. Locals’ initial welcome of the refugees quickly turned to resentment when it became clear that these visitors would not be leaving anytime soon, and would ultimately start clamouring for scarce government resources like jobs, schools and healthcare. Employers here wasted no time identifying the displaced as a source of cheap labour, quickly hiring them to work in sectors like construction, fishing, and agriculture, and as causal labourers. Today, the demand for government services in Puttalam is under enourmous stress. With a total population of 700,000 the province is one of the poorest in Sri Lanka. Ten to 11 percent of its residents live below the poverty line, compared to a national poverty rate of about eight percent. authorities are also seriously concerned about the lack of safe water here, exacerbated of late by a long drought. Mirak Raheem, former researcher with the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a national advocacy body, told IPS the
infrastructure in Puttalam is in urgent need of an upgrade. He also stressed the importance of implementing development projects like road construction, which can create jobs for the displaced.
Few incentives to return home Ever since the government wiped out the LTTE in May 2009, over 400,000 Tamils who were displaced during the 30 years of fighting have been resettled, but nothing of the sort has taken place for the Muslims. The situation raises the question of whether or not the IDP settlements in Puttalam – built with generous support from international agencies like the World Bank, which funded the construction of over 4,400 housing units – will ever be empty of their current residents. Mohamed Abdul, a rights advocate who works closely with the community, believes displaced Muslims will not return to the north unless they are presented with a solid plan of action for rebuilding their homes, or offered loans for start-up businesses. So far, he told IPS, much has been promised but little delivered. In mid-2010, IDPs wishing to return to their old neighbourhoods were instructed to register with the Sri Lankan authorities. Almost all of the 250,000
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Muslims in Puttalam did so, but few ended up making the return journey. It later transpired that most registered only in order to receive the promised six months worth of government rations. According to Farzana Haniffa an academic at the Colombo University, displaced Muslims were never given priority, even among international organisations, because theirs was not considered an “emergency” humanitarian situation. “There was never (the threat) that they would starve,” Hanifa, editor of a report on Northern Muslims, told IPS. As a result, only a fraction of the millions of dollars of development aid that have flooded this country since the 1980s has found its way to Puttalam. For people like Lebbe, the decision on whether or not to return to the north is a simple one. The formerly war-torn province has little to offer: unemployment rates in the northern Vanni region are feared to be as high as 20 or 30 percent, according to Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, who heads the Jaffnabased Point Pedro Institute of Development, indicating that anyone who wishes to start life there faces, at best, an uncertain future. “At least here we know for sure what to expect,” Lebbe said.
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Rape cases highlight “Colonial” police practices By Ranjit Devraj
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EW DELHI, May 8 2013 (IPS) - Harsh police handling of public protests erupting across India over a spate of sensational rapes since December has resulted in renewed demands to reform a force that retains the repressive features of its colonial origins. Last month a bench of the Supreme Court, angered by police brutality on women protesting against rapes in the capital, New Delhi, and other north Indian states, demanded to know the status of compliance with rulings the apex court had made on police reforms six years ago. “Even an animal won’t do what the police officers are doing everyday in different parts of the country,” the bench said, referring, among other things, to the beating up by police of a 65-year-old woman who had joined protests against rape in Aligarh, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. “How can police officers beat an unarmed lady?” Justice G.S. Singhvi, leading the bench, singled out the case of a police officer slapping a young woman participating in protests on Apr. 19 outside a Delhi hospital where a fiveyear-old girl was being treated for serious injuries inflicted on her by her rapist in the Gandhi Nagar area of the capital.
“The police can do little to reduce crimes like rape, but they should be judged by how they react to such crimes,” said Jyotiswaroop Pandey, who retired last year as directorgeneral of police in the northern Uttarakhand state and is currently a member of the police reforms commission. Pandey told IPS that it was “unacceptable” that police failed to react to complaints of misbehaviour against a bus driver on Dec. 16, 2012. Hours later, the driver and his crew were arrested for the gang rape and brutalisation of a 23-year-old woman passenger. The victim and her male companion were flung off the bus and left lying in a busy Delhi street naked and bleeding for almost an hour with no passer-by daring to intervene for fear of getting embroiled in a lengthy police case. As public protests grew, authorities moved the young woman to a Singapore hospital where she succumbed to her grievous injuries on Dec. 29. In Delhi, police resorted to water cannons, baton charges and mass arrests as protesters surged towards parliament. Commenting on the rough treatment of protesters, Pandey said the police had “forgotten that their primary focus should have been on maintaining peace and order without resorting to force or behaviour
likely to exacerbate tensions when an empathetic attitude could have quietened tempers.” Even more than the brutal repression on the streets, rights activists are concerned with the way rape victims are treated at police stations, starting with refusals to record complaints. In December, the victim of a gang rape in Patiala, Punjab state, committed suicide by consuming poison after leaving behind a note charging police with failing to act on her complaint and, instead, intimidating her. Soon after she was raped by three men, the victim had appeared on television channels describing her ordeal, but that failed to rouse the police. Even after the suicide it took intervention by the Punjab high court before authorities moved to sack three policemen and initiate criminal proceedings against them. a press note released on Apr. 23, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a major non-government organisation that is pushing for police reforms, expressed “serious concern at the continuing lack of response to victims of rape.” CHRI said evidence of this failure could be seen in the way police handled the case of a five-year-old girl who was kidnapped and raped in Delhi
last month. Instead of registering the missing person complaint, police “simply drove the distraught parents away,” the CHRI press note said, adding that policemen even offered a bribe to prevent the family from taking their story to the media. Even the new rape laws, which threaten police officers who refuse to record a complaint of rape with a two-year jail sentence, seem to have done nothing to change attitudes and behaviours, said CHRI Director Maja Daruwala. The new law, drawn up after wide consultations with civil society, takes into consideration current thinking on gender issues and existing patriarchal attitudes in society to modify ideas ingrained in the Indian Penal Code that was introduced by the British colonial regime in 1860. Recent events show that the law, passed by parliament on Mar. 20, is yet to kick in. “Changes in law brought about after the Dec.16 rape have little meaning if the police continue to defeat justice through their…subversive practices,” Daruwala said. Also, while the changes provide for quicker trials and harsher punishments for rapists, they have been criticised for completely overlooking the burning need to modernise the police force to make
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it service-oriented rather than repressive, as desired by the Supreme Court. “If the 2006 directives of the Supreme Court were adopted and implemented they could have transformed the police from a feared and distrusted force into an essential service upholding the law,” says Navaz Kotwal, coordinator of CHRI’s police reforms programme. On Mar. 6, alerted by reports in the media of the police’s repeated high-handedness in dealing with anti-rape protests, the Supreme Court issued notices to the provinces to report on progress in implementing reforms. But senior police officers are sceptical. “Even though the apex court has not given up its monitoring, the present bunch of police reforms is already a futile exercise,” says Vikash Narain Rai, former directorgeneral of police in the northern Haryana state. Rai told IPS that if police reforms are to be successful they need to be accompanied by “judicial reforms, an overhaul of correctional services and real empowerment of society.” Rai regrets that the emphasis remains on “flexing state muscles through increased retribution and protectionism, essentially by-products of male chauvinism, rather than on sensitising criminal justice functionaries and empowering women.”
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southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times
India world’s biggest Mango producer By Ranjit Devraj
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ew Delhi: Mango is the most important and popular fruit of India. It is grown over an area of 1.23 million hectares in the country producing 10.99 million tonnes. India ranks first among world’s mango producing countries accounting for 52.63 per cent of the world’s total mango production of 19 million tonnes. Mango accounts for 22.1 per cent of total area (5.57 million ha) and 22.9 per cent of total production of fruits (47.94 million tonnes) in the country. Though Uttar Pradesh has the largest area of 0.27 million hectares under mango, Andhra Pradesh has the highest productivity of 12 tonnes per hectare. While Andhra Pradesh produces 3.07 million tonnes of mango, U.P., Bihar and Karnataka produce 2.39, 1.79 and 0.92 million tonnes, respectively. India is also a big exporter of fresh mangoes and exported over 634 lakh tonne of mangoes worth Rs. 209.74 crore during 2011-12.The major mango importers from India are United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Nepal. VARIETIES There are more than a thousand mango varieties in India. However, only about 30 varieties are grown on commercially in different States. Important mango varieties cultivated in different states are: Andhra Pradesh: Banganpalli, Bangalora,Cherukurasam, Himayuddin, Suvarnarekha Bihar: Bombai, Langra, Fazri, Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Sukul, Bathua Goa: Fernandin, Mankurad, Alphonso Gujarat: Alphonso, Kesar, Rajapuri, Vanraj Haryana: Dashehari, Langra, Bombay Green Himachal Pradesh: Chausa, Dashehari and Langra Kerala: Mundappa, Olour, Pairi Madhya Pradesh: Alphonso, Bombai, Langra and mostly seedling types Maharashtra: Alphonso, Kesar, Mankurad, Mulgoa, Pairi Orissa: Baneshan, Langra, Neelum, Suvarnarekha and mostly seedling types Punjab: Dashehari, Langra, Chausa Rajasthan: Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari and Langra Uttar Pradesh: Bombay Green, Dashehari, Fajri, Langra, Safeda Lucknow, Chausa West Bengal: Bombai, Himsagar, Kishan Bhog, Langra Characteristics of some important Indian varieties are as follows: 1. Alphonso: This is the leading commercial variety of Maharashtra state and one of the choicest varieties of the country. This variety is known by different names in different regions, viz. Badami, Gundu, Khader, Appas, Happus and Kagdi Happus. The fruit of this variety is medium in size, ovate oblique in shape and orange yellow in colour. The fruit quality
is excellent and keeping quality is good. It has been found good for canning purpose. It is a mid season variety 2. Bangalora : It is a commercial variety of south India. The fruit size is medium to large, its shape is oblong with necked base and colour is golden yellow. Fruit quality is poor. Keeping quality is very good. It is widely used for processing. It is a mid season variety. 3. Banganpalli: It is a commercial variety of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and also known as Chapta, Safeda, Baneshan and Chaptai. Fruit is large in size and obliquely oval in shape. The colour of the fruit is golden yellow. Fruit quality and keeping quality are good. It is a mid season variety and is good for canning. 4. Bombai: It is a commercial variety from Bihar state. It is also known as Malda in West Bengal and Bihar. Fruit size is medium, shape ovate-oblique and colour yellow. Fruit quality and keeping quality are medium. It is an early season variety. 5. Bombay Green: It is commonly grown in north India due to its early ripening habit. It is also called Malda in Northern India. Fruit size is medium, shape ovate oblong and the colour is spinach green. Quality is good. 6. Dashehari : This variety derives its name from the village Dashehari near Lucknow. It is a leading commercial variety of north India and one of the best varieties of our country. The fruit size is medium, shape is oblong to oblong oblique and fruit colour is yellow. Fruit quality is excellent keeping quality is good. It is a mid season variety and is mainly used for table purpose. 7. Fajri : This variety is commonly grown in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Fruit is very large, obliquely oval in shape. Fruit colour is light chrome. Fruit quality and keeping quality are medium. This is a late season variety. 8. Fernnadin : This is one of the oldest varieties of Bombay. Some people think that this variety originated in Goa. Fruit size is medium to large, fruit shape is oval to obliquely oval and fruit colour is yellow with a red blush on shoulders. Fruit quality and keeping quality are medium. It is a late season variety mostly used for table purpose. 9. Himsagar : This variety is indig-
enous to Bengal. This is one of the choicest varieties of Bengal and has gained extensive popularity. Fruit is of medium size, ovate to ovate oblique. Fruit colour is yellow. Both fruit and keeping quality are good. It is an early variety. 10. Kesar : This is a leading variety of Gujarat with a red blush on the shoulders. Fruit size is medium, shape oblong and keeping quality is good. It is an early variety. 11. Kishen Bhog : This variety is indigenous to Murshidabad in West Bengal. Fruit size is medium, fruit shape is roundish oblique and fruit colour is yellow. Fruit quality and keeping quality are good. It is a mid season variety. 12. Langra : This variety is indigenous to Varanasi area of Uttar Pradesh. It is extensively grown in northern India. Fruit is of medium size, ovate shape and lettuce green colour. Fruit quality is good. Keeping quality is medium. It is a mid season variety. 13. Mankurad : This variety is of commercial importance in Goa and in the neighbouring Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The variety develops black spots on the skin in rainy season. Fruit is medium in size, ovate in shape and yellow in colour. Fruit quality is very good. Keeping quality is poor. It is a mid season variety. 14. Mulgoa: This is a commercial variety of southern India. It is quite popular among the lovers of mango owing to high quality of its fruit. Fruit is large in size, roundish oblique in shape and yellow in colour. Fruit quality is very good. Keeping quality is good. It is a late season variety. 15. Neelum : This is a commercial variety indigenous to Tamil Nadu. It is an ideal variety for transporting to distant places owing to its high keeping quality. Fruit is medium in size, ovate oblique in shape and saffron yellow in colour. Fruit quality is good and keeping quality is very good. It is a late season variety. 16. Chausa : This variety originated as a chance seedling in the orchard of a Talukadar of Sandila district Hardoi, U.P. It is commonly grown in northern parts of India due to its characteristic flavour and taste. Fruit is large in size, ovate to oval oblique in shape and light yellow in colour. Fruit quality is good keeping quality is medium.
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17. Suvarnarekha : This is a commercial variety of Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. Other synonyms of this variety are Sundari, Lal Sundari. Fruit is medium in size and ovate oblong in shape. Colour of the fruit is light cadmium with a blush of jasper red. Fruit quality is medium and keeping quality is good. It is an early variety. 18. Vanraj : It is a highly prized variety of Vadodra district of Gujarat and fetches good returns. Fruit is medium in size, ovate oblong in shape and colour is deep chrome with a blush of jasper red on the shoulders. 19. Zardalu : This variety is indigenous to Murshidabad in West Bengal. Fruit size is medium, oblong to obliquely oblong and golden yellow in colour. Fruit quality is very good. Keeping quality is medium. It is a mid season variety. A number of hybrid popular varieties. Some of such varieties are: 1. Amarapali : This hybrid is from a cross of Dashehari x Neelum. It is dwarf, regular bearing and late maturing variety. The variety is suitable for high density planting as about 1,600 plants may be planted in a hectare. It yields on an average 16 tonnes / hectare. 2. Mallika : It is from a cross of Neelum x Dashehari. Its fruit is large in size, oblong elliptical and in shape cadmium yellow in colour. Fruit and keeping quality are good. It is a mid season variety. 3. Arka Aruna : It is a hybrid between Baganpalli and Alphonso. It is dwarf regular bearing, precocious. Fruits are large having attractive skin colour with red blush free from spongy tissue. 4. Arka Puneet : It is a hybrid between Alphonso and Banganpalli. Fruits are medium sized having attractive skin colour with red blush and free from spongy tissue. 5. Arka Anmol : This hybrid is from a cron of Alphonso and Janardhan Pasand. It is regular bearer and good yielder. Fruits are medium sized having uniform yellow peel colour, excellent keeping quality and free from spongy tissue. 6. Arka Neelkiran : It is a hybrid between Alphonso and Neelum. It is , regular bearering late season variety with medium sized fruits having attractive red blush free from spongy tissue. 7. Ratna : This hybrid is from a cross of Neelum x Alphonso. Tree vigorous, precautions, fruits are medium sized, attractive in colour and free from spongy tissue. 8. Sindhu : It is from a cross of Ratna x Alphonso. It is regular bearer, fruits medium sized, free from spongy tissue with high pulp to stone ratio and very thin and small stone. 9. Au Rumani : It is from a cross of Rumani x Mulgoa. It is precocious, heavy and regular bearing with large fruits having yellow cadmium skin colour. 10. Manjeera : This hybrid is from a cross of Rumani x Neelum. It is dwarf, regular and prolific bearer with firm and fibre less flesh. —PIB, New Delhi.
south asia 30 South Asia Timestimes
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jy ho jg me' tIn Svåpo' k;² m;t; ”nme' x;iml hw jgt-jnnI k; åp ilE vh svRÅeã# khl;tI hw) Åõ;-puãp aipRt krt;² mw' ntmStk hot; hU\) tere cr,o' me' p[,;m kå\² mw' sd; yhI p[, krt; hU\) jIvn k; tUne d;n idy;² apn; sb kuz bild;n iky;² ”sIilE .gv;n kOã, .I terI mihm; g;te hw'² b;l-åp me' m;t; k; a;xIW hmex; lete hw') mere .;rt kI yhI pr'pr;² a;;j ivXv me' cicRt hw² m;tO-idvs kI pu<y-itiq pr sb kuz mer; aipRt hw) dUsrI m;t; m;tO.Uim hw² ijsk; åp inr;l; hw) ¾jnnI jNm.UimXc Svg;Rdip grIysI¾ k; m'] a;j .I jIivt hw) .;rt m;t; k; vh Svåp² jb a;j s;mne a;t; hw² p[;,o' me' amOt k; rs an;y;s `ul j;t; hw) tIsrI m;\ k; sMm;n jo m;tO.;W; khl;tI hw ijske ij×; pr a;te hI² duiny; apnI lgne lgtI hw) p[em² p[,y a*r sMbN/o' k; åp a/Ur; rht; hw) m;tO.;W; k; p[%r D;n hI ”Nhe' sjIv kr det; hw) ”s m;tO-idvs ke avsr pr² a;”ye hm s'kLp kre'² jIvn me' ”nk; m;n kre'² gu,g;n kre'² sb iml kr ”Nhe' p[,;m kre')
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agr koé ho Xvet kex/;rI m;\² khI' dUr² pur;ne `r me' akelI ¬#;ao klm a*r ab to il%o %¹t jo tum so rhe ho b;r-b;r r;h mt de%o tb tk ik ¬ske h;q k;\p'e a;\%'e p!¹ n ske²' k;n sun n ske' kh do a;j a.I tum c;hte ho ¬se bhut der ho j;ne se phle ) agr koé n;j¹k u sNdex .ejn; hw y; Sneh ke do xBd .Ul j;ne se phle nj¹dIk j; kr² kh do ¬sk; h;q q;m kr bhut der ho j;ne se phle ) Ky; pt;² k*n sI k$u y;de' st;yeg ' I agr tum der krte hI rhe ¬#o² clo² lg; lo ¬se Py;r se gle bhut der ho j;ne se phle ) ”s duiny; se j;ne se phle hm vtRm;n me' rhte hw)' .ivãy hm;re h;q me' nhI' kl Ky; hog;² k*n j;ne² a;j jI lo² a;j hm;r; hw) nsIb se hm;re h;q jo smy a;y; hw cl; j;yeg;² agr socte hI rhoge %¹cR kr lo apne idl ke %¹j;ne bhut der ho j;ne se phle ) Sneh ke do xBd jo khe n gye f¹on jo k.I n iky; gy; sNdex; jo .ul;y; gy; idl kI b;t jo idl me' hI rhI kuz idl ¬ske ilye t@¹pte rh j;yeg ' e kuz Py;re-dul;re r;h de%te rheg ' e kh do ¬n sb se² Py;r krte ho ¬n se ”s duiny; se j;ne se phle bhut der ho j;ne se phle )
m;\ M;;\ k; mmt; .r; h;q yid isr pr ho to muiXkle' r;St; zo@¹ s;mne se h$ j;tI hw)' m;\² su% jIvn ko s't;no' me' b;\$e Svy' ZeltI s.I du%o' ke k;\$e bcpn %el;-%;y; tere a;\cl kI z;y; me' hr su%-du% mer; ism$; q; terI b;\ho' me' merI hr muiXkl k; sm;/;n qI tU nNhe ”s .Kt k; .gv;n qI tU bcpn ke bet;j b;dx;h bCce s;re m;\ kI godI me' apne p'% ps;re) ¬nkI totlI bolI hr letI tere du% s;re pr ab soctI hU\ ¬n bCco' ko ijnk; bcpn m;\ kI z;y; se v'ict ho j;t; hw m;\ kI y;do' k; s;y; hI mn ko bs shl;t; hw khI'-khI' Ees; .I ivi/ k; iv/;n bn j;t; hw
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puStk-pircy
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s;mne kI duk;n se tum f¹on kr lo) a*r vh b;hr %@¹; hokr mer; ”‹tj¹;r krne lg;) mw‹ne ¬se /Nyv;d idy; a*r ¬sne kh; ik mw' jLdI se apnI %rIdd;rI kr lU\ nhI‹ to duk;n'e b‹d ho j;E\gI) hm dono‹ ke p;s ko”R klm y; k;gj¹ nhI‹ q;² ”silye hmlog Ek dUsre k; fon n‹br n il% p;E) l@¹ke k; n;m pI$r q;) bol; mw‹ p;kR@el m‹e rht; hU\² jo hm;re `r se ko”R 7 imn$ kI dUrI pr hog;) ¬sne mer; n‹br y;d kr ily;) bol; ik vh apnI m;\ ko lekr muZse imlne a;Eg;) ¬n dono‹ ke j;ne ke b;d mw‹ne apne mo$r Klb áa;r³ E³ sI³ vI³â ko f¹on iky;) lg.g a;/e `‹$e me‹ ¬nk; a;dmI vh;\ phu\c;) g;@¹I de%kr vh bol; ik ”se #Ik krne me' kuz idn lge'ge) s;¬q lw‹@ j;n; to ab n;mumikn q;) x;m s;!¹e p;\c bje $wKsI lekr mw‹ `r v;ps phu\cI) `r phu\cne pr mw'ne de%; ik hm;re `r ke p;s ké g;i@¹y;\ %@¹I qI‹) yhI soc; ik log a.I tk mdsR @e mn; rhe h‹w) `r phu\c kr jb mw‹ne drv;j¹e kI `‹$I bj;”R to !er se log khne lge ®hwPpI mdsR @e $U yU®) yh de% kr muZe ivXv;s nhI‹ hua; ik roiht a*r anur;g apnI m;\ ko srp[;”j p;$IR de rhe hw‹) ab to mer; mn s;tve‹ a;sm;n pr q;) m‹w %¹uxI se fUlI nhI‹ sm; rhI qI) yh mdsR @e to ab mw‹ k.I nhI‹ .Ul sktI) mw‹ j;ntI qI mere bCco‹ jws; ”s duiny; me‹ ko”R nhI‹ hw)
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Radio GUIDE SUNDAY Hindi...............9 am to 10 am – 93.1 FM Urdu............. 10 am to 11 am – 93.1 FM Tamil.......... .11 am to 12 pm – 93.1 FM Hindi............. 8 pm to 10 pm – 88.3 FM Singhalese.... 8 pm to 11 pm –97.7 FM MONDA Y Hindi................ 3 Pm to 4 pm – 93.1 FM Bengali........... 4 pm to 5 pm – 93.1 FM Hindi............... .6 pm to 8 pm – 88.3 FM Indian (Fiji).............. .6 pm to 8 pm 88.3 Punjabi......1 1 am to 12 noon 92.3 FM TUESDAY Hindi............... Hindi................. WEDNESDAY Hindi................. Hindi...................... Punjabi........ Hindi................
6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM 2 pm to 4 pm – 97.7 FM
.6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM 12 to 1 pm – 93.1 FM 11 am to 12 pm - 92.3 FM .8 pm to 9 pm – 97.7 FM
THURSDAY Hindi........... Tamil................ Sinhalese..... Punjabi.........
5.30 am to 7 am – 97.7 FM 8 pm to 9 pm – 92.3 FM 1 1 pm to 3 am –92.3 FM 9 pm to 10 pm – 93.1 FM
FRIDAY Indian..............
.8 am to 9 am – 88.3 FM
SATURDAY Sinhalese........ 7 am to 8 am – 92.3 FM T amil............... 12-12.30 pm – 88.3 FM Indian............... 5 am to 6 am - 92.3 FM Punjabi..................... 12-2 am – 92.3 FM Indian............ 9 pm to 10 pm – 92.3 FM Punjabi............................. 11 pm to 1 am 24/7 Radio stations Indian Link Radio (Subscription) 18000 15 8 47 Radio Santa Banta (Internet) Santabanta.com.au Radio Jhankar 88.6 FM; Every Thursday; 8 to 10 pm; Contact: 94668900 or 0411247320 or 9404 2111
South Asian websiteS India TEHELKA – www.tehelka.com OUTLOOK – www.outlookindia.com FRONTLINE- www.flonnet.com THE HINDU: www.hinduonnet.com TIMES OF INDIA: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com HINDUSTAN TIMES: www.hindustantimes.com Pakistan DAWN: www.dawn.com THE FRIDAY TIMES: www.thefridaytimes.com THE NEWS INTERENATIONAL: www.thenews.com.pk
community
www.ekantipur.com/en THE RISING NEPAL: www.nepalnews.com.np
PLACES OF WORSHIP HINDU Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple 57 Boundary Rd, Carrum Downs, Melbourne, Vic 3201, Ph: 03 9782 0878; Fax: 03 9782 0001 Website: www.hsvshivavishnu.org.au Sri Vakratunda Vinayaka Temple 1292 - 1294, The Mountain Highway, The Basin, Vic 3154, Ph: 03 9792 1835 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 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
Sri Lanka DAILY MIRROR: www.dailymirror.lk DAILY NEWS: www.dailynews.lk THE ISLAND: www.island.lk
SHEPPARTON Gurdwara Sahib Shepparton 240 Doyles Road, Shepparton VICTORIA 3603 PH: (03) 5821 9309
Nepal THE HIMALAYAN TIMES: www.thehimalayantimes.com KANTIPUR NATIONAL DAILY:
JAIN Melbourne Shwetambar Jain Sangh Inc 3 Rice Street, Moorabbin, Vic - 3189, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9555 2439
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info@melbournejainsangh.org http://www.melbournejainsangh.org MUSLIM Melbourne West Mosque 66-68 Jeffcott Street, Melbourne Ph: 03 9328 2067 Broadmeadows Mosque 45-55 King Street, Broadmeadows Ph 03 9359 0054 Islamic Call Society 19 Michael Street, Brunswick Ph: 03 9387 7100 Islamic Centre of Australia 660 Sydney Road, Brunswick Ph 03 9385 8423 Australian Islamic Cultural Centre 46-48 Mason Street, Campbellfield Ph: 03 9309 7605 Coburg ISNA Mosque 995 Sydney Road, Coburg North Coburg Mosque (Fatih Mosque) 31 Nicholson Street, Coburg Ph 03 9386 5324 Deer Park Mosque 283 Station Road, Deer Park Ph 03 9310 8811 United Migrant Muslim Assn. 72 George Road, Doncaster Ph 03 9842 6491, Footscray West Mosque 294 Essex Street, Footscray Glenroy Musala 1st Floor, 92 Wheatsheaf Road, Glenroy Heidelberg Mosque Corner Lloyd & Elloits Streets, West Heidelberg Islamic College of Victoria (Mosque) 201 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing Ph 03 9369 6010 Huntingdale Mosque 320-324 Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale Ph 03 9543 8037 Al Nur Mosque 34-36 Studley Street, Maidstone Meadow Heights Mosque Hudson Circuit, Meadow Heights Springvale Mosque 68 Garnworthy Street, Springvale
EMERGENCY CONTACTS EMERGENCY CONTACTS Police, Fire & Abulance ........................ 000 Victoria State Emergency Service (SES)....................................... 132 500 Traffic hazards and freeway conditions.......................... 13 11 70 Gas escape........................................... 132 771 Poisons information........................ 13 11 26 Maternal and Child Line................ 13 22 29 Parentline........................................... 13 22 89 Kids Help Line......................... 1800 551 800 Lifeline (provides confidential telephone counselling)................. 13 11 14 Suicide Help Line.................... 1300 651 251 Animal Emergencies.................. 9224 2222
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HIGH COMMISSION FOR PAKISTAN,CANBERRA 4 Timbarra Crescent, O’Malley ACT 2606 (Australia), Tel: 61-2-62901676, 61-2-62901676, 62902769, 62901879 & 62901031, Fax: 61-262901073 Email: parepcanberra@internode. on.net, Postal Address: PO Box 684, Mawson ACT 2607 (Australia)
Sri Lanka Consulate 32A Brunswick Street ,Walkerville 5081 Melbourne , Phone: 9898-6760, 9248-1228 Email: rodney@techno.net.au
Bangladesh High Commission, Canberra 43, Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT-2606 Canberra, Australia, Ph: (61-2) 6290-0511, (612) 6290-0522, (61-2)6290-0533 (Auto hunting). Fax : (61-2) 6290-0544 E-Mail :hoc@bhcanberra.com Consulate of Nepal, Melbourne Email: cyonzon@nepalconsulate.net.au Level 7, 28-32 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Ph: (03) 9650 8338 Email: info@nepalconsulate.net.au SBS1 – Daily NDTV News - 11 am - Monday to Saturday. (From New Delhi, India).
TV News/programs Hindi News Urdu news SBS1 - PTV News – 9.30 am - Every Sunday – (From Pakistan). Readymades Roshan’s Fashions 68-71 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9792 5688 Raj Rani Creations 83-A Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9794 9398 Heritage India 54-56 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175, Ph: (03) 9791 9227 Site: heritageindia.net.au
DVDs, Music CDs & Film Stuff Baba Home Entertainment 52C Foster St., Dandenong 3175, (03) 97067252 Essence of India 76 Foster St., Dandenong 3175 (03) 87744853; 0413707685 Accountants & Loans Deepak & Associates Suite 4 & 6, Bldg.6, Hamilton Place, Mont Waverley 3149, (03) 9807 5992; 0402459174; 0411733737
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contd on 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
Indian Restaurants Hot Gossip 143 Boronia Road, Boronia 3155 Ph: (03) 97610733 Kadai Curry Kitchen 5 Canterbury Road, Blackburn 3130 Ph: (03) 98909782 Phoolwari 7 Murry Place, Ringwood 3134 Ph: (03) 98769111 Curry Bazaar Cafe 361 Burwood Road, Hawthorn 3122 Curry Bazaar Cafe-2 77 Swan Street, Richmond 3121 Ph: (03) 94259401 Tandoori Junction 29 Railway Parade North Glen Waverley 3150
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Cinnamon Club 1291-1293 Nepean Hwy, Cheltenham 3192
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Education
Rich Maha 499, Shop 5, Vermont South (Burwood Hwy) 3133
CECA Education Consultancy, Ph: (03) 96631318, Mobile: 0430338761
Indian Star 254-256 Maribyrnong Road, Mooni Ponds, Ph: (03) 93751113/93707298
EdX Institute Ph: 1300 933 922, Mobile: 0433354401 Email: edx@optusnet.com.au www.edxinstitute.com.au
Punjabi Masala 2-6 Market Street, Nunawading 3131 Ph: 98774052, Mobile: 0413449783
Satellite TV Telsat Communications Ph: (03) 97925661, Mobile: 0402147476 Satview Ph: (03) 97985100, www.satview.com.au
Rajdoot Indian Restaurant 144 Boronia Road, Boronia, Ph: 97624410
Music Groups/DJ/Cultural Om Music Group (Amitaabh Singh), Mobile: 0422028076 Email: amitabh_om@yahoo.com.au
Punjab Cafe 143 Carnish Road, Clayton 3168 Ph: 95444218, Mobile: 0432536683 Haldirm’s Indian Restaurant Shop 28, Stuart Ave., Hampton Park 3976, Ph/Fax: 97994790, Mobile: 0433259369 Email: haldiramfoods@yahoo.com.au Sinage & Printing Sign*A*Rama Box Hill 895B Canterbury Road, Box Hill 3128Ph: (03) 98988564, Mobile: 0412639703 Mobile Car Mechanic Tony Zahlan (Repairs all models), Mobile: 0402466599 ltzahlan@primusonline.com.au Bollywood Mandaps Office: Nunawading, Showroom: Dandenong North, Call: 1300 851 137 Email: info@bollywoodmandaps.com.au Site: http://www.bollywoodmandaps.com. au/
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
ociinfo.inau@vfshelpline.com CONSULAR SERVICES (Passport, Visa, OCI, PIO & Miscellaneous) Please note that all these consular services are handled by VFS Global (Indian Passport and Visa Service Centre) The Consulate General of India in Melbourne will continue to provide to residents of Victoria and Tasmania the following consular services, for which applications would have to be lodged directly with the Consulate: Miscellaneous OCI Services • Miscellaneous Consular Services (such as attestation of documents, transfer of visas from old to new passport, affidavits, birth certificates, life certificates, certificate required to transport ashes or mortal remains to India etc) IMPORTANT: The Consulate does not accept credit cards, EFTPOS, personal cheques or company cheques. Please send only money orders or bank cheques with applications sent through the post. Cash payments are accepted only at the counter. WORKING HOURS General Working Hours 9.00 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, Consular Working Hours 09.30 am to 12.30 pm Monday to Friday, (except on public holidays observed by the consulate) International Students International Student Care Service (ISCS) www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/iscs Ph: 1800 056 449 Emergency Services Police, Fire, Ambulance............................000 Crime Stoppers......................1800 333 000 Property st Property PL, Suite 110, Level 1,672 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Vic 3122
PHOTOGRAPHY Video/Photography/Marriages Hot Chilli Media Kamal (Still,Video,Event,Catering) Ph: 1300851137;(03) 80806616 Mobile: 0435075447 kamal@hotChillimedia.com www.hotChillimedia.com
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Kumar’s Photography John Kumar (Still Photography) Mobile : 04122453321 Rupali’s Mandap 13 Coco Circuit, Point Cook, Vic 3030 Rupali: 0412410890; Deepesh: 0401664516 Email: rupalismandaps@bigpond.com www.rupalismandaps.com.au Marriage Celebrant N. R. Wickiramasingham, 37 James St., Dandenong 3175, Ph: 97947942; Fax: 97945527, Mobile: 0404059231
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reached what they call the appropriate arrangements agreement, which now allows Canada to sell. So its two and a half years negotiations took place there. "So its two and a half years negotiations took place there," he said. "That has always been the case, yes, I mean we sell to China, it frees up their domestic (use) for (military purposes), yes, it's a fact of life."
"This issue has held to ransom Australia's relationship and the economic interests with the world's largest democracy for 40 years," Ahuja told SBS TV channel. According to PTI, Ahuja, who now heads Axess India Consultancy Group, said the simple fact was that Australia held up to or rather over 40 per cent of low cost uranium, so if it exported it then the percentage would rise.
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Australia, India uranium agreement will take time: Ex-diplomat
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elbourne: The sale of Australian uranium to India will take time as the safeguards agreement is a very complex issue, a former Australian diplomat to New Delhi has said. Rakesh Ahuja, however, warned that the yellow cake sale would also free up India's domestic reserves for military purposes, reports PTI.
"I think it will take time, this safeguards agreement is a very complex issue, it will take time," Ahuja, who was posted as Australian Deputy High Commissioner to New Delhi from 1994 to 1999, told ABC Radio on April 30, 2013. He gave the example of Indo-Canadian deal, saying both the nations agreed to move forward back in 2010, and it was not until just earlier this year that they have
Australia, whose uranium reserves are the world's largest, already exports it to China, Japan, Taiwan and the US.
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southSouth asia times 35 Asia Times
Who should fund the rail link?
I
nterstate and international visitors to Victoria spend more than $8 billion a year in the local economy, and this amount will more than double over the next 20 years. Passengers travelling through Melbourne Airport are coming here for business, education or leisure. They are attracted to Melbourne and Victoria by our growing and diverse economy, and opportunities to do business or invest in Victoria. Our internationally-renowned educational institutions attract students and visitors from around the world. Melbourne is home to a year-round calendar of world-class sporting and cultural events. Our appeal as a destination for food and wine, entertainment, shopping and our enviable lifestyle and natural attractions also draw millions of visitors from interstate and overseas. Not to mention Melbourne’s reputation as the ‘world’s most liveable city’. Melbourne Airport supports a strong and growing Victoria economy, and as
our city and state continue to grow, so will demand for air travel through Melbourne Airport. Therefore, better public transport connections to Melbourne Airport will benefit the city and
state as a whole, supporting the future growth in the number of interstate and international visitors and the economic benefit this brings, as well as making it easier for Victorian resi-
dents to keep doing business and engaging with the rest of the world. The airport rail link should be funded as part of the state’s public transport infrastructure, connecting a major
centre of employment and economic activity that delivers significant economic benefits for the whole state. —Projects Update, Melbourne Airport, April 2013
First ‘Significant Investor Visa’ granted By our reporter
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elbourne, 3 May: Australia's first ‘significant investor visa’ has been granted to a successful Chinese toy manufacturer and his young family, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Brendan O'Connor has announced. The ‘significant investor visa’ was introduced in November 2012 to attract potential migrants with a demonstrated history of success in business and investment. Under the scheme, significant investors must invest at least $5 million in the Australian economy under the business innovation and investment program. They become eligible for a permanent visa after holding a provisional visa and maintaining the $5 million investment in Australia for four years.
'Australia is in active competition with other countries across our region for successful, high wealth individuals and the capital and business acumen that comes with them,' Mr O'Connor said. 'Significant investors bring with
them their skills in business, their links to international markets and additional capital for investment in other projects in Australia that interest them. 'There has been substantial interest from potential migrant investors
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with more than 170 applications lodged, totalling a potential of $850 million in investment. 'The Gillard Government is determined to manage our immigration program in the best interests of all Australians. Attracting top-flight business operators and investors is critical to continuing jobs growth for Australians.' Investment options include Commonwealth, state and territory government bonds, managed funds and direct investment into proprietary Australian companies. State and territory governments are partnering with the Commonwealth to ensure the available visas are offered to the most experienced business people and high profile investors. The Victorian state government nominated the first successful significant investor to be granted a visa under the scheme, a media release says.
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transformation remained half way through. All the struggles started by Ambedkar aimed for social justice, social equality and democratic values. He led the movements like Chavdar Talab, for right to have access to public drinking water, Kalaram Mandir, right to enter temples and also the burning of Manusmriti, as symbolic of the rejection of religiously ordained caste hierarchy. The resistance to these led to his conclusion that he had to leave the Hindu fold, which is dominated by Brahmanical values of Varna. The social political base to his movements was provided by the national movement, which was aspiring for throwing away the British colonial power and also struggling for democratic values. Here Ambedkar rook off from this movement, but the national movement was not adequate to give him total social justice as this movement also had upper castes in good measure. So here we see the dilemma of Mahatma Gandhi versus Ambedkar. Gandhi was not able to go beyond the limits posed by the participation of all castes in freedom movement. He kept talking of varna system in a more refined form while taking up cudgels against untouchability. Gandhi also opposed the separate electorate, provided by communal award of MacDonald in 1932. The Poona pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar led to the re-
situation where different communities are vying for status as a particular reserved category. The overall future for the youth is dismal and it gets reflected in the form of movements for particular castes getting recognized in this or that category. The other major obstacle to caste transformation is the politics of Hindutva. On one hand it talks of Samajik Samrasta (social Harmony), that all castes should have harmony amongst them. The Hindutva’s concept of ‘Integral Humanism’ emphasizes on different castes continuing their professions for smooth social functioning. The social engineering by religious political forces is co-opting the low caste through various mechanisms, to the extent of using them as foot soldiers of their anti minority violence. A section of dalits also is influenced by the process of Sanskritization, aping at upper caste and imitating them for their future trajectory. As a logical corollary; the cultural mechanisms, the TV serials, the preaching’s of hoards of God men are promoting the values of Manusmiriti in a more sophisticated form. At the same time a serious layer of progressive and dalit intellectuals are trying to restore the core values and principles of struggles against caste-varna. The situation today is very complex and caste as a social phenomenon is far from extinct. Today’s political scenario is a conflict between the values of democracy on one hand, and the values of religious nationalism; the politics representing the defense of caste and gender hierarchy; on the other. The process of social equality; caste annihilation and values of democracy need to be brought in through a fresh series of multilayered struggles for a truly democratic society. That alone will be a tribute to the life and work of the legend of this great visionary, Bhimrao Babsaheb Ambedkar. —Pluralindia, April 2013
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Whither annihilation of caste?
BY Ram Punyani
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hen on this (14th April 2013) anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Babasaheb Ambedkar, we pay tribute to his yeomen services towards the cause of social justice and bringing to fore the values of democracy; we also need to think as to how his dream and vision of annihilation of caste can be taken further. Where do we stand in this direction six decades after the Independence and after the formal implementation of Constitution of India, which gives us the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity? Caste has been the major marker of Indian, particularly Hindu, society. While world over the serfs were under the bondage of feudal lords, we had religiously ordained system of Varna-Jati (Caste). Many theories of caste prevail, the racial theory, superior Aryans versus the natives, now stands debunked. The hypothesis of Morton Klass argues that it was a way of adjusting of tribal to the system of production, which generated surplus. This understanding indicates towards the understanding that caste evolved with the particular system of production in India. Kosambi looks at origin of caste as being due to the continuous process of fusing of tribal into general society. The major contribution to the understanding of genesis of caste comes from Ambedkar as per whom castevarna came into being due to ideological-religious factors. According to him caste system came into being as the result of ideologies of Dharmshatras, which was part of Brahmanism. In Indian society the interesting point is that caste is prevalent not only amongst Hindus, it also prevails in other religious communities. The difference being that amongst Hindus, the caste is prescribed in the holy books,
while in other religious communities; it is a social phenomenon, like Ashraf, Ajlaf and Arzal amongst Muslims and different denominations amongst Christians and Sikhs. The first challenge to caste system came from Lord Gautam Buddha, who talked of Samta, equality. This concept of Samta, equality became very popular and was accepted by large number of people till Buddhism was attacked and wiped out from India in eighth century by those who wanted to restore the varnacaste. During medieval period the Bhakti saints in particular talked against and questioned the system of graded inequality, but their voice though a powerful articulation of the plight of the low caste, remained just an expression of pain and sorrow of the poor, and was strongly opposed by Brahmin clergy. The rule of Muslim Kings and British did not change the social structure of the subcontinent, though during British rule due to the industrialization and introduction of modern education, the caste system started being questioned, opposed and socially challenged. The edifice of caste started loosening up. During the rule of Muslim kings the social structure remained intact. With the British rule the half way process of industrialization and modern education came in. At the same time the caste-varna also continued on the side, though its legitimacy started being questioned in a more serious way. In the changed situation starting form Jotirao Phule the movements for caste abolition found grounding in society, though they were not able to uproot the phenomenon of caste in the full measures as the feudal production system ran side by side with the process of modernization. The process of secularization, abolition of the hold of landlord and clergy, remained incomplete and so the process of caste
served Constituency and the provisions of reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Ambedkar’s vision was that reservations and inter-caste marriages will be steps towards annihilation of caste. Today both these face serious obstacles on social ground. The rigidity of caste is increasing and inter-caste marriage is facing serious obstacles from conservative forces. While freedom movement led by Gandhi was half way conceding to the needs of dalits, the other ideology, the one of religious nationalism was waiting in the wings with the concept of Hindu Rashtra, Hindu nation. Ambedkar did realize that acceptance of religious nationalism, formation of Pakistan on that ground will be a disaster for dalits as it will pave the way for Hindu Rashtra, the slavery of dalits. Today while most of the commentators are attacking Gandhi, they need to focus more attention to the impact of the politics and ideology of Hindu religious nationalism, which is a major obstacle to caste abolition today. The reservations for dalits led to newer caste equations. On one hand the section of rising middle class stood to oppose these reservations, tooth and nail. The anti reservation violence has been witnessed in the Gujarat in particular in 1980s. Also since the overall development process is not accommodative of all, the inner competition for reservation has led to a strange
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For Information contact N.R. Wickiramasingham. CMC JP. Mobile: 0404 059 231 Phone: (03) 9794 7942 Fax: (03) 9794 0414 Email: wickiram@hotmail.com 34 James Street, Dandenong, Victoria 3175 Authorised by the Commenwealth of Australia Reg: A4978
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WOODEN GOLD...
INDIAN SANDALWOOD IS THE WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE TROPICAL HARDWOOD WITH PRICES THAT HAVE INCREASED AT AUCTIONS IN INDIA AT A COMPOUNDED RATE OF OVER 16.7% PER ANNUM SINCE 1990. WITH GLOBAL SUPPLIES DWINDLING THROUGH EXCESSIVE AND ILLEGAL HARVESTING, A GLOBAL SHORTAGE HAS EMERGED.
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ith growing international demand and depleted global supplies, Australia’s Indian Sandalwood industry appears to have struck “wooden gold”. For thousands of years Indian Sandalwood has been traded across the globe, prized for its cultural significance, medicinal properties and aroma. On China's Spice Route Sandalwood was as precious and valuable as gold. Today this value continues, with high quality sandalwood oil being amongst the most valuable of all essential oils. Growing demand driven by increasing wealth in Asia has seen the rapid deforestation of the tree, with Indian Sandalwood now recognised on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Threatened Species Redlist. As Sandalwood supplies dwindle, global demand looks set to rise thanks to opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector and strong demand in the high growth markets of China and India. The result is an exciting opportunity for Australian investors. Since the 1980’s Indian Sandalwood has been trialled in the Ord River
Irrigation Area (ORIA) of Western Australia. Following the success of these early Government-conducted trials, commercial operators have expanded this industry, creating vast plantation forests to meet the incredible global demand for Indian Sandalwood. Western Australian based TFS Corporation (ASX: TFC) is the world's largest plantation grower of Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album), with more than 6,500 hectares established in Australia's tropical north. Key to the company's success has been years of research and development focused on the complex relationship between Sandalwood and its host trees. As a parasite, Sandalwood taps the roots of other
trees, extracting nutrients and water to help it grow. As a specialist Sandalwood producer involved in growing, processing and selling Sandalwood products, TFS is well placed to create a lucrative industry for Australia. For information on investing in TFS’s 2013 Indian Sandalwood Project please visit the TFS website - www. tfsltd.com.au, phone TFS on (08) 9386 32999 or contact: Doug Martens (WA) 0422 984 785 doug@tfsltd.com.au Prue Bauer (QLD) 0400 075 554 prue@tfsltd.com.au
Dylan Greenway (NSW) 0421 370 707 dylan@tfsltd.com.au Dinesh D’sa (VIC) 0427 128 156 dinesh@tfsltd.com.au The issuer for TFS Sandalwood Project 2013 (TFS 2013) is TFS Properties Ltd (ABN 31 093 330 977). A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is available and can be obtained upon request by contacting TFS Properties Ltd by telephone on (08) 9386 3299 or by requesting a copy via the website www.tfsltd.com.au or in writing to PO Box 3040 Broadway, Nedlands WA 6009. A potential investor should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire an investment in TFS 2013.
What if you could grow your own tax deduction? Become a grower of Indian Sandalwood, a 100% tax deductible investment.1 From $6,750 (plus GST)2 the TFS Sandalwood Project 2013 gives you the opportunity to grow your own Indian Sandalwood, one of the world’s longest traded commodities with strong demand and diminishing supply. A Product Ruling from the ATO confirms all fees paid are fully tax deductible in the year they are paid.1 TFS manages the world’s largest Indian Sandalwood plantation with over 6,500 hectares under management. Further information can be obtained from our website www.tfsltd.com.au or contact Dinesh D’sa on 0427 128 156.
This advertisement must not be construed to be a recommendation or advice in connection with a financial product. 1 If the arrangement described in the Product Ruling (PR2012/29) is materially different from the arrangements actually carried out, the Ruling has no binding effect on the Commissioner and will be withdrawn or modified. The Product Ruling is only a ruling on the application of taxation law and is in no way expressly or impliedly a guarantee or endorsement of the commercial viability of the project, of the soundness or otherwise of the project as an investment, or the reasonableness or commerciality of any fees charged in connection with the project. The issuer for TFS Sandalwood Project 2013 (TFS 2013) is TFS Properties Ltd (ABN 31 093 330 977). A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is available and can be obtained upon request by contacting TFS Properties Ltd by telephone on (08) 9386 3299 or by requesting a copy via the website www.tfsltd.com.au or in writing to PO Box 3040 Broadway, Nedlands WA 6009. A potential investor should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire an investment in TFS 2013. 2 Additional fees and costs may apply. Please refer to the TFS 2013 PDS for a complete list and explanation of project fee and costs.
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