SAT May Issue 2016 by South Asia Times

SAT

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CELEBRATING 13TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION

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READ INSIDE

South Asia Times Vol.13 I No. 10 I MAY 2016 I FREE s o u t hasiatim es.com .au Editor: Neeraj Nanda

GUEST EDITORIAL HINDI NIKETAN Om Music Group LETTER FROM SYDNEY SOUTH ASIA hindi pushp SPORTS

PG 3 PG 6 PG 8 PG 15 PG 20 PG 30-31 PG 34

Manjit Singh 04 04 04 00 66 See page 2

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2016-17 Budget for a strong & confident Victoria 9 YEARS OF TRUSTED SERVICE OVER 500,000 FLIGHTS SOLD 24/7 CUSTOMER CARE ATAS ACCREDITED

See page 10

Surendra Verma's 60 years of science writing See page 18

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GUEST EDITORIAL

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SAT

South Asia Times

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

EDITOR (Hindi Pushp) Dr. Dinesh Srivastava dsrivastava@optusnet.com.au

SAT NEWS BUREAU/Australia (Melbourne) Neeraj Nanda satimes@gmail.com

SAT NEWS BUREAU/South Asia (New Delhi, India) RAJIV SHARMA rajeev.anchor@gmail.com PRASHAT TANDON news.prashant@gmail.com

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address P O Box 465, Brentford Square, Vic. 3131 Phone: (03) 9095 6220; Mobile: 0421 677 082 Email: satimes@gmail.com/ editor@southasiatimes.com.au

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DISCLAIMER

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 o f t h e e d i t o r / p u b l i s h e r. Opinions/stories/reports or any text content are those of the writers/contributors and not necessarily endorsed by the SAT.

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Victoria’s family violence law safeguards victims, what is the need of a new anti-dowry legislation?

Dowry is a social evil, which needs to be fought in the South Asian community. While doing this the rights of all parties need to be protected and the perpetuators legally punished. It’s not a gender war but a complex subject, which needs clarity and transparency. Considering that Victoria’s Family Violence Act safeguards the victims, duplicating the legislation in Victoria will only serve to add more legal clauses and create more confusion, argues Muktesh Chibber. Reader’s comments are welcome! —The Editor By Muktesh Chibber

Unfortunately, the dowry and cruelty law in India (Indian Penal Code Sectionelbourne: I have been working with 498a – Dowry and Cruelty laws) is being families for the last 25 years in misused even before the trial in the Victoria and have been intensively court of law. This has led to emotional involved with the Australian Indian psychological and financial strain of the community in Victoria. The issues encountered innocent people undergoing stigmatization range from those specific to individuals, to those and hardship with some of the falsely involving the extended families. Interference accused committing suicide after being from family members living overseas has been jailed. The Supreme Court of Indian has detrimental in some cases, and supportive in asked the Indian government to plug the some. loopholes in IPC498a which are yet to be One of the issues that have more recently fully resolved. The court has famously said surfaced in cases of family violence is the dowry in a ruling, “But by misuse of the provision claim. It is a common practice for Australians of (IPC 498a - Dowry and Cruelty Law) a new Indian origin to seek a partner from India. The legal terrorism can be unleashed. The close family members arrange many of these provision is intended to be used a shield marriages. Families in India are attracted to and not an assassin’s weapon”. proposals from overseas presuming their child In Australia, the Family Violence Act will have better opportunities, especially in covers economic abuse as behavior by western countries. Thus, at times, a considerable a person that is coercive, deceptive or amount of money is spent on celebrating unreasonably controls another person, these marriages. During the several rituals and without their consent. When the family ceremonies performed as part of the wedding, violence act already covers economic exchange of gifts from both sides is considered abuse, is there a need to re- define the auspicious. law? Is there a need to create communityHistorically parents of a bride followed the specific legislations in Victoria and set custom of gifting "Stridhan", i.e. ,property of a precedent for other communities to the woman which represents her share of her demand legislations, which are specific to parent's wealth. Stridhan literally translates to their particular ethnic backgrounds? “woman’s money”, and is, generally speaking, Considering that the Family Violence something that a woman can claim as her own property within a marital household. It may include her jewelry (gifted by either side of her family) and gifts presented to her during or after the wedding. Overtime Stridhan evolved into the ancient old custom called ‘dowry.’ The spirit or intent of ‘dowry’ was to assist the young couple to start their marital life. However, the term ‘dowry’ in India becomes a social evil and a crime if one party makes demands, directly or indirectly, from the parents or other relatives or guardian of a bride or bridegroom. In 1961, the Government of India criminalised dowry by introducing the Dowry Prohibition Act. Despite the introduction of the Act this evil has not been mitigated in India, in fact, subsequent changes have further complicated the situation. At the time of marriage, parties that demand dowry have committed a crime according to the Indian Dowry Act 1961 and parties that fulfill the demand of dowry are also at fault. If one spouse continues to make demands on the other for gifts or money after the marriage, it is regarded as a crime according to the Act. Breakdown of relationships is indeed painful and traumatic. In such situations, it is not unusual for the wife and husband to seek the return of expensive gifts that were exchanged at the time of their marriage. However when there is a total breakdown of a relationship and when there is no space or possibility of any mitigation, it is not unusual that it results in bitterness and vindictiveness. One of the issues that surface is that of dowry which during the relationship has been considered as an exchange of gifts by mutual consent. In marriages where one spouse is from India, it is not unusual for issues arising along with the rituals or customs of the country of origin to be brought across into the relationship when one migrates. Whilst the Dowry Prohibition Act in India is absolutely imperative to safeguard and to protect the harassed and helpless women and punish the perpetrators, there is documented evidence that it has not mitigated or constrained the evil of giving and taking of dowry. Every case comes with an emotional, psychological and economic scar.

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Act safeguards the victims, duplicating the legislation in Victoria will only serve to add more legal clauses and create more confusion, for issues that have already been legislated against in other countries where migrants come from. Rather than spend the scant resources available to the Victorian government on duplicating existing laws, an investment in educating the community regarding respectful relationships will be a much better and fruitful investment. Whether an anti-dowry legislation will decrease instances of family violence in Victoria is anybody's guess, but a better and surer way to achieve that outcome would be to inform the community of existing laws, the safeguards and the options available so that we help the current and future generations. In my opinion, a dowry-specific law isn't needed in Victoria, since existing laws already provide safeguards. A dowry specific law will set the wrong precedent, opening the door for other communities to advocate for laws against other country-specific practices. It will merely duplicate the existing laws and make the task of enforcement even more onerous. Source: SBS Punjabi, 14 April 2016

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Hindi Niketan celebrates 22nd anniversary of VCE Hindi awards

By SAT News Desk

elbourne, 27 April: The Hindi Niketan (HN) celebrated with great enthusiasm the 22nd Anniversary of VCE Hindi Award Function at the Oakleigh Hall. The event was marked by the singing of traditional Vandna, Bhangra, Bollywood dances and other cultural items. Anindya, Supreet, Jaspreet, Rasita, Shivangi and Dr. Meehul Srivastava (VCE Hindi topper of 2008)presentedBhangra, traditional as well as Bollywood dances. These dances thrilled the audience. Neeraj, Rani, Asha Chopra and his team entertained with lively Bollywood songs. Neeraj (key board) and Shiv Misra (Tabla) contributions in instrument support demonstrated depth of local talent.Mr Tahir Khan provided support for setting up the music to artists and thrilled the

audience with jokes. Poems cited by eminent poets Dr.Subash Sharma,Rajendra Chopra (Lye Mat Kahanaa), Ragini (Bappu) and Arvind Gandhar (Baba Bagula Das) were appreciated by knowledgeable Hindi loving audience.Ms Sanjana Chandra reflected her experience as a Hindi student in 2015 besides interviews with first, second and third rank holders of Hindi VCE class of 2015. MC’s role was appreciated by all as well. Dr Rahul Gupta, President of HN introduced the guests, councillor Paul Klisaris of Monash Council, representing Victorian opposition leader in parliament and Inga Peulich, Graham Watt, MP, Frank Merlino, Principal. Victorial School of languages (VSL) and Head of Chancery Mr. Rakesh Malhotra representing Indian consul General. Mr. Paul promised to support HN activities for Monash community to highlight the multicultural

diversity of Monash residents. All guests echoed a deep sense of gratitude for the work of Hindi Niketan and urged the Indian community to continue. Mr.Malhotra also admired the long and hard work carried out by Hindi Niketan in last two decades and promised total support to the community from Indian consulate office in Melbourne. Indian consulate also provided books for all the VCE Hindi students who received trophies. Trophies and certificates were presented to the students by DrsRahul Gupta and Sharad Gupta. They were assisted by Mr. Vijay Pipariaya. Ch. Shamsher Singh sponsored cash prizes for first, second and third rank holders.Hemanya N. Malhotra- 1, Mansi Aggarwal-2 and Meghna Aggarwal -3 received cash prizes. Dr Tandon memorial trophy was handed to Hemanya for top VCE Hindi student of 2015 (perfect

score). Nice vegetarian Indian food for all the audience was on sale for a very nominal price. Mrs. Manjeet Thethi, one of the most respected teachers introduced other Hindi teachers. Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, an eminent Hindi scholar who has contributed a lot towards recognisation of Hindi as secondary language was also present to appreciate the diversity of the programs and achievements of Hindi VCE students. He emphasised that parents should encourage their children to learn Hindi as other language. Indian community needs more students enrolled in the Hindi language in various VSL run schools and colleges, he said. RahulGupta expressed his gratitude for tireless work of the Hindi Niketan Executive Committee members in once again organising a successful VCE award function. He also thanked on behalf of HN for the support of Monash council for proving Oakleigh

All guests echoed a deep sense of gratitude for the work of Hindi Niketan and urged the Indian community to continue. Hall. He also expressed “Trophy” sponsor, Quality Groceries, Glen Waverley. The evening function concluded with the group photos of all the VCE Hindi students’ class of 2015 with all the HN committee and teachers and guests. —Supplied & compiled by Dr. Rahul Gupta, President, Hindi Niketan

Vic budget allocation for Hallam Road, Evans Rd. & S. Gippsland Hwy. Intersection By SAT Community reporter

elbourne, 27 April: The Victorian Budget presented recently in the Parliament has allocated $38.4 million for the duplication of Hallam Road between Ormond Road and the South Gippsland Highway as well as a major upgrade to the intersection of Hallam Road, Evens Road and South Gippsland Highway. Labor activist and ex-

federal candidate of Menzies, Manoj Kumar along with local residents had raised the issue for fixing the dangerous intersection of Hallam Rd, Evans Road and South Gippsland Highway at Hampton Park by introducing a Traffic management System. The petition signed by residents in the Casey and surrounding areas were drawn to the attention of Luke Donnellan (then Shadow Roads Safety Minister) and local

Cranbourne MP Hon. Jude Perera as a matter of urgency. The petition also mentioned that during peak times of travel, motorists were finding it difficult to turn onto South Gippsland Highway. Local residents and devotees who visited the Lynbrook Sikh Temple found it difficult to pass through the junction. The petitioners had requested the state government either to introduce traffic lights

or the establishment of a roundabout at the intersection to alleviate this problem. Local MP Hon. Jude Perera pledged to take up this issue further after the Sikh Temple officials handed over a petition to him. The petition was handed over to local MP Hon. Jude Perera by Temple officials in the presence of devotees, local residents, Shadow minister of Road Safety Hon. Luke Donnellan MP and Mr. Manoj Kumar local labor

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activist. Later Mr. Manoj Kumar followed up the issue with Minister Hon.Luke Donnellan and MP and Hon. Jude Perera to get approval of funding for this project. Talking to South Asia Times (SAT), Mr. Manoj Kumar expressed his happiness and gave credit for this achievement to the local residents, the Roads Safety minister Hon.Luke Donnellan MP and Hon. Jude Perera MP. —SAT News Service

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Om Music Group tribute to Madhubala and Madhuri Dixit

m Music Group paid tribute to Madhubala and Madhuri Dixit on 13th May at The Brooklyn Lounge! The event was organized as a token of appreciation and gratitude to Madhubala the most gorgeous actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood and Madhuri Dixit her worthy successor in beauty and Charisma. Om Music Group presented timeless songs like"Jab pyaar

kiya toh darna kya", "Aaiye meherbaan" "Dil toh pagal hai", Ek do teen and so on... The show was a fantastic experience and I look back at it with fondness. Amitabh mesmerised the audience with several popular Bollywood songs. Om Music Group managed to spell their charm throughout the event and pulled the show off in an excellent manner with their charisma and charm. Priya Singh, Mandy Bansal and

Kunal Mehta complete the talented list of singers for the group. Raul Roxas guitar maestro held the audience on a string! Rohit Kumar and Kunal Mehta were a wonderful support to the entire team on the keyboard and immersed the audience in their melodic interludes. An impromptu performance by Amitabh sing "Kamariya" a bhogpuri song, just changed the mood of the event, from the world

of bollywood beauties the audiences were taken for a ride in a different wold of bhojpuri songs which was enjoyed by everyone in the hall to the extent that many were on the floor dancing on the bhojpuri beats. It was a night to remember, a night where I was able to feel the presence of both these beauties in the songs presented by Om Music Group. To sum up, I found the

Enroll online now for the 2016 federal election By SAT News Desk

elbourne, 8 May: The federal election has been announced for 2 July and Australians must act now to ensure they are enrolled by the deadline of 8pm on 23 May 2016. Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said all Australian citizens aged 18 years and over are required by law to enroll and vote in the 2 July federal election. “Enrolling and voting is compulsory. If you are not enrolled, you can’t vote in the 2016 federal election,” Mr. Rogers said. “You can enroll conveniently online on your computer, tablet or smartphone.” Mr. Rogers also urged all Australians, especially those who have moved in the last three years, to immediately check that their details were up to date on the electoral roll. “If you’re not sure that you are correctly enrolled to vote, you can

check online or, if you need help, call us on 13 23 26.” “If you’re on on the roll but moved since the last election, or changed your name, you need to update your enrolment details online. Australians unable to go online can pick up a paper enrolment form at any AEC office or Australia Post outlet, however, correctly completed applications must be returned to the AEC by the 8pm 23 May close of rolls deadline. Seventeen-year-old Australians turning eighteen years of age on or before 2 July 2016 should also enroll and vote in the federal election. Key dates for the 2016 federal election Issue of writs: Monday 16 May 2016 Close of rolls: 8pm Monday 23 May 2016 Close of candidate nominations: 12 midday Thursday 9 June 2016 Election day: Saturday 2 July 2016, Return of writs on or before 8 August 2016 —SAT News Service www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

show a very successful event which brought our community together who had a great evening listening and dancing on Bollywood songs. Next show will be held at the same venue The Brooklyn Lounge on 13th May from 7.30 pm onward which will be "Mother's Day Special" ,it’s an evening not to be missed for sure! For more information and bookings please call 0422028076 or send an sms. Report by - Himanshu Topal

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DID YOU KNOW

VOTING RULES HAVE CHANGED?

Make your vote count this federal election. At this year’s federal election, the way you vote for the Senate has changed and it’s important that you understand how to vote correctly.

If you choose to vote below the line, you must number at least 12 boxes, from 1 to 12, for individual candidates in the order of your choice.

On the large white Senate ballot paper, you can choose to vote either above or below the line.

Voting for the House of Representatives has not changed. On the green ballot paper, you must number every box, starting with the number ‘1’ for your first choice, ‘2’ for your second choice and so on until you have numbered every box.

If you choose to vote above the line, you now need to number at least 6 boxes. Put the number ‘1’ in the box for the party or group that is your first choice, a ‘2’ for your second choice and so on until you’ve numbered at least 6 boxes.

‘How to vote’ instructions will be clearly displayed on your ballot paper. Don’t worry if you make a mistake — just ask for another ballot paper.

This federal election your vote will help shape Australia.

To learn more

www.aec.gov.au 1300 720 153

Authorised by the Electoral Commissioner, 50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT.

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2016-17 budget for a strong & confident Victoria: Tim Pallas By SAT reporter

elbourne, 4 May: The Victorian budget 2016-17 delivers sound economic management, delivering an estimated surplus of $ 2.9 billion, and an average surplus of $ 2.1 billion a year across the forward estimates, says Treasurer Tim Pallas. Tim was speaking at a media conference in the Parliament premises with many other Ministers who detailed the budget outline of their portfolios and answered to pointed queries by media persons. “Victoria remains in an enviable economic position with strong surpluses, jobs growth, and a secure triple-A credit rating. Net debt and unemployment are both below the levels we inherited from the previous Liberal Government, “ he said. Multicultural Affairs

Minister, Robin Scott said the Andrews government provides an additional $24.3 million over four years for a range of initiatives to strengthen our cultural diversity, social cohesion and support services for our multicultural community. In response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence, Robin Scott said, “The Andrews Labor Government will invest $6.3

million over four years to better meet the needs of victims in family violence services and targeted prevention strategies for victims from culturally diverse backgrounds, by creating strong support networks and greater access to social services.” Minister for Small Business, Trade and Innovation Philip Dalidakis said, “This Budget will

provide payroll tax cuts for approximately 36,000 businesses across Victoria, with the payroll tax-free threshold lifted to $650,000 over the next four years. By the time the measure is fully implemented, businesses with annual Victorian payrolls between $4.8 million and $31.5 million will have the lowest payroll tax burden anywhere in Australia.”

Earlier, on the budget day, Premier Daniel Andrews said, “This Budget reflects a strong and confident Victoria. We’re keeping our word, and delivering our electioncommitments.” “We’re overhauling public transport, investing in roads, fixing schools and hospitals and we’re cutting taxes forbusinesses – we’re getting it done, “ he said. —SAT News Service

For conveyancing services in Melbourne, know these things first By SAT reporter

e all know that buying or selling a property has its own bells and whistles and with number of legalprocesses, transferring of the title can be tiresome. Before you go for finding the fixed priceconveyancing services in Melbourne, there are some basics you need to know about first. Look atthe three of the commonest things in conveyancing while you want to transfer the title of theproperty you are buying or selling anywhere in Australia.

What You Need - A Conveyancer or a Solicitor A solicitor as well as a conveyancer can do the job for you of transferring the title of the propertyyou are willing to sell or buy. However, in many states, people generally contract conveyancingspecialist to handle their matter. Check if they are registered with the Australian Institute ofConveyancers (AIC), which is a national body that maintains best practise in the conveyancing

Be Specific about the Conveyancing Fees Once you have selected the conveyancer who is competent and qualified for your job, ask about thefees and charges of the services first. Some conveyancers also provide Fixed Price Conveyancing inMelbourne. Ask if the charges include stamp duty or any other fees subjected to the process ofselling or buying the property with thorough checks. Be

specific about the fees that will be chargedto you by the conveyancer as it is generally linked to the difficulty of the transaction. Their Services Should be Favouring You A conveyancer can work for both the seller and the buyer in any given transaction for transferringthe title of the property and it is not illegal too. However, sometimes it can result in an issue

whenthere is a conflict of interestdeveloped during a sale and be a breach of AIC best practise. Hiring aconveyancer who works independently and for your best interests is the right way of handling thematter in a professional way. Remember that all AIC registered conveyancers come withprofessional indemnity insurance, which will protect you if the process goes awry. If you are looking for

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fixed price conveyancing anywhere in Melbourne, you can trust the expertise of conveyancers at Loans Direct. Talk to them now! Loans Direct ABN : 38 270 143 010 Suite 19, 17 - 19 Miles Street, Mulgrave, VIC 3170 Tel: 03 8400 4565 | Fax: 03 9818 3300 Email: harry@ loansdirect.com.au - Supplied

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ALP climate policy misses opportunity to make a real difference: Greenpeace

ydney, 27 April 2016: The ALP’s climate policy, announced today, does not go far enough to protect our environment from the rapid and unpredictable damage of global warming, Greenpeace Australia Pacific warned today. “Now is not the time for half measures on climate change,” said Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Cašule. “The Great Barrier Reef is dying before our eyes. We are experiencing record temperatures, month after month.” Greenpeace last week released its Exporting climate change, killing the Reef report, which found that Australia’s carbon emissions exports, via the coal mining industry, are almost double its domestic emissions. “The ALP has differentiated itself from the Coalition with encouraging policy positions on renewables and domestic

Now is not the time for half measures on climate change,” said Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Cašule. energy, but it has failed to address Australia’s biggest contribution to dangerous global warming: our expanding coal exports. To meet the ambition of the Paris climate agreement, over 90 per cent of Australia’s coal will need to stay in the ground. The time for weak policies, written

under the shadow of the fossil fuel industry, is over,” Dr Cašule said. “While a clear improvement on the status quo, Labor’s domestic emissions target itself remains insufficient to prevent dangerous levels of warming. The ALP has also missed the opportunity

to deliver a bold, powerful policy to end taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels once and for all.” Greenpeace is calling on Australians to vote for a sustainable, Coal Free future in the upcoming federal election. “Elections are always about power,” said Dr

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Cašule. “This election will be about what kind of power Australians want, now and into the future. It’s time to leave dirty 19th century coal behind, and embrace the 21st century’s clean, renewable energy. It’s time for a Coal Free Australia that will protect our environment, our climate, and the Great Barrier Reef.” —Source : Greenpeace

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Aumsai Sansthan Temple, Mordialloc celebrates Sri. Ram Navmi

Samay Sang Jeevan Rang launched Mr. Rajindra Chopra's Hindi poetry book 'Sanmay Sang Jeevan Rang' was launched at the Kew Library, Kew on 19 march, 2016. A large number of people attended the event and was addressed by prominent poets and community leaders.

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SCIENCE CRUSADER SURENDRA VERMA’S 60 YEARS’ OF SCIENCE WRITING

A JOURNEY WITH NO ILLUSIONS A few paragraphs emailed by Surendra Verma to SAT: My first piece as a freelance Surendra Verma science writer – a short article on optical illusions – was published in Sunday 13 May 1956 edition of a national weekly magazine when I had just turned 14. If I translate by applying Einstein’s laws of space and time, the payment I received for this piece would be about US$200. Handsome pocket money for a 14-year-old then and now, indeed. The idea that I could earn money by writing – a skill that came to me effortlessly – fascinated my young mind. Since then, I have been writing regularly on matters related to science, technology, environment and health right through my high school and college days to this day. So far, I have published 1000+ non-technical general-interest articles and some book reviews in major national and international

newspapers and magazines; and 20 plus popular-science books (internationally in many English editions and in 13 languages other than English). Not even bothering to count numerous brochures and booklets I wrote for corporate clients. For some 45 years of this period

I was in full-time demanding jobs (mostly in journalism and publishing, some of these jobs also involved a fair bit of writing on matters other than science) but that didn’t stop me moonlighting as a freelance science writer. Science writing has never been my profession, only a hobby. A highly satisfying and profitable one, I must say. On 14 April 2016 I celebrated 45 continuous years of science writing for major Melbourne newspapers (first major feature article in The Sun of Wednesday 14 April 1971). My long and fruitful association with The Sun and its sister evening newspaper The Herald ended in 1985 when I started writing for The Age (first major feature article on Monday 6 May 1985; two most recent ones on 12 and 17 April 2016) which continues to this day. This year, I also celebrate 35 years of book publishing in Australia (first book published in 1981). Although during my long solo journey as a freelance science writer I have used a vast array of writing tools – pens (fountain and ball points), manual typewriters

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(desktops and portables), electric typewriters (simple to fancy daisy wheel and golf ball ones), desktop computers (with dot matrix, ink jet and laser printers; and with BSB and emails), heavy laptops and tiny notebooks, iPads and iPhones – the basic tools have always been the same throughout this period: a curious mind and resilience. I have no plans to retire, my freelance science writing continues with the same enthusiasm when I wrote the first published piece 60 years ago. As, like a sundial, I record only hours of sunshine, I’m optimist about writing a similar email (or whatever technology replaces it) on 13 May 2031 to celebrate 75 continuous years of science writing. Sorry, there is no party to celebrate this 60th anniversary. Instead, buy a printed newspaper, magazine or book today and let Johannes Gutenberg’s invention live another 571 years (Gutenberg printed the first book, the whole Bible in Latin, from movable type in 1445 and according to a letter dated 12 March, 1445 it was indeed a bestseller). —Supplied

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he digital world is opening many new possibilities for education, especially when it comes to one-on-one real time tutoring. Hayley Traub and Sharon Branicki , both Special Education teachers from Caulfield – had the vision to bring affordable tutoring to all Australian students and formed Strive Online Education. Strive provides online one-on-one Maths and English tuition to 5-15 year olds (of all abilities). Strive’s frequent, short lessons intrinsically allow for retention and understanding of content. “As teachers we understand the importance of frequency for learning and, as mothers of school aged children, we understand the importance of offering tutoring that can slot into busy weekly routines,” says Hayley Traub co-founder. Qualified teachers conduct all lessons in real time via video call using premium digital resources aligned with the Australian curriculum. The Strive teaching approach is based on the latest insights

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A fresh approach to tuition from the world of education, technology and neuroscience – an approach that can help children of all ages, abilities and circumstances. “Our students engage with the interactive resources and find it is a novel experience to be guided by, and connect with, their online teacher. Engagement and rapport are crucial for learners to reach their full potential,” adds Sharon Branicki co-founder. Strive offers three packages, namely Bronze, Silver or Gold and the cost per lesson will depend on which package is purchased. For best results, three lessons per week, or approximately 75 minutes of direct tutoring, is recommended – and this could be saving you as much as 50% when compared to traditional tutoring models. Strive Online Education is passionate about children’s education and we believe it should never be taken for granted. That’s why for every Strive lesson booked a proportion goes directly to helping underprivileged children learn to read. “We decided we needed

Strive’s frequent, short lessons intrinsically allow for retention and understanding of content. to give back to those less fortunate, and we are proud that we can donate part of our income to help underprivileged children become more literate,” says Hayley. To learn more about Strive or to book lessons, go to the website www.striveeducation. com.au or email info@ striveeducation.com.au or call(03) 9008 8989. —Supplied

Special introductory offer

To help you get started, we offer a special introductory package which includes your first four 25-minute lessons for just $70! That’s 100 minutes of tuition for less than the cost of one traditional lesson. GIVE AWAY - For your chance to win a Special Introductory Package (4 lessons) like us Facebook before the end of May. Contact: Hayley Traub and Sharon Branicki Email: info@striveeducation.com.au Tel: (03) 9008 8989 website: www.striveeducation.com.au

Book on Tamil medicine (Maruthuvam) launched in Dandenong By our community reporter

elbourne : An interesting book on Tamil medicine – Maruthuvam, in English was recently launched in Dandenong by the international movement for Tamil culture. Written by Royal Highness, Mr. Rajsekara and the Tamil Maruthuvam workshop by Dr. Selvi Mani. The event was presided over by Dr. Ponnambalam. The book explains the uniqueness of the Tamil medicine and its antiquity to live a healthy life. It even explains how Anusari (Surgeon) performed surgery in ancient times with surgical instruments. The program was held in the Greater Dandenong Civic centre on March 19 also had Mr. WickiRamasingham and Dr. S. A. Gunaratanam present. —SAT News Service www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

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asia times LETTER FROM SYDNEY southSouth 15 Asia Times

OFBJP in ISI soup By Ashok Kumar

ydney: The OFBJP Australia in Sydney caused an embarrassment to the BJP when they had to sack their one of the founding members Mr. Rahul Jethi for attending a dinner organized to welcome Pakistan’s ISI Ex- chief in Sydney, following a report in The Indian Sub-continent Times (IST) recently. The paper’s relentless campaign on twitter forced the BJP bosses to sack him.

The OFBJP Australia issued the following statement on 6th May 2016: “For the last few days, there are reports of presence of the OFBJP Australia’s official Mr. Rahul Jethi at a lunch meeting involving an ex-ISI official. OFBJP Australia would like to clarify that there has been no official

representation of the organization at this lunch in any capacity. In the wake of anguish expressed by the OFBJP Australia members and Indian Diaspora in general, about the ethical relevance of an OFBJP’s official attending this lunch, even in his personal capacity, organization has instructed Mr. Jethi to resign from the

Truganina Cricket Club Junior Cricket Awards

OFBJP. Accordingly he has been relieved from all formal responsibilities, effective immediately. The OFBJP Australia and the volunteers involved herein, express their sincere regret and apologies for the hurt that this incident may have caused. We appreciate MrJethi’s contributions

and dedication for the community and wish him luck for his future endeavors.” The IST had reported on 16th April, 2016: Former Chief of Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was welcomed and had dinner with Pakistani and Indian community members in Sydney. In the third week of January 2016, invitations were sent out by a member of Pakistani community, based in Western Sydney, to welcome and have dinner with former Director General of ISI, Lt. General EhsanUlHaq. This particular member of Pakistani community in Sydney is rumored to be close to the ISI. Lt-Gen Haq was in Australia for 3 months. Many Pakistani members attended that event held in a restaurant in Harris Park in Western Sydney owned by this Pakistani

man’s closest Indian friend, but surprisingly, a large number of Indians attended the event. They included top Indian leaders of the Subcontinent Friends of Labor, including its President and Secretary and a member of the media in Sydney. A prominent member of the community (arrow marked in the pic above), who was actively involved in the welcome event for Prime Minister NarendraModi in Sydney (November 2014) and also is a top leader of theOFBJP, too attended the dinner. This has become a matter of significant concern in the Indian community. Many members of the Indian community had the invitation for the event but refused to attend the dinner because they felt it was not right to have dinner with an ISI official. Source: Indian Subcontinent Times, Sydney

Melbourne Durbar

By Desi Oz

No entry for Ex-Premier Mission uring the recent visit of were denied entry after the ‘immune’ D Indian Finance Minister stipulated time or were ‘late’. A Mr. Arun Jaitley, a rather bystander said a ‘few chosen’ from ACT unpleasant episode, outside were allowed in after the event the venue of his lecture in started. A quick investigation law: Pak Melbourne University left revealed the MelbUnivmany a tongues wriggling. The former Premier of Victoria, Mr. Ted Bellieau, was stopped at the gate and not allowed to enter, while his name was acknowledged inside. He was not alone as many others

By SAT News Desk

elbourne: The Truganina Cricket Club (TCC), established last year presented its forst awards at the Mowbray College in caroline Springs recently. Cr. Intaj Khan, presented the awards to the Under 13 TCC players. " The players were excited to receive their

achievement awards, but their sportsmanship was impressive. Perhaps one day they will represent us at the national level," Cr Khan said. TCC President Md. Khan asked people to join the TCC. TCC Vice President Mian Imran, Secy. J. Qadeer, Treasurer Md. Qadeer congratulated all players and encouraged new players to join the TCC.

Australia India Institute (AII) had registered too many free passes and naturally so many could not be squeezed into a small hall. One wonders why a bigger venue could not be arranged for Mr. Jaitley’s event?

Prof. Amitabh Mattoo Advisor to J-K CM

rof. Amitabh Mattoo, former Director of the Australia India Institute, Melbourne has been appointed as Advisor to the new J-K Chief Minister Mehbooba, with the status of a Cabinet Minister. Earlier, Mr. Mattoo held a similar position under the previous J-K CM, Mufti Md. Sayeed. Mr. Mattoo also heads the AII branch in New Delhi. What will be Mr. Mattoo’s duties under the position is not known as his appointment letter (see photo) does not mention them.

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awyers for the Pakistan government have argued that its high commission is immune from ACT law during a dispute with a builder over a $ 1 million debt, reports the Canberra Times (April 19, 2016). The newspaper report says, “NSW builder Denham Constructions alleges the Pakistani government owes it $1 million for the construction of its new high commission complex in Canberra, which was completed in the middle of last year.”Denham alleges it told the defendant it was owed $1,027,000 debt in September last year, for works that took place before August 2015. The new Pakistan High Commission was built in Perth Avenue in Canberra’s diplomatic precinct.

Festival of India 2016

Festival of India 2016 is likely to be held in Australia Sept-Nov 2016, says a Tweet by the Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Navdeep Suri. Though details are awaited it is likely to be spread out in different cities with a central theme.

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HISTORY

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The march to Delhi that shook the British Empire, 159 Years Ago

One hundred and Fifty Nine Years ago, the 62 kilometre aerial distance from Meerut to Delhi (that can be covered in 2 hours and 61 minutes by road) recorded a historic journey. Of revolt and resistance. The 1857 Revolt.

rom May 10 to May 11, the Uprising Spread from Meerut to Delhi. The map says it all. And this video produced to bring home the various elements of the May 1857 uprising says it all. The Uprising at Meerut On the late evening of May 9, 1857 at Meerut the bell of the church never rang out. But the Sounds of Bullets Firing rang out. From right next to the Church, from the Parade Maidan, first one then two then un-ending slogans rose from one corner of the Maidan and were echoed in another. The fervour reached a crescendo and the air was suffused with the noise. There was complete chaos, people running around, screams and shouts could be heard. Indian (Hindustani) Sipahis could be seen spread all over the areas in the city. Every corner was teeming with them. Whoever came in their way was killed. The uprising was so sudden that the British were taken back. Unknown place in India in year 1858, where rebellions were hanged in public. The Sipahis had revolted The first shot of the revolt hit Colonel John Finish. He died on the spot. Some Europeans horse riders moved forward; told the Sipahis “Hoshmeinaao” (come to your senses) What is this insolence? The Sipashis ignored the warnings. At that point smoke arose from one corner. Thick black swirls of smoke rose to the sky. The homes of the British were being burned down. People ran out to save their lives. They ran towards the stables, hid in the farms; some climbed up and clung to the trees for protection in the hope that the night would protect them and they would be saved. But the light thrown out by the burning flames fooled many. The Sipahis would raise their voices in slogans and they would cringe in fear. The ‘valour of the british stood exposed that day. Night fell. But neither did the shouts nor the killings stop. “MaroMaro” slogans and with that “DilliChalo…’ Outbreak of the Uprising The following excerpt is

from the communication sent by Major-General W.H. Hewitt, Commanding the Meerut Division, to Colonel C. Chester, Adjutant-General of the Army, Simla, on May 11, 1857. I regret to have to report that the native troops at Meerut broke out yesterday evening in open mutiny. About 6-30 P.M. the 20th Regiment, Native Infantry, turned out with arms. They were reasoned with by their officers, when they reluctantly returned to their Lines, but immediately after they rushed out again and began to fire. The 11th Regiment, Native Infantry, had turned out with their officers, who had perfect control over them, inasmuch as they persuaded them not to touch their arms till Colonel Finnis had reasoned with the mutineers, in doing which he was, I regret to say, shot dead. After which act, the 20th Regiment, Native Infantry, fired into the 11th Regiment, Native Infantry, who then desired their officers to leave them, and apparently joined the mutineers. The 3rd Regiment, Light Cavalry, at the commencement mounted a party and galloped down to the jail to rescue the 85 men of the corps who were sentenced by the native General Court-martial, in which they succeeded, and at the same time liberated all the other prisoners, about 1200 in number. The mutineers then fired nearly all the bungalows in rear of the centre lines south of the nullah… In this they were assisted by the population of the

bazaar, the city, and the neighbouring villages… 3rd – Nearly the whole of the cantonment and Zillah Police have deserted. 4th – The electric [telegraph] wire having been destroyed, it was impossible to communicate the state of things except by express, which was done, to Delhi and Umballa [Ambala]. Events at Delhi on May 11, 1857 During the trial of Emperor Bahadur Shah II by the British in 1858, Gulab, a messenger, described the events of 11 May 1857. On the morning of the 16th of Ramzan, alias the 11th of May, at about 7 am, a Hindu sepoy of the 38th Regiment of Native Infantry came up to the door of the Hall of Special Audience in the palace, and said to some of the doorkeepers… that the native army at Meerut had mutinied against the State, and were now on the point of entering Delhi; that he and the rest of them would no longer serve the Company, but would fight for their faith… I had hardly received this information, when the King of Delhi sent for me. I attended on him immediately, and His Majesty said, “Look! the Cavalry are coming by the road of the ZerJharokha. [ZerJharokha is literally “under the lattice,” but appears to be a name given generally to the ground immediately under the lattices of the palace.] I looked and saw about 15 men of the Company’s regular Cavalry, then about 150 yards distant. They

were dressed, some of them in uniform, but a few had Hindustani clothes on. I immediately suggested… [MS. Torn] to have the gate fastened by which entrance to the palace from the ‘ZerJharokha’s is obtained, and this had scarcely been done when five or six of the sowars [cavalry men] came up to the closed gate…. The sowars, commenced calling out “DohaiBadshah”, or “Help O King”, “we pray for assistance in our fight for the faith.” The King hearing this, made no response… The King… gave orders, for all the gates of the palace to be closed; but answer was given that the Infantry, viz. some of 38th Native Infantry, who were on guard at the palace, would not allow of such being done. After a lapse of some time the Cavalry, to the number of about 50, rode up to the Hall of Special Audience, dismounted, and picketed their horses in the adjoining garden. The Infantry…. of all the three Delhi regiments, also came into the palace enclosures, and laid down their beddings in any of the palace buildings that they could make available. The Infantry from Meerut… joined the Infantry of the Delhi regiments in spreading their bedding over all parts of the palace enclosures… The greatest and the most widespread armed uprising which shook the foundations of British rule in India took place in 1857. The accumulating hatred against British rule which had resulted in

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numerous though localized, outbreaks burst forth in a mighty rebellion in 1857. The dispossessed rulers of Indian states, the nobles and the zamindars who had been deprived of their lands, the Indian soldiers of Britain’s army in India, and the vast masses of peasants, artisans and others who had been ruined by British economic pockets, powers and had been rising up in revolt in their isolated pockets, were now united by the common aim of overthrowing British rule. The introduction of greased cartridges which showed the British rulers’ complete disregard of the religious beliefs of the Indian people provided the immediate cause of the revolt. In March 1857, MangalPandey was executed in Barrackpore for rebelling against their introduction. The uprising began in Meerut on 10 May 1857 when the Indian soldiers killed their British officers and marched to Delhi. They were joined by the soldiers stationed in Delhi and proclaimed the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of India. The rebellion spread like wild fire and the British rule ceased to exist over a vast part of northern and central India for many months. The major centres of the revolt, besides Delhi, where some of the most fierce battles were fought were Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Bundelkhand and Arrah. Local revolts took place in many other parts of the country. Among the prominent leaders of the uprising were Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Bakht Khan, Azimullah Khan, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Begum HazratMahal, Kunwar Singh, MaulviAhmadullah, Bahadur Khan and Rao Tula Ram. A song composed, 25 years ago for Bharat kiChhap to mark the anniversary of the 1857 uprising by the soldiers of the East India Company. MaulviLiaqatAli : An Icon of the 1857 Uprising at Allahabad "MaulviLiaqatAli : An Icon of 1857 Uprising at Allahabad, a historic account of the Mughal Governor of Allahabad who fought against the British in 1857. CONTD. ON PG 17

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The march to Delhi that shook... CONTD. FROM PG 16

“It was past the dinnertime of night June 6, 1857. The place was mess of 6 Native Infantry Cantonment of Allahabad. The guest English officers were dining and wining amidst the tinkering of glasses and loud merry making noises, and at the same time sharing pleasantries with the soldiers. The occasion of celebration was the Commendation message for the Regiment sent by the Governor General. Dinner was all over. The officers were preparing to leave. The silence of night was broken by boom-boom gunfire that took the English officers to surprise. Somebody shouted that the Pandes from Banaras had come. They had no time to dress themselves fully but got hold of their arms and rushed out. There was only one thing waiting for them, their death, as the native infantry soldiers started shooting their own officers from close range. That was the announcement of the Uprising of 1857 and more was to follow. Allahabad city and district was thrown at the mercy of Hooligans. Widespread destruction, looting and bona-fire followed. Precious human lives were lost. MaulviLiaqat Ali of Mahgoan then arrived on the scene and took control of the

Unknown place in India in year 1858, where rebellions were hanged in public.

situation. He enforced the law and order in the city. He introduced discipline amongst his followers. He enthused the people to join the Freedom Struggle against the British. From his military operational headquarters at KhusroBagh, he conducted the war against the so-called "Infidels". He attempted to take the Allahabad Fort then under English occupation but failed. He had severe resource constraints but had the masses behind him. The English constantly chased him but he eluded them for the rest of the six months of 1857 by remaining in North India. With the top Uprising leaders mostly defeated and driven in the Nepal Tharai, MaulviLiaqat Ali travelled to Bhopal and settled in Surat

district of Gujarat. In 1872, he was apprehended at Bombay V.T. Railway Station due to the treachery of his friends. He was tried in the Court of Law and sentenced to Penal Settlement in Andamans (KaalaPaani) where he died in the year 1892. This is saga of a man who stood but never bent before the tyranny of a Foreign Rule." 11th May 1857, song, Bharat kiChhap Episode 10: Colonialism & the Industrial Revolution 1800 to 1900 The Times of India reported last year 1857 revolt news clippings: Reports went from fair to pro-British that AmitPathak, a citybased historian, has in his possession a rare set of original newspapers that chronicled what was later referred to

as the 'Indian Mutiny of 1857.' "The Illustrated London News and Illustrated Times, which I acquired in an online auction, covered in great detail the events of 1857, and are perhaps the only exhaustive documents existing presently which chronicle how the British press viewed the Revolt, " says Pathak. These newspapers, adds Pathak, are unique since they contain original lithographs (old prints) of action scenes of 1857 and also pictures of freedom fighters like Tantya Tope and Begum HazratMahal which are not available anywhere else. "When one goes through the reporting in these papers, it is quite evident that during the first few months, the reportage was balanced and unbiased, but later the event coverage seemed to be tilted in favour of the British," says the historian, who has also authored a book titled '1857: Living History.' Particularly interesting is the news report which first chronicled that the revolt had taken place. "In this day and age when news of any event is almost instantaneous, it would be difficult to imagine that the first report of the uprising was published on June 13, almost a month after the event in The Illustrated London News," says Pathak. The report stated, "A

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

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telegraphic despatch received at Bombay from Meerut states that the 3rd Bengal Cavalry were in open mutiny, and that several officers and men had been killed and wounded." The first few days of reporting, he says, gave a largely unbiased view of the incident. "When one goes through the contents of these papers, one can sense the great amount of uncertainty that prevailed in Britain at that time. No one at that time knew what would be the outcome of the uprising, whether India will attain its independence and what repercussions will it have on the other colonies of the Great Britain. There were also apprehensions about the well being of the British citizens who were 'trapped' in India at that point of time. These newspapers carry the emotions, the excitement and feelings of individuals who are experiencing the events in real time." Sources: NCERT’s India’s Struggle for Independence, Visuals and Documents The Times of India Bharat Ki Chaap MaulviLiaqatAli : Icon of 1857 Uprising at AllahabadKhoj Education for a Secular India Programme Source: Sabrang, May 10 2016

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Community engagement with David Feeney MP @ Thornbury TheatRE By SAT community reporter

elbourne, 15 May: It was a fitting honor for Mr. David Feeney MP, Batman as a massive crowd of subcontinent people pledged to support him in the 2 July federal election. The main hall of the Thornbury Theatre was lighted up with posters and banners supporting Mr. David Feeney, MP. Those who addressed the gathering were Alok Kumar, Dr. Raj Kiran, Mr. Manoj Kumar, Dr. Shahbaz Chaudhury, Dr. Sharif, Mr. Guri Singh, Cr. Tim Singh Lawrance, Cr. Intaj Khan and Mr. Varghese among others. In his address Mr. David Feeney said that Mr. Turnbull had disappointed everyone with business and consumer confidence, public investment and infrastructure going down. This Liberal vision, he said, gives an unfair future to the country. Action on climate change is a must, he said. The Batman MP, who is seeking reelection from Batman also, detailed the rising clout of India in the region and how Australia is tied in trade and business with one of the fastest

growing economy in the world. Most of the others speakers appealed people to support and vote for Labor in the federal election to strengthen jobs, education and health of the community. The doctor speakers were critical of the

Liberal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cuts to medical services and warned against the threats to Medicare. The recent 650 million dollars cut to pathology, radiology etc. came in for massive criticism. Earlier, the Kumar brothers

(Alok & Aakash), organizers and owners of the Thornbury Theatre welcomed and honored Mr. David Feeney with a shawl as the audience clapped. The successful event had hundreds of representatives

from South Asian and Indian organizations who were all acknowledged. MC Kaushaliya Vaghela did a fine job conducting the program. The guests were served with a tasty dinner and no one missed the chance of networking.

Largest Indian property show in Melbourne

fter serving Sydney siders for over eight years, Sumo Global and Dhanushare presenting an amazing opportunity to the Melbourne NRIs to learn everything about the Indian Properties. Indian Real Estate is an engine of economic growth. The sector has forward and backward linkages with more than 250 different sectors and is the second largest employment generator in India. Indian economy isgrowing at a tremendous pace and will continue the track record of being the best performing economy in the world for many years to come. Positive business sentiments and consumer confidence are helping corporates make commercial investments; India's office space absorption stood at 36.2 million sq. ft. during 2015, which is the second highest figure in the India's history after 2011. Key performing markets were Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and

Chennai. While in 2011 it was occupiers taking advantage of the low rents post GFC, 2015 absorption is due to the implementation of growth plans from corporates. Sources JLL Research Indian real estate market was also the most preferred destinations in the Asia Pacific as overseas funds accounted for more than 50 per cent of all investment activity in India in 2015. NRI remittances from Australia has been growing steadily and more and more NRIs have been investing into Indian Real Estate. As an emerging market, India offers significant value to the investors. Whether you are NRI, PIO, OCI or someone who was born here but has parents with lineage from India can invest in Indian Property Market. In last few years a number of Indian developers have been very active in the Australian Market but some of them are about to take the next step and open their offices. One of the special

highlights of the event will be first time participation by Ozone Group at this event. A diversified conglomerate with presence in Hospitality, Agri-Business, Sports and Real Estate, Ozone Group is one of the fastest growing real estate companies. Group has successfully delivered five million sq.ft. and over fifteen million sq. ft. is under development. Ozone Group has achieved close to one Billion USD worth of sales and has major focus in delivering large scale, self-sustained, integrated urban centres with urban infrastructure. Ozone Group has current project presence in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Goa. Group is also engaged in developing 158-acre integrated township Bangalore Besides Ozone group there will be number of other Indian Developers such as Godrej Properties, Tata Housing, Mahindra Lifespaces, Ajmera Realty, Puravankara, Lodha, Sobha, Mantri, WTC, Amanora etc.

showcasing their project With over 100 projects on offer and many experts present to advise on Tax Structuring, Funding form Indian Banks, Use of Equity from Australian Properties, Self-Managed Super Fund, Repatriation of Funds and Property Research this is going to be an exceptional opportunity for the NRIs to get most updated information on Indian Real Estate Sector. According to India Events CEO, Mr Vishal Gupta, decision of buying a property in India is driven by many factors such as personal need, family use and for some it is an investment in a growth market. It is imperative that one is clear about the requirements and have realistic expectations. One has to weigh the market options and only choose the reputed developers with solid track record. This event will provide a genuine opportunity for anyone looking to buy a property in India. Come visit us at the

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NRI remittances from Australia has been growing steadily and more and more NRIs have been investing into Indian Real Estate. Indian Property Exhibition on 28th& 29th May at Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens. We will have over 100 projects on offer from Pan-India. Clients can register by visiting www. indiaevents.com.au or call 0449 601 150 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Supplied.

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Justice for Jisha: Why it’s important to speak up and be counted By Shambu S Jayachandran

“Silence is a Crime when Justice is denied”

he headlines and scrolls of the media have shaken the country with Jisha, a 30 year old law student, being the victim of a brutal rape and murder. How different is the incident from that of Jyoti Singh, ‘Nirbhaya’? The chilling similarities evoke the country’s memories of helplessness and shame. This dalit woman, named Jisha, has been brutally raped and then murdered in Kerala’s Permubavoor. This young law student was left with several stab wounds all over her body with the intestines being pulled out with a sharp-edged weapon. These are the facts that we read in the newspapers. The question is how many Nirbhayas and Jishas will the country witness? Are we going to create histories of helplessness and torture for the better halves of the Indian society? Headlines with cases of sexual assault, harassment, molestation and violence against women have become so usual. Definitely this indicates something. It speaks volumes about the increasing trend of sexual overdrives. Jisha’s incident triggers the very fact that the life of women have remained as savage as ever. With the Indian law strictly prohibiting discrimination and violence against the Dalits, we still find incidents of atrocities and torture as daily occurrences. The International Dalit Solidarity Network states, “Violence, including sexual assault, is used by dominant castes as a social mechanism for humiliating entire Dalit communities”. It has been estimated that every week, 21 Dalit women are victims of rape and assault. They are considered ‘untouchable’ where the women face triple discrimation on account of

caste, economic status and gender. Such statistics may rock the world, but are they enough to trigger strength and outrage to protect the rights of women? Permubavoor, a small industrial town in Ernakulam, has a large section of migrant labourers. Although the police have hinted at the locals, yet, the country has not witnessed any significant breakthrough till now. Protest from all quarters is the only weapon at the moment to fight the battle. #JusticeForJisha is the lonely cry for justice aiming to stand strong beside every woman in this country. The time has come to look at the factors responsible for such heinous crimes choking the throat of women’s liberty. Is it a lapse in the legal system or is it a dirty blame game that politicians keep playing? If not the system, then who is going to protect the dignity of women and help her live the life of a human being? Our memories haven’t yet recovered from the 2012 Delhi incident of the brutal rape and fatal assault of Jyoti Singh, our Nirbhaya, on December 16, 2012 in South

Delhi. Since then, the numbers have only increased. Post the Rohtakgangrape case where 7 persons raped and killed a 28 year old mentally challenged Nepalese woman, the judge relevantly questioned, “how many times Nirbhaya would die?” September, 2015 gave the country yet another chilling experience with a woman being gangraped in a moving bus in Bhopal. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India has reported the increase of crime against women as 6.4% since 2012. In 2013, Delhi reported the highest number of rape cases at 1636. This number is simply double the number reported in 2012, which was 706. Mumbai was right behind and reported around 391 cases with Jaipur and Pune reporting 192 and 171 cases respectively in 2013. NCRB has released numbers which have shaken the country’s confidence in law and order. The total number of cases reported in India in 2013 was 33,707 as against 24,923 in 2012. The discussion is not intended to lay down bold statistics. Instead the figures

send shivers down the spine when we contemplate the status of justice for the Indian woman. It is clearly evident that a woman’s honour has been thwarted time and again leaving her in the midst of atrocities without being meted out with justice. Laws have to be stricter with faster implementation to protect the women of the country against atrocious crimes committed by the opposite gender. After the entire country embroiled in waves of protests following the Delhi gang-rape, certain laws have been amended to fight the case of women victims: i.) The 2013 Criminal Law Amendment Act, popularly known as the Nirbhaya Law, was there to address the earlier loopholes in the Indian Penal Code. ii.) Introduction of a minimum 20 year sentence for gang rape offenders. iii.) Those guilty of recurrent harassment or gang rape, were also liable to death penalty. These facts prompt us to reiterate the spine chilling incidents of injustice over the past few years. We all

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Are we going to create histories of helplessness and torture for the better halves of the Indian society? perhaps remember the name of Govindachami, hailing from Virudhalam in Tamil Nadu, the sole criminal in the rape and murder case of the 23 year old woman named Soumya from Manjakkad near Shornpur. It was February 2011 1. Govindachami tried to rob Soumya in an empty ladies’ compartment of the train. Once she resisted, he smashed her head against the wall with finally throwing her out of the train. Later he found her in the nearby woods and brutally raped her. The victim finally succumbed to injuries and died at the hospital. CONTD. ON PG 23

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Bangladesh : Rana Plaza victims still fighting for survival? By Sheikh Nazmul Huda, Desdemona Khan, Labin Rahman and John Richards

pr 24 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh) - Three years have elapsed since the collapse of Rana Plaza, Savar, on a fine morning of April 24, 2013. The disaster, one of the deadliest in the world’s industrial history in two centuries, claimed the lives of 1,135 men and women and injured another 2,500, nearly 200 of whom severe enough to keep them hospitalised for months. In the months following the accident, we, along with other colleagues, surveyed many such survivors with serious injuries. The victims were in the prime of their lives, their mean age being only 26. Two thirds were female and they were much younger than their male counterparts. Over 60 percent of the victims were married and 12 percent were either widows or divorcees. Currently, we are following up with another survey, contacting as many as possible of those we had met in the summer of 2013. As may be apprehended, given the severity of the disaster, many survivors now face grave difficulties. It is encapsulated by Jorina’s bitter comment: “I think it would have been better if they had cut off my legs. These legs are now the bane of my life. I am completely unable to walk and they are heavy. I can’t move about as I wish to. All the time I have to use a wheelchair.” She comes from Naogaon, a northern district. There was nobody to look after her. “My daughter and son-in-law stay with me. I have two grand-daughters too, but there is not enough room for all of us to stay together in a one-room house. So I live on the verandah, I have to also sleep there.” Soon after the collapse, the United Nations reviewed Dhaka’s capacity for undertaking a major rescue operation and offered to help out. The Bangladesh Government expressed their confidence in managing the situation and refused their offer. A large number of deeply motivated but untrained volunteers played a key role in medical evacuation and rescue operations there. The Army, the fire service and other national agencies

were also active part of these efforts. Though the rescue operations continued for more than two weeks, almost three fourths of our respondents, fortunately, got rescued on the first day, namely on April 24, 2013. A good 10 percent were rescued on the second day and on the third day another 10 percent of our respondents were dragged out of the debris. According to our data, more than onethird of the victims were found unconscious on rescue. As many as 30 percent of the injured had fractures of one or more limbs. Approximately 20 percent had spinal or head injury. Onefifth of the seriously injured required amputation of one or more limbs. Hospitals and clinics in the neighbourhood proved the best; these institutions, coming out of everywhere, provided critical services to the survivors. Enam Medical College Hospital, Savar, has been the most common destination of the injured. Approximately half were directly taken to this nongovernmental establishment. Less than 20 percent were taken to CMH (Combined Military Hospital) Savar, devoted exclusively to the armed services of the

nation otherwise. After four weeks of the tragedy, we encountered many victims being transferred to CRP (Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed), Savar, one of the best centres in Bangladesh for treatment of spinal injuries. Approximately one fourth of the seriously injured suffered spinal injuries. Initial medical assessments diagnosed nearly half of these downright. However, only three were referred to CRP for initial treatment. Despite close reach and access to CRP, some complicated cases were sent to smaller hospitals where neither requisite skills nor logistics for advanced care of spinal fractures and other complications were handy. Spinal injuries, for instance, need immediate immobilisation for minimising neurological and other kinds of damage. In many cases that did not happen. The victims often had other injuries (like bleeding, soft tissue infections, fractured limb etc.) that could be handled in multidisciplinary hospitals. Nevertheless, immediate mobilisation after the rescue could perhaps have prevented paralysis in some cases. Optimal emergency treatment requires effective triage (a process for quick assessment of the type or the urgency

of medical problems) where many cases are brought in for treatment. It seems the triage at the site of Rana Plaza could have been better. Immediate medical care was provided generously by hospitals, community organisations and people in general. This is less evident in terms of long-term care, however. Three years into the catastrophe, we encountered many victims in need of physical and occupational therapy. Others are experiencing post-trauma stress disorder and stand in need of psychiatric help. Many are not gainfully employed anymore. Most have returned to their native villages, taking with them the trauma and consequences of the catastrophe. Among the survivors we recently met, was a woman, whose arm was amputated from her shoulder. While under treatment she became pregnant. Her baby is now less than three years old and it is very difficult for the mother to take care of her child with only one arm. Once, while taking the baby for vaccination, the baby fell and was injured. No one in the hospital had counselled her on the techniques of managing with one arm only. This case serves to illustrate the importance

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What is missing is a systematic initiative for their long-term rehabilitation and wellbeing. It’s a shared responsibility no one can ignore. of addressing the long-term needs of survivors. What is missing is a systematic initiative for their long-term rehabilitation and wellbeing. It’s a shared responsibility no one can ignore. The garments industry, state health services, NGOs and, not least, civil society itself, can neither deny nor evade their call of duty. The writers are members of a research collective directed by Prof. John Richards, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University, Canada. This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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Free press a casualty of Pakistan’s terror war

Journalists gathered at the Landikotal Press Club in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. Credit: AshfaqYusufzai/IPS By Ashfaq Yusufzai

ESHAWAR, May 2,2016 (IPS) Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is widely viewed as one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a journalist, with at least 14 killed since 2005 and a dozen of those cases still unsolved, according to local and international groups. “The situation is extremely bad,” Ibrahim Shinwari, a former president of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), told IPS. “About 350 reporters working in all seven districts of FATA faced security threats. About 40 of them have left FATA and report stories from the adjacent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” he said. FATA lies along the border with Afghanistan. When U.S.led coalition forces toppled the Taliban government in Kabul towards the end of 2001 after the terror attacks in Washington and New York, the Taliban crossed over to FATA to escape U.S. attacks. From there, they targeted Pakistani forces as well as the local population and government-owned buildings, including schools and hospitals. Beginning in 2014, Pakistan’s military launched Operation Zarb-e-Azbhas, a massive ground and air assault targeting various Islamist militant groups. But the crackdown has also brought new restrictions on the media. Last August, the information ministry issued a draconian code of conduct barring broadcasters from

airing material that “contains aspersions against the judiciary or armed forces”. “No one has been held responsible for killing journalists. There was only one inquiry into Hayatullah Khan’s murder, which was never made public. The killings of all FATA’s reporters are a mystery,” Shinwari told IPS. Khan, a freelancer and reporter for the Urdulanguage daily Ausaf, was found shot to death in North Waziristan in June 2006. He had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen six months earlier. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Khan had received numerous threats from Pakistani security forces, the Taliban and local tribesmen because of his reporting. His killers remain at large. The day before he was abducted, he had published photographs that helped to expose Washington’s secret U.S. drone programme in Pakistan. In November 2007, Khan’s widow was killed in a bomb blast outside her home. The situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of Pakistan’s four provinces, is more or less the same, with two journalists killed in a single week this year (the first to be killed in the Asia Pacific region), according to the International Federation of Journalists. A recent report by the U.S. advocacy group Freedom House ranked Pakistan 142nd among 199 countries and territories, while Reporters Without Borders ranked

it 147 with regard to press freedom in 180 countries. Shinwari said that even before the arrival of the Afghan Taliban and subsequent military offensive, FATA-based reporters never enjoyed freedoms like their colleagues in other parts of the country. “There’s no law under which we get information, and we banked on the officials who often look down on the reporters,” he said. Muhammad Anwar, a journalist from South Waziristan Agency, has been based in the nearby Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past five years due to the military campaign against the Taliban. “We face a lot of problems both from the Taliban and militants. Many of my colleagues have been killed in different districts of FATA but the killers aren’t identified as yet,” Anwar told IPS. Some reporters have relocated to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but their families are often targets back home. “The local administration and Taliban harass our relatives if they dislike some of our stories. In such circumstances, freedom of the press is a far cry away,” he said. Noted journalist Hamid Mir, who recovered from injuries he suffered in an armed attack in Karachi on Apr. 19, 2014, wrote in his column last week that he couldn’t publish the complete truth. The claims

by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his Apr. 22 speech to the nation, wherein he said that journalists in Pakistan enjoyed more freedom than any other country, are simply untrue, Mir wrote. “The PM boasted about media freedom deliberately as if he doesn’t know about the state and non-state actors who scared the media to follow their agenda,” he said. According to CPJ, 57 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992. Thirty-three were murdered, and of those cases, 30 have gone unsolved, the group says. Threats to journalists in Pakistan, CPJ says, stem not only from militants, criminals, and warlords, but also political parties, and military and intelligence agencies. Last November, ZamanMahsud, a senior journalist from South Waziristan, was killed by unknown assailants in the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing. Journalist Irfanullah Shah, who is reporting from Bannu district despite being a native of North Waziristan Agency, says that besides the lack of security, many reporters face other obstacles to doing their jobs. “About 90 per cent of the reporters are unpaid by the media outlets with which they work, therefore they are unable to pursue careers in journalism,” he said. These unpaid or underpaid reporters don’t have

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“The journalists are stuck between the army and Taliban. They have to keep both happy, which isn’t possible." —Irfanullah Shah, a reporter based in Bannu the resources to travel and dig out stories, and must rely on the press releases issued by the army or telephone interviews with Taliban leaders, he said. “The journalists are stuck between the army and Taliban. They have to keep both happy, which isn’t possible,” he said. Press clubs in other parts of the country receive grants from the government, but those in FATA get only a nominal amount that is not enough to meet expenses. “Freedom of speech and media, protest, movement and assembly are being violated and curbed on the pretext of ‘national security’ or ‘national interest,” a statement by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said Apr. 3. It said that even genuine critiques of development plans or commitments made by the government are being demonized as against ‘national interest’.

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Justice for Jisha...

CONTD. FROM PG 20

The only consolation was that the Trissur Fast Track Court accused Govindachami and has announced capital punishment. The unsolved case of ArunaShanbaug is another shame in the pages of history. This nurse, in 1973, while working as a junior nurse, was raped and assaulted badly by one ward boy, SohanlalBhartaWalmiki. Consequence: Aruna continued with her vegetative existence for a period of nearly 42 years after which the Supreme Court granted passive euthanasia. On May 18, 2015, Aruna succumbed to her condition and passed away. Incidents are many. There are people to term them as ‘unfortunate’. Some would call them ‘mishaps’. The concern delves deeper. There might be agitations and protests. There are still hundreds of times when we should speak up. The issue of safety has taken the forefront since 2012. We wonder who is actually responsible to ensure safety of the women. Primarily, we should be in a position to understand the implication of the word ‘safety’. Precisely, it means, freedom from any

kind of violence. And a lack of this has restricted an Indian woman’s mobility over the past few years. There are numerous protests, demonstrations and movements raising this issue of violence against women. It has reached the status of a national agenda. However, in reality, such campaigns fall short of deterring such violence and ensuring a safe environment for a woman in India. The root cause is sheer inequality. The birth of such inequality is primarily a gender bias and this is coupled with structural inequalities of caste and economic condition. These further clarify the cause of the fatal attack on Jisha. However, such clarification does not open a room for justification. It rather triggers the need of an immediate judicial law to punish the merciless act at Permubavoor. The one thing that the government needs to realize is that women safety is an inherent part of public safety. It is absolutely important to recognize violence. It starts from home. A parent discriminating between the son and the daughter, the birthday gift for a boy being a toy gun and for a girl being a lifeless doll,

the wife compromising with ‘yesterday’s roti’ offering the husband a fresh one, lead to a society where women play the role of the ever-compromising living being! The same little boy, once becomes the ‘man’, forgets to pay the slightest respect to the woman next door. The predominance of male preference creates an atmosphere where groping becomes the usual hazard when a woman gets on a crowded bus! Hundreds of women passengers are heckled and this goes on without being noticed or confronted. The question is why? Is the law of the country peacefully sleeping? In every house, gender violence must get the status of a conversation topic. Sufficient recognition of harassment followed by awareness of existing law will instigate the rise of thousand Malalas ensuring victory of the many Jishas, victimised daily without being noticed. People play an important role in resisting acts of violence against women. Women are considered to be the weaker gender and helpless victims of domestic violence, abuse, trafficking, rape and murder. The people or the ‘we’

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form the community. And the community must resist any kind of battering to continue. There are laws to punish the offenders. But why is the time taken so long! Why not immediate? The common people’s protests, expression of agitation at the right time, pointing fingers at the law-breakers, will ensure protection of women’s freedom. Why today do we still have to wait for the justice for Jisha? Why is there such inaction in identifying and arresting the criminals? Are we waiting for another Jisha to get victimized? The people’s court is there to punish the criminals committing such abhorrent crimes. If a woman is constantly surviving with the fear being molested or raped, if a woman finds it unusual to walk on the street at night, then the time has come to control that fear and terrorize those unknown evil men lurking behind to attack. It took us years to finally pass the Anti-rape Bill in 2012, where the criminal is liable to life imprisonment or capital punishment. Till then, rape was not considered a major crime! Hence, the verdict of the Nirbhaya case took almost

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two and half years where out of six, four have been given the death penalty. Following the 2013 Shakti Mills gang rape in Mumbai, on April 4, 2014, death penalty was awarded to the three repeat offenders in the photojournalist rape case. Such dates lead us to one fact: the inordinate delay in declaring verdict. Perhaps, this delay is the most disturbing cause of not being able to provide justice to Jisha and her family. With the emergence of the brutal rape and murder of Jisha, #justiceforjisha campaign echoes in every nook and corner of Kerala. The users, expressing agitation, include celebrity names like Mohanlal, Mammootty, DulquerSalmaan, Prithviraj and ManjuWarrier . The campaign has given vent to anger and protest in the state. It is such public outcry, harping on the government’s inaction to arrest the criminals, which acted as the catalyst to make the investigation gain momentum. Let the #Justice For Jisha campaign unite the Indians to stand like a wall to protect our own women, break the silence and speak up! Source: Sabrang, May 10, 2016

south asia 24 South Asia Timestimes By Jawed Naqvi

ay 10 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan) - Sadiq Khan`s brilliant victory as London mayor is a feather in the cap of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, which the leftist leader is striving to lick into an agreeable shape. How is it of use to be reminded profusely that Khan is a Muslim or is of Pakistani extraction? Parochial exultations here will necessarily smack of hypocrisy and are disingenuous. Celebrating the first ‘Muslim Lord Mayor of London’ runs the risk of surprising the disparate groups of openhearted Londoners who chose Khan over his opponents` perverse recourse to religious innuendo. Does Khan`s victory indicate that racism is over in Britain? The answer is no. It will be a while and may require a nationwide change of heart. Khan`s election is a milestone in that direction. In any case, the plain truth is that Sadiq Khan would not have survived in Pakistan, not as a Muslim, not as a non-Muslim. There was one Labour Party-like (or possibly better) hope in the country in the 1970s but its leaders compromised with rightwing Muslim zealots. And the zealots found a selfproclaimed Muslim despot to hang their former benefactor. That was that. The daughter tried to rekindle some hope for an open society but sadly ended up creating the Taliban. The liberal soufflé has not risen since in Pakistan. Where would Khan fit? Well, the news of his victory in London coincided with another cowardly murder of

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Should Sadiq Khan`s faith matter? an open-minded Pakistani, the murder of KhurramZaki. The slain human rights activist would have savored the Labour-Corbyn-Khan win had he lived to rejoice. Khan too was a respected rights activist before plunging into politics. And here we can say that Zaki`s killers do seem to belong to the stock of selfproclaimed Muslims, the kind that can and do make life difficult for people like Khan. And by making it difficult for Khan, they make it equally uphill for Corbyn`s old Labour politics and its growing allies, Bernie Sanders among others. Some will say since we supported Barack Obama the first black contender for the White House why not celebrate Khan as the first Muslim mayor of London. A simple answer would be: history. Obama`s election ushered a point of departure in American history. And then he was the most progressive hope doing the rounds at the time, more so after the dark years of Bush presidency. To use a counterfactual

argument, however, would Colin Powell have clinched the support of black voters, or even Obama, for that matter, had he been a Republican candidate? The analogy is actually relevant in Khan`s case. In a parallel narrative on the London circuit, a suggestion is being circulated by some of his admirers, inappropriately in my view, that he won the election despite or perhaps because of policy differences with Corbyn. Another view on offer, with Corbyn as the obvious target, is that Khan won because he reached out to Tory voters and businesses. The claim suggests that Labour under Corbyn doesn`t have what it would take to offer a strategy to win a wider range of support than he had inherited. Let`s hope this view is wrong for I do believe that Khan`s major winning asset if not the only one was the Labour Party in its new changing avatar. But let me return to the issue of parochial identities coming into play.

The reason why I might seem more sensitive than some others about narrow identities could be because of their overuse in India. India, we are told ad nauseam by fellow Indians, is secular as it has the Khan brothers as movie heroes, a Muslim vice president, a Catholic (is she?) leader of a national party and so on. People would helpfully add how beautiful Urdu sounds and also how their grandfathers spoke Persian. The fact is with all these facets of important symbolism, Indian society is hurtling towards increasing prejudice, a well-defined majoritarianism and statesponsored violence. Besides, how much longer are we going to be stuck in the Hindu pani and Muslim pani vacuity, the water pitchers thus labelled on railway platforms in prePartition India? Add to that an Ahmadi pitcher, a Jewish pitcher and a Christian pitcher in an imaginary mayoral fray. What would the original inhabitants of the city, the pagans, have to say

Celebrating the first ‘Muslim Lord Mayor of London’ runs the risk of surprising the disparate groups of openhearted Londoners who choose Khan over his opponents` perverse recourse to religious innuendo.

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about it? Are the Hindus in London or Tamilians for that matter going to jockey for their community member next to make the mark? If so to what avail? In any case, as the Guardian said in its assessment of Khan`s campaign, it has become standard practice for London politicians to proclaim the city`s ethnic diversity as its strength. On the other hand, there was appeal by Khan`s rivals to the city`s dark underbelly. For example, Zac Goldsmith attempted to woo Indian and Tamil Londoners ‘London’s Hindus,’ as the Mirror`s headline put it with tales of threats to their family jewels because Khan proposed to impose wealth tax. We are told that in the runup to the polls, Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate, escalated his drive to scare up votes in London`s suburbs. Leaflets were sent to voters in Harrow and elsewhere with messages tailored to arouse hostility to Sadiq Khan. One leaflet claimed that Khan `supported` Corbyn who `wanted to BAN [India`s] Prime Minister Modi from visiting the UK`. It added that Khan did not attend the vast welcome event held at Wembley stadium for Modi when he visited London last year. The fact is that both Corbyn and Khan eventually did meet Modi. And that tempts me to wonder if the Labour tally would not be higher had the two not met the controversial leader as a matter of principle enshrined their liberal ideals. The writer is Dawn`s correspondent in Delhi. jawednaqvi@gmail.com This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

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jihad vs terrorism By Rashid Sultan

ihad, a word much in currency for quite some time. I feel, it would not be out of place to know the origin and meaning of this term to start with. The first we come across this word is in the holy Quran. Almost 1450 years ago. There are many references to the jihad in the holy book and there have been many interpretations to its meaning by many Muslim scholars.But, two are mostagreed-upon. Jihad, by one school of thought is, simply a fight or battle against polytheists, unbelievers, hypocrites or when faith is in peril or in defending one’s family and honour. The other school emphasises that jihad should be understood primarily in the sense of moral endeavour and selfdiscipline in the cause of service to Islam’. Before we go any further, one thing must be remembered. The holy book exhorts all the believers, all of the time, to refrain from harming women or children of the enemy. ‘always be kind and generous’has been the refrain, throughout. We should not lose sight of the fact that the holy Quran was revealed 1450 years ago in a society which had not known any principles of this kind, where ‘men of pride’ would bury their female newly-born alive in the sand instead of giving them away in marriage when they grew old.

Sound familiar? After the death of the holy prophet, there have been only four caliphs where the community had some role in choosing them. All the rulers who came after the death of Hazrat Ali were simply rulers/monarchs who passed on reign to their offsprings or sibling. Some of them were kind, benevolent , intent upon doing good for the subject, while some others were cruel and barbarous. Some were lucky to have stable rules while some others became targets of invaders whose only aim was to get into the power. Sibling conspiracies were frequent where a brother is killing the other brother or a nephew murdering the uncle. In short, they were no different from other rulers around the globe in those medieval times ? Ironically, all the Muslim rulers used to call themselves caliphs, contrary to the actual meaning of the term. They were inheritors of kingdoms from their predecessors. Now, let’s talk about the terrorism. Terrorism has always been a part of the world history. Anything against a current regime is terrorism while it isa rebellion, in the eye of a citizen, against unjust rule. The history of modern terrorism will never be complete without the history of Palestine and creation of Israel. And for that we will have to go in the past, far too past. The modern day Palestine/Israel

was the homeland of Jews at the beginning of Christianity. Due to tumultuous periods in its history, this land kept changing its rulers - Romans, Christians,Muslims. It was a holy land for Jews, Christians and Muslims (reasons? some other time). And it resulted in many Jews, the original people, emigrating and settling elsewhere, like countries in the pagan and later Muslim Middle East, Africa and Europe. A time came when their diaspora had become much larger than the population they had left behind in Palestine. There is no denying the fact that Jews, in Europe, in general, were persecuted by the Christian majority due to their alleged role in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They were discriminated, persecuted and made to live in their own ghettoes. At the end of the nineteenth century, an Austrian Jew, TheodreHerzl , to emancipate the Jewish diaspora, came up with an strategy which came to be known as Zionism. The aim of this movement was to create a national homeland for Jews where they could go back after a millennium and establish their own Jewish state. Where else? Palestine. At that time it seemed a far- fetched dream. But, he kept attracting supporters who joined him and thus the tribe grew. And, then, this movement had a boon granted to them. The richest house in the world (probably, it still is), Rothchilds with their huge

stash of money agreed to support the strategies, devised by Zionist leaders.Slowly but, definitely, thousands of Jews began sailing to Palestine. Nobody noticed then. AT this time Palestine was under the Ottoman Empire. These new migrants started with buying poor Arabs’(Muslims ) houses, farm lands and other real estates. And, then, the Second World War began. By the time the war ended, Palestine had changed hands. It was now a British protectorate (colony ). By this time migrant Jews had formed their underground cells and enough energy and capital and human power to start terrorist acts against British establishments – military barracks, administrative offices, hotels and other civilian targets. The first acts of terror of the 20th century. The aim was two- fold- to force British forces to leave Palestine and scare away the local Arab population and flee to other neighbouring countries- Jordan, Syria and Egypt. All along, the political pressure in the Western countries was growing to accommodate the Jewish aspirations. First, so many millions of Jews were massacred in the World War 2. Secondly, the Jewish population, after the war had grown considerably, mainly in the USA and the U.K.enough to be counted electorally Thirdly, The Rothschilds were

Some were lucky to have stable rules while some others became targets of invaders whose only aim was to get into the power. ever therewith their political clout and treasure troves. So the Churchill’s and the Roosevelt’s caved in and pressured the UNO to accept a new nation of Israel. I may be wrong, but, I have yet not found a parallel in the world history where people who had been away for a thousand years were allowed to establish their own country and made the local population to flee. Hence a million of Palestinian refugees still living in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Egypt and the Gulf. (to be continued )

Leading Australian human rights lawyers welcome PNG asylum verdict By SAT News Desk

elbourne, 28 April: Leading human rights lawyers have welcomed the PNG court verdict declaring the Manus Island Detention Centre as unlawful. The “Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR)” President Benedict Coyne, in a media statement, said the PNG Constitution contains a bill of rights and fundamental freedoms, which offers much greater protection to PNG residents, including refugees and asylum seekers, than does the Australia’s Constitution. “ALHR’s primary concern is that Australia adhere to its international human rights obligations given that Australia is a party to the core international human rights treaties. Yet Australia has consistently fallen short of respecting its international obligations in this regard. It is high time for this to

change and our northern neighbor’s highest court has illuminated this brightly,” said Mr. Coyne. “We agree with other human rights commentators that Australia’s policy of offshore detention is not only unsustainable in practical terms, but involves clear breaches of human rights – in particular, as the PNG Supreme Court has pointed out, the right to

personal liberty.” “Australians cannot but be appalled,” said Mr. Coyne, “when both major political parties in Australia continue to express a total disrespect and disregard for basic international human rights standards endorsed by the international community and which should form the fabric of liberal democracies. It is particularly sad that

this court decision has not resulted in any selfexamination by majority party politicians in Australia.” “PNG’s Prime Minister has stated that his Government will respect the decision of the PNG Supreme Court and will ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for asylum seekers and refugees detained on Manus Island. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s refusal to accept any of the Manus Island detainees or allow them to resettle in Australia, despite the PNG court ruling and request made by PNG’s Prime Minister, demonstrates the Australian Government’s flagrant disregard for international human rights law and for the Government of one of our closest neighbors.” “The PNG Supreme Court determined” he added, “that attempts to amend existing PNG Constitutional rights so as to legalize the detention of asylum-seekers were not

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‘reasonably justifiable in a democratic society having a proper respect for the rights and dignity of mankind’ and that ‘the human rights and dignity of detainees must still be respected’. Australia can learn from this decision.” The ALHR have urged the Australian Government to take the following actions: • Immediately end Australia’s offshore processing regime and adopt an asylum processing system that adheres to international human rights law; • Immediately close the offshore detention centers on both Manus Island and Nauru and cancel contracts with Broad spectrum for the management of the centers; • Safely transfer the remaining asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru and Manus Island to Australia for proper processing and/ or resettlement as required under international human rights law.” —SAT News Service

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the Roman script? This short essay is taken from Chapter 2 of my latest publication in a series of learning aidsfor students of Hindi as a Second Language (HSL):English Loanwords, Abbreviations, and Acronyms in Hindi. A Romanised Guide to Hindi ;For media usage see https://briansteel.wordpress.com.

Hermajor points were: 1. “Few of us are bilingual in terms of true fluency and competency in both languages.” 2. “A multiplicity of languages does not automatically mean we are a multilingual people.” 3. The plethora of Indian scripts is “one of the most obvious hurdles”. 4. Back in the ’60s, a ‘Bharati’ or phonetically adjusted Roman script was advocated for the

By Brian Steel

f we pause for a moment to consider the principal communication problems presented by thecontemporary use of different scripts for languages and the related problems oftransliteration, a few assertions will seem particularly relevant for multi-scripted South Asia. 1. The most used international script is roman. (Diacritics are a separate issue.) 2.Typewriters and, more recently, keyboards and mobile phones were designed to use writtenroman alphabets and numbers. (Some technical adaptations are available to cater forDevanagari and Nasta’liq.) 3.Anyone who is roman script literate can access and read any other roman alphabet on theInternet, and even submit passages for translation to Google Translate or Microsoft Translate. 4.Without special facilities, users of languages with non-roman scripts are at a disadvantagein global communications 5.Transliteration from non-roman into approximate roman equivalents is a possible steptowards speed of electronic communications and readability and, but here too there may bedifferent degrees of difficulty. (Note: The choice of a simple effective transliteration iscrucial. In Chapter 5 of my recent book on English Loanwords, I offer a system, which I have found reasonably effective.) Consequently, speakers of many languages with non-roman scripts – like Devanagari, Perso-Arabic Nasta’liq, Tamil, Telugu, etc. may be in a position of disadvantage when it comes tocross-cultural contact or the use of modern technology, unless they resort to the roman transliteration option, if there is one. Incidentally, it is claimed by some that the Nasta’liqscript for Urdu needs to be reformed. (In a posting on the Columbia University UrdulistForum

in August 2015, Kamal Abdalisuggested that “Urdu needs a script reform” andoffered some reasons.) Evidence of use of roman transliterations in Urdu and Hindi: From colonial times, there is ample evidence of the use of transliterated Hindi / Urdu:“Hindustani in the Roman script was primarily for the use of the Christian missionaries andthe army.” For the missionaries, the main advantage was to produce cheaper and moreaccessible Bibles and hymn books. (Dr. Tariq Rahman, From Hindi to Urdu. A Social andPolitical History, 2011, p.222) “Apart from the

judiciary, police and the administration, the British Indian army also usedHindustani but in the Roman script.” (T.Rahman, p, 272) For the army, the highly practicalpurpose was to facilitate communication between officers and recruits from differentlinguistic regions of India. This continued after Independence. This assertion is supported on the Indian side of the border in the well-known Hanklyn-Janklyn compilation (2008, p. 268),where Nigel Hankin states that Urdu (or Hindustani) written in roman script was thesuccessful invention of the British Indian Army: “the writing of the common language for

troops from all parts of India – Hindustani [...] in roman script”. Rahman adds, “It was one ofthe factors which helped spread the kind of Hindustani which is close to Urdu and Hindi asused on the streets of Pakistani and North Indian cities.” (T.Rahman, 224) Advocacy of roman script for Hindi and other South Asian languages has arisen on severaloccasions in the last 100 years but the concept has met with resistance and opposition. Underthe title ‘The Tower of Babel. The Roman script could help save our literacy problems’,Vasantha Surya published an opinion piece for a Chennai newspaper in February 1996.

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Indian languages.” 5. “Imagine the advantages: anyone could learn a couple of Indian languages plus English (Which so many badly want to learn) without having to learn three separate scripts!” Her final pragmatic and cogent point is that “Script, after all, is not identical with language, itis only a tool. Today, a script has to be easy to learn, and the easiest one available for generaluse is Roman.” Twenty years later, there is ample evidence that the roman transliteration option, for specialuses, is popular with many younger people in South Asia, for example on Internet forums andin mobile phone text messages. In the case of Urdu speakers and writers, who have a choiceof transliteration from their Nasta’liq script to Devanagari, or to roman script, there seems tobe little resistance to the transliteration option in special areas of contemporary communications, providing a complete change of script is not advocated.. “[Urdu] is nowused on the internet to write e-mail messages and chatting on Facebook or other chat rooms among both Indians and Pakistanis. Moreover, a number of personal writings on the Internet (blogs) are in this script.” (T.Rahman, p. 224) On the same page, Rahman also offers interesting statistics from a Pakistan Gallup Poll ofUrduspeaking mobile phone users in 2009: CONTD. ON PG 29

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southSouth asia times 27 Asia Times

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south asia 28 South Asia Timestimes

Democratic By Sakib Sherani

rom Brazil to Malaysia, democracy around the world is under threat. Not from the march of army columns, but from the greed and corruption of a rapaclous global political elite. While nationdestroying corruption of leaders such as Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese Seko, Sani Abacha, Alberto Fujimori, or Robert Mugabe was the accepted `norm` till the 1990s for a select band of unfortunate Third World countries whose people had been made destitute by their leaders` insatiable greed, the latest wave of democracy was thought to have brought in a newer, and lesstainted, leadership. From Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan to Cristina Fernandez de Kerchner in Argentina, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to UhuruMuigai Kenyatta in Kenya, citizens of newly democratic countries have looked up to young, educated and dynamic leaders to provide salvation from the curse of history. But this was not to be. Wildly popular leaders elected via freer and fairer elections proved to be a false dawn in most countries much like the lament from Alexander Pope`s Rape of the Lock. Far from strengthening democracy in their respective countries by building or consolidating institutions, most of these leaders chose to become elected autocrats by dismantling, brick by brick, constitutional checks and balances against misrule and established systems of good governance. Their popularity – born out of a

politica dynasty, a successful acting career, leadership in the independence movement or just charismatic demagoguery – combined with the decimation of legitimate democratic opposition and institutional safeguards more often than not has bred a sense of entitlement and a culture of impunity. These are fertile grounds for corruption and misuse of unbridled power. Hence, the scale, brazenness and pervasiveness of corruption in these countries. Hugo Chavez`s family in Venezuela, Tamil Nadu`s chief minister Jayalalitha, the Rajapakse family in Sri Lanka, are just a handful among a host of other recent popularly elected leadersaccused of amassing untold wealth while in office. Similar accusations dog the family of the prime minister of Bangladesh and the erstwhile prime minister of Thailand, MsYingluckShinawatra. In Brazil, the leftist President DilmaRouseff and her predecessor LuizInacio Lula da Silva are embroiled in a multi-billion dollar embezzlement scandal involving Petrobras, the country`s stateowned oil producer. Prime Minister NajibRazzak of Malaysia has had the good fortune of `someone` crediting his account with $700 million overnight (linked to Malaysia`s state fund 1MDB), while Turkey`s President RecepTayyipErdogan is accused of wasting state funds on building a new palace for himself costing over $600m. Nor is abuse of public office for personal enrichment limited any longer to dirt-poor developing countries.

EDITOR’S PICK

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May 2, 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan) `Chaste to her husband, frank to all beside / A teeming mistress, but a barren bride` – Alexander Pope

corruption Even in countries with an established, albeit turbulent, tradition of parliamentary democracy, such as Spain and Italy, popularly elected leaders voted into office on a promise of change have quickly become tainted with allegations of corruption. Closer to home, proceedings of hearings before the US Senate in 1999 provide a detailed account of millions of dollars of funds being moved through Citibank`s private banking centres on behalf of MrZardari between 1994 and 1997, including on account of commissions by the Swiss company Cotecna. Details of beneficial ownership of a web of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands by the thenprime minister and her spouse is provided in the official record of the proceedings. Further material on beneficial ownership of offshore companies and transactions amounting to millions of dollars during this period is provided in the Global Corruption Report (2004) in the section titled `The hunt for looted state assets: the case of Benazir Bhutto` Recent revelations about offshore companies and accounts belonging to the prime minister`s family dating to the 1990s a period of intense speculation about corruption involving South Korea`s Daewoo, and in the yellow cabs import scheme that apparently caused a $1 billion loss to Pakistan`s exchequer reinforce the perception that the transition to democ-racy in Pakistan has taken a familiar, and less desirable, path. Not unlike other parts of the world, where elected kleptocrats have been caught out with their `snouts

Not unlike other parts of the world, where elected kleptocrats have been caught out with their `snouts in the trough` (as the late ArdeshirCowasjee would put it), Pakistani politicians start crying hoarse about the threat to `the system` whenever their corruption is exposed. in the trough` (as the late ArdeshirCowasjee would put it), Pakistani politicians start crying hoarse about the threat to `the system` whenever their corruption is exposed. Presumably, the system they are out to protect is not one that guarantees education, jobs or basic health services to Pakistan`s teeming poor, but one that allows the entitlement to loot. However, there is nothing constitutional or democratic about the systematic pillage of state resources for personal enrichment. About the only democratic thing about such large-scale corruption is that, barring the handful who benefit from it, it affects all other

Pakistanis indiscriminately, with the poor and the vulnerable bearing the brunt of its pernicious consequences. These consequences have been on egregious display time and again: when public schools in Azad Kashmir collapsed due to poor construction in the October 2005 earthquake killing thousands of innocent children; when poor Thari children die each year due to lack of basic facilities; when faulty scanners are imported to protect our cities; when expired medicines and vaccines are purchased for public hospitals; when the government does not have the money to pay pensioners, doctors, nurses, teachers and Lady Health Workers their dues for months on end but can cough up $2bn for vanity bus and train projects; when an illfunded and illequipped police has to take on wellarmed criminal gangs baclced by powerful politicians; ad nauseam. True democracy is an aspiration worth pursuing. But passing off large-scale looting and plunder as constitutional democracy does not serve the interest of Pakistan`s citizens or its future generations. Banay hain ahlay hawwa smuda`eebhi, munsi fbhi Ki say vakil karein, kis say munsafi chahein (Faiz). The writer is a former economic adviser to government, and currently heads a macroeconomic consultancy based in Islamabad. This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan.

True democracy is an aspiration worth pursuing. But passing off large-scale looting and plunder as constitutional democracy does not serve the interest of Pakistan`s citizens or its future generations. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

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southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times

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Human rights lawyers’ welcome death penalty recommendations By SAT News Desk

elbourne, 25 October: Labour leader and leader of opposition in Victoria, Hon. Daniel Andrews, today announced Labour will build an, ‘Indian Precinct’ in Melbourne, if elected to govern Victoria on 29 October, when Victoria goes to polls to elect a new government. The surprise Diwali gift was announced by Hon. Daniel Andrews at the Federation Square Diwali event, organised by the Celebrate India. Melbourne, 9 May: Leading human rights lawyers have welcomed recommendations of the Death Penalty Enquiry conducted by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Report, A Word without death penalty. Vice President Kerry Weste says “The report's 13 practical recommendations effectively deliver a blueprint for Australia's global leadership to abolish the death penalty and we urge both major political parties to

immediately adopt them as part of their policy platform." "There are currently no Australian laws that prevent a repeat of the circumstances that saw the Bali Nine sentenced to death and Andrew Chan and MyuranSukumaran executed. Current laws and guidelines still riskexposing Australians to the death penalty in foreign countries. ALHR considers this to be inconsistent with Australia's obligations under international human rights law, moreover, it undermines Australia's principled opposition to the death penalty" said Mrs. Weste. The Committee recommends that the Attorney General’s Department conduct a review of the current legislative arrangements for extradition and mutual assistance to ensure that they uphold Australia’s obligations as a signatory to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also recommends the Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Guideline

on International Policeto-Police Assistance in Death Penalty Situations be amended to include a stronger focus on preventing exposure of all persons to the risk of the death penalty. Mrs. Weste said, "Implementation of the report's recommendations would prohibit the AFP

Should Hindi adopt...

CONTD. FROM PG 26

“A nationally representative sample of men andwomen from across the country were asked ‘Usually which language do you use for sendingSMS from your mobile phone?’ Thirty seven per cent (37%) said they send SMS in Urdutyped in English alphabet, 15% use Urdu typed in Urdu alphabet to send text messageswhereas 17% said they type SMS in English. Twenty nine per cent (29%) do not send any SMS whereas 2% gave no response.” (Gallup 2009) In the case of Hindi, recent evidence suggests that although younger generations of Indiansdo make use of the roman transliteration option in their communications – albeit with abewildering variety of transliteration schemes – many Hindi speakers object to the practiceon principle as unnecessary or demeaning and see it only as a fatal step to the totalreplacement of the Devanagari script (rather than a convenient alternative in special

circumstances like those described above). Two well-reported incidents from India in 2015 elicited a strong rejection of romanising theDevanagari script. A year ago, ChetanBhagat, the bestselling novelist, hit some raw nerves with the radicalsuggestion on his ToI blog (Times of India, 11 January 2015) that, in order to preserve Hindi,a changeover to roman script is advisable. “English continues to grow like never before without any promotional drive. This is becauseit offers better career prospects, more respectability in society, a completely new world ofinformation entertainment and access to technology. After all, you can’t even use a mobilephone or basic messaging apps today without a cursory understanding of English. “Understandably, Hindi lovers and purists lament the new society where the youth shun theirmother tongue and want to enter the English world as fast as possible. The more they

imposeHindi, the more the youth rebel against it.”

He went on: “Roman Hindi is already prevalent in Bollywood posters and in our advertising. Most Hindimovie screenplays are today written in Roman Hindi. Drive around any major city and youare bound to see a hoarding with a Hindi caption written in Roman script.” However, Bhagat then took a big step further: “We can save Hindi by legitimizing the Roman Hindi script. This will also have a unifyingeffect on the nation as it will bring English and Hindi speakers closer. It will also allow otherregional languages to become more linked to each other and to English, by virtue of acommon script.” The anger of many respondents can easily be imagined. Six months later, the prominent Congress politician Rahul Gandhi aroused a similar furore ofdisapproval and

from sharing information about drug crimes where that could lead to the imposition of the death penalty. Importantly, the report also urges Australia to advocate against the death penalty regardless of the citizenship of the person concerned. ALHR strongly supports this facet of the recommendations,

particularly where the death penalty is imposed on pregnant women, juveniles and people with mental or intellectual disabilities. We are also very pleased to note the report recommends the Australian Government develop, fund and implement a whole-ofgovernment strategy that focuses our efforts on retentionist countries in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the United States of America. Australia’s position in the Asia Pacific, where mandatory death penalties are retained by many of our closest neighbors, renders the Australian Government uniquely placed to take on a leadership role in regional efforts to abolish the death penalty and achieve a moratorium on death sentences. In ALHR’s view, this engagement is particularly important given that the Asia Pacific is the only region without a comprehensive intergovernmental human rights mechanism. —SAT News Service

denigration from the blogosphere for what many people might consider asacceptable in the special circumstances. This prominent Congress politician, who is alwayspursued by a pack of photographers, was snapped on a close-up video clip which revealed that Mr Gandhi was holding the notes for a speech he was about to give to a public rally. TheHindi notes were clearly seen, written in large capital roman letters. What many viewerswould have considered as a sensible preparation for maximum legibility at a media event in avery confined space gave many trolls a field day for comments. What made things worse,though, was that a journalist (ShoaibDaniyal) published very favourable comments on theInternet site scroll-in (14 August 2015): ‘For once Rahul Gandhi shows the way: Hindi needs to discard Devanagri and adopt theRoman script. Thanks to the Internet, Roman Hindi is already rather popular, probably moreso than Devanagri.’

Daniyal added: “With Hindi, while Devanagri is the official scriptdesignated by the government of India, Rahul Gandhi is actually not alone in using Roman torepresent it. In fact, it could well be argued that more Hindi is written in Roman today than inDevanagri, thanks to the internet and the script’s association with English, the prestigelanguage of India.” This endorsement led, understandably, to further journalistic commentand indignant criticism on the Internet. While fully understanding the delicate nature of the subject of romanised Hindi, I wouldsimply point out that, over the past 8 years, without very extensive conversion of Devanagariscript to romanised Hindi (and to a romanised alphabetical order), I would not have been ableto read and analyse large quantities of Hindi texts (written and aural) in order to makesatisfactory progress in my quest to understand the Hindi media and to record its vocabularyand syntax.

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South Asia Times south asia community 32 South Asia Timestimes

quick community guide Radio GUIDE

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

SBS Radio's South Asian

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

Daily TUESDAY 5 PM Hindi..................................... 6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi.................................... 2 pm to 4 pm – 97.7 FM kannada Sydney SBS Radio 3

Melbourne SBS Radio 3 WEDNESDAY Tuesday 3-4 PM Hindi.................................... .6 am to 8 am – 97.7 FM Hindi......................................... 12 to 1 pm – 93.1 FM Nepali Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS1Radio 2 12 pm - 92.3 FM Punjabi............................ 1 am to Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio Hindi................................... .8 pm to 92pm – 97.7 FM Saturday & Sunday 4-5 PM

THURSDAY PUNJABI Hindi............................... 5.30 am to 7 am – 97.7 FM Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 9 pm – 92.3 FM Tamil.................................... 8 pm to Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio 2 Sinhalese.......................... Monday & Saturday 1 1 pm to 3 am –92.3 FM Punjabi............................. 9 pm to 10 pm – 93.1 FM 9-10 PM SINHALESE FRIDAY Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 Indian.................................. .8 am to 92am – 88.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri

11AM-12 PM SATURDAY Sinhalese............................ 7 am to 8 am – 92.3 FM TAMIL TSydney amil..................................... 12-12.30 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 pm – 88.3 FM Indian.................................... 5 am to 62am - 92.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio Sun, Mon, Wed, Sat Punjabi.......................................... 12-2 am – 92.3 FM 8-9 PM Indian................................ 9 pm to 10 pm – 92.3 FM Punjabi.................................................. 11 pm to 1 am urdu Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio24/7 2 Radio stations Melbourne FM & SBS Radio (Subscription) 2 Indian Link93.1 Radio Wednesday & Sunday 18000 15 8 47 6-7 PM Radio Santa Banta (Internet) Santabanta.com.au WORLD NEWS AUSTRALIA RADIO SydneyJhankar 1107AM88.6 & SBSFM; Radio 1 Thursday; 8 to Radio Every Melbourne 1224AM & SBS Radio 1 10 pm; Contact: 94668900 or 0411247320 or Monday & Friday 9404 2111 6-7 am & 6-7 PM

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

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/ Sankat Mochan Temple 1289 A North Road. Huntingdale Morning: 10.30 am – 12.30 pm daily Evening: 4:30 pm – 8.00 pm daily Site: http: www.sankatmochan.org.au Contact: 0427 274 462

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

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SHEPPARTON Gurdwara Sahib Shepparton 240 Doyles Road, Shepparton VICTORIA 3603 PH: (03) 5821 9309 Shri Nathdwara Haveli-Hindu Temple Address: 3-5 Princes Domain Dr, Hallam VIC 3803 http://www.nathdwara.org.au/

JAIN Melbourne Shwetambar Jain Sangh Inc 3 Rice Street, Moorabbin, Vic - 3189, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9555 2439 info@melbournejainsangh.org http://www.melbournejainsangh.org

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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

INDIAN CONSULATE

MUSLIM Melbourne West Mosque 66-68 Jeffcott Street, Melbourne Ph: 03 9328 2067

Indian Consulate Address: 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia P.O. Box No: 33247 Domain LPO Vic 3004 Consular Enquiries: +61-3-9682 5800 (9.30am-12.30noon only) General Enquiries (other than Consular): +61-3- 9682 7836 Fax No:+ 61-3- 9696 8251 Email: consular@cgimelb.org Web site: www.cgimelb.org

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

Indian Consulate Consular services are handled by VFS Global Visa / Passport / PCC / IDLV / PIO / OCI services contact VFS +61 2 8223 9909. Address: Part 4 Suite, Level 12, 55 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Site : www.vfsglobal.com/india/australia/

Australian Islamic Cultural Centre 46-48 Mason Street, Campbellfield Ph: 03 9309 7605 Coburg ISNA Mosque 995 Sydney Road, Coburg North

Services handled by Indian Consulate Melbourne itself: OCI Misc. services, Registration of Birth, Birth Certificate, Renunciation of Indian Citizenship, Surrender of Indian Passport, New Passport Details on PIO, Transfer of Valid Visas, Marriage Certificate, Affidavit for Applying Child’s Passport in India, Documents Attestation.)

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

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Al Nur Mosque 34-36 Studley Street, Maidstone

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Meadow Heights Mosque Hudson Circuit, Meadow Heights Springvale Mosque 68 Garnworthy Street, Springvale

EMERGENCY CONTACTS EMERGENCY CONTACTS Police, Fire & Abulance ........................ Victoria State Emergency

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Student Welfare Officer in the Indian Consulate Melbourne Consulate General of India, Melbourne Address: 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC – 3000 Phone: 03-96826203 Fax: 03-96968251 Email: cgo@cgimelb.org Website: www.cgimelb.orgExternal website that opens in a new window Contact person for Students welfare: Mr. Nirmal K. Chawdhary Designation: Deputy Consul General Mobile: 0430020828

Sri Lanka Consulate 000

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

southSouth asia times 33 Asia Times

quick community guide

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VIEW POINT

South Asia Times

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contd from previous page Bangladesh High Commission, Canberra 43, Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT-2606 Canberra, Australia, Ph: (61-2) 6290-0511, (61-2) 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

TV GUIDE SBS1 – Daily NDTV News - 11:05 am - Monday to Saturday. (From New Delhi, India). Urdu news SBS1 - PTV News – 9.30 am - Every Sunday – (From Pakistan).

Travel Agents Gaura Travels 1300 FLY INDIA or 1300 359 463 info@gauratravel.com.au Travel House 284 Clayton Road, Clayton 3168 Ph: (03) 95435123, Mobile: 0425803071 mail@travelhouse.com.au

lAWYERS

MLG Lawyers Ronny Randhawa 144 Sydney Road, Coburg Vic Ph 9386 0204 & 138 Walker Street, Dandenong Vic Ph: 9793 9917 Mobile : 0402 256 712 Vera Lawyers Kusum Vaghela Level 1, Suite 2, 373 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong Vic, Mobile: 0433 827 124

SOUTH ASIAN Garments 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 desi estyle 76 Foster St., Dandenong 3175 (03) 87744853; 0413707685 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

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South Asia Times south asia 34 South Asia Timestimes

Sports

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Revamped MCG sporting precinct concept

By SAT Sports Desk

elbourne, 5 May: A study has been completed into the feasibility of a range of options for decking the rail corridor between the MCG and Melbourne Park. “Initiated and funded by the Melbourne Cricket Club and the MCG Trust to address safety and security imperatives, and following extensive consultation with multiple stakeholders, the study investigated various scenarios relating to development options for the precinct, “ says the MCG site. The study has been tabled with the Victorian Government for consideration as they assess the future vision of Melbourne and the sporting precinct. No funding has been sought at this time.

Among the concepts are: • Elevated pedestrian paths stretching from the MCG to Richmond Station, designed to separate pedestrians and vehicles, and to improve traffic flows. • Decking of the railway tracks between the MCG and Melbourne and Olympic Park, with open space able to be utilised for live sites and event activations. • Creation of new public open space, parkland and other facilities to service the precinct. The development, if it were to proceed, would unite the two halves of the sporting precinct, currently divided by the Jolimont rail corridor, to enable greater utilisation of the precinct, attract more and better events to Melbourne and continue to generate a public

legacy for the city well into the future. A wide range of stakeholders were consulted by the MCC and MCG Trust during the creation of the study. They include Department of Premier and Cabinet, Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, Sport and Recreation Victoria, Major Projects Victoria, Melbourne and Olympic Parks, Vic Track, Public Transport Victoria, Metro Trains Melbourne, Yarra Trams, Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, Level Crossing Removal Authority, AFL, Tennis Australia, Victorian Major Events Company and City of Melbourne. —SAT News Service

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Cricket Australia lowers entry-level tickets for international cricket

By SAT Sports Desk

elbourne, 26 April: A new streamlined ticketing program after last years ticket review by the Cricket Australia entry level tickets for all international cricket matches is no more than $30 for adults, $10 for children and $65 for families. More than three quarters of all seats are to be sold at lower prices than last year and more than 50 per cent of all tickets will be available for $50 or less, says a Cricket Australia media release. As part of a continuing commitment to put fans first Cricket Australia is making Test and one-day matches more affordable next season. Ticket prices for venues throughout Australia can be accessed at www.cricket. com.au/pricing. Sydney fans will experience a significant $20 saving on adult general reserve tickets for Test and one-day matches while Perth fans will have the same benefit for one-day games. Fans in Melbourne and Brisbane will save $10 on general admission tickets for Tests, and $5 for one-day matches while the saving in Adelaide is $5 for Tests and one-day matches, with a $5 savings for Tests in Perth. Fans in Hobart are able to continue to enjoy samelevel prices from last season when Cricket Australia reduced pricing in the state.

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There are also reductions across Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum tickets at most venues, with more than three quarters of all seats to be sold at lower prices than last season. Children can continue to attend Twenty20 internationals free of charge. Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland said that Cricket Australia had listened to the fans. “It was clear from an extensive review that more fans wanted the opportunity to see our biggest stars in action,” Mr. Sutherland said. “Record numbers of fans have been attending elite cricket matches in Australia during recent seasons and we want to make Test and one-day cricket even more accessible. “This gives the opportunity for more fans to experience firsthand the skills and talent of Australia’s best cricketers across all six states and the ACT. “At Cricket Australia our aim is to put fans first and we are living by that mantra. “Fans around the country will benefit during another summer of high quality international cricket.” “Tickets to the 2016-17 international summer of cricket will go on sale from the 31 May 2016. Fans are encouraged to sign up to the Australian Cricket Family at www.cricket.com.au/acf before Sunday 22 May 2016. Membership is free,” says the media release. —SAT News Service

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Why Set Up a Shell Company in Panama?

By Robert J. Burrowes*

aylesford, Australia, May 12 2016 (IPS) - A previously littleknown law firm called Mossack Fonseca, based in Panama, has recently been exposed as one of the world’s major creators of ‘shell companies’, that is, corporate structures that can be used to hide the ownership of assets. This can be done legally but shell companies of this nature are widely used for illegal purposes such as tax evasion and money laundering of proceeds from criminal activity. Despite widespread awareness of offshore tax havens in many countries around the world, governments have never acted in a concerted manner to halt these illicit financial flows. Why? In essence, because wealthy elites are heavily involved in using these mechanisms to isolate their wealth from the usual scrutiny to which the rest of us are subjected precisely so that they can evade tax. And governments do as these controlling elites instruct them. There is an important reason why wealthy individuals want to maximize their wealth and evade contributing to any country that gave them the opportunity to make this wealth. You might think that you know this reason too: greed. However, greed is a simplistic explanation that fails to explain, psychologically, why an individual might be greedy. So let me explain it now. Individuals who engage in dysfunctional behaviours, ranging from accumulating excess wealth to inflicting violence, do so because they are very frightened that one or more of their vital needs will not be met. In virtually all cases, the needs that the individual fears will not be met are emotional ones, particularly including the needs for listening, understanding and love. So, bizarre though it might seem, the dysfunctional behaviour is simply a (dysfunctional) attempt to have these needs met. Unfortunately, the individual who compulsively accumulates

Panama City Business District

wealth and/or hides money in a shell company is never aware of their deep emotional needs and of the functional ways of having these needs met which, admittedly, is not easy to do given that listening, understanding and love are not readily available from others who have themselves been denied these needs. Moreover, because the individual is unconscious of their emotional needs, the individual (particularly one who lives in a materialist culture) often projects that the need they want met is, in fact, a material need. This projection occurs because children who are crying, angry or frightened are often scared into not expressing their feelings and offered material items – such as a toy or food – to distract them instead. Because their emotional responses to events in their life are not heard and addressed, the distractive items become addictive drugs. This is why most violence and ‘business’ involving illicit financial flows is overtly directed at gaining control of material, rather than emotional, resources. The material resource becomes a dysfunctional and quite inadequate replacement for satisfaction of the emotional need. And, because the material resource cannot ‘work’ to meet an emotional need, the individual is most likely to keep using direct and/or structural violence to gain control of more material resources in an unconscious and utterly futile attempt to meet unidentified emotional needs.

This is the reason why individuals using the services of Mossack Fonseca seek material wealth and are willing to take advantage of tax evasion structures beyond legal scrutiny. They are certainly wealthy in the material sense; unfortunately, they are emotional voids and each of them justly deserves the appellation ‘poor little rich boy’ (or girl). For a full explanation of how this emotional damage occurs, see ‘Why Violence?‘ and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice‘. Were they emotionally healthy, their conscience, their compassion, their empathy, their sympathy and, indeed, their love would compel them to not hide their wealth and, in fact, to disperse it in ways that would alleviate world poverty (which starves to death 100,000 people in Africa, Asia and Central/ South America each day) and nurture restoration of the ancient, just and ecologically sustainable economy: local self-reliance. See ‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth‘. Of course, it is not just those who use tax havens to evade their social responsibilities or, more generally, those billionaires and millionaires of the corporate elite who have suffered this emotional destruction. Those intellectuals in universities and think tanks who accept payment to ‘justify’ the worldwide system of violence and exploitation, those politicians, bureaucrats and ordinary businesspeople who

accept payment to manage it, those judges and lawyers who accept payment to act as its legal (but immoral) guardians, those media editors and journalists who accept payment to obscure the truth, as well as the many middle and working class people who perform other roles to defend it (such as those in the military, police and prison systems, as well as many school teachers), are either emotionally void or just too frightened to resist violence and exploitation. Of course, it takes courage to resist violence and exploitation. But underlying courage is a sense of responsibility towards one’s fellows and the future. As an extension of the above point, governments that use military violence to gain control of material resources are simply governments composed of many individuals with this dysfunctionality, which is very common in industrialized countries that promote materialism. Thus, cultures that unconsciously allow and encourage this dysfunctional projection (that an emotional need is met by material acquisition) are the most violent both domestically and internationally. This also explains why industrialized (material) countries use military violence to maintain political and economic structures that allow ongoing exploitation of non-industrialized countries in Africa, Asia and Central/South America. In summary, the individual who has all of

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This projection occurs because children who are crying, angry or frightened are often scared into not expressing their feelings and offered material items – such as a toy or food – to distract them instead. their emotional needs met requires only the intellectual and few material resources necessary to maintain this fulfilling life: anything beyond this is not only useless, it is a burden. What can we do? We need to recognize that several generations of people who were extremely badly emotionally damaged created the world as it is and that their successors now maintain the political, economic and social structures that allow ruthless exploitation of the rest of us and the Earth itself. We also need to recognize that the Earth’s ecological limits are now being breached. And if we are to successfully resist these emotionally damaged individuals, their structures of exploitation and their violence, then we need a comprehensive strategy for doing so. If you wish to participate in this strategy you are welcome to sign online ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World‘. Whatever else they do, the Panama Papers give us insight into the extent of the psychological damage suffered by wealthy elites and those who serve them. *The author has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘

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cinema THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY M A Y

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NOW SHOWING IN CINEMAS

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HE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY leaps straight from the history books to the big screen to deliver the amazing true story about the genius of one man self-taught mathematical and Indian icon, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Dev Patel lovingly brings Ramanujan to life, exploring the brilliance of a man many believed could decipher the very fabric of the universe - possibly existence itself. Driven by his destiny for a greater calling, Ramanujan’s life was turned upside down when Cambridge professor, G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) plucked him from obscurity in his homeland of India and brought him to England. The pair would go on to become unlikely friends and make up one of history’s most bewildering and productive collaborations, working on the most complex mathematical problems known to man. Separated from his wife and family, Ramanujan had to overcome racial prejudice and differences in language, culture &amp; religion; as he battled for acceptance by the British academic establishment. In the end his thinking could not be denied. His work was recognised and ultimately revered by the

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some of the greatest mathematical minds. To this day, the mystery of Ramanujan’s mind remains a fascination. His is work is still incredibly relevant today and many of the theories he posed relate to topics (like black holes) that did not actually exist during his lifetime. This truly inspirational tale is not only a story of numbers, but one of determination, passion, spirituality and the power of love &amp; friendship. Get to know THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY - In Cinemas from May 5.

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