SAT november 2014

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CELEBRATING 12th YEAR OF PUBLICATION

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South Asia Times Vol.12 I No. 4 I november 2014 I FREE s o u t hasiatim es.com .au Editor: Neeraj Nanda

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G-20 in Brisbane

Read on pages 4

India's Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi with other Leaders in the G-20 family photograph, at the G-20 Summit, in Brisbane, Australia on November 15, 2014.

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Kaushaliya’s big vision for ‘Little India’ By our reporter

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elbourne: Kaushaliya and her husband Dinesh Chauhan own a garments retail business shop ‘Raj Rani’ in the ‘Little India’ precinct in Dandenong since 2005. The business was successful until the area was earmarked for the $290 million revitalisation project of 15-20 years, declared by the state government.

Once the revitalising project began in 2008, the existing traders were affected heavily, as they were stuck in the construction work taking place in the area. Due to the construction works - the roads leading to Little India were blocked, the parking areas shrunk deterring shoppers to visit the area.

This caused a major downturn in the business activities of the traders. In this long project of 15-20 years the traders were not sure until which year they will be able to continue trading before the shops get demolished, making way for high-rise buildings.

To fight for these issues, Little India traders formed an

association and Kaushaliya Vaghela later took over as Secretary. She is also the Spokesperson of the association.

Kaushaliya wrote numerous letters and liaised with the agency ‘Vic Urban’ (now ‘Places Victoria’) which was developing the project and also relevant MP’s but with no result. After that Kaushaliya tried to bring attention of the Indian Government and also Australian government at Federal, State and local Council level and also involved the Consul General of India based in Melbourne, seeking answers.

Talking to SAT, Kaushaliya said, “The objective to run the ‘Save Little India’ campaign was to reduce the negative impact of the construction works on businesses, seek certainty of the time-frame of the long project, save the Cultural precinct which was built over 25 years and stop getting harassed by the landlord.”

“The precinct was visited in 2011 by then Victorian Multicultural Minister, Hon. Nicholas Kotsiras and Planning Minister Hon.

Matthew Guy. After his visit to ‘Little India’ and listening to the traders’ issues for hours, Mr. Matthew Guy did nothing and just disappeared, not even bothering to respond to traders,” she says.

Kaushaliya adds, “The traders then had no choice but to seek other avenues of help. So the traders then sought help of MP’s from the

opposition Labor Party to get response from Hon. Matthew Guy. MP Hon. Jude Perera, from Cranbourne, Opposition Leader Hon. Daniel Andrews and Shadow Planning Minister Hon. Brian Tee’s several visits to ‘Little India’ forced Hon. Matthew Guy to respond, but his only response was to blame the Labor Party rather than taking steps to resolve

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the traders’ matter.”

So the traders escalated the issue further, by running the campaign ‘Save Little India’ on the steps of Parliament on 6th December 2011. The traders’ demand could not be overlooked any longer by the coalition government - as the issue was highlighted on SBS TV, SBS Radio, it was raised in Australian Parliament several

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times, appeared in The Age, Herald Sun, and around 15 times in the Dandenong Leader and Star Journal newspapers and numerous times in the Indian and South Asian media.

This forced the government with no choice, but to offer some assistance to the traders. As a result, Mr. Matthew Guy announced immediate 6 months’ rent-free relief to traders on Christmas Eve in 2012 and made other promises for the traders.

However, since then none of the other promises made by Mr. Matthew Guy were fulfilled, as a result the traders’ issues remains unresolved and the ‘Save

Little India’ campaign still continues. This campaign which was started in 2009 by the traders has now gained support from Indian/South Asian media and from South Asian community groups.

Daniel Andrews made a historic announcement at the Federation Square, Melbourne while celebrating Diwali on 25th October 2014 - that if the government is changed on 29th November’s election, then an Indian Cultural precinct will be built in Melbourne by the Labor party.

This was followed by the Shadow Planning Minister Hon. Brian Tee’s visit to ‘Little India’ in Dandenong on 30th October 2014, to meet the

traders. Brian has reiterated the announcement of Indian Cultural precinct made by Hon. Daniel Andrews and said he will work with the Indian community about this issue.

The traders’ vision is to have the Indian Cultural Precinct like other community precincts - for example Chinese, Italian, Greek and Vietnamese precincts. This Indian Cultural precinct should be a hub for businesses, tourist attraction, celebrations, social gathering and other cultural activities for Indian community and other south Asian communities and will benefit the Australian economy massively.

The current Liberal government has ignored the traders’ needs for years, feels Kaushaliya and is now looking forward to the change of the government after the 29th November elections. Kaushaliya told SAT her efforts won’t go in vain and her relentless fight for the traders’ justice will continue until her vision of Indian Cultural Precinct encompassing ‘Little India’ comes to fruition.

Due to the massive effort put by Kaushaliya and others for this community issue, she has been nominated twice for the Community person of the year award, organised by the Indian Executive Club and

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interviewed many times by the media.

Kaushaliya’s never give up attitude, strong willed resilient personality, belief in fighting for justice and a constant support of her family and friends - has made her possible to lead this long difficult campaign.

Kaushaliya heart fully wants to thank each and every one, who has played a role in her campaign to seek justice for the traders.

“If the Indian precinct is built, it will be the first in Australia and will be her legacy for generations to come, for all communities in Australia,” she says.

—SAT News Service

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Indian PM’s G-20 Visit

There will be resistance to reform, says Modi

By Neeraj Nanda

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elbourne: During his stay in Brisbane for the G-20 Summit the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, made an intervention during the ‘Retreat for G20 leaders’, on the subject "Reform Experience and Thrust Forward."

In his intervention, Mr. Modi stressed that reforms cannot be done by stealth, but have to be peopledriven and people-centric.

He said reforms should take into account the issues being faced by people. He emphasized that reforms cannot be superficial, but should take into account the root causes of the issues involved. Only then can reforms be durable and longlasting, he added.

In this context, the Indian Prime Minister illustrated by talking of a link between water availability and power.

He said farmers often need cheap power to extract groundwater, because water is not otherwise available.

However, if water is made available to them, then farmers may no longer require subsidized power.

Hence the reform process could move forward taking into account root causes.

Mr. Narendra Modi said there is bound to be resistance to reform, and therefore, it is essential to insulate the reform process from politics. He stressed that reform should be an institutionalized process.

The Prime Minister said reforms should lead to simplification of processes, and should also involve improvements in governance processes.

Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji started on Nov. 11, 2014. A post (6 Nov) in the PM’s website Mr. Modi says, “After Myanmar, I will go to Australia for G-20 Summit.

It is a great platform to showcase opportunities India has to offer to the world. I look forward to working with G-20 leaders on important issues concerning the world, particularly those relating to the global economy.

My Australia visit is both special & historic. It will be

Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi being greeted by the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Tony Abbott at the Opening Ceremony of the G-20 summit, in Brisbane, Australia on November 15, 2014.

1st bilateral visit to Australia by an Indian PM in 28 years.

In Australia I will meet the country`s top leadership & am honoured to have been given an opportunity to address the Australian Parliament. I am also eagerly looking forward to interacting with the Indian community in Australia, http://www.pmvisit. org.au. Cricket is a shared passion of Australia and India. I thank PM Tony Abbott for hosting me at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Both Australia & India fought shoulder to shoulder during WW1. I would be visiting the War Memorial with PM Tony Abbott” the Prime Minister said.

Mr. Modi was in Sydney

on 15-16 Nov. for the G-20 Summit, in Canberra and Sydney on 17 Nov. and in Melbourne on 18 Nov. and later flew to Fiji on 19 Nov., 2014. He met Australia’s top leadership, addressed the Australian Parliament and attended events in Sydney & Melbourne.

In Sydney he attended a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Biren Nanda and a public reception by the Hindu Council at the Sydney Olympic Park. In Melbourne, Australian PM, Mr. Tony Abbott, hosted a reception for him at the MCG and another reception took place at the Governor’s House.

—SAT News Service

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The Prime Minister said reforms should lead to simplification of processes, and should also involve improvements in governance processes.

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Victoria votes

By Neeraj Nanda

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elbourne: People are going to vote for a new government on Saturday 29 November in Victoria and voting is compulsory. A record 896 candidates will be standing in the 2014 Victorian State election, overtaking the previous record of 711 candidates in 2010.There are 789 endorsed candidates of registered political parties standing. There are 107 independent candidates, an increase of 20 from 2010.

Most of you know of three political parties – the Coalition (Liberal party and Nationals), the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Greens. But if you check the Victorian Electoral Commission site, you find there are 21 registered political parties including the just mentioned three main parties.

Since the 2010 State election, an additional 224,069 Victorians have been enrolled in response to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s enrolment drive and direct enrolment program. At the close of rolls at 8.00 pm on Tuesday 11 November, 3,806,301 people were enrolled to vote.

The enrolment figure for the Victorian State election in 2010 was 3,582,232.

Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately said: ‘Over the last few months, much concerted work has gone into getting the word out about enrolling for the election, which included advertising, outreach

Mr. Dennis Napthine enrolment programs within typically under-represented communities, a road show that has travelled throughout Melbourne and Victoria, and several large community mail outs.

‘This has quickly shaped up to be Victoria’s largest election with a record number of electors, candidates and registered political parties.’

Voting commences at 9.00 am on Monday 17 November, at 100 early voting centres across the State.

Details of voting centre locations and hours of operation are available online at votingcentrelookup.vec. vic.gov.au, by calling 131 832, or on the Vote Victoria app — a free app is now available from iTunes and Google Play stores.

Obviously, it comes to mind as to who will win this time. The Coalition

Mr. Daniel Andrews holds a one member majority in the Legislative Assembly (Out of total 88 candidates the Coalition has 44, ALP 43, other 1 seats). In the Legislative Council the Coalition has 21, ALP 16 and the Greens 3 respectively. The campaign

by Premier Dennis Napthine and Leader of opposition Daniel Andrews has been hectic and many policy launches have taken place.

The Liberal Victoria website says: “We will keep the economy strong, support small business and help industries across the State to take advantage of our competitive strengths in skills, manufacturing, infrastructure, services, the digital economy and international engagement” (See www.liberal.org. au for details) The main slogan of the Labor Party on the other hand is ‘It’s time

The ALP led by Mr. Daniel Andrews is leading on a two party preferred basis. The Greens vote has also surged. On 29 Nov we will know who will rule Victoria next.

Victoria had a government that puts people first.’ It is emphasising on jobs, education and health.

Daniel Andrews has pledged to make Victoria an education state.

Labor is also pledging to build the Melbourne Metro, remove 50 level crossings and stop the East West Tunnel. (See www.viclabor.com.au) All issues that affect mainstream Victoria also affect the Indian/South Asian people. Issues are the same for all Victorians. The surveys have been indicating a political change in Victoria. The ALP led by Mr. Daniel Andrews is leading on a two party preferred basis. The Greens vote has also surged. On 29 Nov we will know who will rule Victoria next.

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Labor’s Diwali gift: Indian precinct in Melbourne

By Neeraj Nanda

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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.

The historic announcement by Hon. Daniel Andrews was cheered by thousands of Diwali celebrants in the heart of the city. The announcement is being seen as a pre poll wooing of the Indian community as well as the culmination of the struggle of the ‘Little India’ precent traders in Dandenong, which the Places Victoria has earmarked for redevelopment. The ‘Little India’ traders have been agitating for a long time demanding compensation for loss of business as a consequence of Places

Victoria’s decision to get rid of the precent.

In his announcement Hon. Daniel Andrews did not mention the name ‘Little

India’ but said, “Labour intends to create an Indian precinct in Melbourne for Indians just like the Greeks, Italians and Vietnamese

have theirs.”

Many Indians who were present at the Federation Square during the announcement expressed

their happiness at the announcement.

An official media release from Hon. Daniel Andrews’s office is expected soon.

Indian precinct will be ‘celebration of Indian culture’: Labor

By Neeraj Nanda

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elbourne, 31 October: The Labor Party in Victoria has reiterated its pledge to create an Indian precinct.

The announcement was made on the eve of State election on 29 October from the Leader of Opposition, Mr. Daniel Andrews, at the Diwali celebration at the Federation Square. The pledge which is being seen as a Labor pre election scoop was reiterated

by Shadow Minister for Planning, Mr. Brian Tee, addressing the Indian community and traders of Little India, Dandenong in an interaction in Little India.

Mr. Brian Tee said, “We will set up a dedicated prescient for the Indian community where they can have retailing, festivals and other cultural activity.

We want to setup a group where the community can formally work with us on the issue.”

“There is a compelling case to have such a precinct

There is a compelling case to have such a prescient in Dandenong for the Indian community because it has been neglected and treated badly.

in Dandenong for the Indian community because it has been neglected and treated badly. I am aware of the situation and the treader’s claims about its location.

We want the prescient to be a celebration of Indian culture, “he said.

Answering to a question

by SAT, the Shadow Planning Minister expressed his sympathy and compassion

for the Little India traders who suffered and were stressed because of loss of business by the actions of Places Victoria. He felt Places Victoria has a lot to answer and traders and community have to be treated with respect.

Kaushaliya Vaghela, spokesperson of the Little India traders, addressing the gathering at Roshans

Fashion said, the best place for the Indian prescient is Dandenong where Little India is now situated. Both the traders and the community will be benefitted by this, she said.

Others who were present and addressed the interaction were Mr. Lee Tarmalis, Labor Member for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, Dandenong Labor

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candidate, Gabrielle Williams and Mr. Saheed, President Foster Street Traders Association, President and ALP activist Manoj Kumar.

A large number of community activists and leaders were present. From the media Dandenong Journal, G’day India, Indian Weekly, South Asia Times, India @ Melbourne and Tamil Murasu Australia representatives were present.

—SAT News Service

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MELBOURNE’S DIWALI BASH

By our community reporter

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he festival of lights was celebrated all over Melbourne this year with great enthusiasm and religious fervour. While it was celebrated in homes on 23th October, the celebrations started off much earlier and continued after the actual Diwali. Indian and South Asian shops were full of Indian and locally made Diwali stuff with painted Diyas (lamps) rubbing shoulders with sweets and snacks. There were as usual many Diwali fairs which were attended by thousands. Let us see what happened there one by one.

AIII Diwali @ Sandown Rececourse This was the twelfth year of the AIII Diwali at the Sandown Racecourse but was different because it was graced by India’s top Chef Harpal Singh sponsored by Sabrini food products (Pattu) . Crafted by super Chef Harpal Singh’s cuisine expertise, Sibrini products proved to be a true celebration of Indian food.

Dubbed the ‘Energy Chef of India’, Harpal is loved for his relentless passion to add deliciously creative twists to the best of Indian dishes.

He is also the man behind the successful TV cooking shows, ‘Turban Tadka’ and ‘Singh and Cook’ that led him to become ‘Television’s Most Admired Chef’ in 2012. Not only has he written and coauthored several cookbooks.

The program started off with Chef Harpal Singh moving around with a ‘Dholchi’ with ‘Bhangra’ beats and visitors dancing and getting photographed with him. The smiling Harpal then moved over to the main stage and started off with his cooking journey. He cooked his stuff and with apt attention people enjoyed the amazing spectacle.

The massive entertaining

session saw many a dances and songs sung by local singers. One could identify the multicultural aspect of it as to how diverse cultures were performing. This was followed by the VIP session with prominent political and community leaders from all sides of politics addressing the gathering. This included representatives from the ruling Coalition and the Opposition Labor.

The variety of stalls including food ones attracted big crowds. It was a job well done by the AIII committee. The programme ended with beautiful fireworks which lit up the evening sky over the Sandown Racecourse. The AIII committee needs all the congrats for the success of the event.

Diwali @ Federation Square This open air Diwali celebration at the Federation Square in the

city has been a popular event over the years. The celebrations, in fact, were spread out for a week preceding the actual event on 25 October. It was good weather and a bit windy in the evening but the zeal and commitment to celebrate the day was evident. People had started coming during the day and thronged the many Indian shops selling food and other stuff.

The main event on 25th October immersed the Federation Square in the rich colours of India.

There was a sea of people in colourful Indian dresses mingling with many other communities. It was a true reflection of multicultural Victoria. A whole day nonstop cultural blast catered all ages.

The day featured arts and craft workshops, jugglers, clown, face painting for children, interactive items with AFL players & Australian cricketers to a

multinational bazaar and also a variety of cuisines to enjoy. For music and dance lovers, captivating traditional and Bollywood dances, an Indian dance workshop for all to learn and a live band will also perform.

Local Indian, Fijian, Srilankan, Mauritian and Chinese artists also presented a unique collaborative fusion items that have never been seen before.

One of the most beautiful moments of the celebration was the classical dance by renowned Odissi dance troupe which came from India. This troupe was sponsored by the Indian Government.

Then there was an indoor program at Deakin Edge including demonstrations on meditation, laughter Yoga and some classical dance and instrumental performances. In collaboration with charity

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partner White Ribbon, people participated in oath taking ceremonies and asking all Victorians to say “No to Violence against Women”.

The VIPs who attended and addressed those present included the Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine, Leader of Opposition Mr. Daniel Andrews, Manika Jain, Indan Consul in Melbourne and Mr. Arun Kumar, Celebrate India. Mr. Daniel Andrews announced the promise to setup an Indian prescient in Melbourne, if elected to govern Victoria on 29 November.

The colourful fireworks towards the end were an instant hit and thousands enjoyed them as the city sky exploded with sparkles and designs. The Celebrate India team and others including the sponsors which made the event a big success needs all the congratulations.

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‘Jeevan Dhara’ at 55+

By our reporter

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elbourne, 12 November: Dr. Rekha (MBBS & FRACGP) and Mr. Sunil Kumar (B.Tech from IIT Delhi) are all set to bring joy to your lonely life after 55 plus with their ‘Jeevan Dhara’ retirement living project. The proposed project at the Tarneit Junction Estate opposite the new Tarneit Station is intended to be a new dream cum true lifestyle bonanza for active seniors who do not need nursing.

It’s supposed to be a living plan which will cater to health, transport, food and entertainment.

At a presentation at the Tandoori Junction Indian Restaurant, Mr. Sunil Kumar explained the intricate details of the concept as it has been implemented in the United States. A video on the existing similar facility in the US explained the concept well. A power point presentation by Mr. Sunil Kumar then detailed important points which reinforced the concept as the need of the hour for those 55 plus. A map of the Tarneit Junction Estate and viable nearby facilities proved the proposed site of the facility.

In fact, this is Dr. Rekha

and Mr. Sunil Kumar’s dream and as Sunil says,” I want you to come and share my dream.”

The idea has come out of the fact that most Indians have focused so much on building their careers and educating their children that they never really planned anything for their retirement like many Australian do. There are numerous organisations running retirement villages for Australians and other ethnic based communities such as Greek, Polish, Italian and Chinese but there is no decent option for Indian or South East Asian communities. It is this gap Dr. Rekha and Mr. Sunil Kumar want to fill with ‘Jeevan Dhara’.

To be built on a 10 acre prime land at corner of Leaks and Derrimuit Rd, Tarneit, 84 apartments are planned which come with common hall for dining, separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian kitchens, meeting room and luxury recreation facilities such as yoga, games etc. 21 ( 25% of 84 apartments) people have already completed registration to buy the apartments.

Jeevan Dhara is the first retirement community in Australia targeting Indian food and culture in the

country," said Sunil Kumar.

"Tarneit is only 25 Km away from Melbourne in West.

It was the obvious choice because of its affordability, convenient location, which is well connected and close proximity to Werribee Hospital, two Sikh temples, Durga Mandir and Mosques. There is plenty of opportunity for children and grandchildren to live close to the facility or visit

their parents in Jeevan Dhara."

The project master plan draft permit and zoning required for project has been approved and signed.

Concept buildings designs are getting finalised now and construction would start in Jan, 2016 with Jeevan Dhara residents getting Keys by end 2016.

Talking to SAT Mr. Sunil said, “ Indian seniors can

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calculate their retirement prepreparedness score and determine quality of their retired life by using free online calculators provided at its website www. jeevandhara.com.au.”

Expressions of interest can be done by sending email to sunil.kumar@ jeevandhara.com.au. No deposits are being taken at present.

—SAT News Service

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ICC World Cup and MoneyGram bowl over cricket fans at Diwali

By News Desk

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elbourne: The excitement of the ICC Cricket World cup came to celebrations nationwide this Diwali, with a cricket fans’ national tour sponsored by MoneyGram.

An estimated 83,000 people from across Australia came to public Diwali celebrations this year in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

Hailed amongst the most spectacular cultural events of the year, the

Diwali Festival showcases rich and diverse Indian culture in every major city in Australia.

At each event, eager South Asian cricket fans formed long queues at the MoneyGram marquee to receive a free souvenir print alongside the iconic ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy, or to win pairs of tickets to the tournament.

The largest celebration was the Deepavali Fair organized in Sydney by the Hindu Council of Australia.

Festival organizer Ashwani Sharma said, "Deepavali means rows

of lights, and the festival symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. In the current world, the festival stands for a reaffirmation of hope and a renewed commitment to friendship and tolerance."

In Adelaide, where 3,000 people attended celebrations at Bonython Park, event organizer Moti Visa said, “This event would not have gone ahead without MoneyGram's involvement. For that I am sincerely and deeply grateful to MoneyGram.

The trophy was a hit with

the crowd. I have never seen lines like this before at any event!"

MoneyGram representative Nidhi Kataria said, “We’re delighted that so many people have come to our stalls at the Diwali celebrations across Australia to have their photos taken with the trophy or win ICC World Cup 2015 tickets.

We’re really enjoying the opportunity to join in the community celebrations, and have fun at the same time.”

Other highlights of the

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Diwali events in each city were fashion shows, food, craft and jewellery stalls, rangoli (floor pattern art) competitions, world renowned classical, folk and Bollywood dance shows, kabbadi contests and spectacular fireworks displays.

Along with thousands of community members, the Diwali events also welcomed Bollywood stars, sports and media personalities and political dignitaries who flew from India especially to attend the events.

—SAT News Service

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Nepal Festival wins many hearts

By our reporter

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elbourne: The Nepal festival held at the Federation Square on 2 Nov. was a big success with thousands of Nepalese origin people and others thronged the centre of the city for a colourful and musical festival. Its main slogan was ‘Embrace Culture, Enrich Life’. And Melbourne did embrace them was evident with a large number of Australians in the crowd enjoying Nepalese music and songs.

The program which started at noon went on till late evening with all sorts of cultural segments on the stage.

The land of the Himalayas and Mount Everest with its red coloured twin triangles national flag is rich in culture and has a tasty cuisine. This was evident as the day progressed and the crowds kept on swelling.

People in colourful Nepali outfits and traditional Nepali caps made the atmosphere spread the fragrance of multiculturalism. There were hundreds of volunteers

and supporters who manned the place and helped people with their needs.

The stalls from educational institutional and migration agents distributed their pamphlets and promotional bags.

There was live music

by Sabin Rai and the Band Milan Lama and many local artists. The main event partner was AECC Globan (Education, Visas).

Platinum sponsors were Melbourne Institute of Technology, RGIT Australia and Federation Square. The Gold sponsors were TW-

GG, Expert Education & Visa Services, Buddha travel and tours, Metro Consultancy and many others. Media sponsors included Nepali Times, South Asia Times (SAT) and Indian Link.

There were VIP speeches and the AECC brought in Miss Australia 2013 and Miss Australia 2014. They had many photo sessions with people ever ready to get photographed with them.

The organising committee of the festival did a good job with the arrangements and taking care of people who came there.

The organising committee of the festival did a good job with the arrangements and taking care of people who came there.

Radical Roti at Mantra Lounge

By our reporter

M

elbourne: It was by chance that I went to the Mantra Lounge at 167 Grattam Street (opposite Melb Uni Graduate Centre) with my owner friend Ashwani who also runs the famous Gaura Travel. Mantra is a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. So, a food outlet having the word Mantra in its name is rather unusual.

But as it came out it fitted well in the ambience of the

place where on the first floor a cooking class was in progress. Ashwani’s wife (a New Zealander) was busy conducting the cooking class.

This small eating place is for vegetarians only (a rarity in Melbourne) and the youngish Melbourne University student crowd seems to enjoy the mixed cuisine which includes Lasania, Spinich pie and Chakri Chai (Indian style).

For a just $ 7.95 you get a fully satisfying lunch (salad, main meal, desert) to fuel your body and brain. The

mains can include Chickpea Masala or Black bean sauce on noodles or Coconut lime curry on rice or Pumpkin & lentil tagine on pasta or Satay on rice. Added to this is Green salad and dessert (Apple cake or Lemon cake or Carob cake or Pineapple cake).

According to Ashwani, “All the food we prepare and serve is based on an ahimsa (sanskrit for non-violent) diet. Basically that means it's all vegetarian. Whole grains, fresh veggies, sauces, spices and love all mingled together

to create taste bursting joy that will enrich your life.”

If you have a flair for cooking then you can join the Mantra Lounge cooking classes or You can’ think out loud’, open forum to provide a platform to facilitate thought provoking discussions. Whilst dealing with contemporary issues in present day society, think out sessions provide an opportunity to find out the relevance of knowledge of the yoga texts in modern day to day life. Exploring the lessons of great philosophers,

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scientists and teachers of the past and their influence on the very core issues in our society today, such as the quest for success and happiness, the mysteries of the mind, search for fulfilling relationships and human behaviour make the open forum interesting. And not to be forgotten is the Kirtan music and dance sessions which one can join. It's a fusion of mantra - specific words or sounds embedded with the potency to free the mind, as well as live music, in a collective call and response style along with a delicious dinner. You have to check the details and costs of all this activity at http://www. mantralounge.com.au/.

I must admit I enjoyed eating the cakes with Chakri Chai. I could also see some spiritual booklets around and a regular stream of customers. The service is excellent with a smile.

Mantra Lounge mesmerised me because the blend of vegetarian food laced with spiritual flavour gave an insight into the mysteries of existence.

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community

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$ 500,000 for Hare Krishna Temple kitchen

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Mr Guy said the new funding is part of a $6 million boost for multicultural community centres from the Victorian Coalition Government.

By News Desk

M

elbourne, 22 Oct: The oldest Hindu temple in Australia, ISKON’s Hare Krishna temple in Albert Park has got a boost with a $ 500,000 grant from the state government, for refurnishing its kitchen.

The kitchen is used for cooking ‘Prasada’ and food for the homeless and the disadvantaged people.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, Matthew Guy was joined

by Liberal Member for Southern Metropolitan Region, Georgie Crosier, and Liberal candidate

for Albert Park Shannon Eeles to announce the $500,000 Victorian Coalition Government's funding for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) .

Mr Guy said the new funding is part of a $6 million boost for multicultural community centres from

the Victorian Coalition Government's two-year Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund.

"The Victorian Coalition Government is investing $500,000 to upgrade the Hare Krishna Centre which provides great services for the community in Albert Park. The improved kitchen

will ensure the Society can continue its wonderful work feeding the homeless and disadvantaged people in the area," Mr Guy said.

Ms Crosier said the funding will provide much needed assistance to ensure the International Society for Krishna Consciousness can continue to meet the changing needs of the community.

The project is one of the 28 community centres or cultural precincts that will be constructed or upgraded as part of the $6 million Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund.

—SAT News Service

Australia to skill Indian resources and energy sector

By News Desk

M

elbourne, 10 November: Australia is all set to help India impart skills training to its people under the ‘Australia Future Unlimited’ program.

The Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane is leading the largest ever Australian skills delegation to India to encourage greater collaboration between the two nations.

Minister Macfarlane said more than 100 representatives from across the industry and training sector were travelling with him to build new connections.

“Australia wants to further enhance our global partnerships on skills and training and this delegation has the experience and expertise to help achieve this goal,” Minister Macfarlane said.

Minister Macfarlane will today deliver a major speech to the Indian Industry’s Global Skills Summit in Mumbai and host a business roundtable. Tomorrow he will deliver the keynote address to the third India Australia Skills Conference – Skills for Better Business.

Minister Macfarlane will also launch an innovative vocational education and training pilot programme to be trialled in India over the next 12 months.

The programme will be delivered by Australian registered training providers working with industry, Indian training providers or governments. The courses will be delivered under the Australia Future Unlimited brand.

“India needs thousands of additional trainers and assessors as it strives to skill 500 million people by 2022 and Australia is a nation with training expertise,” Minister

Macfarlane said.

“The Governments of both countries are encouraging skills cooperation and laying the foundation for greater collaboration and development of commercial opportunities between Australian and Indian

industry and training providers.”

A roundtable Minister Macfarlane will host today will examine opportunities for up skilling the Indian resources and energy sector labour force, as well as collaboration on training

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models for large and small business.

During his visit, Minister Macfarlane will meet his resources and energy, and science and technology counterparts in the Indian Government.

—SAT News Service.

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G20: Fossil fuel search subsidies need to stop

Governments continue to subsidise exploration for fossil fuels despite pledges to support the transition to clean energy. Photo: Flickr/Leszek Kozlowski.

By by Shelagh Whitley*

L

ONDON, Nov 11 2014 (IPS) - Just a week after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gave its starkest warning yet that the vast majority of existing oil, gas and coal reserves need to be kept in the ground, a new report reveals that governments are flagrantly ignoring these warnings and continuing to subsidise exploration for fossil fuels.

The report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Oil Change International (OCI) shows that G20 governments are propping up fossil fuel exploration to the tune of 88 billion dollars every year through national subsidies, investment by state owned enterprise and public finance.

And this is only a small part of total government support to producing and consuming fossil fuels, which is estimated at 775 billion dollars a year.

The G20 continues to provide these subsidies – mostly hidden from public view – in spite of repeated pledges to phase

out fossil fuel subsidies, address climate change, and support the transition to clean energy.

The subsidies provided to exploration by the G20 alone are almost equivalent to total global support for clean energy (101 billion dollars), tilting the playing field towards oil, gas and coal.

The report also shows that G20 governments spend more than double what the top 20 private companies are spending to look for new oil, gas and coal reserves. This suggests that companies depend on public support for their exploration activities.

As finding fossil fuels gets more risky, expensive and energy intensive, and the prices of oil, gas and coal continue to fall, companies are only likely to become more dependent on tax payers’ money to continue exploration. This was also demonstrated by the recent request by the United Kingdom’s oil and gas industry for further tax breaks to address rising operating costs in the North Sea. Some will claim that although these subsidies are uneconomic,

“Fossil fuel exploration subsidies are fuelling dangerous climate change; this support is increasingly uneconomic; and oil, gas and coal will not address the energy needs of the poorest and most vulnerable” exceptions can be made.

After all, the arguments go, we need fossil fuels to provide energy access – and we can keep burning oil, gas and coal if we just use carbon capture and storage.

This simply isn’t true. Doing so will drive dangerous climate change, with the impacts falling first on the most vulnerable people in the poorest countries and regions.

First, when it comes to energy access, it is actually through clean energy that we will be able to provide heat and electricity to the poorest.

According to the

International Energy Agency, most new investment needs to be in distributed energy, including in mini-grid and off-grid options that most often rely on renewable energy sources. If G20 governments redirected 49 billion dollars a year – just over half of what they currently provide in support to fossil fuel exploration – we could achieve universal energy access as soon as 2030.

Second, there has only been very limited application of carbon capture technology so far.

The first and only fullscale ‘commercial’ carbon capture and storage

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project, launched this year in Canada, relies on government subsidies and sells the captured carbon to the oil industry, which uses it to extract even more fossil fuels.

It is not a sustainable model.

In short: fossil fuel exploration subsidies are fuelling dangerous climate change; this support is increasingly uneconomic; and oil, gas and coal will not address the energy needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

The G20 countries have the resources to support a transition to clean energy. They can set an example for the world by shifting national subsidies, investment by state-owned enterprise and public finance away from fossil fuels and toward renewables and efficiency.

G20 leaders meeting in Brisbane this week must recognise this and make good on their existing pledges. Immediately phasing out fossil fuel exploration subsidies would be the right place to start. *Shelagh Whitley is a Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London.

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Faith leaders call G-20 to act on climate change

By News Desk

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elbourne, 12 November : Faith leaders from across the religious spectrum have issued a joint call for G20 leaders to act on climate change, end fossil fuel subsidies and rapidly transition to a low carbon economy.

Clergy and leaders from Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Indigenous communities will hold a press conference in a Brisbane church close to where G20 leaders are meeting.

Organised by the multi-faith Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), they are calling on country representatives to recognise the clear connection between economics and climate.

Prominent figures from a range of communities have signed a joint letter in which they describe fossil fuel subsidies as a “perverse incentive to destroy the biosphere”: Subsidies operate as a perverse incentive to destroy the biosphere, to deplete and pollute precious

water sources, pollute the air and create significant health problems.

Bishop Professor Stephen Pickard of the Anglican Church said: “There is a moral imperative to act. A number of the G20 leaders claim to be people of faith yet their collective failure to act on climate change is morally reprehensible. The present situation demands that we transition quickly to lifestyles that respect the physicals limits of the natural world.”

Dr Mohamad Abdalla, Director of the Islamic Research Unit at Griffith University, said: “There must be a concerted effort, even in developing countries, to shift boldly to solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy. But this is being thwarted by government subsidies for fossil fuel companies, giving these companies an unfair advantage. Governments are essentially providing incentives for companies whose products are destroying the biosphere.”

Sister Geraldine Kearney, representing Catholic Religious Australia, said:

“While wealthy countries are spending $50 – 90 billion USD annually on subsidies for fossil fuels, most are failing to put more than the most basic amounts on the table to meet their Climate Finance commitments. These leaders have a moral obligation to act.”

The fossil fuel lobby, including Peabody Energy and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), are resisting the call for change.

In Brisbane they are actively promoting the message that fossil fuels are an indispensable necessity if developing countries wish to lift their people out of poverty.

Rabbi Jonathan KerenBlack from the Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism said: “This is a biased claim from an industry that is fighting for its own survival. Developing countries themselves recognise the wisdom of basing their development on renewables wherever possible. Their people are

already suffering as a result of climate change.”

Aunty Togiab McRose Elu, Elder in Residence at Griffith University said: “Global warming isn’t just a theory in Torres Strait, it’s lapping at people’s doorsteps. The world desperately needs a binding international agreement including an end to fossil fuel subsidies. G20 countries should be leading the way.”

Professor Raja Jayaraman, Vice-Chair, Hindu Council of Australia, said: “Fossil fuels are causing significant health problems in places such as China and India as well as Australia. Meanwhile the price of renewables has come down dramatically and lend themselves to small-scale, decentralised energy delivery systems which are more accessible to impoverished communities.”

Mr Kim Hollow, President of the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils said: “We know that the G20 leaders are pursuing greater prosperity.

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

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Clergy and leaders from Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Indigenous communities will hold a press conference in a Brisbane church close to where G20 leaders are meeting.

However, true prosperity cannot be created without care and respect for people and the environment. It is this integral vision for humanity and the earth which accords with the deepest roots of the world's religious traditions.”

—SAT News Service.

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Qutub Minar

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Delhi : The old & ne Jama Masjid

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, CP Central Park

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Purana Qila

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e flavor of ew India

PHOTOS: Delhi Tourism

Town Hall

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Temple Akshardham

GTB Memorial

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Doctoring History for Political Goals: Origin of Caste System in India

By Ram Puniyani,

C

aste hierarchy is the major obstacle to the goal of social justice and it continues to be a major obstacle to social progress even today. There are many a theories, which have tried to understand its origin. The latest in the series is the attempt of RSS to show its genesis due to invasion of Muslim kings. Three books written

by RSS ideologues argue that Islamic atrocities during medieval period resulted in emergence of untouchables and low castes.

The books are “Hindu Charmakar Jati”, “Hindu Khatik Jati” and “Hindu Valmiki Jati”.

Over time, the caste system became hereditary.

The rules for social intercourse as well as establishing marriage relations were laid down by the caste system.

The Sangh leaders claimed that these castes had come into existence due to atrocities by foreign invaders and did not exist in Hindu religion earlier. According to Bhaiyyaji Joshi, number two in RSS hierarchy, 'shudras' were never untouchables in Hindu scriptures.

'Islamic atrocities' during the medieval age resulted in the emergence of untouchables, Dalits. Joshi further elaborated, "To violate Hindu swabhiman (dignity) of Chanwarvanshiya Kshatriyas, foreign invaders from Arab, Muslim rulers and beef-eaters, forced them to do abominable works like killing cows, skinning them and throwing their carcasses in deserted places. Foreign invaders thus created a caste of charmakarma (dealing with skin) by giving such works as punishment to proud Hindu prisoners."

The truth is contrary to this. The foundations of the caste system are very old and untouchability came as an accompaniment of the caste system. The Aryans considered themselves superior, they called non-Aryanskrshna varnya (dark skinned), anasa (those with no nose), and since non-Aryans worshipped the phallus, they were considered non-human or amanushya. (Rig Veda: X.22.9) There are quotes in the Rig Veda andManusmriti to show that low castes were prohibited from coming close to the high castes and they were to live outside the village. While this does not imply that a full-fledged caste system had come into being in Rig Vedic times, the four-fold division of society into varnas did exist, which became a fairly rigid caste system by the time of the Manusmriti.

Untouchability became the accompaniment of the caste system sometime around the

Parivar stated, ‘In our concept of four castes (varnas), they are thought of as different limbs of virat purush (the primeval man)… These limbs are not only complimentary to one another but even further there is individuality, unity. There is a complete identity of interests, identity, belonging… If this idea is not kept alive, the caste; instead of being complimentary can produce conflict. But then that is a distortion.’ (D. Upadhyaya,Integral Humanism, New Delhi, Bharatiya Jansangh, 1965, p. 43)

first century ad. TheManusmriti, written in the second–third centuries ad, codifies the existing practices which show with utmost clarity the type of despicable social practices that the oppressor castes were imposing upon the oppressed castes. The first major incursions of Muslim invaders into India began around the eleventh century ad, and the European conquests of India began in the seventeenth–eighteenth centuries.

Over time, the caste system became hereditary. The rules for social intercourse as well as establishing marriage relations were laid down by the caste system. Caste hierarchies also became rigid over time. The shudras began to be excluded

from caste society, and ‘upper’ castes were barred from interdining or inter-marrying with them. Notions of ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’ were enforced strictly to maintain caste boundaries.

Shudras became ‘untouchables’.

It is this rigid social division that Manu’s Manav Dharmashastra (Human Law Code) codified.

Golwalkar, the major ideologue of RSS ideology defended it in a different way, ‘If a developed society realizes that the existing differences are due to the scientific social structure and that they indicate the different limbs of body social, the diversity (i.e. caste system, added) would not be construed as a blemish.’

(Organiser, 1 December 1952, p. 7) Deendayal Upadhyaya, another major ideologue of Sangh

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Social struggles to oppose this system and the struggles to escape the tyrannies of caste system are presented by Ambedkar as revolution and counter-revolution. He divides the ‘pre-Muslim’ period into three stages: (a) Brahmanism (the Vedic period); (b) Buddhism, connected with rise of first Magadh-Maurya states and representing the revolutionary denial of caste inequalities; and (c) ‘Hinduism’, or the counter revolution which consolidated brahman dominance and the caste hierarchy.

Much before the invasion of Muslim kings, shudras were treated as untouchables and were the most oppressed and exploited sections of society.

The rigidity and cruelty of the caste system and untouchability became very intense from the post-Vedic to Gupta period.

Later, new social movements like Bhakti, directly, and Sufi, indirectly, partly reduced the intensity of the caste oppression and untouchability. This doctoring of the history by Sangh ideologues is motivated by their political agenda and tries to hide the truth.

—ram.puniyani@gmail.com

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Women’s safety schemes go mobile in India

By Sujoy Dhar

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EW DELHI, Nov 14 2014 (IPS) - It was 9:45 pm when 23-year-old Manira Chaudhury, a final-year Master’s student in New Delhi, who was traveling home in a rickshaw, pressed a button on her smart phone that sent out emergency alerts to two of her closest friends.

Immediately, two frantic calls followed.

“I am safe,” Chaudhury assured her distressed friends. “I was just checking that the app works.”

She uses VithU, a mobile phone app developed by Channel V, which was launched in November last year in India in the aftermath of the horrific rape-murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in the Indian capital on Dec. 16, 2012.

The smart phone app is activated by tapping twice on an icon on the screen, which instantly sends the following message to pre-loaded emergency contacts: ‘I am in danger.

I need help. Please follow my location’, along with details of the sender’s whereabouts.

“Fortunately I have never faced a situation where I felt the need to use it,” Chaudhury tells IPS. “But I think it is important to have it. I don’t think girls should have to live in constant fear of an attack but at the same time we cannot live in denial.

“We know bad things are happening out there and it’s wise to take certain precautions,” she explains. After ‘Nirbhaya’ While dime-a-dozen safety apps are now available in India, mostly launched by mobile phone companies and other private groups, the Government of India plans to launch a safety app of its own later this month, as an auxiliary service to the existing 181 helpline for women, which was started after the fatal Delhi bus rape.

This new app will also facilitate pre-registering of crimes based on perceived threats,” says Khadijah Faruqui, a women’s rights activist and human rights lawyer who is heading the 181 Helpline.

Safety apps are just one of many responses to the 2012 gang rape, which sparked massive protests around this country of 1.2 billion, with scores of people taking to the streets to demand tougher laws, increased security measures, sensitization of the police force and stronger government action to tackle sexual violence against women.

Lawmakers and politicians responded to the tragedy by pushing out the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2013, which incorporates various sexual crimes into the penal code, and promises stiffer penalties for offenses such as stalking, voyeurism or harassment.

The government also established six new fast-track courts to hear rape cases, and experts say there has been an explosion in public debate about women’s safety.

Still, millions of women continue to live in fear, while the frequency and brutality of rapes appears unchanged despite tougher laws.

The latest figures provided by India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2012 point to 24,923 rapes per year, while police reports from various cities show an alarming rise in assaults in 20132014. India’s financial hub, Mumbai, which used to be considered a safe place for women, witnessed a 43-percent rise in the number of reported rapes this year compared to the previous year, according to the city’s police.

Meanwhile, the capital city saw an alarming five-fold rise in sexual assaults in 2013, police records say.

An abundance of apps Against this backdrop, many women have welcomed the rise in innovative solutions to the constant threat of sexual violence.

For instance, Microsoft India recently released the safety application called ‘Guardian’ for Windows phones, which allows users to select a ‘track me’ feature that enables friends and family to follow the person in real-time using cloud services, among others.

The app also comes with an SOS alert function and a feature that allows the user to record evidence of an attack. According to Microsoft-IT India Managing Director Raj Biyani, “It is a robust personal security app with more safety features and capabilities than any other comparable app available to Indian smart phone users today.”

Then there is Circle of 6, which won the 2011 Apps Against Abuse challenge sponsored by the Obama Administration and works by offering users a number of icons that send the user’s selected ‘circle’ messages for help, interruption, or advice.

Originally designed to guard against date rapes in the United States, the app’s developers saw a 1,000-percent rise in the number of downloads in India after the Nirbhaya tragedy, prompting them to translate the app into Hindi and tailor it to fit the Indian context.

According to Circle of 6–New Delhi, the app has been programmed in both English and Hindi and it has been designed in a gender-neutral manner. Says Nancy Schwartzman, a representative of the team who created Circle of 6, “Administrations

should make Circle of 6 a priority and should invest in the future of safety with this technology. Circle of 6 is […] a smart and efficient way to centralize both social and emergency communications.”

The app creators said the hotlines have been pre-programmed so that they are in sync with the 24/7 women’s hotline of New Delhi and the women counseling and support service run by the NGO Jagori.

A user of the app, who feels uneasy to contact the police, can also reach out to the Lawyer’s Collective, a leading public interest legal service provider.

Government gets on board Taking its cue from private initiatives by IT firms and advocacy groups, the government is now pouring resources into the issue of women’s safety.

Under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the finance ministry approved proposals aimed at streamlining police, mobile and legal services in the country, resulting in the creation of a fund worth one trillion rupees (about 16 billion dollars) to be used exclusively on projects aimed at enhancing women’s safety.

For example, a proposal by the ministry of home affairs, designed in consultation with the ministry of information technology, calls for integration of the police administration with the mobile phone network to rapidly trace and respond to distress calls.

The ministry of information technology also plans to issue instructions to all mobile phone manufacturers to introduce a mandatory SOS alert button to all handsets.

The scheme will be launched in 157 cities in two phases.

Yet another project – known in its initial stage as ‘design and development of an affordable electronic personal safety device’ – being undertaken by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) aims to roll out a self-contained safety system in the form of a wristwatch.

India’s ministry of road transport and highways has proposed a scheme that will cover 32 towns, each with a population of over one million people, where public transportation vehicles will be fitted with GPS tracking devices to

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"I don’t think girls should have to live in constant fear of an attack but at the same time we cannot live in denial. We know bad things are happening out there and it’s wise to take certain precautions." -Manira Chaudhury, a final-year Master’s student in New Delhi. enhance law enforcement’s ability to respond to attacks.

Still, an app alone cannot solve the massive problem of violence against women in India, with an average of 57 cases of rape reported every day, according to an analysis of government data by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).

According to Jasmeen Patheja, founder of a student-led project at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore known as Blank Noise, the “solution is not in the app itself, but its function and role and space for intervention.”

But Rimi B. Chatterjee, a writer and activist based in Kolkata who also teaches English in the prestigious Jadavpur University, which is leading a viral protest against the molestation of a girl student on campus in September this year, is skeptical about the effectiveness of the apps.

“I am personally not sure about their efficacy and I fear that they can actually be launched by companies to bank on the insecurity of women to make money. So I have never advised my students to use them,” says Chatterjee.

“The solution to women’s safety is in the counselling and training of men and not in development of apps.

The problem is not with the women, it lies with men and their mindset, as young men are learning to disrespect women from their seniors,” she says.

However, according to Faruqui, an app like the one to be launched in connection with the 181 Helpline on Nov. 25, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the aim will be to address the gaps in the existing apps and ensure that a woman in distress can find timely assistance.

—Edited by Kanya D’Almeida

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Melbourne Durbar

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By Desi Oz

Singh Sabha dinner dance

M

elbourne: The Singh Sabha Sports Club Dinner Dance Cultural Night took place in Greensborough on 6 November. Hundreds of supporters and members attended the event which had all the Punjabi entertainment like including a colourful

Bhangra. There were also many singers who showed their talent. Different sports persons from different teams, VIPs and media were honoured. The audience was treated with a three course dinner along with the entertainment.

It definitely was a lively evening showcasing Punjabi culture.

Durga Temple honours supporters

T

he Sri Durga Temple, Rockbank committee recently honoured all those who made the Dussehra event organised by them. The honouring event took place at the Spirit of India Indian Restaurant

Subcontinent Friends of Labor setup

A

Subcontinent Friends of Labor (SFOL-Victoria) group has been formed in Victoria. The group was launched last month and the event was attended by Federal Leader of Opposition Bill Shorten, Leader of the Victorian Opposition Daniel Andrews, Michelle Rowland, Federal MP, Senator Lisa Singh of Tasmania and 23 other Federal and State Members of Parliament.

There was a big response

and about 500 guests attended the event in the city. Seven members of subcontinent communities were honoured on this occasion. The aims of SFOL-Victoria include identification of issues of subcontinent communities, finding ways to resolve them and working with Labor Governments to provide appropriate solutions. SFOL will also assist Labor Party in campaigns and various other activities.

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and was attended by a large numbers of devotees and volunteers. Mr. Julka thanked the committee members and all others who made the event a big success. This was followed by dinner and networking.

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Crusader against impunity B

By Beena Sarwar

OSTON, Oct 25 2014 (IPS) - As senior Indian journalist Manoj Mitta was testifying before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress last month about mass violence and impunity in India, President Barack Obama escorted India’s newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Martin Luther King Memorial.

“They were just three miles away,” Mitta told IPS, commenting on the irony of this coincidence, remembering that the United States had banned Modi’s entry on the mass violence on his watch in 2002 leading to the killing of about 1,000 Muslims in Gujarat state.

“Why should the U.S. Congress hold a hearing on human rights violations in India?” asked one Bostonbased Indian expatriate on hearing about this. “By that token, we can have hearings in India about racial killings in the USA.” “Why not indeed?” responds Mitta, a senior editor with The Times of India in New Delh, speaking to IPS in Boston when he was here for a talk at MIT, one of several book talks at universities around the country.

Focusing on legal and public policy issues, transparency and judicial accountability, both his books dissect judicial inquiries into the deadliest instances of communal violence in India: “When a Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 carnage and its Aftermath”, co-authored with the eminent lawyer H. S. Phoolka (2007), and “The Fiction of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra” (2014).

The Lantos Commission event titled “Thirty Years of Impunity“, in collaboration with the Sikh Coalition, commemorated the 1984 carnage of Sikhs in the aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. Over 2,500 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi alone in just three days.

There is also a classbased element to such massviolence, notes Bostonbased writer and poet Sarbpreet Singh, whose long poem “Kultar’s Mime” about the 1984 carnage is currently

Mitta, who also addressed the British Parliament commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1984 carnage five years ago.

Manoj Mitta speaks at MIT. Photo: Beena Sarwar being performed in the U.S., Canada and India. “Most people who suffered and died were very poor.”

After Boston, New York, Ottawa and Toronto, the compelling show will be performed in India — Delhi (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), Chandigarh (Nov. 2), and Amritsar (Nov. 4), before heading to the U.S. west coast: Los Angeles (Nov. 20-23) and San Francisco Bay Area (Dec. 6-7).

“The ongoing struggles for justice in India gain strength from expressions of solidarity from abroad,” said Mitta. “We can no longer pass off the shielding of mass murderers as the ‘internal affairs’ of any country. As Martin Luther King famously put it, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.”

Mitta quotes an old Sanskrit saying, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family) – which Modi also invoked in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly.

But Modi was speaking “in terms of commerce and business,” says Mitta.

“With the world being increasingly globalised on the economic front, more than globalisation of the economy, we need a universalisation of human rights standards and practices.”

Mitta, who also addressed the British Parliament commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1984 carnage five years ago, says he would like countries to talk about each other’s human rights violations.

“Those violations affect not just the country they take place in. There are also spin-off effects that impact other countries,” he says. “Like, an unstable Pakistan is bad for India, and violations in India are bad for America.”

“Human rights should remain on the agenda,” adds Mitta, who has written extensively on the undermining of the rule of law in India – patterns that are visible in other South Asian nations too.

“Could such a mass crime, in which rampaging mobs fatally attacked hundreds of people, have ever occurred in Washington DC?” he asks.

“And could the perpetrators of mass murder have got away with it? Could the security forces in the USA have colluded with the mobs as blatantly as they did in Delhi.”

“Could your president have dared to justify the mass crimes, as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi did, by declaring that when a big tree had fallen, the earth was bound to shake?” he asked in his presentation to the Lantos Commission.

Such questions would seem equally inconceivable about other leading capital cities too. Whatever the provocation, could there ever have been such massacres, at any rate postWorld War II, in London, Paris, Berlin or Tokyo?”

Looking beyond liberal democracies, the scale of the bloodshed in Delhi 1984 is “perhaps comparable to what happened in Beijing five years later, during the Tiananmen Square

massacre” – committed by security forces operating in a single-party political system.

In fact, the death toll of Delhi 1984 was similar to that of 9/11 – the big difference being that “9/11 was the result of sudden and unforeseen terror attacks, not mob violence that deliberately remained unchecked for three days.

By any standards of the civilised world, Delhi 1984 is one of a kind, a monstrosity without a parallel.”

And yet, it took 23 years for the first book on this subject to be published – Mitta and Phoolka’s, in 2007. It was made possible by a new inquiry commission established in 2000 seeking to undo the damage caused by the earlier one that had held all its findings in secrecy and not given due hearing to survivors.

The new commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge G.T. Nanavati, conducted its proceedings in public and released many old records related to the 1984 carnage.

“India’s appalling lack of documentation culture, especially on human rights issues is clearly a deficiency that is another reason for the impunity,” believes Mitta.

In the case of 1984, there have been about 30 convictions for murder in 30 years. The Gujarat carnage of 2002 has seen some 200 convictions, due to the Supreme Court’s intervention. The SC transferred some highprofile cases out of Gujarat

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and appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into some of the worst cases from 2002.

However, the SIT “balked at asking questions” or challenging Modi on any of his evasive or contradictory replies while examining him. Because of this “factfudging rather than factfinding,” says Mitta, Modi ended up not facing trial, as recommended by the Supreme Court appointed amicus curiae.

It was only after the SIT exonerated him that Modi became the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. “The Supreme Court has yet to pronounce on Modi’s innocence or guilt.”

The Indian prime minister has called for a 10-year moratorium on caste and communal violence, urging Indians to stay focused on the challenges of economic development.

But Modi has taken no action or even condemn those who have since violated this moratorium by stepping up their hate speech. His “strategic silence” and “denial mode, pretending that there’s no escalation of religious tensions under his rule, effectively adds another layer of impunity,” says Mitta.

The bottom line, he adds: If it is allowed to continue, impunity for hate speech and violence in India will eventually impact U.S. corporations seeking to do business with India. Impunity affects all, whether it is for corporate corruption or human rights abuses.

—Edited by Kitty Stapp

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Targeting Nehruvian Legacy ?

By Ram Puniyani

T

he debates about India’s partition, Gandhi murder and policies of Nehru have been a matter of ceaseless debates. Each political tendency has their own interpretation of these events, which in a way are landmarks of sorts in modern Indian History. As such the phenomenon of Partition of India and assassination of Gandhi are interwoven in the sense that Godse held Gandhi responsible for appeasement of Muslims. Godse constructed his story around warped understandings of the events of the time to create the ground for murder of the Mahatma. These views are shared by many Hindu nationalists, who are in and around RSS-BJP. Now with the ascendance of BJP to the seat of power many of its leaders are coming out more boldly with Hindu nationalist interpretation of the events, but a twist is being added. This twist is apparent in the article by a BJP leader from Kerala in the RSS mouth piece Kesari. This article indirectly suggests that Nathuram Godse should have killed Jawaharlal Nehru instead of Mahatma Gandhi, as according to him the real culprit was Nehru and not Gandhi.

The BJP leader who wrote this is B Gopalkrishnan. He says "If history students feel

Godse aimed at the wrong target, they cannot be blamed.

Nehru was solely responsible for the partition of the country.” What does one make of it? Is it the official RSS line?

To be on the safe side RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya has distanced the RSS from the statement of its leader. Still it is not difficult to guess that there may be prevalence of such thinking within the RSS circles on the lines of the author of RSS mouthpiece article. This Kesari article is significant as it is trying to shift the blame from Gandhi to Nehru. It may not be too difficult to understand the reason for the same.

Before we have a look at who was responsible for partition, let’s try to understand why the blame is being shifted from the Mahatma to Nehru. Recently Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India campaign) on 2nd October as a tribute to the father of the nation, Gandhi.

This move has two shrewd aims. One is to appropriate Gandhi for the politics of Hindu nationalism; two is to reduce Gandhi’s contribution to mere cleanliness and hygiene. This over projection of cleanliness associated with Gandhi as such dwarfs the major contribution of Gandhi, Hindu Muslim unity and national integration in the deepest possible sense.

Nehru’s staunch and

principled commitment to Indian nationalism, pluralism, secularism and scientific temper make him a figure totally unacceptable to Hindu nationalists, as Hindu nationalism stands for the values totally opposed to these. So the attempts like this article are planned attempts for tasting of waters by throwing up Nehru’s name as the culprit for the partition tragedy.

As such Gandhi, Nehru and Patel were the most prominent leaders of the anti colonial freedom movement. Gandhi was the central pillar, who built up the anti-British-Indian nationalist mass movement, gave it solid foundations and then gradually became the moral guide for the same. He passed the major mantle of his responsibilities to Nehru and Patel. Most of the times Hindu nationalists, Hindu Mahasabha-RSS, were critical of Gandhi’s efforts for Hindu Muslim unity. The Muslim communal stream, Muslim League looked at Congress as a party representing Hindus alone. The truth is that majority of people from all religions were with the Gandhi led movement for Indian nationalism. It is only after 1940s that more Muslims started shifting to Muslim League due to the rise of communalism.

Gandhi was criticized by both communal streams,

Hindu communal stream criticized him for appeasing Muslims, and Muslim communalists called him a Hindu representative.

Partition was due to multiple factors. The first and foremost of these was the machination of British policy of ‘divide and rule’ which strengthened the communal streams-Muslim and Hindu both. Secondly British had an agenda of colonial masters. They perceived that a united India will be a power in its own right, more likely to ally with Soviet Union in global bipolar world. Their perception was due to the presence of a significant Left wing in the Indian National Congress led

by Nehru himself.

Partition tragedy was multi layered phenomenon, which cannot be reduced to a single incident. Many such incidents had their own impact on the totality of the phenomenon of course. We need to see the deeper differences between the Indian nationalists on one hand and Religious nationalists (Muslim LeagueHindu Mahasabha) on the other and the clever role of British in partitioning the nation. That should be central to understanding the process, rather than putting the blame on any single individual.

As per the perception of Hindu communal stream so far it was supposed to be Gandhi who was responsible for partition and

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Partition tragedy was multi layered phenomenon, which cannot be reduced to a single incident.

Many such incidents had their own impact on the totality of the phenomenon of course. for appeasement of Muslims, now this stream is trying to shift the blame on to Nehru as they need Gandhi as an icon, though freed from his core virtues of truth and non violence, reduced to mere ‘cleanliness man’. In no way they can appropriate Nehru, as Nehru lived after Independence to nurture the values of Indian nationalism, pluralism, liberalism and diversity, the principles which were the cementing factors of Indian national movement, the biggest ever mass movement in the World. So this Keasri, RSS mouthpiece article and the façade of its being disowned!

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By Gayeti Singh

EW DELHI: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Islamabad recently on a two-day visit to Pakistan.

Ghani -- accompanied by a high-level delegation -- is set to meet Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday.

The visit marks one of President Ghani’s first international visits since assuming office, having toured Saudi Arabia and China.

Pakistani media has been describing the visit as a “fence mending mission,” with a transfer of power in Kabul perhaps transforming a relationship thus far marred by mistrust to one based on cooperation.

Islamabad’s relationship with Kabul hit a low under former Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s presidency, with a key bone of contention being Pakistan’s alleged support to crossborder militancy.

The difficult relationship was evinced by a recent statement by Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, who, speaking to the Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, acknowledged that ties between the two countries had hit a low during the final months of Hamid Karzai’s presidency.

“We had good talks with President Karzai, and the relationship improved with Afghanistan in transit and trade, building motorways and power stations and rail links… But at the turning of the year things began to cool off. Frankly we have not understood why,” Aziz said.

The dip in ties was also evident in Karzai’s farewell address, with the outgoing president saying, “Today, I tell you again that the war in Afghanistan is not our war, but imposed on us and we are the victims,” and adding that, “No peace will arrive unless the U.S. or Pakistan want it." In the same vein, Karzai, whilst addressing the Afghan parliament a few months ago had said, that the war in Afghanistan had been “imposed” on the country and that the US should demonstrate seriousness about bringing peace to the war-torn country by targeting “terrorist sanctuaries” and countries that support “terrorism” - a

reference to Pakistan.

Pakistan downplayed the remark, with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam avoiding a direct reaction to the statement, and instead, addressing the issue rather indirectly when probed at a later date. “We face common challenges and have to confront them through collaboration… There will be a new government in Afghanistan shortly and as I said earlier, we look forward to working closely with it.”

Although Sartaj Aziz expressed confusion in regard to why the relations between the two countries soured, the short answer is: militancy. There have been two developments that had increased Afghanistan’s concern that Pakistan is directly or indirectly, strengthening the Afghan Taliban. One, with the Pakistani military launching Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, several thousand militants have crossed the border into neighbouring Afghanistan.

Although Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a cross border agreement to monitor this movement, the process itself was fraught with tensions, with Karzai demanding that Pakistan meet a series of conditions as a prerequisite for his cooperation.

In a letter handed over to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by Karzai’s top security advisor during a one day visit to Islamabad, the Afghan President stated outlined the following conditions: “(1) all terrorists

are targeted without discrimination, (2) civilians are not harmed in the fight against terror, (3) Pakistan releases all detained Afghan Taliban leaders who support peace in Afghanistan, (4) all terrorist hideouts and support centres are eliminated, (5) Pakistan stops artillery shelling on Afghan territory, (6) Pakistan and Afghanistan coordinate their antiterrorism efforts with important regional nations like India and China, (7) there should be a roadmap for bilateral coordination and contact to take the war on terror forward.”

The letter came a few days after tensions rose between the two countries following an allegation that linked the killing of three soldiers and eight civilians in Dangam district, eastern Kunar province, to Pakistani soldiers. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmad Shakib Mustaghni had said that “Pakistani forces, wearing civilian clothes, carried out the attack” in Dangam district.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response, rejecting the allegations and asking the “Afghan government to refrain from taking any action that may be detrimental to peace and stability on the border.”

These tensions, although exacerbated recently, are not new. Afghan officials have long blamed Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence Agency (ISI) for nurturing and supporting militancy across the border. Quoted

in the Washington Post this week, Afghan interior minister Mohammad Umer Daudzai explained the rationale behind this suspicion when he said, “We know they [Pakistan] have not given up their dream of controlling Afghanistan.

They want Afghanistan to be their satellite.”

Pakistan points out that they too are suffering from the same terrorist acts on their own soil. In the same article in the Post, Gen. Asim Bajwa, a spokesman for the Pakistani military said, “We have made it very clear that Pakistan is determined to eliminate all terrorists and sanctuaries from Pakistan and is also committed to ensure that our soil is never used for any terrorist activity abroad.”

This links to the second recent development that has added to Afghanistan’s paranoia. A few months ago, the Punjab Taliban -- an influential militant faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- declared that it would abandon violence within Pakistan, and focus its energy toward Afghanistan instead. “We will confine our practical jihadist role to Afghanistan in view of deteriorating situation in the region and internal situation of Pakistani jihadist movement,” Punjabi Taliban chief Ismatullah Muawiya was quoted in a pamphlet circulated to the media. The internal situation of the Pakistani Jihadist movement refers to setbacks being faced by the TTP, most recently, the breakaway of a faction led

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One of the foremost reasons for the poor conviction rate is rape cases are mishandled from the very start.

by Jamatul Ahrar -- which claims it has the support of 70-80 percent of the TTP’s fighters and commanders -from the main TTP bloc led

by Mullah Fazlullah.

Whether the Pakistani government is actively supporting militants in Afghanistan or not, the fact is that the militant movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan is influenced in turn by the other. In that respect, with militancy in Pakistan witnessing a reorganisation in the face of a sustained military operation, and militancy in Afghanistan seeing an increase in attacks and resulting in twice the number of fatalities as in the corresponding period last year, it is in the interest of both the Pakistani and Afghan government to cooperate and mend ties.

Fortunately, Ashraf Ghani seems willing to try and rebuild the trust between the two countries.

“Dr Ashraf Ghani and his team want a brotherly relationship with Pakistan and other neighbours,” Ghani’s spokesperson Abbas Noyan told Voice of America a few days before the swearing in ceremony. The tension does not help us. We are looking to forging good ties [with Pakistan] and engaging in joint ventures and projects to help each other,” Noyan said, whilst reiterating that the it was now up to Pakistan to rebuild this lost trust by addressing Kabul’s very valid concerns.

This two-day visit is a step in the right direction for rebuilding trust and forming a basis for cooperation in the future.

—The Citizen

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भारतीय प्रधान मंत्री का ऑस्ट्रे लिया में स्वागत है

भारतीय प्रधान मंत्री, श्री नरें द्र मोदी इस महीने ‘जी-२०’ की बहुराष्ट्रीय बैठक में भाग लेने ऑस्ट्रे लिया आ रहे हैं | २८ वर्षों के पश्चात कोई भारतीय प्रधान मंत्री ऑस्ट्रे लिया आ रहा है | इसलिये, उनकी इस यात्रा का विशेष महत्व है | उनका ऑस्ट्रे लिया में स्वागत है | इस यात्रा के दौरान, मोदी जी ऑस्ट्रे लिया के चार प्रदेशों के प्रमुख नगरों, ब्रिसबेन (क्वींसलैंड), सिडनी (न्यू साउथ वेल्स), कैनबरा (ऑस्ट्रे लियन कैपिटल टे रीटरी) तथा मेल्बर्न (विक्टोरिया) की यात्रा करें गे और यहाँ रहने वाले भारतीय मूल के लोगों से भेंट भी करें गे| इस अवसर पर सिडनी में होने वाली उनकी सार्वजानिक सभा में भाग लेने वालों के लिये एक विशेष रेलगाड़ी का भी प्रबन्ध किया गया है , जिसे ‘मोदी एक्सप्रेस’ का नाम दिया गया है | मोदी जी से लोगों को बड़ी आशायें हैं | ऑस्ट्रे लियाई संसद में हिन्दी में भाषण दे ने वाले, मोदी जी सर्वप्रथम भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री होंगे| दे श-विदे श में हिन्दी में भाषण दे कर, वे हिन्दी का सम्मान बढ़ा रहे हैं | इसके लिये हम उनकी सराहना करते हैं और आशा करते हैं कि ऑस्ट्रे लिया में रहने वाले भारतीय उनसे प्रेरित हो कर, अपने बच्चों को हिन्दी सीखने के लिये प्रोत्साहित करें गे| प्रसन्नता की बात है कि ऑस्ट्रे लियाई सरकार ने कक्षा १ से १० तक हिन्दी का पाठ्यक्रम तैयार करने के लिये ‘अकारा’ नामक राष्ट्रीय संस्था को अनुदान दिया है और यह काम शीघ्र ही आरम्भ हो जायेगा| ऑस्ट्रे लिया की सरकार ने सामान्य विद्यालयों में हिन्दी भाषा पढ़ाए जाने की अनुमति भी दे दी है परं तु जब तक माता-पिता अपने बच्चों को स्वयं हिन्दी नहीं सिखाना चाहें गे तब तक यह अनुमति केवल कागज़ तक ही सीमित रह जायेगी| आवश्यकता इस बात की है माता-पिता अपने समीपवर्ती स्कूलों के प्रधानाध्यापकों से माँग करें कि उनके स्कूल में हिन्दी शिक्षा का प्रबन्ध किया जाये| इस अंक के k;Vyku'j स्तम्भ में प्रथम विश्व युद्ध की शताब्दी तथा अन्य विषयों पर रोचक कविताएँ हैं | साथ में, २६ नवम्बर, २००८ को मुम्बई में हुए आतंकवादी आक्रमण की छठी वर्षगाँठ पर एक संस्मरण तथा ‘हम-तुम’ निबंध प्रतियोगिता में द्वितीय पुरस्कार पाने वाला निबंध भी है | इसके अतिरिक्त ‘संक्षिप्त समाचार’, ‘अब हँ सने की बारी है ’, ‘महत्वपूर्ण तिथियाँ’ व ‘सूचनाएँ’ स्तम्भ भी हैं | लिखियेगा कि आपको यह अंक कैसा लगा| —दिनेश श्रीवास्तव

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घना जो अन्धकार हो घना जो अन्धकार हो दिये की लौ उजास हो विकास की नवधार में जीने की नई आस हो अमावस में आसमां तले घना जो अन्धकार हो जुगनू की चमक बन सको तुम तमस को धिक्कार दो घनघोर घटा घिर रहे मेघों का गर्जन उग्र हो बिजली की कौंध चमक से

पूर्ण-विराम

-कुसुम वीर, नोएडा, भारत तव मार्ग तब प्रशस्त हो प्रातः प्रभासित रश्मियों सम विकीर्ण तव प्रकाश हो मन के स्नेह दीप में सद् भाव का आभास हो स्वप्न की मरीचिका के हाथ मत पतवार दो सत्य की ज़मीन पर दृढ़ आत्म का विश्वास हो वेद की ऋचाओं से गीता के ज्ञान पुञ्ज से

-विजय निकोर

मैं, पूर्ण-विराम, एक बहुत छोटी-सी लकीर, बिना शब्दों के हूँ अर्थहीन । पर किसी भी पंक्ति के अंत पर पड़ा, संतरी- सा तन कर खड़ा, अति शक्तिमान, महत्वपूर्ण, और प्रभावशाली हो जाता हूँ । मैं… पूर्ण-विराम … मेरी अनुपस्थिति में किसी भी लेख के भाव संशयग्रस्त और संतप्त तिलमिलाते हैं , तड़पते हैं स्पष्टीकरण के लिए, और उनके मान्य, मात्र टू टे धागों की तरह, उलझ-उलझ जाते हैं । बिना विराम-चिन्ह के वे वाक्य अपनी अज्ञात अदृश्य सीमाओं से अनभिज्ञ, वे अनबूझ अनभिव्यक्त सभी अशिष्टता से परस्पर झगड़ते हैं । तब अपनी इस स्थिति में वे बुलाते हैं मुझ,े और मैं पूर्ण-विराम संतरी की उपाधि लिए व्यवस्थापक बना चला आता हूँ । मैं, एक पूर्ण-विराम ! लेख में जगह-जगह पर खड़ा उन उलझे झगड़ते वाक्यों को पृथक करता स्वयं को गर्वोन्नत अनुभव करता हूँ । हं गामा बंद हो जाता है , शब्दों में, वाक्यों में मित्रवत सम्बन्ध लौट आता है , और उनकी जीवन्तता का आभास मेरे जीने का अर्थ हो जाता है ।

दर्पण आज दिखा दर्पण, आज दिखा वह चह े रा जिसने छिपाई अपने में जीवन-पथ की विपदाएँ संघर्षों के बीच जो दिखता रहा परछायीं सामान्य होने की आशा, आस्था के बीज बोते स्वयं पीता रहा हताशा का कड़वा जल दर्पण, आज दिखा उस चह े रे की न दिखती

विश्व युद्ध शताब्दी

मन कलुष तम विलुप्त हो सत्कर्म का पड़ाव हो मन वचन कर्म शुद्ध हों निज आत्म की पुकार हो सब वैर पाश तोड़ दें कुटु म्ब पूरा विश्व हो ' स्वस्ति पन्था मनुचरे म ् ' इस श्लोक की चहुँ गूज ँ हो कुचल दें अन्याय सारे न्याय की जयकार हो

-डॉ कौशल किशोर श्रीवास्तव, मल े ्बर्न

मैंने पढ़ा है समाचार पत्रों में, वर्ष दो हजार चौदह है प्रथम विश्व युद्ध की शताब्दी । एक ने इसे कहा है 'महा-विनाश की शताब्दी', तो दस ू रे ने इसे माना है 'वर्तमान युग की जन्म शताब्दी' । मुझे दोनों की कल्पना में अन्तर लगा, पता नहीं, यह भ्रम था या सार्थक प्रश्न । मैंने पछ ू ा कालचक्र से, तुम तो अमर हो, अविनाशी हो, सृष्टि का इतिहास एक साथ दे ख सकते हो, मरे ी जिज्ञासा समझ सकते हो । उसने कहा, तुम्हारा साहित्य-ज्ञान अधूरा है शब्दों का मायाजाल भेदना कठिन है , पर इन्हीं में छिपा है मानव का इतिहास, वर्तमान का आकलन, और भविष्य का सृजन ।

मैंने सोचा, सामान्य दर्घ ु टना की वर्षगाँठ नहीं होती प्राकृ तिक विपदा का जन्मदिन नहीं होता, अतः शताब्दी की चर्चा अति विशिष्ट है इसका सन्दर्भ विचारणीय है ।

इन लेखों की विचारधारा अलग है इनके दर्शन अलग हैं , विपरीत हैं , यह तो विचारों का टकराव है जो जनतन्त्र का अधिकार है ।

मैंने इतिहास के पन्नों में दे खा राम और रावण के बीच सभ्यताओं का युद्ध, और महाभारत का धर्म युद्ध । 'एलेग्जेंडर द ग्रेट' का विजय युद्ध और 'अशोका द ग्रेट' का रक्त रं जित युद्ध ।

पहले शीर्षक में जीवित है विशाल जन समाज की तीव्र वेदना, मानवता का घोर अपमान, और भविष्य में युद्ध का तिरस्कार । दस ू रे लेख की दृष्टि में, युद्ध नये समाज का जनक है नयी संभावनाओं का स्रोत है । महा-विनाश में भी नयी ऊर्जा और सुखद स्वप्न का बीज है , विकास की कल्पना है ।

-चंदर धींगरा, कोलकाता पर गहरी खिंची चिंता की लकीरें आज दिखा उन लकीरों से बनती-बिगड़ती दायित्व की अनगिनत तस्वीरें आज खोजूँ अपने प्रतिबिम्ब में संघर्ष की वही तस्वीर दर्पण, आज मरे ा परिचय करा सत्य से आज मुझ में दिखा चित्र मरे े पिता का।

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

वर्तमान के दर्पण में दे खा, द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध का विध्वंस वियतनाम का वर्षों लम्बा युद्ध, और आज भी हमारी आँखों के सामने हैं आतंकवाद के खिलाफ वैश्विक युद्ध । हर युग में, युद्ध ने बदला है समाज का स्वरूप, यह है हमारी सभ्यता का प्रतिरूप । आज मैं सोचमग्न हूँ विचारों का टकराव तो स्वाभाविक है , जैसे आतंकवादी और स्वतन्त्रता सेनानी की कल्पना सापेक्ष है , एक ही व्यक्ति किसी के लिये आतंकी है तो किसी के लिये दे शभक्त ! मैं एक ऐसा सिक्का खोजने को व्यग्र हूँ जिसकी एक ही फलक हो ! क्या यह सम्भव है ? क्या यह सम्भव है ?? अंशम ु ाली की ज्वाला में प्रकाश और जलन दोनों का समावेश है किसे रखें, किसे छोड़े , एक असाध्य प्रश्न है , शायद जीवन का यही रहस्य है ! हाँ, जीवन का यही रहस्य है !!

N O V E M B E r

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वह अविस्मरणीय रात

शिखर सक्सेना, मेल्बर्न

(मुम्बई में २६ नवम्बर, २००८ को हुए आतंकवादी आक्रमण की छठी वर्षगाँठ पर प्रस्तुत है उस समय ‘ताजमहल होटल’ के एक प्रबंधन कर्मचारी का व्यक्तिगत अनुभव – संपादक)

२६ नवम्बर, २००८ को रात शांत थी और समुद्र से धीमी-धीमी नम हवा बह रही थी| ताजमहल होटल पर हुए आतंकवादी आक्रमण के समय, मैं मुम्बई में होटल के लिये ‘बैंक्वेट हॉल’ में एक प्रमुख अंतर्राष्ट्रीय संस्था के रात्रिभोज समारोह का प्रबन्ध कर रहा था| मैंने उस रात की भयानक यादों को कई बार भुलाना चाहा है पर यह संभव नहीं हुआ है | आज भी दनि ु या के सबसे रहने योग्य शहर, मेल्बर्न में बैठे हुए भी, जब मैं उस रात की याद करता हूँ तो मेरे रोंगटे खड़े हो जाते हैं | २६ नवम्बर, २००८ को, मैं सुबह ५ बजे से उठा हुआ था और ७ बजे सुबह से काम शुरू कर दिया था| रात के ९ बजे थे और रात्रि-भोज के लिये सब लोग बैठ चुके थे| क्षुधावर्धक ‘एपेटाईज़र’ परोसे जा चुके थे और मैं सोच रहा था कि कब मेरा काम समाप्त हो और मैं घर वापस लौटू ँ कि होटल के दस ू री ओर से अचानक बहुत बड़े धमाके की आवाज़ सुनायी दी| सबको लगा कि कोई चीज़ गिर पड़ी होगी परन्तु धमाके होते ही रहे | मुझे लगा कि कुछ ठीक नहीं है और धमाके मुझे पूर्व परिचित लगे| मुझे ऐसा लगा कि मैंने इन्हें पहले भी कहीं सुना है | प्रभारी (इन चार्ज) होने के कारण, बाहर जा कर पता लगाना कि क्या हो रहा है , मेरा कर्तव्य था परं तु जैसे ही मैं गलियारे में पहुँचा कि मैंने दे खा कि हॉल के दस ू री ओर से मेरा मैनेजर हाथ के इशारे से मुझे वापस लौटने को कह रहा था| धमाकों की आवाज़ तेज़ होती जा रही थी और पास आती लग रही थी| जब मैं वापस लौटा तो मुझे यकीन हो गया था कि धमाके की आवाजें ए.के.-४७ बंदक ू ों से आ रही थीं| मैंने इस प्रकार की आवाजें बचपन में अपने पिता के साथ सुनी थीं| मेरे पिता भारतीय सेना में एक अधिकारी थे| मैंने दे खा था कि ये मशीनें कैसे काम करती हैं | मैंने सभी लोगों से चुपचाप ज़मीन पर लेट जाने को कहा और होटल के दो कर्मचारियों को कुर्सियों व मेज़ों द्वारा ‘बैंक्वेट हॉल’ के दरवाज़ों को बंद करने में मेरी सहायता करने का निर्दे श दिया| मुझे दे ख कर अन्य कर्मचारियों ने शेष दरवाज़ों को भी इसी प्रकार बंद कर दिया| हमारे पास दरवाज़ों की चाबियाँ नहीं थीं, इसलिये हमने दरवाज़ों की मूठों

(हैं डलों) पर ‘नैपकिनों’ से गाँठ लगा दीं ताकि कोई बाहर से अंदर न आ सके और सारी बत्तियाँ बुझा दीं| उसके बाद तो पागलपन का माहौल बन गया| हमें. लगातार, चिल्लाहट, गोले-बारूद और बंदक ू चलने की आवाजें सुनायी दे ती रहीं| मेरी हाथ की घड़ी अँधेरे में मंद-मंद प्रकाश दे ती थी| उस प्रकाश में मैंने दे खा - रात के सवा नौ बजे थे| उस समय तक मुझे इस बात का बिल्कुल अहसास नहीं था कि हमारे लिये हर मिनट और हर क़दम कितना क़ीमती था| अब मैं प्रवेश द्वार पर पीठ के बल खड़ा था और मेरे कान दरवाज़े पर लगे हुए थे ताकि मैं वह हर आवाज़ सुन सकूँ जो कमरे की ओर आ रही थी और मैं अपने हाथ में एक चाकू लिये खड़ा था जो मेहमानों के लिये मेज़ पर लगाया गया था| अपने मस्तिष्क में, मैं केवल यह योजना बना रहा था कि यदि किसी ने हाल में ज़बरदस्ती घुसने की कोशिश की तो मैं उसे कै से मारूँ गा| कुछ दे र बाद सभी प्रबंधक अधिकारी पुनर्संगठित हुए और इस बात पर विचार करने लगे कि आगे हमें क्या करना चाहिये| मैं आग लगने पर, बाहर निकलने के सभी द्वारों (फ़ायर एक्ज़िट) का अपने दिमाग में, हिसाब लगा रहा था| इसी समय, हम लोगों से यह पता लगाने के लिये कि बाहर क्या हो रहा है , फ़ोन पर बात कर रहे थे| सबसे पहले जो समाचार हमें मिला कि किसी गिरोह के सदस्य होटल में घुस आये हैं और आपस में एक दस ू रे पर बंदक ू -युद्ध (गन-फ़ाइट) कर रहे हैं | यह सुन कर एक क्षण के लिये मुझे थोड़ी राहत मिली| मैंने सोचा कि शायद कुछ घंटों में यह लड़ाई शांत हो जायेगी| पर फिर मेरे साथ रहने वाले मेरे साथी ने, जो उस दिन काम से छुट्टी पर था और होटल के बाहर खड़ा था, फ़ोन करके मुझसे यह बताने को कहा कि मैं किस स्थान पर था ताकि वह पुलिस को सूचित कर सके| मैंने उससे पूछा कि उसे होटल की स्थिति के बारे में किस प्रकार के समाचार मिल रहे हैं | उसने बताया कि संभवतः यह एक आतंकवादी आक्रमण है | मुझे मालूम था कि रात बहुत लम्बी है और यहाँ से जीवित बच निकल पाना बहुत मुश्किल है | जिस जगह से मैं दे ख रहा था, वहाँ से सबके चेहरों पर एक ही प्रश्न दिखाई दे रहा था –हम ज़िंदा बचेंगे कि नहीं? और यही सवाल मैं अपने आप से पूछ रहा था| मेरे दिमाग में यहाँ से भाग निकलने का मार्ग खोजने की योजना बनने लगी| कमरे से बाहर निकलने के केवल तीन निकास

द्वार थे और सभी आसान लक्ष्य-स्थल (टार्गेट लोकेशन्स) थे और आतंकवादी इन सभी मार्गों पर चल रहे थे| दस ू री समस्या यह थी कि ६५ से अधिक लोगों को एक बार में कैसे बाहर निकाला जाये| बाद में हमें संदेश मिला कि एक विशेष सैनिक दल (स्वाट) फंसे हुए लोगों को छुड़ाने आने के लिये रास्ते साफ़ कर रहा है लेकिन वह हम तक कब तक पहुँचेगा, इसका कोई ठिकाना नहीं था| इस समय तक मेरी निकास योजना तैयार हो गई थी जिसके अनुसार, मुझे खिड़कियों के शीशे तोड़ कर, लोगों को बाहर निकलना था और इसे कार्यान्वित करने में मुझे बहुत दे र नहीं लगी| यह इसलिये भी आसान हो गया क्योंकि गलियारे तक आग पहुँच रही थी और एयर कंडीशनिंग की नलिकाओं से और दरवाजों के नीचे से धुआँ आने लगा था| मैंने ‘बार-टे बल’ को एक ओर खिसका कर पर्दे खोल दिये और पास में रखे ‘काकटेल स्टैं ड’ को उठाया, जो मज़बूत लोहे का बना हुआ था| शीशा भी बहुत मज़बूत था| यह ‘साउं ड प्रूफिंग’ के लिये बनाया गया था, इसे तोड़ना आसान नहीं था| खैर, किसी तरह मैंने शीशा तोड़ा और अपने पीछे खड़े व्यक्ति से कहा कि वह मेरे पीछे न आये| यहाँ से नीचे उतरना बहुत खतरनाक है | मैं फ़ायर ब्रिगेड से सीढ़़ी लाने को कहने जा रहा हूँ| और फिर मैं दो पर्दों में गाँठ बाँध कर, उन्हें रस्सी की तरह इस्तेमाल करके ‘ड्रे नेज पाइपों’ के सहारे नीचे उतर आया| उसके बाद मैं सड़क के दस ू रे छोर तक गया जहाँ ‘फ़ायर ब्रिगेड’ था| मैंने ‘फ़ायर ब्रिगेड’ से सीढ़ियों के साथ आदमी भेजने को कहा| कुछ दे र के बाद, सब लोग वहाँ से निकल आये और हम सब ‘रेस्क्यू प्वाइन्ट’ पर एकत्रित हुए| उस दिन के पहले मैंने कभी नहीं सोचा था कि मैं ऐसी भयानक रात दे खूँगा जो डर. भावनाओं, विचारों, प्रियजनों के ख्यालों से, नौकरी और उसकी जिम्मेदारियों से और जीवन-मरण के प्रश्नों से एक-साथ सामना करवाएगी| इन सबका महत्व मुझे उस समय पता लगा जब मैं होटल के ‘बैंक्वेट हॉल’ में फँसा हुआ था| मैं अपने माता-पिता का बहुत कृ तज्ञ हूँ, जिन्होंने मेरा पालन-पोषण किया और मुझे शारीरिक व मानसिक प्रशिक्षण दिया| उनके द्वारा सिखाए गये पाठों की असली कीमत, अप्रत्याशित रूप से २६ नवम्बर की रात को पता चली, जब ये पाठ बहुत काम आये और न केवल मेरा अपना बल्कि दस ू रे लोगों का जीवन बचाने में सहायक हुए|

‘सेलीब्रेट इण्डिया’ निबंध प्रतियोगिता के परिणाम इस वर्ष, दीपावली समारोह के उपलक्ष्य में ‘सेलीब्रेट इण्डिया’ ने न केवल सदा की भाँति, मेल्बर्न ‘सी.बी.डी’ में तथा एयरपोर्ट पर रोचक दीपावली आयोजन किये बल्कि पूरे विक्टोरिया के प्राइमरी स्कूलों की कक्षा ५ व ६ के विद्यार्थियों के लिये दीपावली और ‘क्रिसमस’ में समानताओं के विषय पर एक निबंध प्रतियोगिता का भी आयोजन किया| इस प्रतियोगिता में २७ स्कूलों से ४९६ विद्यार्थियों ने भाग लिया| मेल्बर्न में शनिवार २५ अक्तू बर, २०१४ को ‘फ़ेडे रशन स्क्वायर’ में आयोजित भव्य

mhTvpU,R itiqy;\

दीपावली समारोह में, विक्टोरिया के प्रीमियर, माननीय, डॉ. डेनिस नैप्थाइन तथा ‘सेलीब्रेट इण्डिया’ के अध्यक्ष, श्री अरुण शर्मा ने इस प्रतियोगिता में विजयी निम्नलिखित प्रतियोगियों को पुरस्कृ त कियाप्रथम पुरस्कार विजेता - स्टीवेन कोस्टोपुलस, कक्षा ५, ओक्ले ग्रामर स्कूल पुरस्कार- द्वारा भारत-यात्रा आने-जाने के दो एयर-टिकट (प्रायोजक - एयरइण्डिया) तथा खर्च के लिये ५१,००० रूपये (प्रायोजक -‘इण्डियन वीकली) द्वितीय पुरस्कार विजेता – एम्बर ली,

४ नवम्बर (मुहर्र म/अशुरा, मेल्बर्न कप), ६ नवम्बर (गुरु नानक जयंती), ११ नवम्बर (शहीद-स्मारक दिवस, ऑस्ट्रे लिया), १४ नवम्बर (बाल दिवस, नेहरु जयंती), २७ नवम्बर (धन्यवाद-दिवस, अमेरिका), ८ दिसम्बर (बोधि-दिवस)|

sUcn;E\

कक्षा ५, कीज़बरो प्राइमरी स्कूल पुरस्कार – भारत के बारे में सांस्कृतिक व पौराणिक पुस्तकें तथा २०० डॉलर (प्रायोजक - भारतीय कौंसल जनरल) तृतीय पुरस्कार विजेता- विदषु ी त्रिपाठी, कक्षा ५, पी.एल. सी. तथा वी.एस. एल. (ब्लैकबर्न केन्द्र) पुरस्कार – भारत के बारे में पुस्तकें और २०० डॉलर (प्रायोजक - भारतीय कौंसल जनरल) सभी पुरस्कार विजेताओं को तथा ‘सेलिब्रेट इण्डिया’ को इस आयोजन के लिये बधाई|

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hm-tum inb'/ p[ityoigt;-2014

su%I pirv;r ke ilye sMm;nnIy sMb'/ mhævpU,R hw' -Xvet; meht; á”s vWR² ¾hm-tum inb'/ p[ityoigt;¾ ivK$oiryn SkUl a;Žf¹ lw'Gvejej¹ ke @w'@en;'g keN{ me' a;yoijt kI gyI qI) ”s p[ityoigt; me' p[qm purSk;r p[;Pt krne v;l; inb'/ ipzle a'k me' p[k;ixt iky; gy; q;) iÃtIy Sq;n p[;Pt krne v;l; inb'/ nIce p[Stut hw- sMp;dkâ

mnuãy hmex; Ek pirv;r me‹ rht; hw) mnuãy kI hmex; yh ai.l;W; hotI hw ik ¬sk; pirv;r su%I ho) su%I pirv;r ke ilE mnuãy k; Ek dUsre ko sMm;n den; j¹årI hw) hm;re pUvRjo‹ ne kh; hw ik dUsro‹ ko hm ijtn; sMm;n de‹ge ¬tn; hI sMm;n hme‹ .I imleg;) hm;re dex m‹e gu¨-ixãy kI prMpr; rhI hw) agr ixãy ko kuz sI%n; hw to ¬se gu¨ ke p;s se D;n t.I imleg; jb vh guåjI k; sMm;n kre² hmex; D;n kI ai.l;W; r%e a*r dUsro‹ k; a;dr kre) fUl ijs trh apnI sug‹/ c;ro‹ aor fwl;t; hw ¬s trh mnuãy jb dUsro‹ k; sMm;n kreg; t.I ¬skI sug‹/ c;ro' idx;ao' me‹ fwlegI) duiny; ke s.I dexo‹ me‹ Zuk kr a*r dUsro‹ ko sMm;n dekr sb‹/ Sq;ipt ikye j;te hw‹) c;he r;jnwitk sMbN/ ho'² %elkUd ke sMbN/ ho y; ivÊIy sMbN/² ye s.I sMbN/ hmex; dUsro‹ ko sMm;n dekr hI Sq;yI bn;ye j;te hw‹) hm pirv;r me‹ .;”R-bhn² m;\-b;p² pit-pTnI² guå-ixãy s.I ke sb‹/ dO!¹ ho‹ EesI ai.l;W; r%te hw‹ Kyo'ik dO!¹ sb‹/ hI mnuãy ke p[git kI inx;nI hw) s.I sMbN/o' ko dO!¹ krne ke ilE su%I pirv;r hon; jårI hw a*r su%I pirv;r ke ilE sMm;nnIy sMbN/ hon; ait a;vXyk hw) sMm;nnIy sMbN/ se .I k.I-k.I pirv;r su%I nhI' hot; Ees; k”R m;mlo' me‹ de%; gy; hw) mehnt krne se hI pirv;r su%I hot; hw) J¹y;d; sMm;n dene se mnuãy `m'@I .I ho skt; hw) a*r vh `m‹@I mnuãy sm;j a*r `r-pirv;r dono‹ ke ilE h;ink;rk hw) ”s k;r, J¹y;d; sMm;n .I nhI' den; c;ihye) jIvn me‹ k.I a;pko inr;x; imle ifr .I a;pko k.I inr;x nhI' hon; c;ihye) inr;x; hI mnuãy

ko ptn kI aor le j;tI hw)e ¬ske b;d ”Ns;n k.I a;ge nhI' b!¹ skt;) .Ilkum;r EklVy k; hI ¬d;hr, le‹) vh d[o,;c;yR ke p;s b;, cl;ne kI ix=; lene ke ilE gy; mgr d[o,;c;yR ne ¬se mn; kr idy; a*r kh; - ®m‹w kevl =i]yo‹ ko hI ix=; det; hU\) tum .Ilkum;r ho² ”silye² mw‹ tuMhe ix=; nhI' de skt;)® EklVy vh;\ se cl; gy;) ¬sne d[o,;c;yR ko guå sdOx m;n sMm;n den; c;h; pr ¬Nho'ne SvIk;r nhI' iky;) ”ske b;vjUd .I vh apne kmo| ke bl pr mh;n bn gy;) EklVy ne mn m‹e inXcy iky; ik ¬se b;, iv´; sI%nI hw to ¬sne mn se sI%n; xuå iky; a*r ”s iv´; me' p[vI, bn gy;) yh kevl ¬ske apne kmo| ke bl pr hI ho skt; q;) khne k; t;TpyR hw ik - ®kmR<yev;i/k;rSte m; fleWu kd;cn® aq;Rt( mnuãy apne kmo| ke bl pr hI mh;n bn skt; hw a*r ¬ske kmo| se hI ¬se bl p[;Pt hot; hw) a‹t m‹e mer; yhI khn; hw ik ”‹s;n agr aCze kmo| ke s;q jIvn ijyeg; to ¬se jIvn me‹ hmex; sflt; p[;Pt hogI a*r ”sI blbUte pr vh è\c;”yo' ko p[;Pt kr skt; hw) bs kevl aCze kmR krne kI j¹årt hotI hw) hmex; b@¹o‹ k; sMm;n krn; a*r hmse jo zo$e hw' ¬nko Py;r krn; c;ihye) Py;r se hI VyiKt ko jIt; j; skt; hw a*r Py;r tq; sMm;n se hI pirv;r su%I bnt; hw) pws; to hr ko”R km; let; hw leikn %¹uxnsIb vh hw jo ¾pirv;r¾ km; let; hw) vh pirv;r ijsme' Ekt; hotI hw vh hr trh se smO« bnt; hw) Ek sen; kI trh hI Ek pirv;r kI xiKt Ek dUsre ke p[it inã#; me‹ hotI hw) pirv;r hI s's;r me' sbse mhTvpU,R hw)

मेल्बर्न के हरे कृ ष्ण मन्दिर को ५००,००० डॉलर का सरकारी अनुदान २० अक्तू बर, २०१४ को, विक्टोरिया सरकार में बहुसांस्कृतिक मामलों के तथा योजना मंत्री, माननीय मैथ्यू गाई ने मेल्बर्न के हरे कृष्ण मन्दिर को समाज-सेवाओं के लिये, उनके रसोईघर को सुधारे जाने के उद्दे श्य से मन्दिर के अध्यक्ष, श्री अनिरुद्ध दास और उपाध्यक्ष, श्री भक्त दास को ५००,००० डॉलर की चेक भेंट की| इस अवसर पर, ‘सी.आई.ए.ए.’ के अध्यक्ष श्री वासन श्रीनिवासन भी उपस्थित थे, जिन्होंने भूतकाल में मन्दिर के रसोईघर में स्वयं सेवक के रूप में पुराने दिनों में अपने

किये गये दिनों को याद किया और मंत्री महोदय को उनकी सहायता के लिये धन्यवाद दिया|

एजूकेशन इं स्टीट्यूट ऑफ़ द इयर अवार्ड-२०१४ ४ नवम्बर, २०१४ को सिडनी में, ‘इण्डियन ऑस्ट्रे लियन बिज़नेस कम्युनिटी अवार्ड्स २०१४’ समारोह में, न्यू साउथ वेल्स सरकार के नागरिकता व समुदाय मंत्री, माननीय विक्टर डामिनलो ने ‘एस.पी.जैन स्कूल ऑफ़ ग्लोबल मैनेजमेंट’ को वर्ष २०१४ का एजूकेशन ‘इं स्टीट्यूट ऑफ़ द इयर अवार्ड’ प्रदान किया| इस अवसर पर बोलते हुए, इस संस्था के अध्यक्ष, श्री नितीश जैन ने बताया कि पिछ्ले वर्ष, फ़ोर्ब्स की अंतर्राष्ट्रीय ‘बिज़नेस स्कूलों’

की सूची में उनकी संस्था को ऑस्ट्रे लिया में प्रथम तथा पूरे विश्व में १९वाँ स्थान प्राप्त हुआ था और इस संस्था की शाखाएँ सिंगापूर व दब ु ई में भी हैं |

ab h\sne kI b;rI hw

१. पति-पत्नी एक नव-दम्पति हाईस्कूल के पुनर्मिलन समारोह में बैठे हुए थे| पास की मेज़ पर एक आदमी अकेला बैठा शराब पी रहा था| पत्नी उसकी ओर बराबर दे खे जा रही थी| पति ने पत्नी से पूछा- क्या तुम उस आदमी को जानती हो? पत्नी ने कहा – हाँ, वह मेरा पुराना प्रेमी है | जब से मैंने उससे सम्बन्ध तोड़ा है , उसने शराब पीना शुरू कर दिया है और आज तक इसके होश ठिकाने नहीं आये हैं | पति ने कहा – विश्वास नहीं होता कि कोई व्यक्ति तुमसे अलग होने की ख़ुशी इतने लम्बे समय तक मना सकता है ! २. पुरुष और महिला के मित्रों में अंतर एक स्त्री एक रात घर नहीं वापस लौटी| दस ू रे

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दिन सुबह, उसने अपने पति को बताया कि वह रात में अपने एक मित्र के घर रुक गयी थी| पति ने अपनी पत्नी के दस महिला मित्रों से फ़ोन कर के पूछा कि क्या कल रात उसकी पत्नी उनके घर पर थी| सभी मित्रों ने कहा-नहीं, उन्हें इस बारे में कुछ नहीं मालूम है | एक पुरुष एक रात वापस घर नहीं लौटा| दस ू रे दिन सुबह, उसने अपनी पत्नी को बताया कि वह रात में अपने एक मित्र के घर रुक गया था| पत्नी ने पति के दस पुरुष मित्रों से कल रात के बारे में फ़ोन करके पूछा| सभी मित्रों ने कहा – हाँ, कल रात वह उनके यहाँ रुका था और एक मित्र ने कहा कि वह अभी भी उसके घर पर था|

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cinema

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Garm Hava: What the breaking up of a nation does By our reporter

S

tarring Balraj Sahani, Farouque Shiekh, Geeta Siddarth, AK Hangal, Shakut Kaifi; Directed by MS Sathyu; Story & Lyrics Kaifi Azmi; and Music Ustad Bahadur Khan. The 1973 movie has been restored and rereleased recently.

Synopsis Mirza Salim (Balraj Sahni) is a middle aged shoe manufacturer in Agra whose family like many other muslim families has been in the leather business for generations.

But Partition shatters not only their flourishing business but also their family. Following the exodus of many of their colleagues Mirza Salim's brother, Halim, leaves for Pakistan with his wife and son Kazim with the promise that Kazim would return to marry Salim's daughter Amina (Gita Siddharth) after he had secured a job.

Their ancestral house being in the eldest son Halim's name is declared evacuee property and claimed by a Sindhi Refugee. Salim and his family are forced to shift to a much smaller rented house nearby.

Kazim gets a Scholarship to go to Canada and sneaks across the border to meet Amina before leaving.

Their marriage is arranged but the police get a wind of it and he is whisked off in the middle of the ceremonies. Faced with stiff competition from the Hindu migrant traders who enter the leather Salim's business suffers.

His sisterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s husband, Fakhruddin, is embroiled in a fraudulent transaction and skips across the border to escape his debts. His son, Shamshad (Jalal Agha), who has a soft corner for Amina and wants to marry her, also leaves with his father. Salim is shattered yet refuses to follow his relatives across the border.

One day while going to his factory he is embroiled in a fight with a hand cart puller which turns into a minor communal riot. Salim's factory is an easy target and is set on fire and Salim sustains head injuries.

Blamed for instigating the riot he is taken to the police station for questioning but released for lack of evidence. Meanwhile news of Shamshad's marriage to a girl in Pakistan drives Amina to suicide. Hounded

by the other traders and called a spy Salim finally decides to migrate. But as he is enroute to the station he is stopped by aprocession of young people demanding jobs, bread and better education from the government.

Among them is his second son Sikander (Farouque Sheikh) who has just graduated from college.

Sikander refuses to give up and leave and Salim turns back and joins the procession of protesters.

Review Garm Hava remains even today one of the most poignant films ever to be made on India's partition.

Although Ritwik Ghatak and other film makers had made films touching on the Bengal Partition, this was a rare Hindi film to tackle this sensitive subject in a direct and realistic manner.

Although it was released in 1973, in many ways it is a precurser to Ankur and other films of The Indian 'New Wave' that followed.

For first time director MS Sathyu it remains today one of his best films. It was a bold attempt to break out of the cliches of mainstream Hindi cinema of those days.

Inspired by Satyajit Ray and De Sica among others Sathyu attempted to potray a slice of our history that had effected everyone but had been swept under the carpet in an attempt to hide the pain and trauma.

Sathyu's main motivation was to potray the affects the partition had on the ordinary family against the backdrop of the socioeconomic changes that were an afternath of the division of the country. It brings home to the viewer not only the emotional trauma of losing your roots but also the complete social and economic devastation that follows. To quote Sathyu,

"What I really wanted to expose in Garm Hava was the games these politicians play...How many of us in India really wanted the partition. Look at the suffering it caused."

Based on an unpublished story by famous Urdu writer Ismat Chugtai, the story was developed and scripted by Kaifi Azmi. The original story centered around a station master who watches the slow exodus of his family and friends to Pakistan. Putting his valuable experience as a union leader with shoe factory workers to use, Kaifi Azmi turned the protagonist from being merely an observer into someone whose livelihood and with it his entire world crumbles, thus highlighting and personalising the trauma.

Made with a shoestring budget, the entire film was shot on location in Agra. Except for Balraj Sahni, most of the other cast members had hardly any film acting experience and were drawn from the Indian People's Theatre Association, IPTA. It is Sathyu's superb handling of the actors that ensures that each character, however minor, hold their own giving the film a lyrical realism never seen before. Dadi Amma, the old matriach of the family who delivers an unforgatable performance as Salim's mother was discoved in the Mohalla where the story was filmed. Balraj Sahni himself agreed to do the film for a pittance and was so enthused that at the conclusion of shooting he organised a strike among the shoe factory workers of Agra demanding better wages.

When Sathyu was shooting at location in Agra and was being harrassed by bystanders, he diverted them with a fake second

unit using an unloaded camera!

Garm Hava is dominated

by Balraj Sahni's remarkable performance in his last major role, perhaps his greatest ever, Do Bhiga Zamin (1953), notwithstanding. Excellent camera work portraying the lyrical quality of the Agra monuments and the Art Direction by Shama Zaidi with careful attention to detailing add authencity to the film, rare in Hindi films of those days. Although the film was shot in the haveli of a Hindu family, certain tiny details in the differences in lifestyle between a Hindu family and a Muslim family were incorporated adding to the originality of the film. Ustad Bahadur Khan evocative music helps lift the film even more.

The film was held up at the censors for eight months due to its politically sensitive theme. However after it was passed it opened to rave reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. Contarry to apprenhensions that the film would create communal tension it was applauded for the empathetic manner in which such a sensitive aspect of India's history had been handled. The Film

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The film remains one of the most sensitive and evocative studies without the slightest contrivance of a minority group in India... went on to win a National Award for its contrubution to National Integration.

To quote Sunil Sethi in the Junior Statesman dated October 27, 1973, "The film remains one of the most sensitive and evocative studies without the slightest contrivance of a minority group in India...

It is the story simply of what a breaking up of a nation does; not only to human relationships but to individuals themselves, who begin to crumble under the obtuse pressures as things around them begin to fall apart." â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Priya Chandrasekar

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(Australia - India matches) Commonwealth Bank Test Series (India tours Australia) 24 NOV 2014 - 25 NOV 2014 | 2-DAY TOUR MATCH Cricket Australia XI- India Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg 10 30 AM Local

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BROADCAST PARTNERS for Test Matches: Ch-9 on TV and ABC Grandstand & Fairfax Radio for Radio.

For more information â&#x20AC;&#x201C;www. cricket.com.au & www.bcci.tv

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