CRY America celebrates 10 years of existence

Transcription

Bollywood 16
Diaspora 20
Humor 28
Spiritual Awareness 30
NEW YORK EDITION
Vol.5 No. 6 May 26-June 1, 2012 60 Cents
NY Polytechnic
honors Sam
Pitroda
What would Greek
exit mean for the
U.S. economy?
Washington, DC: Uncertainty over the
fate of the euro currency is already
dampening U.S. economic growth and
any significant worsening of the crisis
would deal a blow to a recovery that is
gradually gathering steam.
Economists estimate that volatile markets and business uncertainty over the
fate of Greece and the policy course in
Europe is already shaving anywhere
from one tenth to one half a percentage
point from U.S. 2012 gross domestic
product growth.
In a Reuters poll last week, U.S. GDP
was forecast on average at 2.3 percent
for 2012 and 2.4 percent for 2013.
The direct hit to growth comes through
trade. U.S. exports to the European
Union account for 19 percent of total
exports, and those to the euro zone represent 13 percent of the total. But when
calculated in terms of GDP, the share is
tiny - only 1.3 percent of total output.
The indirect effects are another matter.
Europe in 2010 accounted for 25 percent
of world trade, according to Deutsche
Bank. Europe also is the biggest trading
partner for China and the United States.
Loss of this market would ripple worldwide and slow global growth.
Follow us on
Dharun Ravi
sentenced for
30 days
Glamor, drugs,
match-fixing
rock IPL
IPL &
Controversies,
Page 18
BJP pitches itself as Congress'
alternative, tries to smooth rifts
Mumbai : With two years to the 2014 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) Thursday strongly pitched itself as an
alternative to the Congress, and said it will
seek to expand base among the minorities,
Dalits and poor.
The party also sought to begin a process of
reconciliation within its ranks as party president Nitin Gadkari made it clear the meet
was focused on general election "irrespective of whether they are held in 2014 or
earlier."
Sanjay Joshi's resignation from the national executive - which led to BJP's star chief
minister, Gujarat's Narendra Modi lastminute change of plan to attend the meet,
was seen as party's first step to settle internal
issues.
Former Rajasthan chief minister
Vasundhara Raje, who had threatened to quit
BJP's star chief minister Narendra Modi
arrives at the BJP National Executive
Meet in Mumbai on May 24
over a tussle with a state party leader, was
Continued on page 4
US Senate panel cuts Pakistan aid
over doctor's jailing
Washington, DC: Outraged
over the jailing of a
Pakistani doctor who helped
the CIA find Osama Bin
Laden, a US Senate panel
has cut Pakistan's aid by $33
million, or one million for
every year of his sentence.
The Senate Appropriations
Committee voted 30-0
Thursday to cut Islamabad's
aid in response to the conviction of Shakeel Afridi,
the doctor who sought to
collect DNA samples to help
verify for the CIA that bin
Laden was hiding at a compound in Abbottabad, close
to the Pakistani capital.
The cut, seen as a symbol-
Dr.Shakeel Afridi helped
CIA in collecting DNA
samples to verify Bin
Laden’s existence in
Abbottabad
ic gesture that reflects growing US frustration with a
difficult ally, was pushed by
Republican senator Lindsey
Graham, who called
Pakistan a "schizophrenic
ally".
The US "(doesn't) need
Pakistan double-dealing and
not seeing the justice in
bringing Osama bin Laden
to an end."
The committee had
already slashed President
Barack Obama's request for
aid to Pakistan by 58 percent
and threatened deeper cuts if
Islamabad failed to open
supply routes to US-led
Continued on page 4
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Rupee dives to
56.1, touches
new low
Business,
Page 23
US spotlights
government
corruption in India
Washington, DC: The US state department
has highlighted "widespread corruption at all
levels of government" and separatist, insurgent and societal violence among the most
significant human rights problems in India.
"Widespread impunity at all levels of government remained a serious problem," said the
department's annual report on human rights
released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
here Thursday.
"Investigations into individual cases and
legal punishment for perpetrators occurred,
but in many cases a lack of accountability due
to weak law enforcement, a lack of trained
police, and an overburdened court system created an atmosphere of impunity," the report
noted.
Other highlighted problems included police
and security force abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Also listed were disappearances, poor prison
conditions that were frequently life threatening, arbitrary arrest and detention and lengthy
pre-trial detention.
"The judiciary was overburdened, and court
backlogs led to lengthy delays or the denial of
justice, the report said as authorities continued
to infringe on citizens' privacy rights," the
report said.
The law in some states restricted religious
conversion, and there were reports of arrests,
but no reports of convictions under these laws,
it said.
Separatist insurgents and terrorists in
Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern states,
and the Naxalite belt committed numerous
serious abuses, including killing armed forces
personnel, police, government officials, and
civilians, the report said. Insurgents were
responsible for numerous cases of beheading,
kidnapping, torture, rape and extortion, it said.
However, the number of incidents declined
considerably in the northeastern states and
Jammu and Kashmir compared with the previous year, the report noted.
Tristate Community
3
May 26-June 1, 2012
Attorney who prosecuted Headley's case resigns
Chicago: Patrick Fitzgerald, the
tough- talking US Attorney who
prosecuted a slew of highly-publicized cases including those leading
to the conviction of Mumbai attack
suspect David Headley and former
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich,
has resigned.
In his surprise announcement, 51year-old Fitzgerald, Attorney for the
Northern District of Illinois, said he
would step down officially on June
30, and leave the Justice Department
after serving nearly 24 years.
Fitzgerald was appointed by former President George W Bush and
began serving in the post on September 1, 2001. He was kept on by Pres-
ident Barack Obama and ended up
serving for nearly 12 years, making
him the longest serving US attorney
ever in Chicago. Fitzgerald praised
the career attorneys in the Northern
District of Illinois, where he presides. "I tried not to get in their way,"
he said. Fitzgerald said he has no future employment plans and, after this
summer off, the father of two young
children will "consider his career options." The announcement came as a
bit of surprise to Justice Department
officials who had been informed of
his decision, CNN reported.
US Attorney General Eric Holder
praised Fitzgerald for his commitment to serve "the American people
Patrick Fitzgerald
and the citizens of Illinois with the
utmost integrity and a steadfast commitment to the cause of justice."
"Over the years he has gained the
Taxi fares in NY may go up by 20%
New York: New York City’s Taxi
and Limousine Commission agreed
on Monday to formally consider a
proposal from the yellow cab industry that would raise taxi fares by as
much as 20 percent, a significant increase to a pricing structure that has
been virtually unchanged since 2006,
according to a New York Times report. While the precise details of how
the higher rates would be put into effect are still being drawn up, the
Bloomberg administration supports a
taxi fare increase, making it likely
that one will be approved and that it
could take effect as soon as mid-July.
Officials at the taxi commission
said there were compelling reasons
to grant the industry’s wish for higher prices, like allowing fares to keep
up with the rate of inflation and recent increases in gasoline prices.
“The fare hasn’t changed since
2006, so it is reasonable for taxi drivers and fleet owners to put this on the
table,” David S. Yassky, the taxi and
limousine commissioner, said in a
statement on Monday.
The city has scheduled a public
hearing on the matter for May 31,
when the commission is expected to
consider an increase of 16 percent to
20 percent. Such hearings are almost
never arranged unless a fare increase
is under serious consideration.
The fare proposal comes amid a
time of flux for the taxicab industry,
which has recently experienced some
of the biggest upheavals in its history. Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers
Alliance, applauded the proposed
measure. She said the group hoped
that the increases would be applied to
mileage and waiting time charges,
rather than the base fee, so that “people on shorter trips are not subsidizing the longer trips.”
Indian-American treats wife as slave; gets away with probation
New York: An Indian American
ta in February, only on a misdeman whose family forced his wife
meanor assault charge. The coninto slave labor was spared jail but
viction carried a maximum sensentenced to three years' probation
tence of a year in jail.
and ordered to perform 220 hours
His 58-year-old mother Parveen
of community service. His mother
Jagota, and 31-year-old sister Raand sister each face up to seven
jani Jagota were convicted of labor
years in prison.
trafficking and second-degree asVishal Jagota, 34, of New York
sault, both felonies.
suburb Ramapo was also fined
They each face up to seven years
$1,000 by Rockland County Court
in prison when they are sentenced
Judge William K. Nelson, Newsnext month.
Husband Vishal Jagota
day reported.
Rockland County District Attorwith his parents
Prosecutors alleged that Jagota's
ney Thomas Zugibe said he was
wife, whom authorities never publicly named, was disappointed by the sentence Vishal Jagota received.
brought to the US from India in January 2008 through "Plain and simple, he and his family imprisoned this
an arranged marriage at 20 and suffered in a life of young victim for three years," he said in a statement.
servitude and sexual abuse.
Prosecutors alleged that the Jagota family used inThe abuse went on until the Jagotas were arrested in timidation, and physical and sexual abuse to force the
October 2010.
victim, now 25 years old, to work round-the-clock in
Jagota, his mother and sister were indicted in March their home. On one occasion, Jagota's mother and sis2011 on charges of labor trafficking and endangering ter burned the victim's hand with a hot iron because
the welfare of a child in addition to assault charges.
they didn't like the way she had done the laundry, they
However, in a non-jury trial, Nelson convicted Jago- said.
trust of two Presidents and the unwavering confidence of four Attorneys
General, and I am deeply grateful to
him for his service and his friendship
over the years," Holder said in a
statement.
Fitzgerald was leading the prosecution of Headley and Tahawwur
Rana in Chicago for participating in
plotting the November 2008 terrorist
attacks in Mumbai and planning to
attack a Danish newspaper.
Fitzgerald first became widely
known when he participated in the
prosecution of Omar Abdel Rahman
for the 1993 bombing of the World
Trade Center. He also helped prosecute the terrorism defendants tied to
the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
He also prosecuted the case of
Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted last year of
corruption charges in connection
with his efforts to profit from appointing the successor to the US Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama
when he became president.
Speculation about Fitzgerald's future in legal circles has included the
possibility of his being named FBI
director to succeed Robert Mueller,
whose term expires in September,
though lucrative offers may be forthcoming from the private sector, the
CNN reported.
US says it's helping India
find alternative oil supplies
Washington, DC: In the face of a public outcry in India over rising oil prices
due to Iran oil sanctions, the US said it
was trying to help New Delhi find alternative sources of supply. "We are
working with countries around the
world to encourage them to diversify
supply away from Iranian crude," State
Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters Wednesday when
asked about the impact of Iran sanctions on India.
"This isn't just about India. It's about
a whole list of countries who we are
trying, in the first instance, to help find
alternative sources of supply, to work
through what their options might be,"
she said. Nuland also welcomed the
signing of an agreement for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India
(TAPI) gas pipeline as "a perfect example of energy diversification, energy
integration, done right".
"We consider it a very positive step
forward and sort of a key example of
what we're seeking with our New Silk
Road Initiative, which aims at regional
integration to lift all boats and create
prosperity across the region."
The US, she said, had offered to be
supportive "politically, and we stand by
to be supportive in other ways if
asked". Asked why the US was opposed to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline
when it was so positive on TAPI, Nuland said: "The other pipeline, as just to
be clear, goes to an unreliable partner
who is not complying with its international obligations with Iran."
"Our concern has to do with investing in a country that that we have concerns is spending its money not on its
people but on dangerous technology
and weapons."
Dhoonya Dance instructors led an outdoor Bollywood dance flash mob on
the hit song ‘Chammak Challo’ at the Fiesta Asia Street Fair, Saturday, in
Washington, DC. For the seventh consecutive year, this festival was held to
celebrate the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month that is chock-a-block
with events recognizing the tremendous achievements of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Organizers estimated that
some 20,000 people attended the all-day event on Saturday, set against the
awe-inspiring backdrop of the US Capitol building.
4
Turn Page
May 26-June 1, 2012
Indian Americans win top 3 prizes
at National Geographic Bee
Washington, DC: A first-time contender from Texas won the annual
National Geographic Bee May 24 in
Washington, claiming the top prize in
a contest that started with local competitions among about 4 million students around the country.The contest
was to be televised the night of May
24 on the National Geographic
Channel and later on public broadcast stations. "Jeopardy!" host Alex
Trebek hosted the finals.
Indian American Rahul Nagvekar,
14, of Sugar Land, Texas, will
receive a $25,000 college scholarship
for his win, along with a trip to the
Galapagos Islands. He beat another
Indian American student, Vansh Jain,
13, of Minocqua, Wis., on the fourth
tie-breaking question.
Much of the bee tested the 10 finalists' knowledge of history, world cultures and landmarks used as clues for
geography-based questions.
Rahul won by correctly naming
Regensburg as the Bavarian city
located on the Danube River that was
Rahul Nagvekar (right) beat
another Indian American student
Vansh Jain to win the $25000 college scholarship and trip to
Galapagos Islands..
a legislative seat of the Holy Roman
Empire from 1663 to 1806. "It was a
guess, a 50-50 chance," Nagvekar
said after the competition. "It just
happened to be a good guess."
Jain, the runner-up, was making his
third trip to the national geography
bee and will take home a $15,000
scholarship. The third-place winner,
13-year-old Varun Mahadevan of
Fremont, Calif., another Indian
American student, wins a $10,000
scholarship.
BJP pitches story
Continued from page 1
also present. Missing however was former
Karnataka chief minister, B. S. Yeddyurappa,
who has been at loggerhead with his handpicked successor Sadananda Gowda.
Meanwhile, BJP sought to present itself as
the "solution" to the "problems" created by
Congress, and passed two resolutions slamming the United Progressive Alliance government on its agriculture and economic policies.
History was also created when BJP amended
its constitution to enable an extension of three
years for Gadkari, making him in all likeliness
the first one to get six years as BJP president.
At the last minute, a resolution against the
report of Kashmir interlocutors, calling it
against integration of Kashmir with India, was
also accommodated.
In his inaugural speech, Gadkari accused the
Congress-led central government of gross
misgovernance. "We need to tell the nation,
IALI to host
‘India Fest’ on
August 12
Long Island, NY: India Association
of Long Island (IALI) will be hosting the 21st Annual “INDIAFEST
2012’ event on Sunday August 12,
2012, at Hyatt Regency Hotel,
Hauppauge, NY.
IndiaFest has become one of most
anticipated and biggest premier
events to be held in Long Island
with over 10,000 people in attendance. The event is open to public
with no entry and parking fees. The
daylong festival will showcase and
highlight in many ways - Indian culture, art and crafts, variety of Indian
cuisine, fashion shows, Indian
bazaar, designer clothing and jewelry, music, Indian folk and classical
dances, Bollywood entertainment,
mingle with social and political dignitaries, youth and kids activities
and even in the area of spirituality
and yoga.
Congress has created problems, we will offer
the solution".
He warned the Congress led government
that its days were "numbered" and people can
no more afford its "misrule".
Gadkari said that the party will focus on
expanding base among minorities, Dalits and
poor for increasing its vote bank by 10 percent.
He also appeared confident that despite
Uttar Pradesh defeat, the party has a "very
large base" which will reflect in Lok Sabha
polls and specifically hailed the "good governance of Gujarat".
However, even as the BJP talked about
expanding base among minorities, party
spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said that
the Ram temple continued to be on the party's
agenda.
"We have an eternal faith in the construction
of Ram temple (in Ayodhya)...if it is constructed with religious harmony, it will be
South Asian community to
organize American
Independence Day event
Long Island,NY: In a first of its
kind, a leading South Asian Group
is planning a grand celebration to
mark and celebrate America’s
Independence on Sunday, July,
8th, 2012, 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The event is planned to take place
at the Lakeside Theater, Field 6
and 6A in Eisenhower Park, East
Meadow, Long Island.
Zahid Syed, Chairman of the
Nassau County Commission of
Human Rights and a South Asian
community leader is the brain
behind this event. When asked
about the importance of organizing such an event, Zahid Syed
said that “We need to showcase
our solidarity with the mainstream
American community by becoming part of their celebrations.
America has given us plenty of
happiness and freedom, this the
even better," Prasad said.
He, however, added that six years of BJP
rule at the centre between 1998 and 2004, and
its various state governments have proved that
the party has not discriminated on the basis of
religion.
The resolution on economic situation of the
country slammed the government on plethora
of issues including the petrol price hike,
falling rupee and drop in foreign direct investment.
"Why the value of dollar against rupee is
increasing while the dollar is falling all over
the world," senior party leader Murli Manohar
Joshi said.
The party's resolution on agriculture
demanded banning of genetically modified
seeds, and a special policy to deal with problem of drought and loan burdens on farmers.
"We need farm related insurance to safeguard the farmer's income," former president
Rajnath Singh said.
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least we can do for our adopted
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The event will focus on familiarizing youngsters with the
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shown his enthusiasm. Many
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US senate cuts pak aid story
NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan
closed those routes after a US attack killed 24
Pakistani soldiers in November.
Meanwhile, the White House and both
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta spoke out
against Dr Afridi's sentence.
"The United States does not believe there is
any basis for holding Dr (Shakil) Afridi. We
regret the fact that he was convicted and the
severity of his sentence," Clinton told
reporters Thursday.
At the White House, press secretary Jay
Carney taking note of Panetta and Clinton's
comments said: "We continue to see no basis
for Dr. Afridi to be held."
The US, he said, had "raised the issue with
the Pakistani government. We'll continue to
have conversations with them about it."
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Tristate Community
5
May 26-June 1, 2012
President of NY temple claims he was assaulted
Baldwin, NY: The newly-elected
president of Baldwin, NY-based
Hindu temple, New York Kali
Mandir, said he was assaulted in
an attempt to cover up his discovery of inappropriate financial
dealings by the temple’s previous
president. Long Island native
Ajoy Nayak, age 72 and a disabled left-leg amputee, indicated
he was lured by temple member
and past president, Kumar
Mandal, MD, into a locked room
on Mother’s Day (May 13, 2012)
where other members of the temple were waiting and one member
physically assaulted him as others
present instigated the criminal
attack.
The alleged assailant was a New
York State-licensed pharmacist,
Suman Saha, who Nayak said
physically assaulted him, while
other temple members, including
Dr. Mandal, Milan Awon, registered pharmacist Buddhadeb
Majumder, registered pharmacist
Dhrubo Dutta, registered pharma-
cist Dilip Chakroborty, and
Sankar Bhaumik were verbally
abusive while instigating Saha in
the criminal attack. It has been
surmised the assault was orchestrated by Dr. Mandal to attempt to
cover up his inappropriate financial dealings and misuse of funds
from the temple, which Nayak
had discovered.
“I have spent the early part of
my tenure as president of New
York Kali Mandir trying to clarify
our financial position and ensure a
successful and secure resource for
our Hindu community there. It is
shocking and disheartening that
members of our religious community would not only misappropriate the funds of our temple but
then resort to thuggery and violence in order to try to cover it
up,” said Nayak. “This is a sad
time for our community but I urge
members to come together in
peace and harmony and demonstrate that these behaviors are not
demonstrative of our beliefs and
culture and will not be tolerated
by our community.”
Pursuant to an order he received
to appear, Saha will be arraigned
in Nassau County First District
Criminal Court in Hempstead in
front of a Criminal Judge on June
4, 2012 at 9:30 AM, at which time
an Order of Protection is to be
issued. Members of the Nassau
County community are requesting
Nassau County District Attorney,
Kathleen Rice, to fully prosecute
all of the above professionals for
instigating this premeditated hate
crime on the 72-year-old disabled
amputee.
Indian American manager
New York polytechnic honors Sam Pitroda
York: Polytechnic Institute of
I see technology as the key driver. To
pleads guilty to insider trading New
New York University, America's secme, technology is a great social level-
Washington, DC: A former executive at Yahoo! and a former IndianAmerican mutual fund manager
have pleaded guilty to fraud and
insider trading charges relating to
deals between Yahoo and Microsoft
and a couple of other companies. In
a civil action Monday, the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission alleged that Robert W.
Kwok, who was Yahoo's senior
director of business management,
informed Ameriprise Financial's
Reema D. Shah in July 2009 of a
pending deal between Yahoo and
Microsoft.
Shah had made inquiries to Kwok
when there were rumors about a
partnership between the two companies, the SEC alleged.
Kwok confirmed the reports and
told Shah the information was confidential, the SEC said. Shah bought
more than 700,000 shares of Yahoo
stock that were later sold for profits
of approximately $389,000.
The SEC further alleged that a
year earlier, the roles were reversed.
Shah told Kwok about non-public
information regarding an impending
acquisition announcement between
two other companies, Kwok made a
profit of $4,754 as a result of that
information, it is alleged.
Kwok and Shah have agreed to
settle the SEC's charges.
Financial penalties will be determined later. Shah will be permanently barred from the securities
industry and Kwok will be permanently barred from serving as an
officer or director of a public company. The two also pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to commit securities
fraud in a criminal case also
announced Monday.
Both will be sentenced by the US
District Court for the Southern
District of New York."Kwok and
Shah played a game of you scratch
my back and I'll scratch yours," said
Scott W. Friestad, Associate
Director in the SEC's Division of
Enforcement.
ond-oldest private engineering school,
has conferred an honorary degree of
Doctor of Engineering on Sam
Pitroda, adviser to Indian Prime
Minster Manmohan Singh.
Delivering the keynote address at
the school's 157th Commencement
here Friday, Pitroda urged the class of
2012 to recognize technology as the
key to social change and inclusive
growth, not only economic prosperity.
"How do we use connectivity to
address the challenges of the 21st
century?" he asked and himself
answered: "India has been growing at
a rate of 8-9 percent and everywhere,
Technocrat Sam Pitroda
er." "Technology is the key in the 21st
century. The challenge of today is
inclusive growth, access and equity,"
said Pitroda, who grew up in the
small village of Titlagarh in the
Indian state of Orissa without electricity, running water or access to education and went on to earn two masters
degrees and revolutionize India's
telecommunications infrastructure in
the 1980s.
"We need affordable, scalable, and
sustainable solutions," he said. "My
advice to you is that hard work and
discipline is the key to your success.
There is no shortcut."
NFIA to host “Empowering Women” seminar, gala and dinner
Washington, D.C.: After the successful event last year, the National
Federation of Indian American
Association (NFIA) will conduct for
the second time a meet and greet
and a symposium on “Empowering
Women” on June 8, 2012, at 6:00
p.m. at Diya Restaurant Banquet
Hall, located at 2070 Chain Bridge
Road, Vienna, VA 22182. For the
last twenty years, NFIA has been
conducting a congressional lunch
and a White House briefing only.
Last year, the Empowering Seminar
was well received and much appreciated by all the attendees so considering the success of the program
from last year; the Women’s sympo-
Indian American Community of North America celebrated Gujarat day with Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi’s live address via satellite
on Saturday May 19,2012 at Shree Swami Narayan Temple Secaucus,NJ. The auditorium was full to its capacity accommodating more than 700
people. Community leader Jagdish Sewhani welcomed all to this program which was held throughout U.S.A. simultaneously in 12 cities. Other
community leaders such as Suresh Jani, Dr.Sudhir Parekh, Dr Navin Mehta, Dr.Vithal Dhaduk, Sunil Naik, Piyush Patel and Pravin Khatiwala
also spoke at the event. The vote of thanks was given by Mrs. Shobhna Patel.
sium is organized again this year.
Organized by Angela Anand,
Chairwomen of (NFIA), Women’s
Conference program promises to
offer a photo opportunity with dignitaries, entertain and provide
opportunities to network, and intellectually stimulate the audience.
This will be followed by a sumptuous dinner prepared by the restaurant as well as a brief entertainment
program.
The NFIA is sponsoring a congressional luncheon, White House
briefing and the Indian Embassy is
hosting a dinner for all the invited
delegates traveling from different
parts of the country to attend the
NFIA’s two day events.
Invited special guests for
Empowering
Seminar
are
Ambassador Nirupama Rao,
Commissioner on Women from
India, Mrs. Mamta Sharma and US
Surgeon General, Regina M.
Benjamin, MD, MBA.
6
Tristate Community
May 26-June 1, 2012
IN BRIEF
Ram Jethmalani to speak on
non-violence in NY
minent Jurist of India and a legal luminary Ram Jethmalani will address
the members and guests of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, on non violence
on June 7 at 7 PM.
Jethmalani has served in various posts
such as Union Law Minister and Chairman
of Bar Associations. He is considered a
maverick and has many distinctions to his
credit.
The meeting will be held at Romanti Auditorium,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 305, 7th
E
Hyderabadi Cultural Association of
Greater Newyork organizes first gala
n May 19, the Hyderabadi Cultural
Association of Greater New York
(HCA) held its first annual gala
dinner at Akbar Restaurant in New York.
The HCA had been formally inaugurated in
January 2012, with the objective of the promotion of the arts, culture and traditions of
Hyderabad. It is the first formal association
of Hyderabadis in the New York area. The
program was attended by over 350 attendees, mostly from New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut but also from other adjoining states.
Charter President Quddus Mohammed
stressed the need to preserve Hyderabadi
culture and imbue it with the ethos of globalization. He also used the occasion to announce important initiatives that HCA
would spearhead in the area of education,
which will be called the "Gift of Education
& Gift of Hope" programs.
The association received a citation from
County Executive Ed Mangano of Nassau
County, NewYork.
The keynote speech for the event was delivered by Janab Zahid Ali Khan, the editor
of Siasat Daily.
Zahid sahib stressed the need for public
service by the successful Hyderabadis in
the region, especially in the service of the
underprivileged. He presented the HCA officials with an account of the impressive ef-
O
Legal luminary Ram Jethmalani
Avenue, 17th Floor, New York and is open
to public.
Ria Raval wins PBS contest
Chews Elementary
against several fellow conSchool student has
testants. However, her deterbeen selected the winmination to win did not falter.
She worked diligently on the
ner of PBS 39-WLVT's " PBS
3-D effects for her story.
Kids Go! Writers Contest" in
the third-grade division.
Raval’s parents, Sapana and
Eight-year old Ria Raval and
Saumil, and her family are
her family were recently notivery proud of their little
daughter. In her spare time,
fied of the award. She is the
Raval loves to write stories
lone winner from the South
Jersey area in the 2012 conand poems and also loves to
test.
play basketball.
Raval's "Just a Dream" is a
She is the younger sister of
six-page, illustrated story
Preet Raval, who, as an
PBS contest winner
about a boy named Jake who
eighth-grade student at Glen
Ria Raval
loves and has a dream about
Landing Middle School who
represented Camden County in the 2011
animals.
In this competition, Raval had to compete Scripps National Spelling Bee.
A
Several Hyderabadi professionals
were honored
forts made by the Siasat group in the aid of
struggling Hyderabadis. The HCA honored
Janaab Zahid Ali Khan with its inaugural
"Shared Vision Award".
The guest speaker for the event was Mohammed Hameeduddin, who is the mayor
of Teaneck, NJ, and the first among the Hyderabadi Diaspora to be elected mayor in a
US town. Mr. Hameeduddin spoke to the
need for younger diaspora Hyderabadis to
set their sights higher and believe in their
dreams.
Hussain Baqueri, the Charter Executive
Vice President of the HCA, honored prominent Hyderabadi professionals in the New
York area. The evening concluded with a
delicious Hyderabadi dinner, and a cultural
program that included mazahiya shayari
and a musical program.
CRY America celebrates
10 years of existence
By Jinal Shah/SATimes
New York: On Friday, Child
Rights and You (CRY) America
celebrated its 10th anniversary by
acknowledging its donors and volunteers for their efforts in effecting
the change. Started as a funding
agency, the organization has now
escalated its services to capacity
building both at grassroots as well
as macro level in India.
According to statistics provided
by CRY America about 119987
children were immunized, 76,821
children were provided regular
health check-ups and 364 public
health care centers activated.
Further 1,089 public schools were
activated and 501 villages in India
are now free from child labor under
various programs initiated by CRY
America.
“Today as we celebrate the 10th
anniversary of CRY America, we
are really celebrating the 411539
children in 2254 villages and slums
across India, whose lives have
been irreversibly transformed
through our collective efforts,” said
CRY America president, Shefali
Sunderlal.
While media personalities like
Time magazine’s editor-at-large,
Bobby Gosh, Knight International
Journalism, fellow, David Bloss
shared their findings and experiences regarding education system
and issue of displacement, celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan stressed
on the fact that maternal health and
nutrition is the key to child’s overall wellbeing. “There is a saying
that it takes an entire village to
raise a child. I feel that CRY is that
village,” said Chauhan.
Gosh called for the global Indian
community to take an active role in
addressing issues like health and
education for children, especially
in a growing world power like
India. “We have looked upon
developments in India with certain
amount of pride. Newspapers in
India are still in a self-congratulatory mode and are writing stories
about India shining and India rising. However in reality there are
two India’s, there is rich India and
there is poor India,” said Gosh,
adding “Investment in quality education is not only essential for a
child’s development but also for
the growth of society and countries. Economic growth cannot be
sustained unless nations and societies invest in social parameters
like education and health for their
children,” he said.
Panelists speak at CRY’s 10th anniversary
Gosh is currently working on a publicize is that a very large prospecial report on India’s education portion of that 95% will drop out
system. “It is disappointing to see after four years of school,” said
that the government has the ten- Gosh adding “In the course of my
dency to fudge the figures by reporting I came across some stagincreasing the number of children gering figures- 17300 habitations
admitted. The gross enrollment do not have a primary schools.
ratio for children enrolled in About 1,50,000 do not have
schools between class one and schools; it is there on paper, the
eight is 95% that sounds wonderful school is receiving funds, teachers’
but what government tends to not salaries are paid.
National Community
May 26-June 1, 2012
Defence Secretary to visit
India in June
Washington, DC: Calling developing the
US-India relationship as a priority for the
United States, Defence Secretary Leon
Panetta will travel to India in the first week
of June, the Pentagon announced.
"Developing the US-India relationship is
a priority for the United States government,
and our bilateral relationship is one of the
defining partnerships of the 21st century for
the United States," Pentagon Press
Secretary George Little told reporters
Tuesday.
Panetta's first trip to India trip as defence
secretary is part of a week-long Asia trip.
He will leave here May 30 to participate in
the Shangri La Dialogue, an inter-governmental security forum of 28 Asia-Pacific
states, in Singapore where he is expected to
speak about US defence policy in an era of
austerity. He will then travel to Vietnam
and India reaching New Delhi in the first
week of June.
Stressing the central role of the AsiaPacific region in US strategic guidance,
Little said: "The secretary, when he was last
in Asia, previewed much of that strategy.
He talked about the United States being a
Pacific nation and a Pacific power."
The Asia-Pacific region is vital to US
national security interests and will be in the
future, he said. "We are absolutely turning
toward the Asia-Pacific as a place where
our strategic interests are increasingly of
importance," he said. "Our partnerships ...
in the region are critical. And we're going
to continue to invest in those relationships."
Penn student sues JetBlue for
racial profiling
Pennsylvania: An Ivy
Leaguer from Beaverton is
accusing JetBlue Airways of
racially profiling him before
tossing him off a flight from
New York to Portland last
July.
Ram Narayan, a 21-yearold
University
of
Pennsylvania student, had
taken his seat aboard Flight
165 and fallen asleep when
he was abruptly awakened
by
airline
employee
Reynaldo Rosario.
The JetBlue worker wanted to know if Narayan,
whose family hails from
India, had booked his flight
with a dark-skinned man
seated behind him, according to a civil rights lawsuit
filed this week in Portland's
U.S. District Court.
Narayan said he didn't
know the man, who
appeared to be of Southeast
Asian descent and that they
hadn't booked their flights
together. But Rosario escorted the two -- along with a
third man, also with darker
skin -- off the plane as passengers glared at them, the
suit alleges. The three were
told that JetBlue records
showed they booked their
flight together.
A JetBlue spokeswoman
declined to talk about the
lawsuit, saying the airline
doesn't comment on pending
litigation. Narayan, forced
off the plane with the other
two men, was not allowed to
book another flight with the
discount airline.
"Embarrassed, tired, and
hungry (he) asked if he
could get a meal or motel
voucher since he had nothing to eat and no place to
go," his complaint alleges.
Denied by JetBlue, he stayed
overnight in the airport and
caught a Delta flight home
that cost $544.70.
Kuly of RDB fame passes away at 35
New York: Kuldeep Ral, a.k.a. Kuly of
Punjabi bhangra and hip-hop band RDB,
died of brain tumor. He was 35.
Kuly, who was the music producer of the
band constituting Manj (Manjeet) and Surj
(Surjeet), lost his battle with cancer
Tuesday. He was diagnosed with a brain
tumor in April last year and underwent
radio and chemotherapy.
He was receiving treatment at a specialized clinic in Houston, US, at the time of
his death. His family has asked people to
respect their privacy and has thanked fans
and well-wishers for their continued support and condolences.
Kuly was an intrinsic part of RDB,
known for giving super-hit tracks like
"Aaja Mahi", "Shera di Kaum" and "Singh
is Kinng."
Kuldeep Ral a.k.a Kuly’s untimely death is
major loss to Bhangra music industry
Johns Hopkins honors Amartya Sen
with a degree
Washington, DC: Nobel
Laureate and eminent
Indian-American economist
Amartya Sen received an
honorary degree from the
prestigious Johns Hopkins
University.
Apart from Sen, five other
7
persons
including
Myanamar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, environmental microbiologist Rita R Colwell,
Canadian diplomat-politician Stephen H Lewis,
American businessman and
philanthropist John C
Malone and IBM chairman
Samuel J Palmisano have
also been chosen for the
prestigious citation.
The degrees were awarded at a ceremony in the university on May 24.
American Sikhs hail India's
Sikh marriage law
Washington DC: American Sikhs have
hailed as "historic" the passage in the
Indian parliament of Anand Marriage Act
for the registration of Sikh marriages.
"This is a historic day for Sikhs in
Independent India after a long and hard
struggle," said Rajwant Singh, chairman of
the Washington based Sikh Council on
Religion and Education.
"Not having a full recognition of their
observances and their customs in India had
created a sense of lack among Sikhs in
India and it questioned their independent
identity as a community," he said.
However, a comprehensive law on
recognition the Sikh marriage is still needed, he said appealing to Sikh leaders to
involve various sections of Sikh intelligentsia for community wide deliberations
on the issue.
I.J. Singh, a New York based Sikh commentator and author of several books on
Sikhism, said: "Passage of Anand
Marriage Amendment is obviously important for Sikhs in India and Sikhs across the
world."
Ranjit Singh, chairman of the Maryland
based Guru Gobind Singh Foundation,
said: "We are pleased with the outcome of
this long standing struggle. Finally Sikhs
in India have the chance to feel that they
are fully acknowledged."
It is important for Sikh leaders to evolve
Rajwant Singh
consensus on the next phase of the
process, he said.
New York based eminent attorney Ravi
Batra says, "For all who remember the
teachings, love and sacrifices of the Gurus,
including, my favorite, Guru Gobind
Singh, it is high time for this identityhonor to be bestowed as a matter of law.
That this multi-decades effort is realized
during PM Manmohan Singh's tenure adds
a durable applause in history and ennobles
all of India and integrity-lovers everywhere."
8
National Community
May 26-June1, 2012
Himesh Gandhi elected to
city council in Texas
Houston: After several months of
consistent campaigning, IndianAmerican Himesh Gandhi has been
elected to a city council in the US
state of Texas.
35-year-old Gandhi, elected to an
‘At Large’ seat on the Sugar Land
City Council, received 2,468 votes
(52.11%) while Naomi Fulan Lam,
a real estate broker, was in second
place with 1,525 votes (32.20%).
Houston Community College administration and Sugar Lands
Building Standards commissioner
Bill Cathey was third with 743 ballots (15.69%).
A partner at the law firm of
Hrbacek & Gandhi in Sugar Land
in Houston, Gandhi succeeds Indian-American Councilman Thomas
Abraham for At-Large Position One
Himesh Gandhi
on the council. Abraham has to
leave office due to term limits.
Gandhi is a 20-year resident of
Sugar Land who graduated from
Clements High school, Houston
Baptist University and South Texas
School of Law. He currently serves
on Sugar Land’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
Gandhi’s focus is to “strategically move Sugar Land forward
through financial accountability,
quality development and public
safety with an emphasis on the fundamentals of city services.”
Ford Bend County is growing
rapidly in population, including a
thriving Indian American community.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Gandhi moved to Texas when he was
about three years old with his Indiaborn parents. He and his wife, Farrah, live in the Telfair suburb in
Sugar Land.
Noted photographer, filmmaker and art historian Benoy Behl speaking at
his photo exhibition –“The Greatest Journey of Ideas: The Spread of
Buddhism” inaugurated on May 19, 2012 at the Gandhi Memorial Center
in Washington, DC. The Center is hosting the exhibition in collaboration
with the Indian Embassy and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
The exhibition consists of 100 photographs of Buddhist heritage in India,
Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Mongolia, Siberia, Uzbekistan, Russia,
Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR,
Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. It shows the birth and development of
different schools of Buddhism in India and their spread to the many
countries of Asia. [Photo courtesy: Ashley Law]
IN BRIEF
North American Telugu Association
meet to be held in Houston
ndia's Telugu culture will be at grand display during the first North American Telugu Association (NATA) convention to
be organized in the Houston city of Texas
state June 29-July 1, 2012.
The cultural meet will be held in downtown Houston at George R. Brown Convention Center, which is spread over two million
square feet area and is also celebrating its silver jubilee this year.
On this occasion, the convention center,
offering "southern hospitality with a cosmopolitan twist", will be decorated with a Telugu touch in a bid to take the visitors back to
their roots just as they step in, said a release.
Over 130 individual vendors will set up
I
their stalls during the convention in the center's huge exhibition hall. The scrumptious
Telugu food will be cooked on site in the
state of the art kitchen and served fresh in
two huge dining rooms for breakfast, lunch
and dinner.
Two cultural stages will showcase talent
from India and the US with well over 100
cultural items, literary events and a grand
concert by three music directors.
With 100 meeting rooms under the roof,
there will be something going on to meet
every attendee's taste, may that be business,
women's interests, medical, youth, spiritual,
sports, literary or any other events related to
Telugu.
Film on Benazir Bhutto gets
US award
documentary on the life of
Benazir Bhutto has received a
prestigious electronic media
award in the US -- the George Foster
Peabody Award.
"Bhutto" is a 111-minute documentary
about the two-time Pakistani prime minister who was assassinated in Rawalpindi
while campaigning in 2007, the
Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The documentary received the award at
a glittering ceremony held in New York.
Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,
who is the chairman of the ruling Pakistan
Peoples Party, attended the award ceremony with his aunt Sanam Bhutto.
Hollywood actor Patrick Stewart of "XMen" fame presented the awards.
Among prizes for electronic media radio, television, interactive and new
media - the George Foster Peabody
Awards are considered the most prestigious.
Founded in 1940, the Peabody is the
also the oldest electronic media award in
A
SET to launch new life-style
& Bollywood show SNAPSHOT
ONY Entertainment Network’s
(SEN) is launching a new entertainment show, SNAPSHOT on
SET ASIA. Conceptually, SNAPSHOT
will bring the latest in fashion, music, television, celebrity interviews and much
more. SNAPSHOT
brings together three dazzling and talented presenters whose versatile personalities will complement each other to
form a dynamic team. Bobby, Alka and
Yuvna will be the new faces of the show.
It will be aired every Friday at 7:00pm,
only on SET Asia. Bursting with freshness, SNAPSHOT will consist of six in-
S
dividual and electrifying segments. A
unique feature which will be included is
‘Your Call’.
It will feature the presenter personally
calling select SONY TV Asia viewers
and providing a closer link between the
viewers and shows.
Indian American director's
thriller wins award
9 ELEVEN", a Bollywood-style
film by an Indian American director,
has won the Best Feature Film
award at the Peoples Film Festival
(TPFF) showcasing extraordinary films
using different media formats.
Written and directed by Manan Singh
Katohora, "9 ELEVEN" portrays the life
of 11 people terrorized to the core by an
unknown entity in an unfamiliar place.
Each individual is petrified and is hesitant to talk or take each other into confidence for one simple reason: The Fear of
the Unknown!
Katohora also won the 2012 Rising
Star Award for the film at Canada International Film Festival.
A fast paced thriller with undertones of
terrorism, the film poses the question
how does one survive collectively in
meeting the growing phenomenon of terrorism head on?
Kashmera Shah features in an item
"
Film poster of “Bhutto”
the world, recognizing excellence, distinguished achievement, and meritorious
public service.
Film poster of “9 Eleven”
number composed by 'Dilwaale Dulhania
Le Jaayenge' fame Music Director Jatin
Pandit.
Law
9
May 26-June 1, 2012
30-day jail for Dharun Ravi; no deportation
New Brunswick: Indian American
student Dharun Ravi was Monday
sentenced to 30 days in jail by a
New Jersey judge for spying on his
roommate kissing another man on
his webcam. The judge said he will
recommend that Ravi not be deported. Tyler Clementi, Ravi's freshman
roommate at Rutgers New Jersey
State University, committed suicide
by jumping off the George
Washington Bridge days after the
spying incident in September 2010.
Ravi was not charged in connection with Clementi's death and was
convicted on 15 counts of bias
intimidation and invasion of privacy
charges.
Sentencing Ravi, Middlesex
Dharun Ravi in tears after his sentencing
County Judge Glenn Berman said he
will recommend that Ravi not be
deported.
Indian community reaction:
Adopts cautious approach
Dharun Ravi's mother Sabitha Ravi breaks down
after making an emotional plea
Ashok Ojha/SATimes
Edison, NJ: As the defense and
prosecution prepared for appeal in
Dharun Ravi case, New Jersey
based Indian American community
leaders took a cautious approach
while reacting to the sentencing. A
range of community folks, who
observed the development in the
case, felt that the 30 days jail term
for Ravi was much better than a ten
years jail term which was feared
after the jury convicted him on fifteen counts. At the same time there
were others who said Ravi should
have been spared of a jail term.
Community activist Peter Kothari,
who played a leading role in organizing public events in support of
Dharun Ravi seemed satisfied with
the sentencing. He said that ‘our
faith in justice system has been
restored.’ Two weeks ago Kothari
helped mobilize community to gather at a meeting where demands were
made for leniency from the justice.
Supporters and sympathizers of
Ravi demanded in one voice to
spare Ravi from jail term arguing
that he was undeservedly made a
scapegoat in the bias crime that
never happened. The protestors'
contention was vindicated when the
judge commented during sentencing
that he didn’t believe Ravi hated
Tyler Clementi.
Kothari commented that the community’s united voice did make a
difference resulting into a lighter
sentencing. “The message for the
community is that we should continue to speak with strong and united
voice on matters concerning all of
us,” he said. According to Kothari
there were cases in which people
were victims of harsh punishment
but our community failed to take
any action.
Edison
Councilman
Dr.
Sudhanshu Prasad considers Dharun
Ravi’s sentencing for 30 days jail
time as ‘fair and balanced.’ He said
that the robust legal system duly
considers all aspects before a conclusion is made. He however cautioned that Ravi’s sentencing
shouldn’t be seen as a final word as
‘both sides were going to appeal for
overturning Judge Berman’s decision.’
Philanthropist, medical practitioner and media entrepreneur Dr.
Sudhir Parikh, opined that Ravi
shouldn’t have been sentenced a jail
term at all. “He could have sentenced for a longer period of community service to showcase as an
example for other youngsters but
definitely didn’t deserve a jail
term.” He added that the Indian
community’s united voice was one
positive thing that took place during
this case.
"Down the road you can expunge
this judgment," he said. "You cannot
expunge the conduct or the pain you
caused."
"I do not believe he hated Tyler
Clementi. He had no reason to but I
do believe he acted out of colossal
insensitivity," Berman said.
Ravi must report to the Middlesex
Adult Correctional Centre May 31
at 9 a.m. for his probationary sentence.
"I heard this jury say, 'guilty' 288
times -- 24 questions, 12 jurors.
That's the multiplication," Berman
said. "I haven't heard you apologize
once."
Before the judge's sentencing,
Ravi's mother delivered an emotional plea for leniency, during which
she and her son both broke into
tears. At the end of her plea, Ravi's
mother threw herself on her son,
sobbing and hugging him.
The family of Clementi bitterly
asked the judge to sentence Ravi to
prison time.
The Indian American community
has rallied in Ravi's support and in
recent days, several prominent gay
activists too have made public pleas
for Ravi to not be sent to prison.
Judge Berman began the proceedings Monday by noting that the
court had received a box full of petitions seeking pardon for Ravi, some
addressed to President Barack
Obama and others to New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie.
Only Christie has the authority to
pardon someone for a state crime.
Rajat Gupta threw away his
duties: Prosecution
New York: Prosecutors accused
Indian American Rajat Gupta with
throwing away his duties as the
high-profile trial of the former
director at Goldman Sachs on
insider trading charges began here.
"Gupta threw away his duties, he
threw away his responsibilities and
he broke the law at the time the
company was in crisis," Assistant
US Attorney Reed Brodsky
Monday told the Manhattan federal
court in his opening statement.
Gupta broke the law when immediately after a Sep 23, 2008
Goldman Sachs board meeting, he
tipped Galleon hedge-fund cofounder Raj Rajaratnam that
Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway Inc would invest $5 billion in the bank, he said.
"He used those secrets to help his
friend and Raj Rajaratnam sold his
Goldman stock and made nearly a
million dollars from Gupta's tip."
In turn, Gupta's attorney Gary
Naftalis said his client was "inno-
Rajat Gupta with his lawyer Gary Naftalis (right)
cent of the allegations," that the
prosecution's claims "defy common
sense" and that "no crimes" were
committed. Even if there is evidence of leaks from Goldman
Sachs, the tips didn't come from
Gupta, he said. "Rajaratnam had
sources all over town," Naftalis
said. Naftalis said Gupta, orphaned
as a teenager in India, rose to
become "one of America's most
respected business leaders."
"It defies common sense that in
the twilight of an illustrious life,
he'd decide to knowingly, willfully
and deliberately to suddenly decide
to become a criminal and do it for
no benefit" Naftalis said. "He didn't
turn into a criminal in the seventh
decade of his life."
Naftalis said Galleon frequently
traded in Goldman Sachs stock and
that what the prosecutors have
done in this case was "cherry-pick"
trades supporting their theory.
Gupta had "perfectly legitimate"
reasons to speak to Rajaratnam, he
said.
Gupta was on Rajaratnam's 'Important
People' list: Witness
New York: Former Indian-American director of
Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was once on convicted hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam's
"important people" list, according to a prosecution
witness. On the second day of the insider-trading trial
of Gupta in Manhattan federal court, Rajaratnam's
executive assistant Caryn Eisenberg said that her former boss was very particular about not being disturbed
at the beginning and end of the trading day. But he
made an exception for those listed as "important people" in Eisenberg's notebook. Among them were
Gupta and three other Indian Americans.
Rajiv Goel, then an Intel Corporation managing
director, Anil Kumar, a partner then at McKinsey and
Parag Saxena, CEO of New Silk Route LLC, an
investment firm co-founded by Gupta, she said.
Kumar and Goel - who was nicknamed "Peter Pan"
on the "important people" list - both later pleaded
guilty to insider trading and testified against
Rajaratnam at his trial last year. Someone on that list,
Eisenberg said, called urgently just before the market
closed on Sep 23, 2008, the day Goldman board got
word of Warren Buffett's $5 billion investment.
Although she said she couldn't identify the voice,
Eisenberg recognized it as one of the important ones
and told Rajaratnam. According to phone records,
Gupta called him at 3:54 p.m. that day. After the call,
Eisenberg heard Galleon trader Gary Rosenbach say
"buy Goldman Sachs."
Then, she said, Rajaratnam "was smiling more."
Eisenberg, though, didn't hear about the Buffett business until the next day: "I went shopping at
Bloomingdale's," she said.
Former Galleon trader Ananth Muniyappa testifying
about the minutes before the market closed the same
day said that "Raj was either still on the phone or just
getting off the phone" when he instructed him to buy
100,000 Goldman Sachs shares.
In questioning Eisenberg, defence lawyer David
Frankel brought out that Gupta was not the only person associated with Goldman Sachs on the "important
people" list. Part of the defence strategy is to show
that Rajaratnam had other potential sources of inside
information about Goldman other than Rajat Gupta.
10
US Affairs
May 26-June 1, 2012
Congressman Allen West: A rising star in the Republican Party
By Robert Golomb
o President Obama, the one percent of
the wealth producers in America are a
greedy lot born with a silver spoon.
Borrowing the words from a sermon of his
former long time minister, the Reverend
Jeremiah Wright, Obama, in his tome “
Dreams of My Father”, describes the purported hardships the rich impose upon mankind
as “The white folks’ greed that runs a world
in need.”
For Republican Congressman Allen West,
who when elected in November 2010 as the
representative for Florida’s 22nd congressional district became the first black man
elected there since 1986, the meaning of the
words “ born with a silver spoon” contrasts
starkly with that of the president. Speaking at
a recent Republican fundraiser that I covered
Allen began by stating that, “ Every person
in America has been born with a silver
spoon.” After the applause that this comment
generated from this by invitation only crowd
of about fifty major Republican Party donors
finally began to subside, West added, “ It is
the silver spoon of opportunity and freedom
for all Americans.”
West then began to specify how, he
believed, President Obama has stifled that
opportunity and eroded that freedom, “ The
Obama Administration has added 71,000 new
federal regulations… and raised the corporate
tax rate to 36%- higher than any other nation
in the free world…added 6 trillion dollars to
T
Congressman Allen West
the national debt {bringing it} to an unsustainable 16 trillion dollars… and initiated
Obama Care…{which} beyond threatening
our fundamental religious liberties, will
impose untold costs on businesses…. This
has scared away many entrepreneurs from
starting new businesses or from expanding
existing ones…and driven many others to
move their businesses to far more business
friendly countries…{resulting in} a real
unemployment rate of 18%...an increase of
14 million people living under the poverty
line and an increase of seven million
Americans classified as living below the
poverty line.” For the mostly middle aged
men and women who, for the opportunity to
meet the congressman had come on this rainy
Sunday afternoon to be served light refreshments and sit in the spacious sunroom of a
sprawling water front mansion located in the
historic West Long Island village of Roslyn
Harbor, this was the red meat that they had
expected to be fed.
And the red meat became thicker still when
West -who served in the United States Army
from 1983 to 2004 (including several tours of
combat duty in the Iraq war) and retired from
the military with the rank of lieutenant
colonel- moved on to discuss the president’s
foreign policy. West attacked the president
for what he denounced as the “apology tours”
that Obama has taken “to appease” Arab
Muslim theocracies in the Middle East.
Contending that the president does not understand why we are hated by these countries,
West first rhetorically asked, “ Why do they
hate us?” And then, answering his own question to the wild cheers of the audience, stated,
“ They hate us because we are the true beacon of freedom.”
To West these Arab nations hate Israel,
“Our only true friend and the only democracy
in the region,” for the same reason they hate
America - a fact of the harsh reality of the
middle east, West contended, which is not
understood by the president “who has not
stood for Israel or the Jewish people …and
does not understand that the real obstacle to
peace has been the Palestinian leadership,
which has as its stated goal the destruction of
Israel…and the president does not seem to
understand that those who want to destroy
Israel also want to destroy America.”
It might be said that the question and
answer session that ensued was anticlimactic.
In his just completed presentation, West had
already directly or indirectly addressed most
of the questions that the audience was to ask
about the Obama Administration. And it
seemed that every answer West now reiterated about how to solve the problems he and
the audience concurred had been caused by
the president’s policies was punctuated with
the same 6 words- Elect a Republican president in 2012. But then came the real climatic
moment of the afternoon when a heavy set
guy sitting in the back of the room asked, “
Do you think that Romney {the presumptive
Republican Party presidential nominee] will
ask you to be on his ticket as the candidate
for vice-president?” Once again, every man
and woman in audience stood and broke out
in wild applause, which ceased only when
West, with a slight smile on his face,
responded that he felt “honored” by the question but the answer was a simple “No.” As a
newly elected congressman, he explained, the
Republican establishment, still views him as
an “outsider.” And then, West added, many
Republican Party insiders share the belief
that he is “too controversial” to be considered to be placed on a national ticket. (West
had given me the same answer to the same
question when I briefly spoke with him shortly before most of the guests had arrived.)
This was a point that even his supporters
here could not dispute. In fact, as most of
them probably knew, West had first became
known to the American public as a result of a
controversial action he had taken while serving as a lieutenant colonel in 2002 in Iraq.
Continued on page 11
US Affairs
11
May 26-June 1, 2012
Obama, Romney Public split on whether Romney’s
Bain tenure matters in 2012
tied in presidential
race: Poll
Washington: Americans are split
between President Barack Obama
and his Republican challenger Mitt
Romney less than six months before
the presidential poll in November,
according to two new polls.
A Washington Post/ABC News
survey released Tuesday showed the
two candidates statistically tied with
49 percent of Americans backing
Obama and 46 percent supporting
Romney.
When asked which contender
would best handle the economy,
Obama and Romney were tied at 47
percent.
A NBC News/Wall Street Journal
poll released also showed that voters
are nearly evenly split between
Obama (47 percent) and Romney
(43 percent).
Voters were inclined against
Obama's handling of the economy 52 percent disapproved, while 43
percent approved. The numbers
were nearly reversed for his handling of foreign policy.
Polls have shown the economy as
the issue of most concern to voters,
The NBC News/Wall Street Journal
survey shows nearly half of voters
say they expect the economy to stay
stagnant over the next year. Onethird expect it to improve, and 19
percent foresee the economy worsening.
Washington: As Democrats
intensify their attacks over Mitt
Romney's tenure at Bain Capital,
a new poll finds the public divided over whether his history as a
venture capitalist hurts or helps
the presumptive Republican nominee.
A new survey released Tuesday
found 54 percent of those surveyed say Romney'srole in buying
and restructuring companies is
"not a major factor" in their vote
this year. Among those who do
say it is a factor, voters are split:
21 percent say it is a "major reason to support" Romney, while 21
percent say it is a "major reason to
oppose" him.
On Monday, President Obama
defended his campaign's focus on
NASA hails new era in space
Washington: NASA
head Charles Bolden
has hailed a "new era"
in exploration after the
launch of the first cargo
delivery to the space
station Tuesday by a
private company, BBC
reported.
On
board
the
California-based company's own Falcon 9
rocket, the Dragon capsule rocketed into the
sky
from
Cape
Canaveral Air Force
Station in Florida.
In his reaction over
the launch, Bolden said:
"Today marks the
beginning of a new era
in exploration... The
significance of this day
cannot be overstated; a
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch is the first by
a private company
private company has
launched a spacecraft to
the International Space
Station that will attempt
to dock there for the
first time.
"And while there is a
West had ordered his soldiers to
detain Yahya Hamoodi, a civilian
Iraqi police officer, who had been
identified by American intelligence
as possibly being involved in a
would be a plot to ambush West
and his men. To induce the recalcitrant Hamoodi to provide information about the impending attack,
West fired his pistol near
Hamoodi’s head; Hammodi then
quickly provided the information
that West had sought.
The story (told here in a condensed version) could have ended
there. It was highly unlikely that
West’s superior officers would have
ever known what West had done.
But they found out - because West
himself told them exactly what he
had done which, he admitted of
being well aware, constituted violating two serious articles of the
lot of work ahead to
successfully complete
this mission, we are certainly off to good start."
The Falcon rocket,
topped by an unmanned
Dragon freight capsule,
Uniform Code of Military Justice.
By November of 2003, West had
gone from proud officer to a defendant facing a court martial.
However, when news of the prosecution leaked to the public, West
discovered that he had a legion of
vocal supporters throughout
America. And so probably did the
military: The court martial hearings
were reduced to an Article 15 proceeding (held for minor infractions), at which West was fined five
thousand dollars- a slap in the wrist
compared to the jail time he would
have faced if convicted of the original charges in a court martial.
When asked during the proceeding
if confronted again with a similar
situation would he take similar
action, West responded, “ If it’s
about the lives of my soldiers at
stake, I’d go through hell with a
gasoline tank.”
Folk heroes are born from such
lifted clear of its Florida
pad at 7.44 GMT. The
launch system has been
built by Californiabased firm SpaceX.
The initial climb to an
altitude some 340 km
above the Earth lasted a
little under 10 minutes.
The
bell-shaped
Dragon capsule is 19
feet tall and 12 feet
across. It carries more
than 450 kg of cargo,
mostly food and clothing.
The Dragon was to
reach the space station
Thursday and undergo a
series
of
orbital
manoeuvres and equipment checks to make
sure the craft can be
controlled.
words and deeds. And so are candidates for elected office. In 2008,
four years after he retired from the
military, Republican Party leaders
approached West and asked him to
run for congress in his home 22nd
congressional district. West accepted the offer but lost to incumbent
Congressman Ron Klein. West ran
for the same seat again in 2010.
This time he won. And the name
Lieutenant Colonel Allen West
became Congressman Allen West.
But West became no less a
stranger to controversy as a congressman than he had been as a soldier. Both his most ardent supporters and harshest critics agree that in
his less than two years in the House
West has been involved in more
controversies than have the average
congressmen in their entire political careers.
There was, as one example, his
fiery speech this past January at the
Mitt Romney
Romney's tenure at Bain, amid
criticism from some of his own
allies that he risks alienating Wall
Street and members of the private
equity industry. Romney's campaign moved to capitalize on
Democratic criticism of Obama's
tactics regarding Bain,releasing a
video that featured Democrats,
including Newark Mayor Cory
Booker and former Rep. Harold
Ford Jr., urging the Obama campaign to stop focusing so much on
Bain and private equity firms.
22 states join campaign
finance fight
Helena, MT: Twenty-two states
and the District of Columbia are
backing Montana in its fight to
prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's
2010 Citizens United decision
from being used to strike down
state laws restricting corporate
campaign spending.
The states led by New York are
asking the high court to preserve
Montana's state-level regulations
on corporate political expenditures, according to a copy of a
brief.
The Supreme Court is being
asked to reverse a state court's
decision to uphold the Montana
law. Virginia-based American
Tradition Partnership is asking
the nation's high court to rule
without a hearing because the
group says the state law conflicts
directly with the Citizens United
decision that removed the federal
ban on corporate campaign
spending. The Supreme Court has
blocked the Montana law until it
can look at the case.
The Montana case has prompted critics to hope the court will
reverse itself on the controversial
Citizens United ruling. The 22
states and D.C. say the Montana
law is sharply different from the
federal issues in the Citizens
United case, so the ruling shouldn't apply to Montana's or other
state laws regulating corporate
campaign spending. But the
states also said they would support a Supreme Court decision to
reconsider portions of the
Citizens United ruling either in a
future case or in the Montana
case, if the justices decide to take
it on.
Palm Beach Republican Lincoln
Day Dinner that captured the attention of the national media. West
was reported to have received
numerous standing ovations from
the audience with that speech,
which included his call upon
Republicans to be, “ like a shark in
the water” to prevent President
Obama, Senate Majority Leader
Harry
Reid,
House
of
Representatives Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat
National Committee from taking
America “Down the road to
destruction.” It did not take long
for his antagonists in the Democrat
Party and the media to attack him
for what he had said.
All of this attention appears not
to have hurt West: he has become
the most tweeted member of the
House, and ranks second only to
Speaker of the House John Boehner
as a guest on national broadcast
radio and television news shows
and again second only to Boehner
as a fund raiser for Republican candidates throughout America. (In
fact, as West bid his farewells to his
audience in Roslyn Harbor, he was
on his way to speak at another
Republican
fundraiser
in
Connecticut.)
Such accomplishments, some
members of the political class have
conjectured, might be included on
the resume of a congressman seeking higher elected office. An observation that makes his supporters
hope and his detractors fear that
one day, in the not so distant future,
Allen West will be elected to the
only office in the land higher than
the one that his supporters at this
fundraiser wanted him to seek.
(Robert Golomb is a nationally
published columnist. He writes on a
range of educational, cultural,
political and international topics.)
12
India
May 26-June 1, 2012
UPA-II high on economy, to combat corruption
New Delhi: Dispelling the impression of policy paralysis, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh touted
India's high economic growth and
a sharp decline in poverty as key
achievements of the UPA-II government, and singled out Maoism
and corruption as major problems.
Manmohan Singh released the
annual report of his United
Progressive Alliance government
at his 7 Race Course Road residence in the presence of UPA
chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party leaders
and allies. Rebuffing the opposition's criticism on various fronts,
he vowed to prove critics wrong.
"We will be the first to say we
need to do better. But let no one
doubt that we have achieved
much," the prime minister said in
a brief speech in English.
With the government suffering
from an image crisis triggered by
a host of scams, the prime minister
acknowledged that there is "public
frustration and anger on the issue
of corruption" and vowed "exemplary punishment" to the guilty.
"I wish to assure our people that
we are working sincerely to
address this issue through both
legislative and administrative
measures.
Manmohan Singh released the annual report of his United Progressive Alliance government in the presence
of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leaders and allies.
"Legislation is before parliament
to establish a Lokpal, ensure timebound delivery of goods and services and judicial accountability,"
he said.
"We are trying to ensure exemplary punishment to the guilty
while also ensuring that public
servants feel secure in taking bona
fide decisions that are in the
national interest."
Echoing Manmohan Singh,
Gandhi stressed on the need for
"transparent and accountable poli-
tics."
With an eye on the 2014 elections, Gandhi said the government
will have to pursue inclusive economic growth to ensure more
spending on social welfare programmes and asked the UPA combine to shun smugness and
despondency.
Asking UPA colleagues to defeat
negativity, the Congress chief
asserted: "We will not let any
body run down our achievements."
Trinamool cautious on red
carpet welcome to Mulayam
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress soft-pedaled
the red carpet welcome that Samajwadi
Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav got at
the UPA anniversary dinner in Delhi.
Clearly, it does not want to precipitate a crisis with a knee-jerk response on the eve of
the presidential election and then the Lok
Sabha polls.
"I don't think Mulayamji was given any
undue prominence at the program. Leaders
of a number of other parties were present.
He is a senior man," Union minister
Saugata Roy, who represented Trinamool at
the dinner and shared a table with the
Prime Minister and Mulayam Singh, told
TOI over phone. "I attended the program
because I was asked by my party."
Another Trinamool representative in
Union ministry, Sultan Ahmed, said nothing much should be read into the absence
of Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee
and other senior Trinamool leaders at the
dinner. "She had preoccupations in state
politics.
On two other earlier occasions, when
Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi, she had
attended the Prime Minister's dinner. Too
much should not be interpreted from our
absence. There were 500 invitees, many of
them could not attend.
Many of them had other engagements.
There was no instruction from our party
that all of us will have to attend the dinner,"
he said.
It is wrong to interpret that Congress
accorded too much prominence to
Mulayam Singh as it was looking for an
alternative ally in place of Trinamool,
Ahmed feels. "At UPA dinners, as is the
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav with son and UP Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the UPA
anniversary dinner.
practice, partners of the alliance share the
table with the Prime Minister.
There are three to four chairs for them in
the PM's table." There was no threat to the
UPA government and the Lok Sabha elections are still many months away, he pointed out. "The political permutations and
combinations are still in the stage of formation."
Though the presidential polls are due in
July, Ahmed said this, too, would not pose
any threat to the UPA government as
Mamata had not given any hint so far that
she would ditch Congress. "Didi has
already announced that she will support the
UPA candidate for the post of President.
True, she has suggested two or three
names, but she has not campaigned for any
of them. Besides, all of them are close to
Congress," Ahmed said.
Saying internal security was "by
and large been satisfactory",
Manmohan Singh said the
"scourge of Naxalism (Maoism)
however continues to be a major
problem".
But amid growing public wariness with soaring inflation and a
host of problems, he showcased
India's economic resilience and
high growth rate as singular
achievement of his government.
"Despite an adverse international environment, the (Indian) econ-
omy grew by about 7 percent in
2011-12, which is amongst the
highest in the world," he said.
"Sustained high rates of growth
during the UPA government's
tenure have enabled us to pursue
our agenda of inclusive and equitable growth.
"Poverty has declined at twice
the rate that it did before the UPA
government's tenure."
He said the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme now reaches
one out of five households in the
country," he said while highlighting key initiatives that aim to
"bring succour to the aam admi".
The prime minister cited a 3.3
percent in agricultural growth rate,
rise in rural wages, disbursal of
Rs.200,000 crore to marginal and
small farmers, record food production, new power generation
capacity of 20,000 MW, and a
near universal primary school
enrolment as other highlights of
the third year of the UPA-II.
Also present was Mulayam
Singh Yadav, whose Samajwadi
Party extends outside support to
the UPA. But Trinamool Congress
Mamata Banerjee and DMK chief
M. Karunanidhi sent only representatives.
President race: Mamata
backs Meira Kumar
New Delhi: Ruling UPA's alliance partner,
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata
Banerjee said she would "be happy" with
Meira Kumar, Gopal Gandhi or A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam as president but not Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The Congress
said they would hold consultations with
all concerned parties on the issue.
Refusing to back Mukherjee, the West
Bengal chief minister said: "I'll be very
happy to see Meira Kumar or Gopal
Gandhi or even A.P.J. Kalam. These three
names are better. I think so."
"Is he (Mukherjee) the son of Bengal?
He may be the son of world... I don't think
so, but it is his choice. I don't know," she
replied when asked by CNN-IBN in an
interview about her stand on backing
Mukherjee for the coveted post.
"No, I didn't say but if the country
allows him, who am I to oppose it," she
said. "It depends on the majority, it's a
democratic country. He is finance minister... It's Congress party's decision who
will be the candidate we cannot say... I
cannot interfere in Congress party's business it's not my prerogative," she said.
"But if you ask my party's choice or the
personal choice then I'll say I love Meira
Kumar. She is a soft-spoken lady and from
the Scheduled Caste background also,"
she said, referring to the Lok Sabha
speaker.
"Even I love Gopal Gandhi (former governor of West Bengal) he is a very good
man also. He is a man of integrity, and if
you ask me A.P.J. (Abdul) Kalam he was a
very good president also. He was an all
I'll be very happy to see Meira Kumar or
Gopal Gandhi or even A.P.J. Kalam, says
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banarjee.
party choice."
Though the Congress is yet to announce
its preference for the top post, there is a
section in the party that feels Mukherjee,
widely seen as the chief troubleshooter of
the United Progressive Alliance (UPA),
would be better off serving the government.
There is no consensus yet among key
political parties on who should succeed
Pratibha Patil as the next occupant of the
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.
Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart
Naveen Patnaik have backed Sangma's
candidature.
Sangma, who met Communist Party of
India leader D. Raja to seek his support,
said he may contest as an independent
candidate if his party does not back him.
India
Now, new visa system for
foreigners visiting India
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to inaugurate the central office
of the IVFRT facility at Delhi Information Technology Park.
New Delhi: Tracking details of foreigners visiting India on valid travel
documents, will become easier now
with the government inaugurating
the central processing office of the
Immigration, Visa and Foreigners
Registration & Tracking (IVFRT)
system which has, so far, connected
as many as 60 Indian Missions and
many immigration offices.
Besides helping foreigners in getting visa quickly and sharing information across the concerned Indian
agencies about foreign travelers, the
IVFRT will also help in "software
aided passenger profiling for identifying risky travelers at Missions,
Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) and
FRROs, and generation of automated alerts about over-stay of foreigners beyond their Visa period".
The system envisages facilitation
services to the travelers including
on-line application forms, 24X7 online channel, phone support for
grievance redressal and e-mail/SMS
support for dissemination of information, application status and feedback.
Union home minister P
Chidambaram will inaugurate the
central office of the IVFRT here at
Delhi Information Technology Park,
Shashtri Park on May 24.
13
May 26-June 1, 2012
Surface-to-air Akash missile test fired successfully
Odisha: Boosting its air defense shield and re-validating
operational efficacy, India test-fired successfully its indigenously-developed surface-to- air Akash missile from the
Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
"The user-specific trial, which formed part of the country's routine air defense exercises, was successful," said a
Defense Research Development Organisation (DRDO)
official associated with the Akash missile project.
To revalidate the technology and operational efficacy of
the missile, defense forces conducted the trial with logistic
support provided by the ITR, the official said. The Akash
weapon system was inducted into the armed forces in 2008.
The missile, which has a strike range of 25 km with a
warhead of 60 kgs, was test fired from a mobile launcher
from launch complex-III of the ITR at about 1108 hours,
defense sources said. "During the trial, the missile was
aimed at intercepting a floating object supported by a pilotless target aircraft, flown from launch complex-II, at a definite altitude over the sea," the sources said.
Akash, an anti-aircraft defense system, can simultaneously engage several targets with Rajendra radar developed by
the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment
(LRDE), a DRDO laboratory in Bangalore.
Rajendra does the surveillance, tracks the target, acquires
The indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile.
it and guides the missile towards it.
The development of Akash missile took place during
1990s under the country?s Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program (IGMDP) and after many trials, it
was inducted into the armed forces. An air-force version of
the Akash missile has also been developed by the DRDO.
Rajendra is a 'passive phased array radar'. It is a multifunction radar, capable of tracking as many as 64 targets
and controlling up to 12 missiles simultaneously.
Aarushi murder: parents charged
Ghaziabad: A special Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) court has charged dentist couple Rajesh Talwar and
Nupur Talwar with the murders of their daughter Aarushi
and domestic help Hemraj.
Special CBI Judge S. Lal ruled that Dr. Nupur Talwar and
Dr. Rajesh Talwar were charged with the crime under sections 302/34 (murder with common intention) and 201/34
(destruction of evidence with common intention).
Dr. Rajesh Talwar was also charged with 203/34 (misleading police about the crime with common intent).
Earlier, during the arguments, CBI prosecutor R.K. Saini
contended before the court that the parents were the killers
of their daughter.
To cover up their crime, they had "dressed up" the crime
scene, he said and requested the court to frame charges
against them. Opposing the CBI argument, defense lawyer
Manoj Sisodia submitted that the evidences produced by
the CBI were irrelevant. The submission of the closure
report itself was the evidence that there was no evidence
against the Talwars, he said.
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14
India
May 26-June 1, 2012
Andhra minister arrested
in Jagan graft case
Hyderabad: The CBI has arrested
Andhra Pradesh Excise Minister
Mopidevi Venkataramna in connection
with a corruption case related to YSR
Congress leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
Venkataramna, the first minister in the
state's history to be arrested on charges of
corruption while in office, was arrested
soon after he appeared before them for
questioning for a second consecutive day.
A Central Bureau of Investigation official said the minister was arrested at
Dilkusha Guest House, the camp office of
the investigating agency. He is likely to be
produced in court later in the day.
Venkataramna, the fourth accused and
first minister to be arrested in the case,
was nabbed a day before Jaganmohan
Reddy, known as Jagan, is to appear
before CBI for questioning.
Venkataramna was minister for infrastructure and investment in the late Y.S.
Rajasekhara Reddy's cabinet when certain
companies were shown undue favours in
return for investments they made in his
son Jagan's businesses.
The CBI has booked the minister for
corruption, cheating, criminal conspiracy,
criminal breach of trust by public servant,
falsification of accounts.
He has been arrested for issuing certain
government orders for allotment of lands
and other concessions to the Vanpic project in 2008.
He reportedly violated norms and also
did not take the opinion of the finance and
law departments while issuing government orders allotting 15,000 acres of land
in Guntur and Prakasam districts to
Vanpic and granting it exemptions under
Stamps and Registration Act.
Andhra Pradesh Excise Minister
Mopidevi Venkataramna
The CBI last week arrested leading
industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and
bureaucrat K.V. Brahmananda Reddy.
Prasad, one of the two promoters of
Vanpic, allegedly invested over Rs.800
crore in Jagan's companies in return for
the land and other concessions he
received under a quid pro quo arrangement.
Venkataramna is likely to be dismissed
from the cabinet as he reportedly refused
to submit his resignation during his meetings with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar
Reddy Wednesday night and again
Thursday morning.
The CBI grilled the minister
Wednesday. He was questioned along
with Prasad and Brahmananda Reddy,
then special secretary, infrastructure and
investment.
Modi to attend BJP meet,
Joshi quits
Mumbai/Udaipur: Ending
days of speculation, the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
announced that its star chief
minister, Gujarat's Narendra
Modi, will attend the national executive meeting after
his old foe Sanjay Joshi quit
the panel.
"I talked to Modi, he said
he will come to the national
executive in Mumbai... We
will work together shoulder
to shoulder for the party,"
BJP president Nitin Gadkari
said in Mumbai as the twoday meet began on May 23.
Gadkari said that Joshi had
resigned to avoid "any conflicts in the party". He added
that Joshi quit "on his own
so that there are no differences within the party over
his presence". Signaling an
end to the much talked about
rift between Gadkari and
himself, Modi told reporters
in Udaipur.
Joshi had offered to resign
after Modi reportedly decided to keep off the meet due
to Joshi's inclusion in the
national executive.
Modi had also kept away
from the Uttar Pradesh
assembly elections as Joshi
was given a key post in managing the campaigning for
the party.
Joshi earlier had to resign
from the post of party general secretary in 2005 after a
Sanjay Joshi had offered to resign after Narendra Modi
reportedly decided to keep off the meet due to Joshi's
inclusion in the national executive.
clip of him showing him in a
compromising position with
a woman was circulated.
Gadkari later reinstated
Joshi in the party, a move
which caused a rift between
the party president and
Modi. The Gujarat chief
minister had also kept away
from the party's national
executive meeting in Delhi.
With Joshi's exit, expectations are that the equation
between Modi and the party
leadership will be smoother.
The internal conflict in the
party has become increasingly sharp with leaders in
many of its stronghold states
unhappy with the central
leadership. In Karnataka,
former chief minister B.S.
Yeddyurappa is at war with
incumbent
Sadanand
Gowda, who was earlier his
confidant. The two have now
fallen apart.
In Rajasthan, also a BJP
stronghold, another former
chief minister, Vasundhara
Raje, is pitted against
Gulabchand Kataria, a party
leader. Modi chose to target
the UPA government on hike
in petrol prices, and did not
talk about the conflicts.
"The government which
promised to give results in
100 days, hiked the petrol
prices on the next day of
completing its three years,"
Modi said in Udaipur.
Kashmir: Review central laws, say interlocutors
New Delhi: A constitutional committee should review all central
laws extended to Jammu and
Kashmir and make permanent article 370 of the constitution that
grants the state special status, a
three-member team of interlocutors led by journalist Dileep
Padgaonkar has recommended.
The panel had been tasked with
ascertaining the views of the people on resolving the Kashmir tangle.
In its report, submitted to Home
Minister P. Chidambaram in
October 2011 and made public
Thursday, the interlocutors also
noted that there was consensus in
the border state that its distinctive
status guaranteed by article 370
must be upheld. The report also
said its erosion over the decades
must be re-appraised to vest it with
such powers as the state needs to
promote the people's welfare on its
own terms.
"To build on the consensus, we
recommend that a constitutional
committee be set up to review all
central acts and articles of the con-
The panel had been tasked with ascertaining the views of the people on
resolving the Kashmir tangle.
stitution of India extended to the
state after signing of the 1952
agreement," the interlocutors said
in their 180-page report that called
for a "new compact" with the
state's people.
"It will bear in mind the dual
character of Jammu and Kashmir,
viz. that it is a constituent unit of
the Indian Union and that it enjoys
a special status in the said Union,
enshrined in article 370 of the con-
stitution; and the dual character of
the people of the state, viz. that
they are both state subjects and
Indian citizens," it said.
The 1952 agreement lays down
the terms of engagement between
the central government and the
Kashmir government.
The other members of the interlocutors panel were academicians
M.M. Ansari and Radha Kumar.
The panel wants the constitu-
tional committee to be headed by
an eminent personality who enjoys
the esteem of the state's and the
nation's people, and it should
include constitutional experts as
members . The committee should
submit its report within six months
and this will be binding on all
stake-holders in Kashmir, the
report said.
On article 370, the panel said:
"Delete the word 'Temporary' from
the heading of Article 370 and
from the title of Part XXII of the
Constitution and replace it with
'Special' as has been used for other
states under other Articles for
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Sikkim and
northeast."
However, the interlocutors held
that there was consensus in Jammu
and Kashmir on it continuing to
function "as a single entity" within
Indian Union.
Soon after the report was made
public, Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted
that he "will not be reacting" to it
for the time being.
Padgaonkar, though, said he
hoped the report will lead to an
informed debate on the issues
touched by the interlocutors, all
across the country, including in
Jammu and Kashmir.
He also announced that the interlocutors, in their capacity as
resource persons, will hold seminars in the border state on the
report over the next four months
and provide feedback to the government.
The interlocutors had, since
October 2010, when they were
asked to take up the task, met 700
delegations in 22 districts of
Jammu and Kashmir and also held
three round-table conferences.
"The political settlement we propose takes into full account the
deep sense of victim-hood prevalent in the Kashmir valley. It surely deserves to be dressed with
great sensitivity.
"At the same time, we have also
sought to avoid the pitfalls of
viewing the myriad issues bedeviling the state from the prism of any
one region or ethnic or religious
community," the report said.
Cannes Film Festival 2012
Thesouthasiantimes.info
15
May 26-June 1, 2012
Cannes rolls out red carpet for all
From Angelina Jolie
and Diane Kruger
to Aishwarya Rai
and Mallika
Sherawat, everyone
puts her most
stylish foot
forward at the
12-day, 65th
edition of the
annual gala that
would end on
May 27
From left, Aishwarya Rai, Mallika Sherawat, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and Freida Pinto at the Cannes film festival.
By Nivedita Sharma
t is the most celebrated cinematic jamboree across the globe, but
the annual Cannes International
Film Festival also rolls out the red
carpet for the latest and best in the
fashion world.
From international divas like
Angelina Jolie and Diane Kruger to
Bollywood beauties like Aishwarya
Rai and Mallika Sherawat, everyone
puts her most stylish foot forward at
the gala.
The best movies are screened at
the fest, with top-rated filmmakers
and A-list stars from the world congregating at the French Riviera. But
what's not amiss is a lot of fashion elaborate cocktail gowns with intricate embroidery and superflous
trails, teamed with eye-catching
accessories.
Some like it over-the-top, while
some keep it minimalistic, but the
fashion quotient at the 12-day red
extravaganza doesn't go unnoticed
as the paparazzi keep a constant tab
on the hits and misses year by year.
From Angelina Jolie's strapless
black gown, Natalie Portman's
white ruffled dress by Givenchy to
the Atelier Versace gown worn by
Freida Pinto or Sonam Kapoor's
classic white gown by designer Jean
Paul Gaultier - fashion divas have
been setting statements and trends
with their red carpet appearances at
the event.
According to designer Shane and
Falguni Peacock, who have
designed for the likes of international icons including Madonna, Britney
Spears and Katy Perry, "Cannes is a
fabulous place for fashionistas."
I
"Cannes is a classy haute couture
affair where all fashionistas come
out to play. The look needs to be
nothing less than perfect with the
perfect synergy between high levels
of fashion, glam and elite class,"
Falguni said.
"It is abuzz with a high dose of
film and fashion and is where everyone looks their best. It is a compliment to us as designers, if a celebrity chooses to wear one of our creations for an event of such calibre,"
added Shane.
What with some of Aishwarya
Rai's disappointing choices of attire
in previous seasons of the fest,
Indian
beauties,
including
Aishwarya, now go out of their way
to get the perfect look for their red
carpet moment.
Designer Pria Kataaria Puri said:
"Cannes film fest is a big and great
opportunity for designers to showcase their talent since it has become
a big fashion and film glamour
event."
"Everyone eagerly waits to see
what everyone is wearing, and there
are some points one needs to keep in
mind when selecting an outfit. One
should realise it's an international
event, and people should keep in
mind the colour and silhouette
trends abroad."
Freida, who had a fairytale ride to
fame with "Slumdog Millionaire",
grabbed camera lenses with a pink
Michael Angel gown on the first day
of this year's fest May 16. Her lime
green coloured Atelier Versace number on day two also won a thumbs
up from fashion critics.
Bollywood's "Maiyya maiyya"
girl Mallika Sherawat, who is at
Cannes for the fourth time, sported a
a bold nude-colored gown with a
high neck and a low back. The dress
was so body-hugging that the
actress took to Twitter and said it
was "literally stitched" on her body.
It was a welcome change from the
over-the-top, blingy, attention-seeking golden ensemble she wore for
her first appearance at Cannes in
2005 when she accompanied international action star Jackie Chan for
"The Myth".
All eyes are currently set on
Aishwarya, whose post-pregnancy
weight has become the talk of the
town in the Indian and international
media alike.
Earlier, the former beauty queenturned-actress received many brickbats for her sunflower yellow sari,
parrot green sari and shimmering
white gown, but she made up for her
fashion misses with her selection of
a one-shoulder gown by Elie Saab
last year.
Sonam, who is Cannes-bound this
year too, stole the limelight during
her debut appearance at the festival
in 2011 when she opted for a white
gown by Jean Paul Gaultier.
Among Hollywood bigwigs,
Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger,
Berenice Marlohe and Jane Fonda
have impressed fashion critics with
their wardrobes.
Chastain's nude chiffon Gucci
gown with gold detailing on the
bodice, Kruger's gold sequinencrusted Vivienne Westwood gown
and Marlohe's gold lame Emilio
Pucci gown have turned out to be
head turners at the ongoing edition
so far.
At 74, Fonda, who proves glamour is ageless, grabbed eyeballs with
a bronze Atelier Versace and black
and white Stella McCartney gown.
In the past, international artists
including Rachel McAdams have
sported designs by Indian jewelery
brand Amrapali at the gala as well.
With such a plethora of designs
and colours from all nooks and corners of the world, Cannes seems to
be becoming another fashion hub.
Time ranks 'Devdas' in millennium's top 10
Honor
Washington: Time magazine has
ranked Bollywood director Sanjay
Leela Bhansali's 2002 film 'Devdas'
eighth among the 10 greatest movies
of the millennium with "WALL.E" at
the top and "The Artist" in the tenth
spot. It described Shah Rukh Khan as
an "all-world charismatist" and
Madhuri Dixit a "a hot number who
danced flamencos on men's libidos".
"A year after 'Moulin Rouge!' had
its world premiere at Cannes, another
visually intoxicating musical opened
at the festival, introducing sang-anddanced Bollywood dramas to the
international culturati," it said of the
film starring Shah Rukh Khan,
Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit
"Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's
1901 novel inspired at least a half-
dozen film versions before this one in its time, the priciest movie in
Indian history (at about $10.6 million)," the prestigious US news magazine noted.
Time describes Shah Rukh Khan as
an "all-world charismatist" and
Madhuri Dixit, as "a hot number who
had danced flamenco on men's
libidos for a decade or so before
appearing in this worldly-wise role"
of a prostitute.
16
Ultimate Bollywood
May 26-June 1, 2012
Working with Luhrmann sheer delight: Big B
egastar
Amitabh
Bachchan says he is
delighted to work with
a genius like Baz Luhrmann in
'The Great Gatsby'. He is
impressed by the director's art of
binding the film's cast and crew
together.
"I still do not have the liberty to
talk of the film in a personal
capacity. Contracts bind me, but
this I can say that it was a sheer
delight to work with someone of
such great genius as Baz
Luhrmann and a host of co-stars
that have astronomical presence
in the world of cinema - Leonardo
DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire and
the other greats," Amitabh posted
on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.
"And everyone works as a family and a large portion of this attitude should be credited to the
master of the scenario, the director Baz Luhrmann," he added.
"The Great Gatsby" is
Amitabh's debut Hollywood venture where the actor makes a
M
Amitabh Bachchan with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in 'The Great Gatsby'.
friendly appearance. Though for a
short while, the 69-year-old will
share screen with Hollywood
stars Leonardo and Tobey.
The first look of the film with
Amitabh has been released and
the actor looks dapper in a grey-
Despite shoe bites,
Shahid shoots 'Teri
Meri Kahaani'
Actor Shahid Kapoor in a scene from 'Teri Meri Kahaani'.
hoe bites kept Shahid
Kapoor on his toes literally.
The actor suffered shoe
bites while wearing a traditional
juti for 'Teri Meri Kahaani', but he
not only continued shooting, but
danced too. Shahid was asked to
wear the juti or the Indian Mojri
for his character of Javed in the
Kunal Kohli-directorial. "I had a
lot of shoe bites when I wore them
for the first time. It takes a long
time for your feet to get used to
them. I used to stuff cotton on my
ankles and bandage my feet
before I could wear them. I had
cuts all over my feet within the
first few days. It was one painful
experience," said Shahid.
He remained undeterred, and
even shot a song wearing them.
S
However, he says the memories of
the juti will stay with him for a
long time.
"More so because I had to dance
with them on for a song. It used to
come off my feet and fly. Kunal
would often say -- 'It's a nice shot
but let's go for one more take as
the juti has flown away.'
"I don't think I will wear them
for a long time to come," quipped
the 31-year-old. "Teri Meri
Kahaani", releasing on June 22,
also features Shahid's "Kaminey"
co-star Priyanka Chopra.
Their chemistry worked very
well for the Vishal Bharadwaj
movie, and fans are hoping to see
them revive it yet again for "Teri
Meri Kahaani", a love story set in
three different eras.
colored suit teamed with a white
hat. He looks classic as he sports
a beard and mustache.
He feels the film will take viewers back in time. "The attention to
detail, the amount of research and
finesse on recreating the 'times' of
NYC in the those early years, was
simply brilliant," Amitabh said.
"I am certain that when you
shall see the film, you will realise
that you have indeed been transported to another decade of the
early years with such authenticity
that you begin to feel as though
you were present there yourself,"
he said.
Amitabh also can't stop raving
about the professionalism with
which the Hollywood filmmakers
work.
"There is a quiet sense of professionalism that works without
notice and corrects or adjusts or
informs when and if there is need
for it. They are the crew, the costume, the hair and the properties
people. The language and accent
director, the assistants who shall
come and ask you to be on set, or
if on it to be ready for the take,"
he said. "The other factor of
course is the dedication that all
the crew and actors have towards
the script the film and the production. Leonardo and Tobey would
be more than willing to rehearse
if you demanded it and would
give each rehearsal the same
deliverance as they would, were
they to be asking for one themselves," he added.
A red carpet premiere
for TV's 'Madhubala'
he launch of forthcoming show
"Madhubala... Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon" here
was nothing less than a glamorous red
carpet Bollywood premiere. And why not -- the
show promises to take a behind-the-scenes look
into the emotional journey of all those associated with the industry.
Held at the Cinemax, Versova, here Monday
night, the launch was different from the usual
announcements at hotels and banquet halls.
A red carpet was laid for the show's crew and
actors, including lead stars Vivian D'Sena and
Drashti Dhami. Producer Saurabh Tewari of
Nautanki Films says it was always his dream to
host a premiere for his show like that of a film
premiere.
The show, and its poster, spell most things
Bollywood. With lights, cameras and action, the
story begins in the old town of Motihari, in the
interiors of Bihar. The setting is reminiscent of
the sets of Ramesh Sippy's classic "Sholay".
The scene then shifts to a pregnant lady running away to Mumbai only to find herself in the
midst of a film set where she gives birth to
Madhubala, the show's protagonist, essayed by
Drashti.
Born literally in the lap of the film industry,
Madhubala is forced to be a part of showbiz,
whether she likes it or not.
Prashant Bhatt, programming head (fiction),
Colors, says this is the best time to launch a
show on the film industry, given the fact that
Indian cinema completes 100 years next year.
"It is the story of a simple girl who is given the
gift of stardom and she is not happy enjoying it.
She is fulfilling dreams which she has not seen
and is living a life which she didn't want," said
Bhatt.
Sippy, who was present at the event too, is
T
TV actor Drashti Dhami to feature in
'Madhubala... Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon'.
impressed with the look of the show.
"The show looks very dramatic and interesting
and promises something very different. The
story is about the film industry and of someone
within the film industry. Somebody who goes
there and how she got there and how her journey
was," said Sippy.
The show, which goes on air on May 28, also
features other actors like Raj Zutshi, Sushmita
Mukherjee Bundela, Shagufta Ali and Lalit
Parimoo.
Ultimate Bollywood
Thesouthasiantimes.info
17
May 26-June 1, 2012
'Aamir doing fantastic job
with Satyamev Jayate'
'...Wasseypur'
premiere gets full
house at Cannes
Aamir Khan in Satyamev Jayate.
ilm producer Ritesh Sidhwani, who is co-producing Aamir Khan's next movie 'Talaash', is
impressed with the actor's TV debut 'Satyamev
Jayate', aimed at bringing a positive change in society.
"Aamir's show is a brilliant effort. It is fantastic what
he is doing. Through the show, he is making everyone
socially responsible and aware," Sidhwani said.
The show hits upon social evils and issues in the
country, and so far Aamir has been seen talking to victims of female foeticide, child sex abuse and dowry.
He also doles out statistical facts to support his quest
for change.
There have been many shows in the past that have
tried to portray the real life trauma of people, but
Sidhwani says "Satyamev Jayate", aired on Star Plus,
is incomparable.
"One cannot compare it with other entertainment
shows. He is dealing with issues on his shows that
everyone knows, but nobody talks about. The show
might take some more time to grow but it is something
everyone should be proud of," he said.
F
The producer, who runs the banner Excel
Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. along with actor Farhan
Akhtar, appreciates Aamir's decision of being different.
"It is commendable that he did not choose a run-ofthe-mill show and merely hosting it for the heck of it.
He is doing what he believes in," said Sidhwani, who
has produced films like "Dil Chahta Hai", "Lakshya",
"Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and "Don".
The first episode of "Satyamev Jayate" was aired on
May 6 in eight languages on nine channels, including
seven STAR TV network channels, ETV Telugu and
national broadcaster DD1.
The show has seen huge positive sentiment across
viewers. It has generated much buzz on internet with
"Satyamev Jayate" recording more popularity than its
host Aamir on search engine Google India. It also
trended on Twitter, occupying the top five slots out of
10. The launch episode was viewed by 90 million people and was the highest rated show with 4.1 television
rating (TVR), according to Television Audience
Measurement (TAM) data.
Why does Madonna
want to be president?
ritish pop star Madonna
wishes she could be the
president of a country so
that she could stop money being
splashed on weapons of mass
destruction.
"You can't really change much
in one day. I think I would like to
be president for a longer time. I
wouldn't spend as much money
for weapons of mass destruction
but instead for education and art,"
femalefirst.co.uk quoted her as
saying.
The 53-year-old singer attributes her success to her thirst for
reinvention and never taking anything for granted.
"It's harder to stay famous than
become famous. I don't think
there's a rule for staying successful.You have to really love what
you're doing. You have to feed
your soul with ideas and you're
B
he world premiere of
Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs
Of Wasseypur" saw a
packed audience at the ongoing
65th Cannes International Film
Festival.
Eager crowds lined the streets
outside the JW Marriot hotel for
the show, while Bollywood
celebrities Kalki Koechlin, Huma
Quereshi, Richa Chadda and
Reema Sen walked across the red
carpet.
Also attended by Kashyap, male
T
actors Manoj Bajpayee and
Nawazuddin Siddiqui and female
music director Sneha Khanwalkar,
the premiere saw a full house in
an 800-seating-capacity hall.
Both parts of "Gangs Of
Wasseypur", a gritty take on the
coal mafia, were screened at the
festival's Directors' Fortnight, a
non-competitive section.
The film, to hit screens on June
22, is presented by Viacom18
Motion Pictures and produced by
Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt Ltd.
Justin Bieber digs
Indian food!
nternational teenage sensation Justin Bieber may not
have had the opportunity to come to India yet, but
that doesn’t stop the 18-year-old from tasting, and
loving Indian food. “I love Indian food and have tried it
in London a couple of times,” says the Canadian pop
and R&B singer, who now seems to have fallen for desi
flavour. “I have heard a lot about India too and would
love to visit the country,” says the 18-year-old.
That’s not all, as the Baby hitmaker, who has already
sold over 15 million albums worldwide, is also looking
forward to some Indian partnerships.
“I like Indian music … it’s good to the ears. If I get a
chance sometime, I would like to collaborate with
Indian artists,” he says.
Though he pleads ignorance about Bollywood, he
does concede knowing about his fan following in India.
“I don’t get much time to sit down and watch a movie
etc. But with Twitter and other social networking sites, I
connect with my fans.
I know that I have a big fan following in India. They
love me immensely and have even asked me to visit and
perform in India,” says Bieber, whose fans famously
call themselves Beliebers.
I
British pop star Madonna.
not allowed to stop growing as a
human. That's what helps to create
art. When it comes to my work I
don't take anything for granted,"
she said.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap with wife-actor Kalki Koechlin.
Justin Bieber is looking forward to some
Indian partnerships.
18
IPL & Controversies
May 26-June 1, 2012
IPL 5: Glamor clouds game, endless controversies
New Delhi: Bribery and molestation,
star tantrums and rave parties, yet
growing crowds - this year's Indian
Premier League is proving there is no
such thing as bad publicity.
Full stadiums have been a welcome
sight after sparse attendances last year
due to a post-World Cup hangover.
Refreshed and ready for cricket,
fans have also been digesting news of
a string of off-field controversies.
Such off-field issues are nothing
new for the IPL, whose founder chairman Lalit Modi remains in selfimposed exile after being slapped
with cases of financial irregularities
and whose governing council has had
skirmishes with at least four of its
own franchises.
Just as fans were raving about a
number of close games came a TV
sting operation that showed IPL players agreeing to spot fixing and raising
murmurs about those last-over finishes being possibly contrived.
The Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) was quick to provisionally suspend five uncapped players
after they were shown by India TV
news channel as either agreeing to
spot-fixing or negotiating on their
contracts, which is not allowed as per
tournament rules.
TP Sudhindra, Shalabh Srivastava,
Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and
Abhinav Bali were suspended and an
inquiry ordered.
Sudhindra, who plays for Deccan
Chargers, was shown allegedly agreeing to and then bowling a no-ball at a
predetermined time in a local T20
game in Indore.
The channel also played a purported
telephone conversation with
Srivastava of the Kings XI Punjab
team agreeing to bowl a no-ball in the
IPL. Srivastava, however, did not play
in the tournament this season.
The others were seen talking about
their IPL contracts and how under-
Australian batsman Luke Pomersbach allegedly molested an American woman; Two Pune Warriors players
(including Rahul Sharma) were booked for attending a party that was busted for drugs; five IPL players were
suspended over bribe match-fixing charges; and Shah Rukh Khan was banned for five years from entering
Mumbai stadiums following a brawl with officials.
the-table payments are used to entice
players to franchises.
The expose gave sports minister
Ajay Maken a chance to reiterate his
call for the BCCI to be brought under
the ambit of Right to Information Act.
Currently the BCCI is not accountable
since it is not government funded.
"The BCCI performs a public function, that is the selection of the Indian
team," Maken said. "This team plays
under the aegis of the Indian flag.
This is the Indian team.
That is why the body that chooses
the team needs to be transparent to the
people."
The bribery allegations were followed by a string of off-field controversies that ended in police stations.
Kolkata Knight Riders team coowner Shahrukh Khan was involved
in a brawl with officials at Mumbai's
Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai Cricket Association and
police officials alleged Khan confronted guards while under the influence of alcohol.
The Bollywood star claimed he was
not drunk and had only reacted to
rude behavior to kids near the boundary line.
Other more serious controversies
were round the corner. Australian
batsman Luke Pomersbach made
headlines without playing a game for
Royal Challengers Bangalore this sea-
son.
He was arrested and subsequently
released on bail for allegedly molesting a US woman of Indian origin and
assaulting her fiance at a New Delhi
five-star hotel. Pomersbach was
required to surrender his passport
pending investigation of the case.
Cricket officials were quick to wash
their hands off the incident which is
being investigated by police.
"There were no official parties in
IPL 4 and 5. So the incident was not
connected with an official IPL party.
It was an individual misbehavior of
an individual player," IPL chief Rajiv
Shukla told reporters.
"It is a police case and we will wait
for the police report." Two Pune
Warriors players, Rahul Sharma and
South African Wayne Parnell, were
also in hot water for attending a party
that was busted for drugs.
Their blood and urine samples were
taken along with those of over 80 others after a police party found cocaine
in the rave party.
Once again, IPL officials said they
had no comment to offer pending
investigation.
But former India player Kirti Azad,
who has raised the IPL controversies
debate in Parliament, wonders how
everything goes wrong only when the
Twenty20 tournament is on.
"I'm not against the IPL but the way
it is run," said Azad, a member of the
1983 World Cup winning team.
"There is no transparency, accountability or discipline.
Why doesn't all this indiscipline
happen in test, one-day or domestic
cricket matches?"
While organizers will be hoping the
IPL ends with focus on the game and
people remember the big-hitting from
Chris Gayle and the incisive bowling
of Morne Morkel, these controversies
are bound to remain in the news well
after the tournament is over.
Super Kings dump Mumbai Indians
Bangalore: The Chennai Super
Kings showcased their big-match
temperament and collective class
as they steamrolled Mumbai
Indians by 38 runs to move a step
closer to the Indian Premier
League final.
A thunderous unfinished partnership of 73 off just 29 balls for
the sixth wicket between skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (51 not
out) and Dwayne Bravo (33 not
out) carried the Super Kings to
187 for five after being put into
bat and losing two early wickets.
In reply, the Mumbai Indians,
who had beaten the Super Kings
in both the previous two meetings
this season, faltered after the run
out of Sachin Tendulkar (11), followed by the dismissal of in-form
opener Dwayne Smith(38) and
were pegged to 149 for nine with
seamers Bravo (2 for 10) and
Albie Morkel (2 for 31) delivering body blows. While the
Mumbai Indians were eliminated
Super Kings deserved
to win: Harbhajan
dejected
Mumbai
Indians
skipper
Harbhajan Singh said it
all when he complimented
Chennai Super Kings for "playing like champions" after his
team lost the Indian Premier
League play-off game by 38
runs.
"Of course, I am disappointed
that we lost, but we cannot
change the result. The Super
Kings played like champions and
deserved to win today," said
Harbhajan after the game.
"Dhoni and Bravo took the
game away from us in the last
four overs (of the Super Kings
innings), and there was not much
we could do," he added, referring
to the rollicking unfinished stand
A
The Super Kings take on Delhi Daredevils for the right to face the
Kolkata Knight Riders in Sunday's final.
from the competition, the Super the brink of elimination, but
Kings take on Delhi Daredevils stayed on in fourth spot due to
in Chennai on Friday for the right superior Net Run Rate following
to face the Kolkata Knight Riders a tie with Royal Challengers
in Sunday's final, also at the M. Bangalore, rose to the occasion as
Chinnaswamy Stadium.
in the past two seasons to outplay
The Super Kings who were on Mumbai Indians.
of 74 runs off 29 balls between
Dhoni and Bravo for the sixth
wicket.
Dhoni, adjudged Man of the
Match for his unbeaten 51 off 20
balls, pointed out that it was the
94 run stand between Michael
Hussey and Subramaniam
Badrinath for the second wicket
that set up the Super Kings
innings.
"Hussey and Badri gave us the
platform with their partnership.
Badri is our silent hero," said
Dhoni.
Over the past week, Dhoni said
his team that had completed the
league engagements, watched
the other games whose results
directly influenced their entry
into play-offs.
Op Ed
By Pankaj Vohra
19
May 26 - June 1, 2012
UPA II: A difficult road ahead
he third anniversary of the
United
Progressive
Alliance (UPA) 2 government could very well be its last if
those at the helm of affairs do not
take corrective steps to take control of matters and set both the
political and the government's
agenda. The Congress-led coalition has been on the backfoot all
through last year, with rising
prices, corruption and the socalled 'differences' between the
party and government testing its
perseverance repeatedly.
However, its most crucial test is
likely to be in the form of the
presidential election in July. A
failure to get the nominee of its
choice elected to the august office
may be at the risk of losing power
at the Centre. The UPA in its first
avatar between 2004 and 2009
seemed to be much better off and
though the Congress increased its
individual tally from 145 to 206,
its plight seems to have worsened.
It is obvious that the party and
T
There is a lot at stake and the UPA leadership cannot afford to play
its cards wrongly if it is to increase its longevity. Otherwise, the
consequences might be too severe to bear.
its cadres have not done enough.
The negative perception about the
government has increased given
that several of its top ministers
are constantly quarreling among
themselves.
The results of the assembly
polls in March have further weakened the grand old party and there
are enough indications that
regional satraps who have already
started calling the shots will navi-
gate the future course of events.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
the principal opposition party,
seems to be in the grip of a fierce
power struggle to resolve its leadership crisis. In any case, its
efforts to reclaim the opposition
space it conceded to civil society
groups like those led by Anna
Hazare and Baba Ramdev have
not been successful.
There is also an element of
uncertainty over when the next
Lok Sabha elections will be held.
Though scheduled for 2014, the
possibility of it happening much
earlier cannot be ruled out. The
run-up to the presidential elections and subsequent events may,
in fact, determine the nature of
political developments.
Even as supporters of the UPA
give out its report card in an exercise that can at best be described
as an internal assessment, the jury
is out to provide the external
assessment. In the final result, a
dimension that cannot be ignored
is that the UPA 2 has all along
drawn its strength from the
charisma and power of its chairperson Sonia Gandhi. But there is
no dearth of political observers
who will agree that in terms of
actual power, Sonia Gandhi is not
appearing to be as potent and
assertive as she was in 2004. She
should act to correct the perception that there has been a marked
erosion in her authority. This factor alone can have an impact on
how the party and its government
fares in the future.
Most political analysts have
failed to recognize that when the
presidential poll takes place, the
strength of the UPA on paper may
turn out to be a deceptive indicator. The 2012 presidential polls
are going to afford an opportunity
to several political leaders and
parties to realign themselves if
the principal ruling party does not
initiate measures for proper and
appropriate political management.
There are many ambitious
regional players who would see
the issue of presidentship from a
totally different angle. Like the
Congress had done in the past,
they too may look for a presidential candidate who would give
them an opportunity to be sworn
in to the office of the prime minister after the next parliamentary
polls.
There is a lot at stake and the
UPA leadership cannot afford to
play its cards wrongly if it is to
increase its longevity. Otherwise,
the consequences might be too
severe to bear.
Memorial Day for Indian Americans
By Inder Singh
n the United States, the last
Monday of May is observed
annually as Memorial Day – a
day of national awareness and reverence, honoring those Americans
who died while defending
American Nation and its values.
Memorial Day parades and memorial services are held to remember,
reflect and honor those who have
given their all in service to their
country. It was first observed on
May 30, 1868 and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
Many Indian Americans may not
know the historical background of
Memorial Day. However, like
Americans, several Indians hold
gatherings of family and friends
for parties and barbecues. Most of
the Indians in America may also
not know their own day of reverence. Between 1913-15, nearly
6,000 overseas Indians went back
to India to fight and free their
motherland from British slavery.
Some paid the ultimate price with
their lives, hundreds were jailed,
I
Lala Har Dyal, one of the greatest
revolutionaries and a founder of
the Gadar Party in the US.
A media coverage on
Lala Har Dyal.
some for life. It is such a pity that
there is no memorial day for them!
Indian emigrants started coming
to the United States in the beginning of the twentieth century. Most
of them were unskilled workers
and found work in lumber mills or
as farm hands. The employers preferred Indian workers as they
worked hard and accepted lower
wages. White laborers, fearing dis-
placement from their jobs,
demanded exclusionary laws
against the cheap Indian workers.
Americans pressured their elected
officials to pass exclusionary and
other laws against the Asians. As a
result, in 1917, Asian emigration to
the United States was stopped.
Lala Har Dyal who had come
from England and had been a faculty member at Stanford
University for some time, was
identified with nationalist activities in the United States. He
inspired many students studying at
the University of California at
Berkeley and channelized their
pro-Indian, anti-British sentiment
for the independence of India.
In May, 1913, at a meeting of
some patriotic and enlightened
Indians in Astoria, Oregon,
Hindustan Association of the
Pacific Coast was formed with a
major objective to liberate India
from British colonialism. Sohan
Singh Bhakna, a lumber mill
worker in Oregon, was elected
President, Har Dayal, as General
Secretary and Kanshi Ram as
treasurer. Har Dayal provided
leadership for the newly formed
association and was the central figure and the force behind the new
organization.
The association began publishing
a magazine, named Gadar after the
1857 Gadar Movement (mutiny) in
India. Every issue of Gadar
exposed the British imperialism
and called upon the Indian people
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
to unite and rise up against the
British rule.
Gadar literature was sent to
Indian revolutionaries in India,
Europe, Canada and several other
countries. The magazine, being the
principal patriotic literature,
reached many people; even if one
copy reached a fellow revolutionary anywhere, multiple copies
were made for circulation.
Although the movement did not
achieve its stated objective, but it
awakened the sleeping India and
had a major impact on India’s
struggle for freedom.
The Indian American community, at least on Memorial Day,
should remember the sacrifices of
Gadarites and pay tribute to them.
The 100th anniversary of Gadar
Movement is falling next year. All
Indian Americans should seriously
consider commemorating the centennial and pay the well-deserved
tribute to Gadarites and Gadar
martyrs.
(Inder Singh is Chairman of
GOPIO, Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin.)
20
Diaspora
May 26-June 1, 2012
Tight British visas
driving Indian students
to Australia
Melbourne: In a classic
reversal of a situation a few
years ago, Australian universities now stand to benefit
from the recent tightening of
student visa rules and a drastic fall in enrolments in
Britain from India.
British universities have
experienced a fall of more
than 30 percent in Indian
enrolments while the percentage of the number of
enrolments and visa grants
for Australia is reported to
be in three figures.
The number of Indian student visa applications for
Australia has gone up by a
whopping 120 percent in the
last nine months while the
number of visa grants has
also improved by nearly 80
percent in the same period.
Eric Thomas, president of
Universities UK - the representative organization for
Britain's universities - has
reportedly written to British
Prime Minister David
Cameron, warning that the
immigration changes could
cost the country as much as
five billion pounds ($8 billion) in tuition fees alone.
The recent immigration
crackdown is reported to
have led to Indian students
shunning
British
universities.
Angola workers crisis: Bihar
asks PM to intervene
Patna: Concerned over the safety of over
1,100 Indian workers, including those from
Bihar, facing trouble in Angola, Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar has sought Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention
to resolve the crisis.
"The situation is serious enough to warrant immediate intervention by the Indian
government. The government should
ensure that a fair treatment is meted out to
the laborers, their wages are paid and they
are given assistance for returning home, if
they choose to do so," Nitish Kumar said in
a letter to the prime minister.
The chief minister also requested
Manmohan Singh to direct the authorities
concerned to take prompt action for the
release of laborers being prosecuted for
several offences in the southern African
country.
"Anxious relatives of some laborers from
Bihar have reported that injured workers
are deprived of proper treatment. Their
passports have been impounded by the
company they were working with," Kumar
said.
The Indian workers are employed in a
cement factory at Sumbe in the southern
African country and there has been labor
unrest at the factory due to non-payment of
certain emoluments to them.
The $860 million cement project
employs about 1,260 workers of whom
1,100 Indians were recruited by Dubaibased ETA Star. The trouble has been festering since February this year, but it took a
turn for the worse earlier this month when
the Indian workers "became very restive"
and clashed with the company officials.
This led to local police charging 59
Indians under several offences and initiating prosecution.
Chaurasia's magic flute
charms Poles
Warsaw: The profile of Poland
has gone up by many notches as a
cultural destination for Indian
artists. After Bollywood films and
translations of Urdu masters into
Polish language, Pandit Hari
Prasad Chaurasia, one of the
doyens of Indian classical music
maestro, enthralled the Polish
crowd in three cities - Wroclaw,
Krakow and Warsaw.
In all these places, Chaurasia
won the hearts of the audience
with his spell-binding flute
recitals. "He creates magic with
his flute and we simply feel
enchanted with his performance.
It was once in a lifetime event and
so memorable that we would love
to remember him for a long time
to
come,"
says
Janusz
Krzyzowski, president of the
India-Poland Cultural Committee
in Warsaw.
UK town gets first Indian
Muslim Lord Mayor
London: Indian-origin
councilor Abdul Razak
Osman has become the
first Lord Mayor of the
Islamic faith to hold the
high office in the multicultural town of Leicester,
which has a large minority of Indian origin people.
Osman was born in
Kenya and arrived in the
UK in 1971. His late
father Yousuf Razak
worked on the East
African Railway, and
worked for a local engineering
firm after moving to Leicester.
The Lord Mayor is Leicester’s
first Citizen and has a high profile
role maintaining and promoting
the interests of the city and its citizens, by attending a variety of
civic engagements during the
year. Leicester previously had
Hindu and Sikh Lord Mayors, but
Osman is the first Muslim to hold
the high office.
Incidentally, the office of the
Deputy Lord Mayor of Leicester
is also held by an Indian-origin
councilor, Mustafa Kamal, who
hails from Ferozepur, Punjab.
Osman has worked with several
Abdul Razak Osman
charity organizations and was
instrumental in fundraising to
build two villages and a school in
Kutch, Gujarat for orphaned children, following an earthquake in
2011.
Osman, who joined the city
council in 1996, takes over from
Councillor Rob Wann. “I want to
focus on visiting the communities
and raising the profile of the
office of Lord Mayor. I’m proud
to be the first Muslim councilor to
hold the position – we’ve had
Christian, Hindu, Sikh and now
I’m able to bring the Islamic faith
to the office which is a great
honor,” he said.
Chaurasia was jointly sponsored
by the Pandit Chaturlal Memorial
Society of New Delhi along with
its sponsors the Indian Council for
Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the
Embassy of India.
They had persuaded Chaurasia
to give concerts in Poland to mark
the annual Chatur Lal Music
Festival.
He was accompanied by
Snehgunshu Banerji on the tabla.
Pandit Hari
Prasad Chaurasia
UAE to set up
consulate in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram: The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has
decided to set up its Kerala consulate here in the state capital,
India's Minister of State for
External Affairs E. Ahamed said.
"The decision to set up the consulate in Thiruvananthapuram is
because of the rule that consulates
can be set up only in state capitals. There are certain rules and
guidelines and they have to be
adhered too," he added.
The minister said the consulate
would start functioning in a few
months.
The news about the setting up
of the consulate was announced
last
July
when
UAE's
Ambassador to India Mohamed
Sultan Abdalla Al Owais met
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy here.
The new consulate will help
people of the state who want to go
to the UAE for work. Currently,
they have to get their documents
certified by the UAE embassy and
consulate in New Delhi and
Mumbai, respectively.
The new consulate is also
expected to boost trade between
Kerala and the UAE.
More than a million people
from the state live and work in the
UAE, says a study by the
Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs.
India last stop for
Stanford-bound ICSE topper
Dubai: This 17-year-old knew he
would do well in his Grade 12
exams but becoming the ICSE topper worldwide with 99.5 percent
marks was unimaginable. Indiaborn Rohan Sampath now looks
forward to joining Stanford
University and unlike many brought
up in Dubai, he really hopes he can
return to India some day.
"My first reaction was disbelief. I
thought it was a typo. I didn't expect
it," Rohan, a science student of
Dubai Modern High School said.
Born in Mumbai, Rohan scored
100 per cent in mathematics, 100
percent in physics, 100 percent in
computer science and 98 percent in
English, becoming the highest scorer in the history of the Indian
Certificate of Secondary Education
(ICSE) examinations.
His parents, who have been in
Dubai for 18 years, are naturally
overjoyed but say they were more
elated when he got through both
Stanford and Yale universities in the
US.
"We were not that concerned
about marks. He has been topping
in school every year with 98 percent. My elation was higher when
he got through Stanford and Yale.
Only later when we realized that he
had topped ICSE across the world,
then of course we were very
happy," said his mother Sandhya
Sampath.
Rohan has chosen to attend
Stanford University and study either
economics or engineering.
Private tuition classes have no
place in Rohan's study mantra,
defying a trend among a majority of
Indian families. "I've been an opponent of tuitions. Teachers in school
have been instrumental in my success. I look at private tuitions as an
insult to my teachers as I trust them
completely," said Rohan.
Despite having grown up in
Dubai all along, Rohan says he has
a special connect with India.
Recalling his holidays with grandparents to teaching underprivileged
children in Mumbai as a volunteer
for an NGO called Aakansha last
year, Rohan hopes he can return to
his country some day. "I have
always wanted to return to India
after my education."
On adjusting to life in India, he
said: "I don't think it will be that
tough. I don't find much difference
Rohan Sampath
between me and kids my age in
India except that we don't talk much
Hindi."
He credits his parents' upbringing
and his school for inculcating in
him "the Indian value system with a
global perspective."
Rohan's parents originally hail
from Tamil Nadu but they too were
brought up outside their home state.
His mother, who worked as an IT
manager with Emirates Airlines till
last year, was brought up in
Mumbai. And his father, an independent consultant in the banking
sector, grew up in Pune.
Subcontinent
US senate
panel votes
to cut Pak aid
Washington: In a fresh
warning to Pakistan, a senate
panel has approved a foreign
aid budget for next year that
slashes US assistance to
Islamabad by more than half
and threatens further reductions if it fails to open supply
routes for NATO forces in
Afghanistan.
The senate Appropriations
subcommittee on foreign
operations also cut aid to
Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan
while adding $50 million for
Jordan to help it handle the
influx of refugees from a violent Syria.
By voice vote, the panel
approved the overall bill
totaling $52.1 billion, which
is $2.6 billion less than what
President Barack Obama
requested for the 2013 fiscal
year beginning in October,
$1.2 billion below the current
spending.
The bill would provide $1
billion in aid to Pakistan and
including $184 million for
state department operations
and $800 million for foreign
assistance.
May 26-June 1, 2012
NATO air strike: Pakistan harp
on US apology
Washington: Pakistan's demand for the US
apology for the NATO air strike in which its
24 soldiers were killed - an incident which has
strained bilateral relations -- was reiterated by
Pakistan's ambassador Sherry Rehman and ruling Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari.
US President Barack Obama should apologize to Pakistan for the NATO air strike on the
Salala border check post that killed 24 soldiers
in November, said Bilawal, who is on a visit to
the US to "normalize the ties" between the two
countries, Dawn News reported.
The continuous drone attacks in Pakistan's
northwest tribal region were a violation of the
country's sovereignty, Bilawal said at a program in New York.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Obama
should apologize to the people of Pakistan
over the air strike.
Bilawal said Obama should apologize to the
people of Pakistan over the air strike, as the
relations between the two countries were at a
critical juncture.
He said his mother, late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had sacrificed her life for
democracy and for women's rights and that she
struggled to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's envoy to the US,
also said that Islamabad was adamant on its
demand for an apology for the NATO air
strike.
The air strike led Pakistan to close the NATO
supply lines to Afghanistan through Pakistani
territory and ask the US to vacate the Shamsi
air base near Quetta in Balochistan.
Talks are on for the restoration of the supply
routes, Rehman told Geo News on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Chicago.
Troops to leave Afghanistan by 2014: NATO
Washington: Leaders of America's
NATO allies has declared that all
the international troops led by the
US and its coalition partners would
withdraw
from
war-torn
Afghanistan by the end of 2014,
after being there for more than a
decade.
Participating in a NATO-led summit in Chicago, they said the mission of the UN-mandated
International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan
would end in 2014.
"In line with the strategy which
we agreed at the Lisbon Summit,
ISAF's mission will be concluded
by the end of 2014.
But thereafter Afghanistan will
not stand alone: we reaffirm that
our close partnership will continue
beyond the end of the transition
period," leaders of the NATO-led
ISAF member countries said in a
joint declaration at the end of the
summit.
However, leaders of the NATOled ISAF mission countries at the
end of their Chicago meeting
pledged to have a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, given that
they still have a long way to go in
the fight against terrorism and
achieving political stability and satisfactory-level security in the country, to have another NATO-led mis-
Obama 'briefly' meets Zardari
Washington: US President Barack
Obama spoke "briefly" with
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
twice on the sidelines of the NATO
summit in Chicago, the White
House has said, contradicting
media reports of Obama shunning
Zardari.
Obama "spoke briefly with
President Zardari twice", first in a
"brief one-on-one conversation as
they made their way into the ISAF
meeting", Xinhua reported citing a
White House statement.
Later, Obama again spoke briefly
with Zardari, this time joined by
Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The leaders underscored their
"shared commitment to an Afghanled reconciliation process to bring
the war to a responsible end", the
statement said. Obama and Zardari
Barack Obama with Pak President Asif Ali Zardari.
did not have a formal bilateral
meeting at the summit.
At a press briefing after the summit concluded, Obama said he
emphasised to Zardari that
Pakistan "has to be part of the solution in Afghanistan".
The two countries "share a com-
mon enemy of extremists", and
need to work through some of the
tensions that has been created
because of 10 years of US military
presence in the region, Obama
said. The two sides, however,
failed to reach an agreement to
reopen the NATO supply route
through Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Obama said Zardari shared his
belief that issues between Pakistan
and NATO, as well as between
Pakistan and the US will be
resolved, and the supply route will
be reopened soon.
The routes, through which 40
percent of NATO's non-lethal supplies passed to Afghanistan, were
closed in November after 24
Pakistani soldiers were killed in a
NATO air strike on a Pakistan
Army border post.
Doctor jailed for helping
US kill Osama
Islamabad: Pakistani doctor
Shakil Afridi, charged with treason for helping the US to kill
Osama bin Laden, has been jailed
for 30 years.
The sentence was announced
by the political administration of
Khyber Agency to which Afridi
belongs, Xinhua reported.
21
He was found guilty under the
Frontier Crimes Regulation for
carrying out a fake vaccination
campaign in Abbottabad in order
to get the DNA samples of bin
Laden.
Afridi was also fined 320,000
rupees (over $3,400). If he fails
to pay the fine, he could face
another three years in jail. After
the sentence, Afridi was shifted
to a central jail in Peshawar.
US commandos stormed bin
Laden's hideout at Abbottabad
near Rawalpindi May 2 last year,
taking the US-Pakistan ties to a
new low.
The doctor was arrested 20
Shakil Afridi.
days later while trying to escape
to Afghanistan.
sion for Afghanistan post 2014.
The new mission would also have
the approval of the UN Security
Council, they declared.
The meeting was hosted by US
President Barack Obama. They
noted that sustaining a sufficient
and capable Afghan National
Security Force (ANSF) is the
responsibility of the Government of
Afghanistan supported by the international community.
US, Japan to
build power
plants in
Myanmar
Yangon: Myanmar plans to
build more power plants in
the country with companies
from the US, Japan and
South Korea in an effort to
address the electricity shortage, state media reported.
The companies with which
Myanmar's ministry of electric power will cooperate in
building power plants are
General Electric Co. and
Caterpillar Co. of the US, J
Power Co. of Japan and BKB
Co. of South Korea, Xinhua
reported citing the New Light
of Myanmar daily, published
by the country's interior ministry.
The report did not disclose
which projects will be implemented with the US companies. It said a 600 MW coalfired power plant near
Yangon will be built on a
joint venture with the
Japanese firm, while another
500 MW gas-fired power
plant will be carried out in
collaboration with the South
Korean company.
22
International
May 26-June 1, 2012
World powers, Iran Egypt goes to poll to
elect new president
begin N-talks
The meetings put forward a proposal aimed at reining
in Iran's highest-level uranium enrichment.
Baghdad: Iran traded proposals
with six world powers, including the
United States, in a new round of
talks aimed at persuading it to curb
its nuclear program and ease concerns it wants to make atomic
weapons. But divisions over sanctions complicated the discussions.
The meetings opened with the socalled 5+1 group - the permanent
UN Security Council members, the
US, Russia, China, Britain and
France, plus Germany - putting forward a proposal apparently aimed at
reining in Iran's highest-level urani-
US to judge
Iran's deal with
IAEA on action
Washington: The potential deal
between Iran and the UN nuclear
watchdog on nuclear inspection
was a "step forward", said the
White House while stressing that
the deal would be ultimately
judged by Tehran's actions.
The White House statement
came after Yukiya Amano, director general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
announced Tuesday that an agreement on probing suspected work
on Iran's controversial nuclear
programme was expected to be
signed soon, Xinhua reported.
"I think it's important to note
that the announcement today is a
step forward," White House
spokesman Jay Carney told
reporters at a briefing. "It's an
agreement in principle. It represents a step in the right direction."
"But as we've said in the past
about the totality of Iran's obligations and their fulfillment of
them, we will make judgments
about Iran's behaviour based on
actions, not just promises or
agreements," he noted.
The potential agreement is
meant to give the UN nuclear
watchdog access to sites, scientists and documents it seeks to
address international concerns
over Iran's nuclear activities.
um enrichment. Many leaders fear
the uranium, enriched to 20%, could
be quickly turned into warheadgrade material . Other details of the
plan were not immediately disclosed. Hours later, Iran made its
move by offering a counterproposal
that includes what one of its negotiating team member called "nuclear
and non-nuclear issues".
The official said he would not discuss details of the plan, but added
that it would be discussed privately
with diplomats from the EU and
China, an Iranian ally.
Cairo: Egyptians went to polls to
elect a new president after last year's
fall of Hosni Mubarak who ruled the
country for three decades with a
tough hand. The polling stations
opened at 8 a.m. across the country
under tight security.
The elections would be the first
since Mubarak was ousted following 18 days of demonstrations in
Egypta in February 2011. He
assumed the presidency in October
1981, following the assassination of
then president Anwar Sadat.
Mubarak is now facing a trial on
charges of corruption and abuse of
power, and premeditated murder of
peaceful protesters.
He may be sentenced to death if
found guilty. There were long
queues in front of many polling stations in Cairo since early morning.
Ahmed Fatah, a middle-aged
Muslim who came to a polling station at 6.30 a.m., told Xinhua that he
had a high expectation from the
election.
"I hope the new president can
restore peace and stability in our
life. Our economy has suffered from
continuous chaos and violence. We
want the new president to revive our
Former US president Jimmy
Carter is in Egypt to monitor
the election.
economy, make our life easier and
bring back the good reputation and
great influence Egypt used to have
before the revolution in international community," said Fatah.
There are about 50 million eligible
voters, who will elect one from 12
presidential candidates. Top hopefuls include former Arab League
chief Amr Moussa, Islamist Aboul
Fotouh, Freedom and Justice Party
chairman Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq.
Government employees have been
given a day off for the voting.
Former US president Jimmy Carter
is also in Egypt to monitor the election. The results of the presidential
polls will be announced June 21.
'Russia has no
business in
NATO missile
defense'
Warsaw: Poland has warned
Moscow against interfering
in NATO's plans to deploy a
missile shield in Europe, as
Russia is not a member of the
military alliance, said a
Polish official.
NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
announced the "first step" in
the European missile defence
system. "If this system
belongs to NATO, then it
cannot be that a state, which
is not a NATO member,
could influence NATO's
defence system and the
development of this system,"
said Bogdan Borusewicz,
chairman of the Polish parliament's upper house.
Talks with Russia on the
missile shield in Europe,
however, must be continued
to convince it that the system
is not threatening Russia's
national security, he added.
Greece must buy into austerity or exit euro: Britain
Chicago: British PM David
Cameron has issued his bluntest
warning yet to Greece that voters
need to "meet their commitments"
as a member of the eurozone in
elections next month or leave the
currency union.
Speaking at the NATO summit in
Chicago, and three days before a
crucial EU meeting, the PM said the
leaders of the eurozone must now
prepare for either outcome and be
ready for the repercussions of the
Greek vote, set for June 17. The poll
was called after Greek parties failed
to form a new government earlier
this month.
"It has to be absolutely clear there
is a choice: they can vote to stay in
the eurozone and meet their com-
Greece is going through worst economic crisis
mitments , or they can vote to give tively give up on the eurozone," he
up on their commitments and effec- said.
No one could tell Greece's parties
what to do, but Cameron can have
left them in no doubt of how he
feels. "The choice Greece faces is
maintaining its commitments and
maintaining its place in the eurozone or deciding that's not the path
it wants to take.
Cameron also defended the
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel,
whose insistence on austerity has
been blamed for preventing the G8
summit from making progress.
"Obviously she wants to make sure
that countries in the eurozone that
signed up to all sorts of commitments meet those commitments .
She did show some flexibility in
terms of what more can be done on
the growth agenda."
Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies
London: With his carefully tended
hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his
brothers Maurice and Barry, defined
the disco era. As part of the Bee
Gees - short for the Brothers Gibb they created dance floor classics like
'Stayin Alive','Jive Talkin' and
'Night Fever' that can still get
crowds onto a dance floor.
Robin Gibb, 62, died on Sunday
"following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery", his family said. He is the second discoera
star to die this week after Donna
Summer.
The Bee Gees, born in England
but raised in Australia, began their
career in the 1960s but it was their
soundtrack for the 1977 movie
'Saturday Night Fever' that sealed
their success. The album's signature
sound remains instantly recognizable more than 40 years after its
release.
For decades, Gibb was a familiar
pop figure, starting out in the 1960s
when the Bee Gees were seen as talented Beatles copycats. They sounded so much like the Beatles that
there were strong rumors that it was
really the Beatles performing under
another name. After several hits,
Robin Gibb left the group in 1969
over some disagreements. He
released some successful solos -
Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry,
defined the disco era.
most notably 'Saved by the Bell' - and scoring a hit with 'How Can You
before rejoining his brothers in 1970 Mend a Broken Heart'.
Business
May 26-June 1, 2012
Rupee dives to 56.01, Sensex at 4-month low
Mumbai: The rupee weakened
beyond 56 per US dollar and
closed at 56.01 as the euro fell to
a 20-month low against the dollar
on fears of a Greek exit from the
common currency. Forex dealers
said that the petrol price hike was
a positive for the exchange rate
and equity markets, but the next
day opening would depend on
how the global sentiment in
respect of euro moves tonight.
The rupee was among the worst
losers in Asia as traders felt that
weak macroeconomic indicators
made the rupee more vulnerable
in a risk-off scenario. A 'risk-off'
scenario is a term used to describe
an environment in which investors
shun markets despite higher
returns in favor of safe haven
investments even if returns are
negligible.
23
Quotes in the forward market indicate that the rupee could slip close to 58
in six months or beyond 59 in 12 months.
The local currency, which However, the currency recovered
opened at around 55.68, soon fell to close at 56.01.
to the day's low of 56.22.
Quotes in the forward market
indicate that the rupee could slip
close to 58 in six months or
beyond 59 in 12 months.
The BSE benchmark Sensex
ended at 15,948.10 points, its lowest closing since January 7, due to
hectic selling by funds as the
rupee tumbled to yet another alltime low.
Brokers said selling pressure
gathered momentum as rupee
touched fresh record low levels
renewing concerns over slowing
economic growth and widening
trade deficit.
The free-fall in rupee was
unabated on strong demand for
American
currency
from
importers and increased capital
outflow from equity markets,
even as the Reserve Bank measures failed to curb the persistent
fall, forex dealers said.
Internet content:
Court considers
summoning US firms
New Delhi: A Delhi court directed
a complainant to apprise it about
the method of summoning some
US-based companies, including
Facebook and YouTube, named by
him as accused in a case related to
objectionable content on internet.
Metropolitan Magistrate Jay
Thareja said: "Put up for method of
service of process of summoning of
Facebook, Youtube and other USbased companies for June 8."
The court was hearing a criminal
case filed by journalist Vinay Rai
seeking removal of derogatory contents from around 20 social networking sites and websites.
The magistrate told the complainant that service of summons
would also be effected through the
external affairs ministry.
Indian IT
White paper: no estimate
Airtel, ICICI among
firms spent 'top 100 global brands' of black money abroad
Delhi: Indian telecom major
New Delhi: The government sus about the best methodology
Rs.1,910 bn New
Bharti Airtel and private sector
released the much-awaited white or approach to be used for this
bank
ICICI
Bank
have
been
paper on black money, which purpose.
in 2012
included in the 'BrandZ list' of the
makes a strong pitch for setting
"There have also been wide
New Delhi: The IT spending
of Indian enterprises is likely
to touch Rs.1,910 billion in
2012, a 16.4 percent increase
from 2011 spending of
Rs.1,640 billion, driven by
investment by government and
manufacturing sectors, technology research firm Gartner
Inc said.
The government spending is
expected to increase Rs.349
billion in 2012 from Rs.302
billion in 2011, while manufacturing and natural resources
will hike it to Rs.386 billion
against Rs.334 billion during
the period under review.
"Indian IT providers continue to experience strong
growth, and there are more
Indian companies in general
taking a place on the global
stage," said Derry Finkeldey,
principal research analyst at
Gartner.
"There are currently 25
Indian companies in the
Fortune 500, and there is a corresponding uptake of information and communications
(ICT) technologies in the
domestic market, as organisations seek globally competitive
practices," he added.
According to Finkeldey, government investment in the
revamp of education is driving
high growth in the relatively
small education ICT market.
The education segment is
expected to achieve the
strongest growth in percentage
terms in 2012, where IT spending is forecast to grow 18 percent in local currency.
top 100 most-valuable global
brands of 2012 by research firm
Millward Brown.
ICICI was ranked 63 and Airtel
71. The top five brands on the list
are Apple, IBM, Google,
McDonald's and Microsoft.
According to the study, ICICI
Bank's brand value has declined
by 15 percent since 2011.
"While ICICI declined, Airtel
appeared in the BrandZ Top 100
ranking for the first time,"
Millward Brown said on its website.
The study took into account
what people thought about the
brands they bought alongside
analysis of financial data, market
valuations, analyst reports and
risk profiles and covered almost
two million consumers and more
than 50,000 brands in over 30
countries.
"With an overall ranking of 71
and brand value of $11.5 billion,
Airtel has been ranked ahead of
top global brands such as Citi
(82), Sony (86), MTN (88), China
Telecom (90), and Volkswagen
(96)," Airtel said in a statement.
The study said Indians generally
liked brands and were familiar
with many from the West and
other markets and suggested that
firms take into account regional
differences to establish business.
up the Lokpal and Lokayuktas
but carries no official estimate of
the illicit money stashed by
Indians abroad.
Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee tabled the white paper
in the Lok Sabha. The paper carries no estimates on the quantum
of money stashed abroad, but
quotes figures released by different agencies.
"There are no reliable estimates
of black money generation or
accumulation, neither is there an
accurate well-accepted methodology for making such estimation,"
the paper said.
It pointed out that among the
estimates made so far, there is no
uniformity, unanimity, or consen-
variations in the figures reported,
which further serves to highlight
the limitations of the different
methods adopted."
The paper made a strong pitch
for setting up the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas to effectively deal
with the menace of black money
and other corrupt practices.
In the foreword to the report,
Mukherjee pointed out that in this
past year the government has
brought five bills -- namely, the
Lokpal Bill, the Judicial
Accountability Bill, the Whistle
Blowers Bill, the Grievance
Redressal Bill and the Public
Procurement Bill. These are at
various stages of consideration
by the parliament.
Air India crisis continues, losses Rs.250 crore
Impasse between agitating pilots and the national carrier's management continues
New Delhi/Mumbai: The crisis in Air India raged on for the
17th day and the national carrier's losses mounted to Rs.250
crore as the impasse between
agitating pilots and the management continued.
"The loss due to ticket cancellations, unused labour and with
the bulk of our Boeing-777
fleet grounded now stands at
Rs.250 crore. Our losses per
day have come down from
Rs.13-15 crore to Rs.10-11
crore due to the contingency
plan," a senior official of Air
India's operations arm told
IANS in New Delhi.
"Under the contingency plan
for international operations, we
The government may also further curtail Air India's international
operations if the strike continues.
are operating a bare minimum
number of international operations by clubbing flights to des-
tinations in Europe and the
US," he said
According to the official, the
agitating pilots, who are on a
mass sick leave, are mandated
to get a medical check-up done
by a board of doctors from the
Indian Air Force on immediate
notice.
"They (pilots) will be
checked by Indian Air Force
doctors. We are awaiting the
issuance of notices to them.
If they clear it and are actually sick, then it is valid, but if
they fail the test and come out
to be absolutely fine, then they
can either join back or resign,"
the official said.
The government may also
further curtail Air India's international operations if the strike
continues.
24
Sports
May 26-June 1, 2012
Olympic hockey opener:
India face Holland
India are clubbed with holders Germany (No. 2), Korea (6), New
Zealand (7) and Belgium (11) and the Netherlands.
Bangalore: India will open their
campaign in the 2012 Olympics
hockey competition in London
with a game against the
Netherlands on July 30, according
to the schedule released by the
International Hockey Federation (
IHF).
India, ranked No. 10, are clubbed
with holders Germany (No. 2),
Korea (6), New Zealand (7) and
Belgium (11), besides the
Netherlands in Pool B of the 12team competition that will be held
2012-13: England,
New Zealand, Oz
to tour India
New Delhi: India are all set to
host three major international
series from August 2012 to March
2013, involving ten Tests, five
ODIs and four Twenty20
Internationals. The series between
India and New Zealand will be
played in August-September, and
feature two Tests and two T20
Internationals. Hyderabad and
Bangalore will host the Tests, and
the T20 Internationals will be
played at Vishakhapatnam and
Chennai, a BCCI release stated.
India will next host England for
four Tests, two T20 Internationals
and five ODIs, from November
2012 to January 2013. The Tests
and T20s will be played in
November-December 2012. The
second of the T20 Internationals
will be played at the MCA
Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium in
Pune, thus marking the venue's
international debut.
The England team will fly home
for Christmas, and return in the
new year for a five-match ODI
series. The series will feature the
international debuts of as many as
three venues, in the cities of
Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala.
The series between India and
Australia will be played in
February-March 2013, and feature four Tests. The match-schedule is yet to be decided, the statement said.
from July 30 to August 11.
Pool A has world champions and
top-ranked Australia, Great Britain
(4), Spain (5), Pakistan (8),
Argentina (9) and South Africa
(12). India next play New Zealand
August 1, Germany August 3 and
Korea August 5 before concluding
their league engagements with a
game against Belgium August 7.
The final classification matches,
including the medal games, are
scheduled for August 9 and 11,
according to the FIH press release.
Nobbs satisfied with India's
hockey schedule
Bangalore: Australia's hockey
coach Ric Charlesworth is unhappy
with his team's Olympic hockey
schedule, saying the early starts
may prove to be disruptive to the
Kookaburras but his India counterpart Michael Nobbs argued that it
wasn't a given that Australia should
get a favourable draw just because
they are the top team .
India face the Netherlands in
their Pool B game on July 30, the
opening day of the hockey tournament at the Riverbank Arena. In
Group A, Australia take on South
Africa on the same day but later in
the competition , the top ranked
team in the world will play three
India hockey coach
Michael Nobbs
8.30 am games against Spain,
Argentina and Pakistan while
world No.2 and defending champions Germany play no early games ,
according to Hockey Australia's
website .
Charlesworth was quoted as saying by the website that the schedule
was unfair.
"I don't expect special treatment,
I expect not to be disadvantaged,
out of five matches you may expect
one 5am start for our athletes not
three," Charlesworth said.
"It interferes with momentum, as
major finals won't be played at that
hour and it interrupts our routine
over two weeks. Early games
should be fairly distributed among
all teams."
16 Indian players head for Milan
Kolkata: Sixteen budding players from across the
country have been selected through a five-monthlong football talent hunt to represent India at a youth
football tournament to be played in Milan later this
year.
The under-15 soccer talent hunt organized by Tata
Tea in association with Inter Milan football club,
kicked off in Bhubaneswar in December 2011 and
covered 15 cities across India.
Started in 2007, the latest season witnessed partici-
pation of 6,500 students from 1,100 schools across
the country, who were trained by Inter Milan coaches
Marco Monti and Massimo Ciocci.
"The players I saw are very talented and hard
working," said Monti. The final 16 players were chosen after a week-long intensive training session.
"We are very excited to play with the famous club
Inter Milan. I always dreamt of playing at a club like
Inter. It is a dream come true for me," said Yami
Longwah from Shillong.
BCCI snub hurts Dilip Vengsarkar
Mumbai: The Board of
Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) may have bought plenty of goodwill by shelling out
around Rs 100 crore as onetime payment to former Indian
cricketers who missed out
when the game wasn't as rich
and monetarily rewarding as it
is today, but it seems to have
ruffled a few feathers even
with its noble intentions.
On Wednesday, it emerged
that Kirti Azad, part of India's
World Cup-winning team in
1983, won't get the benefit
because of speaking out
against the Board publicly.
Azad joined his World Cupwinning captain Kapil Dev and
Mohammad Azharuddin, who
find themselves out of this benefit - derived from the India
Premier League ( IPL) coffers due to various reasons.
Some other top cricketers too
have been kept out of the list of
beneficiaries. Former India
skipper Dilip Vengsakar, bat-
Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar
ting
star
Gundappa
Vishwanath, ex-India stumper
Syed Kirmani and the gutsy
Mohinder Amarnath will not
get the booty - which is up to
Rs 1.5 crore for cricketers who
have played more than 100
Tests for India - because the
board says it has already
organized benefit matches for
them.
This is clearly a weak logic,
since the benefit ties for these
cricketers were organized at a
time when such huge returns
from the game were unthinkable.
Due to this stand by BCCI,
Vengsarkar and Kirmani miss
out on Rs 1.5 crore each,
Viswanath loses Rs 1 crore and
Amarnath will be deprived of
Rs 75 lakh.
"It is nice of the board to
honor those who have done a
yeoman's service to Indian
cricket.
The BCCI has done a fantastic job here. But when you
want to honor people, do it
honorably. I hope that they
decide to honor everybody and
rectify this error," Vengsarkar
was quoted as saying.
It is being alleged that most
of the cricketers who will benefit from this scheme have had
their benefit matches, though
these matches were held at a
time when it was the cricketer
who had to arrange for everything in order to make the maximum out of his benefit tie.
When contacted, former
India skipper Chandu Borde
said, "In earlier days one had to
do everything on his own to
organize a benefit match for
himself, with the board just
sanctioning it and agreeing to
stage the match."
India clears foreign training for swimmers
New Delhi: The sports ministry has
cleared training of the three-member
Indian swimming team at Germany's
Olympic Centre in Frankfurt to prepare
for the 2012 London Games.
The three-member team, comprising
Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal
along with their coach Nihar Ameen, will
train from June 1 to July 24 before joining the Indian contingent in London for
the Games that start July 27. The government will bear their full training cost.
Travel
25
May 26-June 1, 2012
Te Aroha - for hilly
holiday with colonial
feel
Mukteshwar (Uttarakhand): Looking for a
colonial style holiday spot in the mountains?
Nestled in Dhanachuli village, a few kilometres from this popular destination, is the Te
Aroha resort.
A summer house converted into a boutique
luxury hotel, Te Aroha offers its guests traditional architecture and contemporary comforts. The surroundings are breathtaking,
thanks to snowcapped mountains and the
serenity of the place.
It is the brainchild of Sumant Batra, a
lawyer, writer and poet.
Explaining the meaning of the name, Batra
says: "Te Aroha means mountain of love in
the Maori language of New Zealand. The
place completely justifies its name. It has
been a year for Te Aroha."
The resort in Nainital district is about 340
km from Delhi and one can reach there by
road in eight hours.
Batra renovated the summer house but has
preserved its original charm. Huge decks and
terraces, antique furniture, glass windows
with views of the landscape and the high ceiling lobby brings back the feel of a colonial
era.
"It is perhaps one of the few properties
located in the wilderness that offer contemporary comforts of high standards and scale.
The entire property has been done without
the help of any architect, designer or industry
expert," said Batra.
When it comes to rooms, all are made with
a different ambience. The four spacious
suites and six luxury rooms offer various
landscape views.
The ideal time to visit the place is from
October to July.
Another high point of the place is Cafe
Flashback, a first museum cafe and Bespoke
Spa, a luxury spa.
Cafe Flashback, a restaurant in a hut, is a
total recall of old movies. From the 1940s to
2012, one can see the change that the television and the cinema industry underwent
under one roof.
On can go for an evening stroll to the market area with shops lined up on both sides of
the street selling local food items and tea.
You can also enjoy a drive on the long winding hilly road and visit popular tourist places
such as Mukteshwar, Nainital, Bhimtal and
Almora, with Te Aroha as a base.
A train journey takes the same amount of
time, the nearest station being in Bhimtal.
However, traveling by train is not advisable
as visitors are dependent on the resort for the
pick up and drop off. There is no commuting
mode available other than crowded local
buses.
Trekking or camping facilities could make
this place all the more attractive for holidayers looking some adventure in the mountains.
How far: Te Aroha is 340 km from Delhi.
How to reach: By train or by car. Either
way, it is an approximately an eight-hour
journey from New Delhi. The nearest station
is Bhimtal, from where you can take a local
bus to the destination.
The Master bedroom
Te Aroha at Dhanachuli
Endangered pheasant species
multiply in Himalayan park
The western tragopan's numbers in Himachal's Great Himalayan
National Park have increased as per latest surveys.
Kullu (Himachal Pradesh): The
presence of the highly endangered, elusive western tragopan
can now be felt more clearly in
the Great Himalayan National
Park in Himachal Pradesh, with
its numbers multiplying.
Park authorities say the population of this brilliantly colored
pheasant species in the park has
gone up and so has its sighting.
"The density of the western
tragopan in the park was 6.5
birds per sq km (in this year's
census). Last year, it was six
birds per sq km, while it was just
five birds in 2010," says Park
Director Ajay Srivastav.
For population estimation, the
western tragopan, like other
pheasant species, needs specialized techniques. One of the standard census techniques is recording their call counts at a specified
time and location.
Srivastav said that estimation
was done at 18 locations. "This
exercise is now part of regular
monitoring protocol being followed in the park to ascertain the
status of population dynamics of
the western tragopan."
As per the estimation figures of
the last two-three years, it is clear
that the population of the western
tragopan is on the rise.
Srivastav attributed the
increase to management strategies in terms of protection
through regular patrolling of the
area.
From March-end till mid-June,
all pheasant species breed. "The
male tragopan gives a loud chorus before dawn during the
breeding season. In the estimation, every male call is counted,
which gives an index of the population in a specified area,"
Srivastav said, adding, "The mating call is different from the distress call."
During the estimation, all
teams were given Global
Positioning Systems (GPS) and
data sheets to record the altitude
and the calls of the tragopan.
In this method, it is assumed
that each call can be equated to a
breeding pair, Srivastav said. The
western tragopan belongs to the
family Phasianidae, which also
includes peafowl and red jungle
fowl. It's the least studied bird in
the world.
Being a shy bird, it is rarely
sighted and is found at an altitude
of 2,000 to 3,600 metres in the
temperate forests of Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand.
Jennifer R.B. Miller, who studied the park in April-May 2008
during the US Fulbright Student
Research Scholarship, says the
populations of three pheasant
species - western tragopan, koklas and Himalayan monal - in the
Great Himalayan National Park
have grown since surveyed in the
late 1990s.
"Surveys conducted in the late
1990s indicated that pheasant
populations in the park were
declining. In 1999, the government legally notified the park
and the authorities began enforcing the Indian Wildlife
(Protection) Act. Relative abundances of all three pheasant
species were significantly higher
(in 2008) than in previous surveys," says Miller in her paper
titled "Himalayan pheasants in
Park" published in the Indian
Birds journal in 2010.
With magnificent glaciers, lofty
mountains and gurgling streams,
Park, spread over 754 sq km in
Kullu district, is one of the richest biodiversity sites in the western Himalayas.
The park is home to 203 bird
species and 31 mammal species,
three reptiles, nine amphibians
and 127 insect species, besides
425 species of plants.
The famous mammals in the
park are the leopard, the
Himalayan black bear, the brown
bear, the rhesus macaque and
various herbivores like the goral,
a small antelope, and the
Himalayan tahr, a wild goat that
lives on the steepest cliffs.
One of the most elusive species
in the park is the snow leopard. It
can be spotted in the highest portions, adjoining the Pin Valley
National Park. The best time to
visit the park is April-May and
September-November.
26
Lifestyle
May 26-June 1, 2012
Retro to Hawaiian with a twist: Summer fashion for men
ailored shorts with a linen jacket, tshirts with bow-ties, Chinese collar
shirts with printed pajamas; for all
those men out there, a fashion lowdown on
how to look cool this summer with funky
mix and match tips and jazzing it all up
with the right accessories:
APPAREL
First rule this season, avoid denim and try
skin-friendly fabrics like linen.
To make a style statement, dig out printed
shirts and team them up with bright-colored
shorts. Try Chinese collar shirts in powder
cotton or tricot with printed pajamas; add
khaki or army green shorts with t-shirts in
any color!
If you really want to adapt high street
fashion, go for linen 'two-piece' suits and
wear with shorts and loafers.
"A lot of new print techniques can be
seen this summer. Sailor, African and
screen prints can be seen on shirts and tshirts. Also, fitted lycra t-shirts with deep
and big necks will be a big hit," says Lav
Trivedi, stylist-cum-art director.
"Accessorize it well. Try bow ties on
T
Modern footwear such as espadrilles figure
to be a huge hit for men this summer.
half-sleeves shirts and polo neck t-shirts.
You can also try formal shoes with fitted
shorts and shirts. I call it the very modern
Hawaii look, it makes you look sharp yet
summery," he added.
Trivedi is in tune with the latest styles,
thanks to his stint on "MTV Splitsvilla",
and fashion shoots for magazines like The
Man and Andpersand. He also did art direction for the movie "Yeh Saali Zindagi."
Experts say sportswear like t-shirts,
shorts and jumpers will be in vogue in
men's fashion this season.
"Most people in India wear sportswear
influenced clothing because of details and
designs in male clothing. Sportswear is
comfortable and easy to carry, therefore
never out of fashion," Mumbai-based
designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed said.
The designer, who is associated with
brands like Puma and Killer, said tailored
shorts - knee length with little fit and pleats
- would also be prominent.
COLORS
Comfortable cotton shirts paired with
waistcoats in vibrant colors like electric
blue, neon green, pink and earthy yellow
will add freshness, says designer
Raghavendra Rathore.
"Cotton waistcoats in vibrant colors is the
predominant trend. An array of pastel yet
colorful tones in shirting is what adds to the
freshness. The new semi-formal sleek
appeal is the one to look forward to,"
Rathore said.
Kumar said that there will be lot more
pastel colors as well. "You will see many
colors in the bottom as well, like colored
jeans, shorts and trousers," he added.
FOOTWEAR
To make the summer more stylish and
colorful, opt for espadrilles.
Originated in the Basque, Spain,
espadrilles are made of canvas cotton and
linen fabric with a flexible jute rope sole.
"Male gladiators (sandals), leather sleepers and espadrille shoes will be best to go
with this combo," added Trivedi.
HEADGEAR
Despite the heat, men are still reluctant to
wear hats or caps. But men can add to their
style quotient by adding some head gear in
their wardrobes, say fashion experts.
"People think that it's not fashionable or a
must have accessory in a hot country like
India. There are very few who wear hats,
but only for night outs because they associate it to the style element, not to the functional element. They should wear caps and
hats," said Narendra.
EYEWEAR
Go retro this season, suggest fashionistas.
"Retro shades are big this season, you'll
see lots of retro frames, big glasses, from
the era of the 1950s and 1960s," said
Narendra.
Women can be more promiscuous than men
new study has suggested that when it
comes to being sexually unfaithful while
being away from home, women tend to
rack up more lovers than men. The UK Adultery
Survey 2012 found that once women decide to play
away, they are far more likely to play the field in
search of love. Research into the behavior of 4,000
people suggested that women are more promiscuous, having an average of 2.3 secret lovers compared to a mere 1.8 for men, the Daily Mail reported.
While explaining their reasons to cheat, the men
say the pursuit of sexual excitement, boredom with
their marriages and the need of an ego boost are the
main causes. Women say their reasons could be
anything from looking for emotional fulfillment, an
improvement to their self esteem to romance.
Women adulterers are also far more prone to
falling in love with their illicit lovers than their
male equivalents.
According to Emily Pope of Undercover Lovers,
a dating site for married people seeking affairs with
some 600,000 members, the survey's results challenged the general assumption that men are more
A
Contrary to popular belief, studies indicate women
are more likely than men to sway in a relationship.
adulterous than women.
"Once they have made the huge decision to have
an affair, women have far more opportunity to actually find someone to cheat with and are generally in
control of deciding if and when to consummate the
relationship once they do," she said.
The survey also found that women are likely to be
the first to get itchy feet in a marriage.
Schoolbags turning into curse for kids
utsized school bags are
turning into a curse for kids,
80 percent of whom carry
loads up to a fifth of their body
weight, really taxing their backs,
says a new research from the charity BackCare.
Studies show that carrying any
more than a tenth of your body
weight can cause spinal damage.
Experts warn we are facing an epidemic of back problems in young
adults when the long-term effects of
this early damage starts to appear.
"We are seeing increasing numbers of young adults coming for
treatment in relation to back trouble
and this can often be traced back to
carrying heavy bags to school,"
warns Peter Skew, an Essex-based
expert in musculoskeletal medicine,
the Daily Mail reports.
Skew,
vice-president
of
O
BackCare, adds: "Children's skeletons are still developing, and having
a heavy bag slung over one shoulder can exert unnatural force on the
spine, muscles and attachments.
"Rather like exercising only one
side of your body in the gym, you
quickly get unilateral muscle-loading, which can cause the small muscles in the back to tighten and compress the spine," adds Skew.
A 2007 British study showed that
13 to 50 percent of 11-17 year olds
have experienced back pain. And
it's been shown that if you experience back pain as a child, you are
four times more likely to have to
endure back pain as an adult.
"Picking up and swinging a heavy
backpack onto your shoulder multiple times a day is potentially more
damaging to a growing body than
having to walk a long distance with
It is advised that schoolbags be
kept as light as possible to avoid the
risk of back problems in children.
a static load," says Skew.
It's not just getting to and from
school that's the problem, because
most schools no longer provide
lockers or desks to store books
(children sit at tables), so children
have no choice but to carry everything around with them all day.
Somewhat impersonal nature of texting gives people a bit
more comfort in expressing truths.
urprisingly, text messaging sure in a largely asynchronous mode
seems to evoke more truthful like text that there is in phone interresponses to sensitive ques- views," says Conrad. "As a result,
tions, according to a new study. "The respondents are able to take longer to
preliminary results of our study sug- arrive at more accurate answers."
gest that people are more likely to
Conrad conducted the study with
disclose sensitive information via Michael Schober, professor of psytext messages than in voice inter- chology at Michigan and cognitive
views," says Fred Conrad, cognitive psychologists, psycholinguists, surpsychologist at the University of vey methodologists and computer
Michigan Institute for Social scientists, as well as collaborators
Research (ISR).
from AT&T Research.
"This is sort of surprising," says
"We're in the early stages of anaConrad, "since many people thought lyzing our findings," says Schober.
that texting would decrease the likeli- "But so far it seems that texting may
hood of disclosing sensitive informa- reduce some respondents' tendency
tion because it creates a persistent, to shade the truth or to present themvisual record of questions and selves in the best possible light in an
answers that others might see on interview - even when they know it's
your phone and in the cloud."
a human interviewer they are comWith text, researchers also found municating with via text.
that people were less likely to engage Researchers recruited approximately
in 'satisficing' - a survey industry 600 iPhone-users on Craigslist,
term referring to the common prac- through Google Ads, and from
tice of giving good enough, easy Amazon's Mechanical Turk, offering
answers, like rounding to multiples them iTunes Store incentives to parof 10 in numerical responses, for ticipate in the study.
example, according to a Michigan
These findings will be presented
statement. "We believe people give this week at the annual meeting of
more precise answers via texting the American Association for Public
because there's just not the time pres- Opinion Research.
S
Health
27
May 26-June 1, 2012
Secrets revealed for a beautiful you
By Janya Bhave
n this modern world, many
actresses and rich women go for
cosmetic surgeries and lipo-suction procedures to make them more
beautiful. However, all this could
be for nothing if they do not have
inner peace and self confidence.
God makes everyone beautiful in
their own ways but many do not
take care of their God-given beauty.
Further, while the outward beauty
may go down with age, the inner
beauty stays with you forever.
Good health and good looks
depend on good nutrition because it
affects your skin. Therefore, one
should exercise regularly, drink a
lot of water and have a well-balanced diet that includes green vegetables and lots of fruits such as
apples, oranges, strawberries,
peaches and cantaloupes. Your skin
looks better because of the C vitamin in your diet. On the other hand,
highly processed foods are bad for
the skin and can cause rashes, pimples, acne and coarse skin.
Your skin could be determined by
genetic factors. The main skin types
are normal, dry, oily and acneprone. We see a number of commercial advertisements for skin
products on television and some
channels constantly broadcast these
commercials. However, many
believe that a majority of these
products are expensive, do not work
as they claim in the commercials
and turn out to be a waste of money.
Similarly, many dermatologists
believe that frequent salon facials
could also damage skin. Therefore,
one should be careful before trying
any new treatment for their skin.
One recommended procedure is
to exfoliate the skin. When you
exfoliate your skin properly, it can
remove the dead skin cells that clog
pores, trigger breakouts and leave
skin looking dull. Masks are excellent exfoliants and can be used once
or twice a week (in place of cleansing grains) to give away dry skin
flakes, give the skin a rosy com-
I
plexion and temporarily tighten
pores. Mask can quickly perk up
tired skin and give it a glow.
Dermatologists generally recommend the following masks for different types of skin:
fatty acids which moisturize and
soften skin. Honey is a natural
moisturizer that creates a watertight film on the face allowing the
skin to rehydrate itself.
3. Mix one half mashed avoca-
Skin Type
Mask Type
Dry
Moisturizing mask that contains water and urea
Acne-prone
Mask that contains salicylic acid or benzyl
peroxide (to prevent or dry-up blemishes)
Sensitive
Gentle mask that contains Aloe Vera gel or
chamomile to soothe skin
Oily/Normal
Combination
Mask that contains clay or salicylic acid
According to many dermatologists, some of the more popular
masks are described below:
1. Mix one spoon tomato juice,
one spoon buttermilk and one
spoon oatmeal. Apply the mixture
to face and keep it for 15-20 minutes. Then, wash face with lukewarm water. Tomato juice is a general astringent that normalizes the
skin’s acid mantle. It is high in vitamins A and C which are essential
for healthy skin. Buttermilk is a
natural cleanser and oil stabilizer.
Oatmeal soothes the skin and exfoliates.
2.
Mix one spoon honey, one
small mashed banana, two spoons
yogurt, and one spoon besan
(chana) flour. Apply the mixture to
face and keep it for 15-20 minutes.
Then, wash face with lukewarm
water. Bananas are high in essential
do, one spoon yogurt, one spoon
natural clay (you can get this in
Indian grocery stores) or one spoon
corn flour. Apply the mixture to
face and keep it for 15-20 minutes.
Then, wash face with lukewarm
water. The clay or corn flour will
give away dry skin flakes. Yogurt is
a cleanser and soothing. Avocado
moisturizes and softens the skin.
4.
Use egg-beater to mix one
egg, two spoons besan (chana)
flour, one spoon butter, and half
spoon turmeric powder. Apply the
mixture to face and keep it for 1520 minutes. Then, wash face with
lukewarm water.
Many of the masks described
above include moisturizers.
Moisturizers act as barrier between
the skin and the environment
buffering the skin against wind,
overheated rooms and pollutants
like smog.
In addition to masks, one should
also have facial once a month after
the age of 22 so that skin remains
healthy. For facials, you can use
cold cream or other mild creams
available in pharmacies or grocery
stores. A massage with almond oil
is also recommended because it
serves as a cushion before skin
exfoliates. During facials, many
find that light music helps them
relax and have better blood circulation.
Dermatologists also recommend
that you should lather soap in your
hands, mix in ¼ to one teaspoon
salt (use less for dry or sensitive
skin) and gently massage over face.
This lessens your chances of overexfoliating your skin.
Many Indian women are vegetarians and their diet may not provide
enough protein, magnesium, and
folic acid. Therefore, many experts
recommend that vegetarians should
take vitamins B6, A, E, iron and
folic acid. Tea and coffee drinkers
should also take vitamins because
caffeine interferes with the body’s
absorption of vitamin C. Your body
does not store vitamin C, and therefore, you need C-rich food in your
diet every day. Vitamin C also
enhances iron absorption. Oranges,
lemons, strawberries, and tomatoes
have vitamin C.
Soaps are a mix of alkali (mineral
salt), animal and vegetable fats and
water. It is great for removing dirt,
bacteria, oil, perspiration and makeup. However, sometimes soap can
be harsh for dry skin. To wash your
face, never use too hot or too cold
water because temperature
extremes can worsen dilated capillaries. Always use lukewarm or
tepid water. Splash skin with clean,
running water for 10-20 minutes to
have clean and clear skin.
Although we all love sunshine,
sun can damage your skin. The
sun’s ultraviolet rays are very
strong and dangerous for skin (for
example, they can cause skin cancer). Any outdoor activities such as
playing tennis, jogging, swimming
or working in back yard should be
done either during early morning or
late afternoon. If you are going to
be in sunshine for a long time,
make sure to apply sunscreen with
adequate sun protection factor or
SPF. See the package of sunscreen
products to determine what you
need depending on how long you
plan to be in sunshine. Apply the
sunscreen at least 30 minutes prior
to exposure to sunshine because the
sunscreen must be absorbed into
and react with the skin in order to
protect it. Make sure to cover all
important areas such as the nose,
ears, back of the neck and hands.
Creamy sunscreens tend to stay on
the skin better than those in the gel
form.
As one gets older, your skin thins
and is more susceptible to sun-related damage. So, choose higher SPF
product for better protection. Also,
people with sensitive skin may need
higher SPF product. On the other
hand, some people are sensitive to
certain ingredients in some sunscreens and may develop rash, redness, itching, or tingling after
applying sunscreen. They should
try hypoallergenic products.
Sunscreens are also good for
aging skin, wrinkles, age spots, and
sagging skin. They contain skin
rejuvenators such as alpha hydroxyl
acids to gently take away dead cells
on the skin’s surface. They penetrate deep into the skin to moisturize it. Usually, sunscreens are good
for two years and should be stored
in a cool, dry place. If the product
changes consistency or has odor,
discard the sunscreen.
Finally, smoking is bad for your
skin. Any nicotine product constricts blood vessels in the skin and
reduces vital oxygen flow to the
skin’s surface which results in a
dull complexion.
Note: The article above is for
general information only. Readers
should consult their own dermatologist before attempting any treatment for their skin.
Attention key to recovery in stroke, feel researchers
Sydney: Attention may have an
important bearing on the successful
recovery after a stroke, researchers
believe.
People with a curious condition
that causes them to apply make-up
on only one side of their face, or
ignore food on half of their plate,
are playing a new role in understanding stroke recovery.
Researchers from the University
of Queensland Brain Institute (QBI)
have found the condition, a subset
of the stroke called 'unilateral spatial
neglect' (USN), tends to have the
worst recovery outcomes in regaining lost functioning in their bodies,
leading them to believe attention
may have an important impact on
recovering successfully.
USN is typically caused by
strokes on the right hand side of the
brain and manifests in patients
ignoring the left side of their body.
People with the condition may
ignore food on the left side of their
plate or, if asked to draw a clock,
squash all 12 numbers into the right
side of the clock face, leaving the
other side blank.
They may also fail to shave, or to
put make-up on the left side of their
faces. In severe cases, they behave
as though the left side of their world
does not exist, the Journal of
Neuroscience reports.
"We know that brain plasticity
plays a critical role in recovering
Knowing about the condition will help in recovery therapy
from stroke," says Jason Mattingley,
professor of cognitive neuroscience
at Queensland. Brain plasticity may
be defined as the capacity of the
nervous system to change its structure and network over a lifetime,
according to a Queensland statement.
"What we're trying to do is
explore what effect attention has on
brain plasticity, and how attention
might be used in neuro-rehabilitation" says Mattingley.
Mattingley adds: "While practical
applications remain several steps
away, this knowledge may ultimately help us develop more effective
strategies for physical therapy after
stroke."
28
Humor
May 26-June 1, 2012
Humor with Melvin Durai
Look who’s the top dog at your workplace
ack in 1993, Gloria Steinem and the
Ms. Foundation for Women founded
“Take Our Daughters to Work Day,”
realizing that the self-esteem of a girl could
be enhanced greatly if she spent a day at a
workplace and saw Mom or Dad being
ordered around for a change.
A decade later, this special day evolved
into “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work
Day,” as people realized that it was unfair to
leave boys out, especially since surveys
showed that almost all boys, regardless of
age, were eager to take advantage of this rare
opportunity to skip school for a day.
But even before boys were included, people realized that “Take Our Daughters to
Work Day” was unfair to another significant
group, one that hardly ever got a chance to
visit workplaces. And so, sometime in 1996,
people in the western world began to observe
“Take Your Dog to Work Day.”
It started in the U.K., then moved to the
U.S., where it became an instant hit. People
loved the idea of driving “Rover” and
“Buddy” to work, especially since it was the
first time many Americans had ever been
able to use those special car pool lanes.
“Take Your Dog to Work Day” eventually
spread to Canada, New Zealand and even
Australia, where it became almost as popular
B
as “Take Your Kangaroo to Work Day.”
Various versions of “Take Your
Daughter/Dog to Work Day” have since
cropped up around the world:
Afghanistan: “Take Your Goat to Work
Day.”
Japan: “Take Your Bonsai to Work Day.”
Saudi Arabia: “Take Your Wives to Work
Day.”
Zambia: “Take Your Pillow to Work Day.”
Jamaica: “Take Yourself to Work Day.”
But none of these special days has been
quite as popular as “Take Your Dog to Work
Day,” which was observed this year on June
25. It was created for three main reasons: (1)
to celebrate the companionship of dogs; (2)
to encourage people to adopt dogs from
humane societies, rescue groups and shel-
ters; and (3) to show employees how easy it
is to take naps under their desks.
Taking a dog to a workplace can be risky,
of course. What happens, for example, if you
bring your dog to your workplace and he
decides that he doesn’t want to just sit
around, preferring to be active? Next thing
you know, your boss comes over to tell you
that you are getting fired and your dog is getting hired. “I like him,” your boss says. “He
seems to be a self-starter. Already has his
paws in everything.”
If you think that’s far-fetched, then you
probably haven’t heard of the goat herder in
Tamil Nadu, India, who made the mistake of
taking his dog to work. “Now dog has job, I
stuck at home,” the man said. “It’s good for
dog, but I get bored. Not many cats around
to chase.”
Taking a dog to work was also the undoing
of a London man. “I miss my job,” he said.
“I enjoyed providing customer service for
BP.” If you call British Petroleum’s customer
service department with a complaint of any
sort, don’t be surprised if you hear a growl
on the other end. Or a recording that says:
“Sorry, all our dogs are currently busy, trying
to fix an oil spill. Please stay on the line.
Your call is being transferred to a hyena.”
Most dogs are unemployed, of course, but
we shouldn’t forget that tens of thousands of
them do have important jobs, such as leading
the blind, sniffing out drugs and bombs, following the trail of criminals, and fetching
beer from refrigerators.
Yes, if given the chance, dogs can be very
productive. Just ask the man in London. He
recently spent an entire day with his dog at
work, thanks to “Take Your Human to Work
Day.”
Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist,
cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for
the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Tech Life
Social network launched for people
on death bed
London: A social network for the dying -called " My Last Wish" -- has been created to
help dying people meet others who have similar hopes and ambitions which they wish to
achieve before they die. The free app, created
by a software company called White Lotus
Corporation, is available in Apple's App Store,
the Telegraph reported.
"A social networking application to make
friendship with those unknown people from
corners of the world with different ethnicity,
culture, traditions, value systems, life style
and much more - but having only one thing in
common and that is the 'Last Wish'," the website says about itself.
"By this application, we have tried to unite
the community on the 'Wish Wall' to share
their last wish with the world and find out
those people with similar wishes before they
die, get connected to them and be friends forever." Users of the app - "fellow wishers" - are
asked to post their final wish on to the "Wish
Wall" and can choose to attach their email
address or phone number so other users who
want to do the same thing, can get in touch.
"Fellow wishers" can tap on a user's name
and their contacts will be instantly added to
their phonebook.
Kirtan Thaker, co-founder of the White
Lotus Corporation, said: "I believed in the
possibility that there can be two persons in
this world with same hopes, dreams and wishes. I was confident that if we create an app
where this possibility can be turned into reality, people will love this concept and they will
get a chance to make friends who are
unknown but having just one thing in common
which is the last wish."
Astrology
May 26-June 1, 2012
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
Stars Foretell: May 26-June 1, 2012
Aries: Interference in others work will
not help in any way, it will only bring you
criticism. You need to check your financial position and control your excessive spending.
Although you have a good chance to bring your
creative ideas to use, your colleagues and
coworkers are not likely to extend much support. You could have a hard time convincing
people who will be slow to catch on your plans.
Contribute generously to social organizations.
Taurus: This week spend time with family members and friends. It promises to
be a special week, when loved ones bring you
gifts and presents. You will find yourself bubbling with loads of energy and your intuition
will be helpful in making crucial decisions. You
will definitely pick up valuable suggestion if
you listen properly. Love and romance will
dominate your week as you go out of the way to
please your beloved.
Gemini: This week you will feel somewhat let down by people you trust. Don’t
allow people to take undue advantage of you. Be
patient, not stubborn and control your emotions.
Take time to think before you speak. Meditation
and yoga will bring you spiritual as well physical benefits. A small pleasure jaunt towards the
weekend will be good for lifting your spirits.
Financial gains will be slow but certain.
Cancer: This week your profile will be
positive and you will work on projects,
which would have tremendous effect on your
life. Your artistic abilities and hard work will
bring you recognition and fame, but make sure
that you don't compromise on your principles in
the process of glamour and finances that seem to
come your way. Attending social functions will
ensure you meet someone who will help you
come closer to your goals.
Leo: This week you will benefit from
your leadership strength. You would take
charge of important work and gain additional
respect from people in your group. Your ability
to negotiate important deals, make plans, and
carry them to perfection will help you stay
ahead of others. Elders and family members provide you with necessary love and care. You will
also find sufficient time with the one you love,
so don’t shy away from expressing your true
feelings.
Virgo: This week be extra cautious how
you deal with your colleagues and
employers. Although you will be in a special
position to express your ideas, too much interference in the affairs of others will only bring
unnecessary tensions. Relatives and friends will
make demand, which you will find difficult to
keep. Real estate investment will pay off well in
the long run. Spiritual gains likely for some.
Libra: If you have a new idea, which
you feel could bring you major recognition and monetary gains, then you should put
your sincere efforts to convert it into concrete
form. You will win support from family members and friends on your new project. If you are
planning to travel abroad during this week, then
this trip will be a major success. You will find
members of the opposite sex very appealing, but
try not to annoy someone you really care.
29
Scorpio: New projects will be alluring
and hard hour will ensure outstanding
gains in the long run. You'll attract more respect
and honor from people young as well as old.
Financial gains are also certain, but if you have
been ignoring your health lately, then you will
feel tired, weak and might require some medication. Extra rest, proper diet and little exercise will
be important to regain your strength and spirits.
Although a favorable period but don’t be afraid to
speak in your defense if you feel others are trying
to suppress you or ignore your opinion.
Sagittarius: This week some memories
or unresolved issues come to the surface,
bringing you lot of tension and stress. If you
thought you had these problems resolved for
good, then you will be surprised that they appear
once again. Frustration will engulf you. Unless
you deal with these problems with proper advice
and some help, you will find it extremely difficult to resolve this issue and concentrate on
other work. Message from overseas will bring
happiness.
Capricorn: There will be many social
activities this week, including few family
gathering where you will get to spend some special moments with people you haven’t seen for a
long time. You will be the center of attention,
and you should not waste these opportunities to
revive lost contacts. At office your efforts will
bring desired results. You will accomplish jobs
at a speed that usually seems impossible. New
job opportunities for some seem later in the
week.
Aquarius: This week you should set
new goals for yourself. You will have a
vision and determination, which will bring you,
gains much beyond your expectations. Elders
will join you in your efforts and provide support
whenever needed. Sudden romantic encounter
with someone you have secretly admired will
make your head spin. A wonderful week to
spend with children, friends and relatives. Look
for something to do together towards the weekend.
Pisces: This week it doesn’t matter if you
are the guest or the host because you will
be at the center of attention. Your observation
and creativity will help you meet new and fascinating people, bringing you new opportunities.
Unusual circumstances will involve legal matters
and prove financially expensive. You might also
need to seek favours from an influential person
to sort the issue. Later in the week, a spiritual
person gives blessings and good wishes.
Before you consult...
i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date,
Time and Place of birth is accurate.
ii) Careful: Did you check background of the
astrologer before disclosing your secrets.
iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel
shy. It’s his business.
iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the outcome is not as desired, never give up.
v) Consult: Take second opinion before
spending thousands on cure/remedies.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
[email protected]; www.premastrologer.com
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
May 26:
Months of May, September, December and April will
be revolutionary. A growing confluence between you
and religious activities will increase the confidence of
living life to the fullest and also take the minor concern
related to family health matter wisely. You and your
wife are blessed with God like wherever you two go,
left your imprints for others to follow, the way you gel.
Your perception of deserving high profile status with
increased bank balance will eventually come into being. You will glad to share the platform with your better half while jaunting and tripping. This year you will
come up with good and real ideas. With creative and intelligent thinking you will be able to surpass everyone’s
expectation. New and daring activities will be on your
cards. You should carefully look for your hot-headed,
prodigal and envious traits. Number 8 and planet Saturn will make you dominating, pragmatic, organized,
amiable and decent personality.
May 27:
Number 9 and planet Mars decree you. Some of your
defining attributes are industrious, smashing, audacious, passionate and highly witted. You always keen
to accommodate high profile with brains in your social
circle. Clean and scavenge surrounding will be liked by
you but should check your despotic, offensive and
glowering nature. Do not negotiate while dealing, this
act will take you at par. Just wait as the time of increment on package will be forthcoming and then look for
the quality of things for home rather than quantity.
Look for different kinds of model for constructing a
new house or may be redevelopment of the same. You
may need it any time. Relatives will start sending you
marriage proposals. Concrete view point is necessary
to succeed in lawful matter which is rare so avoid indulging in any kind of administrative affair. Children
need your attention which will surely increase your intimacy with them. Months of July, August, November
and September will be important.
May 28:
Number 1 and planet Sun will regularize you with some
added features like innovativeness, diligency, kind and
decency. The series of flourishing and blooming decisions will shine you in the society provided you curtail
your careless, raring and hot-headed nature. You will do
complete justice to your character responsibilities assigned. Elite people will come into your friend list and
would help you by any means they can. You have the attitude of bandaging the attention of the masses towards
you. Your tendency of charging and electrifying the ambience is what they most like about you. You should
wrap up your expenses to save for the future. Time is
golden for your pocket to invest and to save. Out-an-out
action or comedy flicks are releasing every Friday, go
further and give your spouse a delightful time. Many
domains like construction, overhauling or spiritual session will entice you. Months like August, November,
February and April will be yielding.
May 29:
Months of September, November, January and April
will be very handy for you. You need to choose different courses for different occasions in life to move with
the competitive pace. Onset of tying the nuptial knot
will be soon. You have to revive the form rampant in
the past time to take the full advantage of the administrative links that had developed over the time. The arrival of the year will bring the phase which work well
in any lawful activity. Physical well being needs your
attention this time. Being innovative and loyal is not
enough to win the laurels you should not be gloomy
and freewheeling. Until and unless you are happy personally you will not dig out the problems of other associated with you. So keep yourself happy then look
out for solution for others. Bonding has special significance in your life. Number 2 and the Moon will make
you energetic, creative, naïve, loyal and dashing in nature.
May 30:
Months of July, October, December, February and
April will be productive for you. You need to visit the
sets of some spiritual lecture to gain some noesis of inner self. Anyone related to any art of work like advertising or media will soon be able to create master pieces
which are flawless. The partner will unveil their aroha
and philia gradually. Different versions of same assignments will make your work monotonous and boring. You should look in all the direction while investing money out in the market, then only profit will come
to you. You have to adopt different looks while visiting
different strange and unusual places for business alliance. The historical investment will accrue fruitful results. The open and exempted ambience will make your
mind work swiftly in your work but you should curb
the burgeoning of feeling of excessive pride, inflation,
prodigal and dominative at times. Number 3 and planet Jupiter will help you to stick to your basic qualities
like passionate, self-respected, level-headed and organized.
May 31:
Number 4 and planet Uranus will make you responsible, gumptious, taxonomic, trustworthy, diligent and
authoritative. You have to do lot of research which you
will surely accomplish to extend the terms of holding
the top most position. Check your envious and obstinate trait also. You need to read the script well in advance before delving onto any business deals. Things
will be in your favor wherever you go with positive and
careful instinct. Quixotic bond will be on the floors for
you as a result of some get together intimacy. You have
to portray different deals at different point of time to
make your marital relation worth living. Stillness at the
health of some elders may become the matter of concern at abode. Siblings will extend their support unconditionally to cover up due tasks. Follow your diet
chart strictly with some physical moves on daily basis.
Months of June, August, October, March and April will
be best.
June 01:
Ruled by number 1 and the Sun, you are highly imaginative, practical, emotional, honest, simple and generous person. You have a very sharp mind, an exceptionally good grasping power and you believe that it’s never too late to learn, but you need to check your tendency to behave lazy, timid and carefree at times. Certain
events not in your control would be responsible for
changes in your profession/career. It would not be an
easy period as many things would not be in your
favour, but support and help from friends and family
members would induce new energy into you and make
things much comfortable than they actually might be.
Gains from property transaction, investments and gifts
cannot be ruled out. If you are unattached then changes
to meet the love of your life would be strong. Spiritual
gains later in the year brings solace and comfort. The
months of August, September, November and February
will remain significant.
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30
Spiritual Awareness
May 26-June 1, 2012
Concluding part of three part series of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj’s keynote address at the
26th International Human Unity Conference held in Mexico City, Mexico, in November 2008.
Meditation to know what lies Beyond
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
he saints tell us that what dies
is the physical body, which is
made of matter. Being made
of matter, the physical body deteriorates, decays and is finally destroyed.
But our true self, which is our spirit
or soul, is eternal. It lives on and on.
By connecting with our soul, we will
have access to the answers of what
awaits us beyond death’s door and
how we can take a peep into the
beyond while still alive.
Is there any evidence to prove the
soul’s immortality? We have two
pieces of evidence to examine. One
is the statements and accounts given
by saints, prophets and mystics who
claimed to pass through the gates of
the Beyond in their mystic travels.
The second is current statements
made by doctors and scientists who,
through modern medicine, have
brought back to life people who had
been declared clinically dead.
Millions of people in the past three
decades have had near-death experiences and their reports are all similar.
A doctor discovered that those
patients who had clinically died but
were brought back to life through the
wonders of modern medicine all had
a similar experience. Many reported
having separated from their body.
They were able to watch from above
their own body as the medical practitioners tried to revive them. Many
were able to see relatives in other
rooms or other cities and hear what
they were saying while their body
was on the operating table. Later, the
accounts of what they saw and heard
were borne out by the relatives.
Many of them found themselves
going through a tunnel and emerging
in a world of Light. There they met a
Being of Light who was radiant but
whose light was not scorching. They
were embraced by the Being of Light
who poured out more love than any
of them had experienced on earth.
They also underwent a life review in
which they experienced all the good
they had done to others and all the
pain they had caused others. This
was a life-changing experience, for
those undergoing the NDE realized
that what matters most in this world
is the love we give others. They
came back transformed and vowed to
T
lead their lives giving love and doing
good as their main focus. They also
lost their fear of death. They gained
newfound fearlessness because they
realized their soul was immortal.
They realized there is no death but
just a change of vesture. Thus, they
could live the rest of their lives without fearing death because they had
already experienced what lies
beyond this life.
Those who have a near-death experience are just visiting the borders
between this physical realm and
higher spiritual regions. Through
meditation we can transcend to higher, more blissful realms. Saints have
given detailed accounts of the various regions of existence to which a
soul goes after death. There are three
lower regions: a physical, an astral,
and a causal region made of mixtures
a point known as the third or single
eye, located between and behind the
two eyebrows. As it concentrates
there, and we continue to gaze, we
will begin to see inner vistas. We
may see flashes of Light, Lights of
any color, an inner sky, moon, or sun.
We may see our inner guide who will
take us on an inner journey.
At the time of initiation, the
Masters impart some of their spiritual attention to us to give us a spiritual
boost within so we can see and hear
the inner Light and Sound of God. To
keep our mind still, they give us five
Charged Words to repeat. These have
several benefits. They keep our mind
occupied so that no thoughts can distract us. We have seen that even
yogis who meditate for many years
and do physical poses and breathing
exercises, still have to grapple with
We can experience the soul’s immortal nature
when we go within. We need not experience
the trauma of a near-death experience, nor
would we want to, in order to find out what
lies Beyond. Rather, we can learn how the
saints and mystics from all different religions
had their inner experiences. We can learn the
techniques they used and begin to practice
them ourselves. This technique is meditation.
of matter and consciousness and
which are subject to dissolution; and
the higher spiritual regions which are
eternal: the supracausal plane and a
spiritual plane known as Sach Khand
or True Realm from where God
emanates. If we can rise above the
three lower worlds, the soul enters
the purely spiritual regions where it
merges back in the Lord and lives
eternally in bliss and love.
We can experience the soul’s
immortal nature when we go within.
We need not experience the trauma
of a near-death experience, nor
would we want to, in order to find
out what lies Beyond. Rather, we can
learn how the saints and mystics
from all different religions had their
inner experiences. We can learn the
techniques they used and begin to
practice them ourselves. This technique is meditation.
In this form of meditation, we sit in
a comfortable position, one in which
we can sit the longest without moving. We close our eyes, very gently
as if we were going to sleep. With
our attention, we focus into the middle of whatever lies in front of us. At
first we may see darkness, or gray, or
Lights of various colors. As we gaze
into the middle of whatever we see,
our soul will begin to concentrate at
distractions from their mind.
Stillness of mind is needed to be able
to see the inner Light and hear the
beautiful inner Music. These are
always shining and reverberating
within us, but we do not see or hear
them because our mind is occupied
with external thoughts. The moment
we can stop these thoughts and enter
the stillness within, we can see and
hear the inner Light and Sound.
These words are also charged to help
our attention withdraw from awareness of the body to become aware of
the inner Light within us.
As we become more absorbed into
the inner Light and Sound, we can
transcend physical body-consciousness and cross into spiritual realms
beyond. As we gaze into the inner
Light we may find Lights of various
colors, inner vistas, and ultimately
we transcend physical consciousness
and become conscious of the inner
spiritual realms. Our soul soars into
these inner states of consciousness,
and experiences those places to
which we will go when we leave this
world for our final time. We find that
we exist without our body as soul.
Each inner region is alive with beautiful colors, celestial Music more
enticing than any in this world, and
divine love. All our suffering ends.
We are embraced by the love of God
that puts us into states of eternal bliss
and happiness. We become fearless
as we realize that our body is not our
true self, but that our soul is our real
essence and exists beyond this physical world.
This experience fills us with
tremendous joy and peace. We are
thrilled to know that we can be fully
conscious in another realm of existence. We experience a state of all
love, all joy, and all consciousness.
This inner journey takes us through
different levels of inner realms; each
higher one has more and more consciousness and less matter. There is
an astral realm filled with more Light
than this realm and beautiful Music.
There we travel in a lighter body
known as an astral body. There are
beautiful sights and colors in this
region unseen on earth. Even more
ethereal is the causal region, which is
more subtle, more blissful, and more
loving. It contains equal parts matter
and consciousness. From there, there
is the supracausal plane, which is
predominantly consciousness with a
small amount of illusion. Finally,
there is the region of all spirit, with
no trace of matter. It is here that our
soul merges into God, and becomes
one with God. Here we realize that
our soul is the same essence of God
and is a part of God. This state is one
in which we gain immortality, permanent peace, and divine love that
knows no end. We can attain each of
these states through meditation on
the inner Light and Sound, or Shabd
Meditation, as taught by Masters of
Sant Mat.
To reach these heavenly realms,
we need to meditate daily. By sitting
still and keeping our mind still
through mental repetition of the
Charged Words given by a saint or
Master, we can begin to witness the
inner Light and Sound and learn to
rise into spiritual consciousness of
the Beyond.
The benefits of doing so are that
we will lose our fear of death. We
will be able to journey at any time of
day or night, from the comfort of our
own homes, into the spiritual realms
that await us Beyond. We will not
fear death because we will have seen
in life what is awaiting us Beyond.
People who have had spiritual experiences of the Beyond do not fear
death any longer because they know
that there is a house waiting for them
within.
Another benefit is that we will not
fear the death of our loved ones. It is
true that we will grieve for them and
miss them terribly, but we will be
comforted in knowing for certain
that they are safe, happy, free of
pain, and in ecstasy in the realms
Beyond. We will know that they
have taken up residence in a far more
beautiful and blissful place than
where we live on earth. We will
know that they are free of suffering
and are in a peaceful place. While we
still miss them, we are not fearful of
what has happened to them.
Finally, another benefit of meditation and finding God within is that
we see that we are all one. We see
the same Light of God that is in us is
in everyone else. Then, we love all
and serve all. We are able to forgive
others because we realize their mistakes were caused by ignorance of
our oneness. When we forgive others, we can contribute to a nonviolent world. In this connection, I
would like to relate an anecdote
about forgiveness. Once there was a
warrior who went to a wise monk
and asked him, "What is the difference between heaven and hell?" The
monk looked at this warrior who was
very large and muscular and had a
savage look about him.
The monk then replied, "You ignorant brute. You are nothing but a savage. Why would I waste time with
you teaching you about heaven and
hell?" When the monk said that, the
warrior’s blood began to boil and he
was filled with anger and hatred.
Suddenly, he could not control his
temper and he started beating up the
monk. After a few moments, the warrior realized what a heinous act he
was committing and stopped.
The monk smiled, and said, "That
fit of anger is hell." The warrior was
so ashamed for his violent act and
begged the monk to forgive him. The
monk again smiled and said, "Your
asking for forgiveness is heaven."
This story describes in a nutshell
the answer to the question about
dealing with all the violence, injustice, and evil in the world. We can
choose to respond in kind, which
creates more of a hell, or we can
respond with forgiveness, which creates heaven in our own lives on
earth.
Meditation can uplift our soul to
realms in which we can find the
answers to all our spiritual questions.
We can journey to the regions that
await us when we leave our physical
body at the time of death. The burning question of where we go after we
die will be answered, because we
will have already journeyed there
through meditation. Death no longer
fills us with fear for we see for ourselves that it holds more bliss, joy,
and love than we can ever imagine.
Ultimately, we reach the stage of
merger with God and become allconscious. It is at that stage that our
spiritual thirst is quenched. If we can
spend some time daily in meditation
we will gain the fearlessness to overcome all life’s challenges and lose
our fear of death. We will contribute
to a world of nonviolence and attain
lasting happiness, bliss and joy.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is
an internationally recognized spiritual leader and Master of Jyoti
Meditation who affirms the transcendent oneness at the heart of all religions and mystic traditions, emphasizing ethical living and meditation
as building blocks for achieving
inner and outer peace. www.sos.org.
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• Grand Ballroom accommodates 600 guests
for dinner and dancing.
• Elegant smaller ballrooms and event space
for pre-reception gatherings.
• Experience in hosting Sangeet and Mehndi,
as well as engagement parties.
• Relationships with vendors that specialize
in South Asian weddings.
• Luxurious bridal suites.
• Overnight accommodations for your guests.
• Restaurant and Lounge, swimming pool, health club.
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LONG ISLAND MARRIOTT
101 James Doolittle Boulevard, Uniondale, NY 11553
Phone 516.794.3800, LongIslandMarriott.com
© 2012 Marriott International, Inc.

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