Cairo: Demonstrators rejected a

call from Egypt's Islamist President

Mohamed Morsi for a national dia-

logue after deadly clashes around

his palace, demanding the "down-

fall of the regime" - the chant that

brought down Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi said in a televised speech

Thursday that plans were on track

for a referendum on a new consti-

tution Dec 15 despite clashes that

killed seven people and wounded

many more. He proposed a meet-

ing with political leaders, "revolu-

tionary youth" and legal figures to

discuss the way forward.

But a leading activist group

rejected the offer. The "April 6"

movement, which played a promi-

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday

said that India was "eminently suited" for permanent

membership of the UN Security Council, having the

capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of the post.

"India is eminently suited for permanent member-

ship of the UNSC," said Mukherjee while addressing

the 13th International Conference of Chief Justices

from around the world at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in

New Delhi.

"India has affirmed its willingness and capacity to

shoulder the responsibilities of permanent membership

Washington: During the four

weeks after the elections, the White

House and House Republicans

have been doing their familiar pos-

turing on the ‘fiscal cliff’, but now

with the yearend deadline looming,

there were hints that they had

resumed low-level private talks on

breaking the stalemate.

A day after a phone conversation

Wednesday between President

Barack Obama and House Speaker

John Boehner appeared to kick-

start communications, but nobody

was divulging details of develop-

ments.

"Lines of communication remain

open," White House spokesman

Jay Carney told reporters when

pressed on progress on avoiding

the steep tax hikes and budget cuts

set for January 1, 2013 unless the

parties agree on a way to stop

them.

Asked the same question,

New Delhi: In a major boost to the ruling UPA, ally

Bahujan Samaj Party have assured to vote Friday in

Rajya Sabha in favor of multi-retail FDI.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance hopes

that with BSP's 15 members now in its kitty, it would

be able to persuade Samajwadi Party, with 9 MPs, to

abstain from voting - as it did in Lok Sabha

Wednesday.

The government Wednesday won the vote on allow-

ing 51 percent foreign investment in multi-brand retail

in the lower house after the BSP and SP walked out

just ahead of the voting.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, BSP chief Mayawati said:

"We will support the government Friday," bringing

much relief to the Congress, which is trying hard to

muster the numbers in the Upper House where it does

HINT AT RENEWED TALKSON "FISCAL CLIFF"

After Lok Sabha, FDI vote likely to clear Upper House too

Opponents reject Morsi call for dialogue as Egypt crisis deepens

India eminently suited for permanent UNSC seat: President

Egyptian armymen deployed tanks outside the presidentialpalace in Cairo Dec 6, after clashes between supporters

and opponents of President Morsi.

Indian PresidentPranab Mukherjee

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

Vol.5 No. 34 December 8-14, 2012 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Op Ed 19 Humor 28 Spiritual Awareness 30Fashion 15 excellence in journalism

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

HOUSE REPUBLICANS

WHITE HOUSE AND

December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New York: Xavier University School of

Medicine, Aruba (XUSOM) celebrated

it’s 24th White Coat Ceremony Dec 4 at

St Francis Hospital’s DeMetteis Center.

The ceremony symbolizes a rite of pas-

sage from the pre-clinical sciences por-

tion of a medical student’s education to

the clinical sciences and patient interac-

tion.

Each student was called to the stage

and was formally “cloaked” in a White

Coat by the Dean of Clinical Sciences,

Dr. Manuel Flores and the Chief

Academic Officer, Dr. Brian W. Little.

In attendance were Dr Andrea J. Leeds,

Clinical Chair of Pediatrics, as well as

Vice President of Operations John

McLoughlin. Special recognition was

given to valedictorian Bobak Sharifi for

his outstanding performance in his pre-

clinical work.

The White Coat Ceremony is celebrat-

ed following each 5th semester by

Xavier University School of Medicine,

Aruba. The staff, faculty and administra-

tion are very proud of this class of stu-

dents and have very high hopes for all of

them.

XUSOM holds White Coat ceremony

3December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

US lawmakers seek visa ban for ModiWashington, DC: Ahead

of the Gujarat elections, a

bipartisan group of 25 law-

makers and the Coalition

Against Genocide have

called for a continued visa

ban for Gujarat Chief

Minister Narendra Modi for

his role in the 2002 Gujarat

riots.

The group, led by

Republican House of

Representatives members

Joe Pitts and Frank Wolf,

held a press conference

Tuesday at the House

Triangle to make the call

along with family mem-

bers of the victims saying

he has not adequately pur-

sued justice for victims of the riots.

The lawmakers have also shot off a letter to

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to

continue denying Modi a US visa particularly

since Modi is now eyeing the office of the

prime minister.

"As ... Justice has yet to be fully realized for

the victims of the riots, we ask that you contin-

ue to deny Mr Modi a visa," they said in the let-

ter released to the press Monday ahead of the

Gujarat polls Dec 13 and 17.

As Modi "continues to pursue a potential run

for higher office, we believe a change in policy

to his request for a visa will only embolden

Modi and his government's

efforts to obstruct further

investigations to bring the

perpetrators to justice,"

they said in the Nov 29 let-

ter.

Noting that India is a

thriving democracy and

one that is aspiring to a

high standard of leadership

and progress, they said: "It

is disturbing that certain

parties in India are consid-

ering elevating Modi,

despite his tie to these

attacks."

"Allowing him to enter

the United States will

only serve to abdicate his

responsibility for the

2002 human rights abuses," it said.

Observing that the Bush Administration

"rightly denied" Modi a visa, the lawmakers

said as he is currently seeking support for a pos-

sible bid for the office of prime minister they

expected that he may again request entry into

the US.

"We respectfully request that the US govern-

ment deny Mr Modi entry due to numerous

reports of his involvement in horrific human

rights violations in India," they said.The law-

makers noted the State Department has stated

that the Gujarat government has not adequately

pursued justice for the victims of the 2002 riots.

Four Indian Americans named 2013 Marshall ScholarsWashington: Four Indian Americans

are among the recipients of the presti-

gious Marshall Scholarships, giving

them the opportunity to study at a uni-

versity of their choice in Britain next

autumn.

The two-year scholarship is distrib-

uted to approximately 40 promising

young American students by the

Marshal Aid Commemoration

Commission every year.

The Indian-American winners are

Aditya Ashok from Boston College,

Aditya Balasubramanian from

Harvard University, Paras Minhas

from the University of Pittsburgh and

Rahul Rekhi from Rice University.

Ashok, a history and biology gradu-

ate, served in numerous leadership

positions on campus during his time

as co-president of the AIDS

Awareness Committee. He recently

served as an intern at the Office of

National AIDS Policy at the White

House. He will be studying global

health at the University of Glasgow

from August 2013.

Rekhi, a Barry M. Goldwater and

Harry S. Truman Scholar, has partici-

pated in several health and policy-

based internships at organizations like

Beyond Traditional Borders, the

World Health Organization and the

National Science Foundation. He has

chosen to study biomedical engineer-

ing at the University of Oxford, where

he will receive his master's degree.

Balasubramanian will be studying

econometrics and mathematical eco-

nomics at the London School of

Economics and Political Science. For

about a year, he worked at the Abdul

Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab in

New Delhi and focused on the inner

workings of political and campaign

processes.

Minhas, who will be studying

molecular cell biology at the

University College London next

autumn is interested in furthering his

career as a physician and scientist.

Minhas has received countless

awards in college, including a coveted

Goldwater Scholarship. He is current-

ly an Amgen Scholar at MIT and

Research Fellow at the Mayo Clinic.

7 townships to come up onDelhi-Jaipur expressway

By Prakash Bhandari

Jaipur: Fresh real estate rush

has been witnessed along the

proposed Delhi-Jaipur ambi-

tious expressway within days

after the Indian government

showed its intention to build

townships on the national high-

way .The seven townships

would come up on 20,000

hectare area located in Haryana

and Rajasthan. They would be

located at Manesar, Pataudi,

Rewari in Haryana and

Behror, Kotputli, Shahpura and

Chomu in Rajasthan.

While the Haryana govern-

ment has already approved the

plan for building the townships

in three places falling under it,

the Rajasthan government is

yet to take a decision and the

area of land in question would

be close to 16,000 hectares

Route identification for the

ambitious 265 km Delhi-Jaipur

Expressway on the lines of

Yamuna Expressway to Agra

has been completed. “Land

alignment (route-mapping) is

final. The new expressway

would be built on the PPP

(Public-Private Partnership)

model,” an official of the

Rajasthan urban development

department said. The project

cost is Rs 12,000 crores.

The starting point in the

national capital for the express-

way would be the Indira

Gandhi International

Airport.The senior official

said that alongside the express-

way, with controlled access,

will be a few nodes where real

estate hubs would be

developed.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modion the campaign trail in the state

Students and faculty of Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba, at the ceremony.(Inset): Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Brian W. Little

Consulate Notice

The provision relating

to two months gap

between two visits of a

foreign national to India on a

tourist visa has been

reviewed by the Government,

the Indian Consulate in new

York has said in a statement.

The Government has decid-

ed, with immediate effect, to

lift the restriction of two-

month gap on re-entry of for-

eign nationals coming to

India except in case of

nationals of Afghanistan,

China, lran, Pakistan, Iraq,

Sudan, Bangladesh, foreign-

ers of Pakistan and

Bangladesh origins and

Stateless persons.

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White House storyContinued from page 1

Boehner spokesman Michael

Steel also said "lines of com-

munication are open."

The acknowledgement, even

without signs of anything

approaching a breakthrough,

passed for encouraging news.

Republicans have worried pub-

licly and privately that they are

losing the PR war in the battle

over the cliff. Polls have found

53 percent people blaming

Republicans if the country

goes over the ‘fiscal cliff’.

Obama has tried to encour-

age Republicans wavering

from the position of the party

leadership on raising tax rates

for the wealthy and some have

broken ranks.

"The message that I think we

all want to send to members of

Congress is: this is a solvable

problem," Obama said while

visiting the home of a couple

in Falls Church, Virginia. "We

are in the midst of the

Christmas season and I think

the American people are count-

ing on this getting solved."

Obama and Democrats in

Congress want the expiring tax

cuts to be extended for taxpay-

ers with incomes below

$250,000 a year but not for the

wealthiest 2 percent of

Americans.

In exchange, the president

has said he is willing to consid-

er significant spending cuts

wanted by Republicans to

"entitlement" programs such as

Medicare, and the government

health insurance plan for sen-

iors.

Now the debt ceiling issue

has become a centerpiece of

the fiscal cliff debate, thanks in

part to Obama's insistence that

Congress give him enhanced

power to increase the debt

limit, which needs to be raised

again in the next few months.

FDI storyContinued from page 1not enjoy majority.

Law Minister Ashwani

Kumar, making a strong case

for FDI, said it was a "national

imperative". "There are

moments in the life of a nation

when certain decisions have to

be taken at a particular period

of time. We should rise above

partisan politics. This policy

will determine the future of

India." The opposition led a

spirited attack on the

Manmohan Singh-led govern-

ment's move to usher in eco-

nomic reforms by allowing for-

eign multi nationals like Wal-

Mart and Tesco.

BJP leader and Leader of

Opposition in the Rajya Sabha

Arun Jaitley said bringing in

FDI would create "sales boys

and sales girls". Hitting out

against the UPA's Lok Sabha

win, he said the figure of 254

"can't be seen as a win. When

you are 18 short of majority,

you cannot run the government

as you please. After that Lok

Sabha figure, you are a lame

duck government."

Egypt crisis storyContinued from page 1nent role in igniting the revolt

against Mubarak, said on its

Facebook page that Friday's

protests would deliver a "red

card" to Morsi.

Egypt has been plunged into

turmoil since Morsi issued a

decree Nov 22 awarding him-

self wide powers and shielding

his decisions from judicial

review.

His Islamist supporters say

the decree was necessary to

prevent Mubarak-era judges

from interfering with reforms.

A constitution drawn up by a

body dominated by Islamists is

due to be put to a referendum

next week.

The opposition has demand-

ed that Morsi scrap his decree,

postpone the referendum and

redraft the constitution.

The Cairo headquarters of

the Muslim Brotherhood, the

group that propelled Mursi to

victory in a June election, was

set ablaze. Other offices of its

political party were attacked.

The Republican Guard, an

elite unit, restored peace on

Thursday after a night of vio-

lence outside the presidential

palace, ordering rival demon-

strators to leave.

Pranab Mukherjee storyContinued from page 1of the Council," he added.

Mukherjee said India ful-

filled all the criteria such as

population, territorial size,

GDP, economic potential, civi-

lizational legacy, cultural

diversity, political system and

past and ongoing contributions

to the activities of the UN -

especially to UN peacekeeping

operations.

"It is essential that the

Security Council is expanded

in both the permanent and non-

permanent categories," he said.

"The inclusion of developing

countries from Asia, Africa and

Latin America, who are capa-

ble of global responsibility,

will contribute to optimal deci-

sion making necessary to

address the insecurity of devel-

oping countries," Mukherjee

added.

Continuations of page 1

4 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE

New York:

Superintendent of Freeport

Schools Dr. Kishore

Kuncham has been

appointed to the Board of

Directors of United Way, a

worldwide organization

dedicated to assisting indi-

viduals and families

achieve their human

potential through educa-

tion, financial stability and

healthy lifestyles.

In 2008, United Way introduced its 10-

year plan designed to achieve goals

including: to cut the number of high

school dropouts in half to help 1.9 million

working families, who represent half the

number of lower-income families that are

financially unstable, achieve economic

independence; and to increase by one-

third the number of youth and adults who

are healthy and who avoid risky

behaviors.

Dr. Kuncham has been

serving students and com-

munities as a leader and

visionary in education for

more than 20 years. He is

an advocate for quality

education for all children

and is committed to help-

ing those in need achieve

a better quality of life.

“United Way’s values and

goals mirror my own, and

I welcome the opportunity to be part of an

organization dedicated to improving the

lives of so many,” stated Dr. Kuncham.

Dr. Kuncham is the first Indian

American Superintendent of Schools in

New York State. He is the Chairperson of

Community Projects for the India

Association of Long Island and is proac-

tively involved with the Interfaith

Nutrition Network and RotaCare

Dr. Kuncham appointed to United Way board

New York: Xavier University School of

Medicine at Aruba (XUSOM.com) is

pleased to announce the availability of

student loans starting in January 2013.

New students enrolled in first semester

Basic Sciences will have the opportunity

to apply for the loan.

“XUSOM’s goal from day one has

been to offer a quality medical education

at an affordable cost,” said XUSOM

President Ravishankar (Ravi)

Bhooplapur. “The XUSOM Student

Loan Program reaffirms our commitment

to helping students become stellar physi-

cians.”

In addition to the new student loan pro-

gram, XUSOM offers academic scholar-

ships to qualified students and interest

free payment plans. Visit the school’s

Web site, www.xusom.com, to learn

more about financial assistance pro-

grams.

The loan is offered by Richland State

Bank of South Dakota. Eligible students

must be U.S. citizens or permanent resi-

dents.

XUSOM was chartered in the

Caribbean in 2004 by the Ministry of

Education of Aruba.

The school was founded to educate

students in the art of medicine via a

U.S.-based medical school curriculum.

The dedicated physicians and faculty

that lead the school focus on providing

students the knowledge they need to suc-

cessfully enter U.S. residency programs.

With its admissions office in Woodbury,

NY, Xavier is one of the most affordable

medical schools with excellent faculty,

and campus facilities. Best of all, the

MCAT is not required for admission.

Xavier med school offers student loans

Dr Kishore Kuncham

Techie confesses to killing baby and grandmaNew York: Heavy loss in gambling at

casinos and mounting debts accumu-

lated due to overuse of credit cards

forced 26-year-old techie Raghunan-

dan Yandamuri to commit gruesome

murder of 10-month-old Saanvi and

her 61-year old grandmother Satya-

vathi Venna at their apartment at King

of Prussia in Pennsylvania on October

22.

Raghu gave a confession to this ef-

fect before Stephen Heckman, the

court-appointed attorney in Bridgeport

on Wednesday. According to the

recorded confession released to the

media, Raghu admitted to have suf-

fered huge loss of over US $50,000 in

gambling at various casinos in San

Jose, California, besides making huge

cash transactions to the extent of US

$26,268 using his nine credit cards be-

longing to various banks - all in the

span of one year.

"The statement filed before US

Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of

California on March 6, 2012, shows

that he was a big time gambler and had

suffered huge losses of over $50,0000.

In order to overcome these mounting

debts, he tried to kidnap Saanvi for a

ransom," the attorney said.

Raghu told the attorneys that on Oc-

tober 22 morning, he had entered the

apartment of Venkat Venna and

Chenchu Latha at their Montgomery

County apartment. While the couple

were out on their respective jobs,

Venkat's mother Satyavathi Venna was

taking care of their 10-month-old baby

Saanvi in the apartment.

"When I entered the house, I had no

intention of killing anybody and my

plan was only to abduct the girl by

threatening the old woman at knife

point. But when she resisted my at-

tempts, I had to slash her neck with the

knife and she collapsed. Later, I cov-

ered the mouth of crying Saanvi with

my handkerchief and pushed her into a

large suitcase along with jewellery and

other valuables stolen from the house.

The girl died of suffocation in the suit-

case which was later hidden in the

apartment building's basement sauna,"

Raghu confessed.

"I thought the couple could afford to

pay the ransom money because both of

them were software engineers," Raghu

said.

Raghu, who was still working as a

software engineer at the time of arrest,

hails from Visakhapatnam district. His

father Surendranath, a constable in

Armed Reserve Police, died in a

Maoist attack in 1997. His mother Pad-

mavathi Yandamuri told the media that

Raghu had gone to the US in 2007 and

got married to Komali in April this

year. "I have a good mother, good wife

and a good job.

I don't know how I have committed

this crime. It is no doubt a big crime,"

he said in his confession statement.

Raghu is now charged with 13 of-

fenses including murder, kidnapping,

burglary, robbery and abuse of a

corpse. "He is likely to face the death

penalty," the attorney said.

Raghunandan Yandamuri had lost heavily gambling at casinosand incurred huge debts due to overuse of credit cards. A video

grab of the confession.

IAFPE meets Congressmen at Capitol Hill receptionWashington, DC: A grand reception

for the US India Congressional Cau-

cus was held Nov 28 in the historical

Kenny Caucus room at the Russell

Senate Office Building. The event

saw one of the largest attendance of

US lawmakers in recent history. More

than 20 US prominent members of the

US Congress and Senate, Democrats

and Republicans were present to

show and pledge their support to

strengthen the continued growing ties

between world’s two great democra-

cies.

They promised to stand by India for

several decades to come in areas of

commerce, trade, defense amidst

large gathering of Indian American

leaders and community activists who

had gathered to witness and hear the

US law makers make these announce-

ments.

Dr.Sampat Shivangi who took over

as the National President of Indian

American Forum for Political Educa-

tion (AFPE ) in his welcome address

thanked the members of India Caucus

for their continued support and

friendship and their increased trade

missions to India to further strength-

en the ties.

Dr.Shivangi specially thanked the

India Caucus members for their un-

equivocal support for US India Civil

Nuclear treaty which was a historical

and land mark foreign policy effort by

the Bush Administration. He further

traced the role by Indian American

Forum in earlier years in promoting

US India relations and addressing the

issues like Immigration Bill with the

White House, US Senate, Governors

and political leaders across the coun-

try.

IAFPE has further work to do on is-

sues like immigration and reemerging

issues like hate crime on minorities,

discrimination on school and college

admissions for Asian American Stu-

dents.

More than 20 Senate and congres-

sional leaders addressed the enthusi-

astic gathering. Prominent among

them were Senator Ben Nelson of Ne-

braska, Senator Mark Warner of Vir-

ginia ( the Democratic co-chair of

Senatorial caucus) Congressman Joe

Crowley of N.Y who is the co-chair of

Congressional Caucus of the Demo-

cratic party, Congressman Ed.Royce

of California who is the co-chair of

the Republican Congressional Cau-

cus, Congressman Frank Pallone of

N.J,

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher,

Congressman Doug Lambdon, Con-

gressman Greh Harper and Congress-

man Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi,

Congressman Gus Bili Rakis of Flori-

da of Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman Ed Royce who is in-

coming chairman of the powerful

House Foreign Relation Affairs com-

mittee said that India Caucus of Con-

gress and Senate have become one of

the powerful country specific caucus-

es in the US Congress and role played

in successfully passing the US India

Civil Nuclear treaty. He declared that

US and India are natural allies midst

of thunderous applause.

Congressman Joe Crowley

declared that India is going

to be the most important ally

in the next decade.

Senator Mark Warner

praised the role played by In-

dian American community in

US. He emphasized the enor-

mous opportunities in im-

proving economic relation-

ships and specially to work in the en-

ergy and power sector which is

tremendous short supply.

Congressman Alan Nunnlee of Mis-

sissippi declared that he would be

new congressional India Caucus

member and he will be visiting India

come February 2013. Congressman

Gus Bilirakis of Florida declared also

that he would to be a member Con-

gressional India Caucus member.

Deputy Chief of Mission Arun Ku-

mar Singh addressed the gathering

and thanked Indian American Forum

for arranging the event which would

create better understanding and rela-

tion between two great nations.

It was one of the successful events

of the year for the Forum which con-

tinues to focus on cause of Indian

Americans and on US India relations.

Satish Korpe and Dr.Ram Singh were

Congressional Reception Committee

members to arrange the event along

with President Dr.Sampat Shivangi.

Senator Mark Warner andDr.Sampat Shivangi at IAFPE event

Congressman Pallone addressing the gathering

5December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Rajat Gupta to stay freeas he fights conviction

New York: A US federal appeals

court has accepted a plea by Rajat

Gupta, the former Indian-American

director of Goldman Sachs Group,

to remain free on a $10 million bond

while he fights his insider-trading

conviction.

US Circuit Judge Jose Cabranes

accepted Gupta's plea after a hearing

Tuesday in the US Court of Appeals

in New York against a ruling by US

District Judge Jed Rakoff in Man-

hattan that he surrender to prison Jan

8 and begin serving his two-year

sentence. After Cabranes announced

his decision, Gupta's wife Anita

burst into tears and his four daugh-

ters patted their father on the back.

Cabranes said the appeal would

probably be accelerated and that

Gupta's full appeal could be argued

in either April or May.

Gupta, 64, was convicted by a jury

in June of twice passing illegal in-

formation about Goldman Sachs to

Galleon Group co-founder Raj Ra-

jaratnam, once Sep 23, 2008, and

again Oct 23, 2008.

Seth Waxman, a lawyer for Gupta,

argued Rakoff wrongly allowed

prosecutors to use three recordings

of telephone calls of Rajaratnam

talking about his sources, calls in

which Gupta wasn't a participant.

Waxman also said that Rakoff

erred when he ruled Gupta couldn't

present testimony from his daughter

that he told her Sep 20, 2008, that

he'd discovered that Rajaratnam had

withdrawn money from the fund.

Gupta lost $10 million, Waxman

said.

Assistant US Attorney Reed Brod-

sky, who prosecuted Gupta at trial,

argued Rakoff hadn't erred in his rul-

ings and hadn't abused his discretion

when he rejected Gupta's request to

remain free pending appeal.

Brodsky said the government had

presented evidence during the trial

that Gupta would benefit from any

trades made by Rajaratnam in the

Galleon International Fund.

He also said Rakoff had correctly

permitted prosecutors to play a Fed-

eral Bureau of Investigation wire-

tapped Oct 4, 2008, call between Ra-

jaratnam and David Lau, a Galleon

trader in Asia.

During the call, Rajaratnam said,

"I heard yesterday from someone

who's on the board of Goldman

Sachs that they're going to lose $2 a

share, the market has them making

$2.50." "I'm going to whack it," said

Rajaratnam, who is now serving an

11-year prison term for insider trad-

ing at the Federal Medical Centre

Devens in Ayers, Massachusetts.

Panaji: Having produced over a 100

Hollywood films but only one Indian proj-

ect in his career spanning three decades,

Indian American filmmaker Ashok Amritraj

feels it is high time he takes up another

Hindi film.

Amritraj`s only production in his native

country was 1998 Tamil romantic drama

`Jeans`, starring Aishwarya Rai, Prashanth

and Nassar in lead roles. The film was also

dubbed in Hindi and Telugu.

"I am waiting for a screenwriter to bring

me a script which I cannot put down. I am

yet to find a great original idea and once

that happens I will definitely do a Hindi

movie. I want to encourage writers to come

to me and my staff with a script. It is time I

do one Hindi movie now," Amritraj told

reporters.

His list of Hollywood work includes

movies like ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of

Vengeance’, ‘Killer’, ‘Street Fighter: The

Legend of Chun-Li’, ‘The Other End of the

Line’, ‘Premonition’, ‘Double Impact’ and

‘Eyewitness to Murder’.

Amritraj attended the 43rd International

film festival of India here, where a tribute

is being paid to his work. The former tennis

player said the coincidence between the

celebration of 100 years of Indian Cinema

and his completing 100 Hollywood films

the same year is an honor.

"It is terrific to be a part of the festival

which is celebrating 100 years of cinema

and I have just completed my 100th film in

Hollywood. I am honored that a tribute is

being paid to me in my home country. I

thank the Government of India for this hon-

our and respect," he added.

Amritraj is the chairman and CEO of

Hyde Park Entertainment, which is also

planning to open a branch in India.

He feels Indian cinema is evolving and it

needs to channel its way on to the West and

explore a lot more territories.

"Festivals are such a great platform to

show your film to different markets. Indian

cinema is at an interesting place today, it is

evolving. Audience is younger and are

ready to accept the films. They have differ-

ent tastes and want to see different cinema."

But the producer feels it is time the divide

between festival films and commercial

movies is diminished like it is in

Hollywood.

"What needs to be changed is the divide

between festival films, art house movies

and commercial films. I hope the stars here

work in every kind of film like in

Hollywood, a Brad Pitt or George Clooney

don`t mind working in small budget films.

Also the directors and producers don`t stick

to big budget movies only."

Amritraj also said that Indian filmmakers

need to look at scripts more globally now

so that it reaches a wider audience.

"It is ironic how Ang Lee does a `Life of

Pi` which is based on an Indian theme, shot

in India whereas our producers and direc-

tors don`t think of it. And this has been

happening for a while now; we had

`Slumdog Millionaire` also which had India

as a theme. I think Indian producers and

directors need to look at ideas and scripts

more globally now."

Time to make a Hindi film now: Ashok Amritraj

6 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

Asian-American Retailers Association opposes privatizing lottery

Astate Assembly panel appeared

divided Wednesday on whether a

private company should take

over management of the New Jersey Lot-

tery, with Democrats urging officials to

move cautiously and Republicans view-

ing the idea as an innovative way to pos-

sibly improve operations and revenues.

Under the plan being pushed by the

Christie administration, the state would

still own the lottery, but a private compa-

ny would be responsible for sales and

marketing. The company would keep a

portion of the profits and would be pe-

nalized if revenue falls below expecta-

tions.

The winning bidder would have to pay

the state $120 million up front and sign a

15-year contract.

Small business owners who sell lottery

tickets told committee members that the

change could cost them money, since

they use the sales to draw in customers

who often buy other products.

Satish Poondi, director of legislative

affairs for Green Brook-based Asian-

American Retailers Association who was

present at the meeting said, "We wel-

come any move by the state that's going

to help us promote our lottery products

and increase sales, but we're opposed to

anyone taking the playing field and ma-

nipulating it to a competitors' advan-

tage."

Some committee members and busi-

ness owners also raised concerns that a

private company could offer online sales,

which could sharply reduce the number

of people who buy tickets at convenience

stores and gas stations. And lawmakers

on both sides raised concerns about

whether offering more lottery options,

such as Internet sales, could be harmful

for those with gambling problems. They

also questioned how the age of online

purchasers would be verified.

New Jersey Health Camp held at Shree SwaminarayanTemple in Secaucus, NJ

Haresh Lalvani's sculpture installed on Sixth Avenue

On Sunday, Decem-

ber 2, 2012, a

health screening

and disease awareness and

prevention camp was held

at Shree Swaminarayan

Temple, 200 Penhorn Av-

enue, Secaucus, New Jer-

sey. Indian Health Camp

of New Jersey, a non-profit

and Shree Swaminarayan

Temple, Secaucus, NJ

jointly collaborated this

health camp for the eighth

consecutive year. The

health camp was open to all

pre-registered participants

between the ages of 45 and

64, without medical insur-

ance.

Attended by more than

225 participants, the health

camp consisted of various

types of services to include

blood test, EKG, physical

examination, cancer

screening, early detection

and prevention and educa-

tion for breast, cervical,

New York-based sculptor Haresh

Lalvani's work was installed Nov.

28 in the street-level plaza of a

building on 6th Avenue and 54th Street in

Manhattan.

According to a press release from the

Indo-American Arts Council, the sculpture,

titled "SEED54," is 8-foot high and is made

of laser-cut stainless steel.

Over the past 15 years, Lalvani has been

collaborating with renowned art-metal fab-

ricator Milgo/Bufkin to create unique

sculptures. A tenured professor of architec-

ture at the Pratt Institute where he is also

the co-director of the Center for Experi-

mental Structures, Lalvani is commissioned

by MTA Arts and is working on a large wall

sculpture for Pratt's Sculpture Garden.

His AlgoRhythm Columns in titanium are

in the permanent collection of the Museum

of Modern Art and were commissioned by

MoMA for its re-opening in 2004. Accord-

ing to his bio data on the IAAC website,

Lalvani’s solo exhibition at Design Miami

2011, presented by Moss Gallery, New

York, attracted wide media attention.

The sculpture titled SEED54

About 225 people took benefit of the camp

prostate and colo-rectal cancer, eye screen-

ing, physical therapy counseling, pharma-

cy counseling and influenza vaccination.

Approximately 10 physicians in various

specialty areas of internal medicine, cardi-

ology, ophthalmology and other specialties

provided their service on this day to screen

and educate patients on diabetes, hyper-

tension, cardiac disease, high cholesterol,

breast, cervical and prostate cancer, oral

diseases and other chronic debilitating dis-

eases.

The Staff from New Jersey Commission

for the Blind provided eye screening for

glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and

cataract to qualified registered participants

on this day.

The New York Blood Center provided

blood donation service via mobile van.

The medical personnel from Meadowlands

Hospital provided free counseling and fin-

ger stick blood glucose and cholesterol

check on spot to all participants. The EKG

technicians, phlebotomists, nurses, med-

ical students, pharmacists, social workers

and other allied medical professionals pro-

vided their services to support physicians

for the health screening and disease pre-

vention and awareness effort during this

medical camp. Rupen Patel of Accurate

Diagnostic Labs, Edison sponsored the

blood test service on this day to approxi-

mately 200 pre-registered qualified partic-

ipants.

The blood test reports will be reviewed

by the physicians and mailed to all partic-

ipants with a counseling note if any abnor-

malities are detected in the test. More than

60 people took the advantage of influenza

vaccination during the camp.

For further information on IHCNJhealth camp activities, visit www.IHC-NJ.org

Ashok Amritraj

7December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Chicago: The American Medical

Association presented Dr. Latha Ganti

Stead with the Dr. William Beaumont

Award in Medicine Nov. 12 at its semi-

annual policy-making meeting.

The honor is awarded to a distinguished

young physician for his or her work in the

medical sciences. Stead, an emergency

medicine physician from Gainesville, Fla.,

is professor and chief of the division of

clinical research at the University of

Florida and the Toral Family Foundation

Endowed Professor of Traumatic Brain

Injury.

“Dr. Stead’s dedication to medicine is

reflected by the volume of research she’s

published, her commitment to patients and

time spent mentoring other physicians,”

AMA board chair Dr. Steven J. Stack stated

in a press release.

Still early in her career, Stead has already

achieved many milestones. At the age of

38, she became the first and youngest full

professor of emergency medicine at the

Mayo Clinic. She has authored 22 books,

including the best-selling “First Aid for the

Clinical Clerkship” series. Several of the

books are in their third edition and have

been translated into multiple languages.

Stead has received awards from the Mayo

Medical School for excellence in teaching.

The American College of Emergency

Physicians awarded her with the National

Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award in

2005; the Indian American physician also

received the first ever Mentorship Award

from the Emergency Medicine Residents’

Association in 2008.

Stead has been named a 2012-13

Fulbright Scholar for her project entitled,

“Strategy & Innovation in Clinical

Research for the Global Health Era.”

Stead received her medical degree from

Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico.

She then completed her residency in emer-

gency medicine at the Jacobi-Montefiore

Program, Albert Einstein College of

Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y.

Stead also holds a masters in clinical and

translational science from the Mayo

Graduate School and a masters in business

administration from the Kellogg School of

Management.

Latha Ganti Stead receives AMA’sYoung Physician Award

Washington, DC: The Obama

administration has announced it is

appointing a blind Indian-

American to a key administrative

post in an independent US agency

devoted for people with disabili-

ties.

Sachin Dev Pavithran has been

appointed as Member,

Architectural and Transportation

Barriers Compliance Board, the

White House said, as it

announced several other key

administration appointments.

"These dedicated individuals

bring a wealth of experience and

talent to their new roles and I am

proud to have them serve in this

administration. I look forward to

working with them in the months

and years to come," Obama said

in a statement.

Pavithran is Program Director

of the Utah Assistive Technology

Program at Utah State

University's Center for Persons

with Disabilities, a position he has

held since 2011.

Before serving as Program

Director, he served in a variety of

other roles at the Center, includ-

ing Program Coordinator and

Disability Policy Analyst, since

joining in 2002.

Pavithran has more than 12

years of experience as a consult-

ant on disability police and devel-

oping and training users of assis-

tive technology and accessible

websites.

He serves on the Association of

Assistive Technology Act

Programs National Board, the

Utah State Rehabilitation Council,

the Research and Development

Committee of the National

Federation of the Blind, and the

National Multicultural Council of

the Association of University

Centers for Disabilities.

In 2007, the National

Federation of the Blind awarded

him the Kenneth Jernigan

Scholarship. He received a B.A,

B.S, and an M.S from Utah State

University.

Obama appoints IndianAmerican to head US agency

for the disabledCalifornia: The investigation into the Nov. 30

slaying of Monte Sereno resident and promi-

nent Indian American Silicon Valley venture

capitalist Ravi Kumra is continuing, with

police issuing a sketch of one of the suspects

who broke into the venture capitalist's 7000 sq

foot home. Kumra's wife, Harinder Kumra,

called 911 just after 1:30 a.m. in what Los

Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott

Seaman described as a "frantic" phone call

pleading for help.

Harinder Kumra, who was beaten during the

burglary, was taken to a local hospital with

non-life-threatening injuries. No additional

information about the incident – including

Kumar’s cause of death – has been released by

police.

"At base level it is a burglary," Seaman said. "The

house has been ransacked, there were papers on the

floor and a carpet was moved. Clearly, a significant

portion of the house has been gone through."

Harinder Kumra told police there may have been

as many as three or four burglars in the home. One

of the intruders was described as being Hispanic or

white, about 23 or 24 years old, 6 feet tall, skinny,

with black hair, dark eyes and a light complexion.

"We believe the suspects were in the house for more

than 20 or 30 minutes," Seaman said. "We don't

know how they made entry."

Investigators worked throughout the weekend,

Seaman saying this is an "all hands" investigation.

"This is a very serious crime with a fatal outcome,"

Seaman said. "We have a very high concern that the

people who committed this crime be apprehended."

Kumra, 66 at the time of his death, has had sever-

al careers, including a three-year stint as the owner

of the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif., during

the late 1990s.

He founded the venture capital firm Tesla Capital

in 2002, a foreign LLC with no known affiliation to

the electric car manufacturer, and also had financial

interests with several cellular communications com-

panies.

Wine magnate and VC Ravi Kumra killedin possible home invasion

Ravi Kumra

Dr.Latha Ganti Stead

New York: Lata Mangeshkar's

voice is a gift from God. What

she does with it is her gift to

the world. She was born to

sing and has always main-

tained that she will continue to

sing and also serve the music

world till God wills it. This

singing icon of India has been

hailed as the Melody Queen,

the Voice of India, the

Nightingale, and has been at

the pinnacle of the music

world.

After seven decades of a

luminous career, Lataji or Didi

as she is fondly called, offers a

precious gift to music lovers.

In an effort to create music that

inspires her, Lataji launches a new music label, LM

MUSIC.

Mayuresh Pai has been appointed as the CEO of

LM MUSIC and New Jersey based Sanjay Chitale

as its Chief Strategist. Chitale will also oversee all

the business of the company in North America

besides the corporate strategy for LM MUSIC

worldwide.

All through her glorious career, she wished to do

more non film recordings, but these were limited to

special projects from time to time, due to her

extremely busy schedules and film commitments.

In recent years, the music

industry has faced some chal-

lenges and thus existing music

labels have been less forth-

coming in releasing non-film

albums. The few that were

made, faced many restrictions

of content, disparate views on

market acceptability, lack of

promotion, awareness and

thus availability. This situa-

tion caused concern to the

doyenne of the music world

and has led to the genesis of

LM MUSIC.

LM MUSIC is Lataji’s foray

into a venture that will give

her unfettered creativity, to

produce albums that she

believes in, to create content that will satisfy her, to

release albums that will inspire listeners to embrace

melodic music, as they always did.

LM MUSIC will release albums featuring Lataji

herself, as well as talent that she will handpick per-

sonally. LM MUSIC will encourage young talent

that needs an outlet for its creativity including bud-

ding artistes, who Lataji feels have the potential to

maintain the high standards set by our legends. LM

MUSIC will go a step further and will strive to

bring back the focus on music as an art, and as an

integral part of our heritage.

Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar addsanother jewel to her crown

Claremont, California: The Center

for Jain Studies at Claremont Lincoln

University has invited those interested

in studying Jain religion at the

International School for Jain Studies

(ISJS) in India this summer. Faculty,

graduate students, and undergraduate

students with an academic back-

ground, or strong interest, in the Indic

traditions are encouraged to apply for

this heavily subsidized immersion

experience.

Prospects have the choice of apply-

ing to one of two fellowship programs:

The 6-week program (June 1-July 15):

This fellowship program is designed to

meet the needs of scholars and stu-

dents with some background in South

Asian or Religious Studies. Students

can earn six graduate semester credits

for completing this program. Up to 20

fellows will be admitted into the six-

week program. Eligibility: One must

be a graduate student or a faculty

member at the start of the six-week

program to be considered for admis-

sion. Cost: $700 tuition [includes

round-trip airfare, room and board

(with three Jain-friendly meals per

day), travel costs in India, and course

materials]; approximately $100 in Visa

fees; and personal expenses. All par-

ticipants will be required to provide

their own health insurance for the

duration of the program. All full-time

faculty will receive a $1,000 stipend to

help defray costs in India.

The 4-week program (June 1-June

30): This fellowship program offers an

ideal introduction to India, the Dharma

traditions, and Jainism. In four weeks,

students will acquire proficiency in

Jain Studies, and be prepared to under-

take more advanced research in the

future. Students can earn three gradu-

ate or undergraduate semester credits

for completing this program. Up to 20

fellows will be admitted into the four-

week program. Eligibility: One must

be a senior undergraduate student, or a

graduate student, at the start of the

four-week program to be considered

for admission. Cost: $600 tuition

[includes room and board (with three

Jain-friendly meals per day), and trav-

el costs in India]; approximately

$1600 for roundtrip airfare; approxi-

mately $100 for visa fees; and person-

al expenses. All students will be

required to provide their own health

insurance for the duration of the pro-

gram.

Consideration of applications will

begin January 15, 2013. The final

application deadline is February 10,

2013 (at midnight PST).

International School for Jain Studiesannounces 40 summer fellowships

8 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

By Shashank Jain

Houston: The feelings of unity and

togetherness and spirituality were

overwhelming when five different

Jain organizations visited the JVB

Preksha Meditation Center in

Houston (JVB) on Sunday

December 2nd, 2012. The visit was

the first stop for a group of about

150 people, who were on a pilgrim-

age to visit and pay obeisance at

five local Jain temples in Houston in

one day. This pilgrimage also called

Chaitya Paripati is conducted after

the Chaturmas for worship, prayers

and meditation by Jains by visiting

five religious places.

This event was a first for the

Houston Jain community and possi-

bly also in all of North America

with the coming together of repre-

sentatives from six Jain organiza-

tions under one roof for the Chaitya

Paripati/Patna Darshan.

Jain Society of Houston (JSH)

took the lead role in organizing this

event and the other four participat-

ing Jain organizations were from

Waco, Austin, Dallas & Wisconsin.

All the members arrived in two

chartered buses and were received

with a grand welcome at JVB that

began with playing of the dhol,

chanting of mantras, bhajans and

with the unfurling of the Jain flag by

JVB Chairman Swatantra Jain and

Director Alok Jain. Thereafter all

the visitors upon entering the prem-

ises were adorned with tilaks and all

Sanghpatis (leaders) from the vari-

ous organizations were honored

individually. Jain Society of

Houston was represented by Kirti

Bhai Shah and Arvinda Ben; Kirit

Bhai Daftary represented the Waco

Jain Sangh. The Austin and Dallas

Jai Sanghs were represented by

Rajiv Gandhi and Dewang Kaveri

respectively, and Devendra Bhai

Modi was in Houston representing

the Wisconsin Jain sangh.

JVB Houston’s resident Jain nuns

- Samani Parimal Pragya ji and

Samani Amit Pragya ji presided

over the welcome proceedings and

Samani Parimal Pragya gave a

thoughtful message to all attendees

by talking about brotherhood and

amity among all. JVB Chairman

Swatantra Jain welcomed every-

body to the JVB center and its tem-

ple to pay their obeisance as part of

the Chaitya Paripati. JSH President

Jayesh Sanghvi presented a token of

appreciation and memento to the

JVB team on the occasion of their

Chaitya Paripati visit. He also

extended an open invitation to JVB

patrons and Samanijis to visit JSH

soon. This was followed by a deli-

cious lunch for all the visitors spon-

sored by Hasmukhbhai and

Chandrikaben Doshi. Thereafter the

Chaitya Paripati/Patna Darshan con-

tinued with departure from JVB to

the next temple destination.

The JVB Preksha Meditation

Center envisions a blissful and

peaceful society through Yoga,

Preksha Meditation and Education

of Non-violence. It is open for all

mankind. The JVB Preksha

Meditation center organizes free

half day workshops on 2nd

Saturday’s of every month. Formore information visit www.jvb-houston.org.

JVB welcomes five Jain organizations for Chaitya Paripati

150 Jains were on a pilgrimage visiting five local Jain temples in Houston in one day.

Lata Mangeshkar

Launches music label LM MUSIC

Global Math Meet held to mark Ramanujan’s birth anniversaryGainesville, Florida: The three-day International

Conference on Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa

Ramanujan convened by the Mathematics Department of

University of Florida recently in Gainesville to com-

memorate 125th birth anniversary of the prodigy dis-

cussed the global impact of his work on a wide range of

research topics. The conference, organized by Professors

Krishnaswami Alladi and Frank Garvan of the UF Math

Department and Ae Ja Yee of Pennsylvania State

University, attracted 70 eminent researchers from around

the world. Prof. Krishnaswami Alladi, a former chair of

the Mathematics Department of the University of Florida

and an authority on Number Theory, regularly conducts

graduate level courses and gives lectures on Ramanujan's

work. The UF Mathematics Department began a pro-

gram of research on Ramanujan type identities in 1987

when the Indian American professor joined the faculty.

The department is now recognized as one of the premier

centers in the world on research related to Ramanujan.

Born in a poor Hindu Brahmin family on Dec. 22,

1887, in rural South India, Ramanujan showed signs of

mathematical talent at an early age. He would get up in

the middle of the night and write down incredible formu-

lae on a piece of slate and would record these in note-

books later. Unable to find individuals in India who

could evaluate his findings, Ramanujan wrote two letters

to G.H. Hardy of Cambridge University in 1913 outlin-

ing some of his most spectacular formulae.

Hardy was convinced that Ramanujan was a Newton

of the East; at Hardy's invitation, Ramanujan went to

Cambridge University in 1914.

He wrote several fundamental papers of which two

were with Hardy. For his revolutionary contributions, he

was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society even though

he did not possess a college degree back home in India.

But the difficulties in managing day-to-day life in

England during World War I, combined with his own

peculiar personal habits, caused a decline in his health.

He returned to India in 1919, only to die within a year.

“In the brief span of 32 years, he has left behind an

enormous amount of deep mathematics that has occupied

the attention of generations of mathematicians since

then. Ramanujan's discoveries have continued to shape

the growth of modern mathematics to such an extent,

that it was considered worthwhile to launch the

Ramanujan Journal in 1997 devoted to all areas influ-

enced by him," said Alladi, founder and editor-in-chief

of the journal.

The Ramanujan Journal is publishing a special volume

in connection with the 125th birth anniversary.

Ramanujan has not only been an inspiration to

researchers in the West but his remarkable life story has

been told in popular books and plays in the last decade.

Robert Kanigel's biography of Ramanujan entitled "The

Man Who Knew Infinity" is a best seller.

The conference in Florida precedes a celebration of

Ramanujan's 125th anniversary in India in December

2012, where there will be several conferences including

one in Kumbakonam (Ramanujan's hometown in South

India) and another in New Delhi, Alladi said.

Xoom is Associate Sponsor of Dabangg 2San Francisco: Xoom

Corporation, a global

online money transfer

provider, has announced

an association with the

much anticipated block-

buster Dabangg 2, slat-

ed for release December

21, 2012.

“Xoom is thrilled to

be associated with such

an immensely popular

franchise as Dabanng,”

says Julian King,

Xoom’s Senior Vice

President of Marketing

and Corporate Development. “Xoom

is a proud sponsor of Dabanng 2 and

we hope that Indians will discover

how convenient, safe and fast it is to

send money to India with

Xoom.com.”

“We are pleased to announce our

association with Xoom.com money

transfer for Dabangg 2,” Arbaaz

Khan, producer and director of

Dabangg 2 said.

Dabangg 2 stars Salman Khan, one

of the most successful leading actors

in India, and Sonakshi Sinha, who

debuted with Dabangg, the 2010

smash hit.

The company is headquartered in

San Francisco and can be found

online at www.xoom.com.

During the 12 months ended

September 30, 2012, Xoom’s

700,000 active customers sent more

than $2.9 billion to family and

friends in 30 countries worldwide.

9December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Aakash Ganga founder awarded $100,000 Purpose Prize Encore.org recognized the engineer and nonprofit founder

for bringing drinking water to villages in IndiaNew York: To get drinking water

in Rajasthan, India, local women

and girls spend hours – often in

grueling heat – finding and haul-

ing drinking water back to their

remote villages.

Engineer Bhagwati (B.P.)

Agrawal long wanted to mitigate

the water shortage in India by

using the expertise he developed

in the United States, during years

of bringing technologies from lab

to market. Through his Fairfax,

Va.-based nonprofit, Sustainable

Innovations Inc., in 2003 he

founded Aakash Ganga, or River

from Sky. The goal: to create a

system for collecting one of the

region’s precious few sources of

safe drinking water – rain.

Aakash Ganga has created a net-

work of roofs, gutters, pipes and

underground tanks in six villages

that are home to 10,000 people.

The system stores the short-lived

rains that come during monsoon

season from July to September –

potentially enough water for a

year.

For his extraordinary contribu-

tions to society, Agrawal has won

a $100,000 Purpose Prize.

Now in its seventh year, The

Purpose Prize is America’s only

large-scale investment in social

entrepreneurs and other creative

problem solvers in the second half

of life. The Prize program, which

recognizes people 60 and older, is

funded by the John Templeton

Foundation and The Atlantic

Philanthropies. The Prize is

awarded by Encore.org (formerly

Civic Ventures), a nonprofit that

promotes encore careers – work

that is both personally meaningful

and serves the greater good.

“Because of B.P. Agrawal’s

work, thousands of people in

remote desert villages have access

to a vital, life-sustaining

resource,” said Marc Freedman,

founder and CEO and of

Encore.org and author of The Big

Shift. “He’s an inspiration for all

of us who want to use our experi-

ence in new ways to help others.”

As Agrawal expands Aakash

Ganga to dozens of other villages,

he is focusing on unleashing the

potential of the children and

women who no longer spend

hours fetching water. His nonprof-

it is training them as health care

workers who can diagnose and

treat common illnesses in their

villages.

“India’s chronic water scarcity

keeps girls out of school and

women out of the workforce. It

denies people good health,” said

Agrawal, 68. “The Purpose Prize

will help us improve the quality of

life in the region where I was

born, and I am grateful.”

B P Agrawal

Xoom-Dabangg 2 co-branding.

Five Bollywood stars feature at Madame Tussauds Washington

Washington, DC: Incredibly life-

like wax figures of five Hindi cine-

ma legends, including megastar

Amitabh Bachchan and superstar

Shah Rukh Khan, will be on dis-

play at Madame Tussauds

Washington D.C. through the end

of the year as part of a traveling

Bollywood exhibit at the famed

wax attraction.

Two colorfully dressed dancers in

turquoise and shiny gold sequined

outfits will sway and swing in syn-

chronous rhythm as they perform a

fusion of traditional and modern

Indian dances to help launch the

new exhibit here Tuesday.

The exhibit features Amitabh,

regarded as one of the most influen-

tial actors in the history of Indian

cinema, Shah Rukh, one of

Bollywood's most renowned actors

and often referred to as 'King

Khan', and Aishwarya Rai, one of

the leading contemporary actresses

of Indian cinema who was featured

in the blockbuster action thriller

"Dhoom 2."

Also featured are Hrithik Roshan,

acclaimed actor and recipient of

numerous best actor awards, and

Kareena Kapoor, who is noted for

her performances across a range of

film genres - from romantic dramas

and comedies to independent films

and major Bollywood productions.

The dancers, from the Rhythmaya

School of Dance, will open the

event with a brief performance

combining elements of both tradi-

tional and modern Indian dance

styles, according to a media release.

Lifesize wax figures of Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan,

Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan

Washington: Louisiana's

Indian American governor

Bobby Jindal may well be

making a bid for the White

House in 2016, a leading US

news site suggested citing a

meeting with a wealthy

Republican fund raiser.

Jindal and two other

Republican governors, John

Kasich of Ohio and Bob

McDonnell of Virginia

stopped by the Venetian

Resort Hotel Casino to meet

privately with its owner

Sheldon Adelson, "a man

who could single-handedly underwrite their

White House ambitions," Politico, the politics-

centric website, said.

Jindal, Kasich and McDonnell ventured over

to the Venetian for separate private meetings

with Adelson while they were in Las Vegas for

the Republican Governors Association winter

meeting, held last month at the rival Wynn

Resort, Politico said.

Jindal, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and

Susana Martinez of New Mexico - arrived in

Vegas before the RGA conference for a gather-

ing of the association's high-dollar Executive

Roundtable, which is open to donors who give

a minimum of $25,000 a year.

The roundtable's chairman, top Republican

fundraiser Fred Malek, met with

Jindal, the incoming RGA chair-

man, on the sidelines of the RGA

conference and was said to be

impressed, Politico said.

Malek wouldn't comment on

the Jindal meeting or the 2016

field, but his extensive connec-

tions in the Republican big-

money world would be a major

boon to any presidential hopeful,

it said.

In addition to his work at the

RGA, Malek helps lead a pair of

unlimited-money John Boehner-

linked outfits, Congressional

Leadership Fund and American Action

Network.

Among the prospective 2016 Democratic

presidential candidates, Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton has by far the greatest potential

for a mega donor network that could compete

with the deeper-pocketed outside groups that

emerged on the right over the past few years,

Politico said.

The donor base that she built during her New

York Senate bids and her 2008 presidential

campaigns - combined with the philanthropic

network her husband has cultivated in his post-

White House years and her appeal to newly

active female donors - could take Democratic

outside money to a new level, it said.

Will Bobby Jindal make a White Houserun in 2016?

10 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoUS AFFAIRS

US has made a strategic bet on India,says US official

Washington: Calling India a dynamic link

that "fuses" the Greater Middle East and East

Asia, a top US diplomat has said the Obama

Administration's strategic rebalancing to Asia

was expected to continue with renewed vigor.

"The United States' strong geopolitical

focus on Asia is a whole-of-government

acknowledgement that over the next century

events in Asia - from Delhi to Beijing - will

drive global politics and economics," said

Geoffrey Pyatt, principal deputy assistant sec-

retary of state, said at a conference in Muscat.

"To put an international spin on American

political phraseology: As goes Asia, so goes

the rest of the world," he said at the 6th IISS-

NESA South Asia Security Conference

Saturday according to the transcript released

by the State Department here Monday.

"US engagement in South Asia is central to

our reinvigorated outreach to the entire conti-

nent," Pyatt said noting US bilateral agenda

with each country in South Asia was intended

to strengthen its respective ties, address

impediments, and increase security and pros-

perity for its peoples.

For the last four years US vigorously sup-

ported regional economic integration in South

Asia, he said. "We've sought to promote con-

nectivity through the New Silk Road strategy,

helping to bring South Asia closer to Central

Asia in what one Foreign Minister has called

the new 'Great Gain'", Pyatt said.

"Likewise, we've been vocal proponents of

an Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor, which

aspires to link India and the rest of South Asia

to Southeast Asia through emerging road, air

and sea links," he said.

Academics and commentators readily

acknowledge India as a dynamic link that

"fuses" the Greater Middle East and East

Asia, Pyatt said.

"Northern India, for instance, is the home of

linguistic and cultural traditions of the Middle

East; likewise Hindu temples are found in

Bali and Cambodia. Persian language still can

be found as far eastward as Bangladesh and

India's Mughal dynasty had influences ema-

nating from Central Asia," he said.

The economic potential of a more open and

integrated South Asia is virtually unlimited,

Pyatt said noting the "United States has made

a strategic bet on India's future growth which

in turn rests on the wise choices of Delhi's

leadership."

"India's economic take-off has enabled

greater influence and responsibility in the

international system," he said. "As India has

shifted its engagement outward, this has

opened new possibilities for commerce and

connectivity with its neighbors.

Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan are but

three important pieces - each "gateway coun-

tries" - to a region whose rise can decisively

and positively shape global affairs, Pyatt said.

US vulnerable to cyber-PearlHarbour, says Panetta

Washington: The US faces the pos-

sibility of a "cyber-Pearl Harbour,"

becoming increasingly vulnerable to

hackers who could cripple trans-

portation and financial networks,

US Defense Secretary Leon E.

Panetta has warned.

Cyber attacks that have long

caused major work disruption and

theft of private information are

becoming more sophisticated, with

prolonged attacks perpetrated by

organised groups.

In Sep 2012, Bank of America,

Citibank, the New York Stock

Exchange, and other financial insti-

tutions were targets of cyber attacks.

The attacks lasted over five weeks.

Key to protecting online opera-

tions is a high degree of "cyber

security awareness," according to

researchers Varun Dutt, Young-Suk

Ahn, and Cleotilde Gonzalez of the

Dynamic Decision Making Lab

(DDML) at Carnegie Mellon

University. These researchers devel-

oped a computer model that present-

ed 500 simulated cyber attack sce-

narios to gauge simulated network

security analysts' ability to detect

attacks characterized as either

"impatient" (the threat occurs early

in the attack) or "patient" (the threat

comes later in the attack and is not

detected promptly), according to a

DDML statement.

"Application of our results include

the design of training tools that

increase competency and the devel-

opment of decision-support tools

that improve defenders' on-the-job

performance in detecting cyber

attacks."

As cyber warfare strategies and

tactics evolve, the authors plan to

further investigate the trend of

drawn-out attacks and new intrusion

detection software.

Long Island NFL player kills girlfriend, selfKansas City: Jovan Belcher, an

American football linebacker who

played for the Kansas City Chiefs

and grew up on Long Island, com-

mitted murder and suicide on

Saturday. Belcher shot and killed his

girlfriend Kasandra Perkins in front

of his mother on December 1, at

their house in Kansas City. Police

arrived at the house following a call

from Belcher's mother Cheryl

Shepherd, who had recently moved

there from West Babylon to help the

couple care for their three-month-

old daughter Zoey. Perkins, 22, had

been shot in the chest, neck, and

abdomen.

After killing Perkins, Belcher

drove to the Chiefs' practice facility,

got out of the car with a gun to his

head when he encountered Chiefs

general manager Scott Pioli. Belcher

told Pioli he killed his girlfriend and

thanked him before asking for him

and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt to take

care of his daughter. Pioli and others

tried to persuade Belcher to drop the

gun.

As police sirens were heard,

Belcher told the men he had to kill

himself and "can’t be here”. He

knelt down by a car, made a sign of

the cross and shot himself in the

head. Chiefs players planned a

fund to support his dauther, Zoey,

who was placed in the temporary

custody of Belcher's mother.

Friends said Belcher and Perkins

argued frequently and they had

argued after she returned at 1 a.m.

from a concert. Sports Illustrated

reported that Belcher was seen the

same evening with a different

woman and did not spend the night

at his Crysler home.

Home prices post biggest hike in 6 yearsNew York: Home prices posted their biggest annual

hike in more than six years in October--a sign the

housing sector continues to recover.

The home price index rose 6.3 percent compared to

October a year ago, the biggest increase since June

2006 and the eighth consecutive increase in home

prices nationally on a year-over-year basis.

Home prices fell 0.2 percent in October from

September but this was due to seasonal factors as the

housing market enters the off season.

Excluding distressed sales, prices were up 5.8 per-

cent on a yearly basis and rose 0.5 percent month on

month. Homeowners in danger of foreclosure, or in

"distress", often sell their homes at a significantly

reduced price.

Of the top 100 Core-Based Statistical Areas meas-

ured by population, 17 showed year-over-year

declines in October, four fewer than in September.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta

Jovan Belcher, a linebackerwho played for the Kansas

City Chiefs.

11December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS

Washington: With talks between

the White House and Congress

Republicans over a deal to avert

the so-called "fiscal cliff" stale-

mated, President Obama

Wednesday turned his focus to the

business community, urging a

meeting of the Business

Roundtable to help him lobby

Congress for a "balanced" deal

that includes tax hikes for the

nation's wealthiest earners.

Obama, who has recently redou-

bled his efforts to rebuild a strong

relationship with the business

world after years of tension, is

currently locked in a stalemate

with House Republican leaders

over averting the so-called "cliff,"

a series of tax hikes and spending

cuts set to go into effect next year.

The president insists he will not

sign off on a proposal that does

not increase tax rates for house-

holds earning $250,000 or more

per year, while Republicans have

repeatedly reiterated their refusal

to raise tax rates.

So far, no deal seems to be in

the works: The White House and

House Speaker John Boehner

each offered up plans reflective of

their party's ideologies, both of

which were swiftly rejected by the

other side. Worse, there were no

substantive conversations

Tuesday at any level at all

between the White House and

Boehner on the framework for a

deal.

In his remarks to Business

Roundtable, Obama attempted to

win it to his side of the political

argument, outlining his opposition

to the GOP proposal and essen-

tially accusing Republicans of

holding the global economy

hostage.

"I am passionately rooting for

your success, because if the com-

panies in this room are doing well,

then small businesses and medi-

um-sized businesses up and down

the chain are doing well," he said.

"Obviously the global economy is

still soft. Europe is going to be in

the doldrums for quite some

time... Everybody's looking to

America because they understand

that if we're able to put forward a

long-term agenda for growth and

prosperity that's broad based here

in the U.S., that confidence will

increase not just here in the U.S.

but will increase globally."

The president went on to outline

his objections to the GOP plan,

which proposes to raise revenue

by eliminating unspecified tax

loopholes and deductions.

Obama's most recent proposal to

stave off the "fiscal cliff" calls for

$1.6 trillion in new revenues,

achieved in part by letting the

Bush-era tax cuts expire for the

wealthiest Americans, as well as

$600 billion in spending cuts and

a handful of other measures. The

Republican offer put forward a

counter offer that is made up of

$900 billion in spending cuts and

$800 billion in new revenues

achieved through tax reform that

preclude rate increases.

The president also warned

Republicans against embracing a

plan to use a February battle over

the debt limit to get their way on

tax rates. "That's not a game that I

will play," he said.

‘Fiscal cliff’ talks frozen, Obama lobbies big business

Washington: Former US president George W. Bush

said Tuesday that immigrants are critical to both the

US labor market and the economy.

In a rare public policy speech after leaving office,

Bush said at a symposium in Dallas that "America's

a nation of immigrants, immigrants have helped

build the country that we've become. Not only do

immigrants help build the economy, they invigorate

our souls".

"As our nation debates the proper course of action

related to immigration, I hope we do so with a

benevolent spirit and keep in mind the contribution

of immigrants," Bush said at the symposium hosted

by the George W. Bush Institute and the Federal

Reserve Bank of Dallas on immigration and eco-

nomic growth, reported Xinhua.

"They come with new skills and new ideas," Bush

said. "They fill a critical gap in our labor market,

they work hard for a chance for a better life."

Bush made this renewed appeal for the Republican

Party to embrace immigration reform as an issue,

five years after his failed effort to push for a broad

reform bill that included ramped-up border security

as well as pathway to citizenship for some illegal

immigrants in the United States.

Some Republican leaders have spoken out about

the need to reach out to Hispanics, the fastest-grow-

ing group in the US that overwhelmingly supported

President Obama in the presidential election last

month.

Immigrants important to US economy: George W. Bush

Former US president George W. Bush

Harry Reid: Filibuster changeswill take place in January

Citigroup to cut 11,000 jobsand take $1 billion charge

Washington: Keeping with his post-

election pledge to reform the fili-

buster, Senate Majority Leader Harry

Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday proffered

that changes to the rules of the upper

chamber will be made, leaving it up to

Republicans if they would like to par-

ticipate.

"There are discussions going on now

[over filibuster reform], but I want to

tell everybody here. I'm happy I've had

a number of Republicans come to me,

a few Democrats,” Reid told reporters.

“We're going to change the rules. We

cannot continue in this way. I hope we

can get something that the Republicans

will work with us on.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch

McConnell, who has repeatedly

slammed Democratic efforts to reform

the filibuster, was unmoved by Reid’s

statement.

"Well, there is growing Democratic

unease with breaking the rules to

change the rules,” McConnell said

later. “I think it will be very difficult

for that to come about. I think it will

be bad for the Senate.”

McConnell added that in accordance

with Senate rules, such an effort

would require a 67-vote majority, and

that Reid’s approach to make the

changes with a simple 51-vote majori-

ty -- a procedure that has been labeled

a “nuclear option” by its opponents --

would be "bad for the institution, bad

for the country."

Following the November election,

Reid indicated that he would aggres-

sively pursue a filibuster reform to

stop GOP senators from continuously

blocking legislation from moving for-

ward. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) has

been working with Reid on the pro-

posed changes, which would effec-

tively force any senators wanting to

delay a vote to visibly take to the floor

and talk.

New York: Citigroup announced on

Wednesday that it would cut 11,000 jobs,

reducing its work force by roughly 4 per-

cent in an effort to cut costs.

Under the reduction, 1,900 jobs will be

eliminated in the institutional clients divi-

sion. Another 6,200 positions will be

removed from the bank’s consumer bank-

ing business, along with 2,600 jobs in the

operations and technology group.

Since 2007, the bank has slashed its

workforce by 33 percent, leaving it with

about 250,000 employees today.

The reductions at Citigroup come after

the bank’s powerful chairman, Michael E.

O’Neill, engineered the ouster of its for-

mer chief executive, Vikram S. Pandit,

and named a handpicked successor,

Michael L. Corbat, according to several

people close to the bank.

Since the power change in October,

which stunned Wall Street, there has been

unease throughout the upper ranks of

Citigroup, according to the people. Some

within the executive ranks have been

worried that O’Neill, acting through

Corbat, would quickly pare down the

bank.

The bank said it would take a pretax

charge of roughly $1 billion in the fourth

quarter and $100 million of related

charges in the first half of 2013. In the

third quarter, Citigroup reported a profit

of $468 million, or 15 cents a share.

Washington: Faced with lagging achievement and

growing evidence that American school students are not

keeping pace with kids in other industrialized nations,

five US states have announced their participation in a

pilot project that will give thousands of students more

time to learn, starting next year.

"Adding meaningful in-school hours is a critical

investment that better prepares children to be successful

in the 21st century," US Education Secretary Arne

Duncan said.

Duncan, along with officials from the states of New

York, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and

Tennessee formally announced the "Time for Innovation

Matters in Education" (TIME) collaborative, which pro-

vides 300 hours of additional learning time for reading,

writing, arithmetic and other classroom lessons.

The three year test program targets roughly 20,000

elementary and middle school students at 40 schools in

primarily lower-income communities and will tap feder-

al and state funding as well as additional private

resources.

Although other schools in the US have begun experi-

menting with models for extended learning, the TIME

program is designed to be a collaborative effort that will

gradually expand to more schools over a three-year

period. "To prepare students for college or a middle-

class job in today's economy, the conventional basics

are not enough," said Jennifer Davis, president of the

National Center on Time and Learning (NCTL), a non-

profit that supports expanded learning time for students

and is providing some of the resources for the project.

"For high-poverty schools, more time means more

learning opportunities for children to succeed in school

and in life," she added.It's not that students in the US

are learning less than they used to. It's that students in

other developed nations are learning more.

A report released by Harvard University's Program on

Education and Governance found US students lagging

two to three times behind students in developed coun-

tries around the world.

New US plan to help students catch up: more school hours

12 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA

New Delhi: The government would

win the vote on foreign investment

in multi-brand retail in the Rajya

Sabha just as it had in the Lok

Sabha, senior ministers said despite

the fact that the ruling United

Progressive Alliance does not have

the numbers in the upper house.

"We won in the Lok Sabha and I

am confident of my numbers in

Rajya Sabha and we will win,"

Parliamentary Affairs Minister

Kamal Nath told reporters outside

parliament.

His colleague, union Finance

Minister P. Chidambaram, exuded

similar confidence. "Debate will

happen in Rajya Sabha and the gov-

ernment is sure we will win the

vote," he said brushing aside the

arithmetic of the government falling

short of numbers.

Unlike in the Lok Sabha, where

the government comfortably won

the foreign direct investment (FDI)

vote, the government is likely to

face a tough test in the Rajya Sabha.

Its numbers do not cross even the

halfway mark despite the help of

outside supporters.

The motion would be debated

under rules 167-168, which entail

voting after an "in principle" deci-

sion taken at a meeting of Rajya

Sabha chairman and leaders of

political parties.

The government needs the sup-

port of 123 members in the 244-

member house to defeat the motion

brought by the opposition. The

Congress with its allies has a

strength of 89 in the upper house.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav

had said a decision would be taken

at the right opportunity. BSP leader

Mayawati, meanwhile, said her

party's stand would be decided at

the time of voting.

The two parties, daggers drawn in

Uttar Pradesh, walked out of the

Lok Sabha during the vote, thereby

giving the government a comfort-

able win.

In the Rajya Sabha, however,

even abstentions by the SP and the

BSP will not help the government

get past the halfway mark.

FDI vote: UPA disregards Upper House math

Unlike in the Lok Sabha, the government is likely to face a tough test in the Rajya Sabha

Lucknow: Even as the Uttar

Pradesh government drags its feet

on several projects ahead of the

Maha Kumbh in January, it has

gone into overdrive to lay out the

red carpet for thousands of media-

persons, from India and around the

world, who will gather in

Allahabad for the mega religious

congregation.

The event, being held after 12

years, starts January 14 and ends

March 10. Around 40 million peo-

ple are expected to attend.

According to information and

public relations department offi-

cials, elaborate arrangements are

being made for the media jamboree

of around 4,000 national and 3,000

international journalists expected to

descend on the city from next

month.

The government has approved

pitching of 100 Swiss cottage tents

for the international media and 150

for the Indian media.

While deliberations are on

whether to charge international

media for the services, journalists

accredited by the state government

are likely to get free luxury stays in

the tents.

A mouth-watering vegetarian

menu - including Indian, continen-

tal and other dishes - is being

planned to cater to the palate of the

journalists.

Two cafeterias each for the

national and international media are

being proposed where food will be

made available 24x7 on payment

basis, an official privy to the prepa-

rations said.

Other than this, a media centre,

enough to accommodate 600 medi-

apersons, will also be set up on the

banks of the Sangam, the conflu-

ence of the Ganga, Yamuna and

Saraswati rivers.

In addition, a press conference

hall wherein visiting dignitaries and

VIPs will be able to interact with

the press, broadband connections,

50 computers with internet facility,

10 printers, 10 scanners and many

telephone lines and faxes are also

being lined up.

For the audio-visual media, a

sound-proof studio for recording

and uplinking will also be provid-

ed.

Officials say three 24x7 cameras

would be installed from which

footage would be uplinked on an

FTA (free-to-air) basis.

In addition, five hi-tech editing

machines would be provided for

television crews and one FTP (file-

transfer-protocol) server would also

be established in the media centre.

While the Maha Kumbh is held

every 12 years, Kumbh Melas are

held every four years, alternately at

Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and

Ujjain.

Maha Kumbh: Red carpet welcome for media

Hatred politics doesn't pay: Mark TullyNew Delhi: India has recovered from

the shock of the cataclysmic events that

followed the Babri Masjid demolition

in 1992, but that dark episode should

be taken as a warning against mixing

politics with religion and inciting inter-

community hatred, says the celebrated

former BBC journalist and author

Mark Tully who was witness to it.

Tully, who covered the riotous

events in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992, felt

the Ram Janambhoomi movement was

not the sole factor for the rise of the

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the late

1980s and that the decline of the

Congress also contributed to the

process.

Recalling the events of Dec 6, 1992,

the day Sangh Parivar groups were to

start building a Ram temple in

Ayodhya, Tully said he had taken

position on a roof of a building over-

looking the mosque. He said Sangh

Parivar groups, including the BJP and

the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),

had assured the administration that it

would only be a symbolic beginning

and no harm would come to the

mosque.

"Trouble broke out when young

men wearing yellow headbands man-

aged to break police barriers and

sought to make their way to where a

ceremony was to be held symbolizing

the laying of the first bricks of the

temple. Police had instructions not to

open fire," Tully recalled.

The crowds, he said, first attacked

television crews and smashed their

cameras. "I saw two young men

scramble on top of a dome and start to

dismantle it," Tully said, adding that

they were soon joined by others.

He said he had to drive from

Ayodhya to Faizabad to file his story

as the telephone lines had been cut,

but getting back to Ayodhya was very

difficult.

When he arrived in the town, jubi-

lant young men were chanting slo-

gans. "They were calling BBC names.

I was locked up in one of the tem-

ples." Tully said by the time he was

released the mosque had been demol-

ished. "The demolition has been a day

that shocked the world, that shocked

India. It led to riots," he said.

Tully said that the demolition of the

Babri Masjid had dented India's image

but most of it had worn off. "I think

India has recovered. India was widely

condemned, but no longer. It caused a

great deal of damage at that time.

Most of that has worn off," Tully said.

Tully said cases relating to demoli-

tion of the Babri Masjid have been on

for 20 years. "Twenty years on, cases

have not been decided one way or the

other. (It is) not a very good reflection

on the Indian judicial system. In prac-

tical terms, it is not such a bad thing as

it had allowed things to fade

away," he said.

20 years after Babri demolition

Mark Tully said that the demolition of the Babri Masjidhad dented India's image but

most of it had worn off

The event, being held after 12 years, starts January 14 and ends March 10

Sonia, Manmohan in top20 of Forbes' list

Washington: India's ruling

Congress president Sonia Gandhi

and Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh are ranked 12th and 19th

respectively on the Forbes list of

'The World's Most Powerful

People' with President Barack

Obama retaining his top position.

As leader of India's ruling party,

Sonia Gandhi, 65, who was ranked

sixth on Forbes list of Power

Women, "has the reins of the

world's second-most-populous

country and tenth-largest econo-

my", the US business magazine

said.

"Son Rahul is next in line to take

over India's most famous political

dynasty," it suggested.

Listing Manmohan Singh, 80,

19th on the power list, Forbes says:

"Oxford- and Cambridge-educated

economist is the architect of India's

economic reforms, but Singh's

quiet intellectualism is increasingly

seen as timid and soft."

German Chancellor Angela

Merkel moves up to number two

from fourth place last year, fol-

lowed by Russian President

Vladimir Putin (No. 3), Bill &

Melinda Gates Foundation Co-

chair Bill Gates (No. 4) and Pope

Benedict XVI (No. 5).

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

(No. 25) dropped out of the Top 10

to 25, from No. 9 in 2011.

Sonia Gandhi with Manmohan Singh

Amritsar: Punjab Police Thursday

dismissed a station house officer

(SHO) for dereliction of duty a day

after an assistant sub-inspector

(ASI) was shot dead by a ruling

Akali Dal leader near here.

ASI Ravinder Pal Singh was

allegedly shot dead by Ranjit Singh

Rana, general secretary of Amritsar

district Akali Dal, and his accom-

plices in Chheharta area after the

ASI objected to his daughter being

harassed by them Wednesday.

Rana had been stalking the ASI's

daughter for the last few days.

Rana and his accomplice were

arrested Thursday for the ASI's

killing while two other men contin-

ued to elude the police.

The police officer was in uniform

when he was attacked by Rana. The

accused fired at and injured the ASI

and his daughter after the officer

confronted them for harassing his

daughter.

After some time, Rana and his

accomplices returned with more

weapons and shot him in the chest,

leaving him dead.

Punjab Director General of Police

(DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini told

mediapersons here that police

swung into action immediately after

Wednesday's killing and arrested

the main accused. Three weapons,

all licensed, were also recovered.

He said the ASI's daughter had

complained to the police station

about being harassed by the youth

but the SHO did not take any

action. The officer was suspended

Wednesday.

Akali Dal leaders washed their

hands of the entire incident saying

the killing of the ASI was an "indi-

vidual act" of Rana.

"We have expelled him from the

party. This was his individual act.

We cannot foresee what a particular

leader may do in the future. The

Akali Dal has nothing to do with it,"

Punjab's Revenue Minister Bikram

Singh Majithia told reporters.

Majithia is the brother-in-law of

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and

Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh

Badal.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh said

Thursday that no one, however high

and influential, would be allowed to

take law in his own hands.

Accusing the Akali Dal of push-

ing the state towards lawlessness,

Punjab Congress president

Amarinder Singh condemned the

"brutal killing" of the ASI "while

trying to prevent two Akali goons

from harassing his daughter at

Amritsar on Wednesday".

He blamed Majithia "for patronis-

ing goons and criminals who had

the audacity to kill an ASI who

objected to the eve-teasing of his

daughter"

Chandigarh: The Punjab gov-

ernment will bring two new laws

for the welfare of NRIs, a minis-

ter said here Thursday. The new

laws will be 'Compulsory

Registration of Marriage Act' and

'Punjab Prevention of Human

Smuggling Act'. Both legislations

will be tabled in the forthcoming

assembly session beginning Dec

17," NRI Affairs Minister

Bikram Singh Majithia said.

Majithia said the law to prevent

human smuggling was aimed at

saving youth from the state "from

the illegal network of unautho-

rized travel agents".

He said that after enactment of

the act, travel agents would have

to register themselves with the

competent authority of Punjab

government.

He said that Punjab would be

the first state in the country to

introduce a stringent law against

the illegal practices of unautho-

rized travel agents.

He added that the new act

would encourage youth to go

abroad through proper and legal

channels.

About the act for compulsory

registrations of marriage,

Majithia said that it would tight-

en the noose around grooms

indulging in fraud marriages. He

said that it would be mandatory

for NRIs to register their mar-

riage with the Registrar of

Marriages along with their full

details of their address abroad

and in India.

Mumbai: Nationalist

Congress Party (NCP) leader

Ajit Pawar will rejoin the

Maharashtra cabinet as deputy

chief minister Friday, days

after he got a clean chit in the

alleged irrigation scam in the

state.

Pawar will be sworn-in 9.30

a.m. Friday by Governor K.

Sankaranarayanan, a top Raj

Bhavan official told IANS.

Pawar, nephew of NCP chief

Sharad Pawar, had quit in a

huff Sep 25 after his name

cropped up in the alleged

scam.

SHO dismissed after Akalileader kills police officer

Punjab to enact two laws for NRI welfare

Ajit Pawar to be Maharashtra deputy CM again

New Delhi: Blaming Arvind

Kejriwal's fascination for power for

split in anti-graft movement, Anna

Hazare on Thursday said he will

not vote for the Aam Aadmi Party

charging that it is going the same

way as others by taking the path of

'money through power' and vice

versa. Asked whether his former

aide has become "greedy" for

power, the 75-year-old activist said,

"It was right".

"I thought I will (vote for AAP)

but now I find it difficult because it

is being seen that it is moving

towards the path of 'money through

power and power through money', I

will not be anywhere near them,"

he said at a session of a two-day

program 'Agenda' organized by

'Aaj Tak' news channel.

He was responding to a question

whether he will vote

for AAP, the party

formed by Kejriwal

after his split with

Hazare on the question

of the anti-corruption

movement taking a

political plunge.

Hazare had earlier

said that he will sup-

port the party if it

fields honest candi-

dates and that he will

campaign for Kejriwal

if he fights against union minister

Kapil Sibal.

Asked whether Kejriwal has

become greedy for power and it

resulted in the split, Hazare said,

"This is right. Earlier I used to

think that Arvind is into selfless

service. But I don't understand how

this thought of entering politics

came into his mind."

He also agreed to a question it

was Kejriwal's political ambition

that led to the split.

"A movement was on for the first

time after independence for system

change. People were coming out. I

thought a good movement has been

evolved. There was a feeling that

this will earn results. But at that

time, I don't understand, how such

a thought came into his mind,"

Hazare said.

I won't vote for Kejriwal's party: Anna

Anna Hazare had earlier said he will supportAam Aadmi party if it fields honest candidates

Ajit Pawar is NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew.

Gujarat: Congress leader Amin joins BJP

Rashtrapati Bhavan to host foreign guests

13December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

Ahmedabad: In a major blow to

Congress ahead of the Gujarat

Assembly polls, senior party leader

and former deputy chief minister

Narhari Amin switched sides and

joined the BJP with his supporters

in Ahmedabad.

Amin, who has sizeable support

in the politically powerful Patel

community, was welcomed into the

party by Gujarat chief minister

Narendra Modi, who described the

move as a step towards strengthen-

ing democracy.

Amin's 21-year-old association

with the Congress where he worked

hard to build and maintain a strong

base of party workers, ended after

he was denied ticket by the party

for 2012 assembly polls.

He was seen sharing stage in all

important events of Congress, with

the state top leaders in the last one

year, since the party started cam-

paigning for the 2012 elections.

Amin said that senior leaders like

him were 'insulted' by the Congress

as it had given tickets to unknown

faces but those who had worked for

the party for the last so many years

were ignored.

Amin is a prize catch for BJP,

given the challenge it is facing in

Saurashtra region where former

chief minister and Gujarat

Parivartan Party (GPP) president

Keshubhai Patel has come out all-

guns-blazing against Narendra

Modi government.

New Delhi: Foreign dignitaries could

soon enjoy a rare honor—spending

the night in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Nearly two decades after the practice

fell into disuse, with a handful of

exceptions, President Pranab

Mukherjee has expressed the desire to

refurbish the guest wing of

Rashtrapati Bhavan to allow foreign

dignitaries to stay at the sprawling

estate rather than at a hotel as has been

the case for several years.

Press secretary to the President

Venu Rajamony confirmed the move,

saying, "The President has expressed a

desire to have foreign guests stay at

Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is a long-

term plan to refurbish the guest wing.''

Mukherjee's move to step up Indian

hospitality by offering the President's

guest wing is in line with other coun-

tries like the US which hosts world

leaders at Blair House or the UK

where the monarchy's guests stay at

one of the official palaces. The prac-

tice of guests staying at Rashtrapati

Bhavan was discontinued in the 1980s

following international trend of digni-

taries staying at hotels with their dele-

gations.

This was due to the increasing size

of the delegations, accessibility of the

leader to visitors and security con-

cerns.

Gujarat's Former deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin

The move is in line with countries like US which hostsworld leaders at Blair House

14 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA

New Delhi: A Delhi court has

extended for two more days the

police custody of Sukhdev Singh

Namdhari, booked for the shoot-

ing of Hardeep Singh, brother of

slain liquor baron Ponty Chadha.

Namdhari, a witness to the Nov

17 shootout at a farmhouse in

south Delhi in which both the

brothers were killed, has been

booked under Indian Penal Code's

Section 302 (murder) for

Hardeep's killing.

Metropolitan Magistrate

Rajinder Singh said: "Accused

Namdhari is further remanded to

two days of police custody. The

accused be produced before this

court or any other competent court

upon the expiry of the police cus-

tody remand on Dec 7."

Police said Namdhari had to be

confronted with his security offi-

cer Sachin Tyagi, already in

custody.

Investigating Officer Jitendar

Singh told the court that investiga-

tion in the case and statement of a

witness had established that

Namdhari and Tyagi had fired at

Hardeep.

During the interrogation, the

accused disclosed the name of his

associates and his custodial inter-

rogation was required for their

identification, police said.

The court extended Namdhari's

custody by two more days saying

he was required to be interrogated

for the recovery of the alleged

weapon of offence and vehicle

used in the crime.

Namdhari was sacked as chair-

man of the Uttarakhand Minorities

Commission after the Chadha

brothers' killings. He was arrested

from his farmhouse in

Uttarakhand Nov 23.

R.S. Malik, Namdhari's counsel

earlier opposed the police plea for

remand and said his client had

already spent over 11 days in

police custody and there was noth-

ing else to be recovered from him.

According to police, Namdhari

killed Hardeep Nov 17 in the

shootout at farmhouse No.42 in

south Delhi's Chhattarpur.

Ponty Chadha killing: Namdhari quizzing on

Sukhdev Singh Namdhari (centre) is booked for killing HardeepSingh, brother of slain liquor baron Ponty Chadha

Washington: Nasa has released

black and white satellite images of

India this Diwali night, cautioning

people against the fake image in

circulation in social media circles.

"On November 12, 2012, the

Visible Infrared Imaging

Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the

Suomi NPP satellite captured this

nighttime view of southern Asia,"

Nasa said releasing a picture of

India on this Diwali night.

"The image is based on data col-

lected by the VIIRS 'day- night

band', which detects light in a

range of wavelengths from green

to near-infrared. The image has

been brightened to make the city

lights easier to distinguish," it

said.

Nasa said most of the bright

areas in the imagery released by it

are cities and towns in India, the

country with the world's largest

Hindu population.

"India is home to more than 1.2

billion people and has 30 cities

with populations over 1 million.

(For comparison, China has 62

cities with more than 1 million

residents and the United States has

9)," it said.

Cities in Bangladesh, Nepal, and

Pakistan are also visible near the

edges of the image.

"An image that claims to show

the region lit for Diwali has been

circulating on social media web-

sites and the Internet in recent

years. In fact, it does not show

what it claims. That image, based

on data from the Operational

Linescan System flown on US

Defense Meteorological Satellite

Program (DMSP) satellites, is a

color-composite created in 2003

by NOAA scientist Chris Elvidge

to highlight population growth

over time," Nasa said.

"In that image, white areas show

city lights that were visible prior

to 1992, while blue, green, and red

shades indicate city lights that

became visible in 1992, 1998, and

2003 respectively," it said.

"In reality, any extra light pro-

duced during Diwali is so subtle

that it is likely imperceptible when

observed from space," Nasa said.

Zee chief gets shield against arrest

India ranks 94 in list of

corrupt nationsNew Delhi: India was ranked

94 out of 176 countries sur-

veyed in the Corruption

Perceptions Index (CPI) 2012,

with a score of 36 on a scale

from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100

(very clean), the Transparency

International India (TII) said.

Last year India ranked 95 out

of 183 countries. However, due

to an update in the methodolo-

gy, CPI scores of 2011 cannot

be compared with this years'

score, S.K. Agarwal, vice-

chairman of TII said. He added

that India had the same score of

36 in 2011 as well.

"The 2012 index ranks coun-

tries by their perceived levels

of public sector corruption and

assigns scores of between one

(highly corrupt) and 100

(clean). Ten independent data

sources specializing in gover-

nance and business climate

analysis have been used,"

Agarwal added.

While Somalia, North Korea

and Afghanistan were the most

corrupt countries with a score

of eight, Denmark, Finland and

New Zealand tied for the first

place of the least corrupt with a

score of 90.

China had a CPI score of 39,

which is better than India,

while Pakistan's was 27.

CPI scores and ranks coun-

tries based on how corrupt a

country's public sector is per-

ceived to be. It is a combination

of surveys and assessments of

corruption collected by a vari-

ety of reputable institutions.

We use Indian potatoes forFrench fries: McDonald's

Witness Diwali, in Nasa satellite imagesNew Delhi: The Indian arm of US

fast food giant McDonald's sought

to dispel the notion that the pota-

toes for its popular French fries

were being imported from abroad,

saying it has stood by its commit-

ment to source all ingredients

locally.

"Before setting up its business in

India, McDonald's made a com-

mitment to the government on

local sourcing of its entire raw

material requirement," Vikram

Bakshi, the managing director of

McDonald's India (North and

East), said in a statement.

"We confidently and proudly

state that ingredients used in our

products are sourced locally, that

includes the French fries," Bakshi

said, a day after it was alleged in

parliament that the fast food giant

was importing its potatoes.

"Ask McDonald's about their

fries. They never buy potatoes

from Indian farmers, saying their

potatoes are too small," Leader of

Opposition in the Lok Sabha

Sushma Swaraj Tuesday said in a

debate, seeking a ban on foreign

equity in multi-brand retail trade.

But McDonald's refuted her

claim."Being committed to quality,

we have stringent standards for the

kind of potatoes we use for French

Fries - they have to be of a certain

length, have high solids content

and low moisture content," said

the fast food giant.

"When we began developing our

business in India, there were no

process-grade potato varieties

available in India. Only table

grade variety of potato was grown.

We, along with our supplier,

McCain, have worked closely with

farmers in Gujarat to produce

process-grade potato varieties," it

said.

"These are mainly contract farm-

ers in Deesa (North Gujarat) and

Kheda (Central Gujarat). We con-

tinue to contribute in the growth of

these farmers. McDonald's

remains steadfast to its commit-

ment of working with local suppli-

ers and farmers to source all its

requirements in India."

New Delhi: A Delhi

court has granted interim

protection against arrest

to Zee group chairman

Subhash Chandra till

December 14 in a case of

an alleged extortion bid

of Rs.100 crore by two

journalists of his TV

channel.

Chandra had moved a plea for

anticipatory bail before a Delhi

court, barely days after he assured

police of joining the probe into an

alleged extortion bid by his channel's

two editors, said a lawyer.

Earlier, Chandra had assured Delhi

Police that he would join the investi-

gation within 96 hours.

Police had twice

served notice to

Chandra last month

asking him to join

investigations after the

arrest of Zee editors

Sudhir Chaudhury and

Samir Ahluwalia for

their alleged extortion

bid of Rs.100 crore

from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's

company. Sudir Chaudhary, head of

Zee News, and Samir Ahluwalia,

head of Zee Business, were earlier

arrested Nov 27 on charges of

allegedly attempting to extort money

Jindal's company in exchange for not

filing news reports linking his firm

to the coal blocks allocation.

US fast food giant McDonald's outlet in Delhi

Zee group chairmanSubhash Chandra

A Nasa Earth Observatoryimage shows India

during Diwali

SECOND INDIA RESORT FASHION WEEK

More glamor than business at resort fashion week

Priyanka inspiring assinger: Zeenat Aman

Doing 'Zanjeer' for ApoorvaLakhia: Designer Puri

15December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Candolim (Goa): From Indian

names including Zeenat Aman,

Bipasha Basu, Genelia D'Souza,

Shazahn Padamsee to

International fashion icons like

Paris Hilton, Miss Paraguay

Leryn Franco and Nicole Huber,

the second edition of India Resort

Fashion Week (IRFW) was more

about glamor than business.

With as many as 30 shows, the

four-day festival that was divided

into three areas - 'The Fashion

Show', 'The Fashion Village' and

'The Music Festival', concluded

with a energetic performance by

Paris, who visited the country for

the second time.

The first edition witnessed 15

designers showcasing their talent,

but the second edition had more

names.

Some of the established names

part of fashion fest were Narendra

Kumar, Neeta Lulla, Arjun and

Anjalee Kapoor, Pria Kataaria

Puri, James Ferreira, Falguni and

Shane Peacock, Rocky S and

Babita Malkani.

When asked why there were

lesser established names this year,

Mumbai-based designer Narendra

Kumar said that people in India

were little exposed to trends in

resort wear.

"I think I understand the value

of the resort week, other people

probably do not understand or

cannot make clothes that are dif-

ferent from one collection to

other. Its important that I partici-

pated and am sure there will be

more designers who will enjoy

the mix of fun, fashion and music

together in the coming days," he

said.

"I think the resort trend is rele-

vant to India. It is one kind of

clothing that is perfect across

India. It is probably the best thing

one could do," Kumar added.

Unlike last season, this fashion

week was organised in open air,

giving more space for designers

to showcase their creativity.

While space was provided,

there were hardly any collection

displayed for the buyers. Almost

all the stalls were empty, and

there was much leisure and chat-

ting.

Shane and Flaguni Peacock,

who were the finale designers for

the fashion week, said that organ-

ising a resort week is surely going

to help the Indian fashion world.

"Resort week is definitely a

good thing to do for Indian mar-

ket and it was our gut feeling that

made us say yes to this event,"

said the designer duo, who rarely

participate in Indian fashion

weeks because of their interna-

tional commitments.

Amit Patel from E-Sense enter-

tainment, who brought some of

the international names, including

Paris, said that buyers from

around the globe had flown in to

see the collection.

Visitors at the IRFW seemed

more drawn to the music than the

fashion. The four-day event had a

robust line-up of Indian and inter-

national disc jockeys (DJs). From

Indian DJs like Vijay Chawla,

Anish Sood and Clement D'Souza

to international names like Sidney

Samson, Dimitri Vegas, Like

Mike and of course Paris Hilton,

the music definitely attracted one

and all.

Candolim (Goa): Yesteryears' glamorous actress Zeenat

Aman, who walked for designer Riyaz Gangji at the India

Resort Fashion Week (IRFW), says all the current breed

of Bollywood actresses are multi-faceted, especially

Priyanka Chopra for her "inspiring" singing talent.

"All the girls today in the industry are multi-faceted and

multi-talented. They are doing everything with confi-

dence. Each one has their own style statement. I like

Vidya Balan in a Sabyasachi Mukherjee sari or Katrina

Kaif in western garments."

"Having said that, I really like Priyanka Chopra. I think

she is very contemporary... especially the singer in her is

very inspiring for young stars," Zeenat, 61, said.

This is not the first

time Zeenat has walked

for Gangji and she has

her reasons.

"This is not the first

time I am walking for

them. I walked for them

several times back also.

I really like the clothes

that they made, espe-

cially the structured

jackets and flowy out-

fits. They take into

account the comfortabil-

ity factor. It's also age

appropriate," said

Zeenat."I think women

of all age-groups want

to look pretty," she

added.

Candolim (Goa): Designer Pria Kaataria Puri, who

is making her foray into Bollywood with styling up

actresses Priyanka Chopra and Mahie Gill for the

remake of 1973 film "Zanjeer", says she is doing the

project just for director Apoorva Lakhia, who is "a

very dear friend".

"I am finally stepping into Bollywood with this

film and I am very excited. I have been approached

long back to do Bollywood movies but I was not

interested. Apoorva Lakhia is a very dear friend and

he literally hounded me and convinced me do this

film," Puri said.

For IRFW, the designer showcased a collection

that was inspired by Picasso's paintings.

There were lot of bright colors used on the gar-

ments that varied from kaftans and tunics to dresses.

Genelia D'Souza in a creation by designer Neeta Lulla atthe India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW)

Zeenat Aman in a creation by designer Riyaz Gangji Designer Pria Kaataria Puri

Paris gets Goa groovingCandolim (Goa): Like any

other well informed deejay,

Paris Hilton knew what's

needed to get the crowd

swinging and swaying. The

socialite and entrepreneur

chose the popular Korean

song "Gangnam Style" and

peppered the hit number with

the words, "We will rock this

night Goa" during her per-

formance at the Sandkastle

Music Festival of India

Resort Fashion Week

(IRFW).

After walking for designer

duo Shane and Falguni peacock at

the finale of the fashion fest in

Peacock print gown, Paris looked

gave her maiden performance as a

DJ here in metallic knee-length

dress.

"So Goa how are you feeling

today, all set to rock the night and

get grooved?" she asked before

starting the performance and con-

tinued by adding, "I love you peo-

ple. You guys are just so amazing,

I Love India and the country

rocks."

The music lovers danced on

some of the popular tracks like

"Tonight's Gonna be a good

night" and "I'm sexy and I Know

it" something that the 31-year old

remixed herself apart from asking

the crowd to go for Korean singer

Psy's Gangnam style - the

moment that was surely the high-

point of the night.

The heiress, who visited the

country last year to launch the

Fall-Winter designs of her hand-

bags, made her debut as a DJ this

summer during a music festival in

Brazil.

People from as far as Mumbai,

Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai,

and from countries like Ireland,

New York and London attended

the programme. They all were

having fun in their own way.

Paris Hilton in designer duo Shaneand Falguni peacock's creation

16 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

Exciting challenge toplay Milkha: Farhan

'Talaash' not a universal film: AamirB

ollywood star Aamir Khan

knows his latest release

"Talaash" does not cater to

a universal audience, but he is

glad with the response it has

received.

"'Talaash' is not a universal film.

There is a supernatural element in

this film and it was a risky film to

make. Around 80 to 90 per cent of

the audience liked the film,"

Aamir told reporters here

Tuesday.

He says his next release

"Dhoom 3" is a universal project.

"Even kids will like that film. But

'Talaash' has got a different audi-

ence," said Aamir.

"But I am glad that the film has

opened so well and is doing good

business at the box office. What

made me really happy was that

the emotion that I went through

while shooting for the film, even

the audience went through the

same emotion while watching it,"

he added.

Aamir, who plays a police offi-

cer in the movie, says "Talaash"

has a repeat value.

"I don't think that a suspense

drama does not have any repeat

value. In fact, the audience is lik-

ing the film more when they are

watching it for the second or third

time. The film has not got 100

percent positive response as many

people may not like the supernat-

ural films, but 'Talaash' has repeat

value," he said.

Aamir feels the movie will

inspire filmmakers to push their

creative boundaries.

"I am happy that the audience is

liking this films. It is a very diffi-

cult film to make. When such film

work at the box office, it pushes

the boundaries for the creative

people to explore their talent," he

said.

He says the team behind

"Talaash" is not planning a sequel

as of now.

Directed by Reema Kagti and

penned by Zoya Akhtar, "Talaash"

also features Rani Mukerji and

Kareena Kapoor.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar

strongly believes in

Bollywood's star system and

feels it has helped the industry

build an identity in the map of

world cinema.

"Star system is important. If you

see worldwide, India, Hollywood

and China -- all these three (film)

industries have a star system. Rest

(of the film) industries like Europe

and other countries don't have stars

and their (film) industries are dying,"

Zoya told IANS in an interview.

Having directed film stars

Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol

and her younger brother Farhan

Akhtar, Zoya said India has sur-

vived Hollywood because "we

have our language; we have our

own style, so our audience would

want to see a Shah Rukh Khan and

not Tom Cruise".

"Our star system has made our

industry grow. So I definitely have

a lot of respect for that and I under-

stand that," the 40-year-old said.

Then, who according to her is a

film star?

"They are called stars because no

matter what the film is, they get an

opening. Stars pull people. But

having said that, stars want to cater

to their audience by doing what has

worked before. So you can't make

too many films with them because

they (stars) don't want to experi-

ment. They want that safety and

that is the problem," said Zoya.

"In this case, Aamir Khan is a lit-

tle different," she said, on her

experience of working with him in

"Talaash", which released Nov 30.

Zoya co-wrote the film with

director Reema Kagti, experiment-

ing for the first time with the sus-

pense genre.

"My challenges were to keep the

story engaging, give depth to the

characters and also focus on their

emotional chord. Our audience

relate to emotional quotient. So, if

you don't connect them emotional-

ly, they will not watch (a film),"

she said.

Zoya, the daughter of poet-lyri-

cist Javed Akhtar and script writer

Honey Irani, has written and

directed "Luck By Chance" (2009)

and "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"

(2011).

She said she would like a balance

of commercially viable and criti-

cally acclaimed projects.

"I feel both are important.

Commercial success is important.

But if I make a film and it makes

money, but if the audience says

they didn't like it at all, I will be

disappointed. I want everybody to

watch my films and like it," she

said.

Superstar Rajinikanth-starrer

Tamil political-thriller

"Sivaji 3D" will be India's

first film to be released with Dolby

Atmos, a new audio platform that

will change the experience of

sound and transport audiences into

the story with a lifelike, sensory

experience.

"It is one of our most significant

innovations in recent years and

represents the future of entertain-

ment," said Pankaj Kedia, country

manager, Dolby Laboratories, in a

statement.

"Sivaji 3D", which is directed by

S. Shankar, opens in cinemas Dec

12 on Rajinikanth's 62nd birthday.

Aamir Khan with Kareena Kapoor in a scene from Talaash

Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar

A scene from Sivaji 3D

Actor-filmmaker Farhan

Akhtar says playing sprinter

Milkha Singh in "Bhaag

Milkha Bhaag" has been an exciting

challenge.

"It was definitely a challenge, but

it was a challenge that was a very

exciting one to accept," the 38-year-

old said in an interview.

The biopic is directed by Rakeysh

Omprakash Mehra.

Asked if he had to learn Punjabi

for his character, Farhan said: "In

bits and pieces. I mainly focussed

on dialogues and certain improvisa-

tions within scenes. But of course I

had to, because there is a very dis-

tinct Punjabi flavour to the whole

film." "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" also

features Sonam Kapoor, and is slat-

ed to release July 12.

Felt amazing after visiting Siddhivinayak: HiltonE

xperiencing spirituality at the famed

Siddhivinayak temple here was "amazing"

for international socialite Paris Hilton, who

was here on a brief trip.

After spending time with children at an orphan-

age in Mumbai, Paris visited the temple.

"Went to the Siddhivinayak temple for a bless-

ing. Amazing to be in such a spiritual and special

place. Blessed," she tweeted.

The 31-year-old was here to spin the disc at the

recently concluded India Resort Fashion Week

held in Goa and also walked the ramp for designer

duo Shane and Falguni Peacock. She had a

stopover in Mumbai.

Hilton, who was on her second visit to India,

went to an orphanage named Ashray in suburban

Bandra and spent some quality time with the chil-

dren there. She even grooved to popular song

"Chammak challo" with them, and distributed

presents. Her first visit to the country was in 2011,

when she came to launch her range of handbags

and accessories for the Indian market.

Paris Hilton at Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai

Star system helpedBollywood flourish: Zoya

'Sivaji 3D' first Indianfilm in new sound format

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

Special section on Kurosawa, Hitchcock at IFFK

17December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The 17th edition of the International

Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will

see films of international icons

Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock in

the retrospective category.

The festival begins December 7 and con-

cludes December 14. In a career spanning

57 years, Kurosawa, known as the 'Wind

Man', left his trademark in every section of

film production - from writing to directing

and producing to editing.

Nine of his films will be featured in the

retrospective category.

Kurosawa's career as an independent

director was marked off with the film

"Sanshiro Sugata" (Judo Saga) in 1943.

The critically acclaimed 1948 film

"Drunken Angel" lined his reputation as

the most promising and talented young

filmmaker. This "tall man" of Japanese

films, directed 32 movies independently,

another 24 as an assistant director, he

wrote for 71 titles, edited 17 and

produced 11.

Until his demise in 1998 at the age of 88,

Kurosawa was awarded with 63 interna-

tional awards.

He was felicitated with the Honorary

Award in 1990 in Oscars for his cinematic

accomplishments that have inspired,

enriched and entertained worldwide audi-

ences and influenced filmmakers through-

out the world.

Included are "Drunken Angel" (1948),

"The Hidden Fortress" (1958), "I Live in

Fear" (1955), "The Idiot" (1951), "Ikiru"

(1952), "Stray Dog" (1949), "Madadayo"

(1993), "Sanjuro"(1962) and "Sanshiro

Sugata" (1943), all of which are penned by

himself.

Hitchcock silent films in the festival are

"The Ring" (1927), "Champagne" (1928),

"The Lodger" (1927), "The Pleasure

Garden" (1925) and "Downhill" (1927).

"The Ring" will be the inaugural film of

the 17th IFFK.

Pakistani censors have banned

advertisements for Bollywood

star Akshay Kumar's latest

film Khiladi 786 because the num-

ber 786 is revered by some Muslims

and could hurt their sentiments. The

Censor Board has directed cinema

halls and distributors not to release

the movie's trailers and to remove

billboards for the film.

Khiladi 786 is yet to be cleared by

the censors for screening in

Pakistan. The censors barred the

advertisements as the number 786 is

revered by some Muslims and they

could find the name of the film

objectionable, the Dawn newspaper

reported.

Censor Board Chairman Raja

Mustafa Haider told the daily: "The

appearance of banners for the film

in Rawalpindi and other areas was

brought to my notice and I asked the

City District Government

Rawalpindi to remove all of them."

He did not disclose the final deci-

sion about the fate of the movie.

"We will decide it when the movie

comes to us, before screening in the

cinema houses," he said.

Haider further said the Censor

Board had managed to convince dis-

tributors to present the film without

the number 786. The movie was

originally scheduled to be released

on December 7.

Film distributor Suhail Mukhtar

said the Censor Board had the legal

right to alter the name of a film if it

was found to be objectionable.

However, he said the screening of

the film would not stop unless it had

"objectionable dialogues and

scenes." Like other Bollywood stars,

Akshay Kumar has a sizeable fol-

lowing in Pakistan.

The popularity of Korean pop

singer Psy's "Gangnam

Style" has inspired a restau-

rant here to name itself upon the

hit number. The singer has no

plans to sue the owner.

The Koreatown restaurant here

was previously known as Soju

Town, but it re-opened last month

after a brief closure under its new

name Gangnam Style, reports

tmz.com.

The restaurant never bothered to

get Psy's permission to use the

name, but if sources close to the

singer are to be believed, he does-

n't really care. Psy feels imitation

is the sincerest form of flattery.

'Khiladi 786' promos banned by Pakistan Censor Board

Akshay Kumar in Khiladi 786

LA restaurant namedGangnam Style

Fi l m m a k e r

Ram Gopal

Varma says

he felt weird after

he completed shoot-

ing the hanging

scene in his movie

"The Attacks of

26/11", based on the

Mumbai terror

attack.

"Just now finished

shooting Kasab's

hanging... Must say

it felt really eerie

that the reel hanging

happened hardly a

week after the real

hanging," Varma

wrote on Twitter.

Varma, 50, is busy shooting the

movie, which is based on how 10

terrorists came to Mumbai and exe-

cuted their plan of unleashing ter-

ror in key areas of the country's

business capital.

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone ter-

rorist who was caught alive, was

hanged Nov 21. Varma has includ-

ed that part in his movie too.

"The Attacks of 26/11" features

Nana Patekar and Sanjeev Jaiswal.

A 15-minute footage of the movie

was recently screened for police-

men and attack victims.

Ailing actress Manisha

Koirala will leave for the

US shortly for further tests

and treatment, a medical source

said. The 42-year-old, who was dis-

charged from Jaslok Hospital where

she was admitted for three days, will

go with her family to the US. No

further details are known.

"Given her condition, she is fine

and we are hopeful she will come

out of it," the source said, while

refusing to give details citing

patient-privacy privileges.

Manisha was taken to the hospital

on Nov 28 after she reportedly fell

unconscious. The actress hails from

an influential family in Nepal. She

made her debut with "Saudagar" in

1991 and recently made a comeback

with Ram Gopal Varma's "Bhoot

Returns".

RGV feels weird shootingreel hanging of Kasab

The Gangnam style dance

Filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock

Ram Gopal Varma at a press meet on 'The Attacks of 26/11

Manisha to go to USfor treatment

ManishaKoirala

18 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRAVEL

Thailand's not all about hedonistic pleasureBy Kavita Bajeli-Datt

For a peek into some hedonis-

tic pleasures - of a ladyboy

sitting on your lap and cooing

love words, a transvestite cabaret

dancer performing sensual moves

to a Bollywood number or a wil-

lowy Thai girl beckoning - a visit to

this Southeast Asian nation is a

must.

For most tourists, it is the sex

tourism tag that makes the country

a favored destination, but Thailand

has much more to offer.

From a soothing Thai massage to

relax tired muscles, to delectable

food on a rooftop restaurant that

gives a 360 degree panoramic view

of Bangkok or just shopping, there

are so many things a tourist can

indulge in.

But it is a fact that the Thai cities

of Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket

come literally alive at night.

A visit to Bangkok's Patpong is a

must - if not for the go-go bars or

strip joints, then for its night mar-

kets that sell knick-knacks and one

could get a good bargain.

Considered to be the world's most

famous red light district, the area

has two parallel side streets that

house over 100 neon-lit strip bars

that show scantily clad girls and

ladyboys performing naughty acts

or the famous pole-dance. "Super

Pussy", "Kiss" and "Silver Star" are

some of the go-go bars that dot this

street.

Tough-looking guards are sta-

tioned at the curtained passage to

the bars, even as the girls, mostly

teenagers, in their itsy-bitsy clothes

and some even topless, hang on to

poles overhead, beckoning cus-

tomers inside.

For many, it would come as a sur-

prise when they hear the pretty

hostess - actually a ladyboy - speak-

ing in a hoarse manly voice.

Ladyboys or Katoey in Thai refers

to a transgender person or an effem-

inate gay.

Even in the night market that runs

parallel to it one can spot ladyboys

- who have recently undergone sur-

geries to change completely into a

woman - sitting and selling knick-

knacks.

As Indians are frequent travelers

to Bangkok, these bars run popular

Bollywood foot-tapping Punjabi

numbers as the girls or ladyboys

perform their raunchy acts.

For many Indians, Bangkok is the

best place to shop not only because

it is just three-and-a-half hours

away but also because it offers lots

of options - from electronic items to

household goods. Many Indian

tourists throng to the shopping

complexes of Central Group of

Companies, one of Thailand's

biggest conglomerates involved in

retailing, real estate, hotels and

restaurants.

The Central Chidlom, with its

magnificent façade, is a shopping

complex where one can just splurge

for days. If you need to relax a bit

then a visit to the "Sense and Spirit"

spa is a must.

The masseurs are the best and

create magic with their hands,

transporting you to a world of tran-

quillity.

But the visit is not over without

eating at Zense - the rooftop restau-

rant at the Zen department store,

another Central shopping mall.

Zense, known for good food at

affordable prices, gives an endless

view of Bangkok with its shimmer-

ing, twinkling night lights atop tow-

ering buildings.

If you are looking for a change of

scene then visit Pattaya - just two

hours drive from Bangkok.

There are over 200 hotels, but one

of the best places is Hilton Pattaya -

whose lobby is on the 16th floor

and gives a 180 degree view of the

Pattaya beach - atop Central

Festival Pattaya. The hotel has a

direct access to the 300 shopping

and dining options housed within

the beach complex.

But don't miss the famous drink -

Mai Tai - a cocktail concoction of ...

dry orange liqueur and orange juice.

However, the trip is not complete

without watching the international-

ly known Tiffany show, a world

famous transvestite cabaret show.

Keeping Indian tourists in mind,

they have introduced a Bollywood

song from the Hindi movie

"Devdas".

Boy? Girl? No, Ladyboy (transgender person oreffeminate gay). of Bangkok.

OP-ED

By Steven A. Cook

Once again, Egyptians are out

in the streets. Yet these

demonstrations are quite dif-

ferent from those in January and

February 2011, when people of every

faith, class, and political persuasion

joined together to bring down a dicta-

tor. Indeed, Egypt's triumph of

national unity has turned into a bitter

impasse over narrow interests.

Demonstrators surround the Supreme

Constitutional Court not to protect

the sacred institution but to shut it

down, judges declare an open-ended

strike, and groups of angry protesters

rally against one another, each chal-

lenging the other's right to a place in

the national dialogue. In the abstract,

heated debate is a good thing for

countries undergoing political transi-

tions. In Egypt, however, the result

has been instability.

There are a variety of explanations

for Egypt's tribulations. Some argue

that decisions made by the Supreme

Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)

back in February and March 2011,

including on the timing of the transi-

tion and the principles that guided it,

explain the current bind. Others point

to the lack of a permanent constitu-

tion and parliament, which the SCAF

dissolved in June 2012 at the recom-

mendation of Egypt's highest court.

These critics argue that the absence

of rules, regulations, and laws left the

country vulnerable to the whims of

incompetent generals and then

authoritarian Islamists. Egyptian lib-

erals and secular revolutionaries,

meanwhile, fear the Islamist ideology

of President Mohammed Morsi, a

Muslim Brotherhood leader. Egypt's

newly approved draft constitution,

which includes a particular interpre-

tation of Islamic law, and a massive

Brotherhood-sponsored rally last

Saturday to "save sharia" from oppo-

nents of the new code only reinforce

their fears.

There is truth in all of these expla-

nations. Certainly, it would have been

easier to consolidate a new political

order if the SCAF had laid out a more

sensible transition, if the officers had

not dissolved the People's Assembly,

or if the drafting of the highest law in

the land had been more inclusive. But

the deadlock in Egyptian politics runs

deeper.

Morsi's decisions last month to

grant himself powers above any

court, retry the deposed leader Hosni

Mubarak, and rush the passing of a

new Brotherhood-driven draft consti-

tution -- and his party's unwillingness

to acknowledge the legitimate con-

cerns of millions of Egyptians --

result from a worldview that should

be familiar to Egyptians.

The Brothers, like the Free Officers

who came to power in 1952 and pro-

duced Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar

Sadat, and Mubarak, are what the

Yale anthropologist James Scott calls

"high modernists." High modernism,

which places a premium on scientific

knowledge and elites with special

skills, is inherently authoritarian. It

might seem a strange designation for

the Brotherhood, since most

observers think of it as a religious

movement. But in reality, the group

has used religion to advance a politi-

cal agenda. To suggest that the orga-

nization's leaders are dilettantes when

it comes to Islam would be an over-

statement, but the majority of them

are first and foremost doctors,

lawyers, pharmacists, and engineers.

They think of themselves as a van-

guard that is uniquely qualified to

rebuild Egypt and realize its seem-

ingly endless quest for moderniza-

tion. Moreover, they believe that the

people entrusted them with the

responsibility to do so as a result of

free and fair elections in late 2011

and 2012.

With the Brotherhood in control of

the now-dissolved People's

Assembly, Shura Council,

Constituent Assembly, and the presi-

dency, this vanguard thought it could

choose a path for Egypt within the

councils of its own organization.

There was no need for consensus or

negotiation, hence Morsi's August 12

decision to decapitate the national

security establishment and his subse-

quent efforts to place sympathizers in

influential positions within the state-

controlled media. In a television

interview broadcast on November 29,

he even called his recent decree an

effort to "fulfill the demands of the

public and the revolution." There is,

he implied, no reason to question his

decisions, which were in the best

interest of Egypt.

Morsi's miscalculation -- which

both he and the Brotherhood later

compounded -- was to think that

everyone understood the results of

the Egyptian elections the way the

Brothers did. In other words, that

they gave him and his party a man-

date to rule with little regard for

those who might disagree. The

Brotherhood's discrediting of the tens

of thousands who turned out in

protest as felool (remnants of the old

regime) and thugs was not only posi-

tively Mubarak-esque but also rein-

forced Morsi's "Brothers know best"

approach to Egypt's political prob-

lems. It is easy to dismiss the opposi-

tion's charge that Morsi is the "new

Mubarak" as hyperbole from a group

of people who have become well-

versed in manufacturing outrage.

Still, they have a point. Both men

share the high-modernist worldview,

which did not bode well for political

reform under the previous regime and

does not augur well for democracy in

Egypt's future.

Steven A. Cook is Hasib J. SabbaghSenior Fellow for Middle EasternStudies at the Council on ForeignRelations.

Morsi’s miscalculation

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood think of themselves as uniquely qualified to rebuildEgypt after this year's election. Their miscalculation, though, was to think that the rest of Egypt felt the same way.

By Rajiv Shah

Each year, 6.9 million children will die

before they turn 5. Today we have the

tools and knowledge to end preventable

child death, an accomplishment that would not

only be a great moral victory but also an essen-

tial part of addressing the world's population

challenges.

It may sound counterintuitive, but child sur-

vival and demographics are deeply connected. In

country after country, we have seen families

willingly choose to have fewer children when

they know each will have a chance to survive

and thrive.

The demograpic and economic benefits of

child survival and voluntary family planning are

clearly visible. Some of the fastest-growing

economies in East Asia and Latin America were

among the poorest just decades ago. These coun-

tries made important decisions in the 1960s and

1970s to invest in voluntary family planning,

reducing child mortality and education.

Certainly, we need to address the existing

unmet need for all women to have access to the

contraceptives of their choice. But we also need

to help them gain confidence

that the children they have

will live to adulthood. That's

what is required in order for

families in the world's poor-

est regions to understand the

importance of voluntary fam-

ily planning. By focusing on

a range of life-saving inter-

ventions — from bed nets

that protect against malaria to

new vaccines against diarrhea

and pneumonia — we can

make it far more likely that

children will live to celebrate

their 5th birthdays.

Under the leadership of

President Obama, USAID co-

hosted a call to action on child survival that has

resulted in more than 150 governments, includ-

ing our own, signing a new pledge to end pre-

ventable child death. Already, through new pub-

lic-private partnerships, companies are reducing

the prices of key commodities to help us reach

this goal.

Rajiv Shah is administrator of the USAID.

By Gopi Gopalakrishnan

Two years ago, in

Kulanjan village in the

Indian state of Uttar

Pradesh, we learned an impor-

tant lesson. A local entrepre-

neur, working with the World

Health Partners network, had

organized an IUD service day,

in which village women could

obtain the birth control devices

and have them inserted for just

$3. It seemed an ideal opportu-

nity for Kulanjan. Women

could get inexpensive

intrauterine devices, and the

entrepreneur who organized

the event would get about a dollar for each

device sold. Some 80 women registered to come.

The day arrived, and a public-sector nurse

from some distance away came to do the proce-

dures. But the women had questions. The

biggest one was this: "Where do we go for med-

ical attention if we experience excessive bleed-

ing or backache?"

That was when we realized our mistake. Our

focus had been on providing and inserting the

IUDs, and we had no plan in place for what

would happen subsequently. As a result, only

one of the dozens of women who turned out that

day left with an IUD. The others were too con-

cerned about how they would get follow-up care

if it became necessary.

We reworked our project, arranging for a nurse

to visit the village every two weeks. If a problem

developed, clients could also consult with a doc-

tor by cellphone or over the Internet. With these

safeguards in place, the results were remarkable.

Our program ended up providing eight times the

IUDs and 31/2 times the number of sterilizations

as comparable initiatives.

The lesson of Kulanjan was this: Of course

low prices for family planning services are

important, since fertility is highest among the

poor. But women require predictable follow-up

care and sensitive communication that explains

side effects, especially for methods such as IUDs

and injectable contraceptives.

Gopi Gopalakrishnan is program director forWorld Health Partners.

Courtesy: Los Angeles Times.

Beyond 7 billion: Bending the population curveHunger. Environmental degradation. Political instability. These are among the consequences of rapid global population growth.

What, if anything, people and governments can do to address the issue? Here are two approaches experts suggest they've seen work.

19December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Graffiti of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi.

Preventing child deaths The Kulanjan lesson

By Barkha Dutt

In an age where the hash-tag has

substituted the street-slogan and

outrage is virtually a keyboard set-

ting, social media has become the new

battlefield for most modern ideologi-

cal clashes. What was once an innocu-

ous platform for sharing pictures and

thoughts among a small online com-

munity of friends has now trans-

formed into a powerful tool of infor-

mation, activism, mobilization - and

yes, sometimes, abuse.

With mainstream media increasing-

ly circumscribed by limitations of for-

mat, there is something immensely

liberating about the less stodgy, more

vibrant dialogue that a platform like

Twitter enables. If you spend enough

interactive time online talking to peo-

ple, instead of preaching like a pundit,

chances are that the number of 'fol-

lowers' you gather will multiply at an

astonishing pace.

As a television journalist who

spends more time on Twitter than is

healthy for her BlackBerry wrecked

hands, I find that my tweets reach

more people than the average audi-

ence for most English news shows. In

fact, it is almost embarrassing to

watch newsrooms of mainstream

media treat Twitter as the new-age

wire service, scouting it for quotes,

trends and opinions.

Even some of our politicians, previ-

ously contemptuous of the premium

placed on communication skills, have

cautiously dipped their toes into the

waters of the online world, learning to

swim against the torrents of voluble

and instant feedback.

But, as with all things new, the gov-

ernment has either not understood

how social media works, or, even

more ominously, has understood it all

too well and is thus seeking to police

it with a vaguely worded section

under the IT Act that leaves it open to

gross misuse. Section 66A allows for

imprisonment up to three years as

punishment for transmitting online

information that is "grossly offensive

or has a menacing character..." as well

as for an "electronic message for the

purpose of causing annoyance or

inconvenience..."

We witnessed a bizarre manifesta-

tion of the alarmingly subjective

nature of Section 66A, when two

young girls in Maharashtra were

arrested - one for daring to question

on her Facebook page the reverence

being accorded to Bal Thackeray, the

other for clicking 'Like' on the com-

ment. It wasn't long before vandals

ravaged a clinic run by a relative of

one of the girls, sending an unmistak-

able message of the consequences to

follow.

There was something grossly ironic

about the police pouncing on two hap-

less citizens supposedly for creating

"disharmony," while a school of poli-

tics that has been avowedly anti-

Muslim and anti-migrant was being

deconstructed in mostly timid and rit-

ualistic commentary. In this instance,

issues of internet freedom were inex-

tricably linked to a political culture of

fear and intimidation.

While Thackeray's writings used to

pull no punches in sweeping com-

ments on all things from movies to

minorities, that same freedom of

expression was hardly accorded to

others. Remember how Shah Rukh

Khan was treated for opining that

Pakistani cricketers should be allowed

to participate in the IPL?

Not surprisingly, once released on

bail, the frightened young girls hastily

apologized for their comments, vow-

ing that they would now watch what

they said on Facebook. In effect, a

dangerously ambiguous law had

enabled the politics of diktat, thereby

muzzling speech and imprisoning

thought.

Legal recourse is the right of every

citizen. That doesn't mean, however,

that Section 66A is either a reasonable

law or a desirable one. Defamation

laws in the country are sufficient in

themselves to cover complaints of

unsubstantiated allegations. Let the

courts have the last word on those.

Not a draconian law that gives the

police, and by extension - politicians -

overarching, unregulated control over

what we write and how we think.

Social media: to each his own

Shaheen Dhada and her friend Rinu Shrinivasan were arrested for their comments on Facebook

20 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoOP-ED

By Shubha Singh

Inder Kumar Gujral was India's prime minister for

a brief 11 months in 1997-98. But the mild-man-

nered, soft-spoken politician, whose personality

flew against the political archetype, will be remem-

bered primarily for his keen interest in protecting and

promoting India's external interests and the epony-

mous Gujral Doctrine - his mantra for India's neigh-

borhood policy when he was external affairs minister

twice in a decade.

The quintessential Congress member who later left

the party to join the Janata Dal after differences with

former prime minister Indira Gandhi over her auto-

cratic ways, Gujral died, at the age of 93, as quietly

and gracefully as he had exited the political stage two

decades ago. In a way reflective of the man, who

came to Delhi from Pakistan in the traumatic post-

partition period, the Gujral Doctrine advocated mag-

nanimity towards small neighbors in the interest of

regional peace and progress.

"The logic behind the Gujral Doctrine was that

since we had to face two hostile neighbors in the

north and the west, we had to be at 'total peace' with

all other immediate neighbors in order to contain

Pakistan's and China's influence in the region," said

Gujral in his autobiography "Matters of Discretion".

Derided as a weak and conciliatory policy at the

time when reciprocity was still the ruling mantra at

South Block, the principle was nevertheless carried

forward by successive governments. It helped change

mindsets and improved India's ties with its neighbors

through the years.

Gujral said: "When I finally demitted office (as

prime minister) in March 1998, I had the satisfaction

that India's relations with all its neighbors were not

only very healthy but also, to a large extent, the ele-

ments of mistrust and suspicion had evaporated."

Gujral headed the external affairs ministry through

two crucial periods (1989-90 and 1996-97) under first

prime minister V.P Singh and then H.D. Deve

Gowda. He helped steer India through the crises of

the early 1990s, when India was making the difficult

adjustment to the end of the Soviet Union, and the oil

shock administered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

(both important oil suppliers to India).

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was

being negotiated during his second term and his peri-

od as prime minister. Despite strong international

pressure, India refused to sign the unequal treaty as

banning future tests would have closed India's

nuclear option.

The invasion of Kuwait not only disrupted India's

oil supplies but, more importantly, left almost

200,000 Indians stranded in the region. Gujral flew to

Moscow, Washington and Baghdad and obtained

assurances on oil supplies from Moscow. In Baghdad

he was greeted by Iraqi president Saddam Hussain

with a hug. Gujral was pilloried by the Western and

sections of the Indian media for that but the visit

ensured that the Indians stranded in Baghdad and

Kuwait were allowed to be evacuated when "others

were being held as guests".

Gujral, whose prime ministerial stint in 1997-98

included three months as interim prime minister, was

described by many as a "gentleman politician". His

elevation to the prime minister's post came when he

emerged as the consensus candidate of the fractious

United Front after Sitaram Kesri, then party presi-

dent, withdrew Congress support to the H.D. Deve

Gowda government.

Just eight months later, the Congress demanded

that the DMK ministers be dropped over allegations

against the DMK in the Jain Commission Report on

the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Gujral stood his

ground and instead tendered his resignation leading

to elections.

Talking about his brief prime ministerial stint,

Gujrat said: "...my main task had been to ward off

attacks from various factional leaders so that I could

keep my chin up. But I really did not feel a sense of

achievement that I did during my tenure as minister

of external affairs."

He spent his last decade writing and speaking

largely on foreign policy issues and was much sought

after in intellectual and academic circles.

Gujral: politician who soughtpeace with neighbors

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, standing in front of his portrait painted by hisacclaimed artist brother Satish Gujral at an exhibition at the National Gallery

of Modern Art in New Delhi in 2006.

London: The clash between the

Indian-origin steel giant Lakshmi

Mittal-run ArcelorMittal and the

French government ended Saturday

after the former agreed to drop plans

for 650 redundancies at site.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest

steel company, agreed to invest 180

million euros ($234 million) over five

years and cancel plans for 650 redun-

dancies at its steelworks in Florange

in the eastern region of Lorraine, The

Independent reported Saturday.

In return, Paris abandoned a threat

to nationalize the factory and re-sell it

to a private buyer, it added.

The showdown had become sym-

bolic of President François Hollande's

determination to reverse the erosion

of France's industrial base. The gov-

ernment was forced to accept, howev-

er, that two shuttered blast furnaces

would not reopen immediately.

Instead, ArcelorMittal, controlled

by British-based billionaire Mittal,

will develop other profitable activities

at the site such as the production of

steel plate for the German car indus-

try.

Three hours before Friday night's

deadline for a deal, Prime Minister

Jean-Marc Ayrault said a compromise

had been reached.

Jobs would be preserved, he said,

by a "program of investment" in cold

steel activities.

The blast furnaces, which produce

"raw" or hot steel, would not reopen

but be mothballed until they could be

converted to possible experimental

use in environment-friendly steel-

making.There would be no compulso-

ry redundancies, Ayrault said.

In return for the "unconditional

promises" by ArcelorMittal, he said,

Paris dropped its threat to nationalize

the complex and sell it within a matter

of months for 400 million euros to an

undisclosed potential buyer.

Internationally, the nationalization

threat cause a stir, with London

Mayor Boris Johnson mocking France

for returning to the statist 1970s or

even the revolutionary 1790s.

DIASPORA

Norway court sentences Indian couple in child abuse

French government, ArcelorMittal reach $234 mn deal

London: An Oxford University

professor suffering from mental

health problems died after his best

friend restrained him in a headlock

after he vowed to kill him in an

unprovoked violent assault, an

inquest has heard.

Professor Steven Rawlings, an

eminent astrophysicist, suffered a

fatal heart attack after being pinned

to the ground in self defence by his

oldest friend and fellow Oxford academic Dr

Devinderjit Sivia.

The 50-year-old married professor, who suffered a

mental breakdown in 2011, attacked Dr Sivia at his

home in the village of Southmoor in Oxfordshire

January, the Telegraph reports. After becoming increas-

ingly confused and agitated he

threatened to kill the 49-year-old

mathematician and before punching

him in the face, the report said.

According to the report, fearing

for his safety and in an attempt to

calm his friend down, the devout

Sikh grabbed him in a headlock,

holding him for about 20 minutes,

and pinned him tightly to the

ground.Oxford coroner, Darren

Salter, was told that the hold cut off Rawlings' air supply

and coupled with the high amount of adrenalin in his

system led to him suffer a heart attack, the report

said.Forensic pathologist Nicholas Hunt said Professor

Rawlings had died as a result of cardiac arrest following

compression of the neck, the report added.

Indian-origin professor's headlock in self-defense led to Oxford colleague's death

London: An Indian-origin Sikh is

all set to be the first person guarding

the Buckingham Palace in his turban

after being given the privilege not to

wear the mandatory bearskin on cer-

emonial duties. Guardsman

Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, 25, who

joined the Scots Guards this year,

has been given permission to wear a

turban when on guard duty outside

Buckingham Palace, breaking hun-

dreds of years of tradition, Daily

Mail reported Sunday.

The regiment traces its origin back

to 1642 and its soldiers have worn

bearskins on parade since 1832.

Bhullar is based at Wellington

Barracks in Birdcage Walk. The

base is used by soldiers from the

Scots Guards' F Company, who are

responsible for public duties and

guarding the Queen.

According to military sources,

Bhullar, from Birmingham, is

expected to parade for the first time

next week. When he marches with

his colleagues he will become the

first guardsman not to wear a

bearskin headgear.

As a devout Sikh, it is mandatory

for Bhullar to wear a turban. It is

intended to protect his hair, which

he never cuts and to keep them

clean. For centuries, Sikhs have

worn turbans in battle and fought as

part of the British Army - including

Bhullar's grandfather, who served in

World War II.

The step, however, has irked some

serving non-commissioned officers

based at Wellington Barracks, who

are furious that the Ministry of

Defence (MoD) compromised cen-

turies of history for one soldier.

Traditionalists in the Scots Guards

say the allowances made for Bhullar

will make the whole company look

ridiculous to tourists and onlookers.

Bhullar is one of only 20 to 25

British-born Sikhs in the British

Army. An MoD spokeswoman said:

"The Army takes great pride in its

diversity. Discussions are underway

between this unit, the Sikh commu-

nity and the MoD. The individual

will have the full support of the

Army and his colleagues."

First Sikh to guard BuckinghamPalace - and in turban

New Delhi: A court in Norway sent to jail an

Indian couple from Andhra Pradesh on

charges of maltreatment of their child, shock-

ing their family members, who termed the

judgment one-sided. India said it was in

touch with the couple through its embassy

and will provide them with consular assis-

tance.

Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, an employee

of Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) on depu-

tation to Oslo and his wife Anupama were

convicted for gross or repeated maltreatment

of their child/children by threats, violence or

other wrong.

The Oslo District Court sentenced

Chandrasekhar to 18 months and his wife to

15 months in jail.

"In the view of the Court, the couple delib-

erately burned their son's leg with a hot spoon

or similar object with the result that the child

had burn marks measuring approximately

3x5 centimeters," said a statement on

Norway's official website.

The Court also found that "it had been

proven that the parents had on several occa-

sions hit the child with a belt or similar object

and that they had on one occasion threatened

to burn their son on his tongue with a hot

spoon."

The parents of Chandrasekhar and

Anupama, broke down on hearing the news

of their conviction.

The child was reprimanded for wetting his

pants in the school bus, according to

Chandrasekhar's nephew V. Sailendra, who is

in Hyderabad.

"There was no response to our concerns.

We came to know that the court did not take

into account the points raised by our lawyer.

This is not a digestible situation," Sailendra

told reporters at their residence in Miyapur.

"We have the option of appealing in a high-

er court and we will exercise that option," he

added. The couple's children -- seven-year-

old Sai Sriram and his two-year-old younger

brother -- are living with their grandparents at

Miyapur.

"Our biggest worry is how to handle the

children because they are inquiring about

their parents. They want to know because

newspapers and television channels are carry-

ing their pictures," said another family mem-

ber.

Sailendra said both the children were

depressed and they were sending regular

reports to the Oslo police about their health

condition.

"What kind of justice is this? This verdict

has separated the children from their parents.

The children can't live without them. The

two-year-old is very attached to them and he

needs their care," he said.

The family alleged that the authorities in

Norway have blown the issue out of propor-

tion when Sriram had told his school teacher

that the parents chided him for bed-wetting.

Psychiatrist Kalyan Chakravarthi, in his

report sent to Oslo court, said he had several

sessions of counseling with the boy, whom he

described as a 'mild to moderate' case of

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

(APHD) but showing positive signs till the

situation turned awry with the arrest of his

parents.

Originally hailing from Krishna district in

coastal Andhra, Chandrasekhar with his fami-

ly returned home in July this year. He and his

wife again left for Norway Nov 23, leaving

behind both children.

The family members said the couple had

gone to Norway in response to the summons

issued by the Oslo court. "They wanted to

close the case and clear their name before

returning to India. They did not expect things

to take this ugly turn," said a family member.

21December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Guardsman Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar

Dr Devinderjit Sivia (right) and hiscolleague Prof Steven Rawlings

Male/New Delhi: India has made

it clear to the Maldives that no

arbitrary or coercive measure

should be taken in the GMR case

pending the outcome of the legal

proceedings, underlining that any

such action would inevitably have

adverse consequences for bilateral

relations.

This was conveyed by External

Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid

when his Maldivian counterpart

Abdul Samad Abdullah tele-

phoned him up in the wake of the

scrapping of the airport contract to

the GMR by the Maldivian gov-

ernment

Abdullah had mentioned that his

government would not allow rela-

tions between India and Maldives

to be undermined and that there

was consensus on this issue, Syed

Akbaruddin, the external affairs

ministry spokesperson, told

reporters.

Khurshid reminded his

Maldivian counterpart of his earli-

er discussions and stressed that

"the legal processes involved in

the GMR case should be permit-

ted to take their own course based

on the contractual obligations of

the parties involved".

"The Maldivian government

should not allow the situation to

go out of hand," said the

spokesperson while giving details

of the telephonic conversation and

the message conveyed by

Khurshid to Abdullah.

"In this context, it is expected

that no arbitrary and coercive

measures should be taken pending

the outcome of the legal process

underway," said the spokesperson.

"Resort to any such actions

would inevitably have adverse

consequences for relations

between India and the Maldives,"

he added.

The Maldives government has

decided to go ahead with its plan

to take full control of Male airport

after ousting India's GMR. The

call by the Maldives foreign min-

ister was aimed at pacifying India,

which is deeply upset over the

cancellation of the airport contract

given to Indian firm GMR.

The Maldives minister

explained legal and other reasons

behind the cancellation of the

project, said official sources.

The sources added that Abdullah

sought India's understanding and

hoped it will not hurt bilateral ties,

said the sources.

Abdullah conveyed to Khurshid

that a detailed communication on

the GMR issue will be sent to

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

On his part, Khurshid conveyed

India's displeasure at the decision

and underlined that the scrapping

of the biggest single Indian FDI in

the Maldives will negatively

impact bilateral trade ties and the

larger relationship.

In a move to put pressure on

Male, India has put on hold aid to

the Maldives after the Maldives

government Monday decided to

take control of the international

airport despite a Singapore court

staying the suspension of the con-

tract given to India's GMR-led

consortium.

Upset at the Maldives govern-

ment's attitude, India has put on

hold $25-million budgetary com-

mitment to Male, said reliable

sources. The bilateral ties will be

affected, said the sources. The

Indian government is also study-

ing the court order and its impli-

cations, said the sources.

GMR row: India-Maldives ties under stress

SUBCONTINENT

The Maldives government has taken full control of Male airport after ousting India's GMR

New Delhi: India and

Bangladesh have agreed to sign

an extradition treaty in January

during Home Minister

Sushilkumar Shinde's expected

visit to Dhaka.

A joint statement after a meet-

ing of Shinde with his

Bangladesh counterpart M.K.

Alamgir here said that both sides

agreed that the extradition treaty,

which is under consideration by

both governments, may be final-

ized at an early date.

"It was agreed that Revised

Travel Agreement (RTA) as well

as the extradition treaty will be

finalized and signed in January

2013 during the proposed visit of

Indian Home Minister to Dhaka,"

it said.

The statement said both sides

noted that the action was being

taken for repatriation of sen-

tenced prisoners to either country.

India, Bangladeshto sign

extradition treaty

Islamabad: Senior US and

Pakistani defense and military

officials met in the garrison city

of Rawalpindi to discuss the

regional security environment

and the situation along the

Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The meeting of the Pakistan-

US Defense Consultative Group,

held at the ministry of defense, is

part of efforts by the two coun-

tries to place their relationship on

an even keel after a strong of

crises, including the unilateral

American raid that killed Osama

bin Laden and the killing of 24

Pakistani soldiers in a cross-bor-

der Nato air strike last year.

The two-day meet will review

defense cooperation between the

two countries and progress on

decisions made at earlier meet-

ings of the Defense Consultative

Group, officials said.

The talks will also focus on the

regional security environment

and challenges faced along the

Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The 25-member US delegation

participating in the talks was led

by James Miller, under secretary

of defense for policy. Miller and

US ambassador Richard Olson

met defense secretary Lt Gen

(retired) Asif Yasin Malik before

the start of the meeting.

Pak, US officialsdiscuss the

regional security

Jalalabad: Suicide attackers deto-

nated bombs and fired rockets out-

side a major US base in

Afghanistan, killing five people in a

brazen operation that highlighted

the country's security challenges

ahead of the 2014 Nato combat

troop pullout.

Local police officials said bodies

in Afghan police and military uni-

forms were scattered around the

entrance of the airfield in the eastern

city of Jalalabad after a two-hour

battle. A Taliban spokesman said the

militant group had launched the 6

am assault.

The Taliban, who have been fight-

ing US-led Nato and Afghan forces

for more than a decade, sometimes

dress in uniforms for attacks.

Two suicide bombers died after

blowing themselves up in cars, said

Nasir Ahmad Safi , a spokesman for

the provincial government. Seven

other bombers were killed in the a

gunbattle with Afghan and coalition

forces. Three Afghan soldiers and

two civilians also died, said Safi.

US helicopters circled overhead.

"There were multiple suicide

bombers involved ," said Major

Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for

the Nato-led International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF).

Several coalition troops were

wounded, he said.

The United States and Afghan

government are scrambling to stabi-

lize Afghanistan before most Nato

combat troops withdraw at the end

of 2014 and hand over security to

Afghan forces.

Bombers hit US base inAfghanistan , 14 dead

Several coalition troops were wounded in the Taliban attack

Islamabad: Authorities must apolo-

gize to the Hindu community for

demolishing a temple in Karachi

and hurting their sentiments, a

Pakistani daily said.

An editorial in the Dawn said the

demolition of a Hindu temple in

Karachi's Garden area raises dis-

turbing questions and is "a prime

example of the callous attitude that

officialdom often has towards this

country's non-Muslim citizens".

"The authorities need to uncover

the facts of the matter, especially

regarding ownership, and apologise

to the Hindu community for having

hurt their sentiments by demolishing

the temple.

"Even if the structure was illegally

built, the community should be

given an alternative site to build the

temple. And if this is not the case

and the demolition was illegal, then

the temple should be rebuilt as it

was," the editorial said.

There is reportedly a dispute

between a builder who claims to

own the structure and the matter is

in court. Yet the Pakistan Hindu

Council and residents claim they

were not given advance warning

before the demolition squad showed

up and that "religious objects were

desecrated during the operation".

Community members claim they

have been living in the location for

over a century.

They say they have been harassed

to vacate the land.

Though an official claims no place

of worship was damaged in the

`anti-encroachment' operation,

images in the media of Hindu idols

surrounded by rubble "makes such

denials questionable".

The editorial said it was not

assuming that the temple was delib-

erately targeted.

Apologize to Hindus fordemolishing temple: Pak daily

Remains of the temple in Karachi's Garden area

22 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

INTERNATIONAL

Obama warns Syria against using chemical weapons

'Live updates from royalwomb' flood Internet

London: From spoof Twitter

accounts to feverish speculation

about names, the internet went

into a frenzy over the unborn

child of William and his wife

Catherine as the first royal baby

of the online age.

News of Kate Middleton's preg-

nancy - announced on Twitter -

met with an explosion of posts on

social networks, from congratula-

tions to pleas for the media cover-

age to end already.

It is perhaps of little comfort to

Catherine that within minutes of

the announcement her baby

already had a slew of spoof

accounts 'live-tweeting from the

royal womb'. "CURRENT STA-

TUS: DARK IN HERE, WILL

UPDATE," tweeted

@RoyalFoetus, which has 6,000

followers. The rival

@RoyalFetus, added, "I may not

have bones yet, but I'm already

more important than everyone

reading this. #royalbaby #sorry".

The hashtag #royalbaby rocket-

ed to the top of Twitter's "trending

topics" list on the announcement.

'US ban on Russian armsexporter would harm ties'

Brussels: Russian Foreign Minister

Sergei Lavrov has said that a proposed

US ban on deals with Russia's state-

run arms exporter Rosoboronexport

would be detrimental to the develop-

ment of bilateral cooperation.

The US Senate unanimously

approved the Cornyn amendment to

the defense budget, which bars the use

of American taxpayer funds to pur-

chase goods from Rosoboronexport,

including helicopters to be flown in

Afghanistan.

"I would avoid making any predic-

tions. It is not a law, but rather an

opinion of the Senate that has yet to

pass all the necessary stages," Lavrov

said after a Russia-NATO meeting in

Brussels.

"We are certain that at least the US

administration will draw the inevitable

conclusion that the idea born in the

Senate contradicts US national inter-

ests as well as the development of

cooperation with Russia and the goals

that we are trying to achieve in

Afghanistan and around it," Lavrov

said.

A similar bill cleared the US House

of Representatives by overwhelming

majority vote in July.

The ban may come into force as

early as Jan 1, 2013, if President

Barack Obama signs the 2013 fiscal

budget proposal with respective

amendments into law.

Rosoboronexport signed a $367.5

million deal with the US in May 2011

for delivery of 21 Mi-17V5 helicop-

ters. All those helicopters have now

been delivered, according to the

Center for Analysis of Strategies and

Technologies (CAST), a Moscow-

based think-tank.

The break with the US could affect

an option contract signed July 18 for a

further 10 machines worth $171 mil-

lion. Deliveries of the second batch

were due by 2016.

Washington: US President

Barack Obama has warned Syrian

President Bashar al-Assad of

"consequences" if he uses chemi-

cal weapons in the country's 21-

month conflict.

Addressing at the National

Defense University in

Washington, D.C., Obama repeat-

ed the warning echoed hours earli-

er by his top diplomat, Secretary

of State Hillary Clinton, in

Prague.

"Today, I want to make it

absolutely clear to al-Assad and

those under his command, the

world is watching," Obama said.

"The use of chemical weapons

is and would be totally unaccept-

able and if you make the tragic

mistake of using these weapons

there will be consequences and

you will be held accountable," he

said.

"We simply cannot allow the

21st century to be darkened by the

worst weapons of the 20th centu-

ry," Obama said, vowing to con-

tinue efforts to make a transition

in Syria.

He did not elaborate on what

exactly the "consequences" would

be.

Press reports quoted US offi-

cials as saying that intelligence

had detected movement of chemi-

cal weapons in Syria in recent

days, prompting Clinton to reiter-

ate America's "red line" on the

issue in Prague. "This is a red line

for the United States," she said.

"I am not going to telegraph in

any specifics what we would do in

the event of credible evidence that

the Assad administration has

resorted to using chemical

weapons against their own people.

But suffice it to say we are cer-

tainly planning to take action if

that eventuality were to occur,"

Clinton said.

Obama set a "red line" in

August, warning against any use

or proliferation of the chemical

weapons.

In response to Clinton's

remarks, the Syrian foreign min-

istry reiterated its pledge not to

use the stockpile against its own

people, urging Washington to stop

fabricating such claims.

"Syria has repeatedly stressed to

the American side directly, or

through the Russian friends, that it

will not use such weapons, even if

they existed, against its people

under any circumstance," the

Syrian ministry said, noting that

the US made a similar claim about

Iraq before it invaded the country

in 2003.

Syria's stockpile is believed to

include sarin nerve agent, mustard

gas and cyanide.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov

Philippines typhoon: Death toll crosses 270New Bataan, Philippines: Mud-

stained bodies covered with banana

leaves were laid out in a row and

survivors dried their soiled belong-

ings on the roadside under a bright

sun, a day after a typhoon killed

more than 270 people in the south-

ern Philippines.

Officials feared many more bodies

could be found as rescuers reach

hard-hit areas that had been isolated

by landslides, floods and downed

communications.

At least 151 people have died in

the worst-hit province of

Compostela Valley since Typhoon

Bopha began lashing the region

early Tuesday, including 66 vil-

lagers and soldiers who perished in

a flash flood that swamped two

emergency shelters and a military

camp in New Bataan town, provin-

cial spokeswoman Fe Maestre said.

About 80 people survived the del-

uge in New Bataan with injuries, but

an unspecified number of villagers

remain missing. On Wednesday, the

farming town of 45,000 people was

a muddy wasteland of collapsed

houses and columns of coconut and

banana trees felled by Bopha's fero-

cious winds.

Outside a town gymnasium, sever-

al mud-stained bodies were laid

side-by-side, covered by cloth and

banana leaves and surrounded by

villagers covering their noses to

fight the stench. A man sprayed

insecticide on the remains to turn

away swarms of flies.

"It's hard so say how many more

are missing," Maestre said. "We're

now searching everywhere."

In nearby Davao Oriental, the

coastal province first struck by the

typhoon as it blew inland from the

Pacific Ocean, at least 115 people

perished mostly in three towns that

were so battered by the wind it was

hard to find any building or house

with a roof left, provincial officer

Freddie Bendulo and other officials

said.

"We had a problem where to take

the evacuees. All the evacuation

centers have lost their roofs," Davao

Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon

said. The typhoon, one of the

strongest to hit the country this year,

had blown past southwestern

Palawan province into the South

China Sea by mid-Wednesday.

The deaths came despite efforts by

President Benigno Aquino III's gov-

ernment to force residents out of

high-risk communities prone to

landslides, flash floods and storm

surges as the typhoon approached.

At least 151 people have died in the worst-hit province of Compostela Valley

23December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nato approves Patriot missilesfor Turkey

Brussels: Nato has approved

member state Turkey's request for

Patriot missiles to defend its bor-

der against Syria following a series

of blunt warnings to Damascus not

to use chemical weapons.

As the conflict approached the

21-month mark with more than

41,000 people killed, according to

the Britain-based Syrian

Observatory for Human Rights,

Nato head Anders Fogh

Rasmussen said the alliance's deci-

sion reflected a "steadfast commit-

ment" to preserving the security of

its 28 member states.

"We say to anyone who would

want to attack Turkey — don't

even think about it," he remarked,

announcing the decision after the

first day of a two-day meeting in

Brussels.

New Delhi: In a major relief to

Sahara Group's two real estate

companies, the Supreme Court

asked market regulator SEBI to

accept their pay order of Rs.5,120

crore as part payment of the

investors' money they had collect-

ed through optionally fully-con-

vertible debentures (OFCD).

The apex court bench of Justice

K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice

J.S. Khehar Aug 31 directed the

Sahara companies to deposit

Rs.17,400 crore with 15 percent

interest with the Securities and

Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

within three months, which the

company failed to do.

The apex court bench, headed

by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir

Wednesday said that besides

depositing Rs.5,120 crore, the

Sahara Group companies - the

Sahara India Real Estate

Corporation and Sahara Housing

Investment Corporation - would

deposit remaining amount in two

instalments.

The court said that Sahara

would deposit a sum of Rs.10,000

crore in the first week of January

next year and the balance amount

in the first week of February.

If the company failed to pay the

first installment, the SEBI could

seize their account and recover

money in terms of Aug 31 order, it

said. The court directed Sahara to

submit all the relevant documents

to the market regulator within 15

days.

The court brushed aside SEBI

senior counsel's submission that

the court should recall his objec-

tions that the Aug 31 order should

have been modified by the judges

who passed it.

Another senior counsel, Vikas

Singh, who appeared for a group

of investors, said the court is pass-

ing the order in the guise of pro-

tecting the interest of investors

and they are not being heard.

That is not fair, he said.

The court had directed the

Sahara companies to return to

investors Rs.17,400 crore with 15

percent interest that they had col-

lected through OCFD in 2008 and

2009.

Court provides breather to Sahara Group

Mumbai: Chief executives and

other senior executives across

Indian companies are likely to get

an average increment of 9% and

9.4% respectively in the coming

year, a dip from the double-digit

growth witnessed in previous years,

said a report from consulting firm

Hay group.

The report also finds that Indian

companies placed a much higher

value on the role of the chief execu-

tives for achieving overall business

results as compared to the top man-

agement team.

CEOs are paid three times more

than all other senior executives, it

says."Impatience for business

results has lead to the recruitment of

ready-made CEOs and is one of the

reasons for variance in the compen-

sation multiplier across sectors.

Sectors with a high multiplier, such

as retail, are still evolving in terms

of business model and readily-avail-

able talent - so external recruitment

of CEOs has become very preva-

lent," said Sridhar Ganesan, rewards

practice leader, Hay Group India.

tnn

The report said pay for perform-

ance has taken very strong roots in

the overall compensation philoso-

phy for top executives, including the

CEO, with 30-44% of compensation

comprising incentives.

New Delhi: India's services sector growth declined

in November, the lowest pace in 13 months, as new

business grew at a slower clip, says an HSBC sur-

vey.

The HSBC's Services Purchasing Managers Index

(PMI) for November declined to 52.1 in November,

down from 53.8 in the previous month, signalling

the slowest rate of expansion in the current 13-

month sequence.

The index has witnessed significant decline in the

last two months after registering the fastest pace of

growth in seven months in September. The index

has, however, managed to be above the 50-mark

which indicates expansion since November 2011.

India Inc to get 9-9.4% salary hike: Report

India's service sector at 13-month low

BUSINESS

Facebook to replaceInfosys on Nasdaq 100

New York: Social networking

giant Facebook Inc is all set to

replace Indian software major

Infosys Ltd to become a part of

the Nasdaq 100 index from

December 12.

According to Nasdaq:

"Facebook Inc will become a

component of the Nasdaq-100

Index, the Nasdaq-100 Equal

Weighted Index, and the

Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector

Index prior to market open on

Wednesday, December 12,

2012".

Facebook will replace Infosys

Ltd on the index. The Facebook

stock has lost a significant value

since its much hyped public list-

ing on May this year.

Facebook, Inc headquartered

in Menlo Park, California cur-

rently has a market capitaliza-

tion of around USD 29.7 billion

(Rs 1,62,000 crore). However,

when the company went public,

its market value was about USD

104 billion.

Meanwhile, Bangalore head-

quartered Infosys Ltd has a mar-

ket capitalization of Rs 1,37,327

crore.

Reacting to the development,

shares of Infosys, lost 2.11 per

cent and fell to an intra-day low

of Rs 2,378 on the BSE.

The social networking firm,

which was founded eight years

ago by Mark Zuckerberg with

his college roommates and fel-

low Harvard University stu-

dents, at present has around 1

billion users across the world.

India-based MphasiS to acquire US firm

Washington: India-based global services provider,

MphasiS, a Hewlett Packard (HP) company, is set to

acquire Digital Risk, America's largest independent

provider of mortgage risk, compliance and transac-

tion management solutions.

The transaction is expected to close late in January

2013 subject to the satisfaction of regulatory require-

ments and customary closing conditions, the Florida-

based company said announcing the $175 million

all-cash deal. The acquisition provides Digital Risk a

global footprint to accommodate clients' global risk

and compliance needs, access to US facilities to fur-

ther accelerate growth of US operations and access

to MphasiS' technology and analytical centres of

excellence, the company said.

The acquisition is also central to MphasiS' 'hyper-

specialization' strategy, bringing in over 1,500 highly

trained mortgage specialists and a deep domain

expertise in mortgage risk and compliance.

"The need for risk management in the mortgage

market is not only a US issue, but also a global

necessity. This acquisition provides the industry and

clients a unique offering," said Peter Kassabov,

Digital Risk chairman and CEO.

"This acquisition is central to our strategy of offer-

ing specialized services in chosen segments," said

Ganesh Ayyar, chief executive officer, MphasiS.

"Digital Risk offers highly specialized services in

the areas of risk and compliance specific to the mort-

gage industry. Their analytics platform combined

with 1,500 mortgage specialists makes them unique

and differentiated."

"The ability to leverage MphasiS' facilities and

expertise in both the US and internationally offers a

remarkable advantage to our clients," said Jeffrey C.

Taylor, co-founder and managing partner of Digital

Risk.

"Digital Risk will be the leading US entity with the

ability to provide risk, compliance, transaction man-

agement solutions to global portfolios - from the US,

to the UK, Canada and beyond," he said.

MphasiS, a Hewlett Packard (HP) company, is setto acquire Digital Risk

The court had directed Sahara to return to investors Rs.17,400crore with 15 percent interest

24 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SPORTS

IOC suspends Indian Olympics body

India was suspended by theInternational Olympic Committeefor IOA's failure to hold inde-pendent elections; IOA goesahead with polls

New Delhi: As scripted, Abhay

Singh Chautala was elected unop-

posed as the president of the

Indian Olympic Association

(IOA), defying the edict of the

International Olympic Committee

(IOC) not to go ahead with the

polls.

As if to thumb its nose at the

IOC, which has suspended the

IOA, the General Body Meeting

(GBM) flexed its muscles by

going ahead and electing the taint-

ed Lalit Bhanot as secretary gen-

eral.

Bhanot, who spent 11 months in

jail on charges of irregularities in

awarding a Time Scoring Result

(TSR) contract for the 2010 New

Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The GBM obviously wants to

send a clear message to the IOC

that it was a one-horse race as 153

of the 180 member electoral col-

lege lined up behind Chautala and

Bhanot.

The meeting made it clear that it

was holding the election follow-

ing the directive of the Delhi High

Court, though the IOC was equal-

ly vehement in saying the poll

was null and void since it did not

conform to the Olympic Charter

and followed the government's

National Sports Development

Code under duress.

The GBM took shelter under the

cloak that the election was over-

seen by a panel of three eminent

judges headed by Justice Anil Dev

Singh, retired Chief Justice of the

Rajasthan High Court.

Bhanot said he hasn't been

proved guilty and had followed

the law of the land.

"I have followed the law of the

land. I haven't been found guilty

till now. I will quit if I am proven

guilty," said Bhanot, who was the

secretary general of the

Commonwealth Games

Organizing Committee.

During the Annual General

Meeting, the house passed a reso-

lution that Bhanot be asked to

present to the IOC the legal status

of his cases.

Chautala blamed outgoing sec-

retary general Randhir Singh,

India's sole representative in the

IOC, for IOA's suspension.

Malhotra said the IOA had to go

ahead with the election because

the "law of the land states that if

the process for the election has

started it must be completed."

Lalit Bhanot, center, new secretary general of the Indian OlympicAssociation, during the IOA meeting in New Delhi

Kom eager to take Priyanka on Manipur tourMumbai: Actress

Priyanka Chopra is set to

play M.C. Mary Kom in a

film by Sanjay Leela

Bhansali. The legendary

female boxer says she will

be more than happy to

show the actress around

her house in Manipur and

introduce her to the way

she lives there.

"Right now I am not sit-

ting with her or the producer. We

are going to sit for one or two days

and discuss it. I would like to be

there in Manipur to show the situa-

tion, how we are living. That will be

very great," Mary Kom said at the

launch of a new Super Fight League

(SFL) company Pro SFL.

"I am also very happy that she

will come and see how we are liv-

ing," she added.

If recent reports are to be

believed, Priyanka's preparation for

the role requires her to travel to

Manipur to learn about Mary Kom's

life. Meanwhile, Mary Kom says

any actress could have played her as

all of them are very talented.

"Any actress can play me because

all of them are very talented. Of

course, now Priyanka will play me

and I am very happy and lucky for

that," she said.

Asked if she has any interest in

the acting world, Mary Kom said:

"That will be very hard for me.

They would not be able to finish (a

film) for five to six years because I

am not good at acting. When I will

face the camera, I will get nervous."

Bryant reaches 30,000-point milestone in NBANew Orleans: Kobe Bryant

became the youngest player to

reach 30,000 career points in the

NBA on Wednesday as he helped

the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-87

victory over the New Orleans

Hornets.

With 1:16 left in the second

quarter, Bryant drove into the lane

and rose to connect on a jump shot,

taking his tally for the contest to 14

and for his career to 30,001.

"It's a huge accomplishment,"

Bryant said of becoming just the

fifth player in NBA history to

reach the milestone.

He joined Kareem

Abdul-Jabbar (38,387),

Karl Malone (36,928),

Michael Jordan (32,292)

and Wilt Chamberlain

(31,419).

"It feels good," Bryant

added. "I've been very for-

tunate that I haven't really

had any serious injuries.

It's been a lot of sacrifice on my

part and my family's part -- a lot of

time away and just working

extremely hard."

At 34 years old, he's the

youngest player in history to reach

the milestone. Chamberlain was 35

years old, while Malone and

Abdul-Jabbar were both 36 and

Jordan 38. However, Bryant was

the fifth-fastest player in terms of

games played to reach the mile-

stone, achieving it in his 1,179th

contest. Chamberlain got there in

941 games.

Athletes apprehensive after IOA's suspensionEngland Test:India restricted

to 316Kolkata: Indian captain

M.S. Dhoni hit his 27th Test

50 as the hosts were bowled

out for 316 runs on day two

of the third cricket Test

against England at the Eden

Gardens.

England were on a sedate

and cautious note to see off

the Indian new ball bowlers.

India resumed at the

overnight score of 273/7,

but England bowlers took

the three remaining wickets

in quick time to hold back

the hosts from getting to a

sizeable total.

Steven Finn dismissed

Dhoni at 52 (114b 5x4 2x6)

to end the Indian innings, 62

minutes into the morning

session. The skipper batted

well with the tail and kept

the strike to shield the

tailenders from the prowling

English spinner Monty

Panesar.

With wickets falling at the

other end, Dhoni upped the

tempo and hit consecutive

sixes of Panesar and

brought in the process the

team's 300 in the 98th over.

Not surprisingly, England

started the day with James

Anderson and Panesar.

For the Indians, Sachin

top scored with a gutsy 76,

thereby surpassing a person-

al milestone of 34,000 inter-

national runs on day one.

Gautam Gambhir's gritty 60

was the other major contri-

bution.

New Delhi: Top athletes were

quick to share over twitter their

disappointment after the

International Olympic

Committee (IOC) suspended the

Indian Olympic Association

(IOA) due to government inter-

ference in its election process.

Shooter Abhinav Bindra,

India's sole individual gold

medalist at the Olympics, tweet-

ed: "Bye Bye IOA, hope to see u

again soon, hopefully cleaner!"

Boxer M.C. Mary Kom, who

won a bronze at the London

Olympics, said it would be diffi-

cult for her to compete without

knowing the fate of Indian

sports.

Ashwini Ponnappa, badminton

women's doubles gold medalist

at the 2010 Commonwealth

Games was furious after hearing

about the suspension.

"We athletes are going to suf-

fer. What is the point of playing

under the Olympic flag. It is not

the same. There is no patriotism.

Olympics are amazing as you get

to represent your country in the

biggest sporting ever. At the

same time, IOA deserves it. Wish

the athletes did not have to pay

for it," Ponnappa said.

Veteran tennis player Mahesh

Bhupathi said: "So I got banned,

now the IOA gets banned, they

says things like these normally

happen in three's... Wonder

what's next!!"

Former Indian cricketer Bishan

Singh Bedi asked on his Twitter

page: "What is worse -IOA, IOC

or IPL?! Please come forward

with constructive response.

Remember the sportspersons'

involvement is strictly at stake.

Thanks."

With the suspension, India is

now in a dubious list that

includes Iraq, Kuwait and

Afghanistan.

Indian players may need to play individually, and not under theIndian flag, if IOA is barred by IOC

M.C. Mary Kom

25December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

NBA player Kobe Bryant

India has recorded over 37,000 dengue

cases, including 227 dengue deaths in

2012, the highest number in a year so

far, parliament was told Tuesday.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha,

Minister of State for Health Abu Haseem

Khan Choudhary said the percentage

increase in number of cases and deaths

between 2011 and 2012 (up to Nov 26) is

approximately 97 percent and 34 percent

respectively.

Dengue, a vector borne disease, has hit

all major cities of the country, with the total

number of cases by Nov 26 reaching

37,070 - a sharp increase from 18,860

cases and 169 deaths in 2011. Over 28,000

dengue cases and 110 deaths were reported

in 2010.

Choudhary cited the unprecedented

growth in population, unplanned rapid

urbanization and inadequate waste man-

agement as the reasons behind the out-

break.

He added that "increased distribution and

densities of vector mosquitoes due to man-

made, ecological and lifestyle changes"

were amongst the main reasons for increas-

ing dengue cases.

Water supply mismanagement, gaps in

public health infrastructure, increased

mobility of population, and poor infrastruc-

ture in the states to monitor mosquito

breeding were some other reasons cited by

the minister.

Kerala has reported the maximum of over

3,760 dengue cases, followed by Karnataka

with 3,640 cases. Delhi, by mid-November,

reported 1,980 cases.

Deaths from dengue have been highest in

Tamil Nadu which reported 60 deaths.

Maharashtra had 59 deaths and Delhi four

deaths.

India reports 37,000 dengue cases in 2012T

he value an expectant

mother places on her fami-

ly can tell how healthy a

baby is going to be three years

later.

These findings from University

of Southern California (USC)

suggest that one's culture is a

resource that can provide tangible

physical health benefits.

"We know that social support

has profound health implications.

Yet in this case, this is more a

story of beliefs than of actual family support,"

said Cleopatra Abdou, assistant professor at

USC Davis School of Gerontology, the journal

Social Science & Medicine reports.

Abdou studied 4,633 socio-economically

disadvantaged women, gauging their "famil-

ism" or, more specifically, their beliefs about

familial roles and responsibilities, using a

questionnaire, according to an USC statement.

Familism was determined by responses to

statements such as, "single moms can do just

as well as married parents," or "it is better for

children if their parents are married."

Abdou then tracked the health

of their children and found that

for every one point increase in

familism, there was a 71 gram

increase in birth weight inde-

pendent of a whole host of other

factors-including the gender of

the infant or whether the mother

was married.

Average birth weight in the

United States is roughly 3.4 kg.

Low birth weight, typically

defined as under 2.5 kg, has

been linked to health problems later in life.

Higher familism also predicted lower rates of

asthma in the children up to three years later.

Though one might expect to see healthier

children from mothers who reported strong

family support, familism is a cultural measure

that exists outside of an individual's actual cir-

cumstances.

"Cultural beliefs and ideals can be distinct

from one's present reality. Familism is about

beliefs and ideals within families. That's why

familism is referred to as a cultural resource,"

Abdou said.

Mother's values tied to baby's health

Something as

innocuous as

touching your

face could infect you

with flu, especially after

your hands brush with

contaminated surfaces,

according to a study.

"There are many

opportunities in

between hand-washing

episodes for people to

re-contaminate their hands. If a

deadly respiratory virus is around,

this is something to really take into

account," said Wladimir Alonso,

from the National Institutes of

Health in Bethesda, Maryland, who

led the study, according to Daily

Mail. Alonso and colleagues picked

249 people to observe in public

places on the Washington D.C. sub-

way and in Florianopolis, Brazil, the

journal Clinical Infectious Diseases

reports.

They found that people

touched common objects

an average of 3.3 times

per hour and their faces

3.6 times per hour. "We

are therefore likely to get

germs on our hands far

more quickly than they

are washed off," Alonso

said.Alonso said that dur-

ing flu outbreaks, people

should be reminded to try and avoid

touching their faces as well as wash-

ing their hands regularly.

But he added that while it was

good to boost awareness, there was

no need to be in a constant state of

alert because the immune system

offers good protection against dis-

ease. The advice is a timely

reminder as cases of both flu and the

norovirus (vomiting bug) peak over

the winter months.

Stop touching your faceto avoid flu: Study T

he 33-year-old married woman from Chandigarh

had never imagined that her excessive clubbing

and partying would one day push her to the brink

of suicide. But it did.

She was not the only one. In an increasing trend of

urban women taking to alcohol to cope with everyday

stresses as societal norms ease, a 28-year-old woman

working as a senior executive in a property broking firm

in Mumbai also developed suicidal tendencies.

What started for both the Bacchus lovers as socializing,

ended up in drink dependence and pushed them into the

infamous club of over 14 million alcohol consumers in

the country who require help. Though there are no exact

figures of how many of these are women, the trend is

clear.

The Mumbai woman ran up a debt of Rs25 lakh (Rs2.5

million) and attempted suicide due to her "unmanageable"

life and depression. The Chandigarh woman showed

addiction- related suicidal tendencies after a turbulent

married life, extra-marital affairs and a failed patch-up

bid with her husband.

The two are now trying to get a grip over their lives and

move away from drink dependence, with some help from

de-addiction experts who say they needed to be cared like

brain patients who don't know how to prevent themselves

from returning to the old habit despite being aware of its

perils.

But their difficult phase is over, says NGO Tulasi

Home's consultant doctor Goruv Gupta. "Realizing or

accepting that one needs help is the toughest part of get-

ting over the drink dependence problem."

Sociologist Sachin Kumar, associated with Alcoholics

Anonymous, said: "Intoxication by women in some com-

munities has existed for time immemorial. Traditionally,

it has been a collective activity but in modern times the

incidence of individual drinking has shown a rise."

The social checks or restraint that used to prescribe the

limit of alcohol consumption in older times have faded

over the years, leading to worst forms of drink depend-

ence among both men and women, he said.

According to a 2009 article in journal The Lancet,

Indians, officially, are still among the world's lowest con-

sumers of alcohol - government statistics show only 21

percent of adult men and around two percent of women

drink. But up to a fifth of this group - about 14 million

people - are dependent drinkers requiring "help".

"Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized

by compulsive alcohol seeking and use, and by neuro-

chemical and molecular changes in the brain," said Gupta.

For women drinkers, the news is worse than for men.

Drink dependence up in urban Indian women

High salt levels in cheese may be

fuelling an epidemic of high blood

pressure (BP) linked to strokes, heart

attacks and thousands of premature deaths,

claims a group that works towards greater

awareness of the effects of salt on health.

Cheese can contain as much salt as junk

food products, says Consensus Action on Salt

and Health (CASH).

A bit of cheddar was found to have a greater

amount of salt than a bag of crisps, while feta,

halloumi and other popular types contain

higher levels of salt than seawater.

CASH chairman Graham MacGregor, pro-

fessor of cardiovascular medicine at the

Wolfson Institute here, said: "We urge the

government to stop dragging its heels and set

new, lower, targets for cheese manufacturers

to work towards. Even small reductions will

have large health benefits."

"For every one gram reduction in popula-

tion salt intake, we can prevent 12,000 heart

attacks, stroke and heart failure, half of which

would have been fatal," McGregor added, the

Daily Mail reports.

CASH is urging families to cut down on

cheese intake, insisting on new guidelines for

manufacturers to ensure lower levels of salt.

Cheese, which also usually carries high lev-

els of saturated fat, is the third-biggest con-

tributor of salt to the national diet, after bread

and bacon.

Together, these alone are responsible for the

recommended daily intake of six grams -

about a teaspoon - being exceeded by over a

third. The average intake is 8.1g a day.

Doctors say salt is a major factor in high

blood pressure.

A survey of hundreds of supermarket prod-

ucts by CASH found that the saltiest option

on the high street was roquefort, with one

gram in a typical portion of 30g.

Iceland Cheese Food Slices carry more salt

in one 20g portion - 0.56g - than in a packet

of crisps.

However, CASH did find that it is possible

for shoppers to switch to relatively low-salt or

even salt-free cheese for a healthier option.

Salty reason to go easy on cheese

26 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHEALTH

SMS at 20: Quick, cheap, easy and here to stay D

on't let anyone tell you that SMS is

dying! It's the only common medium

among the 6 billion mobile-phone

users on this planet after voice calls. They

sent 8 trillion text messages last year. Two

out of three users use SMS.

SMS, which in 20 years grew to become

central to mobile telephony, does have com-

petition from instant-message apps and serv-

ices such as BlackBerry Messenger and

WhatsApp.

Yet in countries such as India and China,

which make up 5 billion of those 6 billion

mobile users according to World Bank data,

and where cheaper "feature-phones" domi-

nate over smartphones, text is the communi-

cations lifeline.

SMS, or short message service, is the

world's biggest form of written communica-

tion, in terms of users. It far outstrips all

forms of computer- or mobile-based email,

and data-based mobile messaging services.

It's been a long journey since the first SMS

text message sent in December 1992 by

British engineer Neil Papworth, then 22. He

sent a "Merry Christmas" from his computer

to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone. There was no

reply option on Jarvis' phone. That came

with Nokia's first text-capable GSM hand-

sets phone in 1993.

The idea wasn't British. Finnish former

civil servant Matti Makkonen, the "father of

SMS", suggested a mobile messaging serv-

ice in a 1984 conference. In a rare interview

to the BBC, given entirely over SMS, the

reclusive Finn says he didn't ever see SMS

as separate issue - "it was just a feature in

mobile communications, very useful for

quick business needs".

SMS began to take off in 1995, but slowly,

with the average user sending a mere 5 mes-

sages per year. The West, especially the US,

was slow to adopt text messaging, and SMS

growth remained slow until the mid 2000s

when mobile telephony really spiked in Asia.

By 2010, five billion mobile users were

sending over 1,200 text messages each,

adding up to over 6 trillion messages that

year--12 million messages a minute. And by

the end of 2011, six billion mobile users had

sent over 1,300 messages each. That's 15

million SMSs a minute, or 250,000 every

second, adding up to 8 trillion SMS mes-

sages.

The flurry of traffic isn't just SMSs sent

between users (peer messaging). It includes

those from banking and other entities to cus-

tomers (service or broadcast messages). In

India, as in many countries, it's now the

norm to get a verification SMS the moment

you withdraw cash, or use your credit card to

buy something. The Reserve Bank of India,

the country's federal bank, made it mandato-

ry in 2009 to use an additional layer of veri-

fication for online use of credit cards. The

mobile provides this second-level authenti-

cation for many banks, with a one-time pass-

word. This additional layer of security has

made transactions safer, and the banking sec-

tor has become one of the world's biggest

users of service SMS.

What's next for SMS? Clearly, text mes-

saging is a need that will remain as long as

people communicate with each other, even

as multimedia (such as video chat) rises.

Text is quick, cheap, economical with band-

width, and non-intrusive.

But text messaging is gradually migrating

from the pay-per-message SMS, toward

services that ride on mobile data. I expect

SMS to see a global dip two years down and

then get a fresh lease of life as telcos come

up with cheap unlimited SMS plans.

Service SMSs from banks and others will

continue for the decade ahead. They have no

better alternative to SMS. Nor is there a

quicker, cheaper, easier way for the over 800

million mobile phone users in India, and the

billions elsewhere who carry $50 handsets,

to communicate.

27December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info LIFESTYLE

Britons view family as biggest gift of life

Britons feel it is spend-

ing time with their

family on special

occasions like Christmas

which ensures the biggest

smile.

According to a survey by

toy makers Hasbro, Britons

view spending time with the

family as the most important

part of Christmas even more

than receiving presents,

Daily Express reported.

Just under half of those quizzed

chose being with relatives. Food

was top for 23 percent, presents for

17 percent and time off from work

for 12 percent.

It was women, 53 per cent, more

than men, who most look forward to

family get-togethers.

However, the survey said just 17

percent think Christmas is relaxing

with 83 percent finding it nothing

but hassle.

Paying for food and shopping are

also the top two Christmas worries.

It was found the Welsh , or natives

of Wales enjoy time with their fami-

ly the most over Christmas and the

Scots the least.

"Your family should never be a

worry but we seem to have forgot-

ten the art of spending time with

each other," said Foye Pascoe, of

Hasbro.

Excessive workload as stressful as joblessness?E

mployees with excessive job

demands can be as dis-

tressed as someone who is

jobless, says a new comparative

study.

The study, led by Peter

Butterworth, associate professor at

the Australian National University

(ANC) College of Medicine,

Biology and Environment, is the

first to use representative data from

England to compare the mental

health of those who are unem-

ployed with those in jobs of differ-

ing psychosocial quality. Poor psychosocial job quality

is measured by factors such as high job demands, low

job control, poor job security and low job esteem, the

journal Psychological Medicine reported.

Butterworth said the study's findings support the

hypothesis that the mental health benefits of work are

restricted to good quality jobs, and that the poorest qual-

ity work is comparable to unemployment as a risk factor

for poor mental health, according to an ANC statement.

"Our analysis clearly estab-

lished that there was no difference

in the rates of common mental

disorders, such as anxiety and

depression, between those who

were unemployed and those who

were in the poorest quality jobs,"

Butterworth said.

"Both of these groups of indi-

viduals were more likely to expe-

rience a common mental disorder

than those who were in high qual-

ity work. Importantly, the results

from this analysis of Britain data

confirm previous findings from analysis of Australian

data," said Butterworth.

"They add to a growing body of research highlighting

the need to address the psychosocial aspects of the work

environment as part of national government plans to

reduce mental illness in the community," added

Butterworth.

The study draws on data from the 2007 English Adult

Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

Nip and tuck: face fixes for Facebook and the 'like'F

or all those who thought botox jabs and

nose jobs were only for those getting

on in years, here's news. An increasing

number of youngsters are opting for non-sur-

gical treatments to get that dreamed for face

and maximize the 'likes' on their pics in

social networking sites like Facebook.

From rhinoplasty, a non-surgical nose job

involving an injection, to botox, juvederm

and laser treatments, youngsters are opting

for them in a big way to correct the shape of

their nose, eyebrows or lips.

Nikita Sharma, 21, who used rhinoplasty to

correct the shape of her nose, talks openly

about the benefits of her new look.

"Flaunting physical attributes have become

an integral part of one's life. Through

Facebook one can get so many opportunities

like modeling, acting and even marriage pro-

posals. So, if I put up my best picture with a

perfect face (on social networking sites), it

will do no harm. I am very happy after get-

ting rhinoplasty."

This is a trend confined to not just girls but

also boys and they are quite upfront about it.

Like Mumbai-based Arpit Sharma, a the-

atre person, who used botox to get arched

eyebrows.

"When you act, you need to have a specific

expression on your face. After a couple of

months, I have a play in which I have to por-

tray a negative character. For that I need that

cunning look. So I got my eyebrows lifted

with the help of botox and I think it is good,

because it does not take much time and you

don't need to pay a hefty amount for that," he

said.

This is quite the trend now, capital-based

cosmetic dermatologist Vandana Chatrath

said.

"These days, everyone, especially young-

sters, wants to be popular. Most of them are

not happy with their features. In order to have

an enhanced look, they opt for non-surgical

procedures," Chatrath said.

"Girls usually opt for treatments like nose

correction, lips enhancement, eyebrow lift

and cheek enhancement whereas laser treat-

ments are popular among boys," she said.

Dermatologist Swati Srivastava of beauty

and wellness chain VLCC, Mumbai, added

that everyone wants "a perfect body and for

that they go for magical and effective treat-

ments like botox and juvederm".

Apart from a perfect nose, youngsters are

going for high-arched eyebrows, pouted lips

and sculpted bodies.

And the young don't believe in hiding it.

"In some cases, they even upload their photos

before and after surgery on social networking

sites," Srivastava said.

The treatment varies with age.

For instance, those in the 18-25 bracket opt

for lip enhancement and chemical peels;

those in the 26-35 group endorse treatments

that promise a youthful look.

The side-effects are few, it doesn't take time

and doesn't cost too much either.

"Tonight, on a very special edition of

Larry King Live, we have an exclusive

interview with Jed Greeley, president of

the English Protection Association (EPA). The

association was formed this year to protect the

English language from what it calls -- and I'm

quoting here -- 'a murderous assault from the

Mexicans, Chinese and Indians.' Why are you

focusing on them, Jed?"

"We ain't focusing on nobody, Larry. Thems

are the main ones, but there's other ones: the

Colombians, the Iranians, the Pakistanians.

They all be coming to America and they ain't

speakin' English. It ain't right, Larry. If they

ain't willing to speak English, dang it, they

ain't deservin' to live in this free country."

"But why the big concern, Jed? People

speak lots of languages in other countries."

"Larry, it don't trouble us if they speaks

Russian in Russia, Chinese in China or

Canadian in Canada. But these are the United

States of America. Over here, we speaks

English. I ain't no lingualist, but I do believe

English is the supremest language in the

world. Jesus spoked English,

ya know?"

"So you believe that everyone in America

should speak

English? No exceptions!"

"We ain't saying people gotta speak English

in their houses and all. We saying they gotta

speak English when they's on family outings,

going to Wal-Mart and such. Also when they's

at work. I mean, the other day, I'm takin' a taxi

and the driver, he ain't understandin' a word

I'm sayin'. I dang gives him a piece of my

mind. And ya know what he says to me? He

says I gotta brush up on my Urdu."

"But this is a land of immigrants. Our fore-

fathers spoke many different languages,

including German, French and

Italian."

"But they be learnin' English soon. And ya

know why, Larry?

Because back then, there wasn't no non-

English channels on TV. No Univision, no Al

Jazeera, no dang Zee TV."

"Your association has started a petition to

stop Mexicans and other groups from making

Spanish the official language of America. Do

you really think that's going to happen?"

"Dang right, it's gonna happen, if they gets

what they wants. Some officials already is

speaking Spanish. And so is most baseball

players. They once plays in Major League

Baseball, now they calling it Las Grandes

Ligas De Beisbol.

The Mexicans, they also been singin' the

National Anthem in Spanish and makin' jokes

about Jorge W. Bush. They gettin' my chil-

drens to watch Dora the Explorer and say

'Hola Papi!' to me. We gotta stop 'em now,

Larry, before things gets too far, before we

ends up living in Estados Unidos de América

and eatin' enchiladas at Thanksgiving."

"So you see this as a pretty serious situa-

tion?"

"Dang right, we do. Look, Larry, if you

wanna works on a farm, you gotta speak

Spanish; if you wanna works in a motel, you

gotta speak Gujurati; if you wanna works in

the stock market, you gotta speak Greek."

"The stock market? Isn't that all about num-

bers?"

"It's Greek to me, Larry."

"Oh, I see. Some people take pride in being

bilingual and trilingual. Have you ever consid-

ered learning another language?"

"Another language? Come on, Larry, ain't it

enough that I'm fluenced in English?"

"Other than the petition, what is your group

doing to protect English in America?"

"Well, Larry, for one thing, we's making big

signs to put at the airports and borders:

'Welcome to America. We speaks English

here!'"

Humor with Melvin Durai

A fiat car transformed into a copper sculpture by artistYusuf Arakkal was one of the highlights of the second edi-tion of the India Art Festival in Mumbai which kickstartedhere November 28. The fest showcased over 3,000 art-works by over 500 artists from 50 cities across India.

Photo of the week

28 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

The growing threat on English

December 08

Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn. You are

authoritative, practical, systematic, friendly and sober.

You are smart and capable of handling many important

activities at one time, but you need to check your ten-

dency to behave, impatient, spendthrift and jealous at

times. This year the extra effort that you might have to

put in your work would have tremendous positive ef-

fect on your career and occupation. New source of in-

come is likely to enhance your prosperity. You should

invest in real estate and fixed deposits for long term

gains. Frequent and fruitful journeys are likely to keep

you on the move. Children would do well in studies

and make you feel proud. Later in the year influence of

a spiritual person would be a source of inspiration in

your life. Health would definitely need more attention,

especially for those suffering from asthma, bronchitis

and high blood pressure. The months of January, June,

August and October will prove to be significant.

December 09

Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are ener-

getic, dashing, courageous, enthusiastic and remark-

ably brilliant. You are highly cultured and have strong

likes and dislikes. You are fond of cleanliness and like

to devote special time to improve the surrounding

where you reside, but you need to control your ten-

dency to behave dictatorial, aggressive and moody at

times. Major changes in your career or occupation

seem evident. New money making opportunities

would be highly alluring. Though sudden gains and

losses are foreseen. Your monetary position would im-

prove in the long run. Health, subordinates and legal

matters might trouble you off and on, but improved liv-

ing standard and new and important relationships that

you build during this period would be on the brighter

side. Children expected to bring in some thrilling news

later in the year. Distant journeys, maybe overseas for

some would be highly pleasurable and rewarding. The

months of March, May, July and October seem to be

highly beneficial.

December 10

Governed by number 1 and the planet Sun, you are

original, attractive, warm hearted and philosophical in

nature. You are admired by those around you for your

ability to take quick and courageous decisions, but you

need to check your tendency to behave quarrelsome,

impatient and short-tempered at times. This year you

will gain from your ability to do smart business and

you would also build up excellent rapport with eminent

people in public and private sector. Favours from

banks and financial institutions would enable you to

streamline your present projects. New job opportuni-

ties for those in service are quite imminent. Romance

and new alliances look likely for the unattached. Eld-

ers and children in the family will demand a lot of your

attention. Health of your spouse may cause concern

and anxiety. Spiritual gains for some later in the year.

February, April, June and July will be result oriented.

December 11

Influenced by number 2 and the Moon, you are active,

imaginative, simple, trustworthy and impressive. You

are fond of travelling to distant places and learn more

about different cultures and people, but you need to

check you tendency to behave moody and highly un-

predictable at times. This year promises good and un-

yielding returns. Take extra precautions before making

any major investments. Those involved in art, writing

and other creative professions should expect recogni-

tion and monetary benefits. Sudden help from an in-

fluential person will bring a major boost to your career

and prosperity. Later in the year you are likely to get

involved in construction or designing activities for

yourself or for others. Financially you would be in a

much better state and you would find your confidence

and morale very high. Matrimonial alliances for some

around the yearend. Judicial matters might not bring in

the desired results; therefore avoid getting involved in

legal complications. Children will be supportive and

bring in some happy and good news later in the year.

April, June, August, November and December will es-

pecially prove to be significant.

December 12

Influenced by number 3 and the planet Jupiter. You are

ambitious, dignified, philosophical, and religious. You

are self-reliant and possess enormous leadership qual-

ities and you like to take your own decisions, but you

need to check your tendency to be jealous, over ambi-

tious and self centered at times. This year improve-

ment in your work atmosphere would be there, giving

you lot of job satisfaction. Sudden major monetary

gains, either from foreign transactions or a major govt.

contract, cannot be ruled out. The later half of the year

could bring opportunities to travel overseas for busi-

ness as well as pleasure. Selective speculation will

bring you gains. Some thumping news expected from

your children towards the last quarter of the year. Some

renovation, construction and pilgrimage should also be

carried out this year. Meditation and yoga should be

practiced for spiritual as well as physical gains. The

months of May, July and November would be highly

eventful.

December 13

Ruled by number 4 and the planet Uranus. You are

bright, energetic, active, methodical and systematic.

You are fond of good, respectable lifestyle and you

specially enjoy building new contacts and relation-

ships, but you need to check you tendency to behave

stubborn, destructive and vindictive at times. This

year new assignment and plans come your way. Work

pressure would increase and specific time schedule

would make you work overtime. Financial gains and

other rewards would be plenty but working under ex-

treme stress levels would show on your health. Legal

matters that have been bothering your mind would be

decided in your favour. For those unattached romance

would add a zing to their life. Children would be in-

teresting and a major source of your happiness. For

those who have been unsuccessful in finding a life

partner till now should rejoice, as a matrimonial wed-

lock seems later in the year. The months of January,

June, August and September will prove to be eventful.

December 14

Influenced by number 5 and the planet Mercury. You

are active, smart, confident, original, and highly inde-

pendent individual. You are loved by your friends and

your parents take enormous pride in you, but you need

to check your tendency to behave moody, introvert and

restless at times. This year new alliances and partner-

ships would bring in prosperity. Your confidence and

determination will be at its peak. Financial gains as de-

layed payments and bad debts are recovered. Specula-

tion in real estate and stocks will prove to be profitable.

Those at service might face hectic period at work, be-

cause of the unpredictable behaviour of their boss.

Your spouse would be supportive to your concerns and

provide you with love and affection. A budding ro-

mance is on the horizon for some of you. A distant trip

cannot be ruled out for pilgrimage or auspicious cere-

monies.

The month of March, May, July and September seem

to be highly significant.

By Dr Prem Kumar SharmaChandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: December 8-14, 2012 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

Learn about the fair value ofdiamonds & precious stones.

from a Gems Expert For appointment, please call 516-390-7847

or email consult.gems@gmail.comA special offer for the readers of

The South Asian Times

Free Consultation

29

Aries: This week you should cut down

your expenses to ease financial con-

straints. Moneymaking ventures will not be as

good as they appear. You are likely to be bothered

with too much work and too many family obliga-

tions and it will cause mental stress. Try to relax

as much as possible and go after recreation and

entertainment. Travelling will promote new

romance and additional knowledge.

Taurus: This is a good week for making

important decisions. You should work

towards completing your projects and remember

to take into confidence all those who are involved

with you. You will be able to get along well with

your colleagues. The best way to keep yourself

happy and relaxed will be to get involved in new

hobbies. Opportunities for new and exciting rela-

tionship will be yours if you go out and socialize.

Be very careful about what you say in public.

Gemini: This week financially you will be

on a better footing. Investments in stock

may not bring in desired results, but real estate

matters look promising and can bring you hand-

some gains. Friends will seek your support and

someone will even share a secret with you, make

sure you keep it to yourself. Efficiency will be

more important than creativity and try not to let

any underlying discord ruin your mental peace.

Travel will be important for strengthening ties.

Cancer: Friends and near ones will pro-

vide financial support. However, you

may be a bit reluctant and hesitant to accept it.

This is the period of compensation and rewards

and you will be appreciated for the good deeds

you have done in the past. If you go out shop-

ping, you will find it extremely difficult to con-

trol yourself from overspending. Driving too fast

and getting involved in gossip will put you into

trouble with elders in the family.

Leo: Sudden speculative gains during this

week may not be ruled out. Expenditures

on the renovation or beautification of the house

or on the other domestic requirements are likely

to rise. This is a good period to work on creative

hobbies and to purchase art items that will grow

in value. Professionally your hard work will pay

off, and you will be appreciated for your efforts,

but try to keep your professional life completely

separate from your personal one.

Virgo: Although it will be a hectic and tir-

ing week yet you will be extremely

pleased with your achievements. Fresh business

deals will bring in good financial gains.

Emotionally things might be disturbing and

someone close to your heart will disappoint you

immensely, but you should follow your con-

science and behave exactly the way you normally

do. Your friends and coworkers will be grateful to

you for the help that you extend to them. You will

be generous and enjoy the pleasure of giving.

Libra: Take time off to have fun with

family members. You need to remember

that life is short and you should enjoy each and

every moment of it. You will make some new

friends if you go out and socialize. You will have

good opportunities to make major changes that

will swing you in a position of leadership. Your

unique and original ideas will be appreciated.

Financial gains are certain, but speculation

should be completely avoided.

Scorpio: This week you will buy luxuri-

ous and exorbitantly expensive items for

the spouse or beloved to attract more love and

affection. Your income will increase, but so will

your expenses. Investments put in the past will

fetch returns. Past differences with colleagues if

any will get sorted out. By doing what makes you

happy, you will attract the right crowd.

Everything that happens around you will bring

you lot of fun. Opportunity for a new romance

seems likely for those unattached.

Sagittarius: This is a mixed period of

gains and losses. On one side financially

things will improve and on the other side some

unexpected development on the work front may

disturb your mental peace. Sudden romantic

encounter will set your head spinning, but you

should make sure that this doesn’t distract you

from your responsibilities. You will be in the

mood to overspend, however if you don’t control

yourself you could have a severe financial con-

straint in the coming days.

Capricorn: Funds may flow in through

various sources to ease out your financial

constraints. You may spend lavishly on your

friends as well as your family members.

Concentrate on your pending work. Someone

with big plans and ideas will capture your atten-

tion but you should not make any financial com-

mitments until you are sure you can keep to it.

Business dealing with relatives or friends will

definitely not be in your interest. You will enjoy

the time you spend with children.

Aquarius: This week don’t force your

opinion on others. Lectures and meeting

that you attend will help you in building impor-

tant professional contacts. Money gains from

unexpected sources likely to boost up your spir-

its. Ignoring your spouse will only bring tensed

moments at home. Avoid any arguments or con-

frontation. Travel and communication will be

important but will not go as smoothly as expect-

ed. Focus your attention on domestic issues and

look after the needs of others.

Pisces: This week you should use your

extra energy to finish pending jobs.

Prevailing projects and plans will carry on in a

smooth pace. Children may cause some dissatis-

faction as they get distracted from their responsi-

bilities. Be careful of your belongings while trav-

elling. Foreign transactions expected to yield

good returns.

It would be better to control over your expenses

and plan out the budget according to your sources

and means. Spiritual gains for some will bring

solace and mental peace.

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 out-

come is not as desired, never give up.

v) Consult: Take second opinion before

spending thousands on cure/remedies.

Before you consult...

December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

During the Olympics, com-

petitions are held in many

sports to find out who

should earn the gold medal. For

example, in the summer Olympics,

people compete from all over the

world for the gold medal in swim-

ming, racing, gymnastics, volley-

ball, basketball, table tennis, hur-

dles, diving, relays, and many

more. Everyone wants to go for the

gold to show they are the best in the

world.

If we analyze what sets apart a

gold medal winner from those who

win the silver or bronze medals or

who never even make the

Olympics, we find there are certain

qualities that make someone great.

For example, there is the story of

a football coach who sent a scout to

recruit new players. The scout said,

"What kind of players are you look-

ing for?"

The coach said, "Well, there are

players that when you knock them

down, they stay down."

The scout said, "We don’t want

that kind of player."

The coach agreed, "Absolutely

not. Then, there are players that

when you knock them down, they

get up, but if you knock them down

again, they stay down."

The scout said, "We don’t want

those either."

The coach replied, "Right. Then

there are those if you knock them

down, they get up, and you knock

them down again and they get up,

and you knock them down and they

get up."

The scout said, "That is the kind

of player we want on the team,

right?"

The coach said, "Wrong. We do

not want that player either. I want

you to find the guy who’s knocking

everyone else down. That’s the guy

we want!"

There are certain traits that make

an Olympic winner. By analyzing

these traits, we can incorporate

them into our own lives as we pur-

sue excellence in any field, includ-

ing spirituality.

Focus

The first quality we find in these

Olympic heroes is that they focus

one hundred percent on the goal.

When the Olympic champions are

interviewed we find that their entire

life is based on the ruling passion

of winning their goal. We have

found that some children began at

the age of three, four, or five years

of age or older with every waking

moment of their lives focused on

winning the gold medal. They are

not wishy-washy. They do not drift

from one thing to another. They set

a goal and they stick to it without

wavering. They put all their atten-

tion into that one activity. They are

focused on not just participation,

but winning and being the best.

For example, there is the humor-

ous story of an athlete who came

down with a fever. The doctor came

to examine him and told him he had

a high fever.

The athlete asked the doctor,

"How high is my fever?"

The doctor said, "One hundred

and one degrees."

The athlete quickly replied,

"What’s the world record?"

Athletes are trained to only strive

for the top scores, to break all

records, and to be the best.

For example, look at swimmers

who broke records for gold medals.

To get there, these swimmers

focused their entire lives on swim-

ming faster and faster. Think of

how many times they had to go

back and forth in the pool, timing

themselves, and then speeding up

again and again to break previous

records. It takes total focus to train

the body and mind to groove their

muscles to perform accurately and

quickly.

The same commitment is

required by divers. Think of how

they have to perfect the art of jump-

ing off a diving board, and doing a

back flip, spinning two or three

times, straightening out the body,

and landing in the water at a per-

fectly vertical angle with little

water splash. They have to be total-

ly focused on this goal to be able to

repeat it over and over until they

have reached perfection.

Look at runners. They have to be

poised to take off at the starting sig-

nal and then escalate to top speeds

to win the race. Think of how

focused they have to be to do this

again and again and again, each

time beating previous world

records.

Look at volleyball players. For

example, in 2008 the USA

women’s team was unbeatable in

over 100 games! Their eyes, minds,

and bodies were so focused on the

incoming volleyball that they actu-

ally dove to the ground to get under

the ball and punch it up with their

fists to get it high enough to hit it

over the net. Think of the focus to

be able to dive fast enough to get

under a ball wherever it is landing

in the sand before the ball touches

the sand. What incredible focus one

needs to be able to do this no matter

how hard or how fast the ball flies

and to be in position wherever the

ball lands!

Look at gymnasts. Think of how

high they do twists, turns, and flips

in the air from uneven parallel bars,

and then land squarely on the floor.

Think of how they have to coordi-

nate their timing, body speed, and

body position to make their routine

come together to achieve close to

perfection!

As one compares the perform-

ance of those who win the gold

medal with those who do not, one

sees a level of focus that permeates

the athletes’ entire lives that helps

them achieve the gold.

Passion and Drive

Not only do gold medal winners

have one hundred percent focus on

the goal, but they are filled with

passion and drive to achieve it.

None of the gold medal winners are

lackadaisical in their attitudes. They

are not working in a bored, hum-

drum way for their gold. They all

radiate passion. They are excited

about what they are doing. They are

pumped. They are full of energy and

life. They have a passion for what

they are doing. They wake up each

day excited to perfect their

skills.We can see this in many

sports players who love what they

are doing. They are excited about

getting up to go to practice. They

are so excited about it that for them

it is not work; it is fun and enjoy-

ment. The gold medal winners for

swimming love to swim. The gold

medal winners for diving love to

dive. The gold medal winners for

running love to run. The gold medal

winners for volleyball love volley-

ball. Without that passion, how

would they put in the time neces-

sary to become good at their sport?

Passion and drive are key ingredi-

ents in making a gold medal winner.

Time Commitment

Some people may have a goal and

love a sport, but they fail to put in

enough time to become good at it.

The difference between an average

athlete and a great one may rest in

the time spent in perfecting the

skill. Gold medal winners may put

in more time to their sport than

those who do not even make it to

the Olympics.

Let’s look at the mechanics of

this. For the body to perform at

supersonic speeds or do twists,

turns, and rotations while suspend-

ed in the air requires an incredible

degree of synchronization of the

body and mind. The brain has to

use the senses to judge where the

body is in space and to be able to

direct the muscles of the body to

perform accurately with split sec-

ond timing. For this to happen,

messages sent from the brain cells

to the muscles of the body have to

be sent quickly and automatically.

This takes training and repetition. It

is not just doing it once or twice

that makes someone perfect. They

have to repeat this hundreds and

thousands of times until the body

and brain can do the extraordinary

feats automatically.

Olympic winners put in the maxi-

mum possible time to perfect their

sport. They are the first ones at the

gym to practice, and they are the

last ones to leave. They may be

seen practicing even in the middle

of the night. They practice on

weekends. They practice on their

holidays. They are consumed by the

sport. The amount of time they put

in is rewarded by their body being

able to do what the athlete wants it

to do on command.

Discipline to Do What It Takes

One can have a goal and a pas-

sion for the goal and can also put in

the time to be a winner. There is

another important ingredient,

though, to winning, and that is hav-

ing the discipline to do what it

takes to be the best. One can show

up for practice for twelve hours a

day, but it is the discipline of doing

what is required during those hours

that makes one a winner.

For example, think of the

Olympic sports heroes. It is not

only the time they put in, but the

discipline to do the tasks necessary

within that time frame. They might

have to do push-ups, pull-ups, run

in place, or stretch. There may be

many repetitive drills that are not as

exciting as playing the game but are

needed to hone their muscles and

movements.

Some sports require discipline

when it comes to diet. Some sports

require one to be light so these ath-

letes have to eat fewer calories.

Other sports require muscle bulk so

those athletes have to eat certain

foods, whether they like it or not.

The stamina to run may require cer-

tain nutrients, which means the ath-

lete also must watch his or her diet.

It is not easy staying on any diet,

whether it is to lose weight, gain

weight, or watch one’s blood sugar.

It means that when that athlete goes

out with his or her friends at a

party, he or she may have to avoid

certain foods. That takes tremen-

dous discipline.

Sports ban the use of certain sub-

stances, such as steroids or illegal

drugs. Thus, some athletes who get

caught are eliminated from the

competition. It takes discipline for

them to observe the restrictions on

drugs even when their friends are

offering drugs to them to be cool at

parties.

Coaches of these Olympic gold

medal winners may have required

them to observe a set schedule of

exercise and rest. They may have to

get a certain number of hours of

sleep or rest each night, which also

involves discipline, especially

when others are out partying all

night.

(To be continued...)

Olympics of Meditation

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

Not only do gold medal winners have

one hundred percent focus on the goal,

but they are filled with passion and drive

to achieve it. None of the gold medal

winners are lackadaisical in their atti-

tudes. They are not working in a bored,

humdrum way for their gold. They all

radiate passion. They are excited about

what they are doing.

30 December 8-14, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPIRITUAL AWARENESS

December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info

December 8-14, 2012TheSouthAsianTimes.info