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# 1 Indian American Weekly: Since 2006

VOL 13 ISSUE 10 ● NEW YORK / DALLAS ● MARCH 08-14, 2019 ● ENQUIRIES: 646-247-9458

Former Trump campaign Chairman PaulManafort sentenced to 47 months in Prison

Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Paul Manafort's "little" jail sentence

ALEXANDRIA, VA (TIP): FormerTrump campaign chairman Paul Manafortwas sentenced on Thursday, March 8, to 47months in prison for tax and bank fraudrelated to his work advising Ukrainianpoliticians, much less than what was calledfor under sentencing guidelines. Manafort,sitting in a wheelchair as he deals withcomplications from gout, had no visiblereaction as he heard the 47-month sentence.While that was the longest sentence to date tocome from special counsel Robert Mueller'sprobe, it could have been much worse forManafort. Sentencing guidelines called for a20-year-term, effectively a lifetime sentencefor the 69-year-old. contd on Page 32

Manafort steered Donald Trump's election efforts during crucial months of the 2016campaign as Russia sought to meddle in the election through hacking of Democraticemail accounts.Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) slammed

Paul Manafort's "little" jail sentence

US urges Pakistan to take'sustained and irreversible'actions against terrorists

WASHINGTON (TIP): The US has asked Pakistan totake "sustained and irreversible" actions againstterrorist groups operating from its territory, accordingto a top State Department official. The State Departmentstatement came as Pakistan, under global pressure afterthe Pulwama terror attack and India's air strikes against

contd on Page 32

US Department of State Deputy Spokesperson RobertPalladino said, "we continue to urge Pakistan to take

sustained, irreversible actions against terrorist groups thatwill prevent future attacks and promote regional stability".

China steps updiplomacy to ease

India-Pakistan tensionsBEIJING (TIP):

China has stepped upits diplomacy to easetensions betweenIndia and Pakistanfollowing thePulwama attack bysending its specialenvoy to Islamabad.

Chinese ForeignM i n i s t r yspokesperson LuKang said on

Wednesday, March 6, that Vice-ForeignMinister contd on Page 32

India excluded againfrom student visa

relaxation listPeru, Mauritius and Oman included

LONDON (TIP): India is, once again, notincluded in an expanded list of countries fromwhere students applying for visas will besubject to less stringent documentationrequirements, details provided on Thursday,March 8, showed. This follows last year'scontroversy when China, Indonesia, theMaldives and other countries were included onthe list. The failure to include India triggeredmuch criticism, particularly after the U.K.sought to suggest that the exclusion related toNew Delhi's decision to pull out of aMemorandum of Understanding on the returnof illegal migrants. contd on Page 32

Musharraf calls Jaish-e-Mohammed a terroroutfit, welcomes Pak

action against it

ISLAMABAD (TIP): Former PakistanPresident Gen. Pervez Musharraf (retd) onWednesday, March 7, said the Masood Azhar-ledJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was a terror outfitbut indicated that his country's intelligence hadused it to carry out attacks in India during histenure. contd on Page 32

Soumya Swaminathan isWHO Chief Scientist

NEW DELHI (TIP): As part of thereforms at the World Health Organisation(WHO), Soumya Swaminathan has beenmoved from the position of Deputy Director-General to Chief Scientist heading thedivision created to strengthen theorganisation's core scientific work andensure the quality and consistency of itsnorms and standards. contd on Page 32

China's Vice-ForeignMinister Kong

Xuanyou traveled toIslamabad

The intelligenceapparatus had used

it to carry outattacks in India

during his tenure,claims the former

President of Pakistan

SoumyaSwaminathan has

been moved from theposition of DeputyDirector-General to

Chief Scientist

Photo: Twitter/@doctorsoumya

2 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019ADVERTISEMENT

GARDEN CITY, NY (TIP): AsTown of Hempstead SupervisorLaura Gillen, Town of NorthHempstead Supervisor JudiBosworth ,Nassau CountyLegislator Rose Walker, NewYork State Assembly womanJudy Griffin l (Among manyother VIP's) walked into Akbar'sBallroom in Garden City, onFriday March 1,2019, they allvery well felt the pride andachievement in the air. Thegrand ball room was full of somany accomplished and elite,who's who of the societygathered for one singularpurpose, to be the part of and to

contd on page 6

3THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 NY/NJ/CT

Honoree Sonia Bain with town of North Hempstead supervisor JudiBosworth and board members of IAF

Mohinder Singh Taneja, ChanbirKaur Sethi ,Honoree Dr Subhadra

Nori, Manu Saluja, Town ofHempstead Supervisor Laura

Gillen , judge Ushir Pandit-Durant, Legislator Rosemarie

Walker, Stephanie Benedictus,Indu Jaiswal, Roopam Maini,

Anuj Rihal, Bobby Kumar Kalotee

Eros International Ring Opening Bell at NYSEfor Premiere of New Original Series - Metro ParkPrem Parameswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of North America of Eros International,

and Metro Park actor Omi Vaidya attend the ceremonyNEW YORK (TIP): Eros Now, the cutting-

edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asianentertainment platform owned by ErosInternational Plc (NYSE:EROS) ("Eros"), aGlobal Indian Entertainment Company,announced, March 4, the release of its latestoriginal digital series,Metro Park, on March3rd. A light-hearted comedy,MetroParkrevolves around a Gujarati family basedin suburban New Jersey.

To celebrate the launch of the series, PremParameswaran, Group Chief FinancialOfficer and President of North America, andOmi Vaidya, one of the stars of Metro Park,rangThe Opening Bellat the New York StockExchange on Friday March 1st.

Deep-rooted Indian cultural habits are thecatalyst for this situational comedy and thenine-part series engrosses audiences whilemaking them laugh. The story begins withKannan and Kinjal, a young couple, movingout of their small apartment in New York Cityto New Jersey to stay closer to Kinjal's sisterPayal, and her husband Kalpesh in NewJerseywhich is home to many Indian familiesand this series highlights their day-to-day lifein a way that is sure to make audiences laugh.

With Indian values at its core, this comedyhighlights different quirky Indian characters,cultural differences, modern relationshipsand age gaps. The show promises to build aninstant connection with Indian audiencesglobally. The well-defined characters areexpertly played by Ranvir Shorey (Kalpesh),Purbi Joshi (Payal), Omi Vaidya (Kannan) andVega Timotia (Kinjal). The very talentedPitobash Tripathy is also featured in thecomic role of an Assistant to Kalpesh.

Commenting on the announcement of the

show, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer,Eros Group said, "We at Eros Now believe inpresenting content that is relevant and willcreate an instant connection with audiencesacross the globe. Metro Park is the perfectblend of Indian characters and impeccablecomedy. The production value and the cast ofthe original -series further enhances viewer'sdigital content consumption experience."

All episodes of Metro Park are availableexclusively on Eros Now

About Eros International Plc Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) a

Global Indian Entertainment company thatacquires, co-produces and distributes Indian

films across all available formats such ascinema, television and digital new media.Eros International Plc became the first Indianmedia company to list on the New York StockExchange. Eros International has experienceof over three decades in establishing a globalplatform for Indian cinema. The Company hasan extensive and growing movie librarycomprising of over 3,000 films, which includeHindi, Tamil, and other regional languagefilms for home entertainment distribution.The Company also owns the rapidly growingOTT platform Eros Now. For furtherinformation, please visit: www.erosplc.com.

About Eros Now Eros Now is Eros International Plc's On-

Demand South Asian Entertainment VideoService accessible worldwide to viewersacross internet enabled devices includingmobile, web and TV. With 11,000+ Movie titles,Music Videos, Television Programming andothers Eros Now caters to 128 millionregistered users and 13.0 million payingsubscribers worldwide with the promise ofendless entertainment Product features, suchas video in HD, multi-language subtitles,movie downloads, and high-quality originaldrama series differentiate the Eros Nowentertainment offering. To see, watch now:www.erosnow.com

(Based on a Press Release)

Prem Parameswaran, Eros International, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of NorthAmerica of Eros International (3rd from left), Metro Park actor Omi Vaidya (2nd from left), and

Eros International staff at the New York Stock Exchange opening bell ringing ceremony forpremiere of Metro Park, March 1.

Prem Parameswaran addresses a pressconference and guests at the premiere of

Metro Park at the New York Stock Exchange,March 1

Youth Converge at AIA NY's DesiNext Valentine Dinner & Dance

NEW YORK (TIP): The Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter (AIA-NY) organizedits first ValentineDinner &Dance Event under its recently launched"Desi Next" at beautiful venue Leonard's Palazzoin Long Island on Friday March1st, 2019to promote networking within young adults while havingfun filledevening. Over 50young couples attended the event and had a great time.Everybodywas introduced with each other to encourage conversation between them and getto know each other while enjoying the funnyvalentine games,couples photo booth,sit downdinner and dancing on the vibrant tunes of renowned DJ.Everybodyenjoyed a lot and complimented the organization and the young team of Anuj, Atul& Rajeevfor arranging such fun filled event, which was a huge success.

AIA NY Chapter has been striving hard to bring programs focused onyoungfamilies and their children with a view to attract younger generation. Toname a few, activities like the Intercollegiate Dance Competition called "NaachInferno", young singer artists like Jay Sean of Bollywood fame, and bringing NeelSethi, the Hollywood child star of the Disney movie "The Jungle Book",

contd on page 7

Indian American Forum organizes 8thedition of Outstanding Women

Achievement AwardsSonia K Bain, Sylinthia Burges, Justice Ushir Pandit, Dr Subhadra Nori,

Manu Saluja and Stephanie Benedictus honored

4 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019INDIANS ABROAD

Indian AmericanCouple gives

$1 million to UCLA toEstablish RamanujanVisiting Mathematics

Faculty

LOS ANGELES (TIP): TheUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA)has received $1 million frommathematics professor emeritus V.S.Varadarajan and his wife, Veda, toestablish the Ramanujan VisitingProfessorship in his home department.

The new position honours renownedIndian mathematician SrinivasaRamanujan, who made substantialcontributions to mathematics in theearly 1900s. The post will help UCLAattract visiting faculty members inVaradarajan's specializations ofautomorphic forms, an importantconcept in number theory, andrepresentation theory, which has beenlinked to elementary particles andquantum physics. The additionalexpertise will enhance UCLA'srenowned mathematics department,which U.S. News & World Reportranked among the top 10 graduateprograms in the country in 2018.

Varadarajan's career included workin various areas of mathematics andphysics. He taught undergraduate andgraduate students; managed thePacific Journal of Mathematics; andpublished nine books. Otherrecognition includes an honorarydoctorate in physics from theUniversity of Genova, and the LarsOnsager medal from the NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technologyfor his work in mathematics.Varadarajan joined UCLA in 1965 andretired in 2014. Veda Varadarajanearned her master's degree inatmospheric sciences in 1976 fromUCLA.

Picture caption -V.S. Varadarajan and hiswife, Veda Photo / Courtesy UCLA

Indian American Writer/ProducerMindy Kaling Inks New Deal with

Warner Bros. Television GroupBURBANK, CA(TIP): Emmy-nominated

writer/producer Mindy Kaling ("The MindyProject," "The Office") has signed an exclusive,multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros.Television Group (WBTVG).

Under the terms of the pact, Kaling willdevelop, write and produce new televisionprojects - including original comedy anddrama series, longform/event series,unscripted programming, digital content andmore - for all platforms, such as broadcastnetworks, premium/pay and basic cablechannels, and streaming/on-demand outlets.

This marks Kaling's first deal with theStudio and continues WBTVG's on-goingstrategic commitment to collaborate with thefinest creators in the industry and supporttheir vision by taking advantage of the artisticfreedoms that an independent company canprovide. Terms were not disclosed.

Prior to joining Warner Bros., Kalingcreated, executive produced and starred in theacclaimed comedy "The Mindy Project," whichran for six seasons, three on FOX and three onHulu. Before that, she was a writer andexecutive producer for the NBC comedy "TheOffice," on which she also played customerservice representative Kelly Kapoor. Kaling,who wrote 24 episodes of the show, wasnominated for six Emmy Awards for her work

on "The Office," sharing in five nominationsfor Outstanding Comedy Series as part of theshow's producing team, as well as a

nomination with Greg Daniels forOutstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.Kaling also earned several Writers Guild ofAmerica Award nominations and a win for hertime on "The Office," as well as two ScreenActors Guild Awards as part of the show'sensemble cast.

Kaling most recently debuted her newfeature film "Late Night," for which she servesas producer, writer and star opposite EmmaThompson. The movie debuted to widespreadacclaim at the 2019 Sundance Film Festivaland was acquired by Amazon Studios for arecord-breaking North American distributiondeal. She is also the author of two New YorkTimes-bestselling books, "Why Not Me?" and"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (AndOther Concerns)."

As an actor, Kaling's feature film creditsinclude "Ocean's Eight," "A Wrinkle in Time,""The Night Before," "Inside Out," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and more.

Kaling's production company, KalingInternational, will produce her new series inassociation with Warner Bros. Television,Warner Horizon Scripted Television or theTelevision Group's digital studio, Blue RibbonContent. Warner Bros. InternationalTelevision Distribution will distribute theprograms around the world.

Kaling created, executive produced andstarred in the acclaimed comedy "The Mindy

Project"

Indian American named Penn's Vice President andSecretary of the University

NEW YORK (TIP): Indian American Medha Narvekarhas been named vice president and secretary of theuniversity at the University of Pennsylvania, effective July1. The announcement was made by Penn President AmyGutmann.

Narvekar has worked in Penn's Development and AlumniRelations (DAR) Office for 32 years, beginning shortly aftershe earned an M.B.A. from Penn's Wharton School. Mostrecently, she has served as senior associate vice president ofDAR, working closely with the president and many trustees.

"Medha is both renowned and respected across Penn,"Gutmann said. "Very few people know Penn as well or haveworked so successfully with so many people across ourUniversity. Her extensive experience across all areas-including working directly with trustees, overseers, andPenn's most generous donors-gives her a unique capacity tostep into the important position of vice president andsecretary."

Narvekar earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1981and her Wharton degree in 1986.

In addition to her new responsibilities, Narvekar willcontinue to provide support to DAR, serving as liaison fromDevelopment to the President's Office. In this capacity, shewill continue to have a reporting relationship to John Zeller,senior vice president of DAR, and remain a member of theDAR senior management team as the University movesthrough the final phases of the Power of Penn fundraisingcampaign.

Narvekar hasworked in Penn'sDevelopment andAlumni Relations(DAR) Office for

32 years

Indian American Teen Wins National STEM Award

BOSTON (TIP): Indian AmericanstudentKavya Kopparapu has beennamed the winner of 2018/2019 NationalSTEM (Science, Technology,Engineering, and Math) Award thatrecognizes an individual who exemplifiesexcellence in the theoretical and practicalSTEM education fields and who hasmeaningfully promoted STEM education.

Kavya is a freshman at HarvardUniversity, researching at theintersection of medicine and computerscience. Kavya is the inventor ofGlioVision, a precision medicineplatform powered by AI that predictstumor characteristics in a fraction of the

time and cost of traditional methods. She has been recognized as a WebMDHealth Hero, Thiel Fellowship Finalist, Davidson Institute for TalentDevelopment Scholar Laureate, Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist, andUS Presidential Scholar.

Kavya has spoken at the Smithsonian, NASA Kennedy Space Center, andseveral Artificial Intelligence Conferences. She is the founder and CEO ofGirlsComputingLeague.org which has raised over $100,000 for computer scienceprogramming impacting over 3,800 students across the US.

Kavya is a freshman at Harvard University

Indian American Student Wins $5,700 Irving Institute GrantNEW YORK (TIP): Harish Tekriwal, an Indian American student at Dartmouth College has been

chosen for a prominent energy grant from Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society."The only undergraduates in a pool of 36 applicants, Bill Cui '21 and Harish Tekriwal '21 outcompeted

faculty members and researchers to win a $5,700 grant from the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energyand Society", the Dartmouth College posted on twitter.

Harish and Cui were chosen for their project "Constructing Effective Demand Response Programs inNew Hampshire's Electric Market."

Harish Tekriwal grew up in Richmond, Virginia and graduated from Maggie Walker Governor'sSchool as a National AP Scholar. At Maggie Walker, Harish served as President of the Class of 2017 aswell as President of the Model United Nations club. He also participated in the "We, the People"constitution competition where he and his team were crowned national champions in 2017. Outside ofschool, he volunteered as an EMT for the local rescue squad, a service he still provides whenever he ishome. At Dartmouth, Harish plans to pursue a major in Quantitative Social Science with a minor inPublic Policy. He is a varsity athlete on the Dartmouth Lightweight Rowing Team as well as a memberof the Dartmouth Mock Trial Society. After graduation, Harish plans to attend law school and pursuea career that combines data analytics and public policy.

Harish Tekriwal grew upin Richmond, Virginiaand graduated from

Maggie WalkerGovernor's School as a

National AP Scholar

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VAISAKHI 5K RUN 2019

The 6th Annual Vaisakhi 5K Run will continue to be honored this year. It will be heldon Sunday the 28th of April 2019 located at Victory Field which is located on thecorner of Woodhaven Blvd and Myrtle Avenue.

The Vaisakhi 5K committee meeting was held this Sunday and the preparations for theevent were discussed. The committee agreed on what prizes the winners will receive forcompleting the race.

We are hoping that the competitors will start to train soon. Most importantly we suggestthat everyone who is going to participate is above the age of 12. That is the only restrictionanyone above that can participate. There is no maximum age limit. The registration processwill start soon. We will notify everyone as soon as possible with further information.

*Please Note: Every year the Vaisakhi 5K Run is held the next day of the Sikh Day Parade.The Sikh Day Parade will be held on Saturday the 27th of April.

If you have any questions, please contact DR. AVTAR SINGH TINNA 718-291-1200

MR. SATNAM S. PARHAR 917-440-3543

MR. GURBHINDER S. BRAR 516-870-8680

Commemoration of International Women'sDay will celebrate individuals and activistswho are finding innovative ways to advance

gender equalityNEW YORK (TIP): With

technology and innovationplaying an integral role inour everyday lives, it is noteasy to imaginedevelopment in the 21stcentury without it. Thisyear's theme forInternational Women's Day(8 March), "Think Equal,Build Smart, Innovate forChange," explores the ways

in which innovation can work for gender equality, boost investment in gender-responsive socialsystems, and enhance public services and infrastructure that meet the needs of women andgirls.

"Innovation is shaping and changing the way people live in every part of the world, so wehave to be intentional about its use to positively impact the lives of women and girls", said UNWomen Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. "It's a key component of development, abasic need for those living in poverty, and a far-reaching enabler of rights. Women and girlsmust have opportunities to contribute to both the design and execution of solutions affectingtheir lives- and they are more than ready to do so."

While a little more than a decade remains to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,including Goal 5 on gender equality, all indications show that at the current pace of change,closing the global gender gap will take a staggering 108 years, and 202 years for economicgender parity. Read full story at www.theindianpanorama.news

Indian American Forum organizes8th edition of Outstanding

Women Achievement Awards

CONTD FROM PAGE 3celebrate 8th Outstanding Women's Achievements Gala, part of Women's History Month and

International Women's Day Celebrations. IAF (Indian American Forum) led by Indu Jaiswal,known for her strong commitment and dedication to the community cause was the organizingforce behind the gala. This year well known Community Leader Shammi Singh was theChairperson of the Gala. And of course the hall was beautifully decorated with spring flowerstheme courtesy Sunita Sadhnani of Glamorous Event Planners. Evening started with lightingof the lamp. Shammi Singh Chairperson, of Gala in her remarks welcomed all the guestscongratulated all the honorees and praised their efforts in achieving such success.

American National Anthem sung by Gurbani Kaur Sethi and Indian National Anthem sung byRoopam Maini. Master of Ceremonies Mr Anuj Rihal and Chanbir Kaur Sethi made the eveningenjoyable. Chanbir Kaur, Roopam Maini , Rohini Singh, Isha Rihal and Inesha Singh coordinateda brief Q&A session with the honorees discussing and emphasizing their accomplishments

Mr Sant Singh and Mrs. Daman Chatwal congratulated all honorees and acknowledged theefforts of IAF Team. Five distinguished women who had excelled in their profession andcommunity services were presented with Outstanding Women's achievements Awards.

SONIA K BAIN: A transactional commercial real estate lawyer who represents developers,retail companies, hotel groups and several other types of real deal estate properties in NewYork City, Sonia Bain is named to 2019 Notable woman in Law by Crain's New York Businessand several other professional achievements

SYLINTHIA BURGES: Nassau County Veterans Service Agency's first woman VeteranCounselor, Ms. Burges served on active duty in Army in Lebanon war, at Camp Casey, inKorea. At present she is working with Veterans and several agencies to assist veterans andclients. She is named to The New York State Veterans hall of Fame by Senator Kemp Hanon.

JUSTICE USHIR PANDIT: Judge of New York State Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant was elected to New York State Supreme Court, becoming the first woman of Indiandecent in New York State to become the Supreme Court judge. She now presides overcriminalcases in Queens County.

DR SUBHADRA NORI: Dr Subhadra Nori is currently the regional Director for thecombined departments of Rehabilitation medicine at Elmhurst and Queens Hospital Centers.She is an Associate professor at the Icahn School of medicine, Mount Sinai New York. She hasheld leadership positions at several National Societies in her specialty. Along with her HusbandDr Nori, she helped to establish two Shirdi Sai temples centers, one in New York Baldwin andanother in Iselin, New Jersey. Dr Nori is considered by her peers as an outstanding physician,excellent educator and researcher and a superb administrator.

MANU SALUJA: Manu Saluja a well-known artist and painter in New York has a Master'sdegree in painting from The New York Academy of Art. Her work includes stunning historicalportraits as well as recent paintings inspired by her life as a New Yorker. Manu is on the faculty ofboth New York University Academy of Art in Tribeca and the Long Island Academy of Fine Arts.

STEPHANIE BENEDICTUS: Stephanie Benedictus ,Young Achiever, is currently a seniorat Syosset High School. She has been a part of YICG since childhood and attended VedicShlokaand Bollywood dance classes. Stephanie values the YICG message and has become a co teacherof Bollywood Dance. She has a deep appreciation for her culture and works very hard to instillthis appreciation. Stephanie wants to be a Physician and wants to continue to help thecommunity. Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth was all in praises for theefforts of Indian American Forum and Indian American Community. She congratulated allhonorees and stressed the importance of role women are playing in this world. She presentedthem with citations. Citations of behalf of Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, the townof Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino,Congressional recognition from Congress man Thomas Suozzi, and from Nassau CountyLegislator Rosemarie Walker, were presented to all Honorees

Among those present were Bobby Kalotee Founder of IAF, Nassau County Human RightsCommissioner Sharanjit Singh Thind, Zahid Syed, Mr and Mrs. Sant Chatwal, Dr RajinderUppal, President of International Punjabi Society, Shashi Malik, Vice President of IndiaAssociation of Long Island, Sher Madra , Peter Bheddah, Board of Directors of Nargis DuttFoundation, , Haseena Mooppan Domestic Harmony Foundation, Dr Anila Midha, President ofSAWA, Rizwan Qureshi from HAB Bank, Roopam Maini from Indus American Bank, Jasbir JaySingh, President IPD USA, Kamal Dandona, Smiti Khanna , Dr Urvashi and Anoop Kapoor,Sudhir and Swati Vaishnav and several other dignitaries were present.

Dance performances presented by students of well-known Choreographers Swati Vaishnavand From New York Kathak Festival and Stephanie Benedictus. Mr Mohinder Taneja gavespecial thanks for all of our sponsors and media partners. Well known Artist Sabina Himanidonated painting Child Bride and Manu Saluja Donated Maharaja Ranjit Singh Painting forSilent Auction. (Based on a press release issued by Indu Jaiswal)

Kathak performance by New York KathakFestival group

Sidhi Vaishnavgiving a danceperformance

7THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 NY/NJ/CT

Indian American SenatorSponsors Bill Seeking School

Holidays for ReligiousObservances

The list includes Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Diwali, Vaisakhi, Onam and

Good Friday

NEW YORK (TIP): With a growing diversity in thecommunities, New York's Indian American Senator KevinThomas (D-Levittown) has sponsored a bill that would givestudents the day off for several religious holidays. Thelegislation would require closure where individual schooldistricts have at least seven and a half percent of studentpopulation, who celebrate that particular religious holiday.

The holidays included on the list are: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the most important days on the Islamic calendar;Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights each Autumn; Vaisakhi, areligious festival in Sikhism; Onam, an annual Hinducelebration with its origins in the state of Kerala in India; andGood Friday, which starts off the holy Easter weekend formembers of the Christian faith.

"Many students are forced to take off each year to observeholidays with their families. This bill would finally rectifythat. No longer should these holidays come with a sick day formissing classes," Senator Kevin Thomas said.

It goes into effect on the first July date after becoming law.The bill advanced to Education Committee.

"While it's long overdue, I'm glad to be the one addressingthis concern for many of the residents in my district," SenatorThomas added. Democrat Kevin Thomas represents the 6thDistrict (Mid-Nassau) in the New York State Senate. He is a 34years old Civil Rights Attorney, who worked on high profilecases in his career before entering politics. He immigrated tothe U.S. at the age of 10. Mr. Thomas is now the first IndianAmerican to be elected as State Senator in New York.

Global Leva PatidarFoundation award for NJbased Pramod Attarde

Thomas is thefirst Indian

American to beelected to New

York StateSenate

EDISON, NJ (TIP): Pramod Attardefrom Edison,NJ was recently awardedas a Global Leva Icon by Speaker ofMaharashtra Vidhan Sabha at NESCO,Mumbai. Ex- Revenue MinisterEknathrao Kadase of Maharashtra wasalso present at the event.

Global Leva Patidar Foundation gaveaway this award to 100 Global LevaIcons who worked in various

segments.Attarde was awarded as aPhilanthropist and Businessman. He isproviding services for people in need inIndia, including Aadivasis, the blind,the orphans and the economicallybackward.

Attarde is a Serial Entrepreneur,Blockchain Evangelist, and DataScientist in NJ.

During India visit, Attarde delivered

lectures at various Engineeringcolleges, Chamber of Commerce andSocial events. He spoke on varioussubjects as "New Technologies - NewOpportunities", "EntrepreneurshipDevelopment", and "Career Guidance"etc.

(Based on a press release issued by H.S. Panaser , NJ)

Pramod Attarde receiving Global Leva Patidar Foundation award from Speaker of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha

CONTD FROM PAGE 3

Youth Converge at AIA NY's Desi Next ValentineDinner & Dance

Ronald McDonald of Mcdonald'sfame and above all launching of "Desi Next" for the youngergeneration. We have been trying to continue to expand and strengthen youth developmentprograms and activities and have been working towards energizing our youths, whileunderstanding their concerns, said Gobind Munjal, the president of AIA NY Chapter. We try togive the young adults the autonomy to build their programs that suits and attracts the youngergeneration. Keeping that in mind, AIA NY Chapter launched "Desi Next" in January 2017 toprovide a platform for the young adults,where they can socialize, interact, address their issuesand concerns and develop programs to suit their need. We appointed young individuals AnujGoenka, Atul Kukar and Rajeev Chaudhri to lead the charge for these youth programs. OnJanuary 22nd2017, we organized the very first networking event under Desi Next and it was ahuge success with 150 young adults and their children attending the event. Desi Next alsobrings Young families, youth and kids together through Sports, Family get-togethers andCommunity outreach activities.

AIA NY Chapter is best known for celebrating the biggest Deepavali Festival Celebrations onevery first Sunday of October at the Iconic South Street Seaport in Manhattan, culminatingwith a spectacular display of Fireworks, where over 100,000 people come from all walks of life,to celebrate and enjoy the festivities. We want young adults to come forward, become members,participate and lead the organization. We are going to have a membership drive for theyoungeradults, and we plan to add many new young members in order to expand our Desi Nextconcept. With that in mind, our Desi Next team Anuj Goenka, Atul Kukar and RajeevChaudhary, did a fantastic job in organizing this Valentine eventand many other events for theyoung families and their children over a period of last 2 years, which got rave reviews. We areencouraged by the tremendous success of these events and we are going to have many moresuch programs in the coming months.

The Association of Indians in America (AIA) is the oldest not-for-profit organization ofAsian Indians in America founded on August 20, 1967. It is the grassroots national organizationof Asian immigrants in the United States. With chapters and membership spread across theUnited States of America, AIA represents the hopes and aspirations of those immigrants whoare united by their common bond of Indian Heritage and American Commitment.

For more info, please find us on Facebook and visit our website atwww.theaiany.org.(Press Release)

Ever since the attack in Pulwama by asuicide bomber killing 42 of India'ssecurity personnel, the country has

been on the edge, fearing an all-out war withPakistan. Any civilized person could viewthe barbarity of this dastardly terrorist actonly with disgust and rage. However, aconfrontation between these two nuclearpowers is neither in the interest of these twonations nor does it bode well for the future ofthis turbulent region. Pakistan has beenwaging a proxy war with India over theKashmir issue from the time ofIndependence, and a final solution to thiscrisis is not within sight.

Some would argue that this is the time ofwar and everyone should keep theirapprehensions about its conduct or any otherquestions they may have close to their chest.However, a massive intelligence failure of thismagnitude over the Pulwama tragedy shouldnot be missed. How did a young man in histwenties, who was already on the radar of theSecurity personnel, come to possess, pack &conceal, and then drive 300KG explosivestowards a military convoy undetected?Reports from the region suggest that a policeadvisory was already in effect a week beforethis, stating that the Central Reserve PoliceForce deployment would be targeted. Where isthe accountability on these massive securitylapses?

A recent New York Times report paints ascathing image of India's vintage militaryequipment and its impact on militaryreadiness. "India's armed forces are inalarming shape. If intense warfare broke outtomorrow, India could supply its troops withonly 10 days of ammunition, according togovernment estimates. And 68 percent of thearmy's equipment is deplorably old. It isofficially considered 'vintage'". A swollenbureaucracy together with lack of fundingobviously rendered these procurement andtraining processes anything but cumbersome.

Nevertheless, India was left with no choicebut to retaliate. Pakistan has been aiding andabetting Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leaderMasood Azhar for long despite the pressurefrom the U.N. and other international bodies.The Air Force was tasked to strike the terrortargets in Balakot region: an order that wascarried out despite bad weather conditions.The Indian Military has been known for itsprofessionalism and respect for civilianleadership in a democratic setup. Air ChiefMarshal B.S. Dhanoa refused to give acasualty count saying "IAF doesn't count thenumber of dead" and the "casualty figure inan air strike on Balakot camp will be given bythe government," referring to the air strike ithad carried out on February 26, 2019.

However, what we have witnessed followingthe strike , from the Government and the BJPleaders would not only sully the image ofIndia but also the nation's credibility throughovert politicization of this conflict, as thecountry is preparing itself for a criticalelection. First, the leaked information fromsources to the media put the casualty count at300 to 350. Western intelligence sources andthe International press immediately castsevere doubt on these numbers, and some

reports directly from the groundcharacterized the damages as minimal.

However, in public speeches, Amit Shah,the President of the ruling party BJP, talkedabout 250 terrorists being wiped out. OtherBJP leaders like BS Yeddyurappa said that hisparty would win 22 seats in Karnataka afterthe strike. It is as if BJP leaders are relishingthese moments of war and salivating aboutthe prospects of riding to victory in the fog ofa protracted fight between the two nations. Itboggles one's mind to believe that after thePulwama attack, the terrorists associatedwith Jaish-e-Mohammed just gatheredtogether to sleep in one place, making an easytarget of themselves for the IAF!

Anyone who questioned the veracity oftheBJP leaders' claims is called an anti-national and accused of doing Pakistan'sbidding. "At a time when our army is engagedin crushing terrorism, inside the country andoutside, some people within the country aretrying to break their morale, which ischeering our enemy," Modi said at an electionrally. "I want to know from Congress and itspartners why they are making statements thatare benefiting the enemies", he added. Modi isapparently absent from the capital inmanaging the conflict. Instead, he is entirelytaking advantage of the ongoing battle on hiscampaign trail, vilifying the opposition andquestioning their patriotism for politicaladvantage.

Another shameful spectacle that isunfolding in India today is the blatant displayof jingoism by the media and their networksto propel a wider war. Instead of bringingtogether the nation at a time of crisis, some ofthese news channels are creating divisions,promoting hate and sowing discord. Theybroadcast manufactured news; shamelesslyappropriate nationalism; and designate asegment as enemy's allies. Many of them havebecome vassals of special interests mostlycontrolled by crony capitalists aligned withthe ruling party.

It is also sad to hear that there is anatmosphere of fear and intimidation created

for Kashmiri students across the country, asSangh Parivar forces target them for revengeattacks. "It is no secret that the Bajrang Daland the student wing of the Sangh wereforemost in fomenting trouble againstKashmiri students in various parts of India.This was done keeping in mind the upcominggeneral election", Omar Abdulla, formerChief Minister of Kashmir said. "It is obviousthat BJP sees an advantage in suchenvironments. It helps them paper over Modi'smistakes like demonetization, joblessness,India's poor economic growth and the distressfaced by the country's agricultural sector" headded.

We collectively admire the bravery andsacrifice of our armed forces. They arefighting to keep all Indians safe and protectthe sovereignty of the nation from terroristsand a country that provides haven to them.Moreover, they are fighting to safeguard ourdemocratic traditions and way of life. AsSashi Kumar, a commentator eloquently put itrecently, "they are not fighting for this or thatpolitical party; they are not fighting for theelectoral gains of the ruling party or of theopposition. However, they are, if anything,fighting the religious fundamentalism of onekind but not to replace it with the rampantreligious fundamentalism of another kind,even of the majoritarian variety".

The BJP's strategy appears to be clear andstraightforward: playing up Hindunationalism; linking Kashmiri youth andJihadi terrorists supported by an enemy,Pakistan; and providing 'red meat' to a largesegment of the voting public, who are sodisappointed with Modi's failure to deliver hiscampaign promises. However, this is all at therisk of endangering India's democratic andpluralistic values, and accelerating animositybetween two armed nuclear neighbors, whichmay even put them on a path to potentialdisaster!

(The author is a former Chief TechnologyOfficer of the United Nations and current

Vice-Chairman of the Indian OverseasCongress, USA)

GUESTCOMMENT

8 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019EDITORIAL

AS I SEE IT

Pulwama attack: Politicizing aconflict for electoral gains

By George Abraham

for more news, views and reviews,

visit @www.theindianpanorama.news

What we have witnessed following the strike , from the Government and the BJP leaderswould not only sully the image of India but also the nation's credibility through overtpoliticization of this conflict, as the country is preparing itself for a critical election.

Another shameful spectacle that is unfolding in India today is the blatant display ofjingoism by the media and their networks to propel a wider war. Instead of bringingtogether the nation at a time of crisis, some of these news channels are creatingdivisions, promoting hate and sowing discord.

Attack on pressfreedom: Using OSAto fight the Rafale

battle in court

The Attorney General of India'ssubmission to the Supreme Court,later retracted, that the

Government was considering actionagainst The Hindu under theundemocratic and draconian OfficialSecrets Act (OSA) was unwarranted andawkward. Casting the legalese aside, theGovernment was seeking to shoot themessenger for publishing secretdocuments that questioned the Rafaledeal. The AG could have sounded morecredible if he had argued that the secretdocuments revealed by the media housewere incorrect or irrelevant to the case.If these documents were not edited totamper with the context or to furtherpolitical or corporate interests, theyremain valid.

Instead of arguing on the validity ofthe information put out in the publicdomain, the Government has given theimpression of threatening journalists forraising uncomfortable or inconvenientquestions. The Editors' Guild has rightlynoted that any attempt to wield theOfficial Secrets Act against journalists isas 'reprehensible' as asking journalists todisclose their sources. If the aim was tostop the courts from looking at thosedocuments merely because they weresuspected to be purloined, the ploy failed.Journalists have every right to obtaindocuments and publish them for greaterpublic good. A journalist's public-spirited attempt to bring out the truthshould go beyond handout journalismand it can never be termed a breach ofnational security. The court has rightlyturned down the AG's plea not to look atevidence just because it was obtainedthrough leaks. All great stories have beenleaked out by some public-spiritedofficial or the other.

Unless the Government proves thatthese documents have been planted onthe newspaper for partisan reasons, theconsequences of the documents beingdeclared genuine are indeed far-reaching. For they seem to hint at anattempt to compromise the DefenceMinistry's negotiating position due to theinterference of the Prime Minister'sOffice as well as suppression of factsfrom the Supreme Court. Morereprehensible is the threat to forcejournalists to reveal their sources. It isuniversally recognized that therelationship between the media and theState ought to be adversarial, with themedia playing an Oppositional role. Itshould remain so for our democracy toremain vibrant and viable.

(Tribune, India)

9THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 PERSPECTIVE

By Ven Parameswaran

For Part 2 of Why Punjab cannot make progress, please go to page 30.

WAKE UP CALL TO INDIA ● WILL INDIA CAPITALIZE ON "USA-INDIA CLOSE ALLY" STATUS?● WILL INDIA SEIZE THE OFFER OF THE USA TO TRANSFER 100% OF US TECHNOLOGY?● WHAT LESSONS INDIA LEARNED AFTER THE AIR SKIRMISHES WITH PAKISTAN ON 26th and 27th

FEBRUARY?

Prime Minister Modimust take full

advantage of 'CLOSEALLY' relationship

and start doingbusiness with the

USA that will benefitboth. China openedits economy in 1979

and within 20 years itbecame the secondeconomic power in

the world. India hasexcellent credit andtherefore India canmobilize resources

needed formodernizing India and

its defense. Indiamust embrace

capitalism as Chinadid, and not continue

to fool around withsocialism.

At the outset, I must say that this is the first time India receivedworldwide support since its independence in 1947. During theend of Harry Truman's Presidency, Pakistan aligned with the

USA by signing a Mutual Security Agreement. President Trump changedthis after his election. He canceled aid to Pakistan and gave ultimatum toPakistan to get rid of all terroristorganizations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashhar-e-Taiba . These two major Pakistan'shomegrown terror organizations with the implied support of Pakistan'smilitary and the I.S.I. (intelligence agency) attacked the IndianParliament in 2001. In 2008, they tried to seize Mumbai and thru terrortactics killed 165 Indians and foreign nationals. Since then, variousgovernments of Pakistan refused to mete out justice to the assailants, theleaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan's militaryand the I.S.I. have been ruling Pakistan. The military has installed PrimeMinister Imran Khan. The so-called civil government and its parliamentare mere window-display.

PAKISTAN HAS BEEN VIOLATING THE LINE OF CONTROL BETWEENINDIAN KASHMIR AND PAKISTAN OCCUPIED KASHMIR

Pakistan has been violating the Line of Control systematicallyresulting in thousands of deaths of Indian soldiers during the past twodecades. On 14th February, Pakistan used Jaish-e-Mohammed as its proxyand killed 41 Indian military police. Prime Minister Modi said, "Enoughis Enough. India cannot and will not tolerate." And he ordered hismilitary to take action.

USA-INDIA CLOSEST ALLY STATUS IN PLAYBefore India took military action, India created a favorable political

atmosphere in the world that pumped out political support from the solesuperpower, the USA. The National Security Adviser, John Bolton and theSecretary of State, Pompei extended vehement support. This wasfollowed immediately by discussion in the U.S.Congress. Several leadersof the U.S.Senate and the House of Representatives accused Pakistan andoffered their overwhelming support to India. There was a generalconsensus that Pakistan must take action to get rid of all terrorists. Theleadership of the USA was followed by the European Union, Australia,Japan, Canada and many countries. The United Nations discussed thematter and asked Pakistan to get rid of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. I am explaining to show that India did not act hastily and alone.It even had the implied support of China.

INDIA NEUTRALIZED CHINESE SUPPORT OF PAKISTANIt must be pointed out that China chose not to support Pakistan against

Indian attacks. Instead, China appealed to both India and Pakistan to userestraint and settle the differences. But China emphasized that Pakistanmust get rid of its terrorists. It is also important to note that China refusedto intervene or support Pakistan in 1971, when India used force to liberateEast Pakistan and created Bangladesh.

This is in spite of the historical fact that India and China had fought in1962 on territorial differences. Pakistan had banked on Chinese supportand was disappointed. Significantly, China did not even mention theterritorial violation of Pakistan by India. Equally, Pakistan was furiousthat the U.N. was silent when India attacked Pakistan's airspace andviolated its sovereignty. It is interesting that India's Foreign Minister,Sushma Swaraj timed her strategic meeting in Peking during the crisis,and she told her counterpart: "No military installations were targeted. Thelimited objective of the preemptive strike was to act decisively against theterrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to pre-emptanother terror attack on India. India does not wish to see furtherescalation of the situation. India will continue to act with responsibilityand restraint."

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE AIR SKIRMISHES WITH PAKISTAN1. INTELLIGENCE: On the 26th attack on Balakot, Pakistan, Indian

intelligence failed to target the right place for bombing.2. TECHNOLOGY: On the 27th dogfight, the Indian pilot, Abhinandan

Varthaman, was downed because his MIG-21 was no match toPakistan's F-16. Even the latest MIG-35 is no match to F-16. Thus,superior technology matters.

3. PUBLIC RELATIONS: Public Relations is also very important. Pstands for Performance and R stands for Reporting. Indianbureaucrats failed to report. The media and the public wanted toknow when and where F-16 plane was downed and how. Thespeculation is the Indian pilot before he was downed also inflicteddamage to the F-16 forcing its pilot to go down. Also, when India

failed to identify the target in Balakot, India claimed it had destroyedthe Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camp of 300.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION TO CAPITALIZE ON "INDIA-USACLOSE ALLY" RELATIONSHIP1. India must take bold steps to make its economy modern and grow its

GDP @10% minimum for the next decade. This will create multimillions of jobs badly needed by the unemployed.

2. Liberalize and open the economy. Make it most business friendly andcreate most favorable environment for foreign investment.

3. Modern warfare is won using sophisticated technologies and superiorintelligence. India must be prepared to make dynamic changes in itsmilitary preparedness. India must once and for all decide to buy thebest and most superior military hardware from the USA. India shouldbe prepared not to depend on Russia. Indian factories that makeRussian MIGs are outmoded and should be closed. What is the use ofbuying cheap or paying in rupees if you cannot win the war?

4. China's defense budget is $175 billion, India's is $45 billion Out ofIndia's budget, $28 billion is allocated for salaries and pensions,leaving only $17 billion for military hardware. To protect India'ssovereignty and its international standing, India has no choice but toincrease its defense budget to $175 billion.

5. India has ammunitions to last only for 10 days of war. This isprecarious and not acceptable.

6. India should immediately allocate $100 billion to buy sophisticatedmilitary hardware, especially, quantity fighter planes to defendagainst China and Pakistan.

NEXT STEP: Prime Minister Modi should make a definite schedule forPresident Trump to visit India for at least three days. He will beaccompanied by a large delegation of Fortune 500 corporations, investmentbanks etc. During the visit Prime Minister Modi could discuss withPresident Trump, India's requirements to build its economy and defense.Instead of India negotiating to buy directly from American militaryhardware manufacturers, President Trump could negotiate as he is good atcutting the price to the bottom. He helped Vietnam finalize purchase ofplanes from Boeing during the North Korean summit held in Hanoi.

President Trump's grand strategy is to balance against the aggressiveand growing Chinese influence in Asia. He is interested in replacingChina with India as a source for consumer and industrial goods. However,today India does not have the necessary infrastructure to manufacture onlarge scale. India must deliver water and energy to all for 24/7. India hasa large supply of engineers and managers. India has a comparativeadvantage with China . India must privatize its public sectorcorporations and release resources. Lockheed Martin, UnitedTechnologies, Boeing, Raytheon and others are ready and willing tomanufacture in India. Making weapons in India has a comparativeadvantage especially with an oversupply of professional engineers andmanagers.

Prime Minister Modi must take full advantage of 'CLOSE ALLY'relationship and start doing business with the USA that will benefit both.China opened its economy in 1979 and within 20 years it became thesecond economic power in the world. India has excellent credit andtherefore India can mobilize resources needed for modernizing India andits defense. India must embrace capitalism as China did, and not continueto fool around with socialism.

(Ven Parameswaran, MBA, Columbia University, lives in Scarsdale, N.Y. Heis a Senior Adviser to Imagindia Institute, a think tank in New Delhi)

Decades of hostility between two neighbors has created rogueelements who are always on the look out to accentuate tensions ,

leading to conflicts. Will it ever change is anybody's guess.

10 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019SOUTH ASIA

Quad grouping may beshelved for now

SINGAPORE (TIP): A US militarycommander suggested on March 7 that aloose security grouping of his country,Japan, Australia and India, also known asthe quad, may be shelved for now. AdmiralPhil Davidson, who heads the US Indo-Pacific Command, said he was on a panelwith the other navy chiefs at the RaisinaDialogue, a multilateral conference in NewDelhi in January.

Davidson said the issue came up“several times” but Indian navy chiefAdmiral Sunil Lanba “made it quite clearthat there wasn’t an immediate potentialfor a quad.”

“That does not omit or prevent ourability to cooperate in crisis and conflict.And we continue collectively, all of us, toseek opportunities in which we mightexercise and work together movingforward,” he added.

Davidson was asked if the quad wasrelevant to his country’s vision of a freeand open Indo-Pacific region, which wasthe central theme of his lecture inSingapore.

The US and the other three countrieshad come together to providehumanitarian assistance after the IndianOcean tsunami in 2004. Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe then suggested theyform the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,which met three years later. PTI

Pak seals JuDheadquarters; detains

more than 120suspected militants

LAHORE (TIP): Pakistan authoritieson March 7 sealed the Lahoreheadquarters of Mumbai attackmastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and detainedover 120 suspected militants as part of anongoing crackdown on banned groups.

“Under the National Action Plan (NAP),the government has taken completecontrol of the banned JuD and FIFheadquarters in Lahore and Muridkey,”said a statement issued by the PunjabHome Department on Thursday.

It said the government has been takingover the control of the mosques,seminaries and other institutions of thebanned organisations in the province.

“We have intensified action against thebanned organisations,” it said.

A senior Punjab government officialtold PTI that the authorities have sealedthe Jamia Masjid Qadsia, the Lahoreheadquarters of the JuD and FIF.

“At least six administrators of thePunjab government have been appointedat the Muridke headquarters of JuD andtwo in Lahore,” the official said, addingthat the Jamia Qadsia has been sealed andwill be opened once the administratorstake over the charge.

The official said the Punjab governmenthas also taken over the complete control ofthe JuD headquarters in Muridke, some 40km from Lahore. However, the homedepartment did not confirm it. The officialfurther said that Saeed and his supportersdid not protest when the administrationand police reached there to take over thecontrol of the building. “Saeed along withhis supporters left for his Jauhar Townresidence,” he said. His whereabouts wasnot immediately known. Saeed was listedunder UN Security Council Resolution1267 in December 2008. (PTI)

Pak’s Punjab minister sacked overhis anti-Hindu remarks

LAHORE (TIP): Pakistan’s Punjabprovince government on March 5 sacked itsInformation and Culture Minister FayyazulHassan Chohan over his anti-Hindu remarksthat invited intense criticism from seniorparty leaders and the minority community.

Prime Minister Imran Khan took seriousnotice of Chohan’s ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks anddirected Punjab Chief Minister UsmanBuzdar to remove him forthwith, partysources said.

“PTI Punjab government has removedFayyaz Chohan from the post of PunjabInformation Minister following derogatoryremarks about the Hindu community,” officialtwitter account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaftweeted.

It further said: “Bashing someone’s faithshould not be a part of any narrative.Tolerance is the first & foremost pillar onwhich #Pakistan was built.”

A spokesman for Punjab chief ministersaid Chohan submitted his resignation to thechief minister which was immediatelyaccepted.

According to a senior government official,the chief minister had “forgiven” Chohanafter he publicly apologised for his remarks,but the prime minister directed Buzdar toimmediately remove him from the ministry.

Chohan had come under severe criticismfrom senior members of his party, ministersand social media users with#SackFayazChohan trending on Twitter forhis controversial remarks while addressing agathering on February 24 in the aftermath ofthe Pulwama terror attack.

Earlier in the day, Chohan apologised for

his remarks following intense criticism.“I was addressing Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, Indian armed forces andtheir media not the Hindu community inPakistan,” he said.

“I apologise if my remarks hurt the Hinducommunity in Pakistan,” Chohan said. “Myremarks were in no way directed at Pakistan’sHindu community.”

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government“will not tolerate this nonsense”, party leaderNaeemul Haque, who is special assistant toPrime Minister on Political Affairs, saidMonday night in response to Chohan’sremarks.

“The derogatory and insulting remarksagainst the Hindu community by FayyazChohan the Punjab Info Minister demandstrict action. PTI govt will not tolerate thisnonsense from a senior member of the govt or

from anyone. Action will be taken afterconsulting the Chief Minister,” Haquetweeted.

Haque’s tweet was followed bycondemnation from Shireen Mazari and AsadUmar, the federal ministers of human rightsand finance, respectively.

“Absolutely condemn this. No one has theright to attack anyone else’s religion. OurHindu citizens have given sacrifices for theircountry,” Mazari tweeted. “Our PM’s msg isalways of tolerance & respect & we cannotcondone any form of bigotry or spread ofreligious hatred,” she added.

Financer Minister Umar tweeted, “Hindusof Pakistan are as much a part of the fabric ofthe nation as I am. Remember the flag ofPakistan is not just green...its not completewithout the white which represents theminorities.”

Foreign Office spokesperson MohammadFaisal also took to Twitter and said, “Pakistanproudly owns the white in the flag as much asthe green, values contributions of the Hinducommunity and honours them as our own.”Several members of the Hindu community inPakistan also took to Twitter to condemn theminister’s remarks.

Hindus form the biggest minoritycommunity in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakhHindus live in Pakistan. However, accordingto the community, over 90 lakh Hindus areliving in the country.

Majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population issettled in Sindh province where they shareculture, traditions and language with theirMuslim fellows. — PTI

Blast kills 17 nearJalalabad airportKABUL (TIP): Militants in

Afghanistan set off a suicide blast onWednesday morning and stormed aconstruction company near theairport in Jalalabad, the capital ofeastern Nangarhar province, killingat least 17 persons, officials said.

The dawn assault triggered anhours-long gunbattle with localguards, drawing in US forces to assistthe Afghan troops in the shootout.

Among those killed were 16employees of the Afghanconstruction company EBE and amilitary intelligence officer, saidAttahullah Khogyani, the provincialgovernor’s spokesman. He added thatnine other persons were wounded inthe attack, which lasted more thanfive hours. No one immediatelyclaimed responsibility for the attackbut both the Taliban and the IslamicState group are active in easternAfghanistan, especially inNangarhar.

The two groups have been carryingout near-daily attacks acrossAfghanistan in recent years, mainlytargeting the government andAfghan security forces. The attackshave continued despite stepped-up USefforts to find a negotiated resolutionof the 17-year war, America's longest.

As the attack unfolded, AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani arrived for avisit to neighbouring Kunar provinceto inaugurate an administrativehealth complex and to lay thecornerstone of a 200-bed hospital. —AP

Nepalese lawmaker sentenced tolife imprisonment in lynching caseKATHMANDU (TIP): A Nepalese parliamentarian was sentenced to life imprisonment by a

district court on March 6 for his involvement in a gruesome incident in which eight police personneland a toddler were lynched in 2015.

After a week-long hearing, Judge Parshuram Bhattarai sentenced Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal(RJP-N) lawmaker Resham Chaudhary and 10 other co-conspirators to life imprisonment.

The Kailali District Court also sentenced 15 persons to three-year jail term for their involvementin the Tikapur lynching case. Three people were acquitted.

Eight police personnel, including an officer, and a toddler were lynched on August 24, 2015, duringa clash that erupted after key Madhesi parties protested against the promulgation of the Nepal’sConstitution.

Chaudhary, who was absconding following the Tikapur incident, however, went on to contest andwin the 2017 general election from Kailali constituency on RJP-Nepal ticket.

Upon Election Commission’s refusal to grant him his winning certificate, he surrendered beforethe Kailali District Court on February 26, 2018. He was sworn in as House of Representatives (HoR)member on January 3 even as the case was sub judice.

Chaudhary remained in judicial custody and was not allowed to attend the House meeting evenafter being sworn in. Later he was housed in Dillibazar jail. — PTI

Nepal to use Chinese gauge for its railwayKATHMANDU (TIP): Nepal has chosen a railway-track gauge used by China for its network and

not the main one India uses citing lower costs, a minister said on Tuesday, a setback for India as ittries to limit Chinese involvement in the Himalayan country. Last year, India proposed laying abroad-gauge rail link from its border town of Raxaul to Kathmandu, spurred by China’s plans toextend its standard gauge line from Tibet to the city. Reuters

No clearance, cops foil Arundhati’s Bangladesh eventDHAKA (TIP): The Bangladeshi authorities on March 5 barred Indian writer-activist Arundhati

Roy for a second time from holding a discussion to be hosted by a government critic as the policewithdrew the permission for the venue. The organisers of the talk title 'Utmost Everything' wereinformed at 10 pm on Monday that the permission for the author's talk at the Krishibid InstituteAuditorium, one of the venues of the photography exhibition Chobi Mela, was cancelled due to"unavoidable circumstances". No further details were provided, the Chobi Mela Secretariat said. Thevenue for the talk, scheduled for Tuesday evening, was later shifted to Midas Centre in theBangladesh capital, it said. The invited guests were asked to join the function at 5.30 pm but as theystarted arriving the venue, MIDAS staff informed them the programme was cancelled.

“MIDAS authorities just told us they could not allow us to stage the event due to lack of policeclearance,” said Shahidul Alam, an anti-government activist. Roy’s session was to be moderated byAlam, a photojournalist and festival director. (PTI)

11THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT

Indian Origin ExFlorida Police Officer

Convicted in 2015Shooting

WEST PALM BEACH, FL (TIP): APalm Beach County jury on March 7convicted former Police Officer NoumanRaja for armed manslaughter andattempted first-degree murder for shootingmusician Corey Jones to death in aroadside encounter.

Raja, 41, faces a mandatory minimumsentence of 25 years in prison with thepossibility of life for the killing of Jones,whose vehicle had broken down in 2015when he was shot.

Raja was working undercover as a PalmBeach Gardens police officer and was inplain clothes when he confronted Joneswho was in his broken down SUV on the I-95 off-ramp at PGA Blvd.Prosecutorsalleged that, based on a recordingfrom acall that Jones had placed for roadsideassistance, Raja never identified himself asa law enforcement officer.

According to the prosecutors, therecording also revealed that Jones wasafraid of being robbed, as he had a $10,000drum kit in the back of his vehicle. WhenJones produced a handgun that he hadlegally purchased days earlier, Raja shothim repeatedly.A police supervisortestifiedthat Raja had been instructed towear his police vest whenever approachinga civilian. The Palm Beach Gardens PoliceDepartment fired him less than a monthafter the incident.

A statement was released by the juryForeman Randal Martin saying:

"The jurors and alternates in this caseworked very hard and served honorably,listening diligently to the facts and theevidence and doing our very best to applythe law fairly and justly. Today, my heartbreaks for both the Jones and Raja families.They have suffered greatly because of thatterrible night, and I pray that God wouldbless and comfort them.

I also respectfully ask for privacy for allof the members of the jury. We are privatecitizens who were compelled to serve andnow wish to return to our families andcareers without further public scrutiny."

Raja is the first Florida officer to beconvicted of an on duty shooting in 30years. He will be sentenced next month.

The House passesDemocrats' anti-hate

resolution; SomeRepublicans dissented

WASHINGTON (TIP): The House ofRepresentatives passed a broad resolutionon Thursday, March 8, to condemn hatefulspeech and expression, including both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The votecomes after first-term member Rep. IlhanOmar (D-MN) sparked controversy with hercomments on Israel.

Read full story onwww.theindianpanorama.news

12 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019US

Raja is the first Florida officer to beconvicted of an on duty shooting in 30 years

US TO TERMINATE GSPDESIGNATION OF INDIA

AND TURKEYWASHINGTION (TIP): At the direction of President Donald J.

Trump, the United States intends to terminate India and Turkey'sdesignations as beneficiary developing countries under the GeneralizedSystem of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer complywith the statutory eligibility criteria, U.S. Trade Representative RobertLighthizer announced March 4. GSP allows certain goods to enjoy duty-free entry into the US.

According to U.S. Trade Representative's office, India's terminationfrom GSP follows its failure to provide the United States with assurancesthat it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets innumerous sectors. Turkey's termination from GSP follows a finding thatit is sufficiently economically developed and should no longer benefitfrom preferential market access to the United States market.

In a separate letter to congressional leaders, Trump explained thereasons for kicking India out of the program, saying:

"I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between theUnited States and the government of India, I have determined that Indiahas not assured the United States that it will provide equitable andreasonable access to the markets of India."

Under the United States GSP program, certain products can enter theUnited States duty-free if beneficiary developing countries meet theeligibility criteria established by Congress. GSP criteria include,among others, respecting arbitral awards in favor of United Statescitizens or corporations, combating child labor, respectinginternationally recognized worker rights, providing adequate andeffective intellectual property protection, and providing the UnitedStates with equitable and reasonable market access. Countries canalso be graduated from the GSP program depending on factors relatedto economic development.

The United States launched an eligibility review of India's compliancewith the GSP market access criterion in April 2018. India hasimplemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negativeeffects on United States commerce. Despite intensive engagement, Indiahas failed to take the necessary steps to meet the GSP criterion.

By statute, these changes may not take effect until at least 60 days afterthe notifications to Congress and the governments of India and Turkey,and will be enacted by a Presidential Proclamation. In November 2018,US government had withdrawn the GSP benefits to India on 50 itemsworth $70mn.

Indian American Lawmakerintroduces Legislation to delay

Obamacare's Health Insurance TaxWASHINGTON (TIP): Indian American

Congressman AmiBera (D-CA), along withrepresentatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ),Jackie Walorski (R-IN), and Kenny Marchant(R-TX) on Feb 27 introduced H.R. 1398, theHealth Insurance Tax Relief Act. This billwould stop the Affordable Care Act's HealthInsurance Tax from going into effect untilafter 2021 and save consumers hundreds ofdollars.

"Failing to pass this bill, which wouldensure the Health Insurance Tax is delayedfor another two years, would cause millions ofAmerican families to see higher healthinsurance premiums," said Rep. Ami Bera,M.D. "In a time of rising premiums and healthcare costs, preventing the health insurancetax from adding to those costs is necessary aswe work to stabilize the insurance marketsand lower health care costs. We should passthis bill today."

"When it comes to taxes, the people of NewJersey have had more than enough. Theywant and deserve lower taxes - and they wantlower health care costs, said Rep. JoshGottheimer. "That's why I am proud tointroduce the bipartisan Health InsuranceTax Relief Act, which stops a tax on health

care premium in its tracks. I will keepworking across the aisle to protect our healthcare and deliver common sense tax cuts forFifth District families."

"When it comes to health care, Americansare facing rising costs and fewer options," saidRep. Jackie Walorski. "Raising taxes on healthcoverage would only make matters worse forfamilies, small businesses, and MedicareAdvantage enrollees. As we continue workingto lower premiums for families and seniors,we need to pass this bipartisan bill to providerelief from the burdensome Health InsuranceTax."

"At a time when healthcare markets arebeginning to stabilize, the last thing myconstituents need is a tax driving their costsback up," said Rep. Kenny Marchant. "TheHealth Insurance Tax (HIT) would do justthat, and as much as I would like to see itrepealed outright, this bill is a step in theright direction by delaying the tax from goinginto effect."

According to America's Health InsurancePlans, the HIT could increase premiums byover $470 per family in 2020 if not stopped.The tax would also hit seniors and those withdisabilities particularly hard.

Indian American Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), along with representatives Josh

Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jackie Walorski (R-IN),and Kenny Marchant (R-TX) on Feb 27

introduced H.R. 1398, the Health InsuranceTax Relief Act

Indian Origin ManSentenced to 33

Months in Prison forEmbezzlement

OAKLAND (TIP): An Indian origin man wassentenced Feb 28 to 33 months in prison and ordered topay $2,618,000 in restitution as result of his mail fraudconviction for embezzling from an East Bay medicaldevice company, announced United States AttorneyDavid L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. Thesentence was handed down by the Yvonne GonzalezRogers, United States District Judge.

Dinesh Shankar, 41, of San Jose, Calif., pleadedguilty to one count of mail fraud on November 1, 2018.According to the plea agreement, from March 2013 untilJanuary 2018, Shankar was an employee of anEmeryville-based medical device company. Beginningin July 2013 until December 2017, the defendantsubmitted false expense reports and false invoices tothe company's finance department, causing thecompany to pay more than half a million dollars inexcess of the legitimate expenses and expenditures forservices provided to the company. In addition, Shankaradmitted he created false invoices that appeared to beissued by six different entities. The entities wereactually fictitious business names for entities thatShankar controlled. Shankar prepared the falseinvoices to make it appear the entities had providedtesting and quality assurance services to his employerwhen, in fact, they had not provided the services.Shankar admitted he caused a total loss to the companyof about $2,576,384.

A federal grand jury indicted Shankar on April 12,2018, charging him with six counts of mail fraud, inviolation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Shankar pleaded guilty toone count and the remaining counts were dismissed.

In addition to the prison sentence and restitution,Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced the defendant toserve a three-year term of supervised release. Thedefendant will begin serving the sentence on May 1,2019.

13THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 US

DRDO Chairman Named Missile Systems

Award Winner

MARYLAND (TIP): G. Satheesh Reddy,Chairman of the Defence Research andDevelopment Organization, Ministry of Defence,India, is the joint winner of the 2019 MissileSystems Award given by the American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics in the US (AIAA).The Award will be presented during the AIAADEFENSE Forum, held 7-9 May at the KorsakoffCenter at Johns Hopkins University AppliedPhysics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Dr. Reddywill receive his award in India.

The award recognizes excellence in developingor implementing missile systems technology,including significant technologicalaccomplishments or for inspired leadership ofmissile systems programs.

Dr. G. Satheesh Reddywas selected for his overthree decades of significant national contributionstoward indigenous design, development, anddeployment of diversified strategic and tacticalmissile systems, guided weapons, advancedavionics, and navigation technologies in India.Reddy joined Defence Research and DevelopmentLaboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad in the year 1986and subsequently joined Research Centre Imarat(RCI), the brain child of Dr Kalam, after itsformation. From a young navigation scientist andSystem Manager he rose steadily and after hismultiple significant appointments and decades ofsustained contributions to Defence R&D, waselevated as Distinguished Scientist in Sep 2014 andwas appointed as Scientific Adviser to DefenceMinister in May 2015.

As SA to RM, significantly contributed towardsthe formulation of many national policies andpivotal in evolving roadmap for self-sufficiency inMissiles. As Director General, Missiles andStrategic Systems (DG, MSS), he spearheaded DrAPJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex Laboratories -ASL, DRDL and RCI, ITR, TBRL & other technicalfacilities. He led the design and development of awide range of tactical and strategic missilesystems to attain complete self-sufficiency inMissiles and initiated many new projects to equipArmed forces with state-of-the-art weapons andtechnologies.

He holds the distinction of being inducted asFellow of Royal Institute of Navigation (FRIN),London, Royal Aeronautical Society, UK (FRAeS)and Foreign Member of the Academy ofNavigation & Motion Control, Russia. He is anHonorary Fellow of CSI & Project ManagementAssociation of India, Fellow of Indian NationalAcademy of Engineering, IET (UK), AssociateFellow of American Institute of Aeronautics &Astronautics, USA and many otherAcademies/scientific bodies in the country andabroad.

For his distinguished contributions, Dr Satheeshreceived several prestigious international andnational awards which includes the Indian ScienceCongress Association Homi J. Bhabha MemorialGold Medal, National Aeronautical Prize, NationalDesign Award, National Systems Gold Medal, thefirst IEI-IEEE (USA) joint award for EngineeringExcellence and was conferred with the SilverMedal of Royal Aeronautical Society, London. He isalso a recipient of Dr Biren Roy Space ScienceDesign Award, Astronautical Society of IndiaRocketry & Related technologies Award and hasbeen conferred with Honorary Degrees of Doctorof Science by many leading Universities in thecountry.

For hisdistinguished

contributions, DrSatheesh has

received severalprestigious

international andnational awards

WASHINGTON (TIP): The US-India Strategic PartnershipForum (USISPF) on Feb 22 wrapped up the visit of its high-level USdelegation to Bengaluru led by Vikram Singh, Senior Advisor,Defense and Aerospace at USISPF and Former Deputy AssistantSecretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia. The action-packed, three-day agenda focused on key Government of Indiadefense priorities and ways in which U.S. industry can activelysupport the partnership between the two countries.

The delegation kicked off with an industry reception featuringAmbassador Kenneth I. Juster, U.S. Ambassador to India; AlanShaffer, Deputy Under Secretary for Acquisition & Sustainment;Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, Director of the DefenseSecurity Cooperation Agency; along with other visiting U.S.government dignitaries. Immediately post the Inaugural Session,the Forum hosted an event on Anti-Drone Technology, whichincluded key leaders from the Indian Army and technologysectors. The seminar featured discussions on how India candevelop counter drone technologies, after recent incidents thathave threatened security and disrupted airport travels. As dronescontinue to pose growing security threats to both civilian andmilitary entities, a new market for anti-drone technology is

emerging. To date, over 200 anti-drone products are either in themarket or under active development. Considering this growingthreat, USISPF program generated great interest, includingparticipation from other countries such as Israel and Finland.

In addition, USISPF co-hosted a seminar in partnership withIndia's Ministry of Defense called "Start-up Manthan." The eventfeatured U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South andSoutheast Asia, Dr. Joe Felter along with senior officials fromIndian Ministry of Defense. The program discussed in detail theIDEX incubator that has been launched in India and learningsfrom the U.S. experience in developing an innovation ecosystem.

USISPF also hosted meetings with Nirmala Sitharaman,Minister of State for Defense Dr. Subhash Rao Bhamra, DeputyChief of Air Staff, Air Marshal, VR Chaudhari, AVSM VM andDefense Secretary Sanjay Mitra.

"The U.S. and India are ready to take defense ties to the nextlevel as partners in high tech defense innovation by partneringwith startups and entrepreneurs in both countries," said Vikram J.Singh. "American companies, investors and the US governmentshowed a terrific commitment to this goal at Aero India 2019," headded.

USISPF High-Level American Business Delegationto Aero India Engages with Government of India

Indian American Professor accused of stealingand selling Student's Invention

MISSOURI (TIP): Indian AmericanAshim Mitra, former professor at MissouriKansas City, who is already infamous forforcing graduate students to work at hishome, is now accused of stealing a gradstudent's work and profiting from it.

The University of Missouri System'sBoard of Curators filed a federal lawsuitFeb. 26 against the former professor ofpharmacy and his wife for allegedly stealingintellectual property and making $1.5million off of it to date through therapeuticscompanies. According to the Kansas CityStar, the suit says the sale has the potentialof earning $10 million additional dollars inroyalties over the next five years. The suitsaid the money rightfully belongs to the

university because the student KishoreCholkar, who developed a new and moreeffective way to deliver drugs to the eye -through nanotechnology - did so whileemployed as a graduate research assistant atthe University of Missouri-Kansas City. Theformer professor, Ashim Mitra, is furtheraccused of concealing his work withindustry from the university and then lyingabout it during recent internalinvestigation. Mitra already tendered hisresignation amid an eight month universityinvestigation into separate claims that heforced foreign graduate students from Indiainto doing yard work, taking care of his dogand other tasks like cleaning Mitra's floodedbasement.

Ashim Mitra is accused of stealing a gradstudent's work and profiting from it

Cohen Sues Trump Organization;claimshe was denied $1.9 Million in fees

NEW YORK (TIP): Michael D. Cohen,the former personal lawyer and fixer forPresident Trump, sued the TrumpOrganization on Thursday, March 8, NewYork Times reported. He accused thecompany of breaking a contract when itrefused to pay about $1.9 million in legalcosts after he began cooperating withfederal prosecutors.

The lawsuit, filed in State SupremeCourt in Manhattan, said that the TrumpOrganization had failed to live up to anagreement to pay for any legal fees orrelated costs Mr. Cohen incurred in hiswork with the Trump Organization.

Mr. Cohen is also seekingreimbursement for an additional $1.9million he was ordered to pay in fines,forfeiture and restitution after he pleadedguilty to breaking campaign finance laws,evading taxes and lying to Congress, thelawsuit said.

In a statement, a lawyer for the TrumpOrganization, Marc Mukasey, disputed Mr.Cohen's claims.

"The Trump Organization doesn't oweMichael Cohen one penny of legal fees," hesaid. "This is a desperate money grab by adesperate convicted felon."

The lawsuit was the latest salvo in anescalating feud between Mr. Trump and Mr.Cohen, who represented Mr. Trump for

close to a decade and once said that hewould "take a bullet" for his client.

It also underscored just howprecipitously Mr. Cohen fell out of Mr.Trump's orbit as investigators increasedscrutiny of the president and hisadvisers. The complaint chronicled,from Mr. Cohen's perspective, how hewent from being a trusted Trumpassociate, so intertwined with thepresident's family business that itoffered to pay his legal costs, to a bitterenemy, who last week told lawmakersthat Mr. Trump was a "cheat," a "racist"and a "con man."

The lawsuit said Mr. Cohen and theTrump Organization had entered anagreement under which the companywould pay for Mr. Cohen's legal fees and

costs arising from investigations beingconducted by Congress and by Robert S.Mueller III, the special counsel who isexamining Russian interference in the 2016election.

In his cooperation with prosecutors,Michael D. Cohen, President Trump'sformer lawyer, has implicated thepresident in a hush-money scandal andprovided other information to the specialcounsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

In the complaint, Mr. Cohen's lawyerslisted 11 separate matters in which he hadcontinued to incur legal costs after theTrump Organization stopped paying hislawyers. They include lawsuits involvinghis payment to Ms. Daniels, meetingsconnected to Mr. Mueller's ongoinginvestigation, multiple House and Senatehearings and a lawsuit brought by NewYork's attorney general against the DonaldJ. Trump Foundation.

The complaint also said that under theagreement, the Trump Organization wasalso responsible for paying the nearly $2million penalty Mr. Cohen received after hepleaded guilty to campaign financeviolations, tax evasion and bank fraud. Mr.Cohen is expected to begin serving a three-year sentence on those charges, and anadditional count that he lied to Congress,in federal prison in May.

A combativeMichael Cohen filed a suitagainst Trump Organization for denying

his legal fees running to 1.9 million

14 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 INDIA

Hardik Patel to joinCongress, contest LSpolls from Jamnagar

NEW DELHI (TIP): It is official, Patidarleader from Gujarat, Hardik Patel, will jointhe Congress.

According to Patidar Anamat AndolanSamiti (PAAS) sources, a decision wastaken at the Andolan's meeting held atTarkhadi village of Rajkot district. GitaPatel of PAAS said that only Hardik Patelfrom the Samiti will join the Congress.

However, Hardik could not be contactedin person.

A senior Gujarat Congress leader whiletalking to THE WEEK confirmed thatHardik was joining the Congress and thathe would contest the Lok Sabha electionfrom Jamnagar. The constituency iscurrently represented in the Lok Sabha byPoonamben Maadam of the BJP.

However, Gujarat Congress chiefspokesperson, Manish Doshi, was guardedin his response. He told THE WEEK that theCongress welcomes youth in politics. Doshirecalled that Hardik has been responsiblein exposing the double standards of the BJPand raising issues of education andemployment. It was because of Hardik'sagitation that the government had beenforced to bring 10 per cent reservation forthose not falling in the reservation category.

Earlier in the day, when the rumourswere rife that Hardik would join theCongress, Gujarat BJP president JitubhaiVaghani said that the PAAS leader hadstood exposed in 2017 assembly electionswhen he openly sought votes for theCongress.

Sajjan Kumar instigatedmob to kill Sikhs, victimtells Delhi court

NEW DELHI (TIP): A key prosecutionwitness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case onThursday reiterated before a Delhi courtthat former Congress leader Sajjan Kumarhad instigated the mob to kill Sikhs.

While cross-examining Cham Kaur,Kumar’s lawyer suggested: “You took namesof all the rioters in your statement.... but younever named Sajjan Kumar. You are takinghis name now.” To this, Kaur said: “I havealways taken the name of Sajjan Kumar.”

Kaur had earlier told the court that shehad seen Kumar allegedly addressing thecrowd in national capital’s Sultanpuri areain 1984 that Sikhs had killed “our mother”and instigated the mob to kill them.

“On October 31, 1984, we were watchingTV on the demise of Indira Gandhi. OnNovember 1, 1984, when I stepped out to lookfor my goat, I saw Sajjan Kumar addressingthe crowd and was saying ‘hamari ma maardi. Sardaro ko maar do’ (our mother waskilled... kill the Sikhs),” Kaur had tolddistrict judge Poonam A Bamba.

She said that the next morning, they wereattacked in which her son and her fatherwere killed.

“My son Kapoor Singh and my fatherSardarji Singh were pulled out of the hidingplace on second floor, thrashed and werethrown down from the roof,” she said,adding that she herself received injuries inthe attack.

During the proceedings, Kaur had alsoidentified Kumar, who was present in thecourt. “I could recognise the accused SajjanKumar, as we used to visit him for gettinghelp in making ration card, passport. Weused to visit the accused for getting thepapers stamped as he was the MP/MLA,”she said.

Sonia, Rahul in Congress’ first LokSabha polls list; no Priyanka

NEW DELHI (TIP): Rahul Gandhi andSonia Gandhi are among 15 candidates namedby the Congress in its first list for the nationalelection just weeks away. The list names 11candidates in Uttar Pradesh and fourcandidates in Gujarat. Rahul Gandhi, theCongress president, and his mother SoniaGandhi, will contest from Amethi andRaebareli, the family strongholds that havevoted them since 2004.

Amethi and Raebareli are the only seats theCongress had retained in the 80-seat UttarPradesh when they were decimated by theBJP in the 2014 general elections.

The Congress first list does not includePriyanka Gandhi Vadra, who joined politicsin January and was made the party generalsecretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh.There was speculation that Priyanka Gandhicould contest from her mother's constituency.Priyanka Gandhi has, for years, campaignedfor her mother and brother in Raebareli andAmethi. Thursday's announcement also endsspeculation about Sonia Gandhi retiring.

The Congress announced that it will contestall 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh after theSamajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav andMayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party announced agrand alliance in January without the party.

The rivals-turned-partners made oneconcession for the Congress; they said theywould not field candidates in Amethi and RaeBareli.

Also on the Congress list is senior leaderSalman Khurshid, who will contest fromFarrukhabad, where he had contested fromand lost in 2014.

The other leaders on the list for UP are RPNSingh from Kushi Nagar, Imran Masood fromSaharanpur, Jitin Prasad from Dhaurahra,Annu Tandon from Unnao, Rajaram Pal from

Akbarpur, Brij Lal Khabri from Jalaun andNirmal Khatri from Faizabad.

In Gujarat, senior Congress leaderBharatsinh Solanki will contest from Anand.He had won the Lok Sabha elections from theseat in 2004 and 2009. But he lost to DilipbhaiPatel of the BJP in 2014.

Raju Parmar will contest the elections fromAhmedabad West seat, Prashant Patel willcontest from Vadodara, and Ranjit MohansinhRathwa will contest from Chhota Udaipurseat.

Rafale case: Whycan't PM Modi be

probed, asks RahulNEW DELHI (TIP): A day after the

Centre informed the Supreme Court thatRafale documents were stolen from thedefence ministry, Congress presidentRahul Gandhi launched a fresh againstPrime Minister Narendra Modi and theNDA government. Addressing a pressconference on Thursday morning, Rahulsaid that there were clear indications ofparallel negotiations by the PrimeMinister's Office (PMO) in the Rafaledeal. "PM Modi performed bypasssurgery in Rafale deal... (The) purchasewas delayed to benefit Anil Ambani,"said Rahul.

He questioned why PM Modi shouldnot be probed in the case. "In defenceministry files it is written that the PMOcarried out parallel negotiation. Whycan't PM be investigated? Investigateeverybody, investigate prime minister as well in the Rafale deal," the Congresspresident said, continuing his attack on the Modi government. Further, Rahulalso questioned Centre's claim on the theft of the Rafale documents from thedefence ministry. "Rafale files disappeared, it was said that an investigationshould be conducted against you (media) because Rafale files disappeared; butthe person who was involved in Rs 30,000 crore scam, no investigation againsthim?"

"On one hand you are saying the documents are missing. So this means thedocuments are genuine and its clearly written in them that PMO was carryingout parallel negotiations," Rahul added. "Media warned of probe in the Rafaledeal, but there has been no probe against those involved in the scam. Thegovernment is manipulating institutions to save PM Modi."

On Wednesday, the Centre claimed in the Supreme Court that the documentson Rafale deal relied upon by petitioners were stolen from the defenceministry. Attorney General K.K.Venugopal submitted in the Supreme Courtthat newspaper reports, especially The Hindu's revelations on the Rafale deal,were based on these stolen documents from the defence ministry. Venugopaleven went to the extend of saying that the media houses should be bookedunder contempt of court. "I am suggesting that the newspaper is guilty underIPC for theft and under Official Secrets Act for accessing privilegeddocuments... These are matters which involve the very security of the state,"he had said.

Rahul Gandhichallenged PM Modi toface an investigation

over allegedwrongdoing in the

Rafale deal, and saidthe new motto of the

government should be“gayab ho gaya”, a day

after the Centre told theSC that some

documents related tothe deal were stolen

from the defenceministry.

Rahul should beashamed of seekingair strike proof: Shah

SAGAR (TIP): BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday saidCongress chief Rahul Gandhi should feel ashamed of asking forproof of India’s air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan.

People will give Gandhi a reply for (saying) it during theensuing Lok Sabha polls, the BJP leader said.

Addressing the party’s booth-level workers at Bamora nearSagar town in Madhya Pradesh, Shah said an IAF official at apress conference asserted that the IAF had hit terror targets.

Even after this conclusive statement, Gandhi is insultingthousands of martyrs of India by asking for evidence of the airstrike, Shah said.

The IAF conducted air strike last month on a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan, in retaliation to the terror outfit’sattack at Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40CRPF personnel were killed. Shah lauded Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for his “work and untiring attitude”.

Earlier “only two countries” were known for avenging attackon their forces. “Modiji has now ensured India’s name is alsocounted among such countries,” he said.

In the last 25 years, Modi has not taken a single vacation, Shahsaid. He targeted Gandhi for “going on vacations frequently”.The country has got a prime minister who works for 18 out of 24hours a day and is very dedicated towards the nation, the BJPchief said. “What the Modi government has done in 55 monthsof rule, the Congress was unable to do in 55 years with Gandhifamily’s four generations ruling the country,” he said.

The Modi government brought a major change in the countryby implementing 135 welfare schemes, including AyushmanBharat, Rs 6,000 per annum for small and marginal farmers andRs 3,000 pension for labourers, Shah said.

BJP chief Amit Shah being garlanded along with the partyworkers at Bamora village in Sagar.

Match-fixing betweenModi, Pak: Cong leader

BENGALURU (TIP): Senior Congressleader BK Hariprasad has alleged therewas a “match-fixing” between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and hisPakistani counterpart Imran Khan whichallowed the Pulwama terror attack tooccur.

Congress’ member of Parliament in theRajya Sabha Hariprasad made theremarks while speaking to reporters inBengaluru on Thursday in response toUnion minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’scriticism of the Congress for demandingproof of the strike by the Indian AirForce on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terrorcamps in Balakot in Pakistan.

“Ravi Shankar Prasad should clarifywhether there is any match-fixingbetween Pakistan and Narendra Modi. Orelse, without their knowledge thisPulwama instance would not have takenplace. If you look at the chain of eventsthat have taken place after Pulwama itlooks like Narendra Modi had a match-fixing with Pakistan people,” he said.

Hariprasad was referring to the deathof 40 CRPF personnel in the February 14suicide attack on a convoy in Pulwama inJammu and Kashmir. India hadresponded to the incident by launchingair strikes on the Jaish camp that itclaimed had killed many terrorists.

The Centre and opposition havesparred over the impact of the air strike,with some international mediaorganisations claiming that they missedthe target.

S Prakash, the spokesperson of theKarnataka unit of the Bharatiya JanataParty, said Hariprasad’s comment on thePulwama attack was of “low level”.

Cabinet clearsordinance onteachers’ reservation

NEW DELHI (TIP): The UnionCabinet on Thursday rolled back acontroversial faculty hiring system foruniversities and colleges that hadangered Scheduled Caste (SC), ScheduledTribe (ST) and Other Backward Class(OBC) communities — the second time inseven months the Centre has reversed acourt order following protests.

In a briefing, Union finance ministerArun Jaitley announced that the Cabinetcleared the ‘Central EducationalInstitutions (Reservation in Teachers’Cadre) Ordinance, 2019’ that replaced the13-point roster in which reservation isdetermined at the departmental level.

The old system — the 200-point rosterthat the government has gone back to —takes the entire institution as a single unitfor hiring purposes, providing 27% quota toOBCs, 15% to SCs and 7.5% to STs. The 13-point roster was introduced by theUniversity Grants Commission (UGC) lastyear after an Allahabad high court order in2017 said the whole institution couldn’t betaken as a single unit to determinereservation. The court’s order waschallenged by the Centre, which alsostopped faculty recruitment in universities,in the Supreme Court (SC) but its petitionwas rejected. Thursday’s meeting,apparently the last of this government, waschaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to people with directknowledge of the developments, he saidthat the next meeting of the Cabinet wouldbe in June — a date after the upcominggeneral elections.

15THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 INDIA

Hizbul behind Jammu grenadeattack that killed teen; one arrested

JAMMU (TIP): Kashmir separatistorganisation Hizbul Mujahideen was behindthe grenade attack at a bus stand in Jammuon Thursday, the police said. One person hasbeen detained in connection with the blastthat killed a teenager and left over 30 injured.

Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General ofPolice Manish K. Sinha said Yasir Bhatt, whowas detained based on oral testimony of eye-witnesses, has confessed to the crime. Sinhasaid Bhatt was tasked to throw the grenade byFarooq Ahmed Bhatt alias Omar, the districtcommander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kulgam.

Sinha said several teams have beenconstituted to probe the incident thathappened at 11.30am when a grenade rolledunder a parked bus went off in the crowdedarea. This is the third such attack bysuspected terrorists on this bus stand in ninemonths. The deceased was identified asMohammad Sharik, 17, a resident ofHaridwar in Uttarakhand. Security agenciesbelieve the attack is an attempt to disturb thecommunal harmony in the city.

The Hindu-dominated Jammu city hadrecently seen widespread protests after asuicide attack orchestrated by Jaish-e-Mohammad at Pulwama on February 14 killed40 CRPF jawans, escalating the tensionbetween India and Pakistan.

The injured in Thursday's grenade attackincluded 11 residents of Kashmir, two from

Bihar and one each from Chattisgarh andHaryana, the officials said. Four of them arereported to be critical.

Sinha had earlier said preliminaryinvestigation suggested that someone lobbedthe grenade in the bus stand area, causing theexplosion. “Local investigation has beeninitiated into the incident. The governmenthas already given complete liberty to the

forces to take all necessary steps,” Minister ofState for Defence Subhash Bhamre wasquoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier, on December 28 and 29 last year,suspected terrorists targeted the local policestation building in a grenade attack. On May24, 2018, another grenade attack along the BCRoad had left two policemen and a civilianinjured.

A sniffer dog and policemen inspect the site of a grenade attack in Jammu.

Supreme Courtappoints 3-member

mediation team

AYODHYA DISPUTE

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court on Friday announced the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya would be referred formediation for its amicable resolution. The Supreme Court announced athree-member committee would mediate.

The mediators are former Supreme Court justice F.M. Kalifulla, spiritualleader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and legal mediator Sriram Panchu. Kalifullawould be the chairman of the committee. The mediation committee'sproceedings would be conducted in Faizabad and would be in-camera,without media presence. The mediation process will conclude in eight weeks,with the three-member committee being asked to submit a 'status' report infour weeks.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi announced there was no “impediment tomediation”. The next hearing on the issue in the Supreme Court would beafter six weeks.

A five-member Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi had reserved its order on the issue of mediation on Wednesday.Interestingly, while Muslim bodies supported the Supreme Court'ssuggestion of referring the Ayodhya dispute for mediation, only the NirmohiAkhara, among the Hindu bodies, supported it. The Hindu Mahasabha wassplit on the issue of supporting mediation.

During its hearing on Wednesday, the Supreme Court declared theAyodhya dispute was not just about 1,500sqft of land, but also about religioussentiments. The Supreme Court said it was conscious about the gravity ofthe Ayodhya dispute and its impact on the “body politics” of the country.

Russia to lease nuclearsubmarine to Indian

Navy in $3 billion dealNEW DELHI (TIP): India on Thursday sealed a $3 billion deal

with Russia for leasing a nuclear-powered attack submarine forthe Indian Navy for a period of 10 years, military sources said.

The two countries signed an inter-governmental agreementcapping months of negotiations on price and various otheraspects of the deal. Under the pact, Russia will have to deliver theAkula class submarine, to be known as Chakra III, to the IndianNavy by 2025.

It will be the third Russian nuclear submarine to be leased tothe Indian Navy. A spokesperson in the Defence Ministry refusedto comment when asked about the deal.

India has been significantly bolstering its naval prowess in thebackdrop of China's attempts to expand its influence in the IndianOcean region.

The Indian Navy had taken two submarines from Russia onlease previously. The first nuclear-powered submarine—christened INS Chakra—was taken in 1988 under a three-yearlease from the Soviet Union; the first INS Chakra was a 'Charlie'class cruise missile-armed submarine.

A second INS Chakra was taken on lease in 2012 for a period of10 years; this vessel was an Akula class submarine.

The lease of Chakra-II will expire in 2022 and India is looking atextending the lease, sources said.

The deal for the Chakra-III came days after Indo-Russian jointproduction facility to manufacture AK-203 assault rifles for theIndian Army was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modiin Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

16 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019FEATURE

Socially Relevant Film Festival 2019, NYBy Mabel Pais

FESTIVAL FOUNDERThe Socially Relevant™ FilmFestival based in New York

was founded by award-winning actress and ArtisticDirector Nora Armani. The

Socially Relevant™ FilmFestival was launched in

Manhattan, the entertainmentcapital of the world, where 55films from 18 countries werescreened over the course ofone week from March 14-20,

2014. March 2014 marked thefestival's inaugural year.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVE The Socially Relevant™ Film

Festival New York is a festivalthat focuses on socially

relevant film content andhuman-interest stories.

The Festival aims to showcasesocially relevant films of high

artistic value that educate,enlighten, entertain, and thatcan be commercially viable.

Socially Relevant films can befunny, dramatic, romantic,

adventurous, comical,suspenseful, intellectually

challenging, historical,psychologically inclined or tella story that matters. In short,SR films can be anything BUT

boring!The Mission of the Festival isto spotlight filmmakers and

their films that tackle thesocial and environmentalissues of the day without

relying on gratuitous violence,special effects, loud

soundtracks andsensationalism to draw in an

audience. The festivalsupports its filmmakers

beyond the weeklong festival,as it showcases the selectionfilms in other venues and at

the Cannes Film Festival Doc Corner.

“ SRFF salutes the 2019 selectionfilmmakers, the independent and bravesouls who have chosen not to remainsilent"…."using the powerful tool of cinemato tell socially relevant stories about realpeople and real issues.”

“ Socially Relevant™ Films areenlightening, uplifting, entertaining, butmost of all artistically appealing.”

- Nora Armani, Founding Artistic Director

The Socially Relevant™ Film Festival2019 New York (SRFF) presents its SixthSeason in Manhattan, New York, March

15-21, 2019.SRFF salutes the 2019 selection filmmakers,

the independent and brave souls who havechosen not to remain silent and have taken theresponsibility of using the powerful tool ofcinema to tell socially relevant stories aboutreal people and real issues.

The Festival's mission is the showcasing ofSR films by becoming the beacon of theprojector and the platform where films andfilmmakers meet their audiences.

SRFF 2019 shines the spotlight once againon values that are important in our society.Legitimized racism, bigotry, homophobia,xenophobia, misogyny, ageism and sexismneed to give way to tolerance, understanding,love and compassion. We have to break thesilence of compliance and speak up againsthuman adversity and injustice withoutresorting to gratuitous violence and violentforms of movie making. SRFF believes thatthrough raised awareness, expandedknowledge about diverse cultures, and thehuman condition as a whole, it is possible tocreate a better world free of violence, hate,and crime.

SRFF takes place at Cinema Village at 22 E12th Street (between University Place and 5thAvenue) and neighboring venues such as SVASocial Documentary Film Campus at 136 W21st Street, CRS (Center for Remembering andSharing) at 123 4th Avenue, #2 and SAG-AFTRA at 1900 Broadway in Manhattan, NewYork, March 15-21, 2019.

SRFF's human interest stories andcharacter-driven films reflect goodstorytelling as shorts, documentaries,narrative features and scripts in thecompetition.

SR films can be commercially viable andcan become box office successes whendistributed through the proper channels andplatforms.

To date, SRFF has presented close to 300films from 35 countries since its inception in2014. The festival offers industry panels onDistribution, Storytelling, Diversity Casting,Marketing and Film Finance in partnershipwith the School of Visual Arts SocialDocumentary Film school, and organizesspotlight panels on such themes asEmpowering women, VR/360º films, LowBudget Film Production workshop with SAG-AFTRA, Filming in New York with the NYGovernor's Office for Film and TVDevelopment. Script readings and more. Wenow have a VR/360º competition category.

Filmmaker Q&A's follow most of thescreenings where feature filmmakers arepresent in many of the feature films and mostshort films. The festival is devoted solely tofilmmakers who deal with socially relevantfilm content. The film selections are madefollowing the submission process onFilmFreeway.

The launch of the Socially Relevant™ FilmFestival coincides with the growing trendsrelated to socially conscientious consumers

who seek alternatives to the invasive filmsthat rely on gratuitous violence andsensationalism to make a box office entry.

The OPENING NIGHT film "The Merger"by Mark Grentell, Australia screens on March15 at 7 p.m.

The CLOSING NIGHT film "Danseur" byScott Gormley, USA screens on March 21 at

7:30 p.m.

SPOTLIGHT EVENTThe spotlight event of the festival, begins

with a documentary film "The Man WhoMends Women" on Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2018Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, directed byThierry Michel.

Spotlight Panel

WOMEN and CHILDREN in CONFLICTZONES

Monday, March 18, 6:30 pm - Cinéma Village 22 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003Immediately following the screening of the

documentary film "The Man Who MendsWomen"

In the presence of the director ThierryMichel

Panelists:● Ms. Pramila Patten Under-Secretary-

General (TBC) UN Special Representative of theSecretary-General on Sexual Violence

● Cathleen de Kerchove Director Les Enfants de Panzi etd'Ailleurs (The Children of Panzi)

● Susan O'Malley Chair of NGO CSW

● Marie Claudine Mukamabano Kuki Ndiho Rwanda Orphans SupportProject

TICKETSThe Early Bird ALL ACCESS Festival

deeply discounted pass sale ends on March 14.The Pass allows you to attend ALL festivalscreenings, workshops, networking eventsand more, just with one ALL ACCESS passreduced for the early bird promotion.

The Early Bird SINGLE festival ticketallows you to attend ONE festival screening, ofyour choice, and this choice can be madeAFTER the festival schedule is published.

Group Tickets sales end on March 22, 2019.The minimum number required number forgroup tickets is 10.

Student Tickets (with valid Student ID)ends on March 22, 2019

Engage in the dialogue with the SRFF 2019

filmmakers, support their work, and helpmake positive change a reality.

For updated information on The SociallyRelevant™ Film Festival, visitwww.ratedsrfilms.org.

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues,Spirituality, the Arts & Entertainment, and

Health & Wellness)

Nora Armani, Founding Artistic DirectorPhoto / Courtesy, SRFF 2019

Danseur, Closing FilmPhoto / Courtesy, SRFF 2019

Merger, Opening FilmPhoto / Courtesy, SRFF 2019

17THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT

Zee TV to host inaugural gala for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® on April 6

at The Gallery at Dream Downtown

Zee TV is planning an inaugural gala for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® at 7 p.m.on Saturday, April 6, at The Gallery at Dream Downtown to unite South Asian community

leaders, influencers and philanthropistsin thefight to end childhood cancer. Among theguests will Bollywood actor R. Madhavan.

There will be a cocktail reception, dinner, silent auction, Bollywood performance, andremarks delivered by a St. Jude patient family. Events like this help ensure families never

receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food - because all a familyshould worry about is helping their child live.

"St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has the heartfelt commitment of Zee TV tosupport its mission because it is leading the way the world understands, treats and

defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases," said Sameer Targe, CEOfor Zee TV Americas. "We also encourage our viewers to become a St. Jude Partner in

Hopeby donating monthly toward this noble cause."Last year Zee TV demonstrated its support for the hospital by elevating the visibility of

the St. Jude brand at some of the largest Diwali celebrations in the U.S., including thosein Atlanta, Tampa and Dallas.

Zee TV USA was the first-ever Hindi General Entertainment channel to be launched inthe U.S. in 1998. The company now has 43 networks and a full-time dedicated

workforce in five locations across North America and the Caribbean. St. Jude treatspatients from all 50 states and around the world in addition to providing hundreds of freephysician consultations annually. St. Jude also freely shares the discoveries it makes, so

doctors and scientists can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

SHRADDHA KAPOOR CUTS4 CAKES ON HER BIRTHDAY,

THANKS FANS FOR LOVE

KANGANA GIFTSHERSELF 10 DAYS OFSILENCE AHEAD OFHER BIRTHDAY

Kangana Ranaut, who is riding high onthe success of her directorial debutManikarnika The Queen of Jhansi, has

decided to celebrate her birthday with 10 daysof silence. Reports claim that she will head toCoimbatore for a 10-day wellness camp whereshe will meditate and perform yoga incomplete silence, just ahead of her birthday onMarch 23.

After the camp, she will head to her home inManali, where she will usher in her birthdaywith her family. Last year also, Kangana hadcelebrated the day at her home in the hills andhad planted 31 trees.

A Mumbai Mirror report quoted Kangana assaying, “I have been practising yoga since Iwas around 16-17. The programme I am aboutto attend is an advanced one. I had beenmeaning to do this for a while now. This year, ithappened to all close to my birthday. Ten daysof silence is a big commitment, but I wanted itto be a birthday present for myself.”

She added that while staying away from thephone for 10 days and meditating for 10-15hours a day is not going to be a cakewalk, thecourse requires six months of practice for theyoga postures and she is ready to take it up.

One of the busiest actresses in thebusiness currently, ShraddhaKapoor received a bounty of love

and wishes on her birthday. Overwhelmedby the opulence, the actress expressed hergratitude on social media.

The much-loved actress was greeted withwishes from not just friends and family butthe teams of her various films as well.However, the actress was most exhilaratedby the tremendous showering of love by herfans. Showcasing her gratitude forexcessive amount of love, Shraddha Kapoortook to social media to thank her fans andpromised to interact with them via a livesession soon.

The actress wrote on her Insta stories,"Its been 2 days since my birthday andfinally, I was able to see the videos, readmessages, and catch up on all your wishesand love. Words aren't enough to thank youall for your unconditional love and support.I'm so overwhelmed with all your lovepouring in on my birthday. Will be trying tocome on live here and chat with all of yousoon. it's been such a long time and I reallywant to make it happen! Love you all toomuch!! Thank you".

Ringing in her birthday in a flight afterwrapping a schedule of Street Dancer inLondon, Shraddha Kapoor had a dreamybirthday celebration mid-air. Earlier, theteam of the dance film cut a cake on setsmarking her birthday. The actress wastreated with another surprise as her fansgreeted her with a cake at the airport.Heading directly to the shoot, Shraddhacut her next cake on the sets ofChhichhore.

On her way back home, the actress wasshowered with wishes beneath her buildingas she cut another cake on her birthday.

The team of her upcoming film Saaho alsopresented the actress with a birthday giftby unveiling the chapter two of Shades ofSaaho, introducing insights into hercharacter. In regard to the tremendous love,Shraddha Kapoor shared her heartfelt lovefor her fans and well-wishers.

Hopping from one set to another,Shraddha Kapoor had a working birthdayas she shot for Street Dancer in Londonand Chhichhore in Mumbai. With a deepneck schedule, the actress will be seen inSaaho, Chhichhore, Street Dancer, and therecently announced Baaghi 3.

18 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 BOLLYWOOD

Taapsee Pannu feels she doesn’t qualify to be on Koffee With Karan

Arecent tweet by actorTaapsee Pannu mightcontain a veiled dig at

filmmaker Karan Johar, accordingto several Twitter users.Responding to a joke made bycomedian Vir Das on the latestepisode of Koffee with Karan,Taapsee might have hinted at theongoing debate about nepotism inthe industry.

In the episode, Vir joked that theset of the talk show was so pinkthat Taapsee Pannu might want tostar in it. Taapsee, who starred inthe courtroom drama Pink, alongwith Amitabh Bachchan, replied,“Hahahahha nice one. Just thatTaapsee still doesn’t qualify to bethere. I am looking forward toseeing this episode. All you guysare hilarious.”

Taapsee’s comment that shedoesn’t ‘qualify’ to be a guest onthe show prompted several peopleon Twitter to wonder if it was a digat Karan’s ‘clique’ of industry

friends.“Makers aren’t secure enough

to have a feisty, extremely talentedfemale outsider, who speaks hermind, to be on their show,” oneperson commented. “Love thesubtle dig at @karanjohar,” wroteanother. “Girl do not join thatgang..u r much better than thisshow,” read a comment, whileanother person wrote, “SorryThat ur not a baby of a baby of anA lister star. You won’t qualify.”

Kangana had previouslyaccused Karan of being the‘flagbearer of nepotism’ in anappearance on the show. Hercomments sparked off acontroversy about nepotism in theindustry. Karan is known forlaunching actors such as JanhviKapoor (daughter of Sridevi),Ananya Pandey (daughter ofChunky Pandey) and haslaunched Alia Bhatt, VarunDhawan and Sidharth Malhotra inthe past.

JOE JONAS TO TIE THE KNOTWITH SOPHIE TURNER SOON

Actress Amanda Byneshas entered a rehabfacility following a relapse

Actress Amanda Bynes has entered arehab facility following a relapse.According to reports, the 'Living Proof'

actress is seeking treatment for drug addictionand mental health issues.

Bynes has been struggling since the end oflast year, when she stepped back into the publiceye and began pursuing work in Hollywoodagain, said sources.

Last year, Bynes opened up about herprevious mental struggles when she spokeabout how her use of drugs created multipleproblems in her life. "I was high on marijuanawhen I saw that but for some reason, it reallystarted to affect me. I don't know if it was adrug-induced psychosis or what, but it affectedmy brain in a different way than it affects otherpeople. It absolutely changed my perception ofthings."

Brie Larson on training forCaptain Marvel: Certain

men felt threatened

Fans will get to experience a wholenew world with 'Captain Marvel'releasing on March 8, Friday, and fans

obviously cannot hold back the excitement.'Captain Marvel' will see Academy Awardwinning-actress Brie Larson step intosuperhero shoes as this is Marvel's firststand-alone female superhero film. In arecent interview, Brie Larson opened upabout playing 'Captain Marvel' and said thatit was more important for her to feature inthe movie than sporting a superherocostume and 'playing strong'.

The film will see Brie Larson playing therole of US Airforce pilot Carol Danvers,who transitions into one of the universe'smost powerful heroes. The actress

underwent rigorous strength trainingroutine in preparation for the role. She evendid actual flight training which was quiteintense. Brie also had to confront manygender norms while training to get into therole, revealed.

She said, "Certain men did not want tomake a safe space for me because they feltthreatened by the fact that I could lift more.I got tonnes of odd comments at a time.There was one guy looking at me and waslike 'Wow, I can't even lift that'. And I waslike 'Ok, I'm taller than you.' I don'tunderstand," Larson said in a groupinterview. The actor added that the societystill needs to do a lot of rethink on genderstereotypes.

19THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 HOLLYWOOD

Actor Johnny Depp has sued actress andformer wife Amber Heard fordefamation, seeking $50 million. Depp’s

lawyers filed the defamation suit against Heardon Friday over her December 18, 2018 op-ed inThe Washington Post in which shecharacterised herself as a domestic abusevictim, reports people.com.

Depp’s lawsuit calls Heard’s allegations ofdomestic violence against him a “hoax”. Heard“purported to write from the perspective of ‘apublic figure representing domestic abuse’ andclaimed that she ‘felt the full force of ourculture’s wrath for women who speak out’when she ‘spoke up against sexual violence’,”Depp’s lawyers state in the lawsuit.

“The op-ed depended on the central premisethat Heard was a domestic abuse victim and

that Depp perpetrated domestic violenceagainst her. “Depp never abused Heard. Herallegations against him were false when theywere made in 2016. They were part of anelaborate hoax to generate positive publicity forHeard and advance her career,” Depp’s lawyerssay in the lawsuit.

In response, Heard’s representative said:“This frivolous action is just the latest ofJohnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silenceAmber Heard. She will not be silenced. Depp’sactions prove he is unable to accept the truth ofhis ongoing abusive behaviour.

“But while he appears hell-bent on achievingself destruction, we will prevail in defeatingthis groundless lawsuit and ending thecontinued vile harassment of my client byDepp and his legal team.”

JOHNNY DEPP SLAPS USD 50 MILLIONDEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST EX-WIFE

Even though it feels like we’re stillliving in the never-ending weddingseason of Nick Jonas and Priyanka

Chopra, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner aregetting ready to shift the spotlight. Theengaged couple has a wedding date set, andthe Game of Thrones star’s fiancé is finallyready to talk about it.

While stopping by The Late Late Show,the middle Jonas brother revealed when heand Turner will be saying “I do.” Unlike hisbrothers, Jonas will be getting married overthe summer, as in this summer. “We’regetting married this year,” he told JamesCorden. “We’re going to have a summerwedding. I’m looking forward to it. It’s goingto be a lot of fun.”

Jonas revealed other details about hisupcoming wedding to Turner, which he sayswill be a blend of both of theirbackgrounds. Unlike Nick Jonas andChopra’s wedding, which managed to bringthe couple’s different cultures together inmore than one ceremony and party, Jonasand Turner will be doing that in eventsleading up to their big day. Apparently, thatwill involve sports from both England andAmerica. “You know, her family’s all fromEngland—I figured I’m marrying well,” hesaid. “I thought for the first time I’d bemarrying into a family where I’d become a

soccer fan, like, a football fan, like, find myallegiance for a team. So her whole familydoesn’t like football; they like rugby. So nowI have to figure that out. We’re going to have

a flag rugby game at the wedding and a flagfootball game. So if all the groomsmen showup with black eyes and broken arms, I’ll bevery proud."

International Women's Day (IWD) 2019, March 8, isa time to reflect on progress made, to call for changeand to celebrate acts of courage and determination by

ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role inthe history of their countries and communities.

The 2019 theme: Think Equal, Build smart, Innovatefor Change focuses on innovative ways in which we canadvance gender equality and the empowerment of women,particularly in the areas of social protection systems,access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.

The achievement of the ambitious SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) requires transformative shifts,integrated approaches and new solutions, particularlywhen it comes to advancing gender equality and theempowerment of all women and girls.

Innovation and technology provide unprecedentedopportunities, yet trends indicate a growing gender digitaldivide and women are under-represented in the field ofscience, technology, engineering, mathematics and design.It prevents them from developing and influencing gender-responsive innovations to achieve transformative gains forsociety. From mobile banking to artificial intelligence andthe internet of things, it is vital that women's ideas andexperiences equally influence the design andimplementation of the innovations that shape our futuresocieties.

Echoing the priority theme of the sixty-third session ofthe Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), in 2019the UN looks to industry leaders, game-changing start-ups,social entrepreneurs, gender equality activists, and womeninnovators to examine the ways in which innovation canremove barriers and accelerate progress for genderequality, encourage investment in gender-responsive socialsystems, and build services and infrastructure that meetthe needs of women and girls.

On 8 March 2019, the UN celebrates a future in whichinnovation and technology creates unprecedentedopportunities for women and girls to play an active role inbuilding more inclusive systems, efficient services andsustainable infrastructure to accelerate the achievement ofthe SDGs and gender equality.

Gender equality and the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals

International Women's Day is also an opportunity toconsider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, buildingmomentum for the effective implementation of theSustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5:Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education forall and promote lifelong learning.

NJPAC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION on March 8

A Gathering Of Givers: NJ Women Making An ImpactOn March 8, International Women's Day, hear

inspirational stories from some of New Jersey's mostresourceful and dynamic community builders in a specialconversation presented by the Women's Association ofNJPAC, the Community Foundation of New Jersey andImpact100 Essex.

ATTENDING: A diverse panel of women who representgiving circles, local family foundations, nonprofits and

corporations will share their unique insights on howinvesting time, talent and treasure can strengthencommunities.

Twenty-five years ago, nine women formed a group thatblossomed into the Women's Association of NJPAC, apowerhouse that has generated $52 million for the state'sanchor cultural institution. For even longer, since 1979, theCommunity Foundation of New Jersey's women-led fundshave granted hundreds of millions of dollars intocommunities and causes they care about. By advancingconcepts such as collaborative giving and investing inwomen's ventures, women are being championed asforward-thinking philanthropists.

We all have something to give. At this morning ofinnovation and inspiration with these accomplishedcontributors, we are sure to discover new forms ofconnection - through family, faith, culture or career - insupporting and empowering our communities.

Special Guest:Tammy Snyder Murphy, First Lady of New Jersey

Speakers:Dr. Sherri-Ann Butterfield, Executive Vice

Chancellor and Associate Professor of Sociology, RutgersUniversity-Newark

Ellen Weisbrod Lambert, Esq., President, EWLambert,LLC and Chief Humanitarian Officer, Mother's Monument

Shané Harris, Vice President Corporate Giving,Executive Director, the Prudential Foundation atPrudential Financial

Tamara Harris, Philanthropist, Executive Director,CASA for Children of Essex County

Hali Lee, Co-Director, Donors of Color Network and Co-Founder, Asian Giving Women Circle

Gabriella E. Morris, Esq., Senior Vice President ofStrategy Partnerships, The UNICEF Bridge Fund andWomen's Association of NJPAC Founding Member

Kim Jacobs, The Reitman FoundationJane Wilf, Wilf Family FoundationElisa Charters, President & Founder, Latina SurgeATTENDING : A diverse network of women who

represent giving circles, local family foundations,nonprofits and corporations.

WHY: A morning of innovation and inspiration withthese accomplished contributors is sure to lead to newforms of connection-through family, faith, culture orcareer-in supporting and empowering our communities.

WHERE: NJPAC - Prudential Hall Lobby, One CenterStreet, Newark, NJ

WHEN: Friday, March 8th from 9:00 am to 11:30 amHOSTING: The Women's Association of NJPAC, the

Community Foundation of New Jersey, and Impact100Essex are hosting with support from: Alpha Kappa Alpha -Cluster IV, Association of Black Women Attorneys,Bibliophiles (An African American Reading Group), Essex-Hudson Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc., ExecutiveWomen of New Jersey, Jewish Women's Foundation of NewJersey, Junior Leagues of New Jersey, Latina Surge,Latinas in Business Inc., The Latinista, Lupe Fund, Inc.,Montclair Drifters, National Coalition of 100 Black Women,Inc. (Bergen/Passaic Chapter), North Jersey AlumnaeChapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., and Odyssey Media,Inc.

For more information on The Women's Association ofNJPAC, visit www.njpac.org/about-njpac/womens-association

For more information on NJPAC or for tickets, visitwww.njpac.org or call 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722)Get Social! Follow NJPAC Online:Website: http://www.njpac.org/Twitter: @NJPACHashtag: #NJPACFacebook: facebook.com/NJPACYouTube: NJPACtv

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, Spirituality, the Arts &Entertainment, and Health & Wellness)

20 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019FEATURE

Tammy Snyder Murphy, First Lady of NJ

Photo / https://nj.gov/governor/admin/fl/

By Mabel Pais

Theme: ‘Think Equal, Build Smart,Innovate for Change’

Statement for International Women's Day byPhumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-

General and Executive Director of UN Women

"The story of women's struggle forequality belongs to no single feministnor to any one organization but to thecollective efforts of all who care about

human rights" - Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist

and activist

21THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT

Ihave known Nirpal Singh Shergill forforty years. He is not only a self-madeLondon based -Indian/Punjabi journalist

but also a hard-working entrepreneur andpublisher. He has been bringing out specialeditions of his directory 'Indians Abroad andPunjab Impact' since 2002 which include acompilation of topical articles in Punjabi andEnglish. It profiles leading Punjabis fromacross the world involved in the fields of art,business, civic societies, culture, education,politics, religion, writing and social life. His2002 - 19 yearly regular series now form aunique source of information on the globalPunjabi/Indian community.

The colourful 'Indians Abroad and PunjabImpact' seriesbrings together contact datacovering a wide range of internationalPunjabi/Indian institutions includinggurdwaras, government agencies, diplomaticmissions, business houses, communityorganisations, NRIs and the media outlets.This work makes Nirpal Singh Shergill'amobile institution' of the globalPunjabi/Indian community whose efforts

equate the activities and organisation of alargeassociation. His journalistic articles

have been publishing since the early 1980s inmany leading Punjabi newspapers andmagazines at home and abroad. He also usedto publish his own monthly magazine 'Politics'between 1981 and 1984.

Nirpal Singh Shergill commenced hiscareer with the Punjabi Department, Patialaand migrated to the UK in 1966. He built on hisearlier business activities by pursuing thefield of media advertising in Britain andmany other countries of the Punjabi/Indiansettlements. His diverse network of contactsworldwide makes him a unique public asset.Mr. Shergill's work and contributions havebeen appreciated and recognised by manymedia organisations, The Supreme Sikhauthority Sri Akal Takhat Sahib-SGPC,TheMayor of London Borough of Ealing, and inIndia the Punjab Government. He has alsoestablished an export entity in the name ofNS Maja Expotrade (Private) Limited.It seemsthat his aspirations have no limits and he is arole model for people of Punjabi/India originabroad who want to make a success of theirlife through toil and drive.

22 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019PROFILE

Nirpal Singh Shergill: A Britain-basedPioneer Punjabi Journalist

By Principal Dr. Sujinder SinghSangha OBE FRSA

Nirpal's work makes him 'a mobile institution'of the global Punjabi/Indian communitywhose efforts equate the activities and

organization of a large association

Shergill's book 'Indians Abroad and Punjab Impact': a special editiondedicated to Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary, released with elan

BY JASWANT SINGH GANDAM

The 21st edition of 'Indians Abroad andPunjabi Impact', brought out by UK-based noted Punjabi NRI writer cum

columnist, Nirpal Singh Shergill's book'Indians Abroad and Punjab Impact': a specialedition dedicated to Guru Nanak's 550th birthanniversary, was released with elan in IndiaatPhagwara on February 26.

Having sub-title 'Samundron Par DaPunjabi Sansar' (The Punjabi world across thesea), the editionis a special one dedicated tothe coming 550th 'Parkash Purb' of GuruNanak Dev ji-the founder of Sikh faith.

The 'Lok Arpan'(release) function wasattended by a large number of Punjabiwriters, columnists, journalists.It wasorganized by literary and culturalorganization 'Punjabi Virsa Trust' and aPunjabi monthly magazine 'Sangeet Darpan'.

A presidium of eminent writers andcolumnists including author NS Shergill, DrHarjinder Singh Walia,

Dr Asa Singh Ghuman,Ujagar Singh, DrShyam Sunder Deepti,USA-based NRI DrCharanjit Singh Gumtala, Gurmit SinghPalahi , Prof Jaswant Singh Gandam andTaranjit Singh Kinra presided over thefunction. Two resolutions were unanimouslyadopted.One demanded creation of Rs 100crore corpus fund for promotionof Punjabilanguage and culture on the occasion of 550thbirth anniversary celebration of Guru NanakDevwho chose Punjabi as medium of hismessage and 'Bani'.

The second called upon leaders of homeand abroad to shun war and to resolve issuesthrough dialoguewhich was the main methodof Guru Nanak for settling matters.

Speaking on Shergill's huge effort inaccomplishing a Herculean task by bringingout a voluminous412-page colourful book,various writers hailed it as an authenticreference book about Punjabi diaspora.Hailing its encyclopaedic range as far as readyinformation about Punjabis settled in 50differentcountries of the world wasconcerned, speakers, including Dr HarjinderSingh Walia, Gurmit Singh Palahiand Ujagar

Singh, said it provided 'vishaw di parikarima'(circumambulation of the world). Calling ita'reference book', they claimed it had achievedglobal meaning and acceptance as a readyreckoner of Punjabi diaspora. Havingmesmerizing colorful shining pictures, glossypaper, impressive printing, the book has 47pagesof International Directory, includingbusiness directory of Punjabi NRIs, 48 pagesof Sikh Organisationsand Gurdwaras,5 pagesof about 150 Indian Newspapers. Radiostations, TVchannels, online papersoutsideIndia are also mentioned.2000 SikhOrganizations and Gurdwaras, with 84,000'Guru Ghar De Sevak', find mention in it.

So do over 200 registered, recognizedinstitutions. And a galaxy of Punjabi NRIachievers, including the 'class of the firsts".Information of Punjabi NRI entrepreneurshaving 2 crore to4000 crore capital, 160embassies and missions in New Delhi andother parts of India, 200 international STDcodes,1175 cities national STD codes are itshallmark.

A large number of articles by eminent Sikhscholars on Guru Nanak Dev, Guru GobindSingh, holy Guru Granth Sahib,Sikhism,its

history and its centers of worship make itunputdownable and worth decking one'slibrary.

Speaking on Guru Nanak Dev's messageand philosophy, Prof Jaswant Singh Gandamsaidit was markedby 'samvaad' (dialogue),'sehansheelta'(tolerance),' samanta'(equality).

Regretting that present era was ofmonologue rather than dialogue, ProfGandam calledor solution of global, especiallySouth Asia's burning issues, through dialogueand discussion.

Lambasting war-mongers, he quoted SahirLudhianvi's famous lines to drive home hispoint- "Jang tau khud ek masla hai,Yehmaslon ka hal kya degi?"

Advocate SL Virdi, while criticising bane ofcasteism, rued that Guru Nanak'sphilosophyof dignity of work and castelesssociety was being ignored. Dr Deepti laidmore emphasison practice, rather thanprecept, in following the footsteps of GuruNanak Dev.

Nirpal Singh Shergill, speaking on theoccasion, regretted lack ofimpartialjournalism in India. Denouncing double-facedjournalism, Shergill advisedjournalists not to

be hypocrites by hunting with the hound andrunning with the hare.

"Many journalists claim to be critics ofestablishment but have back-door goodygoodyrelations with it",he said, clarifying hispoint.Taking umbrage to the useof prefix'Parvasi' for them, Shergill asserted thatPunjabis settled abroad were notParvasis(migrants) but sons of the soil who had goneabroad in search of greener pastures.

"Punjabi intellectuals should find outsomehonorablesobriquet as 'Parvasi' wordforPunjabi NRIs smelt of 'begangi'(alienation)"and 'ajnabipan' (strangerhood)",he pleaded.

Prof Kulbir Singh said that control ofmedia by corporate and industrial houses incountrywas putting hurdles in way ofobjective journalism. Punjabi poetsHarbhajan Virk and Baldev Raj Komal readout their poems. UK-based Punjabi singer KSBhamra,Bhupinder Singh Kandra fromAustria, UK's Jaswinder Singh Rehnci,DrJagir Singh Noor,Ravinder Chot, Sital Banga,Dr Jawahar Dheer, Parwinderjit Singh,Raghbir Singh Mann ,Sukhwinder Singh, alsoattended the function.

UK-based noted Punjabi writer cum columnist Shergill's book 'Indians Abroad and PunjabImpact': a special edition dedicated to 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev-founder of

Sikh faith, being released in India at Phagwara

23THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 WORLD

Investigationscontinue into murderof Indian Dentist in

Sydney

SYDNEY (TIP): AustralianDetectives are continuing to investigatethe circumstances surrounding thedeath of a missing Penrith woman ofIndian origin whose body was located inSydney's south-east overnight,according to New South Wales Police.

Preethi Reddy, aged 32, was reportedmissing by her family on Sunday (3March 2019), after she failed to comehome from a dental convention at StLeonards.

Police were told she last made contactwith her family about 11am on Sunday,saying she planned to head home afterhaving a late breakfast in Sydney.

Initial inquiries revealed she attendeda fast food restaurant on George Streetnear King Street about 2.15am that dayand appeared to leave alone, walkingtoward Market Street.

Officers from Sydney City Police AreaCommand established Strike ForceCarlwood to investigate herdisappearance, which included inquiriesto locate her vehicle, a grey VolkswagenGolf.

Following an appeal for information tothe community, Preethi's vehicle waslocated parked on Strachan Street,Kingsford, about 9.30pm yesterday(Tuesday 5 March 2019).

During a search of the vehicle, policelocated Preethi's body in a suitcase. Shehad been stabbed numerous times.

Further inquiries have establishedthat Preethi attended a hotel on MarketStreet, Sydney CBD, on Sunday with aman known to her.

Strike Force Carlwood investigatorshave since been notified that the mandied in a head-on collision on the NewEngland Highway, Willow Tree, about10pm on Monday (4 March 2019).

Detectives from Oxley Police AreaCommand are investigation thecircumstances surrounding thecollision, which is believed to be adeliberate act.

Investigations into the circumstancessurrounding Preethi's murder arecontinuing with the assistance of theHomicide Squad.

Indian-origin dentist Preethi Reddy's body was found stuffed in a suitcase with

multiple stab wounds

Why Canada's Trudeau is under fireover SNC-Lavalin case

OTTAWA (TIP): Prime Minister JustinTrudeau on March 7 denied interfering inCanada's judicial system as he sought todefuse a month-long crisis threatening hispolitical future, but offered no apology,asserting only that lessons had been learned.

The crisis has prompted the resignations offormer Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, the Treasury Board president, JanePhilpott, and Trudeau's closest political aide,Gerald Butts. It also raised questions aboutTrudeau's handling of the affair and pollsshow his Liberals could lose an election thisOctober.

What are the allegations against TrudeauTrudeau has been dogged by allegations

that he and his officials improperly leaned onWilson-Raybould to help construction firmSNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoid a criminal trial.Wilson-Raybould told the House of Commonsjustice committee last week that officialsimposed "consistent and sustained pressure"on her from September to December last yearto ensure SNC-Lavalin pay a large fine ratherthan go to trial.

What is SNC-Lavalin's involvement?Montreal-based construction and

engineering firm SNC-Lavalin was charged in2015 by the Public Prosecution Service ofCanada with bribing Libyan officials toinfluence the awarding of contracts between2001 and 2011.

The company had tried unsuccessfully toavoid trial, arguing instead for a negotiatedsettlement since it had cleaned shop bychanging executives and overhauling itsethics and compliance systems in recentyears. The preliminary hearings in the caseare ongoing. The company has historicallyhad close ties to the Liberals.

In 2016, SNC-Lavalin admitted that someformer executives had illegally arrangeddonations of more than C$80,000 to theLiberals from 2004 to 2011.

Why is SNC-Lavalin critical to Trudeau andliberals?

SNC-Lavalin has about 9,000 employees inCanada, including about 3,400 in thepredominantly French-speaking province ofQuebec, which also includes Trudeau'sparliamentary constituency. The Liberals saythey need to pick up enough seats in Quebecin the October election to stand a chance ofretaining a majority government.

Officials, citing conversations they saidthey had with the company, say they fearedSNC-Lavalin would cut jobs or move itsheadquarters out of Quebec if found guilty.The company faces being barred from biddingon Canadian federal procurement contractsfor 10 years, if found guilty. "We will notcomment on this matter," SNC-Lavalinspokesman Nicolas Ryan said on Thursdaywhen asked if the company had warnedTrudeau of possible job losses in case of aguilty verdict.

Why does crisis threaten Trudeau'spolitical future?

Critics accuse Trudeau of double standardsand breaking the promises he made to dopolitics differently. Trudeau, 47, came topower in November 2015 promising moreaccountability and a greater number of

women in the Cabinet. He now finds himselfaccused of trying to help arrange an old-stylebackroom deal with a major company as hisofficials leaned on a high-profile womanCabinet minister. The departure of Philpott,another well-regarded minister and a closefriend of Wilson-Raybould, has dentedTrudeau's credibility.

No one inside the ruling Liberals hasmounted an open challenge to Trudeau, sinceto do so would take time and open up splitsinside the party. The heads of political partiesin Canada are elected by party members atformal conventions and cannot be ousted aftera snap vote by parliamentarians, as is the casein the UK and Australia. Opinion polls showthe controversy is costing the Liberals.

A weekly tracking poll released by NanosResearch on Tuesday put the Conservatives at35 per cent public support, with the Liberalsat 34 per cent. A January 8 poll by the samefirm had the Liberals at 39 percent and theConservatives at 33 per cent. Each poll wasbased on a random phone survey of 1,000Canadians.

What happens next?Political analysts say Trudeau is safe for

now, since he has made clear he wants to stayon and there are no challengers inside theparty. The federal Parliament is not sittingnext week, depriving the opposition of thechance to grill Trudeau, and the week afterwill see the release of the federal budget.

The two main opposition parties - the right-of-center Conservatives and the left-leaningNew Democrats are demanding a publicinquiry into the affair. But the Liberalsoppose the idea, since probes take months tocomplete and are likely to trigger negativeheadlines. Wilson-Raybould said she did notconsider officials had broken any laws, so aprobe by police is unlikely. Canada'sindependent ethics commissioner is lookinginto the allegations, but past experienceshows such investigations can take months towrap up and there is no guarantee the resultswould be released before the vote in October.Reuters

25 killed as truckcareens off road in

MexicoMEXICO CIT (TIP): A cargo truck

without licence plates careened off a road insouthern Mexico and turned over, killing atleast 25 people inside, state officials said onMarch 7 night.

Nearly 30 people were reported injured inthe accident involving an approximatelythree-ton Ford Super Duty pick-up truckattached to a cargo container, according to astatement from the Chiapas attorneygeneral’s office.

The crash happened around dusk on ahighway about 25 miles (41 km) northeast ofTuxtla-Gutierrez, the capital of southernChiapas state which borders Guatemala.

Officials did not give a breakdown of thevictims’ nationalities but said they wereCentral Americans. Chiapas is a majortransit point for migrants, especially fromGuatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, asmany trek through Mexico on their way tothe US border.

Media reported that investigators areconsidering the possibility that the driver ofthe truck lost control due to a mechanicalfailure, citing other state authorities.Reuters

N Korea airsdocumentary glorifying

Kim’s summit withTrump

SEOUL (TIP): North Korea’s state TV hasaired a documentary glorifying leader KimJong Un’s recent visit to Vietnam thatomitted the failed nuclear negotiations withPresident Donald Trump.

The documentary broadcast on Wednesdayshows a smiling Kim talking with Trumpwhile walking together inside a Hanoi hotellast week.

It also shows Kim’s black limousinepassing through a Hanoi street lined withresidents waving flags.

The documentary cited Kim as sayingNorth Korea and the US must put an end totheir decades-long animosity andconfrontation.

But it didn’t mention about the lack of anagreement following the Kim-Trumpsummit.

The footage was released amid reports thatNorth Korea is restoring some facilities at itslong-range rocket launch site that itdismantled last year as part of disarmamentsteps. — AP

President Bolsonaroshocks with Brazil

'golden shower' tweetRIO DE JANEIRO (TIP): Brazilian

President Jair Bolsonaro has sparked shockand outrage by tweeting a video showing oneman urinating on another during hiscountry's massive annual street carnival.

"What is a golden shower?" Bolsonarotweeted on Wednesday, a day after posting thevideo in which a barely dressed party-goerwrithes atop a bus shelter, plays with hisbehind, and then bends over before anotherman urinates on his head.

"I do not feel comfortable showing this, but... this is what many of the street parties inBrazil's carnival have turned into,"Bolsonaro tweeted about the video, whichlocal media said was filmed at a Sao Paulostreet party, or bloco.

A former army captain, Bolsonaro waselected in 2018 as the head of a right-winggovernment after years of stirringcontroversy with homophobic, misogynisticand racist comments. It remains to be seenwhether he will face consequences over theposts. Leftist lawmaker Paulo Teixeira saidon Twitter he would ask prosecutors toinvestigate whether Bolsonaro had brokenprivacy laws. (Reuters)

What we think is abnormalsexual behaviour or impulsecharacterised by intense

sexual fantasies and urges that keepcoming back is actually fairly commonamong people, including women, revealsnew research.

The findings showed that a number oflegal sexual interests and behavioursconsidered anomalous are actuallycommon in the general population.

In general, it is true that men aremore interested in paraphilicbehaviours than women. However, thisdoesn't mean that women don't havethese interests at all. In fact, women whoreport an interest in sexual submissionhave more varied sexual interests andreport greater satisfaction with their sexlives. Sexual submission is, therefore,not an abnormal interest.

Sexual interests fall into twocategories: normal (normophilic) andanomalous (paraphilic).

Paraphilia is a condition in which aperson's sexual arousal and gratificationdepend on fantasising about andengaging in sexual behaviour or objectsas stimuli for sexual excitement.

Based on the phone and online survey,the researchers found that overall,nearly half (45.6 percent) of the samplesubjects were interested in at least onetype of sexual behaviour that isconsidered anomalous, whereas onethird (33 percent) had experienced thebehaviour at least once. These factssuggest that we need to know whatnormal sexual practices are before welabel a legal sexual interest asanomalous. Some paraphilic interestsare more common than people mightthink, not only in terms of fantasies butalso in terms of desire and behaviour.

The main goal of the study was todetermine normal sexual desires andexperiences in a representative sample

of the general population.The researchers also found a

statistically significant relationshipbetween an interest in sexualsubmission and an interest in othersexual activities, suggesting that thedesire to engage in masochism issignificantly associated with morediverse sexual interests.

Overall, the researcher stressed that adistinction must be made betweenparaphilic sexual behaviour, paraphiliasand paraphilic disorders.

A paraphilic disorder refers to sexualacts that involve non-consentingpartners or that cause suffering orconfusion in the person who engages inthe behaviour.

The paraphilia may be absolutelynecessary in order for the person toachieve sexual satisfaction. A paraphiliais not a mental disorder but rather asexual preference for non-normophilicbehaviour, whereas paraphilicbehaviour is non-preferential and onlyengaged in from time to time.

STRONG SEXUAL DESIRES COMMON AMONG WOMEN TOO

GujiyaIngredients

Refined flour - 4 cup, Ghee - 1/2 cup, Cold Water to mixFor the FillingKhoya - 200gms, Sugar - 1 cup, Green Cardamom - 1 tsp,powdered, Almonds - 1 tsp, finely chopped, Ghee fordeep frying

MethodTo make the dough, mix ghee and flour in a bowl.Add water and knead well to a stiff dough.Keep aside for 60 minutes.Saute the khoya till slightly fried and keep aside tocool.Add sugar, cardamom and almonds to the cooled khoyaand mix well.Make balls of the dough and roll them into thickrounds.Place a tsp of the filling and fold. Seal the edges withwet fingers.Heat ghee in a pan over medium flame.Fry the gunjiyas till golden brown on all sides.Remove and serve.

FOOD CORNER

24 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 WOMEN

Love hormone can make peoplesensitive towards spouse

Giving prescribed does of "love hormone" oxytocin tomen suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) can instill empathy and compassion in them

toward women, reveals a study.The researchers hope that in the future, oxytocin may be

used as a treatment option in couple therapy as it may increasepositive communication behaviours among partners,particularly among those where the husband suffers fromPTSD.

The study found that a single intranasal dose of oxytocinenhances compassion -- both in patients with PTSD and inhealthy participants - but only toward women while it does notaffect compassion toward men.

"This provides new evidence that oxytocin may be able toimprove the social behaviour of these patients," said professorSimone Shamay-Tsoory from University of Haifa in Israel in astatement.

Professor Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues from RambamMedical Center examined whether patients with PTSD sufferfrom deficits in compassion.

In addition, the researchers investigated whether intranasaloxytocin - a hormone that's known to modulate socialbehaviours - may enhance compassion in these patients.

The study included 32 patients with post-traumatic stressdisorder and 30 healthy subjects with no history of psychiatricdisorders.

All participants were randomly assigned to groups for the

administration of either oxytocin or placebo.The results showed that patients with PTSD showed less

compassion for other and were less talkative compared tohealthy control participants.

ThandaiIngredients

Sugar - 3/4 cup, Full Cream Milk - 1/2 cup, Almonds -2tsp, Poppy Seeds - 1/4 tblsp,Saunf - 1/4 tblsp,Pistachios - 1 tsp, Watermelon Seeds - 1/2 tblsp,dried, Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp, WhitePeppercorns - 1/2 tsp, Fresh or Dried Rose Petals - 2tblsp, Saffron Strands - few

MethodSoak the almonds, poppy seeds, saunf, melon seedsand pistachios in water for a 30 minutes.Grind to a fine paste and keep aside.Boil the milk over medium flame.Add the saffron strands and mix well.Add the sugar and stir until fully melted.Grind the rose petals and peppercorns to a finepowder.Add to the milk along with cardamom powder.Mix well and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.Add the ground paste and mix well.Remove and chill for atleast 2 to 3 hours.Just before serving, garnish with chopped almondsand pistachios.Serve chilled.

Your metabolism determines yourhealth status. It's the capability ofbody to break down molecules to

produce energy. Many of us ignore ourmetabolism but it is very important totake care of it. Metabolism is thecomplex biochemical process that occursinside the body, in which the calories areburnt though various chemical reactionsand then energy is released.People thinkthat eating less or cutting fats from thediet will help in reducing weight but onthe contrary eating in small gaps andhaving the right amount of fat is veryimportant. Not eating anything forlonger periods will slow down yourmetabolism to conserve energy. Eatingfrequently reduces craving to eat more.It's time to check your system.

Irregular meal timing Irregular meal timings confuse your

body as it becomes tough to decipherwhen will be your next meal. Also in thelong run it may increase the risk ofcancer. It's important to have small andfrequent meals with nearly similartimings everyday to keep metabolic ratehigh. People who work in shifts and withshifts varying frequently have a slowmetabolism generally and Researchessuggest that eating at the same timesevery day trains the body to burn morecalories between meals.

Eating higher glycemic index foods GI is the new way of analyzing food. It

measures the Impact of each food on theblood sugar. Eating high glycemic indexfoods causes problems to the metabolism.Eat low glycemic index foods like wholewheat, whole grains, green vegetables,beans, whole fruits, poultry, lean meat,fish as they help in raising themetabolism rather than high glycemicindex foods like fruit juices, refined flour,starchy foods like potatoes and sweets.She also adds that the body needs to workharder on digesting low GI food, andtherefore it will burn more calories.

Eating less protein Eating right amount of protein is very

important. Including less protein inyour diet will slow down yourmetabolism. Proteins increase lean bodymass which in turn increases yourmetabolic rate.

Lack of physical activity Daily workout helps in speedy

digestion. Any kind of physical activityis very important for our metabolism.Many people go for a walk after meals oralso do Vajraasana for healthy digestion.Regularity in whichever physical activityyou do is essential to keep your metabolicrate right. Lack of exercise reducesmuscle mass and makes you put on fatwhich in turn reduces BMR. One hourwalk can be split into 30-30 minute's briskwalk twice daily to improve metabolism.Sitting for long, even for more than 20minutes, reduces metabolism.

Taking too much stress Stress not only slows the metabolism

but also causes a lot of other healthproblems. Some amount of stress isnormal, but when there is stress forprolonged period of time, it does slowdown the metabolism, due to which,digestion gets affected, efficiency towork slows down. Body produces moreinsulin and a stress hormone 'cortisol.'Both of these accelerate the fat storageand therefore weight gain.

Not getting enough sleep Eight hours of sleep every day is an

essential part of a healthy living.

Appropriate sleep is the top mostpriority. Erratic sleep pattern and lackof sound sleep makes your bodysluggish due to reduction in restingmetabolic rate. Sleep deprivationactually reduces the amount of energyyour body uses at rest.

Not having enough fluids in the diet Having food with high amount of

fluids increases the metabolic rate ofbody. Having less fluid in diet slows theBMR. She says proper water intake andintake of fresh foods like salads or afruit spread throughout the day helps.Water is essential for proper cellfunctioning hence lack of it reduces themetabolic rate.

Taking fewer meals You should not starve for longer

periods that slow down the metabolism.Eat 5-6 small meals a day. As I havementioned, digestion requires energyand different amount of energy isrequired for digestion of differentmacronutrients. Eating three times aday does slow down the metabolismbetween each meal because the gaps arelonger. On the other hand, eating afterevery 3 hours keeps your metabolismelevated.

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PPAAGGEE SSPPOONNSSOORREEDD BBYY

Anxiety leads tobad decisions,

says studyResearchers have discovered why it is important to

stay clam before taking any big decision in life.Anxiety disrupts brain activity that supports

decision-making, says a study.Anxiety disengages a region of the brain called the

prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is critical for flexibledecision making, the findings showed.

By monitoring the activity of neurons in the PFC whileanxious rats had to make decisions about how to get areward, the scientists made two observations.

First, anxiety leads to bad decisions when there areconflicting distractors present. Second, bad decisions underanxiety involve numbing of PFC neurons.

The data indicates that anxiety has an exquisitelyselective effect on neuronal activity that supports decisionmaking, said lead author of the study Bita Moghaddam,professor at University of Pittsburgh in the US.

The researchers monitored the activity of a large numberof neurons as rats made decisions about which choice wasmost optimal for receiving a reward.

They compared behavior and neuronal activity in twogroups: one group that had a placebo injection and anotherthat got a low dose of an anxiety-inducing drug.

As with many people who suffer from anxiety but gothrough day-to-day life and make decisions, the anxious ratscompleted the decision-making task and, actually, did not dotoo badly. But they made far more mistakes when thecorrect choice involved ignoring distracting information.

"A brain locus of vulnerability for these anxiety-inducedmistakes was a group of cells in the PFC that specificallycoded for choice. Anxiety weakened the coding power ofthese neurons," Moghaddam noted.

This better understanding of the brain mechanics behindanxiety and decision making could lead to better treatmentof anxiety in people and, subsequently, better outcomes inthe treatment of psychiatric disorders, she said.

WHAT SLOWS DOWNYOUR METABOLISM

Women experience moreneck pain than men

Shedding new light on how differently men and womenexperience pain, researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have found that women are 1.38 times more

likely than men to report neck pain due to cervicaldegenerative disc disease.

Cervical degenerative disc disease is a common cause ofneck pain. Symptoms include stiff or inflexible neck,burning, tingling and numbness. Pain is most prevalent whenthe patient is upright or moving the head.

The study by Meda Raghavendra and Joseph Holtman fromLoyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicineincluded 3,337 patients who were treated at Loyola's PainManagement Centre.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of theAmerican Academy of Pain Medicine in Palm Springs,California, US.

The study adds to the growing body of research on thedifferences in which men and women experience pain.

Previous studies have found that females are more likely tobe treated at pain clinics for chronic pain and that certainpainful conditions, such as migraine headaches andfibromyalgia, are more common in women.

Various explanations have been proposed, includinghormonal differences and the belief that men may be lesswilling to report pain.

Raghavendra and Holtman also conducted a similar studyof patients who were treated at Loyola's Pain ManagementCentre for lumbosacral degenerative disc disease or lowerback pain. The prevalence in females was slightly higherthan the prevalence in males, but this difference was notstatistically significant, the researchers said.

25THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 HEALTH

FACEBOOK TO BECOME‘PRIVACY-FOCUSED’ LIKEWHATSAPP: ZUCKERBERG

Mired in several data breaches amid growinggovernment hearings, Facebook CEO MarkZuckerberg on Thursday said he is working to make

his social networking platform “privacy-focused” likeWhatsApp.

Admitting that people want private, encrypted services, hesaid Facebook will become like the mobile messagingplatform WhatsApp which is more secure with end-to-endencryption.

“We plan to build this the way we’ve developed WhatsApp:focus on the most fundamental and private use case—messaging—make it as secure as possible,” he wrote in alengthy 3,200-word post.

“Facebook will then build more ways for people to interacton top of that, including calls, video chats, groups, stories,businesses, payments, commerce, and ultimately a platformfor many other kinds of private services,” he added.

Zuckerberg said the “privacy-focused platform” will bebuilt around principles like private interactions, encryption,reducing permanence, safety and interoperability.

“People should be able to use any of our apps to reach theirfriends, and they should be able to communicate acrossnetworks easily and securely,” Zuckerberg said, hintingtowards merging all his services like Facebook, WhatsAppand Instagram into one which has created a furore amongprivacy advocacy groups and governments.

Google launches 'Bolo' to tutorchildren to read Hindi, English

Tech giant Google on Wednesday unveiled a new app'Bolo' that aims to help children in primary schoollearn to read in Hindi and English.

The free app, which is being launched in India first, usesGoogle's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.

The app features an animated character 'Diya', whoencourages children to read stories aloud and helps if thechild is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the readerwhen he/she completes the reading.

"We have designed the app to work offline, so users need tojust download the under 50MB app once and then they haveaccess to close to 100 stories in Hindi and English that thechildren can read out loud and improve their reading skills,"Google India Product Manager Nitin Kashyap told PTI.

Bolo will be available on Google Play Store in India for allsmartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher, headded.

Citing the annual ASER 2018 report, Kashyap said, it wasfound that only half of students enrolled in grade 5 in ruralIndia can confidently read a grade 2 level textbook.

"Lack of reading ability can significantly impact furthereducation, and ultimately children's ability to realise theirfull potential. Limited access to quality material, under-resourced infrastructure, and barriers to learning outsidethe classroom are some of the challenges that children oftenface," he added.

26 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 SCIENCE AND TECH

NEW THEORY MAY SOLVE MYSTERY OF GREEN ICEBERGSScientists have explained why some

Antarctic icebergs are emeraldgreen in colour rather than the

normal blue, potentially solving adecades-long scientific mystery.

The researchers at the University ofWashington in the US noted that pure iceis blue because ice absorbs more redlight than blue light.

Most icebergs appear white or bluewhen floating in seawater, but since theearly 1900s explorers and sailors havereported seeing peculiar green icebergsaround certain parts of Antarctica.

The new study, published in theJournal of Geophysical Research:Oceans, suggests that iron oxides in rockdust from Antarctica's mainland areturning some icebergs green.

The team formulated the new theoryafter Australian researchers discoveredlarge amounts of iron in EastAntarctica's Amery Ice Shelf.

Iron is a key nutrient forphytoplankton, microscopic plants thatform the base of the marine food web.However, iron is scarce in many areas ofthe ocean.

If experiments prove the new theoryright, it would mean green icebergs areferrying precious iron from Antarctica'smainland to the open sea when theybreak off, providing this key nutrient tothe organisms that support nearly allmarine life.

"It's like taking a package to the postoffice. The iceberg can deliver this ironout into the ocean far away, and then meltand deliver it to the phytoplankton thatcan use it as a nutrient," said StephenWarren, a glaciologist at the Universityof Washington.

"We always thought green icebergswere just an exotic curiosity, but now wethink they may actually be important,"Warren said.

He started studying the phenomenonon an Australian expedition in 1988,when he took a core sample from a greeniceberg near the Amery Ice Shelf on thecoast of East Antarctica.

The green ice he saw was a deepemerald hue much darker and clearerthan that of normal icebergs—a signal toscientists that green ice might be

different from regular iceberg ice."When we climbed up on that iceberg,

the most amazing thing was actually notthe colour but rather the clarity. This icehad no bubbles. It was obvious that it wasnot ordinary glacier ice," Warren said.

When the researchers analysed thaticeberg and other green icebergssampled by Australian expeditions in the1980s, they found the green parts weremade of marine ice and not glacier ice.They suspected an impurity in the oceanwater underneath the Amery Ice Shelfwas turning some marine ice green.Their first thought was that dissolvedorganic carbon, microscopic particles oflong-dead marine plants and animals,was getting trapped in the ice as thewater froze to the underside of the iceshelf.

Microsoft’s WindowsCalculator is now

open-source for developers

Microsoft is now making itsWindows Calculator programmean open-source project on

Github.The move will allow developers around

the world access to the high-end calculatorapplication and also participate inreporting or even fixing issues.Developers can also use the open-sourceplatform to create new design andcustomise the calculator. They can alsointegrate the app into their ownapplication.

“Reviewing the Calculator code is agreat way to learn about the latestMicrosoft technologies like the UniversalWindows Platform, XAML, and AzurePipelines. Through this project,developers can learn from Microsoft’s fulldevelopment lifecycle, as well as reuse the

code to build their own experiences,” saidthe company in a blog post.

“It’s also a great example of Fluent appdesign. To make this even easier, we willbe contributing custom controls and APIextensions that we use in Calculator andother apps, to projects like the WindowsCommunity Toolkit and the Windows UILibrary,” it added.

You can check out full documentationon open-source Calculator app on Github.

The Calculator is part of Microsoft’songoing efforts to make its technologywidely available, especially to third-partydevelopers through open-source. Recently,the company made about 60,000 patentsopen-source for Linux. Microsoft last yearlaunched open-source codes for its classicFile Manager application, allowing it torun on modern Windows 10 software.

Israeli spacecraftsnaps ultimate selfieon way to Moon

An Israeli spacecraft has takenthe ultimate selfie on itsroundabout journey to the

Moon. Organisers for the privatelyfunded mission released the photo onTuesday, 1 ½ weeks after its launch. Itshows the spacecraft Beresheet,Hebrew for Genesis, orbiting some23,300 miles (37,600 kilometers) away,with the entire Earth as the stunningApollo-style backdrop. Australiaeasily stands out.

A plaque reads: “Small Country,Big Dreams” and “The people ofIsrael live.” The spacecraft isshooting for a moon landing April 11.It rocketed from Cape Canaveral,Florida, on February 21 and has beencircling Earth in ever bigger loops.

Despite some early problems,Beresheet should be close enough toenter lunar orbit in early April. Atouchdown would make Israel thefourth country to pull off a moonlanding.

ASIA STILL LEADS THEWORLD WHEN IT COMES TOMINTING BILLIONAIRES

HONG KONG (TIP): Asia will see the fastest billionairepopulation growth in the world over the next four years,despite economic uncertainties in the region triggered by theChina-US trade war.

The number of Asian billionaires will rise by 27 percent to1,003 between 2018 and 2023, making up more than a third ofthe world’s total billionaire population of 2,696, according toa report released Wednesday by Knight Frank LLP. Thebillionaire population growth rates for North America andEurope are 17 percent and 18 percent respectively.

Asia will also see the biggest increase in ultra-high networth individuals (people with net assets of $30 million ormore). India leads the world with an expected 39 percentsurge, followed by the Philippines and China.

But while the rich may be getting richer, they’re alsobecoming more cautious. An increasing number ofindividuals in Asia plan to keep more of their wealth in cashand less in assets exposed to market cycles such as gold orbonds. Property remains a mainstay of their portfolios, theKnight Frank report found: real estate comprises around 23percent, slightly higher than the global average.

“We are seeing a re-balancing of portfolios away fromequities toward more defensive asset classes,” said NicholasHolt, Knight Frank Asia Pacific’s head of research. “Whilecash, gold and private equity are likely to be increasinglytargeted, investment-grade property with strong tenantcovenants will also see significant interest over the next 12months.”

Investors in the Philippines were most likely to put moremoney into real estate, the survey found, while 40 percent ofrespondents in Australia, in the midst of a property-marketdownturn, expected allocations to real estate to decrease overthe coming 12 months.

27THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 BIZ AND FINANCE

OIL PRICES DROP AS CHINA CUTSECONOMIC GROWTH TARGET

BEIJING (TIP): Oil prices driftedlower on Tuesday as China cut its targetfor economic growth this year, dentingprospects for fuel demand growth.

Global benchmark Brent crude fell 46cents or 0.7 percent to $65.21 per barrel,while U.S. West Texas Intermediate(WTI) crude oil futures were down 0.65percent at $56.22 per barrel.

China lowered its economic growthtarget for 2019 to a range of 6.0 percent to6.5 percent from the 2018 target ofaround 6.5 percent, citing challengesfrom rising debt and a trade dispute withthe U.S.

To help spur growth, the Chinesegovernment has unveiled plans to boostspending, increase foreign firms' access toits markets, and cut billions of dollars intaxes. Beijing also said it would continueto carry out a prudent monetary policyand use reserve requirements as policytools.

On the trade front, Chinese CommerceMinister Zhong Shan has stated that trade

talks with the United States have been"extremely difficult and time-consuming"due to the large differences between thetwo countries.Crude oil prices havemoved up significantly since thebeginning of this year, riding on supply

cuts by OPEC and some non-OPECmembers. According to a survey fromReuters, supply from OPEC dropped to afour-year low last month, thanks largelyto a larger than originally agreed outputreduction by Saudi Arabia.

US trade deficit with Indiadip by USD 1.6 billion in 2018

WASHINGTON (TIP): The trade deficitbetween India and the US decreased by USD1.6 billion, almost seven per cent, in 2018 ascompared to the previous year, according tothe latest official figures.

India recorded a decrease in the deficitfrom USD 22.9 billion in 2017 to USD 21.3billion in 2018, according to the latest figuresrevealed by the Bureau of Economy Analysison Wednesday.

The US trade deficit in goods and servicesincreased by USD 9.5 billion from USD 50.3billion in November to USD 59.8 billion inDecember, according to the figures.

For 2018, the US goods and services deficitwas USD 621.0 billion, up USD 68.8 billionfrom USD 552.3 billion in 2017. Exports wereUSD 2,500.0 billion in 2018, up USD148.9 billionfrom 2017. Imports were USD 3,121.0 billion,up USD 217.7 billion from 2017, it said.

The figures showed that the goods deficithit USD 891.3 billion in 2018, the largest in UShistory. America’s goods deficit with Chinahit a record USD 419.2 billion last year.

Opposition Democratic party was quick incriticising US President Donald Trump.

“Today’s announcement that themerchandise trade deficit for 2018 topped USD891 billion shows that the President hasflunked the test he set for himself,” said House

Majority Leader Steny H Hoyer.Alliance for American Manufacturing

president Scott Paul in a statement criticisedPresident Donald Trump for his polices thathad resulted in a record trade deficit.

“Perhaps Donald Trump will now discoverthat tweets and bluster alone won’tdramatically shrink the trade deficit,” hesaid. “The selective interventions of theadministration on trade have been helpful tokey sectors, but these actions haven’t put adent in the massive deficit. Theadministration’s fiscal policies have helped toboost the trade deficit, as has its reluctance toengage more actively in exchange ratemisalignment,” he said.

“While the trade deficit results from manyfactors, the staggering sum represents lostopportunities for American workers andbusinesses,” Paul said.

“If the president wants to back his wordswith actions, any trade deal with China willinsist on dramatic, structural changes inBeijing’s state-led economy, which havecontributed to massive industrialovercapacity in key sectors. The next fewweeks of negotiations with China are criticalto the future of American manufacturing. Wecan’t afford a deal that doesn’t deliver real andlasting change,” Paul said. Source: PTI

RELIANCECAPITAL TOCUT DEBT BYRS 10K-12K

MUMBAI (TIP): The AnilAmbani-led Reliance CapitalLtd on Thursday said it willreduce its debt byapproximately Rs 10,000 to12,000 crore in the next three-four months by monetisingits stakes in groupcompanies and non-coreinvestments.

In a statement issued here,the company said thissubstantial 50-60 per centreduction in its debt will beachieved through monetisingits 43 per cent stake inReliance Nippon Life AssetManagement (RNAM) and 49per cent stake in RelianceGeneral Insurance CompanyLtd, along with several non-core investments.

The completion of thesetransactions would be amajor step forward inReliance Capital'sdeleveraging strategy, it said.

Reliance Capital said its 43per cent stake in RNAM iscurrently valued at over Rs5,000 crore and the sale ofcontrolling interests will beat a significant premium tothe market.

The Reliance GeneralInsurance has filed its draftred herring prospectus for aninitial public offer with theSecurities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi).

The company is at anadvanced stage ofmonetising several othernon-core investments,including a strategic stakesale in Prime Focus Ltd andother media assets.

Source: IANS

Huawei CFO sues Canada foralleged wrongful detention

The Huawei Technologies Co. chief financial officerwhose detention in Canada has sparked a diplomaticstandoff has filed a civil lawsuit against Canadian

authorities, alleging she was wrongfully detained andsearched.

Meng Wanzhou claims that her constitutional rights werebreached and is seeking damages for an ordeal she saysamounted to “false imprisonment.” The suit was filedMarch 1 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia againstthe Canadian Border Services Agency, a Royal CanadianMounted Police officer and the Canadian government.

The notice alleges that the police officer and severalborder guards detained, searched and interrogated Mengunder the guise of a routine customs or immigration case,and used “that opportunity to unlawfully compel her toprovide evidence and information.” It alleges they did sowithout immediately arresting her under the warrant toavoid affording Meng her constitutional rights.

Instead, according to the complaint, the officers detainedthe Huawei CFO on the jetway Dec. 1 as she was getting offa flight, took away two phones, an iPad and a computer, thengot her to surrender the passwords to those devices. She wasformally arrested only about three hours after her initialdetention, the claim says.

The claim was filed the same day Canada’s governmentagreed to proceed to an extradition hearing at the request ofthe U.S., which alleges Meng lied to banks to trick them intoprocessing transactions for Huawei that potentially violatedIran trade sanctions. The complaint comes as China’slargest tech company is increasingly playing offense tocounter accusations it aids Beijing in espionage --something it’s always denied. In recent weeks, seniorexecutives have taken shots at America’s own surveillanceefforts, invited foreign media to speak with its reclusivefounder, and even tweeted directly at Donald Trump.

28 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019ASTROLOGY

W E E K LY H O R O S C O P EMARCH 11 - MARCH 17, 2019

Aries: Ganesha says there could be a divorce,separation, out-of-court settlements, thebreakdown of relationships. You may movehome, change jobs, and children may leavefor higher studies overseas. There will be alot of chipping, chopping and severalchanges in your life. There are expensestoo; it is a powerful emotional need. By mid-period, you are in soul - searching mode.

Taurus: Your moods change like a chameleon,surprising not only others but yourselftoo. There is idealism coursing throughyour veins and you look at philanthropywith serious eyes. Mid-period sees newintensity pushing you. You want to makemiracles happen. There are also maudlinmoments rocking your calm. If there arehabits and thought processes that haveoutlived their utility, you need to junkthem. As the period ends, your monkeymind is everywhere.

Gemini: Whatever you embark on now will lead tosuccess. You may change residence, switchjobs, or move in an entirely new direction.You are looking for personal satisfactionand that is your guiding star. Aninheritance will have to be worked out;there could be separations and a divorce;there could also be an addition to thefamily, even a new love. You want timespecially to sort out your life and centeryourself.

Cancer: You have an optimistic outlook on life andcan be very effective in contractualnegotiations, conferences, planningsessions and discussions. There could beforeign travel too, as new vistas open. Youare hungry for success. You want money,fame and power. Someone from anotherculture will make a profound impact onyou. As the period ends, you burn thecandle at both ends. Take time off, take abreak, and see where your life is headed.

Leo: There are several domestic issues that youneed to grapple with. You may need a medicalcheck-up; a chronic illness could resurface orturn flagrant. You should also be wary ofdeceit. There are maudlin moments and youspend a lot of time on soul-searching. Thereare quarrels and squabbles, also windfallprofits at work. Mid-period sees stability andhard work. You make rapid growth. This is apowerful period.

Virgo: There is physical travel, hectic socialnetworking and several very intense emotionalexperiences. You feel a churning as energiessurface from the deepest part of your psyche.Relations with women, regardless of yourgender, will be unusually powerful. Ego drivesare low and it is obvious that you need othersfor self-validation. If you haven't come to termswith yourself, or become friends with yourcore, loneliness of any kind can be destructiveand demeaning. You need to extract yourselffrom the maze before it swallows you.

Libra: This is a very stimulating period. Yourintuition is powerful and you could makesome magical moves. On the flip side, thesofter side of you emerges and you gain newsensitivity to others' issues. There are manysubconscious influences at play, illusions,delusions, snares and snafus. Your criticalfaculties are sharp and you will notcompromise on ethics or quality. This is agreat period for important businessnegotiations. You make an awesome teamleader and team player.

Scorpio: This is a fantastic period. Make the most of it.Your confidence is at an all-time high. You takerisks and they pay off. There are money andhoney as new vistas open dramatically in yourlife. You are on a bull run. You move decisively,like a knife through butter. You move down theopposition and clear all roadblocks with ease.You rewrite the rules of the game. The luck ofthe draw is with you. You sign big deals andlaugh all the way to the blank.

Sagittarius: You interact with the best in your field andnetwork furiously. There could beinternational travel and you may be asked tochair high-level meetings. There is peer groupapproval and you may be quoted in the mostrespected journals. You ride high. This is alsoyour birth period and the energies arepowerful. You take undue risks. Watch out foraccidents. This is a great period for teachers,counsellors and analysts.

Capricorn: You have a period of beauty and bounty.Children bring joy. There are festivities andcelebrations, possibly a marriage, engagementor an addition to the family. You may alsotravel to an exotic locale and bask in the lap oflove, affection and bonhomie. There areaccolades from the peer group and you winawards. There are new collaborations,ventures, research and new discoveries. Theperiod is a great period for importantnegotiations and business transactions. Thereare also love, longing, laughter and lust.

Aquarius: You are expansive, verbose, flamboyant andfashionable. There are expenses andindulgences. Your mood is cheerful andoptimistic. There are hope, joy and positivityin all your dealings. You go inwards, into therecesses of your soul, and comb the truth. Thisis a significant phase. You emerge from thisperiod as a person of consequence. You want abreak from work. You will return refreshedand rejuvenated. There is love too, as you playwith the heart strings of your admirers.

Pisces: There are beautiful moments with the family.Children bring joy and elders need specialattention. There could also be family outingsand fun times as friends and loved ones join in.This is not a great time for hard, sustainedwork. You want to have fun and let your hairdown. There are inheritances and familyaffairs to sort out. Old loves walk out of thewoodwork and mingle with new loves. The endperiod sees you rejuvenated, relaxed,refreshed, recharged and reborn.

Shree Ganeshaya Namah

Bejan Daruwalla is world's most famousastrologertoday. He appears regularly onworld wide TV shows. Bejan who has been aprofessor in English, hasauthored a numberof books on astrology. India'sPrime MinisterNarendra Modi , on March 29, 2012,lunchedone of Bejan's books, '2012- End oftheWorld? Bejan contributes to a number ofjournals andnewspapers in many parts of theworld which includeBerkley Communications(London) Times of India(Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata, Chennai) and The IndianPanorama (New York and Texas). Bejan'spredictionshave mostly been correct andpeople the world overrely on his predictions.

Bejan Daruwalla is available for astrological

consultations. He can be reached at

info@bejandaruwalla.com and on phone

011-91-8141234275www.bejandaruwalla.com

The history of Pattadakal goes back to atime when it was called Kisuvolal, avalley of red soil. It even found a

mention in Ptolemy’s Geography in the 2ndcentury CE. Presently Pattadakal is located inthe district of Bagalkot, state of Karnataka,India. The Chalukyas of Badami (ancientVatapi) or Early Chalukyas (543-753 CE) built alarge complex of temples for royalcommemoration and coronation inPattadakal. This complex is on the left bank ofthe Malaprabha River which runs furthernorth to meet the river Krishna. It wasaccorded World Heritage Status by UNESCOin 1987.

Pattadakal literally means ‘coronationstone’ and bears testimony to the later phaseof evolution of the distinctive EarlyChalukyan architecture. The gestation phaseof this development which took place inAihole, Badami (the ancient capital),Alampur, and Mahakuta finds its culminationhere. It is in the last few decades, during thesuccessive reigns of Vijayaditya (696-733 CE),Vikramaditya II (733-746 CE) and KirtivarmanII (746-753 CE), that several temples weregradually constructed in this fertile valley. AJain shrine was constructed much later, afterthe collapse of the empire by their successorRashtrakuta dynasty (6th-10th centuries CE)in the 9th century CE.

TEMPLE ARCHITECTUREThe basic plan of a temple runs thus: the

garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) opens toan antarala (vestibule) and houses the murti(enshrined image) on a pitha (pedestal). Anexpansive pillared mandapa (hall) adjoins theantarala. A shikhara (superstructure) rises ontop of the garbha griha and contains anamalaka (a ribbed stone) with a kalash (potwith mango leaves and a coconut) at its finial.The vimana then comprises both the garbhagriha and shikhara.

Temples built here are all dedicated toShiva and face east. However, depiction ofreligious motifs through free-standingsculptures and reliefs is not limited toShaivism but recruits images generouslyfrom the Hindu pantheon. Other than the nineShaiva temples in the compound, there is oneJain temple located almost a kilometre to thewest dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankar,Parsvanatha.

VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLEThe epigraphy reveals this to have been

built by Queen Loka Mahadevi (originallynamed as Lokeswara) after the successfulmilitary campaigns of King Vikramaditya IIagainst the Pallavas (4th-9th centuries CE). Inground plan it resembles the Kailasnathatemple of Kanchipuram, citadel of thePallavas, but in stone it is a realisation of thefully mature Early Chalukyan architecture inall its glory.

A square garbha griha, with an ambulatorypath surrounding it, is connected to theantarala. Two small shrines are laterallyplaced to the antarala, one for Ganesha andthe other for Mahisasurmardini. Threeporches from the east, north and south openup to an expansive mandapa. Further east, aseparate Nandi mandapa is placed on a plinth.The whole temple is surrounded by prakara(enclosure) walls that are provided withsubsidiary shrines on its inner side. Only ahandful of these remain out of the original 32.The magnificently built Dravida shikharawith a well-preserved sukanasa ('nose,' archedprojection) on the front is one of thehallmarks of the temple. The superstructureis three-storied and topped by a four-sidedamalaka with a kalash at its finial.

The temple walls are divided into

projections and recesses. Sculptures ofHarihara, Narasimha, Bhairava, Lakulishaadorn the Devakoshthas (niches) on sanctumwalls. Recesses have filigree windows. Thetemple interior is covered with friezesdepicting stories of the abduction of Sita,Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows andKrishna lifting the Govardhan Mountainamong other narratives from ancient texts.Many inscriptions have been found engravedin different parts of the temple, some ofwhich also name the architect(s) involved inbuilding the structure.

MALLIKARJUNA TEMPLEIt was originally called the Trailokeswara

temple in honour of the Queen TrailokyaMahadevi. Almost like a twin, theMallikarjuna temple was built for the samepurpose, at the same time as Virupakshatemple which stands beside it. There are onlya few noticeable differences between thesetwo, one of them being a hemisphericalamalaka as opposed to a four-sided one, and aparapet devoid of certain architecturalelements such as kuta (square), sala (oblong)etc. that correspond to the projections andrecesses below.

The shrines, lateral to the antarala, aresadly missing the images of their respectivedeities. Prakara (walls) too are largelydestroyed. Tales from the puranas (religioustexts) and epics carved inside the templeinclude sculptures of Mahisasurmardini,samudra manthan, Narasimha fightingHiranyakashipu, the slaying of Mareecha etc.The niches on temple walls are also gracefullydecorated.

SANGAMESWARA TEMPLEThis temple was built in 720 CE by

Vijayaditya and originally named as theVijayeswara temple. The garbha grihatypically houses a lingum (phallus symbol)and there are sub-shrines on either side of theantarala. To the east of the mandapa, animage of the bull Nandi (vahana or 'mount' ofShiva) is supported on a small plinth.

The temple itself is built on a high plinthconsisting of five mouldings decorated withanimal and floral motifs. On the temple walls,niches bearing sculptures of different avatarsof Vishnu and Shiva alternate withbeautifully designed windows. Below thekapota (eave), a row of wonderfully carvedround-bodied figures are placed as if thewhole load of the roof above is being held bythem. The shikhara is two-tiered and toppedby a four-sided amalaka with a kalash.

KADASIDDHESWARA TEMPLEThis modest structure was constructed

sometime during the middle to late 7thcentury CE. It attests to the still evolvingEarly Chalukyan architecture with itsshikhara being developed along the northernstyle (rekha nagara) of curvilinear profile anda simple sukanasa projecting from thesuperstructure at the front, above theantarala. The sukanasa depicts an image of adancing Shiva with Parvati as a shallow relief

chaitya (prayer hall) arch. The Devakoshthashouses images of Ardhanariswar, Hariharaand Shiva on the north, west, and south sidesrespectively. The rectangular mandapa mighthave had a mukha mandapa (porch) at thefront as suggested by the plinth, with usualdecorative moulds. The figures of Shiva andParvati grace the lintel of the door to thegarbha griha with carvings of Brahma andVishnu on either side.

JAMBULINGESWARA TEMPLEIts ground plan and period of construction

are both comparable to the Kadasiddheswaratemple mentioned before. The square garbhagriha houses a lingum on a pitha and opens tothe antarala at front which further expands toa mandapa. A sukanasa projects from the

sikhara (built in northern style in threediminishing stages) at the front. The smallNandi mandapa to the east is in a ruinousstate with the crouching image of Nandi allbut destroyed. A minutely detailed frieze ofswans runs below the cornice of the templewall all along. The moulded plinth isdecorated with figures of Kudu, birds andother ornamental elements.

GALAGANATHA TEMPLEThis temple, one of the last to be built at the

site around 750 CE, possesses an exquisitelydeveloped superstructure in the northernstyle as adopted by Early Chalukyanarchitects. It has been largely preserved withthe amalaka and kalash at the top save for thepartially damaged sukanasa at the front.

THE TEMPLES OF PATTADAKAL

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““IIff HHiinndduuss ddoonn’’tt mmaaiinnttaaiinn HHiinndduuiissmm,, wwhhoo sshhaallll ssaavvee iitt??””

““IIff IInnddiiaa’’ss oowwnn cchhiillddrreenn ddoonn''tt cclliinngg ttoo tthheeiirr ffaaiitthh,, wwhhoo sshhaallll gguuaarrdd iitt??””

““IInnddiiaannss aalloonnee ccaann ssaavvee IInnddiiaa,, aanndd IInnddiiaa aanndd HHiinndduuiissmm aarree oonnee..””

29THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 SPIRITUALITY

30 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019PERSPECTIVE

In America it ismandatory for the

state governments tobalance their budgets

by imposing newtaxes or enhancingold taxes, only the

federal governmentcan borrow from

outside to managethe national economy.

If this type of fiscaldiscipline would havebeen made a part and

parcel of thebudgeting process ofall Indian states too,

Punjab stategovernment would

have been a lot moreresponsible spender.

This unbridledexpenditure of the

past few decades onwasteful populist

schemes hasmultiplied

exponentially andthat has crippled the

state financially.

By Harjap Singh Aujla

Why Punjab cannot make progressHarjap Singh Aujla's special article on Punjab's shameful fall from being the numero uno Stateof India to a hopelessly wrecked State is being carried in two parts. Readers may please revisitMarch 8 issue for part two of the story.- EDITOR

COND FROM LAST ISSUE

Less than two years after his assassination,Punjab was trifurcated. Haryana wascreated as a new state and the hill areas

were merged into Himachal Pradesh. The capitalChandigarh was made a,perpetually in dispute,union territory. Thisdivision occurred onNovember 1st, 1966.

After the assembly elections of 1967, theCongress for the first time, lost control of Punjab.Justice Gurnam Singh of the Shiromani AkaliDal, a retired judge of the high court, became thechief minister twice for short durations. A revoltin the party led to the nine-month long stint ofSardar Lachhman Singh Gill as the chief minister.Mr. Gill was another dynamic chief minister. Inashort span,he introduced Punjabi language as thesole language of administration within the state.He is also credited with start of two crashprograms of linking every village with a metaledroad and electrification of all villages. For thisvirtually impossible goal, he plugged all populistloopholes in the state's expenditure. He was apractical chief minister, whom most of the oldergeneration Punjabis still admire.Ruralelectrification was completed by CM ZailSingh. The economy of the state went downhill insubsequent years, about which I have a story totell. Nearly four decades ago, I was sitting with avery rich landlord. He was applying for a huge amount of loan. Realizingthat he owned hundreds of acres of land, I suggested to him to rent someof his land to a needy farmer and tighten his belt a little bit and he will dofine. He told me that influential people don't need to repay the loans. Whatis the fun of obtaining a loan, if it has to be paid back?As long as he wasalive no one came after him, but after a few years he died and his next ofkin had to pay nearly double the amount. This is the type of politicians,who have been running the state most of the time. In larger Punjab, nogeographical enclave was dominant. Leadership could come from anyregion and who so ever emerged more popular could rule. But since theelection of 1967, entire leadership, with the exception of Darbara Singh,has come from one region. Big landlords, with the exception of a few havebeen ruling Punjab. In their own lives, the big landlords have seen noshortages of resources. Such people have the tendency of becomingirresponsible spend thrifts. They aretotally alien to sound economics,which has built great nations.From a well off state, Punjab has become aborrower.

InAmerica it is mandatory for the state governments to balance theirbudgets by imposing new taxes or enhancing old taxes, only the federalgovernment can borrow from outside to manage the national economy. Ifthis type offiscal discipline would have been made a part and parcelofthebudgetingprocess of all Indian states too, Punjab state governmentwould have been a lot more responsible spender. This unbridledexpenditure of the past few decadeson wasteful populist schemes hasmultiplied exponentially and that has crippled the state financially.

In order to win elections, our state governments have been distributinggrants to villages in their own areas without imposing checks andbalances of proper accounting. When the British built the canal system inPunjab, in order to defray costs,they imposed "Abiana" on the use of canalwater. Our recent governments have abolished canal water charges. Onegovernment went to the extent of waiving bills on electricity consumed bytube-wells. This freebee started with less than one thousand crores in itsfirst year, but it has grown to more than ten thousand crores of rupees peryear depending on the rainfall received and acreage under rice paddy. Thegovernment has recently been taking additional loans to pay interest onprevious loans. Grants are distributed liberally by the people in power intheir own neck of the woods. Even previously profitable corporations likeMARKFED, state roadways and power corporation are under debt. Totaldebt of Punjab today, according to some estimates, has exceeded 2.5 lakhcrore rupees. Prior to 1947, Lahore was the political and educationalcapital and Amritsar was the industrial and financial capital. The areasaround these largest cities flourished like the Chandigarh area isdeveloping now. Amritsar became one of the three leading textilemanufacturing centers, after Bombay and Ahmedabad. Nearby Dhariwalbecame the foremostwoolenmerchandize manufacturing center. Batalabecame the hub of foundry and agricultural implements industry.Phagwara developed into a sugar and cotton textile hub. After 1947 also,new industrial centerssprung up in Ludhiana, Jalandhar MandiGobindgarh, Rajpura, Panipat, Sonipat andFaridabad.

In early 1950s, the capital was built in an arid area of Punjabwithhundreds of feet deep water. It had no canals and no rivers. It was locatedwithin the Punjabi Region of Punjab, but at the border with the Hindiregion and in the foothills of what is now Himachal Pradesh. Had Punjab

remained undivided, Chandigarh would havebeen an ideal place for administration. Now it is inan Eastern corner of Punjab, at the NorthWestern corner of Haryana and in the southernfoothills of Himachal Pradesh. Since it became thecapital, the fulcrum of all educational andpolitical activities moved quickly to the statecapital region. Three Tehsils, favorite of thepeople in power, forming a part of sprawlingFerozepur district were detached and convertedinto full fledged districts.

The Doaba region consisting of Hoshiarpur,Nawanshahr, Jalandhar and Kapurthala has beentotally abandoned by the successive governmentsformed after 1970. This area now survives on thefinancial support of its diaspora. The stategovernments have neglected it completely. PrimeMinister Dr. Manmohan Singh had devised aunique system of state and central shares in thedevelopment projects of states. In accordance withhis scheme, the largest cities like Mumbai andNew Delhi will get 30% share from the centre.Punjab's major cities like Ludhiana and Amritsarwith population exceeding one million will get40% central assistance. Below million populationcities like Jalandhar would get 50% central share.The villages were offered 90% central share. TheNRI dominated villages of Doaba, Amritsar,Ludhiana and Moga could benefit the most from

this scheme, because these districts are full of NRIs who are collectivelycapable of contributing the state's 10% share of expenditure. The restwould have come from the centre. Our governments miserably failed toutilize this largesse of the central government.

Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar and Tarntaran districts came to India'sshare from Lahore division. During its pre-1947 hey days, Amritsar was thebiggest wholesale market of entire North Western India. Emperor RanjitSingh developed Amritsar as a center of woolen and weapons industry.Wool used to come from Kashmir, but was processed in Amritsar by localweavers. The British also developed Dhariwal in Gurdaspur as amanufacturing centre for woolen textiles. The "My fair lady" knitting wool,India's finest tweed, suiting cloth and blazer cloth was manufactured inDhariwal. India's best blankets were made in Dhariwal. This mill is closednow. No government has cared to revive it or to sell it to private sector.Some parasites are still on the government's roles in there, they do nothingand still get their pay cheques. Batala had India's biggest agriculturalimplements and foundry industry, all that has vanished for lack of thegovernment's attention. Amritsar's textile industry has also totallycollapsed over the past few decades.

This entire area can come alive, if it is brought, among other things, onthe main line railway map of India. In 1947, Ferozepur's both majorrailway lines to Lahore and Amritsar got snapped. There is a smallportion, about 15 miles between Patti and Ferozepur, if it is built, it willlink Srinagar in Kashmir with Mumbai via Pathankot, Gurdaspur,Dhariwal, Batala, Amritsar, Tarntaran, Patti, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Abohar,Sri Ganganagar, several routes in Rajasthan and via Ahmedabad andSurat. From Mumbai, it can link all metropolitan cities in the South IndianPeninsula. This railway line will cut short the distance between Amritsarand Mumbai by 240 kilometers and between Srinagar and Mumbai by 270kilometers. This thousand crore line was approved by Dr. ManmohanSingh, but the state has to acquire the land worth less than fifty crores forits new alignment. Our state governments have failed to acquire the landfor the past several years. If this line gets built, Industry will again startcoming to this area, now a backward border strip. Governmentis notserious about this railway line. This is not in their favorite area.

Another railway line awaiting the Punjab Government's landacquisition is the Mohali - Rajpura railway line. It will link Chandigarhand Shimla with Mumbai via Patiala, Bathinda, Rajasthan andAhmedabad and Surat in Gujarat. It will introduce local trains betweenPatiala and Chandigarh.

Punjab has not been able to wean its farmers away from cultivation ofrice paddy. Actually fresh vegetables can fetch more price, if there is amechanism for their marketing in urban areas. I have seen potatoes sellingfor rupees 2 a kg. in the field and at rupees 6 in urban areas. Cauliflowerswere selling for rupees one per Kg. in the field and at rupees 5 per Kg in thecities. The state, which was one of the most progressive ones in India,needs to appoint a commission of inquiry to identify as to who is primarilyresponsible for its crippling debt that hinders progress.

Still all is not gloomyunder the circumstances. Amritsar's tourismindustry is booming, but on its own due to the Golden Temple, JallianwalaGarden, Ram Tirath and the Retreat at Wagha. Mohali is doing fine due toits accounting related IT industry, which finds Chandigarh expensive.

(The author can be reached at harjapaujla@gmail.com)

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Former Trump campaign...Manafort has been jailed since June, so he will receive credit for

the nine months he has already served. He still faces thepossibility of additional time from his sentencing in a separatecase in the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty tocharges related to illegal lobbying.

Before Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence, Manafort toldhim that "saying I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a grossunderstatement." But he offered no explicit apology, somethingJudge Ellis noted before issuing his sentence. Manafort steeredDonald Trump's election efforts during crucial months of the 2016campaign as Russia sought to meddle in the election throughhacking of Democratic email accounts. He was among the first ofMr. Trump's associates charged in the Mueller investigation andhas been a high-profile defendant.

But the charges against Manafort were unrelated to his work onthe campaign or the focus of Mr. Mueller's investigation- whetherthe Trump campaign coordinated with Russians. A jury last yearconvicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid fromthe IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine.

Manafort's lawyers argued that their client had engaged inwhat amounted to a routine tax evasion case and cited numerouspast sentences in which defendants had hidden millions from theIRS and served less than a year in prison. Prosecutors saidManafort's conduct was egregious, but Judge Ellis ultimatelyagreed more with defense attorneys. "These guidelines are quitehigh," Judge Ellis said.

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys had requested aparticular sentence length in their sentencing memoranda, butprosecutors had urged a "significant" sentence. Outside court,Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, said his client acceptedresponsibility for his conduct "and there was absolutely noevidence that Mr. Manafort was involved in any collusion with thegovernment of Russia."

Though Manafort hasn't faced charges related to collusion, hehas been seen as one of the most pivotal figures in the Muellerinvestigation. Prosecutors, for instance, have scrutinized hisrelationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate U.S.authority say is tied to Russian intelligence, and have described afurtive meeting the men had in August 2016 as cutting to the heartof the investigation. After pleading guilty in the D.C. case,Manafort met with investigators for more than 50 hours as part ofa requirement to cooperate with the probe. But prosecutorsreiterated at Thursday's hearing that they believe Manafort wasevasive and untruthful in his testimony to a grand jury.

Manafort was wheeled into the courtroom about 3-45 p.m. in agreen jumpsuit from the Alexandria jail, where he spent the lastseveral months in solitary confinement. The jet-black hair he borein 2016 when serving as campaign chairman was gone, replacedby a shaggy gray. He spent much of the hearing hunched at theshoulders, bearing what appeared to be an air of resignation.Defense lawyers had argued that Manafort would never have beencharged if it were not for Mueller's probe. At the outset of the trial,even Judge Ellis agreed with that assessment, suggesting thatManafort was being prosecuted only to pressure him to "sing"against Mr. Trump. Prosecutors said the Manafort investigationpreceded Mr. Mueller's appointment. The jury convicted Manaforton eight felonies related to tax and bank fraud charges for hidingforeign income from his work in Ukraine from the IRS and laterinflating his income on bank loan applications. Prosecutors havesaid the work in Ukraine was on behalf of politicians who wereclosely aligned with Russia, though Manafort insisted his workhelped those politicians distance themselves from Russia andalign with the West.

In arguing for a significant sentence, prosecutor Greg Andressaid Manafort still hasn't accepted responsibility for hismisconduct. "His sentencing positions are replete with blamingothers," Mr. Andres said. He also said Manafort still has notprovided a full account of his finances for purposes of restitution,a particularly egregious omission given that his crime involvedhiding more than $55 million in overseas bank accounts to evadepaying more than $6 million in federal income taxes. The lack ofcertainty about Manafort's finances complicated the judge'sefforts to impose restitution, but Ellis ultimately ordered thatManafort could be required to pay back up to $24 million.

Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammedPaul Manafort's "little" jail sentence Thursday, saying it's proof

the US justice system is broken. "Paul Manafort getting such littlejail time for such serious crimes lays out for the world how it'salmost impossible for rich people to go to jail for the same amountof time as someone who is lower income," the Bronx-borncongresswoman tweeted.

She added: "In our current broken system, 'justice' isn't blind.It's bought." Earlier Thursday, President Trump's formercampaign chairman was sentenced to just under four years inprison for a massive fraud scheme tied to his work as a politicalconsultant for Ukraine's pro-Russian government.

Sentencing guidelines recommended 19 1/2 to 24 years. ButJudge T.S. Ellis III said that was "excessive." In the D.C. case,Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each of two counts towhich he pleaded guilty. The judge will have the option to imposeany sentence there concurrent or consecutive to the sentenceimposed by Judge Ellis.

US urges Pakistan to take...a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26, has started

taking actions against some of the terrorist outfits and theirleaders over the past few days. In Islamabad, the Interior Ministryannounced that a total of 121 members of the proscribed groupshave so far been taken into "preventive detention" across Pakistan.

State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino toldreporters at his biweekly news conference on Thursday, March 8,"I would say that we, the United States notes these steps and wecontinue to urge Pakistan to take sustained, irreversible actionsagainst terrorist groups that will prevent future attacks andpromote regional stability". "We reiterate our call for Pakistan toabide by its United Nations Security Council obligations to denyterrorists safe haven and block their entry to funds," he said.

Questions on United Nations sanctions committeedeliberations are confidential and as such it is not something thatthe State Department is going to be able to comment on specificmatters in that regard, he said. "But we will continue to work withthe sanctions committee to ensure that the list is updated and thatit is accurate," Mr. Palladino said.

At the US Capitol, India's ambassador to the US Harsh VardhanShringla met Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the Houseof Representatives. "We must stand strong against acts ofterrorism and work together to improve trade between ournations," the top Republican leader said after the meeting.Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicidebomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPFpersonnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in February14. India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot. The nextday, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in anaerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to Indiaon March 1. (Source:PTI)

China steps up diplomacy to...Kong Xuanyou was already in Islamabad to establish an

"enabling atmosphere" that would help Pakistan to cooperate with"other parties". Mr. Lu said Mr. Kong's mission was to "promotedialogue" between India and Pakistan by persuading both sides toexercise flexibility. "I hope the two sides can show some goodwill,embrace each other halfway, properly resolve their differencesthrough dialogue. China will play a constructive role to promotedialogue between them."

India has made it plain that it would start a dialogue only ifPakistan takes visible and verifiable steps to eliminate terrorismthat targets India from its soil. "In fact, Pakistan has been makingefforts and exercised policies to combat terrorism. We think weshould encourage this," Mr. Lu said. Without referring to theKashmir issue, Mr. Lu said that both 'symptom" and "root cause"of terrorism should be addressed. Asked to comment on theunderstanding reached between the Foreign Ministers of Russia,India and China (RIC) during their February 27 meeting inWuzhen, the spokesperson said: "As to counter terrorism issue inthe trilateral meeting, I shall say a key point is that terrorism is acomplex issue. We should address the symptom and the rootcauses of terrorism that is the premise for what was proposed byForeign Ministers of the three countries." Asked to comment onChina's stand on the resolution proposed in the UNSC 1267committee to list Azhar as a global terrorist, Mr. Lu said Chinawould take a "conducive decision" to resolve the differences."China will have discussion with relevant bodies" as listing ofterrorists "is a very serious issue", he said.

India excluded again from...Among the new countries to which the "streamlined

documentary requirements" apply are Peru, Kazakhstan,Mauritius and Oman. "This change will not only benefit students,who will be able to apply for visas through a more streamlinedprocess, but also help to ensure that the U.K.'s world-leadingeducation institutions remain competitive internationally," theHome Office said.

"This adds insult to injury," said Lord Karan Bilimoria, a cross-bench member of the House of Lords who has been critical of thegovernment's approach to immigration, particularly relating tostudents. "It is incredible to think that Britain still has theaudacity to talk of a trade deal with India, while this is itsapproach."

The changes are part of a wider update to Britain'simmigration system that will introduce two new visa routes forsetting up businesses in the U.K. - including a "start-up" route andan equivalent one for more seasoned business people. In bothcases, business experts will be involved in assessing the merits ofthe business ideas. "This will make sure that the routes arefocused on only the most innovative, viable and scalablebusinesses," said the Home Office.

The government has also updated its rules governing a fast-track visa scheme for wealthy investors - which has been used bymany Indians. The scheme, which is open to those who invest atleast £2 million in U.K. government, shares or businesses, offers afaster route to settlement in the country. Eighty-two Indiannationals applied for an investor visa through this route between2008 and March 2018, according to Transparency International.However, amid concerns that the route has been abused for illicitmoney flows, the government has been under pressure to eitherscrap or reform the system. Now, applicants will be "required toprove that they have had control of the required £2 million for atleast two years, rather than 90 days, or provide evidence of thesource of those funds", the Home Office said. (Source: The

Hindu)

Musharraf calls Jaish-e...In a telephonic interview to Pakistani journalist Nadeem Malik

of Hum News in his talk show, Gen. Musharraf, 75, who iscurrently in Dubai, welcomed the action against the JeM. He saidit had tried to assassinate him twice in December 2003, as per avideo clip shared on the journalist's Facebook and Twitter page.The JeM has claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwamaattack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.

Last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in aninterview with CNN said Azhar was in Pakistan, but thegovernment could act against him only if India presented "solid"and "inalienable" evidence that could stand in a court of law. ThePakistan military, however, has denied the terror group's presencein the country. Amid mounting international pressure after thePulwama attack, Pakistan on March 5 detained 44 members of thebanned militant outfits, including Azhar's son and brother.

Gen. Musharraf said, "This is a good move. I have always saidthat the JeM is a terrorist organizationand they only had carriedout a suicide attack in an attempt to assassinate me. Action shouldbe taken against them." Gen. Musharraf, who also served asPakistan's army chief, said action against the JeM should havebeen taken earlier. "Those times were different"

When asked why hehad not taken action against theorganization during his stint in power, he claimed those timeswere "different". Both India and Pakistan were involved in aclandestine struggle, "carrying out bombings in each other'sterritory", he said, adding his country's intelligence agencies wereengaged in it. Amid all this, not much action was taken against theJaish, he said, adding that he had also not insisted.

Gen. Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, is facingthe treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007, apunishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014. He has beenliving in Dubai since March 2016. (Source: PTI)

Soumya Swaminathan is WHO...Previously, she was one of the three Deputy Director-Generals

supporting the Director-General in overseeing all programs. Shewas the first Indian to hold the post. WHO said in a statement: "theworld has changed, which is why we have articulated a newmission statement."

33THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 NEW YORK

Basketball Diplomacy: Dilip Chauhan introducesIndian Heritage at US basketball game

Community leaders and officials attend Nassau Veterans Coliseum game as Indian groups performbefore and half-time of the game

UNIONDALE, NY (TIP): In a unique displayof "Basketball diplomacy", Dilip Chauhan, aformer Deputy Comptroller of Nassau County,and Co-Chair Raj Shah created history recentlyby organizing an event where India's culturalprowess, especially the Indian culturalperformances was on full display and theIndian community showed their commitmentto a mainstream game.

The event, Indian Heritage Night, was heldon Wednesday, February 27, at NYCB LIVE'sNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on LongIsland, where -- for the first time -- Indiancommunity was invited to jointly participate ata major basketball game between two big teams-- Long Island Nets and Delaware Blue Coats.

It was the first time in the history ofbasketball in Nassau Coliseum that Indiangroups performed at the Prime Time as well asduring the half-time as Nassau VeteransColiseum gave a special permission to themedia to cover the Indian segments of theevent.

Indians are rare as an audience at the

Coliseum. But on this day, a large number of communitymembers people turned out to watch the game and celebrateIndian culture as colorful clothes made the young childrenlook like cultural ambassadors of India while a massiveaudience applauded their performance at the arena.

The evening began with an announcement by the Emcee."Today's memorable event is a brainchild of Dilip Chauhan,the President of New York South Asian Chamber ofCommerce. He has in a very unique and sophisticated wayweaved this program to a grand success," he said, invitingDilip Chauhan, along with Raj Shah, Indian Deputy CGShatrughan Sinha, Ruchika Chauhan, Roopa Sridhar and AnilShah to light the traditional lamp.

After the Indian diplomat was joined by the prominentIndians in the lighting of lamp amid chanting of mantra, theEmcee called on the audience to observe 30-seconds silence inthe memory of the martyrs of the recent terror attack atPulwama in Jammu & Kashmir.

Then Dilip Chauhan was invited by the officials to addressthe august gathering in the arena. "It is an honor and privilegeto welcome and greet you at the First Indian Heritage Night inNassau County. India's culture is rich, colorful and vibrant.We are delighted this evening to offer a taste of our heritage,our dance, costumes, traditions, purely to share with you andenjoy. It is my privilege to introduce you to the Organizer ofIndian Heritage Night. Please welcome my co-chair Raj Shahand the Indian American Advisory Committee for putting thisevent together. Thanks to more than 20 Indian AmericanOrganizations for your support, honored guests and media,"

Dilip Chauhan said in his opening remarks."Today is indeed a very special and inspiring day for Indians

in Long Island as we are celebrating the India Heritage Nightat the Prestigious Nassau Coliseum," he added.

Dilip Chauhan also used his speech as an opportunity tomake an important appeal as he asked people to registerthemselves to vote. "I also wish to appeal to each of you. Thisis something very personal to my heart. Each and every one, ifyou are not registered to vote, please register to Vote.And ifyou are already registered, please make sure you cast yourvote. Please remember 'If you don't vote you lose a right tocomplain'," he said. "God bless America and India."

In his address to the gathering, the DeputyConsul General of India said that it was a greatvenue to showcase rich heritage of India. "Thiskind of activities makes our relationshipstronger. "The beauty of this event is such alarge number of children and youthparticipation", said Shatrughan Sinha.

During the Prime Time, regional folk dancesof India and Bollywood by young children aswell as women groups were performed. Thefirst performance was done by Arya DanceAcademy. It was followed by a performance bytheNartan Rang Dance Academy.

The game ball deliver ceremony wasperformed by the Winner of 2018 Miss TeenBharat New York, Kahini Chauhan.

At the half-time, there was a 6-minuteperformance by the Navatman Indian ArtInstitute. "Let us applaud Nartan Rang DanceAcademy, Arya Dance Academy and NavatmanArt Institute for their immense support inmaking this event possible," said Dilip Chauhan

in his address."It is central to our core value system as the

Long Island Nets to be 'More Than A Game,' and to provide aplatform of diversity and inclusion for our community," saidAlton Byrd, VP of Business Operations, Long Island Nets. "Weare pleased at the success of our first collaborative effort tobring Indian Heritage Night to life at a Long Island Nets gamefor the first time ever."

It was an historic event for the Indian community which hasgrown manifold in Nassau County in the past few years. DilipChauhan has been instrumental in injecting communityprofessionals in the local administration. Also, working withcommunity, Dilip Chauhan has been championing the cause of"Be counted" with register and vote because as the communitygets empowered.

In a show of the community's growing footprint in the socialsector, Sudhir Vaishnavi was honored for his contribution tothe community in last three decades who has served manyleading NGOs promoting India.

Co- Chair Raj Shah applauded community participation tomake this event grand success grand success.

The event was hosted by Indian American AdvisoryCommittee of NYCB LIVE's Nassau Veterans MemorialColiseum and members names are - Raj Shah, Hiren Chauhan,Sreedhar Shanmugam, Hitesh Patel, Amita Karwal, Dr.Sheetal Desai, Bina Kothari, Roopam Maini, RaginiSrivastava, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, Farah Vaswani, Jay Shah,Mahavir Chavda, Neil Trivedi, Rajeev Chaudhary, RakshaParekh, Sanjay Sura, Sudhir Vaishnav, Roopa Sridhar, RajeevModi, Rizwan Qureshi, Rajiv Mody, Harry Malhotra and SwatiVaishnav.

Diya Lighting Ceremony, From left: Co-Chair, Raj Shah, Ruchika Chauhan, Anil Shah, Dy.CGShatrughan Sinha, Organizer Dilip Chauhan and Roopa Sridhar.

Kids Enjoying High5 Time with PlayersThe game ball deliver ceremony was performed by the Winner of 2018 Miss Teen Bharat New

York, Kahini Chauhan

Sudhir Vaishnav honored with Community Hero award

34 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 SPORTS

SINDHU KNOCKED OUT OFALL ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

BIRMINGHAM (TIP): A profligate P.V. Sindhu wasknocked out of the All England Championship by anindustrious Sung Ji Hyun of Korea in the women's singlesopening round here on Wednesday.

In men's singles, 2017 Singapore Open champion B. SaiPraneeth defeated compatriot H.S. Prannoy 21-19 21-19 in apulsating contest.

Fifth-seeded Sindhu, who was beaten by Sung Ji twice inlast three meetings, lost 16-21 22-20 18-21, despite saving asmany as eight match points in the second and third game.

Sindhu went into the opener with an overall record of a 8-6 against Sung Ji but the Korean once again troubled theIndian in the 81-minute thrilling clash which went down tothe wire.

Sindhu showed grit in the closing moments of the secondand third game but also committed too many unforcederrors during the match.

The Indian saved three match points at 17-20 in the secondgame to take the match to the decider, during which shesaved five match points before suffering her fourth first-round loss at the USD 1 million event.

Sung Ji will face Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi in thesecond round.

"I think I could have not given her big lead at the starting.It was too many points and it was difficult to cover," Sindhusaid after the loss.

"It was my bad luck probably as my mid court smasheswere going to net. I was just hitting out but overall it wasgood match and she played well. She has good anticipationsand there were long rallies.

"I had trained enough but it was just not my day. Suchmatches keep happening and I have to take it as a challengeand come back stronger."

India eye series win in Dhoni’slast match at Ranchi

RANCHI (TIP): Mahendra SinghDhoni's final homecoming forms apoignant subplot of an utterly dominantIndian team's quest for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the third ODI against Australiain Ranchi on Friday.

A 3-0 lead in the five-match series willbe a perfect parting gift for Ranchi'sfavourite son, who, in all likelihood, willbe seen wearing the India Blues for thelast time at his home ground.

There has been a sense of deja vuevery time Dhoni has stepped on to thefield in the ongoing series.

It reminded many of Tendulkar'spenultimate Test series againstAustralia in 2013, when the cheer fromthe stands would amplify with eachpassing match.

Something similar has beenhappening at every ground in this series,with the fans possibly beginning torealise that the legend may not be aroundwhen India next play at home.

Amidst the emotional side story, theIndian team is grappling with a fewteething issues regarding its top-orderbatting, especially senior openerShikhar Dhawan's poor form, which hasaffected India's starts of late.

Despite Dhawan having gone off theboil with only two half-centuries in thelast 15 ODIs, India are unlikely to tinkerwith the winning combination of thefirst two encounters.

K.L. Rahul, who is back in form, mayhave to wait till India clinch the series,but the team management could well tryhim out at the No. 3 position.

The two victories by six wickets andeight runs?weren't exactly convincingbut pulling off close matches underpressure will certainly add to theconfidence.

“Just coming through these kinds ofgames gives us confidence. It's importantto look ugly at times, and come throughand win. We might get these low-scoring

games in the World Cup as well,” Kohlihad said after the second game.

The bowling has been superb in bothgames with Australia failing to reach250, but save Virat Kohli, who stampedhis class with another hundred on a slowJamtha track, none of the other batsmenhave looked the part so far.

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma, the secondmost consistent player in this line-up,looked good in the first game before hegot out.

Kedar Jadhav and Dhoni shepherdedIndia in the first match and didn'ttrouble the scorers in the next.

Ambati Rayudu, whose onlysignificant knock was the 90 against NewZealand in the last away series, has alsobeen inconsistent and can be replacedwith Rahul.

Rayudu, who has retired from first-class cricket, has found it difficult andhis primary problem has been not beingable to rotate the strike.

If Dhawan is persisted with, the bestway to give Rahul at least three games isto bring him at No. 3 and the skipper

coming at No 4 in place of Rayudu.There are no such worries about

Indian bowling as they have performedas a unit. The biggest gain in the secondgame has been Kedar Jadhav and VijayShankar performing their combined roleof a fifth bowler to perfection.

Shankar's two wickets while bowlingthe final over will also instil confidencein his captain that in case Hardik Pandyahas a breakdown, he has a fallbackoption in the Tamil Nadu all-rounder.

However, he is still not somebody whocan bowl six to seven overs consistentlyin each game.

Mohammed Shami and JaspritBumrah have been outstanding in thetwo games so far. If Shami was lethalduring the opening spell of the firstgame, Bumrah set it up with anotherincredible effort at the death in thesecond.

One who is quietly inching towards aslot in the World Cup-bound squad isRavindra Jadeja, who has bowledbrilliantly in those middle overs intandem with Kuldeep Yadav.

Boxing: Vijender Singh to make US debut on April 12Indian boxing star Vijender Singh will

make his debut in the Americanprofessional circuit on April 12 against a

yet-to-be-decided opponent and is currentlytraining under Hall of Famer Freddie Roach,who shaped the likes of Manny Pacquiao andMike Tyson.

Vijender, unbeaten in his 10-bout pro career,will make his US debut at Staples Center onthe Vasiliy Lomachenko-Anthony Crollaundercard. It will be an eight-round contestand his opponent will be announced later.

The 33-year-old Vijender recently relocatedhis training base to Los Angeles where he istraining at the 'The Wild Card Boxing Club'under Roach, a 2012 International Boxing Hallof Fame (IBHOF) inductee, his Indiapromoters IOS Boxing Promotions said in apress release.

In his 32 years as a trainer, Roach is widelyregarded as one of the best boxing coaches ofall time.

Roach has been mentor to 36 worldchampions including the likes of Tyson, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao,five-time and four-division world championMiguel Cotto and multiple world championOscar de La Hoya. He has also trained former

junior welterweight champion Amir Khan.Vijender's April 12 bout will stream live in

the United States.“I am thrilled to start my training under

such a legendary figure in world boxing,”Vijender said.

“Professional boxing in United States is ofthe highest level, and I believe Freddie is theright guy to bring the best out of me. I lookforward to showing the boxing fans a new andimproved Vijender Singh,” he added.

Roach feels India's first Olympic medallistin boxing has what it takes to be a worldchampion in the highly competitive UScircuit.

“I believe Vijender has the talent and thededication to become a world champion,”Roach said.

“He has a great amateur background, astyle that will give any super middle-weight inthe world problems, and power in bothhands,” he added.

Commenting on this new association,Promoter of IOS Boxing Promotions NeeravTomar, said “...we hope together with Freddie,Vijender will be able to script history. We atIOS are thrilled the association.”

Source: PTI

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