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CONTENTS

YES 76%

Last week’s result

NO 24%

This week’s question

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Is New Jersey safe for IndianAmericans?

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India ---------------------------------- 41

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Philosophy ------------------------- 52

Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4

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Sports Post ------------------------ 40

TechBiz Post ------------------- 42-43

Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 31-33

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India asks US toremove exportcontrol regime

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‘LeT havingglobal ambitionsbeyond India’

NJ TECHNOCRAT KILLEDIN BRUTAL ATTACK

SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: An Indian American computer scientist from Old Bridge, NewJersey who was brutally attacked by miscreants, while he was on a night strollalong with his wife and two sons near his home, died in hospital June 28.

Forty-nine year old Dr. Divyendu Sinha, a brilliant technocrat, died at RobertWood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick having succumbed tosevere head trauma.

In what investigators say is a “random attack”, three teenagers – all of them17 years of age – have been arrested and charged with murder and conspiracyto commit murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit an aggravatedassault.

FRIENDS INDEED: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting

US President Barack Obama at the G-20 Summit in

Toronto, Canada on June 26

Details on page 6Dr. Divyendu Sinha

Obama calls Manmohan'good friend'

TORNOTO: Manmohan Singh and Barack Obamaeffusively praised each other during their meetinghere, with the US President saying the Indian PrimeMinister's extraordinary leadership has "helped usnavigate through some very difficult times".

Meeting for the second time in two months, Obamatold Singh that he was "very much" looking forwardto his visit to India in November this year.

Details on page 7

US NSA to chalkout Obama'svisit plan

Admiral Mike Mullen

Details on page 10

WLP internsdiscussleadership

USIBC, CII movefor small enterpriseInitiative

6-yr-old Indian-origin girl on USterror watch list

Details on page 9

Anand Sharma

India-US HealthInitiative setinto motion

Patel jailed forseven yearsby Oz court

Allahabad manbehind the USsoccer success

DOCTORS FOR GREEN: Doctors from leading hospitals of Delhi led by AIIMS Faculty

Association President Vinod Khaitan tying tricolor ribbons on a tree in support of the campaign

for restoring Asiad Village Tower green area in South Delhi. Others in the picture are

Dr Rajiv Gupta from Sir Gangaram Hospital, Dr Saroj Sagar (Retd) from

Safdarjang Hospital and Dr Shikha Jain. (Details on page 8)

Will Nikki win Governor contestin November?

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Bollywood:Leaner SaifSaif avoided cameras until his departureto Morocco in order to avoid giving awayhis Agent Vinod look.

1Cover Story:Technocrat killed

11Community:BAPS Convention

41India:Mookerjee rememberedDr Syama Prasad Mookerjee was remem-bered by select intellectual elite at a semi-nar dedicated to his memory in Srinagar.

40Sports:

After notching up an incredible hat-trickof international titles, Saina Nehwal isconfident of becoming number one.

42Techbiz:

India's Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd.(L&T Infotech), has joined the OpenHandset Alliance (OHA).

31Travel:Nubra ValleyNubra Valley in Ladakh, invites you toa trip back in time into a nearly forgot-ten 'Shangri La'.

L&T alliance

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha hosted aNational Convention in Chicago on June17 for Indian American youth.

An Indian American computer scientist fromNew Jersey died when he was brutally at-tacked by miscreants.

Badminton champ

One doesn't know what to make of instances such as the brutal killing ofan Indian American computer scientist in New Jersey by a bunch ofmean kids, but every once in a while when we hear of hate motivated

crimes against Indian Americans especially in states where they are more con-centrated, we express shock and outrage and then move on hoping that the nextvictim would not be one of us.

New Jersey has historically been witness to racially motivated crimes againstIndians - old timers still balk at memories of how they fought against the notori-ous dot buster gangs in the state in the '80s.

One would think the sheer success of the community as entrepreneurs, busi-nessmen and professionals, aided by community activism and the willingness oflocal administrations to sensitize the mainstream communities and security agen-cies would have by now found sufficient acceptance for South Asian communitiesin the state. Sadly, it is not so.

The gentleman who succumbed last week was attacked by 17-year olds. Theirage does not justify their crime, but more than them, I shudder at the thought ofintellectuals who from time to time 'come out' with their bigoted sentimentsthrough the media. I am talking about an article in the latest Time magazine. Inthe piece titled 'My Own Private India' the columnist bemoans the Indianizationof his childhood's "mostly white suburban town" of Edison in New Jersey. Morethan the individual writer, it's unfortunate that a reputed magazine like Timewould try to get away with publishing such offensive stuff.

So okay, we cannot get touchy-feely about every satire and critique that comesout in mass media and a little stereotyping once in a while, but it gets dangerouslycomplicated when such innate sentiments transform into deadly acts of violencethat result in senseless deaths like that of the computer scientist.

Whether we rave and rant about it or simply gripe and bear it, I am sorry toconclude that there is no way to exorcise inherent intolerance in a society.

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NJ technocrat killed in brutal attackSRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY


NEW YORK: An Indian Ameri-can computer scientist from OldBridge, New Jersey who was bru-tally attacked by miscreants, whilehe was on a night stroll along withhis wife and two sons near hishome, died in hospital June 28.

Forty-nine year old Dr.Divyendu Sinha, a brilliant tech-nocrat, died at Robert WoodJohnson University Hospital inNew Brunswick having suc-cumbed to severe head trauma.

In what investigators say is a“random attack”, three teenagers– all of them 17 years of age –have been arrested and chargedwith murder and conspiracy tocommit murder, aggravated as-sault and conspiracy to commit an

aggravated assault.Middlesex County Prosecutor

Bruce J. Kaplan and Acting ChiefRobert Bonfante of the Old BridgePolice Department said the threemales, all Old Bridge residents,previously had been charged withconspiring to commit an aggra-vated assault and aggravated as-sault upon Divyendu Sinha. Thehomicide charges were filed afterSinha was pronounced dead at 4a.m. on June 28 at Robert WoodJohnson University Hospital inNew Brunswick.

An autopsy performed June 29by the Middlesex County Medi-cal Examiner’s Office determinedthat Divyendu Sinha died fromblunt force trauma to the head andthat the manner of death was ho-micide.

The culprits had also attackedSinha’s sons – Ashish, 16 andRavi, 12 – who suffered minor in-juries for which they were treatedin hospital and released.

Jim O’Neill, spokesman for theMiddlesex County Prosecutor’soffice told India Post, that as partof the investigations they wouldnot be disclosing exactly howmany persons were involved inthe attack. Sinha family support-ers, however, believe there werefive culprits in all.

O’Neill said it was a group ofkids and all were residents of OldBridge, but could not say if they

knew the Sinha family.O’Neill further said that prelimi-

nary findings indicate the assault“was not racially motivated,” butrather was a random attack. A fi-nal determination would bereached only after the investiga-tion is completed, he said.

The three juveniles, who werenot identified due to their age,have been remanded to theMiddlesex County Juvenile De-tention Center by Superior CourtJudge Roger Daley in NewBrunswick.

After the investigation is com-pleted, Prosecutor Kaplan will re-view all reports in the case andwill decide whether to seek to trythe three in Superior Court asadults.The two-and-half day ordeal

Sinha, his wife Alka and sonsAshish and Ravi had stepped out

of their home to take a stroll onthe night of June 25 in a perfectlysafe neighborhood where theyhave lived for sixteen years.

“This is a neighborhood wherepeople do not lock front doors andcars are left unlocked in drive-ways,” as Gaurang Vaishnav, Ex-ecutive Vice President of VishwaHindu Parishad of America(VHPA), and a friend of the familydescribed it. Sinha was a life mem-ber of the VHPA.

According to Vaishnav, as theSinhas were returning from thestroll and were near their homearound midnight, a car with fiveteenagers (two Caucasians, threeAfrican Americans) pulled up; thedriver stayed in the car and restof them came from behind and at-tacked Sinha and his two sons.Hit on the temple, Sinha fell downand hit his head on the pavement.The attacker(s) continued to kickhim on the head and neck. Afterthe attack they escaped in the car.

Sinha was able to get up so hisfamily tried to walk him to theirhome. However, after walking afew yards, he collapsed. At thatpoint his son ran to a nearbyhouse for help and the neighborcalled 911.

Sinha was transported to thenearby Raritan Bay Hospital. Atthat time (around 12.30 am) he wasable to answer questions like hisname, birth date, etc. though his

speech had begun to slur. Soonafter he became unconscious andby 4 am he was transferred to Rob-ert Wood Johnson Hospital inNew Brunswick.

The children had bruises, swol-len jaw, neck pain, etc. but theywere treated at the hospital andreleased.

According to the neurosur-geon who briefed the family andfriends who accompanied Sinhato the hospital, there was severecranial bleeding in the brain andbrain had swollen so much that ithad compressed the brain stem.The brain had also shifted be-cause of the pressure within theenclosed chamber. According tothe doctor, the compression of thestem is an irreversible process.

Vaishnav said, “One thing thatwas disturbing was that this sur-geon had not looked at the reportsfrom the first hospital and was noteven sure if the reports and scanshad accompanied the patient. Hewas not even aware of the fact thatDivyenduji had been beaten up.He said that the bleeding had apattern of a stroke but when weasked pointed questions, he ad-mitted that the stroke was likelythe result of the beating andtrauma caused by it.”

VHPA volunteers from StatenIsland and New Jersey chaptersas well Sinha’s neighbors andfriends were at the hospital by hisside throughout the two and a halfday ordeal.

Sinha’s younger brother,Purnendu and his wife’s youngerbrother, Alok flew in from Indiaand were able to reach the hospi-tal on Saturday afternoon.

Despite fervent prayers of fam-ily and friends, Sinha, who wason life support, was declared deadin the early hours of June 28.

According to Vaishnav,Sinha’s family decided to donatehis kidneys.A brilliant life snuffed out

Dr. Divyendu Sinha was a bril-liant technocrat who earned hisB. Tech. in Computer Science andEngineering from the Indian Insti-tute of Technology and a Ph.D. inComputer Science from StevensInstitute of Technology. Hewas working for Siemens Corpo-ration.

Before joining the College ofStaten Island and the doctoral fac-ulty of the City University of NewYork, he was a faculty member atStevens Institute of Technology. He has also taught short coursesfor SPIE and IEEE.

Sinha has over fifty publica-tions in mathematical morphology,fuzzy set theory, and artificial in-telligence. He chaired three SPIEconferences on real-time imagingand is an Associate Editor of the

Journal of Real-time Imaging andthe Journal of Electronic Imaging.

Sinha has consulted for indus-try in the areas of efficient algo-rithm development, object-ori-ented software design, and ma-chine vision. He spent his sab-batical year at Research Devices,Inc. where he was the manager ofsoftware development for flip-chipbonders. His last position wasconsulting for Robotic Vision Sys-tems, Inc., where he was respon-sible for the specification and de-sign of software and hardware ar-chitectures for wafer inspectionsystem.

He has also authored a bookalong with Edward R. Dougherty,called Introduction to ComputerBased Imaging Systems.

Community – shocked, outragedCommunity activist and media

coordinator for VHPA, PrakashWaghmare, had known Sinha for10 years and knew to be “a verygentle person”.

“This incidence has galvanizedand outraged the entire IndianCommunity in NY/NJ area reviv-ing their fears for their safety,”Waghmare said. “New Jersey hasa very dubious history when it

The house of Dr. Divyendu Sinha who was fatally beaten by teenagers near

his home Friday night, according to police

comes to ‘racial’ incidences. Asthe highly educated, entrepre-neurial Indian community startedrealizing the ‘American Dream’with economic success, therehave been series of racial attackson them, starting with the ‘dot-busters’ incidences in early’80s.”

In the case of Sinha, Waghmaresaid, the community is demand-ing expedited, open investigationand for the culprits to be broughtto immediate justice.

Vaishnav said, “It is good toknow that all five teenagers arenow in police custody. Debate willgo on about whether it was a ran-dom attack or one with racial over-tones but the fact is that we havelost a colleague, a brilliant man;and the family has lost every-thing.”

Vaishnav has urged the com-munity to put continued pressureon the police, prosecutors andpoliticians so that the case is notwatered down, the guilty are pun-ished to the fullest extent of lawand such senseless attacks oninnocent, law abiding citizensmay be prevented.

He also urged the communityto help support Sinha’s wife andchildren “as they put pieces oftheir life together”. “This will be adaunting task which will requirelong time commitment of genuinesupport – emotional, physical andfinancial. With the consent of thefamily, we would like to raise fundsto support their legal as well asother needs,” Vaishnav said.

Satyanarayan Dosapati, a com-munity activist from Old Bridgehas created a web site:www.justicefordivyendufamily.wordpress.comwhere well-wishers can leave mes-sages and condolences.

Also, anyone with informationis asked to call Detective GregMorris of the Old Bridge PoliceDepartment at (732) 721-5600, orInvestigator Paul Miller of theMiddlesex County Prosecutor’sOffice at (732) 745-4466.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplanand Acting Chief Robert Bonfante of the OldBridge Police Department said the three males,all Old Bridge residents, previously had beencharged with conspiring to commit an aggra-vated assault and aggravated assault uponDivyendu Sinha. The homicide charges werefiled after Sinha was pronounced dead

Vaishnav said, ‘It isgood to know that allfive teenagers arenow in police custody.Debate will go onabout whether it was arandom attack or onewith racial overtonesbut the fact is that wehave lost a colleague,a brilliant man;and the family has losteverything’

India PostJuly 9, 2010 7

www.indiapost.com

Top Stories

Obama calls ManmohanSingh 'good friend'

TORNOTO: Manmohan Singhand Barack Obama effusivelypraised each other during theirmeeting here, with the US Presi-dent saying the Indian PrimeMinister's extraordinary leadershiphas "helped us navigate throughsome very difficult times".

Meeting for the second time intwo months, Obama told Singhthat he was "very much" lookingforward to his visit to India inNovember this year.

The 48-year-old AmericanPresident called the 77-year-oldeconomist-Prime Minister a "good

friend" and said he continues tobelieve that the "extraordinaryleadership that Prime MinisterSingh has provided not just toIndia, but to the world, has helpedus navigate through some verydifficult times."

"Prime Minister, thank you somuch for your friendship, and welook forward to working with youin the months to come, leading upto the (India) visit, so that weknow that we're going to have avery productive stay when we'rein India," he said.

On his part, Singh told Obama

that he was a role model to mil-lions and millions of people allover the world.

"Your life history is a historywhich inspires millions of peopleeverywhere where there arepeople who have risen by thesheer depth of their austerity, oftheir hard work, and their commit-ment to the values on which youhave worked and you've stoodfor," he said.

Singh said it has been his privi-lege to enjoy his "friendship" withObama, which he will cherish for-ever. -PTI

‘Govt to address concernsof Sikhs over riots’

US NSA to visit India to chalk outagenda for Obama's visit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a group photo of the Heads of Delegations of the G-20 Summit,

at Toronto, in Canada on June 27

ON BOARD PM'S SPECIALAIRCRAFT: US National SecurityAdviser Gen (retd.) James Joneswill arrive in New Delhi in July tochalk out the agenda for PresidentBarack Obama's maiden visit toIndia in November this year.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh, who met Obama in Torontoon the sidelines of the G-20 Sum-mit and discussed preparations forhis visit, said James will meet hisIndian counterpart ShivshankarMenon in the second week of Julyand they would chalk out theagenda for the visit.

"Our relations with the US arevery good. We have a really am-bitious agenda. We look forwardto a very successful visit of Presi-

sues like the proposed Sino-Paknuclear deal with Obama.

"It was essentially a discussionto explore the agenda of PresidentObama's visit. We will cross thebridge when we come to it."

Obama will visit India in No-vember this year and the US Presi-dent had said he was "very much"looking forward to his visit.

During his meeting with Singh,Obama said he was very pleasedto have accepted an invitation tovisit India.

"It is a trip that I'm very muchlooking forward to, and I knowthat the Prime Minister and hisgracious wife will extend greathospitality to us," he had said. -PTI

dent Obama and so does the Presi-dent," he said.

To a question, Singh said hedid not have the time to raise is-

India to seek extraditionof Anderson, says PM

TORONTO: Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has admittedthat there are possible "weak-nesses" in the Indian legal systemin dealing with the cases of 1984anti-Sikh riots but said his govern-ment was trying to address them.

"There are concerns aboutthose who perpetrated thesecrimes must be brought to book.There are possible weaknesses inthe Indian legal system, as theremay be in the Canadian system.We are trying to address these is-sues," Singh said.

"Our Government, the UPAGovernment, has opened up allcases for compensation, we areopen to provide relief, succor tovictims, the relatives so they canonce again lead a life of dignity,"he told Indo-Canadian MPs andprovincial legislators at Toronto'sRoyal York hotel.

Singh described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as "horrible" and said itshould never have happened. "Ihave on behalf of the Governmentof India apologized, on behalf ofthe nation apologized for whathappened in 1984."

"We can't get away from ourpast but the challenge is to lookahead in a world increasingly glo-balize, integrated whether you arehere or in India," he said.

The Prime Minister assured theIndo-Canadian community that hehas taken note of the concernsraised by them and promised toact on them.

"I promise you that when I getback home, I will set up somemechanism to deliberate on theissues that have been raisedhere or raised elsewhere in theIndo-Canadian community," hesaid.-PTI

ON BOARD PM'S SPECIALAIRCRAFT: Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has said that hisgovernment will try to ensure thatthe US takes a "more favorable at-titude" towards the extradition offormer Union Carbide chief War-ren Anderson to stand trial in In-dia in the Bhopal gas leak case.

Singh told journalists accom-panying him on his way backhome from Toronto that he did notraise the issue in his discussionswith US President Barack Obamaduring his meeting with him on thesidelines of the G-20 Summit.

"Well, we are where we stand.We will try to ensure that US gov-ernment takes a more favorable at-titude towards the extradition. Butwe have not approached them yet.

I did not raise this issue in my dis-cussions with President Obama.

We will cross the bridge whenwe come to it," Singh said in replyto questions.

Asked whether the governmentand the Congress establishmentwas not coming clean on who wasresponsible for letting Andersongo in December 1984, days afterthe worst industrial disaster thatkilled more than 15,000 people,Singh said, "What is the reality?We are not hiding anything."

Singh's comments come in themidst of a raging controversy overwho was responsible forAnderson's exit from India afterhis arrest in the Bhopal gas leakcase and his decision not to re-turn to stand trial in the case.-PTI

G-20 leaders agree to cutdeficits, not stimulus

TORONTO: Leaders of the G-20 group of nations have decidedagainst immediate withdrawal ofeconomic stimulus, stronglypushed for by India, to preservethe "fragile" global recovery,while agreeing that countriesshould themselves decide on thecontentious financial levies.

Meeting against the backdropof Eurozone crisis arising fromgovernment debts, which wascompounded by the 2008 financialcrisis, the Summit struck a balanceby allowing advanced economiesto adopt fiscal plans to at least

halve deficits by 2013 and gradualunwinding of stimulus.

It will also help stabilise or re-duce government debt-to- GDPratio.

Reflecting India's concerns,articulated by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh that any imme-diate exit from stimulus could leadto double-dip depression, theToronto Declaration said: "Tosustain recovery, we need to fol-low through on delivering exist-ing stimulus plans, while workingto create the conditions for robustprivate demand.-PTI

During his meetingwith Singh, Obamasaid he was verypleased to have ac-cepted an invitation tovisit India. ‘It is a tripthat I'm very muchlooking forward to’


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Top Stories

LeT having global ambitionsbeyond India: Mullen

WASHINGTON: Lashkar-e-Taiba, which so far had focusedprimarily on India, having globalaspirations and has spread its ten-tacles beyond Pakistan and Af-ghanistan, as manifested by theDavid Headley case, a top USgeneral has said.

"Generally, LeT was east, fo-cused on India. They're now in thewest. Actually, they're not just inthe west, focused on Pakistan.There are LeT elements focusedon Afghanistan," Admiral MikeMullen, Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff has said.

"We've seen in our own coun-try, recently -- with Detroit, withTimes Square, with Headley, withZazi -- we've seen an in-creasing level of distrib-uted threats, if you will,and an ability to expandthis federated approachwhich al-Qaida has had.

And al-Qaida is atthe centre of this and al-Qaida leadership re-sides in Pakistan.

We know that andthat's why this strategy,from my perspective, isso important, in terms of gettingat al-Qaida leadership and makingsure they've got nowhere to go,"he said.

"I think al-Qaida continues tobe the seminal threat and the lead-ership, obviously. While they'vehad some challenges in the lastcouple of years, but I think that'sreally the heart of it.

And their strategic goals in-clude, again, killing as many West-erners and Americans as pos-sible," he said.

Al-Qaeda still seeks nuclearweapons and the US is increas-ingly concerned about the nexus

between terrorists and nuclearweapons.

"I think we all, globally, haveto do all we can to make sure thatdoesn't happen," Mullen said.

Mullen said he has been rais-ing this concern of his with Paki-stan in every meeting he has withtheir leaders.

"If I go back even a coupleyears, when I first started goingto Pakistan on a regular basis, it'san area that I've raised with themilitary leadership there from dayone, and in terms of both concernand a desire to understand thesecurity level.

I come away from that, over aperiod of time, with a belief that

these are the most importantweapons in the Pakistani arsenal,"he added.

That is both understood bytheir leadership and, in particular,their military leadership and theygo to extraordinary efforts to bothprotect and secure them, headded.

"That said, I think we all arelimited -- in what we know. Weknow a certain amount. We haveinvested in, over the last coupleof years, a substantial amount ofmoney, through the Departmentof Energy, specifically, to improvetheir security," Mullen said. -PTI

Leadership program discussespolitical empowerment


NEW YORK: Interns of theWashington Leadership Program(WLP) had the exciting opportu-nity to hear from a distinguishedpanel of influential south Asianwomen during their annual Sum-mer Speaker Series event held inWashington DC, June 30.

While much of the discussioncentered on the new generationof South Asians becoming morepolitically relevant, VegaSubramaniam, Director of Pro-grams and Partnerships at SouthAsian Americans Leading To-gether (SAALT); and Kiran Ahuja,Executive Director of the WhiteHouse Initiative on Asian Ameri-cans and Pacific Islanders, spokeabout their experiences as womenof color.

Subramaniam spoke about na-tional initiatives to educate andempower the South Asian commu-nity; and of particular importancewas her work on profiling in NewYork. This led to a spirited discus-sion of the linked fates of "Driv-ing While Black (DWB)" and"Flying While Brown (FWB)."

Ahuja has dedicated years to"building communities of color."Her recent work has focusedaround helping students of SouthAsian descent, especially thosewithout legal status. She has pro-moted the Development, Reliefand Education for Alien Minors(DREAM) Act to afford all stu-dents in the United States, legal

or illegal, the ability to pursuehigher education.

During the questioning periodthe two panelists discussed theirexperiences being women of color.Ahuja elaborated on the presenceof gendered groups in the non-profit sector. Since salaries are un-dervalued in the non-profit world,women have been overrepre-sented in past decades. The di-rector thinks that all South Asian

women need to"relearn them-selves," befores u b s t a n t i v estrides in equalitycan be achieved.

The panelistsadvocated forcoalition buildingnot only in ourown community,but also with otherc o m m u n i t i e s .Ahuja spoke ofher experiences atSpellman College,the oldest histori-cally black collegefor women. Shecited her sharedexperiences withmany women at theschool as an ex-ample of culturalbonding and asso-ciation that is soimportant to theadvancement ofthe South Asiancommunity.

When askedabout what thestudents could doin their school communities tomake South Asians more politicallyactive, Subramaniam stated thatthey must "win over one personat a time." The sentiment was ech-oed by surprise guest, State Rep-resentative and Majority WhipJay Goyal of the Ohio House ofRepresentatives. He spoke of his

year-long effort of knocking onover 13,000 doors in his districtduring his campaign. He "out-worked his opponent" to win overhis electorate, he said.

Anna John, co-founder of theDesi Blog Sepia Munity, moder-ated the panel. The panel was heldat the Atlantic Council, which co-sponsored the event along withNetSAP - DC.

Established in 1995, the WLP

is a national non-profit organiza-tion that is developing the nextgeneration of American leadershipfrom the Indian American commu-nity. Our program takes promis-ing college students and placesthem in a Congressional office foran eight-week summer internshipaccompanied by a structured lead-

ership curriculum.Students then com-

plete a leadership projectapplying their learningfrom the summer and areinducted into a leader-ship community cur-rently made up of 170alumni from the 15 yearsof the program.

Since 1995, the WLPhas given more than 170South Asian Americanstudents the opportu-nity to intern in Washing-ton, DC. In addition tothe internship, partici-pants attend specialmeetings and events to

fully expose them to the IndianAmerican political Diaspora. Pastprograms and events have in-cluded meetings with South AsianAmerican elected officials, Am-bassadors and South Asians whoare working in Congress, the fed-eral government and local andstate agencies.

The WLP 2010 internship,which began June 12, will runthrough August 6.

Delhi doctors join ‘restoregreen’ campaign


NEW DELHI: For the last twoweeks the residents of Asiad Vil-lage in South Delhi are engagedin a campaign to save and reclaimtheir green areas from encroach-ers. Known as ‘Park of Nations,’the Asiad Village Park had beenencroached upon by AsiadTower restaurant owner who hadbeen letting out the place forweddings creating noise nui-sance and blocking the arearoads with parking.

The monitoring committee ap-pointed by the Supreme Courtsealed the park a few days back

on repeated complaints from theresidents.

In a novel ‘Gandhigiri’ style,hundreds of children, the elderlyand young men and women aretying tri-color ribbons everydayon the tree in front of the park. OnJuly 1, known as Doctors’ Day,prominent doctors of Delhi joinedthe campaign, personally comingand tying ribbons on the tree insupport of the ‘Green campaign.’

Among those present wereAIIMS Faculty Association Presi-dent Vinod Khaitan, Dr Rajiv Guptafrom Sir Gangaram Hospital, DrSaroj Sagar (Retd) from SafdarjangHospital and Dr Shikha Jain.

‘I think al-Qaida continues tobe the seminal threat and theleadership, obviously. Whilethey've had some challengesin the last couple of years, but Ithink that's really the heart of it’

India PostJuly 9, 2010 9

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USIBC, CII launch Small/Medium Enterprise InitiativeIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: Recognizingthere is more to the US-India com-mercial relationship than just theFortune 500 companies investingin the major, well-known cities inIndia like Delhi, Mumbai, Banga-lore, and Chennai, an interactivediscussion "Accelerating Inclu-sive Growth: The Future of theU.S.-India Commercial Relation-ship" was co-presented in Wash-ington on June 29 by the US-In-dia Business Council (USIBC) andthe US Department of Commerce'sInternational Trade Administra-tion (ITA).

In remarks by Under Secretaryof Commerce for InternationalTrade, Francisco Sanchez, ITAunveiled its focus on developingengagement with India's Tier IIcities. Simultaneously, the USIBC,

together with partner organiza-tion, the Confederation of IndianIndustries (CII), launched a freshinitiative to enlist Small and Me-

dium Enterprises (SMEs) intoIndia's global value chain, as wellas introduce US companies toopportunities yet discovered inTier II and Tier III cities through-out the Subcontinent.

"Companies like GE and Citihave been long-term players inIndia for more than 100 years,"USIBC President Ron Somers saidas he announced the initiative. "Itis now important to reach out tosmaller companies across theUnited States and help them findtheir place in the extraordinaryopportunity unfolding in India.USIBC and CII will serve asguides to illuminate the pathwayto India for SMEs - leading thesecompanies to India's Tier II andTier III cities where opportunitiesare plentiful. Conversely, and justas important, we will enlist SMEsfrom India to invest in America -

in places where jobs and oppor-tunities are needed most. ThisSME Initiative presents a "win-win" opportunity for both sides,

and enriches the global valuechain to mutual advantage,"Somers said.

Echoing his sentiments, KiranPasricha, Deputy Director Gen-eral, CII, noted "The next phaseof growth in India-US bilateraleconomic relations will comefrom the SME sector. This plat-form will provide the muchneeded impetus."

While engaging the SME sec-tor will be vital to generatingwealth amongst a new class ofentrepreneurs, Indian Ambassa-dor to the US Meera Shankarnoted the heavy burden cur-rently borne by India's largestcities, particularly as a youngand enthusiastic populationcontinues to migrate to wherecommercial opportunity is con-centrated.

Unveiling his focus on un-locking the energy of the privatesector in India's Tier II cities,Under Secretary Sanchez notedthe opportunity for the Americanprivate sector to contribute, say-ing "The Growth in Emerging

Metropolitan Sectors initiativewill support opportunities fortrade and investment especiallyfor small and medium-sized busi-nesses, and it can lead to an In-dia that is more self-reliant andincreasingly self-assured and toan America that itself grows andprospers."

By targeting Tier II and TierIII cities in India for American in-vestment, pressures on primaryurban centers in India will be al-leviated while introducing US in-vestment to new opportunities.The result will be inclusivegrowth - for both sides, accord-ing to the USIBC. There are 3.7million manufacturers operatingin the United States today. So far,only 27% of these manufactur-ers benefit from exports. Thegoal is to integrate more suchAmerican companies into India'sglobal value chain, and viceversa, leveraging the US-Indiacommercial link - already surpass-ing $40 billion in two-way trade.

"With President Obama trav-eling to India in November,USIBC wishes to support thishistoric Presidential visit, help-ing new entrants from America toinvest in India, supporting CII intheir effort to enlist Indian com-panies to venture to the UnitedStates to make investments inAmerica. The new USIBC-CIISME Initiative will be the conduitthat strengthens our commercialties," Somers said.

"The aim of the USIBC-CIISME Initiative is to enhance ex-ports for both countries, gener-ating jobs in both countries insmaller urban centers where jobsare most needed," the USIBCPresident said.

6-yr-old Indian-origin girlon US terror watch list

WASHINGTON: In a puzzlingincident, a six-year-old Indian-ori-gin girl's name figures on the USterror watch list and the HomelandSecurity Department has refusedto make any changes in her sta-tus.

Alyssa was barred from flyingin the United States after her namepopped up on Homeland SecurityDepartment's terror watch listwhen the Ohio-based family triedto board a flight from Clevelandto Minneapolis recently.

"We were, like, puzzled," saidgirl's father Dr. Santhosh Thomas,according to a local Fox TV affiliate.

"I'm like, well, she's 6-years-oldand this is not something thatshould be typical."

A ticket agent informed Tho-

mas that his daughter Alyssa'sname was on the watch list.

The parents contacted Home-land Security, but were told nochanges would be made to the list,media reports said.

"She may have threatened hersister," Thomas told CNN in a sar-castic remark. "But I don't thinkthat constitutes Homeland Secu-rity triggers."

Alyssa was still allowed to fly,but had to go through extra secu-rity.

"The watch lists are an impor-tant layer of security to preventindividuals with known or sus-pected ties to terrorism from fly-ing," a spokesman for the Trans-portation Security Administrationtold Fox News. -PTI

Patel jailed for seven years by Oz courtMELBOURNE: Indian-origin

doctor Jayant Patel, dubbed as"Dr Death", was today sentencedto seven years in jail after beingconvicted by an Australian courtof manslaughter that led to thedeath of three patients..

The 60-year-old, now a US citi-zen, was sentenced to seven yearsfor each case of manslaughterand three years for grievousbodily harm, to be served concur-rently.

The sentence was handed outJustice John Byrne of theQueensland state's supreme courtin Brisbane. Queensland law al-lows prisoners to apply for paroleafter they serve 50 per cent of theirsentence.

Ealier Prosecution had askedthe jury to sentence Patel, dubbedas "Dr Death" to at least 10 yearsin jail for the manslaughter of threepatients at Bundaberg's BaseHospital between 2003 and 2005.

Prosecutor Ross Martin saidPatel had a history of professionalmisconduct charges in the USAdating back to 1982 and asked for

a sentence of at least 10 years, lesstime Patel served in the US await-ing extradition.

However, Patel's lawyerMichael Byrne said his client hadbeen vilified and shamed and jailwould be particularly harsh.

He said Patel should serve fourto five years with the term whollysuspended or suspended after ashort time.

The case that has gained animmense interest across Austra-

lia has prompted Rural DoctorsAssociation of Queensland(RDAQ) warning that the Pateltrial has made it harder to attractdoctors to the state.

RDAQ spokesman DanHalliday said one of the legaciesof the case has been more strin-gent vetting of overseas-traineddoctors.

He said about 50 per cent ofdoctors in rural and regional ar-eas are from overseas and the ex-tra checks on their credentialshave made some doctors lookelsewhere.

"I know of a couple of in-stances specifically where I be-lieve suitably trained doctors havegone elsewhere, mainly due to thered tape that has been associatedwith them practising inQueensland," he said.

"We believe that the pro-cesses that they've put in placeon some cases are too onerousand too restrictive, which has pre-vented a number of medical own-ers and practitioners staying in,and coming to, Queensland. -PTI

17 years' jail for Indian who beat wife to deathMELBOURNE: An Indian na-

tional, who brutally beat his wifeto death after abusing her foryears, has been sentenced to 17years in jail by the Victorian Su-preme Court.

Sukhmander Singh, whopleaded guilty to murdering hiswife Mohinder Kaur, was jailed for17 years and was ordered to servea minimum of 13 years and sixmonths. While announcing theverdict, Judge Terry Forrest saidthe accused had no remorse for

his actions.Mohinder was beaten to death

with a wooden stake by Singh onthe Valley Lake Boulevard atNiddrie on May 7, 2009.

The accused followed his wifeMohinder who came to Australiafrom India in 2008 because of yearsof physical abuse and being falselyaccused of having affairs by him.

The couple had four childrenand their daughter Sarabjit Kaur,21, was studying in Melbourne.

Sarabjit had arranged for her

mother to obtain a visa and fivemonths later in March last yearshe also arranged for her father tojoin them after he assured of agood behavior.

Justice Terry Forrest said thatSingh's conduct towards his familyimproved significantly after he ar-rived in Melbourne in early March.

However, his behavior deterio-rated and last May he attacked hiswife while taking a stroll on ValleyLake Boulevard in Niddrie suburbin Melbourne's northwest.-PTI

USIBC President RonSomers said as heannounced the initia-tive. ‘It is now impor-tant to reach out tosmaller companiesacross the United Statesand help them findtheir placein the extraordinaryopportunityunfolding in India’

There are 3.7 millionmanufacturersoperating in theUnited States today.So far, only 27% ofthese manufacturersbenefit from exports

RDAQ spokesman DanHalliday said about 50per cent of doctors inrural and regionalareas are fromoverseas and theextra checks on theircredentials havemade some doctorslook elsewhere


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India asks US to removeexport control regime


NEW YORK: India has askedthe US to remove its export con-trol regime against India, and hassought the US support for India'smembership of multilateral exportcontrol regimes.

The issue came up during dis-cussions between Anand Sharma,Union Minister of Commerce andIndustry and the US Secretary ofCommerce Gary Locke in Wash-ington DC recently.

Highlighting the concerns onthe US export control regime asapplicable to India and seekingtheir early removal prior to theforthcoming visit of PresidentObama to India, Minister Sharmaalso emphasized the need for prun-ing of the US entity list to removeIndian government entities. Bothleaders reviewed the progress inthe India - US bilateral trade andinvestment relations and also dis-cussed the outlook for the globaleconomy.

Significantly, Sharma raised theissue of visas for Indian profes-sionals and skilled workers and

emphasized the need for an activedialogue with the end objectiveof launching negotiations on aTotalization Agreement.

Sharma pointed out that due tothe absence of such an agree-ment, Indian companies in the USwere making double payments ofsocial security, without gettingany benefits.

He highlighted the contribu-tions of Indian companies in theUS economy and invited the UScompanies to participate in Indianinfrastructure developmentprojects. The areas where bothsides could cooperate includeeducation and development ofstandards in smart grid for energyefficiency.

The issues that the US Com-merce Secretary raised includeIndia's decision regarding localcontent requirements in connec-tion with its National Solar Mis-sion, mandatory transfer of tech-nology in the telecom sector toIndian manufacturers within threeyears of selling equipment to anyIndian operator and nuclear liabil-ity.

Allahabad native behind thesuccess of US football teamWASHINGTON: The American

football team's success in theWorld Cup has an Indian connec-tion.

Sunil Gulati, an Indian-Ameri-can native of Allahabad, who cur-rently heads the United StatesSoccer Federation (USSF), is be-ing credited for the team's rise.

Winning a World Cup game wasconsidered highly unlikely beforethe start of the tournament inSouth Africa this month.

But the team made history andrejuvenated the entire country af-ter it defeated Algeria 1-0 onWednesday to qualify for the pre-quarters.

And Gulati has been instrumen-tal in preparing the right strategyfor not only popularizing soccer inthe country of baseball, but alsodeveloping the team.

While the former President BillClinton lost his voice cheering forthe team at the stadium, incumbentBarack Obama heard the jubilationand the loud cheer that eruptedinto the White House press roomafter that one goal while he wasdiscussing the Afghanistan warwith General David Petraeus.

And Gulati, who was born inAllahabad on July 30, 1959, is be-ing widely credited for football fe-ver gripping America right now.

He grew up playing football in

Nebraska. Gulati, who served asUSSF vice president for six years,was elected as its president inMarch 2006.

"Across the past decade, a plat-form for this sport has been builtthat did not previously exist, andwe now have an opportunity in thecoming years to achieve more forsoccer in the United States thananyone could have ever envi-sioned 15 or 10 or even five yearsago," Gulati had said after beingelected at the USSF President.

Former USSF president andMajor League Soccer founder AlanRothenberg has called Gulati the"single most important person inthe development of soccer" in thecountry. It is he who appointedthe current US soccer coach BobBradley.-PTI

Bhangoo writes to Congresswoman& US Ambassador

JUSTICE FOR BHANGOO


NEW DELHI: Barry Bhangoo,the US-based CEO who wasbeaten up by influential people inGreater Kailash market, SouthDelhi, over a month ago and is stillawaiting justice, hasnow written to USCongres swomanBarbara Lee, repre-senting the 9th Con-gressional District ofOakland and also to US Ambas-sador in India Timothy J. Roemer,giving details about his case.

Bhangoo alleges police foulplay in trying to destroy evidencein an effort to help the assailants

who belong to rich and influentialfamilies. In his letter he says thathe contacted the US Embassy inNew Delhi "several times now forassistance in the matter but havefailed to obtain any concrete re-sponse, just the reply "It will take

time for our inquiries to trigger aconcrete

response ...".Seeking the support of the

Congresswoman and the Ambas-sador, he said that a "letter or a

phone call from the US Embassyto the Indian Home Minister's Of-fice and/or other concerned gov-ernment bodies showing concernand interest from the US Embassyfor it's citizen would have gone along way in my bid for justice."

Bhangoo has alsowritten to the ForeignersRegional RegistrationOffice (FRRO) in Delhialerting them about oneof the assailants who has

been identified and was arrestedfor a brief while. He has requestedthat Henry Wilfredo Senior Vegaof Caltigena, Columbia be not al-lowed to leave India until the le-gal matter is concluded.

Pakistan to train Afghan military officersWASHINGTON: In a signifi-

cant policy shift, Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai has agreed to send agroup of military officers to Paki-stan for training, a decision whichcould raise eyebrows in India.

An agreement has been workedout confirmed Rangin DadfarSpanta, Karzai's national securityadviser, who said under it a "lim-ited" number of officers would besent for training. The new dealcomes on the heels of recent high-level contacts between the twocountries.

"The move is a victory for Paki-stan, which seeks a major role inAfghanistan as officials in bothcountries become increasinglyconvinced that the US war effortthere is faltering," The Washing-ton Post reported.

"This is meant to demonstrateconfidence to Pakistan, in the hopeof encouraging them to begin aserious consultation and conver-sation with us on the issue of [the]Taliban," Spanta was quoted assaying.

Though the number of Afghanofficers is said to be between ahandful and a few dozen, but it hasenormous symbolic importance asthe first tangible outcome of talksbetween Karzai and Pakistan's mili-tary and intelligence chiefs thatbegan in May, the daily said.

"It is likely to be controversialamong some Afghans who seePakistan as a Taliban puppet-mas-ter rather than as a cooperativeneighbor, and in India, which iswary of Pakistan's intentions inAfghanistan," the Post said.

Some key US officials involvedin Afghanistan said they knewnothing of the arrangement. "Weare neither aware nor have we beenasked to facilitate training of theAfghan officer corps with the Pa-kistani military," Lt Gen William B

Caldwell IV, head of the NATOtraining command in Afghanistansaid.

He said, Afghanistan "is a sov-ereign nation and can make bilat-eral agreements with other nationsto provide training."

US has spent USD 27 billion totrain and equip Afghan securityforces since 2002 and PresidentObama's war strategy calls for dou-bling the strength of both the armyand police force by 2011 to facili-tate the gradual withdrawal of theUS troops.

The surprise developmentcomes after reports that top Paki-stan army brass including ArmyChief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayaniand ISI Chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasharecently made a number of visitsto Kabul and had meetings withPresident Karzai.

More than 300 Afghan army of-ficers are currently being trainedunder bilateral agreements in othercountries, including Turkey and

India, the Post said.The paper said that Pakistan

had been pushing for months for atraining deal and a senior Pakistanigovernment official said that thetraining program was expected tobegin "soon".

But, the paper said fears of Paki-stani military influence persist amongAfghan ethnic minorities and somein Karzai's government, includingone official who compared the train-ing initiative to the Soviet educationof Afghan officers in 1960s and 70sthat he said was "the start of all evilin Afghanistan".

US officials, the post said wereworried that Pakistanis' appearedwanting "a cleaning of the house"of Afghan army, which is currentlydominated by ethnic Tajiks, whomPakistan sees as hostile to its in-terest.

Meanwhile in an interview tothe PBS News Hour, Special USRepresentative for Pakistan andAfghanistan Richard Holbrookesaid that of late there has beenhigh-level contacts between thetwo countries, which has signifi-cantly improved their relationship.

"In recent weeks and months,almost unnoticed by the Americanmedia, there's been an increasingintensity of direct contacts betweenthe governments of Pakistan andthe governments of Afghanistan.

"They haven't come to any fi-nal conclusion. Some of the report-ing has been quite wild on this,"Holbrooke said.

"But the bottom line is thatthere's a more of a dialogue, en-couraged by us. The US is work-ing closely with President Karzai.And the Pakistanis understandwhat we're doing. I'm not here tosay that something very dramaticand secret is going on. But it's outthere in plain view. It just hasn'tbeen reported," he said.-PTI

Sunil Gulati

The paper said fears ofPakistani militaryinfluence persistamong Afghan ethnicminorities and some inKarzai's government,including one officialwho compared thetraining initiative to theSoviet education ofAfghan officers in1960s and 70s that hesaid was ‘the start of allevil in Afghanistan’

India Post www.indiapost.com July 9, 2010

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

Details on page 2011

Desi News

Details on page 15

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Details on page 17

BAPS Spiritual Quotient Seminarfor youth

SURESH SHAH

CHICAGO: BAPSSwaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS)hosted a National Convention hereon June 17 for Indian Americanyouth living in North.

Organized by volunteers fromacross the country, the seminarsaw more than 1,200 young adultsparticipating in sessions that fo-cused on how our career-orientedgeneration can better channel theirtime and resources into develop-ing a spiritual quotient.

Faith, positive thinking, andpride in your culture cultivatedthrough daily satsang, seva andefforts to lead a pure life were allavenues discussed in the three-dayseminar. By concentrating on theseefforts in our daily lives, it will leadto a spotless character and thus in-crease our spiritual quotient.

The seminar involved an arrayof interactive workshops, lectures,and lighthearted recreation. The for-mat of the seminar resonated par-ticularly well with many participants.Swayamprakash Swami (DoctorSwami) also attended the seminar. A

medical doctor by education, Doc-tor Swami is one of Pramukh SwamiMaharaj's senior sadhus (monks).

Blended into the spiritual themeof the convention were a set ofteam-building and recreational ac-tivities that not only provided re-freshing breaks, but also fosteredbetter understanding of the con-

cepts taught during the morningsessions.

Led by sadhus and youth co-ordinators from more than 67BAPS mandirs across NorthAmerica, the convention success-fully delved into the importance

of assimilating spiritual qualitiesinto daily activities. BAPS pro-vided a wide range of logisticalsupport ranging from travel andaccommodation arrangements tochildcare services. Narayan

Khanna best described the whole-some experience of the seminarwhen he thanked BAPS for serv-ing up such a delightful culturaland spiritual parfait.

More pics page on 12Women activists at the convention

Youth seeking blessings from BAPS Monks

Spelling BeeTexas winnersannouncedIndia Post News Service

DALLAS, TX: The 2010MetLife South Asian Spelling Beecontinued its nine city tour withtwo events in the Dallas and Hous-ton areas.

With over 150 spellers partici-pating, the bee attracted some toptalent as well as young and newspellers that competed for the cov-eted prizes and titles.

OFBJP demands taxwithdrawal on Hindupilgrims in J&KIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: On behalf of theIndian American community, theOverseas Friends of BJP-USA(OFBJP) has demanded the imme-diate withdrawal of taxes and feeson Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir.

"The Indian American commu-nity is very much surprised andpained to learn that the govern-ment of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).

Maria Pappashonors ethnicbusiness personsIndia Post News Service

CHICAGO: Every year, theCook County Treasurer's office ledby Treasurer Maria Pappas hon-ors leading ethnic business indi-viduals, associations and organi-zations promoting good businessfrom among Chicagoland's diverseethnic communities.

Last week the Cook CountyTreasurer Maria Pappas honoredA.Q. Siddiqui of Evia Travel Inc,the Midwest Business Allianceand Raja Razzak of Pak AmericanBusiness Association for excel-lence in Business and recentlyfounded Asian Community NewsServices USA.

Sant RajinderSingh visitingCalifornia

Blended into the spiritual theme of the conven-tion were a set of team-building and recre-ational activities that not only provided refresh-ing breaks, but also fostered better understand-ing of the concepts

BAPS Spiritual Quotient Seminar for youthJuly 9, 2010India Post12 Community Across America

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OFBJP demands tax withdrawal on Hindu pilgrims in J&KIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: On behalf of the IndianAmerican community, the Overseas Friendsof BJP-USA (OFBJP) has demanded the im-mediate withdrawal of taxes and fees onHindu pilgrims in Kashmir.

"The Indian American community isvery much surprised and pained to learnthat the government of Jammu and Kash-mir (J&K) has levied a substantial fee hikeon Hindu pilgrims who visit the Hindushrines in J&K," said Dr. Adapa Prasad,OFBJP President.

"This is akin to that of erstwhile Mus-lim ruler's Jijiya Tax imposed on Hindus,Sikhs and Buddhists across SoutheastAsia at various times in the history. It isshameful that this is happening in modernday democratic India. This kind of taxes orprotection money is still being charged incountries like Pakistan and Afghanistan."

The organization has vehemently de-manded that the Government of India (GOI)

intervene and instruct the J&K governmentto immediately withdraw "this communal"tax on Hindu pilgrims bound for Amarnathand Vaishno Devi shrines.

The J&K government had recently re-vised the entry tax for vehicles carryingpassengers/pilgrims headed for VaishnoDevi yatra and Amarnath Yatra.

The vehicles carrying pilgrims to Vaishno

Devi are supposed to be charged Rs. 2000at entry point for a period of 3 days and Rs.2000 per day thereafter according to the lat-est notification. Vehicles carrying pilgrimsfor Shri Amarnath Yatra, would be chargedRs. 2000 at the entry point for a period of 7days and Rs. 2000 per day thereafter. More-

over, a ridiculous fee of Rs.25,000 will becollected from the volunteers who arrange'langar' (free meals) for a bus load of pil-grims.

Chandrakant Patel (OFBJP Secretary)says that this entire exercise of fee hikesmacks of communal bias on part of J&Kgovernment. "Even free food is taxed? Whatkind of justice is that?" he asks.

OFBJP USA said in a statement that ithas reliably learnt that there is a huge rushof pilgrims getting ready for the AmarnathYatra this year. Over 150,000 people (as ofJune 22nd 2010) from across the countryhave reportedly already registered them-selves for the pilgrimage which is set to

begin on July 1. This number may go up tohalf a million in another week.

While OFBJP-USA understands the needto institutionalize and efficiently organizeHindu pilgrimages across the country, anyrule or regulation which seeks to control orlimit the freedom of a Hindu pilgrim will haveto be immediately withdrawn, it says. JayeshPatel (OFBJP President-elect) wonderedhow other religious minorities would like itif their religious sites in India are taxed andtheir entry is restricted.

OFBJP reiterates that Hindus constitute81% of India's population. Together withSikhs, Buddhists and Jains, it amounts to86%.

A sincere effort needs to be made tostreamline the operations of all religiouscenters in India irrespective of religion, saysthe organization, adding that an indepen-dent Hindu body overseeing all Hindu pil-grim centers needs to be constituted imme-diately in the line of boards of the otherreligions in India.

Konkani Christians celebrate Konkan Fest 2010VINESH VIRANI

CHICAGO: The MangaloreanKonkan Christian Association(MKCA), USA, celebrated"Konkan fest-2010" on June 26 atCourtland Square, Des Plaines, anorthwest Chicago suburb, withquite fanfare and gusto.

This program reflected uniqueMangalorean cultural extrava-ganza. This is the fourth time thiskind of mega-event was convenedwith several competition to pro-

mote rich Mangalorean culturalheritage.

Welcoming members andguests, MKCA president QueenieMendonca introduced the ChiefGuest of the program Rev. Fr.Walter Mendonca, SVD, from Brit-ish Virgin Islands where he servesthe backward areas with quite adedication. Speaking in Konkani,Fr Mendonca called upon all theMangaloreans to unite and pre-

serve the Mangalorean culture.And complimented MKCA forconducting "Konkan Fest"

The Association honored emi-nent personalities Dr. Pillai,

founder president of Indian Devel-opment Foundation (formerlyknown as Indian Leprosy Foun-dation) along with CEO and Na-tional Coordinator Dr. NarayanIyer and Dr. S Franklin. Dr. Pillaiwas awarded Humanitarian Award

of the Year - 2010. In his accep-tance speech Dr. Pillai stated thatIndia had 42 lakhs (4.2 million)Leprosy patients a few years back

and due to concerted efforts bythe Indian Government and hisfoundation to eradicate the de-cease, the number has drasticallycome down to 60,000 which isclose to eradication consideringIndia's population of 1.2 billion.

It was a feast of Mangaloreanfood, with huge variety of home-made items from contestants. Therewere four categories for the com-petition - appetizer, main course,dessert, and side dish. Winners ofthe competition were Main Coursecategory - First place - JossieMendonca (Dukra maas) and sec-ond place Florine Rodrigues (Lambbiryani) Side Dish category - Firstplace - Edna Mascarenhas (Chanasukka) and second place VissiaD'Souza (Pomphret masalafry)Appetizer category - First place- Vissia D'Souza (MangaloreanBuns) and second place DorothyRego (Ambade) Dessert category- First place - Vissia D'Souza(Mango Kulfi)

Cont’d on page 15

Dr. R. K. Pillai of Indian Development Foundation displaying his "Humanitarian of the Year Award" bestowed upon him

by MKCA, USA. (L-R) Dr. S. Franklin, Rita Saldanha, Francis Mascarenhas, Cecil Joseph, Dr. ARK Pillai, Fr. Walter

Mendonca, Queenie Mendonca, Dr. Narayan Iyer, Stany D'Souza, Lawrence Mascarenhas, and Austin Prabhu.

Winners displaying certificates: L to R - Jason Mendonca, Angel D'Souza,

Joey Mendonca, Shawn D'Souza, Shannon D'Souza and Chief Guest for the

program Fr. Walter Mendonca, SVD

Fancy Dress Competition participants: L to R - Lloyd Quadros, Logan Quadros,

Sarita and Godwin D'Souza, Sfhannon D'Souza and Angel D'Souza

July 9, 2010 India PostCommunity Across Americawww.indiapost.com

13

The organization has vehemently demanded that the Gov-ernment of India (GOI) intervene and instruct the J&K govern-ment to immediately withdraw "this communal" tax on Hindupilgrims bound for Amarnath and Vaishno Devi shrines

Emcee for the program

Dr. Austin Prabhu

This program reflectedunique Mangaloreancultural extrava-ganza. This is thefourth time this kind ofmega-event wasconvened with sev-eral competition topromote richMangalorean culturalheritage

July 9, 2010India Post14 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Three-day UCCA conventionattracts many

Asian Community Services

Chicago: Over 600 people at-tended the three-day conventionof United Christian Cultural Asso-ciation (UCCA) at Chicago BibleChurch, Lincolnwood, Chicago,from May 28-30.

Coordinated by UCCA execu-tive committee, the event was suc-cessful with the active support ofboard of director, advisory board,volunteers and various churches.

Emphasizing on code of con-duct for Christians and to spreadthe message of Bible, Brother PaulSudhakar was invited fromHyderabad, India to speak on

UCCA Executive board members, from left Babu Varma, Jude Israel Vaddepalli, Bro.Paul Sudhakar,

Dr.Paul Devarapalli, Ravi Pulikuri, Ajith Eapen

three days. The event was at-tended by many Christian and nonChristian Indian community.

Thanking the community fortheir active support, HeyerDevarapalli, UCCA, presidentsaid, "United Christian CulturalAssociation has been establishedby the pioneers of all groups, rev-erends and volunteers so that allChristians in Chicago can beunited under one umbrella andtake up spiritual, social and cul-tural activities."

The other prominent memberswho played very active role inthree days convention were -Jude Israel, vice president of

UCCA and Renee ThogaruUUCA secretary. Board of direc-tor who were involved included- Abraham Meesala, JohnSudesh Gera, Enoch RajuPasumarthi, Vasanth Charles,Ravi Pulikuri, Frenny Christianand Ajith Eapen. Advisoryboard members included - Timo-thy Rathod, and Babu Varma.

The three days convention hadan opening prayer which was ledby Jude Israel, who was accompa-nied by Frenny Christina, andother.

A delicious dinner was pro-vided to guests on all three daysby Bro Praveen Nemali.

Education, employment majorchallenges for Indian Muslims

Asian Community News Services, USA

CHICAGO: Education and em-ployment are the major challengesfacing Indian Muslims, said Bar-rister Asaduddin Owaisi, Memberof Indian parliament from the cityof Hyderabad.

He was speaking at a public

meeting on the theme "ChallengesFacing Indian Muslims" in Chi-cago organized by the OverseasFriends of Majlis Ittehad ulMuslimeen at the North ShoreBanquets on Devon Avenue inChicago, last week. About 1000people attended the meeting.

Owaisi was visiting USA as amember of the "India-Yale Parlia-mentary Leadership Program" atthe prestigious Yale University.

Barrister Owaisi said that the

basic cause behind the low edu-cational status of Indian Muslimis social and economic depriva-tion. He said there are some hope-ful developments in South Indiabut overall a majority of Muslimsliving in North India are of lowsocio-economic status.

Quoting Census of India statistics

Owaisi said that the literacy of Mus-lims is only 59% compared to 65% inthe general population. This despitethe fact that Muslims constitute morethan 13% of India's population.

He said that the latest statis-tics reveal that for every 100 thereare only three Muslim graduates.He further stated that the socio-economic status of Indian Mus-lims is worse than the tribals anddalits.

Cont’d on page 16

Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi (MP)

(Pic courtesy Asian Community

News Services, USA

Grand celebration of Mahakumbh AbhishekamAsian Community News Service, USA

MERRILLVILLE, Indiana: Over5000 devotees, invitees andguests flocked to Merrilville Indi-ana last week to attend the three-day celebration of MahaKumbhabhishekam ceremony or-ganized by Bharatiya Temple ofNorthwest Indiana.

The over two milliion Templeproject was truly a Bharatiya af-fair. As observed by Rohit Joshi, arenowend Chicago priest and asenior member at North EasternIllinois University, all members ofIndian community with its hugereligious and language diversities- Hindus, Jains, Christinas, Sikhs,North Indians South Indians,Gujaratis and others - were presentto participate in this once in a de-cade affair. The temple itself worea festive look with special illumi-nation.

The installation of idols ofHindu gods and goddesses - LordGanesha, Ma Durga, Rama Parivar,Krishna and Radha, Venkateswara,

Mahakumbhaabhishekam Puja in progress Mahaabhishekam Kumbh being carried to the temple

Shiva Linga, Lakshmi, Saraswati asalso of Jain Lord Mahavira - tookplace with the observance of sa-cred ritual as laid down inShashtras. Shree PrabhakaranNamboodiri Kunnath of theBharatiya Temple ensured that theKumbhabhishekam was observedin strict observance of scriptures.A team of priests led by ShreeChandrasekhar Gurukkal, Shree

Vaidynathan, Shree Subhadracharifrom Venkateswara Temple, Dr. C.L.Shastriji from Manavseva Mandirand the Resident Acharya ofChinmaya Mission, Chicago,Swami Sharanananda, Rohit Joshiof North Eastern Illinois Univer-sity and Pravinbhai Patel ofJalaram Temple, Chicago, hadgraced the event with their pres-ence.

Following the vidhividhanas asper the scriptures, the ceremonybegan on June 18 with GanapatiPooja, and was followed by -Punyahavachanam, GanapatiHomam, Ankuraparnam, SuvasiniDeep Pooja, Durga Pooja, LakshmiPooja, Saraswati Pooja andPrasadam

Cont’d on page 16

Barrister Owaisi saidthat the basic causebehind the low educa-tional status of IndianMuslim is social andeconomic deprivation.He said there are somehopeful developmentsin South India butoverall a majority ofMuslims living in NorthIndia are of low socio-economic status

Following thevidhividhanas as perthe scriptures, theceremony began onJune 18 withGanapati Pooja, andwas followed by -Punyahavachanam

The second part of the programwas singing and fancy dress com-petition followed by Fancy DressCompetition. As a part ofMangalorean tradition in conclud-ing the program, the entire audi-ence took part in singing LaudatheDominum.

Santhosh Veigas proposed

vote of thanks. The program wasconcluded by singing of baila inKokani, Kannada, Tulu, Hindi,Spanish and English by DJ DarrelMascarenhas and his party. Dr.Austin Prabhu, effectivelycompeered the program. The pro-gram was well organized by a groupof youth under the leadership ofRexon D'Souza, Darrel Mascarenhasand Santhosh Veigas.

Konkani Christians celebrateKonkan Fest 2010

Cont’d from page 13

Gujarat wins UN PublicService award


NEW YORK: The state ofGujarat in western India has beennamed the second place winner ofthe 2010 United Nations Public Ser-vice award "improving transpar-ency, accountability and respon-siveness in the public service".

The UN announced that therecipient of the award would bethe Chief Minister's Office, Gov-ernment of Gujarat. The Gujaratgovernment has been recognizedfor its initiative of offering state-wide attention on grievances byapplication of technology.

The Gujarat government estab-lished the SWAGAT initiative asa transparent system throughwhich citizens can air their griev-ances regarding government'sprovision of public services. Itgives citizens direct access to meetthe Chief Minister personally topresent their case. Senior admin-istration officers responsible for

the case are also present to pro-vide case details and to advise onactions to be taken to resolve eachcase. Administrators are held ac-countable for responding to boththe citizen and Chief Minister.

This open and transparent sys-tem allows citizens to derive satis-faction from the fairness of the

Maria Pappas honors ethnic business persons

process, even if the decision is notin their favor. Under the system,status tracking of applications canbe viewed online and the updatedstatus can be seen at any time.

The first place winner in this cat-egory for Asian and Pacific coun-tries was the Republic of Korea.


CHICAGO: Every year, the Cook CountyTreasurer's office led by Treasurer MariaPappas honors leading ethnic business in-dividuals, associations and organizationspromoting good business from amongChicagoland's diverse ethnic communities.

Last week the Cook County TreasurerMaria Pappas honored A.Q. Siddiqui of EviaTravel Inc, the Midwest Business Allianceand Raja Razzak of Pak American BusinessAssociation for excellence in Business andrecently founded Asian Community NewsServices USA. The award ceremony was heldat the County Building in Chicago. "Theseorganizations help keep ethnic heritage aliveby supporting companies owned by mem-bers of their communities and encouragingtheir people to do business with them.Strengthening individual ethnic groupsmakes for a stronger Chicagoland, which werecognize and honor," Pappas said.

Over 50 ethnic Chamber of Commerce'swere invited to join together and all ex-changed their business cards at this event.This was an open to public event, therefore,

Abdul Siddiqui gets Business Award from Cook County

Treasurer Maria Pappas (Pic: Maria Pappas office)

a large number of community members andfriends of the community attended the event

The Midwest Business Alliance, also knownas MBA was formed in 1999. A few IsmailiMuslim business owners of Illinois and Wis-consin came together to form a trade associa-tion that now stands as a Business identity forthe Ismaili community. Majority of its foundingmembers were from fast food restaurant andconvenient store business. In a short span of11 years, MBA has become a key associationfor business owners from different type of busi-nesses in Midwestern United States.

Abdul Quadeer Siddiqui, CEO of EviaTravel Inc and ethnic media journalist repre-senting India Post and Urdu Times in Chi-cago was honored for promoting Indian busi-ness within a short span of time. Evia TravelInc started business in 2003. It was awardedIATAN/ARC approval in 2005. SureshBodiwala, chairman of Asian CommunityNews Services said that Asian Media USAis non-profit, community organization.

Raja Razzak is well-known for his com-munity services. His medical clinic has ac-quired a distinguished status in PakistaniAmerican community.


15

‘These organiza-tions help keepethnic heritagealive by support-ing companiesowned by mem-bers of theircommunitiesand encourag-ing their peopleto do businesswith them.Strengtheningindividual ethnicgroups makes fora strongerChicagoland,which we recog-nize and honor’

The UN announcedthat the recipient ofthe award would bethe Chief Minister'sOffice, Governmentof Gujarat

He said that the other challenge facingthe Indian Muslims is security. He con-demned terrorism unequivocally and saidthat any persons perpetuating it should beseverely punished. But at the same time in-nocents should not be prosecuted. He saidthat the intelligence agencies of India are inthe grip of communalist and biased indi-viduals who blame the Muslim communityfor any and all terrorist incidents. "There isa dire need for a systematic overhaul of theintelligence bureaucracy..."he said.

Program chair Wasifullah Quadri in hiscomments said that the All India Majlis

Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is a secularorganization which works for the overalldevelopment of all communities. He saidmany people from the backward and de-pressed Hindu communities are members ofAIMIM. This is evident from the fact thatthe AIMIM frequently fields Hindu candi-dates, he said.

He said he hopes AIMIM would groweven further in the future elections and bringin effective representation.

Khwaja Nazimuddin Saleem moderatedthe event. Veteran Andhra Pradesh journal-ist Chandra Srivastava, political analystAyub Khan, and others also spoke at theevent.

Education, employment majorchallenges for Indian Muslims


Grand celebration of Mahakumbh AbhishekamThe second day started with Ganapati

Homam was followed by ShivaMoolamantra Homam, NarayanaMoolamantra Homam, Lakshmi Homam,Shree Rama Moolamantra Homam, KrishnaMoolamantra Homam, Durga MoolamantraHomam were performed along with theHomams performed for all the vigrahas. Thisalso included Netromilanam, YantraSthapanam, Dhanya, Shayana, Ksheera andPushpa Adivasam, Ratnanyasamparo,Panchaloha and Navratna, DashaDarshanam, Moorti Sthapanam, GhrudhaShiroparnam (Tailabhishekam) BeembaShuddhi and Prasadam at the end. On thesame day in the evening from 5 to 8 pm,various programs like Kalasha Sthapanam,Dwaja Sthapanam, Yagya Shala Homam andafter the Poornahooti, bhajans were per-formed.

The third day began withPranapratishtha and was followed byGanapati Pooja, Punyahavachanam, MahaPoornahooti, Kalasha Udhwasanam, YatraDhanam, the procession of the Kalasham,Mahaabhishekam (Alankarama), PrarthanaArchana, Prarthana Aarti, Mahaprasadamfor all the vigrahas were performed and af-ter that the Mandalabhisheka Pooja wasbegun.

Prakash Makam, the chairman of theTrustee Board, Indian American CulturalCenter says that we have preserved our


Devotees attending Mahakumbhaabhshekam Puja

Dr. Bharat Barai, Dr. Panna Barai, Peter Visclosky, Lay Indiana, 1st

district Congressman, Padmini Makam and Prakash Makam - Temple

volunteers with guest Peter Visclosky

Rohit Joshi offering puja to the Deities

(Pics courtesy Asian Community News Service, USA )


heritage and culture for our future genera-tion. Amala Reddy, the president of the cen-ter, expressed her gratitude towards every-body who had been helpful on making thishistorical program possible. She especiallythanked Dr. Panna Barai, Suchita Shah,S h a k u n t a l aSharma, Dr.Shailesh Bhatt,Dr. PrakashMakam alongwith all the mem-bers and volun-teers for their co-operation.

S w a m iJyotirmayanandasaid that the Hin-dus may wor-ship anyIshtadeva but itshould be re-membered thatall the deitiesrepresent onlyone divinity.Vigrahas or idolsare nicely carved from the best makaranamarble by Pandey Exports of Jaipur,Rajasthan. While all the Sinhasan archesaround all the Gokhala (or, small niche)mandirs are carved from Burmese teakwoodby the fine artisans of Shree Hari Interna-tional in Sola, Ahmedabad and decoratedwith gold by the painter Rohilio.

The clothes (vaghas) of God are spe-cially prepared in a small village near Anandalong with the embroidery, while all typesof ornaments are imported from HarishNagar, Mumbai. Elements of the Indian ar-chitecture inside and outside the temple are

prepared by the famous architect SuhasNadkarni, who has designed many templesin America.

The work started in October, 2009 on theland of 11,330 square feet by Tonn and BlankConstruction, got finished in June 29, 2010.The value of the complete project reachedto 2.6 million dollars approximately.

The clothes (vaghas) of Godare specially prepared in asmall village near Anandalong with the embroidery,while all types of ornamentsare imported from HarishNagar, Mumbai. Elements ofthe Indian architecture insideand outside the temple areprepared by the famousarchitect Suhas Nadkarni,who has designed manytemples in America

Spelling Bee Texas winners announced

(From L to R) Aditya Chemudupaty, South Asian Spelling 2008 & 2009 National Finalist and

Scripps 2010 National Finalist; First Runner Up Syamantak Payra of Friendswood TX; Regional

Champ Shilpa Saravanan of College Station TX and Second Runner Up Abhishek Routray of Katy

TX posing with Rahul Walia, Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee

(From L to R) Rahul Walia, Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee posing with First Runner Up

Narahari Bharadwaj of Plano, TX; Regional Champ Akshay Raghuram of Amarillo TX and Second

Runner Up Nikitha Samy of Flower Mound TX with SASB Regional Coordinator Sandhya Sarma.

Diwali as school holiday sought


VERMONT: Welcoming thedecision of Burlington SchoolBoard (Vermont, USA) to observeYom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr asschool holidays, Indian Ameri-cans, especially those followingHinduism, have pitched for includ-ing Diwali also as School holiday.

Rajan Zed, President of Univer-sal Society of Hinduism in a state-ment congratulated the Board forits wise decision and urged it toalso add Diwali, the most impor-tant Hindu holy day, to the holi-day calendar. Madhu Patel, presi-dent of NRI Foundation, also saidin a talk to this paper that thiswould be a logical step on the partof the Burlington school Board toobserve Diwali as a holiday, espe-cially now that US President hasdone so at White House last year.Indian American population in US

is on an increase and many followHinduism, he said.

Rajan added that creatingawareness about other religionswould make the Burlington School

District pupils well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizensof tomorrow besides bringing co-

hesion and unity in the commu-nity. It would also go well with theDistrict "mission", which is "toensure that all students achievetheir highest intellectual and per-sonal potential, and are preparedto contribute as global citizens inthe 21st century".

Echoing the same sentiment,Nand Kapur, former president o fAssociation of Indians in AmericaIllinois chapter, said that Diwali ismost secular Hindu festival in asmuch as it signifies the victory of"good and divine over evil anddemonic elements in society. It isa festival of light and in essencestands for enlightenment which iswhat the ultimate aim of educationis - Sa Vidya Ya Vimukatye - thatis, true learning is that which leadsto happiness and bliss through de-tachment.

Rajan Zed, Madhu Patel and Nand Kapur

Cont’d on page 18

Hindus' plea to UN forequality in Malta

PINKY KAUR


NEW JERSEY: In a bid to haveall major religions in the worldgetting fair treatment, Jews andHindus with the backing of otherdenominations have approachedthe Office of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR) urging it to "en-sure that Malta treats all the reli-gions and denominations equallyin front of the law".

Bhavna Shinde of Forum forHindu Awakening, in acommuniqué to this Office, wrote:Malta Criminal Code reportedlymakes one liable to imprisonmentup to 6 months for publicly vilify-ing 'Roman Catholic ApostolicReligion', while committing suchan act against 'any cult toleratedby law' makes one liable to impris-onment only up to 3 months." Shepitched for Malta treating all thereligions and denominations

equally in front of the law. FHA isa New Jersey based charitable or-ganization devoted to awaken so-ciety to the unique spiritual sci-ence behind Hindu Dharma con-cepts and practices, to motivatepeople to live and preserve themand to facilitate the spiritualprogress of humanity.

Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, promi-nent Jewish leader in Nevada andCalifornia in USA, in a statement onthis issue, said that it seemed to im-ply that except Roman Catholic, other

religions and denominations includ-ing Judaism were just one of the cultsin the eyes of Malta.

OHCHR "represents the world'scommitment to universal ideals ofhuman dignity" and has a mandateto "promote and protect all humanrights". Navanethem Pillay is theHigh Commissioner. Malta is amember state of United Nationssince December one, 1964.

Cont’d on page 19


DALLAS, TX: The 2010 MetLife SouthAsian Spelling Bee continued its ninecity tour with two events in the Dallasand Houston areas.

With over 150 spellers participating,the bee attracted some top talent as wellas young and new spellers that competed

for the coveted prizes and titles."This event is being recognized as the

essential platform to get your first expe-rience and also meet and interact withveteran spellers," said Rahul Walia,Founder - South Asian Spelling Bee.

In Dallas, Akshay Raghuram from Ama-rillo, TX was the regional champ andNarahari Bharadwaj from Plano, TX was

the first runner up while Nikitha Samyfrom Flower Mound, TX came in at thirdplace.

John Derbick, Assistant Vice Presi-dent, Global Brand & Marketing Services,MetLife, said "MetLife's long history ofserving the South Asian community hashelped us to understand what mattersmost to families. We know the signifi-

cance of education, as well as the needfor a plan to cover the rising costs oftuition. We're proud to once again spon-sor the South Asian Spelling Bee, and tohelp families achieve their dream of at-taining the best education for their chil-dren."

Cont’d on page 19


17

Rajan Zed, President ofUniversal Society ofHinduism in a state-ment congratulatedthe Board for its wisedecision and urged itto also add Diwali, themost important Hinduholy day, to the holi-day calendar

In a statement he said that it seemed to implythat except Roman Catholic, other religions anddenominations including Judaism were just oneof the cults in the eyes of Malta

Diwali, Rajan Zed added, is thefestival of lights aiming to enlight-ening of lives. Hindus worshipgoddess of good fortune andbeauty Lakshmi, god of wisdomand auspiciousness Ganesh, andmountain Goverdhan on this day.Also on this day, coronation ofLord Ram was held, Lord Hanumanwas born, Lord Vishnu returnedkingdom to monkey king Bali ofKiskindha, Lord Vishnu and god-dess Lakshmi married, LordKrishna killed demon Narakasur,and ancient king Vikramadityawas crowned.

On this day of forgiveness, fes-tivities, and friendliness; familiesand friends get together for wor-ship followed by a sumptuous andelaborate feast. It is also consid-ered a harvest festival. This yearit falls on November 5.

Children's Health Magazinerated Burlington the best place toraise a family. Burlington is thelargest and most diverse city inVermont, where 47 different lan-guages are reportedly spoken.Jeanne Collins is the Superinten-dent of Burlington School Districtwhile Frederick S. Lane is its BoardChairman.

Diwali asschool holidaysoughtCont’d from page 17

Spice of India Festival in Alameda County


CALIFORNIA: The AlamedaCounty Fair will host the SecondSpice of India Festival that cel-ebrates the local Indian Americancommunities and their culture, onJuly 10-11.

In Festival Square, one will ex-perience Yoga, Indian food de-lights, local artists, cooking demos,and rich dance forms from the vari-ous Indian states. A Bollywoodextravaganza will be the main at-traction of the event.

Spice of India will be the mainattraction of the Festival Squarestage on the finale weekend of the17-day Fair which was kicked offon June 23 with the theme "ComeOut & Play".

"Recently added to our desti-nation attractions at the AlamedaCounty Fair is our Festival Square.Here, along with fun and educa-tion, we celebrate history and a

Townsend, Festival Square Direc-tor.

"There will be representationfrom various non-profit organiza-tions, community groups and

variety of traditions we have rep-resented in the Alameda Countyand beyond. We are honored tohighlight the richness of India andIndian American culture throughour second Spice of India celebra-tion. We look forward to all of thejoy it will bring," said Courtney

state level organization in our ef-fort sample and showcase Indiaand our culture," said KrishnaKumar, coordinator of the Spice ofIndia Festival.

Haunting, mystical fluteby Deepak Ram


NOVATO, CA: An evening withworld renowned flutist DeepakRam was held at the AnubhutiRetreat Center, Bel Marin Keyes,Novato. This event was co-spon-sored by the Point of Life Foun-dation, and the Anubhuti RetreatCenter. This was a benefit concertfor the J. Watumull Global Hosital,in Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, India.

To a full house and a chargedatmosphere of quiet anticipation,Deepak Ram with Satish Tare ontabla, took the audience on a jour-ney to a world of quiet beauty andgentle reflection. Ram played tra-ditional North Indian classicalmusic commonly called ragas. Themusic was both haunting and

mystical, but exciting enough toengage the brain in to gentle headnodding. After the first hour themixed audience of the curious andthe seasoned, both appeared sat-isfied.

With a brief intermission, Dr.Partap Midha, Director of GlobalHospital, spoke about the medicaland holistic services being offeredto underprivileged villages in theoutlying areas of Rajasthan.

Cont’d on page 19

Deepak Ram on flute with Satish Tare on tabla


In Festival Square, onewill experience Yoga,Indian food delights,local artists, cookingdemos, and richdance forms from thevarious Indian states. ABollywood extrava-ganza will be the mainattraction of the event

Dr. Partap shared in depth aboutthe programs presently being usedat Global Hospital, and 3,000 sur-geries being performed annually bylocal doctors. A priority of the hos-pital is the immediate needs andissues of women, and the ongoingcare of the local children. Dr. Partapconcluded that one of the mainaims of the hospital is the need tohonor the dignity of people andthat health care should be availableto everyone without discriminationor the worry of costs.

For the second half of the mu-sical evening, Ram was joined by'Steps Jazz Quartet' including

Haunting, mystical fluteby Deepak Ram

Steve Roberts, Daniel Lewis andBob Bassa who delivered anotheroutstanding hour of perfect jazz.In the very successful recording"Steps," one of the musicianscommented that "The idea of us-ing an unconventional instrumentlike the bansuri on a jazz record-ing finds success in the hands ofa master musician like Ram."

A composition by Ram and trib-ute to the dance that Mandela, theFather of South Africa' does wasboth moving and touching. Theevening concluded with anotherindelible piece called 'Space Time'which transported the soul to theunlimited with music that wentbeyond the stars.


Dr. Partap Midha from J Wattumal Global Hospital, Rajasthan presenting

the services rendered to the rural areas

Deepak Ram on flute in jazz music with Bob Bassa on guitar

Multi cultural Fest at St. Louis Library

String chants of India at Multicultural fest at St. Louis Library

ASHWIN PATEL


ST. LOUIS: Asian Center of StLouis County Library hosted aMulticultural Revue on Saturday,June 19 at Daniel Boone Library inEllisville Mo.

Over two hundred and seventypeople joined for a celebration of

diversity from 10 am till 1 pm toexperience traditional dance, mu-sic, food and fun crafts from sevendifferent countries. The countriesrepresented were China, Germany,India, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, andPhilippines.

India was represented by theViolin Orchestra called StringChants of India led by Ramesh

Cherupalla and his talented stu-dents. String Chants of India is anensemble of violins and Indianpercussion instruments, rangingfrom the classical to the contem-porary forms. It also paints a pic-ture of the rich cultural heritage ofthe Indian subcontinent throughthis collection of soulful rendi-tions.

Maltese islands were firstsettled reportedly in 5,200 BCE.Few European countries havesuch concentrated architecture,history, and beaches in so small

an area as Malta.Rajan Zed, president of Univer-

sal Society of Hinduism, and RabbiFreirich, argued that it was per-turbing to note that a country ofEurope, which prided itself for itshuman rights initiatives, appar-

Hindus' plea to UN for equality in Maltaently treated crimes against reli-gious sentiment of "other" reli-gions/denominations as less seri-ous than against majority religionand described religions/denomi-nations other than majority reli-gion as cults.


In Houston, Shilpa Saravananfrom College Station, TX was theregional champ and SyamantakPayra from Friendswood, TX wasfirst runner up while AbhishekRoutray, from Katy, TX was sec-ond runner up.

Also, veteran speller AdityaChemudupatty attended the Hous-ton Regionals, gave a talk and in-

teracted with parents and spellersto give them tips on how to pre-pare as well as share his experi-ence of being a top speller. It wasvery well received with the audi-ence who asked questions abouthis experiences.

The winners received cashprizes of $500, $300 and $200 re-spectively.

Children up to 14 years of ageare eligible to participate and the

Spelling Bee Texas winnersannounced

contest saw spellers of even 6years of age compete and make itpast a few rounds. There are sixmore cities on the anvil.

The top two winners plus oneparent each from every city will begiven an all expenses paid trip toNJ on August 14 for the Finals.

The contest will be telecastglobally on Sony EntertainmentTelevision-ASIA. Attendance towatch the finals is free.



19

Sant Rajinder Singh visiting CaliforniaIndia Post News Service

As an international spiritualleader and Master of medi-tation, Sant Rajinder

Singh Ji Maharaj affirms the tran-scendent oneness at the heart ofall religions, emphasizing prayerand meditation as building blocksfor achieving peace. He will be ontour in San Francisco (July 4 -5)and Los Angeles (July 7- 8).

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj'slife and work can be summed upas a continuous journey of loveand selfless service. He has helpedpeople from all walks of life, fromevery corner of the earth, to con-nect to their true selves by learn-ing the art of meditation on theinner Light and Sound of God. Hetakes nothing for himself, but givesfreely of his time, compassion, andendless store of divine love. Hiswell of inner peace is so deep andprofound that he transforms thelives of those he meets.

Born in India on September 20,1946 and educated as a scientistin the United States, Sant RajinderSingh Ji Maharaj has a keen un-derstanding of both mysticismand science. His training in bothof these disciplines has helped himexpress the age-old mysticalteachings in clear, logical lan-guage. He has said, "Science andspirituality make a great partner-ship. If those engaged in sciencespend time in the silence of theirselves, inspiration will come and

lead them to the answers theyseek. If those interested in spiritu-ality apply the scientific law of test-ing a hypothesis in the laborato-ries of their own bodies, they willfind results. Each person is ca-pable of success in proving spiri-tual truths. Such pursuits can makethe world a better place as well asuncover the purpose of our lives."

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj'stalks have been broadcast inter-

nationally on radio and television,and his publications includebooks in many languages andhundreds of articles on spiritualtopics. His latest English bookswith corresponding Spanish andHindi translations include:

Spiritual Pearls for EnlightenedLiving (Radiance Publishers);Silken Thread of the Divine SK

Publications; Inner and OuterPeace Through Meditation (Ra-diance Publishers); and Empow-ering Your Soul Through Medita-tion (Radiance Publishers).

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj'sconsistent message-to establishhuman unity at the level of the soulthereby transcending racial, cul-tural, national, religious and eco-nomic differences-has led him toparticipate in conferences

throughout the world. On the oc-casion of the 50th anniversary ofthe United Nations, he led an au-dience of thousands in meditationat the Cathedral of St. John theDivine in New York City. He re-ceived a peace award from the In-terfaith Center of New York andthe Temple of Understanding. Hehas spoken at a ceremony honor-

ing UN Secretary Kofi Annan andwas a featured spiritual leader atthe 2000 Millennium Peace Sum-mit of religious and spiritual lead-ers held at the United Nations.

In his interview with The NewYork Times, he said that worldpeace could be a reality when eachperson finds peace within throughmeditation. To further this end,Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajconvenes two annual conferencesin Delhi, India-the Global Confer-ence on Mysticism in Septemberand the International Conferenceon Human Integration in February.During these events, tens of thou-sands of people come from all overIndia and many parts of the worldto participate. Leaders from differ-ent faith traditions meet togetheron a common platform and sharetheir ideas. Even those partici-pants not aligned with a particularreligion find in these conferencesa wisdom that helps them deepentheir relationship with the Divine.

Since his mission began in 1989 atthe direction of Sant Darshan Singh JiMaharaj (1921-1989), Sant RajinderSingh Ji Maharaj has devoted his lifeto helping others realize the power oftheir souls and to relieving humansuffering. His message is a practicalprescription for global peace:

Within us is a divine spirit fromwhich our intelligence and wisdomis derived. The process of access-ing that inner divine spirit, intelli-gence and wisdom is called medi-tation; if we transform knowledge

to wisdom by meditating and ex-periencing the driving force be-hind all existence then we have thekey to human unity. This experi-ence will transform our individuallife and the lives of those aroundus. These individual transforma-tions will ultimately bring unity andpeace at the community, nationaland global levels. (From a speechon Leadership given to the UnitedStates Coast Guard Academy)

As founder of Darshan Educa-tion Foundation, he has estab-lished seventeen Darshan Acad-emies (K-12) in India and SouthAmerica which integrate both medi-tation and a spiritual curriculum intoa traditional academic environment.The Foundation's goal is to pro-duce students whose spiritual po-tential is developed together withtheir intellectual quotient andwhose world view is unobstructedby distinctions of race, nationality,religion or economic status.

As head of Science of Spiritual-ity / Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission,he inspires the organization's hu-manitarian efforts throughout theworld. To date, the mission hasraised and distributed aid for tsu-nami victims by collecting and dis-seminating food and clothing andbuilding new schools in disasterareas; raised funds for victims ofhurricane Katrina in New Orleans;rebuilt an entire village in India af-ter the Gujarat earthquake; sent fi-nancial relief to earthquake survi-vors in Central and South America.

Sant Rajinder Singh

Spiritual dignitaries visit Summer Solstice CelebrationRAM DAS PURI

Swami Chidanand Saraswati with Satpal Singh KhalsaSri Shankaracharya Swami Divyanand Teerth Ji with Satpal Singh Khalsa

ESPANOLA, NM: Two revered,spiritual leaders from India, HisHoliness Sri ShankaracharyaSwami Divyanand Teerth Ji andHis Holiness Swami ChidanandSaraswati visited the beautifulmountains of New Mexico lastweek where they participated in the3HO Foundation's Summer Sol-stice Celebration.

Sri Shankaracharya is the headof the Bhanpura Peeth (monas-tery) in Central India, an importantseat of Hindu thought. PujyaMuniji is the President and spiri-tual head of Parmarth NiketanAshram in Rishikesh - one ofIndia's largest spiritual institu-tions. Both leaders had a chanceto address the nearly 2000 attend-ees of 3HO's Summer Solstice Cel-ebration.

The 3HO (Healthy, Happy,Holy) Foundation was founded bythe late Sikh leader and master ofKundalini Yoga, Siri Singh SahibBhai Sahib Harbhajan SinghKhalsa Yogiji, also known as YogiBhajan. Beginning in the 1970's,

Yogi Bhajan started the Haciendade Guru Ram Das ashram commu-nity in Espanola, New Mexico.Over time, this ashram has becomethe Mother Ashram for KundaliniYoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, aswell as for the international SikhDharma movement inspired byhim. Each summer, starting in June,the ashram community hosts sev-

eral yogic and spiritual events thatbring people together from aroundthe world.

The annual Summer SolsticeCelebration begins with PeacePrayer Day, which took place thisyear on June 19. SriShankaracharya attended PeacePrayer Day and shared an uplift-ing message of unity and peace

during the event. He said he metYogi Bhajan in 2000 at the UNworld peace conference in NewYork City. He wished great successto the spiritual mission started byYogiji. Later in the week, SriShankaracharya also spoke to theSolstice attendees about yoga. Hesaid that yoga should not be con-sidered religious and that any per-

son belonging to any religioncould benefit from it. He particu-larly spoke about the power ofKundalini Yoga, and praised howwell Yogi Bhajan taught KundaliniYoga in the western world.

Pujya Muniji also spoke to theattendees at 3HO's Summer Sol-stice event.

July 9, 2010India Post20 Community/Californiawww.indiapost.com

Cont’d on page 22

He takes nothing forhimself, but givesfreely of his time, com-passion, and endlessstore of divine love. Hiswell of inner peace isso deep and profoundthat he transforms thelives of those he meets

WomenNow TV celebrates its launch on TV Asia


SAN FRANCISCO, CA: BayArea's first South Asian TV talkshow, WomenNow's launch partywas held on June 25 at the TajCampton Place here. The talk show,produced by three local Bay Area

women Ena Sarkar, Jaya Gautamand Suparna 'Sippy' Vohra, startsairing on TV Asia from July 4.

With a cheering and whistlingcrowd of over 250 attendees, theexclusive launch party's inaugu-ral address was given by the Hon-orable Consul General of India, SanFrancisco, Susmita G. Thomas. Ms.

Thomas said that she extendedher support to the show as theIndo-American community, espe-cially the women, need such a plat-form to address some of the issuesthat are faced by the IndianDiaspora.

WomenNow was started by

Ena and Jaya, in early 2009 andSippy joined in soon after. Con-ceptualized as a platform for SouthAsian women, especially those ofIndo-American origin, the showaired last year on local channelsin the Bay Area with the threehosts, Ena, Jaya and Sippy. Cov-ering diverse topics ranging from

charity, beauty, body image, poli-tics, health etc. the show has or-ganically grown to new heightswith a national launch on TV Asia,making it available to subscribersacross the US and Canada. With afourth co-host, Harbir Bhatia, anactive member of the Indo-Ameri-

can community, the show is blaz-ing trendsetting paths.

The WomenNow team hopes towelcome new members of the TVcommunity soon as they believethat increased ethnic representa-tion in the media will bring in-creased awareness of and aboutthe community.

(L-R) Jaya Gautam, Suparna 'Sippy' Vohra, Ena Sarkar and Harbir Bhatia Attendees at the WomenNowLaunch

(L-R) Jaya Gautam and Ena Sarkar

Consul General of India, San Francisco, Susmita G. Thomas speaks

at the WomenNow Launch

Women Now Launch poster Priyanka Singha's, Miss India

2009-10, dance

Art by Neha DadbhawalaWatching the short WomenNow movie

July 9, 2010 India PostCommunity/Californiawww.indiapost.com

21

Conceptualized as aplatform for SouthAsian women, espe-cially those of Indo-American origin, theshow aired last yearon local channels inthe Bay Area with thethree hosts, Ena, Jayaand Sippy

July 9, 2010India Post22 Community/Californiawww.indiapost.com

Summer camp forkids at LA Zoo


LOS ANGELES: The Los Ange-les Zoo's Summer ZooCamp isgreat for kids of all ages. Each dayof ZooCamp brings new discov-eries as youngsters have the timeof their lives going ape over theZoo's amazing animals.

Through fun, safe, engagingactivities, campers will trail blazethrough the week. Each camp isled by specially trained, experi-enced staff. This adventure is onethat a child will never forget.ZooCamp starts on July 5 and runsthrough August 27.

"ZooCamp provides childrenwith the opportunity to exploreand learn about nature while mak-ing lasting friendships," says Cu-rator of Education HeatherShields.

ZooCamp is broken down intodifferent, age-appropriate themessuch as Lights, Camera, Animals!,Furrific Felines, and Positively Pri-mates, among others. To learnmore about ZooCamp, availability,

prices, extended hours and to reg-ister, please visit www.lazoo.org/education/zoocamp.

ZooCamp averages a 95 per-

cent fill-rate, which means approxi-mately 840 campers attendZooCamp each summer.

CAIR protests FBI questioningof Muslim men

India Post News service

LOS ANGELES, CA: TheGreater Los Angeles Area chapterof the Council on American-IslamicRelations (CAIR-LA) has calledthe FBI's early morning question-ing of five Southern CaliforniaMuslim men last week "outra-geous" and is seeking answers asto why the men were questionedin the absence of any indicationthat they were engaged in crimi-nal activity.

The men questioned by the FBIwere among seven detained for"suspicious behavior" last De-cember by police in Henderson,Nev., after they prayed in a com-mercial parking lot during a stopon a road trip.

One of the men questioned byFBI agents for an hour in his LosAngeles apartment said the agentsproduced a book containing infor-mation on war tactics, titled "Af-ghanistan." They allegedly toldthe man that Henderson policeofficers had found and taken pho-tos of two of these books duringthe December search of the men'svehicle. FBI agents asked the in-dividual whether he had anyknowledge of the books, and re-portedly told him they were thereto follow up on the books.

However, the men say therewere no such books in the vehicle.Also, an officer with theHenderson Police Departmenttold CAIR-LA that the departmenthas no information that suchbooks were photographed ortaken by officers during the De-

cember stop. [The Henderson Po-lice Department initiated an inter-nal investigation into the Decem-ber incident in response to a mis-conduct complaint filed by CAIR-LA. That investigation is ongo-ing.]

FBI agents further questionedthe young man, a U.S. Army vet-eran, about his trip throughHenderson and about the variousstops made during the trip. He was

allegedly asked if he and hisfriends had any weapons whenthey went hiking. The agents alsoasked who led the seven men onthe road trip, who of his six travelcompanions he would consult forreligious advice and if he becamereligious before or after active mili-tary duty.

Toward the end of the question-ing, the FBI agents allegedly toldthe man they were looking forpeople with military backgroundswho speak Arabic because theywould be an asset for the FBI.

"It is outrageous that theseyoung men continue to face gov-ernment scrutiny for engaging inprotected First Amendment activ-ity," said CAIR-LA Staff Attorneyand Deputy Executive DirectorAmeena Mirza Qazi. "They werenot 'suspicious' when they prayedin a parking lot six months ago,and they're not suspicious now.It's worrisome that our intelligenceresources are being expended toinvestigate what seems to bemanufactured evidence or to as-sume a nefarious motive for thenormal American activity of abunch of guys going on a roadtrip."

"This seems to be yet anotherexample of faith moving from apersonal choice to probablecause," said CAIR's National Leg-islative Director Corey Saylor."The young men's simple act ofworship -- something most Ameri-cans engage in routinely -- hasnow led to questioning by bothlocal and federal law enforcementagents."

In the past several years, Mus-lim community members havecomplained of FBI harassment,harsh interrogation and coercivetactics, and informant recruitmentthrough FBI intimidation.

Earlier, CAIR released a letter itsent to Attorney General EricHolder calling for the return to theUnited States of American Mus-lim citizens barred from returninghome from trips overseas and sub-jected to FBI pressure tactics thatare being called a form of "extraor-dinary rendition."

Sikh Coalition attendsWhite House reception


WASHINGTON, DC: The SikhCoalition was recently invited to at-tend a White House reception cel-ebrating Asian American and PacificIslander Heritage Month. PresidentObama addressed the attendeesand recognized the importance of

engaging the Sikh community.The Sikh Coalition is a commu-

nity-based organization thatworks for the realization of civiland human rights for all people.The Coalition serves as a resourceon Sikhs and Sikh concerns forgovernment, organizations andindividuals.

He gave a tribute to Yogi Bhajan for hisdiligence and dedication in bringingKundalini Yoga to the West. Pujya Munijimet Yogi Bhajan almost 30 years ago andwas in constant touch with him through-out his life. Yogi Bhajan visited him manytimes at his ashram in Rishikesh. PujyaMuniji said Yogi Bhajan used to roar like alion and that even today he could still hearhim roaring.

During their time in Espanola, SriShankaracharya and Pujya Muniji had achance to meet with many long-time stu-dents and leaders in the Western Sikh andKundalini Yoga communities. They werehosted in Espanola at the Estate of the lateYogi Bhajan by his wife, Bhai Sahiba BibijiInderjit Kaur, PhD. Yogi Bhajan's son-in-law, Bhai Sahib Satpal Singh Khalsa, intro-duced the dignitaries to the current headsof the organizations founded by the lateYogi Bhajan, including: the CEO of theKundalini Research Institute (KRI) Nirvair

Spiritual dignitaries visit Summer Solstice CelebrationSingh Khalsa; the CEO of 3HO Founda-tion, Bhajan Kaur; Chairman for the Boardof Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, DevaSingh Khalsa; The president of the SikhDharma Stewardship, Gurukirn KaurKhalsa; and the Director of Amar Infinity,Jodha Singh Khalsa. Everyone shared as-pects of the on-going work of YogiBhajan's mission with the dignitaries. BhaiSahib Satpal also introduced the guests tofamous Beverly Hills doctor; Dr. SoramSingh Khalsa and famous spiritual singerSnatam Kaur Khalsa.

Bhai Sahib Satpal Singh Khalsa, who isthe Ambassador of Sikh Dharma held pri-vate meetings with both the spiritual guestsand apprised them of the continued work topromote and preserve the teachings of YogiBhajan and his mission.

Famous Kundalini Yoga teacherGurmukh Kaur and her husband GuruShabad Singh Khalsa of Golden Bridge inLos Angeles also spent time touring withthe guests and hosted the spiritual guests.

Panth Rattan Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib

Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, popularlyknown as Yogi Bhajan came to the West in1969 during the cultural revolution of the1960's, sharing the ancient teachings ofKundalini Yoga and the universal spiritualpath of Sikh Dharma. Over the course of the

next 3 decades, he taught hundreds of thou-sands of people around the world. YogiBhajan made Espanola, New Mexico hishome. He died there on October 4, 2006. Theorganization he founded during his life-timecontinues to grow and flourish.

Shankarcharya with Bibiji and Satpal Singh Khalsa


ZooCamp is brokendown into different,age-appropriatethemes such as Lights,Camera, Animals!,Furrific Felines, andPositively Primates,among others

The men questionedby the FBI wereamong seven de-tained for "suspiciousbehavior" last Decem-ber by police inHenderson, Nev., afterthey prayed in acommercial parkinglot during a stop ona road trip

6 Bekarar - Paathshaala

7 Ranjha Ranjha - Raavan

8 Yaadan - Virsa

9 Rang De - Bumm Bumm Bole

10 Ankahi Si - Chase

1 Khili Re - Raavan

2 Ghum Suhm Ghum Suhm - IAWA

3 Dont Know What To Do - Housefull

4 Mein Tenu Samjjawan - Virsa

5 Chaska - Badmaash Company24 India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com

Salman Khan's forthcoming film"Ready" is a romantic comedy,but the director has incorporated

some good action sequences so as notto disappoint the popular actor's fans,revealed T-series honcho and film pro-ducer Bhushan Kumar.

"'Ready' is a romantic comedy, a funfilm, but we incorporated a few actionscenes as well so that Salman's fans canenjoy and watch him do dare-devilstunts on screen," Kumar said.

"Apart from the action sequences,'Ready' is a complete entertainment pack-age, where we will give special impor-tance to the music, something that isusually not up to the mark in comedyfilms," he said.

"Ready", also starring AsinThottumkal and Paresh Rawal, is beingdirected by Anees Bazmee who is knownfor his hit comic capers "No Entry" and"Singh Is Kingg".

The film is being shot in Sri Lanka.Besides this, T-series is producing a

film called "Patiala House", directed byNikhil Advani and starring AkshayKumar and Anushka Sharma.

Koena Mitra is one of those select few actresses in theindustry, who has been an epitome of sensuality rightfrom her foray into Bollywood.

Announcing 'Khullam Khulla Pyaar Kare' pretty much loudand clear more than seven years ago in 'Road' (2002), Koena, hasindeed come a long way. No wonder, her sensibility and maturitymakes her feel amused about the entire hoopla that is createdwhen actors kiss on the screen or expose for the camera.

"I guess we should move out of this mentality and do it realfast. The way the media reacts to something as common askissing is really strange", says Koena in an exasperated tone.

"In Hollywood, kissing is no big deal at all. If Richard Gerekisses on screen, no one goes and pulls him up by saying thathe is doing something odd because he is older today. But herein India, we end up making such a big deal about it even if ayoung couple is kissing. Come on, show me one couple thatdoesn't kiss? Not just that, I think we also make so muchhoopla when someone wears a bikini", continues Koena whois quite pleased with the way she has been presented on thescreen so far.

Koena is particularly amused when actors themselves enjoythe mileage that they gain after doing a kissing scene for a film.

Saif avoided cameras and paparazzi pictures until his departure to Morocco in order toavoid giving away his Agent Vinod look. But man proposes, Aamir disposes. Aamirinsisted that Saif make it to the party at his home recently, thereby blowing the

whistle on Saif's carefully-concealed look.A friend of Saif says, "If Shahid Kapoor in his dad's film Mausam has modeled

his look on Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Saif's role model for Agent Vinod is MattDamon in Bourne Identity."

With a completely revamped his look, Saif went into hiding until heleft the country. Kareena Kapoor, his co-star in the film, however

spilled the beans. "Saif has never looked cooler. He has lost 9 kilosin three months. He's all toned and rippling muscles now. He hadlong hair for so long that I had forgotten how dashing he looksin cropped hair. Saif has got his hair cropped really short,that's all I can tell you about his Agent Vinod look. He got it

done a couple of days back. Since then he was reluctant tostep out of his house. "

So frightened was Saif of revealing his new look that herefused to show it even to his own parents. Only Kareena had theprivilege of seeing Saif's made over avatar. Until Aamir's party.

Kareena added, "he looks like a Hollywood star for the film.I can't take my eyes off him."

India Post 25July 9, 2010

www.indiapost.com

Bollywood

One of the most celebrated couples of the industry,Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan confess on thelatest issue of Vogue magazine that they fight every-

day. When asked how often they fight, Abhishek was quick toreply, "Oh, every day."

Ash promptly interfered, "Not everyday baby. We didn'tfight yesterday. Or the day before. They're more like disagree-ments, not fights. They're not serious, they're healthy. It'd bereally boring otherwise," says the actress.

And when they have any disagreements, Abhishek takesthe initiative to settle up, "Women don't make up! In threeyears, she's made up like, four times. But we have a rule - wedon't sleep on a fight. And in defense of all men, I want to say,half the time why we give in and say sorry is because we'rejust so sleepy and want to go to bed!"

The couple quips about their most horrible dating aftermarriage, "So this is for men everywhere -don't believe that bitabout a candlelight dinner on the beach being the most ro-mantic thing in the world. I tried that for our anniversary lastyear in the Maldives, and it was a disaster. First, the windkeeps putting the candle out. Second, there's sand in yourfood so it tastes like crap."

As Rajkumar Hirani had himself admitted around the releaseof '3 Idiots', when the master strategist Aamir Khan is atwork for the marketing and promotion of a film, a director

can afford to take a back seat after the film is canned and cen-sored. Nothing succeeds like success and two back to back alltime blockbusters in the form of 'Ghajini' and '3 Idiots' meant thatnot too many voices were expected to be raised, intentionally orunintentionally, when it came to an Aamir Khan film.

However, one waits to see the kind of decisions that masterstrategist Aamir Khan would take when it comes to his next re-lease - a production - 'Peepli Live'. There is some amount of dam-age which has been done, courtesy the news of the film's leadactor Raghuveer Yadav being arrested (and subsequently re-leased) spreading like a wild fire. This was in relation to a com-plaint which had been filed against him by his ex-wife. For Aamirwho has managed a clean all around record for years, this is some-thing that he would have been least expecting, especially since'Peepli Live' is also traveling the international film festival circuits.

Damage controlCzech mateImtiaz Ali's search for an actress to star in his

next, Rockstar, has finally come to an end. TheJab We Met director has finalized model Nargis

Fakhri to play the role opposite Ranbir Kapoor.The 21-year-old half Pakistani, half Czech beautygrew up in New York but is an ardent follower ofBollywood. Earlier, Imtiaz had given a break to Bra-zilian model Giselle Monteiro in Love Aaj Kal.

A source reveals, "Imtiaz has been audition-ing girls for a while now. He discovered that theAnglo-Indian look of Nargis completely suitedthe character in the film. But she underwent sev-eral screen tests before Imtiaz took her on board.While Ranbir plays a rock star, Nargis will play adancer in the film."

Our desi singers, it seems, are doing great. Andone of them is making news in Hollywood.Singer-cum-music composer Mickey Narula,

brother of Bollywood playback singer JaspinderNarula, has composed music for a Hollywood movietitled Maple Heart that is directed by Kavi Raj (AnIndian filmmaker from Los Angeles and winner of 15awards in the best international category for his movieGold Bracelet in 2005).

The film is due for release by the end of this year.Mickey, who was recently on a short visit to the capi-tal, says, "I have composed some Hindi tracks forthis Hollywood movie. This will be a first of its kindwhere a Hollywood movie will include Hindi songssung by singers like Sukhwinder, Sunidhi Chauhan,Sonu Niigaam, Jaspinder Narula and myself," he grins,adding, "It will have a variety of musical composi-tions ranging from Bhangra to pop."

Desi singersin Holly

www.indiapost.com July 9, 201026 India Post


NEW YORK: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, whileconsistently delivering hit entertainers that keep hisfans coming back for more, has in recent times beenreceiving unprecedented recognition for his celeb sta-tus in Canada.

After being presented with an honorary doctorateof law by the University of Windsor, Ontario for hiswork in cinema and social work and being one of 14international torchbearers in the Vancouver 2010 Olym-pic Torch Relay, Akshay Kumar, the leading star of theIndian film fraternity, was personally invited by Cana-dian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to attend and hosta special dinner in honor of Dr. Manmohan Singh,Prime Minister of India and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur who

visited Canada as part of the G20 Summit late lastmonth. Also in attendance were Laureen Harper andLawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The event took place June 27 in Toronto, post theG8 and G20 Summits held over that weekend in Canadawhere world leaders congregated to discuss issuessuch as economics, health and security.

Akshay Kumar, who was extremely honored to bethe host of the event, addressed both Heads of Statein his speech. The actor, who shares close ties withCanada, has always considered the country to be hishome away from home. He has filmed extensivelythere, more recently for Anees Bazmee's film 'ThankYou' co-starring Sonam Kapoor. He also supportsmany Canadian causes and organizations includinginvesting in a Cancer Ward at the Trillium Hospital of

Toronto in memory of his father."Canada has always been a home away

from home for me and I am most fortunate to be associated withtwo great nations - India and Canada," Akshay said at the event.

He went on to speak about the similarities both democraciesshare and their contribution to society. "Canada recognizesand respects the true potential and contribution of every citi-zen, no matter what ethnic background they have. India, theworld's largest democracy, prides itself in many similar values."

He also applauded the leadership and vision of bothleaders. He commented on how through Prime MinisterHarper's leadership he "continues to demonstrate to theworld that Canada is a first class country with a strongmoral foundation." He thanked Prime Minister Singh forhis "leadership and guidance over the years." He said, "The

way in which you have fathered India culturally and eco-nomically is truly remarkable. Your vision and leadership isthe reason that India has become a true global nation."

The superstar then went on to dedicate his forthcomingfilm, 'Singh is Kinng 2', for which filming will take place inCanada, to Prime Minister Singh.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) hasdesignated Akshay Kumar as its Ambassador for India toleverage his celebrity status in India to promote Canada as apremier four-season destination.

Cont’d on page 27

Akshay Kumar, who was extremelyhonored to be the host of the event,addressed both Heads of State in hisspeech. The actor, who shares closeties with Canada, has alwaysconsidered the country to be hishome away from home

July 9, 2010 India Post

www.indiapost.com

27

Astrology and beyond with Swami Veera RudraPREM KISHORE


Human beings have al-ways looked to the heavens for answers con-

cerning, Life, Happiness, Birth andother perplexing questions. Somehave turned to prayer and un-swerving faith. Others have staredat tealeaves and crystal balls.Many turn to soothsayers, andpsychics. And in India millionsconsult astrologers and spiritualadvisors. Can destiny bechanged? Are birth planets rel-evant in the scheme of things?

The first traces of an astrolo-ger in India supposedly leads toParshara Muni in 1500AD whocast horoscopes. Today some In-dian universities offer advanceddegrees in astrology. I scan thepages of the week's edition ofthree Indian magazines and news-papers in Los Angeles, and findno less that 20 advertisementsadvising readers to consult a di-verse roster of astrologers.

Last month, Swamiji Veera Rudrafrom Bangalore, Karnataka, arrivedin Southern California with exper-tise in astrology, face reading, andpalm reading. He firmly believesthat he can find solutions to prob-lems and will help anyone who isinterested in empowering them-selves and living their best life.

Do you really believe thatpeople can influence their destiny?

Yes, with effort, will power, faithand the grace of God people canturn their lives around. Certainthings are irrevocable but if weinterpret celestial calculations wecan determine the auspiciousnessof an event or try to avoid makinga wrong decision.

What is your purpose in ad-vising people who come to you?

Bringing harmony and peace ofmind and making people under-stand their psyche. People feel badthings are happening to them,they have financial problems, le-gal problems, horoscope match-ing, or they are unhappy in theirmarriage and negativity is pre-venting them to realize their fullpotential. So they come to me andthey benefit through astrologicalguidance. I also help them to rein-force their faith in God and becomemore self aware. Everyone wantsto achieve success and happiness.

How do you do that?Some people are afflicted by ill-

ness, or evil spirits and black magic

and I help to resolve the situationby various methods. I read palms;I study their facial contours, themouth, the nose, the ear. I studybone structure, the placement ofbones of skull, muscles, skin...allthis reveals personality. As a Vedicastrologer I can help give direc-tion. I advise them to wear certaincolors, or precious stones.

Gemstones add good proper-ties to a person's life. Next to theskin stones give off vibrations andalign with the chakras and this al-leviates stress and helps in wellbeing. Our energies are balanced,we negate emotional problems,improve relationships with people,we can have more confidence,ward off sickness, strengthen ourbody, and prosper

There are hundreds of stones,kunzite, quartz, ruby, coral, neph-rite, sapphire and more. It re-

fering in this world and if we areblessed with powers to help, byexamining the present, past andfuture, we must do the workgladly.

My family has been endowedwith many blessings. We have ahouse, security, family love, chil-dren and so we have to look be-yond and help others to attainpeace of mind. And with ourskills and talents in studying theplanets, numbers, and readings

of the face and palm our familythrough the generations havereached out to love others anddo good. We believe in doingeverything with love. Love is in-fused in our work. I may not bethe answer to everything but Ican guide you on the right path.

Can you suggest a simpleritual we can do to attain a cer-tain amount of peace?

Yoga, meditation. Just sayingOm Nama Shivayam 108 times

Swami Veera Rudra

INTERVIEW

quires a lot of study. How manyyears have you been committedto this profession?

I started at a very young age,when I was a child. I have beeninvolved in this work for 40years. My father and grandfa-ther have been in this profession.It is a family legacy and I am veryproud to carry on the blessed tra-dition. Our mission is to createpeace and harmony in the livesof people. There is too much suf-

first thing in the morning will fos-ter good health of mind andbody.

What kind of people come toyou for advice in America?

Mostly businessmen. Theyare stressed out with financialproblems or excess wealth. Theywant peace or they want to re-solve issues. They want to knowif they should proceed with abusiness venture. Others comewith marital problems. Shouldthey divorce? How can theymake the marriage work? We givecomfort, strength, and removedoubts. Above all we reinforcetheir faith in themselves.

"We're thrilled that AkshayKumar has agreed to be the CTC'sAmbassador for India," saysMichele McKenzie, President andCEO, CTC. "Having a superstarlike Akshay on board to boostCanada's profile within his coun-try will help turn the spotlight onthe extra-ordinary experiences thatvisitors can enjoy here."

Kumar, who has enjoyed astrong relationship with Canadasince his first visit in 1995, will actas the CTC's Ambassador for Indiauntil summer 2012. The partnershipwill involve familiarization trips("fams") across Canada, which willbe captured for local and Indianmedia in video and blog posts.


Akshay Kumar is'King' in Canada

Says Akshay Kumar, "I am veryhonored and privileged to havebeen asked to represent the CTCas their Ambassador for India.Canada is my second home and Iam truly proud to encourage andpromote Canadian tourism in In-dia. I have an extremely strongconnection to this great land andits warm people."

The CTC entered the Indianmarket in 2009 as part of its emerg-ing markets strategy to inspirehigh-yield travelers to visit Canada.India is characterized by anaspirational lifestyle, fuelled by agrowing middle class and sustainedeconomic growth. In 2009, Indianleisure travelers injected $82 millioninto the Canadian economy.

Few art films these days: MithunKOLKATA: Three times Na-

tional award winning actor MithunChakraborty laments that very fewproducers and directors make artfilms these days.

"I act in potboilers both inBollywood and Tollywood as veryfew producers and directors make artfilm like Mrigaya, which gave me myfirst National actor award,"Chakraborty told PTI at the premier ofhis latest Bengali film Shukno Lanka.

Chakraborty, who shot to famein Bollywood in 1980s with theblockbuster 'Disco Dancer', said,"If I get offers from producers anddirectors to act in art films likeMrigaya, I will certainly take themup. But such offers are few thesedays."

About 'Shukno Lanka', he said,"Shukno Lanka has given me therare opportunity to retrace my

struggling days. It has taken meback closer to my roots."

Chakraborty described the di-rector of Shukno Lanka GauravPandey as 'brilliant' and said, "I amhappy that I am also in his nextHindi film Spaghetti 24x7."

Chakraborty plays the role of asecurity guard in Spaghetti 24x7,which also stars his elder son

Mimoh and is slated for release inOctober this year.

Speaking about Shukno Lanka,Director Gaurav Pandey said he hada wonderful time in making it espe-cially working with Chakraborty.

Chakraborty plays the role ofChinu Nandy, a junior artiste in thefilm, but he had to arrive at the shootwith police escort due to his hugefan following in Bengal, he said.

Recollecting another instancewhile making the film Pandey saidlate actor Kunal Mitra, one of thecast, refused to shoot a scene withMithun massaging his feet.

Pandey's first full-length Hindi film'Stumped' was released in 2003 fea-turing Raveena Tandon, Aly Khanand Salman Khan in lead roles. Sub-sequently he worked as the writer ofAniruddha Roy Chowdhury's'Anuranan' (Bengali, 2006). -PTI

Mithun Chakraborty

Gemstones addgood properties to aperson's life. Next tothe skin stones giveoff vibrations andalign with thechakras and thisalleviates stress andhelps in well being


July 9, 201028

July 9, 2010 India Post

www.indiapost.com

29

Breakthrough's Bell Bajao!wins the Cannes Silver LionIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: New York-based Humanrights organization Breakthrough's ac-claimed Bell Bajao! (Ring theBell) Cam-paign against domestic violence has re-ceived the prestigious SilverLion in theFilm Category at the Cannes Lions 57thInternational Advertising Festival.

Bell Bajao! is the only entry from In-dia to win The Silver Lion in the Filmcategory.

The films were created pro bono byOgilvy & Mather, Mumbai and were di-rected by Bauddhayan Mukherjee ofLittle Lamb Films.

Sharing her excitement, Mallika Dutt,President and CEO of Breakthroughsays, "We are delighted at Bell Bajao'swin at the Cannes Lions 57th Interna-tional Advertising Festival. The SilverLion provides us with a global platformto spotlight violence against women andto ask men and boys to become partnersin ending it. Our partnership with Ogilvy& Mather is a wonderful example of thereach and success of public-private col-laborations, which are essential to bring-ing an end to the abuse that women faceall over the world."

Bell Bajao! is a multimedia campaignthat uses the power of pop culture, me-dia and community mobilization to callon men and boys to end domestic vio-lence.

The award winning ads are inspiredby stories of people who have joinedthe Bell Bajao! movement against domes-tic violence. Launched first in 2008 withthe support of the Ministry of Womenand Child Development and campaignambassador, film star BomanIrani, Bell Bajao! has become aglobally recognized, nationalmovement. The campaign cre-ates awareness on the issue ofdomestic violence and inspiresthe public to take action againstit.

Zenobia Pithawalla, GroupCreative Director, Ogilvy &Mather, Mumbai says "Whatmakes this win even more won-derful is the fact that this workwas not created because onewanted to win an award. Butbecause everyone from the cli-ent to the creative team to thefilmmaker believed this waswhat it would take to put an endto Domestic Violence. As wecelebrate this news, we wouldlike to thank Breakthrough foralways giving us a free handand believing in our creativework as much as they believe intheir cause."

The Cannes Lions Interna-tional Advertising Festival is theworld's biggest celebration ofcreativity in communications.As the most prestigious inter-national advertising awards,

more than 22,500 entries from all over theworld are showcased and judged at thefestival. More than 6,000 delegates from90 countries attend seven days of work-shops, exhibitions, screenings, masterclasses and high-profile seminars.

Breakthrough is an innovative, inter-national human rights organization us-ing the power of popular culture, media,and community mobilization to transformpublic attitudes and advance equality,justice, and dignity around the world.Through initiatives in India and the US,this nonprofit focuses on issues like vio-lence against women, HIV/AIDS, immi-gration, youth and community leadershipand human rights education.

Breakthrough also produced the verysuccessful multi-media initiative to ad-vance immigrant rights and racial justice,including the celebrated videogame,ICED (I Can End Deportation).

The award winning ads areinspired by stories of peoplewho have joined the BellBajao! movement againstdomestic violence.Launched first in 2008 withthe support of the Ministry ofWomen and Child Devel-opment and campaignambassador, film starBoman Irani, Bell Bajao! hasbecome a globally recog-nized, national movement

July 9, 2010India Post

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30

A classical blend of Indo-Celtic musicIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: It would be be-yond anyone's wildest imaginationto envisage a connection betweenAppalachian music and classicalIndian Sanskrit music from theearly 1800s.

At the National Press Club,Washington DC recently, Cincin-nati based visionary musician,composer and musicologistKanniks Kannikeswaran sharedseveral interesting stories thatbrought out this eclectic connec-tion that began with MuthuswamyDikshitar, a saint composer whoruled the Karnatic music scene inthe 19th century.

"200 years ago, when the Britishcolonized India, many tunes fromBritain went to India with the bandsof the East India Company.Muthuswamy Dikshitar, one ofIndia's foremost composers in theKarnataka music tradition wrote San-skrit lyrics to some of these tunes.The result is a genre of music that isneither Indian nor western yet both.

Some of the very same tunesthat went with the East India Com-pany also arrived in the UnitedStates with the early immigrants.The musicians that play them ondulcimers and other western folkinstruments are (justifiably) notaware of the fact that these tunesexist in India with Sanskrit lyrics,"explained Kannikeswaran. "Verylittle is known about this genre ofmusic, although there are 39 such

compositions that exist. Roughlyone in 12 compositions of this 19thcentury composer is based on aWestern tune."

This topic has been at the coreof Kannikeswaran's research forthe last three years. He has pains-takingly deciphered the tunesfrom various sources going backto the early 1900s and has re-

corded each one of them with In-dian voices and Western (largelyCeltic) orchestration.

The recording - 'Vismaya - AnIndo Celtic Musical Journey' -features Kannikeswaran's (then)12-year old daughter Vidita ac-companied by a fiddle, someflutes, the English horn, the dul-cimer, a Celtic harp, a tromboneand lots of keyboards, the Celticbodharan and the Indian veena.

His (then) 7-year old youngerdaughter Sukhita sang the har-mony on some of the tunes.

"The Celtic instrumentalistswere astounded that tunes suchas Lord McDonald's reel were ac-tually sung with Sanskrit lyrics inSouth India," chuckles

Kannikeswaran.Indeed, it is fascinating to know

that O' Carolan's planxty, Rakes ofMallow and other such tunes haveSouth Indian counterparts in theclassical idiom.

The lyrics of these composi-tions are in Sanskrit and are ad-dressed to various deities adorn-ing the temples that the composerDikshitar visited.

Kannikeswaran has shared hisresearch on this topic at variousvenues in the United States, In-dia and also in Singapore. His re-cent trip to Singapore featuredhim as the producer and directorof 'Colonial Interlude', a musicaltheater production depicting the

life of composer Dikshitar in co-lonial India.

Kannikeswaran passionatelyshares his knowledge regardingthe life and times of Dikshitar, thewealth of his creations, thetemples that he visited, the hap-penings on the Colonial frontand more.

Kannikeswaran, has earnedawards for his research from the

Music Academy, Madras, India.His presentations have alwayselicited a great response from au-diences. Some of the tunes re-vived in his album are now beingtaught in schools in Chennai, In-dia. He now looks forward to shar-ing this knowledge with the restof the world.

"This legacy from the 19th cen-tury is a great illustration of In-dian culture's ability to be open toideas from around the world, ab-sorb external influences and cre-ate something uniquely new andIndian in the process," saysKannikeswaran.

Kannikeswaran is more than amusician and a composer. All ofhis musical projects are consistentwith his vision of building com-munity by celebrating commonali-ties across cultures. He is the pio-neer of the Indian American cho-ral movement and has foundedIndian community choirs in sev-eral cities in the US. His magnumopus 'Shanti - A Journey of Peace'performed with a cast of over 250was the talk of town in Houstonfor weeks and is to be performedin the near future in Tampa andMinneapolis. His full fledged mu-sical theater production depictingthe life story of Dikshitar was per-formed in Singapore recently.

Kannikeswaran has been teach-ing Indian music at the Universityof Cincinnati as an Adjunct Facultysince 1994. He is also a visiting art-ist at the University of South Florida.

Now, M F Husain, Raza on carpets Vihir's dream run continuesat international festivals

MUMBAI: After beingscreened in over 10 film festivalsworld-wide, Marathi movie 'Vihir'would be shown at five more in-ternational film festivals thismonth.

"The movie would be a partof Karlovy vary InternationalFilm Festival, Taipei Interna-tional film festival, La Roch-elle International Film Festivaland London Indian Film Fes-t ival ," director UmeshKulkarni told PTI.

'Vihir' (Well) will be the clos-ing film of the London festival,he said, adding it will be the in-augural movie for the Bollywoodand Beyond International FilmFestival to be held at Stuttgartin Germany.

The Karlovy Vary Film Festi-val will be held from July 2 to 10in the Czech Republic. TheTaipei film festival would beginon July 4 and would concludeon July 12.

The La Rochelle InternationalFilm Festival to be held in Francewould begin on July 2 and endon July 9.

The London festival would be asix-day affair commencing from July15. Similarly, Bollywood and Be-yond International film festival inGermany would begin on July 22and would culminate on July 25.

'Vihir' has been screened infestivals like Berlin andRotterdam. The movie is the firstMarathi production of AmitabhBachchan Corp Ltd (ABCL).

The movie starring MadanDeodhar, Alok Rajwade, JyotiSubhash, Amruta Subhash,Mohan Agashe and SulbhaDeshpande deals with questionsregarding birth and death beingfaced by a teenager after thedeath of his cousin.

The movie was released inMumbai, Pune, Nashik, andKolhapur on March 19 followed byother cities in Maharashtra. -PTI

NEW DELHI: Select artworksby top selling Indian art masters SH Raza, M F Husain are now avail-able as hand woven designer car-pets in limited editions that wouldbe sold to raise funds for buildingtwo new animal hospitals.

A total of 25 artists along withseven fashion stalwarts such asRohit Bal and Manish Arora havelent their works for the "Fly yourcarpet to your walls" fundraisingproject of Maneka Gandhi's NGOPeople for Animals (PFA).

"We do something exclusiveevery year to raise funds for ourNGO. This time all the best artistsof the country have given us theirworks which have been repro-duced on carpets," ManekaGandhi, Chairperson, PFA told PTIduring a preview here.

A total of 40 artworks repro-duced in limited editions of 20 car-pets each begin at Rs 35,000 eachand go up to Rs 5 lakh for worksby Raza and Husain, the most ex-pensive artists.

The carpets would be exhibitedin the capital between August 27-

August 29."These carpets are hand-wo-

ven and each of them carry an au-thentication certificate from thepainter. So you can get an originalRaza which costs crores, foraround 5 lakh," says Gandhi.

The money raised throughsales would go to building two newveterinary hospitals one in NewDelhi and another in Mysore. Pres-ently the PFA operates a total of26 animal hospitals and sheltersin the country.

"I call them floor art. The art-ists have given us their designsand we have worked with master

weavers on museum quality car-pets that can also be hung on thewalls. It could be said as a newform of art," says Sunil Sethi, Presi-dent Fashion Design Council ofIndia and Vice Chairman All IndiaHandloom Board.

"Only two works, one each byHusain and Manjit Bawa, with im-ages of religious deities, are onlyto be hung on the wall," he saysadding that Husain is the only art-ist who has not seen his paintingswoven on the carpet.

Fashion designer Madhu Jainwhose traditional Andhra motifdesign "Dance of the bulls" alongwith model Milind Soman is fea-tured among the carpets says,"We take up very unusual projectsand this is like a museum master-piece. The proceeds will go for agood cause."

Featured artists in the initiativeare S H Raza, M F Husain, RamKumar, Jehangir Sabavala andManjit Bawa, T Vaikuntam,Chitravanu Mazumdar, PareshMaity, Manu Parekh, Sujata Bajajamong others. -PTI

M F Husain

Kanniks Kannikeswaran

‘200 years ago, whenthe British colonizedIndia, many tunesfrom Britain went toIndia with the bandsof the East India Com-pany. MuthuswamyDikshitar, one ofIndia's foremost com-posers in the Karnatakamusic tradition wroteSanskrit lyrics to someof these tunes’

31 India Post www.indiapost.com July 9, 2010

Nubra Valley, once on the trading route thatconnected eastern Tibet with Turkistan viathe famous Karakoram Pass, is the most re-

cently opened area of Ladakh. Nubra invites you toa trip back in time into a nearly forgotten 'ShangriLa'. With breathtaking views and delightfully hospi-table inhabitants, it is quite an experience.

Best time to visit: Ladakh's harsh winter makesthis crossing possible only during the summermonths-from June to August. The valley itself lies ata lower elevation than the Leh Valley, making it veryfertile with cultivation of grains and fruits like peaches.

Tourist attractionsDiskit is the administrative center of the Nubra

Valley. It nestles on the edge of a desert on the Shyok-side valley, eight hours away, on the other side ofthe Khardong La (La means Pass). To reach this placeone should carry along plenty of water, because theincrease in height by over 2000 meters, can give any-body severe headache and nausea. The road is pavedtill south Pulu, a military check post, where the per-mits are checked and the details entered. This is anunforgettable excursion that makes Indiana Jones

look like a kindergarten excursion.Surrounded by majestic Himalayas, it has the dis-

tinct smell of smoky kitchens, goats, chang (localbrew) and butter tea and the fatal edge of the 100-meter sheer cliffs always closer than one really ap-preciates. One can spot various modes of transpor-tation hundred meters below, at their final restingplace.

Surrounded by the rising mountains of Himalayasand superb views down the Leh valley, the thrill isreplaced by a feeling of utmost beauty. Snow lingersall year round on the mountains with prayer-flagtopped peaks. A breathtaking experience indeed.

Descending into the valley, only the first few kmare tricky. Soon, following a mellow stream, one wouldcome into a surprisingly green landscape with rug-

ged stone formations rising up into the sky with the peaksin the background. They look like they have been pouredover with sugar. A real fairy tale landscape. As drasticallyas the landscape had changed from 'moon-land' on top ofthe Khardong La to a green oasis, one would enter adesert, easily comparable to the Thar in Rajasthan.

Diskit seems like a ghost town, an oasis of tranquility.An enjoyable day's walk brings one to Somoor, half wayto Panamik. Army trucks are the only means of transpor-tation in the valley.

A Ladakhi meal is served sitting around the massiveblack stove in the kitchen, the most important room inany Ladakhi house. It is the place to warm up on a freez-ing winter night, the place where the family meets, thehomework is done and the prayers are said.

Nubra Valley, once on thetrading route that connectedeastern Tibet with Turkistan viathe famous Karakoram Pass, isthe most recently openedarea of Ladakh. Nubra invitesyou to a trip back in time intoa nearly forgotten 'Shangri La'.With breathtaking views anddelightfully hospitable inhabit-ants, it is quite an experience

Cont’d on page 32

India Post July 9, 201032 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Nubra Valley: A nearlyforgotten 'Shangri La'

Tiger is only another three kmtowards Panamik. It makes an easyafternoon stroll, inhaling thebeauty and the calmness of theimpressive, stimulating country-side. Coming across a local, onecan be sure to be greeted with awarm smile and a joyful Julee.

The furthest place the permitallows one to visit in the valley isPanamik, the last settlement of anysize before the Tibetan border. It'snot very wise to proceed furtherthan the provided barrier at thenorthern edge of the town since

this is a rather sensitive borderarea. It is completely controlled bythe Indian Army, usually with veryfriendly soldiers.

The 250 years old Ensa Gompa,nestled on top of a rock overlook-ing snow-peaked mountainsacross the valley is much furtheraway than it looks. It takes at leasta six-hour walk to reach, which in-volves crossing the river atHargam. The hot springs on theoutskirts of Panamik invite one fora literally sizzling bath experience,which will most probably be thefirst contact with hot water sinceone leaves Leh.

The Nubra Valley is one of the

Diskit gompa

last treasures of our planet, livingin sheer isolation for most of theyear in the heart of the greatHimalayas. A real Shangri La, withno 'Baywatch', no mobile phonesand no Ray Ban sunglasses.

How to reachRoad: There are regular buses

run by the Jammu and KashmirState Transport Corporation tocover the distance of 150 km fromLeh to Diskit, the administrativeheadquarters. The roads are main-tained by the army and suddenchanges in weather are common.One should be prepared to facenatural hazards when visitingNubra Valley.


Plusher 'Palace on Wheels' this seasonJAIPUR: With a new spa, gym, cuisines

from around the world, latest upholstery andother modern amenities, one of the world'sluxurious trains -

The Palace on Wheels - is all set to rollout in a plusher avatar to woo internationaland domestic tourists.

The new look luxury train from Rajasthanwould sport upgraded facilities and differ-ent and improved interiors along with otherservices which, according to official sources,were inevitable with other luxury trains likeMaharaja Express, Indian Maharaja-DeccanOdyssey and Golden Chariot plying in thecountry.

Along with PoW a second luxury trainfrom the desert state - 'Royal Rajasthan onWheels' (RRoW) - is also being upgradedto attract tourists and make their experiencemost enjoyable.

"Tourists would have option of a Dubai-like desert safari when the train halts atJaisalmer. More varied food including Mexi-can, Thai and seafood will be served. Thebar is also being upgraded and some of theworld's best wines would be made available

on the train, while interiors have also beenupgraded to give a fresh look besides im-proving quality of existing services," ManjitSingh, Chairman and MD, Rajathan TourismDevelopment Corporation (RTDC), told PTI.

"Currently both the trains - Palace on

Wheels and Royal Rajasthan on Wheels -are undergoing major revamp at cost ofaround Rs 2 crore. The PoW will start itsjourney this season from August whileRRoW will be on track again from Septem-ber," says Singh.

Facilities of spa and gym and upgradedinteriors would also be present in theRRoW.

"We are planning an aggressive market-ing campaign to promote both the trains andmake these the most preferred by tourists,

worldwide. There is competition with risingnumber of luxury trains in the country inrecent times, but we hope our distinguishedtrains would get good response," he says.

At present reservations on the luxurytrains are being done online with some tour-ists preferring to do so via tour operators.The RTDC however, is looking to make dis-tribution channel more viable and system-atic by appointing more agents and therebyincreasing group and charter bookings.

The Palace on Wheels, which was ad-judged recently as the fourth best amongthe top ten luxury trains of the world by theprestigious travel magazine Conde Nast, isin profit of around Rs 9 crore.

However, the RROW introduced in 2009has incurred a loss of around Rs 2 crore andSingh hopes that the RRoW would also reg-ister profits in the 2010-11. -PTI

India adds to Singapore tourism boomSINGAPORE: India has be-

come the second largest touristmarket for Singapore, with the ar-rival of a record 116,000 Indianvisitors in the city state in May.

The Singapore Tourism Boarddata showed that 28 per centmore Indians traveled to

Singapore in May than a yearago.

Comparatively, Indonesia wasthe top tourist generating mar-ket with 186,000 visitors (up 43per cent), Malaysia was thirdwith 82,000 (up 49 per cent), fol-lowed by China 72,000 visitors

(up 38 per cent), and Australiawith 64,000 visitors (up 7 per cent).

Total May tourist arrivals inSingapore increased by 30.3 percent to 946,000, said the board.

Average hotel occupancy ratewas 85 per cent, an increase of 17.1per cent from a year ago. -PTI

Along with PoW a second luxury train from the desertstate - 'Royal Rajasthan on Wheels' (RRoW) - is alsobeing upgraded to attract tourists and make their experi-ence most enjoyable

The 250 years old EnsaGompa, nestled ontop of a rock overlook-ing snow-peakedmountains across thevalley is much furtheraway than it looks. Ittakes at least a six-hour walk to reach,which involves cross-ing the river atHargam

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Hop-on hop-off bus service during GamesNEW DELHI: Come September, the na-

tional capital will have its own hop-on hop-off bus service, modeled on the lines of bestof such facilities in European countries.

The service is being launched mainly tooffer the visitors of the CommonwealthGames a better experience in exploring thecity - be it Delhi's famous monuments or itsauthentic food.

The hop-on hop-off bus service will taketourists to not only the historical monu-ments, museums and other places of impor-tance but also to authentic Indian restau-rants and popular markets.

"We are trying to make it a wonderfulexperience for the visitors of the Games.Most likely the service will be launched onSeptember 15," said Delhi Chief SecretaryRakesh Mehta.

However, tourists will have to wait a littlelonger for experiencing Delhi from the roof-tops of the hop-on hop off buses as such afacility will be offered at a later stage.

Mehta said initially 15 to 20 air condi-tioned low floor buses will be pressed intoservice and all buses will have well trainedguides besides other facilities like digitalvideo screen. "Well-trained guides will alsobe deployed at historical monuments to of-

fer the tourists a great experience while ex-ploring the city," Mehta said adding buseswill be made available at selected monu-ments, shopping complexes and at eateries

at an interval of 15 minutes.Mehta said there will be common ticket-

ing for the service and tourists can spendas much time they want at a particular venueand then get into any of the buses.

He said already, several flexible packages

were finalized to offer the visitors variousoptions for the service initiated by DelhiGovernment's Tourism Department.

The Chief Secretary said the service willbe operated by Urban Mass Transit Com-pany (UMTC) and Prasanna Transport Com-pany of Indore.

The UMTC is a unique public privatepartnership of Ministry of Urban Develop-ment, Government of Andhra Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Cor-poration (APSRTC) and Infrastructure Leas-ing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS).

UMTC was formed to facilitate the de-sign, development and implementation ofsustainable road transport projects.

Delhi is expected to receive over one lakhtourists during the Games to be held fromOctober 3 to 14. -PTI

Virtual tour of dream destinationsin Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Vacationers fromacross the globe can now exploreand visit several tourist spots andUNESCO monuments in TamilNadu through a virtual tour.

Initiated by the Tamil NaduTourism Development Corporation(TTDC) recently, a click on themouse gets one all tourist spotslive on screen with very real ef-fects.

"The aim of launching a virtualtour is an attempt to enable notonly the local people, but alsothose abroad have a real kind ofexperience about various touristspots of Tamil Nadu", TTDC IT in-charge Justin Jose told PTI.

TTDC plans include a virtualwalk through 32 destinations, withanother 24 famous spots to beadded soon, he said.

Jose said those who have notvisited Thanjavur to see the fa-mous Brahadeeswarar templecould pay a virtual visit to the site,enabling them see it in all its glory,including all the beautiful sculp-tures.

He said these tours can beviewed on the websitewww.tamilnadutourism.org.

"This website will also providelife to popular as well as lesserknown spots in the state. Mostoften, visitors do not get properinformation or guidance and arenot able to visit the spots in itsentirety", he added. .

"The virtual tour will enabletravelers to have an enchantingexperience and also tell them what

to expect during their visit", Josesaid, adding, TTDC expects theirnew initiative to be a hit and alsobring in more tourists to the state.

TTDC officials said the websitehad captured and displayed thenatural beauty of spectacular tour-ist hotspots, including

Udhagamandalam, Kodaikannal,Valparai, Kolli hills, Yercaud andYelagiri, among others.

The user friendly website, de-veloped in just a month, also of-fers a 'walk' through the Vandalurzoo, world famous Iravadeeshwarartemple at Darasuram, Rameswaramtemple, Courtallam falls,Tiruvalluvar statue, BhagavathiAmman temple and Vivekanandarock memorial in Kanyakumari.

Several new features like medi-cal tourism fairs, package tours,tourism policy announcements,medical tourism, honeymoon tour,online reservation system areavailable through this virtual toursfor the benefit of domestic and for-eign tourists.

Officials also claimed that TamilNadu would be the first state tocreate virtual tours for more tour-ist spots.

"More than two lakh peoplehave already visited virtual tourportal within a span of threemonths", they said. -PTI

Mehta said initially 15 to 20 air conditioned low floor buses willbe pressed into service and all buses will have well trainedguides besides other facilities like digital video screen. "Well-trained guides will also be deployed at historical monumentsto offer the tourists a great experience while exploring the city

‘The aim of launchinga virtual tour is anattempt to enable notonly the local people,but also those abroadhave a real kind ofexperience aboutvarious tourist spots ofTamil Nadu’, TTDC ITin-charge JustinJose told PT

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India Post 35July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com

36 India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com

In Brief ImmigrationTough state law revives dormant

immigration issueTUCSON, Arizona: With the

scrawl of a pen, Republican Gov.Jan Brewer awakened a dormantbut politically explosive issue of il-legal immigration, sending shockwaves across the political spectrumin an election year when both par-ties had hoped to sidestep the topic.

Two months after Brewersigned a new Arizona law instruct-ing police to demand proof of aquestionable person's legal status,voters have refocused on a topicthat had faded into the back-ground after Congress failed tooverhaul the contentious immigra-tion system in 2007.

Protests have flared. Lawsuitshave been filed. Arizona boycottsare under way. And more than 20states are discussing similar ef-forts.

Polls again put border securityand immigration among voters'top concerns.

``It's not just a problem in Ari-zona, it's a problem everywhere.People are just furious,'' GaryWidemann says of illegal immigra-tion. ̀ `Something needs to be done.''

He would know. Widemann, 59,splits his time between Arizona, abig gateway for illegal immigrants

with an estimated 460,000 livinghere, and South Dakota, which hasa small Hispanic population butrelies on immigrants, legal or not,to fill jobs at its meatpacking plants.

``What the Arizona law did tapinto was the idea that we've got tocontrol our borders. This law re-ally galvanized public opinion onthat one aspect of this issue,'' said

Andrew Kohut, director of thenonpartisan Pew Research Center.

Politicians from PresidentBarack Obama down find them-selves again wrestling with a topicthat is politically perilous for Re-publicans and Democrats alike,particularly in an election year andas both parties seek to court His-panics, the nation's largest andfastest-growing minority group.

They have little choice.An Associated Press-GfK poll

this month showed that 85 percentof people now rank immigration as

an important issue.Every spoke in the wheel of

American life is touched by it.Porous borders and undocu-

mented people have national se-curity implications. Foreign work-ers become an important part ofthe economy, filling low-payingjobs and possibly depressingwage scales in higher-paying

ones. Schools, businesses andmost other entities are forced toadapt to immigrant-swelled popu-lations. Family, race and socialnorms also are at play.

Senate Democratic leader HarryReid, who faces a fierce re-electionfight in Nevada, pushed for legisla-tion this year to provide an even-tual path to citizenship, what criticscall amnesty, for many of the esti-mated 12 million illegal immigrants.Reid was accused of pandering andhe shelved the plan when otherDemocrats refused to jump aboard.

In Arizona, Attorney GeneralTerry Goddard opposes the law ina state that overwhelmingly sup-ports it. The Democratic nomineefor governor, he is trying to figureout just how to challenge Breweron the issue.

Republican candidates also findthemselves in tough spots. Socialconservatives want a get-toughpolicy on illegal immigrants; agri-culture operations fear it will betoo tough, and businesses wantmore visas for immigrants withhigh-tech skills.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, theRepublican champion of compre-hensive immigration reform whenCongress last debated the issue,now advocates securing the bor-der first. ``Complete the dangfence,'' McCain says in a TV ad inhis party primary race againstformer Rep. J.D. Hayworth, astaunch border-security advocate.

``Would I have written the bill?Probably not,'' McCain said in arecent interview. ``But the fact ispeople in Arizona are frustratedbecause the federal governmentdid not act. People feel very pas-sionate about it, here and every-where.'' -AP

Using different experience requirementsCORA-ANN V. PESTAINA

We've pretty much got-ten used to (but notaccepted!) the vast in-

consistencies that exist in de-gree-equivalency requirementswith regard to filing an H-1B, aPERM or an I-140. We've beenforced to cope with (though wewill never understand!) the factthat the degree-equivalencyregulations that govern EB-2 andEB-3 professionals are inconsis-tent with the degree-equivalencyregulations that govern H-1Bspecialty occupations and thatUSCIS degree-equivalency regu-lations and the DOL's SVPscheme applied to labor certifi-cations widely differ.

We've come to understandhow vital it is that we map outthe entire green card process

prior to filing a PERM applicationand that we anticipate every po-tential pitfall and make early stra-tegic decisions to prevent them.

Yet, despite all our hard-earnedknowledge and efforts, most of uswill, at some point, be forced todeal with an unanticipated snag

on an equivalency issue especiallywhen the government changes itsinterpretation on a particular for-eign degree.

Ronald Y. Wada, who many ofus turn to for guidance throughthe frustratingly obscure law of

degree-equivalency, has written anew article, The Nth Degree - Is-sues and Case Studies in DegreeEquivalency: Crossing the Border-land Between DOL and USCISRequirements, 15 Bender's Immigr.Bull. 863 (June 15, 2010).

The article addresses the dif-

ferences between the reviewingpractices of the DOL and USCIS.While we've always focused ondegree-equivalency requirements,the article highlights a differentissue - experience.

The PERM program established

a "substantially comparable"standard when consideringwhether prior experience gainedon-the-job with the same employermay be used to qualify a foreignnational for the job offered.

Specifically, under the PERMregulations, a sponsoring em-ployer is permitted to consider ex-perience gained with that employerin instances where it establishesthat the position in which the aliengained the qualifying experience isnot "substantially comparable" tothe job for which labor certifica-tion is being sought.

Substantially comparable isdefined by the regulations as ajob or position requiring perfor-mance of the same job dutiesmore than 50 percent of the time.

One judge toconsider allchallenges to law

PHOENIX: All five constitu-tional challenges to Arizona's con-troversial new immigration en-forcement law will be heard by onefederal judge in Phoenix.

US District Judge Susan Boltonalready was assigned two of thecases. She ordered the other threetransferred to her.

The cases at least for now re-main separate, but Bolton says it'sclearly in the ̀ `interest of judicialeconomy'' to have one judge pre-side over all five. She also notesthat all five cases remain in earlystages of consideration.

The Arizona law takes effectJuly 29 unless blocked by a court.Its provisions include a require-ment that police officers enforcinganother law to question a person'simmigration status if there's a rea-sonable suspicion that the personis in the country illegally. -AP

Limits sought onfilings on Ariz.immigration law

PHOENIX: Gov. Jan Brewer'slawyers are asking a federal judgeto put limits in filing of some briefsand motions in one of the legalchallenges to Arizona's new immi-gration enforcement law.

A motion filed in U.S. Districtcourt requests limits on so-called``friend of the court'' briefs andmotions because of what it callsthe ``sheer volume'' of filings byinterested parties. It says that vol-ume is due to the high level of at-tention garnered by the law.

The motion says many of thefilings do nothing more than re-state the original lawsuit's argu-ments or speculate about the po-tential impact of the law. -AP

Guilty verdict in NYbeating death ofimmigrant

NEW YORK: A New York Cityjury has convicted a man of mur-der as a hate crime in the beat-ing death of an Ecuadorean im-migrant.

Jurors deliberated for aboutseven hours before convictingKeith Phoenix in the December2008 death of Jose Sucuzhanay.

Phoenix also was convicted ofattempted assault as a hate crimein the attack on Sucuzhanay'sbrother.

He was retried on the chargesafter the first jury ended in amistrial.

Prosecutors say Phoenix andHakim Scott mistook the brothersfor gay men and yelled slurs. -AP

Md. immigrantgroup leadermeets Obama

ANNAPOLIS, Md.: The leaderof a Maryland immigrant advo-cacy group who met with Presi-dent Obama says ̀ `time is runningout'' for positive signs from hisadministration. -AP

Cont’d on page 39

‘It's not just a problem in Arizona, it's aproblem everywhere. People are just furious,’Gary Widemann says of illegal immigration.‘Something needs to be done’

The PERM program established a ‘substantiallycomparable’ standard when considering whetherprior experience gained on-the-job with the sameemployer may be used to qualify a foreignnational for the job offered

India Post 37July 9, 2010 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

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Immigrant farm workers'challenge: Take our jobs

SAN FRANCISCO: In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform,farm workers are teaming up withcomedian Stephen Colbert in a chal-lenge to unemployed Americans:Come on, take our jobs.

Farm workers are tired of beingblamed by politicians and anti-im-migrant activists for taking work thatshould go to Americans and drag-ging down the economy, said ArturoRodriguez, the president of theUnited Farm Workers of America.

So the group is encouraging theunemployed - and any Washing-ton pundits who want to join them- to apply for some of the thou-sands of agricultural jobs beingposted with state agencies as har-vest season begins.

All applicants need to do is fillout an online form under the ban-ner ̀ Ì want to be a farm worker'' atwww.takeourjobs.org, and experi-enced field hands will train themand connect them to farms.

Three out of four farm workersin the U.S. were born abroad, andmore than half are illegal immi-grants, according to the LaborDepartment.

Proponents of tougher immigra-tion laws have argued that farm-ers have become used to cheaplabor. The problem with the UFW'sproposition, they argue, is thatgrowers don't want to raise wagesand improve working conditionsenough to attract Americans.

In either case, those who havedone the job have some words ofadvice for applicants.

First, dress appropriately. Dur-ing summer, when the harvest offruits and vegetables is in fullswing in California's Central Val-ley, temperatures hover in the tripledigits. Heat exhaustion is one ofthe reasons farm labor consis-tently makes the Bureau of LaborStatistics' top ten list of thenation's most dangerous jobs.

Second, expect long days.Growers have a small window topick fruit before it is overripe; workstarts before dawn and goes onfor 12 or more hours.

And don't count on a big pay-check. Farm workers are excluded

from federal overtime provisions,and small farms don't even haveto pay the minimum wage. Fifteenstates don't require farm labor tobe covered by workers compen-sation laws.

Any takers?``The reality is farm workers

who are here today aren't takingany American jobs away. Theywork in often unbearable situa-tions,'' Rodriguez said. `Ì don'tthink there will be many takers, butthe offer is being made. Let's seewhat happens.''

To highlight just how unlikelythe prospect of Americans liningup to pick strawberries or grapesis, Comedy Central's ̀ `Colbert Re-port'' plans to feature the ``TakeOur Jobs'' campaign on July 8.Requests to Comedy Central andColbert for comment on the natureof the collaboration weren't imme-diately answered.

Another way of tackling the is-sue is to strengthen immigrationenforcement, said Mark Krikorian,executive director of the Center forImmigration Studies, which sup-ports strict immigration laws.

It's an idea that might not endup on Comedy Central, but reduc-ing the pool of farm workers wouldforce growers to improve workingconditions and raise wages.

``They're daring the Americanpeople to get by without farmworkers,'' he said. ̀ `What I'm say-ing is, 'Let's take them up on thatand call their bluff.'''

The campaign is being played forjokes, but the need to secure theright to work for immigrants who arehere is serious business, said

Michael Rubio, supervisor in KernCounty, one of the biggest ag pro-ducing counties in the nation.

`Òur county, our economy, relyheavily on the work of immigrantand unauthorized workers,'' hesaid. `Ì would encourage all ournational leaders to come visit KernCounty and to spend one day, oreven half a day, in the shoes ofthese farm workers.''

Hopefully, the message will godown easier with some laughs,said Manuel Cunha, president ofthe California grower associationNisei Farmers League, who wasnot a part of the campaign.

`Ìf you don't add some humorto this, it's enough to get youdrinking, and I don't mean Pepsi,''Cunha said, dismissing the ideathat Americans would take up thefarm workers' offer.

California's agriculture industrylaunched a similar campaign in1998, hoping to recruit welfare re-cipients and unemployed workersto work on farms, he said. Threepeople showed up.

``Give us a legal, qualified workforce. Right now, farmers don'tknow from day to day if they'regoing to get hammered by ICE,''he said, referring to U.S. Immigra-tion and Customs Enforcement.``What happens to my labor pool?''

His organization supportsAgJobs, a bill currently in the Sen-ate which would allow those whohave worked in U.S. agriculture forat least 150 days in the previoustwo years to get legal status.

The bill has been proposed invarious forms since the late1990s, with backing from theUnited Farm Workers of Americaand other farming groups, buthas never passed.

Politicians' and advocates' per-spectives on the matter mightchange if they were to take up thefarm workers' offer, said Rubio fromBakersfield.

“The view and the temperatureis much different from a row in afield than from inside an air condi-tioned office,'' he said. ̀ Ìs it a chal-lenge? Most certainly, yes. Comeon down.'' -AP

Three out of fourfarm workers in theUS were bornabroad, and morethan half are illegalimmigrants,according to theLabor Department

India Post38 July 9, 2010Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

GOP gov hopefuls talk tough on illegal immigrationATLANTA: With rhetoric

about immigration intensifyingnationwide, Georgia's Republicancandidates for governor are tak-ing every chance they get to reit-erate their tough stances on ille-gal immigration.

At debates and forums, on theirwebsites and in television adver-tisements, the four top contend-ers in the seven-person GOP pri-mary say they'd support a toughimmigration law like the one thatrecently passed in Arizona. Andthey're calling on state collegeadministrators to make sure no il-legal immigrants attend stateschools.

``The competing Republicangubernatorial candidates are sim-ply trying to show that they arevery much committed to tougherimmigration policy,'' said Universityof Georgia political science profes-sor Charles Bullock. ̀ `There's prob-ably not a whole lot of differencebetween what they would do but,you know, it plays well.''

With a comprehensive immigra-tion reform plan seeming unlikelyto make it onto the congressionalagenda this year, immigrationmight have lost footing this elec-tion year to pressing issues likehealth care and the economy. Butthe passage of a strict new law in

Arizona in April sparked monthsof heated debate.

``The reality is illegal immigra-tion is a big problem nationwide,and it's a big problem in Georgia,''said Stephen Puetz, campaignmanager for Insurance Commis-sioner John Oxendine, the GOPmoney leader. ̀ Òur state needs todo more if the federal governmentisn't going to enforce their laws.''

The Arizona law, which goesinto effect next month, requirespolice investigating another inci-dent or crime to ask people abouttheir immigration status if there'sa ``reasonable suspicion'' they'rein the country illegally.

It has been widely decried bycivil liberties and immigrant rightsactivists, and Secretary of StateHillary Clinton recently said thefederal government planned tosue over the issue.

The four leading contendersfor the Republican nomination forgovernor in Georgia have all saidthey would like to see a law herethat mirrors the Arizona law.

``Nathan would put into lawlegislation similar to what passedin Arizona,'' said Brian Robinson,a spokesman for former congress-man Nathan Deal. `Ìmmigrationreform will be part of his mandatein his first session at the Legisla-

ture as governor.''The high-profile case of an ille-

gal immigrant student atKennesaw State University whowas arrested in the spring afterbeing stopped for a minor trafficviolation and was nearly deportedbefore the federal government de-ferred action on her case for a yearhas also fueled the immigrationdebate in Georgia.

``Karen thinks we should checkthe legal status of students, andthat those who are not here legallyshould be removed from schooland should, frankly, be sent backto their country of origin,'' saidDan McLagan, a spokesman forformer Secretary of State KarenHandel.

Handel and the other three lead-ing Republican candidates have allcalled on the Board of Regents,which oversees the state's public

universities and colleges, to comeup with a way to verify that appli-cants are in the country legally.

Former state Sen. Eric Johnsonearlier this month unveiled a pro-posal that would require elemen-tary and secondary schools to col-lect citizenship data on enrollingstudents and also would requirepublic hospitals to find out whichpatients are in the country legally.

Deal has publicly sparred withJohnson over that proposal, say-ing teachers and hospitalsshouldn't be dragged into enforce-ment of immigration laws.

Oxendine has said he will workwith the state's next attorney gen-eral to sue the federal governmentto recoup prison and other costsincurred by the state for the de-tention of any illegal immigrant. Hisreasoning for that, said Puetz, isthat states wouldn't have to bearthose costs if the federal govern-ment had effectively done its jobof keeping illegal immigrants out.

In his role as insurance com-missioner, a seat he's held since1994, Oxendine hasn't dealt muchwith the issue of illegal immigra-tion. The other three leading Re-publicans all tout their pastrecords as indicators of futuretoughness.

Johnson notes that he was

president pro tem in the state Sen-ate when Georgia passed one ofthe toughest immigration laws inthe country.

Handel implemented the use ofthe federal SAVE database toverify the immigration status ofapplicants for professional li-censes when she was secretary ofstate, McLagan said.

Deal's campaign notes he con-sistently pushed for stricter en-forcement of federal immigrationlaws while he was in Congress.

While immigration has been amuch-discussed topic for Repub-licans in the gubernatorial primary,it's barely been a blip on the radaron the Democratic side. But Bul-lock, the UGA professor, thinks it'sa topic the Democratic nomineewon't be able to avoid.

`Ì think it will continue on intothe general election,'' he said. ̀ Ìt'sgoing to be an issue that I thinkwe're going to see Republicansusing across the nation.''

That wouldn't be a new tactic.When Gov. Sonny Perdue wasrunning for re-election in 2006,GOP ads depicted him as toughon illegal immigration after hesigned a strict immigration bill intolaw and accused Democratic chal-lenger Mark Taylor of failing toshow leadership on the issue. -AP

Top GOP candidates focuson immigration reform

JOHNSTON, Iowa: Republi-can candidates for attorney gen-eral and secretary of state saidthey'd use the offices to focuson illegal immigration, includinga tweaked version of a contro-versial Arizona law.

Brenna Findley, of Dexter, whois running for thestate's top law en-forcement job,said she'd pushthe Legislature totoughen immigra-tion laws. Shepraised the Ari-zona law that al-lows police to de-mand proof of citi-zenship from any-one they suspectof being in the country illegally.

``They certainly acted in orderto get their state more resourcesto fight the illegal immigrationproblem,'' Findley said.

She said she supports ``what'sbehind the law.''

`Ì think it should be tailored forIowa's circumstances,'' Findleysaid. ``We're not a border state.''

Though many criticize the law,claiming it encourages racial pro-filing, polls indicate it's very popu-

lar in Arizona.Findley and Matt Schultz, the

GOP nominee for secretary ofstate spoke during a taping ofthe Iowa Public Television pro-gram `Ìowa Press.'' Schultz, ofCouncil Bluffs, is challengingSecretary of State Michael

Mauro, a Democratseeking a secondterm, in November.

``When it comesto jobs and elections,illegal immigrationcan play a huge role,''Schultz said.

Besides requiringvoters to have aphoto ID at the polls,Schultz said hewould set up a link

for businesses on the office'swebsite that would connect themto federal agencies that can verifycitizenship.

``Then we would propose tothe Legislature to create some kindof requirement to have businessesverify their work force,'' he said.

The two are making their firstrun for statewide office. Schultz isa Council Bluffs City Councilmember. Findley is a former topaide to US Rep. Steve King. -AP

Teen shot by Border Patrol hadsmuggling arrests

EL PASO, Texas: A 15-year-oldMexican boy shot and killed by aUS Border Patrol agent wasamong El Paso's most wanted ju-venile immigrant smugglers, ac-cording to federal arrest recordsreviewed by The AssociatedPress.

The records show SergioAdrian Hernandez Huereca hadbeen arrested at least four timessince 2008 and twice in the sameweek in February 2009 on suspi-cion of smuggling illegal immi-grants across the U.S.-Mexicoborder. Hernandez was repeatedlyarrested along the U.S. side of theborder near downtown El Paso,not far from where he was killed,but was never charged with acrime by federal prosecutors.

A Border Patrol agent shot andkilled Hernandez June 7 while try-ing to arrest illegal immigrantscrossing the muddy bed of the RioGrande. Some witnesses said agroup of people on the Mexicanside were throwing rocks at theagents. Agents are generally per-mitted to use lethal force againstrock throwers.

The records show that in atleast one case Hernandez was to

be paid $50 a person for smugglingfour people into the U.S.

The records also show that inone case, federal prosecutors de-clined to charge Hernandez be-cause there were no ̀ èxtenuatingcircumstances or endangerment.''

Daryl Fields, a spokesman forthe U.S. Attorney's Office in SanAntonio, said he could ``neitherconfirm nor deny that information.''

Border Patrol officials have de-clined to comment on his criminalrecord, citing an ongoing FBI in-vestigation into whether theshooting was justified under Bor-der Patrol rules and whether theagent, who remains unidentified,violated Hernandez's civil rights.

FBI Special Agent WilliamWeiss also declined to comment.

Mexican authorities have calledthe killing a murder and some de-manded that the agent be extra-dited to Mexico to face criminalcharges. U.S. officials have saidthat is highly unlikely.

A grainy cell phone video cap-turing the shooting shows severalillegal immigrants trying toscramble back to Mexico after abicycle-mounted Border Patrolagent arrives in the riverbed. Theagent detains one man on the U.S.side of the border and fires twoaudible shots toward Mexico afterputting the man on the ground. Thevideo shows what appears to be abody underneath a nearby railroadbridge spanning the border.

Border Patrol officials have saidthe agent told the rock throwersto stop and back off, but they per-sisted and he fired several times.

A federal official familiar withthe investigation said there is evi-dence that Hernandez was throw-ing rocks at the agent at the timeof the shooting. The official, whohas been briefed on the case andreviewed some evidence, spoke onthe condition of anonymity be-cause he is not authorized to speakabout the case publicly. -AP

While immigration hasbeen a much-dis-cussed topic for Re-publicans in the gu-bernatorial primary,it's barely been a blipon the radar on theDemocratic side

A Border Patrol agentshot and killedHernandez June 7while trying to arrestillegal immigrantscrossing the muddybed of the Rio Grande

Though manycriticize the law,claiming it en-courages racialprofiling, pollsindicate it's verypopular inArizona

India Post 39July 9, 2010 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contactedat 212-425-0555 or

[email protected]

20 C.F.R. § 656.17(i)(5)(ii). Then,there is the USCIS rule, establishedin Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16I&N Dec. 158 (Acting Reg'l Comm'r1977), a precedent decision, whichholds simply that the foreign na-tional must possess the qualifica-tions specified on the labor certifi-cation as of the priority date.

In his article, Mr. Wada writes,"Since the AAO has stated in nu-merous nonprecedent decisions(and federal courts have affirmed)that USCIS has the authority todetermine whether the beneficiarymeets the job requirements shownon the PERM application, once thelabor certification is approved bythe DOL the rule regarding whatexperience can be counted shiftsto the USCIS rule."

This circumstance could providethe escape from the snare of a badlydesigned PERM, provide anotheroption when the foreign nationalpresents new information at the I-140 phase ("Sorry, I guess I can'tget all those experience letters af-ter all!") or even help in instanceswhere the USCIS attempts to re-voke a previously approved I-140.

The Wada article presents thecase where a PERM was designedwith a Master's degree requirementand was certified. At the I-140 phase,the USCIS refuses to accept the for-eign national's Master's degreedeeming his credentials equivalentto only a U.S. Bachelor's degree.

If the foreign national is able todemonstrate five years of progres-sive, post-degree work experienceprior to the priority date of thePERM application, then under theUSCIS policy in Matter of Wing'sTea House, the foreign nationalmay yet qualify for the offered

position and for EB-2.Importantly, the foreign na-

tional may even utilize experiencegained on the job with the spon-soring employer - something hecould not do during the labor cer-tification phase especially if thetwo positions with the same em-ployer were not more than 50%different! He may combine experi-ence gained with a previous em-ployer and experience gained withthe sponsoring employer to arriveat the requisite 5 years of post-degree experience. It is only nec-essary that the foreign national

meet the job requirements prior tothe priority date, which is estab-lished when the labor certificationis filed. USCIS does not set forthany "substantially comparable"standard à la the DOL.

Matter of Wing's Tea Housecould also work in instanceswhere, whether it's an EB-2 or anEB-3 I-140, the foreign nationalbelatedly discovers that her pre-vious employer still harbors ill-willtoward her and thus refuses to is-sue her an experience letter.

If the foreign national is left short1 year of experience and she had been

employed with the sponsoring em-ployer for at least 1 year before thelabor certification was filed on herbehalf, under Matter of Wing's TeaHouse, the foreign national couldcombine experience gained with thesponsoring employer and her previ-ous experience to qualify her for theoffered position despite the fact thather on-the-job experience would nothave qualified her for the offered po-sition at the labor certification phasedue to the DOL's "substantially com-parable" rule.

But will it actually work? Havingsaid all that, we should bear in mindthat the USCIS is afforded groundsin 20 C.F.R. §656.30(d) to invalidatea labor certification based on a find-ing of fraud or willful misrepresen-tation of a material fact involving thelabor certification application.

While the scenarios outlinedabove would not compel such afinding, is there a chance that theUSCIS could request that the DOLrevoke the labor certification?Under 20 C.F.R. §656.32(a) the DOLmay revoke an approved labor cer-tification, based on a finding thatthe certification was not justified.

If the foreign national is foundnot to possess the degree or theexperience listed on the PERM,which is not being used consis-tently at the time of the I-140, couldit be held that the certification wasnot justified? It is interesting foodfor thought. However, Matter ofWing's Tea House indeed pre-sents an innovative path thatcould possibly be used to save anI-140 in trouble.

Using different experiencerequirements


If the foreign nationalis found not to possessthe degree or theexperience listed onthe PERM, which is notbeing used consis-tently at the time of theI-140, could it be heldthat the certificationwas not justified?

India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com40

Sports Track SPORTS

Afro-Asian blocthwarts JohnHoward

SINGAPORE: The powerfulAfro-Asian bloc has thwartedformer Australian Prime MinisterJohn Howard's bid for the ICCVice-President's post, promptingthe governing body to seek a newcandidate from the Australian andNew Zealand cricket boards.

"The ICC Executive Board metto discuss the nomination of theHonorable John Howard AC forthe role of ICC Vice-President forthe period 2010-12," the Interna-tional Cricket Council said in astatement.

"Following lengthy consider-ation it was recognized that thenomination put forward by CricketAustralia and New Zealand Cricketdid not have sufficient supportwithin the ICC Board. No vote wastaken. -PTI

American coachfor Indian teamin WSB

NEW DELHI: A little-knownAmerican Ronald Simms andDronacharya awardee JagdishSingh have been roped in ascoaches for the Indian team, com-prising the likes of Olympic med-alist Vijender Singh and AkhilKumar, for the World Series ofBoxing starting this November.

Vijender, Akhil, Jitender Kumar,Jai Bhagwan and Dinesh are theDelhi-based franchise's Indianpicks and it also signed up nineinternational boxers at an auctionheld in London earlier this week.

All these boxers will have to makesome adjustments to their weightcategories to participate in the eventwhich starts November 19. -PTI

HISTORIC TRIUMPH: Saina Nehwal addressing Media at Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad along with her father

and coach Gopichand. Saina Nehwal scripted history on June 21, 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super

Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open. She repeated the feat this year after lifting the

Singapore Open Super series and the Indian Open, all in three weeks. -Pic snapsindia

US Carrom championship winners announced

Milind Rege appointed WorldCup tournament manager

MUMBAI: Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain Milind Regehas been appointed as the 2011 World Cup tournament man-ager, it was learned here.

"He would be the World Cup tournament manager to over-see the readiness of all eight venues (in India) to conduct thesematches like preparing the dressing rooms, the umpires' roomsetc," according to Cricket Board sources. -PTI


NEW JERSEY: United StatesCarrom Association has an-nounced the winners of the 2010National Championship sup-ported by TV Asia.

The event concluded on Sun-day, June 27 and was held at theTV Asia Auditorium in New Jer-sey. Players from California, Vir-ginia, Chicago, Texas includingNew Jersey and New York com-peted in the Singles and Doublescategory.

TV Asia 2010 Trophies weredistributed to all the Winners andthe Runner Ups and especiallyembroidered TV Asia T shirts weredistributed to all the participants.

The trophies were handed overby Mr. H R Shah Chairman of TV

our community in United Statesand Canada. TV Asia has alwayssupported and will stand by itsside in narrating the success andintegration of our community inNorth America."

The US National Winners willnow go to the World CarromChampionship where 20 countrieswill be participating this year isbeing held in Richmond Virginiain September this year.

Asia who congratulated the USCarrom Association and all theplayers and their families for popu-larizing Carrom a family fun filled

game for all ages.Mr. Shah said "This effort by

TV Asia is part of our core mis-sion to encourage and highlight

Saina Nehwal confident ofbecoming world's No. 1

HYDERABAD: After notchingup an incredible hat-trick of inter-national titles, ace Indian shuttlerSaina Nehwal has said she is con-fident of becoming the world'snumber one player soon.

Saina, who rounded a hat-trickof titles by defending her Indone-sia Open Super Series trophy inJakarta, said she would now haveto work harder to improve her rank-ing from number three to one.

"Now it is important for me towork harder and win the next in-

ternational events rather than con-centrating on the ranking. If I canbecome number three, then I canalso become number one," Sainasaid at a press conference.

"I enjoyed all the matches inthe three tournaments. I was a littletired but was confident that Icould do it. Finally I am happy thatI have won three titles in a row.Now I want to win the upcomingtournaments," she added.

Before winning in Jakarta,which was the 20-year-old's third

Super Series title overall, Sainahad won the Indian Open GrandPrix at home and the SingaporeOpen Super Series Tournament.

"Last year it was tough for me towin the Indonesia Open and it wassomething special as it was my firstsuper series title. But the recent oneis special because I have won threetournaments in a row," said Saina.

Saina said she now wants is tosteer clear of injuries so that she cangive her best in the Commonwealthand Asian Games later this year.

"I only pray that I will be injury-free now to focus on World Cham-pionships and also the other twobig events coming up - Delhi Com-monwealth Games and the AsianGames in China," Saina said.

"There are areas like my de-fence, which I need to improve inthe days to come. The fitness levelhas to be really good.

I think, the challenges are boundto be tougher especially after win-ning these titles," said Saina.

The Andhra Pradesh Badmin-ton Association presented her acheque for Rs 1 lakh for the rareachievement.

Saina's father Harvir Singh,who was also present at the occa-sion, appreciated his daughter forproving her mettle in the interna-tional circuit. -PTI

Sharad Pawarbecomes secondIndian to head ICC

NEW DELHI: A man who hasearned his stripes as an astutepolitician, Sharad Pawar has be-came only the second Indian --after his one time adversaryJagmohan Dalmiya -- to occupythe top post at the InternationalCricket Council.

Pawar's taking over as ICCPresident means it took 10 yearsafter Dalmiya had quit as ICCChairman that another Indian roseto the coveted position.

A seasoned politician, 69-year-old Pawar is not new to sports ad-ministration, being the president ofthe Maharashtra Olympic Associa-tion and Mumbai Cricket Associa-tion (MCA), besides heading thestate kho-kho, kabaddi and wres-tling associations.-PTI

'Last year it was toughfor me to win theIndonesia Open and itwas something spe-cial as it was my firstsuper series title.But the recent oneis special'

The US National Win-ners will now go to theWorld CarromChampionship where20 countries will beparticipating

Briefs India India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com41

NewsRohtangTunnel workbegins

MANALI (HP): The drilling of atunnel through the Himalayanranges began here to facilitate lay-ing out of an alternative all-weatherroad route to strategically impor-tant areas of Ladakh and provid-ing a year-long connectivity to theremote Lahaul-Spiti valley.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi,in her capacity as the NationalAdvisory Council chief, declaredopen the tunnel drilling at SouthPortal, 30 km north of here, in thepresence of Defence Minister A KAntony, Himachal Pradesh ChiefMinister P K Dhumal and UnionSteel Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Gandhi unveiled a plaque sig-nalling the inauguration of the drill-ing. Priests belonging to severalreligions chanted hymns beforethe inauguration. -PTI

'Demand forchanges in AFSPAfor political gains'

NEW DELHI: Amid moves bythe political leadership to make thecontroversial Armed Forces Spe-cial Powers Act (AFSPA) "morehumane", Army ChiefGen.V.K.Singh has voiced his op-position to any change, sayingdemands for dilution of the Actwere being made for "narrow po-litical gains".

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh has promised amendmentsto the Act that gives sweepingpowers to the Army in Jammu andKashmir and the North East, tomake it more humane. Home Min-ister P Chidambaram is also knownto be in favor of diluting some ofthe provisions of the Act. -PTI

3-day SindhuDarshan festivalconcludes in Leh

JAMMU: The three-daySindhu Darshan festival, in whichpilgrims from different parts of thecountry took part, has concludedin Leh town of Ladakh region inJammu and Kashmir.

The function marking the endof the festival was held atPologround in Leh town.

The former Chief Minister ofRajasthan Vasundara Raje was thechief guest at the cultural functionin which artists from Ladakh,Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh enthralled theaudience with their performance.

The Sindhu Darshan festival isorganized by Sindhu DarshanSamiti every year drawing a largenumber of people from differentparts of the country. -PTI

SP Mookerjee Martyrdom Dayobserved in Kashmir

NIDHI SOPARAWALA


MUMBAI: History was createdwhen Dr. Syama PrasadMookerjee, who had attained mar-tyrdom in a Srinagar jail on June23, 1953 for demanding completemerger of Kashmir with rest of In-dia, was remembered by select in-tellectual elite at a national semi-nar dedicated to his memory inSrinagar.

The seminar was on thetheme 'Rising India-Challengesof a troubled neighborhood.' Itwas inaugurated by former ArmyChief Gen. V. P. Malik. Amongthe distinguished participantswere eminent editor M.J. Akbar,Prof. Riyaz Punjabi, Vice Chan-cellor, Kashmir University,India's former Ambassador toFrance and Germany, TCARangachari, Lt. Gen. AdityaSingh and Maj. Gen VinodSaighal.

A galaxy of leaders from vari-ous walks of life in Srinagar, fac-ulty and students from KashmirUniversity and Islamic University,intellectuals and officers attendedthe seminar which was hugelydecorated with pictures of Dr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

The program began with light-

ing of the lamp before the picturesof Bharat Mata and Dr. SyamaPrasad Mookerjee by all dignitar-ies and singing of the NationalAnthem.

It was pointed out by local par-ticipants that even the national

anthem was sung perhaps for thefirst time after many years at apublic function in Srinagar.

Bal Apte, President of Dr.Syama Prasad Research Founda-tion welcomed the guests andTarun Vijay, Director gave a vividintroduction to Dr. Mookerjee'sillustrious life and underlined thesignificance of the day being ob-served in Srinagar.

Gen. Ved Malik said that chal-lenges of China and Pakistan canbe met with a strong India - whichis strong economically, sociallyand militarily.

M.J. Akbar spell-bound theaudience with his sharp remarksand said that India can't be saidto be rising unless Muslims also

get into the mainstream ofprogress. He said, like Hindus hadreforms from within, Muslimsmust also change for a better so-cial dynamics. He said that Indiais secular not because of the fif-teen percent Muslim minority butbecause of the Hindu majority.

He also said that Muslimwomen's progress alone can defineIslam's progressive face. He saidthat Koran says 'to each his own',meaning freedom of thought.

Prof. Riyaz Punjabi, Vice Chan-

cellor of Kashmir University, wel-comed the idea of such a high levelseminar in Srinagar, and said thatonly youth can take India aheadwith a secular, non-sectarian vi-sion and modern outlook.

Lt. Gen Aditya Singh and Maj.Gen. Vinod Saighal spoke aboutcreating awareness regardingchallenges from China and Paki-stan and stressed the need to cre-ate awareness about Chinaamongst people.

Ambassador Rangachari gavedetails of the present status ofIndia-China relations and under-lined the need to learn Chineseand get acquainted with the lat-est Chinese affairs creating an at-mosphere of mutual trust.

The program has been hailedas a milestone in creating bridgesand removing fear psychosis re-garding Kashmir.

Amongst the luminaries whoattended the seminar were AshokBhatt, Speaker Gujarat assembly,K.G. Bopiah, Speaker KarnatakaAssembly, Ram Lal, All India Gen.Secy. (Organization) BJP,Shamsher Singh, President J&Kstate BJP and a large number ofstudents and teachers.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Secretary ofthe Foundation and Arun Singh,trustee welcomed the guests.

Capt of detained ship quizzedKOLKATA: The captain of the Karachi-bound ship, laden

with military hardware, ammunition and explosives, wasquizzed after the papers provided by him were found "incon-sistent", even as officials were contemplating taking the ves-sel to Kolkata Port under escort.

Papers and documents furnished by the captain of theship, Aegean Glory Kingstown, to police and customs teamswere inconsistent and it (the ship) will be escorted to KolkataPort by the Customs, if necessary, Director General of Police(DGP) Bhupinder Singh said. -PTI

Shyama Prasad Mookerjee

BJP protest against JK govt in Jammu regionJAMMU: The BJP held dem-

onstrations in the Jammu regionaccusing the state governmentof attempting to demoralize thesecurity forces operating in theborder state.

The protesters burnt effigiesof the state government at allthe 10 district headquarters --Kathua, Jammu, Samba,Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri,Poonch, Doda, Ramban andKishtwar -- in the region.

In Jammu city, over 1,500 ac-tivists led by BJP state presi-dent Shamsher Singh Manhasmarched through marketplaces raising anti-governmentslogans.

Later they burnt effigies of thestate government at city's Chowkarea.

In Samba, the state highwaywas blocked by over 500 activistsled by senior BJP leader S P Ganga

ment in tackling the security situ-ation in Kashmir valley, where thesecurity force personnel are be-ing targeted, attacked and merci-lessly beaten by the mobs anddemoralized by the ministers of

tehsil and block levels in the re-gion," he said.

Manhas alleged that securityforces were being unnecessar-ily defamed and demoralized be-cause of the incompetence of thestate government to deal withthe situation in Kashmir.

"The security forces havebeen doing a commendable jobin the valley during all these de-cades of militancy and deserveappreciation for creating a con-genial atmosphere," he said.

The present trouble in Kash-mir has been manipulated byanti-national elements to jeopar-dize the annual Shri AmarnathYatra, Manhas said. -PTI

the ruling NC-Congress coali-tion," Manhas told reporters here.

"We will also held demonstra-tions on July 2 and July 3 at town,

for over half an hour as part of thedemonstration.

"We are concerned over thetotal failure of the state govern-

AmbassadorRangachari gavedetails of the presentstatus of India-Chinarelations andunderlined the needto learn Chinese

'The security forces have been doing acommendable job in the valley during allthese decades of militancy and deserveappreciation for creating a congenialatmosphere,' he said

42 India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com

Tech News TechBizL&T Infotech joins global mobile

phone allianceIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: India's Larsen &Toubro Infotech Ltd. (L&TInfotech), one of the fastest grow-ing IT Services companies - awholly-owned subsidiary of the$9.8 Billion Larsen & Toubro - hasjoined the Open Handset Alliance(OHA).

The OHA has developed An-droid, the first open and free Mo-bile Platform, and is a partnershipof more than 65 global mobile in-dustry leaders who have come to-gether to accelerate innovation inmobile technology and to offerconsumers a unique, simplified,less expensive and better mobileexperience.

L&T Infotech is a leading pro-vider of IT & engineering servicesofferings, solutions and Intellec-tual Property components in theTelecom Domain. L&T Infotech

provides services to handsetOEMs, ODMs, telecom serviceproviders and platform vendors.L&T Infotech's services portfolioincludes platform & applicationdevelopment; middleware solu-

tions; device testing and supportservices.

"We are very excited to join theOHA. We have a very strong en-gineering team that adds value to

our clients in the Telecom domainon a continuous basis. By joiningOHA, we will continue to demon-strate our focus and commitmenttowards the Android platform."said Mr. Sudip Banerjee, Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer of L&T Infotech.Android, developed by the

OHA, is a complete, open mobilephone software stack. It includeseverything a manufacturer or anoperator needs to build a mobilephone.

Android is not just a blueprintfor the faraway future, but a com-plete platform that will give mo-bile operators, handset manufac-turers, and developers everythingthey need to build innovative de-vices, software and services.

All the OHA members are com-mitted to commercially deployhandsets and services, using theAndroid Platform. Android andOpen Handset Alliance are trade-marks of Google, Inc.

India joins global club against financial fraudsNEW DELHI: India has finally

gained membership to the Finan-cial Action Task Force, a globalbody that chalks policies tocounter financial frauds and pro-vides members access to informa-tion on suspicious transactions incountries including Switzerland,China, the US and the UK.

The decision to include India

as the 34th member country wastaken during a FATF plenary ses-sion in Amsterdam from June 23-25 and marks the end of India'snearly decade long wait for admis-sion. During this period, India

served as an observer at FATF."India is now a full member of

the FATF. The step is a major de-velopment for India and the taxenforcement authorities in dealingwith terror financing and combat-ing money laundering," a seniorFinance Ministry officer said.

The Union government and fi-

nancial enforcement and intelli-gence agencies of the country likethe Financial Intelligence Unit,Enforcement Directorate, CentralEconomic Intelligence Bureau andDirectorate of Revenue Intelli-

gence would be able to exchangefinancial information from membercountries, the officer said.

Other agencies like the CentralBureau of Investigation and theIntelligence Bureau would also beable to route their requests of in-formation for suspicious transac-tions and individuals through

proper channels, he added.Present members include Swit-

zerland, the United States ofAmerica, China and the UnitedKingdom.

The membership will also bringincreased responsibility on Indianfinancial institutions and banks tocomply with better business prac-tices and strict adherence to re-porting of financial transactionsincluding suspicious ones.

"The FATF discussed andadopted the mutual evaluation re-ports assessing compliance of theKingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indiaand Brazil, against the interna-tional standards for combatingmoney laundering and terrorist fi-nancing? the 40+9 Recommenda-tions," an FATF statement duringthe Amsterdam session said. -PTI

Diesel prices to go the petrol way: PMON BOARD PM'S SPECIAL

AIRCRAFT: Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has said dieselprices too will be freed from gov-ernment control as part of "much-needed reforms" but LPG andkerosene will continue to be sub-sidized.

He also rejected the Oppositioncriticism of last week's decision tohike fuel prices, which saw petrolprices being pegged to market

rate."The fact that petrol prices

have been set free, the same isgoing to be done to the dieselprices. (These are) much- neededreforms," he told journalists ac-companying him on his way backhome from Toronto where he at-tended the G-20 Summit.

The government on June 25decontrolled petrol prices, result-ing in a Rs 3.50 a liter increase in

rates in Delhi, and raised dieselprices by Rs 2 a liter in prepara-tion for an eventual decontrol. Die-sel rates, at current prices, will riseby another Rs 1.50 if it is freed fromgovernment control.

The Prime Minister did not sayby when the diesel prices will bedecontrolled but said domesticcooking gas LPG and keroseneprices will continue to be regu-lated by the government. -PTI

Kerala tribunal toget compensationfrom Coke

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The LDF Government in Keralahas decided to set up a special tri-bunal to realize compensationfrom multinational soft drinks gi-ant Coca Cola for the "seriouslosses" caused to people, environ-ment and agriculture by its plantat Plachimada in Palakkad District.

The state cabinet took the deci-sion based on the report of a gov-ernment appointed high-power com-mittee which quantified the lossesinflicted by the plant of theHindustan Coca Cola Beverages Ltd,the Indian subsidiary of Coca Cola,at Rs 216.26 crore, Chief Minister V SAchuthanandan told reporters.

Delhi govtsigns pact withUIDAI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi gov-ernment has signed a pact withUnique Identification Authority ofIndia (UIDAI) for smooth imple-mentation of its ambitious projectto issue identification numbers tothe city's residents.

Delhi Revenue Minister RajKumar Chauhan said Delhi govern-ment will whole heartedly provideall assistance for successful imple-mentation of the national project.Officials said Delhi is likely to beone of the first states to get theUnique Identification Numbers.

As per the MoU, the UIDAI willdevelop standards for recording bio-metric data of residents and pre-scribe standards and criteria for veri-fication of residents to be eligiblefor the UID and the city governmentwill put in place an institutionalmechanism and provide human re-sources for data collection. -PTI

Pak hints India 'pulled out' ofIPI because of US pressureISLAMABAD: Three months after signing a USD 7.6 billion pact for

a gas pipeline with Iran bilaterally, Pakistan has hinted that India had"pulled out" of the trilateral project under US pressure and said it couldstill join.

"We never stopped India to be part of it (Iran-Pakistan-India gaspipeline project). India, on its own, accord pulled out," Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi told PTI in an interview here. He contendedthat India "pulled out for obvious reasons" but did not elaborate de-spite being asked repeatedly, saying "you know it". -PTI

Android, developed by the OHA, is a complete,open mobile phone software stack. It includeseverything a manufacturer or an operatorneeds to build a mobile phone

The membership will also bring increased re-sponsibility on Indian financial institutions andbanks to comply with better business practices

43India PostTechBiz Postwww.indiapost.com

July 9, 2010

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May exports jump 35 pc; Europeancrisis may affect demand

NEW DELHI: India's exports rose 35.1per cent in May to USD 16.1 billion year-on-year, but the trouble brewing in someEuropean economies may weigh on futuredemand.

The seventh straight month of rise wasregistered on a low export base of USD 11.95billion in May 2009, when shipments hadplunged by over 29 per cent from the previ-ous fiscal under the impact of the recessionin the US and several other advancedeconomies.

For the April-May 2010-11 period, exportsgrew by 35.7 per cent to USD 33 billionagainst the year-ago period, according toofficial data.

President of the Federation of Indian Ex-port Organizations A Sakthivel said that thecrisis in some European countries is a causefor concern.

"We hope the growth trend will continuebut the only worrying aspect is the crisis inthe euro zone, which is likely to affect India'sexports in that area," he said.

He also said the depreciation of eurowould provide fierce competition to Indianproducts in countries where they are facingcompetition from Euro nations. The Eurohas depreciated by about 17.5 per centagainst the rupee since November last year.

Of the USD 176.50 billion exports last fis-

cal, Europe accounted for 23 per cent.Ministry officials said that labor-inten-

sive sectors like engineering, gems andjewellery, leather and man-made fibers haveregistered healthy growth rates in May.

Imports also surged 38.5 per cent in Mayto USD 27.4 per cent, indicating a rapid paceof domestic economic activity and leading

to a trade gap of USD 11.29 billion duringthe month under review.

Imports during the first two months ofthis fiscal grew 40.9 per cent to USD 54.7billion against USD 38.85 billion in the sameperiod last year.

Oil imports in May were valued at USD8.8 billion while the non-oil import bill wasabout USD 18.6 billion. -PTI

Fuel price hike justified, Oppositionbeing hypocrites: Deora

NEW DELHI: As Opposition partiesbraced up for a nationwide strike againstthe hike in fuel prices, Oil Minister MurliDeora has justified the decision, saying theincrease translated to less than Re 1 per dayon domestic LPG and 26-27 paisa a day onkerosene.

"No benefit will accrue with this kind ofadventurism. We want people and Opposi-tion parties to understand the compulsionsunder which we took this decision and whatimpact it will have on people," Deora toldreporters here.

Describing claims made by critics of theJune 25 decision as "exaggeration", he saidthe Rs 35 increase in the price of LPG cylin-ders translated into an additional burden ofless than a rupee per day, considering abottle of domestic gas lasts 30-35 days.

The Rs 3 a litre hike in kerosene trans-lated into an additional burden of 26-27 paisaper day. "We have kept the burden on thepoor man the minimal. The talk of the hikebreaking the back of the poor and commonman is nothing but exaggeration. The factsare before you," he said.

BJP and Left parties have separatelygiven a call for a nationwide strike on July 5against the fuel price hike. Deora refused toanswer questions on a rollback, saying, "Ido not know anything (on that)."

Alongside the hike in LPG and kerosenerates, the prices of petrol were freed fromgovernment control, leading to an increasein the rates by Rs 3.50 per litre in Delhi fromJune 26. Diesel prices were also deregulated,but the rates increased by Rs 2 per litre only,in preparation for an eventual freeing ofprices.

"The NDA government raised price ofPDS kerosene from Rs 2.52 per litre in Janu-ary, 1998, to Rs 9 per litre in March, 2002.This hike was 258 per cent, even thoughcrude oil prices rose by just 147 per centduring the period," he said.

The Congress-led UPA government didnot increase kerosene prices for the past sixyears, despite the price of crude oil (the rawmaterial for making petrol, diesel, domestic

LPG and kerosene) more than doubling fromUSD 36 a barrel in May, 2004, to USD 78.

"We raised kerosene rates by Rs 3 perlitre against the required increase of Rs 18.07per litre," he said. "We have ensured thatthe poor are not unnecessarily burdened."

"We will continue to subsidise LPG andkerosene, which are the common man'scooking fuels. Even after last week's priceincrease, kerosene price is Rs 15.07 per litrebelow cost and LPG is under-priced by Rs226.90 per cylinder," he said. .

The United Front government, of whichthe Left parties, TDP and Samajwadi Partywere constituents, in November, 1997, noti-fied full deregulation of the prices of petrol,diesel, LPG and kerosene by 2002.

According to this schedule, the rates of

kerosene and LPG should have been at leastdouble the revised price of Rs 12.32 per litreand Rs 345.35 per cylinder respectively.

Deora said Prime Minister ManmohanSingh had stated that the government hadtaken care that the poorest sections of so-ciety are not impacted and so, kerosene andLPG prices would continue to be regulated.

"We want support of the people and theOpposition (on the issue of fuel price hike),"he said. "The increase in kerosene price willalso help stop adulteration and diversionof PDS kerosene to open market."

Alongside the hike in LPGand kerosene rates, theprices of petrol were freedfrom government control,leading to an increase in therates by Rs 3.50 per litre inDelhi from June 26. Dieselprices were also deregu-lated, but the rates increasedby Rs 2 per litre only, inpreparation for an eventualfreeing of prices.

‘We hope the growth trendwill continue but the onlyworrying aspect is the crisis inthe euro zone, which is likelyto affect India's exports inthat area,’ he said

www.indiapost.com44 India Post July 9, 2010

Health ScienceHealth Line

India-US Health Initiativeset into motion


NEW YORK: The dialogue onthe India US Health Initiative wasset into motion when India's Min-ister of Health and Family WelfareGhulam Nabi Azad met with USSecretary for Health and HumanServices Kathleen Sebelius inWashington DC June 25.

This initiative reflects the con-tinuing partnership between thetwo countries with health as thefulcrum. This is the second meet-ing between the two leaders withina short span of one month.

At the meeting, Azad raised thefollowing issues from the Indianside:

a. The need for an oversightmechanism to review all collabo-rative partnerships between USAand India.

b. The need for a strong US po-sition in support of the 'One WorldOne Health' concept in the contextof Avian & Pandemic Influenza.

c. With India emerging as a glo-bal provider of health manpower,the need to upgrade nursing andparamedical education in India tointernational standards and forintroducing into India, the institu-tions of nurse practitioner andemergency paramedic.

d. The need to explore the pos-sibility of a tie between US medi-

cal institutes of excellence and thesix AIIMS like institutes being setup by the Govt. of India.

The American side suggestedthe setting up of four workinggroups that will serve to engageall relevant parts of each govern-ment to advance cooperation andto establish common goals. TheHealth Minister welcomed the pro-posal and also suggested thatmental health be included in the

working group on non communi-cable diseases and further that is-sues of nursing and paramedicaleducation, quality assurance andhealth informatics also needed tobe included in the mandate ofthese working groups.

Secretary Sebelius acknowl-edged the efforts being made byIndia for Polio Eradication and ex-pressed the desire to work togetherfor achieving this goal. The estab-

Probe widens inuse of unauthorizedbirth control

PROVIDENCE, R.I.: Rhode Is-land health officials are expandingan investigation into the distribu-tion of unauthorized birth-controldevices.

OB-GYN Associates, an obstet-rics center, was censured by thestate health department last weekfor implanting intrauterine devicesin women that were not approvedfor use by the Food and Drug Ad-ministration. Health officials saythey can't vouch for the devices'effectiveness, but that there's nourgent need for women to havethem removed.

Health department spokes-woman Annemarie Beardsworthsays a handful of other practiceshave since come forward to saythat they also have been distrib-uting unauthorized IUDs. Shewould not name the centers. -AP

Ark Health Boardlooks at syntheticmarijuana

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.: The Arkan-sas Board of Health has called aspecial meeting to discuss whetherto enact an emergency ban of syn-thetic marijuana products.

The board announced that it willconsider a proposed emergencyregulation that would prohibit prod-ucts marketed as K2, Zohia, Spiceand under other names.

A number of Arkansas citiesand counties have made the prod-uct illegal.

The synthetic compound ischemically similar to THC, thepsychoactive ingredient in mari-juana. Users smoke in cigarettesor pipes, just as they would realmarijuana. -AP

No cancercluster atCarlsbad school

CARLSBAD, Calif.: State epi-demiologists have told concernedparents that they can't find anyevidence of cancer clusters in theneighborhoods surrounding aCarlsbad elementary school.

State public health officialsstudied several Carlsbad censustracts near Kelly ElementarySchool and the Encino powerplant, comparing them to thestate's cancer registry.

Parents are concerned aboutcontamination in the air, water andsoil. But Dr. Donald Lyman saidepidemiologists found no evi-dence of excess cancer.

Researchers studied more than8000 cases of cancer between 1996and 2008. -AP

North GeneralHospital inHarlem to close

NEW YORK: Just two monthsafter St. Vincent's Hospital inGreenwich Village closed, Harlem'sNorth General Hospital says its fil-ing for bankruptcy and shuttingits doors July 2. -AP

lishment of the Global Disease De-tection Centre also came up for dis-cussion and it was agreed that bothsides needed to expedite finaliza-tion of the MOU on this issue.

Minister Azad also invited Sec-retary Sebelius to visit India forthe next round of discussions un-der the India US Health Initiative.

Later in the day, Azad ad-dressed the annual convention ofthe American Association of Phy-sicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).Addressing the well attended con-vention Azad outlined the reformsprocess being implemented in thehealth sector in India and high-lighted the fertile opportunities forpublic private partnerships thatwere now emerging in the Indianhealth sector.

During his week-long tour tothe US, the Minister also visitedthe Centre for Disease ControlAtlanta where he held discussionswith the top management of CDCabout strengthening epidemio-logical surveillance systems in In-dia. The Minister also visited theNational Institutes of Health inWashington DC which he de-scribed as Centers of research andacademic excellence. During dis-cussions with the top scientistsof these institutes areas for pos-sible collaboration in the futurewere also identified.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad meeting US

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at the Health

and Human Services Department in Washington, DC on June 25.

Also seen is Ambassador Meera Shankar.

It is your birthright to be thin!VIBHOOTI KUMAR

How many of you look forward to dieting? Whatcomes to your mind when

you hear this word? Are you jump-ing for joy to get started? Or areyou like me and want that word tobe removed from the dictionary.Diet or Dying, what is the differ-ence? For me it means Deprivation- not being able to eat what I love,Regimen - following some insanemix of foods, Control - somethingthat is going to require a lot of will-power on my part. Before I getstarted, I am already looking to getoff it. Does weight loss have to beso painful? Animals in nature are

not fat, so why do humans sufferfrom this? Where lies the problem?

At age 50, I weighed 168 lbs.and had really given up on my-self. I was absolutely certain Iwould never lose another pound.In fact, the weight just kept creep-ing up each year. I had lost inter-est in myself and did not feel veryhappy about the way I looked.Still, I was really not interested inlosing weight, because I was notgoing to put myself on a diet. Ihad accepted my fate of being fat.

So what happened? How did Imanage to lose 28 lbs. and keep itoff without dieting?

Before 168 lbs Cont’d on page 46Now 143 lbs

The American side suggested the setting up offour working groups that will serve to engage allrelevant parts of each government to advancecooperation and to establish common goals

India PostJuly 9, 2010 Health Science Post 45

www.indiapost.com

9 in 10 docs blame lawsuitfears for oversetting

CHICAGO: Ninety percent ofphysicians surveyed said doc-tors overtest and over treat toprotect themselves from mal-practice lawsuits.

That sentiment is more commonamong male doctors than femaledoctors, according to the surveypublished in Archives of InternalMedicine. The findings echo a re-cent Associated Press story inwhich many emergency room doc-tors said lawsuit fears are the mainreason for over treating in the ER.

The Archives survey of 1,231physicians nationwide included ERdoctors and other specialists, sur-geons and primary care doctors.

The survey asked two ques-tions: ̀ `Do physicians order moretests and procedures than pa-tients need to protect themselvesfrom malpractice suits?'' And, ̀ Àreprotections against unwarrantedmalpractice lawsuits needed todecrease the unnecessary use ofdiagnostic tests?''

Overall, 91 percent of doctorssurveyed agreed with both state-ments.

Survey co-author Dr. TaraBishop, an internist at Mount

Sinai School of Medicine in NewYork, said the results jibe with whatshe hears from colleagues.

``When you sit around at a din-ner party with doctors, malprac-tice fears and a kind of hatred ofthe malpractice system reallycomes up as a common theme,''Bishop said.

Paul Perantinides, a medicalmalpractice attorney in Akron,Ohio said most of his cases in-volve doctors failing to test _ apoint that Bishop said emphasizeswhy doctors sometimes order somany tests.

Bishop said lawsuit fears some-times play a role in her own deci-sions to order tests, ``particularlyif it's a high-risk patient.''

Bishop noted that defensivemedicine is estimated to cost theU.S. health care system billions ofdollars each year, and said manydoctors worry they could be suedeven when they follow standard-of-care guidelines.

Patient advocate Helen Haskellof the group Mothers against Medi-cal Errors said she isn't surprisedso many doctors say they overtestbecause of malpractice concerns.

`Ì think they certainly believethat, but at the same time theoversetting is both easy and prof-itable for them rather than spend-ing time with the patient ... to getto the root of things,'' said Haskell,of Columbia, S.C.

Her 15-year-old son died in 2000from a medical error after electivesurgery. Doctors agreed to a heftysettlement without a lawsuit be-ing filed.

Bishop and colleagues ran-domly selected doctors for thesurvey from an American MedicalAssociation list of U.S. doctors. Atotal of 2,416 were mailed surveysstarting in June last year; half sentin responses and data collectionended in October. -AP

High court won't review SanFran health care plan

SAN FRANCISCO: The USSupreme Court has rejected a busi-ness-led challenge to a universalhealth care program in San Fran-cisco that has enrolled more than53,000 people who lacked healthinsurance.

The justices denied an appealfrom the Golden Gate Restaurant As-sociation of an appeals court rulingupholding the program's requirementthat employers help pay the bill orgive their workers health coverage.

The decision allows the pro-gram to maintain its emphasis onsharing the financial responsibil-ity for health care - a cost borneby the public, employers and em-ployees, said Tangerine Brigham,director of Healthy San Francisco.

`Ìf they don't contribute fundsfor health care services and theiremployee comes to a public orcommunity-based organization forcare, the cost is borne by the pub-lic,'' Brigham said.

Kevin Westlye, executive di-rector of the restaurant associa-tion, said his group has no dis-agreement with Healthy SanFrancisco, but questionedwhether employers should haveto pay for what they consider anoverpriced mandate.

The mandate is already costingjobs and making dinning out in SanFrancisco more expensive,Westlye said.

The restaurant associationsaid the city cannot require em-ployers to pay the fee because afederal law generally prohibitsstate and local interference in thearea of benefits that are offeredto employees.

'When you sit aroundat a dinner party withdoctors, malpracticefears and a kind ofhatred of the malprac-tice system reallycomes up as acommon theme'

Healthy San Francisco was cre-ated in 2006 to provide health carefor residents who lack private in-surance but are not eligible forother public programs. The citysays the program has resulted in adrop of almost 70 percent in emer-gency room visits at San FranciscoGeneral Hospital. -AP

The restaurant associa-tion said the city can-not require employersto pay the fee be-cause a federal lawgenerally prohibitsstate and local inter-ference in the area ofbenefits that are of-fered to employees

India Post July 9, 2010Health Science Post46

www.indiapost.com


This story starts in August of2009. I am a big fan of the BodhiTree in West Los Angeles and itsinspirational speakers. That day,I went to listen to a dialogue onKrishnamurti and had arrivedearly to hang out and smell somebooks. I happened to pass theirevents room and saw a lecture fin-ishing up. That is when I metAlfonso De Rose.

He caught my eye as I walkedin, and he told me straight off, "Isee sadness in your eyes." Ofcourse, that caught my attention."What? What do you mean bythat?" "Come to my seminar," hesaid. "But I don't like diets, andI'm not going to follow any crazyroutine." He assured me thatwould not be the case, and Icould eat till I was full and eatwhatever I loved, even chocolatecake. I signed up immediately forhis next three day workshop inLos Angeles.

In order to change the outerreflection of yourself you need toaddress what is happening on theinside. This is where weight isstored, in your emotional body.

Working from the inside out,finding out why you need to fillyourself with food when you re-ally are not hungry. What are thereal issues behind why you eat?This is what we looked at. Alfonsoguided us using different tech-niques, each one taking us deeper

into ourselves. Your body is astorehouse of knowledge andemotions. Its natural state is to behealthy and thin. Become awareof your body, and learning to lis-ten to it will take you back to yournatural state. "It's your birthrightto be Thin," he said.

We started day one by lookingat our earliest memory of gainingweight, and what significantevents happened around that timethat lead to our weight gain. We

looked at what fat was doing inour lives, what was the purposewe gave it, and what it was pro-tecting us from. Alfonso feels thatFat is a protection we use to hideourselves from our pain. Then welooked at who or what we thoughtwas responsible for our weightgain. Learning to take responsi-bility for ourselves was part of thejourney. We looked at why wewanted to lose weight, our life val-ues, health values, and what ourideal body looked like. Then wesigned a contract with ourselves

to make a commitment to make thatchange.

Your body yearns to be loved.Yes, there is a part of you thatwants to be nurtured and cravespositive attention. What are youdoing to take care of yourself?Women are the biggest culpritsof self neglect. They are so busytaking care of others that theyforget themselves. We weregiven simple techniques on howto nurture the inner child. This Ifound to be very important for ouremotional bodies.

Most of us know that the sizeof our stomach mirrors the sizeof our fist, but because of eatingfor all the wrong reasons, wehave enlarged it so much that weare able to down huge platefulsof food. Part of the program wasto work on bringing the stomachback to its natural size. Welearned about how to really en-joy immense pleasure from thefood we eat, watching for the sig-nals our body is giving us ofwhen it is satisfied.

I have attended two ThinnerJourney workshops each one wasa different experience as I wentdeeper into the issues that werecausing me to hold onto the fat onmy body.

Being fat is not our naturalstate, and we can return our bodyto its natural state of being thinsimply by self care and self love.Diets are not in my dictionary.

It is your birthright to be thin!

Planned Parenthood challenges Neb. abortion lawLINCOLN, Neb.: Planned Par-

enthood of the Heartland filed alawsuit challenging a new Ne-braska law requiring mental healthscreening for women seekingabortion.

The new law would requirewomen wanting abortions to bescreened by doctors or otherhealth professionals to deter-mine whether they were pres-sured into having the procedure.Those women also would haveto be screened for risk factors in-dicating they could have mentalor physical problems after anabortion.

Planned Parenthood, whichruns one of two abortion clinics inNebraska, has been critical of themeasure, saying it could be diffi-cult to comply with and could givewomen irrelevant information.

``The act would ban abortionsin Nebraska by imposing, as a con-dition to performing lawful abor-tions, impossible, unintelligible,and unprecedented so-called 'in-formed consent' requirements onabortion providers that vastlystray from accepted and, indeed,good medical practice,'' Planned

Parenthood said in its lawsuit.Supporters of the screening law

say it could help prevent medicalproblems after the abortion is per-formed and would put the pre-abortion reviews in line with thoseused in other medical procedures.Doctors would have to tell pa-tients if they had any risk factorsindicating they could have mentalor physical problems after an abor-tion, but could still perform it inthose cases.

The scope of the information adoctor would have to provide awoman seeking an abortion wouldamount to tens of thousands ofarticles and studies, many of themout-of-date or debunked, accord-ing to Planned Parenthood of theHeartland President Jill June andthe group's attorney, Mimi Liu.

Liu noted that a doctor wouldhave to discuss a study linkingabortion and breast cancer, eventhough leading medical organiza-tions including the National Can-cer Institute and the AmericanCancer Society have rejected thatstudy as flawed and point to sub-sequent studies that say there isno link.

The Nebraska law also wouldrequire an abortion doctor todocument every article and studyshared with the patient, Liu said,meaning the process of inform-ing a patient under the law couldtake months longer than the pa-

tient would have to legally seekan abortion.

Liu said the only way a physi-cian can be certain of not violat-ing the proposed law ``is to ceaseproviding abortion care. Thatamounts to a ban on a woman'sright to choose to terminate herpregnancy, and that is unconsti-

tutional.''The new law says if a screen-

ing was not done or was per-formed inadequately, a womanwith resulting mental or physicalproblems could file a civil suit.Doctors would not face criminalcharges or lose their medical li-censes.

The screening law is set to gointo effect on July 15, but Liu saidthe group will seek an injunctionto keep it from going into effectuntil the lawsuit is decided.

The mental health screening lawis one of two controversial abor-tion laws passed by state lawmak-ers last spring and signed into lawby Gov. Dave Heineman.

The other new law would banabortions starting at 20 weeks, andthat is set to go into effect in mid-October. That ban is based on as-sertions from some doctors thatfetuses feel pain by that stage ofdevelopment. It, too, had initiallydrawn threats of a legal challenge,but attorneys on both sides of thedebate have recently theorizedthat the law might be allowed tostand over fears that losing a chal-lenge to it would change the legallandscape for abortion.

If opponents challenge the lawand lose, the court could redefinethe measure for abortion restric-tions, throwing out viability whenthe fetus could survive outsidethe womb in favor of the point

when a fetus can feel pain. If fu-ture medical advances were toshow a fetus can feel pain at anearlier stage, abortions could berestricted earlier.

``Anybody who wants to chal-lenge the laws is going to have toassess whether the strategic risksof bringing a lawsuit outweigh thelikelihood of a victory,'' said CaitlinBorgmann, a law professor at TheCity University of New York.

A challenge ̀ `could be seen bysome people as too risky,'' saidBorgmann, who testified againstthe ban during a legislative hear-ing in February.

Asked whether Planned Parent-hood intended to challengeNebraska's ban on abortion at 20weeks, Liu noted that her grouphas some time yet to make thatdecision.

``We're still weighing our op-tions,'' she said.

Dr. Leroy Carhart, who has aBellevue abortion clinic and is oneof the few doctors in the countryto offer late-term abortions, laudedPlanned Parenthood's challenge.

``The legislature is so con-sumed with pandering to the anti-choice lobby, they have passedlegislation that is vague and am-biguous and values theLegislature's words over the exper-tise and medical judgment of aphysician,'' Carhart said in a state-ment. -AP

FDA urging limitedantibiotics in meat

WASHINGTON: The Food andDrug Administration is urgingmeat producers to limit the amountof antibiotics they give animals inresponse to public health con-cerns about the drugs.

The FDA said antibiotics inmeat pose a ̀ `serious public healththreat'' because the drugs createantibiotic-resistant bacteria thatcan infect humans who eat it. Theagency is recommending that pro-ducers use the drugs judiciously,limiting their use unless they aremedically necessary and only us-ing them with the oversight of aveterinarian.

``Developing strategies for re-ducing (antibiotic) resistance iscritically important for protectingboth public and animal health,'' theagency said in draft guidelinesprinted in the Federal Register.

The agency said misuse andoveruse of the drugs has led tothe development of antibiotic-re-sistant bacteria. Antibiotics havebeen given to animals to kill patho-gens for more than 50 years, andthe FDA acknowledged that prac-

tice has had ``tremendous ben-efits'' to animal and human health.

Of greater concern, the agencysaid, is when producers use anti-biotics on healthy animals tospeed growth and reduce feedcosts. The agency is also con-cerned about antibiotics that aregiven continuously through feedor water to entire herds or flocksof animals.

The agency said it is expectingto issue more specific guidelinessoon, but FDA Principal DeputyCommissioner of Food and DrugsJoshua Sharfstein would not saywhether the agency eventuallyplans to issue stricter regulations.He said the guidelines are just a firststep and the agency will be watch-ing industry response and also pat-terns of antibiotic resistance.

Advocates on both sides of theissue criticized the decision.

Sam Carney, a pork producerfrom Adair, Iowa, and president ofthe National Pork Producers Coun-cil, said reducing the amount ofantibiotics given to animals couldharm their health. -AP

Supporters of thescreening law say itcould help preventmedical problemsafter the abortion isperformed and wouldput the pre-abortionreviews in line withthose used in othermedical procedures

In order to change theouter reflection ofyourself you need toaddress what is hap-pening on the inside.This is where weight isstored, in youremotional body

India Post July 9, 2010www.indiapost.com

Real Estate47

Realty Tidbits

Asians are the largest real estateinvestors in London

LONDON: A weaker pound androbust economies at home havemade Asians the largest investorsin Central London’s real estatemarket, a global propertyconsultancy firm, Knight Franksaid recently.

The report said Asians, whospent 761 million pounds in new-built properties in London for bet-ter returns in FY 2010, accountedfor nearly half (49 per cent) of allinvestment purchases in the coun-try while UK investors consti-tuted for only 36 per cent.

“While the market has returnedto life after it pretty much shutdown in 2008, current internationalinvestment demand is almost to-tally concentrated on London andis primarily coming from Asia,”

said, Liam Bailey, the Head of Resi-dential Research, Knight Frank.

Knight Frank described the re-vival of international investmentdemand for new-build property as

one of the most remarkable fea-tures of the residential market overthe past 18 months.

It estimated about 49 per centof all investors in the 12 monthsto March 2010 were Asian, ofwhom 11 per cent were from China

or Hong Kong, 10 per cent fromSingapore and 7 per cent fromMalaysia.

Also, the Asians were likely toinvest 20 per cent more on new-

build properties in residential sec-tor of real estate in hope for betterreturns.

Increasing Asian student popu-lation in UK is another factor to-wards increase in residential prop-erty investments in London.

Over the past decade the num-ber of Asian students studying inUK universities has risen by 175per cent. Interestingly, the stron-gest growth comes from Chinese,Indian and Pakistani nationals,said the report.

The study also pointed out achange in buyer priorities withAsian buyers preferring more up-market quality properties in thepast 12 months.

“In 2007, exhibitions in Asiawere focused on smaller affordableunits but now demand is for morespacious one of two bedroomapartments from 400,000 poundsto 800,000 pounds and more,” saidSebastian Warner of KnightFrank’s residential Investmentteam. –PTI

Delhi real estate deals see jump before hikeWith the Delhi govern-

ment yet to formallynotify the new circle

rates announced on June 14, theCapital's real estate market hasbeen busy pushing through dealsand registering them over the lastfortnight.

The new rates are at least threetimes the existing ones, and as a re-sult the number of documents re-ceived by sub-registrars across Delhihas registered a 20-25 per cent jump,said Revenue department officials.

"We haven't formally tabulatedthe transactions so far, but thereare reports of an increase in thenumber of transactions in antici-pation of the hike," said PrincipalSecretary, Revenue, D M Spolia.

The maximum increase has been

reported from mid-income areas inNorthwest Delhi and West Delhi,officials said. These include areaslike Narela, Rohini, Mongolpuri,Saraswati Vihar and Model Townin Northwest Delhi andMansarovar Garden and major com-

mercial and residential areas likeJanakpuri and Tilak Nagar in WestDelhi. Till the new rates come intoforce sometime next month, trans-actions are being done accordingto the structure introduced in 2007.

The existing circle rates - the mini-mum amount at which a property isvalued and sold - were fixed accord-ing to the categories defined by theMunicipal Corporation of Delhi forcollecting property tax. "But we re-alized that there was a difference of

1,000 per cent in the market valueand the circle rates fixed by us insome cases. The existing rates re-flected only 30-40 per cent of theactual market value," Spolia added.As part of a survey conducted last

year, the Revenue department foundthat the circle rates for built up flatsin areas like Vasant Kunj and FriendsColony were almost the same asthose in Govindpuri.

In a bid to reduce this discrep-ancy between the actual marketprice of a property and the exist-ing circle rates, the governmentannounced a new policy earlierthis month.

In the new scheme, DefenseColony, Greater Kailash, GulmoharPark, Panchsheel Enclave, GreenPark and Hauz Khas that fall underCategory A for property tax collec-tion, will register a 300 per cent in-crease in circle rates. The rates havebeen revised from the existing Rs43,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh per squaremeter in these South Delhi colonies.

Commercial realty marketbeginning to stabilize

With India's economic recovery well under way,its commercial real es-

tate market is also beginning tostabilize, said a report released bythe Real Estate Intelligence Ser-vices division of Jones LangLaSalle Meghraj. The report titled,"The Seven Stars of India - India'sbest-performing micro markets foroccupiers", highlights the most fa-

vorable office micro-markets inIndia.

The report said that while thelandscape will remain favorable fortenants in 2010, landlords will havegreater influence starting in 2011,which means they shouldproactively look at locking in at-tractive leases in the near-term, asoffice rents are beginning to bot-tom out.

Skyrocketingproperty prices inMumbai

Mumbai Skyrocketing property prices over the last few

months have taken housing be-yond the reach of the salaried class,with barely six per cent of the totalnew housing stock in Mumbaipriced under Rs 50 lakh. On theother hand, a staggering 46 percent of these flats cost over Rs 1crore.

Figures compiled by real estateresearch agency Liases Forasshow that of the 8,000-odd flatsthat make up the unsold housingstock, hardly 500 are priced belowRs 50 lakh. These are mostly one-room kitchen flats or one-bedroomflats in projects by small-time de-velopers from Kurla-Tilak Nagar toMulund.

Realtors seekcap onbrokerage

In a bid to save Chennaiites fromthe clutches of haggling real es-

tate brokers, leading realtors in thecity promised to infuse fair prac-tices in deals, rationalize broker-age fees and ensure greater trans-parency in realty transactions. TheChennai Real Estate Agents' As-sociation (CREAA), one of themember organizations of the Na-tional Association of Realtors(NAR), will organize the secondnational convention of NAR atMamallapuram on July 16 and 17to drive home these objectives.The convention would work to-wards adopting international prac-tices and raising operational stan-dards in realty deals, National As-sociation of Realtors-India 2010chairman C Suresh Reddy toldmedia representatives.

Real estate sectorpicking up:Industry body

CHENNAI: The real estate sec-tor is picking up after the slumpwitnessed during the global eco-nomic meltdown, an industry bodysaid. "In Chennai alone, in thewhole of last year the total occu-pancy level was 2.6 million squarefeet. But in the last six months, wehad crossed 2 million square feetof occupancy, which shows arapid growth," National Associa-tion of Realtors Committee's me-dia head Ramesh Nair said.

Demand has been growing at adecent rate and the propertyconsultancy industry has tremen-dously evolved in the last 15 years,said Nair, who is also the managingdirector of the city-based real es-tate developer Jones Lang La Salle.

Rise in property-relatedcrimes in Chennai

In recent years, Chennai has expanded rapidly and sohas crime in the city, particul.arly those relating to

property. A survey of the statistics put out by the StateCrime Records Bureau (SCRB) for the past four years,from 2006 to 2009, show that Chennai ranks high in allcrimes relating to property, followed closely byTirunelveli and Coimbatore. Property crimes, as definedby the SCRB, include murder, dacoity, burglary, rob-bery and theft.

‘While the market has returned to life after itpretty much shut down in 2008, current interna-tional investment demand is almost totallyconcentrated on London and is primarilycoming from Asia’

The maximum increase has been reported frommid-income areas in Northwest Delhi and WestDelhi, officials said. These include areas likeNarela, Rohini, Mongolpuri, Saraswati Viharand Model Town

July 9, 2010India Post48

www.indiapost.com

HoroscopeARIES

Mar 21-Apr 20

July 9, 2010

to

July 15, 2010

You may take a short trip to a hot and

dry area. Bank balance will keep grow-

ing once again. Your actions will re-

flect confidence. Some of you will fi-

nally dispose off some assets and be

free of big debt. It is going to be an-

other favorable week for Job seek-

ers. You will call overseas more fre-

quently this week.

You may have to twist facts a little

and the work will get done. Positive

changes will continue to take place in

career and you will be happy and ex-

cited. Some of you may increase

physical activities or join a health club

to come back in shape. You may buy

an old but big property that require lots

of repairs.

You will hit some kind of financial jack-

pot. Money through stocks or lottery

possible. Do not rush to conclusions

and think with a rational mind when it

comes to matters of heart. You will

meet few relatives you have not met

for long at another relatives house.

Chance of addition in the family are

strong.

TAURUS

Apr 21-May 20

LEO

Jul 23-Aug 22

SAGITTARIUSNov 23-Dec 22

VIRGO

Aug 23-Sept 22

CAPRICORN

Dec 23-Jan 19

GEMINI

May 21-Jun 20

LIBRA

Sept 23-Oct 22

CANCER

Jun 21-Jul 22

SCORPIO

Oct 23-Nov 22

AQUARIUS

Jan 20-Feb 18

PISCES

Feb 19-Mar 20

Legal matters will take some interest-

ing and positive turn. There will beseveral change in your travel plans

and destination also. Money wise youwill meet all commitments on time.

Project you have been working onwill require more than earlier esti-

mated, so be ready with a backupplan.

Be careful with the extra money you

have on hands. Some of you will take

the assignment and start preparing to

move to another state. Your relations

with siblings will improve and they will

support your ideas. You will also re-

ceive valuable advice from an experi-

enced and learned person this week.

You may not like the changes taking

place in career this week. You may

not be given too many options. Lots

of money will be spent on family and

children. People in sales will have

better luck and start several new ac-

counts. Health issues can be con-

trolled with change of diet and some

exercises.

This will be a turning point in career.

Everybody at home will be happy and

you will get the energy back. You will

help a needy person with your exper-

tise and receive blessings. Some of

you will be taking a short trip with fam-

ily to a coastal area. You will make

good use of time on hand and get rid of

junk in the house.

Mind will be full of bright ideas. You

will attend an important meeting and

receive the necessary approval in-

stantly. Do not ignore the health is-

sues and listen to medical advice.

You will decide to adopt the right

path in order to get the job done

rather than using lies and twisting

facts.

You will be happy the way life is go-

ing. Be cautious when someone who

kind of ignored you try to be very

friendly now. You will spend quality

time with children and may go see a

movie with them. You may send some

money overseas to an elderly person.

You should not delay any further and

start the legal process.

Expect some interesting developments

at work. New colleague will give you

very good company. You may have

some pain in the back or under left

shoulder, just avoid picking any heavy

stuff. Some one in the family will be

getting engaged or married soon. You

may be looking to replace an old car

this week.

You will be little reluctant to accept the

new assignment and consult your

spouse about it. People in business will

be spending more on advertising. You

will be invited to a big social event. You

will keep an eye on bank balance on

regular basis. Any knowledge you re-

ceive this week will come handy to-

wards the year end.

You may be slightly double minded

about a property but will make an of-

fer. You will have a chance to work

and learn from someone who is

younger in age. Bank balance will con-

tinue to grow at slow pace and you

will hardly have any bill in the mail. All

business trips will bring instant posi-

tive results.

Tackling terrorism: India forco-op among SAARC nations

ISLAMABAD: Warning thatthe South Asian region is facedwith a "serious" security situation,India has sought fullest coopera-tion among SAARC countries insharing information on potentialterrorists and planned acts of ter-rorism to create a more secure en-vironment.

"The increasing threat of ter-rorism poses a major challenge tothe maintenance of peace and se-curity and adversely affects eco-nomic development in our region,"Home Minister P Chidambaramsaid while addressing the SAARCHome Ministers' Conference here.

"We can all undoubtedly agreethat the South Asian region isfaced with a serious security situ-ation," he told the meeting beingattended by the ministers from SriLanka, Nepal, Bangladesh,Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives,besides India and Pakistan.

Chidambaram made it clear thatit was only with the "fullest coop-eration among our countries thatwe will be in position to effectivelytackle the grave threat of terror-

ism in our region."He also made a strong pitch for

examining whether the existingconventions have been effective.

"We also need to cooperatewith each other in sharing infor-mation on potential terrorists andplanned acts of terrorism, and allother forms of criminal activitiesin order to create more secure en-vironment," he said.

"It is incumbent upon us toensure that the instruments andthe resources at our disposal areput to the best possible use inour fight against terrorism," headded.

Chidambaram commended hisPakistani counterpart RehmanMalik for his opening remarks inwhich the latter highlighted thethreat of terrorism and especiallythe fallout of 9/11 attacks in NewYork and the 26/11 strikes inMumbai.

Both Chidambaram and Malikhad meetings which were domi-nated by the issue of terrorism andaction against the perpetrators ofMumbai terror attacks. -PTI

WASHINGTON DC

Upcoming

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

July 9, 2010India Post50

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DatebookNEW YORK

Upcoming

NEW JERSEY

Upcoming

Every Sunday• Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan host

Satsang, Bhajan & Meditation ProgramVenue: Woodbridge township ambulance and Rescuesquad, 77 Queen Road, 3rd Floor, Iselin, NJ 08830Time: 10:30am to 1pmContact: (732) 485-0647Highlights: Lecture by close disciple of Shree AshutoshJi Maharaj, Bhajans, free meditation and Mahaprasad.

San July 17• The 2010 South Asian Spelling Bee

in NJVenue: North Brunswick High School, Route 130 South,Raider Road, North Brunswick, New JerseyContact: 848-248-4199

Sat July 17• Shankar, Ehasan, Loy Show In

New JerseyVenue: IZOD CENTER.com, 50 NJ-120, East Rutherford,New JerseyContact: 609-432-3301

Fri July 23 to Sun Aug 1• Jeeyar Edu Trust Viswa Santhi

Sri YagamVenue: Jeeyar Asramam, 222 Dey Road, Cranbury, NewJerseyTime: 7amContact: 609-610-3307

Fri July 23• Single Gujarati Find your Perfect Match

at Matri 2010Venue: Ramada Inn, 999 Rt. I S, North Brunswick, NewJerseyTime: 8pmContact: 732-246-3737

Fri July 9• Life Via Virpur - Family DramaVenue: Manav Seva Mandir, 101 South Church Road,Bensenville, IllinoisTime: 6pm to 11pmContact: 708-975-0076

Sat July 10• The 2010 South Asian Spelling Bee in

ChicagoVenue: Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine, IlContact: 848-248-4199

Sat July 10• Dealmaas 2010 USTAD AMJAD ALI KHANVenue: North Shore Center For Performing Art, Skokie, IllTime: 7:30pm to 9pmContact: 414-336-5982

Sun July 11• Yoga-Meditation Sessions & Spiritual

Talks By Swami MukundanandaVenue: Holiday Inn, 3405 Algonquin, Rolling Meadows, IllTime: 10:30am to 9pmContact: (630)-915-1281

Sat July 17• Sikkil Sri. Gurucharan - Carnatic Vocal

ConcertVenue: Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple, 1145Sullivan Road, Aurora, IllinoisTime: 5:30pm to 8:30pmContact: 630-926-3876

Fri July 23• Single Gujarati Find your Perfect

Match at Matri 2010Venue: Ramada Inn, 999 Rt. I S, North BrunswickTime: 8pmContact: [email protected]

Fri July 9• South Asian Music FestivalVenue: Fontana's, 105 Eldridge Street, Manhattan, Ala-bama, NYTime: 9pm to 2amContact: 917-9710-2373

Sat July 17• Evening of Bharata NatyamVenue: Atman Yoga, 34 Elton Street, 3rd floor, Rochester,New York 14607Time: 7:30pmContact: (917) 214-6466

Sun July 11• The 2010 South Asian Spelling Bee in NYVenue: Jackson Heights School, 77-02 37th Avenue,Queens, New YorkContact: 848-248-4199

Mon July 19• Amma Sri Karunamayi 2010 World Tour - NYVenue: Yonkers Riverfront Library, 1 Larkin Center, Yon-kers, New YorkTime: 9amContact: (914) 736-9170

Fri July 23• Miracle Nites with Bro. RambabuVenue: Miracle Nites (Come receive your Miracle/Deliv-erance), Brooklyn, New YorkTime: 6:30pm to 9pmContact: 848-565-1672

Mon Aug 2 to Sat Aug 7• Ramayan Sar - Essence of RamayanVenue: Hanuman Temple of New York., 111 Jerusalem Ave,Hempstead, New YorkTime: 7pm to 8:30pmContact: (516) 483-9500

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Every Sat (start from Sat Aug 8)• Gurukul Classes for ChildrenVenue: Sindhu Center, South CaliforniaTime: 2pm to 4pmContact: 818-541-1754 & 909-576-1114Highlights: Children between the ages of 5 and 18. Chil-dren will be taught the Fundamentals of Hinduism,Prayers, Shlokas, Bhajans and Values of our culture.

Thurs July 8• Art of Living CourseVenue: Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CATime: 7pm to 5pmContact: 916-529-7800

Sat July 10• Mehta Entertainment presents

Aatif Aslam Live In ConcertVenue: Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CATime: 8pmContact: 925-980-9297

Sun July 11• Solo Recital by Divya VetturiVenue: Jewish Community Center, 3921 Fabian Way,Palo Alto, CaliforniaTime: 4pm to 6pmContact: [email protected]

Sun July 18• ICM 101 workshopby Mahesh KaleVenue: Fireside Room at Unity Palo Alto, 3391Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, California,Time: 2pm to 6pmContact: 408-368-4039

Mon July 19• Panini Summer camp for KidsVenue: Ortega Park, 626 Harrow Way, CA 94087,Sunnyvale, CaliforniaTime: 8:30am to 12:30Contact: 408-431-9214

Sat July 24• Mom's Spa & Fashion Night OutVenue: Moms Spa & Fashion Night Out, 460 E Per-sian Dr, Suite # 3, Sunnyvale, CaliforniaTime: 6pm to 9:30pmContact: 650-669-0281

Sun July 25• Madumita's Bharathnatyam

ArangetramVenue: Cubberley Community Center, 4000Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CaliforniaTime: 4pm to 7:30pmContact: 510-299-1844

Sat July 31• Arangetram by Sneha JayaprakashVenue: Cubberley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road,Palo Alto, CaliforniaTime: 4pm to 6pm

Fri July 9• Amma's North American Tour

Summer 2010 - Washington DC

Venue: Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, 5000 SeminaryRoad, Alexandria, Virginia, 22311Time: 10am to Jul 11 7:30pmContact: 240-696-1927

San July 10• Ghulam Ali - Mehfil-E-Ghazal - VA

Venue: Sheraton Premiere, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna,VirginiaTime: 7pmContact: 703-200-9292

Sat July 17• Sarvam Sai Mayam

Venue: Centerville High School, 6001 Union Mill Road,Clifton, VirginiaTime: 7pm to 10pmContact: 703-544-5670

Sun July 11• AATIF ASLAM Live in Concert

"IMPACT"Venue: Long Beach Terrace Theatre, 300 East OceanBlvd, Long Beach, CaliforniaTime: 6pmContact: 562-436-3661

Thurs July 15• IASH will have a Musical Entertaining

Evening with Ashish Mehta from In-

diaVenue: Jain Center in Buena ParkTime: 5pm to 9pmContact: 714-335-9046

Sun July 18• Virgelia Productions, Inc Presents

the Launching of Miss Asia USA & Mrs

Asia USAVenue: Sheraton universal Hotel, 333 Universal Hol-lywood Dr. Universal City CATime: 2pm (on the Red Carpet with the Delegates),3pm (Fashion show)Contact: 818-891-5556, [email protected]: Meet the final delegates selected to repre-sent their country as they parade in their lavish na-tional costumes, the latest collections of Scala and BGHaute, InVein and Malibu Dream Girl.

Sun Jul 31• Arangetram by Sneha JayaprakashVenue: Cubberley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road, PaloAlto, CaliforniaTime: 4:00pm to 6:00pmHosted By: Jayendra Kalakendra

Sun Aug 1• Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Aman

Ki Aasha in LAVenue: LA Sports Arena, 3939 South Figueroa Street,Los AngelesTime: 7pmContact: 562-860-6003

July 9, 2010 India Post 51

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Philosophy

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

One of the greatest lessonsI have learnt in my life isto pay as much attention

to the means of work as to its end.He was a great man from whom Ilearnt it, and his own life was apractical demonstration of thisgreat principle I have been alwayslearning great lessons from thatone principle, and it appears to methat all the secret of success isthere; to pay as much attention tothe means as to the end.

Our great defect in life is that weare so much drawn to the ideal, thegoal is so much more enchanting,so much more alluring, so much big-ger in our mental horizon, that welose sight of the details altogether.

But whenever failure comes, if weanalyze it critically, in ninety-nine percent of cases we shall find that it wasbecause we did not pay attention tothe means. Proper attention to thefinishing, strengthening, of themeans is what we need. With themeans all right, the end must come.

We forget that it is the cause thatproduces the effect; the effect can-not come by itself; and unless thecauses are exact, proper, and pow-erful, the effect will not be produced.Once the ideal is chosen and themeans determined, we may almostlet go the ideal, because we are sureit will be there, when the means areperfected. When the cause is there,

there is no more difficulty about theeffect, the effect is bound to come.

If we take care of the cause, theeffect will take care of itself. Therealization of the ideal is the ef-fect. The means are the cause: at-tention to the means, therefore, isthe great secret of life. We alsoread this in the Gita and learn thatwe have to work, constantly workwith all our power; to put our wholemind in the work, whatever it be,that we are doing.

At the same time, we must not beattached. That is to say, we must notbe drawn away from the work byanything else; still, we must be ableto quit the work whenever we like.

If we examine our own lives, wefind that the greatest cause of sor-row is this: we take up something,and put our whole energy on it -perhaps it is a failure and yet wecannot give it up. We know that itis hurting us, that any further cling-ing to it is simply bringing misery

on us; still, we cannot tear our-selves away from it.

The bee came to sip the honey,but its feet stuck to the honey-potand it could not get away. Againand again, we are finding ourselvesin that state. That is the whole se-cret of existence.

Why are we here? We camehere to sip the honey, and we findour hands and feet sticking to it.We are caught, though we cameto catch. We came to enjoy; we

are being enjoyed. We came torule; we are being ruled. We cameto work; we are being worked. Allthe time, we find that. And thiscomes into every detail of our life.We are being worked upon byother minds, and we are alwaysstruggling to work on other minds.We want to enjoy the pleasures oflife; and they eat into our vitals.We want to get everything fromnature, but we find in the long runthat nature takes everything from

us - depletes us, and casts us aside.Had it not been for this, life

would have been all sunshine.Never mind! With all its failures andsuccesses, with all its joys and sor-rows, it can be one succession ofsunshine, if only we are not caught.

That is the one cause of mis-ery: we are attached, we are beingcaught. Therefore says the Gita:Work constantly; work, but be notattached; be not caught. Reserveunto yourself the power of detach-

ing yourself from everything,however beloved, however muchthe soul might yearn for it, how-ever great the pangs of misery youfeel if you were going to leave it;still, reserve the power of leavingit whenever you want.

Excerpted from a lecture deliv-ered at Los Angeles, California,January 4, 1900

The 108th death anniversaryof Swami Vivekananda was ob-served on July 4

Pay as much attentionto means as to work

UG KRISHNAMURTI

Q: Let us analyze this won-derful notion of happi-ness in quest of which ev-

ery human is on the run. Can youtell us what this happiness is allabout?

A: You may not agree with me,but when we talk about 'the questfor happiness', it is no differentfrom any other sensual activity. Asa matter of fact, all experiences,however extraordinary they maybe, are in the area of sensuality.That is one major problem that weare facing today.

Somewhere along the line, thehuman species experienced thisself-consciousness for the firsttime. And it separated the humanspecies from the rest of the spe-cies on this planet.

I don't even know if there is anysuch thing as evolution, but we aremade to believe that there is such athing. And it was at that time per-haps that thought took its birth. Butthought in its birth, in its origin, inits content, in its expression, andin its action is very fascist.

When I use the word 'fascist' Iuse it not in the political sensebut to mean that thought controlsand shapes our thinking and ouractions. So it is a very protectivemechanism. It has no doubt

helped us to be what we are to-day. It has helped us to create ourhigh-tech and technology. It hasmade our life very comfortable. Ithas also made it possible for usto discover the laws of nature.But thought is a very protectivemechanism and is interested in itsown survival. At the same time,thought is opposed fundamen-tally to the functioning of this liv-

ing organism.We are made to believe that

there is such a thing as mind. Butthere is no such thing as yourmind or my mind. Society or cul-ture, or whatever you want to callit, has created us solely andwholly for the purpose of main-taining its own continuity andstatus quo.

At the same time, it has alsocreated the idea that there is sucha thing as the individual. But ac-

tually, there is a conflict betweenthe two -- the idea of the indi-vidual and the impossibility of func-tioning as an individual separateand distinct from the totality ofman's thoughts and experiences.

Q: Who makes us think in aparticular way?

A: Here at this point I wouldlike to emphasize that thoughtsare not self-generated and spon-

taneous. I would go one step fur-ther and ask, "Is there any such athing as thought?" The veryquestion arises because we as-sume that there is such a thing asthought, and that we can sepa-rate ourselves from thought andlook at it. But when we look atwhat we call thought, what we seeis about thought and not thoughtitself. "What is thought?" -- thequestions arises only because ofthe assumption that there is such

a thing as thought.We use what we call thought

to achieve our spiritual or mate-rial goals. We may consider thespiritual goals as 'higher'. Theculture in which we are function-ing places spiritual goals on ahigher level than the materialisticgoals. But the instrument whichwe are using is matter, which isthought. Thought to me is mat-

ter. Therefore, all our spiritualgoals are materialistic in theirvalue. And this is the conflict thatis going on there. In this process,the totality of man's experiencescreated what we call a separateidentity and a separate mind.

Excerpted from the book, 'NoWay Out: Conversations With UGKrishnamurti'

The 92nd birth anniversary ofUG Krishnamurti will be ob-served on July 9

There is no such thing asyour mind or my mind

Swami Vivekananda

UG Krishnamurti

Why are we here? We came here to sip thehoney, and we find our hands and feet stickingto it. We are caught, though we came to catch

‘Is there any such a thing as thought?" The veryquestion arises because we assume that there issuch a thing as thought, and that we canseparate ourselves from thought and look at it

53 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

July 9, 2010India Post

India PostBehind the stones

Why is it that teenagers are dying in Kashmir firings? Whyare teenagers in the forefront of stone pelters who aimat security forces? Why are the boys of Kashmir valley

not in schools? And why aren't the young men in colleges? Whyhas it become more profitable for them to throw stones than pursu-ing studies for a career? Are there not enough educational institu-tions? Not enough job opportunities? These issues can be tackledand solved. But there seem to be vested interests and anti-nationalforces at work, as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah put it. "Emotionaland vulnerable youth are being exploited by these forces."

While India's Home Minister on a visit to Pakistan pleads withtheir government to bring the Mumbai attack guilty to book, thesame forces have opened another front in Kashmir. Obviously theyhave changed tactics. The ploy this time is to embarrass the secu-rity forces. It is quite likely that militants have infiltrated into theranks of stone pelters guiding them and instigating them. How isthat a constant supply of stones is always available to the youngpelters? If guns and bombs have not worked, the latest strategyshould work, the plotters sitting in Pakistan and their agents feel."This is not a simple law and order problem. It is battle of ideolo-gies and wits," said Abdullah. Union Home Secretary G K Pillaisaid that, people who break curfew and attack police posts cannotbe termed as "innocent civilians". There is planning and there is apattern. Protestors clash with security forces prompting them toretaliate. This in turn provides fuel for more violent protests. Andthe only people who stand to benefit from such cascading vio-lence are the hardline separatists who have seen their supportdwindling of late.

Having seen the militants being crushed by the Indian Army theseparatist forces are clamoring for Army pullout and the ArmedForces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to be repealed. Many gullibleIndians fall for that believing in the myth that it is the Indian forceswho are committing atrocities. There might be an incident or two ofexcess. But as the new Indian Army chief General VK Singh put it,"The armed forces are required to undertake operations in verydifficult circumstances. If the J&K situation has come under con-trol, it's the forces which have sacrificed with their blood." Andalso, he pointed out, the terror infrastructure in Pakistan remainsintact. Efforts are in fact being made to revive militant outfits likeHizbul Mujahideen, which have suffered a lot in Army operations.

The Army Chief significantly called for a political initiative toconsolidate the gains made by the security forces. This has been amajor failure on the part of the UPA-II government. The recent visitof Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Kashmir was such a dampsquib. He took no initiative to talk to the separatists or to tackle thebasic problems. As pointed out by the CPI (M), "The UPA govern-ment seems oblivious of the need to revive the political processwhereby issues such as provision of maximum autonomy for thestate and regional autonomy for the three regions can be discussedand concretized along with the dialogue with Pakistan."

It is necessary for the Center and the Kashmir government toconsult all political parties and explain to the people what mea-sures they plan to take to foil the designs of the separatists. It iscommendable that the Prime Minister is good at managing eco-nomic and technical issues. It is on political grounds that he suf-fers and looks askance at the party supreme Sonia Gandhi. Justsitting quietly where political initiatives are required is no longerthe option.

India checkmatesChinese moves

RANJIT B RAI

Small contentious issues inhistory are harbingers thattend to shape the larger

power plays between nations. Thenaked truth in international affairsas articulated by strategist PaulKennedy, is that India and Chinaare two rising military and eco-nomic powers who will cooperatewith each other for trade, and incompetition for the same marketsand influence, in the com-ing decades.

Such countries aredubbed 'competitivefriendly enemies'. China isIndia's largest tradingpartner, and has enteredthe Indian Ocean regionwith its PLA Navy via antipiracy patrols. It has alsoplanted its footprint inIndia's neighborhood andAfrica, with itschequebook diplomacy.Pakistan and China areproclaimed all weather friends, andChina has built the deep-waterport at Gwadar, and plans to trans-fer military supplies and nuclearplants to Pakistan.

Recent incidents at the navalencirclement of India, atHambantota and Gwadar, and pos-sibly Bangladesh, dubbed asChina's 'string of pearls,' put anend to the rapidly improving rela-tions with India. China dismissedthe theory, arguing that India builtports with ADB and World Bankloans, which some developingcountries find difficult to obtain.

China's naval analyst, ZhangMing, contends that India'sAndaman and Nicobar islandscould be used as a 'metal chain' toblock Chinese access to the Straitsof Malacca, known as China's'Malacca Dilemma' and argues In-dia is building an 'Iron Curtain' withits influence in the Indian Oceanislands, and ganging up with USon a defense framework.

During the Second World Warthe Japanese built airfields in theAndaman Islands, and China wor-ries that India could emulate thisstrategy, as well.

Ray Cline, a former Deputy Di-rector of the CIA, had predictedthat nations with geography andpopulation would gain ascen-dancy in the 21st century. He jux-taposed it with maritime strategistMahan's prediction that the futuremay well be decided on the watersof the Indian Ocean.

The first signals came whenIndia and China clashed inBahrain on 2 June 2010, at the

monthly SHADE (Shared Aware-ness and De confliction) anti-pi-racy conference jointly chaired bythe EU and US-led Combined Mari-time Force. India stalled China's bidfor co-chairmanship. All 18 navaldelegates, Interpol, and shippingreps around the table which haveships deployed and interests foranti piracy patrols in the Horn ofAden, supported China's long

standing bid, but the Indian del-egate, Deepak Bisht, was the loneobjector. He stated that beforeChina takes the chair, the terms ofthe reference of chairmanship ofSHADE needed to be laid down.Senior Col, Zhou Bo PLA (N), wastaken aback.

A visibly surprised Chairman,Cmde Adrain Vander Linde, the EUTask Force Commodore from theNetherlands, asked if India wishedto bid for a rotating chair. Onlythen, would a subcommittee at-tempt the terms of reference.

India's delegate contented, Indiawould consider the option to chaironly if India knew the terms, andthis upturned China's bid, whichwas accepted at the last meeting.

Murmurs round the table wereheard, as this writer was presentwith Foreign Service reps in theaudience. India had successfullyblocked China on this minor issue.

Currently the IMO has markeda 400-mile International Recog-nized Transit Corridor (IRTC) offAden for the safe transit of shipsto and from the Red Sea. Indian

Navy's single ship deployment onpatrol since 2008 (presently INSBhahmaputra) has successfullyescorted 1,000 Indian and otherflagged ships, and INSBrahmaputra is on station.

The Navy promulgates the con-voy schedule through India's DGShipping, as on 2 June, 17 shipswere in captivity in Somali waters.Russia plans to replace the

U d a l o y - c l a s sguided-missile de-stroyer MarshalShaposhnikov thatstormed and res-cued MV MoscowUniversity by Ad-miral LevchenkoNeustrashimy andYaroslav Mudry.Dutch DefenseMinister, Eimertvan Middelkoop,announced itsNavy will deploy a

submarine in the area andSingapore has increased its patrolstrength with two Puma helicop-ters.

Unwritten in China's bid is anattempt to break up the 400-mileIRTC into patches, and allocate itto national navies amounting toparceling the Indian Ocean. Chinacould stipulate Chairmanship cri-teria to make number of ships mul-tiplied by hours on patrol to countand India may not qualify with oneship on patrol.

The Chinese and Indian swordsare sheathed for the time being, butIndia has to be prepared for the Pearlsversus the Iron Curtain competition.India has banned Chinese firms frompartaking in projects and placed re-strictions on Huawei, which has sup-plied communications gear to India'smobile operators.

India has geography and alarge young population on its sideand will have to cope with themeteoric rise of China. It has beensaid, 'India is like boiling water,steam and froth on top but rathercalm below'. 'China is like boilingoil, calm above but violent andseething below.'

If an eruption does take place inone nation, it could be violent. Thejury is out whether the Chinese topdown approach will prevail overIndia's rather slower and demo-cratic bottom-up approach. But thecompetition for influence in the In-dian Ocean region has begun.

The writer is Vice PresidentIndian Maritime Foundation,Former DNI and DNO in the In-dian Navy. Courtesy IPCS

INS Brahmaputra

'India is like boilingwater, steam andfroth on top but rathercalm below'. 'Chinais like boiling oil,calm above butviolent and seethingbelow’


July 9, 201054


July 9, 201056

indiapost-07-09-2010

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