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Vol.7 No. 51 April 25-May 1, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

AMB. MULAY INTERVIEW 15 FINE ARTS 18

In yet another milestone

achievement for the Indian

American community, Dr.

Vivek Murthy, 37-year-old son of

immigrant parents, has become

America's 19th Surgeon General.

At his ceremonial swearing-in

Wednesday at Fort Myer, Virginia,

he said his rise to such a high posi-

tion was improbable but he got

there by standing on principle.

Nominated for the job by

President Obama, opposition from

the powerful gun lobby delayed his

confirmation by over a year. A

Harvard and Yale alumnus, in 2009

he started a nonprofit, Doctors for

America, with thousands of doctors

and medical students supporting

Obama's healthcare initiatives.

New York: Louisiana Governor

Bobby Jindal has doubled down on

his stance opposing gay marriage.

He wrote in an op-ed in The New

York Times Thursday that the

country must protect his and oth-

ers’ religious liberty to do so.

“I hold the view that has been the

consensus in our country for over

two centuries: that marriage is

between one man and one woman.

Polls indicate that the American

consensus is changing – but like

many other believers, I will not

change my faith-driven view on

this matter, even if it becomes a

minority opinion,” Jindal wrote.

Recent controversial religious

freedom bills in Indiana and

Arkansas – which say religious

freedom can be used as a defense

against discrimination suits, but

critics say promotes discrimination

– have become a rallying cry for

Christian conservatives, the very

voting block Jindal seems deter-

mined to woo ahead of a likely

2016 presidential bid.

“Why shouldn’t an individual or

business have the right to cite, in a

court proceeding, religious liberty

SCI-TECH 25

Continued on page 4

The Rajasthan Association of North America celebrated afew Indian festivals together to share the experience of

cultural diversity with others and to integrate communi-ties. Over 3,000 people enjoyed the mega event held atSUNY Old Westbury campus on April 19. Pictured are(from left) Grand Marshals Rajasthan Home Minister

Gulab Chand Kataria, TV star Shailesh Lodha, Bollywoodactress Jinal Pandya, RANA Founder and President Naveen

Shah and others. (Inset) Haridas Kotahwala, doyen ofIndian jewelers in New York and past president of RANA,was honored by RANA with the Jaipur Ratna Award. He is

seen with his wife Sharda at the award ceremony.

Gov. Bobby Jindal with his wifeduring a prayer at the openingsession of the Louisiana State

Legislature in April.

RANA celebratesRajasthan Mahotsav

More pictures and story on page 16-17.

Detailed story on page 3.Detailed story on page 7.

Dr Vivek Murthy

Dr Vivek Murthy sworn inUS Surgeon General

Bobby Jindal stronglyopposes gay marriage

Comedy King Raju Srivastavateams up with singer SugandhaMishra to perform at RitzTheater in Elizabeth, NJ on April25. The ‘Hil-Hil Hilarious’evening is presented by Aartwoevent organizer and IndusAmerican Bank. Pictured are(from left) Indus bank’s chairman Anil Bansal, Aartwo’sPresident Reetu Rastogi,Sugandha Mishra, and RajuSrivastava at a press conferencein Plainsboro, NJ. RajuSrivastava also promotesNarendra Modi's Clean Indiacampaign wherever he goes ashe is one of the nine people nom-inated by the prime minister.

April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington, DC:

George Washington

University here is gear-

ing to ban from cam-

pus an important reli-

gious symbol, one

which is sacred to

many Hindus,

Buddhists and Jains,

because it looks like

something else which

may upset the sensibilities of

some students.

The hearing will be held under

the auspicious of Gabriel Slifka,

the University’s

Director of the Office

of Student Rights and

Responsibilities, and

Peter Konwerski, VP

and Dean of Student

Affairs.

The University has

seemingly taken the

position that posting

anything which could

be mistaken for a Nazi swastika –

even if it is of a different color

and orientation, and/or might be

seen as “rotating” in the opposite

direction as the Indian svastika is

– cannot be displayed on campus,

even by students who are Hindus

or Buddhists.

It’s like banning the 6-pointed

Jewish Star of David because

some people might mistake it for

the pentagram symbol and human

sacrifice, or expelling a student

for using the word “niggardly”

because other students may mis-

take it for a racist word and get

upset, says George Washington

University public interest law

professor John Banzhaf.

3April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

New York: A software engineer

of Indian descent shared The Wall

Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize for

investigative reporting in growing

recognition of the importance of

using information technology

tools for reporting as well as for

presentation.

Palani Kumanan, who is a soft-

ware architect and technical lead

with Dow Jones that publishes the

Journal, was a part of the winning

project's graphics team, according

to Michael Siconolfi, the newspa-

per's investigations editor.

The Journal won the top journal-

ism award announced Monday for

its mammoth investigative proj-

ect, "Medicare Unmasked." The

series mined data obtained from

the US government after a pro-

longed legal fight.

The Journal articles exposed fraud

and waste in Medicare, the gov-

ernment health insurance program

covering about 43 million senior

citizens and about 9 million peo-

ple with severe disabilities. The

exposures led to Congressional

inquiries and criminal prosecu-

tions.

Kumanan, native of Tamil Nadu,

developed the interactive database

on Medicare billing used to ana-

lyze government payments made

to over 880,000 medical service

providers, including doctors and

hospitals.

In the digital age, coding and soft-

ware applications are becoming

essential journalism tools and

training institutions have begun

incorporating them into journal-

ism curriculum.

George Washington University about to ban Hindu Svastika

By SA Times Team

Plainsboro, NJ: “I take part in

cleaning a public place, like a rail-

way station, in every city I visit to

perform,” said standup comedian

Raju Srivastava at a promotional

event for his show slated for April

25 at Ritz theater in Elizabeth, NJ.

Raju Srivastava, who was nomi-

nated by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi as one of the nine people

(Nav Ratna) to lead 'Swachh

Bharat’ campaign, said he has

taken his responsibility very seri-

ously to create public awareness

about it. He was speaking at the

Plainsboro, NJ branch of Indus

American Bank.

A native of Kanpur in Uttar

Pradesh, Srivastava returned his

nomination to contest the 2014

Lok Sabha election on Samajwadi

Party’s ticket and joined BJP in

March 2014. Talking to The

South Asian Times, he revealed

that he has even composed a song

for Modi’s Clean India campaign.

He, however, said that he is not

thinking of contesting elections,

and remains focused on making

people laugh.

For his four shows in US and

Canada presented by Aartwo, he

teamed up with Sugandha Mishra,

a 24-year-old singer and comedi-

an who rose to fame after her

showing in ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ and

‘The Great Indian Laughter

Challenge’.

The New Jersey show is co-pre-

sented by Indus American Bank.

The Federation of Indian

Associations (FIA) is community

partner.

Aartwo LLC is NJ-based event

organizer founded by Reetu

Rastogi, with the aim to “build

cultural bridges and showcase the

talent from Indian subcontinent to

the people of US”. She told the

SATimes that they have received

great response for the NJ show

which uniquely combines comedy

and singing. She expects a full

house at the over 2,000-capaciy

Ritz theater.

Washington: When hotel executive Ravi

Patel launched his bid for Congress, he

turned to two familiar groups to finance his

campaign. One was fellow hoteliers. The

other: fellow Indian-Americans.

Behind the nearly $540,000 Patel raised

in the first quarter of 2015, a big sum for a

first-time candidate from Iowa, are dozens

of Indian-American donors—and Patel

says his outreach to them is only just begin-

ning.

Going into the 2016 election, he's just

one of half a dozen Indian-American con-

gressional candidates tapping into an

increasingly active source of campaign

funds, one that is helping more and more

candidates from the influential and well-off

community to run viable campaigns.

"If you're well-steeped in that communi-

ty, you know the folks who are going to be

supportive," Patel, a Democrat, told

National Journal. "You can absolutely raise

money there."

In the House, Indian-American donors

are rallying around Raja Krishnamoorthi

(from Illinois) and Kumar Barve

(Maryland), and likely candidate Ro

Khanna (California). In the Senate, they are

throwing strong support to Kamala Harris,

the attorney general of California. All are

Democrats.

The most recent quarterly fundraising

reports show dozens of Indian-American

names scattered across their donor lists.

They account for roughly three-quarters of

Barve's individual contributors and more

than 80 donors each in Patel and Khanna's

latest filings. On Harris' report, dozens of

donors also appear to be of Indian-

American descent.

Buoyed by the group, Khanna brought in

$801,000 from January to March, while

Barve, the only declared candidate in his

Maryland district to raise money in the first

quarter, collected about $66,000. A full

fundraising report for Krishnamoorthi isn't

available yet, but he netted more than

$125,000 in less than two weeks, according

to his campaign. Harris took in $2.5 million

for her Senate bid. In Illinois,

Krishnamoorthi—who lost a congressional

primary in 2012—sees his Indian-

American outreach as more than a source

of financial support. His suburban Chicago

district includes Schaumburg, which has

one of the highest concentrations of Indian-

Americans in the country: 11 %.

"This is historically a very successful

community, and the people supporting

them realize this is a way to get qualified

people into office," said Sanjay Puri, chair-

man of the USIPAC, a bipartisan group that

promotes Indian-American candidates.

Currently, there's only one elected repre-

sentative from the community in

Washington, Rep. Ami Bera.

Software engineer from TamilNadu Palani Kumanan

In US and Canada to performat four places including NewJersey, the comedy king talks

passionately about Clean India campaign.

Indian Americans running for Congress bank on big donors from community

Ravi Patel raised $540,000 in the firstquarter of 2015, a big sum for a first-time candidate from Iowa. There are at

least 4 more Indian American candi-dates for the US House in 2016 and,

one for the Senate.

Raju Srivastava commendsModi’s Swachh Bharat drive

Techie from TN shares Pulitzerfor investigative reporting

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4 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE

Brussels/Rome: Four days after up

to 900 desperate people drowned

trying to reach Europe from Libya,

EU leaders agreed on Thursday to

triple its naval search mission in the

Mediterranean, restoring its fund-

ing to last year's level.

Critics called it a face-saving

operation that did not go far enough

to emulate an Italian rescue mission

abandoned six months ago for want

of EU support. And divisions

remained over longer-term propos-

als, ranging from dealing with

smugglers and African migrant

camps to how to redistribute asy-

lum-seekers around 28 nations

where anti-immigrant parties are on

the rise. But Italian Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi, who had called for

the emergency summit in Brussels

after the deadly sinking of a crowd-

ed vessel on Sunday pierced many

Europeans' indifference to the fate

of unwelcome migrants, called it "a

big step forward for Europe".

Countries, including Britain which

will send the Royal Navy's helicop-

ter-carrying flagship, pledged air-

craft and boats to Operation Triton,

an EU frontier operation off Italy.

Funding for a similar operation off

Greece was also to be increased.

Officials said the difference could

be felt within days. Italy warned

that, after nearly 2,000 deaths so far

this year out of nearly 40,000 peo-

ple making the crossing, a summer

season was starting that could push

total arrivals on its shores for 2015

to 200,000, an increase of 30,000

over last year.

"We face a difficult summer,"

said the summit chairman,

European Council President

Donald Tusk. He took pains to

warn that there would be no quick

fix for problems that saw more than

600,000 people seek asylum in the

European Union last year.

New Delhi: The Indian

Government has renamed the

online visa scheme for travelers as

‘e-Tourist Visa’ (eTV). The scheme

was earlier called ‘Tourist Visa on

Arrival-Electronic Travel

Authorisation’ (TVoA-ETA).

A statement from the Ministry of

Home Affairs said last week that

the extension of the scheme to

more countries and airports will be

in a phased manner, in order to

avoid any confusion.

The name of the scheme was cre-

ating confusion among tourists as

they presumed that visa is being

granted on arrival. However, the

pre-authorization of visa to foreign-

ers is being given prior to travel.

TVoA-ETA was launched on

November 27, 2014 to 44 countries

at nine airports — Delhi, Mumbai,

Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad,

Bengaluru, Kochi,

Thiruvananthapuram and Goa — to

facilitate short duration internation-

al travellers. Since the launch of

the scheme, 1.1 lakh visas have

been issued by Government under

this scheme, the statement added.

A foreign tourist has to apply

online, upload a photo and passport

and pay a fee online. In 72 hours,

the applicant would receive an ETA

by e-mail.

The 30-day permit would include

sightseeing, visiting friends and

family, recreation, short duration

medical treatment, and a casual

business visit.

New Delhi: The auction of 67

coal blocks is expected to

fetch a revenue of nearly

Rs.3,35,370 crore for seven

states where the mines are

located, besides additional

benefit of Rs.69,311 crore to

consumers "in terms of reduc-

tion of electricity tariffs", par-

liament was informed on

Thursday.

"Out of 204 coal blocks can-

celled by the Supreme Court,

the government has so far

allocated 67 coal mines

through auction and allotment

in 2015 in accordance with

the provisions of Coal Mines

(Special Provisions) Act,

2015, and the Rules made

thereunder," Power and Coal

Minister Piyush Goyal told

the Lok Sabha in a written

reply.

According to a statement

from the central government,

Jharkhand owns the highest

number of coal blocks at 20,

followed by Chhattisgarh at

14 and West Bengal at 11.

The other states which will

benefit from the auctions are

Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Odisha and

Telangana. "One coal block,

namely Ardhagram (in West

Bengal), where the successful

bidder was declared, has been

handed over to designated

custodian in view of a court

case," said the central govern-

ment statement.

Bobby Jindal strongly opposes ...Continued from page 1as a reason for not participating

in a same-sex marriage ceremony

that violates a sincerely held reli-

gious belief? That is what Indiana

and Arkansas sought to do,” he

wrote in the op-ed. “That politi-

cal leaders in both states quickly

cowered amid the shrieks of big

business and the radical left

should alarm us all.”

Back home in Louisiana, Jindal

is advocating for a more restric-

tive bill: one that gives broad

protections against state action to

those who oppose gay marriage.

“Given the changing positions

of politicians, judges and the

public in favor of same-sex mar-

riage, along with the potential for

discrimination against Christian

individuals and businesses that

comes with these shifts, I plan in

this legislative session to fight for

passage of the Marriage and

Conscience Act,” Jindal wrote in

the op-ed, referring to the bill.

Jindal’s opposition to gay mar-

riage may help him attract social

conservatives, but Republicans –

and particularly young

Republicans – have begun soften-

ing on the issue in recent years.

In a recent Pew Research Poll,

61% of young Republicans said

they support same-sex marriage.

It’s this shift that Jindal’ op-ed

seems angled to address.

“Conservatism faces many

challenges in today’s America.

Hollywood and the media elite

are hostile to our values and they

tip the scales to our liberal oppo-

nents at every opportunity. Yet

the left has lost repeatedly in

state elections all over America.

Republicans control 31 governor-

ships.

We control nearly 70 percent of

state legislative chambers, the

highest proportion since at least

1900,” the first Indian American

governor argued.

Shocked by hundreds of drowned migrants, Europe restores rescue mission

India’s visa-on-arrival is now e-tourist visa

Printed Every Saturday by: Forsythe Media Group, LLC, ISSN 1941-9333, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801 P: 516.390.7847

Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily

Coal block auction likely to fetchRs.3,35,370 crore for states

2,000 migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europehave died this year.

5April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

New York: Consul General of

India in New York Amb.

Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay formal-

ly launched www.NRITVFILM-

CLUB.com in the presence of

scores of prominent people from

the Indian community, media

and entertainment at the con-

sulate ballroom on April 17. He

congratulated Emmy nominated

filmmaker Tirlok Malik, founder

of NRI TV Film Club, by saying

“It is a wonderful idea. Very

much needed. And it will make

the bridge between Hollywood

and Bollywood by creating NRI-

wood.”

The virtual film club is for the

audience to watch movies made

by NRIs, about NRIs, with NRIs.

“It is just like a micro mini Net-

flix for NRI movies,” a guest

said. NRI TV Film Club website

is also a platform to promote and

create opportunities for NRI tal-

ent in film, television, and new

media. It is a collective effort of

filmmakers and artists.

The website already carries 15

films made in America by NRIs

with local talent. Some of these

films are award winning and

shown worldwide. The film club

will produce and show more

films, TV Sitcom, Web Series.

Membership for the club is $35.

“These movies have immigrant

themes but with universal emo-

tions.

Many of these films don't reach

wider audience. But with the

new technology of streaming

movies just like Netflix, we are

able to bring these movies for the

audience to watch worldwide.

There are more than 25 million

NRIs worldwide and their fami-

lies in India.

We believe you will enjoy

these movies,” says actor-film-

maker Tirlok Malik whose cred-

its include Lonely in America,

Khushiyan and On Golden

Years. He adds, “I am glad other

NRI filmmakers have shared this

vision with me and joined me.”

Yonkers, New York: Dr. Kanwal

Singh, an Indian American with

M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the

University of California at Berkeley,

has been named dean of Sarah

Lawrence College, effective Aug. 1.

Singh earned her degrees in theo-

retical physics at the University of

California at Berkeley and her BS in

physics with departmental honors,

summa cum laude, from the Univer-

sity of Maryland at College Park.

She held a National Defense Sci-

ence and Engineering Doctoral Fel-

lowship and a post-doctoral fellow-

ship from the American-Scandina-

vian Foundation.

Her research focused on con-

structing models in order to under-

stand low-temperature, low-dimen-

sional systems, such as thin films of

superfluids or superconducting ma-

terial.

She has taught at Middlebury Col-

lege, Wellesley College, and Eugene

Lang College. Singh also received a

competitive fellowship from the

American Association for the Ad-

vancement of Science for scientists

interested in policy at the national

level, working at the National Sci-

ence Foundation’s Directorate of

Education and Human Resources.

Singh’s work at the foundation fo-

cused on large-scale, multi-year ef-

forts of local school districts in part-

nership with institutions of higher

education to improve science and

mathematics teaching. This experi-

ence expanded and strengthened her

interests in science education. She

also worked with Bank Street Col-

lege of Education for several years

as a consultant on a Carnegie Cor-

poration-funded project to help im-

prove its teacher education program.

New York: Computer scien-

tist Shree K. Nayar from the

Columbia University has in-

vented the world's first fully

self-powered video camera

that can produce an image

each second, indefinitely, of a

well-lit indoor scene.

Nayar designed a pixel that

not only can measure incident

light (a ray of light that strikes

a surface) but also convert the

incident light into electric

power.

"We are in the middle of a

digital imaging revolution. A

camera that can function as an

untethered device forever --

without any external power

supply -- would be incredibly

useful," said Nayar, who

heads the computer vision lab-

oratory at the Columbia Engi-

neering.

At the heart of any digital

camera is an image sensor, a chip

with millions of pixels.

The key enabling device in a

pixel is the photodiode which pro-

duces an electric current when ex-

posed to light.

The photodiode in a camera pix-

el is used in the photoconductive

mode while in a solar cell it is

used in the photovoltaic model.

This mechanism enables each

pixel to measure the intensity of

light falling on it.

Nayar, working with research

engineer Daniel Sims, and con-

sultant Mikhail Fridberg of the

consultancy firm ADSP Consult-

ing used off-the-shelf components

to fabricate an image sensor with

30x40 pixels.

In Nayar's prototype cam-

era, which is housed in a 3D

printed body, each pixel's

photodiode is always operat-

ed in the photovoltaic mode.

When the camera is not

used to capture images, it can

be used to generate power for

other devices, such as a

phone or a watch.

According to Nayar, the

image sensor could use a

rechargeable battery and

charge it via its harvesting

capability.

"But we took an extreme

approach to demonstrate that

the sensor is indeed truly

self-powered and used just a

capacitor to store the harvest-

ed energy," he noted.

"We believe our results are

a significant step forward in

developing an entirely new

generation of cameras that can

function for a very long duration -

- ideally, forever -- without being

externally powered," the authors

wrote. The team is set to present

its work at the international con-

ference on computational photog-

raphy at the Rice University in

Houston April 24-26.

Indian-origin scientist developsfirst self-powered camera

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CG Mulay and the virtual film club founder Tirlok Malik

Kanwal Singh

NRI TV Film Club launchedKanwal Singh named deanof Sarah Lawrence College

Shree K Nayar heads the computervision laboratory at the Columbia

Engineering.

6 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

Dr. Sumita Chowdhury,

Chairperson for the

World Congress on Pre-

ventive Healthcare, at a press

conference at Signature India,

Houston, on April 9 announced

that Bollywood celebrity and

music director Jatin Pandit will

be the brand ambassador for the

World Congress on Preventive

Healthcare 2015. This Congress

will be held at the George R.

Brown Convention Center in

Houston from July 10-12.

The World Congress on Pre-

ventive Healthcare (Preven-

tion2015.org) is a part of the

North American Bengali Confer-

ence (NABC) 2015, a non-profit

organization that will attract

more than 10,000 visitors from

all around the world. Entry is free

and is open to all

(NABC2015.org) and the pri-

mary focus of this Congress will

be on the local South Asian com-

munity.

At the event, Dr. Chowdhury

appealed to the South Asian com-

munity to unite and conquer the

epidemics of cardiovascular dis-

eases and diabetes and called on

each member of the community

to join the South Asian Cardio-

vascular Registry and contribute

to the advancement of science.

The World Congress on Preven-

tive Healthcare is organizing free

screenings for clinical cardiac

risk parameters, blood tests for

advanced lipid parameters, dia-

betes testing, cardiac rhythm

evaluations, and endothelial

function tests.

With the aim to unite

global Indians and Indi-

an associations under

one umbrella organization, NRI

Federation spearheaded by Deep-

ak and Surbhi Kavadia was

launched at a grand gala last

weekend. Bollywood Star Bappi

Lahiri, who will also be the brand

ambassador of the organization,

and the Home Minister of Ra-

jasthan Gulabchand Kataria

graced the event.

Over 500 attendees, including

several dignitaries and influential

community leaders were present at

the event that took place at the

landmark Hindu Temple Society

of North America's auditorium in

Flushing, New York.

The Federation came into exis-

tence in September, 2014 when

Deepak and Surbhi Kavadia met

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at

a Dinner Ceremony in New York

just after he gave the historical

speech at Madison Square garden.

Touched by PM Modi’s inspira-

tional words, the Kavadia’s decid-

ed to create this non-profit organi-

zation to represent all overseas In-

dians living across the globe, with

the aim of assisting NRIs through

various programs namely Adop-

tion & Donations for Smart Vil-

lage, Health & Medical Cultural

Heritage Fairs, Preserving Vedic

Cultural Heritage & Education

Youth Development & Education

Program, Disabled & Underprivi-

leged Child Support Program,

Senior Center & Programs,

Women Empowerment & Safety,

etc.

Padmashree Dr. Sudhir M.

Parikh, Dr. Ajay K. Lodha, Prabha

Golia were honored for their ded-

icated and ongoing services to the

community at the inaugural gala.

TV Asia Owner H.R.Shah was

honored for his tireless contribu-

tion and dedication to media in-

dustry via TV ASIA.

Dr. Ajay Lodha applauded the

wonderful cause and the global

platform encouraging attendees to

register for the same. He offered

his individual support as well as

on behalf of American Association

of Physicians of Indian origin

(AAPI) to help wherever needed.

Jatin Pandit named brand ambassador of World Congress on

Preventive Healthcare 2015

SAPAC’s annual breakfast to honor young leaders

NRI Federation launched with a grand gala

Group photo of honorees(Photo by Nala Singham)

Jatin Pandit

East Meadow, NY: The

SAPAC's (South Asian-American

Political Action Committee) An-

nual Spring Breakfast will be held

on April 26th at the Mint Restau-

rant in Garden City, NY. With the

theme Leaders of Tomorrow, this

event is specifically dedicated to

the community youth to recognize

their impact on the society. At the

event 16 outstanding young lead-

ers from various communities

who are residents of Long Island

will be recognized for their excel-

lent service to improving our com-

munity. “We are expecting many

professionals, community, civic

and business leaders as well as

elected officials. We will also be

having many representatives from

different communities, creating a

great networking base beyond just

the South Asian community,” said

Zahid Syed, the force behind

SAPAC.

For more info: Email: SAPA-CLI@aol.com

Global Punjab TV has launched road show “Hello GlobalPunjab” with Kanwar Sandhu in the US and Canada from

April 20 to May 2015.Motivational teacher Mukesh Gangani (left) led a well-attended Ultimate Mind Power

seminar on April 17 in New Hyde Park, NY. More information at www.mukeshmotivational.com

7April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: Son of Indian

immigrant parents, Dr. Vivek

Murthy says his rise to the position

of "America's Doctor" was improb-

able but he got where he was by

standing on principle.

"As I look around this arena, I

am struck by a simple truth: by any

reasonable measure, I shouldn't be

standing here," he said at his cere-

monial swearing in as America's

19th Surgeon General Wednesday

at Fort Myer, Virginia. "My family

was never supposed to have left

our ancestral village (of Hallegere

in Karnataka's Mandya district).

My father is the son of a farmer in

rural India.”

"He was supposed to have been a

farmer, as was I," recalled Murthy,

37, as a crowd of supporters that

included Vice President Joe Biden

watched.

"But for my grandfather's insis-

tence that his son get an education

- even if that meant going into debt

- we might have never left that vil-

lage to go out in the world and - as

my grandfather also insisted - start

fixing what needed fixing."

"We were not supposed to have

become Americans. My parents

stopped in three other countries -

including a brutal dictatorship - on

their journey to get here," said

Murthy, who is now the highest

ranking Indian-American in the

Obama Administration.

"They saved up money and

scrounged for information about

job opportunities, always knowing

that America was the destination,"

he said. "They knew that here -

more than any other place in the

world - they would not be limited

because of who they were or where

they came from. "And in Miami,

they found a community of immi-

grants from all over the world who

continue to hold on to that vision

of America as an article of faith,"

said Murthy. And even after being

nominated for this job by President

Barack Obama, "I almost didn't get

to be your Surgeon General," he

said alluding to the opposition of

the powerful gun lobby that left

him cooling his heels for more than

a year. "Had it not been for so

many of you in this room - and

thousands of dedicated individuals

that I have never even met - I

would not be standing here. We got

here by standing on principle," said

Murthy.

According to the surgeon gener-

al's website, Murthy graduated

from high school in Miami and

then received his bachelor's degree

from Harvard.

From there, he earned his med-

ical degree and master's in business

administration at Yale University.

The Surgeon General oversees

the US Public Health Service

Commissioned Corps (USPHS), an

elite group of over 6,700 uni-

formed officer public health pro-

fessionals.

New York: General Motors has

appointed two Indian American

women executives to key finance

posts.

Dhivya Suryadevara was named

vice president, finance, and treas-

urer, effective July 1, replacing

Niharika Taskar Ramdev, who

has been named chief financial

officer for GM International.

Suryadevara will retain her cur-

rent responsibilities as CEO and

chief investment officer of GM

Asset Management.

CGM executive vice president

and chief financial officer Chuck

Stevens said that Suryadevara’s

experience in “leading our asset

management team will serve her

well in this important role for the

company. I’m confident that she

will build on the great work the

team has accomplished under

(Ramdev’s) leadership.”

Suryadevara will lead GM’s

global treasury operations,

including capital planning and

capital market activities, and par-

ticipate in business development,

risk management and investor

relations.

Ramdev will head the finance

team for GM International, GM's

operating segment that generates

$14 billion in revenue.

Suryadevara was named chief

investment officer of GM Asset

Management in July 2013, in

charge of about $80 billion in

assets in GM’s defined benefit

plans. She was previously manag-

ing director of investment strate-

gy and fixed income for GM

Asset Management and also led

the plan’s fixed income and de-

risking efforts. Suryadevara

began her career at GM in treas-

ury in 2004.

Ramdev was named VP, finance

and treasurer, in April 2014. She

was previously chief financial

officer for GM's global purchas-

ing and supply chain operation, a

post she held since August 2011.

Ramdev has held several leader-

ship roles in GM, including assis-

tant treasurer for GM and region-

al treasurer for GM international

operations. She joined GM in

1996.

Washington, DC: A former

Alabama police officer has pleaded

not guilty to charges of using

"unreasonable force" against an

Indian grandfather who was left par-

tially paralyzed after being slammed

face-first to the ground.

An unarmed Sureshbhai Patel, 57,

who does not speak English, was

allegedly assaulted by Eric Parker

Feb 6 while he was taking a morn-

ing walk in front of his son's house

in a Madison, Alabama suburb.

Parker, 26, appeared before US

Magistrate Harwell Davis in federal

court in Huntsville Tuesday along

with his attorney Robert Tuten, who

told the court Parker was pleading

not guilty, according to AL.com

Davis ordered a $5,000 bond for

Parker. He faces a felony charge

carrying a maximum sentence of 10

years in prison. The federal case has

been set for June 1 trial. Parker is

facing a federal charge of "depriva-

tion of rights under color of law,"

which US Attorney Joyce White

Vance said includes the right to be

free from "unreasonable force." He

has also pleaded not guilty to a mis-

demeanor assault charge in

Limestone County. That will be han-

dled in a separate court appearance

next month.

New York: Ashok

Saxena, former

University of

Arkansas College of

Engineering dean,

and current head of

the Department of

B i o m e d i c a l

Engineering, has been

selected to serve as

University of

Arkansas provost.

The Indian

American academic will serve in

this role until a new chancellor can

appoint the next provost.

Saxena was selected by Dan

Ferritor, the incoming interim chan-

cellor for the Fayetteville campus,

who expects Saxena to be in the role

up for to 18 months, depending on

the timeline for hiring the next chan-

cellor. The provost serves as second

to the chancellor of the university

and serves on the chancellor’s exec-

utive committee.

Saxena was the first permanent

head of the Department of

Biomedical Engineering, which was

created in 2012. He has a long and

distinguished career in academia.

As a researcher, Saxena has

always worked in multidisciplinary

fields, focusing mainly on mechani-

cal engineering and materials sci-

ence. He has been interested in the

biomedical field for over a decade.

Saxena served as dean of the

College of Engineering from 2003

until 2012, when he stepped down

in order to serve a two-year appoint-

ment as the senior

leader at Galgotias

University, a new pri-

vate, multidisciplinary

research university

near Delhi.

As vice chancellor

(the equivalent of the

campus CEO in

Indian/British higher

education) of

Galgotias University,

Saxena oversaw the

institution’s growth from zero to

6500 students.

He also helped India gain admis-

sion to the Washington Accord, an

international engineering accredita-

tion organization, said a press

release. Saxena’s awards and recog-

nition include the Georgia Tech

Outstanding Research Author Award

(1993) and the Wohler Medal

(2010). Saxena received his B.S. in

mechanical engineering from the

Indian Institute of Technology and

his master’s and doctoral degrees in

materials science and metallurgical

engineering from the University of

Cincinnati.

His major industrial experience

was at the Westinghouse Research

and Development Center in

Pittsburgh, where from 1976 to

1985 he rose to the rank of Fellow

Scientist.

Prior to coming to UA, he was

chair of the Georgia Tech School of

Materials Science and Engineering

and was named Regents’ Professor

in 2002.

Dr Vivek Murthy sworn in as America'syoungest Surgeon General

GM appoints two Indian American women to key finance posts Alabama cop pleads not guilty to assaulting Indian grandpa

Ashok Saxena named Provostof University of Arkansas

Dr Vivek Murthy at the swearing-in ceremony

Ashok Saxena

8 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

Embassy of India hosted a

reception on April 18 to

celebrate Baisakhi. The

festival symbolizes the harvest

season, and thanksgiving for a

bountiful harvest. It also marks

the founding of the Khalsa by

Guru Gobind Singh.

Over three hundred guests in-

cluding prominent Indian Amer-

ican community leaders, doctors,

engineers, lawyers, bankers, sci-

entists, and other professionals

attended the celebrations. Fi-

nance Minister Arun Jaitley and

Minister of Environment and

Forest Prakash Javadekar partic-

ipated in the celebration and

greeted the community.

Chicago: More than 200 high profile

US political leaders, including two

Congressmen, three state senators,

state treasurer, a village president, a

Padmashree, Indian Consul General,

a few dozen artists, CEOs, CFOs,

and distinguished guests attended the

Global Organization of People of In-

dian Origin’s (GOPIO’s) inaugural

business conference and annual gala

held on April 18 at the Oakbrook

Marriott Hotel in Oak Brook.

Among those who attended were

Congresswoman Tammy Duck-

worth, also a Democratic candidate

for the US Senate, Indian Consul

General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Congress-

man Danny Davis, Former Illinois Deputy

Treasurer Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois State

Senators – Don Kotowski, Tom Cullerton,

and Michael Noland, Illinois State Treasurer

Michael Frerichs, Padmashree Dr. Bala Bal-

achandran, and Oak Brook Village President,

Dr. Gopal Lalmalani. In his address, Gladson

Varghese, President of GOPIO Chicago, an-

nounced that his chapter will provide a plat-

form for business community in Chicago to

network and learn about tax incentives for do-

ing business in India.

The Indian Consul General highlighted the

key steps that the new Indian government un-

der the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra

Modi has initiated to promote Indo-US busi-

ness. He also tried to sort out the confusions

over various kinds of visas to India.

Congresswoman Duckworth, urged the In-

dian community to build upon their success as

professionals and entrepreneurs and to be-

come more active participants in the electoral

process.

Congresswoman Duckworth introduced

Raja Krishnamoorthi who intends to succeed

her as the US Representative from the Illinois

8th district. Raja urged Indian community

members to vote and have their opinions

counted in the 2016 elections.

Padmasree Dr. Bala Balachandran, former

Dean of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of

Management gave the keynote address. He

asked everyone to put aside their egos and act

on achieving their dreams.

New York: In the latest attack on Hindu

houses of worship in the US, a temple has

been vandalized in Texas "horrifying" both

Hindus and non-Hindus, who have offered

to help the temple clean the damage, media

reported.

In the attack at the North Texas Hindu

Mandir in Lake Highlands suburb of Dal-

las, vandals painted symbols of devil wor-

ship on the temple's door, media reports

said on Saturday.

The attackers left behind on a shed at the

temple the mark of Mara Salvatrucha, an

international gang originating among im-

migrants from the predominantly Catholic

nation of El Salvador and active in the US.

The 11CBS network in Dallas-Fort

Worth area reported that a temple board

member, Krishna Singh said mandir mem-

bers discovered the graffiti last Monday.

"That was a big shock, really," the network

quoted her as saying.

Dallas police have sent detectives from

their gang unit to investigate the incident,

according to WFAA, an ABC network af-

filiated local station.

The temple supports community chari-

ties like food banks for the poor and an or-

ganization that helps victims of child

abuse.

According to 11CBS, "666" and an up-

side cross were painted on the temple door.

They symbolize devil worship.

Some Christian leaders, including a for-

mer candidate for the Republican Party's

presidential nomination, Pat Robertson,

have called Hinduism "demonic."

Robertson is a pastor who has a follow-

ing of millions in the US and abroad and

his TV show, Club 700, is carried on Chris-

tian Broadcasting Network, which says on

its website that it operates in India. The at-

tack is the latest in a series attacks on Hin-

du places of worship. Two temples were

vandalized in Washington State in north-

west US in February.

In August, a statue of Shiva at the Vish-

wa Bhavan Hindu Mandir in Monroe in the

state of Georgia was desecrated with black

paint. The local sheriff's office arrested two

people in connection with the attack.

Between July and October in Loudon

County in Virginia, police have document-

ed 17 separate incidents of anti-Hindu van-

dalism, the Hindu American Foundation

said.

GOPIO Chicago’s first Business Conference &Annual Gala a success

Hindu temple vandalized in Texas

Baisakhi celebrated at Embassy Residence, Washington, DC

Embassy of India,

Washington DC will

present ‘Nurturing

Peace through Yoga and

Meditation’ – a talk by Sri Sri

Ravi Shankar on April 29

from 6.30-7.45 pm at the Em-

bassy marking curtain-raiser

for the First International Day

of Yoga Celebrations. On Dec

11, 2014 India's Permanent

Representative introduced

the draft resolution in the

United Nations General As-

sembly. The draft text re-

ceived broad support from 170 Member

States, including USA, and the draft text

was adopted without a vote. Hence, June 21,

2015 is the first International Day of Yoga.

Government of India is planning to cele-

brate IDY 2015 in all the

countries around the world.

Embassy of India is planning

to organize a series of events

culminating on June 21, 2015

to celebrate the IDY.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a

renowned spiritual leader and

global humanitarian. He has

devised practical tools and

techniques that help individu-

als achieve calmness of mind

and clarity of thought. In

1981, Sri Sri established the

Art of Living Foundation, an

educational organization with a presence in

over 150 countries. The Foundation's indi-

vidual development programs offer tools to

eliminate stress and foster a sense of well-

being.

Spiritual leader Sri SriRavi Shankar

Invocation by BhaiKirpal Singh of theSikh Foundation ofVirginia, accompa-nied by Bhai Onkar

Singh and BhaiKaram Singh. (Inset)

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seenwith Charge d'Affaires Ambassador

Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The attack is the latest in a series ofattacks on Hindu places of worship.

Two temples were vandalized inWashington State in north-west US

in February.GOPIO members and invitees at the event

(Photo credit: Newseastwest.com

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s talk to kick off First International Day of Yoga celebrations

9April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS

Washington: As yet another black

man died, this time in police custody,

unleashing a fresh wave of protests

asking whether black lives matter, a

media report spoke of some 1.5 mil-

lion missing black men in America.

For every 100 black women not in

jail, there are only 83 black men, the

New York Times reported Monday

noting this gap - driven mostly by

incarceration and early deaths - barely

exists among whites with just one

missing white man for every 100

white women.

"African-American men have long

been more likely to be locked up and

more likely to die young, but the scale

of the combined toll is nonetheless jar-

ring," NYT said.

"It is a measure of the deep dispari-

ties that continue to afflict black men

and the gender gap is itself a further

cause of social ills, leaving many

communities without enough men to

be fathers and husbands," the daily

said.

The city with at least 10,000 black

residents that has the single largest

proportion of missing black men is

Ferguson, Missouri, where a fatal

police shooting last year led to nation-

wide protests.

Ferguson, where a Justice

Department investigation found wide-

spread discrimination against black

residents, has 60 men for every 100

black women in the age group.

The NYT report came as Baltimore,

Maryland, police released videos

Monday showing the arrest of a man

who died of a severe spinal injury suf-

fered in police custody.

Six officers have been suspended,

but investigators say they still don't

know how it happened, according to

CBS News.

Everglades National Park, Fla.: Visiting

Florida’s Everglades on Earth Day, President

Obama sounded the alarm about damage from

climate change he said was already wreaking

mayhem in Florida and across the US.

In an implicit rebuke to Florida’s governor

and other Republicans, on Wednesday Obama

accused those who deny the man-made causes

of climate change of sticking their heads in the

sand. He said rising sea levels that have

infused the Everglades with harmful salt water

have already jeopardized Florida’s drinking

water and its $82 billion tourism industry.

Obama’s quick visit to the South Florida

landmark marked his latest attempt to connect

the dots between carbon emissions and real-

life implications. With his climate change

agenda under attack in Washington and court-

houses across the US, Obama has been on a

mission to force Americans to envision a

world in which cherished natural wonders fall

victim to pollution.

The vast Everglades, known as the “River of

Grass,” fuel the region’s tourism economy and

water supply. Now roughly 1.4 million acres,

the park comprises most of what’s left of a

unique ecosystem that once stretched as far

north as Orlando.

Yet damage that started early in the 20th

century, when people drained swamps to make

room for homes and farms, has only grown

more alarming as sea levels rise. Researchers

fear by the time the water flow is fixed, the

Everglades’ native species could be lost to

invasive plants and animals.

Death in custody puts spotlight on missing black men

Obama sounds alarm on climate damage in visit to Everglades

Lynch to become first black woman attorney general

President Obama in Florida’s Everglades

While about a dozen other unarmedblack men died in police shooting inabout a year, Freddie Gray died in

police custody.

Brothers Koch will bankroll 5 GOPcandidates in primaries

Wichita, Kan.:

Charles Koch said

he is considering

throwing his politi-

cal might into the

Republican presi-

dential primary for

the first time and is

likely to provide

financial help to

several contenders

before settling on a single candidate.

Koch, his brother David and their team have identified

five candidates who have the right message and "a good

chance of getting elected," he told USA Today. They are

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida governor

Jeb Bush and Senators Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul

(Kentucky) and Marco Rubio (Florida).

"Those are the ones we have talked to the most and who

seem to be the possible leaders," he said.

"What we've told them all is that right now, we're not

supporting anyone," Koch said. "We're telling them that if

they want our support, one way to get it is articulating a

good message to help Americans get a better understand-

ing and a better appreciation of how certain policies …

will benefit them and will benefit all America."

The Kochs run Koch Industries, a multibillion-dollar

privately held conglomerate with interests in the energy

industry, as well as building supplies and other products.

They have been active donors to Republican candidates.

For the first time, Charles Koch also outlined that roughly

$300 million would be spent directly on electoral politics in

2016, including federal and state elections. This would rival

the almost $400 million the Republican National

Committee raised and spent in the 2012 election cycle.

Justice Departmentto investigate

Baltimore death With protesters marching through

Baltimore streets and lawmakers plead-

ing for federal help, U.S. authorities

launched a civil rights probe Tuesday

into the death of a 25-year-old man

whose arrest by police led to horrified

screams and a broken spinal cord.

The U.S. Justice Department said it has

been "monitoring'' the case of Freddie

Gray, who died Sunday, a week after he

was arrested by Baltimore police. The

death of Gray, who is black, is the latest

to spark outcry and protest across the

nation for perceived heavy-handed

police treatment of minorities.

"Based on preliminary information,

(Justice) has officially opened this matter

and is gathering information to deter-

mine whether any prosecutable civil

rights violation occurred," the depart-

ment said in the statement.

Members of the Maryland congres-

sional delegation had called on Attorney

General Eric Holder to take the action

Tuesday.

Charles and David Koch

Washington, DC: President

Obama's long-stalled nominee for

attorney general, federal prosecu-

tor Loretta Lynch, was on her way

to a confirmation vote Thursday

after senators extricated them-

selves from a partisan dispute over

abortion that had stood in her way.

An agreement announced by

Senate leaders allowed both

Republicans and Democrats to

save face on a once-uncontrover-

sial bill to help sex-trafficking

victims that had turned into a lit-

mus test on abortion. The vote on

final passage of the trafficking bill

took place Wednesday.

Lynch, who would become the

nation's first black female attorney

general, replacing Eric Holder, is

now the US attorney for the

Eastern District of New York.

Lynch was expected t win con-

firmation in Senate with at least

five Republicans supporting her

besides Democrats.

US Attorney Generalnominee

Loretta Lynch

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com

10 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA

New Delhi: An AAP rally attend-

ed by thousands against the land

ordinance turned tragic this week

when a Rajasthan farmer, his

crops ruined by untimely rains,

hanged himself from a tree in the

heart of the capital, shocking

India and sparking an ugly politi-

cal blame game.

"Gajendra (Singh)'s death has

saddened the nation," Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's office

said, referring to the father of

three who climbed a neem tree at

the Jantar Mantar protest site and

died after tying his scarf around

his neck to a stout branch.

The statement came hours after

the dramatic death when Aam

Aadmi Party leader Kumar

Vishwas, addressing the mass

gathering, suddenly spotted the

man on the tree, seemingly pre-

cariously perched, and asked

police and AAP activists to bring

him down.

To this reporter on the media

stage, it looked as if the man was

holding on to two branches with

his outstretched hands. He was

bearded with a thick moustache

and wore a bright red Rajasthani-

style headgear.

Three party activists clambered

up the tree and untied the scarf.

But before they could take a good

grip of him, the limp body slipped

from their hands and fell with a

thud, only to cause chaos at the

rally.

Shouting anti-police slogans,

some volunteers rushed the man

to the Ram Manohar Lohia

Hospital, around two kilometers

away where doctors declared him

dead.

One of the AAP activists on the

tree fainted -- on the branch.

Others went up and brought him

down after sprinkling water on his

face.

A hand-written suicide note in

Hindi found at the spot said the

man was taking his life because

rains had destroyed his crops. He

ended the note with "Jai Jawan,

Jai Kisan, Jai Rajasthan".

In no time, a political war erupt-

ed. Taken aback by the suicide,

AAP leaders blamed Delhi Police,

saying police did not even

respond to their appeals to bring

the man down from the tree.

"Police didn't play their role

properly. They should have made

efforts to save Gajendra Singh. It

were AAP activists who put their

lives at risk and brought him

down and took him to hospital,"

said Kumar Vishwas.

Asked why the rally was not

halted after the incident, AAP

leader Sanjay Singh said: "If we

had stopped the rally, there would

have been a stampede or other law

and order problems."

Police denied AAP's charges

and said an inquiry was on to find

out what happened. The investiga-

tion was ordered by Home

Minister Rajnath Singh, to whom

Delhi Police reports.

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit

out at the AAP. Its spokesman

Sambit Patra asked: "Why didn't

AAP leaders stop the farmer from

committing suicide?"

The first to reach the hospital

was Congress leader Ajay Maken,

who blamed both police and the

AAP for the suicide. Congress

vice president Rahul Gandhi came

calling later.

In Rajasthan, the family of the

deceased farmer said he was shak-

en after losing his entire wheat

crop to untimely rains.

Gopal Singh, an uncle of

Gajendra Singh, said that the man

was not compensated by the state

government.

"He had around 25 bighas

(around 2.5 hectare) of land and

grew wheat. His crop was

destroyed by rains and hailstorm...

So far no compensation has been

given to us."

The Congress announced Rs.2

lakh as compensation to the dead

man's family.

New Delhi: The suicide

of a farmer at an AAP

rally reverberated in the

Lok Sabha with parties

lamenting the lack of

sensitivity and question-

ing why the incident

which took place in full

public view could not be

stopped.

Opposition parties, led

by the Congress, also

demanded loan waiver

and immediate compen-

sation for farmers affect-

ed by the recent

inclement weather.

"When the incident

was taking place, why

didn't anybody stop him. Why didn't the

police personnel do anything. Why did the

leaders present there continue with their

speeches. Also some insensitive com-

ments need to be introspected," Congress

leader Deepinder Hooda said.

"We are all human beings first. We all

need to introspect. When he was trying to

hang himself, some people were clap-

ping," he added.

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy

said: "I express deep anguish and sorrow

at the suicide of the farmer. Two points

emerge from this...One is how insensitive

our society has become and the other is

how our farmers are suffering."

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam

Singh Yadav said: "This is not a question

of just the government but all of us. We

have given loan waiver and irrigation has

been made free. We should do something

together so that farmers don't commit sui-

cide." Earlier, the house had to be

adjourned for nearly 40 minutes after the

opposition created a ruckus demanding an

immediate discussion on the issue.

New Delhi: Prime

Minister Narendra Modi

has sought a collective

response from political

leaders to the agrarian

crisis caused by unsea-

sonal rains and resolved

not to "abandon" the

farmers.

Speaking in the Lok

Sabha, Modi said: "It

should be our determina-

tion to find a solution to

this problem. The issue

has been there for long...

we will have to think

together where we went wrong and what

were the deficiencies in the system that

resulted in the crisis."

Modi appealed to leaders across the

political spectrum to come together and

share their suggestions to address the

problem of the rising number of farmers'

suicide in the country.

"For years the issue of farmers com-

mitting suicide has been a

matter of great concern...

There is nothing more

important than the life of

the farmer," the prime

minister said, adding that

the government would

ensure help to them in

every possible way.

Modi stated that he was

pained by a farmer's death

at the Aam Aadmi Party

rally here and said: "Ab

hum apne kisano ko nahi

marne denge (we won't

let our farmers die any-

more)."

"We can't abandon our farmers... I wel-

come good suggestions (to address the

situation) by all," he added.

His statement came after a farmer from

Rajasthan, whose crops were destroyed

by unseasonal rain, hanged himself from

a tree here during an AAP rally. The rally

was called to protest against the contro-

Farmer's suicide: Parties question lack of sensitivity

Can't abandon farmers: Modi

India stunned as farmer kills self at AAP rally

Farmer Gajendra Singh committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at an AAP rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia during the rally in New Delhi.

11April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

New Delhi: After being expelled

from their Aam Aadmi Party for

anti-party activities, Prashant

Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav

lambasted the party, describing it

as a Khap Panchayat (kangaroo

court).

Although the two leaders termed

their expulsion from the party as

illegal, they said they would not

contest it in the court.

The AAP late Monday night

removed Bhushan, Yadav, Ajit Jha

and Anand Kumar for anti-party

activities.

A fortnight after its historic vic-

tory in the Delhi polls, the party

plunged into a crisis, with its

founding members Bhushan and

Yadav accusing its chief Arvind

Kejriwal of having developed

"dictatorial tendencies".

Speaking at a press conference

here, Bhushan, accompanied by

Yadav, said: "It is no longer AAP.

It is Khap."

"Ideally we can approach the

court against all that they did. The

reconstitution of the national dis-

ciplinary committee, the removal

of Admiral Ramdas as the party

Lokpal - everything was illegal.

The question is why should we

spend our energy in court?" he

added.

The two leaders said though

they were sad over their expul-

sion, they felt relieved as the

"drama" is now over.

Without mincing words,

Bhushan went on to describe

Kejriwal as a "dictator" who along

with his "coterie" takes decision in

the party.

Reacting to Bhushan's and

Yadav's allegations, AAP leader

Ashutosh later said the dissident

leaders had disrespected AAP's

Political Affair Committee -- its

key decision making body.

"The leaders should have some

shame as they have disrespected

the Political Affairs Committee

(PAC), National Executive and

National Council they were a part

of. They should not talk about

democracy now," he said.

Detailing about the procedure of

expulsion, Dinesh Waghela, a

member of AAP's National

Disciplinary Committee, said the

committee had gone through the

replies of the rebel leaders proper-

ly.

"We found that Bhushan, Yadav,

Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha had

indulged in anti-party activities.

We unanimously decided to expel

all the four rebel leaders from the

party," he said.

"An e-mail in this connection

was sent to all the four expelled

leaders on Monday night," he said,

adding: "We will resend the copy

of expulsion letter to them if they

have not received it earlier."

The party also termed the allega-

tions levelled against its leaders

Pankaj Gupta and Ashish Khetan

by Bhushan as "baseless", saying

the party would not order any

inquiry against them.

Bhushan accused AAP's general

secretary Pankaj Gupta of accept-

ing Rs.2 crore donation from shell

companies and Khetan of writing

a planted story in a magazine

defending a telecom company,

allegedly involved in the 2G spec-

trum scam.

Meanwhile, Khetan, in response

to Bhushan's allegation against

him, said the charges are baseless,

and added that if the allegations

were proved, he would quit public

life.

"If Shanti Bhushan or Prashant

Bhushan provide any proof

regarding their allegations against

me, I will quit the public life. If

they fail in giving any proof, they

should also quit the public life.

The charges made against me bear

no truth," Khetan told reporters.

Mumbai/Ahmedabad: Indian

defense agencies have seized a

boat with eight Pakistanis on

board and carrying narcotics

worth around Rs.6 billion ($95

m), in the Arabian Sea off the

Gujarat coast on Monday, the

government has confirmed.

The vessel, fitted with sophis-

ticated communication systems,

was intercepted in international

waters in a joint operation by the

Indian Navy (IN) and the Indian

Coast Guard (ICG).

The eight Pakistani nationals

and the boat - the origin and des-

tination of which were not dis-

closed - are being taken to

Porbandar port in Gujarat for

further investigations by law

enforcement officials,

Intelligence Bureau personnel,

Indian Navy and ICG.

"The initial investigations by

ICG Sangram have led to recov-

ery of 232 packets of narcotics

(suspected to be heroin and

worth up to Rs.600 crores in the

international market).

Additionally, satellite communi-

cation phones and Global

Positioning Systems, being used

to facilitate trans-shipment of the

contraband to another boat were

also confiscated," the statement

said.

Following intelligence inputs,

the operation to trace the suspi-

cious vessel was launched on

April 18 in close coordination

with the Indian Navy western

command, along with the ICG

north-west regional headquar-

ters. Later, multiple units of the

Indian Navy, including INS

Nirghat and INS Kondul, and

ICG Sangram joined the search,

besides extensive aerial searches

by their Dorniers, IL-38 and P8I

aircraft.

This is the first major opera-

tion by the Indian agencies in the

Gujarat region after the January

1 incident this year when a sus-

pected smuggling boat had

blown up, creating a major con-

troversy between India and

Pakistan.

New Delhi: Congress vice presi-

dent Rahul Gandhi has accused

the government of floating a “trial

balloon” on net neutrality even as

Communications and IT Minister

Ravi Shankar Prasad said his

regime was in favor of free and

fair access to the World Wide

Web.

In his second intervention in the

Lok Sabha since his return from a

56-day sabbatical, Gandhi raised

the issue of net neutrality and

said: "Every youth should have a

right to the net. But the govern-

ment is trying to hand over the

internet to some corporates."

He said: "I would request the

government to please change the

law or make a new law to ensure

net neutrality."

The 44-year-old Congress

leader continued with his support

for net neutrality outside the

house as well.

"If the government wanted to

protect net neutrality, why did it

begin a consultation. It is a trial

balloon to see if the reaction is

strong. We are giving a strong

reaction so that the process is

closed."

Gandhi also found support in

the new general secretary of the

Communist Party of India-

Marxist, Sitaram Yechury, a

Rajya Sabha member.

"I think ours is the only party

which has passed a motion on this

in its national congress," Yechury

said.

Prasad, who also spoke both

inside and outside the house, said:

"This government appreciates the

net activism of the youth. Our

prime minister (Narendra Modi)

has said we have to make the net

available without discrimination."

The minister said there was,

indeed, the need for mobile gov-

ernance, and the government

wanted the net to reach every-

body.

"Neither is our government

under pressure of any corporate

nor will it ever be."

Referring to the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI) initiating a debate on the

matter, the minister said the

watchdog has the mandate to

debate, but it is the government

that has the power to take a deci-

sion.

"We want to ensure internet for

everybody. We have asked for a

report within two weeks."

Network neutrality, or open

inter-working, means that in

accessing the World Wide Web,

one is in full control over how to

go online, where to go and what

to do as long as these are lawful.

It advocates that firms that pro-

vide internet services should treat

all lawful internet content in a

neutral manner.

In March, telecom regulator

TRAI released a paper inviting

comments from users and compa-

nies on how over-the-top services

should be regulated in the coun-

try. It has asked stakeholders to

send suggestions by April 24 and

counter-arguments need to be

submitted by May 8.

A committee on net neutrality

was also set up by the Department

of Telecommunications (DoT),

which will submit its report by

the second week of May to help

the government make a compre-

hensive decision on the con-

tentious issue.

Chennai: The Reserve Bank of

India on Thursday directed banks to

include 'third gender' in all forms

and applications enabling transgen-

ders to avail banking services.

Citing the Supreme Court judg-

ment in the National Legal Services

Authority vs Union of India, the

central bank said all transgender

people were to be treated as 'third

gender'. "The Supreme Court, in

that case, upheld transgender per-

sons' right to decide their self-iden-

tified gender and directed the centre

and state governments to grant legal

recognition of their gender identity

such as male, female or as third

gender," the RBI said..

Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.

After returning from 56-day sabbatical, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament in New Delhi.

After expulsion, Yadav, Bhushan describe AAP as khap

RBI directs banks to include'third gender' in forms

Boat with eight Pakistanis, narcotics seized off Gujarat coast

Rahul Gandhi, Prasad spar over net neutrality

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

By Rajendra Shende

US President Barack Obama, in his 166-

word eulogy in Time magazine that

named Prime Minister Narendra Modi

among the 100 most influential people in the

world, termed him "India's reformer-in-chief"

who had "laid out an ambitious vision to

...unleash India's true economic potential while

confronting climate change".

Modi tweeted thanks to Obama. But his gov-

ernment, determined to walk the talk, went

beyond. On the same day it submitted 11-page

formal proposal to the headquarters of the

United Nations Environment Program in

Nairobi to seize the stewardship in the global

negotiations that implicated cross-cutting

themes on climate change and ozone layer pro-

tection. Interestingly it was mainly because of

India that the parleys were all but stalled for

last six years and haunted the negotiating ses-

sions year after year.

India's proposal would be discussed in the

extraordinary meeting of 197 countries in

Bangkok next week. A second meeting will be

held in late July in Paris and the final Meeting

of the Parties will be in UAE the first week of

November - before the climate change meeting

in Paris.

India's proposal is based on common but dif-

ferentiated responsibility. It proposes devel-

oped countries going faster in the phase down

of HFCs and developing countries going slow-

er. It also requires financial and technology

transfer assistance for developing countries.

It is a dramatic but well-studied and strategic

proposal to phase-down production and con-

sumption of hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs).

These are greenhouse gases (GHGs) that have

up to 12,000 times more global warming

potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide - the

most talked about GHG. HFCs are part of six

GHGs included in the Kyoto Protocol on cli-

mate change, whose emissions are to be

reduced. HFCs are primarily used as refriger-

ants, for example in car air conditioning and

refrigerators, and in insulating foams.

India's political leaders, since 2010, contin-

ued to please international communities, par-

ticularly in G-20 meetings and in summits with

Obama, by agreeing to action on HFCs, but in

international negotiations the country played

different tunes to fudge the debate.

Come Modi, and transformation and a for-

ward-looking stance is evident. The pros and

cons of HFC reduction were assessed and

reforms in the approach were found to be

inevitable. It was realized that reduction in

HFCs would provide the fastest and the most

desirable climate mitigation in the near-term. It

also will build critical momentum for a suc-

cessful outcome in Paris for the challenging

climate negotiations in December.

Proposing a HFC phase-down under the

well-established institution of the Montreal

Protocol would give obvious advantage of

financial assistance, transfer of the latest tech-

nology and incentives for the developing coun-

tries as realized under the CFC phase out.

Early phase-down and selecting better energy-

efficient technology was considered to be part

of Modi's priority of inclusive development.

As per researchers, the HFC phase-down can

provide mitigation equivalent to 100 giga

tonnes of CO2 by 2050 and avoid up to 0.5

degrees Celsius of warming by the end of cen-

tury. As the atmospheric lifetime of HFCs is

only 10-15 years as against 100 years in case

of CO2, the phase-down of HFCs could lead to

early benefits.

In other words, the adverse impact of climate

change could be pushed back by 10-15 years.

A simultaneous effort to embrace super-effi-

cient appliances in India, including room air

conditioners, can effectively double the cli-

mate mitigation from phasing down HFCs, as

per a report by Indian researchers at

California's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Their analysis showed that moving to super-

efficient room air conditioners could save for

India enough electricity to avoid building up to

120 medium-sized power plants in the next 15

years.

Modi is clearly changing the climate of cli-

mate-change negotiations to be held in Paris at

the end of this year.

Modi shows India's stewardship at green talks

12 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoOP-ED

Narendra Modi is clearly changing the climate of climate-change negotiations tobe held in Paris at the end of this year.

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

By Aparajita Gupta

Amid the raging debate glob-

ally over net neutrality,

which has evoked a strong

reaction from stakeholders in India,

domain experts feel that an

unshackled access to the Internet

world isn't feasible in India yet but

attempts must continue for egalitar-

ianism.

"Building a net neutral network is

technologically not possible to

implement. It's a utopian idea - no

basis in technology," said Ravi V.S.

Prasad, a telecom consultant who

has designed several data-com and

telecom networks in the past 30

years.

"No telecom engineer will say

that network neutrality is feasible.

The concept that each data is treat-

ed equally does not hold good. You

can't design data. The Internet

inherently prioritizes data on a

scale of 0-7 points basis," Prasad

said.

Explaining further, he said a net-

work architecture gives highest pri-

ority to network management, fol-

lowed by online gaming, speech,

videos and then still images, music

files, movie downloads and file

transfers. These cannot be on the

same footing.

Network neutrality, or open inter-

working, means in accessing the

World Wide Web, one is in full con-

trol over how to go online, where to

go and what to do, as long as these

are lawful. So firms that provide

Internet services should treat all

lawful Internet content in a neutral

manner.

It also required such companies

not to charge users, content, plat-

form, site, application or mode of

communication differentially.

These are also the founding princi-

ples of the Internet and what has

made it the largest and most diverse

platform for expression in recent

history.

Giving a slightly different per-

spective was Subimal

Bhattacharjee, member of Research

Advisory Network under the

Global Commission on Internet

Governance - an initiative of the

Davos-based World Economic

Forum launched last year to articu-

late the future of internet gover-

nance.

"It is practically impossible to

build a net-neutral network, but it

has to be attained - or at least

attempted. This is what will support

innovation. Otherwise, the Net will

not remain open and free,"

Bhattacharjee said.

"Also, every telecom service

provider is an intermediary under

the Information Technology Act, in

any case. If an operator tries to give

an advantage to some players by

taking a fee and improving their

services, it is not allowed under

Section 79 of IT Act."

Similarly, Abhilekh Verma, part-

ner with the legal and corporate

consultancy firm Khaitan and Co.,

said the argument favoring neutrali-

ty of the internet is an important

one. "But one also has to note that

in India, the internet penetration

leaves a lot to be desired."

In India, there were some 95 mil-

lion broadband connections as of

end-February. There was also a

growing appetite among netizens in

India to log on to social networking

sites - Facebook, for example,

claims 118 million active users in

the country.

Another votary of net neutrality is

technology evangelist Sam Pitroda,

who, at the instance of then prime

minister Rajiv Gandhi, was respon-

sible for India's telecom revolution

in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"Net neutrality in India is funda-

mental to the future of democracy,

development, demography and dis-

parity. It is not about business, eco-

nomics, customer service or the

opinion of a few educated elites,"

Pitroda said.

He gave the example of the US

and said after a brief debate there,

the administration felt its impor-

tance. "However it required inter-

ventions at the highest level to push

net neutrality. Short term issues

cannot be allowed to create a fog

and confusion in the minds of peo-

ple."

The Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil,

Chile and Ecuador have also adopt-

ed net neutrality.

As the situation stands in India

today, the telecom watchdog

released a paper inviting comments

from all stakeholders on what are

called the over-the-top services.

Responses have to be filed by April

24 and the counter-arguments by

May 8. The suggestions will subse-

quently follow.

FlipKart has recently decided to opt out of Airtel Zero– a platform against Net neutrality.

Net neutrality in India still a myth, but don't log off

13April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED

May & Sept 2015

OSAP Loans NOW available to Ontario applicants !!!

14 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA FEATURES

By Shweta Sharma

New Delhi: Toronto-based poet

Rupi Kaur's image showing blood-

stained pants was recently deleted

by the mobile photo and video shar-

ing service Instagram, stating it

goes "against community guide-

lines". Menstruation has always

been a "taboo" subject resulting in a

conspicuous silence surrounding

this natural body function in

women.

Experts feel this silence needs to

be replaced with a conversation that

would result in changing mindsets

from rejection to confidence.

Despite women's emancipation,

many girls and women still face

rejection during "those days" and

are asked to not visit a temple, not

to attend pujas, not cook food, sit

on separate beds and not discuss it

with the male members of the fami-

ly.

"Menstruation is a taboo across

the globe. Myths associated with it

are mostly observed in developing

countries especially in villages.

Many boys/men don't even know

the basic science/biology behind

menstrual hygiene. Until and unless

we create basic awareness about

menstrual hygiene among girls,

women, boys and men, the situation

will not change," Jaydeep Mandal,

founder, of Aakar Innovations that

enables women to produce and dis-

tribute affordable, high-quality

compostable sanitary napkins with-

in their communities, said.

Nupur Gupta, consultant and unit

head, gynecologist and obstetrician

at Gurgaon's Paras Hospital, said

breaking a taboo starts with broach-

ing the subject.

"The best place to do so is in

schools, where the topic can be

incorporated into hygiene and sexu-

al education. This requires sound

knowledge (and in some cases also

the courage of teachers) on how to

use sanitary items and related

issues," Gupta told IANS.

Understanding that menstruation

is a distinct biological female

attribute women should be "proud"

of needs to be fostered, she added.

Kathy Walkling, co-founder at

Eco Femme, a social enterprise

working in the area of menstrual

hygiene management, said that con-

sequences of this include adoles-

cent girls not given accurate

preparatory information prior to

onset of menstruation.

Listing the other consequences,

Walkling said: "Insufficient atten-

tion in society to the needs of ado-

lescent girls for privacy and a dig-

nified way to manage menstruation,

expectations of girls and women to

adhere to many rules and restric-

tions that for many are perceived as

constraining (e.g. not entering tem-

ple) and for those who cannot

afford it and adoption of unhealthy

practices such as using unsanitary

materials to absorb the menstrual

flow."

Serving the needs of economical-

ly disadvantaged girls and women

in India, Eco Femme provides men-

strual health education and free

washable pads to adolescent girls

through its Pad-forPad programme.

Experts point out that menstrual

hygiene has an important role in

genital tract infections and is also

one of the causes of cervical cancer.

According to gynecologists, use

of alternative sanitary care meas-

ures such as unsterilised cloth, sand

and ash make women susceptible to

infections and diseases.

Cervical cancer is one of the lead-

ing causes of cancer deaths among

women in India, with approximate-

ly 1.32 lakh new cases being diag-

nosed and about 74,000 deaths

every year. Filling this lacuna, Aditi

Gupta and Tuhin Paul-founded

Menstrupedia, a friendly guide to

periods that helps girls and women

stay healthy and active during their

periods. Menstrupedia aims at

delivering informative and enter-

taining content through different

media and shattering the myths and

misunderstandings surrounding

menstruation for ages.

"The culture of silence is the

main cause of all the problems and

awareness is the only way out.

Urinary tract infections are very

common. Only 12 percent of Indian

women used sanitary napkins,"

Gupta said

"It's self-esteem and self-confi-

dence which is hampered the most.

If a girl or a women can't even talk

about her natural biological

process, how will she ever talk

about any violence that she faces on

her body," she asked.

Gupta added that information

about menstruation is not complex,

it is a small amount of information

that every girl and woman should

be provided with - and that too at

an early age so that she is better

prepared to take care of herself dur-

ing her cycle.

"But it’s complex to achieve this

when teachers skip the chapter on

periods, the school curricula

address this only in class eight and

nine while girls get their periods in

class six or seven. When a girl gets

her period, it's the mothers who say

not to speak about it even to their

father or bothers. We raise our girls

with shame and boys with igno-

rance," she added.

By Shilpa Raina

Ihave always found it tedious to

answer the question: “Which is

your hometown?” Not because I

am a daughter of an army officer or

belong to a family of travelers, but

because “I was born in Srinagar and

was brought up in Jammu.” I have

been using this statement since the

early 1990s to introduce myself,

deliberately avoiding the word

“Kashmiri migrant”.

The feeling of being a migrant or

displaced in your own country

brings in a sense of irreparable loss

as it evokes blurred memories of

childhood and reinforces the turmoil

the community of Kashmiri Pandits

faced when mass exodus took place

in early 1990s, uprooting over

100,000 Hindu Pandits from their

homes due to an Islamist insurgency

that still festers.

Sympathy is the last thing

Kashmiri Pandits want, but unfortu-

nately this is what has always been

the offering. It is, I feel, because

many fail to understand the sense of

homelessness that has stayed with

us ever since. And it is this perma-

nent restlessness that a bleak

thought of going back to our "home"

brightens up our soul, even though

temporarily. But this soul was shat-

tered the day it was known that the

government plans to build “compos-

ite clusters” to rehabilitate displaced

Pandits. We have always longed for

home, but this home, ironically,

doesn’t belong to the world we

reside in now.

This world doesn't break into cur-

fews, offers employment opportuni-

ties, doesn't deprive me of cinema

halls and it is where I can fearlessly

and proudly wear my Indianness on

my sleeve. And this is the place

where the displaced Pandits have

restarted their life and rebuilt the

foundations of their cultural compo-

sition. It is their home now and 25

years is a long time for memories to

fade away silently. These two

decades have also alienated the

young Kashmiri generation from the

struggle because they understand

the importance of the word

“Kashmir” only when they apply for

“Kashmiri quota” for higher educa-

tion.

Please don't judge me for the rude

statement, but when I look around I

feel those who started their life in

exile at a young age, adjusted to the

newly found environs, and those

who were born outside the Valley

never really had the umbilical cord

attached to their roots.

Whereas the older generation still

romances nostalgia and laments

about the life and times they had in

Kashmir during their growing-up

years, especially its picturesque

marvels, chilling winters and diffi-

cult treks, the younger generation is

introduced to these elements via

personal anecdotes and stories. It

would be apt to say that many of us

have moved on, settled down and

alienated ourselves from the idea of

Kashmir. A subtle proof of this

statement is that we are building a

generation that can’t speak the

Kashmiri language. In many houses,

parents speak to their children in

Hindi so that they are not laughed at

for the “funny accent” . We have

compromised and adjusted to the

rules of the new world.

Uprooting an entire community

from their homes not only displaces

its people, it silently withers away

the intangible culture and shared

history. Culture, indeed, has become

the biggest casualty of our never-

ending exile. So when we have left

so much behind, what is there to

look forward to? Why does the soul

feel wretched at the thought of these

"clusters" that invite mirth and dis-

belief at the same time? This pro-

posal has already generated another

controversy related to rehabilitation

of Pandits and questioned the vision

of the government that aims to bring

us home with “dignity”.

But let’s honestly ask ourselves –

How many of us are actually willing

to return to the Valley? Are we men-

tally prepared to push the restart

button again?

There would be a handful who

would want to go back for a better

life, with the hope to shun the life of

penury. There are those who still

haven't sold their homes and those

who pine to go back home for men-

tal peace.

But, it isn't just the question of

building houses and rehabilitating.

Does the government have employ-

ment plans to ensure they are not

merely “fulfilling poll promises” but

are addressing real issues that relate

to rehabilitation holistically?

As a Pandit friend, who is current-

ly teaching in a school in, informs

me how living in Kashmir is like

living in an Islamic state and if any-

one wants to come here, he/she

should only come as a tourist and

not for settling down.

Breaking the menstrual taboo

The Modi government plans to build “composite clusters” torehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits. But the younger generation of thecommunity displaced 25 years ago has moved on, settled down

elsewhere in the country and alienated themselves from the idea of Kashmir.

Toronto based artist and poet Rupi Kaur’s a photograph she tookas part of "Period.," a project for her visual rhetoric course at the

University of Waterloo, was removed from herInstagram account -- twice.

A home left behind 25 years ago for good

DIPLOMACY 15April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Robert Golomb

When the then 53-year-old

Dnyaneshwar Mulay was appoint-

ed as Consul General of India in

New York in April 2013, it was said to come

as little surprise to the people of India. Mulay

had become well known throughout that

nation of one and a quarter billion people for

his stellar record during his 30-year career as

an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. That

service included assignments to a variety of

key diplomatic positions in locations as

diverse as Tokyo, Moscow, Port Louis and

Damascus. At home, his assignments covered

an array of mostly major financial posts,

including the high profile position of Director

of the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, Mulay had become celebrated

in India for his accomplishments in another

field - that of literature. His 15 non-fiction

books, in which he analyzed often complex

educational, social, environmental, theologi-

cal, technological and international issues,

had won him national and international criti-

cal acclaim, along with a host of prestigious

literary awards; also critically heralded were

his one book of poetry, which describes the

dilemma of young men and women trying to

find meaning in post-Independence India,

and his one novel, which was based on his

own life story: that of rising from a humble

childhood to his current prominence.

If you guessed, however, that with such an

impressive resume, Ambassador Mulay’s first

initiative as Consul General, back in 2013

would be directly connected to his prior

impressive public and private career, you

would be wrong. “In fact”, Mulay informed

me when I interviewed him in the historic

Consulate General building named New

India House in Upper East Side of

Manhattan recently, “My first task when I

took over 18 months ago was to try to cleanse

unnecessary papers stored in the building.”

Actually the papers he was referring to,

some of which were past travel documents of

those visiting India going as far back as to

just a few years after the turn of the 20th cen-

tury, needed to be disposed of. Citing the age

of the building, Mulay explained, “When I

first toured the Consulate, which is 111 years

old, I saw that the basement, sub-basement

and passageways were jumbled with stacks

of countless cupboard and documents, many

very old”.

Mulay added that beyond his initial alarm

about the unkempt appearance of the build-

ing, he feared the clutter presented a serious

fire hazard; he also noted that he was con-

cerned that this disarray would make it

unnecessarily difficult for the Consulate’s 20-

member staff to effectively organize current

documents, including visa applications and

passports of Indian Americans and others

visiting India today.

To address these concerns, Mulay said he

applied the basic philosophy of “Swachh

Bharat”, a highly publicized national cam-

paign spearheaded by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on coming to power about a

year ago, to clean and restore streets, roads

and highways throughout more than 4,000

Indian towns. “We have attached the word

Swachh {clean} to our own campaign which

we call ‘Swachh Consulate’,” Mulay

explained. “On a Consulate level, Swachh

Consulate applies the same fundamental prin-

ciple Prime Minister Modi used in his com-

prehensive Swachh Bharat national clean up

campaign.”

“That principle”, Mulay elaborated, “is

simply that a clean environment is essential

to the physical and spiritual health and well

being of every human being…. For us, of

course, cleanliness and, in turn, orderliness

were prerequisites to achieving our goal of

being able to safely store and accurately track

the more than two hundred thousand docu-

ments entrusted annually to us by temporary

and long term visitors from America to India

and Indian passport applicants. ”

However, just as Mulay was reportedly

receiving high marks from his superiors in

New Delhi for achieving that goal, they

assigned him to oversee another environmen-

tal related project in the Consulate. “The

Government of India and the Metropolitan

Museum of Art of New York partnered in a

plan to modernize and renovate the Consulate

Building, just about as we were completing

the initial clean up. This modernization

involves conservation of this landmark build-

ing, its interiors, woodwork, ceilings and

fireplaces”, he stated.

“The project” he continued, “also involves

the complete renovation and modernization

of all of the visitor areas; this is extremely

important because, in addition to people of

Indian backgrounds, many of the visitors to

our consulate are ordinary Americans,

tourists coming from a variety of nations, for-

eign and American dignitaries, government

officials and business leaders, and, also,

members of the worldwide media. For them,

our building is like a first glimpse of India

itself. We all now feel proud that the clean,

modern, beautiful ambiance of the Consulate

presents to all {of them} the image of a coun-

try that is emerging as a world leader.”

While this project consumed a great deal of

his time and energy, Mulay said he under-

stands that such work is an essential part of

the job. “Improving upon and maintaining

the physical condition of the consulate build-

ing has historically always been one of the

two basic responsibilities assigned to the

Consul General of every nation”, he

explained.

Mulay, however, made it a point to empha-

size that the time and effort he continues to

devote to performing this first responsibility

does not interfere with his ability to perform

the second of the two jobs traditionally asso-

ciated with the position of the Consul

General – which is to promote and increase

trade between the home and host country.

With trade between America and India trend-

ing upwards in recent years, reaching nearly

100 billion dollars this past calendar year, a

historical high constituting a 60% increase

from pre-Modi India, Mulay said he feels

exhilarated to be working in a position where

he can help further develop this already bur-

geoning financial relationship between these

two nations.

“I feel extremely fortunate at this exciting

time to be Consul General in America and

thus to be able to work for implementing the

vision of Prime Minister Modi who has re-

invigorated the economic relationship

between our two great nations”, Mulay stat-

ed. “There has been under Prime Minister

Modi a steady rise in the exchange of goods,

services, labor and capital between America

and India. And the main beneficiaries from

both nations have been the consumer and the

worker.”

The married father of two sons and one

daughter, all young adults, Mulay, a self-

described optimist, added that he believes,

“The close relationship now developing

between India and America will be the bridge

to a better economic future for every adult

and every child from both nations, and, in

these days of a global economy, the entire

world.”

Let’s hope his prediction comes true.

The author (MrBob347@aol.com) is anationally published columnist.

Building bridges in a better environment

Amb. Mulay with business and community leaders at an event at the consulate.One of his initiatives has been to organize a monthly Media India Lecture Series

focusing on India’s global image, identity, aspirations, roles and projection.

Just as Mulay completed the initial clean up of the consulate building, he wastasked to oversee the modernization and conservation of the landmark buildingnow called New India House in a partnership between Government of India and

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ambassador Mulay with Charles R. Kaye (second from left),former Chairman of the US-India Business Council. With India-US trade touching $ 100 billion in the

past calendar year, Mulay is helping further develop this already burgeoning financial relationship.

Consul General Mulay and his wife Sadhna Shanker, anIndian Revenue Service officer, greeting Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on his visit to New York last year.

Editor’s note: Amb. Mulay’s autobiography in Hindi, ‘Maati Pankh aur Aakash’

will be released May 8 at the Consulate by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA.

16 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoFESTIVALS 17April 25-May 1, 2015FESTIVALSTheSouthAsianTimes.info

Old Westbury, NY: Over 3,000 peo-

ple from various Indian communities

gathered April 19 at the SUNY Col-

lege here to celebrate Rajasthan Ma-

hotsav. The colorful and musical

scene resembled the fabled festivals

of Rajasthan – complete with a grand

parade featuring elephants, horses

and camels to various dance & musi-

cal performances showcasing the va-

riety and depth of Indian culture.

Speaking on the occasion, Naveen

Shah, President of RANA (Rajasthan

Association of North America) said

that “the objective of the Mahotsav

was not just limited to entertaining

ourselves, but to enrich from the tal-

ent & wisdom which we all bring to

this part of the world. We wanted to

share our rich culture & heritage and

the experience of diversity with oth-

ers and to integrate communities,

laying the foundation of culture for

future generations”.

RANA was founded in 1999 by

Anand Bhandari, Kamlesh Mehta,

Krishna Mehta, Naveen Shah, Ra-

jesh Shah and Sunil Shah to preserve

and promote Rajasthan culture and

heritage and to support the home

state in the fields of education and

healthcare. It has held four interna-

tional conferences so far.

At the 2nd Rajasthan Mahotsav on

Sunday, Home Minister of Rajasthan

Gulab Chand Kataria was the Grand

Marshal of the parade and TV star

Shailesh Lodha MC. Bollywood ac-

tress Jinal Pandya was also Grand

Marshal.

At a glittering ceremony in the

evening, noted industrialist and

Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc,

Anil Agarwal was honored (in absen-

tia) with Rajasthan Ratna Award. The

doyen of Indian Diamond & Color

Stone Association Haridas Kotah-

wala was presented the Jaipur Ratna

Award and renowned pediatrician

Dr. Ajey Jain received the Rajasthan

Shiromani award.Vice President of

RANA Kanak Golia said, “An event

of such magnitude has never been

done before in the tristate area. Cel-

ebrating festivals together will not

only help our communities to inte-

grate into our country of adoption,

but also in promoting our rich

cultures, traditions and heritage”.

This was also the first time that a

traditional Gangaur parade was

Grand Marshal actress Jinal pandya, RANA co-founder Kamlesh Mehta, RajasthanMinister Gulab Chand Kataria (Grand Marshal), Dr Ajay Lodha, RANA President

Naveen Shah and Vice-President Kanak Golia at the start of the parade.

In a first for New York, a traditional Gangaur procession was organized. Gangaur festival is celebrated by women in Rajasthan inthe honor of Goddess Parvati who is regarded as the epitome of marital love, strength, courage, and excellence.

By combining a few Indian festivals together, RANA wanted to share Rajasthan’s rich culture & heritage and the experience of diversity with others and to integrate communities.

The grand parade in the SUNY College at Old Westbury featured an elephant,horses and camels.The entire campus was decorated to create authentic Indian

ambiance - even a village scene that displayed a charpoy and swings, etc.

Men, women and children were all seen dancing to the vibrantbeats of Indian band and dhol.

Rajshree Shah, wife of RANA Founder & President Naveen Shah,and Nimmi Mehta, General Secretary and wife of RANA FounderKamlesh Mehta, seen carrying the Gangaur after the prayers.

Also seen is Kanak Golia, Vice President of RANA.

Renowned physician and pediatrician Dr. Ajey Jain (2nd from left) was presented the Rajasthan Shiromani award.

Doyen of Indian jewelers in America, Haridas Kotahwala (middle standing with hiswife Sharda) was honored as Jaipur Ratna. Indian Consul General Dnyaneshwar

Mulay (to his right) was an honored guest at the Rajasthan Mahotsav.

RANA Secretary Nimmi Mehta (right) participating in a ritual associated with Gangaur festival.

Getting ready for the big event

RANA President Naveen Shah, with Vice President Kanak Goliaby his side, speaking at the Mahotsav.

Over 3,000 people from various Indian communities took part in the celebrations of Rajasthan Mahotsav.

organized featuring elephant, camels

and horses along with a marching

band and dhol players. Men, women

and children were seen dancing to the

beats of drums and music from India.

There were over 16 cultural & mu-

sical performances by various dance

schools, poetry recital by Ritu Goel,

stand up comedy by Anish Shah and

humorous & satirical poetry recitals

by poets Arun Gemini and Ved

Prakash Ved.

‘Meena Bazaar’ featured booths dis-

playing Indian dresses, jewelry, paint-

ings, artifacts and not to forget Indian

Kulfi and Paan. The entire campus

was decorated in authentic Indian set-

ting by House of Dipali with the cen-

ter of attraction being a Village Scene

complete with Charpai, Swings, etc

found in Rajasthan and India.

Cuisine including Rajasthani,

Gujarati, South Indian, and Punjabi

along with traditional sweets and sa-

vory snacks was catered by Mint

Caterers of Long Island to the festival

goers. Maya Foods, a supplier of eth-

nic foods, co-sponsored juices and

drinks.

RANA has expressed gratitude to

SUNY College of Old Westbury for

providing the venue and crowd con-

trol services, The South Asian Times,

TV Asia & Ashok Vyas from ITV

Gold for providing media coverage,

to the sponsors – corporate/business

(numbering 42), organizational (5),

and individuals (including RANA

Board members who paid $1,000

each) -- as well as all the Host com-

mittee members and countless volun-

teers for devoting their time, money

and effort towards the successful or-

ganizing of the Mahotsav.There were over 16 different cultural & musical performances

showcasing the variety and depth of Indian culture. An Indian band and dhol played vibrant, foot-tapping beats.

RANA President Naveen Shah honoring Home Minister ofRajasthan Gulab Chand Kataria with a traditional safa

. Kamlesh Mehta is on the left.

(from left) Poets Arun Gemini, Ved Prakash Ved and Ritu Goelwho regaled the audience.

By Jinal Shah

An uncanny figurative rendition of

Christ descending, F.N. Souza’s

oil paintings depicting seminude

courtesans and dancers from the temple

walls, and G.R. Santosh's Shiva Shakti

Series are among the masterpieces on dis-

play at the massive new 7,000 sq ft gallery

in the iconic Fuller building in the old art

neighborhood of Upper East Side in New

York.

The exhibition, titled ‘India Modern:

Narratives from 20th Century India’, is the

first comprehensive attempt by India’s

Delhi Art Gallery to provide an overview

of the modern art movement in the 20th

century India. At the gallery, visitors can

explore and see how historical, political,

social and economic events intersected and

diverged from developments in modernist

art.

The canvases and sculptures at the New

York gallery have been curated from the

extensive Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) collec-

tion of over thirty thousand museum quali-

ty artworks from over two centuries,

which parallel or closely follow contempo-

rary movements in the West.

Established in Delhi in 1993, DAG is

arguably the largest archive of Indian

modern art and ‘India Modern’ offers a

glimpse into the work of India’s most sig-

nificant and trailblazing artists.

“The gallery was established by Rama

Anand, mother of the current MD, Ashish

Anand who built the gallery to what it is

today,” said Neil Blumstein, gallery direc-

tor in New York.

With three franchises already in India,

two in Delhi and one in Mumbai, the

gallery arrived in New York with a mis-

sion: to make Indian modern art a con-

tender in the market here. And with its

inaugural show, the gallery has put a per-

suasive foot forward.

The post-independence era marked the

emergence of Indian modern art. The

exhibition includes rare works by 42

artists from that era, including those

Souza, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, Ram

Kumar, Akbar Padamsee, Avinash

Chandra, S.K. Bakre, Manjit Bawa and

Santosh. Their use of different mediums,

stylistic considerations, and bold themes

shaped the development of India's modern

art. “After independence there was a

movement to create art that is more specif-

ically Indian in subject matter, ethnogra-

phy and feel. These are artists who reacted

to the western condition, to the revivalism

of an Indian trope that rejected academic

realism to create something very new,”

said Blumstein.

‘India Modern’ traces the origins of

Indian modernism to the 19th century and

continues through important movements

such as the revivalist Bengal School or

Santiniketan’s thrust towards modernism.

Artists such as Rabindranath Tagore,

Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath

Tagore, Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita SherGil,

Nandlal Bose and Jamini Roy became

known as early modernists pioneering the

concept of a pan-India language in modern

art. All of them are considered “national

treasures”. The Indian government

restricts the exhibition or sale of their

work or art pieces that are over 100 years

old.

The modern art movement flourished

under the Bombay-based Progressives

Artists' Group. The group was formed in

1947 as a bridge between avant-garde and

the emergent radical contemporary art of

the post-colonial India. Works of the six

founding members of this Group – Souza,

Raza, Husain, K.H. Ara, Bakre, H.A. Gade

-- and their associates from that period are

all on display at ‘India Modern’ as well as

of other notable names.

To better understand the nuances of each

artwork in the exhibition, a catalog featur-

ing individual paintings and sculptures and

a timeline of Western and Indian mod-

ernism has been prepared for viewers and

collectors.

“Delhi Art Gallery has works for sale but

they also have educational mission and

vocation to teach people about Indian art.

In India, schools don’t do much of arts

education, the museums don’t do much on

arts and outreach either, so the gallery felt

the need to fill that void,” said Blumstein.

“We in India have taken modernism for

granted. For long, the term has been loose-

ly used, with very little awareness of what

it includes or omits,” writes Ashish Anand

in the catalog. “What the West understands

and takes as a given is something that in

India remains a mystery, perhaps because

art in India cannot strictly be viewed from

the same trope as that of Western art.

Perhaps this is true of most countries, but

it is especially true of colonized nations

where new engagements with art in the

West were imposed without the benefit of

growing their local practices organically.”

Since its inauguration on March 17, the

show has attracted serious art connois-

seurs, art dealers, collectors, students and

curious art lovers wanting to learn more

about Indian art.

“What’s great is we have people walking

in, they know a lot about Western art but

have never seen a single Indian painting of

20th century. They had no idea that this

work is being done, and it’s great to see

the sense of bewilderment and wow factor

on people,” added Blumstein.

Unlike the steep rise in the demand for

Chinese art in the US, Indian modern art

has not had many takers especially after

the recession, said Blumstein. One reason

is the lack of knowledge about India’s art

that this gallery intends to take on with its

year-round shows.

“The gallery here is a permanent gallery.

The current show will be on for three

months. We plan to do three more exhibi-

tions this year, similar in quality and sculpt

to this one: in mid-June, in September and

one in December most likely. It will be an

annual schedule four times a year.”

Delhi Art Gallery stretches its canvas to New York

F. N. Souza. Mother and Child –1961, Oil on canvas, 44.2″ x 38.2″.

Ganesh Pyne. Untitled – 2004, Drypastel & conte on paper,

17.0″ x 16.0″.

S.K. Bakre. Sculpture titled SolidState Still Life (White Metal).

K.K. Hebbar. Drought – 1973, Oil oncanvas, 37.5″ x 39″.

Manjit Bawa.Untitled –

2000, Oil oncanvas, 55.2″

x 65.2″.

The inaugural show at the massive new gallery on Upper East Side displays works of 42 masters of modern Indianart. The gallery plans to hold four exhibitions in a year and has made its mission to teach people about Indian art.

Some of the masterpieceson show at the gallery.

18 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoFINE ARTS

DIASPORA April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info 19

Vancouver: The

family of a young

Surrey man killed

over the weekend

in a violent shoot-

ing incident

police believe is

connected to the

ongoing gang turf

war there was a

“fine young man”

who had a “bright

future.”

Arun Bains, the

nephew of Surrey

NDP MLA Harry Bains, was gunned

down Sunday near 88th Avenue and

126th Street. The 22-year-old’s death

is believed to be connected to the

recent spate of gun violence between

two rival groups fighting for control of

the street-level drug trade,

Vancouverdesi reported.

In an emotional statement sent out

Tuesday, the Bains family offered a

tender picture of the young man,

describing him as the “heart of the

family” and someone who was loved

by all.

“Arun was not a criminal. He was

not a gang member. He

was loved by everyone

who knew him,” the

statement read. “Arun

was a fine young man

who loved his family and

had a bright future ahead

of him.”

The family thanked

everyone who has sent

condolences and the

media for respecting

their privacy. And they

said they are determined

to support the commu-

nity’s efforts to end the violence and

“spare another family this pain.”

“This is an extraordinarily painful

time,” the statement read. “Arun was

the heart of our family. We are still try-

ing to accept the reality that our son,

brother, cousin, and nephew is gone.”

There has been a total of 22 shoot-

ings in Surrey and Delta since early

last month.

Mounties have determined that least

14 of those shootings are related to a

clash between a South Asian group and

a Somali group fighting for control of

the drug trade.

London: An Indian-origin millionaire director of a

company in Britain was caught in a supermarket hid-

ing in his bag meat and wine worth 200 pounds (about

$300), and has been awarded by a court 12 months'

community service for shoplifting, media reported on

Wednesday.

Ronan Ghosh, 39, was shopping at the Tesco outlet

in Birmingham, West Midlands, on February 21 and

he only paid for the items in his trolley but did not pay

for the items he kept in his bag, a court heard.

The 16 million-pound-a-year turnover global recy-

cling firm's boss was spotted on the store's security

cameras stowing away the expensive items. He was

detained by a guard and police were called, the Daily

Mail reported.

Ghosh, who lives in a luxury 550,000-pound house

in leafy Solihull, pleaded guilty to theft at the

Birmingham Crown Court.

He claimed in the court that he had visited the store

after an argument with his girlfriend and he had not

intended to steal the goods.

Charnjit Jutla, the defence lawyer, told the court that

Ghosh is the director of RG Recycling company that

supplies high-value machinery for the recycling

industry.

"It is a global business. It has a yearly turnover of 16

million pounds," Jutla was quoted as saying. "It beg-

gars belief as to why he finds himself in this court. He

accepts full responsibility for what he has done."

Jutla said Ghosh was "disappointed with himself and

shocked and embarrassed."

The defence lawyer told the court that on the day in

question, Ghosh's father told him that his mother had

been diagnosed with skin cancer and that worried him

a lot. Jutla said there was also a will being discussed

within the family which had put considerable strain on

Ghosh.

Judge Murray Creed sentenced the businessman to a

12-month community service. He was also ordered to

complete 80 hours' unpaid work and pay 575 pounds

in costs.

Chandigarh: Creative litera-

ture is generally linked to a

writer's mother tongue. Not so

Rajvinder Singh, an Indian-

origin poet whose German

oeuvre has seen over a hun-

dred articles written on him

over the years.

Essentially a poet and a

short story writer, besides

being a feature journalist, this

"Punjabi by heart" has 14

anthologies of poetry to his

credit, two in his mother

tongue and 12 in German, which he lovingly calls

his "stepmother-tongue."

Based in Berlin since January 1981, the 60-year-

old bearded Rajvinder Singh's latest project is to

make literature in modern Indian languages accessi-

ble to the wider world through translations. To this

end, he is now translating Punjabi novel 'Parsa', by

Gyanpeeth award winning novelist Gurdial Singh,

into German.

Declared poet-laureate in three of the 12 German

states, Rajvinder Singh wrote his Ph.D. thesis in

semiotics at Berlin's Technical University.

Rajvinder Singh, who was born in Punjab's

Kapurthala town and had spent his initial years also

in Chandigarh and Jammu, occupies a pretty promi-

nent place in German literary circles.

His poems are inscribed in

stone are displayed at four

public places, which include

the city park and three senior

schools in Trier, one of the

oldest German cities where

Karl Marx was born and

brought up. Rajvinder Singh

is the only living poet, cer-

tainly the only living Indian

poet whose verses have been

cast in stone and displayed

in public park and schools.

How did he achieve this

mastery in German? "One always learns one's

mother tongue unconsciously, but one learns other

languages very consciously," he explained.

"For me, too, learning German was an ultra-con-

scious act that I had to accomplish and acquire a

certain mastery through laying bare the etymology

and morphology of this language to be able to write

in it."

The poet, who launched a 'Nobel for India 2013'

campaign and was declared the poet laureate of

Trier in 2007, said: "I am simply a dialogue addict

whose basic engagement is to promote understand-

ing amongst people in general through dialogue as I

now belong to both India and Germany. It's natural

for me to promote Indo-German educational and

cultural partnerships."

Washington, DC:

US authorities

have sought extra-

dition from Britain

of an Indian origin

trader accused of

contributing to the

"flash crash" of

2010 that briefly

wiped out nearly

$1 trillion in stock

market value.

Navinder Singh

Sarao, 36, from

West London,

appeared in a Westminster

Magistrates' Court on

Wednesday and said he would

oppose extradition to the US,

NBC News reported from

London US officials have

charged Sarao with wire fraud,

commodities fraud and manip-

ulation, and one count of

"spoofing" -- when a trader

places a bid or offer with the

intent of cancelling

it before execu-

tion.

A m e r i c a n

authorities had

requested Sarao's

extradition to stand

trial in America

following his

arrest in London

on Tuesday.

But Sarao told

the British court

on Wednesday that

he did not consent

to being extradited to the US

and that he would apply for

bail, the NBC report said.

District Judge Quentin Purdy

said a full extradition hearing

will be held in August.

Charges against Sarao were

filed in a federal complaint in

Illinois in February, but were

unsealed on Tuesday following

his arrest.

US seeks extradition of Indian originUK trader for 2010 Dow 'flash crash'

Ronan Ghosh was caught at Tesco outlet hidingmeat and wine worth $300 in his bag

Arun Bains

Berlin based Rajvinder Singh hasbeen declared poet-laureate in three

of the 12 German states.

Navinder Singh Sarao

Indian-origin millionaire caught shoplifting in Britain

Indian-origin poet Rajvinder Singh excels with German oeuvre

Man fatally shot in CanadaPolice suspect shooting connected to ongoing drug

mafia turf war, family says man not a criminal

Islamabad: Pakistan and China

have signed 51 agreements and

Memoranda of Understanding

(MoUs) for cooperation in diverse

fields with visiting Chinese

President Xi Jinping unveiling a

$45-billion investment plan that

can help Pakistan end its chronic

energy crisis and transform it into a

regional economic hub.

Xi, who arrived in Pakistan on a

two-day visit this week, and

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif witnessed the signing of the

agreements in Islamabad.

The two leaders also unveiled

plaques of eight projects to be

undertaken in Pakistan with

Chinese assistance.

The projects and agreements

relate to China-Pakistan Economic

Corridor, energy, infrastructure,

agriculture, research and technolo-

gy, education and other fields.

The prime minister said the

agreements and MoUs signed by

the two countries have sound finan-

cial and technical backing.

He reaffirmed that friendship

with China was the cornerstone of

Pakistan's foreign policy.

He said there were strong public

sentiments driving the two coun-

tries' relations, which provide a

sound basis for their strength.

Sharif said the most prominent

hallmark of Pakistan-China rela-

tionship was consistency and

resilience, irrespective of political

developments, changes in the two

countries and major regional and

international developments.

Pakistan-China ties have

remained robust. Relations between

the two are based on shared ideals

and principles of mutual trust,

mutual benefit and respect, he said.

In his remarks, President Xi said

the main objective of his visit was

to further cement and give new

boost to the strategic partnership

and friendly ties with Pakistan.

He assured Sharif that China

would continue playing its part for

sustainable socio-economic devel-

opment of Pakistan with particular

focus on development in

Balochistan province.

The Chinese president said spe-

cial attention would be paid to fur-

ther strengthen economic strategic

partnership with Pakistan in next 10

years.

The Chinese president will unveil

a $45-billion investment plan that

can help Pakistan end its chronic

energy crisis and help transform it

into a regional economic hub.

The investments offer a real

opportunity to change the scope

Sino-Pakistan relationship "from

geo-politics to geo-economics",

said Federal Minister for Planning

and Development Ahsan Iqbal.

The projects for which the whop-

ping investments are expected to

constitute the China-Pakistan

Economic Corridor, and foresee the

creation of road, rail and pipeline

links that would cut several thou-

sand km off the route to transport

oil from the Middle East to China,

while bypassing India.

Beijing hopes to increase invest-

ments in Pakistan as part of its

ambitions to expand its trade and

transport footprint across Central

and South Asia, while countering

US and Indian influence in the

region.

SUBCONTINENT20 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nishan-e-Pakistan for JinpingIslamabad: Chinese President Xi Jinping was conferred with the

Nishan-e-Pakistan, Pakistan's highest civilian honour, by President

Mamnoon Hussain at a brief ceremony here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The ceremony the presidential house was attended by Pakistan Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif, federal ministers, members of National

Assembly and Senate, services chiefs and the Chinese president's

accompanying delegation.

Nishan-e-Pakistan is the highest of civil awards and decorations

given by the Pakistan government for the highest degree of service to

the nation. The award was established on March 19, 1957.

Late Indian prime minister Morarji Desai was also conferred this

award in 1990.

China plans $45 bn investments in Pak, signs 51 MoUs

Islamabad: Pakistan and China

would together fight terrorism

to root it out, Pakistan Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif said

addressing a joint sitting of par-

liament's both houses, which

was convened to honor visiting

Chinese President XI Jinping.

"Our joint efforts against ter-

rorism have succeeded so far

but we need to intensify our

efforts," Sharif said.

Talking about the mega

Pakistan-China Economic

Corridor, Sharif said: "It is a

catalytic project that will help us

combine the geo-economic

streams of our countries."

"The corridor symbolizes our

commitment to create win-win

partnerships which threaten

none and benefit all," he added.

Sharif said young entrepre-

neurs, academics, media per-

sons, teachers, students and pro-

fessionals from both countries

will sustain their friendship and

make it even more productive.

Before Sharif, Xi addressed

the joint sitting and described

Pakistan as China's "depend-

able" friend, stressing that bilat-

eral ties are based on mutual

trust and support.

"As soon as I set foot on this

beautiful soil, my colleagues

and I were immediately

immersed in the ocean of

warmth and friendship. I felt

like returning to the home of my

own brother," the visiting presi-

dent said.

Dhaka: An official of the ruling

Awami League has filed a com-

plaint against BNP activists in con-

nection with the attack on

Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP) chief and former prime min-

ister Khaleda Zia in Dhaka during

a poll campaign, police said.

Khaleda was attacked in Kawran

Bazar area while canvassing for the

party-endorsed Dhaka north mayor

aspirant Tabith Awal, bdnews24

reported.

She escaped unharmed but sever-

al vehicles in her motorcade were

damaged.

Her security staff claimed that

bullets were fired at Khaleda's

vehicle but it could not be verified.

A senior police official said

Awami League's Dhaka

Metropolitan Ward 26 unit chief

Jahirul Haq filed the complaint on

Monday night. Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina dubbed the whole

episode as a "drama".

Colombo: The Sri Lankan gov-

ernment has denied any

involvement in the move to

question former president

Mahinda Rajapakse on bribery

allegations.

Deputy Foreign Minister

Ajith Perera told journalists

here that the decision to ques-

tion Rajapakse was taken solely

by the country's independent

anti-graft agency, the

Commission to Investigate

Allegation of Bribery or

Corruption.

"The government had never

wanted to order such a probe

because such a move was politi-

cally not advisable at this

moment," Xinhua news agency

quoted him as saying. "If this

move had political connections

then it would have been carried

out much earlier or would have

been put off for later."

There was uproar in the Sri

Lankan parliament on Monday

and Tuesday over the summons

issued on the former president

by commission director general

Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe

over an allegation that

Rajapakse had bribed a member

of the ruling United National

Party with a ministerial post.

Opposition parliamentarians

alleged that the government had

resorted to political harassment

against the former president

who is largely responsible for

the defeat of the Tamil Tiger

rebels in the island nation.

Case filed over attack on Khaleda Zia

Sri Lanka denies role in Rajapakse summons issue

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Chinese President XI Jinping.

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad.

Khaleda Zia was attacked inKawran Bazar area while can-vassing for the party-endorsed

aspirant Tabith Awal.

Pakistan, China to fight terrorism jointly

17 Indian pilgrims killed in Nepalaccident

Kathmandu: At least 17 Indian pilgrims

were killed and 28 others injured when a

bus carrying them plunged into a river

while negotiating a sharp bend along a

downhill section of the Prithvi Highway

in Nepal, police said. According to

Superintendent of Police Narayan Singh

Khadka, the accident took place at 6.40

a.m. when the bus carrying 45 Indian pil-

grims from Gujarat skidded off the Prithvi

Highway, rolled down 200 metres and

plunged into Jhyapre river in Dhading

district, some 50 km west of Kathmandu.

Khadka said 14 people died on the spot

while three others succumbed in hospital.

The 45 Indian pilgrims aboard the bus

were returning to Gorakhpur in India after

visiting the Pashupatinath temple in

Kathmandu. Personnel of the army, police

and armed police along with local resi-

dents carried out the rescue work at the

accident site. Indian Ambassador to Nepal

Ranjit Rae visited the various hospitals to

meet the injured pilgrims, the embassy

said in a statement.

INTERNATIONAL

Tokyo: A Japanese high-speed

train broke its own world speed

record, clocking 603 kilometres

per hour (374.69 miles per hour),

after having set the previous

record less than a week ago.

The maglev - magnetically levi-

tated -- train broke the record dur-

ing a 42-km test run in Yamanashi,

a district about 35 km west of

Tokyo, Efe news agency reported.

The same train had set the world

speed record on April 16, when it

clocked 590 kmph.

The train uses a magnetic levita-

tion system, using linear motors

installed near the rails, by which

the magnetic field elevates the

train by up to 10 cm above the

rails, leaving air resistance as the

only source of friction.

Central Japan Railway plans to

have the maglev operational in

2027 connecting Shinagawa, south

of Tokyo, and Nagoya in central

Japan.

The maglev will take 40 minutes

to cover the 286-km distance

between the two points, a trip that

currently takes 88 minutes.

The train is expected to run at a

maximum speed of 500 kmph

when it functions commercially.

Central Japan Railway plans to

extend the service from Nagoya to

Osaka in western Japan by 2045.

Washington: The leader of Islamic

State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has

been seriously wounded in an air

strike in western Iraq, sources have

told the Guardian. The Pentagon,

however, said there was no reason to

think the self-styled caliph was

wounded.

A source in Iraq with connections

to the terror group revealed that

Baghdadi suffered serious injuries

during an attack by the US-led

coalition in March.

The source said Baghdadi’s

wounds were at first life-threaten-

ing, but he has since made a slow

recovery. He has not, however,

resumed day-to-day control of the

organization. Baghdadi’s wounding

led to urgent meetings of IS leaders,

who initially believed he would die

and made plans to name a new

leader. Two separate officials — a

western diplomat and an Iraqi advis-

er — separately confirmed the strike

took place on March 18 in the al-

Baaj a district of Nineveh, close to

the Syrian border. But Pentagon

spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren

said “there was nothing to indicate

that Baghdadi had been wounded or

killed”. There had been two previ-

ous reports in November and

December of Baghdadi being

wounded, though neither was accu-

rate. The diplomat confirmed an air

strike on a three-car convoy had

taken place on that date between the

village of Umm al-Rous and al-

Qaraan.

The attack targeted local Isis lead-

ers and is believed to have killed

three men. Officials did not know at

the time that Baghdadi was in one of

the cars.

Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi offi-

cial who advises Baghdad on Isis,

told the Guardian: “Yes, he was

wounded in al-Baaj near the village

of Umm al-Rous on 18 March with

a group that was with him.”

Washington: A Pakistani-

American key plotter of the

November 2008 Mumbai terror

attacks has revealed that he decid-

ed to join Pakistani terror group

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) "full time"

following the 9/11 attacks in the

US.

Born Daood Gilani in the US to

an American mother and a

Pakistani father, David Coleman

Headley makes the disclosure in a

draft memoir made available to the

makers of an "American Terrorist",

a TV documentary telecast this

week.

Working with LeT, Headley, for-

mer drug smuggler turned inform-

ant for the US Drug Enforcement

Administration, used his US pass-

port to travel to India, scout loca-

tions for the plot, film them and

even find a landing site for the

plot's attackers.

Writing about his first encounter

with Lashkar militants, Headley,

who is serving 35 years for his role

in the Mumbai attack, describes

how he was "very impressed with

their dedication to the cause of the

liberation of Kashmir from Indian

occupation." Headley's memoir

offers a unique window into his

turn toward extremism, his training

with LeT and his preparations for

an abortive attack on a Danish

newspaper for publishing cartoons

of the Prophet Muhammad, accord-

ing to report by ProPublica and

Frontline.

In one passage, Headley, who

frequently visited Pakistan, writes:

"On one of my trips, October 2000,

I made my first contact with

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), quite by

accident. I attended their annual

convection in November. Marking

his decision to join Lashkar "full

time" following the 9/11 attacks,

Headley says that by 2002 the

group asked him to take "the Daura

Aamma, the basic military training

course offered by LeT."

It was one of several training

programmes he writes about, the

report says noting "by 2005,

Lashkar's plans for Headley are

coming into focus."

"He is trained in explosives, but

perhaps most importantly, Lashkar

asks him to change the name given

to him at birth by his Pakistani

father and American mother -

Daood Gilani."

"He chooses David, which is

English for Daood; Coleman,

which was his grandfather's name;

and Headley, which was his moth-

er's maiden name," the report said.

It was a bureaucratic act, but

intelligence officials cited by the

report say the change made

Headley that much more difficult

to track.

"Finally, in June, my immediate

superior, Sajid Mir, instructed me

to return to the United States,

change my Muslim name to a

Christian sounding name and get a

new US passport under that name,"

he writes.

"He now informed me I would be

going to India, since I looked noth-

ing like a Pakistani in appearance

and spoke fluent Hindi and Urdu it

would give me a distinct advantage

in India," Headley added.

Around the same time, Headley

was conducting regular reconnais-

sance of targets in Mumbai.

The plan was to capture an

Indian fishing vessel, which con-

stantly strayed into Pakistani

waters, and commandeer it all the

way to Mumbai.

But western intelligence soon

learn of the plot, and close in on

Headley. He was arrested on

October 3 2009 at O'Hare

Airport,Chicago on his way back to

Pakistan.

21April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The maglev train clocked 603 kms per hour.

David Coleman Headley, a key plotter of November 2008Mumbai terror attacks.

Wellington: New Zealand Prime

Minister John Key has publicly

apologized to a waitress who

labeled him a "schoolyard bully"

for repeatedly pulling her ponytail

on visits to her cafe.

As women's groups expressed

outrage, Key said he now realized

his behavior was inappropriate but

insisted he was merely "horsing

around", not acting maliciously. "It

was all in the context of a bit of

banter that was going on," he told

TVNZ, saying he apologized and

gave the woman two bottles of

wine when he realized she had

taken offense.

The unnamed Auckland waitress

recounted her story in an anony-

mous column on left-wing website

thedailyblog.co.nz, saying the con-

servative leader's actions reduced

her to tears. She said Key persisted

in tugging her hair on at least half

a dozen separate occasions, even

though she had clearly signaled

her displeasure and once warned

his security detail she would punch

him if he continued.

At one point, Key's wife

Bronagh told him "leave the poor

girl alone", the woman wrote, say-

ing that the prime minister gave

the impression "that he just didn't

care". "He was like the schoolyard

bully tugging on the little girls'

hair trying to get a reaction, expe-

riencing that feeling of power," she

said in the blog.

The waitress said Key eventually

got the message and stopped tor-

menting her in late March, telling

her he had not realized how upset

she was at his behavior, which

lasted for several months.

"Really?! That was almost more

offensive than the harassment

itself," she wrote.

Headley joined LeT "full time" after 9/11

New Zealand Prime MinisterJohn Key.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakral-Baghdadi

New Zealand PM sorry for pulling waitress' hair

Japanese train sets worldspeed record

US denies IS leader Baghdadi hurt in air strike

India to receive below normal monsoon

India well on path to economic recovery : Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: India is expected to

receive below normal monsoon

this year, according to the forecast

by the India Meteorological

Department.

Announcing the forecast, Union

minister of earth sciences Dr

Harsh Vardhan said the rains are

expected to be 93 percent of the

long-term average. The forecast is

subject to an error margin of plus

or minus 5 percent.

"There are very less chances of

above normal rainfall," Harsh

Vardhan said.

A normal monsoon means the

country receives rainfall between

96% and 104% of a 50-year aver-

age of 89 cm during the rainy sea-

son, according to India's weather

office classification. Last year,

monsoon rains were forecast at

95% of the long-term average.

The government has stockpiles

of staples such as rice, wheat and

sugar from bumper harvests in the

last few years but it has limited

means to control a jump in costs

of fruits and vegetables that have

the largest impact on food infla-

tion in India. Also, lower output

of cereals would mean the gov-

ernment will have to spend on

costly imports to maintain the

grains buffer.

This will be the second straight

year of below average rains if the

forecast proves right, as the mon-

soon ended up with a double digit

deficit of 12% last year.

The date of onset of the mon-

soon will be officially announced

in May, but most agencies have

already predicted an early onset

by May 27.

The minister further said there

was nothing to panic or worry

about, as the government has

made all preparations to deal with

a deficient monsoon.

Harsh Vardhan said the below

normal monsoon has been fore-

cast after factoring the weather

phenomenon called El Nino.

El Nino, meaning 'little boy' in

Spanish, is caused by unusual

warming in the Pacific Ocean,

which can cause atmospheric

changes and bring on a dry spell

in the region.

Data from a 126-year period

since 1880 show less than half of

El Nino events have caused a poor

monsoon.

India's monsoon was hit by an

El Nino in 2009 when the four-

month rainy season that starts in

June turned out to be the driest in

nearly four decades.

The country is already reeling

under the fallout of unseasonal

rains that have wrecked crops in

16% of total area sown this past

winter.

Washington: The Indian economy

is on a recovery path with 7.4 per-

cent growth in the first three quar-

ters of the last fiscal with the new

NDA government committed to

maintaining overall macro-econom-

ic conditions, Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley said here.

"The Indian economy is now

clearly on a recovery path. We are

committed to maintain overall

macroeconomic conditions on a sus-

tained basis so that the Indian econ-

omy is able to achieve and sustain

growth of 8 percent and above,"

Jaitley said in his address to the

International Monetary and

Financial Committee.

He said India's growth recovered

to 7.4 percent in the first three quar-

ters of 2014-15 as compared with

7.0 percent during the same period

of 2013-14.

Advance estimates have placed

the country's gross domestic product

growth for the full fiscal 2014-15 at

7.4 percent.

Inflation in the country has also

moderated significantly, he added.

Jaitley said the consumer price

indexed (CPI), or retail, inflation

declined to 5.2 percent in March

2015 from 11.2 percent in

November 2013.

New Delhi/Mumbai: To usher in

good fortune in their lives on

Akshaya Tritiya, buyers flocked

jewelery shops, as retailers wit-

nessed brisk sales of gold and jew-

elery that may be around 25 per-

cent higher than a normal day.

Akshaya Tritiya, an auspicious

day for Hindus and Jains, is

believed to bring good luck and

success in whatever endeavor one

undertakes on this day. It is consid-

ered auspicious to bring home gold

on this day."Kalyan Jewellers reg-

istered 30 percent growth in gold

jewelery sales this Akshaya Tritiya

compared with last year, as there is

a positive consumer sentiment due

to stable gold prices hovering

around the Rs.27,000 mark for 10

grams, supported by global funda-

mentals," Ramesh Kalyanaraman,

executive director, marketing &

operations, Kalyan Jewellers, said.

"Gold prices have declined by

nearly 10 percent from a year ear-

lier. We have seen robust increase

in all our categories including

chains, bangles and rings," he

added.

"Sales have been good post-

afternoon as customers made a

beeline to our showroom and

bought ornaments off the shelf or

collected items they ordered earli-

er," Deepak Jain, a partner in

Dhanalakshmi Jewellers in

Bengaluru, told IANS.

He said the sales would certainly

go up 30 percent over Monday and

35 percent over April 15, when

purchase of the yellow and silver

metals began for Tritiya.

"The market is looking very pos-

itive. It is much better than previ-

ous year. There is a positive eco-

nomic sentiment. The buyers have

confidence on price,"

Somasundaram P.R., managing

director, India, World Gold

Council, said.

Pankaj Parekh, vice-chairman of

Gems & Jewellery Export

Promotion Council, told IANS that

sales are expected to be higher

across the country as in March the

import of yellow metal was on the

higher side. According to reports,

India's gold imports more than

doubled to 125 tonnes in March

from 60 tonnes in the same period

a year ago. Apart from gold, jewel-

ers also saw good demand for dia-

mond jewelery.

The rains are expected to be 93 percent of the long-term average.

Arun jaitley at theInternational Monetary andFinancial Committee meet.

People shopping at a jewelery shop on Akshaya Tritiya in Chennai.

BUSINESSApril 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info22

Akhshay Tritiya marks brisk sales of gold, jewelery

Sensex, Nifty snap five-day losing streakMumbai: The benchmark BSE

Sensex rose over 151 points or

0.54 percent, in early trade

snapping a five-day losing

streak this week. The 30-share

index, which had lost 1,368.40

points in the previous five ses-

sions, recovered by 151.62

points, or 0.54 per cent, at

27,827.66 as buying in stocks

of realty, banking, capital

goods, oil & gas, healthcare,

FMCG and auto sectors, posi-

tively impacted the trading sen-

timents.

The National Stock Exchange

index Nifty regained the 8,400-

mark by rising 45.45 points, or

0.54 per cent, at 8,423.20.

Brokers said value-based buy-

ing in bluechips after recent

losses amid a firming trend in

other Asian markets, helped the

domestic trading sentiments.

Besides, recovery in the rupee

and data showing foreign funds

made heavy purchases on the

bourses in yesterday's trade,

triggered buying by investors,

they added.

Meanwhile, the rupee was

trading seven paise higher at

62.78 against the dollar in early

trade today.

New Delhi: Taking a cue from the

International Paralympic Committee

(IPC), the government has suspend-

ed the Paralympic Committee of

India (PCI) for gross negligence and

poor management of the 15th

National Para Athletics

Championships in Ghaziabad last

month.

An official statement, issued here,

said the sports ministry also asked

the IPC to form an ad-hoc commit-

tee to work in place of PCI till a fed-

eration is granted recognition. The

IPC, on April 15, had suspended the

PCI on the same charges, following

which the sports ministry issued a

show-cause notice to PCI, asking

why should it not be unrecognized.

"In a communication sent to the

PCI, the ministry has said that the

decision has been taken in the wake

of numerous serious complaints

about poor management of the 15th

National Para Athletics

Championships held from March

20-22 in Ghaziabad in all aspects

viz., logistics, technical, administra-

tive, etc.," said the statement.

The Sports Authority of India

(SAI) had conducted an inquiry into

the management of the competition

and submitted its report to the min-

istry, who then asked the PCI on

why should it not be suspended. The

inquiry found that the complaints

against it were largely well-found-

ed. "The government of India is of

the view that PCI has violated the

terms and conditions of recognition

as well as provisions of its own con-

stitution," said the statement.

"The government has further

noted that PCI has not been func-

tioning in the best interest of para

sport for which it was granted

recognition as there has been large-

scale dissatisfaction among players

and other stakeholder, thus resulting

in adverse impact on both the devel-

opment of the sport as well as future

opportunities and prospects of para-

athletes in the country." The min-

istry has written a letter IPC Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) Xavier

Gonzalez requesting for an ad hoc

body, keeping in mind the smooth

functioning of the Paralympic

movement in India so that athletes

are not affected.

Kolkata: Another young cricketer was hos-

pitalized this week after sustaining a head

injury during a local league match, a day

after the shocking demise of former Bengal

Under-19 team captain Ankit Keshri.

An doctor attending Rahul Ghosh here

said the young cricketer was stable but had

suffered a haemorrhage, and a scan showed

a clot in the left side of his head.

Ghosh had to be rushed to the

Nightingale Hospital in central Kolkata and

admitted in the Intensive Critical Care Unit

after he was injured while fielding during

the second division league match between

his team Kolkata Police and Vijay Sports at

the Videocon Cricket Academy run by for-

mer India captain Sourav Ganguly.

Late in the evening, Ghosh was shifted to

a general ward.

Ghosh, who was fielding in the covers,

was injured when the ball hit him.

"He has an injury on the left side of the

head. He has had haemorrhage, but no

vomiting. CT scan has been done. It shows

a clot," Sabyasachi Sen, the attending doc-

tor, said on Tuesday.

Ghosh, nearing 20, was now stable, but

will be kept under observation for seven to

eight days, the doctor said.

"Before that nothing conclusive can be

said," he added.

Sen said the young player had difficulty

in remembering the what happened just

after the incident.

"He picked up the injury behind the left

ear while fielding. He will be kept under

observation as these things can easily

evolve. There is no edema (abnormal accu-

mulation of fluid) near the brain stem, and

his vital part has not been hurt," he said.

The cricket world was plunged into

mourning after former Bengal Under-19

captain Keshri, regarded as a bright

prospect, died from a head injury sustained

during a Cricket Association of Bengal

(CAB) senior knockout tournament game

last Friday. Twenty-year-old Keshri - turn-

ing out for his club East Bengal against

Bhowanipore - was injured and fell uncon-

scious following an on-field collision with

fellow fielder Sourav Mondal while taking

a catch. He passed away in the same hospi-

tal following a cardiac arrest. His bereaved

family has alleged "medical negligence".

Keshri’s tragic fate invoked the memories

of the unfortunate death of Australian

cricketer Phillip Hughes who was fatally

hit by a bouncer during a domestic match

on November 25 last year, and died from

the injuries two days later.

Las Vegas: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

has refused to back off earlier

comments declaring himself a bet-

ter fighter than Muhammad Ali.

Mayweather said he respects

Ali's great career and the things he

did outside the ring. But he said

he believes he has done as much

in boxing as the legendary former

heavyweight champion ever did,

without the losses that Ali suf-

fered in his career.

"He called himself The Greatest

and I call myself TBE (The Best

Ever)," Mayweather said. "I'm

pretty sure I'll get criticized for

what I said, but I could care less. I

could care less about the back-

lash."

Mayweather had earlier said

that he was better than both Ali

and Sugar Ray Robinson, pointing

to his 47-0 record as proof. He

also said he would never have lost

to a fighter like Leon Spinks, who

beat an aging Ali in 1978 after

having just seven pro fights.

"I just look at Ali's career when

he fought Leon Spinks and lost to

a fighter with seven fights,"

Mayweather said. "There were

some other fights he lost and he's

still known as The Greatest

because that's what he put out

there. It is what it is."

A little more than a week before

his megafight with Manny

Pacquiao, Mayweather seemed

relaxed on a conference call

where he talked about his career

and the man he will face in the

ring May 2. He refused to say

anything bad about Pacquiao, and

said he was treating the richest

fight ever as just another fight.

"I know it's the biggest fight in

boxing history but I can't

approach it like that,"

Mayweather said. "I'm never

going to put any unnecessary

pressure on myself. I like to

approach the fight like he's a

fighter who's extremely talented.

But my thing is to just be Floyd

Mayweather."

"I'm blessed, I made some good

investments," Mayweather said.

"If I wanted to retire today I

could."

Former Bengal Under-19 team captain Ankit Keshri died from a head injury sustained during a tournament game last Friday.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Sports ministry suspends Paralympic Committee of India

Head injury to another young cricketer causes scare

I'm better than Muhammad Ali: Mayweather Jr.

SPORTS 23April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mirpur: A swashbuckling

maiden century by Soumya

Sarkar fired the Bangladesh

cricket team to an easy eight-

wicket victory over Pakistan

and helped them complete a 3-0

humiliation of the 1992 World

Champions in the third and

final One-Day International

(ODI) of the bilateral series

here. The hosts continued their

dominance in the series as they

chased down 251 with 63 balls

and eight wickets to spare at the

Sher-e-Bangla National

Stadium, reports

bdnews24.com. Bangladesh

bowlers fought back brilliantly

to skittle Pakistan out for 250 in

49 overs after they had threat-

ened to break free to set a huge

target.

It capped a remarkable turn-

around for the home team, who

waited more than 16 years for

their first win against Pakistan

in any format.

For the tourists, it got from

bad to worse as they went from

being invincible to whipping

boys in the space of a week.

Tamim Iqbal (64) and Man of

the Match Sarkar (127 not out)

gave Bangladesh a solid start

with a commanding 145-run

opening stand.

The hosts continued their dominance in the series.

Bangladesh humiliatePakistan, win ODI series 3-0

London: Drinking just two cups

of coffee a day can help inhibit the

growth of tumors and reduce the

risk of recurrence in women who

have been diagnosed with breast

cancer, a new research suggests.

The researchers combined infor-

mation about the patients' lifestyle

and clinical data from 1,090 breast

cancer patients with studies on

breast cancer cells.

"The study shows that among

the over 500 women treated with

(the drug) tamoxifen, those who

had drunk at least two cups of cof-

fee a day had only half the risk of

recurrence of those who drank less

coffee or none at all," explained

Ann Rosendahl, one of the

researchers from Lund University

in Sweden.

"The study also shows that those

who drank at least two cups of

coffee a day had smaller tumors

and a lower proportion of hor-

mone-dependent tumors. We saw

that this was already the case at

the time of diagnosis," Rosendahl

noted. In the cell study, the

researchers looked more closely at

two substances found in coffee --

caffeine and caffeic acid.

"The breast cancer cells reacted

to these substances, especially caf-

feine, with reduced cell division

and increased cell death, especial-

ly in combination with tamox-

ifen," Rosendahl noted.

"This shows that these sub-

stances have an effect on the

breast cancer cells and turn off

signalling pathways that the can-

cer cells require to grow,"

Rosendahl said.

The study appeared in the jour-

nal Clinical Cancer Research.

New York: Even after remarry-

ing, a woman who has been

through divorce is nearly twice as

likely to have a heart attack when

compared to her next door neigh-

bor, who is into a stable relation-

ship, says a research.

Divorce is a major stressor, and

researchers have long known that

people who are divorced suffer

more health consequences.

"But this is one of the first stud-

ies to look at the cumulative effect

of divorce over a long period. We

found that it can have a lasting

imprint on women's health," said

Matthew Dupre, associate profes-

sor of medicine at Duke

University and the study's lead

author. To reach this conclusion,

the team scanned the responses of

a nationally representative group

of 15,827 people ages from 45 to

80, who had been married at least

once. Participants were inter-

viewed every two years from

1992 to 2010 about their marital

status and health. About one-third

of participants had been divorced

at least once during the 18-year

study. Although men are generally

at a higher risk for heart attack, it

appears that women fared worse

than men after divorce, although

the differences were not statisti-

cally significant.

Men who had been divorced

had about the same risk as those

who stayed married. It was only

after two or more divorces that the

risk for men went up, the study

found.

The study also found that men

who remarried also fared better

than women. These men experi-

enced the same risk of heart attack

as men who had been married

continuously to one partner. The

study was published in the journal

Circulation: Cardiovascular

Quality and Outcomes.

Washington, DC: Making

a strong pitch for the use of

iPads in kindergarten

schools, a Northwestern

University researcher has

found children in classes

with shared iPads signifi-

cantly outscored their peers

on achievement tests who

were in classes that had no

iPads or classes with iPads

for each student (1:1 ratio).

"Shared iPad students signifi-

cantly outperformed both the 1:1

and non-iPad condition, sug-

gesting it is the collaborative

learning around the technology

that made the difference," said

lead researcher Courtney

Blackwell.

Results showed that students

in shared iPad classrooms sig-

nificantly outscored their peers

in 1:1 and non-iPad classrooms

on the spring achievement test,

even after controlling for base-

line scores and student demo-

graphics.

Blackwell found that shared

iPad students scored approxi-

mately 30 points higher than 1:1

iPad students and non-iPad

users.

For the study, Blackwell

worked with 352 students at a

Midwestern suburban school

district that was phasing in 1:1

iPads into their kindergarten

classrooms.

"1:1 tablet computers may not

be the most effective way to use

technology for all grades and

from a policy standpoint, we

need to rethink what develop-

mentally appropriate technology

use is for young children,"

Blackwell added.

There has been little quantita-

tive research done measuring the

effects of young children's aca-

demic achievement.

"This is the first study to

examine the effect that sharing

iPads can have on young stu-

dents," Blackwell pointed out.

She will present her findings

at the 65th annual conference of

the International

Communication Association in

San Juan, Puerto Rico in May

this year.

LIFESTYLE24 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

London: A

new smart-

phone app

promises to

make you

slimmer and

smarter and

that too with-

out any inter-

ventions in

your workout

schedule!

Actually, the

n e w

"Visualize You" app is designed

to encourage weight loss by pro-

cessing your portrait-style photo-

graph and generating an image of

what you would look like minus

10 kg... or may be more.

The designers said the app uses

proprietary algorithms based on

"clinically verified weight

change dynamics" to generate

the image, reported Daily Mail.

As opposed to similar apps that

basically stretch and pinch pho-

tos, Visualize You creates images

determined by the precise

amount of weight you hope to

shed.

It is simple to use this app:

Take a portrait-style picture of

yourself, or grab one from your

photo library, and drop it into the

app along with your height,

weight and desired target weight.

The app crunches the numbers

and pops out an image of a slim-

mer you.

The app is not free though. It

costs two dollars and is available

for both iOS and Android plat-

forms.

London: Are profession-

al golfers, beneath the

fine screen of glamor,

lonely beings? Yes, says

a new study.

In the midst of intense

rivalries and on a meager

income, many profes-

sional golfers are leading

lonely isolated lives, the

study said.

John Fry from

Myerscough College

interviewed 20 profes-

sionals, including Ryder

Cup players and a former

world number one, to

reveal the "particular

stresses" behind the glamor of the

game.

Fry said that the number of

tournaments held abroad had

increased over recent years.

"Players spend long periods of

time away from home and many

experience intense feelings of

loneliness, isolation and percep-

tions of being cut off from the

'real world'," Fry said.

He said that although players

formed superficial friendships to

help ease the boredom and loneli-

ness of being away from their

families, "players would avoid

confiding in other players at all

costs."

One golfer told him: "One thing

is no one's going to care. The

majority of people that you tell

your woes, half of them will be

happy and the other half don't

care." This isolation was

increased by lack of contact with

their families.

One golfer who had won six of

the elite European tour events

told Fry: "I don't see my kids that

much. I miss my wife, my kids,

my parents. I don't see them

enough, and that's what is diffi-

cult." Fry also found that most

professional golfers outside of

the main European tour were

struggling financially.

Divorced women more prone to heart attacks

Know why most professional golfers live a lonely life

Look slimmer with this new app

iPads in kindergarten can makeyour toddler smarter

Coffee shields you against breast cancer recurrence

SCI-TECH 25April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: The expression "network neu-

trality" was coined by American academic

Tim Wu in his paper Network Neutrality,

Broadband Discrimination that came out in

2003 and he then popularized the concept.

� What does net neutrality stand for? Netneutrality means that governments and inter-

net service providers should treat all data on

the internet equally - therefore, not charging

users, content, platform, site, application or

mode of communication differentially.

�Who benefits from net neutrality? Theend customers.

�How the debate began in India? Telecomservice provider Bharti Airtel, towards the

end of 2014, decided to charge subscribers

extra for use of applications like Skype and

Viber (these are also known as over-the-top

services), which created a lot of uproar and

the telco finally stayed its decision.

� In February 2015, RelianceCommunications, a part of the Anil Ambani-

led group, was roped in by Facebook to offer

free access to data and websites to customers

through the social networking site's

Internet.org global digital inclusion initia-

tive.

�In April 2015, Bharti Airtel launchedAirtel Zero, an open marketing platform that

will allow customers to access mobile appli-

cations at zero data charges.

�Communications and IT Minister RaviShankar Prasad said on Monday that a panel

examining the issue will submit its report by

the second week of May to help the govern-

ment take a comprehensive decision on the

contentious issue.

� In March 2015, telecom regulatorTelecom Regulatory Authority of India

released a paper inviting comments from

users and companies on how over-the-top

services should be regulated in the country,

seeking stakeholders' suggestions by April

24, 2015, and counter-arguments by May 8,

2015.

� E-commerce giant Flipkart on April 14,2015, walked away from Airtel Zero as it is

committed to "the larger cause of net neu-

trality".

�Bharti Airtel clarified its position sayingthere is a misconception about its Airtel Zero

service. It is not a tariff proposition but an

open-marketing platform that allows any

application or content provider to offer its

service on a toll-free basis to customers who

are on the Airtel network.

� Batting for net neutrality, Facebookchief Mark Zuckerberg said on April 15,

2015, that Internet.org can co-exist with the

stand. On April 17, 2015, he defended his

position and said some people have criti-

cised the concept of zero-rating that allows

Internet.org to deliver free basic internet

services, adding that offering some services

for free goes against the spirit of net neutrali-

ty. "I strongly disagree with this."

� On April 15, 2015, The Times Groupsaid it is committed to withdraw from

Internet.org and appealed to fellow publish-

ers to follow suit and support net neutrality.

Chennai: The year 2015 and the month April

are significant for the Indian space program.

It was in April 40 years ago that India's first

satellite Aryabhata weighing 358 kg was

launched successfully by a Russian rocket.

India followed up Aryabhata with 444 kg

Bhaskara-I satellite.

Interestingly, India has marched ahead in

satellite building capability to roll out com-

munication spacecraft weighing three tonnes

and has also sent out satellites to orbit moon

and mars. It was again in April but in 2001

(April 18, 2001), that the first development

flight of India's heavy rocket

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

(GSLV) rocket was launched.

However, the development of the GSLV

rocket that can put into orbit heavier satellites

lagged. Two successive failures of GSLV

rockets had put the project behind by several

years.

"During those days infrastructure was not

available and we used what was available. In

Bangalore we even converted a toilet into a

data receiving centre for our first satellite

Aryabhata," U.R. Rao, former chairman of

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

told IANS from Bangalore.

"Starting from the scratch was the challenge

before us while we began the Aryabhata proj-

ect. Majority of the team members were new

to this field. The time given was just two and

half years so that it could be flown in a

Russian rocket. Building a clean room, ther-

mo vacuum room and other facilities were all

new," recalled Rao.

After Bhaskara-1 the Indian space agency

built the APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload

Experiment) communication satellite, which

laid the ground for the INSAT series satellites

possessing multiple capabilities - telecom,

television, meteorological and imaging.

Success started smiling at ISRO from

INSAT-1B onwards, ushering in the commu-

nication revolution in India.

There was no looking back for the space

agency on the satellite side. From one tonne

satellites, the INSAT series started growing in

weight to become three tonne and ISRO later

started making satellites for others.

The space agency has also jointly built two

heavy satellites - 3,453 kg W2M and 2,541 kg

Hylas - for the French agency EADS

Astrium.

India's high point in its space odyssey was

its moon and mars missions.

While it is normal to compare ISRO's

achievement in satellite and rocket technolo-

gies, space scientists said both cannot be

compared. "The challenges in both the seg-

ments vary widely," a senior official of ISRO

said. In the case of building the heavy rocket

to launch four tonne communication satellites

and save foreign exchange, ISRO is now in

the process of perfecting the technology.

"We are planning to launch GSLV-MkII

rocket in July or August this year. The rocket

will be powered by indigenous cryogenic

engine. The stacking of the rocket is expected

to happen in May," K. Sivan, director, Liquid

Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) said.

"We are targeting to fly the GSLV-Mk III in

Dec 2016 if all things go well," Sivan said.

While India started hitting success in build-

ing INSAT satellites, scientists at Vikram

Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in

Thiruvananthapuram were toiling to get their

rocket right. The SLV and Augmented SLV

(ASLV) missions gave mixed results.

"The two ASLV failures were the real test

beds for perfecting the PSLV rocket. Issues

like rocket tumbling, monitoring of rocket's

main forces, detailed profiling of wind and

other issues were done," S.C. Gupta, former

director of VSSC, said.

The third ASLV with Stretched Rohini

Satellite Series (SROSS) turned out to be suc-

cessful but the result of the first PSLV flight

in 1993 was negative owing to a software

error, which was later sorted out.

Since then there was no looking back for

ISRO – for PSLV rocket, that is. The space

agency has now three PSLV variants.

"As technology was not available we devel-

oped our own navigational systems, propel-

lant and all the elements of the launch vehicle

with help of Indian industry," Gupta recalled.

San Francisco: Twitter is expanding its popu-

lar direct message feature to allow users to

receive messages from other users regardless

if they follow each other. The move is part of

its ongoing effort to try to boost user growth

as pressure from Wall Street investors contin-

ues.

Twitter said Monday its direct message sys-

tem, which allows users to communicate pri-

vately, used to require each user be "follow-

ing" one another, effectively having made a

connection beforehand. Now, Twitter said, the

direct messages will operate for anyone who

chooses to opt in to the feature.

The feature could be particularly beneficial

for large companies and celebrities, who will

now be able to respond to people who send

them messages without having to establish a

connection beforehand.

Twitter had tested this feature in the past,

making it available to a portion of its users in

2013. Users can now turn on a setting that

enables them to receive direct messages from

anyone. And on mobile devices running

Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating

system, users will see a direct message button

on profiles.

Twitter also now allows users you follow to

direct message you, whether they follow you

or not.

These refinements, Twitter said, will make

direct messaging faster and easier because

people will be able to more simply communi-

cate. The changes are rolling out worldwide.

"We continue to invest in our private chan-

nel to lay the foundation for a powerful and

engaging messaging experience," Twitter said

in a blog post Monday.

Of course, Twitter isn't the only company

that sees value in private messaging. The

entire social-networking industry appears to

be orienting itself around these types of serv-

ices. Facebook recently made it possible for

developers to send images, videos and other

items through its Messenger communication

service, which counts 800 million users. The

social-networking giant also bought

WhatsApp, a text-messaging-like service that

has more than 700 million users, for $19 bil-

lion. Other companies including Snapchat,

Line and WeChat have been growing rapidly.

India's first satellite Aryabhata was launched successfully by a Russian rocket in April 40years ago, taking the country on an exciting space odyssey as far as the Moon and the Mars.

40 years after Aryabhata: Nothing too far for India

1975: India’s first satellite launched bya Russian rocket

Sept 2014: The Mars Orbiter Mission,also called Mangalyaan, is India’s

spacecraft orbiting Mars since Sept24,2014 (artist’s concept)

Dec 2014: First test launch of GSLV MkIII, with an unmanned crew module.

What is Net Neutrality?Twitter makes it easier forstrangers to send direct messages

26 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

Katrina Kaif

Mu m b a i

Sess ions

Court will

pronounce the

verdict on May 6

in the 13-year-

old case of an

accident involv-

ing Bollywood

actor Salman

Khan, in which

one person was

killed and four were

injured.

Salman has been facing

trial since nearly 13 years in the accident case in Bandra,

in the early hours of September 28, 2002, which left one

pavement dweller dead and four others injured.

Nurullah Mehboob Sharif succumbed to his injuries

and four others - Munna Malai Khan, Kalim Mohammed

Pathan, Abdullah Rauf Shaikh and Muslim Sheikh were

injured.

Salman was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Section 304 II (culpable homicide not amounting to

murder) which attracts upto 10 years in prison; Section

279 (rash and negligent driving) which stipulates six

months jail; Section 337 and 338 (causing hurt by act

endangering life & causing grievous hurt) with punish-

ment upto two years; Section 427 (mischief causing

damage to property) with maximum punishment of upto

two years.

Also, Motor Vehicle Act, Section 34 (a), (b) read with

181 (driving vehicle in contravention of rules) and 185

(driving at great speed after consuming alcohol with

punishment of cancellation of driving license; and sec-

tions of the Bombay Prohibition Act dealing with diving

under influence of alcohol which attract maximum six

months in jail.

After having worked with

Academy Award-winning

director Danis Tanovic in

the film “Tigers”, Bollywood

actor Emraan Hashmi, who is

geared up for his latest Hindi sci-

fi release "Mr. X", says that in a

given budget, Bollywood does

more than what Hollywood pro-

ductions can achieve.

"Mr. X" touches upon the con-

cept of an invisible man, but

Emraan, who along with his co-

star Amyra Dastur, was recently

on the sets of MTV's "Kaisi Yeh

Yaariyan" to promote his film,

doesn't want to "end up compar-

ing it with 'Hollow Man'". "It

starts and ends with the invisibili-

ty and that's the only common

factor between the two films. But

as far as budgets go, they

(Hollywood) obviously have

mega budgets for their films, they

have a world audience... We are

limited to a Hindi-speaking audi-

ence."

"But I think in what we have,

and the budget that we're given,

we do more than what they can

accomplish in that budget,"

Emraan told IANS in an inter-

view over phone from Mumbai.

Produced by Vishesh Films and

directed by Vikram Bhatt, “Mr.

X” features Emraan as an invisi-

ble man, seeking revenge for all

the wrong done to him.

Bollywood actress

Katrina Kaif will grace

the red carpet at the

68th Cannes International Film

Festival as the ambassador of

cosmetic brand L'Oréal Paris.

She says she can't wait to

join the other global ambassa-

dors, which also include

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and

Sonam Kapoor.

L'Oréal Paris will celebrate

18 years of its partnership as

the official makeup partner for

Festival De Cannes, and it

promises an exciting line-up of

its spokespeople ready to walk

the red carpet from May 13-24.

In the past, Aishwarya and

Sonam have made India proud

with their stunning beauty and

fashion statements, and now

Katrina -- who has worked

with top-notch stars and film-

makers in her over decade-long

acting career in Bollywood --

is ready to sport a specially

created look for her debut at

Cannes.

Sonam is also happy to wel-

come Katrina to the film jam-

boree.

"Katrina is a gorgeous girl

who has a unique individual

style that she embraces and

highlights with panache. I am

sure she will dazzle everyone

at the French Riviera and I

can't wait to meet her there. I

am glad to be representing

India with two amazing

L'Oréal Paris ambassadors at

Cannes.

"Together we will embody

the glamour, diversity, beauty

and talent that define this coun-

try," said the "Khoobsurat"

actress.

After featuring in international movies "Slumdog

Millionaire" and "Mission: Impossible - Ghost

Protocol" and American TV series "24", Indian actor

Anil Kapoor will be off to Los Angeles to dub for a character

in adult animation show "Family Guy" as a guest star.

While Anil is reluctant to reveal details of what character he

would be dubbing for, he admits that doing a voice for "Family

Guy" is something that has given him an elevated status in his

own family. “My children are crazy about the show. They can’t

believe I am doing a voice in 'Family Guy',” he said. "My char-

acter will appear with the show's famous Griffin family. It is a

new experience for me. And you know how much I like going

into new experiences," he added.

Salman Khancase verdict

on May 6

EmraanHashmi

Salman Khan has been facing trial since nearly 13 years in the accident case in Bandra.

Anil Kapoor to dubfor 'Family Guy'

We accomplish more than Hollywood can: Hashmi

Anil Kapoor

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 27April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor took to social

media to put the record straight about

his son and Bollywood's heartthrob

Ranbir Kapoor staying aloof from all virtual

platforms.

The "Bobby" actor took to Twitter to warn his

fans to steer away from fake accounts in

Ranbir's name on the micro-blogging site.

“Hello friends. This is Ranbir's dad. Just want

to state that he's not on any social platform

whatsoever so please don't get fooled by any

dupe,” Rishi tweeted.

Social media went into a tizzy when the

“Barfi!” actor hopped on to the virtual platform

wagon for a promotional activity earlier this

year. The cinema icon followed the post by

another stating: “That message was important to

those fans of his who still believe that he is on

Twitter. I get requests and complaints regarding

him. Sorry!”

The 62-year-old, who was seen in "Do Dooni

Chaar" and "Student of the Year", also walked

down the memory lane and shared some photo-

graphs of a sweater.

He reminisced: “Sweaters. It was a passionate

collection, over a period of time, which I used in

films without repeating. This info for fans

inquiring about it." A

Jurassic Park fans have had a

glimpse of the long-awaited

fourth installment in the

dinosaur disaster franchise, with the

release of the film's new global trail-

er heralding a terrifying new preda-

tor.

Twenty-two years after the events

of Jurassic Park, the film is set at the

Jurassic World dinosaur theme park

on Nuba Isla as originally envi-

sioned by the character John

Hammond.

It is now owned by Masrani Corp

and Irrfan plays Simon Masrani,

CEO of the company and the owner

of Jurassic World.

With visitor numbers on the

decline, a new attraction is created

to re-spark interest in the theme park

but it backfires greatly when the

gigantic genetically modified

"hybrid" dinosaur, larger than a T-

Rex, wreaks havoc. We see the actor

in a tension-driven moment standing

with the rest of the cast.

US actor Chris Pratt plays Owen

Grady, a park staff member who

conducts behavioral research on

velociraptors but quickly gets caught

up in the chaos.

Bryce Dallas Howard, Judy Greer,

Jake Johnson and BD Wong also star

in the film directed by Hollywood

newcomer Colin Trevorrow. Steven

Spielberg who directed the original

Jurassic Park and The Lost World:

Jurassic Park is executive producer.

The film will be released on June 12.

Omung Kumar's 2014 directorial

"Mary Kom", which was selected

for the Stockholm International

Film Festival Junior (SIFFJ), has won the

Best Film award and has been endowed

with the Bronze Horse Award, the festival's

top honor. The jury for the junior section of

the festival consisted of children from the

age of nine to 17.

Kumar, who directed the Priyanka

Chopra-starrer biopic of the legendary

Indian boxer M.C Mary Kom, was present

at the screening of his film after which chil-

dren from various age groups asked him

questions in an interactive session.

"The Indian Embassy took complete care

of me and the Indian Ambassador Banashri

Bose Harrison herself took me around to

show Sweden and its islands. She organ-

ized a screening of 'Mary Kom' for her

guests also, and had two dinners in my

honor.

"This award is a very big achievement for

us because now it will bridge the gap

between Sweden and India, and we will be

able to distribute our films over here,"

Kumar said in a statement. "Mary Kom"

will be showcased in Sweden again by the

Indian Embassy at the Indian Film Festival

next month.

A scene from the film'Mary Kom.'

'Mary Kom' honored in Stockholm

The sounds of

Bollywood tracks

"Humma humma",

"O humdum suniyo re" and

"Maahi ve" resonated as

models sashayed across the

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion

Week 2015 (PSFW) 2015

ramp in Lahore in creations

by designer Zara

Shahjahan. For an Indian

onlooker, it was a moment

of pride.

The designer impressed

many with her collection,

but her choice of

Bollywood tracks hooked

the audience to her range

further.

The show started with the

"Humma humma" song

from the film "Bombay"

followed by "O humdum

suniyo re" from the film

"Saathiya" and "Maahi Ve"

from "Highway".

The irony here was that

while a Pakistani designer

opted to use Bollywood

tracks in her show, at Indian

fashion weeks western

tracks rule the roost.

Anyhow, Shahjahan's

return to the PSFW 2015

for the fourth time was

marked by her new collec-

tion of luxury pret titled

'New Vintage'.

"I took inspiration from

the intangible qualities and

emotions that possess and

define the modern woman,

qualities such as vivacity,

that encapsulates the desire

to experiment and live life

to the fullest,” said the

designer.

The womenswear collec-

tion was based on a fresh

colour palette of blues,

maroons, salmon pinks and

pistachio greens on luxe

silks and karandi. There

were a lot of androgynous

silhouettes and separates

adorned with jewel embell-

ishments, crystals and semi-

precious stones.

Pakistan's first designer,

who has the expertise to

make her own motifs,

Shahjahan’s collection

was a celebration of indi-

viduality, femininity and

sophistication.

Undoubtedly, Pakistani

designers and the Pakistan

fashion week is unique in

many ways.

One of the high points of

the Pakistan fashion week is

that the audio-video of the

country’s national anthem is

played before the start of

every show and the entire

audience in the main show

area stands up to show

respect.

All in all, there are many

things to learn from this

booming industry.Model in creations by designer Ittehad during the Pakistan Fashion Design

Council (PFDC) Sunsilk Fashion Week in Lahore.

Ranbir Kapoor

Bollywood songs add powerto Pak fashion show

'Ranbir not on anysocial media platform'

Irrfan Khan in the poster of 'Jurassic World.'

Irrfan appears in action-filled 'Jurassic World' trailer

Anosy co-worker reading my

screen over my shoulder was

shocked that I had 12,457 unread

emails. I told him: “The intelligence

agencies read our emails these days. Why

duplicate the work?”

He warned me that if I let other people

read my emails, someone would steal my

identity.

Let them.

They can take over the unending strug-

gle to pay rent and school fees.

I’ll go and do something easier, like

solving the Middle East crisis, fixing the

Greek economy, finding Waldo, etc.

***

People have such a defeatist attitude

these days.

The guys at the local rice lunchbox

shop were complaining that The

Universe was fundamentally unfair

because their phones had only 32 giga-

bytes of memory but their wives had

2,500 terabytes of the stuff.

Why not the other way round?

I told them to stop whining! Moore’s

Law about the exponential growth of

computing power will ensure that gadg-

ets will overtake wives by iPhone 8.

***

You have to love technology for the

access it gives you.

But be careful not to overdo it.

For example, I have regularly pressed

“like” on Lady Gaga’s Instagram posts

for a while, but I will now leave it for a

week to make sure she doesn’t get the

wrong idea.

***

With my luck, she’d track me down

when I am in a parent-teacher school

meeting and her clothing choices would

cause discomfort and the summoning of

security guards.

***

Anyway, this reverie on technology

was triggered by a communication from

reader Mark Amburan, who announced

that the world of extremist tech-addicts

has a new king: Christopher Wallace,

aged 24, of the United States.

There have been many cases of fugi-

tives on the run stopping to update their

Facebook or Twitter pages, enabling

police to catch them. “But Mr Wallace

has just set a new standard,” said Mark.

After several weeks on the run from

police, fugitive Wallace uploaded a pho-

tograph of himself on Snapchat, telling

the world that he had returned to his

home in Fairfield, Maine.

Police, who had been keeping an eye

on the account, promptly raced over to

search the house. Wallace slipped into his

hiding place: a man-sized gap at the back

of the kitchen cabinets, behind the pots

and pans.

He held his breath and listened with

delight as he heard cops stomp all over

the house, failing to find him, mwa ha ha

ha!

But you can guess what happened.

Yes, his twitchy fingers caused him to

send out just one teeny weeny little

Snapchat message to the effect of: “The

police are at this very moment looking

for me but I am cunningly hidden in this

cabinet!”

With this help, police found him imme-

diately.

***

If Mr Wallace is reading this, don’t feel

too bad. Mistakes are learning opportuni-

ties, right?

I had a trouble-prone friend who used

to say:

“Mistakes are not necessarily bad.

Without them, some of us would have

never been born.”

***

I have to stop writing now because

someone’s at the door.

It may be Lady Gaga wondering why I

haven’t liked any of her pix for the last

couple of days.

Okay, guys, what do I tell her?

28 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Mahendra Shah

Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist andhumorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,

he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Everybody's wrong about technology except me

25th April, 2015

Ruled planet: 7 Ruled by no: NeptuneTraits in you: As your governing planet is Neptune,you are simple, dignified, unique, charismatic, reli-able, trustworthy and confident. You have a great lead-ership skill and you are very creative. You should notbe pessimistic and show your stubbornness.Health this year: Though you would not face any ma-jor health related issues, you should take extra care ofyour health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting yourhealth in stake. Go for regular medical checkups.Finance this year: Though you will be able to im-prove your financial status, you may end up spendinga lot of money in buying luxury and comfort for your-self and your family. You may put your money in realestate for better returns.Career this year: Professionally, you are a very smartand efficient worker. So you may need to clarifydoubts and help you peers and juniors in their work.People in your professional circuit will seek your helpat every crucial situation. You may get promoted as aresult of your spectacular performance throughout theyear. You may be assigned a new responsibility thisyear. You may go for a job change as well as there willbe plenty of opportunities available.Romance this year: This is a quite good year forwomen when romance is concerned. You will enjoy avery strong relationship with your spouse. You maydecide to get married towards the end of the year.Lucky month: June, October and January

26th April, 2015

Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8Traits in you: Your governing planet Saturn makesyou confident, unique, creative, dynamic, and intelli-gent. You are determined enough to perform any taskassigned to you. So you always remain a step aheadfrom others. Along all your good characteristics, youhave few negative characters as well. You need towork on your unreliability, insensitiveness, and self-ishness. Health this year: You should take your prescribedmedication in spite of a better health. The health ofyour parents may make you a worried person. You willremain fit and fine throughout this year. However, thehealth issues of your family members may put you inimmense pressure. You need to secure the health ofyour family member by investing some money everyyear.Finance this year: Your financial condition will bepretty good as the movements of your stars are favor-able for making money this year. You may go for anyinvestment on real estate or gold. Do not trust anyonewhen partnerships are concerned. You should not lendor borrow money as it will create disputes.Career this year: You will be establishing yourself as

a very efficient and important resource in your organ-ization this year. Your performance will influenceyour peers, seniors and higher management. It is thebest time to look out for a new job as it will help yougrow both professionally and financially.Romance this year: You may go through minor per-sonal disturbances and these could be solved by talk-ing more to your partner. Do not let the distance grow.Get some time to talk to your spouse. You may plan along trip with your partner to strengthen your rela-tionship.Lucky month: July, September and December

27th April, 2015

Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mars makes youstrong, determined, courageous, enthusiastic, intelli-gent, ambitious, and motivated. You have a strong dis-like towards fake people and fake emotions. You are ahuge fan of truth and cleanliness. You need to work onyour nature of showing dictatorship and being rudeand stubborn at times.Health this year: Your health would remain verygood this year. However, you need to go for regularyoga exercises. You should not ignore your healthydiet plan to remain in shape. Go for regular medicalcheckups to avoid any hiccups further.Finance this year: You may go for a property trans-action this year and this will bring you a lot of money.You need to be decisive to invest on real estate or goldas there are risks involved. Do not trust any of yournew partners as they may cheat you. You may spendenough money on buying a vehicle or renovating yourproperty. Career this year: With an enhanced confidence andbrushed up skills, you will become very successfulprofessionally. You will do justice to the role assignedto you. You may get promotion or a hike in your cur-rent salary. If you are in creativity field, this year willbring you much more success and recognition. Romance this year: Your relationship with your part-ner or beloved will be strengthened as day passes. Youmay decide to get married this year if you are in a longterm relationship.Lucky month: May, October and April

28th April, 2015

Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1Traits in you: Due to the positive effects of your rul-ing planet Sun, you will have the characteristics of agood human being. By nature, you are accountable,unique, courageous, committed, competitive, coordi-nated and intelligent. You should work on your nega-tive personality traits such as selfishness, dependencyand pessimism.Health this year: You will enjoy a good health

throughout this year but provided you go for regularmedical checkups and take proper medication pre-scribed by the doctor.Finance this year: Your financial conditions will bevery good this year as you will be working hard toreach your goal. Your past property dispute will getsolved and it will earn you a lot of money. If you areinto business, you may go for new ventures as thoseseem to be very profitable this year.Career this year: You will enjoy a good professionalatmosphere this year. You will be appreciated by yourseniors and higher management. This may bring youpromotions and salary hike. You need to concentratemore on your work to get a better position in your pro-fession. You may go for a job change this year. How-ever, you should not decide anything hastily.Romance this year: You will share a good relation-ship with your spouse. You may decide to turn your re-lationship into marriage if you are not married yet.However, you need to understand your beloved andprovide the required emotional support for the better-ment of your relationship.Lucky month: June, November and February

29th April, 2015

Ruled planet: 2 Ruled by no: MoonTraits in you: As you are under the influence of theMoon, you are generous, courteous, caring, coopera-tive, decisive, and determined. Being a very friendlyperson, you make friends easily and you believe inloyalty for friends. You should not behave stubbornand dishonest at times for the betterment of your per-sonality. Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good healththis year though you may go through few minor dis-eases. Go for regular medical checkups to retain yourgood health. Take care of the health of your familymembers. Do not ignore any health related issue as itmay lead to further disturbances.Finance this year: You will be fortunate enough thisyear to be among financial gains. All you need to dois to grab opportunities to earn money. You will findplenty of earning opportunities around you. However,you have to work hard to gain that money. Overall,this year will give you financial stability and security.Career this year: You will gain a lot of professionalknowledge this year. You may think for a job changethis year. You may not get the job satisfaction in theorganization you currently work for. You may not getthe expected appraisal, which would urge you toswitch to another company.Romance this year: You may get some good newsfrom your spouse or partner later this week. This willmake your relationship grow stronger. You may haveto travel to distant places to spend time you’re yourpartner and maintain a good relationship.

Lucky month: August, November and January

30th April, 2015

Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3Traits in you: As your governing planet is Jupiter, youare intelligent, dignified, dynamic, simple, ambitious,and optimistic. You are very whimsical towards yourwork. However, you need to eradicate few negativecharacteristics such as jealousy, rude, irresponsibility.Health this year: You may go through few minorhealth issues, which will create unwanted tensions foryou throughout the year. To avoid falling sick fre-quently, you need to get your medical checkup doneperiodically. Finance this year: You will get financial benefits ifyou have invested in past. For future financial gains,you may invest on real estate and stock market. Youshould study the market well before investing on any-thing. Do not be in a hurry to invest as it may go inloss.Career this year: You will be successful in every proj-ect you take up this year. You may be adjudged the bestemployee by your higher management because of yourefficiency, hard work, and timely delivery. You mayneed to negotiate with different types of customer andlearn a lot about handling a project independently.Romance this year: As far as your relationships areconcerned, you will enjoy a good time this year. Youwill find your spouse or partner supportive enough inyour difficult time. You will be able to solve any prob-lem that comes in your way to achieve something. Ifyou are unmarried, there is a healthy chance for yougetting married this year.Lucky month: July, November, January & February

1st May, 2015

Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1Traits in you: Being ruled by the Sun and number 1,you are original, authoritative, dignified, and deter-mined. As you are sensitive for your relationships,your friends and family may consider you to be an as-set in their lives. However, you need to take care ofyour nature of spending unnecessarily and your dom-inating character.Health this year: You will remain healthy throughoutthe year provided you go for regular medical check-ups.Finance this year: If you are a professional, you willbe among financial benefits.Career this year: You may get excellent returns fromyour investments in business and it may improve yourstandard of living by making you spend a more luxu-rious life. Romance this year: You will find yourself in roman-tic peak this year and marriage may happen for few.Lucky month: September, December, April

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

April 25-May 1, 2015

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

29

ARIES: This is the time for you to

consolidate on the professional

front. You may get deeply involved

in ways to increase earning. Harmony will

not come on the domestic front without

efforts. A marriage proposal for the eligi-

ble will brighten the home front. Adopting

a healthy lifestyle will do some a whale of

a good. You heave a sigh of relief with a

big responsibility successfully out of the

way.

TAURUS: Good initiative will be

required to open new avenues of

earning. A professional move can

find you in a comfortable situation, but

you will need to play your cards really

well. A visit to relatives is on the cards

and will prove entertaining. You are about

to get a first hand experience on what you

had been wanting for long. A thoughtful

gift to lover will be in your favour.

GEMINI: The week can leave you

annoyed and frustrated. A change

you had been planning on will not

be approved by seniors.

Those living in a joint family are likely to

feel cornered due to lack of support from

their near and dear ones. Negative feel-

ings dominating the mind will even colour

the positive aspects of life. An evening out

can add to your woes, if you are not

careful.

CANCER: Apprehensions about

someone will no longer trouble

your mind. It is important to get

back into the thick of things on the work

front. Those recovering from minor sur-

gery will need to keep a check on their

diet. You get the opportunity to exploit the

present to achieve better prospects. Close

encounters with a person who admires

you secretly is possible. Acquiring some

major household item is possible.

LEO: A new employee will take

most of the workload off your

shoulders. An excellent time with

family and friends is indicated in a get-

together. Regular practice will pay rich

dividends for some in the sports arena.

Neglecting healthy eating can lay some on

the bed. A financial irregularity threatens

to rope you in, but you will come out

unscathed. Good advice will work won-

ders for a family member.

VIRGO: Your impulsiveness can

make you rush into things that you

may regret later. There is a risk of

the work schedule getting upset due to

unforeseen circumstances. Those in finan-

cial dire straits can face a trying time. Best

antidote for a tiff with lover is to kiss and

make up. An out of station duty can spoil

a family programme. Slow recovery from

an ailment is likely to frustrate some.

LIBRA: Phase of good luck starts

and will find you in the best of

everything. An overseas partnership

will bear fruit even beyond your expecta-

tions. A promotion is on the cards for some

in government organisations. A memorable

experience is in store for those travelling

abroad. Family will be most supportive and

approve all your endeavours. Passion can be

at an all time low, unless you do something

about it.

SCORPIO: Work routine can prove

boring this week. Those wanting

peace and quiet at home will have to

ensure the same. Loan repayment can pose

some problems, but you will be able to find

the resources. Newlyweds will achieve

understanding and make a place in each

other’s heart. Mental tensions plaguing the

mind will disappear, but may take some

time. Don’t venture out on the road this

week, if it can be helped.

SAGITTARIUS: Homemakers are

likely to enjoy the week in the com-

pany of neighbours and friends. A

bonus or increment is on the cards for some.

Overnight stay with a relative will give you

an opportunity to travel down the memory

lane. A change of job is in the offing for

some and will prove favourable. Those in

two minds about developing a property will

need to make the correct decision.

CAPRICORN: Newlyweds can

expect the marital boat to sail smooth-

ly. A friend will come to the rescue in

bailing you out of a financial situation. Those

in the creative fields will excel by thinking

out of the box. Help and assistance will be

forthcoming in a project assigned to you at

work. Those suffering from lifestyle diseases

may not find home remedies quite effective.

Meeting a like-minded person from the oppo-

site camp is possible.

AQUARIUS : There is a pleasant

surprise in store for you on the work

front. Those thinking of tying the

knot will find the week favourable. A short

vacation is on the cards for some and will

prove most enjoyable. Those thinking of

putting money in a project or franchise need

to be more deliberate. Your helping hand to

someone in need will be greatly appreciated.

Remain regular in your workouts.

PISCES: You will prove a great

source of strength to someone close.

Tension brewing between you and

partner will disappear. Work front remains

uneventful, but this is no excuse of whiling

away time instead of completing pending

jobs. Care will need to be exercised in a

monetary transaction. Change of plans will

make the vacation even more enjoyable.

Your health can turn for the better, only if

you exercise some self-discipline.

April 25-May 1, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

30 April 25-May 1, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPIRITUAL AWARENESS

As a neuroscientist, the author found the scientific approach to meditationon the inner Light and Sound as taught by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

provides a firsthand direct inner spiritual experience.

By Louis A. Ritz

Meditation and spirituality

are being increasingly

embraced around the

world, including the West, as our

lives are becoming more complex.

Individuals are turning within

themselves, instead of the outside

world, to find solutions to life’s

challenges. Spirituality is gaining

popularity for a variety of reasons,

e.g., a search for deeper meaning

in life, dealing with unbridled

emotions or an unruly mind, a fear

of death, a fear of life, a loss of a

loved one, or a health challenge.

At a deeper level, there is a com-

mon source of our suffering. As

each of us becomes more entan-

gled in the impermanence of the

outer world, our level of dissatis-

faction and disappointment with

everyday life inevitably rises.

Instead of identifying with our

inner Self, as the great Teachers

from all wisdom traditions have

implored us, our attention has

remained aligned with the illusory

self and the transitory outside

world. Meditation is considered

humanity’s panacea in that it

allows us to reconnect with the

Divine that is within each of us.

Over the past 40 years, the scien-

tific interest in meditation has

exploded. The research has gone

through several phases. Early on,

scientists documented the physio-

logical impact of meditation on the

body. Meditation, by reducing the

“fight or flight” response mediated

by the autonomic nervous system,

produces a profound relaxation

and a significant stress reduction.

More recently, utilizing modern

imaging techniques, medical

research has revealed that certain

regions of the brain are activated

during meditation while other

areas are inactivated. Our scientif-

ic investigations are now begin-

ning to evaluate the potential role

of meditation as a therapeutic

intervention, for conditions such as

chronic pain, depression, and

addiction.

Central to the influence of medi-

tation on our bodies and our lives

is that brain circuits are flexible.

That is, the brain is dynamic and

can change in response to external

stimulation or to our mental pat-

terns. Neuroplasticity means that

the brain can be shaped, or sculpt-

ed, by our experiences or by our

thoughts. Until recent times, neu-

roscientists had assumed that the

mature brain is hard-wired. That is,

once neural circuits are estab-

lished, there is no reorganization –

regardless of injury, disease, or

aging. Yet over the past 20 years or

so, a new set of rules has emerged

for central nervous system organi-

zation and reorganization.

It is clear that experiences of the

outer world can change the circuits

of the brain. For example,

improvements in motor skills are

accompanied by an increase in size

of the brain regions related to the

motor skill. Less well appreciated

is how inner, spiritual, experiences

can alter the brain. One hint of

how our inner landscape can affect

our brain has been demonstrated in

several studies demonstrating

structural changes in the brain of

meditators. These investigators

compared the brains of age-

matched groups, one group being

meditators and the other being

non-meditators. Using brain-imag-

ing techniques to measure the

thickness of cortical areas of the

brain, regions related to sensory,

memory, and emotional processing

are larger in meditators compared

to non-meditators.

By embracing spirituality and

meditation, we can change our

thought patterns and our brain cir-

cuits. In turn, these changes will

lead to improvements in our

behaviors and our lives.

Spiritual questions, like medical

or other scientific questions, can

be investigated with rigorous, sys-

tematic techniques using the time-

honored scientific method.

Whether an individual is using the

scientific method to investigate the

objective outer world or the sub-

jective inner realms, the technique

is equally valid and valuable. Use

of the scientific method as a guide-

line for spiritual exploration has

been developed and promoted by

the great spiritual scientists of

modern times. The spiritual

explorers have long considered

basic spiritual questions to be

answerable through personal spiri-

tual inquiry; however, unlike

objective research questions, they

require us to conduct spiritual

experiments for ourselves, within

ourselves.

The scientific approach to medi-

tation requires the following steps.

1) Our spiritual quest typically

begins with a question, e.g., who

are we? Why are we here? Where

are we going when we leave here

and what is our relationship to the

Divine? 2) Essential to the process,

we need the guidance of a compe-

tent mentor.

A mentor teaches us the proper

techniques, provides us with the

best shortcuts for achieving our

goals, alerts us to pitfalls we may

encounter, and helps us monitor

our progress. 3) Science is con-

ducted in a laboratory. The human

body is the laboratory for our spiri-

tual experiment. 4) To collect our

data, in order to evaluate our spiri-

tual hypothesis, we use the delicate

instruments of the inner eye and

ear for the experiment in the spiri-

tual laboratory. 5) Medical

research requires that the experi-

ments be repeated daily until the

techniques are perfected. In a spiri-

tual experiment, there also must be

repetition, such as meditating

daily. 6) The final step of the sci-

entific process is to communicate

our results, which includes service

to humankind.

As a neuroscientist, I have found

the scientific approach to medita-

tion on the inner Light and Sound

as taught by H.H. Sant Rajinder

Singh Ji Maharaj (www.sos.org)

provides a firsthand direct inner

spiritual experience. Trained and

experienced as an engineer-scien-

tist, Sant Rajinder Singh appreci-

ates the scientific method of deal-

ing with challenges of the outside

world. Trained and experienced as

a spiritual scientist, he embodies

the scientific process to meditation

and the exploration of our true

nature.

A scientific model of meditation

provides a rigorous, reproducible

approach to the practice of medita-

tion. The steps involved in medita-

tion allow anyone to prove to

themselves the positive benefits of

meditation to for changing their

brain. It allows anyone to enjoy

the physical and psychological

benefits of meditation as well as

the spiritual benefits of entering a

state of bliss, conscious awareness,

happiness, and joy within.

(Louis A. Ritz, Ph.D. is anElizabeth Wood Dunlevie HonorsTerm Professor at the Departmentof Neuroscience, University ofFlorida College of MedicineGainesville, Florida, USA)

Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

Meditation: Positive changesto our brain and our lives

Over the past 40 years, the scientific interest in meditationhas exploded. Early on, scientists documented the physio-logical impact of meditation on the body. Meditation, byreducing the “fight or flight” response mediated by theautonomic nervous system, produces a profound relaxationand a significant stress reduction. More recently, utilizingmodern imaging techniques, medical research has revealedthat certain regions of the brain are activated during meditation while other areas are inactivated. Our scientificinvestigations are now beginning to evaluate the potentialrole of meditation as a therapeutic intervention, for conditions such as chronic pain, depression, and addiction.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 25-May 1, 2015