vol.8 issue 23 - oct 10-oct 16, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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8/20/2019 Vol.8 Issue 23 - Oct 10-Oct 16, 2015
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Washington Four Russian cruise
missiles launched from the
Caspian Sea fell short of their
Syrian targets and landed in a
rural part of Iran, US officials said
Thursday amid growing interna‑
tional concern about Russia's
actions in the region.
The errant strikes were part of avolley of 26 long‑range cruise mis‑
siles that Russia fired Wednesday,
US officials told USA Today.
The flight path for the Kalibr
cruise missiles, which had not pre‑
viously been used in combat condi‑
tions, took them over Iran and
Iraq. One official said the U.S. was‑
n't able to detect any casualties or
damage from the errant strikes,
suggesting they may have fallen
harmlessly in Iran. Russia, which
recently began conducting
airstrikes and expanded its mili‑
tary presence in Syria, denied any
strikes missed their intended
Syrian targets. Iran's defense min‑istry dismissed the claims as "psy‑
chological warfare." Still, Russia's
growing military activity in the
region has raised worries that a
mishap could trigger a wider waras Russian ships, aircraft and
troops intensify operations in what
the US says is a bid to prop up
longtime ally Syrian President
Bashar Assad rather than combatthe Islamic State. "This will have
The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30US AFFAIRS 9 ART & CULTURE 15 BOLLYWOOD 18
Some 2,000 people packed an auditorium in Flushing to listen toand get blessed on Oct 4 by Brahmrishi Sri Guruvanand Swami, a
charismatic guru. Arguably, Indiaʼs best spiritual ambassador to theWest since Swami Vivekananda, he exhorted his predominantly NRIaudience to feel proud of the land they come from, where God has
incarnated again and again, and gurus have handed down thewisdom of living in peace and harmony. (Photo: Diana De Rosa)
US OFFICIALS’ CLAIM OF THE
MALFUNCTIONING CRUISE MISSILES
FIRED FROM A RUSSIAN SHIP IN THE
CASPIAN SEA CRASHLANDING IN IRAN
ARE DENIED BY MOSCOW
Guruvanand Swami blesses 2,000 at NY event
More pictures and story on pa ge 1617.
Vol.8 No. 23 October 10-16, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
4 Russian missilesmiss Syria, ‘hit Iran’
Continued on page 4
New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Thursday appealed to people to follow
President Pranab Mukherjee's message on
upholding core civilization values of diversi‑
ty, tolerance and plurality.
His appeal, at an election rally in Bihar's
Nawada district, came 10 days after a man
was lynched in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri by a
mob over rumors that he ate beef. Modi,
however, did not mention the incident.
Speaking in Hindi, he said "chote mote log
(small‑time people)" make all kinds of com‑
ments for political benefit but urged people
not to pay them any heed, or for that matter,
even him, but just
WEATHER GODS SMILED ON THOUSANDS AT AIA’S DIWALI MELA
No hurricane, not even a drop of rain marred the open air celebration of theDeepavali Festival at South Street Seaport hosted by Association of Indians in America(AIA‑NY) on Oct 4. The event thronged by people from all over the tristate area culmi‑
nated with a spectacular display of fireworks co‑sponsored by Air India and Toyota.Pictured are the cast and crew of Ram Lila presented by Charak. Full story on page 5.
Follow Mukherjeeʼsadvice on values: Modi
President Pranab
Mukherjee had spoken
about India’s
civilizational
values in the
wake of aMuslim man's
lynching near
Delhi for
allegedly
eating beef. Continued on page 4
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 10-16, 2015
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3October 10-16, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
By Vineetha Nair
New York The Indo‑American Press
Club (IAPC) is holding an
International Media Conference
here from Oct 9‑12, 2015, bringing
together an array of eminent jour‑
nalists and media experts from the
US, Canada, India, Australia and the
UAE.
The conference at the Clarion
Hotel and Conference Center in
Ronkonkoma, Long Island, to be
officially inaugurated on Oct 10)
offers an excellent platform to the
delegates for networking and learn‑
ing. It is designed as a professional
development opportunity, featuringeducational seminars and work‑
shops, discussing and analyzing
new trends and methods with a
rare insight into the work of media
across the world.
A high‑profile public meeting and
gala banquet is scheduled on Oct
11 evening where IAPC will honor
social activist Daya Bai , Boby
Chemmanur, philanthropist/entre‑
preneur, and VK Ebrahimkunju,Keralaʼs Minster for Public Works.
All three are flying down from India
for the occasion. Boby
Chemmanurʼs is an inspiring story.
His great business acumen has led
Chemmanur International to grow
from Kerala into an international
jewelry chain traversing four conti‑
nents and attracting legendary foot‑
baller Diego Maradona to join as
partner. More important, he found‑ed Life Vision Charitable Trust to
share some of the profit from his
business with the poor, starting
homes for them wherever there are
outlets of Chemmanur
International Jewellers. A la Mother
Teresa, he adopts destitute people
from the street, personally feedsand nurses them.
Prominent journalists and media
professionals participating in the
media conference include George
Kall ivayali l , Chief of Bureau,
Deepika, New Delhi; M.V. Nikesh
Kumar, chief editor, Reporter TV;
PT Chacko, Press Secretary to
Kerala CM; Simon Kurian &
Geethanjali Kurian, documentary
filmmakers, Australia; Parveen
Chopra, Managing Editor, The
South Asian Times, New York; R.
Ajith Kumar, Trivandrum Press Club
President; J.S Indukumar, Executive
Editor, Jai Hind TV; Sujith Nair,
Special Correspondent, MalayalaManorama; Prathap Nair,Vice
President, NTV UAE; Saji Dominic,
Media Advisor, Kerala Road Fund
Board; and Anupama Venkitesh, Sr
News Editor, Reporter TV.
IAPC has been undertaking activi‑
ties to promote and encourage jour‑
nalism students and citizen journal‑ists by conducting competitions in
areas such as writing and photogra‑
phy and the winners will receive
prizes at the conference. The Indo‑
American Press Club is a credible
and effective platform for Indian
American journalists and media
professionals to associate and net‑
work with a sense of belonging. As
a cohesive and vibrant group of
journalists, media professionals and
freelancers working or associating
with print, broadcast and online
media outlets in North America,
IAPC has envisioned for itself a sig‑
nificant role in recognizing and nur‑
turing the true potential of journal‑ists and media professionals in the
US and Canada, while collaborating
with media fraternity across the
globe.
The IAPC conference is supported
by The South Asian Times.
http://indoamericanpressclub.com/
New York Xavier University
School of Medicine, Aruba
(XUSOM) was awarded the
ʻEducation Leadership Awardʼ at
World Leadership Congress in
Dubai on Oct 7. The award is
given for outstanding contribu‑
tion to development of excellent
medical education for students.
Xavier has opened its Pre Med
campus at JUST University ‑
IRBID campus, Jordan to address
the problem of shortage of doc‑
tors in the region. Xavier has
also started their BSc to MD pro‑
gram at TIPS Global Institute in
Coimbatore, India.The award was given to Xavier
President Ravishankar
Bhooplapur for his contribution
and his leadership role and
visionary thinking to help
ʻCult ivate Great Minds for
Primary Care Physiciansʼ. He has
been instrumental in initiatives
to provide and help many good
students to get into medicine.Xavier recently got approval
from Government of Jordan
Department of Higher Education
to open its Pre‑Med program.
Currently, Xavier student body
comes from 19 countries. Now
Xavier is exploring to open Pre
Med campus in Sharjah.
IndoAmerican Press Clubhosting media meet in NY
Social activist Daya Bai, philanthropist Boby Chemmanur and Keralaminister VK Ebrahimkunju will be honored by IAPC
at the conference this weekend.
Xavier University School of Medicine President Ravishankar
Bhooplapur with the award.
Xavier bags medicaleducation award
in DubaiMineola NY: Nassau County Comptroller George
Maragos announced the appointment of community
leader Dilip Chauhan as Director of South East/Asian
Community Affairs.
Chauhan will be responsible for monitoring and
enhancing minority and women owned business par‑
ticipation in County contracts and purchases.
"Dilip is a diligent professional and a respected
leader in the South East/Asian community,"
Comptroller Maragos said. "In this new capacity, he
will continue his outstanding community efforts,
while assisting the Comptrollerʼs office to ensure that
Nassau County is adequately addressing the chal‑
lenges of our minority business owners and resi‑
dents." "I look forward to advancing the mission and
goals of the Comptrollerʼs Office while helping mem‑bers of the community to better navigate local govern‑
ment, and gain full access to business opportunities,"
Chauhan said.
In addition to serving as the South Asian
Community Coordinator for several municipalities,
Chauhan served as a past advisor to the Association of
Indian American Physicians. He was a volunteer for
the UN Millennium World Peace Summit and received
numerous awards for his service and contributions to
the South Asian community.
County Comptroller website: http://www.nas‑
saucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/index.html
Maragos appointsChauhan Director of South
East/Asian Affairs
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos withDilip Chauhan
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New Delhi
The Grand Alliance led
by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar is tipped to win a simple
majority in the assembly polls
starting on Monday, a pre‑election
survey said Thursday.
Another survey warned of ahung assembly, with the BJP‑led
NDA securing 119 seats, to the
Grand Alliance's 116 in the 243‑
member assembly. The half‑way
mark in the house is 122 seats.
A CNN IBN/IBN7‑Axis survey
said the Grand Alliance of the
Ja na ta Da l‑ Un it ed ( JD ‑U ), th e
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the
Congress was expected to win 137
seats.
The BJP‑led coalition was poised
to win 95 seats, garnering a 38
percent vote share. The Grand
Alliance was tipped to get 46 per‑
cent vote share.
The NDA's main constituent, theBJP, was projected to win 82 seats.
The JD‑U led by Nitish Kumar
was expected to win 69 seats, fol‑
lowed by Lalu Prasad's RJD (48
seats) and the Congress (20 seats).
The survey, conducted between
September 3 and October 4,
involved over 24,000 respondents
and covered all the 38 districtsand 243 constituencies of Bihar.
Development would be the main
election issue. Other issues are
inflation and "bijli‑paani‑sadak",
ranking second with 13 percent
each. As many as 45 percent of the
respondents felt the Nitish govern‑
ment had performed as per expec‑
tations while 17 percent said itexceeded their expectations.
New Delhi
India on Thursday
expressed its apprehensions over
media reports about the US explor‑
ing a civilian nuclear deal with
Pakistan on the lines of its agree‑
ment with India and said
Islamabad's track record on prolif‑
eration should be taken into
account in any such decision.Answering queries on the issue,
external af fairs ministry
spokesperson Vikas Swarup said
such reports have not appeared for
the first time.
"All I would say is whosoever is
examining that particular dossier
should be well aware of Pakistan's
track record in the area of prolifer‑
ation," Swarup said. He said India
got the civil nuclear deal on the
basis of its own impeccable non‑
proliferation track record.
"That is the reason the US gave
us the 123 agreement in 2005 and
that is why we got an NSG waiver
in 2008. Pakistan's track record iscompletely different, so we hope
that will be taken into account,"
Swarup said. There have been con‑
cerns in the West about nuclear
proliferation activities linked to
Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.
Reports said the Barack Obama
administration was considering a
civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan
ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif's visit to Washington later
this month. Asked about India pro‑
posing a National Security Adviser‑
level meeting between Indian and
Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly meetings last
month and the idea being aban‑doned due to Islamabad's insis‑
tence on meeting of the two for‑
eign ministers, Swarup said there
was an issue of sequencing. He
said India was committed to the
understanding reached between
India and Pakistan in the Russian
city of Ufa in July.
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4 Russian missiles miss Syria...
Continued from page 1
consequences for Russia itself,"
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter
said at a NATO meeting in
Brussels on Thursday. "I also
expect that in coming days, the
Russians will begin to suffer casu‑
alties in Syria."
Carter also claimed Russian air‑
craft have violated Turkish air‑
space and came within miles of a
US drone. In addition, their ships
have fired cruise missiles without
warning and their armed forceshave backed a Syrian government
"joint ground offensive."
Follow Mukherjee s advice on..
Continued from page 1
follow what the President had
said. "Follow President Pranab
Mukherjee's message on core civi‑
lizational values of diversity, tol‑
erance and plurality," he said,
referring to the president's
speech in New Delhi on
Wednesday. Speaking at the
release of a book on him by sen‑
ior journalist Prabhu Chawla at
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mukherjee
said, "We can't allow the core val‑
ues of our civilization to be wast‑
ed. The core values are that over
the years, civilization celebrated
diversity, promoted and advocat‑
ed tolerance, enjoyed plurality.
These core civilizational valueskeep us together over the cen‑
turies." The message came days
after a 50‑year‑old Mohammed
Akhlaq, accused of eating beef
and also storing it in his refrigera‑
tor, was beaten to death by a mob
on Sept 28 in Bisara village, near
the national capital.
Drones to monitor Bihar polls
Drones will be used for the first time for surveillance in the
upcoming Bihar assembly polls, according to a top election
official. But R. Lakshmanan, Bihar's Additional Chief
Electoral Officer, declined to give operational details about thedrone usage.
The task of conducting polls for the 243 assembly constituencies
across the 38 districts of the country's third most populous state
will be done in five phases ‑ October 12, 16, 28, November 1 and
5. Counting of votes will take place on November 8.
Lakshmanan said that arguably, the biggest challenges would be
maintaining law and order, checking "use and misuse of money
power", the implementation of model code of conduct and
"improving voter participation." Lakshmanan said till October 6,
Rs.15.56 crore in cash and close to 5.34 lakh litres of liquor had
been confiscated.
According to him, money and liquor were the two area which
threw up challenges as far as monitoring election expenditure was
concerned. So far, the election office has registered 265 FIRs for
these violations.
The other big challenge was over law and order. He said combing
operations over the last couple of months in the 11‑odd districts"where the Maoists threat is serious have fetched positive results".
Prepoll Survey Projects Nitish Win in Bihar
Nitish Kumar, CM candidate of the anti‑BJP front
Consider Pakistan's proliferationrecord before any deal: India to US
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5October 10-16, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New York:
In one of the largest philanthrop‑
ic gifts by a member of the Indian‑American
community, a couple has donated $100 mil‑
lion to New York University's engineering
school, which will now be renamed after
them in recognition of its gift.
Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon's gift to the
New York University's School of Engineering
will principally support faculty hiring and
academic programs and is intended to build
on the engineering school's existing practice
of cross‑disciplinary innovation and entre‑
preneurship, NYU President John Sexton
and the school's dean Katepalli R
Sreenivasan said in a joint statement here.
The school will be renamed the NYU
Tandon School of Engineering in recognition
of the Tandons "generosity and their belief
in the school's mission and promise," the
statement said. Chandrika is a member of
the Board of Overseers of NYU's business
school, a member of the NYU Board of
Trustees and leads the NYU President's
Global Council. Ranjan is an engineer by
training and a graduate of the Harvard
Business School. He is founder and chair of
Libra Advisors, a hedge fund he founded in
1990 that is now a family office. The
Tandons' donation is believed to be the
largest philanthropic gift by a member of
the Indian‑American community, the univer‑
sity said. "Getting to know the engineering
school was truly electrifying. The imagina‑
tion and inventiveness of the students and
faculty as they worked together on real
world problems, the cutting‑edge work
being done both within the school and col‑
laboratively across schools in such diverse
areas like the arts, medicine, education,
incubators; the entrepreneurial spirit that
pervades the place ‑‑ all this inspired us,"
she said.
Sreenivasan said the Tandons' act of gen‑
erosity is remarkable not only because of
the size of the gift, but also because it recog‑
nizes the importance of a school with which
they had no prior affiliation. Funds from the
gift will be used to further enhance pro‑
grams, including wireless, cybersecurity,
and digital education and gaming and
enhance interdisciplinary programs such as
financial engineering, technology manage‑
ment and innovation, and entrepreneurship
in important areas such as clean energy.
Indian‑American couple gifts $100 Mto NYU's engineering school
Washington DC:
Among Asian countries,
India continues to be the top country of
birth for scientists and engineers who have
made the US their destination for key
research and development, latest data has
revealed.
With 950,000 out of Asia's total 2.96 mil‑
lion, India's 2013 figure represented an 85
percent increase from 2003, according to a
new report from the National Science
Foundation's National Center for Scienceand Engineering Statistics (NCSES).
From 2003 to 2013, the number of scien‑
tists and engineers residing in the US rose
from 21.6 million to 29 million.
"An important factor in that increase over
the same time period, the number of immi‑
grant scientists and engineers went from
3.4 million to 5.2 million," the report noted.
Of the immigrant scientists and engineers
in the US in 2013, 57 percent were born in
Asia while 20 percent were born in North
America (excluding the US), Central
America, the Caribbean or South America.
"While 16 percent were born in Europe,
six percent were born in Africa and less
than one percent were born in Oceania.
"Immigrants went from making up 16percent of the science and engineering
workforce to 18 percent," the NCSES state‑
ment read.
In 2013, the latest year for which num‑
bers are available, 63 percent of US immi‑
grant scientists and engineers were natu‑
ralized citizens, while 22 percent were per‑
manent residents and 15 percent were tem‑
porary visa holders.
Since 2003, the number of scientists and
engineers from the Philippines increased
53 percent and the number from China,
including Hong Kong and Macau, increased
34 percent.
The NCSES report found that immigrant
scientists and engineers were more likely
to earn post‑baccalaureate degrees than
their US‑born counterparts.
In 2013, 32 percent of immigrant scien‑tists reported their highest degree was a
master's (compared to 29 percent of US‑
born counterparts) and 9 percent reported
it was a doctorate (compared to 4 percent
of US‑born counterparts).
"The most common broad fields of study
for immigrant scientists and engineers in
2013 were engineering, computer and
mathematical sciences, and social and relat‑
ed sciences," the report revealed.
Over 80 percent of immigrant scientists
and engineers were employed in 2013, the
same percentage as their US‑born counter‑
parts.
Among the immigrants in the science and
engineering workforce, the largest share
(18 percent) worked in computer andmathematical sciences, while the second‑
largest share (eight percent) worked in
engineering.
Three occupations ‑‑ life scientist, com‑
puter and mathematical scientist, and
social and related scientist ‑ saw substantial
immigrant employment growth from 2003
to 2013.
India tops Asia in sending scientistsand engineers to US: Report
New York Not only Hurricane Joaquin
got diverted, even rain gods smiled on the
open air celebration of the Deepavali
Festival at South Street Seaport hosted by
the Association of Indians in America
(AIA‑NY) on October 4.
The event attended by thousands of
people from all over the tristate area of
different walks culminated, as every year,
with a spectacular display of fireworks,
this time co‑sponsored by Air India and
Toyota. The mela was a full day celebra‑
tion with numerous corporate booths,
food & clothing vendors, performancesand activities for the entire family.
The theme for the fest ival being
Empowerment of Youth, “Naach Inferno”,
a successful new attraction to the Festival
in 2014, an inter‑collegiate dance compe‑
tition took place again this year. Colleges
and Universities such as Adelphi, CUNY,
Columbia and Pace participated. Stony
Brook University went on to win the
grand prize and a special segment on Star
Plus TV channel. The audience also got a
chance to learn some Bollywood dance
moves with the dancers of SHIAMAK USA.
“AIAʼs goal to incorporate more young
adults into the mainstream activities of
the community was accomplished,” says
Sunil Modi, President AIA‑NY.
Authentic Indian cuisine, a holistic
Health Fair, unforgettable performances
by performing arts schools, in addition to
a splendor showcase of Indian culture,
arts, crafts, jewelry, traditional clotheswere only some of the highlights this
year. Corporate sponsors such as Toyota,
Urban Food Bazaar, PepsiCo, McDonalds,
New York Life and many more were pres‑
ent. The grand finale was of course the
display of live fireworks over the East
River, enthralling thousands of New
Yorkers.
AIA NY Committee with Gail Brewer, Manhattan Borough President; Nisha Agarwal,Commissioner of Immigrant Af fairs; and Letitia James, NYC Public Advocate
(right) AIA Deepavali fireworks sponsored by Air India
Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon
Weather gods smiled onAIAʼs Diwali mela
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6 October 10-16, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Teen killed in car
crashBrentwood NY: Police say a 17‑year‑old college student was
killed in a car crash on Long Island.
Suffolk County police say it happened Tuesday morning near
the Suffolk County Community College campus in Brentwood.
Police say Anil John was apparently pulled off the roadway as
he was moving southbound on Crooked Hill Road after having
been involved in a minor crash. John was hit by a car after he got
out of his vehicle. Newsday reports the former Islip High School
basketball player was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the other car, 81‑year‑old Thomas Stapleton, of
East Northport, was taken to the hospital for observation.
John was studying computer engineering and computer sci‑
ence at Suffolk Community College.Anil John was a formerbasket ball player
New York: The I ITB Alumni
Association of Greater New York
(IITBAA‑GNY) held its annual
Reunion at the Hyatt Regency in
Jersey City, NJ on Octo ber 4th.
Nearly 130 alumni and guests
attended this sold‑out event.
Ron Mehta, the chapter
President, discussed some of the
chapter highlights of the past
year, particularly the decision of
the membership to merge thehitherto independent chapter
with the IIT Bombay Heritage
Foundation, an umbrella organi‑
zation for alumni chapters in the
US.
The chapter also launched a
Youth Achievement Awards (YAA)
scheme this year to recognize
(high school) children of alumni
who have made achievements in
extra‑curricular endeavors of any
kind while maintaining strong
academic performance. Sukhmani
Minhas (Grade 12) and Prianca
Nadkarni (Grade 9) received their
awards for this first year of the
Victor Menezes (past Co‑Chairman, Citibank) gave a mov‑
ing talk on Giving Back and how
he personally goes about it. We
should consider our lives to con‑
sist of three stages, he said ‑
preparation and education, fol‑
lowed by dedication to career and
family, and finally, Giving Back.
We should pursue the last stage
as devotedly as we do the others,
he said.
IITBAA‑GNY helped initiate a
student exchange program last
year between IITB and Cooper
Union, New York ‑ a small, presti‑
gious university specializing inengineering,architecture and fine
arts. Jean‑Dominique Bonnet, one
of the first Cooper Union students
to participate in the program
gave a lively account of his expe‑
riences at IITB and in India as an
exchange student this year.
The main event of the Reunion
was a panel discussion on 'the
Indian Economy under the Modi
Government' ‑ analysis, opportu‑
nities, caveats and projections.
Gagan Singh, CIO, PNC Bank,
moderated an expert panel of
three financial heavyweights:
Viral Acharya, CV Starr Professor
at NYU Stern; Arvind Sanger,founder and MD, GeoSphere
Capital, a hedge fund; and Navroz
Udvadia, CEO, Falcon Edge
Capital, another hedge fund.
The IITB alumni at the meet
By Parveen Chopra
Hicksv i l le NY : The Nooran Sisters from
Jalandhar have sang their way from absolute
obscurity to becoming marquee names with‑
in a span of four years. Very well deservedtoo. Their powerful, rustic voices and their
decision to stick to Sufi singing in Punjabʼs
mirasi style have brought a new crescendo to
Indian music. Offers of playback singing
from Bollywood and to give concerts, at
home and abroad, for Jyoti and Sultana
Nooran, barely out of their teens, are piling
up.
Now on their first tour of America, they are
giving two live shows in New York (Oct 11)
and New Jersey (Oct 9) before traveling to
California for more.
At a press conference and a meet & greet
in Hicksville, Jyoti and Sultana were joined
by their mentor, guru and father, Gulshan
Mir. They said they enjoy both, lives
shows (of which they have lost count)
and recordings (the latest being ʻTung Tung
Bajeʼ for Akshay Kumar starrer ʻSingh is
Blingʼ). Performing in a tribute to AR Rahman
at IIFA earlier this year in Malaysia was the
high point of their brief career. Rahman had
given them their first Bollywood break – thechartbusting ʻPatakha Guddiʼ in
ʻHighwayʼ early last year.
More followed with the
Mozart of Madras.
The sisters first got
noticed in 2012 on
CokeStudio@MTV
(India) for their
strong, impact‑
ful voice and
charismatic
personalities as they performed the tradi‑
tional Sufi song, Allah Hu. But they have con‑
tinued to give energetic performances, as if
possessed, at traditional rustic
events like Nakodar mela
(near Jalandhar).Granddaughters of
Bibi Nooran, a well
known singer of
her time, their
father noticed
their precocious
talent while they
were still toddlers
and started them off
on their musical train‑
ing. At the press con‑
ference held at the
office of Sapient Party,
headed by Bobby
Kumar Kalotee, cita‑
t ions from
N a s s a u
and Suffolk counties were presented to the
singing sisters. Kalotee said the sisters will
also be honored by New York state Senate
and Assembly.
Sultana and Jyoti Nooran in New York.
Impactful voice,energetic
performance,charismatic
personality
New Brunswick NJ:
The Share and Care Foundation
(SCF) held its 33rd Annual Gala on Oct 4 at the State
Theatre here, raising $1,000,000 in donations
towards its Signature Programs in Education,
Healthcare, and Women Empowerment. Sukhwinder
Singh and Kanika Kapoor, two of Bollywoodʼs top
singers, entertained the 1800‑strong crowd at the
State Theater here.
SCF highlighted its Education programs in particu‑
lar this year, with the theme “Bringing Education toIndiaʼs Forgotten Children.” The importance and ben‑
efits of investing in education were emphasized. The
speakers raised awareness about the startlingly high
school dropout rates in India, and spoke of SCFʼs
Signature Program, Educate to Success, which works
to bring dropouts back to school and help them com‑
plete their high school education.
Among the audience were many of SCFʼs top
donors, accomplished doctors, lawyers, and business‑
women. Arun Bhansali, the president of the organiza‑
tion, asked them to remember their own path to suc‑
cess and all those who may have helped them along
the way. “I urge you to consider how you may now
provide a helping hand to those who need you,” he
said. “In todayʼs rapidly changing philanthropic
space, we invite you to use your time, talents, and
resources to address societyʼs problems.”Deven Parekh, a successful New York based
investor and philanthropist, served as the eveningʼs
keynote speaker. He motivated the audience to find
ways to give back to their community at large in any
capacity they can, and spoke on the long‑term
impacts of supporting education programs.
SCFʼs Education programs, Educate to Graduate
(E2G) and Educate to Success (E2S) collectively sup‑
port over 1,600 students over all ages. E2S targets
rural villages, E2G supports impoverished, yet bril‑
liant students who cannot af ford their college tuition
to complete their degree and acquire a good job,
effectively breaking out of the cycle of poverty in asingle generation.
Arun Bhansali, President of the Share and CareFoundation; (right) Bollywood singer Sukhwinder
Singh at the gala. (Photos: Urmil Dalal).
Share and Care raises onemillion for Rural India at gala
NOORAN SISTERS: New singing sensation
IITBAAGNY HOSTS
ANNUAL REUNION,
130 ALUMNI ATTEND
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Washington DC: An Indian‑
American engineering professor
will lead a US consortium to identi‑
fy emerging advanced manufactur‑
ing technologies to enhance the
country's innovation ecosystem,
manufacturing competitiveness
and national security, the White
House has announced.
Sridhar Kota, director of the
Inst i tute for Manufacturing
Leadership at University of
Michigan, will lead MForesight:
The Alliance for Manufacturing
Foresight, the White House said on
Friday.
"'Foresight' is the key word. In
this 'think‑and‑do' tank, we will
identify emerging technologies
early on so the nation can invest
public and private sector dollars in
a way that builds the infrastruc‑
ture, knowledge and workforce
skills needed to anchor manufac‑
turing technology in this country,"
Kota said. "With collective access
to over 30,000 subject matter
experts across a wide range of
industries, MForesight will serve
as a continuous mechanism for
research coordination across the
public and private sectors," he
added. The group will examine a
broad range of technologies. It
could, for example, investigate how
to cost‑effectively improve quality
control in drug‑making in order to
reduce shortages in certain cancer
medications.
It could explore how best to
manufacture emerging platform
technologies such as flexible elec‑
tronics, which have a wide variety
of applications in places like con‑
sumer goods, defence and even
health care. Technologies will be
evaluated based on economic
impact, job growth, likelihood of
co‑investment by the private sec‑
tor, impact on multiple industry
sectors, and the likelihood of the
US gaining a first‑mover advan‑
tage, among other criteria.
"Engineering and scientific
advancements based on funda‑
mental research have been the
main drivers of US economic
growth over the past half century,"
said France Cordova, director, US
National Science Foundation (NSF).
"Thanks to innovative technolo‑
gies enabled by manufacturing
research, production has grown at
its fastest pace in more than a
decade, creating significant eco‑
nomic value for the nation. To con‑
tinue to reap these benefits, we
must seek new research frontiers
for manufacturing and pursue
them for high‑impact US manufac‑
turing innovation and economic
competitiveness," Cordova noted.
Kota, a mechanical engineering
professor and entrepreneur,
served as assistant director for
advanced manufacturing at the
White House from 2009 to 2012.
He helped to create President
Obama's Advanced Manufacturing
Partnership in 2011 and the
Manufacturing Innovation
Institutes in 2012. The National
Science Foundation and the US
Commerce Department's National
Institute of Standards and
Technology are funding
MForesight with a three‑year, $5.8
million cooperative agreement.
New York: Indian‑American groups
have called for a campaign on
immigration issues affecting the
Indian diaspora including use of H‑
1B visa by technology companies
from India and growing backlog of
family visas.
The call was made at an immi‑
gration seminar organized by
Global Organization of People of
Indian Origin (GOPIO‑New York),
South Asian Council for Social
Services (SACSS) and the Kerala
Centre in Elmont, New York
recently. Grass‑root actions were
also required to support PresidentBarack Obama's executive actions
that were announced in November
2014, participants said.
While immigration reform holis‑
tically seems to be stalled, Obama's
executive actions are designed in a
piecemeal manner aimed at
improving the overall immigration
law system. The participants also
hoped that extreme backlogs for
Indian nationals in many visa clas‑
sifications may be reduced in some
fair manner.
These backlogs have resulted in
families being separated for long
periods of time despite one of the
major tenets underlying US immi‑
gration law being family unity.
H‑1B non‑immigrant profession‑
al and specialty occupation work
visas continue to be scrutinized
heavily by such agencies as the US
Homeland Security, State, and
Labor departments, the seminarnoted. Additionally, many of the
largest users of the H‑1B visa are
very significant technology compa‑
nies from India, the seminar noted.
Grassroots efforts should be
made to help the government
understand that India is not the
only user of these technology
visas, it suggested.
Attempts to avert a form of
reverse discrimination should be
undertaken soonest, the partici‑
pants suggested.
Among other issues raised was
India's exclusion from Treaty
Investment and Treaty Trader cat‑
egory for the immigration visa
purpose. It is not clear why
Bangladesh and Pakistan and Sri
Lanka all have E visas but India
does not, the participants noted.
It was resolved that GOPIO and
other community groups must
campaign on these issues."It is important for the Indian
American community to take up
such issues with Obama adminis‑
tration and elected officials and
make them aware of importance of
such issues for the country as a
whole," said GOPIO's Founder
President Thomas Abraham.
New York: The non‑
profit Kiva, co‑founded
by Indian American
Premal Shah, is among
10 finalists selected
for the Google Impact
Challenge.
The competition, run
by Googleʼs philan‑
thropy arm Google.org,
garnered nearly 800 applications.
It is focused on helping aspiring
companies in the San Francisco
Bay Area achieve the reality of a
business. A group of advisers,
including Google.org director Ja cq ue li ne Fu ll er , fo rm er U. S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, San Francisco Foundation
CEO Fred Blackwell and former
San Francisco mayor Willie Brown
Jr., among others, narrowed the
list to 25 finalists. The finalists will
receive $5 million in funding com‑
bined, support from
Google volunteers, and
access to co‑working
space at the Impact
Hub Bay Area. The 25
projects selected were
narrowed down via a
public vote to 10 com‑
panies. The public will
vote from these 10
finalists and the top four vote‑get‑
ters will receive $500,000 each in
funding. The remaining six finalists
from the top 10 will receive
$250,000 each. The 15 finalists
who didnʼt crack the top 10 willeach receive $100,000.
Voting began Sept. 29 for the top
10 companies and concludes on
Oct. 20. The winners will be
named the following day. Voting is
conducted on the competitionʼs
Web page, https://impactchal‑
lenge.withgoogle.com.
Washington DC: An Indian‑origin
IT professional has been appoint‑
ed as the chief information officer
and senior vice president‑opera‑tional support at USA Funds, a
nonprofit corporation that offers
aid to college students.
"Shital (Patel) brings to USA
Funds extensive leadership experi‑
ence in both the private sector
and government, as well as signifi‑
cant expertise in aligning informa‑
tion technology capabilities with
emerging business strategies,"
USA Funds chief Bill Hansen said
in a statement on Monday.
Patel will be responsible for all
aspects of USA Funds' information
technology and services and will
lead the exploration of emerging
information service opportunities,issues and solutions for the
Indianapolis‑based nonprofit
organization.
"She will provide key leadership
as USA Funds continues its transi‑
tion toward becoming a national
leader in promoting better out‑
comes for students in post‑sec‑
ondary education and in the work‑
force," Hansen said.
Patel most recently managed
enterprise sales for Microsoft in
Indiana. Her previous experience
includes service as chief informa‑
tion officer for the city of
Indianapolis and as a managing
director for Unisys Corp.
She is a graduate of the IndianaUniversity Kelley School of
Business. She serves on the board
of directors of the Indiana Youth
Institute. USA Funds was founded
in 1960 by a group of business
leaders who were concerned
about the rising cost of a college
education. The corporation has
served more than 22 million stu‑
dents and parents with more than
$250 billion in financial aid for
higher education.
7October 10-16, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Kiva co‑founder,Premal Shah
Shital Patel appointedCIO of USA Funds
Shital Patel
Sridhar Kota with PresidentObama on a previous occasion
Sridhar Kota to lead USmanufacturing thinktank
Indian‑American groups to
campaign on immigration issues
Nonprofit Kiva among finalists
in Google Impact Challenge
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8/31
The Climate CoLab of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridgeorganizes annual contest on various
issues relating to climate change, fuel
consumption, energy consumption for
sewage treatment and water supply, etc.
Nualgi America LLC, an Indian owned
company had submitted two proposals to
reduce power and fuel consumption for
sewage treatment and reuse of water
built around their Nanoscale product
called NUALGI for the 2015 edition of the
contest.
Both the proposals were shortlisted by
a panel of judges in the Top 10 category.
Thereafter, the proposals were opened to
voting by general public internationally
and won the Popular Choice Awards.
This is the first time that an IndianCompany with wholly Indian technology
in the field of Nano Biotechnology has
won this prestigious award.
Nualgi is invented by Mr T Sampath Ku‑
mar of Bangalore, India after 15 years of
research and development in Nano
Biotechnology. Nualgi is used to grow Di‑
atom Algae in all types and volumes of
water, from Aquariums to Oceans.
Nualgi, is a break through product,
which is marketed in USA by NualgiAmerica LLC based out of San Marcos, CA.
In just over 1.5 years about 6000 cus‑
tomers in US and Canada have taken to
use of this environment friendly bio re‑
mediation product for their aquariums,
ponds and larger water bodies.
Nualgi mitigates harmful algalblooms,
foul odour, turbidity and organic pollu‑
tion in any water body ranging from
aquariums to facultative ponds, lakes,
rivers, coastal seas, bays and dead zones.
Moreover, it does so rapidly and very cost
effectively.
The products are distributed through
local distributors and as well as through
the Company web sites. It can be used
very effectively to control mass fish killsoccurring in any water, in such cases it is
effective within a couple of hours.
The awards are being presented in MIT
on 5 th and 6th Oct 2015, Mr Sampath
Kumar, Inventor and CEO Nualgi Nano
Biotech (India), Mr MV Bhaskar, CEO
KCPL and Mr Anil Nanda (President, Nu‑
algi AmericaLLC) shall receive the cita‑
tions in person.
Aunique mother‑of‑
pearl and black lac
overlaid wood tray
has set a new world record
of £962,500 (approx
$1477341) for a piece of
this type, selling to a bid‑
der in the room for wellover ten times its estimate
in Bonhamsʼ Islamic and
Indian Art sale on
October 6th.
The auction, which saw
bidders competing across the world, also
featured a fine gem‑set enameled gold Tur‑
ban Ornament (Jigha), from 18th century
northern India. The Jigha sold for
£68,500, smashing its pre‑sale estimate of
£30,000 – 40,000.
Originally estimated at £60,000 –
80,000, the 16th century tray is one of a
very small number of surviving examples
of mother‑of‑pearl objects from Gujarat. Its
design, which depicts winged figures car‑
rying birds or vessels, has never been seenbefore on an object of its type.
“It has been amazing to work on such an
extraordinary piece,” said Oliver White,
head of Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art
Department. “Mother‑of‑pearl overlaid ob‑
jects of this type are incredibly rare, but the
presence of winged figures makes our tray
rarer still. There are no
other recorded examples
which feature angels and
the fine quality of work
and the exceptional condi‑
tion of the tray make it a
unique survivor outside
museum collections.”The angels suggest Per‑
sian, Indian and European
influences. Strikingly sim‑
ilar imagery – of a winged
figure in Persian dress
holding a peacock – can be seen adorning
the pavilions of Nur Jahan in the Ram Bagh
at Agra. These paintings provide an ap‑
proximate date for this tray and imply that
the circumstances of its production may
have been somewhat unusual. It seems the
decorative scheme was intended for an In‑
dian patron rather than for export to Euro‑
pean or Turkish patrons, the general desti‑
nation for most mother‑of‑pearl inlaid
items. Gujarat has been recognized as the
centre of mother‑of‑pearl work since thebeginning of the 16th century, when the
King of Melinde presented Vasco de Gama
with a gold and mother‑of‑pearl bedstead.
This particular tray can be attributed to
Northern Gujarat because of its character‑
istic mastic‑inset and mother‑of‑pearl dec‑
orated domed cenotaph canopies.
Indian Nano biotech firm wins
MIT Climate CoLab awards
Singer‑songwriter Anjaliworld (stage name of
Anjali Ranadive), a
marine co servation activist
who channels income from
her successful performing
career toward ocean
wildlife protection, received
the 2015 Paul Walker
Ocean Leadership Award
from the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Oct 3.
The award was presented
in public ceremonies at the
aquarium by aquarium Ex‑
ecutive Director Julie
Packard and by Brandon Birtell with The
Paul Walker Foundation.The award, established in 2014 in col‑
laboration with Walkerʼs daughter, rec‑
ognizes individuals who are using their
public stature to advance ocean causes
and support philanthropic ventures.
“I canʼt begin to express how humbled
and honored I am to receive this award
from the Walker family,”said Anjali World during
the ceremonies. “Paulʼs ded‑
ication to marine conserva‑
tion inspired me tremen‑
dously. I will forever fight
to carry on Paulʼs legacy in
protecting marine life.”
Anjali Ranadivé, who per‑
forms under the stage name
Anjali World, grew up in the
San Francisco Bay Area and
developed an early passion
for wildlife – as a middle
school volunteer at the
aquarium, and with other
nonprofits including The Ocean Project.
She began her performing career afterearning a marine science degree from UC‑
Berkeley. At the same time, she founded
Jaws & Paws, a marine and wildlife con‑
servation nonprofit that campaigns for
protection of sharks, sea turtles, polar
bears and tigers. She gives all the pro‑
ceeds from her music to Jaws & Paws.
IN BRIEF
8 October 10-16, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Mahatma Gandhi Library, Houston along with more than 100 organizationscelebrated 146th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 4 at the Miller
Outdoor Theatre. The weather was picture perfect and droves of people joined thecelebrations. The evening started with a 5K Walk For Peace and it stopped by the
statue of Mahatma Gandhi in McGovern Centennial Gardens to pay homage. It wasfollowed by a multicultural, international, dance and music show titled 1000 Lights
For Peace. The program included awarding of prizes to winners of Mahatma GandhiWeek 2015 children contests for Speech, Essay, Poster and Multi‑Media.
The evening concluded with the lighting of candle by all present as apledge to practice non‑violence in their own lives.
Anjali World receives 2015 PaulWalker Ocean Leadership Award
Gujaratʼs mother‑of‑pearl tray soldfor record $1477341 at Bonhams
Monterey Bay Aquariumrecognizes Anjali World
(Ranadive)ʼs commitmentto ocean conservation
Rare mother‑of‑pearl trayfrom Gujarat
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9/31
9TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Robert Golomb
Twenty years after it was first settled in
1644, the officials of the Town of
Hempstead then called Heemstede out
of deference to its Dutch first settlers, adopt‑ed a set of laws for their English and Dutch
colonists. These laws, which were first
known as the “Dukeʼs Laws” and shortly
later were coined the “Blue Laws”, became
the model for the jurisprudence of several of
the first 13 colonies.
The majority of these laws governed every
day matters, including the designated pay‑
ment for such civic responsibilities as serv‑
ing on jury duty and such live‑stock protec‑
tion services as killing wolves. Seemingly
trivial stuff.
However, there are lessons to be learned
from the Blue Laws, according to Senior
Councilman Anthony J. Santino, the
Republican‑Conservative‑Independence –
Tax Revolt‑ Reform Party nominee runningagainst former Town Board member
Democrat Rita Kestenbaum to become the
15th Supervisor (The modern form of the
position was created in 1918) of
Hempstead.
“It is important to understand that going
back to the earliest times in Hempstead
Town, both the municipalityʼs leaders and its
citizens understood the necessity for their
new society to encourage basic civic respon‑
sibilities”, Santino stated when I interviewed
him in his office last week.
It could be argued that Santino, 54, who
was elected to his first four‑year term as a
council member of the Hempstead Town
Board in November 1993, and has since
won re‑election six times, each time withtotal vote counts ranging from the high six‑
ties to the low seventies, possesses a good
understanding of what civic responsibility
entails. Such might explain his inclination to
blend programs often associated with
Democrats ‑‑ he sponsored programs which
dramatically expanded library services
throughout Hempstead ‑‑ with positions that
are almost always identified with
Republicans ‑‑ he has during his 22 year
tenure in the town board accumulated the
record as the most consistent supporter of
tax cut legislation.
Santino sees no contradiction in pushing
for expanding services for Hempstead while
at the same time fighting against tax hikes
and promises to do more of the same if elected as Supervisor this November. “There
is nothing contradictory in providing the
best services at the lowest possible cost. It
allows Americaʼs largest township
{Hempstead} to put forth top‑notch munici‑
pal services for pennies on the dollar. This is
what responsible, good government is all
about. Iʼve worked throughout my career in
government to achieve this balance and
pledge to continue to do so if elected
Supervisor”, he stated.
The fact that the Republican Party over‑
whelmingly dominates Hempsteadʼs localpolitics probably softens the meaning of the
conjunction “if”. Despite Democrats current‑
ly outnumbering Republicans by 56% to
44% in registered voters, and despite
Hempstead for decades leaning Democratic
in state and national elections, every one of
the 14 Hempstead Town Supervisors has
been a Republican ‑ going back to the first,
Hiram Smith elected in 1918, to the 14th,
present six term incumbent Kate Murray,
the outgoing supervisor seeking election as
Nassau District Attorney this fall. In addi‑
tion, Republicans have dominated town
board elections and, currently, of the six‑
town board council members, five are
Republican. Beyond these apparent histori‑
cal advantages, there are other factorsweighing in Santinoʼs favor. One is that by
winning the nominations of the
Independence, Tax Revolt and Reform
Parties, he has placed himself in a position
to possibly garner the votes of some in the
Hempstead electorate who would be strong‑
ly disinclined to pull the Republican or
Conservative levers. A second is that he has
won the endorsements of a host of unions,
including the Nassau County Patrolman
Benevolent Association (PBA) and the New
York State and Hempstead Civil Service
Employees Association (CSEA), both of
which have a significant number of their
membership residing and voting in
Hempstead. Santino ‑‑ who heads the ticket
that includes incumbents Town Clerk NasrinAhmad, Receiver of Taxes Donald Clavin.
And Council members Ed Ambrosino, Bruce
Blakeman and Erin King Sweeney ‑ told me,
however, that while he understands the
advantages he enjoys in this election, he is
running as if the race could be easily lost.
“In every election in which I have ever been
involved, I have always run as if I were
behind…. I present my policies and in this
election the policies of my entire Santino
team to the voters in the clearest way I canas I ask them for their vote…. And I remind
them to go to the polls on election day. And
this is exactly what I am doing now.”
If elected, Santino will be moving from a
legislative position with which he has more
than two decades of experience to the new
challenges of an executive office. In
Hempstead those challenges can prove
daunting.
Covering over 142 square miles within the
southwest portion of Nassau County,
Hempstead has a population of approxi‑
mately 777, 000 people, making it, were it a
city and not a town, the second‑ largest city
in the state, behind only NYC. The town is
divided throughout those 142 miles into
thirty ‑four unincorporated and twenty‑ twoincorporated villages, all of which in small,
or in large part, receive from the town such
vital services as police, fire, water, and street
and road repair. It is the responsibility of
the town supervisor in conjunction with the
town board to plan and implement a yearly
budget (which in the current calendar year
was $431.8 million) allocating the funds to
pay for such services.
Santino told me that the experience he
gained during his long tenure on the townboard will enable him to successfully per‑
form all of the tasks charged to the town
supervisor. “Throughout my years on the
town board”, he stated, “I have become well
acquainted with how Hempstead is gov‑
erned. More importantly I have gotten to
know the good, hardworking citizens of the
township, and I know what they want, which
is an efficient and honest government, that
will focus, not on petty party politics, but on
providing the governmental services they
require and deserve at the lowest possible
costs. I promise to accomplish that, if elect‑
ed.” Unless there is a major shift in the polit‑
ical winds in Hempstead, Santino will be
given the opportunity to make good on that
promise.Robert Golomb is a nationally and interna‑
tionally published columnist. Mail him at
[email protected] and follow him on
Twitter@RobertGolomb
Senior Hempstead Councilman Anthony J.Santino. (Photo: Councilman Santino's office)
HEMPSTEADʼS HISTORY:Pointing to a Santino win in
the race for Town Supervisor
October 10-16, 2015U S AFFA I RS
Seen at the kick-off event of Asa Mail temple’s Diwali mela in Hicksville, Santino is considered a friend of the Indian community.
Councilman Santino and village officials partner with the American AutomobileAssociation to remind drivers that School's Open: Drive Carefully.
(Photo: Councilman Anthony J. Santino Facebook page)
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8/20/2019 Vol.8 Issue 23 - Oct 10-Oct 16, 2015
10/31
10 October 10-16, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S AFFA I RS
Washington President Obama on
Wednesday apologized to Doctors
without Borders for the deadly
bombing of its hospital in Kunduz,
Afghanistan, while the medical
charity pressed its demand for an
international commission to investi‑
gate what it calls a war crime.
The charity said that an inde‑
pendent humanitarian commission
created under the Geneva
Conventions in 1991 should be
activated for the first time to han‑
dle the inquiry. Three investiga‑
tions have already begun into
Saturday's air strike that killed 22
people, including 12 staff.
Obama telephoned Doctors with‑
out Bordersʼ InternationalPresident Joanne Liu to apologize
and express his condolences.
Obama told Liu that a US investiga‑
tion would "provide a transparent,
thorough and objective accounting
of the facts and circumstances of
the incident. And that, if necessary,
the president would implement
changes to make tragedies like this
one less l ikely to occur in the
future."
MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières,
actual name of the charity) said
that the commission's inquiry
would gather facts and evidence
from the United States, NATO and
Afghanistan, as well as testimony
from MSF staff and patients who
survived.
Only then would MSF consider
whether to bring criminal charges
for loss of life and partial destruc‑
tion of its trauma hospital, which
has left tens of thousands of
Afghans without access to health
care, it said.
"If we let this go, as if it was a
non‑event, we are basically giving a
blank check to any countries who
are at war," Liu told a news briefing
in Geneva. "If we don't safeguard
that medical space for us to do our
activities, then it is impossible to
work in other contexts like Syria,
South Sudan, like Yemen."
Neither the United States nor
Afghanistan were signatories to the
International Humanitarian Fact‑
Finding Commission (IHFFC) but
Jason Cone, executive director of
MSF in the United States, called on
Obama to consent to the
commission.
Washington Gun sales in America,
already heading for a record year,
have increased in the wake of
President Obamaʼs Friday call to
restrict gun ownership.
Obamaʼs most recent attack on
firearms came in the wake of last
weekʼs shooting at Umpqua
Community College in Oregon in
which a gunman killed nine vic‑
tims. “After these shootings and
then the calls for tougher gun
laws, we see a buying rush,” said
Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gunsin North Carolina. “Once the public
hears the president on the news
say we need more gun controls, it
tends to drive sales. People think,
if I donʼt get a gun now, it might be
difficult to get one in the future.
The store is crowded,” Hyatt said.
The two incidents drive demand
to buy weapons and to learn how
to use them safely, said Michael
Cargill of Central Texas Gun
Works.
“Itʼs an increase in classes, itʼs an
increase in gun sales, itʼs an
increase in transfers. So our NICS
background checks goes through
the roof,” said Cargill.
Demand is spurred by fears of
new regulations and the realiza‑
tion that people feel vulnerable,
said Cargill . Mass shootingsremind Americans that tragic
events can happen in any commu‑
nity, spurring those who have con‑
sidered gun ownership to move
ahead.
Wash i n g t on The US Justice
Department is set to release about
6,000 prisoners early in the largest
one‑time release of federal inmates,
The Washington Post reported
Tuesday. The release, scheduled forbetween Oct 30 and Nov 2, is an
effort to reduce overcrowding and
provide relief to drug offenders
who received harsh sentences over
the past three decades, the newspa‑
per said. The inmates will be set
free by the department's Bureau of
Prisons. Most will go to halfway
houses and home confinement
before being put on supervisedrelease. The early release follows
actions by the US Sentencing
Commission, an independent
agency that sets sentencing policies
for federal crimes. The panel
reduced the potential punishment
for drug offenders last year and
made the change retroactive.
The commission's action is sepa‑
rate from an effort by PresidentObama to grant clemency to some
nonviolent drug offenders, an initia‑
tive that has resulted in the early
release of 89 inmates.
Washington The Democratic
National Committee has
announced that their inaugural
debate will take place at the Wynn
resort in Las Vegas on October 13,
2015.Sponsored by CNN and the
Nevada Democratic Party, the
Anderson Cooper‑moderated event
will include Hillary Clinton, Bernie
Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Jim
Webb and Lincoln Chafee.
Hillary Clintonʼs campaign is
grappling with a difficult question:
How can she contrast herself with
Bernie Sanders in the presidential
debate and beyond, without
employing the sort of attacks that
could boomerang to harm her?
But Sanders, who the Huffington
Post has reported recently brought
in over 20,000 supporters to a
rally in Boston, is certainly demon‑
strating a power to draw crowds.
The other candidates are longshots.
Meanwhile, Draft Bidenʼs six‑fig‑
ure media buy is scheduled to run
nationally on Oct. 13. Vice
President Joe Biden has yet to
decide whether or not heʼs running
for president, but one Super PAC is
hoping he does. Biden will not be
taking part in the Oct. 13 event,
though the rules allow him to
declare his candidacy as late as the
day of the debate in order to par‑
ticipate.
Last Saturday's air strike in Afghanistan town captured by Taliban killed22 people, including 12 staf f of Doctors without Borders.
Christopher Harper‑Mercer, thelatest mass shooter, was a
maladjusted man with mentalillness problems and hatred of
organized religion.
Obama apologizes forKunduz hospital attack
Calls for more gun controlafter Oregon backfire
Hillary cautious beforeDems debate; draft
Joe ads coming
6,000 federal prisoners beingreleased, more in line
New York A former president of
the UN General Assembly, John
Ashe, is accused of accepting
more than $1.3 million in bribes
in return for his support of a real
estate project in Macau, accord‑
ing to US court documents.
Ashe is a former U.N. ambassa‑
dor for Antigua and Barbuda who
led the General Assembly from
2013 to 2014. He lives in New
York state.
"Ashe allegedly accepted bribes
from an investor in a new UNconference center in Macau.
Those bribes allegedly paid for
the mortgage on his house, BMW
lease payments and Rolex watch‑
es.
"Prosecutors say in exchange,
Ashe sent a document to the U.N.
secretary‑general that supported
the building project. According to
court documents, the case also
involves a deputy U.N. ambassa‑
dor for the Dominican Republic,
who allegedly helped transfer
bribes to Ashe from the investor
in Macau."
Ashe is one of six people
charged, according to the courtdocuments.
Reuters notes that "the com‑
plaint only charged Ashe with tax
offenses, possibly because he
may have diplomatic immunity
for any conduct taken in his offi‑
cial capacity."
Two of the defendants were
arrested last month on separate
charges: Chinese developer Ng
Lap Seng, the investor who
allegedly bribed Ashe, and Ng's
assistant, Jeff Yin.
A spokesman for UN President
Ban Ki‑moon said Ban was
"shocked and deeply troubled" by
the charges that "go to the heart
and integrity of the UN".The spokesman also defended
the integrity of the world body,
saying "corruption is not busi‑
ness as usual at the U.N."
Ex‑UNGA Presidentcharged for corruption
UN Ambassador John Ashe, of Antigua and Barbuda, wasUNGA president 2013‑14.
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11October 10-16, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
Patna Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said that leaders of the
grand alliance in Bihar comprisingthe Janata Dal‑United, Rashtriya
Janata Dal and the Congress were
playing the "politics of oppor‑
tunism".
"The same people who talk
about Jayaprakash Narayan have
sided with the Congress, which
arrested him (during Emergency).
They are practising the politics of
opportunism," the prime minister
said while addressing the first of
his four scheduled rallies in
Bihar 's Munger distr ict on
Thursday.
He will address three more ral‑
lies in Begusarai, Samastipur and
Nawada districts later."The Congress had turned the
country into a ja i l (during
Emergency). J.P. Narayan had the
courage to even fight death. He
sacrificed his life for the country.
He inspired a whole new genera‑
tion of youth in the country,"
Modi said.
Modi said the Bihar elections
were a fight between 'jungle raj'
and 'vikas raj' and that the people
would vote for the BJP‑led
National Democratic Alliance to
stop the return of 'jungle raj' inthe state.
"For the first time, the Bihar
elections will be fought on the
issues of development and youth.
The youth of Bihar will change the
state's destiny. We will change the
fortune of Bihar," he added.
Modi said the biggest manifesta‑
tion of the 'jungle raj' was the
high rate of crime, fear and kid‑
nappings. "Do you want kidnap‑
pings to return and do you want
the 'jungle raj' to return to the
state," he asked.He targeted Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu
Prasad, saying that "for the last
25 years, the big brother and the
younger brother have ruled and
ruined Bihar".
"Do you want them to come to
power again? They didn't provide
electricity as promised and yet
they come asking for votes," the
prime minister said.
Washington Families from India
hold 14 spots in Forbes Asia's
inaugural ranking of the top 50
Asian business dynasties with the
Ambani family third on the list
with a combined fortune of $21.5
billion. India's Premji is seventh on
the list with a fortune of $17 bil‑
lion followed by Hinduja with $15
billion in ninth spot and Mistry
ranked tenth with $14.9 billion.
Nearly half of the richest families
in Asia are of Chinese descent, but
none of them is based in mainland
China, where conglomerates are
you ng and run by fir st gen era ‑
tions.
Thus India with 14 easily has the
most spots from any jurisdiction.
South Korea's Lee family, who
controls the Samsung Group, tops
the list with a combined wealth of
$26.6 billion.
Number two on the list is the Lee
family of Henderson Land
Development from Hong Kong
with a combined wealth of $24.1
billion.
The Ambani family fortune
includes the wealth of brothers
Mukesh and Anil, both of whom
inherited most of their father's for‑
tune on his death in 2002 but
opted to do business separately,
Forbes said.
Mukesh's twins, son Akash and
daughter Isha, work at and occupy
board seats at telecom arm
Reliance Jio Infocomm and
Reliance Retail . Anil 's son Jai
Anmol works at Reliance Capital, it
said. The Burman family (No. 30,
$5.5 billion) from India, who is
featured on the cover of the maga‑
zine, has brought in professional
managers to ensure the continuity
of the business and family.
Anand Burman, the 63‑year‑old,
fifth‑generation scion and non‑
executive chairman of family‑
owned Dabur has seen net profits
grow 24‑fold, and market cap soar
40‑fold since 1998, Forbes noted.
Dabur boasts a portfolio of 400
products‑ranging from skin‑care
bleaches and ayurvedic shampoos
to natural fruit juices‑selling
through nearly six million outlets
across India. The family's 68 per‑
cent holding is valued at $5 billion.
Mumbai
Pakistan's renowned ghazal
maestro Ghulam Ali will not perform in
Maharashtra this week, as his shows were
cancelled after a meeting between the
organisers and Shiv Sena president
Uddhav Thackeray, a party leader said.
"The programmes would be held as per
schedule, but Ghulam Ali will not partici‑
pate in it. This decision was taken at a
meeting between the event organisers and
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackerayhere this evening (Wednesday)," the Shiv
Sena's film wing Chitrapat Sena general
secretary Akshay Bardapurkar.
Reacting to the fracas, the 75‑year‑old
singer was seen on TV channels express‑
ing regret and how Mumbai has always
welcomed international artistes warmly.
Barely hours before, Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis had announced that
the show would be held and the govern‑
ment would ensure Ghulam Ali's security.
The Shiv Sena earlier on Wednesday
threatened to disrupt Ghulam Ali's pro‑
posed live concerts in Mumbai and Pune
this week. Chitrapat Sena president
Aadesh Bandekar told IANS: "We have met
and asked the authorities atShanmukhananda Hall in Matunga to can‑
cel the show proposed to be held on
October 9, failing which we shall protest in
our own style." Officials said Ghulam Ali's
participation in the events in Mumbai and
Pune could raise security concerns and it
was the duty of the government to ensure
the safety of the internationally‑acclaimed
artiste.
Bandekar said the party would also
protest and stop a similar concert sched‑
uled in Pune on October 10 as part of the
fourth death anniversary tribute to late
singer Jagjit Singh.
Interestingly, both the concerts have
reported a near‑total sell‑out and have
been the topic of discussion on social
media since the past few days.
"We respect the art and artistes of
Pakistan. However, we are strongly against
any form of cultural association with that
country since it regularly kills our soldiersand civilians in attacks around the bor‑
ders," Bandekar said. He warned of
protests not only in Mumbai and Pune but
wherever Ghulam Ali performs in India.
India home to 14 topAsian business
dynasties: Forbes
Ghulam Ali shows inMaharashtra canceled
after Sena threat
Grand alliance leaders playingpolitics of opportunism: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Bihar.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com
Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali.
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New Delhi India and Germany gave a major boost to their
bilateral ties, especially in the economic field, by inking 18
MoUs, including one for setting up a fast‑track system for
German companies in India, as Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks
here.
The range of MoUs includes one on security cooperation,
and another for promotion of German as a foreign language
in India and for the promotion of Modern Indian languages
in Germany.
Climate change was a major focus of talks, and both sides
decided to forge an Indo‑German Climate and Renewable
Alliance, a partnership to harness technology, innovation
and finance in order to make affordable, clean and renew‑
able energy accessible to all and foster climate change miti‑
gation efforts.
The two sides issued a Joint Statement on Climate Change
and Energy Technology Cooperation after the Third Inter‑
Governmental Consultation (IGC), a bilateral mechanismthat India has only with Germany.
Modi, in his speech, termed the mechanism of IGC as
unique, saying it had helped bring growth in relations.
"We see Germany as a natural partner in achieving our
vision of India's economic transformation. German
strengths and India's priorities are aligned. And, so is our
mutual goodwill," he said, after holding the 3rd IGC with
Merkel here.
He said both sides have convergence of views and rapidly
growing cooperation in the field of clean energy and com‑
bating climate change.
Modi thanked Germany for its over 1 billion euro aid each
for India's Green Energy Corridor project and for solar proj‑
ects in India.
"We look forward to a concrete outcome at COP21
(Conference of Parties) in Paris," Modi said.
He said both sides will see a boost in partnership in areas
of defence manufacturing, trade in advanced technology,
intelligence, and countering terrorism and radicalism.
He thanked Germany for its strong support for India's
membership of the international export control regimes.
"As we discussed in the G4 Summit in New York,
Chancellor and I are committed to pursue reforms of the
United Nations, especially the Security Council," Modi said.Both sides inked an agreement on security cooperation,
an MoU on Solar Energy Partnership, for cooperation in the
field of Skill Development and Vocational Education and
Training, on Security Cooperation, railways and for cooper‑
ation in disaster management.
New Delhi Days after the Dadri lynching,
President Pranab Mukherjee sent a strong
message saying "core values of our civiliza‑
tion couldn't be wasted".
"We can't allow the core values of our civi‑
lization to be wasted. The core values arethat over the years, civilization celebrated
diversity, promoted and advocated toler‑
ance, enjoyed plurality. These core civiliza‑
tional values keep us together over the cen‑
turies," Mukherjee said during the release of
a book on him by senior journalist Prabhu
Chawla, at a function held at Rashtrapati
Bhavan. The book was released by Vice
President Hamid Ansari.
"Many ancient civilizations have fallen.
Despite aggression after aggression, our civ‑
ilization has survived because of our core
civilisational values. If we keep that in mind,
nothing can prevent our democracy from
moving ahead," he added. The message
comes just days after a 50‑year‑old Muslim
man, Mohammed Akhlaq, accused of eating
beef and also storing it in his refrigerator,
was beaten to death by a mob on the night
of September 28 in Bisara village, near the
national capital.
Thrashed ashmir legislator
defends holding beef party
Srinagar
Independent lawmaker Engineer Rashid, who was thrashed by BJP legislators,
said he did not indulge in any illegal act by hosting a beef party at his official residence
here. Engineer Rashid told reporters outside the assembly that beef was banned under
the state's Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and the high court had ordered its implementation,
but a Supreme Court order suspended its enforcement for two months in the state. The
lawmaker termed the assault on him by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the legisla‑
tive assembly as "terrorism and hooliganism". "Nearly six to eight BJP members grabbed
me and kicked and punched me. Is this democratic behaviour. And you expect separatists
to join this assembly," he asked. He said officials at the MLA hostel were reluctant to
allow his beef party and allowed it only after he explained the apex court's verdict. "I did‑
n't use the hostel's facility and food was brought from outside. I had no intention of hurt‑
ing anyone's sentiments," he added. He said two officials of the legislators hostel weresuspended and called it "unjust". "You will find many bottles of liquor at the MLA hostel",
he told the reporters, adding that "if legislators can have alcohol, why can't I have beef".
Asked if he expects the assembly speaker to take action against BJP lawmakers for
attacking him, he said: "I don't have any expectations from anyone there (assembly)."
Merkel visit: 18 MoUs inked, India to
fast‑track German business
German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi at the ceremonial reception organized for
her at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
12 October 10-16, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
Bengaluru Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
sought to give a new direction to bilateral
ties by strengthening economic and busi‑
ness links as Indian and German compa‑
nies signed five agreements and automo‑
tive giant Bosch announced Rs.650 crore
investments in India.Modi exhorted German industry to
invest and 'Make in India' for a growing
domestic market and huge export markets
the world over, while Merkel exuded great
confidence that ties would see a quantum
leap.
Flagging the opportunities, ranging from
building 50 million houses to setting up
100 smart cities, Modi said German
investors and companies could also
explore modernization of the vast state‑
run railway network and stations to set‑
ting up of new railway corridors.
"Generation of 175 gw (giga watt) of
renewable energy to construction of trans‑
mission and distribution networks, nation‑
al highways, bridges, and metro rails areamong the investment opportunities beck‑
oning the robust German industry," he
said. Digital India, Skill India and Startup
campaigns were showcased to the high
profile business delegation accompanying
Merkel.
Indian and German companies signed
five agreements on smart mobile urban
solutions, Software Defined Radios, devel‑
opment of solar projects, skills develop‑
ment in electrical semi conductors and
collaboration in machine tools on Tuesday.Earlier in the day, Bosch Ltd announced
that Rs.650 crore would be invested in
India for developing its innovation net‑
work when Modi and Merkel visited its
establishment here.
At the Indo‑German summit themed
"Digitizing Tomorrow Together", Modi
assured global investors on the ease of
doing business in India and addressed tax‑
ation concerns which many of them have.
Terming India as the silicon valley of
Asia, Merkel said 170 German companies
are operating in Bengaluru and nearly
1,600 companies all over India, some of
which are older than 100 years.
Merkel also highlighted that Indo‑
German bilateral trade reached up to 60billion euros and with a business volume
of 10 billion Euros through German com‑
panies in India, Germany has become an
important investor.
Modi, Merkel seek to give economicmuscle to Indo‑German ties
President Pranab Mukherjee.
NarendraModi andAngelaMerkel during
the BusinessForum,organised bytheNASSCOMandFrauenhoferInstitute inBengaluru.
Can't allow core values of our
civilization to be wasted: President
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