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Are courts biased againstnon-whites?

Last week’s result

YES 32% NO 68%

Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”

CONTENTSBollywood -------------------------- 46

Classifieds ------------------------- 59

Community Post -------------- 22-31

Date Book -------------------------- 60

Edit Page --------------------------- 66

HealthScience Post --------- 62-64

Horoscope ------------------------- 55

Immigration Post ------------- 56-58

Life Style ----------------------- 12-13

Philosophy ------------------------- 65

Publisher’s Diary ------------------ 4

Real Estate ------------------------ 18

TechBiz Post ------------------- 19-21

Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 49-51

Top Stories

SHOCK OVER SINHAMURDER JUDGMENT

Details on page 11

Details on page 10

Details on page 8

Senate confirmsNisha as AsstSecy of State

Details on page 8

See

pages

32-45

Indians entryto US beingmade easier

Details on page 29

WARMTH & GOODWILL: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at a

meeting in Moscow on October 21. (Details on page 6)

Killers let off lightlySUDHIR VYAS

OLD BRIDGE, NY: It was not surprising that membersof the Indian community across Tri state area reacted theway they did on the sentencing of the culprits in DivyenduSinha Murder case. Here are the observations:

• A miscarriage of justice• Shameful sentencing. Take a life, get life. They'd be treated

like rock stars in prison. Not long after we forget this tragedy

their names will be in the news again...wait for it.• Is this is justice for a bunch of murdering savages

seven months in jail? Shows where our country is andmore to come. Human life means nothing, no wonder theykill each other so frequently.

• Simple assault, a fourth-degree crime, carries a pre-sumption of non-incarceration.

• No faith in such biased jury system.Details on page 22

Details on page 7

Nisha Desai Biswal

US: Not an 'iotaof change' onKashmir policy

US firm saysarrest of crew‘inappropriate’

Use 'commonsense', Dalaitells China

Daler Mehndirocks Bay Areawith hit numbers

Is Naveen Patnaik betteroption than Modi?

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HIGHLIGHTSPublisher’s Diary

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Bollywood:Keep offAamir always gives his inputs but themakers of YRF's Dhoom 3 are keepinghim miles away to close the work quickly.

1Cover Story:Kudankulam project

22Community:Shocking verdict

56

12Life Style:

Kochadaiiyaan - The Legend starringRajinikanth transcends the technologicalcapabilities of Hollywood masterpieces

19Techbiz:

An Indian-Singapore start-up is set tolaunch a "Taste Graph" data that couldrevolutionize trade-consumer ties

49Travel:ImphalImphal looks almost like a painting -clouds hanging low over long stretchesof lush green fields and numerous hills

Taste Graph

The light sentences given to the culpritsin Divyendu Sinha Murder case in NewJersey have shocked the community

Manmohan Singh and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin have directed officials toresolve the Kudankulam project issues

High-tech film

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Election fever is gripping Indian Americans. No, it's not the year for a Presi-dential election, nor are any major state level elections scheduled this year

anywhere in the US. It's about elections in India.Since the 2009 general election cycle in India, it has become a given among

Indian Americans and in fact, NRIs across the world to actively and aggres-sively participate in the campaigning for candidates of the major political partiesin various Indian states.

It's not just the general elections but also state elections. And no, it is not justabout writing out checks, but actual physical campaigning.

So, this time around, I think the most prominent of NRI volunteer contingentwill be for Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the BharatiyaJanata Party's prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general elections.

They are calling it the "Cheer Duty for Campaign NAMO". By now of course,you must be familiar with what NAMO is. It's the sloganized acronym for NarendraModi; and the "cheer duty" is about the tens of thousands of NAMO supportersfrom all over India and abroad who are volunteering towards his electioncampaign in cash, kind and actual leg work.

The prized chunk of these cheer leaders are the scores of Indian Americansand NRIs in various other countries, who are apparently flying down to Indiaand camping out there to be part of the NAMO campaign.

Modi himself has been "virtually campaigning" in the United States over thepast year and more, addressing various Gujarati meets across the country. Hehas an assured population of supporters not just among the Gujarati-Americancommunity, but among other Indian American communities also.

Now Modi is not the only candidate who has NRIs rooting for him. TheCongress Party (UPA) and even Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has adedicated contingent of followers who will be campaigning for their respectivecandidates in India.

Apart from the cliché that you can take Indians out of India but not India outof Indians, I can think of only one thing - it's an interconnected world today, andin that, India matters. Immigration:

A row has developed over Britain send-ing messages to 60,000 illegal immigrantswarning them to leave the country

Get out messages


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Cover/Top Stories

PM, Putin agree to resolve KudankulamN-plant issues

MOSCOW: Committing topush cooperation in the nuclearfield, Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin have directed offi-cials to resolve at the earliest out-standing issues on liability thathave stalled work on Unit-III andIV of the Kudankulam project.

Singh and Putin, who heldwide-ranging talks, observed thatdefense cooperation is a crucialelement in the strategic partner-ship and decided to enhance co-operation in the fields of rocket,missile, naval technologies andweapon systems.

The two leaders, at their 14thannual Summit meeting, also dis-cussed cooperation in the field ofterrorism and looked at ways toenhance trade and investmentamong other subjects.

Singh later said the discus-sions were characterized by thewarmth, goodwill and trust thatpermeate all aspects of the Spe-cial and Privileged Strategic Part-nership.

"I conveyed to President Putinour commitment to fully imple-

ment the road map on civil nuclearcooperation that was signed dur-ing his visit to India in 2010," hesaid.

Singh described Kudankulamnuclear power project in TamilNadu as an important symbol ofthe strategic partnership and saidhe looked forward to commercialpower production from Unit-Ivery shortly, and the completionof work on Unit-II next year.

"We have directed our officialsto resolve all outstanding issuesat the earliest," the Prime Minis-ter said.

LIABILITY MATTERS

He did not specify the out-standing issues but was clearlyreferring to the liability matters.Russia's concerns over the opera-tor responsibility in the LiabilityAct of India have stalled work onUnit-III and IV of the Kudankulam

project.The sides also agreed to expe-

ditiously finalize the GeneralFramework Agreement and theTechno-Commercial Offer forUnits - 3 & 4 of the KudankulamNuclear Power Plant.

A joint statement 'Deepeningthe Strategic Partnership for Glo-bal Peace and Stability' issued af-ter the talks said the two sidesnoted with satisfaction theprogress in regard to the commis-sioning of Unit-I of theKudankulam Nuclear Power Plantand agreed to take necessarysteps to expedite the completionof Unit-II.

The two sides reaffirmed their

commitment to the Agreement oncooperation in the construction ofadditional nuclear power plantunits at Kudankulam site as wellas in the construction of Russian-designed nuclear power plants atnew sites in India as concludedon December 5, 2008.

They also affirmed their com-mitment to the Agreement on Co-operation in the use of AtomicEnergy for Peaceful Purposes andthe Road Map for the Serial Con-struction of the Russian designedNuclear Power Plants in India,concluded on March 12, 2010.

"President Putin and I agreedthat our strategic partnership re-mains a matter of the highest pri-ority for our two nations, basedon our shared belief in the endur-ing value of this relationship, bothfor our mutual benefit and as afactor for global peace and stabil-ity," Singh said.

FIVE AGREEMENTSThe two sides also signed five

agreements to enhance their stra-tegic ties.

Under the 'Transfer of Sen-tenced Persons' agreement, Rus-sia and India agreed to facilitatethe process of social rehabilita-tion of sentenced persons of theother country by providing theopportunity to serve their sen-tences in their country of nation-ality, under certain conditions.

A pact was also signed on 'Pro-gram of Cooperation in the Fieldsof Science, Technology and Inno-vation' between India's Depart-ment of Science and Technologyand Russian Ministry of Educa-tion and Science for the period2014-17.

An agreement was signed on'Program of Cooperation in theField of Biotechnology' that aimsto deepen bilateral cooperation inthe field of biotechnologythrough implementation of jointprograms and projects/exchangesetc.

An MoU was also signed be-tween India's Bureau of EnergyEfficiency and Federal State Bud-get Organization "Russian En-ergy Agency" (FSBO-REA) of theRussian Ministry of Energy in thefield of energy efficiency.

An MoU was also signed in thefield of Standardization and con-

formity Assessment between Bu-reau of Indian Standards (BIS) andFederal Agency on TechnicalRegulation and Metrology (GOST-R).

The objective of this MoU isto facilitate closer technical coop-eration in the field of standardiza-

tion with the aim of exchangingnecessary information and exper-tise.

TERRORISMThe two sides agreed that ter-

rorism poses threat to Afghani-stan and jeopardizes peace inSouth Asia and in the whole worldand stressed the necessity ofjoint and coordinated efforts todefeat the menace in all its formsand manifestations, includingelimination of terrorist safe havensand cutting off financial supportto terrorism.

They emphasized on coopera-

tion between the states of the re-gion, especially taking into ac-count the expected drawdown ofinternational forces in Afghani-stan in 2014, in order to combatterrorism.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting the Indian Business CEOs, on the

sidelines of the 14th Annual India Russia Summit, in Moscow on October 21

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a delegation level meeting in Moscow on October 21

Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh exchanging the document with Russian

Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov after signing of a treaty on transfer

of sentenced persons as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian

President Vladimir Putin look on

Cont’d on page 7

India PostOctober 25, 2013 7

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Top Stories

Ties should adapt tochanging times: PM

Concern over uses of ICTagainst UN Charter

ONGC for Arctic exploration with Russians

MOSCOW: In a clear attemptto allay Russia's apprehensions,Prime Minister Manmohan Singhsaid here it will remain an "indis-pensable" partner for India's de-fense needs even as he under-lined that the bilateral ties shouldadapt to changing times to ad-dress challenges.

Singh hailed the India-Russiarelations, sayingit is marked by"abiding com-fort with eachother" and thewarmth andgoodwill be-tween thepeople ensurethat the strate-gic partnershipwill continue togrow in strengthand relevancein the changingworld.

He high-lighted variouselements of part-nership cover-ing the fields of nuclear energy,defense, hydrocarbons and tradebesides cooperation in interna-tional matters to portray the prom-ising future for the relationship.

"Even this brief overview ofthe fruits of our cooperationshould be enough to justify fullythe description of our relation-ship as a special and privilegedstrategic partnership," Singhsaid in his address at the Mos-cow State Institute of Interna-tional Relations.

Noting that observers maywell ask how this relationshipcould be taken to greaterheights," he said, "I am con-vinced that while the strength and

the intensity of our relationshipwill remain undiminished, it mustalso adapt itself to the changingtimes so that we can address thefull range of current opportuni-ties and challenges. I am also surethat, as in the past, we shall facethese challenges together."

At the bilateral level, the PrimeMinister said, "While Russia will

remain an indispensable partnerfor our defense needs, our futuredefense partnership must be in-creasingly based on technologytransfer, joint ventures and co-development and co-production."

The statement assumes sig-nificance as India has lately beenlooking at new vendors like theUS and Israel for its military hard-ware, creating apprehensions inRussia which has been long-standing major supplier of thedefense equipment.

"We also see Russia as a keypartner for our energy security.We have an ambitious long-termplan of cooperation in nuclearenergy. -PTI

MOSCOW: In an apparent ref-erence to the US National Secu-rity Agency's worldwide masssurveillance operations, India andRussia have expressed concern atthe use of information and com-munication technologies (ICT)for purposes that are "inconsis-tent with the UN Charter".

The two countries stressedthe need to abide by the principleof non-interference in internal af-fairs and to respect internet-re-lated human rights, including theright to privacy, in accordancewith domestic laws.

"The sides expressed concern

at the growing threat of the useof information and communica-tion technologies for criminal andterrorist purposes, as well as forpurposes that are inconsistentwith the UN Charter," said a jointstatement issued after a summitmeeting between PresidentVladimir Putin and Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh.

Though the statement did notspecifically refer to the NSA'scontroversial mass surveillanceof phone calls, emails and textmessages, both India and Rus-sia were targeted by the US spyagency.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing after being

conferred the Honorary Doctorate of the Moscow State

Institute of International Relations by the Acting Rector,

Victor Kirillov, in Moscow, Russia on October 21

MOSCOW: Indian Public sec-tor enterprise Oil and Natural GasCorp (ONGC) is interested in ex-ploration in the Arctic offshoreregion even as the possibility ofpumping Russian hydrocarbonsby pipeline to India is consid-ered by both nations.

A joint statement, issued af-ter Russian President VladimirPutin hosted Prime MinisterManmohan Singh in the Krem-lin, said ONGC Videsh Ltd, the

overseas arm of the state explorer,"expressed interest in participat-ing along with Russian compa-nies in exploration for hydrocar-bons in the Arctic region."

OVL already has a 20 per centinterest in the Sakhalin-1 oil andgas project in Far East Russia andowns Tomsk-based Imperial En-ergy.-PTI

"Both sides also agreed to ex-plore the possibilities of directtransportation of hydrocarbons

from Russia to India throughthe land route. The sidesagreed to set up a Joint StudyGroup in this regard," the state-ment said.

Also, the two sides agreedon the significance of supply-ing Russian liquefied naturalgas (LNG) to India.

Russia's Gazprom has in re-cent months signed deals withIndian firms to supply LNG byship.-PTI

"Terrorism, extremism and drugtrafficking emanating from thisarea endanger security and sta-bility in our region and beyond.We have agreed to intensify ourcoordination and cooperation forpromoting security and develop-ment in the region," Singh said.

"We also emphasized ourshared interest in a peaceful andstable transition in Afghanistannext year," he added.

The two sides reaffirmed theUN's central role in combating in-ternational terrorism, and expressedtheir intention to make an activecontribution to counter terrorismunder the auspices of the UN.

They also called for a speedyconclusion of the negotiations onthe draft UN Comprehensive Con-vention on International Terrorism.

The sides also agreed to con-tinue to address these issues inthe format of the bilateral Joint

PM, Putin agree to resolveKudankulam N-plant issues

Working Group on CounteringInternational Terrorism.

FREE TRADEAGREEMENT

India agreed to initiate an exer-cise for a free trade agreement be-

tween New Delhi and the customsunion of Belarus, Kazakhstan andRussia to enhance economic ties.

"The sides agreed to work to-wards the creation of a JointStudy Group for studying the pos-sibility of signing a Comprehen-sive Economic CooperationAgreement (CECA) between In-dia and the Customs Union ofBelarus, Kazakhstan and Russia,"a joint statement said.

IMF REFORMThe two countries pitched for

implementation of the Interna-tional Monetary Fund (IMF)quota reforms latest by Januaryto give more representation to theemerging economies in the multi-lateral institution.

The statement said, "Russiaand India stressed the necessityto create a more representativeand legitimate international finan-cial architecture. They agreed thatthe primary task in this connec-tion was to complete the FifteenthGeneral Review of IMF Quotas notlater than in January 2014."

The two countriespitched forimplementation ofthe InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF)quota reforms latestby January to givemore representationto the emergingeconomies

Cont’d from page 6

'Global Entry program torevolutionize India-US travel'

WASHINGTON: The decisionof the Obama Administration tooffer India membership to 'GlobalEntry' Trusted Traveler NetworkProgram will revolutionize thetravel and commerce between thetwo largest democracies of theworld, a top American businessbody has said.

The offer in this regard wasmade by the US in the last month'svisit of the Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, during whichhe had met US President BarackObama.

The offer was welcomed byIndia, which was also reflected inthe joint statement issued there-after.

"India welcomed the US offer

of membership in the US 'GlobalEntry' Trusted Traveler NetworkProgram to facilitate expeditedentry of Indian travelers to theUS," said the joint statement.

"Twenty years ago, even 10

years ago, such a program couldnot have been imagined," Somerstold PTI, adding that Global Entryis all about trust and the ability ofnations to work together for pre-approving frequent travelers whocan enhance culture, commerce,and global standing.

"With more than 3 millionAmericans of Indian origin, andwith two-way trade now surpass-ing 100 billion, it makes perfectsense for the US and India tomake it easier for our business-men, families, artists,sportspersons, journalists, andstudents and academics to travelback and forth with ease to oneanother's countries," he said.

Global Entry is allabout trust and theability of nations towork together forpre-approving fre-quent travelers whocan enhance culture,commerce, andglobal standing

Cont’d on page 9


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Top Stories

Senate confirms Nisha Desaias Asst Secretary of State

WASHINGTON: The US Senate hasconfirmed Indian-American woman admin-istrator Nisha Desai Biswal as the assis-tant secretary of state for South and Cen-tral Asia, making her the first person fromthe community to hold the top diplomaticposition.

Biswal, who is currently the assistantadministrator for Asia at the US Agencyfor International Development (USAID),will replace incumbent Robert Blake to headthe key bureau in the state department.

President Barack Obama had nominated

her for this top position on July 18.The Senate foreign relations committee

had held her confirmation hearing lastmonth, during which she received biparti-san support and was praised by lawmakersfrom both the parties.

"I consider you another compelling ar-gument for comprehensive immigration re-form," said Senator John McCain of theRepublican Party.

"Despite your misguided political affili-ation, I would like to say that you're a greatexample to all of us of people who come tothis country. I know you were very young... and the opportunities that this countryprovides," McCain said in praise of Biswal,who is from the Democratic Party.

McCain who lost out to Obama in the2008 presidential elections rarely praisessomeone from the Democratic Party.

From 2005 to 2010, she was the majorityclerk for the state department and foreignoperations subcommittee on the Commit-tee on appropriations in the US House ofRepresentatives. From 2002 to 2005, sheserved as the Policy and advocacy directorat interaction.

Previously, she served on the profes-sional staff of the US House of Represen-tatives international relations committeefrom 1999 to 2002.

Daughter of first generation IndianAmericans, Biswal draws her inspirationfrom her parents' story of journey far fromrural India to pursue the American Dreamand a better life for their children, whichshe told lawmakers during the confirmationhearing of her current position on July 21,2010.-PTI

Not an 'iota ofchange' onKashmir policy: US

WASHINGTON: The US has said therehas not been an "iota of change" in itspolicy on Kashmir, which remains a bilat-eral issue between India and Pakistan, as itdismissed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif'sefforts to seek American intervention tosettle the dispute.

"On Kashmir, our policy has notchanged an iota," a senior Obama Admin-istration official told reporters during anews conference as Sharif arrived on anofficial visit to the US, the first by a Paki-stani premier in over five years.

Sharif, on a four-day official visit to theUS, had sought American intervention inresolving the Kashmir issue.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, thesenior official reiterated the ObamaAdministration's stated position that it isup to India and Pakistan to determine the"pace, scope and character of their dia-logue on Kashmir".

Senior US officials, however, expressedconcern at terrorism emanating from insidePakistan and the impact this could have onpeace talks with India that began afterSharif was voted to power in May.-PTI


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Top Stories

One of the most popular programs in re-cent history, Global Entry membership al-lows approved travelers to breeze acrossthe globe, using a 'quick pass kiosk' at air-ports to avoid long lines at Customs andImmigration.

The US Customs and Border ProtectionAgency is making agreements to allow theircitizens to take part in the program, mostrecently with countries like Britain, Nether-lands, Germany, South Korea, Qatar, andnow India.

USIBC has retained the services of aWashington-based law firm Steptoe andJohnson to work with US agencies and theIndian government to add India to the listof trusted traveler countries, the councilsaid in a media release.

Under the program, expedited passportcontrol and customs clearance speeds theprocessing of pre-approved, low risk inter-national travelers entering the US and part-ner countries.

Its participants scan their machine-read-able passport on the kiosk, place their fin-gertips on the scanner for fingerprint veri-fication and make a customs declaration.

The kiosk will then issue the traveler atransaction receipt and direct the travelerto baggage claim and exit.

Such kiosks are located at major US air-ports and now some international airports.

So far, travelers eligible for enrolment inGlobal Entry include citizens and residentsof the US, citizens of Mexico who hold aUS visa, of Netherlands who are enrolledin Privium, citizens of South Korea who areenrolled in Smart Entry Service, and Mem-bers of Nexus and SENTRI.

The program enhances security and re-duces wait times for individual travelers by70 per cent. -PTI

'Global Entry programto revolutionizeIndia-US travel'Cont’d from page 7

NRI couple arrested on black magic chargesKENDRAPARA, Odisha: An NRI couple

has been arrested in Saudi Arabia oncharges of practicing black magic, officialsources said here today.

Seikh Nizam and Noor Jehan, originallyfrom Odisha's Kendrapara township, hadshifted to Turba city of Saudi Arabia fewyears ago where they claimed to be a healerand mystic.

The couple was arrested last month af-ter authorities reportedly found a varietyof occult items in their possession, includ-ing herbs, Consulate General office of In-dia office in Jeddah said.

Raj Kumar, the community welfare officerof the consulate in Jeddah told PTI overphone, "The couple had allegedly resortedto black magic and a complaint in this re-gard had been lodged by their Saudi em-ployer Mohammad Safi in Turba town nearJeddah".

He said they are lodged in a jail and arefacing trial as per Saudi law. If found guilty,they may have undergo minimum of twoyears of rigorous imprisonment.

After the couple was arrested, their sixchildren were left alone in their rented houseand had to undergo harrowing ordeal in thealien country for three weeks.

They were flown back to their hometownin Odisha by the Indian Consulate aftersome expatriates raised the issue.

The children, eldest hardly 12-year-oldand youngest hardly of 18 months, are nowstaying in their paternal uncle's house here.

"Some locals had taken care of the chil-dren and had informed us regarding theirplight. The consulate office then shiftedthem to safety. They were flown back to

Delhi at consulate office cost.Flight tickets were also booked for them

from Delhi to Bhubaneswar. Competentauthorities in India were informed of thechildren return journey to ensure their safereturn to their home as they had no eldersto accompany," Kumar added.

Abdul Rehman, eldest son of the couplesaid, "I know nothing of the crime commit-ted by my father and mother. They are inno-cent. They have been arrested on falsecharges. I am shocked. I am feeling absenceof dear parents. The Saudi police had badlybeaten up my parents. I had met them in jail.

I saw injury-induced scars on their bod-ies. Seeing me, they cried like a child. I feelI am orphaned".

"My neighbors were caring and help-ing. They gave us food and treated withlove. They cared for us as my parents werein jail. Only because they informed the con-sulate office, we could come back toKendrapara," he recounted with tears well-ing up in his eyes.

"We are now staying in paternal uncleSeikh Fayaz's house. I appeal to the gov-ernment to intervene so that my parentsare freed," he said. -PTI


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Indian action to arrest crewinappropriate: Advanfort

Remaining two crew ofUS ship arrested

TUTICORIN, TN: A day aftertaking into custody 33 crew mem-bers of a US firm-owned ship, de-tained here for allegedly carryingarms in Indian waters illegally,Tamil Nadu police have arrestedthe remaining two persons whowere left to take care of thevessel's maintenance.

Police also detained three lo-cals, whowere sus-pected tohave illegallysold diesel tothe ship 'M VSeaman GuardOhio', ownedby a privatefirm in US, po-lice said.

High dramapreceded thearrest of thetwo as ship'sChief Engineer Sedo, a Korean,allegedly attempted to commitsuicide by hanging himself fromthe flag mast but alert port secu-rity personnel, including CentralIndustrial Security Force, foiled itand rushed him to the port hospi-tal, police said.

After doctors at the hospitaldeclared him normal, he was ar-rested, police said adding theyalso took into custody three localpersons for allegedly selling 1500liters of diesel to the ship, de-tained by Coast Guard on Octo-ber 12.

Thirty-three crew members ofship were arrested earlier on

charges of illegally carrying armsand ammunition and straying intoIndian territorial waters withoutpermission and remanded to 14days judicial custody by a courthere. They are facing charges un-der the Arms Act and EssentialCommodities Act.-PTI

WASHINGTON: A US-basedfirm that owns the ship that hasbeen detained off the coast ofTamil Nadu has termed the actionas "inappropriate" and said it isworking diplomatically andthrough the judicial system toprove the innocence of 35 de-tained crew members and getthem released.

"Our vessel Seaman GuardOHIO has been detained inTuticorin and 35 of our crewand guards are being held. Webelieve the entire issue is in-appropriate, because we wereasked to come into Indian ter-ritorial waters by the IndianCoast Guard, while we wereoutside the Indian territorialwaters where we were operat-ing, William H Watson, presi-dent of AdvanFort, told PTI.

W a s h i n g t o n - b a s e dAdvanFort International is thefirm that owns the ship - Sea-man Guard Ohio - which hasbeen detained by authorities offthe coast of Tamil Nadu for carry-ing heavy weapons and ammuni-tion on board without clearance.

"So we are taking counsel. Weare working diplomatically andthrough the judicial system to getthese people released," Watsonsaid.

"It (actions by Indian authori-ties) is inappropriate. The entire

mission of our vessel is to safe-guard commercial ship from pi-racy," he said adding that manyof these people are themselvesIndians.

"That's what we do. We pro-tect the Indian seafarers," he

noted.AdvanFort, he said, would rep-

resent its case before the Indiancourt.

"We would proclaim their in-nocence and try and arrange bailfor them so that we can get themout pending the resolution of theinquiry. We are working bothwithin the judicial system and thediplomatic channels to resolve this

matter," he said in response to aquestion.

The company, Watson said,has taken up the matter with thegovernments of the US, Britain,Estonia and Ukraine.

"Normally when we intend tocall Indian port, we offload ourguard and any arms that wehave, before we enter the In-dian Territory.

"In this particular case, wewere asked to come into theport. So that's why the armsand guards were still onboard," he said, adding thatthe Indian authorities have is-sued them certificates whichsay that they are pleased andsatisfied by the documenta-tion they have found concern-ing the weapons and ammuni-tion onboard, as well as thathaving to do with personalprotection equipment.

"I am very surprised withthe actions of the Indian Coast

Guard, Navy and Government,because it does not make anysense to me. Everyone on boardthe vessel is a decorated militaryveteran, who are serving now asa counter piracy guard. They areall closely vetted. They gothrough intensive backgroundchecks. These are not criminals.These are brave men," Watsonsaid. -PTI

William H Watson, president of AdvanFort

India a critically keyAsia-Pacific player: USWASHINGTON: Describing

India as a critical important playerin the Asia-Pacific region and a"highly capable" partner, a topPentagon commander has saidthat Washington is looking to in-crease the opportunities of itsmilitary co-operation with NewDelhi.

"India is a critically importantplayer in the region, in every di-rection from India's geography -west into Pakistan, North in theCentral Asia, East and South it isa critically important player to theregion. And (it is a) highly ca-pable partner," General Vincent KBrooks, Commander, US ArmyPacific, told reporters at a newsconference.

The US is looking ahead to in-crease the opportunities as muchas possible, "which is governedby the pace of our relationship,"said Brooks, who had to cancelhis first trip to India in his cur-rent capacity this month due tothe over a two-week long gov-ernment shutdown.

The opportunities for defenseco-operation between India andthe US are abundant, he said.

"We are seeking to increase

amount of work that we do to-gether. It can be in a number ofissues like disaster response, wehave done some interoperabilityin high altitude, for example, ourtroops in Alaska go to India andtrain in the mountains," he said.

He said there are a number ofareas of collaboration with Indiaand one of the most important ismaritime security.

"One of the things we are seek-ing is to increase the amount ofland force cooperation andinteroperability," Brooks said.

Later, Brooks emphasized onthe significance of the "pace" atwhich India wants to increase itsdefense ties with the US.

"The pace at which Indiawants to move, is I think is mostimportant. It's India's pace. It ismeasured," the American generaltold PTI, cautioning against try-ing to rush against India'swishes.

"Otherwise, we would not im-prove the relationship, but put itin the position of friction withinthe government," he said addingthat is not the way the US wantsto move in its relationship withIndia. -PTI

Indian in HK fails to find burialsite for wife

HONG KONG: Six months af-ter the death of his wife, an In-dian-origin man in Hong Kong isunable to find a final resting placeto bury her ashes, a media reportsaid.

51-year-old Nirmala, wife of In-dian-origin man MariasusaiAndrews, died in April this yearafter suffering from cancer.

After six months, Andrews saidher urn of ashes still sits in a fu-neral home as he is unable to finda resting place, the South ChinaMorning Post reported.

The family has been living inHong Kong, a part of China, forthe last 30 years.

Their ethnicity limits theirburial options and as being Chris-tian, they are not allowed to usethe Hindu cemetery where manyIndians are buried, the report said.

Andrews also approached theChinese Permanent Cemeteries inHong Kong, but was turned down.

"[The situation] is making it hard

to settle and to move on. It seemedlike they were not very earnest.They are not genuine and they are

not respecting [us]," he said.Andrews failed to secure a spot

in the lucky draw allocation of

government-run cemeteries inJune.

Andrews never expected to

encounter such discriminationand he said the whole experiencehad been humiliating.-PTI

Mariasusai Andrews


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Use 'common sense',Dalai tells China's leaders

NEW YORK: China's new lead-ership should use "commonsense" and seek truth from fact,Tibetan spiritual leader the DalaiLama has said here, as he ex-pressed hope for some "indica-tion of change" in approach dur-ing Xi Jinping's presidency tobring about harmony and unity inthe region.

He gave a public talk on the'Virtue of Non-violence' and tolda packed theatre of hundreds offollowers that he would like to talkwith the Chinese government"when the opportunity comes"and stressed that Tibetans are not

seeking independence from Chinabut "genuine autonomy".

The public talk by the Tibetanleader capped two days of spiri-tual discourse which he gave toover 3,000 people in sessionshosted by Hollywood actor Rich-ard Gere's foundation.

Stressing that Tibet's au-tonomy would be mutually ben-eficial to Tibetans and the Chi-nese, the 78-year-old Dalai Lamasaid he is not seeking a separateTibet but one which remainswithin China.

"The middle way is ineverybody's interest," he said,referring to his model of Tibetanautonomy which would be on thelines of a Hong Kong or Macau,which have been given politicaland economic autonomy.

"We want modernized Tibet.Give us meaningful autonomy sothat we can carry preservation ofTibet's culture, language andtradition...Preserving Tibet-Bud-dhist culture is also in the inter-est of Chinese Buddhists," hesaid. He added that preservationof Tibetan ecology is in the in-

terest of not only Tibetans butChina, India, Pakistan andBangladesh.

He added that Tibetans acrossthe world, including in India andthe US, have been demanding"complete independence" but donot know how to achieve it. "Wehave to be realistic, seek truthfrom fact."

He said the regime of Jinping'spredecessor Hu Jintao focused ona "good idea" of promoting harmo-nious society but use of censorshipand force by the regime was a"wrong method" and only broughtmore fear in the hearts of people.

"The new leadership (in China)should use common sense andseek truth from fact. Policy of thenew leadership should be basedon seeking truth from fact," hesaid, adding that this will help increating harmonious and unitedsociety.

The Dalai Lama said he is"hopeful" that "there is possibil-ity of some indication of change"that the new leadership in Chinawill focus on harmony and unity.

He said that harmony is veryessential in a country like Chinawhich has a huge population andmany ethnic groups.

The Tibetan leader saidevents of the past like theTiananmen Square protests cre-ated "resentment" among thepeople and added that harmonyis related to trust, which can bebuild through respect and dia-logue.

He said truthfulness and trans-parency are very important forbuilding trust. "If you bring moresecurity personnel and censorship,then more fear will come. Fear andtrust cannot go together." -PTI

Dalai Lama

11 NRI police stations set up in PunjabCHANDIGARH: The Punjab

Government has established 11NRI Police Stations for speedyredressal of complaints involvingNon-Resident Indians.

The state government has is-sued a notification according towhich all police districts comeunder the jurisdiction of these 11NRI police stations.

Disclosing this here, Inspec-tor General of Police and HeadNRI Police Wing Punjab,

Gurpreet Kaur Deo, said that ear-lier in 2008 government had setup 6 NRI police stations and nowkeeping in view the demand ofpeople this number has been in-creased to 11.

The government has set up anindependent Police wing whichhas been strengthened with morepowers to solve NRI cases, IGPsaid.

These police stations woulddirectly function under the NRI

Police Wing, she added. She as-sured that justice would be pro-vided to the each complainant ina time bound manner.

The wing is connected onlinewith all the state's police stationsand Head Office and the casesare closely monitored by the DIG/AIG Rank officers, the IGP said.

The complainant would alsohave the access to see the statusof his file online from time to time,she added. -PTI

Gandhi's prized possessionsto be auctioned in UK

LONDON: Over 60 of MahatmaGandhi's most prized posses-sions, including a 'charkha' heused in Yerwada Jail during the'Quit India Movement', will gounder the hammer at a leading

British auction house on Novem-ber 5.

The charkha (spinning wheel),with a minimum bid of 60,000pounds, was used by Gandhiwhile he was in the prison in Puneand was later gifted to AmericanFree Methodist missionary RevdFloyd A Puffer.

Puffer was a pioneer in Indianeducational and industrial coop-eratives. He invented a bambooplow that was later adopted byGandhi. Gandhi presented thecharkha to Puffer for his work inColonial India.

Auction house Mullock's spe-cialist Richard Westwood Brookessaid, "This would have been oneof Gandhi's most prized posses-sions as he devised the workingsof it himself.

The charkha was used by himin Yerwada Jail whilst fighting forthe rights and independence ofIndia. It has impeccable prov-

enance and is unquestionably themost important Gandhi artifact wehave ever had for sale."

Mullock's will auction over 60Gandhi-related artifacts.

Highlights include important

documents, photographs andbooks, including an early publi-cation advising German Jews totake up 'Satyagraha' during theholocaust.

Under the British Raj, cottongrown in India was shipped to theUK for making garments, which

were then shipped back to Indiaand sold at a price that the peoplecould not afford.

In order to resist the British,Gandhi encouraged Indians tospin and weave their own cloth.

Since the traditional charkhawas bulky and difficult to move,he needed an instrument thatcould be transported easily. Dur-ing his imprisonment in Yerawdajail, Gandhi had devised the por-table spinning wheel that foldsand has a handle for carrying.

Gandhi often mentioned thathis daily spinning was a form ofmeditation.

The sale will also include anumber of historic items relatedto the Sikh and Mysore Kingdom.

Most notable of them are a 19thcentury painting of Tipu Sultan, aBritish school painting of theSultan's daughter dated 1837, anearly account dating to 1805 ofMaharajah Ranjit Singh, the lionof Punjab and a rare miniatureKoran printed for Muslim soldierswho fought alongside alliedforces in the First World War.

Westwood Brookes said, "Wehave a wide selection of Gandhiand India-related artifacts for sale.They have been carefully selectedbased on rarity, quality and his-torical importance. I don't think wewill ever witness a sale of thismagnitude ever again." -PTI

One of Gandhiji’s most prized possessions, the ‘charkha’ will go under the

hammer at a prestigious British auction house on November 5

Maldives sets new poll onNovember 11

MALE: The constitutionaldeadline of November 11 for elect-ing a new President in theMaldives might be missed as theElection Commission announcedthat the first round of votingwould be held on November 9 andthe second round a week later.

In a message posted on a so-cial networking site, Elections

Commission President FuwadThowfeek said, "Dear all, firstround of presidential elections tobe held on Nov 9 and secondround on Nov 16." According tothe provisions of the MaldivianConstitution, the election pro-cess should be completed in sucha manner that a new Presidenttakes over on November 11.-PTI

www.indiapost.com12 India Post October 25, 2013

The magnum opus feature filmKochadaiiyaan - The Legend starring superstar Rajinikanth and the

reigning queen of Indian cinema DeepikaPadukone, is set to blaze a trail globallyin cutting-edge motion capturing withphotorealistic technology, as it rivals andtranscends the technological capabilitiesof Hollywood masterpieces Avatar, TinTin and Beowulf.

Referred to as India's answer to Avatar,Kochadaiiyaan is the first Indian film to usefull performance capture in its productionprocess, a workflow that was pioneered andoptimised on James Cameron's Avatar. Thefilm is also the first film of its kind to beproduced in its allocated budget and com-pleted within the timescales set.

Director Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwinhas explored the use of full performancecapture in Kochadaiiyaan in its full mag-nitude. The film's uniqueness also stems

from the fact this project combines manymodern-era technologies to aid in visualstorytelling and bring to life mythologi-cal India.

After garnering over 3.5 million viewsfor its teaser trailer in a matter of only afew days, Kochadaiiyaan is set to blaze atrail globally in cutting-edge PhotorealisticPerformance Capture Technology, as it ri-vals and transcends the technological ca-pabilities of Hollywood masterpieces Ava-tar, Tin Tin and Beowulf.

South Indian megastar Rajinikanth iscast as the archetypal superhero in theepic dramatisation of good versus evil.He performs a dual role with the reigningqueen of Indian cinema Deepika beingpaired opposite the younger character.They are joined by current and veteranstars of North and South Indian Cinemasuch as Jackie Shroff and R. Sarathkumarfor a global, Pan-Indian cinematic treat.Music is by by A R Rahman.

India Fashion Show in NYIndia Fashion Show in NYIndia Fashion Show in NYIndia Fashion Show in NYIndia Fashion Show in NYNEW YORK: Etihad Airways,

along with Evolve, presents TheSplendid Indian Closet, a fash-ion tour showcasing Indian cou-ture, luxury fashion and prêt linesby some of the biggest andbrightest icons in the industry.The event on Sunday Oct. 27 atAngel Orensanz Foundation forthe Performing Arts, 195 NorfolkStreet, Lower East Side, NY, is partof the India Unlimited platform, aseries of multi-city fashion,dance, food, and cultural events

taking place around Diwali tobring India closer to the world.

The event includes: Lisa Rayfor Satya Paul - "Ray of Hope"Saree Collection, first time inNYC; Genesis Colors' SanjayKapoor; Joy Mitra's "ChokherBali" Collection, an ode to late film-maker/actor Rituparno Ghosh,fresh off the Wills Lifestyle Fash-ion Week runway in Delhi lastmonth; Soha Ali Khan, actressand host - show stopper for"Chokher Bali" collection; EtihadAirways; Shehnaai Couture; Lo-cal Celebrities/Models.

India Post News Service


October 25, 2013 India Post

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13

Eastern mythological folklore for WestIndia Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: Detroit-basedExxodus Pictures and FreestyleReleasing have announced North

American wide theatrical releasedate of April 4, 2014 for Jinn, a ten-

The funny math of women's clothing sizes

sion filled supernatural thriller. Thefilm, written and directed by AjmalZaheer Ahmad was produced byAhmad, Benjamin Dresser, AlanNoel Vega and stars Dominic Rains

("Flight 93"), Serinda Swan (USA's"Graceland"), Ray Park ("Star

Wars Episode 1: The PhantomMenace"), Faran Tahir("Elysium") and William Atherton("Die Hard"). Richard Mandell,Najam Syed and Shahid Syed ex-

ecutive produced the film forExxodus.

The amazing story of Jinn in-volves ancient mythological be-ings that have rarely been exploredin US cinemas. The premise of theJinn concept, known to over 1 bil-lion people around the world, in-volves ghost-like entities and re-volves around creation mythol-ogy.

Synopsis: In the beginning,three were created. Man made ofclay. Angels made of light. And athird made of fire. For centuries,stories of angels and men have cap-tured the imagination and beenetched into history crossing allboundaries of culture, religion andtime.

These two races have domi-nated the landscape of modernmythology, shrouding the evi-dence that a third was ever cre-ated. This third race, born ofsmokeless fire, was named the

Jinn. Modern man has all but for-gotten this third race ever existed.It is time for him to remember.

This is the first film to accuratelyintroduce and portray the jinn con-cept. Jinn is also unique in thatthe vehicle used in the action se-quences in the film, known as the"Firebreather," was designed bythe director, Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad,and is the first vehicle in motionpicture history available to thepublic for purchase. The"Firebreather" is a V8, 618 horse-power super exotic Americanmuscle car with 50 limited editionsbeing produced as the exact rep-lica of the vehicle in the film. Thecar, several of which have alreadybeen sold, was designed byExxodus to honor their hometownby creating modern design thatfuses the soul of classic, Ameri-can muscle.

NEW YORK: When it comes towomen's clothing sizes, there'ssome funny math going on.

The average American womanis about 25 pounds heavier thanshe was in 1960. Yet women's plus-size clothing, generally defined assize 14 and up, still makes up onlyabout 9 percent of the $190 billionspent annually on clothes.

What's wrong with this equa-tion? It's not that plus-size womenaren't into fashion. Rather, the fash-ion industry doesn't seem inter-ested in them.

The fashion industry has longspent more time, money and mar-keting on clothing for taut bodies

than for curvier ones because it'seasier and more profitable to doso. But retail analysts and plus-size women say there's somethingelse at play: Stereotypes aboutlarger women not wanting to dressfashionably keep companies frommaking clothes that are flatteringto them. And in turn, that discour-ages them from spending more.

``There is still an interestingstigma attached to plus-size fash-ion and the woman who wears it,''says Marie Denee, who wears asize 16 and studies the industryvia her websiteTheCurvyFashionis ta .com.``Many think `Oh, she doesn't

want to draw attention, live life,date, be confident, wear fittedclothes with bold colors and pat-terns,' when the exact opposite istrue.''

Carmen Barrington, 32, saysthat attitude has resulted in fewerplus-size options. Barrington,who wears around a size 22, la-mented recently after a day ofshopping at Forever 21, LaneBryant and other stores that shesometimes can't even find decentplus-size clothing at retailers thatspecialize in it.

``It was a hot, annoying day,and I spent it trying on stuff, andcame up with nothing,''Barrington, who works in humanresources, says. ``There's thisaversion to being associated withplus-size clothes.''

To be sure, sizing is an inex-act science. Women's sizes weredeveloped in the 1920s as cata-logues became popular andready-to-wear clothing replacedtailor made or self-sewn items.

But while a system of men'sstandard sizing based on chestsizes in the Army had worked

well, a similar at-tempt to basewomen's sizes onbust measurementswasn't as reliable.Women's bust sizesare more variable.

In the 1930s, re-tailers began adopt-ing even-numberedsizes commonly rang-ing from 14 to 24,says Alaina Zulli, adressmaker whostudies costume his-tory. But those sizesbore little resem-blance to those usedtoday - a size 24 backthen, for instance,would be a size 14today - so the issuesof not havingenough plus-sizefashions likely wasnot as pronounced.

The sizes stayed the same butthe numbers decreased gradually,Zulli says, about 1 size a decade.This is known as ``vanity sizing''because it gives women the allu-sion that they're fitting into a

smaller size.Women's sizes, which today

range from 0 to 24 but vary fromstore to store, haven't evolvedmuch for decades. And for themost part, neither have the rangeof plus-size fashions.-AP

A scene from Jinn


October 25, 201314


October 25, 201316

India Post October 25, 2013www.indiapost.com

Real Estate18

Realty Tidbits

Sandy-damagedprison to be soldin NYC hotspotNEW YORK: On a recent morning on the west

side of Manhattan, Wendy Featherstone showed offa prime piece of real estate that many New Yorkersdon't know exists.

The eight-story brick building in Chelsea's gal-lery district has three terraces, one with views of theStatue of Liberty and cruise ships docking along theHudson River. There's an indoor pool, basketballcourt and even a private chapel with stained-glasswindows.

Featherstone isn't a pushy real estate agent - she'sa prison superintendent. The property once was amedium-security women's lockup called BayviewCorrectional Facility. And those terraces? They'rereally caged-in recreation areas.

The superintendent ran Bayview until SuperstormSandy made the Hudson surge and sent a wall ofwater into a facility as she and her workers help-lessly looked on.

``You know in the ̀ `Ten Commandments,'' the waythe water is when they part the sea? That's how thewater was coming down,'' she recalled as she walkedan empty cell block. ̀ `It was the river. The river wasin here.''

Featherstone rode out the storm on a cot in hersecond-floor office after the power went out. The

water receded and no one was harmed. But a yearlater, the Bayview Correctional Facility remains empty.

The 153 women - serving time for robberies, as-saults and lesser crimes - were evacuated a few daysbefore the storm to upstate prisons and never cameback. The flooding destroyed boilers and damagedelectrical equipment, causing $600,000 in damage.The state's current budget called for the facility toclose by the end of the fiscal year as a cost-savingmeasure, leaving the building in limbo.

The state has sold other shuttered prisons else-where to local governments that have turned theminto business parks or to private buyers at auction.The Empire State Development agency is still as-sessing the best use for Bayview, but its locationalone suggests it has more potential than the typicalredevelopment stepchild. -AP

Govt lists draft rules toimplement Land ActNEW DELHI: The Government has come up with draft

rules to implement the Land Acquisition Act with focuson consent and social impact assessment to ensure thatthe rights of the farmers are protected when the land isacquired.

The draft rules have been put out in public domain toinvite comments from all stakeholders. Comments shouldbe submitted to the Rural Development Ministry in 45days.

Chinese firm buysNYC office towerfrom Chase

NEW YORK: A Chinese com-pany has bought a landmark, 60-story Manhattan office tower fromJPMorgan Chase for $725 million.

The New York Times reportsthat Fosun International of Chinaoutmaneuvered half a dozen bid-ders for the building, 1 ChaseManhattan Plaza. -AP

19 India Post October 25, 2013www.indiapost.com

TechBizTech News L&T Infotech eyes PolarisFT's services in big deal

India-Singapore start-up tolaunch 'Taste Graph'

SINGAPORE: An Indian-Singapore start-up is set to launchnext year a "Taste Graph" data thatcould revolutionize consumers re-lationships with service-basedbusiness houses through informa-tion technology.

The Taste Graph would pro-vide simple data on specific re-quirements of consumers to mar-keting businesses, giving themmore knowledge to provide spe-cific services to the people, saidSuresh V Shanker, co-founder ofthe start-up, Crayondata.

The data would be used by re-tail outlets, banks, telecom andhospitality companies.

The final product, Choice En-gine, would be for businesses touse the Taste Graph data to meettheir customer and consumer re-quirements, said Shanker, an In-dian-origin IT industry veteranwho has worked with internationalgroups for the past 17 years inSingapore.

Crayondata is currently work-ing on the Taste Graph data cov-ering consumers in India andSingapore.

"We aim to make big data simplefor companies providing servicesto the people," Shanker added.

Taste Graph aims to collate es-

sential choices of consumers orcustomers from a wide variety ofchoices, and in some cases asmany as 1,000 and that remains achallenge for service-basedhouses to understand and match

the demand of end-product users,he said.

Crayondata, incorporated inOctober 2012, has 50 IT engineersin the Chennai-based back officeand 25 in the Singapore-headquar-tered front office working on thenew IT package to be launched in

the next six months.He further said Taste Graph/

Choice Engine would be one of themany new products to be devel-oped by the one-year oldCrayondata as consumer-driven

The Taste Graph would provide simple dataon specific requirements of consumers tomarketing businesses, giving them moreknowledge to provide specific services tothe people, said Suresh V Shanker, co-founder of the start-up, Crayondata.

Asian markets grow in the comingyears.

Shanker said he also expectedmore and more Asia-based com-panies to innovate and developproducts in the sector, given thehuge potentials in the growing re-gional markets in the coming years.

"But Asians need mindsetchange and think bold and bigwith their inventions. There isenough talent to develop innova-tions from the region," he told PTI.

Taking this forward-lookingand thinking approach,Crayondata has started tappingthe engineering expertise from In-dia and the brand-oriented marketdevelopment from Singapore.

"Crayondata is to tap the bestof both India and Singapore,"Shanker added.

The Crayondata team includesco-founder Srikant Sastri, formerchairman of Vivaki India, a solu-tions-integrated marketing servicecompany in India. -PTI

Tata Motors' JLR to recruit 1,000 Chinese workersLONDON: Indian automotive

giant Tata Motors plans to re-cruit 1,000 local Chinese work-ers for its 1-billion pound Jag-uar Land Rover (JLR) joint ven-ture in China, which will includea new engine plant.

The West Midlands basedcar maker has been training 50of those workers at itsHalewood plant in Merseyside,according to 'The SundayTimes'.

The workers are due to returnto China at the end of the month,where they will pass on theirskills to others.

JLR wants to cash in on thehuge demand for its vehicles inChina by launching its own gi-ant manufacturing operation inChangshu near Shanghai.

Its best-selling Evoque"baby Range Rover" will bethe first car to roll off the pro-

duction line.Sources told the newspaper

that the factory, built under ajoint venture with Chery, the

Chinese car manufacturer, willproduce up to 130,000 cars a year,

rising to 200,000.This would put it on a par with

JLR's operations at Solihull,which builds Range Rover and

Halewood.The iconic luxury car brands

clocked up record pre-tax prof-its of 1.7 billion pounds in thefinancial year 2012-2013.

The firm has also signed aletter of intent with the gov-ernment of Saudi Arabia andis in "intensive" discussionswith Brazil.

The talks could lead tonew factories in these coun-tries.

"We expect the Brazil deci-sion before Christmas," saidRalf Speth, CEO of JLR.

The company under theTata Group's ownership isnow Britain's biggest exporterof manufactured goods, gen-erating export revenues of 11billion pounds a year.

It has also hired more than11,000 people in the past threeyears, including last month'sannouncement of an addi-tional 1,700 at Solihull. -PTI

NRI acquires 4.99pc shares inKerala bank

KOCHI: NRI businessman MA Yusuffali has acquired 4.99 percent share in Kerala-basedDhanalaxmi Bank after purchas-ing stakes in two other lendersin the state earlier this year.

Yusuffali had earlier acquiredclose to five per cent stake eachin Federal Bank and CatholicSyrian Bank this year, accordingto a statement by the LuLuGroup.

Yusuffali is the founder andManaging Director of EMKEGroup which owns the LuLuGroup.

With this latest acquisition,Yusufflai has invested close toRs 510 crore in just the bankingsector in Kerala, this year itself.

Commenting on his recentbanking investments, Yusuffalisaid he had always been a "keeninvestor in Kerala and wishes toplay his part in further strength-ening these prominent Keralabased banks to make them morecompetitive in sync with the newgeneration banks." -PTI

Increase in biz byglobal buyersmay fetch $3bn

NEW DELHI: Apex apparelbody AEPC has said increase inbusiness by global buyers suchas Walmart and Zara from Indiamay help in fetching businessworth USD 3 billion during thefiscal.

Apparel Export PromotionCouncil (AEPC) Chairman ASakthivel said there is a surge infactory compliance, underDISHA program, by garmentmanufacturing units in India.

The DISHA program is aimedat encouraging better social prac-tices to meet global standards onissues like child labor.

"Global buyers such asWalmart and Zara have preferredto expand their merchandisesourcing from Coimbatore andother parts of India which mayfetch business of USD 3 billionin 2013-14, as factory compliantmanufacturing in India hassurged," Sakthivel said in a state-ment.

Walmart and Zara source sev-eral products, including garmentsfrom India.

"The Indian apparel industryaims to chart for itself a courseto make India a preferred andchosen destination for the glo-bal textile and apparel trade andDISHA is providing that platformto achieve sustainable competi-tiveness," he said. -PTI

NEW DELHI: Financial technology firm Polaris FT is gearing up tosell its services business unit and L&T Infotech is believed to beleading the race to acquire this business estimated to be valued atabout USD 400 million.

Chennai-headquartered Polaris Financial Technologies providessolutions for core banking, corporate banking, wealth & asset man-agement and insurance, while, L&T Infotech, part of the engineeringand construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), provides IT ser-vices and solutions.-PTI

India Post TechBiz Post October 25, 2013

www.indiapost.com

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US firm to install water treatmentsystem in Jamnagar

VADODARA: Water technol-ogy company Xylem Inc has wona contract to work with EssarProjects (India) Ltd to install a bio-logical treatment system in awastewater plant in Jamnagar.

Under the contract, the US-based firm will install its ̀ Sanitaire'biological treatment system in thefacility.

Xylem will be responsible forthe installation as well as provid-ing service and maintenance forthe 70 million liters per day capac-ity wastewater treatment plant forthe Jamnagar Municipal Corpora-tion, the company said.

The treated wastewater will be

reused for non-potable industrialpurposes, providing a cheaper al-ternative to the region's reliance

on water from the Narmada River."We are proud to be working

with Essar Projects to install this

treatment system to help solve thewater issues in Jamnagar," XylemIndia Managing Director H Balasaid.

"This project showcases ourextensive expertise and advancedwastewater technology solutions.We are committed to meeting ourcustomers' needs and are confi-dent that we are providing the bestsolutions in the industry," he said.

Xylem employs 200 people inIndia and operates a manufactur-ing and testing facility as well as aResearch, Development and Engi-neering Centre on Vadodara's out-skirts.

Xylem is a leading global watertechnology provider, enablingcustomers to transport, treat, testand efficiently use water in publicutility, residential and commercialbuilding services, industrial andagricultural settings. -PTI

Yahoo again tops Googlein US Web visitors

NEW YORK: For the thirdmonth in a row, more Americansvisited Yahoo's websites thanGoogle's, according to comScoreInc's Internet traffic data for Sep-tember.

The research firm said that Ya-hoo Inc's websites had 197.8 mil-lion unique US visitors last month,while Google's had 191.4 million.Yahoo was ahead of Google in Julyand August, too. The last time thatYahoo was ahead of Google be-

fore that was in May 2011.That said, Yahoo is still far be-

hind Google in making money fromthe people who visit its websites.Research firm eMarketer estimatesthat Google will generate USD38.83 billion in worldwide digitalad revenue this year, more thanany other company. FacebookInc is at No 2 with an estimatedUSD 5.89 billion, while Yahoo isNo 3 with USD 3.63 billion ex-pected. -AP

Wells Fargo participatingin financial education


OAKLAND, CA: More than athousand Wells Fargo & Com-pany team members are volunteer-ing in classrooms and nonprofitsthroughout the country as part ofGet Smart About Credit, a nationalfinancial education program aboutthe responsible use of credit.

"Understanding how to buildcredit and how to use it responsi-bly helps consumers make deci-sions that lead to financial suc-cess," said JimFoley, Greater Baypresident for WellsFargo. "Makingwise financial deci-sions is easier whenyou're well informedand we want to giveour customers toolsto chart a path to-ward a successfulfinancial future."

The educationoutreach is part of the 11th annualAmerican Bankers AssociationNational Get Smart About CreditDay on Oct. 17. This is the eighthyear Wells Fargo has participatedin the initiative, and the companyis continuing to expand its partici-pation to include schools and non-profit organizations during the en-tire month of October. In 2012, morethan 1,000 team member volunteersdonated 4,000 hours of time to teach1,400 credit classes that reachedmore than 65,000 people.

Throughout October, Wells

Fargo team member volunteers willuse the company's free, onlineHands on Banking®/ El futuro entus manos® money managementprogram to discuss topics such aslending and trustworthiness, creditand spending limits, credit histo-ries and the cost of credit. Handson Banking, which debuted in 2003,saw a 77 percent increase in trafficin 2012 with 280,000 unique visi-tors from more than 190 countries.The article titled "About CreditCards" was by far the most popu-

lar."Promoting financial education

is one of Wells Fargo's core val-ues," said Angel Zapata, nationalHands on Banking manager."Credit-related education is one ofthe most popular subjects withinour free Hands on Banking pro-gram, so we're very pleased that wecan put some special focus on itduring our annual participation inGet Smart About Credit and helpindividuals and families learn moreabout how to manage their creditwisely."

Twitter saysrevenue potentiallimited in India

WASHINGTON: As it gears upfor the much-touted USD one-bil-lion IPO next month, Twitter saysrevenue generation may be limitedin international operations and itsinability to offer full features inmarkets like India may adverselyimpact its business and results.

According to a latest regula-tory filing made by Twitter, 77 percent of its average MAUs(Monthly Average Users) duringthe last quarter ended September30 were based outside the US, butits international operations ac-counted for only 26 per cent of itsconsolidated revenue.

The US-based social network-ing platform, which has madegreat inroads across the world in-cluding in India, said in its filingdated October 15 that its averageadvertising revenue in the US issubstantially higher than the samein the rest of the world.-PTI

21India PostTechBiz PostOctober 25, 2013

www.indiapost.com

Mahindra to launch first small aircraft in India in 2 yearsNARSAPURA, Bangalore: Mahindra

Aerospace, the aircraft and componentsmanufacturing arm of Mahindra group, willstart producing the first eight-seater aircraftin India in the next two years.

"You can expect that within a time-frameof two years, we will have a full-fledgedeight-seater aircraft being manufactured inIndia," said Hemant Luthra, President ofMahindra Systech - of which MahindraAerospace is a part, during the inaugura-tion of its new aerostructure manufacturingfacility here.

The company presently manufactureseight-seater - GA8 utility aircraft, in its Aus-tralia-based companies Aerostaff andGrippsAero which it acquired in 2010 to getinto the aviation sector.

It has so far exported from Australiaaround 250 planes, which are used for tour-ism, humanitarian aid, adventure sports andother activities in the US, Canada, Europeand other countries.

Mahindra is also producing 10-seaterGA10, which is under certification processand is likely to available for commercial op-erations by 2014. The company is workingon development of 18-seater GA 18.

Inaugurating the facility, MahindraGroup CMD Anand Mahindra said he aimsto turn India from "a global consumer inaviation sector to global producer" and themanufacturing facility was an attempt makeIndia's entry into the global aerospace in-dustry and "leave a footprint in globalaerostructure supply chain".

"It is the first aerostructure facility (inprivate sector) in India. Our utility aircraftare capable of landing in rugged terrainswhere no one has reached. It will be like our

Mahindra jeep, which used to tread ruggedterrain without roads and where no othervehicle used to go," Mahindra said.

There was immense opportunity for the

aircraft business in India as around 100 mil-lion pilgrims, 100 million holiday goers andbusinessmen could benefit with small air-craft, which shows the immense potentialfor the aircraft, Luthra said.

Elaborating the future plans, he said theRs 150 crore plant would be a service pro-vider for multiple original equipment manu-facturers (OEMs) and has received RFQ

(Request for Quote) from them. "We wouldbe like to progress from build-to-print to-wards design-to-delivery offerings in thefuture."

Mahindra Aerospace has collaboratedwith Spanish aerostructure manufacturingcompany Aernnova Group to get the strin-gent certification for export to Europeancountries and also get into the defense sec-

tor.Government is looking for components

for its fighter aircraft, helicopters and otherdefense aircraft, which is around USD 20-40 billion proposition, he said, adding thatof this, at least 20 per cent should go tolocal business and "we are looking at thatopportunity."

The state-of-the-art 25,000 square meteraerostructures manufacturing facility, hasthe ability to accurately craft large, complexsheet metal parts using CNC routing (a com-puter controlled shaping machine), stretch-forming, bladder press, heat treatment andother specialized equipment.

The facility also features a fully-auto-mated surface treatment line, priming andpainting capabilities for parts and assem-blies and nearly 10,000 square meters ofspace for the manufacture of major airframeassemblies and sub- assemblies.

With its comprehensive mix of capabili-ties, the facility is intended to assist OEMsand Tier 1?s mitigate concerns on single-point responsibility for cost, schedule andquality of deliverables, Luthra said, addingthat the new plant was currently in the pro-cess of gaining industry-standardAS9100C and NADCAP accreditations,alongside stringent quality approvals.

"It is also investing in skilled aerospacesheet metal, special processing and as-sembly workers, and will generate signifi-cant employment as operations ramp upover the next five to seven years," Luthrasaid. -PTI

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra and Mahindra Systech President Hemant Luthra at the

inauguration of the company’s aero-structures manufacturing facility at the Narasapura Industrial

Estate near Bangalore on Monday.

Bangalore tops list of bestbusiness destinations

NEW DELHI: Bangalore tops the list of21 best business destinations in the coun-try ranked on the basis of socio-economicand infrastructure factors, according to acombined study.

Chennai is at the second position, fol-lowed by Mumbai and Pune, in the list ofGlobal Initiative for Restructuring Environ-ment and Management and property con-sultant DTZ.

Ahmedabad is ranked 8th behind Indore(5th), Bhubaneshwar (6th) and Coimbatore(7th). Nagpur and Kochi are at ninth andtenth positions, respectively, whileHyderabad is ranked 12th.

In the NCR region, Noida is at the 17thposition while Gurgaon ranks 19th.

Kolkata is placed towards the bottom ofthe list at 18th position. Visakhapatanam isat 21st place.

Gurgaon, one of the leading financial andindustrial centers in the country, is ratedrelatively low as the city "loses out on avail-ability of power, safety and environment,schools & colleges, healthcare facilities andclimate".

Global Initiative for Restructuring Envi-ronment and Management, a not-for-profit

organization working in the fields of urban-ization, future cities, among other things,said that some cities in the list are alreadyestablished, while others have the poten-tial to emerge as major business destina-tions.

The ranking rates the cities based on fac-tors such as human capital, energy, water,transport, housing, healthcare, climate, of-fice space availability and city culture,amongst others.

These constitute basic eco-socio-eco-nomic factors critical in determining thegrowth of the city, the study said in a state-ment. -PTI

The ranking rates the citiesbased on factors such ashuman capital, energy,water, transport, housing,healthcare, climate, officespace availability and cityculture, amongst others.

www.indiapost.com October 25, 2013

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

Details on page 31

22 India Post

Desi News Fabulous show ofAlice in

Wonderland inBay Area

Details on page 26

Details on page 29

Community shocked over Sinhamurder case judgment

SUDHIR VYAS

OLD BRIDGE, NY: It was notsurprising that members of the In-dian community across Tri statearea reacted the way they did onthe sentencing of the culprits inDivyendu Sinha Murder case.Here are the observations:

• A miscarriage of justice• Shameful sentencing. Take a

life, get life. They'd be treated likerock stars in prison. Not long afterwe forget this tragedy their nameswill be in the news again...wait forit.

• Is this is justice for a bunchof murdering savages sevenmonths in jail? Shows where ourcountry is and more to come. Hu-man life means nothing, no won-der they kill each other so fre-quently.

• Simple assault, a fourth-de-gree crime, carries a presumptionof non-incarceration.

• No faith in such biased jurysystem

These were some of the reac-tions from the people, not just In-dians but everyone present in thecourt room when the sentencingwas being read out in theDivyendu Sinha murder case. Theentire Indian community was flab-bergasted after the sentencing andcried for justice. "We have no morefaith in this kind of judicial systemwhere these thugs are shown le-niency for a grave charge like mur-der".

For Cash Johnson and Chris-tian Tinli, charged with murder,aggravated assault and othercounts in the beating death of a49-year-old computer scientistDivyendu Sinha of Old Bridge, thepronouncements meant almostcertain freedom. But for AlkaSinha, the wife of the deceased,they meant a sentence of her own.She felt as if she had lostDivyendu once again. That lastglimmer of hope of justice for herlate husband was also lost.

It was a scene of contrasts in aNew Brunswick courtroom as ju-rors cleared Johnson and Tinli,both 20, of every felony countagainst them, finding the pairguilty only of simple assault in awolf pack-style attack on

Divyendu Sinha three years ago.Two other young men, Julian

Daley, 19, and Christopher

Conway, 20, previously pleadedguilty to aggravated manslaugh-ter in the case. A third, StevenContreras, pleaded guilty to con-spiracy to commit aggravated as-sault after he was acquitted ofmore serious charges. All threehave yet to be sentenced.

William Fetky, who argued attrial that Johnson never struckDivyendu during the encounter,said jurors made "the right deci-sion." While Tinli and his family

declined to comment. His lawyer,Joseph Mazraani, called the ver-dict "fair and just."

The five, former Old BridgeHigh School students, had beendrinking earlier in the night and

"wanted to (expletive) someoneup," the prosecutor told jurors. OnFela Drive in Old Bridge, the grouphappened to attack the Sinha fam-ily who were out for a walk. Fourof the five converged onDivyendu, a former professor atStevens Institute of Technology.Alka Sinha identified Tinli as theone who powerfully punched herhusband on the right side of hisface, sending him sprawling.Divyendu died three days later of

a massive hemorrhage.The jury, after five days of de-

liberations, found Tinli guilty of

simple assault for taking part in theattack but did not link him to thefatal blow. Johnson was foundguilty of the same charge for strik-ing one of Sinha's sons, who triedto intervene on his father's behalf.

"I was truly shocked," GaurangVaishnav, a family friend said. "Wehad hoped there would be somejustice, that they would get con-victed, especially Tinli. Theseguys have been set free, maybe tohurt somebody else."

Well known community leaderPeter Kothari, "justice has notbeen served. A very productiveperson in society has lost his life.A child has lost their father and awife her husband," Kothari said."The Indian-American communityis very upset. These thugs will beroaming the streets of New Jerseyvery soon and will target others inthe days to come".

Contreras and Conway testi-fied that they had been drinkingearlier in the evening and after aroad rage confrontation fizzled,they drove around looking for afight. Shamefully and without re-morse Tinli, 21, turned to the Sinhafamily and said to them, "I deeplysend my deepest apologies. I'vebeen praying for your whole fam-ily since June 25, 2010 and I willcontinue to do so for the rest ofmy life. Everything that happenedchanged my life and affected myfamily as well. I'm sorry for being apart of this."

Even though Judge BradleyFerencz, who said Johnson's ac-tions the night of June 25, 2010were "despicable and heinous"the judge believed that Christo-pher Conway, 20, who pleadedguilty to aggravated manslaugh-ter in July and faced up to eightyears in prison, was given sevenyears by the judge who believed"he won't ever again get into anautomobile and set out to harmanybody."

The judge postponed sentenc-ing for Daley, who has been heldin the county jail for more than ayear after his bail was revokedwhen he was charged with burglar-izing his neighbor's house.

Divyendu Sinha

It was a scene of contrasts in a NewBrunswick courtroom as jurors clearedJohnson and Tinli, both 20, of every felonycount against them, finding the pair guiltyonly of simple assault in a wolf pack-styleattack on Divyendu Sinha three years ago.

Cont’d on page 23

Free English classesat MetropolitanFamily ServicesHARISH RAO

CHICAGO: Metropolitan Fam-ily Services (MAFS) has an-nounced holding of regular En-glish Second Language classesevery Monday at its Chicago Fa-cility and Friday at its Niles andChicago facilities.

Himali Bharucha, one of the or-ganizers said, classes that besidesbeing free are open to all who wantto buttress their knowledge ofEnglish language. "Seniors aremost welcome as they find it diffi-cult communicating at differentsocial and government levels," sheadded

The timings are quire conve-nient -10:30am to 12:30pm.

For further information, callHimali Bharucha 773-465-3105

Daler Mehndi rocksBay Area with hitnumbersRITU MAHESHWARI


HAYWARD, CA: "TunakTunak Tun", "Bhangra King", "In-dian Pop Baadshah" all conjure upone name - Daler Mehndi. Comingfrom a family of music lovers, Dalerhit it big with his first album "BoleTa Ra Ra" and ever since has cre-ated a music genre of its own. Heused his strong background in mu-sic, love for Punjabi and a passionfor experimenting with differentstyles to give hit songs one afteranother.

Over past two decades, DalerMehndi has been entertainingmusic lovers with non-stop musichits and has performed to packedhalls across the world. His latesthit song is " Besharam: Chal HandUthake Nachche" for movieBesharam.

Dr Meshri gets rarerecognition inOklahomaRAMESH SOPARAWALA


CHICAGO: It is an old sayingby now that states "Think Globallyand Act Locally". A globe trottingIndian scientist Dr Dayal Meshrihowever has modified the sayingthru his actions - Act locally andalso Act globally - through shar-ing his knowledge and expertisein Specially Chemicals with manya global firm in East, West andSouth.

India Post 23October 25, 2013 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

The judge set November 12 asthe new sentencing date at whichtime Daley faces up to 15 years inprison after pleading guilty earlierthis year to aggravated man-slaughter and burglary.

What is even more interesting andproof enough that the sentencingwas biased was that even thoughJudge Ferencz noted that likeJohnson, Tinli told the probation of-ficer who wrote his pre-sentence re-port that he smoked marijuana abouttwice a month and drinks alcohol, thesentencing was so mild that it wouldnot act as a deterrent.

The judge also said that a forg-ery charge pending against Tinlifrom an incident that occurred af-ter the Sinha beating and while hewas free on bail cannot be usedagainst him in the sentencing be-cause there has been no verdicton the charge.

As if taking a soft stand in thesentencing judge Ferencz said,"'You had to know they were kidsand a mom and a dad and not teen-agers but you slapped around ayoung man. You knew the kid wastrying to help out his dad." Thejudge said he has to "send out amessage that this kind of conductcannot be tolerated."

Community shocked overSinha murder case judgment


Navratri & Ravan Dahan at Lake County TempleGEETHA PATIL

Various Alankars (decorations) of Ma Durga reflecting her various blessings

CHICAGO: The word 'Ma'brings to our mind the images oflove. To experience this very love,thousands of devotees gatheredat Hindu Mandir of Lake Countyto celebrate the festival of 'Dasara'and offer their obeisance.

Navaratri celebrations wereconducted at the temple in a tradi-tional way with lots of religiousspirit from 5-13 Oct and conclud-ing it with Ravan Dahan. Templepriests Anil Joshi and Ganesh per-formed Kalash Sthapana withGanapati and Devi poojan. Differ-ent community people partici-pated in this event by bringing theirfamily kalash for the blessings ofMa Durga. Everyday Ma DurgaSaptasati chanting was done by thedevotees.

Ma Durga and Sarva DevaAbhishekam were performed every-day with Vaidic mantras. Everydaydifferent nevedam and alankaramswere performed. TraditionalGujarati community Aarti andArchana were performed by a largegroup of people in the morning ses-sions. Evening programs includedMa Durga's aarti followed by RasGarba and Dandiya dances orga-nized by Vipin Patel and Garba teamwith the help of sponsors. Thisevent was made attractive by tradi-

on various virtues by depictingscenes from Ramayana where thecharacters embodied these virtues,practiced them in their lives andthus attained ever-lasting fame andhonor.

The Ramlila event was lead byAnu Gupta, Naveen Mishra andtheir dedicated team. Devotees rel-ished different traditional itemssuch as Chole Bhatura, PapadiChat, Bhel Puri, Dhai Vada, MixPakoda, Dosa, Idli, Vada, Jilebee,Gulab Jamun and ice-cream pre-pared by Kamal Gupta, Neelkantand their committed team mem-bers. At the end, the processionof Lord Ram, Laxman andHanuman was taken with Jai ShreeRam chanting by thousands ofpeople in front of 20 feet highRavan cutout made by RajPothdar, Madhu Dhon and team.Both priests performed Lord Rampooja and finally set fire to theRavan statue.

About 3000 people observedthe beautiful fireworks and RavanDahan. President Harsh Kumargave vote of thanks to hundredsof volunteer teams for making thiscelebration a grand success.

tionally dressed youth and adults.Eleven Kunda Ashtami yagnam

was performed first time in thetemple by Pt. Anil Joshi along with150 different Indian communitydevotees. In addition to this, otherrituals were simultaneously per-formed. Amidst these rituals, Pt.Joshi continuously chanted vari-

ous hymns from the Vedas, joinedby all the devotees present at theYagna mantapam. Homemadeprasadam was distributed to all thedevotees.

Geetha Patil and Pt. Anil Joshimade the dhanya alankars for MaDurga which made special attrac-tion of Asthami day for thousandsof people followed by Mahachowki celebration lead by AnuGupta and team. Pushpam, phalamand sag (vegetables) alankars werealso performed for Ma Durga.

Pt. Joshi pointed out that "weare paying our thanks to Mataji forall we get from the Bhomi Mata whoherself is Devi Ma by making allthese unique beautiful alankars toher. In addition to alankaram week-long rituals were conducted in thedivine Devi presence for the wel-fare of the whole world. The flow-ers that we offer in worship to Maare not those that grow on plantsbut they need to be our virtues likenon-violence, peace, and love."

The Dasara celebrations came toan auspicious close on October 13.About 60 children from differentIndian communities and age

groups performed Ramlila whichturned out to be a great attractionfor thousands of people who hadgathered to encourage the childrento preserve our Hindu culture andtradition. The children expatiated

Ram Lila by children

October 25, 2013India Post24 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Visually challenged dancers win over Chicagoans Asian Media USA

CHICAGO: Visually challengedstudents from Deepa Academy ofBangalore presented a potpourriof classical and folk dances underthe banner "Empowerment of theGirl Child" on Saturday, October 5at Sri Venkateswara Swami templein Aurora, a south west Chicagosuburb.

The free event was hosted byNorth America Telugu Society(NATS), Chicago Telugu Associa-tion (CTA), and the Balaji Temple,but voluntary donations were col-lected with all proceeds going tothe school

The danseuses were six stu-dents Suma Rajanna, SJ Sowmya,Gulab Sha, K Rashmi, KR Pallaviand GV Lathamani, accompaniedby their two dance teachersShweta Venkatesh andKavyashree Nagaraj. Founded inBangalore in 2006, the Deepa

Academy is a voluntary empow-erment center for the blind who areotherwise quite talented, espe-cially from rural Karnataka. It seeksworking towards their educationand rehabilitation, with the aim of

making them self supporting andintegrated into mainstream society.

R. Swaminathan, who is grouphead and coordinator, began andended by thanking all the spon-sors and facilitators of the event.

He underlined thechallenges of trainingthe visually chal-lenged in such a di-verse variety of danceforms. The youngdanseuses were ledaround the unfamiliarstage to internalize itsspatial dimensions.Strips had been laidacross and through itscenter as aids in ori-entation.

Nevertheless, theindividual and groupcoordination exhib-ited by the six stu-dents indicated thatthis artistic mediumhad enhanced theirawareness of respon-siveness towardstheir immediatechanging environ-ment and in their in-teractions with other-wise barely seen oth-ers. They were able to

remain in formation while travers-ing the stage, rotate their arms toform a moving circle, slither, crossswords in battle, and even performacrobatics.

They began with twoBharatanatyam items. Mallari setto raga Gambhira Nattai depictedthe procession of the mobile iconof the deity around the temple-town to the accompaniment ofdrums, wind pipes, cymbals, andconch, with offerings of flowers.

Shatchakra enacted the raisingof Kundalini from the base of thespinal column upwards throughthe six centers (chakra), each pre-sided over by a specific mantra,element, and deity, until it bloomsat the thousand-petalled lotusabove the crown of the head toimmerse the yogi in perpetual

Shweta Venkatesh, Suma Rajanna, Gulab Sha, K Rashmi, SJ Sowmya, GV Lathamani, KR Pallavi, Kavyashree

Nagaraj, Lathashrinivasan Naidu, and CJ Sandhyarani

Acrobatic Karnataka folk dance Kamsali

Yogic Shatchakra in Bharatanatyam style

with their first folk number, theKolata stick dance from Andhraand Karnataka. In solos, in duets,in trios the revelers struck theirsticks to create an audio trail thatfollowed their geometric move-ments that seemed to produce aninvisible fabric of dance.

The acrobatic Kamsali is de-rived from the performances impro-vised by wandering Veera Shaivamendicants (jangama) as theyawaited food at doorsteps in theKarnataka hamlet that is home totheir deity. The brass plate andcup used to receive alms wererhythmically clashed to the ac-companiment of songs that ex-tolled the play of Lord

Mahadeshwara.After their Tirwat, Shweta and

Kavyashree joined their studentsto pay homage to two ancient mar-tial art forms of India and the war-riors who had preserved them.Using the motifs of Thang-Thaand Kalari Payattu, the dance wasalso performed with swords andshields.

The student presentation con-cluded with Bhangra, the virileharvest dance from Punjab per-formed with martial movementsbut as an expression of joy, nowa-days also by women.

bliss.Venkatesh and Nagaraj per-

formed two duets in Kathak style.Ramdas' Prabandh was a techni-cal composition set to Teen Taalhighlighting its various technicalelements. Their subsequent two-part Tirwat mainly in ragaMadhukauns was first set to dif-ferent melodies then to differentrhythms, ending in competitionbetween pakhwaj and tabla, wherethey rivaled each other in display-ing dexterous footwork with theankle bells.

The six students continued

Students offer homage to India's ancient martial arts tradition

India Post 25October 25, 2013www.indiapost.com


First Bank & Trust celebrates LEED Gold CertificationIndia Post News Service

SKOKIE: First Bank & Trustand the Skokie Chamber of Com-merce co-hosted a Gold Celebra-tion on September 24 to celebratethe Gold-Level LEED certificationof its 3,600 square-foot eco-friendly branch at 4007 DempsterStreet.

This certification by the U.S.Green Building Council under itsLeadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design (LEED) programidentifies and rewards the bestpractices for a building's energy,water and natural resource perfor-mance. Highlights of 4007Dempster Street building designinclude floor to ceiling "daylightharvesting" windows, a green roofand a geothermal heating andcooling system.

Approximately 100 guests at-tended including Skokie MayorGeorge Van Dusen, Illinois State

Senator DanielBiss, SkokieChamber ofCommerce Presi-dent HowardMeyer, ProjectArchitect Jo-seph Behles andFirst Bank &Trust ManagingDirector andCEO, RobertYohanan andManaging Di-rector, Jay Lytlewere among theguests andspeakers at theLEED Gold Cel-ebration.

"This is animportant les-son about themutual positiveinteraction ofrunning a suc-

cessful profitable business, givingback to the community, and engag-ing in a very visionary long-termapproach to sustainability," saidState Senator Daniel Biss. "I'mpleased to be included today inthe celebration of the work you'redoing."

In presenting the Gold-LevelLEED certificate to RobertYohanan and Jay Lytle, SkokieMayor George Van Dusen said,"Not only have they led insustainability and within theSkokie Chamber of Commerce, butFirst Bank & Trust also helped theVillage of Skokie in a time of need.When the bank told the Village thatthey wanted to put in a building atCrawford and Dempster thatwould be a monument to what theVillage stands, we couldn't havebeen happier. We felt that by sta-bilizing this corner, it would bringin additional business. And in factthat is what it has."

L to R: Proudly showing the official LEED Gold Certification, First Bank & Trust Assistant Vice

President David Putrus, First Bank & Trust Assistant Vice President Lu Ann Stempel, First Bank &

Trust Managing Director Jay Lytle, Illinois State Senator Daniel Biss, Skokie Mayor George Van

Dusen, First Bank & Trust Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Robert Yohanan, and

Skokie Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Howard Meyer.

Pic Duron Studio Photography

Indian scientist Dr Meshri gets rare recognition in Oklahoma

RAMESH SOPARAWALA


CHICAGO: It is an old sayingby now that states "Think Globallyand Act Locally". A globe trottingIndian scientist Dr Dayal Meshrihowever has modified the sayingthru his actions - Act locally andalso Act globally - through shar-ing his knowledge and expertise

in Specially Chemicals with manya global firm in East, West andSouth. And in the process he hasearned recognition from aroundthe world.

It was a fitting recognitiontherefore for this dour scientistthat a Tulsa-Oklahoma based no

L to R Julie Meshri, Dr Dayal Meshri, Sanjay Meshri L to R Rana Sangha, Dr Dayal Meshri, Rani Lal,

Baljeet BhinharDr Meshri seen receiving the award L to R Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett,

Dr Dayal Meshri

profit organization Tulsa GlobalAlliance (TGA) should choose himto be one of the three recipientsfor its prestigious Global VisionAward last month.

TGA, established 36 years ago,is dedicated to increasing globalawareness, understanding and op-portunities in Northeastern Okla-homa and it annually recognizesand honors an outstanding indi-

vidual and an outstand-ing organization forsignificant and lastingcontributions to citizendiplomacy, global un-derstanding, world po-litical stability, religiousaccord, internationaltrade or cooperative ef-forts to solve health,social or environmentalchallenges.

With decades long efforts inthis direction, Dr Meshri was cho-sen as one of the three recipients.The foremost reason, as put byTGA sources, is that he lives andbreathes citizen diplomacythrough his business and personalrelationships and through his gen-

of nearly 400 guests and invitees.Dr Meshri was recognized alongwith his son Sanjay Meshri, vicepresident and managing directorof the company. Interestingly, DrMeshri is the first Indian Ameri-can to be so recognized by TGA.

The two other recipi-ents were Raymonand Nancy Feldman,and the Rotary Clubof Tulsa.

Tusla MayorDewet Bartleet Jrwas one of the celeb-rity guests and a key-note speaker. He eu-logized the servicesthat Dr Meshri hasrendered to the Cityand its citizens andalso presented himwith an appreciationcertificate from theCity Of Tulsa for hisglobal vision and un-derstanding. Theother speakers werePhil Lakin Jr and KenBusby who acted asemcee too.Recognition Certificate from Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett

Tusla Mayor Dewet BartleetJr was one of the celebrityguests and a keynotespeaker. He eulogized theservices that Dr Meshri hasrendered

erous home hospitality of so manyinternational visitors brought toTulsa through TGA sponsoredprograms. He significantly con-tributes to global understandingof other cultures and for visitorsfrom other countries to better un-

derstand America, Oklahoma andTulsa.

Dr Dayal Meshri, who headsAdvance Research Chemicals waspresented the award at a glitter-ing function held at OklahomaJazz Hall of Fame in the presence


Natraj blossoms into top travel firm of ChicagolandSURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: With twenty yearsexperience under its belt, NatrajTravel headed by CEO DeepakShah and President Madhu Shahis bracing for further improvementin its services and meet new chal-lenges head on.

In a talk to this paper, DeepakShah said that from a modest startin 1993, Natraj Travel has now es-tablished itself as a premier travelfirm bagging awards and high ac-colades from members of the air-line industry and the travelingpublic at large. "The prime rea-sons for our success and hugeconfidence that we enjoy in ourbusiness are just two: High levelof integrity with the airliners andour clients alike and second, thecustomized care that we and allmembers of our staff have beenbestowing to our valued custom-

ers all the time," he said.Madhu Shah, President, he

pointed out, has been in the travelindustry since 1976. Taking to theindustry in Mumbai, she contin-ued to refine her craft while work-ing at various agencies in the

Chicagoland area. "After taking afew years off to raise the kids, itwas time to get back into the busi-ness , and here she is serving allof us as a rock star," Deepak said

"As with most new businesses,we experienced a fair share ofgrowing pains. However, Madhu'sknowledge and expertise in thetravel field was clearly valued byher customers. While customersclearly appreciated her insight, weneeded to differentiate ourselvesfrom other travel agencies. In Sep-tember 1996, we moved to 3601West Devon Ave and two yearslater added agents, and I decidedto come aboard full time, "headded.

With the expansion, it was timeto set a strategic direction. Themanagement decided to be the firstfull service agency with airline con-

tracts selling directly to customers.It was also the call of the time to betech savy and the company canboast technically savvy staff witha sharp customer focus.

"Our first major break was in2001. We were offered contracts

for Air India and Kuwait Airways.With time, we also acquired con-tracts with Jet Airways and King-fisher Airlines," Madhu Shah saidrecalling yesteryears.

Concurrently, Natraj is a pre-ferred vendor for local small andmedium size software companies.Access to the corporate world al-lowed it to increase the customerbase tremendously. "We had bestof both worlds, direct corporatebusiness plus the employee per-sonal travel," Madhu Shah added.

"By 2007, we had establishedourselves as one of the premieragencies in the US with the busi-ness improving to about 8-9% ev-ery year with total sales in 2012jumping to $10M. Over the yearswe must have serviced over a mil-lion customers," Deepak Shahpointed out.

Natraj partners with multipleairlines including Etihad, British-American, and Lufthansa-Unitedfor over $1M. The biggest partneris Air India, where it has consis-tently been doing business over$1.5M. "Our newest endeavor iswith Qatar Airlines, which we havealready grown to over half a mil-

lion in less than two years."As said, the secret to our suc-

cess is and will always be our greatstaff and management style. Wehave an extremely talented teamwith extensive backgrounds in thetravel industry and customer rela-tions. I consider them to be thecream of the crop" Deepak added.

"To meet the needs of continu-ally growing operation, the man-agement has added more full timereservation agents, as well an in-house accounting staff. With cus-tomers across the country: Ourmotto is to keep it simple...One sat-isfied customer at a time. With firstclass personalized service we driverepeat business, while continuallyexpanding our customer base.

"The future of the travel agentindustry presents unique chal-lenges. Airlines are cutting com-missions and the Internet is now aresource for customers. I say therewill always be a need for a goodreputable travel agent who isavailable almost 24/7, that pro-vides personalized customer ser-

vice at an affordable and competi-tive price.

"We understand the growingneeds of our customers and wouldlike to be a one stop shop for allinternational travel. Expanding onour strong expertise in interna-tional air tickets, we will offer cus-tomized Group Vacations, EventPlanning and Honeymoons," heconcluded.

CEO Deepak Shah and President Madhu Shah

Natraj Travel Team with CEO and President

"The future of the travel agent industry pre-sents unique challenges. Airlines are cuttingcommissions and the Internet is now a re-source for customers. I say there will alwaysbe a need for a good reputable travel agentwho is available almost 24/7”

Yale provides Hindu Prayer Room in its complex SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: Close on the heelsof the University of Chicago es-tablishing a Vivekananda Chair, oneof the most prestigious centers oflearning not only in USA but theworld across, the New Haven basedYale University has now set up aHindu Prayer Room.

This Hindu Prayer Room includesa traditional temple hanging bell,images of Swami Vivekananda,Nataraja statue and Hindu deities. Itis open Sunday to Thursday 7-11pmin the basement of Bingham Hall.

Yale University on a 342-acre cam-pus in New Haven (Connecticut),founded in 1701, with an operatingbudget of $2.82 billion, has about 15

million volumes in its library and itsacceptance rate is 7.1%. About 12,000students attend Yale, whose under-graduate tuition, room and board cost$55,300. Joseph R. Crespo, PeterSalovey and Sharon M.K.Kugler areTrustees Chair, President and Chap-lain respectively.

Indians across Chicago land andMidwest have welcomed the resur-gent interest in Hinduism and as putby Sohan Joshi, president of Na-tional Federation of Indian Associa-tions; this gives a shot in arm to In-dians across the world to shore uptheir activities in promoting Indianculture and thoughts globally. Yale University in New Haven, CT

Cont’d on page29

October 25, 2013India Post28

www.indiapost.com


Rajan Zed, President of Univer-sal Society of Hinduism, describedit as "a step in the right direction".Zed commended Yale for recogniz-ing the intersection of spiritualityand education, which was impor-tant in Hinduism.

Nand Kapoor, former chief of

Yale provides Hindu PrayerRoom in its complex

Association of Indians in Americajoined Rajan in urging USA uni-versities and colleges, both pub-lic and private, to respond to thespiritual needs of diverse studentbodies and provide dedicatedHindu prayer/meditation roomsfor quiet reflection, festivals andspiritual exercise; which wouldhelp in their personal growth.


Daler Mehndi rocks Bay Areawith hit numbers

Dr K.J. Srinivasa, Daler Mehndi, Dr Romesh Japra and Vijay Thapar

RITU MAHESHWARI

India Post News

Service

HAYWARD, CA:"Tunak TunakTun", "BhangraKing", "Indian PopBaadshah" all con-jure up one name -Daler Mehndi. Com-ing from a family ofmusic lovers, Dalerhit it big with his firstalbum "Bole Ta RaRa" and ever sincehas created a musicgenre of its own. Heused his strongbackground in mu-sic, love for Punjabiand a passion forexperimenting withdifferent styles to give hit songsone after another.

Over past two decades, DalerMehndi has been entertainingmusic lovers with non-stop musichits and has performed to packed

halls across the world. His latesthit song is " Besharam: Chal HandUthake Nachche" for movieBesharam.

Mehta Entertainment organizedhis latest tour in US. Daler per-formed his musical magic in LasVegas and San Francisco Bayarea. His tour was widely antici-pated and his fans were eagerly

waiting for the day. Deepak Mehta,CEO of Mehta Entertainment saidthat all his shows were grand suc-cesses and fans enjoyed to the hilt.

Harjeet Mehndi, Meera and Daler Mehndi performing hit songs.

Pics Venkatesh Bukka from Venkys Photography

Daler Mehndi had the audience enthralled

Mrs and Mr Srinivasa, Deepak Mehta, Dr Japra and Vijay Thapar

Meera had the stage on fire with her exoticdance numbers and performances. Every-one became an instant fan of hers. DalerMehndi and his crew performed hit songsone after another

Daler Mehndi performed in Bayarea at Chabot College PerformingArts Center, 25555 Hesperian Blvd,Hayward, CA. Performing alongwith him was Meera, a leadingsinger from Pakistan and his singerbrother Harjeet Mehndi.

Meera had the stage on firewith her exotic dance numbers andperformances. Everyone becamean instant fan of hers. DalerMehndi and his crew performedhit songs one after another andentertained the audience. As theshow progressed, many peoplegathered in front of the stage andit converted into a full fledgedPunjabi dance fest.

In wrapping up his hectic tour,Daler won hearts of his audiencein Bay area.


Fairfield City Council opens with Hindu prayerIndia Post News Service

FAIRFIELD: Fairfield CityCouncil in California (USA), incor-porated in 1903, had its first his-toric Hindu invocation on Octo-ber 15, containing verses fromworld's oldest existing scripture.

Rajan Zed, President of Univer-sal Society of Hinduism, deliveredthe invocation from ancient San-skrit scriptures before the CityCouncil. After Sanskrit delivery, hethen read the English translationof the prayer.

Zed recited from Rig-Veda, theoldest scripture of the world stillin common use, besides lines fromUpanishads and Bhagavad-Gita(Song of the Lord), both ancientHindu scriptures. He started andended the prayer with "Om", themystical syllable containing theuniverse, which in Hinduism isused to introduce and conclude

CAIR-CA testifies at civilrights hearing


LOS ANGELES: A representa-tive of the California chapter of theCouncil on American-Islamic Re-lations (CAIR-CA) testified at astate assembly hearing entitled"Diversity in California: A Conver-sation About Us." The hearingwas held by the Assembly SelectCommittee on Human Rights, Di-

versity and Race Relations.Panels drawn from civil rights

groups, university researchers andlocal government provided testi-mony in order to help lawmakersidentify policy remedies for pre-serving security without compro-mising civil liberties at the localand national level.

Cont’d on page 31

religious work.Reciting from

Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyormamrtam gamaya", which he thentranslated as "Lead me from theunreal to the Real, Lead me fromdarkness to Light, and Lead mefrom death to Immortality."

Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita,he urged councilmembers to keepthe welfare of others always inmind. Councilmembers, city em-ployees and public were seenstanding in prayer mode with theirheads bowed down during this in-vocation.

Zed presented a copy ofprayerbook Srihanumanchalisa toMayor Harry T. Price, who intro-duced Zed. "It is a historic moment

Just before the Fairfield City Council Hindu invocation, from left to right, are Vice-Mayor Rick Vaccaro, Councilmember Pam Bertani, President of Universal

Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed and Mayor Harry T. Price.

Brahadaranyakopanishad, RajanZed said, "Asato ma sad gamaya,

of pride for the community whenthe prayers from ancient Sanskritscriptures are being read in thisgreat hall of democracy of thisgreat city of Fairfield", Zed statedbefore starting the invocation.

Located almost midway be-tween San Francisco and Sacra-mento, Fairfield is known for itsJelly Belly jelly bean factory. No-table people associated with it in-clude actor Pat Morita, footballplayers Desmond Bishop andSteve Johnson, baseball prayerBrad Bergesen and chef Cat Cora.Rick Vaccaro and Sean Quinn areVice-Mayor and City Manager re-spectively.


Fabulous show of Alice in Wonderland in Bay AreaALEXANDRA DRECHSLER

ported by the City of MilpitasMayor Jose Esteves, City of SanJose Councilmember Rose Herrera,Santa Clara County Third DistrictSupervisor Dave Cortese, and ABSCBN Foundation International.The show is produced by the di-rector of Norcal Academy,ElvieTeodoro and is being di-rected by Leilani Amour.

Norcal Academy of PerformingArts is a nonprofit organization

that assists children and providesfunding and scholarships forthose with a strong love for mu-sic. Part of their mission states,"As a community we have a re-sponsibility to give every childevery opportunity to succeed andpursue their talents."

The rendition that the produc-tion will be performing is centeredon the 1951 Disney classic withadditional lines from David

Simpatico. The music was adaptedfor the screenplay with lyrics fromBryan Louiselle.

The performance can be seenat the Mexican Heritage Plaza The-ater near Alum Rock Avenue inSan Jose. Cast A can be seen Fri-day, October 25 @7:00 and Satur-day, October 26, @ 2:00. Cast Bperformances will be shown onSaturday, 26 @ 7:00 and Sunday,October 27 @ 3:00.

The Northern CaliforniaAcademy of PerformingArts in conjunction with

Evergreen Studio of Music andThe Arts presents Walt Disney'sclassic story of Alice in Wonder-land. After a recent successfulproduction of Hairspray that ap-pealed to a more mature audience,the production has returned tobring the Bay Area a fabulousshow performed by a cast of highlytalented child actors.

For the past several months,this show has been underway withcasting, stage building, and cos-tume designing. Not to mentiondancing, singing and acting re-hearsals for the cast in addition totheir schooling. The large cast issplit into two smaller cast groups.Cast A and Cast B gives more op-portunities to their actors to takeon bigger roles with more stagetime.

The production is being sup-

CAIR-CA testifies at civilrights hearing

CAIR-LA Executive DirectorHussam Ayloush testified along-side representatives from severalprominent groups, including BrianNelson, special assistant attorneygeneral to the California Depart-ment of Justice, Robin S. Toma,executive director of the Los An-geles County Human RelationsCommission, Simran Kaur of theSikh Coalition, and others.

Ayloush testified onthe increasing normal-ization of civil rightsabuses targeting Ameri-cans - and in particular -American Muslims.Ayloush highlightedfindings from CAIR'srecent report, "Legislat-ing Fear: Islamophobiaand its Impact in theUnited States," whichcomprehensively exam-ines groups promoting anti-Mus-lim sentiment in our society andthe negative impact those groupshave locally and nationally.

This includes a rise in mosqueopposition cases, the passage ofanti-Islam bills in six states, a risein employment discriminationagainst Muslims and the creationof America's secret no-fly list,which disproportionately affectsAmerican citizens from Muslim-majority countries.

"It is essential for our statelawmakers to understand thatIslamophobia is not only a threat

against American Muslims, butit's a threat to our American val-ues," said Ayloush. "Throughchanging and improving policies,we can bring our nation closer toachieving liberty and justice forall individuals."

Ayloush provided lawmakerswith recommendations on how tocombat the Islamophobia indus-try and its efforts to underminethe values in our U.S. constitu-tion.

The committee chair, Assem-bly Member Isadore Hall (D-Compton), Compton Mayor AjaBrown and committee membersincluding Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), Sr.,Bonnie Lowenthal (D-LongBeach), Paul Fong (D-Cupertino),Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), JimmyGomez (D-Northeast Los Ange-les), Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park),Melissa Melendez (R-LakeElsinore), V. Manuel Perez (D-Coachella), Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo), and others werepresent at the hearing.

"It is essential for our statelawmakers to understandthat Islamophobia is not onlya threat against AmericanMuslims, but it's a threat toour American values," saidAyloush.


32 India Postwww.indiapost.com

October 25, 2013

10 Reasons toCelebrate DiwaliT

here are 10 mythical and historical reasonswhy Diwali is a great time to celebrate. Andthere are good reasons not just for Hindusbut also for all others to celebrate this greatFestival of Lights.

1. Goddess Lakshmi's Birthday: The Goddess ofwealth, Lakshmi incarnated on the new moon day(amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churningof the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the associationof Diwali with Lakshmi.

2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day(Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation asVaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the prison of KingBali and this is another reason of worshipping MaLarkshmi on Diwali.

3. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preced-ing Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon kingNarakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his captiv-ity. The celebration of this freedom went on for twodays including the Diwali day as a victory festival.

4. The Return of the Pandavas: According to the greatepic 'Mahabharata', it was 'Kartik Amavashya' when thePandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as aresult of their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at thegame of dice (gambling). The subjects who loved thePandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.

5. The Victory of Rama: According to the epic'Ramayana', it was the new moon day of Kartik when LordRam, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya aftervanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizensof Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the earthen lampsand illuminated it like never before.

6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatestHindu King Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day,hence Diwali became a historical event as well.

7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: It wasthe new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day)when Maharshi Dayananda, oneof the greatest reformers ofHinduism and the founder

of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.8. Special Day for the Jains: Mahavir Tirthankar,

considered to be the founder of modern Jainism alsoattained his nirvana on Diwali day.

9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh GuruAmar Das institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Daywhen all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus bless-ings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Templeat Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth SikhGuru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal EmperorJahengir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with52 kings.

10. Kali Pooja in Bengal: The much celebrated KaliPooja of West Bengal coincides with the Diwali Festi-val. Gusto and enthusiasm for Kali Puja in West Bengalis same as seen for Diwali in rest of India. The onlyapparent difference is that while rest of India worshipsGoddess Lakshmi on this day, in West Bengal GoddessKali is the chief deity for the occasion.

October 25, 2013

India Post33www.indiapost.com

October 25, 2013


October 25, 2013


Ranbir Kapoor celebrates Diwali at Times SquareBollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor along

with his parents Rishi and NeetuKapoor celebrated Diwali at Times

Square, New York as a part of promotionsfor their film 'Besharam'.

Indians here got off to an early start tothe festivities with day-long celebrationsat Times Square showcasing Indian culture,cuisine and bringing together renownedartists from the Indian film industry.

Hundreds of Indian-Americans gatheredat the popu-lar touristdestinationhere for the'Diwali atT i m e sSquare' ex-travaganzapresentedb yMaharashtraTourism.

R a n b i rKapoor, hisp a r e n t sRishi andN e e t uKapoor ands i n g e rS h a n k a rMahadevanmade a spe-cial appear-

ance at a concert that showcased traditionalIndian dances and music.

Dressed in a black 'sherwani', the youngKapoor danced and interacted with his fansas his father recalled visiting the city yearsago and expressing gratitude for the adula-tion shown to him and his family.

Later, the Kapoor trio danced to popularsongs from their movies, enthralling theaudience with their performance.

A section of Times Square was bustlingwith people dressed in traditional attire asthey lined up before booths set up to show-case Indian cuisine, music and fashion.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Cor-poration Managing Director Jagdish Pateltold PTI that the event was an opportunityto bring one of the most important and vi-brant Indian festivals to New York and in-vite people from the city and across theworld to experience Diwali in India.-PTI

October 25, 2013


Women artisans' crafts bazaar in DelhiNEW DELHI: A blend of color-

ful diyas and artworks by differ-ently-abled children and fine In-dian fabrics like Chanderi andleather bags from Shantiniketanare all part of a crafts bazaar whichopened here ahead of Diwali.

"I am happy to see this craftsbazaar and I think it enhances ourculture. I will only tell the artisansto embrace modernity but not toveer away from our traditional

handicraft styles," Culture Min-ister Chandresh Kumari Katochsaid.

She was inaugurating a three-day women artisans' crafts bazaar,'Shilpkala Utsav', at the Aga KhanHall here. The fair is being orga-nized by the All India Women's

Conference (AIWC).Some 50-odd stalls have been

put up by AIWC free of cost topromote artisans and handicraftsfrom around the country.

AIWC President Bina Jain saidthe fair was as an opportunity to"help our sisters".

"Stalls like 'Humari Udaan' dis-play diyas done by differently-abled girls... We are very happyand proud of that," she said.

"There is no commercial mo-tive behind the event. AIWC's aimsince its inception in the 1920shas been to only empower womenand prepare them to earn their live-lihood. At this bazaar, we are alsopromoting NGOs and state andnationally awarded artisans,

among others," Jain said.A separate room at the fair has

been allotted to the Air ForceWives' Welfare Association(AFWWA) which features some10 or so stalls put up by repre-sentatives from different Com-mands across the country. One ofthe stalls displayed artwork bymentally-challenged studentsfrom Air Force's 'Umeed' centresituated at Subroto Park of Delhi

Cantonment.Soon after the

opening, visitors wereseen at the stalls,browsing items likeBihar's papier macheartefacts, Chanderi,kantha stitches,meenakari, kalamkaridesign fabrics, blockprints, Kota doria,Mirzapur carpets anddurries, Shantinektanleather bags, Kashmiri

shawls, polystone dots statuettes,among others.

The first 'Shilpkala Utsav' washeld in 2001, but the fair was sus-pended for a few years in betweenbefore being revived last year,said event coordinator, RituSinghal. -PTI

October 25, 2013


October 25, 2013


Donate for relief this Diwali: PM

50 pc rebate to tourists in J&K this DiwaliSRINAGAR: In an effort to

boost tourist arrivals during off-season, Jammu and Kashmir gov-ernment has announced a 50 percent rebate on lodging and trans-port charges to those visiting theValley on the eve of Diwali andSaffron festival.

"Jammu and Kashmir Tourism

Development Corporation willprovide 50 per cent rebate on lodg-ing and transport charges to thetourists visiting Kashmir," Tour-ism Minister G A Mir said.

Mir chaired a meeting to reviewthe arrangements made by vari-ous departments for three-dayKashmir Saffron festival sched-

NEW DELHI: Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has urged hiswell-wishers to donate money inthe PM's National Relief Fundinstead of sending gifts to himon the occasion of Diwali.

"He has appealed to his wellwishers to make donations to thePrime Minister's National ReliefFund instead of sending giftsfor him," a Prime Minister's Of-fice statement said.

The Prime Minister's statementcomes at a time when natural di-sasters have struck Uttarakhand,Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in thelast few months and large-scalerehabilitation and relief work isbeing carried out there.

The Prime Minister also con-veyed his heartfelt thanks to allthose who are sending him greet-ings and good wishes on the oc-casion of Diwali. -PTI

uled to commence on October 29at Visoo village of Pampore,known as "golden bowl" of Kash-mir for high Saffron produce.

The Minister said private tour-ism players are also going to giveconcessions in boarding andlodging to the tourists during theSaffron and Diwali festivals.

He said tour andtravel operators ofKatra would also orga-nize a familiarizationtour to encourage MataVaishno Devi pilgrimsto participate in the Saf-fron festival.

"During the festivaldays several tourist at-tractions will be show-cased including saffronrun, cultural programs,laughter shows, flower

plucking, painting competitionbesides setting up different stallsof agro-based products and tra-ditional dresses for photogra-phy," he said.

The main objective of organiz-ing the festival is not only to pro-mote the rare and world famous saf-fron of Kashmir but also to encour-

age and support the educatedyouth in taking tourism related en-trepreneurial activities, he added.

The Minister also emphasizedon carrying out a mass publicitycampaign about the Saffron festi-val especially outside the state toattract more and more tourists tothe Valley. He also instructed au-thorities for proper regulation oftraffic on the Srinagar-Jammu Na-tional Highway near the festivalsite for smooth movement of ve-hicles. -PTI

October 25, 2013


October 25, 2013


Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar SquareLONDON: Sitar player

Anoushka Shankar, the half-sis-ter of Norah Jones, will be per-forming at this weekend's Diwalicelebrations in Trafalgar Square.

The composer, the daughter ofthe legendary Ravi Shankar, whopassed away last year, will play aset including tracks from her newalbum Traces of You, which she

collaborated on with musician andcomposer Nitin Sawhney, andwhich also features Jones.

The free event on Sunday willalso include traditional Garba danc-

ing and activities for children.Shankar said: "I am thrilled to

be a part of this wonderful eventand am excited about performingto the multi-cultural crowds ofLondon during this beautiful fes-tival.

"It feels really special to me tobe connected to Diwali in Londonespecially as I was born here and

recently moved back tothe city."

Diwali, the festival oflights, is celebrated overfive days by Hindusacross the world.

Sunday's event inTrafalgar Square hasbeen organized by theMayor's office in partner-ship with media partnerZee and the Diwali inLondon committee.

London Mayor Boris Johnsonsaid: "London would not be theexciting and dynamic city that itis without the many communitiesthat contribute to its dynamism

and prosperity, something that isreflected in festivals like ourDiwali celebrations.

"It has a powerful message,about peace, mutual respect andthe victory of light over evil, whichis important for Londoners as wellas to Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

"I wish everyone celebrating inLondon and beyond a happy andprosperous Diwali."

With TV presenter Asad Shanfrom Zing as compere, events willkick off with the traditional Garbaand dancing in the middle of thesquare, accompanied by live mu-sic from Bali and Angrez. Otherperformers will include the singer-songwriter Chirag Rao, who willbe performing a range of Hindimusic.

Ameet Aggarwal, Diwali inLondon chairman 2013, said:"Diwali is a beautiful festival thatcan be enjoyed by every commu-nity and I am delighted TrafalgarSquare is hosting the Diwali cel-ebrations yet again.Anoushka Shankar

"It feels really special tome to be connected toDiwali in London especiallyas I was born here andrecently movedback to the city”

October 25, 2013


October 25, 2013


Outdoor campaigns steal sparkle from TV adsCHENNAI: TV ads seem to be

losing steam as companies areexploring media beyond televi-sion to reach out to customers.Out-of-home (OOH) media suchas hoardings/billboards, bus-backpanels, bus shelters and cinemascreens are gaining attention thisfestive season, along with otherplatforms like print and digitalmedia.

High ad rates and the growthseen in other forms of advertisingare encouraging advertisers to

look outside the TV. TV ad tariffsover the last few months have shotup following a recent regulation bythe Telecom Regulatory Authorityof India (Trai) capping ad time onchannels to 12 minutes per hour.

Mobile phone retailerUniverCell, for instance, has gonecompletely off-air. "The rates havebeen pushed up because of theregulation, so we have no TV adsthis season. Social media havebeen growing rapidly and we arealso aggressive on outdoor me-

dia," said Soumya Menon, V-P ofmarketing and brand strategy,UniverCell Telecommunications.

Apparel discount chainEuropa too finds other modes ofadvertising to be more effectivethis Diwali.

Though the spends are stillhigh in value terms for TV adsbecause of the rates, the companyhas focused more on OOH mediaand print ads, says RaghunathNarayanan, managing director ofEuropa Group.

October 25, 2013


www.indiapost.comIndia Post

TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS

1 Party All Night: Boss2 Gulaabi: Shuddh Desi Romance3 Main Rang Sharbaton Ka:

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero4 Boss (Title Track): Boss5 Nagada Sang Dhol: Ram-Leela6 Hum Na Tode: Boss7 Laal Ishq: Ram-Leela8 Besharam ( Title Track) :

Besharam9 Ye Tune Kya Kiya: Once Upon

A Time In Mumbaai Dobara10 Ram Chaahe Leela: Ram-Leela

46 October 25, 2013

Aamir Khan does things to the teeand his reputation as Mr Perfection- ist precedes him. While Aamir's new

avatar in Dhoom 3 is highly awaited (he playsa villain, the actor has apparently been keptfrom giving his inputs.

In most of his films, Aamir always gives hisviews and decisions but things might be a little

different for YRF's Dhoom 3.According to a report in Zoom, the makers of the

film are keeping Aamir miles away to close the post pro-duction work quickly.

From his early days starting from Lagaan till now,the star has always been privy to the rough cuts of

his movies. From Ashutosh Gowarikar to ReemaKagti, Aamir has provided his inputs to all and

every director has incorporated his wishesin the final cut as well.

Since Dhoom 3 is slated for release this Christmas,the banner probably intends to start promotions with abang post the release of Krrish 3. Giventhat the release isn't too far, the pro-ducers fear a delay in promotionsif the icon demands changes!

Aamir always gives his views anddecisions but things might be a little

different for YRF's Dhoom 3.

Deepika Padukone has struck a profit-sharing deal with theproducers of her upcoming short film 'Finding FannyFernandes'.

In a rather interestingquid pro quo ar-rangement, the ac-tress has taken a paycut for the film beingdirected by HomiAdajania, insteadadding a clause in her contract which stipulates that shewill get a share in the profits if the film crosses a certainmark on the box-office.

A source in the film which is currently being shot inGoa said, "Deepika was very keen to be a part of the filmand she has a close relationship with Homi and DineshVijan, the producer of the film. She has worked with the pro-ducers in 'Cocktail' and 'Love Aaj Kal' so didn't mind takingher price down for the film. But there is a clause which men-tions that if the film makes money Deepika will get a share aswell."

Kangana Ranaut, who will be seen doing a lot ofaction in "Krrish 3", says etching out the role was physically taxing.

"It was difficult because it was physically challeng-ing for me. The action was a bit unreal. It was

very raw and a normal human beings can't doit," Kangana says.

"Our action director had come from Chinaand the fight sequences were very difficult.Overall, I had to learn a lot for the film. I feel myexperience with 'Krrish 3' was physically chal-lenging," she added.

A sci-fi thriller, "Krrish 3" will take forwardthe story of a superhero, played by HrithikRoshan, while Kangana is the superwoman in it.

"Trying different roles is my priority. I havegot acceptance in each genre and that's a greatachievement for me," said the actress who wona National Award for her work in "Fashion".

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www.indiapost.comIndia Post49 October 25, 2013

Imphal, the tiny capital city of the northeastern state ofManipur, is an ideal destination off the beaten track.The landscape of green-blue hills, lush fields and lowclouds is like an exquisite painting.

It is one of the few places in India where nothing seemsto have changed. It is a tiny valley tucked away in thenortheastern state of Manipur. Relics of an old, historicalpalace, well-planned temples and ceremonial houses in alltheir splendor amidst the tall pine and jackfruit trees, speakof Imphal's ancient past.

At places, Imphal looks almost like a painting - cloudshanging low over long stretches of lush green fields andnumerous small hills of the green-blue Koubrou andNamaijing ranges forming a garland around the valley. Add-ing a riot of color are hundreds of orchids.

more than a hundred rare varieties of orchids. The besttime to visit the orchidarium is in the months of April andMay when the orchids are in full bloom.

One of the main features of Imphal is the KhwairambandBazaar. What makes this market different is that it is runby women. Split into two sections on either side of theroad, it has tribal women clad in colorful, traditional at-tire, selling everything from hand-woven shawls, skirts,vessels, mugs and mats to fish, lotus, oranges and or-ange-flavored honey. And if you wander in the quaintbylanes around the market, you will get a glimpse ofManipur's customs and traditions.

Cont’d on page 51

The best way to visit the places in Imphal is to hire anauto-rickshaw or a cycle-rickshaw on an hourly basis. Itwill take you to all the interesting sites and finally to thecentral market where you can spend as much time as youlike.

Lying at the center of Manipur valley, Imphal is one ofthe most ancient towns in the Indian subcontinent and hasmuch to offer to a discerning tourist.

Tourist attractionsEight kilometers from Imphal, at the foot of the pine-

covered hillocks, you will find a wealth of rare birds, ani-mals and reptiles at the Manipur Zoological Gardens. Inthe zoo's sylvan surroundings, you will even get a glimpseof one of the rarest species of deer in the world, the grace-ful brow-antlered thamin deer.

Then there is the Khonghampat Orchidarium that has

India Post October 25, 201350 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Ex-astronaut aims for stars as travel destinationHOUSTON, TX: Most people can't

fathom the vast distances between the sunand even its closest neighbors.

Consider the Voyager 1 spacecraft, whichearlier this year made international headlinesafter becoming the first man-made object todepart the solar system after nearly 40 yearsof zipping away from Earth. Were the sun inHouston and the nearest star system in LosAngeles, Voyager would have traveled lessthan one mile of an interstellar journey.

The interstellar chasm is so great it's au-dacious - some might say preposterous - toconsider sending humans to visit worldsaround other stars. But Mae Jemison, aformer astronaut, is having the time of herlife dreaming just that dream. ``All my lifeI've liked challenges,'' said Jemison, the firstblack woman to fly in space.

This seemingly crazy notion of flying todistant worlds has begun to shake off someof the ̀ `giggle'' factor in recent years, how-ever.

Foremost, in 2011, U.S. Defense Ad-vanced Research Projects Agency andNASA's Ames Center offered $500,000 toan organization willing to begin thinkingabout and planning a mission to a nearbystar.

``The 100 Year Starship study is aboutmore than building a spacecraft or any onespecific technology,'' Paul Eremenko, De-fense Advanced's coordinator for the study,said at the time. ``We endeavor to exciteseveral generations to commit to the re-

search and development of breakthroughtechnologies ... to advance the goal of long-distance space travel but also to benefitmankind.''

A group organized by Jemison won thegrant and created the 100 Year Starship pro-gram, based in Houston.

The idea of interstellar human travel hasgained further credence during the last de-cade because, for the first time, scientistshave begun to find Earth-sized planetsaround other stars.

Lee Billings, who wrote ``Five BillionYears of Solitude,'' a book about the astrono-mers who pioneered the discovery of

exoplanets, said the scientists are well awarethat their work is akin to the first primitiveefforts 500 years ago to map the WesternHemisphere.

``That's something that keenly, achinglyinforms their work and their thoughts,'' Bill-ings said. ``These researchers realize they

are part of what may be a much greater,grander story that begins but does not endupon the Earth and perhaps even extendsout beyond the solar system into the vastfrontier of interstellar space.''

It is one thing, of course, to glimpse shad-ows of these planets on their stars. It isquite another to fly humans to them. Of this,Jemison is aware.

During an interview, she cited a 1901novel written by H.G. Wells about a fanciful

trip by a businessman and scientist to themoon, titled ̀ `The First Men in the Moon.''There they found a civilization of insect-like extraterrestrials.

``We knew very little about anything interms of space technology and rocketrywhen that book was written, and yet 70 yearslater we were on the moon,'' Jemison said.``Our technological arc is much steeper now.We're at a point where our knowledge andour ability to research and find out things ismuch greater than it was in 1901. So while itmay be a really, really hard problem, I don'tthink it's beyond human capabilities.''

The project has captured the imagina-tion of some notable public officials, includ-ing former President Bill Clinton, who servedas the honorary chair of the first annualmeeting in 2012.

``This important effort helps advance theknowledge and technologies required toexplore space, all while generating the nec-essary tools that enhance our quality of lifeon Earth,'' Clinton said at the time.

Last month, the organization held its sec-ond annual meeting in Houston. It includedtechnical discussions of propulsion sys-tems to cover light-years of distance as wellas softer sciences such as what these in-trepid explorers would wear. It was a mix ofscience and science fiction, of physical andsocial sciences, of professional scientistsand amateur observers.

``Some of the hard-core technical peopleare disappointed,'' said Planetary SocietyEmeritus Executive Director Lou Friedman,in a podcast for his organization, after at-tending. -AP

56 pc Union tourism budgetspent on North East

ITANAGAR: Union Tourism ministryhas spent 56 per cent of its budget duringthe last six months in the northeast to in-crease the inflow of domestic and foreigntourists.

Union Tourism Secretary Parvez Dewaninformed this while talking to reporters onthe sidelines of International Tourism Mart-2013 in Tawang district.

Dewan appealed to 68 delegates from 23countries to become ambassadors ofArunachal tourism to facilitate flow of tour-ists from their respective nations to this partof India.

Responding to queries, Dewan said In-dia records 105 crore domestic tourists and65 lakh foreign tourists annually yieldingrevenue of $18 billion fromforeigners whichamounted to 6.5 per centof national GDP, besidesgenerating about 10 percent direct or indirect em-ployment.

"NE India has been re-ceiving about 59,000 for-eign tourists but thisevent would hopefully in-crease the inflow of tour-ists by 10 per cent a year,"

he said.On relaxation of restricted area permit

(RAP) for foreigners in Arunachal Pradesh,tourism consultant P Sivaraman informedthat the relaxation has been given to manytourist circuits and more would be given onreceipt of request from the state govern-ment.

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who inau-gurated the ITM-2013 said that in the nextfew years, the Trans-Arunachal Highwayconnecting Tawang to almost all district HQsup to Kanubari in far east Longding, four-lane highway, four-lane East West Corridorconnecting Assam and Arunachal Pradeshwould bring a sea change by removing com-munication bottlenecks.-PTI

India PostOctober 25, 2013 51Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Imphal Green-blue hills, lush fields and low cloudsCont’d from page 49

The core of Imphal's traditions,however, lies in its varioustemples. The most important ofthese is the Shri GovindajeeTemple, a historic center forVaishnavites. A simple, twin-domed structure, it adjoins themagnificent palace of the formerrulers of Manipur. Constructed inthe early 18th century under theRajarishi Bhagyachandra regime,the temple comes alive during fes-tivals when thousands of peoplecome to offer prayers.

The best time to visit it is dur-ing Holi, also known in Manipuras Dolijatra or Yaosong when boysand girls do the Thaba Changbafolk dance, all night. In the centerof the temple stands the presidingdeity, Lord Vishnu flanked by theshrines of Balarama and Krishnaon one side and Jagannatha on theother. The temple also has a pavedcourt and a large raised congrega-

tion hall.The Manipur State Museum is

also worth a visit. The museum hasa rich collection of Manipuri cos-tumes, war implements, historicaldocuments and relics, and givesyou a sample of the state's com-plex history. Here, the visitors canalso see sculptures of the localforest gods, and the motif of thePhakangba, the man who couldturn himself into a dragon. Repre-sented in his dragon form,Phakangba is considered as theancestor of all Vaishnavites. Allthese things speak about the im-portance that the Manipuris attachto the organic relations of human-

ity with nature.Right in the heart of the city is

the tall Shahid Minar at the BirTirkendrajit Park that was built inmemory of Manipur's martyrs whosacrificed their lives for India's in-dependence.

From another era, there are thefamous cemeteries of the Britishand the Indian armies that com-memorate those who died in theSecond World War. Well main-tained by the CommonwealthGrave Commissions, it has stonemarkers and stone plaques, eachof which has a record of the sacri-fice made by the soldiers.

Yet another special feature ofImphal is the Archery Stakes thatare held everyday on various low-lying stretches of ground just be-low a stand of conifers. Evolvedfrom an ancient tribal sport, it isstill very popular in Manipur andone can see archers shooting asmany as 500 arrows within a spanof a few minutes.

For the history buffs, there is inthe heart of the city the Old Palacewith interesting ruins of an old for-tress wall and a palace.

If you want to add a touch ofglamour to your visit, plan a trip tothe city during November whenImphal becomes the stage for anational festival of classical danceon the lines of the Khajuraho,Ellora and Badrinath festivals.

Imphal boasts of the biggestfreshwater lake in the country, theLoktak.

Places aroundThere are a number of places

an hour or two away from Imphal,

each more beautiful than the other.Moirang is just 45 km away and itis here that Netaji SubhashChandra Bose first hoisted the flagof the Indian National Army (INA)on Indian soil. There is an INAmuseum, which contains letters,photographs, badges of rank andother articles associated with thismovement. There is also a statueof Netaji. The graceful Khamba-Thoibi dance originated here.

Keibul Lamjao National Park, ata distance of 53 km, is supposedto be the last natural habitat of thethamin deer.

Ukhrul (83 km) is the highesthill station of the state; Moreh (100km) is close to the Burma borderand is a commercial center.Tengnoupal is 69 km away andfrom here one can have a full viewof the valley of Manipur.

Best time to visit: October toMarch

How to reach: Indian Airlinesconnects Imphal with Delhi viaGuwahati on a daily basis. Dimapur,

215 km from Imphal, is the nearestrailhead for Manipur. Imphal is con-nected by road with Dimapur byNational Highway 39 and Silcharby National Highway 53.


October 25, 201352


October 25, 201354


www.indiapost.com

Horoscope

Your Weekly FutureOCTOBER 25TH - OCTOBER 31ST, 2013

by Pandit Parashar

(March 21 to April 20)

Planets in seventh will bring you close to an interesting personal-

ity. You will continue to make progress in your efforts to locate a

better job. People in business will do better as one of the competitor

may call it quit. Money wise you will stay comfortable and hope to

make some money through investment made in the past.

(November 23 to December 22)

You will receive help and lead from least expected places. You will

continue to fight for the recognition in the office. Judgement in

legal cases will come in your favor only. Some of you will be looking

for another place to live. News of a new member joining family soon

will cause lots of excitement.

(December 22 to January 19)

There will be some interesting developments in career and soon

you could be moving to next level. Some of you may be in touch

with right people to publish your work. You will try to make good use

of extra time on hands by helping spouse. Slowly you will be working

towards a long distance trip for family reunion also.

(January 20 to February 18)

You will be just lucky in all matters. Things will once again start

moving in right direction. Soon the big contract will be in your

hands. You will gain knowledge and learn trade secrets from a younger

person. It will be another good week for people connected with fi-

nance industry. You will cut down on sweets.

(February 19 to March 20)

You will not only learn something new and useful but will have the

opportunity to share the wisdom with close friends. Boss may

add little pressure by reminding about upcoming deadline. A child

will keep you busy at home with homework. Money wise you will be

able to meet all commitments and still have some left.

(May 21 to June 20)

It will be slightly hard to decide on a major issue so you may seek

outside help. You will try to clean up your desk and find few letters

that require immediate attention. Some of you may be away from

home to attend some important business. Time spent on phone will

not go waste at all. You will be working on a great idea in career.

(July 23 to August 22)

Efforts will not go waste and you will be able to dodge financial

crunch this time also. A very favorable week for people in sales

and communication. Travels and business trips will get instant re-

sults. Investing in property may not be a good idea at the moment.

You will get to see many old friends at the party this week.

(September 23 to October 22)

Health will improve with change in diet and little exercises. Mer-

cury in first will make you little hyper so control the excitement.

New developments in career and in personal life will be the reasons

to celebrate. You will buy some expensive gift for some one. You will

be calling overseas more frequently this week.

(April 21 to May 20)

You will end up allowing some one take undue advantage of your

generosity. Competition will be too much so you will need to

come up with a fool proof plan. You may be able to get rid of property

chewing up your savings for quite some time. Spouse may not agree

on your ideas and have some better plans. There is no harm in lis-

tening.

(June 21 to July 22)

Value of your stocks will appreciate and you may buy another car

or make a bid on a nice property. This is the right time to make

your claim with boss or approach a government official for favor. You

may be thinking of going into partnership with successful people. A

very interesting person will come in your life this week.

(August 23 to September 22)

Planets in second can take you deeper into Red if you are not

careful and so are other family members. You will make big

change in business strategy in order to come way ahead of competi-

tors. It will be better to stick to your plans as friends will give conflict-

ing opinion. You will pay surprise visit to a sibling.

(October 23 to November 22)

You will have to be very careful with new relationship or will find

yourself in trouble soon. You will be excited about the short term

course you are going to start in near future. You may dispose off

stocks recently purchased for a small profit and wait. Business will

be slow but you will make few new clients.

Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individualconsultations. He can be reached at: [email protected]

510-886-4370 website: www.parashar.com

56 India Post October 25, 2013www.indiapost.com

In Brief ImmigrationDetails on page 57

Green carddelays foroverseasspouses

Illegal immigrants asked to leaveBritain via text messages

LONDON: Britain sent mes-sages to nearly 60,000 illegal im-migrants warning them to leave thecountry, but the campaign sparkeda controversy after some legal mi-grants, including an Indian-originrights activist, received the alert.

The Home Office claims only 14out of a total of 58,800 people con-tacted via text, email and post weremistakenly asked if they had over-stayed their visas, but campaign-ers believe the true number is farhigher.

Indian-origin human rights andanti-racism campaigner SureshGrover expressed shock after hereceived the message. "I was ab-solutely shocked and quite horri-fied to receive the text. I thought itwasn't meant for me," he said.

"I came here with my parents in1966, I was born in East Africa andhave always had a British pass-port," said Grover, who is now con-sulting his lawyers on the matter.

The controversy gained furtherground after Prime Minister DavidCameron's office was asked to jus-tify the campaign.

"The prime minister agrees withthe principle of the texts. It is oneof various means the Home Office

contacts people who may nothave the right to remain in the UK,"the PM's official spokespersonsaid.

He acknowledged that thewording of the texts had changedsince the campaign began. Origi-nally, they included the phrase:"You are required to leave the UK

as you no longer have the right toremain."

The messages now read: "Ourrecords show you may not haveleave to remain in the UK. Pleasecontact us to discuss your case."

The messages were sent by pri-vate contractor Capita on behalfof the UK Border Agency(UKBA), which received 140 com-plaints.

"Most complaints occurred inthe early part of the contract whereCapita was, as part of the contract,updating sometimes out-of-date

Home Office records," Capitaclaimed.

The Opposition Labor partydescribed the Conservative-ledgovernment's tactic as "shambolicand incompetent".

News of the latest campaigncame as it emerged that the UKBAplans to extend another controver-sial scheme by introducing "GoHome" vans across Britain.

The vans, which carry posterstelling illegal migrants to leave thecountry or face arrest, could ap-pear in more British cities follow-ing a trial in London, ImmigrationMinister Mark Harper said.

During July, they were drivenaround the London boroughs ofBarking and Dagenham,Redbridge, Barnet, Brent, Ealingand Hounslow for a week, trigger-ing widespread anger among anti-racism campaigners.

The country's AdvertisingStandards Agency had cleared thecampaign of being offensive butruled the statistics carried on thevan were inaccurate.

The campaign had caused ten-sions within the Tory and LiberalDemocrat coalition, with Lib Demleader and business secretaryVince Cable branding it as "stupidand offensive".

Jeremy Browne, the home of-fice minister who has since lost hisjob, had said he would not allowthem to come back. -PTI

Indian-origin human rights and anti-racismcampaigner Suresh Grover expressedshock after he received the message. "Iwas absolutely shocked and quite horrifiedto receive the text”

Raise UK visa bond issue with Prince Charles: AssochamNEW DELHI: Indian Indus-

try body Assocham has said itwants the controversial 3,000pounds visa bond scheme forIndians visiting the UK to beabandoned and that the govern-ment should raise the issue withPrince Charles during his visitto India next month.

Emphasizing that the visabond policy for Indians must bediscarded, the chamber said In-dia must demand treatment at parwith China and also make it clearto the UK that the move wouldbe challenged in the WTO as itimpairs fair international trade.

"We want the controversialvisa bond policy, by which visi-tors to the UK from six Common-wealth countries including Indiawill be required to furnish a bondfor 3,000 pounds for a six-month

visa, to be abandoned,"Assocham said.

Earlier this week, UK Chancel-lor of the Exchequer George

Osborne unveiled a liberal visapolicy for the Chinese visitingBritain in a bid to woo Chinese

investment.Pointing out that there was no

merit in the argument that visabond policy would be imple-

mented on pilot for so-called'high-risk visitors,' Assochamsaid: "It is bound to be misused,

and create confusion"."In fact, India should make

it clear to British authoritiesthat the move would even bechallenged in the World TradeOrganization as it impairs fairinternational trade," it added.

Osborne announced relaxedvisa rules for visitors fromChina during his ongoing trademission to the country.

"As an economy, we are asimportant as China, both interms of trade and investmentas also exchange of tourists.

Students from India andChina not only fund their edu-cation abroad but also pumpin hard currency into the Brit-ish universities which arestarved of funds," Assochamsaid.

Assocham has said it wants the controversial 3,000 pounds visa bond

scheme for Indians visiting the UK to be abandoned.

Australia warnsagainst abuse of457 visa program

MELBOURNE: Australia hasissued a stern warning to anyonewho abuses the 457 visa programsaying they will be punished justas harshly as people smugglers.

"If you abuse it then you canexpect for me to be as tough onthat as the people smugglers willfind that we will be on our bor-ders," Immigration MinisterScott Morrison was quoted assaying by the AAP news agency.

"If the 457 program is abused,it will be undermined, and its criti-cal values to Australia will be di-minished. I'm asking you - andI'm asking industry and employ-ers - to help the government pro-tect this vital asset for the Aus-tralian economy by making sureit is used properly, in the rightcircumstances and is notabused," he said.

Earlier this year Labor govern-ment launched a crackdown onthe 457 skilled visa program,saying it was being abused byemployers who had not ad-equately sought to employ localsfirst.

In June, the governmentpassed laws that forced employ-ers to do local labor market test-ing to prove they could not findan Australian citizen to do thejob before sponsoring an over-seas worker on a 457 visa.

The new government hasfaced pressure from business totake urgent action on the visaclass.-PTI

Lawmakers sayshutdown affectedfarmworker visas

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.: Sen. BillNelson and a handful of other law-makers are asking the Departmentof Labor, the U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Service and the StateDepartment to speed up the pro-cessing of agricultural visas socrops aren't left to rot.

In a letter to Secretary of StateJohn Kerry and other federal offi-cials, Nelson and nine other sena-tors said the recent governmentshutdown slowed the processingof visa petitions for foreign agri-cultural workers.

The senators add that they'veheard from growers that delayscould prevent them from gettingthe needed workers during harvestseason, which could result in eco-nomic harm and crop losses.

The voluntary H-2A programallows employers to hire and bringforeign workers to the U.S. for sea-sonal work when there's a short-age of domestic employees. -AP

Cont'd on Page 58

India Post 57October 25, 2013 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

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Green card delays for overseas spousesCYRUS D. MEHTA

One of the most fundamental benefits under immigration law is for the abil-

ity of a US citizen to quickly spon-sor a foreign national spouse for agreen card. While the granting ofimmigration benefits is conten-tious in today's political environ-ment, no one has disputed, evenimmigration restrictionists, that aUS citizen cannot swiftly bring intothis country a foreign nationalwhom he or she has married over-seas.

Under the Immigration and Na-tionality Act, the spouse of a UScitizen qualifies as an immediaterelative, and falls outside the quo-tas that other relatives of US citi-zens may be subject to such asadult sons and daughters or sib-lings. Minor children and parentsof US citizens also qualify as im-mediate relatives.

The Form I-130 petition is usedto sponsor a spouse, minor childor parent of a US citizen who isoutside the US. In the recent past,such an I-130 petition filed withthe United States Immigration andCitizenship Services on behalf ofan immediate relative got ap-proved in about 3-4 months. Thecase was then sent to the NationalVisa Center, a clearing house forthe consular posts of the Depart-

ment of State.Once the petitioner submitted

the required documents to theNVC, the file was dispatched tothe consular post and an appoint-ment was quickly scheduled. Theentire process generally tookabout six months or a little over.

More recently, I-130 petitionsfiled on behalf of spouses andother immediate relatives are re-portedly taking much longer. Thisauthor has heard that I-130s filedin January or February 2013 havestill not been approved. The Ver-

mont Service Center states that I-130 petitions received on October22, 2012 for immediate relatives arebeing adjudicated presently.

The California Service Centerdoes not indicate any processingtime for a similar I-130 petition. Thisis quite frankly a shocking stateof affairs. The reason for the de-lay is that the I-130s are beingshunted to local USCIS offices forprocessing rather than being pro-cessed at the California or VermontService Centers, which is howthey were processed previously.

Still, this is no excuse for theUSCIS to cause so much delay. Itmakes no sense to allow spousesof US citizen to wait for so longoutside the US before they can jointheir loved one in the US. TheUSCIS is capable of far greater ef-ficiency as it demonstrated whenit more quickly adjudicated thou-sands upon thousands of appli-cations under the Deferred Actionfor Childhood Arrivals (DACA)program.

While the filing of a concurrentI-130 petition with an I-485 appli-cation for adjustment of status mayprocess more quickly, the foreignspouse has to be in the US in or-der to adjust status. If a spouseenters the US on a nonimmigrantvisa, such as a tourist visa, with

the intention to adjust status,such an I-485 can be denied if thespouse had a preconceived intentto apply for permanent residencewhile entering the country as atourist. If, on the other hand, thespouse came genuinely as a tour-ist, but changed his or her mindafter arriving in the US, then it canbe demonstrated that there was nopreconceived intent, or worse,fraud or misrepresentation withrespect to the purpose of enteringthe US on a tourist visa.

Of course, if the spouse enters

on a nonimmigrant visa, such asan H-1B or L visa, which allowsfor dual intent, then the spouse'sintent to apply for a permanentimmigrant benefit is not an issue.The number of people on H or Lvisas who become spouses of US

citizens is relatively few, though,and many people are unable toapply for a tourist visa to even visitthe US temporarily to meet theirspouses while the I-130 petitionremains pending. People who arenationals of Visa Waiver countriescan visit the US for 90 days with-out applying for a visa, but theytoo may risk being questionedabout their intent at the port ofentry.

The filing of an I-130 petitionfor consular processing, when thespouse is based overseas, is thusthe legally appropriate method toapply. The USCIS should not dis-courage this process by inordi-nately delaying the approval of anI-130 petition, and thus encouragepeople to circumvent the processby coming on tourist visas, orother nonimmigrant visas that donot allow for dual intent, with theintent to apply for adjustment ofstatus.

Moreover, it is worth notingthat with Section 3 of the Defenseof Marriage Act being declared un-constitutional in United States v.Windsor, same sex spouses of UScitizen can also for a green cardthrough an I-130 petition. Thesespouses were unjustly deprived ofa benefit for years on end as a re-sult of an unconstitutional statute,and they should not be requiredto wait that much longer for the I-130 petition to get approved.

In light of long delays in theprocessing of the I-130 petition, itmay be worth considering filing anI-129F petition for a K-3 visa. Con-gress specifically designed the K-

3 visa to allow spouses of US citi-zens to enter the US if the I-130processing got delayed. In recenttimes, K-3 petitions have not beenfiled due to the fact that I-130 peti-tions were processed in a fewmonths. It now makes sense to

revive the K-3, and to file for it af-ter the I-130 petition has been filed.

Both the Vermont and Califor-nia Service Centers indicate thatK-3 processing is taking 5 months.

If that time frame is accurate, thenthe beneficiary of a pending I-130petition, which is expected to takea year or longer under current pro-cessing times, can at least unitewith the US citizen spouse througha K-3 visa. Once the spouse is hereon a K-3 visa, it is permissible un-der law to file an I-485 applicationfor adjustment of status. Whilethis is not a perfect solution as itinvolves two steps, the spousecan at least expect to unite withthe US citizen spouse somewhatsooner.

(This advice is for informa-tional purposes only and doesnot constitute legal advice).

Once the petitioner submitted the requireddocuments to the NVC, the file was dis-patched to the consular post and anappointment was quickly scheduled. Theentire process generally took about sixmonths or a little over.

* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contactedat 212-425-0555 or

[email protected]

The filing of an I-130 petition for consularprocessing, when the spouse is basedoverseas, is thus the legally appropriatemethod to apply. The USCIS should not dis-courage this process by inordinatelydelaying the approval

India Post58 October 25, 2013Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

Israel allows 899 IndianJews to immigrate

JERUSALEM: Israel has al-lowed 899 Indian Jews fromManipur and Mizoram, the mem-bers of the "lost" Bnei Menashetribe, to immigrate to the Jewishstate.

The cabinet decided to allowthe immigration of the Indian BneiMenashe community to Israel inmultiple groups with the first batchexpected by the end of the year.

Bnei Menashe (literally sons ofMenashe), a group of indigenouspeople from north-Eastern borderstates of Manipur and Mizoram,trace their roots in one of the ten"lost tribes" of Jews exiled by theAssyrian regime over 2,700 yearsago.

Hundreds of Bnei Menashe arealready living in Israel, havingmade aliyah (immigration) with thehelp of an NGO, Shavei Israel, dedi-cated to bringing "lost Jews"around the world to Israel.

Michael Freund, the founderand chairman of the Shavei Israelorganization that lobbied for theiraliya, said he wishes to see theentire community come to Israelsoon.

"Our goal is to bring all the re-maining members of the BneiMenashe community here to Is-rael as quickly as possible," hewas quoted as saying by TheJerusalem Post.

Freund said the cabinet's deci-sion will allow 200 Bnei Menashepeople to be brought to Israel bythe end of the year, 400 in 2014

and another 300 in 2015.All of the immigrants will be

housed in a private absorptioncenter run by Shavei Israel and willthen be settled around the coun-try.

Their immigration to Israel wasfacilitated by the ruling of theformer chief Sephardic Rabbi in

2005 who declared them descen-dants of Israel amid intense debateover their Jewish ancestry.

Some 274 members of thenortheastern Indian Jews arrivedin Israel earlier this year.

However, in 2004 Israel's thenInterior Minister Avraham Porazhad put a freeze on the immigra-tion of the group raising ques-tions on their Jewishness.

The Chief Rabbinate does notconsider the Bnei Menashe to beJewish according to Halacha(Jewish norms), but the membersof the community consider them-selves to be of Jewish ancestryand are committed Zionists andobservant Jews whose goal is toreturn to the land of their ances-

tors, Freund said.He said Bnei Menashe are un-

able to convert in India and havecome to Israel in small groups atirregular intervals to converthere.

Some 2,000 members of theBnei Menashe have arrived in Is-rael since the 1980s and around7,000 members of the group stilllive in India. -PTI

Indian Jews from Manipur and Mizoram, the members of the "lost" Bnei

Menashe tribe,arriving in Israel

Court rejects request tore-hear Fremont case

FREMONT, Neb.: The EighthCircuit Court of Appeals has re-jected a request to re-hear a casechallenging a Fremont ordinancerequiring people to provethey're in the country legallybefore they can rent an apart-ment.

The Lincoln Journal Starreports the federal court de-nied the petition for the fullcourt to rehear the case.

Challengers have 90 daysto petition the U.S. SupremeCourt to hear the case.

The case challenged a2010 ordinance approved by Fre-mont voters requiring potentialrenters to pay a $5 fee for an occu-pancy license and show proof of

being in the country legally.Attorneys representing several

groups challenged the law in fed-eral court. A three-judge panel up-

held the ordinance in June and re-versed a judge's ruling that partsof the law violated federal law. -AP

Dad of Roma girl expelled fromFrance speaks out

MITROVICA, Kosovo: The fa-ther of a Roma immigrant girl whohas become a cause celebre inFrance says he pretended his fam-ily was from Kosovo in hope ofgaining pity - and political asylum.

The lie didn't work, and he andhis family were expelled as illegalimmigrants. His revelation is thelatest twist in a tale that has shakenthe French government and sentthousands of French high schoolstudents into the street, protest-ing on behalf of deported class-mates.

The girl, 15-year-old LeonardaDibrani, was taken by police froma school field trip, then sent toKosovo with her family. Whilesuch expulsions occur regularly asFrance tries to stem illegal immi-gration, the circumstances of the

arrest - in front of Leonarda's class-mates and teachers - shockedmany.

France's Socialist governmentis investigating. Interior MinisterManuel Valls said he would get theresults of the investigation.

Meanwhile, questions havesurfaced over the Dibrani familyhistory.

Activists who worked with thefamily initially said they had fledKosovo because of discriminationagainst Roma, or Gypsies, and lim-ited opportunities.

But Leonarda's father, ReshatDibrani, told The Associated Presson that the Kosovo story was a lieaimed at achieving a better life forhis six children.

Presenting copies of their birthcertificates, he said he was born

in Kosovo but moved to Italyyears ago, and that his childrenwere born in Italy but don't haveItalian citizenship. He believedthey had a better chance at per-manently settling in France thanItaly, so he moved the family toFrance, claiming the whole familywas from impoverished, post-warKosovo.

``We said in France that we hadcome from Kosovo so that wecould get the papers,'' he said inMitrovica in northern Kosovo. ̀ `IfI had told them that I am Kosovarand that (the children) were bornin Italy, then France would say goback to Italy.''

He said many immigrant fami-lies try similar stories. ̀ `You lookto do what's best for the family,''he said.-AP

Murder suspect sentencedto 65 years

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: A manfacing an Anchorage first-degreemurder charge has been sentencedto 65 years in prison for breakingimmigration, identity theft andweapons laws.

The Anchorage Daily News re-ports 49-year-old Javier AntonioMartinez was sentenced in federalcourt.

He is charged in state courtwith shooting and killing his bossat the Millennium Alaskan Hotel,Kerry Fadely, on Oct. 29, 2011, and

faces a trial in that case Dec. 2.The Dominican Republic resi-

dent was convicted in June ofmaking false claims of U.S. citizen-ship, aggravated identity theft, re-entry after deportation and pos-session of a gun as an illegal alien.

U.S. District Judge RalphBeistline backed prosecutors' rec-ommendations for the maximumsentence.

He called Martinez a ``verydangerous, dangerous man,'' vio-lent and a ̀ `narcissist.'' -AP

Under the plan, Chinese na-tionals visiting the EuropeanUnion will not need to submit sepa-rate UK visa applications if theybook with selected travel agents.

"As its economic clout in-creases, India must seek a treatmentfrom the UK which is no less differ-ent and inferior to the one metedout to China," the chamber said.

At present, Chinese visitorscan apply for a single visa to visitmuch of Europe but a separate visais required to travel to the UK. Amobile visa scheme has been madeoperational for the Chinese tour-ists.

"Several Indian companies,notably the Tatas have investedbillions of dollars in Britain creat-ing and saving jobs in that coun-try," the chamber pointed out.

Prince Charles and his wifeCamilla Parker-Bowles will make anine-day visit to India next monthon their way to Sri Lanka for theCommonwealth Heads of Govern-ment Meeting.

This will be the royal couple'sthird official visit to India together.The trip, from November 6 to 14,will take them to Dehradun, NewDelhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kochi. -PTI

Cont'd from Page 56

Raise UK visa bond issue withPrince Charles: Assocham

"Several Indian com-panies, notably theTatas have investedbillions of dollars inBritain creating andsaving jobs in thatcountry"

India Post 59

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ClassifiedsOctober 25, 2013

For ClassifiedsAds Call

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(Sonia)

Tel: 510-938-8668

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DatebookNORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Sun, Oct 27

• 16th Annual LA Cancer

Challenge

Venue: Veterans Administration

Grounds , 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Los

Angeles, CA 90073

Time: 6:00 pm

Contact: : 310-473-5121

Sun, Oct 27

• Bringing Democratic

Reforms in India: Will New

Political Parties Make a

Difference?

Panel Discussion sponsored by The

Stanford India Association and

ASHA for Education

Venue: Havana Room, Graduate Commu-

nity Center, Stanford University...750

Escondido Road, Stanford, CA 94305

Time: 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm

Email : [email protected]

Fri, Nov 1

• Buster Keaton's

"Steamboat Bill, Jr."

Venue: Smith Center at Ohlone College

43600 Mission Boulevard, Fremont CA

Contact: : (510) 659-6031

website : www.smithcenter.com

Mon, Nov 4

• Information Seminar - Fully

Accredited MD Program

Venue: DoubleTree By Hilton Los An-

geles Downtown, 120 S Los Angeles St,

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Time: 6:00 pm

Contact: 778-785-0400

ATLANTA

Upcoming

Sat, Nov 2

• Diwali Mela & Garba Night

Venue: Atlanta Event Hall, 3750 Venture

Dr, Duluth, GA 30096

Time: 2:00 pm

Contact: 404-934-9991

Fri, Nov 8

• Devotional Bollywood Night

Venue: Book Your Show Now, 3750

Venture Dr, Duluth, GA 30096

Time: 9:00 pm

Contact: 315-591-3921

Sat, Oct 26• Carnatic Keyboard Arangetram

by Varsha SarveshwarVenue: Agoura hills High school,CA, 28545W Driver Ave, Agoura Hills, CA 91301Time: 5:00 pmTime: 818-584-4677

Thu, Nov 7• Diwali Tabletop Competition

and Industry MixerVenue: Glow Lounge in Marina Del ReyMarriott , 4100 Admiralty Way, Marina delRey, CA 90292Time: 6:00 pmContact: 562-366-3640

Thu, Nov 14• NetIP Presents AffordableCare Act Outreach & Education

Venue: Tanzore Restaurant, 50 North LaCienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211Time: 7:00 pmTime: 424-456-8429

• J K Yog Satsang and Bal

Mukund Hindi Classes are held

every 2nd and 4rth Sunday of

Month

Chicago Satsang Information:

J K Yog, Chicago - Swami Mukundananda

Venue: Clarion Inn/Waterford Banquets,

Board Room, 933 South Riverside

Drive, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Time: 3:30pm-5:30pm

Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok

@ 630-561-4807

Website: www.jkyog.org

1st and 3rd Sunday of Month• Chicago Children's

Bal Mukund

Character Building Program

and Hindi Literacy Classes

Venue: Vogelei Center, 650 W. Higgins

Road, Hoffmann Estates, IL 60192 (Next

to Nissan Dealership)

Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @

630-561-4807

Website: www.jkyog.org/bal-mukund

Mondays and Fridays• Free ESL - English as Second

Language Classes

Where: Metropolitan Asian Family

Services

Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL,

Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm

Contact: 773-465-3105

Every third Tuesday• Hindi Kavi Manch

Organized by Hindi Lovers Club

Venue: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago

Lemont Il...0915 Lemont Road IL

Time: 6:00 to 8:30 pm

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

NEW JERSEYUpcoming

NEW YORKUpcoming

Sat, Oct 26• 2nd Grand Gala DinnerVenue: World Fair Marina Banquet Hall, 1Worlds Fair Marina Flushing, New York, NY11369Time: 6:30 pmContact: 917-318-9396

Sat, Nov 2• DIWALI by AsavariVenue: Valimar Clubhouse, 166 Valimar Blvd,White Plains, NY 10603Time: 3:00 pmContact: 9149488969

Thu, Nov 7• DJ Rekha Presents BasementBhangraVenue: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street,New York, NY 10012Time: 7:30 pmContact: 718-207-0058

Sat, Oct 26• Vijay Siva - Carnatic Vocal

concert presented by Sruti

Venue: Agnes Irwin School - West WikeTheatre, 275 S. Ithan Ave, Bryn Mawr,PA 19010Time: 4:30 pm

Fri, Nov 1• Diwali Dhamaka in

BollyHouse Jersey City

Venue: VB3 Lounge, 475 Washington Blvd,Jersey City, NJ 07310Time: 10:00 pmContact: 212-203-2861

Fri, Nov 8• Bollywood Bhangra Night

Venue: The Lucky Dublin Bar and Grill, 30Minue St, Carteret, NJ 07008Time: 9:00 pmContact: 908-208-8882

60

www.indiapost.com62 India Post October 25, 2013

Health ScienceHealth Line

Details on Page 64

WHO call toprevent leadpoisoning in

kids

476,000 Obamacare applications filed;President frustrated by flawed rollout

WASHINGTON: Administra-tion officials say about 476,000health insurance applicationshave been filed through federaland state exchanges, the mostdetailed measure yet of the prob-lem-plagued rollout of PresidentBarack Obama's signature legis-lation.

However, the officials continueto refuse to say how many peoplehave actually enrolled in the in-surance markets. Without enroll-ment figures, it's unclear whetherthe program is on track to reachthe 7 million people projecting bythe Congressional Budget Officeto gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period.

Obama's advisers say the Presi-dent has been frustrated by theflawed rollout. During one of hisdaily health care briefings, he toldadvisers assembled in the OvalOffice that the administration hadto own up to the fact that therewere no excuses for not havingthe website ready to operate aspromised.

Cabinet members and other topadministration officials will also be

traveling around the country inthe coming weeks to encouragesign-ups in areas with the high-est population of uninsured

people.The first three weeks of sign-

ups have been marred by a cas-cade of computer problems, whichthe administration says it is work-ing around the clock to correct.The rough rollout has been a glar-ing embarrassment for Obama,

who invested significant time andpolitical capital in getting the lawpassed during his first term.

The officials said technology

experts from inside and outsidethe government are set to workon the glitches, though they didnot say how many workers werebeing added.

Officials did say staffing hasbeen increased at call centers byabout 50 percent. As problems

persist on the federally runwebsite, the administration is en-couraging more people to sign upfor insurance over the phone.

The officials did not want tobe cited by name and would notdiscuss the health insurancerollout unless they were grantedanonymity.

Despite the widespread prob-lems, the Obama administrationhas yet to fully explain what wentwrong with the online system con-sumers were supposed to use tosign up for coverage.

Initially, administration officialsblamed a high volume of interestfor the frozen screens that manypeople encountered. Since then,the administration has also ac-knowledged unspecified problemswith software and some elementsof the system's design.

Interest in the insurance mar-kets appears to continue to behigh. Officials said about 19 mil-lion people had visitedHealthCare.gov Oct 18 night.

People seeking insurance mustfill out applications before select-ing specific plans.

Cruz: Senate won't make same mistake in next fightAUSTIN, Texas: U.S. Sen. Ted

Cruz has said that Republicanslost the government shutdownbudget battle because some mem-bers of his own party in Congressturned on their colleagues, butthat he doesn't think they willmake the same mistake during an-other political impasse.

`Ì am hopeful that in the fu-ture the Senate will listen,'' Cruz,the favorite of the hardcore con-servative tea party movement andfirst-term senator from Texas, tolda convention in Austin of theTexas Medical Association.

Cruz in late September stageda 21-plus hour speech on the Sen-ate floor, helping spark a budgetfight in the Republican-led Housethat partially shuttered the gov-ernment in an attempt to defundPresident Barack Obama's signa-ture health care law.

Then, with the country facinga debt default over Congress' fail-ure to raise the country's borrow-

ing limit, leaders in the Demo-cratic-led Senate brokered a dealto end the standoff - which Cruz

dismissed as ``selling the Ameri-can people down the river.''

``You don't win a fight whenyour own team is firing cannonsat the people who are standing upand leading, which are the HouseRepublicans,'' he said. ``That's

what happened, and that's whatled directly to this lousy deal, iswhen Senate Republicans de-

clined to unify and declined tosupport House Republicans.''

The deal sets up the potentialfor another budget showdown inJanuary. Senate Republican lead-ers, however, have suggested thatthere won't be a repeat of the shut-

down or a potential default crisislike in recent weeks.

But addressing reporters afterhis speech, Cruz would not saythat another fight won't be com-ing.

``There will be plenty of timeto consider the particular practi-cal or strategic decisions,'' Cruzsaid.

Asked if he was worried aboutretaliation from more-senior Re-publican leaders in the Senate,Cruz said, `Ì try very hard not toworry about the politics and theinternal back-and-forth in Wash-ington.''

``My focus is on doing my job,''he said.

The crowd was mostly sympa-thetic, with many convention at-tendees giving Cruz a standingovation at the end of his speech.Some stayed seated, though.

`Òbamacare isn't working, andnot only is it not working, it's notworking badly,'' Cruz said.-AP

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to members of the Texas Medical

Association about the Affordable Care Act on Oct. 19

Thousandsparticipate in DelhiWalk for Health

NEW DELHI: More than 16,000participated in the second MaxBupa Walk for Health initiative,flagged off by tennis ace SaniaMirza here.

Max Bupa Walk for Health is afirst of its kind initiative whichaims to encourage people to walkmore.

The five kilometer walk in Delhiwas flagged off by Sania. TheMumbai walk was flagged off byBollywood actress SonamKapoor.

Expressing her belief in the ini-tiative, Sania said, "More andmore people are realizing the im-portance of being fit and healthy."

"I personally believe that walk-ing is a great way to stay fit and Iencourage everyone to start walk-ing as it is the easiest and the bestway to get healthier."

The event was attended bypeople of different age groups in-cluding celebrities, health enthu-siasts, school children, customers,agents, partners and employeesof Max Group companies withtheir friends and family.

Celebrities like Manish Paul,Pooja Bedi, Kunal Kohli, DilipTahil, Raza Murad, MeiyangChang and Smriti Irani also par-ticipated in Mumbai.

This year the initiative focusedon Delhi and Mumbai, as owingto a sedentary lifestyle, people liv-ing in these metropolises are moreprone to stress and lead an un-healthy life. -AP

Stuck in hospital,cancer patientmarries his love

ORANGE, Calif.: DennisLyman wasn't about to let an ex-tended hospital stay get betweenhim and marrying his girlfriend ofnearly 30 years.

So on Oct 18, Lyman ex-changed vows with BarbaraMonds from his bed at St. JosephHospital in Orange.

The Orange County Registerreported that the couple hadtalked about getting married for along time, and planned a ceremonyfor last week. But after radiationtherapy for prostate cancer, the68-year-old Lyman wasn't able tomake it to the courthouse.

So hospital staff arranged aceremony, and wheeled Lyman'sbed to the chapel.

There, a doctor played violinas Monds walked down the im-provised aisle.

Nurse Roberta Nelson helpeddress Lyman in a white shirt andblack tie, and even got her sister'sveil for Monds. -AP

India PostHealth Science Post 63

www.indiapost.com

October 25, 2013

SD doctors urge state toexpand Medicaid program

RAPID CITY, S.D.: Fearing a long-termrise in private insurance premiums, SouthDakota doctors are renewing pressure onGov. Dennis Daugaard to expand the state'sMedicaid program under President BarackObama's health care overhaul.

Dr Daniel Heinemann, president of theSouth Dakota State Medical Association,told a group of 50 physicians in Rapid Citythat failure to expand Medicaid could havean effect on all South Dakotans.

Heinemann said if Medicaid is not ex-panded, low-income people without insur-ance will continue to get expensive care inhospital emergency rooms, and hospitalswill shift the cost of unpaid bills to patientswith private insurance.

``The citizens of South Dakota are go-ing to continue to get care, but it's going tobe more expensive and it's not going to havethe same kind of outcomes,'' Heinemann

told the Rapid City Journal.Under the federal health care law, states

have the option of expanding Medicaid, thestate-federal program that covers healthcare for low-income people. If South Da-kota expands Medicaid eligibility, an esti-mated 48,000 additional people would becovered.

The federal government would coverabout 100 percent of the cost of the addi-tional patients until 2016. From 2020 on-wards, the federal government would cover90 percent of the cost, with the state pay-ing the other 10 percent.

Daugaard has not yet decided whetherto expand Medicaid. He has said he is wor-ried that the federal government will notlive up to its promise to fund the expansionin the long term, which could force the stateto pay more than 10 percent.

Heinemann said the governor's argu-ment is flawed because all South Dakotanswould pay more if the state chooses not toexpand Medicaid and hospitals shift thecost of unpaid bills by charging more topeople with insurance.

An expansion of Medicaid would pro-vide preventive care to more low-incomepatients, reducing emergency room visits,Heinemann said. That could reduce thegrowth of private insurance premiums, hesaid.

In addition, South Dakota has a moralobligation to help its most vulnerablepeople, Heinemann said.

``We know that people who are unin-sured are more likely to live longer and havehealthier lives,'' he said. -AP

Daugaard has not yetdecided whether to ex-pand Medicaid. He hassaid he is worried that thefederal government will notlive up to its promise tofund the expansion in thelong term, which couldforce the state to pay morethan 10 percent.

Ball State pesticide pulledafter parents complain

MUNCIE, Ind.: Ball State University hascanceled plans to spray herbicides onthe lawns around its K-12 school afterobjections from parents worried thatit would expose their children to chemi-cal toxins.

The Star Press reports Burris Labo-ratory School Principal CathleneDarragh sent an email to Burris par-ents saying the school decided againstthe spraying.

Dave Ring, owner of an organic gro-cery store, helped lead the fightagainst the use of the weed killerTrimec 992. A petition Ring startedagainst the spraying had gathered morethan 130 signatures.

Ring says he's ̀ `very happy and grate-

ful'' to Ball State President Jo Ann Gora andher administration for being responsive toparents' concerns. -AP

Evansville health carecampus moves forward

EVANSVILLE, Ind.: Efforts to expandmedical education in southwestern Indianahave taken a major step forward with lead-ers of four higher education institutionssigning letters of intent to participate in anew interdisciplinaryhealth science researchand education campus.

Representatives of theIndiana University Schoolof Medicine-Evansville,the University of Evans-ville, the University ofSouthern Indiana and IvyTech Community Collegesigned letters of intent todevelop a 40,000-square-foot center to be used fortraining, research andpossibly product development, The Evans-ville Courier & Press reported.

``When this health care campus isopened, it will be home to 1,600 to 2,000health care students from all four universi-ties,'' said Steven Becker, director and as-sociate dean of the IU medical schoolbranch.

A site for the campus has not been se-lected yet. IU is expected next month toissue a request for proposals for possiblelocations, and its board of trustees is ex-pected to select the site in February or April,

Becker said.Groundbreaking isplanned for next summerand the opening for Au-gust 2017.

The IU School ofMedicine's current Evans-ville program, at the Uni-versity of Southern Indi-ana, serves students foronly their first two years.IU wants to create a sitethat would allow studentsto finish their medical

education in Evansville and offer residencyopportunities at nearby hospitals. Four re-gional hospitals are expected to participatein the campus.

IU also may locate a dental clinic at thenew campus, Becker said. IU dental stu-dents would perform clinical rotations thereserving needy patients.-AP

Medical facility in Missoulaeliminating positions

MISSOULA, Mont.: Community Medi-cal Center in Missoula is eliminating theequivalent of about 60 full-time positionsthrough a combination of furloughs and 20job cuts.

Hospital CEO Steve Carlson tells theMissoulian that a decreased demand for

acute care services has forced the reduc-tion at the facility that employees more than1,020 full- and part-time workers.

Managers have been taking a one-dayfurlough each pay period the last twomonths as the center attempts to attainabout $3 million in savings.. -AP

IU wants to create asite that would allowstudents to finish theirmedical educationin Evansville andoffer residency op-portunities at nearbyhospitals.

India Post Health Science Postwww.indiapost.com

October 25, 2013 64

WHO call to prevent lead poisoning in kidsIndia Post News Service

GENEVA: Lead poisoning has devastat-ing health consequences in particular forchildren, with childhood lead exposure es-timated to contribute to 600,000 new casesof children with intellectual disabilities ev-ery year. Overall, 99% of children affectedby high exposure to lead live in low andmiddle income countries, says WHO on theoccasion of International Lead PoisoningPrevention Week of Action, and calls oncountries to strengthen national actions toeliminate lead paint.

Lead paint is a major source of potentiallead poisoning for young children. It maybe found in the home, on toys, furnitureand on other objects. Decaying lead painton walls, furniture and other interior sur-faces creates lead-contaminated dust in thehome that young children easily ingest.Mouthing lead-painted toys and other ob-jects also exposes young children to lead.The sweet taste of lead paint means thatsome children even pick off and swallowsmall chips of paint.

"Lead poisoning remains one of the mostimportant environmental health concernsfor children globally, and lead paint is amajor flashpoint for children's potential leadpoisoning," says Dr Maria Neira, WHODirector for Public Health and Environment."The good news is that exposure to leadpaint can be entirely stopped through arange of measures to restrict the produc-

tion and use of lead paint."It is estimated that 143 000 deaths per

year result from lead poisoning and leadpaint is a major contributor to this. Its usecreates a health problem for many years intothe future. Even in countries that havebanned leaded paint decades previously,such paint continues to be a source of ex-

posure until it is finally stripped and re-placed.

The cost of replacing lead paint meansthat people living in older, poorly-main-tained housing are particularly at risk, andthis disproportionately affects economi-cally-deprived communities.

The World Health Organization (WHO)has identified lead as one of ten chemicalsof major public health concern, and leadrequires action by Member States in orderto protect the health of workers, childrenand women of reproductive age. Such ac-tions include adopting regulations and pro-cedures to eliminate the use of lead decora-tive paints and provide information to the

public on renovation of homes where leadpaint may have already been applied.

"Paints with extremely high levels of leadare still available in most of the developingcountries where paint testing has beenconducted as part of the efforts of the Glo-bal Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint. In mostof the countries with lead paint, equivalent

paint with noadded lead isalso available,suggesting thatalternatives tolead are readilyavailable tom a n u f a c t u r -ers," saysDavid Piper,Deputy Direc-

tor, UNEP DTIE Chemicals Branch. The In-ternational Lead Poisoning PreventionWeek of Action, provides an excellent op-portunity to raise awareness of the wide-spread availability of lead paint.

Worldwide, 30 countries have alreadyphased out the use of lead paint. The Glo-bal Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, co-ledby WHO and UNEP, has set a target of 70countries by 2015.

At high levels of exposure, lead dam-ages the brain and central nervous systemto cause coma, convulsions and evendeath. Children who survive such poison-ing are often left with intellectual impair-ment and behavioral disorders.

At lower levels of exposure, which causeno obvious symptoms and that previouslywere considered safe, lead is now knownto produce a spectrum of injury acrossmultiple body systems. In particular, leadaffects brain development in children, re-sulting in reduced IQ, behavioral changessuch as shortening of attention span andincreased antisocial behavior, and reducededucational attainment. These effects arebelieved to be irreversible. Adults are atincreased risk of kidney disease and raisedblood pressure.

At high levels of exposure, lead damagesthe brain and central nervous system tocause coma, convulsions and even death.Children who survive such poisoning areoften left with intellectual impairment andbehavioral disorders.

NM's AG releases a redactedmental health audit

SANTA FE, N.M.: State Attorney Gen-eral Gary King has released part of an au-dit that led to a shakeup in New Mexico'smental health system, but most of the de-tails are redacted.

The Santa Fe New Mexican says the re-port confirms a criminal investigation intoMedicaid billing fraud is ongoing. But vir-tually all specific information about the 15New Mexico providers audited in searchof possible financial fraud is blacked out.

In a state court filing, King said releas-ing the rest of the information could jeop-ardize the investigation. He asked for ajudge to review the complete audit pri-

vately and then determine if releasing ad-ditional sections or pages is appropriate.

``The withheld portions of the audit areprecisely that - evidence in connection withthe criminal investigation that the AG re-ceived from an outside source,'' King said.``The substance of the document containsconfidential sources, methods, informationand evidence received or compiled in con-nection with a criminal investigation. Torequire public disclosure of that informa-tion would fatally undermine the law-en-forcement exception, as it would undulyinterfere with the ongoing criminal in-vestigation.''-AP

The applications include personal infor-mation, including income figures that areused to calculate any subsidies the appli-cant may qualify for.

More than one person can be includedon an application.

Of the 476,000 applications that havebeen started, just over half have been fromthe 36 states where the federal governmentis taking the lead in running the markets.The rest of the applications have comefrom the 14 states running their own mar-kets, along with Washington, D.C.

The White House says it plans to re-lease the first enrollment totals from boththe federal and state-run markets in mid-November.

An internal memo obtained by The As-sociated Press showed that the adminis-tration projected nearly a half-million peoplewould enroll for the insurance markets dur-ing the first month.

Officials say they expect enrollments to

be heavier toward the end of the six-monthsign-up window.

In an ironic twist, the problems with therollout were overshadowed by Republicanefforts to get changes to the health carelaw in exchange for funding the govern-ment. That effort failed and the governmentreopened with the health care law intact.

Stung by that defeat, some Republicansare now calling for the resignation of Healthand Human Services Secretary KathleenSebelius. The White House says it has com-plete confidence in her.

House Republicans have scheduled ahearing to look into the rollout problems.White House allies say they're confidentthe problems are being addressed.

``There's no question the marketplacewebsite needs some improvement,'' saidSen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., one of the ar-chitects of the law. ``The administrationneeds to fix the computer bugs and I'm con-fident that they're working around the clockto fix the problems.'' -AP

476,000 Obamacare applications filed;President frustrated by flawed rollout

Cont'd from Page 62

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Philosophy

Why is everybody aslave of flattery?

Enlightenment must occurin the physical body too

Swami Ramatirtha

But if you do not find an

intelligent companion, a

wise and well-behaved

person going the same

way as yourself, then go

on your way alone, like

a king abandoning a

conquered kingdom, or

like a great elephant in

the deep forest.

-Buddha

In the end, after all our

successes and failures,

the value of our life will

be how much we have

loved.

-Amritanandmayi

When effort is needed,

effort will appear. When

effortlessness becomes

essential, it will assert it-

self. You need not push

life about. Just flow with

it and give yourself com-

pletely to the task of the

present moment.

-Nisargadatta

Maharaj

To love anyone person-

ally is bondage. Love all

alike, then all desires fall

off.

-Swami Vivekananda

God grant me the seren-

ity to accept the things I

cannot change, the

courage to change the

things I can, and the wis-

dom to know the differ-

ence.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

I have a theory that the

truth is never told during

the nine-to-five hours.

-Hunter S. Thompson

If enlightenment is to be full, and completelybalanced, it must not only occur in the think-ing intellect and emotional feeling; it mustalso occur in the acting physical body.

SWAMI RAMATIRTHA

Flattery is not looked upon asa deadly sin, but it is uni-versal.

How is it that from the lowestvermin to the highest god, flatteryis welcome? How is it that every-body is a slave of flattery, andeverybody wants to becomplimented, humored, patted,and be thought highly of? Howis it?

Even the dogs, when you patand flatter them, are full of joy atit. Even the dogs like flattery.Horses like flattery. The master ofthe horse comes up and pats him,strokes him, the horse pricks uphis ears, is filled with energy.

In those countries where thepeople worship gods, we find thateven the gods are appeased byflattery. And what are the prayersof some monotheists? What aretheir invocations?

Examine them disinterestedly,impersonally, and you will see thatthey are nothing else but flattery.

How is it that flattery is univer-sal? Everybody loves flattery,while at the same time, there is nota single man who deserves thatkind of flattery which pleases him.

There is not a single man whodeserves the unnecessary compli-ments that are paid to him by hisadmirers.

Vedanta explains it by sayingthat in every individual, in everyperson, in everybody, there is the

real Self, the real Atman, which is,as a matter of fact, the greatest ofthe great, the highest of the high.There is in realty something in youwhich is the highest of the highand that makes its existence felt.

When the flatterer comes, andbegins to admire us and pay uscompliments, we feel elated, wefeel cheered. Why? The cause isnot that these statements are true,but Vedanta says that the real

cause lies in our real Self.There is something behind the

scenes, some potent force, some-thing stern and indestructible, thegreatest of the great, the highestof the high, which is your real Selfand deserves all flattery, all com-pliments; and no compliments, noflattery, no aggrandizement can beunworthy of the real Self.

But from this nobody shoulddraw the conclusion that flatteryis justified. Flattery, praise and

glory are to be rendered unto thereal Self. It ought not to be ren-dered to the body, to the little selfit ought not to be given. "Renderunto Caesar the things that areCaesar's and render unto God thethings that are God's."

In this topsy-turvy state liesthe sinfulness of our being slavesto flattery. Herein lies the sinful-ness. The cart is put before thehorse.

If you realize the Self and feeland become one with the Greatestof the great and the Highest of thehigh, and know it to be your Atman,rise above the body, above the mind,you are really the Greatest of thegreat, the Highest of the high; youare your own Ideal; no, you areyour own God.

Realize this and you are free, butthe mistake is made in giving theglory of the Ataman, the real Selfto the body and in seeking flat-

tery and aggrandizement for thebody. Herein lies the mistake.

A certain gentleman came toRama and said, "Look here. Ourreligion has got the largest num-ber of people as its devotees, asits converts, therefore, our reli-gion must be the highest.

We have the largest majorityof mankind belonging to our reli-gion, therefore, it must be thebest." Rama said, "Brother, do you

believe in Satan?" He said, "Yes"."Then please say whetherSatan's religion has got the larg-est number of followers or yours.If truth is to be judged by major-ity, then Satan has the su-premacy over all."

Excerpted from the lecture de-livered on December 20, 1902,in the Academy of Sciences, SanFrancisco. The 140th birth an-niversary of Swami Ramatirthafalls on Oct 22.

PAUL BRUNTON

Buddha ascetically turned indisgust from the humanbody. He could see it only

as an assemblage of loathsome el-ements. Plato artistically turnedtowards it in joy. He received in-spiration through its beauty. Nei-ther Indian nor Greek was quiteright nor quite wrong.

Each deliberately unveiled onlya part of the picture. Whoeverwishes to see the whole picturemust put together both the brighttop part and the dark lower part.He must comprehend that thebody is doomed to decay and diebut that its informing life is des-tined to grow into grandeur. Thusthe finite form becomes a portalto the infinite reality.

The body is not to be despisedwith the ascetic nor neglected withthe mystic. It is to be understoodand rightly used. It is to be caredfor as one of the instrumentswhose total contribution will en-able us to fulfill the spiritual pur-pose of life on earth.

We use our minds and our bod-ies badly. And we do this throughignorance, through the lack of in-struction on their proper use. Theright use of the body and the cor-rect provision of its needs are artsto be learned. The civilized man is

not born with them. He is the un-fortunate hereditary victim of gen-erations of faulty modern habits.

There is a better way to usethe bodily mechanism than the ha-bitual one of most Westerners.Philosophy, knowing the mind-body relationship, is just as appli-cable to such apparently simple

and trivial - but hygienically andpsychologically important - mat-ters as our use of this mechanismin sitting, walking, standing,breathing, and even bending. Itprescribes wise rules for living,eating, and drinking.

Knowing the laws of mentaland physical hygiene and obey-ing them will make him a better stu-dent of truth than will being igno-rant of them.

How many, who recognize

truth when it deals with meta-physical and mystical subjects,cannot recognize it when it dealswith physical regimes! If we askwhy this should be so, the answeris to be sought in the power ofprevalent custom and inheritedhabit.

The body's presence and ac-

tivity, importance and influence,its demands for health andstrength and care, can be ignoredin his experience only for a shorttime. Sooner or later he must turnto notice them, and if he seeksmeaning, to account for them.

We need the body - all of us,not materialists nor ordinary per-sons only - therefore we must re-spect it. It is with the ears that welisten to Beethoven: that is, withthe body. It is with the eyes that

Paul Brunton

There is something behind the scenes, somepotent force, something stern and indestruc-tible, the greatest of the great, the highest ofthe high, which is your real Self and de-serves all flattery,

we read beautiful poetry: againwith the body. Let us not decrythe body.

If enlightenment is to be full,and completely balanced, it mustnot only occur in the thinking in-tellect and emotional feeling; itmust also occur in the actingphysical body.

The physical body is eachperson's responsibility. The fail-ure to care properly for it makes itcomplain. The only language inwhich it can do so with most menand women is that of sickness,disease, or malfunction; with oth-ers, a silent intuitive feeling isenough.

Excerpted from The Note-books. The 115th birth anniver-sary of Paul Brunton falls onOct 21.

66 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

October 25, 2013India Post

India PostMiddle class

Right from the times of Indira Gandhi, the Congress partyhas been sloganeering about removing poverty. Theirintent moves the poor and they have been voting Congress. If poverty had been removed by now, who would

then vote Congress? The Congress has a vested interest in keep-ing the poor poor. If the poor do not remain poor, they move up theeconomic ladder, then they look for someone who can give thembetter roads, electricity, water and other amenities. They move outof the Congress radar. So in order to remain in power, what shouldthe Congress party do? Talk a great deal about the lot of the poor,shed tears over their plight, give them lot poverty removal pro-grams, but actually do nothing about implementation.

The Congress has also recently accused BJP's prime ministerialcandidate Narendra Modi of being pro-rich. That his Gujarat de-velopment model is pro-rich. That he doesn't care about the poorand that in Gujarat, the rich are becoming richer and the poor arebecoming poorer. That means that comparatively, at the Centerand in the States ruled by the Congress party, the rich aren't get-ting richer and the poor are being lifted up from poverty. If thatwere the case, the Congress rule would not have been so unpopu-lar.

Let us assume, as claimed by the two major political parties, thatthe Congress heart bleeds for the poor and the BJP cares only forthe rich. Where does that leave the middle class? What aboutthose who are neither rich nor poor, which would make a majorityof the Indian people. Does anybody care for those who have raisedthemselves up from poverty and are looking for encouragementfrom the state to better their lives?

They are the ones who are hit by the price of onion and otheressential commodities. They live in towns and cities which lackbasic amenities. In their rich-poor debate, the political parties areignoring the needs of the middle class.

The coming election marks a departure from past elections be-cause it is this class which has become more demanding. Whichsees through the rhetoric of political parties of promising the moonand delivering not even a road without potholes.

The Congress believes the middle class is not a large enoughconstituency to be wooed. It dismisses them as the internet junk-ies whose numbers or clout would not matter in the ultimate result.Since the poor are a larger majority they have to be pleased, butnot educated or lifted out of poverty lest they join the ranks ofthese junkies.

The middle class is increasingly demanding accountability. Itwants better jobs, education, infrastructure, security. The poorwould also like to have these facilities but they are at presentcontent if they can have some food grain to prevent starvation.They do not ask uncomfortable questions. They believe it whenthe Congress says it is going to remove poverty in the next sixmonths.

The vote of the poorer classes has kept the Congress in powerfor decades. They pass bills which promise the poor the right tothis and that, but when it comes the time to deliver, the Congressparty pleads there are no resources to implement these promises.

Is the BJP disregarding the poor? The appeal of Modi is largelyaimed at the educated middle class which may have grown but is itenough in numbers to cause an upset? Modi's rhetoric has mainlybeen negative, attacking the Congress which is very vulnerable atthis moment. But he has not set out a positive alternative. Ques-tioning the Center's foreign policy on Pakistan and China is ok. Weall can do that. But what about presenting an alternative programwhich would appear more credible and workable?

The BJP is guilty of not setting out its blueprint of an economicpolicy. A sober believable manifesto is the need of the hour.

Where are the regional researchinstitutions & think-tanks?

D SUBA CHANDRAN

In the last few years, one ofthe American Universitieshas been publishing an indexof leading think tanks and re-

search institutions at the globallevel. While the index has beenquestioned by many in terms ofthe parameters used, it providesan indicator of where think tanksand research institutions areplaced.

What is significant in this in-dex is the huge gap in terms of howmany think tanks from South Asiafigure in the top fifty at the globallevel. The Asia list is dominatedby China and some think tanks/research institutes from New Delhi.What is surprising is the absenceof think tanks and research insti-

tutions from the regions - fromJ&K to Kerala and from Rajasthanto Nagaland.

Why are they missing? Arethey missing because there is nospace for such institutions in theregions? Or are they missing be-cause of the lack of efforts andregional initiatives? Or, are theymissing, simply because there isno capacity?

In terms of space, clearly theyare much needed and important,given the contemporary issuesand problems. While the regionseither within India or in other coun-tries of South Asia are dotted withnumerous NGOs for different pur-poses, there is a huge gap in termsof independent and non-partisaninitiatives outside the govern-ment, which have credibility andacceptability.

While there are good and badNGOs, the primary activity ofthem, irrespective of whichevercategory they belong to, they aremore populist and activist in na-ture, rather than policy or researchoriented.

Clearly, a difference should be

made between the NGOs and thinktanks/research institutes at thenational and regional levels. Interms of space, they are muchneeded, not only because of thecontemporary needs and issues,but also because what happens intheir absence.

Two things happen, when thereare not significant research insti-tutions/think tanks at the regionallevel. First and foremost, it resultsin the absence of serious alterna-tive inputs and strategies to thegovernment as policy recommen-dations.

While there are always numer-ous do's and don'ts in the opinionpages of newspapers in the En-glish and vernacular media, they

are more a response and opinionto a current issue, rather than awell thought out and structuredalternative.

While the Universities in theregions undoubtedly produce vo-luminous reports in terms of the-sis and dissertations, for a policymaker and even the common pub-lic, to make practical sense of themis a Herculean task. Besides thesethesis and dissertations are notaimed at policy prescriptions orproviding alternatives; they arescholarly and academic discourse.At least, that is what they are sup-posed to be!

Second, in the absence of qual-ity think tanks and research insti-tutions at the regional level, theirpartners from the national capitalsusurp the role in thinking and pro-viding alternatives for the regions.

While none can deny that thethink tanks and research institu-tions based in the capitals have arole to play, given the reach anddistance, it is not practical forthose institutions from the capitalto think through long distance andprovide alternative strategies for

the regions. Given the general mistaken

belief that the government and itsbureaucracy is the fountain of allknowledge and they know every-thing, it is important that there areindependent research institutionsand think tanks outside govern-ment to provide alternative ap-proaches. More importantly, theyare also needed to have a realitycheck.

The concept of checks and bal-ances being the fundamental prin-ciple of democratic governance, itis important these institutions ex-ist and perform a great duty notonly to the public, but also to thegovernment by providing alterna-tive approaches.

Clearly, the sub-regions inIndia, for that matter in the en-tire South Asia, need qualitythink tanks and research insti-tutions. Where is the problemthen? Why are they absent?

Certainly, there have beenfew initiatives at the regionallevels, both inside and outsidethe University structures to es-tablish independent researchinstitutions and think tanks.Except for few in Mumbai, Ban-galore, Kolkata and Chennai,they have not taken substan-tial roots in other cities and sub-regions.

Even if there are, they areone man or few men/women in-stitutions, lacking quality re-search and an actionable policyrecommendations to the State

and federal governments.Undoubtedly, funding for such

institutions is a major issue. Evenat the national level, there is a con-stant struggle to attract adequatefunding support and yet remainindependent and neutral. If thegovernments - at the federal andState levels are a major culprit,philanthropic institutions andfoundations within India areequally responsible for not sup-porting such independent initia-tives which are the need of thehour.

While it is always surprising tofind how the NGOs (good and bad)succeed in mobilizing support andresources for their activities, forresearch institutions and thinktanks, it is a Herculean task.

The State governments have totake the lead, and support suchinitiatives both within and outsidethe University systems. Thoughsome of the findings and recom-mendations may not be palatableto the government, they areneeded and in the interest of ev-eryone.

The writer is Director, IPCS

Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi


October 25, 201368

indiapost 10 25 2013

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