vol 7 issue 50 - april 18-24, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Vol.7 No. 50 April 18-24, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New York: With an annual pay
package of $84.3 mill ion, tech
giant Microsoft's Indian-originchief Satya Nadella has emerged
as the top-paid CEO in the US,
as per a new list
The Equilar 100 CEO Pay
Study, an analysis of CEO
salaries at the 100 largest public
US companies as measured by
revenue, was last year topped byOracle's Larry Ellison, who has
been now pushed by Nadella to
the second position. Another
Indian-origin CEO, Indra Nooyi
US AFFAIRS 10 DIASPORA 15
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Indian diaspora at Ricoh Coliseumin Toronto on April 15 where 10,000 people gave him rockstar welcome.
Toronto: In yet another power-packed for-
eign trip in just 10 months in office, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his visit
to three G7 countries in just a week, signing
numerous pacts and garnering investmentsfor India from France, Germany and Canada.
One high point came in Toronto on
Wednesday when 10,000 Indo-Canadians
thronged his 'rockstar' show. It had all the
trappings of a rockstar concert as Bollywood
singer Sukhwinder Singh, Shiamak Davar
troupe and other groups set the tone for the
evening. The adoring audience interrupted
Modi repeatedly during his hour-long speech
in Hindi with shouts of "Modi, Modi..." as he
highlighted the changes sweeping India.
Wherever he went, Modi made a pitch for ‘Make in India’, and ‘Invest in India’, citing
the liberalized tax regime etc to make it easi-
er to do business in India. Modi’s hosts too
were equally pleased. India signed a deal to
Continued on page 4
Modi concludes
successful3-nation visit
SELF HELP 26
New York: Ritu Nanda, filmmaker Raj Kapoor’s daughter who is
hugely successful in life insurance business and a Guinness record
winner for selling pension policies, was honored with Woman Of The
Year Award by NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray at the Vaisakhi
celebration organized by community leader Pam Kwatra (extreme
right), at NY Surrogate Court. Public Advocate Letitia James
(inset) addressing the 150-strong audience.
Satya Nadella is highest paid CEO in the US
By Parveen Chopra
New York: India and by association Indian Americans
nurture a soft spot for the Clintons who have spent quality
time in India over the years. So, naturally, Hillary
Clinton’s announcement last Sunday that she is running for
President in 2016 has energized the community. The South
Asian Times asked a few prominent Indian Americans to
appraise her race, her chances of taking the White House and
whether she will be good for the country and for India.
We received responses from seven of them, with
Democrat as well as GOP leanings.
Continued on page 4
Inks numerous deals, pitches for ‘Make in India’ and‘invest in India’, connects with diaspora in France, Germany & Canada
See detailed stories on page 16-18. Also see page 3 for ‘Obama award to Nadella as 'Champion of Change'.
For full story see page 8-9.
If successful, Hillary Clinton will break thehighest glass ceiling for women.
Hillary’s presidential bid getsIndian community talking
Vaisakhi celebrated at New York Town HallFirst Lady honors Ritu Nanda with Woman of the Year award
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Obama to honor Nadella with'Champion of Change' award
Washington: President Barack
Obama plans to honor Microsoft's
Indian-or igin
CEO Satya
Na de ll a wi th
the 'Champions
of Change'
award for
bringing abou t
change within
his company to support working
families. "Microsoft recently
announced that over the next year
it will make changes to ensure
that a wide variety of suppliers
that do business with Microsoft in
the US provide at least 15 days of
pa id le av e each ye ar to thei r
employees who handle Microsoft
work," the White House said as it
announced the names of recipi-
ents of the Champions of Change
Award. 'Champions of Change'
award is given to those who sup-
port working famili es and havehelped to bring about change
within their companies, commu-
nities or organizations by advo-
cating for commonsense paid sick
and paid leave policies, equal pay
and an end to pregnancy discrimi-
nation to support families, busi-
nesses, and economy.
3April 18-24, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Mineola: In a history-making event for the
community, Nassau County Executive
Edward P. Mangano installed the first-ever
Indian-American Economic AdvisoryCommittee (IAEAC ) on April 13.
The committee will assist the County in the
development, advancement and betterment of
economic, employment and business oppor-
tunities for Indian American residents of the
County and to encourage further investment
in the County.
At the event hosted by the Nassau County
in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive &
Legislative Building in Mineola, Hon.
Mangano administered the oath of office of
Chairman to Shudh Parkash Singh and to 12
members of the IAEAC in the presence of
elected officials, community leaders and a
few hundred professionals and business
owners who packed the hall. The following
committee members were installed: ShudhParkash Singh, CEO of the JGroup,
Chairman; Aron Govil, Chairman & CEO of
Ducon Technologies, as Vice-Chair; Jaspreet
Mayall, Esq., Partner at Certilman Balin
Adler & Hyman, LLP, as General Secretary;
Sunil Kumar Shah, President & CEO of Hi-
Tech Industrial (USA), Inc., as Secretary.
Other members are: Kanwal Sra, CEO of Sra
& Associates LLP and Jackson Hewitt
Franchisee; Sunil Modi, licensed engineer
and real estate consultant; Ravi Chopra, CEO
of STI Group; Mohan Wanchoo, President &
CEO of EC Infosystems; Shaker Nelanuthala,
CEO of Herbal Destination; Dr. Vaijinath
Chakote, Board Certified Physician in
Internal Medicine; Manoj Narang, CEO of
VM Petro Inc; Ashok Sapra, Entrepreneur;
and Kiran Mandrekar, Managing Principal,
Growth Capital International, LLC. Kamlesh
C. Mehta, Director of the Nassau County
Office of Business & Economic
Development, welcomed Hon. Mangano, all
elected members and other officials present.
Norma Gonsalves, Nassau County Presiding
Officer, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mangano in his speech praised the contri-
butions of the Indian Americans and wanted
to see new investments coming to Nassau
County from them. He wants to make Nassau
a more business friendly county and wants
the new committee to act as a bridge between
the growing Indian-American owned busi-nesses and Nassau. Shudh Parkash Singh in
his remarks pointed out that IAEAC was
being inaugurated on the auspicious day of
Vaisakhi – founding day of the Sikh religion,
without which India couldn't have been
liberated.
The committee, he said, “is an important
milestone for the Indian community in one of
the biggest and richest counties of America.”
He praised the County Executive for giving
an unprecedented representation to Indian
Americans in his administration. Shudh
detailed the committee’s goals: “To help
small business by bringing to the attention of
County officials the problems faced by
Indian-American business owners. We will
work towards inviting corporate India toinvest in our county.”
Kamlesh Mehta has already spoken to the
top officials of the foreign affairs ministry of
India, he added. Aron Govil, Vice-Chair,
thanked the officials and community leaders
present in big numbers.
New Brunswick, NJ: Hundreds of
academicians, business profession-
als, public officials and community
leaders unanimously adopted a reso-
lution to establish an ‘International
Hindi Center’ as a hub of academic
and cultural activities to promote
Hindi as a world language.
At the Second International Hindi
Conference held at Rutgers
University campus in New Jersey
April 3-5 approved the resolution as
Amb. Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Consul-
General of India in New York, who
chaired the event, declared the reso-
lution as adopted at the concluding
session on April 5.
Organized by the Hindi Sangam
Foundation, dedicated to promotion
of Hindi in USA, the conference
was sponsored by Rutgers
University, many US and Indian
universities, corporations and insti-
tutions such as, Air India, Bank of
India, SBI, TV Asia and BharatiyaVidya Bhavan. The Indian
Consulate in NY actively supported
the event. Amb. Mulay assured the
audience that the Government of
India would support the establish-
ment of ‘Hindi Center’ in USA.
Promising to use his good offices
for raising funds for the center, he
said, “Hindi Center will become a
reality soon where all educational
activities regarding Hindi learning
including exchange programs and
joint projects with India based insti-
tutions and universities will take
place under one roof .” Mulay, an
accomplished author and poet, also
inaugurated the conference, where
senior Rutgers University officials
touched upon growing relationship
between Rutgers and various institu-tions in India. Dr. Joanna Regulska,
Rutgers University Executive Vice
President for International and
Global Affairs, expressed her happi-
ness over the strong support extend-
ed by Government of India to
Rutgers. According to a blueprint
presented by Dr. Ved Chaudhary, a
Hindi Sangam Foundation official,
an independent facility for the cen-
ter would cost over $4 million to
construct in Central New Jersey.
Members of high distinction in the
promot ion of Hindi represent ing
North America, Caribbean Islands
and South American nations, nomi-
nated by Hindi Sangam Board of
Trustees, would comprise the board
of advisors. The Consul-General of
India will be a permanent invitee.The proposal to establish Hindi
Center was originally adopted by
the First International Hindi
Conference held at the New York
University on April 25-27 last year.
It was endorsed by International
Hindi Conference, Mauritius
through a similar resolution on Oct
30-Nov, 2014.
More than 250 delegates from
various US, India and Canada based
universities, businesses and educa-
tional institutions attended the New
Jersey event, where discussions
were held on various topics, such as
Hindi for professional purposes,
Status of Hindi literature in the
Indian Diaspora, Status of Hindi on
the web, and Hindi story writing. A
Kavi Sammelan and a two-hour play were part of the conference.
Renowned academicians and
research scholars such as Dr. Christi
Merrill, University of Michigan, Dr.
Mary Curran, Rutgers, Dr. Satya
Santosh, Indian Institute of Delhi,
Dr. Surendra Gambhir, UPenn,
Mangano installs Indian-American Economic Advisory Committee
Members of the new committee posing with Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano,County’s Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves, Director of Business & Economic Development Kamlesh Mehta, and Hempstead Town Clerk Nasrin G. Ahmad.
International Hindi Center to come up in New Jersey
(1) Ambassador Mulay seen with Dr. James Masschaele, Executive Vice Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University, at the conference with Ashok Ojha, the event coordinator.
(2) Delegates and others at the International Hindi Conference, Rutgers University.
The committee comprising business leaders has Shudh Parkash Singh as Chairman and Aron Govil as Vice-Chair.
Continued on page 4
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4 April 18-24, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE
Washington: India's Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley has assured foreign investors that the
government of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi was working on a more modern tax
regime as part of ongoing reforms to
increase investment and reduce regulations
to realize double-digit growth."In order to realize double-digit growth we
need to undertake a number of reforms to
increase investment and reduce burdensome
regulations. Key among them are taxes,"
Jaitley said in a speech at the Peterson
Institute for International Economics here.
Spelling out a tax vision for India at the
leading think tank on international economic
issues, Jaitley said he believed that with the
reforms underway in India, "we are well on
our way to having one of the more modern
tax systems in the world."
Noting that India, "one of the bright spots
in the economy", is attracting the attention of
investors and policy-makers around theworld because of its rising growth prospects,
he acknowledged investors' concerns about
tax related issues.
Outlining various reforms undertaken by
the Modi government, Jaitley said,
"Fundamentally we have restored faith in
government and its ability to push the Indian
economy toward the path of sustained dou-
ble-digit growth."
Spelling out his vision of a modern 21st
century tax system for India, Jaitley said the
Indian Parliament will pass a bill in the com-
ing weeks to implement Goods and Services
Tax (GST), a consumption-based value-
added tax.It would, he said, create a broad tax base,
strengthen revenues going forward, increase
the tax-GDP ratio, promote transparency,
reduce corruption and go toward creating an
Indian common market because it will
replace a number of state-levied taxes.
India's direct tax system needs to catch up
with the modern GST system, said Jaitley
noting, "Currently we have in some ways the
worst of both worlds: high marginal corpo-
rate taxes (35 percent) but low effective col-
lection (22 percent)."
"We create the perception of a high tax
country and yet do not collect commensurate
taxes," he said. "We need to change this to promote investment and growth. At the same
time we need to create incentives for sav-
ings."
A long standing demand of the US finan-
cial services industry, for allowing foreign
investments in alternative investment fund
(AIF) structured has been introduced in this
year's Budget, he said.
Washington: A former employ-
ee of Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) has accused India's leading
IT services company of discrimi-
nating against American workers
and favoring "South Asians" in
hiring and promotion.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in
San Francisco federal court,
Steven Heldt claimed that 95 per-
cent of the 14,000 people TCS
employs in the US are South
Asian or mostly Indian.
This practice has created a
"grossly disproportionate work-
force," it says. TCS achieves its
"discriminatory goals" by hiring
large numbers of H-1B workers
and locally hiring "disproportion-ately South Asian" workers, the
complaint alleged, according to
Computerworld.
For the "relatively few non-
South Asians workers that Tata
hires," it disfavors them in place-
ment, promotion and termination
decisions, it alleged.
From 2011 to 2013, TCS spon-
sored nearly 21,000 new H-1B
visas, all primarily Indian work-
ers, the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit, which seeks class
action status, is similar to a law-
suit filed last year against Infosys
in federal court in Wisconsin.
Heldt "one of the few non-
South Asians to gain employment
with Tata" describes a "miserable
experience during his 20-month
employment period" handling
job s tha t "of ten inv olved onl y
menial responsibilities" and
experienced "substantial anti-
American sentiment" along the
way.
The lawsuit contended that onetop Tata HR manager instructed
recruiters to focus on hiring
Indians, and that this official "has
expressed his dislike for
American workers," and
"believes Indians were smarter
and better qualified than
Americans."
Indore: Indore girl
Bhavyangana Kanthed
has secured 2nd position
(in 11-12 age category)
at the International Space
Art Contest 2015 organ-
ized by the Space
Foundation headquar-
tered in Colorado, USA.
Bhavyangana Kanthed,
daughter of Jain parents
Priyamvada and Sandeep
Kanthed, is the only
Indian selected in the
contest. Students from
around the world, ages 3
through 18, were invited
to submit original art-
works for this year'stheme, "The View From My
Spaceship." Winners in 1st, 2nd
and 3rd place in 8 categories
were selected from 3,686 entries.
The winning entries were dis-
pl ay ed at th e 31 st Sp ac e
Symposium April 13-16 at The
Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado
Springs, Colo. The art will also
be di sp la ye d at th e Sp ac e
Foundation World Headquarters
and Discovery Center, located in
Colorado Springs.
The winners receive a certifi-
cate, ribbon, personalized astro-
naut autograph and an art kit.
Modi concludes successful...
Continued from page 1
buy 36 Rafal e fight er je ts from
France. Under another deal with
the French, they will manufacture
nuclear reactors in India, creating
clean energy. With Canada he
broke a logjam and secured a deal
on the supply of uranium to power India’s civilian nuclear program.
Satya Nadella is highest paid ...
Continued from page 1
of PepsiCo, is ranked 19th with
$19.08 million yearly package.
Ellison ($67.3 million) is followed
by St ev en Moll en ko pf of
Qualcomm at the third place on the
list with $60.7 million.
International Hindi Center to...
Continued from page 3
Dr. Gabriela Nik Ilieva, NYU, and
Dr. Hemanti Bannerji, Wharton
School of Business, presented
papers and took part in discussionsat the conference. The papers are
posted on the conference website.
“Rutgers University was encour-
aged by the enthusiasm of the con-
ference participants”, said Asher
Ghertner, Director of SASP, Rutgers
University.
For more information, contact: Ashok
Ojha, [email protected].
India assures foreign investors of a modern tax regime
Ex-employee sues TCS forfavoring South Asians in US
Printed Every Saturday by: Forsythe Media Group, LLC, ISSN 1941-9333, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801 P: 516.390.7847
Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily
Indore girl Bhavyangana winsin space art contest
Bhavyangana Kanthed, 12 years old student of Choithram School, Manik Bagh from Indore, Madhya Pradesh,also made a World Record for ‘most
pictures drawn in a minute’.
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5April 18-24, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New York: Chennai born Raja
Rajeswari, who came to Ameri-
ca when she was 16, has become
the first person of Indian descent
to be named as a criminal court
judge in New York City.
Rajeswari, 43, an assistant dis-
trict attorney at the Richmond
County District Attorney's of-
fice, who was nominated to the
bench by Mayor Bill de Blasio,
formally assumed her new of-
fice Tuesday.
"It's like a dream. It's way be-
yond what I imagined," she was
quoted as saying by silive.com,
a Staten Island news website.
"For someone like me, an im-
migrant who comes from India, I'm beyond
grateful," she said. "I told the mayor this is
not only my American Dream, but it shows
another girl from a faraway country that
this is possible."
Rajeswari, who has worked at the district
attorney's office for 16 years, has been the
deputy chief of the Special Victims Unit
for more than four years.She hopes to use her new position to im-
prove the judicial system by encouraging
interpreters to have more access to aid im-
migrants, the news site said. Rajeswari told
ethnic weekly Desi Talk she had observed
gender inequality even before coming to
the US when some of her "brilliant" girl-
friends in India were married off at the age
of 14 and 15. "That has always stayed with
me."
Besides her legal acumen Rajeswari is an
accomplished Bharat Natyam and Kuc-
chipudi dancer who continues to performat Indian events and temples with her
troupe from the Padmalaya Dance Acade-
my, named after her mother, Padma Ra-
manathan.
Washington, DC: A 24-year-old Indian, sus-
pected to have murdered his wife in a restaurant,
is on the run, a media report said.
Palak Bhadreshkumar Patel, 21, was found
murdered inside the kitchen of a Dunkin Donuts
restaurant on Arundel Mills Boulevard in
Hanover, Maryland. Police said her husbandBhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel is a suspect in
the case, CBS Baltimore reported on Monday.
Both the husband and wife were Dunkin Donuts
employees. "We are treating this as domestic-re-
lated, not random. Again, they were husband and
wife and lived together in the area here," a police
officer was quoted as saying.
Police received a call from a police officer
around 11 p.m. on Sunday, informing them
about the murder.
"We have officers that work in this area. Oneof the officers came to the business and found
the victim," the officer added.
A manhunt has been launched to trace the
husband.
Washington, DC: Makingher second presidential run,
Hillary Clinton has set up a
three person team of senior
policy advisers headed by In-
dian-American Maya Harris, a
former senior fellow at the
Center for American Progress.
The team will help develop
an agenda for her presidential
campaign that would be un-
folded in a series of policy
rollouts expected to begin late
next month after her early
phase of road trips to meet
voters, Politico reported.
Two others on the policy
team are Ann O'Leary, a for-mer legislative director to
Clinton when she was in the
Senate; and Jake Sullivan, a top
aide to Clinton while she was Sec-
retary of State and a former na-
tional security adviser to Vice
President Joe Biden.
Besides the policy team, Clinton
is also likely to keep getting infor-
mal advice from another Indian-
American Neera Tanden, the cur-
rent president of CAP and a long-
time adviser.
Clinton's campaign chairman,
John Podesta headed President
Barack Obama's executive action
agenda until earlier this year and
was the founder of the CAP.
Harris, 46, has a background in
human rights, having served as
Vice President of Democracy,
Rights and Justice at the Ford
Foundation, where she led a team
that promoted effective gover-
nance, democracy and human
rights around the world.
She is the younger sister of Ka-
mala Harris, California's first In-
dian-American-African attorney
general who is now running for
Senate.Their mother, Shyamala
Gopalan Harris, a cancer re-
searcher who came to the US
from Chennai in 1960, is of
Indian descent while their fa-
ther is from Jamaica.
Harris received her bache-
lor's degree from the Univer-
sity of California at Berkeley
and graduated with distinc-
tion from Stanford Law
School.
At age 29, Harris was re-
cruited to serve as dean and
chief executive officer of
Lincoln Law School of San
Jose making her one of thecountry's youngest law
school deans. Harris later
served as executive director of the
American Civil Liberties Union,
or ACLU, of Northern California,
where she led the litigation, pub-
lic education, advocacy, and or-
ganizing efforts of the nation's
largest ACLU affiliate.
Harris is married to Tony West,
who left the Obama administra-
tion last September after five
years as associate attorney gener-
al, the third top official in the Jus-
tice Department. They have one
daughter, Meena.
Clinton picks Maya Harris tolead her agenda team
No nvestment
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A reputed manufacturing plant
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Raja Rajeswari
Bhadreshkumar Patel is the prime suspect
Raja Rajeswari becomes NY'sfirst Indian-American judge
Wife found murdered in Dunkin
Donuts kitchen, husband on the run
Maya Harris was senior fellow at Center for American Progress
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6 April 18-24, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: "Phoolan Devi: The Ban-
dit Queen", a multi-media chamber opera by
Shirish Korde, a Uganda born composer of In-
dian descent, is set for its world premiere
shows in New York City on June 26-27. With
a libretto by playwright Anusree Roy and di-rected by Tom Diamond, the full-length, semi-
staged shows will be performed at the Alvin
Ailey Citigroup Theatre. They are co-present-
ed by the Indo-American Arts Council and Da
Capo Chamber Players.
The opera is a series of musically com-
pelling and visually stunning scenes, a rivet-
ing dramatisation that explores real (and re-
imagined) events in the life of the notorious
Phoolan Devi, according to a media release.
"Born into poverty, sold as a child bride, ab-
ducted by bandits, abused and victimized, im- prisoned, elected to India's Parliament and
then tragically gunned down in the streets of
New Delhi in 2001, the Bandit Queen was just
37 at the time of her death."
"Phoolan Devi's life raises difficult and uni-
versal questions about violence and women,"
said Korde.
"Her story is so compelling that it was im-
perative for me to expand my 2006 song cycle
into this full length opera which only just be-
gins to capture her extraordinary circum-
stances," he said. Aroon Shivdasani, founder and executive director of the Indo-American
Arts Council said: "The energy and strength of
Phoolan Devi is particularly powerful in the
context of today's awakening awareness of
decades of brutality towards women."
Shirish Korde's compelling score is a dis-
tinctive synthesis of Asian and contemporary
Western traditions - among them are Indian
classical singing, opera, jazz and hip hop. The
award winning playwright/actor Anusree Roy
has written a libretto that brings to life a
woman of so many contradictions who polar-ized the Indian population.
The performers include Zorana Sadiq, so-
prano, and Dashon Burton, bass baritone.
They are set against a backdrop of stunning vi-
suals created by multi-media artist Raphaele
Shirley.
"Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen" to premiere in NYC
IN BRIEF
An Indian-ori-
gin former
leader of anow defunct Hindu
temple in Georgia has
been sentenced to 27
years in prison for
committing bank and
tax frauds, money
laundering and using
the temple’s income
to fund his personal
lifestyle.
Annamalai Anna-
malai also known as Swamiji Sri
Selvam Siddhar, was in August
2014 convicted for bank and tax
frauds following a two-week jury
trial. He was also convicted of
bankruptcy fraud offences inconnection with the temple’s pe-
tition for bankruptcy protection
in August 2009. “Annamalai per-
verted the sacred institution of re-
ligion by using it as a vehicle for
greed and personal profit,” said
acting attorney John A Horn.
“He convinced his victims that
they had a problem in need of
spiritual guidance, and then took
advantage of their vulnerabilities
for personal financial gain.
The sentence rendered against
him is lengthy but just and fair
considering the irreparable harm
he caused to his victims.”
Annamalai generated income
through the temple by charging
fees to his followers in exchange
for providing spiritual or related
services.
In a typical transaction, a fol-
lower agreed to purchase a par-
ticular service for a communicat-
ed price, and provided a credit
card number by tele-
phone to guarantee
payment.He charged his fol-
lowers’ credit card
numbers on multiple
occasions, in excess of
the agreed amount and
without authorization.
When the followers
disputed the charges
with their credit card
companies, Anna-
malai submitted false
documentation to the credit card
companies in support of the
unauthorized charges. He later
filed spurious lawsuits against
followers, who disputed his
charges and manipulated audiorecordings to make it sound as if
the followers had agreed to the
disputed charges.
The income generated by the
temple through these credit card
charges was used to fund the per-
sonal lifestyle of Annamalai and
his family, who owned or con-
trolled numerous homes and real
properties, luxury vehicles, and
foreign bank accounts in India.
In addition to Annamalai’s
prison sentence, U.S. District
Court Judge Timothy Batten also
ordered Annamalai to not engage
in any spiritual service for com-
pensation, directly or indirectly
through intermediaries. He
would be housed in a ‘Communi-
cations Management Housing
Unit’, which is a special facility
that will be able to monitor An-
namalai’s telephone calls and
electronic communications from
prison.
The 13th annual Indian Film
Festival of Los Angeles (IF-
FLA) concluded April 12
with a red carpet and gala fete that
featured the U.S. premiere of
Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘Dhanak’ and
the presentation of the festival's
Grand Jury and Audience Choice
Awards.
This year the festival showcased
25 film features, documentaries,
and shorts at ArcLight Hollywood,
home of IFFLA since its inception,
including four world premieres,
seven North American premieres,
two U.S. premieres, and 10 Los
Angeles premieres. The films
hailed from six different countries,
including the United States, United
Kingdom, France, Cuba, and of course India, and featured 10 dif-
ferent languages, from Hindi to
Marathi, to German to Bengali.
Four Colors (Chauranga), direct-
ed by Bikas Mishra, took home the
Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature,
with Best Actress honors going to
Kalki Koechlin for Margarita WithA Straw, and Shweta Tripathi for
Haraamkhor in a tie. The Best Ac-
tor prize, also a tie, was awarded to
the young stars of The Crow’s Egg,
brothers J. Vignesh and Ramesh. A
special jury mention was made for
the stunning cinematography of
Labour of Love. The Grand JuryPrize for Best Short was presented
to Dandekar Makes A Sandwich,
directed by Leena Pendharker. An
honorable mention was given to
The Rabbit (Khargosh), directed by
Sudarshan Suresh.
Indian priest gets 27-year jail termfor bank fraud
Former Miss America Nina Davuluri throws first pitch
IFFLA announces award winnersChauranga receives Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature
(l to r) Pratyusha Gupta (Safar), Shweta Tripathi (Haraamkhor), Bikas Mishra (Four Colors), Christina Marouda (IFFLA), Jasmine Jaisinghani (IFFLA), Leena
Pendharker (Dandekar makes a Sandwich) and Isaac Hagy (Tomorrow We Disappear)
Swami SelvamSiddhar
Nina Davuluri
Baseball fans and families watching
throughout the nation witnessed a his-
toric night in Philadelphia with a
memorable evening celebrating cultural di-
versity, a Phillies win and a first pitch thrown
by former Miss America, Nina Davuluri.
On April 11th, Platinum Dream Events,Philadelphia’s premiere event planning and
production company, provided Philadelphia
Phillies fans with an outstanding entertain-
ment line-up featuring on-field performers, a
dance spectacular at Left Field plaza, a Bolly-
wood performance on the dug-out with the
Philly Phanatic, and a first pitch honoring
Miss America 2014.
Fans were welcomed into the stadium to the
sounds of the top 40 in Bollywood fused with
western beats. The city’s top university dance
teams took stage to bring South Asia to
Philadelphia and were seen performing and
giving fans an opportunity to learn some of
the latest moves. The plaza event culminatedwith a visit from the beautiful Nina Davuluri
who greeted fans who were eager to shake her
hand or snap a selfie. Moments before throw-
ing out the pitch Nina exclaimed, "Being here
for Asian Pacific night and spreading my mes-
sage of Cultural Competency has been amaz-
ing! I'm looking forward to a great game and
win for the Phillies!"
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7April 18-24, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
New York: Pooja Chandrasekar, a sen-
ior at the Thomas Jefferson High
School for Science and Technology, atop-ranked magnet school in Virginia’s
Fairfax County has earned admission
to all eight Ivy League schools.
She was also accepted at Stanford,
MIT, Duke, the University of Virginia,
the University of Michigan and
Georgia Tech, going 14 for 14.
17-year-old Pooja is no ordinary girl.
She’s got a 4.57 grade-point average,
scored a 2390 (out of 2400) on the
SAT, and aced all 13 of her Advanced
Placement exams.
She also founded a national nonprofit
organization that encourages middle-
school girls to participate in science,
technology, engineering and math
(STEM) programs.
Besides she’s also developed a
mobile app that analyzes speech pat-
terns and predicts with 96 percent
accuracy if a person has Parkinson’s
disease.
Earning an acceptance letter from
one Ivy League school is a rare
achievement for most high school stu-
dents. It is extremely rare for a student
to gain admission to all eight, although
a few each year manage to do so. Born
in Potomac Falls, Pooja is the only
child of two engineers who immigrat-
ed to the United States from
Bangalore.
Washington, DC: Sixteen US lawmakers
led by Democrat John Garamendi have
introduced a resolution in the US House of
Representatives, honoring the Sikh commu-nity's celebration of Vaisakhi.
The bipartisan resolution was co-spon-
sored among others by the lone Indian-
American Congressman Ami Bera,
Democratic co-chair of the Congressional
Caucus on India and Indian Americans, one
of the largest in Congress with more than
180 members.
"America's founding ideals of freedom of
worship, equality, and justice are reflected
in the Sikh American community's celebra-
tion of Vaisakhi," said Garamendi, co-chair
of the American Sikh Congressional
Caucus.
"I am proud to represent one of the largest
Sikh communities in the country. I have
par tne red with the com munity on manyissues, including civil liberties, education,
and business development," he said.
"Sikhs are an integral part of the American
fabric, and we invite our fellow Americans
to learn more about their Sikh neighbors by
visiting their local gurdwaras and partnering
with us on community service projects,"
said Rajdeep Singh, senior director of law
and policy at the Sikh Coalition.
Pooja Chandrasekar gets accepted byall eight Ivy League schools, and others
Vaisakhi resolution
introduced in US HouseHouston: An Indian-American couple has donat-
ed one million dollars for the construction of a
cancer services facility at the University of
Arizona. The couple, Dr Ram, an orthopedic sur-geon, and Meera Krishna made the donation in
memory of Meera's sister, Mandira Jalajakshi,
who was a physician practicing in England when
she passed away in 2012.
The donation will go towards the construction of
the UA Cancer Center at St Joseph's Hospital and
Medical Center outpatient facility that would offer
comprehensive cancer services, including infu-
sion, radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging,
endoscopic radiology, a prevention center, clinical
lab space and several specialized cancer clinics.
The five-story, 2,20,000 square-foot facility - a
partnership between the varsity and St Joseph 's
Hospital - is currently under construction in down-
town Phoenix and expected to open in September.
The couple, whose two daughters graduated
from the UA, said they wanted to give back to theschool their children attended, and support UA
medical education and research.
"I was very impressed with President Hart's
vision, and we wanted to give back. Education and
research in the medical field are very important to
us," a press statement quoted Dr.Ram as saying.
In recognition of the Krishnas' gift, a space in
the new center will bear the name of the late
Jalajakshi.
Couple donates $1 mnto University of Arizona
Washington, DC: Two Indian
Americans have been listed among
the 50 biggest philanthropists of
2015 by the Town and Country
Magazine with the likes of Microsoft
co-founder Bill Gates and Apple
CEO Tim Cook.
"These are the men and women
whose serious dollars, bold ideas,
and old-fashioned hard work have
made them the year's most notewor-
thy and inspiring givers," the
American lifestyle magazine says of
the top givers including Adarsh
Alphons and Reshma Saujani.
The 'Grand Plan' of New York
based Alpho ns , 30 , Fou nder &
Executive Director of ProjectArt,
which provides free art classes at
public libraries in all five boroughs
of New York City, is to help troubledstudents in the metropolis. Alphons,
son of former Indian bureaucrat K J
Alphons, was a troubled student
himself - he was once expelled for
drawing at the expense of his studies
- until one art teacher began encour-
aging his talent. He founded
ProjectArt in 2011 and by 2014 had
11 thriving neighborhood programs,
funded heavily by art enthusiasts
from David Maupin to Kyle
DeWoody. Saujani, 38, an Indian-
American lawyer and politician,
founded the tech organization GirlsWho Code to close technology's
gender gap. She did so noting that
demand for programmers has sky-
rocketed, the percentage of comput-
er science graduates who are female
has gone down, from 37 percent to
12 percent over the past 30 years. In
December, her non profit announced
a major expansion of its seven-week
summer program around the US,
which will provide top-notch train-
ing to girls. Her partners include
AT&T and Twitter. Saujani hopes to
have taught one million by 2020.Besides Bill & Melinda Gates, co-
chairs of the Gates Foundation and
Apple CEO Tim cook others on the
list include Facebook Chairman &
CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife
Priscilla Chan, former New York
mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor
Leonardo DiCaprio.
Washington, DC: PresidentBarack Obama has named yet
another Indian-American as mem-
ber of the Board of Directors of
the Corporation for National and
Community Service for a term
expiring in October 2019.
The nomination of Shamina
Singh, executive director of the
MasterCard Center for Inclusive
Growth since December 2013, has
been sent to the Senate, according
to a White House announcement
on Monday.
She joined MasterCard in 2013
as the global director for govern-
ment services and solutions where
she expanded MasterCard's busi-ness capabilities to digitize social
subsidy programs in over 40 coun-
tries. Prior to joining MasterCard,
Shamina led government and pub-
lic affairs for Nike and spent five
years with Citigroup's Global
Community Development Group.
Over the course of 15 years in
the public sector, she held senior
posi ti ons wi th in th e Cl in to n
Administration and the US House
of Representatives.
Two Indian Americans among biggest givers of 2015Barack Obama names ShaminaSingh to key post
Adarsh Alphons, founder, ProjectArt & Reshma Saujani,founder, Girls Who Code
Shamina Singh has beennamed to board of
Corporation for National and Community Service
Pooja Chandrasekar
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8 April 18-24, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
It’s Hillary’s race
to win Ravi Batra
Eminent Attorney & Chair of National
Advisory Council of South Asian Affairs
Hillary Clinton is a unique candidate
for the presidency of these United
States. Her singular ability, likeBarack Obama, to break the highest Glass
Ceiling is undeniable. As a Democrat, I wel-
come Marty O'Mally and inter alia, Jim
Webb as the Primary process will sharpen
the Democratic argument to take America to
new strengths and heights for all -- not just
those who have done well already. I look
forward to working with her and her cam-
paign.
It's Hillary's race, without need to lose to
Jeb Bush, who is the best Republican candi-
date. I want her to revive the American
Dream for all - everyone must have a fair
shot to make a good life and a better one for
their kids. Income inequality is a legitimate
issue for people who work hard to achieve
the American dream.Mayor Bill de Blasio not endorsing Hillary
and whether the perception of her being right
of center trim some of her Democrat sup-
port? My answer is “No”. It's political posi-
tioning worthy of an endorsement from the
person with the second most important job
in America - NYC Mayor. Bill de Blasio is
Hillary's unquestioned supporter.
How different is her approach to the sec-
ond presidential campaign as compared to
2008 when Barack Obama created much eu-
phoria? Well, the Electric Euphoria of 2008wasn't present in 2012, even though the Sec-
ond Term is the Imperial term and President
Obama is giving America a new set of books
with new assets and less liabilities, to whit:
the opening of Cuba, the coalition of Muslim
majority countries fighting ISIS, the signifi-
cant and serious attempt to bring Iran into
the comity of nations with the most stringent
and intrusive Iran nuclear deal, which will
surely secure the region including Israel.
Hillary's success will be historic, and even
fathers will be excited with their daughters'
future being unlimited.
What makes Mrs Clinton Indian Ameri-
cans’ favorite? Well, Hillary, like Bill Clin-
ton, is fabulous in speaking only to you -
even if in a crowd. I recall her, as a Senator,
upon meeting my daughter Angela in Albany
at the Caucus Weekend and commenting:
“Angela, you changed your hairstyle.”
Imagine the impact upon me. Indeed, when
I told her a few days later - her response was
direct proof of her political brilliance born in
warm details to win my heart.
Will India’s interests and Indo-US ties
benefit if she is in the White House? Sorry,
that's not the litmus test. What's best for
these United States under all circumstances
- that is the litmus test. Indeed, Republicans
and Democrats, some say Republicans even
more, appreciate US-India ties as a predicatefor the 21st Century enhanced peace and
prosperity. Indeed, it was President George
W. Bush who gave India the civil nuclear
deal - a deal which President Obama just
made sweeter for India when he was chief
guest at India's Republic Day celebration.
The biggest difference of who the Presi-
dent is, is in the appointments they make -
and no appointment is more important than
to the US Supreme Court, albeit, so many In-
dian Americans being appointed by Presi-
dent Obama to be US ambassador - as
Richard Rahul Verma is to India or Atul Ke-
shap is to Sri Lanka - that's pretty cool and
heady too. Did I mention that President
Obama appointed Preet Bharara or Sri Srini-
vasan as a circuit court judge on the federal
Court of Appeals. President Obama’s critical
appointments have become a benchmark for
every American president who follows him
to utilize the patriotism, the loyalty, and the
sheer intellect of the Indian American com-
munity to serve and protect the best interest
of these United States. Forgetting the ab-
solute disgraceful Bobby Jindal, who sold
his soul, name and ethnic pride to move
ahead, I look forward to seeing an Indian
American not only run but win the presiden-
cy by 2040.
Hillary, if she remains a new candidate for
2016 without the 2008-errors, stays connect-ed to all Americans, especially blacks and
Hispanics, then she is our next president!
Hillary should
focus on domestic
issuesUpendra Chivukula
Served 12 years as Assemblyman
in New Jersey
C
hances of Mrs Clinton becoming
a Democratic nominee are good.
I’d like her to focus and addressdomestic issues -- income inequality,
jobs, especially for the long unemployed,
and America's competitiveness in the
global marketplace.
Also, she has to change her approach in
connecting with ordinary people and she
cannot take women's vote for granted.
The mood of the country is very different
compared to 2008 as indicated by the
mid-term elections. People are tired of
posturing politicians and are looking for
pragmatic problem solvers. She has to
earn the left of center Democrats' support
by focusing on the government's role in
helping ordinary people with respect toincome inequality, jobs, prison system
reforms, etc.
Mrs Clinton understands India and
India's interests better than anybody else
because of her role as the Secretary of
State. It is unclear how much she can
really do for India given political pres-
sures because of the international politi-
cal climate.
Indian Americans have a soft spot for
Mrs. Clinton because of Bill Clinton's
connection to India. She is definitely
favored by Indian Democrats and it is not
clear how the Independents and
Republicans from the community are perceiving her.
Good to have a
centrist leader
like herMeera Gandhi
Founder of the Giving Back Foundation
Iam a ‘ready for Hillary’ finance co-chair
and was one of the first to sign up for her
campaign. I sincerely think Mrs. Clinton
will be America’s next president as she
understands the issues the country is facingright now and wants to be a champion to
improve the country.
I am supporting her because she has a clear
view of global issues and great relations
abroad. Perfect timing! My philosophy is,
“We are to the universe only as much as we
give back to it” and Mrs. Clinton clearly
embodies that sentiment and spirit!
I said in London two years ago even before
she announced her candidacy that the middle
class American must be lifted. The polarizing
gap between the rich and the poor must be
reduced. The middle class America must be
empowered. Infrastructure needs to be rebuilt
and a faster internet highway added. A major
marshal plan is needed for employment, effi-
ciency and infrastructure.
Mrs Clinton is ready and it’s not abouteuphoria, it’s about taking the current growth
and moving it forward. America is in a soft
boom and is propelling forward and needs the
Democrats in power to keep this going. She
appeals to Republicans too as she is more
middle of the road in her approach and views.
Her being in the White House will
undoubtedly be good for Indians and Indo-
US ties. India is a budding economic power-
house and the USA understands that.
America’s philosophy is about the work and
economic contribution and not about the per-
son or his origin. The Clintons have spent
much quality time in India and they are per-
sonable, intelligent and the first American
administration to reach out to India.
On Mayor de Blasio’s non-endorsement,
sadly his stand does not mean much in the
big scheme of things. He is too fresh to thearena! Yes, Mrs Clinton may lose some sup-
port from the left of center voters but I think
it’s best to have a President in the center as
many more needs can be met.
Appraising Hillary’s bid for PresidentResponses from 7 prominent Indian Americans, some
leaning Democrat and some leaning to GOP, onMrs Clinton’s race to the White House, and whether she
will be good for the country and for India.By Parveen Chopra
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8/9/2019 Vol 7 Issue 50 - April 18-24, 2015
9/32
Mrs Clinton will be
India friendly Munish Kumar Raizada
Neonatologist in Chicago, currently
advisor to Delhi health minister.
Iam a Republican in my attitude and beliefs.
But Hillary Clinton would be an interesting
candidate whom I may support after know-
ing her stand on issues like immigration and the
economy.
In her second
pre sidential bid ,
she has far more
superior chances.
Last time too she
created a buzz,
bu t Obama
proved far bette r
in creating rip-
pl es . Sh e is no
doubt popular and
time is ripe for her to coax
Americans to
elect their first
woman President! Indian American community
knows the Clintons well and will naturally
receive Hillary with much gusto.
India can expect a friendlier President in
Hillary Clinton.
America ready for a
woman President Renee Mehra
Journalist and anchor for ITV
Ithink America is ready for a woman President! Mrs Clinton isa powerful and seasoned politician and a shoo-in for
Democratic nomination. But she will face a tough challenge
in the general election and only
time will tell how that will play
out in the final haul. Importantly,
it has to be seen how she connects
with the first time voters and the
young generation who may not
have much recollection about her
2008 presidential bid.
She started her campaign earlier
this week as the Champion for
Everyday Americans but it is too
early to know her campaign strat-
egy and agenda and the issues she
will make as her priority. Her
opponents are furious about her emails issue as Secretary of State
and her slow response but I think it will not derail her campaign
for long.
The Indian American community has traditionally been a strong
supporter of the Clintons and all eyes will be on her with regards
to issues of interest to us, namely, immigration reform, healthcare
and the economy.
GOP Presidents
have been better
for IndiaMayor Harry Anand
Business Executive & former Mayor of
Laurel Hollow, NY
Hillary Clinton will not be my
choice for the next President of
USA. She is a polarizing figure
and it would further add to the dysfunc-
tion in Washington. We need a leader
who can bring people together and lead
by forming consensus. Hillary is not that
person.
Being a woman should not be an advan-
tage or a disadvantage for any candidate.
Mrs Clinton should be judged on her
record and her ability to perform as the
leader in current times.
With reference to her announcement
video, I’d like Mrs Clinton to define that
“everyday American”. We often fall for these one-liners without questioning the
specifics. Our current President pledged
to bring the country together and not be
“the President of Blue States or the Red
States but the President of United States
of America”, yet America has never been
so polarized on racial, political and eco-
nomic issues since the civil war. We
should not elect our next President based
on who is appealing to our emotions, but
use our intellect and base our votes on
facts supported by evidence.
Is Hillary right of center? I’ve never
subscribed to the political theories of
right, left or center. These are vague defi-
nitions intended to confuse and misguide
the electorate. In a few months we may
find Mayor de Blasio going from left tocenter and Hillary going from right to left
and embracing each other for their per-
sonal political gains.
On the unlikelihood of her creating the
Obama euphoria of 2008, I hope we do
not fall for the euphoria for any candidate
- Democrat or Republican - and vote for
an effective leader who can build consen-
sus and bring this country together.On Indians’ soft spot for the Clintons, I
submit that the Indian American commu-
nity has to grow up politically and start tovote based on facts and not emotions. We
have fallen for false promises and bigspeeches many times and regretted later
on. I am a registered Republican but I
have often voted for Democrats when Ithink they have the right candidate. I am
sure GOP will have plenty to say against
the second Clinton just like Democratswill rail against the third Bush in White
House. Once again, we need to base our
votes on facts and not theater of either party.
Historically GOP Presidents have been good for India and the Indian community
in US. Consider these facts about
Democrat Presidents:
President Bill Clinton refused to
help when IA Flight 814 was hijacked toKandahar by Taliban, supported by
Pakistan.
President Clinton called the Kargilinvasion by Pakistan a regional conflict
and took a “neutral” stand.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
refused to supply wheat to India andrefused to even meet with PM Lal
Bahadur Shastri.
President Kennedy in 1961 called Nehru’s visit to the US as “the worst head
of the state visit” and it marked the low-
est level of US-India ties.
More recently, during President
Obama’s tenure, Indian immigration to
the US has been at its lowest in over two
decades. The H1 visas granted for skilledIndians has been at its lowest too. Middle
class Indian Americans, who actually believe in working hard and not standing
in a line for social services, have seen
their taxes go up and their small business-es hurt by increased regulations and com-
pliance issues.
On the Republican Presidents front:
India-US relations improved dramat-ically during President George W. Bush
presidency, including the signing of thehistoric India-US nuclear treaty. Even
Forbes magazine called the 43rd as the
“Best US President India has ever had”.
During President Reagan’s presi-dency, visa and migration of Indians to
the US saw the biggest increase.
Yet, we should vote with our minds and
not our hearts. We should vote for the
candidate who is right for our communi-
ty, our country of birth and our adopted
country.
9April 18-24, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
No Dem can take
White House in 2016 Raj Mehta
Entrepreneur & producer-host of a TV show
Ido not see a Democrat candidate taking White House in
2016 – whoever their nominee is. A Democrat President
was in office for 8 years and the new candidate will have
a lot to answer. Any party
in power for a long time
accumulates some “bag-
gage”.
Notwithstanding Hillary’s
focus on domestic issues in
her announcement video,
foreign policy is very criti-
cal and I hope she clearly
defines her vision for the
world.
She will not be able to
generate excitement among
young Americans like
Obama did in 2008. So,rather than big rallies, she
should meet people in small groups to win their hearts.
President Bill Clinton is very popular among Indian
Americans. She will have to use him for the ride.
As for India, it will have beneficial relations with America
no matter who is in the White House. PM Modi is adept and
knows exactly what he must do to get what India needs.With inputs from Jinal Shah
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10 April 18-24, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS
Washington: The US presidential race took
off with Hillary Rodham Clinton finally jump-
ing into the fray with an aura of inevitability,
but that analysts suggested may turn out to be
the former secretary of state's biggest handi-
cap.
In her second bid to break the ultimate glass
ceiling and return to the White House, the for-
mer first lady chose a low-key video message
on social media to announce her run Sunday
before heading to Iowa, the state which tradi-
tionally kicks off the primaries.
The first official event of her 2016 presiden-
tial campaign was a roundtable discussion
with four students and educators in an auto-
motive technology classroom at a community
college. There she declared her desire to
"begin a conversation" with Americans on
how she could "be the champion who goes to
bat for Americans."
Low key or not, Clinton's entry has electri-
fied the somewhat somnolent presidential race
and generated media attention far and wide,
including India, with which she has a long his-
tory going back to her first visit as first lady in
1995.
As Alyssa Ayres, a fellow at the Council on
Foreign Relations, wrote in a recent blog post,
"First and foremost, she sees India as a crucial
part of US strategy in a world increasingly
centered on Asia, where, in her words, 'the
future of politics will be decided.'"
Within her own Democratic Party, Clinton is
miles ahead of her likely rivals - none of
whom have officially declared their intention
to run.
Among the Republicans, she leads former
Florida governor Jeb Bush 54 % to 40 % in a
matchup and with even larger margins over
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Governor
Scott Walker and Florida Senator Marco
Rubio, Time said.
Louisiana's Indian-American governor
Bobby Jindal is still toying with the idea of a
presidential run.
But potential Republican candidates lost no
time attacking Clinton leaving criticism of
likely primary rivals within the party for
another day.
Rubio, 43, the youngest contender in the
race so far, took a swipe at Clinton Monday.
"Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday," he
said as the crowd erupted in boos, "began a
campaign for President by promising to takeus back to yesterday. But yesterday is over,
and we are never going back."
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul released a
video ad critical of Clinton hours before she
officially declared her candidacy Sunday say-
ing she "represents the worst of the
Washington machine, the arrogance of power,
corruption and cover-up".
Cruz, another official 2016 GOP candidate,
questioned her success as secretary of state
saying "Hillary Clinton represents the failed
policies of the past".
Bush turned the Clinton debut into a
fundraising opportunity telling his supporters
in an email that "Hillary plans to raise $1.7
billion to win the White House ... which is
why I'm asking you to give $5 right now" to
"stop her."
With hardly any opposition worth the name,
Clinton may easily win the Democratic pri-
mary, but "she'll face a battle-tested
Republican opponent who will be in tip-top
shape to take on the Democrats," Timesuggested. She will be equally ready too.
Washington: A mailman from Florida
wanted to make a big, bold point about the
corruption that results from money in poli-
tics. So Doug Hughes boarded a small per-
sonal aircraft called a "gyrocopter" and
flew an hour from Maryland into restricted
airspace over Washington and landed on
the West Lawn of the Capitol building
Wednesday noon.
In to te : letters for every member of
Congress urging them to reform campaign
finance laws.
It was a bizarre incident that riveted thecity and shut down the U.S. Capitol for part
of the day. Hughes was immediately takeninto custody.
Landing copter on Capitol grounds to protest money in politics
Boston, Mass.: Former New
England Patriots star Aaron
Hernandez was convicted of
first-degree murder and sen-
tenced to life in prison
Wednesday, sealing the down-
fall of an athlete who once had
a $40 million contract.
Hernandez, 25, was held
guilty in the slaying of Odin
Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscap-
er and amateur football player
who was dating the sister of Hernandez'sfiancee. The former football pro was also
found guilty on weapons charges. "The jury
found that he was just a man who commit-
ted a brutal murder," District Attorney
Thomas Quinn said. "The fact
that he was a professional ath-
lete meant nothing in the end."
For reasons that were never
made clear to the jury, Lloyd
was shot six times in the mid-
dle of the night on June 17,
2013 in a deserted industrial
park near Hernandez' s home
in North Attleborough.
Prosecutors presented a
wealth of evidence that
Hernandez was with Lloyd at the time hewas killed, including home security video
from Hernandez's mansion, witness testi-
mony and cellphone records that tracked
Lloyd's movements.
Ex-NFL player Hernandez gets life for murder
Among the Republicans, Hillary Clinton leads Jeb Bush (right) 54 % to 40 % in a matchup and with even larger margins over others who have entered the race.
Washington: President Barack Obama is not
ready to formally endorse his ex-secretary of
state, Hillary Clinton, in her bid for the presi-
dency because it is possible that other hope-
fuls for the post will appear, including other
"friends" of the commander-in-chief
A day after Clinton, who was defeated byObama in the Democratic primaries of 2008,
announced her intention to seek the party's
pre sid ent ial nomin ati on in 2016 , Whi te
House spokesperson Josh Earnest on
Monday scuttled rumors about any immedi-
ate support she might get from the president,
Efe news service reported.
"The two of them Obama and Clinton have
become friends, but there are other people
who are friends of the president who may
decide to enter the race. So the president has
not offered up any sort of endorsement at
this point," Earnest told his daily press con-
ference. Though the spokesperson did not
identify exactly who those "friends" might
be, pred ictab ly among them will be Vice
President Joe Biden if he finally decides to
compete for the Democratic nomination.
Earnest emphasized that it will be "theresponsibility of Democratic voters to decide
who should be the Democratic nominee for
president" in 2016, and once the process is
concluded, whoever receives the party's
nomination "can be confident that they'll
enjoy the support of President Obama in
their campaign."
Last Saturday, Obama called Hillary
Clinton a "friend" who would be "an excel-
lent president," a statement interpreted by
some as an implicit endorsement for his for-
mer secretary of state.
2016: Hillary Clinton Vs the rest Obama not ready to endorse Hillary - yet
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com
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8/9/2019 Vol 7 Issue 50 - April 18-24, 2015
11/32
11April 18-24, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: Congress vice presi-
dent Rahul Gandhi, who remained
out of the public view for 56 days,
returned to the national capital on
April 16.
“He (Rahul Gandhi) is back... Ihave no doubt that he will be not
only taking proactive measures
bu t al so wi th dy na mism, wi th
commitment, provide leadership,”
Congress leader Anand Sharma
said.
He returned amid intense specu-
lation regarding his whereabouts.
Rahul Gandhi, 44, arrived at his
residence around noon on
Thursday, where his mother and
party president Sonia Gandhi as
well as his sister Priyanka were
already present, an AICC official
said.
A TV channel showed photo-
graphs of Rahul Gandhi sitting in
a vehicle as an SPG commando
stood close by.
After missing from action since
the budget session of parliament
be ga n on Fe br ua ry 23 , th e
Congress vice president will
address a kisan-mazdoor (farmer-
labour) rally here on April 19 to
protes t wh at the Co ngres s has
described as the "anti-farmer"
Narendra Modi government.
Gandhi is also scheduled to hold
meetings with party leaders as
well as farmers' leaders on Friday
to discuss the contours and details
of the rally at Ramlila Ground
here.
On his return, Gandhi was
expected to be elevated as the
party chief at an AICC session in
April, but the session was later
rescheduled until after July.
Party worker Jadish Sharma,
however, told reporters outside
Rahul Gandhi's residence that he
would soon be made party chief
after April 19.
Sharma also claimed that Rahul
Gandhi was in Uttarakhand during
his sabbatical and not in Bangkok
as was being reported by a section
of the media.
Rahul Gandhi's leave of absence
pr om pt ed qu es ti on s ab ou t hi s
leadership skills.
Former Delhi chief minister
Sheila Dixit has been quoted as
saying, "...(in case of) Rahul, of
course, there is a question mark,
there is scepticism because you
have not seen him perform as yet."
Her remarks echoed the senti-
ments of a few other senior leaders
who demanded Sonia Gandhi
should continue as party president.
The party, however, contended
Gandhi's absence was due to his
need to chart out the party's future
course in "isolation" after a series
of electoral drubbings.
Kolkata: Angry and shocked over
the alleged snooping on Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose' family by
successive Congress governments,
concerned citizens here termed it a
"national shame" and demanded to
know the truth that is purportedly
buried in secret government files.
United in rage, a large section of
eminent personalities and com-
moners alike have called for the
declassification of all secret gov-
ernment files on the nationalist
leader. With the fresh revelations
pe rt ai ni ng to 20 -y ea r pe ri od between 1948 to 1968 making the
headlines last week, the clamor for
publicizing over 150 secret docu-
ments gained ground, prompting
the central government to set up
an inter-ministerial committee
headed by the Cabinet Secretary to
review the Official Secrets Act in
the context of such files.
Expressing his disbelief that the
Jawaharlal Nehru government
could order such snooping, former
Lok Sabha speaker Somnath
Chatterjee called for making the
secret documents public for the
truth to come out.
"Snooping has always beenunacceptable although it is quite
unbelievable that Nehru would
have ordered such a thing. But
then all these things would
become clear if the classified doc-
uments of Bose are made public.
So I hope all the declassification
campaigns bear fruit," Chatterjee
told IANS. According to docu-
ments accessed by author and
researcher Anuj Dhar, Bose's two
nephews Sisir Kumar Bose and
Amiya Nath Bose were among the
family members spied upon for 20
years. While Sisir is said to be the
pe rs on who dr ov e Ne ta ji to
Gomoh in Bihar to facilitate his
"great escape", Amiya Nath hasoften been called the "ideological
disciple" of the great leader.
Jawaharlal Nehru was prime
minister for 16 of these 20 years.
Chatterjee, however, expressed
his reservations over the inter-
ministerial panel that was consti-
tuted Wednesday.
"I don't know if the panel would
serve any purpose. Only time will
tell, if it's a concrete move or a
mere eyewash," added Chatterjee.
Former Supreme Court judge
A.K. Ganguly minced no words in
slamming the Congress for the
snooping controversy.
"It's a national shame. All the
secret Netaji documents must bedeclassified because the people of
India have the right to know what
happened to their hero," added
Ganguly.
New Delhi: The AAP will take
action against dissident party lead-
ers Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra
Yadav and two others for organis-
ing 'Swaraj Samwad' - an open dia-
logue - against the party's wish, a
leader said here this week.
Taking to the media after the Aam
Aadmi Party's (AAP) two-hour
long Political Affairs Committee
meeting at Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal's residence, party
leader Sanjay Singh said: "We have
referred the matter of Yogendra
Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Ajit Jha
and Anand Kumar holding the
'Swaraj Samwad' to the national
disciplinary committee. It will take
suitable action." He, however,
refused to comment on when the
action would be taken.
Yadav and Bhushan, ousted from
the party's national executive on
March 28 for alleged "anti-party"
activities, held a day-long confer-
ence that was attended by over
4,000 people, many of whom
claimed to be AAP volunteers.
The event was seen as an attempt
to break the AAP led by Kejriwal.
However, Yadav, Bhushan and
Kumar have denied any intention to
split or leave the party. Earlier in
the day, Yadav and Bhushan hinted
at forming a political party and also
named Kumar as the national con-
vener of the steering committee of
'Swaraj Abhiyan' -- a non-political
movement to establish 'swaraj'
(self-rule) in the country's cultural,
po li ti ca l, ec on omic an d so ci al
fields.
A TV image showing Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi coming back to New Delhi after 56 days.
People stage a demonstration demanding the declassification of documents related to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Kolkata.
Finally, Rahul back after 56-day sabbatical
Out with the truth, demands Kolkata on Netaji's death
AAP to take action againstYogendra Yadav, Bhushan
Dissident AAP leader Yogendra Yadav addressesduring Swaraj Samvad in Gurgaon, Haryana.
Modi assurance on correctingdistortions, secret files
Kolkata: Net aj i Su bh as
Chandra Bose's descendants,
who have been campaigning
for declassification of secret
files on the nationalist leader,
exuded confidence of a posi-
tive outcome after getting anassurance from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the issue.
A day after Netaji's grand-
nephew, Surya Kumar Bose,
met the visi t ing Modi in
Berlin, a section of the Bose
family was certain their cam-
paign would bear fruit.
"The prime minister gave
Surya a patient hearing for
more than 40 minutes. Besides
looking into the snooping con-
troversy, he has also assured
that he will take positive steps
towards declassification of the
secret files on Netaji," said
Surya Bose's brother and fami-
ly spokesperson ChandraKumar Bose.
"The prime minister has
assured that the distorted his-
tory concerning Netaji will be
rect i f ied. I t is now a well
established fact that Netaji did
not die in the alleged plane-
crash of 1945. To rectify the
history of his death and to
know what actually happenedto him, all the secret docu-
ments must be made public.
We are hopeful of positive
action by Modi," said Chandra
Kumar.
Chandra Kumar, son of
Net aji' s nephew Ami ya Nat h
Bose, also slammed West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee for trying to "play
politics" over Netaji.
"All these years she
(Banerjee) did not utter a sin-
gle word on Netaji, but now
has been raising the issue of
secret files in her bid to corner
the central government. If she
is so much concerned, whydoes her government continue
to sit on 64 files on Netaji,"
asked Chandra Kumar.
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8/9/2019 Vol 7 Issue 50 - April 18-24, 2015
12/32
Washington: To reap
the dividend of India's
"major demographic
shift", the country has
to target a double digitgrowth rate, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley
said.
"India is on the brink
of a major demograph-
ic shift, with the pro-
portion of working-age
population between 15
and 59 years likely to
increase from 58 per-
cent in 2001 to more
than 64 percent by
2021, adding approxi-
mately 63.5 million new entrants to the
working age group between 2011 and
2016," he said. Addressing a conference
here organized by the Center for Strategicand International Studies think-tank,
Jaitley said: "India's own normal in terms
of its growth rate has to target anything
close to a double digit. India growing at
five percent, six percent or even seven per-
cent is not an India that is going to face up
this challenge."
"India has the potential to make 9-10 per-
cent its new normal in the years to come,"he added.
The finance minister was in the US to
attend the spring meetings of the
International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank.
12 April 18-24, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: After months of delib-
erations, six constituents of the
erstwhile Janata Party, collectively
referred as the 'Janata Parivar',
announced their merger into a sin-gle entity this week to take on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
BJP. However, they are yet to
decide on a name and electoral
symbol.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose
Samajwadi Party is one of the
merged entities, is the president of
the new party.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) called it a temporary
alliance of political warlords, the
Congress said it had taken no deci-
sion so far on joining hands with
the new party for the forthcoming
assembly elections in Bihar.
The announcement of merger
was made at a joint press confer-
ence by JD-U chief Sharad Yadav,
who said a decision on the name,
policy, flag and other issues has
bee n ent rus ted to a com mit tee
comprising Ram Gopal Yadav
(SP), Sharad Yadav (JD-U), Lalu
Prasad (RJD), H.D. Deve Gowda(JD-S) and Kamal Morarka
(Samajwadi Janata Party-
Rashtriya).
The decision was announced
after a meeting of leaders from
Janata Dal-United, Janata Dal-
Secular, Rashtriya Janata Dal,Indian National Lok Dal and
Samajwadi Janata Party, apart
from the Samajwadi Party, at the
residence of Mulayam Singh
Yadav.
Sharad Yadav said: "The six par-
ties have unanimously decided toform a new party. Mulayam Singh
Yadav will be president of the new
party. He will also be chairman of
the parliamentary board."
"We are ready to face the chal-
lenge which the nation faces
today," said Yadav.
The joint press conference was
addressed by Mulayam Singh
Yadav, Lalu Prasad, H.D. Deve
Gowda and INLD leader Abhay
Chautala.
As the entity focused on show-
ing the BJP the door, starting with
the Bihar assembly polls, BJP
spokesperson M.J. Akbar called it
a "confederation of political war-
lords".
"It is a temporary alliance of
political warlords, who think elec-
tions are determined not on the
basi s of governance, but on the
basis of barren (electoral) mathe-
matics. As Amit Shahji has said,
zero plus zero equals to zero,"Akbar said in Kolkata.
Congress general secretary
Shakeel Ahmed said that INLD
joining the front was a bit surpris-
ing as it supported Narendra Modi
as prime minister before the gen-
eral elections last year.
"It's a bit surprising for us as
INLD had announced its support
for Modi," he said, adding that the
Congress would decide it later
whether it could get into any
alliance with the new party.
"We are different, they are dif-
ferent, joining or not joining hands
with them would be decided later,"
the Congress leader said.
Challenging BJP which is in
power at the Center, Lalu Prasad
challenged it to a "new fight".
India needs to target doubledigit growth: Arun Jaitley
M u m b a i / L u c k n o w :
Maharashtra Congress
strongman Narayan Rane
was the biggest loser in
the April 11 assembly by-
polls for five seats in four states, even as the ruling
Samajwadi Party in Uttar
Pradesh and the Shiv
Sena in Maharashtra
retained their seats.
In Punjab, the ruling
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) gained a seat. The
ruling Congress in
Uttarakhand and
Maharashtra's opposition
NCP retain ed their seats
in by-elections. A former chief minister,
Rane was trounced in Bandra East con-
stituency by Trupti Sawant, widow of
former Shiv Sena strongman Bala
Sawant, raising a question mark on his
political future.This is Rane's second consecutive elec-
toral defeat in six months, but president
of Congress state unit Ashok Chavan
described him as "a strong leader and a
couple of losses don't matter for his
stature". Shiv Sena chief Uddhav
Thackeray said: "We dedicate this victo-
ry to the people of Bandra East. (The
late) Bala Sawant enjoyed a close rap-
port with his constituents... Who lost is
not significant, it is a
victory of principles."
In Punjab, the ruling
Shiromani Akali Dal
improved its tally by
ba gg in g th e Dh ur iassembly seat previously
held by the Congress.
Shiromani Akali Dal
candidate Gobind Singh
Longowal trounced the
Co n g r e s s - s u p p o r t e d
Sanjha Morcha nominee
Simar Pratapsing
Barnala, the grandson of
former chief minister
Surjit Singh Barnala.
The victory has helped
Shiromani Akali Dal to get a simple
majority of 59 in the 117-member
assembly, where it is in an alliance with
BJP.
In Uttarakhand, the ruling Congress
retained the Bhagwanpur seat fromwhere its candidate Mamta Rakesh
trounced her nearest BJP rival Rajpal
Singh by a margin of over 36,000 votes.
Elsewhere in Maharashtra, the
Na tion al is t Co ng re ss Pa rty no mine e
Suman Patil won the by-poll in Tasgaon-
Kavthemahankal assembly seat in Sangli
district, necessitated by the death of her
husband and former deputy chief minis-
ter R.R. Patil.
Mulayam Singh Yadav is the president of the new party.
Maharashtra Congress strongman Narayan Rane.
'Janata Parivar' announces merger to take on BJP
Global ratings agency Moody's has enhanced India's sovereign rating to positive from stable.
Rane loses in Maharashtraby-polls, SAD gains in Punjab
India successfully test fires3,000 km range n-missile
Bhubaneswar: India has successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic mis-
sile, with a range of over 3,000 km, from a base in Odisha, an official said.
The surface-to-surface missile was fired from a launch complex at the Inner Wheeler
Island off the coast of Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from here. "It was a user
trial. The test was successful," test range director M.V.K.V. Prasad said.