vol 8 issue 8 - june 27-july 3, 2015

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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

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Vol.8 No. 8 June 27-July 3, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

OP ED 12 BOLLYWOOD 19

New Delhi: It was an unprecedent-ed demonstration of India's soft

power as tens of thousands across

the world, besides millions in

India, performed yoga on Sunday

to mark the inaugural International

Day of Yoga.

A Guinness world record-creat-

ing 36,000 people, led by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, took part

in the main morning event at

Rajpath in New Delhi.

Yoga was performed at events

across the world – from New York

to Trinidad and Tobago, from the

Maldives to Australia, from on

boa rd Ind ian nav al shi ps to theheights of Siachen glacier, at

schools and in innumerable resi-

dential localities – to mark the

event. The mega event at Rajpath

was replicated across state capitals,

cities, towns and rural areas in the

Washington, DC: The US

Supreme Court handed President

Barack Obama a huge victory by

upholding his signature healthcare

law that opposition Republicans

have tried to repeal countlesstimes, he vowed to make it even

better.

"Five years ago, after nearly a

century of talk, decades of trying, a

year of bipartisan debate, we final-

ly declared that in America, health-

care is not a privilege for a few but

a right for all," Obama said from

the White House on Thursday

shortly after the verdict.

"Americans would have gone

backwards and that's not what we

do, that's not what America does,we move forward," he said praising

the apex court's decision to uphold

the subsidies in the law, nicknamed

"Obamacare".

"The Affordable Care Act is here

to stay," Obama said of the law that

HEALTH 25

Millions world over observeInternational Day of Yoga

A big victory forPresident Obama

Prime Minister Modi led 36,000 people at yoga session inDelhi’s Rajpath creating a Guinness record.

When world cametogether at India's call

United Nations: Th e

International Day of Yoga (IDY)

celebrations here sought to sym-

bolize the unity of humani ty as

peo ple fro m aro und the wor ld

gathered Sunday in unique obser-

vance of an Indian proposal spon-

sored by 177 nations and

endorsed by all 193 UN members.

People of all races and reli-

gions, nationalities and political

persuasions joined in the spirit of

yoga at the UN visitors plaza.

School children dressed in red sat

with the powerful UN Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon who was

clad in a plain white yoga-themed

track suit. Diplomats and other

dignitaries rose in unison to do

the asanas, called out by the yoga

guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Ban quoted from PM Narendra

Modi's UN speech last year:

“Yoga is not just about exercise;it is a way to discover the sense

of oneness, with yourself, the

world and nature.”

The shamiana with a transpar-

ent roof had been rigged at the

UN plaza because of the rain

At UN celebration of yoga day, from left: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, UN Secretary

General Ban Ki-moon and wife, Acharya Lokesh Muni,Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and India’s Ambassador

to UN Asoke K. Mukerji.

About 30,000 people performed yoga at Times Square in New York to mark the Yoga Day.

Continued on page 4 Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

Obamacare survives challenge in Supreme Court


2/32

(Photos: Ministry ofExternal Affairs, India).

2 June 27- July 3, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

People across the globe celebrated IYDwith gusto. A few glimpses...

Hong Kong Peru

Turkey

COLOMBIA

Jordan

Poland

Bahrain


3/32

New York: Friends of

Maharashtra and Indian

Consulate of New York

hosted a press confer-

ence to announce a

Gala Reception being

organized in honor of

Maharashtra Chief

Minister Devendra

Fadnavis and his dele-

gation to New York on

June 29 at Taj Pierre

hotel here.

Consul General

Dnyaneshwar Mulay

said that India's eco-

nomic liberalization

got a new energy in

Maharashtra after the

young and dynamic Devendra Fadnavis took over the reins as CM. He said that India's

development requires multi trillion dollar

funds in the coming years. Some of the funds

would need to be raised from investments

from US and other countries. Fadnavis is vis-

iting New York on June 29 to meet CEOs and

business leaders to invite businesses to invest

in India. He will be visiting several other

cities in the US during his visit.

At the reception on June 29, the chief min-

ister will discuss his vision to make

Maharashtra a leading state in the country in

terms of Infrastructure, Power, Tourism,

Water & Agriculture and Law & Order.

Kishor Gore, a core committee member of

Friends of Maharashtra, said that many

Indian organizations have come together for the CN reception, including Marathi,

Gujarati, Marwari, Sindhi and Telugu com-

munities besides Friends of BJP and Council

of Indian Organizations.

Other core committee members of Friends

of Maharashtra are: Mukund Kute, Manish

Ingle, Mangesh Karandikar, Nutan

Kalamdani, Neeta Bhasin, Jagdish Sewhani

and Pramit Maakoday.

Mukund Kute introduced the new website

www.mumbaimeetsmanhattan.org for com-

munity to register and attend the gala. Amb.

Mulay and Deputy Consul General Dr Manoj

Mohapatra unveiled the website.

For mo re in format io n:

[email protected]

3June 27- July 3, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Washington, DC:

Louisiana Governor

Bobby Jindal, while

announcing his 2016White House bid, today

invoked the success

story of his immigrant

pare nts but once again

distanced himself from

his Indian roots by

asserting that “we are all

Americans” and not

hyphenated Americans.

Forty four years ago,

Jindal said, a young

couple who had never

before been on an air-

plane, left their home on

the other side of the world to come to a

place call ed Amer ica. Bobby Jindal was

born in Baton Rouge, soon after his Punjab- born parents Amar and Raj came to the US,

he said. “They had never seen it ,” Jindal

said referring to the journey his parents

made to the US from India. “They weren’t

really coming to a geographical place. They

were coming to an idea, and that idea is

America. To them, America represented all

that was good in the world, where you could

get ahead if you worked hard and played by

the rules. Place where what matters is the

content of your character, not the color of

your skin, the zip code you were born in or

your family’s last name,” he said.

Jindal said his parents found that the peo-

ple of Louisi ana accepted them and they

found that America is indeed the land of the

free and the home of the brave. 37 years

later, their eldest son became governor of

Louisiana, he said. As he formally launchedhis presidential campaign, Jindal reiterated

his remarks about de-hyphenating Indians

and other ethnic groups from Americans. “I

am done with all this talk about hyphenated

Americans. We are not Indian-Americans,

African-Americans, Irish Americans, rich

Americans or poor Americans. We are all

Americans,” he said amidst applause from

the audience.

Jindal had this week featured on the

Federalist Radio Hour and given his per-

spective on the state of the union. He

expressed frustration that President Barack

Obama has “been trying to divide us…by

gender, by race, by geography, and by

religion.

Washington DC: The first-ever Hindu-

American Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

had promised Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to lead an effort towards a Congressional res-

olution in support of International Day of

Yoga. Now the Democrat from Hawaii is set

to introduce a resolution to the House floor in

support of IDY and another that would

address religious freedom in Bangladesh.

On Monday, members of Congress and

staff were invited to join the Hindu American

Foundation for “Yoga on the Hill,” in com-

memoration of IDY.The UN celebrated its first International

Day of Yoga at its headquarters in New York

on June 21. “There are various different

practi ces of yoga, all of which can really

bring tremendous peace and harmony and

happiness when practiced,” Gabbard said.

She is also preparing to introduce another

resolution to the House floor that would

address the religious freedoms of Hindus in

Bangladesh. Gabbard is working on the reso-

lution with Sheetal Shah, the Senior Director

of the Hindu American Foundation. Shah

says that right now, decades after the 1947

Partition of Bengal, the situation for most

religious minorities in Bangladesh is quite

dire. “Hundreds of Hindu temples have been

burnt down. There have been kidnappings of

Hindu women and young children. Shops are

looted, homes are destroyed, so it’s kind of an

issue that unfortunately is not just taking

place by random groups but the government

that’s in power is not doing anything to really

stop it and the opposition continues to foster

this type of violence,” Shah said.

Shah says that imports to the US from

Bangladesh often don’t take into account the

high cost of human rights violations in the

southeast Asian country. She says that while

national news outlets reported on garment

industry worker violations following the

2013 Rana Plaza disaster, the coverage does-n’t go far enough. “I think that the resolution

is just one step in at least showing that

Congress is aware of the situation and

acknowledges that something more needs to

be done,” she sadi referrig to Gabbard’s pro-

posed resolution which is expec ted to be

introduced to the floor of the House by

week’s end.

Bobby Jindal, the Governor of Louisiana, at a rally announcing his White House bid. (Photo courtesy: AFP) Friends of Maharashtra will host a gala reception for

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in NY.(Photo courtesy: Peter Ferreira)

Bobby Jindal becomes first Indian-American to run for President

Fadnavis visiting US to seekinvestments in Maharashtra

Tulsi’s resolutions in Congress on Yoga Day and on Bangladesh

Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard speaking at theUN celebration of Yoga Day June 21.


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4 June 27-July 3, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE

Millions world over observe ...

Continued from page 1

country. Modi described the event as the start of a

new era for training the human mind for mind-body

balance, peace and harmony.

Events were held in 192 countries, felicitated by

the Indian missions and yoga centers.

Modi is a keen yoga enthusiast on whose proposal

the U.N. last year announced a global Yoga Day to

be observed on June 21.

When world came together at India's...


forecast for the morning. But it was the Summer

Solstice sun that shone on the city as the celebra-

tions got underway at the UN and at the Times

Square, where 30,000 people attended successive

yoga sessions for the second largest yoga perform-

ance of the day, second only to New Delhi's 36,000.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj empha-

sised in her speech that yoga was not a religion and

should not be seen as belonging to any particular

religion. “It is a science,” she said.

Forty-seven of the 56 members of the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation were among

those who co-sponsored the IDY resolution, and not

one opposed it. While some Christian fundamental-

ists have denounced yoga and some Catholic lead-ers have cautioned their followers about it, there

was little sign of the opposition at the UN or at the

celebrations.

A sizeable portion -- if not the majority -- of the

participants at the celebrations were drawn from

Christian traditions.

Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu member of the US

Congress, who spoke at the UN celebration and at

the Times Square festivities, brought home to

America the message of yoga.

The Democrat from Hawaii, who is not of Indian

origin, is also an yoga instructor and had served

with the US military in Iraq.

Wisdom and spiritual was in everyone but theymay lie dormant; yoga can awaken them, she said.

This is why the world needed yoga.

Obamacare survives challenge in...


has extended cover to more than 15 million

Americans who didn't have health insurance before

it was signed into law in 2010.

In a 6-3 decision, the court held the Act author-

ized federal tax subsidies to help poor and middle-

class people buy health insurance nationwide and

not just in states with their own exchanges to shop

for them.

Only 16 states and the American capital of

Washington have set up their own health insurance

marketplaces and over 6.4 million Americans living

in 34 Republican-ruled states which did not createsuch market places are dependent on Federal

exchanges.

"Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to

improve health insurance markets, not to destroy

them," Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative,

wrote in the majority opinion joined by another

conservative and the four liberal justices.

"If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a

way that is consistent with the former, and avoids

the latter," he said.

In a dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said "we

should start calling this law SCOTUScare," refer-

ring to the two times the Court has saved the law.

All the Republican presidential candidates have

vowed to repeal Obamacare with Louisiana's gover-

nor Bobby Jindal making it the second of his top

four objectives after "secure our borders".

Several other Republican presidential candidates

quickly denounced the ruling with a "disappointed"

front runner Jeb Bush saying "this decision is not

the end of the fight against Obamacare".

But Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton took

to Twitter to praise the decision.

"Yes!" she tweeted. "SCOTUS affirms what we

know is true in our hearts & under the law: Health

insurance should be affordable & available to all."

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

Jersey City, NJ: Indians,

Pakistanis and other South Asians

gathered at the Curry On restauranthere June 11 to launch the South

Asian American Caucus of the

Democratic Party.

According to an SAC press

release, the Caucus was initiated

and formed in October 2013 by

John Curry, chairman of the State

Democratic Committee, with the

idea of getting the Asian communi-

ties involved in mainstream poli-

tics. Two Indian American trustees

— attorney Satish Poondi and Dr.

Khyati Joshi — were instrumental

in structuring the caucus with theapproval of chairman Curry.

Field directors are responsible for

the recruitment of community

members to register to vote. The

steering committee is responsible

for arranging events with the help

of directors in various regions of

the state. The advisory board has

been responsible for raising funds

and bringing issues to the attention

of the chairman.

US report highlights 'widespread corruption' in IndiaWashington: Even as it praised India for holding "the largest democratic

elections in history", the US on Thursday highlighted "police and security

force abuses" and "widespread corruption" among its "most significant

human rights problems".

"India's parliamentary contest in April 2014 was one of the largest elec-

tions in history," Secretary of State John Kerry said in his preface to the

annual Human Rights Reports speaking of "stifling of free and open

media" from China to Saudi Arabia.

"Governments in China, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, and Saudi

Arabia, among others, continued to stifle free and open media and the

development of civil society through the imprisonment of journalists, blog-

gers, and non-violent critics," he said.

South Asian American Caucuslaunched in New Jersey

Satish Poondi, co-chair of the NJDSC South Asian AmericanCaucus, speaking during the launch of the South Asian American

Caucus in Jersey City June 11. (Photo courtesy: SnapsIndia)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard join in the yoga

practice at the UN celebration of yoga day


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5June 27- July 3, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

New York: The women's network-

ing initiative LadyDrinks will host

a fashion show at the Rogue Space

Chelsea here June 25 featuring

South Asian women of note work-

ing in STEM fields (Science,

Technology, Engineering and

Math).

The event was designed to illu-

minate the jobs of the future and

the women role models who cur-

rently work in them. Participating

in the show are Akanksha Thakur,

senior consultant, technologist,

Ernst & Young; Anamika Chanda,

principal associate, technologist,

Capital One Financial; and Anuja

Kochar Singh, systems engineer-

ing manager, Cisco.

Also participating are Debyani

Chakravarty, cancer biologist,

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer

Center; Dr. Hetal Gor, Women's

Own Obygn LLC; Jaya Banerjee

Chatterjee, high school chemistry

teacher, Woodbridge Township

School District; Jaya Laxmi

Mohanan, senior research chemist,

BASF; and Jyoti Sharma, systems

engineer, Alcatel-Lucent.

Also wearing fashions are

Karina Yager, visiting associate

prof es so r, SUN Y Stonyb rook ;

Kiran Gill, founder and president,

PARS Environmental Inc.; Monica

Patel, CEO, First in Math India;

Preetha Chakrabarti, biology

teacher turned IP attorney

(Science), Crowell & Moring; and

Rima Lahiri, senior structural

engineer, WorleyParsons.

Appearing on the catwalk as

well are Shruti Kapoor, founder

and economist, Sayfty; Zalini

Bhagroo, quality compliance man-

ager, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals

Inc.; and Ree Chawla, founder,

lead researcher and director of

Brain Wellness Programs.

They will all wear sarees by

Indian American designer Mitan

Ghosh, jewelry from Mi Amor by

Mona Bangalore, shoes by Sandra

Gault of True Gault, handbags by

Alexandra Clancy.

A portion of the proceeds from

the event will go toward a scholar-

ship for a young girl from the

Boys & Girls Club of Newark who

aspires to study in a STEM field.

Sarangpur, Gujarat:

The former President of

India and world-renowned scientist, Dr.

APJ Abdul Kalam

arrived at BAPS Shri

Swaminarayan Mandir in

Sarangpur, Gujarat, India

to offer a book,

“ T r a n s c e n d e n c e ” ,

authored by him to His

Holiness Pramukh

Swami Maharaj. The

book describes his expe-

riences with Pramukh

Swami Maharaj over a

period of 14 years.

Dr. Kalam expressed

that he had studied

Pramukh Swami’s lifeand worked for two years in writing the

book along with the co-author Professor

Arun Tiwari. During the dedication cere-

mony Dr. Kalam presented an autographed

copy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj and said,

“You are a great teacher. I’ve learnt to

eradicate I-ness and My-ness in life.”

Thereafter Dr. Kalam read some passages

from his book before Swamiji and asked

him to bless all those who have helped him

in making the book possible.

After the meeting Dr. Kalam was wel-

comed in an assembly of 3000 youths.

Pujya Brahmavihari Swami talked briefly

about the mutual bonds of friendship, spiri-

tuality and respect between Dr. Kalam and

Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Dr. Kalam thenaddressed the youths, “Where there is

righteousness in the heart there is beauty in

character. Where there is beauty in charac-

ter there is harmony in the home. Where

there is harmony in the home there is an

order in the nation. Where there is order in

the nation there is peace in the world. In

Pramukh Swami I saw righteousness and

therefore peace in him.”

Dr. Kalam also exhorted the youths to

become unique by having a high aim, by

increasing their knowledge, by working

hard and by not allowing problems to over-

whelm them. After a brief question-answer

session with youths Dr. Kalam departed

from Sarangpur.

Dr. Kalam’s book will be available at all

major book stores, Harper Collins’ outlets

and BAPS Mandirs.

New York: On June

11th, American Indian

Foundation held its

Annual Spring Awards

Gala at the historic

Cathedral of Saint John

Divine in New York

City. Over 500 success-

ful leaders from the cor-

porate, non-profit, gov-

ernment, and philan-

thropic sectors came

together to raise funds

and awareness for AIF's

programs, including the

Learning and Migration

Program (LAMP)

which is AIF’s signature program educating

children of seasonal migrant workers and

communities impacted by migration acrossIndia. Over $2.85 million was raised for AIF,

of which over $450,000 was raised during the

pledge drive to support LAMP.

“The Gala demonstrated how bringing peo-

ple together from across all sectors and from

all walks of life can have a huge impact,” said

M.A. Ravi Kumar, the CEO of AIF. “The

funds pledged this evening will go a long way

in educating these children and giving them a

chance at a brighter future.”

AIF honored Manoj Bhargava,

Founder/CEO of 5-Hour Energy, and George

Oliver, CEO of Tyco International, for their

corporate and philanthropic leadership, as

well as their investment in India. Both spoke

about their passion for progress in India and

the responsibility of companies to give back.

Special guest Indian cinema icon and activist

Rahul Bose commended AIF on its innova-

tive work in disrupting poverty in India and

talked about how receiving an education can

have a powerful impact in a child’s life.The emotional highpoint of the event came

when Jashobanti Mahanand, a 19-year-old

young woman from Odisha, shared her story

about working in migration sites. “Tears

come down my eyes when I remember those

days,” said Mahanand. “In the brick kilns,

children were involved in the work; my job

was to flip the half dried bricks in the hot

sun.” In 2005, LAMP gave Mahanand the

opportunity to receive an education and to

live in a hostel with other children of seasonal

migrant workers. Ten years after taking part

in the program, Mahanand is now a first-year

college student studying political science.

“Because of LAMP, I have the drive to com-

plete my education and become a teacher, so

that I can provide support to the children in

my village.”

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam presents hisbook to Pramukh Swami Maharaj

AIF raises $2.85 million atNew York City gala

Indian American women in STEM to walk the ramp in NYC

Dr Kalam presenting the book toPramukh Swami Maharaj

Over 500 people attended the gala (Inset) Manoj Bhargava – Philanthropist & Founder/CEO of 5-Hour Energy


6/32

6 June 27- July 3, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

On June 13, over a

hundred people

came together to

participate in a workshop:

"Bridging the Gap - Opening

Communication in South

Asian Communities." Host-

ed by Share and Care's

Women Empowerment

Committee, in partnership

with SAMHIN, this work-

shop featured psychologists

and psychiatrists specializ-

ing in increasing awareness

and accessibility of mental

health services for the South

Asian community. From Nobel laure-

ates, to professional NBA athletes, to

the Surgeon General of the UnitedStates, there is no denying that South

Asians have made great strides of

progress and are considered a "model

minority" yet South Asians have one of

the highest rates of mental illness in

America. Among women age 15-24,

Asian Americans have the highest sui-

cide rate across all racial/ethnic groups.

Participants of the workshop dis-

cussed with psychologists Dr. Sudha

Wadhwani and Dr. Priti Shah, various

reasons for these mental health issues,

including pressures from academics,

family obligations, and rules about dat-ing/relationships. Dr. Lily Arora, a psy-

chiatrist specializing in bringing aware-

ness to cultural disparities in mental

health, stated that "The fact remains that

75-85% of mental health illnesses are

completely treatable, yet less than 10%

of people ever seek help. We need to

come together to reduce the stigma

against mental health problems, and

work towards creating awareness and

open dialogue."

On April 25, 2015 when the 7.8 mag-

nitude earthquake hit Nepal, it took one of the worst catastrophic tolls in

human history. Ekal Vidyalaya already had

deep roots in Nepal for years and therefore

had personal stake in rebuilding this nation

and its lives. As of April 2015, Ekal had

1,500 schools operating in Nepal’s rural ar-

eas. Ekal, was not only familiar with its peo-

ple, its culture and life’s necessities, but also

had well-established rapport with the local

governments. Shyamji Gupta, Founder-

Chairman of “Ekal-India” happened to be in

Nepal when the earthquake struck and so he

personally initiated the relief efforts after

witnessing the tragedy first-hand that un-

folded. As the news of destruction hit the

world, ‘Ekal Orgz’ under the leadership of

Ravidevji Gupta sprang into action to startcoordinating rescue, relief, and rehabilita-

tion efforts with its volunteering force of

1,600 Nepali regulars, within hours. A com-

prehensive plan for helping out victims was

charted. Food and water were made avail-

able immediately. Medicines and shelter

equipment for the displaced were dispatched

overnight from India. Considering the ex-

tent of mind-boggling human toll, Bajrangji

Bagra, President, Ekal-India immediately

allocated Rs. 1 Crore for this humanitarian

work. Besides, essential food items and

medicines, 9743 tarpaulin, and 11,500 blan-

kets were distributed through Ekal-Parivar,

which benefitted approximately 5,000 fam-

ilies in 400 villages. According to Subhashji

Gupta, past President and current Advisor toEkal-USA, total commitment of Ekal in

Nepal is likely to exceed Rs. 2 Crores. Ekal-

Pariwar’s future plans include building four

hostels for earthquake-afflicted children

where they could be appropriately looked

after and groomed and also establishing

community centers in badly affected village

for collective activities. Ekal is also explor-

ing possibilities of adopting villages for re-

habilitations. This is going to require lot

more funding.

Shelby Jain, a teenage

student of Freehold

Borough High School

arranged a charity event

through her own foundation

RoshanCare in Edison, New

Jersey on June 6th at TV

Asia auditorium to raise

funds for Nepal earthquake

survivors, underprivileged

kids in India and feeding the

hungry in USA.

“Jhoom beats” talent show

received good support from

community leaders espe-

cially Mr. HR Shah, TVA-

SIA CEO, Mayor of Free-

hold Borough J. Nolan Hig-

gins and Consul General of

India, NY Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay. Jain

founded "Roshan Care - pread the Light"

after her grandfather (Sri Roshan Lal

Jain) to support the needy.

Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation commitsRs.2 crores for Nepal victims

Teen organizes charity event for needyin Nepal, India, USA

Workshop focuses on mental healthissues among South Asians

Greater NY Seniors Celebrated

Father’s Day organized by Shashikant Patel/Gopi Udeshi on June17 at Sri Saneeswara Temple New York.

The panelists at the meet

Youth showcase their talents at “JhoomBeats”event

Ekal volunteers distributing reliefmaterial in Nepal


7/32

Washington, DC: The shooting in

a historic US church has come to

haunt those who lost their dear

ones in a similar traumatic attack

about three years ago by a White

supremacist in a Wisconsin state

gurdwara, killing six Indian-origin

people.

"It's very similar to what hap-

pened in Oak Creek," FOX6 News

quoted Amar Kaleka, who lost his

father in the Sikh temple shooting,

as saying.

On August 5, 2012, Wade Page

entered the Sikh temple of Wisconsin and began shooting

indiscriminately. He killed six wor-

shipers, including Satwant Singh

Kaleka, who was the temple presi-

dent. Page later committed suicide

after a police officer shot him in

the stomach.

All those killed were members of

the Sikh community.

"Your heart sinks. It just -- it's

heartbroken for all those people,

because you've lived it. You know

that their life is never gonna be the

same," Kaleka said.

The US law enforcement authori-

ties have started investigating the

shooting at Charleston city's

Emanuel African MethodistEpiscopal Church, which claimed

nine lives, as a hate crime. The

church is one of the oldest in the

US, and was founded in 1816.

"I do believe this is a hate

crime," US media quoted

Charleston police chief Greg Mulle

as saying after the shooting. "You

feel for them, and you want to

reach out and hug them, and you

want to make sure that they're

okay," Kaleka said, referring to theshocked Charleston community

and victims' kin.

The uncanny similarity between

the Oak Creek and Charleston

shootings was that in both the

cases the shooting took place when

people were offering prayers.

"I'm hoping to God that we can

forgive -- we can get past the trau-

ma that this man has caused and

work on the deeper issues of socio-

economics or of racial tension thathas long been there," Kaleka said.

Kaleka is planning to visit

Charleston to reach out to the com-

munity and promote his organiza-

tion Serve2Unite, which has the

motto of "Uniting to defy hate and

build peace through creativity and

service."

7June 27- July 3, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

New York: California Attorney General

Kamala Harris added one more feather to her

cap when when Kevin Bollaert, who ran the

website ugotposted.com, was sentenced to

18 years in prison for posting more than

10,000 sexually explicit photos (known as"revenge porn") online and demanding $250

to $350 from victims to remove the images.

It was the first case of its kind in the U.S.—

and Harris has done it again: In May, Casey

Meyering, who ran the revenge-porn site

winbystate.com, pled no contest to extortion

and other charges.

In an interview with Marie Claire, Harris,

who is running for US Senator Barbara

Boxer’s seat in 2016, said, “The word

revenge suggests there is a legitimate reason

to lash out. And suggests the victim intended

[the images] would be distributed publicly.Those terms also invite judgment about the

morals of the women, when, in fact, they're

victims.”

Speaking on Kevin Bollaert's conviction

she said, “This case removes any ambiguity

about what's against the law. It also makes

clear that a computer can be as lethal as a

weapon. Anyone sitting at home with the

anonymity of a laptop should be very clear

that that will not immunize them from arrest,

prosecution, and prison.”

Harris said that she’ll be focusing on sev-

eral issues while campaigning for her nextelection. “The economy and women's issues

are economic issues. The majority of mini-

mum-wage workers are women, who also

disproportionately have a responsibility to

take care of children and senior relatives.

Also, when we talk about crimes against

women, the Violence Against Women Act is

a very important law that needs to be high-

lighted and renewed. And we need work on

universal pre-K. So there are a lot of issues.”

Kamala Harris takes the bull by the horn

As the white young

man who killed

nine people at a

historic US black church

faced a court, many vic-

tims' families forgave

him, but South Carolina's

Indian American gover-

nor Nikki Haley sought

the death penalty for him.

Dylann Storm Roof, 21,

who is reported to have

confessed to Wednesday

night's horrific massacre at

Emanuel African Methodist

Episcopal Church in Charleston,

South Carolina, with vague plans

"to start a race war" appeared in

court via video Friday.

Roof, who has been charged with

nine counts of murder and posses-

sion of a firearm during the com-

mission of a violent crime, was

expressionless, as Magistrate

James Gosnell Jr.,

opened a bond hearing

in Charleston.

The judge set a $1

million bond on the pos-

session of a firearm

count but no bond on the

murder charges.

Calling the shooting

spree a hate crime,

Haley said Friday that

Roof should face the

death penalty.

"This is an absolute hate crime,"

Haley, a Republican, said in an

interview Friday with the "Today"

show. "And when I've been talking

with investigators as we've been

going through the interviews, they

said they looked pure evil in the

eye yesterday. Without question

this is hate."

"We absolutely will want him to

have the death penalty," she said.

New York: In a landmark deci-

sion, in which the concerns of

Indian American motel owners

were addressed for the first time at

the highest level of the U.S. jus-

tice system, the Supreme Court

determined June 22 that the Los

Angeles Police Department’s ran-

dom inspection of motel guest reg-

istries constituted unwarranted

search and seizure, violating

Fourth Amendment constitutional

rights, India West reported.

“This is a huge victory for the

hotel and motel industry,” Indian

American businessman Balu Pateltold India-West shortly after the

decision was released.

Patel – who owns seven motels

in south central Los Angeles and

Hollywood, Calif., and has been in

the business since 1973 — said

the LAPD has come unannounced

into his motels at any time day or

night and demanded to see guest

registries under Section 41.49(3)

of the city’s legal code. Police

have searched his motels – with-

out warrants – harassing his

employees and charging them

with misdemeanors for clerical

errors on the registries, he alleged.

In one of the most egregiouscases, Patel recalled an incident at

an acquaintance’s motel where a

female employee was pinned to

the ground late night and hand-

cuffed as police searched through

the registry. The City of Los

Angeles – which brought the case

to the Supreme Court – said such

random searches are necessary to

stem human trafficking, drug deal-

ing and other criminal activities on

motel premises.

Patel said he has always been

cooperative with police. “If they

show us a picture and say ‘we are

looking for this person,’ we will

tell them if we have seen this per-

son and help them find him,” said

the veteran hotelier.

Ray Patel, president of the North

East Los Angeles Hotel Owners

Association (NELAHOA), told

India-West: “No hotel owner

wants to see human trafficking or crime on his premises, but the tac-

tics used by the LAPD were not

preventing crimes.”

“We were unable to see the con-

nection. And the Supreme Court

saw through the LAPD’s claims,”

he said. The Supreme Court

upheld a Ninth Circuit Court of

Appeals ruling that determined

that the random inspections violat-

ed Fourth Amendment rights,

which guard against illegal search

and seizure of property. Justice

Sonia Sotomayor wrote the deci-

sion, noting: “Nothing inherent in

the operation of hotels poses a

clear and significant danger to the public welfare.”

“Section 41.49(3) is unconstitu-

tional because it fails to provide

hotel operators with an opportuni-

ty for pre-compliance review,” she

wrote, noting that hotel owners are

subjected to punishment for fail-

ure to turn over their records.

Dylann StormRoof

Cracks down on revenge porn sites

US church shooting revives 2012

gurdwara attack memories

Supreme Court rules in favor of

Indian American motel owners

Kamala Harris

Haley seeks death penalty for shooter


8/32

8 June 27- July 3, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

St Petersburg: B. Jayant Baliga, a US-based

Indian-origin scientist, is being awarded

Russia's top technology award in recognition

of his work in energy management which

brought about huge increase in efficiency and

major savings.

The award will presented to Professor

Baliga and Shuji Nakamura on Friday by

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremo-

ny here. Nakamura, a Nobel Laureate, is being

recognized for his work on blue light emitting

diodes (LEDs). In Russia, the Global Energy

Prize is known as the electronics equivalent of

the Nobel Prize.

Professor Baliga invented the digital switch

or the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)

while working at General Electrical research

& development center in New York in 1983.

The IGBT switches energy hundreds of thou-

sands of times a second, raising the efficiencyof any equipment manifold.

"Every equipment from your refrigerator to

lights to motor vehicles has the need to use

energy efficiently. If you take away the IGBT

today, almost everything will come to a stand-

still," Baliga told a visiting IANS correspon-

dent on the eve of receiving the award.

Scientific American magazine called him

among the 'eight heroes of the semiconductor

revolution', and President Barack Obama

awarded him the highest American technology

prize last year and he is the 2014 recipient of

the IEEE Medal of Honor, a rare distinction.

Professor Baliga, who now teaches to the

North Carolina university as 'distingui shed

university professor,' said that his invention

combines two streams of electronics and elec-

trical engineering and has possibly saved the

world around $24 trillion dollars by raising

efficiency, according to one detailed

calculation.

"I got zero out of it. But then I did it all for

humanity." Of course, says Prof Baliga that he

did make some money when he started three

companies, but these were financed by ven-

ture capitalists who exited with enormous

profits at the right time. Baliga passed out of

IIT Madras before going to the US for his MS

and PhD after electrical engineering after

which he joined GE where he spent over 15

years.

By Preya Sundaram

Austin, TX: What a nice way to spend an

evening with a group of likeminded people -

the 3rd Annual Bollywood Meets Borscht Belt

fundraising event is a coming together of

Indian & Jewish community to do the good-

ness of helping over thousand homeless chil-

dren with school supplies for upcoming school

year in Austin, Del Valle and Manor for the

third year. The event was organized by Hindu

Charities for America and Jewish Federation of

Greater Austin.

The evening started off with comedy show

by the worl d’s first Jewish Indian standup

comedian, Indian and Jewish dance perform-ances by local talents in vibrant hues and deli-

cious Indian food donated by local Indian

restaurant owners. The event was attended by

many notable guests that included former

Mayor Gus Garcia and Manor ISD

Superintendent Kevin Brackmeyer. The Hindu

Charities work with Texas Homeless

Education Office to identify the school dis-

tricts and they work with the district officials

directly to find out the specific counts and

grade levels that need help.

Many of these families cannot afford to buy

the much needed school supplies. Some fami-

lies skimp on their life balancing medicine to

save for their children's school supplies.

All proceeds go to purchasing of school sup-

plies for over thousand homeless children in

Austin, Del Valle and Manor area. On Sunday

August 16 at 1pm, volunteers will meet to

pack the scho ol supp li es at De ll Jewi sh

Community Campus. Harish Kotecha, Founder

of Hindu Charities, was recognized by Jewish

Federation of greater Austin and honored for

his selfless efforts by the White House signed by the President this year. Though $20 will get

the school supply for a needy kid to start the

school year, no amount is a small amount and

the Hindu Charities accepts any amount of

donation as long as there is a willingness to

give and help the needy children. Please visit

HinduCharitiesForAmerica.org or call

512.994.4638 for more information.

Tokyo: India-born former

Google executive NikeshArora has been appointed

the president of Japan's

telecommunications giant

SoftBank Corp that paid

the "rising star" a whop-

ping $13 5 mi ll ion from

September last year to

March this year.

Arora, 47, was appointed

company president and

chief operating officer at a

general meeting of share-

holders here on Friday. In a management

reshuffle last month, Arora - investments

head at the time - was named as a poten-

tial successor to company chairman and

CEO Masayoshi Son, as the telecomsconglomerate steps up its overseas

expansion.

Arora joined the Japanese company last

September.

He was previously chief business offi-

cer at Google Inc, which he entered in

2004 as a telecom industry analyst before

being recruited by Mr Son.

He was Google's highest paid execu-

tive in 2012 with $46.7 million in total

compensation. Hailed by Mr Son as a

"rising star", Mr Arora received 16.556

bil lio n yen (nearly $13 5

million) for the periodthrough March 2015.

Of the total, 14.6 billion

yen was paid as an entering

bonus and com pen satio n

for his work as an execu-

tive at a SoftBank sub-

sidiary, the Asahi Shimbun

reported on Saturday, citing

the conglomerate's latest

financial report. Unlike

elsewhere in the world,

there are few business

executives in Japan who are paid several

billions of yen a year and it is rare for a

Japanese company to pay more than 16

billion yen annually to an executive, it

said.In less than a year at SoftBank, Mr

Arora has already directed about 200 bil-

lion yen ($1.67 billion) worth of deals

that include investments in Indian tech-

nology start-ups - Snapdeal, an online

marketplace, and taxi-booking service

Ola Cabs, Nikkei Business Daily report-

ed. Arora has an MBA from Northeastern

University, a master's degree in finance

from Boston College and graduated as an

electrical engineer from IIT-BHU (Indian

Institute of Technology, Varanasi).

Los Angeles: Kishore Lulla,Executive Chairman of Eros

International plc, a leading glob-

al company in the Indian film

entertainment industry was hon-

ored with the Entertainment

Visionary Award at the 2015

Annual Gala Dinner organized

by As ia So ci et y So ut he rn

California on June 20.

Lulla was recognized for

being a game changer and for

his efforts in taking Bollywood global. The

Gala evening honored Kishore’s quest to con-

nect the Indian diaspora through films and

br id gi ng of cu lt ur es by in tr od uc in g

Bollywood to non-Indian audiences.

Commenting on the achievement, Lulla

said, “It is an honor to be recognized by thereputed Asia Society Southern California and

I’m grateful to my family, the Eros team, our

associates, investors and the Indian film

industry for their unstinted support. It contin-

ues to be a remarkable journey for us at Eros

and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to

the Asia Society in appreciating our endeavor

to bring Indian cinema to the forefront global-

ly.” Thomas McLain, Chairmanof Asia Society Southern

California & of McLain Partners

LLC added, “Kishore Lulla is

much more than a head of a suc-

cessful film studio, who controls

40% of the Hindi language film

market in India; he’s also a phi-

lanthropist who is seeking to

bring 250 million Indian children

out of poverty through his educa-

tional initiatives and a visionary

who is promoting equality for women in the

workplace in India. His personal story of

starting his business in Israel and Germany

inspired all, and at the same time he kept the

audience laughing with his great sense of

humor. Kishore’s goals are synonymous with

those of the Asia Society – we are both build-ing bridges between the East and West

through education, culture and business initia-

tives.” Jonathan Karp, Executive Director of

Asia Society Southern California, said,

“Kishore epitomizes Asia Society’s mission of

forging understanding between Asia and the

world, as well as among Asians, by champi-

oning the power of popular culture.”

Nikesh Arora appointedSoftBank Corp president

Asia Society honors Eros International’s Kishore LullaCommunities work together to raise over

$20,000 for homeless children

Dr B Jayant Baliga

Nikesh Arora

Kishore Lulla

Dr B Jayant Baliga to get Russia'shighest tech award


9/32

9June 27- July 3, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS

Washington, DC: President

Obama announced a new nation-

al security policy Wednesday

aimed at helping families of

hostages seized abroad bring

their relatives home, declaring,

“We will not abandon you. We

will stand by you.” Obama also

said his administration would not

threaten to prosecute private

families for paying ransom to

hostage takers, although he

vowed that the U.S. government

would continue to refuse to make

such payments. The announce-

ment comes after a surge in the

taking — and killing — of

American hostages by terrorist

groups and complaints frommany families that the govern-

ment had not dealt with them

openly, politely or helpfully.

Obama, who spent part of the

morning at what he called a

“very emotional” meeting with

families of hostages, said many

of them “often felt like an after-

thought.” That, he said, was

“totally unacceptable,” adding

that “we are changing how we do

business.”

The president issued orders

creating a special envoy, a new

coordinator of government

efforts and a fusion cell of FBI,

State Department and Pentagon

officials to deal with hostages

and their families. He said gov-

ernment officials would work

with families and, if necessary,

communicate directly with

hostage takers.

Obama also defended his

administration’s efforts to free

hostages, noting that many had

come home safely and that U.S.

military personnel had risked

their lives to rescue captive

Americans.And to those who would try to

take more hostages, Obama said:

“We do not forget. Our reach is

long. Justice will be done. . . . We

will not give up no matter how

long it takes.”

Lisa Monaco, the president’s

chief counterterrorism adviser,

said in a briefing that more than

30 Americans are currently being

held hostage overseas.

Obama outlines changes topolicy on hostages, vows

to ‘stand by’ familiesWashington, DC: As SouthCarolina's Indian-American governor

Nikk i Haley channeled the outrageover Charleston church massacre with

a call to remove the Confederate flag,

the campaign against the slavery-era

secessionist banner intensified.

Heeding Haley's call, lawmakers

Tuesday made debating whether to

remove the flag from the State House

grounds an urgent matter as protestors

rallied at the South Carolina capitol in

Columbia. The House voted 103-10 to

debate the flag this summer. The 45-

member state Senate voted by voice to

join the debate that could begin as

early as next Tuesday.

A two-thirds majority vote in both

chambers of the Legislature will be

necessary in order for the measure

reach Haley's desk and subsequentlyremove the flag from the Capitol

grounds. South Carolina was the first

state to break away from the American

Union in 1860, six weeks after the

election of anti-slavery Republican

Abraham Lincoln as president. The

first shots of the American Civil War

too were fired at Fort Sumter in South

Carolina in April 1861 after ten other

states followed in secession to form

the Confederate States of America.

The controversial "Stars and Bars"

flag was actually the battle flag of

Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of

Northern Virginia.

Public pressure to remove the red

flag with a blue diagonal cross with 13

white stars representing the secession-

ist states has been growing after pho-

tos of the alleged white shooter Dylan

Roof, 21, with a gun waving the flag

emerged. The governors of Virginia

and North Carolina quickly declared

that they would remove the flag from

state license plates. One after another,

several of the country's top retailers --

from Walmart to eBay to Amazon and

Sears -- announced that they would

stop selling Confederate flag merchan-

dise. The debate in South Carolina

over the Confederate flag also seems

to be spilling over to neighboring

southern states. in Kentucky,

Republican Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell and Republican

gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin

have both called for the removal of a

statue of Confederate President

Jefferson Davis that stands in the state

capitol building. In Mississippi, the

state's Republican House Speaker

Philip Gunn has called the state flag,

which includes the Confederate flag in

the left top corner, "a point of offense

that needs to be removed."

New York: Authoritiessay the prison employee

charged with helping

two murderers escape

from a New York prison

smuggled tools to them

by hidi ng the items in

frozen hamburger meat.

Clinton County

District Attorney

Andrew Wiley has told

reporters that Joyce

Mitchell told investiga-

tors she put hacksaw

blades and a screwdriv-

er in the meat, then placed it in a refrigerator

in the tailor shop where she worked at

Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY. Wiley says a corrections officer brought

the meat to David Sweat and Richard Matt,

who were housed in a section of the maxi-

mum-security prison where inmates are

allowed to cook their own meals. The DA

says the guard didn’t know the tools were

inside the meat. He has been placed on paidleave.

Sweat and Matt used power tools to make

their escape June 6 and remain at large

Wednesday.

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com

Boston: Boston Marathon bomber

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday ended

his long silence, asking Allah to help his

victims and their families and apologizing

for the pain and suffering he caused two

years ago.

"If there is any lingering doubt ... I did it

along with my brother," he said, referring

to the bombings carried out by him and his

older brother, Tamerlan. "I ask Allah to

have mercy on me, my brother and my

family."

Tsarnaev, 21, standing at the defense

table and speaking in a low voice, said he

was sorry but he never turned to face his

victims -- whose names, faces and ages, he

said, he has come to know.

Judge George O'Toole formally imposed

the death sentence on Tsarnaev -- a deci-

sion already made by a federal jury.

Boston bomber says sorry before

given death sentence

After Nikki Haley's call, campaign to removesecessionist flag intensifies

Indian American governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina and (Inset) the controversial confederate flag

NY prison escapees got tools in meat

The prison escapees Richard Matt and David Sweat;(right) the prison official Joyce Mitchell

who helped them escape.


10/32

10 June 27- July 3, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

New Delhi: Former Indian Premier

League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi said

he signed the Kochi franchise bid

under pressure.

“I signed the Kochi bid under

pressure minutes,” Modi tweeted.

Along with the tweet he attached

a letter where details of the insights

of the meeting during the Kochi bid

on April 11, 2010 at 12 a.m. were

mentioned.

According tho the letter, the per-

sons present at the meeting were,

Lalit Modi (Chairman IPL), Akhila

Kaushik (Legal Advisor, BCCI),

Sundar Raman (COO,IPL),

Shailendra Gaikwad (Rendevouz

Sports world Pvt Ltd), Mehul Shah

(Anchor Earth Pvt Ltd), Chintan

Vora (Anchor Earth Pvt Ltd), Vipul

Shah (Parinee Developers &

Properties Pvt Ltd), Saket Mehta

(Anand Shyam Estates &

Developers Pvt Ltd), Kailash

Singhal (Filmwaves Combines Pvt

Ltd), Vivek Venugopal and Keshav

P T (Filmwaves Combines Pvt Ltd).

The minutes of the meeting with

bidder of Kochi Franchise as given

by Modi are as follows.

The meeting was called to vali-

date and authenticate the bid docu-

ments related to the Kochi

Franchise (unincorporated JV) bid.

The documents submitted on the

day of tender opening in Chennai

was found to restrict the liability of

the owners in the shareholders

agreement and the chairman had

asked for submission of all valid

documents in the presence of all

owners.

New Delhi: The Karnataka govern-

ment has moved the Supreme Courtchallenging the state high court's

verdict acquitting Tamil Nadu Chief

Minister J. Jayalalithaa, her aide

Sasikala Natrajan and two others in

a case of disproportionate assets.

The Karnataka government has

urged the apex court to stay the

operation of the May 11 verdict.

"Pass an ex-parte ad-interim order

of stay, staying the operation of

impugned final judgment and order

of May 11," a petition by the

Karnataka government said in its

prayer for interim relief.

The Karnataka government con-

tended that the high court commit-

ted a "grave mistake" in arriving at afigure of Rs.24,17,31,274 while a

total of 10 loans taken by

Jayalalithaa and others and the com-

panies they were associated with

was Rs.10,67,31,274.

It is because of this "grave mis-

take" in the calculation that the high

court erroneously concluded that the

disproportionate assets were only to

the extent of 8.12 percent of theincome whereas it was 76.7 percent.

Contending that the reversal by the

high court of the trial court verdict

convicting Jayalalithaa had resulted

in "miscarriage of justice", the

Karnataka government said thatapart from other infirmities, the

"grave mistake" had led to the

acquittal of Jayalalithaa and others

including V.N. Sudhakaran and J.

Elavarasi.

The Karnataka government has

questioned whether Jayalalithaa's

appeal against the trial court order

convicting her and others was main-

tainable without making Karnataka

a respondent.The state has contend-

ed that because Jayalalithaa and the

others did not make the Karnataka

government a party to the case, it

could not appoint a public prosecu-

tor to pursue it. The trial court in

Bengaluru on Sep 27 convictedJayalalithaa of possessing assets dis-

proportionate to her known sources

of income and awarded four jail

terms and fined her Rs.100 crore.

New Delhi: HRD Minister Smriti

Irani faced embarrassment this week

after a court took note of a com-

plaint against her for allegedly dis-

torting facts about her educational

qualification, prompting theCongress and the AAP to demand

her resignation from the cabinet.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

was taken aback by the develop-

ment, but it vehemently defended

Irani who had contested the Lok

Sabha election from Amethi, assert-

ing that the distortions presented

before the court flowed out of typo-

graphical errors.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh

ruled out the resignation of Irani as

well as External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief

Minister Vasundara Raje over their

alleged links to former IPL chief

Lalit Modi who is in London whilefacing charges of financial irregular-

ities in India.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash

Jain considered a private complaint

against Irani and fixed August 28 for

recording pre-summoning evidence.

"The arguments made on behalf of

the complainant (Ahmer Khan) holdmerit," the court said.

A complaint was filed by Khan in

April alleging that Irani, in her three

affidavits before the Election

Commission (for the Lok Sabha and

the Rajya Sabha polls), gave differ-

ent details about her educational

qualification.He sought action against the min-

ister for allegedly lying on oath.

His lawyer K.K. Manan told the

court that Irani declared herself to

be a 1996 batch B.A. graduate from

Delhi University's School of

Correspondence in her affidavit

filed for the 2004 Lok Sabha elec-

tion. But in her 2014 Lok Sabhaelection affidavit, she stated she had

done B.Com Part 1 in 1994 from

Delhi University (open learning). In

another affidavit of July 11, 2011 for

the Rajya Sabha election, she said

her highest educational qualification

was B. Com part I from Delhi

University's School of

Correspondence.

"It is evident from the contents of

the affidavits filed by Irani that at

best only one of the depositions by

her on oath in respect of her educa-

tional qualifications is correct," said

the counsel.

The petition claimed that Irani

also lied on oath about her assetsand it sought action against her

under the Representation of the

People Act. Soon after the court

order, Congress spokesman R.S.

Surjewala sought Irani's resignation.

"Irani has no moral or constitu-

tional or legal right to continue in

her post even for a day. Either she

should resign or she should besacked by the prime minister.

"It is apparent the country's educa-

tion minister is lying about her own

education. What will happen to the

future of millions and millions of

the children of this country?"

Surjewala asked.

Surjewala also attacked the

Narendra Modi government.

"It is most unfortunate that the

degrees of both the education minis-

ters are under question," he said,

referring to allegations against

Minister of State for HRD Ram

Shankar Katheria. The Aam Aadmi

Party, whose then Delhi Law

Minister Jitender Singh Tomar wasarrested over his allegedly fake law

degree, targeted Irani and the

Bharatiya Janata Party.

New Delhi/Jaipur:

Stepping up pressure for

resignation of Rajasthan

Chief Minister Vasundhara

Raje over her help to for-

mer IPL chief Lalit Modi,the Congress showed doc-

uments purportedly con-

taining her signature

which, it said, made clear

she had testified for a

"fugitive".

Bharatiya Janata Party's

Rajasthan unit president

Ashok Parnami defended

Raje and accused the Congress

of trying to defame her.

At a press conference in

Delhi, senior Congress leader

Jairam Ramesh accused Raje of

"lying" and said that BJP leader-

ship should seek her immediate

resignation as the documentswith his party were real and and

not fake.

"In August 2011, Vasundhara

Raje had given a statement and

on the basis of that she had

demanded that Lalit Modi, who

is a 'fugitive' should be allowed

to stay in England only,"

Ramesh said.

He alleged that Raje had lied

again and again and denied the

documents. "Today those papers

are in front of the country and

there are her initials in them. I

want to tell BJP president Amit

Shah that these are not fake,

they are real."

"Today it is clear that she hadmade a statement in favour of

Lalit Modi and the BJP had said

that if the documents have her

signatures then we will surely

demand her resignation," he

said. Ramesh said for a govern-

ment which preaches a corrup-

tion-free governance and a

prime minister who says there is

zero tolerance for corruption,

there was only one way out thatRaje should resign immediately.

"Nobody should deny this.

There is no need for any probe.

The Rajasthan chief minister

should resign right now,"

Ramesh said.

"Not only has she violated

laws, she has lied. The docu-

ments are there, they are not

fake but real. There is need for

no more evidence. Raje stands

thoroughly exposed," he added.

"Actually, it is three ministers

who should given their resigna-

tion. Rajasthan Chief Minister

Vasundhara Raje, External

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

and HRD Minister Smriti Irani."Ramesh said the case against

Sushma Swaraj doesn't disap-

pear.

Congress mounts pressure onRajasthan CM, BJP backs Raje

Irani in education row; AAP, Congress want her sacked

A complaint alleged that Union minister Smriti Irani gavedifferent details about her educational qualification.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Former Indian Premier League(IPL) chief Lalit Modi.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

I signed Kochi bid under pressure: Lalit Modi

Karnataka moves SC against Jayalalithaa's acquittal


11/32

11June 27-July 3, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

Kolkata: Braving heavy

showers, hundreds of peo-

ple from India and abroad

ba de ad ie u to Moth er

Teresa's successor Sister

Nirmala here, recalling the

nun's dedication and

courage.

Sister Nirmala's body,

pl aced in a glas s casket

with candles and wreaths

at her feet, was kept at the

Missionaries of Charity's

global headquarters

Mother House where the

funeral mass was attended

by pol itical and reli gious

leaders, as also the poorest

of the poor.

Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor

as superior general of the Missionaries of

Charity, died following renal failure andheart complications.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee recounted her affable personality

and service to the poor.

"Sister Nirmala always had a smile on her

face. Physically we may have lost her but she

will be alive through her ideology and phi-

losophy," Banerjee said as the nuns sang

songs, including Rabindra Sangeet.

Sister Nirmala became the second head of

the order after its founder Mother Teresa

stepped down from the post in March 1997.

During her 12-year stewardship of the

Kolkata-headquartered order founded in1950, Sister Nirmala visited a large number

of countries, opening new houses and draw-

ing more people to the Missionaries of

Charity, which now has under its fold over

4,500 religious sisters and activities spread

across 133 countries.

She was honored with India's second high-

est civilian order 'Padma Vibhushan' in 2009

for her services to the nation.

New Delhi: India is unlikely to see

the imposition of another

Emergency due to changes made inthe Constitution and people being

more vigilant, veteran journalist

and political commentator Kuldip

Naya r has sai d, no ting that the

Congress should have learnt the les-

son of not pursuing dynastic poli-

tics from the period that saw a curb

on civil liberties under Indira

Gandhi.

Na ya r, 91 , wh o sp en t th re e

months in jail during the 1975-77

Emergency, said that system was

still dependent on the goodwill of

the ruling party and there should be

propo rtiona l representation in the

Lok Sabha so that the opposition

has a stronger voice in the house."There should be proportional

representation for at least 50 per-

cent of the seats. Still we are

dependent on the goodwill of the

ruling party and the prime minister.

The opposition will get a stronger

voice if there is proportional repre-sentation," Nayar told IANS in an

interview on 40 years of

Emergency.

Nayar, a veteran journalist who

has written several books, including

a gripping account of the time,

"Emergency Retold," said the coun-

try had learnt its lessons from the

Emergency that lasted from June

25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, and

saw over 100,000 people being put

under detention, civil liberties being

curbed and imposition of press cen-

sorship.

Asked if the Congress had trans-

formed itself after the Emergency,

Nayar, a former high commissioner to Britain, said the party was still

stuck in the dynastic mould and this

was working to the advantage of the

ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Till the time they come out of dynastic politics, what can happen.

Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi and her son

(Rahul). Then people also talk of

Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra). Dynastic

pol itic s is now a feudal thing. It

does not go well with democracy.

The Congress should also havelearnt (from Emergency) that

dynastic politics does not go well

with democracy," Nayar said.

Indira Gandhi, who imposed

Emergency, was widely seen to

have worked under the influence of

her son Sanjay Gandhi. She was the

daughter of India's first prime min-

ister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and her

other son, Rajiv Gandhi, also

served as the country's prime minis-

ter. Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law,

Sonia Gandhi, is the Congress pres-

ident and her grandson Rahul

Gandhi is Congress vice-president.

Asked about senior BJP leader

L.K. Advani's remarks in an inter-view that forces that can crush

democracy were now stronger and a

repeat of an Emergency-like situa-

tion cannot be ruled out, Nayar said

Emergency has become almost

impossible because to ratify the

measure, a prime minister who triesto impose it will need a two-thirds

majority in each house of parlia-

ment due to amendments made in

the constitution.

"What he (Advani) is saying is

that environment is such where

power is get ting concent rate d in

one person. Just like at that time it

was getting concentrated in Mrs

(Indira) Gandhi, now it is getting

concentrated in (Narendra) Modi,"

Nayar said.

At the same time, he said there

were now stronger safeguards for

civil liberties in the constitution and

its basic structure can also not be

changed. Na ya r sa id hi s advi ce to the

younger generation was that inde-

pendence, democracy and secular-

ism should not be taken for granted.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

has said that the Emergency rule in India

was "one of India's darkest periods".

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of

the Emergency, Modi took to Twitter and

urged people to do "everything possible tofurther strengthen our democratic ideals and

ethos".

Modi described the Emergency - from

June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977 - as India's

darkest period, when the then political lead-

ership "trampled over the democracy".

"We mark 40 years of one of India's dark-

est periods - the Emergency when the then

po li ti ca l le ad er sh ip tr am pl ed ov er ou r

democracy," Modi tweeted.

"A vibrant liberal democracy is the key to

progress. Let us do everything possible to

further strengthen our democratic ideals and

ethos," another of his tweets said.The then prime minister Indira Gandhi

imposed Emergency in India citing grave

threat to her government and sovereignty of

the country from both internal and external

forces.

Modi said that inspired by the call of social

reformer and political leader Jayaprakash

Narayan, seve ral men and women across

India selflessly immersed themselves in the

movement to safeguard the democracy.

"We are very proud of the lakhs of people,

who resisted the Emergency and whose

efforts ensured that our democratic fabric is

preserved," Modi said."Personally, the Emergency brings back

many memories. As youngsters, we learnt a

lot during the anti-Emergency movement."

In a series of tweets, Modi said:

"Emergency was a great opportunity to work

with a wide spectrum of leaders and organi-

zations fighting for the same goal - the return

of democracy."

Narendra Modi described the Emergency - from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977

- as India's darkest period.

Hundreds pay homage to Sister Nirmala

Kathmandu: India has announced an aid

of $1 billion for rebuilding Nepal, External

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced

at an international donors meet here.

The aid will be used in the reconstruction

of physical infrastructure as well as some

key heritage sites.

At the International Conference on

Ne pa l' s Re co ns tr uc ti on , Sw ar aj sa id :

"Nepal is not alone. Today I convey to you

the deep and abiding commitment of the

government of India and 1.25 billion peo-

ple of India to stand shoulder to shoulder

with you."

Referring to the operation India under-

took to help Nepal soon after it was hit by a

massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake in April,

Swaraj said: "Operation Maitri was our largest ever disaster assistance effort

abroad valued at nearly Rs.400 billion."

"From the debris of destruction a stronger

united and more confident Nepal will rise,"

she said.

Swaraj hailed Nepal's efforts in making a

major bid to rebuild the nation and said

raising $6.7 billion was a challenging task."As the oldest and closest friend, India is

ready to stand with Nepal," she said.

India announces $1 billion aid forrebuilding Nepal

Emergency was India's darkest period: Modi

Dynastic politics does not go well with democracy: Kuldip Nayar

People participate in the last journey of Sister Nirmala on way to St. Jone's Church, Sealdah in Kolkata.

Veteran journalist andpolitical commentator

Kuldip Nayar.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj arrives to attend the International

Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction2015 in Kathmandu.


12/32

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

By Rajendra Shende

Except for the quiet perennial flow of

waters in the Rhine every ambiance of

the city of Bonn has undergone a

change over the last two decades. A smaller

office of Secretariat of the United Nations

Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

which began functioning on banks of the

Rhine, while coordinating the global efforts to

reduce the emissions of Green House Gases

(GHGs), has now been expanded to include a

multi-storeyed building and is a part of UN

Complex. To say that the climate negotiations

have become more and more 'complex' isunderwhelming.

The utter failure in the implementation of the

Climate Convention of 1992 that aimed at 'pre-

venting dangerous anthropogenic interference

with Earth's climate system' does not augur

well while building a new foundation. The

Kyoto Protocol of 1997 will come to an end in

2015 without developed countries achieving

its goal of reducing the GHGs by five percent

from its 1990 levels. The emissions instead

have now been nearly 45 percent higher.

Complexity and mistrust among negotiators

have even increased disproportionately.

The objectives of the negotiations in the

Bonn meeting were very clear. First, to carve

out from a draft of 'Geneva Negotiating Text',

which was developed in Lima last year andupdated in Geneva early 2015, into a stream-

lined and shorter negotiating text for the world

leaders to take a final decision on a new 2015

climate agreement at the Paris. The agreement

to be reached by December 2015 will enter

into force in 2020. Second, to pursue a trail of

ambitious targets in emission reductions,

financial and technology pledges that were

agreed in 2009, as part of the Kyoto Protocol,

to enhance pre-2020 action. Overall objectiveof the new Protocol would be to keep the rise

in temperature below 2 deg C as compared to

Pre-industrial level.

ADP, short for 'Ad Hoc Working Group on

the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action,' is

one of the key acronyms that has become the

cynosure for climate negotiators and night-

mare for the media reporters. This working

group is tasked to streamline and consolidate

an extremely bulky negotiating text of 86 page s, 103 para grap hs - each havi ng five

options in average. In Bonn, 12 groups with

two facilitators each and battalions of UNFC-

CC secretarial staff made gallant efforts in

streamlining the text. Unfortunately, at the end,

the text was reduced to 85 pages (one page

less) with 223 paragraphs (100 added).

To judge the work of ADP by simply

reduced numbers of pages and paragraphs will

be unfair. It was expected that negotiations

would be used as an opportunity to generate

mutual trust for the collective actions ahead.

There was mixed reaction if such an opportu-

nity was availed. One delegate indicated "Trust

will be put to test when real issue of providing

financing and climate-friendly technologies to

the developing countries would be negotiated.We are not there yet."

Climate negotiators in Bonn appeared to be

out of pace with happenings around them. And

now even Pope Francis has appealed to all to

combat climate change on moral grounds.

Pressure on state-negotiators is building due to

two reasons: just about 25 weeks are remain-

ing for the finish line for new legally binding

treaty. Second, with or without state negotia-

tors, the non-state actors are racing ahead leav-

ing behind archaic negotiating issues.

As one delegate suggested, state negotiators

need to regularly perform yoga for developing

a mindset for building a mutual trust. Prime

Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations

last year had said, "Yoga embodies unity of

mind and body. By changing our lifestyle andcreating consciousness, it can help us deal with

climate change."

By Amulya Ganguli

T

ill the quicksand of indis-

cretions enveloped Sushma

Swaraj and b VasundharaRaje, the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) had the advantage over its

principal rival, the Congress, of

not being the victim of any major

scandal.

Hence, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi had the chutzpah of telling

an audience abroad that while he

was associating India with "skill",

the previous government had

shamed the country with the

appellation of "scam India". Only

a few months after this display of

effrontery which ignored the tradi-

tion of not raising domestic issues

on foreign soil, the Modi govern-

ment has had its comeuppance.

Instead of focusing on ways to

emerge from the "prudent gradual-

ism", in economist Jagdish

Bhagwati's words, of the reforms,

which the government's critics

interpret as a dragging of the feet,

the prime minister and his govern-

ment are immersed in an episode

which, according to the Congress,

is marked by "nepotism, abuse of

authority and violation of proce-

dure".

Notwithstanding the attempts to

emphasize the Good Samaritan

aspect of the external affairs min-

ister's intervention on behalf of the

former Indian Premium League

(IPL) administrator, Lalit Modi's

ailing wife, the fact that Lalit

Modi is a fugitive from Indian jus-

tice has undermined Sushma

Swaraj's acts of "good intentions",

as finance minister Arun Jaitley

has said.

To make matters worse for the

BJP, Rajasthan Chief Minister

Vasundhara Raje has joined

Sushma Swaraj in demonstrating

her proximity to Lalit Modi. Their

explanation for their camaraderie

is that Modi is a family friend. But

the acts of hobnobbing recall the

adage that a person is known by

the company he or she keeps.

Interestingly, the BJP is seem-

ingly keener on standing by the

external affairs minister than the

chief minister, who has apparently

been left to fend for herself over

an allegation that she endorsed

Lalit Modi's application for immi-

gration to Britain on the condition

that the Indian authorities should

not know about it.

Considering that Narendra Modi

had once taunted Congress leader

Shashi Tharoor for having a Rs.50

crore girl friend because of

Sunanda Pushkar's IPL deals, the

reports about how prominent BJP

leaders have gone out of their way

to help the tainted former IPL czar

cannot but be an embarrassment

for the prime minister.

The BJP rode to power not only

on the basis of promising econom-

ic growth but also by stressing its

commitment to a clean public life.

No w, bo th th e pl ed ge s ha ve

failed to materialize. Unless

Narendra Modi demonst rates his

fabled capacity to act decisively,

the daily unfolding of the bon-

homie between ministers and a

person unde r the scanner of the

Enforcement Directorate will only

pro vid e more juicy gri st to theCongress's mill.

Taken together with the disquiet

among farmers about the proposed

amendments of the land acquisi-

tion law, and among ex-service-

men over the delay in implement-

ing the one-rank, one-pension

rule, the Sushma Swaraj-

Vasundhara Raje-Lalit Modi saga

can have damaging consequences

for the BJP on two fronts.

First, the inevitable stalling of

parliament on the issue will be a

further setback to the prime minis-

ter's reforms agenda. Secondly, the

BJP will not find it easy to launch

an effective election campaign in

Bihar when its hands are not clean

and when it faces various disaf-

fected groups.

Moreover, in view of the attacks

from multiple fronts, the BJP

seems to have lost some of its

fighting instincts. Otherwise, it is

not clear why it backed off from

attacking the Congress on th

vol 8 issue 8 - june 27-july 3, 2015

Documents